I finally finished reading the last tmi book and was inspired to write this. If you’ve not read it and don’t want to know what happens don’t read this. If you’ve not read it and don’t plan to I think I’ve given enough that it’ll still make sense. I hope.
Word Count: 1.3k
Warnings: none
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It had been over a month since you last saw Simon, when that demon had returned you all to this dimension in exchange for his immortality and memories, and you missed him. Though you knew he was okay, knew that he no longer remembered you, and knew that it would be possibly the most painful thing in the world to have him look at you and have no idea who you are, you couldn’t help yourself from seeking him out. You sat in the corner of Java Jones, your coffee sitting full and cold on the table in front of you as you watched people come and go, waiting to see if the familiar face would be one of them. You weren’t sure whether you actually even wanted him to enter, leaving it up to fate to decide whether you meant to see him.
You had been sitting there for nearly two hours and the barista was starting to get suspicious of you, so you gave in and decided to leave. You weren’t even sure if he still went there anymore, it had just seemed like the most likely place you could naturally run into him. Deflated, you picked up a fresh coffee to go and left the shop, rounding the corner to head back towards the subway. You scanned the faces of passersby with the hope that maybe one of them would be the one you wanted to see and your pulse jumped as you eyes passed over a gangly boy pushing dark hair back off his face, a pair of glasses sliding down his nose. You halted to a stop as he walked past you and swiftly turned to follow him, but as you made to move towards him he looked back, and you were disappointed to see that it wasn’t Simon. Stopping in the middle of the street in New York, it was lucky that no one had run into you yet, but as you once again switched the direction you were walking your luck ran out. The paper cup squished between you and the person you crashed into, sending coffee down the front of both of your coats, and it was lucky you were wearing so many layers preventing the hot liquid from touching your skin.
“I’m so sorry.” // “Sorry, sorry, sorry.” You both exclaimed at the same time. You looked up, blinking in surprise as you were met with a pair of moss green eyes behind square frames.
“Simon!” You accidentally said aloud. His brow creased with confusion as he studied your face, looking for a clue as to how you might know each other.
“You know me?” He asked and your heart sunk. Of course you knew him. You knew him better than anyone else. It was exactly what you had predicted would happen, you shouldn’t have been so surprised, but as the last bit of hope that none of it was true faded, you felt the weight that had been pushing on you the last four weeks get heavier. You had to quickly look away from him, fighting back the tears. You swallowed before you spoke again, hoping he wouldn’t hear the disappointment and heartbreak in your voice.
“We went to middle school together.” You told him. It wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t really the whole truth either.
“We did? I would’ve thought I’d recognise you.” You held back a chuckle as you saw the realisation of what he’d implied cross his face. “Because I’m usually really good with faces, not because yours is so special. Not that it’s a bad face, it’s a really good face, you’re really beautiful. Ah, I’m going to stop talking, sorry.” He winced, his face flushed red, reminding you that he was once again a Mundane, no longer a vampire. You didn’t hold back the laugh this time, the shy smile he gave you causing your heart to constrict as you realised exactly how much you missed him. He bit his lip, his eyes trained on the sign in the shop window next to you and you could tell was considering something. “Can I buy you a coffee, to replace that one?” He suddenly asked. You looked down at the brown stain across the front of your coat and the now empty paper cup in your hand, debating whether it was a good idea to go with him. Wasn’t this what you had wanted, to see him and spend time with him? Or maybe it would be too much. You had the confirmation you needed, he definitely didn’t remember you, there was no need to torture youself further.
“Okay, sure.” You decided. He broke out into a grin and you walked together back to the coffee shop. The barista was visibly surprised to see you walk in again, giving you a knowing look as she noticed that you weren’t alone this time and you thought, you have no idea how complicated this actually is. Simon asked for your order, something that he’d not had to do for years, and joined the queue, leaving you to sit in the seat that had been your go to for years. It felt strange to be there now, after everything that happened, without Clary and with a Simon who saw you as a stranger. You glanced over to him, his head quickly turning back to the counter. He had been watching you, and what you wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking.
When he had come back over and taken a seat, neither of you knew what to say. You couldn’t ask any of the questions that you really wanted to. Eventually the conversation got going and for a little while things felt normal again, though you had to ignore the stabs of pain you felt when he told you a story that you should’ve been a part of as though you were never there, or when he asked you a question that he should’ve known the answer to. You nodded along as he told you about his family and friends, pretending like you didn’t already know it all. Though it hurt, it was worth the pain to just be around him again and listen to his voice, and you could tell that, unlike the entire time he was a vampire, he was genuinely happy.
“We actually have a small gig on Friday, you should come, if you want.” He said when the conversation had turned to his band. “And when I say small gig, I mean tiny. Like maybe ten people max. It’s hard to get a following when you constantly change your name I guess. Right now we’re Rodents in Residence but we’re due a change soon and I’m thinking The Mortal Instruments could be cool.” You nearly choked when you heard him say it.
“The what?” You asked, disbelieving that he had actually said. Surely you must’ve imagined it.
“The Mortal Instruments.” He repeated. “I heard it somewhere, can’t remember where, but I like it.” This was it, this was the sign you needed to prove that those memories were still in there. There was still hope that this could all be reversed, you had to tell Magnus. “So, will you come?” He looked at you with hope, like any normal teenage boy asking someone out, unaware of the magnitude of what he had just said.
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Great. I’ll see you Friday then.”
“Yeah, see you then.” He was smiling as he got up and left, leaving you in a state of shock. In your haste to go tell someone, anyone, what you had just learned, you almost didn’t notice the band flyer he’d left on the table for you, his number scrawled on the bottom. You didn’t need it, his number already saved into your phone and engraved into your memory, but you took the flyer anyway, carefully folding it and sliding it into your pocket as you got up and left, ready to start planning how to get your boyfriend back for real.
gonna tag: @syrcus @lavampira @consulaaris @possumsunshine @magebastard @itzpapalotl @red-hot-chili-tiefling @cassandra-pentughasst and literally anyone else that wants to do this! tag me so i can read your work!
i’ve finished alma’s pre-vampening series, it’s in the queue, it’s ready to go. so this week i’ve been throwing spaghetti at the wall for her turning.
The scar wraps almost completely around her wrist, just a shade lighter than the cool light brown of Alma’s skin and smooth to the touch. The jagged edges, faint as they are, silently tell the truth: Murphy’s teeth shredded through the thin skin, nearly killing her. It’s faded into something most people would never notice but not a single day passes where Alma doesn't absently cover.
The Agency medical beds are just as uncomfortable as she remembers, the room just as cold, draining any sense of excitement and turning it to unease. She holds up both arms, inspecting them in the fluorescent light. Alma can’t imagine glancing down when a branch snaps or bush rustles behind her, when her anxiety spikes over seemingly nothing, and seeing unmarred skin there. It seems impossible. But they tell her it’ll be gone and she has no reason not to believe them.
Alma drops her arms to the bed with a sigh that does nothing to calm her nerves. Warmth brushes against her unscarred wrist and she flinches away before she can stop herself. Mason sits in the chair next to her bed, frowning deeply and eyes narrowed.
“Sorry,” she says quietly. “I’m just nervous.”
Today Mason will bite her other wrist and make her a vampire too, and she’ll never have to look at the reminder of Murphy again.
He says nothing as he moves to the bed where Alma can see him without turning her head. Silently, gently, he lifts her hand to his lap and runs his fingers over her arm. His touch, the weight of his body next to her, those things go a long way toward calming her.
They sit like that until one of Mason’s hands falls on her chest with a comfortable weight. An anchor. The door opens with a bang and his hand is the only thing keeping Alma from jumping out of her skin.
“Why don’t you try being a little fucking louder next time?” Mason grumbles at their guests.
--- (a bit more below the cut - slight body horror?) ---
She’s burning alive. She can’t scream, her mouth is dried out, withered. The raging pain spreads to every limb. Alma can’t think. Maybe if she holds her breath--no, no, it brings no relief. Just the acrid taste of her own flesh.
She can hear someone talking, shouting, but can’t tell if it’s Elidor or Mason or one of the others. Their words are a muffled jumble of vowels. There’s nothing but the ceaseless fire and she’s sure this isn’t how it’s meant to go.
She's burning, burning, burning...
She’ll be nothing but ash by the end of this.
And just like that, the fire is out. Alma doesn’t dare open her eyes.
“Mason?”
A reply that she can’t make out over the pounding of her own heart, but there’s a hand in hers. It could be anyone and she wouldn’t care right now. But she knows it’s Mason. She can smell him.
What the fuck? She means to say it aloud but the words won’t budge.
She hisses again. Someone’s pulling her limbs.
Wait. Not pulling. No, she’s stretching. Growing. Bones cracking and muscles throbbing and her skin is too tight. She can scream now, the noise serrating her parched throat. The hand in hers squeezes uncomfortably, but she doesn’t dare let go of the only lifeline she has.
this is a chapter I’ve been very excited to write for a long time!! Hope you guys enjoy!!
New Orleans was exactly like Hope remembered it, the perfect mixture of vibrant colorful life and a wild dangerous power that always seemed to follow the Mikaelson family wherever they went. However much she loved the Salvator school, the quarter will always be her home, even though half of its inhabitants have tried to kill her.
Hope’s aunt Freya and her family met them at the door of their family home in a flurry of hugs and laughs before they all settled in for dinner. Nik attached himself to Hope’s side and had no plans of letting go anytime soon. He was particularly shy for a three-year-old, but he and Hope had a connection, they might not have been siblings but Hope could only imagine this was the kind of love that her father and his brothers and sisters all shared.
It was strange, all of them in the same house again, she thought it would get better as time passed but weeks later and Hope could tell that everyone was trying to be on their best behavior, for her. They saw how vulnerable she was now after everything she’s gone through the past year and they wanted to give her a stable environment. Which somehow made it all so much worse. She missed the chaos that came with her family, she was tired of being handled with kid gloves.
What did get better with time was the blood lust. Hope learned to safely feed on human blood, to control her urges and to restrain herself. Josie was right, it was a lot like dealing with her magic, keeping it under control every hour of every day for the rest of her life.
Of all the things that Hope missed about home, one of them wasn’t Mardi Gras. It’s not that she hated the crowds or the party, she hated the responsibility that fell on her shoulders because of it. For the past four years, the quarter chose four girls to be princesses in a parade, one witch, one wolf, one vampire, and Hope. Every year she got dressed up in gowns and crowns, parading through the streets and attending balls; she hated every second of it. But she did it anyway because it represented the quarter as a unified people despite their differences. She could handle one day of torture if it benefited her people.
She’d expected Mardi Gras this year to be just like every other year, long and loud and boring, at least until she got the phone call.
This wasn’t the first time Josie had snuck away to New Orleans, last time however she had a cover story and she didn’t have her twin with her. They were royally screwed when they got home from their impromptu vacation but Josie decided not to focus on that right now. She chose to be excited instead. She was excited to experience the city at its best and most importantly she was excited to see Hope again.
Josie felt Hope’s absence like a missing piece of herself over the few weeks she’d been gone, but she’d tried her best to focus on herself and heal, the same way Hope was. It was harder than she’d anticipated but nothing worthwhile was ever easy.
She followed Lizzie off the bus and onto the street, swarming with people, who were already very drunk despite it barely being breakfast time. “So we made it,” Lizzie said, taking in the city,” but how exactly are we supposed to find Hope? They're thousands of people here and we don’t know where she lives?” Josie’s signature pout deepened as her sister pointed out the flaw in their plan.
She yelled over the noise” we’ll figure that out later, right now I’m starving. Let’s find something to eat.” they linked arms so as not to get separated and pushed through the crowd until they found a small corner cafe. The smell coming from inside was intoxicating and they found themselves going inside without even discussing it. They seated themselves in the back corner at a table for two with a small bouquet of daisies in the middle and waited patiently to have their order taken. They were the only customers there so Lizzie started getting impatient fast when they weren’t waited on right away, but Josie used the time to take in the city.
A minute or two later an older man with a white beard appeared at their table and placed a large plate of beignets in front of them,” We didn’t order these, sir,” Josie said sweetly, proud of herself for remembering to add sir at the end.
“Read the card little lady,” he said with a kind smile and a soft southern accent, motioning to the brown envelope sitting on the plate that Josie didn’t even notice.
Lizzie grabbed the card and ripped it open before Josie could. She scrunched her eyebrows together as she read aloud,” Welcome to the Crescent City, enjoy your meal. Love H.M” Lizzie laughed and handed the note to her sister so she could read it too,” How on earth does she know we are here? We just got here.” Josie didn’t have that answer but she could guess who did.
“Excuse me,” she said, getting the attention of the man who brought the note,” Do you know the girl who wrote this note? Do you know Hope?”
He returned this time with two cups of coffee, but it wasn’t him who answered, a lady with dyed red hair in a messy bun stuck her head out of a window in the wall that led to the kitchen,” everyone in the quarter knows who Hope Mikaelson is,” neither of the twins was surprised by this,” she’s the best thing to come out of that damned house in two hundred years.”
“Do you know where we could find her?” Lizzie asked
“If you’re looking for her you should watch the parade later today,” the man said. Josie leaned closer to get a look at his name tag, it read Benny.
Before Josie could respond the lady from the kitchen spoke up again,” but that’s not for hours and you girls look hungry, so what can I make for you,”
After they placed their orders the twins dug into the beignets. There was no doubt that it was the best food around. They ate their breakfast in silence, more focused on the food than anything else. After they finished Josie decided to try and get more answers,” So what time is this Parade we should be going to?”
“It starts at 10:30 but if you want a good spot you’ll need to be out there much earlier,” Benny said, clearing their plates.
Lizzie checked the time on her phone and made a face,” we better get going then,” she said and they stood going to the register.
“Your check’s been taken care of. You girls go enjoy the parade.” Benny said, waving them off. Josie was shocked, and she and Lizzie met eyes for a moment trying to decide whether they should push this or not.” I’m serious now,” He said noticing their uneasiness,” go enjoy the city,”
They knew they couldn’t fight good old southern hospitality so they said goodbye and once again faced the chaos of Mardi Gras. They found a spot near the road and waited, Josie got distracted for a moment and when she found Lizzie again her sister had a drink in each hand. Josie wasn’t much of a drinker but she sipped while they waited for the parade to start. Soon music flowed through the air and the crowd started to scream as the floats started to arrive. Beads, candy, and small toys flew as Josie scanned every face looking for Hope. Just as Josie was starting to lose hope in finding her friend, the parade morphed into something new. The floats were grander and each only held one person.
On the first float was a girl with tan skin and a smattering of freckles, in a long tule green dress with flowers in her dark hair and a crown of roses on her head. She was smiling and waving at the crowd around her like a princess as the crowd surged forward lifting their hands to her.
On the second float, was a girl considerably younger than the others, with wild black curls and silver circlet around her forehead. Her dress was brown and ragged if Josie had to guess she would say it was made out of burlap, but it was a fashion choice that she pulled off well. Despite her age, she held herself with a large amount of pride, Josie could tell by the way she raised her chin as she watched the crowd.
The third float had a girl in a velvet red dress, with pin-straight blonde hair and a tiara dripping with black jewels. She had intense makeup that few people could pull off and a glint in her eyes that suggested trouble. She didn’t wave at the people around her and for some reason, they screamed even louder because of it.
When the fourth float appeared Josie nearly choked on her drink. Atop it stood Hope, in a stunning satin blue dress and her auburn hair was in a dramatic updo with a crown so big that it looked more like a sheet of diamonds. Hope looked regal without even trying, you could never tell that she hated every minute she was on that float. For a moment Josie could swear Hope found her in the crowd, and she might have waved it off if Hope hadn’t winked, her smile turning slightly more genuine.
The floats moved past them, but not far before they stopped in the road and the girls climbed down one by one. Josie was too distracted watching Hope to notice where they were going until Hope disappeared from view behind a curtain that leads to a stage. Lizzie snapped her out of it by bumping her shoulder and motioning to the stage, as Marcel Gerard walked out to the center.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” he bellowed grinning from ear to ear, obviously very comfortable in front of a crowd,” It is my pleasure to once again announce this year’s princesses of the quarter.” the crowd roared around them and Josie lifted slightly onto her toes in anticipation.
The girls filed onto the stage, one after the other then turned to face the crowd. They linked hands and lifted them into the air, as if on queue the wind picked up in a way that could only be explained by magic. She didn’t know what the mass of drunk people thought was happening, but however they explained it to themselves they loved it. Everyone gasped and laughed, enthralled by the magic of the city, that was linked to these four princesses.
The spectacle was over quicker than Josie expected and each of the girls walked off one by one disappearing off the stage and back behind the curtains, effectively ending the parade and leaving the people to go back to drinking and partying, at least until the next parade. Lizzie grabbed Josie’s hand and started pulling her toward the stage.
Come Jo,” she said as they ducked behind the curtains following,” We found Hope we can’t lose her now,” they stopped just far enough away that they could see the group of girls huddled by the door to a bar with some men standing farther away in dark clothes, like security guards. Marcel appeared out of nowhere, the same grin on his face as he ushered everyone inside. But Hope stayed behind, her back was to the twins so they couldn’t hear what excuse she gave. Josie took this as their queue to come out of the shadows, so she nudged Lizzie and they moved forward.
“I was wondering how long you two were going to wait there,” Hope said, turning to face them, wearing a smirk that was so much more beautiful than any crown. Then Josie was running and throwing her arms around her, she’d missed Hope so much. She was even more sure of that now that they were together again. Hope met her halfway and wrapped her arms around Josie’s waist pulling her close.
“Did you forget about me?” Lizzie’s voice broke through.
“As if I could,” Hope laughed, releasing Josie and moving to hug Lizzie. “What are you guys doing here?” she asked
“We decided to take a long weekend, come see the city, celebrate all that and running into you was just a happy accident,” Lizzie teased with an eye roll.
Before they could say anything else one of the girls stepped back outside, the smile she was wearing earlier had turned into a scowl. “Come on Hope, some of us actually want to look nice at the ball tonight” She was the picture of grace and kindness during the parade, all covered in flowers but now she was completely different.
“And you have to work so hard for that Phoebe,” Hope shot back like she was very used to dealing with this girl. Hope’s comment must have been enough because Phoebe’s face turned red, whether it was from anger or embarrassment Josie wasn’t sure, but she turned on her heel and marched back inside.
However she was quickly replaced by another, the blonde this time.” I know she’s a bitch Hope but she’s right if we don’t get back soon your aunt will have all our heads,”
“Yeah I know,” Hope replied then glancing at the twins she asked,” do you guys want to come?”
It didn’t take twin telepathy for them to come up with their answer. Soon they were following Hope into the bar. Josie recognized it immediately, it was the same bar she met Freya at when she came to reverse engineer the spell to bring everyone's memory back and it hadn’t changed one bit.
None of them talked as they followed Marcel into the back room where he moved a refrigerator revealing a hole in the wall. Josie’s eyes widened but she didn’t open her mouth. She watched in silence as all of the girls and the body guards disappeared inside without hesitation until it was just the three of them again.
Hope must have sensed her unease because she spoke,” It’s an old bootlegger tunnel, they run all over the city, you can get anywhere with them.” she climbed inside with ease and held out her hands to help the twins in, with her new strength she basically did all the hard work for them.
The tunnel was dark and damp and Josie remembered just how much she hated being underground, she took a deep breath to settle herself and pushed forward, following Hope through the twisting catacombs. Josie grabbed Lizzie’s hand, she didn’t know if her sister could tell how much she hated this but she squeezed her hand and Josie felt better. After what felt like an eternity, they made it to an exit and when they resurfaced Josie found herself in a grand house that somehow looked ancient and modern (modern for New Orleans at least) all at once. The group made their way to a room in the center of the house, that was where the princesses had gotten ready for their grand debut. The walls were lined with four vanities, covered in makeup and jewelry and surrounded by people whose job it was to prepare the girls for the ball they had to attend that evening.
The girls scattered to their respective areas and started to get ready, and the twins followed Hope to her’s. But unlike everyone else Hope didn’t get to work,” welcome to my home,” she stated motioning at everything around them.
“You live here?” Lizzie gasped shocked. Josie shouldn’t have been surprised given everything she knew about Hope’s family, but the magnitude of the house still weighed on her. It was giant. Speaking of families, it was around that moment that they started to pour in from the outside. A young girl around 12 bolted across the room and nearly tackled one of the girls, the one sitting at the vanity next to Hope’s.
“You look like the queen of the wolves,” she squeaked.
The girl huffed and rolled her eyes messing with her little sisters hair,” thanks but that’s Hope’s job not mine,”
“Very funny Ava,” Hope shot back with a grin, as the little girl came to give Hope a hug too.
“You look really pretty too,”
“Why thank you Charlie,” Hope replied, giving the girl a squeeze then turning back to the twins,” guys this is Charlie, that’s her sister Ava and the one being all broody behind them is their brother Logan. They’re crescent wolves from my pack.,” Josie hadn’t even noticed Logan, but Lizzie had, he was tall, dark and Handsome exactly her type, Josie could tell by the way her eyes were bulging out of her head. “ and as for the other girls, you already met Phoebe she’s a witch and that’s Cecily a vamp,”
“One of each faction,” Josie commented, raising an eyebrow,” and you're the tribrid it’s all very symbolic.”
Hope laughed, loud and clear,” No I’m the Mikaelson representative, but I like your reason better.”
The rest of the Mikaelsons entered with the families of the other girls, Kol and Davina came to them first because Marcel and Rebekah were busy politicing and Freya was chasing her small son around trying to stop him from throwing beads.
Kol held out a very ornate looking box lined with velvet and Hope removed her crown and earrings placing them in the box. “ You looked stunning out there Hope,” Davina cued.
“Anyone looks stunning when they are wearing priceless Russian jewels,” Hope said shrugging
“Oh just take the compliment, Hope,” Davina laughed.
Rebekah appeared behind them scarily silent, but her demeanor didn’t seem threatening,” Did you decide what dress you are going to wear tonight, darling?” she asked as she stood behind Hope at the vanity, running her fingers lightly through her hair.
“No not yet aunt Bex,” she replied.
“You don’t have a dress for tonight,” Lizzie shrieked clearly appalled. Josie bit back a laugh at the shocked look on the tribrid’s face.
“Don’t worry Lizzie I have plenty of options,” Hope said standing up,” come on you can help me pick,” they followed her back through the house and up the stairs till they came to a door off a side hallway that looked like it lead to a broom closet, and it was a closet but it was also so much more.
Inside was the biggest walk-in closet that Joise had ever seen, the walls lined with dresses of every kind, from different eras and styles, there was even an entire corner dedicated entirely to wedding dresses. Hope smirked as she saw her friends gaping, clearly amused.
“Wow,” Lizzie muttered, running her hands through the dresses and Josie joined her, sifting through hundreds of dresses from every point in history, and of modern ones too. As much as she wanted to play with all of the historical dresses, she decided to focus on the modern dresses.
Hope was silent as they searched, but Josie could hear Lizzie muttering to herself. After a moment Hope spoke up,” you can each pick one dress for me to try on, we are on a time limit,”
“There’s no need,” Josie gasped as she pulled a gorgeous, sleek black dress covered in swirling god beading off the wall,” this is your dress,” Lizzie sucked in a breath as she saw the dress and Josie knew that her twin agreed with her decision.
“You just want an excuse to see me in that dress,” Hope poked. Was that flirting? Josie couldn’t tell, but she played along.
“Guilty as charged, now go put it on,” Hope laughed, taking the dress in her arms and disappearing behind a screen to change.
Josie was so right about the dress, anyone who saw Hope would know that. For lack of a better word, she looked hot, insanely hot, Josie had to force herself not to stare. Before she could say anything Freya appeared in the doorway with her son on her hip,” You look so much like your mother sometimes,” she said her eyes filled with emotions. Her son, Nik Josie remembered, wiggled his way out her grasp and beelined for Hope. she scooped him up with ease, her smile growing.
It was strange, seeing Hope with her family something shifted, she wasn’t just hot she was beautiful. There was a light behind her that wasn’t normally there, it made the siphoner’s heart skip a beat.
They spent the rest of the afternoon getting Hope ready, the twins fell into a rhythm, easy and fun, they did her hair and makeup and laughed like they were normal teenage girls getting ready for a party. They talked to the other girls too, Ava and Hope were really close, they’d practically grown up together, and Cecily was nice enough. Phoebe kept her distance but nobody complained about that.
At some point Kol stopped by and left another box, this one considerably smaller, but probably equally expensive. All of the crowns were smaller now, Josie noticed wondering that was another strange tradition that Hope hadn’t mentioned.
Eventually everyone made their way downstairs to the front door, it seemed they were using a visible exit this time. Hope’s entire family was dressed to impress, minus Freya’s wife Keelin who was staying home to watch Nik for the evening, it seemed that a Mardi Gras ball wasn’t an appropriate place for a toddler. Everyone made their way outside but Hope stayed behind,” sorry for leaving like this guys,”
“Are you kidding,” Lizzie scoffed,” you’re going to to an actual ball Hope, I think we can handle ourselves for the night,”
“Besides we’ll probably just go explore the city some,” Josie added, trying to ease the older girls' guilt. It didn’t work because Hope’s guilt seemed to turn to worry.
Hope held out her hands and each of the twins took one without question,” stock up on some magic,” Josie started siphoning on instinct, Lizzie did too,” I’m not telling you not to go into the city but just be safe and if anything happens under no circumstances are you to tell anyone that you are siphoner witched ok?” Hope was tense, but she seemed to be willing to let the twins handle themselves for the night.
“That’s worrying but we accept,” Lizzie said.
It seemed that all of Hope’s family wasn’t outside yet because Davina was suddenly running down the stairs,” come on Hope if we don’t leave now we’re going to be late,”
“You’re the one who’s late, D not me,” Hope retorted, releasing Josie’s hand but not moving away from them.
“Go have fun,” Josie said, nudging her toward the door with a smile.
here is my pretty late ghost theme fic for slhalloweenparty aka part 2 of the series that doesn't even has its name
good to know its not shit @ac-ars
part1
Jeep was passing through the streets of some undistinguished town. Silently playing radio was the only background noise for the daunting silence that fell between passengers. Brown haired driver was tightly holding the steering wheel with both hands, not looking away from a road for a second. He was deeply immersed in his thoughts that made his face look concerned and fully focused.
On the opposite, girl next to him seemed in no way as stoic as him. She was hugging her knees, leaning her head on the window looking at the passing by building. Her eyes were all puffy and red, also was sniffling every now and again.
The atmosphere on he backseat wasn’t much different. Blonde girl was sitting across her seat keeping her legs on the knees of boy seating next to her. She was listening to music through her earphones, swaying her head a bit to the rhythm. Her neighbour in a green baseball jacket wasn’t that content from this situation, but kept looking through some book.
„Okay, they weren’t driven neither to the hospital, nor on the police station Any other ideas where should we check next?”- said Matteo breaking the silence. He was 200% sure that no matter, how long they will be looking for parents of the green-eyed girl, there is no chance to find them, because they were simply killed by the vampires. Nevertheless, he had no idea, how to pass this dreary news to this pretty girl, without explaining the whole supernatural circumstances.
“I really don’t know.”- said Luna quietly sighing. “I phoned them thousand times and nobody picked uptheir phone. We have moved here only a few days ago and I have no idea were they can be and who can I talk to”. This confession squeezed Matteo’s heart a little. Excellent, not only they are to blame for her parents death, but also this girl literally has no place to go.
Through the last 3 years they never had to deal with such situation. Of course, there were times when they completely screwed up and instead of burning the bones of the dead, they managed to burn half of the neighbourhood (Gaston claimed that it was just super effective way of incinerating bones and now for sure that area won’t be ever haunted by any exceptionally pesky ghost.). But they never had to find something unfindable.
“McDonalds!”- suddenly livened up Gaston. “I know we are in the middle of something really important, but nothing raises the spirits better than double cheeseburger with fries. Maybe except of two double cheeseburgers.”- Boy hugged or more like tightly squeezed Matteo through his seat. “Matteo Balsano you don’t want to lose your friend because of starvation, do you?”- he asked in all serious tone.
“Luna, don’t you mind, if we stop?- Italian took a look at her a bit worried. “No, no that’s completely fine. You are already helping me so much”- girl half-smiled at the driver.
“Obesity, we’re coming!”- sighed with relief Gaston.
***
“We are going to make an order and you two look for a table”- commended Ambar as soon as soon as they walked through the door of the fast food kingdom. “Come on, Balsano”- she pulled boy quickly to the queue. She looked behind her back to find out Gaston and Luna drifted away searching for an unoccupied and moderately clean table.
“Okay, heart-eye boy. What’s your plan to do with this girl?- Blonde girl asked raising her brow and leaning at italian’s shoulder. Matteo looked at her and rolled his eyes.
“You’re jealous?”- asked smirking at her. “No, you conceited jerk. I am more like “how the fuck are you going to find the dead parents of this girl?”. The only idea, that comes to my mind is to put her in the car, when Gaston is driving. That’s the straightest way to the otherside.”
“You don’t have a driving licence yourself, so don’t criticize Gaston!”
“Your husband must have bought this licence, because no driver examiner would even let him drive out of parking. But getting to the point, put this puppy girl in the box, giver her a soft blanket and a bowl of water. Leave her on the side of the road and I guarantee some kind family will take care of her and not drag her in our shit. ”- Ambar’s voice have been raising with every word, suddenly interrupted by someone quietly clearing their throat. “Yes?”
“Hi, welcome at Mcdonald’s. What can I get you?”- barely stuttered young girl in green uniform. She nervously took her hair behind her ears.
“Salad. Just salad”- answered pissed Ambar, glaring at the girl, who had disturbed her and now didn’t even dare to look up. “No, add also strawberry shake. Or maybe coke zero, but without ice. Yes, salad and vanilla shake. Of course without chicken and dressing.”- Matteo just sighed and rolled his eyes.
“Just bring her whatever you have at hand. She will be dissatisfied either way.”- he smiled and winked at the girl. Heart of the girl started to beat even twice as fast and she got red all over her face. “For me it will be this new burger in the set with large fries and cola”- boy turned around to see, where his friends took a seat.
They were sitting few tables from them, Gaston was currently showing something Luna on his phone and girl looked like she was about to burst out laughing. He could bet 50$, that it was photos from his hidden folder were he kept the most horrible photos of Matteo. Among others the one from when he got drunk and made out with a mexican boy, or the one when he fell asleep during movie night and Gaston decided to use his face as a canvas. To protect his precious babies from Balsano, boy even put a password, which regardless countless attempts he still didn’t managed to break.
“Luna, what do you want?”- shouted Matteo in the direction of his friends.
“Happy meal”- shouted back Luna grinning at him. In her eyes showed off little sparks of joy. Ambar sighed loudly at this view and looked Matteo dead in the eyes.
“Told you? She is a true puppy.”- she shook her head, as she doubted, why she is the only one making sense in this trio.
“Add this to the check and two double cheeseburgers with fries.”- told Matteo leaning at the checkout desk, which made girl’s cheek even more red than before. “Thank you for your witty comments Ambar. I will have back in my mind, that you’d rather have my ass for yourself.”- he tilted his head and kissed blonde in the corner of her mouth.
“You are truly disgusting. Save your moves for the employee girls”- snapped Ambar making a disgusted face and swiftly turned her back to walk away to the table.
Gaston and Luna stopped laughing, when noticed, how pissed off was the blonde, coming to their table. Both of them felt like the poor tourists, who enjoy themselves on the beach, when see the tsunami wave is coming. They looked at each other for a few seconds and simultaneously looked down at their phones. They sat in silence, until Matteo came with trays full of the most unhealthy-delicious smelling food.
-Thank you.- was the only thing that Luna dared to say aloud and just concentrated at her meal. All three ate in silence, letting the blonde girl calm down.
They cleaned after themself and got out of the restaurant. It was already completely dark outside and pessimistic thoughts started to get to Luna again. She sat in her front seat and hugged her knees looking through a window. Matteo turned on the radio and put on a “Sunrise”, she was listening softly swaying her head. At the back Gaston was chatting with Ambar, who get over, whatever she had to get over. They were driving through the forest in the suburbs of the town. Girl was watching trees quickly passing by, actually for sure too quickly than the law allowed here.
“Matteo, how fast are you… Oh my god! What was this?”- shrieked Luna. She was 100% sure, that a few seconds ago, she spotted terrified men inches away from their jeep’s mask. “Matteo, you have ridden him down. But how so we didn’t feel anything?” Matteo rapidly stopped his car and turned to the backseat. He glanced at Gaston, trying to pass to him, what he had in mind. Ambar furrowed brow and looked at the Matteo focused. The three managed to agree on something without a one world.
“Luna,”- began Gaston hurriedly. “We are gonna get out of the car and check on this man. You see…”- he stammered. “Ambar is unbelievably good paramedic! You won’t believe, but she attended a course last summer and then trained so much with Matteo. Oh, you should have seen, how involved they both were. She excels at mouth-mouth respiration. ”- Gaston continued to rattle, going through a backpack, that he picked up from the floor. At that time, Ambar was rummaging through her handbag, trying really hard to not choke his friend. “Really, we have a master here of not only killing people, but also unkilling people, what a treasure. ”- he ended absentmindedly, getting out of car and waved at Ambar to follow him.
“Don’t you worry dears, as Gaston said, this man won’t even feel, that was dead for a couple of minutes.”- Ambar smiled in a fake way to Luna before slamming the door and sending knowing glance to Matteo through a window. Haven’t they disappeared behind the car yet, Balsano stepped harshly on the gas making Luna push into the seat.
“Aren’t we waiting for them?”- asked confused green-eyed girl turning to Matteo. “Why are we in so much hurry? What is going on here?” Luna looked around terrified, starting to regret, that she trusted this crazy trio.
“Nothing is happening”- Italian breathed out slowly. “We have settled on, that we will come back for them, when they are finished.”- His words haven’t convinced her at all. “Oh Luna, please don’t look so freaked out. I am not gonna kidnap you and lock you in my basement. Of course you are really cute, but that’s not really my style of seducing girls”
“I didn’t think about this possibility earlier”- stammered Luna concentrating at the first sentences, her eyes getting even bigger and more petrified. Matteo didn’t manage to add anything, when the moment broke the sound of a ringtone. Balsano quickly unplugged his phone from the speaker and answered it. Luna watched, as he nodded a few times, cursed under his breath and muttered something ending the call. He was still one hand putting down phone, when unexpectedly pulled the steering wheel and turned back the car.
“Sorry Luna, we are coming back to this idiots yet a bit earlier”- he said through his teeth, speeding up. “They forgot something really, really essential. When we get there please for no sake, don’t come out of the car. ”
“Okay…”- girl answered completely lost. “But after this I deserve some explanation, okay?”
***
“Summing up, that was a ghost of a man who died in a car crash, yes?”- asked Luna playing with a straw. “And Gaston forgot his lighter”- she continued looking up at the rest. Matteo nodded taking a sip of a wine. “And lighter is really important part of getting rid of a ghost, right?”
“As you see, not important enough, that some jerk manages to pack his pyjama bottons, and leave the lighter on the backseat”- broke in Ambar coming with her milkshake to the table. She took a chair next to Matteo and nudged Gaston’s chair.
“Yes, I admit it to my mistake, stop nagging me Ambar!. Matteo, I am not going to travel with her anymore, choose who is gonna stay by your side? Your best trustworthy buddy or permanently pissed off bitch?
The Vampire Diaries 811 Recap "You Made a Choice to Be Good" #TVD
This week, The Vampire Diaries one-upped its own history of downer plot twists. I remember being devastated when Damon failed to come back from the Other Side as it was erased, but I also knew the odds were in our favor--there was very little chance he and Bonnie would not find their way back. I remember a couple of years before, when Alaric was corrupted and used as a weapon, then discarded and lost to us. Alaric was my favorite character, and losing him sucked. (Seeing him come back for a visit the following year was awesome, and I've been so glad to have him back for real.) But last night, the final season of TVD may have taken too much from us.
The episode opened on a sunny day in Mystic Falls. Bonnie, high on love, cheerfully chats with the dapper gentleman behind her in the coffee shop queue. She's never seen Cade before, and without her magic, she can't tell she's in the presence of soul-searing danger. Once she's gone, Cade blithely kicks off a homicidal rage between the barista and his boss by revealing the former has been nailing the latter's wife. We are reminded by this scene that Cade is a mind-reader. This is important, and there's no use hoping he didn't recognize Bonnie and know her mind was worth reading.
On the town square, new sheriff Matt Donovan (it's a short interview loop when no one else wants the job with a shockingly disproportionate death rate) presides over Time Capsule Day. The school kids have dug up the original founders' treasure chest, dating back to 1790. Among the standard items all TV shows to decorate sets for archaeological digs, there are some items Matt only recently has come to know are associated with his own ancestors. A mysterious metal plate with strategically placed slots catches his eye, and he gets Dorian to work on identifying its purpose.
Caroline is also at the town square, and her relentless optimism and faith in people is clearly beginning to grate on Matt. The way she sees it, she's got Stefan locked in the basement, and they'll figure out how to get him back to himself again. Matt isn't feeling so generous of spirit, though. He points out how hard it is to just keep giving Stefan a pass on all the horrible stuff he does. I will point out that only last week, he said basically the opposite about Damon, and I don't think that's inconsistency or hypocrisy; I think it's yet another outright acknowledgment that Stefan is the worse guy, deep down. Stefan's humanity is like a leash on a rabid dog.
Damon is on guard duty, and he gets a very nasty surprise in Stefan's cell: Stefan's gone, and Cade is here for a visit. Cade isn't interested in Damon's change of heart about working for the devil. He gives Damon a simple challenge: Kill 100 evil strangers, or kill the girl your brother loves. Quantity or quality.
Damon is really overconfident and wastes a lot of time trying to avoid this ultimatum, but Cade keeps reminding him that he's psychic and unkillable. It feels like a waste of time and energy, rather than a well-conceived plan of any kind. I'm reminded of Buffy saying, "That's not a plan! That's not even a pluhh!"
In fact, Caroline will call this out for us. When Damon fills her in on the dumbass antics he's been wasting the day with, she says, "I thought you weren't going to do anything stupid!"
"When did I ever promise that?" he responds. Fair enough, Damon.
Nowhere near Mystic Falls, Enzo and Bonnie are driving the hell bell far away for safe keeping. Along the way, with the notion of Enzo taking the cure on their minds, Bonnie encourages him to do whatever's on his bucket list. They're having a beautiful day of fun and romantic planning for the future, and we should know better than to believe in this.
When they arrive at their destination, Bonnie explains she bought this house with her inheritance, and no one else should even know about it...it's where she's hiding Elena's coffin for safekeeping. She invites Enzo in, and he carries her over the threshold, promising, "Someday, we'll do that for real."
Now that they're right here in the same house with the cure, it feels like a more immediate choice, and Enzo's ready to make it. They are on the verge of starting their life together, it seems.
Not so fast, though. Damon has a plan to use the cure on Cade, rendering him killable. Then, he promises, Enzo can have it afterward, and Damon himself will still take it once Elena awakens. Everybody wins...if all goes according to plan, and when has that ever happened?
But we've all probably forgotten about where Stefan disappeared to after Cade freed him. More fool us. He pulls up alongside a realtor at a gas station and goes from cheerful stranger to mega-creeper in under a minute. It's clear this isn't random; Cade sent him to find this woman.
Meanwhile, back at the Mystic Grill, Caroline is trying to give Matt and Dorian some supernatural insurance on this dangerous occasion. Matt's having none of it, and he talks some serious smack about the vampirism lifestyle choice. (He's not wrong, but to be fair, Caroline was vamped against her will by Katherine, so he's being a little harsh.) Dorian's on the fence, and we get some backstory on him finally, about how his family has long believed they are cursed--hence, his lifelong fascination with the supernatural. Now that he actually knows the supernatural is real, he's toying with going all in.
Cade shows up to terrorize the Grill patrons, announcing his victims' sins before killing them. While Matt leads the evacuation, Damon tries to stall Cade, draining a woman at random to appease him. At the sight of an actual vamp murder, Dorian's brief flirtation with immortality sours. Cade mocks Damon's efforts, noting that this woman was a perfectly fine person, so her death is without value to him.
Then Cade drops the bomb, and we should have probably seen this one coming. That deal he offered Damon earlier, about quality vs. quantity? He made the same offer to Stefan, and Stefan chose the quality death. He left town this morning to go after Elena.
Naturally, when Cade interacted with Bonnie at the coffee shop, he dug into her mind to learn the secrets of where Elena's coffin is stashed and the name of the realtor who handled the sale. That's the woman Stefan has shanghaied all afternoon and compelled to help him with another transaction: transferring the house out of Bonnie's name and into her own, so she can invite Stefan in.
While the paperwork is being done, Bonnie and Enzo are having another wonderful romantic moment...and then he is suddenly sucked out the door. Bonnie tries to invite him back in, and she can't, so they figure it's definitely time to go. And here's what a sucker I am: During this whole scene, I'm thinking they'll be gone in a moment, and then the cliffhanging danger will be that Stefan can walk right into the house where Elena still sleeps.
(Okay, and this is a major aside, but I can't help getting stuck on it...how is this possible? How can you transfer ownership of a property without the consent of the current owner? Any real estate agents or lawyers out there reading this, please feel free to comment even just to say whether this is a remotely plausible scenario.)
Bonnie's extracting some blood from Elena, wondering aloud how much she needs to take in order to get a dose of the cure. Enzo is still at the open door, keeping up his end of the conversation...until he's not. The silence alarms Bonnie, and she rushes into the foyer just in time to see Enzo's heart being ripped out.
And here's where I shut down and just started waiting for the reveal that it was a hallucination or a vision of a possible future that now will time loop so we can avoid it or that Enzo is unkillable the way Damon was earlier this year when Alaric staked him. (It's still not impossible...they can still walk this back, and I won't give up on that possibility until the credits roll on the series finale.)
Bonnie's enraged and in shock. Stefan saunters in and laughs at her for bothering to arm herself against him. He grabs her stake-holding hand but doesn't notice her other hand, which still holds the hypodermic needle full of Elena's blood. She stabs him with it, bringing him down and presumably rendering him mortal. She rushes out to where Enzo lies on the porch, dessicating. As she screams her rage and loss, a rippling, booming special effect comes off her in waves, implying that her emotional state has triggered the return of her magic.
I loved Bonnie and Enzo together. They were just featured in our Suebooh's Corner Valentine's Day countdown of TV's best couples (I nominated them). Enzo spent his impossibly long life being rejected, deceived, used, and betrayed. Then he found Bonnie, and he finally had a life worth living. Love brought out the best in him, and their relationship became the thing to root for. With all she's lost over the years of giving everything for her friends and for the world, she deserved a happy ending. So did he. They fought so hard to keep their crazy lives from coming between them, and they were on the verge of having it all. If he's really dead, I don't know if anything that happens in the final five episodes will feel like a win.
So come on, TVD, fix this. Let Bonnie's surge of returning magic be so powerful it can restore Enzo to life. I promise not to nitpick whatever twist you choose to bring Enzo back.
