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thenexusofsouls · 1 month

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New Muse: Jared Nomak Damaskinos

[Bio and other information below the cut! Trigger warnings ahead for images containing blood and body horror.]

Type of Character & Fandom/Source Material: Canon character from the movie Blade 2. I don't know what's taken me so long to do this, I've wanted to write him for over a decade now, haha.

(Disclaimer: All information here was taken from the Blade II movie, the Blade II Wiki, Villains Wiki, my own headcanons, and other outside research. Some information may conflict with what is in these sources, but my own headcanons have changed some things I felt didn’t make sense or that made more sense to develop in a different way.)

Full Name: Jared Nomak Damaskinos, but he prefers to go by his middle name of Nomak

FC: Luke Goss as Nomak

Gender Identity: Male (he/him)

Romantic Inclination/Sexuality: Hetero-romantic/heterosexual

Species: Natural-born, pureblooded, noble vampire or “Vampyr” of House Damaskinos. Infected later in life with the Reaper Strain virus which genetically altered him to become a Reaper, a species of vampire that is vastly genetically different from traditional ones.

Family: Eli Damaskinos (father); Nyssa Damaskinos (younger sister)

Age: Unknown, but I generally think of him as being 3-4 centuries old, in that range.

Ethnicity: Supposedly Damaskinos was of Greek descent, despite that his entire House speaks a mostly Eastern European-inspired language and that Nomak frequented countries like the Czech Republic and United States. *shrugs* Take from that what you will, heh.

Native language: Ancient Vampiric (a fictional language with Slavic roots and also some Russian and Czech influences)

Abilities/Strengths: High intelligence; superhuman strength; superhuman mobility; superhuman stamina; instantaneous healing; nigh-immortality; escape artist; master martial artist; tactical leadership and stealth skills; enhanced tracking; impersonation; manipulation; persuasion; immunity to garlic extract and silver nitrate; and he is only momentarily weakened by EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic) acid (a chelating agent which alters the clotting ability and overall chemistry of blood and prevents biofilm formation).

Detriments/Weaknesses: Vulnerable to sunlight, although it is not nearly-instantly fatal the way it is for regular vampires. He has maybe a couple minutes of tolerance to it instead of only a couple of seconds. Even if he is burned by sunlight, if he can get back into darkness quickly enough, he will fully heal in seconds. Fire is damaging to him in the same way, but he will also completely heal/regenerate from this if he can extinguish the fire quickly enough. Also, damage to his heart can be fatal if enough is inflicted at one time, but only if the thick bone casing around his heart can be bypassed or crushed.

Potentially Triggering Material in Threads: Blood, gore, violence, viruses, infection, toxins, body horror, genetic experimentation, and medical themes.

Negative Personality Traits: Arrogance, stubbornness, impulsiveness, defensiveness, aggressiveness. Some of this is his core personality while a lot of it is due to changes made to him by the Reaper Strain.

Positive Personality Traits: Loyalty, bravery, intelligence, resilience.

BACKGROUND

Nomak is one of Eli Damaskinos’ sons, making him a pureblooded vampire by birth, as opposed to a vampire that is actually a turned human being. House Damaskinos is something of a royal House among vampire lineages, and because of that, Nomak is referred to by his father as a prince. Damaskinos himself is the head of the worldwide vampire ruling authority known as the Shadow Cabinet. Despite his supposed importance, Nomak was essentially used as a guinea pig for his father’s genetic experiments. He agreed to do it voluntarily, but then after things went horribly awry, Damaskinos abandoned Nomak as something of a dirty secret instead of trying to help cure the viral infection he’d been afflicted with. This left Nomak with a deep-seated resentment toward his family, particularly his father, and a desire to hunt vampires for food.

The goals of Damaskinos’ experiments were to rid his bloodline of the hereditary weaknesses that afflict all vampires, most notably their vulnerability to sunlight. To accomplish this, he funded genetic research involving viral vectors (types of viruses that deliver genetic material to cells) that could be used to cause DNA mutation and fix some of these hereditary detriments. Instead… the Reaper Strain was created, and Nomak was mutated into a new species. What he became was an intense, ravenous, aggressive creature called a Reaper, which is genetically as different from vampires as vampires are from humans. The embarrassment of both the scientific failure and the unhinged creature Nomak had become caused Damaskinos to abandon this way of going about his research, as well as his son. From then on, the research was conducted using cloned embryos that could easily be destroyed if something went genetically awry, since controlling Nomak and containing the infection he bore proved to be impossible.

To kill Nomak, Damaskinos authorized the Bloodpack to hunt him. The Bloodpack were an elite fighting force of vampires headed by his daughter Nyssa who were originally trained to hunt Blade, a half-human, half-vampire vigilante who wanted to eradicate all vampires. Instead, they temporarily teamed up with Blade to eliminate the Reaper spawn Nomak left behind from his feedings and eventually kill him. He proved to be a formidable adversary, however, with both his combat training and the advantages conferred to him by the virus rendering him difficult to pin down or injure. Before Nomak was infected with the Reaper Strain, he had been highly trained as an elite vampire soldier as well, and would have assumed a position much like Nyssa’s at the head of the Bloodpack team in his own geographic region. Hence, he has extensive knowledge and abilities regarding combat, strategy, and stealth.

As a carrier of the Reaper Strain, Nomak retained his personality and intelligence that spawn lack. He was the only Reaper capable of choosing to feed, kill, and/or infect at will, while spawn are at the mercy of their basal instincts. He also was not as dependent on feeding around the clock as spawn were, having the ability to ignore his hunger and postpone feeding for a while if he chooses. That isn’t to say he doesn’t suffer detrimental effects, but he at least has the mental wherewithal to decide to feed rather than being at the mercy of his hunger. However, the hungrier he gets, the more aggressive, antsy, and impatient he gets as well.

His infection left him generally more violent, aggressive, and high-energy because it ramped up his metabolism and hunting instincts considerably. Nomak was not about to be seen as a mindless monster, however, and after giving his signet ring for House Damaskinos to one of Blade’s allies to prove his identity, it became known that he was Damaskinos’ son and that the elder vampire knew far more about the origin of the Reaper Strain than he was letting on. Even Nyssa had been in the dark about the experiments and that Nomak was her brother.

After attempts to make himself seem more sympathetic and to potentially win Blade over to his side were unsuccessful, Nomak made a last-ditch effort to get revenge on his family by breaking into the compound where Damaskinos and Nyssa lived. After killing his father and infecting his sister, Nomak finally took his own life after Blade managed to stab him in the heart through the opening in the bone casing around it. Nomak chose to drive Blade's sword in deeper rather than pull it out and regenerate. Blade then honored Nyssa’s final wish to die before the Reaper Strain took her over and carried her outside to "see the sun."

BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY OF THE REAPER STRAIN AND HOW REAPERS FEED

The tongue is what actually delivers the Reaper virus. The virus is injected through the barbs on either side of the bifurcated masticatory (jaw) muscles, which are overdeveloped in Reapers, allowing for a much stronger bite. The basic structure of their jaws remains the same, but there’s no mandible bone. The hearts of Reapers are encased in bone, with only the left side being vulnerable. Thus, stakes through the heart will only work if that sweet spot where there is no bone can be aimed for. If the brain dies, the body still tries to feed.

Spawn need fresh blood every couple of hours or they start feeding on themselves out of desperation. They could literally starve to death in less than a day. Nomak is different because he’s the carrier. Even so, his metabolism is still much higher than that of a regular vampire. He needs to decently feed at least once every day or his health begins to suffer. The more he feeds, however, the stronger he becomes.

The advantage to infecting while feeding is that they get a better meal for a few reasons. When feeding and infecting, reapers’ jaw bifurcates to reveal two large barbs on the ends of either half that secrete a venom that is a neurotoxin, paralyzing the victim while they feed. This results in the victim’s body and metabolism slipping into a calmer state which allows the reappear to extract more blood more quickly due to lower blood pressure of the victim and a reduction in the constriction of blood vessels. While feeding in this manner, “gills” on the reaper’s back open and delicate, vascular tissue inflates and becomes exposed. This exposure of the vascular tissue to open air increases the oxygen absorption rate into the reaper’s bloodstream, increasing his metabolism further and allowing his body to more efficiently process the blood he is currently ingesting.

This method also renders the victim unable to fight back, allowing the reaper to feed calmly and thoroughly, and there is a school of thought surrounding the diminished mental capacity of spawn that says their animalistic qualities are the result of them being brought to the brink of death as the reaper feeds and their brains being denied oxygen while they lay in a paralyzed state. This leaves the resulting spawn Reaper with only limited intelligence and some memory recall, much like a zombie. However, this effect is still seen in those who have not been paralyzed while infected, suggesting that the Reaper Strain itself causes the diminished and limited mental capacity in spawn. (For example, Lighthammer still knowing and saying Verlaine’s name shortly after he turns, but he still attacks her despite that she’s someone he loves. He had enough memory recall and intelligence to vaguely know who she was, but not enough for emotion or rational thought to prevent him from attacking her.) Thus, it is reasonable to say that the personalities of Reaper spawn are largely lost after turning, and hunting instincts take over.

QUOTE ANALYSIS (Because it sheds some light on his psychology.)

To Blade: “Is the enemy of my enemy my friend… or my enemy?” Nomak was willing to work with Blade to eradicate vampires, which just illustrates how angry he was at his own kind for doing this to him. However, he isn’t sure if Blade is willing to do the same, despite them both wanting the same thing. The rejection by Blade stings Nomak, since it essentially says Blade thinks he’s even lower than the vampires. It also illustrates just how alone Nomak is that he cannot acquire allies who are sympathetic to his cause.

To Damaskinos: “I’ve spared you my fate. You will die.” The fact that Nomak mentions sparing his father his own fate really illustrates how bad he thinks his fate really was. Despite that it seemed like Nomak was on a power trip and enjoying himself while killing vampires and wreaking havoc on human and vampire society alike, the truth as he reveals it here is that it sucks to be a Reaper, no pun intended. It’s hard. It’s painful. It’s relentless. The constant hunger and frenetic nature of having a ramped-up metabolism and heightened aggression had taken a toll on him. It was a fate he would not even wish on the father who had cursed him with it in the first place. Interesting, then, that he did choose to inflict this fate on Nyssa… but I’ll address this point with the next quote.

To Nyssa, before he infects her: “You… You were his favorite.” Nomak was really hurt by how easily his father discarded him once his infection didn’t go according to plan. He thought he meant more to his father than that, and to be tossed aside like trash and then hunted like an animal was something that really emotionally damaged him. I think he resented Nyssa for being the “favorite,” or at least what he perceived as the favorite, but as we know from an earlier scene with Damaskinos, he was willing to let Nyssa be killed in order to stop Nomak. This is rather shocking, because not only was he willing to experiment on his own children, but the cleaning up of the embarrassment that Nomak became was of greater importance to him than his daughter’s life. I think if Nomak had known that, he would not have hated Nyssa so much, because essentially, she meant no more to Damaskinos than Nomak did himself. Instead, he resented her for the way she had more value in Damaskinos’ eyes (as far as he knew), and therefore wanted to punish her for that by cursing her with the Reaper infection. Hence Nyssa’s comment to Blade when she asks to “see the sun,” that “I want to die while I am still a vampire.”

It also begs the question, since Nyssa didn’t seem to know Nomak, didn’t know he was her brother, and didn’t know he had been infected with the virus as an adult vampire (as opposed to creating genetically-modified vampire embryos as Damaskinos decided to do going forward)… why haven’t Nomak and Nyssa met before now? Is it possible that Nyssa is a whole lot younger than Nomak is? Or maybe they have simply lived in different countries for most of Nyssa’s life? If Nyssa was living in the United States and Nomak was in the Czech Republic, as he starts out in the beginning of the movie, that would make some sense. Damaskinos was reported to have fathered thousands of children across many centuries, so it's not as far-fetched as one might think that Nomak and Nyssa had never met before.

To Blade, while dying: “It’s… strange. It hurts… it hurts no more.” With his healing abilities, Nomak could have removed the blade from his heart, regenerated almost instantly, and been fine. Instead, he forces the blade in deeper, fatally damaging his vulnerable heart after saying the above line. I find this to be the saddest and most poignant moment for Nomak, because no matter how you interpret the line, the upshot is that he was a tortured person… and now he sees a way out of that pain. Either what “hurts” is his rage at his family and his desire for revenge over the wrongs done to him, and it doesn’t matter anymore because he accomplished that revenge, so… why go on fighting? Or, what “hurts” could be the emotional and physical toll the Reaper virus has had on him, on his identity as a person and a pureblooded, natural-born vampire, and how the incessant hunger must have tortured him, and if he just pushes the blade in deeper… it could all end right now. Basically, he’s saying you know what? I’m at peace now. It’s strange, but what had been hurting me isn’t hurting anymore. He’s let go of the rage, the frenzy, and now he just wants to rest. That’s how I interpret it, and it’s sad but it’s also a rather peaceful end to a life that had been thrust into this extremely violent and turbulent existence by his father.

Potential Starter Ideas:

I can easily divorce Nomak from the movie plot and make him a bit more versatile, and will likely do that unless someone specifically wants a thread that follows the plot of the movie.

Maybe he doesn't have an interest in getting revenge on his family. Maybe he just wants to try and lay low somewhere, which backfires when he ends up leaving spawn behind as he figures out how to deal with his infection.

If you have a vampire muse, maybe Nomak wanders into their territory and there's a bit of a turf issue?

If you have a scientist muse or someone who could conceivably develop a cure for the Reaper Strain, he might possibly be convinced to work with you because he really would like to go back to being a normal vampire, heh.

I'm open to whatever ideas you may have! =)

#{ i am the caretaker of souls } ᵒᵒᶜ #muse: jared nomak #tw: blood #tw: body horror

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sleepdeprivedsimp234 · 9 months

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So I made a little fic based off of my new headcanon about NY having heat-intolerance. As in, he doesn't do heat well. Also the reason that he doesn't go outside. So um I'll just leave this here: @literallyjustexistinghere cuz they helped come up with ideas for the fic <3

Also I'm a firm believer in Alaska/New York both as a ship and platonic relationship, but here this is going to be just platonic.

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NY was sitting in the corner of the living room listening to music and reading when he saw a shadow looming over him. He looked up and rolled his eyes. It was Illinois. Of course it was. What did he want now...

"The f*ck do you want, Chicago?" York asked, already done with this conversation.

"Damn, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, huh Yorkie?" Illinois said with a teasy smirk. "Also it's Illinois, not Chicago."

"No difference. And don't call me that. Now leave me alone." York snapped before turning back to his music and book. He glared up at Illinois when his book was suddenly snatched from his hands. "What the hell??"

"Do ya ever do anything besides read and listen to your sh*tty music all day?" Illinois teased.

"Well- yea I draw and a few other things like terrorize my siblings. Also don't disrespect Green Day like that." York responded, still glaring at the slightly taller state.

"Yea well I guess I can't really disrespect Green Day... But still. Why don't you go outside or something? Like goddamn you're like a friggin' vampire." said the Prairie State.

"I do go in the sun, thank you very much." sassed the Empire State.

"How?? You never go outside!"

"I sit in the sunlight coming from the window in the library." NY answered, rolling his eyes again.

"So you bathe in the sunlight like a cat? And here you keep saying that ya ain't a cat." Illinois laughed.

NY rolled his eyes once more and tried to reach for his book, but Illinois just held it out of his reach. "Will ya just shut the f*ck up, give me the book, and leave me alone?"

"Why don't you just come outside?" asked the slightly taller state.

"Cuz I can't. I have really bad heat intolerance that makes me incapable of going outside with air-dropping my conscience elsewhere." Answered the Empire State before trying to reach for his book again.

"Pfft- yea- okay. I dont think ya have heat intolerance, you have 'actually-doing-anything' intolerance. Cmon. You're comin' outside, you can have this later." Illinois said before putting York's book down and gently-but-roughly grabbing his York's hand. He managed to drag NY towards the door, but halfway through he had to pick him up and throw him over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes due to how much he was struggling. He carried the struggling Empire State out to the backyard and back towards where there was a forest. After about 8 minutes of walking he lowered the smaller state down and pulled him to his feet. Except he didn't let go of York's hand after and he completely ignored the slightly dazed and dizzy look in his eyes and how much he was sweating and shaking already.

"See? It's not that bad." He said, before letting go of York's hand and walking a little further into the forest. He thought York was following him til he heard York say in a small voice:

"I-Il (pronounced "El")... I don't f-feel good."

"Quick bein' dramatic. I'm sure yer- oh sh*t!" Illinois turned around just in time to see the slightly smaller state collapse with a small thud. He rushed over to York's side and shook his shoulder a bit, and he started to panic when he got no response. He went to go check for NY's pulse around his neck, but instantly pulled away when he felt the heat radiating off of his skin, which was not normal, seeing as York naturally ran cold almost like a snake. "Holy sh*t you're burning up... What did I do..." Mumbled the Prairie State as he took off the smaller's jacket.

'Has he always been this thin...?' Illinois started to think to himself. 'Nevermind that's not the point.... Uh where's my phone.... F*ck I left it in the house.' Illinois's mind raced on and on as he tried to find out what he could do. He looked around and nearly sighed in relief when he saw someone walking into the forest. He looked a little closer and noticed that it was Florida. Why him...? Whatever, it'll have to do.

"Florida!! C'mere a sec!!" Illinois shouted, gaining the attention of the Sunshine State, who sauntered over with a teasing smirk.

"Hey Chicago~ How can I be of ser- Holy hell what happened to New York??" Florida asked, teasing attitude set aside for a rather concerned one.

"I-I dont know!!! He just passed out randomly! Just- go get one of the OG13, preferably Mass!!!" Illinois answered quickly.

Florida nodded and started running back to the statehouse. Illinois looked back to the unconscious state in front of him. Maybe York wasn't lying??

About five minutes later, he heard footsteps running towards them and looked up to see Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and surprisingly Alaska running towards them.

"The f*ck happened ere'??" Penn shouted, kneeling down next to York. He pulled the Empire State into his lap and checked for a pulse, completely ignoring the heat. "Well he's alive at least. What the hell happened?"

"I-" Illinois started to try to answer but suddenly out of nowhere somebody came and gripped him by the throat and threw him against a nearby tree and punched him in the gut. Once he recovered from that blow, he looked down to see Mass glaring at him with a dangerous look in his eyes.

"What the actual f*ck did you do to my little brother?!" shouted the Bay State, his voice sounding a lot like there was two people speaking.

"I-i-i don't know- I just wanted to get him outside for once instead of him being lazy and sitting inside with a book all day!! Like goddangit your a doctor, even you would agree that he needs to be outside more!" That earned him another punch, this time to his nose, which was most certainly broken now. "Jesus can ya stop punchin' me already?!" Another punch to the gut. Ouch.

"He can't go outside, Illinois!!! He has really bad heat intolerance, didn't he tell ya?!" Maryland said, his voice full of worry for the younger.

"I mean yeah,- but I thought he was just makin' sh*t up! I didn't think it would actually hurt im'!!" Answered the Prairie State. He felt someone slap him across the face. Again, ouch.

"Aight Mass you can take it easy on him Jesus Christ!" Alaska said as he picked up NY and held him close to him so he could cool off, seeing as Alaska was naturally freezing cold.

Mass turned back to Illinois and made a noise that sounded a lot like a lion's growl. "Fine... Ya got lucky." Mass said before releasing the taller state and throwing him to the ground. He turned around and walked away with Alaska, who was holding NY in his arms, and Maryland who worriedly walked beside them.

Penn walked over to Illinois, pulled him up onto his feet and dusted him off. "Cmon kid. Suppose someone's gotta patch you up."

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(in the statehouse)

Massachusetts, Maryland, and Alaska were all relaxing in the garage and waiting for the Empire State to wake up. Alaska had the smaller state in his lap and held him close to help speed up the cooling-off process. After a few more minutes, Alaska felt York stir a bit in his arms.

"W-what the hell happened..." York mumbled, his voice a bit more quiet and raspy than usual due to lack of use.

"Illinois dragged ya out into the heat and ya passed out accordin' to him. He got lucky, cuz Laska' stopped me before I could beat the crap outta im'." Mass said, reaching over to the side of his brother's face and using the back of his hand to check his temperature.

"Yea well you still broke the guy's nose." Alaska snorted.

"And I would do it again in a heartbeat." Mass said proudly with a wild smile on his face. He sent a playful glare York's way when the younger laughed a bit. "What're you laughin' at huh?"

"You claiming that youre not overprotective of me but then giving us reasons to believe that you are." York said, laughing again.

"Oh haha. Shut yer lil' mouth before I give you a reason to laugh." Mass teased, reaching over and playfully squeezing NY's side, making the smaller shriek slightly and push his hand away.

"Okahahahay okay-" said the younger.

"Good." said the older before ruffling York's hair.

Alaska and Maryland exchanged looks that said "Hehe. Free blackmail.", before turning back to the two siblings.

#welcome to the table #welcome to the statehouse #ben brainard #wttt #wttt new york #wttt massachusetts #wttt illinois #wttt alaska #wttt maryland #wttt pennsylvania #hehehheheheehehe #ahhhhhhhhhhhh

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malach-te · 8 months

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headcanons/backstory for my tav, willow

this is definitely gonna have spoilers for baldurs gate 3 but i just wanna write down stuff for her

so shes in her 30s, no set age, and is from a small village thats not near baldurs gate at all. in terms of geography shes been very separated from the places in game and had only ever heard of baldurs gate but had never been.

when she got pickwd up by the nautiloid it was not long after she was setting off on an adventure for the first time. she had gained an interest in necromancy as a teenager but becoming a wizard in a village in basically the middle of nowhere isnt very easy so she had to study a LOT and finding materials wasnt easy but her parents helped her.

willow is a half drow, her fathers a human bard that settled down in that village after stopping there for a night and meeting a drow, her mother, that he fell in love with instantly. she didnt fall for him at first, she had recently left the underdark after rebelling and going against lolth (she was a paladin before) and was hiding in the woods by this village only going there to occasionally buy clothing or food but they werent really fond of her. bc of this willow also had some difficulties growing up but was mostly well adjusted. until she found a book about necromancy and became obsessed with it and would threaten other children with it which her parents were supportive of her studying magic but told her to keep her threats to a no threats.

i know half drow dont actually have any sun sensitivities in canon but i like to believe its more like theyre prone to sunburn and are like allergic to sunlight not that it would burn them alive. one time as a child she played in the sun too long bc her dad convinced her mom to let willow play and then she had the worlds worst sunburn and was peeling for weeks.

getting into the astarion hc’s bc yes she dates him YES its predictable BUT. i love them

when she first met him she could tell he was undead just by looking i mean. she’s obsessed with necromancy she has a nose for these things. and also that she could smell the undead on him no matter how much he masks it.

she actually likes that scent and does hug him to smell it. along with hugging him because she wants to hug him bc she loves him LMAO

she calls him star and starry but that one is for when she wants to annoy the hell out of him.

at first in their relationship, before it was really any relationship, she was happy to hook up with him as often as he offered but the more she was told about what he had been living through the less she wanted to do that. it felt to her that was both his way of manipulating her because he told her that but also that it was almost transactional like it was him wanting her to like him so he offered his body. the more she began to fall for him the more gentle her gestures of love would become. shed give him hugs or kiss his hands more often than wanting to sneak away together at night. its not like theyd stopped having sex all together but its not the main way they would show each other affection like it had been at first.

post game, willow and astarion continue adventuring together but at first its more like wandering. they can only travel at night ofc bc he didnt ascend and shes still half drow but they still go around together and she takes him back to her village. then they go on their way finding situations a vampire rogue and a necromancer can help/benefit from LMAO sometimes shadowheart joins them, sometimes they go to the underdark to check on the spawn. theyre just exploring the world on their own terms and their own pace.

willows trying to find a way to extend her lifespan so she can spend as much time alive with astarion as she can. immortality is really the dream for her. shes also looking for a way to help astarion walk in the sun again.

her and shadowheart are best friends FOREVER, thats her first party member right there. did her best to help shadowheart with all the tough decisions she had to make and stood by her choice in the final decision with her parents. they are practically sisters!!! willows parents would happily treat shadowheart like family.

she tries to keep in contact with everyone as much as she can. its not easy with lae’zel since shes off in the astral sea. karlach and wyll being in avernus also makes it difficult for her. gale just disappeared to look for the netherese crown, she tried to dissuade him but he didnt listen 💔

i just love her a lot shes my silly scrimblo neutral necromancer

#bg3 #bg3 oc #bg3 spoilers #bg3 tav #baldur's gate oc #baldur’s gate 3 #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate spoilers #baldurs gate 3 spoilers #tav headcanons #willow

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alphagodith · 2 years

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hear me out; vampire ingo

if there is any way to insert vampires into an unrelated piece of fiction, I WILL FIND IT. today’s example is pokemon!

so ingo’s stuck in the past with no way to return home to his friends and brother who verrrrry much needs/wants him back, yes? if traveling through time instantly is not an option, why not just sit it out in real time? vampires are immortal and can even spend centuries just sleeping if they don’t feel like being awake the whole time, so... let’s turn ingo into a vampire so he can get back to the future the old-fashioned way!

and then emmet can catch up to him in years and once they look to be the same age again, ingo can turn emmet and we get immortal vampire train men! i see absolutely no downsides to this.

(if anyone wants to do anything with this concept feel free, just, plz tag me cuz i wanna consume all vampire ingo content)

my personal vampire rules for reference;

- immortal, do not age at all after turning, wounds do not scar tho scars from before turning don’t go away unless re-injured.

- appearance changes are minimal from turning. paler skin is a natural, gradual consequence of avoiding sunlight. eyes may glow, especially in the dark. fangs, obviously, but small enough not to look too out of place when not in use. gain a more beastly appearance when injured/starving/scared- pointed ears, slit pupils, elongated fangs, claws, bruising around eyes, darkened/visible veins.

- turning requires blood sharing and death. drain out the old blood and replace it with vampire blood, vampire blood reacts to dying body and turns it into an immortal body.

- can feed without killing, human blood is significantly more effective but pokemon blood (if red) works as well. you could feed once from a human per week or four times a week from pokemon and survive just as well. basically blood is better for a vampire/tastier to them the more similar it is to their own blood (easier to digest). this is why many vampires prefer blood of a specific type. (also this would mean that emmet’s blood is INSANELY delicious to ingo since they are biologically identical)

- vampire blood naturally heals tissue it touches, so small amounts can be used to heal humans. emphasis on small tho, unless you want to turn them. handy for sealing bite wounds.

- react to blood the same way humans react to tasty food; if they are hungry it will take some effort to resist but if they are fed they won’t bat an eye. if they get so hungry that they are actively taking damage/dying, THEN it becomes a problem they can’t control.

- allergic to sunlight but don’t IMMEDIATELY combust upon contact. being in sunlight is essentially like being way too close to a flame, uncomfortable and sickening at first/through clothes but gradually becoming more and more painful until one is sizzling and burning. ie, a hood and glasses would be enough to get to/from work without causing a scene, but longer would leave one weakened, and being directly exposed for more than a minute or two would be VERY bad.

- silver/holy water can cause burns as well if you want but i don’t care for religious stuff like that, particularly in the pokemon universe where i don’t think christianity is even a thing. garlic is bad just cuz vampires have heightened senses and it’s already strong and unpleasant for humans.

- vampires do not have a heartbeat, do not produce any more body heat than necessary to keep their blood from freezing, and do not need to breathe. their blood still runs through their veins due to the same magic that keeps them ‘alive’, but it’s a continuous flow rather than a pulse. they prefer colder temperatures, so sleeping underground is great, but get them so cold they freeze and that is a problem (tho they thaw out just fine). forgetting to fake breathing is a common problem, also forgetting that you have to inhale in order to speak, tho younger vampires often ‘pant’ on instinct when exerting themselves.

- a vampire is 4-10 times stronger, faster, etc, than a human, when well-fed. get stronger as they age, may gain powers like flight/invisibility depending on clan. directly related vampires (sire/childe) have a mild telepathic link, able to sense eachother’s locations and communicate with just thoughts over a short-ish distance (like within a mile of eachother). this can tie-in with the ‘twin telepathy’ myth if you want, enabling ingo and emmet a deeper bond even before emmet is turned and being hugely magnified after.

- a stake to the heart causes paralysis by blocking the flow of blood/magic that keeps them animated. whether they remain aware in that state or not depends on how complete that blockage is. (bigger stake, less awareness)

- can only be permanently killed by the head being totally torched/incinerated. significant head trauma can cause issues with regeneration tho, such as memory loss, or leave the vampire BASICALLY dead unless someone else intervenes (such as gathering their parts up together and dumping them in a blood bath).

#pokemon legends arceus #pla #ingo #emmet #kudari #nobori #shippers and non shippers alike are welcome to interact #cuz i'm a rational adult and don't confuse my phobias for morality #prompt #vampire au #submas #immortal bond #immortalbond!au #vampire!ingo

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shinobusupremecy · 2 years

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Vampire Shinobu x f!human reader part 3

A/N: I read the new prompt or imagine thing @mxxstiq did with Shinobu and Y/N being in an alley and bro- I gotta do a part 3 now! I have also planned part 4 and no one can stop me! I hope-

This is not smut.

I apologize that Y/Ns personality kinda changed from part 2 to part 3. Idk maybe you can decide but if you think so I'm sorry.

Warning(s): Shinobu being a lil creep

Art soruce

Living with Shinobu wasn’t as bad as you thought it would and for the blood taking? You could get used to it, hopefully. Or maybe not, you still feel a bit weird about that one. Sometimes she does it without any warning! You could just be sitting on your bed or something and there Shinobu is instantly pinning you down and sucking blood from your neck. It was kinda irritating that Shinobu refused to find another way to suck out your blood because it was pretty painful when her fangs made two holes on your neck. So next time you were gonna stand up to her! You knew you were kinda dumb for this but you and Shinobu have lived with each other now so Shinobu would probably not kill you for your resistance. You hoped, after all you’re her only blood source she can access without having to hunt someone down.

Another huge reason why you don’t like the blood sucking method she’s using is that she gets carried away and drained too much of your blood. Not good times.

You were in the same awkward position again, with Shinobu on top of you and her fangs in your neck. You felt fine at first (besides your cheeks burning hot as usual), until you suddenly hit with dizzyness and you felt yourself becoming weaker, you saw how your hue began to pale.

“Shi..nobu” You weakly called for her and tried to push her off but she wouldn’t budge. When Shinobu felt squirming she stopped to look down at you. Your face was pale, especially your lips and you were sweating all over.

“Oh my, please forgive me! I must’ve gotten carried away” Shinbou quickly cleaned you up before treating you, but at least she was happily full.

“Y/N, what do you say we go to Asakusa Tokyo?” Shinobu aksed you very very suddenly.

“Sure! I would love to finally go outside! After you have locked me inside for weeks” You added bitterly.

“Y/N, you know I can’t go outside at day because of sunlight so night will have to do. I want to make it up to you so that’s why we’re going to Asakusa Tokyo”

“When are we going?” You asked happily. You have heard that Asakusa was great and that it looked like it was day even though it wasn’t.

“We’re going right now so change your clothes” You nodded in acknowledgement before you went to the bathroom to change. You changed to your most prettiest clothing that Shinobu gifted you.

Shinobu knew this was wrong and invading of privacy but she couldn’t help herself. Unbeknownst to you she took a peek while you were changing. She didn’t watch when your clothes were off just when your whole neck was exposed and your shoulders.

Her purple eyes caught the side of your neck, veins slightly showing. Selt herself beginning to drool and had to fight every urge to not jump in there and have a bite on your neck.

She realized she was drooling and quickly wiped her mouth. You opened the door and saw Shinobu wiping her mouth. You gave her a questioning look but she shook you off so you didn’t think much about it.

It took some time to arrive but when you were finally there you were so amazed. You swore you began to feel a bit dizzy of the overwhelming light and people. You didn’t notice but your body was swaying a little.

“My my Y/N I haven’t even drinken any blood and you’re getting dizzy?” Shinobu asked teasingly while also holding out her arms like you would fall.

“No no it’s just all these people and the lights! It is really true that the town lights everything up like it’s daytime!” Shinbou couldn’t help to hum in agreement.

You and Shinobu went around town to see what the town had to offer. Whenever you saw something exciting in your eyes you just grabbed Shinobu's wrist and dragged her around. You looked at jewelers, earings, clothes, candies and more clothing and repeat.

After some more looking around and Shinobu getting dragged by you she suggested that you two are gonna go and eat.

“Already? We have just been looking around for-”

“Two hours Y/N. Two hours” Shinobu sighed out.

“Well I’m not hungry” You said but your stomach seemed to say otherwise when a growling sound became audible. You sighed out and Shinobu took you to a food stand, this time she was the one that dragged you by the wrist.

You ordered some dango sticks and Shinobu obviously didn’t order anything. Because she was hungry for something else. But Shinbou had to ignore the urge right now since you were eating right now and she didn’t wanna ruin it.

All while you were eating you noticed Shinobu staring at your neck all the time. You resisted the urge to roll your eyes.

‘She sucked out my blood not too long ago so she doesn’t need more. Besides there’s no way Shinbou would risk her cover just for my blood when she can happily suck it out when we’re home. Doesn’t matter, I will stand up to her like promised and demand her to search for another way to take out my blood’ You continued to think and ponder until you have ate every piece of the dango sticks. It was good so you thanked Shinobu.

“Alright, I took some money with me so how much money did it cost?” You asked.

“Oh no need to pay me” Shinobu said as she raised her two hands up. “Although, I think you can pay me with something else” That line alone and the look she gave you changed the whole setting.

“Wait wha-” Before you could say anything Shinobu grabbed your wrist and lead you to an alley way. She gently pushed you to the wall, licking her lips.

“May I?” She asked as she cupped your cheek. You were again furiously blushing again. Your mind ran ten miles an hour and you have completely forgotten about you standing up to her. You nodded and Shinobu hummed delightfully.

She gently brushed her lips against yours before going down and lightly placing her fangs on your neck. Since your neck hasn’t healed from the last time she sucked out your blood Shinobu took the other side. She suddenly heard how you whimpered and she couldn’t help but to smile widely.

“Shhh, they’ll hear you~” You instantly tried to hold it in as you squeezed your eyes shut and braced yourself for the impact.

You gasped loudly when you felt Shinobu’s fangs finally sink into your neck. Having nothing to grab onto you unintentionally but instantly grabbed the back of Shinobu's head and pushed her deeper leading to her fangs sinking deeper into your neck, you gasped even louder unaware that you were the one responsible. Your other hand grabbed the back of Shinobu's clothing pressing her body into yours. Shinobu blushed at your action not expecting this at all.

When Shinobu was done she did the usual and licked up the blood that coated around the two holes she made. Her tounge was cold as usual making you shiver.

Shinobu's hair was ruffled and the back of her clothing was wrinkled, you could still feel some blood run down your neck. But one thing was for sure that you both were blushing.

“Seems like I won’t be sucking any blood from you for a while. But it was worth it” Shinobu chuckled.

You were looking at her kinda surprised at her ruffled hair, you were still unaware that you were the cause of this.

“Your hair’s very ruffled” You commented and Shinobu lightly slapped your arm.

“You know you’re the reason for that?”

“I am? I’m sorry” Shinobu patted you in sign of forgiveness.

“Did you enjoy it?” You said “yes” without hesitation even surprising yourself.

“Then let the fun continue~” The setting changed extremely quickly again and Shinobu attacked your lips hungrily.

#🦋eli writes #kny #kny x y/n #kny x you #kny x reader #demon slayer #demon slayer x you #demon slayer x y/n #demon slayer x reader #demon slayer shinobu #shinobu #shinobu kochō #shinobu kochou #shinobu x reader #shinobu x you #shinobu x y/n

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tumbling-darkling · 3 years

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DANNY PHANTOM LUCA AU (inspired into creation after reading Buggachat’s miraculous ladybug Luca AU)

So basically. Danny is a deep sea fish monster boy. Clockwork is his one dad, and Nocturne is his other dad. Because this is my AU and I say so. They are both massive because they live in the deep sea so bigger size means better survival under the waters pressure. They migrate from ocean to ocean every year to follow fish, the stars, and for clockwork and nocturne to check up on the different civilizations and offer help if it’s needed. Danny will eventually reach the size of his parents but right now he is a small child. Clockwork and Nocturne could be kinda considered kings, or gods as both have unearthly abilities rare to the fish people.

In the AU, during a migration a storm hits while they are traveling through shallow water, the currents knock Danny around a little too roughly and he hits his head on rocks and gets separated from his tribe. By the time they notice him missing, the currents have already dragged him off. When Danny awakens, he’s on a beach, in a human form, and has a pretty bad bump on his head. Thought being a deep sea dweller, the sun REALLY hurts his eyes, and he burns quite easily under the sunlight. Tucker and Sam find him and take him to the local doctors, the Fentons! Though the Fentons also have a reputation of being sea monster hunters. They are the best doctors the town has but everyone thinks they are crazy for believing in fairy tales.

Danny therefore hangs around the town and waits for his tribe to find him, as heading back to look for them would only make it hard for them to find him as he could get even more lost. In the town, there are the three delinquents that tend to like to cause harmless chaos from time to time. Chaos like dumping water on unsuspecting citizens, drawing stupid words and pictures on walls, and jumping out and scaring random people. This is Ember, Kitty, and Johnny 13. Their first meeting with Danny they splash water on him and basically expose him in front of Tucker and Sam and then instantly drag him off and reveal they are all also sea monsters! He hangs out with them for a bit, eventually the groups merge into one and they have fun, avoid getting the sea monster caught and just act like kids.

Meanwhile Clockwork and Nocturne are creating storms everywhere they go in search of their son.

There may also be bits with Vlad who is also a sea monster but like a jerk sea monster. He finds out Danny is the son of very powerful sea monsters and offers to take him in as the sea monster hunters would ‘kill him the moment they find out’ but Vlad is stranger danger so Danny naturally says no and runs. He probably calls like government sea monster dudes (the GIW) because if he can’t have him then he can manipulate Danny’s dads into doing what he says in order to find Danny kinda thing.

But more fluffy stuff: Danny dresses like a vampire because his eyes are sensitive to too much light, he always carries an umbrella with him even when it’s sunny because the sun hurts his pale skin and he dresses like Sam. Everyone thinks he’s a vampire too. Sam and Tucker introduce him to video games and SPACE. Ember, Kitty, and Johnny are like his new older siblings. It’s great.

#danny phantom #art #ref #mermaid #danny fenton #Luca #au #Danny #fenton #phantom #fish #Disney #clockwork #nocturne #hehe #fish boy fish boy #tumble #tumbling Darkling #my art

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magical-deep-dives · 2 years

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Vampires- History Dive #1

First things first let's focus on what we're really talking about, What actually are vampires? Now vampires have evolved and changed over the years causing us to have many versions of the tale, but the most basic characteristics are drinking blood and inability to be out in the sun for one reason or another (Burning to death or….sparkling….) Vampires have gone through the years evolving from feared to romanticized but do we know the true origins of the vampire monster that we know today?

A Lot of people attribute the blood sucking folklore to Vlad the Impaler or Count Dracula but I feel like going directly to him completely jumps over a lot of history. So lets rewind a bit well, a lot. Like all folklore the rumors and whispers have to start somewhere, and many believe it started with a real life blood disease called Porphyria. Porphyria is a group of disorders that are caused by a heavy buildup of too many natural chemicals that produce porphyrin in a person's body. Porphyrins are essential for your body on a normal scale they are the protein on your red blood cells they bind iron, and carry oxygen to the rest of your body. However, like anything, high levels of it can be very dangerous. Porphyria comes in 2 forms: Acute and Cutaneous. We are going to be looking specifically at cutaneous. While the symptoms of acute illness could also fall into this category cutaneous is far more accurate. This disease is so well believed to be the root of the myth that it's even nicknamed after it. Common Symptoms of cutaneous porphyria are sensitivity to sunlight that can cause severe disfigurement to one's body, possibly checking another thing off our vampire checklist, inability to see oneself in a mirror. Many people that had this disease back then would hide away even from themselves. Like many diseases, things like salt or garlic cause an attack on the body itself, leading people that suffer from it to stray away from garlic to avoid the painful attacks. Multiple of these attacks can even cause one's gums to erode away leaving their teeth shaped in a fang like fashion. But what about drinking blood? Surely these ill people did not display that trait right? Well not all of them. Patients with porphyria actually tend to have dark red urine, this is likely due to the illness being irritated and leaking heavy amounts of red blood cells into the urine. back then they didn't have something simple to fix their blood issue, so doctors would suggest drinking small doses of animal blood in hopes it would balance out their own blood. And crosses were rightfully feared as the Spanish inquisition burned innocent people many suffering from this illness. Unfortunately porphyria still has no cure but now we know better than to assume that these poor people are monsters.

But then how do we get to them even becoming rumors to begin with?

In the 17th century not long after the witch hunt of the inquisition, people claimed to have seen sightings of these people,late at night, people they believed to be long dead rising from the grave and walking among the living. They believed these people to bite others and take their souls, killing the other people instantly. Back then they believed blood was your life source and vampires were drinking it in order to preserve their own lives with immortality. Hence the given name Vampire which translates to blood sucker. The peoples gears only seemed to be confirmed when highly esteemed professionals also claimed to have had run-ins with vampires. People like priests, government officials and doctors all have writings claiming that they strongly believe what they've witnessed was real vampirism. Out of fear people would drive a stake through the heart of people they believed to be infected with vampirism as means to nail them to the coffin hoping that would stop them from reigning terror on the innocent. Sometimes they would even remove the head of the deceased so if they did return they wouldn't be able to see where they were going. Other ways were to tie people's limbs together so they couldn't move or remove them all together. Rumors and superstitions spread and people began to do what they do best, they pinned every disease or misfortune on vampires adding fuel to the fire and causing more fear of the creatures. Vampires could be anyone, your family, your friends, your neighbors, they were rich people in lavish gothic houses or castles, they were everyday folk. That's where the real fear set in.

Vampirism was known to be contagious like we see in stories today however the neck was not the typical target for a vampire bite. That would be too out in the open and too obvious. They instead went for the chest right above the heart to infect their victims. However Vampirism was so infectious back then that being bit wasn't the only way to become one. If you were a criminal, alcoholic, buried improperly, not buried after death, killed by violence, un alive yourself, drowned, had a stroke, or died of diseases congratulations you were at risk of rising again as a vampire. So naturally there was mass fear as literally anyone could be a vampire at any given time. So where did the vampire we know today come from? The beautiful but blood thirsty vain monster we read about and romanticize? Well just like most romance. It began with poetry. Romantic poetry Written by some of the most iconic horror writers we look up to today. I’m sure we all know the story of how the Great story of Doctor Frankenstein's monster came to be, however I will briefly speak on it here. The year was 1816, Lord George Gordon Byron had decided to invite over a few of his friends to accompany him on a trip to Switzerland. He had planned to have a beautiful time with picnics and walks along lakes, but unfortunately it started to storm ,due to the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815, while they were there. Now, the group with nothing to do needed to come up with a plan to entertain themselves. It started as any group of friends stuck in a stormy house, with ghost stories. This gave Lord Byron the idea to hold a horror book writing “contest” Everyone would split off and try to write their own scary story then report back to the group with what they had. Not everyone completed their stories growing bored or frustrated. Bryon himself grew bored of the idea and copped out. As you know we got Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein from this game. But what we also got was what Bryon did write. John William Polidori had picked up where Lord Bryon had left off. A story about a vampire unlike any story we had ever seen about them. The vampire in question was elegant, charming and clearly based on Lord Byron himself. This shone a new light onto vampires “The Vampyr” was the biggest turning point on humans view on Vampire folklore. It was made years prior to the story of Dracula believed to be based on Vlad the destroyer. This work of fiction is what we often see as the modern vampire today.

#vampires #history #john william polidori #The Vampyr #History Dive

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devil-of-the-field · 2 years

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CFV Vampire AU

Fair warning, this is going to be long.

In this post I want to go over two topics: a general overview of the story (themes, setting, structure etc.) and how vampires work in this universe. There are a lot of vampire stories out there but they all tend to do them a little differently, so I want to give you an idea how they function in our universe, because it’s a bit more unique. However, I’m not going to tell you everything yet, since I’d like for you to find out some parts of the vampire mythos on your own when you read the story, hehe.

General Overview

I’m not sure if I made this clear before, so I’m just going to spell this out: This is a horror story. I mean, mostly it’s a character-driven paranormal drama, but it has a lot of horror elements. When I upload it to AO3, it’s going to be rated either Mature or even Explicit, and not for sexy reasons. Also, I want to warn you that the Archive Warnings will be Graphic Depictions Of Violence and Major Character Death. Do with that information what you will.

Originally, the cast was just contained to the core OG one, but it has expanded quite a lot. This AU might have the most referenced CFV characters of any AU me and co-writer created. Haha. Oh boy.

The OG characters here are there G ages, so Kai and Co. are 20, Aichi is 19, and the G characters are 14 etc.

The pov is going to be 3rd person limited. Since the cast is so big, there will be a lot of pov switches to cover all of the subplots.

Kai is the protagonist. a) because I love him and b) because his perspective is one of the most interesting here. He’s a vampire hunter, trying to balance his newfound human life and his nightly hunting activities. Through his eyes we can see both the human world and the world of the vampires, and how he’s torn between the two.

For those of you who don’t love Kai, don’t worry, there’s lots of other povs as well! Ren, Ibuki and Gaillard are also major pov characters, and Kai’s friend group (Aichi, Miwa, Misaki, Kamui and Mamoru) get pov chapters and their own subplots.

There’s more characters who will become important over the course of the story and get some pov chapters too. No spoilers but if you are attached to the G characters...

How Vampires work

Vampires are immortal (duh), and don’t age. They also have incredible regeneration abilities.

They are very hard to kill, but it’s not impossible. More on that in a second.

They burn in the sun. However, they don’t instantly crumble to ash, it’s more like getting slowly burned, starting with 3rd degree burns and getting worse quickly. So they can technically go out during the day, but once they come into contact with sunlight, it’s like being stuck in an oven. They get cooked slowly. So they are only active at night most of the time.

Vampires have supernatural strength and speed. Also, their skin is basically bulletproof. Even hurting them is difficult.

Still, vampires have a weakness. It’s silver. (Listen I know this is not the classical vampire weakness but I am sick of Christian crosses everywhere.)

Silver can penetrate their skin. Touching silver will slowly burn them. Wounds torn by silver will only heal very slowly.

Vampires can be killed a number of ways, all of which are difficult to achieve. Decapitating them or ripping out their heart is a sure way to permanently deaden the undead though. So is draining them of all blood, since it’s essentially the juice that keeps them going.

Once a vampire dies they won’t crumble, but instead revert back to the human corpse they were supposed to become when they turned.

Vampires sustain themselves by drinking blood. They have no need for human food. However, they don’t need to drink that often. Normal vampires only need to drink blood about once a month.

If they haven’t fed in a long time, they will slowly get weaker and gradually grow more desperate to drink blood until they’ll fall into a feeding frenzy. In that state they lose all control of themselves and will attack the first thing that smells like food.

Vampires have enhanced senses. They can see in the dark, and have an advanced sense of smell.

One last important thing: Vampires in this AU can compel people. By looking into their eyes, they can essentially hypnotize people and make them do whatever they want. How effective the compelling is depends on how strong the vampire is and how much willpower the human has.

Now, how do people turn into vampires...? That’s a topic for a future post.

Aaaand that’s all for now! I’ll likely make more posts in the future covering more of the plot and lore. In the mean time, feel free to ask questions, and I’ll answer them as best I can!

#cardfight!! vanguard #fic: vampire AU #kai toshiki

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kitsunesakii · 3 years

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I don't bite - part one

I walked down the street, my hands in my pockets and my headphones on. It was well past midnight and the moon was at its peak. I fiddled with the placement of my headphones resting against my ears, having just got off the bus they were jostled out of position. Normally I didn't ride the bus, instead flying over the city. But, my mission's house was a little past my favorite park, and I had time on my hands. Shoving my hands in my pocket I heaved a sigh. I wasn't really fond of my mission. I hated biting if there wasn't consent. And there wouldn't be in this instance. I dragged my feet, skipping over the cracks in the sidewalk like a child.

I arrived at his apartment complex a little after one. But I knew he wouldn't be home, it was Saturday, and every Saturday he wasn't home until around three. Hence the headphones. I sat down at the bus stop, he wouldn't be arriving from the bus, amusingly he walked home from wherever he left. But I didn't plan to stand for a whole hour. So sitting down, I waited.

My eyes met movement, and I felt him come up. I sucked in a breath, I can do this, I can do this. I got up and nonchalantly walked behind him. The tap on my shoulder is what made me whip around, my headphones clattering to the ground. Making my mission turn as well.

"Hey sweetheart, didn't mean to scare ya, just wanted to ask why you were out here all alone? "

I stared at him kind of dumbfoundedly, he was clearly homeless, and by the smell wafting off of him I would say he was drunk.

"Who said she's alone? " the voice was small but firm, as my mission, a guy who's name I wasn't given, walked up besides me, I stilled. both his hands in his pockets. "I told you to keep up, " he handed me my headphones "you know you slow down when wearing these" he made a disappointed frown.

I looked from him, to the homeless man, then back to him. My brain slowly catching on to what he was doing. He's protecting me, a stranger I forced out a laugh, "haha, gosh I was falling behind, sorry bout that! " I gave him a smile, weary to keep my mouth shut. The homeless man looked at us for a moment, before turning and walking away. Leaving us alone on the sidewalk.

I turned to fully face the guy. In pictures I had always thought he would be taller, instead, he was only a half an inch taller than me. "Thank you" I sputtered, my brain still catching up to the events that had just transpired. He just stared at me, his face resting in a rather relaxed posture. Neither frowning or smiling.

"I noticed you were behind me, do you also live in that apartment complex? " his voice was low, like the gentle hum of a cat. His eyes locked with mine, they were a tainted blue with gold lining. This is your chance, no ones around. I clenched my headphones, my mind spinning a million miles a minute.

"Ah- no, I don't"

"Oh, " he responded cooley, "well, then, lead the way" it was probably rude to just stare at the boy that basically saved me from someone, but my mouth wouldn't work and my hands were hurting from the plastic rim of the headphones biting into my fingers.

I gave him a quick smile before forcing my legs forward. Walking aimlessly. He walked beside me quietly, glancing at me every couple minutes. After a while we hit a cafe, and I walked up to the door, once again turning to face my mission. "Thank you,this is my stop, may I ask you your name? "

"Matthew" he stated.

"Well then, thank you Matthew" I gave him another small smile. He nodded, his eyes flickering up and down me before he simply walked away. I watched him, my heart beat rapidly increasing with every second. You could still finish your mission, it would be quick, painless I took in another breath. I couldn't do it. He protected me, looked at me like a person. His eyes, blue golden. I felt a small dash of heat nest itself on my cheeks. The anger came second. What was I supposed to do now? I couldn't go back empty handed, could I? I failed, I couldn't kill him. Why did it have to be him. A good person with a lax life. I gritted my teeth, there wasn't anything else to do besides head back home. It wont be home much longer. Leaving the coffee shop I headed back to the bus stop, no longer feeling up to walking.

"What do you mean you couldn't kill him!? " I winced at the tone of voice he used, looking at the wooden floor, unable to make his gaze. The room in question was small, but I felt smaller. It was musty and you breathed smoke with every grab at air. I had spent most of the night into the early hours of the day waiting for him to return. 'Initiation' you could have a home, safety, love and more with a stupid test. I'm an idiot my brain screamed, drilling the words harder then the cutting edge of his own.

"I-"

he grabbed my chin with his long nails, cutting into my skin easily.

"Such a simple task," he growled, "this should of been easy for you, such a waste of energy" this wasn't the first time I had seen him this mad, last week, another lonely vampire seeked refuge with him, and they too couldn't do what was asked. using the hand gripping my chin he yanked me to the floor. I recovered quickly, standing to my feat instantly, taking a small step back. Focusing my attention on his words instead of the burning sensation the cuts caused.

"You can stay here until sunset, but then, consider yourself cut off" he growled, with that he used his other hand to scratch from my cheek to the length of my neck, leaving a scar. I waited until he left my small room before patching myself up.

What was I getting myself into? Hot tears trickled down my face, collecting bits of blood on it's way down. I should of never accepted his offer. Idiot, it was stupid to rely on others. All it did was end in pain. It didn't help that I had insomnia. Stupid night Terrors that left me trembling. He had said he could help. Instead he stepped all over me, and I let him. I wiped away the tears. I was fine, I was able to handle myself before and I could do it again.

I tried to sleep, getting only a few merciful hours before I couldn't stop fidgeting. Thankfully it was a pretty cloudy day, and I didn't own much. Shoving the clothes I did own, and a few other belonging into a bag, I forced myself to leave. Going back to the park, under the shade of a great willow. I breathed in the fresh air, so much better than the musty air of the shady apartment I was forced to stay in. I pulled out my book, enjoying the quiet.

A small shuffle got my attention, I looked up, wincing at the pain the quick movement pierced into my neck. Only to see Matthew sitting besides me, looking up at the sky. He glanced at me, and once again I was peering into his blue gold eyes. Sparkling in the sunlight. I couldn't help but smile, cautiously keeping my fangs out of sight. "Fancy seeing you here" I stated.

His eyes swam, tracinging my scar wordlessly. "Hi" he said flatly, his features neutral. I felt my fingers absentmindedly play with the corner of my book. "Your bleeding"

My hands emediatly grazed my scar, my eyes still locked with his. "Oh, yah, fell-" I muttered, without a moment to process I felt his hand come up and trace the length of the wound. Moving his hand gingerly, his eyes fixated on the scar. I held my breath, his fingers sent ripples that danced over my cheek down to my neck. It was almost soothing, the gentle carressing made my scar itch. I stared at him, his face was like stone, not even paying attention to the surprised expression that was slowly melting from my face, replaced with a tint of scarlet.

"Does it hurt? "

I almost didn't register his words, being he practically whispered them. I caught his wrist, holding it before it left my neck, "no" I whispered back. He opened his mouth, then closed it, removing his hand and shoving them back into his sweater pockets. Then, as if nothing happened, he once again tilted his head towards the sky, and I back down to my book. Some time passed, I felt him look back over to me, quietly watching me read. It was hard to ignore, and after a few minutes I matched his gaze. He looked lost in thought, not even registering that I caught him staring. Instead, he looked trapped in deep conversation with himself.

"Do you come here often? " I asked, ripping him from his thoughts.

"Not really, Do you?" his voice had such a nice hum, almost like an accent.

"Not really, but it's been a rough day and I didn't have anywhere else to go and I quite enjoy reading-" I felt myself start to ramble, and quickly shut up. My sharp loud voice a stark contrast to his. His brow folded slightly, barley making a dent on his neutral expression.

"Did someone- Do you need somewhere to stay?"

"No" yes, I watched him nod before slowly turning his gaze back to the sky. I looked up as well. The clouds were striking. Each had a unique shape and the sun created shadows that bounced on the tips of some and on the body of others, adding to the depth of the cloud cluster. In total it looked like I was staring at a painting, perfectly mastered to fit the atmosphere. Each cluster was like an island, floating in the blue sea, each containing it's own form. I admired the brilliant picture of white on blue, getting lost in it, feeling time slowly slip away. My eyes closed, lost in my own sea, I didn't even hear him leave.

I watched the clouds, the day slowly passing over me, fading into the shadows of dusk. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and adjusted my headphones on my head, choosing a playlist before heading out into the night. I walked the same road I had just yesterday, when an idiot decided to look out for me. I bit my lip, a little too hard. Ah, I stopped, abruptly wiping away the bit of blood with my sleeve. "Just another scar to add to my growing collection" I grumbled into the breeze. I found myself walking up to the same cafe I had seen last night. I decided to go in, since I had no real destination.

Pulling of my headphones and Opening the door I was greeted with the late night song of a coffee shop. in total, there was about 6 people. Not including the barista and myself. There were two girls at a table, looking over a laptop. And a boy flirting with the barista, who wasn't giving him the time of day. Over by the tv was a couch, empty besides a guy with his back to me. And in another table was another girl and boy, talking lightly. I walked over to the couch, listening to the music that echoed quietly throughout the room. The couch was awfully comfortable, like a warm hug it beckoned me into the soft safety it had to offer. I closed my eyes, hugging my backpack to my chest as I let myself drowned in the beconing noises of the coffee shop.

My brain sank into the small specks of sleep, pulling me just enough to be jolted awake. Mently cursing at pain it caused in my stomach. I adjusted to the striking colors surrounding me, rubbing the last flecks of sleep out of me. I was me with a pair of eyes, blue with gold lining. "Hi" I gasped, still recovering from the violent awaking.

He stared at me a moment, and I got the feeling he had been staring before. I straitened in the cushions, fighting against the stiffness of my body. Sleeping in a sitting position wasn't in the least bit comfortable. "How long you been there" I joked, trying again to shift myself into a more polite position.

"Are you sure you don't need a place to stay? " his voice carried the same low hum as before, but I noticed the concern. Feeling the tips of my cheeks get red. I did need a place to stay.... But I had no money whatsoever, except for a few bucks for the bus. I looked down, why was he being so annoyingly nice??

"I-im" for the first time, I truly didn't know what to say, he was being so calm, it was driving me mad.

Without warning, he stood up picking up a coffee that I hadn't noticed before. "Follow me" he said

We walked out of the coffee shop and into his apartment complex, I fidgeted with the handle of my backpack, forcing myself to keep my mouth shut. A million excuses flooding my thoughts. We entered an apartment room, well, more like two room, one small and one large. The kitchen seeped into a nice living room, equipped with a cute couch and coffee table. A little to the left was a separate room that I could only assume was the bedroom. There was a tv on the wall, and a couple shelves to the side, adding a touch of comfort. As I looked around, he walked into the kitchen and placed his coffee on the counter.

"The couch folds into a bed, and I have spare blankets, oh-" he walked over to a cupboard and pulled out some medical supplies. Quickly walking over to me, "here, sit" without process I stumbled into the couch, barely catching myself, bracing into the fluff of the fabric.

"What-" before I could finish my thought my breath hitched as his hand cupped my chin, gently tilting my head, looking at my scar. He glanced at his supplies, picking up a Q tip and dipping it in a thickly coated gel. He put it on my scar, I gasped, the gel felt cold against my skin. He pulled back, his eyes widening

"Did I hurt you?"

"No, no, you just startled me, that's all" I gave him a reassuring smile. After a hint of hesitation he carefully glided the Q tip on the length of my scar, only stopping to add more gel. His fingers pressed lightly on my cheek, being carful to not be rough. His gaze set on my scar, his eyes shining in the light on the ceiling. "So pretty" I mumbled, blinking at the fact that I said that aloud. His eyes flickered to mine and I emediatly went beet red. A small smirk rested on his face.

"Thank you" he mumbled back, his face a light shade of red. He finished quickly, and soon he just sat there, stroking my cheek with his thumb. Not bringing himself to move away, his face back to its same stone look. I yawned, it had been a while since I had gotten even a few hours of sleep, and I was weak. He caught on emediatly and let go, muttering something about blankets while he headed off into his room.

I rubbed my eyes, setting my backpack down on the floor next to the couch. He came back and opened the couch, creating a cozy looking bed, a perfect fit for me. He placed down the pillow and blanket, and wordlessly I climbed into it. Letting my body relax, barley feeling the blanket being pulled up over my shoulders, or the lights being turned off.

No, no no no, I wimpered, the shadow looming over me. "Your dreaming, wake up" the shadow took a step towards me, I let out a low wine, unable to back up, "your dreaming, it's ok, I got you, it's ok"

I felt a tight gripped hand pull me against something, ripping me almost completely out of my nightmare. My eyes still closed, I bared my teeth at the shadow. I tried to pull my legs up to my head, trying to cower from it. My stomach tightening in knots. Something gripped me close, I felt breath on my ear. "Hay hay, it's alright, nothing can hurt you, your safe, your safe." I felt my body relax, the voice louder than the shadow. I let the invisible thing pull me closer, laying my head on something rhythmic. Slowly sending me back to sleep, my eyes still closed, I felt somthing brush against the top of my head, already to far asleep to notice.

When I woke up it must of been early because the sun was still well behind the horizon. I sat up, yawning and baring my teeth. There was a clatter in the kitchen, I looked around, the lights were off, but there was Matthew, cooking something over the stove. The smell wafting over. I couldn't help but smile, I didn't know why, but I had slept through the entire night without waking, and I felt very relaxed. I stood up, careful not to disturb Matthew, who was deep in thought. I walked over, leaning against the island and just staring. He was smiling. It was quite a sight, making his eyes shine even more. I wondered what he was smiling about, what was causing his face to show such emotion. I looked over his shoulder, in a pan was two eggs. They crackled and popped.

"Good morning," I said finally, unable to keep myself quiet. He look over and his smile faded slightly, going back to its stone look. But the light in his eyes only got bigger. "Oh please, don't stop smiling for me" I teased, watching his face go bright red.

"Good morning" he said back, watching my movements closely. "Did you sleep good?"

"Yes actually! I sleep wonderful, your couch is super comfortable" I said, his eyes searched mine, as if looking for a clue. I cocked my head to the side, giving a playful frown to his reaction. "Everything ok?" I asked, the tense silence growing too much for me.

His features relaxed, "yah, just making sure" he said, turning his attention back to the pan of eggs. After a moment he skillfully slid them on two separate plates and handed a plate to me. Opening a drawer and pulling out two forks. We sat down over at a small table that bordered the kitchen. It was in front of a window, outside I could see the sun peeking out. I shuffled nervously, taking a bite of my eggs.

"These are really good" I said, my mouth full of egg. His blue gold eyes brighteded, and he glanced at the window, noticing the rising sun. Then, he stood up and pulled the shutters closed, making sure no light got in before proceeding to continue making work on his eggs. Without any words said. My brow folded, confusion and slight paranoia lapping at my senses.

"What was that about?" I asked innocently, my eyes narrowing.

"He looked at me a moment, his fork still fiddling with his breakfast. "The sun is too bright in the morning" he said flatly, averting his eyes.

"Ok...."

We went back to eating in silence, after I was done, and noticed he was also done. I stood and took his plate, quick enough so that he didn't have the chance to argue. "Thank you for breakfast" I said again, placing the two plates in the dishwasher. "And... Thank you for letting me stay the night, but..." I made myself state what had been bugging me for the past few minutes. "I don't have enough money to pay you for your hospitality. I don't want to invade on your privacy, and you probably don't want someone like me hanging around your apartment and-" I was cut short in my rambling by the small smirk that was slowly growing on his face. I had expected him to be disappointed, maybe even mad. But he looked, amused. "What? Why are you smiling" I said, embarrassment flickering in my words.

"I wasn't expecting payment. I enjoy the company." He explained, trying but failing at forcing his smirk off his face. "You can stay as long as you want" he finished. Standing to his feet he walked over to a drawer and pulled out a spare key, handing it to me. "Just make sure to lock up before you leave" he hummed, his voice back to its low sing song like melody. Leaving me flabbergasted.

I cleaned up the couch, folding it back to a sitting position and placing the blanket and pillow on it neatly. When I finished I sat down, he had left shortly after our conversation. Mumbling something about work. He had tossed me the remote before leaving. I skipped through the channels, the news wasn't ever really interesting, it was all the same now. Talk about the politics of vampires and humans, vampire rights and freedoms. Stupid. Ten years now, people have lived with them peacefully. The news was grasping at strings. Still, it was better than nothing, and I settled for a channel on cooking. It wasn't long before I got fidgety, and had to pace around the room for a while. It was too bright to risk going outside, so I opened the fridge to drink something instead. There wasn't much, but orange juice sounded good, so I drank that. Slowly but surely, as the day carried on, the sun started to settle behind the horizon, kissing the mountain tops.

I fiddled with my headphones, when the door opened and in he came. "Hay!" I shouted, giving him a closed lipped grin.

"Hi" he breathed back, clearly exasperated from whatever he was getting back from. He made a beeline to his room, closing it behind him. It didn't take long before he had came back out in a new more comfortable outfit. His hands in his pockets. "Are you hungry, I know a really good place over a ways" he asked, his blue gold eyes locking with mine.

"Yes! I would love that!" Jumping off the couch giddily, I needed to get out into the fresh air. We walked out of the apartment and into the night air, softly lit with the last remaining glow the sun had to offer. There was a slight breeze, and the trees danced to its rhythm. I smiled, unable to contain the happiness stirring inside of me. Like any vampire, I absolutely loved the nighttime. The shadows that played in the corners of your vision, mixed with the hum of others basking in the night air. Bats gliding gracefully in the air, silent as the darkness around them. Pulling myself from my thoughts, I caught Matthew staring at me. His eyes full of awestruck wonder.

We made our way over to a cute little restaurant and ordered food, sitting in the outside seats. Per his request.

"How was work?" I asked, nibbling On the sandwich placed in front of me.

"It was fine"

We ate quietly, silently enjoying each other's presence. When I finished, I closed my eyes. A gust of wind crashing into me, it felt amazing. And I itched to be up in the sky, feeling the rush of the flight. The high it gave. I opened my eyes, his soft gaze peiring into mine.

"Your so beautiful when you get lost in thought"

His abrupt complement left me red and speechless, "ah," I averted my eyes, my gaze faultering towards the floor. "Thanks" I mumbled, unable to meet his blue gold eyes. My stomach stirred with the same weird feeling I felt the day before. We walked home, too flustered to speak. I noticed him watching me in the corner of my eye, his face in its calm stone stare. I could get used to that, I pondered to myself.

We got home and I once again got ready for bed, this time entering the bathroom and changing into pj's. I layed back down into the comfy blankets and drifted into sleep, the events of the day still lingering in my thoughts.

@vigilantetendencies

#vampire #romance #writing snippet #long reads

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be-ace-write-crime · 4 years

Text

Lovely Bride - Second Wedding Night

You wake up after your night with Wamuu and return to your empty village, the last survivor of the Hamon tribe. You struggle with conflicting emotions, anger to the people that made you a sacrificial lamb, grief for the tribe that raised you and the people you grew up with. So much has happened in such a short time and nothing will ever be the same again.

Thankfully Esidisi is there to comfort you.

You and Wamuu made love all night and you suspect a decent portion of the morning as well, after the candles had burned out. He took care to clean the sweat, cum and oil off your skin, probably realizing how badly he had wrecked your body after the fact. He put your wreath aside and let you snuggle up in his bed with some clean pillows, and you fell asleep almost instantly.

The stress and your rendezvous with the first pillarman had thoroughly exhausted you. You woke up alone, a single candle left to light the room for you. It hadn’t been lit for long. Maybe an hour or two? Either way, the room had become stuffy, smelling of sex and burnt out candles, so even if you couldn’t get outside, you weren’t staying in this room.

You picked up your dress, your sandals, and combed your hair with a comb left on the table beside the one remaining light. You were about to leave the room when you thought to put your wreath back on, as your first husband clearly appreciated the look and symbolism of it. You also thought to bring a dagger that was on display as one of Wamuu’s trophies. You knew he wouldn’t mind you taking it and while you were neither scared your betrothed would eat you, nor did you have the hubris to assume you could take them in a fight if you had a dagger, being sent around the lair of vampires and vengeful gods unarmed had been making you nervous since yesterday. With the sheathed dagger tucked into the belt around your waist you venture into the hallway.

The candle light didn’t reach very far, but far enough you can see a faintly shifting silhouette in the shadows leading deeper into the catacombs. Very well, not like you wanted to go there and the squirmy shadows of what had to be vampires only helped to solidify that decision. You looked over your shoulder constantly as you made your way back outside. The hatch had been left open, though the early evening light made it too dangerous for the pillarmen or the vampires to be out.

Every step into the light felt like a wave of relief. You blew out your candle and left it on the steps, almost running outside. It wasn’t until you felt the breeze blowing through the temple that you noticed the trails of tears on your face. You rarely cried, but indeed, you had much to cry about. Tears of relief, happiness and sadness alike.

The sun kissing your face felt heavenly and you could have probably stood there until the sunset, if a warm chuckle hadn’t pulled you out of your thoughts. You wiped your tears away and looked to see Esidisi at the bottom of the stairs, just barely visible in the shade.

“You look beautiful like that,” he said. “I look forward to the day I can embrace the sun by your side,” he added, casting a mournful glance at the shadows edge he couldn’t cross. It seemed so strange that someone as powerful as him was unable to touch you simply because you were standing in the sunlight.

“I wish I could share it with you,” you said, without thinking.

“You do?” he asked, looking up at you again. He seemed surprised.

“I wouldn’t deny anyone the sun… It would be cruel…” you said, shyly running a hand through your hair as he graced you with a warm smile.

“Such a kind heart after all you’ve endured,” he said. “Your village is still there, though you will find it deserted. I assume that’s where you were headed.”

“I just wanted some fresh air, but… now that you mention it, I would like to go there,” you agreed.

“Go ahead. I will catch up to you once the sun has set,” Esidisi said, leaning against the wall and waiting out the daytime.

You nodded and went ahead as we’d told you to do. From what you’d gathered he was the second in command, higher than Wamuu in their hierarchy, but below Kars. He was the one to second your plea for your sister and nieces to be spared. You would have to ask him about them later.

The way down to your village was eerily quiet. Normally you’d hear some noise, see the lights from cooking fires and candles, but the place was abandoned as you’d been warned it would be. The gods had come down from the mountain and wiped out all the people that once resided here, leaving the empty shell of your birthplace behind. In the village square there was a table laid out for a banquet, big enough for the whole village.

Wild animals and some escaped livestock had made their own feast of it in the absence of the humans during the day, but everything looked as if your people just vanished into thin air. Cups and cutlery strewn about, food and wine on the tables, homes untouched. No time to pack up and flee, no time to get the weapons and fight, just a meal, over as soon as it began.

You had been crying since you first stepped outside, but seeing with your own two eyes how the people you called your tribe would be gone forever made you sob hysterically. The ones that had raised you, loved you, and then sent you off to die had all been killed, leaving you alone to mourn them.

“C-Celebrating, were you?!” you spat angrily at the empty table. Wild dogs and other pests had dragged the meat away, while half eaten and picked at fruit, vegetables and pastries were being consumed by flies. A few birds scattered as you approached and dragged a metal tray off the table, leaving it to clatter against the cobblestones of the square. The plates were next, smashed at your feet or hurled like disks to burst into shards of earthenware against the walls of empty homes.

One pitcher full of wine was miraculously untouched on the table, at least until you found it. Booze would either calm you down or be a perfect fuel to your fire. You chugged half the damn vase to quench your thirst either way.

“Was it worth it?! Were all of us you sent to die worth it, you bastards?!” you demanded, climbing on the table and hurling the serving blows around, kicking everything off that was in your way.

“How many idiots does one village need?!” you spat at the empty head chair, picking up the plate and yeeting it with a perfect spin in the direction you came from. It would have gone far if your husband hadn’t caught up to you by then, batting at the dish reflexively, only to have it shatter in his face like shrapnel.

You tried to compose yourself quickly. Surely throwing a plate at his face would warrant killing you, he’d killed for less, you were throwing a tantrum in the evidence of that fact, but you knew he wasn’t going to. For one not to go against Kars, but also because the look on his face was far from the righteous fury that should have been there.

You were standing on a table, leftover food and sauce on the ends of your dress and up to your ankles, ugly crying like a fussy child, but Esidisi merely brushed the stone splinters from his hair and handed you the big carving knife you had somehow stepped over.

“Don’t stop on my account, dear (Y/N). In fact, if I can assist you in any way, do not hesitate to tell me,” he said, smiling calmly.

“I could stab you with this, you know?” you asked, sniffling loudly.

“That dagger would be better for stabbing, but you could,” he agreed, looking up at you. “If it would make you feel better, I would let you. I remember needing to vent for weeks after my own tribe was wiped out. How lord Kars put up with me during that time is beyond me, but I am infinitely grateful he did,” he explained, leaving himself open for an attack.

You contemplated doing it for several long moments, even raising the knife over your head, but ultimately deciding against it. You weren’t scared he would retaliate or punish you, but in the end you saw no point in harming the one person showing you kindness in that moment. You tossed the knife away and kicked some more tableware around like an angry cat.

“‘S no point… just no point in… a-anything I do, is there? W-What am I gonna do now? What need do you have for a human? Just gonna live underground for a… a month and then die like everyone here!!!” you sobbed, hiding your face, which must have been a huge mess by then. Right now he certainly wasn’t sympathising with you because of your good looks.

“You will live, you will grow stronger and wiser and live out the full extent of your life. You alone will carry the legacy of your people. You will be our agent in achieving perfection and when we do we shall forever embrace the light of day beside you,” he answered, holding you against his chest and stroking your back softly.

If you muttered something along the lines of ‘lying bastard’ he kindly ignored it and let you finish crying.

“You were right, you know. The best men and women your village had to offer were the first to die. I believe after your sister and her daughters left, there was hardly any goodness left among them. They took two old horses and a small cart and were practically chased out under threat of being stoned to death. I handed them the box lord Kars said to give them after they had departed, fearing it might be stolen from them. Don’t tell, but I informed them you were alive and what you had done. Your sister cried, as she had done all evening, then brandished a spear at me and said for me to treat you better than your people had treated you,” he said, letting you sob into his shoulder until you ran out of steam. You were probably dehydrated too and seriously hungry.

“Every person worth their salt here seems to think the world of you. Your sister risking her life to threaten me, the tribe’s warriors who died to protect you, lord Kars who saw your shine even in your darkest hour.”

“Everyone else here seemed to think I was fairly expendable,” you huffed bitterly.

“They seemed to think sacrificing you would save all of their lives. They were slaughtered for treating you so cruelly, beloved, but they knew you were the greatest treasure they had to offer,” he corrected, picking you and setting you down now that you had recovered.

Crying like that really did make you feel better. You were never allowed a tantrum of such epic proportions before, just shy of stabbing your husband, while he supported you through every second of it.

“Speaking of treasure,” he said, a sly smile on his face. “This is a small village, but it seems wealthy enough. There is no one left to care for its worldly possessions now,” he said, quirking a brow to emphasize his mischievous intentions. Well, mischief by the standards of a wrathful, mass murdering god. If two days ago someone had told you you’d essentially be pillaging your own home, stealing from the dead, you’d have thought they were crazy.

“You’re not… wrong…” you agreed. His smile was contagious, and you found yourself going along with his idea.

The full moon was high in the sky and the tables and chairs in the square had been repurposed to light a bonfire with his magic. You knew how and where money was hidden and Esidisi caught on to the pattern quickly.

“Go fetch your own treasures, darling. Vampires could do this,” he said, whistling to summon a few and instructing them on how to search.

You could name a few things you wanted, but never dared to ask for. Now you were the sole heir to the hamon tribe and your husband ordered you to fetch whatever treasure you desired, so who were you to disobey?

As such you met him later in the town square, decked out in enough jewelry to sink your body to the bottom of a river, a silk dress in a vibrant wine red color and a stola to match, while your palla, a scarf reserved for upperclass women of Rome, was now a makeshift bag for numerous scrolls you had stolen, detailing the history and craft of your people. Those were all going with you and you’d guard them with your life.

You were still bitter about what your people had done to you. You might always carry some resentment for the rest of your life, but the warriors of your tribe had given their lives to save those selfish creatures and you wouldn’t allow them and their sacrifice to be dismissed by history just because the people they fought to protect were ungrateful bastards.

Your haul made for an odd little collection of treasure. You had also taken to wearing the shiny, gold anklets you found. These were typically reserved for the… courtesans of your village. The women who kept themselves standing by laying on their backs. They were frowned upon by common folk, but were considered desirable nonetheless. There was no one left now to judge you for your dress being too short or the anklets you wore with your wreath and your dagger.

You were the last living member of the Hamon tribe and a bride to gods. Dressed in all gold, or wearing nothing at all would make you no less of a queen.

“Master Esidisi?” you greeted him upon finding him again. He quickly smiled when he saw you, but you could tell something had happened.

“You look beautiful by the light of the fire as you do in the daylight, my dear,” he said, standing up and coming to welcome you.

You noticed at least one of the vampires had… well it had died, but you couldn’t phantom what had happened to it. It looked like it had blown up and then melted. “Don’t worry about that thing. It decided to berate me when it couldn’t find what I had ordered it to search for.”

“What was it supposed to search for?” you asked. It probably wasn’t anything you’d picked up. The scrolls had all been in plain sight and you didn’t need to search hard for fine clothes and jewelry.

“The chief of your village had come into possession of a precious red stone, called the Aja. I ordered the vampires to search his home for it, but they found nothing,” he explained.

“Tsk, as if that cowardly bastard would hide anything you might look for in his own house,” you muttered, jumping when you realized what you had just done. Perhaps you drank a bit too much wine earlier. “Don’t kill me, I just know what a prick he used to be!”

“I wouldn’t kill you for such an infraction, (Y/N). You are my bride and equal. This vermin didn’t know his place,” he assured you. “Where would he hide the Aja if not in his home?”

“I can’t say for sure…” you started. Giving the wrong answer seemed more dangerous than not knowing, but you could hazard a guess in this case. “I imagine he’d hide it where he hid everything he really cared about. His mistress, his bastard children and your stone,” you said, pointing to the little home uphill. It was near the treeline and his sons and mistress were among the first to be devoured by vampires as a result. The elderly chief hadn’t been one of your favorite people to begin with, but losing his sons and the woman he loved made him worse.

You looked around the home you knew well, noticing the loose stones around the fireplace in the kitchen where no one would think anything was hidden.

“I have been by this house before,” Esidisi said.

“I think I found something,” you said, prying the stone loose stones out.

“Your sister was here, gathering your things,” he continued, insisting.\

“It’s stuck, could you please help?” you asked, trying to ignore him.

“You were the chief’s illegitimate daughter, is that right?” he asked, just as the stone came loose and you flopped backwards onto your old kitchen floor, gold and silver accessories jingling as you went.

“Ow…” you huffed, looking up at your husband from where you lay. “I spent enough time crying over that already. I have better things to waste tears on now,” you answered with a long sigh, slowly sitting back up.

There was a box in a little hollowed out space you uncovered. “He loved my mother and my brothers, but not me. I think he felt I should have died before any of them. I figure that was his real reason for sending me as a sacrifice. My sister was in the same boat as me, but she found herself a good husband.”

“Was he killed by the vampires, or one of us?” Esidisi asked, sounding genuinely apologetic.

“Typhoid, almost a year ago. My nieces lived with me during that time. Gods forbid they might have caught it too. I loved them so much… My mother still thought herself my father’s true love, ignoring how she was led on and made to live in poverty, treated like an adultering whore for being with a married man. My brothers were young, though they got it in their heads just like our mother that they would be in charge someday. Our father loved them, though. Had them trained to be warriors since they were children. In the end they didn’t wake up in time to scream, let alone fight… It’s been a few weeks since then...” you explained, crying again, but less frenzied than before. All that wine was definitely keeping you from throwing another tantrum, if only because you’d fall over if you tried.

“My sincerest condolences for your loss and you have my respect for what you did to save your sister and nieces,” your husband whispered. “You will never be disrespected like that, my sweet. We shall treat you as a goddess, as you rightfully deserve to be,” he promised.

You could tell he was serious, despite his ruthlessness in battle. His condolences were sincere, and you were grateful he’d been the one to send your sister on her way.

“You don’t mind that I’m human? Whatever happened to the women of your kind?” you asked.

“Our tribe existed until some eight thousand years ago. I was Lord Kars’ right hand in his endeavor to elevate our immortal kind through the stone masks, but they rejected his views. Kars decided if they wanted to spend eternity cowering underground instead of striving for more, then they might as well be dead,” Esidisi explained. “When he gave the order, I did not hesitate. The only ones spared were Wamuu and Santana, who were only infants at the time. Regardless, I say he chose his companions well. Yourself included,” he said, kissing your forehead.

By now your eyes had to be wide as saucers and you were regretting not bringing more wine, which might have made that story a little easier to unpack.

“I can’t say for sure whether you made the right choices, but wiping out all women of your immortal kind and then choosing me definitely sounds like a decision made by someone stabbed in the head with several stone spikes,” you said, making him laugh again.

“My beautiful (Y/N), what matters is that lord Kars sees the potential of a goddess in you and more than any creature that has ever walked this earth he has been a master of realizing such potential,” your husband assured you, taking the box you had almost forgotten about and flipping it open, revealing the brilliant red stone inside. “And you have just brought us one step closer with the gift you procured.”

It was explained on the way back up the mountain that their aim was to retrieve this stone to complete the stone mask lord Kars had created with the intention of allowing them to endure sunlight. It answered several questions you had and raised a million more, but your first order of business would be to present the stone to your husband and master.

“Lord Kars, we have returned!” Esidisi announced when you entered the temple. Kars was seated on his throne, his expression unreadable. He had let down his hair from under the tight wrap and it flowed down his back in elegant black waves, as dark and infinite as the night sky.

“Did you find it, Esidisi?” he asked, his eagerness betraying his stoic facade.

“I did not,” he said. Kars’ grip on his armrest cracked the solid marble and his red eyes shone furiously in the firelight. You flinched, wanting to smack your husband for teasing like this, but you were too nervous to speak already. “Rest easy, my lord. Our beloved bride did find it,” he said, ushering you forward.

You kneeled at his feet and humbly presented the stone. Kars pulled you into his lap and smiled, a genuinely happy smile as he kissed your cheek.

“Anything in the world shall be yours, my beautiful sunshine, for it is the world you have given us tonight,” he said, kissing your lips before taking the stone to examine it more. You felt an overwhelming joy bubble up in your chest, overpowering the grief and spite that had been festering there.

Esidisi looked almost smug, smiling up at you in his master’s lap. Like he was proud of himself you were getting praised.

All until Kars took a closer look at the stone. His expression turned to an annoyed sneer, and he glared at you so sharply you just about fell off his lap.

“Is it a fake, master Kars?” Wamuu asked while Esidisi approached to help you up and assure you again that you wouldn’t be eaten.

“This stone is genuine, but it is a plain Aja, far too small to serve its purpose,” Kars answered, shutting the box with a loud clack that made you flinch. “This is what we exhausted so much energy on…” he muttered, rubbing his forehead like he was fighting off a headache.

“The night is young, lord Kars. We can renew our search for the super Aja right now if you wish?” Esidisi offered.

Kars looked at Esidisi, then down to you, his expression softening slightly.

“No, that won’t be necessary, Esidisi. In fact, I might have some use for this stone after all. You can spend the night with our bride, seeing as how you’ve dressed her for the occasion,” your master declared, his eyes roaming over your figure, taking obvious note of your ankles. He stood up and grabbed the marble armrest he’d cracked, his muscles bulging as he ripped a slab of marble clean off. He picked up the stone and then plucked your wreath from your head and turned to head back into the catacombs.

“A shame. I thought the wreath matched your anklets rather well,” Esidisi said playfully, running his fingers through your hair. You blushed, but leaned into his touch regardless.

“I put those on cause they’re pretty. Not as an invitation… Kars is scary when he’s mad. What do I do?” you asked, feeling like you might cry again. You’d done your best, and you had no idea how big the stone needed to be! It wasn’t your fault!

“He isn’t mad at you,” Wamuu assured you. “I will head out with the vampires to continue our search. We know that the red stone of Aja traveled the silk road from Asia to Rome. We’ll just have to find it.”

“He knows not to blame you for this. Lord Kars is more sensible than that. He’s frustrated, because our fight with the hamon tribe took a great deal of energy and while consuming the remaining villagers replenished some of it, we have little time before even that runs dry,” Esidisi explained, picking you up and kissing your forehead.

“What happens when it does?” you asked, the pillarmen exchanging a worried glance.

“Either we must consume what might well be an army of humans, or we must go to sleep and hopefully recover,” Esidisi explained.

“What? I-I wouldn’t argue with you consuming humans as you need, but what would be wrong with sleeping?” you asked. You hadn’t caught any of them sleeping, but you assumed they could, just like any other creature.

“When we sleep, we turn to stone and it could well be a thousand years or more before we awaken. You would not be there to greet us when we awaken,” Wamuu explained, looking down at the ground.

“How much time do you have left?” you asked, once again feeling the ring in your chest weigh heavy on your heart, but not because you were excited this time.

“About as much time as is left on your engagement ring, beloved,” Esidisi said.

Wamuu took all vampires with him, scattering them in every direction to search for information on the red stone, leaving Esidisi himself to fetch something you could actually eat while you waited in his room.

“You shouldn’t have,” you said, bashfully accepting the basket of goods he returned with, although the sight of food had your stomach painfully clenching to remind you of just how hungry you were. On your wedding day you had refused to eat, scared senseless and struggling against everything being offered to you. After your evening with Wamuu you had spent almost the entire day asleep, meaning you were going on two days without food at this point. No wonder that wine earlier got you drunk so quickly.

“I wouldn’t make you descend and climb a mountain twice on an empty stomach. It was foolish of me to have let you return without eating in the first place,” Esidisi responded, smiling as you started to dig in. The basket had fruit and bread and cured meats and cheese, and you hurriedly started popping grapes in your mouth.

“Thank you so much,” you said, holding your hand in front of your half full mouth. “Can you eat this?” you asked out of curiosity.

“I could pretend. I can appreciate the flavor, surely, but it wouldn’t sustain me,” he answered. “Your body produces its own life energy. Mine can only draw on the life energy of other living beings.”

You looked at your basket, at the cured meat inside. You thought of how many animals died every year to keep you fed. You wouldn’t eat another human, but you’d come to realize the gods you were married to didn’t kill for their own amusement or even to defend themselves. Only to eat.

And while it may have felt like cruelty, humans were simply not used to being prey. Not used to being the wary herd, stalked by ferocious predators, and knowing that their only hope was that someone either braver or weaker would be killed off first and still their hunger another night.

On the other hand, could you justify yourself standing by as an army worth of humans were turned into food? It was true he said army, but that was an awfully justifiable way of putting it. Army made it sound like a threat. Like it was kill or be killed. In reality even if they only picked off strong men, worthy of being soldiers, that would just leave an army worth of widows and children defenseless and possibly starving.

Would they even give you the antidote? You thought you’d grown closer with Wamuu and now Esidisi and Kars had chosen you himself, but you still wore the poison ring around your heart. If they were going to sleep, they wouldn’t have a reason to keep you alive either. Why would they allow their bride to run off on her own if she was going to die before they woke up again? Maybe that was the point all along. To hold the ring’s curse over your head so you wouldn't run away until they didn’t need your little mortal self anymore.

“You’re worrying about something silly,” Esidisi said, cutting through your line of thought as if he’d been reading your mind. “You have a very expressive face,” he explained.

“It’s not silly,” was the first thing out of your mouth before you thought to deny it. You probably just sounded immature. “I guess to a god being worried about dying would sound like some silly human concern…”

“You won’t die, beloved. We won’t allow it,” Esidisi answered simply.

“What about the wedding ring?” you asked, putting a hand over your heart. your husband nodded, understanding.

“You’re worried we won’t save you if we don’t find the stone in time to escape our thousand year sleep?” he asked. You nodded, putting the basket away on a side table.

Esidisi’s bedroom was larger than Wamuu’s and so was the bed you were seated on. The silk covers and furs from exotic animals in the candle light looked and felt like some kind of dream. It didn’t help the part of your brain that was whispering none of this was meant for you and like a dream it would come to an end long before you wanted it to.

“We’ll do everything we can to secure the stone first. If that fails, we can buy ourselves more time as needed,” he said, taking your hands in his. “It pains me to think you’ll live a mortal life at all. I realize by comparison it is selfish, but I wouldn’t want to wake up in a world without you in it…” he sighed, thumbs stroking over the many rings on your fingers. He didn’t suggest making you a vampire, which you were grateful for. The thought of spending centuries in the dark consuming humans while waiting for them to return made you sick to your stomach.

“I’m sorry…” you whispered. “It’s just so hard to believe when my own people didn’t want me alive… You barely know me…”

“I know enough to have fallen for you and everything I have come to learn has made me love you more,” he responded.

“I-I… Esidisi…” you whined, wanting to bury your face in your hands, but he wouldn’t let go. Your face was red. Had it been so hot in his room the whole time? Every other underground room had been so cool.

“I will have you know the extent of my adoration, my beautiful dancing flame,” he said. “If Kars won’t see reason, I will make him.”

Somehow knowing that he would disagree with Kars for your sake was a greater declaration of love than any words or gifts and you leaned in to kiss his lips.

“I love you too… I don’t want to cry anymore, please,” you said softly, burying your fingers in his soft, white hair.

“But you cried so beautifully for Wamuu last night,” he whispered. You whined and buried your face in his neck.

“You were listening?!” you asked. You thought Esidisi had been out that night.

“How could I not have heard you screaming like that? You sounded so eager. I have lived thousands of years and yet this evening has tested my patience more than centuries spent looking for the stone. Now I finally get you all to myself~” he purred, reaching over to the nightstand and pinching the candle wick between his fingers to snuff out its flame. You heard the soft sizzle of his flesh burning as he hadn’t wet his fingers to do it, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Every light that died let the shadows of the room creep closer, but you weren’t scared or even worried.

In the dark you could still sense him moving while he was so close. The soft, delicate silks of your new clothes slipped off easily and you were about to start on your jewelry, but your master really had run out of patience.

“Keep them on. You look beautiful,” he praised, pulling you in for another heated kiss. You wished you could take some of his clothes, but you had already noticed those were stitched into his skin. You did not expect him to remove his sewn on chest plate just so you could kiss and nuzzle his chest more freely, which was why the loud sound of stitches snapping surprised you.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” you asked finally.

“I hardly feel any pain at all and my body heals quickly. I rather enjoy the thrill when I do feel it. It’s exhilarating,” he explained. You were about to reach out and touch his chest when something hot and slim coiled around your wrists and pulled them back above your head. You couldn’t see what it was and the sharp tug made you help, but you knew it was just your husband, even if you couldn’t quite tell what he’d done.

“I will show you pain if you don’t stop teasing me,” you huffed, making him laugh.

“You are too adorable, trying to threaten me, my little flame,” he said through his laughing, something hot and wet dripping from the coils around your wrists, making you shiver. His hands around your waist moved and still your hands were pinned, immobile, which was frustrating, because not only could you not see your lover without his painful looking armor, you couldn’t touch him either. His fingertips felt hot, as if by remnant of the flames he extinguished between them, but by now you knew better. That heat was all his and glowed fiercely from within and you vaguely suspected he held it back some, just to touch you without hurting you when he explored your naked skin.

There was something sensual about being dressed in nothing but your jewelry before him. The bracelets entwined with the warm twine that held your arms in place. The thin strands of twinkling gold, laden with gems around your neck, resting lightly against the top of your bare breasts. The anklets you still wore, a coquettish little accessory that would have branded you a shameless whore to the humans you knew. Still your husband regarded you as a far greater treasure, stroking your thighs and kissing your neck as if he were mapping out every inch of you with his touch, even though you knew he could see you in the complete darkness.

“Please, Esidisi…” you murmured, wanting to feel his heat deep inside your core. You could already tell this would be nothing like with Wamuu. He’d been all chivalry, slowly testing the waters, infinitely patient until you gave him the all clear to have his way with you.

Esidisi was more in control, using that to his advantage to tease you mercilessly. He was taking things slow to savour you, not because he was holding anything back. His demeanor exuded a confidence and experience that made you feel safe, even if his slow pace had you craving more already.

“Please what, my darling?” he asked, pushing you down against the bed and you could feel the mattress dip where he kneeled over your small, exposed form. In the pitch black darkness you couldn’t see him right in front of you, but you felt the warmth radiating off him like a flame still. “Would you rather I take you like a beast in heat, little one? So eagerly crying for more~”

Heat was a very apt description of your current desire, in every sense of the word and he knew it. Threats and orders would make him laugh and requests would be easily overruled, but Esidisi never once denied you when you begged.

“Please, my master, my lord, my king! I need you to touch me. Make me yours. Burn me up! I need you!” you pleaded, rubbing your thighs together, only to have them roughly pried apart.

“No wonder Wamuu lost control with you so easily. With such a charming spark you possess you should be careful what you wish for,” he warned, and you could feel his breath against your labia, already anticipating what would happen next.

Knowing what would happen and being prepared for just how good it would feel were still two different things and more of the hot tendrils wrapped themselves around your legs, keeping you open and exposed while your god and master indulged in the taste of you. He worked his tongue deliberately, aiming to please in a way that told he took just as much pleasure in the act himself.

“A-Ah, yes! Oh my god… please please please don’t stop!” you pleaded, losing yourself too quickly to even try holding back your orgasm. His thumb worked your clit in slow, deliberate circles, while his tongue dipped hungrily into your wet pussy, as if craving your taste.

You came screaming, arching off the bed as far as your bonds would allow, while Esidisi continued to work you through your climax with his gentle, loving touch.

“You’re incredible, my love. I am so thankful I get to have you all to myself tonight. I can already imagine the fights over who gets to have you in their bed, our most coveted treasure,” he whispered while you caught your breath.

“Hmm… Ah, but all else being equal… won’t I get a say in that?” you asked, panting to catch your breath. The bindings around your wrists loosened and moments later you could feel his fingers pushing into your sensitive opening.

“True, true, very true,” he agreed, as his warm, battle calloused fingers explored your most sensitive spots. His heat inside was making you tremble and you almost desperately wanted more of it, despite having cum once already. “I suppose I’d better give you a reason to choose me when the time comes,” he said, rubbing insistent circles at a spot that made you whimper with need.

With your hands now free, you reached blindly into the darkness, finding his immensely broad shoulders and muscular arms. You carded your fingers through the soft white curls of his hair, pushing the fabric of his headpiece off and feeling the sharp horns he kept concealed under it.

“I-If you want to give me a reason… P-Please fuck me… I can take it already, please~” you begged. You could just make out the way his breath hitched and the sharp intake of breath before the bindings around your legs dragged you hallway into your lover’s lap and you could feel the blunt head of his cock pressing against you to replace his fingers.

“I am going to ruin you…” he growled softly, gripping your hips and slamming in deep.

You arched your back and keened, the edge of pain eased by his warmth and the pleasure of having him inside.

“What a glorious little spark you are, sweet (Y/N). Let me have you like this forever. Let me shower you with affection so that you may always wear such a lovely expression,” he murmured, kissing your lips while his hips rocked steadily with yours, his pace intensifying until the bed under you shook. It was nowhere near the feral pounding you’d enjoyed from Wamuu the previous night, but it was enough to leave you reeling regardless.

You giggled briefly, shaking your head. “I-Imagine… If I made that face at lord Kars? No… just now… just you… Esidisi~...” you responded. He chuckled and lifted you further onto his lap, holding you close while he slowed to grinding deeper inside you than you would have thought possible. It felt so incredible your eyes fluttered shut and you slumped against his rock-hard chest, finally getting to rub your face on it, though your attention was firmly drawn elsewhere.

“I imagine he’ll be inclined to make you show that face for himself soon. He’ll be as enamored with it as I am, beloved,” he said, his heat all around and deep inside you. It felt so comforting and safe in his arms, even wrecked by wave after wave of pleasure. “Still, I will cherish this moment where you are mine and mine alone~”

You were going to cum again. The pleasure like this wasn’t as overwhelming as being pounded like before, but it was constant, inescapable and so intense you could only mewl softly in agreement and try not to drool.

“So small and sensitive. You are far too tempting not to tease,” he said, still rocking into you slow and deep, letting out a deep, guttural moan when he felt you quiver and tighten around his hard cock. He didn’t stop or slow down, keeping his pace and dragging your breathtaking orgasm on into what felt like minutes.

“Ah~ S-So much… t-too much! Esidisi… Too much~!!!” you whined, weak little fingers clutching at his shoulders, digging into his skin as you braced yourself against the tidal waves of climax.

“You can endure more than you think, little one. I will show you the true heights of pleasure,” he purred, the intensity of his movements ramping up and the intensity of your never ending peak with it.

You were spilling all over his lap, crying out nonsensically while Esidisi built back up to the bed rattling rhythm from before. You’d never imagined feeling pleasure like this, dancing on the razor’s edge of pain, but never crossing it. The last part of your brain that still had any sense left wondered what love making like this could be building towards, as you were already cumming, but you could feel something building regardless.

You dimly wondered if some sort of double orgasm was possible and the thought was funny to you.

You wanted to share it, but between gasping and panting for breath and the lust clouding your mind you couldn’t get a word out.

Then you felt Esidisi slamming in hard and deep, flooding you with more of his divine warmth to the point of overflowing, and you had the answer for what could possibly beat ecstacy like you had been feeling before.

The last thing crossing your mind was complete and utter satisfaction before you completely and utterly passed out.

#jjba #esidisi #esidisi x reader #pillarmen #jojo's bizzare adventure x reader #wamuu x reader #kars x reader #not sfw #chapter 2 #reader insert

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gillytweed · 3 years

Text

Murder and Smoothies

Summary: Gods, she was so stupid. So very, very stupid. Gideon was going to laugh at her so much when she got out of this… if she got out of this.

“Taken down by a fucking smoothie, amazing,” She’d say as she dragged Harrow back to their apartment, the vampire slung over her shoulder like a sack of soft wet potatoes. It would probably look a lot like what was happening currently.

Or, Vampire Harrow gets kidnapped by a Hunter and our favourite werewolf Gideon needs to come and save her ass.

Gods, she was so stupid. So very, very stupid. Gideon was going to laugh at her so much when she got out of this… if she got out of this.

She let out a soft grunt as the Hunter readjusted her on his shoulder, the joint between the scapula and humerus digging uncomfortably into her stomach.

In her defense, the Allium's scent and flavour had been well hidden among the blend of fruit, and had probably been distilled into a concentrated oil to have such a strong effect. Plus, the Hunter had been working at the smoothie stand for weeks. She’d just assumed he was some old man working a late shift, as he’d given her a smoothie almost every night for the last month.

On the other hand, she should have never become what could be called a regular in the first place.

“Almost home, girlie,” The Hunter said cheerfully, patting her leg like he was a grandfather carrying a sleeping grandchild home. If she could move, she would have tried to rip out his spine and beat him with it.

The area remained deserted as the Hunter took a winding path through back alleys and side streets, having long since planned his route. From what little she could see with her face smushed up against his back, it looked like they were headed towards the docks. How typical, stolen away to some warehouse to be tortured.

Against her assumptions, they turn off just as they’re about to head into the industrial area, instead going in the back door of some apartment complex and up several flights of stairs. Still, no one is around to watch as an old man carries what looks like an unconscious teenage girl into his apartment.

The apartment is sparse, clearly a temporary place to stay as the furniture consists of plastic lawn chairs and table, and a rolled up futon. There’s a few odd pieces of equipment laying around, but really the only sturdy piece of furniture is a metal chair set atop several large sheets of plastic, which the Hunter deposits her into.

He hums a little tune as he adjusts her limp limbs, pulling her arms up to rest on the uncomfortable chair arms, and strapping them down with thick leather bindings. He does the same to her legs, pulling them up next to the chair legs and firmly securing them. Clearly, this Hunter knew what he was doing.

Once she was bound to his satisfaction, he grabbed one of the plastic lawn chairs, set it in front of her and sat down. He leaned forward, elbows on his knees like he was about to have a nice chat with an old friend.

“Now, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way,” He starts, voice still as disgustingly pleasant as before. “I want you to call your Coven.”

Ah, while he’d done his research on her movement patterns, clearly he hadn’t tracked her all the way back to their apartment. If he had, he would know she didn’t have a coven, or at least not a typical one.

“Fuck you,” She breathed out the words. Her face was still a bit numb, but the Allium was beginning to wear off just enough to curse at the man.

“Now that isn’t very nice.” He says, smiling like a toddler had unknowingly said something rude. “I’m giving you the chance to avoid a lot of pain, you see.”

He leans back and pulls out something from inside his jacket. She half expected him to pull out a cigarette or cigar to keep in line with the whole ‘kindly grandpa’ schtick, but instead he holds up a pen light and flicks it on. Instantly she knows what it is.

What muscles she has control over start to shake as the small beam of artificial sunlight comes closer. While the artificial light won’t kill her outright, it will certainly hurt like a bitch.

The Hunter continues to hum as he flicks the light around the room, pointing it close to Harrow then pulling it away to loop back around again, teasing her. Eventually, he stops, the beam hovering near her hand.

“Last chance, call your Coven.” She just hisses at him, lips pulling back to reveal needle like fangs. He simply shrugs and moves the light over her fingers.

YUP, that definitely hurt like a bitch. Her hiss turns into one of pain, the noise stuttering as the skin on her knuckles darkens and smokes, flaking away to reveal ligaments and cartilage that also begin to darken. The smell is horrible, like burning meat. At full strength, the light probably would have barely affected her, but with the Allium and having waited to feed for several weeks, she was far from her strongest.

When her fingers are almost nothing more than bone, he stops. She’s breathing hard, despite not technically needing to breathe, but some instincts are hard to forget.

“Hmm, can’t have you healing now can we,” The Hunter says as he watches the edges of her burnt flesh flicker and boil. New strands of muscle curling out from under the charred pieces and stretching down along her phalanges.

He moves out of her vision for a moment. She hears a drawer open and the sound of metal clinking together. She just manages to turn her head a little when he comes back.

While the Allium was taking a while to wear off, it was still wearing off. If she could stall long enough, she could possibly wait it out. She’d only call Gideon as a last resort.

The Hunter sat back down heavily in his chair, the plastic legs scraping the floor unpleasantly. Once settled, he holds up his prize: several, hollow metal rods.

“I’m gonna let you in on a secret,” He says, still smiling. “It doesn’t really matter if you call your Coven or not. I’m still gonna get them all.”

He lays the metal rods over his lap and grabs Harrow’s chair, pulling her closer until she can smell the Allium on his breath. Of course he’d drink Allium before a hunt. It would make his blood undrinkable, so even if she did manage to get free he wasn’t a viable meal. Just perfect.

“You see,” He picks up one of the rods and flicks it, a small ting ringing from the impact. She can see one end is cut in a slant, creating a sharp point. “You leeches, while abominations on God's green earth, still have a wee bit of human in you. Your kind are pack animals, you protect each other.”

For a moment, he pauses and sets the rod aside, instead pulling a knife from his pocket. He grabs her left leg, pulling the fabric of her jeans taught and slicing away at the seam on the inner thigh, exposing pale skin.

“You don’t abandon each other so easily, especially when one of your own is in danger,” He picks up the rod again. “So, even if you don’t call them, I’m not gonna kill you just yet.”

The urge to snap his neck is overpowering when he starts feeling along her inner thigh, searching for something. Of course, with the Allium still in her system, all she can do is shake and twitch, fighting against the numbness as best as she can.

“Ah, here we go,” Without any preamble, the Hunter takes the rod and stabs hard with the sharp end, piercing the femoral artery in one quick thrust.

Her hiss of pain is guttural and involuntary as blood begins draining through the rod. Her leg twitches, the Allium wearing off at the wrong moment which results in a wave of burning pain down her leg. Instantly she can feel her power diminishing.

“If you don’t call your Coven for me,” The hunter continues, completely ignoring the trickle of blood splashing to the plastic sheets on the floor. “I’m going to drain you to torpor, then,” He pauses, wiping his bloody hands off on his jeans. “Once you’re a shriveled little husk, I’m going to string you up in a warehouse and lay in wait.”

He picks up another rod, this time angling it at her chest. The sharp tip rests just below her clavicle. He teasingly holds it there with one finger.

“When they realize you’re missing, they’ll come looking. They’ll follow the trail of your blood scent, and when they arrive they'll fall right into my trap.” He begins to push the rod in, ever so slowly. She feels the skin and muscle part painfully as it slides between her clavicle and top rib. There’s a pause, and then an uncomfortable pressure as her lung is pierced.

“You’ll be in torpor of course, so you won’t get to watch as I kill the rest of you leeches, but you don’t need to worry about that. You just need to decide how much pain you want to experience beforehand.” He stops pushing in the rod, but gives it a little wiggle, making her choke out a groan, before grabbing the next one.

This one he doesn’t leave any preamble. He just shoves it in on the other side of her chest between the second and third ribs. She can feel the weakness setting in, her blood draining.

She hates to admit it, but she needs help.

“G-GIDEON,” She chokes out, the air stuttering in her throat as it leaks away around the rods pushed into her chest.

“Yes, that’s it. Call your Coven!” The Hunter hisses with glee, his eyes bulging wide and horrible. “I have a present just for them.” He holds up a jury-rigged spray canister, a large one that would normally be used to apply insecticides. The acrid scent of Allium wafting off it makes her gag. Just the smell of it makes her sinuses burn and her eyes water, precious blood welling up in place of tears and dripping down her face.

As the minutes tick by, she can feel her blood slowly drain away, seeping from the puncture wounds in her torso, and her leg. The edges of her vision begin to grow fuzzy with darkness as she’s slowly, painfully pulled towards torpor.

“Gi-deon,” She stutters again, the word coming out as more of a wheezed groan as her lungs continue to collapse in on themselves.

She didn’t want to call Gideon, but she could imagine her face. Her face if she found out what was happening and Harrow hadn't even tried to ask for help. She wouldn’t be mad, she would look hurt and disappointed, like a kicked puppy.

There’s a crash somewhere in the rest of the complex, the sound of wood breaking and metal bending.

“Oh ho, that was faster than expected!” The Hunter crows with glee. He lifts up the spray can, and releases a test spray of Allium. It burns as the substance sprinkles over her skin, the area quickly going numb soon after.

There’s another crash, closer this time. Then a low braying snarl that vibrates in Harrow’s ears. To anyone else, they might mistake it for a dog barking into the night, but to her it meant one thing: Gideon was coming.

The Hunter hauls himself up from his chair and begins grabbing weapons. A large combat knife is tucked into his belt, then a carved wooden stake, made from holly wood, based on the smell. He takes a moment to duct tape the penlight to the top of the spray canister and flicks it on.

There’s a thud outside the apartment door, then some shuffling. Harrow can hear Gideon’s breathing, deep level huffs as she takes in the scents around her. She can imagine Gideon’s nostrils flaring, eyes blazing an unnatural gold as she smells Harrow’s blood then-

An arm erupts through the flimsy wooden door. Black claws gleam in the lowlight as the arm reaches for the doorknob, metal crunching and screeching as it folds under the sheer strength as it’s wrenched open.

The Hunter, without a vampire's supernatural vision, doesn’t realize anything’s amiss until the door is swinging open to reveal Gideon in all her glory.

She was partially transformed, ginger hair thicker and spreading to create a ruff of fur along her neck and shoulders. Her face is slightly elongated, just enough that any human would recognize a predator when they saw her. Her eyes gleamed with an intensity that would terrify any mortal, but only brought Harrow a feeling of relief.

The Hunter lunges, spraying Allium as he goes then brings his knife up to slice at Gideon’s throat. The blade meets air, as Gideon recoils, the numbing spray ineffective against a werewolf. It was more an irritant than anything.

Gideon snarled, lips pulled back to reveal long sharp canines. She shoves the Hunter back, sending him tumbling, and sneezes in a way that would be adorable in any other circumstances.

The Hunter, with agility unhindered by his age, falls, rolls backwards and pops up onto his feet. He lunges again, but staggers as he finally sees what he’s fighting.

“Oh, Fu-“ He doesn’t say anymore as Gideon’s hand pierces his stomach much like she’d pierced the door. From her position, Harrow can’t see much, but she can hear his choked gurgle as Gideons arm flexes and there's a sickening crunch as something within the Hunter is crushed and he goes limp. He slumps to the floor with a thud, sliding off Gideon’s forearm like so much meat.

There’s silence for a moment, the only noise being Gideon’s heavy breathing. Based on the sheen of sweat, she probably started sprinting as soon as she’d heard Harrow call.

Gideon huffed, clearing the last of the Allium from her nose, then beelines for Harrow. She kneels, ignoring the blood pooling around her, and without even asking yanked the rod from Harrow’s thigh.

Harrow let out a soft groan at the sensation of the metal sliding out of her skin, but was glad it was gone. Without anything obstructing the wound, it closes quickly, the hole narrowing until the smallest trickle of blood drips from it.

Next Gideon yanks out the rods in her chest, the feeling just as unpleasant, if not more so. With her lungs essentially collapsed in on themselves, and still very much punctured, all she could do was make a soft wheezing noise.

“Shut up,” Gideon snapped as she moved to release her arms. “Don’t try to talk yet, idiot.” Her words held a small lisp, the sounds interrupted by the fangs in her mouth. While she did roll her eyes, Harrow obeyed, waiting until she was released from her bonds.

As soon as she was free from the chair, Gideon bundled Harrow up into her arms and held her close. It took a little shifting, because Gideon was a gods damned giant, but eventually Harrow was able to reach a good feeding spot.

Her fangs sunk into the flesh just above Gideon’s clavicle, letting blood flow into her mouth. To most vampires, werewolf blood tasted like ass mixed with sewage, to Harrow, when it was Gideon, it tasted like home. It also made her realize how absolutely ravenous she was.

She felt Gideon’s arms tense around her, but it was only so she could stand up. Harrow, too hungry to care, just continued to feed, gulping down mouthfuls of thick wonderful, rejuvenating blood.

She’s passively aware of Gideon giving the Hunters body a solid kick before she’s heading for the door. They’re on the rooftops and several blocks away before Harrow pulls away from her meal.

She could feel her puncture wounds closing, and with every breath her lungs began to expand. She could also feel the deep seated ache that always happened after Allium exposure.

She lets her forehead fall against Gideon’s chest with a light thump and closes her eyes. She let herself enjoy the feeling of the evening breeze as Gideon ran at a loping pace.

Eventually, Gideon stopped to rest on a rooftop a short way from their apartment, plopping down to sit while still holding Harrow. She was breathing hard, having run to get to Harrow, and then ran to get away. To be honest, the feeling of Gideon’s chest heaving under her head was comforting. It was something to focus on other than her own stupidity.

“Soooo, how’d you get caught?” Gods, never mind, apparently she wasn’t allowed to forget being an idiot for even a moment.

“Stupidly.” Was her reply, not lifting her head from Gideon’s chest. “He fed me Allium.”

Harrow could practically feel Gideon wince. While it didn’t affect werewolves like it did vampires, Gideon had seen the effects enough times to know the stuff was capital N nasty. Her arms tightened around Harrow a fraction, hugging her a bit closer.

“Well, that must’ve sucked balls.”

Ah, eloquent as ever.

“Yes, Gideon, it did and continues to ‘suck balls’.” Harrow replied, voice filled with exhaustion. “Paired with being drained of blood, I’m going to need to sleep for a while.” ‘Which means I need you to protect me’ was added silently.

“Aye aye, Capt’n. One coffin, coming right up!” Gideon said with forced cheer as she shuffled her way to standing again. She wobbled a little, the lactic acid having gathered in her legs, but she leapt to the next roof with little difficulty.

Their apartment was a basement suite, chosen specifically to have as few windows as possible. The door was also around the side of the building, giving them a little cover from prying eyes as they went inside. A good thing too, because both of them looked like they’d committed murder.

Which they kind of did, now that she thought about it.

“Okay, Coffin or bath first?” Gideon’s voice was completely serious with none of it’s usual joviality. Harrow thought for the moment it took Gideon to take off her shoes. She was tired, incredibly so, but waking up covered in blood would, as Gideon had said, “suck balls.”

“A change of clothes at least, please,” She sighed, not lifting her head from Gideon’s shoulder. She feels Gideon bob her head, then they’re headed down the hall towards the bedrooms.

Gideon shoves her way into Harrow’s room without preamble, and deposits her gently on the bed. Harrow doesn’t move, letting her body sink into the mattress as Gideon putters around, pulling open drawers.

She hears a thump as her coffin is pulled out of the closet, Gideon grunting as she shoves the heavy box up against the side of the bed. While Harrow could technically sleep in the bed, being inside the coffin was better, mostly for safety. Should anyone drop by unexpectedly, like their landlord for example, Gideon could just put the coffin, and Harrow, deep inside the closet, instead of having what would appear to be a dead body laying in bed.

It also would make emergency transport easier, should it be necessary while she was asleep. She’s fallen asleep before, and then awoken a week later halfway across the country, an exhausted Gideon having to explain their unexpected flight from their old home. And, regardless of the reasoning, Harrow had always felt more comfortable, safer, ensconced inside the coffins thick wood, even if logically it was a dead give away to her vampiric nature.

“Alright, my duchess of darkness,” Harrow opened her eyes to find Gideon standing over her, arms clean of blood, holding a pile of clean clothes. “Let’s get you ready for your nap.”

Harrow sighed, but sat up with a grunt. With fresh blood, the Allium had begun wearing off faster, but she was still sore as hell. Her arms shook as she propped herself up, not even complaining when Gideon wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Switching clothes wasn’t the most exciting thing in the world, the only snag being the zipper on her jeans being crusted closed with blood and both of them deciding ‘fuck it’ and just cutting them off. They were ruined anyway.

Once dressed in comfortable sweatpants, and having wiped the blood from her face at Gideon’s insistence, she shuffles her way into the coffin, curling up on her side with a deep shuddering sigh. Gods she was so tired.

As she slips into a healing sleep, she’s vaguely aware of a hand brushing some of her hair back behind her ear, and a gently murmured, “G’night, Harrow” before the lid of the coffin is closed with a soft thud and she’s left in blissful darkness.

#the locked tomb #harrowhark nonagesimus #gideon nav #griddlehark #harrow x gideon #My writing

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psychodelic-insomnomaniac · 3 years

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also, why does the sun bother Gio? I get why it kills vampires, life essence overload, that apparently doesn't happen to Gio. can its life essence sustain him? can he photosynthesize, and just doesn't because he doesn't know he can? please someone come help this poor child, he shouldn't have to figure things out all by himself like this

It hurts him because, as I explained in that really massive vampire lore post from forever ago, trying to take in sunlight as a vampire is the rough equivalent of trying to drink from a tsunami. There’s just way too much of it and they have no shutoff. Giorno, thanks to GE, is a little more stable. GE is a reservoir of life energy, so his body isn’t in a full on panic mode all the time and trying to take in everything at once. He is, however, still generally lacking, so therefore his body *is* still trying to absorb more life energy. The energy that the sun gives off is a pure, undiluted form of energy that vampires- and dhampyrs for that matter- are simply incapable of processing. It’s like trying to drink saltwater. Yes it’s water, but not a form that the body can actually *do* anything with, and any attempts to subsist off of it will end up killing you. So no, Giorno is incapable of photosynthesis. He may not just instantly burn up and die like a proper vampire would, but he still isn’t capable of actually processing the sun’s energy. Also, the hungrier he is (meaning, the less life force he has), the worse the sun will effect him, and vice versa. If fully fed, the sun is nothing more than a minor annoyance. If starving... he still won’t disintegrate or anything, but it won’t be pretty.

He definitely does need help. Problem is A: he’s sure as shit not gonna tell anyone right now, and B: no one would have any idea what to *do*. He’s one of a kind, baby. *Nobody* fully understands how he works.

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onepartbrave · 3 years

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an FYI ~

Without a doubt, I’ve been distracted from RP but I digress… I’ve also been dipping into fanficland, a Strifehart feels run being my first instalment yet to come.

A snippet below, I guess? I’m quite dubious when sharing as I sometimes feel I don’t get Squall just right, let alone other characters… ergo, this leap of faith? Eh. Enjoy what will come, I guess?

Brief synopsis; Cloud is a werewolf that lives in the world of FF8. Other characters will appear, but for now, Strifehart mains~

In the beginning, not all was well. Those born from extraordinary circumstances – “Mythics” – were scorned, exiled from belonging in any place of man due to their collective (misplaced) fear; of not knowing what they might do, despite not knowing what they might not do.

Long, tedious battles took place, sometimes figuratively, mostly physically, until one fateful day, a breakthrough finally happened. One man, known among mankind as a hero of their time, used his influence over the world to fight for them, and he fought fiercely for their rights as living beings to survive and thrive with everyday people.

Vampires, once feared through centuries of misrepresentation and slander, strolled about in broad daylight, dressed head-to-toe in protective gear, specialised to deflect the life-threatening UV rays. Werewolves, once thought of as nothing but mindless monstrosities carrying an uncontrollable, infectious disease, walked among the public without fears of being ruthlessly hunted. Fairies, demons, pixies, sirens – so many Mythics roaming freely for, potentially, the first time in their lives.

Squall Leonhart was, for lack of a better term, fed up.

Why, one might inquire? Simply put, in the outskirts of Winhill, he’d purchased a luxuriously large plot of land and set up a homely ranch-slash-house for himself. The final decision to settle down in the middle of nowhere was partially due to the beautiful scenery, mostly from the unrivalled privacy and his overwhelming need to stay out of the limelight to enjoy his reluctant retirement. On the land roamed a few dozen chickens, some cows, a random goat or two, and a grumpy old chocobo that wandered in one day and stayed, allegedly liking what she saw (and whom he’d fondly named Chocorita – he wasn’t great at naming things, sue him).

In the solitude of Winhill and the mountains, he’d expected peace. For the first time in his life, he wanted to take it slow, to relax and maybe take up a boring hobby that kept him off his feet (just as the doctor prescribed, ugh). Instead, anywhere he went, he got chaos. Destruction, mayhem, calamity, regardless of how minor or extreme. Natural, man-made and in-between, there was no way to escape his horrendous luck.

Such was what had him out of bed at an ungodly hour one morning, standing in nothing but fraying-at-the-edges pyjama pants and worn out boots in long need of replacing, staring in utter disdain and absolute exasperation at his hen house… that was currently being ravaged by a gigantic, rugged as heck, wolf. Flashlight pointing directly at the offending creature, which halted on the spot like a deer caught in headlights the moment the beam landed on its furry hide, unblinking eyes on Squall as he glared back his unrelenting disgust.

Why. Just why.

“…I use these for eggs!” he howled, agitation and exhaustion (with everything) winning over any common sense warning him to back away from the potentially dangerous beast, waving his only viable weapon of a flickering flashlight at the frozen mongrel. Who, to his complete surprise, dropped the feathery carcass like the soft exterior burned and fucking scampered away in (what he could only describe as) unbridled terror, wispy tail tucked firmly between long legs. Silence crept in around Squall, apart from the occasional chirping cricket, as he stared in the direction the wolf fled, trying to process what just happened.

After a moment of further consideration, he shook his head roughly, forever in his way hair falling over his face as he clapped a palm to it, running it down while groaning in defeated frustration. Miles and miles of forest teeming with wildlife just as easy to catch, plus neighbouring placements just a few clicks out, and… it was still him that was ransacked. Hand lowering, noticing the flashlight beam gradually dimming, he deemed it time to call it a night. One wearily curious glance after the thieving mutt was all he spared before turning on his heel and wobbling his way back inside to the persistent light and welcoming aircon.

He’d deal with the chickens come sunrise.

Come morning, a more reasonable morning, someone had the nerve to knock loudly on Squall’s front door. With his establishment being all ground floor, noises travelled quickly and efficiently. Thus, obnoxious banging woke him from a restless sleep despite his bedroom being in the furthest corner away from the main hall. Blissful silence occurred briefly, his pounding head welcoming the peace, before it was rudely interrupted with, yet again, more incessant knocking. It seemed his unwanted visitor wasn’t giving in.

Groaning lowly to himself, Squall’s right arm raised and flew to cover his eyes, knowing full well if he were to open them immediately, he’d be temporarily blinded by radiant sunshine. Despite having blinds that supposedly repelled sunlight, he still woke most mornings by an impish beam to the face. One of the wonderful things about living in Winhill was the endless sunshine, but it was also one of the worst. Contemplating his next move while gingerly stretching out tender limbs, he barely refrained from growling aloud in annoyance when more knocking came.

He was going to deck whoever it was VIP status (Laguna) or not (Seifer).

Grudgingly, he removed his arm and squinted his eyes as they slowly peeled open, pre-emptively braced. Lightly shaking off the familiar numbness filtering in from his left leg, Squall sluggishly pushed himself up and to the edge of his bed to sit. Running a hand through his hair while the other provided a sturdy support as he leant back, he didn’t care to stifle the bothersome yawn momentarily clouding his mind. Scratching an itch to the rear of his skull, he blinked his eyes a few more times before he was ready to combat nature’s wakeup call.

Or fates, if the knock, knock, knocking was any implication.

“Yeah, yeah… on my way,” he mumbled to none as he forced himself up. Wavering slightly to start, he used the headboard to help stabilise his equilibrium. Taking a moment to ensure his balance was up to par, he surged on with murderous intent. Well… more like waddled on like an angry duckling – he doubted anyone would take him seriously with an unfortunate case of bedhead (fluffy, sticking up everywhere, untameable; he’d tried, trust him) and wearing only pyjama pants with a hole in the left knee. Muttering darkly to himself as he marched onward, soft carpet beneath his feet turned into solid wood, one click sounding for every two steps he took. Obviously, he’d forgotten socks in his eagerness to return to bed last night.

Finally, he reached the front door, solid wood slash metal with a singular, one-way peephole embedded and grabbed the slick metal handle, twisted the key to unlock and all but yanked the thing open like it caused him great offence. Not the door at least, but the one standing on the opposite side had. “What’s your goddamn problem…?!” Squall fired out instantly, although some of the ferocity died down by his fourth word at seeing who was there.

A man, possibly around his age, with hair worse than his own sticking up all over the place (platinum blond, didn’t look dyed – cute), skin pale enough to suggest he’d never seen sunlight, let alone been outside in it and the brightest blue eyes Squall had ever seen staring at him widely, looking oddly innocent despite being stuck to a grown adult… and oddly familiar. If only to add to Squall’s ludicrous attraction to the man, a rosy tint overtook definitely illegal cheekbones and the man, who’d been staring relentlessly, dropped his adorable gaze bashfully and rambled under his breath.

Squall struggled to hear, features automatically down turning into something reminiscent of a scowl. His unfortunate visitor caught the look and perceived it to be for him, rather than Squall’s lacklustre hearing. “I—I’m sorry for the early morning call but I couldn’t wait any longer. My name’s—uh, Cloud Strife, and I, I’m your new neighbour,” he, allegedly Cloud, said, rather rapidly and in a tone that suggested questionable embarrassment and… guilt? “I happened to be passing by when I figured it—it’d be neighbourly to give you a welcoming present—” Wait, wasn’t that supposed to be the other way around? Squall was becoming more puzzled by the second, yet he continued to watch the blond ramble. “—so, I, I have something. For you. If you want them?”

When Cloud concluded his introduction, Squall simply stared. Blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes with the palm of a hand to ensure that yes, he was awake, and yes, there was potentially the cutest blond idiot babbling on his doorstep just after sunrise. Said blond peek at him coyly through his bangs and Squall’s heart skipped a beat.

Well, at least he knew his eyesight was still functioning well.

“I… sure?” he replied, more of a question than a response, but it seemed to suit Cloud’s expectations perfectly.

His neighbour hopped to attention and beckoned Squall over with enthusiastic waves of his whole arm, looking him up and down when he suddenly stopped. In an instant, Squall’s guard rose as he watched where that sky-blue gaze fell, hackles instinctively prepared. A heartbeat past and… Cloud simply shook his head and said, “Sorry, shoes—I’ll let you put on some shoes.”

And that expelled any suspicion Squall held over that inquisitive gaze. If he hadn’t caught himself, he would’ve expressed a small smile at the blond’s antics. He blamed his messed-up sense of defence and common sense on his lack of sleep. Making to abide by Cloud’s reasonable suggestion, he slid his sockless feet into his trusty boots, left one stiffer than the right, and grabbed a jacket from the hooks by the door. Pulling on the coat to make himself at least semi-decent, he stepped outside into the already harsh warmth of the summer sun and joined Cloud’s side. Who had waited for him in the exact position he’d stopped in and not another glance was thrown downwards to Squall’s feet.

He didn’t know whether to be impressed by someone’s apparent self-control or see if he couldn’t torment the man for looking in the first place. The sassier, snappier side of him wanted anyone that stared to suffer first-hand mortification, but somehow, Cloud slipped by and made his way to the ‘simply impressed’ side.

Following his energetic neighbour to wherever he deemed necessary, Squall took the opportunity from lingering somewhat behind to check him out. A faded-check shirt was atop a sleeveless black tank-top, black combat pants with thick-soled biker boots, and twin (again, you guessed it) black fingerless gloves shielding strong-looking hands. Screw his hands, when they stopped by a monstrous, fucking fantastic motorcycle parked just off the driveway, Cloud’s shirt sleeves pulled up when the blond lifted something that had been secured to the rear of the bike and Squall saw jaw-dropping muscle definition on his arms alone.

Silently, the gremlin part of his brain prayed for gale-force winds to suddenly whip up and rip the clothes from his neighbour’s body so Squall could check out the rest of him. Decisively, he ignored it.

What was impossible to ignore was the crate Cloud was carrying, filled with… chickens? Improbable as it seemed considering the already perplexing introduction, Squall found himself feeling off-balance on how to respond or what to respond with. Why on earth was Cloud presenting hens to him? It seemed absurdly coincidental that he lost such birds the night before to the foul mutt… Stormy eyes squinted at still-radiating-innocence blue and popped his right hand on his corresponding hip. “…Do you have a dog?”

Weirdly, Cloud fumbled with the crate at Squall’s legitimate question, the wooden box and livestock inside nearly falling directly onto booted feet. Immaculate reflexes avoided disaster, though the same couldn’t be said for the man himself. “Dog?” was Cloud’s inquiring reply as he straightened up, voice going oddly high-pitched as though he felt targeted by Squall’s suspicion… which he was, he supposed, and the given reaction wasn’t helping Cloud’s case. “No—no, I have no animals. Why?”

He studied Cloud in brief silence, offering a meek shrug soon after, hand falling from its perch back to his side. “No reason.” And now back to the topic at hand: “Why have you brought me chickens?” And why would you think I need any, his mind finished for him. Patiently, he waited.

Cloud toyed with his bottom lip between his teeth, eyes flicking everywhere but Squall. Almost like he struggled to think of a valid reason. Shady… In the moment of muteness, Squall’s focus shifted to the sleek machine stationed just behind them. The coat was midnight-black and shimmered in the sunlight majestically. Thicker than most two-wheelers he’d seen in his lifetime, potentially heavier from the additional compartments his keen eyesight made out, and two front wheels instead of the usual one… Simply put, it was a work of art and Squall was yet to find any piece of machinery he couldn’t wholly admire. Wonder what it’s like to ride…

“I—I noticed you have a ranch and figured you could never have too many chickens.” If that wasn’t the lamest excuse Squall had heard in a long while… and he was friends with both Rinoa and Selphie. “So—take them?”

Earnest blue eyes practically begged him, and the box was shoved his way suggestively, Squall’s answer was simple. He hadn’t the heart to tell the allegedly generous man ‘no’. “…Fine,” he sighed, growing instantly pensive when Cloud beamed – like he was doing the blond a favour by taking the hens. Were they infected or something? “Bring them this way,” he continued quietly, jerking his head in the direction of the main coop. Since he was already holding it, why not make use of Cloud a little longer? “I didn’t see you move in,” he commented as they began to walk, the blond keeping pace with his slightly stunted one.

If Squall was to describe the stream of expressions that flitted over Cloud’s face in the next moment, he’d be there all day. The blond chose to settle on sheepishness with a matching smile. “It was a quick overnight thing… didn’t have much to unpack,” Cloud murmured, keeping his eyes facing forward to avoid further contact with Squall’s.

Everything about him set off warning bells inside Squall’s mind but he couldn’t make heads or tails of what or why. Was it due to his own reclusive nature and the fact he’d evaded human interactions as much as realistically possible over the last few months, that simple conversation with new people was putting him on-guard? Too mindful over what everyone thought about him now? Shiva, he needed to get a hobby other than overthinking. Fat lot of help it was in the past.

Thankfully, Cloud neither glanced his way to assume Squall’s souring mood was his fault or commented on the silence dragging between them as they strode on. It was only when the wooden hutch was in sight that Squall recalled last night’s problem – deceased chickens all over the place. Great, now Cloud would assume he was a disturbed maniac that feasted upon the flesh of the poor birds that had been ripped apart –

Stopping suddenly in his tracks, Squall stared openly at the area surrounding his hen house. Cloud also paused, eyes sweeping up in an inquisitive manner, but voiced nothing. Again, he was grateful for the blond’s apparent love of silence because he wouldn’t know what to say as the entire ground was clean. No residue blood, no scattered feathers, no messy carcasses – hell, it looked like someone had swept the floor, too. Picking apart his brain for plausible solutions to the glaring problem encountered, he came up empty and his only reward was undiluted bewilderment.

Eventually though, Cloud broke the silent treaty and asked, quite reasonably, “Is, uh, everything okay?”

Surprisingly speechless, Squall turned his head to bring the virtuous blond into view, who was genuinely asking from misguided concern about his wellbeing. But… what could he honestly say? ‘Oh, yesterday there was numerous bodies littering the floor and now they’ve miraculously gone!’ Pfft, not likely. Flicking out his tongue to swipe along his bottom lip (noting idly how blue eyes seemed to follow the motion), he finally nodded and resolved to not telling the truth. “Phantom pains,” he said shortly, hoping the tone of voice dissuaded further questions. Luckily, Cloud complied but dropped his gaze out of apparent embarrassment again and Squall felt his chest squeeze. He hated feeling guilty. “Happens all the time, don’t worry about it.”

Hopeful eyes raised to greet his and Squall determined that shade of blue to be illegal now. Everything about Cloud was illegal. “I—I understand,” Cloud said, nodding in sincere comprehension, hefting the crate a little higher. “Should I just set this down and free them, or…?”

Right, the chickens. Squall nodded once. “Yeah, free roaming and all that.”

“’N all that,” Cloud echoed with a faint smile, placing the box gently on the (clean!) floor. Nimble fingers worked over the latches holding the front plate on and a second later, three golden birds scooted out, interested in their newfound freedom and unfamiliar surroundings. He watched Cloud watch them closely, like he was wishing for the hens to accept their new home without complications. Seemingly, it was granted as all three clucked and shot off towards the coop, fluttered up the ramp and out of sight through the swinging door. He smiled, looking up at Squall from where he crouched. “They seem to like it here.”

Squall’s brain was apparently malfunctioning and his brain-to-mouth filter broke, as the next moment after nodding in agreement to Cloud’s statement, he spewed out, “I think you would too if you wanna join me for coffee?”

An awkward pause ensued. While Squall wished for the ground to open up and swallow him whole (like it apparently did to his poor chickens), Cloud, rightfully so, stared as him like another head just popped out of his shoulder. Dazed blue eyes blinked a few times while the blond visibly contemplated his next move, or words. He, being the gentleman he was, figured it was only fair to give Cloud a way out and opened his mouth to withdraw the offer with as much nonchalance as he could mister, but Cloud beat him to it.

A slight raise of a shoulder and an uncertain but curious smile sketched onto his face, murmuring, “We could go to the town—I do need a guide and I’m sure there’s a café somewhere.”

Squall paused. Cloud was not only accepting his pre-morning-coffee suggestion but was entertaining further interaction with his lunatic of a neighbour. It was impossible that he’d made a good impression so early, so the simplest deduction was Cloud being masochistic and liking the pain that came alongside social interactions with hermits like himself. Raising a hand to ruffle the hair waving in his face, he ignored the background clucks of his regular hens coming over to inspect the ground for food (since he was out and provider of said nutrients), eyed Cloud with a weariness that came naturally to him and, beyond all reason, nodded his agreement. “Alright. I’ll be ready in five.”

Promptly, he made his way back to the front of the house. Once there, he glanced back slightly over his shoulder and queried, “My truck or your bike?”

Cloud, who tailed him closely like a lost puppy, lit up the yard with the smirk he sent Squall. “Bike—unless you can’t handle it.”

Squall’s eyes narrowed in playful challenge. Not that anyone outside his inner circle knew what it looked like. “Five minutes, Strife.”

“A second past that and I’m assuming you’ve backed out—uh,” Cloud paused midway into his retaliation and Squall realised he was yet to introduce himself. With a slither of awkwardness, the blond found an interesting patch on the floor to stare at, apparently incapable of asking a simple question.

Squall decided to put Cloud out of his misery. Almost. “Leon.”

It was daft how adorable it was when Cloud perked up at the revelation. He nodded, quirking him a half-smile. “Leon—tick tock.”

Squall huffed in earnest astonishment from his neighbour’s audacity (and the depth of shock he was feeling at how well they hit it off) and hobbled his way back inside at a quicker pace than his norm. Efficiency was a skill he possessed, as was haste without magic being involved. Kicking off his yard boots and shrugging off the outdoor jacket on the way to his room, he wondered on whether Cloud carried a spare helmet with him for such happenstance that strange neighbours agreed to tagging along with his wild journeys. Entering his bedroom, he yanked open the closest door and pulled out the thickest pair of jeans he owned and SeeD-issued combat boots. Nudging the door shut with a hip, he dumped them on his bed before beelining for his drawers. Retrieving underwear from the top drawer, he dug out a plain old shirt from the middle one – those were dumped on the bed too.

Briefly, he wondered about the state of his hair but shrugged it off – it’d be underneath a helmet, who cared? Wriggling off the pyjama pants (whoops at going commando to greet his neighbour for the first time), he dressed himself while keeping a flickering gaze on the bedside clock to watch the time. Three minutes and twenty-two seconds later, he was adequately dressed and ready to go. Theoretically. For a moment, he questioned where his mind had gone and what replaced it to make him so whimsical. Uncaring in the end, he shrugged off such thoughts at hearing the starting rumble of the alluring thing awaiting him (the bike was pretty neat too).

Finally, Squall moseyed on to the front door again, picking up his trusty leather jacket along the way. Too often he’d been teased (or ridiculed) about the fur adorning the lining, but fuck those guys, he liked being warm, thank you very much. Pulling said jacket on as he exited his condo, grabbing keys, wallet and his cell phone along the way, bitter warmth greeted him already but he paid it no heed at the sight he was blessed with – Cloud straddling the beast, a pair of goggles sitting atop of blond spikes, arms crossed and peering at him with… clear admiration and perhaps a hint of amusement.

Locking the front door with a snort, Squall then pointed the sharp enough key (to get his point across) at the blond, and said, “Not one word about the jacket, Strife.” A raised brow was his response. His own eyes narrowed. “I mean it.”

Cloud raised his hands in a show of mock surrender and then lowered the goggles to shield his eyes. “No words said.”

Squall nodded in approval while making his way over, studying the sleek machine. Obviously, his choice seat was behind Cloud, although it seemed it would be a tight fit for two grown adults. So what. Steeling his determination, he gritted his teeth and, after bracing himself on Cloud’s shoulder, swung his right leg over the bike to attain his seat. Unfortunately, it applied unnecessary pressure to his bad leg and a bolt of pain lanced through him. He went rigid and a concerned look shot over the shoulder he just leaned on.

“I’m fine,” Squall growled out, a low warning poorly concealed within the words. Giving himself a minute to settle and for his head to stop pounding, he breathed in and out steadily, and then sighed. Only when he impulsively ran a hand through his own hair did he realise something critical: “Where’s your helmet?”

A gleam came into blue eyes and Squall felt slight trepidation in his choice. “No helmet. Hold on tight.”

The engine roared to life as Cloud twisted his right hand and Squall instinctively grabbed onto what was closest: Cloud’s jacket – procured from where, Squall didn’t know, but could certainly appreciate. Not a second later, they were tearing up Squall’s driveway, dust clouds and debris kicking up behind them as wheels scrambled for purchase. Before long rubber kissed tarmac and Cloud released the clutch, twisted the throttle, leaned forward and really started to move. The bike shot off like a rocket and Squall could only hold on for dear life, vice-grip on Cloud’s sides being switch for the more secure looping around his waist, face buried into the back of Cloud’s jacket, heart racing as fast as the vehicle he’d willingly jumped on, idly wondering if he’d make it out alive.

Exhilarating was too tame a word to use in description for the feel of wind whipping his hair about. The sheer amount of fresh air hitting his throat when finally releasing the breath he’d been holding nearly made him choke (and he lived in the mountains already). Eyes watering immediately when he attempted to open them to view the rapidly passing countryside, he chose to keep them jammed shut, listening to the roar of the engine whenever Cloud accelerated and the pounding of his own heart that felt was about to leap out of his chest.

Now to say Squall had lived a lively, fast-paced life so far would be a gross understatement, but there was something so utterly terrifying, yet breathlessly freeing, about riding so recklessly with a gorgeous stranger he’d just met.

Liberating.

#Strifehart #WIP fic #ooc.#I really like the concept of this one and wanna finish it #but time???#what is this eheh

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