winter in your soul,

freedom in a cage ── no sun and too much rage.

[kmikaelson]

⚜ — writing blog, affiliated with @tmikaelson.

[kmikaelson]

the worst family in existence + visuals (in birth order): ⤷ finn, elijah, klaus kol, rebekah, †henrik

[kmikaelson]

@tmikaelson: 20) helping them shave.

it's the first time in weeks since he's touched a razor. he would have put it off for another week, blamed it on his latest commission, but kat was hardly impressed by the feeling of his beard against her cheek, so he finds the time for a shave.

it's going to take no more than fifteen minutes. that is, until tay shows up and asks that she do it for him.

he indulges her like he always does, handing her the blade and turning his cheek so that she can finish the line he'd started drawing down his cheek. she's careful, and either too focused to entertain his attempts at conversation or too worried she might cut him if he moves at the wrong time.

except he does pick an inopportune moment to shift. the razor slips, leaving a tiny red dot in its wake. tay drops the razor onto the bathroom counter and grabs a towel, all the while repeating her apologies.

he assures her that he's fine, even as he frowns when she presses the towel against his jaw.

"sorry," she says again, her own forehead creased by worry.

"it's nothing."

tay's frown deepens; her eyes become more apologetic. "i cut you."

"sweetheart—" klaus places his palm atop the back of her hand, then gently pulls it away, and the towel with it. "it's nothing."

he examines the cut in the mirror. it's so small it's already disappearing. "see?" he turns to tay, his mouth quirking.

"but—"

the look he throws her prompts her to take the razorblade he has taken off the counter and is holding up for her, albeit tentatively. she's slower and more careful as she drags it down his other cheek, stopping halfway to murmur another sorry.

klaus only gives her a quick smile. he pretends not to notice the hesitation in her hands or mind her mumbled apologies, if only to avoid another mishap that would bring about more of them.

[kmikaelson]

@tmikaelson: 01) fixing fiddling with their tie.

"we don't have to go."

though they are both dressed and have an hour to get to the venue before mikael starts complaining about late arrivals. but he notices tay's hesitation, no matter how hard she tries to hide it. it's more noticeable when she thinks he can't see it in her reflection in the mirror.

she opposes him, of course, because they said they would be there. they have to be there. and there is no telling how mikael would react if they cancel last minute.

klaus comes up behind her, wrapping both arms around her waist and dropping his chin on her shoulder. "i doubt mikael will notice our absence."

"no," tay insists. "we have to go."

she turns in his hold and looks down at his tie, then reaches to fix what doesn't need fixing.

"you don't like those events." he doesn't give her time to object. "and quite frankly, neither do i."

"you have to be there," she says, avoiding his eyes as she continues fiddling with his tie.

"so we can be the recepients of my father's never-ending audacity?" after mikael's latest attempt at playing matchmaker, klaus wouldn't mind facing any consequences mikael deems appropriate if it meant sparing tay's feelings.

tay sighs. "klaus—"

"if you don't want to go, we won't go."

"i want to go."

what she means is, you have to go, and klaus pretends she isn't saying it to convince him.

"okay," he relents, seeing no point in trying to change her mind. he wouldn't be able to unless he were to force her to stay. "we'll go. under one condition."

now she meets his eyes, putting a pause to her fiddling. "what?"

"we leave early."

that, at least, she can't argue with.

[kmikaelson]

@tmikaelson: 18) cutting them off at the bar + reverse.

he has come to appreciate the ambiance of hotel bars, though he supposes the sentiment goes hand in hand with the frequent travelling.

still, there is something about the reflection of pendant lights in the polished bottles lined neatly behind the counter. and the soft music blending with the clinking of glasses as the bartender leaves them off to dry.

and tay, who seems to be at least four drinks in by the time klaus spots her.

"shouldn't you be packing?" he claims the bar stool next to her and links his hands on the bartop.

"i did." even as she tries to hide it, he can hear the slurring in her words.

he had half the mind to leave her be, but he wouldn't recommend being hungover on an early transatlantic flight.

the bartender slides into view, having seen him sit. klaus declines politely. for the both of them when tay tries to order another drink. the bartender hesitates, but a look from klaus has him returning to his task of washing glasses.

"i think you've had enough."

"i'm fine."

"you hardly look it."

tay reconsiders her wording, says, "i will be."

"you will," klaus repeats as if agreeing with her, then adds, "after some rest. come on, i'll walk you to your room."

[kmikaelson]

🫂🔥☕🩹👀😏🚪💞🩸😤🧡😘⚓💫

ship headcanon questions.

🫂 — what's their favorite way to hold each other when words aren't enough? lots and lots of reassuring physical touch.

🔥 — what's the pettiest thing they've ever argued about? all the petty things they argue about involve nathan and by extension dan—whether it is klaus planning a christmas holiday and tay saying that they should stay in nyc because she doesn't want to be away from dan, nor take away nathan's right to spend time with his son on christmas; or klaus wanting to surprise dan with a birthday trip to disney world with tay insisting they should stay because she doesn't want nathan to miss his son's birthday. or nathan being unable to afford spoiling dan to the extent klaus does. the list goes on.

☕ — who's the morning person and how do they lure the night owl out of bed? tay is the morning person out of the two of them, but she doesn't have to lure him out of bed because, if he isn't already, he's not difficult to convince. sometimes he'll ask for 5 more minutes than turn into 20, but he's no slacker. he gets out of bed if he has to.

🩹 — how do they comfort each other after nightmares? lots and lots of physical touch again. tay comforts him with words too if he decides to tell her what he dreamed about.

👀 — who gets jealous more easily and how obvious are they about it? klaus. he is very obvious and isn't trying to hide it.

😏 — who is bolder in public (hand-holding, kisses, etc.)? both. tay initiates the hand holding most of the time and the gross makeout sessions when she's jealous and marking her territory, but klaus is bolder with anything that borders on or is straight up sexual.

🚪 — who's more likely to say "we're not leaving this room today"? klaus, especially after rebekah turned the girls night out into a girls early morning out.

💞 — how do they act when one of them is sick? tay babies klaus who pretends not to enjoy it because he's not a child. and klaus babies, or tries to, tay who insists she's not that sick, so has to forcefully keep her in bed.

🩸 — who would literally kill for the other and who would help hide the body? klaus would kill for tay and tay would help him hide the body.

😤 — who apologizes first after a fight, even if they weren't wrong? tay. klaus would apologize first after a fight even if he wasn't in the wrong, but that's a one in a million chance because he's the cause of the fight nine times out of ten.

🧡 — what color reminds each of them of the other? for klaus, it's yellow and orange. not the bright yellow or orange, but the warm, muted tones. for tay, it's blue.

😘 — who kisses the other first thing in the morning? depends on who's more awake that morning. mostly it's klaus.

⚓ — if one of them had to leave forever, what would they leave behind for the other? everything. like, literally everything. something something what's mine is yours.

💫 — ten years from now, what random tuesday are they spending together? probably a quiet, lazy day in. they're off work and doing their own thing until the kids are back from school. klaus cooks dinner as always.

[raesource]

ship headcanon questions

make sure to include the pairing(s) you are wanting these questions to be answered for . these should work for poly ships as well as monogamous . feel free to edit these as you see fit .

💕 How did they both realize “oh wait, this is actually love”?

🌹 Who fell harder & who fell first?

🫂 What’s their favorite way to hold each other when words aren’t enough?

🔥 What’s the pettiest thing they’ve ever argued about?

💋 Who says “I love you” first & how?

🌙 Who’s the little spoon & who pretends they hate it but secretly loves it?

💍 Would they ever get married? What would the proposal look like?

🧸 Who still has the very first gift the other ever gave them?

😈 Who is more likely to start chaos “for the vine” & who films it?

🎶 What’s their song - the one that makes them both tear up / grin like idiots?

☕ Who’s the morning person & how do they lure the night owl out of bed?

🛡️ Who jumps in front of danger for the other without thinking?

😳 What’s the most embarrassing thing they’ve walked in on the other doing?

💔 What’s the one fight that almost ended them?

🩹 How do they comfort each other after nightmares?

👀 Who gets jealous more easily & how obvious are they about it?

🍳 Who cooks & who sets off the smoke alarm trying to help?

🧳 If they had to run away together tomorrow, where would they go?

😏 Who is bolder in public (hand-holding, kisses, etc.)?

🌧️ Who steals whose hoodies when it rains?

🎂 How do they celebrate each other’s birthdays?

🖤 What’s the darkest “we’ll never tell anyone” thing they’ve done together?

💌 Who leaves little love notes & where do they hide them?

🛌 Who hogs the blanket & who ends up freezing dramatically?

😴 Who falls asleep first & who watches them with heart-eyes?

🚪 Who’s more likely to say “we’re not leaving this room today”?

🌸 What nickname do they have for each other that would mortify them if others heard?

🎤 Who sings in the shower & who secretly records it for blackmail?

💞 How do they act when one of them is sick?

🩸 Who would literally kill for the other & who would help hide the body?

🌅 Do they go on sunrise / stargazing dates? Which one do they love more?

😤 Who apologizes first after a fight, even if they weren’t wrong?

🧩 What tiny habit of the other do they find unbearably adorable?

🎪 Who plans elaborate surprise dates & who just wants to stay in?

👑 In their relationship, who’s the king / queen & who’s the knight / advisor?

🌪️ What’s the most chaotic thing they’ve done together on pure impulse?

💤 Who has the weirdest sleep-talking lines that the other quotes constantly?

🧡 What color reminds each of them of the other?

🕰️ If they could go back in time, what moment would they relive together?

😶 Who’s terrified of saying “meet my parents” & why?

🍷 Who gets tipsy first & starts spilling embarrassing love confessions?

🌿 Do they want kids/pets/plants together? What do they name them?

🪞 Who takes longer getting ready & who hypes the other up in the mirror?

💥 What’s the biggest risk one of them took for the other that the partner didn’t find out about until much later?

🧣 Who steals the other’s scarf / gloves “on accident” every winter?

🌌 What’s their “we made it through hell” memory they’ll tell their grandkids?

😘 Who kisses the other first thing in the morning, morning breath & all?

🩰 Slow dancing in the kitchen at 3 a.m. - who starts it?

⚓ If one of them had to leave forever, what would they leave behind for the other?

💫 Ten years from now, what random Tuesday are they spending together?

[kmikaelson]

📋🧺🪞🍽️🏠

symbol headcanon questions.

📋 — how organized is your muse? fairly organized except for his studio. though, despite what most people would see as clutter, he'd argue his studio is organized in a way that makes his work more efficient. on the whole, he doesn't tolerate a mess (rip to him once kat's old enough to leave her toys everywhere) and he doesn't keep things around that he doesn't need.

🧺 — how often do they do laundry? when he lived alone, he had someone do that for him. he wouldn't be able to say how often they did laundry, but he always had whatever clothes he wanted or needed to wear ready. now tay insists on doing the laundry herself

🪞 — do they look at themselves in mirrors, or avoid them? why? he looks at himself in the mirror when he needs to look at himself in the mirror. he's only the third most vain sibling after kol and rebekah.

🍽️ — do they eat to survive, for pleasure, or as comfort? to survive. when he does remember to eat, that is. he loves to cook, so you could say he eats for pleasure too, but he cooks when he has company.

🏠 — what part of their living space reflects them the most? his studio. it's as close to a glimpse into his head as one can get.

[kmikaelson]

🕵️‍♀️🫀👣🌊

symbol headcanon questions.

🕵️‍♀️ — how often does your muse think about death? not at all. for someone who didn't think he'd live to see 40, the idea that he might die doesn't even occur to him.

🫀 — what emotion scares them the most? love. it's cliché but it's true. loving someone (and letting them love him back) means opening up. he doesn't like being vulnerable, or weak, or letting anyone have power over him in any way. he's got mikael to thank for that.

👣 — do they believe they deserve good things? well, he doesn't believe he deserves bad things. but he doesn't let good things happen to him either. when they do, he resorts to self-sabotage because mikael instilled in him the notion that he ruins everything he touches. so it's better to not let the good thing happen at all than to ruin or lose it.

🌊 — what emotion do they drown in when they're alone? loneliness. this is pre-tay obviously because when he's with tay, he doesn't drown in any emotion when he's alone. but it's abundantly clear to him that he is alone and always will be. sure, he has his siblings, but they have their own lives and run in circles that he's not necessarily a part of, and eventually they'll meet people that they're going to put above him. plus, he's only close with rebekah, and she already has this whole other world that he doesn't feel he belogs to.

[kmikaelson]

🫠🛑🔥🪶💔

symbol headcanon questions.

🫠 — is it easy for them to get turned on, or do they need emotional safety first? the former. he'd rather there were no emotions involved at all.

🛑 — what's an immediate turn-off for them? dominant women.

🔥 — do they crave intensity or stability? intensity only because he isn't looking for anything serious, otherwsie it'd be stability. ideally, he'd want a mix of both if he was looking for long-term commitment, but even he knows he can't have it all.

🪶 — are they gentle with people they desire? he's gentle with people he loves.

💔 — have they ever used sex to avoid something? all the time. whether he needs to blow off some steam or needs comfort, he'll resort to sex to try and fix any problems he can't with booze.

[kmikaelson]

was it klaus or tay who birthed u

it was klaus

[kmikaelson]

⚖️🧭🪙🚪🧨🪦

symbol headcanon questions.

⚖️ — what line will they never cross? hitting his kids, making them feel worthless or like they should be scared of him. but lbr, he gives off the impression of being unsupportive slash dismissive, so both kat and ed go to tay (and even rebekah) when they want to have a heart-to-heart. if he knew, he'd be a little sad about it.

🧭 — do they believe they're a good person? no, despite tay's never-ending attempts at convincing him of the opposite.

🪙 — what do they value more, loyalty or truth? he values both equally, but appreciates loyalty more. he doesn't want to know everyone's secrets, and he wouldn't be bothered if someone lied to him unless the lie directly inconveniences or reflects on him. he would be curious because he's a gossip plus he likes having leverage over people, but he wouldn't go to great lengths to find out the truth. so, yeah, loyalty.

🚪 — who would they abandon if forced to choose? i mean. he did already abandon tay when mikael made him choose between her and his family. now, however, he would abandon his family for tay if push came to shove.

🧨 — what would make them snap permanently? rebekah dying.

📜 — what promise do they regret making? promising henrik that nothing bad will ever happen as long as he's there.

🪦 — what hill would they die on? photography is not a real form of art. he doesn't mind photography on its own and he doesn't necessarily hate photographers, but the moment a photographer claims to be an artist and that photography is their medium, he's ready to fight.

[tmikaelson]

grafic desine is my passion

[kmikaelson]

🔥🧷🧨🩹

symbol headcanon questions.

🔥 — what moment do they replay when they're ashamed? any memory of mikael finding fault in him. doesn't matter if he really did something he should have been ashamed of, or if it was mikael looking for an excuse to make klaus look bad in front of everyone.

🧷 — who failed them first? i could say mikael because klaus really did look up to him. he wanted to make mikael proud, and he kept trying even though mikael made it clear time after time that it would never happen. sisyphus complex fr. BUT the answer here is esther because she did nothing when mikael abused, belittled, humiliated, and did everything to make him feel worthless. so obviously he grew to resent her for it.

🧨 — what pushes them past the point of restraint? if he's already ticked off? everything. he's quick to anger, quicker to lash out, and he's not above getting physical fast if somebody keeps pushing his buttons after he's told them to mind their words.

🩹 — what actually helps them heal, even if it's unhealthy? he doesn't heal. he pushes his feelings down and bottles them up and forgets they exist until something inevitably pushes them up to the surface. at which point he drowns them in booze.

[kmikaelson]

🗣️📱 🎭🧠🌘

symbol headcanon questions.

🗣️ — are they better one-on-one, or in groups? he's not very approachable either way. unless he likes you, then he's better one-on-one. for groups, it depends. if it's an art related event and there isn't someone to disagree with his opinion, he comes off as nice enough, if a bit snobby. otherwise he will argue his case until the person he's arguing with backs out, not because he's convinced them but because they don't want to listen to him anymore. if he's in a group where he doesn't know anyone, e.g. tay and her australian friends, he's generally quiet. he doesn't engange and he gives one-two word answers when asked something. it makes it look like he doesn't want to be there. which he doesn't. if he's at an event that he's been forced to attend, he stays in his corner with a drink.

📱 — do they text back immediately, or let messages rot? depends on who texts him. he texts tay back as quickly as he can. alexis and elijah also because they don't text him without good reason. he never leaves dillan hanging deliberately. with rebekah it's a 50/50 chance. with kol it's a 20/80 chance.

🎭 — how different are they with strangers versus people they trust? he's more guarded with strangers whereas he's more open with people he trusts. also softer, but that's mood dependent and also based on whether he's in a public or private space. but generally strangers would think he doesn't want to engage with them because of how reserved he is.

🧠 — what do they assume people think about them? he doesn't think about what people think of him, but if he did, he'd assume people thought of him as an arrogant, rude, snobby, selfish good-for-nothing. he wouldn't mind.

🌘 — how hard is it to really know them? very. he's a private person and uncomfortable with giving more than surface level information about anything he feels, likes, or does. the only people who truly know him are his family and even they have very based opinions on who he really is. rebekah knows him most and best of all. outside of his family, tay was the only who got to know him and that happened only after their reunited. up until then, sure, she knew more than your average person who's met him, but he still didn't let her in entirely. alexis knows him pretty well too only because she spends enough time around him + she's perceptive. and she keeps her observations quiet so he's got his guard down around her which leads to her getting more glimpses at who he really is. he has no idea just how well she knows him and she's happy to keep it that way.

[kmikaelson]

🚬🍺💊☔️

symbol headcanon questions.

🚬 — what vice do they justify the most? drinking. he doesn't get drunk every night, but there's barely a night where he doesn't have a glass of whisky, mostly after dinner. he doesn't see a problem with it. he's just winding down after work. he drinks more if he is at an event because everyone is drinking, or so he'll say even though he's on his 5th glass and people are still holding their seconds at most. if it's a family gathering, then he feels justified in getting drunk because he can't survive being around every member of his family gathered in one place for too long. he's only half exaggerating about it.

🍺 — do they drink to socialize, numb, or celebrate? all three. though it's more that he drinks to get himself through the torture that is socializing. he always reaches for the bottle after an argument or if he's under the weather. and obviously he's going to drink to celebrate. how many drinks he gets in depends on what the celebration is.

💊 — what's their relationship with substances, past or present? there was a period where he was under the influence of various illegal substances 90% of the time. shoutout to aurelia for the wildest summer of his entire life. nowadays he limits the substances to alcohol, unless lucien invites them to one of his parties, in which case he's roping tay into abusing substances with him.

☔️ — do they intellectualize pain instead of feeling it? he feels it. rather, he turns his pain into anger and/or bitterness because, that way, it's easier for him to come to terms with feeling it, but he still feels it. even if he gives it another name so he doesn't feel stupid or unmanly for being hurt.

[kmikaelson]

@tmikaelson: you smell good.

he stopped paying attention twenty minutes into the movie. tay has lasted longer, though he can tell her focus is waning because she nuzzles his shoulder, then shifts so she's all but wrapped around him and buries her face into the crook of his neck.

klaus wraps his other arm around her instinctively. now that there's no risk of tay noticing his lack of interest in the movie he picked, he's free to close his eyes.

the tv becomes nothing but background noise that tay's voice breaks through after a few moments.

"you smell good."

"it's the same cologne i always wear."

to work, to family gatherings, and any events that take place in the summer months. then he realizes that it has been only three months since tay re-entered his life, and that when she knew him back when, his cologne didn't cost as much as their rent for a month. his mouth curls.

"but thank you."