#ooc: if this is inaccurate blame me (and wikipedia)

[suddenly-likes-musicals]

Blue lilacs mean happiness and tranquility, hmm? That sounds wonderful! And quite accurate indeed!

Come to think of it... why should our Leading Man be left out of all the infodumping fun? Your tongue is free now, your heart unburdened by hate! Tell us all about the shows you've come to adore since embracing your true passion for musical theater! ✨️

I agree! Why exclude my voices when we bring so many together here! I've come to greatly adore the Frank Wildhorn Jekyll and Hyde. While not ending as fun as the original story did, it still shows how your darkest part of you is still a part of you, no matter how much you try to rid of it! The only options are to accept it, or die yourself to be rid of it.

[ezraspiderwick]

Time and Time Again

A goddess takes an interest in humans so she visits Earth only to find an immortal living between them

Max Phillips x F!Reader

Word count: 2.4k

Warnings: Reader is a goddess, first time writing Max so he might be a little ooc, vampires, all my vampire research for this comes from a quick wikipedia search so it might be inaccurate, main character death

A/N: Originally this was a Multiple Pedro Boys series (thanks to @littlemisspascal​ for helping me plan it!), and now it’s a Max one-shot with the possibility to be turned into a series at some point in the future

MASTERLIST

Humans are interesting creatures. In a universe filled with millions of different life forms, they are one of the only species to evolve to think that they are the center of everything as if the story of the universe starts and ends with them. How could someone blame you for wanting to study this fascinating group of beings up close? 

Adopting a human form you descend into Earth, the planet they called home. You haven’t been in this part of the galaxy for a long time. During your last visit, the only life forms could be found in the deepest part of the oceans, so you marvel at how everything has changed in only a couple of million years. The most curious aspect of people is that depending on their geographical locations, they would have different traditions and beliefs, even going as far as to start wars because of them. 

Everything you saw made you arrive at the conclusion that humans are indeed interesting yet only in the same way an ant or a tree is interesting. There are small differences between them that you can notice if you stare for long enough, but really, they are all the same.

.

The last place you visit is in Europe, it’s a small region called Transylvania, which picked your interest due to legends of immortal beings living there. But during the couple of days you’ve been staying nothing had happened, so you are about to end your adventure and head to the planet you call home when something makes you change your mind.

Brown eyes lock with yours and for the first time since you are in a human body, you feel a chill going down your spine. Whoever he is, he’s not like others. The energy surrounding him is unlike any of the mortals you have found, it seems as if the atoms are vibrating. You blink and he is gone. With this sudden appearance, your curiosity is renewed, and you decide to stay in this world a little longer, excited to figure out what exactly is going on. 

At night, when the streets are devoid of people you get a chance to admire the infrastructure. To your right, on top of a mountain sits a splendid castle, its outline sharp against the night sky. To your left, small houses with doors locked and curtains drawn tightly as if there’s something or someone they wish to keep out.  

You sense him before you see him. The air changes and when you turn around you can see his wild eyes and teeth, which appear sharper than a regular man's. He’s the immortal everyone is afraid of, the one that locals call a vampire. He’s the reason crosses are hung on top of beds and children are warned from an early age not to go wandering alone at night. 

He closes the space between you, jumping an impressive amount, ready to attack. With a flick of your wrist, you freeze him mid-jump and for a second his expression changes from ferocity to surprise, however, he switches back almost instantly and snarls at you. He stays in the air for a couple of seconds more before you take pity on him and set him down on the ground. His muscles are tense under the spell, his breathing heavy and if anything there’s more ferocity in his eyes than a minute ago, so you don’t release him just yet. With him immobilized you take a better look at his features, his hair is short on the back and sides and spiky at the front, and on top of his brown eyes sit very expressive eyebrows that are placed in a permanent frown.

“If what you’re looking for is blood, I can assure you it cannot be found in my neck. But if at this moment that is a necessity to you, I might be able to procure you some.” With a snap of your fingers, a rabbit appears in your arms. “Will the blood of this little one be enough for you?”

He stops fighting against your spell prompting you to let him go, after all, he will not be an opponent if a fight were to ensue. He stares at you for a couple of seconds, his head tilted and a smile appearing on his lips, which gives you a better look at those sharp teeth. “You’re not human,” he finally says.

“Neither are you.”

“I used to be.” You wait for him to provide more information, but he deflects the conversation to you, his curiosity now freely showing itself in his expression. “What are you?”

“Maybe you’re not human anymore,” you take a step closer to him, “still your mind won’t be able to wrap itself around who I am.”

He licks his lips and whispers, “I’ve been known to be pretty smart.” 

You move towards him until there are only a couple of inches between your faces and whisper back: “I’m a goddess.” You expect fear or confusion to appear on his face, but the only perceptible change is the spark that appears in his eyes.

“And what is a goddess doing here on Earth?”

“Learning about humans.”

“And what have you learned so far?” The intensity of his stare makes another chill travel down your spine and you could swear he senses it as his smirk grows wider.

“That amongst all species in the universe they’re some of the most interesting ones.”

“They are weak.” His breath feels warm against your skin. “They’re only good as servants.” 

This is a take you haven’t considered. Of course, you have witnessed that some of them held positions that gave them power over others but you have also seen how they had angered the people they were supposed to lead, costing them their jobs or in some cases, their lives.  “How so?”

“If given free will they’ll make bad decisions.” He takes your hand in his. “They need someone like us to rule over them. Come to my castle, I’ll show you.”

“You seem very hopeful at the fact that I will be impressed.”

“Believe me, you will.” His gaze challenges you, and even though he is the one to look away first, it doesn’t feel like a win. “I’m Max by the way.”

.

The vampire’s castle isn’t as impressive as it would have been had you not seen builds like the pyramids in Egypt or a mausoleum in India. It certainly has its charm, albeit a sinister one. The place is made completely out of stone, the people bowing and avoiding your eyes as you pass. You have not experienced this in a long time. At some point in the past, you had been worshipped by an entire galaxy that had been destroyed in a tragic accident. Now, there is no one who remembers your name, or prays at you for help or forgiveness. 

He guides you to a large room containing a table full of food in its center. Your mouth waters at the sight and smell of everything, it seems as though the longer you stay on Earth the more human reactions your body experiences. “Please try it.” Max points to the food with what you have categorized as his usual smirk. Up until this moment you have not consumed human food as your body has no need for it, but seeing all these delicacies in front of you, the temptation to do it grows stronger. 

“I do not need to eat this.”

“Neither do I.” He says picking up a fork with a piece of pie on it, which he then moves in front of your face. “But what is the point of life if it isn’t enjoying the things one does not need?” You consider his words carefully, that was an angle to existence you had not thought of. Perhaps he has some wisdom in him after all.

The pie’s flavors fill your mouth, making so many sensations explode inside you that you have to close your eyes in order to focus on them. When you open them up after you swallow, Max has the biggest smile on his face and stares at you for what feels like an eternity, making the hair on your arms stand up, before taking a bite himself. 

You spend the rest of the night tasting a little bit of everything, and between bites, he tells you his story. You learn he was born a human to a poor mother and abusive father, leaving home as soon as he was able and working for a fisherman. One day in which he had not caught a single fish, he had to stay after sunset in the ocean, and a monster appeared and sank its teeth into his neck. He managed to escape by throwing himself into the water, but the poison was already in his blood, turning him into a vampire. He mentions but doesn’t linger on the fact that living so much can get lonely, and you find yourself agreeing with him. 

Once the food is finished he takes you to the roof where there’s a clear view of the night sky full of shining stars. You have been to some of those stars, and proceed to point them to Max. 

“Which one is your favorite?” He asks looking back at you once you’re done.

“I…I’ve never stayed in one long enough to consider it a favorite.”

“Do you have a favorite planet then?” You shake your head, when you have lived so much, choosing a favorite gets complicated. You could tell him about your home, about the planet you’re tethered to, where your powers are the strongest and where you need to go in order to recharge them. But a place that helps you survive is not necessarily a place that makes you smile. 

“Perhaps that can change. You like this.” He motions to the land in front of you. There is something different in his voice that hadn’t been there before, and it takes you a while to pinpoint what it is. It’s hope.

“I do.” His smile grows wider at your reply.

“Then stay here. Rule this place at my side. Be my queen.”

No one had asked you something like this before. If someone seeks your help with a problem, they are quick to dismiss you or forget about you when their problem is gone. But Max seeks your presence, he doesn’t want anything from you, he wants you. So you stay.

.

One night while taking a stroll through the castle’s gardens you turn to Max with a question that has been in your mind for a while now. “Do you miss being human?” He keeps walking yet by his expression you can tell he’s thinking of the best way to answer.

“Do I miss being fragile? Or not having control over my own life? No, I don’t.” He stops and turns to you. “It’s true that not always do I enjoy being this mix between human and monster, being feared by those around me. But if I wasn’t like this I would have never met you.” He steps closer and locks his lips with yours, as always there’s a metallic taste to him. You enjoy the way he bites your lip and pulls on it, with enough pressure it’ll leave a mark but it won’t hurt.

As time passes you agree with Max on his vision of humans. They are simple beings, with simple goals, and easy to control. Ruling over them brings you closer, he accepts and loves you exactly as you are, and you do the same for him. 

When you are an immortal you get used to loneliness at some point, and he changes that, he shows you how good it feels to be loved and to love in return. You tell him the secrets of the universe and he teaches you the advantages of having a human body, about pleasure and pain, and about how sometimes they can intertwine. True to his words he makes you his queen and worships you as one.

.

As good things tend to do, your perfect life ends. And it ends because of humans. One night, people of all ages, force their way into the castle with rakes and torches, shouting that they are going to kill the monster. With your powers having grown weak due to the amount of time you have spent away from your home, you aren’t powerful enough to stop all of them.

You’re trying to make your way to Max when you hear the scream. 

As you make your way through the crowd people try to stop you, they tell you that you’re free, that he won’t be able to keep you trapped anymore. Ignoring them you make your way to Max’s chamber where he is lying on the floor with a stake in his heart. 

You kneel and take his body in your arms, feeling the life draining from him. You wish you could do something to bring him back but even if your powers were full, stopping death, especially that of an immortal is not something you can do. 

While your tears fall on his chest, an idea sparks in your head. You may not be able to save his body but perhaps there is something you can do for him. You can keep his soul here. By giving him a part of yours, you’d be granting immortality to his soul. This is not something you have tried before, but in theory, it could be done. 

There are two reasons as to why you have never done this. The first is that you have never found someone you deemed important enough to share your soul with. And the second is that a normal human soul could not withstand the process. But he had been an immortal, as much as a non-deity could be one, so maybe, just maybe this could work.

You put your hand on his chest and close your eyes. Energy leaves your body through your hands and there’s a strange feeling in your chest. You hope this means this has worked as there’s no other change.  As he takes his last breath, you lean down and whisper “I’ll find you love, I promise.”