#but the way the sister character was carefully placed at the begging of season 2

[rustygateofme]

I gotta be honest, I’m not a big fan on the idea of “the turtle’s long lost sister”. Never consumed any tmnt media where the trope was shown and it always felt off since this sibling bond that the brothers have is one of my favorite aspects of the franchise, especially in Rottmnt. But I have a feeling that the rottmnt writing staff would’ve sold that idea to me incredibly fast.

That’s how much I trust these people to have a good written story. That’s what rise is about, mixing up the formula and doing it right.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 16, part two

(Masterpost of All the Rewatches) (Previous Post) (Canary’s Pinboard of Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes

Just A Box of Rain

The brothers find Jiang Yanli and tell her what happened. Pro Tip: a good way to deliver bad news is like this. 1. say "I have bad news" so the person can be prepared for a shock 2. clearly state the bad news. 

Standing in front of the person with tears streaming down your face and looking away when they try to meet your eyes is not, actually, a super effective method for delivering bad news. 

This episode continues to be punctuated by closeups of characters' hands as they respond to events. 

Yanli clutches her broken lotus pendant, cutting her palm and bleeding as she weeps.

Not-at-all symbolic rain drenches the three of them while they cry, standing apart and not comforting each other.

Sometimes a hurt is so deep deep deep You think that you're gonna drown Sometimes all I can do is weep weep weep With all this rain falling down

(more after the cut)

They upgrade their boat with repaired seats and a real oar, and move along toward a hopefully-safer location. 

The scenery continues to be gorgeous, and it appears to be actually really raining on this river or lake. We see Wei Wuxian's hand on the boat's oar as he takes his siblings to what he hopes will be safety.

Maybe you're tired and broken Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken

OP is valiantly resisting dropping a chunk of "Don't Pay the Ferryman" lyrics in here, because projecting European symbolism onto Chinese media is not my bag. This scene does carry a lot of weight, though, showing Wei Wuxian’s sadness and isolation, his ever-growing distance from his siblings and reminding us of his servant status. While his siblings sit under shelter with tears falling down their faces, Wei Wuxian stands in the rain, laboring to protect them and not letting his own tears fall.

It's totally reasonable that Wei Wuxian is the one to man the oar, right? I'm sure Jiang Cheng is the more exhausted of the two of them even though Wei Wuxian started off his day yesterday getting whipped FIVE times by the Zidian and ended it by being choked for 45 seconds.  

Self-Isolation

They reach an inn, where Yanli has a fever, maybe from being left outside all night while her brothers failed to work out any of their interpersonal shit, followed by getting extremely rained on for hours and hours. 

Wei Wuxian carefully puts on a bright, optimistic face for her, practicing for his future fake happiness after the Burial Mounds.

Jiang Cheng sits and has a lot of feelings, totally not helping while Wei Wuxian tends to Yanli. This is not typical of him and just shows how deeply shocked he is by what's happened; usually he is extremely attentive to Yanli and careful with her health.

Wei Wuxian tries to get Jiang Cheng's attention, so that Jiang Cheng can take over caring for Yanli while Wei Wuxian gets medicine. Jiang Cheng is busy staring into the middle distance, and won't respond.

This is Wei Wuxian realizing that absolutely nobody is going to help him.  

Wei Wuxian goes out in his distinctive robes with no hood or anything, to buy some fever medicine, and is quickly surrounded by guards.  They hear "we caught him" and run off, leaving him be.  

What Wei Wuxian doesn't know, that we learn in Episode 50, is that Jiang Cheng and his death wish decided to take a stroll, and seeing the Wen soldiers approach Wei Wuxian finally snapped him out of his reverie.  So he let himself be caught in order to draw them away from Wei Wuxian. 

Let's talk about this choice. In terms of clan roles, Wei Wuxian is absolutely the expendable one. Jiang Cheng became the clan leader when his father died, and knew it from the moment he saw his father's body. 

So far he's 1. Tried to go back to fight and die, against his parents' express instructions 2. left his sister alone in an inn with a fever 3. given himself up to be killed in place of his chief disciple, when it's his disciples' job to die for him, if it comes to that. All but two of Clan Yao's disciples died to protect fucking Captain Blowhard, for goodness sake.  

All of these actions are emotionally super understandable; he's young, he's had a terrible shock, and he's an emotional guy who's never heard of Dialectical Behavior Therapy. And I'm not here to defend feudal power structures. But perhaps Jiang Cheng shouldn't ring the "YOU PROMISED" bell quite so loud in the future, considering his own relationship to his obligations. 

Wei Wuxian begs Yanli to stay put and stay safe while he goes to find Jiang Cheng, and he promises to take Jiang Cheng back from the Wens. Yanli clutches his hands and asks him to promise again that he will rescue their brother, and that they will all go to Meishan together. But for once Wei Wuxian is completely honest, and disentangles his hands and sets off without another word.  

More running ensues, this time in the rain. To quote Adam in Season 7 Episode 1 of Spooks, "all this traumatized running is starting to really annoy me." (Spooks is the shit. Don't watch it if you like characters to have a lifespan longer than a mayfly's)

Camera Operator: Finally, a little appreciation

Wei Wuxian arrives in Lotus Pier, and can we just take a second to appreciate the decor of this place? Look at that tile floor with the cobblestone border, and the bamboo wall panel behind him.

He grabs the first Wen he finds, who turns out to be a much-needed friend.

Rescue Me

The Untamed is the tale of a man’s devotion; devotion so strong it transcends clan allegiance and even death. And that man’s name is Wen Ning.

Initially Wei Wuxian chokes him, like bros do, until he recognizes him and lets him go...

...only to immediately grab him and demand to know if he had a part in the massacre. Wen Ning stays pretty calm, seeing the angry side of Wei Wuxian for the first time, and explains that he heard about what happened, and is there to help.

Wei Wuxian absorbs this and lets him go, giving us a closeup of their hands together, with Wen Ning not so much resisting Wei Wuxian's grip as giving a steadying grip of his own to his best friend.

Wen Ning, who Wei Wuxian saved from one water demon, has already saved Wei Wuxian from one horrifying animatronic dog, and does not actually owe him a life debt at this point. Wen Ning has defied his sister and his entire clan and flown to Lotus Pier with a team of minions, with the specific intent of fucking things up for Wen Chao to the best of his abilities, simply because "Wei Wuxian is a nice person." 

Wei Wuxian isn't feeling like a nice person just now, however, thinking that he can use Wen Ning as a hostage to...what, trade for his brother? Wen Chao would probably be happy to kill Wen Ning himself, but his dad needs Wen Ning as a way to control Wen Qing, so maybe that plan would work.

Then Wei Wuxian sees this small pouch hanging from Wen Ning's belt, and it stops him in his tracks.

For once we are not given a flashback to explain his thinking, so I’ll provide one

The talisman he gave Wen Ning to protect him, now protects him from Wei Wuxian himself. He lets Wen Ning's arm go, and tries to think of another plan. 

Wen Ning already has another plan, and has come to Lotus Pier prepared to enact it. 

Wei Wuxian can't believe he's found someone to help him. In a moment of wrenching vulnerability, he asks Wen Ning to save Jiang Cheng and to retrieve the bodies of Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan. Wen Ning immediately agrees. 

Wen Ning then embarks upon the least sneaky sabotage campaign of all time, chatting to the guards while messing with the wine, and generally acting like a person who is up to something. 

Nobody respects him enough to worry about it, though, and the party proceeds as planned.

The banquet is set up in the cleaned-up courtyard of Lotus Pier The Yunmeng Supervisory Office, and features dancing girls performing in the center of the beautiful carved paving, and corpses hanging in the doorway. 

I bet Jin Guangyao hires this same dance troupe for his future parties.

Wen Chao and Wang Lingjiao sit at the main table, snuggling and being gross, but mercifully not necking on-camera because this is a 100% no-necking show. The drinks are sent around and Wen Chao tells Wen Zhuliu to drink up. 

Wen Zhuliu is busy gazing wistfully at Yu Ziyuan's corpse.

Let's face it, Wen Zhuliu is the only dangerous person in this place at the moment, so what he does next is the make-or-break for Wen Ning’s plan. 

Wen Zhuliu smells his wine and immediately can tell something is wrong. He takes a long moment to consider the situation, eyes on Yu Ziyuan, and then downs it, letting his emotions--perhaps something in the neighborhood of remorse, perhaps simple disgust at his craven supervisor--get the better of him.  

In the morning he will be able to tell Wen Chao with 100% precision exactly what the drug is, probably from smelling it right here. This is the only miscalculation Wen Zhuliu makes in the whole show, and it eventually costs him his life.

Wen Zhuliu has no reason to think this decision will hurt him. It's definitely impossible for Jiang Cheng, whipped and crushed, to avenge himself and his parents. But Jiang Cheng, with Wei Wuxian’s help, is going to achieve the impossible. 

We end with Wei Wuxian hiding while he waits for Wen Ning, as strung out as we have seen him so far, although he's got worse mental states ahead of him on his journey.  He doesn't know yet if he was right to trust Wen Ning, and the episode ends with him, cold, wet, and miserable, waiting to find out. 

Next Episode: Still miserable, but with a cape! Soundtrack: 1. Patty Griffin, Rain  2. Grateful Dead, Box of Rain

[thewatermelloncat]

Breaking Bottles

Summary: Set after the events of Season 2, Five struggles to come to terms with all he has done to get himself and his family back to the timeline. (No Sparrow Academy)

Author’s Note: Started this with a whiz and a bang and then fell out of writing it for a bit. Don’t know if the level of craftsmanship will be consistent. Let me know what you think, love getting feedback.

Warnings: Themes of depression

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His stares were always blank. It would seem like he was studying whatever was in front of him intently, if it weren’t for the vacant look behind his eyes.

Sometimes he would blink too much and other times seemingly not blink at all. There were moments when he breathed too rapidly and other moments when he would stop, only to breathe out and then hold his breath again.

Allison had used the phrasing that Five was like a shell. He looked the same, but inside he seemed empty. That was the description that suited the best, so it was the description they kept.

Every move he made was mechanical when he chose to move at all. Most of the time he stayed so still it would be easy to forget he was capable to animate. He also gravitated towards corners, choosing to mechanically make coffee in the place where the two lines of benches met each other. Often, he would stay there while he drank it before disappearing off to his room. Sometimes when they could convince him to sit at the table with them, he would sit at the very end even if he was far away from his siblings, but he would never sit at the head where he would be too isolated.

Days swung in and out. Some days were good and he would talk to them with his voice sounding hollow, but interacting with them all the same. Other days were bad and he would sit frozen and emotionless.

Today was a bad day.

Like the other bad days, it was late when he came down from his room to join them in the lounge. Settling tight into the corner of the couch, tucking his knees to his chest to make himself as small as possible. From the moment he walked in they knew that he wasn’t going to respond to anything they said. It was either a hit or a miss on bad days. Most of the time they could ask him to do something and he would immediately get up and do it on autopilot, no questions asked as if he just wanted to avoid confrontation. Though sometimes he stayed frozen in place with his empty gaze, like he couldn’t hear a word they said. Those were the worst days.

On those days he was completely disassociated, face pale while the rest of his body shook. They hadn’t realised the extent of the problem until Allison had felt his forehead for fever and found that he didn’t move, didn’t flinch, barely blinked when she touched him. Her hand had come away cool but her heart had been racing. She had asked him how he was feeling but he said nothing, his eyes didn’t even move toward her. The rest of the siblings had tried their hand at asking afterward, each of their questions coming away unanswered. They had shared worried glances with each other but had said nothing about it until he had disappeared back to his room.

Collectively they had decided to not speak to Five about it until he was ready to talk to them. The decision may have been unadvisable but it wasn’t like he was being self-destructive. He was still eating and getting sleep – almost too much if they thought about it. But he deserved it after the weeks he had been through. So, they decided to watch him, and on the days when he came down having missed breakfast, one of them would find something for him from the kitchen and bring it to him so he could eat.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

This morning when Diego holds the plate of toast out for him, he doesn’t take it. Gently he taps it against his shoulder in case he hasn’t noticed him standing next to him. “Five?” he says quietly after still getting no response.

That fails as well.

Carefully Diego reaches down and moves his arm that rests across his torso, his hand gripping onto the fabric of his shirt. Although his grip was tight, he releases it immediately allowing Diego to move his arm easily so he can wedge the plate between his chest and his folded legs.

With the plate balanced Diego moves over to the rest of his siblings who have congregated over by the bar, watching their brother. He catches their eyes and shakes his head – this is the worst day they’ve seen.

“We need to get him to talk to us” Allison whispers when Diego joins them.

“He won’t tell us anything if he’s not ready” Luther points out.

“It’s been almost two weeks since we got back, Luther, and he still hasn’t said a word about any of it” she sighs helplessly.

“He’s still processing. Just give him more time” Vanya tells her gently.

“How much more time can we give him?” Allison’s voice cracks. “Have you even seen his eyes? It’s-it’s like he’s not alive anymore.”

At her words they all look over seeing the all too frequent blank stare.

“He wants to live” Klaus settles their thoughts. He for one knows the look in his brother’s eyes isn’t one that wants to die. He’s seen that look stare back at him in the mirror from time to time.

“How can you be sure?” Allison’s voice shakes and she opens her mouth to say more before Klaus cuts her off.

“I just know. All right?” he speaks quickly and with conviction, but he doesn’t sound angry. His tone sounding far too serious for his character. They don’t question it.

“What can we do for him?” Vanya asks.

“Just be with him. He still likes our company” Diego says.

It was true, Five tended to be where they were whether he talked to them or not.

“He seems different today. He’s not eating” Luther says staring at the untouched plate.

Without a word Allison detaches herself from the bench and makes her way over to him. Carefully placing her hand back to his forehead then moving it down his face to cup his cheek. She keeps it there in silence, hoping that he’ll move. He doesn’t.

She doesn’t have the strength to move back to the bar and sinks into one of the chairs across from Five on the couch. The rest of the siblings follow her lead moving from the bench to various furnishings. Luther sitting on the couch next to Allison, placing his hand on the arm of her chair. Vanya takes the other end of his couch and Diego sits in another chair on the other side of her. Klaus is the last to take his seat after taking the plate from Five and placing it on the small table next to him, figuring that he’s not going to eat, before sitting on the other end of his couch.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It’s hard to find conversation when all they can think about is their brother sitting unresponsive amongst them, but somehow, they manage it. A debate ensues over whether Luther or Diego would be better at tenpin bowling. Luther having super strength but Diego having pinpoint accuracy. In the end, they settle that Diego would be superior given that super strength isn’t needed to knock over ten pins – if it were one giant pin, that would be a different story.

Somehow Klaus knows that Five is listening to their conversation, although he may not comprehend what is being said. Occasionally he’ll feel him shift at the other end of the couch from him, sometimes taking a deep breath before stopping unmoving again.

It isn’t until Vanya is telling them a story about one of her violin students that Klaus habitually looks over to Five after realising the couch is vibrating. “Five?” the name falls out of his mouth instantly, seeing him shaking with his jaw twitching. That hadn’t happened before.

Five says nothing as he chews at his bottom lip to keep it from moving. He seems to be aware of Klaus looking at him as his breathing gets shakier and he curls his fingers one at a time into fists, each of his fingernails scratching against the sleeves above his shoulders.

Klaus’ own lip quivers as he registers the shining tears that have yet to fall out of his brother’s eyes.

“Breathe” he tells him slowly, wanting more than anything for Five to let his emotions out. Bottles can only hold so much before they break.

His words draw Vanya’s attention and she stops her story as the rest of the siblings look over to them. One by one they get out of their seats and move closer to them. Allison and Vanya taking the floor in front of the couch, Luther and Diego standing behind them. Klaus shuffles over the gap in the couch to sit cross-legged at Five’s feet.

With all his siblings packed in close with their attention on him, Five feels his grip on his emotions slipping faster. He can’t let them see him break. Unknowingly he turns his head to bite against his thumb, hoping the pain will hold him together. The relief doesn’t last long as Luther carefully removes his hand from his mouth, thankful to see only teeth marks and no blood.

Having nothing else to distract him his breathing quickens into panic as he keeps slipping.

Seeing his brother’s eyes widen and dart around in panic, Klaus quickly reaches his hands over Five’s knees and onto his shoulders, giving them a light squeeze to get his attention. When the shining eyes meet his he narrows his gaze. “Five, break” he begs, his voice both commanding and compassionate.

He pours every ounce of his authority into his words as if he has the power of his sister. It isn’t an option for Five to withhold his emotions anymore. Something has to give.

And Klaus guesses it does as Five lowers his head to his knees, his chest expanding deeply with quiet breaths. But he’s still holding back, they can tell as much as his deep breaths seem to be trying to calm himself down rather than letting everything out.

“Five, it’s okay” Allison says as she places a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Around him the rest of his siblings place a hand upon him. Each gentle touch prying open a chink in Five’s armour as his breathing becomes uneven, sobs choking out of his body. The sounds so ragged that they sound like they should never come from someone so well put together as him.

It’s a nervous wait as they sit by, giving Five time to ride out his bottled emotions. Even after all the time waiting for this moment, none of them know what to do, being unprepared for what it entails. As Five’s breath steadies out Klaus looks up to his siblings.

“Hey guys, can we have a minute?” he requests, nodding down to Five.

Although none of them want to leave no one argues and Allison leads them all in standing up. Slowly they make their way to the door where she waits brushing her hand against each of them to shepherd them through, keeping a watchful eye over her brothers on the couch. When the last has filed through she turns without a word and follows them through the hallway.

After watching them disappear, Klaus turns his attention back down to Five.

“Hey buddy, look at me” he says squeezing a hand gently on his shoulder.

To his surprise, Five obliges immediately. Raising his head and quickly brushing tears from his eyes.

Klaus smiles sadly at him before he cuts right into it, not seeing the point in messing around. “Look, I’ve been to rehab so many times and they’re all filled with ridiculous amounts of bullshit, but they all say this same thing: the hardest thing to do is to ask for help, because that means you’re admitting you have a problem. How cliché right?” he laughs slightly at the end, hoping to lighten the mood. Though he doesn’t expect Five to laugh with him or to answer, so he isn’t surprised when he does neither.

“There’s no point having the front up anymore, we can all see through it. You’re only closing yourself off so we can’t get to you. Just please let us help you.”

“You can’t help me” Five protests weakly.

“That’s what everyone says at first” Klaus dismisses.

Five shakes his head and sets his jaw. “I’m sick, Klaus.”

For a moment Klaus has to ask himself in what way he means it. With Five sitting there pale-faced, gaunt and shaky it isn’t too far of a stretch in either direction. Illness could be a factor in allowing his guard to slip. Though Klaus knows by his finger tapping against his temple, far too erratically to be considered sane, Five has reached his breaking point. “I know” he tells him sadly.

Five sighs as he lowers his hand, seeming to ignore Klaus’ words. “There is no part of me that is fixable.”

“We fixed Vanya,” Klaus reminds him, “and that was all because of you.” He remembers how the rest of them had wanted to abandon Vanya to save themselves until Five suggested otherwise. “We reversed two apocalypses. And one of those you did on your own.”

“But I can’t reverse what I did” Five mumbles quietly.

Klaus doesn’t say anything, suddenly finding it not important to speak. Though he fixes Five with an attentive look allowing him to continue.

“I killed so many people” Five breathes out, lowering his head back to his knees.

“We’ve all killed people Five” Klaus points out. “Even when we were as little as kids.”

“When we were kids, we didn’t know any better” Five dismisses. “We were only following instructions.”

“But that’s what you did at the Commission, yeah? Follow instructions?”

“But I should have known better” Five raises his head. “I should have been smarter. Figured out another way.”

“No, there was no other way” Klaus tells him. “If you hadn’t joined the Commission, you’d have died out in the apocalypse.”

“I survived on my own for over 40 years, I could have gone more.”

Klaus is already shaking his head before the sentence is finished. “Admittedly, I don’t know much about how time travel works but I’ve seen you absolutely shattered after bigger jumps. There is no way you could have gained enough energy from living off scraps to make your way back to us.”

Five opens his mouth to respond only to shut it again as a puzzled look crosses his face. “I-I never thought of it that way” he says slowly.

“You did what you had to do to survive, Five. Just like me in Vietnam. We both killed people we didn’t want to” Klaus assures him. “We did he best with what we got – and don’t get me wrong it sucks, it fucking sucks. But it’s something to be proud of.”

“I can’t be proud of it” Five denies. “I keep thinking that I should have thought of another way. A way to debilitate them rather than kill them.”

“I’m not saying be proud of what you did. What I’m meaning is be proud that you made your way out” Klaus amends. “For all the powers we have as a family, Five. None of us have the power of foresight. We only realise what else we could have done in hindsight.”

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There is a long silence where neither of them says anything. Five goes back to staring at the couch and Klaus fiddles with the ties at the end of his pants. Overtime the silence becomes unbearable, Klaus knowing that if Five had finished saying everything on his mind he would have left. But yet he stays.

“That’s not it, is it?” Klaus states more than asks when the silence feels like it’s going to swallow him whole.

Slowly Five’s eyes rise to connect back with his and he shifts slightly before he speaks. “She told me I was always a killer.”

Though he’d never told Klaus this, it doesn’t take long for him to figure out that he means the Handler.

“You were – we always were. That’s how dad raised us” Klaus brings up again.

“No, not like that” Five’s voice is barely audible. “I’ve been thinking for a while now” – Five pauses to swallow deeply. “That Vanya wasn’t the true cause of the apocalypse.”

“I know, it was her creepy ex-boyfriend” Klaus labels and his face falls when Five shakes his head.

“It was me.”

The words sound so preposterous to Klaus’ ears that he barely comprehends them. He opens his mouth and draws in a breath to interject but Five stops him.

“I killed everyone when I went into the apocalypse. The whole planet wiped out… If I hadn’t time travelled, I wouldn’t have got stuck. I would have been there to protect you all, Ben wouldn’t have died” Five sniffs and runs a hand through his hair, visibly distressed. “Then our family wouldn’t have fallen apart and” – Klaus cuts him off, not being able to bear listening to anymore.

“Though dad would have still had Vanya hopped up on meds and repressed her powers with disastrous consequences.”

Five stops speaking, not having expected Klaus to interject.

“It’s not all bad Five” Klaus tells him. “Some good came out of it.”

“Not enough” Five shakes his head.

Klaus sighs deeply, reaching forward to take Five’s hands and he’s surprised when Five lets him. “You made it back to us. It’s enough.”

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Five was drained, that much was as clear as day. His emotions spilling out had taken its toll on him but he seemed better for it. Still, no one stopped him from going up to his room after his conversation with Klaus ended. They figured that some sleep would do him good as a sort of reset button.

It was a nerve-racking conversation Klaus had with the rest of them huddled around in the lounge after Five had left. A mix of emotions swirled around the small circle: worry, remorse, uncertainty. But mostly there was relief. Relief that Five had begun to talk to them. No none of them were stupid and thought that this would be a one talk fix all situation, they all knew a long process was yet to come. But they had a starting point.

When Five came down for dinner that evening no one said anything about it and likely wouldn’t for a little while longer. They all knew there was only so much his mind could handle in a day and they weren’t going to push its limits.

The next morning, he came down earlier than usual. He seemed quiet during breakfast but he ate enough and said enough so that it wasn’t too much of a worry for those around him. When they’d moved up to the lounge, he again sat in the corner of the couch. He mimicked the prior morning’s position with his legs up to his chest, though the muscle tension was gone.

Around him conversation started up over old memories from their time as children in the same house.

“Do they still have those specials on Tuesdays?” Allison says of Griddy’s when reminiscing about their old childhood escape.

“We should go” Luther suggests before turning to Five. “When you’re feeling better of course.”

Tuesday was only a few days away but to Five’s mind Luther’s insistence that there is “no rush” is lost to it.

“Maybe we can do it” is all he says for the moment.

He doesn’t know for sure whether he’ll be up for it when the date comes. But it might remind him of when times were simpler.

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

Mount Everest Ain’t Got Shit On Us (Fezco x fem!reader, Part 17.) - The Final Problem, Part 3.

Description: You were always told that your life will be as you wish it to be if you’ll study enough. That it will pay off if you work hard. And some people were given you like a scary example of what will happen when you don’t obey. But sometimes it feels good to disobey.

A/N: Based on the song All For Us (Labrinth x Zendaya) playing in the last minutes of the end of the season. 

Warnings: One of the main character’s manor injuries, murder, PCP hallucinations, drug usage, smth like cartel wars? Idk.

Word count: 2.2 K

Read the rest here, babe:  PART 1  PART 2  PART 3  PART 4  PART 5  PART 6  PART 7  PART 8  PART 9  PART 10  PART 11  PART 12  PART 13  PART 14  PART 15  PART 16  

Masterlist and declaration: H E R E

Tagging: @charmed-asylum, @jeyramarie, @pantherxrogers, @analia-analia-analia​

Sometimes, you can acknowledge you were wrong when a long time passes from the moment someone tried to say you that you¦re doing something bad. Especially when you’re going through puberty or when you are an actual teenager. But most of the time, you feel like you are the only one who knows what to do with your life. But usually, you are the most delusional one from all of them.

Everybody is the hero of their story, isn't that right? Even the villains are usually the heroes in their own perception of the world around them. But you do not need to be a villain to do shitty things. 

Something it just fucks up on its own, without you even trying to do something. Some trips can be way worse than the previous ones, sometimes you know that there is nothing that could be done to save you. 

And sometimes it can cost you more than your dignity. It can cost you the ones you love, it can cost you your health and sometimes when the shits really turned out as the biggest shit of your whole life, you can lose your mind or your life. 

It was a game. It always was just a game. A lottery which most of the people had lost. A lottery that can only be played without knowing the rules or predicting the future. Nobody could one hundred percent sure told that you will be alive another day.

It could be applied to everything - every car ride, every shot of booze, every cigarette or every drug trip or operation. Who could promise you that you would be safe? Even you couldn't know. 

And this time, the lottery came to an end for you. This was just a Russian roulette you played and the bullet had to come after you one day.

There was a slight pain as your feet fell down to the ground. Glitter from your morning make-up was moving down off from eyelids with the bright violet color as you cried; you were walking around in a milky white mist and you were scared of it because you couldn't see three feet ahead of you. This trip was bad. Like real bad. You were scared for your dear life, you felt like somebody's watching you and there were moments when you stopped because your feet hurt too much. 

But the spiders were after you, almost breathing on your back.

Your arms felt cold even though the sweater Fez had landed you, your feet trembled more and with every single step you took and the ground was cold and slippery. That night was too dark for you. You tried to call for him, for Rue or for Jules, you tried even Maddy’s and Cassie's name, but no one answered you. You slowly realized that you are all alone in this. You could feel that the thing is coming to an end because the life inside of you started to slowly disappear. 

Meanwhile, Rue ran into Fezco’s apartment and watched him crying, not being able to say a word. Ash had called them just ten minutes prior; and when they had heard what happened, they freaked out and immediately left to Fezco’s place. They didn't ever before try to be faster.

“Fez, Fez, look at me.” - She took his face to her palm and tried to look him in the eyes, meanwhile, Jules found Mouse on the ground. She was one hundred percent sure she was dead, the blood made big circles on the carpet. She jumped in shock and almost threw up, her hand in front of her mouth and her closed because of how watery they became. - “Homeboy, tell me in which direction she went and what did he give her. We need to find her. It is not safe out there this night.” 

Rue took the gun out of his palm and put the fuse back into its place, making sure that it’s safe. As she watched her best friend/drug dealer crying, she felt the urge to cry too. Her lips began to curl into one tight line and her eyes watered. 

“Fez talk to me, I beg you, please.” - She pleaded, but Jules felt Rue's voice trembling and breaking. Rue bugan to cry as well. She was afraid about Y/N. She could be anywhere at that point. 

“PCP. That bastard made her do PCP even when I told him she ain't ready for that kin’ of shit, Rue. She made her do it.” - Fezco cried out and sobbed, slowly cycling his body into a tight, small ball. Fezco was broken - Mouse broke him apart. - “Than she opened up the fuckin’ door, she left and her pupils looked like fuckin’ balloons, he tried to shoot, I shot him and before I could look, she has gon’ out of my sight. I can't leave a fuckin' deadman here.”

"Okay. Okay. Okay..." - Rue was seriously panicking at that point, crying and she was highly disoriented. Jules needed to come to the frame and hold her shoulders to bring her back to reality.

"Go after Y/N - the later will you go, the freezer it becomes outside. I will stay with Fez and we'll call the police. We'll tell them about Mouse drugging an underage kid and Fezco acting in self-defense. Go. Run for her life." - Jules kisser her lips for a long time before pushing Rue or of the door. Rue was really clueless.

Mouse gave you PCP which was a seriously strong drug - so you could only be in a radius of one mile if you weren't used to that shit. She stopped and thought. When you saw the shit you saw on methamphetamines, you were basically done for. You were locked in a world inside your head and you barely saw the world that was real. You would not be walking fast or in one direction, so you had to sit and crawl from time to time.

Rue thanked God she had such a personal experience. She walked within a direct direction from Fezco's house, tried to play what must've happened to you in her head.

The air was getting colder and colder with every passing moment just as the mist got more and more intense.

On the ground, she found a footprint of your Vans shoes - it was not more than twenty minutes older. Maybe even less.

"Y/N?! Y/N, babez, are ya there?" - Rue yelled with a loud sob full of pain, trying to catch any sound you could make in your current state. But it was silent as a graveyard, only the wind whispered in the distance. When she ran down a small hill, she felt like throwing up. There was a road. Cars drove there. And she knew that pavement is something that drugged people ignore completely.

"Y/N?!" - She yelled for the last time. And there you stood in the middle of the road with your make-up smudged, your face bloodless and pale, Fezco's shirt tore apart at some played.

You saw her coming from the mist as a beautiful angel lightened up with heaven's light. Rue had her long curly hair in a bun and she had a long white shirt along with huge wings on. She was offering you her strong palm with a smile full of love and grace. She felt warm and more and more shining with every passing moment. - "Rue..."- Was a single whisper that came from your lips before something push you few meters away and made you fell on the ground. At the moment the reality just turned off and you laid there, completely lifeless, your eyes closed and your body not moving.

Rue was yelling your name, she was offering you her hand, but you ignored. She was afraid to step in the road and you were holding your hand out to a light source somewhere in the darkness. You were whispering her name again and again.

"Yep, baby, it's me, come ’ere." - She begged, but you were mesmerized with something. Rue was afraid of touching you - every time someone touched her, she snapped, the visions turned the person as an intruder and once she almost killed a guy. You were really dangerous at that point. But you continued on walking. - "Please, please, baby girl, come to me. We'll make it work. Come here."

But what happened in the next minute she was not expecting at all. The breaks and car pneumatics made a high pitched noise at the driver tried to stop the car, but it was too late for that. The car hit your fragile body with all of its speed and power and you just flew away for five and more feet.

She was in shock, watching you laying on the ground in an unnatural pose, looking dead. Blood started to concentrate under your head and your eyes were closed, one of your legs was certainly broken.

"Call the ambulance! Hurry up!" - A woman screamed at Rue, she got off the car and went to you, checking on your functions. Rue did call the ambulance, but it was more an automatic pilot then actual Rue talking with the operator.

Then she got onto her knees, she held one of your wrists and kissed it slowly with pain coming through sobs out of her body. She was certain that you're dead. Rue was falling into a hysterical state. Her voice was loud and painful to listen to as she screamed and moved forward and backward. You truly were a part of the family for her and Jules. They loved you like a fucking sister and just moments ago, she saw getting hit by a fucking car.

The emergency came under three minutes, but Rue was afraid that it's too late. She was holding your palm in hers as she watched the lights making your pale face stand out even more. Your skin was dirty, bloody and bruised. The blood under your head was sticky and warm, but your body was colder and paler with each passing minute. 

Men from emergency gave you a machine to help you breathe, they checked on your pulse and the temperature of your body, they measured your pressure as they slowly helped you onto the bed, carefully tying up your body to it. 

They took you to the hospital, letting the hysterical crying Rue not leaving your side all the time, just entwining your fingers with yours in a tight embrace, kissing every one of your knuckles lightly. She almost started yelling when they tried to separate her from you. When you got to the hospital, the lottery was most likely to go pretty bad for you. She called your parents in a quiet, sobbing tone as she watched how they dropped your body onto the second, clean and tried to stop the blood running out of the back your head.

Rue stood there with tears streaming down her cheeks, she had a long brown coat on and just watched the hall in front of her. It was so clean, everyone was dressed so clean, in white and light green; only you lied there with your body covered in mud and blood, with your leg broken and the bone protruding outta your left knee. 

It must've been something similar when they got her to the hospital with her OD. At least you weren't choking on your own vomit, just as Rue was that day. For the very first time in her whole life, she could feel what her mom and her sister were feeling at that moment.

She could feel as the blood was freezing up in her veins because of how scared she was, the surroundings were unnerving with their cleanness and the hall looked like the most neverending one in the whole history. Her eyes slowly started to smart and her head was spinning because of the nerves. 

When your family ran there with the horror written down deeply in their faces, Rue wasn't even able to tell something meaningful to them. She just shuttered, but that was understandable. Her whole body was falling into a deep shock while you fought for your whole life. 

It felt like nobody could say a single word in the sequences of the things that happen, it felt like forever before Fez and Jules finally made it from the police station. There was a long way for them to go through. The police wanted to investigate everything deeper when both Jules and Fezco will be more able to cooperate with them. 

“Don't worry.” - Jules whispered when Rue hugged her, crying into her neck, holding her tightly without the intention to stop. - “I took care of it. They will have nothing on Fezco. We can talk it out.” 

The last sentence Fezco said that night was a one which Rue knew that she'll never forget. It was just impossible to get out of her head. She stood there next to Fez, holding his hand in hers, both of them with a painful look on their faces. They were watching you while you were sleeping, all tubed inside out, the machines around you monitoring every little thing that happened inside of you.

Just as doctors said, you were stabilized - which meant you had equal chances of daying and staying alive.

And Fez looked at Rue, his eyes completely emotionless, flat and cold as he watched her next to him.

"I did 't all for us, ya know, Rue? I did it all for love."

[violethowler]

A Farewell To The Clone Wars

Yesterday was the end of an era

After 11 years and 104 days

After a theatrical movie, a novel, a comic miniseries, 8 incomplete story reels, and 133 episodes

After 49 hours and 12 minutes of incredible, heartbreaking, beautifully animated television….

Ended, The Clone Wars have.

I watched all of the existing Star Wars movies on DVD when I was a kid, but I was never particularly enamored with them the way that others are. And then in August 2008, I went to the local movie theater with my grandmother to see an animated movie that – while I didn’t know it at the time – would chart the course of my future for years to come.

While a lot of the general Star Wars fandom looks down on the theatrical Clone Wars movie as weak and lackluster, 11-year-old me loved every minute of it. I’ve been obsessed with animation my entire life, and around 2 years before the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, I had just begun to explore the world of animation outside of my childhood Disney bubble, diving headfirst into SpongeBob and Avatar and Codename Kids Next Door. Whenever I saw commercials for an animated movie playing in theaters I would beg my family to take me to see it. It didn’t matter what the movie was actually about, all that mattered was that it was animated and I thought it looked fun.

So, when I saw Star Wars: The Clone Wars in theaters with my sister and my grandmother, I loved it. I enjoyed the movie so much that when I learned there was going to be a TV show following the movie, I was ecstatic. From the moment that the first episodes of Season 1 aired on Cartoon Network a few months later, I was hooked. From the very beginning I refused to miss a single episode. From middle school all the way through high school The Clone Wars became the axis around which almost all of my entertainment consumption revolved.

I started reading more Star Wars books and comics from all over the timeline. The Thrawn trilogy. Darth Bane. Fate of the Jedi. The Old Republic. Lost Tribe of the Sith. I devoured every piece of Star Wars media I could find as this show awakened in me an appetite for all things Star Wars. Whenever my parents asked for gift ideas for my birthday or Christmas, at the top of my list would be the latest season of The Clone Wars on DVD. Every summer I trawled the internet looking for news from Star Wars Celebration or San Diego Comic Con about the next season – trailers, clips, plot details, whatever I could find.

When the show was initially cancelled following the purchase of Lucasfilm by Disney, I was devastated. This show had such a staple of my life that the idea that it wasn’t going to be coming back hurt. As I started looking around at online Star Wars fandom to find someone, anyone, who felt the same way that I did, I discovered #SaveTheCloneWars, and joined the campaign. Through that first year after the plug was pulled, I wrote to Disney asking them to continue the show. I signed fan petitions and made posts on Facebook. It was my first real engagement with the wider online fandom.

Then came The Lost Missions and the Clone Wars Legacy releases – Crystal Crisis, Son of Dathomir, Dark Disciple… Having more Clone Wars stories helped soften the pain of the show’s loss, but the story still felt incomplete. Hearing about future arcs that had been planned for the show only added to the sense of incompleteness, knowing that there were more stories we didn’t get to see. When rumors had begun circulating about an animated Star Wars show set post-Clone Wars, resolving unanswered questions of The Clone Wars was at the top of my wish list for a future Star Wars show.

When Rebels was announced I was cautiously optimistic. I didn’t want to get attached to a new set of characters when the loss of Ahsoka and Rex and my other Clone Wars favorites still felt so raw. After Dave Filoni and the production crew of Rebels posted videos introducing the crew of the Ghost and the core cast of Rebels I reluctantly became more interested, I still was cautious about investing my time in this new show out of fear that it too would be ripped away from me without a proper conclusion just like The Clone Wars was.

So, when the final episode of Rebels’ first season confirmed that the mysterious Fulcrum was none other than Ahsoka Tano I was out of my seat cheering. There were still questions I needed answered about what happened to her after she left the Jedi Order, but the fact that she was there, back on my TV screen once more, was a relief. And when I watched the first trailer for Season 2 a month later, the words “My name is Rex,” made me scream and cry. I was overcome with tears of joy knowing that not only would my favorite Jedi be appearing in Rebels but my favorite Clone Trooper as well.

By the time Rebels’ first season had ended, I was getting ready to graduate from high school and planning where I would go to college in the fall. Taking art electives in high school, particularly a computer art class during the airing of Season 5, made me appreciate just how beautiful the show’s art style was, and when the time came for me to plan where I wanted to go to college, I chose schools that had programs for animation. I had originally wanted to be a game designer because of Kingdom Hearts, but The Clone Wars made me realize that the passion I truly wanted to make a career out of was animation.

I continued to follow Rebels as I went off to college, and by the end of Season 3 – with Maul dead for good, Ahsoka MIA, and Rex and Hondo as the only major Clone Wars characters left on the show – I had gotten attached to the Rebels characters as well. I was just as invested in their fates as I was for those of Clone Wars characters like Rex and Hondo. Season 4 finished airing at the end of my junior year, and the knowledge in the final five episodes that Ahsoka had not only survived her confrontation with Anakin at the end of Season 2 but that she was still alive years after the events of the original trilogy had me crying tears of joy as I went to sleep.

The trailer announcing the return of The Clone Wars had me in tears for hours. Long had I been dreaming of the remaining stories of this show being released in some form. I would have been content with more novels and comics like Son of Dathomir and Dark Disciple, but to have the show return in animated form was a miracle I had given up hope for years ago.

But within the last twelve months, my interest in Star Wars cooled.

I was never the biggest fan of the movies. Revenge of the Sith was my favorite because in the absence of a proper conclusion it functioned as a de facto finale to The Clone Wars. I enjoyed the original trilogy, but they weren’t movies I considered my favorites. I saw The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi in theaters and cried on my first viewing of both films, but on repeat viewings the magic of them faded and I lost interest. While I could understand why other fans liked them, there was a spark that was missing from most of the movies released under Disney that prevented them from really having any staying power for me.

And then The Rise of Skywalker came out and completely shattered any expectations I had that Disney really knew what they were doing with the franchise. Where before I was willing to trust that there actually was a plan because of how precisely Rey and Ben Solo’s arc followed the path of the Heroine’s Journey across The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi, now I realize that what I initially believed to have been a carefully planned narrative arc was most likely JJ Abrams planning to set up a conventional Hero’s Journey which Rian Johnson used to try and tell a Heroine’s Journey instead. And even if there was a plan for Rey and Ben Solo that got screwed around by behind the scenes conflicts, there was clearly no plan as far as Poe and Finn and Rose were concerned.

For months after this, I started questioning and doubting my love of all the canon Star Wars media. How could I enjoy anything in the Original and Prequel trilogy eras knowing that all the hard work of dismantling Palpatine’s empire would be undone in order to rehash the same plotline with new characters and no concern given for whether the audience could follow what was happening or why these events and character decisions mattered if they hadn’t read every comic and novel and played every video game connected to this era.

Since the last trailer for the final season of The Clone Wars went up on YouTube, I vacillated between enthusiastically sticking to the shows I loved regardless of my problems with the film saga, and abandoning the franchise altogether and gifting my Clone Wars and Rebels Blu-Ray sets and associated novels to my college friend who had just gotten into Star Wars.

And then ‘The Phantom Apprentice’ Happened.

Ahsoka and Maul’s two-part duel in the throne room and the rafters of Sundari reminded me of everything I loved about The Clone Wars in the first place. The animation. The art style. The music. The attention to detail on every character and in every detail. The tragedy of what was to come. On my third re-watch of the third-to-last episode of Season 7, that was when I realized that despite my problems with the Sequel Trilogy, despite the many flaws in the writing of the Prequel movies, I could never give up on The Clone Wars, or on Rebels. These two shows have meant too much for me to ever walk away from either of them.

I have cried at least ten times in the last five days watching the final two episodes of The Clone Wars. The final of this incredible series was such a gut punch even though I knew what was coming and who would survive. I had and saw so many ideas about what the last episode would include. Would their be a montage of all the Jedi who survived Order 66 as a mirror of the death montage in Episode III? Would Ahsoka and Rex receive Obi-Wan’s recorded message from Rebels warning surviving Jedi to stay away from the temple?

But in the end, none of those things happened. The focus of the episode remained on Ahsoka and Rex. Their escape from the ship. The tragedy of their inability to save the other clones. And ending with a shot of Vader finding the ship some time later, all these symbols of the Republic buried beneath the winds of time as the empire rises. It was bleak and depressing and when the credits rolled I was holding back tears. But looking back on the entire series and the era of the war, knowing what was coming, there was no other way I could have expected it to end. The audience already knows that this is not the end, but Ahsoka and Rex don’t know that, and so the finale of The Clone Wars reflects this. The pain and despair. The tragedy and confusion over what will happen next. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Despite all the movies I’ve watched; the comics and novels I’ve read; the video games I’ve played; very few things in Star Wars canon or Legends have been able to match the magic of The Clone Wars in my heart. I have never truly been a Star Wars fan so much as I have been a Clone Wars and Rebels fan. The novels and comics and movies I enjoy are an extension of my love for the shows, but the shows will always come first. The characters these shows introduced have stuck with me more than any characters from the movies ever has. Clone Wars made me love Anakin and Obi-Wan and Padme and Yoda, but to me, my Star Wars favorites have always been Ahsoka, Maul, Rex, Ventress, Fives, Hera, Zeb, Thrawn, Sabine, and all the rest.

So, I just wanted to say thank you to Dave Filoni, Ashley Eckstein, Matt Lanter, Catherine Taber, James Arnold Taylor, Sam Whitwer, Nika Futterman, Dee Bradley Baker, as well as every single person involved in bringing this show to live for all the hard work and passion you have poured into this series. Your work on this show shaped the person I am today, and I look forward to seeing what you do next.

May the Force Be With You.

[skiller0dani]

Forgive and Forget | Niklaus Mikaelson

Summary: You come from a family of Werewolves that lived in the French Quarter when the Crescent and Kenner Families were in charge. Seeking revenge for Klaus’s family taking over once the Werewolves were driven out your Family plotted to murder Klaus, you begged Klaus to show them mercy. He didn’t. 

Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x Werewolf!Reader 

Word Count: 4.3k 

Warnings: Yelling, Arguments, Swearing, The Originals Spoilers, Violence, Physical Fighting, Mentions of Blood, Mega Fluff, Angst, 

A/N: I haven’t done a TVD related one yet!! Send me requests if you want me to write more! Klaus is my absolute favorite character, he’s so complex and broken and has so many layers. Every time you peel back one, there’s another one to unfold. Love him. He’s my precious angel baby. I should mention I haven’t finished the entire Originals Series, I’m barely in Season 2 so I might just make up my own little plot that works with this little thing I’m writing. I’m sorry if it’s not correct or doesn’t line up with the Show! 

Also I use the nickname ‘dove’ in this story. I just don’t think Klaus would say ‘baby’ but he would say something cute like ‘dove’. Plus I think that nickname is really precious and adorable. 

Masterlist

It was hard for you to be in the same room with him, let alone living in the same house. There was nowhere else for you to go, you relied on him so much you didn’t have a backup plan if thinks went sideways- they did. This time worse than all the others. It wasn’t hard to love Klaus, but it was even harder to forgive him when he let you down. It took some time but you normally came around and forgave him after a few nights of avoiding him and drowning your sorrows. This time was different, this time you believed he would keep his word. This wasn’t as small as ‘you lied to me’ this was bigger than that. Granted you had severe issues with your family, and it had gotten to the point you didn’t even know if you loved them or tolerated them, but never have you wanted them dead. You didn’t know what to do this time, you didn’t have anywhere else to go. So you stayed, it’s not like you had much other choice. Like clockwork the three gentle knocks that come every night sound against your door. 

“Darling? Can’t we end this silly little fight? How long will it take for you to speak to me again?” Klaus said gently, with a slight edge to his voice. You stayed firmly on the bed, using all your willpower to ignore him. If you opened that door- it would end ugly. What he did cut you deep, ripped a wound open in your heart and this one was worse than all the rest. You love him, but you’re not sure this can be fixed. You feel a swell of emotion rush up on you, twisting your insides and forcing tears to your eyes. Klaus is impulsive when he’s angry, and he often forgets that his actions hurt the people he loves, and the part that hurts the most is that he doesn’t care. To him it’s a means to an end, a necessary evil. He assumes you will understand when he betrays your trust because he feels it’s necessary, but you’re losing faith in him. 

You hear his gentle footsteps as he moves away from your door and one tear snakes down your cheek before you can stop it. You need to get air, go for a walk but when you’re upset with him he hovers around your room. In fear you’ll leave him if he lets you out of the house- so you often have to sneak out. Klaus is overbearing, and paranoid and it hurts you that he doesn’t trust you enough to come back. If he would only let you go once, just once so he can see that no matter how angry you are with him you wouldn’t leave him. But he’s driven you so far away from his heart you sometimes wonder if he loves you at all or just keeps you around so his bed stays warm when he’s away. You carefully slide the window open and climb down the terrace when you’re certain he isn’t outside your door. You let out a deep sigh as the cool night air hits your face, prickling your skin like small needles. 

Pushing your hands in your pockets, you stroll down the stone streets, watching the stars twinkle, and the crescent moon shine. You watch mournfully as a young couple laughs in the street, leaning into each other. Living their perfectly mundane and normal lives, entirely safe and unaware of all that goes bump in the night. You envied that, you wished you and Klaus could have fallen in love in a different circumstance. Being with Klaus makes you feel eternally at peace, and forever in agony all at the same time. You embrace the crisp wind, loving the feeling of it stinging your skin. Sometimes you didn’t know if you were losing him, or if he was losing you. You know Klaus lost himself hundreds of years before he met you, but a small part of you hoped that the lost little boy carving gifts for his sister was still somewhere inside him. You love him, God do you love him. Every time he touches you it feels like you’re on fire, scorching on the outside but completely warm on the inside. It’s both riveting and painful, a combination of lively and dead. Yin and Yang, loving Nik is yin and yang.   

“Thought I’d find you out here.” A voice says smoothly from behind you, but you already know who it is. “Elijah,” you smile as you spin on your heels to face him. He smiles in return as he opens his arms for you- and you practically collapse into his chest, feeling nothing but security in his embrace. “Niklaus was frantic when he noticed you were gone.” Elijah states, “not the first time.” You say numbly, and Elijah squeezes you a little tighter. “Expect broken furniture when you return.” He says and in your mind you think if, if I return. “I think you know what I’m about to say,” Elijah begins and he’s right. You know he’s going to implore you to speak to Klaus before you make any decisions. Deep down you know he’s right but you just don’t know if you can do that this time. “You and Klaus have forgotten what love feels like, truly. You know it means protecting each other from harm and the inescapable fear of losing each other but other than that, you’ve forgotten,” Elijah starts and you feel taken aback. That’s not at all what you thought he’d say. “All of this, the witches, the curses, the vampires you’ve forgotten how to love each other. Give him another chance, maybe he’ll surprise you.” 

Elijah presses a kiss to your head before he turns and walks away, hands in his pockets leaving your heart and mind a tangled mess. You let yourself remember why you fell in love with him in the first place, his undying loyalty to his family. He doesn’t always show his affections in the best ways but deep down you know he has an unbreakable bond with Elijah and Rebekah. He wants to protect you, and sometimes he even wants to do the right thing he just doesn’t always know how to go about doing it. You fell in love with the artist, the man who would drag the brushes across the canvas with such ease. You’d see him standing by the window, brush in hand in the late hours of the night, where the moon was at it’s peak. You’d see the light reflect in his eyes, and as he painted the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen he looked utterly at peace. You fell in love with the boy who loves music, the man who would close his eyes when he heard a song that he loved. He’d just sit and absorb it, smile upon his lips. You’d hear him humming when he was in a good mood, his fingers drumming against the railing as he glided down the stairs. 

He would take your hands when it was just the two of you laying in bed, he’d put a record on and you’d sway. He’d pull you close to him, breathe in your scent and feel peace just knowing you were there in his arms. You fell in love with that goofy kid you see on the inside, the way he would tease you to make your cheeks heat up. Or nudge you in the side to hear you giggle, or give you that look at dinner when you say something silly. A slow smile would make its way onto his lips when you realize how foolish you sounded, and you’d be embarrassed but when he laughed it would feel okay. You smile fondly at the memory, remembering him sit at the table across you and you felt...normal. You remember how normal he looked, like a regular guy taking his girl out to dinner. For one night you weren’t a Werewolf, and he wasn’t an Original Vampire, you were just you- and he was Niklaus. That lost little boy he thought died a thousand years ago. 

Before you even realize it you’re turning around and heading back towards the house. Klaus made a mistake, and you haven’t forgiven him but Elijah is right. You and Klaus haven’t been like that in a while, you’re growing used to being upset with him and he’s growing used to being defensive and angry. You’re losing the lighthearted happiness your relationship used to be, and that feeling was cloud 9. It was so good you’re willing to fight for it. You push through the doors and make way for the stairs, pretending the smug little smile on Elijah’s face. Damn him, how does he always know how to fix it? You push open the door leading to Klaus’s room and when you see him you stutter to a stop in surprise. He’s painting, and humming along to one of his favorite records. On the canvas, you see a beautiful portrait of you. Your mouth hangs open, “Nik?” You say softly and he turns, his expression shifting from sad to worry. 

“Nik please, promise me you won’t.” You beg, watching him pace back and forth. His fists closed and his jaw clenched, he’s taking deep breaths. His eyes are almost glowing, “please don’t hurt them. You can fix this without hurting them.” He gives you a look that makes panic seep into your heart, and when he turns for the door you’re up like a rocket. “Klaus, don’t!” You cry as the door slams shut. 

“Y/n.” He says simply as you remain frozen in your spot. Neither of you know what to say, you feel such pain when you look at him. Pain because of what he’s done, pain because you wanted to leave him, just pain. “Let’s go somewhere.” You blurt and his eyebrows raise in surprise. Klaus places his brush in the glass of water he has and takes a tentative step towards you. “Let’s just go. Me and you. For a little while.” You say again, slower in fear he would reject the idea. The look on his face isn’t helping because you have absolutely no idea what he’s thinking. He turns to your shared dresser and begins to throw clothes into it, and you watch stunned. You don’t know what you’re doing but if you and Nik are going to fix this, then you need to get away for a little bit. Just you two. He takes your hand and leads you down the stairs. You don’t know where you’re going but you know you want to go with him. You love him, you want to fight for him with every bone in your body. 

The walk is long, and you stand a few feet apart as you follow to him an unknown location. You don’t say anything and the silence feels so heavy, so many unspoken things you’re too afraid to say. Klaus seems different than he normally is when you’re upset with him, he feels distant. Almost like he’s thinking and that scares you. He’s definitely not angry but when he’s angry you can usually guess what he’s thinking but now? You have no idea. You feel stings to your heart when you remember what he did, and you don’t know if you’ll ever be able to forgive him for this. You expected him to at least try to explain himself, or to check on you- you expected him to say something. But he didn’t say anything which concerned you more than if he was angry. You want to say something to him but every time you open your mouth your throat goes dry and it’s like there’s cotton in your mouth. 

You stumble into the Bayou, seeing the blood and hearing the cries. “No,” Your eyes are wide in horror. “Mom?” You call, your eyes wildly dancing around for her, you hear coughs and sputters as the injured wolves spit up blood. He didn’t kill any of them but he hurt them, bad. “Y/n?” You hear her weak voice and you whirl around to see her huddled under a tree clutching her side. You rush to her side to see a deep gash slowly healing in her side. “Who did this?” You asked but you knew deep down who it was- but every single bone in your body was praying you were wrong. She takes your hand, you and your mother never got along and you were never around but seeing how much pain she was in brought tears to your eyes. “Klaus.” And you feel your heart break in your chest. 

Tears spring in your eyes at the memory, your poor mother. He could have killed them and you begged him not to hurt them. You stop walking as tears fill your eyes and spill over your cheeks, why did he have to hurt them? You trusted him, you really believed he wouldn’t do it, but you were wrong. Klaus stops, having heard your quiet cries as he slowly turns to look at you. He doesn’t know what to do, this is his fault. He lets his anger completely take over, and he doesn’t feel satisfied until he’s punished those who’ve wronged him. But by punishing them, he punished you- and he hates that he hurt you. He would take it back if he could, but it’s too late for that. You stand and cry, lamely wiping away tears as they fell down your cheeks and Klaus feels more lost than ever. You pick up your pace and walk past him, just needing to get some space from him. Klaus follows you, knowing how dangerous the streets of New Orleans are at night. “Y/n,” He finally says when he sees figures gathering in the allies around the street. You ignore him and keep walking but when you hear footsteps you look up and see you’re being surrounded. 

“Dad? What on Earth are you doing?” You ask as two of your cousins grab your arms and pull you backwards. Klaus gets a violently angry look in his eyes, “release her or you won’t have any hands to hurt her with.” He threatens, his gaze sharpening. Your Dad smiles, “oh Klaus, I don’t have any intentions of hurting her, but rather saving her from you.” He smiles and Klaus eyes begins to glow yellow and you know if you don’t get your Dad to back down then Klaus will kill them all. In the corner of your eyes you see it, the curved blade that you’ve seen used twice. Once on Klaus when it sunk into his chest and caused him unspeakable agony and then again on Elijah. “Dad stop, don’t do this. Don’t be Klaus,” You beg, pulling against your cousins trying to break free. The circle they’ve created around Klaus tightens and gets smaller, my Dad carrying the blade behind his back. “Klaus he has Papa Tunde’s Blade!” You cry before your cousin clamps a hand around your mouth. Klaus’ stance changes, as he prepares for them to lunge at him. Your heart pounds in your chest wildly as you watch your Dad glance around at all the other Werewolves Klaus injured. 

“Now!” Your father cries and they all lunge forward at once, the Blade being passed around as each of them try to get close enough to use it. Klaus easily fends them off, throwing them down the street and breaking their arms. You fight against your two male cousins, desperately trying to get to Klaus to defend him. You see daggers the Wolves are holding slice Klaus’s back and arms, only making him mad as he kicks in their knees. There’s got to be more than 20 up against Klaus, and they can barely lay a hand on him. You stomp on your cousins feet and kick their shins, claw at their hands and arms doing anything you can to break free. Then your younger sister stabs Papa Tunde’s Blade deep into Klaus’s chest, his eyes flicker before he collapses to his knees. Tears spill over your cheeks as you use all your strength to throw your cousins off you. “Get him,” your Father instructs as the Wolves prepare to grab him. “No!” You cry as you push through the Wolves to get to Klaus. “He hurt us Y/n. He could have killed us-” You Father begins but you stand up, eyes wild with rage. “How are you better than him!” You yell, hearing Klaus’ grunts and cries of pain. “Go. Before I take this Blade out of him because if you’re still here when I do I promise he will kill you, and I won’t be able to stop him.” You snap, crouching next to Klaus again. “Come with us.” Your Father implores, “I never want to see you again.” You snap softly, your voice choked with tears seeing Klaus in so much pain. 

The Wolves reluctantly leave you behind as you cry, grabbing your own dagger. “T-This is going to hurt, I’m sorry.” You cry softly, knowing he can’t respond. You cut down his chest where the Blade sunk in and you take a deep breath before plunging your hand in, reaching for the handle of the Blade. You wrap your fingers around it and yank it out of his chest and Klaus gasps, in both pain and relief. He lays his head back, gasping for air as you cut your wrist and place it over his mouth. He pulls your arm close to him as he drinks from you, you wince at the pain but you don’t fail to notice how gently he held your arm. Once his wound heals he releases you, and you help him sit up before you throw your arms around his neck. He pulls you into his lap as he winds his arms around your shaking body. “It’s okay love, I’m okay.” He breathes but you just hold him so tightly. Your body is trembling as tears steadily flow down your cheeks. “Y/n, I’m alright dove. Really.” He says again, rubbing your back and beyond grateful for your worry. A big part of him thought he’d lost your affections forever but seeing how you reacted when he was in danger made his worry ease. 

Gently he pulls you away from him, but your arms are still secured around his shoulders. He looks you in the eyes as you hold tightly onto him, “I have the perfect place for us my love.” He says standing, and carefully setting you on the ground. You link your arm with his, on high alert in case anyone else attempts to launch an attack on him tonight. He leads you to the edge of town where a beautiful two story little cottage sits and your eyes widen when Klaus pulls out a set of keys. “This is your house? I thought-” “That’s mine and my siblings home. This is my home.” He smiles as you follow him up the porch steps. When he opens the door and turns on the lights you smile, his artwork is hanging from the walls and a piano sits against the back wall. It’s not a big grand house, it’s small and cozy. With a cute little kitchen tucked in the corner and two large couches sat in front of a TV. It looks like a family home, not a Klaus home. 

Klaus takes your bags up the stairs as you take it all in, when you see it. A painting of a child, with curly dark hair and a smile upon her face. Her eyes are a bright green and shes sitting in a bed of flowers, the sun upon her face. “Who is this?” You ask, looking at the clothes he painted on her. They’re old, a style popular in the 20s. “A young girl by the name of Penelope, I met her when I lived here. She died in the fire at the theater.” He said as he gazed at the painting with me. “She was sweet, she loved singing and she loved to watch me paint. So full of life, and meeting her was the first time I ever desired to have a family. When she died- I was suddenly reminded why I can’t do that.” He says, a sad look on his face. You wanted to ask him about her, how did he meet her? Why had he never mentioned her before? But you didn’t you reached out and grabbed his hand and you felt him relax. Looking back at the piano, you pull him towards it. “Play me something.” You ask and he smiles sitting at the piano and pulling you down next to him. His fingers begin to dance along the keys, playing something beautiful, “is that Canon in D? by Pachelbel?” You ask and he nods, smiling at you. You’re taken aback by the feeling of this moment, you never knew he could play so beautifully. 

You rest your head against his shoulder as his eyes flutter shut, a smile on his face and you see him- that little boy you fell in love with. The little boy who loves art and music, the little boy who loves to create things and makes little gifts for his sister. The little boy that isn’t full of anger and pain- the little boy who has faith in the people he loves. The little boy who has faith in himself, the little boy who lets himself love openly and freely, without hindrance or restraints. Your heart swells so big you fear it’ll burst with all the emotion you feel right now. You place your hands on the keys and play the Canon in D Duet, your heart feeling full. You play with him, feeling so close to him- like you’re getting a glimpse into his heart. Getting to see who he really is, on the inside. When the song is over he jumps right into Nocturne No.2, one of your favorites. He seems completely lost in it, and totally at ease, you’ve never seen him look so relaxed. Then he plays something heavier, something sadder, and you look at him- the most raw and vulnerable look on his face. That’s when you recognize what he’s playing, Moonlight Sonata. 

You lean against him again, looking at all the art pieces he has hanging. There’s a painting of the ocean, and another of two blurry figures dancing in the moonlight, a purple hued mountain with snow melting off of it. They’re all so beautiful, and Klaus painted all of them. You feel your heart growing bigger and bigger for all the love you feel for this man. How have you never truly seen this side of him before? Has he kept it hidden away inside him, afraid of showing weakness to anybody? “You’re going to be such a good Dad,” you whisper, catching him off guard as he stops playing. His eyes flutter open as he looks over at you, “I mean look at all this. How did I not know you could be so gentle? That you could create such beauty, you painted Penelope. She looks so happy, so relaxed. How did I not know you were good with children? If you let your walls down just for her, your daughter, and she will be able to see all of this beauty and compassion. You don’t have to be defensive and guarded all the time, you can be this person. You don’t have to be him when you’re by yourself, you just have to trust me enough to stop being so defensive. You don’t have to pretend you don’t care around me because I want you to care.” You say, looking into his eyes. 

Klaus stands and reaches for your hand, and you follow him up the stairs. At the very end of the hallway is a closed door, which he brings out a key to unlock. He looks nervous, like something behind this door is really special, you don’t know what it is but you know it’s taking him a lot to show it to you. When the door swings open, your mouth hangs open and tears spring to your eyes. The entire room is empty, but it’s been painted to look like the galaxy. It has actual lights in the ceiling, walls and floors. Bright white lights for stars, and the rest is black and purple and blue and beautiful. “Did you do this?” You ask and he nods, his hands in his pockets. “It’s beautiful.” You whisper, standing in the middle of the room watching as he closes the door, and you see the back of the door painted as well. “I did it for you, something secret I’ve been working on.” Klaus says and you look at him, his eyes sparkling as he looks around the room. He knows how much you love looking into the night sky, he knows how beautiful you think it is. You almost forget that angry violent man from a few days ago, the man that nearly ripped your family apart- literally. He looks vulnerable, scared. He stands nervously by the door when you approach him and press your lips to his. You lean into him, feeling him all around you- he is your home. “I love you,” You whisper when you pull apart. Klaus begins to lean down again when his eyes focus on the window- which he has also painted so you can’t see anything out of it. “What is it?” You ask when you hear a whizzing sound- as if something flew by you. You turn around when you feel a searing pain in your stomach, blood soaks into your shirt when you see it’s a bullet wound. Rage and panic overtake Klaus’s face, “Nik?” You ask before the whole world goes black. 

[spnjediavenger]

White Wolf Chapter 7: Hunter’s Promise

Disclaimers: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters

Time frame: Late S5

Spoilers: Season 5 spoilers?

POSSIBLE TRIGGER WARNING: panic attack, one implication and a mention of rape, angst AF

Notes: Please leave a comment and let me know what you think! And much love to those who have liked and/or reposted!!! <3

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, mini chapter 5.5, Chapter 6

Chapter 7: Hunter’s Promise

             “Wait; you’re telling me Lucifer had her?”

           “What happened, is she ok?”

           “How the hell did he get her?”

           “Cas had her warded just like us.”

           “How-“

           “Would you two idjits shut up for a second and let me talk?!”

           Sam and Dean fell silent at Bobby’s yell, pausing in their rushed questioning.

           When Bobby and the guys had returned home, they were greeted by Crowley. The brothers looked confused and Bobby explained that he had the demon retrieve Elliana while they finished dealing with the whole Pestilence situation. At the slight hostility on their faces, Crowley had assured them he only snapped the girl to Bobby’s and remained downstairs; he also commented that ‘Lucifer has turned her into a bloody mess – in the emotional sense.’

           Crowley took his leave as Bobby tried to explain what went on. At least everything he knew – and he didn’t know much.

           “All I know is the damn demon that killed her folks somehow found and possessed her, poofed her to Ohio, and dropped her off with Lucifer. He messed with her head then my contact found her. Crowley said she hasn’t said a thing since. Just been up in her room, huddled in the corner, terrified,” Bobby sighed as he finished, eyes downcast. He had met Elliana when she was hunting alone and, like many others she had met, had grown quite fond of her. It hurt him to see her like this just as much as it did the boys.

           Sam and Dean gave each other worried glances before heading for the stairs to try and talk to Ellie.

           “Boys!” Bobby called, making them pause on the steps. “My contact doesn’t know what Lucifer did or made her see - but she said Ellie won’t even let anyone touch her.”

           The brothers shared another concerned look and continued up to her room. They peered in, the door open, and their hearts shattered at what they saw.

           Elliana was sat in the farthest corner of the room, sitting on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped tightly around Anaya; they also noticed the tearstains on her cheeks and her body slightly shaking.

           Dean looked to Sam, lost on what to do. Sam quietly cleared his throat before speaking softly.

           “Hey, Ellie. Can uh…can we come in?”

           When they got no response, Sam nodded his head towards the girl, and the boys slowly walked into the room; they stopped a few feet in front of her, not wanting to scare her.

           Dean crouched down to Ellie’s level, Sam following suit. “Hey, kid,” he spoke softly. “How ya holdin’ up?”

           Still nothing.

           They sighed lightly and Sam spoke again. “Look, Elliana, we don’t know what Luc- um…what he showed you or what you saw…and we know it must have been a lot to take in. Is there anything we can do to help you right now?” Sam had seen Ellie tense up and let out a small, almost non-existent whimper when he started saying ‘Lucifer’. It broke Sam’s heart and filled Dean’s with fury, seeing how scared he made her.

           Ellie finally opened her eyes, but looked directly at the ground. She had pushed some of the images away that Lucifer brought up, but her mind was still swimming with raw emotion.

           She shook her head at Sam’s question and he shared a look with Dean again. Elliana wished there was something they could do - but she knew there wasn’t. She just wanted the memories to go away.

           “Alright. Well…you know where we’ll be tonight if you need us or need anything. Ok?” Dean asked.

           Ellie nodded her head before turning it into Anaya’s fur, squeezing her a little tighter.

           Sam went to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze, only for Ellie to whimper and shrink away from his hand, leaving him a little hurt.

           He nodded and stood up to leave, his brother following him out of the room.

           After Elliana was alone, it took hours for her to feel comfortable and safe enough to move from her spot in the corner to the bed, which rested with one side up against the wall. Finding enough comfort in this, Ellie finally slid under the covers, her dog jumping up to lay next to her, scooted as close to the wall as she could get, and closed her eyes.

           In the middle of the night, Sam was woken from his spot on the couch by a constant whining and a wet nose pushing into his shoulder. He ran a groggy hand over his face and turned to see Anaya standing next to him, looking almost frantic. She softly barked and ran a few feet towards the stairs, then looked back, as if asking Sam to follow.

           The younger Winchester’s eyes widened a bit, picking up on her behavior, and ran upstairs after her. He turned the corner into Ellie’s room to find her writhing violently in her bed.

           Sam ran over and put a hesitant hand on her arm, lightly shaking her as she began talking in her sleep.

           “Please…stop- don’t hurt me…no…don’t. Don’t! Please!” Elliana screamed, shooting up in the bed. This had alerted Dean and Bobby, who ran in, guns drawn for whatever might have been hurting her.

           “Ell- Ellie!” Sam called, grasping her flailing arms.

           “Please stop! No!” she yelled again.

           “Ellie, it’s alright! It was just a dream! It’s me, it’s Sam!” Sam tried again, loosening his grip on her but his eyes were begging to meet hers.

           Elliana finally snapped out of it but couldn’t stop her heart from pounding and lungs from heaving; she felt like someone was sitting on her chest, the emotions and pain from her nightmare consuming her.

           “S-Sam,” she sobbed, grabbing onto his arms. She tried to steady her breathing but came up short, only managing painful gasps. “I can’t- I can’t b-breathe!”

           Dean turned to Bobby and instructed him to go grab some water as he made his way over to Sam and Ellie.

           “Alright, kiddo, it’s ok,” he said soothingly but urgently, knowing they needed to calm her down. “I want you to let Sammy pull you onto his lap, is that ok? You know we’re not gonna hurt you – it’s alright.”

           Through her hyperventilating, Ellie hesitantly nodded, not being able to help tensing a bit when Sam grabbed her.

           “Ok, I want you to feel Sam’s breathing; can you do that?” Ellie fought her mind to focus enough to follow Dean’s instructions and nodded, feeling the steady rise and fall of Sam’s chest. “Alright. I want you to try and match his breathing, ok? Deep breaths.”

           Elliana tried taking a breath but practically choked on it as a sob came out instead.

           “Easy; it’s ok. Try again,” Sam soothed. He had one arm around her shoulders, and used the other hand to carefully brush the hair out of her face.

           Dean took one of Ellie’s hands in his own and placed the other on Anaya, who had yet to stop whining.

           “You’re doin’ great, sweetheart,” Dean praised. “Now try and focus on us.”

           Elliana gently grasped Anaya’s red fur and let the boys gently coax her. Her labored breathing had eased up, but were replaced with tears.

           “It’s alright, E. We’re right here,” Sam whispered, pulling her into a light hug. When he felt her arms wrap around his middle, he hugged her tighter, letting her softly cry into his shoulder.

           He and Dean became a little more at ease seeing she was calming down, but were terrified at what had just happened. They had seen Ellie break down before when Gabriel had died – but they had never seen her so afraid. So broken.

           Bobby came in and set a glass down on the nightstand, made sure Elliana was alright, and left, thinking it was best to limit the number of people in the room.

           Once Ellie had her breathing under control, she focused on everything else around her – the soft whispers of encouragement from the boys; Dean’s calloused hand gently rubbing her arm; the feeling of safety in Sam’s embrace and his hand running through her hair. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

           “It was the vamp hunt,” she whispered.

           Sam looked down at the fragile girl in his arms, her voice muffled. “What, sweetheart?”

           “The vampire hunt. The one when I called Dean. I- I never… I wasn’t able to kill him… he was too strong… I knew him. I knew him before and he was back but he was turned… I had everything but he- he was too strong,” Elliana began crying again, voice quivering. “No one noticed him take me and he- he-“ a sob cut Ellie off and she turned her head back into Sam. “He raped me,” she cried.

           Sam and Dean’s heads shot up, a mixture of anger and sorrow in their eyes. They felt bad that Elliana had to go through that and that she felt so terrible, but they were furious that someone could do that to an innocent girl.

           “I guess my mind repressed it or something. I- I remember being out of it for a couple weeks,” Ellie sniffled. “At the time I thought it was just from him feeding off my blood.”

           Sam hugged the girl tighter, resting his chin on her head. “It’s alright. You’re ok now. We got you,” he whispered, at a loss for anything else to say.

           “And that’s what he made you see?” Dean whispered, emotion making his voice a little rough.

           Ellie nodded and turned her face back into Sam’s shoulder, her eyelids suddenly becoming heavy.

           “Think you’re ready to try and go back to sleep?” the younger Winchester said gently. When the girl nodded again, Sam picked her up and placed her on the bed. When he went to leave, Elliana grabbed his arm, making him turn back her way.

           “Please don’t leave,” she whispered/whimpered.

           Sam turned to Dean, who nodded his head before giving Ellie’s hand a quick squeeze. Dean left the room and Sam laid down next to Ellie and wrapped a protective arm around his adoptive sister. As Ellie rested her head on him and slipped into unconsciousness, Sam’s mind was whirring. With everything that’s been going on, now Lucifer captures Elliana and brings this up. And he had no idea what to do.

           Elliana started shifting a bit and let out a few quiet whimpers; Sam pulled her closer and ran a hand through her hair, watching her relax again. He couldn’t help but smile a bit, seeing her face soften. When he thought about it, he and his brother were no strangers to struggle; and if he and Dean were able to help her tonight, they could surely help her in the coming days.

           Sam finally closed his eyes and allowed sleep to come, being more sure of himself that Elliana wouldn’t have to go through this alone.

           Morning came and when they woke up, neither Ellie nor Sam spoke of the previous night. In fact, the next few days had panned out just about the same each time, Sam and Dean taking turns on who would stay with her. And each morning, the two of them would get ready and join the other brother and Bobby for breakfast.

After four days of almost pure silence, and Ellie just sat there picking at her food like usual, Dean spoke up.

           “Still feelin’ pretty lousy?”

           Elliana just shrugged and looked anywhere but his eyes.

           Dean thought for a moment.

           “I know there’s a lot going on right now,” he said. “But what do you say we take a day off? Help you forget for a bit? Hell, we could all use a break; fight’s still gonna be there tomorrow.”

           Dean smiled a bit when Ellie finally looked up at him and nodded.

           “Sounds good,” she said.

           “Alright!” Dean said. “And let’s not forget pie.”

           “Dude, what is it with you and pie?” Sam asked, partially exasperated.

           “Pie fixes everything,” his brother said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. This got a small giggle from Elliana, making both boys’ faces brighten.

           “We got a smile,” Sam noted, a smile on his own face.

           “You’re off to a good start,” Bobby said, getting up to clear the table.

           Amazing was really the only way Elliana could describe that day. She still had one hell of a darkness inside her, but throughout the day she had slowly started feeling a little better, smiling more, and enjoyed going out with the boys.

           They had gone hiking, visited a lake near Bobby’s place, and yes – they went and got pie. The boys got it to go and drove to one of the beautiful plains of South Dakota; they parked Baby in the middle of a field and enjoyed their desert, idly chatting about anything and everything except the supernatural.

           Sam and Dean sat on the car’s hood, watching Ellie throw a ball for Anaya, the dog joyfully prancing after it through the tall grass. When she returned, she continued going until she stood in front of Dean, placing the ball in his lap, and stepping back to wag her tail at him, tongue lolling from her mouth.

           Dean welcomed a crooked smile and tossed the ball as far as he could. Anaya let out an excited yip, making Ellie giggle as she made her way over to the boys and sit between them on Baby.

           The boys smiled at her and scooted a bit to give her more room. They each put an arm around her shoulders and she leaned into Sam.

           “Thank you guys,” she said. “I know I’m gonna be going through hell with this stuff but…thank you for giving me today. I had a great time.”

           “No problem, kiddo,” Dean smiled as he pulled away to throw the ball for Anaya again.

           “You’re family, Ellie. And we’ll be with you through this thing; every step of the way,” Sam said, placing a kiss on her temple. She smiled.

           “You guys promise?”

           “Hunter’s promise,” Dean said, holding a pinkie out like a child. He grinned when Ellie giggled again and linked her pinkie with his.

           Elliana felt a warmth spread in her chest at the boys’ affections, finding comfort in them. She knew this peace would only hold out for so long and it would be a short time until she felt the emotional turmoil or had another panic attack; but she wasn’t worried. Because her family was going to be there to help her through it. 

Elliana’s Journal ->

[likethetailofacomet]

Fluff Requests Part 2

Part two of @zaffrenotes requests for @pixelburied ‘s Fluff ABCs. All of these little drabbles take place after the events of LTLA- some just after, some much after. I had so much fun turning my answers into little looks at their love that I decided to finish the whole ABCs so if you think these are disgusting cute, look for the rest sometime this week! 

!!! V- Vanity, what is something that they are proud of in each other? was also requested, but my answer contains spoilers for the LTLA finale and the follow up series The Broken Bits, so that answer will be re-worked into the full alphabet later this week !!! 

M – Movies (What kinds of movies do they watch together? Is it a regular Netflix ritual?)

(3 Months after LTLA)

“Berkley,” Drake grumbled as she fussed with the pillows and blankets. His frown was etched deep into his face and his eyes were full of disdain for his confinement, but Claire could tell based on his posture that he was in more discomfort than he was letting on.  “I’m not made of glass, you know,” his point was shattered like the glass he said he wasn’t when he winced at the slight movement of lowering his left arm over the top of the blanket that she had just spread over both of their laps.

She shot him a look out of the corner of her eye and he sighed as his expression softened to one of resignation. “What was that you said?” she asked him, smirking as she kissed his cheek. He’d recently started rehabilitation on his shoulder, having been cleared earlier that week by his cardio specialist, and he was sore. Achingly sore, and Claire knew it was because he was working as hard as his therapists would let him work so that he could get back to life as he liked to live it- actively an on his own terms. He was frustrated that the limited exercises they had given him were causing him so much difficulty, and Claire felt like she was constantly reminding him how little time 3 months actually is; how little time it’s been since his surgeries, and that he had screws and hardware in his shoulder. “You’re made of flesh and bone, Drake, not brick and mortar. It takes time to heal the right way; you don’t want to hurt yourself and prolong the process, do you?”

He’d groan and roll his eyes but he knew she was right- he was just a terrible patient and always had been. He pulled her closer with his good arm and reminded himself that just last month he hadn’t even been able to do that, to hold her, because it would put too much stress on the repaired joints and arteries in his opposite shoulder, back and chest. Progress, however small is still progress, his therapist would say when he’d get annoyed that he couldn’t lift something more than 5 pounds. But this wasn’t small progress, this was huge. Getting to feel her body next to his, to be able to squeeze her tightly to him, to hold her while they slept, that wasn’t small progress as far as he was concerned. Those were giant leaps.

“Okay, so, what movie did you choose?” Claire asked as she picked up the remote on the couch next to them. It was finally starting to feel normal again, this life they started building together during the social season, having him there on the couch, doing something so normal as having a movie night. She looked up at him as he released his squeeze a bit, settling back into a more comfortable position for both of them.

“Press play and you’ll find out,” he said, but she didn’t have to to know that he had chosen the John Wayne classic, True Grit- they had once shared their favorite movies to watch when they were feeling sick or under the weather. Claire’s was Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and this was Drake’s. She knew it was because he had precious few memories of time spent with his father, but that one of those memories was watching old Cowboy movies together. He’d told her how he’d sit on his father’s knee and Jackson would explain the things Drake didn’t understand, and tell him not to tell his mother when there were scenes that maybe he shouldn’t have seen. She knew this one was their favorite together because the good guys win out and John Wayne’s character makes it to the end. Apropos for his current situation. She smiled up at her cowboy and pressed play, and the two of them snuggled in for their first “date night” since the attacks, Drake whispering his favorite lines under his breath and Claire feeling her heart burst each time he did.  

P – Pizza (What is their favorite food to eat together?)

(10 years post LTLA)

“Shhhh! Eli, we have to be quiet, it’s a surprise. You know what surprise means,” Jacqueline was helping her four year old brother down the stairs, one little hand clutching tightly to his sister’s, the other wiping sleep from his eyes and hair from his face.

He nodded, yawning, and whispered, “Yeah. It means we gonna say ‘surprise, Momma and Papa!” he took his free hand, finger splayed, and waved it excitedly in the air.

Jacqueline nodded. She was taking charge of this mission, and she’d been planning it for weeks- since she was made aware that their parents’ anniversary was coming up, and she was taking it more seriously than most 8 year olds took anything. In that way and countless others, she was just like her father- determined, independent and driven. But she was also very much like her mother- patient, loyal and full of love, so she helped her brother up onto a step stool next to where Cecelia was already mixing a bowl of dry ingredients for pancakes. Jacqueline had left Celia with the task of pouring all the ingredients that Jacq had measured before going to get their brother, and was pleased that her little sister had managed to get most of it in the bowl, only wearing some flour on her cheek.

“Hi Eli,” Celia said without taking her focus from the bowl, and Elijah waved, another yawn sneaking out as he flattened both his palms against the counter. “Jackie, I wanna help Celie,” he said, looking at his project manager pleadingly.

Jacqueline was ready for this request, passing him a bowl of chocolate chips. “Here, Eli, can you make piles of ten chocolate chips? Papa says ten is the perfect number for perfect pancakes.” She said the last bit with certainty and pride, having helped Drake make pancakes on plenty of Sunday mornings. Elijah nodded determinedly and set to work.

Jacqueline handled the actual cooking portion of the meal, Claire having let her start to cook just last month despite her young age. She was exceedingly careful and since comfort food and baking love into everything was so important in the Walker house, it seemed inevitable that Jacqueline would develop an interest in cooking. She developed an interest in everything she tried. Cecelia and Elijah busied themselves with picking some flowers out of the flower beds in the back yard, and once everything was done, Jacqueline carefully loaded a tray with two plates stacked high with chocolate chip pancakes, the flowers, and two cups of juice. Cecelia and Elijah walked ahead of her and knocked on the door to their parents’ room, Elijah stifling excited giggles, Cecelia smiling ear to ear, and Jacqueline staring at the orange juice, begging it not to spill.

.  . .  .  .  .

They’d been awake, laying in the morning light and trailing kisses and fingertips over each other’s exposed skin. “Happy anniversary, Berkley,” Drake mumbled, his lips next to her ear before he nipped at the lobe and used his hand to turn her face to his. He looked into her eyes and it was like walking into that bar in New York all over again as it hit him in the chest how much he loved this woman.

She smiled lazily, reaching up for his face and tracing his eyebrows. “Happy anniversary, Drake,” she said dreamily before he leaned in to give her a slow kiss that stole the air right from her lungs. The knock came as they broke apart and her eyes sparkled. His did too. “Time to see what their surprise was all about,” she said. The kids had thought that they were being very secretive, but they’d have a lot to learn if they were ever looking for a career in espionage.

“Come on in,” Drake called towards the door, dropping one more kiss to his wife’s nose before they did.

“SURPRISE!” Elijah jumped inside the room and flung himself at his parents. He’d completely forgotten the pancakes, too excited for the ‘surprise’. Drake caught him and situated him in his lap with a chuckle.

“Hey, Eli,” he said, ruffling his own hair on his son’s head. “Hey my gorgeous girls,” he beamed as his daughters entered the room, Cecelia carefully spotting her sister as Jacqueline gingerly set the tray down on Claire’s lap. Claire leaned in and kissed both girls’ cheeks before pinching and kissing Eli’s as well.

“Happy anniversary!” the kids said in a sing song chorus, all extremely proud of what they’d pulled off.

“Oh, goodness!” Claire clapped her hands together, a wide eyed expression on her face. “Thank you, rascals!” she gushed over how perfectly the pancakes had come out as Drake set Elijah in between himself and Claire to let the girls climb up on his lap for their hugs.

The five of them lounged the morning away, eating pancakes in bed, and it was the best anniversary that the Walkers had had so far. “Ten years,” Claire said looking over to her husband, his mouth full of pancakes and a smudge of chocolate on his face. “Ten years and staying late to close the bar that night was still the best decision I’ve ever made.”

S – Soft (Something one of them did that turned the other into absolute mush) 

(a l m o s t  3 years after LTLA)

Claire woke up from the nap she hadn’t meant to take- “I’ll just lay down for five minutes,” she’d told Drake as he kissed her nose and nodded, knowing full and well that she needed much longer than that. Her hair was still damp from the shower and now sticking to the side of her face and neck. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and sat up inhaling deeply through her nose. She checked the time on the bedside clock and knew that Jacqueline would probably be waking up at any moment. She stretched and pulled her robe tight around herself and wandered down stairs to the nursery. As she got closer she heard something that absolutely melted her from the inside out. She crept closer to the door and peeked in through the slight crack from where it was open, and saw Drake, big hulking man that he was, cradling their two month old daughter in his arms. The look in his eyes was awe, adoration. It was the look that a man gets when he turns from just a man into a papa. But it wasn’t the way he was looking at their newborn girl that was melting her. It was the song that was drifting out of the room. It was the song that her own father used to sing to her and Brielle, and she’d never taught it to Drake, which meant he had learned it only by listening to Claire singing it to Jacqueline during midnight feedings when she thought he’d been asleep.

“Ah, ah, Papa’s love, Papa’s little turtle dove, I love you, yes I do, and m y little baby loves me too,” his deep voice was soft and calm as he rocked Jacqueline in time with the song, her little fists opening and closing as her tiny eyes slipped closed. Claire stood in the hallway, watching through the crack until Drake laid the tiny bundle back down in her bassinet.

X – X (Something they hate about the other)

(5 years after LTLA)

“Come on,” Olivia said, rolling her eyes and taking a long sip of her cider. It was a bright and sunny day and the Apple Festival was in full swing. Jacqueline was running around with Liam’s son and Olivia’s twins, all around the same age, with Maxwell herding them all like an Australian Shepherd- he was actually pretending to be a dog, barking at the kids on all fours as S’mores bounced around his hands, tail wagging excitedly. “You’ve been married three years now. There has to be something you hate about each other.”

Drake looked at Claire and scrunched his nose up. “I hate when her feet are stinky after she goes for a run,” he softened his crinkled face and kissed her nose as she feigned offense.

“And I hate when he tells me my feet are stinky after a run,” she laughed as Olivia rolled her eyes again.

“So not what I meant. I was looking for something real here, you know?”  She scoffed but they knew she was only playing around with them- knew that Olivia had actually become one of their biggest supporters. “You two are just gross, come on, gimme something,” she said smirking.

Claire’s eye caught a glimmer of mischief and Drake saw it, a smile climbing up his face as he knew his wife was about to mess with Olivia. “Fine,” she said, letting her face fall into a serious frown that took every ounce of fight in her not to break into a grin. “You wanna know what I hate about Drake?” Olivia sat forward and nodded attentively. “I hate his big dumb combat boots and the way he reads my mind,” she dissolved into tipsy giggles as she recited the poem from the movie Ten Things I Hate About You Olivia scoffing and choosing to head off towards where Liam and the others were.

Claire leaned in to Drake as they watched Jackie climb on Max’s back, S’mores jumping and putting his paws up on Max’s shoulders to try to reach his little human. “But I don’t hate you, not even a little bit, not even at all,” she grinned and he kissed her and tasted the apples on her tongue.

.  .  .  .  .  

tagging:  @zaffrenotes  @ooo-barff-ooo @brightpinkpeppercorn @sleepwalkingelite @jovialyouthmusic @mind-reader1 @agent-bossypants @andy-loves-corgis @drakewalkerrosenberg @akrenich @nekkidmolerat @indiacater @gardeningourmet @thequeenofcronuts @mfackenthal @mkatschoicesblog @drakewalkerisreal @jlouise88 @drakesensworld @stopforamoment @gibbles82 @iplaydrake  

[whykarliewhy-blog]

Why “The Dragon and The Wolf” balances out a rather rocky Season of Game Of Thrones

Game of thrones has always been a show about great cinematic moments, it pushes and pulls its characters to move across seas, climb mountains, trudge the snow in order for them to get where they're going. This season is still full of cinematic moments, the main problem is sometimes they don’t really make sense. Whether it’s because these cinematic moments makes logic tug at you, or because there is in no way the whole storyline makes sense, or because you know it’s for pure shock value, the point of these moments are lost. Good thing for us, despite its faults, “The Dragon and The Wolf” gives us a reason to believe that the faulty set up can lead to satisfying and even terrific (though sometimes confusing) conclusions. 

To say that Season 7 of Game Of Thrones is the best would be a disservice to the previous seasons (and to me a bastardization of the 2 direct ones that preceded it). It is fast paced yes, but not without its flaws. Back then I felt like we wasted too much time watching characters no one was invested in, or seeing little pieces drag on for 1/5 or 1/6 of the show when it could have truly been given just a minute. Fast forward to season 7, and you realize just how important those moments were (of course there were still some I find pointless, I'm looking at you Sand Snakes). Which really begs the question, how does Game of Thrones strike a balance between the need for urgency, and the small seemingly irrelevant moments that end up meaning much more? 

As the season progressed (with a very slow premiere by the way), I couldn't help but feel that everything that's happening is how it was always going to play out. It was always just a matter of when it would happen. Fast, but not necessarily exhilarating nor logical; Game of Thrones took a long time to bring us to where we started in season 7, and it took quicker to unravel the spools of what was plausible. It's funny how people say that suspension of disbelief is necessary in television shows, and how in a show with dragons, white walkers, century old priestesses, rebirth, and whatnot, it's traveling time that we question. 

As a person who has watched the show since 2011, let me be the one to tell you that Game Of Thrones, despite having unrealistic aspects has always had the benefit of having the characters in different places explain time and make the stories seem plausible. As the show comes to an end, and the convergence happens, it makes it less believable to know that some stories are moving at high speed, while some stories are inching its way to fruition. Just watching this season and the transition from scene to scene gives us that awkward mix of this is a set up episode and something really relevant is happening. It’s like we’re standing on a cliff seeing Dragons fly in circles, and by contrast we see boats rushing at full speed. 

Season 7 though finds it balance as it tries to tie together the loose ends this damn faulty spool of storytelling has done for the past few episodes. It gives us the illusion that everything happening before this episode was meant to happen to get us to this point. Unfortunately for some of the storylines, the narrative destination does not fully make up for the poorly thought of stories that have riddled the season. What this episode does though is it leaves an impact by making us realize as well just how tied all of these people are by their familial ties, and their previous storylines. The episode benefits not from the set up made in the season, but from the set up carried by the whole of the series. 

Spoilers Ahead

The meeting of the three rulers of Westeros is something we all have expected since the day this show started. Whether it’s in a battle, or in Highgarden with everyone having tea, was always the question. We receive our answer in the form of the Unsullied standing strong, the dothraki surging towards King’s Landing. The King In The North and everybody else in a ship. Bronn talks about cocks (which is funny because this show barely shows cocks anymore). The Hound and Brienne share a moment to talk about Arya and their mutual respect (? or fear) of each other. Podrick and Theon, Theon and Bronn. Heroes of the Blackwater Bay. Cersei arrives with Qyburn, Jamie, The Mountain, and *sigh* Euron (tell me why did Dan and David said he would be a great villain again?) The Hound and The Mountain do a little dance that to me feels like purely fan service, there is absolutely no sense in what happens between them or why The Mountain who barely does anything but to do Cersei’s bidding would approach his brother. Daenerys arrives last as she flies in with Drogon and Rhaegal to further showcase her power. It is a lifetime ago since most of these characters have shared a scene together, and it is fitting that we get the full convergence of some of the most relevant characters in Dragonpit where, as Daenerys explains, the Targaryens put the symbol of their power (what made them extraordinary to be exact) and they locked them. The Queens and King meet where the most powerful creatures were bound to act as if they weren’t. Euron interrupts this meeting by taunting Theon for Yara and Tyrion. It is clear in this meeting that 1) Cersei hates them all (Theon above anyone else), and 2) Jon despite everything still knows nothing. Everything about this scene is about power, and yet to me only one person here stands with true power. Cersei. Cersei is the only one of the three monarchs and their people who say no. And unlike Euron, she does it not out of fear. She does it after Jon refuses to serve two queens. She does it and it truly feels like she can (at this point we don’t know why yet, and it is impressive). Regardless of the Wight that charged at her. She manages to keep her power. If there is anything anyone needs to know about me, it’s that I admire Cersei Lannister despite how despicable a human being she is. She is the only one who knows exactly what to do with power in order to keep it. 

Tyrion decides to speak to Cersei, and it is a reunion I have waited for since Season 4. It is clear that Cersei blames Tyrion for everything. Their mother, their father, her children. Cersei, despite her intelligence needs a person to blame; it is and it has always been one of her most self destructive flaws. In not recognizing the things she is directly responsible for, she alienates the ones she loves the most (or causes them to kill themselves). Tyrion on the other hand stands as self aware as ever. Despite Tyrion talking a great game about wanting to kill her sister, is still the same man we’ve known since season 1. Optimistic to a fault. The mere fact that he is in the same room with Cersei and The Mountain is ridiculous. In fact, it is unclear to me why Cersei chooses not to kill him. Is it because she needs someone to blame, and Daenerys or Jon just don’t fit the requirements for her vitriol? It is more plausible to me that the writers of the show need to constantly remind us that Cersei is still human. Cersei then decides to set aside differences for her unborn child, for family. 

To me one of the most satisfying parts of this episode is between the Stark sisters. It is full of flaws, and yet I love it. Sansa and Littlefinger talk about Arya, and he makes her assume the worst of his sister. She then sends for her and in a twist, she is actually sentencing Littlefinger, finally holding him fully accountable for all of his sins to the Starks. Considering everything that has happened prior to this episode, THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. What was the need for the Stark Sibling Dance in Winterfell? I’ve read varying opinions on this, and nothing makes sense still. Was the whole thing planned? From Arya’s discovery of the letter? Or was Littlefinger and Sansa’s conversation the turning point for Sansa? And if so, how did she convince Arya otherwise? Here the show reveals that it spooled storylines that despite being able to tie together, doesn’t fully form a cohesive comprehensible thought. In the need to keep characters moving, we have characters doing things that barely fit their story arc. See, we needed to see Arya and Sansa do something, else we’d realize just how fast everything else is moving. It barely even works and if not for my desire to see Littlefinger outplayed die at the hands of the Starks, the effect would have been lost on me (as I assume it is lost on other people). Props to Petyr, Sansa, and Arya for doing the heavy weight lifting in what was almost a lost shot. 

Fans of Theon (like me) will also appreciate the decision for him to finally grow some balls. Slightly dramatic with his conversation with Jon, slightly comedic in his one on one combat with one of his sister’s followers. But you see, again, this only has an impact because I love Theon and Yara. His bit about Yara being the only one who tried to save him feels real, not just because Alfie Allen has grown considerably as an actor, but also because we know it to be true. What about his idleness  in this season? What has he been doing all this time? While everyone else has travelled to and from the wall, from King’s Landing to Dragonstone, what has he been doing? And a quick conversation with Jon or taunts from Euron, is not convincing enough to make this fully understandable. But as was said, the show needed to move everyone to certain places, and not as carefully nor as impeccably as they have done in the past. 

The best scene for me comes in the form of Cersei’s reveal. Cersei reveals that she has no intentions of actually helping the War, and Euron is on the way to Essos to fetch the Golden Company the Iron Bank has helped her purchase. The confidence in Cersei’s voice as it seems that she edges towards madness. Jaime rationalizing to the woman he loves most. They have spent the most time in this show together, and we’ve seen them grow as lovers, enemies, characters. As a turning point, Jaime decides that he will join the war and ride north. I honestly felt the fear as Cersei gives the Mountain the command to kill Jaime. But as this episode and countless moments between Cersei and her family, Jaime’s survival speaks to me as real. It is unlike Bronn’s survival, or The Hound’s, or Berric’s, or Tormund’s. I understand why Cersei didn’t kill Jaime. She loves him. She is not Drogon or a Wight or a White Walker whose inability to kill major characters confuse me. And as Jaime rides off, snow falls into King Landing in a very brilliantly scored scene, to remind us that Winter is here. 

Sam arrives in Winterfell, and a conversation with Bran gives us all that this season (and hinted at the whole series) has been leaving clues to. Jon is Rhaegar and Lyanna’s son. Juxtaposing Rhaegar and Lyanna being married with Jon entering Daenery’s Chambers, and Lyanna asking Ned to protect her son, Aegon Targaryen with Daenerys and Jon having sex (with Tyrion outside) was an effective way to tell us that Jon is the heir to the Iron Throne, and a reminder of what this means for the story. This will be one of the most interesting things moving forward, and probably one of the most powerful Game Of Thrones moments (one that compares to last season’s Tower Of Joy scenes). 

What does their incestual love making mean for the two of them the moment they find out? What will it mean for their relationship and alliance once Daenerys finds out that Jon is the heir to the throne? Are we to look at them the way we’re supposed to look at The Dragon and The Wolf before them, Lyanna and Rhaegar? This whole series of scenes leaves us with these questions, and it will stay with us until they’re answered. 

Sidenote: why is the actor playing Rhaergar eerily similar to Viserys, a character, I assume we all hated. 

Also I could listen to Isaac Hempstead-Wright narrate a grocery list, and it would keep me satisfied. 

Arya and Sansa standing in Winterfell, finally recognizing each other the way we have always wanted to. Arya sees her sister as the Lady of Winterfell, acknowledging what Sansa has gone through. Sansa seeing her sister as the strong woman she has become. Both Starks reciting Ned’s words, “When the snows fall and the white winds blow the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.” This is true not just for the Starks, but for every single person heading to the North. This whole episode has painted how important these familial bonds have been, and how they will always be, especially as we reach the conclusion of this song. 

And yet after this final note, the episode still doesn’t end. The episode ends with Berric and Tormund at the wall, as the Night King rides with Viserion, the Wight, destroy the wall. In a fairly terrifying scene of the Viserion, the Wight breathing ice (that seems to work like fire? Let’s just assume it’s blue fire) destroying the wall, we are treated to a brilliant display of CGI that seems to culminate the very first scene of Episode 1 of the series. We know nothing of Berric and Tormund’s fates, but we do know this: The White Walkers and Wights are here for GoT’s own version of the Apocalypse, Winter. 

Here’s hoping everything starts moving at the same pace for the next season.