have it your way, have it your way

[havethings]

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i voted for you

[moralitypolice]

( bonnie bennett goes into everything with both eyes open. it started in high school when her expectations were constantly lowered and then dashed. she lost family, she lost friends, and for a good long time she lost herself. traveling was her way of regaining that person, of reclaiming what was hers: her freedom and her magic.

years later, and it's just another catastrophe on the horizon. but, if traveling did anything, it strengthened bonnie to her witch roots, to her witch allies, and to distant family. she never did find lucy again, but someone who was manipulated by katherine deserved to be lost.

her and danny are still keeping a low profile. she invites him to lunch, to meet girls his own age, to interact with other people besides of-age and over slayers, but when she admits two friends are joining... friends and bonnie and danny don't have stellar track records. it's no wonder danny wants to skip it.

the girls are family. and bela meeting with the girls could help. bela is her ally as much as she's dean's long ago grudge. but she can't engage and disengage because of what two brothers experienced over a decade ago.

lizzie texts bonnie as she's on her way, she overslept (so unlike lizzie), and to start lunch without her. bonnie is not the first to arrive, that's Josie and hope and after quick hugs, she gives josie the knowing aunt look. )

What caught your sister's eye?

[polydeukes]

[Josie did make an effort to try and keep Lizzie from skipping out on lunch entirely. Yes, true, it's just Aunt Bonnie, but due to her traveling, they don't get to see Aunt Bonnie all that often. But, when Lizzie's set her mind to something, she doesn't want to be persuaded, so in the end, Josie let's it go and gives her her space.]

I think she just needed a break. Hanging out with all of us has been a lot and while the guys are great, I think she just wanted to do some exploring on her own. Enjoy being somewhere where no one knows her name, you know?

[moralitypolice]

( Lizzie would amend 'all that often' to 'never,' but Lizzie has never been the sweeter twin. (They both have their sour sides.) But, Bonnie doesn't take it personally. For her, this has become a reunion of niece and uncle, not that Josie is not her niece. But, everything with Bela and Dean's grudge still lingers. Bonnie still made her choice.

"Besides Lizzie, Josie, and me, it's a little bro-y." )

And here I thought you had a diverse student population.

( "And then junior year, we lost most of our students. Plus, we weren't going to come here with our entire senior class," Hope adds, holding the seat out for her girlfriend. )

[polydeukes]

To be fair, the boys are pretty diverse.

[None of them are white, save for Jack, and Josie isn't even sure if Jack counts given the Nephilim of it all. But she goes over to take that seat and settles in across from her aunt.]

They're good guys, don't get us wrong. They're just ... guys.

[In the best and worst possible terms.]

[moralitypolice]

( The girls were, on and off, but now isn't the type to be the white girl telling Bonnie that, oh yes, they had diverse women, too! )

I remember guys. Did you ever meet my friend, Tyler? Or, here about our friend, Matt? Guys. Just. Guys. Aunt Elena's brother Jeremy? Totally a guy.

everything's fine, it's great, it's miller time

[jockwitch]

( let it be said, lizzie saltzman loves the drinking age. she has never been the overindulgent witch at their school, but she likes alcohol. yeah, yeah, it's in her blood. remind her of that and she'll tell you how messed up she really is. crazy gemini mood swings deserve a beer now and then.

she escapes breakfast. she loves her aunt bonnie, and really, she couldn't wait, but prague to her feels like freedom. and she didn't need to meet more stuffy adults. elijah is cool and all, and he's hope's family, and bonnie with how many times she's actually been to school? is more the aunt who stored an impossible amount of her blood for every gemini occasion. she asks josie to give her this. she also knows that lunch is turning into a date and she just - doesn't need it today.

give her her Czech beer. she has a few ideas. the zoo. the old monastery and library, but josie would love that.

she starts in old town square, brandishing a beer because, hey, she can openly drink it here on the street. she wanders shops but doesn't buy anything before settling on a bench in the middle of the square. it's the astronomical clock that catches her eye. it's gorgeous in the, this can never be recreated way, it's somehow innovative, but also timeless. it inspires her, god, does it.

she doesn't know why she's drawn to it. she just is.

she sets her beer on the edge of the bench, not paying attention as she grabs up her phone to take a picture and the beer tips. it has no leverage. everything happens so fast, her phone slips through her hand and without thinking. well, shit. )

[undermyfeet]

[Danny has a limited window to investigate Prague, Bonnie-free, which means he has a limited window to find out where Isaac Lahey is and pitch his case without Bonnie's interference.

This isn't to say that he doesn't trust or like Bonnie or that he doesn't value her opinion, but as powerful as she is, she's not the one who's going through the process of inheriting the Knightsbridge coven - a responsibility that he was never prepared for. The dreams have started, carefully crafted divination that's been in his blood since before he was born, and he doesn't know what to do with the information.

All he knows is that he needs to be doing more. He needs to be avenging his family. And Isaac might be his best means to do it.

But, turns out it's harder to find a werewolf in a giant city full of people than you might think.

He had lingered in front of the clock a bit to find his bearings, see if there's a faster (read: magical) way that he might be able to do this that would feel less aimless, when a girl steps up next to him, trying to take a picture of the clock. She's pretty - he may be angry and grieving, but he still has eyes. It's because he's looking that he notices when things start to go wrong.

He doesn't save the beer. Drinking has never really been his priority and a cheap beer is easy to replace. Instead, he reaches out for the phone, and the magic comes on instinct, slowing it's descent until his hand catches up. As his fingers close around it, he lifts and offers it to her with a smile, hoping she didn't notice the way her phone wasn't obeying the laws of gravity for a second.]

You dropped this.

[It's a bit cheeky, but who isn't when you're talking to a pretty girl.]

[jockwitch]

( Lizzie is too busy trying to save her drink to save her phone, or to notice Danny's subtle magic. That's what happens when you're a witch at the Salvatore school cut off from most social media. Your phone just isn't the priority. She loses the glass completely, spazzes out and then notices a cute accent attached to an even cuter face. Broken glass what?

It is cheeky, and between his eyes, his voice, and that hair, he earns all the points. )

Thanks.

( She takes her phone back. )

I normally have perfect balance. Of my things. That clock is... great.

[undermyfeet]

I believe you.

[Because why wouldn't he? Also never tell a girl that they're anything less than perfect is the advice his father had always given him. His mother and sister advocated for the truth, but he had a feeling his father was right.

Telling them the truth is usually a recipe for anger and resentment and not getting a date.]

And the clock is really gorgeous. A lot of the architecture around here is.

[jockwitch]

( One thing she never improved upon, her way with men. But, Raf and Sebastian did not give her the best track record, or the best experience. And, sorry, but if they weren't fighting a monster every week, then maybe she would've done better in the dating department. Jed did not count. )

Yes. And, so historical. Since - history started - here. After Mesopotamia. ( She looks away, her eyes crawling into her head, she needs to save this. She turns back. ) I'm L - Elizabeth. I like your reflexes.

we read, we guess, we argue, but deep down we don't know how

[ergowwwd]

( jack's joined the boys at the Lennon wall. it's the one place dean said he had to go. the girls are off with family. mg, ethan, landon, kaleb and jed, are goofing off, taking pictures. as jed and kaleb debate about a nearby tourist girl (some things really never change, even across continents), jack steps off to the side to FaceTime his dad.

it's cas, but, in the past year and a half, it's really felt like that's what he is to him. and, it's better than getting dean's third degree. cas is naturally inquisitive, dean is paranoid. he does, quickly send a selfie to dean in front of the Lennon wall. maybe he'll call him after. but, first, to FaceTime! )

[toomuchheart]

[Castiel is not the best at FaceTime, but he's doing his best! The real trick seems to be making sure his face stays in the frame as he speaks when all he has is a tiny point of reference. But, a sure sign of him getting better is that Jack actually does get some of his chin before he manages to slide the phone into place to see his entire face.]

Hello, Jack.

[ergowwwd]

( Jack appreciates every effort Castiel makes at FaceTime! Even when he gets one eye, a chin, or half an ear. This really is Cas' best effort. )

Hello, Castiel! We're at the Lennon wall! I thought maybe you'd want to see it.

[toomuchheart]

I would. It's been a long time since I've been there.

[And he didn't really have the appreciation for it then that he does now.]

Have you told Dean?

[ergowwwd]

I sent a picture. I thought maybe I would give him his space. He told me I was on vacation and I should focus on the fun. And the girls.

( But, all three girls are... not what Jack goes to school for. And he is, clearly, not around all the women. He does pan behind him to show the entire wall as he pulls the phone front again. )

When were you here?

that someone's lookin' out for us, that someone loves us

[havethings]

( lunch is great, aunt bonnie is aunt bonnie, but hope is, honestly, looking forward to after. she tells josie to dress in something comfortable, but that can go from day to night, because she has plans. and this is why hope got her own room and josie stayed with lizzie. this was hope and josie have something if they need it, and lizzie has her sister. plus, the element of surprise.

hope meets her in the lobby. she wants that slow motion walk from the elevator. she wants the experience. you don't date landon kirby without becoming a romantic. it's impossible. once you get over the heartbreak from the inevitable and you become friends again, you see things from his side. and romance is one of those big things.

she also learns not to depend on her partner for everything. it helps that her partner's own codependent sibling relationship has evolved.

the strahov monastery and library is both historical and gorgeous. and before the early drink reservations she made along the river, she thinks it's the perfect place to take josie. it's late in the afternoon, so it's not busy. the libraries have this beautiful baroque qualities to them. as josie inspects an old book behind glass, hope leans over her shoulder, her voice lowered. )

Why is it you look so hot when you read. Intelligence, it just gets me.

[polydeukes]

[Josie is not going to complain about the romance factor, because being wooed by her girlfriend, not just doing the wooing is always a nice change. It's nice to be in a relationship where they both feel like partners, something her previous relationships had always seemed to be lacking.

Hope took her as she was, warts and all, and seemed to love those parts of her, regardless. She doesn't know how she got so lucky, but she is very excited to enjoy their escape into Prague together.

As they linger in the library, she can't help but smile as Hope whispers in her ear.]

Libraries just have really great lighting. Especially the old ones.

[havethings]

( Hope failed, tragically, in the romance department when she became so one-minded about Landon. When she realized her girlfriend could have her own life and make her own choices, it was like a different side of Hope was unlocked. The best lesson they ever learned as witches, was that the key to magic can either be good or bad. Yes, there is dark magic, but it is all in how magic is used. And why. They were no long afraid of Darth Josie from coming out, because that is just Josie's darker side. She hopes having a girlfriend with a deep dark side helped Josie. One-track dogged vengeance took up so much of her time. It was Josie who taught her to channel her desires in the best ways.

She didn't see it coming. But, one day, that grade school crush cropped back up. Josie's confidence. Her style. Her caring nature. She couldn't see herself without Josie, now, which only shows how much she still has to learn.

But, she's grown.

Hope takes a step back, still trying to uphold decorum in this landmark. )

Well, then you look really hot in really great lighting. ( She's not doing that. This is all Josie. ) I woke up today and I... couldn't believe we made it. All of us. Here. You and me. We graduated and we're in Prague. Together.

[polydeukes]

Honestly? Same.

[Having lived in Mystic Falls her whole life, she was pretty sure one of them wasn't going to make it out alive. But they did, in the end, even with Malivore and dark magic and everything in between.

They did it together. She tries not to forget that lesson.]

But I also should have known better, because you and I make an excellent team.

[havethings]

( They did it all together. Hope finally accepted help. She learned how to play well with others. She slips her arms around her waist and rests her ahead atop Josie's shoulder. )

We do. We balance each other out. I pull you out of your shell and you remind me that scowling at everyone will not get me what I want.

[notwitty]

[Sometime after brunch, Bonnie receives a text. It's a picture of her wayward ward, looking disgruntled that Isaac is ratting him out, with the following:]

I found something of yours. Or rather, he found me.

late, but I brought donuts

[moralitypolice]

( She sighs, having taken some of her own time to herself before meeting up with Isaac. It seems her plans have been moved up. )

Where did he find you?

[notwitty]

[Drops a pin because they're not going anywhere until Bonnie gets here.]

I'm in Prague, so he didn't go far. I'm honestly surprised he tracked me down.

[moralitypolice]

( alright then, guess she's on her way.

I'm also in Prague. It's the Summer solstice. How did he find you?

[notwitty]

He's not sharing, but I'm willing to bet teenage ingenuity and determination.

[They have a lot of it in Beacon Hills, from what he remembers.]

He's annoyed that I'm ratting him out.