#this was the only other edit i actually had previous plans because of COURSE i did

[too-much-tma-stuff]

Neither Gone Nor Forgotten

sequel to No Body to Bury. This isn’t edited, if you find any errors feel free to let me nice, just be nice about it.

------

Planning a funeral for Danny turned out both easier, and harder, then Batman had anticipated. Easier because he wasn’t deep in grief the way he had been when planning previous funerals, and harder because, well, the person the funeral was for was still around to have opinions. Not that Danny was hard to please, he seemed happy with just about everything, but he was struggling with whether he should tell his human family and friends. He really wanted to, but he was scared.

“I don’t think they’ll understand,” Danny said, his legs dangling over the edge of the tall building he and Batman were currently sitting on, holding a milkshake Bruce had bought for him. “Sam, Tucker, and Jazz all supported me while I was still only half dead and knew. I haven’t kept entirely out of the news since starting to work with you guys and I know they’re upset I abandoned them, I’ve seen it when I check on them. There’s no way they can understand how much changes when you die, I watch over them, but Ic an never go back.

“I can’t be what they want me to be, I’m not really Danny anymore at all, and they’d want me to be what I was. They’d want me to be human, and I’m just not anymore. I would want them to think I was completely dead and gone, but they’ve seen me in the news so there’s no chance of that.”

“Hm,” Batman said helpfully. “Write them a letter, I’ll make sure it’s delivered and then they can come on your terms, or not,” He suggested, he’d found writing letters to be a lot easier. “Like a will?”

Danny cocked his head to the side as he thought about that and then nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea, thanks Batman. You’re not nearly as bad at emotions as everyone says,” The young ghost said, bumping his shoulder against Bruce’s. It made the older hero smile. He wasn’t surprised to find that Phantom was gone when he turned back towards where the boy was sitting, his small smile remained as he threw out the abandoned milkshake and went on with his patrol.

It was two days later when the letter appeared on his desk, not yet folded or in an envelope which Bruce knew was permission to read it. He appreciated that because he would have had a hard time resisting the curiosity even if it was already sealed.

Dear Sam, Jazz, and Tucker

First of all, I want to say I’m sorry. I loved you all and I didn’t run away, I didn’t want to leave you. It was the GIW, remember when I said I was a ‘who’s who of who can’t catch ghosts’? I guess I underestimated at least one of them because they finally got me. Of course it was Phantom they were trying to kill, but is anyone surprised that they failed? It was Danny who they ended up killing, and now I can’t go back.

I didn’t realize what a big difference there would be between being half dead and all dead, a little humanity goes a long way I guess. Don’t worry I’m not going to become Dan, but I can’t be Danny anymore either, just Phantom left now and while I still love you and watch over you as I am, it’s not like I can just ‘live my life’ anymore. It hurts too much to try and pretend to be alive now, and ghosts are creatures of instinct, I can’t go against the natural order of life and death and come back to you, no matter how much I love you or how much you miss me.

Batman and some of the other heroes have offered to arrange a funeral for Danny, this time there’s actually a corpse to bury after all. I won’t be there, but it’s important for both the living and the dead that the dead have a grave, a place to grieve lost life. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to, if it’s too hard or you’re too mad at me still. But if you do come or ever visit I’ll feel you there and it’ll make me happy, and maybe it’ll be some closure for you? I never meant to hurt you.

I’ll still be around to protect you, I’ll protect everyone I can. That’s been my obsession since the start hasn’t it? And Jazz don’t you start, ghost’s obsessions are what keeps us here and in one piece, I don’t need therapy. And I guess that’s the heart of it isn’t it? I’m not human anymore, and I can’t pretend to be, and we wouldn’t understand each other anymore. Not really. Ghosts don’t change much though so I’ll always love you and when you die maybe we can be friends again, if you can forgive me for this.

Forever young and yours,

Phantom

 Batman read the letter and sat quietly with it for a few long minutes, thinking about it and also questioning some parts, like who Dan was. It was sad of course, but it was sweet too, and he didn’t think that Phantom’s friends would be nearly as upset with him as he thought they would be. Finally he sighed and folded it up, finding a envelope and address it to Danny’s sister since she seemed like the best one to make sure they were all there when it was opened and read. He put it in the folder to be sent out and then leaned against his desk.

“Are you really not going to come?” He asked the empty room, and after waiting for a moment wasn’t surprised when Danny stepped out from nowhere. He’d started to get a sense of when Phantom was there, untouchable and unseen.

“No, I’ll be there, but only the way spirits usually are. I won’t be there physically, just in spirit,” He said, smiling at his own pun. Batman chuckled a little and nodded.

“I understand why you don’t want them to know that, I won’t let on,” He assured. “I think you’ve done the right thing letting them know.”

Danny nodded and then vanished again, this time out through the window, properly leaving the office and Batman alone again.

Batman had the discussion with the rest of the Justice League without Phantom present so they could avoid accidental offense. Not everyone would come, not everyone could come, Batman banned a few of the more literal heroes who would not understand why they were having a funeral when Phantom was still here, even though he had actually died. But a decent amount did come, and Batman had a feeling that the ones Phantom would care about most was Bruce himself, and Diana, who was coming.

-----

When the day of the funeral came Batman and Diana stood outside the little chapel to welcome people. They weren’t technically family of course, apparently Diana was distantly through an ancestor of hers and adoption, and Bruce thought of himself as a paternal figure to Danny, besides they’d been here early setting everything up. The nice coffin was already at the front of the room, closed since it was empty with while lilies placed on top and decorating the little building along with some roses and candles.

He wasn’t particularly surprised when the first person who showed up was Danny’s big sister Jasmine Fenton driving Danny’s two friends. His parents weren’t there but Phantom had mentioned it might not be a good idea for them to come because they would probably be disruptive. Both Jazz and Tucker’s eyes were rimmed red like they’d been crying and Sam’s jaw had a stubborn set to it like clenching it was the only thing keeping her lips from trembling.

They reached the steps, Batman nodded to them and Diana gave them a sad smile. Jazz looked through the open doors, her breath hitching. “Is he in there?” She asked, pointing to the coffin.

Batman shook his head, voice soft and rough as he responded. “Phantom said he’d bring the body later, Less chance for something to go wrong and… I don’t know if it would hurt him, but I think it’s easy to see why he’d be protective of it.”

Jazz’s lip trembled and she took a deep breath, behind her Sam had wrapped an arm around Tucker who had started to cry again, turning to hide against her shoulder. “When you see him again tell him we’re not mad at him, please?” Sam said, her voice hard with repressed emotions, it almost sounded angry but there was a subtle difference.

“He’s right that we can’t understand everything,” Jazz said, biting her lip for a moment before continuing. “But after something like this he needs space, and we won’t rush him. If he needs to start a new life, we get it, everything must remind him of trauma right now, but if he ever wants to get back in touch with us. Well, I’ll love him forever too. But also tell him that he should have been more careful in that letter he wrote if any of us had been feeling suicidal his comment about being friends again after death might have been the last push we needed over the metaphorical edge-”

She was taking a deep breath to continue her lecture when Sam wrapped her other arm around Jazz’ shoulder and pulled her away. “Well we’re not, it’s fine, let’s go sit down before Tucker collapses from dehydration from all these tears.”

“I’m not going to collapse! I’m not even crying that much!” Tucker insisted, his voice audibly wet.

Batman and Diane kept their faces straight while Sam dragged them all into the little building and to seats in the front row. Then Batman’s lips twitched up in a slight smile and Diana gave a weak laugh. “I knew they wouldn’t be as angry with Phantom as he feared,” Batman said, trying to keep his amusement under control.

“What a precocious girl, a big sister through and through,” Diana agreed and sniffled a little, it seemed their grief had gotten to her a little. He understood.

Slowly more people filtered in, just other heroes now, and one young woman called Val. Sam said to let her in even though there was clearly tension there, the heroes didn’t ask.

The scheduled time of the funeral Diana and Batman went inside, closing the door after them and, since Danny hadn’t wanted a priest so Batman started to make his way to the front to start things off.

“We’re here today in remembrance of Danny Phantom, a brave young man lost to soon in the line of duty. He never should have had to join the fight so young,” Batman stumbled a little when he saw Jason slip in at the back of the chapel. He had sort of though Jason wasn’t coming, but there he was, dressed in his Red Hood get up, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Batman could tell that he was on edge, but he was here, and it would make Danny happy. He took a deep breath and carried on with his planned remarks.

When he was done he stepped down off the little podium and Jazz stepped up, pulling some queue cards out of her pocket, taking a deep breath and launching into a planned speech. She was a good public speaker, she managed to keep it together through her speech but her words were clearly very heartfelt.

It went well, a few more people spoke, by the end Batman was actually having a hard time keeping his feeling under control, he maybe should have came as Bruce Wayne so he could have cried. He kept it under control though and eventually it was time to bring the coffin out to the prepared grave. They hadn’t fully planned who would carry it because they hadn’t known if Danny’s friends and sister were going to come, but now that they were here of course they were invited to help carry the coffin.

Batman and Diana took the majority of the weight of course, but all three of them took the offer to help carry the coffin the prepared grave. They lowered it in and Superman placed the specially made vault over top that would protect Danny’s body from, well, the usual stuff super heroes had to deal with, bodies being stolen for experimentation, attempted cloning’s, resurrection but wrong, all that jazz.

Jasmin through in the first handful of dirt, then Sam, then Tucker and then the heroes joined in. When the grave started to be filled properly a lot of the heroes started to wander away, Batman approached Jason who was hanging back.

“Please stay,” He murmured to his estranged son, seeing Jason’s shoulders tense, his arms were still crossed defensively. “Phantom will be bringing his body one most of the people clear out and he’d really like to meet you. If you don’t mind, he just died, and it’s been hard on him, I think meeting you would be a comfort.” He watched with bated breath as Jason’s fingers twitched and tightened on his own arms before he nodded. Bruce breathed a subtle sigh of relief and nodded, turning back towards the grave.

Once the grave was filled and basically everyone else had either left or gone back to the little chapel to socialize, Danny finally arrived. He faded into view, seemingly almost shy, watching them both closely for their reaction. Bruce understood why, he had to carefully school his expression when he saw the state that Danny’s body was in. It wasn’t that he was dead obviously, ashen and limp, passed the stage of rigger it seemed, it was the visible injuries. He was littered with cuts and bruises, there were stull cuffs around his ankles and wrists which had clearly burned into his skin. The wound that had killed him was, well, it looked like an autopsy had been done, his chest was fully open, but Batman knew it had been done while he was still alive. It was horrific.

Batman managed to keep himself under control though his breathing sped up, Hood’s mask completely hid his face but he rocked back like he’d been struck. Danny hesitated, licked his lips a little and stepped forward.

“I can’t touch the cuffs, but I don’t want too bury him with them still on. Will you take them off for me? They shouldn’t burn you,” Danny asked Bruce.

He was about to say yes when Jason cut in, “I’m better at picking locks then him, I’ll do it.” He practically growled, stalking forward and pulling his lock picking kit out of one of the pockets on his suit. “Who did this to him,- You?” He asked softly as Danny knelt, cradling his own corps close to his chest, letting Jason kneel in front of him and take one of the limp arms to start on the cuffs. Jason hissed when he touched it, it burned a little but he breathed through it and started to pick the lock.

“It was the GIW, the ghost investigation ward. I killed the ones who did it, and the justice league helped me disband the rest of the organization and overturn the laws that enabled it,” Danny responded, his green eyes locked unblinkingly on Jason, watching him as he watched Jason work on the locks.

“Good, I’m glad their dead. That must have felt good,” He chuckled vindictively.

“I am too, but I’m more glad they won’t get to hurt anyone else. They might have gone for you if they were still able.”

“Me? Why?” Jason asked, his fingers twitching, he cursed softly when the lock pick slipped, he grumbled and started again.

“Because you died before didn’t you? The cuffs burn you because you’re not… completely alive anymore I won’t ask anything about it, I know that’s private but if you ever want to talk about it, or if you need help with the… side affects, I’d be happy to help you,” Phantom offered softly. Jason only hummed in response, he needed to process and consider that.

When the final cuff fell to the ground Danny took a deep breath and curled around himself, resting his forehead against his body’s hair. From the way his shoulders were shaking they could tell he was crying, Jason rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder, just being there for him until Phantom was ready and finally sunk into the ground. He was down there for a long time before he surfaced again, flying over to hug batman, burrowing against his chest a little while Batman patted his back gently, Jason standing by awkwardly.

“Thank you so much for doing this, and thank you both so much for coming. This really means so much to me.”

“Of course kid,” Jason said, reaching out to ruffle the boy’s soft white hair.

Batman nodded, giving Danny a gentle squeeze, “No one deserves to be forgotten.”

Tag list: @kikkobara @phlebocuffs @spikethecrazycat @spookytragedyshark @thatonegaybitch68 @stargazer-luna @fangirlnerd001 @seraphinedemort @yjfk @rosieparker1856 @battlebunnyteardropsinthesun and thank you too @your-local-idiot-savant for giving me feedback on some parts

#Danny Phantom #Jason todd #batman #wonderwoman #jazz fenton #sam manson #tucker foley #Danny 'crashes his own funeral' fenton #full dead AU #dc x dp #dc #Danny gets a funeral #I have an extra little bit of the doctors Fenton crashing the funeral that I cut out #I'll probably post it separately #danny fenton #Danny got vivisected

[golbrocklovely]

cultish love // colby brock

A/N: first off, so sorry for this being so late, i had a lot of things i had to edit about this fic. also this is my longest fic ever ! like the other fic before this, this is a AU version of colby… where he, you guessed it, is a cult leader. and he is also corrupt (but like aren't all cult leaders). again this deals with some possible heavy themes, so give a good read of the trigger warnings before reading ahead. i've always joked about colby being able to lead a cult, and that's basically where this idea came from. this fic also took a turn i wasn't expecting, but i like it anyway. also the first half is written as a journal entry (all italized) and then the rest is an actual fic (not italized). lmk what you think, and happy haunting !

prompt: you're a journalist, and your next big story is on the 'empathic love' cult, led by none other than colby brock. this cult is not known well, but you are getting a first hand look at them and what they do. and quickly, colby takes a liking to you. || fem!reader x AU!cult leader!colby brock

trigger warning: SMUT, no actual sex but you do get mentally fucked (it will make sense in the story), cult vibes all around, love bombing, cursing, supernatural powers, colby is very intense and kinda scary but also still his charming self, slight dubcon similar in vain to sam's story - you never say no outright, but you do have general feelings of 'wtf is this, idk if i like' so if that's too much for you, feel free to read something else :), colby's aura is crazy good at giving you visions, strangers-to-soulmates?? don't know if that's a tag lol, also…. colby's technically bisexual in this????? but like barely

word count: 8610

I've been a reporter for only five years, and this story.... it could make or break my career. Cults aren't as prevalent as they once were way back when. They still exist, just in the shadows. A lot quieter on most fronts. Usually disguised as a business or religion, for tax reasons of course. But this cult, Empathic Love, is unlike any cult I've heard of.

Of course, they don't call themselves a cult, but that's what they are. How else would you describe a bunch of randos following one man around wherever he goes?

They only started so many years ago, right before I graduated university. The main founder, Colby Brock, is a pragmatic individual, according to his followers. The cult began blowing up in my town a little over two years ago, and now people flock from all over the world to visit the Love Compound. You would think it's Disney World the way people grow excited about it.

But I am here to get to the truth of this cult. What is their motive? What are they planning to do? Will this be another Waco or Heaven's Gate? What sinister beliefs hide underneath the modern-day hippie aesthetic they show?

These notes will document everything I experience for the next couple of days. And in case I go missing, these are my proof of who's to blame.

I don't think it will go that far, but you can never be too sure.

~~~~

Day 1 - Investigation

I'm still incredibly surprised I was allowed to come onto the Love Compound. The leader himself apparently reached out to my boss and told them that they wanted someone to come down and interview the group. They allow visitors from time to time, "new recruits" as some of the townspeople call them, but reporters have never been allowed in. Not once. Until me.

Driving up to the compound was nerve-wracking. I never imagined I would be nervous; I've interviewed plenty of criminals in my years, have done full blown investigations into scary, horrifying crimes. But something about this place freaked me out. Partially because I didn't know what I was getting into. But another part of me, and I will never admit this out loud, felt... at home.

The only promise I made to myself was I wouldn’t drink any kool-aid while there. So, I plan to stick to that. Pretend my previous statement never existed.

I was greeted by a beautiful woman when I got there: Avery. No one went by last names. And some apparently changed their names altogether, which was not surprising. My guess is there were most likely criminals hanging out amongst the group. But I had no proof of that, just a hunch. It easily could be a safe haven for those wanting to escape whatever life they had before.

The compound was three Victorian style mansions connected to each other and had a decent size farm attached - about 222 acres. Avery told me about all of the vegetables and chickens they farmed. Everything was organic and used up as often as possible. Anything that couldn't be eaten or produced too much for the only 100ish people in the compound, was sold at the farmer's market or given away to the local food bank. Avery explained to me very clearly that everyone in the compound chipped in one way or another. Some still worked normal jobs, but just lived here with everyone. But she noted that Colby hoped in the near future no one would have to work at all and they would be self-sufficient in a couple years.

A cult with future plans? Almost unheard of.

I told Avery that I was given an all-access pass to ask anything I wanted to, and nothing I asked could be ignored or deflected. She agreed to an interview. I recorded all of it, but here are the highlights of what I gathered.

I asked her why Colby was such a secretive man. There were very few photos of him that did exist out there, but all that was rumored about him was his alluring eyes and generally attractive presence. She agreed that he was handsome, describing his as having "ocean blue eyes" and his voice was to die for. "Deep and arousing", as she explained.

I noted that she seemed almost lost in thought at the idea of him, like she was envisioning him directly in front of her. Strange behavior; but not for a cult follower. Many end up falling in love with their leader, believing they have a genuine relationship with said person.

I bought up the name of the group, Empathic Love, and said it felt a little too inviting. She laughed and told me that it was right on the money - the best way to describe why everyone was there. She expressed to me that so many of Colby's followers wanted peace and love and light, and that being in this group felt like that. It was rewarding to be surrounded by those that cared and wanted to see each other succeed. Life outside the walls of the compound was rough, scary, draining; but inside, it was all love.

Call me cynical, but I don't believe that for a second. It took all the strength I had to keep from rolling my eyes at her. But I could tell from her voice, her motions... she was telling the truth. Well, her truth.

I wanted to know what brought her here, so she spoke of her previous life. She was abused growing up, moved around a lot in foster care. She was almost homeless, and then one day she ran into Colby. He had just begun the Empathic Love group, and she just knew she had to stick with him. Her life immediately turned around the moment he was in her life. The adoration in her eyes told me a different story, so I pressed her - "are you and Colby... together?" She smiled and said no, but she knew that they were life partners before, just not currently.

Oh... so it's one of those types of cults.

She said that Colby doesn't have a second in command, wife, girlfriend, whatever. Everyone is equal and heard. He's just the face of the group, which is a bit ironic given even I have no clue what he looks like. I knew he was young, in his mid-20s. But other than that, no idea.

I needed to know, why stay? What keeps you here? A dreamy look came over her, like she had said this a million times before: "Colby. He is love, and that's all anyone could ask for."

Chills ran up my spine at the tone of her voice. It was dull, and her words sounded like a mantra, the way she said them so easily.

I wrapped up my interview with her, quiring if I was allowed to interview others. She said yes and began sending over random people one-by-one to me.

If I hadn't gotten chills from her first, I would have from everyone else. Something about seeing everyone saying similar things, smiling happily, like the ship isn't sinking around them was eerie. It made my stomach churn when I would ask questions I already asked Avery, and get almost the same speech back.

I interviewed about 15 people. All variety of ages and genders. I suddenly realized that there were no children around, and everyone was over the age of 21.

Consenting adults… minus the supposed brainwashing.

A couple of the interviewees stuck out to me:

Penelope, 25. Her upbringing was similar to Avery's, but she still kept in contact with her family. Apparently, she wasn't the only one like that either. Many still kept in touch and even visited their loved ones. I asked her to describe Colby, tell me anything about him. She giggled, almost like a schoolgirl, and began to weave such a story about him. He was kind and caring. His smile was contagious, just like his laugh. And his singing voice was fantastic. She talked about him like he was a boy band member, and she was his biggest fan. I asked her to give one word to describe him, and she said "Love. He is love, and that's all anyone could ask for."

Greg, 36. He had fallen into rough times, and desired a fresh start. He had heard about this group online, and figured checking them out while he was in town wouldn't hurt. And that was a couple years ago. I wondered why he didn't feel weird listening to someone that was younger than him, and he shrugged. It was nice not having eyes on him. He loved being in a wallflower, and he believed that Colby deserved all the love he got from everyone in the group. Every ounce he got was ten-folded back into the group. Greg had never felt so connected to a group of people and he knew it was all thanks to Colby. "He brought love into my life like I never have had it before. Because that's who he is: love."

Heather, 29. She mentioned how for most of her life she felt like shit. Her confidence was at an all-time low when she met Colby. He encouraged her to keep at it, to love herself and find happiness everywhere. And by spending more and more time with him, she did. She has never felt more confident about herself, her life, her direction, and Colby is the reason for that. The tone that took over her voice when she bought him up was odd. It was very similar to a partner describing the love of their life, almost like wedding vows. I asked her haphazardly about her love life, how that was going for her. And she told me she had been on many dates - something she never used to do back when she was younger or before Colby. But she did note that regardless of who she ends up with, she knows that a part of her heart will always belong to Colby. They were connected, forever. "Love and light and happiness is what I desired, and I got it - all because Colby exists in my life now."

It felt like I was getting nowhere with some of these interviews. Many said the same thing, Colby being love and light and blah blah blah. I wanted someone that wasn't gonna just quote to me whatever mantra he made them learn. And luck was on my side, because I was able to interview their newest member, Ash. They were 23, and very beautiful. There was an almost smugness about them, like they knew they were the shiny new toy on the block. The confidence only a young 20-something year old could have.

I asked them, point blank, about Colby. Be brutally honest. They told me he was hot, and that's what drew them to him. They liked the idea of living in a group setting, especially since they grew up with many brothers and sisters. They liked helping out, and they liked knowing that Colby was keeping an eye on them the most recently. I then followed up with how long it took for them to join the group. "Three days. That's how long it takes for everyone."

I questioned them about the "Colby is love" thing, and they agreed it was a bit strange, but they couldn't help but feel the same way as everyone else. They were like a moth to a flame when it came to him. Everything about him was hypnotizing, entrancing. It was like staring at the sun; even though you knew to look away, you just couldn't help it.

Then I had to know: were they sleeping with him? Most of these cults feed off of the leader fucking every person they wanted to and leaving other members high and dry. But for some reason, it felt as if Colby was sleeping with everyone with the way they all talked about him. Ash dissented, saying no one was sleeping with him. He didn't sleep with any of his followers. But they all shared a deep, sensual mental connection with him. They felt like, sometimes, he was in their soul. And that sensation alone was euphoric, bordering on orgasmic. They also knew that in another life, they would have been together, similar to what Avery said.

It was then I knew that this group was clinically insane, or just really infatuated by what Colby was selling. It had to have been some crazy brainwashing. But it was odd; people were allowed to leave, to see loved ones, to have lives outside of the compound walls. Hell, some had dating lives that included those not here! That's unheard of, and completely stupid on Colby's part if he wants to keep things going.

A cult leader that wanted to watch his world implode.... I had to meet him. I had to meet the myth that was Colby Brock. And tomorrow I get my chance to.

~~~~

Day 2 - Interview with Colby

I feel the need to explain that these are my notes, not really meant for anyone else to see. And really, the only reason anyone would be seeing this is if I disappear or got murdered.

So, I say all of that just so I know, for myself, that this is a safe space for me to express my truest emotions and thoughts after interviewing Colby.

And all I can say, honestly, is that... I get it. I understand it now.

I felt my nerves hit their break last night before going to sleep, unable to stop my mind reeling from what was to come. I ended up bringing along a bodyguard, or really a photographer. I had known Trey since I started working as a journalist, and I knew I could rely on him to get us out of the Empathic Love compound if anything went south. I wasn't sure what I was up against when I went to interview Colby, but God... I didn't think I was so underprepared.

I met him in his office, Avery walked me over to it. It was up in the attic of the third house. It overlooked the entire property with wide windows. For an attic, I expected it to feel dark and dusty, but surprisingly it was light and airy. Almost like being out in the woods and taking a deep breath.

Colby was sitting in his main office chair. He spun around to see us, a light smile on his face. I'll be honest - I was taken aback by his beauty. I understood Ash's whole spiel about him being attractive and looking at him was like looking at the sun. It was intense. He was intense. His blue eyes bore into me, almost like they could see through me. I felt chills, but they weren't of fear. It was out of... excitement, of awe.

He greeted me, giving me a warm handshake. I hate to admit that I almost blushed at the sound of him saying my name. I had to take a couple deep breaths before starting. Avery left the room, and Trey sat outside the door, in case of backup.

I recorded our interview, knowing that I couldn't keep track of everything he said. But listening back to it now, his voice.... it's like a song. A beautiful, spellbinding song. I could almost fall asleep to it....

I asked him about his life, and how he came to be a leader for a group like Empathic Love. He spoke of his upbringing lightly, barely scraping the surface. He talked about growing up pretty normally, having a loving family, a great friend group, and then one day realizing that he could make a change in the world. That many people loved him and loved being around him. And that's when he knew that if he could make their lives better, he would. So, he started Empathic Love. Originally, it was just gonna be a safehouse for those that needed it. But then more and more people joined and suddenly, it grew into what it was today.

I asked where his family was now. "In Kansas," he told me. He said nothing further than that.

He humbly spoke of all the love he received from his followers, or his "friends" as he put it. They all cared about him in a way that he only wished he could return tenfold. I questioned him about the whole "Colby is love" thing. "How come everyone says almost the exact same thing, like they've been brainwashed into saying it?" He didn't even trip over his words as he spoke matter-of-factly to me. "I didn't come up with that phrase, they did. You would have to ask them. I take it as the highest form of a compliment, truly. I'll be honest, it's a bit embarrassing at times when they call me that, but I can't help what they do. I appreciate their love, nonetheless."

I continued asking him about different topics, until finally reaching the one I was most intrigued about. "How many of your followers - excuse me - friends, have you slept with?" He smirked, smirked, at me and said "None. Did any of them tell you that we slept together?"

"No, but the way they talk about you like the sun shines out of your ass does seem a bit odd, don't you think?"

He looked unphased. God, he had an answer for everything. "I'll be honest with you, some of my friends might be in love with me. But I make it abundantly clear that while I love them, and love their love, I don't have feelings for them. I'm still looking for the one."

I remember holding back a glare, "So, you're celibate?"

"Now, I never said that." He let out a chuckle, then his eyes darkened. "Why do you care so much about my sex life? Unless of course, you want to join it."

I tried ignoring his gaze and his words but stuttered through my next question. “Then who exactly is the right one for you, if it's not one of your followers or friends?”

It took him a while to answer, he even closed his eyes for a bit. He sat up once he knew, sauntering over to his window that overlooked it all. "I imagine the one for me is someone that will bring peace to me and my life. Someone that for all my faults, can see who I am truly deep down. She will love me, and I will worship her. I will show her what true love feels like. Our souls will be one, because they always have been."

Something strange came over me. I don't know why I said it, but I uttered, "What about looks?"

Who cares about looks! Why did I ask about looks? I was a serious journalist, not a reporter for Star Magazine!

He looked over his shoulder at me, "Looks aren't that important to me. What matters is mind and soul. Who you are deep down. But if I had to pick… someone like you. I feel someone like you would be a perfect fit around here."

I wanted to give him the sassiest voice and rebuttal I could muster, but deep down I was shaking. Energy raced through my body, like I had been electrified.

He kept his back to me, staring out the window. “I'm not trying to be overly complimentary. I'm just being honest. But I can tell that you would do so well to have us around. To have... me, in your life. I bring a lot of love to people's lives, that's for sure. But I also bring a lot of drive, and passion, and intimacy.”

Intimacy?

“People open up when I'm around. They tell me everything, even things they never dreamt of telling another person. And I allow it, because clearly, they needed to express it. And once they do, it's like the floodgates open. Love and light just start pouring into them, into their life, and it's overwhelming - but so worth it. Doesn't that sound nice?”

I guess so...

“I bring happiness to so many. My friends have told me that they get jittery around me, I'm like a shot of adrenaline. And that energy, that power, courses through them. And when it gets expressed, it comes out in…” He took a long pause, turning back to me. The look in his eyes… I can remember it as if he was still in front of me. “Pleasurable ways.”

I hate admitting this, and it's embarrassing to say it even now, but I felt a jolt of... something, run through me. I won't even say what it was out loud, in fear of never being taken seriously again. But what happened after that, I don't know if words can even express it well.

Colby continued talking, but I couldn't pick up on any of it. He was talking up a storm, but I couldn't help the sensations I was feeling. Even in my wildest of fantasies, I've never felt anything in reality. It was all in my mind. But in that very moment, it felt like it was happening to me.

I felt lips tread up my neck, stopping just below my ear. A hot, low moan breathed into my ear. My spine tingled at the sound, my hands gripping the armrests of the chair. If I didn't know any better, I would think Colby was behind me, making those noises. My hands suddenly felt hands on top of them. My eyes widened, looking down, but nothing was there. I couldn't really move my arms once the invisible hands were there. My whole body felt numb and heavy, relaxed. My mind was the one on edge, worried as to why I was feeling all of this.

I hadn't eaten or drank anything at the compound. Maybe it was being poured into the room by the vents? I don't know, but something was making me feel this way.

The invisible hands drifted up my arms, massaging my shoulders for a moment. My head lulled back, almost hitting the back of the chair. My mind was on high alert, but my body was about ready to fall asleep. The hands relaxed me so much that my eyes began to flutter.

But then... they drifted down my torso. They traced along my neck gently, drawing small, insignificant patterns. The hands grew lower and lower until they finally were on my chest. I felt the hands cup my breasts softly, my breath hitching in my throat. They kneaded my tits gingerly, my nipples hardening in my bra. I bit my lip, praying that I wouldn't make a sound. It was hard not to, especially when the delicate fingers of these invisible hands found my nipples, gently pinching them.

I remember closing my eyes tight. Trying to clear my mind. This wasn't actually happening to me. There was no way. This was a psychosis or a drug hallucination that was happening to me and Colby was doing nothing about it.

One hand drifted down my body, stopping right above my sex. I suddenly became very aware at how wet I was, my eyes widening. I felt a rush of blood flow through my cheeks. I was about to get caught. These invisible hands made me wet, and I couldn't stop them.

And the terrible thing was, I didn't want them to. I wanted them to finish the job. To get me off... in front of Colby. One hand rose back up my body, grabbing my neck and turning my face to look up at him.

A deep voice whispered harshly, "You want him, don't you?"

I didn't say anything, afraid of what would come out. But deep down, I knew.

"Say it, and it's yours. Say you want him. And he'll have you... forever."

I opened my mouth. I felt the words almost leave my lips. I stuttered out something. I closed my eyes, my body feeling high.

And then in a split second, it was all gone. The room grew quiet, and Colby cleared his throat. "Y/N, are you okay? You look flush."

I jolted out of my seat, being able to move freely again. I looked around and realized Colby was sitting once more, staring at me concerned. I finished the interview abruptly, saying I had everything I needed - even though I definitely didn't. And then he uttered words I wish I didn't hear.

"If you want, come back tomorrow. We are having a celebration here. I would love if you came by, even if for an hour."

I nodded, not even really taking in what he said, and left. Trey was confused as to why I bum-rushed out of the room, but I never told him the truth. How could I?

I knew deep down I shouldn't have said yes to go to the party. But getting that footage would be killer for my article. Interviews are great, but a party at a cult compound? That's bound to end terribly (for Colby, but great for me).

But something in me can't shake this feeling that I basically signed myself up for the end. End of what? I'm not sure. But I'll find out tomorrow.

~~~~~~

Stepping back onto the compound made my heart race. I was nervous as all hell, and just wanted this day to be over with already. Today was my last day doing this story. I was counting the minutes to when I could go back to my office and write about how this place was insane, or whatever narrative I planned to write.

I had enough proof that something was up here. All I needed to do was a bit more digging. And during the party is when I planned to do it.

Avery walked up to me, smiling brightly. "Hey, Y/N! How are you doing today?"

"I'm okay. I know it's a bit early, but Colby never specified when the party was going to take place." I replied.

"No, you're totally fine. The party is gonna happen later. Right now, though, we have something going on that you'll definitely want to see." She clapped excitedly.

"Oh? And what is that?" I questioned.

"We are inducting a new member!" she exclaimed giddily. "There's a whole process that we do, and everyone is involved. I imagine that will bode well for your article if you see it firsthand. It's all taking place in that tent."

I stared over at the huge tent, its plastic cover doors strangely inviting.

I hummed, "Sure, I'll be there in a moment."

Avery nodded, turning on her heels and prancing over to the tent, following in other members.

"What's happening in there?" Trey asked.

"Apparently they are inducting someone new into their cult." I informed him.

He blinked. "Group, you mean."

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, whatever. Make sure to capture as much as you can."

He shook his camera, giving me a wink, "On it."

We both walked in, many members still up and around, giving everyone hugs and chatting. Avery waved me down, patting the seat next to her. I walked over and sat. My body tingled in anticipation. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. My breathing picked up as everyone grew silent, the doors opening. Colby walked in, and people rushed to their seats.

Colby called out, "Hello everyone, good morning."

"Good morning, Colby." Everyone said in unison.

Jesus, that was creepy.

"A lot of things are going to be different today. First, we have guests watching our festivities. Y/N and Trey. Everyone, give them a hand." He gestured to the two of us.

The tent exploded in applause, Avery evening rubbing my back sweetly. It felt like I was being congratulated on something I didn't achieve, my cheeks flushing at the acknowledgement.

"And secondly, sadly, the new member we were going to have decided not to stay." He frowned, his face dropping.

Members gasped, some audible "oh no" echoed around the tent. Colby nodded his head sympathetically. “I know, but fret not. I think this will be a learning experiment for our new guests. We can still do our traditional motions of having someone join us. But, imagine it as if it's a mock ceremony instead. Ms. Y/N, would you please step up here?”

My heart stopped when he looked into my eyes, the first time since yesterday. I glanced at Avery, who grinned enthusiastically. She pushed me out of my seat, my body following her lead. I gazed around, finding Trey, who pulled away from his camera with a concerned look. I stumbled up the walkway, stepping on stage with Colby.

Colby lowered his voice so I could only hear him, moving away from the microphone. "I know you wanted to know about how we induct someone into our little home, so I figured why not use you as an example? We aren't actually inducting you, in case you’re worried. This is just what would happen if you were joining. Are you okay with that?"

I gazed around the huge, white tent, making eye contact with many people in the audience. They all looked so eager, waiting to hear my response. Some were even shaking with excitement.

I stuttered, feeling Colby squeeze my hands to bring my attention back to him, "I-I guess so."

"Fantastic." He turned, still holding one of my hands, "Alright everyone, you know the drill."

The crowd cheered, suddenly many lining up to a microphone at the side of the stage. Colby lightly pulled me to a cushioned throne, sitting me down. "So here's what's going to happen. People are going to come up to that microphone, and they are going to give you plenty of love. Genuine love. And then the next person will go, and so on until everyone has spoken."

"Everyone here? Like, all hundred plus of you?" I whispered.

"Yes. It's gonna be a while, so get cozy." He laughed, rubbing my shoulders.

Time felt frozen as slowly everyone came up and said something nice about me. Some were quick, mostly just commenting on how nicely I dressed or how the stories I had covered in the past were interesting and thoughtful. But others, it's like they could see into my soul and point out the exact thing I was insecure about. Everyone was complimentary and it was nice, but exhausting.

The line had dwindled down, and the next person to speak was Avery.

She stepped up the microphone, giving me a huge smile. "Hi, Y/N. I know we don't know each other that well, but I feel like I've known you my whole life. These couple days of getting to know you, being interviewed by you, have just been the highlight of my life. You are such a lovely presence to be around, and you deserve all the success you've gotten these last couple years."

Lots of people in the crowd nodded, agreeing with Avery. She continued, taking a deep breath, "I wanted to add - you are so deserving of love. You are easy to love too, and I hope that you are surrounded by people that make you feel that way. I know that this is just a mock ceremony, but I truly believe you would be such a great addition to us. I know you don't trust us, but I hope that soon you will find that you have a safe place here. Even if you never come back here again. This is your home now, and forever will be."

My chest heaved suddenly, tears welling up in my eyes. What the fuck is happening right now? Why was I crying at what she said? Sure, it was sweet and kind, but... how did she know I needed to hear that?

I turned my head, wiping the tears before anyone could see them fall. The crowd clapped as Avery left, going back to her seat.

The last couple people were a blur, my mind still hanging onto Avery's words. Suddenly, a hand was placed on my shoulder, jolting me out of my thoughts. I gazed up, seeing Colby's beautiful face staring down at me.

"The ceremony is done. Now, time to party."

~~~~~~

It had been a couple hours since the ceremony, my body feeling almost numb but jittery all at the same time. It was hard to shake all the love and words that were thrown my way today. Sure, some were probably just lying and saying random things because they had to, because they were conditioned to. But it freaked me out how some just... hit the right spots, knew my insecurities.

The party itself was fine. Two of the houses had parties happening in them, and since all three houses were connected, you could leave one and walk into another. There was a dancefloor full of people, and multiple fully stocked bars. Tons of food was at each table. It honestly looked like an adult prom. But I wasn't in a partying mood. Trey, on the other hand, was enjoying himself immensely. Girls and guys surrounded him, laughing at his jokes and bringing him plates of food and wine. One girl kept rubbing his thigh, staring at him longingly.

I wanted to leave. I had had enough of today, and I just wanted to be as far away from Empathic Love as I could be. I decided fresh air was what I needed, so I got up and slid out the back door of one of the houses, taking a deep breath. There were still too many people around, but I noticed the last house, the one with Colby's office in it, had no lights on and no one around it. I walked through the yards, stopping once I was by the back porch of the third house.

I sighed, leaning back against a railing. I could still hear the party going on, almost getting louder now that I wasn't there. I shook my head, feeling overwhelmed.

“Hey, Y/N. Fancy seeing you here." Colby's voice broke through my thoughts.

I exhaled. “Hi, Colby.”

He cocked his head, “Are you doing okay? You seem... upset.”

I felt this sudden rush of anger, knowing in reality he was to blame for all of this. “No, I'm not doing alright. I want to go home, I'm extremely overwhelmed by this party and all the people around here. That ceremony was too much for me to deal with, and the only way for me to get out of here is Trey and he's getting rubbed down by your followers!”

He took a step back, putting his hands up defensively. “Woah, that was a lot. You must have needed that release.”

I glared, “You think?”

“Look, I get it. It's a lot to take in. I myself don't love going to all these parties. It can be really overwhelming and if I'm honest, it gives me a lot of anxiety,” he admitted casually.

“You get anxiety?” I scoffed, “How? Everyone here loves you.”

“I know. That's the stressful part!” He sat on the railing, turning to me. “I'm the leader of this family. I have to make all the right decisions, and sometimes that means upsetting some of the people closest to me. Not to mention, so many eyes are on me, and it's just all too much sometimes. Even if you think this group is a cult, I still care for everyone here. I make sure they are fed, have a job, and have a life outside of here. And that's a lot to take on.”

“How do you deal with all of it, then?” I questioned.

“Patience. And a lot of alone time when I can get it - through meditation, specifically,” he laughed. “I was actually going to go meditate before I found you. Would you like to join me?”

I shook my head. “No, I'm good.”

“Are you sure? Look, at the very least, it will get you away from the party and all the noise. You don't even have to join me, you can just... sit in the room with me while I do it.” He argued, shrugging his shoulders.

I gazed at the party, everyone had grew rowdier while we were talking, and I didn't even notice. But my head felt like it was spinning from the noise alone. I sighed, nodding my head. Colby smiled, opening the door to the house, and I walked in first. I followed him up to his office, sitting down on his couch as he sat in the center of the room on the floor.

I raised an eyebrow. “That's where you meditate?”

“Yeah, I know it's a bit silly. But I feel so much more grounded... on the ground.” He replied cheekily.

I snickered, sitting back and watching him. He crossed his legs, resting his palms on his knees. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He took multiple breaths until they were low and shallow. I furrowed my brow, my eyes never leaving his form.

It almost seemed like he was asleep, or in a hypnosis of some sort. He was completely still and silent. A dull glow appeared at the top of his head, growing brighter and larger. I leaned away from him, my eyes widening at the sight. What the fuck is that...?

An aura grew around him, surrounding him completely. He didn't move, unfazed by it. His eyes remained closed, and with each breath it grew.

"How... are you doing that?" I uttered, my mouth a gape.

"Doing what?" He spoke in a monotone voice.

"That... aura. How are you doing that?" I pressed.

“I've always been able to do it since I was young. You can get closer if you want to.” He suggested.

How did he know I was still far away?

I stepped off the couch, moving closer to him. I kept my distance, but the aura was almost pulling me in. It was beautiful, the light reflecting and growing bigger. I was almost engulfed by it, but it stopped right before getting to me. I could feel its warmth, its energy. It was calling to me, beckoning me to step towards it.

The aura wrapped around me, filling me with light and love. Or at least that's what it felt like. I gasped at the sensation, my legs shaking underneath me. I breathed in deeply, my lungs filling up with fresh air. I didn't feel like I was in the room anymore. I felt like I was flying, the world almost zooming around me.

“Let your body relax, Y/N. I know it's so much to take in.” Colby’s calming voice spoke.

I felt my body give out on me, falling onto the soft rug. I laid down on my back, staring up at the ceiling. Visions began to swirl in my mind and around me.

How is any of this happening?

He answered, reading my mind. “Because of me. Because of us. Because of the connection you and I share.”

My body felt very heavy, unable to move even if I wanted to. I could move my eyes, and out of the corner of them, I saw Colby stand up. The aura remained around us, almost engulfing the entire room.

“You know, I knew the moment you stepped foot on to the compound's grounds, you were going to like it here. You were going to stay.” He smiled sincerely, gazing down at my body.

I blinked, confused. “What? I-I don't plan to-“

He cut me off, “This is the final step, Y/N. Everyone gave you love, people celebrated you, and now... I'm allowing you in.”

I wanted to shake my head, but couldn’t. “But I don't want to join.”

He chuckled, “Yes you do. If you didn't want it, none of this would have worked on you. You wouldn't be seeing what is directly in front of your eyes.”

The visions morphed around me, suddenly showing Colby and I. But we weren't us, we were different people, at a different point in time. But I could feel it was us. We were in love, growing a family together. Our lives were beautiful.

What the fuck is this?

“That is our past, or present, or future,” he winked. “The thing is, Y/N, I never seek out anyone. They all seem to find me.”

“That's not true, you emailed my boss about being interviewed.” I remarked.

"Oh, you are so forgetful, Y/N. You emailed us, begging to interview me and anyone else that said yes. I only agreed because I knew you wanted to meet with me. You sounded very eager to join in your email." Colby pulled out a piece of paper, reading from it happily, "Dear whoever reads this, I'm hoping to score an interview with your group, Empathic Love, for an article I am writing. I would love to meet Colby, and really pick apart his brain on why he created said group. Maybe I could even join if you guys win me over. Please let me know if any of this sounds of interest to you. Sincerely, Y/N of Global Gazette."

He leaned down, staring into my eyes mischievously, "Now does that sound like someone that didn't want to be here?"

My heart raced, suddenly scared. “Why don't I remember writing that?”

“I couldn't tell you. All I know is you wanted to be here. And there's a reason for it.” He sat down on the ground next to me. I wanted to get up and run, but my body stayed still, heavy. “Growing up, I realized very early on that certain people just... gravitated to me. A lot of women, yes. But really it was anyone. And not only did they gravitate towards me, they became obsessed with me. At first, I was confused, uninterested in ever going through that. Who wants someone obsessed with them? But then I realized how much good I could do with so many people rallying behind me.”

He continued, “As I got older, my ability, or power, or whatever it is - grew twice as strong. Suddenly, all the people around me followed me, did anything and everything I could ask for. Then, I began getting visions, and I understood why this was the case. Everyone here: we had a past life together. Their souls and mine have always been connected. They find me and then continue to stay. And almost always, they fall in love with me. It's just so glorious.”

“You're insane.” I mumbled.

He hummed, “Interesting, especially since you’re seeing the same things I am.”

It was true. The whole time he spoke, I saw vision after vision of our past lives together. We were always destined to meet, destined to be with one another.

“But the thing is, I know you're different from all the rest. You and I, we are meant to be together forever. You are meant to love me forever, and I am meant to love you. That's why my abilities affect you so greatly.” Colby divulged.

“What if I say no? What if I want to leave?” I grunted, trying to shake free.

“You've had the ability to go all this time. You just don't want to. You know how much love I can give you. You know how much pleasure I can give you as well.” He bit his lip, his eyes snaking up and down my body, “You've known that since yesterday, haven't you?”

Blood rushed to my cheeks, memories of yesterday played in my head.

“And do you know what’s crazy about that? That's not even half the pleasure I can give you.” Colby kneeled next to me, a devilish smile on his lips. His hand lightly brushed my face, cupping my warm cheek sweetly.

A burst of arousal raced through me, my body spasming in ecstasy. “Oh my God!”

“I know, it's a lot to take in. But I just want to make you feel good, darling. You deserve it.” He leaned in slowly, “You are mine, after all.”

"This is what your followers meant by a deep and sensual mental connection," I groaned, feeling hands all over my body, touching me in the most lustful of ways. "You got inside their heads and mentally fucked them."

“...That's one way of wording it. But if they didn't trust me, if they didn't already want me, it wouldn't happen.” He winced playfully, “So in reality, it's your fault.”

“Fuck you.” I growled.

“But baby, that's what's happening,” Colby laughed darkly. “Those hands, those kisses and bites... that's all mine. I can tell you're losing it. You want me real bad, but you don't want to admit it. I get it, you’re overwhelmed.”

I felt like my body was getting electrocuted with pleasure. My hips grinded into the air, needing some form of relief. My nipples strained against my bra, wanting any form of touch. I closed my eyes tightly, embarrassment rolling through me as I felt my damp panties against my sex.

Fuck, he was right. I did want this, and him.

I didn't even need to say it out loud. Suddenly I felt a cock slid inside of me, too easily from how wet I had become. I ripped my eyes open, looking around. Colby was watching me from his chair, smirking.

He palmed his hardening dick through his jeans. “Imagine how much better it would be if I was actually inside of you, filling you up with every. fucking. inch.”

I thought about screaming Trey’s name. Maybe he could help me.

He grimaced, rolling his eyes. “He won’t do anything for you, sweetheart. He joined our group just a couple weeks ago. Right around the time you sent the email. So really, you have all the more reason to join us.”

“Even if I join this cult, I will never stay here. I will leave here and never come back.” I hissed.

“And that is your choice to make. But Y/N,” his gaze lowered at me, his eyes intense. “You will never be satisfied. You got barely a taste of what I can offer you, and you're gonna want it forever. Just like everyone else here.”

“You're a- fuuuuuucckk!” I moaned, the cock inside of me hitting my spot deeper. I caught my breath, glaring at him. “Y-You're a freak.”

“Says the girl almost coming to my invisible dick.” He spat, clenching his jaw.

I bit my lip, annoyed at how right he was. The hands exploring my body gripped my ass, slapping it lustfully.

“Okay, okay. I'll agree with you. I am a bit of a freak of nature. But let's not act like I'm some monster. I let people leave. But they always come back because they choose to. I can't force people that far. Pinky promise,” He stuck his pinky out, and I rolled my eyes defiantly. He huffed, “It's not like this place is Scientology, for Christ's sake. We are love. I am love.”

“You are the most tainted form of love that I've ever met.” I retorted, gripping the rug to hide my building arousal.

He deadpanned, “Ow. That hurt.”

Colby strutted over to me, laying down right beside me. The pleasure grew more intense, my hips bucking desperately. His one hand hovered over me, never touching me. It didn't matter, because having him this close felt like his whole body was on top of mine, fucking me hastily.

“If you allow yourself to enjoy this feeling, you might actually come. Because I won't force you to. I'll just keep you here, for hours, riving in pleasure until your brain melts into goo.” He smirked, “How's that sound?”

"I-I hate you." I gritted my teeth. Why did I feel like I was lying?

"No you don't. But soon you'll be able to admit the truth." He leaned his mouth in close, his voice low and sincere, "I know that this place might not be what you imagined your home to be like, but it is. You will always have a place here. You will always be loved here. And I know that's what you want deep down. To be loved unconditionally. To have every fiber of your being satisfied. And if you let me, I will do that. I will please you every night, however you want me to. But for me to do that, you have to let me in. You have to let love in."

The cock inside of me pounded faster and faster. I could barely think anymore. The only thing on my mind... was him. The lives we had together, the life we could be having. I knew I shouldn't want it, but I did. I wanted him in my life, forever. He was what was missing, and I couldn't live one more day without him.

I mewled loudly, my hips thrusting up erotically. Colby's hand cupped my face gently, turning my head to look him in the eyes.

His alluring eyes stared deep into mine, his jaw clenched. "You will always be mine. I am love, and that is all you could ask for."

"You are love, and that's all I could ask for." I repeated mindlessly, grabbing onto his arm desperately.

His face softened, “That's right baby. You're such a good girl for me. My good girl, forever. You want that, don't you?”

“Yessss, please Colby. I want to be yours forever.” I keened.

"You will be. I promise, you will always be mine." His eyes darkened, the pupils almost completely blown out. "You will never leave."

"I won't!" I trembled, my orgasm building closer and closer to the edge.

“You wanna come, Y/N? Get close for me. Don't I feel so good inside of you? You like when I do this?” Colby's hand snaked down my body, rubbing my clit sensually.

I begged wantonly, dying to come. "Pleaseeeeee! Please let me come! I need it! I need you."

"Of course you do, baby. You and I need each other. Our connection is unlike anyone else's. Tell me the truth and I'll let you come." He leaned in close, his lips brushing against my ear, "Tell me, baby. Say it..."

"I love you," I cried out, right on the edge. I direly wanted him to say it back, knowing it was already the truth.

“I love you too, baby,” he smiled sweetly, kissing my cheek. “Now, come for me.”

Hot, white pleasure shot through my body. I had the strongest orgasm of my life, my mind shattering as I rode every wave of pleasure that went through me. Colby stayed by my side, shushing me as my high lowered down more and more. He kept whispering 'I love you' repeatedly, my mind unable to hear or think anything else after a while.

I blacked out at some point but awoke when my body was lifted off the floor and placed softly into a bed. “Wha... happenin?” I slurred.

“Relax, darling. I just brought you to my bed. Well, our bed now,” he chuckled. “I want you to get your rest because tomorrow is a big day for you.”

“What's tomorrow?” I murmured.

“Your introduction to everyone as my soulmate.” Colby informed happily, tucking me in. “Everyone will be so pleased that you changed your mind about joining us.”

I nodded my head, snuggling deep into his bed. He dimmed the lights, whispering softly, "Welcome home, Y/N."

#colby brock #colby brock fanfic #colby brock fic #colby brock fanfiction #colby brock x reader #colby brock smut #colby brock one shot #colby brock oneshot #golbrocklovely's 13 nights of halloween

[sadhornydemons]

Rapid-Spoiler-Season-Speculation: Apology Tour/Ghostf*ckers

Caution: some references are made to other spoilers, so proceed with caution if you wish to avoid.

Apology Tour:

Alright, I'll admit, this episode I think I understand the least, so I'm sure I'm completely off the mark in even attempting to make sense of it.

Cake will be served, and it's clown Blitz version. Heart on an item in the back, heart on the knife. How many years has it been and she's still obsessed?

WHATEVER this is, Blitz didn't just stumble into it, I wonder if some type of invitation got him there.

Blood/red stained sheet for unknown reasons.

I think I'm the only one who preferred the earlier design, but guess I just have a type.

WHAT. DA. FUCK.

Yeah, of course, this is when my imagination starts churning.

Did Stolas reach just the perfect amount of drunk before his Spotify breakup playlist reached Olivia Rodrigo, causing him to throw on last year's Halloween costume and portal himself to his ex so he could express himself properly?

No, Stolas had an entire stage prop production prepared. That or we haven't seen the full extent of his magic conjuring abilities.

(same outfit, I'm keeping my eye on the spiked collar 'cause it's new to his wardrobe)

I don't know what could bring this on. At first, I thought it was a dream sequence, but the spiked collar turns up in a later scene. Maybe I just haven't accepted that my fav character could be an asshole?

Screenshots of Blitz, sheet is now a hoodie, we really don't know what he's looking at in this particular scene.

I don't think this is a full scale concert, though. Probably more of a private event. Maybe Verosika was planning a gathering of the 'We Hate Blitzo' fanclub, but Stolas was the only one to RSVP.

If it is, a public concert, I mean, I can just imagine the headlines:

Prince Stolas shocks audience members by appearing as the opening act in Verosika Mayday's concert, preforming his original ballad, 'Imp Dicks Aren't Worth the Heartbreak'.

And if it is a regular event, there's the possibly Blitz attended on purpose..to apologize about things? (hence the title) I don't know, it just all seems too weird.

As poster bleucaesura noted, Stolas is on his couch in this scene. The red stained sheet, presumably with Blitz under, stand before him. Stolas's collar is spiked, so this seems to happen after the musical number.

This is mainly all the info we have this episode, but looking ahead to future ones, I'm thinking this is gonna conclude the majority of the Stolitz angst. Or at least the current ones.

As many have noted, this season has been following a pattern of focusing on, and occasionally resolving Blitz's relationship problems. Unhappy Campers introduced Barbie properly, adding more details to the fire incident. Oops and Mammon's Magnificent Musical Mid-Season Special added to that by focusing on him and Fizz. Full Moon and Apology Tour seem to be based around Stolas and then both Stolas and Verosika, fitting since it's comparing people from his love life.

Hence, I believe the next episode will instead prioritize Blitz's relationship with M&M:

Ghostfuckers:

The IMP mobile is totaled and appears spray painted. Therefore, guessing this scene must take place first:

But what would cause "a life on the run", as Blitz puts it, unless he wasn't completely serious?

And I'm not sure if the hooded folks, "Come out, we've got your surrounded." scene was edited in before this or not.

There are those clouds in the background and it seems to call for a more scary scene, or at least until he checks his watch.

(actually those could all take place in previous episode or the ones to come, for all we know!)

Blitz wears a bad disguise rather than using an asmodean crystal. We could read too much into that because maybe Blitz just LIKES coming up with disguises, but in other spoilers, we see Blitz using a book for portals.

The enemy is doing bad things to the character's mental health, bringing about their worse fears. In reference to Blitz, I wonder if this is this is where those scenes come into play:

Interesting how it's edited like Blitz watching a filmstrip of his life, complete with a decorative frame.

Shown in a different style, I wonder if this flashback will also be used:

And, (if my earlier theory is wrong), this has to appear somewhere:

We see a flashback to a younger, longer hair Millie (not unlike her wedding photo):

(and it looks like outside a ship? Hey, maybe pirates really did have port windows!)

Which may be used to match up with this fight:

This, however, is hopefully, just another hallucination:

Okay, for the rest of this episode, one can't really speculate because the (looks both ways cautiously) storyboards leaked last year reveal a good chuck of the action and dialogue. So without getting TOO into that, for those who want to avoid getting too spoiled, I'll conclude this episode may turn out to be a fun, scary, but with admittedly triggering subjects, that showcase Blitzø's messy and occasionally obsessive relationship with Moxxie and Millie.

...and possibly new issues with Loona? Something is hinted out, but I might get into THAT speculation in the last two episodes.

#helluva boss #helluva boss spoilers #stolitz #stolas #blitzø #blitzo #millie helluva boss

[imtrashraccoon]

Hello everyone!

Next Day

A month ago I saw a post by @scrambledmeggys (I hope you don't mind me tagging you!) for a month's worth of prompts for Self Shipping with UF! Papyrus. I originally wanted to try my hand at art but I am much better at writing imo, so here is what I've come up with so far!

I missed Day 1 so now I'm uploading that and Day 2 at the same time. I'm planning on continuing to write a continuous storyline with these prompts but I am pretty much making things up as I go lol.

Edit: I actually drew something for this chapter here if you want to check it out!

Day 1: First Meeting

You walked carefully through the snow, cringing slightly from the loud crunching sound it made, interrupting the otherwise quiet winter morning.

You were in a tough spot to say the least.

The fall had been an accident. One moment, your little friend was innocently kicking stones down the sink hole, and the next, they'd slipped and fell in. Of course, you'd tried your hardest to catch them but then you lost your balance and plunged in after them.

Against all odds, you'd both survived the fall. While your friend had thankfully only sustained a few small cuts, especially because you managed to shield them from the impact, you on the other hand had hit your head pretty hard. The bleeding had stopped by now but you still felt weak and rather lightheaded.

Still, you had to keep going. You had to find a way to get Frisk back to the surface. They were still a child, barely six, and had their whole life ahead of them afterall.

Speaking of, Frisk lightly tapped your shoulder and you paused so they could tell you what was on their mind. Shifting them from your back around your body until you were facing them, you flashed them a small smile.

"What happened?" you asked quietly.

Frisk's face reflexively screwed up. "You died again..." they signed slowly.

Your smile fell. "I'm sorry..." you murmured and let out a sigh.

You didn't understand how or why, but ever since falling down here, Frisk had seemingly developed an amazing power that allowed them to reset time to previous safe points. They didn't really know how to explain it but they claimed it was sort of like reloading a video game.

You didn't know how many times you'd apparently died so far, as Frisk hadn't been keeping track. You were instead focusing on doing your best to keep moving forward. Still, you were pretty concerned for them.

While you didn't remember any of your deaths up to this point, you knew Frisk did and while neither of you was discussing it, you knew this was something that would need to be dealt with. Once you got back to the surface, you would need to get therapy and figure out how to do the same for Frisk. They would definitely benefit from it at least.

Frisk patted your shoulder and you realized you'd zoned out. "It's alright, I'm getting used to it." They smiled but you knew it was a forced one.

"I promise I will keep you safe. No matter what happens, we will get through this together," you said.

Frisk nodded and their expression took on a more determined look.

You took a deep breath. "Let's do this again then," you muttered and started to shift Frisk back into a piggyback hold.

"Watch out for the skeleton up ahead," Frisk signed before wrapping their arms around your shoulders again.

You raised an eyebrow. Was that who'd killed you? Frisk hadn't elaborated further but you didn't blame them. You'd died a couple times to the traps in the Ruins and many times during your escape from Toriel. Many of those had apparently been pretty grisly if how shaken Frisk had been afterwards was any indication.

< ~ - . - ~ >

Someone was stalking you. While you were trying not to think about it, you were getting pretty anxious. Frisk hadn't said anything else so you just focused on continuing forwards.

Until you came to a narrow bridge with wooden bars across it that is. While you could still get through the gap between the bars with little effort, before you could do so, you heard footsteps approaching from behind you.

Frisk tightened their hold on your shoulders and you quickly turned around to put yourself between them and this new person.

It was a skeleton but not quite like what human skeletons looked like. He was only slightly taller than you were, but his bones seemed thicker and sturdier which gave him quite a bit of added bulk.

He was wearing a gray hoodie with a fur fringe, a red turtle neck sweater underneath, a pair of basketball shorts, and a pair of high tops. His smile was filled with sharp teeth, one of which was gold, and there was a pair of crimson pinpricks in his otherwise empty eye sockets that regarded you suspiciously.

"well, well, what have we here?" he drawled as his eyelights flickered over your body.

You narrowed your eyes in response, feeling a wave of disgust at the way he was eyeing you up. "My eyes are up here, thank you very much," you muttered through grit teeth.

The skeleton chuckled, "ah, my bad." He held out his right hand and added, "name's sans, sans the skeleton. and you are?"

Before you could actually shake his hand though, Frisk squeezed your shoulder. You assumed they were warning you not to, so you didn't.

"Rihanna," you said in response.

Sans raised a bonebrow when you left him hanging but seemed ultimately unbothered, which was a relief. "i'd say it's nice to meet ya, but that'd be a lie," he said and flashed a slightly menacing grin at you.

If you weren't holding Frisk, you would've crossed your arms, so instead you just gave him an unamused look.

Sans chuckled and started to walk around you, "ya know, i'm supposed to be on the look out for humans right now, but i don't really care about capturin' anyone."

You remained facing him as he walked until you'd essentially swapped places. You held Frisk a bit closer as well, just in case you'd have to run.

"now my brother, Papyrus, well, he's a human huntin' fanatic," Sans continued. He glanced through the wooden fence and added, "go on through, he made the bars too wide to stop anyone anyways." He turned and strode casually across the bridge as if to demonstrate.

You glanced at Frisk over your shoulder and they nodded. Well, at least he didn't seem like he wanted to immediately kill you like most monsters you'd met so far. So you followed him, although you maintained a safe distance just to be on the safe side.

Sans paused near a wooden booth up ahead and looked further down the path. As you walked over to him, he made a quiet "huh" sound. "ya know what, i think that's my brother comin' this way now..." There was a slightly amused tinge to the tone of his voice as he spoke which sent a wave of irritation through you.

You glanced over where he was looking and immediately spotted a tall skeleton wearing black armour with red accents approaching. Even from this distance, you could tell he was pissed and it sent a shiver down your spine.

Frisk squirmed in your grip to be let down and while you didn't want to let go of them, you relented and let go. They thankfully stayed behind you and clutched onto one of your pant legs.

You knelt down next to them and ruffled their fluffy hair a little. Flashing them a small smile, you whispered, "We doing this?"

Frisk got a familiar determined look and nodded. "I'll help you! I think we can talk him down if you say the right things."

You chuckled and stood up again, ready to face this new opponent. You could get through this, in fact, you would get through this...for Frisk's sake.

Papyrus certainly looked familiar and part of you wondered if he was actually the one who'd killed you last time. It would make sense, as he definitely looked more dangerous than Sans.

He was at least a foot taller than you were and looked quite a bit different from his brother. He still had sturdy bones but his frame was a lot more angular compared to Sans' more bulky look. He had sharp teeth as well, although his eyelights were a slightly different shade, maybe a scarlet? His left eye socket also had two long scars across it, presumably from a fight.

Besides his black chestplate, Papyrus also wore long red gloves, a red scarf that was more of a cape, and tall red boots with heels surprisingly. If you weren't battling to remain calm, you probably would've complimented his bold fashion sense. You didn't know of anyone else who could look so menacing and...hot at the same time.

"Sans! You Lazybones! You Have Not Reset Your Traps Yet Today! What If A Human Comes..." He paused mid rant when he took in your appearance.

Sans bristled and the corners of his smile fell slightly. He seemed like he was about to retort in kind but stopped himself.

Papyrus narrowed his eye sockets at you as if he was scrutinizing your appearance. He slowly strode forward, stopping a few feet away from you. "Why Does It Feel Like I Have Met You Before, Human?" he asked in a chillingly quiet tone.

You stared up at him unblinkingly and crossed your arms. "I could ask the same actually..." you answered.

Papyrus glanced at Sans, who merely shrugged. "don't ask me, bro," he hissed.

Frisk tugged at your pant leg to get your attention. When you glanced down, they quickly signed what was on their mind. "Flirt with him."

You had to bite your tongue to keep yourself from retorting and drawing too much attention. Why would they suggest such a thing? Where had this child even picked up the concept of flirting? If this worked, you were going to have a serious discussion with them at some point.

"So, Papyrus," you started to say, catching his attention once again. "Do you have more bones than the average human or would you like to find out?" You mentally kicked yourself for that one but tried to maintain face and batted your eyelashes at him.

Papyrus stared at you for a solid five seconds before the meaning of your question seemed to set it. A dusting of scarlet flickered across his cheekbones and he stepped back from you, covering his mouth as he did so.

You smiled and stepped slightly closer to him. Feeling slightly bolder, you called upon everything you had learned from sucking up to college professors and your boss.

"If I may be so bold, I think you also look very cool. Like seriously, humans dress so boring in comparison." You made a bit of a show of looking him up and down, nodding approvingly. "I'm actually jealous of how cool you are."

Papyrus opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it. The scarlet blush wasn't disappearing no matter how hard he probably wished it would. He stammered and stepped back again.

"You... Your Flattery Will Not Save You, Human." He scoffed and turned on his heal. As he stormed off, you heard him mutter something along the lines of, "Not Being Able To Talk Your Way Out Of My Traps."

You couldn't believe that had worked. You scooped Frisk into your arms and hugged them tightly. "You have some explaining to do later, kiddo..." you muttered but Frisk only grinned at you, clearly proud of themselves.

"wow, i can't tell if you're insane or just lucky. either way, i'll be keepin' an eye socket on ya, human..." Sans said quietly.

You chuckled and flashed him a triumphant grin, which caused him to huff and walk away in the direction you had come from. You'd survived just a little bit longer it seemed.

#selfshipufpap #undertale #underfell #reader #named oc #underfell papyrus x reader #underfell papyrus #thwbd #the hand we've been dealt #alternate universe #raccoons drabbles

[renmarrr]

Okay, so my two DustFell-related questions are:

1. Have you ever come up with any concepts or lore for DustFell beyond the original post? Because if you did, I would love to hear about it.

2. Do you have any plans to work on DustFell any further, or do you consider it fine the way it is?

I have, actually. From the moment all this au-ownership fuss started I thought that this au combination can have a chance. Since then I have this. Main plot and difference (from dt au) is that Sans failed at finishing his murdery job. He got caught. But the human meets him without being immobilised.

Sans’s scientific experience and monster history knowledge formed his bad opinion about powerful humans.

Sans isn’t aware of resets but he sees the events from previous timelines as blurry and half-abstract exaggerated nightmares. There he can see that human does harm to lesser monsters (in fact they can’t kill main monsters). Therapy barely works.

He refuses to give Toriel that crucial promise. Instead, first few timelines he spends on attempts to capture/kill the human. But the kid returns after their every misfortune.

Sans, obsessed with idea of stopping the human, decides to act less reasonable and kills some of lesser monsters (to gain some lv and to leave less enemies to the kid).

He gets carried away and more and more crazy in his killing “spree”. Until the royal guard imprisons him.

Papyrus isn’t dead, he just refuses to talk to Sans because 1) Sans put them both in danger now (the king = danger); 2) Sans now resembles the Kind even more; 3) Sans isn’t sane anymore. Papyrus-shaped illusion scolds Sans for every possible thing his mind can think about. He talks to the illusion but the conversation sounds meaningless.

Sans can escape but he can’t live long in freedom — he gets caught and brings his execution closer. Overall his attempts to stop the human are never effective. Unless he can bring boredom to a human by making the “game” much harder and less fun so the other would just stop. Or start more merciful route.

Human’s journey is sneaky and by the time they arrive to the Hotland, evacuation starts. Flowey set most of prisoners free. Unfortunately he also freed Sans, so he’s now the final boss. If Frisk survives the stage of the fight, there’s a chance for Flowey to bring Frisk through the barrier (Frisk uses “flee option”). This moment of chance repeats once a few turns.

There are grey zones but something like that. None of it was in my head when I drew that first drawing of df. Also I didn’t want to make Sans so powerful he managed to put the whole underground into the grave. So he has a little bit more adventures.

2. I’m not sure. That would be cool of course, but I don’t have so much strength unfortunately. And I am not able to focus on one project till it’s done, so. As I said many times before, other people free to come up with their ideas/concepts/designs as I didn’t invent the au, I only happen to draw a combination of two. Anybody is free to use that I described here, if it’s interesting or helpful enough.

(Of course it’s forbidden to use/edit/still/repost my drawings. I had some older sketches of the same things but they were worse.)

#my art #undertale #underfell #dustfell #Papyrus #sans #digital art #undertale au

[tocupid]

﹒ sung hanbin love timeline!

nonidol!shanbin x reader  warning ﹕fluffy fluff! + cussing oops edit status  ﹕not edited ..  word count   ﹕813 words  previous  ⠀  next (n/a currently)  ⠀    ⠀masterlist

thank you. at this point you had been sighing and grumbling, crouched in the corner, continuously staring at the phone that had been thrown in front of you on your bed. should you text him? what if he didn’t respond? what if he was busy and you were just adding onto his burden? god why was this so complicated. at this point you were dead shit tired and just wanted to get it over with, so you snatched the phone and just messaged the contact. 

strange man❔ it’s the bitch from the beach .. r u free . 

staring at the phone for a few moments, you just sighed and turned off the phone. why the fuck were you so impatient and why the fuck did you think he’d actually respond so quickly. clearly you failed to notice the grey typing bubble because you fucking jumped up feeling your phone vibrate and a notification from the contact you had just texted pop up. 

ofc! sung hanbin at your service! do you have a place in mind?

service? damn now things were just starting to get conflicting because it was like oh my god are you wasting his time and making this seem like a job or god damn did he say that to sound cute because oh my fucking god it’s working. running to get ready after you saw his response to you replying he could choose, you were honestly quite excited to see what would happen today. 

surprise surprise! he bought you to the café he works at ! 

“you work at a café?”  “it’s only part-time while i go to university! i want to become a teacher in the future.. but as of now, this helps me earn a bit of money while helping out my parents here at the same time!” 

parents? god were his parents working here too? did that mean they would also be here.. lord you weren’t ready for this. too bad god had other plans clearly because the second those thoughts rose into your head you heard hanbin let out a little yell and wave up to the people you were already terrified of seeing at the moment. 

“mom! i brought a friend who’s staying here for a while!” 

running up to her and giving her a tight hug was a sight to see. it was absolutely adorable but at the same time seeing her turn to you after he let go of her gave you chills down your spine, enough to make you crawl back into a shell. the only reason you even let out a breath was seeing her give you the exact warm welcoming smile her own son had with open arms coming up to you, giving you a surprising but definitely not unwanted hug. 

“welcome! it’s a pleasure to meet you! thank you for keeping hanbin company!” 

spending the day with hanbin in the little comfy café was so comforting. he treated you to amazing food that was just as good as a family’s own homecooked breakfast, and self-made drinks that felt like you were being hugged by him back at the beach once again. watching him work and being just as kind and generous as he was to you towards customers was amazing. he really was like this to everyone and you couldn’t help but envy him. after serving and completing someone’s order he would always take a glance at you before mouthing the words ‘are you okay?’ to which you would always give a slight smile back and nod before mouthing back ‘of course i am’. whenever he was on a break he’d bring two slices of cheesecake and two warm coffee’s, the way you both liked, learning yours from when you two talked earlier as he prepared your drink. even though he hadn’t been able to directly speak to you, the overall day was calming and somehow able to help you destress. 

even though you insisted you could walk back home on your own, hanbin finally got permission to walk you back in the end. you couldn’t tell if it was consciously or not but he held your hand type the whole way and you would never lie and say that it didn’t make you feel safe and cared for. on the way back he never failed to show engagement in the conversations he would start and let you lead. all you could think of when seeing this man in front of you was that he was a complete gift from the heavens, and all you could say while he wished you a good night, hugging you tight, before letting go and giving and you a small wave and bright genuine smile, was thank you. because you doubted he would ever know but sung hanbin saved your life. and all you would ever be able to tell him was thank you.

#﹒luans ☆ fics ! 💬 #boys planet fics #boys planet #zerobaseone #boys planet imagines #zerobaseone fics #sung hanbin x reader #sung hanbin #sung hanbin fic #bp999 fics #zb1 #zb1 fics

[uloelu]

Location: Windslar, Windenburg

(transcript under the cut)

Episode 2 | Previous | Next

So excited to be back with this series. Episodes 3-5 are going to be a bit shorter than usual, but only because I'm in the process of planning a huge slate of parties, plot-changing events, etc. for summer break. Can't wait to share what I've cooked up with you! No additional parts to this episode, so I'll be back with episode 4 as soon as I finish editing my screenshots.

Episode 3: Suddenly Summer

Scene 1 - 28 Windslar

Irving (narrating a montage of the Brookestone-Walker household enjoying the first few days of summer): I hate summer. Okay, maybe that’s a little strong.

I like that, instead of pacing around in the house because rainstorms have flooded her usual trails, Chloe can go for her morning runs. I like that everyone in the house seems to be happier than in the spring, when the six of us first moved in.

(Cut to a political protest in San Myshuno)

Miki Ojo: What do we want?

Yuki Kuma: A living wage!

Miki: When do we want it?

Josh: Now!

(Cut back to Wes and Morgan making out in her apartment building)

Irving: I like that Josh and Wes have found actual hobbies instead of fighting about who gets to use the household computer (it’s mine). Although I’m not sure you can call what Wes gets up to a “hobby”. (He sneaks into the house at 1AM smelling like weed and cat dander.)

But aside from the awful heat—who knew Germany could get as hot as Willow Creek?—and prom fever at school, summer means I can’t keep avoiding my biggest irritation: Dr. Crêpes.

Scene 2 - Willow Creek Library

Irving: I don’t even know why I have to be here. I’m doing fine in school. Principal Prescott says I’m a shoo-in for valedictorian next year.

Dr. Crêpes: That’s great, Lindsey!

Irving: Irving. Everyone calls me that.

Dr. Crêpes: Right. Irving. (coughs) Child services recommended that I talk to you weekly to make sure you’re settling in well at your foster home. Now that school’s about to let out, it’s important that you receive all the help you need to remain your best self in the summer.

Irving: What if I don’t need any help?

Dr. Crêpes: Well—

Irving: No, seriously. I was told after my diagnosis that nothing had to change. That I’m fine just the way I am. That I get to define what autism means to me.

Dr. Crêpes: That’s absolutely true, Irving. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not here to upend your life. Think of me as a listening ear for whenever life stresses you out.

Irving (unconvinced): …

Dr. Crêpes: Unless you’re one of the lucky people who never get stressed out, in which case I totally envy you.

Irving: I did not say that.

Dr. Crêpes: Well, then, I’d love to hear anything you’re willing to share.

Irving: You promise not to tell anyone? Not even Audreyanna or Evelyn?

Dr. Crêpes: Therapist’s promise.

Scene 3 - Magnolia Park, Willow Creek

[Invited guests: Mila and Wolfgang Metzinger (aka Munch), Rani Anglond, Marissa Collins, Joy Jentanon, Cassandra Gótico (aka Goth), Morgan Landings (aka Fyres), Gene and Matt Whitmore (latter is @aashwarr's original character and won't be shown on-screen/quoted in these screenshots.]

Irving: Fine. Therapy wasn’t all that bad. And neither was the picnic our foster moms threw to celebrate the beginning of summer. I was surprised to see how many friends the other foster kids invited. I sure didn’t have anyone to invite. Not that I minded.

Cassandra (introducing Matt to Irving and Josh): Hey, Irving, come say hi to Matt. He says you’re in the same computer club.

Irving (cloudgazing): No, thanks. I’m trying to find video game characters in the clouds.

Joy (walking up to them): Aren’t you that guy who wrote that political op-ed in the school paper last week?

Josh: Am I?

Joy: Of course you are. I’m never wrong about these things. Josh, right?

Josh: Maybe. And you are...?

Joy: Joy. Chloe invited me. Your foster moms seem cool.

Josh: I’ll pass along the compliment. Didn’t think anyone actually read the paper. You into politics?

Joy: Very. I like to keep on top of things.

Josh: Well, Joy, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Joy (smirking): Spare me. I hated your take.

#the sims 4 #ts4 #sims #the sims #sims community #the sims community #my sims #simblr #sims 4 #sims 4 gameplay #sims 4 screenshots #sims 4 legacy #cassandra goth #eliza pancakes #miko ojo #yuki behr #fosters #fosters s1 #lindsey irving #josh gingelli #joy jentanon #eliza crepes #yuki kuma #cassandra gotico

[evieismol]

BIG BEND Chapter Twenty Three

A/n: as i mentioned on the last chapter, I’m posting a more polished, edited version of this story on both ao3 (here) and wattpad (here), if you’d like to check it out! As always, I appreciate any and all support and feedback!

Content warnings: Cursing

Word Count: 2940

Previous Chapter

Zoey

I lay in my tent, staring at the canvas ceiling. It had faded from light green to nearly black as the sun light outside faded.

God, life has a lot of plot twists.

If anyone had asked me if I thought I’d be sort of living in a tent in some random part of Texas last year, I probably wouldn’t have considered it likely. I’d actually thought I was going to be married by now.

Thank God that didn’t happen.

Texas was, at least, one place I was pretty sure he wouldn’t come find me, if only because it was literally on the other side of the country. At least, I hoped so. I tried to push that unsettling thought from my mind. It didn’t work. It never really did. I’d found myself jumping at every crunch of the gravel, half expecting to see a familiar red pick up truck coming up the road.

I had gotten some good news recently, at least. The gift shop at the park was hiring, and I’d had an interview for a position there earlier that morning. It had gone well. More than well - I’d been offered the job. That, in turn, offered some sorely needed hope, given that my savings would only last so long. Better yet, it also offered housing. I hadn’t really been playing on staying at the park for more than a night, at first, but then again, I hadn’t really been planning on any of this. And a job was a job.

It wasn’t like I disliked the park anyways. Pretty much the opposite. From what I’d seen of it so far, it was absolutely gorgeous. It also seemed to have no shortage of interesting characters, from the less than friendly woman I’d bumped into yesterday to the Aphirial the park service had decided to hire. He seemed nice, if not kind of sad.

That’s something I can relate to.

I’d long felt like I didn’t really fit into the world. Of course, he quite literally didn’t fit in, and I considered what that was like. Probably pretty alienating. He had looked like he’d been crying when I ran into him the first time. Also something I could relate to. I’d been doing that a lot in my tent recently. I found myself wondering if he sat outside by that cliff frequently - if I’d find him there again.

Is that weird? I don’t want to seem like I’m stalking him or something. Then again, he did recognize me yesterday and seemed happy enough to talk. I think. I could just go on a walk, get some fresh air, and if I happen to run into him, that wouldn’t be too weird, right?

Totally.

Getting fresh air and stretching my legs did sound like a good idea either way, admittedly. I’d spent most of the afternoon curled up in my tent, a variety of less than fun memories swirling through my mind. I nodded, committing to my decision, and pulled myself up. I fumbled around for my flashlight - it had grown pitch black in the time I’d been laying there. I felt the hard plastic casing after a moment, and switched it on.

Ability to see now returned, I grabbed a hoodie and pulled it on, followed by some socks. I had actually stopped by the visitor center and learned that the only notably dangerous large animals in the area were cougars, but that they didn’t frequently attack people. Just in case, though, I also grabbed the bear spray I’d brought from up north, deciding I probably didn’t need to tempt fate by making a habit of horror movie esque decisions.

The desert air was far cooler than it had been during the day - chilly, almost. That still felt amazing to me. There definitely hadn’t been as much variation in temperature where I’d lived previously. It was mostly just cold or really, really cold for the better part of the year.

I made my way past a few other campsites as I walked down the road. A group of people sat around a fire at one, laughing as they roasted s’mores. I felt a pang of longing at the sight. My relationship with Jake had ended with me being isolated from pretty much everyone but him.

The laughter eventually faded into the night as I continued down the gravel road. I’d been right - the fresh night air was pleasant, and it was nice to stretch my legs. As I found myself nearing the rocky area I’d run into Easton previously, I found myself second guessing the other part of my plan. Did I really even want to socialize? I had neared the ridge from the other night, and felt my old friend anxiety rearing its head full force. Would he even want to talk to me? Maybe he was tired of talking to people, maybe he’d find it annoying and presumptuous that I came out here. Maybe he’d find me annoying - he wouldn’t be the first. It wasn’t too late to go back to my tent. I stopped, about to turn around.

This is stupid. I’m going back.

“Zoey?”

Fuck.

What I’d thought was a rock formation shifted, and I realized with no small amount of awe that it was instead the giant alien I’d previously met as I shone my flashlight in that direction. It illuminated his light blond hair, making it look almost white. Had I been paying closer attention, I might have remembered it hadn’t been there before, but I’d been lost in my thoughts.

Apparently that thing about Aphirials having super senses wasn’t an exaggeration.

“Easton - hi! I didn’t see you,” I said. Okay, so, now it was too late to go back to my tent.

“I don’t get that a lot,” he said, a faint laugh in his tone.

“I was kind of zoning out,” I admitted. “Lost in my thoughts, I guess.”

“Thinking about anything in particular? I mean, you don’t have to tell me,” he said. He didn’t seem annoyed to be talking to me, so far, at least.

“Uh, whether or not I’d run into you again, actually. Sorry, that sounded weird, probably. I just mean, I’ve kind of ended up staying around here longer than I thought I would, and I ended up getting a job at the gift shop for the summer season, so I guess I’m here even longer, and I don’t really know anyone else.”

“That’s awesome! That you might work here, not that you don’t know anyone else, of course.” He sounded genuinely excited when he replied. He paused before continuing. “I don’t really know that many people here well myself.”

“Seriously? You seemed really popular at that ranger talk thingy the other day.”

He gave a slight shrug. “Yeah, I think the novelty wears off quickly.”

“Huh. I’ve never gotten that. Then again, I still think planes are super exciting, like, if something’s cool the first time, I think it just gets cooler the more you think about it, y’know? Anyways, you seem like you’d be fun to hang out with regardless of novelty. Like, as a person, even if I did know other people here.”

“Oh-thanks,” he said, surprise filling his voice. “And, you do too.”

“Thanks,” I said. I wasn’t sure what else to say after that. Small talk had never really been my forté.

“I was getting ready to head inside,” Easton said after a moment.

“Of course, right. Have a nice-“ I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. Yep, he definitely thinks I’m annoying.

“You could come. I could make you some hot cocoa or tea or-well, John could, we could watch a movie-if you want to, of course. You don’t have to. Obviously.”

“I’d like to!” I said quickly. Okay, maybe he didn’t think I was totally annoying. And that sounded way better than going back to my tent.

“Okay! Cool! Uh, I have to ask John first, actually. I can call him. It’ll only take a minute.”

“Take your time, I don’t have anywhere to be,” I replied. It was kind of endearing how excited he’d looked when I agreed. As if he’d been pretty sure I was going to find his offer annoying, just like I’d been fearing he found our whole conversation. I watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket. It was at least twice my height, serving as a stark reminder of how much smaller I was in comparison to him.

I wondered, probably later than I should have, how I was supposed to get to his house. The most obvious answer was probably that he could literally pick me up to bring me over there. He had carried John by hand the other day. That prospect was slightly terrifying, now that I was thinking about it. I wasn’t scared of heights, thankfully, but it seemed like literally putting my life in someone’s hands would require a lot of trust. And it occurred to me that I didn’t actually know him that well.

Of course, he picked up plenty of tourists for pictures every day. He’d never hurt any of them. I was more than certain that would have made the news. He didn’t seem like he’d hurt me either, but of course, I had thought that before. And been very wrong before.

Maybe I should make up a reason to go back to my campground. I could say I didn’t realize how late it was getting.

Then I remembered the group of friends that had been laughing around their fire, and how empty my campsite was. And somehow, the idea of going back to my dark tent suddenly seemed even more terrifying than letting a giant pick me up, which maybe said something about how isolated I’d been feeling recently.

Besides, he’s a park ranger. That’s like, the least sketchy job you can have, right?

“John said it’s okay!” Moments after I’d come to a conclusion that I wasn’t going to dip, Easton placed his phone back in his pocket. “And he said he could make you tea or coffee and he has pizza from last night if you want some.”

I smiled. “Cool. I mean, I’m never one to turn down food.”

Especially not recently.

“So, are you just going to pick me up or like-“

“Oh-uh, I can. There’s a trail down the cliffs that way and a human sized elevator at my place, if you want to walk, but, I can carry you if you want. And you’re comfortable with it.”

I immediately felt a little silly at my previous worries - I’d apparently made several assumptions. I’d already come to the conclusion that I was fine with him carrying me, though.

“I’m cool with it. But whatever you want.”

“Okay,” he said, sounding uncertain about where to go from there.

“You can just carry me. It’d be quicker. And I’d probably find a way to fall off the cliffs getting down anyways,” I said. I wasn’t entirely sure why I went with that option. I’d already psyched myself up for that, and I hadn’t psyched myself up for climbing down a desert trail, I guess.

“Are you sure?” He asked. I nodded.

“Yeah. I mean, you can see in the dark, right? So out of the two of us, you’re way less likely to trip over something in the dark.”

“I guess so.” He lowered his hand to the cliff where I stood. He amended his statement quickly. “I mean, I definitely won’t trip over anything, I swear. I don’t know if you’ve heard the whole spiel I give, but you can climb on whenever you’re ready, please stay seated in the middle of my hand once I start moving, I won’t get up until you say you’re settled and ready.”

I nodded. “Sounds good.” Taking a deep breath, I stepped towards his hand. His skin was way warmer than I’d thought it’d be, I thought as I climbed onto his hand. Like, heating pad warm. That made sense, I supposed, given how comparatively ginormous he was. I glanced up at him. He was watching me attentively, which felt somehow reassuring. I half crawled to the center of his palm, quickly realizing it was also far harder to stand on someone’s palm than I would have guessed. After a moment, I glanced back up.

“Okay, I’m ready.”

“Great. I’ll move slowly, and just let me know if you want down at any point,” he said. I nodded, watching the ground grow farther away as he slowly lifted his hand and stood up.

“What’s it like? Being able to carry people literally in one hand?” I asked, looking up at him again.

“Kind of weird,” he said, then once again jumped to amend that statement. He did that a lot, I was noticing. It seemed ironic that an actual giant would be so unsure of his words, if not also relatable. “Not in a bad way. It just feels like…a lot of responsibility. Since you guys are putting so much trust in me.”

“That makes sense. I can’t imagine how anxious I’d be about accidentally dropping someone or something,” I replied.

“Yeah, no shit,” he said, almost half to himself. I couldn’t help but laugh. He looked surprised for half a second, then joined in.

“Sorry,” he said. “I don’t mind carrying you or anything, it’s just…hoping tourists don’t decide to like jump up or something when I’m holding them all day is…”

“Extremely anxiety inducing?”

“Yeah,” he agreed.

We’d arrived at his tiny house - I’d decided I was going to keep calling it a tiny house, even if size wise, it was anything but. He opened the door with his free hand, golden light pouring out to greet us. The interior was just as modern as the outside, seeming almost mismatched with the rustic posters of plants he had adorning the walls. While it was certainly spacious for me, I guessed it was probably smaller than the average dorm room for him. There was a desk to the right of the door. A human sized table sat on top of it. Then there was a bed against the far wall and right wall. Also against the far wall was a small kitchenette, and a door I guessed led to a bathroom.

Also against the right wall was a platform with a railing and a human sized doorway. A walkway along the wall led from it to the desk, where there was another human sized door against the front wall. Probably the elevator he’d mentioned. Moments after we’d stepped inside, John appeared from the door behind the platform. He made his way down the walkway towards the desk.

“I’m going to lower my hand to the desk, and then you can climb off. Just please don’t until I’ve stopped moving.”

I nodded, waiting patiently until he’d firmly placed his hand on the desk. I climbed off, managing to do so semi gracefully. John had made it to the desk as well by that point.

“It was Zoey, right?” He asked. I nodded.

“Yeah. Do I call you John or like Agent-“

He laughed jovially, shaking his head. “Just John is fine.”

“Okay! Also, this-,” I gestured to the building around us, “-is so cool.”

“Isn’t it?” He said. “I have my own little apartment back there,” he said, nodding towards the door he’d come from. “Speaking of which, Easton mentioned you might be hungry?”

“Oh, I mean, only if it’s not an imposition. I’m fine-“

“I have way too much pizza to finish myself anyways,” John said. “You’d be helping me out, really.”

“You could just give it to Easton too.” There I go again, just saying the first thing that came to mind. That did seem like the most obvious solution, though it occurred to me moments later John was probably mostly just trying to make me feel comfortable.

What does Easton eat anyways? It’s got to be a lot of whatever it is.

“It’s pepperoni. He’s a vegetarian,” John replied, seeming to take my literal interpretation and subsequent suggestion in stride at least.

“In that case, yeah, I’d love some,” I said.

“Great. I can bring it down, or you can come with me to heat it up and we can come back here. Whichever you prefer.” John turned, heading towards the walkway.

“Um, I guess I’ll wait here?”

John nodded. “I won’t be long. And I think you were going to make dinner too, Easton?”

Easton quickly glanced between us. “I’m fine. I can eat later.”

“Are you sure?” John asked.

“Yeah. You guys enjoy the pizza, though.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back,” John said. I watched as he headed up the walkway, then turned to look up at Easton. He’d taken a seat on the chair next to the desk.

“You’re not hungry?” I asked.

“Not really,” he replied, changing the subject. “So, any ideas on what movie you want to watch? I don’t have a tv, but I do have a laptop, and it works with earth technology so I have like, Hulu and stuff. I hope that works?”

“I think that’s probably better than a tv - it’s probably IMAX-sized compared to me,” I said. He gave a slight laugh.

“Fair enough.”

“I don’t really watch that many movies, though, so I’m cool with whatever. Wait, have you seen very many earth movies?”

He shook his head. “Only a couple.”

“Damn. Well, we could see what’s new out I guess.”

“That works for me,” Easton said. I smiled. This evening really was looking up

#g/t #giant/tiny #gt #sfw g/t #gt sfw #g/t oc #gt writing

[rainbowsky]

Perspectives on the Mystery Man

In reference to this previous post, here are a few more things to consider...

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

I asked someone familiar with the equipment they are seated by, and they told me that they are racks of wireless microphone receivers, and the only time anyone would be interacting with those racks is when they're setting the mics up. They don't require any sort of regular monitoring.

Which is exactly what it looks like. None of the three sitting there are doing anything. They don't even look at the gear.

And it's very 👀👀👀 that someone who happens to look like GG, dress like GG, wear glasses like GG, laugh and do other gestures like GG's, have uncannily similar features, hairline, skin tone and ear shape as GG... just happens to show up in the background of a SDOC3 shoot, as a bystander who is there for no apparent productive reason, never once showing his face.

I'm going to stop short of saying it's GG because we can't verify it 100%, but it is definitely a strange 'coincidence'.

For those of you who remember, GG did a similar thing when he was on Produce 101. He posed as a photographer and went into the room where the contestants were and started taking pictures and acting like a photographer and he had a fake name and everything.

The girls figured it out, I'm sure in part because the crew were not acting normal and I think they kind of outed his disguise, but it does show that he is up for that kind of fooling around, and he seemed to really enjoy it.

As I said in the notes for this post, Huang Bo, GG and DD, and the producer of SDOC are all known pranksters, this is a segment specifically devoted to pranking. It's not that much of a stretch to imagine that this was just a bit of clownery on their part. A way to put GG in a little cameo for the show without anyone knowing.

It's no different, really, than GG leaving DD's name in his Qingdao snacks video, or putting little candies in his ideal life painting or in other drawings, or the heart mole, or DD making all of his Nike posts about GG. If we believe that those things are genuine candies, then I don't really think it's a stretch at all think that this might have actually been a planned prank.

But it's completely crazy as well, to think they'd engineer a secret GG cameo for SDOC3. But I guess if he was visiting DD on set it would be a lot more fun to wait in the shot for him to be done filming than to sit in some back room. 😅

Of course it's all 🤡 and we don't know for sure and probably never will, but it is a fun one, and a bit of a weird mystery.

Edit: more here.

#the mysteries of yizhan #🤡🚙 #sdoc3 #🤡 in the twilight zone #dd drops candies gg drops bombs

[astupidweeb69]

Unrequited (Yandere! Ticci Toby x Reader) Part 4

Next Chapters: Part 5, Part 6, Part 7

Links to Previous Chapters: Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3

Author's Note: I feel like this chapter sucks lol. My summer courses just ended and I had to pull a couple of all-nighters to write a 10-page research paper. So I'm VERY sleep-deprived and still recovering. But I wanted to post another chapter now since I had it planned out with a rough draft for days.

After editing it’s actually about 1,000 words longer than originally. So, damnit, I’m posting it. Cross-posted on my Ao3 account which I update quicker.

Warnings: Swearing. Non-consensual touching/groping/kissing (Technically sexual assault. But I tried not to make anything too graphic. I’m not super comfortable writing things like that, but it’s important to the plot for this specific chapter). Descriptions of gore? Also, some minor spoilers for the movie Hellraiser if you haven't seen it. (4,450 words)

********************

“You invited that guy over?”

Anne immediately snapped her head from the TV, shocked at the news. Giving you a look that could only mean ‘are you crazy?’.

Just like the two of you had agreed a couple of days ago, she had been staying over at your place to keep you company. You were feeling especially vulnerable now, so you’d only allow the presence of someone you were really close to.

That’s why when you told her about your recent development with the “weird guy” from the bookstore, it didn’t make any sense to her.

“Well, yeah… I thought maybe I’d been overly sensitive about how he was acting. Or remembering things wrong? You know I’ve been in a rough spot lately.” You sighed, cringing at the memory. “Plus, you should’ve seen how sad he looked when I tried to leave. For a second, I thought he was going to cry.”

Anne rolled her eyes. You could tell she was trying to hold back giving you a lecture.

“Don’t just hand over your phone number because you feel bad.”

A fair point.

Normally you could tell someone off if they were making you feel unsafe, hell, even throw a punch if it came to it. But if someone looked at you the way Toby had… there was something in you that had a hard time saying no.

At your lack of response, Anne continued. “And you didn’t have to give him your address too. Why didn’t you just meet him in a public place?”

Logic never failed her, you thought bitterly. Eyes drifting down to your feet, embarrassed, you prepared your stupid reasoning for putting yourself in this situation.

“I just… still don’t feel comfortable going out yet. And I wanted to show him some movies. I know it was dumb, but I’d feel more at ease doing something I enjoy in a place I’m familiar with. And remember, I said that my mind had probably been exaggerating things.”

Your friend frowned at the explanation. Sure, she’d been helping you get out a bit more, but whenever you found yourself in a rut it took more than a few days to get back to normal. You could see it pained her whenever you still refused to leave the house.

“Fine. It’s your call. Just… promise me you’ll text me the entire time, so I know you’re okay.” Anne got up from the couch and made her way to the front door. She smoothed out her short brown hair and grabbed her keys and purse.

“You’re leaving?” You asked, unclear on what her plans were for the day.

She nodded. “Yeah, my boss texted me this morning asking me if I could work the late shift. I would have told you earlier, but I didn’t realize you would be inviting Tony over. It kills me I can’t be here to make sure he doesn’t try anything.”

“Toby.” You corrected, “And don’t worry…” Flashing her a stupid grin, you lifted your arms up and jokingly flexed your muscles. “He wouldn’t stand a chance. I’ll just kick his ass to the curb if something happens.”

“Of course you will.” Anne scoffed. “Seriously though, be careful.”

With one last worried smile, she left.

After hearing her car pull out of the driveway, you started thinking about what you had just agreed to.

This was just two people getting to know each other…. right?

Hanging out as… potential friends.

That’s all.

But you couldn’t shake your doubts.

The fear beginning to resurface.

Was this a date?

Hopefully not.

You were honestly just excited you’d found someone with a similar interest, who wouldn’t flinch at excessive gore. You didn’t want to start dating now. Especially while you were still trying to recover. Walking up the stairs towards your room you thought more about Toby.

He wasn’t… ugly?

That was the nicest thing you could bring yourself to say. Any attractiveness that might’ve been felt was suppressed by how uncomfortable he made you feel. Plus, the whole time he was around you’d been avoiding looking directly at him.

The mirror in your bathroom reflected your tired face.

Date or not, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to put some effort into how you looked.

Doing your standard routine, you finally put on a cozy sweater and your favorite pair of jeans. Nothing that would make it seem like you put too much thought into it. Again, wanting to avoid sending any messages to Toby that this was going to be a romantic thing.

When you finished fixing yourself, you hurried back down to the kitchen to make your last-minute preparations.

There was a frozen pizza set out, a pile of movies to select from, and now all you had to do was wait.

***********************

It was getting dark.

That was normal this time of year, and it gave the perfect ambiance for watching films. The house was cold, so you had made sure to get plenty of blankets for the couch, trying to do anything to keep your mind occupied.

To say you felt nervous was an understatement.

As the hours crept closer to 6, your stomach began doing flips. Regretting everything leading up to this moment.

You sat on the couch flipping through channels on the TV, not paying attention. Leg bouncing up and down, you glanced at the clock on the wall for probably the 100th time in the last minute.

‘5:59’

The doorbell rang.

The remote flew out of your hand.

He was here.

You smoothed out your sweater and hesitantly walked over to greet him.

As your hand grabbed the doorknob, you took a deep breath. Before getting the chance to say hello, your senses were overwhelmed by some kind of musky fragrance.

Sandalwood and lavender?

You stifled a cough.

“Huh-hey.”

Toby stood in front of you, his hands in his pockets, hunched over, giving you an awkward smile. He wore the same black turtleneck you saw him in before and his unruly brown hair was combed in a half-ass attempt to tame it.

Apparently, he had also decided to bathe in cologne.

Okay, this guy was trying a little too hard. Shit. He probably did think this was a date then.

Trying not to panic, you smiled politely. “Nice to see you again.”

You turned to the side to let him in.

But he didn’t move.

He just kept staring.

“Uh… Do you plan on staying outside the whole time or….?”

Toby blinked, realizing he’d been spacing out. He looked like he was in a bit of a daze.

“Suh-sorry.”

He came inside and you shut the door behind him.

Both of his arms reached forwards. Baffled by the unexpected gesture, you found yourself wrapped in a vice-like grip. A bone-crushing hug that made it hard to breathe. You awkwardly patted his back, feeling his body shake all over, and warm breath fanning through your hair. You pulled away slightly to signal to him it was time to let go.

He released you slowly with a disappointed pout.

“Umm… okay… that was… nice?” You swallowed.

He tilted his head beaming with affection.

This was already off to a weird start, but you were trying to stay optimistic.

Getting a better look at him now, you noticed his face had quite a few scars on the left side. Especially leading up to the bandage covering his cheek.

You wondered what the story was there, but you weren’t going to ask. Toby was probably self-conscious about it, since the more you glanced at it, the more he started to twitch.

But now it was time to maintain the role of a considerate host. Offering drinks and food. The standard crap you always did when having guests over. Even more so when you didn’t know the person well.

You motioned your head towards the kitchen. “Follow me.”

“Have you had dinner yet? I have some frozen pizza if you want.” You grabbed the cardboard box containing the gourmet meal you planned to have that evening.

He shook his head, face grimacing involuntarily. “Nuh-no, I haven’t had any food today. I fuh-forgot to eat.”

“Damn… Well, I’ll pop this in the oven right now then. I have some snacks too you can have while we wait.” How the hell did a tall guy like Toby forget to eat for an entire day?

You couldn’t help the look of concern on your face. More so when you became aware of just how pale he was. There was almost a gray complexion to his skin that was borderline unnatural. His body wasn’t getting enough nourishment, that’s for sure.

“Here, I’ll get you some stuff to eat. Skipping meals is never good.”

With a sly grin on his face, Toby lifted an eyebrow when you began handing him bags of food from your pantry. “You’re wuh-worried about me? That’s ssss-so sweet.” He teased.

You stopped and looked over your shoulder. The man was already cornering you in the small storeroom, proving he had no grasp on the concept of personal space. Toby leaned down a bit getting closer to your face, a playful smirk crinkling the tape on his skin. Eyes drifting south for a second before snapping back up again. He wasn’t subtle.

Something you were noticing more and more with each passing moment.

It was making you grow weary, and you sure as hell didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of admitting you cared about his wellbeing. “I just don’t want you to pass out during the movie. It’s not as fun if I don’t get to see you scared.”

Toby suddenly laughed, loud enough to make you flinch.

“I don’t scuh-scare so easily.”

The way he spoke was hard to describe. It was like there was an inside joke you weren’t a part of.  

Moving away from you, he stood to his full height, cracking one of his shoulders in the process.

God, he was tall.

“What muh-movie are we watchin’ anyway?” Toby tilted his head, smiling down at you with an uncharacteristically boyish charm.

Your heart fluttered for a split second. “I – uh – picked out some we can choose from.”

You gritted your teeth, annoyed you let yourself be charmed. If only for a moment.

When you finished placing the pizza in the preheated oven, you lazily waved your hand for Toby to follow you to the living room.

The man was constantly at your heels, occasionally bumping into your body and muttering a quick “sorry” under his breath. You would’ve assumed it was an accident if it hadn’t been for the few times his hand lightly grazed your ass. Even when he wasn’t putting on his little “clumsy” façade, you could still feel him raking in your entire shape.

It was terrible.

On the coffee table, there were four movies you had laid out as options. ‘Alien’, ‘The Shining’, ‘The Evil Dead’, and ‘Hellraiser’.

“Any pique your interest? We can always watch something else; I’ve got plenty more options. I just figured we could start with some classics.”

Toby scanned the cover art of each case, twitching fingers turning them over, pausing on some of the more disturbing pictures on them.

“Hmmm… Huh-how about Hellraiser?” He glanced over at you with uncertainty.

You grabbed the movie beaming, “Great choice! The special effects are incredible in this one, Bob Keen is an amazing designer.” Putting on your best Pinhead impression, you added “We'll tear your soul apart!”

He looked at you confused but seemed entertained by your cartoonish attempt to sound intimidating.

“Pinhead? From the movie?” You felt your cheeks warm up.

He snorted. “I duh-don’t know what that is. But it sounds cool.”

Rubbing the back of your head, you shrugged. “Well, you’re in luck I guess… you’ll get to see the guy soon enough. I don’t exactly do the character any justice.”

“Suh-sooo… How bloody is this movie?” Toby asked.

You raised a brow, the way he said the question was weird. “I mean… there’s a lot, and it can be unnerving for most people…”

He put a hand on your shoulder, squeezing slightly. You flinched.

“Wuh-well… if I get scared, promise you’ll comfort me?”

Okay… gross.

You were going to pretend it was a joke, even though you knew it wasn’t.

You looked up at him with a fake overly enthusiastic grin, “Nope!”

Quickly opening the DVD player, you place the movie in the slot. Sitting on the couch with a bag of chips, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket, the weight of the couch shifted as Toby joined you.

************************************

He was too close.

It was fifteen minutes into the movie, and the whole time Toby had slowly inched closer.

His breath was heavy, shoulder pressing into yours. It was obvious his face was completely flushed; the sickly gray paleness of his skin wasn’t hiding it.

Every time he made contact with your skin his body reacted like he had run a marathon, with loud panting and red cheeks.

Under the blanket you shared, you could feel his clammy hand twitching for a touch. Once in a while he’d graze a finger on your thigh, knee, or hand.

He was always moving like he couldn’t sit still. You had a couple guesses as to why. It’s not like you were born yesterday. But it still made you nauseous to think about.

All you wanted was to watch this damn movie in peace and Toby clearly had other things on his mind.

Plus, the many attempts you made to create some distance between the two of you proved pointless. Toby would instantly ‘adjust’ his position to close the gap again. It was like fighting a losing battle.

You didn’t even know what was happening in the plot right now. The only reason you could piece things together was that you’ve seen the movie before.

His hand started making another daring journey for a part of your body. Toby once again ‘adjusting’, you could feel the tips of his fingers make their way slowly towards your ass. Of course. At this point nothing surprised you.

Ding!

The timer in the kitchen went off.

The pizza was done.

Thank God.

“Dinner’s ready!” You shot up from your seat, pausing the moving, feeling grateful to finally have room to breathe. To not have Toby’s hands swarming all over you.

As you almost sprinted to the oven, the man of the hour didn’t hesitate to trail behind. Like he was attached to your hip.

Cutting the pizza, you could feel him observing you with every movement. Looking over your shoulder and taking a step closer whenever he felt like you wouldn’t notice. You always did.

You set two slices on plates and turned around to give him his food.

He immediately tried to grab it, but his arm unexpectedly jerked to the side, instead knocking it out of your hands, ceramic scattering all over.

“FUCK!”

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I’m suh-sorry!”

Toby yelled in frustration.

You jumped, trying to move away as you witnessed his outburst. What the fuck was happening?

He pulled painfully tight on the ends of his hair. Completely freaking out with a disturbing amount of anger.

It wasn’t directed at you, but it was still frightening. You were alone with a 6-foot-something man that was flipping the hell out. Over something so trivial too.

“I-it’s okay Toby! Really!” You tried to calm him down.

But it was like he couldn’t hear you. Toby continued to glare down at the mess, tearing at his scalp.

What was someone supposed to do in a situation like this?

You knew you had to do something.

Carefully, you placed your hands over his.

God, you hoped this would work. It felt weird to touch him, but you’d try anything to not have to watch someone hurt themselves.

Feeling your fingers delicately wrap around his, Toby stopped. His gaze met yours, and you were taken aback by the dreamy expression he looked at you with. It was like his emotions did a complete 180. It concerned you, realizing that at any moment he could have another intense reaction to something that was normal.

And did he misinterpret your intentions? All you were trying to do was make him stop pulling out his hair. But he looked at you with such passion now. It almost felt predatory if you were being completely honest.

With his body now relaxing, he let out a shaky sigh. “I guh-guess I overreacted, huh?”

Understatement of the year.

“Yeah, I guess. I thought you were going to make yourself bald.” Maybe if you made light of the situation, you could just get this evening over with.

You prepared him a new slice, this time grabbing both plates, and walked back to the living room.

*******************************

Every time he took a bite his bandage moved, the greasy food loosening the adhesive that kept it in place. It started to slide up, a visible redness underneath.

You couldn’t help but stare.

Thank God he didn’t notice.

Toby was fully focused on the movie now that the plot had begun picking up the pace. Especially when the Cenobites appeared. But his reactions were disappointing. He never jumped or looked afraid the entire time. Hell, you would even settle for a small look of disgust when a body got ripped to shreds.

In fact, he had the complete opposite response. He laughed or snickered when someone was hurt. It was kind of off-putting. Sure, it wasn’t uncommon for you and your friends to joke around while watching scary movies, but this was different. What he was doing didn’t feel like a joke.

Saying things like “Take that fucker!” When one of Julia’s victims she lured into her house with the promise of sex got their head caved in with a hammer. Then making a joke about how she “nailed” him.

Or grinning and laughing like a maniac when the Cenobite’s hooks tore through a person. He even chuckled when the final girl Kristy cried over the death of her father.

It wasn’t in good fun.

Luckily, the movie was down to the last 20 minutes. Even if you ignored the content of Toby’s words, the fact that he kept interrupting and talking through the whole movie made it hard to enjoy. It was like he was totally unsympathetic.

This had been one big mistake on your part, and now you just wanted to go to bed.

Toby shifted in his seat, arm slowly slithering its way around the back of your neck.

Your breath hitched. Not again.

This was way more forward than he had been before.

Was he seriously making a move on you?

You felt paralyzed as his arm settled around your shoulders. His hand gripped your side tightly, bringing you closer.

This was bad.

Maybe if you waited a little longer, he would stop once the movie finished. So, your plan was to concentrate hard on the TV and refuse to acknowledge the situation. Stupid, but it might work.

Toby twisted his head fully in your direction.

He wanted you to look at him. This wasn’t a side glance hoping you wouldn’t notice like he had been doing the whole night. No, he was intentionally letting you know his focus was now on you and you alone.

You weren’t falling for his little trap. Absolutely not.

However, when you still didn’t face him, his fingers glided up more on your waist, grip settling on the side of your chest.

Before getting time to process the change, his hand started massaging your breast.

Your eyes widened.

Oh shit.

You swiftly turned, at last getting a full look at how red the man was. His eyes lidded and mouth parted slightly.

“Toby, please sto-“

He lunged forward.

No warning.

Mouth crashing into yours in desperation.

On your back, arms pinned above your head, you tried to wriggle out of his grasp.

But he didn’t notice. Or didn’t care. He was too preoccupied trying to shove his tongue down your throat.

The warm muscle twisting and exploring every surface of your mouth. His saliva mixed with yours. It tasted like blood.

You felt sick.

The cotton texture of his bandage rubbed against your skin as he continued assaulting your lips. The adhesive having no hold left on his skin, it finally slipped off.

Skin textured and flaky, scabs and blood-encrusted tissue. All leading to the gaping tear on his face, you could see the back of his molars and his tongue lapping against the side of his mouth.

You let out a muffled scream.

In a frenzy, you bit down on his tongue as hard as you could. He didn’t flinch, instead, he furrowed his brows and slowly released his lips from yours. Shit, he must have one hell of a high pain tolerance.

You gasped for air. Visibly shaking, tears starting to form in the corners of your eyes.

Toby’s body hovered over yours, perplexed by your current state. As if he was oblivious to what he just subjected you to.

It brought back too many memories. That feeling of powerlessness. Knowing that you had been physically incapable of stopping him. Anger raged through your system. All you could think about was decking him.

“WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!”

You shouted, despite knowing how unpredictable the man in front of you was. But you couldn’t help it. This wasn’t just about Toby anymore. Or even his horrifying scar, although that had certainly not helped.

At the reminder, your eyes flickered back to that hole in Toby’s cheek. No amount of scary movies or practical effects could ever prepare you for something like this.

That was his face.

This was all real.

A part of you was disgusted by it, another part morbidly curious.

Were you a little desensitized? Probably. But your current outburst wasn’t about that, if anything seeing a person with a wound like that just made you want to take them to a hospital. Or at the bare minimum ask if they were okay.

At this point, it must have dawned on him that his mouth was completely exposed. You’d been glaring at it for a while as you tried to regain your composure.

Toby smacked his hand over the gash mortified. He jumped to his feet and backed away from the couch, shamefully hiding his face.

“FUH-FUCK! I-I….”

He couldn’t get a clear sentence out. His body shook and cracked; it was like every one of his muscles started to spasm at once.

You almost felt pity.

Almost.

This was the last straw. You couldn’t take it. You had been going through enough as it was in your personal life and with all of tonight’s events piling on top of everything, it was too damn much.

Through gritted teeth, you cut off his ramble, “Listen! I don’t give a flying fuck about your face! Sure, is it concerning? Yes! Do I think you should seek medical treatment? Most definitely! But right now I’m fucking livid that you just pounced on me without asking!”

You rose from your seat. You might have been shorter than him, but you didn’t care. You walked right up to the man, looking him dead in the eyes. A reckless move on your part, having far more courage than sense.

“I’ve been really patient with you tonight, Toby. I’ve ignored your outbursts. I tried to ignore your unwanted touches. But I won’t just sit here and pretend that it’s fine for you to pin me down and have your way with me. Fuck that.”

Toby’s body went still. Looking down at you in shock. Probably not expecting a full-on confrontation from you. You had put on an understanding, almost to the point of being a pushover, attitude the entire night. But everyone has their limits.

Toby’s initial surprise didn’t last long before you could see things were about to take a dark turn.

Now his eyes were narrowed, his expression forming into a scowl.

He removed his hand from his face and tilted his chin up, glaring down. Reminding you how much bigger he was in comparison.

Your body screamed at you to back away. A primal instinct letting you know that the thing in front of you was dangerous. A predator. Your senses being proved right all along.

But you didn’t listen now. You refused. You’d let people like him get their way so much in your life, and you had promised to yourself you wouldn’t let that happen again.

Instead, you took a step forward. Challenging him.

If he could act scary, so could you. You may have been smaller, but what the hell did he know about you? You’ve stood up to people his size before, and you’d do it again.

He smirked at this. Finding your act of bravery amusing. But his eyes still held their threatening aura.

“Suh-so… let me get this straight. You’ve just been tolerating me the whole time? Then why were you acting all coy when I tuh-touched you? Why did you hold my hands earlier? And why are you always too shy to look at muh-me? Hmmm?” He batted his lashes, bringing his face towards you condescendingly.

Did he really think he just won the argument?

What a jackass.

This was some grade-A manipulative bullshit, and you weren’t going to stand for it.

“You’re such a fucking prick! Have you ever thought I was just trying to be nice because I was afraid?! No! Of course you wouldn’t! And if I tell you I didn’t want to touch you, you can’t just disagree with me! It’s not up for debate, asshole!” You fumed, hands forming into fists.

Toby raised a brow, opening his mouth to say something.

“No.” You hissed. “Get the fuck out of my house.”

He blinked, seeing you point towards the door. If he stayed any longer, you’d take a swing at him. You hadn’t been this pissed in years.

But it was nothing compared to how Toby’s face contorted in wrath. A glimpse of madness in his eyes you hadn’t seen before.

“Make me.”

It was a growl. Utterly inhuman.

Neither one of you moved.

A beam of light suddenly glared through the windows.

Anne was back.

Toby noticed too and was the first to back away. “All ruh-right. You want me to go? I’ll go.”

He stomped over to the front door, opening it to leave.

But not before turning around one last time.

“You’ll be seeing me again soon, (Y/N).”

#creepypasta #ticci toby #toby rogers #ticci toby x reader #x reader #yandere #toby rogers x reader #yandere creepypasta #yandere ticci toby #fanfiction #yandere creepypasta x reader #my writing #horror #obsessive behavior #yandere ticci toby x reader

[irrealisms]

every martyr in this jungle liner notes

fic here if you haven't read it!

okay so this first point is, like, barely a liner note for the fic proper. but did you know i have spent the past several weeks engrossed in the mcyt-trio polls. i have written two fics for it and made a web weave and i'm already planning a third fic for the finale next round as a thank you to the mods. shit's crazy. i rushed the editing timeline on every martyr in this jungle because i wanted to publish it before the time on this poll runs out. vote eclipse federation if you haven't already, with the disclaimer that it's got like 16 hours left as of me writing this, and keep an eye out for a bench trio fic coming soon to a blog and/or ao3 near you

anyway! fic time!

the most-used word in this fic that is not a name (the top three words are of course Vitalasy, Zam, and Subz) is again. this is on purpose. during editing i deleted an instance of "again" due to awkward phrasing and i had to double-check before doing so that it was still winning in Word Frequency or else i would've added it back in somewhere else. they have had this conversation before. maybe not in its details, but in its shape. they are having this conversation again, again, again.

vitalasy has so many issues around zam being afraid of him, even though (a) vitalasy hasn't actually done anything to anyone other than himself*, (b) zam is the one who killed vitalasy. some things i was drawing on for character inspiration here: the song hold no guns by death cab for cutie, the poem ON BEING RAISED ON FAIRY TALES IN WHICH YOU ARE THE MONSTER by a.m.h. *sorry for the planetlord erasure

zam...isn't actually as afraid of vitalasy as vitalasy thinks he is. zam is, like, a normal amount afraid of all social interaction, due to who he is as a person. he is an incredibly scared and jumpy guy, because he has an anxiety disorder, but he isn't actually particularly scared of vitalasy qua vitalasy anymore. vitalasy just...has issues from when he was.

relatedly: if this were from zam's pov, every time there is the slightest pause in the dialogue you'd get his internal monologue, which is approximately "oh God oh fuck this is going so terribly what do i say why am i so bad at talking to Vitalasy what do i do" the entire time. he's trying! and the tension on his end is much less "aaaa Vitalasy who I am scared of is here" and much more "WHY DO I KEEP SAYING THE WRONG THING. WHY AM I SO BAD AT THIS. OH NO HE'S EVEN SADDER NOW?????"

it did need to be vitalasy pov, though. as soon as i got the idea i knew it had to be vitalasy pov. i knew it had to be vitalasy pov because the previous one was zam pov and they're mirrors. here they are, at the grave, (again!) but now it's vitalasy standing vigil, and zam awkwardly showing up to put flowers on it.

the way it is still, constantly, about subz. vitalasy gets mad at zam for this, because zam cares so much more about subz than him, but he's just as bad--every two seconds he's thinking about subz's death, subz's note. the grave is the space between them. the grave is the only thing bringing them together. this is a bit of a continuation of the last fic. it is about zam and vitalasy but it is also about the ghost of subz.

the moon-representing-subz has Less of a presence in this one vs the last one, except for at the very end. the moon is rising. subz will be back soon. (well...it rises once zam leaves. this, too, is a metaphor.)

also related to the ghost of subz: i considered bringing up the fact that zam's been [hallucinating? haunted?] seeing subz everywhere. it didn't quite work but it's a fun little detail that is, btw, canon. canon in a "one-off line that was a little bit a joke" way but nonetheless canon enough to make me crazy about it.

the note about zam fidgeting a lot to the point of half-dancing around mapicc and spoke is about his lunar client emotes . and how he does them Even More Than Usual (which is already a lot) when he is around ppl who are also being silly w lunar client emotes <3

the thing where... they know each other. they know each other so well. they are, both of them, trying. this does not fix anything, it just makes it hurt worse.

sort of related to that and sort of related to zam's Fear (in general, of vitalasy) and sort of its own thing, zam is.. mm. zam's got certain expectations of people. and it's easy to assume they're about his [past issues in relationships] or even about [the person he is presently talking to] but they're...not, really. they're not zero about those things but they're not only about those things either. they are in large part about what zam, personally, thinks he deserves (punishment, death, bad things, etc). (occasionally when zam feels better about himself it's about how zam is a Victimhero Martyr and everyone else is a sort of prop in that, which vitalasy also has a huge complex about, but that's less relevant in this fic specifically than the...thinking he deserves for vitalasy to hurt him & on some level he wants vitalasy to hurt him as a weird self-harm-by-proxy thing & therefore vitalasy is probably going to hurt him)

the song the title comes from is Estate Sale Sign by the Mountain Goats. it's one of my #1 eclipse federation songs, tbh it's also one of my #1 s4 zam songs in general--i also am fond of it for team awesome. the title, though--that's all eclipse fed. they are all martyring themselves. they have all either banned themselves off or seriously considered it. they remember loving each other and now they still love each other but they are giving away that love. mm. [i remember when we loved each other day and night//and high above the water/the eagle spots the fish/every martyr in this jungle/is gonna get his wish]....man. also thinking about ["This is a song about, um, you may find it necessary to get rid of all your stuff, at some point."] and vitalasy burning all his stuff before his suicide. that's less relevant to the fic, though.

the series title is really funny to me. credit to angel qfitmc on tumblr for making this joke on hyperbeam chat and me cracking up every time i remember it. the thing is. while vitalasy and zam are being so fucking angsty and miserable about subz's suicide. subz IS playing dark souls. also elden ring. jump king. etc. bro killed himself in minecraft to become a variety streamer and i think that's beautiful. he's just chilling. this was of course epitomized when zam tried to bring him back but he was too busy playing dark souls and so he just Didn't. point is you don't have to stand at his grave and weep he is LITERALLY doing a pokemon nuzlocke run right now on twitch dot tv. unfortunately this is not stopping these two. from standing at his grave. and weeping

#therapists dni #my writing #any british ants in the chat?

[camgoloud]

i’m very curious about lyctoral reversal and der rosenkavalier!

excellent choices!

'lyctoral reversal' is the one 'title' on the list that isn't actually a title because i still haven't decided what to actually call the fic, so the folder containing all the documents is just a pun about the central concept. which is what it sounds like: lyctor role-reversal. specifically: the canaan house necro squad are the og lyctors (and, theoretically, in a second entry to the series which i haven't planned out at all beyond a few vibes, the og lyctors/cavaliers would end up at canaan for the trials as seen in gtn). it's basically just a week in the life of john and the four surviving lyctors, who've reunited on the mithraeum for the first time in a while. an excerpt:

Hangovers are not difficult to alleviate with necromancy. Judith can do it fairly well herself, and she only very rarely has any occasion to practice. The last time she can recall drinking to true excess was perhaps at some point in the weeks immediately following the death of the Saint of Courage, two millennia previous. But the Emperor has always been strange about things like this. He hardly ever applies necromancy to his own person where not absolutely necessary, and he never allows anyone else to do so on his behalf. The Saint of Reliability always thought his continual hesitancy to remedy any number of small pains that he need not suffer very strange: it was not as if the necromantic society he’d built from the ground up was overflowing with taboos regarding interference with the natural functions of the body, after all, Dulcinea argued; why his own reluctance to participate?  The Saint of Compliance viewed the issue from a different perspective: there was a purity and a nobility in pain, he said in reply, a comfort to be taken in it. It did not go over particularly well when he said this to Dulcinea within the hearing of Palamedes, of course, but Judith has always privately agreed with him on the matter nonetheless. She’s never been much for religion as a rule, but she understands—she thinks all the Saints, of all people, ought to understand—something about the appeal of seeking solace in penance. Eternity is such an absurdly long time to live with oneself and one’s own mistakes: even, she suspects, for the man who has become God.  It may technically be heresy to think this way, but, again—Judith has never been much for religion. She would die for her Emperor’s cause without hesitation; still, she’s seen him burn dinner too many times to embrace any doctrine that considers him incapable of error.  And even the Saint of Compliance was pushing fairly hard for the House that was his legacy to drop their literal interpretation of the infallibility verses by the end, anyway.

and 'der rosenkavalier' is the tlt music grad school au i've alluded to in tags a couple of times! basically what happened to me is that i ended up one night reading the plot summary of an opera on wikipedia (as one does) and said plot was basically about a love triangle featuring a cougar, a young count (en travesti role) obsessed with said cougar, and the new girl who catches his eye. and then i was like 'oh my god imagine if... dulcie/gideon/harrow...' and also there's a whole ROSE MOTIF and it literally has cavalier (german edition) in the TITLE and before i knew it i had cast the entire production. oops. anyway:

They argue as fluently and intensely as only people can who have spent as many months and years as they have rehearsing together, in classes together, constituting most of each other’s social circles together. Even when a load of nervous-looking freshmen undergraduates show up for some orientation event and they get kicked out of the auditorium they keep it up, all the way down the aisles and out into the blinding late-summer sun flooding through the floor-to-ceiling glass wall of the lobby. Gideon participates as much as any of the rest of them, slotting herself perfectly into the rhythm of the conversation, never missing an opportunity to knock Harrow down a peg or two, because that’s just how good at multitasking she is. Really, her mind is elsewhere: stuck back on the other thing Harrow said a few minutes ago. Three guesses who’ll be singing the Marschallin. There was a bitterness in Harrow’s voice that Gideon didn’t fail to notice—she’s just as jealous as Palamedes is of Silas Octakiseron, probably, knowing she hasn’t got a chance at the best soprano role in the show on account of how no one, ever, would buy her tiny little baby-faced frame as the smoking-hot cougar who snags an Octavian twenty-five years her junior. But for Gideon’s own part, there’s a thrill that runs up her spine every time she plays the words back in her head.  Because, of course, none of them actually need any guesses at all to know just who’ll be singing the Marschallin opposite Gideon’s Octavian. And—if Gideon is being entirely honest with herself—that’s one of the things about this upcoming production that excites her most of all. 

#thanks for the ask! #my writing #ask game

[hubby-wubby]

The Umbrella Academy Season 3 was um... Well it was something I'll give them that. Spoilers warning.

I felt like all the Umbrellas became really annoying like they just become the worst versions of themselves. Luther feels like he got dumber or poorer at making decisions, Five got more egocentric, Klaus even more irresponsible. Also speaking of that, the amount of stupidity that they display is astounding. Like they kept asking Ben stuff that only their own Ben would know and expects him to get it, well of course he's gonna be mad. They also kinda provoked the Sparrows into the first fight by saying stuff like this was their house and whatever as if they don't understand that changing stuff in the pass changes things in the future. Don't get me started on how Allison still expected to find Claire and even how she managed to get in to Patrick's house in the first place. The cherry on top was also her downward spiral to villainy (yes, even as an Allison fan in the previous seasons, one has to admit that she is the Villain now and I'm guessing also the villain for season 4). She became extremely unlikeable. Not to mention *that* horrific moment.

Also the Sparrows were such a wasted potential. They were hyped up only to have half die off by episode 5 or 6. I don't get why people like Sloane so much. She's the most generic 'nice girl next door' with a Juliette complex ever. Her personality is mostly just being nice. At least she's really smart. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate her, I just don't live for her. And I find her and Luther's love story to be extremely rushed and two dimensional. But hey at least it's not as problematic or toxic as Allison and Luther. Jayme and Alphonso have cool concepts, but they also had problems. Idk if it's the acting but Jayme feels so robotic in any scenes that are not fight scenes. Alphonso is also pretty unlikable and his powers are inconsistent (but was never explained in the show why it's not consistent so it just makes it seem like plot armor). Marcus is... I don't even know what to do with this one since he got like 17 seconds of screen time. The only ones I actually like is Fei. She actually has a distinct personality; cold, calculating, smart, but underneath that veneer, someone who cares about her siblings. Also Christopher was alright, but cmon people, let's be real. He was a floating cube with no dialogues who got barely any screen time.

On top of that, I feel like most of the conflict in the series could easily be resolved by simply talking to each other. If Five told the family his plan, most of the fights would've never happened. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some dysfunctional family dynamics and I get that years of childhood trauma leaves a significant impact on your adult character, but it's been 3 seasons, at some point they gotta show some progress to character development. Why are they still so bad at communicating after 2 apocalypses?? Here they kinda feel like their Season 1 selves, slightly better or worst at that.

I love this series and I want to love this season but I just have so many gripes with it, well mostly just the annoying character regressions and a couple of 'this happened because it needed to happen don't ask questions' moments. Viktor Hargreaves being trans is like the least of the season's problem (also I don't get why people keep saying that the show makes a big deal of Viktor's transitioning when it was literally covered in like a couple minutes of dialogue). In fact Viktor's character is, dare I say, one of the ones that I actually like. He became reasonable but still compassionate. A perfect contrast to Allison's arc.

The season's not all bad. I think there were some touching moments and the Sparrows, as much of a disappointment they are, had awesome powers. Glad to know Reggie's motives and why he build the hotel etc. Idk I have mixed feelings about this season. Hopefully season 4 would be better.

Edit I can't believe I forgot arguably the best highlight of the season; the footloose dance sequence 👁👄👁

TL;DR season 3 was definitely *something*

#the umbrella academy #netflix #the sparrow academy #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #lila hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #five #five hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #season 3 #marcus hargreeves #fei hargreeves #sloane hargreeves #jayme hargreeves #alphonso hargreeves #christopher hargreeves #reginald hargreeves #apocalypse #tua #tua s3

[snowdice]

Creased Hoodies (Chapter 11: The Return) [Folds in Time Universe]

Fandom: Sander Sides

Relationships: Logan/Virgil, Janus/Patton (background), Remus & Roman  (background)

Characters:

Main: Logan, Virgil

Appear: Patton, Roman

Mentioned: Janus, Remus

Summary: Virgil just wanted to go on his planned summer research trip to do an anthropological study in 2005 America. However, when he is taken off course by an unknown enemy, he ends up stranded in the summer of 2018 with no way to get back the the 44rd century. Luckily, 2018 happens to be where a certain illegal time agency is based, and he might have an in with one of its agents.

This is the intermission for the story Folds in Paper. It takes place between Folds in Paper Book 1 and Book 2. It also takes place after the first 5 chapter of “Messages for a Hacker” which are side stories in the universe. Check all of this and more out on my Folds in Time Master Post.

Chapter Summary: Patton returns home to a very awkward 

Notes: Time travel AU

This is a fic I’ve been writing on study breaks that you have probably all already seen at this point. I’ve slightly edited it for wording and grammar, but not for content from my previous posts. Feel free to send in asks to direct it because I’m not 100% sure where this is going and you can help decide if you feel so inclined! You can see the process I went through to build this at this link.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

The breakfast table was silent the next morning. Though, if one could call it a breakfast table when Logan was only drinking a cup of tea, Roman was chewing on a slice of unbuttered, untoasted bread, and Virgil was squirreled away in Logan’s bedroom either still asleep or avoiding them both was debatable.

“…Look,” Roman said.

“We aren’t talking about it.”

“How was I supposed to know the two of you were getting it on?!” Roman said, talking about it. “Put a sock on the door next time or something. It’s common courtesy!”

“We weren’t having sex,” Logan hissed. Roman opened his mouth. “Shut up and learn the ‘common courtesy’ of knocking.” He pointed a spoon at his roommate threateningly.

Yet, still, because it was Roman, the other man opened his mouth once more. Luckily, before he could say anything else on the matter, there was a loud crack from the living room.

“I’m going to need a towel please!” Patton called.

“I’ve got it,” Roman said, jumping into motion and sprinting towards the bathroom. Logan meanwhile, stood and headed towards the living room.

“Why are you wet?” Logan asked immediately upon taking in the sight of his roommate. His very, very soaked roommate. He was dripping water like he’d just crawled out of a pond.

“There was an ocean in the church,” Patton replied, seeming unconcerned by the fact that he was getting their carpet wet.

“What?” Logan asked.

Patton pushed his sopping wet hair out of his eyes. “The time distortions were a lot more intense than the ones we’ve seen before,” he said. He held out a small innocuous appearing device whose only mechanism seemed to be a small switch. “Be careful with that. It’s unstable, and we might have damaged it getting out.” Patton winced and removed his timepiece from his wrist. “Actually, speaking of that… this might need a checkup too.”

“Were there issues with the tech?” Logan asked, reaching for both devices.

“…No,” Patton said, looking a bit sheepish. “We may have… had to turn off all of the safety protocols.”

“You what?!” Logan asked, snatching away the timepiece and clutching it to his chest. “Patton, I just made this for you!”

“And you did a really good job!” was Patton’s reply, “but we didn’t want to drown in a church.”

“It was a completely new design!”

“And it’s really good,” Patton said with a smile, “and clearly reliable. We didn’t blow up!”

Logan took a slow breath. “I’ll make sure it wasn’t damaged.”

“Thanks Lo!”

Roman entered the living room then, bright blue towel in hand. “I have returned bearing gifts!” he proclaimed.

“My hero,” Patton said with a laugh. He took the towel and used it to wipe off his face and then start to dry his hair.

“So, an ocean in a church?” Logan asked.

Patton nodded. “I’ll have to thank Virgil for suggesting the inflatable raft,” he said. “Though I think he might have cheated on that suggestion.” He paused then as he finished running the towel through his hair, face growing slightly more serious. “I saw Remus,” he told them.

Roman froze instantly. “You did?”

“Uh huh,” Patton replied. “He was with Janus, but I figured I shouldn’t say anything about you to him since that trip was way out of sync. I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, no, of course,” Roman said. “That makes sense. That’s fine. How was he?”

“He seemed good,” Patton said. He flashed Roman a smile. “Happy. Not exactly what I expected though. He’s quite the character. I can tell he and Janus are good friends.”

“Oh,” Roman said. “That’s… that’s good.”

Patton’s face screwed up slightly. “He did flirt with me though, so that was weird.”

“He what?!” Roman screeched.

“It wasn’t particularly innocent flirting either,” Patton said with a grimace.

Roman took a moment to process this information before pulling a face that one would expect to see on a small child trying a lemon for the first time. “That’s disgusting! That’s like… that’s like my brother flirting with my brother. Gross and wrong!”

“It was… it was weird,” Patton confirmed.

“What did he even say?” Roman asked.

“Mostly it was comments about my…” he made a motion with his head that Roman apparently was able to decipher.

“He talked about your butt?!”

“Well,” Patton said, “he didn’t exactly use that word.”

“That sounds about right for Remus,” Virgil said, poking his head into the living room.

“Oh, so you’ve finally decided to join the land of the living, Emo?” Roman asked, turning to him.

“Shut up,” both Logan and Virgil said at the same time.

Of course, he did not. “You know, Pat-Pat, speaking of posteriors…”

“One more word out of you and I will murder you,” Virgil threatened. Roman did not look afraid, quite the opposite.

“Uh,” Patton said, looking between them. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you latter,” Roman promised with a wink.

“You will not,” Logan said. “Keep your gossiping tendencies under control.”

“Well, wait,” Patton said with a pout. “Now I want to know.”

“You go take a shower,” Logan ordered.

Patton and Roman shared a look that was already giving Logan a migraine. He had no doubts Patton would have the whole story along with a good number of embellishments by dinner.

“Yes boss,” Patton said with a cheeky grin.

Logan rolled his eyes as his roommate turned towards the bathroom, the towel still on his shoulders. He was dry enough that he wasn’t dripping everywhere anymore, and he made sure to slip off his waterlogged shoes and socks so as to not track water to the bathroom.

“Put everything in the biohazard hamper,” Logan called after him.

“I know!” he called back.

“And you,” Logan said, tuning to Roman, “clean up all of the water he got on the carpet in the off chance there are any pathogens in it.”

“Why me?” Roman whined.

“Because you’ve annoyed me,” Logan said, “and I need to insure these two devices do not explode.”

“Ugh, fiiiine,” Roman said, dipping back into the hall.

Virgil glanced over at Logan once Roman had gone, his expression the picture of awkwardness. “Uh,” he said. “Hey.”

“Hi,” Logan said.

“…Are those things really at risk of exploding right now?” he asked.

Logan glanced at him. “Technically they are always at least slightly at risk of exploding, but admittedly the chance is further from 0 than I would like it to be at this moment.”

“Great,” Virgil said. “One more thing to be anxious about.”

“You don’t need to be anxious about it, Virgil,” Logan said.

“Uh, I think I do need to be anxious about the maybe bomb in your hands,” Virgil said, throwing a suspicious look towards the devices.

“That’s not what I meant,” Logan said.

“I know,” Virgil sighed.

“We are two mutually consenting adults,” Logan pointed out. “There isn’t any shame to it.”

“Can we please talk about our very embarrassingly interrupted kiss after you’ve dealt with the explosives?”

“Very well,” Logan agreed. He walked to the other side of the room to grab a statis chamber from a cabinet drawer.

“What’s that?” Virgil asked as the cube shaped device popped up.

“It’s a stasis cube,” Logan said as he placed the two devices into it and activated it. It lit up yellow. “It will allow them to cool down completely from their earlier use in a safe environment. Once they’re more stable, it will be less dangerous to work with them.”

“If it just takes 5 seconds to deal with them, why are you making Roman clean up?” Virgil asked amused.

“Like I said,” Logan said. “He annoyed me. Speaking of,” he glanced into the hallway where Roman currently was. “How do you feel about leaving before he gets back? Patton will clean himself up and probably take a nap immediately after, so we have time. We could get coffee in peace.”

Virgil smiled at him. “Sure,” he said. “Escape the apartment for coffee part two.”

Want to read more? Click below!

Folds in Time Universe Master Post

My Main Masterpost

#sanders sides #virgil sanders #analogical #logan sanders #roman sanders #patton sanders #mentioned moceit #mentioned janus sanders #mentioned remus sanders #time travel au #folds in time universe #creased hoodies

[yurievinstitute]

Always on my Mind

by Sephi

Fandom: The Batman (2022)

Pairing: (F/M) Bruce Wayne/Edward Nashton (swimsuit fetish, porn with feelings, fem!Edward, high school AU)

Summary: The quiet, stoic Bruce Wayne keeps to himself, but he can't take his mind off of Edith Nashton, his shadow in the school corridors.

Read on: AO3 | FFn | Tumblr (under the cut)

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A/N: This is inspired by @Lacryboy's art on twitter that has put a spell on me ever since I first saw it: (Here) and (here). Please give the artist some love!

Thank you to J (for everything), especially since I've handed you two Batman fics to edit in the same week.

I've decided to call female Edward ->; Edith. I honestly don't know if the fandom has agreed upon a name so I went with what felt right to me.

I listened to this song the entire time I wrote this.

I really, really enjoyed writing this and I am considering making this a series. Please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading. Happy 6/9! [and happy belated crosspost lmfao]

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Bruce had once again been instructed on what his plans ought to be for this late fall Friday night. A girl in his sphere of influence was throwing a very trendy pool party that he simply had to attend, renting out the entirety of the giant complex. It came packed with decorations, an ice cream cake served in the aquatic themed dining hall after hours of ‘free’ swimming for as many teens as she dreamed of inviting. The tactic, of course, was one would prompt their parents to rent the space and reap the rewards of inviting every person in school to come whether they liked them or not—because in order to be invited the promise of a birthday present was required.

Of course, she was here. Bruce sighed heavily, suppressing the swell of emotions that welled to the surface as soon as she walked through the sliding glass doors. While he couldn't put words to what he felt—disbelief and pleasure blending together at the forefront, the fear of getting caught in his attraction a close second—it hadn’t dawned on him that she’d actually show up.

It didn’t help matters that he could already smell her, a scent he’d never appreciated until he’d buried his face into the nape of her neck the very first time they’d gone there.

No one knew about Bruce and Ed’s secret afterschool hobby, and for the sake of his comfortable daily life, they couldn’t find out. Bruce belonged to a different social class, his pool of potential girlfriends predetermined by the hierarchy of the school years ago—not that he ever acknowledged them or had any interest. 

Edith was a strange girl, a quiet, studious type, notorious for making the wrong outburst or remark in class or to her peers. She had long been deemed creepy, unwilling to socialize, let alone make friends. The first time she’d spoken to Bruce one on one, it dawned on him that he’d never really heard her make any sound beside her signature giggle, a mix between a snort and a laugh. Many of his classmates blamed her behavior on her strict, militant upbringing in an orphanage that masqueraded as a Christian organization. Yet her overall peculiarity was precisely what attracted Bruce in the first place, what made him respect and ultimately obey her quiet, giddy request from that first encounter.

Bruce watched Edith wander to the very outer corner of the entrance to the public pool, standing sheepishly under some birthday balloons and staring like a fish out of water at all of the other girls. As each took their turns placing the gifts they’d brought for the birthday girl atop the large pile in the center of the hall, he remembered their first time.

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After the drama and chaos of previous years, the staff of Gotham High decided that lockers would be assigned through a random draw. This year, their final year, Bruce’s locker was right beside Edith’s. Many times, he’d close his locker to see her peeking out behind hers, cowering as soon as he'd give her a quizzical look only to resume staring as soon as his back was turned. She’d never talked to him, but she'd always made a point to stay there as long as he did, watching which book he took out first, and how. Or admiring how he smoothed his hair in his locker mirror.

Today, Bruce was late leaving classes; he'd had a few questions to ask his biology teacher about an upcoming test. The hall was a ghost town—everyone else had long cleared out to rush home—all save for Edith, waiting patiently at her locker, growing more and more giddy with excitement as Bruce approached.

Outwardly, he ignored her. Internally, he was fascinated. He screwed up his combination twice under the pressure of her heated gaze from behind her long bangs and thick glasses.

“Bruce…. Wayne…”

Her voice was as quiet as a mouse. If Bruce had been rattling inside his locker, he wouldn’t have heard it. He turned to face her with a respectful half-smile.

The silence dragged between them as Bruce waited patiently for her inevitable question. She giggled, breathing heavily as though she were drunk on his attention.

Before the tension could become unbearable, he asked: “Yes?”

Edith twirled her fingers. She couldn’t seem to stay still; she bounced on her feet gently, suddenly self-conscious and staring at her fingers. Her face flushed a warm pink. 

“How dirty is your cock?” She blinked demurely, unflinching. 

Bruce dropped the pencil and papers he’d been carrying. As he stared at her in shock, she bent low to pick them up. Edith made a point to look directly at where his cock sat in his jeans and inhaled deeply as she passed it. 

“Do you watch porn?” She smiled gently. “Bruce…?”

She extended the papers he’d dropped as if it was nothing. “Are you circumcised?”

It didn’t take much for Bruce to turn a bright red. “What?”

Edith set his papers in her locker, closing it before stepping closer to Bruce, close enough that he could feel her shallow breath against his skin. 

“Silly… are you circumcised, Bruce?” She laid a hand on his chest. “Can I see it? I’ve never seen one in real life before.”

Bruce felt all the blood in his head rush to his cock. He could smell her shampoo. Her hands were so soft and gentle. Her eyelashes looked so long behind her glasses. The evening sun leaked in through the windows at the end of the hall, turning the edges of her sandy-brown hair a glowing orange.

“Please?” Her fingers curled into the front of his shirt. “I really need to know…”

Bruce swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut. Her hand trailed down his chest before falling back to her side. Her gentle mannerisms beckoned him closer. She acted as though the questions she’d asked were all so normal, so simple… 

“I can’t just do that—” Bruce’s hormones quickly overruled the response he’d been meaning to give, “—right here in front of everyone.”

Edith squealed with joy, covering her face in her hands, rocking back and forth ecstatically. “That’s okay, that’s okay! I know a place no one goes.” She hooked her arms into his. “Come show me what it looks like,” she whispered,  “Master  Wayne.” 

Edith hurried to pull him down the corridor before he could come to his senses. She threw open the janitor's closet door, pushing him in first before following him, locking the door behind her. It was dark. Bruce had only a few seconds to balance himself between the dusty shelves of cleaning supplies before it went pitch black.

He gasped, shocked, as he felt her palm against his jeans, massaging and coaxing his cock gently into saying hello. It felt good. It felt really good. It wasn’t long before the tightness of his jeans became unbearable; he busily unzipped them, pulling his boxers down just low enough to expose his cock.

Edith pulled the string to the small lightbulb that hung in the closet. It was dim, but just bright enough to see Bruce in his full arousal, flushed just as pink as she was. She squatted down, bowing her legs, coming closer to get a really good look—as far as Bruce would allow before he reflexively started backing up against the shelf, rattling its contents. 

“Wow…” Edith took a deep breath. “It smells so strong…”

Bruce blushed deeper, embarrassed, especially as he watched her continue to huff the smell after saying that.

“So this is what Bruce’s uncut dick looks like…” She sighed dreamily, licking her lips. “What does it look like when Bruce Wayne touches himself? I wonder…”

Bruce had never had a woman look at him like this; he was a private person, but the attention was intoxicating and the pleasure led his hand to act before he could think. He ran his fist all the way down the length of his cock to Edith’s gentle applause. He reasoned to himself he could stop after a few thrusts, but those few turned into many until he was fisting his cock exactly how he liked it, coming apart exactly as he did every night when no one was looking. 

It didn’t take long. 

“I wonder,” she breathed, “what does Bruce Wayne look like when he cums?”

That was all it took. He let it all go across her waiting face, most of it landing on her glasses. She grinned like a child at the foot of a Christmas tree.

Together, they had crossed the point of no return; that evening marked the start of their secret, special relationship.

・‥…━━━━━━━🦇💞❔━━━━━━━…‥・

Bruce thought about it the entire time he undressed in the men's changing room. He turned himself towards his locker and peeled off his clothes until he was down to his baggy swim trunks. Two long white stripes trailed neatly down his outer thighs in harmony with the smooth lines of his long legs. He was grateful for the way the shorts fit; the looseness afforded him some level of safety and privacy when it came to his sinful imagination.

He stood under the last shower, the broken one no one dared to use that only supplied cold water, hoping it would shock the arousal out of him. He should have known from all his many sleepless nights that there was no chance he would fix things so easily.

He didn’t bother to make small talk with his friends even as they all stood awkwardly in line. They had accepted long ago that he wasn’t the chatty type. Bruce maintained an ice cold expression, brows furrowed, deep in thought—even if those thoughts were only about Edith, her body, the way her hips curved, the heat of her plush thighs… 

Bruce practiced counting down in his head from ten, trying his best to focus on the numbers instead of the memories of their secret encounters; the way her hands felt; the way he melted into her eager mouth… He tried pitifully to read the variety of bright posters plastered over the tiled mosaic walls, all futile attempts to coax his brain into memorizing the pool guidelines rather than imagining what  she  might look like, soaked through in a clingy swimsuit. His peers mistook his steady concentration for anger.

Despite his efforts at self control, Bruce started scanning the perimeters for a glimpse of Edith as soon as he was let through to the bright, open space of the pool. He knew she would be away from the rest of the girls, most of whom were throwing vibrant inflatables back and forth at each other in the sun shelf of the pool. The water glittered under the fluorescent lights, a serene aqua-blue that reflected all the colors of the energetic paintings along the walls and foundations. The complex was split into multiple pieces. The largest section of the pool was structured in a tiered grid. The rest of the concrete space was shared with a hot tub and a children's section under a bridge walkway connected to the most shallow entrance of the adults’ space.

Edith cowered under the shadow of the bridge, the only girl wearing goggles. The water lapped at her calves. Her swimsuit was tight, leaving no part of her anatomy to the imagination. It looked wet, glistening whenever the reflection of the light hit the latex off the face of the waters. Unlike the skimpy bikinis the others wore, hers was a single-piece suit, terracotta-green and undoubtedly a hand-me-down—if the outdated color didn’t give it away, the fit certainly did. She cradled herself, covering as much of her body as she could, her skin flushed a light pink—whether from embarrassment or arousal, Bruce couldn’t tell.  

As his peers dove into the water, Bruce watched her, entranced. Her naked body… slick, wet and on full display. In public. He clenched his hands into fists. Counting wouldn’t help him now. He watched as she nervously spun herself back and forth, talking to herself. He wished he could make out what she was saying. 

“Come on, man!” One of his friends grabbed his shoulder, leading him around the mouth of the deep end. Edith’s eyes caught Bruce’s. She smiled, knowing she had his full attention. She opened her arms, proudly revealing herself, her body, her perky nipples to her exclusive audience. One of Bruce’s friends pushed him into the pool while he was too busy studying the lines her pussy made in her damp swimsuit.

Under the waves, under the shock and pressure of the cool water, there was only one thought Bruce could hold on to. No matter what it took, he had to fuck her today.

・‥…━━━━━━━🦇💞❔━━━━━━━…‥・

Bruce waited at the vending machine, conveniently beside the exit to the girls’ changing room. He pretended to fiddle with it, pressing buttons every so often but never completing a purchase. He’d left the pool earlier than anyone else, changed quickly, and anchored himself here to capture the object of his desire. He’d have just enough time to take her outside, around the back of the pool, to the cover of one of the tube slides in the abandoned playground. That would be enough. He’d make it be enough.

She came out quickly, more quickly than Bruce anticipated—she must have been watching Bruce, following him as soon as he’d left the pool. Her hurried footsteps altered Bruce before she even made it down the long entryway filled with all of her classmates' empty shoes. She beamed when she saw Bruce stationed at the vending machine.

“Edith.” Bruce’s voice was quiet but had full command of his strength. Edith seemed stunned that he would address her directly, but her surprise melted into an expression of pure euphoria. She smelled of chlorine, her oversized blouse was soaked; she hadn’t even bothered to take off her swimsuit. Bruce was excited that she was only wearing her standard long skirt.

“Were you really waiting for me?”  She breathed. She looked away, blush coloring her cheeks. “I’ve been waiting for you too.”

Bruce couldn’t stand to keep himself back any longer. He lunged forward, grabbing her by the wrist. Edith let her body go slack, let herself drift to his arms, let him lead her out through the glass doors into the chill of the crisp fall air. She giggled, questioning none of it, sweating and warm despite the cold.

They rounded the corner, stopping at the tall wooden fence of the playground that would offer the majority of their cover. Bruce let go of Edith just to launch himself over, offering her a hand from the top of the fence so he could effortlessly pull her over. They crashed into the gravel with a sound like fireworks amid the stars.

Bruce wordlessly carried her to the bottom of the covered, plastic blue tube slide. He pressed her down with firm hands, not caring about the puddle of water on the mouth of the slide she crashed into. She was wet anyway. He wanted her wet. Bruce stared at her for a moment, his eyes full both of tenderness and the pain that bloomed from his unending want.

Edith stretched her arms out to him and wrapped them around his neck. They kissed.

Bruce kissed her deeply until he had to pull away so they could catch their breath. He rested his forehead on hers, panting, feeling the relief of finally getting close to her after what felt like an unbearable time apart. Before he could even rest his hands on her waist, Edith was hurrying to unbutton herself, exposing the shiny, sultry swimsuit underneath. Bruce groaned as his hands finally slid against it—he could finally feel for himself how thin the fabric was under his fingers. Edith gasped, rolling her hips, bringing her legs up around Bruce’s waist to pull him in closer.

His knees buckled until he rested them against the edge of the slide, a steady force reigning over her eager body. His desperation and need washed over her, and he pressed frustrated kisses along the side of her jaw, then down her neck to the raised line where her swimsuit hugged her collarbones. She tasted like fresh water and salt. All Edith could do was bask in his advances, rocking her head back and forth as waves of pleasure shivered through her, her body trembling with excitement and bliss.

Bruce pulled her swimsuit collar down forcefully, although it eagerly bent to his command, revealing her milky skin, the crest of her tender breast. He thumbed her nipple through the slick, damp fabric, relishing the moans that escaped her lips as he worked. He touched her with severity and impatience. Her breast popped out of the tight material, instantly assaulted by Bruce’s waiting hand. He pressed her back deeper into the slide, grinding his arousal—physical evidence, proof, I need you—down into the damp heat of her pussy. 

His strong hands trailed down her chest, down across the valley of her smooth stomach, quickly brushing down along the length of her legs until his fingertips met the edges of her long skirt, sliding it upwards, discarding it around her hips. Beads of water rolled down her thighs, steam ghosting along the small gap of space between her pussy and Bruce’s erection. Edith shook, pressing the pads of her fingertips into Bruce’s shoulders, pressing him closer. 

“Are you gonna put it in me?” Edith whispered into his ear, her lips brushing against it gently. “You’re not going to use a condom, right?”

Bruce tightly clenched his fist around the edges of her discarded skirt as she spoke, a feeble attempt to control himself.

“I want to feel you all the way inside…” Edith gently carded her fingers through his hair, rolling her hips up to meet Bruce’s waiting dick. “Bruce… I missed your cock so much.”

Edith wasn’t just wet from the waters of the pool. The bottom of her swimsuit was slick with cum, a demonstration of how badly she needed him in return.

“Fuck,” Bruce groaned as if close to tears, “I can’t take it anymore.”

He pressed into her, gliding once, twice into the heat of her pussy. He brought his hand down to feel it for himself, feeling her twitch against his index finger as she moaned his name. His finger came back glossy with her cum.

He pulled the thin swimsuit to the side of her pussy, exposing it to the cool air. It was so pink, so warm, so plush… Instinctively, he ran his finger gently along the edge of her clit, savoring the way she rocked her hips and cried out into his neck. He let his finger slip between her folds, her pussy throbbing as though it was trying to suck his finger inside. Like lightning, he unbuckled his jeans, pulling down his boxers, crashing his lips into hers as he rubbed his thick cock between her legs.

“Yes… yes…” Edith purred against his lips between their passionate kisses. “Bruce…  yes…”

Bruce hadn’t fucked anyone before, let alone Edith—the one he’d imagined being with the most. His cock wept for her, his stomach knotted in tight braids of ecstasy. He let his cock taste her cum, let it slide against her clit. He rocked against her, savoring each of their special moments, relishing his primal satisfaction at finally tasting the fruit he’d dreamt of. 

Bruce slid inside Edith all at once, pushing in as deep as he could possibly get before pausing in shock. He couldn’t believe how good it felt to have her surround him completely, to squeeze him so tightly. He adjusted himself, trying to aim further, to feel more of her—quickly craving more, he pulled back in one fluid motion before crashing into her harder than before, lost in the fever. Bruce pressed both of her legs up to her chest, fucking her like an animal. The sound of their sex was loud, obvious, filled with Edith’s gasps between their sloppy French kisses.

This was all Bruce ever wanted. Every time he sank balls-deep into her secret embrace, the realization hit him harder and harder. Edith was all he had ever wanted. Edith was all he had ever needed.  His cock shivered as Edith clenched down around him. 

He had to cum inside her. He had to make her all his own.

Before she could protest, Bruce slammed her waist to the back of the slide so she couldn’t escape. He pounded her faster, sweating; now his legs were shivering as Edith’s had been the entire time.

He’d do it. He was going to do it. He was fucking Edith. He was inside Edith. This was what Edith’s pussy felt like. This is what Edith felt like inside, in the space no one else could fill. He was a part of her now. Now that he’d had it once he’d chase it forever. He broke from her lips, a trail of spit following his lips.

He wanted to see what she looked like when he did it.

“Edith.” Bruce sounded weak, contrary to the force of his thrusts. “I’m… I’m gonna…”

Bruce came hard into the deepest part of her, harder than he’d ever come before. Edith looked serene, face plastered with the gentle smile she only ever offered to him, the glow of their sex glittering off her cheeks. He sank to his elbows, leaning into her, nesting his face into the crook of her neck while he poured out all those unspoken feelings into the only person he felt mattered. 

Edith, Bruce held her close, I love you.

#edward nashton #edward nygma #bruce wayne #riddlebat #the batman #fic rec #DS

[saiilorstars]

Ch.4:  Shadows of the Past

Current Story Masterlist  // Previous story // Maleny’s Masterlist

Pairings: Klaus x OFC || Elijah x Cami  

Pronunciation of OC’s name: Ma-leh-nee

Taglist: @arrthurpendragon​​ @anotherunreadblog​​ @transformerfan97​​ @stareyedplanet​​ @antonybridgertons​​ @foxesandmagic​​​​​​

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know!

Lucien was having himself a relaxing drink on his couch, preferring to move on from losses. It had been several weeks since he lost Alexis, and though it was a severe disadvantage not to have the future foretold, he wouldn't dwell on what he couldn't change. The knocks on his door interrupted that relaxing time and with a groan, he got up to go answer.

When he opened the door and found a woman with straight, long black hair and piercing blue eyes he didn't know what to make of it. Marlenie had on a wide smile, because she knew this would be it.

"You haven't changed much," she remarked curiously, taking in the man's appearance.

"Come again?" Lucien frowned.

"I suppose you wouldn't remember me," Marlenie continued without problem. "We met briefly and when we did you only did it to feed off me." Lucien furrowed his brow, confused and without much patience to learn what she was talking about. "And you didn't even bother to make sure I actually died. Well, I let bygones be bygones, but now I require your help."

"And why the hell would I consider helping a stranger?" Lucien scoffed, but Marlenie remained unfazed. She took his drink and walked right in, proving she was of his sireline which did slightly ease him if he had to admit.

"Because, as you can see, I am no enemy of yours in this sireline war." Marlenie turned around to face him, smirking as she took a sip of his wine. "I want to find my father and I have a very good notion that you know where he is in this ridiculously packed city."

Lucien raised an eyebrow, closing the door behind him. "And how would I know?"

Marlenie's smirk widened. "Because, he's our very sire — Klaus Mikaelson."

~ 0 ~

Klaus and Elijah were returning to the compound and discussing all they had learned in the previous weeks. New things would surly arise and both needed to be up to speed and on the same page for their planned attacks.

"So, my first sired wants to kill you. Yours wants to kill me," Klaus rolled his eyes at such a lack of surprise. "Makes you regret turning vampires in the first place."

Elijah sighed. "Well, the division of labor seems crystal clear — two of them, two of…" But he trailed off when he and Klaus saw an unusual sight in the courtyard.

"Hello, nice to see you're back," Maleny sat on a chair, one leg crossed over the other, and waving one folded letter in her hand.

In between her and the brothers was a young woman lying over a bed of lavender sprigs with her wrists slashed. Poetic in a way, of course that was to match a very poetic letter...

"Maleny…?" Klaus took a step towards the dead woman, stunned. This wasn't at all like her...

"What, you don't think I did this?" Maleny scoffed loudly. "I'd have to be dead, first of all. No," she dramatically sighed. "I found this sight after coming back from Amarrah's. Oh, but that's not the best part, you've got a letter my love. Shall I read it?" Before Klaus could say anything, she went ahead and read aloud the contents of the letter.

"Roses are red, lavender is blue. Come find me before I find you."

Maleny lowered the letter and now grimly looked at the hybrid. "She's not much of a poet. Though I must admit her actions are...something completely different."

Klaus came towards her as she got up, chucking the letter behind. "She wants us to find her…" he said shakily, unsure how to take the new event.

"I kind of got the gist," Maleny answered bitterly and walked past him. "I think it goes without saying how uncomfortable this is."

Elijah cleared his throat to grab both's attention. "We are going to need to find her, I'm afraid."

"I never said you shouldn't," Maleny looked between both brothers, but kept a longer look on Klaus. "This is not about me, or us, or anyone else. This is about the bigger picture. So go."

Elijah exchanged a look with Klaus, both nodding in agreement. Elijah took his leave first and would wait nearby. Maleny kept staring at the woman grimly, her expression unreadable. She wasn't going to start a fight, especially now that she knew she had absolutely no right getting upset over past lovers. She hadn't even mentioned the new life she remembered. And she doubted she ever could.

"Mal," Klaus walked to where she stood, visibly nervous. He turned her to face him, cupping her cheek.

"I guess I shouldn't be so surprised she's back," Maleny said, her eyes drifting to the side.

"I don't want you to be overwhelm yourself with this. Let me handle it," Klaus told her to stop her from overthinking things.

"That's what I'm afraid of," Maleny muttered, her eyes gaze shifting to the side. Klaus rolled his eyes and surprised her with a long kiss. Maleny hummed as he pulled back. "I love your persuasion tricks..."

"I am quite charming," Klaus dramatically fixed his jacket, making her roll her eyes.

"Aaaand moment's over. Go," Maleny gestured for him to leave. "I'll distract myself with something…"

Still rather nervous, Klaus stayed where he was. He anxiously awaited for some type of angry burst from her but she remained in place, just sadly smiling. Eventually, he sped off to go find Elijah. Maleny sighed and turned away from the dead woman on the ground, walking to where the letter had landed. She picked it up again and read it over.

"Why do I have this dread-some feeling?" She rubbed her stomach, fearing how the day would go by.

~ 0 ~

Lucien and the newly arrived Marlenie strolled down a festival packed street of the Quarter. In their short time together, Marlenie had jogged Lucien's memory of their rather brief encounter centuries ago, and Lucien wondered if the fact he had practically killed and turned Klaus' daughter would become an issue later. Then again, if he hadn't done it, then Marlenie would be dead so...really Klaus would have to thank him? Right?

Marlenie was intently observing the people and their customs, their shops, their basic everything. She was in awe that this was the place her father had chosen to reside at. She had heard some very 'bad' things about him, mostly that he was probably the most feared vampire among their kind...but really that just made her even more excited to meet him. With her hands behind her back, much like a certain someone, she walked a little faster, turning her head every now and then to observe a new place.

"Do these silly humans find every excuse to party?" she finally made a question. "I hardly ever go to packed places," she glanced back at Lucien with a devious smirk, "I do hate people sometimes."

"This is New Orleans, my dear," Lucien gestured with open arms, "A city that rarely sleeps. Now if you do plan on staying—"

"Oh, I plan to," Marlenie cut him calmly.

Lucien gave her a sharp look. "That's if your story is believed."

"He will believe me," Marlenie seemed to take offense of Lucien's stance. She turned to face him. "Because I know about the one person hardly anyone would know of. She's my insurance."

"And who would that be?" Lucien clearly was having fun time doubting her - it was a rather funny story to him.

Marlenie stayed unfazed by his doubts. "My mother," she answered and continued to walk.

"And who, pray tell, is your mother?" Lucien called after her, fairly curious of the second - or first in technical terms - woman Klaus had managed to impregnate.

"You wouldn't know her," Marlenie said as if it were obvious. For her, her mother was still jumping bodies and never remembering who she was - and her father with no idea left her unprotected.

"Because she's dead?" Lucien had caught up with her.

"My mother is not dead. Currently, she's living in another body as a different person, with no memory of who she really is."

Lucien was left thinking on that statement for about a minute before geniously coming up, "What?"

Marlenie rolled her eyes and crossed the street to go look at a stall selling handmade bracelets. Lucien, having thin patience, stopped her from picking one up. Marlenie instantly glared.

"You came into my home asking me for help, the least you can do is tell me the story," Lucien said sternly.

"If I do then will you bring me to my father?" Marlenie inquired. She had been heavily irritated Lucien withheld the location of Klaus' residence and the only reason she hadn't fought him for it was because...she was clever. Fighting at this point, being so close to finding Klaus, wouldn't get her anywhere but a giant step back.

Lucien swayed his head, feigning thought. "I might be persuaded to."

"You win nothing from keeping me away from him," Marlenie scowled at his childish behavior. "If anything, you would have him trusting you more for bringing his daughter to him. And in this awful sireline war, you need every advantage at your disposal."

"Well," Lucien looked at her as if he were pleasantly surprised, "You definitely have Klaus' mind in that little head of yours. You sound like him."

Marlenie gave half a smile and tilted her head. "I should like to meet the man from whom I inherited this mind, then. Do we have a deal?"

"Fine," Lucien nodded. "So, the mother?"

"She has a name," Marlenie scowled again. "Though at the time she was called Iris Velden - a noblewoman my father met while his family was hiding apparently. I don't know much of the details on that part."

"And you know what her real name was?"

"Of course, she remembered shortly after being taken away."

"Care to share it, then?"

Marlenie smirked and turned away. "It's Maleny Rowan - the village girl my father fell in love with as a human."

She walked towards a different stall, therefore missing Lucien's gaping face behind.

~ 0 ~

It didn't take much for Klaus to find Aurora. She had kept hidden in a perfume shop, the same one she used to send her little letter earlier in the day. She stood across him, making it seem like there was to be a joyous reunion.

"A thousand years," she breathed in awe, "Can it really have been so long? Looking at you now, it feels like yesterday."

Klaus had a scowl plastered over his face, from the moment he saw her it refused to leave. "If yesterday were the apocalypse."

"Are you saying that leaving me felt like the end of the world?"

"Leaving you alive."

Aurora chuckled then pretended to look past him. "I notice Elijah's not with you. Was he reluctant to tag along?"

"On the contrary, he's been calling me incessantly since I ditched him to find you, raving about some ancient secret and the possibility of using your head as a footstool." And frankly, Klaus was not interested to hear it. He merely wanted to find Aurora before she learned of the many people he now held so dear.

A knowing smile spread across the redhead's lips. "Well, I'm sure he would rather have his footstool that have me share that little secret."

"Let me guess- in the time between being with me and seeking refuge in the arms of your brother, you slept with mine?"

"Oh, your accusations are so banal. The truth is, I've never been with your brother. At least, not in the way that you think."

"Why are you here, Aurora?"

Aurora took a minute to answer, but when she did she was on a whole new topic. "The witches here, they celebrate Fête de Cadeau- Feast of Gifts. It made me remember that very intimate gift we gave each other so long ago."

Knowing she spoke of his used-to-be-secret he smirked widely. "You should know my siblings know the truth now. There's no need to blackmail anymore so if that was your purpose in coming here, feel free to exit now."

Although mildly hurt he was discarding what used to be a special memory for them, Aurora, annoyed, declared her main priority. "I am here for the same reason Lucien and Tristan are: to protect my sire. Now, if you'd turned me that night like I'd asked, I would be here to protect you. But, since you didn't, I need to know...where in the hell is Rebekah?"

~ 0 ~

Outside in the festival, Lucien and Marlenie were still conversing, now specifically over the story of Marlenie's parents. "So," Marlenie turned to face the older vampire, "my mother has been forced to jump bodies after being sacrificed to fuel a coven's power. I would imagine she currently inhabits the woman my father has with him now." And afterwards, a threatening glare took over her face.

"Which is another reason I need to see my father now. If I can explain to him the situation then we can work together to save my mother before she is viciously sacrificed yet again."

Lucien rubbed the side of his neck and looked away from her. "Klaus isn't exactly the one to listen to every stranger that comes into his home—"

"I am not a stranger," Marlenie snapped, her voice visibly rising in annoyance. "I am his remaining child and he will listen to me."

"Do you know anything about Klaus?" Lucien gave her a curious look. It appeared Marlenie was behind in news regarding 'her father' from what he gathered.

Marlenie tilted her head, her eyes boring into his. "He is not exactly the easiest to track. For a while he became more of a myth than an actual person. So no, I don't know much about him except for what my mother told me."

"Right...Maleny…" Lucien repeated, still overly stunned of the irony.

Marlenie's eyes narrowed down at the way his voice suddenly changed. Lucien wondered how this could work best for him. Because Marlenie was right, if he were to bring Klaus his long lost daughter, it would score him immense points in his favor. But in his time in the Quarter he learned something quick: get to Maleny first, make her happy, and you would have Klaus' good side for a long while.

"I'll tell you what, Marlenie," Lucien finally spoke up again, suddenly with a bright smile, "Let me ease in the topic to Klaus and when I see it fit I'll take you to him."

Marlenie scrunched her nose in distaste. "Excuse me? I will not wait to be brought to my own father. You have to take me right now."

"I can't do that," Lucien shook his head. "At the moment, Elijah's sireline is in the Quarter, and they're not nice. I bring you into the war zone and you get killed? That wouldn't work for me."

"I am not that younger than you therefore I am far older than those of the Strix." And at the face of surprise Lucien had on, Marlenie explained. "I know of my enemies, and the Strix are very important."

"Then you know I am right. Go back to your place and wait for my call." Lucien didn't wait to see if she agreed. He walked away from her, intent on finding the blonde witch next.

Meanwhile, Marlenie puffed out and crossed her arms, watching after him with narrowed eyes. He wasn't telling her something and she wasn't very patient to wait it out.

~ 0 ~

Back in the perfume shop, Klaus was nearing the end of his thin patience. It only plunged deeper after hearing Aurora was there for Rebekah. "You came all this way to protect Rebekah?" he scoffed. "Bit of a wasted trip, really. Your sire has moved on to greener pastures. So, once again, goodbye," he went for the doors but Aurora, frustrated, shouted after him.

"My fate is bound to hers! I should be allowed to protect her," Aurora argued.

Klaus rolled his eyes and turned back for a minute. "You needn't concern yourself with Rebekah. Besides, I doubt she'd make the same mistake twice."

"The first mistake being...?"

"Ever trusting you."

Aurora was left confused for a moment until he realized he spoke about the manner of her turning. She laughed lightly. "I thought we were past that. You sure didn't seem so perturbed with the idea after our first encounter afterwards…"

Klaus scowled at the insinuation, wanting to hear nothing more of it. The action confused Aurora. It was as if he was regretful of their relationship?

~ 0 ~

In the cemetery, Davina was being celebrated as the regent, and thus being gifted with various gifts by the witches. Unbeknownst to her, Maleny was watching the exchange from across, in silent. She knew Hayley and Jackson were there as well, looking after the teen Regent and she just wanted a glimpse of her old friend in her new job. She hadn't spoken to Davina much after the incident with Kol's ashes and she doubted they would exchange words anytime soon. Standing at a distance was the closest she would get.

"She really looks uncomfortable with all those loud animals," the voice made Maleny jump in her spot. Lucien stood right beside her, feigning interest in the ordeal across them. "Not to mention she probably hates the outfit."

Maleny stared at the man with wide eyes, shocked to find him. "Lucien...what are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same thing about you," he countered. "I thought witches were welcomed into this place. Why are you standing here so lonely?"

Maleny sighed and changed gazes to Davina. "I'm not exactly friends with the Regent anymore. She hates me. So I stand here and just...watch. So let me get back to that, okay?"

"That's not very nice," Lucien shook his head. "I thought we were friends. You know I have been cleared of any suspicions from the murders right?"

Maleny gave him a sideways glance. "My friend Amarrah still thinks it's you."

"And you? What do you think?"

With a deep sigh, Maleny turned to him. She found it was difficult to look him in the eyes after knowing what they...had. She involuntarily swallowed hard, the feelings too overwhelming. "Honestly, I don't know what to think of you anymore." And that was nothing but the plain truth. Her mind was all jumbled up with resurfacing memories she didn't quite want to see.

"My, my, now why is it I can hear your little heart racing all of a sudden?" Lucien asked, amused by the changes of the blonde. He stepped towards her, reaching for her face.

"You need to leave me alone," Maleny mumbled and walked past him. "I don't want to see anyone right now."

Curious of her new cold behavior, Lucien turned and walked after her. "Now why are you mad? Don't tell me you and Nik have had another spat?"

Maleny could not take his mocking laugh and flat out told him, "Aurora is back and Klaus and Elijah are tending to her while I try not to scream out in frustration to the very first person I see."

Several emotions took over Lucien. First, confusion and then surprise, but the most severe one was the rage that filled his dark eyes. "She's back? Why didn't Klaus tell me?" he gritted his teeth and made to walk away this time, apparently to find the redhead himself.

"Don't you dare go after her either!" Maleny found herself shouting after him. She blinked rapidly for a minute, embarrassed by her warning.

Lucien seemed more annoyed but turned back to her anyways. "You know what she did…"

"Yes," Maleny released a big breath. She wondered how she could make it look like her new concern for him was simply out of politeness. "I understand that, but you need to let Klaus sort things out first and—"

"NO!" Lucien abruptly shouted. The blonde gasped and momentarily stayed silent. "Aurora is here and I need to see her—"

"But you shouldn't," Maleny said meekly. No matter what she thought of him and their toxic relationship of the past, she didn't want to see him getting entangled into something bigger. "At least...at least not right now. Please," she suddenly walked up to him, pleading to him, "can you take me to the festival? I think it would do both of us good if we distracted ourselves."

Lucien scoffed at the idea. "No—"

"We are the same," Maleny said softly. "You lost Cecilia to Aurora. And she has the power to take Klaus from me."

Lucien tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at her. "You expect that to work?"

Maleny pursed her lips together, half irritated. "I expect you to take me where I asked. Unless you want me to make up some story to Klaus where you upset me. Your choice."

After a minute of silence, Lucien sighed in resignation. "You are good."

A sneaky smile spread across Maleny's face. "I actually am."

~ 0 ~

Elijah had found Marcel in the now-gym of St. Ann's and was glad to see that Cami wasn't anywhere nearby to listen to what he had to say. He had met with Tristan and accused him of working with someone, clearly both against the Original vampires. Now he needed Marcel's help.

But it appeared Marcel wasn't so willing to give that help. He wasn't very pleased with the recent news of Cami joining the Strix and Elijah not doing anything to keep her away from that group. "Is that all you got? A hunch?" he briefly glanced at the suited Original, pretending to be more interested in a table of equipment beside him.

"I don't do hunches," Elijah snapped, irritated. "I've known Tristan a thousand years. He's not easily shaken, and yet I heard that little weasel's heart pound when I accused him of working with someone, and, strangely, nothing when I mentioned Aurora. He may be telling the truth about that."

"But, he could be hiding something," Marcel finished for him. "So now what? You think I'll just help you? After what you didn't do for Cami?"

"You are mistaken if you think I happily let her join that group," Elijah glared. "But that's the thing, I can't do anything to force her to leave. She told me herself, Marcel. Now if you see another way to make her leave, by all means do it or tell me about it. In the meantime, I need you to do this for me. While Cami may be in control of the Quarter, you're the one with the connections."

Marcel lightly sighed, of course agreeing with the last statement. "Fine. I'll have my people trail your boy. Let's see what they find out."

"Thank you," Elijah nodded civilly.

~ 0 ~

In the perfume shop, Aurora had taken to pricking her index fingertip while babbling on about something irrelevant to the main problem. "You can always catch an insect with the smell of a flower…" she let her blood drip into a perfume bottle then dabbed the newly blooded perfume over her neck. Afterwards, she held it towards Klaus. "But it's the smell of blood that draws a carnivore."

Klaus snatched her wrist and pushed her away. "And what draws a snake?"

Aurora smirked, "Ooh," she backtracked a couple steps, "how you loathe me, so certain I've come to do you harm. Yet, as I recall, we did plenty of harm to each other. And, if I'm not mistaken, we both rather liked it, didn't we? Do you remember what that first time felt like, to be with someone every bit as powerful, as tormented, and as cursed as you?"

It was inevitable for Klaus to consider the answer. As crazy as Aurora was, she did match him in every aspect of their personality and physical aptitude. He had even told Maleny weeks ago, how opposite she was to him. She was gentle, she was soft, and no matter the many times she claimed to 'not be a good person' she would never match the things he had done in his lifetime.

"Yes…" he finally answered, going with the truth for that time.

Aurora took it as something else and smirked. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you haven't thought about what we had every day for the last thousand years."

That one was easy for Klaus. "I haven't," he replied back with an even bigger smirk than hers.

Aurora narrowed her eyes, refusing to believe him. "Do you want to know why I have come? Because after a thousand years of trying to erase your touch, your smell, the taste of your lips... I'm here for you." She walked up to him, leaning closer as if to kiss him when she caught a scent she knew she hadn't been responsible for. She pulled away, tilting her head as a look of curiosity settled over her face. "That's a lovely perfume," she remarked, feigning a smile. "May I know who's the owner so I can acquire it myself?"

"Over my burning corpse," was Klaus answer, which came far too fast and protective for Aurora's taste.

~ 0 ~

Now in the festival, Maleny sat on the edge of a lonesome bench waiting for Lucien to return. She was beginning to regret having asked him to bring her there, like they were the best of friends. Would it be considered cheating? There was certainly not going to be any kissing or hand holding...so it was fine, right?

She just didn't want Lucien meeting with Aurora thinking that because of her 'Cecilia' was forever gone when in reality the real person he had "fallen in love with" was very much alive...and loving another. The churn of her stomach made her feel sick to the bone with guilt. She felt guilty for both men she loved in the past...but it also made her feel torn.

"You might want to at least blink," Rebekah whispered to Maleny who quickly followed the advice and shook her head, blinking rapidly. Rebekah smiled teasingly as they continued to watch her brothers in a pseudo-sword match. They were taking advantage that neither Esther nor Mikael were not around, because if they were Mikael would have put an end to it as soon as it started. In the last moment, Klaus was able to gain a quick upperhand against Elijah and the two brothers laughed, ending it with the winner.

"I would like a chance," Rebekah sighed.

"I think absolutely not," Elijah gave her a warning look, knowing his sister often got with her ideas.

"You would hurt yourself," Maleny agreed and looked back at the two brothers. "I much rather prefer to watch." Rebekah rolled her eyes at the comment, as she assumed Maleny's mind was being once again over-flooded with thoughts on Klaus.

"I rather like it when you do," Klaus came by Maleny, both smiling at each other.

Rebekah mocked a deep sigh and languidly looked around. "Well you have bored me now. I'm going to go see what else I can entertain myself with," she deviously smiled and turned away.

"You should probably go see she doesn't actually do anything," Klaus warned Elijah, but the elder brother knew Klaus could care less what Rebekah was up to. Still, he gave a nod, collected their swords, and went after Rebekah.

"Would you teach me, then?" Maleny innocently asked after they were left alone.

Klaus took a moment to think about her request but was still confused. "I thought you just said you wouldn't want to...?"

"I thought you would like an excuse to hold me," Maleny took on a similar devious smile Rebekah had.

"Very true point," Klaus thought himself stupid for not thinking of that sooner.  Maleny inched closer, gently dragging her fingers along his arm. "And I suppose I could also use it as an excuse to tell you...things..." he discreetly took her hand from his arm and gripped it.

"Ooh, I'm fairly interested to hear those words..." Maleny smiled.

Discreetly, the two made it out from the village in time before Maleny started giggling while Klaus took a hold of her from behind, beginning to tell her those words she so liked to hear in the middle of their first kisses.

Maleny released a breath. "I love you too," she whispered guiltily. She did, she knew she did. But now her mind was truly playing a cruel game as it constantly reminded her of moments with Klaus...and then Lucien.

"Do you know how boring it is to have to listen to my cousin Tristan give speeches all the time?" Cecilia thought it rude but she laughed anyways.

Lucien, walking beside her in a lonely part of the castle, smiled. "Well, I was never one to truly like your cousin, but..."

Cecilia giggled and turned to be in front of him. "Well, you do not have to pretend to like him in front of me."

"Oh, I know," Lucien reached to touch her face. "With you I never have to pretend. I can love freely when I'm with you."

"As can I," Cecilia agreed with a smile. "You are the only one that makes living here bearable."

"Funny," Lucien stroked her cheek, "you do the same for me, my dear Cecilia."

Cecilia's smile widened as he leaned down to kiss her.

Maleny covered her mouth and shut her eyes as she wished hard for the memory to fade away.

What would happen if she told Klaus about the newest life she remembered? The extreme jealousy rage would be the first phase, no doubt. He would shout and throw things, destroy some of them, while he raged. The next phase would no doubt consist of him finding Lucien and killing the poor man for something he hadn't chosen.

And what if she told Lucien? He would react with disbelief at first, reviewing what he thought he knew about Cecilia. That she was dead, that she was murdered by Aurora and probably buried by himself. But when she told him all she now knew about him, he would have no choice to believe it. And then? Well, he would surely get himself into trouble with Klaus by coming in and telling him he loved the same woman.

The two options were eating at her mind, and Maleny felt she couldn't talk about it to anyone. Cami was far too wrapped up with the Quarter's issues, and now the Strix unfortunately. Amarrah was still working hard with Vincent to solve the murder cases. Davina was a clear 'no', and Hayley had to look after Hope and tend to the Regent teen to keep the curse away. Freya? Well, she was Klaus' sister. That ended that.

For the first time in a long time, Maleny felt alone.

"I don't understand what this is supposed to be…" she heard Lucien's voice not too far from her and looked up to see the vampire walking towards her holding a purple smoothie.

A sheepish smile worked its way across her face as she took the smoothie from him. "It's a berry smoothie," she informed while he took a seat beside her. "I like berries," she said before taking a deep drink. Lucien watched as a weird expression took over her facial features. She yelped and rubbed her temple, and so he laughed. "It's not funny," came her weak scold, followed by a whack on the arm. "You'd be the same if you had a brain freeze. Of course, you'd have to be alive first."

"Ooh," Lucien feigned offence as he put a hand over his chest. "That wounded me deeply. Reminding me I have not been alive for centuries."

And while it was meant to be sarcasm, Maleny could see there was more of a meaning behind his words...evidently speaking out of a restless heart. She looked down to her lap, licking her lips nervously. "I didn't mean to cause you pain. I have a mouth that won't stop."

"Wouldn't be the first time I encountered that type of woman," Lucien sighed, straightening on his spot.

Maleny felt worse for making more similar remarks and acts of that Cecilia. That wasn't her plan either, to torture the poor man. "You want to go look at stuff?" she suddenly suggested and jumped to her feet.

"Excuse me?" Lucien looked up, amused by her sudden excitement. "I brought you to the festival like you wanted. Now you want me to take you out to the stalls?"

"Aha," Maleny nodded, innocently sipping her smoothie's straw.

Lucien watched her curiously, genuinely wondering how in the hell a woman like that was, by choice, with someone like Klaus. She seemed too bright, too...fragile. But then again who was he to judge, Cecilia was the same way. With the sense of familiarity again, Lucien found himself agreeing to her request.

~ 0 ~

Aurora, surprisingly, kept her calm attitude as she took several steps around the perfume shop. "I'm not one to openly display jealousy," she remarked, and received a loud scoff from Klaus. "But I am curious to know what little harlot you have in this city."

Klaus angrily sped towards her, grabbing her in a choke-hold as he pinned her against a glass counter. "Choose your next words with care for they will be your last ones before you die."

Aurora gasped, but not from lack of air. She was more exhilarated by the force than anything. "Ooh, such actions. Am I to assume you've taken this one as a pet, then? Your favorite one?"

Klaus' response was plunging his hand through her chest for her heart.

"Kill me now but you will never know the dark secret that has kept us apart for so many centuries," Aurora gripped his arm with the hand near her heart. "Because I promise you as soon as I tell you, you will chuck that other woman to the side and come to me."

Klaus laughed and let her go, stepping back to give her a pitiful look. "Don't make promises that will never come true."

Aurora crinkled her nose, a bit discouraged by this new attitude, but not about to give it up. "Listen to me, Klaus, just listen. Listen to what I have to say and then you will see for yourself why you will ultimately come back to me."

Klaus rolled his eyes, "You are wasting your time—"

"The night you left without me," Aurora, frustrated, interrupted to make her story known. "You didn't even bother to look back."

"Why would I have?" Klaus snapped, taking a step towards her as the rage, and immense pain, filled his heart at the reminder of how the woman had broken him centuries ago. "You said everything you wanted to. And you know, you should count yourself lucky. In a thousand years, only one person has talked to me that way and lived."

"I was rather cruel, wasn't I?" Aurora ignored his anger, still firmly believing it would vanish when she revealed the truth. "Some might say uncharacteristically so."

"What are you getting at?"

"I was not the architect of our heartbreak. In the moments before you asked me to flee with you, I saw your brother...and foolishly I let it slip of the secret you shared with me. When he asked me to tell, I told him I wouldn't betray you, and that true love transcends blood, but he wouldn't listen. He just had one question. He ordered me to speak…"

"And so you told him," Klaus finished for her, his anger, honestly, simmering as the shock took him over. Elijah had to have compelled her or else she probably wouldn't have spoken up.

Aurora's tears welled in her eyes. "I couldn't stop the words flying out of my mouth- words I swore I would never tell to another living soul, about how you killed your mother and blamed your father, and you had to lie to them so that they would flee with you. When you came to see me not minutes later, begging me to go with you, I could not say yes. I had been compelled otherwise. I was to see you for the monster you were. Now I believe it was the first time Elijah experienced the ability to compel, and when he understood what he did, he did not come and undo it."

"So, that's it…?" Klaus blinked with wide eyes, feeling like the air had been sucked out of him. "Elijah's secret?" he could now understand the persistence of Elijah earlier, trying to tell him something. He just never thought it would be something like this.

"Yes. You made him suffer the loss of a mother, and this was his revenge." Aurora had been right about something, his anger for her would vanish. But it didn't mean what she wanted to happen would happen.

His anger, now turned fury, would turn onto another Original.

~ 0 ~

Maleny laughed when Lucien refused to try a sample a nice old woman was trying to give him. She stood at the other end of the stall, trying what looked like salsa, but she was more willing apparently.

"I'm not having it," he rudely told the old woman who, in response, glared and 'hmphd' away. "Humans have the annoying habit of pushing their luck," he muttered afterwards, walking for Maleny.

"Hmm, watch it," she playfully warned as eyes scanned for a new sample to taste, "Need I remind you I am still one of them."

"Yes but you have a talent of being more...less annoying."

"Oh, wow, thanks. I feel so special," Maleny picked up a small bowl of a new kind of salsa, ready to try it. "I think I'll drown my specialness with food."

"I wouldn't do that…"

Maleny rolled her eyes and turned to him, about to make a witty remark but Lucien had been far closer than she imagined and so the two bumped into each other and the bowl of salsa was dumped over Maleny's blouse.

"That's cold!" the blonde screeched and let the bowl crash to the floor.

Lucien hadn't intended on that and openly apologized, which for him really only ever happened with one person - and he took notice of it. "I'm sorry," he tried to help Maleny but she swatted his hands away from her. She wasn't going to let him touch her, especially her blouse!

"No, I got it!" she turned to the stall, calling out for the old woman.

Lucien felt a light pick up of wind behind, and nearly froze when he heard the voice behind speak. "Is this what I was ditched for? Some petty game of flirting with a human?" Marlenie tilted her head at the back of the man, her voice an eerie calm.

Lucien turned to her, for once totally lost on his next move. Marlenie looked past him just as Maleny took the cloth from the old woman and turned to the two. "Can we please go? I'd rather smell like salsa in a bar," Maleny glumly remarked as she wiped at her blouse.

Marlenie's eyes widened as Maleny raised her gaze to the two vampires. But of course, she viewed Marlenie as nothing but a stranger. "Is this a friend of yours, Lucien?" she asked, disinterested.

"Uh…" Lucien scratched his head and looked between the two women who seemed roughly around the same age.

"...yes," Marlenie was the one to answer. Her voice was frail and her eyes were with tears. "What...what are you doing here?"

Maleny arched an eyebrow, slowly answering, "At a festival, clearly. Why are you looking at me like that?"

The way the glossy blue eyes of Marlenie were boring into hers made a strange feeling start in Maleny. She didn't understand what it was, but it didn't make her feel well.

"Wh-what is your name?" Marlenie then asked, needing a final confirmation that the woman standing mere feet from her was…

"It's Maleny, and yours?"

"Marl…" but Marlenie stopped herself from finishing. "Marly. Marly, that's my name." She flickered her eyes to Lucien, immediately suspicious of him again. "How do you know Lucien?"

Maleny coughed awkwardly, briefly answering, "He's a friend of my boyfriend's."

Marlenie's eyes snapped back on the blonde, a sudden fury lacing every last of her facial features. "Boyfriend?" she repeated the word with hatred. Could it be possible that her m-mother spoke about someone else? She was not supposed to be walking around in her original body, it was almost impossible! Could she be walking about with no memory of who she was still? Who it was she truly loved? Who she birthed?

Lucien could see what Marlenie was thinking and before she said something wrong, he stepped in and clarified Maleny's words. "She's the woman of our sire, my dear Marl...Marly, Klaus."

Marlenie slowly softened again, her heart swelling and her lips curling into a wide smile. "Klaus? Really?"

Maleny was becoming uncomfortable with the woman's radical changes of behavior. One moment she seemed upset, the next angry, and now she was happy?

"Yes," Lucien gave Marlenie a hard look warning her to control herself. "So we better treat her right."

Maleny rolled her eyes. "Please tell me now if that's how Klaus is referring to me when he's with you people. Because if it is, I'll slap him."

Marlenie immediately chuckled at such a joke she knew only her mother would make. "I like your sense of humor, Maleny." Saying her mother's name, to her mother, was a feeling so indescribable, yet so memorable.

"Thanks," Maleny nodded, momentarily studying her. "You have pretty eyes."

Marlenie smiled, her hand slowly reaching near her eyes. "Thank you. I got them from my father, apparently. And your hair…" her smile widened, recalling that her father, apparently, would always compliment her mother's hair with, "...it's such pretty hair."

Maleny liked the compliment and ran a hand down her blonde hair. "Thanks, that's what my boyfriend says. So," she looked between Marlenie and Lucien, "you both are part of Klaus' sireline, then? Are you here to protect him as well?" she asked of Marlenie.

"You can say that," Marlenie nodded. "Do you think I can see him?" it was a difficult struggle not to sound so excited.

"Look, he's not exactly fond of being 'protected'. He's not even happy this guy's here," Maleny chucked a thumb to Lucien.

"Well," Lucien feigned offense at the comment and looked away.

"I'd still like to see him," Marlenie meekly insisted.

Maleny then sighed, setting the cloth on the stall counter. "To be honest, so would I. But he's a bit busy with…" she took in a breath, just the idea of Klaus being in the same room with Aurora put her into a dangerous anger. Marlenie could see that her mother was troubled by something, and had it not been for her incredible resistance she would have asked about it. Maleny soon shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled at the two vampires. "I'm going to go see if I can find a new blouse around here for cheap," she looked down at her stained covered blouse.

"Here," Lucien pulled out his wallet and began taking out a couple of bills.

"I am not taking money from you!" Maleny exclaimed, sounding offended by the gesture.

"I would have figured since it was technically my fault you would be more open to the idea," Lucien said, honestly surprised.

Maleny thought about for a minute before swiping the money from his hands. "Good point. I expect drinks after this too."

"I more or less knew you would," Lucien playfully rolled his eyes. Maleny chuckled and went off to find her a blouse.

Marlenie, dumbfounded, watched her mother leave and suddenly punched Lucien on the arm. "Why are you flirting with my mother!?" she glared openly, and frankly a little darkly. "She's with my father if you forgot!"

"Who, you should know, is spending quality time with his ex," Lucien bitterly replied back.

Marlenie stepped back, narrowing her eyes. "What?"

"Aurora de Martel, the first sired of Rebekah Mikaelson has just arrived today. Klaus is currently with her."

"You're lying," Marlenie scowled, her voice slightly softening.

"You could discreetly ask Maleny about it and see for yourself. By the way, any particular reason you didn't tell her who you were?"

"I wasn't expecting her to be...her," Marlenie sighed. "Now it's more complicated. She doesn't remember us. And why is she…" it seemed like she was deeply disturbed suddenly, "...still mortal?"

Lucien widely smiled, almost mocking. "Perhaps Klaus is unwilling to turn her because he does not think it would be worth it?"

Marlenie reacted fast and sped him to a wall of a street. She curled her hand around his neck and gritted her teeth. "You would do well not to speak badly about my parents. I may look like a nice little girl but I assure you I fight like a right terror," she gripped her hand on his neck and pushed him again. "I may not know how my parents may be today, but I know they love each other. You will not persuade me to believe otherwise."

Unimpressed with her, Lucien pried her hand from his neck and stepped off the wall. "You are such a small thing to hold all this rage. Might I suggest you out it towards the real cause? Preventing our sireline's demise."

Marlenie glanced back towards the festival, quickly scanning the area until she found Maleny at a stall, curiously looking through blouses. "For right now, I only want to spend an afternoon with my mother. If I cannot see my father today, then I will spend my first day here with my mother. I want to learn everything about her, how she broke the curse, what she remembers...how she and my father are doing. Everything."

"Slow it down, princess," Lucien forced her to turn back to him. "Need I remind you if you choose not to tell her who you are, you can't expect to have some deep conversation with Maleny. She's smart, she'll know you're up to something."

Marlenie ignored him in favor of her mother. She walked towards the blonde who was looking between two blouses, a pink and turquoise one. "Oh, neither of those are pretty," Marlenie clicked her tongue and looked at the other blouses hanging.

"I'm trying not to be picky," Maleny sheepishly said. "I just want something that doesn't smell like tomatoes and chili."

Marlenie hummed as her fingers tapped along her cheek, her blue eyes jumping from one blouse to another. "Doesn't mean you can't look for something nice. Trust me," she flashed Maleny a proud smile, "I'm a designer."

Maleny cocked an eyebrow, about to say 'yeah right' but the woman was centuries old, and much like Lucien, had probably gotten to where she was due to her vampirism. In the end, her shoulders shrugged and motioned for Marlenie to do her thing. As she did, Maleny curiously studied the dark-haired vampire.

Something about her made Maleny feel odd, almost uneasy. Before she knew it, she found herself remarking, "You're awfully young."

Marlenie glanced sideways to smile warmly. "You and I both know it's only an appearance. I'm nearing my thousand years now."

"I know," Maleny nodded, "but I meant that when you turned you must have been what? Twenty?"

Marlenie looked back to the blouses, a little more quiet now. "Round there."

"That's a really young age. May I ask why you turned?"

"I didn't turn by choice..." Marlenie paused, debating if it was a good idea specifying how she had been turned. For now it would only sadden Maleny, but what would happen when she found out it was her daughter's story?

Maleny assumed by her sudden silence that she had overstepped her boundaries. "You don't have to. I...I have a way of...saying things I shouldn't. Sorry."

"It's alright," Marlenie waved off the subject and pulled out a nice white blouse with short sleeves. "How about this? I like what it does to your eyes."

Maleny took the blouse and gave it a once over before nodding. "Yeah, it's fine. You do have good taste."

Marlenie chuckled. "Thank you. Shall we pay and go get those drinks you wanted?"

"You want to spend the day with a human trying to escape problems?" Maleny chuckled herself now. "I mean, you don't have to. Lucien has to because I'm his ticket to Klaus' good side. He thinks I don't know that's his plan," she gave a light snort, "Men are idiots."

Marlenie narrowed her eyes at the slightly smaller blonde. "You're a sneaky one."

"When you live with vampires as long as I have, you have to learn how to be sneaky," Maleny waved the blouse and went off to go pay, leaving Marlenie to ponder of her mother's new demeanor.

She concluded she very much liked it.

~ 0 ~

Elijah was back in the compound waiting for word on Marcel task. He had expected to find Maleny around but when she didn't appear, he assumed she'd gone out to distract herself. If only he could do the same.

Just as he finished leaving Klaus another voicemail, Marcel walked into the courtyard.

"Yep. We got a problem," was his declaration.

With a resigned sigh, Elijah turned to meet him. "Well?"

"My guy stayed on Tristan's tail all day. Followed him to this place called the Candide Royale. He goes in, never comes out. So, he's obviously using it as a way to get to somewhere."

"How and where?"

"The building has hidden passageways leading out the back. Now, bootleggers used them in the '20s to run booze to a secret storehouse on Dauphine, and you'll never guess who just bought that storehouse. Kingmaker Land Development, owned by one Lucien Castle. Now, that sure as hell isn't a coincidence. Either they're brokering some kind of truce…"

Elijah was honestly surprised, and a little mad at himself for not thinking about it sooner. "...Or, they've been working together the whole time."

~ 0 ~

"You've had a thousand years to tell me of Elijah's betrayal. Why now?" Klaus was still having trouble resigning to the harsh betrayal of his brother. Coming from Aurora, he was justified to.

"Well, there's never been a prophecy witch spelling all our doom until now!" Aurora frantically flapped her arms, making look like it should have been obvious.

Seeing she had knowledge of the now dead witch, Klaus curiously asked, "What do you know of her?"

"I know I killed her," Aurora, unperturbed, answered. "My brother told me of her prophecy, but I needed to see her for myself. And what did she show me? The clan Mikaelson destroyed, including my sire. And I believed her. But, a dangerous toy in dangerous hands must be removed, so I poisoned her. And now, I'm going to change the future she saw."

"By turning me against the only brother I have left."

"The prophecy said that you would fall one by friend, by foe, and by family," Aurora listed off her fingers then gave him a narrowed look. "Have you thought of who that family might be? 'Cause it might just be the one closest to you."

Her words rang a truth in Klaus' mind.

~ 0 ~

Still at the festival, Lucien stood on the sidelines watching a group of musicians playing across the street. When he smelt the familiar scent of, well, berries, he gave a mere clear of his throat and continued to watch the musicians.

Maleny had now changed into the white blouse Marlenie picked up for her. She had only come to find Lucien for their drinks. But now that she saw how interested Lucien appeared to be with the musicians, she became curious. "Do you play anything?"

"I hate it," was Lucien's answer, sounding bitter and a most hateful towards it.

"Well, I love it," Maleny declared, much more cheerful. "Back in my village I used to love watching our musicians. I loved the tunes they managed to play with such simple instruments. The melodies are so interesting and so much fun to dance to."

"Yes," Lucien sighed, and Maleny noticed his tone shift to that familiar melancholy one.

She turned and stared at him. "Have I said something I shouldn't have?"

Lucien raised his look that turned sour all of a sudden. "You have this amazing ability to remind me of her…"

The guilt flashed in her eyes and so Maleny looked down before he could see it. "I'm...sorry."

"Cecilia loved the music," Lucien glanced back at the musicians. "Like you said, the melodies are interesting and fun to dance to. She loved it all…"

"I'm sure you had nice dances," Maleny tried to uplift the mood.

Lucien scoffed instantly. "Are you forgetting who I was back then? Who she was?"

"U-um…"

"It was impossible to ever have a dance together, a real one anyways…" Lucien sighed deeper, berating his mind silently for the flashes of memories he was beginning to remember.

It was night time and in the De Martel castle there was a fun evening party. The noblemen and women were dancing to the tunes played by the Count's musicians. Others were still eating and the rest were merely talking. Cecilia de Ark stood on the sidelines of the dancing area, staring in awe. She wanted to go out there, but there was not anyone she really wanted to dance with.

"My lady," Lucien appeared behind the table she was standing by. Cecilia looked back, looking as if the evening had just gotten better. Lucien looked out to the dancing guests. "Will you not dance tonight?"

Cecilia shook her head. "I shouldn't think so. The music is great but I wish to dance only with you."

Lucien warmly smiled at her. "What I would give to have a dance with you, Cecilia."

Cecilia pushed some of her hair from her face and smiled back. "Do you know how to dance?"

"Um, well...not exactly…" at the nervousness Lucien displayed, Cecilia giggled. "I never had the time to, you know...learn."

Cecilia sobered from her giggle and discreetly stepped back until they were side by side. Lucien was startled when he felt her hand taking his behind their backs. Cecilia looked at him with a soft smile. "I would gladly help you."

"The chances of that are almost impossible, my lady," Lucien gripped her hand, and now both sadly stared back to the dancing guests.

Maleny was overwhelmed with guilt and, almost frantically, told him, "We need drinks, now! Marly got a head start to Rousseau's, I only came to get you. C'mon."

Feeling for a drink himself, Lucien gave in and the two walked away to meet with Marlenie.

~ 0 ~

Aurora was satisfied to see the rage Klaus had first shown towards her now fading away from his eyes. She only needed to wait perhaps a night or so for him to come back to her. "I've given you much to think about," she began, walking towards him. She reached for his jacket's lapels, intending to tug him closer but he pushed her hands off him. Irritated nonetheless, she bid goodbye. "I'll leave you to work through-"

Klaus grabbed her and sped her to a shelf, shoving her back to it. Aurora remained calm, expecting something more or less like that from him.

"Go to Elijah," she said. "Ask him yourself. I suspect you know what you will find. And, when you do, come find me. See who's really on your side." It was she who took the first leave from the shop.

Klaus stood there, alone, unable to understand so much...betrayal. He was shocked, he was furious, and he was hurt. Well, he wouldn't stay like that for much longer.

~ 0 ~

In the compound, Elijah was having himself a drink at the bar, basically waiting for Klaus to come home and reproach him. He knew better than to expect Aurora to keep quiet.

"She told you," he spoke up as soon as he felt Klaus' presence in the room. "How convenient, to voice this ancient grievance in the very moment we need to stand united against our enemies."

"You speak to me of enemies when the greatest traitor of my life stands before me," Klaus half-shouted before speeding up to him and shoving him fave first to the shelf of bottles. In the attempt, the wooden counter broke into pieces as well. As Elijah got up, Klaus took opportunity and kicked him in the chest, forcing him back down.

Once Elijah finally made it to his feet, he was punched several times on the face. Elijah recovered more or less fast and quickly made his retaliation by headbutting back. Klaus snatched him by the neck and pinned him against the balcony rail. Elijah managed to get a punch in so hard that Klaus went backwards and fell on his knees. Elijah reached out and grabbed him by the back of his coat to smash him on your the coffee table. As Klaus recovered, Elijah unbuttoned his jacket, foreseeing quite the fight.

"What you did to me - you set my course!" Klaus accused in a loud roar.

"What does it matter now?" Elijah snapped, unable to comprehend the necessity for a fight over a woman that didn't matter anymore. "Maleny is the one you care about, have you forgotten?"

"Do not bring her into this!" Klaus snapped, even more angry Maleny was being used as a ploy to subside his fury. "This is not about her, this is not about Aurora, this is about what you did to me."

"I protected you!" Elijah argued back. "I protected our family. Aurora was the sister of a lunatic, and a powerful lunatic at that! Father was in pursuit. What was I supposed to do, Niklaus? And despite every one of your despicable deeds, I alone have always stood by you."

"And why is that? Guilt," Klaus lunged for Elijah to begin a new fight, one he intended on winning at.

~ 0 ~

"You are not drinking that," Marlenie swiped a glass off the bar counter, the glass filled with bright yellow fluid, before Maleny could reach for it.

Maleny pouted, no longer in her full five senses. "Hey…"

Marlenie pulled the drink further away, exchanging a look with Lucien who sat on Maleny's other side, before deciding to drink it herself. "Oh, just as well, this is disgusting," she crinkled her nose afterwards.

Maleny groaned and turned her stool towards the other customers of the bar. "You suck. Here I am trying to not rip someone's head off because of my jealousy, and you're not letting me drink a lousy glass of alcohol?"

"There are other, more productive ways, to expel jealousy," Marlenie chuckled, surprised she was handling it with amusement. But she saw her mother wasn't worrying as much so why should she?

"Good point," Maleny nodded, pursing her lips while she thought of something else. "I want to dance! Can I do that?"

"Sure, if you want to Klaus to come and rip off the head of whomever you're dancing with," Lucien muttered as he drank down another glass.

Maleny rolled her eyes and leaned on the counter. "Like I give a damn. I deserve a free pass. I want to dance," she hopped off her stool and turned to Marlenie and Lucien. "Actually, I wanted to drink a little more, buuuut…"

"Not happening," went Marlenie and Lucien together.

"Vampires are annoying," Maleny grumbled to herself as she turned for the dancing area.

Marlenie accepted another drink from the bartender and turned her stool to watch her mother dance. Lucien also took another drink and lightly sighed. "Aren't you going to follow?" he asked.

"Nah, I don't do dancing," Marlenie shook her head. Lucien rolled his eyes and downed his drink. Marlenie watched the action with amusement. "Easy there, you'll get properly drunk quicker than my mother."

"I'm simply following into Maleny's game. I'd like to forget that the woman who murdered my love is in the same city as I am," Lucien gripped the glass in his hand.

Marlenie's eyebrows raised upwards. "Quite the tragic story."

"Says the woman who lost her parents to some curse and lived alone for centuries."

Marlenie, now irritated, scowled. "That wasn't an insult I was trying to make."

"Like I care," Lucien put down his glass and pulled out a couple bills to cover the drinks. "I'm done here," he declared as he got up from his stool.

"Where are you going?" Marlenie turned her stool as he walked past her.

"Home, before I rip someone's head off," Lucien snapped. "You don't need me, darling. There's your mother," he gestured with a hand towards Maleny who was nearing closer to them.

Marlenie scowled but let him go. He was right, she didn't need him anymore. Why should she care if he left? Now less annoyed, she returned to her drinks. However, before Lucien actually left, Maleny caught him by the arm.

"Where are you going?" she pouted at him.

"Home. I'm done playing babysitter," Lucien harshly shook her hand off his arm.

The remark took Maleny by surprise, and soon took offense. "I-I didn't mean to make you feel like a babysitter…"

Lucien stared at her, confused. She was acting far too serene for someone who literally forced him to talk in an interrogation room. But her big blue eyes were boring onto him, and its way was strikingly familiar.

"Instead of going home to brood because of that stupid redhead, stay and dance," Maleny persisted yet again, but didn't touch him anymore. "I promise I'll tell Klaus all about how you took good care of me," she giggled. "Okay, so maybe you are like a babysitter."

"This is supposed to make me stay?" Lucien cocked an eyebrow at her, although he did have to admit she was beginning to amuse him.

"No, the dancing is!" Maleny yanked him from the door.

"I don't do dancing, I already told you," Lucien groaned but nonetheless allowed her to lead him away.

"And I don't care!" Maleny declared and turned to him wearing a smirk. "You're doing it and that's that!"

Any other moment perhaps Lucien would've outright refused, but he was transported to a similar memory of his past.

"Cecilia?" Lucien called as soon as he got into her bedroom chamber.

She was already waiting for him at the edge of her bed. "I'm here," she chuckled and got up. "You, however, are late."

"Apologies, but being who I am does not allow me to leave my work as I would wish," Lucien sighed as he walked up to her.

Cecilia's smile faded at the remark. She draped her arms around his neck. "Do not belittle yourself, please," she requested softly. "You are an honest man, who works for a living."

"I stopped being honest the moment I turned, my dear," Lucien corrected quietly. "And though I work for a living, it does not matter if I am not a noble person like you. Being who I am will never allow me the privilege to marry you. Or," he gave a bitter chuckle, "to have something as simple as a dance with you."

Cecilia traced her fingers over his cheeks. "You know very well the moment you ask me to run away with you I will. The minute you ask me to tell everyone who I love, I will. You are stronger than them, Lucien. You shouldn't feel inferior to them. You are unique."

"Leave it to Cecilia de Ark to make a beast feel loved," Lucien dramatically sighed, making her chuckle. He pepper-kissed her face and she laughed louder.

"Stop it! Stop it!" she swatted him away. "I wanted to remedy our dancing problem."

"How so?" Lucien curiously asked her.

"It's quite simple actually. Dance with me," Cecilia requested, once again wrapping her arms around his neck. "Please?"

"There's no actual music, Cecilia," Lucien sighed. He appreciated her attempt but it simply wasn't the same.

"Oh, just do it!" Cecilia playfully scolded him.

"But-"

"It's don't care. You're doing it and that's that!"

In the end, Lucien chuckled and gave in. "As my lady wishes."

Marlenie thanked the bartender for another drink and looked out to find her mother. She was more than surprised to find Lucien was still there, and dancing with Maleny! It was actually quite amusing at first, to see a half drunk Maleny attempting to uplift the thousand years old vampire.

"You are horrible at this!" Maleny giggled as Lucien whirled them around. "How could a vampire be so awful at dancing!?"

Lucien rolled his eyes. "You're not very nice…"

"It's not my fault you're God awful at this! Thank Lord you have good looks or you'd be lost!"

The familiar spark happened again.

Entranced, Lucien pulled her towards him. "Why are you so familiar to me?" he whispered.

Maleny curiously looked up at him, swallowing hard. She was well aware this would be considered bad, and she wanted none of it. "N-n-n-no," she shook her head and pushed him away. "I...I should go. Th-thank you for spending your day with me. I...I...bye," she hurried on out before Lucien said a word.

Marlenie jumped out of her stool and hurried up to Lucien who was still slightly out of it. "What just happened?" she demanded, fairly angry.

"I would be lying if I said I knew," Lucien shrugged, scratching his head.

"Where did she go!? She can't leave me! Take me to her please!" Marlenie begged and started pulling him for the doors, desperate to follow after her mother.

"Oh calm down," Lucien harshly yanked her back. "Let her go back. Your parents are probably going to need a word with each other after Klaus returns from his day with Aurora. I don't think it will be a place for kids."

Marlenie pushed his hand off her and crossed her arms, still struggling to relax. She didn't want to wait more when she had her mother with her for an entire afternoon. She was so very close, and yet she still had to wait?

~ 0 ~

Maleny was coming into the courtyard rather slowly, and a little stumbling due to her excess of drinks. However, when she heard the violent sounds of smashing and shouts, it all subsided. Recognizing the voices, she ran further inside the courtyard and screamed as she ducked abruptly, barely dodging the incoming piece of table flying in her direction. Her presence stopped Klaus and Elijah in the middle of fight.

As Maleny got back to her feet, she took notice of the aggressive dishevelment state the compound was in...not to mention the state of the two brothers.

"Can either of you explain what is going on here?" Maleny walked up to the two, grabbing Elijah's arm that bore a nasty hybrid bite. "Klaus, I'm fairly interested here."

Klaus took a long stare at her, lightly sniffing the air she came in with. "You've been drinking," he said.

Maleny threw him at sharp glare. "And you saw your ex. Don't keep at this game because you will lose. Explain. Now."

Elijah cleared his throat, expectantly glancing at Klaus for him to explain. "Well, brother?"

Klaus glared right back at him. "I will not take the blame for something not remotely my fault! You forced Aurora to break my heart. You are the architect of that ending!"

Maleny blinked, clearing her throat right afterwards. "You're...you're fighting...over her?" her voice was a mix of shock and pain. "Aurora, is the reason our home is destroyed?"

"Maleny, you misunderstood," Klaus began but she cut him off sharply.

"Really? So, you didn't bite your brother because of the demon woman?" she asked but didn't wait for him to answer. "You didn't break tables and…" she walked past them to the bar room, "...the bar over her!?"

"No," Klaus shook his head, but Maleny scoffed loudly and turned back to the two.

Maleny's eyes flickered to Elijah, her voice low yet dangerously full of growing rage. "Elijah, you tell me what happened. Tell. Me. Now."

Elijah exchanged a look with Klaus before answering, figuring she would one way or another find out. "Before leaving the De Martel castle, I compelled Aurora to 'see Klaus as the monster he was' and thus break his heart in retaliation for him killing Esther."

A visible hurt settled over Maleny's face as she processed the answer and viewed the state of the courtyard. "So...you did...fight over her." She bitterly chuckled. "Because she broke your heart."

"That's not what it is," Klaus shoved Elijah back and moved for Maleny.

Maleny's eyes teared up. "You said you would handle it. Is this what you meant? That you'd create this chivalrous fight in her honor?"

"You are not listening!" Klaus shouted in frustration.

"I AM!" Maleny screamed right back. "I may have drank but I know what the hell is going on!"

"I am not angry because of her, I am angry because—"

"Because Elijah compelled the woman you loved to break your heart," Maleny pushed past him. "Look me in the eye," she turned to him, forcing him to face her, "and tell me you're not remotely fighting for what you could have had with her. Look. Me. In. The. Eye."

Klaus did as told but at the last moment he found his eyes flickering away. Maleny visibly shook soon after, swallowing roughly. "Elijah, leave us."

"Maleny, perhaps—"

"LEAVE US!" Maleny screamed suddenly, and with no option Elijah sped away. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised, hm. She did occupy your heart perhaps as much as I did before. And I honestly don't care if you fell in love with her in the past...because, Maleny Rowan was dead for you - I was the past and I was meant to stay in the past." Maleny shakily breathed in and stepped closer to him. "But now? You have her here, and I do not plan on fighting with a lunatic, murderous vampire. That is a fight I cannot win."

"Aurora will not touch you, Maleny!" Klaus exclaimed, reaching to grab her arm but she stepped back. "And I can assure you my thoughts are in order. You are blowing it out of proportion."

Maleny raised an eyebrow, looking indignant. "You bit your own brother because of her, Klaus! How can you tell me that!? C'mon, she murdered her own cousin!"

"That's not important!"

"YES IT IS! It so is!" Maleny knew she would probably regret it later but the words seemed to flow out of her mouth. "Because I was Cecilia de Ark! Me! Me! Me!" she hit him on the chest repeatedly, her tears getting the best of her.

For a minute, Klaus let her hit him, his eyes wide with shock while he processed. He eventually grabbed her by the wrists, the same level of anger she displayed now working it's way into his eyes. "You were Cecilia? The noblewoman Lucien was so fond of?"

Maleny took offense of the belittling of Lucien's feelings for her. If he could say Aurora loved him, why couldn't she say Lucien loved her as well? She tugged her hands from the grip on her wrists but Klaus refused to let go. "He loved me you idiot! And yes, I was her!"

"And you loved him!" Klaus finished the story he knew so well. "You...you had chosen another one before I even arrived there."

Maleny swallowed hard as the anger subsided in his eyes for a minute to show the pain. "You fell for Aurora the minute you saw her," she spoke quietly, "You didn't even give me a chance."

"You knew this all along and you never told me!?"

"You never told me about Aurora either!"

"And you spent time with him!" Klaus began remembering all the little remarks of familiarity Lucien had made since meeting Maleny. His felt his insides twisting with fury, and jealousy. There was dangerous jealousy at work.

Maleny watched now the fury reclaim its place and knew all danger now laid ahead for Lucien. "Don't you dare hurt him!" she warned, unknowingly provoking Klaus more.

"You defend him now?" he let her go but got closer to her face, narrowing his eyes at hers. "Why?"

"Because maybe I don't want to see someone die because they loved someone?" Maleny flapped her arms in frustration. "Because Lucien never did anything wrong except fall for someone he shouldn't have. Sound familiar?"

"Do not compare me with the stable boy!" Klaus roared, snatched her by the arm, gripping it tighter than what her humanity was able to withstand.

Maleny gasped. "You're hurting me! Klaus, let go!"

It finally registered he was actually hurting her and so Klaus released her instantly. He blinked, coming to the realization as Maleny checked her now red arm. It would be turning into a right painful bruise in about an hour or so.

But then something else registered in Klaus' mind. "You changed blouses…"

Maleny momentarily froze, alerting Klaus there was more in that area he needed to know about. "Why would you do that?"

Maleny coughed awkwardly. "I, um...I spilled salsa on my other blouse so I bought a new one. Problem?"

Klaus studied her suspiciously. "You're lying," he declared a mere minute afterwards.

"What? I'm not—"

"DO NOT LIE!"

"DON'T YELL AT ME!" Maleny had had it and pulled the same stunt he had. She got into his face and revealed the truth. "Much like you spent the afternoon with your ex, I spent it with mine."

Klaus' eyes widened for a minute before a snarl escaped through his lips. "You were with Lucien!?"

"And a friend," Maleny added. "He showed up, I thought why not? Don't tell me that was a problem because it would just be plain hypocrisy."

Unable to hold himself, Klaus sped her up against the wall besides the staircase. Maleny yelped at the pain she felt on her head from the smack of the wall.

"You're hurting me," she gasped, trying to form a glare but the pain she felt in the back of her head was more prominent. "Need I remind you I'm not as strong as her. I'm human, mortal - which is also because of your indecision. Your refusal. Do you know, Lucien was more than willing to turn me back then?"

"It would've been impossible," Klaus smirked, still keeping her locked between the wall and himself.

"But it was the mere intention, the willingness to do it," Maleny said quietly. "He loved me enough to see eternity as our future. You never saw that, even now...you don't want it. Because if not you would have turned me the moment we broke the curse."

"If Lucien is so willing to do what you desire, then perhaps you should go to him," Klaus blurted, the pain and misunderstanding of her accusation clouding his mind.

Maleny froze after hearing his quiet, yet more painful than anything else said, words. "...maybe I will," she whispered. "And in the meantime you can go back to your Aurora, who so matches you in every way I could never."

Not wanting to seem so desperate and weak, Klaus nodded in agreement. "Maybe I shall. She did say she would wait for me…"

"Alright then," Maleny said, her voice barely audible even with supernatural hearing. She looked to the side and pushed Klaus' hands from her so she could step away. She walked only a couple steps before glancing back. "But when you're with her, remember that she killed me. Now I might not remember how it happened, but I'm sure you do. Remember how she murdered the mother of your child and how she still managed to take you from me in the end. Against vampires, witches, werewolves, humans will always lose and I am sick and tired of this happening to me - the useless witch." And as the repressed anger cursed through her, she said her final words on a whim, "Don't be surprised if the next time you see me I have a dead heart in my chest and blood on my lips."

Klaus watched her take her leave, almost shaking from how furious he was. He roared yet again and punched the wall, smashing a large hole going deep in. He looked around at the mess created and suddenly he sped out.

It wasn't difficult to find Aurora, and when he did find her, he wasted no time in explaining. Her desires were completed - he'd gone for her.

~ 0 ~

"Today was...incredible, despite my mother's abrupt leave," Marlenie said, still very much in awe, as she headed for Lucien's door. "My mother lives...and she broke her curse."

"Yes, yes, incredible," Lucien rolled his eyes, really ignoring most of her words. "So, what happens next?" he curiously wondered.

Marlenie opened the door and turned around, looking thoughtful. "I...don't know. I came with the idea that I was searching just for my father. Now...I don't know how to approach them. I'm gonna have to sleep on it for tonight. Though I will wait until they make up."

"You're waiting the storm out," Lucien said in amusement.

Marlenie smirked. "I waited for centuries to see my parents. I can wait a little longer. I have to make arrangements so that I can stay in the Quarter, I should be back soon. I ask you take special care of my mother. She is still mortal, and that is a dangerous leverage the other sirelines have on my father. I'm trusting you and you should know I don't trust many people."

Lucien feigned a gasp of surprise. "Don't tell me that, mini-Klaus."

Marlenie rolled her eyes. "My mother always did say that it was so unusual for a girl to show so much...anger," she smiled to herself. "She said I was the true copy of my father. Now if you wanted someone a little more like my mother, you would have liked to meet my brother."

That one left Lucien gaping. "Brother? How many kids does Klaus have running around here?"

Marlenie sadly smiled, and because she had no clue of little Hope Mikaelson, she answered, "Just me. When I was a little girl my older, twin brother, Nicolas, was taken from me. I never saw him again. He's long dead now. So it's just me."

The pain in Marlenie's face was still raw, but she was more than resigned to her brother's fate. With a final look at Lucien, Marlenie walked out of the penthouse. Lucien closed the door and returned to the couch, for once able to honestly say he was beat. So when there was yet another knock on his door, he audibly groaned in annoyance. He assumed it was Marlenie coming back to reiterate something, probably about Maleny.

What did he look like? The official Mikaelson babysitter?

He opened the door and was about to snap at the woman he believed was on the other side...until he saw a teary-eyed Maleny instead. Before he said anything, she spoke up.

"Cecilia de Ark," her voice was scratchy and shaky from her tears, "That's why I'm familiar to you. I'm - I'm her. I'm Cecilia." As was expected, Lucien stayed silent and wide eyes for a couple minutes. Maleny sniffed, awkwardly shifting on her spot. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you...but I'm her."

"What kind of awful joke is this?" Lucien soon recomposed himself and moved to shut the door on her when she rushed inside.

"I'm telling the truth!" she exclaimed and turned around. "I don't know if Klaus told you about my story. I was in this curse cycle that had me jumping bodies without a memory of who I was before. In one of those lives, I was Cecilia de Ark. I was her."

"Lies…" Lucien said again, although there was a trace of weakness in his voice now.

"If it were a lie would I know how she - I - convinced you to dance in my room without music? Or, how I always asked you to escape with me into the forest every afternoon? Or how about me making sure your father received food every day for as long as he lived?" Maleny paused as the realization hit Lucien. She knew she was dumping it all on him in a way she shouldn't be. "Or how about me telling you I love you for the first time at our spot…" she genuinely chuckled, "...near the stables? And you were so flustered you bumped face first into a horse?"

Lucien blinked rapidly as his heart hammered upon hearing memories only he had knowledge of. He slowly walked up to her, setting his hands on her arms. But as soon as he did Maleny hissed and jumped back. Her hand flung over the harsh red skin he hadn't taken notice of.

"I-it's fine, it wasn't you," Maleny sighed and sat down on the couch. "Klaus knows, and...he wasn't happy." She swallowed hard and sniffled. "In fact, I think he kicked me out."

Without really knowing what to do or say, Lucien sat down beside her. Maleny rubbed the back of her head and sheepishly looked at him. "I don't mean to be rude, but do you happen to have aspirin? Or something for the head?" Lucien narrowed his eyes, confused. Maleny cleared her throat and looked away. "I think it goes unsaid that Klaus and I got into an argument where he forgot I was human. Apparently, it's okay for him to have a past love but mine was immoral and betrayal. Well," she huffed.

Lucien reached out and gently turned her head with a finger under her chin. He bit into his wrist and held it towards her. Maleny looked at him a minute before taking his blood. The effects were instantaneous. She pulled away with a relieved smile, the sting on her arm and her headache vanishing.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Lucien reached with a thumb to clear off the dripping the blood from her lips. He locked eyes with her afterwards, and he deeply looked into them like he would find the confirmation he needed.

"Cecilia?" his unintentionally broke.

"Hello," she smiled softly.

The wonder-struck expression made its appearance on his face. He rested one hand over her cheek and leaned forwards. Maleny's breath hitched as soon as his lips met hers. Immediately she remembered dozens of their kisses from the past. She found herself kissing back, roughly. He pushed her down on the cushions and kissed her with more passion. All the thoughts that weren't of the current moment evaded Maleny's mind.

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