#shadowstart

[bolognamayhem117]

Astarion has been successfully recruited and has arrived at camp. (I just ordered "Dale" and "William" and "Carla" and "Shadowstart" and "Mindy" "Le'ah". Waiting on Default "Surge", "Hallard", "Janice" and "Minced" to restock in another shop.

He's coming.

[leilareport]

ANY LOCATION ; it was rough work, editing your own footage. but leila tries to keep an optimistic vibe. she’s only been in the industry for a couple of years, but she was no slowpoke; rather, she tries to absorb all the things she could around her in order to further her own personal agendas. currently, the point in the agenda required for her to put together this quick reel of coordinator interviews she conducted a while ago to send back to her station, but quickly realized that she was just a bit short of footage to really give it that ‘oomph’ she’s looking for. spotting somebody passing by, leila looks up from her device and tries to wave them down. “no, no, not a battle! just a ..question! a quick one, promise!” ; @shadowstart​

[schlirnazel-blog]

after an intense morning rush, it was finally slowing down at the cafe. mari loved the business, don’t get her wrong, but she enjoyed the periodic slow hours more. it gave her extra time with her customers, and she loved talking to them. currently it was empty, so she decided to take advantage of this lull and grab a book—her cat, shelley, hopping on the warlock’s shoulder as she walked away. normally, she wouldn’t be in such a hurry but she didn’t have any other workers to help her yet. she gazing at the ❛ help wanted ❜ sign at front of her store as she returned to the counter. but it wasn't a worried glance, she had only put it up a few hours ago; not to mention, 은신처  was fairly new to the neighborhood. just as she sat down and opened her book, the bell attached to the entrance door chimed causing her to look up and put on her best smile as she greeted, ❝ hi, welcome! let me know if you need help with anything. ❞

[nate-princeofstrays]

Nate wasn't in a good place right now, but no one could blame him, because he was being followed by a weirdo. At first he had assumed that this was just another case of the ol' enthrall, no big deal. Just some dude who had fallen under his unholy Incubus spell and didn't know how to express the feeling of enamorment. Oh, if only. As soon as he had tried to confront him, the man had shrieked about being threatened by a supernatural. So not an enthralled person then, Nate had thought as he had legged it out of sheer fight-or-flight, just some bigot.

As most of his past tormentors (fuck them, by the way) would be happy to confirm, Nate was not someone easily cowed. In fact, most methods of intimidation just didn't work on him, unless you threatened someone he cared about. Which was exactly why he couldn't go home — he lived with children and did not want this jerk to get anywhere close to them. And he couldn't go to the police either, because he doubted they would see his side on it, if his experience was anything to go by. To them he was just a lying Incubitch hurting for attention.

Gods, he could use a hug.

Stopping in his tracks, he glanced around for anything he could use as a deterrent. It was then that he spotted a person nearby and he didn't hesitate to force a big smile on his face as he approached them. "Hey, buddy! Didn't expect to see you here!" With his back now to the man watching him from a distance, the beam faded. "Sorry. I know this is weird for you,” he continued in a rapid whisper. “But would you pretend to be my friend for a bit? I’m being followed by someone, but I think he'll leave if I'm not alone anymore." He didn't want to deal with bigots, he didn't want to pull strangers into this, he wanted to go home.

[zekereynes-blog]

Dark eyes flitted about wildly, unable to understand what they saw in their owner's current state. Where was he? It didn't matter, it was unsafe. There were too many people and he didn't recognize any of them, stumbling past them with his usual grace missing. A detached part of him realized he was having a panic attack, but he couldn't for the life of him remember how to make it stop. This wasn't like him, Zeke would never show vulnerability like this – but then, he wasn't Zeke, was he? He was just Eli and the real Zeke was long gone. Why did he have to steal his name? Look where it got him.

Unsafe.

He shakily managed to make his way over to a park bench and collapsed on top of it, not checking whether there was anyone already sitting next to him.

[armstrong-james]

“Well...At least ice cream still tastes the same,” James mused quietly, taking a bite of his Neapolitan flavored dessert. At least now, he didn’t have to eat around the chocolate part. Maybe he was trying to find something positive amidst all the hell he had experienced the past four months. That hell wasn’t over, but at least it was more bearable. He could live like someone with rights again, see his friends, see his family. Eat ice cream. “I can’t remember the last time I had chocolate,” he said, tilting his head.

[drdeweyf]

It had been far too long since Dewey had forgotten his exercise regimen. Though there was little consequence when you didn't gain or lose weight, the activity managed to offer him an escape of sorts. With nothing else to focus on but a main goal, his mind didn't have much time to wander, and the physical activity let loose a steady stream of dopamine. One of the few times he found himself truly at peace was engaging in a jog or run, and today afforded the perfect weather for either one. He wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. Not with the multitude of heavy thoughts swirling inside of his head. He had broken into a sprint, stemmed back slightly to a human's typical pace of course, but the effects were the same. Relishing in the wind flowing past him, crisp air brushing against his equally cool skin. For a good half hour, there had been nothing but himself and a few passers by along the circular paths surrounding Wonderland park. At the forty-five minute mark, he finally slowed to a light jog, beginning to truly take in the varying sights around him, when he became acutely aware of a padding not too far behind his own steps. Glancing backwards revealed, not a human or any other supernatural, but a rather large German shepherd. He was keeping up a decent pace with Dewey's own steps, and when he finally slowed to a halt, the canine followed suit. At least for a moment; soon enough he grew bored of the break in movement, and surged upon Dewey's legs, barking animatedly. "Whoa, there, hold on, boy... goodness, you're quite friendly, aren't you?" He chuckled softly, kneeling down to properly scratch underneath the scruffy chin. The search for any identifying tags came up empty, and he glanced around for a moment before spying someone approaching. "Excuse me? You, uh, wouldn't happen to have lost a dog, would you?"

[synfulxhalifax]

Syn was starting to find this town to be boring, she missed being in her club but it was getting renovated right now. Plus with the whole news of the cure coming out, she actually had a regular come up to her and suggest she get it like she actually wanted to be a human. She never in the last hundred years had regretted being a Succubus and she wouldn’t in the next hundred more. She just didn’t get why humans thought that they would want to be one of them? 

“Honestly is there anything fun to do in this town?” Syn ask the person who was behind her in the coffee shop. She needed her caffeine as she was dealing with the final consultants for her club and if they messed anything up their heads would be on a platter.  

[murphyslawx]

Friday nights at Saints and Sinners were always busy, at least that’s what Murphy had assumed from her recent trips to the club since her arrival. It was full to the brim with workers, men and women showing up to destress from a hectic work week. Murphy was among them, but certainly didn’t count herself one of them. She only picked up a couple shifts at Grave Desires that week, and she sure as shit wasn’t here to let off steam. 

The argument, the hunters. It was all more than enough to have her even more on edge, and Murphy had made it an effort to ignore those events as much as possible. Avoiding her problems was probably one of her specialties, if not the thing she was best at, but because of this she found herself exhausted on a Friday night, with almost no energy to indulge in well, anything.

Knowing the owner had its perks, and because of this Murphy took advantage. Stretching herself out along one of the many plush couches, she sighed in satisfaction. Several empty glasses sat on the floor instead of on one of the many tables, and she let her finger lazily drag around the rim of the only one that still had amber liquid in it. With her stomach flat against the cushions and eyes on the teeming dance floor on the lower level, she didn’t see her visitor, instead hearing their arrival with a scuff of shoes on the carpet. She didn’t bother raising her head or turn to look. “Seat’s taken,” she said, just loud enough for even a human to hear over the loud music. “And yes, I mean all of them.”

[jasonxwalters-blog]

It was his first day on the job and as much as he loved being a cop, he hated today. He still didn’t really know where anything was and he knew maybe like the names of 3 people. It was mostly his fault, he could have tried harder but it was too late now. He had been assigned a beat and he had to do his job. There was no way he was going to let anything happen that he could prevent. 

But he should have been paying attention to where he was walking as he had just crashed straight into someone. “Oh shit, are you okay?”

[nickk-robinsonn]

“Alright, I’m taking a poll,” Nick started, showing his phone to the person he was speaking to. “Should I get this tattoo next or this one?”

[kelsiewoods]

Dianna had warned her.  She told her to stay home and safe.  She told her the werewolves would lose control.  How the eclipse would impact the other species was something Kelsie didn’t know.  Kelsie expected it wouldn’t impact her.  She thought since she couldn’t shift she wouldn’t feel it.  But she was wrong.

Kelsie was heading home after her shift at the Hellmouth.  The moon was out, and suddenly everything hurt.  Kelsie’s body started aching.  She could feel it, like her body was trying to shift but the baby was keeping her human.  Home.  Almost home.  Kelsie’s mind was racing.  She could smell everything.  Hear everything.  She was supposed to be home before curfew, but that was rapidly becoming less important to her.

Her eyes were wide with fear, anxiety, and overstimulation as she looked around.  Her mind was on edge.  When she rounded a corner and nearly bumped into someone, she tensed and lashed out.  “Watch where you’re going,” Kelsie uncharacteristically snapped.  The wolf inside her was trying desperately to get out.

[pastor-silasbahar]

“It’s a mighty shame they let the supernaturals play dress-up with the rest of us,” Silas muttered to the person next to him-- not really looking but assuming they were human-- as they went down the buffet line picking things to put on their plates. “I’m afraid I’m goin’ to pick something I think is cherry-flavored and it’s blood.” His lip curled in disgust as he picked over the selection of gourmet food.

[xtillinorwood]

Mattie rested against a brick wall, her back pressed against the building in hopes to ground her. Bright red eyes stared up at the red moon and she prayed the light from the eclipse would keep the tears from forming in her eyes. Her hands, red with blood, trembled at her sides. The last few moments replayed in her mind on a loop. 

Someone now laid lifeless on the ground nearby, body drained of life and blood. It could easily be more than that as Mattie challenged her brain to bring more of the memories forward. She could not remember leaving her house or being conscious of her actions before this moment. The fear and guilt of not recalling the last ten minutes rushed over her each time her eyes ventured down the road towards the park. After snapping back to reality and realizing what she was doing, she left the poor body and ran. 

Mattie was at a loss of what to do. She never lost control before, not like this. Although she equally despised the idea, this was why she tried to get her blood from wildlife over people. What drove her to be this unstable, this monster, frightened her the most. Tears started rolling down her cheeks. At least she could be thankful no one saw her at the park; or that she did not see anyone else out around her. Now? The young vamp should be hiding, not standing in the middle of the road. No matter how badly she wanted to run off and hide, tried to keep a level head. She had to do something to cover her tracks before leaving.

“I should move it, shouldn’t I?” she questioned herself as she looked back towards the direction of the park. “But… Do I move it? Would that make it worse?” Her hand massaged her temples as she thought out loud. “If I hide it, I stay out of trouble for a little longer. But then that means I stay out longer and I-...”  She grimaced. “ I have to touch it…”  The idea of touching the lifeless body was gross despite how easy it was moments ago. Mattie then threw her hands in the air, her voice louder than it should be while trying to hide. “Urg! Why is this so hard?”

[giannasalsbury]

"I’ve always wondered why it is that every person seems to make it a goal for the new year to lose weight,” Gianna spoke to the person closest to her as she watched a pair of woman doing lunges in the park, Nikkie nestled on her hip quietly after running around for a good hour of play, “It’s not like they are going to truly follow that resolution. Perks to those that do but I certainly wouldn’t be able to. How I’m not twenty one stone is beyond my comprehension.”

[reidcassidy]

Though he would have much preferred being tucked away in the corner of Flanagan’s, Reid had taken a seat at the middle of the bar, body turned halfway to allow his eyes to scan the crowd. He absently scratched at the stubble along his jaw and pursed his lips. Kim Long had seemingly disappeared into thin air (that alone wasn’t so much a cause for concern, he knew more than anyone that vampires came and went) so that meant he was not only down a bartender, but the fact that two others had gone missing under mysterious circumstances as well-- all supernatural-- had him feeling a little uneasy and on edge. If it weren’t for his bar, he probably would have been long gone already. Shadow Falls was inconsequential to him. It held nothing he would be loathe to leave save for Saints and Sinners. And Amari. But she and Shadow Falls were not a packaged deal. He’d see her again regardless.

Now, though, he found himself on the lookout for a distraction. Maybe even a new bartender. And what better place to find one than the competition? His eyes flitted over the hoard of bodies, no one standing out among the rest, nothing capturing his fickle attention. He was hungry, but whether that was more for the physical or a need to satisfy his insatiable thirst, he wasn’t sure. Maybe he was just bored. 

The sound of someone ordering a drink beside him made him turn, shifting his attention to the only thing that had piqued his interest all night. “I’ll have the same,” he said to the bartender before she had the chance to walk away and finished off the last foamy sip of his piss flavored beer, sliding it across the bar. He turned back to the person beside him. He smiled, not entirely unlike the Cheshire cat, but still friendly. Probably. “I’m hoping you have better taste than I did when I ordered that.”