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goldeneyedgirl · 9 months

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AILess Whumptober Day 1: Drugged/Poisoned

Happy October!

And with October comes the beloved fic event: Whumptober. I'll be working through some of the @ailesswhumptober prompts this October. Some of them will be Planned and Thoughtful. Others will be random rambling little bits of nonsense for fun and enrichment.

How many I get done is unknown because I also have schoolwork, so we'll just see.

First up is Drugged/Poisoned, set in Hybrid-verse. No idea if this will become canon to that fic, we're just here to have a good time right now.

raw (day 1: poisoned/drugged).

twilight, alice/jasper, pg, hybrid-verse. no warnings.

The building is dark and cold, and very, very quiet now that the power is off. It’s not a large building, but large enough that he needs to find Alice immediately and get her out. They don’t know enough about who this person is and what they want with her to take any extra time. Rose took down the wifi and any backup cameras when she shut off the power, so there’s zero chance of witnesses.

She’s in the room just at the junction of the building; the door is double-bolted and it takes no effect just to break the lock at the hinge and step through.

It’s a grey cinder-block of a room with a fine layer of filth - dust, dirt, dead flies and debris - on all the surfaces. There’s a rusted metal chair in one corner, and an ancient cot with a split, rotting mattress half-on it.

Alice is there on the cot, with her back to him; her shirt is torn open and he can see her spine and the wide bruises that has bloomed against her skin.

And she’s not moving.

Jasper’s never moved so fast in his life. She’s still alive; he can hear her sluggish heartbeat if he listens carefully. But he’s never see his girl so still; even asleep, she twitches and wriggles and moves around.

“Alice? Alice?”

He’s too rough when he grabs her shoulder he realizes as he rolls her over; there’ll be a bruise and he immediately hates himself. But she doesn’t flinch, doesn’t make any sound or indication that he’s hurt her, or that she felt it.

She’s unconscious and utterly limp, but the state she’s in… it’s almost hard to look at her. Around her mouth is blistering, raw and red; there bruises across her face and cheeks in various stages of healing. There’s an angry cut so close to her eye that it makes Jasper feel oddly sick. She looks so fragile and broken, and he needs her to wake up so he can fix this. Everything will be fine if she wakes up; she’ll tell him what to do, where it hurts.

“Alice,” he says quietly, pushing his gift against her, trying to trigger her into stirring. Anything. He just needs one indication that she’s with him, that they can get past this. He doesn’t know a goddamn thing about first aid, about a medical emergency.

(Even worrying about her for the last week and a half… he thought he’d covered every possibly scenario but now he’s facing this, he’s realizing a whole new world of terror and horror that he never considered.)

“It’s gonna be okay, Alice,” he murmurs, as if he’s not trying to reassure both of them. She’s so clammy, even in just a torn t-shirt and a thin skirt with the cold of the building.

That’s when he notices the vomit; foamy and unnatural, stuck all over one side of her face and the mattress, with faint pink streaks of blood - the scent blotted out by something sharp and caustic.

He’s not sure if Alice has been poisoned or drugged, but either way, alarm bells are going off in his head. He’s out of his depth; a few bruises and cuts he can deal with. But this… this isn’t right. This is something much bigger and scarier than he anticipated.

(He was the one that insisted he go alone, that the rest of them wait at the cabin. That it would be faster, less detectable if he was by himself. And now he’s here with no way of calling for help, for advice. He’s alone and Alice is clearly hurting and he’s got a 30 mile run with her - in sheets of ice-cold rain - to manage and he doesn’t know what to do.)

There’s a reeking blanket on the floor, but it’ll do. He wraps her in his sweatshirt before the blanket; she might be clammy now, but the rain is icy and some vague voice in his brain that the shock of cold is a bad thing. He needs to hold her head up too; if she vomits again, she might choke.

Her heartbeat and her breathing are both sluggish, the raspy puff against her lips ominous. She needs Carlisle now. She needs everything he can throw at her, every medication and tincture and aid. She’s so fucking thin, and he carefully crossing her arms over her chest before he wraps her in the blanket so that there’s no risk of injury because he’s going to run so very, very fast…

Whoever, whatever did this to her - stole her from her family and trapped her in this place and poisoned her and left her alone in the dark - are going to have to look him in the eye and beg for mercy, spill out every single plan and motivation, before he lets their pain stop.

And even then, their life is the price they’ll pay for laying a single finger in malice on her. He cannot let them walk free for this.

Their departure from the building is swift and efficient; he is no longer trying to be quiet or unseen. If there is anything left to track him, to record his presence, he no longer cares. Let them come, let them confront him.

As they reach the outside, he looks down at Alice, her face grey against the black of his sweatshirt. But she is no worse, and that is enough. But before he ventures back into the rain, he tucks the blanket around her face to protect it.

And then he runs.

(He’s never had anyone that he loved who could get hurt in such a way. Who could be broken like this. He traps the panic right down, to deal with later. He needs to stay calm, he needs to think clearly. They need to get home, to Carlisle and Rose, so she can get medical attention. And then he’ll call her family, let them know she’s been found. After that, that’s when he can fall apart and let the fear and panic devour him.)

(She’ll be okay. She has to be.)

#AIlessWhumptober2023 #ailesswhumptober prompt 1: drugged/poisoned/sick #my fic: whumptober2023 #jalice #alice cullen #jasper hale #human/vampire au #jasper expecting alice to be wounded but mad #and like giving him instructions #nothing scares him more than alice unconscious because there's no one to boss him around #my fic: hybrid

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like-rain-or-confetti · 4 years

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Request: Wish You Could Love Me Back (Part 2) Marcus Volturi x Reader

It had been three years since the night you confessed to Caius. Three years since you had gone travelling. You kept the Cullen’s updated in all the different places you were travelling to over the years.

As of recently, the Cullen’s had been distracted with the oncoming visit from the Volturi that they weren’t as aware of your less descriptive messages as of recently. The introductions with the Volturi were pleasant but as always, occurring on thin ice. One wrong move and the situation would escalated before a human could even blink. “How is our dear (Y/N) doing?” Aro clasped his hands with a smile, Caius’ gaze was piercing whilst Marcus stared the Cullen’s down but he didn’t look as present. “They’re still on their travels.” Carlisle smiled. “The last we heard, they were in Germany.” Demetri’s brow crinkled. “When did you hear this?” “About half an hour ago.” Carlisle responded. “(Y/N) isn’t in Germany.” Aro turned to Demetri who pointed in a direction. “Germany is that way.” Demetri then moved slightly and gestured again. “(Y/N) is in that direction.” That was how it began.

Caius insisted that they all got to the bottom of this. It only got worse when none of them could get in contact with you. That was when they took matters into their own hands and hunted you down.

After a few days, Demetri found you. He eyed you, although you didn’t seem to notice him yet. Instead your eyes were fixated on another man who seemed to be waiting for bus. You seemed to note the number and destination of the bus before briskly walking to catch it, keeping your distance from him. Demetri followed.

Just before you could make it to the stop, Demetri grabbed your elbow and you turned sharply barely forcing back your inconvenienced glare. Demetri ignored it. “Well look who it is. It’s been a few years.” You wore a polite smile. “Hello Demetri, it’s nice to see you again.” “We were just talking about you, we had wondered where you had gone. Carlisle hasn’t heard from you.” You eyed the now departing bus with the man inside. You hummed, biting back a noise of annoyance. “Yeah, well, I’ve been busy.” “I see.” Demetri raised an eyebrow, Everything about you seeming off. “I’m sorry, I must be going. Excuse me.” You moved past Demetri who’s eyes followed you with a slight frown. Something definitely wasn’t right and nothing about your demeanor was like the person they knew from years ago.

Of course Demetri followed from a distance and you didn’t seem to notice. You had caught up with the man who had gotten off three stops. He turned into a cobblestone alleyway and you were quick to follow. Demetri caught sight of his coven who also had caught sight of you. The Cullen’s weren’t far behind and Alice suddenly frowned her brow scrunching. Although the Volturi didn’t wait forcing the Cullen’s to move quickly.

What they didn’t anticipate was to all meet up but you no where in sight and the man face to face with them. He scrutinized the Volturi’s some what dated clothing. They didn’t exactly fit the normal description, then he saw they had red eyes. “What the-” A loud bang was heard and the man fell forward. You were a few feet behind him, gun in your outstretched hand. You looked at the man before a smile made its way across your face. Suddenly the scene was chilling for that smile was one of accomplishment. You looked proud of what you had done. You were certainly smug and turned to walk away before everyone moved to their senses and surrounded you.

“Give me the gun.” Carlisle held out his hand with an unreadable expression. Your smile vanished and that was when they noticed how oddly chilling your gaze was. It was as though you were lost yet impulsive. As though unable to keep up with yourself. “No, its mine.” You said. “Hand it over!” Caius demanded, he appeared to be very disturbed by the sight which quickly led him to anger. You sighed, handing Carlisle the gun who immediately unloaded it. Aro nodded to Felix and Demetri. “Clean that up.” He gestured to the dead man. The two nodded, immediately moving. Aro’s gaze moved back to you. “Alec…” He said.You mumbled incoherently for a second before going limp.

It was only when they got to Italy did the situation finally be discussed. “I can’t believe they lied.” Esme began. “I can’t believe they...” She trailed off, unable to say the words as the image of you holding the gun, shooting a man and smiling about it was imprinted on her mind. “We need to understand how it came to this.” Carlisle said, deep in thought. “Alec will be retracting the mist any second now.” Aro mused. “No doubt we’ll get answers soon.”

You leaned back against the desk, humming as you thought of where to really begin. “No lies, no games. Only the truth.” Edward said flatly which made you sigh. “I did exactly as I said at first. It was my intent to travel and I did. I even landed a few jobs but...money was tough after sometime.” “And you never thought to ask us? We’d have given you money.” Rosalie said through a stiff jaw. “I never got the chance, because I was tricked. There was a man, a sweet guy who saw some good in me. Turns out I was a friend of his niece. Well, supposedly it was his niece. I highly doubt that now. Anyway, he offered me a job, working in a bar. No big deal. Eventually the job description got bigger, more favours, each one a little more risky than the rest. By the time I realised i was way in over my head, it was too late to back out.” You shifted, a blank look in your eye emerging that a few in the room noted including Marcus and Caius. “I was taken to another location, kept there for a while before I was trained.” “Kept?” Carlisle repeated. “I didn’t get to go outside. I was confined to a bedroom with a bathroom.” You tilted your head. “You were kidnapped.” Edward said. To the covens surprises a smile grew on your face, much like the one you had after shooting the man. You nodded at Edward. “They never tell you in the movies that the money has virtually nothing to do with it. It’s the people. They’re very good at manipulation. You don’t even realise it’s happening until it’s too late.” You shrugged. “After the training, you live by one choice. Obey orders or die. You know I had a friend once, well, sort of a friend. She didn’t do the order and the sent me to kill her. That’s the interesting part about this business, your co-workers could literally be your executioner.” “Training? What is the training?” Carlisle’s brow furrowed. “Self-defense, how to kill a person, how to clean up evidence, how to stay hidden, all kinds of things. The first always being to break you down so that they can build you back up.” “You never thought to come to us? To any of us?” Caius snarled. “That’s not how it works.” You sang. “Besides, I get paid well.” You grinned nodding to your shoes. “Hence the $200 shoes.” You smirked. “This is ridiculous.” Caius growled. “I don’t even recognise this person.” You didn’t respond, only smiling once again. “(Y/N), how are you, right now?” Carlisle suddenly spoke up making everyone look at you. Your smile faltered slightly but your composure mostly remained the same. “I’m fine.” “Are you sure?” Jasper asked and you raised an eyebrow. “I’ve been watching you as I listen to you talk.” Carlisle began. “You’re not really here in this moment, are you? You see us but you aren’t looking at us, you’re looking through us. You smile at all the wrong times. You’re recounting this as though it didn’t happen to you but to somebody else.” “So?” You prompted lightly. “I don’t know what you really feel but i think this is your coping mechanism. I think you’ve distanced yourself from all of this for a very long time now. I think you need help.” This time you grinned at Carlisle. “Stay with us.” Marcus finally spoke up. “No.” You responded. “You have to.” Caius said suddenly. “No, I don’t.” “We can’t allow you to go back to that life (Y/N).” Carlisle attempted to reason with you. “You’ll never be found, no one can hurt you.” Caius scowled slightly at your protests. Finally you sighed, nodding half-heartedly and rolled your eyes.

To your surprise, even in a castle, Caius was able to go about his own business and hound you every waking moment. No one had seen Caius as much as you had and it aggravated you to no end. Somehow you found a sanctuary for even a short time with Marcus. You had no idea how you ended up having a heart to heart with him. "Do you remember what it was like to be dying?" You suddenly asked Marcus his gaze turned to you. "I think the human you all met, the one that said goodbye to Caius three years ago, I think they're dead. It's amazing really, how they do it. They break you down and get inside your head and build you back up into their own image." You leaned forward, your arms propping your face in your hands. Your eyes narrowed into the floor on the other side of the room, eyes distant as though consumed by a memory. "But that human isn't gone. They walk around inside my brain, a reminder of who I used to be. A reminder of who I can never be again. Then you're left with just an empty feeling and when that isn't there...pain." "When you told us your story... you would smile. Do you smile as a front? To force yourself from thinking about what happened?" Marcus asked. You met his gaze. you cracked a small smile out of habit and nodded. The empty gaze returning. "I think you're incredibly brave." Marcus spoke up. "You have a fierce heart. It's admirable." Your eyes stared into Marcus just as he did yours. "You're very bright, so I think it's only a matter of time before you heal. You might not be the same person but no one ever is. Growing to be a different person isn't always a bad thing. It's what you do from there that determines the change. This could break you or it could make you." "Why do you have so much belief in me?" You whispered. "Because you've already taken that first step. You've talked about it. You're a fighter, (Y/N)." Marcus leaned forward slightly. "I'm not the same person I was when Didyme died and I'm not a particularly good man. I've done terrible things." "Good people can do terrible things, just as terrible people can do good things." You cut in. "Yet here I sit with you, someone who considers themselves broken beyond repair, listening to someone who has wanted nothing more than to be heard." Marcus said. "How do you know that?" You asked quietly. "Because I felt that for years. I know it when I see it. So I'm going to give that opportunity. All the time. Only when you're ready to talk about it. Whenever you're ready."

Even long after your conversation, his words stuck in your head. Something about Marcus was different. Something about him made you feel safe. It drew you in. In your mind, you wanted nothing to do with it. Shun it out and stamp out the fragile flicker of hope but your heart wanted to nurture it and hoped that maybe grow enough to guide you on where to go from here.

You just about spent all of your time with Marcus. Every hours passing like a second. No length of time seemed to be enough. You had even gotten him to smile or even the rarest quiet chuckle. "You..." Marcus shook his head with a small smile, tearing his gaze from you. "...oh what a human you are." "Uh...thanks, I think." You teased lightly with a smile of your own. "I'd never think of you without a smile. You make me smile." Marcus' gaze reverted back to you. The more time you spent with one another meant the less the two of you could deny your feelings towards each other. "That's because you love me, your loyal human friend." Marcus chuckled. "Friend..." Marcus hummed. "Not quite." "Hm?" "I can see bonds remember. Our bond is very special." "Yeah? What is it?" You asked. Marcus didn't answer. Those kinds of questions the two of you always left hanging.

Marcus knew something was bothering you immediately. You seemed rather sensitive one day. You folded your arms across your chest. "What is it?" "They're waiting, Marcus." You frowned. "Caius...everyone. They're waiting for me to change. Is it that everyone wants me to be the way I was before? Were they better than me?" "We worry about you." Marcus stated. "I don't want that!" You snapped, your breathing quickening for a moment. "Can't it be accepted that this is who I am now?" Marcus thought for a moment, noting this seemed to be the tip of the iceberg. You weren't usually affected by others opinions on you but something had shifted within you and you were much more emotional than when you had first arrived. He was certain something was arising within you but what that was he didn't know. "I accept you." Marcus said quietly. "Just the way you are." You felt a shift in you and Marcus tilted his head. "Are you alright?" You didn't know how to answer. "(Y/N), how are you feeling?" You lowered your head, your lip quivering. "Sad, relieved, hurt." Tears began to cascaded down your face and Marcus immediately pulled you into him. "I-I don't want to feel that. I'm not ready." "I know, but you are ready and it's coming. You'll get through this and I'm going to help you. You and me. We'll do it together." Marcus said gently.

Marcus remembered that feeling. He knew the pain of a broken heart all too well and whilst you had a completely different circumstances, he was ready to help you fight through it. He pulled you into his chest tightly. "I have you. You're safe. It's alright." "What's happening to me?" You whimpered. "The wall you built to protect yourself is no longer needed and you know it deep down. The wall is coming down because you're ready to let go of all the built up pain. It's coming, it'll be a big wave but you're going to get through it and everything will be so much better on the other side." You shook your head. "Let it go. You don't need it anymore." You clenched your mouth shut, trying to hold back a sob. He felt you grow rigid, your heartbeat accelerating. "Here it comes, little one." Marcus whispered to you. "Everything is okay." You were quiet for a moment before a very loud sob of heartbreak and agony escaped you. "There you go, you don't have to hold onto that pain anymore." You clung to him as you sobbed hysterically.

Marcus stroked the back of your head meeting eyes with Caius in the doorway. Marcus gave him a knowing look. He knew Caius was concerned but the look Marcus sent him not only acknowledged that worry but also assured him.

Marcus wasn't lying. He had you. He knew what to do. "We'll sit like this," Marcus said in your ear. "Until you're ready. Until you fall asleep, until you're hungry... Or if your legs go numb." You cracked a smile through your cries and Marcus wore his own small smile. An hour passed and neither of you had moved but your crying had stopped. "What is it about you that makes me do this? What is it about this place that...feels like home?" You croaked, your throat raw. Marcus sounded less confident in his response and more like he was telling himself more than you. "It'll pass." You turned away from the sink, feeling eyes on you from behind.

Your eyes narrowed on Caius' intense stare. "What?" You snapped and Caius only raised an eyebrow. "Why are you so concerned with me? We haven't been in each other's lives for years and now that I'm here, you can't keep your eyes off me. What do you want?" “To understand how we got here.” Caius responded. "You don't get to do that." You snapped. "You weren't there, you chose her. It's what we decided. It's what you wanted. It's what I wanted. So don't think you get to jump into my life like you never left!" "You left!" Caius growled. "For you!" You yelled, surprising yourself, the first time you had felt real proper anger in real time. You had surprised both him and yourself. "I knew what I was in your life- a temptation. I don't belong in your story!" You took a breath. "You promised your mate forever and I'm making sure you give her it! I am not who you need!" "I love my mate dearly." Caius agreed "but that doesn't change one thing. I told you I’d protect you and that still stands. I’d never let anyone hurt you. They won’t even get to try.” “Why?” “You know why.” You said nothing and eventually Caius said something. “You know I feel strongly for you, (Y/N).” You inhaled sharply, his wife most certainly heard that. “It’s not a secret and it’s my fault. My wife and I are working through this but she��s less hurt knowing that despite my feelings- I chose her. I will always choose her because I love her. However, I know that your heart lies somewhere else now.” Caius paused. “Marcus is a good man. He deserves you. He’s been through enough and I know he could use the light you resonate. With that, I don’t want to hold you back. I don’t want you to hold yourself back.” A tear ran down your cheer, surprisingly, a wave of relief washed over you. You didn’t realise that you wanted Caius’ blessing. Yet now that you had it, you couldn’t believe you hadn’t realised before. “Thank you.” You whispered, finally feeling free. You were silent before mumbling quietly. "I don't know when it all went wrong. It just did."

After some time, you were surprised to hear that Athenodora requested to see you. Your stomach dropped. You had heard Athenodora was lovely and kind but when angered could he truly wicked. You had no doubt in your mind that she was no happy with you in the slightest.

Just as you had feared, she sat alone with a grim expression. Immediately you wanted to run for it, despite her knowing you were there. Her eyes immediately locked onto yours. “Come, sit. I am pleased you have come.” You blinked. It was an optional invitation? She noticed. “I imagine this would be difficult for you. It certainly is for me.” That had to be a test. You had to be careful. “It’s very difficult. I hate drama most times.” Athenodora cracked a smile with a hum in amusement. “Your actions don’t say that so strongly but I’d like to hear it from you. Not my husband.” “I truly didn’t mean for this to happen…I felt I had to tell the truth, he’d have known if I lied and I had no intention of pursuing him. I told him before I left and that was it. I didn’t keep in touch or anything.” You explained. Athenodora slowly nodded, rethinking your words and processing the information. “I see.” “I know you might not believe me, but i promise I never had any intention to pursue him. I totally understand if you hate me for this.” You said. “Hate you? I don’t hate you.” She shook her head. “Hate is such an excessive word. Would you mind if I spoke my mind?” “Go on.” You nodded. “Caius tells me everything. I’m his wife, that is our marriage. We don’t keep secrets. He told me you were young but looking at you now, I can really grasp what he meant. For that reason whilst I am angry at the situation, I cannot be angry with you.” She leaned forward slightly. “You’re young now and were younger when this happened. I know what it is to be young and impulsive and things would be very different if you did actively pursue him. Caius and I discussed that and I wanted to meet you to be certain. This I am satisfied with and willing to ignore. I’d appreciate if we start again and move on from this.” “Really?” You felt relief wash over you and Athenodora nodded. “Indeed. Meeting you today showed me you’re a remarkable person. I finally see what Caius and Marcus see.” She cracked a small smile. Athenodora sat back, crossing one leg over the other. “Tell me about yourself and Marcus.” “We spend a lot of time together. He’s very different from anyone I’ve ever met.” “He is, isn’t he?” Athenodora mused. “Unfortunately he was never the same after our beloved Didyme died but with you, there is a glimmer of hope there. I see it.” Her eyes glanced back to you after a moment of thought, noting your silence. “You don’t agree?” “I’m not sure, if I’m honest.” “Speak your mind.” She prompted you. “Are you sure?” Athenodora hummed, her demeanor slowly changing and melting to a more mothering nature. Although it was apparent she remained reserved. “I’m concerned I might break his heart.” You admitted. “I’d say you’re putting it back together. From what I hear, you’re sweet, no matter the last few years. I don’t think you would break his heart. I don’t think you’re willing to try. In fact, you seem too exhausted.” “I am.” You said quickly. “I am so tired of everything.” “You try to control things in your life. You have for a few years. Perhaps it’s time to let go and stop trying to control life.” After a moment of silence she leaned forward and out a cold hand on your knee. “You’re not hurting anyone because of your feelings for Marcus.” It felt inevitable that you’d have to admit your love for Marcus, although you wanted to hold it in as much as you could. You couldn’t be forced to walk away again.

You were passing in the hallways when you found Marcus walking in the opposite direction. You both stopped in front of one another and your mouth had gone dry, no words coming to mind.

Suddenly, Marcus lovingly stroked your face as you looked at him. Completely vulnerable, the pain he felt fully visible, the same pain he still very much felt and the hope that maybe, just maybe, you could be his happy ending. “I need you to do something.” He whispered. “If I may be so bold to ask.” You put your hand over his. “What is it?” You whispered. “If we take this path…” Marcus’ voice barely managed out the next words, barely a whisper. “Please don’t leave.” You knew what he meant immediately. He had barely survived Didyme’s death. For him to lose you too…it would destroy him completely. You knew there was a deeper meaning to the promise. He wasn’t talking of leaving the Volturi, or even Italy. He meant leaving him. He couldn’t face losing you just like he did Didyme. You took a breath. “I’ll be around for as long as you want me to be.” After a moment of silence, you spoke again. “Did you mean it? What you said before about our bond?” You asked, barely remembering that Marcus had your hand enclosed in the two of his, idly tracing patterns on it. “Yes.” He responded. “I see every tiny detail of people’s relationships.” “Meaning…?” “Meaning I know that you no longer have feelings for Caius. I know that we are…” Marcus trailed off. “I can’t bring myself to say it either.” You slowly nodded. “I feel like if I say them then I’m making a decision…a decision that could hurt you in the end. I don’t want to hurt you.” “I don’t want you to hurt me either.” You couldn’t help the small chuckle escaping you, even noticing Marcus had cracked a smile at his own joke. You never met his gaze and took a breath. “I love you. There. I said it.” There was a silence before Marcus responded. “I love you too.”

#request #twilight #volturi #the volturi #reader #marcus volturi #caius volturi #one shot #oneshot #part 2

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goattales · 5 years

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Caught in the Act

Plot: The reader catches Jasper and Alice making out and he starts avoiding them cause he's way to embarrassed to deal with that. Note: the reader doesn't know they're vampires

You, in general, didn't really fit into any of those neat little groups the school divided itself into. You weren't sporty enough to be a jock, you didn't wear enough black to be a got, and you weren't popular enough to be, well, one of the popular kids. You were just Y/N L/N, some high school Senior that kept his head down. The universe had no plan for you, you were merely wandering this earth as a bystander.

But that didn't mean you didn't want to be part of a clique, because it gave people a deeper sense of belonging, a reason to act the way you want to, dress the way you like, do things you enjoy, all with likeminded individuals! But it was too much stress, you preferred to just bounce between interests- sports, art, history, books -without having to be tied to one forever.

And with all that running around your head you started to shove your books and pencil case into your bag, barely even letting the bell ring before you stood up to go to lunch. Nothing fancy in your bag today, just some leftovers from last night's dinner and a bag of candy you had been slowly working through all day.

Despite not being in a clique, you didn't sit alone; you sat with Angela, Mike, Eric, and Jessica. Bella use to sit with you guys too, before she started to sit with the Cullens, now her relationship to the group was more a see-eachother-in-the-corridor-and-smile sort of deal.

That wasn't so big of a concern for you, though, in fact the first time you saw her sit at the table you knew she wouldn't be sat with you all for long, she had one of those popular looks about her, so when she was hand selected to join the five person moping party that was the Cullen table you weren't too surprised.

In some other timeline maybe she would have gone on to joint the nerds in the back table near the stage, or maybe she would have taken to the goth table that was in the corner near the fire exit. And maybe there was even alternate universe where she stayed at this table, but that would be something you may never find out.

Not, at least, with Mike Newton pulling you back to real life with little care for your ears.

"Y/N! Are you even listening?!" Mike dragged you out of your train of thought by waving a hand in front of your face and screeching at you. That was surprisingly subtly by his standards, though.

"Mike, leave him alone, he just got out of maths. He's recovering, aren't you, Y/N?" Jessica came to your defence with an elbow in Mike's ribs and a soft sort of grin for you, and you thanked her with a small smile before you spoke.

"It's okay, Jess, but thanks. I was just thinking about existence and how absolutely infinite it is" you shrugged.

"That much, huh? Deep, L/N, deep." Mike seemed stunned, or maybe he just regretted prompting you to talk, but either way he didn't try to drag you into the conversation again, and you took the opportunity to fall back to your thoughts gratefully.

When you all parted ways for the last five or so minutes of lunch everyone waved, some hugged, and Mike and Jess walked off attached at the hip. They were together again, though who knows how long it will last at this point. You and Angela were talking the other day, and agreed that they were probably so on-and-off because they were lonely and the other was close enough to fix that for a bit.

You shook your head and huffed quietly, rounding one corner after another and then climbing a set of stairs only to realise you left your coat in your last classroom, and with a great deal of frustration you turned on your heels and took a brisk walk back. You were hoping, no praying, that the room would still be unlocked, because the teacher would have left by now and the room won't be used until tomorrow.

By some streak of luck it was, but when you pushed the door open and made a grab for your coat- laid out on the teachers desk, predictably -the shuffling of other people's clothes made you look up so fast you hurt your neck.

Stood in the back of the room were Jasper Hale and Alice Cullen, both very disheveled and looking rather like deers caught in headlights. Even from as far away as you were, you could see that Jasper's shirt was almost completely open and the straps of Alice's bra and vest top were a mess around her forearms, more of her chest on show than usual.

As they rushed to correct it and called out for you to wait, though being vague as opposed to a name-you heard a very light "h-hey, you with the coat, wait!" as you made a break for it.

You decided in that moment that you would have to move schools, because the most they did was hold hands when other people were around and there was no way you could face them after seeing that, so you spent the next three days avoiding them as much as possible.

The next day you barely dodged Alice in the hallway, narrowly avoided Jasper in the bathroom, and didn't go to lunch at all for fear of them cornering you as you entered the hall. The day after that it was sunny enough for their mum and dad to yank them out of school. The third was more perilous, you had History and sat a seat in front of Jasper, but you managed to talk the guy in front of you into switching, and you made a show of hanging behind to talk to the teacher until everyone else had left.

But the fourth day it was all over. You thought that maybe they had just dropped it, because when you sat to eat and glanced over at the table with as discrete of a gaze as you could manage, Alice caught your eyes and just looked away.

You were actually just leaving as you were bumped out of the stream of teenagers and then grabbed by what you would maybe describe as the ice cold grip of death himself, but looking down you saw it was just Alice. Little Alice with the big eyes and pretty lips, lips that right now were pressed into a thin, terrifying smile.

She dragged you into a classroom, where Jasper was sat on a table, hands clasped together in his lap and shoulders stiff.

You were actually terrified, because in the few seconds between being grabbed and then getting pushed into this room you had convinced yourself that you were going to get murdered.

"You know, my family is gonna worry when I-I'm not home by four, so killing me w-would be a real bad idea" your mouth ran despite your better judgement telling you to keep it shut, though your fear died in your chest when Jasper snorted.

"What?" Alice let you go and raised an eyebrow, looking at you like you'd grown a second head. "Y/N, we're not going to kill you, where did you even get that idea from?"

"W-well, I walked in on you two the other day, a-and you've been ch-chasing me down ever since" tripping over your words, you were scratching the back of your head as though it would wake you up, because that would be really good right now.

"Only 'cause you've been running away." Jasper spoke this time, and you looked over to see him staring at you much in the same way Alice was.

"We just wanted to apologise, because the way you found us was kind of..."

"Unbecoming" where Alice trailed off, Jasper picked up, and you found yourself rushing to speak.

"Oh! Oh- no it's fine, I've walked into worse. This is a high school, freshmen are practically feeling eachother up in the halls every day. I just, well you two don't even hug around other people, s-so I assumed you would be super annoyed that I walked in"

Jasper shrugged and Alice shook her head, laughing softly.

"No! We were just really ashamed that you had to see that, especially Jazz." as Alice spoke, Jasper nodded along, and spoke only when she had finished.

"I hope this has not altered the way you see us, Y/N, though perhaps we can build a friendship from this experience."

Lost for words, you nodded, and something inside of you starting to warm up at the idea. Perhaps the universe, in all its vast and unpredictable glory, had a plan for you after all?

#twilight #jasper hale #alice cullen #male reader #twilight x reader #twilight x male reader #jasper whitlock hale #male reader insert #my writing #this got way longer than i thought it would

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frstbiitten · 3 years

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cw: blood, violence

At what time had she arrived home the night before? She didn't feel sore in her head, maybe a little in her body, didn't know exactly what time it was, much less why she felt so exhausted. Heard the cell phone ringing from somewhere in the room, it was a loud and unnecessarily annoying noise, she waited a few seconds for it to stop. It stopped ringing for a moment, only to start ringing again. By the end she had no choice but to leave the mattress and go for the cell phone, inside of one of the pockets of her jeans, they were laying on the floor near the front door. The number belonged to no other than Violet.

"Violet, please, I swear I'm fine." Frost answered somewhat exasperated, her body still trying to shake off the sleepy feeling, again she wondered what time it was, noon? She came back somewhat tired last night, that explained it.

"Ah, Frost, hello, sorry, I thought you had woken up some time ago, did you get through your adventure alright at least?" Oh, she was referring to Jason, she still had the feeling of his lips saturating various areas of her body, places that might be somewhat embarrassing, she didn't know how to feel about that yet.

"Well...yeah...it was kind of interesting."

"Well, well, at least one of us got some action, but I'm calling you for something urgent: you see, since Jasper died, Kit has been distancing herself from me a lot, we've never gone this long without talking to each other, you know? And I'm worried, I've been following her and I haven't been able to call her, it's like her number's been blocked, so I need you to help me find her."

That put Frost in a very compromising place, she could either say no and go on with her day, or be gentle and less selfish and tell her she would help her find Kit.

"Yes, I understand your concern, I gather that if you've been following her, you know where she is."

"Yes, that's the problem, that's what I need you for, and I'm hoping you can help me with this, I've seen her getting out of fancy cars, accompanied by men who I can tell are not simply members of a criminal street gang, I mean she may be involved in something much more serious."

"And why are you so concerned about that, not that it's the closest thing to her previous work?"

Heard Violet let out a huff as she headed for the bathroom, looking at her reflection in the mirror, there was a very striking purple mark on her pale neck.

"You're missing my point, Kit was never like this with me, she's my friend and I'm worried I can't have contact with her, I'm sorry about Jasper's death but I'm sick of being alone, maybe I've started over again but I need her in my life still." It was something almost touching, Violet's voice seemed to break from moment to moment, maybe she was teary-eyed by that specific minute and was even choking back a sob as she spoke.

"Okay... I'll be waiting for you, literally, I have nothing else to do."

"Okay, then I'll see you in the evening."

"By the way, where have you seen Kit?" to Frost, this was a question of great importance.

"I don't know if you've been to Hollywood or Beverly Hills before, you know, places where you and I would be seen in the worst possible way, but I have a bad feeling about this."

Frost had almost no memory of seeing those places before, she knew very well what they were but beyond that, she had never set foot in those places, Frost wouldn't know exactly what she would run into. Something inside her told her it wouldn't be a night like others.

"I understand... see you later."

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

The best way to enter these places is not by walking but by car, in a cab to be precise, although the cost of the trip would be somewhat exorbitant, it was to be expected that it would not be a cheap visit at all. Both paid out of their pockets with what they had, Violet gave clear instructions as to where they would end their journey, at least a less suspicious distance from the club, but close enough to not walk too far.

Maybe for Violet, this world was unfamiliar to her but it wasn't completely unfamiliar, for Frost this was new, the flashing neon lights, the bright signs, and the sound of a Saturday night in a city where it was more than obvious that someone like her couldn't fit in safely. Frost followed Violet closely, not wanting to get lost in all the hustle and bustle or she wouldn't know how to get back. Suddenly Violet stopped and held Frost's hand for a moment, she had spotted something near the club.

"See that car, the white one with tinted windows?" She didn't want to point it out so as not to raise any suspicion, they were close enough to notice who was arriving or who was leaving. "Look, that's Kit." They both watched as Kit stepped out of the luxury car, she had always been someone posh but now it was clear she had received more money these past few weeks than either of them. "I don't know why she's coming here, nor do I know how we could get in, maybe the back of the club I guess."

"Maybe, although there are probably bodyguards watching."

"But you know how to beat up people... I don't think it's going to be a big problem for you."

In response to Violet's advice, Frost simply sighed, so this was what she had brought her along for.

Well there was no turning back now, much less when she left two cameras and three bodyguards disabled, she decided not to kill them, that might make things worse for the two of them, and Violet had no combat skills, even if she was much taller than Frost. The unlucky guys ended up passed out on the ground, near a trash can, and with their communicators out of function, hands and feet wrapped in ice, maybe it would have some long term side effect, but it wasn't part of Frost's main concern, it wasn't her problem.

Through the back door they entered a dark corridor, from the ceiling appeared two rows on each side of LED lights that changed colors continuously, from there they could smell the aroma of the room perfumer, something fruity, but also the smell of cigarettes was present. They didn't have much time until someone would discover what they had done, they passed near the back section of the kitchen, they couldn't see it but they could hear it, it didn't take long for Frost's stomach to start growling, it was better not to pay attention to it.

"Where do you think it could be? This place is huge." The young woman heard noises coming from all corners, footsteps, laughter, glasses falling, whatever.

"I want to believe we're not too far away, but I don't know, I've never been inside this place." Violet was confused about it too, it seemed like they were never going to make it to the dance floor, let alone the stairs to the second floor.

At the end of the hallway there seemed to be nothing but a dark space, dark curtains hung from the ceiling and behind the metal door, the sound of music could be heard clearly. Frost walked towards the door, it appeared heavy but without the need to use a key to open it. Before even touching the lever, she felt a stabbing sensation in her shoulder, at first it didn't seem worrisome but the scream she heard was enough, whatever had pierced her shoulder now was only inserting it further into her muscles and something pushed her to the floor.

The object came out of her body and went in again, knowing full well that it would cut her back once more. But that didn't happen, she heard Violet struggle with the attacker and ask her to stop.

"Shit, Kit, you asshole stop! She didn't do anything to you for you to do this to her!"

"Because of her Jasper is dead! If we had never met her, she'd be alive!"

Hearing those last words, Frost did her best to pull herself up from the ground, noticing that blood was pouring down her shoulders and arms. They were deep cuts, deep enough that she had to take care of every move with extreme detail or the pain would start hitting her again. Kit was holding the knife with both hands while lying on the floor and Violet was trying to calm her down at the same time, it only took Frost a few seconds to remove the knife from Kit, pressing her chest with one of her feet and freezing her hands slightly.

"Wow, I guess that's how you greet everyone, do you know why we're here?" Frost was going to keep her foot on Kit's chest until she calmed down, Violet decided to let go of her arms just in case, worrying mostly for Frost now and her wounds.

"Why would that matter to me? You're not welcomed here, you're scum Frost!" Had never seen Kit act so aggressively, she even tried to hit her leg, but at her touch she felt the coldness of the young woman's skin.

"I've been trying to track you down, you weren't answering my calls and I got worried to the point of tracking you down, I had to come with Frost because I didn't know how dangerous this would be." But Violet was on the verge of running away now, this is not the Kit she knows, her words aren't true at all, perhaps coming alone without Frost would have been a better option, she risked her life after all without knowing. "Frost, are you okay?"

"I've been worse."

It was only there when Kit calmed down, Frost took her foot off her chest and decided to give the two friends a moment. This was of no concern to her, she only came to help Violet in case something more serious happened. She focused from moment to moment on their conversation, leaning against one of the walls in the dark, they talked about pacts and fears, Kit was recruited by a Russian mafia boss, she was a companion but also an informant, had her charms and skills that were useful for them and her mostly. At times she lost the thread of the conversation, keeping her attention on the knife soaked with her blood in her hands, her own blood, she felt the wound closing slowly although she could not ignore the intense pain in her back. She cleaned the blade by covering it with a layer of thin ice and removing it, leaving the shards to melt on the ground.

She felt like leaving them both alone, as they had a lot to talk about with each other and she didn't want to be in their way, it was clear that Kit didn't like the idea of her being there with Violet. Frost was a curious person and of course, the metal door caught her attention, heard music and people on the other side, she rested her hand on the lever and gently opened it, but the squeak caught the attention of the other two girls.

"If I were you I wouldn't let them see me, especially after what you did a few months ago." Kit decided to stop Frost before opening the door, placing her hand over hers, she didn't want her to leave for good reasons. "Look, it's a small world out there, and even if you, you insufferable snowball with anger issues, think you live tucked inside a bubble, believe me, your head already has a price on it, and more than likely someone or more than one person is looking for you, and for very good reasons."

"First of all, I don't have anger issues, got it? Okay, second; I know how to defend myself." And she was insistent besides, as she opened the door backward.

"Yeah, I saw how you defended yourself against me, if it wasn't for Violet, you'd already be getting torn to pieces in some machine and ending inside of a garbage bag."

Violet was already wearing herself out from this argument, pulling Kit away from Frost before they both started fighting again.

"Kit... please...don't make the night any more difficult." She left her friend behind to accompany Frost who was already about to leave, as she was curious about it too, maybe she would never set foot in a place like this again. Kit only rolled her eyes, irritated almost, for her friend was not in favor of her decisions and now the girl she wanted to kill had her knife, she was going to ask for it later. There probably wouldn't be a "later".

The club was packed with people, the music was loud and they were pretty close to the bar. There were glasses in the shapes of crystals hanging from the ceiling in some areas, velvet-lined furniture and expensive drinks, well the two girls were in for a surprise if they were thirsty, most of it was out of their budget. It was entertaining for Kit to see Violet so amused, even walking while dancing, but Frost's presence was what she hadn't expected, though it was a good opportunity. She pulled out her cell phone, several contacts on it were there that night, and to all of them, she sent them the same message:

"She's here."

#novel #((it's been a while and i know is quite short but here it is))#blood tw #violence tw

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marlacrane · 4 years

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『COURTNEY EATON ❙ CIS FEMALE』 ⟿ looks like MARLA CRANE is here for HER JUNIOR year as a JOURNALISM student. she is 22 years old & known to be inventive, dogged, heedless & blunt. They’re living in GORHAM, so if you’re there, watch out for them. ⬳ mia. 23. pt. she/her.

[without me by eminem plays muffled from the next room as marla wanders thru the door w a mickey of vodka in her left hand and the communist manifesto in her right]

tws for drug use, mental illness

history

she has a happy childhood in a seattle suburb. she’s the youngest of two girls, and even though her mom works all the time, and her dad’s overseas, everything’s fine. until marla gets to second grade, which she hates, gets into a fight with a boy, and nearly bites his finger off. this time she gets off with a warning. then, later that week, said boy and her are working on this paper maché duck together, and the teacher's keeping an eye on them at first but has now dismissed them as totally getting along, and then the teacher glances at them again to find that they have vanished, and so have the art supplies. the two of them are found six hours later hiding in a park. they’ve been hanging out there all day, asking for a quarter from each unsuspecting parent or guardian they’ve seen. they’ve used this to buy as much food from the community centre vending machine as they can carry. their goal: wait until their parents are sleeping, steal the tent from marla’s backyard, and go live in the treehouse in his backyard. upon discovery, they’re both grounded for a month. marla is no longer allowed to read calvin and hobbes –– her mom is pretty sure it’s what inspired the escape attempt.

she and this boy, whose name is jasper, regroup once they’ve been ungrounded. jasper and her are both the sort of kids who bite their nails at the sign of a group project. their fight had been over who got to read the classroom’s only calvin and hobbes anthology. their initial truce had been based entirely around a mutual desire for treehouse living. now, they just want insurance. so they agree to partner up, always.

they’re bad influences on each other. apart, they’re both a little feral, sure, but they understand that certain things are not possible, and they avoid danger if they can help it. when they hang out, though, they egg each other on. jasper breaks his arm because marla dares him to climb the school; marla’s suspended after jasper dares her to pull the fire alarm; jasper and marla accidentally burn down a garden shed; jasper and marla scam five people out of their lunch money so they can go see a movie after school. (they pay them back a week later. they’re not total monsters. also, they were getting scared one of the kids was gonna tell on them).

jasper’s parents are moving. jasper’s moving with them, out to the country. marla hates it, but she steels herself. she can be independent. she’s nearly sixteen now, and it’s about time she started. but she’s going to miss him. he tells her that nothing’s going to change, which she tells him is bullshit. he takes this the wrong way, and they stop speaking to each other. this goes on for five months. marla’s lonely at first –– she doesn’t know how to talk to people who aren’t him. she starts dating this guy, and that opens things up a little bit. he introduces her to his friends, and suddenly she doesn’t feel as wild. she’s no longer a product of the outskirts.

one night she thinks fuck it, that’s enough silence. she sneaks out at one am, texting jasper to meet her halfway. she borrows her sister’s car. marla figures she practically knows how to drive. she’s done it a few times. and, to her credit, she makes it to where she and jasper are meeting. she also wraps the car around a pole. she emerges relatively unharmed, and she panics. jasper doesn’t show up. he texts to tell her he got caught trying to leave. she calls him an idiot. then she waits there, arms crossed, incapable of doing anything but dreading consequences, until it’s nearly morning. that’s when a cop drives by and the process of being in trouble begins. it’s a clusterfuck. this is when her sister stops speaking to her –– marla’s been on thin ice with her for a long time, but now it’s over. it isn’t so much that her sister wants to hold a grudge. it’s just finally too much. and marla gets it. for once, she doesn’t try and change things, or slip out of trouble. that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get into a number of shouting matches with her mom. her phone is taken away, as is all of her money, which goes toward buying her sister a new car. her laptop is sold in the name of the new car too. she can use the family computer if schoolwork absolutely demands internet access.

she hasn’t heard from jasper in a long time. her now ex boyfriend is still sort of a friend, but not the kind she can hang out with. there was one girl she really got along with at their school, but they made out at a party and the next day the girl wouldn’t really look her in the eyes. she turns seventeen, the birthday celebrated more or less alone, and does a little stint in juvie for keying a teacher’s car. she then spends a year at a community college, followed by radcliffe. she picks radcliffe because she’s accepted, and because it’s far from home. being at home fills her with this sick feeling now –– something went bad somewhere along the way, and she’s pretty sure it was her that made the wrong turn at the crossroads. not her mom, not jasper, not anyone else that had power over her life. and she won’t reach out to her friend, or to her sister, because that would mean admitting she cares more than they do.

she sort of wishes she could go back to being a careful person. she wants to understand boundaries. she also wants her life to have a purpose, and she likes writing, and she’s always loved nancy drew, but being a detective would’ve meant being a cop and she'd genuinely rather die, so she’s gone for journalism. she’s not loving the university experience, but it’s better than before, and it’s provided a lot of distractions that she’s grateful for.

headcanons / personality :

she can be a little abrasive.

she smokes weed whenever she can afford it, because if she doesn’t she tends toward feeling depressed and highly uninspired. she carries this apathy with her, and then every once in a while she’ll snap, and either get a lot better or a lot worse. klonopin is her best friend now.

she’s 100% a leftist and the way to her heart at this point is through communism memes. she’s slowly but surely making her way through the works of karl marx. she’d probably be done by now, but she keeps reading romance novels instead. (this is also a secret. she reads them on her phone and deletes them the moment she’s done so that nobody can know).

she lives to pirate movies, but claims that the only movie she’s ever seen is showgirls. this is because she dated a film major during her first year of college and found him so insufferable that she’s decided nobody can ever know she watches movies. she gets that he was just a jackass, and she shouldn’t judge anyone by their major, and yet................ that said, she has a secret letterboxd account (when she made it, she found her ex’s account and blocked him, just in case) and on it there’s a list of films in which richard nixon gets punched in the face.

deep down she’s actually very sentimental and sensitive, which is why she worked so hard to Not Be That growing up. she does her very best to never show that side of herself –– if someone sees her crying she’s just gotta kill them ! those are the rules. and after a while it got more and more difficult to actually access that side of herself. when she cries, it’s an Event.

she’s always broke. she’s also somehow always capable of scraping together exactly enough money to go out.

she knows that if jasper contacted her now, even after the years of radio silence, she’d do anything for him. they’re still friends, even if that friendship only exists in her memories. she realizes she could text him, but that would violate her strict double texting rules. and she’s afraid to.

she definitely makes bad decisions while drunk. like, all the time. speaking of which, she’s up for anything ! wanna attempt to summon a demon at 3 am? she’s ur girl ! wanna break into someone’s house and move all of the furniture over by about an inch before stealing away into the night? she’s already there !

she’s actually a good listener, which is one of the only positive traits she credits herself with. that, and creativity.

she’s a taurus but like . there is almost definitely some pisces / scorpio / sagittarius on her chart

she can play piano. she’s actually pretty good at it. or she was, back when she had access to pianos.

she really really really really really really wants a dog but there is no way in hell she can afford one

she’s bisexual

wanted connections :

(i mean. i will love anything, but....)

exes – whether they dated for a while or just hooked up once or twice tbh

enemies – these are easy because marla often does not consider consequences, so she could easily have done smth :/ to ur muse

friends – pls ! she needs them

unrequited crush – on her part, probably ? maybe they’re friends and she doesn’t wanna fuck that up but she’s starting to care about them in a different way. I Love Repression. what a good trope.

if anyone’s down for spontaneous tattoos............ she loves those (@chase hi, hello, come here)

a good influence would be fantastic

anyone else from seattle / the seattle area who maybe knew her in passing

um i really want this

#radintro #drug use /#mental illness /#alcohol /#i didnt proofread this i just . replaced 'isla' w 'marla' and thats it. same intro

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glitchrpgmain · 4 years

Photo

WELCOME TO THE UNDERWORLD.

congratulations FELIX ! you have been accepted into underworldfm. the role of JASPER will be portrayed by RAFAEL NÚÑEZ. LAITH ASHLEY is now taken. please submit your blog within the next 24 hours & be sure to follow the guidelines outlined in our checklist.

we absolutely love the way you’ve written rafael and the journey that he’s taken! he truly embodies what we envisioned for jasper in the way that he’s risen above everything that has happened to him throughout his life. his passion for the liberation makes him a formidable enemy for the vampires. we are excited to see what interactions he will get up to -- especially with the two cubs he has under his wings now!

ic.

character. Jasper

name. Rafael Núñez (full: Rafael Núñez León)

age. 378

gender & pronouns. Trans man / he

faceclaim. Laith Ashley

BIO

Abandoned as a baby in 1642, Rafael never knew his parents nor the circumstances of his birth. He doesn’t remember being dumped behind a bar infamous for its pirate clientele nor the way he was screaming out his little lungs under a starless sky that night on Tortuga. Finally, the kind-hearted owner took pity on the infant and took him under his wing.

Rafael’s upbringing was a matter of many hands stirring the pot. A bar was no real place for a child -- much less the rowdy lot of pirates that frequented it but they made it work. From bar staff to friends and acquaintances and lastly the bar owner’s on and off pirate boyfriend -- everyone took turns looking after and teaching the boy -- for better or worse.

Rafael was a curious and adventurous boy with a habit of sneaking out and getting himself into trouble. Come teenage years, he started dressing more and more masculine, cutting short his hair and going by a nickname (like any self-respecting pirate). It wouldn't be until many years later that he learned to put words to his identity.

His first venture out to sea was a short joy. He had snuck onto his other dad’s ship seeking adventure alike the stories he had been raised on but spent most of the journey clinging to a bucket, sea-sick. A stern talk (argument) later between his de facto parents, Rafael was allowed to tentatively join the crew and learn the ins and out of sailing while earning his keep as a deckhand of the crew.

Naturally, a pirate’s life wasn’t all fun and games like he had envisioned -- more guts than glory. It was a tough lesson learned as they battled not only the moods of nature but the powers that be -- whether it was spanish, french or british colonizers -- the list was long.

In fifteen years, they had had a good run and had banked numerous wins and a few tragic losses. The pirate life was getting more difficult and dangerous by the day. Their luck ran out when they were caught in the crossfire between the spanish and a mysterious, neutral vessel. Their ship was blasted to bits and the crew scattered in the wreckage. To this day, Rafael doesn’t know who lived and died. He himself was rescued by the crew of the mysterious ship. Lycans -- as he found out after surviving their infectious bite.

Under the pack leader’s guidance, Rafael turned into a respectable Leecher -- tough, level-headed and ready to do what had to be done. After their pack leader's death many years later, Rafael stepped into the role -- crushed by expectations and the increasingly dire situation as they accounted for heavy losses at the hands of Vampires.

Moments of respite were far and few in between. While he was a good and fearless leader following his Sire’s legacy, he was an inexperienced one. In a fateful ambush, the majority of his pack was killed while he and a couple others were captured by Vampires hoping to gather information about Lycan movements and the Leecher’s plans. Defeated and grieving, Rafael was ready to accept death, unwilling to betray his siblings and feeling like maybe he deserved it. But by some miracle he was saved by another pack who he joined and travelled with for a while.

By the end of the 20th century, Rafael had settled in New York City. After recollecting his strength, he intended to follow his original pack’s plans to take on Aleksander and his notorious coven. Spread-thin as the Lycans were and without a pack, however, there was little he could do to fight the creatures. As soon as word of the forming Liberation reached him, Rafael joined forces. He had missed the companionship of a pack.

Nowadays, he runs a boxing club, training humans and Lycans alike while doubling as a training ground for the Leechers. While the outright fighting between Vampires and Lycans may have stopped, Vampires didn’t take too kindly to his business. Some saw it as a threat to mobilise against them often destroying his property and threatening him. Rafael may be Tired but he’s far from giving up.

#uwfmaccepted

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the-coconut-asado · 5 years

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THE SPIRIT OF SWISSMASS

My daughter likes her Christmases to be cold-climate Christmassey. Which is unfortunate as most of our festive seasons in recent years have been spent near the equator.

Between my family in Buenos Aires and Adam’s in Fiji the spruces always have to be plastic and the fans on full blast. One memorable Christmas Day in BA we ate our cold cuts buffet-style standing in my cousin’s swimming pool to counter the 38C heatwave; and on one Christmas Evening in Suva we dived into Star Wars: The Force Awakens in a packed Damodar Centre, motivated not by MIllenium Falcons but the cinema’s industrial-strength aircon.

However, every few years we swap our snorkels for snow boots and head for Switzerland. My cousin Dorothy, in a singular diaspora phenomenon, is one of several Latina women who have married Swiss men and live in or around St Gallen, about an hour east of Zurich.

It’s fair to say that Doro has sought out every other living Argentine, Guatemalan and Spanish national within a 10 mile radius and made friends with them. And what about Swiss friends? A cultural aversion to spontaneity makes that difficult (though not impossible). Doro has been known to scare the bejeezus out of other mums that she has tried to drop in on when in their neighbourhood. Pretty common practice in BA but the Swiss, it seems, like to keep things formal.

St Gallen is a chocolate-box-meets-cheese-board town nestling in the mountains; Heidiville complete with the sound of distant cowbells and a speculaas-heady aroma billowing from the Christmas market. The cobble-stoned Cathedral square hosts what I would wager is a bigger festive tree than the one outside 30 Rock in New York, and on Christmas Eve the whole town gathers around it for the serious - and it is serious - business for carol singing. You can’t get more Christmassey than this.

Actually, to say Doro married a Swiss guy is only half true. Alejandro’s other half belongs squarely in Barcelona, so there is a proper cultural mix around their table on Christmas Eve: Alejandro’s twin sister Patricia from Barcelona, his brother Nico (feet squarely rooted in St Gallen, who talks of a trip to London as a Tripitaka-like quest he will one day complete) and Nico’s girlfriend Jenny whose father Ruedi owns and runs the Kobelt Brewery in neighbouring Appenzel with his San Franciscan wife Karen. As you can imagine, the cuisine is deliciously eclectic and the noise volume at a pitch only dogs can hear without screaming.

And the board games, well, they just get plain nasty.

If Doro loses a few rounds of Texas Dominoes her middle finger stays up for the night. And after losing an intense round of fussball with Ruedi on Christmas Day at the Brewery, Patricia was heard to mutter ‘tosser’ as she left the table (followed by ‘fack you’, which my 12 year old niece earnestly corrected to ‘fuck you’). Screeches of laughter and explosive cussing from breakfast bucks fizz to evensong and pretzels.

But back to the safer territory of the food, and let’s start with the two things Switzerland has built its reputation on: cheese and chocolate. Just as well as outside of cheese and chocolate - and maybe some meat products - the Swiss don’t do variety. St Gallen supermarkets have isles of few things in many varieties, but like the song says, if a thing’s worth doing it’s worth doing well. Doro occasionally cheats the system by making dashes across the border to Austria to buy Argentine beef. But cheese and chocolate are always no more than an arm’s reach away.

Although Appenzeller cheese was my top pick for many years, it’s now been overtaken by Tete de Moine (Monks Head). This is a creamier version of comte, and the paper-thin slicing with a special turntable gadget (which echoes the tonsured head of a medieval monk) is all part of the ritual of eating it. Paired with thin-ish slivers of chorizo, it makes for seductive pre-dinner ‘picos’. Add it to a cheese and potato pie (a perfect accompaniment to a Christmas rib roast if your oven, like Lara’s university one, is too small to roast potatoes at the same time) and you have an unforgettable melting pot of cheesy flavour.

If you want to really stoke your migraine, then chocolate must follow cheese. There is a chocolate cafe near to that Hagrid-height Christmas Tree I mentioned earlier which does the most heady chocolate hazelnut drinks this side of Hansel & Gretel. And if you haven’t had enough of a fix after that then you can buy cellophane wrapped chocolate shards with nuts, or freeze dried fruit, or chilli...the list is endless. Chocolate sprinkles it’s fairy dust throughout the holiday - from Doro’s Nigella-inspired Chocolate Christmas Cake to the iced, spiced biscuits tempting you from every strategically placed bowl in the house.

But at our most recent Swissmas, Doro decided to go off-piste and back to her Argentine roots. Dona Julia (who I have mentioned in previous blogs as the Julia Childs of Argentine cooks) has many little gems hidden in the 1950’s austerity of her work. One of them, a light mousse-like confection of cream, Aperol and grapefruit, made its Doro-debut as our Christmas eve dessert. Chilled and on-point boozy, it was the perfect end to the necessarily rich main course.

So just in time for Christmas, wherever you are, here are three dishes that will give you an Argentine flavour of the Alps: That delectable carb-on-carb cheese and potato pie (a raclette pasty by any other name); a molten ginger-chocolate torte that will make you instinctively pull your furry collar around your ears and nestle in front of the telly; and Doro’s Aperol spritz in a dish, to give you a lighter alternative to figgy pudding.

All worth dashing through the snow for.

Cheese and Potato Pie (with or without Tete de Moine)

The Lancashire cheese gives this cozy pie it’s bite, but if you have some Tete de Moine this will mellow the flavour into a pure cheese dream. If you have any leftovers, mix them into an omelette the next day. Makes a yummy packed lunch.Serves 4

Ingredients

3 large onions

50g salted butter

400g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

50g salted butter

200g lancashire cheese, grated

50g Tete de Moine, sorn (or use 50g grated mature cheddar) grated

100ml double cream

2 x pkts ready-rolled shortcrust pastry (or make using your own recipe)

How to Make

Chop the onions finely and add to a frying pan with the butter and 20ml water.

Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins, then remove the lid, and continue to simmer for about another 20-25 mins until most of the liquid has evaporated. Turn off the heat, season and cool.

Boil some well salted water (consult Samin Nosrat’s Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat if you are feeling faint- hearted), drop in the potatoes and boil for around 5 minutes until cooked but still holding their shape. Drain and leave to cool while you bring your pastry to room temperature.

Unwrap the first ready rolled pastry sheet and use to line a 20cm pie dish, letting the pastry overhang, then pop it in the freezer.

Heat the oven to 170C/ Gas 5.

Gently mix the onions and potatoes in a large bowl together with the grated cheeses and cream (you don’t want the potatoes to break up). Then remove the pie dish from the freezer and empty the filling into it.

Roll out the second pastry sheet, cut a circle large enough to cover the top of the pie, then do just that: cover the top of the pie, trimming the edges, then crimping them between your thumb and forefinger until you have sealed it.

Whisk up an egg, then paint it all over the top of the pie. Use any trimmings to cut out leaf shapes, then pop them atop the pie and paint them with the egg wash too.

Bake the pie for around 40 minutes until the top is golden. Let stand for 10 minutes, then serve.

Ginger and Chocolate Torte

One weekend in New York, I turned up at my friend Lisa’s door with ingredients for this chocolate torte, which I made with her son Jasper before we settled down to watch the Oscars. It’s like a big molten chocolate cup, the centre oozing, the edges moist and cakey. I have since added ginger syrup and crystallised ginger to the mix which give it some seasonal bite. A perfect Chocolate dish for Christmas Day. Serves 6.

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

200g unsalted butter

300g golden caster sugar

6 eggs

100g plain flour

2tbsp. Ginger syrup from a jar of candied ginger

2 pieces candied ginger, chopped up small

To decorate:

Chopped crystallised ginger

50g dark chocolate

How to make

Preheat the oven to 180C (Gas 4). Line a 23cm loose bottomed tart pan with buttered parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl or small saucepan over a saucepan with some gently simmering water. Stir so it is smooth and silky. Cool slightly then add the ginger syrup.

Beat the eggs and sugar in another large bowl until light and fluffy. Add the chocolate/ butter/ ginger syrup mix with the chopped candied ginger and fold into the egg and sugar mixture. Then fold in the flour.

Pour the mix into the lined tart tin and bake or 20-25 minutes until the top forms a crisp crust and the inside is the consistency of a chocolate mousse. Leave to cool.

To decorate, chop the crystallised ginger pieces into small shards and decorate the tart. Melt the remaining chocolate, then pour into a piping bag (or improvise by making a piece of baking parchment into a cone, then snip the end off). Drizzle the chocolate over the surface of the cooled torte. Serve at room temperature or cold.

Aperol Grapefruit Cups

This manages to be refreshing, decadent and Christmassey all in one. Serves 6.

Ingredients

5 pink grapefruit

100ml Aperol

100 ml double cream

100ml whipping cream (this gives a lighter finish)

100g caster sugar

Mint leaves to decorate.

How to make

Squeeze the juice from three of the pink grapefruits (you want 400ml), then add the Aperol.

Pour the mixture into a shallow rimmed baking sheet and freeze for 3 hours.

Using an electric whisk, whip both creams with the sugar and chill. Peel the skin off the two remaining grapefruit and cut them into segments (cutting between membranes so you are not left with any tough fibres).

And now it’s an assembly job: to make the granita, use a fork to break up the grapefruit-Aperol water ice into a granita-like consistency (like shaved ice).

Spoon alternate layers of granits, pink grapefruit segments and cream, finishing off with a layer of cream.

Decorate with mint leaves (or as I have done here, dip mint leaves in lightly whisked egg white and caster sugar then chill, to give a frosted effect). Serve immediately.

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ellaofoakhill · 3 years

Text

Oak and Stone, Part One

Author’s Note: Hello, my wonderful readers! I hope you all enjoyed Frog Legs Soup. Here’s the first part of the next story.

“Honourable Lord Ella of Oakhill,

“I pray this letter finds you well. I must again express my profound gratitude for your assistance in procuring iron powder for Frog Legs Soup. It was an endeavour of great personal significance, and would likely not have been successful without your metallurgical knowledge. You rendered much other assistance as well, and treated me as an honoured guest in your noble hall.

“When last we saw one another, I extended to you an invitation to accompany me to the town of Oak and Stone, that I might treat you to delicious victuals, and such entertainment as you find pleasing. I write to ask if you might consider such a night as this July 8th, when the moon strikes her waxing quarter.

“Enclosed is a map from Oakhill to the gate of that fair town, should you grace me with your acceptance. If these directions are insufficient, I humbly apologize, and offer that you need only follow the line of oaks by the south end of the pasture. I will await your presence by the gate in a dress of carrot orange.

“Truly Yours,

Meline of Wild Rose.”

***

“Honourable Madam Meline of Wild Rose,

“I am indeed well, as are my hall and its environs. May this letter find a smile upon your face. You honour me with your praise, though my actions could have been no less in the face of such steadfast goodwill as your own.

“As per your invitation, I gladly accept. This 8th of July seems an auspicious day. I shall follow your directions as best I can, and shall appear no later than the 3rd hour following the setting sun.

“Your Humble Servant,

Lord Ella of Oakhill.”

***

The cairns and oaks were strewn with fireflies and fairy lights. “In all my years here,” Ella said as Coarser trotted along, “I never knew about any of this. Did you, my handsome stallion?” Coarser nickered, nodding his head. “And you never told me? You naughty boy.” She playfully slapped his rump. He swung his head back and smacked her shin. She checked the map. The gate shouldn’t be far...

She dismounted at the base of three oaks. “I suppose you’ll hang around, basking in the adulation of fey women?” Coarser’s neigh sounded very much like laughter. “If a willing young filly happens by, just make sure you’re home by sunrise, alright?” He rolled his eyes. She met them. “Have a nice night, my strong boy.” He gently butted her head.

Three cairns, each piled about the base of an oak, marked the gate to Oak and Stone. There were a few fairies here and there, bustling in and out. Mostly earth fairies, and a few water and wood; Ella even saw one or two fire fairies. She was the only metal fairy, and drew a few eyes as she waited.

She scanned every fairy as they walked by. “Hmm, I wonder what’s keeping her.”

“Keeping who?” Ella spun around. Meline couldn’t have stood much closer, a mischievous smile on her face. She tied back her mantle, revealing a carrot orange bodice and a matching skirt embroidered with gold leaves. When she pulled back her hood, her long dark hair glittered with fiery gems.

“Meline!” Ella bowed. “How did you—”

“My mantle,” she said, shrugging her shoulders and making it ripple, “is made of deep-black.” Ella nodded; that would explain it. The fabric had no sheen at all. “Now, shall we head into town?” She offered an arm. Ella took it. Meline took a step, and hesitated. “You aren’t carrying a blade, are you?” Ella pulled up the hem of her jupon, revealing the rondel dagger on her left hip. Meline leaned down, sighing. “You are a lord, after all.” After a brief inspection she straightened. “It shouldn’t exceed the length requirements.”

“Requirements?”

“You haven’t been here before,” Meline said as they started walking, “but the world has changed. The mayor and the Watch keep things quite safe, and part of that has been banning all blades above a quarter inch long.”

“Oh.” Ella thought as they walked between the cairns. “What about the artisans? The coopers, for instance. Or the butchers. Carving up a beetle is no easy task with a tiny blade.”

“There are exemptions,” Meline said, “but each artisan has to put their mark on their tools, and follow other restrictions.”

“I see.” They made it to the centre of the cairns. There was a flat slab of granite just above the grass. “Are we here?”

Meline nodded. She took a gem from her hair, and spoke a word of power. She knelt, and touched the gem to the granite. The stone glowed, fluid script and symbols racing across its surface faster than even fairy eyes could see. In less than a second, a mouse appeared with a small “pop”, dressed in green, with a copper badge on his jacket and a monocle over one eye. He had a fly on a tether tied to his wrist, and a knobbly staff in the crook of one arm.

“Names?” He had a clipboard and was scrawling with impressive speed.

“Lord Ella of Oakhill, and Meline of Wild Rose,” Meline said.

The mouse, whose whiskers were longer than he was tall, looked up at them. “Ah, Meline. Back so soon?”

“Lord Oakhill did me a good turn recently, Jasper. I’d like to show her around town.”

“Ah, I see, I see.” Jasper turned to Ella. “Is her lordship carrying any weapons?”

“Just this,” Ella said, removing the dagger from her belt and handing it over. Jasper took the proffered blade, and unsheathed it.

“Hmm, fairy silver…” he bent the blade into a perfect U, and it sprang back, after which he poked the tip into his staff; it bit deep into the wood without apparent effort. “Good fairy silver…” he measured the dagger against his staff. “Total blade length: three sixteenths and fourteen sixty-fourths.” He handed it back with a toothy smile. “A fine blade, and yours to keep during your time in town.” He leaned in. “Who’s the smith?”

Ella chuckled. “Lord Ella of Oakhill, my good mouse.” She bowed.

Jasper looked a shade dumbfounded. Meline coughed, and he started. “Fine work, yes, enjoy your evening in Oak and Stone, my lord.” And he wrapped the butt of his staff against the granite.

“That’s n—” but Ella didn’t get to say what that was before light blazed from the granite slab, and her feet left the ground.

When they came back down, they were no longer in the pasture beyond the yard behind the house.

Ella looked up. The stars were entirely different from those she’d looked up at for millennia. She glanced over at Meline, who appeared to be barely containing her glee.

“Where do you think we are?” Meline’s voice was an octave higher than normal.

“Well,” Ella looked up at the stars. They were disinclined to give an answer. “We are clearly not on Gaea anymore.”

“Right!” Meline was practically jumping up and down.

“And…” Ella frowned. “The colour of the sky’s different, and there aren’t so many stars.” She shivered, catching just a bit of Meline’s excitement. “We aren’t on Fey either.”

“No, we’re not!” Meline was almost laughing.

“Okay, why is this so funny?” From the way Meline talked, she had been to Oak and Stone many times.

“Mostly the look on your face,” Meline said. “I’ve brought a few friends here over the years, and while every reaction to finding out we’re on an unknown world is different, they are without exception hilarious.”

Ella smiled. “What was yours?”

Meline snorted. “Hold on, let me step into character.” She took a step backward and closed her eyes. She abruptly opened them. She looked left and right, forward, and then up. Her eyes bulged—Ella could discern individual stars in them—and her jaw dropped. She looked in Ella’s general direction, pointed down, then back up, then started waving her arms in perfect incomprehension. Ella started to laugh herself. “How was my acting?”

Ella shrugged. “I wasn’t there.”

Meline’s face went blank for a moment before she laughed. “Come on.” She stepped off the platform.

Most disorienting for Ella, as she followed Meline—south?—was that other than the sky, their immediate surroundings were almost identical to those they’d left behind, down to the same arrangement of three red, white, and black rocks, one of which had a wrinkled oak leaf sitting on it. Beyond the cairns were thick ferns and horsetails. “So then where are we?”

Meline shrugged. “We are neither in one of the paradises, nor one of the perditions, obviously. We are not on Fey, nor Gaea.” She looked up at the stars herself. “Frankly, after I

accepted that this realm is much like Gaea or the Fey, it wasn’t a huge stretch to believe there are three mortal realms, since I already knew there were two.”

Ella scratched her head. “Why don’t all of us know about this?”

Meline looked at her. “The fairies in the area know about it. The mayor has informed the Queens of Fey and Gaea, and let them know his intentions are simply peace and trade.”

Ella nodded. She shook herself. “You mean to show me a good time this evening. I’ll save my questions.”

“Good.” Meline smiled again. “Let’s go.”

As they walked through the undergrowth, Ella saw lights passing nearby, and the sound of voices. There was an undercurrent of sound, though. Like the wind rushing through the trees.

The ground rose beneath their feet, and became rockier. The ferns thinned out, and suddenly they were up on a ridge. On the slope below them was a collection of lights that could only be the town. Beyond that was a low peak with a bite taken out of its top, covered with trees. Beyond that, silver-black in the starlight, was the sea.

“Do you know,” Ella said in a small voice, “how long it’s been since I saw the ocean?”

Meline took her arm. “Too long?” Ella nodded. “We have all night; we can stay up here as long as you like.”

Ella looked slowly around. Back the way they’d come, the cairns sat in a small dip in a second mountainside. Ella saw ice glittering about its peak. Beautiful as it was, her eyes were soon drawn back to the water.

After a few moments more, Ella shook herself. “If we have time after you show me around, we can walk along the beach.”

The mischievous smile was back on Meline’s face. “Only if we have time.”

#the fairy tales of ella and meline #tftem #oak and stone part 1 #chapter 6 #my original work #fantasy #lgbtq+#fairies #iyashikei #healing #fairy tales #romance #all ages #fae #fey #magic #family #strong female protagonists #backyard fantasy

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toffeetaffy · 5 years

Text

Beast at My Side [5]

Crimes Against Courtesy

At first light it was like a bullet lodged in my chest, Luc's name carved crudely in to the side of it. My tears were like blood. My body was an open wound. I raged, I wailed, I tore my hotel room apart. The broken glass glittered like starlight. Deep inside my chest I held on to the last sliver of grief, angry at the thought of parting with it. It was late in the evening when my fury finally died down, my eyes finally dried. I wrestled the remaining heartsick shard with shaky hands. And then it was done. Then, I knew the worst of it to be over.

At the hotel reception I pay extra for staying in past check-out time. Charges for damages will surely come later.

I drive for hours through the dark. Luc's ghost is like a passenger beside me and somehow I know that it always will be. Somehow I know I will always carry this part of him with me. It will make me strong. It will make me brave. I roll down the windows and turn up the stereo, long fingers clutching the wheel too tightly, wind slipping under my skin like the touch of so many cool, clean hands. The roadside is dotted with little white flowers. I sing loudly and off-key, my fingers drumming hopelessly out of time, and I smile. It feels defiant. It feels too soon to smile again; too long since I last smiled. Then I am laughing and blushing and trying to remember the exact definition of hysteria.

It takes two more songs, four more dopey smiles, and one inelegant yawn for me to close in on the town of Forks. I pull into a rest stop and turn the key in the ignition. The headlamps blink off, the stereo goes silent, the world around me plunges in to darkness. For a time all that exists is the sound of my own breath and the stunning purple sky. Spindly green vines cover the lamppost, strangle its busted globe, and grow through the length of chain-link that separates me from the wilderness. I feel a pull. I know not what it is, only that it wishes to draw me close, longs for me to wander in to those woods and never come back. I close my eyes. When I open them again I am outside the van, white-knuckled hands gripping the rail of the fence. It's like sleep walking. It's like a siren's song born of the trees and whispered to the wind. Then I hear it: my name. The sound is hollow, like an echo, as though it only exists in my mind. Then louder, more insistent. Then it is there, behind me, and as real as the gravel at my feet.

"It's good to see you again."

I close my eyes expecting to wake up. I do not. Instead, when I turn to face him he is standing far too close, his hazy shadow smothering my entire body. I whisper his name. It is a question more than a greeting and the fear it holds makes him smile. He delights in my dread. For the first time since meeting him I am able to truly reconcile what Jasper is with the way he treats me. He is a predator. This is predatory. Without the numbness to douse my fear I am left to wonder if his civility will always transcend his hunger. It seems cruel that even now his smile makes my chest ache, makes my knees weak. His eyes are enough to set the sky on fire, to deafen me with the roar of the flames.

So his companions went unnoticed.

They stand on either side of him, a few steps back, a comfortable distance. The woman—more beautiful than Bella; the man—more intimidating than Jasper. I mumble some sort of greeting, the words stumble over my lips, taste bitter with fear, and hang dead in the air. Be brave. You were brave once: when he had his lips on yours, when he clutched you in his hands. I square my shoulders. I raise my chin. Each gesture is, I am sure, as transparent as it is futile. Cold air draws shakily into my lungs and when I finally find the strength to speak he silences me by taking my hand in his, twining my fingers in his own.

He eases me forward. He draws back his hand. "I'd like you to meet some people."

Flawless. Each curve and dip of her body, every length of hair, every scrap of skin has been chosen with an artist's eye, moulded with a master's hands. Rosalie is such an alluring apparition that she makes my stomach twist in to knots, and my palms greasy with sweat. She is undoubtedly the most stunning, most unnatural creature I have ever laid eyes upon. I want her to speak. I want her to smile. She appears likely to do neither.

Even next to her the brute with the boyish smile is captivating. He is a giant, a behemoth. He is a colossal wall of twitching muscle and I do not know how his skin manages to hold it all inside. I do not think Emmett is a mind-reader, but when I imagine him crushing my skull in his hands he smiles a little wider, dimples frame his thin lips.

"It's nice to meet you." I say, but it comes out in a stutter.

I edge towards the van. Cold, nervous sweat trickles down my spine, dampens my rigid neck. There is no deception to my escape attempt, no practised nonchalance, and when my gaze sweeps back to Jasper his usually stoic features seem pinched. I am not so deluded as to believe that what I see there is concern. It is offence. For which of my crimes against courtesy I am not sure. I do not care. He asks if I am on my way to see Bella. I nod.

"And where are you three headed?" I reach the van and pull open the door.

"Why?" Emmett's smile draws up on one side. "Offering us a lift?"

No. I climb inside, I close the door.

The siblings speak softly, quickly, privately. Wind whistles and wails, hides their whispers from my ears, and whips at the little white blossoms lining the road. Their petals pull, their stems strain. The whispers stop. Turning to me, the behemoth waves his farewell with a sort of mock salute. I sigh in relief, raise my arm to copy the gesture. Before my hand can return to the wheel I register the sound of the passenger door, feel the bench seat depress. I keep my eyes on the trees, on the chain-link fence, anywhere but on the creature beside me. We pull out of the rest stop. We edge on to the road. We carve our way through the night.

When I open my mouth there is no sound but the wind. My eyes pinch closed and my throat clenches as I try to swallow the persistent lump lodged within. It freezes, and burns, and cuts like crushed ice. I choke it down. My eyes water. Remember when it was easy. The muddy dress, the ruined book, your legs brushing against his. The courteous killer. I take one deep breath, then another, then one more as I replay that afternoon in my mind. And that is how I think of him: in long silences perfectly punctuated with pointed teeth.

"Scheherazade."

"Scheherazade?"

"Your story," he says, "ever think you'll get around to telling it?"

There was a bargain struck. My story for my safety. "You asked me what was in Seattle, I told you: my family. You wanted a story so I gave you one. I told you the big things, the important things. What more could there possibly be?"

When I fix my eyes on him I expect to see a smirk, hear a laugh. But there is no condescension, there is only his steady gaze locked on mine. Something about that shames me. I assume the worst because of what he is, assume I must to stay alive. Be cautious, be careful.

"But that wasn't really your story, was it?" He possesses an insight humans are incapable of. My heart beats in my throat, makes me sweaty and faint. "I know what it means to have your life defined by someone else. That story was about your brother. That story is over."

I should cry. I should scream. I should slam on the brakes and beat my fists against the wheel but all I do is sigh.

"Tell me," he continues, "the first thing you did—first decision you made—that had absolutely nothing to do with him."

It should be easy. There should be one million answers, one million memories, one million little things that Luc didn't touch. But when he drew breath my brother was my world.

"I'll be sure to tell you when I do."

I have wasted my life thinking I was half of a person, half of a pair, half of something whose value is only as a whole. But I can no longer be burdened by my brothers greatness. I can no longer live as his shadow.

The beast at my side is cool and still like stone, ashy and pale against the purple night. Tender and terrifying as it suits him. Catching his eye is easy, catching my breath is not. I apologise for being rude, for trying to flee from his friendly introductions. A ghost of a smile. A trace of amusement. Behind his curt nod is a genuine acceptance. It pecks me to pieces and stitches me back together, washes my guilt away.

"And about the other day..." I remember the heat in my chest, his breath on my neck. As foolish as it was I would do it all again.

He tells me that I have nothing else to apologise for. We continue our journey in perfectly imperfect silence. ___

Light cuts through the wall of glass, barely concealed by papery blinds. The room I have awoken in is familiar. Similar but not the same. Edward's room. His couch replaced by a bed: broad but plain. An attempt by Bella to make me 'feel at home', give me 'my own space'. I wonder how long she thinks I will stay.

When I arrived the previous night I had only the time to turn off the van and pull my keys from the ignition before I was wrapped up in Bella's stony embrace. She scolded me in a mothers voice, stroked my hair with a mothers touch. Guided in to the main house under her sheltering wing, I soon noticed the masculine simplicity of Edward's former room had been transformed. I didn't comment. Folded in her arms, I cried myself to sleep.

Teeth clean. Hair tidy. A fleeting glance in the mirror. If I look any longer I will see his face, and there could be no crueller thing than that. I distract myself by folding the bedroom blinds neatly, pushing the windows open wide. Sun covers my face and heats my skin: brown and warm behind a tight, cold smile.

There's a rumbling like thunder, a laugh, and a growl that draw my attention downward. Three impossible creatures grapple in the tall grass. Shimmering skin. Stretching shadows. They run at each other with arms like masts, teeth bared like snarling hounds. Then they drive their hands into each others bodies. Over and over. A punch, a push, pummelling each other in a savage stream of fists. Emmett is stronger. Jasper is faster. Edward is three moves ahead. They crash together in violent waves, slam into the dirt, and begin again. The brutal display makes my heartbeat throb in the tips of my fingers. I press them to my lips. It feels like a half-remembered kiss, an imagined surrender. I keep my eyes closed tight until the feeling stops. It stops too soon. When I look again the ashen figures are gone.

There is a knock at the door. The sound is so soft it seems almost imagined. It opens to reveal Bella wearing a faded shirt and torn jeans like a costume. Nothing from her old life suits her newly crafted skin. "Come downstairs," she says, her voice a sublime invitation.

The family sit around the living room. They are each folded neatly in to the furniture, posed like mannequins. Their beautiful, bloodless bodies make me ache.

"Tea, dear?" Esme asks, her voice as soft as the consoling smile she wears. I nod and take a seat at her side, waiting for the inevitable consolation. She does not disappoint. "We're all very sorry to hear about your brother."

This is where I should thank her. For the tea, for the room, for her kindness. But I don't. There is nothing affable or courteous left inside me. All I am is rotten and ruined.

"It occurs to me," I say, "that there must be a price. What exactly does it cost me to know your secret?" The question hangs crooked in the air, unsightly and strange against the pristine walls of their home.

I wring my hands, grind my teeth.

When the doctor finally speaks his voice is a sombre, distant sigh. "Not quite so much as it once did." A truth he seems resigned to. "It's a long tale," Carlisle tells me, "even for those of us unhindered by time." He embroiders his story with a cheery romanticism it scarcely deserves; an undead government, shadowy enforcers, the conception of an impossible child, and a narrowly avoided war. This story—Bella's story—is terrifying. None of them seem to notice. "Of course, these days our family is afforded a little... lenience."

My head throbs. I pull at my hair with both hands. Here I am in a straw house, flicking matches at the wall. If I say the wrong thing now I could set this place ablaze. "And why is that?" There it is. The smouldering ruin of my human curiosity.

Edward twitches, ticks, and shifts his eyes. Where his family is perfectly impassive, he is a tornado . "My sister," he says, "Alice."

___

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#twilight fanfiction #twilight #fanfiction #jasper hale #rosalie hale #emmett cullen #title:beast at my side

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immortalpramheda · 7 years

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The 100 ‘The Other Side’

We’re getting closer and closer to Praimfiya. There are only 2 days left. People have started dying and this episode was very emotional.

So, Clarke stole the bunker. With Jaha’s encouragement I’m sure. Did she really think that Octavia didn’t stand a chance at winning the conclave?? They had no idea whether she’d won or not. Clarke was just convinced that Luna was going to win and therefore no one would get the bunker, so she stole it. Yeah, very smart plan Clarke. Seriously, what kind of a plan is that??

And did Clarke seriously think that Bellamy would be okay with staying down there not knowing what happened to his sister? And did she just think her mum would be fine with Kane still being up there? I feel like she didn’t completely think this through. I get that she wants humanity to survive and she did what she thought had to do for that to happen. But I can’t believe she was okay with Bellamy being shock lashed and locked up after they’d found out Octavia won.

Murphy kept being his snarky self, but he actually followed the rules for once and wouldn’t set Bellamy free. Really Murphy? After all the times you could have started listening to what people say now is when you choose to? He fell asleep guarding him though. Typical Murphy.

Bellamy was so determined to escape he let the handcuffs dig into his wrists. Bellamy!! That fucking hurt to see. But it just showed how determined he was to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. Despite everything they’ve been through one thing that has never changed is Bellamy’s love for Octavia. He would do anything to protect her. Anything. I am so happy Abby helped him escape. And she knocked Jaha out which is something I’ve been waiting to see for ages!

When Clarke was pointing the gun at Bellamy and actually shot in his direction, for a moment I thought she might actually kill Bellamy if she thought she had to. This is the girl who killed Finn so that they could make peace with the Grounders, and the girl who was willing to let her mother die so that ALIE wouldn’t win. If she thought she was doing it for the greater good, I don’t think there’s anything she wouldn’t do, even killing Bellamy.

Thankfully she couldn’t do it. The emotion in her face as she lowered the gun showed so much. I’ll admit, I do ship Bellarke, but I don’t think that’s the reason why she put it down. It wasn’t her love for Bellamy. She loves him, that’s obvious, but that’s not what stopped her. She wanted to save humanity. Since they’ve been down in the bunker she��s been feeling so guilty. The way that she walks and talks, it’s obvious that’s how she feels. She’s conflicted between her head and her heart. Her head tells her that this is the right thing to do for humanity to survive. But her heart knows it’s wrong. That it’s not fair to steal the only thing that will save them from Praimfaya for only their people. Thankfully she came to her senses. I don’t think she could have lived with the guilt of what she did for the next 5 years.

The Blake reunion!! I have been waiting for this for a few seasons now! Octavia has finally forgiven him. Although what he did last season was horrible, in my eyes he’s redeemed himself. Last season he lost his way a little but he’s back to being the person he’s meant to be. The Blake siblings hug was such a beautiful moment! Bellamy telling her how much he loves her and how happy he is that she’s alive. That hit me right in the feels.

Octavia promised each clan 100 spots in the bunker (and she banished Echo finally!). There is enough room for 1200 people down there, so conveniently it adds up perfectly. There are 12 clans, minus Floukru because they are all dead, so there’s exactly the right amount of spots. So we’re now right back to square one with the list. And this time Clarke doesn’t get to decide. Does she even deserve to get a spot considering what she almost did? Honestly, at this point I’m not even sure.

Raven. Oh Raven. She’s still having hallucinations of Becca. And she continues to have seizures all alone with no one to help her. And she hallucinated Sinclair. That hurt my heart. I miss Sinclair so much. ‘Stay in the rover’ still haunts me. He was basically her conscience this episode. He gave her the push she needed to try to live. He was her mentor. He was her father figure. He pushed her limits. He helped her grow. Some part of Raven wanted so badly to live and so she imagined the one person she knew would not let her give up. She was fighting with Becca, the other side of her conscience, who wanted her to give up and let go. But she fought that voice.

Raven is the strongest character on this show. Look at what she did this episode. She’s disabled and all alone in the lab. But she managed to lower herself into an ice bath, stop her heart from beating, make it start beating again, pull herself out of the bath and shock herself to heal her brain damage. She did it all by herself. With the push she knew she needed from her mentor. I like to think of Sinclair as her guardian angel. Leading her in the direction she needs to go. That was beautiful. When she held her hand against Sinclair’s I broke down. This episode was very emotionally draining.

So now Raven is okay. She healed her brain damage and is not dying anymore. Thank god!!! I was so worried that Raven was going to die this season. But she's okay now. She’s okay. She’s still in pain but at least she’s not dying anymore.

Jasper. The saddest thing is that Jasper’s depression didn’t just affect him, he dragged other people down with him. He basically started a suicide cult. Riley overdosed (sorry you won’t be missed). Seriously, what was the point of saving Riley after all?? Everyone else of Jasper’s crew were so out of it. The radiation had started to get bad and was making people ill.

Why is Harper cool with all this when there’s a way to live with someone she loves? I get why Harper thinks she doesn’t deserve to live, but to tell Monty that she doesn’t love him… I can’t. Monty would live with that for the rest of his life. Knowing that his girlfriend who he loves chose to die rather than be with him. The two people Monty cares most about don’t care about him enough to live.

Monty still had hope though. He was staying until the last minute to save anyone he possibly could. He thought he could save Jasper, but he couldn’t. The saddest part is that Monty has been through thick and thin with Jasper. He’s always been there for him, trying to help him find his way. He’s ALWAYS been there for Jasper. After what happened at Mount Weather, Jasper didn’t want his help. But Monty still did everything he could to help him. To save him. But it wasn’t enough.

Monty finding Jasper too late was the most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever seen. Jasper didn’t want Monty to see it. He didn’t want his best friend to see him die. Until Jasper’s final breath Monty tried to save him. He tried to make him throw up the tea he’s overdosed on. Monty’s known the depth of Jasper’s depression but he still tried even when he knew there was no use. He tried until Jasper’s final moment. Monty did everything he could to save his best friend. He never gave up on him. But it was too late.

Monty and Jasper’s journey ended with Monty telling Jasper he loved him as he died in his arms. That’s some depressing shit. I’m still recovering from that scene.

The most disturbing part of this episode was Monty walking past all the bodies on the ground. They had all overdosed. They all committed suicide together. It’s so messed up that Jasper let his depression kill other people too. One of the darkest things this show has done.

I am so happy that Harper decided to live. I know she was adamant that she didn’t deserve to, but she came to her senses in the end. She decided not to take the easy way out. And I’m so glad she did. If she’d died, if Monty had lost the 2 people who mean the most to him, I’m worried he might have wanted to die too.

That was a very heavy episode. One of the darkest episodes of the show for sure. Jasper had almost committed suicide twice so I knew he’d try again and eventually succeed. He was too far deep in his depression. I knew he was a lost cause. But a part of me hoped that he’d manage to find his way out. But tragically he didn’t. His death was a lot darker than I thought it would be. I didn’t think it would affect me this much. It’s going to take me a while to recover from that.

#the 100 #the other side #jasper jordan #bellarke #t100recap

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justalittlebluetiefling · 7 years

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Chapter 24: Sometimes I Can’t See Myself

Rating: T Fandom: The 100 Pairing: Bellamy x Clarke Chapter: 24/? Word Count: 1560 Words

Chapter Summary: The one where Bellamy does not appreciate Clarke’s efforts to help him reconcile with Octavia. Also, the one where Clarke makes a new friend

Also on AO3

Harper McIntyre invited you to her event Welcome Back to School Bash!

Sept 25 Welcome Back to School Bash! Guests and Friends Hosted by Harper McIntyre, Nathan Miller, and Bellamy Blake Friday, September 25 at 8:00pm Tonight – 46ºF / 38ºF Chance of Rain

Our Place Invited by Harper McIntyre Harper and 4 others are going

26 2 34 Going maybe invited

Hey everyone! School’s back in session next week and we’re all back in town!!! Let’s get together and talk about our summers and play lots of drinking games! Remember to bring a bottle of alcohol for a drinking game. You all know the drill by now. If you don’t, ask a friend. Hope to see you all there!! – Harper

Their new dorm room was bigger than the old one. Clarke had decided to forgo the third desk in favor of more floor space for Octavia, who was starting choreography classes this year. She spent more time drawing while lying on the floor the previous year, anyway. Which is where Octavia was lying in protest as Clarke piled all the freshly unpacked clothing from her closet onto her roommate.

“Is this déjà vu? Payback for last year when I forced you guys to become friends? Which is still gross, by the way. Come on, Clarke. I don’t want to go to his place.”

“But all of our friends are going to be there and we miss them.”

“We have each other. That’s all I need.”

Clarke snorted. “I love you, but if we don’t have an occasional buffer, I’m pretty sure we’ll kill each other.” Octavia threw a shirt back at her and Clarke turned around to glare. “You and Bellamy don’t have to talk to each other. Maybe you can just pretend to like each other for my sake or like you might be able to coexist or something so we can have some kind of social life outside of these dorms.”

“I have friends on the dance team.”

“Yeah, most of whom will be at this party tonight.”

Octavia threw herself back onto the ground and covered her face with a dress. “Fine. I hate you. I get to pick your outfit.”

“You love me. And why?”

“Because maybe if you get laid, you’ll stop focusing so much on fixing me and Bellamy.”

***

While it had been easier to get O to agree to go to the party than Clarke had anticipated, she regretted letting her pick her outfit. The shirt was way too low cut, the pants were way too tight, and Jasper and Monty were acting weird and avoided looking at her too hard after they realized how much of her boobs they could see. It would have been funny if it weren’t so embarrassing.

She did end up taking more pleasure than she should have in Miller and Bellamy and the synchronized choking on their drinks when she appeared in front of them. Bellamy’s eyes went wide and Miller immediately pretended he saw someone and left while staring straight up at the ceiling. He bumped into two people trying to get away.

“O’s here,” Clarke said, choking back laughter.

“So are you, Princess.” Bellamy gestured at her breasts, which he hadn’t stopped staring at.

Clarke just smacked him hard on the arm. “Seriously, stop it! Your sister picked this shirt out.”

He cleared his throat and forced himself to meet her eyes with a stupid grin on his face. “In my mind, this is your shirt. This is replacing the see-through tank top in my head as the shirt you wear all the time when you’re not around me. I don’t want to know about my sister owning shirts like that.”

“Well, are you going to go talk to her?” She could feel her cheeks heating up and hoped he would accept the subject change.

“I don’t know. I think I’d rather stay here and protect your uh… royal assets?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Clarke had to bite her lip to stop from laughing at his horrible joke and covered it by stealing his drink and chugging it. “Go talk to her. And get me a sweatshirt or something. If this is how everyone is going to react, I don’t want the attention.”

“No. To both. I forgot how much you had to offer the world and I’m not going to deny the people what they want! Also, O needs a chance to loosen up a bit.”

“Seriously, Blake, don’t wuss out now.” He glared at her and she just glared back. “You wanted me to get her here and I got her here. Don’t waste it.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Princess. No one asked for your opinion. Or help.” He snaked the empty cup out of her hands and turned to leave.

“You did, actually!”

Clarke glared at his retreating form, a little hurt. She didn’t understand why he suddenly flipped from joking about how much of herself she was showing to being pissed at her. It had been a few months since they had actually hung out, but she also didn’t remember the last time he called her princess so snottily, either.

“Don’t like being called princess, do you, princess?”

She whipped around and shoved her finger into the chest of the strange young man who had practically whispered in her ear. “Not when it’s condescending. People have to earn the right to use the nickname. He barely has it, and he’s the asshole who started it.”

“Whoa, sorry. I didn’t mean to touch a nerve.” He held his hands up in mock defense and grinned at her warmly. “If I can’t call you princess, what can I call you?”

Clarke studied him, and he let her. He was cute enough. A little arrogant, but not in the same way as Bellamy. With Bellamy, the arrogance seemed to be a cover he could hide behind to avoid getting too close to anyone. This guy… maybe arrogant was the wrong word. Self-assured might have been more accurate. And he was brave enough that he didn’t wither under her scrutiny, which was another point in his favor. “I guess you can call me Clarke,” she finally relented.

“Clarke. Good name.”

She let him pull her into obligatory small talk. His name was Finn Collins. He was a junior, had declared a major in Environmental Science and Resource Management with a focus on sustainable forest management, and shared her love of hiking. He didn’t know Bellamy or Miller, but he had been in a class with Harper. When she mentioned that she and Octavia were trying to plan a few more hikes that year, he perked up and they talked about their favorite trails. They had been talking for about twenty minutes when Jasper and Monty burst through the crowd, looking panicked.

“Clarke!” Jasper wheezed, putting his hands on his knees to try to catch his breath.

“You need to come quick,” Monty said.

“They’re going to—“

Jasper didn’t get to finish his sentence, because that was when it escalated and she could already hear it.

“I’m trying to apologize, Octavia! Can’t you just listen to me for once?!”

“I don’t want your fucking apologies, Bellamy! I want to live my life without you hovering over me every second of every day!”

“I left you alone all summer! What more can you ask of me?”

Clarke turned to Finn, who was regarding the scene with mild amusement. “Hey, so, I have to go stop this before it gets out of hand. I’ll see you around?”

He smiled at her and made a sharpie materialize seemingly out of thin air. “Do you have time to give me your number?”

“I don’t know.” Octavia’s voice was getting higher. “Maybe don’t chase my next fucking boyfriend out of the fucking state?!”

Clarke grimaced and grabbed the sharpie before she knew what she was doing. She wrote her number down on his arm and smiled before spinning and pushing her way through the crowd with Monty and Jasper in tow. The argument was easier to break up. Bellamy spun around and stormed off almost as soon as she made her way to the front of the crowd and O actually let Jasper and Monty lead her out of the apartment again.

Clarke found Bellamy in the kitchen looking through the fridge. “So that didn’t go well," she said to announce herself.

“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking,” Bellamy said, running his hand through his hair. Then he realized he was talking to Clarke and his glare turned to ice. “Next time, maybe you can referee instead of throwing yourself at some random guy.”

“Excuse me?” She was outraged, but kept her voice quiet. “Do you maybe want to change your tactic here? There is one person in my dorm room who can stand you right now, and it isn’t the person you want it to be, so maybe you should pull the stick out of your ass and hit yourself over the head with it.”

It didn’t make sense. She knew it didn’t make sense. But she was pissed and she didn’t want to cause a scene. His expression changed from anger to confusion and she took advantage of the silence and left.

Clarke Griffin and Finn Collins are now friends

#bellarke fanfiction #bellarke #modern au #sometimes i can't see myself #my work #uh minor warning?#it was super hard for me to write the chapters with Finn in them #so he doesn't stick around long #it was giving me writer's block #erin writes

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crossedbeams · 7 years

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Vice 1/2

This was supposed to be a 5 sentence drabble using “cuddle” for @driftingthroughtheskies and an anon, then it was gonna be smut fir @whatfallsaway and then it got a little bit muddled in with an idea from Sunday’s rewatch chat which was (I believe) pioneered by the Jens, @claricex-woman and @startwreck…. whatever it is… it got away from me rather!

MSR || Casefile || Undercover || S6 || Currently PG, will be NC-17 || Part Two Here

When Mulder got the call it had seemed a fairly benign request, far less dangerous than the New Spartans and much less likely to mess with his head than a loan out to Behavioural Science. Of all the favours he’d been obliged to do to keep The X-Files open, a weekend in New York, reconnecting with an old Oxford classmate was by far the simplest and so he’d said yes. He hadn’t even told Scully he was going on a case; she had some family arrangement and he would be back Monday.

Except he wasn’t.

From that first night, the staged meeting at an exclusive party and the trip afterwards to the kind of club that you need a password and a Bentley to get into, Mulder had found himself swept back into a world he hadn’t even realised how glad he was to have escaped. Jasper Hammond’s circle had more money than morals, a sense of entitlement that had only grown with age and a decisively cruel streak. He had welcomed Mulder with open arms, calling him Fox as he poured him endless Laphroaig, and seeing the wealthy, rakish American who had sometimes helped him with his essays at Oxford instead of the tortured man the Bureau knew. It had been beguiling for all of an hour, easy to forget his task in the face of the moneyed hedonism, but then there had been the private club, the drugs and then the girls offered to him whose faces were painted brightly to mask their youth and their terror, who disappeared into private rooms with uncaring men and were whisked away afterwards.

Mulder remembered in that instant why he had run. Why he had become a government employee rather than a hedge fund manager. Many of his former set saw the world as an enormous shop, where nothing was beyond their grasp for enough money with the right people. And it seemed Jasper Hammond was right at the heart of it, smuggling not only the drugs Mulder had been sent in to find, but anything that people would pay for: weapons, secrets and people just lines on his wicked ledger.

And so the weekend had become a month, endless drinks parties with endless faceless mobsters and moguls as Mulder won Jasper’s trust, fed back information and hid his loathing behind a wardrobe of expensive clothes and an affected coolness.

He wasn’t sure how much longer he could do it, the sleaziness of easy money was beginning to cling to him at night, refusing to come off under the needle hot stream of the shower and following him into clandestine debriefings and information exchanges. Mulder was losing himself, out here alone with the worst parts of his past, his only communications with Scully a few messages relayed by Skinner when he threatened to walk. Things had been strained between them ever since the bee in his hallway, inconsistent, with moments of connection at Christmas that made him hope they might someday finish that moment, dashed by the despairing certainty that she would never let him be more than her partner. Mulder suspected that his latest disappearing act would tip the scales even further from where he wanted them. Scully wouldn’t care that his intentions had been good, she believed in results rather than rationalisations.

Sighing at having put his foot in it once again, Mulder drags his attention back to the darkened room that is the venue for tonight’s debauchery and prays it will all be over soon. They are in an underground club that is somewhat grimier than Jasper’s usual haunts and the wall between the private room where they are waiting for the owner and the dance floor is thin. It shakes with the heady boom of the bass, jarring Mulder’s teeth in his head, but he doesn’t move. If tonight goes how Jasper has hinted it should, then a hugely lucrative deal will be done, one that will cement his operation’s place in the international smuggling community, make him tens of millions, and with Mulder’s help, provide British and US authorities with enough ammunition to bring it all tumbling down.

One more night, Mulder projects his desire to get the heck out of this assignment to whatever universal deities may be listening, and shifts in his chair, grimacing once again at the cling of the leather pants Jasper had insisted he put on. Citing the club’s edgy, vampy clientele and BDSM inspired decor, Jasper had taken great delight in Mulder’s discomfort, laughing when his old friend had refused to put on a meshed shirt with the tight leather pants before shrugging into his own studded and strapped leather ensemble. They look ridiculous, but Jasper seems to enjoy the theatricality of it, so Mulder plays along, glad that in the sweaty confines of the club he is at least not out of place.

The door opens and in walks the owner, Fraser Malloy. Irish by extraction and lynchpin of the local drug scene, he is five minutes late and the size of a small house. He and his goons are suited and booted in a way that makes Mulder, Jasper and their bodyguard look like the idiot rich kids they are, and after an appraising look that doesn’t bode terribly well, Mulder and the guard find themselves deposited unceremoniously on the dance floor. It seems the bureau will have to hope Jasper Hammond feels like sharing what transpires as a wall of hired flesh forces Mulder away from the meeting.

Physically and mentally exhausted, Mulder crosses to the bar and orders a drink, Jack and coke, the kind of thing Jasper would never order and the caffeine kick he so desperately needs. Sliding onto a stool at the quieter end of the bar, he downs it in one and then rests his forehead on his arms, too drained to even scan the bar for anyone else he recognises.

He doesn’t need to see her to recognise her though. The quiet strength of her voice is enough to cut through his fatigue and all the background noise.

‘Nice pants Mulder.’

And he’s upright, scanning the room until he sees the the beacon of her hair threading away from him through the crowd, shoulders white above a tight bodiced corset and a tray of shot glasses held high over her head.

What the hell is Scully doing in here?

He’s about to follow her when a long arm is flung across his shoulders, halting him.

‘Finally a piece of ass has caught your eye mate?!’ Jasper’s gaze follows Mulder’s to where Scully has now disappeared into a private booth across the dance floor. ‘I was beginning to think maybe you were a poof, but now I know you were just holding out for a ginger!’ The man giggles at his own hateful joke as he pulls Mulder to his feet.

‘C’mon mate, we’ve got details to sort and the redhead will still be here for later.’ Mulder hopes desperately that he’s wrong, he doesn’t want Scully anywhere near Hammond or his people, not even for long enough to settle his own nerves in her calming presence.

His hopes are dashed within five minutes of the being dragged back into the dingy side room as Jasper and Malloy start outlining an exchange of goods in a thinly veiled code they seem to have agreed upon in their private consultation. Mulder feigns disinterest, nodding occasionally when anyone looks in his direction and carefully consigning every detail to memory. It all seems pretty straightforward, something big will be changing hands on Jasper’s yacht in the next couple of days Malloy has found a buyer, and will set up the exchange for a cut. It seems they’re almost ready to leave when a quiet tap at the door is followed by a magnum of champagne and a too familiar redhead. Mulder’s breath catches and Jasper grins, waiting until Scully has placed the ice bucket and glasses and turned to leave,

Then his hand shoots out, catches her wrist and tugs hard enough to pull Scully off her feet to sprawl across their laps. Mulder gasps, rage and bile rising in his throat as Malloy and Jasper laugh and a flush rushes up Scully’s neck and stains her cheeks under the pale makeup she is wearing. She opens her mouth to excuse herself, trying to stand but Jasper’s hand still tightly cuffs her wrist and forces her towards Mulder.

‘Now where’s a pretty thing like you rushing off to in such a hurry?’ Jasper leers, ‘I think my mate here has taken a bit of a shine to you so why don’t you just stay and give him a little cuddle? Nothing nasty mind, just you perch up there on his lap like the pretty little pixie you are!’

Mulder can feel Scully stiffen on his lap, rigid under the other man’s touch and every fibre of his being longs to smack Jasper’s hand off his partner’s wrist. But he can’t, and he catches Scully’s eye long enough to know that she knows they both have a part to play, a fraction of a second where this awful room shrinks down to just them, mulderandscully, before she pastes on a coy smile and swivels in his lap to face Jasper and Malloy.

‘But Mr Malloy,’ Scully breathes, her voice fluttering with deference and flirtation in equal measure, ‘I’m supposed to be serving in VIP.’ She bats her lashes playfully and goes to rise, squeezing Mulder’s leg suggestively as she does, only to have Malloy scupper her escape.

Gesturing to one of his men he says,

‘Looks like Keira is needed in here to entertain my special guests. Get Candice to cover her tables.’ And just like that, Mulder is in hell.

With no reason to leave, Scully sits gingerly back down in his lap, and Mulder tries not to look at the expanse of white leg peeking out from the hem of a very short black skirt that’s now fanned out in his lap. Catching Jasper’s eye, Mulder tentatively places his hand on her hip, feeling the heat of Scully’s skin bleed through the thin fabric as she settles closer to him, still stiff but playing the part assigned her. She smells like smoke, leather and liquor but under it all there’s a tiny hint of Scully, the summer sweet laundry powder and vanilla bath oil smell that he would pick out as her in a crowd. Mulder doesn’t mean to lean in to find it more clearly, but before he realises it his nose grazes the velvet skin between her earlobe and her neck and for the first time in weeks he feels safe. She relaxes a little, curving her body towards him as though she can sense how badly he has needed her, and the movement presses her skin closer to him, the russet of her hair brushing Mulder’s cheekbone and shielding his words even as it teases her name out of him, silent and clear as a prayer against her throat. Scully can’t respond, her red painted lips visible to the rest of the room, but she runs her hand down his cheek with a tenderness that makes him ache even as he refuses to meet her eyes, terrified what he sees there will break him.

It’s bad enough that this is how he must first experience Scully’s legs burning across his, her ass underwear bare in his lap and her body close and calling to him. Mulder’s dreamed of her like this, maybe not this outfit, though there’s something about the slip of her skin over the leather pants that is decidedly appealing, but in not one of his Scully fantasies did their first intimate moment take place in the presence of mobsters and traffickers. As she squirms a little in his lap, Mulder fights to remember where they are, to ignore the gathering heat in his belly from Scully’s proximity, from the smell of her soaking into his clothes, from the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest, milk white meeting black leather in a vivid line just below his face. He can’t look at her, can’t breathe her in as deeply as he wants to because in her precarious position she can’t help but feel his excitement, and though Scully will justify it to them both afterwards as a physiological response to her proximity, Mulder will never forgive himself for taking advantage of an awful situation.

The gathering contact heat between his lap and her bottom is reaching crisis point when Jasper Hammond swoops in as an unlikely saviour, clearing his throat and breaking the spell.

‘Time to go Mulder old pal. Sorry to break up your little love fest but there’s shit to do before tomorrow,’ and then he’s sweeping from the room before Scully can even scramble up, her hand grasping Mulder’s just a second to long and forcing him to look at her, to see understanding and affection flash bright in her eyes chasing out something dark and unfamiliar that he thought might possibly be-

‘Mr Hammond is waiting.’ The bodyguard is back and impatient, and there is no space for goodbyes in Malloy’s presence.

Back in the car Jasper regards Mulder with a knowing grin. He’s spent the past few weeks trying to work out Mulder’s vices beyond the odd drink and a cigar under duress, amused and infuriated by his refusal of women, drugs or other illicit pleasures. He had the feeling that if he could find the key, the seemingly immovable cool of Fox Mulder would dissolve into the most satisfying kind of mess. And now he has found something his old friend wants, and he plans to have fun with it.

As Mulder stares unknowingly out of the window, Jasper plots. He’ll get Malloy to send Keira or whatever her name was with the other girls for the meeting on the yacht, find her price and set her on Mulder and see how he falls apart.

This evening has gone better than he’d ever hoped.

Keep Reading >>

#my writing #my writing: msr #txf #txf fanfic #undercover mulder

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team-adults-blog · 7 years

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4.05 Tinder Box

In which I make 6 references- 5 numbered and then Wizards of Waverly Place- a few jokes, and a prediction that I think is SPOT ON. Join me on this reactionary journey (in chronological order).

Abby, Jackson is relaying the science info for the audience, not you. I know that you know, but we, the audience, do not. give him a break.

Oh, the Mt. Weather parallels. BUT Abby checks herself. To all the haters: this means Abby is good. She’s NOT doing what was done in Mt. Weather. Dr. Tsing is a foil; they are fundamentally different.

I too hate molecular biology

At least Helios is a good horse and stays with Octavia when she falls. Unlike that dog vid. (reference 1 here if you don’t immediately get this)

Hey it’s Niylah! Not on the show in the way I predicted (Octavia going to her) but she’s still playing the healing role so I’m proud I pulled that out of thin air.

Oh no Ilian I don’t trust you yet because you hate tech but thanks for saving O.

Miller’s dad is ranking officer. Yeahhhh boyyyy. So many speaking lines, such as: “the radiation’s our enemy, not the ice nation” awwwww so proud of you.

Clarke’s poker face about all things Bellamy needs some work.

Her come the prisoners. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. its Kane and Bellamy. THE MOMENT CLARKE’S BEEN WAITING FOR. (reference 2, keep playing!)

[I had to watch commercials on this rewatch and why are there commercials for books? You don’t want to cast your character so it’s just a bunch of moving dark figures over an abstract background. Pointless. Plus this Riverdale show looks unrealistic.] I learned how to use line breaks and they please me.

Riley stop it. Only like 4 more episodes until your likely death.

“They knew you were coming”- Bell so hopeful. This is lovely. But I would have preferred a little more anguish and suspense before he and Kane know she’s alive. Some good acting and character development could have come from that instead of them finding out the next day.

Octavia knows she’s not lucky Ilian brought her in. Who didn’t question his taking all these explosives? Where is everyone?

Raven and Abby love and concern <3 they are the best. Hand holding throughout their scenes this week. I dig it.

I thought we all knew Raven had the upgrade and thus still has ALIE in her head? Jackson and Abby are just figuring this out, fine, but I knew. The people I watched with did not? They just thought Raven was really smart? When did I learn this lil’ bit of information?

Abs we gotta go back to space! Raven’s looking at the gas lines and floor map to figure out there’s a rocket ship! She didn’t know where it was, but she knew what to tell the computer to do. PURE JOY! I AM SO HAPPY RAVEN FOUND A SHIP. This seem dangerous too though…

[Commercials are only acceptable in the actual air time. OMG THERE WAS A REALLY CUTE SHELTER DOG COMMERCIAL I TAKE IT ALL BACK cwgood.com if you want to see it. Omg no I had to watch 6 commercials wtf]

Riley you suck. I want to feel nothing at your death in 4-5 episodes.

P sure Costa was just on the island with doctor tech squad? They have to be more careful about where their quaternary-and-beyond(!) characters are.

Clarke is the only one who Roan listens to. Their cave scene was v good. Don’t brag about your lack of heart about your mom to someone who literally had the worst mom. Clarke, your mother cares about you. Roan’s mom used him as a tool in her ploy for power. Telling him that you care about your people more than your mom brings up some ethical values questions. Sacrificing one to save the many seems like a fine moral argument. But when you put faces onto those people things change: A ton of strangers vs your mom? That makes the decision harder. One stranger vs your fam and closest friends? That seems like an easy decision. I don’t know if it makes you a better or worse person for being willing to sacrifice your mother, but it’s definitely not an argument I would want to make. Especially with Roan. He let Lexa spear his mom. I cheered at that scene- it was badass. It was also clear she was a villain. And a completely different relationship dynamic. Clarke could use some advice from Selena Gomez and the Wizards of Waverly Place Theme, “you might run into trouble if you go to extremes because everything is not what it seems.” You know, with the whole list thing and promising Roan safety in the Ark and taking Jaha’s advice. S3 Clarke could have used the line “be careful not to mess with the balance of things” when she was trying to change grounder culture. Season 4: “The end will no doubt justify the means” or, alternatively, “That’s what I said” in which Jasper goes around making that’s what she said jokes but about himself. This didn’t directly relate to what I was talking about. My head just went there.

“Riley shouldn’t be here” Good Bell! AH-chers (Kane).I don’t understand why they all have to have American accents? Like let Ian’s lovely accent out. Let Bob’s vocal cords rest. A bunch of accents would have been initially present on the Ark because it was an international force. If English became the dominant language, fine. It’s an American show I don’t care enough to argue that point. One language across the stations is understandably necessary. BUT. Accents don’t disappear. I grew up with this guy whose parents are both English- a lawyer (now head judge, whaddup) and a professor. They’re all super cool. His sister taught me how to pop-lock-and DROP it on a mission trip and went to Oxford. Anyways, both kids have accents because their English parents taught them how to speak. I don’t know for sure if by high school this guy could turn his accent on and off, depending on the social setting, but he may have left it on for maaayyyybbeeeee pretentious reasons. He’s not pretentious, but he’s charming af and flatters my grandma at the Christmas Eve service and like. He’s a little posh. A kind, good person, and probs not posh in England, but he’s posh here. The point is I’m not an expert and don’t know. HOWEVER. It is possible that he can’t turn his accent off and I’m being a dick because I’m relating his ability of turning on/off his accent to my ability to turn on/off a southern accent. The difference is that I was not raised by parents who have the southern accent- I just took one on because I rode a redneck bus and was trying to assimilate. The moral of the story is this: accents, even over 100 years, would not have homogenized to the point that Ian and Bob and Eliza and Ricky and Alycia and everyone else have to lose their accents. It’s a skill but if we follow the English guy I grew up with not losing his accent despite being around other people (and not me singing ZBB’s Chicken Fried with my friends) logic, the different accents should still be there. But then that creates issues for the show runners of having to determine which countries has people in space. There were flags at the Unity Day ceremony, and I’m pretty sure I remember there being an Indian flag, so where are they? Put Dev Patel on the show. Jk he’s too good they could never get him. How did they even get Ian? I’m happy he’s here though. Isaiah can’t get larger roles because no one likes him. I may be projecting, but I also feel like Shonda Rhimes burned that boy.

Bellamy (and a reluctant Echo) to save the day. I hope by the end of the season 1) Echo is still alive, and 2) they’ve forged some sort of trust. They’ve had a cool bond since Bellamy saves Echo from the cages™ in Mt. Weather. Then Echo “saves” Bellamy from the Azgeda assassin who blows up Mt. Weather by tricking him into going to polis. She’s like I saved you, dude. And he’s like no, you lied to me and made it possible for a bunch of my friends to die. Then she’s like hey, be my friend, I’ve had sooo many chances to kill you and still haven’t, that’s friendship right? Bellamy’s like. No. I don’t trust you. Boom. Echo captures (? She brings them into the throne room, idk if she captures them herself) Bell and Stevens (rip, tattletale) and could have killed them both. She doesn’t kill Bellamyyyyyyy… Then this scene with Riley. There’s obviously trust issues on both sides- She doesn’t remove Bell’s chains. “so much for building trust” Bell. She’s worried her king is going to be shot. This is not the moment to scold her But I think she still wants to be friends. It must be rough to be such a badass spy and not to have just one friend. Bell seems to be the Chosen One™ and I hope they can work out their differences. Post Riley they share a secret, so they’re working on itttttttttt.

[I had to reload the page and I’ve now watched 8 commercials. The girl at the booth next to me is talking about her authentic (highly not-authentic) Irish pub experience and all the musicians playing their “banjos and fiddles.” Shut the fuck up. The page timed out again. Enough. I have to watch another 6 commercialssss. I’m tired of this proactive commercial, but at least the CW knows their target audience #annoyed]

SHA-BoO0M GOES THE ARK. Well that bad deal Clarke just made is over. She may have promised Azgeda protection from radiation, but what about Trikru? You’re going to help Roan and not Indra? Not a fan of that deal. Glad it went up in smoke. Da dunn tsssshhhhhh. Puns are fun. (reference 3, same as 2). I now know why the episode is Tinder Box. It all makes sense.

Bellamy and Octavia reunited. Another shot of the shoulder tat. Clarke and the Blakes holding hands (well Bell’s holding O and Clarke’s holding her hand. Poor Kane has no one to hold. Where’s awk bff David Miller? Hold him. The Blakes could at least invite him over.

Back at Doctor Tech Squad- Raven has a stroke! Possibly fatal, who can say? Raven’s just excited to go to space, and I’m happy for her. Abby also at risk, but doesn’t want to be tested until she’s showing more symptoms than those she already has from being sleep deprived. This is pretty normal for people whose parents get diagnosed with genetic diseases. Some people want to know, but not knowing can give you hope for things that can’t be cured. Abby wants to focus on helping adorable Raven save the whole world. But. Hey, how ya doing, well I’m doing just fine, I lied, I’m dying inside my brain and starting to have hallucinations of my daughter dying from radiation. (reference 4. I couldn’t find the one I wanted but imagine a vine of that over this) So now we’re worried about Raven and Abby. Will Abby tell Jackson? My thoughts- No. she’ll try to hide it as long as she can, working on a cure for Raven, then help herself. Yet I don’t see either of them dying? Raven is too important plot-wise and the writers and viewers lovelovelove the character. My argument for Abby living is more of a personal one and then behind the scenes of Paige Turco being a parent who’s very forward with her scheduling (why she doesn’t typically do up fronts etc so she can have separate work and son time) and probs has her contract locked down.

Not my fave episode, lots of callbacks to earlier seasons, but generally not super satisfying plot. Mainly because 4.04 set up these storylines- Octavia on her way back, Doctor Tech Squad reaching the lab, Bellamy and Kane as prisoners. The Polis/ Arkadia plotlines fell short somehow of their build. There were conflicts, but it lacked drama? If that makes sense.. I enjoyed the lab plot because all Raven x Abby interactions have great energy, not to mention they found a rocket. That story still feels like it’s still advancing and keeping the drama up. Props to Miller Sr. for getting more speaking lines in one episode than he did in the entirety of S3.

OMG- A THOUGHT-

what if. they send. Thelonious frickin Jaha. into space instead of Raven?

Stay with me here: Raven could have a seizure which is a risk. Jaha was an engineer and is capable- they’ve been slowly using that in the story and I was wondering when it would actually become plot relevant. BTS: Isaiah Washington finished filming his stuff before everyone else. I doubt he’s dead, but if all his stuff is him by himself/ him video chatting in from the ship, this explains how he could have wrapped up so quickly without dying. Additionally, he needs a big redemption for people to like him again after the CoL. Holy cow I think I’m on to something here! He and Kane S1 were rivals both trying to become martyrs/ find salvation. Thelonious wins, Marcus goes to Earth. But then Jaha makes it to Earth too because he knows how to run a pod. I am heartbroken for Raven, it’s really going to suck getting benched if I’m right. More so when I know Abby and Jackson are probably going to be the ones to tell her and they’ll get so much hate. But Raven and Abby can coach Jaha through some of the medical/ technical stuff (a la Apollo 13-reference 5- and Lieutenant Dan. I don’t remember the dude’s name in that movie- the actor is Gary something p. sure, but he’s in Forrest Gump with T.Hanks too so I don’t feel that bad. He also got benched for a medical issue (back to Apollo 13) that he didn’t get so this tangent was not a waste. He was needed to problem solve and figure out how to save the men on Apollo 13. Raven could parallel this.) and still be a team, which I like. I just want Raven to be happy, she deserves that. I don’t want Jaha to have a lot of glory for doing this either. If it was Raven hell yes. But for him it’s the least he can do. That’s wrong of me, but their histories are incredibly different.

#i didn't proofread this #that seemed like a lot of work #and I just exploded so #4.05 #the 100 #meta #Tinder Box #just my thoughts #S3

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ronyxfic · 7 years

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Educating the Victim - Act V, Chapter II

Pairing: Lapis/Jasper, hints of Lapis/Peridot, Yellow Diamond/Pearl (but not really)

Rating: Teens and up

Warnings/Tags: threats, manipulation, unhealthy relationship.

Read it on AO3!

Educating the Victim Masterpost

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CHAPTER 2: Tense

Claire Diment, Marigold had been told, was distantly related to her.

It must have been very distantly, because Claire was about as white as they got, whereas Marigold’s entire family was… not.

Nevertheless, when Marigold met Claire at a family gathering, it left a lasting impression on her. Marigold was fourteen; Claire was in her late twenties, and Marigold was inexplicably drawn to her.

She had French roots, and would say her last name with a drawn out nasal vowel. She was far too regal-looking to just be called ‘pretty’; in truth, she was stunning, with silvery-blonde hair, fine features and eyes that looked like steel. She was confident, successful, and had an air of notoriety about her. Marigold’s parents had told her that Claire was far too successful for an unwed woman, and would need to get married to a decent man to straighten her out soon.

When Marigold talked to Claire, Claire told her she had no intention of getting married.

Marigold was drawn to it. Was drawn to the unapologetic independence. Was drawn to how for some reason, most of the family seemed to avoid Claire. Was drawn to how Claire treated her, the shy teenage girl, like an equal from the start.

They remained pen pals for very long after that.

Pearl had a free period last. Amy didn't. It was the first time that day she'd been left alone, and she was looking forward to spending the last period catching up on her physics. She needed to fetch the textbook from her locker, however, and found her way into the now empty corridor. Everyone else was at their lessons, after all.

After her talk with Aurora, Principal Diamond was wandering the corridors, a little lost, a little unsure what to do. Her conversation with Aurora kept replaying in her head. What had she done to deserve this? Aurora had always been so loyal.

She needed to find a way to punish her severely.

And she took it as a sign, a gift from God, that just in that moment she spied Aurora's sister, Pearl, at the end of the corridor.

Pearl.

Who had been in hospital over Christmas. Who had mutilated Aurora's beautiful face. Who had taken so much of Aurora's attention.

Marigold Diamond was a smart woman. Pearl had been in hospital for an eating disorder. Indeed, she looked like she'd put on quite a bit of weight. Aurora had been the one to put her in hospital. Pearl and Aurora were likely not very happy with each other right now.

Diamond could use that to her advantage.

She turned up her nose and gazed down at Pearl.

"My, my," she said. "Look who it is! Your time in hospital doesn't seem to have done you any favours." She eyed Pearl up and down none-too-subtly, gaze lingering at her slightly chubbier cheeks, her slightly larger torso. Pearl was still thin, but the difference to before Christmas was noticeable.

Pearl blinked, turning backwards in her usual motion. But her leg hadn't recovered enough to support her, and she stumbled back. "Principal?" The comment stung. She suddenly felt every creeping fear about her body image return.

Diamond watched with satisfaction as Pearl stumbled and looked up at her. Was that fear she saw? Self-consciousness? Good.

"Do you have a moment?" she asked, her tone making very clear that saying no was not an option. "I wish to discuss your academic progress with you."

Pearl finally steadied herself, her insides giddy. She was an exemplary student, her academic record unharmed. No detentions. The only time she'd ever seen the Principal in this attention and proximity was after being congratulated for good performance at dance shows. "I-I had plans to study right now, but I could..."

Diamond narrowed her eyes.

Did Pearl dare to defy her?

"Those can wait," she said sharply. "This is a matter of utmost importance. Come to my office with me."

Pearl swallowed and came by her, at this angle near perfectly resting her hands in the very same way Aurora would when she stood at the Principal's attention.

Diamond did not fail to notice that. It fanned the burning anger in her belly.

She turned and walked towards her office, taking large steps and heeding no mind to Pearl and her injured leg. She would keep up. It was her duty.

Diamond stepped into the front room. Aurora was still there. Diamond paid her no heed, but still watched carefully.

Aurora looked up as Diamond entered the room. Looked down. Then looked up again when another person entered after her.

She turned pale.

"Pearl!" she said. "What are you doing here?"

Pearl swallowed and opened her mouth. And then closed it. Giving the Principal a look and then Aurora. Her words came out more bitter than ever intended. "The Principal wants to talk to me."

"I have to discuss your sister's academic performance with her, Aurora," the Principal added. "It is, strictly speaking, none of your business." If Aurora wanted to keep her out, then Diamond could repay her in kind.

Aurora's heart went ice cold. This did not bode well. She wanted to do something, anything, to protect Pearl - but Pearl wouldn't let her. Not after everything that had happened. And... and she couldn't even warn her.

"Okay then." She wanted to scream.

Pearl was somewhat smug for a moment until she read genuine fear on Aurora's face. She'd expected her sister to be upset or angry but... she caught her own comment before she could stop it. "At least someone can tell personal boundaries."

Boundaries, huh? Diamond did her best to hide her smirk. Her suspicions were confirmed. She read Aurora's face easily. Pearl was similar enough to Aurora to be easy as well. This would be fun.

She put her hand on Pearl's shoulder. "Come on then, Pearl," she said, motioning to her office door.

Aurora watched them, terror in her eyes and terror in her heart. Pearl's offhand comment hit her harder than a punch in the face. "Pearl..." She stopped herself. There was absolutely nothing she could say to Pearl that would make this any better.

Pearl audibly gasped and flushed at the touch. It was unexpected and warm. Marigold's hands were big and pretty and manicured and she smelt of chanel. She looked around the office, the vast amounts of oak and several rosaries pasted around. She stood, wondering if she was going to have to sit for this.

"Sit." As if Marigold had read her thoughts. She squeezed Pearl's shoulder one last time before closing the office door firmly behind her. There was no way she would let Aurora hear what was about to happen.

She then went around her desk and sat opposite Pearl.

"Trouble with your sister?" she asked. It was more of a rhetorical question. But Pearl's answer would be interesting nonetheless.

The blush didn't fade as she carefully sat down. Still feeling Marigold's hold even after she had let Pearl go. "You have no idea." Maybe she could disclose to the Principal. "She gave me hell over the past year."

"Is that so?" Marigold folded her hands. "She always speaks very fondly of you. But if you wish, I can tell her to leave you alone. She won't like it, but I have to prioritise the needs of my students." She examined Pearl's face. She'd seen that look before. It was so very similar to the way Aurora had looked at her constantly five years ago.

It must run in the family. Disgusting. But she could probably use it to her advantage.

Pearl's face lit. "You could do that?" That could attend to so many of her problems with Aurora. "Oh, Principal, that would be wonderful. I appreciate having someone on my side."

Marigold smiled, although not for the reasons that Pearl probably thought.

Oh, this would make things so much easier for her.

She briefly thought about the fact that Pearl was nineteen - the same age Aurora had been when she'd started working for her. Marigold could see the same wide-eyed naiveté and enthusiasm in Pearl that had once enticed her about Aurora.

Dangerous. But Marigold knew better now. She could exploit Pearl's weakness without falling herself.

"Of course I can. She's my subordinate and you are my student. I am entrusted with your safety and she has to do as I say."

And there it was. One of the biggest things Pearl had always fallen for.

Power.

She allowed a delighted, near flirty giggle. "Oh, Principal. I am in awe, who would've known talking to you could have fixed a mountain of my home life issues?" Pearl played with one of the longer strands of hair that framed her face. "But yes, the academics. How may I help you, Principal?"

"Well, Pearl." Diamond pulled up a log of Pearl's academic performances on her screen. "You're certainly one of the more high-performing students in this school. Your grades are excellent. Though... your attendance in some classes could be better." She narrowed her eyes. "But really, I just wanted to make sure that you still feel capable of handling everything after missing several weeks of school due to your... unplanned visit to hospital."

Pearl lit up at the praise, and actually managed to stow away the anxieties about her absences. She knew she was a serial skiver and had accepted it several weeks into term. However, the mention of her time inside visibly ruffled a few feathers. "I think I'll be fine, I received hours of specialist support and they tried their best to prep me for going back in." And Rose. The thought of seeing Rose again on a daily basis made her heart beat. She actually wanted to be there. "But I appreciate the effort nonetheless!"

"Hm. If you say so. But surely you won't mind if I check in with you now and then?" Marigold watched Pearl closely. She was... even more eager to please than Aurora. Something which until recently, Marigold had barely believed possible.

"Just so I can make sure you really are receiving the support you need," she added pleasantly.

"Oh, absolutely." Pearl sat forward with piqued interest, glancing up at Marigold's eyes for the first time. Had they always been that colour, so glaringly yellow that she nearly struggled with tearing away? She looked to her neat diary, pulling it out. "Would there be any dates in mind you'd prefer, Principal Diamond?"

"Oh!" Pearl was eager, that much was clear. Diamond smiled. "Would weekly meetings be adequate? When are you free?"

"Weekly? But, you're the Principal! You'd really grace me with your presence on that kind of basis?" Pearl brought her hand to her face in little exagerration. But her tone suggested she wasn't being sarcastic. "I guess this time is good." It coincided with none of her time with Rose. "I just have a study period anyway, and I'm more than happy to catch up with any work I don't do at some other point."

"Then it's settled. You'll come here at this time every week, and I'll get Aurora off your back. A shame, really," she said softly, "she really thinks she loves you, you know? But it can't be helped."

Pearl stopped for a minute. Of course, Aurora must have told her. Ugh. "It's embarrassing." She frowned. "But... I guess I did mess things up before Christmas." Her face, for one.

Diamond held Pearl's gaze.

Oh, yes. Mess up things she did. Very much so. Diamond was not going to forget the fact that it was most likely due to Pearl that Aurora wasn't... hers anymore.

"That's no excuse for treating you like this," she said nevertheless, her voice soothing and calm.

It was the perfect setup. She could punish them both in one move.

Pearl could only smile at the validation. "That's true. She started asking me to do things I didn't want to. She weighed me without my consent. Even when I told her I didn't. And then she started dragging me and choked me in the car and... you know, I was planning on trying to forgive her. But I don't think I can. Not when she got so violent." Pearl decided to shut up the quiet voice inside of her head telling her she'd been equally as violent.

"Truly unforgiveable." It wasn't. Even Marigold knew that drastic measures were necessary when dealing with mentally ill people sometimes. And Aurora had talked to her about Pearl more than once. From the way Aurora had told it, she was the only one who ever looked after Pearl and made sure she was doing okay.

"What about your parents?" A sensitive topic. She knew, because Aurora had told her. Aurora had told her many things.

"Just the usual. It's like I was never gone." Pearl gave a small shrug. "To be honest, I'm okay with that. I don't want me coming back to be a big deal."

"Hmm." That had not worked as well as she'd hoped. Her parents' neglect was apparently not as sensitive a topic as Aurora told it. Maybe it was more sensitive for Aurora than it was for Pearl.

"You are dismissed," she said. "Unless there is anything else you wish to disclose?" Like her relationship with a certain teacher. Maybe Diamond could manipulate Pearl into giving her damning evidence against Quartz.

Pearl attempted a smile. So much she could tell. "I think I'll be alright. Nothing much of importance really happened."

"If you say so." Diamond gave her a smile, mysterious enough to be enticing, open enough to be reassuring. "My door is always open for you, Pearl."

Pearl got up to leave, nodding. "Thank you, Principal. I assure you I appreciate your efforts."

That's more than your sister, lately, Diamond thought.

"Have a good afternoon. No need to close the door." That way, she could hear any interaction between Pearl and Aurora.

She watched Pearl as she left, deep in thought already.

This could prove very, very interesting indeed.

Pearl left, somewhat pleased. She opened the door to find Aurora and her smile instantly dropped. Not this again.

Aurora looked up when the Principal's door opened and Pearl stepped out.

She was... smiling? Her smile faded when she saw Aurora. Aurora instantly felt guilty.

"Pearl," she said.

"It wasn't enough you had to bother me at hospital, you have to exist here, too?" Pearl quirked a brow, not even bothering to look at her sister.

Aurora was visibly upset. She clenched her fists.

"When will you understand that I'm just bothering you because I actually care about you!" she hissed. She didn't want Marigold to hear. She was well aware that Marigold had left the door to her office open so she could overhear, and didn't want to give her any more ammunition.

Except she'd given her plenty of ammunition in the past five years. Internally, she was screaming.

"Oh yeah?" Pearl sniffed. "You care. You cared about me all the way to hospital. You cared about me so much when you throttled me until I passed out. Listen, Aurora. I have someone on my side now, so you'd better step off, alright?"

Aurora turned deadly pale.

Marigold was listening. And somehow, she'd convinced Pearl that she was on her side.

Thoughts raced through her head at an alarming speed. She could follow Marigold's train of thought all too well. Hell, she'd slept with that woman for five years. Pearl was younger, prettier, and more obedient than Aurora, and she was the perfect means of getting back at her for leaving Marigold.

And there was nothing Aurora could do to stop this.

"Be careful, please." That was all she could muster. She kept her voice down, hoping Marigold hadn't heard.

"Of what?" Pearl snapped. "Of telling her too much and you losing your job? Alright. Just another way of getting you out of my hair."

Aurora avoided Pearl's eyes.

Pearl would never listen to her. If she could talk to Amy... but then Pearl would accuse her of manipulating her friend again.

There was no way she could win.

Pearl took Aurora's silence as victory and began to walk out of the office area without a goodbye. Aurora, in her mind, deserved it. All of it.

Marigold waited a good minute after Pearl had left, then she got up and made her way to Aurora's desk, looming over her.

"So I just had a very interesting conversation with your sister," she said calmly. Her eyes flashing dangerously. Her vicious heart delighting in what she was about to do.

Aurora forced herself to keep it together. "I noticed. I hope it was over professional and appropriate matters."

"Oh, absolutely. She is my student, after all. I would never conduct myself inappropriately with a student, unlike some." Quartz still needed her due, she remembered. "Pearl told me a few things, though. I have reason to believe you've been harassing her, and as my subordinate, I'm ordering you to leave her alone. Is that understood, Aurora?"

Aurora was gobsmacked. Harassment? What? Her mouth opened a little. Pearl... couldn't have... she frowned. Well. She'd have reason to, but... "Y-yes, Principal Diamond."

"Excellent." She cast an arrogant smile. "I've arranged weekly meetings with her to check on her progress, so don't you go violating that agreement, hm? I'll know if you do."

Aurora forced a fearful nod. She couldn't be scared. She couldn't. "That's unusual for you. You don't usually care for student welfare."

"I also don't usually have students in hospital for weeks for mental health issues. Don't you think I should be concerned? And Pearl is such a good girl. It would be a shame to have her fail her classes, don't you think?" She knew Aurora would get the message.

Aurora read between the lines. She was using Pearl, obviously. But she had to give Marigold credit. This plot was under a well wrapped disguise. "I see."

Message received. Marigold smiled smugly. "Good. Now, if you don't mind, I'll go back to work." She turned on her heel and all but slammed the door shut behind her.

Peridot Spearmint wasn't having the best of days. In fact, the entire year so far (approximately two weeks of it) had been sub par. She'd given up trying to attain respect from her pupils, which was hard enough when very few of them actually cared enough about physics to pay attention.

She settled down in the staff room. At least lunch would help her cope. She always prepared it meticulously in the morning, crustless sandwiches and a stimming pot of lime green jelly.

She blinked as she pulled into her pocket and instead of immediately finding a key, found a slip of paper. Oh yes, the note she'd apprehended from Pearl. She sighed. Pearl was a good student and usually didn't misbehave at all. Such a shame to have to call her out.

She dragged her lunch to a deserted table and looked about, quickly checking her tablet only to realise she hadn't actually read the note. The thought of leaving her student her privacy crossed her mind. It hadn't been intended for her at all.

Lapis Lazuli came in a little bit later.

Class was draining today. Lunch would hopefully lift her spirits a little.

And indeed, the moment she came in she saw little Peridot sitting by herself, eating her lunch.

Lapis got hers out and sauntered over, a small smirk on her lips. She didn't ask before joining Peridot at her table.

She narrowed her eyes as she spotted a folded piece of paper. It wasn't like Peridot to have paper with her.

"What's that?" she asked bluntly.

Peridot nearly jumped out of her seat, too wrapped up in thought to realise Lapis' presence. She frowned. "Good afternoon to you, too, Lazuli." She attempted to hide the paper. "Just usual clutter." She hoped Lapis wouldn't call her out on the fact that absolutely everything she had (including homework) was electrically managed.

Lapis leaned back, watching Peridot closely. "Nah," she said, "I meant the piece of paper you're currently trying to hide. What is it?"

Peridot swallowed. She wasn't a good liar. Anything outside of the realms of sense and fact happened to often be beyond her. She tapped on the table, nervously. "Just something I confiscated from one of my sixth formers. I haven't even looked at it."

If Peridot was trying to get Lapis off her back, that was entirely the wrong thing to say. Her eyes lit up. "Oh, that's exciting! And you haven't even looked at it? Aren't you at least curious? Here, let me have a look." She held out her hand.

Peridot blushed. She wanted Lapis to stop prying, but she also didn't exactly want her to leave. It was pleasant to have a little company, even if it was pushy and annoying. "Fine." She handed it over. "It's probably something stupid, anyway."

"Even if it is, stupid things are funny." Lapis took the piece of paper and unfolded it.

Read the words. Her eyes widened.

"Oh, fuck."

Peridot quirked a brow, "What is it?" Nothing ever seemed to phase Lapis, not even when her shenanigans caused Peridot to break into tantrums.

Lapis held out her hand, showing the paper to Peridot. "It's not exactly... stupid," she said.

Peridot's eyes scanned the page and she adjusted her glasses as her jaw dropped. "W-whoah! She wouldn't... that's got to be a joke or something... Pearl isn't..." She swallowed. "It can't be serious. Let's just throw this away and pretend we didn't see it."

For a moment, Lapis considered lying. She could; Peridot wouldn't even realise. Peridot, bless her, was likely entirely unaware of the tensions between Pearl and Quartz. How close they had gotten. And the fact that this note was most likely very much serious.

But Peridot also deserved better than being lied to. "I'm pretty sure it's serious. But we don't need to do anything with this information. It's not proving anything."

Peridot's look of absolute puzzlement was almost akin to a child being told that Santa wasn't real. "But... serious? How could..." She then paused, a little flustered. "Shouldn't we take it up with someone?"

"Absolutely not." It was out of the question. "Like I said, it doesn't prove anything. And can you imagine how Diamond would react if she got a hold of this? No, we need to keep this under wraps. I'm not the greatest fan of Quartz but she doesn't deserve the kind of hell Diamond would unleash if she found out."

"She shouldn't be hypothetically kissing students, should she?" Peridot gave a huff. A little pang of what seemed to be almost envy in her voice.

"As long as they're not having sex it's not exactly illegal." Lapis shrugged. "If anyone asks, it's just a student bragging about something she made up. Which could still very well be the case."

"Why would someone lie about being kissed? I mean, I've never been and I wouldn't just... make things up."

"It's just how teenagers are," Lapis said. She fixated Peridot with dark eyes. She'd never been kissed? That was surprising. Well... maybe not too surprising. Definitely adorable, though. Lapis thought to herself that she would rather like to fix that.

Peridot crossed her arms. "It wasn't the way I was. I don't get the point of lying. Or... how to really do it for that matter."

Lapis almost smiled.

"Well, you're special, Peri," she said. Was that fondness in her voice?

Peridot almost flinched at that. "I need to go. I, uh, have things to plan."

"If you say so. Was nice hanging out with you, though, Peri." Lapis was still holding the note, now concealed in the palm of her hand. Interesting. Very interesting indeed. Maybe she should take this to Quartz.

Peridot completely disregarded the paper as she rushed her lunch away and stepped out into the staff bathroom. Her brain overwhelmed, flustered and loud. Everything felt like it was made of sound. Hot and claustrophobic. She turned on one of the taps and let her hands run under it. Perhaps focusing on the water would help her sensory overload. At least she was alone here. She enjoyed her seclusion, too.

Jasper was late to lunch - the sixth graders had just left without tidying the gym, so she'd been busy. She made her way to the staff bathroom to wash her hands. It was empty except for Peridot. "Hi, Peridot," Jasper said absent-mindedly.

Peridot nearly jumped as she came in. She attempted to hide the fact that she was a mess. "H-Hey there." She hoped Jasper didn't catch that tremor. They'd barely spoken at all outside of their staff meetings.

Jasper soaped up her hands, rubbing them vigorously. Only twenty minutes to the next class. "You seen Lapis around?" she asked Peridot. Because Lapis had Jasper's lunch, and if Jasper wasn't around, Lapis would bother Peridot. She had long stopped trying to hide the fact that she had a crush on her, much to Jasper's mild annoyance, jealousy and occasionally amusement.

"Yes." She swallowed. Peridot knew of Jasper and Lapis' acquaintanceship. It was the subject of her envy sometimes. She watched them from afar a lot. Gazing at their interactions from the corner of her eye. She longed for such companionship. "She's just in the staffroom. I just left." She fixed her glasses and brought her hands below the tap once more. Hoping Jasper wouldn't question it, as she clearly wasn't washing her hands.

Ah. So Lapis was around. Good.

Jasper looked up at Peridot to thank her and noticed immediately something was off.

"You alright?" she asked. "Did she bother you? I know she does that sometimes."

"Oh?" Peridot hadn't expected Jasper to jump to the right answer at once. "I just get overwhelmed easily." Well, it was the partial truth. She just hadn't reacted well to Lapis referring to her as... "It's nothing I can't cope with."

"If you're sure. But I can tell her off, if you want. Tell her to leave you alone?" In truth, Jasper kind of wanted a reason to do just that. She didn't like the way Lapis was treating Peridot. For a number of reasons.

Peridot swallowed. "That would... actually be appreciated. A lot. Thank you." She glanced up to the coach, who stood a good couple of feet taller than her. Jasper had the power to control Lapis? It would... it had the possibility to make things easier.

Jasper smirked. It would probably look like a smile to Peridot. "Alright. I can do that. You let me know if she gives you any more trouble, alright?" She dried her hands with the paper towels and turned to leave.

She nodded, feeling herself calm a little at the reassurance. "Wow, thanks!" A tiny forced smile. "I really appreciate it."

Jasper gave her one last look over her shoulder. Nodded gravely, then left to find Lapis and her lunch.

Who she found easily. Like Peridot had said, she was in the staff room. Jasper joined her at the table, taking the very seat Peridot had occupied a few minutes ago.

"So you've been bothering poor Spearmint again, have you?" she said.

"Only the usual witty banter." Lapis rolled her eyes. "And how's everyone's favourite Coach this afternoon?"

"Doesn't seem like it's just witty banter to her," Jasper said. "She said I should tell you to leave her alone. Do you have my lunch?"

Lapis frowned, but pulled out a container with pesto pasta salad and pushed it to Jasper alongside a bottle of isotonic sports drink. "Bullshit. I didn't even say anything mean today."

Jasper grabbed the food and took a large gulp of her drink before digging into her lunch.

"Would it kill you to leave her alone?" she asked in between bites. "She doesn't like it. I don't like it. You're just being petty and cruel."

"I'm just teasing her because I think she's cute and shy and if I don't, then no one ever talks to her." Lapis rolled her eyes. "Have a protein bar and calm down, it's nothing serious."

Jasper imitated Lapis's eye-rolling motion. "Yeah, I wouldn't expect you to understand that some people's brains work differently to yours." She checked the clock: she had fifteen minutes. The pasta salad was almost gone.

"Oh, please," Lapis huffed. "Not everyone is a PTSD-ridden, uptight dumbass like you. Some people can actually take a joke."

"Oh yeah, and it's all definitely a joke to her," Jasper said, her voice low. Dangerous. "That's why I found her hiding in the toilets and that's why she looked really relieved when I told her I'd tell you off for her. Cus it's all just a joke."

Lapis drew back. Alarmed by Jasper's tone and words. "Hey, now. The only thing I said was that she was special. Maybe she just enjoys spending time in bathrooms? It's just like you, except the opposite. You know. Hygienic."

"Not funny." Jasper sighed. "Just leave her alone, alright?"

"Alright." Lapis softly brought her hand to Jasper's thigh underneath the table. "I'm all yours, anyway. Happy?"

"Yeah." Jasper gave her a small smile. "Let's just keep it that way, okay?"

"Jeez, whatever. Sure." Lapis rolled her eyes, once more. Rubbing at the thigh a little. She felt her scratches still present. "Anything you want for dinner? Except me. That's always on the menu."

Jasper's thighs were sore, but she didn't let Lapis see that when she rubbed her scratches. Lapis was trying to bait her. Jasper wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"Don't care. Just whatever. I don't even know why you ask." The answer was always the same.

"Because I'll make sushi. And you don't like sushi. And then I'll eat all of it and get fat."

Jasper rolled her eyes. "Anything but sushi, then. That's an easy enough thing to do, right?"

"But all we have at home that needs eating is steak and you always smell bad when you eat steak."

"Not my problem." Jasper finished off the pasta and drank some more of her energy drink. "You always find something wrong with any food we have, so just toughen up and deal with it. I don't care."

"Ughh. You never care, you brute." Lapis reached for the container. "Sometimes I really wish I actually had a partner who considered my feelings."

Jasper raised an eyebrow. "You have feelings for me to consider? News to me." She shrugged. "And anyway, birds of a feather and all that."

Lapis gave an annoyed grunt. "You bitch! You only ever think about yourself. You know what? Fuck it. I'm not going home with you tonight."

"You do you," Jasper said. "I'm just gonna have a nice evening with Malachite, yeah? I'll keep the bed warm for you."

"Fuck you. I have the house keys." Lapis sniffed and turned around, heading to the kitchen area of the staffroom.

Jasper watched her go, then huffed under her breath and finished off her drink. It was nearly time to head off to her class.

Lapis would come around. She always did. And if that meant Jasper had to spend a night or two in the school gym, then so be it. It wasn't like she hadn't done it before.

She got up and made her way back to the gym.

> Act V, Chapter III

#steven universe #su fanfic #jaspis #lapidot #su yellow diamond #...theres quite a lot happening in this chapter #educating the victim #etv act 5 #roleplay logs #illustrated

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