#So vampire lily instead

[mushroom-for-art]

Another one for @waffledragon10, a Bulbasaur Zubat hybrid ft shiny!

Smaller than the average Bulbasaur and completely blind until evolution these guys aren't known to fly despite their wings, though there are theories this specimen prefers to glide or fall more gracefully, they can be bite happy and more carnivorous than their other none Zubat mix kin

The flower on their back is a dragon lily bulb! Also known as a vampire plant, huh wonder why these variants grow that instead of the usual bulb

Incredible sense of smell and hearing these pokemon like to bunker down in a shady space during the day and travel and hunt by moonlight their plants thriving in the lower light likely due to Zubats sensativity to the sun

An unexpected trait of this breed is their love for being held upside down by those they trust likely pleasing their Zubat heritage of hanging upside down in caves, fully evolved versions will hold their young upside down dangling them from secure vines to entertain them.

Enjoy!

(You can change any of their colors patterns ect I know the shiny is a little simple once more colored to taste but it felt fitting for them to just be a bit more blue rather than blue green)

[mellowwillowy]

Being a livestock for a vampire has never sounded good until you were kidnapped by a vampire as his spouse.

TW: Yandere, NSFW, SH, and massacre

The vampire was intrigued by the puny human he ran into when he was walking around the river in the morning, testing his new potion and spell that would keep him immune to sunlight.

What was once a plan to kidnap you as one of his livestock turned into a moment where you had to nurse him because he suddenly dropped his whole weight onto you, face blistered from the sunlight.

“You are awake now.”

Your voice stirred him awake more than ever. His once droopy eyes were wide opened in shock. He didn't remember having anyone in his manor.

Your eyes were locked with his Emerald ones and he defensively squinted his eyes. You raised both of your hands, “You passed out right behind me and I had to drag you all the way from the riverbank to my cottage.”

The curtain was drawn close suspiciously, not allowing any light to filter inside the bedroom. Did you know he was a vampire already?

“Was it an allergic reaction?”

“Huh?” he asked, baffled.

“Your face was blistered because it was the only part of you that was exposed. Nonetheless, you healed really fast so there was no need for any extensive care from my herbs. You were only out for a day.”

He started to feel his face, aside from patches here and there, there was nothing wrong with it.

“Ah yes, let me get the hand mirror for you—”

Just before you could stand up, his hand grabbed yours and held you on the spot immediately. If you were to realize he had no reflection.

“Can you help me stand and get me to the kitchen instead? I'm quite thirsty since I haven't drunk in a day.”

You stared at his eyes and glanced at his pale hand. It took you seconds before you agreed to him and supported him by slinging his arm over your shoulder and walked toward the kitchen downstairs.

His eyes scanned through your cottage, it was mainly dominated by white, ornaments, furniture, trinkets, and even flowers.

“You must have really loved white, considering even having flowers that can't grow in this land.” Yulian glanced at the potted flowers. Lilies of the Valley, daisies, baby’s breath, and lilies.

At that, you only hummed and sat him down on one of the chairs. You placed a cup of water for him and returned to the sink to prepare him what he assumed to be breakfast, judging from how bright it was outside the window.

Mindlessly staring into the window, he accidentally hissed from the sunlight reaching his bare-handed hand, alerting you of his discomfort.

“Oh dear, what happened?”

Yulian flinched at the endearment term you spoke before he regained his composure.

“Nothing, I just accidentally bit my tongue.” he lied as he tried to cover his blistered hand. You nodded and turned your focus back to the breakfast you were preparing.

“Are you allergic to dairies?” you asked him. “No.”

“Thought you were one unlucky man, it seems like you are not immune to light or something like an albino. I'm assuming Your skin is very sensitive to light since you were so covered.”

He only mumbled a few incoherent words before you snapped him out of his trance with a clap of your hands, “So what's your name dear?”

“Alan-” instinctively, the man shut his mouth and took a few seconds of silence before answering you.

“Yulian. My name is Yulian.” “Nice to meet you,” you served him a plate of sandwiches, “I’m the local physician here, you’ll be staying here with me for rehabilitation.”

Yulian raised both of his eyebrows, “But I am not wounded terribly in any way.” “Perhaps not, but this is how I work. Could it be that you are not a local?”

Yulian shook his head.

“Where’s your house? Do you need to go back home to your family immediately? I can stay in your place for a few days to make sure there are no more anomalies.”

Yulian frowned, what a persistent human. It was almost annoying, breaching people’s boundaries just to sate their own curiosities. He could read you that much.

But he agreed to stay in your cottage nonetheless.

𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.

But you had always been attentive, drawing the curtain for him when he walked out of his bedroom. Offering to hold the umbrella for him when he wanted to walk.

What was once a plain bedroom was slowly adorned by flowers, mainly baby’s breath.

The food you made or bought was also not bad. They were decent for a human but not a vampire. Sometimes he had to mask his distaste to any food that consisted of onions.

It was not easy to sneak out of the cottage since you were sometimes awake and roamed around the cottage.

But it was a rather peaceful life. There was bustling sounds and noises from the cottage, unlike his dead and dark manor.

It was bright in your cottage but it didn't hurt him in the slightest bit. Was it because it was a ‘White House’?

𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒇𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒔.

If there was something he disliked from you then it had to be your silver ring. Whenever you touched him with your hand ring, you would sometimes graze his skin with your ring.

He tried not to hiss but there were occasions when it was unbearable, just like when you were compressing him and felt his temperature.

Unlike in a few cases where he could hide his blisters, it was visible that his forehead was bleeding from the contact.

It was alarming for both of you, paranoia and fear downed him as he suspected you were testing him while shock and suspicion flashed onto your face.

There was a rift but Yulian was a great reader, he knew you did not mean anything bad and decided to lie his way out again. Alas, it's harder this time.

Another thing he didn't like about you was how you could be ignoring him for a whole day sometimes. It could be something interesting that got your whole attention or another patient coming.

Perhaps he was simply unamused by the idea of a lesser being taking away your attention from him.

𝑬𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒆𝒔.

You often strolled around the riverbank and forest, collecting herbs and wildflowers, sometimes walking down toward the village to buy daily necessities.

You didn't allow him to follow you at first, making him have to secretly follow you out of boredom and partial curiosity.

But upon week later, Yulian started to show you his interest in going out with you. It took him lots of convincing that he wouldn't fall sick from this and you reluctantly agreed to it.

For the first time, he could finally walk side by side with you instead of following you from the dark. It almost felt like his still heart was beating from excitement.

Apparently, all the villagers recognized you as a talented physician. They were all friendly to you and would do anything to help you as well.

It made something within him sting. Was it envy that he wasn't treated just as nice?

𝑽𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒚’𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉.

Sometimes the two of you would sing under the moonlight as a pastime. Sometimes you would come to his bedroom at night and converse with him until he pretended to fall asleep.

Sometimes you would diagnose him. Sometimes you would tell him stories of your life. Sometimes you would ask him questions about his life. Sometimes you would cry in your bedroom.

He couldn't help but wonder what sorrowed your frail heart.

Sometimes he would enter your bedroom and observe your patterned breathing while you were asleep. It was almost as if the role was reversed. He was observing you out of curiosity and perhaps, adoration.

A human’s lifespan is as short as a stick. Not only couldn't they live long, but they were also vulnerable to almost everything.

Yulian brought his hand to cup your cheek, squeezing it just a bit before his fingers traced down toward your neck, feeling your jugular vein pulsating in rhythm with your heart. You were alive but he wasn't. You were loved but he wasn't. You were adored but he wasn't.

Was it envy that brought his fangs close to your neck? Was he envious of your life? Or was he simply being unreasonable? You stirred awake from your sleep, eyes adjusting to the moonlight that lit your bedroom. No one was in sight and the water you placed on your nightstand remained warm despite the chilling temperature.

Perhaps the envy in him was never directed at you.

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕, 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒚𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚.

The only reason why Yulian was still resting in your cottage was because of his self-sabotaging. You were a physician and he was a patient, unless he had a logical reason to stay in your cottage then he had to excuse himself.

It started with how Yulian started to fake food poisoning, burn himself from the sunlight, fake an anemic, and wound himself with the silver ornaments you had in the cottage.

But Yulian understood it was only a matter of time before your dense self realized that something was wrong and chased him out of your cottage.

Would you scream at him in fury, fear, or disappointment? He thought he was used to rejection already but something changed within him with the time spent living with you.

And he didn't want to betray your trust. You trusted him with your little secret. The secret that you were actually the village's 'Witch'.

Yulian sighed audibly as he walked toward your bedroom, observing it from corner to corner for any anomalies. It had always been a paranoid habit of his. He wanted to make sure nothing dangerous was inside your bedroom or, to be frank, your surroundings.

Yulian walked toward your dressing table and gazed into the mirror. There was not a single reflection of himself, a reminder that he was never supposed to let you live in the first place.

Yet your touch never failed to soothe his stoned heart, it never failed to make him melt under your touch. And your existence did not hunger him in any way unlike the others would.

He had learned to co-exist with you before he realized it, it was too late for him to undo this dependence and bond, let alone feed on you.

Yulian walked out and waited for you to come back from your visit to the local church. As much as he wanted to join you, he couldn't risk getting caught by them.

Hours passed and the sun sank, the moon lit the dark sky and yet not even a single sound of your footsteps approaching the cottage was heard. Yulian dissipated into thin air and teleported to where you were supposed to be but you were nowhere in sight.

The church was eerily silent to human ears but not to an otherworldly being like him. He could hear an ominous chant beneath him. He could smell the sickeningly sweet incense lit beneath him. And he could feel the mark he left on your neck that night beneath him.

The 'Witch' play ends tonight.

-

You woke up in someone's embrace, the night was lit by the moonlight above you yet there was an unbearable heat nearby.

"You are awake now."

His voice stirred you awake more than ever. Your once droopy eyes were wide opened in shock. You didn't remember seeing him.

Your eyes were locked with his Emerald ones and you stared at his eyes. He smiled at you, “You passed out amidst the fire and I had to carry you all the way from the village.”

You looked behind his back and saw a huge fire consume the village, the villagers' cries were audible despite the distance. You clutched his black robe, "Wait, no! The villagers, they need me! I need to save them!"

"May I know why?" "Because I'm a Witch, the protector of this village!"

Yulian chortled at your remarks before he smirked, "And yet you let an outsider reside in your cottage for months."

All colors were drained from your face, and your heart sank down; "What do you mean?"

Yulian sat you down on one of the rocks and knelt in front of you, his gloved hand brought your hand ring, "Observe this."

He took off his glove and pressed your ring finger to his palm, the skin blistered from the contact and you instinctively pulled away, "What was that?!"

There was a tale of vampires and you wished he would deny it.

"It was troublesome for me having to avoid the mirrors in your cottage and anything that would reflect." Hand mirror.

"I never really like the dishes you made with onions but I stomach it all because I just couldn't muster the courage to see your sullen face," Onions.

"I really hate strolling when the sun is still up because I have to carry an umbrella with me all the time." Sun.

"Though I must say I don't mind being touched by you with your ring hand because it was worth the pain and trouble." Silver.

You backed away from him and just before your back could hit the grassy ground, his arm prevented you from tumbling back, "And I must say, it took me lots of time to properly mark and make you submit to a contract with me."

Contract?

Yulian cradled your confused body into his chest, the warmth you felt was not emitted from his skin but instead, the fire that devoured all the villagers who had been deceiving you.

All of the shock that weighed upon made you succumb to unconsciousness again, mainly from stress and trauma. Yulian frowned at your limp figure as he stood up and continued walking deep into the forest to his manor.

𝑳𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒕-𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 '𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆' 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒕.

Yulian did not like the hostility that you showed him at all. The ongoing stress and trauma drowned you in the hysteria that would also make you harm yourself. It pained him that he was one of the causes of your hysteria, a hypothetical scenario would sometimes flash across his mind. What if he had not appeared in your life? Then perhaps your heart wouldn't sorrow to this extent.

Yulian tried his best to help you adapt. The once dark and grim manor slowly turned white. The exteriors and interiors were white before you could remember how it originally looked like. Flowers were blooming in the garden to your liking and a potted white flowers near you for you to adore.

While Yulian had the patience to make you warm up to him and face the reality of your life, he did not have the heart to see you suffer for so long. And as much as he wanted to change you into a vampire just like him, he'd rather not have it done unwillingly.

But time was not so kind for your age. The longer he delayed it, the older and frailer you would be.

Alas, luck was on his side when he secluded himself in his room for a long time for the first time you came here. He didn't expect you to find his presence soothing for you.

It appeared that all his efforts had made you think that his action of kidnapping you was just an attempt to save you from the villagers who tricked you into thinking that you were a 'Witch'.

You looked for him, calmly at first then frantically when you suffered from a panic attack. He didn't mean to test you but he knew well deep inside he was hurting you.

Even for a selfish and cold-blooded creature like him, he had to steel his heart before he could see you again. Everything he was feeling after he met you was his first. You brought colors to his monochrome life. You taught him that the smell of a morning was calming. You taught him how to spend his time with pastimes.

He could not find it in his heart to leave your side. It was his first time to feel alive and he was greedy, wanting more of it.

You stood in front of his chamber, waiting for him to open his door instead of avoiding you altogether.

--

"The servants took great care of you while I was away right, dear?"

Yulian never found the charm in terms of endearment, but whenever you called him 'dear', incomprehensible emotion and feeling surged into him. He still remembered the day you first called him that, it was foreign and weird to him but he didn't find it that bad at all.

You squirmed under his touch, squeezing yourself closer and deeper into his embrace while your hands clenched on the bedsheet. That was not the only thing you were clenching though, for his fingers were knuckle deep inside you.

You tried to form a coherent answer but what came out was simply a blubbering. Tears dripped down from your cheek from the way he curled his fingers, feeling your spot until your toes were curled.

You didn't know that even vampires could feel this much stimulation from sex. You assumed they just reproduced while feeling only half of the pleasure humans could have because of how cold-blooded they were.

You thought they only did it out of curiosity or memories of their past lives, or perhaps from the mood itself instead of doing it for pleasure as well.

Yulian brought his lip to yours, nibbling your lower lip why urging you to open your mouth, allowing his tongue to roam inside you while his fingers did not stop even one bit, drawing multiple orgasms out of you.

You really loved every bit of the man who once tried to kill you. The way his soft fangs felt your skin, pricking it playfully instead of sinking it deep inside your jugular vein and killing you on the spot.

You loved it when he caressed your cheek, you loved how gentle he was when he wiped the tears from your eyelashes.

You loved it when he was inside of you, you loved it when he knew every inch of your body so well to the point he could make you cry out of pleasure effortlessly.

You loved to see his cute face from how fast he came inside you but he never stopped his hip. You loved it when he kissed your face. You loved it when he intertwined both of your hands.

You loved it when he made your insides feel warm and full.

You loved him for severing the illusion of the 'Witch' inside of you. It was undeniable that Yuliad had saved you from the villagers' torturing you for accepting an outsider into your cottage for the first time.

You were simply curious of his condition and yet you were punished terribly for not keeping the said tradition. Yulian knew there was never a tradition, it simply was a doctrine for you who was a prodigy of a physician to save everyone from your village.

You were exiled deep in the forest so that you couldn't learn the life beyond the forest and village.

Yulian knew just as much when he first joined you on your stroll to the village. Everyone treated you differently as though you were a deity and you considered it to be something normal.

It looked normal to him considering they believed in the 'Witch' but Yulian knew better. You were just a human and all of these were just a doctrine from the church. To ensure the prodigy never left the village and was forever loyal to the church.

Spies were sent and he knew the church had probably noticed him as not only a weird outsider but also a vampire. It was unfortunate of you to be dragged into the church's underground and interrogated, forced to drag him to the church and had him staked to death. But you were persistent, you didn't trust them.

Just before Yulian was about to save you, you made a grave mistake of swearing on your name to make a promise with the devil to save you and your companion which was him. He knew you had always been so kind but wasn't that sort of naivety a little bit too much for a stranger like him? Perhaps this was the reason why the church wanted to force a much stronger doctrine onto you.

Their mistake was to not sense the danger that was him earlier. Your flaw was that you were too kind-hearted.

It gave him more reasons to seclude you from the world beyond the White House. His paranoia and obsession growing stronger with each day never seemed to unnerve you who were just a bright soul with a kind heart. A kind heart that was a contrast to his stoned heart.

That alone justified his paranoia of losing you. Surely you understood him right?

Author's Note: Thank you for reading this half-hearted work, I was so motivated to write a damn vampire fic but got writer's block mid-way smh. Happy 7th Anniversary to LIfE Project and 5k to this blog!

[imaginespazzi]

Part 5: The Answers We Wait For

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9

I'd go back in time and change it (but I can't)

(In which a writer's busy schedule somehow still had time for her favorite obsession)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Angst, Pining

Words: 7.0K (it's very on-brand that my busiest week would produce the longest chapter)

TW: Swearing (I think that's it?)

A/N: Happy Monday lovelies :) How I managed to pull this off is between me and God at this point but here we are. I know it's been an interesting day to say the least, so I'm hoping me living up to my promises can be a silver lining. Quick note that I already fucked up the timeline at some point and Paige Olivia have actually been divorced for almost 3 years. I'll change that eventually. I actually didn't even try to really edit this chapter and in the choice between editing tomorrow and giving it to y'all today, I chose the latter. So please help a girl out and point out my typos/mistakes if you spot them and I will also eventually go back and edit. As always, let me know what you liked, what you disliked and anything you'd like to see going forwards. Have a lovely week my loves <3

December 2027

Marriage and weddings had never been at the forefront of Paige’s mind. To be completely honest, for most of her life, there wasn’t much occupying her brain other than the court under her feet and the basketball in her hands. But the couple of times she had let herself picture it, she’d always thought that she’d have a Fall wedding, probably in Minnesota, maybe even on a basketball court. An indoor winter wedding in Texas had never once crossed her mind. She’d imagined vibrant fun bouquets made of pink lilies and purple hydrangeas, not the elegant red and white roses arrangements that were currently being placed along a far too heavily decorated aisle. Instead of vintage wines and carefully constructed fancy cocktails, she’d thought it would be nice to have spiked shirley temples and maybe even blue and white jello shots. She had expected to have a quiet ceremony followed by a vivacious gathering of everyone she loved. It had never even occurred to her that her wedding would become a public spectacle with People's magazine in attendance.  She’d pictured a party, not an event. 

Most of all she’d dreamt of getting married to a girl with dark eyes that could see all of Paige’s flaws and a soft smile that promised she’d love Paige despite them all. 

But the thing about dreams is that they’re fleeting trains that travel through the tracks of your mind when you’re asleep, and when you wake up, reality is nothing but a devastating train crash. 

Paige sighs, forcing herself out of her own head, as she stares at her reflection in the mirror. She looks pretty. Brittany had found her a nice white wedding suit -fitted to perfection- matching it with dainty silver jewelry. Paige normally liked her outfits a little looser but Olivia loved it and Paige likes that Olivia loves it. Her hair is styled in a bun, with two straightened strands to highlight her face. She thinks she might have preferred to have them curled in the front but Olivia had sweetly insisted on them being straight because hers would be curly and they had to complement, not match. Paige doesn’t really understand the difference or the importance but she thinks if Olivia wants it like that then she's fine with it. She thinks the bold red lipstick heavily coating her mouth makes her look a little bit like a vampire out of a badly directed 90’s horror movie but Olivia had said it was necessary so that the lights and cameras didn’t wash her face out. 

Paige looks pretty. She just doesn’t really look like Paige. 

“What do you think Drewski?” she asks, twirling to face her stone-faced brother who’s sitting on the couch, with a bout of enthusiasm that rings hollow to her own ears, “do I look gorgeous or what?”

“You look weird,” Drews says stiffly and Paige sighs. 

“Dr-” Paige is cut off by her younger brother sauntering over. A confused expression spreads over her features as Drew takes her hand and places it on his forehead, “uh- what are you doing?”

“Paigey, doesn't my forehead feel hot? I feel so sick,” the little boy whines, letting out a series of overzealous dramatized coughs. 

“Your forehead feels fine,” Paige says, slowly removing her hand.

“Well of course you’d think that. You’re not a doctor who knows how to feel foreheads correctly. I think we need to go to the hospital to see a real doctor. Like right now,” Drew pulls at Paige’s hand as she begins to catch onto what he’s trying to make happen. 

“You’re fine Drew.”

“I’m NOT. I’m very, very, very sick. So we have to leave right now. I could be contagious. I could be a danger to all these people,” Drew’s animated hands start to fly everywhere, “you can’t get married when your little brother’s sick. It’s- it’s just wrong. Bad juju or something like that. Everybody will understand that you just had to call off the wedding. For family reasons.”

“Drew-” Paige tries again, a hard pit settling in her stomach. 

“Are you worried cause you didn’t bring your car? That’s okay I’m sure Ice or KK will drive us but you can’t get married today Paigey. You just can’t,” his bottom lip trembles as the façade of illness slips and Paige feels her own eyes start to get glossy, “it’s not right Paigey. This is all wrong. She’s all wrong.”

“It’s not like that Drew. You just haven’t gotten to know-”

“I don’t want to know her,” Drew yells, “you don’t even know her. How can you get married to someone you’ve barely dated for a year. How can you do this to Az-”

“That’s enough,” Paige’s voice is eerily calm, as she digs her fingernails into her palm, “watch how you talk to me-”

“You’re being stup-”

“Drew Thomas I am not going to repeat myself again. Behave yourself. You’re not nearly old enough to be questioning what I do with my life,” it takes every inch of self-control Paige has to not let her voice shake. 

Her younger brother’s words feel like acid rain pelting against her already wounded skin. They slip into the gashes, mixing into her bloodstreams to create an army with the battalion of her own thoughts that have been hacking away at her heart for god knows how long. Paige wonders how long it’ll be before she finally bleeds out. 

“Please don’t get married Paigey,” Drew pleads, gripping his sister’s hand, “please.”

There’s nothing but silence as Paige opens and closes her mouth. And she doesn’t know if she’s trying to get words out or breathe air in; all she knows is that Drew might be squeezing her hands, but it feels like someone is strangling her lungs. 

She’s saved from having to say anything by a hesitant knock on the door. As Drew begrudgingly goes to open it, Paige scrambles to put herself back together. She closes her eyes, taking in three deep breaths before-

Drew gasps and Paige’s eyes fly open. With her back turned to the door, she can’t see who it is and something like hope starts to bloom in her chest, vines of maybe it’s her weaving through her ribcage. And as she turns around, they turn to dust; dust that floats up to her eyes and makes them tear up again as she stares dumbfoundedly at the two people standing somewhat awkwardly in her doorway. 

Paige had grown up an independent child. It wasn’t that her parents were neglectful or that they hadn’t loved her enough because they had. But at first it was the constant fighting and then it was the nurturing of a brand new family with new children and Paige had slipped through the cracks of oh she’s so mature we don’t need to worry about her. She had always had her parents as cheerleaders in the stands; no one was prouder of Paige than they were. But no one had bothered to force her to drink terrible tasting immunity boosters. No had patiently dyed her hair purple and pinky promised to like it even if it turned out terrible. No one had yelled at her for being in the gym till one a.m or woken her up at an ungodly hour to run drills. Not until she’d met a girl at 15 and that girl’s parents had decided that Paige was just as much theirs as their own daughter. 

And suddenly there were more people added to her cheering squad for her wins. But that’s not when Paige fell in love with Tim and Katie Fudd. It was when she lost and there was a nagging finger followed by a full breakdown of what she could do better next time and finally, a bear hug promising they’d help her do it. They’d been there every step and she’d sent the invitation, scared they wouldn’t show up, that they wouldn’t be there for this step, a step that inadvertently took her further away from them. But here they are anyway. 

“Hi sweetheart,” Katie says softly, her own eyes moist as she takes in the sight of the bride, “you look- you look absolutely stunning Paige.”

“You came,” Paige whispers, “I didn’t- I didn’t know if you would.”

“Of course we came,” Tim exclaims but his normal boisterous voice doesn’t feel nearly as enthusiastic, “always told you we’d be front and center at your wedding.”

Because I was supposed to marry your daughter; I was supposed to become your daughter, officially. 

“I’m really glad you guys came,” Paige says, letting Katie wrap her into a warm hug. She only gets a second to let herself enjoy it before Drew’s asking a question that makes her stiffen. 

“Where’s Azzi?” 

It’s like there’s lightning wrapped in that one syllable and it strikes right through Paige’s heart, setting every inch of it ablaze with the flames of a name that used to feel like cotton candy on her tongue; now it feels like lava. 

“She couldn’t make it,” Tim says slowly and Paige knows she shouldn’t be surprised, let along disappointed that her ex wasn’t coming but there’s a string that snaps anyways. 

“Why not?” Drew asks petulantly. 

“The baby’s due next month,” Tim tells him gently, “she can’t fly.”

The air feels suffocating at the mention of the baby. She’d been scrolling mindlessly through her tiktok feed when the announcement had popped up. She still has it memorized. 

Golden State Valkyries superstar shooting guard Azzi Fudd announces pregnancy on Instagram; she’ll miss the upcoming WNBA season. 

For a moment the world had stopped as Paige had hurriedly switched apps to instagram. And there it was. A smiling picture of Azzi holding a sonogram. Paige doesn’t know how long she’d stared at the picture but she remembers that it was set against a white background and she remembers that Azzi was wearing a green top. And as she’d typed out a congrats! that blended in seamlessly with all the other felicitating comments on the post, Paige had wondered if Azzi had felt it too. She’d wondered if, when Azzi had left a similar congratulations <3 post on Paige’s engagement announcement, she’d felt something unravel too. She’d wondered if Azzi had felt this hollowness of and i guess this is us signing off on never getting forever with each other. 

“So Azzi’s not going to stop this wedding?” Drew’s voice is dangerously even as he rounds on Paige, “and you’re really going through with this?”

“Drew please” Paige says tiredly as Katie runs a soothing hand down her back. 

“You’re stupid. And she’s stupid. You’re all so freaking stupid,” Drew bursts out, stomping past the adults in the doorway, his anger palpable in every single word. 

“I got it,” Tim says, wrapping a wrist around Paige’s hand as she moves to follow her younger brother. He squeezes gently, a half-hearted smile on his face, “it’s gonna be okay kid. It always is.”

Paige wishes she could just believe him, turn off the voices in her head and just be a kid who could take an adult’s word as gospel. But Paige is the adult now and believing no longer comes so naturally. 

“Hey,” Katie says after Tim runs after Drew, pulling Paige to sit with her on the couch, “I have a little wedding gift for you.

“Katie you don’t have-” Paige begins, watching as the older woman pulls out a velvet box from her bag, placing her phone on the table next to her. 

“Oh hush. I told you I’d give this to you,” Katie chides as she hands the velvet box. Paige’s eyes glisten as she opens it to find a familiar purple amethyst necklace. She’s flooded with the vivid image of her and Azzi on a random day in lockdown helping Katie organize her minimal jewelry. Paige had fallen in love with this necklace and Azzi had her eyes set on a pink topaz. It was fitting to say the least and Katie had promised them, with a glint in her eyes, that she’d give it to them as their something old on their wedding day. They’d been in between something and everything but Paige and Azzi had shared a shy smile over it anyways. 

“I can’t accept this,” Paige shakes her head trying to hand the box back but Katie dodges it expertly. 

“Yes you can. It’s basically a family heirloom and you, Paige Bueckers, are family,” Katie says firmly. 

“Katie-”

The older woman presses a kiss to Paige’s forehead as she starts to head out, “you’re always gonna be family Paige. Always.”

Katie’s words act like a band-aid but they’re not enough- maybe nothing will be enough- to fully heal the wound of today i was supposed to officially become a Fudd. 

A ringing noise interrupts Paige’s pity party and she starts half-heartedly digging around for her phone. She’s confused when she finds it because no one’s calling her and the room is still vibrating with noise. Crinkling her eyebrows, Paige’s eyes finally land on the couch side table, where Katie’s phone, clearly forgotten, is buzzing. 

Azzi’s CallerID flashes on the screen. 

Paige stares at the phone, rooted in place. She knows she shouldn’t pick it up, knows she should go return it. Still without a decision, Paige slowly starts to reach for it. And then it stops ringing and Paige goes still again, unsure if she’s relieved or disappointed. Swallowing, she takes another step. The phone rings again. A myriad of thoughts dance through Paige’s mind, opposing thoughts clashing with each other and making her head hurt. She lies to herself that it’s out of concern; that Azzi’s pregnant and this could be important. She lies to herself as she hits the green answer button that it’s not because she’s desperate to hear Azzi’s voice. 

“Mom?” Azzi sounds distraught when she picks up but Paige thinks it’s still her favorite sound any way, “Mom? I think I did something wrong. I can’t do this Mom. You’ve been gone a day and I’ve already fucked up. I don’t know what and I don’t know when but I think I fucked up. Maybe I ate something I wasn’t supposed to. Maybe it’s because I lay on my back instead of my side but Mom she hasn’t kicked all day and I can’t get Dr. Myers on the phone and I-”

“It’s a girl?” Paige breathes out. And suddenly she’s 22, sitting in a UConn apartment living room, grinning foolishly as Jana points out an AI picture that looks like the perfect mixture of her and Azzi. Azzi, who’s having a daughter. 

The woman in question is quiet and for a second Paige thinks that Azzi might hang up. 

“It’s a girl Paige,” Azzi says finally. 

“Are you- are you okay?” Paige asks slowly, trying not to dwell on how much she’s missed the way Azzi says her name. It’s been Bueckers every time they’ve seen each other this year and she’s never hated the sound of her last name more. 

“Yeah, I just-” Azzi sighs, her voice still a little frazzled, “I’m just being paranoid cause my Mom’s not here and my doctor’s not answering and the stupid baby hasn’t kicked all day,” she pauses, “sorry. I-I don’t mean to dump on you. Not today at least.”

“Az-”

“Where’s my Mom?”

“She- she’s probably outside. Think she left her phone here by accident. I can go find her but can I-” Paige hesitates, chewing at her lips in a way she knows Olivia hates, “can I help?”

“I don’t think-”

Paige shocks herself with her next words, “put the phone to your stomach.”

“What? Paige, did you hit your head in the last two seconds or something?”

“Just- just trust me,” she’s not really sure what she’s saying but now that she’s said, might as well commit to the bit, “I’mma talk sense into her. I saw it in a movie.”

“You saw it in a-” Azzi sighs and Paige can practically picture her rolling her eyes.  “I don’t know who’s more insane. You for coming up with the idea or me because I’mma follow through it,” there’s a bunch of static noise on the other side as Azzi adjusts herself, putting the phone on speaker and pressing it to her belly, “alright Dr. Bueckers work your magic.”

Paige is nervous as she speaks, “hey there little bean. I’m your-” she stops because what is she, “I’m your Paige,” she decides softly, “and I think- I think you should stop stressing your Mama out. She’s a bit of an overthinker so if you could just help her out, I think she’d really appreciate it. Because if- if you don’t she isn’t gonna be able to sleep tonight and you don’t know this yet but when your Mama doesn’t get sleep, she’s kind of a bi-”

“Paige,” Azzi hisses.

“Big baby,” Paige corrects, “she’s a big baby. And then she cries and it’s not a pretty sight-”

“Hey!”

“Sshhh Azzi I’m working my magic,” Paige scolds, “where was I? Oh yeah. She cries and it’s not a pretty sight because,’ her voice softens, “seeing your Mama cry is the worst thing in the world. I hate it and I know- I know you’re gonna hate it too because when you finally come out little bean, the first thing you’re gonna see is your Mama’s smile. And you’re gonna think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. Just like I do,” a sob escapes on the other end of the line and Paige feels tears start to cascade down her own cheeks, “come on little bean, give us a little kick. Make your Mama smile.”

Time ticks by slowly and Paige closes her eyes, thinking maybe her desperate attempt to keep Azzi on the line had failed miserably. And then Azzi gasps, “she kicked. Oh my god Paige she kicked.”

Paige’s grin stretches her whole face and for a second it almost feels like she’s right there with Azzi, that instead of her ear being pressed to a phone, it’s pressed to Azzi’s belly. For a second she almost feels like she can feel the baby kicking. And then she opens her eyes. 

“Did it make you smile?” 

“Yeah, yeah it did,” Azzi admits and Paige can hear the relief in her voice. 

“I’m glad- I’m glad you have something that makes you smile.”

“Do you?” Azzi sucks in a sharp breath, “do you have someone that makes you smile?”

“Yeah, yeah I do,” and it’s not a complete lie. Olivia does make Paige smile. And maybe it’s not quite as big or bright or real but at least Olivia’s here to try. 

“Good. I-I’m also really glad you have that.”

“You are?”

“Of course I am Paige,” Azzi says quietly, “I want you to smile. I just- I just want you to be happy. Are you happy Paige?”

“I’m getting married today,” Paige says in lieu of an answer and she can hear Azzi’s breath hitch. 

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is. It’s a yes or no question,” Azzi presses.

“Then you answer it Azzi,” Paige bites out, “are you happy?”

“I”m-,” the younger girl lets out a sigh, “I’m content.”

Her answer makes Paige’s skin itch with irritation and she can’t stop it from seeping into her next question, “so you have no regrets then?”

“I didn’t say that,” there’s a warning edge to Azzi’s voice. 

“Do you or do you not regret saying no to marrying me Azzi?” Paige asks, unable to hold it in any longer. 

“Paige-”

“What? You gonna say it’s not that simple? It’s a yes or no question Azzi,” Paige mocks. 

“That’s not it-”

“Then what is?”

“You’re getting married Paige,” Azzi yells, “you’re getting married,” she repeats again, softer this time, “to someone else. And so it doesn’t matter how I feel. It isn’t fair of you to ask and it wouldn’t- it wouldn’t be fair of me to answer. Not today. Maybe one day- one day it'll be the right time but not today.”

“And what if it’s never the right time?” 

“Then maybe it’s a question you were never meant to know the answer to.”

There’s something final in the quietness that follows, like they’re having a moment of silence at a funeral for what never even got to be. 

It’s Azzi who speaks first. 

“You’re gonna be a wonderful wife P.”

“You’re gonna be an amazing mom Az.”

They let it left unsaid that they were supposed to be wives to each other, that they were supposed to be moms together. 

***

March 2033 

Paige doesn’t know how long she stands outside, staring down the winding road that had taken Stephie and Azzi away from her. The neighborhood is slowly waking up and if the woman across the street opens her curtains and thinks it’s a little strange that her new neighbor is standing like a statue on her front porch, she only raises a slight eyebrow before going back to her day. It takes almost twenty minutes before her head finally convinces her heart that no matter how much she stands outside, they’re not coming back. 

There’s a part of her that can admit that maybe Azzi had a point and maybe she shouldn’t have asked her to stay over last night. But Paige has never been known for her common sense, especially not when it comes to Azzi. Because truth be told, asking Azzi to stay the night was perhaps the least ridiculous of the thoughts that had invaded her mind last night. It was easy- too easy- to fall right back into whatever with Azzi. She’d done a good job pretending that the nightly facetime calls had been for Stephie’s benefit but the truth is that they had become just as much a necessity for Paige. She’d fallen asleep with a smile on her face every night and the temptation to have that in person last night had been too hard to resist. And so she hadn’t. 

She makes it about three steps up the stairs, when the fort still set up in the living room catches her eye. And that’s when the first tear falls, and then the second and then the third until she thinks if she tried to swim in them, she’d probably drown. Paige abandons the idea of going up to her room and crawls back into the tent made of blankets. And she must be going insane because she swears she can still smell the faint scent of a toddler and Azzi’s lavender perfume on the pillow she cradles to her chest. It’s ridiculous to be so attached already. She knows that. Stephie isn’t hers but it feels like the little girl has crept underneath her skin, burrowing herself in a part of Paige’s heart that the blond didn’t even know was there. And Azzi- well no matter how long it’s been, no matter how much resentment Paige has held, the truth is that there’s a little patch of Paige’s soul  that will always belong to the younger woman. 

Paige barely registers herself falling asleep until there’s abrupt knocking on her door and she realizes she’s been cocooned in the fort for almost three hours. She hesitantly lets go of the pillow, groggily walking towards the door. It’s useless to pretend that she isn’t hoping it’s Azzi and Stephie on the other side, isn’t hoping that Azzi had realized her mistake, isn’t hoping to scoop both of them into her arms and fill the hollowness that’s been thrumming against her ribcage. God Paige has barely survived a month -a day if she’s completely honest- she doesn’t know how she’s going to survive this whole season. 

She crosses her fingers behind her back as she opens the door. 

“Hey,” Katie’s smiling face looks back at her, holding up a tray of coffee and a bag of something, “figured you haven’t eaten breakfast yet?”

Paige blinks stupidly as Katie lets herself in, moving through Paige’s house with ease and immediately locating the kitchen. She hands Paige a cup of coffee before ransacking through the bag and pulling out a glazed donut, “eat. I know you haven’t.”

“Does Azzi know you’re here?” Paige asks slowly before taking a bite out of her donut. 

Katie gives her pointed look, “who do you think gave me your address?”

“Is she- is she okay?” 

“You two are something you know,” Katie shakes her head, “you’re asking me if she’s okay and she sent me over here to make sure that you were okay.”

Paige feels her heart swell with after all this time, “she sent you?”

“I have breakfast with Azzi and Stephie every Sunday morning. Now imagine my surprise when I get there today and my oh so sweet and wonderful granddaughter isn’t talking to her mother. And so I forced the story out of Azzi and I barely understood a word she was saying through her tears-”

“She was crying?” Paige feels her lungs constrict. 

Katie shoots her an unimpressed look, “can I finish the story?”

“I don’t like this story. It has Azzi crying.”

“Yeah well the two of you seem to enjoy doing that to each other,” Katie cocks an unamused eyebrow and Paige flinches at the truth of it, “anyways I didn’t understand much of it but she was clear by the end. Seemed to think you needed someone, needed me and so here I am Paige.”

“Why is your daughter like this?” Paige demands, “how is she gonna make me cry and then send somebody else to wipe my tears.”

“Well I can leave-”

“Why couldn’t she just have stayed?” the blonde questions, “why does she always have to overthink things and make it more complicated? Why can’t she just listen to her heart once in her fucking life? Why can’t she just let herself live? Why is it always no with her and never just yes?”

Katie gives Paige a sad smile, reaching for her hand, “that’s why.”

“Please don’t speak in riddles. It’s 10 a.m and I’m sad,” Paige whines. She might be in her early thirties but there’s something about Katie Fudd that makes Paige feel like it’s okay to be a bit of a child.

“Why is it always no with her and never yes?” Katie repeats, “c’mon Paige you know that’s not about last night.”

“It is,” Paige argues stubbornly. 

“It’s not,” Katie says, gently squeezing Paige’s hand, “it’s about her saying no 8 years ago.”

“I’m ov-” Paige stops, withering under Katie’s glare, “okay maybe it’s a little bit about her saying no 8 years ago. But I’m allowed to still be upset about it. She broke my heart. I wanted forever and she walked away. I’m allowed to be mad about that.”

“Of course you’re allowed to be mad Paige but that’s exactly why Azzi had to go this morning. And it’s exactly why you shouldn’t have asked her to stay last night. You guys can’t just pretend none of it happened because it did. You’re still hurt Paige and ignoring that is gonna get you guys nowhere. Especially with Stephie involved.”

“So what are you saying? You’re saying me and Azzi should just be teammates? You’re saying I should just never see Stephie again,” even the thought of it makes Paige feel like she is laying down on a bed of thorns. 

“You’re so goddamn dramatic Bueckers,” Katie rolls her eyes, “I’m not saying any of that. I’m saying maybe you just need to take it slower, with both of them, instead of having a goddamn sleepover the literal first night you’re in the same city. Besides,” Katie gives her a knowing smirk, “my granddaughter is obsessed with her Miss Buecks. Pretty sure she’d find a way to see you again no matter what.”

“Good,” Paige lets out her first smile of the day, “because I’d find a way to see her again too. She just- she’s kinda great isn’t she? Azzi did a good job with that one. She’s- she’s perfect,” she looks at Katie who’s regarding Paige with a thoughtful expression, “what? Do I have donut glaze on my face?”

“No, no it just- I’ve seen that expression before.”

“What expression?”

“The one you just had on your face while talking about Stephie,” Katie laughs to herself, “it’s the same one Tim had when he first met Azzi.”

***

“Oh my god. It’s Paige Bueckers. Can I have your autograph?” Steph Curry winks at Paige as she walks into his office. The Golden State legend had started an after-school basketball camp for kids in the Bay Area and as soon as he’d heard the news of Paige coming over to the Valkyries, he’d messaged her if she’d be interested in helping him out in the off-season. Paige had been more than willing to be a part of it, always invested in giving back to her community. If she’d been excited by the idea before though, today, after the worst sleep of her night as she tossed and turned to the hopeless depression of not having spoken to Stephie and Azzi for far too long, Paige really needed this distraction. 

“Don’t think you can afford my autograph,” Paige smirks lazily as she basically droops into the seat opposite him. 

Steph laughs goodnaturedly, “welcome to the Bay Area kid.”

“I’m a little old to be called a kid don’t you think? I’m nearly 25,” Paige grins, wiggling her eyebrows.. 

Steph shakes his head, “nah you’re always gonna be a kid to me. You and Azzi both,” he chuckles to himself, “even though Azzi’s got her own kid now. Have you met her?”

Well that distraction lasted 30 seconds, Paige thinks to herself as she forces a smile onto her face, “yeah. I’ve seen her around.”

“She’s cute as hell right? And she knows it. Little miss bossy pants has everyone wrapped around her fingers. Kinda reminds me of Riley,” there’s a goofy expression as Steph thinks of his daughter and Paige wonders if the same one is reflected on her face as she thinks about Stephie, “and she’s a natural at basketball. Only five and her shot’s already pretty good. You’ll see it today when she comes to camp. And she’s pretty good at defense-”

“I’m sorry what?” Paige blinks rapidly. 

“I know. What defense can a 5 year old play but it’s just the way she moves you know?” Steph tries to explain and Paige shakes her head. 

“Not that. Stephie- Stephie’s coming to camp?”

Steph grins large and proud, “of course she is. She was the first camper I signed.”

“Right,” Paige nods, giving the man in front of her a tight smile, “can you- can you excuse me for one second.”

As soon as Paige is outside of Steph’s earshot, she’s calling Katie; Katie who had sat at her kitchen counter yesterday and listened with a smile as Paige told her all about Steph’s camp. Katie who hadn’t said one word about Stephie being a part of said camp. Katie who was maybe grinning just a little too hard at the idea. 

“Did you know Stephie goes to Curry Camp?” Paige asks as soon as the line connects. 

“Hi Katie. Hi Paige. How was your day? Oh mine was good Paige, thanks for asking, how was yours?” Katie replies sarcastically. 

“Katie,” Paige groans. 

“Did I know that my granddaughter goes to her godfather’s special camp for the sport that her mother plays and she’s obsessed with?” Katie says slowly and Paige can tell she’s holding back a laugh, “nope, didn’t have a clue. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“And ruin the surprise?”

“What happened to telling me to take things slow?” Paige hisses. 

“Well if I left the two of you two to your own devices y’all wouldn’t go slow, you wouldn’t even move at all,” Katie defends. 

“So you’re meddling?”

“I am not,” Katie protests, “you were always gonna help with the camp and Stephie’s already been going to the camp. I just didn’t let you stress out about it. Really you should be thanking me.”

“Thank you Katie,” Paige bites out mockingly. 

“You’re so very welcome Paige,” Katie sing-songs, “by the way, come over for dinner soon okay sweetheart. Love you honey. See you later darling.”

She hangs up before Paige can say anything and the blonde saunters back into Steph’s office, trying to corral her facial expression into something more neutral. 

“All good?” Steph asks. 

“Just peachy,” Paige hums in response, “we gonna head over to the court soon? It’s almost 4.”

Steph nods, “yeah they’ll be done setting up for us. Azzi usually brings Stephie to say hi to me right before cause no favoritism in front of the other kids you know? But maybe she’s running la- oh no wait there they are!”

Paige freezes, heartbeat erratic, as Steph walks to the door in anticipation. 

“UNCLE TWIN,” Stephie screams and something in Paige’s heart starts to fix itself at the sound of the younger girl’s voice. She’s scared to turn around, unsure if she’s more scared to realize it’s a dream or find out that it’s reality. 

“TWIN NIECE,” Steph yells back with equal vigor and Paige can hear Azzi’s laugh now too, each giggle acting like a needle, stitching up the parts of Paige that had felt broken since yesterday morning. She turns around deliberately slowly. Stephie is cradled in Steph’s arms and Azzi’s watching them with a fond smile. And it’s ridiculous to be jealous of a happily married man who’s practically Azzi’s brother if not her uncle, but the sense of that should be me, weighs heavily on Paige’s lungs anyways. 

It’s Azzi who sees her first, smile slowly fading as dark brown eyes clash with light blue ones. 

“Paige,” she whispers softly and there’s a multitude of undecipherable emotions wrapped in that one syllable and Paige thinks she could spend forever just trying to uncover them. 

Stephie’s ear perks up at the mention of Paige’s name as her own little eyes finally land on the blonde, shuffling her feet nervously in the corner. Her bottom lip trembles, eyes watering as she forces herself down from Steph’s lap, racing to Paige. It’s instinct the way Paige falls to her knees, ready to catch the bundle of limps that practically falls into her waiting arms. 

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie whimpers, “I missed you so much.”

Paige’s own eyes water as she buries her face in Stephie’s hair, “me too sweetheart. I missed you so, so, so much.”

In front of them, Steph looks beyond confused as to what's happening and Azzi’s determinedly looking away, even if there’s a lone tear waterfalling down her left cheek. 

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Stephie confesses, voice choked up as she tightens her grip on Paige’s neck, “and I begged and I begged Mama to let me call you but she said you were busy. And then I yelled at Mama and it made Mama cry too and I hate making Mama cry.”

“I know. I know sweetheart,” Paige soothes softly, running her hands down Stephie’s back as the little girl continues to babble. They stay like that for a long time and Paige thinks if she could ask the world for one thing that doesn’t belong to her, she’d ask for Stephie. 

Finally Steph coughs, looking apprehensively between the three girls in the room, “so um- I take it you’ve more than just seen Stephie around then Paige?”

Paige lets out a watery laugh, finally letting Stephie go and turning around but still keeping a hand on Stephie’s shoulder, “yeah I guess that’s true.”

“What are you doing here Miss Buecks,” Stephie asks, looking up at Paige. 

“I’m uh- well Mr. Steph-”

“Uncle Twin,” Stephie corrects immediately and Paige can’t help but grin at the nickname. 

“Right. Uncle Twin asked me to be a coach at his camp and I agreed,” Paige explains, trying to catch Azzi’s eyes but the shooting guard seems determined to focus on a picture of Steph and Ayesha on the wall instead. 

“You’re gonna be my coach,” Stephie squeals, turning around to hug Paige’s knees, “this is the best news of my life.”

Paige feels her heart soar into a sky of you’re the best new of my life Stephie as she bends down to kiss Stephie forehead, “let’s see if you say that when I make you run laps after you miss a shot.”

“You wouldn’t?” Stephie says, looking horrified at the idea. 

“I totally would,” Paige teases. 

Stephie is quiet for a second before a proud smirk blooms on her lips, “that’s okay ‘cause I don’t miss. I’m Azzi Fudd’s daughter. Right Mama?”

“Right baby,” Azzi says, finally letting herself meet Paige’s gaze. 

“Well Miss-I-Don’t-Miss, how about you walk over to the court and show us how you don’t miss,” Steph teases. 

Stephie waddles out of Paige’s grip and holds her arms up at Steph, a saccharine smile on her face,“I can’t be tired if I don’t wanna miss Uncle Twin, so can you please carry me over there?”

Steph rolls his eyes but it doesn’t stop him from hoisting Stephie onto his shoulders, “alright your highness, let’s go.”

Stephie’s giggles echoe down the hall as Steph runs towards the courts and Paige can’t help the fond laugh that escapes her. 

“She gets that from you, you know,” Paige says softly to Azzi. 

“Gets what?”

“Being a princess who gets everything she wants.”

“Not everything,” Azzi says wistfully, “not everything I want.”

She moves to start following but Paige wraps a hand around her wrist, “I didn’t know Stephie was a part of Curry Camp. I swear I- I didn’t do this on purpose.”

Azzi sighs, “I know. I know you wouldn’t Paige.”

“And I- I wanted to thank you for sending your Mom yesterday. I really- I really did need it even if I didn’t know it,” Paige’s thumb subconsciously rubs against Azzi’s skin, “but you- you always seem to know what I need.”

Azzi rips her hand out from Paige's grip, “you’re doing it again.”

“I’m not-”

“Yes you are. You keep saying things like that- things you shouldn’t say- things I can’t just listen to and be okay,” Azzi brushes her hand against her face, “I know the way I left yesterday was wrong and maybe I was projecting,” she admits in a whisper, “but you just- you make me feel too fucking much. And it's too quick and it’s scares me.”

“Scares you?” Paige scoffs, “I’m not the one who broke your heart Azzi.”

“You don’t think I know that? You don’t think I’ve lived with that guilt for the last 8 years? Jesus fucking christ Paige. I’m not scared of you. I’m scared of me,” tears stream down Azzi’s face as she paces the room, “I have never heard Stephie cry so fucking much in my life Paige. And you know who did that to her? Me, I did that. Apparently I’m really fucking good at making people cry but I don’t want to. I don’t want to break her heart, I don’t want to break your heart and I don’t want to break my own heart. Not again.”

“Azzi-”

“And so I’m stopping it before it happens. Before I ruin it again.”

Azzi tries to leave again but Paige is faster, wrapping her arms around the younger woman’s waist and pulling her flush against her chest so she can’t escape. It’s a terrible idea because now all of her senses are consumed by Azzi as they both become acutely aware of how close they are now. 

“Paige,” Azzi whispers weakly, one hand pressed right against Paige’s heart, “let me go.”

“I think today’s the right time,” Paige says softly, hands grazing Azzi’s waist, “I asked you a question once and you said one day, when the time was right, you’d give me an answer. It’s the right time.”

“I don’t think so-”

“Azzi please,” Paige begs, “do you regret saying no?”

“Paige let me go,” Azzi wriggles against her grip but it only makes Paige tighten her hold. 

“It’s a simple yes or no question.’

“Stephie’s probably wondering where we are-”

“Then answer the damn question and we can go to her-”

“Paige please.”

“Answer the fucking question Azzi.”

“What do you want me to say?” Azzi bursts out finally, “you want me to say that I’ve never regretted anything more in my life? You want me to say the minute I said no, I wanted to rip out my tongue? You want me to say that I almost called you several times in the last decade to tell you how stupid I was? You want me to say that I flew to Dallas once to tell you that I fucked up but then I saw you with Olivia and decided you deserved better than me-”

“What?”  Paige feels the air being snatched from her lungs. 

“The answer to your stupid fucking question,” Azzi’s voice breaks, “is yes. Yes I regret saying no to you Paige. But it doesn’t matter. Because I said no and you found someone else who’d say yes and now it’s too late.”

And Paige thinks that Katie was probably right, that she should probably take things slow. But when it comes to Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers has never been one to do what she should. 

“It’s never too late for us,” Paige whispers before crashing her lips against the woman, who’s always been the reason for her biggest, brightest, most real smile.

[cherienymphe]

Haunted (Damon Salvatore x Reader)

Warnings: NON-CON, MURDER, compulsion, blood, stalking, abusive relationship, domestic violence

➥ banner by @vase-of-lilies ​

summary: If you'd known that your ex-boyfriend was a vampire, you would've gotten a stake instead of a restraining order.

~

You patted your face dry with the small hand towel, basking in the silence that surrounded you. It was the silence of a home that belonged entirely to you, occupied with no one else but you. You weren’t concerned with who was standing over your shoulder nor whose face would greet yours in the reflection when you looked up.

When you walked out of the bathroom, there was no surprise guest waiting for you by the door…or on your bed.

You liked to think that you were always a good judge of character. You always made good and trustworthy friends, always avoided conflict with wicked people, and even picked boyfriends that treated you nothing less than decent. Every single one had been perfect, and the only thing that contributed to the downfall of your relationships was nothing more than maturity and growing apart.

Then Damon happened.

He was everything you always avoided. Devilishly handsome—the kind that drove girls to lose all common sense—, hedonistic to a fault, and mysterious in ways that grew less sexy and more concerning over time. That crooked smile of his went from mischievous to nerve-wracking. His knack for knowing where you seemed to be at all times morphed from caring to worrying.

Damon looked like the devil come to earth…and he slowly started to feel that way too.

You stared out of your window with your hands at your side, dismayed at how you of all people ended up in such a situation. Gone were the days where you always wanted to be around him and soon came the days where you were scrambling for just five minutes away from him. There was a time where you thought you’d never get that again…but here you were…back home…

…and safe.

Mystic Falls was small and quaint and quiet. Granted, you hadn’t been home in years, but upon returning, it was like nothing had changed. Your house was still the same, your cousin and great aunt were still the same, and you felt more at peace with one foot into the town than you had in almost a year. It wasn’t until you were finally away from him did you realize just how much Damon had drained you.

He took up so much of your time that you’d been driven to drop out of school with only another year left. You’d been too overwhelmed, and unable to pinpoint the exact problem at the time, you’d broken down in class and came to the conclusion that college was the problem when in actuality…the problem was the raven-haired man who shadowed your every footstep.

You looked down at your wrists, recalling the way he used to wrap his hands around them when he wanted your full attention. That was something he seemed to hate, how much he could never fully hold your attention. How your every waking thought wasn’t consumed with him.

Damon absolutely hated not being the center of your universe. He hated when you’d call your cousin or great aunt to see how they were doing. He hated when you went out with your friends after class. He hated when he’d call or come by, and you were otherwise occupied. It had seemed like he wanted you to sit around twiddling your thumbs with nothing to do but wait for him.

You’d thought it was cute at first, that he was just so enamored with you that he wanted to spend all his free time with you, but then… Then you saw it for what it was, most especially when he’d snatched your arm one day, forcing you to pause in your phone call. It happened so suddenly, and you’d been in shock, but your incredulous stare had done nothing to deter him.

“Sweetheart…I had plans to take you out.”

He’d said it in that smooth baritone of his, the kind that made your knees weak, and instead of holding your resolve, you’d actually given in. You had actually felt bad for holding him up and ruining his surprise, profusely apologizing before bidding your cousin goodbye. He hadn’t let you go once that night, and if you’d been concerned by it—something you couldn’t even recall—it had definitely been long gone by the end of the night.

Damon had a way of making you overlook every concerning detail, especially when he was kissing you and playing your body so well that it seemed like you’d been dating for years instead of less than seven months. Whenever you closed your eyes, it was easy to recall the feel of his soft lips gliding down your stomach, his nimble fingers sliding into you, his hips pressing against yours as he filled you up.

It was all a distraction, a pretty package to hide his true nature.

Even though you were hundreds of miles away, far away from your ex-boyfriend, a shudder still passed through you at the mere thought of him. You stared out into the night with your arms wrapped around yourself, teeth sinking into your lip. You flexed your wrist, still surprised at what it felt like to not hurt after all this time, and you took a step back away from the window.

Your eyes strayed to the lock, confirming that it was locked, and you slowly made your way downstairs. Despite the fact that you knew they were, you still wanted to make sure that both doors were locked too. Damon was far away, and even if he wasn’t, your restraining order made sure he would stay that way, but something in you couldn’t hold off the feeling that he was just over your shoulder.

You didn’t think Damon would ever go through such lengths, but there had also been a time where you didn’t think he’d ever show up at your door again after you’d blatantly broken up with him. You didn’t think there’d be a time where he sprained your wrist. You never imagined a day would come where you’d make your way down to the police station and have to plead your case about getting a protective order.

In truth, you still didn’t know how you’d been granted it. One minute they’d been adamantly against it because Damon hadn’t done anything to you that you could prove, and the next, you’d been staring at a piece of paper that said if he came within a certain distance of you, he’d be arrested.

You made your way up your stairs with a small sigh, chest feeling heavy no matter how many times you exhaled. You glanced over your shoulder on your way up, gaze lingering on the front door as if some entity from the other side was willing you to open it. With a shudder, you turned back around and locked yourself in your bedroom.

The cool Virginia air was almost biting as you deposited your groceries in your car. As convinced as you were that you hated the cold, you missed it infinitely when you were away. You had longed for the comforts of home a lot, but more so when deep in the toxic cycle of your relationship. You had never longed for home more than when Damon was cornering you and intimidating you with those icy blue eyes of his.

You paused at the thought, hand on your car as one incident in particular came to mind. You struggled to swallow at the memory, almost able to feel the gentle brush of his nose against yours as he leaned in and asked if you were stupid. The words alone had been insulting, tears springing to your eyes at the sound of Damon talking to you in such a way.

However, the true hurt set in when his hand had pressed into the wall next to your head, completely trapping you. He wouldn’t let you leave, and anytime you’d moved to one side, he would be there…blocking your way, blue eyes staring you down. It was one of the first moments you’d been scared of Damon, and instead of recognizing that for the true sign that it was, you only wrote it off as a once off.

A honking horn pulled you from your thoughts, and you flinched, startled by the sound.

You glanced over to see that someone had almost hit someone else in the street, one of the two clearly not paying attention to the other. You stared at the cars for a moment more before glancing up. You were just about to slide into your own vehicle when your eyes passed over something scarily familiar. Or…

Perhaps someone was a more fitting word.

You glanced up again, but your gaze landed on nothing. There was no one standing across the street in the square even though you’d been absolutely sure of what you saw. The longer you stared, it was like you were trying to will yourself to see what you swore you just saw, but no familiar fair skinned figure appeared. No man with dark hair and hypnotizing blue eyes was in sight, and you stood there for a few seconds more before finally sinking into your car.

Your fingers were tight on the wheel the whole way to your house, and you didn’t realize just how badly you’d spooked yourself until you were parked and unloading your car. Your house wasn’t out in the middle of nowhere or outskirts of town, but the dense woods faced you, and as you carried groceries back and forth from the car to the house, you couldn’t shake the feeling of being…watched.

You stood at your door with your last groceries in hand, staring out before you with a small frown. It was late in the evening, and while the sun hadn’t disappeared completely, it was threatening to. Your town was no stranger to the odd string of animal attacks here and there, and it was that thought that forced you into the house, turning the lock shut behind you.

The silence that met you was as welcoming as it always was now.

Dinner was quick to make, and your shower was even quicker to take, towel securely wrapped around you as you stepped out of the bathroom. You faced your window when you came out, and you stopped short at the sight of a crow perched on the sill. You tightened your fingers in your towel, clutching it to you as you stared at the dark bird.

Your brows slowly furrowed with a frown.

You were working hard to remember if it was normal for crows to be out at night, and despite the fact that a singular bird was of no consequence to you, you still couldn’t shake the feeling its mere presence was…off. Pulling your gaze away, you dropped your towel and threw on a t-shirt. One deep inhale told you that it was one of Damon’s old shirts, and you were tempted to rip it off, throw it in the garbage even, but the smell of a scent you hadn’t inhaled in ages gave you pause.

How was it possible to miss someone who was so horrible to you?

Refusing to linger on what that meant, you quickly made your way downstairs to eat. You replied to a few of Bonnie’s texts, telling her you might come by tomorrow or another. It had been a good week or so since you’d last seen her, and you were feeling like a bad cousin. You weren’t of the right mind to explain your odd behavior and reclusive habits as of late. You wondered if you ever would be.

You were washing and drying your dishes when something out of the ordinary made you blink.

You lifted your eyes, startled by the sight of a familiar face faintly appearing in the glass. The sight had the plate slipping from your fingers, and you only tore your eyes away when the sound of breaking glass reached your ears. You quickly glanced down, taking in the sight of your unblemished feet before glancing back up.

The only face that stared back at you was yours.

You felt paralyzed, lips parting and chest heaving as you just…stared at the window. The more you stared, the crazier you felt, and you pressed your hand to your forehead. Your heart wouldn’t stop racing no matter how hard you tried to make it so. Your lips were parted in dismay, and you slowly dropped a hand to press it to your chest.

With trembling hands and legs, you slowly knelt down.

You were so sure… You had been certain, in fact… Damon’s face had been clear as day in your kitchen window, and yet in the blink of an eye, it was gone just as quickly. You knew that you were quite literally driving yourself insane, and you struggled to clean up your glass. Once your mess was clear, you quickly closed the kitchen window curtain, blinking back tears.

You trekked back to your room in a daze, and you made sure to lock your bedroom door once you were inside.

You thought to yourself that sleep could not find you fast enough, but sleep was not the escape you thought it would be.

Your dreams—or nightmares rather—were filled with familiar pink lips and cruel blue eyes. Damon’s mouth covered your own even when you struggled for air. His hands ran over you, and his fingers kneaded into your skin. It started out as nice as it once did, but just like your relationship, it quickly morphed into something sinister. The pink of Damon’s lips were replaced with the red of blood, the color smearing all over you as he kissed you wherever he desired.

The gentle touch of his hands became painful, sharp pains flaring in your sides and arms as he held you down. The loving roll of his hips turned into something violent and assaulting, forcing screams from your lips and tears from your eyes. No matter how much you begged, it was as if your pleas fell on deaf ears, and your only escape was in the waking world.

Darkness greeted you when you sat up in bed, eyes wide and lips parted as you gasped for breath. Despite the cold weather outside and the blasting A/C inside, your skin was dewy with sweat. You quickly kicked the covers off of you, pressing your hand to your chest and wiping your face with the other. It all felt too real, and your entire body shook—enough to shake the bed too.

Your gaze traveled over your room, and your heart nearly jumped out of your chest at the shadowy outline by your door. A scream escaped your lips, and you scrambled to turn on the light, no relief filling you when no one was there. You only stared at where you could’ve sworn someone was standing, throat tightening and tears escaping.

You pulled your trembling lip between your teeth, just staring at the empty space where someone once was—had to be. You stared at the space for what felt like too long before finally pulling your gaze away, slowly bringing your knees up to your chest and wrapping one arm around them. Your other hand pressed to your forehead, eyes squeezing shut as you fought against the idea that you were going crazy, but you had to be.

Damon was far away and wouldn’t be coming for you. It was so likely that he’d moved on already, long found someone else to replace you and torment. That thought was equally terrifying and comforting, and you sniffed. Once you started, you couldn’t stop, and the tears kept coming. You didn’t want to accept it…

…but you were starting to think that Damon had truly driven you insane.

“You’ve been back home for a little over a month, and I’ve seen you twice,” Bonnie told you with a tilt of her head. “You need to visit more.”

“I know,” you sighed as she walked you to the door. “Unpacking and all that…”

You didn’t have the heart to tell her you were plagued with thoughts and dreams and visions of a dark-haired tormentor. Damon was everywhere you looked, and in your efforts to avoid him in your dreams, sleep was something you ran from these days. However, he found a home out of the corner of your eye and in window reflections instead. It was haunting, and that bird…

That damn bird.

It cawed at you in the early hours of the morning, and what you’d once written off as a curious creature quickly turned into a terrifying symbol. Something about that crow reminded you of Damon, dark and unmoving and always watching. Every time you tried to shoo it away, it never moved, never even flinched. It was completely unafraid of you…

Like someone else you knew.

You had begun to dread it’s very presence, turning your back to it once settled in bed.

“Well, if you need help taking out all your things, you know I’m happy to help,” she offered with a small frown.

“I appreciate the offer, but…I’m basically done, now,” you lied.

The other girl pouted a bit but accepted your response. When she reached out to touch you, her bare hands landing on the skin of your arms, she froze. Her eyes widened as she looked up at you, fingers pressing into your arms as she swallowed, your gaze drawn to the action. You hadn’t ever seen that look on Bonnie’s face before, expression stricken and face losing all its color.

“Are you…okay…?”

You blinked at her at that, your turn to frown, now. Bonnie suddenly shook her head as if clearing her thoughts.

“I…I’m sorry, I… Grams has been up to her normal tricks again, and she…”

The look on Bonnie’s face gave you pause. You knew how kooky your great aunt could be, and the family entertained her because it was nothing more than good natured fun, but the severity in Bonnie’s voice had you seriously holding her gaze.

“What…? What is it?”

She looked disturbed.

“You just…you just feel so cold…and not like you’re cold, but like you’re…empty of all warmth.”

Your face fell.

“Of all life.”

You slowly pulled away at that, unsure of what to say and only able to settle for laughing it off. Bonnie didn’t really join in, and you ignored her weak attempts to get you to stay, to keep you from going home.

“Bonnie, I’m sure I’ll be fine,” you reassured her.

Her expression wasn’t one of agreement, but she eventually let your hand go, albeit reluctantly.

“Just…call me as soon as you get home, okay?” she urged.

You promised her that you would, trying to assure her with your eyes that everything would be fine as you made your way to your car. Her wave back lacked enthusiasm, and you tried not to linger on that as you drove back home. It was dark when you parked in your driveway, and you made sure to be brisk when you got out of your car.

Like before, the imposing presence of the dense woods made your body buzz with energy—with adrenaline. Your hands shook as you struggled to find your house key. You felt clumsier than normal, heart beginning to race beneath your chest. You swore you heard a branch or something snap, and you fought the urge to look over your shoulder, only focused on the keys in your hand.

You only just touched the right one when the entire keychain slipped from your fingers.

The sound of it hitting the concrete seemed so loud, and you felt a chill pass through you at the sight of it at your feet. With a brief pause, you bent down to get it, feeling a warmth in your back that you’d only felt in the presence of one other person. With your fingers on the key, you didn’t hesitate to rise to your feet and unlock the door. A cool breeze passed by you, and the shiver to crawl up your spine somehow felt like it was from more than that.

You practically stumbled inside of your house, tripping across the threshold, and you only spun around once you were inside, shocked at the sight before you.

Only your car, your yard, and the trees greeted you.

Your hand was on the door, the other hanging limply at your side. Your yard was completely empty of anyone, most of all who you feared the most, and you swallowed. Your gaze moved from side to side, tilting your head this way and that, completely shocked with the realization that it was all in your head. Even with this truth staring you in the face, you couldn’t stop yourself from shaking.

Not even when you shut the door and pressed your back to it.

You felt too hot, blood pumping too fast in your body, and with a shuddering exhale, you forced yourself to go upstairs and shower, hoping it would solve your problems for the night.

The blaring sound of your car alarm was what forced you out of your sleep. It was hard to discern what the noise even was at first. After all, you could count the number of times on one hand someone had actually set it off. You rubbed your eyes while struggling to sit up, the annoying sound of the alarm only making you more irritated when combined with your lack of sleep.

It took nothing at all to find your keys on your nightstand and shut it off, and the night was bathed in silence once again. The silence felt so loud though, and for a moment, you almost wished your alarm would sound again. You slowly started to relax when you jumped, the sound of your car alarm filling the room once again. This time you did get up, and you stared down into the yard as you clicked the button.

Silence met you, and the yard was bathed in darkness once more. You stared down into the darkness, wondering what kind of animal could be hitting against your car with that much force. There was a sinister thought in that back of your mind that it was no animal at all, and you struggled to force it away. No. Damon would never…

Even if you wanted to be conceited for all of five minutes, logically, why would Damon follow you here? Why would he come after you? It had been a good month since you saw him before you finally came back home, relaxed in the thought that the restraining order had clued him in on how serious you really were. It made no sense for Damon to still be chasing after you, and yet…

As you stared down into your yard, casting your eyes this way and that for any sign of the man who still haunted your dreams, you couldn’t shake the feeling that he was out there. No shape seemed out of place and no shadow stood out to you as unordinary, but you could not shake that feeling that he was staring right back at you…and you didn’t even know it.

Closing the curtain and backing away, you gently dropped your keys back onto the nightstand. Yu clutched your sheet just under your chin as you stared up at the ceiling, laying straight on your back and as stiff as a board. The house felt too quiet, now, and that silence that you’d grown to love only served to torment you, now.

You flinched when something hit your window hard, a familiar caw reaching your ears, and you slowly sat up. Your eyes widened a tad at the sight of that dark bird through the curtain, and you remembered finally reading something the other day that crows were not typically nocturnal. The sight of it stirred something so negative in you that you couldn’t even look at it, turning and facing the wall.

It cawed again, and you squeezed your eyes shut.

Something about this just wasn’t right. You didn’t know how but all of this felt off somehow, and you squeezed your eyes tighter as the bird’s sound reached your ears again. A few tears passed through, escaping your tightly shut eyes, and you pulled your sheet over your head. Lick clockwork, that crow would caw every hour or so, and the silence in between was spent staring into the darkness instead of actually sleeping, just knowing it was there and waiting for it to sound again.

Your lack of sleep was commented on the next day.

“It’s just taking some getting used to, being back in my old house and all that,” you softly said, waving Bonnie and Caroline off.

You remembered Caroline Forbes from when you were younger, the blonde girl barely pushing the age of five then. She was just as talkative and lively as you remembered. You also remembered an additional girl to complete the trio, and Caroline excitedly hummed.

“Elena is off on a weekend trip with her boyfriend. Stefan Salvatore,” she told you, and the way she said his name told you all you needed to know about what he looked like. “I would be so jealous if I hadn’t already had the other brother. Been there, done that.”

She made a face that clued you in on how that had ended.

“It lasted all of three months before he decided he was tired of me and took off,” she scoffed. “I want no parts of that family.”

Bonnie hummed in agreement.

“Damon was way too old for you anyway, Caroline. He’s like…Y/N’s age, and that would be like her dating Jeremy.”

They both made pinched faces, disgusted with the thought, and you were inclined to agree when you suddenly frowned. You blinked, turning to look at Bonnie as the name that came out of her mouth finally registered. You felt your heart sink, and feeling your eyes on her, Bonnie turned to look at you.

“Did you say…Damon?”

“Yeah, Damon. Stefan’s brother. I don’t think you ever met him,” she added. “He came back to town a good year after you left, and he left…maybe three years ago?”

“With barely a goodbye,” Caroline mumbled, and it was easy to tell she was still rightfully bitter about the whole thing.

You told yourself that it was a coincidence, but you recalled Damon’s mysterious nature, the lack of information he ever gave up about his personal life. Although the one thing you did know was that he was from Virginia too…and you told yourself that it was nothing more than a coincidence. It had to be.

You grew quiet, Bonnie and Caroline none the wiser to your silent disposition. You took a sip of your drink, glancing around The Grill. It was a Friday night, and it was packed like any other Friday night. Adults and teenagers alike were hanging out at the one hot spot in town, and when your gaze glided over the bar, a familiar pair of blue eyes connected with yours.

You bumped Bonnie when you jumped, and you were quick to turn and apologize to her after your drink spilled some. She didn’t take offense, seemingly more concerned for you than anything else, and you assured her you were fine, heart racing as you turned back towards the bar. Your eyes passed up and down it at least a few times, but Damon was nowhere in sight, and you set your drink down.

You pressed your hand to your forehead, wondering if you had too much to drink. You knew that wasn’t true. You’d barely had two glasses of beer, and you closed your eyes. You forced yourself to take a deep breath, breathing in through your mouth and exhaling through your nose. You only opened your eyes when Bonnie touched your arm, Caroline now quiet too.

“I think I’m gonna head home,” you suddenly said, standing and grabbing your purse.

“Oh, okay.”

You hated the disappointment you heard in Bonnie’s voice as you searched your purse for some cash.

“I’m just not feeling the best. I shouldn’t have come, but I really wanted to see you guys,” you honestly told her.

Bonnie smiled at that.

“You really shouldn’t have. You can always see us. You need to be getting more rest,” she advised.

You agreed, throwing some cash on the table.

“By the way, Grams is going to make you more of those cookies she always used to send you. I told her that you ran out weeks ago, and she freaked. Demanded to know why I hadn’t told her sooner,” she chuckled.

“Ooh is that like some witchy thing?” Caroline wondered, wiggling her fingers.

You and Bonnie rolled your eyes, loathe to admit how right Caroline was.

“She swears that they protect Y/N and brought her good luck while she was away,” the brunette told her.

“I don’t have the heart to tell her she should probably find a new recipe,” you mumbled with a shake of your head.

If they knew the things you’d been through with Damon, they’d know that those cookies hadn’t done a thing to help you. You waved them both goodbye, keys in hand as you walked out the door. You learned your lesson from last time, keeping the one you needed directly between your fingers to save less time. However, smart thinking would never trump clumsiness, and you cursed when your keys hit the pavement. You were thankful that you were just at your door though, bending down to pick them up…

When another hand beat you to it.

It startled you, and a nervous thank you was just on the tip of your lips…when you lifted your eyes.

Damon was even prettier than you remembered. Skin perfect and unblemished, eyes a crystalline blue that didn’t look real, and hair as dark as the night sky behind him. You thought you were imagining things at first, as you had been for a good month, now, and you slowly forced yourself to stand. You couldn’t find any words to say, just staring at him and trying to figure out if this was another trick of your mind. The faint noise of the people standing outside The Grill just across the street faded into the background as he moved…and handed you your keys.

Your lips parted, a gasp escaping when his fingers brushed against your skin as he laid them in your palm. You stared down at them for a few seconds before lifting your gaze again, heart stuttering and skipping beats as it registered within your mind. He was real, he was really here in Mystic Falls, and you couldn’t even decide on what to feel.

Damon’s blue eyes fell to your chest, right where your heart was as if he could hear it, and you blinked.

“Damon.”

You almost whispered his name, too afraid to say it too loudly.

“You… I have a restraining order,” you finally remembered, frowning at him.

He didn’t respond at first, merely tilting his head to the side as he drank you in. You’d grown to hate that gesture, the act nothing more than an indication of the condescending thoughts running rampant in his mind. When he looked at you like he was looking at you now, it used to make you feel cute.

Now, it just made you feel stupid.

“How does it feel to be back home?”

He completely ignored you, and you clenched your keys in your hand.

“To catch up with the family and the friends,” he drawled, doing that thing with his eyes that made your heart jump. “Unpacking in that big ole house by your lonesome?”

Your frown deepened at his words.

“You know…”

He leaned over, resting his arm on the top of your car, propping his head up with his hand.

“When you broke up with me, I didn’t quite believe you,” he admitted.

“I know,” you whispered, recalling the day he’d shown up on your doorstep like nothing happened.

“…but then the restraining order, that seemed a little more serious.”

You looked around, glancing over your shoulder at The Grill, willing someone—anyone—to just glance over.

“…and the cops…they were never going to take you seriously. Why would they…?”

Making the decision not to hear another word of this, you moved to unlock your door. You opened it for all of two seconds before Damon was pressing his hand against it, shutting it. He was so close, and when you looked up, his lips were so close to yours.

“…but I was in a…let’s say…fun mood.”

You bit your lip when he slid his entire body to rest against your door, arms crossed over his chest as he regarded you.

“I decided to convince them to go ahead with it,” he told you, face even as he stared you down. “I just wanted to see what you’d do.”

You blinked at his words, taken aback with confusion. Damon had changed their minds…? Why would he do that? How did that even work? He suddenly sighed, glancing up towards the sky.

“I never imagined you’d actually leave,” he grumbled, pouting.

You reached your hand into your purse, your fingers just grazing your phone when the whole bag was snatched away. The only thing that remained were the keys in your hand, and your heart dropped to your stomach when Damon sighed, running his hand through his dark strands. You heard your purse land somewhere behind him, and the glint in his eyes told you just how angry he was.

It was not an unfamiliar sight.

“Damon…”

You took a step back, but he was faster, his hands coming up to gently cup your face. You hadn’t realized you started crying until his thumbs brushed your tears away. He gently shushed you, but there was nothing soothing about it. It was often a sound you heard just before his fingers harshly dug into your jaw.

“You need to leave…before I call the police,” you choked out.

He actually laughed.

The sound was so disheartening, and it sounded genuine, like the thought actually tickled him. Like the idea was so preposterous, the idea that they could do anything to him, at all. The sound was so convincing that you almost believed it yourself, almost believed that he really was untouchable.

“…and what are they going to do? Hmm?”

His hand tightened on your jaw, and you winced. His face wasn’t so pretty, now, faint veins appearing under his eyes just before they disappeared as quickly as they came. The sight stumped you, and you stared at him through stricken eyes.

“Hey, is everything alright?”

Relief filled you at the sound of the new voice, and Damon’s expression evened out, just as pretty as before. He huffed, and you watched him roll his eyes just before turning to face the newcomer behind him. You didn’t hesitate to unlock your car, sliding into it and locking the door just as Damon’s hand hit the window. You froze at the crack that now adorned it, looking at Damon through the glass with an expression you couldn’t even name.

The sound of your name reached your ears as he called your name, his mockingly chipper tone barely able to hide the malice beneath it. You didn’t look back as you drove away, hurrying to beat him to your house. His words were stuck in your mind, and you were certain, now that he actually had been stalking you. You weren’t sure how that related to any of the other stuff, convinced he’d still managed to drive you mad, but Damon most definitely had been to your house.

You car was barely parked and turned off good before you were hopping out, sprinting to the door. Light flooded your home when you flipped the switch, and without a cell phone, you were forced to rely on the landline. It took you a good seven seconds to realize that you’d heard no dial tone when you picked it up, and that pressing any buttons was going to do no good.

Someone had cut the phone line.

The phone clattered to the floor as the realization hit you, and no second thoughts were needed to know who did it. The room swayed a bit, and you just knew you were going to be sick any moment now. The confirmation that Damon had in fact been watching you brought you no sense of satisfaction for not actually being crazy. In fact, you wished you’d just made it all up in your head. At least then you wouldn’t have to deal with the harsh knocks on your door.

The scream you let out bounced off of the walls, and you clutched your stomach as you fought to hold in your sobs.

The faint sound of your name reached your ears in the living room.

“I really hate that it had to come to this, you know I do…”

You slowly looked up, tearful gaze resting on the front door.

“…but you should probably come and talk to me face to face…before I do something…”

There was a slight pause, and you could almost imagine that mirthful smirk adorning his lips.

“…drastic.”

His tone gave you pause, and you felt at war with yourself. Logically, you would have to leave your house at some point. You did not think you’d be able to wait him out, but something in you screamed at you to. Something in you was convinced that you could, but a part of you was telling you that if he’d come all this way, followed you all the way back to both yours and his hometown, there was no telling the lengths he’d go to. You’d watched enough Dateline, enough Investigation Discovery, and despite the fact that you didn’t ever want to think he’d be that bad, something in you wondered if you’d wake up to the smell of smoke and burning flames one night.

Slowly approaching the door, you heard Damon chuckle, like he could perfectly hear your footsteps.

“Come on, baby,” he softly said. “I don’t have all night.”

It took all of your strength to unlock and open the door, and when you did…

You almost immediately regretted it.

You didn’t recognize the woman he had in his arms, only knew that she was crying and clearly in distress. You looked between them before resting your gaze on Damon, staring at him as if he were crazy. Your lips parted in shock, and your gaze fell back to his hand, the one he had around her neck.

“Damon…what are you doing…?” you slowly asked him, lifting your hands just as slow as if trying to stall whatever he was about to do.

“I’m doing what you made me do.”

His nostrils flared as he stared you down, blaming you for his actions, and a choked gasp escaped you.

“She-.”

“She’s going to die if you don’t step outside, right now.”

He said it so suddenly, so evenly, that you felt no other option than to believe him. Your frown deepened as you searched his eyes for some remorse, a hint of a joke, some leniency there that would give way if you pushed hard enough, but you saw none of that. Damon’s eyes had never looked so cold, and you knew then that he was entirely serious.

“Damon,” you choked out.

“Now,” was his only response, tone clipped as the girl—no older than you—cried in his arms.

You felt bad. This—whatever this was—was between the two of you, and Damon had dragged an innocent woman into it. You moved, and once one of your feet was over the threshold, a tight grip on your neck completely obstructed your breathing. On instinct, you reached up to grip his arm, panicked.

His blue gaze was all you could see, and you blinked back tears as he spoke.

“You made me do this.”

He didn’t give you time to linger on that before he pulled the other girl closer, having never let her go before grabbing you with his free hand.

You were completely frozen in shock as you watched him lean in and savagely bite her neck. The screams she let out were the kind to fill your nightmares, and you couldn’t believe what you were witnessing. You felt like you were stuck in an endless nightmare, unable to pull your eyes away from the sight of his violent assault, and unable to close your ears to the sounds of her screams, her struggle, and his teeth in her neck.

In her panic, the strange woman reached out to grip your arm, and the longer he bit her—fed from her—the weaker her grip became. Tears sprung to your eyes at the feel of her hand loosening on you, and they spilled over altogether when her hand finally let you go, falling at her side. You knew then that she was dead even if Damon hadn’t carelessly dropped her as proof.

You couldn’t breathe when he turned his gaze back to you.

Like before, those veins were under his eyes, but they were more prominent now, more terrifying to look at. His lips were completely covered in blood, some even smearing across his chin, and despite the new reality you were faced with, you still couldn’t believe it. You only gave some indication that you were still coherent when his lips grazed your cheek, a shuddering gasp leaving you.

“I missed you…you know that?” he murmured against your skin.

He took a step forward…and then another and then another, forcing you back with every one. His hand was still tight on your neck, and the other slowly snaked around your waist, pulling you closer. Damon didn’t stop until you were right in front of your door, and you looked at him like less than a stranger—like a monster straight out of every horror you’d been able to get your hands on.

You couldn’t move as he leaned in, bloody lips pressing against your cheek.

“Now, that those God-awful cookies—and everything in them—are out of your system for good…”

You didn’t understand what that had to do with anything, but soon, you didn’t understand nor comprehend anything.

Damon’s pupils were all that you could focus on, even in the darkness, and as they expanded, they were all that seemed to fill your vision. You felt yourself relaxing, shoulders drooping as the calmest feeling washed over you. Damon’s hand rubbed circles into your lower back, and the hand on your neck loosened some, his thumb smearing blood along your chin.

“Invite me in.”

How insane.

Why on earth would you ever invite him into your home? That was what you thought anyway, but the words that left your mouth were entirely different. You felt your lips move, and you heard your voice as you did what he said, and it was only when the warmth of your home replaced the cold Virginia air of outside did Damon let you go.

In doing so, his gaze broke away from yours, and you stumbled back in both shock and confusion.

Why did you do that? How did he make you do that? You could only back away from him as he slowly walked about the room, gaze roaming over the inside of your house with a hum.

“Cute,” he mused, and more tears fell. “So…homely. I can just imagine you baking in the kitchen.”

He moved his hands about with a chuckle and feeling both out of control and like you finally had control for the first time in moments, you sprinted for the door. In the blink of an eye, Damon’s arms were wrapped around you, and the sight of him drinking from that girl would never compare to the feeling, you supposed.

It was hard to make a sound when his teeth sank into your skin, and you reached back, desperately trying to pull him away to no avail. Damon’s arms were so tight around you, painfully, and you gasped when he backed up, pulling you with him. You couldn’t stop crying, and as your mind still fought to process just what he was, it hit you then that maybe you hadn’t been going insane.

Maybe he had been messing with your head somehow, watching you from the trees, showing up at odd places before disappearing. Your feet kicked at the feel of him pulling from you, and you could feel yourself growing weaker by the second. As if he could feel it too, Damon suddenly let you go, and you collapsed at his feet.

You shakily reached up to touch your neck, unsurprised by what you felt, and you failed to push yourself onto your knees.

“We were so good together…no…?”

You tried to bite back a sob, but it was no use. Damon tsk’d at the sound, and soon you were turned over to face him. He looked down at you like you were a misbehaving child, head tilted and lips pursed.

“You needed some time. I get that,” he nodded. “I even gave you that…”

You watched him kneel down, feeling too weak to even attempt to move, and your heart skipped a beat as you watched him peel off his jacket. He reached out to gently drag a finger down the side of your face, lingering at your lips.

“…but you don’t leave me. You don’t runaway from, and you definitely don’t keep me out.”

He leaned in, brushing his lips over yours before kissing you fully. You pushed at his chest, but it was a weak attempt, and you were unsurprised when Damon batted your hand away, pulling at your clothes with ease. A few tears escaped, running past your ears, and you could only arch up into his mouth when he bit your stomach.

A humming sound escaped him, and a warm feeling filled you.

You didn’t want to feel that, and with every article of clothing Damon got rid of, he marked the area with his teeth. When he kissed you again, his bare chest touched yours, and you felt powerless to stop what was happening. You’d done everything right. You’d broken up with, even went to the police when he didn’t respect your boundaries, and to real put the nail in the coffin, you moved away. You came back home and got far away from Damon.

…but what was far when the equation involved a vampire?

As Damon pushed himself into you with a low groan, you wondered how you had missed it. He obviously fed while you were together, he wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t, and considering how little human life clearly meant to him, you had to assume that Damon wasn’t of the…sympathetic variety. You tried to recall if anyone had gone missing back in the town where campus was, but it was hard to focus with Damon thrusting into you.

His face was pressed into the crook of your neck, and your hips involuntarily rose to meet his with every movement. Blood was still on his mouth when he pulled away, and when you reached up to push at his chest, Damon reached up to grab your hand. He twisted his fingers with your own before roughly pinning your hand down.

“What was the plan?” he wondered, his other hand finding a home on your neck. “Were you going to forget about me…? Move on?”

He said it like it was the craziest thing he’d ever heard, and more tears spilled over. The mere thought seemed to have upset him, and Damon leaned back down to bite into your chest. You hissed at the feel clenching around him, but Damon paid you no mind. He was too lost in the taste of you.

Thinking back on the memories of your tumultuous relationship, it scared you all the more to think of just what you’d been up against, all the while none the wiser.

Damon’s hips came down against yours with vigor, cock sliding in and out of you and making you shudder. The feel of him on top of you and in you brought you back to the happy days of your relationship, but the blood on his face and the tight grip on your neck only reminded you of what it had become.

Damon wouldn’t take his eyes off of you, staring down at you with those blue eyes, and when yours met his, life before, you felt your body relax as your vision was only filled with his widening pupils. You felt completely at his mercy, and you heard Damon hum.

“I want you to kiss me…like you kissed me on our first date.”

His words sparked the memory, and you felt a smile ghost along your lips as you recalled the excitedness in your as you’d pressed your lips against his. You’d been so bold then, so much like yourself before Damon had scared you into submission.

Overcome with the desire to do just that, you craned your head up to fiercely press your lips against his. Damon moaned into the kiss, and when he let your hand go, you threw your arms around his neck just as you had that night. Damon hummed against your lips, and you gasped against his at a particularly hard thrust. Even though you wanted to, you couldn’t stop kissing him.

You felt out of control of your own body, and tears kissed your eyes.

Your back slid along the floor with every snap of his hips, and the sound of skin slapping against skin filled the otherwise quiet room. You felt Damon’s hand twist at the root of your hair, yanking your head back and away from him, and you only got a brief glimpse of the veins in his face before his teeth were sinking into your neck again. The feel of his teeth and cock in you were threatening to send you over the edge, too overwhelming to even focus on.

When Damon’s teeth left you, you shuddered, and he hummed. You felt his fingers smoothing along your face, and when he whispered for you to look at him, too afraid to do otherwise, you did. Tears were still skipping down your cheeks, and Damon ran his blue eyes over you, drinking you in with a sigh. He looked disappointed, but it was gone just as quickly as it came.

When his eyes held your gaze again, your lips parted, and another tear escaped at the hypnotizing words that gripped you.

“Do not leave me ever again…”

You swallowed, but you didn’t blink.

“You are mine, and if you even try to, I will kill your loved ones one by one, starting with that meddling family of yours.”

Your lips trembled.

“Nod if you understand.”

You gave him a slow nod, and a cruel smile fell over his lips. He fingered your chin, just looking at you with that small smile.

“Tell me you love me,” he murmured, and hit with the overwhelming urge to do just that…

You did.

[tragedybunny]

Fun Astarion idea:

Tav finds a wish spell (does the Deck of Many Things behind Astarion's back and gets insanely lucky), and offers to use it to cure his Vampirism.

He would probably be annoyed at them for risking that, at least.

This one ended up short and sweet anon, but I didn't want to belabor it because I think it would be gilding the lily.

As requested, Tav draws from the Deck Many Things, Astarion is less than thrilled.

Gambles and Wishes - F!Reader x Astarion

“Astarion,” you pound on the door to your home’s library until you thought it would break. 

“I’m still not talking to you,” he shouts back, not even getting close to the door. 

It was locked from the inside and you consider an unlocking spell for a moment but stop. The lock was a boundary, and you hated to cross his boundaries, he didn’t get to have any for so long. Instead you opt to groan in frustration. “Please, this isn’t the healthiest way to solve our problems.”

“Neither is lying, but that didn’t stop you,” he shoots back and you cringe because he’s technically right. 

“It wasn’t lying so much as not telling. And see, you’re talking to me so why don’t we stop shouting through the door.” To be honest, it was starting to make you nervous, he’d never been angry at you for this long before. Maybe your good intentions had taken things too far. “Please Love, Starry Sky,” your voice shakes. 

The noise of the lock opening causes your heart to leap, but you're not sure if it’s dread or elation, so you just stand there, arms crossed around yourself until the door opens. Astarion stares at you with watery red eyes, “is that really how you want this relationship to work?”

“No, you’re right, but the possible reward was too great to deny.” Why can’t he understand, you’d do anything for him?

“So was the risk, you pulled a card from the Deck of Many things. You know magic, you know what could’ve happened.” He’s not shouting anymore, it’s so much worse. He’s barely whispering the words, and the tears are finally starting to spill over. “And you didn’t even consult me, we’re supposed to be equals in this.” 

So much for those boundaries you didn’t want to cross, the realization started to eat you up inside. Protecting him wasn’t a good excuse anymore. “I’m so sorry. It’s just that I would risk anything for you and I knew you wouldn’t let me.” 

Even amidst all the pain, the two of you find yourselves holding onto each other. “Sunlight, that’s because you always take risks for me. You need to worry more about yourself sometimes.” He sniffles into your shoulder, and you hope his tears are drying as you stroke his hair. 

“I know, last one I promise. But I got what I wanted, one Wish spell, we can have the life we thought was impossible.” The life you wanted so badly to give him, the life he deserved. 

Stepping back from you, he appraises you seriously. “Are you sure this is what you would use it on? You could have an Empire, become a Goddess. Not that you aren’t already, especially when it comes too- ” he smiles lasciviously. 

“Astarion,” playfully you smack his shoulder, “behave yourself. And yes this is the only thing I could think of using it on. I couldn’t wish for anything more than you.”  

“You’re still a silly girl who’s too nice to me.” New tears appear in his eyes you notice, but for an entirely different reason. “Well then I accept, on one condition of course.”

“And what is that?” 

“You promise you’re stuck with me as long as we both live. I’m not used to being alive of course, I’m going to need someone to keep an eye on me for a long time. And let’s be honest, you’re the most qualified. I don’t think any of our friends would really be able to handle it.” 

He’s rambling but you know it’s because he’s nervous, so you lean over and kiss him softly. “Deal. Now let’s make you an un-undead Love.” 

[familyvideostevie]

october thirtieth

day thirty: james potter you find a photo of the two of you in james's pocket | established relationship, fluff | 1k

“James, have you seen my lipstick?”

No reply. You check your makeup bag one more time but can't find it.

“James!”

���What?”

His voice is muffled. You leave the bathroom and follow it, finding him standing in the closet frowning at his dress shirts. You press into his side, wrapping yourself around his bare torso. “Your face is going to stick like that if you're not careful.”

He drags his hand up and down between your shoulder blades. “I have to be the best-dressed bride of a vampire out there, darling. You know that.”

Silly, silly man. The event of the evening is Halloween-themed drinks at the popular bar on the high street. You had to book a table and everything and James has been looking forward to it all month.

He came up with your costumes: you, a dangerous and beautiful vampire, and him, your willing and handsome bride.

“Well, best of luck to you. Have you seen my lipstick? The red one?”

You need it to draw the punctures on his neck and lines of blood from the corners of your mouth. James pulls himself from your hold and selects a shirt, finally, buttoning it up halfway and messing with his hair in the mirror.

“I don't have it, darling,” he says.

You sigh. Easily distracted, this one. “I gave it to you the other night to hold.”

He snaps his fingers. “So you did. It must be in my jacket pocket.”

“Which one?” You swear James has more clothes than you.

“Which jacket or which pocket?”

“James.”

He winks at you, glasses flashing. “Brown jacket, not sure which pocket.”

You leave him to his fussing and find it hanging on the hook in the entryway.

The lipstick is not in the right pocket or the left. You hope he's not lost it because it's a great color and you really don't want to have to draw the blood on in purple, or something, but then you feel something lipstick-shaped in the breast pocket.

“Jackpot,” you mutter. You pull the tube from the pocket but out with it comes a piece of paper.

It's creased and wrinkled, as if it's been handled many times. You unfold it and —

Oh. You think you say that out loud.

It's you and James. A photo from ages ago. Years, actually. It's you two on the night you met. A party of Lily's, something she did often in those days to bring people together, and this one was a game night. You and James had been paired up for charades and you'd absolutely crushed the competition. You remember feeling like you could read each other's minds.

In the photo you're holding the trophy — a tiny, plastic thing Lily had bought at a discount store — and you're smiling so wide you can see all of your teeth. James has his arm slung around you and he's looking right at you instead of at the camera.

His expression shocks you. You've seen hundreds of photos of the two of you together where he's got this look on his face, the one that you know to be love. And in the photo you've just found, one of the first day you met, he's looking at you the same way. Like he's in love.

“Darling?” he calls. “Did you find it?” he wanders down the hall, fully dressed, and you turn to him.

“Yes,” you say, breathless. “James, why do you have this in your jacket?”

“Hm?” He slides his hand over your hip and leans in to look, face brightening when he see's what you've found. “Have you not seen this before? I suppose I've kept it in there since Lily gave it to me.”

You just stare at it.

“God, it's so obvious I was gone for you,” he sighs.

You turn your head so you're looking at him, so close you could count his eyelashes. “You were?”

“Darling, I was utterly ass over tit for you from the start. In love the second you opened your mouth.”

“Don't be silly, James.”

He looks offended. “No, it's true! I remember the whole thing. I was late and you'd been freed up from work at the last minute so we didn't have partners when Lily said to make teams. And you looked at me and said, 'You better be good at this, because I am.' And I said, 'I will win you this if it's the last thing I do.'”

“Which was a bit dramatic,” you mutter.

“And you didn't even tell me your name until we won.”

“That is how it went, I suppose. You really fancied me because I was a bit overcompetative?”

James snorts. “Come on, love, is that really so hard to believe?”

You look at the picture again. It isn't, considering you were similarly smitten that night, but it's still a bit like a fairy tale.

“No, I guess not.”

“I mean, who wouldn't fall in love with you at first sight?” James presses a kiss to your temple. “You're funny —” he kisses your brow “— sweet —” your nose “— lovely —” your cheek.

“Okay, okay, okay,” you say, shoving him off. “We need to finish getting ready, James, or we'll be late.”

He bares his neck for you. “Blood me up, baby.”

You laugh, slip the photo back into his jacket, and drag him back to the bathroom. “You're so weird.”

“And you looooove it.”

“You're the one who carries that photo round all the time!”

Just saying it makes your heart swell. It's a small thing in the grand scheme of your relationship. James shows you he loves you all the time — in his words, his actions. The way he looks at you. How he always buys your favorite flavor soda at the shop when he sees it. The way he knows how to wake you from a nap without startling you. His touch in a crowded room and his gaze when he senses you need something.

So, yeah, a photo in his jacket pocket is nothing, really. But he clearly looks at it often and thins about that first night.

You lean in and kiss him without warning. He makes a surprised noise but leans into it, hand cupping the back of your neck. Maybe it's alright if you're a little late.

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, general masterlist here! promptober masterlist, find all fics under #fvspromptober23

[ahoycaptainautumn]

Fated Mates 8

Synopsis: you, a vengeful vampire slayer, cross paths with the devious and handsome Astarion. Instead of a stake through the heart, Astarion finds something he thought impossible for vampire spawn. A mate.

The bond sings as you and Astarion take it a step further.

(Pure smut baby, this is more rough but I promise a soft one before this ends ❤️)

“With pleasure.” Astarion’s voice is laced with hot desire. Soaked in the guarantee of your total demise and resurrection. Ensnaring you in the promise of carnal devotion. Ever the faithful, your moan lets out the prayer your body has for him. Pleading for him to have you seeing the stars.

Astarion’s hand shoots up from your interlocked grasp and snatches a fistfull of your (h/c) hair and yanks. Your head whips farther back as your face hovers just below his horizontally. His blood red eyes are blown and wild. A man starved and now offered a ten course meal. His tongue glides over his lips and over his fangs absentmindedly. A moment later his plush lips crash onto yours in a searing kiss. It’s full of want, of desire so powerful and raw it takes the breath out of you. Shivers run a course up through your body. You moan wantonly into his kiss as his tongue delves into your mouth. His other hand comes up to squeeze your hip and massage into your flesh. Nails leaving crescent shapes into what exposed skin there is. His touch rivals that of heavenly intervention. He touches you as if already an expert of your body. One being melting into another perfectly made for them. You bring your hand up and twirl it into his silver locks. He growls at your touch and the hand that was on your hip paws at your hand. Seizing it, he throws it back down onto the gray stone desk.

“You can touch when I say you can touch.” His voice is guttural, raw and blistered with the heat rising in his cold body. The time for soft touches and gentle caresses had since long passed. Passed the moment he couldn't take you in that tavern room. He would normally be one for pacing. For the mewls of delight in the soft and slow. To stretch out the time so long one would forget where one would start and he began. Whisper sweet nothings and tease every last drop out. But this was different from any of those times in his 200 years. For those it was them full of lust and star crossed love. He was merely completing a task. Or on rare occasions he got to enjoy it to a degree. But this. This was.. different. This was a drug he hadn’t known he missed out on all his life. A drug that warped his mind in the most delicious of ways. Creating a crave stronger than that he faced of human blood during his time with Cazador. You invaded his mind and senses and left him only wanting more. It was in your scent, the sweet smell of lily and lavender. In your touch, one that stroked flames he thought were long since extinguished in his undead life. Worst of all was your eyes. They were a chasm, an endless abyss he fell farther into with every glance. He wanted, no needed, to claim every inch of your perfect body. To fill every pore with him and leave you marked. His fangs piercing every delicious section of you he could get his hands on. If not only for others to know that you belonged to him. Though his mission was for you to never want others. For them to never compare to what he can give you.

He unfurls his hands from where they are and uses them on your hips to pivot you towards him. Your hands twitch at your sides, desperate to hold onto him. To wrap yourself around him and not let go. To have every inch of skin touch his so you may never know what it is like to be without him. You lean into the desk, dizzy with arousal to keep yourself up entirely on your own. He closes the gap between you two and slots himself in between your legs. His fingers graze under your shirt and trails upwards in light scratches. They dance around your bra before going to unlatch it in the back. With it undone he balls your shirt up in his hands. He makes a notion with his chin to have you raise your arms. You comply immediately, arms shooting up. Swiftly, you find yourself shirtless with him throwing the clothing somewhere aside in the room. Bringing your hands back down and at your side feels as if it’s killing you slowly. He notices your distress and only gives a breathy chuckle. His lips find the edge of yours in a quick kiss. He then strings kisses down to your jaw and then to your neck. There, he places a flat tongue on your pulse point and licks. Arousal douses between your legs, your neck craning away for more access to him. Like a dog with a bell, you offer yourself to him. For one of his addicting bites. He takes the invitation but only gives small love bites. No fangs involved. He can hear your pout as you realize he isn’t giving you what you want. He gives a lovers mark to your neck as his hands once again massage into your sides.

“So needy for me.” He murmurs into your skin.

“I- I just” is all you can manage out before his hands begin to knead your aching breasts. His thumb coming up on each nipple and rubbing over them just lightly enough to send shockwaves down your spine. He takes your earlobe between his teeth and tugs playfully. His words sultry sweet in your ear as he rests cheek to cheek with you.

“If you want something, ask.” He tempts you.

“I want to touch you.” You respond with no hesitation.

“Ah ah ah, what’s the magic word?” He taunts you. He travels downwards, bending in order to take your nipple in his mouth. He suckles onto your sensitive nub while his other hand works on pinching and massaging your other nipple.

“P-please!” You beg. He had barely touched you and you already felt needy. Overstimulated just from his words and touches alone. You craved more and more would still not be enough.

“And?” He continues. His hands leave their ministrations on your breast and float to your pants. He works the buttons of them as he waits your next words.

“Please sir!” Oh. Well he had been looking for a ‘thank you’ but that did so very much more for him. His erection grows painful and he ruts into you without thought. The power he held over you in this moment was intoxicating. The sir only expediting that.

“Such a good girl for me, go ahead.” He praises you. Your arms scramble for his neck and loop around. He lifts himself up to meet you in a fiery kiss. Tongues dancing as you weave your fingers in his hair once more. You press him as close as you can, desperate for more of him. He breaks the kiss and gives you a devilish smile. One that promises so much absolute sin. Kisses rain down your chest to your stomach as he finally frees your pants and tugs them down. He gives a wide open mouth kiss to the front of your panties. You balance back on both arms as you watch him. He gives kisses and nips along the outer edges, marking your inner thighs. He takes the fabric of your underwear in his teeth and drags them down. His eyes boring into yours all the while, cocky as always. Your legs shake as your head falls back in bliss. You let out a shaky sigh as he helps you shimmy out of your pants completely. More nips and kisses follow before his hand rests flat against your sternum. You lift your head to look at him quizzically. He only presses further and you fall back onto the table. Your hands rest next to your head as he positions your hips to the edge of the table. He kneels before you ready to worship your body. He lifts your legs up and over his shoulders. The flat of his tongue swipes slowly bottom to top of your molten center. A surprised moan tumbles from your lips. Licks follow suit as he maps you out with his tongue. His tongue must be cursed or blessed with the way it moves with such skill. Lapping up your wetness in a way that rivals any succubus. His tongue finds your clit and his lips give you a kiss. From there he gently sucks, creating delicious waves of heat straight from your clit. You wish to claw into something. To hold on to dear life as Astarion makes a meal out of you. One hand squeezes onto your hip as the other comes up to where he kisses you. His fingers go into a v as he spreads you before him. He leaves your clit with a wet pop before watching himself spread you.

Everything about you was so incessantly perfect he wonders if it’ll drive him mad. The way you shudder and gasp at his every touch. Or how dripping wet you get for him before he has even entered you. He had said it once in jest, but he truly does believe the Gods may have made you just to ruin him. You were temptation incarnate, and he was but a weak man before you. He delves a finger into your plush walls and sensually curls his finger back and forth. Your whines only pick up in volume as he strokes inside you. Soon enough he builds a pace and he adds another finger to the mix. His tongue laps at the juices you give to him. There has never been such a delicious nectar to him. His own source of ambrosia. A well of liquid delicacy for him to take as he pleases. Your breath comes in hot spurts as you drive up the hill of ecstasy.

“Ah-Astarion! I’m gonna-“ your voice shakes as your body builds in momentum. Astarions fingers curl exactly where you need them to. He gives you one final slurp as your toes curl. Your back bends up as you slap a hand over your mouth. Your scream of ecstasy muffles behind your fingers. You feel nearly shame from cumming so easily. Astarion sees you gagging back your noises and in a flash is on top of you. His finger lace around your wrists on either side as he glares daggers into you. You can barely swallow under his piercing gaze.

“Don’t you ever hide those delectable noises from me, I want to hear exactly how good I make you feel.” He warns you. You can only nod weakly in return. Your breath trying to fill your lungs once again. You notice the way his loose white shirt tickles against your exposed chest.

“I think. I think it’s quite rude that you aren’t also undressed.” You try to puff out, giving him an exhausted smile. He gives you one in return and draws back to his full height before you. You watch as he practically rips the shirt off of himself as his pants follow suit. You lean back on your elbows to look over him in all his glory. His body is but a work of art. All toned chest without a single blemish. His cock stands tall against his abdomen, bobbing in anticipation. You salivate at just the sight of him. He can’t help but grin at the hungry look in your eyes, eating up the sight before you. On shaky legs you wiggle off the table and move in front of him. He watches you as you begin to sink to your knees in front of him. He grasps onto your shoulders before you can get down.

“There’ll be another time for that. I want you now.” For all his confidence you can sense the stronghold desire has on him in his voice. The way his adam's apple bobs up and down. How his eyes drink all of you in, never settling for just one spot. His pupils blown wide. You trace the pad of your finger under his chin and look up at him.

“So there’ll be another time? Quite self assured.” You tease. His hand comes up and grabs your throat, his thumb under your chin as his hands grip the back of your neck.

“So cheeky, with all that confidence let’s see how well you take me.” He throws back at you. Before you even blink he thrusts you to turn around. His arms come in large swipes across the table and scatters everything in sight. Trinkets, books and goblets go crashing to the floor as he pushes your front down onto the table. Your arms scramble for purchase on the slate as you look back at Astarion. He is the vision of wild abandon. Of carnal lust. He thrusts two fingers into your mouth with the order to suck. You do as you're told and wrap your tongue around the intruding fingers. A wet pop erupts from your mouth as he takes his wet fingers and slickens his length with it. You watch as he works himself to spread your saliva lubricant. You can’t help the hearty moan you let out watching his perfect cock be stroked by him.

“Enjoying the show?” He teases as he quirks an eyebrow at you.

“Very very much so.” You reply he gives that same wild grin.

“Very very much so..?” He questions, slowing the pace of his hand. You swallow hard.

“Very very much so sir.” You fix your statement. He groans as he tightens his grip on himself.

“You learn fast, lover.” He praises you once again as he lines himself up with your entrance. You wiggle yourself back onto him, grazing against his tip. His other hand comes to rest on the small of your back to keep you in place. He teases his tip against you, circling you but not entering. You groan in frustration.

“Astarion!” You whine. You try fruitlessly to move your hips in any way that could give you that much needed friction. He only tuts in disapproval. You have no other option but to squirm to get glimpses of his cock to brush against you.

“Beg.” The simple word falls from his mouth with all the confidence in the world. You whirl your head back at him.

“What?!” You ask astonished. His bravado doesn’t falter a second.

“Beg for my cock. Beg for me to give you what you obviously, desperately, want.” His voice is like honey, liquid gold spun into words. He teases you along with rubbing his tip into your opening. Just barely the head of him pushing into your aching hole and back out again. Over and over he gives you a glimmer of himself, just enough to have you feel as if you’re in a frenzy.

“Please Astarion! Please fuck me!” At your words he rams himself inside of you in a single hard thrust. A scream of ecstasy bounds out of you, taking all your air with it. Your nails dig into the desk clawing at nothing. Astarion grips your hips to ground himself and begins to pound into you. His hips meet yours in powerful spurts as he hits into you in a way that makes the world melt. He fills you in a way that stretches you perfectly. All your mind can think of is him. Of his cock. Of the way he makes you feel like no other person had before. With every slam of his cock you feel as if you may have died and went to heaven. A glorious warmth filling every part of you in a way that makes you forget you even have a body. You moan out his name as if it’s the only word you can even remember how to say. A prayer on your lips, Astarion all you know. Your babbling and whines only fill Astarion and spur him on. Every stutter of his name increasing his ecstasy. He hopes to brand the name on your tongue. To sear it into your mind. So then everytime you ever feel ecstasy it’s with the thought of him.

“Who is it that makes you feel so good darling?” Astarion asks between thrusts, grunts falling from his gritted teeth. You can barely get the answer out between groans.

“You! You Astarion!” Your words jumble as his lifts one of your legs and lays it up and onto the table. The change of position only allows him in deeper, filling more of your quaking center. You feel so amazingly full, engulfed in Astarion. He brings one arm up to your shaking shoulder and finds purchase there. His grip has your front half bending back onto yourself. Astarion leans forward and gives you a searing kiss as he thrusts into you. Once he breaks the kiss he pulls back and out of you.

“Astarion!” You scream in frustration. You flip over and very nearly run to off the table to grab him. Before you can get off the table he wraps each arm over each of your thighs and slides you down. His cock once again slotting between your folds. You feel the throbbing of him sending shocks against your center. You throw your hands up and press the heel of your palms into your eyes. You may just go mad if he keeps up this teasing.

“No no darling. I want to see that pretty face when I make you come. And I want your eyes on me when I fill you with my seed.” He growls. You push your hands up and away from your face. Your eyes trained on him as he lines himself up once again.

“Yes sir.” You barely get out as your voice shakes. He gives you an appreciative squeeze on your thighs. His cock finds its way inside you once again. This time his thrusts are sloppy. Astarion knows his time is close, anymore of this and he may cease to exist. The scent of sex and sweat filling his nostrils. He needed to take you now. Your voice is scratchy and raw as moans tumble out of you. His hands move up, one encircling your waist while the other cradles your head.

“Who makes you feel so good? Who makes you cum?” Astarion grunts between hard slaps of his hips into yours.

“Y-you. You Astarion.” You reply. His hips begin to falter, his climax reaching.

“Who do you belong to?” Astarion snarls.

“You! You Astarion!” You all but scream. That’s all Astarion needs as his climax begins to hit him.

“Mine!” He growls into your skin. Something animalistic takes over him. An ancient strong feeling of claiming. Without thought his teeth meet the flesh of your neck as he bites down. Your vision blurs as your shared ecstasy hits you as well. His bite throwing you over the edge. Your vision blurs and all you can see is the twinkles of his silver hair and the granite ceiling. Your peak filling you completely. Astarion claims you with his cum and coats your insides with him. The bond singing in all its glory in his head. A golden knot intertwines between your minds and tightens. A feeling of one, of shared presence washes over you both. Belonging. Togetherness. It cements into you both and glues you together. Astarion realizes it’s the bond clicking it’s final lock into place. By the look on your blissful face, he can tell you felt something to. What had he done?

Part 7 here

Part 9 here

[oliversrarebooks]

The Rare Bookseller Part 57: Fitz's Dance

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September 1905

tw: mind control, dehumanization, slavery, kidnapping, drugging

He was being shaken gently, and he managed to crack open his heavy eyes. "Nnnn… let me sleep…"

"You need to wake up now, Fitz," said his master, and Fitz's eyes popped open with a gasp.

"What happened?" he said, looking around. He wasn't in the middle of the party any longer, but seemed to have been taken to a darkened hallway. He could hear the muffled din of the party from a distance -- or maybe it just seemed muffled because his head still felt stuffed full of cotton.

"I did something ridiculous and petty," said Lex. "That rat Jameson wound me up, and instead of ignoring his bait, I just had to show off. I put every thrall in earshot under my power." He sighed. "You must think it's ridiculous. I put both of us in more danger simply for a cheap thrill, and -- why are you smiling like that? Did I not wake you from trance?"

Fitz couldn't hold back the slightly maniacal laugh bubbling up inside him. "Perhaps I'm pleased that my dashing master swooped in to rescue me, and that he made such an ostentatious show of power just because he could."

"You're not upset with me?"

"Lex. Do you really think I would be upset with you for making a big dramatic scene in the middle of a party? I'm just glad that I got to witness it -- well, the beginning of it, anyway. And after that -- Jameson, was it? -- called me filthy cattle and called you a half-wit, he deserved everything he got and more." Fitz leaned in closer to Lex. "You have to tell me about the look on his face. I was trying to stay awake to see it, but… you know."

"Oh, he was absolutely furious, with nothing to say," said Lex, finally returning Fitz's gleeful smile. "As ill-advised an idea as it was, it was very satisfying after what he tried to do to you."

It felt intoxicating, to have Lex defending him so eagerly, to have such a powerful vampire at his beck and call. "That idea barely counts as ill-advised. I used to do a dozen things more ill-advised than that over the course of a normal week."

"It just calls attention to us, which is something I normally prefer to avoid. I'm powerful, yes, but not invincible. It's generally not wise to make yourself a target," he said. He picked up Fitz's aching wrist and gently stroked his thumb across it. "Are you hurt?"

"It's a bit sore, but nothing serious. I'm fine."

"Jameson said you had fallen under the sway of Lord Edgar. Is that true?"

"I wasn't -- I wasn't under a sway," Fitz protested. "I was simply distracted for a minute and got separated from you. That's all."

Lex cupped his cheek. "Fitz, you have to tell me what happened so I can be on my guard against it."

"Damn you and your eyes," said Fitz, caving to Lex's worried look as he always did. "…He had a pocket watch out, hypnotizing some other thrall," Fitz admitted sheepishly. "I stupidly looked at the damned thing, and the next thing I knew, I couldn't look away. Ugh, I made a fool of myself."

"You didn't make a fool of yourself. Edgar is an old, prominent vampire, and his enthrallment skills were some of the best in the city before Lily and I were sired. Steer clear of him, and watch yourself around any other vampires using their powers, all right?" He squeezed Fitz's hand. "Do you want to leave? If you don't want to be here any more, we can leave. I wouldn't think any less of you."

"What? No. This is by far the most interesting thing that's happened to me in weeks," said Fitz honestly. "I can handle it. And if I can't, well… you'll bail me out, won't you, sir?"

Lex sighed. "You might be the death of me yet," he said fondly, running his hand through Fitz's hair and planting a kiss on his forehead. "If you're that eager to stay, we can. But the dance will likely be starting soon, and I might not be able to keep my eyes on you."

"What, you're not going to dance with me?"

"Of course I will, but during this dance, it's customary to constantly switch partners. Thralls need to dance with whatever vampire wishes. We'll very likely be separated, and someone like Jameson might even take the opportunity to harass you."

"I'm not afraid of Jameson," Fitz lied, pushing the memories of how his skin itched from Jameson's vampiric aura, how for one bleak moment he was sure he was going to die.

"Perhaps you should be," said Lex. "Edgar as well. Vampires who keep their thralls in deep, mindless states are often not friendly towards humans. The only reason they'll refrain from drinking from you and doing as they please is because they believe you're my property."

"Aren't I? You did purchase me."

"You're much more than that, and I truly hope you know that," said Lex. "But as I've told you before, most vampires here would think I'm a deviant for having such… feelings… for a thrall."

"And what's wrong with being a deviant?" said Fitz with a blinding grin.

"…Vampire society, like human society, isn't kind to those who violate the unspoken rules." Lex glanced at the end of the hallway. "Well, if we're going to return, perhaps we should before the dance starts." He took Fitz's arm in an uncomfortably tight grip, clearly still upset about another vampire having laid a hand on his thrall, and Fitz couldn't help the little thrill he felt about that.

Fitz was dazzled all over again by the costumes and spectacle as they re-entered the main ballroom. Lex, however, was scanning the crowd with a purpose. "I suppose I should find someone agreeable to mingle with, before someone less agreeable notices I'm free. Maybe -- oh, there she is."

Fitz was pulled toward a small gathering of thralls, some of them kneeling, some of them swaying gently, all of them with dazed and blissful smiles. "What vampire brought an entire herd with them?"

"She didn't bring a herd of thralls. A herd of thralls simply forms around her at these events, since so many of them are attuned to her voice."

The group parted enough to reveal a petite woman in a beautiful green gown, her matching mask bearing several sparkling peacock feathers. Despite her small size, she had a commanding presence, and Fitz felt her voice before he could even make out what she was saying, felt it resonating somewhere deep in his mind.

"Miss Lily," he said, memories of the auction house flooding back. The logical part of him thought that he should feel fear or anger at the sight of the woman who kidnapped him, but the deeply ingrained thoughts of hypnotic bliss were stronger. Besides, if it weren't for her, he never would have met Lex.

"Oh, if it isn't dear Fitz!" she said, and Fitz felt powerless to move as she approached and laid a hand on his cheek. "You look well. I assume your master has been treating you right?"

"Yes, sir," he said far too quietly. Just the proximity to Lily was sinking him back into a hypnotic daze. He shook himself out of it, cursing under his breath. "I've been taking good care of Lex here," he said with a mischievous grin, grabbing Lex's arm.

"Good, he needs someone to take care of him."

"I'm hardly that hopeless," said Lex. "I see you've gathered quite a crowd."

"I speak, and thralls listen," she said with a smug grin. "Although I don't usually flaunt it as dramatically as you did earlier. I saw that little stunt with Jameson." She leaned in towards Fitz. "And I saw you spit in his face. I knew there was a reason you were one of my favorite thralls."

Fitz didn't bother to fight the warmth blooming in his chest at Lily's praise. "He was about to drink me, sir. I hardly had a choice in the matter unless I wanted to become some oaf's midnight snack."

Lily laughed. "As much as he did deserve it, be careful. Lord Jameson has few friends, but there are also many vampires who won't suffer the presence of a disrespectful thrall. You should know that, Lex."

"I don't keep Fitz on a leash like a dog, and you know that. He's free to do and say what he wants. Anyone who takes issue with that can answer to me," said Lex, and Fitz's heart fluttered.

"Between that and your all-too-obvious affection… you do realize that our sire is going to hear about this, right? I don't know how he knows, but he does."

"So let him stew in his manor. Perhaps someday soon, he'll also have to answer to me." Despite his bold words, Lex's face showed his concern, and Fitz couldn't help the suppressed fear bubbling to the forefront. "But let's not talk about him. This is a party. You've been working so much that I've hardly even seen you. Don't you want to make merry?"

"I never thought I'd see the day when you were telling me to be more merry. Fitz really must be taking good care of you," she said.

They laughed and chatted for a bit longer, until a cacophony from the stage at the back of the ballroom served as the announcement that the band was setting up. Around them, vampires took their thralls by the arms and began to gather on the dance floor.

"Shall we?" said Fitz, offering his arm before Lex had the chance. Lex smiled and took it, allowing Fitz to lead him on.

"Dance with whatever vampire engages you. I'll find you at the end of the dance," said Lex quietly as the music started up. "And, you know…"

"I'll try not to offend their delicate sensibilities," said Fitz. "For supernaturally strong immortal beings, some of them seem quite fragile."

"Too much time spent with nothing but mindlessly fawning thralls and spawn will do that."

Fitz placed his hand on Lex's back and began to effortlessly lead him through the room in a waltz. His dance lessons were some of the only lessons he'd actually enjoyed as a lad, and he was proud of how graceful his steps were, how Lex easily followed. He'd always lamented that his skill in dance would be wasted in stuffy society balls; he'd never expected he'd be using it to weave in and out of masked vampires, his heart brimming with the thrill of being one of the few lucid lambs among the wolves.

And as they twirled around, Fitz could hardly tear his gaze off of Lex's intense blue eyes, boring into him with such intensity that he couldn't imagine any other vampire cutting in. "I'm surprised vampires allow their thralls to dance with anyone else. An unusual tradition."

Lex shrugged. "The mild taboo of it is what makes it interesting, I suppose. The power play, the chance to touch a thrall you could otherwise never."

Fitz could understand the intriguing novelty of that. "Oh? And is there a thrall here you've just been dying to touch?"

"Only you," said Lex. "Although I suppose others here would enjoy touching you as well. I'll have to endure it."

"They're all staring at us," said Fitz, watching heads turn as he glided past, unable to deny the thrill of desirability. "We just might be the most handsome pair here."

"That may be true, but that's not the only reason they're staring. It's because you're leading."

"Leading?" Fitz hadn't even thought about it, falling back into his lessons. "We're both men, though. Does it matter who leads?"

"Yes, but not because we're both men, but because you're a thrall leading a vampire."

Of course, he should've realized that -- every social rule Fitz stumbled across seemed to revolve around keeping thralls beneath them. He continued to lead the dance with renewed stubbornness now that he knew it was a transgression, and Lex kept following. "If that's so, then what happens if two vampires dance? Or two thralls?"

"If it's two vampires, the more powerful one leads, and yes, this has led to actual brawls on the dance floor. If it's two thralls… no one cares."

Before Fitz could question Lex further, a female vampire in a sleek dress that would have been considered scandalous in human company tapped Lex on the shoulder. In a swift motion, Lex bowed to her and motioned to Fitz. Ah, right, trading partners. He curtsied to the woman and took the lead on instinct before he remembered he wasn't supposed to be doing that.

The vampire laughed. "A thrall that leads the dance! That's such an adorable parlor trick. And you're skilled at it, too, aren't you?"

"I like to think so, sir," said Fitz, suppressing the urge to keep his eye on Lex. He'd be fine, he could handle himself.

"It's just the cutest thing when vampires let their thralls think they're so independent. And Mr. Alexander is so handsome, too! You're a lucky boy, aren't you?"

Okay, perhaps he couldn't handle himself, gritting his teeth against the insinuation that his free will was an illusion. Thankfully, before he had to form a response, another vampire cut in, grabbing the lead from Fitz before he realized it. This vampire didn't say anything, but he had an appraising, hungry look in his eye that Fitz found unnerving.

His mind was still spinning with what the previous vampire had said -- that thralls like him just think they're independent. It wasn't true, obviously. He was still himself, still had his own thoughts.

…But of course, if Lex had used his prodigious hypnotic powers to subdue Fitz in ways he didn't even realize…

Another vampire cut in, and Fitz momentarily thought it would be a reprieve from that uncomfortable gaze, until he realized who he was now dancing with.

"If you think your master will shield you from all consequences of disrespecting me, you're sorely mistaken," said Jameson, pulling Fitz along in a clumsy facsimile of dance, with a tight and furious fake smile.

Fitz swallowed his fear and put on a contemptuous face. "Well, if you're going to punish me, sir, get on with it. Or are your atrocious dancing skills my punishment?"

"Oh, it will be so deeply satisfying to silence you forever," he said.

"Is that a threat, sir?"

"It's a vision."

Someone tapped Fitz's shoulder, and he was more than eager to let another vampire cut in and escape from Jameson. He turned, and was swept up by a man in an impeccably tailored suit, wearing a sparkling white mask with blue feathers, gliding easily across the dance floor. Fitz looked up and found himself looking into deep, dark eyes.

"That's it, boy. Focus," said the soft but firm voice. "Look straight into my eyes."

Fitz swallowed hard, eyes widening, as he felt himself practically falling into those eyes, completely unable to look away. As his brain caught up to what was happening, he realized that this was the same vampire who had been swinging the pocket watch earlier, the one who had captured his attention so easily -- Lord Edgar, Lex had said.

The other vampire he was supposed to stay away from.

"There you are. Everything has its place, and you need to be put in yours, don't you?" he said. "I saw your little stunt earlier. A born thrall like you would be so much happier with your will dissolved into obedience."

"N-no… what are you trying to do, sir…?" Fitz managed to get out, struggling against the unnatural urge to obey and submit. This Lord Edgar was bold enough to entrance Fitz right on the dance floor, right under Lex's nose, and Fitz found himself powerless to stop it.

"Your master isn't giving you what you crave. You need real guidance, real power. It's written all over your face."

"I… don't…" He could feel his will being locked down, a cage with no escape.

"May I have this dance?" said another nearby voice.

"I'll see to you later, then," said Edgar, passing Fitz over to…

"You looked like you needed a bit of rescuing," said Miss Lily. "Don't ever say I haven't done anything for you."

"You're the reason I'm here in the first place," Fitz pointed out as he regained his senses. "…But yes, thank you."

Miss Lily glanced over at Edgar. "He had you under his spell, didn't he? What was that about?"

"Punishment for speaking my mind with Jameson, sir, at least I think."

"Hmph, figures. I didn't think anyone would actually want to defend Jameson… knowing Edgar, it's probably more that he doesn't like so-called disrespectful thralls." She smiled at Fitz as she led him in the dance. "No taste, if you ask me. I think I did an excellent job with you."

"You had high quality material to work with, sir." This vampire gathering certainly made Miss Lily seem like the lesser of many evils.

"I don't see Lex anywhere in this crowd, do you?"

The room was a dizzying chaos of elaborate gowns and masks, vampires and thralls crowded together. "No, sir, I don't."

"When you see him again once the dance ends, let him know what Edgar said to you. And be careful!"

"You're concerned for my wellbeing now, sir?"

"Why of course, you're my dear Lex's precious thrall. And if anything happens to you, I'll have to deal with him moping and whining for months."

Lily relinquished Fitz to another vampire trying to cut in, and Fitz was barely paying attention to who it was, nodding his head to whatever they were talking about. He was trying to spot Lex in the crowd -- or, failing that, to make sure he kept his distance from Jameson and Edgar. He was passed to another vampire, and then the next, and just as he was starting to get frustrated, his thoughts scattered to the winds, mind filling with haze.

"Why hello there, you cute thing!" Lady Jessica patted his cheek, cooing at him. "You're just the sweetest, aren't you?"

"Uh… sweetest…yes, sir…" said Fitz, once again fighting against a current of mind-bending power, this one threatening to drain him of his thoughts.

"Such an adorable, dazed look on your precious little face! Oooh, I could just eat you up! I know Mr. Alexander would never allow it, though, so I'll just have to imagine how good you taste."

Fitz's mind, already compromised from various enthrallments and the high concentration of vampire auras in the room, had little defense against Jessica turning it to mush. "Yeah… I'm looking for him, sir… for Lex…"

"Awww, the poor little thrall misses his master! Of course you do, sweetheart. Let's see if we can find him?"

He nodded dumbly. That sounded good. He'd like to be in Lex's arms where he was safe. The room was too loud, too bright, and and too chaotic for his dampened mind.

"Excuse me, Lady Jessica," said a voice behind him. He recognized that voice. This was important. Who was it?

Jessica pressed Fitz to her chest protectively. "Aw, I have to give this doll up already? If you insist."

And Fitz, already incapacitated by Jessica, had very little defense as he found himself looking all too deep into Edgar's eyes again.

"Focus. There you are," he said, with a firmness that indicated he wasn't going to miss his target this time. "Look deep into my eyes, and sleep in my will."

"Nnnnn," Fitz groaned, succumbing all too quickly. He was being pulled, taken somewhere, and he dimly realized he was in danger of something more than being insulted and condescended to. "Lex --"

A hand clamped over his mouth before he could do more than weakly call out. "None of that. You will sleep. Sleep. Sleeeeeep."

Fitz felt his limbs grow heavy, his vision blurring as his eyelids drooped. He was someplace darker than the ballroom, now. The hand left his mouth, but before he could react in his drowsy state, a cloth with a noxious smell was pressed hard to his face.

"This will help you sleep," whispered the calm and commanding voice in his ear. "Go to sleep now, boy. Just sleep."

He was too weak and enthralled to try and pull the cloth away, to do anything but let his head spin and consciousness fade. His last thought before going under was that Lex would be so mad at him.

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Next week, the conclusion to Fitz's little adventure.

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IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - LDPDL: Burning Questions

I was reading this Variety article, and they mentioned something that made me think of fan critiques of Louis' opaque motivations in the finale, and the fun laughs we've shared over how he's so unbothered by vamp nonsense that he never seems to ask important questions.

I'm drafting a separate post specifically about "Vampire Grace," but I wanted to focus here on only one point in particular:

PAUL.

We always talk about whether Louis chose Lestat over Claudia; "you take him with you, in HERE!" But I haven't seen talk about how Louis chose Lestat over Paul, and how that factors into Lou's habit of not asking HELLA important questions that could've saved Loustat DECADES of resentment.

Paul's suicide "opened the series," setting this whole thing in motion. Florence blames Louis for his death, making Lou feel like a failure.

--the first time we see Louis outright say to someone's face "I love you," it's mere seconds b4 Paul jumps off a roof. (The only other person we see him say it to is Armand, right after saying they're not companions. 💀)

Paul's memory is wrapped up in Louis' love of Lestat, cuz until Les showed up, Paul had been Lou's one and only companion--the sole person he could TALK to. As a closeted gay man, Lou was desperate for MALE companionship: understanding, acceptance & love.

Sure, he had Grace & Lily (& later Claudia)--all WOMEN--but:

his daddy's dead, and who knows what their deal was, but it couldn't be worse than effing Florence. So there's a lingering want of a father-figure; someone older/wiser who could teach & guide Lou when he was feeling "lost...in a dark way" (*cough* Armand *cough*)

a father or brother is still not the companion Louis REALLY wants/needs, so ofc there's things Lou can't tell Paul, or have with him. Les's an upgraded Paul-- a HUSBAND, not a SIBLING (*cough* Claudia *cough*).

(deep down) Lou was jealous of how candid & honest Paul was; regardless that Paul's lack of a filter was a side effect of his mental illness & religious fanaticism (cuz vampirism's an allegory for sexuality--and even in gay mecca Paris & SanFran Lou was still tryna "find himself" as the Zodiac Killer *cough Daniel *cough*)

Paul's dying wish was for Loustat to never be together

and Lou felt he'd betrayed Paul; that he'd lied/hadn't kept his word

folding like a leaf rather than saying NO, or killing himself like he'd implied (suicide by vampire instead of cane-sword/alcohol poisoning)

(and Queen Claudia called Lestat the "Father of Lies" (aka The Devil), and she ain't never lie a day in her life, either)

So the Catholic guilt was extra strong, cuz Saint Paul was right about Les; but Lou chose Les anyway--in the church, on the altar--after Paul died trusting that Lou WOULDN'T take him back.

Instead, we get this boatload of excuses from Louis about the "vampire bond," when the only bond that matters is LOVE. But this is the crux of Louis' personality/problems, and why the interview took so long for him to attempt either the 1st or 2nd time around. Cuz Louis is a hypocritical coward stuffed to gills with self-loathing & GUILT. He runs away from the truth, he runs away from his issues, and he hides from himself and everyone around him.

So OF COURSE Louis doesn't ask important questions. It's not that he doesn't care--it's that HE'S SCARED of asking, and terrified of what the answer is. So it takes him forever to even BEGIN addressing the elephants in the room.

Louis ALWAYS suspected. But he was:

Scared of the answer/truth

Scared that Les would LIE

Scared he'd forgive Les regardless

Paul died in 1911. It had been 26 YEARS until Lou finally piped up in 1937 (the end of Les's Grovel Era). But this was the PERFECT chance to call Les' bluff & get some honest answers out of him for once, cuz:

If Les (unapologetically) caused Paul's death, he can just stay gone

It's in Les' best interest to tell the truth regardless, cuz he's been desperately tryna get back in Lou's (& Claudia's) good graces for 6 years, and being sincere will earn him more cookies (he'd also be banking on Lou forgiving him regardless, cuz he's been missing Les so bad, even after being beat into the next decade & dropped a billion miles in the air)

If Les IS lying, how would they even frikkin know if they can't read his mind? Lou just wants to see what Les will say

(In 2x6 he waited to ask Madeleine if she only saw Claudia as a replacement for her dead sister--a question he should've asked BEFORE he Turned her, but... 🤷 Moot.)

So in the finale, there's 2 painful truths Lou has to contend with:

WHY is he doing the 2nd interview?

WHO saved him during the Trial?

It takes Louis 77 YEARS to reclaim the "pieces of myself" he'd lost/forgotten. He ALWAYS knew things weren't adding up with Armand. He KNEW there were things missing. Even in SanFran, BEFORE the mind-wipe, he was already losing his mind/memories--PTSD from all the awful things he'd been through.

Even book!Louis knew about Claudia's diaries for a decade b4 he finally got the courage to ask the Talamasca if he could read them & speak to her ghost.

Although Lou's naive AF, he's not an idiot--he HAD A HUNCH that Armand knew more than he was letting on, which is precisely why he kept ignoring Armand every time he asked to stop the interview.

However, for once, Lou actually wastes VERY little time with this one:

As soon as he learns the truth about "Banishment," he divorces Armand, and runs back to NOLA to find Lestat. Memory is a monster Lou'd been running scared from all this time. He's tired of running away, wasting so much time, wasting the gift, when he could be actively tryna solve his problems to make life bearable/better. The hellish prison he'd lived in was by his own design--only he could chose to stand up, take control of his life; and finally ask the burning questions. "Truth and reconciliation."

Lou could finally make peace with the memory of the two people he'd been avoiding for so long; whom he felt he'd let down the most:

For once Lou chooses to be "companion enough for myself," and live with/for himself, not relying other people to save/fix/determine his life for him anymore. That's really the only way he'll be able to be with Les in a healthier, guilt-free relationship in the future.

[noblehouseofgay]

Marauders era characters playing the sims

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Barty- the definition of torture. Literally makes them suffer in every way the game allows, including murder mods. He also has wicked whims installed for his sim and his little Evan sim to use right on top of his crime scenes

Evan- tortures them but in a different way. He sets up multiple rooms, one sim each. And it's a test. Who can survive the longest. Each room includes one way to die. The last sim standing gets to live

Sirius- lives out his rockstar dreams via sim. Secretly makes wolfstar for his sims, but not without drama. His sim is a player that's banged half the town, until he unexpectedly falls in love with a werewolf he met in a bar

James- makes all his friends as sims. Makes wolfstar happen bc he's their number one shipper. (He also makes jegulus happen but hides it from sirius bc even just in a game, he knows sirius would chase him down)

Regulus- makes a sim of himself and takes over the spellcaster world, vampire world, and is working his way to control the werewolves next. Why? Bc he can

Remus- simply just plays the game. As intended. He lives out a calm little life with sirius where he's not a werewolf

Lily- 100 baby challenge. Now don't twist this into something let me explain. I think she would love a challenge, plus I think Lily likes kids. So doing a sim based challenge sounds right up her alley. And she'd succeed ofc. She'd learn all the tips and trick and have to completed within the month. And once she's done with that, she'd move on to a legacy challenge

Marlene- runs a crime mafia with a little sim dorcas at her side. She fights every sim who looks at her wrong and wins

Dorcas- doesn't play the game alone, instead she does download a fuck ton of cc and helps marlene with her mafia empire

Peter- plays the game as intended. Has a little cottage where he grows plants and sells them

Pandora- lures in townies with her kindness and them traps them in the basement of her house, never to be seen again. She experiments on them ofc, and when they can't handle it anymore they simply perish

Mary- maxes out every career in the game for fun. She has one sim and that sim has taken over the business world in every sense. She owns a 5 star restaurant, is a famous celebrity, and she's the best politician the sims world has ever seen

[thebestofoneshots]

IDEAS? I GOT YOU!!!

ok so this just came to me as I was reading your response but VAMPIRE READER MY BELOVED!!!!

Hear me out! Plot point I imagine:

It’s a full moon lily goes out to the forbidden forest (this could be before lily finds out about Remus being a werewolf or maybe she had to go get something and she’s only on the outskirts of the forest ) she’s trying to get what she needs quickly and efficiently as it is late and well forbidden. She hears something lurking around her but she can’t tell from which direction. Is it a deer? A bunny? Another person? She doesn’t really want to find out so instead she quickly and quietly decides to get the hell out of there but before she can successfully leave the forest MOONY JUMPS OUT! Lilly stumbles back before booking it in the other direction not thinking about anything besides “get the fuck away from the danger” moony is gaining fast but before he can catch her JAMES COMES TO THE THE RESCUE! he shoves moony aside and tries to keep moony away from lily. At first lily stares at the stag in shock because holy shit this giant stag just saved me but as moony tries to claw at her and the stag bellows (is that what it’s called?) she remembers her need to run and starts running again. But uh oh! Her ankle is twisted! So now she’s hobbling away as fast as she can cursing under her breath because she’s too smart to get herself into such a dumb situation like this!

Now there’s only so much James can do against moony by himself but he tries his damn hardest before moony gets out of his hold and starts chasing after Lily again this time with James hot on his tail. James yet again shoves moony aside and they tussle on the ground as lily is just inches away watching in horror as the stag who saved her gets throw into a tree. This is it she thinks. This is how I die. As the stag calls out a pained cry and as she closes her eyes accepting her early demise……nothing. Wait nothing? Quickly she opens her eyes to see someone in front of her. READER! Who in their right mind would fight a werewolf? How is this person fighting a werewolf bare handed? She stares up at this mystery person and can only see so much. because of the darkness theses not enough to she can conclude about this person but she can tell they went to hogwarts based on the clothes they’re wearing. As she continues to stare in shock she notices the person is holding the werewolf back by its jaw. Drool dripping down the persons arms. The stag is watching in shock or confusion? It’s hard to tell knowing he’s probably concussed.

The mystery person tells lily to run. She can see the persons canines and is appalled at how sharp they are. Are those fangs? She wonders. But before she can ask out loud they yell for her to run as they throw the werewolf back at least a couple feet and without a second thought she runs as fast as her sprained ankle can handle. Hearing grunts and growls in the distance. She runs as she hears screams. She runs until she reaches hogwarts. She runs until she reaches the gryfindor common room. She runs until she reaches her dorm room. She slides down the door and try’s to catch her breath closing her eyes until she ends up falling asleep against the door.

This was long and probably really shitty but hear me out. you can take this and make it like 10 times better it’d be amazing!

OK IM GONE!!! 🏃‍♀️

BRO I LOVE THIS!

AND it could totally be the beginning of the story as well. We could INTRODUCE the reader like this and start it with Lily's POV. I mean omniscient but focusing on her, and then from there build up until that point and the moment she sees the reader she can have a mini sexuality crisis bc HOW can this hot person do this?

But also, I kinda dig the idea that Remus would absolutely love the reader on a platonic kind of way because OMG there IS someone in the world that could actually fucking control Moony and they would become besties bc neither of them asked to be what they are and it'd be so freaking interested in exploring that side of the story as well.

AND since I AM writing vampires for the last Maraudween I feel like I'm actually going to have enough practice to be able to make this one happen ufff.

AND THE NAME?!?!? We could have a super meta name for the story bc Vampires are already super cool and did I mention to you guys I'm currently reading Dracula? I'm SOOOOO ready for this one!

[struttingstag]

Week 3 Recap

The Strutting Slut Fest is a prompt-based fest run by The Strutting Stag pairing James Potter with at least two characters.

pulling pigtails (4888 words, rated T) by @gracelesslady23 Sirius Black/James Potter/Severus Snape

Severus has been on the receiving end of pranks from bitter rivals, Black and Potter, for close to seven years and believes himself to be well and truly sick of it. But after an eye-opening conversation with Lily (which includes the mention of a very famous muggle adage) Severus finds his perspective shifting. Can it be that Potter and Black are so emotionally repressed that they are using pranking as a form of flirting? And is Severus so lacking in good taste that he finds himself actually enjoying their attention? aka. a silly little starbucksprince rom com where none of them know how to properly communicate their feelings, but it all works out in the end.

Lips Like Morphine  (9708 words, rated E) by @bluedahlia912 Regulus Black/James Potter

He wanted to get closer, needed more, more. James was still just barely hovering over Regulus, one leg positioned between both of his own. Regulus began grinding his ever-hardening cock against the muscular thigh, the frottage doing pleasant things that had him moaning, making sounds he didn’t realize he was capable of making. “Careful love,” James purred, and the sound of his voice nearly sent Regulus over the edge. “Not yet.” OR Regulus Black goes to Potter Castle to repair his relationship with his brother. Little does he know that he has strayed willingly into the midst of vampires; AKA the vampire smut I’ve always wanted to write.

the alchemy (4119 words, rated T) by @ghst-boys Regulus Black/James Potter, Narcissa Black/James Potter, Past Lily Evans/James Potter, Minor Lily Evans/Pandora Lovegood

James Potter is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, and he has what appears to be the perfect relationship with Lily Evans. But what if things are not all they appear to be?

Scandal does funny things to pride (But brings lovers closer) (3801 words, rated E) by @dyke--vader James Potter/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Potter

James knew what he should do. He should accompany Ron to the clinic. He should pay any necessary costs, be there for him as he recovers. They should end things. It was clear that they didn’t know how to stop themselves, how they’d taken every precaution necessary at the start - yet let their relationship wear down the safeguards until they had toed the line too closely. But when James looked at Ron, he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

What Are Friends For (ongoing, 9k+ words, rated E) by @samynnad102687 Regulus Black/James Potter, Barty Crouch Jr./James Potter/Evan Rosier, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin/James Potter, Lily Evans/Pandora Lovegood/James Potter, Regulus Black/Barty Crouch Jr./James Potter/Evan Rosier

James has ADHD and his mind is a mess. The only way to make it go quiet is by being fucked dumb. His friends decide to help. Prompt for Strutting Slut Fest 2024 A 5 + 1 Smut fic: Five times the members of the polycule fucked James stupid and one time James wanted them to but they all took care of him instead.

Venom Dripping In Your Mouth (9443 words, rated E) by @arviyya Regulus Black/James Potter, Barty Crouch Jr./Evan Rosier, Regulus Black/Barty Crouch Jr./James Potter/Evan Rosier

If you were to ask Regulus how he ended up here, he would tell you with conviction that he has no fucking idea. However, that would be a lie. And, now he’s the one with a vampire’s hand digging into his back, his cold lips pressed against Regulus’ ear, voice a growl so low that it’s a mere breath, enough to send shivers to every inch of his body, “For someone who was clearly searching for this, you seem more than a little terrified, sweetheart." Or: Regulus is a bio-chem undergrad fulfilling a humanities credit when he realizes there may be something strange about his professors, James and Evan. He finds more than he bargains for when he decides to test his theory with his best friend Barty in tow, leading to Regulus and Barty becoming human sippy cups.

[a-sunset-outside-my-window]

fic rec (not) friday

sharp as teeth and scars (i can't give you up)

by @barkatthemooninsteadofwriting on Ao3

The man, vampire, hovering above him, straddling his hips with his wrists pinned beneath his knees, is beautiful. He’s made of starlight, silver eyes burning in the dim alleyway, white skin luminescent and glowing from within, fangs flashing as he licks his upper lip.

Their eyes meet, and the entire universe shifts on its axis, everything around them fading away into nothingness. His lungs are frozen, those silver eyes staring into his very soul, and he’s never felt so terribly seen. He finally drags in a shallow breath, and instead of the usual panic that accompanies the scent of a vampire, all he feels is peace.

He supposes that dying here, at the hands of the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen, isn’t the worst way to go. Remus Lupin is broke, a werewolf, struggling through college, perpetually exhausted, and a vampire hunter.

Sirius Black is a vampire.

They should hate each other, because of what they are.

Surprisingly, they don't.

if you like vampire!sirius and werewolf!remus this is the fic for you!! i honestly just realised how under appreciated it was and there is no reason for that! It's a little smuttier than what I usually recommend but it honestly works really well!

Favourite tropes included are:

Vampire!Sirius

Werewolf!Remus

Enemies (sort of) to lovers

James and Lily are very supportive friends

Soulmate shenanigans (again, sort of)

Sirius befriends a cat

caring for each other

COMMUNICATION

there is a pheasant on the toilet

As always, leave lots of love and kudos to the author and have an amazing rest of the week <3

[mahi-does-some-art]

Mahiru Shirota's life is going to fall apart as soon as we get any, any new information about his mother.

With chapter 136, Lily reveals to Misono that Touma Taishi is Mahiru Shirota's biological father and it was the reason why Lily had planted Kuro in that alleyway to pick up. I am inclined to believe him because it adds up in the story as a whole; Why Kuro was there in the first place since we know he had been asleep under Alicein manor for the last 200 years.

Along with the fact that Hokaze (Misono's mom) was finally revealed to be a promiscuous woman who was a very active participant in the cheating scandal, I cannot believe that Akira was in no way involved in this plot to resurrect the Count Saint Germaine. Akira may not be on the side that wants to bring him back but she was a part of it no less, we just do not know how yet. (I am figuratively biting my nails waiting to see the ball drop for her)

She was very aware of vampires, magic and mages, this is a fact not because we know that she herself is a mage, we do not know that much, but because of Tooru. He attended the same high school/prep school that Misono does that has direct ties to C3 recruitment and we know he's been involved with Touma since his days there and they fought/killed vampires since then. Along with the Shirota family no doubt being a mage family, Akira was not at all oblivious to this.

I do not, however, think that her sleeping with Touma and creating Mahiru was any plot nudged by any Servamp or like. Why?

Because Lily had genuinely believed that Touma would come to Mahiru's aid in a life-or-death situation that would have otherwise killed him, and was rather shocked when Touma tried to kill him on his own. At least according to what he told Misono. (I believe most of what he's telling Misono except that he doesn't actually care about Misono. I think he's trying to made Misono mad at him beyond reconciliation for Reasons because he's a fucking coward who, if loved properly, won't be able to go through with his and Mikuni's plans)

Anyways, the reason I say Mahiru's entire world will fall apart instead of his views of his mother is because of one specific instance in the manga; Tooru thanking Mahiru for saving Touma. Not for saving Tsurugi like Mahiru probably thinks he was saying, Touma. Because Lily's plan included Touma dying because he was so close to figuring out how they were going to revive the Count.

If Touma HAD died, the good guys wouldn't know what would be happening. Tsubaki, Envy pair and Lily would have been completely clear to start the ritual while completely blindsiding everyone opposed ON TOP of starting the ritual a day early. They'd have been a lot less prepared than they are right now. Touma was a huge danger to the ritual's success.

Tooru knows this. He knows whats happening. Yes, he's also just relieved his childhood friend and coworker isn't dead thanks to his nephew but that isn't the only reason.

Why would Tooru leave Mahiru alone with Tsubaki in the restaurant they went to? Why would Tooru pretend Kuro was a burglar when he saw him chilling in the apartment and then so quickly drop the fact that there supposedly was a burglar in the house, all when we know he must have known who Kuro was the moment he saw him. Even if this was early manga and we did not yet know he was an elite of C3!

Mahiru's entire world is going to fall apart not only because he'll learn his mother is not the woman he thought she was, but because he'll learn he's been betrayed by his uncle in a way far greater than him leaving him alone and lonely for months at a time.

Tooru knows. And has made sure Mahiru didn't under the naive guise of protecting him.

[waterlilychaser]

olivia rodrigo is secretly regulily (aka how i think every one of her songs relates to lily evans and regulus black)

brutal - “i’m so sick of seventeen, where’s my fucking tonnage dream” you can’t tell me this isn’t regulus as a death eater. if choices was a tv show, i would play this song as his intro after the time jump and you can’t tell me it wouldn’t SLAP

traitor - i’m not a big fan of a jegulily cheating fic because i want them all to kiss eachother on the mouth in succession, but i have read some fics where lily and james are together but then he leaves to be with regulus, so i think this song could be from lily’s perspective in a situation like that. or vice versa!

drivers license - sounds like lily being betrayed by regulus joining the death eaters and the cult against people like her tbh

1 step forward, 3 steps back - i feel like this song would be what it would be like to date regulus black. i love him, but his partners would never know where he’s at in a relationship.

deja vu - again i feel like this could be about either regulus or lily being jealous or resentful of the other once they go and be in a relationship with james. i find them to be really similar characters in a lot of ways, so i think it suits it really well

enough for you - the title says it all. this is a regulus black anthem.

happier - another potential lily/regulus/james triangle angst situation

jealousy, jealousy- i see this one for lily because growing up with a sister and living with girls all the time i think it would be really easy to compare yourself to them a lot. and also when you are in such close proximity to people you tend to learn a lot about them, see what kind of lives they lead, and end up feeling like you fall short in comparison.

hope ur ok - “well i hope you know how proud i am you were created, with the courage to unlearn all of their hatred” is actually lily evans talking to regulus black actually

all american bitch - i headcanon lily as half american sooo this is too perfect! also like the criticism of the ideals of the perfect woman play into the way lily’s character is often reduced to just a mother when she can be so much more

bad idea right? - regulus would definitely pull something like this, be so for real

vampire - i’m thinking this could be about lily and snape actually but idk

lacy - lily’s lacy is petunia and regulus’s lacy is sirius i will die on this hill

ballad of a homeschool girl - regulus regulus regulus!! regulus feeling like everyone got the guidebook of life and he never did

making the bed - regulus :( he’s so tired of being the girl that he is

logical - hear me out, regulus lying to lily and james that he will leave his family for them. this song would be them in the aftermath realizing just how he never intended to fight for them to be able to stay together

get him back! - wait why did i just imagine a fic where lily and regulus both have the same ex and somehow they meet eachother and are like omg that dude sucked so then they team up together to get him back and they do all the things (key his car, kiss his face with an uppercut, etc.) but as they do they fall in love with each other and their shared devious abilities and what if the ex was james and instead of getting him back they get him back and then jegulily happens?

love is embarrassing - regulus would absolutely think live is embarrassing and that’s why he’s always in denial

the grudge - i think i’ve heard people say the grudge from lily’s perspective is about severus and the grudge from reg’s perspective is about sirius and i support this message

pretty isn’t pretty - okay so i think most people imagine regulus as being really pretty, and i almost feel like pretty people put so much identity in their beauty that it feels like all they are worth. and so when being just pretty isn’t enough, it leaves you being not enough, which again is regulus black’s inner monologue

teenage dream - this is just soooo marauders coded of a song, works for reg, lily, and everyone else

obsessed- this would also go crazy as a jegulily ah where one of them dated james first and then broke up, then he gets together with the other and they become obsessed with the ex

girl i’ve always been - lily and snake friendship song for sure

scared of my guitar - aside from the guitar part, i think this song feels very regulus coded like “if i was brave and noble like you, id have the nerve to stop stringing you along”

so american - again half american lily serenading either her french boyfriend regulus or her british boyfriend james

[smok3inm1rrors]

[ next ]

It's been 8 or something months but we are so back.

A note: Lily Zhu -> Rose - Lilith. Lily. EA why. It wouldn't be so bad if they weren't related. (I say that as if I don't have two cousins with almost the same name lmao) ..and I didn't use Lily as a nickname for Lilith... She's also 19 instead of an elder.

Transcript below

Gunther: So that's the basic idea we're working off of. What do you think? Rose: You run a conspiracy theory blog with my cousin? Gunther: It’s a travel blog. With an iceberg. Lucas: God, not this again. Rose: An iceberg? Gunther: Yeah iceberg. Like it looks like it’s just surface level. But if you spend time looking into it there’s a lot more there than you originally thought there was. Like how when examining pictures taken from various shows over the year at one of the goth clubs in the arts quarter, you see the staff looks exactly the same even after almost thirty years. This is because the entire staff is composed of vampires. Lucas: Please shut up. Rose: Oh! So it’s an urban legend like thing. Gunther: Is it an urban legend if I have proof? Lucas: The only proof you have is that people on the internet will believe anything. Gunther: Thank you Lucas. I was already aware. My generation figured that out before you learned how to walk. Lucas: You also proved that recent college grads and high school seniors will do anything for cash and experience. But hey- you- I mean your generation also figured that out. At least Caleb gets paid. I do this for free. Gunther: Your payment is me not telling mom about your “alternative” extracurricular activities. Lucas: Basketball? Gunther: Is that what you kids call it? Lucas: Sure. Not like you’d know either way. Rose: Alright! Well… Real interesting thing you’re doing there… I’m going to see what the other are up to! A-haha yeah…