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justmeinadaze · 1 year ago

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Head Filled With Demons Part 5 (Steddie X You)

A/N: I bare you...this final part. <3. I can always come back to them as I'm sure they have many more stories to tell now. When I wrote Maeve I pictured her looking very much like Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia from Buffy). I think she's a gorgeous lady :).

Enjoy!

Warnings: Demon Steddie X Human Fem Reader, SMUT, slight over stimulation (they are enjoying her and each other), DP, and everything else that comes along with these three. FLUFF, LOTS of mentions about how much they love her and vice versa, ANGST, final murder (brief), sassy evil Henry is back, mentions of their past summoners and what happened with them including their murders, Reader meets the woman that trapped them and makes a deal. I think that's everything.

Word Count: 7954

“Fuck!”, you screech into the sunrise as you march along the wooded path.

“Oof someone’s angry.” A beautiful young lady dances past you towards a tree you feel like you’ve seen many times before but can’t pinpoint where. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’m, um, trying to save the… men… I love.”

“How so?”, she asks without looking your way as she does a pirouette.

“Um…They’ve been stuck somewhere they shouldn’t have been in the first place. They deserve to live a normal life and be happy.”

“What an odd word choice. What IS a normal life for a demon?”

Your eyes narrow in her direction as you try to follow her while she continues to do ballet steps you saw your own mother do numerous times.

“Do I know you?”

“Let me ask you something, Y/N.” She twirls around a tree and when you chase after her, you find her standing at the edge of the hill looking off in the distance. “If you could take their place, would you?”

Your eyes snapped open, meeting Eddie’s worried look.

“Are you alright? You were tossing and turning a lot.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Is it normal for your summoners to have dreams?”

“What kind of dreams?”

You lay back against your pillow as you try to gather your thoughts.

“Since I met you, I’ve been having dreams about Hawkins on fire.”

“I mean, yeah, I’m not surprised.”, Steve sighed.

“Sometimes…unique dreams come through though. One night I had a dream that you two died with me here in this house. I told you to go to Oblivion and you both refused with Eddie telling me that…he wasn’t going to lose another princess.” The demon’s fingers reached out to caress your cheek. “The morning my dad died, he talked to me and then disappeared somewhere with my mom. She told me to go easy on you because what was about to happen wasn’t your fault.

Steve blinks as he exhaled heavier this time.

“Last night, I had a dream that I was trying to save you from your stone and this woman kept dancing around me, asking me questions.”

“Did you know her?”

“No, I don’t think so but she was gorgeous though. She had long brown hair and piercing brown eyes with caramel skin. She had on this pretty red silk, lace dress that was probably decades old.” Their eyes shot up to look at each other. “What?”

“Y/N, did she have any jewelry on?”

“Um, she was moving around a lot so I couldn’t see but she did have like a ring with a clear stone and some red in it, I think.”

Eddie gripped your cheeks a bit roughly and turned you to face him.

“What did she say to you, Y/N? Did she ask you any questions or try to make a deal with you? THINK! We need to know?!”

“Why? Do you know her?”

Steve grabbed his friend’s wrist and motioned for him to release you. “No, baby. We just… want to make sure it isn’t someone that can hurt you.”

Your gaze shifted between them both and you could tell they were both obviously upset about what you had seen.

“Don’t do this again. Don’t hide something from me that could help.”

“It won’t help. Trust me. She can’t and won’t do anything.”

“So you do know her?” Neither of them answers and it infuriates you. “Fine. If you won’t tell me, I’ll find the answers myself.”

############

“What is this thing you’re using?”, Eddie asks with genuine curiosity.

“This is called a ‘microfiche’. It amplifies the tiny print on the paper.”

“Huh. Kind of seems like a waste of effort since you won’t find anything.” You and the demon beside you turn towards Steve as he sits behind you with his arms folded.

Since they wouldn’t answer your questions, you went to the only place you could think of that may help, the library. You told the librarian what you were looking for and after glaring at you like you were insane, finally guided you to some newspapers and documents that may help.

You were honestly surprised how enthralled Eddie was by what you were looking at. Maybe he thought you’d never find out anything about the stone so he wanted to learn what he could. As he sat beside you, he leaned his head on your shoulder while placing his palm on your knee. It was a comforting feeling; one you wanted to have for longer than the week timeframe you had left.

“Oh shit. That’s Arthur.”

You paused the machine and made the image as big as you could. A man in his early twenties was being handcuffed and placed in a cop car. Steve suddenly appeared next to you as you read the information.

Arthur Leeman (23), shown above, was arrested after being found near the body of rich aristocrat Michael Jameson (50) with a knife in his back. Jameson was found by his son Kevin Jameson (24) and swiftly notified the authorities. The young Jameson stated that Leeman was unhinged, claiming demons told him to kill the elder Jameson or the world would end.

“Fucking idiot.”, Eddie sighed. “We told him NOT to kill Michael because all fingers would point to him.”

“Plus, it wouldn’t help his situation. Kevin loved his dad even though he didn’t approve of his sexuality. But…Arthur was desperate.”

“Does it say what happened to him?”

You scanned the article until you found the answer. “He was found guilty and died in jail.” Glancing at their sad faces, you reached out caress them. “I’m sorry.”

They shrug and you continue your search. After about thirty minutes, you feel like you’ve hit a dead end until a drawing catches your attention. You recognize her from the memories they provided you and how she’s displayed in the image. Men are holding her arms behind her back as flames surround them.

“Elizabeth.”

“Fuck me. They made her look like a crazy person.”

You point to the article underneath as you speak. “She did kill 20 people in the fire she started. It says they, um… they made an example of her by killing her in the town square.”

Steve growls as he stands and begins to pace. “She wasn’t crazy. She was a good woman before she met us. Before she found that fucking stone. Y/N, stop. Please. Don’t look for answers. Just…Just enjoy the time you have with us and let us fucking go.”

“I can’t.”, you whisper. “Even if I could, your summoners didn’t do research and their lives still got complicated. At least this way, I can find out if we have a chance.”

“Y/N.” You turn back towards Eddie, who had been absently flipping through the machine while you and Steve talked. “This thing says Lizzy’s belongings were given to her nephew. When her nephew was older, he struggled financially and sold her things to a museum.” He pointed to a photo of a group of people outside the building, posing for its grand opening. The person cutting the ribbon was Michael Jameson. “Arthur told us his boyfriend had given him the necklace as a present. He stole it from the box so I guess—”

“It was never documented as being sent there.”, you finished for him as you sat back down and searched through the paper. “The museum was closed in 1975 and was a vacant lot until…oh shit.”

“Until the mayor bought it and built the mall.”

Grabbing your bag, you quickly throw on your jacket and head to your next destination.

#############

“Hey honey. Haven’t seen you in a while.”, Paul grins from his spot at the security station.

“Yeah, I’ve been taking some time off after my dad…”

“No, hey, I completely understand. He was a good man. I was glad to have known him. What are you doing down here today then?”

“Paul, that necklace you gave me…you said it was just outside of my stores cage?”

“Yes? I mean the box it was probably nestled in got knocked over but…”

“I read somewhere this mall was a museum for Hawkins before it closed down. Do you know what they did with the stuff inside it?”

“A lot of it was sold to other places. What they couldn’t sell I thought they junked.”

“Shit. Ok. Thank you.”

“Not a problem.” He glances at you worriedly as you turn to leave.

“Not that you asked but he IS a good soul. When they were in high school Paul Cassian and his girlfriend at the time found out they were having a baby. They decided adoption would be best since they were so young and couldn’t afford anything. Two years from now his son will reach out to meet him. Paul will find out he’s a grandpa and spoil his granddaughters rotten.”, Eddie grins.

Smiling up at him, he gives you a little wink as you enter the elevator to leave the basement. Something catches your eye and your hand shot out to stop the doors as you step out again.

“Paul!” His footsteps bang against the floor as he comes skidding to your side. “No, I’m sorry if I scared you. Just…where was this picture taken?”

He follows your gaze to the image of the mayor outside with some construction men smoking a cigar with wide grins. Behind him was the tree from your dream.

“Um, behind the mall, I think.”

##############

Steve continues to stand there looking disgruntled as Eddie leans against the bark you were looking at.

“I don’t get it. Why this tree? Why was she dancing? Why—”

“Why what?”, Steve asked. “What does it matter? She probably did it just to get your attention and it seems to have worked.”

“Why are you fighting me so hard on this?!”

“Because I know how this story ends, Y/N, and I refuse to feel hope where there is none.”

“How do you know there isn’t any?!”

“Y/N LET IT GO!”, he roared causing Eddie to rise to his feet but you didn’t move. You continued to glare at him as his eyes stared daggers into yours.

“Oof someone’s angry.” Both demons abruptly came to attention as the woman from your dream appeared in front of you, winking as she walked by. “We weren’t formally introduced, Y/N. I’m Maeve.” She reaches out to shake your hand but Eddie quickly pulls it away and pushes you behind them. “Boys, now come on. If you can’t play nice and let me talk to the lady I’ll have to send you away for a bit.”

They both growl as she moves closer to the tree in front of her. “It’s been so long you both probably don’t remember meeting me here. I mean everything has changed!” Maeve playfully smiles as she sighs.

“This is where you found them?”

“Technically, they found me.” She gestures towards the stone in your pocket. “It was so many years ago and the world was different then. It was much more…angry and violent.”

“Said the woman who owns a stone that requires someone to kill three people or their world ends.”

Maeve gives you a big, beautiful smile as she continues to absently move around you three.

“I like her, boys. Honestly, I’m kind of impressed you actually followed your dreams; metaphorically of course. Usually when people call them, they don’t even care about what they see when they sleep.”

“So they are real?”

“When you meddle in the abstract, sweetheart, some things retain. It seems you have a gift. I bet you got that from your mother. She’s the one that got you into auras and stones, right?”

“Wait, does that mean they’re going to die? That the world will end?”

Her head tilts to the side at your questions. “Interesting. ‘Will they die.’ Not will I die. You really are selfless, aren’t you? Have you given any thought to what I asked you?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, I would take their place.”

“Y/N, no! Don’t you say that. Do you hear me?” Their pleas flooded your ears as she continued to watch with a small smile. “You need to live your life. You deserve a good life, baby. We don’t. We’ve done enough fucked up shit.”

Maeve snapped her fingers and just like that they were gone.

***

“FUCK!”, Steve shouted as he continued to bang on the door of their home within the stone. “Come on, Edward! Get off your ass and fucking help me.”

Eddie sighed from his place on the arm rest of the couch as he shrugs.

“What’s the point, Steven? It doesn’t matter. We can’t get out.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?! Of course it matters! She WILL take that deal and she’ll be stuck in this hell forever! Fuck!” The demon stomped towards the corner his bat was in and tried to smash the windows to no avail.

“You may as well just give up.”

“I can’t give up on her if I know I can save her! I have to try!” Steve froze mid-swing as he what he was saying finally sunk in. You had been saying the same things repeatedly but he ignored it feeling like it wouldn’t make a difference. Now he understood…

Eddie came over to wrap his arms around him before leaning back to cup his face in his hands. “Trust me, I get it. I don’t want to hope either because even just being here reminds me what we’d be coming back to but now it seems emptier without her. I know it’s going to fucking hurt when we leave but if this is what she needs then let her try. If she doesn’t, it’s just going to kill her. She’ll always blame herself… like I did with Chrissy.”

Steve kisses the demon’s lips as he tugs him back in his embrace before a wind blows and they appear again in your world.

###############

“Y/N, are you ok?! What happened? Please tell us you didn’t take her deal.”

When they looked around Maeve was already gone and you had your arms folded starring out into the distance as you waited for them.

“I’m alright. Come on. I have one more person I need to kill.”

Steve grabbed your arm as you turned to leave, your flat tone frightening them both. His voice shook as he took your face in his hands and searched your eyes for an answer.

“I-I— fuck—I can’t see what…what you did. Please, Y/N. Tell us you didn’t. Please…”

You softly smile as you lean up to kiss his lips before doing the same with Eddie. “Everything is going to be ok. I promise.”

***

“Hey, Y/N.”

“Detective Hopper. How can I help you?”

He stepped away from his car outside your house as you headed for your front door.

“I wanted to talk with you really quickly about some things, if that’s alright.”

“Of course, come in.”

The officer blinked as he apprehensively walked into your home. What he wasn’t able to see was your demons do the same. They had no idea what you were up to and it made them extremely nervous.

“You’re not going to kill him right? Killing a detective isn’t exactly smart, princess.”

“So, how can I help?” You ignored him as you addressed the man who took a seat at your table.

“Where were you a couple of nights ago around 9pm?”

“Um, I went to The Hideout for a date.”

“With a man named Noah Strong?”

“I believe so. I never got his last name. He asked me out on a date and then invited me back to his apartment. I left around…eleven or so. I wasn’t feeling so well. I’m still kind of shaky after my dad.”

Hopper nods as you take a seat across from him.

“You haven’t tried to call him or anything?”

“No, sir. We didn’t exactly click but what do I know. I haven’t been on a date in over a year so…” You force a giggle and he smiles. “If I may ask, why are you here? Is he alright?”

“Uh, no ma’am. Noah was found dead in his apartment. It was…it wasn’t pretty.”

“Oh my god. Oh my god! I…I didn’t notice anything odd or out of the ordinary. He did mention he worked with the mayor. Could that have anything to do with it?”

“Careful, Y/N.”, Steve warned.

“We are looking into that but I’m not too sure. We did have witnesses say they saw him with you at the bar so I just wanted to do my due diligence.”

“Oh, no worries. I completely understand. I wish I could be of more help.”

He nods again as he stands and places his hat back on his head. “Thank you for your candor. If you think of anything, you still have my card, right? The one I gave you after that first death.”

“There was another death?”

Your eyes meet before he scans you over.

“Good catch, baby.”, Eddie smiles.

“I didn’t tell you that the first time did I? Yeah, just…just continue to be careful and I’ll be in touch.”

After walking him out, you exhale heavily as you peek out the window and wait for him to leave.

“You handled yourself really well, honey.” Hastily, you turn away and head for your room to change your clothes. “What are you doing now?”

When you don’t respond, Eddie grabs your bicep and turns you around to face them. “Y/N, your acting odd and being cryptic. What’s going on? What happened with Maeve?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because I promised her I wouldn’t.”

“And? Who gives a fuck about her?!”

“You took her deal didn’t you?”, Steve grumbled. His fingers reached out to grip your cheeks, forcing you to look at him. “Tell us.”

“I can’t…because we both know you’ll try to intervene.”

Their eyes widen but Steve’s are the ones that glow before releasing you with a rough shove. “You stupid little girl. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”

“I’m saving you.”

“We didn’t need nor ask you to save us. Now there’s no point in you killing your last person because I assure you, Y/N, if you get sucked into that stone instead of us when this is over we will burn this world and any other one we need to, to set you free.”

“I already lost one princess. I’m not losing another.”

At Eddie’s words, your eyes closed as a strangled cry left your throat and you fell to your knees.

Steve fell with you and collected you in his arms. “Please, Y/N. Talk to us.”

“Do you trust me?”, you whisper.

“I trust that you would do anything for us, baby girl, but we won’t allow you to take our place.”

Wiping your eyes, you pushed away from him and got to your feet.

“Let’s go. I have a job to do.”

****

“Hello, sir.”

“Jesus Christ!”, the mayor jumps, placing his hand over his chest as he tries to catch his breath. “You, uh, scared the bajesus out of me, sweetheart. You can’t be doing that.”

“I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t mean to startle you.”, you grinned as you playfully twirled your index finger in your hair. “I just HAD to meet you. I’m such a huge fan of yours, Mr. Kline.”

“Oh, well aren’t you precious. Call me Larry, please.”

“Ok…Larry.”, you giggle as he seductively scans your body.

“This must be what hell is like for humans.”, Eddie growls. “You sound ridiculous by the way.”

They both stand on either side of you with their arms folded as they watch the display in front of them.

“Maybe one day I can come work for you, Larry. I’m so good at taking care of people and doing what I’m told. You can tell me to do anything and I’d do it!” Stepping closer to him, you place your hand on the mayor’s chest. “Anything.”

“Well…I…um…how about this, honey? Why don’t you come with me to my house? It will just be us and you can tell me more about what your good at. Maybe give me a demonstration.”

His eyes glow with lust as you obnoxiously jump up and down and clap your hands.

“Oh my god, I can’t wait!”

Your smile drops as you turn to head for your car so you can follow him in his.

“You should have considered becoming an actress.”, Steve sasses.

“Or a prostitute. Sounds like you’d be good at either or.”

“Don’t be jealous.”

After you climb into your car, they appear in your back seat.

“Why would we be jealous of two-pump chump up there?”, Eddie gestures towards the mayor’s car as you begin to drive. “Maybe, you should fuck him. At least get a laugh or two before you’re sucked into your purgatory.”

“You know, I’m starting to think you two lied to me when you said the stone wasn’t a prison.”

“It will be for you because you will be by yourself. When we’re there, we have each other. What will you have?”

“The knowledge that you both are safe.”

As you stopped at a stop light, the interior of your car illuminated a bright red before a rough feeling palm reached out to lightly touch your forearm.

“Honey, look at us.”, Steve cooed in his deep demon voice.

When you did what he asked, they both couldn’t help but sigh when you didn’t flinch at their normal appearance. They were bearing it all to you for you to really see. When they were fighting, they had been moving around all over the place so you weren’t able to get a good look but now as their red eyes stared at you with empathy…you couldn’t ignore it.

You weren’t afraid of them in this form anymore. To you, they were beautiful; perfect.

“This is who we are, Y/N. We’re evil, murderous, violent demons. We don’t deserve the luxury of being safe or even happy. You on the other hand, have helped so many people.”

“Even a few who didn’t deserve it.”, Eddie chimed in.

“It’s time for you to live your life, baby. Not spend eternity trapped in your old one.”

The light changed to green and as the car began moving you tried to hide the tear that escaped from your eye.

###########

“Wow, Larry. Your house is beautiful!”, you obnoxiously exclaim as you pretend to be enthralled by the things around you. “Who is this? Your wife?”

The mayor saunters over and yanks the photo you were holding out of your hand, placing it back on the end table.

“Yup but she’s out of town for the next few days. She’s always leaving me alone to fend myself.”, he pouts. “Would you like something to drink, Y/N?”

“Please.”

“I have some amazing wine here.”, he boasts as you follow him to the kitchen. “I save the expensive stuff for extremely special occasions and I think a special little girl like you deserves—”

Hitting him over the head with a nearby vase, he slumps heavily to the floor. Dragging him by his feet, you move him back to his living room, and begin tying him up with the rope you brought from the house.

“Wait, Y/N. Before you do this, please, tell us what you did with Maeve.”, Eddie pleaded. “If you didn’t make the deal then…then this is goodbye, princess.”

Back in their human forms, he reaches out to caress your cheek.

“If you did, then we aren’t letting you kill him.”

“I love you both so much. You changed my life and showed me things…you may think you don’t deserve happiness but if you could see things through my eyes…even just your memories… I did make a deal with her and I’m afraid you can’t stop me because he won’t let you. Will you, Henry?”

As soon as your eyes glance up, they follow your eyeline to see Henry slowly descend the stairs.

“Very good, Y/N. I’m not going to lie; this whole thing has been incredibly amusing to me. Watching you three run around as she tries to solve the riddle of your make shift hell. Seeing and listening to you pathetically beg her to stay.”, he chuckles. “Even I was riveted to see if she made that deal or not.”

“You can’t see it, Mr. I’m More Powerful?”, Steve spat.

“A ha, no, I can’t. While I AM strong, Maeve is way more powerful than I could dream.”

As he spoke, you had slowly shifted away from them towards the mayor and reached into your bag to grab the knife you had hidden there.

“Now, I get to watch you both lose the girl you love WHILE she takes care of my kill for me.” They both growl as Henry laughs. “What is that…two now Edward? May want to stop while you’re ahead.”

Eddie charges at him but the evil demon saw it coming, punching him so hard he flew into the adjacent wall. Steve came at him with his bat but he caught it mid swing allowing the nails to dig into his flesh as he pushed the demon back.

“Pathetic.”

“Hey Henry?” He turned to look at you just as you were throwing something his way that he promptly caught. “I said I made A deal. I didn’t tell you which one.”

Opening his hand, his eyes widened as he starred down at the stone that was now smeared with his blood.

“I guess they didn’t know but only demons can be placed into the stone to do the work Maeve needs done.”

“I think it’s commendable and beautiful you would switch places with them. I’ve watched them for years and never saw them connect to a summoner the way they did with you. To be fair, all the summoners were selfish.”, she rolled her eyes. “I’m afraid, my love, only another demon can take their place.”

“Then why did you show me that dream?”

“IIII didn’t show it to you. I just came through the door. I imagine your mother was trying to tell you something.” She smiles as she does a pirouette. “Maybe draw your eye to something? Something you missed.”

“Fuck me. Maeve what if I know another demon that you can have?”

Maeve blinks as she nods. “It will most likely be hard to get them. The only reason Edward and Steven were easy was because both their blood leaked on my stone. They had just escaped another sudden run in with people from their realm. Demons can heal pretty fast so you would have to time it perfectly.”

“I can do it.”

“If you don’t, they will get sucked in and the demon you are left with will most likely kill you.”

“I said…I can do it.”

She nodded in agreement as you turned to stare out into the Hawkins skyline.

“I wouldn’t mention your plan by the way. They may try and stop you.”

With that she snapped her fingers and disappeared.

You sliced the mayor’s neck and he slumped to the side as he quickly bled out.

“Now you’ll finally be in a cell, tortured forever for what you did to Chrissy and all the pain you caused!”

Henry’s eyes glowed as he ran towards you but as soon as he was inches away, Maeve appeared in between you two, stopping him in his tracks. Her eyes shifted towards the boys who were still on the ground watching everything with wide, confused eyes.

“It’s been a pleasure working with you.”

Winking in your direction, white light abruptly blinds everyone as you hear Henry scream and her chuckles before both disappear. The sound of the gem hitting the floor startles everyone as you try to comprehend that you succeeded.

“Edward? Steven?” You hurriedly run over to check on them. “Are you ok?!”

Eddie’s hands roughly reached up to grab your face. “That was so fucking stupid! I can’t believe… how did you…”

You own hand reached out to move his wild hair away from his eyes. “I told you. I had to try.”

His lips crashed to yours as he scoped you into his arms.

“Steve, are you ok? We have to get out of here, NOW.”

The other demon ran over to grab the stone and made sure nothing else was left that would tie you to this murder before you three fled out the front door.

***

As you stepped out of the shower, you were surprised they weren’t still in the bathroom waiting for you like they had done the previous times. You guessed since they weren’t technically tied to you anymore they were free to move about wherever they pleased which made you a little sad. You enjoyed having them so close.

With a towel wrapped around your dripping frame, you found them sitting at your dinning table staring at the gem.

“It, um, it changed.”, Steve murmured in your direction. “It says 001 on it. Maybe because Henry didn’t exactly have any weapons he used.”

“What should we do with it?”

“We can take it to another realm. A realm that is far enough away from this one he can’t come back to it and hurt you.”, Eddie sighs as he leans back in his chair. “I don’t think he can since he’ll be attached to the summoner but better safe than sorry.” His friend nods in agreement.

“O-Okay. Um, how long would you be gone?”

“What do you mean, honey?”

“I just…I assumed that you two would want to travel alone for a while and this would be a good reason to. I can wait here or if I know how long I can come back…”

They were both staring at you now like you had gone crazy.

“Y/N Y/L/N. You just risked your life to save us and gave us our freedom from a place we spent over 3,000 years alone in. What makes you think we would fucking leave you for one second?”

You grinned at them as Steve got up and walked over to you making it spread wider across your face.

“What? No more poofing to places?”

“Poofing? That is the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever heard for us appearing somewhere.”

“Is there somewhere particular you wanted to poof to?”, Eddie asked when your face scrunched in thought.

“Can you still create an image from memory without us actually going there?”

“I think so. Where did you want to go, pretty girl?

“Take me home.” They both glanced at each other at your request and you immediately felt bad. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad or anything. I was just thinking…I could see where you come from…without it physically hurting and without you guys getting captured.”

Your arms wrapped around Steve as you pressed your head into his chest. The atmosphere shifted around you as the wind blew and you pulled back to not only find yourself dressed but in a room you didn’t recognize.

“I lived in this room.”, Eddie sighed heavily as he looked around. “This is how I remember it the last time I saw it.”

It was a pretty bland room that reminded you a lot of the barracks you saw in the war movies you used to watch with your dad.

“Was this where all the soldiers lived?”

“Yes, ma’am. I hated all the fucking white so I covered up what I could. I was able to keep and collect more guitars so…”, he gestured towards the wall. “I doodled on the rest. Steve’s dad fucking hated that but what could he say. I could keep up with his son so I got a bit more free reign.”

You laughed as Steve rolled his eyes and Eddie playfully shoved him. Your fingers grazed the literature he had on his shelves, your eyebrows furrowing in confusion when you tried to read the titles.

“Ah. Um, our written language is a wee bit different from your own. This half here is stuff people had published, I guess you could say, and this half are things I wrote.”

“You wrote books?” He nodded.

“Some of the kids liked when I told them stories so I wrote them down for them to enjoy.”

“And perform.”, Steve chuckled.

“Yeah, yeah. We had fun.” Their eyes followed you as you moved towards his dresser. Beside it was a mannequin style rack that held his armor for when he was on the battlefield. It had some dings and scratches but all in all still intact. Noticing the pictures, you saw a couple of faces you recognized.

“I saw this person is one of your pictures at the house in the stone.”

“My uncle. He took care of me the bulk of my childhood. After my mom died, he did what he could…even more so after my dad was captured and I took his place. I hope he’s doing alright.”

You reached to run your fingers along his cheek when you heard his tone change to a sadder one. He leaned passed you to grab the photo he had of Chrissy by his bed.

“At least now I know what happened to her.” Wrapping your arms around him, you felt him put the picture down as he held you tighter to him. “The last thing your dad said to me, Y/N, was that it was ok for me to open my heart and that I wasn’t replacing her. I seriously never thought I’d fall in love again but I also didn’t expect you. Hell, I wasn’t even expecting Steve!”

Eddie smiled when he heard you giggle.

“I love you, sweetheart. Thank you for saving me.” Pushing up on your tip toes, you kiss him as he holds you to him. “Come on. Let’s see Steven’s obnoxiously clean and organized room.”

“Calm down, Ed.” The demon rolled his eyes as they opened the door and walked across the way. “My room was actually on the other side of the building near the kids but I thought this would be easier.”

“Why did they put you in charge of them?”, you asked as he opened the door.

“Honestly, I think my dad assigned it to me as a punishment to humble me. My stats on the field were better than anyone else and he said that was why but… I ended up really enjoying it. They were all good kids.”

Eddie wasn’t far off in describing his friend’s space. It felt more or less barren with nothing seemingly out of place. In the corner, he had a desk with maps and notes written in that form you couldn’t read.

“You see, Henry and his people were there…”, he pointed. “…and our people were over here. They used to sneak in over here so my father would have people stationed here. He always had me studying strategy.”

“I assume these books are about strategy and war to?”

“Uh, yeah, except…this one.” Steve yanked a book out and handed it to you.

“Hey, I wrote that!”

“Yes, you did.”, he smiled. “It was about a warrior whose heart was broken after the girl he loved left him for someone else.” His smile faltered a bit as he took the book back and placed it on the shelf. “Eddie wrote me that right after the girl I fell in love with left me.”

“For the demon slayer?” He nodded at your question. “How does it end?”

“The warrior focuses on himself and his friends, the musical master, the sweet princess, and the strong but clumsy knight.” Steve reaches towards his nightstand shows you another picture you saw with him and another beautiful girl pointing their swords at the camera. “Robin. Fought a lot of battles together. I miss her.”

You circle him in your arms as he leans down to kiss your forehead.

“I love you to, Y/N. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to fully thank you properly for what you did.”

A soft smile flickers across your lips as you look up at him with nothing but love.

“Yeah but…you can try.”

He laughs as he tilts your chin up so he can kiss you. As it steadily grows more passionate, you walk him backwards with the intention of pushing him onto the bed but you both are startled when he lands on your dinning room table.

“Are you ok? What happened?”, you ask as your fingers run through his hair.

“I, um, sorry. That was a harder memory to pull so it’s hard to maintain especially when you’re distracting me.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Steve smiles as he lifts you up, spinning you around, and placing you down on the table as he continues to kiss you. This time instead of snapping away his clothes, he allowed you to remove them off his body as he did the same with you.

“We have so much time now.”, he whispers as his hands roam your skin, down your back making your body tingle. “We can go as slow as we want to. Baby, you have no idea what you’re in for. Eddie and I spent hours even days exploring each other because we had all the fucking time in the world.”

As he spoke the other demon’s palms traced up his spine and around to his chest making Steve groan against your lips.

“I wish you could touch me with your real hands.”, you murmured as your fingers clung to his neck.

“What if…what if I meet you halfway?”

You tilted your head, silently asking him what he meant and in response his mouth traveled down your neck to the valley of your chest to your breasts. A small, pleasure filled gasp left you as his tongue flicked along your nipple. It wasn’t his normal organ you come to know but his demon one that had your core clenching and your legs trying to pull his waist closer to yours.

Your palms tangled in his hair as he alternated between them, wrapping his lips around the erect bud, and running is tongue along the sensitive skin that had you desperate beneath him.

“Please, baby. I—fuck—I need…”

“What do you need, honey?”

“I need your face between my legs.”, you pleaded.

Lifting you again, he carried you back into your bedroom and placed you on the mattress.

“Honestly, I’m loving the sounds you make when I play with your tits. Let’s let Eddie take care of your pussy. Trust me. He’s amazing with his tongue.”

The long-haired demon winked at you as he removed his shirt and climbed between you till you felt his breath hit your sex. Steve had undersold his friend’s ability because as soon as his long demon tongue licked between your folds, not only did you see stars but the whole goddamn universe.

“Ed-Edward…oh…”

Steve’s palm roughly massaged one breast in his hand as mouth continued to slurp and lick the other.

“It feels good, doesn’t it, baby?”

All you could do was nod while your eyes rolled back as Eddie flicked his tongue in and out of your entrance while his thumb massaged your clit. With hooded eyes, you watch the other demon rise and go behind his friend, grabbing his hips and yanking his ass in the air.

“Keep your legs open, Y/N. Do you understand me?”

“Y-yes. Y-yes, I understand.”

Red light blinds your eyes as they change into their demon form. Steve takes hold of the demon in front of him, spitting into his hand before pumping his cock a few times and guiding himself into Eddie.

“F-fuck, Steven.”, he moaned as he began devouring you again. With Steve aggressively thrusting into him, he was now like a man possessed, his tongue reaching deeper inside of you and touching places you never thought possible.

“Yes! Fuck…I’m…can-can I touch your hair?”

Focused on his task, Eddie didn’t answer but the other demon nodded as he heavily panted. When you fingers curled into his long locks between his horns, he hummed in ecstasy, the vibration being that last little push you needed as you came hard on his lips.

Twitching beneath him, you felt the bed dip on either side as he carefully climbed as far up your body as you could.

“Come…come here, princess. Careful.”, he warned as you slid lower underneath him till he was hovering above you. Craning your neck, your lips met his as they mingled together and he whimpered against them as he was nearing his climax.

“You’re both so fucking beautiful like this. I love you. I know you feel like I saved you but…YOU saved ME.”

Eddie grunted loudly as he came, leaning back to passionately kiss Steve as he followed. They changed back into their human forms and fell onto the bed as they lifted you further up towards the pillows.

Steve wasn’t joking when he mentioned taking their time. Their hands and lips roamed every part of your body while one or both would stop to devour your cunt or thrust their fingers into your now dripping hole. Sometimes while they played with you they played with each other.

While Steve was trying to make you cum his mouth for the fifth time Eddie deep throated him till he shuddered and spilled into his mouth. While Eddie was holding you to his chest, kissing and sucking on your neck, Steve was pumping his thick fingers into him as he nibbled on his shoulder.

“Baby are you still here?”, Eddie chuckled as his lips ran along your jawline.

“Y-Yeah. I…I here.”

“Hey, honey. Come on. You got one more in you. We haven’t even had our cocks inside of you yet.”

“Can’t…move…”

They smile as Steve grips you in his arms and rolls you on top of him. “Don’t worry, Y/N. We can take care of you.”

Your body suddenly came to life as you felt him guide himself into your core. Pressing your hands against his chest, you slowly grinded your hips against his making him groan.

“Fuck baby girl. That’s it. See? We told you… you could do it.”

Eddie’s palm gently tilts your forward, teasing your ass with his tip before gradually pushing into you. Once again you were overwhelmed by the full feeling of them inside you at the same time, your mouth going slack with a silent moan as you tried to make any sound at all.

“It-It’s ok, sweetheart. Let go and scream if you want to. Jesus… you earned it.”

“You’ve be quiet for too long, Y/N. Let go.”

They both thrust into you, matching each other’s pace as you threw your head back screamed so loud it probably woke your neighbors.

“Fuck! Fuck, yes! You both feel so fucking good! Please…please make me cum.” They growled in pleasure as both sets of hands gripped your body and pumped into you roughly. “Fuck…I love you. I love you so much. Please, please, please…”

Your voice trailed off as you whimpered their proper names till your felt yourself quiver around them as the coil snapped and you collapsed on Steve’s chest.

“Good girl. That’s a fucking good girl. We’re going to fill you up, honey. Such a good girl.”

The demon’s arms held you tightly to him as he thrust his hips a few more times before you felt him warm your insides. Eddie soon followed, gripping your hair in his fist as he pounded into you till all of his release was inside you.

“P-Please…I can’t…I’m only human.”

They laugh at your joke as they carefully pull out of you before Eddie lifts you in his arms and carries you to the bathroom. As he starts to lean towards the shower to turn it on, you stop him.

“Why don’t we take a bath?”

“I don’t see why not.”

“I don’t think we’ve ever taken a bath.”, Steve muses.

“Ever? Not even before showers were a thing?” After they both shake their heads, their eyes watch you with intense focus as you explain to them smells and how baths can help with certain things. This time you were the one to guide them in, smiling as they slowly sat down and you leaned against Eddie while wrapping your legs around Steve.

Reaching for your wash rag, you handed it to him and showed him what you needed, wincing when he began cleaning between your legs.

“Shit. I’m sorry. Am I doing this wrong?”

“No, no. I’m just sore.” Grinning, you watched him continue before finishing and leaning back to relax.

“This is actually really nice.” Eddie sighs happily behind you.

“I’m surprised you’ve never had one. Not even in your home?”

“No point. I mean we can snap ourselves clean.”

“I guess you didn’t notice when you where there that we didn’t have a bathroom.”, Steve smiles but it falters a bit when he sees your eyes get a bit glassy. “What are you thinking about, honey?”

“Just how glad I am that you’re still here.”

Eddie holds you tighter in his arms as the other demon caresses your cheek.

After the water starts to get colder, you three get out and they help you dry off. As soon as you enter your bedroom, you feel the past couple of days hit you and you quickly crawl into bed with them following after.

You feel them gently running their fingers along your face and down your arm as you fall asleep.

“Nothing’s going to change.” Eddie states causing Steve to turn and look at him with confusion. “With us I mean. I can see it in your eyes, Steven. That worry. We already crossed that boundary and I care a lot about you…the same way I care about Y/N.”

“I thought maybe because we were free…we wouldn’t…need each other like that anymore.”

Eddie’s hand reaches over to grip the demon’s chin as he runs his thumb along his bottom lip.

“I’m always going to need you. I love you to, Steven.”

He nods as he tenderly kisses the pad of his finger. “I love you to, Edward.”

***

“Oh. Hi there. I’m Detective Hopper.” The officer scans Eddie up and down as he tries to get a read on him.

“Hey there. I’m Eddie, Y/N’s friend.”

“Ah. Good, good. She needs some company after what happened. Is it just you or…?”

“Uh, me and our other friend Steve, sir. Would you like to meet him?”

“No, no reason to. I just came by to let Y/N know that it seems like Noah Strong’s death IS related to something having to do with the mayor so she doesn’t need to worry about something happening or anything like that.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Detective. Even if there was we’ll always keep her safe. Thank you for letting us know.”

The gentleman tips his hat before walking back to his car as Eddie closes the door.

“Yeah, that will take some getting used to; being seen.”

“What did he say?”, Steve asked.

“Y/N is in the clear more or less.”

“Yay.”, you grin as you come out from your bedroom with your suitcase. “It’s not going to look suspicious right? If we go on this vacation.”

“Who cares. If all else fails we can just run to another realm.”

“Eddie… Let’s keep that as a last resort.”, Steve sighs. “I’m kind of curious about this one and all the things we haven’t seen.”

“Well, where would you like to go first?”

“As long as we’re with you, princess, we’ll go anywhere.”

############# @tlclick73 @iaminlovewithdilfs @tiannamortis @steeldaisies

@goodhappyfriday @paleidiot @fireeyes-on-teller-dixon-grimes

@strangerthings64 @howlingco @hellfire—cult @eddiesguitarskills

@prettypeachsworld

Entire Series here!

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theoverlookedoneedits1997 · 4 months ago

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Teacher’s Pet Fashion Part One

Buffy’s ‘dream dress’ outfit: 9/10

Kudos to Xander for imagining this gorgeous dress. The red is amazing on her and I wish we could have seen it in full.

Xander’s hero fantasy outfit: 8/10

Xander in black is a vibe. I actually think there’s a lot of interesting things they did with how they dressed him in this episode. In his fantasy, he’s very suave and I think using this solid black outfit is a way of making him look more serious and put together. It also hints to the viewer that this isn’t the true Xander because in terms of style, it’s not cohesive with what we’ve seen him in before. It might be what he wants to be, but it’s not who he is.

Buffy’s ‘destructo girl’ outfit: 6/10

I like the blue on her and I think I’d like the skirt with a different top, and I might even like the top with a different bottom. But together, I just don’t really like it…

Willow’s ’primary colours’ outfit: 5/10

I don’t know why she’s in primary colours, I don’t know if there’s a reason that I’m not picking up on. I do know that I don’t like it.

Xander’s ‘B.O’ outfit: 6/10

This is the real Xander. Causal, youthful, probably the first thing he picked up at the store and bought cause he could afford it. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing special either.

Angel’s ‘you’re cold’ outfit: 7/10

Oh Angel. You give me very little to work with. I love this jacket. And okay, I understand that for plot reasons he had to be wearing the tank top/wife beater, but I wish it had been anything else.

Buffy’s ‘fork guy’ outfit: 8/10

I love this outfit, but if I could change the material of the dress, I definitely would. Angel’s jacket is what pulls it together and I kinda love that. Girly is making having a crush fashionable.

Willow’s casual red outfit: 7/10

I like it. Sometimes simple is just right. Match patterned pants to a solid colour top and you’re good to go.

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fluentmoviequoter · 1 year ago

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The Slaying of a Vampire

Monster Monday, October 9, 2023

Fic-tober Masterlist

Summary: Chris is dressing you and Dalton up as a couple for a Halloween party. The catch? Neither of you know what the other is going as.

Warnings: fluff, mutual pining, biting?, kissing, a couple Buffy the Vampire Slayer references. 1.3k+ words

A/N: I'm currently trying to improve certain aspects of my writing, so if this reads a little differently than my other fics that's why. I hope you enjoy! :)

Black satin drags the floor with each step as the cape sways. The full moon reflects off the sharp fangs that poke out from the handsome face hidden in the shadows. With great care and questionable intention, a vampire awakens and begins his quest.

Dalton groans quietly as he steps out of the dressing room, the long black cape trailing behind him. The inner lining, blood-red satin, is visible where the collar frames his face.

“Remind me why I’m doing this?” Dalton asks.

“Put these in,” Chris commands, handing him a set of faux fangs.

“Chris,” Dalton sighs. “I don’t even want the costume.”

“We already bought it. You agreed, Dolphin, stop complaining.”

Dalton’s shoulders rise and fall with yet another sigh as he slips the fangs into his mouth. They sit over his bottom lip, seeming to glow under the fluorescent lights of the costume shop.

“Besides, you know you’re only doing it for her,” Chris points out.

Even though she didn’t say your name, Dalton knows who she is talking about. And she’s right; Dalton only agreed to this weird request for unknown matching costumes because he would be matching with you. If he’s a vampire, he can’t imagine what you will be, but he knows you will be beautiful no matter what costume Chris picks.

“Dolphin? Still here?” Chris asks, waving her hand in front of his face.

“Yeah,” Dalton says, moving his lips to accommodate the fangs.

“I think this is it. Want to add anything else?”

“Please, no.”

Chris nods and ushers him back into the dressing room. Dalton hopes you win the couples' costume challenge, not because he wants the trophy - he actually thinks the whole thing is stupid - but because he wants to be presented as a couple. Just thinking of your names together is enough to make Dalton smile.

“So, what’s my other half dressing up as?” Dalton asks as he exits, vampire costume in hand.

“You’ll see,” Chris says, winking over her shoulder. “Oh! By the way, I talked to the people who won last year, and they said staying in character increases your chance of winning, so start practicing. ‘I vant to suck your blood’ and all that.”

Dalton rolls his eyes as she pulls out her phone, likely planning to take you shopping next. He thinks he can play a vampire for a few hours to spend time with you if no other reason.

✵✵✵✵✵

“Are you kidding me?” Dalton asks.

You turn to face him, and his shoulders slump forward. Slowly looking him up and down, you begin to smile.

“The fangs look good.”

Dalton shakes his head, glaring at Chris.

“Remember to stay in character,” Chris sings as she walks away, patting Dalton’s shoulder.

“You’re,” Dalton begins, pointing to you.

“A vampire slayer. Yeah.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t see this coming.”

“Well, looks like we have to keep some distance tonight,” you say. “Otherwise, I’ll have to put a stake through your heart.”

“You wouldn’t.”

You smile at Dalton, looking up at him through your lashes. He looks up and down your costume before stepping back.

“I’ve heard of you, but I won’t go down without a fight,” he says.

Your eyes are fixed on his mouth as he talks, the fangs distracting you. He looks incredible, and you want nothing more than to stay glued to his side for the rest of the night, but you have a character to maintain.

“We’ll see,” you respond. “I haven’t lost a vampire yet.”

“I can imagine,” Dalton says under his breath.

Someone yells your name, and you look away, surprised to see Dalton is gone when you turn back. If that’s how he wants to play, it's time to hunt a vampire. Dalton is worth it. And if you can’t resist kissing him when you finally catch him? Maybe you change the ending for the vampire and the vampire slayer. No one ever suffered from a Buffy and Angel-type relationship. Right?

The party lasts all night, and the costume contest winners will be crowned at sunrise. Most of the night is spent walking through the house and looking for Dalton. Every time you find him, you raise the wooden stake and lunge for him, but his newfound vampiric abilities allow him to lunge out of the way at the last moment. He has tried to sneak up on you between attacks, but you raise the crucifix hanging from your neck when you spot him. His eyes seem to catch on the skin of your neck, affecting him more than the crucifix itself. As the early morning hours tick by, you find it harder and harder to stay away from Dalton.

You’re standing over to the side, gripping the fake wooden stake in your hand, as you search for Dalton. Fabric brushes against your arm, and you sidestep out of the way before something sinks into your skin at the juncture of your neck and shoulder. You yelp at the feeling and jump away, turning to see who or what that was.

“Did you just bite me?” you ask, hand raising to the affected area.

“Just a little,” Dalton says, smiling. “It’s how I show affection, I promise.”

“You got lucky this time,” you say, pointing the stake at him as you walk backward. “It won’t happen again.”

“And where are you going?”

You look outside and see the sun rising before answering, “I’m going for a walk. Outside.”

“I’ll go with,” Dalton says quickly, never one to let you go into danger alone.

“How?” you ask with raised brows and crossed arms.

Dalton chews his bottom lip, his fangs once again drawing your attention. “Have they made SPF 300,000 yet?”

You laugh and turn around, leaving the lucky vampire in the shadows.

✵✵✵✵✵

“Attention! We have a winner for our couples’ costume contest!” a girl announces, stopping the music.

Dalton is nowhere to be seen as the sunlight begins to stream in the windows at the back of the house.

“This couple has been seen several times tonight and their characters are adorable! The winner is…” The cord provides a drum-roll before she says your name and Dalton’s. “The vampire and the vampire slayer!”

Dalton is suddenly at your side, and you can’t stop the goosebumps that spread as his hand brushes your waist. He takes your hand and leads you to the stage, accepting your crowns and the trophy. Chris cheers the loudest, but you can barely hear anything over Dalton whispering in your ear.

“You look amazing,” he whispers, his fang brushing your ear. “We only won because of you; you know that right? I almost gave up three hours ago when you were standing in the corner. Biting you was a spur of the moment idea to get close to you.”

You shake your head as he says you won because of you. “You look far better than I do; I doubt anyone even noticed me.” You take a deep breath before confessing, “And I needed a break from the distance too. So, thanks for biting me.”

Dalton’s cheeks are tinted with pink as he mumbles, “Anytime.”

The partygoers begin leaving, and Chris waves to you as she leaves with a group of people. Dalton’s arm remains around your waist as he leads you toward the door.

“Wait,” you say, raising a hand to his chest. “Can you go outside?”

“I can go anywhere with you.”

You smile up at him, and he can’t take it anymore. Dalton’s hand raises your chin as he kisses you, his fangs brushing against your bottom lips as he kisses you like you’re his source of life. Desperate for air, you pull back and sigh as Dalton continues kissing down your jaw, stopping to brush his fangs over your pulse point.

“These things are in the way,” he grumbles, kissing you again before removing them.

“That was a way better prize than that trophy,” you whisper against his skin, leaning up to kiss his cheek.

His hands hold your hips steady as he smiles and says, “This prize was the only reason I agreed. We were going to win tonight, no matter what. The trophy is just a bonus.”

#fluentmoviequoterfictober23 #dalton lambert x reader #dalton lambert fluff #dalton lambert fic #dalton lambert imagine #dalton lambert #insidious #insidious the red door #fem!reader

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talesfromawannabejournalist · 8 days ago

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Sacrificial Birde

Chapter 1: taken

The warm sun shone in a small room where in a bed lay its only occupant. A loud song on an alarm radio that stood on the nightstand started blazing. Groaning a hand lifted from under the covers and started repeatedly hitting the clock. Eventually the hitting successfully turned it off. The hand's owners sat up and with a big stretch yawned. This person was one Ada Mann. The young up and coming twenty-year-old rockstar. She got up and got ready for her day. After getting dressed she made her way downstairs and to the kitchen where her roommate and best friend Lute was leaning against the counter while sipping on a cup of hot black joe.

Ada: Morning danger tits.

Lute hummed a greeting and held out another hot mug for her. Which Ada took and immediately began to guzzle down.

Lute: (shakes head) I will never understand how your able to do that. Anyway, glad you're up the girls will be here in half an hour.

Ada: I thought I told them to get here by eleven

Lute: You did, it's ten thirty.

The taller looked toward the clock on the wall and Lute was correct.

Ada: Wait, if it's ten thirty why didn't you wake me up earlier?

Lute: I did, three times, you didn't get up, so I just figured you'd wake up when you'd wake up.

Ada: Shit! it happened again, I swear I thought my phone said eight! Seriously, what has been wrong with me lately!?

Lute: I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. No offense Addie but you’ve been a bit hm what’s the word? Ah bingo spacey

Ada rolled her eyes hard it's true she had been feeling weird lately. She just couldn't quite place what it was, but she just felt out of place like something big was happening, other than her band's big gig.

Ada: Not MY fault I’ve just been, um distracted lately, probably because of our first gig! Just nerves taking over.

Lute: I thought the self-proclaimed commander didn’t get nervous?

Ada: Geez Lute it was just an idea for a stage name! All the great rockers of history have them.

Lute: (mutters) At least it’s better than the Clit Master.

Chugging down the remainder of her coffee she went into the garage to get everything ready. Soon enough the rest of the band, whom they were called the exorcists, arrived and they all got straight to work. Ada the lead singer and guitarist took charge and shredded on her instrument as Lute banged on the drums as the five other girls focused on them on instruments and talents. Time passed and they only stopped to eat, drink, and used the bathroom when they were most desperate. They couldn't stop for measly reasons they were women on a mission. For tomorrow was the gig.

The gig that would put them on the path to fame. Tomorrow night they were going to play at one of the greatest clubs in all Southern California, The house of blues. Thats why they needed to be perfect for they weren't just going to the usual dingy dimly lit bar this was a place they had to be perfect for. Eventually however even great artists like Ada and the exorcists needed to stop as they saw the sun starting to set. The tall woman sighed wiping some sweat with her forearm as she called out to the rest of the girls who were packing up.

Ada: Alright before you go, I just wanted to tell you a couple of things. First off, we play at ten o'clock pm tomorrow night however I want you all there by seven to seven thirty as we need to get everyone checked in and set up. Second, I know we all feel the major temptation to fuck their shit up tonight looking at you Buffy!

Said girl merely raised her middle fingers with a nonchalant expression.

Ada: But wait until after outperformance tomorrow night, because once we shred the entire hall with our rocking noise! We will paint the town red in celebration ladies! And you wanna know why? I'll tell you why! Because they are all going to FUCKING LOVE US!!!

Her girls cheered some anxiousness they had about their gig dying away.

Lute: Yeah, and if they still don't, we’ll simply RIP THEIR CUNTS OUT OF THEIR ASSES AND SHOVE IT DOWN THEIR THROATS!!!!!!!!!

The cheering calmed down a bit after that proclamation as even though those girls were tough as nails their drummer tended to be a bit much, even for them. one of their backup singers Vaggie looked at Lute with deadpan eyes and said,

Vaggie: Seriously? No offense but it's like you were born full of hate.

Ada: Would you just, chill Lute geez. Anyway, despite the graphical mental image she gave us she still has a point! Even if they don't end up worshipping us, which would make them not only insane but also mentally deficient, we won't let that stop us from being what we are, masters of rock and slaves to the roll!

She figured she'd save the rest of her speech for before they got on stage. With that, besides Lute and Ada, the exorcists dispersed with their respective talents and instruments and headed towards each of their vehicles. The tall girl and her shorter companion retreated inside their small two-story house.

Later as they enjoyed dinner while watching tv in the living room a sudden realization came to Lute as she recalled certain parts of the band's leaders speech

Lute: Holy shit balls!

Ada: Huh, been a while since I heard you cuss in that way. What's up?

Lute: Tomorrow is your birthday!

By twelve a.m. on March twenty first which marked the twenty first birthday of one young woman.

Ada: (grins) Yeah, I figured that since I'll be legally able to drink by tomorrow all us girls will be able to go to town. Hey maybe after the performance they'll let us take a few drinks on the road before we hit up some bars or clubs until they kick us out.

Lute: I just can't believe I almost forgot your birthday.

Ada: (raises eyebrow) Why? it's not like we really celebrate either of our birthdays.

Lute: Still maybe you and I should do something with just us two?

Ada: Yeah cool, this weekend I don't think we're doing anything. Does your family still have that cabin they never use up in the mountains?

Lute: (grins) They do indeed! I'll have to call my dad first to see if anyone is using it but that's just a formality really. So, I guess you should already be starting to pack your bags.

Ada: Sounds like a plan.

What they didn't know then was that little trip of theirs would be put on hold for a long time to come. For something big was about to happen.

Ada eventually got tired enough to go to bed. Advising her drummer to also get a good night's sleep in order for their performance to be perfect. Though Lute promised she would go to bed soon she ended up falling asleep to the sounds of the television blaring.

Only to be woken up by a loud banging sound. Lute straightens herself up, rubs the sleep away from her eyes, and looks around. The first thing she marks down is how dark not just the room she was in but the entire house. She couldn't find any light, saves for the blaring of the television set. Which was weird because while Ada did turn off the lights in the kitchen and in the hallway, Lute distinctively remembers the living room filled with light not just from the tv.

It was then she heard some wind howling, coming from the kitchen. Quietly she got up and crept towards it. When she entered her stomach dropped, for even though it was dark out the light of the moon shown through the open back door. No matter how reckless, irresponsible, or even dumb Ada could be Lute knew she would never blatantly leave something so important as the door open. Lute didn't leave it open because she never put herself or others in that kind of danger. Then the only other answer would be,

The sound of a creak in the floorboard drew Lute away from her thoughts. Slowly she turned her head and there standing at the entranceway of the kitchen was a towering figure that was dressed in all black. Though she couldn't see his face she could tell from his stature that he was a man, a big man that had broken into her house.

Big mistake

Before the trespasser could do anything, Lute grabbed the nearest knife that she could find and rushed him. However, her opponent was fast, faster than she anticipated. He dodged the knife and drew his own weapon. A knife unlike hers. It appeared to be a handle knife used for hunting however the steel glistened blood red.

They fought each other trying to make the other one lose. They made a mess around each other and Lute was surprised but thankful that Ada hadn't come down to check what that noise was. However, luck was not on her side that night for soon after the trespasser had her pinned under him, she saw another dark figure enter the room. They were a bit shorter than the man she was currently fighting for her life with. Yet what truly caught her attention was her friend seemingly deep in slumber was over the other one's shoulder. Her eyes widen in fear and in that moment of distraction her assailant grabbed an intact cup of glass and smashed it over her head. But not before banging the side of her face against the floor. Huffing the man got off of her and heard him say something to his partner. She tried listening to their words but couldn't for it sounded like being under water. However, there was one word she did manage to make out,

Master

Lute didn't understand what they meant by master, but she still kept that word. Suddenly she was thrown out of her contemplating as she saw both trespassers, specifically the one who had Ada march towards the door and head out of it. Though she was in great amount of pain she managed to breath out one single word before succumbing to her wounds.

Lute: Ada

With that her eyes close welcoming darkness.

(Well here it is! Really hope that you guys enjoyed the first chapter and hope you guys are ready for more to come! also, should be mentioning that I will be posting a chapter or two once or twice a week until we are through with the story)

#adamsapple #hazbin hotel adam #female adam #sacrificial bride au #fanfic

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pixie-skull · 1 year ago

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Challenge, Alphabet of Crushes:

Pretty self explanatory, just list your biggest crushes of past and present to each letter. I tag @impossiblepeggy @little-bloodied-angel @geebs96 @airasora @thenamelessdoll @confettipetticoats @2009jorose @animagix101 @night130

A= Amalthea (The Last Unicorn)

B= Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

C= Christine (The Phantom of the Opera)

D= Dorian Grey (the picture of Dorian Grey)

E= Esmeralda (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

F= Frodo (The Lord of the Rings)

G= Granger, Hermione (Harry Potter) *Emma Waston I actually like for her, the character meh, but more roles lately make me really like Emma Waston more, just Hermione was my first role I really liked her*

H= Hemidall (Thor)

I= Inara (Firefly+Serenity)

J= Jasmine (Aladdin)

K= Kala (Sense8)

L= Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

M= Merlin (BBC Merlin)

N= Nomi+ Amanita (Sense8) *I could not choose one as both are amazing*

O= Original Hex Girls (Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost) *mainly Thorn (center) and Luna(right side)*

P= Padme (Star Wars)

Q= Queen of Wonderland, White Queen, or Mirana of Marmorea (Alice in Wonderland) *mostly like her for she is played by Anna Hathaway and BONUS looks like a live action Amalthea*

R= Rose (Titanic)

S= She-Hulk (1996’s Incredible Hulk: Animated Series) *Cree Summer too a crush*

T= Tara (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

U= Underworld Persephone (Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief)

V= Vampire Mina (Bram Stoker Dracula) *mention honestly wanted to find a way to mention Winona Ryder as such a huge crush, plus Winona in red dress so beautiful*

W= Wonder Woman (DC Comics, yet mostly Gal Gadot version)

X= Xavier, Charles (Marvel Comics, yet James McAvoy version, and yes I do not mind if someone needs a wheelchair)

Y= Yum-Yum (The Thief and the Cobbler)

Z= Zoe (Firefly+Serenity) * and Wash, as both have such an adorable relationship*

It is very apparent to me I have a type in both women and men. As well, yes, I still have major crushes on the live action character's thespian. I mean dang I was not expecting such types, but one of my friends did observe I tend to like Jewish, Middle Eastern, French, and Indian women, and men twinks XD (often Untied Kingdom). Dyed hair not picky on gender though, as a good look all around.

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quietblueriver · 1 year ago

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Hit with sudden inspiration, so here's a little Avatrice Buffy AU. Now with a part two.

Now with more that can be found here.

It’s a trap.

Of course it is. She knows better than to do this. She has made it as long as she has as a slayer by knowing better than to do this.

It was irresponsible, and, she thinks, as she watches two more demons emerge from behind a shelving unit halfway down the warehouse, their knives glinting in the low light, now she’s going to die.

It won’t be the first time.

She hadn’t known any better, then. Had been overconfident and followed her instincts all the way to the bottom of the pool in the school gymnasium, red swirls dancing in her fading vision as she sank. She’d used the last of her strength to bend her knees and press against the bottom, weak but something, enough to get her high enough to hook an arm over a rung of the ladder before she lost consciousness, gasping for air and finding only water and the taste of iron and chlorine.

She woke up heaving and coughing to the impassive face of Suzanne Superion, who moved Beatrice’s own hand to the gauze she’d applied to the wound on her neck before standing and brushing her hands over the fabric of still perfectly-pleated pants.

A grimace. A murmur: “I just had these dry-cleaned.”

Beatrice pushed herself up from the clammy tiles, the sucking sound of her wet cotton shirt pulling free of the floor unnaturally loud without the cover of whistles and shouting and water displaced by the clumsy strokes of her peers.

She swayed slightly, felt Superion’s critical eyes on her until she stabilized. She turned, then, and Beatrice followed, slowed by blood loss and the particularly awful feeling of wet socks squishing in her wet trainers with every step. Superion did not slow for her, calling out over her shoulder, “This is why you should listen to me.”

She should have listened. To be fair, though, she had seen a vampire carrying a screaming child into the gym. Only two weeks in, she didn’t yet have the instincts to understand that the child was a vampire, too.

Beatrice is not generally particularly kind to herself, but she thinks she made an understandable decision at the time.

Tonight, though, she had merely been reckless. A moment. But she knows better than anyone that that’s all it takes.

She’s backed into a corner now, a dozen vampires and demons congratulating each other and sneering at her as she takes stock. They haven’t attacked her yet, despite their numbers, and they’re excited about something. She’s already heard a ritual mentioned in three different languages. Also, blood.

This makes sense given the symbol chalked into the floor nearby—a resurrection spell, if she had to guess, although she can only get a partial view. Most of it is obscured by the jostling bodies of a vampire—most likely newly turned, if his too-bright eyes and muddy shoes are anything to go by—and a Liliiad demon. His face, like all Lilliad faces, looks a bit like a half-melted candle, and she’s unsettled, as always, by its ability to convey its hatred so clearly through gray, blurred features.

A ritual with the slayer’s blood, then. Another one. Far from the first time they’ve tried something like this, although they’ve finally managed to catch her off guard.

She’s well and truly alone, off the trail of her prescribed patrol path, and she has the stake in her hand, the cross on her neck, and her knives. At least she has her knives.

A figure steps forward, tall and broad and dressed in red robes, his face shielded by his hood. Next to him stands the reason Beatrice entered this warehouse in the first place.

His demeanor now is a stark contrast to what it had been an hour ago, his shaking hands and disheveled hair and breaking voice.

“They slipped away,” he’d said. “The same group that got Shannon. Three of them.”

She hadn’t asked any questions. A rookie mistake, letting emotion guide her.

She thinks of the night she found Shannon on the library floor, the crack in Superion’s ever-present armor as she recognized her friend’s broken body. She thinks, very seriously, about using one of her knives to kill him, but she’s not ready to escalate, and he’s not worth wasting whatever chance she might have.

And, of course, she knows that whatever happens here, Superion will figure him out and he will pay. For Shannon, and, maybe, for her.

“Beatrice.”

She says nothing, and Vincent sighs.

“Very well.” His eyes turn to the face of the robed figure. “I’m going to the tomb. You know what to do.”

He steps back through the circle of demons and walks toward the exit. She hears the groan of one of the warehouse doors opening as the robed figure takes another step toward her.

Her fingers move for a moment to the scar on her neck and then she breathes, steady, lets her senses expand, shifts her stance.

She is the slayer. She will not go down easily.

And she doesn’t. The person or demon or creature coming toward her is slow, fumbles when she dodges, and she has somehow caught the rest of them off guard. Two quick stakes and three knives gone and she’s opening up the circle, taking full advantage of their characteristic lack of organization.

Something takes out her knee and she collapses, breath taken out of her when she hits the floor. A shadow, and a boot comes down on her knee with a sickening crunch. She cries out and closes her eyes, only for a moment, before catching herself.

She opens them to the face of the robed figure, hood now pushed back to reveal the raised planes of his vampire form, bright blonde hair and blue eyes and a predatory gaze. He rests his boot on her chest as she tries to think through the pain, moving from thoughts of escape to thoughts of sabotage. They may kill her but she’ll be damned if they use her blood to raise whatever godforsaken creature brought them all here.

“If we didn’t need all of your blood to raise our Lord, little girl, I would rip your throat open right now and have a little taste. I’ve heard slayer blood brings a real high.”

She has had more demonic creatures than she can count tell her that they’d love to rip her throat open. It’s nothing new. But the feeling of satisfaction that comes over her at his words is—he’s given her the information she needs.

She can’t run. Slayers heal quickly, but not that quickly.

But she has a knife left, and he’ll have to carry her or drag her. Plenty of time for her to bleed before he can get her to the symbol. An easy cut to the brachial artery. Her clothes are dark, and she can be quiet. He won’t realize until it’s too late.

The knife is in her boot, but when he moves to drag her, she can…

Before she can finish the thought, there’s an explosion at the symbol, heat from a raging fire reaching Beatrice’s face, and she watches as the vampire above her turns his face to the commotion. In the same moment, a stake lodges itself in his chest, and she hears his final scream of rage and confusion as the boot on her chest crumbles to ash.

A new figure looms. Small. Familiar. And Beatrice feels a new kind of pain as she’s offered a hand and a crooked smile.

“Sup, Bea? Sorry I’m late to the party.”

#avatrice #warrior nun #sister beatrice #ava silva #warrior nun fic #btvs au

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xfangheartx · 3 months ago

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Summary- Blitzø tells Stolas how he really feels, and things do happen.

Preview:

Buffy didn’t know why, but things were unusually quiet right now… and she did not like it. If there was anything she learned during those ten years she was living with the Vices (fuck them still), it was that when things got too quiet, that’s when things got bad. Buffy hated it when things were too quiet because it always made her nervous… well, more nervous than usual.

That’s when there was a knock at the door.

“That can’t be another client, can it?” asked Millie while Moxxie attempted to open the door, only for it to slam into him when it was thrown open by none other than Stolas, who was dressed in his royal attire… and he did not look the least bit happy.

“…Hello, Your Highness…!!” Moxxie groaned while Millie ran over and pulled him out from between the door and the wall.

“Um… can we help you, Prince Stolas-” Buffy started, only to squeak in fright as the demon owl glowered at her with his glowing red eyes.

“Where… is your father?” Stolas asked in a tone mixed with authority and bitterness.

“H-he’s in his office,” Buffy stammered, “but… he’s with a client right now, so-”

Stolas didn’t let her finish as he walked past her and pushed open the door to Blitzø’s office, where he found the imp speaking with a Sinner that had octopus tentacles for hair and legs. The only thing that looked remotely human were his arms.

“Blitz!” Stolas shouted.

“Stolas, what the fuck are you doing here?!” Blitzø questioned. “I’m busy!”

“Yeah, man! He saw me first!” the Octopus Sinner shouted, only for Stolas to glare at him, which caused him to gulp nervously. “Uh… you know what? I’ll come back later.”

With that, he ran out… or crawled out… whatever octopi did.

“Blitz! I demand an explanation!” Stolas shouted as he slammed his hands on Blitzø’s desk.

“What do you mean, ‘an explanation’?!” Blitzø asked. “I gave you my fucking answer, Stolas!”

“What kind of answer is ‘I love you but I can’t be with you’?!” Stolas questioned.

Outside, Loona, Buffy, Moxxie, and Millie had their ears glued to the door.

“Ohhh, shit…” Loona cursed. “I knew something was up.”

“I can’t believe this, Blitz!!” Stolas shouted. “After everything we’ve been through, together, THIS is how you want to end things?!”

“You think I WANT to end this?!” Blitzø questioned. “Fuck, Stolas, I don’t need this, right now!! I already feel bad enough that I woke up in someone else’s bed, this morning!!” He gasped as he covered his mouth while Stolas’s eyes widened in shock… but that shock slowly shifted into anger.

“You did WHAT?!” he yelled.

“He slept with someone else?!” Millie whispered in horror as she and the others all gasped.

“I thought that Dad smelled weird!” Buffy said.

“Okay, look, before you say anything else,” Blitzø began, “I did something really fucking stupid! I know that! But just so you know, Stolas, I was drunk and he was hot!”

“THAT’S your excuse?!” Stolas questioned. “Being drunk, I understand, but you slept with someone else simply because they were ‘hot’?!”

“Well… I mean…” Blitzø stammered. “He…” He sighed as he ran his hand down his face. “He… he kinda reminded me of you.”

Stolas blinked at Blitzø, who gave him a nervous grin… and that’s when the prince did something even he didn’t expect. He started to laugh. He just started covering his face and laughing loudly… but it was that kind of laugh that someone made when they were about to jump off the deep end.

“I… I just don’t believe this!” Stolas exclaimed. “You slept with someone because they reminded you of ME?! Do you not see the IRONY in that, Blitz?!”

“It is a little ironic…” Moxxie muttered while Millie, Loona, and Buffy shushed him. “What?!”

#helluva boss #helluva boss fanfiction #stolitz #I'm a monster

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faith-thee-slayer · 2 years ago

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In your opinion, what are Faith's best looks over the run of BtVS/AtS?

anon i am SO glad you asked this, because i was already thinking about making a compilation post of her best looks. it took me a while since i had to go thru every single appearance of hers so i didn't forget an outfit...

here are my favorite Faith outfits, loosely in order starting with most favorite:

the RED SHIRT. i will never cease to be floored by how well she pulled it off. very much giving HAEBILF (homoerotic angry evil bestie i'd like to fuck).

the amends outfit!! the "girlfriend visiting her gf's parents for the first time" outfit!! i love soft lighter colors on her, especially light blue. the tan jacket slays every time it makes an appearance.

this denim jacket + lace black top + choker... super underrated look i think, considering we only saw it in this scene and the scene where she tries to get angel to shoot her.

my god, this look. she showed up -> served cunt -> killed a man -> left

this is almost like a companion to her amends outfit. obsessed with how comfy and cute she looks

the tan jacket!! i hope she got a new one, this one's probably at the bottom of sunnydale... this outfit looks cute without the jacket too, just the simple red tank + blue jeans combo.

the partial turtleneck + black denim jacket combo. i feel like this is another underrated one.

she should've worn this more... yup

honorable mentions: orange tie-dye top from the graduation day dream; all black tank top + jeans she has on when buffy confronts her in sanctuary (the brown jacket she wears with it is cute too); denim jacket + dark red top from dirty girls (the scene where she's smoking with spike and she removes her jacket while stretching... YEAH); homecoming dress; sheer longsleeve top + leather pants she wears while angel has her chained up in consequences (both hair up and hair down deliver two similar but unique vibes for the look); white longsleeve and black vest from That Patrol in bad girls; blue longsleeve in empty places; and last but certainly not least, the "i was shooting for sultry, but hey" bombshell look from this year's girl.

thank you so much for this ask, this was fun!!

#i think i listed almost all of her outfits lmao #ok but now i'm thinking about where she gets her clothes from... because she came to sunnydale with a bag of clothes.#and while she was living in sunnydale she accumulated a wardrobe via her own means or the mayor #then she enters a coma and... i'm assuming most of her clothes are still at her apartment during this time...?#assuming the apartment is somehow still being paid for after the mayor's death. so she wakes up #maybe swings by the apartment to get the Sultry Outfit #though after the body swap she runs away -- and then when we see her in five by five she's in a new outfit and has a bag??#did she go back to the apartment and pick up some stuff or did she get new clothes? do we think the mayor gave her a credit card or was she #just stealing from stores?#did angel keep her bag of clothes when she went to jail? did wesley give her these clothes when he went to get her or did he get #new clothes for her?#why do faith and willow change outfits on the way to sunnydale from LA?#whose clothes is she wearing for the rest of s7??#yeah i have a lot of questions #asks #faith lehane #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs

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artblockastor · 10 months ago

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[ID: multiple digital, colored drawings of the same, pale girl with various hair colors and outfits, all of them including a white surgical mask pulled over her mouth and nose. The first drawing is of the girl, named Buffy, with black, curly hair, dyed a dark green at the ends. She’s wearing a black sweatshirt tucked into a long, flowy black skirt with a studded belt, two chains clipped to the belt, and she has a pair of black boots on. She’s accessorized with a black choker, which displays a vintage cameo charm. The second drawing is of the same girl with dark, blood red hair, the same boots and skirt from the first drawing, a t-shirt with two people kissing on it and the words “Yayx3 Rvnge” (meant to be a parody of the album cover of My Chemical Romance’s album “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge”), with a long, red and black striped cardigan overtop. The third drawing is of Buffy with black rooted hair that’s been dyed dark red for the most part, with blue streaks at the ends, all tied up in a half-up half-down hairstyle. She’s wearing a grey-blue turtleneck sweater with sleeves that almost cover her hands, and a darker grey-blue velvet dress (with a skirt ending at her knees) overtop, along with black tights and black boots. The fourth image is of Buffy with her hair the same colors as last time, but this time in a ponytail. She’s wearing a dark red t-shirt with a grey tank top over it, and an unzipped, sleeveless, black hoodie over that. She also has a black pleated skirt (ending above her knees), black fishnet stockings, black and dark red-striped knee-high socks, and black high-top converse. She’s accessorized with black and red striped elbow-length fingerless gloves, a few leather cord necklaces and bracelets, some red, black, and white wooden beaded bracelets, and a belt with two chains clipped onto it. The fifth image is of Buffy with black and silver-streaked hair, tucked into a navy blue beanie hat, with just the bangs and some strands sitting out in the front. She’s wearing a light grey t-shirt that has some black stick figures on it (one of whom seems to have an American flag draped over their shoulders), and the text “USA: pretty, crazy” (meant to be a parody of the cover of Fall Out Boy’s album “American Beauty, American Psycho”), which she wears with a light blue plaid jacket, black jeans, black converse high tops, and a studded belt with two chains clipped on. End ID]

Hello, y’all!

I’ve had this one character for about four years now, and just like me, she’s dressed like Adam Sandler since her creation. Unfortunately, out of my cast of characters, this one is far from the only poor sweet creation of mine subjected to my tragic lack of style. So, I figured it was about time I at least attempt to fix that.

I figured I should start off this series(??) of Character Closet Makeovers with some rather casual outfits for my dear child Buffy Whinsnap.

Most of these outfits are meant to be relatively comfortable, warm (with the option to be less so), and easy enough to maneuver in while still looking cute and being something Buffy would enjoy. She takes a liking to many different clothing styles, but seems to like outfits from alternative-inspired styles, like goth, scene, and cottage/forestcore. Here we mostly see outfits inspired by gothic and scene-esq ideas, but Buffy likes to keep her number of clothing pieces relatively low, and also loves being able to show off the band tees and trinkets she’s collected. I hope to add more forest/cottagecore outfits in the more formal addition to her closet makeover.

I like adding little tags describing or giving insight on some objects/clothing pieces! Apologies if my handwriting is illegible :’)

I know this outfit isn’t technically true or traditional goth, but it’s as best as Buffy can really do right now with her income and allergy to plastics. Most of her clothes are cotton or some other natural fiber. The only time she can really afford to wear any sort of plastic is if it’s not going to touch her skin. Because of her having allergic reactions to coming into contact with plastic, she often wears long sleeves and sometimes even gloves in crowded public areas to avoid being hurt. Also yeah I was thinking of Winona Ryder in Beetlejuice whilst drawing this what of it sue me I can’t help the fact that she’s pretty and iconic and that I’m definitely attracted to women admit it you think she’s pretty too

Buffy loves her Our Chemistry’s Affair “Yayx3 Revenge” shirt almost as much as she loves not having to look people in the eye by just ✨having her hair cover her eyes✨ My girl’s like five feet tall, the only ones capable of looking her in the eye are toddlers, hyper elementary schoolers, and anxious insecure middle schoolers who are too busy or anxious to look her in the eyes anyway. The perks of Not Talking and having fluffy hair ig.

Her cardigan is cozy, but also slips off easily. This may sound annoying, but she actually appreciates it. If someone’s chasing her and grabs the tail of her cardigan, or it gets caught on something, she can just keep running and it won’t hold her back. Then she can go back later because who would let a good cardigan go to waste like that

This is one of her more generic outfits, yes, but there are several perks to it!

The long sleeves help keep her warm, which is good already (temperature regulation who?), but the sleeves are really long and can be unfolded to be used as grips or mitts to handle hot or rough things. Her corset may not seem super conventional, but it’s actually helpful in many ways. It can be used to hide thinner things (paper money, cards, small pouches of medicines, etc), and is made of quality leather and reinforced with interlocking wooden plates which can help protect against blunt force and stabbing attacks.

This outfit was really fun to design! I wanted to give her a brighter, more energetic, scene-inspired outfit. I would’ve given her the early 2000s knee-high Converse, or platform Converse, but let’s be honest: she’s not going to spend that long lacing up shoes, and there’s no way she’d be able to run and fight in five-inch platforms atm.

Buffy never goes anywhere without a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, and I’m well aware of this. Problem is, I REALLY wanted to give her those elbow-length, striped fingerless gloves. So I decided to commit a “fashion atrocity” (or so I’ve been told) and give her a sleeve-optional hoodie. To be honest, I think it looks okay. Something popular in the scene fashion is LAYERS. So many layers. Everywhere. So I figured a third and obvious layer could work with this outfit. What do you think? Buffy thinks it’s a good idea despite the potential judgement, because detachable sleeves have many uses. Hot? Take the sleeves off. Cold? Put the sleeves back on. In need of an emergency rope? Take a sleeve off and use it for that. Also in need of a makeshift tourniquet? Sleeve. Maybe we should all just start wearing detachable sleeves in case someone grabs/stabs at us?

I feel like Buffy would’ve loved wearing khandi jewelry, with all of their fun colors and patterns, and ability to easily cover scarring and stains, but khandi in the scene fashion is almost always made of plastic, and Buffy’s not going to subject herself to allergic reactions just for fashion and some nice clinking noises. So, she got some khandi bracelets made out of wooden beads! And the good news is that they can be used to start a fire in an emergency, so she feels carrying these random bracelets around is justified. I would’ve given her some coon tail hair extensions too, but I didn’t really know how to work those into her hair, since she tries to avoid using heat on her hair and therefore wouldn’t be straightening it, so the coon tails might look out of place.

Buffy usually tries to avoid wearing lighter colors due to stain risks (pasta sauce, dirt from falling off her horse, stab wounds, ink tears, etc.), but one of her few exceptions (“you are the only exception”) is her gray Nuclear Boii t-shirt (yes I will be drawing off-brand band tees until the day my soul passes on), and the light blue flannel she likes pairing with it. The good news is that this flannel is vintage and made of quality materials, which means that (despite the slashes and holes Buffy’s had to sew and patch up) it’s more durable and easier to use in situations that call for bindings and blankets. Her only real problem with this flannel though, is that it’s hard to add hidden pockets to it because you’d see the bulging. Good news is that bobby pins exist for the sake of her beanie. She can’t hide too much inside of the beanie itself, but her hair is thick and abundant, and could easily hypothetically stash money, meds, needles, thread, and/or a knife or two. Who knows what’s in there? Just don’t touch the hat. Or the hair. Or her, in general. She’s low-key germaphobic. There’s a reason she almost never leaves her house without a mask on.

Anyway, thank you for glancing in the direction of this post! And if you’ve gotten this far, then.. what are you doing? Go get some rest. You’ve come a long way through the seas of my endless rambling.

TL;DR: I like designing outfits every now and then, and apparently I like to rant?

Stay tuned for more, assuming the art block doesn’t prevail!

#original art #original character #my art #character design #character art #emo scene #scenecore #scenemo #winona ryder #digital art #My Boyfriend Is the Jersey Devil?!#Buffy Whinsnap #mcr #fall out boy

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hisui-cotton · 10 months ago

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It’s interesting to see how long fashion can last beyond it’s presentation. It’s not uncommon to see styles or trends come back around but another aspect of it within media is how integral it can be to the show’s image. When you think of a character, you think of how they dress too. Good costume design can bring a full image together or reflect a new side of someone. Games can implement skins, armor, and character customization to express new sides of a character or allow players to create looks that directly reflect the outfit’s origins. Today though I want to talk about 2 shows, One Piece Live Action and Buffy. I'd like to ruminate about some of the outfits I loved and how the outfits added to the shows unique and iconic imagery not by being just stylish but relevant to characterization of these already iconic characters.

My favorite two outfits from the One Piece Live Action were Nami and Luffy’s Baratie outfits. I feel like Nami’s was both poppy and cute, a Pink top and Orange pleated skirt, in the realm of party wear whereas some of her other outfits were more obviously for comfort on the sea or in combat. The way Emily Rudd wore it was also very confident which I feel is important for the character. Part of what I think makes Nami’s strength and so great is her own confidence and will, where she will confidently take the action she believes. Likewise Luffy’s outfit is a bit more of a modern casual version of his usual outfit but still works for his character. Luffy’s usual clothes are supposed to be ones he happened to have found, where as these feel like some he perhaps got before leaving Syrup Village as they’re much cleaner. The style of them though is still super fun, almost childish, and just similar enough to his usual that you don’t feel a difference in his presentation. Iñaki Godoy has a really energetic and in some ways naïve play of Luffy and so the outfit and the it fits that makes it feel like something Luffy would wear with blue jean overalls and a bright red hooded t-shirt.

For One Piece it’s not too hard to figure out how it can be so distinctly styled. Oda’s art and designs are fairly unique. If you see Luffy’s outfit off of Luffy, it’s still recognizably his outfit. But what was kind of unexpected within the show was that even in other outfits they always felt like something he’d wear. Most of the costumes were adapted from Oda’s Color Walk 1 and 2 but costume designer Diana Cilliers has mentioned that there were costume changes made for function and to better fit the cast in ways. But it’s fun to know that it wasn’t just actors and set designers trying to recognize Oda’s vision for the world but also the costume designers trying to bring more of his work directly into the production.

I think this is a good vision for the show to go by too. Taking the both iconic characters and Oda’s sense of design for them and making it integral to the iconography of live action’s production, recognizing that the clothing and fashion of the world is just as important, is wonderful.

Now you may be wondering how I am transition to Buffy in this or how I even relate these two together. Actually I had seen Buffy a lot when I was younger, my mom and Aunt watched it quite a lot. From time to time they also like to rewatch old shows while doing chores and stuff just as background noise. At the time OPLA came out, my mom happened to be rewatching Buffy and something about how stylish Buffy was stuck with me the same way I was noticing OPLA was really stylish. Thats about how they ended up being compared in my case but something I noticed actually was how both felt like they tried to authentically represent and evolve the characters outfits.

In One Piece where the outfits are more involved with the characters and clothing functionality, Buffy’s feels more about the way it grounds the fantasy of the world in Sunnydale and it’s time. Buffy has returned to the fashion zeitgeist as Y2K fashion has made a some back in many places. Which makes sense with the way the show has a pretty iconic sense of fashion. Buffy and Willow both have the most distinct styles in the show an that definitely left a note on the fashion culture at the time. Within Buffy it’s pretty interesting to note that not all the outfits were bought or pieced from everyday fashion, some were specifically designed and made for the show. A lot of the ones that were bought were also sourced from around LA and it’s surrounding cities, the closest thing to Sunnydale there probably is. In one interview for Paper Magazine Cynthia Bergstrom mentions the brands Ver Wang which was located in Beverly Hills, Mark Wong Nark who had a store on Sunset Blvd and Cynthia Rowley out by the coast and south of LA and Huntington Beach.

Just as much as the show set trends in style, leaving ever iconic looks for characters, it also captured a lot of the actual clothes of the time. Willow’s clothing evolution is probably the one most people recognize across the series. Going from varied, almost hand me down fashion, to an almost casual punk or alternative style. From there it kind of naturally matures into outfits that feel more mature overall. One of my favorites though is from the episode where she meets Tara during a Wicca Group meeting. The episode is HUSH, a well known episode for being one of the more terrifying ones based on the idea of silence and terrors that lurk in that and take advantage of that. Willow’s outfit that I like has probably one of my favorite balances to match her personality and budding interest in this dark power in her. It has this cute cropped pink sweater and jean-patchworked Maxi skirt. It feels like it’s somewhere between the sweet and kind Willow and then the alternative grungy-naturalistic aesthetics of magic. In a lot of interviews it sounds like Willow was one of the easiest to style for and it shows quiet well. Willow always has a developing style all the time but it’s a very natural and understandable one and I love being able to see that.

The other outfit in this show I absolutely LOVE is from another legendary episode, Band Candy. Joyce, Buffy’s mom, and Giles, Buffy’s Mentor, essentially get their brains turned to teen-age from the chocolate sold from the school. Technically all adults who eat the chocolate get affected but we’re focusing on these two because Joyce looks great. Stacy’s mom? NO! Buffy’s mom. She and Giles go on a trek through the chaos that ripples through the town. Giles being the british-punk warlock he is steals a coat she wants from a shop window by tossing a trash can through it. Now when I say Joyce looks great in this episode I mean it’s undeniably one of the best outfits in the series. With suede (?) knee-high boots, a short formfitting skirt and the layered, ankle length jackets, one of which topped with an almost fur like feather collar, on top of a nice pastel V-neck shirt, is one of the most cohesive and timeless outfits seen in the run of the show. Giles’s outfit also fits this episodes' event change where he rolls his t-shirt sleeves up with a plaid shirt tied around his waist and plain jeans. It’s really simple but echos the general look of the younger punk scene Giles likely was a part of in his youth.

What I feel makes Joyce’s outfit stand out as iconic though is how it showcases something that actually people saw in a recent tiktok trend. People were swapping clothes with their parents and it made a lot of their parents look a lot younger. In many ways it showcased how style trends not just across time but across age can be irrelevant because of how the fashion itself is worn. A newer style and a certain level of trends can really affect the way a person’s age can present themself. When Joyce wears this outfit along with her acting younger it feels cohesive. The way she wears it and how it looks together, just like with Nami, Luffy or Willow, plays into the relevant parts of the character. She is teenage brained from a story standpoint but from a visual standpoint it helps to actually showcase that difference by evolving her outfit. Yet it still feels like her, not just because we see her in it but because of what we see in Joyce’s character in the rest of the series. She enjoys art, she jokes with Buffy and her friends a lot, and in being Buffy’s mom has raised her to be confident and fight for herself, even if she hadn’t always known Buffy was the Slayer. There is a deeper character that may not dress the way she does in Band Candy all the time, but has an origin and side to herself that would dress like that.

So when I say Fashion is always relevant, it’s not just a statement on how relevant it can be to a time. Most of what makes it so relevant in storytelling is the character and how believable it can be to see that outfit or costuming applied to said character. In live action series this can add a really thoughtful layer and be used to develop subtle, or overt, storytelling points. So when you find your next favorite show, see how much your impression and idea of the characters comes from how they dress. It might surprise you to see just how much it can change with a few outfit differences.

Anyways I’m no style expert, I just wanted to talk about some cool feelings I had over the fashion in these shows. Above is the full body picture I drew as a nice little doodle of the outfits I talked about here (You can also see part of it in the header for this post). Hope you like it. Here are all my sources and interviews I read to write this up:

Buffy:

One Piece:

#Hisui Notes #buffy the vampire slayer #one piece #one piece live action #opla #Buffy #joyce summers #text post #blog post #fashion #one piece fashion #my art #anime blog

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oveliagirlhaditright · 1 year ago

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Blood Moon

Summary: In season three, Snyder once again enlists Buffy's help in taking kids trick-or-treating for Halloween. Buffy, this time, decides to dress up as Sailor Moon. In needing sometime to unwind before spending some time with the munchkins that night, Buffy stops by the mansion to see her favorite vampire. Thinking she looks pretty cute as Sailor Moon, and that Angel might appreciate the sight, she shouts, "Happy birthday!" to him as she bursts into the place... not knowing that Halloween is actually Angel's birthday, and this is how she's about to find that out. Based on "Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer" listing Halloween as Angel's canon birthday.

"Happy birthday, Angel," Buffy said somewhat shyly, as she strolled into Angel’s mansion in a Sailor Moon costume. Truth be told? As far as Buffy knew, it wasn't actually Angel's birthday. She had no idea when that day was, unfortunately—as there were still some things from his human life that he wasn't comfortable discussing. But she thought that Angel might, in some capacity, enjoy seeing her dressed in such a way, which was why she was saying the turn of phrase.

The actual day was Halloween, hence why Buffy was dressed up (and she'd chosen Sailor Moon for a few reasons. One, because a cute little girl who she had rescued at a comic book store had said that Buffy reminded her of Sailor Moon (1), which had then gotten Buffy to research the manga and to come to the same conclusion herself. And two, because on the off-chance they got turned into their costumes again this year, she wanted a superhero who could always handle things at the end of the day).

Anyway… Buffy was definitely hoping that Angel would think she looked cute like this, hence her lame "happy birthday" comment, to give her something to enjoy before she was once more under Snyder’s scrutiny in a few hours. But as Angel seemed to look at her with puzzlement in his eyes and nothing more, she was very much starting to regret the whole thing.

"How-how'd you know?" Angel gasped, after he'd blinked at the Slayer a few times.

And Buffy was about to ask “how she knew what?” When it suddenly dawned on her what Angel's question must have meant. She gasped, as she all but tackled him into the couch. He had been standing in the center of the room to hug her, no doubt, but now in her enthusiasm, Buffy was pretty much straddling him atop the sofa in his living room. "Angel, you’re saying Halloween is your actual birthday? Why didn't you ever tell me?!"

Suddenly, Buffy felt heartbroken that she had nothing to give Angel on his actual birthday here. Nothing but her love. Sure, she could give him a late birthday present, but it wouldn’t entirely be the same.

Buffy was about to berate Angel, for letting things become uneven between them this way (where he would be a better boyfriend than she a good girlfriend, since his birthday presents to her would be on time), when Buffy noticed just how intently he was looking at her.

“And you’re really debating telling me something heavy here, aren’t you?” Buffy surmised.

And Angel laughed once at that. And had smiling eyes for just a moment—even going as far as to calling Buffy the “Champion of Love and Justice, indeed--before he seemed to settle back into his despair. “It wasn’t because I thought birthdays were irrelevant after becoming a vampire that I didn’t tell you, Buffy. Please understand that. It wasn’t even the clichéd idea that we vampires moreso celebrate the dates we were sired…

"Though celebrating birthdays for hundreds of years can get confusing and tedious," Angel seemed to add as an afterthought.

"Though that's still not the main reason you left me in the dark?" Buffy asked, drawing circles on Angel’s red, silk shirt with her index finger. She wondered if it had to do with his birthday being on Halloween: the day demons never went out on, because they hated how commercial everything had become. Had Angelus feared everyone would think he was somehow commercial, if they knew when his birthday was?

Sighing heavily, and looking everywhere but at Buffy, Angel admitted in a voice that was small and very out of place for him, "Once my father had deemed me a disappointment in his eyes, he said it was only fitting I'd been born on Halloween, the devil's day and all that… and he was right."

Buffy knew she must have heard wrong. She had to have. Because while she knew that there hadn’t exactly been any love lost between Angel and his father, for a parent to still say that to their child… Even in much harder times, Buffy couldn’t make sense of it in the slightest.

And even Angel himself! Buffy knew that he could brood with the best of them, but he was working so hard for redemption and to prove that he was worth something. Even on his worst days, how could he ever believe something like that about himself? Buffy wanted to believe that he didn’t. But taking one look at how he was so still now, that Buffy knew could actually be the sign of an anxiety attack, she knew it was the truth.

"Angel, that's horrible! I can't believe your father would say that to you! He's dead wrong! He's always been dead wrong about it!"

"How can you say that, Buffy?" Angel countered, turning beaten, tortured eyes onto her. "Look at what I ended up doing to them. He must have-"

While Buffy had gone to just laying on top of Angel before, she was once again straddling him now, and leaning above him so she could peer directly into his eyes. Running a gentle hand over his face as she tried to sooth him, the Slayer whispered the following—as a warm glow from the fireplace settled on the both of them, "Don't you dare tell me he must have somehow seen the future and known you would become Angelus, Angel. That's just impossible. He was being abusive towards you. And you're taking something a demon did, that you're making up for every day, to try and justify those unfair words spoken to a child.

"From now on, we are going to celebrate your birthday on Halloween. And aside from this Sailor Moon costume that I'm totally wearing for you and not because I got roped into taking kids trick-or-treating by Snyder again, notwithstanding… what would you like for said birthday?"

It was clear that Angel was thinking about it—whilst he squeezed Buffy’s hip tightly and seemed to purposely smooth a careful kiss onto the little crescent moon that was on one of her red choker--but the moment that Angel got a guilty look into his eyes, Buffy knew what her vamp was going to try and articulate here. Before he could, Buffy pulled away from him the slightest bit and snapped, "And don't dare say you don't deserve anything from me because of last year, when you weren’t yourself. Or that I give you enough already, as sweet as that would be."

Angel laughed for Buffy’s sassiness for just a moment—something Buffy definitely appreciated—and then pulled her into a kiss that instantly had this Serena melting for her Darien (2). It had been far too long since the two of them had been together like this, Buffy thought, as she tried to not get too lost in the feeling of Angel's claiming kiss, and home. The two of them tried so hard to be virtuous, and not do anything to bring about Angelus. But how could those actions be deemed good when this was so right? Buffy wondered, just as Angel nibbled on her bottom lip once and she moaned.

But all too soon he was pulling away from her and getting up, even—removing temptation, Buffy suspected—and rifling through one of his drawers. If she peered closely, she thought that maybe he was looking at some of his drawings in them?

"I would like for my birthday… a thing of post-it notes."

Buffy stared at Angel for a long moment, thinking that he had to be joking with her, of course—even though her Angel was usually so sober—because who would ever ask for that for their birthday, but while he continued looking at her expectantly, and then in a bashful way, Buffy realized he must have been serious.

"Angel… I know you probably haven't really thought about what you'd want as a gift for a while, but I swear I can splurge way more than tha-"

But thankfully, Angel cut Buffy's somewhat insulted words off with a finger to her lips. "There's a part of me that's always wanted to try my hand at animation… Though to do that, you need to know how to use a computer, which I really don't. But you can somewhat imitate the affect with post-it-notes: in making a flipbook and I'd like to try it. And it would mean a lot to me if you could help me make that dream come true," Angel told her earnestly, dear God, almost doing the puppy dog pout, so that Buffy couldn't refuse him.

This still hardly seemed like enough of a gift for him to Buffy… Even if she went to an art store and asked if they had special post-its for artists, or anything like that, she was still skeptical about it, but she couldn't turn this dream of Angel's down, now that she knew it was a dream of his. But maybe she could do more with it.

"In the name of the Moon, that’s how I’ll heal you," Buffy promised the love of her life… And okay, she somewhat hated the cheesy words as soon as they were out of her mouth. Maybe the DIC dub of Sailor Moon wasn’t that great. Though in its defense, she didn’t think even it had ever been as silly as what she had just said.

But Angel didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he seemed charmed by it all and sealed their promise with a kiss. And being a girl very much in love, Buffy loved it when he ran his hands through her hair as they made out:

Buffy hadn’t actually bought a wig for this costume, but had rather done her hair up in meatballs as best she could. And while her hair wasn’t nearly as long as Serena’s at all—if anything, it was as long as Rini’s—Angel seemed to love her just the way she was, like he always did. Like she did him.

…

Buffy did make good on her promise to Angel, but she did something else, too. Though she knew she was probably the world's most terrible artist, she thought she might get points for effort. So, what did she do? She made her own animation flipbook… it was supposed to depict when she gave Angel a bracelet when they'd been fighting the Sons of Entropy (3), but Buffy thought it probably looked more like a stick figure attempting the hula.

"I don't know," Buffy explained lamely, as she handed him both presents, as they both stood in front of the fire at the mansion. "I just thought that maybe, for your birthday here, it might be nice to reference both presents I've given you so far. It seems really stupid now. I know my drawing sucks," Buffy said all but depressed.

The next thing Buffy knew, Angel was moving in her direction. And her Slayer senses were going absolutely crazy for it, thinking that an angry vampire was trying to attack her—and she nearly prepared herself to go on the defensive—but then she was in his arms as he was trembling. And Buffy remembered where she was, and just how vulnerable the creature in her arms was and just how much she loved him.

"Angel?"

"Thank you, Buffy. Just thank you. Whenever I think I can't love you any more than I already do, you prove me wrong."

"And I’ll always be here to do that for you, Angel," Buffy said gently, kissing her vampire’s ear. And she embraced him a moment longer, before they both sat down in front of the fire to examine Buffy's little animation together.

Before Angel left, he drew his own one in the post-its that Buffy had given him: the time that he had given Buffy her claddagh, thinking it was only fitting that since Buffy had drawn the time she had given him a bracelet that said "always," that he depict when they'd shared rings and promised each other forever. He'd given this to Buffy; and as she'd looked over Angel's gorgeous line work and colors as they moved, she imagined she'd never loved a possession more.

And, yes, even in the long years that she was temporarily without him, did it give her comfort.

Author's Note: (1) That happens in one of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer High School Years comics.

(2) I know that their names are Usagi and Mamoru… but in the time the Buffy seasons take place in, Buffy would most likely know them by what the DIC dub called them: Serena and Darien (and their daughter from the future as “Rini”).

(3) This is a reference to the Buffy books “The Gatekeeper Trilogy,” and Buffy did give Angel a bracelet there.

This whole thing is based on how in Buffy The Last Vampire Slayer, Angel’s birthday—on his wedding certificate to Buffy—is written to be on Halloween. I may not like quite a few things about that series, but that’s cool. And it got the muse inspired to write this whole thing.

For a while now, I’ve thought about Buffy dressing up as Sailor Moon for Halloween, mainly because they have so much in common. And then it combined with the above idea and this fic was born.

I also feel like Angel would know about Sailor Moon, perhaps (which I clearly went with here), because he read a lot—so maybe he’d come across the manga—had been to Japan in the past (so I feel like he maybe knew Japanese, like he knows so many languages—so perhaps he could even be reading the manga in its original language)… and, well, Sailor Moon is so like Buffy. So, if for whatever reason, he ever started the first volume, I feel like he would continue on, because he’d be like, “Oh my gosh, she reminds me of Buffy.”

I do have an idea for a sequel to this, I think, so hopefully we’ll see that soon!

#bangel #buffy the vampire slayer #canon #canon compliant #hurt/comfort #fluff #all the fluff #season 3/series 3 #season 3 #series 3 #mine #my work #shanna's various forms of art #buffy summers #angel

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spnae · 2 years ago

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37 Living Dead Girl

“Buffy? Spike? Buffy?”, there was yet another knock at the door and Buffy realized she couldn’t ignore it and started fumbling blindly for her bathrobe; which wasn’t where she normally kept it… Shit.

She lifted her head. It felt like the roadrunner had smashed an anvil into it. Buffy let out a groan and the arm she hadn’t realized was snaked around her constricted. Spike.

The pounding on the door resumed, “Buffy?”

She groaned again, “What do you want, Xan? We’re half dead in here.”

“It’s too early for your puns, Love. Make the boy go away,” Spike grumbled into a pillow as he shifted onto his stomach like a sullen kid.

Buffy huffed without looking over at Spike, “Go away, Xan!”

“Come on guys! I’m supposed to get you up! The coma girl’s parents are here. She woke up and they want to talk to you so get some clothes on!”

Spike groaned and pulled himself up out of bed, “Bugger all,” he grumbled, pulling on his jeans gingerly over his injured leg and limped over to the door pulling it open fully. Xander’s eyes grew wide in shock when he saw Spike’s bare chest.

“Dude, what the hell is going on here? Have you looked at yourself in a mirror?”

“Not as of late, no, you ninny,” he murmured as he looked down at himself. He knew she had written her name under his left collarbone, but he hadn’t realized she had also drawn swirling doodles and a few hearts into his skin. The doodles interspersed with the numerous cross burns dotted all over his chest certainly told their own story. The burns were nothing more than little pinkish-red marks now but they stood out in sharp contrast against his pale skin, “Bollocks. How bad are the bits I can’t see?”

“Got a turtleneck?” Xander scratched his own neck indicating corresponding marks on Spike, “Those are pretty obvious, man. What the heck did you do to him, Buff?” he asked as he tried to poke his head into the room to talk to her.

Spike blocked him, “She’s not exactly decent, mate, getting dressed and a bit hungover too. Who’s with the Andersons now?”

“Faith answered the door and sent me to get you. Will and Giles are in serious book mode. I think they’re in the library but I’m avoiding. Faith wants me and Callum to put the girls to work on the duplex, while she takes the grads to the airport.”

“Right, we’ll be down,” he closed the door as Xander turned away. “You hear him, Pet?”

Buffy had pulled on a purple sleeveless top over a long black skirt with purple embroidery. Her hair was still a mess from sleep and it made him smile as she tamed it.

Buffy nodded as she finished and pulled out a pair of cute but practical sandals, “Yeah, we better get down there.” She looked up at him, “Maybe you should just stay up here. Keep off of that leg.”

“It’s about Sheena and Ruby. I need to be in this.”

She paused taking in the extent of the marks on his chest, “Fine, but maybe go with one of your dress shirts and that new black infinity scarf I just got. I really did a number on you last night,” she grimaced apologetically.

“Nonsense, I love your handiwork. As for that scarf, I might be a bloody poet, Pet, but I sure as hell aint about to dress like one of those trendy wankers running around nowadays.”

“Do you want to make Mrs. Anderson faint again? Because I’m pretty sure advertising evidence of kinky vampire sex might just do it, call it a hunch. Xan’s right, I must have left it on too long in a few spots, a couple of those don’t look good. Look at it this way, at least it’s a plain scarf, no frills.”

He frowned, “Yeah alright. I hear you. As nice as they were, I get the feeling they aren’t going to be all smiles in regard to Ruby’s new living arrangements and lifestyle as is.”

“Which part? The dead but soulful part, the undead-living-here part, or the liking women part?”

“Hard to say.”

“Let’s see what they want first, they might just want to tell us about Sheena.”

“Phones work.”

“True… let me track down Willow. Sheena might have said something to them about our visit.”

“Right, I nearly forgot ‘bout that. Got a bit distracted last night. All went well I take it?”

Buffy shrugged, “I was just the guard dog, but the mind walk Will did with Ruby did the trick. I didn’t really do much except help get Ruby’s stuff out of her room and lend a minimal hand with Odette. Ruby ‘did pretty much all the work. Odette didn’t seem like much of a fighter to be honest.”

“Probably just the regular demon stuff. I certainly didn’t teach her anything. I’m still dumbfounded that Dru just let her go.”

“It’s crazy to expect crazy people to make sense”

Spike shook his head, “Dru is insane but she always made some sort of sense. Even if I didn’t see it right away. In the end she almost always did.”

“I don’t know how you put up with her for so long.”

“Can’t really explain it to be honest,” Spike said awkwardly and rolled a shoulder.

“We better go, I want to see if Will is in the library.”

*****

When they reached the library they were surprised to find Ruby lounging with her leg up over the arm of the chair in the corner with a book in hand. She was situated a short distance away from the large table where Willow and Giles were pouring over books and a stone tablet.

“Hey guys!” Buffy interrupted them, “Ruby’s parents are downstairs.”

Ruby’s head shot up from her book in alarm, “Do they know about me?”

“We don’t really know what they know. Just because we didn’t say anything to them doesn’t mean that Sheena didn’t.”

“How do you want to play this Buff?” Willow asked.

“I think Spike and I need to get down there. Give us a minute or two and then come down with Ruby, but maybe just hang out in the stairwell by the living room so you can hear what’s going on. Oh and by the way, once I get him downstairs, Spike is forbidden from getting off the couch.”

Willow and Ruby smirked at each other and Spike rolled his eyes. Soberingly, he looked squarely at Ruby, “You and I need to have a talk young one. I was out of line but there are things you need to know.”

Ruby nodded, “Whatever you say, g-“

“And don’t you bloody well dare call me grandpa!”

“I was going to say, go see what my parents want. And maybe don’t mention Willow is a witch, I just don’t think they’d respond well.”

“Oh, well right then.”

Buffy put her hand on Spike’s chest, pushing him back slightly from where he was leaning against the doorframe, “Talk later.”

In a matter of minutes the two of them were downstairs greeting the Andersons. Faith took a step towards the staircase, “Sorry to cut and run Buff but I got to make sure Addison and Ursula make their flight.”

“No, it’s fine. I know you got a busy day, thanks for doing this.”

“No problem, B. Hey,” she grabbed Buffy’s arm and gave Spike a barely perceptible glance, “Everything 5x5?”

“Yeah, all good.”

“You gonna fill me in later?”

Spike gave Faith a nod, “Mind yourself, Doe-eyes, doin’ much better now, thanks. You get the beer later and maybe Buffy and I will spill the relevant bits.”

“You’re on, pal,” Faith replied as she headed up the stairs.

Buffy turned back to the Andersons and directed them into the living room.

“What can we do for you?'' Buffy asked cordially as she and Spike sat down together on one couch, the Andersons took the other.

“We’ve just come from the hospital. But I think you already know Sheena is awake.”

“Oh, well I was just there visiting and—“

“Ruby was with you wasn’t she? You found our girl and you didn’t tell us?” Mrs Anderson was trying to keep the accusation out of her voice but it was still there.

“It’s more complicated than that—“

Mr. Anderson bristled, “Our daughter is alive and you didn’t think we should know? When did you find her? How long has—“

“Mr Anderson, please calm down. We were planning on calling you when Ruby decided she was ready. She’s been through—“

“She is our daughter!” he roared, standing up, “What gives you the right to keep her from us!?”

Spike stood up with a deep growl, “You need to have a seat, mate. The lady is trying to explain the situation.”

The Andersons looked a little shocked, they hadn’t missed the growl but they didn’t understand it either. Mr Anderson didn’t sit down, “Young man, perhaps we should be talking to Mr. Giles. I don’t—“

“Don’t you ‘young man’ me, I was—“

Buffy reached for Spike’s wrist, “Sit down, you need to rest that leg.”

“Leg’s not so bad, Pet. I’m fine. But if he thinks I’m just—“

“William, please.”

“Buffy, you know as well as I do that we’re the only ones willing and able to help them and they—“

“Don’t know the whole story.”

Spike deflated as he sat down, his leg really wasn’t fine and he stretched it out in front of him on the coffee table.

Buffy hit Mr Anderson with a hard gaze until he relented a little and sat down too. “Thank you. Now maybe we can talk like adults. As I was saying. Ruby has been through a lot. We have been helping her.”

“Helping her?” Mrs. Anderson asked, “What has happened to our girl? First you tell us she might have been turned and now we find out she’s been hiding out here and you didn’t say a word. Where is my daughter? I want to see her!”

“You will. But I think you need to hear what happened after Ruby attacked Sheena.”

“After— but—“

“We haven’t been keeping you in the dark so please stop acting like we have been. You know she was turned, you know she attacked Sheena. Denial isn’t going to help anyone here. What you don’t know is that we were able to capture her afterwards and hold her here.”

“You held our daughter hostage?”

“We held a demon inhabiting your daughter’s body as a prisoner,” Spike corrected, “You’re welcome.”

Mr. Anderson wrapped an arm around his wife tightly. “But she was with you at the hospital wasn’t she?”

Buffy inclined her head a little, “Yes. We were able to have someone retrieve Ruby’s soul and put it back in.”

“So what does that mean? She has her soul, she’s cured? I thought you told us that it couldn’t be done.”

Spike huffed, “It’s not a cure. That’s utter nonsense. She’s still a vampire, she’s still dead. Crosses still burn and she still needs blood to survive. Animal blood, that is. She hasn’t had human since she’s been with us.” He paused looking at Mrs. Anderson. She had blanched at the mention of blood but didn’t look faint so he continued, “She’s also more her true self now. She has all her humanity back. She can discuss literature sensibly again, and thank god for that because trying to talk with her about Oscar Wilde without a soul was just— bloody painful…” he stopped catching a bewildered look from Buffy, “Point is, she can make opinions and decisions based on morality and has a working conscience again. It doesn’t mean she’s any less of a vampire. It also means that she essentially has multiple— How do I put this?”

“Just tell them what you told me,” Buffy reassured him.

He bobbed his head once and continued, “There’s more to her now. A lot of it she doesn’t even understand yet. First off she’s what we call a fledgling. Her demon didn’t have a lot of time to get real used to things before she got the soul shoved in. She’s getting off easy but she’s still got, sort of, multiple voices in her head.”

“Like multiple personalities?”

“No, no, think of it like the angel and devil on your shoulder kind of thing except a bit more literal. She has a lot she needs to work through before she can figure it out. Takes some getting used to. The guilt alone is enough to drive anyone mad.” Spike looked down, only just noticing Buffy’s hand clenched tightly in his own.

Mrs. Anderson’s eyes flickered from their hands and back up to his face, “You’re speaking from experience, Mr. Spike.”

He turned earnest eyes to her, “Yeah I am, and I know first hand how difficult it is. I was fortunate to have someone to fight for and who fought for me in return when it got to be too much. The least we can do is try to do the same for Ruby.”

Her eyes flicked to Buffy, “But you’re a Slayer like Sheena aren’t you?”

“The original, yeah.”

“Ruby is in good hands.”

“That’s what you said about Sheena and she still—“

Buffy bristled, “That was out of our control. It’s thanks to Spike and one of the other girls stabilizing her before the paramedics got to her that she is even alive. And further thanks to my friend Willow and Ruby for her waking up. I shouldn't need to tell you that Spike has cared for your daughters like his own family. Our family. We only want to help and part of that is helping Ruby make amends, getting her back on her feet and letting her make her own choices.”

“That’s why she was with you at the hospital.”

“Yeah, she wanted to see Sheena, help her if she could, and she did.”

Spike nodded, “She’s been doing really well, all things considered.”

The Andersons shared a look, Mr. Anderson turned back to Buffy and Spike, “I think we understand. May we see our daughter now?”

Spike turned towards the door concealing the staircase, “You get all that, Rubes? What do you say, feel like having a chat with your folks?”

The door opened and Ruby walked into the living room followed by Willow.

Ruby had pulled on what Buffy recognized as Giles' cardigan. She was holding it closed around her middle tightly, giving her the look of an awkward child, “Hey, Mum; Hi, Daddy.” Her parents descended upon her immediately enveloping her in a hug.

“Ruby! Oh my sweet girl! We thought we’d lost you!” her mother was crying.

“Well, you did, Mum, you did but I’m me again. For the most part. Not completely, but it’s mostly still me, like Spike was saying,” she nodded heavily as she pushed her parents back a little at arms length so she could look at them better, “He’s right it’s— it’s not easy and I was afraid to call, yet. I didn’t want them to contact you so please don’t blame them. Don’t be angry with Buffy and Spike, they’ve done nothing but help me.”

“We’re just glad you’re safe. When will you be coming home, sweetheart?”

Ruby shook her head, “I’m not coming home. I just can’t.”

Her parents looked at each other “But why not? I don’t understand,” her mother pleaded.

“What about uni?” Her father interjected.

Spike stepped in, “It’s Ruby's choice of course, but I have to say I agree with her. For one thing, living in a regular house like that can be kind of dangerous for a vampire, especially a young one. We are experienced here. Buffy has been dealing with the likes of me for years now and the castle is vampire safe. Ruby has already started to make herself comfortable and has a private space to call her own. Buffy and Willow here even went to help her clean out her room at University so you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll see to getting a phone line set up for her at some point here.”

“What happened to your mobile?” Her father asked.

Ruby shook her head, “Lost it the night I died.”

The phrasing seemed to strike her parents hard and Ruby‘s mom looked at her a little bewildered. With some effort she seemed to collect herself, “Well that’s simple enough, you’re still on our family plan, we will simply call our carrier, let them know that you lost your phone and see about getting you a new one. At least let us do that for you, sweetheart,” she nodded and looked pleadingly.

He nodded, “Seems silly not to. We’ll be happy to get it replaced, that way you can keep in touch.”

The unease in their voices didn’t go amiss to anyone, least of all Ruby, “Mum, Dad, I really do think it’s best for everyone that I stay here. I can train with Spike and Buffy and help them out where I can. I really think it’s what’s best. My afternoon class would kill me proper. I’d be a pile of dust on the sidewalk before I even got there. But yeah, a new phone would be brilliant.” She smiled at them both.

“But what about your future?”

“I’m dead Mum. The only future I have at the moment is right here, doing work with them. Fighting the good fight.”

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson exchanged another troubled look.

“It’s part of the deal I made when they offered me my soul. I chose this. I’m sure. Besides, it’s not like I’ll be that far, I can still visit.”

Willow stepped forward next to Ruby, “Absolutely! I can even bring her over tonight or tomorrow. Ruby was talking about wanting to get the rest of her things moved in.”

“That’s true, it would be nice to have the rest of my books and a proper bed,” she looked apologetically at Buffy and Spike, “I appreciate the cot but I’d love to have my own bed down there.”

Buffy rolled a shoulder, “Yeah of course, whatever you need; it’s your space. As long as your parents don’t mind you taking it, you can move whatever you want in there. It’s totally Ruby-ville.”

“Thanks. So what do you say? Can I come get my stuff?”

Her mother seemed a little overwhelmed, “I- we— If— yes of course. Can we see where you’re living?”

Ruby frowned a little, “I don’t really have it finished yet. Willow was going to let me paint.”

“This is Willow?”

Willow stuck out her hand, “Sorry! Yes, Willow Rosenberg. I teach math and science. I’ve invited Ruby to take the basement bedroom on my half of the duplex we started renovating.”

“You’re the one who helped Sheena?”

“I sure am. I’m also the one that ensouled Ruby too. I’ve sort of been keeping an eye on her, she’s been doing a lot better the last day or so.”

The Andersons seemed stunned, “But didn’t you say you teach maths and science?”

“I’m a woman of many talents.”

“And thank the Lord for that, and for everything you’ve done for our girls already. So Ruby will be living with you, not at the castle?”

“It’s on the grounds, you’re welcome to come and see it if you don’t mind a construction site,” Willow turned to Buffy, “do you know if they are working on your side or ours today?”

“No idea, Xan just gave Spike a quick rundown, and Faith didn’t say anything at all.”

“Or you’re welcome to come back another time after Ruby has had a chance to fix it up the way she wants.”

They glanced at each other, “I think we just want to see where she’ll be, that's all.”

“Willow—“

“It’s fine Ruby, Buffy and I can show them around, you just hang out with Spike. You two have a lot to talk about anyway.”

Ruby nodded to Willow, “Yeah alright, what do you say, Spike? Mind if I join you while you heal up and get that talk out of the way?”

Spike had already rested himself back onto the couch with his bad leg up, the other foot still on the floor in case he needed to intervene, “We can bond over a pint— or tea if you prefer, I’m not particular.” He was about to say “a pint of blood” and caught himself just in time, he wasn’t sure if Mrs. Anderson would have stayed vertical or not.

“Ruby?” Willow looked worried, remembering the tea incident from only a few days ago, “Are you sure you’re all right to go back in the kitchen?”

Ruby shrugged, “Feeling a little more stable. Giles said it was better in there now and at least I know Sheena is gonna be okay. I can’t stay out of the kitchen forever, I like to cook too much.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have said anything, we might put you to work, Slayers like to eat,” Buffy joked.

Ruby laughed at that and hugged her parents again, “I have a good feeling about this, don’t worry about me alright?”

They nodded reluctantly and pulled away

Buffy frowned at her skirt, “I hope they aren’t going all dust happy over there,” she looked up at the two vampires in the room, “You know what I mean, alright, let’s see what’s going on over there.” She said firmly as she leaned into Spike, squeezing his shoulder and applying a little pressure with her thumb where her name was burned into him. “Remember to stay off that leg.”

“Yes, Slayer,” he had managed to keep his tone even, but it still hit Buffy the same way as if he had purred into her ear with his hand down her pants.

Oh my god Spike.

It’s not my mind that’s in the gutter for once, Slayer, he said silently with a smug grin on his face.

You just behave yourself, Mr. Pratt, don’t make me tie you up again.

His grin widened, Yeah like that’s a real deterrent.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes, I really hope I didn’t create a monster last night.

Oh sweetheart, I’ve always been a monster. You just unchained me…

Unless I decide I want you in chains again, however you wanna look at it. It was Buffy’s turn to smirk.

Willow caught the interaction between the two of them and raised her eyebrows, “Buffy, are we going to get going here or do you two need a moment?”

Buffy tried her best not to blush as she turned to her best friend, “Right, okay, Mr and Mrs Anderson, come along with us. We’ll show you out there, It’s the big stone building you guys sort of past on the way in and it needs a lot of work so it’s going to be a while before anyone else is going to be moving into it but the basement on Willow’s side is in exceptionally good shape so since Ruby doesn’t really need a whole lot it’s fairly well set up for her already.”

“What do you mean by that; she doesn’t need a lot?” Mr. Anderson asked as they headed outside.

“Well she’s dead, she doesn’t really need a lot of creature comforts, it’s just a fact. You should have seen Spike’s place when we first started,” she cleared her throat, “seeing each other,” she ended diplomatically.

Willow shot her a glance but didn’t say anything.

“You both went by ‘Summers’ at the hospital but you’re not married are you? I just assume because you all call him ‘Spike’.”

She cleared her throat again, she had really wanted to talk to Willow about Spike, but not like this. It really was like Spike said; that in many ways they already were married, so what was the answer; Not yet, but we’ve been talking about it OR Yes, we accidentally eloped in Paris and we’re technically on our honeymoon but we’re probably going to have a wedding anyway?

Before Buffy could make up her mind about how to answer the question Willow chimed in, “Oh no, they got married a few months ago. William took her name but we have all known him so long we still just call him ‘Spike’ out of habit.”

Buffy gaped at her best friend, had Spike talked to her about their plans? Mrs Anderson smiled “Well I’m glad to hear it. It certainly makes me feel better knowing that she will be around people who are setting an example for a normal life.”

Buffy‘s eyebrows shot up “Normal?”

“Well, yes. It gives me hope that despite all this, that perhaps someday she can still settle down. She has never shown much interest in finding someone but now she won’t be at university. Maybe she’ll be able to get her nose out of her books long enough to focus on finding a good man and make a life for herself.”

Buffy caught Willow’s eye and she shook her head warningly. “Ahh huh, yup,” she tried to sound convincing. Any more comments like that and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to stop herself from breaking her nose. If Willow didn’t beat her to it first.

Ruby stood in front of the microwave waiting for the timer to go off. Her eyes kept darting towards the corner she had thrown the girls into. The memory of it mixed with the vision from the mind-walk were colliding violently in her brain and it was all she could do to stand still where she was. At least her stomach wasn’t trying to expel itself, although actually drinking the blood in her mug might not be so easy.

She was having very mixed feelings about blood. On one hand, her body and her demon demanded it, but at the same time the idea was repulsive to her. She figured that would just be one of those things she would have to come to terms with. She tried to distract herself by looking out the window towards the partially burned orchard and another pang of guilt shot through her.

Despite several of the girls receiving various injuries, only one Slayer had been lost in the attack and that was on her. She didn’t think they knew of the extent of her involvement in the attack and in some ways that was worse. Looking back at it now, she couldn’t blame the dark haired girl who had snuck in to beat the crap out of her while she’d been tied up in the utility room. She didn’t know the Slayer’s name but she did know that she had left the castle already. Which really just meant that she never had a chance to apologize. She couldn’t blame any of them for hating her and she knew she didn’t deserve their forgiveness, apologies be damned.

She took a deep breath to settle herself just as the microwave finished. She gathered their mugs and whisked them out to the living room where Spike waited for her. “Here ya go,” she murmured, setting it down in front of him.

“Ta, luv,” he eyed her carefully.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Thought I’d start with an apology for last night. You did good. Buffy told me you took Odette out pretty easily.”

“Did she also tell you I was blind with rage?”

“Didn’t need to,” he sipped the blood.

“So is that what you wanted to talk about, me killing Odette?”

“Partly. Did Buffy tell you anything about our line?”

“Sort of, you were sired by your ex and she was sired by some bloke named Angel. Then from what I gathered from your outburst last night, I’m guessing that there was quite a bit o’ funny business going on between the three of you.”

He ignored the comment, “You’ll probably meet Angel before long and I rather hope you never meet Drusilla. Don’t much fancy seeing her again myself.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because Buffy will likely have to be the one to put her down when it really should be me or Angel who does it.”

“Oh…”

“There’s a lot there. I could start anywhere and just keep goin’ into next week. So let’s start with some questions. Anything you want, ask.”

Ruby puffed out her cheeks, “Why were you so upset last night when Buffy mentioned Odette?”

“Hadn’t given her a thought in years and thought she was dust long ago for starters. For all the carnage I’ve been responsible for over the years, I never really turned too many vampires. Turned Odette just to get back at Dru. I imagine it’s why she left you in the crypt the way she did, it’s what I’d done to her except that I was waiting there expecting a shag when she woke up.”

“You like to keep it in the family, huh?”

Spike laughed, “You’ve read Dracula, you got the gist of things. Stupid ponce and his bloody brides,” he grumbled and took a sip of blood.

“What?”

“Nevermind, I don’t think he’ll be gunning for Buffy again anytime soon so you won’t have to worry about that wanker. Go on, drink up. It’s best when it’s warm.”

She looked at her own cup, “He’s real?”

“Git still owes me money.”

Ruby gave him a look that said she would be expecting more of that story later, “Sure… so what’s the plan for me?” She took a tentative drink from her mug. It wasn’t Slayer blood but Spike had been right about the herbs. The sip turned into a gulp.

He watched her with interest as she gulped it down hungrily. She clearly hadn’t been feeding properly which he had expected. “Good question. I thought I’d start you out joining in with the Slayeretts’s training. You can fight, that comes standard with your demon. But there’s always more to learn. Don’t get complacent. The best way to take advantage of the whole immortality thing is to roll with changes.”

“Says the punk rock poster child?”

“Pot. Kettle. Changes can be slow and I quite like my hair this way so I’m not likely to change that anytime soon. That and it’s sort of what keeps me alive with the Slayeretts when we go on field trips.”

“Are you saying I should start dyeing my hair a distinctive color?” She smirked.

“Don’t get smart.”

“Can’t help that, just am.”

“Yeah alright smarty pants, there’s still a lot I want to cover with you.”

“The girls hate me,” she blurted out suddenly.

“True. Deloris was a sweetheart. The girls aren’t real happy with you being here. Won’t do anything with me and Buffy around though.”

“Yeah, sort of already got that message.”

“Yeah, well that is just something you’ve got to deal with. Fact of the matter is that we don’t really belong much of anywhere so we got to make our own place in the world. I sure as hell didn’t just wake up one day and say ‘Oh I’m just going to be good now’, not that I didn’t try. I was a sodding mess, one big bloody morally-gray mess for a couple of years. Trying to suss out what I should do and how I should act to make Buffy happy, make her tolerate me, even if she couldn’t love me. Then something happened… I— I lost control— I nearly hurt Buffy beyond forgiveness. If she hadn’t…” he flinched inwardly, he couldn’t bring himself to talk about that night. “If she hadn’t knocked some sense into me... Left in search of my soul just after that.” He added weakly.

“So that’s what you meant before. The thing about it being a grand gesture of love. You did it for her.”

Spike hung his head down, he had almost forgotten he had said anything to her about that, “I was out of my mind in love with her but the demon can’t really process love the same way as a human soul. It’s close. Damn close. But there’s this— line in between and I nearly crossed it. Knew I couldn’t look her in the eye. Not after she’d seen me for the monster I was. Not when all she deserves is a good man to support her in everything she does. I couldn’t blame her for hating me, so I went to find the thing that would turn me into the man she deserves. I got it; and everything fell apart after that. Lost my mind. Buffy helped me shove my marbles back in place.”

“But clearly things worked out between you, I mean you’re together now, and you seem sane enough.”

“Sure as hell wasn’t overnight. Whole thing is far too complicated to get into now. You’re coming along quickly but then I sort of figured you would, pipsqueak. You and I aren’t exactly brooders like Angel. Can crack a smile for starters.”

“You don’t like him much do you?”

“We’re getting on alright now. Lots of unpleasant history there. Some of its guilt. Angel is big on guilt. Blames himself for everything he did plus everything me and Dru ever did. Well I don’t know about Dru really. I don’t think he can look at her without feeling at least a little pride. She was his greatest masterpiece after all. And then when she turned me, he thought he’d take on a new pet project. Taught me everything I know. Tried to twist me to be just as nasty as him but it just never did quite work. No one was more twisted and sadistic than Angelus. I didn’t bother trying to be like him after a while, became my own monster as it were. Started hunting Slayers.”

“Until you fell in love with one.”

“Yup.”

“Almost sounds like you were searching for your soulmate even then.”

“Bollocks, didn’t have a soul,” he said a little too quickly. The truth was that it wasn’t a new thought. The idea had often kept him awake, especially just after he had first realized his feelings for her. The thought had crept back into the forefront of his mind after Buffy had told him about meeting his soul in the heaven dimension she was in.

“No, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was some prophecy or something out there that says you were destined to fall in love with a Slayer.”

There was a ring of truth there that he wasn’t sure what to do with, so he just kept his response clipped. “What do you know about prophecies?”

“Nothing really. Willow has just been filling me in on some of the basic things she does with your group and mentioned something about them.”

“Good storyteller is she?”

“Could probably listen to her read the dictionary if I’m being honest.”

“Got it bad for the witch don’t you?”

She shrugged, “Not really a secret. She’s kind, sweet— generous.”

“You’re going to make your own choices no matter what I say but can I give you some advice?”

“It’s what you’re here for isn’t it?”

“Red is working on getting out of a crappy rebound relationship after losing the love of her life. A real nice girl I liked a lot too. Now Red clearly likes you, but the last thing that girl needs right now is some hot little thing twisting her head round.”

“But—“

“I’m not saying stay away from the girl. Just take it easy. Pump the breaks. Do you both a favor and take the time to get yourself right in the head first. By the time you do that, maybe the time will be right for you both.”

She nodded glumly, she suddenly wasn’t feeling as secure about her situation as she had less than a half hour ago when her parents were in the room. Now she was feeling almost claustrophobic, the weight of unknown possibilities pressing in on her. She looked at the thin layer of blood coating the bottom of the cup and grimaced.

“Ruby?”

“Hum?”

“You alright there?”

“Yeah, just thinking.”

“Willow?”

“Yeah but also— This soul thing, and the fighting evil thing and–”

“The blood?”

“Yeah…”

“You need your strength. You’ll get used to it, and so will the girls. Willow too. Just wait and see.”

#buffy the vampire slayer #fanfic #buffy fanfic #buffy x spike #spuffy #bound #spike x buffy

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