#imagine being a terrifying infamous demon then being loved by a mother so good it alters your brian chemistry and now you love humans

[roughluckart]

Kurama is always so well put together, Hiei had to plan a stealth assault just to tease him.

I've been rewatching the yu yu hakusho anime after 20 years and yusuke looks so cute in his dumb 90s clothes.... I really wanted to draw the demon boys in casual modern clothes too...

[kosmosguk]

upcoming works | sneak peeks

to make up for the lack of posting for the past 2 weeks, here are snippets (in no particular order) of the beginnings of the ROUGH and very UNEDITED/incomplete drafts of upcoming fics that I’ve been working on while I’ve been gone to get you guys excited for the future schedule <3 ty for nearly 1.9k followers. All works, unless specified, are MATURE. 

if you guys are interested in a particular work, tell me about it and the ones that are more popular--as I will have more motivation to write them--will get finished faster!

a millennium of red strings | fox demon jungkook x reader 

Summary: a thousand years ago, jungkook and you were lovers in a world nearly destroyed by national strife. a millennium ago, jungkook held your dead body in his arms, powerless and unable to stop you from taking your last breath, and a millennium ago, jungkook sacrificed one of his tails for another chance for your reincarnation. A thousand years later, jungkook’s wish for your life is finally fulfilled by the god of destiny, but this time, jungkook, with hands stained by human hearts and a hunger for power, is no longer the wide-eyed adolescent boy with too many hopes to be fulfilled and too many weaknesses that you fell in love with. And this time, a millennium and a thousand human hearts later, he’ll go to drastic lengths to ensure that harm will never come your way.

You reached out a finger outside of your window to stroke the petals of the peonies your brother had planted you before he had left for war. He said that when he came back, he would buy you new clothes embroidered with blooming red peonies. Your fingers touched wet coarse fabric instead of the delicate soft petals you were expecting. Your mouth opened in a scream as you launched your body back in alarm, but a cold hand firmly clamped itself over your mouth as the figure in front of your window launched into your room and pushed you to the ground. The window shut behind the figure with a firm clack.

“Don’t say anything. If you do, I’ll claw your heart out and eat it, human.’’

The voice that spoke was the voice of a young man. You tried to push him off of you when your hands brushed against something soft and furry—was it an animal’s ears? You swallowed the gasp that threatened to bubble up in your throat and paused in your struggling when you heard sounds coming from outside.

You heard footsteps slap against the mud outside of your room, and you clamped your eyes shut. Something in your gut told you that whoever was outside would do much more damage to you than the demon currently in your room.

Several minutes after the sound of footsteps stopped, the demon pushed you away. You frantically got up to your feet, trying to remember your mother’s words when it came to demons. They were scared of light; you had to get to your candle. You grabbed onto it, splashing hot wax onto your hands in your hurry, to brandish at the strange fox demon.

Your mouth fell open at the sight. The gumiho was…beautiful? In the faint light of the candle, you could clearly see his features, especially since his hood had fallen off in the middle of your earlier struggle. He had wide doe-eyes, like an innocent animal, and pretty features that were on the brink of developing into a surely extremely handsome face. His figure was lanky from what you could see of him underneath the thick red cloak he was wearing. He reminded you of the men depicted in ink paintings of mythology where demons would come down and take the form of beautiful human beings to suck the energy from humans and eat their flesh.

You realized he was looking at you weirdly, and your cheeks burned as you realized that you had called him beautiful out loud without thinking.

“You’re not…scary?’’ the fox demon in front of you spoke.

You pointed at yourself.

“Aren’t you a gumiho?’’ you knew you were speaking crudely, but he was trespassing into your room. “What do you mean I’m scary? If anything, I should be the one terrified of you! I’m the human here!’’

The gumiho blinked his pretty eyes at you in surprise, his mouth opening to say something before you interrupted him, speaking rapidly in hopes that he wouldn’t find his next meal in you.

“I saved you by letting you into my room, so you can’t kill me, gumiho! Killing your savior would be a crime punishable by heaven. I don’t taste good anyways, I bet; I probably taste like mud and bitter herbs, so don’t even think about it!’’

The fox demon laughed, the sound clear and youthful. You were an amusing human being, weren’t you?

“I agree with you. I don’t feel like you’d make a good meal anyways. I suppose the heavens will punish me if I eat my savior, so I promise to not eat you. In exchange for saving me, I’ll give you my name. I’m Jungkook. If you have a wish, tell me it, and I’ll see if I can grant it’’

“Jungkook,’’ you beamed in relief at having your life for another night, and, without thinking clearly, you put out your hand for him to shake.

“I’ll tell you my name since you promised not to eat me. I’m (y/n). You better not forget it! I’d want you to save my brother, but you look young for a demon and not powerful, so while I’m waiting for my brother to come home, you should come visit me often.”

Jungkook raised an eyebrow, his ears flicking in confusion. Your wish…You really were an interesting human being. He almost made a fuss at you calling him not powerful; he was stronger than humans, for sure, but something kept him from saying that aloud. Some strange part of him didn’t want to scare you. He reached out anyways, clasping his hand around your softer and smaller one. Your hand was really warm; he almost didn’t want to let go. And you seemed nice, too, unlike the humans his master often told him of who were greedy and didn’t deserve the hearts they were bestowed with. Perhaps some part of him wanted to spend time with you.

He had to leave though; with a nod of goodbye and a twitch of an ear, Jungkook disappeared into the rain in which he had emerged from.

You couldn’t help but think to yourself: you really were a fool to ask a demon to come spend time with you. Why did your mouth never comply with what you really thought? You jutted out your lip in frustration, though the slight hint of joy touched your heart at the thought of company.

lineage 2 | duke yoongi x princess reader 

Summary:  When an engagement locks you, the 8th and forgotten princess, to the duke infamous for his cruelty, you find yourself counting the days until your inevitable death. It’s terrifying to think of your end, but when you arrive at his territory, you realize there’s a more morbid reason behind your marriage, and that the duke is much worse than the rumors have painted him out to be.

You were dreaming, at least that’s what it felt like to you. Some part of your mind knew that this was simply too vivid to be merely a dream, too real to simply be a figment of imagination spurred by an anxious mind. But you had never experienced this moment. You had no memories of this kind.

Flashes of someone’s life blinked in front of you, but the strange thing was, you were that someone. You were in their body; the skin and bones and flesh that made up them were also the same that made up you. The flashes stopped, blending colors stilling to spill a stark image onto a blank canvas as a particular memory unfolded before your eyes. You could feel the breeze of a summer’s day drift through strands of your hair, hear the soft whispering of the trees and the giggling of little fairies dancing in the wind and on your bare shoulders and arms. Their feet tapped against your skin in the giddiness of a rapid dance, the ticklish feeling causing you to let out a careless giggle as you swayed with them.

“The earth is singing. It coos and breathes and exhales its own melody,’’ the you in the dream spoke airily,’’ I can feel the song of nature in me, my child’s first breath, though that may sound quite trite to many.’’

It seemed like you were talking to yourself, or maybe even the fairies still dancing around and on you. That is, until dream you lifted your head towards another direction that you had been previously facing. The fairies all screeched before falling quiet, a silence so ominous and different compared to their previous activeness, and you could no longer feel their small feet lightly itching your skin. The air seemed to cool, the shifting from a summer’s day to a winter’s night.

“Well, I suppose you’re the only one who doesn’t find me so strange. I’m surprised you haven’t gone running from the first sight of the me behind the façade I put on before the Council. You either want what runs in my veins or…you must truly love me. Isn’t that right, Yoongi?’’

Arms wrapped around your body, and you could feel the weight of someone’s head on your shoulder. That someone pressed a soft kiss against your delicate neck before laughing hoarsely against your skin, sending shivers of pleasure down your spine. The voice was familiar. Yoongi? But why was he here? You had no control over your actions, however, trapped in the body of this someone who only giggled elatedly and maneuvered her body closer to the man.

“I can never go against you, can I? You know it’s the latter choice. My goddess…you are truly my—.”

His voice cut off, but you could feel his mouth still moving against your neck to form the last word. The dream was crumbling before you. You could feel the last sensations of the mirage you were experiencing dissipating into thin air, cracking into small bits and pieces.

As you woke up, the word he had mouthed lingered in your mind before fading like your dream had.

Obsession.

bloody artistry | celebrity taehyung x journalist reader 

Summary: when the scrutiny of fame becomes too much, perfect kim taehyung finds his peace within a lavish bathroom located two blocks away from the nearest club, a corpse in the bed with him. the fans have never questioned his behavior, not when his company is much too good at cleaning up his mess to not have done it before, but when a reporter with too many questions threatens to break the peace he’s established, he finds himself in a tango with the devil that he can’t bring himself to want to break.

Your mind was in a haze, and you didn’t notice the man next to you until he was nearly pressed to your side, barely leaving a gap of space between the both of you.

You glanced at him, your tipsy mind sobering up as you realized who the man next to you was. Kim Taehyung? What the fuck was he doing here?

‘‘Another drink for a pretty lady?” Taehyung’s teeth showed as he charmingly flashed a coquettish smile at you, his already extremely handsome features increasing in beauty from the grin.

You remembered Jungkook’s words and a chill ran up your spine, causing goosebumps to rise up on your skin and freezing you to the bar table. God, were you his next victim?

You swallowed dryly, trying to calm your racing heartbeat. The reckless journalist in you wanted to take a leap of faith at the headliner just out of reach, but the rational side of you knew that that leap of faith had a much bigger chance of you ending up disappearing off for a new job opportunity overseas, as Taehyung’s company would have it. You couldn’t write a good story if you were dead, after all.

‘‘Thank you, but I can pay for my own drinks,” your lips twitched as you forced them into a convincingly gentle smile, refusing his offer softly and moving your body casually a few inches away from him,” Drinking drinks bought by strangers isn’t really my thing.”

Your smile must’ve looked less nervous than you really felt and a hell of a lot convincing because Taehyung’s stiff shoulders seemed to relax at your words.

There was a dark gleam to his eyes when he pushed his body near yours and whispered softly into your ears.

‘‘If you’re scared of strangers, why don’t we get to know each other a little bit?”

Your fake smile grew stiff on your face. You felt like you were going to hurl the convenience meal ramen you had scarfed before coming to the bar all over the bar and Taehyung’s expensive looking clothes. You could feel the sense of dread in your bones, the kind a prey animal would feel as a predator focused their sharp eyes on their weaker body.

You forced a fake laugh, trying to drive the message that you were just not interested to Taehyung. “No thanks, I have enough people I’m close to. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve left my friend alone for far too long on the dance floor.”

You pushed yourself off the bar table, flashing a polite smile before you headed over to the dance floor, trying to keep your pace slow and steady instead of the run you wanted to do.

Taehyung inhaled the lingering scent of your perfume, a smell that sweetly layered itself over the damp musky air of the club. His eyes, even as you tried to focus on the pounding music and forget the fear embedded deeply in your gut, never seemed to leave your form, even when you burrowed yourself deeply into the crowd away from his view.

divinity | god taehyung x demon reader 

Summary: it’s a classic tale: two lovers from two different worlds united by the red string of fate only to be tragically severed by their worlds. but for taehyung, who’s lived thousands of years as the high god of beauty and the arts, a classic tale will forever remain a classic tale. well, that is until he finds one of the injured from the enemy forces in his realm, and he can’t help but desire the perfect happy ending to a classic tale with you, even if it means forcing apart the barricade of tragedy that separates you from him.

Taehyung traced the swirls of ivory and scatters of porcelain in the white marble table mindlessly, his eyes barely focused on the scenery in front of his eyes. The warmth of Heaven’s sun soaked into the soft white cloth of his tunic and into his skin, and a cool breeze ruffled his soft pale locks, sending wisps of thin strands to frame his beautiful face. The sight of him looking so ethereal would’ve inspired mortal artwork had he not been alone.

All was peaceful in his realm, with not even a servant to flit nearby the pensive god; it was much too peaceful. Peace, after centuries of war with the demon clan, was not a fortune that was often bestowed upon Taehyung. Although he was the god of beauty and art, his rank as a high god forced him to take a large role in the war. It wasn’t until today that he was given a break to go rest at his home after Jungkook, the god of war, returned back to base after winning a bloody victory against one of the demon clan’s more powerful forces. 

But peace never lasted long when one was in the middle of a war, not in the mortal world and certainly not up in the heavens.

Taehyung knew something was off in his realm. He could feel it, the warning of a trespasser humming underneath his skull and throbbing in the tips of his fingers. 

Was it a rouge fairy? Maybe even one of his own? Or was it an enemy?

There was no one else in his realm with him besides lower-level fairies to act as his servants, everyone else having been forced away to the king’s realm in order to give Taehyung a much-needed break from the worries and chaos of war. The servants would be unable to fight off an intruder if they were high-level enough, but Taehyung knew that the barriers he had erected around his realm when he was at the height of power would hold steadfast against most high-level demons, or any beings that had desire to harm him, or at least stave them off long enough for reinforcements to come.

Taehyung quickly pushed himself up from his seat when he heard a crackle of gravel and stone underfoot. How did the enemy manage to get past his barriers so quickly? That was impossible. 

He slowly walked over, his footsteps silent against the ground, to the bush where he had heard the soft sounds of rustling come from, and the heavy odor of spilled blood invaded his sense of smell. 

There was a figure on the ground, blood dripping from a torn hole in their dark attire and staining the gravel the body was limply laying on. Taehyung stood their silently, his eyes unblinking, before the figure rolled over to face him, their body sagging as they finally lifted up their head, the hood of their clothes covering their features from Taehyung’s gaze.

‘‘Help me,” they croaked out desperately.

yandere bts world | seokjin x reader 

Summary:  [ENTERING KIM SEOKJIN’S ROUTE: CHECK IN...TO MY HEART!] Kim Seokjin, a hotel intern with dreams of being a top-class hotelier, finds a golden opportunity to fulfill his dream when he is forced to watch over a VIP customer’s difficult child. You, now as a pastry chef for the hotel’s kitchen, showing up should’ve just boosted his journey to fulfilling his dream, but each choice you make seems to lead you further away from the dreamy perfect ending and closer to a particularly bad ending. 

You could tell who it was right away. With his breathtakingly handsome features and heart-shaped lips parted slightly, Kim Seokjin lived up to the looks he frequently boasted about on the videos you spent hours watching. But he wasn’t on the other end of a screen anymore, glass and plastic against your thumb, he was here, real and in the flesh. But you could tell, with his dye-free hair and butler-like suit, that the Seokjin before you was not the Jin that you knew before the game started.

‘‘Kim Seokjin?’‘

The words came out of your mouth before you could stop them properly. You grew flustered, trying to think of an excuse that could make up explaining to the man before you exactly how you, a complete stranger, knew his name, before realizing just how still your surroundings were.

[You are about to enter Seokjin’s route for YBW. Click YES or NO before starting for confirmation. After clicking YES, there is no restarting.]

You could barely stop your hands from trembling as you reached up and pressed the sparkling YES.

The word did a little spin, twinkling in an eye-catching way before disappearing.

A set of instructions popped up.

[INSTRUCTIONS: You are now in a world where BTS is not BTS. To win hearts and boost your romance gauge for Seokjin’s GOOD ENDING, be careful about the choices you make throughout the game. Choices will pop up frequently during your interaction with Seokjin. There will be no going back once you have started playing, and once you have pressed a choice, you can not choose another. Be warned: BAD CHOICES END WITH A BAD ENDING, in which DEATH occurs. Press CONTINUE.]

You stiffened when you read the second to last line. You knew that this world wasn’t your world, and you had somehow managed to maintain a mild state of calmness, but the warning jostled your sense of fear and caused panic to rise up in your throat. You wanted it to be a lie, but when you squeezed your eyes shut and pinched yourself hard enough to leave a bruise, hoping to wake up in your bed, your hopes were dashed as you opened your eyes up to the same opaque white screen.

You suddenly didn’t want to play the game anymore.

You thought of making a run for it, but the game, as if sensing your thoughts, popped up with another screen.

[Please press CONTINUE. Failure to do so will be quitting the game, which will immediately result in the BAD ENDING.]

[sxveme-2]

blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Edited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Three: The One With the Wallet

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 1511

    The nights that Lily spent alone were always the hardest for her to handle. She'd spend her day busying herself with miscellaneous activities in order to keep her mind off the empty house around her. Whether it be sweeping the floors, vacuuming the carpet, cleaning dishes that were probably already clean, whatever it was. If it kept her mind off the fact she'd be asleep alone in the house with only her dog...she'd do it.

But today...things just didn't work out like that. There were no dishes. Lily could practically see her reflection on the hardwood. The carpets were as soft as a cloud. She'd walked Joey twice already, and the dog then passed out in the living room with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. She scrolled through Netflix about six times, even made herself spinach puffs from scratch. And still, it was only 4pm.

Glancing down at the screen of her phone, she let out a gentle sigh. She figured she may as well spend some time out in the city. She's lived in New York State her whole life, and lived specifically in New York, New York, for 15 years. And yet she'd never done anything really tourist-y in ages. The last time she walked the streets of New York by choice was when she and Genevieve first moved out from Long Island. Those were the days. Living in an old and dingy apartment with Gen. Her only stress being school and balancing a part time job.

Lily lived like that for around two years or so. And then she met Scott. However, everyone knows how quickly her life had changed after that.

Grabbing her keys and purse, Lily bent down to press a gentle kiss on the top of her sleeping dog's head before sliding out the front door and locking it behind her. Would she wander the dirty streets of the city? Probably not. But she would for sure be stopping in to pester gen as she juggled running the cafe. Maybe even snag a few pancakes to indulge in during her nightly read. Who knew? All that the blonde knew was that she would definitely be grabbing at least one of Gen's infamous blueberry muffins.

-----

Around five, Lily felt herself grow weary of the hustle and bustle of the city. She had stopped into a few stores to take a look around, specifically the m&m store to pick Hunter up some chocolate, the Disney store, and just a few small boutiques. Making her way down the packed streets, Lily found herself out front of Gen's cafe. Letting out a soft sigh with a slight grin tugging at the corner of her lips, she pushed through the door.

The young girl's dark green eyes scanned around the room as she watched customers laugh over coffee, share a pancake, or just indulge in the tasty sweets that her best friend made her living making. Giving a small wave to a few of the wait staff, Lily maneuvered to the back, where with a furious intensity, Gen sat on a stool, icing a doughnut. Knocking on the wall to alert the fellow New York native of her presence, Lily made her way over.

"Well well, what did little ol' me do to deserve two trips by the infamous Lily Osborne today hm?" Gen teased while moving her work to the side, "Couldn't stay at home any longer?"

"Nope. If I took Joey out on another walk I think he may have gone into cardiac arrest," Lily chuckled while taking a seat down on a stool, dropping her bags, "I always hate when Hunters goes back to Scotts. The house feels so empty without him."

"I can imagine. Why don't I stay over tonight? Keep you some company in that basic suburban home of yours, hm? Sound like a plan, Doctor Osborne?" Gen grinned, nodding over to two bottles of wine beside the fridge, "Picked those two puppies up on my break. Figured it's better if I drank them with someone else, instead of just myself."

"Oho is that all I am? A buffer to keep you from turning into a raging alcoholic? Also, mind throwing some blueberry pancakes in a container for me?" Lily teased while snagging a chocolate chip out of the container.

"I thought you were aware of this?" Gen joked, before looking past Lily to one of the waiters pushing the door open, "Yes Elijah?"

"The man who called earlier about his wallet just showed up, where'd you put the thing?" the dark haired worker asked, dark eyes glancing down briefly towards Lily.

The blonde blushed ever so gently at the look, before turning around so her back was towards the male. She spotted the dark leather casing of a wallet and slid her arm out, pulling it into her grasp before standing. Lily pulled her purse over her shoulder and picked up the plastic bag her son's chocolate snack sat in, gripping it in her opposite hand.

"I'm heading out...I'll take it to him, what does he look like?" Lily asked as she brushed past Elijah, turning towards the seating area of the cafe.

"He's got long hair and a beard," a gruff voice commented from beside her, the small screech of a bar stool being scraped against hardwood echoing through the space, "and is wearing leather gloves."

Turning her attention to where the voice was coming from, Lily found herself face to face (or more so face to chest) with the same man she had seen earlier with her son. Bucky, right. That was his name. He was taller than lily had imagined, and more beefy in the chest then she could see from many tables over and under a clearly oversized jacket. But up close? The man looked like he could rip lily apart with his bare hands, and not even break a sweat. Granted...he was a supersoldier. She was sure he probably could actually do that, jacked or not.

"Oh! Sorry," Lily mumbled as she extended her arm with the wallet at the end, "I was leaving so I figured..." her voice trailed off, a familiar feeling of excited nerves bundling up in her throat. Letting out a deep breath before taking a small step back, after the cool sensation of metal danced across her fingers.

Lily remembered Hunter raving about how cool the Winter Soldier's metal arm was. How it was so strong it could tear car doors right off their hinges without any resistance. By remembering this, Lily’s suspicions were confirmed. He totally could rip her in half if he wanted to. But according to her son, the Winter Soldier was timid in real life. But how would she know for sure? She didn't know who he was.

"It's okay...thanks," he mumbled softly, seeming to nibble on his chapped bottom lip, "You were here earlier right? With the cute little guy?"

Lily nodded gently, fumbling with her fingers as her mind raced in an attempt to find a way to quickly exit this social situation. If she wasn't familiar with someone, it was rare to hear Lily speak. Being a talker was never one of the timid girls personality traits. She mostly kept quiet and never tried to go out of her way to spend time with new people or large groups. They made her nervous. She didn't trust people. She had seen what they were capable of doing.

A tap on her shoulder pulled Lily out of her self-inflicted panic mode. glancing behind her, Elijah stood with the paper container filled with blueberry pancakes for Lily. Giving a gentle smile, the blonde mouthed a thank you before turning back towards the man who seemed to have not moved a muscle since the two began talking. Or more so, he mumbled and she stood there dumbfounded. It wasn't much of a conversation.

"So...what'd you get?" the man asked, glancing around as if he too, was thinking of a way to either get out of this conversation, or at least distract himself from the seemingly terrified girl in front of him.

“Blueberry pancakes..." Lily laughed gently, biting down on her plush bottom lip, before her phone rang from inside of her purse. Sending a quick thank you to the good lord above, Lily excused herself from the awkward conversation, only catching a quick remark about how they were his favourite.

Pushing out into the humid air of New York in September, Lily pulled her phone out and answered quickly. A quick sigh of relief escaped her lungs as she turned away from the cafe and back towards where her car had been parked for the past hour and a bit. Finally, thankful she could get away from any possible chances of awkward run ins.

"Hello?" Lily spoke quietly into the phone as she unlocked her car, sliding into the front seat.

"He was totally eye fucking you." Gen's voice sang out as her bluetooth automatically connected from Lily's phone.

"Shut up! Be at my place at eight, weirdo."

[readerbookclub]

Once again, we’re back with a new book list! This is our first time using a theme, so fingers crossed that I did a good job 🤞

Since it’s October, I thought something spooky would be appropriate. So this list is full of books (mostly horror!) about a different monsters/creatures. Hope you like it and please don’t forget to use the link at the end to vote for your favourite!

@lilian-evans had a great idea that I should introduce each book and explain how it ties to the theme, so that’s what I did.

A scary creatures list would be incomplete without a book about vampires, so that’s where we’re going to start. This book is about a group of suburban mums slaying vampires. Quite an unusual premise, but definitely an intriguing one. It also doesn’t hurt that the main characters are part of a book club, as are we!

1.  The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, by Grady Hendrix

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood. But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community. 

***

Our next book has two creatures rolled into one! A woman sentenced to witchcraft comes back to haunt the town where she was killed. The book seems to be more ghosty than wtichy, but hey, who doesn’t love a good ghost story?!

2.  Hex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt and translated by Nancy Forest-Flier

Whoever is born here, is doomed to stay 'til death. Whoever settles, never leaves. Welcome to Black Spring, the seemingly picturesque Hudson Valley town haunted by the Black Rock Witch, a 17th century woman whose eyes and mouth are sewn shut. Muzzled, she walks the streets and enters your homes at will. She stands next to your bed for nights on end. Everybody knows that her eyes may never be opened. The elders of Black Spring have virtually quarantined the town by using high-tech surveillance to prevent their curse from spreading. Frustrated with being kept in lockdown, the town's teenagers decide to break their strict regulations and go viral with the haunting, but in so doing send the town spiraling into the dark, medieval practices of the past.

***

Now for a real witch story! Although I was able to find some horror witch books, I decided to go with something a little different with this one. More of a fantasy than a horror book, this novel is a multi-generational story about a family of witches. 

3. A Secret History of Witches, by Louisa Morgan

After Grandmére Ursule gives her life to save her tribe, her magic seems to die with her. Even so, her family keeps the Old Faith, practicing the spells and rites that have been handed from mother to daughter for generations. Until one day, Ursule’s young granddaughter steps into the circle, and magic flows anew. From early 19th century Brittany to London during the Second World War, five generations of witches fight the battles of their time, deciding how far they are willing to go to protect their family, their heritage, and ultimately, all of our futures.

***

I’m not going to say too much about the next book so as to avoid spoilers, but there is a demon involved. From what I’ve gathered from reviews, this novel is told through quite an interesting perspective. And I think I’ll leave it at that...

4. Come Closer, by Sara Gran

If everything in Amanda's life is so perfect, then why the mood swings, the obscene thoughts, the urge to harm the people she loves? What are those tapping sounds in the walls? And who's that woman following her? The mystery behind what's happening to Amanda in Come Closer is so frightening that it "ought to carry a warning to...readers."

***

For our last book, I decided to go with a classic novel. I wanted a book about an infamous creature that almost everybody’s heard of. And so, I chose a novel that created one of the most iconic monsters in pop culture...

5. Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

The story of Victor Frankenstein and the monstrous creature he created has held readers spellbound ever since it was published two centuries ago. On the surface, it is a novel of tense and steadily mounting horror; but on a more profound level, it offers searching illumination of the human condition in its portrayal of a scientist who oversteps the bounds of conscience, and of a monster brought to life in an alien world, ever more desperately attempting to escape the torture of his solitude. A novel of hallucinatory intensity, Frankenstein represents one of the most striking flowerings of the Romantic imagination.

***

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[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Eve’s Coven

Here are the vampires I mentioned earlier, along with updated bios for some old ones. A lot of stuff is WIP so keep that in mind:

Allen Lecarde: A drifter vampire and hopeless romantic, he fell in love with Rika Amano and turned her without her consent, ruining their blossoming relationship. Miserable and remorseful, he wandered about the city until Eve’s coven took him in. His power is WIP.

Amon: The oldest and most powerful vampire and the leader of the coven. Eve calls him a close personal friend, and he has been alive for thousands of years. Unbeknownst to all, he is also the father of Nadia, Dracula’s adopted daughter. He is an extremely powerful wizard and has the incredible power to negate natural laws, cancelling out things such as gravity or momentum or density... or increasing/kickstarting them if he sees fit.

Bartholemew Comstock: A pilgrim from the 17th century, he wandered off from his colony and nearly died in the wilderness, finding salvation in Eve, who claimed to be an angel… she just left out the “fallen” part. Miserable upon learning he was a vampire and deeming himself an affront to God, he went into hiding for years,eventually coming to believe that there was little meaning to his actions if he was damned to Hell. He begin to strike down and feed off those he viewed as sinners, all the while bemoaning his miserable lot in life and fearing retribution from God.

Beatrix Cullen: A black widow type serial killer who loves to carve up her victims with a chainsaw. She is an incredibly skilled seamstress, and utilizes this in conjunction with her power, which allows her to give life to the lifeless, essentially allowing her to create golems without use of spells or scrolls. She has a very special project lined up utilizing her seven favorite husbands, but she’s looking for just the right head...

Cyrus Lovelace: A former slave owner, Confederacy member, and all-around unpleasant person who captured slaves and auctioned them off to vampires as cattle. He was the one who purchased Dahlia from her parents for her infractions and had rather untoward plans for her before Dracula broke up his operation. He has the power to hypnotize people with his voice.

Dallas Ryder: A white cowboy from the late 1800s, he was hunted relentlessly for the crime of loving a black man. He dedicated much of his time to roaming the South and slaughtering any Klansmen he found without mercy. He was eventually captured and nearly lynched, but he was rescued by Amon. He has the power to control the trajectory of any projectiles he releases as long as they remain within his eyesight, be it bullets from his gun or a paper airplane. The efficiency of the projectiles is also increased. 

Dee Comporre, Giorgio Nero, & Mr. Viticcio: Three members of Cosa Nostra who once worked to enforce the will of an extremely powerful criminal in the 1920s. Giorgio is their leader, and has the power of magnetism, capable of feats similar to Magneto from X-Men; Dee is incredibly violent, paits her face up like a skull, and has the ability to secrete corrosive acid; Mr. Viticcio wears a coat, hat, sunglasses, and has a heavily bandaged face, and has the ability to stretch his limbs out like rubber. It is unknown if their names are real or aliases.

Elizabeth Bathory: The Blood Countess herself. After evading death in the 1600s thanks to Eve, she became a loyal follower of the demon, and was recruited into the Order of the 1800s. Dracula and Rasputin managed to defeat her and supposedly kill her, but Bathory is notoriously hard to slay. True to her infamous reputation, she tends to “Feed” by bathing in the blood of her victims. 

Elvis Chavez: A big fan of Elvis growing up in the 60s and 70s, Elvis wished to someday be like the impersonators he saw at his father’s bar. He got his wish in the 80s when he went to Vegas, but was often ridiculed by his peers for portraying the chunkier Elvis of his later life due to his weight. He became a vampire mostly out of spite for those people, hoping to outlive the even as he indulged in gluttonous behavior. He is absolutely unashamed of his gut and kept his chubbiness even after he was turned. Power is WIP.

Flanagan & Tantomile: A pair of psychic vampire twins.

Jack Fairchild: Jack the Ripper himself. He has the power to travel through shadows. He is the most hated and feared member of the coven, and he has committed nearly every atrocity you can imagine, gleefully. He views himself as above laws and morality. He was once a student of Dracula, and the lover of Rose Milliner, but was swayed to join Eve and slaughter his peers at Dracula’s school. After Rose rejected him, he went on to become the cannibalistic, immoral spree killer he is known as today.

Kane Dødsstreik: A Nordic warlord. He has a quiet intensity and is in general given a fair amount of respect. He stands at 6′5″ tall. He has the power to use his voice as a weapon (a la Black Bolt); he tends to speak softly and infrequently, though this is less because of his power - which he has complete control over - and more because he finds most of his fellow coven mates unworthy of his words.

Kristoph Hollenfeuer: A former Nazi who commanded a secret paranormal investigation branch known as Enigma. He has the power to generate tracking bombs from his hands.

Michelle Kitt: Once a notorious cat burglar in the 50s alongside her husband, she would steal from the rich and give to the less fortunate (though she would still keep some for herself). After eventually settling down, enemies she’d made broke into her home, killed her husband and daughter, and left her face cut up and scarred heavily, as well as costing her an eye. She has the ability to ignore the rules of sacred hospitality, allowing her to enter buildings uninvited at the cost of her pronounced combat skills being weakened, as well as the power to move silently.

Mickey Harrelson: A former hitman and one of the new Order. His power is WIP.

Nestor Sokolov: A lost cosmonaut, whose supposed death was covered up by the Soviet Union after he burned on reentry. While he did suffer severe burns, he managed to survive, and was saved from death by Amon. He often still wears a modified space suit to hide his face. He has the power to phase through solid objects. 

Pierre Labeau: A man hailing from Louisiana, he was born with a disfigured nose that made his upper class mother feel ashamed. She locked him in the attic, his only friends and interests being the various spiders therein; eventually, his mother even cut his nose off, something he would return to her in kind before killing her. He began to kill people like her, snobbish upper class twits, cutting off their noses and slitting their throats. He learned of the phrase “cut off her nose to spite her face” and decided to dub himself Spider Face after the mondegreen one could discern from the phrase. He was eventually caught in the act and driven into the bayou where he supposedly died, though Amon in truth allowed him to join Eve’s coven. His love of arachnids caused him to gain their powers, making him much like Spider-Man, as well as giving him incredibly virulent venom. While he certainly isn’t totally wicked, he also revels in being something of an area boogeyman and proudly proclaims himself a villain any chance he gets.

Piper Sanchez – One of the new Order. Formerly a young, mute homeless man. Loves rock music and has a guitar. Has the power to control and empower rats, which he can do with his music.

Rhapsody Von Braun: Hailing from the early 60s, Rhapsody was an artist who had her career derailed by workplace sexism, which led to a car accident that permanently damaged her leg and led to her becoming a drug addict. She spends a lot of her time sleeping, and walks with a cane even as a vampire. She’s rather sweet and pleasant, though she is a bit scatterbrained. Her power is to make drawings she draws come to life.

Ryo Amano: The elder son of the Amano family and a criminal mastermind, for years he served alongside Jemima Mathers, regulating crime in the city and ensuring his work would go unhindered. However, his cruel past caught up to him: when it was revealed he had his sister violently beaten and kicked out of the family, and that he had driven his own mother to suicide by making her blame herself for her daughter’s disappearance, he had to go into hiding. Eve soon discovered him, and his lineage was revealed to him - his father was Amadeus Zephyri, which made him a dhampyr. Granted vampirism, he soon found himself in possession of a powerful new skill. Where his father could stop time, he could essentially utilize a localized acceleration of time, causing negative effects to rapidly occur, such as allowing a decrepit pillar to crumble or to cause a knife wound to fester and kill the victim immediately. 

Sawney Bean: The infamous Scottish cannibal of legend, transformed into a vampire by Eve as he was about to die in his sealed-in cavern alongside the remains of his family. He eventually decided to give in to the ultimate vampire taboo and consume another vampire; finding he liked the taste, he continued to eat other vampires who crossed him, eventually twisting and transforming into a terrifying monster with metal teeth and claws that stood well over seven feet tall. He rarely ventures out from his hideaway unless called by his masters.

Walter Sherman: A good, kindhearted man who ever since the 1910s always looked to the future and was excited for progress. After his wife and two children died in a freak accident, he attempted suicide, but was turned into a vampire instead. Power Is WIP.

Wayne Nicol: A former circus clown. He has the ability to enter people’s minds and utilize their most powerful fears against them.

[i-am-loki-and-now-i-speak-up]

About my Blood: Loki Laufeyson

I was waiting for you.

That was what you wanted, wasn't it?

Loki Laufeyson. This is the name by which you learned to know me. From the infamous day in the Voult, when I first uttered it, with a broken voice, ... incredulous gaze.

A violent and painful emotion.

My ears were ringing, I stared at the emptiness for explanations that would never come.

Laufey's son.

Before starting I want to say immediately what I may have never dared to admit aloud ...

I started calling myself Laufeyson for revenge against Odin.

Just to spite him.

To reiterate that, if for him I had never been worthy to bear his name, I too didn't want to have anything to do with his people, arrogant and self-centered.

Calling myself Loki Laufeyson made me feel free from the yoke of Odin, from the power he had on me.

It was like laughing at his coldness.

"I am not like you, nor like that boisterous idiot of your son ..." said that name "I am other, something different from all of you, fucking hypocrites, that you go around like all of you were all shining and immaculate souls! "

It was like being able to shake off his reproach, his frowning expression of eternal discontent.

I was no longer Loki Odinson, sad, silent and obedient; that new identity, that reappropriation of my true roots had injected me strength, courage, will.

My Father silently disdained me for what I really was? Did all of them point out to me like the jealous, conspirator, liar and deceiver?

Very well, I would have satisfied them all by dressing gloriously of my new name.

I was a Frost Giant, son of an evil race, murderous and treacherous, .. he who had begotten me was their King, Laufey by the grin of predator, the look of blood, the hands dripping of the annihilated lives of his enemies and who knows who's others.

If this was what they thought of me, I would have given it to them.

Loki Laufeyson would have been what others wanted, or thought, I was.

And so Loki Laufeyson has betrayed Asgard, betrayed his brother, rejected his mother, tried to take what had always been denied. A place.

He brought chaos and destruction to Midgard, sparking a strange war that hiding something else behind it.

Loki Laufeyson was the most evil I could be.

And once again I find myself wondering if it was really what I wanted. The hatred toward my Father and the desire for revenge for what he had done devoured my soul, so that nothing at that time seemed to me enough to punish him.

To punish all of them, damned Asgardians, ... them and that look of superiority with which they all gazed at the others.

Loki Laufeyson had taken the little Loki with sad eyes by the hand, and with persuasive and poisonous words had put him in a corner, in silence, ... once again silenced and left to watch destroy his world and the people who, somehow, he still loved.

Whispering with his voice of treacherous velvet: "Look, child, ... look how easy it is to lie and deceive, taste the sweet taste of revenge, I do it for you, child. Is what you've always wanted, isn't? Be good, now, and let the pain of others drive your own pain away... "

Loki Laufeyson hasn't looked at anyone in order to have his revenge: not his brother, not his mother, ...for not to mention that infamous, arrogant liar of his father.

Yet I still believe that "he" was also a victim of Odin.

I know what you are thinking.

"How the hell do you talk today? Loki Laufeyson are you ... what are these little words tricks?"

Ah, sweet Midgardians children, you know how much the words plays on my lips, and how much I enjoy myself in this. Nevertheless there are events, in my unfortunate life, which by their nature can not be analyzed rationally.

By their nature, yes...

Do you have any idea, the furthest idea of what it meant to me, a boy, to have discovered the gigantic lie that had been my life up to that moment? See with horror my skin become blue, the sneer of the demon that held me tight so as not to lose even a moment of my loss, my paiful disbelief.

Understanding in a moment that nothing would ever be like before.

If ever there had been, a "before" ...

The nightmare had begun to end no more. I had become Loki Laufeyson. I had always been Loki Laufeyson.

A misfortune. The enemy. The blue demon. The monster.

I understood in a moment my father's lies, and the reason for his detachment. The most cynical part of me could even understand it.

How can you love someone you've never really wanted? The son of your worst enemy ...

How can you love a child who, you already know, will never be like you, or like the perfect child you already have ...?

You can not. And if you try to do it, at most you can offer that kind indifference, cold as the winter sun. And that will hurt him, slowly, silently, day by day, without remedy ....

Pay no attention to what has been shown to you. I didn't accepted that very uncomfortable truth in a week: things don't go so fast, and the souls torn to pieces, sometimes, need time to go crazy little by little.

I lived with that heartbreaking truth, in silence, for a long time, ... yes, a lot, if I speak in Midgardians terms.

My father had filled my brother and me, and our little children's minds, with myriads of grim and bloody stories about how monstrous the Jotunn demons were. Thor has become a man with the glorious mission to exterminate them one by one.

Can you understand my hell?

My pure terror? After a youth spent hating and fearing that breed of brutal murderers, suddenly the monster is me. I'm one of them.

One of them...

Can you understand? The sense of emptiness, the nausea, the disgust ... the feeling to be disgusting and dirty, guilty only for the fact of existing, living and breathing there, among the radiant Aesir. How many times I washed myself, in my rooms, and rubbed my skin, rubbed, rubbed ... with my nails, even, ... until I bleed, as if that blue could disappear, that horrible lizard color that disgusted me up to the point to throw up all night, desperate and on the verge of insanity.

And then the sharp thought of never being enough for anyone took over.

Not for my father, the biological one, ... the monster, he is, yes, ... who had chosen death for his son, whose only fault was to be small in a race of giants. Not for the man, ... The God who had wanted to save me for a strange mixture of emotions and strategies.

Odin, Allfather, who had found this adopted son under his roof, ... and who, only after many years, he realized he could never love him. I had not been enough for anyone.

Not enough for Laufey. Not enough for Odin.

If I had died there, on the frozen rock, it would have been better for everyone. Me for first.

I tell this myself again, sometimes, when anguish tortures me and sadness devours my broken soul.

Loki Laufeyson.

The son of the enemy. The Lost Prince. But also the rightful King of that inhospitable place, dark, cold, with the pungent air of ice.

Jotunheim.

When we were young, this word was enough for Thor and I to be overwhelmed by shivering with fear. And many, countless times, I stayed awake until late under the covers, terrified of finding one of those blue monsters, drooling next to my bed to devour me.

If only I had imagined ...

I am still struggling to accept passively my true heritage, ... to accept "the other", the blue demon I see in the mirror every time I allow my magic to loosen.

It's not easy for me, it's not at all.

Do you want to see?

Will you bear the sight of what I really am? Do you think you are ready, you who cry out to love my Jotunn nature, and accept my true appearance, no matter what?

....

Here, do you see it? Do you see the demon?

My skin ...is not ... it's not pale. It's blue ... my mother used to say that it looked beautiful, beautiful like the snow at dusk when it turns blue, .. but she could find some good anywhere ...

Do you see it? It is cold, cold as ice, adorned with intricate lines, lighter blue. They point out at my Prince Jotunn's blood, in truth. I already knew that, ever since I was a boy, I was studying and reading about the many peoples who live in Yggdrasill like so many swarming insects. The lines on my forehead are the three qualities that a King Jotunn must have: ruthlessness, brutality, and the last one, the one divided in two in a specular manner, is explained by a sentence in an ancient manuscript about my race ... "If you have to die, bring your enemy with you "

What kind of creature am I, with death written on my face?

Look me in the eyes, come on  ...

Are they still the captivating, deep green eyes you're in love with?

They are eyes like a beast, a ferret, demon eyes that pierce the darkness and that see you everywhere. Killer eyes.

Do you still like me? Am I still the wonderful God of Mischief ?

What do you see of me now?

Is it equally fascinating, Loki Laufeyson, in his purest form?

.....

You know, ... in the time when I started fighting my furious inner battle against "him", I also started to accept the fact of being this, and try to change it at the same time. To prove to the eyes of all those pompous bastards that does not count the color of the skin, but what you have inside ... that moves you, this is what matters.

I wanted to prove that I was different. I wanted to prove everyone that they was wrong.

So once I saved a girl, prey of dangerous winter fevers.

The healers no longer knew what to do, while she was extinguished like a little candle, day after day, thinning like a ghost, her eyes rimmed with dark circles, her lips dry and cracked. She stood still in his little bed, barely breathing, moaning from time to time, in his heavy and painful sleep.

I knew her. She was the daughter of a soldier, ... a shy girl who gave flowers to Thor and weaved silky bracelets to me. An adorable, innocent girl.

One day I went into the Healing Chambers and got everyone out. His mother, ... the maids, the old doctors with that heavy look of eternal gravediggers ...everybody get out, leave me alone with her ...

I sat at the side of the bed and watched her breathing hard.

"Thor's flowers have dried up, child, and you promised me a green silk bracelet with a new weave, do you remember?" I whispered, stroking her hot temples "Come back to us, come back to those who love you, little bird, ... Hel's bleating dogs are not worthy of your lovely face ..."

I gently took her hand, rested my lips on her forehead and loosened the magic that held the Jotunn shape.

I had to be very careful not to use too much power not to hurt her, ... just let the frost of my skin sooth the fever fire, slowly.

"Come back, little one... come on, come back to us, to those who love you ..."

And she did it. The fever lowered and I saw her sleep in peace, without jolts and moans, ... just pink cheeks, regular breathing. She was just very cold and red where I had touched it.

She healed, and she never knew it, though I suspect her mother understood it and told it to her, as she later thanked me stammering with tear-stained eyes. Little Elìn ... I hope life smiled at her later.

Last time I saved my brother.

Yes, you read that right, you don't need to reread.

I saved the precious God of Thunder's ass.

When my father allowed him to return from his exile (again, ... forget the stories of images you saw, ... the time is a ribbon much more intricate than simple visual tales...) there was another battle. Little thing, in truth, ... a skirmish. I could say that we had fought worst ones, yet on this occasion Thor was badly wounded. Very badly. Like a boy.

To a thigh, in a wretched spot, and the blood oozed out.

We had dragged between dry heather and boulders, far from the fight now exhausted, and both battered we looked at each other to see if we were still alive.

In reality, I was on the verge of losing my mind, and I was fighting another battle in silence, so as not to get rid of the demons' bites. So I pretended.  My father had taught me that. Or rather, imposed, since I was a child, and I had become good.

In a few days I would have come down to the Vault looking for answers, ... but I was telling another thing.

About Thor who, under my eyes, was bleeding like a rookie. Livid as if he were already dead, he looked at me trembling, his pants torn and soaked with blood: he also tried to disguise, with his smile like a braggart, ... but it was like seeing the depths of Hel come to take one piece at a time .

"Why...why you look at me like that, Loki, ... stop, ... you ... you're making me nervous ..."

My coat that had stopped the bleeding for a while, now no longer held ... I saw it darken, full of blood.

"You're dying, you silly, brainless oaf, how should I look at you?" I muttered.

He, with his last strength, grabbed me brutally by the shoulder and shook me: he still possessed a tremendous force, even with the claws of death planted in the neck .

"Do not you dare to talk to me like this anymore, little brother!

I pushed him away.

"Or what?" I cried, "Will you kill me like the Giants you hate so much? Just a little longer and you won't have a brother anymore!"

I said it because I wanted to poke into his arrogant, empty head that was really dying. To hear it now, it sounds sadly truthful, I realize ...

I pushed him against a rock to remain seated, then tore off the hood, uncovering the bloody gash.

"All right, I've had enough!" Now shut up, for once! "

I put my hand on it, he jumped violently: the blood leaked through my fingers, running in tiny red revolts. I had no more time to think ...

"Loki, what ... what are you doing ...?"

"I'm saving your life, you stupid, and now you close your mouth ... and don't say anything, before I change my mind ..."

In truth he no longer had the strength, and remained motionless, half-fixed, staring at me.

"We have to close this damn wound, ... and in the absence of fire, the ice will do the same service ..."

"Wha-what...?" became even paler.

Once again I loosed the magic and my skin went blue, the blue marks on my face, the demon's red eyes, ... I shuddered with terror: I was in front of Thor the Almighty in my full Jotunn form. Even at the point of death, he could raise Mjiollnir and crush me instantly, like a harassing insect. But the moments passed and I was still alive ...

"The fire and the ice both burn, isn't it? Only the ice is colder ..." I said it with tears in my eyes, chuckling.

Thor stared at me, wide-eyed, motionless, as if he were already dead and looking at me from the Otherworld. But then he whispered:

"Loki ... Loki, of all your idiocies ... what ... what the hell is that ...?"

"This is the most idiotic of all, I know, ..." I whispered almost speaking to myself  "Now close that damn mouth and don't let me say it again!"

I gave him no more way to reply, not even to look at me again with those haunted and upset eyes; I pulled the edges of the wound and squeezed, letting the power of nature Jotunn flow. I heard him scream, he clung to me with such violence that he almost broke my shoulder. I found myself staring at her blue eyes, full of resentment and surprise, planted in mine, red like the berries of winter.

They were furious and fierce eyes, which almost physically attacked me. He would have killed me. If only he had had a little more strength I am sure he would have killed me instantly, before realizing that it was me, prey to hatred of my race. Hatred that our father had instilled in him since childhood, poisonous drops that had corrupted his heart.

But it did not happen.

After those terrible moments, Thor gasped, closed his eyes and then collapsed heavily against me, unconscious.

I looked at him in shock, without having the courage to breathe, or dare to touch him: slowly, the magic that concealed my true aspect resumed control, and my skin became discoloring to become the pale one of Aesir. Although battered and covered with dried blood.

I was still. Hands up. The disheveled blond head of my brother abandoned on my chest.

What ... what did I just do? As I had thought of ...

But it was the only way not to have a new God of Thunder in my life.

Merciful Gods of Asgard ... I had just shown myself to Thor, in my Jotunn form and saved him from bleeding. It sounded damn surreal and senseless ...

And now what would have happened?

I remember checking the wound. It smoked. A dense, icy and whitish smoke. The skin was purple, almost blackish, so cold that it burned, if it makes sense ... the edges were juxtaposed, covered with a thin layer of ice and frost crystals. There was dried blood encrusted everywhere. Frost and dried blood on his pants, on my trembling hands, on Thor's blonde hair. A mess...

The wound was closed, burned by frost. Thor was safe. In a few days, I would have found myself dangling in the void beyond Bifrost, pushed down by my father's firm and cruel "no". Odin, who left his son to choose death with that refusal to resonate in the air, while the emptiness already cradled him.

That day, though, I had saved Thor's precious life and nobody ever knew it. Not even him, who was convinced that he survived because he had the brilliant idea of ??pressing fresh snow on the wound, ... that stupid naive child !!

This was and is still Loki Laufeyson. Contradictions and twisted thoughts.

Loki Laufeyson is an ice-skinned demon, torn between good and evil, left there to scream all his anger. Torn by the desperate need of approval and the cynical desire not to belong to anyone else who is not himself.

My legacy is dark, my lineage, brutal and cruel, ... while Asgard was my stepmother, at first benevolent, then, with resentment and cruelty, she abandoned me when I needed her more.

Is it any wonder, then, if I find this painful and inextricable tangle of demons that devour my soul, sometimes in silence, sometimes, ... as now, ... screaming all their anguish?

It cost me a lot to write all this. A lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of tears, sleepless nights and new sadness.

And yet I'm not satisfied with it, because I feel there's still so much to boil in my bloody Jotunn blood. Something indefinite, nameless that presses and cries to be heard, to be seen, to have space

I have not even figured out who the hell I am yet.

The green-eyed sad child who was praying for a sincere caress of his father? The young Prince that no one has ever loved? The miserable wreck that caused the death of his mother? The glorious, shining God of Mischief, with his captivating smile and sharp tongue? The Frost demon that saved Thor's life?

Who is Loki Laufeyson?

All of this?

Something else, so terrible that others see and I have not dared to recognize?

From time to time I loosen the magic that hides my appearance, and I look at myself, as you did a while ago.

Do not think it's so natural for me, or that I like it. I spent years to remain impassive in front of the mirror, to look at my face furrowed by blue lines, crazy eyes ... my body, the blue skin, cold as ice on the water.

....

Here it is. I scrutinize. I look at myself.

I try to find splinters of what I have always known about myself in that blue-haired unkempt that looks back at me, beyond the mirror.

Loki Laufeyson.

This is what my father feared. That's why he kept me away. I wonder if he thought the same things when he picked me up, ... a Jotun baby. I wonder if he hated me since then.

A newborn baby who cried in despair, believing he had to die ... what threat could I represent?

But I had Laufey's blood, murderer and traitor. However, I was condemned.

It was my blood that scared him, that alarmed him.

Jotunn blood. The blood of a King.

I will never give up what the others think I should be. I will not bend to their judgments.

I am free of all their hypocrisy, and I have chosen to live respecting myself, ... at least for a while, as far as I can. For the time when my demons leave me alone.

Little Loki Odinson came out of his corner, tired of being put aside by everyone, and now speaks for himself.

I smile. I grin.

And the image in the mirror smiles me back.