#i’m intrigued compelled i dare say entranced

[lyriumsings]

i’ve never watched trigun in my life but the main character design is so bisexual and the new animation is so cool i kinda have to now

[3minsover]

late night:early start

City commuter Steve has to get the first train at 5:30am, already suited and preened for the day even at the early hour. He ends up in the same carriage as a clearly tired, scruffy-looking guy who lays his guitar case down across two seats about three rows away from Steve before slumping into one himself, one that faces Steve.

Despite the guy’s bedraggled appearance, and the smudges of eyeliner that are still clinging to his waterline, Steve is entranced. He can’t help but follow the long line of the guy’s arms under the sleeves of his jacket, down to the flex and curl of his fingers as they drum out a rhythm on the little table in front of him. The man seems to sense Steve’s curious eyes on him and glances up, meeting Steve’s gaze with wide, bleary brown eyes and a half-smile. He scratches at the skin behind his ear, just beneath where a mess of curls is twisted into a lazy bun.

“Late night?” Steve finds himself asking unprompted. He’s not one to talk to strangers, but there’s something compelling, intriguing about the inked etchings peaking out of the guy’s sleeve cuffs, the silver stud in his nose, the heavy boots at the end of long, stretched out legs. He’s so very different from the crisp and fresh-pressed suits at the firm, and even though it isn’t even 6am yet, Steve suddenly feels wide awake.

“Uh, yeah,” the guy answers sheepishly, his voice rough with evident disuse - or overuse. perhaps both. “Would you believe I missed the last train yesterday night?”

“Ah, trains are tricky like that. You don’t live around here then?” It’s a presumptuous question, but one that Steve’s instincts tell him to ask.

“I look like that much of a city rat, huh?” The man chuckles, and Steve’s heartbeat ticks up.

“Hah- You don’t- You don’t look like a lot of the people I see around town, is all I’m saying. and that’s not a bad thing, if I’m being totally honest.” Steve can feel his cheeks heating, and for a moment the rumble of the train is the only sound.

“Okay, good. I’ll take that,” the guy says, brows pinching a little. “You uh, you goin’ into the city then I'm guessing?”

“Yeah, it’s a shitty gig having to come all this way, but at least I haven’t had to sell my kidney to cover rent.”

“I don’t think they’d take my kidney if I offered,” the guy smiles, and Steve barks out a laugh that’s too loud for the empty carriage and the earliness. The guy shifts in his seat, and Steve instinctively leans forward, wanting really to move the few rows forward until he’s close enough to see the early morning light dance and glint in those big, dark eyes.

“That have anything to do with while you were stranded?” Steve asks, gesturing to the guitar case.

“Yup. got me in all kinds of trouble, she has. Gig finished late, couldn’t get a cab, welcome to hotel train-station-waiting-room.”

Steve manages to chuckle more softly this time, his gaze catching on the twitch of the guy’s lips as he stifles a yawn.

“Hey, if you wanted to- You could take a nap, I’ll watch your stuff. Make sure no one steals it, or whatever.”

The man blinks at him in surprise, lashes fluttering where his lids are heavy.

“That’d- Shit, that’d be awesome, man. Do you mind?”

“Not at all. Let me just-” And so Steve’s more daring thoughts win out. He plucks up his briefcase from the seat next to him and hurries the short distance to the cluster of seats on the opposite side of the aisle from his new charge. “There. Now I got a clear line of sight.”

“I’ve never felt safer,” the guy jokes, and pulls the hood of his sweatshirt up over his head, tucking his chin into his shoulder and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh, shit sorry, um. When should I wake you?”

“Whenever you’re getting off, big boy,” the guy shoots back without raising his head, and Steve can just about make out the curve of his lips and the dimple that sits in the corner of his cheek. He can feel his own cheeks warming at the guy’s words, and Steve’s glad there’s no one around to see. He lets himself watch this pretty stranger under the pretence that he’s keeping an eye on his guitar, and the hour and a half slides by almost unnoticed.

The carriage is a little busier but still quiet when Steve’s stop rolls around. The man hasn’t moved since he nodded off, and it almost breaks Steve’s heart to wake him. Carefully, Steve stands and leans down, wrapping his fingers around the man’s shoulder and shaking lightly.

“Hey, buddy, I gotta get off.”

The guy’s eyes blink open, wide and unfocused and so lovely, before they swivel up to meet Steve’s own. His chin tips upward and his lips curve in a smile, and something in Steve begs closer closer closer, but instead he just clears his throat and rights himself.

“Thank you, dude. Even that was way better than a wooden goddamn bench.” The guy bends his arms and stretches, and Steve doesn’t know what to do with himself.

“I’m- I’m steve, by the way,” he announces suddenly, making a step towards the carriage doors, despite how reluctant he is to move away from his stranger.

“Hey, Steve,” the guy replies, hauling himself upright - how coincidental that they’re off at the same, second-to-last stop. The train draws to a halt, and the guy stumbles forward just a fraction, still off-balance with new consciousness. Suddenly, they’re face to face. Or more they’re nose to chin, because this man has a good four inches on Steve. It’s all Steve can do not to lean up and kiss his pretty lips right here and now. “Name’s Eddie.”

And it feels right. It fits.

Steve doesn’t know how or why, but everything about this man fits; feels right.

“Good to meet you, Eddie,” Steve says, a little breathless. “Hey, if you’re ever down my way again, how about I give you a better place to sleep than a waiting room bench.” And Steve knows it’s a bit of a pretentious thing to do, but he slips a business card out of his wallet and tucks it into the breast pocket of Eddie’s jacket. He pats it once and pivots away, can’t bear the thought that he’s misread the electricity between them. He rushes through the doors and slips into the stream of morning bodies, leaving the perfect newness of his pretty stranger back in that carriage. but that evening, Steve’s phone buzzes with a text from an unsaved number.

It simply reads:

thanks again for being my lookout. if the offer’s still on the table, how about friday night?

[fan-fantasies]

Destiny (Micheal Langdon smut)

Pairing?: micheal langdon x reader

warnings?: SMUT, unprotected sex, hair pulling, dirty talk, chocking, ritualistic (kinda) sex, voyeurism,  season spoilers (follows episodes from the season)

Word count?: 4.1k 

A/N: WOW! Two posts in one week? Its almost like all i wanna do is write! Here is somemore smut, idk why i keep writing smut but for some reason i keep doing it. Maybe I’m getting better at this? I don’t really know honestly. Though I do hope you guys enjoy... Thank you so much for the likes and everything. Enjoy! <3 ~Breezy

You had been wandering in the woods for what seemed like eternity, you weren’t exactly sure where you were going or why you were here. It was the middle of the night, when you felt compelled to leave your home and go in search for a man. A voice had told you nothing more than he was living somewhere around here, in the middle of nowhere. You had been told that about three days ago, you had been endlessly wandering through the woods with no food, no water or even a clue who this man was. Your legs had begun to feel weak starting at the beginning of what you figured was the fourth day. It was then you came to a clearing, in the middle of the field was a strange metal statue, what was that? The bright sun blinded you as you entered the direct sunlight as you headed towards the entrance. There was no one around, how in the world was this the place you weren’t meant to be? The closer you got, you heard male voices speaking they seemed hushed but you honestly didn’t care. They didn’t notice you till you nearly collapsed in front of them, 

“M-Micheal?” You stammered, “I need Micheal,” you whisper before you saw nothing but darkness. 

The two men standing before you watched as your eyes rolled to the back of your head before collapsing to the ground. You were dirty, clearly having been in the woods for awhile. Normally they would be hesitant to bring a stranger into the school but the fact you asked for Micheal intrigued them even more. How did you know about the new student that was prepared to test to be the new alpha?

There was no doubt you played some important role here, maybe the witches had sent you? Where they trying to get a spy on the inside? Regardless, they managed to get you inside, finding a spare bed to lay you in for the time being. Many questions where asked of them as they walked through the academy, mainly from the boys who had witnessed them walking by but they gave them no answers, seeing as though they had none themselves.

Micheal wasn’t a hard student to find among the others, mainly cause his energy stood out to them the most but to you it was even stronger. Feeling his energy getting closer made your eyes fly open, you body moved as if you were on autopilot. You legs swung over the side of the unfamiliar bed, the room was rather large but that didn’t exactly matter, all you wanted was to see him. You had to be beside him. 

You easily swung the door open only to be overwhelmed by his energy. He stood across the way, glancing your way, a wide smirk grew on his face. He made his way towards you, you didn’t dare move even though you wanted nothing more to be near him. Micheal looked around quickly before walking into the room with you, shutting the door behind the both of you and locking it using his power. You reached your hand out, almost like a mindless zombie but once your hands touched the trance went away. You had found him. 

“Micheal,” you whisper looking up at him. 

His eyes dark, “So my father sent you?” He questioned his facial expression unreadable, 

“Yes, we were destined,” you say softly, “He wants us together, I only make you stronger,” you didn’t break eye contact, you could tell he wanted to do more but something was holding him back. 

“They won’t let you stay,” he says, “they already believe you to be some sort of spy that the witches sent,” you looked at him, almost as if it didn’t exactly matter. “If they send me away, I will only come back for you. Nothing can separate us,” you tell him, “We are meant to rule together.” You gently caress his cheek, wanting nothing more than to be closer to him. He signs heavily, he gently touches your cheek in return but this was for something completely different. Your mind felt less hazy, less controlled. 

“Now that you are completely here, tell me all you remember,” 

And you did. You told him how you awoke from your sleep one night and compelled to leave your family and walk into the forest with no word. It was in the woods when a spell seemed to be cast over you, a black goat having approached you scaring you half to death. 

“So my father did come to you,” he mumbles, “You are the one he spoke about,” He rubs his temples clearly trying to take in all this information. While he did that, you took in the man before you, short blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, he was truly handsome… It wasn’t like you had a very great Homelife, it was pretty boring honestly. 

“You do have a strong power within you,” he whispers bringing his face closer to yours, he seemed hesitant at first but now he seems convinced that you would be of use to him. “You will stay by my side at all time, they won’t take you away from me.” He growls almost possessively. Not like you minded, you knew he would keep you safe. 

And keep you safe he did, you stayed by him every second of every day. To his lessons, to his training, to whatever it is he was doing. He even made it so you could stand beside him while they used a spell to give him protection and strength. You stood in the circle of fire with him, your arm wrapped in his. Though he knew he didn’t need either of those things from them, because you already gave him that. 

 You even stood by him when he went for his seven wonders test. His ‘teachers’ weren’t exactly pleased to hear that you would be tagging along but some how he convinced them that it was important that you stand by him. You had rested all day, knowing that he would likely pull from your energy when he began to do his ‘craft’. You knew he was strong enough to do it all without you, but you gave him even more just to be safe. 

You were awake by his gentle voice and soft lips against your cheek, “My dear, it’s time to wake up,” he whispered into your ear, your eyes slowly opening meeting his beautiful one. 

“Is it that time?” You ask him, he smiled softly answering your question. Slowly you sat up, he stood next to the bed waiting. You yawn a bit before standing for yourself, 

“I got you this to wear my love,” he says as he motions towards a dress that laid on his desk. A black floor length dress with a beautiful gold pattern on the sleeves and chest piece. You weren’t afraid to undress in front of him and put the dress on. 

“Micheal~ It’s beautiful!” You squeal as you spun with a giggle, he smiled at your reaction.

“My beautiful queen deserves the best,” he says as he fixes his uniform, “Now come, we must go,” he offers his arm, which you gladly take. You both make your way to the area where he would show his power. You enter with him at your side, his ‘teachers’ leading the way and the female witches waited for us. The witches gaze was on Micheal for a moment but was quickly shifted to you. Confusion overtook them seeing a female among the men, they prepared to ask but the men insisted the test begin. You stood away from Micheal, not near the men or the female, just alone. The supreme, Cordelia you had learned her name was, seemed uneasy not only with how well the tests were going, but with your presence. You could tell she wanted to ask but she couldn’t get a word out.

Micheal had passed almost all the tests given to him, the last task he was given was to basically bring someone back from somewhere. You didn’t fully understand seeing as though this whole magic thing but by the sounds of it, it seemed as though he had to go to hell to retrieve a soul. You knew this was something easy for him, seeing as though who his father was. He stood beside you as this was explained to him, you could feel him recharging his energy by taking yours, it wasn’t enough to hurt you it just made you tired. Once they finished arguing each other, Cordelia took one of the men into another room to speak about this you had assumed. Micheal had leaned down to your ear, you kept a straight face as his breath tickled your neck. 

“You’re doing so well my dear,” he praises, “Keep it up and I will reward you later,” he gently nips your earlobe before pulling away. The witches that stood across the room eyed you both suspiciously and curiously. You tried to keep a straight face after Micheals slightly teasing words but you knew that if you listened, you would be rewarded, he was a man of his word. Micheal left your side only to go towards the door and use his power to open it. You knew full well he would do this. 

Once convinced, the test began, Micheal laid on the ground ready to begin. It was so strange to see this ritual in progress. They began to chant until Micheal seemingly fell asleep, leaving you with some anxious witches and eager warlocks. Now that there was silence for a moment, Cordelia finally was able to ask her question. 

“And who is this?” She asked looking at you, “She hasn’t seemingly left Micheals side all evening.” She points out looking you up and down. You stood there in silence, no one spoke a word mainly because even the warlocks couldn’t answer that question and you refused to say anything that might give you away. 

There was a long silence, and if Micheal hadn’t just shot up gasping for air you were sure a fight would have broke out. He woke up alone but surprised even the witches when he brought back the witch named Misty. Micheal stood to his feet, walking straight to you as he seemed exhausted by the ritual. While none of the witches were watching, you gently took his face in your hands, taking a deep breath you gave as much energy before they began to pay attention. The oldest witch then called one of the warlocks, ‘a pathetic pompous ass,’ which got a giggle out of you, she wasn’t wrong… 

“I did everything you asked,” Micheal proudly says standing tall, you arm now linked with his. You both stood proud together, like a king and queen. Once the commotion seemed to die down, both you and Micheal took your leave heading towards his bedroom. All of them believed he needed rest, but you knew exactly what was going to happen behind those doors. 

Micheal was eager to take you in every way possible before they had a gathering in the study. It didn’t take long for clothes to be shed and for you to be tossed onto the bed. Your face pushed into his pillow, your ass high in the air presenting yourself to him. No matter how much you begged him to take you, he did nothing but tease you, his touches light and gentle. This continued for what felt like an eternity but when you least expected it he turned into a monster. Thrusting into you like a wolf in heat, his hand wrapped in your hair pulling you to his chest. One hand pressed against your stomach, the other wrapped around your neck cutting off airflow. Your moans silenced by this but small sounds still managed to escape. 

“Who do you belong to?” He growled in your ear as he continued to roughly pound into you. It took you a few minutes to register his words. 

“You, my prince,” you sobbed as his hand now tightened against your throat. You felt your release coming, your eyes welled up with tears. 

“Don’t you dare cum,” he continues to pound relentlessly into you, showing no signs of stopping. 

You weren’t sure how much longer you could hold on, he let go of your neck for a brief moment giving you enough time to speak, “My prince, please!” You cry, he chuckled darkly his lips attacking your neck before roughly bitting it, marking you as his. You squeal as he pushes you forward onto your hands, his hand wrapped in your hair pulling just enough for it to force you to arch your back. You made sure to take this position to your advantage, you looked up at Micheal who was practically towering over you. 

“You gonna cum?” He growls, you are only able to nod, “Then beg for me, beg your prince to let you cum,” he smirks proudly as he knew he had you right where he wanted you. 

“Please my prince, let me cum on your cock. Please, I’ve been so good!” You cry trying to even comprehend words, “Please let me cum and make me yours forever!” At those words he groans loudly. Those were the magic words. His thrusts became stronger, if that was even possible, drawing a loud moan from you. 

“Then cum!” He snarls as his hips continued to piston into you. Your orgasm hit you like a freight train, the cry that left your lips caused the lights in the room to flicker. The energy coming from you was overwhelming throwing Micheal into his own orgasm. His final growl was animalistic, demonic even, it was the hottest thing you had ever heard. Micheals thrusts slowed until the both of you lay still. He smirked at the sight of his princess fucked out and tired, he laid a gentle smack to your ass causing you to squeal. He gently caressed the cheek in his hand before flipping you on your back. 

You laid there trying to catch your breath, your eyes automatically locking with his. 

“I’m not sure I will be able to walk my love,” you giggle pulling him down to you for a final kiss. He chuckled against your lips before pulling away, “That’s alright, you stay here and rest beautiful,” he says, “I will be back in a little bit,” he kisses your forehead before standing up and getting dressed. 

“I love you my prince,” you whisper before falling into a deep sleep. You weren’t sure what time it was when Micheal came back but you did end up finding his way back to bed. You felt him wrap his arm around your waist and pull you towards him. You couldn’t stop yourself from cuddling even closer, feeling safe in his arms.

Days passed and things seemed to still be going in the right direction, as you had hoped they would. Though Micheal had been going out more, which you gladly followed. It wasn’t until that day, you were both heading towards some random area. Micheal seemed adamant that you get there quickly, and now you could see why. Three charred corpses were in your line of sight, you knew one of them belonged to the woman who acted like his mother. A scream of agony resonated from him as he mourned for his dead mother. 

“It’s over,” Cordelia says from behind the both of you, where had she come from? You stood by Micheal, his form still slightly shaking.  “We know who you are, your allies are all dead,” she continued to speak, “You failed,”

 Micheal was angered by this, “Then you know I can defy death, I’ll just bring her back. My Ms. Mead will stand by me to watch you die.” He manages to speak out.

“You can go to hell, but you won’t find her there,” she spoke, “her soul is hidden under a spell that only I can break. You’ll never see her again.” He fell to his knees, you could feel his pain it hurt you just as much as it hurt him. 

“You’re all alone,” Cordelia continues, you knew Micheal wasn’t alone, he had you and his father. 

“I have my father,” he mumbles, he takes your arm as you kneel next to him, “I have my princess,” his voice soft, almost powerless almost trying to convince himself that he wouldn’t lose you.

“Where is your father now? Why did he let this happen? You don’t have to follow this path he laid out for you,” she tells him, you didn’t see hostility in her but you could tell Micheal was conflicted. 

“As for her,” she starts, “Do you think she will stay by you? Do you think she will be able to survive all of this?” She questions him, you knew she wanted to continue speaking. 

“I will always stand by him,” you growl lowly not liking her tone as she spoke to you. 

“You can write your own destiny, there is humanity in you. I see it,” she stands up, “If you come with me, maybe we can find it, together,” You were slightly shocked when Micheal takes her hand as he stood to his feet. You watched as his tightened his grip on her, drawing her close, 

“Somehow, someway, I will bring her back and then I’m going to kill every last one of you,”  he growls before taking your arm and walking away. You knew what Micheal had to do but did he want you to take that journey with him? He had to speak to him father and you weren’t so sure if he would want you present. 

“My love?” You say softly as you walk swiftly with him. “I want you to know I will never leave your side, no matter what,” you say confidently. He doesn’t respond but he nods at your comment. You could tell, now wasn’t the time for that. 

Going to the woods was your next destination, you had honestly believed Micheal would have told you to stay at the school so he could be alone to find himself but he kept you right by his side. You watched him draw the pentagram on the ground, big enough for the both of you to sit in the center. He declared he would not leave the circle till he got his answer, you knew his father wouldn’t speak so easily. He knelt In the middle, prepared to wait for the answer he was looking for. You sat beside him, your hand placed gently on his thigh as he stared into the woods. 

The sun fell from the sky, then rose, before you had known it four days had gone by. Micheal hadn’t moved an inch, your head was placed gently on his lap. His forehead laid gently on your temple as he was trying to be as comfortable as possible. 

He suddenly sat up, looking around as if he had seen something before he began to talk to no one. Slowly you sat up, no one was around you but you knew this meant he was being tested. Whoever it was, he wanted them to leave and declared them not to be real. He seemed distraught for a few moments before he launched himself up at no one before falling onto his back once more. He was afraid. 

A black goat appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, a sign from his father. Micheal wasted no time before launching himself at the goat, stabbing it spraying blood all over himself. In his rage, he ripped the poor animals horns off, more blood covered his nice clothes. You would be lying if you said it wasn’t the hottest thing you had ever seen. Whenever Micheal acted on his rage, it sent tingles down your spin. 

“What do you want from me?!” He cries to no one, “What am I supposed to do?!” He shouts hoping his father would answer. He fell to his knees, a small sob escaping his lips. You crawled over to him, 

“My love,” you whisper grabbing his attention immediately. Your hands cupped his face, you brought his face to yours in a searing kiss. Things did heat up, he took you right there in the middle of the woods. Much to your surprise he was gentle with you, slow, taking his time to savor every moment he had with you. It was amazing… You knew he was going to get his answer soon. 

After all of that, you had found yourself at a church for his father, a woman of the congregation offered to take you both in for something to eat. You paid no mind to their conversation until you were heard the woman shout, a knife in hand. Micheal didn’t seem frightened by this but that was cause he knew they were waiting for him. He was the anti-christ. 

The knife brought to his throat, “Well before you kill me, see me!” He growls moving his hair to the side showing off the mark he had behind his ear. It was almost immediate that the woman dropped the knife and gasped “Hail satan! Our savior has risen!” 

The next events you knew what likely was to come, walking in the pouring rain towards the satanic church where he would make himself known to the group. You three had barged in just before the human sacrifice where Micheal was now given the honor of doing so. He walked towards them, not before offering his arm to you. 

“This honor is yours too my princess,” he whispers shocking the woman, the whole group seemed to also be surprised at this. You smiled widely, he would do the killing and you would stay behind and watch. He took the sacrifices and slit their throats, the choir singing louder than before setting the tone for the ‘praise’ they were giving. Once the deed was done, seeing Micheal in front of the bloody bodies sent a hot wave through your body towards your core. The look on his face, demonic and strong, it was attractive. 

“Micheal~” you whisper as you stand beside him. He glances at you, curiosity in his eyes. “I want you, now,” you whimper looking up at him. His eyes instantly grew dark, those in the room bowed before him chanting, hail satan. He pulls you towards his, his lips smashing into yours in a hungry and rough kiss. No one in the room did anything, just continued with their chanting. Micheal picked you up by your waist, lifting you up onto the alter you legs automatically wrapping tightly around his slim waist, your lips never parting from his. He began to bunch up your dress, not plaining to waste a single second. You undid his pants, just enough to free his hardened cock. 

He pushes your panties aside, pushing his dick into you with no hesitation. He was pounding into you ruthlessly, you didn’t even try to hide the fact that this was happening. Your moans loud as he made you feel better than ever. The people around you watching as he pleased you, only increasing the pleasure. 

“You like that they’re watching, princess?” He growls into your ear as he pounds into you, you can’t hide it, 

“Yes!” You cry as he continues, he chuckles darkly. He takes your legs, widening them letting his go deeper. The idea of these people watching and the pace Micheal had set made your orgasm come quicker than. 

“Who’s making you feel this good?” He groans into your ear, 

“You are my prince,” he slaps your thigh harshly signaling that that wasn’t the answer he was looking for. He thrusted roughly just before you answered, 

“You are my king!” You shout shamelessly drawing a groan from his lips. “Please let me cum, my king, please,” you beg for everyone to hear. 

He laughs evilly, “Not yet my queen, you will cum with me,” your eyes water as the pleasure grows stronger and harder to contain. 

His thrusts becoming sloppy and less precise, “Cum my queen,” you cry out, your walls clamping down on him threw him over the edge, his cum filling you up. Your body shook from the pleasure as you came down from your high. He pulls your lips to his in a passionate kiss, it showed you how much he loved you. The following events that happened that night were a blur, the pounding that Micheal had gave you honestly tired you out. You knew that this was just the beginning of a huge plan that you knew he would be able to execute properly. 

[imma-fucking-nerd]

Love at First Bite

Dewey Finn x Vampire!Reader

((ft. TUM action))

Trigger Warning: Violence, Mentions of Sexual Assault, Blood (obviously)

You’re name is Y/N. You are a vampire. You were, unwillingly, turned around fifty years ago. April 20th 1969 to be exact. Although you couldn’t find the humor in it when you were younger, now you couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact. The last fifty years have been…. difficult for you to say the least. You weren’t exactly comfortable feeding on humans, and never were. It was incredibly hard to resist the hunger when you first turned, but it has gotten easier. Barely. Instead of human blood, you would go out and feed on the blood of animals. That wasn’t exactly easy for you either since you loved animals, but you couldn’t risk killing anyone. Not again. Although animal blood never satisfied you, it kept you from starving and that was enough.

One night you were walking down the dark streets on your way home from feeding on….a rabbit. Thankfully you couldn’t see any people around you, but you could sure as hell smell them in the bars and shops you walked by. You shivered as the smell of them entered your nose and you quickened your pace. As you were walking down the pavement that glistened from the rain that had came down on it earlier, you could hear a faint whimpering. You stopped in your tracks and listened closely. You could hear a woman weeping and…..

Anger struck you as you heard a man and you followed the sound. You came to an entrance to an alley way and were met with a sight that disgusted you.

“Get the fuck off of her,” you seethed. You didn’t waste any time to observe. You knew all you needed to know.

The woman looked at you and was about to scream for help but the man gave her a look that shut her right up. The man then looked back to you, not letting go of the iron grip he had on the woman’s wrists.

“You better fuck off sweet cheeks, or you’re next,” he then turned back to the woman and you cod hear her choke on a sob. In an instant you were right behind him, baring your fangs and growling lowly.

“I said. Get. The FUCK. Off her,” you warned.

You were so close to breaking your fifty year no human blood drinking streak. But if you were going to kill a human, you’d shed no tears if it were this….scum.

“What the fuck-!?” his eyes widened as you moved faster than humanly possible, and when he spotted your fangs he let the girl go.

As soon as she was let go she instantly scrambled away from him and onto her feet. She too, witnessed your inhuman qualities and stared at you in fear. You soared her no glance as she ran past you and into the night. Your gaze burned into the pitiful man’s soul who knelt before you.

“P-please don’t kill me…” he whimpered, not daring making eye contact with you.

You chuckled darkly before you grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the wall harshly. He was clearly shocked by your strength and he started to claw at you hand, however you didn’t budge.

“I bet that’s what she was begging you, right? Not to hurt her? Not to kill her? But you weren’t going to listen to her, were you?” your grip on his throat tightened and he struggled more, his eyes widening even further.

“So I think I’ll give you a taste of your own medicine, hmm?” your voice was low and filled with malice. 

You weren’t thinking as you slammed his head against the brick wall. If you were, you would have known what was soon to follow. The scent of fresh blood flooded your senses your sentences left me defenseless ((sorry i had to)) and you’re pupils dilated like crazy. Your grip on his throat tightened even further and the hunger in your stomach felt unbearable. You slowly leaned in, before you paused. Your mind was screaming at you that this went against everything you stood for as a vampire, but then a thought hit you. Did this fucker deserve to live? This wasn’t a human. This was a monster. Just like you. You moved your thumb and turned his head to expose his neck before you sunk your teeth into his neck. No one would miss this bastard, no one would even know he was dead. Thus ended a thirty year streak of a no human blood diet. Little did you know that someone would in fact know he was dead, for you had a little bit of an audience standing in front of the entrance of the alley. When you were finished with your meal, you felt a surge of euphoria as the human blood ran through your system. As much as you wanted to drain him of everything he had, you made sure to leave him alive. Just enough that he wouldn’t turn. That was the last thing you needed. You licked off all the blood on your lips and teeth, resisting the urge to moan softly as you turned to leave. But when your eyes landed on the stranger in front of you, your heart stopped. Figuratively.  

Dewey had been walking, well, stumbling home from a night spent at the bar. Again. Listen, he wasn’t an alcoholic, okay? Anyways, he was humming softly to himself, lost in his own thoughts until he heard a thud in the alley way that he was passing. Then he heard faint groaning. Normally he’d just assume it was a homeless person and keep on his way, but this time he slowly turned to face the alley. Maybe it was because he was drunk, but he felt a need to investigate. He squints into the dark alley, just barely able to make out your figure pinning a fairly large man to the wall. At first he thought there was some kinky stuff going on but the longer he watched, and he did keep watching for…..some reason, he saw you real back. His eyes widened as you went in for the kill. Holy shit. He just stood there and stared with wide eyes. He was way too drunk for this. This had to be just some kind of weird…drunk hallucination. Those exist right? But any doubts he had were gone once you let go of your prey and his body slumped down to the floor. That’s when he saw the blood around your mouth, and your tongue running along your- He froze when you turned and saw him. Oh shit. Okay, maybe- maybe this isn’t the worst way to die?

Your eyes widened as you saw him and you suddenly realized what you have just done. You looked more horrified than he did and he noticed, even in his drunken state. Maybe it was because he was drunk that he wasn’t as scared as he probably should have been. You were panicking and you were about to vamp speed run away until you remembered that you had the power to compel people. Make them do, or think things with just some eye contact and a bit of concentration. You’d only ever done it in emergencies, and now definitely counted as an emergency. Slowly, you walked over to him until he spoke making you stop dead in your tracks.

“You’re a vampire, right?” his eyes that were once wide in fear were now wide with intrigue. 

You blinked at him a couple of times before slowly nodding. You could smell the alcohol coming off of him so that explained his lack of fear. But why was he looking at you like that? Did he not know what you just did? In all honesty, the thought that you just killed a person wasn’t really on his mind. What was going on in his head was that he was standing in front of a real vampire. A real, hot vampire. It struck a kink in him he didn’t even knew he had. 

“You’re not….you’re not scared of me…?” you asked, clearly confused. 

“Uhhhh no…? Are you going to bite me? Because I’m down- Wait, does it hurt?” his face goes through a rollercoaster of emotions. Confusion, curiosity, excitement, worry. 

“I uh- I’m not going to bite you…I don’t feed- I don’t usually feed on humans…” your voice was quiet. You didn’t exactly know why you were telling him this. Or why you haven’t just compelled him to forget what happened and leave. 

“Can you? Bite me I mean,” he looked at you with big doe eyes and he took a few steps towards you, swaying slightly. 

To be perfectly honest, the whole idea of a vampire chick was more than hot to him. Especially the thought of one pushing him down onto a bed and biting on his neck. It was enough to make the man blush just thinking about it.

“What!? Why- You know that I could kill you right?” you stared at him in disbelief. He….he wanted you to bit him? Okay, this guy is definitely way too drunk to grasp the reality of the situation. 

“I’m not going to bite you,” you say again more sternly this time before he has a chance to respond. 

“Aww………okaaaaayy,” he visibly deflated, his shoulders slumping and his lips forming into a childish pout.

His behavior made your own lips curl upward slightly. He’s pretty cute. Wait. What? You shook your head of those thoughts and your small smile disappeared as quickly as it came. You couldn’t let your heart make the decisions anymore. No matter how lonely you were…. You were suddenly ripped away from your thoughts as you heard him speak up. 

“Dewey. That’s uh, my name by the way. If you uh, ever want a snack just hit me up. You got a pen? Of course you don’t have a pen, why would you have a pen? Gimme- Gimme your phone,” he rambles on and takes a few more steps towards you, causing you to take a few back. He notices this and frowns.

“Shit- I uh- Sorry I’m a bit tipsy and-”

“Y/N. My name is Y/N,” you interrupted him, cautiously taking a step towards him. 

You didn’t know why, but something about him made you feel….something. Maybe it was the high of the blood you just had. Maybe it was the fact he knew you were a vampire and still wasn’t afraid of you. Or maybe it was the way he was looking at you. But whatever it was, it caused you to take out your phone. A grin immediately spread across his face as you handed him your phone and he eagerly put his number into your phone. Although it took him a couple of tries since he stumbled with the keys. 

“Hell yeah!” he sang in dramatically and pumped his fist in the air before giving you your phone back.

You couldn’t help but giggle softly at his enthusiasm. Okay you had to admit it, he was cute. 

“Well, okay. I’ll be seeing ya around sweet- doll- baby cheeks,” he cleared his throat and flashed an awkward grin, shooting you with finger guns as an attempt to recover from…..whatever that was. He then very hastily stumbled down the street, you could hear his heart beating fast and you smiled.  

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. You doubted he’d even remember what happened tonight anyways. Because of that, you didn’t bother to compel him. That and, it just didn’t feel right. You hadn’t met anyone who was this…accepting of your nature before. There were people you told your secret to that you’ve known for years who became absolutely terrified of you. You thought you’d never feel this…normal again. When you looked down at your phone you saw he sent a text to himself using your phone. Presumably so he’d have your number saved too. 

As the next couple of weeks passed by, Dewey kept texting you. Everyday. Still as unafraid and still as determined to go on a date with you as the day you met. At first, you tried to reply with as little as possible hoping he’d eventually lose interest. But of course, he kept on trying. That truly baffled you. Not only were you giving him almost nothing to work with text wise, be he knew what you were and yet he never ceased to pursue you. After nearly a month of daily cute texts and constant reminders that his offer was still on the table, you finally caved. It was only supposed to be one date, one where you’d compel him to forget you. It just wasn’t fair to him. You knew you couldn’t provide a family for him, and the possibility of you losing control and killing him would always be present. But…..you just couldn’t do it. The way he made you feel on that date….it was almost as if you could feel your heart beating again. He made you feel alive. So, one date turned to two, then three, then next thing you knew you two had been dating for almost a year. 

During that time Dewey always had questions about your vampire-ness. In the beginning he bombarded you with them, to the point where it felt almost overwhelming. But as time went on, his questions became less about what you are and more about who you are. Although, he never stopped offering himself as, and you quote, your “sexy fruit gusher” to which you always declined. You hadn’t really explained why exactly you wouldn’t feed off him. You just told him that you didn’t like to feed off humans, and that was that. 

Today, however was different. It was the anniversary of….well, something you’d really rather forget and you were a little on edge. It was about sundown and you were laying on Dewey’s bed, staring up at the ceiling lost in your thoughts. That was until the man himself came busting through the door humming to himself, a pizza in hand. Although you didn’t need to eat, you still could so Dewey always got enough food for you too. Mainly so he could casually ask you for yours since you don’t eat and he’s just sooooo hungry. You didn’t mind, of course. It was cute. He was cute. But tonight, would that be enough?

“Hey there bay-be!” he plopped down onto the bed next to you, causing the bed to bounce slightly under his weight. 

“Hey Dew,” you sat up and greeted him with a soft smile, but refrained from the usual cheek kiss.

He noticed the lack of affection but didn’t say anything, just assuming you forgot or were to eager for some sweet zah. He places down the box of pizza down onto the bed in front of you two and opened her up, exposing the beautifully disgusting food. He wastes no time taking a slice and chowing down, you following suit not too long after. Food had been a coping mechanism you used when you were alive, and it still helped even after you died. Well, as much as binge eating can help anyways. Dewey looked over to you and grinned cheekily, now was the perfect opportunity to try once more. 

“Y’now, I bet I’d taste better to you than that pizza,” he nudged you slightly with his elbow and wiggled his eyebrows. 

However you weren’t in the mood, not today. Not about this.

“Dew, we’ve been over this a million times. Please drop it, okay?” you sighed as you tried to be as calm about it as possible. The whole reason you kept saying no was because you didn’t want to hurt him, turning his offer down would be meaningless if you snapped at him now.

“Oh come on! It’s almost been a year! Don’t you want a taste? Does my blood smell bad or something? Is it because I eat like crap? Is it because I’m fat?” he rambled on, suddenly putting down his slice of pizza.

“What? No- Dew, you’re not fat. It’s just… “ you sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose, your patience starting to wear thin. 

“Then what is it? It’s not because I don’t want it, because OBVIOUSLY I do!” he whined like a kid who wasn’t getting what he wanted, flailing his arms and all.

“Dewey, I said drop it. So drop it, okay?” your tone of voice was one a one of warning. If he pushed further you don’t know if you could keep your cool.

“But-!” he began to argue further but you cut him off.

“I said drop it. So fucking drop it,” you eyes were dark and your fists were balled up tightly. You weren’t quite yelling, but you sure as hell were close. 

However that still wasn’t enough for him to stop it. He just wanted to at least know why. It kind of hurt that his vampire girlfriend wouldn’t even do to him what vampires are supposed to do. Was there something wrong with him? Did she not like him enough? Did she have to love him in order for her to feed off him? If that were true then….that meant she didn’t love him. 

“Can you at least tell me why then?” he sounded desperate for an answer, and it broke your undead heart. You hated that you were hurting him like this but you were scared to tell him the truth. Scared that he’d be scared of you. 

“I just- I just can’t….okay?” you turned your back to him, swinging your legs over the edge of his bed and trying to hold back tears memories of past mistakes came flooding back. 

You knew he wouldn’t be satisfied with that answer, but you hoped that he would take the hint that it wasn’t something you wanted to discuss.

“You can’t what?” his tone wasn’t mad or annoyed, it was genuinely confused and….hurt. 

“BECAUSE I CAN’T RISK ACCIDENTALLY KILLING YOU! I-I CAN’T KILL SOMEONE THAT I LOVE AGAIN, OKAY!?” you finally snapped. Suddenly standing up and turning to him with tears streaming down your face. 

If you needed to breath, you’d be hyperventilating right now. You quickly turned your back to him again and covered your face. He was silent for a long while and you were sure he was afraid of you now. That was, until he finally spoke.

“You….You love me…?” his voice was small and hopeful. 

“Wh- That’s what you’re focused on!? Didn’t you hear me!? I’m a murderer! Fuck Dewey, I almost killed a man the night we met! I’m- I’m a fucking monster!” you turned to him and stared at him with wide eyes in disbelief. 

“Okay but, you love me?” a grin slowly spread across his face and he scrambled across the bed, kneeling near the edge. 

It wasn’t like he was ignoring the other stuff you said, that stuff just…..didn’t really matter to him. He loved you with all his heart. You were on his mind almost as much as music was. Almost. To hear that you felt the same way about him? Oh god, was this boy more than excited. He didn’t care that you’ve killed, although maybe he should. You haven’t hurt him, you never fed off him, hell you never even kissed his neck in fear you’d lose control! So, he wasn’t exactly worried. 

You blinked at him and searched his face for any signs of fear, or anger, or anything negative. Only to be met with nothing but hope and….love. Your expression softens and you let out a shaky sigh. You did love him, so damn much. It was like whenever you were with him the place where your heart was got all warm and fuzzy. He made you feel alive, loved, and normal. Everything she ever could of hoped of finding. 

“I- I do love you, Dew….and it’s because I love you that I’m terrified of losing you. Especially to myself….” you nervously fidget with your hands nervously and avoided his gaze. 

“Y/N, I’m not going anywhere. I trust you with my life, literally. I’ve been willing to risk my life for you since we met, and yet you refused over and over. I’m pretty sure your fear- no, love will be a hell of a lot stronger than your hunger,” he takes your hands and places a kiss on each one.

A small smile made its way onto your face at his cheesy words and you realized that he was right. Your love for him was infinitely stronger than your thirst for blood. If you were going to feed on him, you’d take every precaution. You pulled him into your chest for a hug and he happily wrapped his arms around your waist.  

“Plus, dying by my sexy vampire girlfriend isn’t such a bad way to go,” he shrugs and grins up at you with a cheeky grin. 

“That’s not funny,” you frowned slightly, though it didn’t last for very long. His smile was just too contagious.

“So……does this mean you’ll finally…?” he looked up at you with big puppy eyes, even going so far as to bat his eyelashes. 

“Okay, yes. I’ll feed on you,” you sighed softly before finally giving in to his request.

As soon as those words left your mouth he pulled away from the hug, jumped off the bed, and did a lap around his small room pumping his fists in the air in victory. You giggled at him before he stopped in front of you and you gave him a soft kiss. 

“Alright, go lay on the bed,” you paused for a moment before continuing, “and take off your shirt.”

“Yes, ma’m!” he eagerly, perhaps a little too eagerly, threw his shirt over his head and plopped down onto the bed on his back.

Why he wanted to do this was still a complete mystery. Maybe he liked the idea of being bitten? Maybe it was the idea of being your own personal source of blood? Or maybe it was the fact that you were a vampire in general? It was most likely a combination of all of them if we’re being honest.

You sat on the bed next to him and rested a hand on his chest. He looked up at you with his big brown eyes and excited grin. He had never waited for something for so long and still have so much interest in it. He was so ready, more than ready. He was eager and excited. Ever since he saw you feeding on that random guy in that alleyway, it did something to him and it made him wish that was him. He didn’t know why it was so hot to him, but it was so, so hot to him.

As you looked down at him and took in his more than perfect upper body, you thought of places where you could feed on him from. You had a feeling he wouldn’t let you heal the puncture wounds with your blood, so you didn’t want to bite anywhere that’d be visible. He was a teacher after all and the last thing you wanted was for him to get fired. Your eyes darted around the different possible places you could feed from. His shoulder? Hmm no that’d be too painful since it’s close to bone. Thigh? Maybe some other time. Okay, definitely some other time. His chest? Maybe, that seemed like a good place…But then, your eyes drifted down to his stomach. Your smile widened as you found your target. Bingo. 

Dewey tried to follow your train of thought with your eyes and when they landed on his stomach, he felt a mixture of things. Arousal was definitely one of the first, love was also one that was very present. However, his insecurities started to eat at him as his extremely attractive girlfriend eyed his fat stomach. As if reader his mind, and you might actually have, you placed a soft kiss onto his stomach. Instantly his face was consumed with a deep blush. 

“I think I’ll choose here to start with, if you don’t mind?” you look up to him, but you don’t move your head.

He opened his mouth to express how he was more than okay with that, but the only thing that came out was some sort of whining sound. He then covered his face with his hands as his face now burned with embarrassment before furiously nodding. You smiled up at him, although he couldn’t see it, and peppered his soft stomach with kisses. Dewey peaked down at you through his fingers, wanting to watch as you sunk your teeth into his skin. As you found the perfect spot, you licked it slightly before pausing.

“Thank you, for this. I love you Dew,” you whispered your gratitude against his skin and placed one last tender kiss before you, as gently as possible, sunk your fangs into his skin. 

 The moment his hot blood made contact with your tongue you tried and failed to suppress a moan. Drinking human blood was always euphoric, but this? This was on a whole new level. This was just…heaven. You eagerly took more of his blood in your mouth and down your throat. You looked up to meet his gaze and you could see him wincing, you dialed it down by licking at his woulds rather than ducking on it. You brought a hand to his side and rubbed soothing circles onto his skin with your thumb. The soft touches and your hot tongue gliding along his stomach made him relax slightly, and also made him extremely aroused. He bit down onto his lower lip and slowly brought a hand down to play with your hair. It was hard for you to rip yourself away from his orgasmic blood, but you did it. You did it. Before you sat up you licked away the excess blood and left a soft kiss to the wound, your lips barely ghosting his skin. Once you sat up you licked your lips and looked over to his very, very, very red face.

“Are you okay?” you asked him with a soft voice.

“I- I’m uh I-” he gave up on words and just nodded, giving a thumbs up.

You chuckled and leaned in, gently moving his hand away from his face before placing a tender kiss to his lips. You quickly went to the bathroom and got yourself a bandage that was a good enough size to cover both your teeth marks. You returned to see Dewey sitting up and poking at the wounds, then wincing slightly.

“Don’t do that, here let me,” you sat in front of him and applied the bandage to his stomach, to which his hand instantly rested on top of. But not because of the pain or anything. 

“That was- That was- Can you do that again?” he stared at you with wide, hopeful puppy eyes and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“Maybe some other time, love. Now, it’s cuddle time,” although he was disappointed to hear that you wouldn’t bite him again, he instantly perked up at the word ‘cuddle.’

Before Dewey laid back down he grabbed a slice of pizza which caused you to chuckle and shake your head. You then laid down next to him and rested your head on his chest, draping an arm across his stomach just above where you bit. Closing your eyes, you listened to his heart beating. 

“Thank you,” Dewey said softly, kissing the top of your head.

“No, thank you. Your blood is absolutely delicious,” you looked up at him and kissed his neck before going back to listening to his heart.

After that night you left many, many, many bite marks all over his body. All of which he practically begged for. Of course, most of them came to be in the bedroom. 

______________________________________________

@the-ineffable-prince-of-hells @lord-satan-3244 @meangirlsx @im-eating-rn @ramencupposts @beetlejuicebeadoll

[lokissceptres]

Dirty secrets

@scorpionchild81 - I accidentally lost the ask so I’m tagging you instead ;)

This is such a good request and very detailed too! Thank you ;)

Pairing: Loki x Female!Reader

Warnings: implied smut, mentions of alcohol

Summary: In ask.

--

“Hi, Y/N” Tony nodded in your direction as he entered the Avengers Tower. You had been working for Tony for as long as the tower had existed. Tony treated you like a friend rather than a member of staff, and so did all of the other Avengers. Tony had even offered for you to live in the Avengers Tower, but you had declined for ‘personal reasons’ that Tony still hadn’t managed to figure out to this day.  

Smiling at Tony in a feeble response, you walked to the bar, heels clicking against the well-polished floors, taking your place behind the counter. Reaching down you began to polish the glasses for tonight. You weren’t going to be there of course, but it was your job to make sure that the bar was all ready. Once every week the Avengers men would have a drinking night, set with strippers and plenty of alcohol, funded by Tony himself. Natasha did join occasionally but she enjoyed doing things by herself and staying out of the drunken chaos the boys created. 

As you placed the glass on the counter and reached for the next one you saw a familiar face appear from around the corner.

“I forgot to mention, Y/N” Tony began, “we’re not staying here tonight so there’s no need for you to do this, in fact, you can just go home now, I don't mind honestly. Toodles” he finished waving his hand and disappearing again. You chuckled softly, this wasn’t unusual for Tony to let you go home early, however, the guy’s going outside for an evening? That was unusual, especially with them being the Avengers and all.

It didn’t matter anyway, they would probably go to some nightclub nearby, not where you performed. During the day you were an innocent member of staff among the many at the Avengers Tower and in the evening you were an exotic dancer, performing at a Nightclub across town. A few years ago your sister had passed away due to a fatal illness, your nephews had mourned for you as they were forced to move in with you. Not that you minded, you were more than happy to have them, it was just that you were stuck for ways to support them. Tony had been nice enough to make you a staff member but the money still wasn’t enough to support two nephews as well as yourself so you had decided to take up a position as an exotic dancer. You knew you could ask Tony for a pay rise whenever you wanted, he would willingly give you the rise and much more, but you enjoyed exotic dancing, it gave you a chance to be free and forget the struggles of your everyday life.

Watching you stare into the glass you had set on the counter, lost in thought, was a certain raven-haired prince who seemed to be looking at you more often nowadays. As the bar was in the middle of the tower, and most of the walls were made of glass it gave Loki the perfect opportunity to sneak glances of you without raising any suspicion. Loki had found himself intrigued by your personality and how you worked without complaint. He was compelled by you and for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out why. Every time he saw you being so friendly with the other avengers, it filled him with possesive envy, it made him want to claim you as his then and there and not let anyone else so much as look at you. He would flirt with you every now and then, attempting to bewitch you but for whatever reason, you didn’t fall as easily as he had hoped, which enchanted him even more.

Snapping yourself out of your flashback you slid the glass under the counter and went to retrieve your bag before leaving the tower. Not noticing the icy gaze that followed you.

—

“Attention!” Tony silenced, holding his whisky glass up as a way to hush the men in front of him, “today we’re going to do something special” he announced.

“What? Hire more strippers?” War machine joked, arms folded. Loki rolled his eyes as he watched from the corner. He wasn’t particularly interested in coming, however he had nothing better to do and it was particularly amusing to watch the chaos that was about to ensue.

“No! We’re going to a nightclub, and I, have rented a private room!” Tony finished, which elicted a cheer from the men.

“Where’s the fun in that” Loki murmured to himself, tucking his hair behind his ears.

—

The bass pumped through your veins, your hips swaying with the beat. A thin layer of sweat covered your body but you were too caught up in the music to care. Your body sung with the music, entrancing the many drunken men and women that were in front of you.

Loki had managed to slip out of that private room Stark had mentioned earlier and began to blend into the crowd, seeking out mischief. It wasn’t until he looked at the dancers did he notice a very familiar face.

Frozen to his place with suprise and darkened lust he watched the way your hips moved so entrancingly, as if summoning him. Every part of your body exuded passion. His eyes trailed around your very revealing outfit, appreciating the bounce of your breasts as he sucked in the amazing sight in front of him.

Mischief glinting in his eyes, he decided to take a seat in the booth right next to the stage, continuing to be hypnotised by your very welcoming dance. He couldn’t control himself as his mind was filled with dirty thoughts, lighting the flame of desire within him. He needed to get you out of that outfit and himself inside you ASAP.

It wasn’t until the bass had died down and you had walked off stage to go and change into a fresher outfit did you notice anything strange. You felt as if someone familiar was watching you but you shook off the feeling and continued into the staff room.

As you opened your locker, it was slammed shut and you felt the cold metal pressing against your back, two muscular arms caging you. You let out a small yelp that was silenced once you realised who it was.

“That was a very inviting dance, Y/N” Loki growled.

“Loki...”

“Yes, that’s my name pet” he whispered, head dipping into your neck, biting softly, “Do you have any idea how hard it was not to drag you off that stage and ravish you wherever I could?”

His voice was dangerously low and husky, you felt as if he might pounce on you if you even dared to move. You let out a whimper as his cold tongue licked a stripe on your neck.

“You drive me crazy Y/N” he said breathlessly, pressing his forehead against yours, his body now flush against you. Feeling a surge of courage you moved your hand to palm his rock hard bulge. Loki’s eyes snapped shut and he let out a low groan.

“I’m trying very hard to control myself, pet” he snarled, eyes filled with hunger for you, “but if you keep going that then...” you squeezed his bulge cutting off his sentence as his eyes screwed shut again, a faint whimper leaving his throat.

“That’s it.” he hissed, grinding into your hand, holding your wrist in place so you couldn’t move it, he tilted your chin up towards him with his fingers. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you...”

[williamlwolf89]

801+ Power Words That Pack a Punch and Convert like Crazy

Power words are like a “cheat code” for boosting conversion rates. Sprinkle in a few, and you can transform dull, lifeless words into persuasive words that compel readers to take action.

And the best part?

You can use them anywhere.

In this post, you’ll learn how to use power words like a kung fu master. Specifically:

The definition of power words (and why they’re so powerful);

The 7 types of power words proven to increase conversions;

Examples of how bloggers, freelance writers, and businesses are using powerful words to boost conversions;

A huge list of power words you can use, bookmark, and reference (again and again).

Download All 801+ Power Words(in one handy, free PDF)

Want to bring your ideas to life, to make them take up residence in the reader’s mind, lurking in the background, tugging, pulling, and cajoling their emotions until they think and feel exactly as you want?

Then you’re going to love this post.

Let’s jump in.

What are Power Words?

Power words are persuasive, descriptive words that trigger a positive or negative emotional response. They can make us feel scared, encouraged, aroused, angry, greedy, safe, or curious. Authors, copywriters, and content marketers use “power words” to spice up their content and compel audiences to take action.

Clear as mud?

Let’s deconstruct an example from the great Winston Churchill. All the power words are underlined:

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.

Inspiring, right?

Here’s why:

Power Words = Emotional Words Packed with Persuasion

Smart speakers, as well as their speechwriters, sprinkle their speeches with carefully-chosen power words drenched in sensory details, drawing the audience from one emotion to another as skillfully as any novelist or screenwriter.

And it goes beyond speakers and storytellers.

Email marketing messages, copywriting, infographics, step-by-step tutorials, sales pages, inspirational quotes, content marketing, case studies, call to actions, testimonials, tweets, and other social media posts are all designed to influence the reader in some way. You want to pass along information, yes, but you also want the reader to feel a certain way about that information.

Maybe you want to impress them, get them excited, make them cautious, get them angry, encourage them to keep going, or any number of emotions. The better a job you do at making them feel, the more influential you are, and the better your chances of getting what you want.

So…

Looking for a quick way to give your writing more punch?

Maybe add a little personality or pizzazz — that extra little “oomph” that grabs your reader’s attention?

Then you need to infuse your content with power words.

Back to Top

The 7 Different Types of Power Words

Fear Power Words

Encouragement Power Words

Lust Power Words

Anger Power Words

Greed Power Words

Safety Power Words

Forbidden Power Words

We’ve organized our power words into seven different types, which all accomplish the same goal: Each elicits emotion in your reader.

Let’s go over each type and see why these words work.

1. Fear Power Words

Let’s do a little experiment.

Just for a moment, stop reading this post, turn on the television, and go to a major news channel. Watch it for five minutes, listening for the words below.

Chances are, you’ll hear dozens of them. Here’s why:

Fear is without a doubt the most powerful emotion for grabbing and keeping an audience’s attention. To make sure you don’t change the channel, news networks load up with fear words, making you worry you might miss something important.

Granted, you can overdo it, but in my opinion, most writers don’t use these types of words nearly enough. They really do connect with people.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Fear Words

Here’s an example of a blog post headline here at Smart Blogger that utilizes three different fear words:

Open it and you’re greeted by this fear-packed introduction:

I was in agony.

Waves of pain unimaginable shot down my spine, causing every muscle in my body to contract as if I’d been shocked with 20,000 volts of electricity. My back arched up at an unnatural angle. My arms and legs began to shake.

One moment, I was on a webinar talking to a few hundred people about traffic, walking them through exactly how to start a blog and make it popular. The next, everything went dark. I was still conscious, but just barely.

Pretty effective, right?

Here’s another one:

If I’m working from home, will I lose my sanity if I don’t read this post? There’s only one way to find out. (Click!)

Want to sprinkle fear power words into your writing? Here are a bunch to get you started:

Agony Lunatic Apocalypse Lurking Armageddon Massacre Assault Meltdown Backlash Menacing Beating Mired Beware Mistake Blinded Murder Blood Nightmare Bloodbath Painful Bloodcurdling Pale Bloody Panic Blunder Peril Bomb Piranha Buffoon Pitfall Bumbling Plague Cadaver Played Catastrophe Plummet Caution Plunge Collapse Poison Corpse Poor Crazy Prison Cripple Pummel Crisis Pus Danger Reckoning Dark Refugee Deadly Revenge Death Risky Deceiving Scary Destroy Scream Devastating Searing Disastrous Shame Doom Shatter Drowning Shellacking Dumb Shocked Embarrass Silly Fail Slaughter Feeble Slave Fired Strangle Fool Stupid Fooled Suicide Frantic Tailspin Frightening Tank Gambling Targeted Gullible Teetering Hack Terror Hazardous Terrorist Hoax Torture Holocaust Toxic Horrific Tragedy Hurricane Trap Injure Vaporize Insidious Victim Epidemic Cataclysmic Bufoon Suffering Reckoning Trauma Dangerous Annihilate Invasion Volatile IRS Vulnerable Jail Warning Jeopardy Nerd Lawsuit Wounded Looming Cringeworthy Last chance Fugacious Worry Wreaking havoc

2. Encouragement Power Words

Let’s face it.

When they’re reading, most people aren’t exactly bouncing off the walls with energy and enthusiasm. They’re probably bored, maybe a little depressed, and almost definitely tired.

And they’re looking for something, anything, that’ll wake them up and make them feel better.

The good news?

Your writing can do that for them.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Encouragement Words

Here’s an example email from Mirasee:

With two encouraging words — life-changing and magic — in one email subject line, it’s a message that stands out in most inboxes.

Want to give your readers a pep talk and get them charged up again? Want to encourage them?

Use these persuasive words:

Amazing Jubilant Ascend Legend Astonishing Life-changing Astounding Magic Audacious Marvelous Awe-inspiring Master Awesome Mind-blowing Backbone Miracle Badass Miraculous Beat Noble Belief Perfect Blissful Persuade Bravery Phenomenal Breathtaking Pluck Brilliant Power-up Celebrate Praise Cheer Prevail Colossal Remarkable Command Revel Conquer Rule Courage Score Daring Seize Defeat Sensational Defiance Spectacular Delight Spine Devoted Spirit Dignity Splendid Dominate Spunk Effortless Staggering Empower Strengthen Epic Striking Excellent Strong Excited Stunning Extraordinary Stunt Eye-opening Supreme Fabulous Surprising Faith Terrific Fantastic Thrive Fearless Thwart Ferocious Titan Fierce Tough Force Triumph Fulfill Tremendous Glorious Unbeatable Glory Unbelievable Graceful Unforgettable Grateful Unique Grit Unleash Guts Uplifting Happy Valiant Heart Valor Hero Vanquish Honor Victory Hope Win Incredible Wonderful Jaw-dropping Wondrous Kudos Brighten Lovable Radiant Flawless Classy Affable Stupendous Virtuoso Cheery Openhearted Jovial Beauteous Logophile Adorable

3. Lust Power Words

Like it or not, lust is one of the core human emotions.

Just look at the men’s and women’s magazines in the checkout aisle, and you’ll see what I mean. Nearly every headline on the cover is either blatantly or indirectly about sex.

And it works, not just for headlines in men’s and women’s magazines, but for messages to your email list, subheads in your articles — anything.

Editor’s Note: Adding one or two power words to your subheads will compel readers to stick around longer, which will increase your dwell time — a big deal in Google’s eyes.

As a writer, you can use words that inspire lust to make almost anything intriguing.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Lust Words

See if you can spot the lust words in this headline from Cosmopolitan:

Okay, the orange underlines probably give it away, but my hunch is you didn’t need them.

Power words like captivating and love jump off the page. And if you use them properly, they can stir all sorts of emotions in your readers’ heads. (Want to see your click-through rates soar? Add a lust word or two.)

Here’s a lascivious list of descriptive words to get you started:

Allure Naughty Arouse Nude Bare Obscene Begging Orgasmic Beguiling Passionate Brazen Pining Captivating Pleasure Charm Provocative Cheeky Racy Climax Raunchy Crave Risque Delight Rowdy Delirious Salacious Depraved Satisfy Desire Saucy Dirty Scandalous Divine Seduce Ecstasy Seductive Embrace Sensual Enchant Sex Enthralling Shameless Entice Sinful Entrance Sleazy Excite Sleeping Explicit Spank Exposed Spellbinding Fascinate Spicy Forbidden Steamy Frisky Stimulating Goosebumps Strip Hanker Sweaty Heavenly Tantalizing Hottest Taste Hypnotic Tawdry Impure Tease Indecent Tempting Intense Thrilling Intoxicating Tickle Itching Tight Juicy Tingle Kinky Turn on Kiss Unabashed Lascivious Uncensored Lewd Untamed Lick Untouched Lonely Urge Longing Voluptuous Love Vulgar Pleasurable Charismatic Riveting Obsession Mouthwatering Compelling Magnetic Enchanting Lovely Engaging Intriguing Fascinating Flirt Alluring Lure Wanton Luscious Wet Lush Whip Lust Wild Mischievous X-rated Mouth-watering Yearning Naked Yummy Sneak peek Promiscuous

4. Anger Power Words

As writers, sometimes our job is to anger people.

Not for the fun of it, mind you, but because someone is doing something wrong, and the community needs to take action to correct it.

The problem is, with wrongdoing, most people are pretty apathetic — they’ll wait until the situation becomes entirely intolerable to do anything, and by then, it’s often too late.

So, we have to fan the flames.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Anger Words

The authors of this Forbes headline don’t pull any punches:

I didn’t realize some people get angry over business jargon, but apparently it’s a thing. And this headline, undoubtedly, had such people frothing at the mouth.

If you want to connect with people’s anger and slowly but surely work them into a frenzy, use the power words below.

Just be careful who you target. Lawyers can eat you alive if you pick on the wrong person. 🙂

Abhorrent Money-grubbing Abuse Nasty Annoying Nazi Arrogant No good Ass kicking Obnoxious Backstabbing Oppressive Barbaric Pain in the ass Bash Payback Beat down Perverse Big mouth Pesky Blatant Pest Brutal Phony Bullsh*t Pissed off Bully Pollute Cheat Pompous Clobber Pound Clown Preposterous Cocky Pretentious Corrupt Punch Coward Punish Crooked Rampant Crush Ravage Curse Repelling Debase Repugnant Defile Revile Delinquent Revolting Demolish Rotten Desecrate Rude Disgusting Ruined Dishonest Ruthless Distorted Savage Evil Scam Exploit Scold Force-fed Sick and tired Foul Sink Freaking out Slam Full of sh*t Slander Greedy Slap Gross Slay Harass Smash Hate Smear High and mighty Smug Horrid Sniveling Infuriating Snob Jackass Snooty Kick Snotty Kill Spoil Knock Stuck up Knock out Suck Know it all Terrorize Lies Trash Livid Trounce Loathsome Tyranny Loser Underhanded Lying Up to here Maul Useless Broke Stink Fear Raise hell Sneaky Screw Rant Miff Diatribe Vicious Weak Diminish Provoke Hostile Morally bankrupt Worst Thug B.S. Agitate Boil over Annoy Violent Misleading Violate Lollygag Quixotic

5. Greed Power Words

The legendary copywriter Gary Halbert once said, “If you want people to buy something, stomp on their greed glands until they bleed.” Graphic, yes, but also true.

Skim through good sales copy on an e-commerce site, and you’ll find a lot of power words based on vanity or greed. Many of them are so overused they’ve become cliché, but that doesn’t stop them from working.

The truth is, nearly every human being on the planet is interested in either saving or making money.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Greed Words

Its explicit and implicit use of greed words makes this popular book from Dave Ramsey a great example:

“Money” is hard to miss — it’s probably the ultimate greed word and it’s sitting there in capital letters.

But a title like “Total Money Makeover” also implies another greed word (even though it doesn’t directly state it): money-saving.

(It also gets bonus points for using alliteration and the safety power word “proven”, which we’ll discuss in a moment.)

If you want to stomp on your readers’ greed glands, use these power words:

Bank Jackpot Bargain Lowest price Best Luxurious Billion Marked down Bonanza Massive Booked solid Money Cash Money-draining Cheap Money-saving Costly Nest egg Discount Pay zero Dollar Prize Double Profit Explode Quadruple Extra Reduced Feast Rich Fortune Savings Don’t miss out Fast Giveaway While they last Instantly Expires Never again Premiere Final More Hurry Sale ends soon Value Monetize Big Save New Deadline Handsome Noteworthy Kick ass Moneymaking Knockout Lucky Notable Amplify At the top Attractive Wealthy Ahead of the game Legendary Beautiful Optimal Good-looking Successful Bold Fortunate Sassy Smart Elegant Gorgeous Clever Foxy Quick-witted Genius Effective Elite Drop-dead Crowned Dazzling You Turbo charge Bright Super-human Brassy Booming Boss Unbeaten Undefeated Boost Exclusive Frugal Special Price break Before Running out Upsell Bonus Free Six-figure Freebie Skyrocket Frenzy Soaring Prosperous Surge Gift Treasure Golden Triple Greatest Waste High-paying Wealth Inexpensive Whopping Cheat sheet

6. Safety Power Words

Greed isn’t the only emotion you want buyers to feel. You also want to make them feel safe.

They need to trust both you and your product or service. They need to have confidence you’ll deliver, and they need to believe they’ll get results.

Of course, building that kind of trust starts with having a quality brand and reputation, but the words you use to describe yourself and your product or service also matter.

How to Crank Up Emotion with Safety Words

On the landing page for one of our Smart Blogger courses, we use power words to make sure our potential customers feel safe:

In addition to “legitimate” and “guaranteed” in the screenshot above, our landing page is sprinkled with numerous safety words:

Money-back

Results

Refund

Proven

Risk-free

They work for us, and they can work for you.

Help your customers feel safe by using as many of these power words as possible:

Above and beyond Privacy Anonymous Professional Authentic Protected Automatic Proven Backed Recession-proof Bankable Refund Best-selling Reliable Cancel anytime Research Certified Results Clockwork Risk-free Endorsed Rock-solid Foolproof Science-backed Guaranteed Scientific Moneyback Bona fide Recognized Authority Studies show Because Scientifically proven Genuine Worldwide Authoritative Safety Accredited Fully refundable Case study Well respected Dependable Improved Ensured Expert According to Track record Approved Ironclad Secure Legitimate Sure-fire Lifetime Survive Money-back Tested No obligation That never fails No questions asked Thorough No risk Trustworthy No strings attached Try before you buy No-fail Unconditional Official Verify Permanent World-class Guilt-free Don’t worry

7. Forbidden Power Words

Remember when you were a kid, and someone told you NOT to do something? From that point on, you could think about little else, right? Curiosity always got the better of us.

The truth is, we’re all fascinated by the mysterious and forbidden. It’s like it’s programmed into our very nature.

So why not tap into that programming?

How to Crank Up Emotion with Forbidden Words

This Ahrefs article tempts you with its headline:

What’s the “secret”? Only one way to find out.

Whenever you want to create curiosity, sprinkle these power words throughout your writing, and readers won’t be able to help being intrigued:

Ancient Lost Backdoor Never seen before Banned Off the record Behind the scenes Off-limits Black Market Outlawed Blacklisted Private Bootleg Restricted Censored Sealed Remote Be the first Ridiculous Become an insider Secrets Bizarre Shocking Class full Ssshhh!!! Closet Spoiler Elusive Supersecret Hilarious Thought-provoking Illusive Top secret Incredibly Trade secret Insane Uncharted Interesting Unconventional Invitation only Undiscovered Key Unexplained Login required Unexplored Members only Unheard of Myths Unsung Odd Untold On the QT Unusual Priceless Wacky Privy Zany Psycho Classified Secret Cloak and dagger Smuggled Concealed Strange Confessions Tried to hide Confidential Unauthorized Controversial Uncensored Covert Under wraps Cover-up Undercover Exotic Underground Forbidden Under-the-table Forgotten Undisclosed From the vault Unexpected Under the table Unlock Hush-hush Unreachable Illegal Unspoken Insider Unveiled Little-known Withheld Hidden

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Now that we’ve looked at the different types of power words (and gone over a few quick examples), let’s go over all the different places you can use them:

Powerful Words in Action: 14 Places Where Strong Words Can Help You

Headlines

Subheads

Email Subject Lines

Opt-In Boxes

Homepage

Business Names/Blog Names

Product Names

Sales Pages

Testimonials

Bullet Lists

Button Copy (Call to Action)

Author Bios

YouTube Videos

Book Titles

1. Using Power Words in Headlines

Any writer or blogger who’s been in the game for a while knows the headline is the most important part of writing your blog post.

Its purpose, after all, is to entice the reader to read the rest of your content. If your headline fails to get attention, potential readers will ignore it when it shows up in their tweets and social media feeds.

And just one or two power words in your headline is usually enough to make it stand out.

Just look at this headline from BuzzFeed:

The word “Unveiled” makes it feel like a secret is being exposed, and the word “Breathtaking” makes you curious to see what the photo looks like.

Here’s another example from BoredPanda:

People generally love anything adorable, so this headline will easily catch attention. (The fact that it refers to snakes will only make people more curious.)

The headline then drives it home by using the powerful verb “Conquer.”

Here’s one from BrightSide:

While one or two power words are often enough, this headline proves you can use more when it fits.

This headline has four powerful words, but they feel natural in the headline, which keeps it from feeling like over-the-top clickbait.

Last one:

This headline from our How to Make Money Writing: 5 Ways to Get Paid to Write in 2020 post incorporates two greed words: “money” and “get paid.”

It’s one of our most-popular posts, and its headline’s use of power words is a big reason why.

2. Using Power Words in Subheads

Too many writers overlook the value of subheads, which is a mistake. Once people click on your headline, most will scan the post first to see if it looks worthy of their attention.

Adding some power words to your subheads is a good way to make your post look like an interesting read.

For example, here are three subheads from our post on E-book mistakes:

See how the power words in these subheads grab your attention and make you want to read the text that follows?

Adding one or two power words to your subheads will compel readers to stick around longer, which will increase your dwell time — a big deal in Google’s eyes.

3. Using Power Words in Email Subject Lines

Having an email list is of little use if only a handful of readers bother to open your emails.

And these days, most people’s inboxes are flooded, so they’re selective in which emails they open.

You can stand out in their inbox and raise your open rates by including power words in your subject lines.

Just look at this one from Ramit Sethi:

If this subject line would’ve read “The rules of learning,” do you think it would be as appealing? The word “unspoken” is what makes it interesting.

Here’s another one from Cal Fussman:

Both “Triumph” and “Tragedy” are powerful words full of emotion.

And finally, here’s a good example from AppSumo:

The power phrase “Unleash the power” makes you feel this email is hiding something incredibly powerful inside.

See how that works?

When you send out emails to your list, try to add a power word to your subject line so it stands out in readers’ inboxes.

4. Using Power Words in Opt-In Boxes

As a blogger, one of your main goals is to grow a large and engaged readership, and the best way to do it is by converting readers into subscribers.

That means — unless you’re using a blogging platform like Medium which doesn’t allow them — you should have opt-in forms scattered across your website.

You can place them on your homepage, at the end of your posts, in your sidebar, in a popup, or anywhere else.

But no matter where you place them, your opt-in boxes must catch people’s eye and make them want to share their email address with you. Because they won’t give it away to just anyone.

(Remember, their inboxes are already flooded, so they’re not necessarily eager to get even more emails.)

Fortunately, you can use power words to make your offer more enticing.

As an example, here’s an old popup from Cosmopolitan:

This popup had power words everywhere, but it avoided feeling like overkill. I bet it converted like crazy.

Here’s a slightly more subtle example from Betty Means Business:

It’s understated, but still quite effective.

Again, you don’t have to overdo it with the power words on these. A little can go a long way.

Here’s one final example from Renegade Planner:

In short:

If you’re not using power words in your opt-in boxes, you’re missing out.

Big time.

5. Using Power Words on Your Homepage

Your homepage is the face of your website and it’s usually one of the most visited pages. Many people who visit your website will see this page first, so you want it to make a good first impression.

Some people use their homepage to promote their email list, others use it to promote one of their products, and others use it as a red carpet — welcoming new visitors and explaining what their site is all about.

In any case, your homepage is a good spot to add a few power words, as it can determine whether people stay (and take the action you want them to take) or leave (never to return).

Look at this value proposition on the homepage for Nerd Fitness:

“Nerds,” “Misfits,” and “Mutants” are unusual power words that work well for Nerd Fitness’ target audience. These words immediately separate it from all the other fitness blogs out there.

But they push it even further with “Strong,” “Healthy,” and “Permanently.”

Here’s another value proposition from MainStreetHost’s homepage:

It’s quite minimal, isn’t it? They just wrote down three power words and follow it up with a service they provide.

Of course, you don’t have to limit your use of power words to the top of your homepage.

You can use it in other parts of the homepage too, as Ramit Sethi does here in his list of what you’ll get when you sign up for his email list:

Go look at your homepage now and see if you can find any areas you can spruce up with some power words.

6. Using Power Words in Business Names/Blog Names

Having a forgettable name is poison to your website’s growth. So when you start a blog, you want to make sure you have a name people can easily recall.

If you haven’t chosen your blog name yet (or if you’re thinking about rebranding), you should use a power word to give it some punch. It’ll make you stand out from all the boring, forgettable brands out there.

Just take a look at the collection of blog names below and see how well they’ve incorporated power words:

7. Using Power Words in Product Names

Just like you can use power words to spruce up your blog name, you can also use them to make your product names pack more of a punch.

It can make the difference between your potential customers thinking, “Ooh, this product sounds cool!” and them thinking, “Meh.”

Just check out this subscription product from Nerd Fitness:

It has such a powerful name that you’d almost want to sign up without learning anything else about it. Who wouldn’t want to be part of a community of rising heroes?

Here’s another good example from Pat Flynn:

It’s a powerful name for his podcasting course that instantly informs you of the benefit.

So if you’re about to launch a product (or if you’ve launched a product with a tepid name), consider giving it a power word to make it pack a punch.

8. Using Power Words on Sales Pages

You can also use power words to spruce up your sales pages and make them more effective at selling your e-commerce products or services.

They will grab people’s attention when they arrive on the page, they will keep their attention as they scroll down, and they’ll help seduce readers before they reach your “buy” button.

Just look at this headline on Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his product 50 Proven Email Scripts (which also has a power word in its name):

And as you scroll down, you see he keeps using power words throughout his sales page.

His headline is followed by emotion-packed subheads:

And he even uses power words in his guarantee:

9. Using Power Words in Testimonials

Power words are also tremendously effective in testimonials.

Of course, I’m not suggesting you change people’s testimonials to include power words. But you can certainly select the ones that already use them to great effect.

Just look at this example from Betty Means Business:

Or look at this one from Farideh’s blog:

And here’s another example from Renegade Planner:

All these testimonials will lend extra credibility and excitement due to their power words and phrases.

10. Using Power Words in Bullet Lists

Many sales pages include a list of benefits of the product they’re selling. Many opt-in forms include a huge list of reasons you should sign up to their email list. And many case studies use bullet lists to quickly summarize information.

You can use power words in these lists to inspire more excitement in your reader as they read through them.

Here’s one example from Ramit Sethi’s sales page for his How to Talk to Anyone course:

And here’s another example from an opt-in form on Restart Your Style:

Without these power words, these lists wouldn’t convince nearly as many readers to buy or subscribe.

11. Using Power Words in Button Copy and CTA (Call to Action)

Yep, you can use power words in your button copy too — even if you only have a few words you can fit in there.

One of the most common power words used in buttons is “Free” (as in the example below):

But you can be more creative with buttons than you might think.

Takes this button from the sales page for the book The Renegade Diet:

“Immediate,” “Money Back,” and “Guarantee” are all incredibly powerful words, and the author manages to squeeze them all into one button.

Here’s an example from Tim Ferris:

He could’ve used “Send Me the List” as most people would do, but “Unlock” makes it sound a lot more intriguing — like you’re getting access to something that’s been kept hidden away.

Now take a look at the buttons on your site.

Do you see any opportunities to spruce them up with a power word?

12. Using Power Words in Author Bios

Your author bio is another extremely important part of your marketing.

When you guest post for another blog (or write a paid article as a freelancer), your author bio has the difficult job of making readers want to know more about you so they click through to your site.

That means your author bio needs to spark attention and interest. And you usually only get three sentences, so you need to carefully consider the words you use.

As an example, here’s the author bio from Henneke Duistermaat in her post on overcoming writer’s block:

Henneke’s author bio is full of power words. It shows her uniqueness and makes her stand out from other copywriters.

You can tell she has carefully picked each perfect word for maximum impact.

Here’s another example from Sarah Peterson’s post on blog ads:

She opens strong immediately by mentioning her guides are insanely useful. And just the name of her report alone is full of power words: “Free,” “Reveal,” and “Begging.”

Makes you want to get your hands on that report, doesn’t it?

13. Using Power Words on YouTube Videos

If you’re publishing videos on YouTube and you want to get more views, you should use power words in your titles.

All the biggest YouTube channels do this.

They understand most of their views will come from their subscribers finding them in their feeds, and from people finding them in the sidebar of other videos.

In both cases, you’re competing with many other videos for their attention. If you want your video to stand out and be the one they choose to watch, your title has to be captivating.

See how Philip DeFranco does it below:

“Disgusting,” “Punishment,” and “Controversy” are all attention-grabbing words (and that’s besides the attention-grabbing names of Brock Turner, Star Wars, and Kim Kardashian).

Note also how he has capitalized “Disgusting.” It’s another smart trick many YouTube channels use to stand out more in YouTube’s lists of video suggestions.

Style vlogger Aaron Marino often does it as well:

By capitalizing the power words “Don’ts” and “Stupid,” his title catches a lot more attention (as you can see for yourself by the millions of views it’s received).

14. Using Power Words in Book Titles

If you’re interested in writing your own book, adding power words to your titles will help it sell better.

With all the competition in the book market these days, you need a title that grabs people’s attention and makes them want to peek inside.

Here are a few quick grabs from Amazon’s list of bestsellers in the self-help niche:

I’m sure you’ve seen this title before.

You might say Stephen Covey’s use of power words in his title has been highly effective. (See what I did there?)

Here’s another:

Mark Manson’s bestselling title is packed with power.

The power word “Subtle” juxtaposes well with the F-bomb in the title, and his use of “Counterintuitive” will spark some interest as well.

One more:

Lastly, Jen Sincero’s encouraging book title makes you want to flip it open and read it in one go.

The use of “Badass” alone will make it stand out in the self-development section, but her use of “Greatness” and “Awesome” in the subtitle truly seals the deal.

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Go Ahead and Tell Me. What Powerful Words Did I Miss?

They’re known by many names…

Emotion words. Good words. Strong words. Powerful words, creative words, sensory words, trigger words, persuasive words, descriptive words, impactful words, interesting words, positive words, unique words, and even — yes, seriously — awesome words.

But whatever you call them; smart, attractive people such as yourself have mastered the strategic use of power words and use them every day to pack their writing with emotion so they can increase conversions.

Yes, this is an enormous list of words, but with so many power words and power phrases available, you’d need a thesaurus or Word of the Day dictionary to catch every single word on the first pass. (Plus, new words seem to be added to the English language every day.)

What are some other good words that seem to have that extra little spark of emotion inside them?

The post 801+ Power Words That Pack a Punch and Convert like Crazy appeared first on Smart Blogger.

from SEO and SM Tips https://smartblogger.com/power-words/

[ships-and-saints]

Pale Skin and Onyx Eyes [10]

[Throne of Glass] [Elide x Lorcan] [W.I.P.] Chapter Word Count: 2849 words

Summary: Set after Empire of Storms, Elide Lochan and Lorcan Salvaterre are traveling with Rowan and Gavriel in search of Queen Aelin. Will Elide ever be able to forgive Lorcan for betraying her and her Queen? Where will they go next?

Part I: The Search - Chs. 1-8 Part II: The Journey - Chs. 9-??? Part III: The Mission

Chapters: [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [13 ] ... Read it on: [ fanfiction.net ] [ archive of our own ]

While she had been asleep, Lorcan had quickly chopped down some firewood and hunted down four rabbits. After they reached the cave, he began skinning and skewering the rabbits to roast over the fire pit. Elide untied her packs and rolled out her sleeping mat. Night had fallen, and innumerable stars flecked the sky. She immediately found the Lord of the North, the stag of Terrasen, shining bright so that she could always find her way home… The smell of the roasting rabbits wafted to her nose, reminding her that she was ravenous.

Lorcan almost laughed when he handed Elide the stone plate with a perfectly roasted rabbit. Her eyes were like dinner plates as she stared fixedly at the meat, waiting impatiently for it to cool enough to eat.

Elide devoured both of her rabbits unashamedly. She licked the juice from her fingers and sighed, sated and content. Lorcan was watching her from across the fire. As night fell a cool breeze picked up, a direct contrast to the beating sun earlier, and Elide was sitting right by the cave's entrance. She shivered.

"Come to this side," Lorcan suggested, his expression unreadable. He was sitting towards the back of the cave. Elide cocked her head at him, but complied wordlessly.

Oh, it was warmer on this side! She let the delicious warmth of the fire lick her toes for a moment, and then she hugged her knees to her chest. They sat there silently for a few moments as the firewood crackled and creatures of the night rustled and chirped.

She was thinking about earlier, about when she had been meditating... She still wondered what compelled him to go on this near-suicidal mission with her. It feels like… that time Lorcan stole the barge and we set forth for Eyllwe together…

Elide pursed her lips and blew air from her nostrils. So much had happened since then.

Lorcan was thinking about her damned lips again, about that time they were painted blood-red when she was dressed up as a fortune-teller. Gods, everything about this nearly-human woman was so distracting, he would make sure to take his time learning and appreciating every, fucking –

"Did you ever have a mate?" Elide asked unexpectedly, refusing to look at his face. Her cheeks flushed as she inspected her toes closely instead.

Lorcan snapped to attention, replaying her question in his mind.

"Where did that come from?" His growl was defensive. Once again, she had caught him off-guard. He couldn't forget that those soft lips hid a razor-sharp tongue. Lorcan tried not to let his mind wander back into the gutter as he trained his gaze on her.

"I- I was just wondering," she replied softly, her voice barely a whisper. Lorcan wasn't sure, but he thought he heard a faint longing in her voice.

No one had asked him about a mate in a long, long while… And if she had asked him that question a couple of months ago, he would have snorted and simply answered, "No." It wouldn't have been a topic up for discussion.

But now… He had thought it was possible, once, lifetimes ago… Gods, when was the last time her name had even floated into his head?

Lorcan tilted his head at Elide thoughtfully, and she finally dared to peek at him through her eyelashes. She hadn't allowed herself to think about it, but seeing him now, with his face expression smoothed out... Lorcan really was handsome. She struggled to keep from blushing anymore.

"I thought it was possible, once. Her name was Arielle," he told her. Elide was startled by his straight answer.

Lorcan continued steadily, "It was hundreds of years ago, so you don't have to feel bad. We met in the Fae village where she grew up. She was a demi-Fae, like me, half-human and half-Fae. I was in the area for business, and afterwards I stopped by the local tavern for a few drinks. She was tending the bar. I was so intrigued by her that I visited her for several months after my business in the area had concluded."

Lorcan rubbed his jaw and gauged Elide's expression, who was struggling to hide how interested she was. She was also surprised by how her heart wrenched… Ah, jealousy.

"Are you sure you want to hear about this?" Lorcan asked doubtfully. He could sense her conflicting emotions.

Elide emphatically nodded yes. Even though she felt that twinge of jealousy, she knew it had all happened long before she was even born, which... didn't really make her feel any better, she supposed. But she was still curious.

"Yes, I do want to hear. I don't care how long it happened, it's still... part of your life."

Lorcan supposed he couldn't disagree, so he shrugged. "Well… The story doesn't have a happy ending, if that wasn't obvious from the start. We had been getting to know each other for... maybe seven or eight months. Honestly, we didn't do much talking most of the time. Whenever she asked me about what I did, what armies I commanded, whose House I belonged to, well... I did my best to answer evasively. I was as vague as possible, but I stupidly told her that I had been taken in by the Whitethorn House, that I had proved myself capable and climbed to rank commander." Lorcan's gestures indicated that it was, of course, all bullshit. He inhaled and then exhaled sharply.

"But then she got excited, she demanded to know who I was. And I knew I had dug my own grave by refusing to tell the truth, by letting her form her own conclusions. I could see it in her eyes, she was wondering if I was actually hiding my prince or nobleman's status from her. I knew one day I would have to come clean. She eventually demanded I be honest with her, or it wasn't going to work out. And because I trusted her, because I naively thought it might not change anything, I told her the truth. That I was sworn to Queen Maeve, that I was not a Whitethorn, and that I had no lands and no riches. And she wanted nothing to do with me after that."

Lorcan tossed another piece of wood into the fire, his stone face carefully composed into a neutral mask.

Elide wasn't really sure what to say. She had never been in love before, never loved before, but she still sympathized with that pang of rejection. "Is... is she still alive?"

Lorcan snorted. "I don't give a damn about that bitch anymore. The last I ever heard was that she was engaged to some general or other a year later, after things had ended between us."

Elide didn't know why, but she edged closer to him and reached a hand out towards his face. Instinctively, he recoiled a fraction of an inch before he stopped himself, but Elide paused and dropped her arm.

Oh, no, no. He was not going to let her look at him with those pitying, doe eyes.

He bared his teeth in warning, but Elide said in a rush, "It sounds like she really hurt you."

"I told you, it happened hundreds of years ago," Lorcan snapped. He didn't understand, didn't understand why the sympathy he saw in her eyes pulled on his heart. Elide studied him for a moment and then rested her chin on her knees again.

"Well, it just sounds like there hasn't been anyone else since then," she said quietly. Lorcan knew better than to mention Maeve.

"I've fucked plenty of women," he replied coolly. And immediately regretted his choice of words, especially when he saw Elide's body just seem to deflate, as if a heavy weight had pulled her down.

"Well, you've been alive hundreds of years," she said in a small voice.

Lorcan hastily tried to rectify the situation. "But you're right. I haven't... I haven't felt the same way about anyone else since then." Elide just nodded mutely, and Lorcan felt the protective need to comfort her, somehow. He could smell the sadness on her, threatening to overwhelm her fragile heart.

Gods, he could crumble cities to ash in an instant, but he fumbled with trying to comfort a woman. He didn't know why, but his dark, broken soul couldn't bear to see this tiny slip of a woman hurt. In fact, seeing Elide safe was reassuring and soothing, at times. Lorcan growled softly under his breath and reached his arm out to tuck her against his side.

She looked up at him in surprise, one hand braced against his left leg to keep from toppling into his lap. Her cheeks flushed a lovely reddish pink as she looked up at him through her thick eyelashes.

He caught himself staring at her perfect, rosebud lips again. Elide's heart lurched when she saw him drag his eyes down to her lips, catching the flashing desire in his onyx eyes.

"Elide," Lorcan said roughly, still staring at her lips. Her mouth was suddenly dry; she swallowed and licked her lips to wet them, unable to look away from his beautiful face.

"Yes," she whispered back, barely audible.

"I'm going to kiss you, so stop me if you don't want me to." Lorcan's dark eyes were burning and Elide didn't know what to say or where to look but...

But she wanted to know what would happen if she didn't stop him.

Before she could register what was really happening, Lorcan had leaned down to press his lips to hers. Her lips parted and her eyes fluttered shut as the sudden pressure on her lips made her heart skip a beat and then continue beating twice as hard. She remembered then how soft his lips were, even though his words were usually so harsh, she remembered how it had felt to kiss him.

Her hands automatically went to his face, feeling his rough skin, his cheeks, and the hard planes of his jaw.

"Lorcan," she whispered it like a question against his lips, brushing them softly with her own. She pressed a hand to his chest for balance.

"Elide," he answered, almost in a reverent tone. His other arm had snaked around her waist, pulling her into him. He didn't want to stop, and she didn't stop him.

"Is… this… okay?" Lorcan murmured, in between dropping kisses on her lips. He could smell her female arousal, which really affected him; he was resisting the urge to push her down and cage her with his body.

Elide had no idea if she was melting or aflame. She was hot and cold, everything and nothing at once. But there was this sneaking, nagging voice in the back of her mind, reminding her that this male had betrayed her and her Queen. Elide tried to ignore it.

"Yes," she breathed, and Lorcan's gaze was smoldering. She flung her arms around his neck and crushed her lips to his, ignoring that voice in her head that told her to slow down and think. She didn't want to think, she wanted to feel. A soft moan escaped her lips, sending Lorcan slightly wild.

Lorcan growled with desire and he pulled her onto his lap. Elide could feel the rumbling in his chest as he braced the small of her back and kissed her deeply. His tongue lazily licked at her bottom lip and she shuddered, parting her lips. His tongue carefully grazed over her teeth and then he carefully nipped at her bottom lip with his teeth. He moved his lips to her ear.

"I never punished you for that little stunt with the nightgown," he whispered in her ear, nipping softly on her earlobe. Punish!? Elide gasped and instinctively arched her neck back.

Her breathing was ragged, but Lorcan didn't give her any time to recover her breath as he moved to trail soft kisses along her jaw. He brushed the hair off her neck and gently grazed his teeth over the vulnerable skin of her throat, pressing a soft kiss in the hollow of her throat as she arched her neck back.

Elide was pretty sure she had forgotten how to breathe, and she was starting to see spots in front of her eyes. Of course, Lorcan had pulled away slightly and then smirked knowingly. Of course, he could hear her racing heart and every single one of her shuddering breaths. Flushing, she tucked her head down into his chest.

Gods, Lorcan liked this. He liked that he could have this effect on her. But he didn't want her passing out on him, even if it would be flattering.

He chuckled and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Breathe, Elide."

She nodded. Stopping was a good idea; it gave her time to catch her breath, gave her time to think. "I just… need a moment."

She tried to steady her breathing as Lorcan rested his head atop hers and played with a strand of her long, brown hair. Gods, he swore this woman might be the death of him, one day. He desperately wanted to know what other sounds he could elicit from those soft lips, but if he kept going... He wasn't sure he could stop himself, and he knew she needed time, knew he wanted her to let him know when she was ready. Human lives were so short; hadn't he learned some patience in all his long years?

Elide could tell her face was still heated and she hoped she didn't look too ridiculous. She was utterly bewildered by the conflicting flood of feelings, by the yearning, but she was so exhausted from the day. She closed her eyes and swayed slightly.

"Tired? Sore?" Lorcan tilted her chin up so that he could read the exhaustion in her eyes. He needed to remember why they were here, training. Not pant after her like a dog in heat.

Elide nodded. Suddenly, she felt an icy chill wrap around her legs and sore muscles. She gasped in shock at the cold, but strangely, it felt... relieving.

"The best thing for sore muscles is an ice bath but... we don't have time for that so this is the best I can do." Lorcan shrugged, and Elide just raised her eyebrows in disbelief as her body felt icy cold on the inside, but warmth from the flames on the outside. She shivered; it felt like the ice was in her very bones.

"I'm cold," Elide snapped at Lorcan, after a few seconds. He snorted, but his brow furrowed. He had underestimated the amount of concentration it took to control the temperature of the water and blood within Elide's body. If he dropped the temperature even a little too much, she could immediately become hypothermic and nearly freeze to death.

He concentrated on tethering his magic to Elide, on honing his senses so that he could detect even a minute temperature change in her body. When he was satisfied with his control, he stood up abruptly.

"Bear it for a little while. I'll heat some water for you to wash with while the ice relaxes your muscles."

And he did, heating water in pails over the fire, and Elide felt a sense of déjà vu as she remembered that time he had done the same when they were traveling with the carnival troupe. She tried to sort out her feelings again, tried to separate the lust she felt from the anger and the bitterness. He had summoned Queen Maeve out of desperation to save her, he had done it for her, but then Aelin sacrificed herself and was whipped and captured as a result.

And after meeting Maeve in person, Elide wondered if Lorcan had lost his rutting mind by summoning her, because there was no chance in Hellas's realm that she would ever have gone with Maeve willingly. She would rather have died than assist or serve the Fae Queen in any way.

But perhaps… Perhaps it wasn't all Lorcan's fault. He had been orphaned and alone, had discovered a dark and fearful power that he was forced to master on his own. And then Maeve had plucked him and simply added him to her collection of powerful Fae males.

How could Elide be surprised? Queen Maeve got drunk off of power, and she relished taking advantage of ignorance and weaknesses. And Elide wouldn't ever forgive her for what she had done to Lorcan, for what she had forced him to do, all these years…

Elide pressed a hand to her face and silently groaned. Where did that even come from? I can't even face Maeve myself, how would I keep her from Lorcan?

Gradually, the ice left her bones as Lorcan reeled his magic back. While Elide bathed, he quickly checked the perimeter of their resting site and brought back some more firewood. She mumbled goodnight to him and collapsed on her bedroll, entirely drained.

She idly wondered what tomorrow would bring, but drifted off to sleep before she could give it much thought.

[cathygeha]

Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it. For fans of The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman, A Secret of Witches by Louisa Morgan and The Haunting of Maddie Clare by Simone St. James comes an addictive historical debut about strange power, fierce love, family secrets, and how the past haunts us in ways that demand to be seen.

 Rafflecopter for The Witch of Willow Hall Blog Tour Giveaway:

 Harlequin’s Graydon House Books is offering one lucky Grand Prize winner a fun witch themed prize pack containing a paperback copy of The Witch of Willow Hall, a pumpkin spice scented candle, a Witch’s Brew coffee cup, a witch’s hat, a witch’s wand, and a bottle of black nail polish! Four (4) Runners-up will receive an eCopy of The Witch of Willow Hall. To enter for your chance to win one these great prizes, please fill out the Rafflecopter link below:

 Direct link:

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  About The Witch of Willow Hall:

 Title: The Witch of Willow Hall

Author: Hester Fox

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: October 2nd, 2018

Publisher: Harlequin’s Graydon House Books

Format: Digital eBook / Print

Digital ISBN: B077MKGQLR

Print ISBN: 9781525833014

 Synopsis:

 Two centuries after the Salem witch trials, there’s still one witch left in Massachusetts. But she doesn’t even know it.

 Take this as a warning: if you are not able or willing to control yourself, it will not only be you who suffers the consequences, but those around you, as well.

 New Oldbury, 1821

 In the wake of a scandal, the Montrose family and their three daughters—Catherine, Lydia and Emeline—flee Boston for their new country home, Willow Hall.

 The estate seems sleepy and idyllic. But a subtle menace creeps into the atmosphere, remnants of a dark history that call to Lydia, and to the youngest, Emeline.

 All three daughters will be irrevocably changed by what follows, but none more than Lydia, who must draw on a power she never knew she possessed if she wants to protect those she loves. For Willow Hall’s secrets will rise, in the end…

 Add to your TBR list:  Goodreads

 Available at:  Amazon |  Barnes and Noble |  Kobo |  iTunes

  Excerpt:

Copyright© 2018 The Witch of Willow Hall

Hester Fox

 Hello readers, I’m so excited to share an excerpt with you from my debut novel, THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL (on-sale October 2, 2018). My name is Hester Fox, and hailing from Boston, I’ve always been fascinated with the rich and oftentimes dark history of this period. My novel takes place in a small New England town over 130 years after the infamous Salem Witch trials, and features a Gothic, melancholy atmosphere, restless spirits, and of course, resilient women. I hope you enjoy this excerpt I’ve pulled for you.

 ~*~

 Gingerly, I get up, my legs full of pins and needles from sit­ting on the floor so long. Just like the night of the woman in the garden, I can’t stay in the library knowing that someone might be there. I must go and look for myself.

Even with the sun coming through the windows, illumi­nating the wood floors and catching the light of the crystal lamps, I feel as if I’m making my way through a dark, murky passage. My feet are heavy, as if they know something that my mind does not.

The door to the dining room is closed. It beckons me, yet repels me, exuding a sense of silent occupation. My ears buzz. A singsong chorus of whispers grows as I approach.

Are you ready?

I am here.

You attract them.

Are you ready?

Prepare for what lies ahead.

Prepare.

Prepare.

They mount and mount into a dizzying jumble of sound and I run the rest of the way to the door, my heart in my chest, my eyes squeezed shut. Grasping the knob, I fling open the door. The voices die away.

I knew it would be there. But it doesn’t stop me from gasp­ing as every part of me curls back in on itself in horror. My blood turns to ice.

Seated at the table is a woman, or what used to be a woman. She sits as if she has every right to be there, as if she has always been there. A veil covers her face, but it is gauzy and thread­bare, and I can see the contours of the features beneath. Her dress is old, black as night yet opalescent as the moon through a cobweb. Paralyzed with fear, I watch as it moves about her of its own accord, a soft undulation as if she were underwater. And though I can see her as clear as day, the veiled woman in our dining room, there’s a translucence to her, and the pan­oramic wallpaper is just visible behind her. She is like nothing and no one I have ever seen before, and yet she is familiar, as if I have always known her.

“Come, child.” Her voice comes from everywhere and no­where, and when her words are finished, I have the unnerving feeling that they weren’t spoken aloud at all, but came from within my head.

She beckons me with a knobby finger, more bone than flesh.

I can’t drag my gaze away from her face, the sunken holes where there ought to be eyes, the lipless mouth, all teeth and blackness. The cold pie that I just enjoyed churns in my stom­ach and threatens to come up. She beckons me again, and I imagine those long, terrible fingers closing around my neck and choking the life out of me. I imagine them raking me across the face until ribbons of skin flutter from my skull. I stand my ground, unwilling to deliver myself up to her. She is the stuff of my novels, a grotesque horror that titillates on the page, but sends terror into my heart when in the same room as me.

She gives something like a grunt, and as if able to read my thoughts, says, “One hundred and thirty years of death is not gentle on a body. Come, do not gawk.” I dare not disobey her, so I force my leaden feet to move a few steps closer.

The smell of decay and death fills the room, sickly sweet and putrid at the same time. My stomach clenches at the memo­ries the odor brings back of Emeline in her coffin. My throat is tight, my mouth cotton, but somehow I’m able to gasp out, “W-who are you?”

She makes a noise, something between a snort and a laugh, a scraping, rattling sound, though it’s devoid of humor. “Do you not know your own forebear?”

The blackness of her dress curls around her like a snake, but she sits as motionless as if she were carved of stone. Her still­ness is suffocating, it dares the house to be silent, and punishes the sunlight for filtering in through the window.

Warily, I come to a halt at the edge of the dining room table. I don’t know what she’s talking about. “Forebear?”

“Have you not looked upon me since you were a babe? Do you not recognize in me what flows through you?”

“I…” But then it comes to me. The lace collar, though tat­tered and black as her dress, is unmistakable around her neck. “You’re the woman in the painting. Mother’s ancestor.”

The inclination of her head is small, barely perceptible.

  Praise for The Witch of Willow Hall:

 "Fox’s spins a satisfying debut yarn that includes witchcraft, tragedy, and love, set in 1821 New England... The inclusion of gothic elements adds a visceral feel that fans of historical fiction with a dash of the supernatural will enjoy." -Publishers Weekly

 "Hester Fox's THE WITCH OF WILLOW HALL offers a fascinating location, a great plot with history and twists, and characters that live and breathe. I love the novel, and will be looking forward to all new works by this talented author!" --Heather Graham, New York Times bestselling author

 "Beautifully written, skillfully plotted, and filled with quiet terror, readers will devour this absorbing, Gothic tale of romance and suspense. Perfect for fans of Simone St James and Kate Morton." -- Anna Lee Huber, the national bestselling author of the historical Lady Darby Mysteries

 "Beautifully written, with an intriguing plot full of suspense and mystery, The Witch of Willow Hall will cast a spell over every reader." -- Lisa Hall, author of Tell Me No Lies and Between You and Me

 "I was entranced by this intriguing and spellbinding novel with its messages of love and loyalty and being true to who you really are. I hope Hester Fox goes on to write many more such novels--I for one will be buying them." -- Kathleen McGurl, author of The Girl from Ballymor

 "With its sense of creeping menace and chilling undertones, this compelling story had me gripped from the first page. The vividly drawn characters cast their spell so convincingly, I couldn't stop reading until I discovered what happened to them. A wonderful debut novel.”--Linda Finlay, author of The Flower Seller

  About Hester Fox:

 Hester Fox has a background in the museum field as a collections maintenance technician. This job has taken her from historic houses to fine art museums, where she has cleaned and cared for collections that range from paintings by old masters to ancient artifacts to early American furniture. She is a keen painter and has a Master's in historical archaeology, as well as a background in medieval studies and art history. Hester lives outside of Boston with her husband and their two cats.

 Connect with Hester:  Website  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon  |  BookBub

   http://www.barclaypublicity.com:

[miss-m-calling]

Trick or Treat 2018 letter

Dear writer,

Hello and thank you for writing for me. I’m very excited to read whatever you come up with.

Regarding tricks and treats: for tricks, a story in the general tone of the canon would be great; if you want to introduce a more clear-cut trick element, spookiness, ambiguity, menace, some darkness, maybe some violence if the story wants to go there, a dark supernatural element (e.g., what may or may not be a haunting) even if the canon’s realistic, rather than extreme grimdark where everyone dies or gets raped and dismembered.

For treats, a story in the general tone of the canon would be great; if you want to introduce a more clear-cut treat element, humor, silliness, crack, a maybe-supernatural element (e.g., this is definitely not a haunting right?), something mildly hopeful, rather than teeth-rotting fluff.  

Requests:

American Gods (TV)

Laura Moon, Mad Sweeney

Fic, trick or treat

I ship it. Yes I do. I also love their snarky road trip in and of itself. They’re both such assholes and so fascinating, even if they mellow toward each other a bit in the last two episodes, and all the gods/magic/resurrection stuff swirling around them begs to be explored further. Plus she’s half his size yet can and does beat him up with literally one finger, and then there the angst of he having killed her and then brought her back.

Please give me either missing scenes from the road trip (with or without Salim, whom I like too) or something post-S1. Laura discovers (how? you decide!) that Sweeney gave her back the coin after their accident -- whatever happens next, some punching may be involved. Wednesday’s big war finally comes, and “don’t you dare die on me, you asshole” is a line either Sweeney or Laura (or both) might say to each other. Or something exploring living death. Magical bargains. Meetings – smooth and harmonious, though let’s be real, with these two it’s probably the opposite – with other Old Gods and assorted supernatural beings from various cultures. What kind of favor did Sweeney do for Ostara that would be worth her bringing someone back to life as repayment? What other powers might Sweeney have (he doesn’t seem on a par with someone like Wednesday and Ostara, nor does he consider himself to be entirely like them)? How long can a dead wife keep going before she’s “soup”? What other superhuman abilities might dead!Laura have? Can the dead do magic? Laura asked “What does Wednesday have to lose?” and the answer is...? (Yes, give me that sweet poetic justice.) Sweeney basically stops calling her “dead wife” (or anything else) toward the end of S1 -- there comes a time when he (has to) call her by her actual name, and that’s a tricky moment for them to navigate. Or, Mad Sweeney is not his actual name, since true names have great magical power; Laura discovers or learns his name, from someone else or from himself; what does she do with that knowledge? Also, my perfect AG spinoff would basically be Sweeney and Laura tooling around America, looking to get her resurrected (whether they succeed in this or not is up to you), stealing ever more ridiculous vehicles, arguing/fighting and having those pesky moments where vulnerability and genuineness creep in – and fucking. So I’d be down for porn, but only for these two characters together, not one of them with a third party. If it helps your inspiration, you can find some of my meta and lots of tag-burbling about these two here.

I have read the book, and while I prefer the show characters, you can use or riff on book material if you want. With reference to one of my DNWs, for this canon, describing Laura’s physical decay is totally fine.

Cabin Pressure

Fic, treat

Carolyn Knapp-Shappey, Arthur Shappey, Martin Crieff, Douglas Richardson

I just want more canon-y stories with their loopy humor and their weird yet loving family dynamics among the crew. Shenanigans in mid-flight or in the tedium which precedes and the tiredness which follows them. Someone smuggles (knowingly or not) an exotic animal on-board, legal, security, medical and/or slapstick chaos ensues. A mechanical, passenger- or smuggled-goods-caused problem arises and is solved during a journey. More games played on board GERTI. While I DNW holiday settings or themes, I can see comic potential in Arthur getting overly enthusiastic about Halloween (remember Arthur at Christmas?). Playing around with a specific destination, like in many episodes, would be a plus. If it helps inspire you, my favorite episodes in terms of tone and content are: Douz, Gdansk, Johannesburg, Limerick, Ottery St. Mary, Uskerty, and Xinzhou.

For this canon, I’d prefer either gen or, if you want to go there, Douglas/Carolyn, which is a ship I always thought had potential – they understand each other very well and trust each other most of the time, but they’re both also snark-masters, tend to look down on anyone not as smart or quick-witted as they (Arthur being the sole -- occasional -- exception), and are really good about keeping their defenses up against other people.

Justified

Boyd Crowder, Rachel Brooks

Fic, trick or treat

For Boyd, a moment in canon or post-canon, during his likely-lifelong incarceration, where we get to see him work one of his schemes. For Rachel, case fic or friendship fic, and you can definitely throw in Raylan and/or Tim and/or Art. Model Marshal Rachel gets stuck doing the early morning prisoner transport or handling walk-ins (bonus points for telling me how she earned this punishment from Art). Banter is always a plus.

And if you wanted to tackle Boyd & Rachel or Boyd/Rachel, well. I would love that. Their few brief interactions in canon always left me wanting more. Boyd trying to pull the wool over Rachel’s eyes and her not having it. Having to work together or Rachel needing to use Boyd as a informant, and possibly how the hostility might shade into flirting and how Rachel might feel about that, given Boyd’s past (even if, as Raylan said, Boyd’s too smart to really believe in white supremacy, there’s still his lifelong criminality). The beginnings of a good working relationship or friendship or affection, and how frustrating and difficult that would be, because they are who they are. Or the later stages of a relationship, when somehow they make it work, however tense it gets at times.

Specifically for trick fic, there be somethin’ spooky in them there hills. Maybe it’s just the usual bunch of hillbillies with more firepower than brains, maybe it’s something genuinely eldritch. Marshals and/or local crime lords walk right into it. A Lovecraftian riff would be great, as would an actually-mundane case of crime happening under cover of supernatural goings-on.

DC New Earth

Thessaly

Fic, trick

I nominated this character under The Sandman’s canon tag, but it got moved to the DC New Earth umbrella tag. 

Thessaly is my favorite Sandman character and one of my favorite characters in general. I love that she is not always or even often likeable, but she is always compelling, intriguing, hypercompetent, ruthless, fearless, and sometimes foolhardy. Her solitary ways and commitment to her own long-term survival, without the reader ever figuring out what – other than the desire for more life – drives her, fascinate me, as does her humorlessness coupled with everything that’s fantastic and supernatural about her. I’d love to see her do more chilling magic (invent dark, bloody rituals and tell me about them, by all means), go on adventures in the Waking, Dreaming, or still other realms*, get into a jam (maybe the Moon tries to claim her? Or she obtains a magical artifact and its owner isn’t happy?) and get out of it in her own way. Or Thessaly interacting with other Dreaming denizens (say, snarky Matthew, or the three guardians of the entrance to Morpheus’ palace, or the Second Corinthian with all his identity issues). Or give me glimpses of Thessaly’s past, over the many millennia she’s been around. Or, she must have moved from other worlds or planes of reality, possibly at their final destruction, to our own, just as she moves to Barbie’s dreamworld and survives its destruction; what were those worlds like, or where might Thessaly go once this world is gone? Does she outlast or out-trick the Moon in the process?

One thing I would appreciate you not dwelling on is Thessaly/Morpheus – I don’t mean retcon it out of existence, just don’t dwell on the actual relationship, which I always found somewhat improbable. Exploring Thessaly’s hurt and anger after the end of that relationship is fine. I have also read the Thessaly spin-offs, so you can riff on those if you want (what does she do with all the dead crowding her at the end?), but please note that if you describe Thessaly, I prefer her frumpy, self-composed design in Sandman over the Lara Croft-lite of the spinoffs.

*Fusion suggestion: if you wanted to send Thessaly into the world of Jennifer Haley’s play The Nether, I would be there with bells on. If you are unfamiliar with The Nether, it’s a science-fiction play about literally living on the Internet (easily handwaved into a kind of magic or a living dream) and how that influences people’s sense of self – be forewarned that the play’s not explicit but is pretty damn dark.

Likes:

I love pre-canon, canon, post-canon, canon-divergent, and “missing scene from canon” stories. I love character-driven and plot-driven stories equally, and I love fics which mix humor and angst/serious business when appropriate for the canon.

I love character studies, characters at work and play, stories about group dynamics, family dynamics (including constructed families), professional partnerships, friendships, alliances, rivalries, intimate couples, UST-ridden couples who are not just UST-ridden but connected in other ways too, etc.

I love irony, snark, 5+1 stories, bittersweet endings, hopeful endings, happy endings, canon-fitting crack, worldbuilding, characters who are their own worst enemies as well as those who learn to get over themselves, characters with conflicting values which may or may not be reconciled/resolved in a believable and IC way, characters who treat each other with respect and as equals even if they hate/annoy/can’t stand/love to dislike each other.

I especially love workplace stories (this can mean anything from an office/procedural setting to anything that revolves around the canon world in which the characters live) in which the characters are competent and dedicated to the job, and while they may not be exactly friends and they may well irritate one another, they still manage to rub along to get the job done and maybe even grow to care about one another (much to their surprise and sometimes reluctance/discomfort). Or, if they can’t get along, show me why not and what’s preventing them from finding common ground.

In terms of ship dynamics, I love (where it fits the characters) banter, competitiveness or antagonism shading into attraction (this tension need not be resolved), bickering yet loving couples, faithfulness, characters who are serious about their romantic interests, characters who think they are much better at flirtation than they actually are, characters forced to work together only to prove much more compatible than they initially assumed, fics which mix an exploration of characters’ professional and everyday lives with shipping. A dynamic I cannot resist is shipping a couple who are incompatible in some important way (they are ideological enemies, cop/criminal, spies from opposite sides), and while they love and want each other they’re also not willing to change sides or surrender/compromise their identity for the other’s benefit, and how they might (or not) make their relationship work anyway.

I don’t have any very specific likes for smut, other than smut fitting the characters – show me how their canon dynamics spill over into the bedroom (or other place of congress). I also like sexual scenarios that subvert expectations a little and surprise the characters themselves (e.g., the person who’s usually quiet or more passive taking charge, the more aggressive person goes with it possibly snarking or commenting on it as long as they can). And I like sexual scenarios that contain an element of competition, antagonism, oh-god-this-is-a-bad-idea-but-we’re-going-for-it, not wanting to admit feelings or show vulnerability except oops it happens anyway, whether the characters acknowledge it or not, or just people getting way more into it or being more affected by it than they thought they would. Oral, vaginal, anal, manual (ifyouknowwhatImean) – it’s all good. You can go as veiled or as explicit as you like, but please avoid excessive medical jargon – I don’t find a lot of mention of “penis” and “clit” sexy.

DNWs:

Kinks, MPREG, A/B/O, knotting, D/s, incest, underage, genderswap and genderbent characters, non-con, dub-con, torture and abuse (this and non-con/dub-con can be mentioned if the story needs it, but please don’t dwell on it in loving detail or subject any of my requested characters to it), dwelling on bodily fluids (mentions of gore and come are fine where appropriate), toilet humor, character bashing, soulmates and soul marks, major character death (unless it’s canon), pregnancy and children as the lynchpin of the story (unless strictly canon appropriate), characters agonizing over/analyzing/dwelling on their or others’ sexuality as if it’s the sum total of their existence, secondary characters acting like shipping the main pair is their be all and end all, fluff and schmoop, OCs (except in small roles and/or for worldbuilding purposes – I just don’t want a fic in which OCs are the heroes, while my requested characters are cameos), issuefic, explicit or implicit reference to current events or politics in the US, fic written in the first or second person, holiday or wedding setting or theme, AUs which have nothing to do with canon (cop characters working in a coffee shop, high-school janitor characters in space, etc.)

[sparda3g]

Kingdom Chapter 528 Review

Finally, we have an equal matched opponent for Heki. Now the hype is complete. In the last chapter, we had a badass entrance and a hype buildup for the Quanrong. This chapter serves us with a taste of the Quanrong’s prowess and everlasting hype that continues to build the next phase of hype for carnage.

I forgot to mention something from the last chapter review. The location of Ryouyou is very fitting and a giveaway of who Qin Army is about to deal with. It’s a perfect change-up, since it would be unfair for Qin to be the only one that holds a Mountain Tribe unit on their side. The fact is that not only Yotanwa and her men have a challenging opposing fleet, but the intimidation they sense is staggering. If they are worried for something, you know this is some serious shit.

The introduction to Quanrong is greatly addressed and left me believed their beastly aura. They’re not even considered as Zhao Army; it’s more like an “agreement” that just so happened to be on the soil of Zhao Kingdom. That would mean that the city is rightfully theirs and it’s only accompanied by Zhao. They have their own city, their own laws, and whoever steps on their land, they will be killed without any remorse.

Now I get why they made a big deal about calling the city for reinforcements. It’s like calling your next door neighbor who is an asshole, but he is a trained solider, so you probably going to ask him to do some bodyguard. It’s the opposite of Qin’s treatment with their Mountain Tribe, since at least they have some respect and more connected with other kinds. The Quanrong is nothing but savage beasts.

The small demo is brutal to say the least. Shunmen and his men tried, but damn, they got slaughtered quick and badly. These beasts could even have their horse to jump for more evasive and offensive maneuver. Poor Shunmen though. It shocked the hell out of Yotanwa and that alone is a very rare sight. The design and action left a terrifying image of what to expect in the full scale battle.

As if the tribe itself wasn’t enough, we also got the Eighth Wonders of the World to appear: Rozo, the King. Seriously, he towers over everybody; perhaps the biggest character in the series so far and that’s saying a lot. His presence already got me convinced that he rip heads off with a single hand.

The conversation between him and Shunsuiju is enticing and compelling. Rozo was actually going to have his man to kill him after he finds out who is in charge; not another thought. As for Shunsuiju, this guy is all chills and no reaction towards his approaching death. Maybe he is accustomed to badass intro. Seriously, this does create a tensed aura between the two.

It doesn’t only hype Rozo and his men further; it also makes Shunsuiju even more interesting out of everyone currently. I was stunned as everyone there when he begins to speak their tongue language. What’s intriguing is that not only that language is Xiongnu, but there’s a distinct connection with him and them. It must be a hell of a backstory for him to become that way, which he disregarded. In due time, we will get more of his past, because I want to know more about him and the family that he was raised under.

As intimidating as Rozo is, Shunsuiju has a mighty kintama to talk to him with words that sound more like a threat than beg. It all comes down to lifetime supply of mutton; yes, mutton. Well, they are juicy; what do you expect. Joking aside, Shunsuiju’s presence never wavered and won their support in the negotiation; it’s no wonder why I am highly invested in his character. It’s an impressive showcase of their aura and why we should be hyped for the battle. The tension has increased tremendously and the characters are convincingly threatening.

I really like the design of the Quanrong. Those guys look menacing, vicious, and dare I say awesome. The small action scene is brutal yet sad for how easily they got savaged. Don’t worry guys; Heki will avenge you all! Rozo and Shunsuiju’s conversation is intriguing and intimidating. These guys can leave for some chills just by talking. The hype is real.

This is a setup chapter, but a really good one. It introduced more of the Quanrong, including the King, and they convinced me that they are no joke. Shunsuiju continues to impress with his hidden background and no reaction expression leaves more mystery. I’m excited for the next chapter. Rozo wants to kill Yotanwa to gain the rightful title of the Mountain Tribe ruler. You have to get to Heki first!