𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓎.

[josiahtudur]

CLOSED º OPHELIA

[ofbelcourt]

josiahtudur‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐇 !

The sigh - the breath that he’d halted unknowingly - came rushing out of him as though Josiah had been choking on it. On the uncertainty of whether Ophelia could accept him for his failures… again. “I was not looking forward to centuries of repent, but I would’ve endured them for us,” he whispered, voice overcome with the emotion he’d choose to linger on. “This barrier – I curse its existence, how it almost cost me you. Why is it here? Why now? I’ve seen the most extraordinary assemblance of beings – yet no one could pinpoint the reasons?” Disbelief tinted his face, his lips pressed thinly as he lost his mind to the recollections of his scarce findings.

One hand released her, reached out, fingertips stretching to touch on the silk of her hair. The briefest of touches, yet enough to sate a part of him. “I should enjoy a word with him,” he acknowledged, more to himself than for his love to hear. “We are here. All of us. And I would not let myself be parted from your side willingly again.” A thing or two that he ought to discuss with her – about his past, about certain aspects of him that he’d be forced to revisit given the faces he’d seen about town – but none that surely couldn’t wait until they’d had a few moments to themselves. “Ophelia, my love, may I kiss you? May I step inside your house so that I may be reassured that you’re unharmed?”

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽 𝑔𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒽𝒾𝓂 𝒶 𝒻𝒶𝒾𝓃𝓉 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒, fingertips gliding over his cheek. “i know you would have, but there is no NEED. i promise.” sadness washed over her features and her eyes dropped while she shook her head. “there are no answers, only rumors. people say that the greek gods had something to do with it. each time someone tried to bring it down it backfired.” no matter how powerful those beings were. “it traps anything and anyone that is not mundane. san francisco is a very dangerous place right now.” that was the only reason why ophelia hated the fact that him and her daughter were stuck with her now. as much as she longed for their presence, their SAFETY mattered even more to her.

“a word with him? with stéphane?” she repeated, mild confusion lacing her voice, although she barely processed the words ------ the female was too busy leaning in to his touch. a light hum fell from her lips and she nodded her head this time. YES, they were here now and maybe, just maybe, they would manage to stay together this time. josiah’s questions made her laugh and she leaned her head against his, sighing. “do you even have to ask? you know me.” she echoed his words.

[josiahtudur]

CLOSED º OPHELIA

[ofbelcourt]

josiahtudur‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐇 !

Eyes closing at the slightest of feelings – at his life touching him back, reaching for him in return – his cariad aur needing him in some shape of the word, something akin to what his entire soul called out for with every moment he’d been apart. Most of the suffering that he had, of course, brought upon himself for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom yet – that he wouldn’t be able to, not for some time.

Would there be any sort of explanation? Any reason to both his doubt for her absence, any possible clarification beyond his own feet-dragging towards following behind her? Surely, his hunt for one more item to add to his collection couldn’t compare, couldn’t even hold a breath towards the feelings Ophelia had awakened within his soul. What Léonie’s birth had done to rejuvenate his spirits.

“You know me,” he insisted, with all the desperation a man so painfully in-love could call upon. Fighting against the still-there urge to pull her close, to nearly crush her delicate, yet strong body against his until he’d all but soaked in all of her scent again. “I was talking to a person about buying an item.” An item that had cost its pretty penny, and one that could’ve just as easily cost him his (future) wife. The life they’d been building together. “Merely a toy, a dalliance. Nothing that could excuse my actions, for which I’ll repent for another century if you’ll have me do so.”

𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝓂𝑒. that was something ophelia WANTED to believe as well and not just because they were engaged to be married, or because of their child. there was so much that they went through and even if it scared her to admit it sometimes, no one knew her as well as he did. the witch let out a sigh when she heard the DESPERATION in his voice and she allowed her hand to wander, slowly placing it on his cheek to give it the lightest caress. “there is no need for you to repent.” she shook her head, amber eyes resting on his features. “it saddens me that you believed i would leave you and léonie without a word, but you are not to blame. the BARRIER is.” that was the only thing that pulled her away from them after all. 

“i did not understand why it was my brother that took our daughter to san francisco, instead of you, but...” the raven haired female needed to be rational, for everybody’s sake. “you are here now. that is all that MATTERS.” the last few weeks and months could not be undone, no matter how much they regretted their actions. all they could do was move on, no?

[akanesource]

[ofbelcourt]

@orivelniasarkwright​ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐎𝐑𝐈 !

𝒷𝑒𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶 𝓂𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓂𝑒𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝑜 𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒶, but it could be one HELL of a job ------ especially when your child was not exactly human. there were certain rules that léonie learned to understand ( who was she kidding, she accepted most of them by now ), but there was one thing she simply refused to get through her head: why shouldn’t she use magic, when she was capable of it? the witch got up when her daughter jumped off the swing, but there was nothing else she could do before her daughter decided to set it on FIRE. she rushed toward her giggling child and killed the flames with a simple movement, but she went pale when she turned around to face a stranger. he was not human, she could sense that, but it didn’t make it any better. “children...” she laughed nervously, taking a step back. “they can be such little DEVILS sometimes, can’t they?”

[ofbelcourt]

@absorbedgemini ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄 !

𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒶 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒻𝑒𝑒𝓁 𝒷𝑒𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇 now that she had her loved ones with her, but somehow she kept feeling STRESSED. it was the reason why she excused herself this morning, asking josiah to look after their daughter so she could take a walk through the forest. funny how you always craved what you didn’t have, no? still, when she noticed another witch’s presence after she made it to one of her favorite spots, she tried to give her a polite smile. “good afternoon.” she breathed, voice gentle in hopes it would not startle her. “is everything alright with you?” maybe she just craved some SILENCE too, but the raven haired woman preferred to ask. just in case.

[ofbelcourt]

rayhepfixthings‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐒 !

Hephaestus made a small face. “So it’s not calculatable,” Heph muttered. He rubbed his chin. “How do you tell when you made the progress?” He asked. “If ts more based on my soul?” Heph never calculated his own emotions. He wouldn’t even know the more positive ones. 

𝑜𝒻 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓈𝑒 𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈𝓃'𝓉 𝒸𝒶𝓁𝒸𝓊𝓁𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒, some people learned so much faster than others. “i believe looking in the mirror and seeing beauty in yourself will be one way to tell that you made progress. do you think you can do that? be HONEST with yourself? be kind?” 

[ofbelcourt]

rayhepfixthings‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐒 !

Hephaestus gave a small smile. That didn’t sound too hard. “So how long does it take to get this confidence.” He asked tilting his head. Maybe he could calculate a way for it to become faster. 

𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒶 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓉𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝒽𝒾𝓈 𝑒𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓇𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝑔𝑒𝓉 𝒶𝓃 𝒶𝓃𝓈𝓌𝑒𝓇, but... “that is one thing even i can’t tell you.” she admitted with a small smile. “all i know is that it takes TIME ------ but the amount of it is entirely up to your being. your very soul.” it could be anything between seconds and centuries.

[ofbelcourt]

rayhepfixthings‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐒 !

Hephaethus nodded slowly. Selfishness-he had his selfish moments but it was never towards himself more than Aphrodite. He sighed. “So I have to think about myself and my inner perspective.” He titled his head. “What would happen after that?” 

𝒾𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝓉 𝓈𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝑒𝓍𝓅𝓁𝒶𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓈𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈, especially now that she knew that his mother told him the OPPOSITE. there was no way on earth that ophelia would allow her child to feel anything other than beautiful and she could not believe that any mother felt different about their own flesh and blood. “once you learn to look after yourself, you will be more confident... and confidence will automatically make you seem more attractive to other people.” as long as he developed a HEALTHY amount of it.

[ofbelcourt]

oflostchances‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀 !

jenna gave out a chuckle. “YEAH, a lot of people around these parts used to live there, or was there at some point.” she exclaimed with amusement. “aw famous?” a light laugh. “funny to think about that. spent my whole life thinking it was so damn boring. then it turns out there’s a ton of stuff going on after dark, ya know, the supernatural stuff.” a smile. “france? thats pretty fancy.” she chuckled. “thats good! adjustment is good. i’m still working on it myself.”

𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝒶 𝓁𝑜𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓂𝓈 𝓉𝑜 𝒹𝑒𝓈𝒸𝓇𝒾𝒷𝑒 𝓂𝓎𝓈𝓉𝒾𝒸 𝒻𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓈, but BORING was not one of them ------ at least not anymore. “i never went there, but with all of the stories and whispers i suppose we can consider ourselves lucky that we are here and not there.” then again... did it really make a difference anymore? the same monsters people that caused such trouble there were trapped here with them after all. “do you miss it sometimes? in spite of the craziness?” ophelia questioned in a softer tone. “i was born there, it never seemed fancy to me.” she admitted with a light smile. “oh, you will get there.” it was not like they had a CHOICE.

[josiahtudur]

CLOSED º OPHELIA

[ofbelcourt]

josiahtudur‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐇 !

“Ophelia, I–” he started again, only to cut himself off when it became apparent that too much time had passed, too many thoughts had crossed either minds to be so easily solved. “You and Léonie - you are my life.” Hands gentle as he could steady them to be, reaching out to touch her slender shoulders. It was as if he needed the contact, the reassurance that this was his Ophelia, his blood, his heart. 

She couldn’t, wouldn’t, be faulted for thinking herself abandoned  – not when his thoughts had taken the darkest of turns towards the same place. Irrational as it was, of course, perhaps some of this city’s magic had led to both of them thinking the other as so disloyal. Perhaps. While this possibility merited some studying, there were much more important matters at hand.

Josiah looked away, shame covering his usual stoic features, and took some deliberate time before answering, his voice low. “I didn’t… read your letters until after Léonie was taken,” he admitted, finally, regret showing in his every movement. “I didn’t - spend all of the time in my chateau. They weren’t delivered to my hands, they just… I would have come in a heartbeat with our daughter, you ought to know that. Much like I am doing now – you have to believe that.”

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹𝓈 𝓈𝒽𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒷𝑒𝑒𝓃 𝑒𝓃𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝓉𝑜 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓈𝓈𝓊𝓇𝑒 𝒽𝑒𝓇 ------ and maybe they were, but right in this moment her mind kept SPINNING so fast, it almost made her feel nauseous. her eyes flickered back to his face when he placed his hands on her shoulders and the witch reached out to bring her hands to his chest, so slowly and carefully it seemed like she was frightened that he was just going to disappear.

it was strange how familiar fear became in this city. it was nothing new for her to be melancholic, but she used to feel so SAFE around her coven, around him. the months that she spent trapped here FORCED her to accept the truth: nothing was as certain as she used to believe. so were they really his life, or just a logical consequence of their power and their coven’s expectations? was he here for them, or because it was convenient? 

ophelia closed her eyes for a moment, not wanting to think about it, and she was surprised to see the shame on his features after she opened them once again. “you did not read them.” the words left a bitter taste on her tongue, but she needed to taste them to understand. to wrap her mind around this. “if you were not at the chateau, where were you?” the witch paused for a moment, allowing silence to wash over them before she parted her lips to speak again. “i WANT to believe you. trust me, i do.” but there was that fear again and lord, she wished she knew how to shake it.

[ofbelcourt]

rayhepfixthings‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐒 !

It was still hard for him to process anything with his family. The Gods can be loving but they were broken too.  Even as a recluse he felt something off. “That is a valid point with the perspective” Deciding not to think about his mother. Hephaestus looked at the other. “How can I embrace it properly? It seems so confusing.”He admitted. 

𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒸𝑜𝓃𝒻𝓊𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔, was it? maybe it was ophelia’s upbringing that made it seem so SIMPLE to her. her parents treated her like a princess ( until she ran away from them ) and her coven viewed her as a leader. people never even thought about insulting her and by now, the witch had enough confidence not to care about such shallow things. “first of all, you need to learn how to be a little SELFISH. people worry too much about what everybody else thinks. focus on yourself ----- that will work wonders.” 

[josiahtudur]

CLOSED º OPHELIA

[ofbelcourt]

josiahtudur‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐇 !

Every greeting died on his lips before he could find a way to let it out. My love. My hearts. My past, present, and future. It all stopped suddenly, like the noises in his head he hadn’t realized were there until they all went quiet. She was fine - at least outwardly, she was. The weight he had felt pinned down his shoulders evaporated as he looked at the woman in front of him, the one he didn’t hesitate in reaching out towards to press his lips to her forehead.

“Fy nghariad,” he whispered, his eyes and hands and every other sense of him drinking in everything that was her. “I would go through all confines of hell to find you.” Voice serious as it very rarely was, eyes boring deep into hers, inviting her to look into his soul. “I wouldn’t leave you - either of you.”

Voice catching, words breaking as they slipped past his tongue. “I thought you’d left me.”

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝒻𝑒𝓁𝓉 𝓈𝑜 𝓈𝓊𝓇𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁, even when he pressed his lips against her head, allowing her to feel the WARMTH of his body. how long did she wait for this to happen? to see his face again, along with their daughter’s? too long. so long, she had almost given up on all hope ------ until her brother showed up in san francisco. 

it was undeniable that josiah MEANT those words, ophelia could hear it in his voice, but confusion washed over her features when he told her that he would not leave either one of them. “but you did, didn’t you?” it was stéphane that took léonie to san francisco, not him.

tears welled up in her eyes and she could not conceal the DISBELIEF that filled her voice. “leave you? you thought that i left you and our daughter? without a word?” it hurt to hear it and she averted her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. “i never would have done that. i sent you letters as soon as i realized where i was. i waited for months to hear from you.” and at some point she didn’t know what to think anymore. especially when their child arrived without him.

[ofbelcourt]

oflostchances‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐀 !

“well i enjoy it as much as i can with the barrier.” jenna chuckled. “i actually come from mystic falls. have you ever heard of it? oh- and yourself where do ya hail?”

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓇𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓇. RIGHT. ever since her brother reunited her with her daughter, ophelia found life in san francisco more bearable ------ bearable enough to forget about the barrier every once in a while. “ mystic falls? i certainly have.” she laughed lightly. “ it became quite famous, but i encountered many people here that used to live there.” which was no surprise, there were jokes that the human population count was down to one. “ i’m from france.” she admitted while they walked. “ waking up in san francisco was... a culture shock, i guess. but i’m getting used to it.” 

[ofbelcourt]

rayhepfixthings‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐇𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐔𝐒 !

Hephaethus nodded slowly. “I keep forgetting that.” He admitted. “Subjectivity is foreign to me.” He looked up slowly. “She can be cold but she was always right.” He admitted. “But maybe she’s wrong this one time.” He mused to himself. “I look handsome in these clothes.” He laughed. “My legs don’t look bad either.” 

𝒾𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒𝒾𝑔𝓃 𝓉𝑜 𝓂𝒶𝓃𝓎 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 and that was exactly why they LOST their confidence. instead of being tolerant and accepting, they insulted each other all of the time ------ with no real reason or need to. “ she was wrong, dear.” the witch insisted. “ we could look at a hundred people in this store and our opinions on their beauty would vary tremendously. that is why we should not judge, but EMBRACE who we are and what we look like.” and maybe, just maybe, he was getting there. he did look handsome in his clothes and hearing him admit it was not just a baby step.

[ofbelcourt]

ofmelodies‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐄 !

“i believe so.” though the definition of parent wasn’t the typical one, her own origins confused even herself all this time later. it was never something euterpe put much thought into, she was far more concerned with taking care of her sisters. “your little one seems tired.” she noted with amusement at the small (and cute) yawn. she considered the women’s offer and knew no better answer than a simple “yes.” cake sounded delightful after all. “cake sounds wonderful.”

𝑜𝓅𝒽𝑒𝓁𝒾𝒶 𝓈𝓂𝒾𝓁𝑒𝒹 𝒶𝓉 𝒽𝑒𝓇... ALMOST confirmation. it was enough for her not to ask more questions about the same subject ------ maybe she didn’t even know her parents and continuing would be highly insensitive, no matter how curious she was. “ oh, she is. we are at a stage where we think it’s funny to keep mommy up all night, aren’t we?” she laughed lightly and rubbed her sleepy daughter’s back. “ i am glad you said yes.” the smile on her lips widened once again. “ i used to be the better cook and less of a baker, but i have been practicing. you will have to give me your honest opinion.” she spoke playfully.

[josiahtudur]

CLOSED º OPHELIA

[ofbelcourt]

josiahtudur‌ ‌ ‌ ‌     /     𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐉𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐀𝐇 !

His future wife had disappeared. Sure, Josiah had been rejected in the past, and he had learned to take those rejections for what they were eventually, but this rang differently. Ophelia had disappeared, with no further contact, leaving him and Léonie behind to wait for her. That had been enough to unsettle him, disturb him in ways he hadn’t let himself get caught up in years. If anyone had hurt or so much as touched a hair of her head — And then Léonie had disappeared, too. Upon returning home to the loss of both women in his life, he’d nearly abused what he’d been given, come perilously close to unleashing hell on whoever was responsible.

Half or all of his above troubles could’ve been resolved had he just read any of the letters he’d been sent, but he’d never been in the right space for that. And, the more he’d found out about the city they were trapped in, the less forgiving he felt.

Nearly a full day after arriving in the doomed bubble of a city, he’d found his way towards the main sources of all his pain. The only cure for the ache deep inside him that wouldn’t be satisfied until he looked upon their faces once more.

“Ophelia,” he called in a whisper, hand pressed to the front door of the estate, reaching out towards her with something more than sound, something that he hoped would get to her wherever she happened to be – where her essence felt strongest.

𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒸𝒽 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓈𝒽𝑒𝒹 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓁𝑒́𝑜𝓃𝒾𝑒 𝒶 𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎, hoping that her daughter would finally give in and find some much needed rest, when she FELT it. there was an unexplainable pull, but she instantly knew what it meant. of course she did, this was not the first time he communicated like this, was it? ophelia got up on her feet, only leaning down to press the gentlest kiss to her sleeping daughter’s face, before she made her way down the stairs and toward the entrance of the place she was forced to call home.

the seconds felt like hours to her, but she finally reached for the doorknob and pulled it open, just to face a man that she missed more than she dared to admit.  “JOSIAH.” she whispered while she forced herself to stay right where she was.

in any other moment, her reaction would have been far more emotional ------ but truth be told, the witch did not know what to think. did he read her letters? did he even get them? why did he send stéphane to bring léonie to her, instead of coming here himself? did he still care? how had he been? the MILLION questions made her head spin and she steadied herself as her amber eyes found his face once again. 

“ i didn’t expect to see you here.” she admitted in a very quiet tone. it didn’t mean that she was not happy to see him though. she was.

[akanesource]