#or if this is post liv's death and your liv is the house

[at-sabohteurs]

( sc. ) she is never alone, and yet always lonely. the sounds of her children fade into a distant hum of sound, her migraines becoming progressively worse as days come to pass. colour desaturates, her view of the world becoming a dreary black and white as she stands still and silent in the foyer of hill house. it's dark. no light shines in the middle of the night, and olivia is not alone. she stares at the doors, once opening with ease, welcoming her in - now, they're heavy, and they refuse to budge. she doesn't blink as she starts to move towards them, something not altogether figment urging her forward.

run, it whispers in her head, faint and fractured. her hand rises, the sleeve of her robe brushing her hip as she reaches for the door, her fingertips grazing the wood, and yet- nothing. olivia's head tilts, the haze in her eyes clearing as she blinked rapidly, startling backwards one step, two . . . the house is suffocating her, and when she opens her mouth to breathe - she can't. liv gasps, turning to stumble back up the stairs to her bedroom, where she can wake hugh to help her breathe

gasps stifles in her throat as she comes face to face with a mirror image, her own eyes staring back at her, and the shadows of the house shifts. decay creeps across the floor, the wall - her head turns, gaze drifting over years of abandonment to the vines that grow wild over the windows. she inhales. " is this, " she starts, voice quiet and hoarse from disuse as she spins back to @000warning, her other self. " - is this . . . a dream ? "

[ellebakers]

☆ Still love you (+18)

Chad meeks martin x reader.

Summary : You're chad's first love, the one he had before liv, you also survived the woodsboro massacre but since that event you've been doing everything you can to escape reality even if it means destroying yourself and chad can't stand it.

Warnings : Sex, mention of death, blood, language.

everything was better before.

you have always lived in woodsboro, within a warm and loving family. you went to school all year with the same group of friends. tara carpenter, wes hicks, amber freeman, mindy and her brother chad meeks martin.

you have always been closer to chad, wes and amber, indeed wes has always been your confidant, the one to whom you talked about your problems and to whom you confided your secrets. amber your sidekick, the one with whom you did all your first times like your first cigarette, your first hangover and many other things you weren't proud of.

and chad, he was your best friend then your first boyfriend, your first love, the one to whom you gave your virginity and who gave you his.

everything was perfect, until the day your mother gale weathers received a job offer in new york.

you had to say goodbye to your friends, to your love to go and live elsewhere.

at first, your father followed you, but he couldn't handle life in a big city, so he left your mother to go back to live in woodsboro. why didn't you follow him ? well because of chad. when you moved to new york, you tried to make things work, you called each other, he came on certain weekends and you went to his house when you could, but the distance got the better of your relationship. little by little you lost this link, you no longer had anything in common so breaking up was the best decision. then some time later he posted on social media with his new girlfriend liv. so you preferred to stay with your mother and start a new life. apart from your friends and your father, you didn't care about anything in woodsboro.

until the day when wes called you to tell you that tara had been assaulted by someone wearing the ghostface mask. you didn't hesitate a minute and you ran to your childhood town.

the reunion with chad was embarrassing. just like meeting his girlfriend. but that wasn't what hurt you the most, no. what destroyed you was the brutal death of your father, that of your best friend wes and for the grand finale you discovered that the person you trusted the most was responsible for these deaths. amber, your best friend murdered your father and she was responsible for wes' death. she looked you straight in the eye, she told you how she killed your father, then she stabbed you multiple times, watching you bleed out on her kitchen floor.

she didn't do it alone, of course, richie, samantha carpenter's boyfriend was her accomplice and obviously her secret boyfriend. you managed to survive thanks to your mother, your godmother sidney, samantha and tara who killed richie and amber.

———☆ ★ ❀ ✿ ♡ ☆ ★ ❀ ✿ ———

this was all a year ago. a lot of things have happened since. you went back to new york with your mother to try to mourn your father. you had graduated and had been accepted to blackmore university just like tara, mindy and chad.

samantha had also moved to town, she lived in an apartment not far from campus with her sister and a girl named quinn. mindy lived on campus with his girlfriend anika and chad also lived on campus with his roommate ethan.

between your mother and you things have changed since despite what she had promised, she had written a fucking book about what happened while writing shit about your friends.

that's why you decided to take an apartment not far from sam and tara.

but despite your new life and the fact that you and chad became closer and closer, you felt empty. every night you dreamed of your father's death. and every night you woke up screaming and crying.

for months you felt like shit. but during a party you found a way to sleep well. thanks to drugs.

your dealer’s name was jordan, he was a guy who was in your history class. he gave you some smoking plants and you had the best night in months, so you went back and bought some over and over again so much that now when you feel a nightmare coming you wake up and take a few puffs to sleep well.

———☆ ★ ❀ ✿ ♡ ☆ ★ ❀ ✿ ———

this party was really bad, but the alcohol was flowing and your drinking partner. tara. was full of energy and she wasn't about to let you go. not now.

"i need another drink." informed you the brunette before leaving in the direction of the kitchen to reload.

you scanned the crowd for a certain boy. but you were very quickly disappointed when you found him leaning against a wall, a pretty redhead under his arm making puppy eyes at him. you took a last sip of your glass and headed for the dance floor.

you were dancing alone when jordan approached you, your mood lit up seeing him.

"jordyyyyyy." you exclaimed jumping at him.

he laughed and pushed you lightly. "oh oh i know someone who is drunk."

you rolled your eyes. "absolutely not."

he approached your ear and whispered to you. "i have brand new merchandise."

you bit your lip and nodded, whispering back. "you know i'm always a taker."

from the outside, it looks like you're talking about something hot. like two students who proposed a sex session.

at least that's how chad felt and his hand tightened around his can even more, he wasn't paying any attention to what the redhead was saying to him. all that was on his mind was how close this guy was to you and how you bit your lip as he whispered something in your ear. he felt his blood boil as you took this guy's hand, guiding him upstairs.

"chad are you listening to me."

without even looking at the girl he intended to fuck in the bathroom, he answered her. "no." then he went in the same direction as you.

once upstairs, he tried to open all the doors, but they were all locked and moans were heard in each one. he was trying to recognize your voice but he couldn't.

the fact that you could be one of this moaning girls made him want to vomit. not imagine you moaning, no, it was imagining a guy other than him making you moan that made him sick.

suddenly he froze when he heard your laughter in the bathroom. he put his ear to the door to listen.

"i promise you y/n, this guy was hot, but he lasted like three seconds."

your laugh made chad smile, he hadn't heard you laugh in a long time.

"i know what it is, don't worry."

jordan laughed in turn. "go ahead and explain. i have just entrusted you with my worst hookup, it's up to you now."

he knew he shouldn't be listening, but curiosity pushed him to press his ear even closer to the door.

"okay. It was like two years ago. my mom was at a social party. i was bored to death and one of the waiters was flirting with me so i ended up letting him fuck me in the storeroom except. he came in like two thrusts and moaned oh shit, yes i’m your little slut."

your dealer burst out laughing throwing his head back. "oh fuck. will we ever find a handsome and talented guy in bed."

you took a puff of your magic cigarette before turning to jordan. "i had found him. chad, my first love."

"oh oh chad like your buddy chad." you nodded. "yeah, he was my first boyfriend and obviously my first time. i never loved anyone else after him. and believe me, i slept with a lot of guys after our breakup however, i never had so many orgasms with them, whereas when chad and i did it, he didn't give me a minute of rest ."

jordan clapped a hand against his chest. "y/n stop otherwise i'll come down and fuck him myself."

you rolled your eyes. "he's probably already busy with the pretty redhead he had under his arm earlier."

jordan shook his head. "listen even if he's good in bed, he's dumb. if i had an ex as hot as you, i'd do anything to get her back."

chad didn't know what to do. he felt the blush rise to his cheeks, not only had you never loved after him but you confessed that he was the best sex of your life.

he widened his eyes when he heard you say. "i want to fuck now."

jordan cleared his throat. "oh uh, that's really cool, but you know i like guys then." you burst out laughing and nudged his shoulder. "i'm not talking about you jordan. i just want to fuck that's all."

he laughed in turn. "i'm sure you can find a guy or a vibrator. anyway. i'll go." you got up from the bathtub where you were. "wait, how much do i owe you for this ?" he shook his head. "nothing at all, a little magic cigarette from time to time is good."

chad frowned. you were on drugs.

he didn't have time to hide, jordan opened the door and came face to face with him. the dealer turns to you. "oh chad." you pulled out the joint you were smoking and groaned when you saw him. "shit."

he pushed aside to let jordan pass and he entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him, sticking his back to it. he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at you. "if you're looking for a free bathroom for your antics with the pretty redhead, there's one downstairs i think." you put on a fake smile and looked at your reflection in the mirror to fix the mascara that had run due to the heat.

"since when do you do this ?" he asked you.

you didn't even try to deny or avoid the question, you kept removing the mascara using a cotton ball you had found and water. "since i wake up every night screaming after dreaming of my father's death." you dropped it so naturally that he was seized with shivers. he straightened up and approached you. "what ?"

you caught his eye in the mirror and shrugged. "when I'm not dreaming of my father's death, i'm dreaming of wes' death or what amber did to me, so. what you saw me smoked helps me sleep without waking me up screaming and crying."

he turned you to him and put his hands on your hips. "why didn't you tell me, i could have helped."

"and how huh ? by coming to tuck me in. by reading me a story."

he paused, considering what to say. then he took your face in his hands and ran his thumb over your lips. "like that." he leaned down and put his lips against yours. instinctively you put your arms around his neck and kissed him back. he gently passed his tongue against your lips to ask permission to enter. you gave it to him as you opened your mouth and your tongues danced until you had to push each other to breathe.

"it works quite well."

he rested his forehead against yours and stroked your cheek with his thumb. "so stop taking that shit."

you closed your eyes and exhaled. "chad, i have no other solutions."

he nodded. "you have other solutions. i just showed you one."

you growled and pushed you away from him to turn towards the mirror. "and what am I supposed to do ? call you every time in the middle of the night so that you come and kiss me and then leave. it will be useless because in any case i find myself alone in this apartment ."

he leaned his chest against your back and pushed your hair over one shoulder to gain access to your neck. he gave it a few kisses before putting his chin up and looking at you in the mirror.

"you don't have to be alone. i can stay with you."

he put his hands around your waist and you put your hand on his. feeling him against you reassured you.

"that's when you're going to tell me that's what friends do. isn't it."

he rested his mouth on your neck but instead of kissing it he sucked it lightly, which forced you to bite your lip to keep you from moaning. after all these years he still knew where your sensitive spot is.

he lifted his mouth slightly. "i think we know you like me that we are more than friends."

he ran one of his hands over your breasts sensually, made you arch your back, he took advantage of the fact that you weren't wearing a bra to take one of your nipples between his thumb and index finger, made you moan. your dress was so thin that you felt like you were naked under his hands.

"i still love you. you know it y/n, you always knew it."

"chad." you whispered. as he continued to play with your now hard nipples, he reached his other hand between your thighs and stroked you gently but adding pressure. that drove you crazy. you needed him and now.

he turned you around stopping his gestures on your body and kissed you. he picked you up gently and placed you on the sink.

"baby if only you knew how much i pictured us like this." he whispered against your mouth. "you, sweating and begging me to keep going. and me, deep inside you. for years i couldn't stop thinking about us, the way our bodies fit perfectly together. the way you arched your body every time that i was hitting that sweet spot."

he was going to kill you, not only with his words but also by his lack of caresses. "chad touch me please."

he smiled against your mouth and without warning, he tore your panties and inserted a finger inside you. the pleasure was such that you arched your back and moaned louder, louder than with any other guy.

"tell me that you also thought of us."

you gasped as he inserted a second finger. writhing in pleasure you grabbed his top and pulled him against your lips. he kissed you with such fervor that your whole body burst into flames.

"all the time." you whispered against his mouth.

he withdrew his fingers and pushed himself away. you were about to complain but he got down on his knees and took your thighs which he pulled to bring you closer to the edge of the sink, taking care not to let you fall. you understood very quickly what he had in mind.

he spread your thighs, put one of your legs on his shoulder and he started what he had wanted to do for too long. he began by leaving kisses inside your thigh while going up, made you shiver.

you slipped a hand behind his head to guide him, impatient because you knew what he was capable of with his mouth.

he looked at you one last time, admiring the girl he was in love with then he plunged his head between your legs and inserted his tongue into your pussy.

you arch your back and moan his name. "chad. fuck keep going." you continued to moan louder and louder as he sucked, licked and shoved his tongue in.

hearing you moan made him harden, he was so hard that he had to palm himself through his jeans to relieve himself a little. it was sure that he was going to cum without you even touching him. just with the sounds you made.

when your moans became louder and louder he understood that you were going to cum so he continued to devour you until you reached orgasm.

once done. he got up and kissed you. you slipped a hand between the two of you and started to undo his belt but he pushed your hands away. you frown. "why ?" he smiled at you. "i heard what you said a little earlier. that you wanted to fuck, so here's what i'm going to do. i'm going to take you back to your apartment and fuck you until morning."

and chad was a man of his word. he had actually walked you home and then he had fucked you in all the positions he had imagined you in and on every surface of your apartment, from the kitchen, to the dining room table, to the sofa and to the bedroom. put it all to bed until morning. and the short time you slept, you didn't have a single nightmare.

✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚ ✚

[sitp-recs]

Hi Liv! I know you're still on a fandom break, but your rec lists are the best and I really need some Harry pov fics—think Away Childish Things, Nice Things, and Here's the Pencil Make it Work all of which which I've already reread too many times in the past six months for me to describe accurately myself as "okay" so if you know of any other similar fics I'd much appreciate it!

Tysm and hope ur having a lovely evening 💜

Hello friend, happy to help! I haven’t read a lot recently so I apologize for not reccing any new fics here. I’m assuming you already know Turn by SG which has an iconic Harry POV, so I have listed other titles with a focus on pining!Harry. I hope you find some exciting new reads here!

Still Life, orphaned (M, 3k)

in a rambling way by @fw00shy (T, 7.5k)

Ron knocked Hermione up, and now Harry's got to figure out how to clone himself so that his friends don't split up fighting over him. Falling for Draco again was never part of the plan.

Clear As Mud by scoradh (M, 9k)

Set post-war and post-Harry's-conscience...

Poppiholla by @moonflower-rose (M, 12k)

Harry had accepted that he would pine silently for Malfoy forever, but one, humid summer might change that.

Take These Lies by @pennygalleon (E, 20k)

There’s a portrait of his godfather in Draco Malfoy’s potions shop and Harry needs to know why. But that’s not why he keeps coming back.

Faint Indirections by ignatiustrout (2019, T, 29k)

Draco Malfoy is the last person Harry expects to turn up in Boston, Massachussetts. But now he's here, and he won't stop requesting books from the library where Harry works.

On Your Shore by @xanthippe74 (M, 35k)

Clearing out a remote house full of cursed collectibles in the Outer Hebrides? Not a problem for an experienced curse breaker like Harry Potter. Spending a week with the straight, happily-married man that he’s starting to have feelings for? And sharing a bed with him at night? Surely Harry can handle that, too.

Rush (For A Gap That Exists) by @sleepstxtic-drarry (M, 42k) - F1 AU

A story of love and loss that grew amidst the most infamous rivalry in Formula One history: the story of Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter.

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic (E, 61k)

Harry Potter, of all people, knows that life isn’t always fair. And no one gets to be happy all of the time. But surely there’s something more—something better—than a rubbish Ministry job, and a lonely old house, and that feeling that everyone out there is doing a better job of living than Harry is.

The Beauty of Thestrals and Other Unseen Things by @writcraft (E, 63k)

Harry has terrific friends, an amazing girlfriend and his job as Head Auror enables him to work on challenging cases and Ministry reform. He just wishes he could work out why he’s been so out of sorts.

The Promise of Summer by Omi_Ohmy (M, 66k)

How was Harry supposed to know that coming back for eighth year would be so confusing? Everything is the same, and yet not the same. And nowhere is this more obvious than with Draco Malfoy. Harry finds himself once more watching and following Malfoy, trying to work him out.

Home Truths by @skeptiquewrites, art by @fantalfart (E, 67k)

In the off-season Harry decided to fix up Grimmauld Place and found that Draco Malfoy was the only person who could help him. A demanding career and unrelenting press scrutiny were enough to deal with before Harry added a house with a mind of its own, family history, and a tense, flirty, complicated relationship with his childhood nemesis to the mix.

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose and dustmouth (T, 96k)

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.

Grounds for Divorce by Tepre (E, 122k)

Malfoy finds a coin. Harry finds a letter.

By the Grace by lettered (T, 140k)

Harry is an Auror instructor. Malfoy wants to be an Auror.

[littlerosetrove]

My initial Spoiler Thoughts (as I was watching) for 7x10. 

Hm.

What a breakneck pace. I think it was a bit too much because nothing was really allowed to breathe.

Ah, so Chris called his grandparents. Kinda expected that.

Ramon “even in death this woman is running your life.” I think that’s what he said and… he ain’t wrong. 

Athena in cop mode. *the longest sigh* This show has to play such a tight line, I know. They want to question cops, but when it’s Athena? She’s gotta be the hero and they let so much of what she does slide. She gets to be a serious hypocrite. 

Will Athena even face any consequences for all the law and rule breaking/bending that she did? Only time will tell, but canon so far says no. I think she’s been benched in any capacity once? In season one.  

Wow. I really didn’t expect much, but we literally got a 5 second acknowledgment of an off screen breakup between Marisol and Eddie. I mean there would have been zero weight to have it on screen because their relationship was such a nothing burger. But man. I’ve said it before, but there was no point to Marisol sticking around for the entire season. Good lord. 

“Being the living testament to a dead person is a lonely existence.” This applies to Athena, Amir, Bobby, and Eddie. And I feel like the only ones who learned something from this is everyone but Eddie. 

Damn, Jamal is an amazing actor. He was on par with Angela in that scene. I seriously hope we get to keep Amir because 1) he’s just a good guy, and 2) I want to keep this actor because he’s just awesome. 

I called it in 7x8 that the cartel, or the cartel adjacent apparently, would be the ones to hurt Bobby and I was right. This whole thing… happened so fast and felt. Idk, almost anticlimactic? 

Tommy lore! Sad though. He has a shitty dad that he doesn’t talk to because he’s comparable to Gerrard. Woof. 

There was nothing wrong with the date scene. I have a whole post about why there was nothing wrong with what Tommy said. Tommy was matching Bucks energy, and moved things into lighter territory that happened to include daddy kink (which as far as kinks go is mild).  

That felt a little weird? The scene with Bobby, Athena, Harry, and May. I know this show is trying to say they’ll be alright especially since this is the last episode of the season, but man. We didn’t get to see any, idk, concern from Harry and May over Bobby or sadness over their childhood house being burned down? 

Okay well I am definitely glad that Maddie and Chimney got to help out, that they’re going to foster Mara and thus bring the Wilson family back together in some capacity. I don’t know how they arranged that so fast, but I’ll take it. I think it really makes sense especially coming from Chimney whose dad basically abandoned him in the US, and so Chimney was taken in by the Lees, who were friends with Chimney’s mom.  

I’m, idk, there was so little communication overall amongst Eddie, Chris, Helena, Ramon, and even Buck? Like it was just simply “Chris is mad so he’s staying with his grandparents for an indefinite time.” Okay??? Like there was no conversation from anyone with Chris and what he’s even feeling beyond “I’m mad.” 

I know this is a drama show and we need to suspend our disbelief fairly often about things, but come on. Gerrard was kicked out, let go of being the captain at the 118 because of multiple misconduct reports. And you’re telling me that 1) he’s even still an active firefighter because truly how the hell has he not been fired before now, and 2) anyone would look into the records of the 118 and think putting Gerrard in charge - at the same firehouse he was booted from - is a good idea??? And thirdly, why is Hen not in charge? She’s interim captain, so why is she not stepping up until Bobby gets his place back, or literally anyone better than Gerrard comes in????? I know some of fandom sees this as juicy drama material, which I get, but right now all I see is a bigoted white man brought back who is going to make the lives of several non white people a living hell for drama. 

I’m… not 100% sure how I feel about this one. The pacing was too fast for me, and so nothing was really allowed to breathe. While not inherently a bad thing, but a lot of this was just predictable (thank you Elle for this word). I honestly didn’t get to feel much about Bobby’s story because it happened so fast in the story and just watching it. I felt more moved by Mara and Eddie and Chris’s story, but even that… I don’t know how to explain it.

Again I think it’s the pacing that lessened the impact of a lot of what happened. I’m also not particularly pleased with how, overall, Eddie has been handled this season as explained in this post. 

This wasn’t a bad episode, but I don’t think I’d call it great either.  As of right now, overall it felt weirdly anticlimactic I think.

[dxscmfrt]

IMAGINE CLUBHOUSEBLR LMAOOOOOO i think they would get a shit ton of hate on the daily while just trying to exist in peace because they are part of the club house

btw to people who didnt come to my blog for ocs i love making fake posts so if you don't want to see that please block #fake post. thabks

to everyone else fair warning there is a Lot of (fictional) negativity (including and related to people publicly wishing death on others) in the fake posts below. proceed with caution.

azuregaming - azure metaphoricaldistance - yonder clubhouse - blog for club house updates, run by faye, liv, and poppie fayes-diary - faye kitchencat - liv farfaraway - faye's vent blog pocketfullofposies - poppie urlocalflutist - mel

any other usernames not listed here are complete strangers who happen to interact

0 notes

🎮 azuregaming Follow

🖍️ metaphoricaldistance Follow

how. did you Do that

🖍️ metaphoricaldistance Follow

azure answer me

50,378 notes

🏚️ clubhouse Follow

Hey everyone! I thought since you all love stealing my photos so much (no worries, I get it hahaha!) I decided to get a photocopyer so you all can copy the photos to put in your own room! So my photo album can always be complete!

and to the anon who keeps sending us hate, fuck off. get a job

-mod faye <3

📔 fayes-diary Follow

to be honest i don't even know why i bother updating the club house blog anymore

🍳 kitchencat Follow

Faye swearing?!?!??!!?

📔 fayes-diary Follow

THAT WAS AN OLD POST

38 notes

🎮 azuregaming Follow

whats up guys i just downloaded mine craft! Time to make myself a mansion of diamonds!

🎮 azuregaming Follow

NOOOOOO A CREEPER BLEW ME UP

🎮 azuregaming Follow

WHY CAN TI REASPWN

🎮 azuregaming Follow

I ACCINTDENTALLY PLAYED IN HARDCORE MODE

186 notes

🥀 farfaraway Follow

why does everybody i love leave me...

0 notes

pocketfullofposies-deactivated

Ughh the kid in the attic is so annoying I want to throw her out of a window

pocketfullofposies-deactivated

Seriously what makes you think you can just walk in here and take my room?? Lmao bitch know your place, ur just a kid from the streets idk why faye and oliver even decided to keep you

🍳 kitchencat Follow

Poppie, could you have at least a little bit of respect for Yonder? We let them in here because they had nowhere else to go. Their family kicked them out of their home. It's our job to give them the best life we can give. I don't want to see you call them 'her' again.

16 notes

🏚️ clubhouse Follow

a moment of silence for poppie, our gardener.

2002 - 2013

strange--people-deactivated

DESERVED. club house sucks i hope all you kids and your bullshit die

🪈 urlocalflutist Follow

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? OUR FRIEND DIED AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT HER!? AND WISHING DEATH ON PEOPLE BECAUSE OF RUMORS THE NEWS SPREAD TWO YEARS AGO? HAVE SOME RESPECT!

🍳 kitchencat Follow

Well I guess they won't be bothering anyone anymore

1,904 notes

🎮 azuregaming Follow

guys whos poppie

🎮 azuregaming Follow

???

2 notes

[scrapyardboyfriends]

Caught up with the episode. 

When I envisioned this moment, I was kind of expecting even more fireworks but I was also envisioning it originally happening without Al dead so that definitely changed things. It’s all just a bit sad now and there’s just like...so many terrible things she’s done that they haven’t even gotten into and probably never will like guilt tripping Aaron and forcing him to leave and Liv’s death etc. 

But I was really impressed that they actually let Paddy take her to that house. That was great. I didn’t think they’d ever let him have the kind of backbone to do that. I do wish he’d just take Eve and go though. Chas deserves to be alone, at least for now. I know that’s maybe not fair on Eve but wake up kid, your mom’s terrible. Big brother Aaron could tell you so many stories. 

I enjoyed everyone yelling at her in the pub and Moira’s whole outburst but then I also need the Kyle stuff to come out so Chas can feel doubly bad because while the Kyle stuff really is entirely down to Cain in terms of actual responsibility, so many events were set in motion because of Chas and her stupid affair. And I just want it all out there. 

It did kind of annoy me that Charity was backing her up. I mean I kind of wanted her to but I also just really want her to call her out for having an affair with Al of all people after she forced Charity out of the pub because she had slept with him. Like I just want her to call her out for being a massive hypocrite and disowning everyone and being generally awful to her entire family, putting herself on some moral pedestal but then going and doing this. And then I’d want Charity to support her because she’s not like Chas. She’s not just going to be a hypocrite and disown her. But I want Chas to feel guilty about that support because she knows she didn’t offer it. 

As for the rest of the episode...

I can’t even care about the Nicky stuff because I know they’re just going to do something inexplicably convoluted with him so I’m just...waiting for it. 

Marlon and Naomi were good in the kitchen together. Although the moment she said “yes chef”, I just couldn’t stop thinking of The Bear. But I hope that partnership works out. The pub could use some non Dingle life. 

The Arthur stuff is sweet. I really liked that scene with Gabby. Although it almost felt weird for her to remember she had a brother again after being so entrenched at Home Farm the last couple years. The group hug with the teens was cringe but lovely. Elliot kind of had a weird look before he joined the hug so I don’t know if that will be anything more or not. The Ethan/Marcus conversation with him was also kind of cringe but it’s a nice gesture and I like the idea of him having people to talk to. I do also wonder if they’re going somewhere else with Arthur’s story or if this lovely bit of acceptance is it for now and just setting the stage for the future when they do decide to have this younger set of teens start dating?

I still just don’t know what to make of Ethan and Marcus in general. I just really wish they’d given them more of an actual story in getting together because when they fail at that, I really have a hard time connecting with a couple. That was half my problem with Vanity back in the day but at least they got story after that a bit. I mean maybe this thing with the creepy boss will end up being something bigger for them but also this isn’t really what I would have wanted for them. But also...was something more supposed to happen or did it happen off screen and they’ll reveal it later? Or will the boss be back? Cause that one spoiler article I read said something about sexual assault and right now it’s a little more mild sexual harassment. Still creepy vibes and I don’t blame Marcus for feeling uncomfortable but yeah...I don’t know where that’s going.  

Wow...it’s been a long time since I’ve actually posted about Emmerdale. Since I haven’t watched it in a month. Oops. 

[whitneydaniell]

by: Liv Constantine Published: May 23, 2023 Genre: Thriller, Murder Mystery, Fiction 320 Pages, E-Book ARC Courtesy of NetGalley

★★★★

GoodReads Synopsis:

After a tragic chain of events led to the deaths of their spouses two years ago, D.C. philanthropist Sloane Chase and Senator Whit Montgomery are finally starting to move on. The horrifying ordeal drew them together, and now they're ready to settle down again—with each other.

As Sloane returns to the world of White House dinners and political small talk, this time with her new husband, she's also preparing for an upcoming hip replacement—the latest reminder of the lupus diagnosis she's managed since her twenties. With both of their hectic schedules, they decide that hiring a home health aide will give Sloane the support and independence she needs post-surgery. And they find the perfect fit in Athena Karras.

Seemingly a godsend, Athena tends to Sloane, and even helps her run her charitable foundation. But Sloane slowly begins to deteriorate—a complication, Athena explains, of Sloane's lupus. As weeks go by, Sloane becomes sicker, and her uncertainty quickly turns to paranoia as she begins to suspect the worst. Why is Athena asking her so many probing questions about her foundation—about her past? And could Sloane be imagining the sultry looks between Athena and her new husband?

My Review:

WOW! What a great story of twists and turns. After Slone's husband is sadly murdered, Slone's life is flipped upside down by s series of events that seem far too coincidental.

Two years after the murder-suicide of her husband and his cousin, Peg, Slone has remarried Peg's husband, who survived the "incident". Slone found love with Whit by some twist of fate and restarted her life only for the proverbial rug to be pulled out from under her. Surgery. Lupus. And a new home health nurse. Will Slone's life ever be the same?

The story starts out s-l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w, it really took me a while to get into it. Even though the story drags for a while, the whole plot and twist are right in our faces the entire time but you just don't want to believe it. Since I don't want to spoil it, let's run through the characters and some crucial scenes:

Rosemary - Slone's (ex) Mother In Law, Robert's mother, and Peg's Aunt -- She reminded me of Verna Thornton from Scandal, she is who I pictured when reading from Rosemary's POV. She is a strong woman and refuses to let the people around her, play in her face. She had great intuition and I loved to see it.

Athena - Slone's New Home Health Nurse -- She's tricky because I didn't trust her but, once everything was revealed, I still was waiting for another shoe to drop. I didn't like her tie-in with the tragedy but loved her redemption story.

Emmy - Slone's Daughter and, Rosemary's Grandaughter -- Girl, you needed a leave of absence and to go see about your mother.

Whit - Slone's Husband -- Narccisst. I knew he was up to go good from chapter one.

Slone - Took her way to long to sniff out the trouble but, I get it, you need to build up the drama. Once she got wind of everything, I loved the comeback.

Character development was great. The writing was good. Again, my only gripe was the pacing, it drug along pretty slowly for me. However, I enjoyed the story as a whole and was fond of Slone, Emmy, and Rosemary. This was a great quick read and I would absolutely tell others to check it out.

This was my first read from the duo, but based on this book, I will add a few others of theirs to my TBR.

One-Word Summary: Belladonna

[sweetminx]

Chapter 8 of GOH. All chapters currently released and up to date on my AO3! 🥰

Thank you again for your continued love and support and I hope you enjoy the chapter and all others to come! If you didn't catch it before, I painted a portrait of our lovely Michael without that pesky mask to hide his sweet face. Go check that out if you haven't already, it's the 📌 post at the top.

Michael's headed for the one place that calls to him, but not before he decicdes to make a quick stop along the way for something that we all know he loves to use on his victims and some unfortunate soul will pay for such a visit.

Taglist: @megafrost4 @dead-bxtch @sugarstarxoxo @ireallyhateithere2 @necas7325 @michaels-orange-mask @vapurrrrwave @myers-meadow @goosecadet @liv-victoriano @mz-bats @myersobsessed @chaotic-am @utena-akashiya @macabrecakes @eldaryan Ask to be added to the taglist 💜

Universe/Fandom: Halloween 1978 (Non-RZ)   Rating: Mature/Adult. Minors keep your distance. Chapters: 8/?                                   Chapter Triggers/Warnings: Strong language, Strong depictions of violence/gore, angst, knifeplay, blood-play/consumption, masochism/sadism, marking, possessive behaviour. Overall themes: Tension, Drama, Slow burn, Abuse, Strong Language, Past trauma, Manipulation, Strong depictions of Violence/Gore, Phsycological/ Physical trauma, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Mental Illness, Murder, Romance, Angst, Loss, Death, Comfort, Mild humour, Romance, Friendship, Fluff, Smut, Stockholm Syndrome, mild Non-con themes, Knifeplay, Stalking, Marking, Obsessive/Posessive behaviour, Choking, Explicit Sexual content.    Reader details: Female, first-person perspective.   Characters: Female reader, Michael Myers (Non-RZ), Samuel Loomis, Laurie Strode, Jed Perkins  (Non-canon OC), Jamie Harris (Non-canon OC), Parker Reed (Non-canon OC), Josh Hewit (Non-canon OC), Erin White (Non-canon OC)

Ghost of Haddonfield: Chapter eight

Night has fallen. The streets are quiet and empty, lit by the subtle white-orange glow of street lamps steadily growing brighter the darker the velvety black sky turns, dusted with bright glimmering white stars. Although, it's just a typical night for Michael Myers. There's one thing on his mind and he's headed straight for it, one single place, and he's known its comfort his entire life even from the solidarity of a small yet clean white cell. To him, it's home. To everyone else, it's just a rundown and abandoned old house now that once held a lively and bustling young family, cut short by the twisted mind of a sick young boy. It's the place where he ended his sister's life, the place he would forever become known as Haddonfield's most infamous psychopath. 

Legends would say the heart of such beings died in their chest cavities long ago, that they putrefied and made a heavy slime about their lungs as thick as underworld tar. That's how they became killers and perhaps why. Some say their emptiness is their madness, that they take life over and over as if they may possess the hearts and souls, yet never so, and to be healed someone pure has to love each of them, to reform their heart as if it was the finest of clay, then set it to beating with pure nature's essence. So until they find such a being to forgive all that they have done and all that they might do, to break the universal scales and set them free to begin anew, the killing goes on and on and on. True evil has no mortality though, no weakness. It has no feeling, no emotion, no limit and no shame. Nobody knows what fuels it though, just as Loomis could not understand nor explain what sick pleasure Michael derived from such savage and uncontrolled bloodlust. 

Samuel Loomis. He remembers that name and face so vividly. How could he forget? He spent years assessing and observing him, listening with deaf ears and a gaze as dead and emotionless as one could remain in the presence of an obsessed old man who could not fathom the inner workings of Michael's mind. Nobody can. Nobody ever will and it will always remain so because he likes it that way. When the time comes, the crazed doctor will meet his end at the hands of his sole obsession; on his knees with a stomach full of blood, but not before he makes Loomis his human pin-cushion first.

Over the dry fall leaves each of his heavy boots crackles upon, and then to the sound of crinkling grass as he stalks and weaves through the back of shaded properties, his steps equatable to someone who has not yet learnt to walk quietly or much rather has no care for it, instead relying on the verges to muffle the sound. Each footfall is evenly spaced from the last with the most perfect rhythm one after the other. Michael prefers to stick to grassy pathways where the shadows of the night may easily conceal his movements, an even wiser decision now seeing that police would be on high alert. He has no intention of returning to the wards anytime soon. His fingers coil and uncoil at his sides just from the thought of preparing for yet another killing, all the brutal ways he could discover to slaughter another living and breathing being just to feel the life drain from their body.

Michael paces onward but stops abruptly in the shaded back garden of a random house. Its back porch lights are on, dimly illuminating the back door entrance. The muffled sound of a TV playing from within can be heard even from where he stands, and it's the perfect night for some bloodshed. He stands in the darkness as a cool breeze rustles the trees and bushes around him, plucking frail leaves from their branches and whisking them through the air, so very alive and moving compared to his otherwise completely unmoving frame. After a moment of simply observing he begins to slowly approach the door, his footsteps lighter and more precise than moments ago, before silently peering into the window. His eyes search through the murky darkness, only faintly illuminated by the glow of the television from the room opposite and establishing quickly what seems to be the kitchen.

He steps away from the window to glance around stiffly as though evaluating a way inside. He reaches for the door handle in the hopes that perhaps the owner hadn't been bright enough to lock it, but upon turning it comes to find it locked. Although prying the window or door open with brute force would be a simple task for someone with his strength, it was far from quiet. Just as he turns to find another route in, something catches his eye. On the ground beside the porch steps is a small spindly, dried shrub with a red brick nestled snugly within it, yet it's placed at a strange angle and slightly raised. Upon bending down, he promptly pushes the brick aside, only to discover a silver key beneath it, which he removes before moving the brick back into place with the key, slipping it into the keyhole and twisting it. With a brisk click, the door unlocks and Michael pushes it open, enters and silently shuts it behind him. Glancing around, his eyes search the small kitchen.

Despite the absence of food, the lingering aroma of a previously cooked roast dinner drifts into the orifices of his pale mask, filling his nostrils with the delectable scent and urging him to inhale deeply, but food isn't what he's come for.

Throughout the dimly-lit kitchen, Michael paces with slow, light steps, opening and rummaging through various drawers and cabinets as he goes. Then he stops, casting his eyes to the nearby knife block on the counter to his right. The sound of the television in the lounge is loud enough to keep whoever is watching it preoccupied if they weren't otherwise somehow asleep, leaving Michael free to scour for whatever he was in search of.

His fingertips land on the first knife out of a total of six, unsheathing it from the holder to reveal a rather disappointingly short and unremarkable blade that was clearly well used before slipping it back into the cork. Taking hold of the fifth knife, he slides it from the block, as he would expect that each would be larger to a previous one. His fingers tighten around the solid black handle and proceed to rotate it in his grasp as though carefully inspecting it. It's the ideal shape and length that would prove utterly lethal without being too bulky or large. Its silver blade shimmers brilliantly, virtually untouched yet fully prepared to rip through flesh and spill rich red pools of blood-a most magnificent weapon to use to his heart's sick and twisted content. Of course Michael could be far more creative with his weapon of choice, but just as his heart and mind held an inseparable connection to his home, as did the very simple yet effective kitchen knife.

One final glance over the glimmering blade is all Michael needs before padding silently into the lounge. A few moments ago, it might have been just a little bit of noisy comedy from the television, but is now quickly replaced by the bloodcurdling, terrified screams of an old woman as Michael hacks and slashes at her without hesitation. The knife cuts cleanly through her frail arms braced so hopelessly in front of her as he stabs in swift repetitive motions over and over and over again.

Despite not being entirely calculated, each stab is controlled enough not to be fatal. It's brutal, feral even. With every stab sends the crying old woman stumbling further back, clumsily throwing items such as a vase or even the nearby telephone which Michael swats to the side aggressively before lurching at her and viciously throwing her through the antique coffee table perched beside the armchair. Michael stands idly for a moment simply savouring the sounds of yet another victim, watching her writhe and wail helplessly on the floor. His fingers remain tight around the knife handle and his masked gaze stern on her wounds, how her arms are littered with deep, bleeding gashes that had already dribbled throughout the lounge and soiled the soft woven ivory rugs, soaking through to polished pine floorboards.

The floorboards squeak and bend as he paces forward with slow, heavy steps. In one fluid motion Michael's knife swiftly pierces through the woman's outstretched hand; the sheen of crimson coated metal glints in the light before it is ripped from her and elicits a horrifying scream from her lungs. He plunges the knife through her palm a second time, a third, a fourth before snatching her wrist and driving the knife through her arm. There's blood splattered all over the wall, staining the armchair, the rugs, pooling on the floor and reflecting his pale white mask.

There is no end to the screaming, and neither will it come until Michael is satisfied. The events in the institution were tame. It was simply child's play, a demonstration of what he had planned. This was just the beginning of the havoc he would wreak, and he'll gladly contribute to watching each and every one of these people drop like flies until there's noone left.

Michael's coming home and Haddonfield is simply his playground for a bloody massacre.

[justathoughtfulangel]

Becoming Human ~ Kai Parker One Shot (slight AU)

Two story posts in one day? I don’t know who I am anymore.

Hello! Welcome to yet another Kai Parker love story by yours truly :). This is meant to be a prequel to “Love is Pain. Pain is Love.” If you haven’t yet, I would recommend you read that FIRST simply because that’s the order I wrote them in, but if you prefer to read chronologically that’s perfectly fine! They also function well as stand-alone one shots.

Word count: 3,822

Things you need to know before you read:

1) Damon and Stefan have a younger sister (my OC and the female lead of this story), Lucy Salvatore.

2) Lillian Salvatore died when she was supposed to, and the 1903 prison world does not exist. The group of Heretics that were trapped there with her does not exist, either.

3) This piece begins when Liv comes to kill Kai after his merge with Luke. 

None of the gifs used are mine! Gifs and/or “~~~” symbols will signify scene changes.

The story starts after the break; happy reading!

A steel poker tore through Kai’s stomach, pulling him and Jeremy out of the 1994 Prison World. He moaned in pain, rolled onto his back, and chortled at the turn of events. “Dang, sis. That was harsh.” Liv stood above him, glaring as he shifted onto his knees. “Shut up.” Liv got into his head without warning, burning into the gray matter of his brain and making Kai scream.

Lucy was in her room, peacefully reading when someone’s shriek reached her ears. She sighed deeply. Could there be just one peaceful day at the Salvatore house? Whooshing down the stairs with her supernatural speed, Lucy watched Kai splash alcohol over Liv, taunting her as he took a candle and held it up to her face.

“Just kill me, Kai. You already killed my best friend.” Kai’s hand trembled as it clutched the burning candle, his face contorting with hesitancy. “Just do it. Get it over with.”

Lucy studied Kai’s expression carefully. “Why can’t I do this?” He looked like he was in pain, his lip quivering with fear. “I don’t care about you.” Kai’s voice was barely over a whisper. “Why can’t I kill her?! Come on…” He was lost, but Lucy could save him. She saved her brothers from this same darkness many times (she lost count after the first two decades). Lucy approached Kai silently, not wanting to grab his attention. His voice grew louder and louder with agitation. “Kai, do it. Do it. COME ONNNN!” Kai’s screech rang through the house as he slapped himself, urging himself on. “KILL HER!” 

Lucy lunged towards him, making sure the flame was out before she held Kai’s arms behind his back, dealing one sharp jab to his upper spine and rendering him unconscious. Elena and Jeremy grabbed Liv while Lucy took Kai upstairs, laying him on her bed and getting him to drink her blood, making sure he heals.

Afterwards, there was nothing to do but wait. Lucy hadn’t truly harmed him; he’d be up in a few minutes. She sat next to him, kicking her heels up and resuming her reading. Stefan peeked into Lucy’s room, shocked at the sight of Kai knocked out next to her. “Do I want to know?” Lucy half-smirked, looking between her brother and the psychopath on her bed. “No, probably not.” 

“Alright then. Carry on.” Stefan slinked away, and Kai came to. Lucy’s hand came to below his chest, checking to see if the stab wound had healed. “You brought me to your bed and decided to put your hands on me, Salvatore?” He sat up, grinning from ear to ear. “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind, but at least buy me dinner first.” Kai gave her a cheeky wink, earning a withering look from Lucy. 

“Come on, you.” Lucy jumped off the bed, tossing Kai a clean, nondescript grey sweatshirt. He stared at it for a minute, unsure of why exactly he was being asked to change. “You said I should buy you dinner, right? We’re going to the Grill, and unless you want to go covered in blood, I suggest you put the sweatshirt on.” 

Kai’s eyebrows rose inquisitively. This would be interesting…

~~~

~~~

Kai dug into his food, starving for some reason. Near-death experiences made everyone super hungry. Lucy munched on some fries and watched him, observing his eyes above all. They were called windows to the soul for a reason. Kai’s eyes caught hers then, and he gave her the same playful, crooked grin. “I know I’m pretty, Lucy. Didn’t anyone teach you it’s rude to stare?”

Lucy laughed at him. “Don’t flatter yourself, Malachai. I’m just here to make sure no one kills you until my blood passes from your system. Eating will help speed that process up.” His teeth snapped shut in reaction. The last time someone called him Malachai… “Don’t call me that.”

“What? Your name?” Kai chugged down his entire water glass in one go. “It’s not my name. Not anymore.” Lucy had hit a nerve, which was surprising. From what Damon had told her, Kai was always eerily put together, even when he and Bonnie crossed him.

His emotions came from his merge with Luke. Before that, he was a stone-cold, unshakable killer. Getting him to accept his feelings – or even acknowledge them – would be difficult. “You know what your problem is, Kai?” 

His wave of anger was gone. Kai put a hand on his chest in mock offense. “Problem? I don’t have a problem.” Lucy let out a single, hard chuckle. It always upset her to see someone hiding their suffering just below the surface, veiled under the thinnest armor possible. “Your problem is that emotions scare you. You can’t begin to understand them. I can help you if you’ll let me…”

Kai said nothing, staring at her. Of the three Salvatore vampire siblings, Lucy seemed the most human. He had no reason to believe she was insincere, but Kai Parker did not know how to trust anyone, not when his family decided to lock him in his own personal Hell. Before Kai could respond, Damon dragged up a chair to join them. 

“Sister. Sociopath.” Raising his glass in greeting, Damon sipped his bourbon, glancing between the two. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. “Did you pick him for your next humanity project?” Lucy’s face remained smooth, but Damon’s drunken words hurt her. Project. Did he think it was fun for her? Did he think she enjoyed bringing her brothers back from the brink of oblivion? 

“Yes, Damon. My life is incomplete when I don’t have an imbecile to take care of.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she shook her head. Standing up, Lucy left a $50 bill on the table and gave Kai her number. “Think about what I said. If you’re willing to try, you know how to reach me.”

Walking out, Lucy exhaled loudly once she stepped into the cool night, needing to get this weight off her chest. Deciding to walk home, Lucy pondered over Damon’s words. Sometimes it felt as if her life had no other purpose except caring for her brothers. If she took away the role of “little Salvatore sister” from her life, who exactly was she?

“Lucy! Hey!” Kai was running after her. While he didn’t believe she could help him make sense of emotions, Kai couldn’t deny that his inability to kill Liv terrified him. That had never happened to him before; He had no idea what it meant. “Breathe, Kai. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Man, you walk fast.” His gasps for air made Lucy crack up. “Yes, well, I’m technically an old lady. You need to get into shape, Parker.” Rolling his eyes, Kai straightened up, looking into her eyes. “You said you can help me. How?”

Lucy smiled warmly. Project or not, this is what she excelled at.

~~~

~~~

A few weeks later, Liv had agreed to help them get Bonnie out of the prison world. Damon, Elena, and Stefan had gone with her; Lucy was on sociopath watch. Lounging on her favorite couch in the Salvatore library, she wrote in her journal. Every few seconds, she glanced at Kai inconspicuously, watching as he toured the bookshelves. “God, how many books do you have?” Lucy giggled at the surprise in his tone. The gentle sound caught his attention. It made him feel light, somehow. It calmed him.

“Stefan and I are both literature fanatics.” She shut her journal, setting it in her lap and resting her head on her hand. “Reading is such a wonderful escape from real life.” Kai hummed in soft disagreement, picking up her feet and plopping down next to her before letting them fall into his lap. “Not always. I was reading The Great Gatsby a couple of days ago, and all of a sudden, this water started pooling in my eyes. Like I was some alien creature with fluids oozing from my eyeballs. Does that ever happen to you?”

Biting the inside of her cheek to hold back her laughter, Lucy nodded. “Mhmm. I believe that’s called crying, and it’s not an alien phenomenon. Definitely human.” Kai had been crying? He couldn’t remember the last time he had cried… “When was the last time you experienced that, Lucy?”

Her smile fell, thinking of what happened a few months ago. They all thought Damon and Bonnie were dead. Instead of staying by her side as family does, Stefan disappeared off to some random town in Georgia with no notice or explanation. She knew Stefan was hurting, but it was hard for her to forgive him after he returned. Lucy had lost a brother, too. 

Kai saw the pain in her eyes and immediately regretted his question. “I-I’m sorry… you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” Clearing her throat, Lucy plastered a calm countenance on and responded. “No, it’s okay. I suppose this is a necessary part of your emotional training regimen.

“The last time I cried in grief was a few months ago – maybe three months ago? I thought one of my brothers was dead. The other ran off to cope with it on his own. It felt like I lost them both in the span of a week.” A heavy wave of remorse washed over Kai. Had he succeeded in any of his efforts to kill Damon, he would’ve made Lucy’s pain a permanent reality.

He was guilty, now? What was this woman doing to him?!

Lucy was still speaking, not noticing the whirlwind of thoughts shining in Kai’s eyes when she was lost in her own memories. “Then, I sobbed in utter relief when Damon came back. Tears don’t always have to mean loss or pain. Sometimes, we are overwhelmed with such joy that our body doesn’t know how to hold all of it.”

This was entirely news to him. Kai had never known such extreme happiness. He couldn’t comprehend how such a sensation even existed. Without thinking about it, Kai took Lucy’s hand, squeezing it softly. She was taken aback momentarily but returned the favor. He was empathizing. It was working.

“Lucy, I need you to teach me how to feel.” He had given in. Kai had to know how he felt about her, and she was the only one that could show him. 

~~~

~~~

Another month went by. Kai saw Lucy almost every day. When he wasn’t with her, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Everything she said just made perfect sense. He didn’t expect it to be easy to figure out how emotions worked, but Lucy guided him every step of the way.

Kai knew he wouldn’t see her today, and the thought was driving him insane. Lucy was moving into her new home. Like the idiot he was, Kai forgot to ask for her address. Somehow, he forgot a great deal around her.

Kai found himself in the Salvatore house again, trying to get her brothers to tell him where she moved. Both were truly hesitant. Every time Kai was in the room, Damon had the urge to rip his heart out, and Stefan didn’t like how much time Lucy was spending with him.

“Look, I know both of you can’t stand the sight of me, and I can understand why. But I need you to tell me where Lucy is. I can’t stop thinking about her. I need to see her.” Damon froze mid-step, blinking a few times to center himself. Kai almost sounded genuine. He wasn’t falling for it, but Stefan gave in. 

“3190 South Ruby Street.” Kai shot up immediately, heading out. Before he stepped over the threshold of the house, he turned around. “Thank you, Stefan. I know you don’t like me, but thanks for trusting me with this.” Stefan only nodded. Just as Kai disappeared from sight, Damon chucked a pillow at his head. “What is wrong with you?”

“Did you want him to torture it out of someone? If the way he treated you and Bonnie is any indication, we have to avoid setting him off at all costs. Lucy can defend herself.” Damon rolled his eyes. “Sure she can.”

~~~

~~~

Lucy had just finished putting her kitchen appliances away. She paused to look at her new home, proud of the life she was beginning to create. In order to figure out who she was, Lucy had to take herself out of the Salvatore house, out from under the eagle eyes of her brothers. After taking a shower at vamp-speed – Lucy was eager to settle in with a book on the reading chair she took weeks to pick out – she put a pot of coffee on.

She was combing her wet hair with her fingers when the doorbell rang. Not expecting anyone, Lucy opened the door, a warm smile gracing her lips when she saw who it was. “Malachai! Come in.” She was elated to see him. Lucy couldn’t deny she found her thoughts drifting to him at odd hours of the day. For someone who claimed to be high in emotional intelligence, Lucy didn’t want to accept how she felt about him. Though she cared for Kai and saw a real change in him, Lucy couldn’t just forget how he had tortured Liv before the merge. He had left Bonnie for dead to claw his own way out of the prison world. She saw something worth redeeming in him, but could she just forget all he had done?

Kai stepped in, giving her a grin in greeting. Hearing his real name didn’t bother him anymore, not when it came from her. “Hey, Lucy. The place looks great.” Accepting his pleasantries, Lucy poured some coffee for him as well, handing him the mug and leading him into the living room. “What brings you by?” She took a seat, gesturing for him to do the same and folding her legs beneath her.

“I just…” Kai didn’t have a real reason. There was only one, and he couldn’t hold it back. “I just needed to see you.” Something in her expression softened. Kai was like a child when it came to his feelings. Now he knew to recognize them, and he spilled his thoughts without a filter. Her eyes gleamed with flickers of joy, and Kai couldn’t stop himself from continuing. “God, feelings are hard. Um… I don’t like not seeing you. If you’re not around, something doesn’t feel right.”

Lucy said nothing. Her mind was telling her to reject him, but she stopped to ask herself why. Was she rejecting him because of what she saw in him or because of what others saw in him? Had Damon and Stefan not done innumerable unforgivable things in their lifetimes? Lucy forgave them because she loved them. The answer was clear to her then: she loves him. It came at her without warning, not unlike how emotions came to Kai.

“I know the feeling.” Lucy shifted closer to him, taking Kai’s hand in hers and linking their fingers together. Something felt warm inside him. Whole. Healed. For a few peaceful moments, neither said anything. Kai couldn’t move his gaze away from their hands, clasped together beautifully as if they were always meant to be. Then, the spell they were under broke by the shrill singing of Lucy’s phone. “I’m sorry, Kai, just a second.” Sighing, she picked it up, wondering what Damon could possibly need now.

As she stepped away to take the call, Kai stood and looked at the decorations she had up. A dream catcher hung from the wall near the kitchen, and a large frame decorated the wall of the dining room. Within it was a picture of Lucy and her brothers at Jo and Alaric’s wedding. The longer he looked at it, the more he was beginning to understand the bond between the siblings. Lucy had the same crystal blue eyes as Damon but the caramel brown locks of Stefan. She once mentioned her temper was the hottest of them all, but she knew how to rein it in like Stefan. Actually, it would be more accurate to say Stefan knew how to rein it in like her.

He took a sip of his coffee, smiling to himself. He smiled to himself a lot these days. Especially when Lucy was on his mind. This felt like home, and he didn’t want to lose the peace he felt. Kai wouldn’t survive losing her.

“Sorry about that. Damon wanted to know if you had shown up here.” Kai’s expression fell. “Your brothers really hate me, don’t they?” Lucy couldn’t lie and say no, but she moved closer to him until he was looking into her eyes. “They don’t know you. I know you, and it is impossible for me to feel anything but–” Her voice trailed off, and Lucy had to avert her gaze from him. Kai would not accept that. Setting his mug aside, he took her face in his hands. His voice was barely over a whisper when his eyes found hers again. “Anything but what?” 

“Love. I can’t feel anything but love for you, Malachai.” He needed to hear nothing else. Without planning it, without thinking of anything, his lips claimed hers. She pulled him as close as possible, every inch of her pressed against his body. Kai’s hands found their way to her hair as his aching desire for her grew stronger. Lucy couldn’t tell how long they remained in their passionate embrace, but she didn’t care. She could stay there forever…

~~~

~~~

Lucy sighed, hiding her exhausted face in her hands. Her brothers bickered with her about Kai relentlessly. It was becoming unendurable. “Why can’t the both of you just trust me? I may be your younger sister, but I’ve lived on this planet for multiple decades, just like the two of you. I know this is something real.”

“He’s a sociopath, Lucy! They are incapable of feelings. Why can’t you get that into your thick skull?” Damon was harsh with his words, but Lucy knew he spoke from a place of concern. “Damon, listen to me. He does feel. His pain compares to the amount the three of us have survived together. He’s learned to let it in. Please believe me when I say this.”

Stefan looked between the two, breaking up the conversation. “You’re right, Lucy. Maybe we should give him a chance.” Relief overcame her expression, and Damon looked like someone had asked for his soul. “What? No. Absolutely not!” Stefan shot Damon a look, gesturing for him to shut up. Groaning in disbelief, Damon stomped upstairs, completely convinced his siblings had lost their minds.

“Damon will come around, Luce. Don’t worry about him.” Lucy was staring at the stairs, hating this wedge between her and her brother. “Thanks for wanting to trust him, Stefan. It means a lot to me.” He smiled, pressing a kiss to her crown. “Of course. Now, get going. We’ve kept you here for hours and someone’s waiting for you at home.”

Lucy grinned, quickly heading out the door. Just as her engine started, Stefan ran to Damon’s room. “Excuse me, I don’t speak to people that have gone completely mental!” Damon was angry enough to toss things around. “Kai’s going to hurt her! And it’ll be your fault.”

“No, he won’t. We won’t let him.”

Meanwhile, as Lucy drove home in haste, Kai shot up in their bed. His eyes darted around the room anxiously, not knowing where Lucy had gone. Wrapping his arms around himself, Kai curled up into a ball, becoming as small as possible. He hoped the strength of his arms was enough to keep him from falling apart, but it was useless. The only one who could hold him together was Lucy.

A painful cry ripped out from his chest, echoing through their home. Lucy heard it from a mile away. She parked very dangerously on the driveway, not caring about anything but getting to him. One second passed, and she was beside him. 

“Kai? Hey!” Lucy kneeled next to the bed, trying to look into his eyes. “What happened?” Seeing her somehow made the tears spill faster, and each one was a stab to her heart. “Malachai, tell me what’s wrong.” He couldn’t find his voice, so he only shook his head. Biting her lip, Lucy wrapped herself around him as best as she could, soothingly smoothing his hair back. His dreams always tormented him. Even if he didn’t want to share, Lucy knew what they were about. “You’re alright, sweetheart. You’re safe. You’re not alone anymore.”

Kai didn’t know how long he sobbed in her arms, but when he finally calmed, he was exhausted. “Better?” He nodded and nuzzled into her, breathing her in and reminding himself she was here. Lucy could sense he didn’t want to talk about it, so she tried to distract him. “I have something to tell you… ask you, rather.”

His eyes locked with hers curiously. The remnants of tears in them crushed her, but she kept talking. “I love you, Malachai, and I want you to stay with me forever. I haven’t mentioned this to anyone yet, but I want to turn you… if you’ll let me.” The statement was reminiscent of the conversation they had months ago when Lucy asked if he’d allow her to help Kai feel again.

 “Lucy Salvatore, are you proposing to me?” Both of them laughed in unison, and Kai switched their positions so he was the one enveloping her. “I suppose I am.” Kai owed her everything. How could she even suspect he didn’t want all of eternity with her? “Then, my answer is yes. I want today, tomorrow, and every day after that with you.”

Lucy kissed him sweetly, filled with all-consuming happiness. Her brothers would accept him, and she’d have her Malachai forever.

~~~

~~~

Lucy was immensely anxious that day. Her brothers claimed they needed to get something from the 1994 Prison World, and Kai agreed to accompany them. “Lucy, I need to speak to them alone. I need to apologize to Bonnie and get your brothers to trust me.” She let out a long exhale, looking into his eyes. “I know… but I just have this feeling. I know my brothers, Malachai. They’re up to something. Please don’t go.” Lucy was almost begging him, and Kai’s heart just about broke.

Moving closer to her, he smiled reassuringly. “Hey, hey, hey… I love you. There isn’t any force in the universe strong enough to keep me from you. Even if your brothers try something, I know I’ll find my way back to you.” Lucy bit her lip in worry, making Kai kiss the tension away. “I’ll be back before the moon is up in the sky. Wait for me?”

Lucy could only wrap her arms around him, resting her head on his chest to listen to his heartbeat. “Always.”

~~~

That’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed reading my work as much as I enjoy writing it. If you haven’t yet, check out the sequel to this piece, “Love is Pain. Pain is Love.” I am also writing an AU Kai Parker Love Story series, the details of which can be found on my masterlist. As always, feel free to message me with your thoughts/comments/constructive criticisms, or anything else!

Until next time, JustAThoughtfulAngel <3

[babygirlizz]

izzie’s favorite movies and tv shows of 2020 (aka the worst year ever)

another year, another movie and tv show review. this year has, to put it simply, sucked. 2020 has been so terribly awful that sometimes the only light you can see are the absolute bangers of movies and tv shows that came out this year. with that being said, some of the movies and tv shows didn't come out in 2020. if the are mentioned in this post it is because they either: had a season come out this year, i found them this year, or they became popular this year.

SPOILERS: it may not come as a surprise but just in case you didn't realize, there will be many spoilers ahead, read at your own risk.

tw // death, suicide, drug use, mild adult language. if any of these things might trigger you, i strongly urge you not to read this post.

there is no specific order of these shows and movies, i'm just writing as they come to mind. if you enjoy any of these movies or tv shows, or if you have any suggestions for me, please let me know!

TV SHOWS

1) Santa Clarita Diet

Okay, so I know this show doesn't have anything to do with 2020. But, I found this show in 2020. I put it off for a while, thinking it wasn't my style of a show, but boy was I wrong. I loved this show. Sheila Hammond (Drew Barrymore) is a normal suburban wife and mom. She is a real estate agent with her husband Joel (Timothy Olyphant). She struggles with the fact that she isn't very adventurous. This all changes when she throws up an insane amount at a house showing. She then finds herself craving adventure, and craving human flesh. Yeah, she's a zombie. Not only is this show super hilarious, but it also shows the growth that they have with their characters and their family. I'm also team Abby (Liv Hewson) and Eric (Skyler Gisondo).

2) Outer Banks

So, I'm from NC. And, watching this show at first bothered me because I can very obviously tell this show isn't actually filmed in the obx, and the geography isn't exact, but once I got past that, I loved it. John B (Chase Stokes) is a teenager that lives in the poor side of the outer banks. He has a friend group called the Pogues which consists of JJ (Rudy Pankow), Pope (Jonathan Daviss), and Kie (Madison Bailey). They absolutely hate the Kooks, which are the rich kids. A while after John B's dad gets lost at sea, presumed dead, the group finds some evidence that may solve the mystery, and make them rich. In the process, John B falls in love with a Kook names Sarah (Madelyn Cline) whose father Ward (Charles Esten) may have a little more to do with the mystery than he let on. Through friendship, murder, and secrets, the gang may just figure out what happened to John B's dad.

3) Love, Victor

Alright. I loved loved loved Love, Simon. I also really loved the book "Simon vs. the Homosapien Agenda." So, when I heard about this show, I was so excited. Victor (Michael Cimino) is a teenage boy that moved to Creekwood with his family. He meets Felix (Anthony Turpel) who lives in his building. He also meets Mia (Rachel Hilson) and they begin dating. But, he also meets Benji (George Sear). While trying to get used to a new school, new friends, and a new relationship, Victor finds himself questioning his sexuality. With the help of Simon (Nick Robinson) and his friends, Victor finds it in himself to finally come out, and he admits his feelings, for Benji. This is such a good show, but I was so upset when season 1 ended on a cliff-hanger.

4) The Haunting of Bly Manor

The sequel to The Haunting of Hill House. Now listen, haunting of hill house was an absolute banger. When I saw that Bly came out I nearly died. I was so excited. But, I was alone in my apartment and also a lil bitch. So, I had to wait a week until I was home with my family to watch it. Now, I was so excited to be scared, and there were a few jump scares and ominous moments, but this season was more centered around the story line of Dani Clayton (Victoria Pedretti) and her new life in a foreign country. When seeing an ad for a live in job as an au pair. When she gets there, she meets the two young children she’ll be looking out for and the other workers of the house, including the gardener, Jamie (Amelia Eve). Throughout her stay at Bly she begins to notice weird behaviors from both children and by the end of the series she sacrifices herself for the children. Sadly, this story is being told by Jamie who Dani had fallen in love with during her stay at Bly. Now I was somewhat upset about the lack of horror, but was still very intrigued and drawn in by this series.

5) Julie and the Phantoms

Alright, at first I was not gonna watch this show. I thought it looked a little too young and childish for me, but everyone was talking about it on twitter so I had to. I. Love. This. Show. This show centers around Julie (Madison Reyes). Julie is a teenage girl who, sadly, lost her mother. The one major thing she shared with her mom, was their love for music. Since her mothers passing, she gave up music. This is until, dead musicians from the 90′s show up in her garage. Luke (Charlie Gillespie), Alex (Owen Joyner), and Reggie (Jeremy Shada) all tragically passed away in the 90′s after eating bad street hotdogs. When Julie finds their CD in her garage, she decides to play it and they come back in ghost form. But, only she can see them. With their help, she finds her confidence to play music again. Also, she has to find away for them to stay because they’re slowly disappearing. 

6) Derry Girls

Bitch. I love this show. And yeah it didn’t come out in 2020. Shut up. I found this show recently after watching the cast on the holiday special of the Great British Baking Show. I loved the actors so I had to watch the show. This show focuses on Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) a 16 year old girl that lives in Derry, Northern Ireland in the 90′s. Alongside her is her cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), her two friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan) and Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Michelle’s English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn). During these years, a lot of people in Ireland struggled, especially because it was during wartime. Even thought this show isn’t focused heavily around the war, it’s amazing to see these teens live a fulfilling life while struggling with the state of their country, and the lack of money that their families have. 

7) Elite

HA. This show did have a season in 2020 so leave me alone. But bro, I love this show. At first, I didn’t watch it because I thought I could only watch the dubbed version in English, which I hate. I hate dubbed shows they look so weird. But, once I found out I could watch this show in Spanish, I fell in love. But, sadly, theres too damn much to talk about in one little post. It’s crazy. But basically it just follows the lives of teens in high school that are trying to survive. And no, not in the “I’m surviving high school,” sense. No, people be getting murdered. 

MOVIES (tbh i didn’t find a lot of movies good this year lmk which movies u liked this year and maybe i’ll like them!)

1) All the Bright Places

After the death of her sister, Violet (Elle Fanning) is devastated. She closes herself off, and has her parents get her out of doing school work that involves working with others. But, as time goes on, they realize she may need to start to move on. Violet then meets Finch (Justice Smith) who is enamored by Violet. He suggests they do a project together. While finding and visiting some of the smallest wonders of their state, they begin to fall for each other. While you are focusing on Violet and her mental health, you tend to miss some of the signs that Finch’s mental health isn’t great either, but by the time you do, it could be too late. 

2) Dangerous Lies

Hmm. This was weird for me. I had only ever seen Camila Mendes in Riverdale, and honestly, not a fan. So, Katie (Camila Mendes) and her husband Adam (Jessie T. Usher) are struggling with money. Katie decides to take a job working for an elderly man, and eventually gets her husband hired there as well. Unfortunately, he dies, but for some odd reason, leaves the house and all of his fortune, to Katie. As they get comfortable in the house, they begin to uncover some very weird and dangerous lies. 

3) The Devil All the Time

Ok. Iconic. You got so many hot men in this movie. Bill Skarsgård, Sebastian Stan, Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson. C’mon now. That’s crazy. But, this story is so long and in depth that I wouldn’t even know where to begin. This movie is a bit disturbing. It involves murder, sexual assault, killing of animals, and so much more so if that’s an issue for you please do not watch this movie. It was also quite long, but it was still good.

4) After We Collided

Okay just listen. I was that teenager. I read wattpad stories and was, embarrassingly, addicted to After. This was not a great movie per say, but it was After. This is a sequel to the movie After. This movie centers around Tessa (Josephine Langford) and her recovery after her breakup with Hardin (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). Theres sex, alcohol, bad acting. The whole nine-yards. But c’mon, they’re so cute together.

5) To All the Boys p.s. I Still Love You

Okay it was a good movie. I enjoyed it. This movie focuses on Lara Jean (Lana Condor) and her boyfriend Peter (Noah Centineo) and their relationship post the first movie. But of course relationships aren’t super steady, and John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher) shows up. Yeah, John Ambrose, from her letter. They become closer and Lara Jean has to decide who she wants to be with. Spoiler, it’s Peter. BOOOOOOO justice for John Ambrose McClaren, he deserved better. 

[detectivereyes]

hi and welcome to jamie overanalyzes 911 lone star s2 trailer. this post is long and everything is under the cut bc of that and also bc i know there’s a lot of people out there who are trying not to see anything (which i wish i was you, that’s incredible) anyway if you’re like me and are losing your mind trying to make sense of it all... read below the cut

first just looking at the some screen grabs from trailer that i think are important to pull out

→ this has already been discussed but i’m pretty sure between this clip and the one where you can see the front side of the figures, that it’s owen and tim standing there (owen has the helmet on that says “captain”, tim has “paramedic” on his jacket)... this is important later

→ oh hey gwen

→ “one of our own died today” and it’s not owen, nancy, paul, or marjan... and my prediction that the figure that is comforting nancy is tommy... 

okay there’s not much to really dissect there.. i mean i could probably go shot by shot and give my takes but tumblr is already annoyed at how many pics i’ve uploaded and what people really want to talk about is that last note...

so which one of their own died today???

well we know for sure it’s not owen (they’re not killing off rob lowe lmao), nancy, paul, or marjan (unless the second two screenshots are just supposed to throw us off but this is confusing enough already so let’s just assume they are crying over whoever died)

we can also assume that it’s not tk bc of how much ronen posts, or carlos or grace since they aren’t firefighters. 

my initial thought is that it’s tim rosewater: mostly bc of the teaser trailer (see screenshot above) but at the time i really thought they weren’t actually going to kill anyone off. i also noticed mark elias was still posting. but now i’m not so sure. the main reason behind this reasoning is that nancy is shown crying, and she’s tim’s paramedic partner. of course everyone is going to be upset if someone from their house dies so nancy would be upset over anyone. however, she is shown in this trailer and considering she’s not a main cast member, i think that’s pretty significant. additionally, tim is also not a main cast member so he’s more likely to be killed off than any of the cast members who are. it sucks and i liked tim a lot so i hate this option but i’m going like 90% sure it’s him. but in order to explore other options, let’s dive a little deeper into other possibilities, shall we?

someone else mentioned that it could be michelle. i don’t really think it would be since they made it pretty clear that liv tyler couldn’t film due to travel restrictions. i also think fox would want to promote that liv is returning for one or so episode(s) if that was the case... then again other shows have successfully kept guest appearances secret so who knows really? it would make sense so i wouldn’t entirely discount it. it would make sense that nancy would be upset, and it’s a way for michelle to exit the show. but i hate that bc then the door is closed for liv to ever return to the show. overall i don’t really see this happening (mostly bc of covid and the logistics of getting liv to film...) but then again, i feel like it’s important to keep this in mind

besides tim, the character that makes the most sense would be mateo. i hate this option but this is where we’re at unfortunately. showing marjan upset? he’s also not shown as much in the trailer.. however i think you can see him for a split second at one point during a wildfire scene. if i remember correct, the wildfire episode is occurring around 2x04 (???) and the lava thing whatever you want to call it, is happening at the end of 2x01, into 2x02. so if that’s the case, and assuming that whoever dies is killed during the lava thing (yeah i just keep calling it lava thing..) then i think mateo is safe. please let me be right.

two other options that it could be but i find unlikely are judd and buttercup. judd isn’t shown in the trailer except for briefly during the lava thing (??? i could be wrong tho) but i also don’t think killing him off would make sense bc he’s connected to grace and also like he lost his entire team?? they spent so much time building his story during the first season that i honestly can’t see them killing him off so early in the second. and with buttercup... they can’t kill the dog. it makes sense but also it’s mean and i think it’s more implied that whoever died was killed on a call. i could be wrong here and maybe the lone star writers really do hate us but also i just won’t accept that.

finally, and one that i think is probable, the person who dies isn’t someone we know. all owen says is “we lost one of our own today.” of course one of our own could imply literally someone from the 126. but also it could just imply a fellow firefighter, since it is considered a brotherhood. maybe it was someone they teamed up with from another house and got close with? maybe it was a friend of judd’s? i mean hell maybe it was a floater they brought in for tk while he was on medical leave? we really don’t know but i think it’s important to keep this option in mind as well and not get to ahead of ourselves.

i love that we’re going to look back on this next month and be like wow it was so obvious?? we really thought that it could have been ___?? but for now i’m going to be losing my mind over here if anyone wants to join me. my official guess is going to be tim but i would love to hear what anyone else thinks!! my ask box and dms are open. 

edit, re the eddie/ryan theory: there’s some valid points but overall i don’t think this one makes sense mostly bc this death is happening on 911 lone star... if 911 was going to kill off one of their main cast members, they would do it on their own show. not in a spin off crossover episode... if only bc there are plenty of casual viewers out there that only watch 911 and would have no idea that eddie died. no matter how upset the network is with everything that happened with ryan, they can’t kill him off on a show that isn’t his, it just doesn’t make sense.

[anjanettexcordonia]

Ties That Bind

**Trigger Warnings** 

DARK DARK DARK 

-NSFW/Mental Health/Violence/Rape Minimal fluff if any at all tbh. 

***If you are sensitive to any of these please do not read. 

Pairing: Liam x MC, Liam x Riley, Drake x Olivia 

Word Count: 4,189 (I know its forever long but its worth it in my biased opinion) 

This is my first time writing any kind of fiction. I was inspired by all of you amazing writers! I received positive feedback on this chapter so I’m hoping you all like it too! Its very dark and very very twisted. I can not emphasize it enough. 

**READ WITH CAUTION**

Excuse any grammatical errors or misspellings. 

This will be a six part series. I do not have a timeline for when I will post. (I’m a mom & work full time) 

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Pixelberry.

“Riley it’s time to go, My Queen.” Liam yells from the first floor of their quarters. “Drake & Olivia are already almost to Lythikos with our children and we are still at the palace! Let’s goooooo my love!”

Riley & Liam were preparing to head to their Valtorian Estate for a night before heading to the United States for a week long excursion at their Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. The Biltmore was their American private residence. Left to her after the death of her mother. They went twice a year just the two of them. Their children had never stepped foot on the property. Much less America. Riley hated America. She used the country only to satiate her needs. Her father and sister never visited the Biltmore Estate. Her father primarily lived in his penthouse in New York. Her sister never left their childhood home in the Hamptons. The Biltmore was hers to do with as she pleased. 

Riley and Liam make their way down to a blacked out Cadillac Escalade waiting for them in the Royal private exit of the garage. 

“Liam, let’s call Drake & Olivia one more time before we get to Valtoria. You know after tonight we won’t be communicating with anyone for a full week.” Riley winked at Liam. 

My God this woman is my everything. How did I survive without her? Liam thought. 

Liam pulls out his iPhone and scrolls to Olivia's name and hits call. 

“Yes your majesty,” Olivia purrs into the phone.

 “Hello Liv, just checking on the kids. You and Drake know Riley and I will be incognito for a week. Remember if it’s an emergency reach out to Hana and Maxwell. Do not contact us unless it’s literally life or death.” Drake yells through the phone, “Li we do this twice year every year since the first little squirt you two brought home. We got this. By the way what exactly do you guys do in America that you’ve never told us?” 

“This trio is a joy. They are perfectly fine. Uncle Max is on his way with Auntie Hana. This should be a Mary Poppins nightmare.” Olivia chuckled.

“It’s just our special time. Not as King and Queen of Cordonia but as husband and wife. That’s all.” Riley replies. Liam squeezing Riley’s thigh at her smirk, knowing full well that wasn’t exactly true. 

“Tell our babies we love them, and take care of and protect them while we’re gone. Don’t let Max feed them too much sugar. They will never sleep!”

Always,” Drake softly spoke, “Uncle Drake and Aunt Livvy are going to show them how fun we really are!” Ellie squeals in the background at her Uncle. 

Liam & Riley end the call with a sigh of relief. This trip was going to be catalyst. They both knew they were coming back to Cordonia forever changed. 

Three hours later Valtoria came into view. The sun was beginning to set over the cascading waterfall behind the large castle. Riley and Liam had been catching up on last minute emails before they arrived. They had an understanding between each other that during their two weeks a year no work was allowed. No cellphones other than 1 for emergencies only. No laptops no tablets of any sort. They completely unplug. 

Bastien stopped the suv in front of the large estate. Liam hopped out running around to hold the car door open for his wife. HIS Queen. 

Gladys met them outside the door. 

“Your majesties” Gladys dipped into a low curtsy. 

“Hello Gladys” Liam replied. Is everything ready for our stay tonight and departure in the morning?” 

“It is.” Is there anything else Your Majesty requests?” 

“No thank you Gladys.”  

As they walk towards the entrance of the large French Gothic style castle, Liam scoops Riley into his arms bridal style and walks her across the threshold. 

“Good night everyone. Gladys have our usual chicken tangine, apple butter bread, balava & chocolate cake left in the kitchen. Everyone is excused for the rest of the night.”

Gladys nodded her head at her King’s command and curtsied as he walked up the grand staircase. 

“Thank you, Gladys!” Riley yelled down at her. 

Gladys and Bastien both knew what that meant. Get out now. Do not come back until sunrise under any circumstances. Gladys and Bastien were the only two who knew. And also who knew why. 

Liam carried his bride to their suite. Their bedroom at Valtoria was protected. They had it modified during their engagement. No one was allowed entrance. Gladys was the only person granted entrance for 2 hours to clean after each visit. And only under the watchful eye of the Queen herself. This belonged to them. They maintained this room. Not staff. Not like the palace. 

The entrance of the door was built almost as a panic room. A large heavy blast proof door protected the entrance. A Handprint scan of both the King and Queen were the only way of access to their master suite. That entire room was reinforced. It was safe. Nothing and no one was coming through to hurt them. If they ever needed protection, this is where they would bring their family. For now, it wasn’t for their family. It was a source of healing and triumph. It was terror and torture. It was love and pain. 

Most of the other service members believed they were simply paranoid. Ruling a country you had a right to be paranoid, is what they told themselves when they walked by the master suite. Some were curious about what was behind that heavy steel door. No one ever attempted to sneak peek. They knew better. No one could explain it, as the king and Queen were very kind and fair people, there was a vibe or an energy that everyone could feel from them. It was uncomfortable. Sometimes there was no emotion from either of them. Hollow blank stares & flat monotone voices. That rarely happened. And when it did, their week vacation was close. Whatever they did during those 2 weeks out of the year made them better each time. 

🍈

Liam flashes his million dollar smile down at his wife as they enter. His manhood already dancing in its confines. They enter their bedroom and swiftly close the door.  Their bedroom in Valtoria is for them. And them only. No one including their children are granted access. And for good reason. The master suite of Valtoria has a large four-poster bed. Above the bed hung a large medal bar suspended from the ceiling with leather arm straps. arm and ankle straps hung from each corner of the bed. The walls were adorned with shelves of Belts, gags, riding crops and rope. There were shelves of weapons large & small daggers and swords. 

The walls were a deep maroon. It was still exceptionally regal but with a darker contrast. This is not a place most people would be comfortable walking into. Most people except the King & Queen of Cordonia. 

Liam kicked the door shut with a force that made the door trim rattle. He tossed his Queen on to the bed, climbing on top of her. He pulled her full lips into his mouth and breathed her in. He could never get enough of her. How did he survive without her? Without her touch? Her voice? Her scent? He never needed anyone except her. Only her. Forever her. No one could calm him like she could. She was his safe house and his haven. He could do things with and to her no one else could understand. Her crystal blue eyes darkened into the depths of the ocean only for him. He knew her. He was her. They were one. Not only in marriage but spirit and soul. They were connected. 

Riley stared up at her husband taking in every perfect feature and every invisible flaw, only flaws she could see. Only flaws she could love. She understood him. She never had to ask why. She was never afraid. It was Game, Set, Match the first time she locked eyes with his deep dark painful eyes. She could sense him before she ever knew him. Her long honey blonde hair pooled around her head as she sank into his fiery kiss. He was the only man she ever willingly kissed. The only man she allowed to ever touch her body. He worshipped her. He was her breath. She couldn’t breathe without him filling her lungs. He filled the deepest parts of her. Parts only he knew existed. Parts that were created not born. Evil. In every sense of the word. 

Fourteen Year Old Riley. 

“Mother, why are you crying?” Riley watches her mother standing in her large walk-in closet pouring herself another drink. 

“Just go away Katherine Riley.” Ashley sighed. Riley could her the sadness in her voice. Usually her mother just ignored her. 

“Mother I..I.. I think it’s best we all stay at school for the summer this year.” 

“I SAID GO THE FUCK AWAY! WHAT DONT YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THAT?”

Riley felt the sting of tears in her eyes and she quickly turned to walk away. 

“Wait Katie” Ashley sighed. “It’s time we had a conversation. You're old enough now & after the things you’ve seen and heard throughout your life, it won’t come as much of a surprise to you, I believe.” Riley turned around. Eyeing her mother not sure what to make of this conversation. 

“Your father & I had what you would call an arranged marriage per se. People of our status in life, it’s not uncommon. We dated some. A short while I suppose. Coming from the families that we do it’s important to ensure that our wealth will always continue to grow, we married after a few months of dating.” Ashley took a long sip of her gin & tonic. “To our parents' delight. Not ours. Not mine.”

“Immediately after we married things changed. I was a virgin & I wasn’t ready yet. I wanted to love my husband first. He stole that from me in the most horrific of ways. And you were the product of that. When I look at you, that’s all I see. I see violence, blood and stolen innocence. Each of your siblings were the products of the same. Violent and brutal attacks. Each time left me broken. After the last assault he shattered my pelvis and ruptured my cervix. I can no longer bear children. That’s all each of you are to me. Your father is evil. An evil which you’ve never known. Next time he will kill me. I’m leaving tonight.” 

Riley stood stunned. Trying to wrap her mind around what this woman in front of her has told her. She couldn’t understand. She knew her father tortured her mother. She had her the screams and the slams at night. She saw the blood stained carpets and walls in the stairwell in their Hamptons beach house. She knew her father was evil. All too well. Ashely has no idea the hell her children had been going through. He tormented them as well. He would sneak into her room in the middle of the night when the screams finally ended and watch her. Her brothers never spoke of their trauma but she knew it was there. 

“Can we come with you Mother?”

“No.”

“Can you wait until after my birthday? It’s tomorrow Mother?” 

Riley wasn’t sure why that memory had flashed through her mind. She furrowed her brows in confusion. 

“What is it Riley?” 

“I was thinking of the night before he killed her. Random I guess.” Liam leaned down and kissed her forehead. 

“My King” Riley sighed, holding his forearms in her grasp. 

“Yes My Queen?” 

“Are we prepared for our return to the estate?” She asked, leaning into to bite his shoulder as he hovered over. 

“We are. Our gifts are already waiting for us. They were delivered this morning. They are being fed and groomed as we speak my love. I’m ready for our warm-up before the real work begins.” 

Riley’s stomach groaned. 

“I’m ready. We can eat when we’re finished.” 

🍋

Liam pulled Riley to her feet. He tugged her top above her head. He was thankful she wasn’t wearing a bra. He leaned down taking a taut pink nipple in his mouth, swirling his tounge until it was a hardened peak. He showed the same attention to the other nipple. Riley pulled Liams t-shirt over his head. She always worshipped her playground. She licked her way between each sculpted ab. Liam gripped her hair as she slid his sweatpants to the floor. She leaned on her knees engulfing his engorged length in her mouth while she swirled her tongue all the way down his shaft.  She slowly eased him out of her mouth and stood back up. 

“Fuck Riley” 

“I just needed to taste you my King.” 

Liam bit his bottom lip as he pulled her sweatpants down. Leaving her lacy black thong on her hips. 

They walked hand in hand to the large bathroom. The bathroom sleek and modern. Liam felt the warmth of the heated floors on his feet as he lifted his Queen into the tub. He grabbed a bottle of baby oil off the counter. He poured a generous amount into his hands and covered Riley’s body in oil. He gently lifted her from the tub carrying her back to the bedroom. He climbed the small steps on to the bed standing on the mattress. Riley lifted her arms into the arm straps suspended from the high ceiling. Baby oil kept her skin protected and also made it more of a challenge for them. 

Once she was firmly secured into the arm and ankle restraints with only the medal bar for her to grip onto, Liam stepped off the bed. 

“My Queen, what pray tell interests you tonight?” 

“Torture me Liam” 

“As you wish my Queen, safe word?” 

“Celeste My King” 

Liam smirked at her chosen safe word. Oh Celeste will know who her king is too when we’re finished with her. Won’t she my Queen? 

Liam grabbed a riding crop from the wall and smacked Riley hard across her bare ass. Thong still in place. Riley winced as she heard the crack of the crop against her slick skin. 

“Please my king” 

“Shut up, you don’t speak until I tell you to open your filthy mouth for me” 

Smack. Smack. Smack. 

Liam pulled a small dagger from the bedside table. The handle adorned with red rubies in the shape of W & K. King William Constantine Rhys & Queen Katherine Riley Vanderbilt Rhys. 

He ran the dagger along her torso up to her neck tracing old subtle scars. 

“Open your mouth baby” Liam whispered. 

Riley opened her mouth. She could feel her core pooling. Moisture threatening to drip down her thighs. 

Liam slid the dagger over her flattened tongue flipping it over in her mouth. He slid the dagger down her chin to her throat. He pressed the dagger more firm into her skin causing her blood to bubble to the surface. He sliced gently to her belly button. Riley wincing in pain but loving the feel of cold dagger dragging down her flesh. 

Liam knelt to his knees and clasped his mouth around her nub. Still holding the dagger against her thigh as he gripped her. He dragged the knife across her sex and sliced her underwear in two. 

Liam delved his fingers into her sex as hard as he could. He swirled his tongue around clit. Liam pumped and curled his fingers in out of her fast and hard. His rock hard length dripping precum. 

More Liam Don’t stop.” Riley screamed. 

Hearing Riley scream made Liam abruptly stop completely. Fingers still inside her, Liam pulled his head back to look up at her. 

“Did I tell you to speak?” 

Sliding his fingers out, Liam grabbed the crop and slapped it hard across her dripping pussy. 

“You speak when I say. Next time I won’t be as calm with you.” 

“Fuck you Liam” Riley screamed, Venom dripping from her lips. She was seething at his refusal of her release she so desperately needed. 

Riley covered in welts from the crop and dried blood across her torso, Liam unhooked each restraint. 

“What the fuck Liam? We aren’t finished playing.” 

Liam slapped her hard across the face with the crop. Riley’s head falling to her shoulder. Fire burned in Liams eyes as he watched the blood drip down the corner of her mouth. Riley reached for the dagger as Liam crashed his mouth onto hers. Riley could taste a mixture of copper and salt on his tongue. 

Riley dragged the dagger across Liams thigh drawing a bit of blood. She reached the hair on the nape of his neck and pulled hard. Liams neck snapped as she slid the dagger across his jugular. 

She dragged the dagger across his chest, ripping his chest open watching the blood drip down his chest to his abdomen. 

Liam has enough. He needed her now. He had everything he needed from her. He pulled her into his taking the dagger from her and throwing it on the floor. The slight scabs that had formed from the congealing blood on her sternum ripped open with friction of their bodies rubbing together. Liam slammed Riley into the bed. He grabbed her ankles and spread her as far as apart as he could before slamming his hard cock into her waiting center. 

Riley screamed in pain and satisfaction. Her manicured nails digging into back as deep as she could grasp him. 

“I’m not holding back My Queen.” 

Liam pumped into her hard and fast. He put one hand on her stomach pressing down, the other hand securing her leg as he continued to massage her walls. 

Riley ran her fingers across the dripping blood mixed with sweat. She slid her bloody fingers into her mouth eyeing Liam. 

Liam leaned his head down and licked the blood pooling between her breasts and crashed his lips into hers. He felt Riley’s wall fluttering knowing she was close. His cock tightened as she came underneath him. Liam wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed as his thrust became frantic. Riley’s eyes were wide seeing the power and fire in his eyes. 

Riley tried to say Celeste. She couldn’t breathe. He was choking the life out of her without even realizing it. He was pumping hard concentrating on his thrusts as his cock disappeared in and out of her glistening walls. 

“I. can’t. let. go. Riley.” Liam spoke between breaths. 

Riley understood. He physically couldn’t let her go. Even if he did kill her. It wasn’t malice or hate. This was raw pure love. This is what he needed from her. From his wife. And this is what she needed. She needed him to bring her to the brink of life and pull her back at the same time. This was them. 

Liam found his release deep within her. He released her neck right as everything went black. Riley’s eyes fluttered open with a satisfied grin on her face. 

“I love you so much my Queen.”

“I love you Liam.“

They laid together on their white silk sheets breathless. Both of their minds running towards the following week. 

“We should get cleaned up my love. We’ve made quite the mess I suspect.” Liam whispered. 

They both slowly rose from the cloud like confines in a state of stupor.

They made sure to always have white sheets to see every drop they spilled from each other. They’re bodies marked from each other’s carnal pleasure. A release unlike any they’ve shared with anyone else. 

“My King you did well. Let’s leave the sheets for tonight.” 

“Very well my Queen. I’m not finished with you yet. We will have a week before our next release.”

The dawn crept through they’re tightly drawn curtains. Riley stretched reaching for her husband but found his side of the bed cold. Riley slowly rose from the bed. Still naked and marked from their endless night. Riley made her way to the shower to find Liam soaking in the tub. 

“Join me?” 

Riley slid in front of him feeling the sting from her open wounds that covered her body. 

“We have a long flight to states in an hour. Are you ready for this Riley?” 

“Liam It’s time. It’s time to take off our masks and savor the tastes of revenge. Of freedom.” 

“This is our last time. We need to take our time with them. Please don’t make it too quick like last time with Madeline.” 

“My king, I take offense.” Riley huffed. “I gave you the release you craved with Madeline. Her life was a sweet release for me.” 

An hour later the King and Queen bordered their private jet to American hand in hand. 

Biltmore Estate

“I can’t believe I’m doing this for these twisted fucks. Fucking monarchs just get to do whatever they want with whomever they want.” Anthony muttered to himself. 

Anthony was the groundskeeper. He took care of everything for his King and Queen during their stays. And they paid him handsomely. He primarily resided at the estate to maintain the grounds as well as the estate itself. The estate held many secrets that he was tasked to solely hold. 

“Please” a raspy voice called out. 

“Shut up Celeste. Your King is on his way.” 

Celeste let a muffled cry as she heard the bars slam shut. 

“I’ll be back to get you cleaned up when I’m finished with Ashley and Amelia.” 

The private jet landed at the airport in Raleigh North Carolina. Liam and Riley made their discreetly to an SUV meant to take them to their estate. 

“Your majesty King Liam” Anthony bowed. 

Liam rushed in. “Hello Anthony, you are dismissed. I’ll need the keys to the Bowels please. Our gifts are secure and ready I presume?” 

“Yes your majesty, they have been cleaned, fed, and await you. I will take my leave now.” 

Riley waited in the suv until Anthony left. She couldn’t maintain a stoic facade during their times away. She spotted Anthony’s car pull away from the estate headed to the servants quarters. Riley rushed out and straight to Liam pulling him into a lustful kiss. They made their way to the nicknamed Bowels, a cellar that has been retrofitted with cells. They hold Liam and Riley’s victims as well as their aggressors. 

“Wait Liam, why is Anton here?” 

Riley looked on the computers outside the cellar doors in the security room. They were only supposed to have 3 women. She didn’t understand. What was Liam up to? 

Liam smirked. Suddenly a loud knocking was coming from the front doors. They glanced down at the monitors. Riley’s eyes widened when she saw the fiery red hair standing in front of the cameras. 

“Liam uh where are our children? Please...” 

“Riley. They are with Max and Hana in Lythikos. Leo will be there soon to help with them as well.  Don’t worry my love. Now to explain about Drake and Liv. They needed to see the truth. About them, about us. I’m ready to share parts of our true selves with the family we created.” 

Riley nodded. She was not in a teaching mood. 

“Private now Liam.” 

“What Riley? What’s the problem?” 

“The problem? How can we be US with them? I’m not here to teach them how to become sociopaths like us Liam. Fuck.” 

“Relax baby.” Liam only used the baby pet name when he was confident in his prowess. 

“Fine. They better not fuck this up and I’m not holding back.” 

The two couples made their way to the cellar door. Liam held Riley’s hand while he unlocked the door. The electronic key and palm scanner both sprang green in sequence. Drake and Liv quickened their breath. 

“We have a ritual guys if you don’t mind standing back. And you can join if you like.” Riley calmly stated. 

Liam and Riley stripped naked. Liam pushing Riley against the cellar door in a hungry kiss. Liv admired the marks and scars the two in front of her were covered in. Some old, some new. She was intrigued. Drake’s breath quickened. They joined their best friends in the nude. Liam and Riley glanced behind them noticing Liv and Drake in the same fashion. None of them faced with the pain they had felt at sometime or the other. The abuse. The abuse that twisted them into who they were. Not who they had become. 

The door opened. Celeste gasped seeing her half brother, sister in law, the scarlet duchess & the commoner walking through the door naked. Celeste had no idea what circle of hell she was about to enter. Nor that there were others destined to meet the same fate she would soon come to meet. At the hands of her King and his Queen. 

“Hello Cece” Liam laughed in a voice unrecognizable to the others in the group yet all too familiar to his wife. 

The demons have come out to play.

[twicelit]

starter  call  :  verse  specific.  below  the  cut  you’ll  find  an  extensive  list  of  all  my  available  verses  and  a  description  of  each  of  them.  if  you  would  like  a  starter,  please  comment  with  the  corresponding  emoji.  you  can  comment  with  more  than  one.  please  specify  your  preferred  muse  if  you  are  a  multi.  length  of  starters  may  vary.  mutuals  only.

💙  :  main  one.  pre-death,  age  range  between  fifteen  and  thirty-seven. 💔  :  main  two.  post-death,  olivia  is  a  ghost  or  figment  of  the  imagination,  or  the  malevolent  manifestation  of  hill  house. 💚  :  alt  one.  liv  lives,  wherein  olivia  survives  hill  house. 🌙  :  alt  two.  bly  manor,  the  crain’s  move  in  to  bly  manor  instead  of  hill  house  in  ‘ninety-two. ☠️  :  alt  three.  apocalypse,  olivia  predicted  the  outbreak.  the  dead  are  wary  around  her  because  they  can’t  tell  if  she’s  alive  or  dead. 🩸  :  alt  four.  vampire,  olivia  is  several  hundred  years  old.  she  feeds  on  willing  humans  who  she  is  more  often  than  not  in  a  relationship  with  for  the  duration  of  their  lifespan. 💨  :  alt  five.  folklore,  olivia  is  an  aurai,  a  breeze  /  air  nymph.  she  often  appears  to  mortals  as  an  ethereal  spirit  or  being. 🖤  :  alt  six.  mutant,  olivia  has  the  power  of  clairvoyance  (  precognition  ),  astral  projection  and  death  sense. 🔮 🔮  :  cross  one.  ahs  coven,  olivia  is  a  witch  and  former  prospective  supreme.  this  can  cross  in  to  the  haunting’s  canon  wherein  she  becomes  a  spirit  bound  to  hill  house. ⚡️  :  cross two.  harry  potter,  olivia  is  a  former  ravenclaw  and  true  seer.  she  replaces  trelawney  as  the  divination  professor  in  harry  potter’s  fifth  year. ⭐️  :  cross  three.  star  wars,  olivia  is  force-sensitive  and  connected  to  the  force  priestess,  serenity.  she  is  believed  “killed”  in  the  time  following  order  sixty-six. 💜  :  cross  four.  stranger  things,  olivia  is  the  result  of  one  of  the  earliest  experiments  by  project  mkultra.  when  believed  unsuccessful,  olivia  was  released  and  “adopted”  conditionally.  her  sensitivity  developed  in  adolescence  but  she  and  her  family  kept  this  a  secret.  she  is  a  wife  and  mother  during  the  events  of  the  first  season  of  stranger  things.

[tw-anchor]

36. The Anchor and the True Alpha

Anchor

Stiles Stilinski x Original Character

Episode: 3x12; Lunar Ellipse

Word Count: 8,373

Warning(s): Mature language, canon violence + gore, stupid Jennifer Blake, moron Deucalion, true alphaness, badass anchor, awkward Derek

Author’s Note: Here’s the 3A finale! I hope you enjoy. Please make sure to let me know what you think, reblog, and like!

Masterlink in Pinned Post!

"Okay, like this?"

Allison giggled at Olivia, enjoying the way she held the Chinese ring daggers that the shorter brunette had insisted that Allison teach her how to use. Right now, Olivia held them loosely, the tip of the blades closer to cutting her wrists more than protecting herself.

"Stop laughing at me!" Olivia called her out with amused eyes. "I'm trying to be a badass like you!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Allison choked down the rest of her laughter. "Let's start over."

Olivia nodded and put the daggers back to the starting position that Allison had taught her. "Okay, now what?"

"Now, you twist them like this," Allison demonstrated the move with the set she was using. "and then you flip your wrists up and raise your arms like this."

Olivia did as Allison told her, wincing at the slight bruises starting to form around the base of her fingers. Chinese ring daggers were no joke and now she understood why Allison came to school with bandages around her fingers for a couple of weeks the previous semester of school.

She did the move sloppily, nowhere near as sharp as Allison's, of course, but that was expected. Allison nodded in approval, a small smile forming at her lips. "All right, keep practicing that," she said encouragingly. "Once you tighten that up, we can move onto the next move."

"Considering that I'm not athletic whatsoever, I think that went okay," Olivia breathed as she slipped the daggers off of her fingers.

Allison laughed. "Does that mean you want to try the crossbow?"

"Don't even think about it, Al!"

-

Olivia walked through the woods surrounding the old Hale House. They were training Jackson about control before he headed off to London, England. To say that he was being a bitch about it all would be an understatement. He was taking his temper out on her and Scott—he was upset about what he had done as the kanima, his brush with death, and the fact that his parents had found out what happened and were moving the family to London for no other reason than to get him away from everything supernatural.

Olivia could take his temper and his snide comments because she had seven or eight years to get used to it. Scott, however, did not. Too many comments about he used to suck at lacrosse and cheated the whole semester, how he used to have only Stiles as a friend, his mom's income, and Allison breaking up with him had gotten to Scott.

He stomped away with golden eyes, leaving her to deal with Jackson on her own. Since she was still harnessing her own abilities, she just sent Jackson home for the day and then proceeded to go and find Scott. She found him by a small creek, sitting on the bank.

"Hey," she called as she walked over and sat down next to him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," he told her quietly. "Just lost control for a second."

"Anyone would have. Jackson's a dickhead. I don't know how he has more two friends," she huffed out a laugh. "Other than me and Danny, I think the rest are just afraid of him."

Scott's lips quirked into a half-smile. "Probably," he hesitated. "Have you, uh, have you heard from Allison?"

Olivia frowned as she thought of her friend. "A couple of nights ago. She's not doing too well. I think Gerard messed her up just as much as her mom's death."

"He's a psycho," Scott agreed. "Did she ask you about me?"

She hesitated, not wanting to hurt his feelings—how had she become this empathetic person? "I'm sorry, Scott, but no," when Scott ducked his head, she reached for his hand and took it, trying to give him as much support as he needed. "I know it hurts but she's going through a tough time. And you're both different people now, you've both changed."

"So does that mean she won't want to get back together?" Scott asked miserably, lifting his head to look at her with wet eyes.

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "But, Scott, listen. I know you love her, I know you do. And what you had was amazing and odds-defying. But sometimes relationships don't last. It doesn't mean that those people don't love each other, but sometimes circumstances can alter the path of the relationship."

Scott frowned and looked back at the creek. "I really love her."

"I know," she squeezed his hand. "but sometimes love isn't enough. Then again, I can't predict the future. Allison may come back from France and want to get back together, she may not. I just want you to be ready for whatever she decides, okay?"

"...Okay," Scott said after a minute and then attempted to smile at her, changing the subject only slightly. "Are you a love guru or something, Liv?"

Olivia laughed. "Nah, I'm not so good at love."

"That's not what Stiles says."

"Hey," she slapped is arm playfully. "You guys talk about me?"

"A little too much—ow, Liv!"

-

Derek sighed reluctantly as he sat Olivia down on her bed, taking a seat in the armchair a few feet away. "Okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but you and Stiles—"

"Oh no. Oh, God, please don't do this," Olivia pleaded with her cousin, her cheeks warming up. "Derek just walk away."

"No, I have to get this out," Derek insisted. "You have no one else to tell you."

"Uh, yes I—"

"Obviously, you and Stiles are in a serious relationship," Derek interrupted her. "and with a serious relationship comes...personal relations."

"Personal relations?" she looked at him in disbelief. "What are you, eighty-five years old?"

"Fine, sex," Derek glared at her. "You and Stiles will start having sex."

Olivia sighed and though she appreciated that he was there to give her advice and take care of her, Natalie had given her and Lydia the typical parental sex talk when they were eleven and twelve and they got their periods around the same time. Then, a few years later, Lydia gave her an actual sex talk after her experiences with some boys and then Jackson—the kind of talk that was rated R and too inappropriate for parents to talk about with their kids.

"Now, you probably won't experience this, because I'm tempted to rip off Stiles arms if he doesn't keep his hands to himself, but," Derek winced, looking more uncomfortable than she felt. "but sex...is...natural."

"Derek, please..."

"Just let me get this out before I lose my nerve," Derek cut her off; Olivia nodded, her lips twisting in amusement. "Under no circumstances are you to have sex without a condom. Only when you're married and want to have a family is when it's accepted to go without."

Olivia hid her smile to nod seriously. "Okay."

"And never, ever do anything you're uncomfortable with," Derek continued. "If you say no, Stiles will stop if he's a good guy. If not, I put pepper spray on your keys and a rape whistle in your purse."

"Oh, God..."

Stiles was not a guy who would put his hands on anyone without their express permission. Usually he was a nervous wreck anyway if they did something sexual. And he was always respectful of her. But, if he was out of his mind or crazy enough to force her into relations—as Derek called it—than she would kick his ass. And then break up with him. She loved him but she loved herself too and she was not going to put up with that.

When Olivia nodded her understanding, Derek cleared his throat. "Now..."

He paused to pull something from behind his back. Olivia's mouth fell open when she saw what he had. "Oh, my God...please tell me that's not a banana and a condom, Der! Oh, my God, it is!" she winced and buried her burning face into her hands. "Please don't do this Derek."

"I want you to learn how to put on a condom."

"I didn't want to say this, but Derek, I've already had this talk, two different times, okay?" her voice was muffled by her hands, but Derek got the gist; he looked horrified. "Lydia even taught me how to put on a condom."

She almost added that she knew how to do it multiple ways, but Derek looked like he wanted to die from embarrassment from what he had already heard.

He glared at her. "Why did you let me ramble on?!"

"I didn't let you ramble on, you kept interrupting me!"

"You're grounded!"

A genuine laugh spilled from Olivia's lips. "You can't ground me!"

"Well, I just did, so there!"

-

"Top five favorite ice creams. Go."

Olivia blinked in surprise from Stiles' random prompt. They were on the beach, laying on their towels and trying to tan after a dip in the ocean. She raised up onto her elbows—she was laying on her stomach—and looked down at Stiles, from where he was laying on his back, hair halfway grown out and the black ray bans she gave him as a gift on the bridge of his nose.

"I don't like ice cream very much," she told him.

"There's not way you don't like ice cream," Stiles disagreed; she shook her head. "Come on, you don't even like chocolate-chip cookie dough?"

"I don't like raw cookie dough."

"Unbelievable. I'm in love with a heathen," Stiles joked. "So, not one ice cream?"

"I have two that I usually get if I actually want ice cream," she confessed. "I like vanilla and mint."

Stiles looked up at her in disbelief. "Vanilla and mint?" when she nodded, he scoffed. "Sorry, nope, I'm not dating a heathen, I'm dating a senior citizen."

"Hey!" she gently slapped his toned abdomen in offense. "I'm younger than you."

"Your favorite ice cream flavors are vanilla, which is the most basic out of all the flavors, and mint—without chocolate, by the way—which only adults eat. No offense, babe, but you need to live on the edge sometimes."

Olivia pinched his side because of the pet name and laughed. "Living on the edge is eating different ice cream flavors? Wow, what a life you live, Stiles."

He poked her in the cheek. "At least I don't have the personality of an old lady."

"Ouch, that really hurt."

"Hey, I'm just saying," Stiles put his hands up defensively. "All right, how about the worst five moments of your life?"

Olivia raised her eyebrows. "What a serious change of topic."

"Here, I'll pick a new one—"

"No, it's okay," she assured him. She leant toward him more and rested her head on his stomach, facing him. "Number five would be my very first day of school."

"Really?" that surprised Stiles. "You love school, though."

"I do now. Before I started school, I hung out with either Lydia, or Cora, Derek, and Laura," she shared with him. "They were all my heroes and my best friends. And I'm a year younger than Lydia and Cora, so I didn't start school with them and it made me so upset that I threw a fit."

"You, having a tantrum? Wow, I didn't expect that," Stiles commented sarcastically.

"I really was an angel," Olivia went along with him and then went back to the story. "Anyway, my mom started teaching me stuff because she was in college studying to be a teacher. By the time I went to preschool, I was too advanced and I was miserable because Lydia and Cora weren't with me."

"So they let you skip a grade."

Olivia nodded. "I tested out of preschool and went right to kindergarten."

"We had class together," Stiles remembered. "You were quiet."

"And you were weird," Olivia returned with a laugh.

Stiles joined in with her laughter. "All right, what about number four?"

"Number four was when I was seven years old and I realized that I wasn't able to draw," at the look Stiles gave her, she defended herself. "In my defense, I wanted to be an artist back then. And I was not good at art. At all. I was always jealous of Lydia's ability to do anything, especially draw."

"You shouldn't compare yourself to Lydia," Stiles scolded her quietly. "You're perfect, even with all your flaws."

Olivia smiled gently, touched by his words. "Thanks, Stiles."

They kept going with her worst moments in her life. Her third worst moment was when she and Cora got lost in the woods outside of the old Hale House when they were five or so. She had been really scared and Cora hadn't yet mastered her enhanced sense of smell, so they were stuck out there for four hours—when Talia and Peter had found them, they were grounded for two weeks. Her second worst moment was the night of winter formal, when Peter had bitten Lydia and herself.

"The worst moment of my life was when I heard about the fire," she said quietly, tracing the pattern of Stiles' freckles on his stomach. "Everyone but Laura and Derek were in the fire. They came to me and told me what happened. Our whole family was dead, my mom was dead, and my dad barely survived."

Stiles brushed his fingers through her hair; he knew what it felt like to lose a parent and he couldn't imagine what it was like to lose two at the same time—because she had lost Peter, too, even if he wasn't dead. He just turned into a psychotic alpha who wanted revenge without carrying about those closest to him.

"I was lost for a really long time," she admitted quietly. "Derek and Laura left for New York and I was suddenly living with Lydia, Uncle Thomas, and Aunt Natalie. But I eventually got better."

"Yeah, you did," Stiles gazed at her with soft, loving eyes. "and you're the strongest person I know."

"I'm not strong," she denied, avoiding his eyes. "I'm a coward. I hide my feelings away deep down inside of me. I act like a bitch to anyone I don't care about. Most of the time I'm an emotionless robot."

"No, you're not," Stiles sat up and simultaneously adjusted her until she was sitting in his lap. "The people who say you're emotionless don't take the time to pay attention to you. I'm sorry, Livvy, but you're actually very easy to read."

Olivia gaped at him, unsure if she should be insulted or relieved. Maybe it was a little bit of both; she was a little insulted because her emotionless robot mask was a comfort to her and not to mention, something to push away all of her negative feelings. On the other hand, it was special to her that Stiles was able to read her so soundly. The only other people who had been able to were Lydia and Derek but Stiles being able to, the boy she loved...that was amazing.

"I love you."

"I love you, too," Stiles emphasized his words with a quick but loving kiss. "Okay, that's enough seriousness for now."

"Mmm, I agree," Olivia smiled at him.

"So, how about...your top five pizza toppings?"

"Well, number one is pepperoni..."

"Ah, what a classic."

-

-

Olivia woke up eight hours after Stiles, Scott, and Allison had fallen unconscious. Lydia and Isaac were sound asleep but Dr. Deaton was awake and there to greet her when she woke up. She was disoriented, the memories with Allison, Scott, Derek, and Stiles going through her mind like flashes.

She didn't tell Deaton about the memories, but instead thought on them. It didn't take long to realize that one of those memories were unlike the other. Derek hadn't been in the ritual like the others, so why did she see him?

It worried her. It worried her so much that she excused herself from the exam room and called Derek. It was Cora who answered the call, shockingly—she had no idea how Cora was better but boy, was she glad that she was. She told Cora that she was worried about Derek and in return, Cora told her just how she hadn't gotten better. Derek had given up his alpha status to heal Cora; he was now a beta again and very, very weak at the moment.

Olivia checked her tethers and she saw that Cora was right. Derek's tether was bright blue again, like the color of his eyes before he killed Peter and became an alpha. It was strange, but it was more worrying than the memory she had. Kali and the twins were supposed to come for Derek before the lunar eclipse and not only was he not an alpha anymore, but he was tired from healing Cora. He was screwed.

She told Cora that she would call back soon before hanging up. Then, she cried. She cried for Derek, she cried for Stiles and Allison and Scott, for Noah, Melissa, and Argent, and finally, for herself.

The whispers in her head were loud and they were pressing. She could no longer focus on anything but the names of her loved ones and the pain that filled her heart from her loss, even if Stiles, Scott, and Allison came back. She had the potential of losing the boyfriend she loved, two friends, and Derek, her protector, guardian, and father-figure for all intents and purposes.

It was not okay. None of this was okay.

Stiles, Allison, Scott...Derek, Derek, Derek...Stiles, Allison, Scott...Over and over, came the whispers until a migraine grew and she fell asleep once again.

She woke up only three hours later, more collected. She stayed seated in between Isaac and Lydia, who had now woken up for the day, and they all listened to assurances from Dr. Deaton that Stiles, Scott, and Allison would be okay. There was worry in his voice but somehow, his words comforted them. Olivia had the feeling that the man could give someone the worst news of their life and still be a comfort.

It was eight hours after the first time Olivia woke up, sixteen hours after they first fell unconscious, when Stiles, Allison, and Scott all woke, sitting up out of the water with loud gasps. Olivia, Lydia, Isaac, and Deaton rushed over to the tubs, the ice long gone, and handed the three of them towels.

"I saw it, I know where it is!" Scott claimed, taking the towel that Lydia held out for him.

Stiles nodded. "We passed it," Stiles confirmed as he climbed out of the tub soaking wet. "There's—there's a stump, this huge tree. Well, it's not huge anymore, it was cut down. But it's still big, though, very big."

As Olivia wrapped a towel around him, Scott added, "It was the night we were looking for the body."

"Yeah, the same night you were bit by Peter."

"I was there, too, in the car with my mother," Allison was still sucking in huge gulps of air. "We almost hit someone."

"It was me. You almost hit me," Scott told her; Allison gasped in amazement while he turned to the others. "We can find it."

Olivia, Lydia, and Isaac all exchanged worried looks. It didn't go unnoticed by Allison, Scott, and Stiles.

"What?" Allison asked them.

Isaac was the one to answer them. "You guys were out a long time."

"How long is a long time?" Stiles wondered, glancing between the three of them and then over to Dr. Deaton.

"Sixteen hours," Deaton broke the news.

Scott's eyes widened in shock. "We've been in the water for sixteen hours?"

Dr. Deaton nodded. "And the full moon rises in less than four."

Scott sighed heavily and sat down on the rim of his tub. "I have to go back to the alpha pack."

Olivia gulped uncomfortably and spoke up, "I think I should go with you, too."

Scott looked at her with an understanding expression and nodded slowly.

"No, dude, you are not going back with them," Stiles told Scott firmly before pointing to Olivia. "And you, don't even think about it, all right?"

"I made a deal with Deucalion," Scott reminded him. "And he wants Olivia, too. A lot."

Stiles scoffed. "Does anyone else think that sounds a lot like a deal with the devil?"

"What does it matter, anyway?" Isaac piped up from his seat next to Allison.

"Because I still don't think we can beat Jennifer without their help."

Allison shook her head at Scott's answer and turned to Dr. Deaton pleadingly. "He trusts you more than anyone and Liv is obviously going to agree with him. Tell them they're wrong."

Deaton glanced at Olivia and then Scott. "I'm not so sure they are," he admitted. "Circumstances like this sometimes require that you align yourself with people you'd normally consider enemies."

"So we're gonna trust Deucalion?" Isaac shook his head in disbelief. "The guy that calls himself death, destroyer of worlds? We're gonna trust that guy?

"I wouldn't trust him, no," Deaton advised and gestured to Olivia and Scott. "But you guys could use him to your advantage. Deucalion may be the enemy, but he could also be the bait."

They all paused as they heard the door to the lobby open. Deaton went out first, and when they heard Ethan's voice, Olivia, Lydia, Stiles, and Scott joined him.

"I'm looking for Lydia," he told them.

Lydia looked at him expectantly. "What do you want?"

"I need your help."

Olivia gave him a suspicious look. "With what?"

"Stopping my brother and Kali," he paused only for a second. "from killing Derek."

Olivia lifted her chin, all of her concern for Derek coming back into focus. Stiles, Scott, and Allison were all right, but what about Derek? His tether was still shining bright blue and although it wasn't enough to take all of her focus, his name was still floating around in her head.

"You should go, Lydia," Olivia cleared her throat. She had never liked Lydia's relationship—if anyone could even call it that—with Aiden, but there was at least one benefit from it, other than Lydia's happiness. And it was that Lydia had a hold over him. If she could convince Aiden to not kill Derek, then maybe he had a shot at surviving.

Lydia looked at her like she was crazy. "Are you sure?"

"All day, I've been hearing warnings about Derek," she confessed, glancing at Ethan. "I don't know if he's going to survive or not, but if you can convince Aiden, maybe..."

"We'll turn against Kali," Ethan spoke up in agreement with her. "We won't let her kill Derek."

Lydia didn't think it over very long, but that was Lydia; she was brave. "Okay," she agreed and gave Olivia a quick hug. "Just be careful."

"No, you be careful," Olivia insisted; Lydia smiled at her and when she walked out the door with Ethan, she turned back to the others. "Okay, what's the plan?"

-

"Just grab anything," Scott told Stiles through the phone as he, Olivia, Allison, and Isaac got out of the elevator in Allison's building and headed to her apartment door. "Stiles, I'm not smelling your dad's boxers. Socks? Okay, I'll smell the socks."

He ended the call and as Allison unlocked the door, Isaac asked, "What about me?"

"See what you can find in my dad's closet," the door opened and they all filed in. "Anything with the strongest scent."

Allison opened the door to her dad's office and stopped in her tracks, making Olivia, who was right behind her, slam into her. In the office was Agent McCall and two deputies, waiting for them at the desk.

"Quite the arsenal your fathers got here, young lady," as McCall spoke, Scott came up behind Olivia and stared at his dad in shock. "Scott."

Scott carefully squeezed past Olivia and Allison to enter the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Following one of the only leads I have," McCall stood from Mr. Argent's desk chair. "Now, since I don't know where you've been, why don't you have a seat and we can talk? You too, Isaac."

Isaac, who had been hiding in the hallway, came and stood next to Olivia. "How do you know my name?"

"Your name's one of the few things I know," McCall told him. "To be honest, the rest of what's going on around here has be stumbling in the dark, even over the smallest clue."

"If you're trying to tell me that you don't have a clue, I learned that a long time ago," Scott glared at his dad.

"I'm really hoping to avoid the embarrassment of dragging my own son into an interrogation room," McCall said firmly, meaning business. "Really hoping."

Olivia, Allison, and Isaac entered the office. Scott and Isaac let Olivia and Allison take the chairs and stood behind them. None of them were taking this very seriously; Isaac was eating some Icebreaker mints, for crying out loud.

"I'm not gonna lie, I'm more than a little disturbed," McCall admitted. "Not only by the number of missing parents, but the fact that it's Stiles' father, your father, and your mother."

Isaac shut his case of mints, popped one more into his mouth, and said, "Mine are both dead."

"Mine too," Olivia added, though, technically, that wasn't true. As far as anyone outside their little supernatural circle knew, Peter had disappeared from the long-term care unit in the hospital and had never been recovered.

"Save the cliché teenage apathy for your high school teachers," McCall glared at them. Olivia narrowed her eyes at him. What a dick. "The four of you know more than you're saying and I'm fully willing to keep you here all night if I have to."

"We don't know anything," Scott emphasized. "Stiles already told you that."

"And you can't keep us here," Olivia glared at the giant McCall, recalling some of the information her Uncle Thomas told her about his job. "Not without some kind of warrant."

Agent McCall gestured to the desk full of weapons. "I've got a desk full of probable cause."

Allison scoffed quietly and stood from her chair. "My father is a highly respected private security consultant and federally licensed firearms dealer. That means he has to own a few weapons," she told them as she stepped toward the desk. She pointed to a large crossbow and then a huge knife. "Like this one hundred and seventy-five-pound tactical crossbow or this carbon steel marine combat knife," she then poked at one of the handguns. ".50AE Desert Eagle..."

She stopped for a moment and hummed before picking up a smoke grenade. "A smoke grenade with pull-ring igniter," she pulled the ring and threw the grenade toward McCall and the deputies. "Go!"

Olivia, Scott, and Isaac all scrambled out of the office after her, ducking to avoid the smoke currently choking up McCall and the others. Olivia, Allison, and Isaac got into Allison's car and Scott sat on his motorbike and drove away from the apartment. They only stopped when they reached the woods, where a sign prohibited entrance to the preserve after dark.

As Olivia got out of the car, a scream ripped its way out of her throat. She didn't even notice that Isaac and Scott immediately covered their eyes, too focused on the feelings that overwhelmed her. Not only had Stiles gotten hurt—and she didn't know how, which worried her all the more—but Lydia was screaming and she felt everything her cousin felt. Someone was dead, more than one person was dead.

"Olivia, what's wrong?" Allison grabbed Olivia's hands, which were covering her ears, and pulled them away from her head as she stopped screaming. "Olivia?"

"Stiles is hurt," Olivia croaked, her throat now in horrible pain from the combination of the garrote and the loud scream that had escaped her. "And Lydia, she screamed. Someone's dead."

"Is it Derek or Stiles?" Scott asked worriedly.

"No, I would have known if it was," the tether that connected her with Derek wasn't lit and Stiles was, though it wasn't a dangerous feeling that came from it. "It's someone else. Maybe one of the alphas."

"I'll call Stiles and you can call Derek," Isaac offered.

Olivia nodded in agreement and pulled out her phone, quickly pressing on Derek's contact to call him.

"Ollie, what's wrong?" Derek answered a hint of panic in his voice. "We were on out way out of Beacon Hills when we heard Lydia scream."

"I think one of more of the alphas are dead," she told him. "Are you okay? Did you get out in time?"

"We did," Derek confirmed. "but we're heading back to the loft now to check on Lydia. I'll call you, okay?"

"Okay, be careful, both of you," Olivia bit the inside of her cheek. "Love you."

"Love you, Ollie," both Derek and Cora chorused before ending the call.

"I didn't get anything from Stiles," Isaac walked up to her side, giving her a worried look. "Did you get Derek?"

"Yeah, he's okay for now. He and Cora are going back to the loft to check on Lydia," Olivia told him as Scott and Allison walked over to them. "What if Stiles...?"

"He's not," Scott tried to comfort her. "I don't get it, though."

"Well, we can't wait for him," Isaac decided. "Come on."

They all turned away from the vehicles, only to come face-to-face with Deucalion. "You're cutting it a little close, aren't we, Scott?"

"We got a little delayed," Scott informed him. "Where are the others?"

They knew that one of them, if not all three of them, had died. When Deucalion spoke, he only confirmed it, unbeknownst to him. "Occupying themselves with other pursuits."

Olivia inhaled deeply and steeled her nerves, speaking up, "Well, I've come with Scott to join you. If you'll still have me, of course."

God, I can't believe I'm sucking up to a blind, psychotic, alpha werewolf, she lamented privately.

"Of course, you're still welcome," Deucalion said pleasantly. "You, Scott, and I will made a good team."

Olivia exchanged a nervous look with Scott before he turned to Allison and Isaac. "Okay, get Stiles and then get to the root cellar, okay?" he told them. "We'll keep Jennifer away long enough for you to get them out of there."

"How are you gonna do that?" Isaac wondered.

"I have a plan."

-

"Sir," Olivia spoke up uncomfortably. "Uh, Mr. Deucalion."

"Please, just call me Deucalion, Olivia," he chuckled pleasantly as they walked through the woods, heading to an unknown location.

"Deucalion, right," she corrected herself, ignoring the half-amused look that Scott was giving her. "I just wanted to know why you wanted me as part of your pack. I mean, other than the fact that I'm an anchoram."

"Anchorams are rare, as you likely know. But what you may not know, is that they are immensely powerful. You've harnessed most of your powers, yes?" he glanced at her, even though he most likely couldn't see her (Scott had told her what Gerard told him about Deucalion; he wasn't always blind).

"Some. I can calm a werewolf down if they're losing control, or use that same ability against them during a fight," Olivia shared her progress. "I know when my pack members are in danger or close to death and I know how to locate them."

"But's only for your pack mates," Deucalion said knowingly. "One day, when you master those abilities, you'll go on until you've unlocked them all."

"What do you mean?"

"At the height of your powers, you will be able to locate any supernatural creature in the world. You'll be able to use their strengths against them, like you do for werewolves now. You can physically make a werewolf lose their lycanthropy, making them human again," Deucalion listed, the most recent ability making Olivia and Scott shared a look of shock. "And, of course, using the banshee side of you, you will be able to predict the death of anyone you hold dear to your heart, not just your pack mates. Every anchoram is different, though."

She could hardly believe the magnitude of her abilities. In all honestly, it sounded like a lot. Maybe too much. "How do you know all of this?"

"My great-great-great-grandmother's mother was an anchoram," Deucalion told her. "Her name was Marguerite Richardson, nee Hale."

Olivia looked at him in surprise. "We're related?"

"Very distantly. I used to be great friends with your aunt."

"Wow."

She honestly didn't know how to react to that.

She and Deucalion fell silent and the three of them continued walking. The storm got progressively worse the more they walked on. The wind was strong, the rain felt like glass against their skin, and it was so dark Olivia was having trouble seeing, using only the outlines of Scott and Deucalion to keep going.

Finally, though they entered a distillery. The one that Derek and Paige used go when they wanted private time.

"You said you had a plan," Deucalion reminded Scott once they were under the protection of the metal roof.

"On the first day of class, Jennifer sent all of us a message. It was the last line from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness," Scott told him. "I got a message of my own to send to her."

He proceeded to take out his phone and gave it to Olivia so she could film him. He stood in front of the revenge symbol that they all had seen many times before, and Olivia started filming.

"See this symbol?" he pointed at the swirl all the while glaring at the camera. "It's a symbol of revenge. You talk about balance, about saving people? We know what you really want...And now, you know where to find us."

Olivia stopped filming and handed the phone back to Scott, who sent the message to Jennifer right away.

"And now, we wait," Deucalion sighed.

They only waited ten minutes until they came. Yes, they; Derek was with Jennifer. It confused the hell out of Olivia. Was Jennifer forcing him onto her side? Was he actually on her side? Was he acting like he was on Jennifer's side to catch her off guard while he was really on their side?"

"Derek," she breathed. "what are you doing?"

"This might be hard to believe, but I'm actually trying to help you both," Derek eyed her and Scott meaningfully.

He was fooling Jennifer, he was actually on their side—not Deucalion's, Olivia's and Scott's side.

"Ooh, like brother against brother...and sister," Deucalion commented, almost tiredly. "How very American this is," he faced Jennifer as he brought together his seeing cane. "Are you ready, Jennifer, hmm? Did you gather your herbs, pray to your ancient gods and your oak trees, slit a baby's throat, perhaps? Should we show them why you needed to sacrifice nine innocent people just to face me? ...Or is it twelve now?"

Deucalion's eyes glowed red and his wolf features appeared on his face. Surprisingly, Derek was the one to make the first move. He swiped his arm at him, but Deucalion simply grabbed the arm, and then the other one. With Derek trapped, Jennifer went up to the plate. Using whatever powers she had, she threw them at Deucalion, expecting them to work.

Except they didn't.

As Scott slipped something into Olivia's hand, she closed her eyes and brought up her tether map. She found Deucalion easily this time, in between Derek's bright blue and Scott's orange tethers. It didn't surprise her, since Deucalion was clearly the most powerful werewolf she'd come across—it made since that he was easy to find. What would be hard, however, was fighting to use his control against him.

She heard grunts and groans from Jennifer and Derek as she focused on Deucalion's deep red dot, which was also larger than her the other werewolves she had come across. Despite how tired she was, both physically and mentally, she used all the power she had left to hit his dot with her bright purple blasts. She hit him but he actually was able to push back against her, forcefully making her take a step back.

She gritted her teeth and raised her hands toward him. She felt her power build within her and she projected it toward him. For a second, just a second, his features started to fade, long enough for Derek to knock him over. Then he was back up and throwing Derek across the distillery and then stomping toward Jennifer and lifting her up by the neck.

He forced her down on her knees in front of Scott. "Kill her," he ordered Scott, his voice demonic. "Do it."

Scott didn't move, though, and that pissed Deucalion off. He roared loudly, so powerfully that Olivia had to fight to stand and Scott dropped to the floor, his wolf features out on display.

"Now kill her," Deucalion demanded once again. "Your parents are dying. That storm you hear, she's burying them alive. It's her connection to the telluric currents. Kill her and it ends."

"It won't end," Jennifer objected forcefully. "Not with me. He'll have you kill everyone you love. It's what he does."

"They're dying, Scott," Deucalion tried to get Scott back on his side. "Your mother and the parents of your best friends. Kill her now and it's over. Become the alpha you were meant to be. Become a killer."

"Scott."

The firm way in which Olivia said her friend's name made him stiffen. She knew that she had given him some control over the shift that Deucalion forced upon him. They both knew that if Scott killed Jennifer, he would no longer be a true alpha. And that was exactly what Deucalion wanted from him.

Scott glared at Deucalion. "They're not dead yet."

"Who's going to save them? Your friends?"

Scott shook his head and said determinately, "My pack."

Deucalion looked at him for only a moment before he threw Jennifer to the side and raced over to Scott, snarling furiously. He grabbed one of Scott's clawed hands and held it up, forcing him to hold it out.

"Maybe you just need a little guidance," he gritted through his teeth, guiding him over to Jennifer.

At once, Olivia had her hands up again, the arrow tip that Scott had given her, which he snagged from Allison's apartment, in one hand. She pulled together her power. Her anger and fear and all that anxiety that had piled up inside adding to it.

She screamed as her power blasted itself into her tether map and right at Deucalion's dot. His grip on Scott immediately faltered so much that Scott managed to free himself and he staggered, blinking rapidly. \

"Scott!"

"I forgot to tell you something," Scott spoke loudly over the grunts that Deucalion forced out of his lips while he struggled to fight off Olivia's attack. "Something that Gerard told me. Deucalion isn't always blind."

At the same time as Scott, Olivia threw her arrowhead at the concrete by Deucalion's feet. Both of the arrowheads were flash bolts; they lit up at contact and Deucalion practically fell on the floor. Olivia winced at the bright light, obviously effected by the bolts, but not like Derek, Scott, and Deucalion were, and dropped her hands, more than a little tired out.

It didn't help that the lunar eclipse had started. Like werewolves lost their power during the eclipse, it appeared that she did too. She leaned one hand against the wall as Derek ran over to her, allowing him to steady her.

On all three werewolves, their features had gone away.

"The eclipse," Deucalion stumbled to his feet. "it started."

They all noticed that Jennifer was gone at the same time. As they all looked over to the entrance of the distillery, Scott whispered, "Oh, no."

Jennifer dramatically entered the distillery, her disguise of a beautiful face gone. She was also wearing a completely different outfit from before, which was pretty weird. Olivia didn't know how she changed within a minute and she had to admit she liked the outfit Jennifer was wearing before more than the one she was wearing now.

She shrieked as she held a handout to Scott and threw him against the wall. She didn't make a move toward Olivia, which had to do with the fact that she was leaning against Derek, but went straight to Deucalion. He fell to the floor and Jennifer was there beside him within a second, grabbing his head and bashing it against the concrete repeatedly.

Blood had started pouring out of the wound at the back of Deucalion's head and his eyes rolled back into his head before Derek interfered. "Jennifer!" she stopped and looked back at him. "He doesn't know."

"Know what?" she growled back at him.

"What you really look like," Derek told her. "He knows the cost of bringing Kali into his pack, but he's never seen the price you paid."

Jennifer paused for a full minute. "No. No, he hasn't," she said finally before turning her attention to Deucalion. She placed her hand over Deucalion's eyes and she must have healed them because he started to scream in pain. When Jennifer released him from her grip and stood up, she ordered him, "Turn to me. Turn to me!"

When Deucalion turned to face Jennifer, his blue eyes were no longer cloudy. Honestly, he didn't react too badly to Jennifer's real face. It didn't seem to be therapeutic for Jennifer like she thought it would be. She changed back to her fake face and pulled her right arm back to finally kill the alpha.

But instead, she faltered. Derek let go of Olivia, gesturing over at Scott to take his place since she didn't have much of her energy back, and walked over to Jennifer and caught her.

"What is this?" she asked weakly.

"Healing him made you weak, just like healing Cora did to me," Derek informed her. "You won't have your strength for at least a few minutes."

"Then you do it," Jennifer's voice broke. "Kill him."

"No."

She looked at Derek, surprised, while Olivia smiled proudly. "What?"

"Like my mother used to say, I'm a predator. I don't have to be a killer," Derek moved his hand from her back up to her neck, squeezing it tightly. "Let them go."

Jennifer struggled with his grip and gained enough of her strength back to throw Derek a few feet away from her. He landed against a random bale of hay and raced to him, punching him forcefully in the face, two times, then three times.

Olivia threw herself out of Scott's arms and into the line of fire. She pushed Derek away, knowing that the eclipse would end at any second, and received the blow that was meant for him to the face. Her head reared by from the hit, but she managed to kick Jennifer away from her.

At that moment, Olivia felt her powers rush back into her body. It felt like a vibration. Something that she had gotten so used to being there, she hadn't noticed it. The eclipse was over and Derek and Scott had their powers back—and so did Deucalion.

Derek flew through the air and hit Jennifer, holding her against the floor. "Your fifteen minutes are up."

Jennifer managed to get up and dodged the attack that Scott gave her. Before either of them do anything else, she had taken some mountain ash from her pocket and threw it around her, creating a barrier that would protect her from Scott, Derek, and Deucalion.

"Like I told you, Derek, either you or the parents," Jennifer said nastily. Apparently all of her "love" for Derek was gone. "Well, I guess I'll just have to take them now. In a few minutes, they'll be dead and I won't need a lunar eclipse, even to kill a demon wolf."

Derek and Olivia exchanged a horrified look. By the time they looked away, Scott had stormed over to the circle of mountain ash and held his hands up, pushing them against the supernatural barrier between him and Jennifer.

"You've tried this before, Scott," Jennifer taunted him. "I don't remember you having much success."

Scott pushed harder at the barrier, his body leaning further and further into it. Blue light streaked past his body as he broke into it, getting a hand through. The more he pushed through the barrier, the brighter his tether looked in Olivia's head, until finally, it turned a deep, alpha-werewolf red.

The barrier fell apart. Scott was an alpha.

Jennifer had fallen to the floor from the small eruption that occurred when the mountain ash barrier broke. She frantically crawled away from Scott, looking up at him with horrified amazement. "How did you do that?"

Scott glowered down at her. "I'm an alpha now," he said powerfully. "Whatever you're doing to cause this storm, make it stop or I'll kill you myself. I don't care what it does to the color of my eyes."

"It won't change the color of mine, so allow me," Deucalion growled as he strode past Scott. With one swift move, he threw his clawed hand forward and slit the length of Jennifer's throat. She choked on her own blood and she slumped down onto the ground, dead. Olivia was not reluctant to admit that she was glad to see Jennifer dead.

As soon as Jennifer's heart stopped, the storm above them ceased. Olivia slowly reached for her pocket, the blood loss from the blow she received on her face from Jennifer making her sluggish, and called Stiles, hoping that he and everyone else was uninjured and safe.

"Olivia?"

"Hi," Olivia sighed in relief from just hearing his voice. "are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay," he confirmed. "We're all okay. What about you and Scott, are you okay?"

Olivia glanced at Scott and Derek, who stood close together discussing something. "Sort of."

"Do you think you and Scott could come and get us?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Great," Stiles huffed out a laugh. "And, uh, bring a ladder."

"I'll get right on that," Olivia giggled. "Hang tight. We'll be there soon."

Derek walked over to her as she ended the call, bent down, and helped her to her feet. He wrapped an arm around her and let her lean all of her weight against him while they walked over to Scott, who was standing in front of Deucalion with a stern look on his face.

"My mother told me you were a man of vision once," Derek told Deucalion, his voice strong. "We're letting you go because we hope you can be that man again."

"But if you're not, then having your eyesight back won't matter," Scott threatened him. "because you'll never see us coming."

With that, the three of them turned around and left the distillery.

-

Unfortunately, Olivia ended up in the hospital once everything was over. Because of Jennifer's strength, she had a concussion and the bruising around her neck was worse than she, or anyone, thought. She only stayed for one night and by the next morning, she was itching to get out of there. She wasn't a fan of hospitals, especially Beacon Hills Memorial—no offense meant to Melissa.

That morning, only two hours before Natalie was supposed to come and get her checked out, Derek and Cora interrupted her and Stiles' conversation. Just by the looks on their faces, she didn't like what they were going to tell her.

Yeah, she really didn't like it.

Cora was the first to speak. "Ollie—"

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" Olivia interrupted her, recognizing the guilt on her face.

"I am," Cora confirmed with a slight nod. "With Derek no longer an alpha and Boyd gone...I can't stay. I don't really...get along with your friends."

Olivia frowned but ultimately, she knew Cora had found a good life down in South America where she had been living for the past six and a half years. She was going to miss her fiercely, especially since she just discovered that she was alive, but she had to let Cora go so she could be happy.

"You'll call, right?" Olivia asked finally.

"Of course I will," Cora leaned forward and gave her a goodbye hug. "I love you, Ollie."

"I love you, too," she said as Cora pulled back. She looked at Derek and added, "Let me guess, you're going with her."

"Just dropping her off," Derek corrected her. "Peter's coming too."

"And you're coming back?" she checked, a little worried that they wouldn't be back and she'd lose her Hale family members all in one go.

Derek heard her heart start to race. "We'll come back," he confirmed taking her head and squeezing it. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you," Olivia finished the quote, thanking whatever supreme being that was out there for Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, and the friendship that came out of Captain America: The First Avenger. "I love you, Der."

"I love you, too, Ollie," he promised. "We'll send Stiles back in. Remember what I told you—"

"Wear a condom, yeah I got it."

"Actually, I was going to remind you about the pepper spray and rape whistle."

"Get out of here!" Olivia took the paper cup she had been drinking out of and threw it at Derek, who caught it easily.

Derek laughed and he and Cora left the room, giving her one last goodbye. Her smile slipped from her lips as she watched them walk away, but she wasn't able to be sad for long. Stiles had waltzed right back into the room and took his seat on the chair next to her bed.

"So," he grinned at her. "We defeated Jennifer and Deucalion is no longer his evil self. You know what that means?"

"No, but I bet you're going to tell me," she smiled back at him.

Stiles chuckled. "I am. It's time to get engaged."

"Ha! Very funny, sweetcheeks."

(Gif is not mine)

[twicelit-a]

wanted  plots,  relationships  &  threads  :

pre  -  hill  house.

supernatural  encounters  :  a.  your  muse  is  not  human.  most  likely  a  ghost,  or  a  spirit  or  demon,  a  creature  of  some  kind,  something  not  human.  olivia’s  sensitivity  draws  you  to  her,  or  vice  versa.  (  the  same  thing  could  happen  post  -  hill  house,  where  olivia  herself  is  dead.  )     &&     b.  i  have  a  wishlist  plot  where  a  spirit  or  demon  meets  olivia  when  she  is  a  child  and  will  visit  her  sporadically  over  the  years,  becoming  something  like  an  imaginary  friend  and  /  or  almost  guardian.  (  or  developing  a  bit  of  an  obsession  with  her.  )  they  visit  her  less  and  less  as  she  gets  older  and  her  family  grows,  until  hill  house.     &&     c.  your  muse  is  dead.  they  find  olivia,  who  can  see  them,  and  she  acts  as  an  anchor,  helping  guide  them  through  limbo  to  what  lies  beyond.

teen  -  young  adult  :  a.  your  muse  and  olivia  went  to  the  same  school  /  college  and  became  friends.  (  maybe  your  muse  has  or  had  a  crush  on  olivia  and  although  she  had  her  suspicions,  olivia  never  brought  it  up.  )     &&     b.  your  muse  comes  across  olivia  as  she  is  sleep  walking.  they  stay  with  her  until  she  wakes  up.

family  orientated  :  a.  literally  anything  with  the  kids  or  hugh  prior  to  them  moving  to  hill  house  for  the  summer  of  ‘92.  cute  things,  sick  things,  soft  things,  angst.  give  me  anything  and  everything.     &&     b.  interactions  with  olivia  while  she’s  pregnant  with  any  of  her  kids.  her  sensitivity  is  heightened  (  or  when  pregnant  with  steve,  negated  )  when  she’s  pregnant.  all  of  her  senses  are  so  much  stronger.

ship  specific  :  a.  liv  and  hugh  things.  all  the  things.  everything  and  anything.  i  love  them.     &&     b.  au  where  liv  and  hugh  never  met,  your  muse  is  in  a  relationship  with  olivia.  i’d  really  love  to  actually  explore  what  that  might  be  like.  liv  and  hugh  are  so  perfect  for  each  other,  i’d  love  to  develop  a  ship  outside  of  them.     &&     c.  before  liv  and  hugh  started  dating,  your  muse  and  olivia  dated.  they  would’ve  been  young,  probably  first  relationship  type  of  dynamic,  during  high  school.

hill  house.

supernatural  encounters  :  a.  your  muse  is  a  spirit  trapped  in  hill  house.  they  interact  with  olivia  (  either  they  try  to  warn  her  away  from  hill  house,  or  they  help  to  lure  her  further  in  to  it’s  grasp.  )

family  oriented  :  a.  olivia’s  migraines  are  getting  worse  and  one  of  the  kids  or hugh  finds  her  in  the  midst  of  a  really  bad  episode.

pre  -  death  :  a.  your  muse  befriends  olivia,  not  knowing  that  she  and  her  family  have  moved  in  to  hill  house.  when  you  find  out,  you  try  to  warn  her  about  the  rumours  but  the  house  has  already  sunk  it’s  teeth  in  to  her.

post  -  death  :  a.  your  muse  moves  in  to  hill  house  years  after  olivia’s  death.  either  hugh  has  lost  ownership  of  the  house  or  it’s  set  years  after  the  events  of  hill  house.  depending  on  the  timeline,  olivia  is  either  still  under  the  house’s  influence,  or  she’s  clear  headed  and  tries  to  warn  them  away.     &&     b.  you  muse  breaks  in  to  hill  house  following  the  news  coverage  of  olivia’s  death  or  after  the  release  of  steven’s  book.  they  don’t  expect  to  find  anything  but  they  end  up  coming  face  to  face  with  hill  house!  olivia.     &&     c.  ghost!mom  haunting  her  family.  could  be  malicious,  the  hill  house  version  attempting  to  lure  the  crain’s  back  home,  or  could  be  comforting.  olivia  coming  to  her  family  when  they  need  her  the  most.  (  there’s  also  the  figment  of  their  imagination  version  of  olivia,  who  hugh  interacts  with  the  most.  the  kids  could  possibly  see  this  version  of  her  depending  on  the  occasion.  )

alternate  arcs.

olivia  survives  :  a.  when  hugh  returns  to  hill  house,  olivia  is  still  unconcious  in  the  red  room.  the  deal  with  the  dudley’s  is  still  struck,  and  they  urge  him  to  get  olivia  as  far  away  from  the  house  as  possible.  in  the  months  following,  olivia  is  still  under  the  house’s  influence  but  the  more  time  she  spends  away  from  it,  the  more  she  becomes  herself  again.  there’s  still  something  that  calls  to  her  but  she  learns  to  ignore  it.     &&     b.  olivia  is  alive  when  nell  goes  back  to  hill  house  and  dies.  the  same  events  transpire  but  when  luke  goes  to  hill  house,  olivia  offers  the  house  her  life  in  exchange  for  theirs,  and  hugh  dies  with  her.     &&     c.  fun  happy  good  soft  things  because  there’s  enough  angst  in  this  show  and  i  think  they  deserve  it.

crossover  arcs.

bly  manor  :  a.  hill  house  and  bly  manor  are  sister  estates.  the  red  room  and  the  lake  are  connected.  not  everyone  trapped  in  either  are  capable  of  travelling  between  the  two,  but  olivia  learns  over  time.  she  can  be  found  wandering  the  grounds  of  bly  manor.     &&     b.  the  crain’s  move  in  to  bly  manor  in  ‘92  instead  of  hill  house.  this  is  set  after  the  wingrave’s  have  left  it,  but  the  dead  there  don’t  disappear.  viola’s  influence  starts  to  affect  olivia  in  the  same  way  hill  house  affected  her.     &&     c.  using  plot  b,  olivia  encounters  peter  quint’s  spirit  and  she  mistakes  him  for  a  vision  of  an  older  luke.  he  uses  that  to  manipulate  her  in  to  helping  him  tuck  away  luke.

apocalypse  :  a.  your  muse  encounters  olivia  surrounded  by  the  dead,  but  they  seem  to  be  almost  afraid  of  her,  or  outright  ignoring  her.     &&     b.  before  the  outbreak,  olivia  starts  to  experience  the  symptoms  of  turning.  your  muse  is  tending  to  her  when  she  starts  to  have  a  very  vivid  and  intense  episode,  waking  herself  from  an  almost  prophetic  dream.

harry  potter  :  a.  marauders  era,  your  muse  and  olivia  are  good  friends.  house  rivalry  doesn’t  exist  for  liv,  so  it  doesn’t  matter  what  house  you’re  in.  it’s  common  knowledge  that  olivia  is  a  very  powerful  seer  and  your  muse  is  with  her  when  she  has  a  vision.     &&     b.  post  first  war  era,  olivia  went  in  to  hiding  with  hugh  after  trelawney’s  prophecy.  as  it’s  well  known  that  liv  is  a  true  seer,  voldemort  attempts  to  find  her  in  order  to  either  finish  what  he  didn’t  hear  or  use  her  to  further  his  agenda.     &&     c.  trio  era,  dumbledore  reaches  out  to  olivia  requesting  that  she  replace  trelawney  as  the  divination  professor  during  harry  potter’s  fifth  year.  

doctor  who  :  a.  olivia  meets  the  doctor  when  she’s  a  child.  they  are  interested  in  her  sensitivity  and  will  occasionally  cross  paths  with  her  over  the  years  as  she  gets  older.  the  tardis  brings  the  doctor  to  hill  house  where  they  find  olivia  either  before  or  after  her  death.     &&     b.  companion!olivia.  because  i  said  so.

twilight  /  vampire  :  a.  your  muse,  a  vampire,  comes  across  hill  house  the  night  olivia  dies.  they  find  her  at  the  foot  of  the  spiral  staircase  before  hugh  comes  back  for  her,  and  they  turn  her.     &&     b.  the  first  thing  happens,  but  it  wasn’t  your  muse  who  turned  her.  olivia  is  a  nomad  vampire  who  crosses  path  with  yours.     &&     c.     your  muse  is  a  vampire  and  the  meet  olivia  before  hill  house.  she  is  still  a  human,  but  her  "gift”  has  already  manifested  and  is  incredibly  strong.

american  horror  story  :  a.  the  crain’s  buy  “murder  house”  in  ‘92  after  it  has  been  repossessed  from  constance  langdon.  after  several  weeks,  the  kids  start  to  have  nightmares  and  olivia  starts  to  sleep  walk.  one  night,  she  wakes  up  on  the  roof  to  a  voice  telling  her  to  jump,  with  the  twins  each  holding  a  hand.  she  jumps,  but  she  lets  go  of  the  twins  and  hugh  can  only  hold  on  to  two  :  he  saves  the  twins,  and  olivia  dies.     &&     b.   olivia  is  a  witch.  she  is  very  strong  with  precognition  and  clairvoyance  and  it  was  almost  believed,  in  her  youth,  that  she  could  have  been  the  supreme.  she  never  wanted  that,  and  luckily  for  her,  it  wasn’t  meant  to  be.  (  this  can  still  follow  hill  house  canon,  in  that  she  dies  in  hill  house.  )

i  will  likely  add  to  this  over  time  but  for  now  this  is  what  i’ve  got.  it’s  quite  long  and  there’s  a  lot  to  pick  from.  if  literally  anything  on  this  list  at  all  interests  you,  please  let  me  know.

[mermaidsirennikita]

books (in the time of corona)

PART I: ADULT EDITION

Let’s get real--we’re all going fucking insane.  

Therefore, I’m recommending some books with which you can kill time.  I’m breaking them into categories--the romance category including several subgenres but by and large covering books that focus more heavily on the romance than anything else.  These will all be adult books; I’m doing a separate page for YA recommendations.

I’ll be adding to this list as I finish books that I feel belong here.

ROMANCE

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux.  A young woman is abandoned by her scoundrel of a boyfriend, only to find a literal medieval knight in shining armor.  Pure 80′s cheese, a classic in the time travel subgenre long before Outlander ever happened.

The Circle Trilogy by Nora Roberts.  Six sexy people, three men and three women in Roberts fashion, travel across time and parallel dimensions to fight an evil vampire and her undead army.  Come for three fun romances, stay in particular for the “virgin bookworm queen captures the heart of the formerly evil 1,000 Irish vampire” ship.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.  Rival coworkers who’ve always hated each other compete for the same job--until maybe?  They start?  Hooking up?

From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata.  A down on her luck singles figure skater pairs up with the pairs champion she’s always despised... Unless they in fact, in a STUNNING TWIST, do not hate each other?

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa.  A BIT ON THE NOSE RIGHT NOW, but I promise that this tale of a hot virgin Horseman of the Apocalypse spreading his plague and the one woman brave enough to fuck him is WORTH IT.  As is the sequel, War.

My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran.  A literal choose your own adventure novel, but the adventures bodice ripping Regency romance plots!!!

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang.  A sweet and smart woman on the autism spectrum hires a male escort to teach her to be good at sex.  Shit goes DOWN from there.

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary.  She works days; he works nights.  She needs a cheap place to stay, and he needs a roommate.  So they share a flat and even a bed (sleeping on opposite sides and never at the same time) only communicating through post-it notes throughout the apartment.  What could go wrong?

Marriage for One by Ella Maise.  She can only get her inheritance if she’s married.  Good thing a glacial attorney has offered to marry her out of nowhere, only for paper purposes.  What could go wrong???

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa.  Lina is a wedding planner who was left at the altar.  Max is the younger brother of the man who left her, and apparently convinced him to do the leaving.  What happens when they work together?

Get A Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert.  Chloe suffers from a chronic illness, which means that she’s never had a life--and so she compiles a list that will help her get one.  On the list?  Meaningless sex.  Which she won’t have with her building’s superintendent, even though he’s really down to help her cross off all the other items, riiiight?

HISTORICAL FICTION

Passion by Jude Morgan.  The dramatic and intense height of Romantic England, told from the perspectives of Caroline Lamb, mistress of Lord Byron; August Leigh, his sister and lover; Mary Shelley; and Fanny Brawne, fiancee of John Keats.

Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier.  Impoverished Griet becomes a maid in the household of the painter Vermeer, becoming his muse after he realizes that she has a natural eye--much to the dismay of his wife.

Snow Flower and The Secret Fan by Lisa See. In nineteenth century China, best friends Lily and Snow Flower follow each other through emotional and cultural revolutions, communicating through the secret language of fans.

The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George.  Cleopatra recounts her life story, from her earliest memory, through her affairs with Caesar and Antony, and her end.

Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn.  In Domitian’s Rome, a Jewish girl rises from the position of lady’s slave to the emperor’s mistress through wiles and scheming.

The Tiger Queens by Stephanie Thornton.  The rise and fall of Genghis Khan’s empire, as told through the women of his family--from his favorite wife to a clever daughter-in-law.

At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen.  A socialite follows her incompetent to Scotland as he struggles to find the Loch Ness Monster and redeem his ancestor’s name--finding herself and questioning her life in the process.

A Year of Ravens.  A collection of short stories by different authors, all centering on Boudica’s rebellion through the eyes of her countrymen and her enemies.

Feast of Sorrow by Crystal King.  A slave becomes a chef in the treacherous household of a social climber struggling to gain the favor or Caesar August.

Fatal Throne.  Six authors tell the stories of Henry VIII’s wives, all from their differing perspectives.

Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid.  The rise and fall of a 1970s rock band is charted through the recollections of its members--as they recall what drove them apart, and in particular the intense relationship between the leader singers.

THRILLERS

The Girl in 6E by A.R. Torre.  A woman with murderous impulses locks herself in her apartment to keep the public safe, making a living as a camgirl.  She’s left torn between morals and impulse when she begins to suspect that one of her “fans” is dangerous.

Little Deaths by Emma Flint.  In 1960s America, a single mother finds her personal life and image called into question when she’s accused of murdering her two young children.

My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.  A nurse covers up her beautiful sister’s murders, only to be caught between loyalties when the doctor she loves falls for said sister.

The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine.  A plain “nobody” transforms herself in order to steal a high society housewife’s husband, only to deal with more than she bargained for.

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen.  A woman obsesses over her ex-husband’s new fiancee, leading her to disturbing lengths.

The Other Woman by Sandie Jones.  After meeting her ideal man, a woman must contend with his possessive mother, who will do anything to maintain her hold over him.

Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman.  A couple on their dream honeymoon find something in the water that will change the course of their life together.

The Au Pair by Emma Rous.  The day Seraphine and her twin brother were born, their mother flung herself off a cliff and their nanny disappeared.  Decades later, Seraphine discovers a photo taken of her parents just before her mother’s death--with only one baby.  The only person who holds the key to the mystery?  The au pair.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing.  A couple keeps the spark alive through murder.

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager.  A young woman takes a job apartment-sitting in a high-end Manhattan building.  Shortly after she befriends another sitter, the girl goes missing--with everyone else acting like nothing is amiss.

The Wives by Tarryn Fisher.  Thursday is one of her husband’s three wives, though she’s never met the other two.  When she finally does meet the third wife, she discovers a woman far different from what she expected--and covered in bruises.

FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/HORROR

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier.  Sorcha is the youngest of seven children in medieval Ireland.  When her stepmother curses her six older brothers to live as swans, Sorcha agrees to weave them shirts of painful thistles, all the while remaining silent, to break the spell.

Black Pearls by Louise Hawes.  A collection of dark fairy tale retellings.

The Incarnations by Susan Barker.  A man receives letters from an anonymous source, detailing his supposed past lives throughout historical China.

Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust.  A dark Snow White retelling, with a stepmother whose goals extend far beyond the princess.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.  Alex Stern is discovered as the sole survivor of a brutal multiple murder, and is promptly scooped up by a group charged with monitoring the occult societies at Yale.  Now disguised as a university student, Alex must figure out who’s been murdering locals, while also hiding what happened the night she lived.

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell.  A young widow in Victorian England is sent to her husband’s country estate to wait out her pregnancy, and is not alarmed to discover a “silent companion” (a painted wooden figure) in the house.  But when the figure’s eyes begin following her, she is sucked into a history beyond her imagination.

Circe by Madeline Miller.  The story of the woman who would seduce Odysseus, from her beginnings as a plain witch born of Helios and a mother who couldn’t care less.  A classic rise to power story.

CONTEMPORARY LIT

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal.  Down on her luck Nikki takes up a job as a creative writing class instructor for the Punjabi widows in her West London neighborhood.  It turns out that the widows thought she was there to teach them to write in English--which leads to the class becoming a place for them to share their stories orally instead.  And it turns out that they’re a bit... erotic.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.  Upwardly mobile newlyweds Celestina and Roy have their lives upended when Roy is falsely accused of a terrible crime and sent to prison for twelve years.  When he’s released early after five, he returns home to find that Celestina has changed completely, and their marriage is entirely unknown.

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo.  A young Nigerian couple has always been against polygamy; but after the wife fails to get pregnant, her in-laws show up on their doorstep with a second wife.

NON-FICTION/MEMOIR

Harem: The World Behind The Veil by Alev Lytle Croutier.  An examination of the Ottoman Empire’s harem culture, focusing on the women within.

Love For Sale: A World History of Prostitution by Nils Johan Ringal.  Not really a GLOBAL history of prostitution, but a good introduction starting with ancient times and going into the cases of more recent madams in America, with a strong case for legalization worldwide.

Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman.  A readable biography of the famously scandalous and tragic duchess, to be read while you kill time rewatching “The Duchess” starring Keira Knightley.

Lucrezia Borgia: Life, Love, and Death in Renaissance Italy by Sarah Bradford.  A fair but none-too-precious assessment of one of Renaissance Italy’s most controversial women, and an analysis of her relationships with her father and brother.

The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn by Eric Ives.  While you’re quarantining, you might as well read the definitive Anne Boleyn biography, yes?  This one is responsible for much of the modern attitude on Anne.

Queen of Fashion: What Marie Antoinette Wore to the Revolution by Caroline Weber.  A fascinating analysis of Marie Antoinette’s political life through her clothes.

The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi.  An analysis of the infamous, unsolved “Monster of Florence” case.  One of the most gruesome serial killers in Italy’s history, the monster’s crimes were pinned on several different men, and even investigated by the prosecutor who botched the Amanda Knox case.

The Forger’s Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by Edward Dolnick.  An examination of the case of Han van Meegeren, a painter who forged and sold many Dutch master fakes, and the pretentious art world that let him get away with it for years.

The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire by Jack Weatherford.  A study of the women in Genghis Khan’s family, and in particular those that kept his empire from falling to ruin after his death.  A good companion read with Stephanie Thornton’s fiction novel Tiger Queens mentioned above.

Chasing Aphrodite: The Hunt for Looted Antiquities at the World’s Richest Museum by Jason Felch and Ralph Frammolino.  How did the Getty Museum end up with so many stolen artifacts?  This book aims to find out.

The Creation of Anne Boleyn by Susan Bordo.  A different kind of Anne Boleyn book, studying her portrayal in culture and fiction--complete with input from Natalie Dormer following her portrayal of Anne Boleyn on The Tudors.

Blood Sisters: The Women Behind the Wars of the Roses by Sarah Gristwood.  An examination of the women of the houses of Lancaster and York during their famous, long-running conflict--and how these women had an impact on battles and politics alike.

The Dragon Behind the Glass: A True Story of Power, Obsession, and the World’s Most Coveted Fish by Emily Voigt.  The author delves into why people are so obsessed with the arowana, a rare and exotic fish, to the point that they’ll commit murder--and becomes wrapped up in the fascination herself.

The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy.  Over the course of a month, Ariel Levy watches everything she held true in her life--her financial security, her career, her marriage, and her pregnancy--fall apart.  Levy must confront what it means to live an “unconventional” and “free” life, only for that to become meaningless, and pick up the pieces.

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to find The Good Death by Caitlin Doughty.  Doughty recounts her global travels to observe and study different funerary and death rituals, recounting and analyzing her experiences with respect and personality.

Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History by Tori Telfer.  A collection of female serial killers, analyzing why they did what they did and the cultural legacy they left behind.

Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found by Frances Larson.  A history of decapitated human heads, and what different cultures have done with them.

From Scratch: A Memoir of Love, Sicily, and Finding Home by Tembi Locke.  Tembi Locke was never truly accepted by her husband’s Sicilian family, as a black American woman.  But when Saro dies young of cancer, she finds herself more deeply entwined her in-laws, as she works to pick up the pieces.  (Warning: one of the most achingly romantic books I’ve ever read; but it will destroy you.)