#i watched ultraviolet again

[rin-may-1103]

Badger Day Au (part two)

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"Fourteen?" Aquaman repeats, turning his chair to face Danny. "Fourteen what? Days, weeks, months?"

Flash hissed like he was in pain, "Please don't say it's been fourteen months!"

Danny trailed his eyes away from the ceiling, away from the bothersome crack, and toward the single window in the room. He could just barely make out the Cassiopeia constellation. Its distinct W shape winked and flickered, drawing up a memory from a few loops into this whole mess. Tucker had wanted to comfort him, seeing as Danny had just broken down crying over how frustrated he was with everything.

The Ghost of Cassiopeia. Also known as IC 63, about 550 light years away.

A giant cloud of dust and gas. A nebula. Its ethereal glow reminded people of spirits they would see in haunted houses or fields. So they called it the ghost of Cassiopeia.

But it wasn't a ghost, it's simply hydrogen that's been bombarded with ultraviolet radiation from the nearby star. A blue giant called Gamma Cassiopeiae. It's also known as the center of the constellation. The light from the blue giant makes the majority of the nebula glow a vivid red. The blue around the edges is just light reflected off the dust within.

Tucker had joked that Danny should try and see how far he could get before the loop restarted. See if he could even get past Jupiter. Danny had just snorted and brushed his suggestion off. What was the point when he should be spending his time trying to fix the loop?

About six years in, Danny had given up and tried.

Eight months he had spent flying. He got further and further out into the void, surrounded by darkness and the beautiful stars in the distance to guide him. He never managed to make it past Pluto before he was brought back.

"Years," Danny confessed, his eyes still trained on the faraway stars.

"YEARS!?!" Superman cried, standing up so fast his chair was sent flying into the wall. Danny glanced back up at the crack, watching as it grew just a little larger, plaster dust sprinkling down like freshly fallen snow.

Sighing, Danny sat up and stared at the group. How many times has he had this conversation? How many times was he going to explain what was happening? How many times was he going to wake up in his bed just to restart all over again?

"Years," Danny repeated, "Fourteen years. Like I said, I've tried everything."

They sat in silence for a moment, just digesting his situation. Batman was standing still, his fists clenched tightly. Superman looked faint like he would pass out. Flash looked devastated.

Wonder Woman leaned forward, her brows furled in confusion, "Were you cursed, young one?"

"No, I checked. You checked. Heck, even Zatanna and Constantine have checked. I'm not cursed." Danny grumbled, slumping down to rest his head on the table.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to just curl up and sleep for the next however long. Wanted to hug Jazz and cry about how unfair it all was. Wanted to curl into his mother's side and cling until she made it all better. Hide behind his father until he knew it was safe.

but he couldn't.

Something always happened when he tried. If he stayed home from the very beginning of the day, the league would call him over and over again, convinced he was needed for the case Batman had. They even sent Flash over a few times just to search the city to drag him to the meeting.

(He was happy they hadn't figured out his civilian identity yet, but man was it hard to watch as Flash stuck his face into every nook and cranny around town yelling his name. Danny's lost count of how many times the man got overshadowed.)

If he managed to convince them that he was in a loop, then they found it would be safer for him to stay up on the watchtower. where they could keep an eye on him while searching for a way to break it.

Or, if he managed to convince them he was sick or something and they left him alone, Vlad would start acting up. Jack would call him on the phone to cancel Maddie's meeting with him because Danny was 'sick'. If he convinces Maddie to go and stay home with his dad, then Jack somehow opens the portal long enough for one of his rogues to slip through.

It just never ends. Everything he's tried ends with him having to go ghost and fight. The calmest day he's managed to have ended with Box ghost blasting the portal doors open so he could give him a homemade lunch from his wife, which then led the ghost to find Jack's new weapon box and go ballistic because of his obsession.

after that, he gave up spending time with his parents and focused more on his friends and Jazz. This was equally disastrous.

so, his safest option was to go to the meeting and stay with the league.

Glancing up, Danny watched as the time slowly changed on the clock; six twenty-nine, tick, tick, tick, six thirty.

Sighing, Danny sat up and held his hand out, making eye contact with Batman. He might as well get the day going, no use in wallowing in self-pity. He's done that plenty already.

"I already figured out what the cult wanted to do, we just need to figure out where their next meeting is. I'll fill you guys in on the rest." Danny added, wiggling his fingers in the hope it would make Batman move faster.

Batman sighed and handed him the folder. Once Danny had the folder, Batman sat down to listen to his report intently.

Flipping the file open, Danny grabbed the first page and showed it to the group, ignoring how a copy showed up on the big screen behind Batman. (again, why use paper if he was just going to project it?)

"This is the result of the cult's last meeting, two weeks ago. as you can see, the ground has been scorched and the ritual circle permanently carved into the cement." Tossing the paper and ignoring it as Flash scrambled to catch it, Danny grabbed the next couple of pages.

Holding up the seventy missing person reports, Danny placed them on the table and separated them into four different piles. "After some digging, Batman was able to figure out the pattern between the missing people. This group," Danny pointed to the one on the left, "consists of organ donors who were anemic."

pointing to the pile on the right, Danny continued, "This group is made up of meta-humans who have powers related to the elements. they also all happen to have more than one piercing, though Batman didn't really figure out if that had an impact on whether they were chosen or not..."

Pointing to the northern pile, Danny separated the top seven pages. "while everyone in this pile has some relation to an ancient and powerful witch from the 1500s, these seven are the only ones who still share her 'family' name. I'm not sure exactly how this affects the cult's motives, Batman hadn't shared that with me in all the loops so far."

Danny glared at Batman in annoyance, he didn't care if there was a good reason or not. Without fail, in each loop that Danny's made it through where Batman makes the connection; he would refuse to tell Danny about it.

Rolling his eyes at Batman's unwavering apathy, Danny continued, "The last pile consists of people who have been dead at some point in their lives. whether it be just a few seconds or a few weeks."

passing the reports around, Danny pulled the next page from the file. "Flash and Constantine were able to connect the past locations of the cult gatherings. Constantine figured out there was a specific magic signature that he could follow, so he had Flash drag him around the world to map the locations."

tapping the table, Danny selected the world map. Glancing at the paper he had pulled out, Danny marked the places with a red dot. Then he marked the places Constantine found in blue. Looking up, Danny found the league staring at him.

"What?" Danny huffed, shoving the hologram away from him. Batman grabbed it and started to examine it.

"So, do we need Constantine for this?" Green Lantern asks, scratching his head.

Shrugging, Danny tossed the folder over to Wonder Woman. "You can call him if you want, but he won't get here until noon. He's in the house of mystery dealing with a pixie infestation."

"pixie infestation?" Superman asks, turning to look over to Zatanna. Zatanna reached into her jacket and handed him a pamphlet, not turning away from watching Danny with curious eyes.

"Anyway, like I was saying. the cult's been going around taking all these people and using them in their rituals."

"you said you knew what they were trying to do, what was it?" Batman asked with a noticeable frown.

Sighing, Danny pinched his nose. "they've been trying to summon Pariah Dark."

"The ghost king!?!?" Zatanna squawked, slamming her hands onto the table.

"yeah, that bastard," Danny grumbled, rubbing his face. The cult hadn't been successful for all fourteen years now, so Danny wasn't too worried about it. But still... If something, anything really, changed just the slightest; would they succeed? Would they drag Prariah out of his sarcophagus and let him lose on the living?

Danny's already had to face him once, he didn't know if he could do it again. The Fenton ecto-skeleton suit had been ruined last time, to the point dad hadn't even tried to fix it.

"Bastard?" Aquaman repeated, eyes narrowed, "You speak as if you've met him before."

"I have," Danny admitted, "and I will again if we don't do something about the cult." What if this is the loop the cult succeeded? what if it's the next one, or the one after that? could Danny even do anything to prevent it?

Zatara sat down with a heavy thump, her eyes widening in shock. Danny lifted his brow, wondering what was wrong with her. She hadn't acted like this any other time? what was different? had he said something he hadn't last time? hmm, something to think about later.

"back to the case," Danny shrugged, turning to gesture at the hologram of the world. "we were able to narrow down the cult's next location to about seven hundred places. I was able to check off about six hundred and thirty these last few loops. That leaves about seventy places they could be."

Danny used a yellow dot to select the seventy places he still needed to check.

"um," Flash started, nervously glancing between Danny and the globe. "you just highlighted the whole grand cannon and all of Alaska... and the Himalayas.... and the-"

"Yep," Danny cut in, "Like I said, I checked off all the others. These are the last seventy I still need to check. I haven't before because it's a lot of ground to cover. I was hoping I'd catch a break and find the cult before I had to check all those places, but nope. The fruitloops just had to make it difficult.

"oh," Flash winced, "do, do you want me to check them out?"

sighing, Danny leaned back in his chair, "I would love to have you check them out, but you need a magic user who knows what they're looking for to go with you. it's why we haven't found them yet, it's taking forever."

"Oh," was the only response he got.

"you know what we are looking for?" Zatara asks, finally getting over whatever had surprised her.

"yeah, it's hard to explain. I'll have to bring you or the others to a previous place and show you."

"hmm, alright. after the meeting, why don't you bring me so that at least one more person can help start looking, until, john is freed up at noon?" she suggests, tilting her head to the side.

"sounds good with me," Danny shrugged. it's not like it'll hurt to have her looking around, heck, they might even get lucky and she'll find them.

Next

[pathologicalreid]

fluorescent | S.R.

in which spencer rambles about rocks and you get distracted

who? spencer reid x fem!BAU!reader

category: fluff

request: yes!

@midnight--raine: could i please have a spence x female!reader where one day they're having a conversation and obviously he starts rambling about some facts or something and the reader kinda zones out while he's talking because shes so focused on the way he gets so passionate about what he's talking about and suddenly she's staring at his lips and is overcome with a POWERFUL urge to kiss the life outta him.

content warnings: kissing, concussion, that's it, this is really just fluffy.

word count: 758

a/n: thank you for the request! i hope to update my pinned post to mention requests soon. I hope you enjoy!

“It’s actually really interesting to see if you ever get the chance,” Spencer told you from his chair. “It’s been discovered that over five hundred minerals fluoresce when they’re exposed to ultraviolet light.”

Both you and Spencer had been left out of the takedown of the unsub. Him because he was still using a cane to get around and you because you were recovering from a concussion, and Hotch didn’t believe you when you said you were fine. Typical.

You sighed and hoisted yourself up so you were sitting on the edge of a desk in the local police station, tilting your head to the side while you watched Spencer talk about rocks. All you had done was ask him if he knew what his birthstone was, and you completely lost him while he started rambling about fluorescent minerals.

It was one of those connections between topics that you’d have to be inside Spencer’s head to fully understand how he had gotten from point A to point B.

It was endearing, the way he got so passionate about things. He didn’t even have a degree in geology, and yet he knew so much about minerals like fluorite and calcite. It wasn’t even what he was saying to you found so captivating, it was how he was saying it.

Spencer had a tendency to speak with his hands, the bigger the movements, the more excited he was to be telling someone about the subject. So, if he was nearly knocking things over with enthusiasm, who were you to interrupt him?

Suddenly, his hands stilled, and your eyes flicked up to meet his. “Y/N, are you okay? Is it your head?” He asked leaning ever so slightly closer to you, as if you were two children sharing a secret.

Your face burned as your skin flushed, but Spencer didn’t seem to notice. “I’m alright, Spence. What were you saying about the color?” You urged him to keep going, keeping your question vague enough so that he wouldn’t be able to tell you had gotten so distracted by his ardor.

He pursed his lips for a moment before they parted again, “common opal doesn’t have any iridescence. Most fluorescent common opal is considered amorphous.” He told you, quickly jumping back into his topic of choice.

Smiling, you watched him talk as the words started to float over your head again. Specifically, you watched the way his lips moved as he shared the information with you. Sometimes, he stumbled over his words because his mind was moving faster than his mouth could. You felt honored every time he shared a part of his brain with you.

The fact was, Spencer Reid has pretty lips. They were a pretty pink color, the kind of color that people wanted as lipstick but could never find an exact duplicate of. They were soft. At least, they looked soft.

You couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him. Spencer never talked about relationships as openly as the rest of the team, especially not the way Morgan did. Very quickly, you realized you had no idea how he would react if you kissed him. Would he pull away? Would he push you away? Would he kiss back?

Spencer was still talking about opals when you moved closer to him, set your hands on his shoulders, and pressed your lips to his.

A soft, surprised noise came from the back of his throat before he kissed you back. He reached his hands up, so they were resting on your waist, no higher and no lower.

It was no small victory that you discovered his lips were as soft as you thought they were. Under your hands, you felt that his heart was pounding as hard as yours was. His lips parted slightly under yours and he pulled you closer to him.

A small crash caused you to jump away from where he was sitting, in your peripheral vision, you could see that his cane had fallen to the ground. For a moment, the two of you just stared at each other, wide-eyed and still trying to catch your breath. “Thank you,” he breathed, not taking his eyes off of yours.

“I- For what?” You asked, appalled at the fact that you had done something so brazen, potentially ruining one of your closest friendships. 

You crouched down and picked up his cane, as you handed it to him, he elected to answer your question, “No one’s ever asked me to shut up so nicely before.”

[jpitha]

Do What it Takes

Everyone goes on and on about the humans, how strong they are, how dangerous their world is, their risk management (or lack thereof) and even their ability to process the rather worrying things they call “food.”

One thing I haven’t seen though is people discussing their… aspect that I find fascinating. They even have a word for it - grit. It’s this ability to take on unimaginable stress, and maintain that strength of resolve. That realization that the only thing they can do is endure. They even have a saying. “When you find yourself going through Hell, keep going.” Hell here is a substution for any kind of hard times they’re currently experiencing. It’s an idiom, don’t worry about the specific meaning of the word. The saying implies that if you’re “going through hell” then you need to keep going, because otherwise you won’t ever get out of the hard situation you find yourself in.

When it was first explained to me, a lot of what I saw about the humans snapped to place, like magnets on a table.

Once, back during the war I saw a single human shoulder a crew operated slug thrower and - by themselves - hold off an entire Zenni boarding party long enough for the rest of the ship to mount a defense. Not only did they shoulder and fire the weapon themselves, but they survived!

Others weren’t so lucky. I’ve heard tales of humans walking into active reactors to stop an overload, blinding themselves from ultraviolet radiation to repair a hull, and sustain withering gee forces to crush attackers. When asked why they’d do that, most of them replied that they just “did what they needed to” or that “they do what it takes.”

I’m not here to say that we can’t do that either. Having grit or strength of character isn’t solely a human development. But maybe as a result of the world they evolved on they tend to have grit in greater supply than other sapient species. They “do what it takes” because they’ve always had to do what it takes to survive.

A human friend has recently offered to take me to Earth, their homeworld to “see the sights.” His only warning about his own planet was that we should probably avoid some months. I asked why.

He waved his hand dismissively as if it was just a minor trifle, an inconvenience. “Oh, it’s hurricane season in the fall. I don’t know if you want to experience one of them.”

“What’s a hurricane?” I asked, cautiously.

“It’s a large storm that spins up over the ocean as the planets way to help remove some heat from the water. They can get pretty wild sometimes.”

When a human tells you that something can get “pretty wild” one’s fur tends to poof out.

I said I’d think about it, and went back to my cabin to research these Hurricanes. About an hour later I was shaking in my seat, glued to my pad watching video after video of houses just… disappearing in the wind and water.

The next day, I confronted him about the hurricanes. Once again, he was dismissive. “You get plenty of warning, and time to evacuate, they’re not that big of a deal.”

I bristled, and my ears twitched. “Not that big of a deal? But your homes get destroyed!”

He nodded. “True, that does happen. But, it’s not a surprise and we come prepared. You do what it takes if you want to live there.”

I think I’ll take him up on his offer.

[chaos-mix]

The Choices the Stars Make - 14th Doctor x reader

Summary: The Doctor promised you the stars when all you ever wanted was him. What happens when he’s finally ready to settle down? Will he reach out and try again?

Word count: 818

~~~~~~~~

You pull your blanket up higher as you turn to watch the stars shinning through the living room window. It does little to soothe the aching of your heart as your mind keeps spinning in “What ifs?”. What if you hadn’t left the doctor? What if you hadn’t asked him to stay?

You shake your head at the unfairness of the situation, turning your back on the cold stars, facing your laptop screen.

You squint at the brightness. The universe has never been fair. It wasn’t when you watched people crying out for your help die, and neither was it when you were forced to confess your true feelings to the Doctor. His discomfort and shift in body language did not surprise you, nor did his lack of touch in the weeks that followed. You just wish he hadn’t taken all of the joy of the night sky with him when you left.

Focus. You told yourself, but your heart sunk further, your fingertips getting cold on the plastic mousepad.

Observational Astronomy. A dry laugh forces its way out of your chest, making you feel hollow. You used to dance around the surfaces of planets, experience the sights never seen, the Tardis translating the x-ray and ultraviolet light spectrum for your eyes to witness true beauty of nebulas … now you’re finishing up a paper on observational astronomy and the photographs were in black and white. Life is funny like that. It feels like life lost some of the colour too. You wish it wasn’t 2am, life is easier to handle when you don’t have to stay up at night to work on something. Especially something that reminds you of him. Days are easier, warmth is easier. Warmth reminds you of joy of adventure, his hands, the kindness. Not his eyes when he left you.

~~~~~~~~

The Doctor did not seek you out. He did not wander the streets close to your house for too long. He did, however, made sure that no threats lingered close to your apartment at all times.

At least until his old face returned.

Oh so many regrets felt thrown back at his face. What he wasn’t able to give. The loved ones he lost… He grieved Rose for a long, long time, even after you met him. That same grief drove Martha away. Donna… River Song… He should have been able to save them all. How could he protect you if he couldn’t even keep his life as John Smith? And you knew. You saw him fall in love, you saw him live a normal life. He knows he hurt you beyond forgiveness when he grieved his human life and yet, despite all of that grief, did not choose to build one with you.

Seeing Donna again had him longing for the old days. The days of the three of you jumping through the universe, watching the joy on your faces! That was until the Earth got taken over by the Master he forced your feelings out in the open. Doctor could not deal with reliving his past through you. He couldn’t stomach losing you. He couldn’t make Donna go through the same darkness that Martha did when he was still grieving. Not to even mention Time Lord Victorious. His biggest regret. At least you were saved from watching it happen.

But now… now that he did not need to save the universe… now that he had someone else to entrust it to and now that the biggest decision of his day was how to protect the moles from Wilf… maybe he could give you the life you wanted after all.

~~~~~~

Your phone buzzed one day after the lectures and you instinctively answered it, expecting it to be one of your parents checking in. It was a rash decision you made to switch universities, but with all the stress of studying medicine and the flashbacks of lives you couldn’t save, switching to something familiar was an easier choice.

“Hello, yes, I’m still studying astronomy. No, I will not end up starving in the streets when I’m done.”

“…So you decided to study the stars?”

That… was not a voice you expected. Not that you would ever in a million years expect the Doctor to call you. He was someone who buried down feelings. He did not call ex-companions, only companions in trouble called him.

“… Doctor?” You chocked up. Funny. You planned to say so many things during all those sleepless nights and now all you could manage is “Is something wrong?”

On the other end of the line, the Doctor smiled a lopsided smile. It didn’t reach his eyes, but the words warmed his hearts. He still had time to turn back. He could run away and never look back.

But that soft kindness in your voice, even after all these years…

“Would you have some time to meet an old friend?”

[strawbxrryanime]

neon city high - bonten ran haitani x reader

Bonten Ran Haitani would blow on his cigarette as he fucks you within each and every thrust. The neon violet city blares between your eyes through a big hotel window, and the purple neon lights surround the room as the heat of the moment is portrayed by Bonten Ran’s smoke blowing on your body as he thrusts deep inside you, his cock making you full, as he smirks and chuckles.

“Fuck Y/N~ You take me in so fucking good~ Look at you~” Bonten Ran smirks, caressing your face as he holds your legs between his shoulders. Thirsting over you as he smirks and mutters out sweet nothings as he keeps thrusting and thrusting hard and rough inside you over and over again. Blissfully you look up to see the neon lights just shining an ultraviolet glow on your eyes as you were replenished with ecstasy.

His cock slammed more inside you, reaching your deepest spots as Bonten Ran groans as you moan out more of his name, the covers surrounding you at the moment and brink of pure pleasure as Bonten Ran just kept making you his within each and every thrust over and over again. “Gonna cum my darlin’~” Bonten Ran grunted in pure pleasure. A bittersweet mess he was, his sloppy thrusts getting faster as your moans get louder.

“DARLIN!~” Bonten Ran yells out, his sweat drops down his head and straight to his abs. Glistening in the moonlight as he spurts his hot, warm cum deep inside you making you scream out loud. Utterly muttering his name so many times that you can’t count anymore. “AUGH!~” Bonten Ran grunted as he chuckles and smirks, your tight hole was enveloped in his cum. His essence. This turns him on so much, turns him so fucking on.

And he really did prove it, he puffed another cigarette has he pumps you up with round 2. You braced your legs as you bounced on his cock, his cock impaling your hole as it reached your favorite spots making you groan out and mutter more of his name as you mindlessly bounced in the meaning of ecstasy.

“Mmmmh~ I love you so much Y/N!~” Bonten Ran yells out as he smirks, ultraviolet eyes glaring straight at you. Passionately watching every bounce you make, taking it all of his cock within your hole, his previous cum being fucked back into you, making you groan and moan louder and louder. Ecstasy growing in your veins, bouncing on his cock, crushing his ballsack.

You start going faster, riding him crazily as you and him both groan out sweet nothings. “FUUUCK Y/N FUUUCKK YOU’RE- AAAHHH!!~” Bonten Ran couldn’t finish his sentence, as he screams in an euphoric-induced falsetto. The most beautiful scream you’ve ever heard, a sweet melody. In fact you’ve never heard Bonten Ran scream, as you bounced even harder and clenched tightly on his cock.

“CUUUMMMINGGG!!!~” Bonten Ran screams as he yells out the words “I LOVE YOU Y/N!~” Some of the rest of his sweet yells were blurred out of your mind due to the heat of the moment, as you scream with his hot spurting cum pumping deep inside of your tight hole once again. Just squirting deep inside you like a water fountain.

The puff of his cigarette as you catched your breath, heating you up. As Bonten Ran chuckles.

“That was so good, I’m ready for a round 3~”

Your legs are done for.

[redroses07]

The Rock Show // Finn Wolfhard

Finn Wolfhard x Fem!Reader

WC: 2k

Based on/lyrics from 'The Rock Show' By Blink-182

Warnings: Swearing, Kissing

Summary: Finn falls in love with a girl at one of his shows, but does she feel the same?

A/N: I know I said I'd post this last night but I didn't have time to make my last few edits. Anyways, It's out now! This is also based on one of my favorite songs (I'll link it below) so it was super fun to write! This is the first time I've written for Finn in a while so I hope y'all like it! -Claire ♡

You stand outside the concert venue with your friend. Her boyfriend was the drummer for some band that was playing tonight, and she was intent on you coming along.

“Maybe you’ll meet a cute guy.” She teased, an obnoxious smirk on her face.

“Yeah, right.” you rolled your eyes, elbowing her playfully.

It was a small indoor venue, yet the line was still wrapped around the building. Luckily your friend’s boyfriend could get you special access through the back door.

When you saw the flight of stairs leading up to the stage door, you immediately regretted the heels you were wearing.

You followed closely behind your friend, unsure of where to go.

“Y/N hurry up!” Your friend called to you from the top of the stairs. You thought about how much you envied her comfy tennis shoes.

She held up the pass her boyfriend had given her, opening the door with ease.

The inside was stuffy, and even though the show hadn’t started, you could still hear the sound of the crowd cheering.

ultraviolet lights littered the ceiling, giving the area a purple glow. You could see the curtains pulled over the stage, blocking the crowd's view.

You were careful to watch for the cords strewn across the floor, connecting electric guitars and other equipment.

As soon as your friend saw her boyfriend sitting at his drum set she ran up to him excitedly, leaving you standing awkwardly backstage. You didn’t mind her going to see him of course, but you didn’t technically know anyone else back there and were worried about being thrown out.

“Hey, are you playing tonight? I’ve never seen you here before.” A voice pulled you away from your thoughts.

You turned your head to see a tall boy with messy dark hair. He had a guitar slung over his shoulder, and a mic attached to his shirt, so he clearly was playing tonight.

He was cute.

“Oh, um, no-“ You stumbled over your words, forgetting how to speak for a moment.

“I’m here with her.” You managed to say, pointing at your friend.

The boy smiled kindly, once he saw who you were pointing to.

“Third wheeling I see?”

You scuffed your heels against the floor nervously.

“Yeah, she made me come. I’m not really sure what I’m supposed to be doing now though. And clearly I look out of place too.” You said half jokingly.

The boy wore a look of surprise, which changed into embarrassment.

“Oh no, no that’s not why I started talking to you, I actually just thought you were pretty.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

You felt your face get hot, and you found yourself unable to look him in the eye.

“Thank you.” You said, fidgeting with your fingers.

“Shit, sorry if that was too forward, what’s your name?”

You giggled, finding the courage to make eye contact again.

“Y/N. What’s yours?”

“Finn. Nice to meet you Y/N.”

You blushed, standing in awkward silence.

"What time do you go on?" You asked.

You wanted to make sure you didn't miss him playing.

"Around 11."

Maybe you would have to stay longer than you anticipated. Although, now you had something to look forward to, so maybe it wouldn't be half bad.

"I'll be there," you smiled.

Finn ran his hand through his hair, curls flopping over his face. He was quick to brush them away, keeping his eyes glued to you the whole time.

The background noise heightened, and you heard someone yell for all the players, no matter what time their sets started, to hurry up.

"Shit, I've gotta go...but you have good seats tonight right?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, right up front." Having a connection to one of the players did have its perks.

"Okay! Hold on a second!" Finn ran out of the room leaving you standing around awkwardly for a second time.

You peered through the door he ran through, eagerly waiting for him to come back. That is, if he was coming back at all. You were thoroughly confused and decided to lean back against the wall while you waited. Maybe you'd blend in better that way.

Finn came flying back around the corner, the guitar that was strapped around him swaying slightly.

"I couldn't find any paper, so is it okay if I write on your arm?" He held up a black sharpie, one of the big ones you'd use to write on posters with.

"Uh sure?" At this point you wondered if turning away was a better option, but nonetheless, you let him take your arm.

You watched as Finn frantically scribbled a few letters and numbers down on your arm. When he lets your arm go, you squinted at the messy black writing.

"That's the venue I'm playing at tomorrow. If you like what you see tonight, come tomorrow and I'll take you out afterwards."

You looked at your arm and smiled at the gesture.

"You know you could've just written it in my phone right?" You laughed.

"This is way cooler." Finn replied with a toothy grin.

"I really have to go now." He began to walk backwards towards the stage.

"Hopefully I'll be seeing you soon." Finn shot two finger guns at you before turning around and rushing off.

You were left alone once more, but you no longer felt awkward. You were too preoccupied with the butterflies in your stomach.

"Come on let's go- what's that?" Your friend asked, a suspicious smirk appeared on her face.

"I'll explain later."

You rolled your eyes playfully and grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the hoard of people.

You surfed through the crowd, finally reaching the front of the pit below the stage. You were close enough to where you could reach up and touch the stage if you wanted.

You stayed in the same spot for most of the show, and time passed rather quickly. The music was enjoyable, but you had to admit that you were waiting for Finn to show up.

Finally, when the lights filled the room, signaling that another set was beginning, you saw him. He was standing center stage, guitar in one hand, microphone in the other.

You don't know how, but he managed to spot you among-st all the people. He winked in your direction, and you could feel your face light up.

Finn's singing voice definitely kept you interested, more than you had been all night. And if you weren't already convinced to go out with him, his guitar skills sealed the deal.

At the end of the night your friend called a cab, your feet hurt far too much to walk back to your apartment. During the ride you rambled to her about the cute boy you had met backstage, and how glad you were that you let her drag you along.

She argued that this gave her best friend bragging rights for at least a week. You scoffed, but agreed.

The minute you got home, you changed your clothes and crashed in your bed; already excited for the date you would surely be going on the next day.

From the moment you woke up, you were riddled with excitement. The show wasn't until late but you started getting ready around mid-day.

When the time finally came, you could feel the nerves coursing through your veins. But they were good nerves, as good as nerves could be of course.

You arrived at the venue alone, not the safest option but you were careful. You made your way up front about fifteen minutes before the show started so you didn't have to push through as many people.

The place was more like a club considering most of the attendees were standing and there were hardly any seats, save for the few in the back.

In what seemed like no time at all, the show began.

Finn was center stage yet again, and you could see him scanning the room. You hoped he was looking for you.

He had yet to spot you before starting the first song, which was an upbeat ballad. You bobbed your head along to the beat of the music, relaxing into the environment.

Finn's voice was like honey, each word flowing off of his lips beautifully.

Once the song was over, he approached the microphone.

"Thank you all for coming out here tonight." He scanned the room once more, but this time he did see you. His face lit up, just as it had the night before.

"This next song is a cover, and it reminds me a lot of someone I just recently met." His deep brown eyes never left yours.

He began to sing, a wide smile on his face as he did.

"I fell in love with a girl at the rock show, she said "what?" and I told her that I didn't know."

You smiled at the lyrics, surprised by how much you felt for this boy you had known no more than a day.

You let yourself float closer to the stage, still keeping your eyes on Finn. He was clearly focused on his guitar, playing through the riff before starting to sing again.

Finn noticed you standing below the stage and began to navigate towards you.

"And if I ever got another chance, I'd still ask her to dance. Because she kept me waiting."

He leaned down, knees hitting the floor. He continued to sing, doing everything he could to inch closer to you while he did.

You reached up, grabbing hold of his hand and pulling him down further. Half of his body was hanging off of the stage, yet he still continued to sing.

"With the girl at the rock show..." His singing voice became breathy and strained.

The song ended and Finn pulled you up on stage with him. You could feel your heart beating with anticipation. Just like that, he pulled you into a messy kiss. The crowd erupted into applause, cheers, and even a few whistles could be heard. It was too brief for you to really enjoy the kiss, but it was perfect nonetheless.

When you broke apart, Finn leaned into you and whispered in your ear.

"Go wait backstage, I'll see you in a bit."

You smiled at him, and made the bold decision to kiss him on the cheek. The crowd cheered once more, and you took that as your queue to exit.

You sure would never forget tonight.

[foreficfandom]

POV: You Are Actually MUCH More Powerful Than Alastor (1/2)

(Alastor x Reader, g/n, queerplatonic/sex and romance favorable, fan theories, God!Reader)

Overlords are common sinners that boast many indentured servants to their name. Some also focus on physical territory. Some, like Alastor, don't bother. After all, radio knows little physical limitations.

Every Overlord had their own method of gaining prowess. Know one knows how Alastor became so dangerous. The strongest of the lords. Possibly stronger than some goetia royalty.

You weren't sure, either, but you had an inkling.

Because unbeknownst to anyone, you weren't some common sinner soul.

You were unique. A being originating far from this Christian realm of Heaven and Hell. You were undying, or a reincarnation, or a demigod. But you kept on the down low, 'cause attention would have meant trouble.

You could feel that Alastor's magic was a dark, bloody thing, nestled deep in his chest and hooked tightly like barbed wire. It tasted like sacrifices. It smelled like ultraviolet. And you knew it was borrowed, almost seeing the leash around his neck out of the corner of your eye.

Through a shared interest in the Hazbin Hotel, you and Alastor became acquaintances. Months later, you were proper friends. You could tell that Alastor valued the kind and pure of heart, even if he also believed them pitiful. Because they reminded him of a pleasant, happier life. A hidden part of him wanted to believe in their hope and love.

He thought you were just another sinner soul, and you didn't give him a reason to know any better. You had a job as part of the hotel staff. Their accountant, or security, or maintenance. Or their head concierge, guest service agent, auditor, what have you. Something vital to the business, but nothing glamorous. Labor has always been your most successful mask.

He was growing to love again. His mortal self might have been more recipient of affections and bonds, but decades living in hell has twisted him, and you could see him despair over the lump in his throat. His defeat at the hands of Adam proved his limits. You felt him writhe for weeks afterwards, and you let him reap what he sowed.

Curious, you sneaked away one evening and drew from your well of power to step through the fabric of time, finding yourself on the shores of Lake Pontchartrain to watch a young Alastor drink the blood from a bloody corpse, and spitting it over his shoulder. Some loa watched this bastardized libation from across the crossroads, but what answered was far more malevolent.

Alastor agreed to a very dangerous exchange. He now had hold over magic impressive enough for a mortal, but you knew it to be a relatively bum deal compared to true power. He would hunger constantly for flesh just to feed its energy, which was a cleverly hidden clause to curse him further through devilish consumption. His shadow sprouted antlers and a maw of sharp teeth.

For two decades, Alastor hunted and ate. Always male victims, usually white men, individuals some might damn as monsters themselves - the abusers, the genociders, the murderously entitled. What was once a scared young man grew hollow and fat on the power.

You've seen enough. Stepping through once more, you joined Alastor in cooking an orzo for shrove Tuesday. Sharpening your gaze, you watched his reflection on the shiny metal surface of a pot, and saw the stitches embedded in his face, pulling tight and vicious.

You nonchalantly asked, "How did you become so proficient at the kitchen knife?"

"Well, I was taught that one could eat, or they could eat well," he replied in a sing-song voice. "And practice makes perfect! Hunger is truly the best teacher."

The meat he was pairing was pork, but you knew he's served human flesh for dinner at least once before. You didn't say anything, because they'd grow suspicious at how you could possibly know from just the smell.

Alastor allowed only you to join him in cooking, partly because he favored you so much more, also because you were a right hand at making a meal. You didn't mention that millennia of existence made one a right hand at any skill.

And tonight, he would begin to see it.

Leaving the broth to simmer, you grabbed a small pairing knife and one of the tomatoes. Instead of simply coring and slicing, you inserted 0.013'' of carbon, chromium, and manganese right between where the molecular cells of epidermis ended at the pericarp. In a single momentum of both your knife and the tomato, the skin was perfectly peeled within two rotations.

Alastor wasn't even looking at you. But he froze over the cutting board, rictus smile sharp.

You haven't even used magic yet.

Both the tomato epidermis and its flayed flesh were completely free of any trace of the other, so in one hand, you ignited the skin to transmogrify into a tiny figurine made out of its glycerin wax. In the other, the tomato was sacrificed in a hole of light-bending void for its animal equivalent - the tiny heart of some small animal, possibly a bird or an amphibian, beating calmly as if alive.

Alastor slowly turned his head to watch as a miniature wax replica of himself held the heart in both shaking hands, before doubling over to devour it whole, its relative size and gore very reminiscent of a large, juicy tomato.

A picture perfect snapshot of his fifth or sixth murder while alive. Some world war veteran that still longed for the battlefield and had exercised his frustration upon his mother and younger siblings. The man might have been rotten, but his warrior's blood had burned hot and nourished Alastor's gaping void particularly well.

(NEXT)

[staridust]

“All’s fair in love and war!”

“ What a better way to celebrate a birthday than with a fun game of laser tag? It’s a party under the ultraviolet lights, and Jack and Artemis are ready to be the best team on the field! There’s nothing that can separate them, but uh… Jack? Why is your vest red? ”

Catch another glowing special episode of Sunnyverse on March 9th, Saturday morning at 9:30/8:30 central, and don’t forget to say Happy Birthday, Artemis! ★

★ DO NOT USE/REPOST WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. NO MINORS.

—

Hey space crew! Thanks for opening the captain’s log. ★

Man, it’s been a while since a post, yeah? I hit that classic burnout stage. Got lost in the universe burnout for a long while and couldn’t draw much for months. I am alright, but what a crash >>.

This drawing was started on 1/21 and was supposed to come out for my birthday (1/23). I turned 22! Finally big big goober age and still very silly! ☆ But uh, I missed that deadline, haha. I spent a good extra 2 months on it by accident. Working on and off over the course of multiple days, working in general, wehhhhhhah.

Told myself to get it done by Artie’s birthday (3/9) too, and then well, missed that too! Sheeeesh. But it’s done now and I quite enjoy the outcome for what it’s worth. I hope you all do too!

Artie’s hair took so long to shade… I want to shave them bald. Jk. Partially…

—

This “episode” focuses on well, a laser tag party! Jack isn’t the type to be extra competitive usually, but he was over the sun excited to be on the same team as Artemis. The two had a game plan: blue team will reign supreme! Watch my back! <3

Except for when the game started, Jack’s vest lit up in the enemies color. Accidental traitor. Maybe he could ask the referees to pause the game so he could swap— oh! Artie just zapped him and ran off.

Suddenly, Jack is extremely good at this game.

(advertising works as episode promotions is very fun. :3)

—

🔆 Click here for Jack’s birthday drawing that I did a few months ago!

Non-dialogue version.

Again, do not use my works or OCs for anything without asking for my consent directly. This includes reuploads to other websites, pfp’s, or collages/edits of any kind. (or at least let me see the edit if it’s fire)

[ironstrange1991]

Forbidden (Part 7): That Was A First

+18 Smut

Pairing: Doctor!Strange x Fem!Reader

Synopsis: The night with Stephen at the Sanctum Sanctorum takes a somewhat interesting turn

Word Count: 5,6k

Warnings: Dry humping, cuming in pants (and panties)

A/N: This was such a fun to write and I really hope you guys like it. It isn't much but be patient with our reader, she is learning ;)

SERIES MASTERLIST

Ultraviolet played softly through the TV speakers as you and Stephen were sprawled out on the couch in the living room of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

The night that seemed to be a real failure, took a completely different turn when he rescued you from one of the terrible parties at Mike's house and now you were lost between kisses, confessions and giggles.

"So..." He pressed when he noticed that you were too quiet while listening to the song.

You smile broadly. "It's hard to be impartial in my analysis when you said you think of me when you listen to this song."

He chuckled, placing a small kiss on your cheek and moving his lips down your chin and then back up, practically nuzzling his face onto yours. The touch of the goatee making your body tingle. He bit your earlobe and whispered to the lyrics of the song to tease you.

"Baby, baby, baby, light my way."

His baritone was so sexy in that context that it made your entire body shake.

"Okay, I think I like it... very much." You responded, cupping his face and pulling him back to your lips. Again and again. You just knew that you would never be tired of kissing those lips.

He hummed with satisfaction, his arms that were around your waist pulled you closer and you fit your leg between his, easily getting used to that new proximity.

When you broke the kiss you found yourself tracing the small bruises on his face. You didn't like that, it was inconceivable for you that someone or something would want to hurt such a pretty face.

"Are you going to tell me how you got hurt?"

He sighed. "I had a meeting with two former Kamar Tag students who ended up taking the wrong path and they didn’t make things easy for me. My mission was to bring them back or..."

He didn't finish the sentence, but you understood. You weren't naive, Stephen's job was to protect the world, but not all people could be saved, especially not when they became a danger to other people. Tony had already explained that to you.

"Maybe it's better if I don't talk about my work..." Stephen started to say, but you interrupted him.

"No, please. You can tell me anything. I'm not a child, Stephen. I understand how the world works.

He smiled and closed his eyes when he felt your fingers on his face again.

"I just hate seeing you hurt. Especially those cheekbones." You placed a small kiss on his wound and watched as he moved his fingers in a complicated gesture and a golden light emanated from them. He brought the light to his face and like magic the bruises closed and then disappeared as if they had never been there.

"Better now?" He smiled widely, probably noticing your surprised and delighted expression.

"This was so incredible!" You gasped.

 "You haven't seen anything yet, sweetheart." He giggled holding your face in both hands and kissing your lips softly.

"Then show me. I want to see you do magic."

"I prefer the term spells." He corrected you and you rolled your eyes.

"It's the same thing."

"We'll have plenty of time for that. I promise. And eventually I can use a spell or two on you." He teased, pulling you back to his lips and you surrendered with a hum, letting him control the kiss.

You couldn’t tell if he was serious or not, but a part of you liked the idea. Dating a sorcerer was pretty sexy, actually.

Stephen pushed his hips against you so you could feel his hard on and although it was all new, you didn't flinch this time, on the contrary, you let out a little moan in his lips that made him tangle his fingers in your hair and deepen the kiss, turning it into a clash of angry tongues and teeth.

He was the one who pulled away gently and then admitted it, "Fuck, sweetheart, look what you do to me." Then he grabbed your hand and brought it to his hip. You palmed his erection, slightly surprised at how massively large he seemed even confined within those tight jeans.

He sighed satisfied with the touch, staring at you as if he wanted to analyze your reaction.

You opened your mouth and closed it again, biting the inside of your cheek instead of saying what was on your mind.

"What is it?" He asked and you hid your face in the crook of his neck inhaling deeply, delighting in his scent.

"No no, sweetheart, let's make a deal. From now on you're going to tell me whatever's on your mind. Okay? You can trust me."

"I don't know..."

"Y/n...please."

You groaned in surrender. "I was just going to say that you just feel so..."

"Big?" He teased with a cocky smile.

You nodded, hiding your face in him again. "I mean, how is this supposed to fit..."

"It won't be a problem, love, you were made to take me inside you. You'll see."

Stephen couldn't believe you were there in his arms after he spent so long pining over you believing he could never have you. It was even more unbelievable when he realized that he would be your first. There were so many things he wanted to show you, so many ways to achieve pleasure. He was dying to finally have you, but he was mature enough to understand that he would have to have a little patience. He would have to take it slow, testing the water and seeing how far you would let him go.

Stephen had been without sex for almost six months and it was making it harder for him to hold himself together, being there alone with you in his arms and although he was mature enough to control himself, a part of him was willing to tease you a little and that was precisely what he did when he grabbed the fabric of your dress and lifted it up a little revealing your thighs to him.

 "You know, America bought a certain magazine and I ended up seeing some pretty compromising photos of you."

You smiled proudly, but didn't say anything.

"Imagine my surprise when I discovered that you have a tattoo here." He said, finally laying eyes on the intricate bouquet of flowers that you had tattooed on your right thigh and that outlined it getting dangerously close to your crotch. He traced the outlines of the design with his trembling fingers, moving up your dress enough to get a peek at your panties. They were pink and lacy, and his cock pulsed inside his pants.

"Did you like it?" You asked innocently and Stephen swallowed thickly.

"Oh, I loved it." He responded mischievously and then turned his attention back to the actual drawing. "But I'm curious, why tattoo here?"

"Looks good in a bikini." You responded with a playful smile on your lips.

"Hum, I guess I need to see that."

"You'll have to take me to the beach."

"Oh, it's definitely in my plans now."

You smiled broadly already contemplating  the idea of seeing Stephen in trunks.

"So, you liked the photos?"

"I loved them, sweetheart, but I don't like the idea of ​​other men looking at you.

"Hum, jealous?"

He smirked. "Perhaps a bit, but I definitely loved the photos."

You hummed happily watching him trace the flower petals gently with his fingers.

"Does it hurt?" He asked, genuinely curious. Stephen never thought about getting tattooed. Not because of the pain, he was used to feeling pain, but because he didn't think it suited him. It was totally the opposite with you. He loved each one of your tattoos.

"Tattooing?"

"Yeah."

You thought for a second as if you were choosing the best way to explain.

"It hurts a little, not a lot. But it depends on the place too. This one was pretty painful. But I have a good resistance to tattoo pain. It's quite different with piercings, though."

"I heard that some people even like the pain." He pointed out and you grimaced.

"Definitely not me. I am a crybaby when it comes to pain."

He smirked, pulling down your dress again and covering the tattoo completely.  "I'll be very gentle, then."

You felt your cheeks getting hot again. He was so cocky and sweet and dirty all at the same time. He was passionate and you couldn't resist him, you could feel yourself literally melting for him, totally aware of the wetness in your panties and you had never felt that way for any man.

Suddenly you felt a little bold.

"There's one you haven't seen yet." You told him knowing it would make him interested and at the same time trying to hide how much his comment messed with you. "No one has seen it yet."

He smirked kissing you "I'm afraid to ask where it is, sweetheart."

You chuckled, turning onto your stomach and crossing your feet, swaying your legs cutely in the air.

 "Why don't you search for it, then?" You suggested giving him a sweet wink.

He chuckled in disbelief but gave in to curiosity and sat down.

"Is not here." He said tickling your feet and making you giggle. His hands ran down your legs and you closed your eyes feeling the heat and gentle tremor of his hands running up your thighs.

"It's not on your legs, nor on your thighs. Perhaps..."

You bit your bottom lip when his hands went under your dress. That was without a doubt the most erotic thing you had ever done. - Forget the shitty handjob.

"Can I?" Stephen asked, a little unsure of what he was doing, but when you hummed positively, he felt impelled to continue. He lifted the delicate fabric of your dress and was treated to the sight of your cute little round ass adorned by the lace of your pink panties. Your skin was so delicate that all Stephen could think about was how beautiful it would look with his red handprint on it. But instead, he caressed your cheeks, feeling his cock throbbing again in his pants.

"Definitely not here."

 He continued lifting the dress until he finally found it, in your lower back, above the waistband of your panties. Just one word written in delicate cursive: sweetheart.

Stephen couldn't contain the little groan that escaped his lips. He was speechless, one part of his brain went into short circuit and the other was trying to understand if that was on purpose or not, but you answered his silent question almost immediately.

"I made it after the night you called me like this for the first time. I didn't tell anyone and I know it was a bad idea, but I like it. I like it even more now."

Stephen traced the letters with his fingers and without holding back he leaned to kiss the tattoo lingeringly, watching your skin prickle with the touch and to his surprise you pressed your thighs together and moaned. An unmistakable sweet little moan.

Stephen was determined to play nice, but you had just made everything very difficult for him. He could barely think straight. All his blood seemed to immediately descend into his dick.

"You always wanted to be my sweetheart, didn't you?" His voice sounded almost shaky coming from behind you and you couldn't deny the truth in his words.

"Yes."

Stephen moved his lips up your back, biting your skin over the thin fabric of your dress. He was practically on top of you and even though he was holding most of his weight in his arms, you could feel it and it felt so good.

When he brushed aside your hair and ran his lips down the back of your neck, your entire body trembled and you gasped, delighting in the feeling of his beard on your skin.

"Feels good, uh?" He teased and you responded with a shaky uhum.

He chuckled, pleased to see your reaction to his touch, and brought his lips to your ear. He licked and nibbled it and then spoke in his baritone voice. "I'm not going to take your virginity tonight, but that doesn't mean we can't play a little."

You barely realized you were holding your breath until it escaped your mouth in slow puffs.

He pressed his hard on against you, grinding himself in your ass and it felt so good. For the first time in your life, you craved the intrusion. You wanted him inside you.

"That is if you want it, of course." He whispered in your other ear, nibbling on your earlobe. "I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to, Y/n. Never. But you'll have to tell me."

You hummed trying to find your voice. "I want to."

"Good girl." He cooed letting out a satisfied hum and got off of you and laid down by your side again.

"Then lay down here on top of me." He instructed cupping your cheek and kissing you softly.

Your cheeks were hot, but your entire body was hot now. The arousal between your legs so obvious that even you could smell it.

You moved to do as he asked, but he corrected you. “Hike up your dress.”

You overcame your shyness and knelt down next to him and did as he asked, but before you could straddle him, he flicked his fingers and his jeans and shirt were replaced by a pair of sweatpants and a tee.

"How did you do that?" You gasped.

"Lots of practice." He responded grabbing your hand and pulling you on top of him.

"I like your panties. Does the bra match them?"

You just nodded, unable to say anything.

"Hum, would you let me see it?" He asked, lifting his hips up to make you feel his erection on your core. The sensation made his entire body shake.

"I don't know, Stephen. What if someone shows up and sees us?"

He shook his head confidently, "Wong and America will be spending the night at the Kamar Taj. They're most likely sleeping right now."

You thought for a moment and then confirmed with him "We are not having sex tonight."

Stephen shook his head and smirked watching you take off your dress and throw it on the floor and then he devoured you with his eyes. All matching in pink lace, all for him. Your breasts were small, but they were beautiful. His cock pulsed beneath you.

"There are many ways to have sex, sweetheart and not all of them involve penetration. I'll show you."

He held your waist with one hand and the other he took between you and grabbed his cock through the fabric of his pants positioning it the way he wanted and then he opened his arms for you. "Come here."

You surrendered to his request and let yourself be enveloped by his strong arms. Your legs on either side of his waist, straddling him and when you dropped the weight of your body on top of him, the contact of his erection on your covered core made you both gasp at the sensation.

You could feel how hard he was and he could feel the moisture seeping through the fabric of your panties and making him wet.

Stephen was so proud to be responsible for making you wet like that. All the surprise and sudden fear of discovering that you were a virgin was replaced by satisfaction and uncontrollable desire. Knowing you were so innocent sparked something in him and only his conscience was holding him back. However, he felt his control slipping away with each passing second.

He cupped your cheeks with both hands and kissed you hard and then moved his lips down your chin, nibbling lightly until he reached your neck. He kissed, bit and sucked the skin pulling a hum from your throat and without you realizing you started to grind yourself in his erection and Stephen felt as if an electric current had passed through his body.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Stephen teased moving his hands to your ass cheeks and forcing you back and forth and without any shame he moaned.

"Shit, it definitely feels good for me."

You couldn't believe what you were doing. Your cheeks were so hot they felt like they were on fire, your entire body was shaking and you couldn't respond because you seemed to have lost the ability to speak.

Still, your body seemed to have a mind of its own and before you knew it you were moving alone on top of him, completely surrendered to the desire that took over you.

"Oh my god, Stephen... what are we doing?"

He smirked and bit your chin  "We are having fun, sweetheart. Tell me, does it feel good?"

You moaned, increasing the pace of your hips on top of him, his hard cock providing you with delicious friction on your covered clit.

You cupped his face between your hands and pulled him for a desperate kiss, your tongue entered his mouth and clashed with his in a battle of pure lust. Stephen hummed in your mouth, positively surprised by your change in behavior resulting from your arousal state.

"Feels so good... Oh Stephen..." You whimpered, letting yourself be carried away by the moment and he wrapped his arms around your waist, keeping you impossibly close to him.

"You can hide your face in me if it helps you feel more comfortable." He said. "Just keep moving, sweetheart. Don't stop."

You did exactly as he suggested, hiding your face in the crook of his neck, letting your body guide you through all the sensations, inhaling Stephen's scent into your lungs and feeling the familiar knot tightening in your stomach. It was embarrassing, but your walls clenched around nothing.

"Stephen..."

His name. Stephen lost count of how many times he found himself fantasizing about you moaning his name like that. It was so beautiful. The sweet noises you made were so beautiful.

He hummed thrusting up to increase the sensation and you could feel his dick throbbing beneath you and somehow you knew he was as close as you were.

"It's okay, sweetheart, don't hold back, let go for me. Pretend you're alone in your room doing whatever you do when you think of me." He whispered in your ear.

Stephen knew you were holding back, shyness getting in your way, preventing you from reaching your sweet release, but when you followed his advice, he felt your movements getting faster, your sweet pussy rubbing against his dick faster and harder and so quickly he understood that you had finished, he also felt himself cumming.

Your heart was pounding in your ears. Your eyes were closed, but you could see flashes of light in the darkness as your entire body seemed to convulse on top of Stephen's. You moaned loudly and your moan was followed by Stephen's groan and you felt his body trembling beneath yours and then a strange wetness wetted between your legs. It took you a few seconds to understand what it was and when you did you felt your entire face burning. You thought it was ridiculous that you were still capable of blushing after what you had done, but Stephen thought it was adorable.

He stroked your hair and you finally found the courage to look at him and when you did there was a wide smile on his lips and his eyes had a sparkle that you had never seen before. He caressed your cheeks and before saying anything, he gently pulled you to his lips and kissed you softly. When he broke the kiss you opened your mouth, but closed it again not knowing what to say and ended up nuzzling your face in his. Like a cat. You just wanted to be so fucking close to him. Never ever to be apart again.

"You okay?" He asked, sounding just as unsure as you were. Your entire body was shaking, but you nodded and he held you in his arms.

"Sweetheart, you can talk to me."

You cleared your throat. "I don't know what to say. I've never done this before. I don't know what people talk about after they do it."

Stephen smiled. "We can talk about anything. You can start by telling me what's on your mind right now." He suggested.

"I love you." You ran to say before you lost your courage and Stephen smiled again. A smile you hadn't seen before. A little surprised, a little incredulous, but extremely satisfied.

"It's what's on my mind right now, but at the same time it feels like it's all over my body. I've never felt like this before."

"It's your hormones. Oxytocin to be precise. I’m feeling it too. It's always special when you do it with someone you love. And we barely did anything, sweetheart."

You cupped his face "Do you? Love me?"

He sighed, holding your chin between his index finger and thumb. "Yes I do. I've fought my feelings for so long, Y/n. You have no idea how good it feels to finally be able to feel them."

You nodded. "Actually I do. I loved you from the first moment I saw you and I waited five years for Tony to bring you back to me. Still, I never thought I could have you. I thought I would always have to love you from afar."

Stephen held your face between his shaking hands. "I'm here now. We're together, sweetheart."

You felt your eyes getting wet with tears, so many feelings building up in your chest, your stomach was feeling weird, but you fought against it, afraid that Stephen might find it childish to see you crying.

"I still can't believe what we just did." You said hiding your face in him.

"Hey, none of that! No more shyness. I want you to tell me, did you like it? Because, I think it was pretty obvious that I liked it."

You gave a small giggle. You were well aware of the mess between your legs. "I liked it. It was really good. I've never... well, you know."

"What?" He insisted.

"I've never cum with someone before. It's always been a solo experience."

He smirked, "I don't know if we can classify it as solo if I was on your mind the whole time." He teased.

He was so cocky, even at that moment. But you liked it.

"I never thought it could be done like this." You confessed and Stephen chuckled, stroking your back absently.

"Men can be creative when they want to have sex. And there are many ways to do it. I'll show you. To be honest, I'm pretty excited about the idea of ​​being your first. Being the one who will show you all the good stuff."

You smiled to yourself, feeling your body slowly relax. Your heartbeat returning to normal.

 "I thought if you knew I was a virgin, you would get scared and run away."

He shook his head. "I was scared, really, but I didn't think about running away from you. Quite the opposite."

You smiled and pulled him back to your lips and Stephen sighed contently, feeling all his worries melt away as he realized that you were okay with what you’ve done.

He knew he hadn't planned it, but in his defense, seeing that tattoo on you did things to him.

Either way he was more than pleased with the way the night turned out. There were definitely a few months of pent-up sexual frustration inside him and his hands helped to a certain extent, but he needed something more. And as much as dry humping seemed like a teenager thing to him, he couldn't deny that he loved the experience. However, the resulting mess left him feeling wet and sticky and definitely in need of a shower.

He caressed your face gently.

"I need to clean up now, sweetheart. I made quite a mess in my pants."

You agreed, dismounting and sat down next to him, looking a little unsure of what to do next.

Stephen stood up and allowed himself to actually look at you dressed only in a set of pink lingerie, your panties wet with your fluids and his. Your hair was all messed up, your lips were swollen from all the kisses and the skin around your mouth was burned by his beard. You looked beautiful and most importantly, you were his. He was still trying to get used to the idea.

He reached out to you. "Come on. I'll give you a change of clean clothes. You can't keep those dirty panties."

You looked at him a little shyly, but you let yourself be pulled. Stephen grabbed your dress and the two of you slowly walked up the stairs.

Stephen's room was bigger than the room you slept in the night he saved you at the night club. His bed was huge, a four poster bed.

You barely noticed that you had stopped in the middle of the room to stare at the bed or that he had left you to your thoughts and walked away when he returned with a tee and a boxer brief and handed them to you.

"You can use the bathroom. Make yourself at home. I'm going to take a shower in the next room. I'll be back in a minute."

You nodded, watching him grab a change of clothes and leave the room.

Stephen didn't know what to expect from the rest of the night, but it was already after 3 am when he went down to the Sanctum lounge to turn off the TV, which was now playing some random music that he didn't recognize. He picked up the bottle of wine and the glasses and took them to the kitchen and then picked up your jacket and boots and went back to his room.

You were sitting in one of the armchairs next to the fireplace. His tee was big enough to cover your thighs and you had braided your hair now. The little makeup you were wearing seemed to disappear. He had never seen you so natural, so simple and yet so beautiful. Stephen was still reluctant to understand how you could bewitch him like that. He never felt that way about any woman.

"I used your toothbrush. I hope you don't mind." You informed with a shy smile.

"Not at all." He responded closing the bedroom door and placing your boots on the floor next to the bed and hanging your jacket on the free armchair next to you.

"I don't know what I should do now. Should I leave?" You said being one hundred percent sincere. You had never had that level of intimacy with anyone, you didn't know how things worked and looking at Stephen dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt was giving you an air of domesticity that was achingly passionate and inviting.

Stephen shook his head, "No. I mean, I can take you home if you want. In fact, I can open a portal to your room right now, but... I don't want you to leave."

You smiled shaking your head "I don't want to go either. I don't want to be away from you."

He reached out to you, "Then stay with me. Tomorrow morning I'll take you to your room, if you want."

You pretended to think for a moment, but the truth was that you agreed to the idea immediately.

"Don't think too much. We did nothing wrong." Stephen reaffirmed. "It was actually really good and you are still a virgin as I promised." He smirked. "Spend the night with me. I won't try anything else, I promise."

You sighed, holding his hand and letting yourself be dragged to the bed.

"Smart girls would say it's not smart to go to bed with the guy you like on the first date." You teased as you crawled under the comforter and made yourself comfortable on the pillows. Stephen's scent was permeating them and that was definitely your favorite scent now.

"Practically speaking, we can't even say this was a date. At least not a traditional one." He responded and to your surprise he took off his shirt before lying down next to you and you had to swallow your saliva when you saw him half naked for the first time.

"We… drank wine and danced... It's...very traditional for me." You struggled to finish the thought. Of course you knew that Stephen had a well-defined physique. Just by looking at him you could already deduce that, and you could also feel his muscles under his shirt, but actually seeing them was something else entirely. You were practically drooling and you doubted he didn't notice the way you were devouring him with your eyes, but he didn't say anything, just crawled under the comforter with you. You felt your body becoming tense at the new situation, but Stephen had a way of making everything better just by smiling at you.

"Remember I mentioned before about using a spell or two on you?" He said touching your neck. "I guess I'll have to do it now if we don't want Pepper to see this."

You touched the spot where he was touching and your skin felt slightly sore.

"Did you leave a hickey on me?" You asked incredulously. You had just brushed your teeth in front of the mirror. How did you not see that?

He smirked, "In my defense, you didn't make things easy for me when you made me feel so good."

You chuckled, "So now it's my fault?"

"For being cute and delicious? Yes."

Before you could think of how to respond to that, he moved his fingers and orange light emanated from his hand.

You flinched a little. "Will it hurt?" You asked and he shook his head.

"No, but you will feel a strange sensation. May I?"

You nodded and he brought his hand closer, letting his magic touch you. It was warm and ticklish, but it wasn't a bad feeling. In fact, you even liked it.

"And it's done." He reported and just as it came, the orange light disappeared.

"This is super cool." You said "Can you show me more?"

He smiled. Sometimes you reminded him of America. So young and excited about everything. But Stephen shook his head, dismissing the thought and berating himself. He definitely needed to stop comparing you to America now.

"I will, but not tonight. I think you've had too many new experiences for one night."

You sighed in frustration, rolling your eyes. "Now you're talking like you're my dad."

"Well, I'm old enough to be, aren't I?"

"Okay. Whatever."

You lifted your head and adjusted the pillows trying to get comfortable. Stephen adjusted himself, turning to his side and took your hand in his, your fingers intertwining.

"We need to talk about something important." He said, blue eyes fixed on you.

"What?"

"Birth control. I assume you're not on anything."

"I didn't need to be...until now."

Stephen nodded, reaching his other hand to touch your cheek. "It's okay. You're right. You had no reason to use anything if you weren't sexually active, but now we need to think about it and I don't want you to think for even a second that you need to figure it all out on your own."

You nodded. "You're a doctor. You can prescribe something for me."

He smirked. "For your head, certainly. Or if you're having some trouble with your nerves. I'm a neurosurgeon, sweetheart. But what I can actually do is refer an old co-worker to you. She works in a hospital not too far from here. You can talk to her and choose the best method for you."

You nodded and Stephen leaned to kiss your lips softly and then sighed. "And I'm going to get tested for STDs. Even though it's been almost six months since I've had sex, I want to be sure."

You looked at him, looking surprised.

"What is it?"

But you just shook your head and bit your bottom lip.

"Tell me."

"It's just... being who you are and because of your appearance... I didn't think you'd go this long without..."

He nodded. "All my sexual relations over the last few years have been one-night stands, sweetheart. And to be quite honest, being in love with you, no woman has seemed like a good enough substitute."

"That's sweet." You smiled realizing you were tracing his goatee with your index finger and giving a long yawn.

"I like your goatee. I think I have a thing for men with nice facial hair"

Stephen kissed your hand sweetly and caressed your cheek.

"And I love you." He completed. "But I'll let you sleep now, sweetheart. We can talk more in the morning."

"Hum, okay. Good night." You answered with your eyes already closed.

"Good night."

Reblog please! Leave a comment if you liked it. Interact! I will love to read all of your comments and opinions. It inspires me to keep writing ;)

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[venomwrites]

CaitVi but involve Jinx?

Spoilers for 2x08

Kind of a followup to Caitlyn cleaning VI up but it's not necessary to read that first

Caitlyn’s body moves without consent as she rides the elevator down. 

She has to do something to make this better. Something for Vi. She has been able to tell herself all kinds of lies with Vi’s absence. Probably with her time before. No, before she just listened to Vi’s bullshit. Because Vi wanted to make he happy. 

There is one thing Vi cares about. 

“I’ll take that,” she says, picking up the tray of food. 

Jinx looks small in the cell. 

Small in the same way Caitlyn saw when they first laid eyes on each other after the flare. She hasn’t since. Caitlyn is intimately familiar with the damage small objects can do. She tells herself she is not fooled by the small, curled up creature who is sobbing into her knees. The stupor that had her listlessly following them has eased. Caitlyn knows this part. Now the grief has dug in its claws. 

Your blood in her veins

Why do you sound like her?

“You sister survived surgery,” she says, unable to listen to the small sounds Jinx is making, “she’s resting.”

“Vi’s alive?” Jinx croaks. 

“Yes,” Caitlyn says. She could throw the food at the door and say nothing more. But she thinks of Vi just laying there and how furious she would be, “she isn’t out of the woods but the doctors don’t think she’s in any immediate danger.”

Jinx wipes at her face messily. Just that movement has Caitlyn jerking back, nearly spilling the water on the tray. She is better than this. Better than the memory of those ultraviolet eyes staring at her from her own bathroom mirror. 

“Did you see her?” Jinx questions. 

For a moment it’s Vi looking back at her from that cell. Where did you get these. Caitlyn tries to remember if they had the same eyes before the Shimmer painted JInx’s that color. But the memory of Vi is replaced by the image of her on the hospital bed and finally back to where Jinx is looking at her suspiciously. 

“Yes,” she says. Annoyance pricks at her, “I am not lying,” she snaps. 

Jinx just keeps staring at her and it is unbearable. Caitlyn drops the tray by the food slot and pushes it forward with her foot. She expects Jinx to grab her but she doesn’t. She just watches every move as Caitlyn nudges the tray forward and steps back. Caitlyn cannot take the gaze and walks over to the elevator. 

“Why did you tell me?” Jinx asks. 

“Vi would want you to know.” 

&&&

Vi crashes in the morning. 

It takes three doctors to stabilize her enough before they rush her to surgery again to cut her back open. Find the bleed. Find the swelling. Find what is making her die and relieve it before it can put her down for good. 

Caitlyn can only watch as they swarm over her. 

She’s powerless. 

“She had another surgery,” she tells Jinx. Jinx’s fingertips pause their listless drawing, “She’s alive.”

“She’s not getting better,” Jinx says. 

“That’s not what the doctors say,” Caitlyn shoots back. Jinx scoffs something that sounds suspiciously like Topsider and Caitlyn sees red, “what would you know?! You haven’t been around!”

Jinx lays her head on her knees and shifts enough to lock eyes with her. Caitlyn hates the appraising look in her eyes. She told everyone Jinx was dangerous. Vi always mentioned how smart she was. The bars of the cell are a cold comfort as Caitlyn gets the distinct impression Jinx is here only because she wants to be. 

“You talkin to me or yourself?” She asks. 

The desire to kill her rears up again and immediately gets overwhelmed by the guilt. Jinx is right. Worse, she knows she is right. Who is she to speak about Vi’s state in any sense but the medical one. It’s not just her new, urgent wounds. It’s her half healed ones too. Infected cuts, a fungal infection, vitamin deficiencies, concerning liver values—Vi has been doing everything but taking care of herself. And that, Caitlyn knows, is her fault. 

“I’m telling you what the doctors have said because Vi would want you to know,” Caitlyn says, trying to reach for the voice that puts obedience into people’s hearts, “That is the only reason I’m here. Not to talk to you.”

Jinx looks as though she is going to say something further. But then she looks back down at the floor. Her fingers resume their drawing. Caitlyn wants to remind her she can have her killed with a snap of her fingers. She has all of the power here. 

But then she thinks of Vi with the paddles pressed to her chest.

She has no power when it really counts. 

&&&&

“You say you were out of your mind when we were walking back,” Jinx says, “were you when you kissed her?”

It’s sometimes the bitterest pill to swallow. She can say she was not in her right mind. Dismiss her actions as those of a woman mad with grief. But she wanted to kiss Vi. She wanted to kiss her for so long. To feel the cut in Vi’s lips against her own, to feel what it felt like to have Vi’s arms around her. Not out of pity but out of desire. And they were, they were around her and then Caitlyn had to go and ruin everything. 

“Do you love her?” 

The words make her freeze. 

Jinx waits until she is crouched in front of the cell with the tray to ask. Vi is alive, healing. Caitlyn tells herself it’s security that drives her down here to deliver the tray. It’s been a hard day so she lets herself have the excuse. 

“Why would I answer that?” Caitlyn demands, “why would I talk about my feelings with you?”

Jinx considers her. 

“You keep coming down here,” she points out, “you didn’t even say if Vi had surgery today.” 

Caitlyn strongly dislikes being called out. But Jinx is not wrong. She does keep coming down here. She doesn’t even tell herself it’s because she’s concerned about someone poisoning Jinx. She barely touches the food except when she’s threatened with force feedings. 

“I want to know if there’s a person in you,” she says. 

“No,” Jinx replies. 

“No?” 

“She chose me,” Jinx says, “you’re trying to figure out why because you hate me.” 

Anger surges through her.

“You destroyed the Undercity and killed my mother! Of course I hate you!” Caitlyn shouts. 

The anger is blinding, but it’s unsatisfied. It doesn’t feel good to shout at this broken creature. She can cling to things like the law and intent all she wants. The fact is if Jinx was from a respectable family in Piltover a judge would call her insane and send her for treatment. 

“I kidnapped you.”

“What?” She looks at her.

“If we’re listing my crimes. I kidnapped you,” she draws on the ground, “I blew up my dad—“ her face tightens, “there are others,” she looks at Caitlyn, “Vi still chose me.” 

She’s back in that temple screaming at Vi. Hitting her. Leaving her. Like everyone leaves her. 

“Yes, alright. I hate that she chose you,” Caitlyn says before she can properly think. Jinx looks at her. Caitlyn doesn’t want to be here confessing things. But Vi is slowly dying up there. And Caitlyn cannot confess to her, “you’ve caused so much pain.”

“But she loves me,” Jinx says, “I was happy when she chose me but then I saw how unhappy she was without you,” Caitlyn feels sick, “she didn’t choose me completely. She chose you too. It just wasn’t enough for you. But she does love you.” 

Caitlyn presses her back against the wall. Somewhere she surely knew what Jinx is saying. Which means she’s right. It wasn’t enough. Vi never chooses anything in half measures and the fact she chose this to try it out—it stings. It feels like a betrayal. It isn’t and Caitlyn hates that she knows that and her heart doesn’t care. 

“Everything she did, she did it for you,” Jinx continues, “that’s what Vi does. She’ll go to the ends of the earth for the people she loves,” her eyes peer at Caitlyn’s through a mess of blue hair, “it’s hard to be loved like that.”

Caitlyn feels her throat go tight but she shoves the feeling back. 

They both know Jinx is right. 

&&&&

“It’s an eating day,” Caitlyn announces as she pushes the tray through the slot. Jinx gives her an annoyed look, “it’s been two days. You know what will happen.”

Jinx sighs and picks up the sandwich. On days when she eats her energy perks back. She’s more talkative, more alert. Caitlyn likes those days because it is much easier to hate her on them. She looks down at the water Jinx has used to paint things. Much to her shock, she recognizes something.

“Is that Jayce’s old studio?”

“No,” Jinx says, “that’s just some guy we robbed,” her brows knit together, “when everything went wrong.”

“When you blew it up!” Caitlyn says. Jinx pauses and for the first time looks intrigued, “I was there!”

“You were?”

“Yes! The door was jammed. We couldn’t open it,” her mind is spinning, “you—Vi was there?” Jinx nods slowly. Caitlyn tries to think back to that hallway. She remembers the sounds of people scrambling and the muttered voices, “I dropped something.”

“So did I,” Jinx laments, “after we heard you.”

“You heard me,” Caitlyn repeats. 

Jinx gives her a halfhearted annoyed look. Caitlyn knows she’s repeating things but she cannot help it. Vi was on the other side of that door. She presses her fingertips to her lips. Tries to imagine what Vi may have looked like at that age. Her stomach twists when she realizes the rocket Jinx fired at her mother was not the only time she tried to blow up someone Caitlyn loved. The familiar anger is acidic in her mouth but it’s more vinegar than bile. 

Because Vi was there too. 

And slowly Caitlyn is realizing that may matter more. 

&&&&

The day Vi starts to wake up is the worst day of Caitlyn’s life. 

She knows it does not happen all at once. It’s a gradual process. But it’s hell. She cannot kick the doctors out. She does not know what to do. She can only watch as they remove tubes and try to cajole a response from Vi. Vi struggles and makes the most horrible sounds that cut through Caitlyn’s defenses. It hurts so much to see she practically flees down to Jinx’s cell. 

“What happened?” Jinx is instantly at the bars.

“She’s waking up,” Caitlyn chokes out. 

“Okay? Why do you look like that?” Jinx questions, “Is she okay?” 

“She’s fine, she’s in pain,” she says. Jinx rolls her eyes like Caitlyn has just said the stupidest thing she’s ever heard. Maybe it is. Vi is always in some kind of pain, “I don’t like seeing her in pain.” 

“Me neither but you look wrecked,” Jinx observes. 

“I—“ Caitlyn stops. Collects herself. Jinx sighs and shakes her head. 

“You’re not going to do anything about it.”

“That’s not true!”

“You think when she wakes up its gonna be sunshine and roses?” She shakes her head, “Vi’s going to yell at you and scare you off. Just don’t hit her this time she’s still healing.” 

“How dare you!” Caitlyn glares. 

“I’m not the one who hit her,” she says. 

Caitlyn can scarcely believe her ears. Jinx has done so much worse. Nearly killed her more times than she can count. Caitlyn knows she has made terrible mistakes but this is different. Surely it is different. They are not comparable. 

You sound like her

 Only one of them flooded the Undercity with drugs. 

You sound like her

Hurt Vi

You sound like her

It’s her blood in your veins!

Caitlyn’s back hits the wall. 

“You sound like her,” the words slip out of her mouth, “that’s why I’m here. You sound like her.”

Jinx moves over and places herself in the corner closest to Caitlyn. It’s only a wall that separates them. In another world perhaps it is her in the cell and Jinx is the one who prevents all of this. Maybe then Vi gets to be happy. 

“You love her, don’t you?”

Caitlyn nods, though she knows Jinx cannot see her. She cannot say those words to her first. No matter how human she has become as they both wait for Vi to wake up. 

“What if she chooses me again?” Jinx asks. 

“I don’t know,” Caitlyn says.

“Will you still love her?”

Caitlyn wishes this was not a real question. Then she feels like a fool for realizing it will always be a facet of whatever it is between them. It is Jinx’s blood flowing through her veins. And Caitlyn has reflected her actions in every scream of grief. They have both brought Vi to this place. 

“Yes,” Caitlyn whispers. 

“What if you mess it up again?” Jinx asks. 

“I’m a Kiramman,” Caitlyn snaps, “we don’t fail.” 

Something sets in Jinx’s eyes. She considers Caitlyn for a long moment and then gets to her feet. 

“I’m not going to talk to you anymore,” Jinx says and walks to the far corner. “Next time you come down here it should be to kill me,” she says. 

&&&

Vi wakes up properly. 

And everything changes. 

[prapaiwife]

Another Breakdown on episode 8 love in the air prapai and sky that no one asked for lol💨☁️

With love in the air almost just about 2 years later and my countless rewatches 😙 I want to talk about prapai and sky story arc in more detail from my pov!

Episode 8 (the first meeting) so with their first meeting I'm not going to lie it wasn't the most romantic BUT the first time they laid eyes on each other you can already sense this attraction of both ends from them. Prapai obviously as we know being the quote on quote "playboy" he slept around. And when we rewatching I don't know if he was intending to take someone from the race track that night or not but it seemed like he made up his mind when he had made eye contact with sky. And seemingly seeing the situation he was in with being caught by the guards he swooped in and took his chance.

Speaking of them making eye contact, that scene alone is so enticing! Cause not just the music and the sudden abrupt pause of it when they lock eyes!! When watching you hear a sharp knife sound when prapai notices sky first and he's surrounded by this bright red in the back. Red is a clear sign of danger and / or desire it's very exciting and draws you into what prapai is going to do next. But also this obvious sense of confidence that prapai has in this moment he's sure of himself.

Then the purple and blue that looms over sky and then both them! (Heavily when they get into the bedroom scenes) It's kinda an ultraviolet and indigo hue. As I said again, it's so intriguing. It's passionate and intense these two when they clash intimately. Watching them talk, you have a sense of mystery cause you don't know what's gonna happen.

And this insight into the way it's shot they make prapai look like this big bad wolf. And sky looks very much so innocent and somewhat lost for words. I mean he probably is thinking of how handsome this man is, this man who just saved him. And having a sliver of hope that this guy is actually not like his ex. Because as we know sky being there already brings up a lot of unwanted feelings because he knows of this place because of his ex. And so he is surrounded as he says with a bunch of a holes because they were associated with his ex.

Also while we're here the way prapai proposed the choice for sky to leave with him or just leave the race track on his own. Cause It's at least clear to me that prapai wasn't forcing sky he gave him a choice! Prapai wouldn't have even stopped sky if he wanted to leave he would've let him go.

(Also they've shown us how pai treats the ppl he sleeps with and he's actually very kind to them he's very gentle and overall a really decent guy)

Sky chose to sleep with prapai to pay back the favor. He made that conscious decision, and you don't have to like it, of course, but he did. And it was very much a necessity as he says himself but we can also see how very much sky was in charge of it all. Cause Sky most likely was very much attracted to pai, but after pai started talking, he proved Sky's point of what he thought. Maybe prapai wasn't, and that's an asshole. Also sky is very emotionally and mentally broken he thinks so low of himself he self- loathes a lot and so he feels that he put himself in this position and sadly he believes it's all that he's good for.

When sky leaves his place we see him have this regretful look and he says it everyone he runs into is a asshole prapai is a asshole very badly of prapai which is understandable so when you know that he now

And it's telling cause prapai tells him as we know in ep 13 he wished he would have met him sooner. After hearing sky bare his heart out about everything he had went through. And sky says it's okay cause they did eventually. Especially when you know the circumstances of how they met and as know it wasn't the ideal meeting. It made Sky's first impression of prapai not look so good in the beginning. But for sky saying we did meet and he wouldn't have changed anything about how it happened. Because if he did he probably wouldn't be where he is now.

So when they go for the second round, they show sky's face, and you can see him here, forcing himself and his clear detachment from it all although he chooses to go again. After praipai initiates, he's disappointed at himself. He's mad that he's lying here in his bed that he's put himself in this position again. While prapai obviously doesn't know anything about Sky atp, when Sky Leaves, he can't even get him to tell him name! because again, for pai, this is just what he does he has one night stands.

And then the scene when sky gets the sunflowers I know sky said he didn't want it and even felt bad that he was about to even trash them but as we know he couldn't and ended up just giving them to the lady at the front desk of his apartment complex lol. But this gesture obviously really touched sky's heart even if he didn't want to actually feel anything about it he did. But immediately he did what he would usually told himself to not get his hopes up basically cause he's the last person prapai would ever actually go for. Sky doesn't want to admit it but he really liked the flowers he chuckled at prapai cheesy yet charming line of "the sunflowers facing the sky I can't be the Sun for you but whenever you see sunflowers remember that this winds watching over the sky" it's the first time someone has shown him a affectionate gesture. His fear of his trauma makes him not want to get close he talks himself out of even entertaining pai cuz a part of him does want to but he's not going to lie himself to do so. It's his obvious clear internal struggle that we see throughout their story sky arc open up his heart but to afraid to let potentially all of that hurt and pain in again.

That's all for now I wanna do this for the rest of their arc in the next coming weeks so I'll see when after love sea ends cause I'll be in my withdrawals lol

[kasarasun]

Five Eyes (Buddhist Concept) vs Six Eyes (JJK or smth)

I feel brave again, because sleep deprivation has stolen all of my sense.

(Note that Eye and Eyesight are used interchangeably, and that while some of the symptoms of the Six Eyes are known, the exact mechanisms are not.)

Is it strange to say that the Six Eyes may have been named after the Five Eyesights of the Buddha? No, because there are a lot of references to buddhism in JJK.

Are they similar? How are they similar? I know that the Five Eyes exist. What does each eyesight represent?

I use this source mainly and some others, though this is a tumblr post about jjk so I cannot bring myself to credit my sources properly, like something being percieved as too oily to eat: https://www.baus.org/en/publications/dr-shens-collections/the-five-eyes/

I'd like to say that although it's longer, it says what I'm trying to say much better, and worth reading.

Physical Eyes: The eyes of me and you, the fly on the wall, the bird outside the window, and so on and so forth.

Heavenly Eyes: The eyes of gods and goddesses, though obtainable by me and you. It's like using a microscope, or looking at pictures of nebulae, or watching the news about a country a ways away.

Wisdom Eyes: With the Physical and Heavenly eyes, the world may seem fully complete, unbearably physical, and the only real thing. The wisdom eye allows one to see that this is not the case: the world is incomplete, and this perceived world is impermanent, and not 'real'.

Dharma Eyes: The wisdom eyes may lead to an attachment to emptiness. The Dharma eye sees that all of these forms, both empty and existent, exist with equal validity due to their unique realms and modes of perception. At the same time, it's an all encompassing compassion.

Buddha Eyes: its hard to describe, and I honestly must say that I don't know enough to describe it. The eyesight of a buddha is something of a buddha. What can I say? I don't know quite enough to say anything.

and finally,

what of the Six Eyes? What does this extraneous mode of perception percieve?

It could be cursed energy, but would cursed energy fall into the realm of the heavenly Eyes, as does the perception of infrared and ultraviolet light? Why six instead of five in the first place?

To be honest, I don't think I know enough to answer this question, but I had fun trying to answer it. Maybe I can just say something silly, like 'Gege when I catch you Gege' and cope and seethe forever because a comparison of the existing five modes of perception and the 5+1 eyes would have much more value, in terms of investigating the connection between Buddhism and JJK.

It's 6am.

[anonymityisfunwriter]

Afterglow

"Just wanna lift you up and not let you go, this ultraviolet morning light below tells me this love is worth the fight..."

Part of Inspired by Taylor Swift Series 'You're Losing Me' Chapter List

"I just can't believe they're going to be married in two days," you wistfully sigh, tossing your jacket onto the couch.

There was nothing quite like a wedding rehearsal dinner to put you in a particularly wistful, romantic mood. It also didn’t hurt that you and Bucky had fallen back together so perfectly over the last few months. It all seemed to fall into place. "They're perfect for each other."

"They seem really happy," Bucky agrees, smiling at the lightness in your face. 

You warmly smile back at him, "Yeah, they do."

"It was a beautiful night," Bucky continues. He ambles into the living room, following in your footsteps. “Makes you wonder, you know?”

Bucky’s not quite sure that you heard him. You’re sort of lost in your own bubble of romanticism. He hasn’t seen this side of you in quite some time, so he’s content to just watch you twirl around the room. He smiles at the way your dress swishes around you. He’s not quite sure if the flush on your cheeks is the alcohol in your system or just the thrill of the night. 

There's something about this night. Something that he can't quite put his finger on. He just doesn't want to end. It's like he wants to stay in these twenty seconds or live out the next twenty years with you in this very moment. He'll take either. Twenty seconds or twenty years. He doesn't just want this night, he wants them all.

His heart flutters, he can't remember the last time that happened. He walks over to his bookshelf, the that you almost burned down on one of your first dates together. He drops the needle and plays one of his records. 

Your eyes flutter shut at the sound of music suddenly filling the room, gasping when Bucky’s arms suddenly wraps around your waist, "What are you doing?"

"I just wanted to dance with you. Is that okay?"

You chortle at him, looking up at him. It's in that moment that Bucky sees it. It's back, that glimmer of hope, of love. It's back. You nod, resting your head on his chest, "I always want to dance with you."

His heart flutters again. He keens at the feeling of you back in his arms. It’s been six months of you back in his arms, but he never lets himself forget how lucky he is. In that moment, he knows he'll truly never get enough of you. "I really liked what Vision said, you know? About letting life surprise you with what it gives you."

"He is oddly poignant," you agree.

"Made me think of us."

You lift your head off his chest, looking up at him with a quirked eyebrow, "Really?"

"He said something like that when we were..." he trails off. It wasn't one of his finest moments in life, and he tried not to relive it as much as possible. To this day, he couldn't believe he almost burned down everything you had out of his own fear. It almost makes him feel sick thinking about the night he asked you to stay, to give him one more chance. He very well knows that it could’ve gone either way. "Well, you know."

Your head tilts to the side with an amused smirk, "You talked to Vision about us?"

"Yeah," Bucky anxiously chuckles. "I didn’t really have a choice, everyone just about slapped me upside my head. Well, Steve actually did. But anyway, he told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was being an idiot, which wasn't that uncommon of a sentiment."

A laugh bubbles out of your mouth, "Vision called you an idiot?" 

"Vision, Steve, Sam, Natasha, Wanda, Tony, Clint, even Peter. And honestly, I don't disagree."

Almost six months had passed since your brief separation. Six months had passed since he asked you to stay.

And stay, you did.

You talked that entire night, talked about how you could fix what was clearly broken.

You talked about everything, the future you wanted, the future he wanted. You agreed that Bucky would go back to therapy. You talked about the team and Bucky’s work. There was so much left uncertain at the end of the night, but you had one very solid conclusion: that you would both try. And in the months since then, things were settling fairly well. Bucky didn’t wake up screaming in the middle of the night. He could envision a future that was brighter than the past. Your house felt like a home again. Light poured in once more. The silence was replaced with music. You finally danced with Bucky again. 

Things were looking up. It all seemed brighter now. 

Bucky finally stepped into the daylight. 

"You don't?" you question.

"Well, I was being an idiot, and it almost cost me the best thing that has ever happened to me." You remain silent, a blush creeping up your face as Bucky continues talking, "You know that, right? You're the best thing that has ever happened to me, I love you, more than I ever thought possible."

"I love you too." You rest your head back against his chest, listening to the steady beating of his heart. It adds something to the moment. In this moment, it is you and him. He is all you see, all you care to hear. He is the only touch that has ever ignited hope within you. In this moment, everything is right. Everything is perfect. "And I'm glad we found our way back to each other."

"Me too." Just over your head, he looks at that bookcase. The one from your second date. What you didn't know was on a shelf just out of your reach, tucked in the corner, sat his mother's ring. He smiles to himself. He's sure in that moment that his heart will never be as full as it is in this moment. "I'm happy here. I want to be happy, to make you happy. I want us to be happy together."

What he didn't tell you was the he could see it all in his head. He could envision it like he'd live through it time and time again. He could see the home you'd build together. He could see the family you'd one day have. He could see you walking down the aisle to him.

He'd have the next twenty years, but until then, he'd have these twenty seconds to tide him over. 

--

Author's note: So... um... I've got a surprise for you guys. I couldn't actually decide what ending to go with. Sad? How unpredictable for me (That was sarcasm.) Happy? (I've always loved a happy ending, but I can acknowledge that they are not always the most realistic. So why not write both?

So here we are, dear readers, if you want to keep this image of a perfect, fluffy, happy ending, stop here. If not, I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Alternate Ending! AnonymityIsFun Masterlist Inspired By Taylor Swift

Reblogs and comments are always appreciated 💛

Taglist: @marianita195 @meli18gonzalez@ludicbouquetfromearth@matchat3a@famousbreadcherryblossomsstuff@valoraxx@blue786sworld@buckyandgeraltsupremacy@geminigengar@ansaturn@ecolle@lexhalstead3@ybflkmj@mediocre-daydreams@shanye1112@thegirlnextdoorssister@toomanyfanficsbruh@moonlightreader649@breathtaking-cynthia@mirikusashes@beans-and-toast@niyahcoca@katiechikin@elxvrr@antiheroxsblog@infamouslyclumsy@krissydclayton93@buckysbarne@deadheadwbedhead @qualitygiantshoepsychic@whitexwolfxx310

[zorilleerrant]

A Real Job

@flashfictionfridayofficial

I watch him dance across the rooftops. I know it makes for good TV, but I hate it when he gets into chases. He hardly ever does anymore, which, I guess, is why it’s so noteworthy that he’s bothering this time. I didn’t turn on the TV until mom told me to, so I missed the first part of this, but chances are whoever’s cat that is was crying on screen a few minutes ago. He’s a soft touch when kids cry. He’s a soft touch for cats, anyway.

“You see? He’s a sweet boy,” mom says, as I watch headlines scroll under his feet. He’s running flat out. It’s a sunny day, but not sunny enough to warrant that. “I heard him in interview; he calls his mom every week. Why couldn’t you marry someone like that?”

“I don’t know why you have such a problem with him, mom,” I complain down the line, over her quiet huff, “his parents love me.”

“Of course they love you, you’re a doctor,” mom says. The camera pans over the dark expanse of alley like it’s supposed to be dramatic, except that one of them can fly, and the other’s only going to be helped by the dark, even if it is too long a jump. “And what does your man do all day, while you’re saving lives, do you even know?”

“He’s a consultant, mom,” I say, caught up in the chase. If this asshole with the cat can fly – if the news isn’t wrong about that – what the hell is the chase about, then? Is it just to be an asshole? I hope it isn’t some kind of vendetta.

“Consultant for what?” mom says, as she turns the blender on, probably to soothe her nerves, “bitcoin? Is it bitcoin? Ultraviolet’s out there being a role model, feeding homeless kids and building bee gardens, and your husband’s selling bitcoin to who knows who on the dark web.” I don’t know that he’s being much of a role model right now, punching someone that hard as the cat scampers free. Maybe it is a vendetta.

“What do you want me to do, mom, get a divorce?” I say, turning the volume up. None of the drones are close enough to hear what either of them are saying, but Ultraviolet’s got an expression like he’s giving a final warning. He’s definitely met this villain before. I don’t know when. He never told me about it.

“Now, I didn’t say that, I’m just saying,” mom says. I can hear her smacking the blender in the background as it catches again. Maybe if I have him send her a new blender it’ll convince her he just works for some dubious MLM. “Did you ask if he’s got, you know, ‘connections’? They don’t always say that they do, you know, on the mask side of things.”

“Believe me, mom, I am not in the dark about any superhero or supervillain my husband knows,” I tell her. The camera’s back on the cat. He’s going to go back the long way, because cats hate it in the shadows, so it gives the camera a good long look at him before they zoom in close enough his mask starts blurring his face again. “Or any other mask, either, if that’s what you were thinking.”

“I’m not thinking anything,” mom says, muttered through a mouthful of what’s probably mixed berry, in this mood. “I’m just saying, who just knows someone to get kids from? Did he buy those kids with his bitcoin empire? If anyone should have random ins with an adoption agency it should be you, now shouldn’t it?”

“Where is this coming from?” I ask. My stomach drops as I wonder whether she’s been trying to run background checks on the kids. Their data should be scrubbed clean, but maybe not that clean. Although if anyone’s paying attention to us specifically, that’s already trouble. The cat’s embraced by a grateful family. The camera lingers on the group hug.

“Well, you know, a job’s opened up at your old lower school – nothing fancy, just some filing – and I just think, you know, he could get a real job,” mom says, with a shrug I can hear in her voice, as she taps her nail against her glass. “I’m not knocking the money, but this one pays decent, and the kids can get discounted tuition if he sticks around. Better than something shifty, if you ask me, especially when they get older and start wanting him at career day.”

“Mom,” I say again, but I think I’ve already lost the argument. Ultraviolet pauses to give the camera a friendly wave. I guess he can always work weekends.

[meekahy]

The Hell I Overcame Part 1

Hi everyone! @lma1986 and I co-wrote this for you guys! We will have parts/chapters out as soon as possible!

Let me know if you want to be on a tag list!

The venue was hectic. It was the day before the tour started. Mia was buzzing as she walked through the venue. Her band, Ultraviolet, was on their first big tour as an opener for Bad Omens.  The band couldn’t believe they were finally getting their first big break as a new and upcoming band. They had played at festivals and fairs, but this was huge for them.

“Mia!” she heard from behind her and she turned around to see her drummer, Alex, running towards her. “There you are. We’ve been looking for you,” he said as he finally caught up to her.

“I was just taking everything in before our big day tomorrow,” Mia said with a smile on her face as she glanced around again.

“Bad Omens just arrived. Do you want to meet up with them before we head to soundcheck?” he asked as Travis, the guitarist, walked up to them.

“Yeah. I guess we should probably introduce ourselves,” Mia said and they started walking down the hall.

“How long do we have until soundcheck?” Travis asked as Mia looked at her Apple Watch.

“We have about 15 minutes until we need to be on stage,” Mia replied as she followed behind Alex.

They continued to make their way through the venue until they reached Bad Omen’s green room. The door was open and they could hear guys talking from inside the room. Alex reached his hand up and knocked at the door to get their attention.

“Hi. My name is Alex,” he said as he introduced himself while he looked around at the guys. “I am the drummer for Ultraviolet,” he added as he started to walk into the room.

“Oh, hey. I’m Nick Folio. I’m the drummer for Bad Omens,” Nick said as he held his hand out towards Alex. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said as he shook Alex’s hand while Mia and Travis stood there.

Mia looked around while Travis introduced himself and when it was her turn, she smiled at Nick.

“Hey, I’m Nick,” he said as he held his hand out to Mia.

“Mia. I’m the lead singer,” she introduced herself with a smile.

“Nice to meet you,” Nick smiled back.

Mia moved on to the next person who was standing there.

“Hi, I’m Mia,” she said cheerfully as she held her hand out.

“Jolly. Nice to meet you,” he grinned as he shook her hand.

“Hey, I’m Nick,” the next guy said as he went to shake Mia’s hand.

“Oh, geez. There are two Nicks in this band!?” Mia said as she looked at both men with the same first name.

“Yeah, but you can call me Folio. Folio is my last name,” the first Nick laughed and she nodded as she shook Nick’s hand.

As Mia moved on from shaking Nick’s hand, she was met with the lead singer of Bad Omens. Her eyes immediately noticed the tattoos that covered his neck before she looked into his chocolate brown eyes. He was intimidating, but not hard on the eyes.

“Hi, I’m…” Mia started to say as she held out her hand.

“Mia,” he answered before she could even say her name and a smile immediately formed on her face as they both looked into each other’s eyes.

“Yeah,” she said with a nervous chuckle as he shook her hand.

“I’m Noah. It’s nice to finally meet you,” he beamed as they continued to hold onto each other’s hands.

“You too,” she blushed with a smile.

Mia’s eyes went from his neck down to the tattoos that covered his hand. They were beautiful and Mia couldn’t help but admire them. One of the guys cleared their throat and Mia looked over to see Alex standing there as he tapped at his watch. She immediately let go of Noah’s hand.

“We have our soundcheck soon. We should probably head to the stage to get ready,” Alex said as he continued to look at Mia.

“Right,” she said with a smile and looked back at Noah. “Well, it was nice to finally meet you, Noah.”

“You, too,” Noah said as Mia started to walk away from him.

The moment the members of Ultraviolet left Bad Omen’s green room, Mia brought her hands up to her face as Alex wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Oh my god. I just stared at him. Why did I do that?” Mia said as she immediately felt embarrassed.

“Because he is Noah Sebastian and he is so dreamy,” Alex teased her as he batted his eyelashes at her. “Do you realize how many girls would kill to be in that position?” he added as they approached the stage area.

On stage, Travis plugged in his guitar and played a few chords. Alex sauntered over to his drum kit and grabbed his drumsticks before laying down a slow beat. Mia started to put in her in-ear monitors. 

“Ready?” Mia questioned into the mic to Devon, the band’s sound engineer.

Devon gave Mia a thumbs up from where he stood in the sound booth. She nodded and Ultraviolet started to play the intro to their first song. Mia’s voice started to fill the arena as she sang into the microphone. As she looked out, she couldn’t believe that in just a couple of hours, she would be singing in front of thousands of people.

During the last song, Mia sang as Travis and Alex expertly played their instruments. She glanced over and noticed Noah watching their set from the side. He was bobbing his head to the beat. The moment that Noah’s eyes locked with Mia’s, she quickly looked away and finished singing the last part of the song.

“That was sick guys,” Devon said into the mic he had in the booth. “I think we’re good to go for tonight. Thanks.”

The members of Ultraviolet beamed as they put away their instruments. Mia started to walk off the stage and as she was in the process of taking her in-ears out, her body ran into another person. She looked and tilted her head up, realizing that she had run into Noah.

“Oh my god. I’m so sorry,” she apologized as he steadied herself, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. 

“It’s no problem,” he said laughing, “You guys sounded good out there,” he added with a small smile.

“Thanks,” Mia replied as Nick and Jolly came up behind Noah with their guitars.

Mia moved aside as she watched the guys take the stage. She kept an eye on Noah as he put his in-ears in while Folio started to beat against the drumset.

The next day, Mia could hear the lively crowd from the side of the stage. She could feel her nerves start to bubble up from her feet to the top of her head. She started to shake her hands to try and get rid of her anxiety. This tour is going to be the biggest one Ultraviolet has ever played.

Noah was talking to the rest of Ultraviolet, wishing them a great show when he noticed Mia pacing back and forth as she shook her hands.

“Hey, Mia,” Noah speculated. 

Mia stopped pacing and looked at Noah with wide eyes, opened her mouth to say something, but was unable to speak. The nerves were starting to get to her. Noah walked over to her and realized how nervous she was.

“Oh, hey, it’s okay,” Noah said empathetically, resting his hands on her shoulders, in hopes of grounding her.

“I’m nervous,” Mia admitted. 

“Yeah, I get that way too before shows, especially when it was our first big show. I understand,” Noah continued as he looked into Mia’s eyes. 

“Really?” she muttered.

“Oh, totally. I threw up right before a show once and actually during a show another time,” he laughed, “but I’m sure you’re stronger than that.”

At the thought of throwing up, Mia’s breath started to quicken. There were thousands of people out there and she didn’t want to make a fool out of herself on the first night of the tour.

“No…wait, I’m sorry. Just breathe. Deep breaths in,” he instructed, breathing with her, “And deep breaths out.”

After a few deep breaths with Noah, Mia started to calm down. Her anxiety went away and she felt like she was grounded again.

“Hey, two minutes before we head on,” Alex informed Mia as he lightly touched her arm.

Mia nodded as she glanced over at Alex and then looked at Noah.

“Thank you. My nerves sometimes get the best of me,” Mia murmured. 

“It’s no problem. Have a great show,” he beamed. 

Mia reciprocated Noah’s smile as she and the rest of Ultraviolet made their way over to the side of the stage. The lights dimmed and the crowd started to cheer as Mia, Alex, and Travis walked out onto the stage. Mia took her spot in front of the mic and lowered it to her height. She put her in-ears in and stood there as she waited for Alex and Travis to start the intro to the song. Once the intro started to play, the blue lights slowly came on above the band. Mia started to sing as she looked out at the crowd for the first time. There were fans everywhere and she couldn’t believe that this was the life that she was living in.

[arachnixe]

Execution

(Part 9 of Night’s Longing - Previous: Past Hungers, Past Mistakes)

Carmen seems more withdrawn than before after sharing that story, as though even she was caught by surprise that those memories still have some power over her. A little fun in bed helps distract her for a moment, but I get the feeling she also uses it to distract me from the topic.

I try to get her to open up to me, permit herself to show even an ounce of vulnerability, but she smoothly redirects my efforts with flirtations until we’re fucking again because I simply cannot ever resist her.

At the very least I can offer her my company and my support, even when it’s four in the afternoon and I notice that Carmen’s snuck out of bed to brood in silence. I make her coffee just the way she likes, bringing it to her and sitting in the same room as her.

I wonder, and not for the first time, how much heartbreak someone her age has experienced. I guess it never gets any easier.

The story she told sticks with me for more reasons. She described a collection of vampiric abilities I have heard of but never before witnessed in the possession of any single vampire. I have heard tales, of course, of the “archvampires” slain by my ancestors, the greatest of which commanded a similarly fantastic array of powers. Until recently, I believed them to be exaggerations for the sake of inflating the reputations of those old, revered hunters. Yet Carmen’s abilities are perfectly in line with even the tallest tales.

It terrifies me the first time I watch Carmen pass by her curtains—frankly inadequate ones, letting slip a thin slice of sunlight through the gap during the pre-sundown hours—and I watch, stunned, as the light momentarily passes over her with hardly a sizzle.

“Not sunscreen,” she tells me, laughing, when I confront her with my first, admittedly silly, guess. “It is not the same ultraviolet radiation which gives humans a sunburn that also purges our kind from the world. It is specifically daylight. We are ontologically of night itself at the most fundamental level. A vampire is dispelled by the sun in precisely the same way that night is.”

I can only reply with stammering, half-formed words stumbling over each other, but she takes pity on my confusion and offers me a little more explanation.

“Resistance is not altogether impossible, though I remain a creature of night. You could say I have kissed the moon and may hide in its shadow.” She gestures as if groping for words that don’t come easily to her, at least in English. “In an occult sense, I mean to say.”

It’s clear that I’m not satisfied by such a metaphorical answer, and Carmen sighs. “It works something like your Boltman blessings. Here. One visible element of the work of many years.” She lifts her shirt to direct my attention to a particular cluster of lines tattooed below her ribs. “Before I ever became a vampire, I was something of a mystic. I have always loathed my own weakness, thus I work to diminish what flaws I cannot eliminate.”

Something about Carmen’s body language reads as vulnerable as she confesses this one small detail of her early life, and she seems relieved that I choose to pull her into a hug rather than pry further.

“Sorry.” My words are muffled with my face pressed into her. My heart isn’t done pounding with that initial panic of seeing the sunlight touch her. “I just need a second.”

Her gentle touch on my back is reassuring. “You do not need to worry about me.”

“I do a lot of things I don’t need to. Don’t try to talk me out of this one.”

“As you wish, darling.” She wraps her arms around me too. “I only mean to say that I have offered to help you overcome the circumstances of your birth, which would be an empty promise indeed from someone unable to exert similar influence even on herself. I ask you not to doubt my strength.”

I groan. “Fuck, I hate it when you talk like my dad. Worrying about you isn’t a slight, Carmen! It doesn’t mean I think you’re less cool and smart and powerful! It doesn’t mean I doubt your ability to help and protect me! It means I care about you!”

I feel a tremor in Carmen’s body, at first seeming much like sobbing, but after a moment I realize it’s laughter.

“Even now,” she says quietly, to herself, and I can’t guess what she means, but I only hold her tighter.

We stay like this together for a while longer.

---

The notification sound sends my heart bouncing around my ribcage. I check my phone, and it’s Liz. No greeting, no preamble, just a time and an address.

“Do you need a ride?” Carmen asks without needing any explanation at all.

I nod dumbly, momentarily paralyzed by the unexpected shattering of this peaceful time together before the phantom voice of my father roars in my brain to move.

I move. My gear is propped in the corner, waiting for me, and I make myself ready for battle faster than I ever have in my life.

We scream across the city in her convertible, once again hitting all the green lights—and now I’m wondering which of her tattoos controls the flow of traffic—on our way to where my target is supposed to be. The sunset casts the city in shades of gold which Carmen only requires a pair of shades to endure.

She could probably take on someone like Ylio without breaking a sweat, couldn’t she? Based on what she’s told me of herself and the stories passed down about how far beyond ordinary vampires the archvampires were, it would be no trouble for her even if Ylio brought friends to back them up.

I look to my left at her handsome face and remember how she immediately offered this very ride. How she offered to save me from the doom of my bloodline. Of course she would be willing to help. She might even insist on it.

But asking someone to kill their own is not an easy thing, is it? It’s a terrible burden to place on someone, especially when this is not her fight at all. It’s mine, for the sake of me and my sisters. Bearing the guilt of this assassination should be my burden alone.

I can’t let her come with me.

“Carmen, I don’t want your help with this.”

“As you wish.”

After bracing myself for an argument, I’m caught off guard. “Huh. Just like that?”

“Darling, I understand more than most the importance of vengeance against one’s own killer.” After a moment’s silence, she adds, “I also admit to some curiosity. How does a modern Boltman fight, I wonder? I will enjoy observing from a distance.”

A modern Boltman. In this context, hunting a vampire, I suppose that’s just what I am. It’s a role bolted through my flesh into my bones, and right now, as I wear the uniform of what I am, how can I pretend that I am anything more than Hanna Boltman, Vampire Hunter?

Deep breaths, Hanna. I can endure this the same way I always have. I just need to hold my feelings at arm’s length and let the body do as it was trained to do.

Exiting the car a few blocks early, I leave Carmen to find a place to park and a vantage from which to watch. With wary steps, I approach my destination.

I expect someone as pompous as Ylio to feed at one of the ritzy and exclusive vampire clubs. Sanguine Dreams, for example, feels like their speed; it’s a place that requires reservations in advance, and if you’ve got the connections and ability to pay for the VIP lounge, I hear they bring your food and entertainment to you live, and the presentation is supposed to be something really special. Now that I think about it, I’d bet Carmen could get in. That could make for a nice date night.

This side of town, though? It’s far removed from all Clan Sarthe fronts and infrastructure I’m aware of, and the address turns out to be an old, dilapidated building, four stories tall and from the turn of the last century. I can’t guess what it was once for. Banking? A factory? Moonshine during Prohibition? The windows are boarded up, the roof looks partially collapsed, and even the brick wall looks dark and rotting. The words “no entry” are spray painted on the side of the building.

What, does Ylio go after squatters? How unexpectedly pathetic.

It’s still early. I’m in luck that Carmen’s solar resistance means that we didn’t have to wait till full sundown to head this way. I have just enough time to scout the area, lay my trap, and find a place to hide.

The parking lot is overgrown with weeds, crumbling chunks of concrete filled by a late addition of gravel to smooth it out. Light glints off shards of glass and other assorted garbage among the detritus. Not an ideal place for a fight, all things considered. Keeping my footing here could be a challenge, but I might be able to hide something small in the cracks, cover it with gravel.

And there, adjacent to the parking lot, is another old building. Not quite so large, not quite so condemned, it should make a good place to hide. The alleyway between it and the next building down is just narrow enough for my purposes. I sprint, vault onto a friendly dumpster, leap toward the opposite building to kick off the wall and catch the lip of this building’s roof.

The roof is flat, with enough of a raised ridge around it for me to lay flat and conceal myself from anyone below me. The drop back down is only two stories, which is perfectly doable without a roll—and after seeing all the broken glass down there, I count myself lucky for that.

I prep my crossbow and settle in to wait.

It’s hard to ignore the itch in the back of my mind telling me something is off. My target isn’t just prideful; according to Liz they’re influential. They have allies. This is the sort of place haunted by weak, orphaned vampires, those without connection to their own community.

In a place much like this, back when I was a teenager, my father supervised my first few solo hunts. I remember at the time feeling shocked at how easy those kills were. Back then I didn’t even see vampires as people.

“That’s it?” I asked. “One shot to the heart, and it’s over?”

“Frail, weak, easy pickings for even a novice,” he said. “That’s the fate of anyone, hunter or bloodsucker, who lacks the support of others.”

It was one of many lessons he drilled into me repeatedly over the years.

“Without me, you wouldn’t know how to operate that crossbow. You wouldn’t have practiced your aim. You wouldn’t know where to shoot.” He severed my victim’s head to make absolutely sure they were finished. “Without my mother, I would not have known to teach you those lessons. Without the generations of Boltmans who came before us, without our clan’s hard-won discoveries and the lore of our allies, you and I would be as helpless as babes.

“Each of us is born owing a debt to our clan. Some few of us have the ability and work ethic to pay that debt in full before we die. If you manage to pass the trials, inherit my sword, and continue our family legacy, and if you or one of your descendants manages to rid this world of its vampiric scourge, then perhaps I will have done enough to pay mine off.”

I was 14 years old. “That’s a lot of pressure, dad.”

“It is the appropriate amount of pressure, Hanna. Our bloodline, like few others, is a holy one. It is blessed. We have been gifted the profound privilege to devote our lives in service to others.” He clapped me on the shoulder in a gesture that seemed like camaraderie, the sort of gesture that was as close as he ever got to expressing fatherly affection.

“Yes, sir. We are elevated above others for a reason, and it is our burden to bear that responsibility.”

“Exactly. Remember, none of us matter as individuals; all that matters is how we contribute.” Through repetition, he burned these lessons into my heart. “I do not matter, though I can make myself useful by killing monsters and sculpting you into the family’s next great weapon. You do not matter except through your obedience to me and how well you prove your dedication.”

“Yes, sir. I will make you proud.”

“See that you do. As my only heir, the worth of my life depends on the worth of yours.”

In a way, I’m glad I learned selflessness from my father. Family comes first— remembering that lesson dispels whatever unease creeps up my chest. Killing Ylio is not just a matter of revenge for my own sake; doing so eliminates a threat to my sisters. I cannot fail.

Twilight dims. Voices drift upward from the empty lot. Two figures round the corner of the broken-down building to chat in the ruins of the parking lot. One leans against the wall, looking relaxed, while the other scans in every direction, acting as lookout for threats.

I hear a soft crunch of footsteps far too close to me. I turn and see the silhouette of a third against the sky, standing on the opposite side of the roof from me. Did they leap up here just now? They’re keeping watch too, I realize, but whoever this is, they haven’t noticed me yet, their attention focused on the street below.

Shit, this is a complication I hadn’t planned for. The other person’s head turns in my direction, and I have no time to think before I fire my crossbow to stake the unexpected intruder in the heart. They collapse in near silence, the sound masked effectively by the city’s background noise of car traffic and distant sirens.

I check the body to be sure. Fangs. For the first time in years, I’ve killed a vampire again. Not even my target, just a witness, killed out of panic. Shit. Who were they? No identification, no Sarthe markings—or markings of any other clan I recognize—only a winged ouroboros tattoo on their back.

Did you have a family? Is there someone out there who will stay up wondering why you never came home? Or are you all alone in this world like those first poor, nameless victims of mine were?

I knew I might have to kill more than just Ylio. Liz said they have allies. I knew I might have to do this.

There will be time later to mourn the cost. Already I hear more voices approaching, and I think I recognize the imperious sound of my target’s among them. I reload my crossbow and wait for the right moment to spring the trap.

The three new figures approach the two. I hold my breath, straining to catch their words.

Ylio speaks first. “Look all around, the moon shines bright.”

“We and the dead make swift our flight,” replies the one leaning against the building with an air of ease.

The one on guard seems to relax after this exchange, and the two groups approach one another. Such a tight cluster of them, nearly ideal, but something makes me hesitate. That itch at the back of my mind returns. This isn’t what I expected to find. Something else is going on here.

“What news from Sarthe?”

Ylio makes a dismissive gesture. “The pieces move into place. No new risks. What obstacles remain are on track to be dealt with.”

The wail of a siren masks the reply, and by the time I pick out more words, Ylio is speaking again. “…your recovery efforts?”

“Our associates overseas have delivered his left hand to the courier. We anticipate delivery in a matter of weeks.”

“Should we be expecting you?”

“No. Best to avoid showing our faces. You’ll meet the courier directly.”

“I will set expectations accordingly.”

Shit, one of Ylio’s companions has broken away from the group, and the longer I wait, the more risk I take. It’s now or never. I twist my hand into the trigger sign and leap from my perch as artificial daylight blooms into life inside the parking lot.

Lucky break for me, the wary one was standing right at the center of the blast, and as the brief flash of light fades, all that remains of them is ash. With a twang, the one who stepped away from the blast is staked through the heart. I drop the crossbow and draw my sword.

Three badly charred vampires remain, staring me down with bloody murder in their eyes. It’s the dead of night, and their burns are healing right before my eyes, but right now I have a brief window of weakness to capitalize on. God, they’re still fast, though, dodging every swing of my blade as if I were moving in slow motion.

The one to my left lunges for me, fangs bared, and I nearly fail to raise my silvered bracer in time to defend myself. He screams in pain as the metal brands his skin, giving me an opening to strike that I have to abandon in order to dive away from the swipe of Ylio’s clawed hand.

I roll and leap to my feet, drawing a set of knives to fling in one smooth arc toward my attackers. Ylio bats one out of the air with contemptuous ease, but in a stroke of luck, one pierces the throat of the other vampire, dropping her to the ground as she hisses and claws in vain at the ensorcelled metal. She’s down, at least.

Ylio keeps coming for me, and they’re only getting faster and deadlier as their burns heal. The one who chomped my bracer is back in the fight too, and he’s furious. At the very least his blind outrage is making him a poor collaborator for Ylio, and the two interfere with one another enough for me to keep dancing out of their reach.

Still, all I can do with my sword is buy myself a little breathing room, one swing at a time. I utterly fail to land a single strike.

Then my luck takes a turn for the worse. I slip on loose gravel and tumble backward, and in a blink my assailant has pounced on me.

“You wretched little shit, I’ll make you—“

“Idiot.” I shut him up by ripping my talisman off its chain and shoving it in his mouth. You don’t stop to threaten someone in the middle of a fight, as I quickly demonstrate. When I speak the invocation, he bursts into flames. I kick the burning body at my last remaining opponent, making space to leap back to my feet.

“I know that voice. Elizabeth’s dog.”

Shit. “N-no…?” Good work, Hanna. That ought to throw them off the trail.

“You are.” Somehow they see through my cunning lie. “At last I begin to fit the pieces together. She has been hiding a vampire hunter in our midst this whole time.”

Ugh. I have one last trick up my sleeve, and I won’t be able to make it work unless they get in close. Worst case scenario, Ylio flees, knowing that I am a vampire hunter, and spreads the story of what happened here. No evidence of past heroics could save me from the condemnation that would follow. But more important than me is what would become of my sisters if they were believed to knowingly smuggle a hunter into a Sarthe stronghold.

“As if she knew.” I put as much scorn as I can muster into my voice. “You asked how a low-class vampire like her got a bloodbag of her own? I chose her for her gullibility. The status I could bring her was too good a deal to scrutinize very closely.”

I hope they buy it. Better for my sisters to be seen as fools than traitors.

“How I almost pity her.” Ylio shakes their head, accepting my story. Few things are easier than convincing someone that a person they despise is an idiot. “Ah, but instead I will enjoy using this secret to destroy her reputation.”

“You’ll have to kill me first. Without taking me as proof, nobody will believe the bloodbag you killed just got up and started murdering people back.” I grin and brandish my sword with a flourish. “But as you can see, I’m pretty hard to put down for good.”

“Cocky. But I have stalled for time long enough, and as you can see, I am back at full strength. Now, for the last time, I bid you goodbye, dog.”

Ylio moves in a blur almost too fast to track. In an instant, they are upon me, claws at my neck. My sword falls from my hand. The vampire’s deadly strike is slowed down only for the briefest moment by the gorget I wear.

However, I am ready for them, and that brief moment is all I need. I squeeze the trigger secreted in my palm and spray a fine mist of holy water—really a specially prepared emulsion of salt water and oils enhanced with theurgy—and the fine cloud halts the attack, forcing Ylio to recoil immediately.

Skin sizzles. They choke and gasp, inhaling more into their lungs, inspiring a paroxysm of coughing and hacking up blood. I run my sword through their chest, and the fight is over.

Numbly, moving on autopilot, I behead all four bodies, just the way I was taught, though only the one with the knife through her neck is still twitching and clinging to life.

Six vampires total, dead by my hand. None of them carry any identification on them, though all bear the same mark of the winged ouroboros. Except for one, I’ll never even know their names. Maybe in another life, we could have been friends.

Six more faces that will haunt me for the rest of my life. I drop to my knees and give myself permission to grieve.

Though my hands are stained with death, at least my family is safe.