#KC wanting to stand out and be different from her siblings

[aphmau-prompts]

Nana teaches Tatiana how to bake.

[galvanizedfriend]

what do you think about the baby plotlines? about hope and the twins? do you think they ruined any chance of klaroline being together? or do you think kc could have been together for real and had a good relationship if the babies didn't exist?

This might seem surprising since I have written over a million words of baby fic (although I will argue that it's not a baby fic, it's a fic that contains a baby, which is very different 😌), but I hate the baby plot. I'm a clown. 🤡

It's not about Hope or the twins in particular, nothing against them, I just think that suddenly including magical babies in a supernatural story about vampires is just about the stupidest thing you can do. Vampires are not supposed to have babies, period. I remember watching the backdoor pilot episode of The Originals not having the slightest clue what to expect because I wasn't in fandom back then, or even following anything about TVD, just watched the episodes as they came out, and the moment they revealed The Originals' move to New Orleans was about a baby, I turned off my TV. Whoever thought that giving Klaus A BABY was the best thing they could do for him, is an idiot that should've been fired on spot.

If they wanted to explore the whole father-child situation, drawing from Klaus' immense well of daddy issues, they could've used Marcel. It would've been so much more powerful and so much more interesting. The thought that Klaus, out of all the Originals, would just decide to embrace fatherhood after getting a one-night stand he didn't even like accidentally pregnant makes NO SENSE AT ALL. This is the man who stabbed his siblings and carried them around in coffins as a love language. And people want me to believe that this violence-first, emotionally constipated hybrid would want to raise a child. Sure.

As for Caroline's pregnancy - I guess once you have established that Klaus could make magical babies, then anything was possible. The excuse they used that Candice was pregnant was so dumb though. So many movies and shows have been shot while the actresses were heavily pregnant, but their characters weren't. Catherine Zeta Jones was six or seven months pregnant in Chicago. Everyone in Grey's Anatomy had babies. Ellen Pompeo had three onscreen babies but none of them were written to match her real life pregnancies. In fact, Candice had to wear a prosthetic belly because she wasn't pregnant ENOUGH. So stupid.

HAVING SAID THAT. I don't think the babies were the reason why Klaroline didn't happen. At the end of the day, it wouldn't have been something that would've kept them apart if the writers had wanted to go there. If anything, babies could've brought them closer. I mean, Klaus should've been completely inept when it comes to taking care of another human being who's entirely dependent upon him. Caroline, as a carer at heart, could've seamlessly fit into the narrative. And especially after they gave her babies as well, they could've easily connected through their snowflake kids.

In fact, my personal headcanon (somewhat backed by real canon) is that they did. Klaus gave her money for her school, and while I don't think he did it so he could send Hope there later on as Legacies tried to make us believe, I do think the reason he ended up allowing Hope to attend the school was BECAUSE Caroline was there. He trusted her with his daughter, in a way he probably wouldn't have trusted anyone else, particularly because he was absent. He needed to know she would be safe and in good hands, and that was definitely not because of Alaric. And I also think they kept in touch during all those years where Hope went to school there and he went on a murder bend around Europe. Hayley couldn't get a hold of him, but Rebekah IMMEDIATELY knew who she could reach out to to find him. If Caroline hadn't seen or spoken to him in 15 years, that would make no sense. The way Klaus is all 'Trying not to flatter myself that you're here on a sudden whim to see me' implies more intimacy than two people who hadn't spoken in over a decade would've had. They were definitely in touch. How much touching was involved is up to your imagination. :)

One thing I wish Legacies had explored was Caroline's relationship with Hope. They obviously had one, we were just never shown it, which is sad, because there were so many interesting layers that could've been explored. It's also in my personal headcanon that Lizzie would've been fascinated with Klaus had him and Caroline ever had a chance to be together and he got to hang around her kids as well, and the irony that her middle name is Jenna is just delicious (Klaus wouldn't have felt the slightest bit of remorse). It would've given Alaric so much grief.

In conclusion, Klaroline could've been together with or without the babies. They weren't what was standing between them. Stupid writing was.

[ssrromanwalker]

Roman Walker; The Leader

revving engines, firm tones, dark flannel, holding a deep breath, scuffed leather boots, hot asphalt, dusty jeans, calloused hands, booming laughter, fist bumps, the taste of tequila straight, wide open blue skies, change jingling in your pocket, the smell of gasoline

Biography;

Though a common one, Roman's life story wasn't pretty. It began with a couple that were too young and too high to have even the slightest shot at being successful parents. It ended with Roman having more responsibility than most thought a man like him was capable of.

Born to a teen mother and father, Roman didn't know that kids lived differently than he did until he was 5 years old and going to school. Other parents were home with their children. Other parents didn't leave their child shut away in the small dark laundry room of their trailer all day and night because they had friends over. Because they didn't want Roman to see what they were doing. Because they thought that the needles and smoke and people passed out all over the place would scare him. Maybe in their own way, they were trying to protect Roman the only way they knew how, but the darkness of his childhood prison was scarring in its own way. Once he had tried to open the door just to find it was locked. Once he kicked the door, screaming and crying until his father opened it, eyes unfocused and hands trembling as he told Roman to 'sit the fuck down and be quiet' before tossing one of his few stuffed toys in with him. As he grew older, he became accustomed to the small space until he was 10 years old and refused to be shut away any longer. That day, his parents sent him outside.

For awhile, Roman felt like he had won. He wasn't shut away, he could hear the conversations inside the house more clearly from his spot on the rickety back porch, and he could breathe. However, that feeling of triumph only lasted as long as his adrenaline from the argument did, then he was realizing just how cold November nights in Missouri really were. The backdoor was locked and as it grew quieter and quieter in the house, Roman was left with little choice. So, he walked. He walked through the trailer park until he spotted a girl about his age on the front porch of a small near trailer. She looked at him as he looked at her before she asked what he was doing and he said, "nothing, what are you doing?" The little girl eyed him for another long moment before asking if he was as hungry as he looked. Embarrassed, face flushed both with shame and the cold, Roman said no and the little girl rolled her eyes. With that, she turned and yelled into the house for her father. Roman made to leave, scared at the prospect of meeting a man that he had assumed would be angry with his presence, but the girl's father was already on the porch and eyeing him just as his daughter had done. Whatever it was he was looking for, Roman seemed to have it because he was inviting him inside.

The man fed Roman, talked to him about school and life, and the rest was history. The father's name was Julian and the little girl, Melody. The little girl quickly became Roman's best friend and Roman quickly became attached to the father and daughter duo that made sure he didn't go hungry or cold and let him stay when his parents kicked him out. When he was 12, Julian took him for a ride on his motorcycle. When he was 13, he introduced Roman to his friends, a group of gruff men who all wore a leather jacket like Julian's. When he was 14, he found his mother and father passed out in the living room, but only his mother was no longer breathing. When he was 15, Julian explained what it meant to be a part of an organization- what it meant to have people that relied on you that you could rely on in return. When he was 16, Roman killed a man because Julian told him that the guy had done their people wrong. When he was 16, someone killed Melody in return.

If he thought about it for too long, Roman could still taste her blood on his tongue from where it had splattered over his face after a bullet from a drive-by struck her as she was wrapped in his arms. The Kansas City Riders were a large MC and they were set on revenge. As a prospect sponsored by the VP, Roman was a large player when it came to enacting that revenge. He rode with the men who had become his family, he put bullets in people who had taken Melody away from him, and when they were outnumbered by the cartel they hadn't realized they were going up against, Roman was one of the only Riders left standing. Julian sent him away after that, only a day after he had been patched up as President and the remnants of the Riders voted to patch Roman in as well. Julian told him to get out of KC, to find something and make it his own because he couldn't watch another one of his children die. So Roman rode.

He rode and he rode and he rode until he was 18 and hungry. Hungry for more than a transient life, hungry for more than meeting disdainful looks with his fists alone. When he found himself in Boston, he stumbled upon a new family. Their patches were different and so was their business but Roman picked up on it like a fish tossed back into water. He didn't sink, he swam. He rode and he dealt whatever was given to him and he fought. He fought until the other members began to recognize his worth and soon enough, he was ranking and being patched over to a nearby charter in Baltimore as their VP at the age of 25. Years after that, he got a phone call from the main charter's president with the offer of an opportunity that Roman had been fighting tooth and nail for. Finally, he was given a chance to make a name of his own. Roman has seen gangs rise and fall and lose and win, and now he was going to be at the head of it. Burlington wasn't the biggest city in the country, but it was going to be his. No one was going to stand in the way of that.

Stats;

appearance.

height: 6′3″

eye: blue

hair: dark blonde, short on sides, longer on top

build: hench

voice: firm and steady

scars: scar along collarbone from a knife fight, bullet hole scar on calf

distinguishing feature: dark blonde beard, bright blue eyes

tattoos: The South Side Riders' insignia on his back, ‘melody’ on his ribcage

dominant hand: right

relationships.

parents: mother is passed, father is disowned

siblings: none

children: none

mental.

education: high school diploma

languages: english

disorders: undiagnosed

habits: chews the inside of his cheek, scuffs the toes of his boots when standing and waiting

[svmmerdays]

( 01 / muse 2 / cis male & he/him ) contrary to what the campers might tell you, that’s not timothee chalamet. that’s kc thain! this is their 6th year working here and they’re a counselor. they’re 23, and i just found out during ice breakers they’re a sagittarius. at first they might seem pretty oblivious, but they’re actually really creative. when they have down time, you can usually catch them getting high on the roof. try to get to know them for yourself this summer!

MEET THE MUN.  i expect i’ll be able to solve a lot of my problems once my baby brain falls out & my adult brain grows in

hello all, my name is pepper and i have never been on time for anything in my life skjsdkj i feel like all my intros start that way but it’s simply a fact, i cannot tell time. that said i just got off from work so !!! this time i have a bit of an excuse. but omg Anyways, i am v excited for this rp, like i’ve already said in the gc,,, your girls never been to camp so i am LIVING FOR THIS! a bit about me ~cAmP tHEMED~ kinda, i have never actually gone camping but i really wanna go glamping one time so hit me up if you’re interested, whenever i am in the wilderness bugs like to try to fly directly into my eyes and idk why although i do have a theory i was an exterminator in a past life or something and now they’re getting their revenge for the their fallen ancestors yk?? i hate marshmallows because when i was like six some girl told me that gelatin was made of horse hooves and i believed her and i have not really eaten a marshmallow since with the exception of the one time i microwaved a smore in my microwave when i was like eight? but then again when i was really young i used to think god looked like king triton so i’m a gullible hoe y’all i’ll believe anything. but okay i think that’s enough, moving on to the man of the hour, kronk child thain!

BIO. what do people do when they’re not stoned?  drug tw !

 kc was an accident. and honestly, he was probably a bit too aware of that way too early. to start, when kc was conceived kc’s father was married to his mother’s best friend. and well, that’s not usually the kind of thing that you do on purpose. furthermore kc was conceived in a bounce house at his half older brother’s first birthday party. again, not the kind of thing you plan. you might ask how and why kc knows this information, and that would be the third reason why kc knows with absolute surety he was an accident. because his mother has been telling him all of this frankly intimate and scarring information with absolutely no shame pretty much from the moment kc could comprehend the words coming out of her mouth, and honestly likely before that. and well, that isn’t exactly the behavior of a woman who planned to have kids is it. at least not in kc’s mind. 

frankly moira thain has been treating kc like more than a pet than a son pretty much from the moment kc can remember. she didn’t treat him badly by any means. she just wasn’t really a mom. she was a weird older friend who whined until kc made her breakfast and left for days on end to go to music festivals. she was the kind of friend who teased you ruthlessly rather than offering any good advice and embarrassed you just for fun. the kind of friend who shrugged when you asked them for help with your homework and who none of your other friends (or their parents) really liked. honestly, she was kind of a bad friend if kc was honest but he doesn’t know what else to compare her to. for a long, long time his mother, as unusual as she was, was all he had. that was until kc was about seven and he didn’t even have that anymore. 

when kc was seven a lot of shit went down at once. to start, his mother nearly overdosed, and that was the big thing. it was a traumatizing experience overall as that kind of thing would be for a seven year old, but kc would like to think he handled it like a champ. called the police, made sure his mother didn’t choke on her own vomit, and all that. but CPS was called and kc was promptly shipped out to live with a father had never met, which went as well as could be expected (refer to how and when kc was conceived above). kc stayed with them for all of six months, but well, all kc really had to do was breathe to completely ruin their marriage. even if kace was a bit dull at times even he understood that. so he wasn’t surprised when 'the boys trip’ his father took him on ended up just being a complicated ruse to dump him at his grandfather’s house for as long as he could get away with. considering it was near the end of the school year, it was a while.

now at that point as you can imagine kc was pretty drained emotionally. his mother was officially in rehab. his dad didn’t want him around. his stepmother and half siblings treated him like some kind of leper. and all of this happened within less than a year. that’s a lot for anyone to take let alone a seven year old. little kc was filled to the brim with a lot of emotions he didn’t know what to do with so for the most part he had shut down. barely spoke unless spoken to. very rarely smiled or expressed any sort of emotion really. his grandfather played a big part in fixing that. 

grandpa thain lived in a cottage in the forest and worked for a camp not too far from his cabin. he dealt with the upkeep of the grounds during the school year as well as some handyman duties when needed. and for the most part he dragged his grandson along with him as his ‘assistant’. which mostly meant that kc pulled out the weeds his grandfather told him to or passed him the tools he asked for. just simple things like that. but to kc’s surprise he really liked it. he also really liked living with his grandfather in the middle of nowhere and being able to hear the birds in the morning or take naps in fields. 

kc’s father paid for his first summer at dagwood. his half siblings came to the camp as well, in fact they had been coming longer than kc had. however, at the end of the summer, unlike his eager half siblings, kc didn’t want to leave again. dagwood had become this safe have for him of sorts, a place where he was slowly able to heal at his own pace, and he knew the moment he went back to his father’s house he would be returning to an environment he was unwanted. his grandfather made it so he didn’t have to return at all by offering to take kc in permanently. 

it took some time and a lot of legal paperwork but kc’s grandfather ended up becoming his legal guardian. his grandfather home schooled him to the best of his capability during the school year, and during the summer’s kc attended camp dagwood and helped out his grandfather in whatever way he could. he continued to do so even after he turned eighteen, even going as far as to help out in between the online art school classes that he decided to take on a whim. his grandfather regretfully had to retire from dagwood, after working every day since the camps opening day. he retired with a lot of pride and kc is really proud of him honestly, and he has every plan to take his grandfather’s place once he gets promoted from counsellor. his grandfather insists that he doesn’t need to, and that he wants kc to do whatever he wants to do but kc is too stubborn and loyal to hear any of it. he’s determined to continue the legacy his grandfather is so proud of, and stay at the place that brought him so much comfort and peace, even though honestly it’s probably not the best thing for him. it’s honestly probably time for kc to move on to bigger and better things but he hasn’t realized that yet so until then, dagwood it is. 

PERSONALITY. me as a hotel receptionist: *greets guests by playing hotel california but cutting it off right before they say california*

LOYAL. listen if you’re kc’s friend he would die for you and that’s just a fact. he is honestly loyal to fault. he will screw himself over for his friends because he’s dumb. theyt won’t even ask him to do it! he’ll do it anyways! he’s a fool 

STUBBORN. not in an obvious way like generally kc is very flexible, go with the flow? will generally not hold an opinion in most arguments and is pretty happy to follow rather than lead. but when it comes to things that kc is passionate about?? oof. a bulldozer couldn’t move him. he’s a pain in the ass.

OBLIVIOUS. he’s a fool. kc will be the last one to know about his own damn feelings. kc will be the last one to know about anyone else’ feelings too. it could be so obvious. SO SO DAMN OBVIOUS, and yet kc??? has no idea. he’s that scene from juno where juno’s like ‘i like you’ and michael cera’s like ‘as a friend?’ jkdsdjk

CREATIVE. the only thing kc’s good at is creating things. he can make pretty much anything if he puts his mind to it. probably makes his own clothes honestly. can mend and repair yours. just as a weird brain tbh, if you ever want a different perspective on something go to kc because he’ll say something so wild sdjkdfkj 

COMPASSIONATE. a kind boy tbh. wouldn’t hurt a fly. catches spiders in his hands and takes them outside. is a vegetarian. will listen to your problems any time and at least offer help even if he has no idea what to do. 

LAZY. will fall asleep standing up with his eyes open. has fallen asleep on buses and ended up in different states. is terrible when it comes to getting up in the morning. eats his breakfast half asleep every day. like he’s a hard worker when it comes down to it, but if the options are playing with the campers or taking a nap in a warm patch of sun kc knows what he’s choosing... honestly kc is good with little kids but he would vastly prefer his grandfathers job, cause his gramps just worked by himself for the most part, and working with kids is so much more exhausting rip. 

HEADCANNONS. you’re in her dms im daydreaming about her on public transport we are not the same. 

loves all branches of art honestly, is also a big fan of music. can play the guitar, the drums and bass, all skills he mostly picked up on his own while being home schooled by his grandfather. tends to be rather humble about it but he’s actually pretty talented. will play the acoustic guitar by the campfire, is one hundred percent that guy 

when doing art activity counselling kc has the energy of that one pottery guy from tiktok always. like that’s kc straight up. 

has a bunch of tattoos that are mostly doodles that he made himself, sometimes doodles his friends have made too if he likes them enough. will put pretty much anything on body and tends to think of it as his canvas. wants to be that old man covered head to toe in tats by the time he’s ninety. 

has been stung by wasps on fourteen different occasions over the years. literally kc has been stung every summer since he’s come here and it’s pretty much tradition at this point. like he hates it, but if too long goes by without him being stung he starts to get paranoid. 

loves to climb things like trees and buildings. chills out in the branches/on top of roofs a LOT. would be the guy to fall asleep in a hammock and get a mustache drawn on his face by the campers. honestly that has probably happened. 

jewish! kc’s religion wasn’t really a big part of his life when he was living with his mother but by the time he moved in with his grandfather that changed. they go to the synagogue together and everything even if it’s a bit out of the way. 

might be narcoleptic honestly. is sleeping 99% of the time. if you don’t know where kc is check his bed tbh

will never tell anyone what kc stands for honestly, he thinks it’s amusing for people to guess. will answer to any version of k____ c____ you call him though. also accepts kace which is just a nickname for a pair of initials but skjsdm still he will answer to it 

a hard worker even if he doesn’t look it. weirdly functional while working high? kc is one of those people who you never know is high cause he just acts as he normally does for the most part. 

that said he is the most focused and like alert when drawing or painting or doing anything with his hands. takes his art incredibly seriously. has probably drawn up a mural for the camp, and literally stayed up three days and three nights to do it. very talented but doesn’t really think he’s talented enough to do anything with it? could get into art school if he tried, but he’s too loyal to ever leave his grandfather or the camp behind to do it. 

very good at wood working surprisingly. this boy will make you a sexy ass chair. honestly kc is one of the those frustrating people who like you show him how to do something creative one time and he’s got it, his brain has tapped into it, he remembers. but don’t worry, give him one math problem and he completely shuts down sdkjsdjk 

hates wearing shoes. will take his shoes off the moment he has the opportunity. straight up leaves his shoes places and then’ll be like ??? fuck where did i put those ??? 

can cook surprisingly well. makes bomb weed brownies but like just in general kace makes good food. always forgets to grocery shop until his fridge is empty though

dresses like a hippie. his general aesthetic makes it look like he was in nineties movie. wears wire rimmed glasses because they were his grandfather’s and he’s too broke to buy new frames. most hipsters see him and are like !!! cause they think he’s one of them but kc knows nothing about movies or coffee or like... anything but art really so they’re pretty quickly disappointed. 

used to have hella long hair when he was younger, like he was usually picked on for looking kind of girly because of it. didn’t really care that much, or at least convinced himself he didn’t really care that much eventually. was glad when he got home schooled though cause at least then he didn’t have to deal with that anymore, 

has a scar through his eyebrow from when he fell out of a tree his first summer. 

has several ear piercings. 

i forgot to mention, kc’s mother used to be a drug dealer before her overdose but he doesn’t really know what she does now. he doesn’t talk to her very often but he talks to his dad even less. whenever his mom contacts him it’s cause she’s gotten out of rehab and needs money. kc will usually give it to her because he’s soft. 

WANTED CONNECTIONS.  it takes me 3-7 business days to process my feelings

i am so tired so we’re doing this in a blob but i would love LOVE some exes from summers past, some ex flings, his first bf/gf, idk his first kiss would also be cool, someone who hates him like maybe an enemy or an old rival of some sort? an old stupid rivalry from when they were campers that they still can’t let go of now? just sayin. uh, an fwb or ewb situation maybe, another childhood friend would be cute, an opposites attract situation like i would love for kc to have a dynamic with someone who really has their shit together yk like completely different from his sleepy ass, a smoking buddy maybe! a family friend! godsibling! first love! someone who kc accidentally set on fire with a flaming marshmallow when they were thirteen! anything and everything please and thank you. 

[misssophiachase]

Can I request KC + any cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie. Any of them.

Thank you!!! Awesomeprompt. For some reason it’s not so mini, so sorry for the delay. Okay, I’ll admit that I took some liberties, I mean there are way toomany to choose from so this is a different spin. I think I kind of morphed intoa Hallmark movie writer with all this cheese and fluff, hope you still like it!

Not Another Hallmark Movie

“I’ve worked with animalsthat are better behaved and trained than you, Mikaelson,” she hissed. 

“Only because they can’ttalk. If they could I’m sure they’d have some pretty choice things to sayabout such a Princess, Forbes,” he shot back. 

“Cut!” 

“You are such an…”

“Well, you’re no picnicyourself sweetheart.”

“I said Cut!” TheirDirector, Enzo St John, growled. “You don’t get creative license,children. This is a bloody Hallmark movie and you will do it as I say. So, justfor your information, the lines actually were, I love you Jacob. I think Ialways have but I’ve been hurt before and Christmas is such a difficult timefor me after losing my father.”

“And then Jacob says,”Bonnie Bennet, their long suffering producer, added through grittedteeth. “I would never hurt you Grace and if you let me in, let me love youthen I can prove that to you everyday of our lives.”

“I much prefer my line,”Klaus shrugged his shoulders, unmoved by their terse interruptions. 

“As I do mine,” Carolineagreed, arms crossed over her chest. Agreeing was something the two actorsnever did, just ask the rest of the cast and crew. They’d been bickering eversince their first day on set and things didn’t seem to beimproving.  

“How about we take abreak,” Enzo sighed. “We’ll pick up in twenty minutes and maybe you twocan learn your bloody lines.” The crew scurried away, no doubt to enjoy somedowntime from all the drama. 

Klaus made his way to hisdressing room, slamming the door shut in the process. Who was Enzo St John totell him what to do and how to do it? He remembered the second worse decisionhe’d ever made so clearly. If he could have blamed it on alcohol he would havebut this was all her doing.    

“Hallmark? Ah, no Lucien.”

“You didn’t even let mefinish…”

“Because you used the Hword,” he muttered. “I thought we spoke about having that networkexorcised from any future contracts.”

“You need this role Klaus,if anything just to get you back on your feet,” he pleaded. “The roleshave dried up since…”

“I don’t need you to tellme that,” he growled, finally stopping his pacing. “But there must besomething else, something on HBO? I saw they’d green lit a pilotabout the Clash.”

“The Joe Strummer role hasalready been cast.”

“Oh don’t tell me, it’sthat talentless idiot, Tyler Lockwood?”

“No, it’s…”

“Well, don’t keep mehanging, Lucien. You know, I’m a big boy, I can handle the truth.”

“Stefan Slavatore,” hemumbled, his brown eyes now firmly focused on the floor.  

“The brooding, James Deanwannabe? He’s not even English and is definitely more boy band than punk. Anddon’t even get me started on his obsession with his hair. Could that guy ownany more hair products?”

“That’s probably why hehas that lucrative endorsement deal with L’oreal.”

“I bet his mother is soproud,” he groaned. “Why do talentless and undeserving losers like thatget the good roles?”

“You’ve been out of thegame for a bit, people tend to move on after you pass on roles,” he offered,albeit weakly. “You experienced a monumental loss and it’s understandablethat you needed some time out but…”

“You’re even starting tosound like a bloody Hallmark movie now.”

“It’s your only chance totry to resurrect your career Klaus, trust me on this.” Klaus was silent,thinking about his options. 

Not that Klaus liked toadmit it readily but Lucien was right. But was his career more importantthan his pride? Klaus knew the answer and prepared his response carefully. Hallmarkand their latest Christmas cheese-fest could go fuck themselves. “The female part is being played by Caroline Forbes. She’s a verytalented and versatile actress. Actually grew up in the same town as you, Imean what a coincidence.”

That Klaus wasn’texpecting and he felt his chest constrict and an immediate craving to be closerto her again, if so just to try and make things right. “Fine, I’ll do it.”  

It seemed as if Klaus hadcome full circle his worst ever mistake crashing into his second worst. She was just as flawless as he remembered when they met for rehearsals amonth earlier. Even with that scowl plastered firmly on her face, Klaus didn’tthink he’d seen anyone so beautiful. Even her latest insults couldn’t deter hisadmiration. If Klaus could do things differently, he would have.

“Now, that would have tobe your best tantrum by far.”

“If I wanted an audience,little sister, I would have chosen one a lot less sarcastic and hostile.”

“You’re not going to findone, Klaus,” she insisted. “Especially if you keep acting out this way. Noone will ever hire you again.”

“Always the publicist,” hedrawled, rolling his eyes for extra effect. “Did you ever think that maybeI don’t care?”

“And what about Caroline?”His eyes flew to hers, Rebekah always had a tendency to push his buttons andtoday was no exception. Caroline had pursued a modelling career but hadrecently excelled in a few cameo roles. “This is her first leading movie role,do you want to ruin it with such childish behaviour?”

“I’m pretty sure Hallmarkwill do that all on its own,” he joked. “Look, I realise Caroline is oneof your clients but that doesn’t mean you can use our sibling status to guilttrip me into staying. I’m sure that they can recast me with some bland, kendoll type. Maybe the gods are smiling on us and Stefan Salvatore is actuallyfree?”

“No one has chemistry likeyou and Caroline, trust me we’ve all seen it.”

“That was a long timeago.”

“Really? Because from thatforeplay I just saw out there, your connection is stronger thanever.” 

Klaus knew it too, notthat he was willing to admit it aloud and to his sister and publicist of allpeople. He loved her, Klaus had never stopped. Suddenly he felt like he’dstepped into some weird, Hallmark vortex. 

“Yes, those insults werereally romantic.”

“I know you miss her, weall do” she implored, her hands finding his. Klaus knew they weren’t talkingabout Caroline anymore. “But that’s no reason to throw away your career orCaroline in the process.”

Klaus knew she was right, hedidn’t speak, just squeezed her hands affectionately before making his waytowards her dressing room purposefully.

“If you’re here for roundtwo, I’m not interested,” Caroline scoffed before he could get a word in. Shewas seated at her dressing table and regarding him suspiciously in thereflection of the mirror. 

“I don’t know,” he smiled,thinking just how much he’d missed their lively banter. “I thought we’dclocked up at least twenty rounds by now.” 

“And to be honest, I’mtired of it,” she sighed, closing those blue eyes momentarily. Klaus knewexactly what she was doing. 

After making love they’dlie naked together in the moonlit filled room, their limbs entwined and Klauswould recite all the reasons he loved her. Her creamy skin, her golden waves,her melodic laugh and ability to render him completely useless were frequentmentions but his favourite, he’d say, were her eyes. They were the windows toher soul, he’d say, and Klaus used to murmur that as long as she kept her eyesopen everything would be okay.

“Open your eyes, love,” hemurmured, making his way towards her dressing table and running a hand alongher cheek slowly. 

“You don’t deserve that,”she whispered, a single tear making its way down her cheek. “You don’tdeserve me.”

“I don’t,” heagreed. “I lost that right after…” Her eyes flew open as she pushed awayhis hand.

“After you walked out onme,” she sobbed, standing shakily and increasing the distance between them. Shewas wearing a thin dressing gown and Klaus could make out the lace accents ofher underwear and the way they strained against the swell of herbreast.  

“I didn’t want to hurtyou..”

“Yet you did exactly that!How long have we known each other Klaus? Twenty years now? We climbed treestogether when we were eight. You took me to my prom senior year and cheered meon at my college graduation. God, we dated for three years but even after wemoved our separate ways for career opportunities we were still close. You wouldcall me whenever Lord of the Rings was on TV because you knew I hated itand recited the dialogue verbatim, then you’d berate the latest tabloid storiesabout my love life because you were the only guy that was worthy of my timeapparently. I can recall so many conversations, so many life events with you presentand that was the thanks I got for being such a loyal friend?”

“I wasn’t in the righthead space that night Caroline, my mother had just died,” he explained. “Iwas spiralling out of control and had been drinking.”

“I wanted to be there foryou the night of her funeral, to support you in your time of need.”

“And I took advantage ofthat,” he murmured, remembering it like it was yesterday. 

He’d woken, unsure of hissurroundings at first but then he felt her against his chest. He would neverforget the rhythmic and even sound of her breathing or the fact the thesunlight spilling into the room was highlighting the golden flecks in her hair.She looked like an angel.

He left hurriedly,throwing on his clothes and racing from the hotel room. Klaus knew it wascowardly but having to face her and explain the previous night and hisscrambled emotions was too much after burying his mother yesterday. 

As the months passed,Klaus began to miss her name on his caller ID and almost hit the call button amillion times, if only just to hear the sound of her melodic laugh telling himhe was an idiot. But he never called and it was the biggest regret afterleaving her that morning without a goodbye. 

“I’d rather not revisitmemory lane,” she said, breaking Klaus from his dream-like trance. “But Iam curious, why are you doing this film? I mean you break out inhives when you even hear the word Hallmark.”

“It was all for you,love.”

“Oh, if that’s a line, I’mso not interested in hearing anything more Mikaelson…”

“It’s not,” he persisted,making his way towards her and placing his hands on her shoulders gently. 

Her blue eyes were widenow and Klaus could see that the anger and hostility he’d seen for weeks hadsince been replaced by curiosity and that raw vulnerability he loved so much.He knew there was a brief window, If only he could just explain himselfarticulately. Her vanilla scent was putting him off somewhat, so too her closeproximity. “I needed to be here, I needed to make things right after Iroyally stuffed them up.”

“That’s certainly anunderstatement,” she growled. 

“I was scared,” headmitted, fastening a lock of hair behind her ear. “When Esther passed away sosuddenly it knocked me around so much. She was the most important and biggestpresence in my life. That morning when I woke up and saw you lying next to me Iwas so frightened it hurt. The thought of ever losing you, like her, was toomuch to comprehend in my emotional state.” She was silent for a momentobviously processing what he was saying. 

“But you walked out onme.”

“I figured that if youweren’t in my life I couldn’t lose you. I know it’s not an excuse but you arethe only woman I’ve ever loved and even if you weren’t in my life I could stillwatch you from afar and it would be okay.”

“But yet you show up onthe set of a Hallmark movie.”

“Obviously that poorlythought rationale didn’t last too long. I was desperate, I wanted you backeven if it was a long shot.” She cocked her left eyebrow curiously, a slightsmile tugging at her lips. 

“Do I have this right? You signed up for a Hallmark movie for me?” 

“Desperate times and allthat,” he smirked. “Please tell me my efforts haven’t been completelywasted?”

“I’ll tell you what’s beencompletely wasted,” she said, her hands finding their way to his hips andpulling him closer. “Your talents.”

“Huh?”

“Your talents are wastedin this kind of film and we both know it,” she mused. “So, what I want youto do is march out there and tell Enzo you’re quitting.” Obviously she didn’twant to see him again but Klaus couldn’t blame her. 

“Do you really hate me thatmuch?” 

“I don’t unfortunately,”she teased. “You need to snap out of this funk. Esther wouldn’t want this for you and we both know it. You need to get back tothe roles that made you who you are and you need to stop stalking me too.As much as I appreciate the explanation, you are sounding more like a Hallmarkmovie everyday and I can’t have that.”

“What roles? There are none.”

“I heard about the ClashHBO series, that would be a good start.”

“ApparentlyStefan Salvatore has already been cast,” he groaned, hating the fact he even had to say his name aloud. 

“I wouldn’t be so sure,Mikaelson,” she grinned knowingly. “You just need to have a little faithin yourself and your craft.”

“So, if I do all of that,do you think there’s any chance you might ever forgive me for being…”

“The biggest ass in theworld? I’ll think about it,” she smiled, placing a chaste kiss on his nose.Klaus melted into her embrace, not wanting to let go but also glad she’d heardhim out and was willing to consider a future, whatever that might be. 

“So, before I go and annoyEnzo, Rebekah and my manager I have one question myself.” She didn’t respondjust raised her eyebrows in preparation. “Why did you take this role? Imean it’s not really your thing either.”

“I already have amodelling career, acting is a hobby right now, but it doesn’t hurt that there’sat least a dozen scripts sitting there for my perusal.” 

Klaus looked over at the table,noticing the large volumes of paper for the first time. From this distance he could seethe title Oceans Eight on one of them. He wasn’t sureif it was related to the Soderbergh box office hits but if it was CarolineForbes was going to be a big star. 

“And I’ll be therewatching your career unfold from afar, love.” He was gone before she couldrespond. His spirits buoyed and his heart open for the first time in over a year, telling him they’d meet again some day.

So, their ending wasn’t aHallmark one, well not that day anyway. Fast forward two years and Klaus wasstarring in the latest Scorcese film, Caroline in Spielberg. 

“So, where can a girl geta drink around here?” He’d know that melodic voice anywhere, his crimson lips curving into a smile.

“I might be able to help you with that.” She sat at the neighbouring barstool her leg grazing his briefly and causing all the familiar feelings to resurface. He said he’d wait and Klaus was hoping she was finally collecting. 

“Which is exactly why I came to see you,” she smiled. “We have a lot to talk about, Mikaelson.”

Turns out they did. Exactly three months later the two childhood best friends were married and happened to live happily ever after, just like in fairytale or a really cheesy Hallmark movie.  

[austennerdita2533]

Day 1: Crossovers/Fusions

A/N: For Day 1 of KC AU Week, I have succumbed to the temptation (and the nudge-nudging from some of you) and wrote a Pride and Prejudice fusion. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. Many of you know I’m obsessed with Jane Austen so I feel like this was inevitable at some point? (Regency AU)

Also for the lovely Maf, @kickassfu. This could use more editing, but I got tired of staring at it haha. *Fingers crossed* I’ll be able to write you something else for your birthday later this week. 

(FF.net)

Happy reading!

xx Ashlee Bree  

A Lady’s Tongue is Quite Rapid

In a small town like Mysticton, to engage in gossip about one’s neighbors was a sport of sorts. It meant, that much like fencing, no one was exempted from a sparring strike which could expose some truth about his/her disposition or reputation to the rest of the villagers. No one.

In fact, it was of little consequence to the surrounding residents as to what, or where, or about whom this ‘sharing’ included so long as the topic was titillating, the person was some combination of scandalous or mysterious, and the discussion was breached artfully: with tact, with sophistication. Such a practice was allowed in trifles—encouraged, rather—but only so far as it did not tread upon common decency. After all, there was nothing more impudent to members of respectable society than rudeness or vulgarity.

Since the English valued propriety above all, therefore, it was an unspoken rule amongst them that gossip was to be whispered and never trumpeted. It was meant to be censored not flaunted. It mattered not whether folks were from the city or the country, nor from what class or rank from which they hailed, but that they knew best how and when to be inconspicuous. And none in this world of manners, as it happened, commandeered the art of whispering more effectively than the fairer sex.

…Most of the time, anyway.

“Come now, Caroline,” Miss Katherine trilled from the edge of her wine glass, her mouth cut in a minx-like expression. “You cannot deny the striking set of his features with that rough, angular jawline and those eyes so blue and cavernous, they could trap a girl in the dark forever. He’s quite delectable in a way, would you not agree?”

The young lady smoothed a loose blonde curl against her temple.

“Handsome or not, a man who offers nothing but snarling personality at first sight holds no charms for me. We’d never suit. Besides,” she clucked, “I find his snobbery almost unendurable.”

“Now, now, don’t cast him off so readily.”

“Why ever not? You know how much stock I place on early impressions,” Caroline said.

“Firstly, he’s rich and titled. Secondly, he knows how to strut in a pair of tailored breeches. And thirdly,” Katherine continued while Miss Forbes rolled her eyes, “not all of us are who we appear to be amongst people we don’t know well. Though you’re loath to believe it, friend, he may prove to be much more intriguing than you suspect at present.”

“You cannot be serious.”

“Ah, except I am.” Her fingers tapped along the wall behind her, her expression clouding, her thoughts drifting away, “Perhaps he’s emotionally withdrawn for good reason?” she proposed.

A sneer. “Conceited, unsociable, and taciturn for no reason, you mean!”

Katherine leveled a look at her companion, her lips compressed from want of laughter at this vehement outburst.

“Why, I don’t believe I’ve known you to chide anyone so disparagingly in my life! If I didn’t know better,” she said, “I’d say this fellow has sunk his teeth beneath your skin and has hit a discordant vein you find oddly compelling.”

“That is absurd,” Caroline answered.

“Is it?” Miss Pierce’s tone was suggestive, stoking her companion’s composure enough that she gaped and colored.

“Yes!” Crossing her arms defensively, Miss Caroline turned up her nose when she met Katherine’s eye, her cheeks burning hot with indignation at such a claim. “I’ll have you know I find his incense and irritable nature entirely unbecoming. I can hardly stand the man!”

“Careful, love,” a lilting voice cut in.

Large masculine hands skimmed across the waist of her dress then, lingering for a moment too long. Fingers tapped in and out of the royal blue creases that stretched against her lower back. It made her gooseflesh pimple.

Breath tickled hot near her ear as a slender blond man in a evergreen waistcoat slipped from his post in a hidden doorway to make his way past her and back toward the fray. “I’m afraid my temper’s flared for a lot less censure than that,” he said.

“Wha—I—how dare you not make yourself known, sir!”

He turned. Arched an eyebrow.

“And interrupt all the salacious gossip? Why, that would have been rude,” he parried, lips twitching.

“Then what, pray tell, do you call insinuating yourself into an intimate discourse that never included you in the first place?” Caroline crossed her arms. “Etiquette?” she scoffed.

“Hardly.”

“Then what? Illuminate me. Please,” she gestured, “I beg of you.”

His eyes livened into two round, gold disks as he took in her flustered countenance, as he discerned the contempt in her balled fists.

“Clever,” he answered. “I’d call engaging with you clever, Miss Caroline.”

He dimpled slightly when he pronounced her name, drawing out the syllables.Then, after he gave a gallant bow which bordered on goading, he left the two of them to ruminate over his last remark and rejoined his family members who perched before the large arched windows in the center of the ballroom.

Caroline huffed.

So she’d ‘barely tolerable’d’ a near stranger with an indiscreet slip of the tongue. And what? Was she expected to skulk to a nearby corner, her face blotched with color; aghast, humiliated, and regretful? Was she supposed to apologize for her uncouth remarks all because the indignant fool—a man whom had refused to be properly acquainted with any of the ladies in  town since he’d first arrived, by the way, herself included—decided to loiter in the shadows and eavesdrop on a private conversation she’d conducted with her dearest friend, Katherine, in a secluded corner of the room? Ha. She wouldn’t stoop low enough to give him the satisfaction!

Besides, what she’d said was the truth. Not gossip. As far as she was concerned, he and that stormy smirk of his earned spite from this entire ballroom full of people. Deserved it, too! The smug, insufferable man.

Katherine let out a puff of air. “Well, that was…”

“Inexcusable!” Miss Forbes finished for her. “Can you believe the gall of that sneering Mr.—Mr. whatever his name is!?”

“I find him refreshing.”

“Oh, please!”

“What?”

“He is so not a gentleman.”

“And?”

Nonplussed, Caroline sucked in a breath and pressed a gloved palm to her head, shaking it. Katherine rolled her eyes.

“Oh, don’t act so scandalized,” she said. “There are enough droll poppycocks among us in Hertfordshire as it is. We are not in want of another.”

“And that somehow makes a louse like him preferable company? Sorry,” she retorted with a dismissive laugh, “but I beg to differ.”

Ignoring this, slinking her elbow around Caroline’s, Miss Pierce cut them free of their temporary wallflower status by navigating them back through the throngs of people and toward the edge of the dance floor in the hopes she could claw one of them, if not both, a spare partner.

“Anyway, who wants a gentleman tonight in the off chance you can dangle yourself from one of him instead?” she said with a bump of her hip and a grin toward a dark-haired gentleman adorned in militia red and brass buttons.

Caroline sighed. “Are good looks and dancing all that matter to you this evening? Or does that requirement extend to the securing of a future husband as well?”

“Good fortune factors into my marriage prospects, too, dearest. We mustn’t forget that,” her friend winked, taking the officer’s hand to join the reel, “especially with these Moneybag Mikaelsons in town now.”

“What nonsensical prattle you do speak, Kat!”

“Nonsense, wit—” she purred, “such a fine line, Care.” Then, with a punctuated twirl, she disappeared into a sea of couples.

Caroline flourished her friend with a wave of adieu interspersed with a head-shaking smile before she moved to fetch herself a fresh glass of wine, her feet in need of a rest plus a little something to dull the ache. Relief flooded through her at the prospect of a few minutes alone to admire the party’s splendor. And to reflect.

Personally, though she refrained from sharing this information out loud in an effort to avoid her mother’s ‘what will become of you’ hysterics, she wished the entire family would deposit themselves and their moneybags back in London for good. Leaving their little country town with its quaint manners and civilities in peace.

The truth was simple: the Mikaelson’s arrival had thrown the entire village into uproar!For, not only were they in possession of profound wealth, rank, and prestige as well as in ownership of Evermoore (one of the oldest, most well-established estates in all of England), but four of the seven of siblings—three gentlemen and one lady—were single and of marriageable age; and, moreover, were either already established in esteemed professions or set to inherit thousands of pounds. As a result of this, every last eligible suitor in the county schemed and clamored all over themselves for an opportunity to woo. Some of them resorting to flattery so absurd, and so heinously insincere, Caroline baulked at their desperate displays.

And all for what? The vain hope they could, perhaps, by some miraculous design of stupidity or frivolity, procure themselves an advantageous marriage?

It was completely and absolutely insane! Asinine, really.

She wanted no part in this courting circus. Not for her, and certainly not for her beloved town.

It was half past time for the Mikaelsons to leave—but not because she disliked them or anything. On the contrary. In fact, amid a month’s worth of acquaintance, she’d found them to be stimulating company.

Admiral Kol Mikaelson, the youngest son once removed, boasted the most open temperament of his siblings and captivated society with a mischievous good humor. His dark eyes were forever crinkled, drunk off amusement; and his conversation was as inviting and as pleasing as the proffered hand he gave Miss Bonnie Bennett when he asked her to ‘teach [him] the steps of a country quadrille’ after a game of whist his first night there. He was the idlest of the bunch, however, and chose to scour the seas not for pirates but for ports (the more clandestine and egregious the better). Fond of drink, gaiety, and women, he travelled the world with his ship’s sails raised in search of adventure and entertainment, teasing his way from land to land.

He laughed heartily, danced readily, and drank heavily. Indulgence and spontaneity were the tenets he lived by—the pleasures of the world made to be worn thin by his gluttony. With a gambler’s spirit, he infected those around him with a reckless flurry of activity they either gravitated toward or shunned completely.  

Colonel Elijah Mikaelson, too, was sophisticated, courteous, and fashionable. He held himself with an honorable grace befitting of a second-born son and gentleman. Albeit, at times, in part because of his military background, his stoicism was a little intimidating. He had a tendency to pepper his dialogue with curt, off-hand remarks that tumbled wryly, frostily, from his mouth. It caused some folks to label him wrongly as impassive; where in truth, he was simply guarded in expressions of sensibility. A compassionate warmth blazed behind his eyes if one knew where to look, softening him considerably. And although he seemed less than inclined to partake in silliness, he had a shrewd mind which made him both approachable and engaging, his penchant for musical skill as fine-tuned as a violinist’s tightened orchestra strings.

Unlike her elder brothers, however, Miss Rebekah Mikaelson, the youngest save ten-year-old Henrik, was a bit more prickly around the edges. Pampered as well. She was not intrinsically disagreeable in any regard, mind you, but patronizing in a superficial way. Like she was sizing up a potential threat or an eventually ally with tip-toed caution any time she formed a new acquaintance. And until people provided her with either a cause to smile, or to snarl, she treated them all with the same detached disdain—letting only the deserving in to relish her playful attentions and amity.

Beauty favored her as well. It manifested in the form of fair, silky tresses and creamy sun-kissed skin; in adornments of all the latest fashions: rich, heavy silks swaying from her hips, necklines stitched in fragile lace or beaded embellishments, dazzling jewels which were purchased from merchants abroad; and in sapphire eyes which coquetted almost as often as they puddled with insecurity. Her heart she wore outside of herself like an accessory that was much too easy to abscond. However, that being said, it colored her love in a ferocious, uninhibited kind of faithfulness that was endearing to anyone fortunate enough to receive it.

All in all, Miss Caroline found the unattached siblings to be rather intriguing. Almost liked them even…

Except for him, of course. Mr. Niklaus Mikaelson. The pompous, leering, annoyingly attractive middle son who rarely spoke but scrutinized everything and everyone around him by glaring—and by glaring incessantly.

Hawkishly, he watched Caroline from the darkest of corners of any room: his gaze moored, unrelenting, his jaw ticking along with each new flaw he recognized in her. Ugh! Talk about the epitome of miserable!

Frankly, she marveled at how he’d managed to survive in respectable society this long. Moreover, she puzzled over why young ladies like Miss Aurora and Miss Camille seemed more apt than not to swoon at his feet despite his clipped replies and his blatant disregard for their fluttering eyelashes, coy smiles, squeaked threads of conversation, and contrived performances which were meant to impress him with their moderate accomplishments. His indifference rolled off him in rivets, almost palpably. Yet still, they paddled before him like swans who believed he’d help them fly out of their ugly duckling ponds. Only…

That would never happen.

With the first born male of the family, Finn, devoting his life to the church and Elijah swearing his fealty to the military and the war effort shortly thereafter, Niklaus—or Klaus as he preferred to be addressed—had assumed the role as Evermoore’s heir after his parents’ tragic death five years ago. And while it was commendable that he’d achieved greater affluence for his family since then, rumors of a volatile father-son relationship, mood swings, and ruthlessness in business clung to him like wisps of shadow. Couple that with his grumbling intensity plus his refusal to mingle with any ‘common savages’ in either conversation or dance since he’d come to Mysticton, and the man’s character shouldn’t have faired well under public scrutiny.

‘Shouldn’t have’ being the operative words.

The fact of the matter was this: Mr. Mikaelson was an eligible commodity.

People everywhere tittered about his callous and formidable demeanor behind his back, only to then flatter him in person with manufactured compliments and fraudulent smiles. They powdered their noses, performed quartets, bowed, curtsied, and stood for hours by his side while he deafened them with protracted silence or scorn. Every single of them were nothing but gawking hypocrites with ‘thirty thousand a year!’ spinning in their eyes and minds. It was truly appalling.

And while Caroline supposed money and prestige held sway with a lot of single females, it was disgraceful how many of them excused his defects entirely. Ignored them, really.

Did they not have any self-respect? Any dignity? Did they not understand how no woman on earth would be good enough for such a self-important gentleman? Could they not comprehend that he was far too haughty, far too supercilious, to care about anything except the well-bred capital lining his pockets?

Caroline pitied them, truthfully. As a result, she promised herself she’d follow her own impeccable judgments where such a person was concerned. Her eyes were open, her mind made up:

A man like that would never be worth her time. Never!

“If you value your modesty, I’d advise you to scratch Mr. Damon Salvatore from your dance card indefinitely,” Miss Rebekah humphed as she plopped down next to Caroline on the settee, ruffled in air, and broke her introspection. “The lout has sly, wandering hands, and believe me, it troubles him not to use them.”

“In my defense, I tried to caution you about him.”

“Yes. And like the obstinate fool I am, I ignored you.”

“I’m sure you had good reason for that,” Miss Caroline answered, shrugging.

“Hardly.” The lady snickered. “I simply assumed you meant to discourage me so you could ensnare him for yourself.”

A full-bodied laugh. A pat of a gloved hand.

“Good heavens, no!” Caroline said. “Why on earth would you think such a ridiculous thing?”

“Trust, confidence…” Miss Rebekah sighed, “it is something I do not extend easily to those outside of my family.”

Caroline nodded, her mouth soft and somber. She was a little surprised by such an admission, but appreciated the lady’s candor.

“Wariness is not unknown to me, Miss Mikaelson,” she replied feelingly. “Unfortunately, I, too, have been duped or disappointed by acquaintances in the past. It is not something I aim to repeat, either.”

A look of commiseration and understanding passed between them as Miss Rebekah scooted nearer to gossip, “Miss Gilbert ended her courtship with Mr. Salvatore recently. Did you know?” she asked.

“I was aware of that, yes.”

“I,” her companion explained, grimacing at herself, “mistakenly, took pity on him. She’s engaged to his brother now, as I understand it, and he’s quite heartbroken over the situation.”

“I’m sure.”

“However,” her countenance hardened, “that in no way entitles him to assault his dance partner so inappropriately!”

Caroline concurred with a nod.

“Ugh, what poor breeding!”

“Yes…well, Mr. Salvatore’s always been a bit of a rascal in my opinion,” she declared with a shudder, remembering his untoward advances at a coming out ball a few seasons ago. It was an uncomfortable experience which had ended only when Caroline had ‘accidentally’ crashed him into a footman carrying a tray of hot tea while they danced a Scotch reel. “I never could vouch for him.”

“I dare say, what an interesting assortment of individuals this one carriage town of yours boasts, Miss Forbes.” The words filled the air with unveiled repugnance, and she needn’t shift to see to whom they belonged. She already knew. “Wouldn’t you say, sister?” the gentleman added provokingly.

“Some are unpolished, to be sure, Nik, but most people here in Mysticton are agreeable enough.”

“I suppose so.”

His tone implied otherwise, however, causing Caroline’s stomach to churn and her mouth to purse. Hateful man!

Mr. Mikaelson sidled next to them looking like a vigilante ready to duel. Not with pistols, either, but with a blunt broadsword.

“Shall I find a way to dispose of the eldest Salvatore’s lecherous fingers? Inconspicuously, of course,” he offered as an afterthought.

“Not a wholly unappealing offer,” his sister said with consideration, “but unnecessary.”

“I’m inclined to disagree.”

“He’s a cockroach, Nik,” Miss Mikaelson yawned, smoothing the lavender fabric of her skirt absentmindedly. “He’s a bug too lowly to avoid the crunch of retaliatory female feet at some point in the not too distant future.”

She gestured conspiratorially at her companion and smiled, “At any rate, I trust Miss Caroline and I will be among the first two in line. Won’t we?”

“Yes, but…” Mr. Mikaelson dangled, his frustrations marrying with the small hope the ladies would yield. It gave him the aspect of a caged hawk. “I assure you’d it’d be my honor to eliminate such a scoundrel from our midst.”

Miss Caroline piped in then with a twitch of her lips, her countenance lively yet derisive as challenge ignited the air between them like a wick, “Honor,” she tried, “or pleasure?”

“Can it not be both?”

“I believe that depends.”

“On what, might I ask?”

“The gentleman in question.”

“I see,” Mr. Mikaelson mused. He scratched his chin looking offended and intrigued. “And what if the gentleman who stands before you now only aims to save you and his darling sister? Neither one of you should be subjected to Mr. Salvatore’s lewd unpleasantness in the future.”

She appraised him cooly, her lips dancing along the rim of her glass, “My, my, aren’t we chivalrous.”

“Is that a crime, love?”

“No,” she answered. “No, I assure you I find it an admirable quality in anyone, sir.”

“But?” He smirked. “Forgive me, but I sense one.”

Readying her wit like a knife, considering her next maneuver, Caroline let her fingers drum along the glass’s stem while she sipped the last of her wine. Then, setting it on the table beside the settee, she stood.

“But,” she replied, her posture straightening, “it sounds as if brawls are more preferable to you than balls, Mr. Mikaelson. Would you care to enlighten me as to why that may be?” She fluttered her eyelashes, masking herself with innocence. “I admit I’d be most interested to hear your explanation.”

“Oh, I’m afraid my brother infinitely prefers fighting to flirting!” Miss Rebekah supplied for him with an affectionate giggle. “I fear he’s much more adept at closing his fists or stomping offenders into the dirt than he is at opening his lips to converse with people in a ballroom.”

“Singular. Most singular, indeed,” Caroline said.

Altering his posture by inclining his head to the left slightly, Mr. Mikaelson’s gaze flicked to her face with acuteness at this. His eyes, normally a detached ice blue, liquified into a more active hue when they looked upon her, curiosity and intensity rolling into them like waves on a choppy sea. “Singular, you say, miss?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“Not—” a pause; one finger tapping on his lips as he sounded out his next word with prolonged consideration “—ungentlemanly?” he said.

Miss Caroline clasped her hands together daintily. Offered him a tight-lipped smile.

The cad.

If he meant to disarm her composure by alluding to those uncensored comments she divulged to Katherine about him earlier, then he’d be sorely disappointed. Her stubbornness rose every time this imperious man attempted to make her look or feel foolish, and she regretted not a single word she’d let slip about him in disapproval. Not one!

Roguishly attractive though he may be, she would set herself apart from her swooning peers. She’d show him precisely how little his money, his status, or his title, mattered. She’d douse him in the ugly truths he deserved, not in the pretty lies he often received.

Therefore, after Captain Lorenzo St. John approached from the other side of the room and bowed, claiming her her hand with a kiss; and moments before he escorted her through the next dance with pleasure, Miss Caroline halted to thumb down one of Klaus’ lapels. She leaned in close to his ear; she whispered so only he would hear,

“If he glares like a brute and grunts like a brute,” she simpered, her tone light but pointed, “then perhaps he is a brute. Just one who attempts to disguise himself in prim and fancy coattails.”

“You certainly have a low opinion of me, Miss Forbes. I aim to change that.”

She bit back a caustic laugh.

“Trust me,” she said, “you won’t.”

He disappeared back into another dark corner after that, his pride satisfactorily wounded. He refrained from speaking to her, or to anyone else, for the rest of the night. His eyes, however, they followed her through the rest of the assembly with a fierce watchfulness that burnt like cigarette butts against Caroline’s back—making it possible to ignore, but not to forget his presence.

Comments are lovely. Thanks for reading!

[dollhandinfection]

How was AFI?

Oh man, it was honestly a life changing experience. So the concertstarted at 9 pm and me and my awesome friend got there at 12 pm. Oh and did Imention that it was fucking hot?? It was literally 110 degrees, and if you knowanything about Kansas you know that the majority of the heat was humidity. Butluckily when we got to The Midland (which is where they played) we found thislittle crook of shade so we put all our stuff in that and camped out. While wewere sitting there it came out that we were the first people (and almost only)who were actually from Kansas. I spoke to a couple of AFI fans while we werewaiting for hours and most of them were pretty cool and really nice. While wewere waiting I went across the street to the really fancy grocery store to goto the bathroom. I go in and I end up talking to this neat dude whose like anuber fan and has been to almost all the shows on The Blood Tour. While we weretalking it got brought up that apparently Circa Survive wasn’t playing thatnight. Which honestly I was kinda glad about cuz I didn’t really know anythingabout Circa Survive. But I felt so shitty because my friend came with me cuzshe’s a Circa fan! Luckily when I told her she wasn’t upset or anything andsaid she would’ve came anyway. Apparently a lot of other people in line alsodidn’t know that Circa wasn’t playing, but no one was mad about it (I guess alot of people just assumed that because all the other shows on this leg of thetour are with Circa Survive, but I guess KC was the exception.) I was also a little worried because people kept saying thatthe tour shirt didn’t even mention the KC stop on it, but luckily they werewrong! (it doesn’t have the right date on there, but it definitely says KC). Sofinally at about 8 something they start letting us in, and by that point myfriend got like a pinched nerve from sitting on the ground for too long, so sheended up just sitting in the lobby for the concert (which honestly may havebeen a good thing because she probably would’ve gotten crushed in that crowd).I immediately go to the merch table and while I’m buying my shirts my awesomefriend goes and saves me a spot so close to the stage. I get to the spot andthe girl standing right next to me is wearing the same shirt as me! (which isfunny because we were the ONLY people there wearing that shirt. We both knew itwas an older AFI tour shirt, but we both couldn’t remember exactly where we gotit from haha.) She was pretty cool and so was her husband. Before the concertstarted, she leans over and goes, “so you’re gay and I gotta ask… Do you thinkDavey and Jade are gay?? I always thought they were in a relationship.” And I’mjust like ha well they’ve never really straight out said what they’resexualities are, but I know that Davey’s really never been the one for labels.I honestly don’t think they’re 100% straight, but I can’t really say if they’regay or not since I don’t personally know them. (Granted tho they’ve been in aband for over 20 years and if you haven’t been at least a little gay with yourbest friend, then you’re not really best friends haha.) So finally the concert starts and Citizen comes out. Now I had only really heard ofCitizen by their lyric pics on tumblr and a couple of seconds of some of theirsongs. But I gotta say, I was pretty impressed. Besides the fact that there wasn’t a good mic check before playing, I thought it went pretty well. Icould hear all the instruments clearly and that whole band was really puttingtheir all in. It was a little awkward since no one really knew their songs sowe just kinda stood there and listened and clapped. After that performance I’lldefinitely be checking out more of their music. I really wanted to saysomething to them after the concert, but they pretty much grabbed all theirequipment and bolted (they probably just wanted to get back on the road asap.)After Citizen it was about 20 minutes before it finally happened. Adam came outfirst and got set up, then Hunter, then Davey, and Jade. Where I was standing Igot an amazing view of Davey and Jade. Sadly tho I wasn’t able to get any pics of Hunter because he was on theleft side of the stage, and I couldn’t get any pics of Adam during the concertbecause of the way his drums were lit up you couldn’t see his face. They startoff playing Girl’s not Grey and it literally felt like I was seeing the face ofGod. Davey locked eyes with me for like 1 second and then he reached his handright across in front of me and I brushed it with my fingertips because I wasnervous and didn’t want to be pushy. And let me tell you about this setlistholy fuck. So like I said they started off with Girl’s not Grey, then they wentinto Love like Winter (which was the first song I ever heard by them so thatwas awesome), then So Beneath You, then 17 Crimes (which is one of my favsongs/music videos), and then Malleus Maleficarum (which is when everyone losttheir fucking minds and started shoving like crazy), then Get Hurt (which wasthe first time they ever played that live!), then Lost Souls (which is whenDavey stepped into the crowd and I FUCKING TOUCHED HIS BACK HE WAS RIGHT THEREIN FRONT OF ME AND I HAVE VIDEO PROOF), then The Leaving Song pt. 1, then HeWho Laughs Last, then Feed From the Floor (which is also one of my fav songsand I may base my AFI tattoo that I’m gonna get after), then Days of thePhoenix (I could watch them play this song over and over until I die), then IHope You Suffer (which honestly I never really connected with this song before,but watching them perform it live holy shit, there was just so much passion andit literally felt like Davey was singing the song into my soul), then SnowCats, then Miss Murder, then Paper Airplanes, and then Silver and Cold (which wow, it just really struck a chord with me).Davey also sang most of Jack the Ripper (one of my all time favorites)completely a capella! (I also got some of that on video.) During the concert Ialmost lost my balance a couple of times cuz during certain songs people fromthe very back would start pushing and it pushed me into the first two rows ofpeople (which I said sorry about every time it happened just like the girlsbehind apologized when it happened.) Oh and also during the last two songs Igot wedged between these guys that were like a foot taller than me. The guy onthe right wasn’t really excited and just kinda stood there and nodded his head.The guy on the left wore a bright blue shirt (he was in the video that I took ofDavey in the crowd) and he was drunk and a complete asshole. Apparently duringthe rest of the concert he was pushing and shoving the girls that were behindme and made his way next to me. then during the last two songs he startsshoving me to the right (when literally no one else was shoving), I thought itwas an accident at first. Then I realize he’s clearly trying to bump me out ofmy spot, so I start shoving back. Then HE LITERALLY STARTS SHOVING HIS ASS INMY FACE. I had it, I was in the heat all day and about to pass out from toomuch excitement and I was not gonna put up with this shit, so I shoved him realhard and yelled, “DUDE WHAT THE FUCK IS YOUR PROBLEM?? YOU’RE SHOVING YOUR ASSIN MY GODDAMN FACE I’M A LITTLE GUY JUST LET ME STAND HERE PLEASE”. He fucking turns tome and says, “um you’re being a little rude.” So I was like haha dude whateverand wedged myself in front of him so that I could enjoy the last song. Afterthe concert like six people behind me came up to me to tell me that that drunk guy was an asshole and thanked me for actuallypushing him back and calling him out (they were all my height and the dude was like 6 foot something). A partof me worries that Davey just saw me pushing and thought that I was the assholeor something, but Jade was right there too and we talked after the show and hewas so nice. So after the concert ended me and my friend went out by the tourbus to wait and see if the band would come out. Adam came out first and theperson next to me asked for a pic and he said, “well actually I have a coupleof stuff I need to get. But I’ll be back, is that okay?” Like wow what a sweetguy. So eventually he comes back out and I’m starstruck. I shake his hand andtell him how weird it is to see one of the people I’ve been idolizing since 5thgrade so I’ll try to talk like a normal human being as much as possible, and hesmiles and says he’s happy I had a great time at my first AFI concert. Then Igave him this letter I wrote to the band and I tell him I didn’t want to makeit out to any specific person in the band because you’re all important. I tellhim how much I love AFI and that I don’t ever want him to feel like fans don’tappreciate him because the band wouldn’t be the same without all you guys. Andhe was like aww thanks. And he took a selfie with me and after I took it he waslike, “wait I didn’t see where to look, was I looking at the camera?” so I pullup the picture and he goes oh okay cool I did it right (what a nerd I lovehim). He also autographed this AFI postcard thing that I got with a pendant andThe Blood Album at Bestbuy. And then Jade comes out. And at this point I letsome guy borrow the sharpie I brought and I was scared that I wasn’t gonna haveit when Jade came up, but luckily he had his own (it was a gold sharpie aw). Ishake his hand and tell him how much I enjoyed the concert and how much Iappreciate him and the rest of the band and how it wouldn’t be the same withoutthem there. And he goes, “well you’re favorite band is kinda like yourchildren, you gotta love em all equally” and I’m like ha yea, I have sixsiblings tho.. and he’s like, “oh well siblings are a different thing, we allhave a favorite haha”. And then I told them that this was my first AFI show, buthopefully not my last unless you guys break up tomorrow. And he laughs andgoes, “well that is a possibility. Davey just made a really stinky sandwich, sothat might lead into something.” What a funny guy! We take a selfie and then Iask if he could also sign my card. Now this was pretty funny, when I handed himthe card he flipped it over, then he flipped it back over again and lookeda little confused. He goes, “I don’t recognize this at all, where did you getthis??” and I told him and he looks at my pendant and goes “wow you’re the onlyone here that I’ve seen wearing that, cool!” I just thought it was so funnythat he didn’t recognize that card at all. Then Davey came out and he waswearing that really cute black hood thing he’s been wearing a lot ininterviews, and as he walks by these two drunk girls scream demanding apicture. And he was nice about it and goes No pictures, but I’ll be out later.We waited like an hour and half after that and he was a no show, but honestly Ithink he was just drained (he may have came out after we left but I doubt it.)This concert was a real life changing experience. When I got home from theconcert my grandma started yelling at me and I realized; I accomplished one ofmy childhood dreams, so I’m not gonna put up with shit anymore. I feel like amore complete person. I feel like now I really only want to use my energy onthings that are important to me, and getting yelled at for no reason isn’t oneof them. And also since I wasn’t able to get a pic with Hunter or an autograph,and I wasn’t able to get an autograph from Davey (I don’t expect to get a picwith him since I’ve only seen like one pic of him and a fan on this tour) thisjust means I’ll have to go to another AFI concert! I can’t wait! 

[undercovermcdfan]

16 travlyn

“Just shut up and kiss me”

title: strawberrychampagne

a/n: tbh youwanna know my aesthetic for Travis and Katelyn? Them loving each other. That’swhat I’m about. This fic was a little self-indulgent and it takes place in theHatch Marks Universe. Also, thisis also highkey inspired by this drawing @crybabytime made forevergo of Travis, don’t judge me okay. I’m weak for the sonshine in suits.

song inspo: That’s what I like, Bruno Mars

warning(s): fluff,kisses, Travis being the Mosttm

Cadenza clapped her hands in excitement, as she appraisedTravis’s outfit. “This is it! You andthis outfit was meant to be,” she announced, stepping aside with armsoutstretched as she struck a pose, “Everybody, I present you, our beloved Travis.” 

The others— by others, he means Laurance and Dante— looked up simultaneously;he gave a sheepish grin, striking pose and watched the matching grins appear onboth of his friend’s faces.

“Is that really you, Travis?” Laurance straightens, standingat full height as he walked over with hand on chin as he looked him up anddown, “I can barely recognize you.” Dusting off invisible dust from hisshoulders, Laurance then patted his cheek, “Cadenza, what have you done to my assistant?”

Dante laughed, joining them as he clapped Travis’s back and proclaimed,“Cadenza, the miracle worker, strikes again!”

“Thank you, I tried my best,” she giggled, brushing her hairback, “And I’ll admit—I outdid myself this time.”

“You have,” Laurance agreed and Dante nodded.

Travis rolled his eyes, smoothing down the front of hissuit. He huffed, “You make it sound like I don’t look this fine often,” he thenpaused. Taking a step away from the group that huddled around him, all lookingon with pleased expressions and he ignored their excited whispering as he tookbetter look at himself in the mirror. The dark purple coat lined with gold, acombination Cadenza insisted over the classic black he almost went with; hefidgeted with the white gloves she handed to him, his shoes shined toperfection and hair slicked back. He wondered out loud, “I can’t believe I’mgoing to do this.”

Cadenza leaned up, resting her chin on his shoulder, a blindingsmile on her colored lips. She squeezed his arm, her eyes meeting his in themirror, “Don’t worry. She’s going to say yes, kid.”

“Cadenza, we’re the same age—you can’t call me a kid.” He thensmiled softly, taking in a deep breath, “But… I trust you. Can’t chicken outnow. I flew out my mother and everything for this.”

“Just butterflies, Travis. Don’t focus too much on them,”Laurance beamed, stuffing his hands in pockets, “Now did you remember the ring?”

“Ye—wait,” he started patting his pocket, Travis’s eyeswidening in panic. He perked when he heard Dante and Laurance’s laughs, and hewhirled around, seeing Dante holding the black felt box. He flustered, onlythen remembering he handed it to the blue haired man for safe keeping.

Dante tossed the box at him, and turning on his heels, hecalled out over his shoulder as he walks towards the door, “Take it from me andLaurance—you’re overthinking it, Travis. Katelyn might be stubborn but you knowher best and the way she looks at you? Soulmates~”Then ducks through the doorway.

Laurance followed, backing towards it slowly while makingfinger gun motion and winked, “Just worry about the proposal. Leave the rest tous, okay?” Then his boss turned and disappeared into the doorway, he could hearLaurance’s shout at Dante to “Give up the car keys, you snake. Don’t you dare run.”

Cadenza slipped arm around his, smiling brightly as shetugged him along, “Well come along. You know how anxious Isabel gets if thingsaren’t on track.”

“I do. I get the feeling she’s already leaving long windedvoice messages as we speak.”

“Already gotten five texts from her,” Cadenza laughed, “Butshe knows I don’t rush perfection. And you? You really do look nice, Travis.”She pats his arm, giving him an assuring look, “She’s going to have her breathstolen when she takes one look at you. And when you look at her…”

He catches her mischievous glint and raised an eyebrowquestioningly, but the fiery-haired woman waved him off, “No, I’m not tellingyou what dress I picked out for her. Lucinda sent me some pictures and we bothagreed— you’re going to marry a goddess.”

“Cadenza, she hasn’t even said yes yet— “

“Oh, she’s going to say yes. And… hmm…,” she cradled herchin, giving a thoughtful look, “If she looks this good now for a surpriseproposal— Katelyn in a wedding dress would be...” She trailed over, grinning toherself and started to mumble. Travis rolled his eyes.

But he honestly, truly, hope everybody’s confidence andsupport rubbed off on him.

Rubbing his thumb against the soft felt of the ring box, agentle smile appears on his lips as his heart beats in excitement. It’s beenfour years—unusual for most soulmated couples to wait but honestly, the draggedwait was something he didn’t regret.

As the elevator descended into the garage level, Traviswondered: Hope she won’t mind making abig show out of this all.

Kawaii-chan greeted them at the door, her bright pink hairbraided into a long braid and dressed in simple black dress that reached to theground; beside her, a disinterested black-haired chef with a sharp, green-blueeyes and lips in a tight line, hands clasped behind her back—Lily, the scaryhead chef of KC’s restaurant and with serious tone, she greeted him and thegroup. Laurance gave her a friendly wave and for a moment, he sees herseriousness crack for moment as a smile twitched on her lips.

“Thank you for choosing us to provide for food this evening.I hope you enjoy your night and in advance, congratulations Mr. Travis.” Lilyfinished up, giving a small bow. Travis chuckled at her formality, giving anawkward nod, “Travis is fine. And thank you—I look forward to the meals youmake, Miss Lily.”

KC took up Dante’s arm, beaming at the chef and Travis, “Lilystop being so stuffy. We’re all friends here.”

“Well, you are right. Sorry, just kicking into professionalmode.” Lily paused and glanced at Laurance, before squinting at him, “It’s asurprise to see the newlywed from his husband.”

Laurance laughed, looking ahead, “Vylad insisted on helpingIsabel out while I stayed with Travis. Did you see him?”

“Last time, he was with Zenix and lecturing him aboutopening the good wines,” Lily reported, before pointing her thumb backwards,towards the kitchen door, “They’re near the back. Also, if any of you see Sasha—tellher what Vylad told me: ‘you’re next.’”

Everybody laughed, even Lily chuckling; Laurance broke awayfrom the group, giving a small salute to Travis and a pat, “Remember the plan.I’m going to calm Vylad down before he decides to put Zenix and Sasha in timeout again.”

Cadenza called out, “Does he forget they’re well into theirtwenties?”

“Well, they forgetthey are. But everybody needs to be in places before Katelyn showed up,”Laurance said back, before disappearing behind the kitchen door.

Cadenza sighed, rolling her eyes and looked up at Travis, “Okay.We have a half hour before Katelyn arrives. You go find your mother—I’m goingto check in with Aphmau and Aaron.”

Travis nodded, albeit nervously as the other Zvahl siblingparts and with the click click click ofher heels, she moves across the room to the couple chatting by the window.Dante takes his arm and Kawaii-chan takes his other, both smiling up at him andthen laugh when he gave a confused look.

“Before you find Ms. Valkrum, there’s two special people whowant to talk to you,” KC said cryptically. Dante gave him an apologetic look,and Travis found himself taken forward, towards the back of the restaurant.

He saw her and her red hair before Ivy or Teony spotted him.The two girls were whispering to each other— Teony in a sweeping yellow dressand her puffy dark hair shorter than the last time Travis seen her, simplesilver jewelry around her neck and blue studs pierced her ears, her round andkind eyes spotting him first as a smile bloomed on her face; beside her, afidgeting red head with her head lowered and in a strapless pastel green dress,short and frilled, and unlike Teony, who met him half way for a hug, didn’tbudge.

Dante and KC excused themselves, giving the three privacywhile Travis grinned wildly, genuinely excited to see the two. “I thought yousaid you two couldn’t make it—did you schedule clear?”

Teony smiled, pinching his cheek as she shook her head, “Forme, it did. Ivy was too shy to come alone, but… well, I’ll let her explain herself.”Teony stepped aside, and Travis tilted his head, glancing at Ivy who finallyturned to face them.

He stuck out his hand, uncertain if the red head would takewith the complicated expression on her face—their history always been… a bitdodgy. Katelyn was, after all, in a relationship with all of them; though herdays with Teony and Ivy were far and few in between since the two lived in adifferent city, Katelyn always expressed equal love for all three. Teony easilyaccepted him from the get go; even though Teony, like Ivy, had no interest inmen, she was a comforting and warm person to befriend. Ivy always intimidatedhim as much as respected in a strange way; for the first year of his relationshipwith Katelyn, she made no strives with wanting to befriend him, voicing herdislike. Soon, the dislike because mild annoyance, and recently became newfound friendship; she gave her reason for her hostility in the past, it was dueto aversion of change and Travis couldn’t fault her for feeling a littleput-off with Katelyn finding her soulmate, afraid Katelyn would end her otherrelationships as a result (even though Teony, Katelyn and Travis assured it wouldn’t happen).

Ivy didn’t accept his hand, but pushed a small box into hishands and gave a rushed, “This is for you.”

He blinked, surprised by the object and Ivy made an annoyedexpression, gesturing for him to open it. Inside, there inlaid two gold coloredstar-shaped cufflinks. He paused, glancing from it to Ivy’s nervous and Teony’sexcited expressions, before back.

“Uh, this… is my sort of congratulations gift to you from us—“Teony coughed. “From me. I picked them out and… I know they look kinda dumb butKatelyn mentioned you liked stars and you mentioned needing some last time wewere in town. So,” Ivy looked down, he could see her ears burning almost as redas her hair as fidget with her hands, “I hope you like them.”

A slow but brilliant smile appeared on him lips, as he takesout the cufflinks and put them on, admiring how they shined. “Ivy? Would it bealright if I hugged you?”

Ivy nodded, whispering, “A small one would be fine.”

It was a brief squeeze, and he laughed along with Teony atIvy’s embarrassed expression. “I’m so happy you two showed up—I know you twogave your blessings already but… thank you.”

Teony squeezed his shoulder, chuckling, “If it makes herhappy, we’re here for you. You’re a good man Travis.”

“You take care of her,” Ivy added.

Travis nodded, beaming, “I will. As long as you two come andvisit for a date night. She loves you just as much. And Ivy, no more shyingaway; you made the pact now—we’re good friends after this.”

They laughed again, Ivy rolling her as she batted at him, “Don’tmake me take that gift back.”

“Too late. I love them—you won’t steal from your friend,would you?”

“On your fast track way back to distant ones if you’re goingto keep this up.”

He found his mother talking to Katelyn’s father, the two inspirited debate as he stepped up.

“No, no—they should get married in the summer!” his motherargued, lifting her pointer finger off her glass as she continued to assertherself, “Clear skies, good weather; I know it’s more expensive but everybodywants a wedding when there’s good weather!”

“I’m not saying you’re wrong,” the larger, soft-speaking mansaid, putting up a defensive hand, “butI know this wonderful lodge they could host it in. I heard winter-time weddingare becoming more popular from that Laurance boy, and—Oh! Travis!”

Both adults immediately lit up, his mother turning towardshim and cupping his face while Erik clasped his shoulder, a wide grin on hisface.

“You look so handsome, sweetie,” she said, and Travis letsout a ticklish laugh at her kiss on his cheek before pulling her into her ahug, then hugging Katelyn’s father.

Travis said, “I see you two were having a lively debate; Ihope I wasn’t interruptin—“

“Nonsense!”

“Son, you’re always welcomed here,” Erik reached up toruffled his hair but then paused, seeing it’s state. He gave him an apologeticlook before, giving an helpless shrug. “Cadenza’s idea. You haven’t met her but…well, she’s the one picked out my outfit and everything nice I’m wearing.”

“Is she the pretty girl with the red hair and green eyes—she’sa sweetheart.”

“Mom, you say that about every one of my friends.”

Freya shrugged, smiling, “I hardly see how that’s a problem.”

The birthday party, for intents and purposes, went offwithout a hitch.

Though Katelyn was aware of it being a birthday party forher—the hidden agenda still a secret—, Katelyn still had the decency to besurprised by it all. Her smiles were genuine as she glanced around the room,greeting everybody who approached.

And Cadenza was right—she did take his breath away themoment his eyes landed on her. Her dress had elegance to it, the top of itwhite as it fades into a deep blue towards the bottom, it clinging and only doingfavors to her body shape while her straighten hair bounced freely, her bangspulled away from her face and pinned back by a pretty hair decoration.  According to the plan, she wasn’t supposed tosee him yet but…. curiosity did kill the cat.

She grasps his hands the moment she spotted him, her smileonly growing wider as made a show to look him up and down. “Travis?” she saidin disbelief, her cheeks warmed and pulled away from her hug.

He posed, cocking an eyebrow before giving a playful wiggle.“Oh? Beautiful woman who looks exactly as my girlfriend— do you know me?”

She laughed, hitting his shoulder gently as she placed herhand on her hip, “I don’t know. Have you seen my boyfriend? Looks quite likeyou, though less—Wait, is that Ivy? Teony!” Travis stepped aside, watching thegirls group up and share a hug. Ivy shot him a Go, while I have her distracted look and he took the signal,disappearing into the crowd that surrounded the birthday girl.

She didn’t see him approach. Her back turned to the crowd offamily, friends and her girlfriends, Laurance gave him the thumbs up, a signfor him to slowly approach behind her.

“—happy birthday—“ Katelyn started to turn, lowering herstrawberry champagne from her lips, and Travis sinks to one knee, “to” hepulled out the box, opening the ring as Katelyn’s eyes widens and she gaspedsoftly, “you.”

The crowd around them erupts in cheers and applause, Katelynlooked around as she covered her face with her hand, mumbling “I knew you were planning something.”

As the crowd died down, Travis spoke up, his heart beatingloudly in ears as held up the ring with a sly smirk on his lips, “We met bychance. We’re soulmates by destiny—but Katelyn, as I kneel her before you, Iwant you to know… being your best friend was the best choice I could ever make.I love you, as a friend, as your boyfriend, and…” he took in a deep breath,licking his lips nervously before he slowly released his breath, “I want tospend the rest of my life with you. I want to spoil you. And I promise you I’llalways look for a reason for you smile. Will you do me the honor of being mywife?”

She slowly lowered her hand, her eyes swimming with swell ofemotions. Everybody, including himself, waited with baited breath for heranswer—and naturally, it would be a Katelyn move to surprise them all. Shedropped to her knees, putting her glass on the ground and wrapping her armsaround him in a tight hug.

“Of course,” shewhispered into his ear, her voice choked with feelings as she pulled away andletting him nervously slip the ring onto her finger, fumbled for a moment andthey both laughed as he did. The crowd around them then exploded, for a secondtime, even louder cheers and applause—party poppers and confetti descended fromall around them, Travis looking around with a proud grin until Katelyn’s handtouched his cheek.

“You’re forgetting one last thing, Travis,” she mused.

“Wha—what did I forget? Everything went exactly as planned!”

“You…” she sighed, pinching his chin as she raised a brow, “willyou just kiss me already?”

Her kiss tasted sweet, strawberries and alcohol. And luckyfor him, that what he liked.

[scftgods-blog]

— OUT OF CHARACTER

Hi! I’m KC, 20, and from the Philippines ( GMT+8 ). I like dogs, Bob Morley, and pretending I have my life together! You can find me on discord: kerenchelsea#3329. If you’d like to plot better, discord is the place to find me! The Tumblr chat box is too small and annoys me all the way to Hell™. If you do add me on discord, please tell me who you are so I don’t think you’re a bot! I also have four characters, so there are going to be four of these lil posts! Thank you for understanding!

TRIGGER WARNINGS: sexual activity, infidelity

MEET VALERIE JANE THOMPSON

( Amber Heard, cis woman, and she/her ) Have you seen VALERIE JANE THOMPSON in Plain ? I heard they’re a 30 year old Cancer who was born in Plain, Georgia. Everyone in town thinks she had an affair with her older brother’s wife, but no one wants to say it out loud. Word around town is that they work as a teacher and is known to be affectionate and warm-hearted but intransigent and stubborn, too.

BACKGROUND---

The simple women of the Thompson family are known teachers in the town of Plain, Georgia. Barbara Thompson was a teacher, her daughter Shirley Thompson was a teacher, and now her daughter Valerie Thompson is a teacher. Teaching runs in their blood; it’s their lifeline, their calling.

The men of the Thompson family, however, are known for never staying. Just like Barbara’s husband left after thirty five years, Shirley’s left when his first child Zane was two, came back after two years, then left again after that. He didn’t stay to make memories, didn’t stay to build a life, didn’t stay at all. One day, he was just gone.

The Thompson children never made concrete memories with their father. Zane, as the older of the two, did have the chance to see the man. However, even at that young age, he had been warned by his grandmother not to trust too much. Valerie, on the other hand, never had the chance. Her grandmother would say that this was a blessing.

Who needed men anyway? The Thompson women were doing splendid on their own.

Under the care of their grandmother and their mother, Zane and Valerie grew up to be bubbly little children with stars in their eyes. Zane was the firm protector that Valerie leaned onto, while Valerie was the gentle soul who could make even the toughest protector connect with their emotions.

With only two years apart, the two children shared everything. From toys, to clothes, to secrets.

It was during their adolescent years that they started to differ in interests and crowd, but the two remained very close. Up until their early teenager years, all the way into late adulthood, the two remained the best friends that anyone could ever need.

In a world of push and pull, the Thompson siblings learned to push and pull together.

As Valerie studied to become a teacher, Zane studied to become a journalist. This was where they met their mutual friend --- someone who would later be the death of their relationship.

Valerie knew her first. They were classmates in the same major at the community college, and had almost every class together. At one point, the two shared mutual romantic feelings for one another. But, before they could do anything about it, Zane stepped in. He knew her for a long time, too; not as long as a time as Valerie, but a long time nonetheless. It was one September morning that he decided to pursue her. She said yes.

Devastated, Valerie distanced herself from their friend and her brother. However, she was far too close to her brother to allow someone else to ruin their relationship, so she patched up with him and allowed life to happen. She still saw her friend, still loved her friend, but what was done was done.

When she was twenty seven, her brother and the woman they’d both fallen in love with decided to get married. Valerie would be the maid of honor, of course. She was happy. She was supposed to be.

At no point did Valerie intend to ruin her brother’s marriage, but at twenty nine, she did just that. On a family vacation, one drink led to two, and reminiscing old times led to kissing.

It ended there. Valerie did not allow things to go any further, but news travels fast in a small town where everyone knows everything. The next thing she knew was her brother, angry and red, unforgiving.

She tried to clear things up with him, but none of her explanations work.

She’s thirty now, and --- well --- life might be a little more interesting, but it is definitely a lot sadder, too.

PERSONALITY---

AFFECTIONATE: Valerie has always had a soft nature. She likes caring about other people, and she likes showing them that she does. This was a trait she inherited from her mother, as her mother has always been affectionate with words and touch. Sometimes, to go the extra mile, Valerie will be affectionate with gifts as well.

WARM-HEARTED: Like her affectionate nature, Valerie has taken after her mother’s warm heart. She easily forgives, easily lets go --- especially when it comes to friends and family. That is why she has such a hard time accepting that she did what she did, knowing that it is unforgivable in her eyes and in her brother’s.

INTRANSIGENT: Despite her soft and gentle soul, Valerie does know how to stand by her convictions. She isn’t easily swayed, and will make sure to keep reiterating herself and what she believes in to someone who will force her to do or think otherwise. This becomes a flaw in that she is very inflexible, and doesn’t allow her mindset to be changed.

STUBBORN: There is also something stubborn in Valerie. She’s persistent, that is. Take the case of her brother. She’s been asked so many times to stop apologizing and to cease all contact with him, but she keeps doing just that because she very stubbornly believes that they can still patch things up.

CONNECTION IDEAS---

The integral characters of her story would be really fun to have! These are the brother and the brother’s wife characters! Please contact me if you want to take up any of the characters! I’d really appreciate that!

Some teacher connections would be really nice to! You know, friends who aren’t really friends but gossip around the wife and Valerie because they all work in the same school.

Childhood friends! People who grew up here in Plain!

First love, exes, etc. etc. Gender doesn’t matter because Valerie is bisexual as Heck.

Enemies! People who think she’s fake and that she did what she did!

[alliwantsrffanfic]

Chapter 1

A/N: Here’s the first chapter! The two main characters are original characters. I’ll post character bios about them soon.

The brunette checks the map at the trailhead. It was a 5.3 mile roundtrip and she was sure she could do it in about three hours. Assuming the weather held. Currently it was about 50 degrees and while the sun was shining Karolina knew that there was always a chance for rain. It could come up quickly on someone especially if they weren’t paying attention.

Karolina makes sure her camera strap is sturdy before beginning the trek that would lead her to one of the park’s most beautiful lakes, at least according to the guide book she had picked up in town the day before.

She looks around at the forest around her. The aspens were just beginning to turn and the fiery red and orange leaves looked beautiful. Karolina stops to take a photo of a chipmunk running around across tree branches.

The brunette carries on with her hike stopping occasionally to take photos. Her mother and sister had said that they wanted to see a lot of photos when she got back.

Karolina sighs thinking about them. They were against her coming all the way out to Colorado to ‘take a break from royal life’ as her father snidely called it. Her mother wanted her to visit her sister in New York instead. Madeleine was due to give birth in the early spring and her mother was getting anxious even though it was months away. Victoria and Carl Philip told her to go where she felt like she needed to. For her it was Estes Park, Colorado.

She had heard the scenery was nice and Rocky Mountain National Park had good hikes. Plus, no one would expect her to go there. She could have anonymity while enjoying a week to herself.

Karolina stops at the side of the trail and puts her backpack down. She grabs her water bottle from the side pocket and takes a sip of water. She puts it back and glances at her watch. It was 9:37.

The brunette continues along the trail. It was pretty deserted and she was surprised that there weren’t more people on it, but figured that it wasn’t as popular in the fall. From what she had seen it was a beautiful trail.

Soon she reaches the lake. It was simply breathtaking. Mountains surrounded the opposite side of the lake with trees and boulders on the banks. Snow was on the peaks of the mountains on the other side.

Karolina looks around in awe. It was so peaceful and beautiful there. The hike wasn’t so bad either. Mills Lake was definitely what the guidebooks and locals in town said it would be plus more.

“Do you want a photo?” a voice interrupts her.

She looks beside her and sees an Asian guy. He was alone and had a camera too.

“Yes if you wouldn’t mind. I can take a photo of you too,” she says deciding that there was no harm in it. It would be nice to have a few photos that weren’t selfies with her in it.

“That’d be great. I’m Michael,” he says.

“Karolina. It’s nice to meet you Michael,” she smiles handing him her camera.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” he says.

The brunette steps close to the edge being careful not to fall in and turns to face the camera. Michael snaps a few photos and hands it back to her.

She take her camera and snaps a few photos of him.

“Thanks,” he smiles.

“No problem,” she smiles back.

Damn he had such a nice smile.

“I noticed that you have a slight accent. Are you from Europe?” he asks sitting on one of the rocks.

“Yes, Sweden. Are you from around here?” she asks sitting on the rock across from him.

“Kind of. I’m from Kansas which is the state next to this one. It’s still ten hours to Estes though because I live clear on the other side of the state hence the KC ballcap. Where in Sweden are you from?” he says taking a drink from his water bottle.

“I’m from Stockholm. What does KC stand for?”

“Kansas City. There’s actually two KC’s next to each other, but people are usually talking about KCMO when KC is talked about. I’m from the Kansas side,” Michael says. “What’s Sweden like?”

“It’s full of nature. There are many forests and lakes. It’s very nice. What is Kansas like?” she asks.

“I live in a more rural area, so there’s fields and farms. There’s also little patches of woods, but nothing like this. I actually help run a summer camp, so I live in the woods next to a large lake. It’s about a half hour from the main part of the city. Most of western Kansas is farmland, but eastern Kansas has a few metropolitan areas, such as Overland Park and KCK. Then there’s Wichita which is the biggest city in Kansas, Topeka, the capital, and Lawrence, home of the Jayhawks.”

“It’s really cool that you run a summer camp. Do a lot of kids go there over the summer?” she asks him.

“There’s a fair amount. Some stay the entire summer while others only stay for the first or second session only. It’s insane, but I love it,” Michael says.

“That sounds really fun and awesome. So do you do the whole color war thing?” Karolina asks him curiously.

“Oh yes. I swear half of the kids come back every year just for those weeks. Then of course there’s the pranks between bunks which can get out of hand,” he laughs.

“I can imagine the types of pranks played on each other. Have they pranked you before?” she smiles.

“Yes many times. I never see it coming although you’d think I would since it’s been happening for years now.”

“Do you just run the camp or do you have another job too?” she asks.

“I’m also a firefighter for the Kansas City Kansas Fire Department. My schedule works out really well and I’m able to hold both jobs.”

Karolina nods.

“Do you hike often?” he asks.

“I try to when I can. If I can’t hike then I like to jog or walk through a park,” she says. “What about you? Do you get to hike often?”

“Not like this. There are trails at the camp that I jog on and go on little hikes. There aren’t any mountains in Kansas, so the hikes aren’t as spectacular as this one,” he gazes around at the surrounding mountains.

“How long are you staying here?” he asks her.

“I’m staying for five more days. Then I’m going to visit my sister in New York before going back home to Sweden,” she says.

Michael nods. “I’m leaving in four days. I couldn’t get someone to work my shift so I could stay longer. Does your sister work in New York?”

“Madde’s husband works as some financial person and she works at an organization helping to stop child exploitation. They’re expecting their first child in March, so I want to see her before everything gets crazy,” Karolina explains hoping she didn’t give out too many clues on who she was.

She wanted to be known as Karolina not just Princess Karolina of Sweden. Once people knew who she really was they had a tendency to act different around her.

Michael nods. “Will your sister’s baby be your first niece or nephew?” he asks.

“No, my oldest sister has a daughter, Estelle. She’ll be two in February,” she says.

“Do you only have the two sisters?” Michael asks.

“No, I have an older brother too. Vic is the oldest, then Carl, then Madde, and then me. I was a ‘surprise’ to everyone,” Karolina says.

“Wow your family must be fun to be around. I’m an only child, so it was always quiet,” he says.

“Yeah sometimes it’s fun with all of us, but usually two or three of us are antagonizing each other and Mama and Papa are telling us to stop.”

“Was it mainly your older siblings who antagonized each other? Or did you?”

“We all did our fair share, though Vic tried to act above it because she was the oldest.”

He nods. “So what is your job?”

“I work with different charities,” she says.

Technically that was true. She just forgot the part where she was a princess.

Michael nods. “So you just work with these charities? Are your parents like rich or something and you don’t have to hold an actual job?”

“Yeah. I’m also talking about starting my own organization with a few friends to help girl’s education in underdeveloped countries,” she says fidgeting with her backpack.

“Really? That’s great about the organization. How did you figure out that you wanted to help girl’s education?” Michael asks her interested.

“You know Malala? Well I learned about her story and started to do some research. What I found was very alarming and I want to help in any way I can. So, I found a few other people who were interested and we started putting together plans for an organization that would provide support for education, especially for girls, in underdeveloped countries. It’s still very new and we haven’t gotten far yet. I hope it works out,” she explains.

Malala’s story had really touched her and although she couldn’t get too political she still could do what she can do to help.

“Wow. That sounds awesome. Girls not getting educated in underdeveloped countries is certainly an issue that should be solved. You sound like you know what you’re doing,” he says impressed.

“I’ve done countless hours of research along with my friends. We also have asked for help in starting our organization. I don’t know everything about this subject, and I know many will say that a privileged princess will not know what she is talking about and should just shut up about this, but it is very important to me to help. It’s not fair how these girls want to get an education, but can’t,” Karolina says realizing only after her mini-monologue that she had spilled the beans on her being a princess.

“Wait did you say that you’re a princess?” Michael stares at her shocked.

Karolina looks at the ground. She slowly nods not wanting to look up.

“I-I don’t know what to say Karolina,” Michael says getting up and pacing around.

She finally dares to look up at him. “I don’t like people knowing who I really am. I’d rather be judged by my character than my personality.”

He runs a hand through his hair. “Have you lied to me at all?”

“No, it’s true that I have three older siblings, a niece, a niece or nephew soon to be born, work with charities, and am planning to start an organization to help with girl’s education,” she says.

Michael nods and paces around a few steps. “I appreciate you being honest with me. I guess I can understand why you wouldn’t want people knowing that you’re a princess.”

Michael walks around near the lake. Karolina quietly starts to gather her bag knowing that she probably should head back sooner rather than later.

The brunette walks back towards the trailhead. She probably should have told him bye, but she had an awful tendency to run when things got hard for her. Partially why she had fled to the U.S. for a few days of peace when she did.

Karolina quickens her pace as she notices dark clouds gathering in the distance. She wanted to be off the mountain when the rain arrived.

Just as the first raindrop fell from the sky, she arrived at her car. Karolina drove back to the cabin she had rented. She had found a small resort of cabins near the town center. Once she had arrived at the cabin she checks her phone.

There were several messages from her mother and sisters. They wanted to make sure she was okay considering what that weekend was supposed to be. Carl Philip had even left a touching text for her.

She spent the next several hours dozing on the couch and reading.

A few hours later, she steps out of the cabin closing the door behind her. She was going to try one of the local restaurants that had been recommended to her. Karolina starts walking out to the car she had rented.

“Hey!” a familiar voice shouts startling her.

Karolina looks around fearful that the press had found her. She breathes a sigh of relief when she realizes that it was just the guy she had met on the trail, Michael.

He jogs over to her and gestures towards the porch. “Can we talk?”

Karolina nods and goes to sit in one of the chairs.

“So I’m going to be honest and say that I looked you up after I got back,” he starts. “At first it was just generic stuff like when your birthday was, causes you supported, and stuff about your family.”

Karolina nods.

He runs a hand through his wet hair. Karolina stares for a minute then reminds herself to snap out of it.

“I also saw that fall you made a few years ago. I think it was at the Nobels? It seemed like it hurt.”

Karolina had tripped down the stairs at the Nobel Banquet a few years before. She was on crutches for nearly a month afterwards. Carl Philip still liked to tease her about it especially around Nobels time.

Michael stands up and paces around. He runs a hand through his hair again. Karolina had a feeling that she knew what he’d say next.

“Then I found the articles about your fiance and the engagement photos,” he sighs.

[asl-scarlet-sorceress]

For the percy jackson qs All of them bc I'm a slut for u answering questions about the shit u love :3c

Aaaaaah thank you bae!!! This is super long tho because, you know me, I can talk A LOT about this universe. And also, if you have more questions, please ask me so that I can continue to gush about my favourite series in the entire world OTL 

1.How old were you when you read the Percy Jackson books?

I was 11 when I first started reading them 😂 I was a tiny bby

2.What year did you read them in?

Does this mean academic year or actual year? Because I read them in year 7 (6th Grade) so that would have been in somewhere around 2010 I think???

3. What caused you to read them?

My older brother had read them and recommended The Lightning Thief to me and a selection of books were being given out at my school for free to encourage kids to read and The Lightning Thief happened to be one of them. And the rest is history 😂

4.Which of the series have you read in the PJO universe?

All of them~ I have read every book in the PJO, HoO, KC, and MCGA series and I’ve just preordered The Dark Prophecy at my local book store so I can keep up to date with ToA. I’ve also read all the side books like Demigod Diaries and Demigods and Magicians, and the two books of Professor Percy and they’re all aligned in chronological order on my book shelve because I’m a fucking nerd OTL

5. What is your favorite series in the PJO universe?

Oh god help me. I don’t know??? I love them all for different reasons??? I find myself ranting most to other people about HoO but the Magnus Chase series is probably my favourite because not only is it a wonderful story but The Hammer of Thor was the first time I had ever read about a genderfluid character and the way Alex was portrayed was just so wonderful to me that I will reread that book over and over again, specifically on his pages because it’s kinda like seeing a little bit of myself in my favourite world. It heightens my sense of escapism and belonging there that’s for sure XD

6.Who is your favorite character?

From the PJO series- Thalia GraceFrom the HoO series- Nico Di Angelo/ Leo Valdez/ Reyna (DO NOT MAKE ME PICK!)From the ToA series- Will SolaceFrom the KC- either Sadie Kane (because I’m always here for another Ribena enthusiast) or AnubisFrom the MCGA series- ALEX FIERRO RULER OF MY LIFE!!!

7.Who is your least favorite character?

Overall?? Either Zeus (because he was the world’s first fuckboi) or Bianca Di Angelo. As an older sibling, I could never imagine leaving my younger sibling all alone just because I wanted a bit more freedom in my life. It’s incredibly selfish and I just can’t ever forgive her for it. She may have been a hero and an interesting character and I was really torn up when she died but I will never forgive her for the way she treated her younger brother.

8.What are your headcanons?

THERE ARE TOO MANY TO LIST!!! But one of my main headcanons that I will list here (I’ll message you others if you ever read the whole universe) is that Nico and Anubis know each other and get along. Now this started because they’re described as looking very similar to each other (black, shaggy hair, dark brown eyes, pale af with a similar fashion sense of just black on black) and it kind of snowballed once I read Son Of Neptune. Because to me, it would make so much sense for Nico to know about other pantheons long before the other demigods. Why? Because Death is universal across mythology. And Nico, as the son of Hades, needs to know about his death rituals which- I think- would lead him to researching the other pantheons and learning that immortality really is forever. But yeah, i just love the idea of Nico and Anubis being friends and looking out for one another because they both understand the stigma around death but they’re both actually kind of dorky the minute they stop being angry??? But yeah, there’s just one of my headcanons and look how long that took to summarise OtL

9.Do you read fanfic for these books?

Yesssssssss all day every day!!

10.Do you write it?

I try to OTL it’s just, with characters i love and adore so much I’m so scared of doing them a disservice??? If that makes sense? I’ve got a thousand scenarios in my head but when I try to write I end up starting at a blank screen for 30 minutes before going back and rereading the books again XD

11.What’s your favorite scene?

From PJO- When Percy offers Pandora’s Pithos to Hestia as an offering. It’s just such an important act at the time and I just love it so much!!!!From HoO- uuuurgh it’s a tie up between Jason comforting Nico after Croatia and then the ending with the two camps and Reyna being a badass. From ToA- I know this isn’t really a scene but when Apollo makes the remarked about Achilles, Briseis and Patroclus because Iliad jokes~~ 😂 but other than that, probably when Apollo starts to realise how shit a parent he actually is and feeling kinda guilty about it. I just love seeing him evolve as a person rather than stay the same immortal fuckboi forever. From KC- THE FUCKING CAN OPENER!!! I laughed for about an hour when I first read the bit when Carter finds out about Horus possessing him. I actually couldn’t read past that bit without laughing over and over again 😂 From MCGA- When Alex was lying down on the Bifrost. I always imagine it as a very beautiful scene because he’s got this rainbow light all around him but it also makes me feel sad for some reason I’ve yet to pin down. But yeah, Alex being pretty and melancholy surrounded by rainbow light~ From Demigods and Magicians- probably when Setne gets sucked into the snow globe. That was a good day reading that.

12.Most memorable quote?

‘With great power comes great need to take a nap’

13.Favourite romantic relationship?

I have a few! Solangelo is my favourite altogether tho because I love the contrast between the two (I’m a sucker for the night/day/death/life symbolism in a relationship) but I also love Percabeth, Jiper, Sam/Amir, Fierrochase, Sadie/Anubis/Walt (what is that relationship called??? I can’t remember OtL)

14.Favourite platonic relationship ?

Annabeth and Piper, Percy and Jason, Annabeth and Sadie, Piper and Hazel, Grover and Percy

15.Favourite familial relationship?

NICO AND HAZEL, NICO AND REYNA, NICO AND HADES, NICO AND JASON, (basically anyone who treats Nico like family and cares about him tbh) Percy and Sally, Thalia and Jason, Piper and Leo, Sadie and Carter, Sam and Magnus, Magnus and Annabeth (the little we’ve been given anyway), Sam and Alex, Apollo and his kids??? Like the way he’s actually starting to genuinely care and he feels mildly guilty at how much they’re supporting and caring about him when he’s done none of that for them???

16.What are your notps?

Reyna and Nico. Can’t stand that ship. Also Octavian and Rachel. Or anyone with Rachel really. Same with Percy and Artemis??? Like, no???? Artemis is a maiden for eternity, she has no interest in men whatsoever??? And Rachel is the oracle of Delphi so she’s sworn to not be with people for as long as she is the oracle??? I just don’t get it.

16.What house do you think Percy is in?

See this is really hard! Percy is certainly brace and noble enough to be in Gryffindor but he is fatally loyal to the people he loves and he works incredibly hard which are more Hufflepuff traits! But at the same time he can be cunning and tricky when he’s in a fight. But he’s not really ambitious enough to be a Slytherin and, while intelligent, he won’t follow up on an idea just because of the allure of knowledge so he’s not really a Ravenclaw…urgh I want to put him in Hufflepuff but idk. Either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.

17.What house do you think Annabeth is in?

Either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Like she will battle past her ADHD and dyslexia for the pursuit of knowledge and to better specialise herself in the areas she wants to but at the same time she walked into her worst nightmares, then fell into Tartarus, got out of Tartarus, then went to war all within the span of a month and a half. That takes Gryffindor courage right there. So yeah, either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.

18.Thoughts on Luke?

I always feel really bad for Luke. Because he’s so relatable. It’s easy to see how he made the choices he did because he honestly thought that the Titans could be better because the gods mistreatment was all he had ever known. And it hurts what happened to him because he is the classic tragic hero; he made the wrong choices and the minute he realises what a mess he’s made of things, it’s already too late to stop anything. But he was able to do the right thing in the end and I just get really emotional whenever I think of that scene. It hurts too much 😭

19.What race do you think Percy is?

I don’t really know. I mean, we know he’s got a lot of his appearance from Poseidon so that means he should look very Grecian/Mediterranean, maybe he even has a sort of olive skin tone??? Idk. I guess whenever I think of Percy I just think of the kids I used to see on skateboards down at the local park. But yeah, probably Grecian if I had to pick.

20.What do you think of Frank and Hazel’s relationship?

I think it’s really cute. I like how it’s so fresh??? Because with Percabeth that relationship grew out of friendship over five books and Jiper has a natural flow to it with all the fragility and insecurity of a new relationship so it still works. But Hazel and Frank knew each other for such a short period of time before they started crushing on each other and I think it’s sweet to see kind of the love and first sight thing but warped slightly due to the complications that come with their lives. It’s interesting to see them struggle through all the confusion of a brand new relationship but still trying to keep themselves together. It’s nice to see that kind of love rather than the comfortable love of Percabeth or the steady love of Jiper. 21.What do you think of Calypso and Leo’s relationship?

I love it!!! At first I was skeptical but their banter and denial was really funny and the way Leo was determined to make it back to her. I had always wanted someone to treat Calypso right and I’m glad that Leo has someone now who will see underneath all the humour as well as appreciating him for himself :)

22.Do you follow Rick on any social media platforms?

Yes! I follow him on Twitter and on Tumblr~

23.What did you think of the movie?

I liked the visual effects but that was about it. And even then it was like, nice snakes, now where’s the plot??? I really did not like those movies. They need to be buried with the Avatar movie that never existed in my opinion.

24. What are your thoughts on the upcoming musical?

I’m really looking forward to it! I think they cast a really good Percy and I really like what I’m hearing so far. I love musicals and I understand there’s a bigger limit on what you can do on a stage compared to a film so I’m more lenient towards differences between the stage and the book.

25.Do you own any of the books and if so, which ones?

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH…..I have doubles of all of them OTL but there’s a reason for that!! One copy for myself so that I can always read them and then I lend out the second copies to my friends who are curious about this world that I won’t ever shut up about.

26.Which character are you most like, personality wise?

Idk really. Maybe Will??? Because I’m kinda easy going and I try to help out other people but if you piss me off you will know about it??? And it always takes people by surprise if they don’t know me very well at how angry I can be??? But yeah, maybe Will.

27.Which character do you look the most like?

If any of the characters have rainbow hair, I have not been informed of this! Nah but I don’t know. Without my coloured hair I just kinda look like a ghost with brown hair and colour changing eyes OTL Maybe Sadie because I used to be blonde but I dyed my hair so many times it turned brown and she streaks her hair a lot so yeah, Sadie Kane :)

27.If you could cosplay as any character, who would it be?

Okay I have cosplayer Nico before but I’m going to be cosplaying Alex at the next con I’m going to (unfortunately without her heterochromia because I’m allergic to contact lenses OtL)

28.What’s your favorite cover from the series?

Is it bad to say Blood of Olympus because Leo’s got a chainsaw in it? XD but yeah, actually Hammer of Thor because the Wolf mask on that cover with the eerie green glow across it is really cool!!

29.What are some books you would recommend to another fan?

Assuming these are books related to the PJO universe then The Demigod and Magicians crossover collection are definitely worth the read (assuming you’ve read both HoO and KC) and the Magnus Chase series because they are definitely worth branching away from the Greek and Roman gods.

If that means other series in general then His Dark Materials for definite and probably the Iliad.

30.Do you have any merchandise related to the series?

I do! I have a tshirt with Percy’s quote about procrastination on it (deadlines don’t seem real to me until I’m staring one in the face), and I have a matching charm bracelet, hair bow, earrings and necklace set with pendants that all say Camp Half-Blood on them

31.Any fan casts?

Not really. As long as they look the age of the characters *glares at the film* and they have the majority of the same features *again glares at the films* then I don’t really mind too much.

32.What did you think of the ending of Heroes of Olympus, if you read it?

I personally loved it. I agree it did feel a tiny bit anticlimactic over in Greece what with the gods kicking butt for the first time in the entire series but what happened between the camps and Gaia’s forces there was really cool. And the reconciliation of the camps afterwards and how everyone was getting along was really nice. And of course, the fact that Calypso was finally freed was a big A+ in my book.

33.Would you want to be connected to the Greek, Egyptian, Roman, or Norse Gods?

I think, as far as connected in the PJO universe way goes, I’d want to be a Magician for the House of Life. Because at least then I get a choice in whether or not I want a god in my life. If you’re a Demigod you get no choice whatsoever. If you’re just a magician then other than fighting in the apocalypse, you have a choice on what you want to do with your life (plus magicians can use electronics without calling down monsters on their heads)

34.What character from the universe do you think you would be best friends with?

Idk. It’s a tie up between Sadie, Leo and Magnus because they all have a sarcastic wit which I find hilarious but they all have differences that make me want to befriend them. Like with Sadie I could hang out with her any time of the week, and she has a really gives-no-shit attitude that I love (because I give too many shits about things) but at the same time she really cares a lot about her family and her friends which is important to me. Leo is hilarious in general but at the same time really insecure about stuff and I love helping people out and learning from them so I’d probably latch on to Leo and not stop bothering him about machines because all of it is really interesting. And then Magnus is a sarcastic little nerd who tries to be tough but is actually a sunflower and yeah, I have a lot of friends like that 😘😘😘

35.What’s the saddest scene from all the books?

Bob asking whether Percy would say hello to the stars and sun for him. That kills me every time to even think about. Fuck, now I’m crying 😭

36.What scene makes you the happiest?

Any scene of platonic friendship and love is guaranteed to make me happy. But most of all, when Hades told Nico he wanted him to be happy. That just killed me inside because it’s such a difference from the Last Olympian and Nico deserves happiness after all the shit he’s been through.

Thanks bae~

[the-judging-eye]

(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E92tY9bY94)

"As the sun comes up, Deborah Jones takes a seat on the “throne” — a faded tapestry-covered bench supported by a scrolled metal frame and decorated on each corner with scruffy tassels lightly dusted by flecks of ash.

From her perch, she watches kindling ignite in the upright smoker. Then she shoves hickory logs into the firebox to create a combustible stew she stirs occasionally with a custom-made pitchfork.

True pitmasters: The Jones sisters are rare gems in man’s world https://www.kansascity.com/living/food-drink/article98604857.html

“I like that chair,” says one of Kansas City’s only female pitmasters, referring to the flea market find that was likely once part of a vanity set.

For more than three decades, the Jones sisters — Deborah and her sister Mary Jones Mosley — have devoted themselves to barbecue, working as professional pitmasters and owners of Jones Bar-B-Q. In its latest incarnation, the to-go-only spot has taken up residence in a former taco stand where customers step up to a window to place their orders.

Mary, whose family nickname is “Shorty,” calls out the order. Then Deborah, or “Little,” steps up on the firebox door and peers into the pit to ferret out the precise piece of meat required. With roasting pan in hand, Deborah pads back to the metal screen doors and into the kitchen. Together, she and Mary fix up a foam box and tie it up in a plastic grocery sack.

The outdoor smoker sits on a layer of bricks in the parking lot near Wild Woody’s Happy Foods West at 6706 Kaw Drive, in an industrial section of Kansas City, Kan., where freight trains from the tracks running parallel to Kansas 32 whistle loud enough to drown out conversations.

If a woman sitting on a throne in the middle of a parking lot tending fire isn’t enough to stop cars and trucks, the thick perfume of smoke wafting out of the smoker door serves as a word-of-nose advertisement.

“I can tell the barbecue is good by the way this place smells!” a middle-aged woman in a fluorescent yellow vest says while jumping back into a still-running car — sandwich in hand — to meet her next freight shipment.

“A lot of people think because we are women that we don’t have common sense,” Deborah says. But it’s clear her predominantly male customers — from construction and rail workers to truckers to police officers — believe in her barbecue sense.

— A family affair —

The Jones sisters have been around barbecue since they were old enough to stand on a milk crate and help crank out links of their family’s unwritten sausage recipe.

Their father, Leavy Jones Sr., who never made it past the seventh grade, was an electrician by day and learned the art of barbecue moonlighting at Hezekiah’s, an African-American-owned barbecue that once operated at 1805 N. 10th St. in Kansas City, Kan.

On weekends, the girls helped out at Hezekiah’s by washing dishes, wrapping sandwiches and running the cash register. But they didn’t work on weekdays because they had to get their homework done. Education was a priority: Seven of the eight Jones siblings went to college, and three brothers served in the military.

Leavy and his wife, Juanita, also sat the kids down every Sunday to talk about good manners, hygiene, sex education and the value of hard work.

“Daddy always said, ‘Nothing is free. If you ever get unemployed, you have to have other skills,’ ” Deborah recalls.

“We’ve all always worked, because nothing is free,” Mary echoes. “And if it is, you better question it.”

During college, Deborah worked summers at the Gates Bar-B-Q location down the road from Hezekiah’s. As adults, the sisters found themselves drawn back to the fire to help out their older brother Daniel, who, like their dad, worked at Hezekiah’s as a pitmaster and eventually bought the business.

Deborah was her brother’s designated backup. Soon after Daniel died, Mary joined her to run the business. They stayed on 10th Street from 1987 to 2003, then moved to 609 N. Sixth St. from 2005 to 2009. Mary began downsizing to a food cart on 12th Street for office workers and miscellaneous caterings in 2007.

Although deeply devoted to the art form, the Jones sisters have always treated barbecue as a backup: Deborah, 56, worked at the post office and Mary, 59, was a nurse. In the lull, Deborah dealt with health problems, including a heart condition that tires her easily. Mary retired to Topeka but soon got an offer to work at Reser’s Fine Foods, maker of specialty frozen foods, smoked meats and tubs of deli-style salads.

Last October, Deborah was itching to jump back into barbecue full time. She found the taco stand and, after spending most of her pit money on rewiring it to meet health and safety codes, she scrounged up an upright smoker at A-Lotta-Stuff, a thrift store a couple of hundred yards across the asphalt.

Although she is most comfortable cooking over a brick pit — Hezekiah’s had an impressive sunken pit dug into the ground — Deborah retrofitted the smoker to her specifications. “They each have their own personality,” she says. “I had to get used to the hot points and how to work the fire again.”

She put the bricks and drip pan on the right side, preferring to make her fire on the left. She also tore out the thermometers built into the door.

“They bother me,” she says.“We don’t use a thermometer. You should be able to look and know the meat is done.” In other words, a rack of ribs is done when it “flaps” but doesn’t quite fall off the bone.

— Nothing fancy —

The fare at Jones Bar-B-Q is not fancy: The ribs are untrimmed by today’s competition standards. The coarse-grind all-pork sausage is eyeballed for accuracy and hand-cranked and stuffed into natural casings that snap with each bite. The burnt ends are surprisingly fatty, charcoaled and chewy.

“Seasonings,” as opposed to trendy rubs, and an innate understanding of the “textures and smells” of the wood are what give the meat its down-home flavor. Their signature barbecue sauce is served liberally over the meat, unless a customer asks for it on the side.

Barbecue expert and soon-to-be American Royal Hall of Famer Ardie Davis affectionately labels the sisters’ style “old school”: “It isn’t fancy. It’s very simple and direct. The flavor is not oversmoked and (the meat) not so neatly trimmed you miss the fat.”

Unlike restaurateurs who display trophies and ribbons from competitive barbecue contests, the Jones sisters don’t have awards to show for their years in the trenches. Instead, Deborah’s prize is an intuitive sense for barbecue that borders on communion.

“Watch how focused my sister is when she turns that piece of meat,” Mary almost whispers one morning. “They’re communicating with each other. It’s accumulated knowledge. To make it as long as we have been doing this is not a joke. You have to be focused and want to do this. It’s an art. It’s hot. Time-consuming. You have to stay focused. You don’t wake up to be a pitmaster one day. This is years of hard work. You have to want this.”

The funny thing, Mary teases, is Deborah can’t be trusted to boil a hotdog.

“She does no cooking in the kitchen,” Mary says with a deep-throated laugh. “But now isn’t that funny! Take this right here — with more work and more heat — and she’s good at it. I love it, too, don’t get me wrong. But she’s obsessed with it.”

Mary also knows her way around a pit, but she is happy to be the exuberant cheerleader — taking orders, chatting up customers and making change. Her playful banter puts people at ease, and she aims to please.

“Mary is the only person I know who gets tips even when she’s not working,” Deborah says, shaking her head.

The sisters insist their success has to do with consistency and freshness. They buy their meats from Mies Wholesale Meats in North Kansas City. Deborah puts only a dozen or so rib tips, four racks of ribs and a couple of briskets and pork butts on the fire each day. If they sell out, she puts more meat on and tells the customer to come back in two hours.

“We have got a thing about freshness — and she’s got it bad,” says Mary, who helps out when she can but is no longer at the business on a daily basis. “You have to sit on the throne and play with this (fire) all day. It takes time if you want to do it right. We were never about the dollar bill. It was about pleasing the customer. That was my part, always the customer. My customers are everything to me.”

If there’s one signature item the Jones sisters continue to hang their hats on, it is their sausage. Michelle Briggs of Lenexa drives 20 minutes for some links on a sizzling July afternoon.

“It’s totally different than any other,” she says. “There’s a little spice and you can tell it’s homemade. I like the fact that when you cut it open it falls apart. You can put it on bread, or eat it as is.”

“I’m just crazy about the sausage,” echoes Gregory Ross of Kansas City, Kan. “It’s homemade, and I was raised up on it.” Although the new location “could be bigger,” he adds, “good things come in small places.”

— For the love of it —

In 2001, while Doug Worgul was researching his book “The Grand Barbecue” published by Kansas City Star Books, he happened to spy a hand-lettered sign for the original Jones Bar-B-Q.

“It was the jointiest joint I’ve ever been in,” says Worgul, who now works as the director of marketing for Joe’s KC. “There were a couple of folding tables like you’d find in a church fellowship hall. It was definitely the most handmade dining room you could ever imagine, but the food was good.”

Worgul dined three or four times before he introduced himself.

“He really put us on the the map, without us really knowing,” says Mary, who posed for a portrait with Deborah that closes out the book.

Worgul, who recently reconnected with Deborah after 15 years, says the sisters are the hardest working people he has ever met, and they represent an artisan approach that cannot be replicated in higher-volume barbecue restaurants.

“Our pitmasters are not pitmasters in the sense Deborah and Mary are,” Worgul says. “What our pitmasters do — which is critical to our operation — is really far less creative. Basically, they follow a procedure. It’s not mastering barbecue; it’s fulfilling that specific technique.”

Deborah’s daughter, Izora Thompson, a 22-year-old nursing student at the University of Missouri due to graduate in December, has been tapped to keep the family business going. Barbecue is definitely a family legacy she wants to continue, but she’s hoping to add a “fresh perspective.”

On her way back to college this semester, she asked her mother to make a barbecue burrito, wrapping bits of smoked sausage with beans, onions, green peppers and cheese in a tortilla. Her friends loved the results.

“I like the idea of our traditions, but I’d like to try some new flavorful dishes as well,” Izora says. “I would really like to branch out and do more with the business.”

Including bottling the barbecue sauce and figuring out a way to sell the sausage and beans at grocery stores.

“It would be nice to be in the grocery store,” Mary muses aloud, “but I guess we’re just old-fashioned, because it could never be just about the money.”

Indeed, for the Jones sisters, barbecue isn’t just a job; it is who they are.

“This is worse than a drug. It’s an addiction. It’s in your blood, and she’s really the junkie,” Mary says, eyeing her sister’s shabby-chic throne and letting out a sigh. “She breathes this, and loves it. She goes to sleep to get up for this. She doesn’t care about the money. This is her No. 1 spot.”

[misssophiachase]

“I don’t need a Prince Charming saving me.” + KC, pretty please

Thanks darling Madina @arrenemris, great prompt (and so sorry for the delay). It became something unexpected so the prompt kind of evolved hehe. I was watching one of my fave Shakespearian film adaptions recently, so this modern spin is where the inspiration came from. Also because Beatrice and Benedick ARE Klaroline ( you know, just saying)! Also it is a bit of a different take on Klaus for once but I hope you like this still : )

Much Ado About Nothing

“Klaus Mikaelson doesn’t even need to act,” Katherine observed from the wings. She and Caroline were watching him and his younger brother Kol, who was playing Katherine’s love interest Claudio, rehearse centre stage. “He is Benedick.”

“Yeah, you’ve got that right. An arrogant and smug know-it-all,” Caroline muttered. “I can’t believe I have to kiss him, I mean who knows where those lips have been before? I might even need to sanitise my mouth afterwards.”

Klaus had quite the reputation in theatre circles as a ladies man and from all reports it was fairly common for his on-stage romances to carry over off-stage. But only for the duration of the production because after that he apparently moved onto his next project and next unwitting co-star. Caroline knew for a fact that she had no interest in being his latest victim.

“Well, I had to kiss his brother in rehearsal yesterday.”

“And?”

“It was okay, I suppose,” she offered indifferently, her eyes flickering to the front row of the theatre where the show’s director sat keeping a watchful eye over proceedings. While extremely handsome, Caroline had noticed just how brooding he was given the deep set frown he wore most of the time during rehearsals.

“But not an Elijah Mikaelson kind of kiss,” Caroline teased. The chemistry between the reverred director and Katherine, who was playing Hero, had been palpable to say the least.

“He’s far too serious for me,” she murmured, although her gaze remained unflinching.

“Yes, because that seems to be such an issue,” Caroline joked. “I can practically see the drool, Pierce.”

“Funny roomie,” Katherine drawled.

They’d been best friends for as long as Caroline could remember and it was comforting to have someone in the same field who always had your back, especially when you moved to a foreign and big city like London. For the most part she liked it, not only because it was a vibrant and intriguing city with plenty to do but because she felt a lot more immersed in her role being there. 

It was unusual to cast Americans for such classic Shakespearian roles but Katherine and Caroline were highly skilled actresses and had impressed Elijah Mikaelson during the audition. Something she’d been told wasn’t such an easy feat.

What she hadn’t expected was just how frustrating her co-star would be. She’d heard the stories about Klaus Mikaelson, everyone had, but Caroline liked to give people the benefit of the doubt given just how misleading the media could be when it came to celebrity gossip. 

Klaus however had proven to be just as insufferable as she’d expected. She would have complained but it was kind of difficult when one brother was the director of the production and the other one playing a leading role.

When she’d met Klaus at the initial table read a few weeks earlier, he’d been equal parts frustrating and arrogant. He may of been an outstanding actor, that much she couldn’t dispute, but he didn’t have to act like he knew it in front of the entire cast. Caroline knew types just like him and the thought of having to co-star in such close proximity was going to be a struggle. 

After rehearsals a few days later, Klaus had propositioned her and then, after she rejected his blatant advances, he’d proceeded to ignore her. Not only was he conceited, he was also a man child in her view.

Caroline had subsequently made the decision to act professionally on stage and then hopefully never cross paths with Klaus Mikaelson ever again. Unfortunately she had to get through another two weeks of rehearsals and a three month season on the West End before she could put any miles between them. 

The only upside she’d decided was being able to look at his pretty face for extended periods. He may of been an ass but there was no doubting his extremely good looks.

“You can’t lie to me Pierce, I know you too well,” Caroline replied.

“Says the girl who supposedly doesn’t want to kiss Klaus Mikaleson,” she sing songed, nudging her in the ribs teasingly.

“Who wants to kiss me?” A very familiar and annoying voice enquired behind them. She gave Katherine a brief dirty look and then closed her eyes momentarily, trying to come up with a sassy response. There was no way she was going to inflate his oversized ego any further. “I know I’m irresistible but..”

“Nobody,” she shot back, thinking just how lame it sounded. She spun around on her heel to face him defiantly, there was no way Klaus Mikaelson was going to intimidate her. “Unfortunately I have to do it though. Luckily I’m getting some form of monetary compensation for that particularly unpleasant task.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll try to make it as least unpleasant as possible for you, princess,” he quipped moving dangerously closer, those annoying dimples appearing from nowhere and flashing in her direction. Caroline only hoped that her cheeks weren’t as flushed as they felt at that particular moment.

“Listen up everyone,” Elijah called out from front of stage. Caroline was relieved for the interruption at that particular moment. Especially given he was standing entirely too close and his aftershave was messing with her concentration. “I want to practice the Benedick and Beatrice scene in Act 5 scene 2 after the break.” Caroline knew what that meant, the kiss she’d been dreading for weeks.

“I think he heard your desperate cries for that kissing scene,” Klaus smirked, his hot breath tickling her earlobe. She reached up attempting to swat him out of her personal space, making connection with his cheek. “How did you know I liked it rough?” Caroline didn’t respond, just pushed past him towards backstage. She needed a drink to steady her nerves, she just wished it was straight vodka and not water.

15 minutes later

Klaus was nervous, that much was obvious given the way he was pacing back and forth in his dressing room. He looked up at the wall clock wearily, knowing that he was due on stage already. Before he knew it Elijah would be bleating at him incessantly like when they were children.

Having his brother as director had definitely been an adjustment, so too Kol as his co-star. The media had joked in interviews in the lead-up that it was a family affair and Klaus had to hold his tongue before he shared his real thoughts on the matter. It wasn’t that he didn’t like his siblings but preferred their contact to be in much smaller doses. He was just happy that Rebekah hadn’t joined this project in her costume designing capacity given she was busy on another project in the States. Klaus could only take so much Mikaelson blood in his vicinity.

What he hadn’t expected was to meet Caroline Forbes. Sure, he’d heard about her impressive talents during the audition process but he hadn’t quite expected to almost lose his voice upon meeting her at the table read. She was even more stunning in person with those faultless, golden waves and creamy complexion. Then he’d heard her melodic laugh and Klaus wasn’t quite sure what to do. His pathetic response had been to put on an overly inflated and arrogant persona that Klaus liked to call his Mr Hyde impression.

Nobody knew it but Klaus had unpredictable, anxious tendencies (he liked to blame his parent’s dysfunctional marriage) which is why he’d taken up a career in acting. What better way to hide them than pretend to be someone completely different? 

It had worked for him thus far but Caroline’s sudden appearance had thrown him and his pretend playboy act into disarray and now seemed to have escalated out of control. First on the table read then his attempt to ask her out which had fallen flat. Klaus really shouldn’t have been surprised. He hated that character as much as it seemed Caroline did.

After his first college production the rumours had travelled thick and fast that he was some womaniser. The true story was that Hayley Marshall didn’t appreciate rejection and decided to make up her own story depicting him as some heartless romeo. Rather than address the rumours he’d chosen to embrace it. Klaus figured if women thought he was such a player then that meant he didn’t need to bother getting hurt. 

“Niklaus!” Elijah baulked, coming to the door and banging his hand against the frame. “We’re waiting, Your Majesty.” Klaus had to resist the urge to roll his eyes, let the incessant bleating begin.

“I need a minute,” he murmured softly.

“You’ve had multiple minutes,” he warned. “I’ve never known you to turn down a kissing scene, little brother.” He’d managed to even fool his own family it seemed. It was at that point Klaus decided he deserved a bloody Toni Award.

“I’m not feeling the best,” he uttered, feigning sickness. It was the one line he knew would work given Elijah’s deep aversion to germs. Klaus coughed, hoping that his act would convince his brother to call off rehearsal. Elijah considered him gravely before moving backwards and Klaus knew he had him.

“Well, in that case,” he muttered, retreating even further. “We’ll pick this up in the morning.” Klaus definitely deserved the ‘fooling your own sibling’ award, that was for sure. He was gone before Klaus could reply or add another fake cough for effect.

He momentarily wondered what Caroline would think about his sudden disappearance but for some reason he was just pleased he didn’t need to face her today. As pathetic as it sounded, Klaus was scared of what kissing those pink lips would mean. It had been so easy to fake with others until she turned up in his life unexpectedly. So beautiful, brash and intelligent and Klaus had no idea how to handle her.

45 minutes later

Caroline was annoyed. She’d psyched herself up for their possible kissing scene earlier and Klaus had been a no-show. She should have been relieved but for some reason she felt rejected, not surprising when it came to him. Apparently he was sick but there was no doubt Klaus was playing games with her. 

She’d headed down to the costume department shortly afterwards. One of her dresses had accidentally torn during the last scene and she needed trusty Ruth and her sewing machine to fix it before final dress rehearsal.

Caroline knocked on the door but there was no answer so she pushed it open slowly. The darkness enveloping Caroline telling her that everyone had gone home for the day after Klaus’ premature departure no doubt. She decided to remove the dress there and put one of the white robes nearby to return to her dressing room. After she’d come all this way she figured it was probably best given how soon they were due to open.

Caroline grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it upwards, she felt the light fabric inch over her warm skin from her thighs and over her abdomen softly. It wasn’t until she tried to ease it over her head that Caroline realised she was stuck. The dress wasn’t going any further and she was standing there unsure of what to do next to dislodge the material from her underwear clad body.

She inhaled slowly, feeling her claustrophobic tendencies returning with a vengeance. What the hell was she supposed to do now? It wasn’t like anyone could help her and she was growing increasingly worried about being found dead with her white dress strangling her body and cutting off all possible oxygen. If that wasn’t a visual to make you anxious she didn’t know what was.

Caroline heard a slight rustling from the corner of the room and froze. Were there mice in here and she didn’t know about it? Vermin and small spaces were definitely in her top five fears. She was just wondering which was going to be next. Spiders, snakes or birds. She continued in her pose, wondering if she could locate some scissors and cut this thing off her, even just to escape the mice.

“Hello? Who’s there?” She paused thinking that he was the worst person to find her in this precarious position.

“It’s just me.”

“I thought you were a mouse or, even worse, a bird,” she squeaked, silently relieved. If all else failed, Caroline figured you should try to distract said sexy but arrogant actor with a serious personality problem.

“Not so white and furry, plus I don’t like cheese,” he offered. She had to fight the urge to smile even in her current and awkward state.

“That’s blasphemous,” she chided. “Don’t ever say that if you try to cross the border into France.”

“They don’t like us English much anyway, so no great loss,” he quipped. Caroline was surprised to hear him being so easy going and friendly after their previous encounters. “As much as I’d like to ignore the elephant in the room, do you need some help, love?” Suddenly she felt their fragile relationship going back to where they started off. Bastard.

“I bet you’d love that,” she hissed, trying to remember to breathe through her growing anger. “I don’t need some ‘pretend’ prince charming trying to save me. What are you doing here anyway, Mikaelson? Spying on me?”

He didn’t speak for a while, Caroline would have guesses in her current predicament at least forty seconds, she could hear his increasing and ragged breathing from this vantage point though. She wasn’t quite sure how to take that silence, especially partially dressed. As much as she wanted to beg for help it wasn’t in Caroline’s make-up to show weakness. 

“I was resting actually. A room full of costumes and no one else kind of relaxes me.” Caroline wasn’t quite sure how to take it but his sincere tone was telling her she may of misjudged him initially.

“Do you like try them on or something?” She asked, against her better judgment.

“No,” he chuckled softly. “I just kind of sit here in silence.”

“Seriously? Are you playing with me again?”

“Surprisingly no,” he conceded. Caroline couldn’t miss his sincerity yet again.

“Am I on Punk’d or something?”

“Well, if you are,” he offered. “Might I suggest you get that dress off and stop flashing your underwear sooner rather than later.” Caroline had to admit, he did have a point. She’d kind of forgotten her bare predicament in all of their banter.

“You tell anyone about this and I kill you,” she threatened.

“Noted.”

Before she knew it, Caroline could feel his hands sliding over her abdomen and brushing the skin on her arms softly. 

Caroline shuddered involuntarily thinking this was obviously his ploy to get women into his bed. She made a mental note to reject him as soon as this dress wasn’t strangling her. It took all of five second for the material to loosen and her sight was restored. Unfortunately it was restored straight into his dark, blue eyes that were watching her intently. If she wasn’t pretty much naked Caroline knew she could have stayed there with him like that.

She eventually managed to avert her eyes, finding a stray robe hanging nearby. Caroline threw it on, knowing that as soon as she was clothed the weird tension would hopefully dissipate. Unfortunately it didn’t, their gaze still unwavering. Suddenly all the insults and quips weren’t enough to save Caroline and she had no idea why.

30 seconds later

She was beautiful. Klaus knew that without having to witness her partially dressed in the costume department. He’d been surprised to hear a slight knocking and then see Caroline enter, attempting to take off her dress for some reason. 

Klaus had tried to look away, his eyes immediately averted. The one thing he respected was privacy and the fact she didn’t know he was sitting there wouldn’t bode well. It wasn’t until she got stuck that Klaus knew he needed to intervene but how exactly?

He’d managed to find his voice, although it was difficult given her stunning form in such close proximity. He’d been surprisingly playful until she dressed herself and then things became awkward, their eyes unflinching.

“I should get going,” he barely managed.

“What? No smart and untoward sexually charged remark?” Klaus immediately felt bad. He’d been so busy playing a foreign role to repel her that he’d forgotten how to be the guy he actually was. Suddenly, Klaus knew he didn’t deserve anyone’s sympathy after his behaviour.

“I’m so sorry,” he admitted. “I have a tendency to act like a jerk because it’s easier than being myself.” He noticed her face softening slightly.

“So, if you don’t mind me asking, what’s wrong with yourself exactly?”

“That’s an extremely long story,” he smiled, knowingly.

“So how about you tell me about it, over dinner. You know when I’m properly dressed,” she offered. “And just so you know, I have no intention of putting out, Mikaelson.“ 

“Are you at least going to tell me about the bird phobia?” He teased.

“Funnily enough, that’s an extremely long story too. It involves a mean pelican and my seventh birthday party cake”

The tabloids were feverish with the news that leading theatre couple Klaus Mikaelson and Caroline Forbes had cemented their onstage relationship off stage a few months later. 

Caroline and Klaus didn’t care what the rumoured reporting was because they knew what they shared was the real thing unlike everything else that had come before it.

You can read on FF HERE