#This was all part of a plot to keep Jasmine distracted from the fact that Nick was gone for longer than he promised.

[theflowerofthecommonwealth]

Preston, Deacon, X6, Danse, and Hancock: (All seated on little chairs around a table with tea party set up)

Jasmine: (Puts a handmade flower crown on X6’s head) “Hehehe…”

X6: (Remains unmoving and unbothered while he sips his tea)

Deacon: (Wearing clip on earrings and fairy wings with a tutu) “Looking good there pal, the colors really bring out your smile.”

X6: (Ignores him while turning on the radio)

Jasmine: (Eagerly dashed over to the counter to prep the treats)

Piper: (Leans in the doorway with a questioning look at the men) “Well, what’s going on in here?”

Preston: (Has a tiara over his hat) “Tea party, care to join us? The more the merrier.”

Jasmine: (Perks up with shining eyes and points to an empty seat next to Danse)

Piper: (Sits down and looks around) “So… is this some sort of dare? Or did someone pay you guys-?”

Danse: (Wearing a bunch of metallic beaded necklaces and pink sunglasses) “Shhhh.” (Puts a finger to his lip then gesture to the girl who’s happily skipping around)

Piper: (Raises her eyebrows) “Ahhh, I see.”

Deacon: (Offering a pot of tea to a teddy bear) “Care for some more tea, Miss Winifred?”

Jasmine: (Serving fresh brownies to her guests on pink plastic plates)

Hancock: (Has little bows pinned on his hat and one too many giant gemstone rings on his fingers) “Now this is what I call a real treat, thanks little sister.” (Generously puts a brownie on Miss Winifreds plate)

Preston: (Stirring his tea) “Pass the sugar, please.”

X6: (Wordlessly hands him the jar while munching on a brownie)

Piper: (Whispering to the teen) “You sure get away with a lot of stuff, don’t you kiddo?”

Jasmine: (Grins mischievously)

(Don’t tell me you wouldn’t join this little party. The brownies are to die for)

[sugar-petals]

Club Daemon (m)

PAIRING. merman!baekhyun x vampire!reader

↳ PLOT. You join a club of half-demons all hailing from different supernatural species — and find an unexpected love.  

↳ WORDS. 27k

TAGS / WARNINGS ⚠️ eventual smut, jealousy, explicit bloodsucking sex (mutual oral, vaginal), fangs kink, pining, groping, femdom!reader, angst/action, neck fixation, rough sex, fantasy au

The room is filled with smoke, but not from any cigarettes. Somewhere around here, or so you’ve been told, must be the entrance to actual hell. 

A gloomy spiral staircase headed for the core of the earth, kind of rusty and gleaming in red, fog everywhere, you get the idea. But so far… that’s none of your business. And either way.

The architecture in the part of the mansion you were invited to elegantly pools into a massive door of brass and copper. An embossed piece, amazingly sculpted — a hundred years old or more.

The center depicts a translucent emblem that appears to be strangely double-headed. Two facial profiles. One gazing east, the other, west. What exactly that’s supposed to mean: You have no idea, but you get the gist. Some kind of Greek mythology visual going on there. 

Doesn’t look like hell, does it.

You approach the door with slowed steps, tug your blazer into a comfortable fit at the lower hem. Had a mint? Check. Documents? Check. Posture? Semi-check. Adjusting necessary. Back straight, firmer walk. Done. Hopefully. As long as you don’t have to take those reckless stairs down south, you’re surprisingly ready for this. And what kind of preparations can you take for this kind of encounter in the first place anyway.

Beside the door, a concierge behind a luxurious, bulky table lifts his golden-framed glasses. They’re exceptionally thin and round, making their wearer appear like a wise, yet prying owl. Mister Mark Lee, apparently, going by how Taemin described him to you. 

Oh God, Taemin’s pointers saved your life finding this place. He’s been so forthcoming and took the time to explain as much as he could. The moment makes you reminisce a little. Your eyes lose focus.

Meanwhile, fully in the moment, the conscierge seems to cloud himself in the mystery of his dark green suit without any words. A man as groomed as this very Victorian penthouse. And this very borough, and this very carpet you’re standing on. Greeting you with a nod as understated as can be. 

It’s not like he’s treating you like air — he simply keeps the certain reserve you’d expect from a nocturnal bird. Or so it seems. That you’d be scrutinized you already expected, but this way feels a bit uneasy in the chest. If you’re the mouse to the owl, you want to move on past that door as fast as you fucking can.

You try to continue standing straight and hand him your letter as inconspicuously as possible. Oh, that damn piece of paper that turned your life around. A little ‚good evening‘ barely leaves your throat and Mister Lee presses a button underneath the table top after gazing over the document nearly thrice. Following his insistent eyes, you leave your phone on the table altogether, and now have virtually nothing to hold onto. You opt for putting your hands in your navy blue pants pockets. If that’s any good around here, staying a little hellishly casual. 

‘A very good evening indeed,‘ is what Mister Lee’s eyes seem to reply.

The door shifts open with a dull, booming sound. Very well then. You stagger inside toward what’s hopefully behind it — suddenly feeling so terribly exhausted. Hazy. You don’t know how it hit you. So many scents. Impressions. Movement. Space. Eyes. Heartbeats. 

You try hard to focus on the first candle you can see around, and you do find one, and it does ground you. After their split-second delirium, your feet anchor on the carpet now, and the scenery pulls you back to breathing. Now, the bigger picture becomes a lot clearer. 

There are several men settled everywhere across the room that opens before you so luxuriously. All dressed in the finest of garments and polished shoes, donning the most annoyingly impeccable haircuts on top of that. Everything about this room screams dignity, and haughtiness, and a hefty bank account. 

But you can’t deny another, stronger hunch. The presence of one gentleman in particular sends a chilly feeling down your spine. You can’t tell who it is now. You just know that somebody here is very different. Dangerously so.

Between armchairs, chandeliers, blood-filled cups and side tables, you spot arrangements of night-blooming jasmine and daffodils. Large and opulent, really catching your eye with their elegant trumpet shapes. 

Perhaps, and you really have no clue whether that’s a good theory, to suggest that however solid teak and mahogany this entire interior might be, there is still life and scent in it. But it’s all… so carefully curated. Too deliberate to be authentic in the very least, and that’s what is making you tense up so much. You know very well that nobody in this room, if it weren’t for this meeting, would be preoccupied with flowers. Except maybe Taemin. But he’s half-elven, so that doesn’t count. Elves love jasmine.

Meanwhile, you suspect that the cups with blood were purposely brought in to catch you off guard pretty much right away. To test your self-control, get you startled, or lord knows what. Power games in this club, you’d not be surprised. But the scent really is so overbearing. You become all light-headed. Whatever they set up for you here, it’s already working. You feel like falling asleep in the middle of the damn night. 

The fumes, and the candles, and the daffodils—

„Wong Yukhei,“ a voice finally pierces through the mist inside your brain. 

You perk up. It belongs to a figure seated in the deeper middle of the room. A dark-haired man, noticeably tall and baritoned, with full lips, immense shoulders. In fact, a frame to behold all tailored in matte black. Down to the pointed oxford shoes, laced up in a very brisk way as if someone pulled a corset very tight.

„Yes—?“

„Half-lycan. Club president. Have a seat.“

Now you know why he speaks first.

It’s like you’re frozen on the spot. Judging by how muscular he is underneath that very suit, especially around the upper body, you don’t want to catch a glimpse of what happens when the moon says hi. Half werewolf it is. No wonder his hands are huge like paws. You don’t have to count one and one together to know that this guy could go casual beastmode and rip the room’s door in half.

„A... alright.“

Stammering like a fool isn’t something you planned but comes out as a sheer reflex. To distract from the awkward tone, you resort to looking around. You wonder if the club is in full attendance. Because who knows, they could await some more people like you later on. There are actually quite a few empty seats to choose from. A dozen, perhaps a bit more. Each with a filled cup on a table, right to the brim, one more flavorful than the other.

Since the president didn’t gesture towards any seat in particular, you find yourself having to make an intuitive choice. Whether that’s some werewolfey ‚where does she put up her territory?‘ personality quiz or whatever… is unimportant because your nose is already telling you precisely where to sit anyway. In fact, obnoxiously so. It’s itching like crazy at most of the scents except one. You realize — at least that you can rely on. There’s that one cup you want to be close to. Ignoring it would probably torture you for the entire night so you give into it.  

Taking the empty chair at the chimney fire on the right side of the room comes naturally. And: With several eye pairs resting very firmly on you. But your attention is elsewhere already. The blood in the goblet of this particular table really does smell like the most delicious thing. There’s something magically attractive about the consistency. You can feel with your whole body just how amazingly juicy and welcoming the drink is. For a strange reason, it seems like it’s almost iridescent. You’ve never seen that before. Everyone in the room has the current pleasure of watching you being smitten by a fucking drink.

There’s no way they didn’t see you lick your lips like a first class pervert either.

Whatever first impression you’re giving them, it’s one that makes a part of you mentally run out the door again. Poor Taemin thought you were a promising invitee. You feel bad for disappointing him already. Slave to your instincts, how on earth are you even supposed to sit here in the finest and highest of company. Creating sexual tension over a glass of blood in a millionaire’s club or whatever.

Still, against all odds, the other part of you glady reclines in your seat, sleazy like a retired Russian oligarch on his yacht. Because that means: Smelling that heavenly scent up close. Hell, just fuck everything else. It’s the most gratifying thing you’ve come across. Did they brew you a damn magic potion or something? 

You have a hard time snapping back to the conversation and realize everyone is still intently looking at you admiring your cup as if it’s a prime time television event with Zac Efron in it. Which you now force yourself to break from. Not so gladly this time. You really want to have a sip, but Yukhei’s pressing gaze demands you to make your move. You wonder why his eyes are so livid, but again realize that he probably doesn’t need the moon to be wolf-like, does he.

„So you were the one who came up with inviting me, then?“ you say, and the words come out much more bluntly. It surprises you. Since you skipped the introduction and small talk altogether, maybe your mouth thought, why not strike a direct tone. Just being in the vicinity of something so mouthwatering makes you feel on top of the world out of literal nowhere. You’re about to lose your train of thought again that Yukhei fervently shakes his head.

„It was Baekhyun’s suggestion. A terribly daring one I thought,“ he says. „Thank him that we agreed to meeting you in person. In fact, he was very adamant we’d do so.“

You look around the assembly, hoping to find clarity about whoever prompted the invitation letter. Since nobody seems to put anything forth, you quiz yourself on who of these gentlemen looks like a Baekhyun, and why nobody is reacting. Everyone’s literally sitting there like marble statues. 

According to Taemin, getting an invitation to Club Daemon is not only something that excludes the general public, but also merely a fleeting ‚rumor‘. Not even a neighborhood legend if it came down to it. Because on more official papers, this guild does not exist. Whoever wanted to invite you was indeed taking a notable risk — to the president’s nuisance, on top of that.

Oh yeah. Now you’re at the edge of your seat.

„Eh. I’m afraid Baekhyun cannot meet you in this particular setting,“ Yukhei breaks into a lop-sided smirk. You’re shocked he’d pull a dismissive face like that. So openly, like he simply doesn’t give one damn all of a sudden. Strangely enough, it still doesn’t take away from just how nobly he’s dressed. It’s seriously messing with your head. Or is it the goblet?

„So, this setting, um—“

You look like Yukhei just spoke in a different language now. Stifled laughter among the guild members. At least they’re reacting now. That’s progress. But you’re even more confused and stuff your hands back into your pockets.

„See. Carpets are typically not Baekhyun’s favored grounds. He’s half-merman,“ Yukhei continues, very much composed in his seat now just as before. And it finally registers.

Oh man.

You can’t spot some giant water tank in this room or anything of that kind. There’s no way he could just casually hang out here. Of course he can’t greet you in the club. Sweet Jesus. You have too much blood and flower scent around you.

„But not to worry. You’ll get to meet your sweet benefactor,“ Yukhei leans back, the smirk growing even wider. „Baekhyun can speak to you in the club bathroom from time to time. If he’s not out there playing around in the bays like the kid he is.“

„I see? Uh...“

You shift back and forth in your seat. Even if your brain somehow tries to piece that information together, keeping your eyes off the chalice is so hard all over again. 

You can’t lie, it’s even starting to get you hot and bothered from the toes up. Gritting your teeth is all you can do not to gasp out loud. Literally, you’re one moan away from semi-public indecency. That is, if human law applies to this room. Going by how everyone is so keen to see you react, it probably doesn’t. Your ears are telling you that pretty much everyone is holding their breath right now. Untouched orgasm at 7:30 PM? Wasn’t on your plan either. But looks like you’re headed for it. You wonder if Yukhei has been planning to set you up for this and—

„We didn’t put this up to confuse you, Y/N. Please feel free to drink. We want you to feel welcome here,“ a second, innately friendly voice addresses you now, parting the silence like a vintage knife through warm butter. It’s much softer than Yukhei’s, as if laced with honey.

Immediately, you recognize the sound. It is Taemin.

Seated to Yukhei’s far left in a flawlessly upright posture. Blond and lavish, dressed in a type of brocade tux. It seems to be a mix of burgundy and golden pipings in the fire light, but you could be wrong. With good reason and regard to most members present, the room is kept very dark. In fact, the atmosphere couldn’t be any more controlled. Nevertheless — finally reuniting with him is such a relief. You already want to thank him for averting a full-on catastrophe.

„Taemin! It’s good to see you again,“ you finally break the tension. Your tone loses all discomfort, your face brightens. Taemin gently bows in response. His poise lights up the room, and you even manage to detach from the chalice.

„The pleasure is ours. It’s great to see you again as well.“

You recall. The memory is still so vivid. He was the one who brought you the letter in the late evening. You were sitting on your balcony scrolling through your phone feed and boom. There he was, sitting — even seemingly glowing or whatever it was — in a cherry tree. With his pointy ears and an envelope for you, the exact invitation Baekhyun had suggested. As far as you can remember, he’s been elected as the Club’s vice president very recently.

Taemin explained a lot of the club’s incentives to you on the balcony. Even if you did manage to drop your phone in shock at his appearance, his open approach had you packing up your bags for the mansion in a matter of two days. Seems like the club knows who to send when they don’t want to intimidate possible recruits. If Yukhei showed up in that dark suit and the low brow, you probably would’ve turned into a bat and headed for the forest. Well, or something like that. Meanwhile, Taemin feels like you’ve been familiar for decades.

„Do drink. It is handpicked for you!“

„Thank you, Taemin,“ is all you can say, and turn back to your drink with shaky hands. Finally. And well. If Taemin offers it, it can’t be wrong. It’s far too late to ignore it anyway. You already grab the base of the chalice like you’re holding on to dear life.

The first sip is so hasty, Yukhei almost has to laugh out loud. Or is it a laugh? Taemin frowns right at him, but you’re too busy chugging to notice. Hawthorn, lotus, apples, water lily, chestnuts and vanilla. So many nuances, too little tastebuds and too little words to describe it. You’ve never tasted blood of such a quality. For free. Not one pause to breathe, it just goes down like fine liquor.

Everything in your body starts to feel completely alert. Whoever this blood belongs to, whatever is going on, this is the most thrilling feeling you’ve experienced in a while. It’s like floating inches above your seat. Your face is feeling all heated as if the chimney fire burns your cheeks. Your skin is normally pretty cold and stays that way if you think about it. 

At the same time, you’re surprisingly refreshed on the inside. The blood left a minty trace on the back of your tongue. You know the men are watching you, but you can’t help but ride the high of the taste for a few seconds with your eyes closed. Once the rush is fully over, you slack in your seat. Open your eyes. And sigh out. Goddamn. 

If that means to feel welcome here, then you’re more than convinced. Taemin knows how to serve an aperitif. Everything about your body feels relaxed. You bet your pupils are more blown than Yukhei’s dick in his freetime going by how he sits and watches your reaction. Manspreading is an understatement. Wolfspreading is the new thing. Literally, what on earth happened. He’s glowering at you like you just stole the keys to the glitzy silver sportscar that’s parked in front of the mansion and without a doubt must be his. Your eyes aren’t deceiving you even if the light is so dim: He’s straight-up gotten all angry to the point of gritting his teeth.

But there’s also something that tells you he’s afraid.

„Now, you probably want to know why we’re interested in you, right,“ Taemin gently continues once you put the empty chalice down and make very needed use of the napkin already placed next to the cup. Heartbeat: Speed of a bullet train arriving at a station.

„I’m starting to see why.“

Most of your exhaustion is actually… gone. Out of the blue. You’re feeling much more perceptive, much faster in every move. Maybe Edward was right with his personal brand of heroin. You just never knew because you had 5 Pounds 50 blood from TESCO’s every day until now. So that’s that.

„We didn’t find a novice in twenty years,“ Taemin says. „Nor a half-vampire for that matter.“

In passing, he ushers a slender-looking butler towards your table. Casually, as if he did it a million times already. So far, using the shade of the lighting, the butler had been blending in with a velvet curtain until now. You ask yourself if you’ve actually noticed him or not. You can’t clearly tell which is strange. But then again, going by the course of events until now, not really.

„Right,“ you reply, trying to focus on Taemin — without much success. The butler simply looks too striking. He uses a large carafe to refill what probably measures up to another quarter liter into your chalice. He looks at you with sheer intent, it’s Yukhei’s gaze times ten, almost like it’s bundled into a lazer. Instead of being excited about the refill, you find yourself trying to desperately decipher the butler’s look. It’s not wolfy this time, that’s for sure. It’s something far, far different. It’s something deeply scary.

The butler lingers. It takes five seconds too long for him to return to the curtain. There’s that feeling again. That hunch from before when you came in, so much stronger now. You’re shivering. The man looks so serious in his crisp red suit, with the pin stripes and a golden pocket watch at his lapel. His aura is so freezing cold.

„Meaning, our guild could urgently use a new addition,“ Taemin keeps on speaking, with Yukhei closely listening to how he puts his words. In the meantime, the butler stands completely still in the dark, merging with the curtain almost completely again. But you can tell his eyes are on you. His frame looks so skinny at a distance, but you can tell he’s much stronger than that. Lord knows Yukhei might not be the only one who could break the door in half.

You hold on tight to the napkin in your lap. Where you thought you’d feel elated, you’re all sober now.

„Twenty years is a long time,“ you comment, a lot more dryly this time.

Even in a club where nobody ages by human standards, this could be quite a frustration. Looking around, you begin to understand why the invitation was such an urgent matter and there are many more empty seats. All the members look very established and at home to say the very least. Nobody here appears to be a novice.

„It is,“ Taemin replies. „You can see why we wanted to talk to you.“

„Yes. I can. Thank you for considering me. It was a bit out of nowhere but, I guess there’s no way to do it differently.“

Taemin nods. Meanwhile, Yukhei remains visibly displeased in his center seat, with his expression growing much darker by the minute. You can’t tell whether he didn’t like you downing the blood so fast like a post-diet Dracula or how Taemin explained all of this to you now. You don’t have to wonder for a long time, though.

„That we expand our assembly with a half-vampire out of all possibilities— was not my idea,“ Yukhei taps his fingers onto the lion-shaped armrests of his chair. The poor fellas probably have a hard time carrying his frame, fragile as they look. Taemin, on the other hand, is as nonchalant and petite as you got to know him. Like a feather on his seat, he sways his torso ever so slightly while he listens. Then, he reaches over to pat Yukhei on the shoulder with a wide, reassuring smile.

„But you were still delighted that Baekhyun found someone, didn’t you.“

„You make it sound like a public holiday. Eh, we’re recruiting, Taemin.“

„You didn’t take too long to agree to sending the invitation at all. Back when Kai joined, you needed five months to say yes. And he’s half-lycan himself.“

„Because Jongin was a grade A stupid bastard… and still is,“ Yukhei darts an even lower gaze to a particularly shaded corner of the room. Whoever this guy Kai is, he’s sitting right there and grins his life away. Now that you set your eyes on him, you’re about to piss your fucking pants.

Even behind a particularly large array of jasmine bouquets, his silhouette looks the most powerful out of all the club members despite him not being as tall as Yukhei. Where you would’ve called the Yukhei ‚strong‘, Kai was first and foremost athletic — head to toe, with a looming frame. He’s kept silent for the entire time, but he sure listened well.

„It’s a competition, Yukhei,“ the silhouette crosses his legs, laughing. „Whoever is bastardly enough is qualified for being the club president. Sounds like I’m headed right for it. But you’re also knee-deep. Knee-deep, I’m telling you.“

Kai’s voice is much lighter than you thought it would be, but the way he speaks commands instant respect. Yukhei’s answer is a mixture of a growl and a huff, but it’s so blended together that it’s becoming hard to distinguish to your reeling ears. All you know is that the atmosphere in the room feels like a string ready to snap.

So that’s what half-lycans are all about, then.

In case they’re about to fully out-bastard each other, you take another sip to distract yourself. You hear your ears pulse even more. The blood really is delicious and takes your mind off. To your surprise and relief, Yukhei squarely turns to the assembly with a much more point-blank attitude in his movement now. Kai remains entirely ignored.

„That she’s not part of a vampire clan and we couldn’t find possible members for so long is the only reason she’s here, that’s all.“

„Enough a reason,“ Taemin smiles even wider, and puts more soothing into his phrasings. Kai’s unsettling presence doesn’t seem to faze him the very least. 

„We’d be happy to have you join us if you’re inclined,“ he now addresses you again. „I’m sure our talk about the training and formal things will bore you, though. I reckon you want to be introduced to your kind first.“

„Oh…“

Your kind.

That explains a lot. A whole damn lot, to be exact. You can’t help but suck in air, but it’s less awkward than you thought. In fact, your reaction brings some life into the room. Looks like everyone has anticipated this. Yukhei’s eyes narrow. Kai seems even more alert. You feel like a lab rat new to the cage.

„You felt his presence when you stepped in, didn’t you,“ Taemin asks, his head tilting a bit to the side.

You did. The half-elf looks confirmed in his statement.

„It’s him, right,“ you direct your eyes toward the curtain, but don’t dare to lift your gaze any further.

The butler.

He’s been sticking out like a sore thumb.

You felt him since the very first moment.

„Yes,“ Taemin says.

Your suspicion, or rather, what your body told you from the beginning with every shiver and every fiber, was entirely right: With an interpretation you couldn’t grasp just then. But now you do. Your intuition didn’t lie.

„Ma’am. Pleased to meet you. Lee Taeyong,“ the butler strikes a surprisingly fluid introduction. You freeze up again. It’s very unlike his stiff positioning, stepping forth from his usual waiting place so his face is visible to you in candle light entirely at a bit of a distance. Lee Taeyong. His face… really is sharp.

„I was expelled from my clan 80 years ago,“ he disposes of his tray to speak freely now. His voice is so deep, it almost resonates in your ribcage. But then, you see something vulnerable in him. You don’t know what it is.

„Expelled?“

„You can imagine. They found out I wasn’t full vampire,“ he continues. Now you do see them. His fangs. You should’ve noticed. Damn. „That’s how I got here.“

And now you actually get what happened. Taeyong is an outcast. Looking past his teens, 150, 170 years, a tenth of Taemin’s age at the very least. And he’s half-vampire who’s been on his own pretty much: Just like you. That’s something that still didn’t sink in yet. Your kind. The butler of Club Daemon. 

No wonder he took his time pouring the blood into your chalice and looked at you like you’re some kind of revelation. If the cups in the room smell only half as delicious to him as they do to you? He has admirable self-control just standing there at the carpet without losing his mind.

You shift forward on your seat — as does Yukhei, unseen to you. Almost automatically, your tone becomes more tense.

„So what happened?“

„I didn’t know my entire family history until that point. I was orphaned,“ Taeyong expands, his mimic controlled. „The clan was all I knew. I never thought I could have any demon heritage. Literally any. For decades. Until my father showed up. It was…I didn’t know he was that far up the hierarchy.“

Your jaw drops. He has to be kidding you. That can only mean one thing, there’s only one person he could refer to.

„You met Satan personally?!“

Dead silence in the room. You could hear a pin drop. In fact, an elven hair strand.

„I wish I didn’t,“ the butler finally says. With a more silent voice. You can tell he has to cave in, force himself. „He gave me this.“

Taeyong begins to slowly loosen his tie. Taemin already averts his eyes. The butler goes on to reveal a left collarbone so scarred, you can’t bear to look at it for very long yourself. The tissue has been deeply torn. The bone, presumably broken twice, healed in an odd way on top of that. You feel the pain in the very same spot within your own body.

Taeyong doesn’t have to tell you that the altercation left his arm fully paralyzed. You just know, like you could sense his presence from far away already. Meeting his father changed his life forever in the worst way possible. Now you understand why Taeyong does the butlering in the club — he can keep his left hand behind his back at all times.

„His father rejected him,“ Yukhei says, sterner than ever. His anger has faded, and an extreme seriousness begins to sink his brows.

„It’s that — Neither my clan nor demon folk really want me present,“ Taeyong’s face is even more barren of an expression now. He’s bottled it all up, it’s hard to watch. It sounds like he hasn’t spoken about this for years. „This was the only place I could go at that point. Yukhei was very helpful. I hope you can feel the comfort of being accepted here like I do.“

„I… don’t understand why Satan would disapprove of you so much, Taeyong.“

„Some demons willingly get together with vampires,“ Taemin steps in now, careful in his intonation. „But Lucifer rarely does. And, only when he’s drunk. If you ask him on a normal day, and I know this sounds harsh… he despises most of pure vampires, and half-breeds even more so. He is also Yukhei’s father.“

„He is?!“

Now you’re almost falling off your chair. That Yukhei’s father must be one of the higher-ups in the demon ranks was already a no-brainer, but this —

„Idiot cast me from hell the second he found out I can grow these longer than his silly horns,“ Yukhei points at his mouth, baring all teeth now. Even in their natural shape, they’re already razor sharp, sporting clearly prominent fangs. Even your canines, and those are hardly used and worn down, aren’t as slicing as his. When he says he can grow them that long, you fucking believe him.

„He’s… not been the most accepting dad to say the least,“ Taemin folds his hands in his lap. “And doesn’t stick up for any mistakes.”

„’Cause he’s an insecure ass,“ Yukhei makes a disgusted grimace. „Fucks around and then gets mad at what he’s done. Vampire girls he sure likes when he’s doing one of his stupid orgies. But not the consequences. He’s so easily threatened. That’s almost funny.“

You’re stiffer than ever now, glued to your seat. Not in a million years did you think there was some serious family drama going on behind those fancy suits.

„So that’s why this club exists. Satan can’t handle us,“ Kai adds, kneading his thighs. Looking much more detached, almost demure. You can tell that Taeyong’s speech hit the underbelly of everyone in the room. That even Kai looks so sunken catches you off guard. „We’re half this, half that. I mean look at us. Yukhei and I could never be part of a pure wolves pack. Never. We can’t mingle with demons either. They doubt us in any place. Shitty situation.“

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Now, the double head emblem on the embossed door makes a lot more sense. It’s not just for the aesthetics. Two faces going into opposite directions. Always torn. Always the onlooker, yearning from a distance. Unable to go in either direction. Seems like you’re in the right place. Or the wrong one: Because you bet this assembly is the very eye of the storm.

„Why did Satan not try to attack the Club yet? Isn’t there even a stairway to hell in this house?“ you ask. If Satan got pissed off by Yukhei’s or Taeyong’s abilities, several people of that kind in one place sounds pretty much the ultimate provocation. Installing a designated hell door with smoke all around even more so. 

„He sure wants to,“ Kai shrugs, again, smirking in this very distinct way. He builds himself up again, and the teasing undertone in his voice strengthens back to normal. „But he’s afraid and doesn’t know about half of us. You see… Hellboy has no way of gauging what expects him. Even if he fucking hates us and wants us dead in a ditch, whatever. We know him inside out, too. Even more than he knows us. I’m sure he doesn’t want to face Taeyong now that he’s not young and weak anymore. He only exploits way down the hierarchy. He knows he can win there.“

„Makes… sense. Sort of— preying on vulnerable people.“

That an insecure hell boss is the reason this very club has formed? Seems to be a better explanation than you thought. No way so many species could stick together otherwise. How you’re in a room with two high functioning, protein-powered lycans both standing over six feet is already a miracle. Just sitting there sipping your bloody drink. There’s even an elf guy. That’s some surreal shit, even Salvador Dalí wouldn’t believe it.

„And, um. Saying that there’s a hell door is a joke Taemin pulls on every recruit,“ Taeyong scratches his head now. 

„Everybody thought that Mark was vaping but he actually put up a room difuser down the hall,“ Kai adds. „He’s using essential oils in there since a couple weeks. So sometimes we do have some fog round that area. But there’s no actual stairway or anything. It’s a club tradition... a hoax.“

Your what-the-fuck expression must be hard to beat right now.

„Er. All right then. So much about hell smoke.“

A whole damn prank. Taemin is not as angelic as he looks, is he. Still part demon, after all. It really felt like there was an entrance to hell around when you arrived here. Taemin’s little giggle right now doesn’t worry you as much as Yukhei’s grunting.

„So much about a hoax,“ he growls back. „I wish we actually had that door so I could go beat his ass.“

High functioning, protein-powered lycans with daddy issues. You never thought this club had major drama. Your lips think its time for another comfort sip from your chalice. Blessed thing you have that one. Because all this… got you into something bigger than expected. Eating shrimps on a terrace with some fellow half-breeds on a cozy Sunday evening? Nothing of that kind. Rating Christopher Lee movies and signing up on vampire tinder together just for fun? Nothing of that in sight.

„So, naturally. That we can recruit you is a good feat,“ Kai continues. „You might grow very strong in training.”

“Strong in training?”

“Vampire half-breeds are always up for a surprise. You see how Taeyong is like. He can open jars even I can’t crack. With just one hand. Long as we have a balance of power with hell, the Club is quite safe. Even from my father.“

Looks like what you got yourself into is a Cold War that coincidentally involves people from Down Under — but it’s not Australians.

„Are you Satan’s son as well, Kai?“

Kai shakes his head quite firmly. Just how stark his face structure is becomes visible when Taeyong puts a candle into his vicinity, helping you gauge Kai’s outline much better, which is a bit more reassuring. The butler seems to almost read your thoughts. Your initial shiver gladly has been in decline ever since Taeyong spoke up. And you do believe he can open those jars.

„My old man? Mammon.“

„Mammon? Ugh.“

You can already guess what this is all about. You don’t need to wait a second for Kai to go on a rant.

„He’s a fucker, fucked up, a fucking twat, and fucks around even more so than Satan,“ Jongin kicks his left foot, looking mighty grumpy in the candle light. „I’m sure you know what he’s in charge of. He likes fear and chaos. To say the very least.“

You sure can imagine. Mammon governs the most powerful resource on the planet. Or rather, what people do with it, so… you already don’t have to know anything more than that.

„Talking about him is of no use,“ Yukhei intervenes. „Lost cause, wasted time. What I wanna say is. The vampire clans also don’t know much about us either,“ he now points at you. „That’s our advantage. And the reason why you will have to quit most of your regular life if you agree to be a member. Or take a serum that will make you forget about meeting us. At least, up to the point where you received the letter. I know this is quite a severe change. You can imagine how discrete we have to be. Given everything you heard.“

Yukhei looks dead serious.

Well, alright then. The case is clear. This is legitimate big business.

Club „Most Hated Half-breeds“ Daemon. Outsiders, all of them. The first rule is: You do not talk about Club Daemon. A guild for the All-Transylvanian Rejects, the crossovers from hell gone hiding, the MIB of supernatural creatures. And all just because big daddy Lucifer loves to host an infernal orgy every now and then and never heard of a condom. It’s crazy. So much information intake, it’s time to sort your thoughts.

You take a deep breath, let the blood chalice dance in your cupped palm. Sweeping the remaining liquid at its very bottom, rhythmically. Sweet lifeline. You observe how the drops run as if nothing else in the world existed. And still, you have crystal clear hearing, and your voice is again becoming firmer. It’s the effect of the drink, you can feel it. Such good stuff, really.

„It’s not that I didn’t anticipate it. Taemin said something along those lines when we met. I get why you have to be discrete,“ you hum. Even telling you about the serum before any other information would give away too much. „I’d be back to square one anyway.“

Taemin nods at you.

„We’ll always be between elves and demons, mermen and demons, vampires and demons, werewolves and demons… This club wants to protect anybody who’s caught between chairs. We go to great lengths with secrecy. I hope you will join us in our cause. It’s a new life. Lucas has great plans for us.“

‚Lucas‘ seems to be Yukhei’s club nickname. Taemin appears to confide in him a lot even if he will smooth out his blunders. Meanwhile, you remember how Taemin talked to you about his own parents on the balcony. 

Apparently, none other than Beelzebub is Taemin’s father since over ten centuries. His latest habit seems to be blowing up his son’s phone with strange texts about recent hell politics. If that’s not enough, he asks about what he’s doing all day. It really is a new level of hell-icopter parenting. No wonder Taemin learned to be so appeasing in all situations.

„There are also ways of us finding out who your parents are,“ Taeyong comes to rest his right hand on your shoulder. Carefully, as if asking if it’s okay to touch you. You let him, without much care. Simply by— well, what is it, instinct?

Particularly Yukhei seems to observe this moment with much intent. Monitoring with piercing eyes, wild and deep. Trying to see through you at all cost. Surveying whether you’re a suitable club member, fair enough. But you seriously begin to wonder why he’s trying so damn hard to get into your head. He wants you on his side, sure, why’d he stare like that all the time?

Meanwhile, you don’t even know much about yourself except that you find veiny necks extremely appealing. Duh. So what’s there to analyze. You’re still kinda new to this. Blunt how Lucas is, wouldn’t he tell it to your face if he knew something you didn’t by now?

„At least, your demonic heritage,” Kai finishes the butler’s thought. “It’s not an easy discovery, however.“

Taeyong’s hand really does comfort you. But the thought of involving yourself in family affairs feels more than daunting and spoils the moment more than you want to. It’s something you could avoid until now thanks to simply not knowing much about your background. But apparently there’s no way to run from it.

„You might wanna anticipate that shit,“ Kai cracks his neck from side to side, then adjusts the sleeves of his white camisole. You’re suddenly so very well aware that he can probably see and smell your hesitation from a mile away. „Because when pa from hell shows up to see what’s going on? Preparation is better than being sorry. You gotta know who you’re dealing with. Art of war 101.“

Kai pointing at Taeyong’s battered left side reminds you all the more that lifting the veil is probably better than hoping for the best. If Satan happens to be your dad as well, you’re in huge trouble should he ever find you. Kai is right. Without allies and any knowledge of what you’re dealing with, you’d be lost.

Not to mention that Taeyong and Lucas would be your half brothers. Among probably a thousand other people. You didn’t walk through this door to get instant patchwork family. It would be a whole town of siblings now that you think about it.

If Satan has been even busier than that, which you’re sure of, that could mean an entire nation of people related to you somewhere overseas. Most of them being far from half-breeds. Why? Because Satan still preferred his own kind if he wasn’t completely hammered.

„Sounds like a nice prospect,“ you mumble, arms tightly crossed. Thousands of demons all out for your neck. Joining a notorious club network would certainly hide your identity much better than you hanging out in your small apartment in the middle of nowhere behaving like an average citizen. Glorious. You hate everything.

Which one person, as always, disagrees with.

„He makes it sound more dramatic than it is. Especially in this club you are more secure,“ Taemin softly adds, swiping a blonde strand from his right eye. „You must understand. Kai is in charge of defense. We all have our tasks.“

„Figured as much.“

„We all specialize in something we’re really suited for. Depending on our species, usually,“ Taeyong picks up Taemin’s point, and you begin to understand.

On the balcony, Taemin had even mentioned a gryffin member who worked as the designated club driver. Mister Ten as they called him, who was always out and about for a gazillion tasks. From hell mail to picking up tailored suits to doing the shopping to frequenting hospitals and various butchers for… leftovers.

Taeyong being an older vampire would require very specific blood (type A respectably, whreas you preferred O), and both Lucas and Jongin are in their wolf prime. Kai being slightly older but all the more active by the looks of it. So, just like Baekhyun, Ten seemed to be busy tending to that all the time, nowhere to be seen nor even mentioned. Which was a little… suspicious. 

But the ‚everyone has a task‘ seems to be a big deal. And: Everybody is set up to take their spot very seriously, in their supposed element. Being the VP suits Taemin just like being the butler really suits Taeyong. Even Yukhei, you admit, has the exact leading, head-on personality, although mixed with a lot of tempers, that his position would require. And Kai — his body doesn’t lie. Of course he is in charge of defense.

„We would strive to find out your ideal role in the club, too,“ Taemin says. „Kai thinks about this scenario from a combat perspective, but know that cases like Taeyong’s are extreme ones. We’re used to this but you don’t have that struggle. It’s probably like different worlds at the start but don’t let it phase you.“

You exchange looks, and Taemin gives an empathetic nod. His face is really gentle. It seems trustworthy. Again, you notice how his diplomacy helps you the most right now. It’s a bit cryptic, but it’s the type of classy conduct you were expecting to find in the club. You’re damn glad he’s here. Half-elves simply have a different kind of wisdom.

„I guess,“ you look at Taeyong. „It’s an extreme case because he was part of a clan, right, and I wasn’t.“

„Smart,“ Taemin takes up a porcelain cup from his own table and guides it to his lips. It appears to be some sort of elven elixir inside of it, light blue and sparkling. Maybe that’s the source of his maturity or something. „This is exactly the reason how so much conflict was possible in the first place.“

„Right.“

„You grew up with adoptive parents after your mother’s passing. It was unfortunate but also a hidden feat of luck later on,“ Taemin balances the cup between his elegant fingers. „Nobody from hell could find you. You didn’t show many abnormal traits. Nor were you close to any clans that fostered your abilities or spread the word. But especially the former. You grew up in human ways. Your abilities weren’t worked with.“

„Which we can do for you now if you want to,“ Taeyong clears your table off the empty goblet. Instead, he puts a booklet with a red ribbon around its hard cover just there. „In a more covert way that doesn’t arouse any attention.“

„Can we really do it so secretly?“

He really did read the concern out of your face all over again.

„Yes,“ Taeyong emphasizes, then directs his gaze toward the fireplace. „For any half-demon, half-vampire, this is the place to develop herself. We want to honor both sides and work with it. As good as we can.“

„All other approaches usually fail because they’re one-sided,“ Taemin raises his tea cup indicating towards a thoroughly disgruntled Yukhei. You get what the elf wants to say by that.

Yukhei — another extreme case, perhaps the most severe. From a certain perspective, you can imagine how being antagonized by his father and wolf packs at the same time would motivate Lucas to run a club like this. And what would motivate him to act like this, anyway. 

Leading Club Daemon with a velvet gloves approach? It’d be more dangerous than an iron fist mentality. Although it feels so clear to you, past the nebula of the blood cocktail, that Yukhei completely turned this aggressive style into a hyperbole. But you never know what or whom he’s doing it for.

Even at such a young age. You are convinced he really can’t be anywhere near 30 years of equivalent human age even if his height and way of dressing makes him look so settled. His overall presence on top of that: Whatever training they have to offer, it must be compelling.

At this point, you can only say to yourself — fuck everything. And lords knows the whole club is green of envy. No wonder they’re staring at you like that. You grew up so unbothered, your life is a joke compared to theirs. You were ignorant about way too many things about yourself. Looking at how everyone here embraces their origin, not developing your abilities was a full-on heresy.

„I’m actually considering it,“ you browse through the booklet, directing all attention in the room at you so keenly. Taemin sits at the edge of his seat himself. The paper feels luxurious between your fingers. As a first page, the name of who assembled the booklet’s contents is printed in bold. Mark Lee, conscierge, Club Daemon. 1999 edition.

The text details several time lines, diagrams, and fact lists about vampire-demon halfbreed history, on top of outlining a program featuring traits that a club novice could develop. 

Sprouting and care of demon wings. Usage of blood banks. Defense against crosses and garlic. Cities with high vampire populations. Types of claws. The culture of hell. Demonic Spells. Battle Gowns. Impact of ‚Twilight‘ on public perception of Vampires. Symbolism. Vampiric Reflexes. Christopher Lee Movie Analysis. Avoiding Exorcism. Communication with hell hounds. On Hunting and Forests. Fist-fighting Lucifer. Evolution of Ancient Vampire Dress Codes. Fang safety. Hierarchy of hell. Nutrition. Choosing a castle. Strength development. The list is nearly 200 bullet points long.

And the majority of training, it states, is supervised by Kai. Even the lessons on Vampires and Sexual Relations. Other lessons are conducted by Taeyong and Mark, mapping the more theoretical contents.

Most of the listed training units feature things you never knew you could possibly try let alone perform. Some lessons are even more vital than you thought they would be. Things your apartment life wouldn’t have to offer in the very least. At this point, walking out the door would be a grave mistake for an entire variety of reasons and you trust your instinct. The only thing that makes you bargain is not the elephant — but the big and bulky alpha wolf in the room.

What to do about Yukhei. 

Given the hardliner choice between serum or a complete new existence, it’s a question you’ll have to postpone. Interestingly enough, even though he was lycan through and through, Kai doesn’t bother you nearly as much anymore after the initial shock effect faded.

So what is it about Lucas. Even more things you’ll have to find out, then.

You’re nervous with the booklet in your hands, but you can’t complain. The two cups of blood in your system have given you more courage to look the four of them in the eyes.

„Considering what: Joining for the cause or the heritage?“ Yukhei crosses his arms at the solar plexus. His eyes are so probing on you, but you keep your head straight. You very well know that he’s testing you with this one.

„Both. And I want to know my role, too.“

The president seems to ponder for a bit. Then, he hums. More placid than before, you note. He actually seems satisfied with that answer.

„Then let’s start out,“ Kai rises from his seat alongside Yukhei, and both walk towards the red curtain in big strides. Taeyong sweeps it to the side, revealing a heavy door to another room.

Unlike the rest of the house, or at least the parts you’ve seen so far, this area has no embellished walls or ceilings. Not a spark of luxurious colors, either. No dark materials, no curtains, no dutch paintings, just concrete everywhere. It looks heavily worn, but strangely, doesn’t seem to be a relic like the fireplace room’s wooden tiles. All lighting is purely artificial. It seems part gym, part studio, and all furniture is solid metal, minimal, angular. You’d never expect such a modern, plain grey room to be anywere around the house. It smells like a damn hospital in here.

„Our training grounds,“ Kai paces around the area, clearing it and turning a knob that seems to activate floor heating. „The second safest place in the manor.“

„What’s the safest one, then?“

„We have a bunker downstairs. Flood-proof, radiation-proof.“

And Satan-proof, you don’t have to guess.

„Oh wow.“

„It’s unused so far when it comes to catastropes,“ Yukhei roughly pulls off his tux jacket and hangs it over a steel chair. Given how he stretches his arms, you figure it’s to gain some mobility. Or… to show off his huge build to impose his authority and intimidate you which surely is working. „But we do run it as a makeshift jail.“

„You’re keeping criminals in here?!“

„If you’d call Kai a criminal,“ Yukhei raises a brow.

Now you understand. The bunker is actually not meant for somebody else unless the situation calls for it.

„You’re isolating yourself during full moons.“

„You got it,“ Kai nods. „Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. Two days. I got used to the cold down there. And Yukhei locks himself in here with a pile of meat.“

„I…see.“

So that’s why the concrete walls look so damaged despite not seeming that old. If you look close enough, it’s actually not hard to imagine how there’s massive strength and claws at work here. And there must be plenty of things to desinfect afterwards. Hence the hospital smell. 

But then again, Lucas is not the one who gets put in the bunker downstairs. If that one is the safest room, Kai is in all regards the strongest. Which makes sense given his task here. But something about it makes you shift from one foot to the other. If Kai has to jail himself in an atomic prison, what a fucking beast are you even dealing with?

So this is with who you’ll train with, then.

„Nothing you’ll see anything of,“ Taemin clasps his hands, bringing your mind back to the image of meat piled up all over this room. „The member’s private rooms are way up on the 3rd floor. You’ll be situated there as well, in whatever free room you choose. They are very pleasant suites. The interiors are selected Victorian antiques. It’s not like around here.”

“Thank you, Taemin. That sounds great actually.“

“And— we can always predict their transformations without failure.“

„The suites have steel doors as well,“ Kai adds on. „Easy to lock from the inside. We’ve had centuries to think all of this through.“

„Reassuring…“

„Mind you. In case you feel you get a bad craving, you’re doing the same thing Kai and I do,“ Yukhei re-ties his left shoelace, foot placed on the metal chair like a 6’0 Napoleon. „It’s not like we aren’t the only people who have to protect others from ourselves.“

You don’t like the tone he’s striking and try not to look into his direction. As if you’re some crazed vampire lord with a body count and not a bloody amateur. Whatever cravings he’s talking about, it’s hard to imagine how you’d go absolutely buckwild on a concrete wall whining for blood.

„With half-vampires, well… It can happen,“ Taeyong helps Kai pull off his jacket as well. „But lycans still have to take more prevention if I may add. Simply because their whole being transforms and they’re gaining unexpected strengths from it. Vampires hardly do. Our strength is present always. We naturally learn how to deal with it each day. Lycans have exponentional and way more erratic powers in a shorter period of time.“

Now that puts it into perspective. You exchange a thankful glance with Taeyong. The butler gives a composed smile. Yukhei sees that and huffs. Looks like someone’s been projecting.

„We’re dealing with threats from the outside, better check the ones from the inside,“ Kai says, shrugging. „We can’t change that we’re aggressive species but we can lock a door ten minutes before shit goes down. Early risk detection. That’s gonna be a lot of what you’ll learn in the programme anyways.“

„Pragmatic, I guess,“ you scratch your chin. 

And he’s right. There’s nothing else the members could possibly do. Unleashing someone outside of the manor into the surrounding woods sounds like an overall bad idea. There’s a town somewhat nearby, fifteen minutes down the road. And as a matter of fact, you’ve never heard of suppression pills for half-demons on the market. Each species would need a different concoction: Tailored exactly to them in a long chemical process. Given the variety of Satan’s harem, that equals pure scientific madness.

Yukhei cracks his neck, puts the steel chair back in its spot. „We hope so. What reasons you’ll have to lock your suite for we’re about to find out.“

Three minutes later, you’re face down on the center table of the room, Yukhei pulling off your blazer. Even if you thought it would be much more unceremonious, he seems to do it rather slowly. In the meantime, Taemin rings a little silver bell. The sound is shrill and obnoxiously piercing. Seconds later, the concierge enters the room with a clipboard, introducing himself fully now. 

Oh shit, you almost forgot about the owl guy.

„Mark Lee. Bookkeeper, treasure master. Half-goblin. I also do our finances.“

Joining the club officially unlocks a whole new level of information, does it.

„Bookkeeper, I see?“

„Yes, we do keep a secret chronic.“

„Oh, alright? Spanning for how long?“

„Older than this house. I’ll introduce you to the archive next week, in fact. Welcome to Club Daemon, Miss. I’ll be documenting the findings of this test.“

Then, he turns to put down your phone on another table. First you missed it, now you don’t even care. Mark’s sudden appearance has you all wondering. He’s different now. Maybe his initial silence was very much connected to the exact level of secrecy Taemin has been talking about.

Mark comes across much more high-spirited when he talks, and his face appears youthful once it comes into motion. You give a little ‚mh’ as a rather distracted reply, and he begins a lightning fast scribble on his board, using a golden pen that looks like it’s worth your apartment.

Meanwhile, Kai’s interest seems to gravitate entirely to your shoulder blades. He goes about tapping the skin and muscles surrounding the bone, even pulling down the backside of your tanktop by an inch, causing you to hold your breath. He circles the spine, presses too fingers in at either side. He’s surprisingly subdued, but still quite hands-on. It’s not hard to feel that he has experience with examinations like that. In fact, Kai has the touch of a modern day chiropractor. Whatever you should think about that you don’t know yet.

It makes sense he’s in charge of all things physical. And — that the first thing he’ll do is get your wings to grow and work, wherever they may be inside your back right now. Lord knows what kind of reflex or trigger is needed to make them sprout. Mark, in full haste, keeps on checking off boxes on his board and hums, cocks his head every now and then.

Yukhei only seems to care for another area altogether. He holds up your ponytail to take a closer look at the back of your neck. You glare at him for pulling at your hair more than you thought was needed. Taemin volunteers to take up that task instead, with Yukhei going on scanning the nape. His hands are so large and grip at your shoulders, it feels like you’re some kind of prey being handled. Taeyong has no problems reading the discomfort on your face and clears his throat, prompting Yukhei to slack off at least a little.

„It won’t be anything painful,“ Taemin says. „We’re looking for any birth marks to appear.“

„Birth marks?“

„It shows up when other demons or half-breeds are around. It usually gives away who you’re related to. The color and shape show which rank your demon parent had. Not to worry.“

You chant a little thank you, Taemin inside of yourself as a way to keep yourself together and nod.

„Yukhei and Taeyong have large black markings that resemble a lighting shape if you will,“ Mark now speaks up. „Taeyong’s is so noticeable, he always wears his hair past his shoulders. And Yukhei mostly uses a high white collar.“

How fitting. You didn’t expect anything else if you’re honest.

„So I should cover it as well, right?“

„You shouldn’t tie your hair up this way so it can be seen,“ Kai says. „You can be glad it hasn’t alerted anyone yet.“

So… that’s why Yukhei did not seem to be very happy with your ponytail. You’ve been utterly reckless without even knowing. If there was someone who didn’t think it was a tattoo, you could have caused some major issues. But before you can apologize, the president already shakes his head.

„Well. You can keep that silly hairstyle. Because there’s nothing on that neck where there should be something.“

„What?“

„Not one mark. I’ve pressed every spot, there’s nothing. The birth mark should be visible already anyways since we’re here. Our presence activates it.“

Commotion. Yukhei lets go of your neck, Taeyong begins inspecting the area very hectically instead, joined by Kai. Mark seems to be in the most confusion right now and gnaws on his lips.

„But Baekhyun clearly said she has demon descent!“ Taemin interjects. „He sees such things the best!“

„Baekhyun… Little fish only wants her here because he has an eye on her,“ Yukhei grits his teeth, looking like he’s ready to kick the steel chair into a corner. „Swims around and invites anybody he fancies long as they have some decent fangs.“

„Yukhei!“ Taeyong cuts right back.

„I knew something wasn’t right,” Lucas keeps shaking his head, now seeming even more convinced. “Not a drop of demon blood in her.“

„What are you saying!“

Taeyong’s stoic face is turning livid now. You never thought he could turn this angry.

„Stop kidding yourselves. Get the serum, Taeyong. All that jazz we’ve been doing… I’m fucking tired. I told you it wasn’t my idea to invite her.“

Yukhei curses an entire string of very canine-sounding things under his breath and Taemin tries to hold him by the shoulders. The whole room feels like it’s about to explode. Taeyong doesn’t look like he’s ready to comply in the very least. Instead, the butler starts baring his fangs with a defiant snarl. Mark shouts out loud.

„Don’t—!“

„Are you deaf? Get the serum, bloodsucker! We’re not playing around anymore!“ 

Yukhei begins grabbing Taeyong by the collar. His eyebrows start to become fuller, and his teeth begin to crack, growing rapidly. Taeyong, eyes turning blood-shot, fastens his left hand behind his back. He positions himself to bring forth a powerful fist about to shatter right through Yukhei’s face. Alongside Taemin, you struggle to get up and reach them in an attempt to hold them apart. But before either of them can strike out—

„Wings! Her wings!“

Exclamations from all sides. Everybody turns to Kai. Panicked, he rests his hands just inches over your kidneys. Mark screams, loud enough to make Lucas shift his attention. Meanwhile, Kai gestures everyone back to the table.

„Here! Look here, now!“

Incredulous, Yukhei lets go of Taeyong’s suit and jumps right beside Kai. He pulls up your tank top to expose the lower back completely. Mark drops his board and pen. Yukhei’s hands roam all over the area that Kai mapped out through the fabric. And yes. Now you’re feeling bumps there, too. A painful tear pools at the bottom of your spine. The adrenaline of the situation didn’t make you realize.

„They… they’re unusually low,“ Mark chops his words, eyes wide and crouching behind Yukhei as if petrified.

„That means they’re large,“ Kai puffs out. „Look at the color, too. White, grey. They’re spotted in red. I’ve never seen anything similar. As if they’re bloodied.“

You can’t believe your ears, wind on the table. „Spotted wings?! What’s that about?“

„It’ll be even more visible when they’re spread. They’ve been hiding really fucking well down there,“ Kai says. „It’s very unlike any wings of ours. And I can’t get them out, all we did was locate them now.“

Great. You have special snowflake wings.

„Really?“ you’re pretty much staring like Mark yourself now. Kai affirms.

„It’ll take a trigger event that sprouts them. I don’t know what yet. Too early to say.“

„But what does the color mean, then?“

„Our wings are all some kind of… well, auburn. Neither Satan’s nor Mammon’s children have colorings like this. Only Taemin’s are blue.“

„But that’s regular for elves,“ Taemin adds.

A churning knot of panic seems to grow inside your gut. The fact that Yukhei keeps on groping about your back is starting to tug at your nerves as the cherry on top.

„Why, why are they like that? What is this?“

„Y/N,“ Mark inhales sharply. „Please calm down, we only—“

„And why are you touching me like I’m some kind of science object? Who am I?“ you shout at Kai and Lucas, prompting Taemin to slowly pull away both their wrists from the table. In this moment, you could jump either of them.

„I’ve, I’ve only heard of one case with such wings,“ Mark begins, but ends up choking up a cry. He’s shaking all over, takes his glasses off. „If you… turn her around…“

Yukhei doesn’t have to be told twice.

„So her mark is elsewhere? Isn’t it? She’s from a different family altogether?“

Mark nods.

Lucas swiftly flips you on your back. You can’t even blink and you’re already watching the ceiling with five faces right up close above you.  

„Let Taeyong do this,“ Taemin begins to urge Yukhei. „Lucas, you shouldn’t touch her now.“

That you need Taemin’s words for Lucas to hold himself back is starting to bother you. Him just grabbing you by the hips and turning you around felt more than strange. You imagine how in his mind, you’re probably a sizzling steak in a pan that he wants crispy on both sides and you don’t like it. One thing’s for sure: You’re not here for being werewolf dinner. What the hell.

What’s been on your mind even more is that Kai is not even half as annoying despite being so full of protein himself. With his chiropractor hands all over you on top of that. Is it that they’re from different families? Wouldn’t you dislike Taeyong as well then? He’s from the exact same corner of hell, after all. What exactly makes Lucas so pushy to you keeps on preoccupying everything you thought of until now as a bottom line. It’s not like you can ask him directly why he behaves like an asshole.

Three minutes pass. Lucas has stepped back from the table, watching like a hawk. A bit more composed, Mark picks up his pen and clipboard. He still can’t concentrate on writing. Taeyong gently probes each of your legs and ankles, even pulls your shoes and socks off to look at the underside of your feet. Finding nothing, he moves on to survey your wrists by smoothing over them, sending Yukhei an evil eye for grinding his teeth. Looks like someone doesn’t like others touching your soft spots.

Kai watches reactionless, seemingly deliberating. He’s in a different headspace, you can tell. Taemin helps Mark with ticking off boxes on the paper. Taeyong turns your jaw to either direction and slightly upwards to inspect the underside. He glides two fingers over your temples, and also asks you to open your mouth. He counts through your teeth with his digit and moves your upper lip to look at your fangs. Taemin emits a large ‚wow‘ when he does, and Yukhei growls out loud. Kai looks visibly interested, although he still seems to piece something together in his head.

„Extremely durable and angular,“ Taeyong says. „I’ve never seen this shape.”

„Me neither,“ Kai props up his palms on the edge of the table.

„Nobody in any clan I knew had fangs like that. Not even the elders. They’re so sharp… it must be inconvenient often,“ Taeyong requests a measuring tape from Mark who pulls it out of his left suit pocket.

„It is. Shreds every toothbrush,“ you mumble.

Taeyong glides his finger all across your gums above both canines, pressing on the root of each tooth. It seems to get a nerve inside your jaw going, and again your breath becomes shallow. He measures, dictates the unintelligble results to Mark. For some reason, you find whatever he’s doing strangely pleasant. Meanwhile, Lucas has been prowling around the table with a heavy gait. You adapt Taeyong’s method of sending him eye daggers.

„Can you put your story-telling on halt? This isn’t some vampire underground bar at Friday 12 PM,“ Yukhei grunts back at you and Taeyong. „Just say whatever the fuck this means. Shouldn’t you search for the birth mark?“

„Can’t quite tell now,“ Taeyong, sounding rather absent-minded, goes on counting through your teeth each. He’s feeling about like it’s a box of jewelry. 

Beside being an obvious difference to what your mostly human high school mates sported — if you could call them that, high school makes everyone inhumane — you never thought your fangs were anything out of the norm. There weren’t many people you could compare them to in your small home town in the first place. You only saw vampires on late night TV at best.

There’s a strange tingle that spreads across your body now. It’s unusual having someone so comfortable with your teeth.

Your first and last boyfriend headed right for the door when it came to kissing. As if stung by a hornet almost, a complete change of mind. Meeting you at a festival he thought the idea of dating a vampire was „pretty sexy!“. He paraded you around at his birthday party two weeks later, you thinking he was actually proud of you rather than only himself.

You later realized that he just wanted to appear like the bravest guy in the world. To gather his guy friends complimenting him on the ‚spicy catch you got there!“. And maybe, you suspected, also making the female guests compete for him with some one-upmanship towards you. If he needed you to attach any value to himself, what value did he have himself to begin with? It still feels like a bad decision because you said yes to someone like him.

He liked the exterior, but doing the actual dating with all that it entails he had seemingly underestimated. It’s not like you expected him to use any tongue or try a blowjob. Why would you?  Doing that would always be a stupid idea for both. Did he think you would purposely hurt him? Or did he just leech off everything he could get until he had to be responsible and deal with limits? Crazy vamp is what he last called you, and you never heard from him again. No texts, nothing. Does your pussy have monster teeth, too? Just go back to your cave or wherever you came from.

„If you forgive me saying so. They really are pretty,“ Taemin chimes in, then urging Mark to note something down. You take a moment to realize he means your teeth. Mark seems to have a lot of trouble snapping out of his daze at first himself, but begins to immerse himself in sketching and documenting after a while, ruffling his hair like a mad scientist. Lucas regularly gazes over his shoulder and you can tell he’s one grumpy wolf.

„We can show you how to keep them in shape and do a proper bite on someone who agrees on it. But you probably even tried something along the lines, right,“ Taeyong says, and Kai nods, probably wanting to say the same. It seems to be nothing out of the ordinary going by their expressions. But the question makes you more nervous than you actually want to.

„Honestly, I… didn’t bite anyone so far,“ you shake your head, unable to meet the eyes of anyone at the table. You hate the feeling of shame that kicks in almost by itself.

„Come on folks, that’s the first thing you smell about her,“ Yukhei boldly announces from his wandering spot around the dumbbells. 

Way to go. You realize how comments like that are exactly why you’re so nervous. He’s already acting holier-than-thou again.

„I only ordered cheap blood online,“ you try to muster a shrug. Acting indifferent is at least helping you to say literally anything. „All legal but artificial.“

And disgusting, but that’s another story.

„Not hard to tell either,“ Yukhei laughs out. „Takes a blood virgin to down a whole liter of the real deal in five minutes. You were staring at that cup like you’ve gone mad. The difference to cheap blood is quite intense, isn’t it? Wanna see your face if you get a willing neck for the first time. Priceless.“

Something coils up inside of you. Eye daggers aren’t enough at this point, are they.

„Don’t get rude, you dog… Do you like spying on others or what?“

„Come on, come,“ Taemin steps in, ushers Yukhei towards the steel chair.  He leans in, speaking in a low tone to the president. „Little more tact and privacy with a novice. Your dad would thoroughly enjoy this.“

„Would enjoy what?“

„Us creating discord in the club without him having to do crook a single hoof.“

You’re starting to think that ‚Vice President‘ means nothing but ‚group counsellor‘. Fine by you, but Yukhei has been rubbing you the wrong way from the very start. That he tried to attack Taeyong and called him names isn’t something you’ll just ignore. You’re growing increasingly more tense. That there doesn’t appear to be a way to take matters into your own hands is even more frustrating. 

„I think… there’s a reason you’ve been living a more isolated life than most vampires,“ Kai interrupts your thought as well as the ongoing banter, trying to strike a more rational tone. He returned from his thought process, ruffling the long hair at the nape of his neck.

„Okay—?“

„See. Most half-breeds with the same father will find each other. Almost automatically. Look at Taeyong and Lucas. And all vampires will get picked up by clans, their scouts. But in your case… I think you have been purposely avoided. By both clans and demons.“

„What does that mean now?“

„My theory is, I… I suspect. Your father,“ Mark looks up from his clipboard, „is someone who hasn’t exactly been Satan’s ally.“

„My dad is — some kind of, Lucifer’s enemy?“

„Maybe. It’s likely. So, the clans would use to trust your father lot.“

„Does that make any sense?“ you frown at Mark, who hastily continues. You still don’t get why that has something to do with how you grew up completely uninvolved in clan affairs.

„His affinity for vampires was much higher on top of that, unlike Satan.“

„Get to the point!“ Lucas taps his feet on the concrete.

„I, I think that’s why you were born,” Mark carries on, pushing up his glasses. “He got together with a vampire. But he has been mingling with a lot of arch angels as of recently as well. Your father, I mean.“

„Okay? But how would you know?“

„The reasoning is this,“ Mark reads from the clipboard. It seems like he has been working on some kind of theory. „The clans don’t like the archangel’s power nor their politics. And the angels don’t really like us as a club either. Simply because we’re half-demons and have offsprings of Satan among us. I know that’s, that’s really complicated, so—“

Whoever Mark means in all of this word spill, your father is evidently a huge trainwreck already. Who’s against who now? It’s all so hard to understand.

„That all doesn’t sound very good,“ you grumble. „Are you sure your theory holds true, Mark?“

„It all sounds like he’s pulling that out of thin air,“ Lucas says. „Angels and whatnot. That’s some random bullshit.“

The conscierge looks rather overwhelmed with your question and can’t quite get a word out at first. Taemin encourages him with with a little supportive eyebrow raise.

„What I know is. By the signs your… body has. We have to keep you safe here and build your strengths at all cost. Because something’s going on,“ Mark eventually continues, earning strong approval from Kai.

Then, Mark addresses the president, much more fragile in his voice, but still secure in his judgement. „Lucas. If we give her the serum, Satan could someday get her if he musters up the courage and the helpers. Which I think he will. That won’t end well in any scenario. The club is in danger. Do you understand? Putting her out there is a bad idea and she doesn’t want it either. She wants to be a member and that’s instinctively the right thing at this point. Baekhyun happened to spot her now out of all times with good reason, I think.“

Lucas seems to ponder back and forth now. He props down on the steel chair with crossed legs, palms in the back of his neck. He looks genuinely concerned for the first time. You find yourself starting to nod along to Mark in the meantime. You like when he speaks like this. 

„Thank God you’re here then, Y/N,“ Taeyong says. „It’s important you get to know more about yourself. It creates a lot of chaos otherwise. For you the very most, unfortunately. We have to admit that joining the club probably makes it worse. But we can’t know what would have happened if you never found your way here.“

„Yeah, I guess.“

„Your heritage is probably much more… controversial I would say. I hope you don’t take this to heart too much,” he continues. “We’ll still have to find out more. But it’s something else we’re not accustomed to so excuse any crudities.“

You can imagine. If your dad is yet another person having beef with Satan, and there’s even people from heaven involved, things are bound to get icky.

„So, where is my birth mark, then?“, you exhale, voice growing with an acute panic. „Do you know my father’s name or not now? 

“Um...“ Mark stares at his own feet.

“Is all of this a fraud? And what can be more controversial than having Lucifer as your dad?“

Taeyong and Mark are looking at each other far too awkwardly not for you to notice. Kai crosses his arms and sighs out.

„Come on, you two are suspecting something. Tell us.“

All attention is now on Taeyong and Mark who are a puddle of sweating embarrassment.

„We have to… Well…“

You feel like a patient about to receive the most embarrassing surgery. Yukhei roams around the table murmuring and fuming.

„What is it now? What are you avoiding?“

„…pull up the shirt to see the birth symbol,“ Mark spouts in one go. „It’s located in the middle of the chest.“

So here’s the reason for all that tiptoeing and stuttering.

„And I thought you’d need my period blood to paint an ancestry sigil or something,“ you roll your eyes right at Mark who looks like he’s sinking into the ground right before you.

„That’s actually what we wanted to do next,“ Yukhei licks his fangs. 

Taeyong, as if lightning struck him, immediately kicks him in the back of the knees. Everyone turns their heads. Judging by Yukhei’s awkward, reaching step forward and no signs of retaliation, Taeyong has some serious leg strength going despite being so lithe. You never thought you’d see his butlery composure begin to crumble either.

„Stop making weird jokes. You’re a dog just like she said.“

Taeyong’s tone is so cutting, Mark breathes out as if he was the one getting kicked.

„Technically not wrong.“

„You got what I wanted to say, Lucas.“

„Can’t hear you mumbling through your stupid old fangs, brother. I’m fucking proud of being a dog.“

Yukhei does an even more obnoxious werewolf-brand wink that makes even Kai cringe a little. Taemin looks like he’s slowly dying on the inside. 

While they’re all continuing to throw out retorts, you cut the debate short by pulling up your tank top. Must be the courage from getting your teeth praised.

Today’s braless day, but anyways.

Mark immediately starts crouching again, and Kai’s mouth drops wide open. Taeyong collapses right on the floor. Taemin buries his face in his hands.

„It… It is as dramatic as Kai said!“

„What is it now? Can’t you guys handle some breasts or what.“

You look down on yourself. And— soon freeze as you see the large round marking right on your solar plexus. Red as blood and crudely outlined.

„What the fuck is that!“

You get goosebumps. The mark has never been visible before. Whatever work Kai did on your back pressing all sorts of points, it must have activated not only your wings, but also this particular spotting. It appears to be shaped like a medal emblem, depicting a snake and a centaur or whatever creature in bold zigzag shapes.

„The sign of King!“ Mark shudders through his tears. The temperature in the room seems to drop, and the scent of jasmine smells like rotten coal. The sign glows red and large on your chest, and not even Yukhei is looking at your breasts now.

„We’re so fucked, man!“ Kai pulls at his hair. „What are we gonna do!“

„Wait! Wait, what is this!“ you pull at Mark’s suit, urging him to speak on. He can’t properly gather himself the very least.

“I can’t say—”

“Tell me, Mark! What is this sign!“

„Be, Before Lucifer… became the prince of the underworld. It was like this.“

„Like what?“

„There was a King who ruled the 9th circle of hell. For over a million years.“

„Who is that guy? He’s my dad?“

„Yes. He never left. That was, until Satan overthrew him after being cast from heaven. The King purposely decided not to come back and expand his influence elsewhere. He’s now a free-walking spawn of hell. The guy who’s technically… actually the boss. Satan is just tolerated but The King has the actual powers. You can guess… look at how large the mark is.“

„I am the King’s daughter?“

„You are,“ Mark contines. „The daughter of King Belial.“

He can hardly pronounce the name without everybody flinching.

„He’s the original guy in charge,“ Taemin bends to help pick up Taeyong, who’s breaking out in a cold sweat. Whatever is glowing on your chest, it’s something out of the Club’s league and that thought alone drives an equal sweat on your face. Belial, you’ve only heard that name sparsely, somewhere, and you knew hell had kings, but you didn’t know it was a very real tale.

„Satan was expelled from heaven for his pride,“ Kai picks up Mark’s point, but his voice is just as shaky. „So he took on hell and drove out your father after a decade-long war. And, plenty of tricks, dark magic. The King first settled in a radical vampire clan who thought he’d be the ultimate weapon to get back at Satan. And Belial thought he’d had an army now, too. But the arch angels also took interest in the King for that same reason. They wanted to fight Satan, too.“

„Didn’t Mark mention the angels earlier? What’s going on with them?“

„They don’t like vampires, so they lured the King away from the clan to only collaborate only with them.“

„So there’s a triangle going on!“

„Belial hasn’t really retaliated or done anything since then, but we’re thinking that he’s plotting something big together with God,“ Kai continues. „Against anything demonic that they set their eyes on. Not just Satan.“

Your head is spinning. Now God’s involved in this shitshow, too. It just gets worse with every new thing you find out.

„The foe of my enemy is my friend. That type of idiot logic,“ Yukhei says. „And Belial was stupid enough to fuck a trash vampire in the process. And you… are the result that we have to deal with now.“

„As if I can help it! You shut your mouth!“ you jerk up to lash out at Yukhei, but Kai steps in between you. He’s as fast as he is strong, and an impenetrable wall you can run up against all you want. And Kai isn’t foolish, either. He grabs you by the shoulders with extended arms to keep your fangs as far away from him as possible. All Yukhei has to do is step back.

„Stupid— because that got your mom killed,“ Kai says, teeth gritted, but sounding much more sensible than his stance suggests. „You gotta understand. Satan wants to eradicate or silence anyone associated with Belial. To avoid a revenge and losing his position!“

„Then you’re right that he’s a prick…“

„My damn words,“ Yukhei shrugs behind Kai, adjusts his tie. „Now put your tits back and sign Mark’s form, you’re part of Club Daemon without further notice anyways.“

„Wha—“

„Now listen closely madam,“ Yukhei burges past Kai to build himself up above you.

„I’m not gonna say this a second time,“ he throws the blazer at you, and you awkwardly catch it. Kai steps out of the way to let Yukhei step even closer to you. The grit in his eyes is too commanding, untouchable. Mark backs off against a wall, and even Taemin gives up on stopping Lucas. Only Taeyong lingers close behind the president, surveying his every move.

„Since Satan is an illegal worm on the throne and the King prefers to sip ambrosia with God, you happen to be the only legitimate heir. The literal, official ruler of hell. And as we saw, giving you the serum would cause even more trouble. You might even get used against us or yourself. You get me? We have enough trouble and craziness with all this! Do you understand that? From now on: You’re doing exactly as I say.“

„Why are you the one to declare all that now? Yu—“

„No objections. Training starts today.“

————————

„Your wings are so nice,“ Baekhyun smiles, turning twice in his bath tub. The water gently rises, bringing some foam to the corners. If you squint a bit, it actually sparkles. You’re feeling laid-back with the scent of fragrance sticks and candles lingering in the bathroom now. Tangerine, a bit of lemon. A pocket-sized music box strums away on the sink. The melody is foreign to you, but it feels nostalgic and welcoming. There are almost a dozen shell-shaped metal soap holders all around and pointy quartz clusters frame the two mirrors on either side of the room, creating an endless loop of reflections. Yours excluded, which always seems to amuse Ten even if he’s already used to it from Taeyong by now.

A snugly dim lightbulb screwed into a large pink lamp shade right above you spreads some warmth, as does a fluffy carpet underneath you. The vapors of the room become visible as little ascending particles in the light and you wonder how hot the bath water must be. Unlike the chairs in the main hall, the one you currently sit down on cross-legged is meant for comfort solely. A pink and poufy 50s relic, put there specifically for you since it’s Friday.

„Ah…Baekhyun. I forgot you see them for the first time,“ you settle, while he turns again. You find yourself laughing at how cutely Baekhyun spins. That this is the way mermen express their excitement and adoration you learned only last week.

„And, your fangs have grown so big!“ His cheeks are bright and giddy, and his tail glistens from all the soap he tossed around in the water for almost half an hour now.

„I’m on my 50th day of training now.“

„Ooh, that’s so impressive! You’re doing great for sure!“

„I don’t know if I do. But there are some results at least. Kai made me fight Yukhei with bare hands and they came out,“ you wriggle your either wing, and make their tops touch the ceiling. Ever so slightly, you don’t want to break anything around here. Baekhyun’s little bathroom paradise is too carefully assembled to pull any stunts in here, and it’s your Friday night safe haven for long talks and even watching movies on Mark’s tablet. Now, it doesn’t take a lot of stretching to do so in the first place. At this point, wearing your wings out this way is starting to feel natural, even if the way that they shift your balance is still new. They are red-white and stringy, feathery, and spotted just like Kai had predicted.

„He was in his full form, right? You’re really brave you did this.“

„It’s a strange thing sometimes. It’s like I followed an impulse.“ you say, shrugging a little. „I guess — Blame it on instincts.“

You really hoped he would buy that dodge, but it’s a futile try.

„Hey, I mean it. I’m proud of you. Really.“

You push a few hair strands out of your eyes. He’s not going to let you off the hook until you admit it, or maybe it’s only you so fearing to say that, and making it so awkward that he notices.

You don’t want to bare yourself but also don’t want to leave him in the dark about how much his words have been building you up over the last few weeks. It’s almost been two months since you first saw Baekhyun on Mark’s video call, discussing where to relocate the club chronicles after a shelf randomly collapsed. Even a fraction of him on screen made you hold your breath.

Maybe it’s because a whole lot of your ancestors were — although surely snobby and even aristocratic — so bite-first-talk-later and rather reserved folk staying in the shadows that accepting or never doubting flattery is hard for a vampire of your generation. And maybe it’s time you muster up something else than either extreme end of that aristocracy or that terrible shyness.

„Thanks for your compliment,“ you stare at the tips of your fingers that clamp around your knees. „Matters a lot, okay.“

Baekhyun props up his head on the edge of the tub in response and looks at you all blushed. He’s playing with the blue crystal penchant around his neck, and his light purple hair falls into his face in wet little waves until he shakes it. The strands are so thin and plush, they prop up all dry again so fast, as if by magic (which it likely is). His cheeks are so glowing when they’re rosy, you notice every time you see him, but today even more so. To the point where, and you feel it in your gut, your confidence becomes so shaky all over again.

„But don’t praise me too much,“ you say. „It’s only doing what I’m supposed to do and what I’m made up of, I think. It wasn’t that hard.“

„Not as hard as defense against crosses and garlic, isn’t it?“

„Damn right, that was something ese,“ you nod. „But there are much bigger problems.“

„Is there something that preoccupies you as of lately?“

Baekhyun blinks a few times with a falling smile, and you contract in your chair.

„I feel like… It’s so hard to say.“

„I won’t hold anything against you, okay. I just hate seeing you preoccupied night til dawn. That’s not right.“

„It’s…Yukhei is treating me like some kind of tool. Just fostering me because that means a hybrid demon sits on the throne of hell. It feels too much sometimes. Like I have to dance to the beat of his track all the time, you know.“

„I’m sorry. Lucas can be really zealous. I hope he’s not demanding too much from you.“

„Or… training me like a machine. I’m really not a dog’s toy. I don’t think that’s what made my join all this. I don’t have as many problems with my heritage as with the way he takes so much control. It’s… one-sided. And I feel like I should be above that already and just do my thing anyway.“

Baekhyun’s expression sinks even more now, but there’s also something single-minded in it.

„As long as you truly wish to take that position in the 9th circle, you can do as you please,“ he says. „Look at how strong you are. I don’t even have to tell you that. As I know him, Yukhei wants to protect his kind. Including you, that’s why he trains you so hard and wants you to have influence. I know it’s an ironic thing. That you have to be his subordinate now to be his superior in the future. He sees himself as a founding father, so he coaches us. His strict ways are not for everybody.“

„I guess,“ you shrug. It doesn’t sound illogical to you. Having a half-breed in charge of hell would raise the status and safety of Club Daemon immensely, and Yukhei does behave like the club is his child. „I just don’t like it when he uses his position too much without caring about how I want to go about it. I know I’m new to this, but I still have preferences. And the training is for my sake, he’s the one who emphasizes that the most but it feels like it only serves him. Telling him that is like, like— talking against a fucking wall, I don’t know.“

„That doesn’t sound good. I think that you inspired a lot of respect in him. Lucas is afraid of many things.“

„I feel that.“

All too often. When he trains you. At dinner. During any hand-to-hand practice. And especially: On Fridays, where he is tense all day.

„That the pack order is so wired into him doesn’t help. There’s always only superior or subordinate to him, he doesn’t know anything else. The social order of vampires is less defined than that.“

The roles, the hierarchies. You often find Mark talking about it.

„I try to understand it but our ways are so different. I don’t know what it is. Yukhei should know that vampires aren’t responsive to this alpha thing the very best. And I don’t think anyone in Belial’s family for that matter.“

You’ve seriously been wondering how Lucas was donning his big bad wolf attitude. That he was intimidated behind all that jazz would come as no surprise to you. But this type of explanation would be too… simple. Too easy, for all those intricacies, the weirdness of his behavior.

„If you look at it from what he does rather than what he says. He spends a lot of time developing your skills and puts all of his energy into the project,“ Baekhyun’s gaze drops from yours now. „To be honest… I’m jealous of him.“

Now that makes you swallow hard. It implies way too much for you to process right now.

„I don’t, I don’t think he likes me,“ you vehemently shake your head. „Or at least not in a way that feels good to me. And that’s what counts. He’s making me grapple with hell hound holograms and box with Kai until dawn under his supervision. I’d rather be here and discuss with you. It’s really valuable.“

„Ah… thank you.“

Now that you’re on a roll, saying it is easier.

„I’m really glad you were the one who scouted me. I really wish I could be here more often. And, you put a lot of effort into this. You think it’s just talking but it’s important for me.“

The last part you say with a much more subdued tone, but it doesn’t lose its meaning to Baekhyun. That he looks flustered is an understatement. He wriggles his shiny tail and it actually changes its color to light pink, matching his flush.

„You know, it was more of a coincidence. I was counting shells at the beach, I saw you coming out of a pharmacy at the quay. I haven’t told you that, have I?“

Back in May. A very breezy, sunny late afternoon.

„Taemin said something along those lines, but not in detail, no.“

„You had these huge sunglasses on. And so much sun screen. And a big hat. You came out with six packs of iron supplements and cranberry juice in a transparent plastic bag. I couldn’t quite believe it.“

„You really saw it that clearly?“

„Merman eyes can see even in murky water. Kai has trained me to read people at any distance on land.“

„And how did you see that I’m part demon?“

„You had a crop top on.“

What?

„I mean. Come on. That half-vampires like crop tops is clear to me. Taeyong is wearing them all the time. But don’t other people do that as well? Isnt’t that a little—“

Baekhyun starts giggling.

„The sun was hitting your back while you were opening the lock of your bicycle. I could see the wings folded underneath your skin.“

„Oh man,“ you puff out, reclining in your seat. And you thought he was going for a reach. „Okay, I get it. I hope nobody else saw that.“

„It can easily look like some kind of tattoo,“ Baekhyun shrugs. „At least someone who has no idea about demons wouldn’t have realized anything. And it was only visible for a split second since you weren’t standing upright.“

„Okay… that’s good I guess? Just me walking around in a crop top at the bay. Nothing suspicious going on.“

You’re ready to chastize yourself for being so careless, but then again. Arguably, you don’t have eyes on the back of your head. And on top of that, it took someone as trained as Baekhyun to discover your sleeping wings showing in a matter of one blink or two.

„It’s likely that your wings only started growing this very year. I really need you to realize. This didn’t happen in twenty years. I was never as fascinated in my entire life, I—“

And by saying that, Baekhyun’s pupils become heart-shaped, and pretty much everything else about him turns bright red. The hair, the tail, the lips.

Oh.

Looks like you’re starting to understand why Baekhyun didn’t just casually mention you to Yukhei to send out an invitation, bar half-breeds being a rare occurance and highly sought for by the club.

„I called Taemin with my shell phone right away so he could inform the club,“ Baekhyun stutters on. „I’m sorry we’ve been observing you that way. Many half-breeds don’t know that they are.“

„You didn’t do it to hurt me,“ you shake your head, gather yourself, and take Baekhyun’s hands in yours. They’re so pretty and slippery. „You don’t have to apologize. It’s been a lucky coincidence.“

He saw you in the right moment and it decided everything.

„I’d not be here without you, that was very needed,“ you add. „Lost and found, you know. I gotta be the one to say thank you.“

Baekhyun firmly squeezes your hands and looks you deeply in the eyes, even more so than before.

„We’re the ones who have to say that,“ he says. „We didn’t have many good prospects before you. Maybe we can have a better chance being half-breeds in the future. Don’t think of yourself as Yukhei’s chess piece. That takes away all your importance. I think he’s trying to tell you that, too.“

„Maybe. But just know that if he’s so invested in me the way you say, I couldn’t reciprocate it.“

You look down, retreat your hands. Baekhyun reaches out of the tub to cup your chin upward very gently.

„This whole werewolf-vampire feud thing,“ he starts in a low tone. „You don’t have to buy into it. It’s not good for our club’s unity.“

You cast down your eyes. „I know.“

„If we fall apart, that makes us very vulnerable to the outside. It’s important that you stick together, and… he really likes you.“

„Baekhyun—“

„You have an easier time with Kai, right. If you approach Yukhei the same way, that… could be beneficial to your bonding.“

„Bonding?“

You don’t like where this is going. All of your alarm bells are going off right now. There’s cold sweat starting to stick to your shirt at the back of your spine.

„It’s kind of an unspoken codex,“ Baekhyun sounds much more understated now, his eyes become droopy. „If there is a female half-demon with claims to the 9th circle, a mate from the guild may accompany her. But it has to be someone from the upper rank.“

„What!“

„Yukhei is the highest in our hierarchy... He might become your consort. He said to me he’d be ready to do it.“

„Yukhei as my mate? How do I know nothing about that!“

The shock in your voice makes Baekhyun rolls up in the bathtub and his tail turns into a lifeless green. You’ve never seen him so small.

„Because… because he can’t say he likes you.“

„I beg your pardon?“

„It’s all bound to happen because of his status, and yours, and— As I said, it’s an unspoken law. It doesn’t really matter if he confesses or not.“

„Are you kidding me now?“ you jump off your chair. Your wings knock over a ceramic vase in the bathroom cupboard right above the sink. It comes down splintering. „Why on earth does Yukhei push me around like some political… genetics… preservation tool!“

„It, it is not the intention—“

„I don’t want to mate with Yukhei! Not because he’s the president, not because I need some fitting husband apparently, not because he spends a lot of time with me, not because of his money or because he cares a lot about preserving half-breeds, and especially not just because he likes me.“

„You— You don’t?“

Baekhyun’s eyes are wider than when Mark first saw your spotted wings, well-knowing he was dealing with a more delicate subject of the chronicles. But this was something that would turn the annals of the club upside down entirely.

„We’re not compatible. Not in the least,“ you frown. „Did you assume I did?“

„Of, of course! I mean in your position, who else would come to your mind? It’s such a given from both of your sides, I didn’t… even think about it. Please, I didn’t want to offend you!“

You settle on your chair again, fold in your wings. Cross your legs, lean back. An overbearing feeling of depletion makes your whole body ache.

„You know. That’s the thing with tradition. Nobody thinks about what they actually want. They just follow a program to satisfy some stupid custom. To soothe their ego, their morals, I don’t know what. But that leads them in the opposite of being satisfied. Because it’s against their real wishes. Doing away with quite a few traditions without causing much damage would be entirely possible, wouldn’t it.“

„I think traditions do serve someone,“ Baekhyun shrugs. „Many people.“

„In this case, only one person. Hint: tall lycan man who wants to fuck me. And take me as a wife which I didn’t even know until now. And how would I if he’s yelling at me about putting away my tits as if I’m some chunk of trash.“

Baekhyun stutters, decoiling not one inch from his position.

„Didn’t he do that in front of others?“

„Yeah, but why are you asking?“

You can’t help but put some sharpness into that reply. All that mating monkey business is reeking of bullshit.

„Lycans are, well you know it. Really possessive. He wants you for himself, he… he’s affected by your body. Everyone can see that. So, everyone automatically thought he’d just, sooner or later make a move on you, you know. You’ll be exclusive to him.“

„You really think that Yukhei is territorial over my fucking tits.“

„On the outside he was acting grumpy that it was a half-vampire coming to us out of all races. But he sent out Taemin with the club invitation letter in a matter of a day. The fastest he ever wanted to get someone to join was when I scouted Ten as our chauffeur. Ten had all the qualifications and he’s half-harpy, they get on with lycans very well, but Yukhei was deliberating for two weeks.“

You shake your head.

„He sent it out because the club direly needs extra manpower, a new element, whatever, that’s why. He literally said so.“

„Yukhei ordered to send out the invitation only when I told him that you’re a good-looking… woman.“

You’re gasping for air. Can this get any worse? This has got to be a bad joke. It sounds like Yukhei literally wants to own you.

„Is he— that desperate?“

„He’d not mate with any full-lycan or half-human half-lycan, or humans altogether,“ Baekhyun shakes his head. „And how could he, he’s the president and protector of the only demon half-breeds club there is. Anything else would be out of character.“

„So me being in need of a mate because of all this heir thing… serves him well and he’s already planned all of it and treats it as a given in the club. All behind my back.“

You could rip out all your hair at this point. You curse him. This dirty, sneaky, cunning wolf guy.

„From his perspective, it makes sense. Nobody else in his shoes would do it differently. He didn’t mate at all yet. We respect that he will take that only chance because he has the last say, you saw that. If a lycan runs a club, we go by lycan ways.“

All you can do is plant your face on the edge of the bath tub and puff out a deflated noise.

„So I’m the only fuckmeat in sight. To get rid off his virginity.“

Oh God, no. This has got to be a terrible dream, even the club’s chronicles pre-1689 aren’t as tragic.

„Yukhei’s instincts are going crazy since he reached maturity. Kai already mated earlier in his life and takes Beta status. I guess that’s why you get along a little better. But with Yukhei… he’s so depraved, he’s even ready to mate with a half-vampire.“

„I saw how hostile he can get with Taeyong…“

It still pains you. That Yukhei would go at him with full fangs and claws even if Taeyong is so severely marred was a punch in the gut. You don’t doubt Taeyong’s strength, and you saw he was ready to defend himself properly and resolutely. But it showed a lot of true colors and you thought about it for many nights.

„Exactly. That he said he’d be your consort tells you how much he needs somebody. He’s even ready to bury the rivalry and also contests anybody of your race. Taeyong is competition to him.“

„Jealous possessive alpha looking for a trophy,“ you bury your face deeper in the enamel of the tub edge. „Baekhyun. I fucking swear. You’re giving me even more reasons not to get with him. He’s even dragging Taeyong into all of this.“ Taeyong, who made you feel so at home and comfortable with being half-vampire. Who was very open with you and had exactly the integrity and dedication and utter class a club member needed to have. A confident, quiet strength and rolemodelship that you could always look up to.

„So talk about unity,“ you grit on. „And I’m only tolerated to Yukhei. If I’d be a guy, he would’ve sent me an invitation after like 5 years, wouldn’t he? Yukhei cares a lot less about halfbreeds than he pretends. How would I get with this guy if he’s such a mess. Never ever.“  

„You actually wouldn’t?“

„Come on! If that’s not clear at this point. No degree of Yukhei wanting me means I want him. Man, what the—! He’s planning my life as if it’s his factory. He’s making chaos out of everything.“

Hell, Yukhei must be more than insecure if he reached that level of entitlement. And you only get to hear it from Baekhyun? He’s not just insecure, but also a coward. Just how much he’s living in his own bubble is hard to fathom.

„But, it’d be an honor for you to be with the president. Is there a reason you don’t like him back?“

„Baekhyun. I don’t give a fuck about his arranged marriage thing. He has no respect. I want someone else.“

„I mean, I… You’re free to choose from the assembly. You’re the Queen of Hell. You can do whatever you want.“

„Apparently not.“

You cock not one, but two brows right at him. Baekhyun seems entirely confused. It’s so strange to you how he doesn’t seem to catch on in the very least. Yukhei really must have threatened the other club members. Nor does he seem to take your role seriously in the very least.

„Is there someone you want to mate with, then?“

„First time someone ever asked.“

You straighten your posture and tap your fingers on your knees. Admittedly, you’ve probably picked that one up from Kai.

„The guild accepts any of your wishes. It’s just a recommendation or a tradition that—“

„Yeah yeah. A dumbass expectation. Disguised as some… guideline. And everyone’s parroting it just because Yukhei is the boss. I don’t like that, okay. I’m not on board with his personal agenda. Because it’s shitty. Full stop. I’ll shove his bonding schtick up his ass until it comes out of his ears.“

„Ah, I, I see. I get it now.“

„Understand, Baekhyun. Rules have to be adapted to the benefit of those they concern. Are we agreeing on that?“

„That’s only logical!“

„So you get that I have someone in mind that I want to have a consort. That person is not Lucas. You see that the benefit would apply here, that, you know, I mate with that other person instead.“

„Sure! Do you need any help with selecting somebody? Wouldn’t Kai be a perfect match? You’re both so strong! Or Taeyong. You have great chemistry! Mark is very impressed by you, too! Haven’t you seen how shy he is?“

You want to sink into the ground on the spot. It just goes on and on. Man, you need a 500-year coffin nap with extra dust and spider webs and no garlic in the radius of ten kilometers.

„Baekhyun, you, you are… God damn…“

You can’t say it. You can’t.

„Always glad to help,“ a bright smile lights up his face once again. His tail turns back to a very familiar turquoise.

And just when he decoils himself to his full size—

It happens.

„Ah! What was that!“

Baekhyun begins to jerk up and winds. You panic. The surface of the bath water colors with red almost right away. He grabs his tail in pain. You dive either hand into the tub to pull up his tail.

„It’s a splinter! It fell inside the tub!“

„From the vase?!“

„Yes, it’s, it’s…“

„Are you okay Y/N? You look different!“

He seems more shocked about that than the fact that he just got pierced.

„It’s…stuck here. I’ll pull this— out and… and. Very carefully, and…“

Your hands work on their own. There’s nothing in your mind that has to direct them. The piece of ceramic is easy to remove from his scales, nor is the cut too severe at all. It’s not even two fingers long. But he’s bleeding. He’s bleeding. It’s unbearable. You mindlessly cast the splinter into the sink and look at your hands, and the water, and his tail.

„Are you really okay? It really doesn’t hurt a lot!“

„Baekhyun,“ you slide forward from your seat and linger at the edge of the tub, facing him. „I can’t take this shit anymore. Please.“

„Oh my god. Your eyes are going red! Should I call for Taeyong? You’re looking really sick!“

„Don’t you understand. How, how are you not seeing it,“ you clutch at the bath curtain, dizzied, and it’s like you’re seeing double. Baekhyun tries to keep you upright in his arms that wrap tightly around you. But your head has lost all its stability, tipping way forward. You’re face-to-face, forehead-to-forehead with him now, a frantic, salivating mess. Your lips feel so swollen and pulsing, it’s hard to keep them pressed together at all.

„I’m… I’m not sick. I’m not. Hush— Listen to me now, Baekhyun. I don’t want anyone else’s blood. You’re the one I wanna mate with. I want yours. And not just a little bit of it.“

Open mouths. You gape at him, he stares right back. You’re already expecting him to call for Kai to drag you into the serum room. So much about Club Daemon.

To your surprise, he doesn’t. Instead, he begins to blink like he just heard the most incredulous news, pulling away from the embrace. He looks at you in earnesty.

„Why didn’t you just say that right away?“

Baekhyun turns the brightest shade of pink all over yet. „I never thought you’d like me back this way.“

„Really?“

„Of course…“

„God,“ you laugh, „oh God.“

„And who said you can’t drink all you want from me? That’s literally what I was gonna offer—“

You are already shoulder deep leaning into the water with your arms grabbing hold of his tail. Some of the water even gets into your nose and it’s terribly soapy from Baekyun’s shampoo, but saturated with enough blood to knock a tidal wave of adrenaline right through your system.

This is the freshest and warmest you’ve ever had it. It’s feeling like a shark in the water. The lithe red clouds wavering through the tub loosely clinging to your face and lips makes you go weak in the legs. It tastes sweet like actual candy. And it’s so, so… familiar. Being surrounded by all that cherry pink water is better than a coffin nap and no garlic pizza combined. This is way too good. You can be glad your air is running out and the wound begins to close behind scales getting back into order.

„Wow! You can hold your breath for a long time,“ Baekhyun gasps when you surface.

„I didn’t,“ you cough, and take two minutes to gather yourself.  But not exactly because of that much water getting inside of you. Rather, the blood is showing its very effect already. „The wound should be fine, um,“ is all you can say, but Baekhyun only smiles in reply.

„Oh? You don’t look full in the very least.“ he swipes his hands over his wet neck and pats it. „Try it here!“

Oh please no, not the patting and the slapping. It brings all the best veins out, oh fucking no. But he continues to do just that. At this rate—

„Can’t guarantee I’m not getting really horny.“

„Huh? If you’re not I’d be worried. Didn’t you say you want to mate with me?“

„Well… yes.“

„I’m just really honored, I need a little moment.“

„You don’t have a problem with me just… vandalizing your neck?“

„Isn’t that what it’s for? It doesn’t suck itself.“

Baekhyun, with the most innocent little expression, continues just as before kneading into the sides of his neck. His long… tan, glistening piece of art neck. You probably look like a starving wet poodle preying for a bone, and then there’s him in the tub, sparkling like a water god with his beautiful cherry hair and droopy brown eyes.

With every smack on the side of his neck, your pants squarely decide to get a little more soaked. Maybe because it sounds like you’re already fucking. Maybe because his neck is bursting with everything a girl needs. It doesn’t suck itself, huh. And your canines are in best shape because you floss them twice a day just like Taeyong said. Uh oh.

„I’m so sorry I… I think I’ll tear you up.“ Why does it have to be so long and throbbing. His smell is turning your brain inside out and back again. „God Baekhyun, you’re tormenting me.“

„Hey, not fair! That’s your job,“ he’s pouting again, and probably begins to realize he’s been doing more prep than most porn stars nowadays because the kneading stops. Without much further ado, Baekhyun squarely beckons you to climb into the tub.

„Are you really ready—“

„Don’t worry, Taemin is great at cleaning the tiles. He actually loves doing that.“

„I want to make this enjoyable to you, Baekhyun, so…“

„I don’t know, you don’t have to please me or anything,“ he shakes his head. „That you like me is already overwhelming enough.“

„A bite is serious business. I still want you to enjoy it like I do.“

„If you want that. Just, just do it harder,“ Baekhyun wriggles himself up, pinker than ever. „If we’re doing it unprotected… I want this properly.“

Finished off with a shy smile. This guy is making you go times more nuts than the first raw blood you had in that chalice. You start to understand what Mark really meant by recently mentioning how Baekhyun’s parents gave him „A certain inclination“. A well nymph and Asmodeus, demon of lust, combining? That could not possibly create anything less than somebody so enticing.

„Baekhyun, always tell me if I should stop, I, I try to rein myself in, okay. You’re too delicious…“

„My veins stop swelling, just bite already,“ he sways his tail, keeps on rubbing into in throat again with his flat palm. „Just don’t worry. You’d have a hard time draining me. You saw my body just heals itself fast.“

„Yeah. Merman thing. Mark said that.“

„You can also fuck me if you want to.“

„Baekhyun, you really don’t have to offer yourself just because my body is going crazy.“

„But I’d really enjoy it. How aroused are you?“

„In all honesty… Bram Stoker novels level horny.“

„I’m not gonna leave you like that.“

And something in his tone tells you that Baekhyun has it all figured out.

As much as your wobbly legs permit it, you get into the tub more or less elegantly. You already want to apologize for mounting him that way, but Baekhyun squarely sits you down on his crotch with his hands on your waist. That his wrist and knuckle veins have gotten the word does not go unmissed by your tunnel vision. All those pulsing underarm serpentines… leading your gaze upwards, and more, and more. Up, up, until you cannot rip your gaze from his puffy little throat. Baekhyun lets out a content little hum and lifts his chin. You really get the full damn view.

„Sorry teeth, I’ll devirginize you. No more blood oranges,“ you babble to yourself, and you can tell your brain just switched off all inhibition. You never thought you’d be slurring your words about what types of emergency fleshlights you use, all in a bath tub with a merman. „About time I pop my cherry boy.“

„Exactly right,“ Baekhyun proudly huffs, and leans back. With his Adam’s apple bulging out his throat even more, you lose all trains of thought and just grab him by either side of his head. You sink your teeth in as far as the power in your jaw can drive them, and going by how his pulse is beating inside your ears, you drilled them in pretty damn hard. Oh fuck. Beginner’s mistake. A huge gush comes out to spritz against the back of your own throat, and you almost pass out from the incredibleness of the taste.

It’s too much at once. You’re hanging by a mere thread. All your body does is follow whatever its instinct dictates. Grabbing Baekhyun by his hair is all you can keep track of, shoving your teeth right up his throat again all dissipates in a blur because your entire mouth is dripping full with him. He’s moaning so loud right now, his neck vibrates along.

„Yes…!“

You don’t want to be a weakling. And, get yourself to swallow for the first time — but then. regret it right away. His blood melting down your esophagus is like a liquid marriage proposal on the Eiffel tower. You don’t know where the noise comes from, but the birds are singing. Once it’s down your stomach and pooling there, you’re already high as fuck. Grinding erraticly all over Baekhyun’s more than steel hard boner that parts upward through the scales of his crotch. He’s really giving you all the best things.

You bury your whole face in his neck. No more neatness. All you do is let your tongue loose and drag your mouth all over his face, and his chin, and his lips, and his jaw, and all of his neck. Every angle, every side, every nook and cranny until your mouth is bursting full with all of his sweet-tasting sweat and pinkish blood that has thinned out with the water dripping from his gills. If it wasn’t diluted, you’d probably forget your own name.

You melt your teeth into his pulsing skin. A vibrant image opens before your inner eye. You’re getting visions of the beach and you as seen through Baekhyun’s eyes. And then— Baekhyun from an outside perspective, swirling through the water the moment after he saw you walk at the quay for the first time. Singing so beautifully, your ears are ringing and you never want to hear anything else.

His blood is all over your lips and chest, your training print shirt. You admit you’re tempted not to ever wash that thing even if Taemin politely asks you to or Yukhei calls it crazy. You want it to be as sullied as a white shirt can possibly get. What must be your eleventh bite in a row gives you a particularly big shot right to the tongue. It’s so much, Baekhyun’s blood starts running out of your nose, only to get back onto your lips that suck up all that candy right away all over again.

Being all drenched in Baekhyun’s nicely bloodied wonder shampoo water and your own horny leaking shit at the same time, your pussy is double wet and way, way too ready to get stuffed up with all that merman dick. You never thought that he would be any larger than your thumb, but you’re mistaken.

„No wonder Yukhei has been keeping you outside the club so often.“

„You can have it as often as you want, eight times a day, I’ll manage to be there, don’t worry.“

It’s so stiff and glides into you so easily, you groan out loud and loose a whole portion of blood from all that open mouth. It sprinkles over Baekhyun’s little nose and lips, and makes his way down to his belly. The scent is turning your brain upside down. You find yourself hooked on his nose, sucking and licking it with your pussy reaching the meaty base of what’s all the way inside you now. All the precum he’s leaking into you is taking its time, but comes down to cream you up when he starts moving. Really smudgy thrusts from below, several big fat fillings from above that you can have your fun gargling on the back of your tongue. Baekhyun knows what makes you happy. You squeeze every bit your can get out of his throat and plunge your teeth inside of him far enough to feel his vocal chords vibrating during his moans. You don’t wanna damage those. So you decide to switch things around a little and slip off his cock. It’s grown a lot inside of you and peaks out the water still brimming. The whole tub gets a taste of soapy foam mixed with Baekhyuns semen and lord knows how much delicious red cherry juice that you’ve been milking out of him. Oh god, you feel like cumming. You turn Baekhyun underneath you so the back of his head comes to face you, and you bow down to violently bury and seesaw your teeth in his nape like a lion shaking a little prey animal. His little helpless moans are so melodic and out of this world, you do notice you forgot your own name. Well, he can tell you afterwards so, no problem. For now, you made him completely yours. You don’t miss how Baekhyun didn’t reach down to get himself a hand but has grown even harder.

Going by how much he’s been begging you to do your carnage on him, and you’re tempted to ask him, you know for a fact Baekhyun would probably fanboy like mad and ooze his cum all over the place if you broke his neck altogether, but you decide that’s probably way too edgy for now. And too much, hello. His body can heal anything in a matter of five minutes, doesn’t mean you have to challenge it with a clean snap during the first time. That’s a schtick for the later fucks, maybe a birthday. Just when you find that what you’re doing with his little nape all between your jaws is way too sick for a novice, a string of tiny „please, please, please!“ noises spurs you to sink in deeper and even work your tongue just like it’s a french kiss.

„Oh woah, ah! Do it, do it more!“ His pleasure screames and demands for roughing him up leave no second for a pause. At this point, you’re just digging in and he’s all the way close to going off like a bomb. Taemin doesn’t just have to clean the tiles alone, there’s gonna be sperm everywhere. Probably even as far as the door, and that one’s all opposite to the bath tub and four meters away.

Now that you’re so snugly penetrating with your fangs pierced in around his spine from either side, you notice how Baekhyun has successfully corrupted you into a sadistic freak. The more blood seeps into your mouth, the lewder your slurping gets, and the tub water has long gone from pink to very crimson like it’s the type of apples Taeyong loves to test his fangs on pretty much daily just for practice. You swallow again, and this time, a wave of Baekhyun’s sexual fantasies crashes down on you.

Looks like since you’re closer to his central nervous system, you’re tapping his entire stream of thoughts. However this works, it’s giving your pussy severe missing-cock-disease. Drinking and swallowing repeatedly makes the visions even more vivid. The images are so vast and animated, you can hardly keep up. His face, buried between your thighs. His tongue, dragged all over your legs. You riding his tail like it’s thighs. A big gush of semen between your breasts. You slobbering blood all over his cock and making good use of its protruding veins. Images of you cumming and screaming his name. Baekhyun screaming even louder because he can. Baekhyun sucking his fingers and you licking his wrists clean. Baekhyun cumming inside you and everything bursting right out because holy shit, that’s a lot.

You want his dick and properly connect to his lips for the first time now, so you ease your teeth out of his nape, much to his protesting. You cave in and give him another bite, and make it brutal so he begins squeaking and gasping that he’ll cum. Now that you have him there, you can venture a second try and turn him around. Because you’re afraid of blowing up the second you sit on his cock again, so you start with his lips.

Kissing Baekhyun is all you expected and even more than that. Even if you’re so saturated with his blood that your taste buds are on fire, you can still clearly taste how sweet he is. Everything about him is so delicious and he’s so cute. All that pleasant taste and the gentleness of his tongue has you riding up and down his cock in less than a minute. Busy like a New York high rise elevator. Gentleman he is, Baekhyun retorting with his own thrusts feels nothing short of whipped cream consistency fucked into you with a headspin-inducing mega girth. Where he mustered that one from, only Neptune knows.

Since the entire water is ripe with his blood, that can’t go without pumping some of it into you. You’ve never found yourself horny all over your period even if the scent does make you tingle, but now, somebody else’s blood squeezed into you? Your legs feel like doing somersaults. You’re probably asking for too much, but you hope your walls soak it all up, his pre-cum included. Hell, if all that mixture shoots up in your womb, you’d probably be on a permanent high for one week. Who would have thought. This giggly little merman has turned you mad and lawless.

It doesn’t take for very long that Baekhyun’s tongue has been wrecking a havoc of pleasure between your fangs and has started bleeding after deliberately giving himself a small little prick with them, you want to get bursting full with his cum now, you can’t wait any longer. You lost your breath so it takes a few seconds until you can verbalize it, but when you do, Baekhyun doesn’t take even half a minute to have you pussy bubbling with a particularly scented load of deliciously fertile semen.

It’s such a huge amount, you have to hold onto his upper arms. Baekhyun breathes like he’s curently swimming a marathon, and has his eyes closed to concentrate on giving you the best to the best. What makes you moan is just how wildly his cock is throbbing and pumping against your cervix, that girl has never seen an avalanche of white stuff like this, she’s so lucky she gets to see this up close. Baekhyun has sunken so deep into his orgasm, he’s starting to mumble some kinds of magic words. Which seem to be directed at keeping his dick hard and keeping the cum flowing just like that.

„Shit, I want that in my mouth,“ you promptly decide, and pull your all-loaded pussy off, causing leakage all over the water. You turn to prop his cock between your lips, and Baekhyun makes it no secret that he won’t hesitate sucking his creampie right out of you. So while you’re busy sliding your tongue up and down all that veiny shaft, Baekhyun glides his nose and chin between your slippery pussy lips. The stimulation of his tongue has you twitching and stuffing his cock even deeper until your mouth is nothing but filled except a few remaining spots.

His cum is all fizzy in your mouth, it’s the most addictive thing. You decide that all that vanilla ice cream needs a juicy strawberry sauce to top it off. You do exactly what Baekhyun’s steamy fantasies displayed to you. That you lock your horny fangs deep inside of Baekhyun’s cock and squeeze him out by the liter for sperm and cherry milk is already having your eye lids flutter because you’re that stoned. Not to mention that you will smell like candy to the lycans and certainly also Taeyong for at least a whole month.

You’re the farmer, he’s the maple tree, and Baekhyun’s blood the runny, sugary syrup. The mix with his semen tastes like you bite right into a large fresh lemon and melon popsicle. and swallowing comes easy once you got into the rhythm of his continuous little bursts. Your stomach is telling you oh babe, I adore you for this. It’s stuffing full a) with the one thing is needs and b) the other thing it loves. All while Baekhyun’s bloody tongue is having a party on your clit and you can’t help but heavily rock your pussy all slapping up against his face.

The friction is unbearable, it makes you sopping wet on top of already being shot up with a ton of cream. Which now faithfully drops right into Baekhyun’s awaiting mouth and his nostrils along the way. He just snorts it up, gathers it on his tongue, then swallows it down like it’s a mild cold. The noise is so disgusting, it’s so sexy. You didn’t know mermen were this hardcore. You bet your fangs Yukhei can’t do that.

Baekhyun keeps on slurping on your creampie like it’s a desert pudding, and puckers his brazen lips to suck your clit between giving it little kisses and licks. The point where you forgot not just your name but your hometown and birth day is already passed, with Baekhyun indulging your pussy like that, you even forgot about planet earth being a thing.  His petite „Aw pretty“ and „So tasty“ noises have you clenching up and wildy deepthroating whatever impossible length of his dick is still left.

It’s oozing out too much to deal with at this point, so you just let it flow into the bath water. Your mouth being so slobbery, Baekhyun’s cock pulsing in and out of it causes a wet, hollow noise. It’s strangely satisfying and dirty to hear, you just love it. The blood seeping into your mouth makes you spiral even deeper and resorting to drift off into a wonderworld again, blowing big pink cum bubbles while you’re dreaming of Baekhyun in a groom suit out of nowhere.

Swimming at the edge of a pool, he’s stroking your hair and admiring your skin that seems so completely without any veins. Cut to Baekhyun standing in the kitchen with an apron making pancakes, drizzled with what can’t possibly just normal strawberry sauce. He perfectly balances himself on his tail to stand upright, and you’re wearing a Christmas sweater signed by Christopher Lee and Bela Lugosi.

Image three, Baekhyun massaging your feet with his pretty hands while you watch Nosferatu Reloaded on television. He whispers sweet nothings but they mean everything to you. Image four, a big house with a nice water system inside, and on top of that, a really shapely coffin that smells so dusty and snugly by just looking at it, you’re enamored with no return. Oh my god, there’s a moth plague in that house, too, and the garden grows nightshade!

Swallowing the remaining semen, thick and marshmallow-y as it so savoringly is, you shift back to your senses. Shit, that was a ride. You have a hard time letting go of his cock, but he’s not sustaining it with a spell at this point. Rather, it closes back behind his scales. Probably regenerating, you sucked and performated the shit out of it. Preoccupied, Baekhyun is still busier than ever making your pussy his personal oozing face grave, he’s particularly enjoying the digging part with the tongue. You promise to unearth him once he’s zombiefied, can’t let the poor tiny merguy just drown in there.

To think that he could do all the things you saw makes you furiously thrust back and hear his face smack into you. All of the cum he pumped into you is slathered all over his mouth and makes it all the easier to get all the clit stimulation you want from his bottom lip in particular. That he catches a hang of it and moves right along doesn’t help with your arousal. Your entire lower body is so heated and bustling, any south-Texan bat cave is a joke compared to that.

You hardly catch a direct glimpse of what’s going on, but from the reflection in the tiles you can see that Baekhyun’s hair has changed its color to how it naturally grew according to Mark’s seemingly random chronicle recital on Monday. Baekhyun only ever does it when he’s really serious about something and vulnerable enough. You can tell be picked up the pace and makes sure not one lick will miss.

With that level of determination, Baekhyun is sure to earn your moans and shaky thighs after a mere minute or two. You think that because he’s part demon, his tongue is… a bit longer and pointier and stronger than the average merman’s. It’s simply how the genes tend to mix and your clit very well feels that. The way he’s driving in the tip of the tongue in rapid sequences that resemble Ten’s piano suites, you’re tipped over the edge hard enough to grab at his tail not to slip from the massive tremble that rocks you.

Your orgasm rolls your eyes back to places even ghouls could dream of, and the amount of pleasure is so strong that your hearing and vision sets out for a solid ten seconds. You just scream and moan and scream again, and Baekhyun’s face gets one massive cum shower all over again. He’s not shy to move his mouth and head around like a madman, so your cum ends up being stuck in his hair altogether. Through even more frantic sucking and kissing, he seeks to prolong your high for another fifteen seconds of blissed out grinding against his face. You drank so much blood, you

By now, your face must look so blown up with all that cum and Baekhyun marked up so relentlessly, even if his bite marks have closed by now, Kai must think you switched roles going by your scents.

„Really sorry for my big cock.“

„Your blood… does it cause random hallucinations or something of that sort, can you direct it in any way?“

„It causes prophetic visions in some cases, if you experience it clearly as an image it will come true. Did you see something?“

„Um. Lots of things. Let’s say I… liked what I saw.“

„Actually, don’t tell me. I like being surprised.“

„Doesn’t it take 50 years until the egg fertilizes?“

„47, 48 is usual. Mermen cum is really slow but it’ll get there.“

„Nice. Isn’t the firstborn always a girl?“

„Yep.“

„We’ll name her after the song that’s always on the human radio, what is it again. Janine?“

„Jolene I’m thinking. I think it was that kind of song.“

„Yeah, I like that. And in the meanwhile we have some time, do we.“

„We can just go on like that. What are you thinking?“

„Shit, shit. I’ll suck you dry, Baekhyun, you don’t even know.“

„My blood regenerates the fastest among all half-species. Shouldn’t be a problem.“

„And what will we do about Yukhei’s mating drive?“

„Don’t worry. He’ll smell it.“

You pull the bathtub plug with a heavy heart and begin washing Baekhyun down. The blood doesn’t seem to stick to him very easily, which is as unsurprising as you not getting it off your own body. Even with his whatever pricey merguy body scrub thingy thing that’s normally used to keep gills and scales in shape. Resorting to staying bloodied for the day is nothing you’ll particularly hate, though.

Ten minutes later, you find a very unsettled Yukhei standing at the window of your designated club office, not able to meet your eyes for more than a second. In that expensive black tux, and you… in your bathing robe with blood all over your hair, and just a pair of Baekhyun’s sparkling light blue and silver ‚i ♡ dolphins‘ socks he borrowed you. He can’t wear them anyway, but they were so cute that he ordered them online.

Very much naked underneath all that, and water running down your legs in drops, alongside— something that does not feel like water. You already plan to hop right back into the shower and do the rest of the cleaning. The sex is great, but vampire hygiene is a pain in the ass sometimes. The scent must be killing him. You don’t even have to sit down for the word spill to start.

„Y/N.“

„I told you I don’t like you sneaking in here.“

„After working out. And, you know my senses are always heightened after this…“

„What is it now, hellboy. Just cut to the chase.“

„Please let me talk for a minute. I came walking by in the northern corridor,“ he starts out low once again. „You talked about your wings sprouting and you were being open with him. So—“

„You listened to us!“

He keeps his lips tight, not granting any reply.

„Piece of shit, you! You’re an all-round asshole.“

The water contained in a silver jug on the office table goes right over Yukhei’s head. He doesn’t react, lets you poor it all over him stoically. You hope it’s particularly cold. Since the water is silver-infused, it stings him, but he takes it.

„I can’t switch my nose and ears off, even at such a distance. It… it just reeks, alright. I just heard what was going on without intending. The talk, the— I didn’t know what it would develop into.“

„From start to finish. Am I right?,“ you dig your nails into your palms. „And you didn’t just walk off like you fucking should. So stop blaming your ears or what topics we started out with or whatever! You talk about mating behind my back, you eavesdrop, you invade my office just like this. Do you think that’s gonna make me marry you on the spot?“

All the magical afterglow — ruined. You cast the jug into a random corner and prop down at your desk. Yukhei wipes the wet bangs out of his face and turns from the window to face you now.

„I’ll stop with all this. Okay. I don’t want to treat you like a crusade machine against my dad or just to satisfy me. I’m sorry if I’m like you said. I’m just a stupid voyeur. I really didn’t want to.“

Yeah. Of course.

„If I spied on you? You’d be kicking me out in a hearbeat,“ you cross your arms and leave them in deadlock. „And what, you’ll stop what?“

„Training you for your position and fighting dad’s army.“

„Eh.“

„I know very well that’s Kai’s job and mine.“

„No shit, Yukhei.“

„And that we should defend more and not just plan the attack. You don’t enjoy the training as much as the normal recruit. You said you’d rather be talking with Baekhyun and that you chose him as a mate.“

„You’ll change your program?“

„A lycan will respect a no. We’re determined but not a creep. And my nose works perfectly fine.“

„What?“

„I’ll be realistic, I don’t think I could satisfy you like him.“

Now that sounds very different from all he’s ever said. You turn your chair toward him and stare Yukhei down.

„I’m listening.“

„I’m not stupid, okay.“

„Inaccurate, but go on.“

„You’d… bite me once and either I bleed out if I control myself or go wolf when I don’t. That’s lose-lose.“

„So you got that all of a sudden,“ you murmur. Yukhei just keeps on talking. It’s almost a prepared monologue.

„I’m a wolf, okay. I only get it when I smell it.“

„That’s some weird shit but fair enough, Mark says that too.“

„You smell like you had almost nine liters in one go. The whole fucking mansion feels like a butchery just opened. How many times did you bite him, fifty, sixty?“

„As if I’m counting. Do you count down when you drink water? You have it easy, you’re normal when you’re not in the moonlight. I’m vampire all the time.“

„What I try to say is. I don’t boast that much regenerating ability even if I wish I had.“

„And you realize that only now.“

„I came here to be honest. I gravely underestimated Baekhyun. You bit his nape and he really enjoyed it.“

„Well thanks for the information. About my private business…“

Yukhei’s senses must be really sharp to discern all of this. He might have stood in the bathroom in person. And if he knows it, Kai does tenfold if he was anywhere near the house. His senses are time-tested and four times as trained.

„I know that doing a bite like that is a big deal in half-breed… couples.“

„You’d find that inacceptable for me to do on you, wouldn’t you.“

Silence again. You tap your feet. Yukhei ends up nodding.

„To the extrent of how you reacted when I grabbed you by the hair. We’re not much different. Trying to make someone ours. Call me possessive but you’re also territorial. You didn’t just bite his neck tonight.“

„You understand why I said we’re not compatible. then.“

Yukhei remains silent for a while after that.

„The tension between our kinds has a reason.“

„No way. Never thought of that. Totally groundbreaking news.“

„We’d probably kill each other when we fuck. Simply because of what we naturally do. We’re suited for other species. Baekhyun matches you very well with his abilities. I admit that even if it hurts my pride.“

„One man’s trash another man’s pleasure.“

„You’re not trash. You know you’re my MVP here. And Baekhyun is going to please you well himself. He’s not as selfish as I am. He’s 290 years old, he’s very experienced.“

„Your instincts are really dying for a mate, don’t they.“

„Just like you deflate to a literal zombie when you’re not drinking, I can’t go without my pack hierarchy being complete. You go stupid when you sense blood, I go stupid when my senses aren’t challenged and I have to suppress my form. It’s that easy.“

„Now tell me something I don’t know.“

You comb your fingers through your hair. It’s kind of comforting right now. Yukhei comes to sit at your desk now himself, opposite to you.

„I should have left you to your own devices when you picked your spot at the fire place already.“

„What do you mean?“

„We left you seven empty places, right.“

„So that was not a coincidence.“

„We spiked each cup with a blood probe of each member. Enough to emenate a scent, but small enough not to have you figure out which cup belongs to whom. Especially not in a room with so many people was it possible to tell that apart so it worked.“

And of course they put up flowers to further confuse you. It was all planned.

„Did you… you…“

„It was a test. I made it so that if was covert enough and fair to everyone.“

„Fair? What the hell did you do with me!“

„Find out whose blood you like the very most. It was my idea. I wanted to see if I have a chance with you or not.“

„That’s insidious.“

„You picked Baekhyun’s probe right away. And you even drank a second cup. That should’ve answered my question by that point.“

That’s why the blood in the cup was so strangely shimmery. You knew that was familiar when you slept with Baekhyun, but couldn’t connect the dots entirely because there was so much soap in the water.

„And you still kept on talking about mating with me?“

„I didn’t know about your heritage before you came to us.“

„So?“

„That gave me a second chance that I hoped you would reconsider. Because it’s tradition tha—“

You smack Yukhei right across the face with your right backhand.

„Never say that word again.“

„And you said you’re here to tell the truth anyway. It’s a shallow excuse to get with me.“

„I’m not denying that, Y/N.“

„It’s been clear to you who I like since our first words. You’re acting like you can bend me to your wishes. You tested me and knew I wasn’t into you. Why?“

„It’s like when you couldn’t take your eyes off your cup. We’re not far apart with our instincts.

„I never said that’s a lie, Yukhei.“

„You can’t expect me not to get the hots if you’re lying there on the table without your top on. And I already controlled myself. I did my best, alright.“

This man is infuriating. You wish you had more silver water to splash him with.

„Taemin was right, Taeyong should’ve done the examination. Touching me fucked with your virgin head. You’re just hunting some one-sided dream looking for some omega girl that fits into your ideology thing.“

„Well you’re right.“

„Unfortunate.“

„But at the same time at least acknowledge that I realized we wouldn’t fit together. I changed my mind about that prospect okay, I’m trying.“

„That you’d make the worst blood bank ever is already clear.“

„I really wouldn’t.“

„Just know that the next time you’re trying to own me or do your wolf stalking shit. Or try to mess with Baekhyun. I’ll be skinning your hairy back with Taeyong’s 17th-century silver dagger and use you as a mud boots doormat.“

„I’ll control my senses as good as I can.“

„Leave away the last part of the sentence.“

„I’ll control my senses.“

„Ma’am.“

„I’ll control my senses, Ma’am.“

„You’re one desperate little shit. Club president and you need to be trained like a rowdy dog. How old are you again?“

„Last time I checked, 21.“

„Not surprised Kai still calls you a puppy and Ten thinks you’re a giant baby.“

„I say, found your own club if you can’t handle it.“

„That would put it back to square one. The only problem is you being horny for the wrong person, the rest are only consequences.“

„As if I can control what my nose tells me. And you know that the very best.“

„You’re still mad your own test backfired,“ you remember the cups put up in the fireplace room.

„Is it wrong wishing you would’ve chosen my blood?“

„Yes, after I clearly made my pick.“

„Then that’s that.“

„That’s that.“

„So what are we gonna do?“

„You cut your wolfy shit, that’s all. It’s creepy. And don’t annoy Taeyong either. You got me? Just stay in your own lane.“

„If I can.“

„Are you the president or are you not?“

„Fair enough.“

Taeyong rings a bell, and you gather for some tea under the backyard Wisteria. Shrimps are served, and Taeyong even bothered to prepare a minestrone that’s wonderfully dark red. Lucas savagely chews on raw chicken wings, Ten relaxes in a hammock, Mark writes, Taemin knits, and Baekhyun plays in the nearby pool, watching and listening and chatting, upbeat as always.

Kai arrives the very last in his post-jog showering robe, but greets you the very loudest in front of everyone.

„Hey, hey! I heard you waterboarded yourself to get some soapy red juice!“

Some confusion at his word choice, some giggles.

„So that’s been making the roun—“

„Amazing! That’s my girl,“ Kai burst out and pats you on the back so passionately, it feels like a freight train hits you.

„O—okay?“

„That greed is all I ever wanted to bring out in training! Where was that determination when we peeled garlic? I tried every method in the book to get you to that point!“

Awkward silence among the members. Then, some shrugs. Mark seems to be the only one who doesn’t get it. Figures, half-goblins don’t have hyper-developed senses. Thank God, his innocent soul. The club chronicles would be filled with details of you doing all sorts of things in a bath tub because Mark never leaves out anything unless he’s currently dropping a pen out of nervousness. Which doesn’t happen anymore.

„Kai, um… I still don’t think you understand what really motivates a vampire,“ Taeyong scratches his head, with you well-aware that he can smell merman blood across the entire house without even trying himself.

„So, what is it, then?“ Kai puffs himself up, arms crossed. „I’m the fucking trainer of how many species again? I should know best!“

It doesn’t take two seconds for a heated discussion to break out. The Venerable Pyramid of Essential Vampire Needs — which author defined it the most accurately? Which peer-reviewed vampire journals are trustworthy? Which interviewed populace is the most reflective of all vampirekind? Serbia, Romania, Turkey, Russia, Greece, overseas?

Everybody wants to weigh in: Taeyong and Mark at the forefront, with Kai and Lucas saying the exact opposite of what they expertly claim just because. Ten starts trolling them with made-up facts („a vampire’s #1 need is premium cellar dust!“), Taemin unsuccessfully tries to calm everybody down with a theory that considers all perspectives, and the tea gets colder and colder.

In the meantime, you squat down at the pool and muse over Baekhyun’s hair in the wind. You twirl it and tell him he’s gorgeous. He whispers just how good you smell. Why debate about essential vampire needs when it’s all right before your eyes.

Thinking about it. It was all about which relationship was mutual. That’s what the decision had been all about, and yes, it had been crystal clear from the very start. Lucas desperately wanted you, but it was one-sided. Mark was flustered by you, but didn’t make a move, nor did you have feelings for him. Taeyong you loved, but his age and mentor status were incompatible with turning it into a relationship. You understood him, but it was motivated by an admiration — there was a pedestal, which again made it one-sided. Ten was a mystery, it wasn’t clear on either part, and leaving each other guessing was no good sign instead of going about your ways. Kai was a compelling man, but had his piece of cake and aspired to different things. Baekhyun — he loves you and you love him.

A powerful engine revvs in the nearby garage, then, the motor stops. Onto the Wisteria jogs Ten with a huge bag of groceries.

„Hello, hello!“

Everybody greets him and picks their favorite snack from his bag. He really thought of everything. Yukhei and Jongin get a huge pile of meat from the car trunk’s cooling box. As a crowning finale, Ten presents you with the latest newpaper. The front page splayed out on the Wisteria’s main table causes everyone to steer and gasp.

SHOCKING!

SATAN’S HEAVENLY RETURN

Ruling hell too stressful after all?

„Rumor has it the King finally got bored of chatting with God and kicked out Satan from the 9th circle without much further ado.“

„No way!“ you toss and turn the newspaper. Five whopping pages are filled with cover story details.

„So dear horned guy went back to where he came from,“ Ten shrugs, then points at the snapshots all over the newspaper. „I mean look at it. This is all just a big ole jealousy drama.“

Who knows God talked some sense into Lucifer.

„I know that dad was getting envious about the King associating with the arch angels,“ Yukhei says. You start to get why. Satan had the privileges of being an archangel for who knows how long until he reached puberty and rebelled or whatever.

„Doesn’t that mean dad has the throne back now?“ you ask.

„Yup,“ Ten turns to page three, where @king_beli’s instagram feed is filled with selfies of the 9th circle, posing with Sisyphus, and throwing peace signs in a sulphurous-looking throne hall. 666,000 likes after just 6 hours. If that’s not a good sign.

You keep on debating how exactly Satan got kicked out so effortlessly until Taeyong rolls in a little swirly metal wagon after the tea is finished. On top of it: An almost ancient relic that Alexander Graham Bell probably built himself.

„Sir, the Hell Telephone might be a good idea right now.“

„Your turn Y/N,“ Yukhei declines, ushering Taeyong to bring the wagon to your side of the table. You dial and wait roughly half a minute.

„Sorry, I was partying,“ a voice creaks through the old speaker. „How can I help? Isn’t this Club Daemon speaking? Is it who I think it is?“

„Hey dad.“

„It is!“

„Hello. You’ve heard about me, then.“

„Yup yup! That you’re Yukhei’s personal dog trainer is what Kai wrote me on Whatsapp! Did you really pour silver water on him? That’s funny as hell!“

„Oh God.“

„I say that a lot these days as well, man. Sorry, we have some music blasting here by the way!“

„Hey dad, what actually happened with God and Satan?“

„Ah, long ass story. Satan chickened out recently, hell is one hell of a job you know. New job opportunity for me. But you gotta take it easy and have fun.“

„I can tell.“

A spitfire verse of what sounds like Megan Thee Stallion is currently pumping through the telephone. Ten grooves right along in his hammock, smiling way too ominously. You can tell he knows every bar by heart. He’s been listening to the human radio way too much during his errants.

„I’m only stressed because the furniture is terrible.“

„The what?“

„In the years of my absence, horned geezer got a little too creative with the design, you know. I’m more of a romantic.“

„So… you just moved in there just because.“

„You could say that, yeah!“

Confused shrugging among the club members. Belial keeps on babbling and blasting something else at the other end of the line. It must be K-Pop or something like that.

„Talk about romance, I hear you have a mate?“

„Yeah dad, it’s Baekhyun.“

„Oh him? I’ve heard of that guy! The merman!“

„He’s really sweet.“

„Make many cute demon babies alright. That would be so adorable. I’m all ready to cuddle wuddle them. I actually came up with baby name suggestions.“

„Dad!“

„You know, 80 years ago. I met your mom…“

„Dad, I don’t wanna hear your love stories. Rather tell me what happened to mom. What did Satan do?“

„Listen here. That was a stupid rumor Azazel was spreading because he’s a gossip man!“ Belial rages at the other end of the line. „Your mom was 8906, alright. She died of diabetes. You got adopted by humans she found trustworthy and planned to be your caretakers.“

„That was all planned?!“

„You were… a bit too young for hell back then. She wanted to leave you the choice later on in life whether you want to be in a clan or come here, or neither of that. I know being a half-breed isn’t easy. And you should get into all these worlds by your own devices. I learned about all of this only much later you see. I’ve been hanging out in the clouds for some time. It’s pretty chill there. But now I’m happy to hear from you.“

„Yeah.“

„If you got anything you need paid? Rent, marriage, car, diapers? Just ask me when needed.“

„I dunno…“

Looks like your dad is a rather forward thinker indeed. Well, least he thought it through.

„If you need it spontaneously and I’m not available, just force Yukhei to give you some pocket money.“

„I don’t have to force him. He already does that without me even asking.“

„That’s what I call a great president!“

„He literally thinks my bank account is free real estate where he can dump anything. I can’t even manage all that,“ you roll your eyes, with Yukhei grinning his most satisfied smile at the end of the table.

On the more unsatisfied end, Kai is about to jump up and sock him in the chest. You know damn well his salary hasn’t been increasing since Yukhei discovered his unsolicited Sugar Daddy hobby. You can buy Baekhyun some extra cotton candy now, but you’ll have to figure out a way to transfer some pocket money to Kai yourself. Now really, he’s been training the shit out of you.

„Even better! Cheers to him. He’s too straight for his own good sometimes though. Anyways. You can drop by as soon as we cleaned up here. We’ll open the circles of hell completely next month.“

„Okay, that’s good news!“

„Once you get pregnant, make sure you two find a flaming cave apartment on the east side! You really wanna raise your kids here. Hellraiser, get it?“

„The east side is too hot for Baekhyun. His tub water would just evaporate, man.“

„Oh! Then the west side. A nice penthouse with panoramic views on a volcano. You’ll get a baking Pompeii face mask every time you’re stepping out! There’s so much ash raining down, your kid can do snow angels on every pavement. Don’t worry, I’ll pay for everything.“

In the meantime, the party guests are blasting Caramelldansen in the background and louds clapping numbs your ears.

„Dad…. you realize you have a lot of clown energy, right? Do you even hear me?“

„Talk about clowns, actually,“ the king carries on completely unbothered. „Mammon really wants to see Kai too, I think he’s missing him. He’s calmed down a little after the Corona crisis messed with his bank account.“

Commotion at the table. Kai almost chokes on his cold tea.

„That’s unexpected… I thought he’d never do that.“

„Yeah aw, I know,“ your father says. „Satan has spread a lot of fake news while he was here, you see.“

„We’re glad to be welcome then? That sounds like a good idea to meet up some time. Maybe for a day or two.“

„Strike! I convinced you!“

„Yeah, you did…“

„Few of you saw hell back in the day, right?“

„Yukhei, Kai, I dunno who else, Ten I’m guessing.“

Nods from the hammock. Wouldn’t be strange if Ten was a regular hell driver.

„Oh Ten! Greet Ten from me. His instagram is what I aspire to. Ten is the coolest. Even the ghouls I know don’t have that kind of fashion sense.“

„Will do.“

„And— about aspirations. We’ll be talking about your heir thing when the time is right you see, I know you want to know about all of this.“

You perk up, as do the club members.

„It’s a thing for the future. I’m not hellbent or anything,“ you say, tongue in cheek.

„Hah! You’re funny. I see we’re agreeing on this. You’re very busy with Baekhyun, right. Love is priority. Hell later. This place is a lot to handle anyway.“

„…exactly.“

„I know my daughter and I didn’t even meet her yet!“

Taeyong does a little aw noise in the background and even Yukhei has to smile.

„I’ll probably tell the same stories you do and blast the same music in a couple years, I can see it coming.“

„And that’s when you’re ready for the throne. Remember—“

„Gotta keep it easy and make it fun.“

„You got it. Until then, live a tense life man, that’s also needed.“

„Dad, what the hell!“

„I actually mean it. Leave it to your old man to get this 9th circle popping in the meantime.“

You get the image of your father watching youtube music videos all day and trying to keep up with the latest slang words on twitter.

„Okay, crazy old man.“

„At your service!“

It almost makes you laugh how the old generation of full-breed demons is completely gone wild and the youngsters are the opposite. Well, except the half-lycans, but they’re always living on the edge anyway.

„Can I speak to Mister Lee as well? Is he around?“

„Mark or Taeyong or Taemin? We have a lot of Lees.“

„Um, the butler guy.“

„Taeyong, here it goes. See you dad!“

You pass the hellephone, Taeyong poises himself.

„Hey there, young man!“

„Not that young. 552, Sire.“

„Hilarious, you can’t even get a Styx boat license around here at that age. Anyway. Got some news for you.“

„Yes, Mister?“

„Mammon recently splurged on the latest robo fancy schmancy tech stuff from Japan for no reason. I guessed you would want to try one on.“

„Pardon— Try on what?“

„Oh, a prosthetic exo-skeleton I mean. I heard you had beef with the loopy guy. Just drop by whenever.“

„A prosthetic arm aid?“

„Well yes!“

„That’s… that’s very kind of you.“

„No problem! Is the your Professor X available to speak to as well?“

„Of course, Sire, one moment,“ Taeyong composes himself, but you can tell he’s still processing it.

Everybody is on the edge of their seat.

„Hi down there,“ Lucas takes the speaker and leans back in his seat very laxly. Compared to how defeated he looked in your office, his posture is much more unwound now.

„Hi up there, Lucas what’s good?“

„Doing mighty fine these days. You gave us a good headline.“

„Oh, you’re very welcome Mister President. There’s headlines about me?“

The King sounds genuinely surprised.

„Yeah. You’ll have to add me in Kai’s Whatsapp group or give me your number. I’ll update you on these types of things.“

„Note down 1666 2666 3666, and I have some updates for you as well.“

Mark and Taeyong instantly start scribbling the number into their vest notebooks, meanwhile Lucas swirls the tea in his cup around.

„Shoot.“

He begins drinking it.

„Mister Cerberus’ daughter graduated today. Canine sciences. Lovely girl, calls herself Circe, you know, like the evil witch. Very intelligent person. She’s looking for a job and a mate in the upper world. I told her about the Club’s situation and you know, gossipped a little. She says she’s interested in you.“

Lucas spits out the tea.

„Sorry, what?“

„Hey, do you really think you’re not a man in demand? Anybody who studies werewolves knows about you. And you have free membership spots, or is that information outdated?“

„I-Is she a half-breed?“

„Of course, do you think Mister Cerberus would date another demon? That would make no sense! Hell, wouldn’t that be beastitality or something? Is it that what you call it?“

„Uh… Bestiality I thought, Sir.“

„Anyways. I haven’t seen Cerberus with anyone else but werewolves.“

„Werewolves are the closest genetically to hell hounds, Mister President,“ Mark leans in confidentially to brief Yukhei. „It’s good conduct for them to date.“

„Oh, uh, I get it.“

„So, do you want to meet her or not?“

„We, we have free spots all the way!“

„Great then, I’ll send her up the staircase now. She’ll be there in a minute or so.“

„The stai—!”

© 2017-2021 submissive-bangtan. all rights reserved. no reposts allowed.

[rideboldlyride]

A much delayed Chapter 4 - Celestial

Seal My Heart and Break My Pride <--- AO3 link

“The shipment of Jasmine is delayed again.”

Across from him, in the seeming anonymity of stainless silver and terra cotta, his uncle moved around the industrial kitchen with the grace of experience. At that moment, they could have been in any kitchen anywhere in the world. Since the morning crowd had long dispersed, and the lunch crowd still working, they were the only two staffing the shop, with just a spattering of customers in the dining area. The illusion remained fully in place, and Zuko could almost imagine walking into the dining area, only to see a Fire Nation cityscape in it’s windows.

At his proclamation about the jasmine, his Uncle Iroh had his stolid demeanor broken.

“How can we call ourselves the Jasmine Dragon, when we have no Jasmine ??” If Zuko didn’t know any better, he may have thought that his uncle sounded emotional.

A sigh escaped him. “I told you, Uncle. Our supplier is citing droughts in the region, stating that all of their customers are suffering shortages.”

As the older man turned, he produced a steaming pot, and two cups, clean and prepared, and set them down on the steel top between them. Before Zuko, papers were scattered in an organized chaos. He had a grasp on keeping books, but there were times that his focus was a beast incapable of being reigned in. His growing headache hadn’t helped. And then there was the cause of the headache- that borderline nausea, characteristic of a mild hangover. Absent-mindedly, he scratched at the spot on his inner forearm where ink had sat overnight. He had been mortified to find it smeared beyond recognition upon waking up. One of the many downsides, he found, of sleeping hot, included the fact that it was rare to wake up without a sheen of sweat. Between the normal motions of sleep, the sheen of sweat, and the gel qualities of the pen she had used, it was rendered illegible. He had been beyond frustrated. It didn’t, however, keep her off of his mind.

“I would offer some from my stores, but I’m completely out.”

Katara. She kept trying to swim before his open eyes. There was so much that intrigued him, and he was like a thirsty man in a desert, with just the hint of water in the air. If he just could taste, get a little bit on his tongue…

“I understand, Nephew. We will have to press on, even in this time of trial.”

Zuko nodded, barely noting his uncle’s words. This was not missed.

“Usually, my fiery tempered nephew would protest about my melodramatics at this point.” With a raised brow, the older man poured the tea, offering the steaming cup to the younger, who seemed engrossed in one particular line on a singular page among the throngs scattered in front of him. Unseeingly, Zuko retrieved the cup, and instantly brought it to his lips. Far too hot, it scolded, and he jumped, brow furrowing in frustration. Jarred from his reverie, he drew his lips into a thin line, the remaining parts of the sip jumping away at the motion, and splattering upon the paper. In irritation, he snagged the page, using his pant leg to dab at the liquid, in an attempt to salvage the ink.

“You seem very distracted, Nephew.”

A glower set over his brow. “I just spilled scalding tea on an important notice. Can’t imagine what you’re talking about, Uncle.”

His own tea resting in his fingers, Iroh studied Zuko intently, seeing more clearly than he cared for. Finally, he broke the silence.

“How did your evening go?”

Now flustered, the younger man shuffled the pages anxiously, attempting to herd them like polar cats. His uncle’s question stilled him instantly, and he brought his gaze round to bare,

“It was… good.”

“Eventful?”

“Surprisingly,... yes.”

A hum escaped Iroh’s lips, and he sat back, knowing that when Zuko was ready to speak, he would, if at all. Instead, he watched his nephew once more return to his attempt at organization, this time moving more steadily and slowly. In a moment of startling clarity, Zuko could hear her laugh. A hot sigh escaped his lips, frustration and irritation at the lost number returning to his mind. Then he heard it again.

“Oh!” Zuko was startled when his uncle jumped with sudden vigour. “It seems one of my favorite customers is here.”

As he passed, Iroh stuck a gentle elbow into his nephew’s ribs.

“This is the one I’ve been talking to you about.”

Rolling his eyes, he watched Iroh exit out of the kitchen through a traditional curtain. Instead of following, he peeped out of the pass through at the young woman Iroh spoke of. This mysterious woman, her back turned to the counter, was unheeding of his gaze. Half pulled back, a cascade of dark brown tresses fell to her waist line. Headphones crested over her head, and evidently currently active, since she seemed unaware of his uncle’s appearance behind the counter. Zuko’s breath caught in his throat when he heard the voice behind the curtain of hair.

How could he cross paths with her two days in a row?

“... Sokka. I haven’t heard from him.” Pause. “You, of all people, should know how this works. Isn’t there some kind of stupid rule about how long you’re supposed to wait?”

She was evidently on the phone. His uncle paused before interrupting her, letting her continue her conversation.

“Listen, I’m going to see you in just a few minutes… No! Of course I don’t want to talk about it with Dad around! I just…” She sighed. “Fine. I’ll see you. Did you want me to order you anything?... Alright, I’ll see you then.”

Zuko slipped a little further back into the kitchen, trying to keep hidden but still being able to keep an eye on her. It was surprising how daylight made one a coward about what one

was comfortable at night. But as his uncle gently tapped her shoulder, he held his breath. She turned with a bright smile on her face, and he couldn’t stop the matching smile pulling at his lips.

With a single motion, she evidently ended the call, and removed the headphones from her ears.

“Good morning, Iroh!”

“Miss Katara! I must say that your definition of morning seems very fluid.”

Her laugh comes easy, and Zuko soaks in the sound.

“I am a complete night cat-owl. You know that!”

“Yes, my dear. But it brings me great humor to see you emerge at the break of dawn one morning, and then scuttle in here just shy of midday the next.”

“I had a long night. My friends all wanted to go out. I think we all forgot we’re near our thirties.”

“An eventful night?”

Her smile stayed planted, but her eyes seemed to be looking far away. She hummed an affirmative. His uncle only laughed.

“Nearing your thirties, but still starry eyed, my dear?”

That mischievous glint- that damn mischievous streak - in her eyes, struck again, and it took all of his willpower not to round the corner. Instead, he started to plot.

***

“What can I say, Iroh? I’m a closet romantic.”

“There are worse traits.” A warm smile peered up at her. “Is there something I can start for you?”

“Yes!” She was broken free of her reverie, and she perked up. “I meant to ask, do you still brew lapsang souchong?”

A brilliant smile lit up his face.

“Only for my special guests. And you, my dear Katara, are a special guest.” He turned to the passthrough window, but he spotted the younger man already in motion, his back to the customers, preparing the tea. She watched the older man as he took a small glance back and forth between them. “Are you expecting anyone, my dear?”

“Actually, yes. My brother and my Dad.” She knew where this was already going. It wasn't the first time he had brought it up.

“It’s a shame- My nephew is here and you are here. You know how often I have spoken about him to you…”

She raised a brow. “And told me nothing about him.”

Blue eyes met his amber ones, mirth reflecting between each other. “Touche.”

In between their banter, a steaming mug was placed on the pass-through unseen.

Iroh was the first one to break away, spotting the mug. As he turned back to her, tea in hand, a brow rose to her contemplative look. Absentmindedly, she fiddled with the charm at her throat. A devious smile pulled at her lips.

“I have a proposition for you, Iroh.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to be working on a study in the lower ring, since our work is in the Serpent’s Pass. From what I hear, you have two more shops, now.”

“Yes, one is--”

A hand rose to stop him. “No, don’t tell me. We’re going to let fate play the stars, alright? Tutega is known for her capricious ways.”

Known to be well-versed in the lore of many nationalities, she was not surprised that Iroh showed no confusion over the name of the spirit. Tutega, the mercurial spirit woman was known to move the stars and thereby the fates, according to her desires. While growing up religious, Katara held a certain respect for the deities, even though she was not as devoted to the rites as she might once have been. Either way, she was more than willing to blame the spirits if this idea of hers went south.

“So here’s the deal. Your nephew runs those shops, right?”

A nod, along with a growing suspicion in his eyes, but he kept silent.

“What if, in exchange for this perpetual discussion, we make a deal that if I find one of the shops, I’ll go in to talk with him?”

“I would propose a caveat: you go on a date together.”

Hesitation paused the young woman. “I don’t know....”

“Unless there is another?”

“Well, no, I mean… I guess not really.”

“Then this: if you are free at that point, then go.”

The hesitation in her eyes dissolved, and she smiled again. “Then I’m going to need more than just silence, Iroh.”

“Free tea?”

Her laugh sounded out again. “Deal!”

***

When Sokka arrived, it was a raucous event, (‘Home’ Katara?! That’s the text you send??; What was I supposed to say?; How about ‘the guy wasn’t another Jet, I’m safe and he’s gone’?; What if he wasn’t gone?; He wasn’t?!) but it quickly settled, before a third individual arrived- this one seemingly an aged up Sokka, with the same striking features as the siblings. Katara was quick to her feet, enveloping him into a firm hug.

“Welcome home, Katara. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, Dad.”

When they pulled away, the three of them fell into a comfortable banter, rapidly falling into the normal ebb and flow, being chased by warm tea. Finally, after a bout of pleasant ribbing of her older brother, Hakoda turned his attention to his daughter.

“Did you get that notice I sent you?”

A sigh escaped her. “Dad, I already told you, I’m not going to apply for an ambassador role with NOAA.”

“Why?”

“It’s politics. It’s making friends with people I can’t stand, be friendly with the assholes who are screwing up all of our oceans.”

“How do you think that they get their funding?”

“So you’re saying that I should be willing to ‘work’ with these pricks- pricks like O Corp-" she spits out the name with venom, "just to get funding?”

“No, I’m saying you should be willing to work with them to protect the oceans from them.” He leaned in, his blue eyes bright and eager, dropping his voice to inject calmness into the conversation. “You could be the saving grace-- the conscience people need.”

“These people that don’t see how important the sea is to life- without it, the world would fall apart! What you do to the ocean will always be visited back on you. It's what feeds us, lets us breathe. And those fools who see profit over living beings sicken me. I take from the sea, yes. But I also give back.”

A smile lit up his face. “And that’s why you should be an ambassador. Your passion, Katara, it can be such a force for good!”

His vigor set her back for a moment, and she took in his words. Slowly, she leaned in and placed a hand upon her father’s.

“I’ll… consider it.”

“And that’s all I ask.”

She smiled as she leaned back as the moment passed. “I have to say, Dad, most fathers don’t ask about ambassadorial opportunities…”

“Oh? Then what do they talk about?”

“‘Anybody I need to know about, Katara?’” Her voice dropped to imitate the older man. “‘When are you going to give me grandkids?’ You know, stuff like that.”

The look in his eye made her instantly regret her words. “So, then, Katara, is there anybody?”

“Ugh, Dad!”

Sokka interrupted, a mischievous look in his eye. “Maybe after last night, there was…”

A pink tongue darted through her lips at her brother, her nose crinkling. Before she got out a word, her phone went off. It was Toph.

Hey sugar queen. The text was obviously transcribed, but solidly in Toph’s typical direct manner. Zuko says something happened to your number. He refuses to get it from me. Says he’ll surprise you. He just didn’t want you thinking he ghosted you.

She couldn’t hold back the smile on her lips.

***

Outside, Zuko paced beside the truck.

“Thanks Toph.”

“You got this, Sparky?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Ugh- don’t ever call me that again.”

“What? Ma’am?”

A disgusted sound echoed in his ears, and he smiled.

“You got it, Toph. I owe you one.”

“Yeah, you do.”

***

With all of his willpower, he maintained his work schedule over the next few days. He refused to alter his schedule, truly leaving it to the stars, as Katara had mentioned. But when he walked in on the Tuesday after the fateful weekend, he was hopeful. The morning passed rapidly, as the breakfast crowd of the Lower Ring lasted much later into the day than his uncle’s shop. However, as the lunch crowd slipped in, he stepped back, allowing the shop’s employees to take up the slack. Instead, he mingled, confirming his customer’s comfort. Falling into his rhythms, he seemed to force his preoccupying thoughts away. A new group entered, and he greeted them with his customary small smile. It wasn’t until one of the members of the group stopped directly in front of the door, staring up, that it caught his attention.

It was only the beginning of autumn, but she was draped in a sky blue hoodie, oversized, and the hood pulled up. Dark tresses fell out from the side of the hood, and her dark chin jutted out from behind the hood’s cowl as she stared up, frozen still. With a shake of her head, she dropped her head. In that moment, he recognized her before she recognized him. With as much dignity and nonchalance as he could manage he made his way towards the kitchen to wait.

***

Of all the tea shops, in all of Ba Sing Se, she thought… The sign above her colleague’s lunch choice was emblazoned with a white lotus, the name proudly alight: The Jasmine Dragon.

Upon entering, she broke away from the group to move straight towards the counter. Better just to get this over with. A young woman met her there with a pleasant smile.

“Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon! Are there any teas you’re curious about?”

“Yes, but that’ll wait. Quick question:” Katara laid her hands flat upon the countertop, leaning on them. “Is your district manager in?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s usually here on Tuesdays.”

“Of course he is.” A bitter chuckle pulled at her lips, followed by a sigh. She dropped her voice a little. “Listen, I’m going to ask something weird, but I’ll explain once you answer, okay?”

The young woman’s eyes grew wary, but she nodded.

“Is he… Ya know,” she gave a vague gesture, “I don’t know… not fifty?”

The girl laughed. “No! No, he’s in his thirties.”

“Oh good.” The words escaped Katara like a sigh. “Iroh’s been after me to meet him, but you know how that can go sometimes…”

Her response was a knowing laugh. “Would you like me to go get him?”

“Yes, please.”

“Ok, hold on--” she stopped in her tracks as the dark haired man stepped out from behind the curtain blocking off the kitchen, a puckish grin on his face. The young employee gestured pleasantly. “There he is.”

“Zuko?”

***

@zutaraweek

[salmonthestoryteller]

Why I'll Never be Over Losing Nobel

We're closing in on the start of Roswell New Mexico Season 2, and I realized that while I have lamented about this many times, I have never explained it.  I've never gone into detail about why this was my first Roswell New Mexico OTP. What about it struck such a chord. Or why, almost a year after the reveal about the truth about Noah's character, it's still crushing to me that they chose to go this route.

There's been several good metas about how, knowing the truth, the meaning of the scenes are completely different. How suddenly everything takes on a different meaning, one that's abusive and sinister. And that is both heartbreaking and true.

But that's not what I'm here to write about. I want to take you back to what it was like on a first watch through, without knowing the truth. About how beautiful this ship was and why. So here we go.

First of all, could there be both a sexier or funnier introduction to a ship than for Isobel to be in bed with her husband and get a psychic call for help from Max?  As she quickly excuses herself, and throws an "I love you!" over her shoulder, I was already on my way to OTP doom.

This is followed by both funny lines like, "I had to untie some loose ends at home", and the far more heartwrenching "I am married to someone who can't ever know who I am, and it kills me."

It sets up the conflict they will have to overcome. Isobel has been lying to Noah about what she is their entire relationship. And, no offense, this isn't some "on again, off again" or "second chance with the one that got away" romance. This is a marriage. They've been together for years.

Yes, I have a prejudice toward committed relationships in fiction. People who have dedicated years of their life to one another? Who have actually been there for one another when they needed them? Yes. More, pls, thank-you.

I've said it before, but I'll say it again. One of the least believable things about this show is that in a "small town", this many people near the age of 30 are unmarried. Heck, we know from Maria's palm readings that apparently even Hank, and another local at their reunion are unmarried. The alien part is more believable than that.

So Isobel being married was such a smart call to me. And, especially in a sci-fi show, was such a change from business as usual.  Not many shows would dare to have a main character be married, and honestly, I remember thinking it was awesome that they'd been willing to take the risk. (Of course, we know how that turned out, but I'll save that lament for the end.)

While Noah grumps about Isobel being "predictably codependent", he is still quick to offer to try to talk to Max about what's bothering him. Further, despite Michael not being Isobel's brother in the technical sense, it's clear he understands that to her Michael is her brother. Because that "predictably codependent" line isn't just about Max. Noah includes Michael in it.

He also shows zero jealousy towards Isobel's relationship with Michael. A character in a relationship showing zero jealousy towards Isobel's closeness with an unrelated character? That was so nice to see grace my screen.

The drive-in was one of the ship’s golden episodes. From Noah asking, maybe we can both be… present?  Pointing out how distracted Isobel has been since Max saved Liz.  Later in the episode, Isobel goes home and does her best to keep her promise about being present for Noah by forcing a smile, but Noah sees through it.  And this is one of those - omg, I love this.  Because guess what?  They talk.  They have communication.  They don’t scream, they don’t misinterpret, they don’t divert - they have a full-on honest conversation about things.  Don’t see that very often on a tv show, do we?

To Nobel fans “Isobel Evans-Bracken, you are my person” was on par with “I never look away” and “I would have followed you.”  We were melting, especially when Noah followed it up by showing he had set up a whole night to comfort Isobel after her bad day.  This is the type of romantic interaction people write fanfics about because it literally doesn’t get put on our screens.  It’s not “dramatic enough”, but this ship was giving it to us in spades.

And the good stuff kept coming.  Because we still got our “rocky dramatic” moments, too.  Because “committed relationship” doesn’t mean “boring.”  It doesn’t mean “And then they never had a misunderstanding or anything bad happen to them.  They lived in happy lala land for the rest of their lives.”  It actually means that when things get rocky, it both hurts more and has extra meaning behind certain actions.  And it honestly felt like, with Nobel, the writers were tackling those concepts beautifully.

Noah realizes Isobel is keeping a secret, and draws the conclusion that she’s an alcoholic.  Isobel (who doesn’t yet know “she” was the one who killed Rosa, Kate, and Jasmin) knows this is the one thing she can never tell him.  Not because she has to protect herself, but because she has to protect her brothers.  When Noah handed her the bag and said he needed time, I was in tears.  Honestly, while Liz telling Max she never wanted to see him again was very dramatic, the truth was they were not in a relationship at that time.  They had just been getting to know each other after a decade apart.  It’s very dramatic, and I’m sure Echo fans found it heartbreaking.  I was too busy crying over Noah and Isobel.  Sorry, but they were the ones in an actual relationship.  They were married.  This moment to me hurt more than any of the other moments because they were committed.  They weren’t going home to separate apartments every night.  Noah handing Isobel that bag, with the meaning of “I can’t even be in the same house as you right now”, that was the kind of pain you can’t get in a “Getting together” couple.  Only a committed one.

Noah continues to struggle with Isobel’s secrets, and whether they can fix what’s going wrong with them.  Talks to Max at the worse time, and even when he comes back starts to realize something is still wrong.  Especially when Isobel coughs up blood and collapses, but nobody will still talk to him about it.  His anger at that moment doesn’t seem off, because the woman he loves is ill and nobody will tell him anything.

But, honestly, the next big moment of Nobel gold was their confrontation when Isobel came out of her pod.  “I’m married to an egg person” remains hilarious regardless, as well as “Cowboys and aliens, it’s unnatural”, and “I would never pick that sweater.”

Noah’s struggle to accept everything (Buying the gun before they’re talk, his accusation that she had used her powers on him, and later suggesting she not use her powers) was a believable storyline.  It was actually nice, compared to the ease of every other human character on the show in accepting not only aliens, but ones with powers, to see someone struggle with it.

Of course, that was when the truth was revealed and the beauty of the whole relationship was completely destroyed.  Noah being the fourth alien, the murderer, and on top of all that having latched onto Isobel’s mind like a leech since she was fourteen?  There was no coming back from that, everything that made the ship beautiful wasn’t only a lie - it was actually Noah manipulating and abusing Isobel.

The reveal of the betrayal is very dramatic, and Karan Oberoi’s performance as the evil version of Noah is flawless.  Isobel’s confrontations with him in mindscape, both at Max’s house and before his death, are incredible scenes.  I can’t fault the storytelling there.

But I will never be over the “Could have been” because ships like Nobel aren’t common.  Committed relationships are rarely shown in a positive light.  In fact, writers seem to go out of their way to never show them as sexy or happy, but rather to show a relationship going “stale” with affairs being the most common plot they throw at every committed couple they bother to put on the screen.  Even then, the relationships are often for side or minor characters, never the more main ones.  I’ve even seen other fans of various shows ask, but what would they do with these characters if they’re in a committed relationship?  Um… exactly what they do with the characters who aren’t.  Given them plots.  Y’know, the whole non-relationship part of the show?  And how would them being in a committed relationship take away from dramatic moments like injury or kidnapping or loss?  It really wouldn’t - they could have all those same things happen.

With Nobel, they initially presented us with a pairing that was sexy, sweet, communicated, and whose relationship did and would continue to have their own set of struggles as events and truths unfolded around them.  It was gorgeous, and so rare, and, no, I’ll never be over losing that.

[takaraphoenix]

Review: Aladdin (2019)

Let me preface this by saying I had no plans of watching this movie at all. I absolutely loathe these cheap cash-crap remakes (not a typo, an intentional pun...) that Disney has been dashing out. The only one that was remotely enjoyable so far was Jungle Book, and with this year's line-up in particular I was sure I'd just... not watch any of them. As it stands, I wouldn't touch Dumbo with an oven-mitt and that Lion King thing looks way too cringeworthy.

Aladdin however did one thing in the trailer that made me go “oh”. One thing the other two didn't do – Dumbo went way too far away from the original while Lion King was just shot-by-shot the exact same damn movie as the animated classic, minus the emotions. But Aladdin seemed to stay true to the original animated movie while still giving it its original spin.

Will Smith. That's what I'm talking about. I mean, come on, Lion King literally cast the same dude to play Mufasa as the original because they're so afraid that people will compare the two movies, it's really messed up. And Robin Williams is... dead. We lost an amazing actor there, but it left Disney with a challenge. And I was really afraid they'd just try to imitate Robin.

The trailer alone however already showed that Will was going to give the movie his own spin. And, full disclosure, growing up, there were exactly two actors who got my butt in seats. Jackie Chan, Robin Williams and Will Smith. Those three? Didn't even need to know what a movie was about, as long as it featured them, it was going to be great. And while Will has... lost my good will over the years with questionable recent movies, I'll always have a baseline trust in him though and somehow the fact that he replaces another of my favorite childhood actors... He's the one who made me willing to give this movie a chance. That being said, gods I'm still sad about Robin's death.

Now to move on to the actual movie!

I'm a bit disappointed that Will sand the opening number and didn't turn it into a rap. But... the way he sings it makes me feel very... nostalgic. Not in a “urgh I want the original instead”, but in the way it's intended. That he is telling me this story I love.

...Uhm. Huh. Them just throwing Jasmine into the market-place with zero “introduction of Jasmine” scene beforehand? It's really weird, to be quite honest. I mean, everybody knows that scene because everybody knows the original movie, but still you shouldn't eclipse important scenes. Also yes, obviously am I going to compare it to the original. And the market-place scene is my favorite Aladdin/Jasmine scene – the playfulness of her playing crazy and the pure humor and immediate chemistry between the characters is what made me like them as a couple from the get-go. This new... order. And how he just immediately, two seconds after meeting her asks her to trust him and she has that “we slow down the movie, play a bit music as she stares in awe at him” moment? That... was too soon.

I think that changing the Jafar-Sultan dynamic so fundamentally wasn't a good idea. A huge part of it was that Jafar had wormed his way into the Sultan's mind even without the magic already. Here, the Sultan very clearly and loudly objects to Jafar while Jafar seems more like a... joke. The fact that they cast a rather neutral pretty boy instead of the tall, looming villainous villain doesn't entirely help either.

I do however love the changes they did with Jasmine. It's not just about her not wanting to marry, but her wanting to become sultan. Giving her ambition. Giving her a solo number – oh, that song was awesome and the conversation with her servant afterward was great too, because for one, she isn't so isolated anymore and for another, it does sell her motivation. Also I love the additional character, she's very precious.

I'm very relieved that Iago still talks – and not just parrots but actually speaks freely. With the live-action movies, they have made some dubious decisions before so part of me was afraid he'd just be A Bird (if he would even be in the movie).

At this point, I definitely do have to compliment the cast. Both Naomi Scott and Mena Massoud are really great in this – especially Mena brings such a good energy to the role! He plays Aladdin so well? He has that slightly bumbling charming thief thing down to a T. Damn.

And while we're on it I LOVE WILL SMITH. He does his own thing with the Genie and that is really all I had hoped. Because while Aladdin and Jasmine and Jafar, they're just characters and you can get actors, but the Genie had very prominently been Robin Williams' character, he carried all of his personality so making anyone else impersonate Robin really wouldn't have worked. Will making the Genie all his character was a really good call. He's fun, his own thing, not a cheap copy.

And Will and Mena have great chemistry! They play off each other so well, watching their dynamic is a lot of fun and that's... absolutely serving the movie.

...I dunno though, the whole “you have to rub the lamp while making the wish”, that's... weird. The lamp-rub should summon the Genie. This is kind of a strange change.

And while I vastly approve of the more accurate wardrobe, it really irritates me that for the majority of the movie, Jasmine isn't even at least wearing her signature color. At least during the dinner, she's wearing them – and I love the outfit. It's incredibly gorgeous.

I did not... If anyone had told me “they'll make a live-action remake and the Genie will get an OC girlfriend. And you're gonna love it”... I would have laughed in their faces?? But I genuinely love the new character, she is so adorable and I love this Will, this is the Will Smith of my childhood. They're actually, genuinely adorable??

And the change of making the head-guard... more than just the angry asshole. Making Jasmine talk to him about loyalty and change sides? That was a really powerful scene. Genuinely glad they removed the rapey “let's put Jasmine into a slave-girl outfit with shackles and all” scene...

Overall, I have to say that... they balanced it really well? They got a strong cast and found a great middle-ground between keeping things in line with the original and adding/updating things. Sure, some minor parts bothered me (seriously, that market-place scene was important to me), but all in all, the movie was actually really good?

I laughed so much during this movie. Mena, Will and Naomi are absolutely amazing, the comedy is great, which is highlighted by Mena's delivery and Will's quips and their dynamic with each other, while Naomi plays the straight woman so good. The cast is the heart of this movie, truly.

(There is just the same old issue as with the old one; that Genie has to force saving Aladdin into a wish for plot convenience. It was stupid the first time around already because the Genie keeps doing Aladdin favors – in this movie even more so than in the animated one. Distracting the handmaiden, making the country appear on a map, how were those two favors he could do without a wish but saving Aladdin's life...? Not that one??)

[jcmorrigan]

I agree with your Sora rant. It's like they were so busy shoving SoKai down our throats (not that I'm against Kairi but it seriously effected her character too) that the Sora we know got lost.

           You’re right, but there’s actually more to it than that. You know what? I’m gonna spell out my Sora rant here and give it the proper tags so I can get this opinion out there.

           The forced romance is perhaps the most offensive of the missteps, and I love both Sora and Kairi so much that it hurts to see how they got wrecked by it. I’ll touch upon how that affected Sora here, but trust me, its effect on Kairi was horrible in a completely different way. I think we all know how well that went. The thing is, I’m basically a SoRiku or bust type of person, but I’m also a ship-and-let-ship sort. Up until now, the KH series did a good job at building great friendships that had subtext all over, and people were allowed to choose without much argument. Did you want to ship SoKai? SoRiku? RokuShi? RokuNami? NamiShi? TerrAqua? Nothing’s stopping you! I just…don’t believe canon shipping belongs in Kingdom Hearts when it comes to characters who aren’t on the Disney side of the spectrum (obviously I wouldn’t want to remove the Aladdin/Jasmine or Ariel/Eric plots, which are not only important to the films’ integrity but also time-tested successes that mean things to those who grew up with those films).

           But let’s talk about Sora first and foremost, and I’m actually going to save the SoKai for last. Because there’s more to talk about here. I went back over cutscene comps from both III and DDD for a little experiment. I’m just going to describe things in text here, but trust me, the images speak for themselves if you want to look them up. I used DDD as my “control” for Sora as it was, before III, the latest Sora in time – the one who had developed most as a character. I have yet to test 1, CoM, or II against III, but they shouldn’t matter as much as DDD, as DDD features a Sora who’s grown through the characterization in all of those games. III should have built on DDD.

           Let’s go.

THE THEME OF FRIENDSHIP AND KINDNESS

           Sora in DDD is a firm believer in the power of friendship. No, seriously, he mentions it every five minutes to the point where it’s easily parodied. And, in fact, canon does so in an important way. The scene that stands out to me is his arrival in Traverse Town, where he meets Neku Sakuraba and immediately decides they’re friends. Neku scoffs, saying it’s impossible for them to be friends after a short time and telling Sora that he can’t trust every stranger he meets.

           Why this stands out to me is because it actually turns out to be a mistake on Neku’s part rather than a pointing out of a legitimate criticism of Sora. And given exactly what this criticism was about – namely, forming positive bonds and devoting yourself to caring about another person, with your best foot forward – I think this was actually a great little arc for Sora and Neku to go through. Neku turns out to be after his own agenda, willing to trick Sora in order to get it, though he regrets he has to do so. Sora forgives him once he knows that Neku just wanted to reunite with Shiki. After all, people do crazy things for their friends, and that’s okay. When Sora collides with Neku, he brings with him a concept Neku is unfamiliar with. Knowing Neku from original TWEWY canon, Neku’s core is about learning to come out of his shell of negativity and see the value in others and the world around him. Sora is hitting him with the extreme of this result – an ideal where every stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet, and kindness always pays off. This seems impossible for Neku, but by the end of that first Traverse Town visit, he learns that Sora was right to bring him this message. Neku is better off now for knowing someone who was willing to put that much trust in him and help him out with a seemingly impossible task, and now he can pass a little piece of that on to someone else.

           I think that’s a cool message for us to take into real life. It’s obviously not applicable in the literal sense. Not everyone’s gonna get along, and there are people out there who will have ethical divides we can’t bridge. But for that reason, it’s wonderful to have an escapist fantasy where every new person you meet brings new value to your life, and it’s nice to take just a little bit of that attitude into your life – why not think the best of new people?

           This theme continues throughout DDD. Sora declares himself friends with most of the people he meets, and Mickey is even the first to bring this up in Symphony of Sorcery, already feeling that they have a connection that will go places. Beyond that, Sora is always volunteering to assist. When Neku mentions he’s having trouble with the Reaper’s Game, Sora admits he doesn’t have any idea what Neku’s talking about, but he sees a problem and asks if he can help. This is how he approaches pretty much everyone in DDD. He sees people in trouble or people struggling emotionally and he offers a hand or a listening ear.

           Contrast his actions in Corona and you’ll find a stark difference. He barely invests in introducing himself to Rapunzel or Eugene, regarding them pleasantly enough but not really inviting them into his circle. It’s in fact Eugene that breaks the ice here, deciding the SDG trio is now his “sidekicks.”

           Where this feels offensive is when Sora contests this label on multiple occasions. I might be all right with this if it were a playful competition for who is labeled the brains of the operation, the way that II Sora would declare himself good enough to be king or decide he’s cut out for pirate life. However, it seems more like Sora is legitimately angry that Eugene decided not only to rope Sora into an unknown mission but also set him as the second banana. This couldn’t be more different from the Neku interaction in such a bizarre way. DDD Sora would protest a little at being sidekick, but say he’s happy to help anyway and that he’s glad to have met “Flynn.” (Sidenote: Eugene himself is wonderful during this scene, and Zachary Levi kills the delivery in such a way that you really do know he was hyped to be involved with this franchise. I think that kind of distracted me from seeing these problems at first.)

           Eugene goes on to explain that he’s bringing Rapunzel to see the floating lights because she really, really wants it to the point of it being her “dream.” He then says that he can be the guide through the forest if Sora, Donald, and Goofy take care of the Heartless. To this, Donald says that they are heroes, and Goofy backs them up that they’re Heartless experts. Sora offers nothing but a “Leave it to us.”

           There’s no mention of helping Rapunzel achieve her dream, or knowing what it’s like to have one. They’re not doing this out of kindness. They’re doing this because “We’re heroes.” Because it’s an obligation. Because it’s the “right thing” to do, and that’s what they always do. There’s no passion behind this commitment at all. Now, for Donald, I buy it. Donald has always been a Jerk With a Heart of Gold. It’s his charm. Goofy? A little more suspect. Goofy is all heart and sympathy with a clumsy exterior, but then again, there’s a lot of room for interpretation with him. Sora, though? Think back to Neku or later Rhyme. Sora should be jumping at the opportunity to help Rapunzel achieve her dream.

           Which brings us to the next and larger flaw…

INTERNAL VS. EXTERNAL FOCUS

           Sora’s character in DDD is almost fully focused on what’s going on around him. He arrives in Traverse Town to find the TWEWY cast there and suffering their own problems. So he jumps right into the fray to help out. Every move he makes is directed by what he needs to do in order to help them: find Rhyme, chase the black-coated man, trust Neku. He came here in the first place to unlock a Sleeping World, but that seems to Sora to be a secondary agenda to what’s going on with that world’s denizens.

           This keeps true with the other worlds he visits. Every time, he has a job: unlock the Keyhole. But he doesn’t gun right for that Keyhole. He instead immerses into what’s going on around him. Quasimodo was frightened away from the Feast of Fools, so let’s deal with that. Mickey is hypnotized in a dream, so let’s get a Sound Idea to defeat the Spellican and wake him up. Why are we after a Spellican, anyway? Because the people in a world we already visited need to beat it in order to complete the Reaper’s Game, which has ZERO to do with our quest. Sora almost never focuses on himself, but instead on the others around him.

           This is seen from the very beginning. When he and Riku meet with Yen Sid, Yen Sid points out that they need to earn Mastery. Two important things happen here. First of all, Sora does stick up for himself and claim he’s good enough – very confidently and sincerely. He knows he’s good enough for Mastery and has no question about it. Save this for later. Second, when it becomes clear that Riku has doubts, Sora’s focus shifts immediately. It’s no longer about “Why test me?” but about “My friend thinks he can’t pass, but I know he can, so I need to help both him and our teacher realize that.” And even though he immerses himself in the problems of so many others throughout DDD, not a single world passes without him bringing up how much he couldn’t do this without Riku and he believes in Riku. Sora’s heart encompasses everyone, but if you’re his friend, you get a SPECIAL place and you don’t get lost in the shuffle (and this game is actually what really put me on the SoRiku ship so hard).

           Now, let’s look at III. Sora’s quest begins because he has been stripped of his abilities, which is a must-have for any new game starring him so the player can level up in the process. It’s game design. But this has happened to Sora in three other games: CoM, II, and DDD. In all of those, not much focus is given to this device, and he just goes about learning his abilities as they come. However, this time, where it’s never happened before, Sora is suddenly fixated on how “weak” he is without his powers. His quest begins because he seeks to get stronger and achieve the Power of Waking. The story structure is awkward overall regarding the Power of Waking, as every interlude features Yen Sid reminding Sora of its importance and Sora acknowledging it without any real progress being made toward his learning it.

           When Sora arrives on Olympus with this in mind, the difference is horribly stark from the way he approaches Traverse Town in DDD. When he reunites with Hercules (which has considerably less sentiment than the similar scene in II), he doesn’t really talk about being gung-ho about saving Thebes from destruction. He kinda just points out that this is Hades’ doing and gets to work. With Neku, he talked sincerely about how he wanted to help. Here, again, it seems out of obligation: I’m a hero. It’s what I do.

           Moreover, there’s now so much focus on his lost power. He fixates on it. Asking Hercules about it in the middle of Thebes’ collapse is…not the worst of sins, but a little odd. The rest of this world, however, is scene after scene of Sora reacting to his loss of power rather than the destruction around him and the connections he can forge. A particularly telling scene is when Pete teases him about his lost power, and Sora is hurt. Another is where an original NPC is saved by Sora and taunts him about not being as good as Hercules, and Sora is offended. While this is relatable to the player audience, it doesn’t quite jive with the Sora who proclaimed he didn’t need Mastery because he knew he was good enough and who started three other games at square one without being bothered. This is also the first time since DDD we’ve had a plot where Sora’s conflict revolves around what’s going on inside himself rather than integrating into the environment around him.

           It’s not a bad thing to put characters through the paces with self-examination. However, Sora was fully self-actualized as of DDD. The writers actively and consciously set him a step back for III and undid his own development. This is potentially to make him seem more “dynamic” and “three-dimensional” when it really just doesn’t feel like Sora.

           This gets incredibly insulting when over the course of that one world alone, Sora learns pretty much every new ability needed for this game except the Power of Waking. So Pete’s insult really only stung for about an hour and then became moot.

           Corona also stands out to me because there, Sora doesn’t interact much with Rapunzel upon meeting her. What he does do is hang back with Donald and Goofy and talk about how he knows how she feels, being scared of the world…which he transitions into talking about how Donald and Goofy really helped him during his scary time. Notice what’s missing here? Any engagement of Rapunzel in this conversation and an attempt to bridge their gap by connecting over this shared experience. Sora has taken Rapunzel’s problem and used it to talk about his own instead. Why is this especially odd? Because the factor here being sympathized over is “fear of the outside world” and being confined until you get thrust into a bigger adventure. In DDD, Quasimodo embodied the same concept. Instead of making Quasimodo’s problem about himself, Sora took it upon himself to use his experience to inspire Quasimodo, encouraging him to step outside the cathedral walls and not give up on his dreams.

           As for his close friends, you will every now and then get a scene that compares something he sees to a memory of a friend – Elsa and Anna remind him of both Riku and Kairi. But he doesn’t talk about how they affect him at all. And in a game that both follows up on the Riku worship of DDD and is determined to shoehorn a Kairi romance into the ending sequence, both of these characters should be coming to Sora’s lips a lot more. He should be talking about how “You remind me of someone I know – I should introduce you!” or “You know you can count on your canon friend because Riku and Kairi helped me through these hard times.” Even using Donald and Goofy in that role would make more sense, but they seem more tacked on than anything.

SORA’S ENTHUSIASM

           Sora in DDD is awed by every new experience. Look no further than the first Traverse Town visit, yet again, where he first sees the new districts and cries out “Never been this way before! Ooh, what’s that?”. This is a town he spent a long time in over the course of KH1, and the prospect of finding a new street in a familiar place is magical to him.

           Compare Corona again. When he comes upon Rapunzel’s tower, he does remark, “Wow, a tower!”, but in a very deflated tone compared to his excitement over Traverse Town. And if Quinton Flynn’s delivery is anything to go by, this was the one game in years where the voice actors could finally have free reign without having to struggle to match lip movements. (Seriously, track Quinton’s voice acting performance over the course of the series. It’s a hilarious fluctuation between flawlessness in II and III and utter crashing and burning in every interquel.)

           More condemning, however, is his reaction to the kingdom of Corona itself. This comes from a personal place. Corona is one of my favorite Disney environments. I’ve always wished I could visit it because it’s designed so beautifully. When Sora beholds the island from afar, he says…nothing. It’s Rapunzel who remarks how she’s finally close to her dream, and she thanks Sora for getting her here. He still says nothing. This experience suddenly isn’t interesting to him at all.

           Sora’s silence is an interesting phenomenon. During DDD, he’s constantly self-narrating. He chats with other characters a lot. He even says some lines that are a little superfluous, indicating where he wants to go next and basically spelling out where the player should turn their attention by talking about what in the area is interesting. But that fits with his enthusiastic character.

           In III, he’s quieter. Obviously, giving him party members Donald and Goofy back means he has to divide his dialogue, but there’s a lot of space where they get more to say than he does. (Possibly a disagreement between Disney and Square over whose characters should have more screen time? Please take this theory with a grain of salt.) And then you have scenes like approaching Corona, where he just doesn’t say a word to Rapunzel. Not a “You’re welcome” or an “I’m glad we got you to your dream” or ANYTHING. It’s like he not only doesn’t care about seeing a new place, but doesn’t care about how much it means to his new friend. Which is heartbreaking compared to his previous behavior.

           Also, his smiles are less often and less sincere. A nervous smile he gives Frollo when trying not to get in trouble is happier and brighter than a legitimate smile he gives Eugene when promising to guide Rapunzel to Corona, and when Eugene says he “couldn’t have done it without my sidekicks,” Sora doesn’t even smile at him.

           One other thing to note – I actually did catch this as a little odd on my first III playthrough, but compounded with this, it now seems very suspect. The Monstropolis transformation is the first time Sora has found one of his own transformations ugly/frightening. In the past, he’s barely minded becoming a merman, a lion, a digital program…and, in the case of Halloween Town, which he visited twice, a literal monster. There’s no reason he should be more frightened of himself in Monstropolis than Halloween Town. Moreover, it implies he finds the monsters of Monstropolis creepier than anyone else he’s met – including the talking lions, the living skeleton, the Beast, the Disney anthros, the animate puppet, the merpeople, and the card soldiers. (You seriously think we’re not keeping track?)

THE FORCED ROMANCE PLOT

           Now, however, it’s time to talk about the largest nail in the Sora coffin: the last-minute SoKai plot.

           Like I said earlier, I wouldn’t have wanted any shipping plot here whatsoever. But let’s say it absolutely had to get done. Think back to KH1 or even II. In the first game, Kairi manifests as hallucinations for Sora, indicating that he thinks of her often. In II, he has flashbacks to her that are a little more involved and creative than just “Eugene hugging Rapunzel makes me think of Kairi’s face.” His reunion scenes with her in both feature actual conversations. And there’s also plenty of focus on Riku. Sora has two hands and two friends. Even if Kairi must be the love interest, Riku never gets the short end because of it. Sora will still cross the abyss to find him, sending Kairi home safe to the Destiny Islands so he can keep looking for a way to free Riku of his dark prison.

           In III, we’re strangely devoid of any reference to either of them besides short flashbacks. And since we’re focusing on Kairi, we’ll talk about her. Sora doesn’t even meet up with her between training sessions. She writes him letters she doesn’t send. They don’t even communicate until endgame triggers. Then, all of a sudden, she initiates the paopu. This is after having no communication for a LONG time, and we have no indication Sora had thought about her on his journey despite a few flashbacks. The paopu is supposed to unite your fates for life, and Sora just rushes right into it.

           This is where it should’ve really started to sink in that the SoKai romance was just a series of rushed death flags to get you sad when Kairi finally got slashed. Why they went with the Kairi “death” still escapes me, but if I had to guess, I’d say that ever since Aerith Gainsborough’s death made everyone flabbergasted, Square Enix has been trying to pull the same gambit in order to capture that lightning in a bottle. Take a look at Lunafreya Nox Fleuret for evidence that supports this theory.

           Every interaction Sora has with her from that point onward is far too hamfisted. When he tries to shield her from an incoming attack, it’s by hugging her. When in any and all other instances in the past, Sora would at least be savvy enough to leap in front of a person with Keyblade braced. (You can’t count on Goofy to do that for you all the time, bro.) When he flies with her through a void of little importance to get back to the Keyblade Graveyard, he tells her “I feel strong with you” even though they’ve fought together a total of once, and they both literally died in the attempt. Not even together. There is no reason for him to say he feels strong with her; we’ve never seen her make him strong. We’ve seen her appeal to his heart, listen to him, vow to protect him and be strong when he can’t, work to reunite him with Riku, sympathize with his goals, chat and laugh with him. There are so many other themes you could pick here and they went right for the one that makes the least sense but the most automatic association with romance in a “tell-don’t-show” space. Kairi “holding him together” in the Final World is a completely skippable fact for some reason, and also is not anything any mortal should be able to do by KH logic as of yet.

           Then, finally, he watches Kairi die, and it breaks him. And it sure broke the audience and got them talking, all right, but not about how great Aerith 3.0 was. (Note: still unconfirmed on that theory.) Sora’s a big old mess of angry tears, all right. And this directly leads to him exiting stage left at the end of the story because he has to find Kairi alone.

           So the romance was forced rather than fleshed in order to build up to a shocking scene, relying upon keywords to initiate clichés rather than showing any actual buildup of communication, teamwork, or trust. We can all see how this negatively affected Kairi; essays have already been composed. But how does this turn SORA for the worse?

           Well, for one, his sudden laser focus on Kairi makes him unable to really care for anyone else. Riku gets the worst of it. I absolutely hated how, after the first mass murder via Demon Tornado, Sora cried to Riku that “all” of his friends had died and he had no one left. We all know that scene was playing up Kairi. He was crying over Kairi. And in doing so, he happened to imply to Riku that Riku wasn’t valuable enough to be as missed as those lost. Sora lost them “all.” The fact that Riku is there doesn’t mean anything. He has no one left. He has Riku. Riku is no one. Later, when Kairi is lost out there, Sora eschews Riku’s help completely, which is probably to set the stage for whatever installment comes next. However, like the rest of the SoKai scenes, this is rushed, so much so that it sounds like Sora is just disregarding Riku’s counsel entirely and has decided to abandon him in favor of seeking Kairi. Not to mention everyone else in that scene.

           Then the fact that Sora gives in to proclaiming it’s love so fast gives me some bad vibes. Kairi hasn’t done much to engage with him on an emotional level as of recently. It almost seems shallow for him to accept the paopu under those circumstances – like he’s a teenage boy chasing a pretty girl rather than a friend acknowledging a friend as more than a friend. And that’s how it looks to me through the rest of the ending sequence. (If you know who my favorite DanganRonpa character is, you can see how I might be used to looking for the signs of this phenomenon.) Think of this in conjunction for how Sora has failed to be other-focused and instead looking to increase his own strength and confidence. Is he ready to give everything up to Kairi? Is he the kind of person who she could count on? He would’ve been in DDD. He also would’ve been the sort of person to balance this out with his friendship with Riku.

           The Sora I knew had some growing up to do, but by DDD, he’s self-actualized. He’s confident in his own abilities, even if he has to start from square one. Now his primary motivation is to help others with their problems, especially if those people are his close friends, for whom he is ride or die. Every new experience is magic to him. As of III, Sora now seems insecure, focused on himself, and distant from his friends, including the one he actually does “die” for. The worlds he visits and the friends he makes are means to an end, and hold less magic to him than before, even standing out as negatively bizarre in some cases. III’s Sora does not feel like the same person at all, and this groundwork was laid ingame long before he accepted Kairi’s paopu.

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Movie Review: Aladdin (Spoilers)

Spoiler Warning: I am posting this review a few days after the movie is first released in the U.K, so if you haven’t yet seen the movie do not read on until you have.

Characters:

I just want to clarify as it may not have come across in my non-spoiler review, I really enjoyed this movie. I think, once you get yourself out of the mindset that this movie needs comparison to the original animated movie, it’s a very fun and immersive movie with rather vibrant characters that echo their original animated counterparts.

As usual, this list will be in order of my favourites and not of their role in the movie for reasons I will go into with each character.

Jasmine:

By far and away Jasmine is my favourite character in this movie. Naomi Scott elevates the already well-established ethnic princess and gives her both a purpose and a story outside of her romance with Aladdin.

The romance is still there and is also elevated from the original animated version, but the fact that Guy Ritchie and the writers give Jasmine her own arc in the movie of wanting to rule Agrabah so she can better help her people was a great way to take the character without making her way too much of a feminist princess as Emma Watson’s Belle was.

I really loved the running theme of Jafar and even The Sultan pretty much dismissing Jasmine’s political ideas as the wimperings of a woman which led to Jasmine eventually having the courage to speak up and be heard by convincing Hakim the guard to stand by her.

I did feel that her new song, which was used a couple of times throughout the movie, was a great fit for the character and her development in the movie, even though the styling of the song didn’t really fit with the Arabian theme.

I really enjoyed the twist the movie took on Jasmine taking to the streets in peasant form, not only was her styling clearly more royal than her peasant disguise in the animated movie which I am glad Aladdin commented on, but the fact she went so far as to pretend to be her handmaiden not only when they first meet but also when Aladdin visits her at the palace made for a comedic spin on things.

But also we are pretty much introduced to Jasmine as soon as we are Aladdin in this remake so, if for some reason you were unaware Naomi Scott was playing Jasmine in the movie you would believe what she was saying.

I really loved her styling in this movie, Naomi Scott is a very beautiful woman and this movie highlights that. While I think her turn in Power Rangers gave her a grungy rocker look, being an Arabian princess obviously gives the actress the chance to look glamorous, but that’s not all she was which worked well for her.

But in terms of her outfits, she had a couple of distinctive looks. But the character’s classic attire does make an appearance during the A Whole New World scene but I do not know if that means it’s supposed to be undergarments or not, because while she’s wearing that pink dress that she first wore when meeting Prince Anders and then again at the climax of the movie, it did look as if the turquoise leggings from that outfit were under the dress.

Rajah was used very well in this movie, I didn’t really understand why everyone was calling him a cat rather than a tiger but I guess having a pet cat is easier to believe than a pet tiger.

I really liked it when he showed his aggression towards Prince Anders and Jafar, they do say cats can sense evil, I’m not saying Anders is evil but he isn’t right for Jasmine as Rajah knew because he was loving towards Aladdin even disguised as Prince Ali.

Also when Jafar ordered Jasmine be removed from the palace and Rajah instantly went on the defensive and warned off the guards away from his master, that was just really good to see. I’m not saying it wouldn’t have been nice to see Jafar turn him into a kitten, but what we got elevated the character more than the animated movie did.

Genie:

I am not saying I take back any negative thoughts I had about Will Smith’s Genie look from that teaser that dropped, but I almost forgive it because I enjoyed Will Smith in this movie so much.

Okay yes, as the big blue Genie, the CGI was wonky and disproportioned the character’s body so much. However, Will Smith’s charisma and comedy really shined through and almost distracted me fully from that.

Some of my funniest moments in this movie came from him, I am not a big Will Smith fan but in recent years, more specifically with Suicide Squad and now this, I can actually see what others see in him because when he’s invested in a role he is invested.

One of my favourite scenes is when Prince Ali first meets the Sultan and Jasmine and while Mena Massoud’s comedy is there and is meant to fall flat, Genie is just standing there so poised yet internally he is screaming. I loved how he was essentially telling Aladdin what to say which I guess is the point of an adviser to a prince but Aladdin quite clearly had no clue as he stayed too focused on jams and went so far as to say he wanted to buy Jasmine.

I also loved in that same scene when Aladdin is trying to laugh off his own stupidity and keeps slapping Genie on the back, Genie just grins and says “Don’t touch me”, I would have been him in that situation because yeah you are already dying so why make it worse.

Then the party scene which I think directly follows that scene, Genie just becomes such a diva as when he discovers Aladdin has never been to a party he just turns and says “Alright then you need to leave as you’re not ruining this for me”. I love it.

This Genie did seem to emphasise more of his development and backstory than the Robin Williams version did. All we know about the animated Genie is that he wants to be free, here he has a love story and you feel the weight of the centuries he has been slave to the lamp.

Then with explaining the rules of the genie, again he did a better job here than the original animated movie did because it seemed to answer a few plot holes that the original had, for example the importance of being specific with wishes because “I wish for you to make me a prince” could literally be the genie creating a random prince for Aladdin. I also love that theme of grey areas around wishing that came back nicely in the climax.

Then of course the moral of this movie, and the original to a degree, is being true to who you are will win you the day was utilized brilliantly here. The added commentary of Genie asking Aladdin why he wants to become a prince in Jasmine already likes him as him as well as the line about Genie changing Aladdin on the outside but not the inside, but then they go further than they did in the original Aladdin with having this Aladdin actually buying his own con of thinking he is a prince and that’s why he has to break his promise to Genie to set him free on his third wish.

It is the same thing that happens in the original but here from the end of A Whole New World where Aladdin starts saying “Actually I kind of am a prince now” and Genie just says “Oh okay, you’re going to drink from that cup” it just seems as though Aladdin is being taken in by the power he has despite him being so sure that he’s not that type of guy.

Also the fact Genie has a love story in this movie so he finds a purpose after being freed rather than just “off to see the world” was rather nice. I also thought that his chemistry with Dalia was very sweet. It did mirror the Aladdin/Jasmine relationship rather well but the fact that we know to expect that relationship as opposed to this new one made it that much more interesting.

Will Smith’s rapping has always been part of his charm dating back to The Fresh Prince of Bel Air but here and now with Will putting his own musical spin on all these classic songs was interesting to see. On the whole I enjoyed what he did with them but I’m not about to say they were as good as the original, save for Arabian Nights in the opening.

His reasoning for remaining in human form here was a lot more organically done than say Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. When he looked like Will Smith it was because he was in disguise as Prince Ali’s adviser and then at the end of the movie it turns out that is him when he’s human.

Dalia:

With Dalia, my love of her kind of ties in with both Jasmine and Genie so it makes sense that she is third, but a lot of that is also because Nasim Pedrad gives a scene-stealing performance to a role that fans dismissed as “Why does Jasmine need a handmaiden and why is she so prominent in the promotions?” Watch the movie and you will know why.

I loved the comedic charm and genuine likeability that Dalia had here, not only in interactions with Jasmine but also the Genie.

First of all, I knew that Genie’s wife in the opening scene who had her back to the audience was Dalia. Not only with how the woman looked but also why keep her secret unless it was going to be a reveal at some point in the movie?

Now granted, I did not think that Genie was going to have a love interest in the movie but I am glad he did, I am also glad that Dalia wasn’t just the handmaiden or the love interest but she stood out as her own person. Granted we don’t know anything about her character other than being a handmaiden or love interest but she’s shown as a good friend to Jasmine and able to hold her own against both Genie and Aladdin.

I really loved her reaction to when Genie made it known to her that he was interested in her and she remained having a composed exterior until she closed the door, turned to Jasmine and acted like a teenager. Also the scene when we first meet her and she has to act as Princess Jasmine but doesn’t quite understand that’s what she has to do and Nasim Pedrad really sells that scene.

Also my favourite line of hers is right at the end when Genie asks her if he’ll travel the world with him and she responds with “When do we leave also I want children”...if someone said that to me I would not be so sure of their sanity but the fact the Genie is over 10,000 years old it’s understandable that he is okay with that.

Aladdin:

Now as for our titular hero, Mena Massoud does a great job at looking like Aladdin and almost sounding like Aladdin. But there is something missing from his performance that makes it seem disjointed in places.

I think the direction they wanted to take this version of the character in was to try and make him a rogue, which it could be argued the original was in the same way that Han Solo or Jack Sparrow are, but then all that goes as soon as he gets his wish to be a prince and then it just becomes more about his ego being inflated.

I get being poor and living in a hovel he’d want to cling on to the taste of the good life he got, but Genie kept telling him and the character of Aladdin is so likeable because he has a good heart and is only deceitful to get the foot in the door, like Genie said Aladdin has to open it and go in.

On the positives, I did like how street savvy they made him, not only in knowing where Jasmine should go when they’re running away from that merchant but also in how he potentially rigged up that pulley staircase to his home.

It reminded me of Belle with her inventions in the live-action Beauty and the Beast. I know they didn’t focus on that aspect of him as much but it was good that this movie focused on his more intuitive side than the original animated version did in making him just seem to stumble into these things.

His styling was interesting, it wasn’t the small hat and shirtless vest look that he had in the animated version but I think it was a more authentic and appropriate outfit for a live-action movie.

His Prince Ali attire, may be more culturally appropriate than how it was in the animated movie, although it did look similar, but I just missed the big blue feather and the cape-like back to the outfit.

I thought Aladdin’s interactions were Abu were very genuine, Mena Massoud acting as if he was actually talking to a monkey was very believable. I did love it when Abu picked up that ruby and his eyes went almost exactly like they did in the animated movie was rather funny.

Carpet didn’t get much screen-time here but then again he didn’t really have much screentime in the original either. It did seem as if he was always either getting stuck or tangled by something, but aside from that there wasn’t really much to him.

Although I did find it interesting during A Whole New World how Carpet needed to be steered because being a sentient magical being you would think Jasmine literally taking the reigns would be slightly degrading.

Overall I feel Mena Massoud was a good fit for the character but probably not the best choice out there. He had a great look and winning smile but there just seemed something disjointed personality wise.

Jafar:

Jafar was the biggest problem for me in the movie. Right from when Marwan Kenzari was cast I knew I wasn’t going to be on board with this version of the character.

The problem is, Kenzari could have been a great villain if this wasn’t Aladdin and he wasn’t portraying one of the best Disney villains of all-time. In the way that Mena Massoud had the look and charm of Aladdin down, Kenzari did not look like Jafar, sound like Jafar or act like Jafar should.

They did go in a different direction with the character which is something I think fitting for this version. Having a bit of a back-story revealed with Jafar starting off as a thief but then becoming the Royal Vizor was a great commentary on the kind of life Aladdin could have had if he went down a certain route.

Also the line Jafar had of “Steal an apple you’re a thief, steal a kingdom you’re a conqueror” was a great line and delivered rather well.

I did enjoy the new political elements that they had in the movie, whereas in the original Jafar was the way he was because he simply wanted to be Sultan for the power, here he wanted to invade Jasmine’s mother’s kingdom and have Agrabah be the main kingdom of power.

I didn’t know what to make of Iago, I did feel the loss of Gilbert Godfried but I don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing. This movie did make Iago be more like an average parrot which I guess was a good move rather than having him talking as freely as the human characters, also he did seem more sinister rather than a comedic character.

The fact that the climax of the movie we didn’t get Jafar as a giant snake and instead having a giant Iago as the predator in quite a brilliant carpet chase to get the lamp was an interesting choice. I like the fact again that they made Iago more villainous but Jafar turning into the snake before turning into the Red Genie is so iconic that I don’t know if I miss it or not.

As for Jafar’s motivations in the movie, I did genuinely feel like this Jafar was having a tantrum whenever he didn’t get his way like when he first meets Aladdin as Prince Ali, loved him being illuminated by the red firework by the way, and Ali is trying to get away and Jafar snaps, if that were me I’d be thinking “Yeah you’re unhinged”.

The “second best” theme that ran through the movie for Jafar was well done, from the start of the movie when his henchmen are bringing him “ruffs” rather than the diamond in the ruff that he needs for the Cave of Wonders and he was getting frustrated because he sought out the lamp and needed the diamond to do it and yet when his one henchman is saying “What’s so wrong with second?” and Jafar just ranted about how he must be first.

Then at the end when Aladdin calls back to the “second best” remark as he does in the animated movie which leads Jafar to wish himself into being a Genie, it did seem more organic but in terms of this version of the character it just seemed as if “Baby wants his lamp, baby wants the power” rather than a formidable opponent that he is in the animated movie.

Others:

There weren’t that many more characters to focus on, the three that stood out were Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, who I know is supposed to be similar to Prince Achmed but was in it for longer than Achmed was, then Navid Negahban as the Sultan who was a lot more seriously than the cuddly comedic version from the animated movie and also Numan Acar as Hakim who was supposed to be Razoul the Palace Guard.

Songs:

Alright so I enjoyed all of the songs to some degree in this movie and as such rather than going Best, Worst and Mediocre. I will instead be talking about them in order of my favourites.

Speachless:

Speachless was my favourite song of the movie, not only do I love these types of empowerment songs but I feel rather than just having meaning of Jasmine’s feelings of oppression, the song applies to anyone with feelings of oppression.

Naomi Scott was a surprisingly brilliant singer and the fact the song was sung in two parts of the movie made for a great tease resulting in a great climax.

I also enjoyed the visuals of Jasmine in this dream state of seemingly banishing the guards away into dust.

Arabian Nights:

In terms of songs that were reworked from the original animated movie, Arabian Night was probably my favourite because of how it sets up the movie.

It isn’t as visually interesting as the original animated version because it doesn’t have the colour pallet of the Peddler going across the desert. However, the visual styling of the camera floating through the streets of Agrabah as if we as the audience were on the Magic Carpet was very cool.

Will Smith’s singing is best here, I don’t know what they do to it but for some reason his voice doesn’t sound like him here. Also the Arabian instruments being used to emphasise the grandeur of the number was great.

A Whole New World:

This is arguably the most romantic Disney duet out there and both Mena Massoud and Naomi Scott emphasise why.

Yes the scale of the number is toned down because rather than going to Egypt, Greece and China, they only seem to visit neighbouring countries. It was still great and the fact that they made clear that Jasmine doesn’t get out of the Palace at all helps with the fact that anything outside of Agrabah is a whole new world to her.

Also the singing is rather close to the original, yes Mena Massoud isn’t the best singer but it does match with the original version quite well. Naomi Scott again is the best part about this number.

Friend Like Me:

Alright so I have already stated and it is well established that Will Smith is not a naturally born singer, however I think he was helped out a lot by the fact that Friend Like Me is more of a talking-rap style song than it is an actual song, or at least this is how Smith himself saw it.

I loved the visuals, the differences in lyrics like when Genie went “Mr...uh what’s your name?” rather than “Mr. Aladdin sir” were good fits for the song and I really enjoyed Abu on the drums and Carpet with the maracas at the start of the number.

It visually had everything great about the original animated version, but with Will Smith’s own spin on it.

Prince Ali:

Again, everyone who has seen that clip they released prior to the movie will be hating on this number. I do agree this is the weakest in terms of Will Smith’s vocals, but I really like what he did as the Genie with the song.

Yes he wasn’t as zainy and didn’t interact with the crowd as much as the animated version did but again when you’re talking animation vs. live-action it’s always going to be a rough transition.

My favourite part was when he turned himself into a woman, again like the original animated version, but with a new comedic twist of having his veil torn off and revealing the beard. It was quite comedic.

One Jump Ahead:

Weakest number, weakest vocals. Mena Massoud tries and I give him credit for that but considering the energy the original version had, bearing in mind there isn’t really a lot that is visually difficult to transition from the animated version here, it’s really just the vocals that let it down.

I did like the fact Jasmine was involved in this number, not singing but she was in the scene and it’s almost like Aladdin was singing to her rather than just the audience.

That last line as well where originally Aladdin jumps out the window on that carpet but instead here he dumps the carpet and swings through the window to make it look like he fell through the roof, I liked the intuitiveness of it but the fact the song just ended simply on the note of “Jump!” rather than “Juuuuuuump!” left me a little bit underwhelmed.

Conclusion:

Do I think this is a perfect movie? No, it definitely has its problems as I have highlighted. However, while it doesn’t quite capture everything that makes the original so iconic, it still keeps the magic alive and has its own uniqueness which hopefully allows fans to appreciate both interpretations.

The acting is good in general with standouts being Will Smith, Naomi Scott and Nasim Pedrad. There are two brilliant bollywood-style dance scenes which are fantastic. The comedy is really well done particularly again from Will Smith and Nasim Pedrad.

Yes the villain is a letdown particularly being Jafar who is up there with Maleficent and Cruella as the best and baddest Disney villains, but hopefully it won’t be such a focus on that and more on the changes they made that are good, elevating Jasmine into a political leader rather than just someone who wants to make her own choices, Genie turning human and finding love, all these good elements really work.

Overall I rank the movie an 8/10, Jafar being weak did lower the score as well as the songs which again were good but not as strong as the original save for Arabian Nights and new song Speechless.

So that’s my review of Aladdin (2019) what did you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Disney Movie Reviews as well as other Movie Reviews and posts.

[eventuallyfail]

13 Envelopes

pairing: reader x lin summary: After graduating from UCLA, you would find any way to escape having to go back home. Lucky for you, your Aunt Jasmine Cephas Jones had organized a way for you to have the adventure you’d never gotten to have before. You’re ready to take her up on the offer. warnings: rpf (naturally), mentions of teen pregnancy

tagged: @defenestrate-yourself-please @andschuyler@linslovelylocks @elithepeali @sarahgurl09 @fancy-fighting-name a/n: I actually debated against posting this today. But the thing is that I feel weird about having more than two weeks between updates. And it’ll probably take another one to two weeks to take part eight where it needs to be taken to move the story forward because I’m trying to avoid stall outs in the story. Also they’re getting lengthier as time progresses because of the nature of the fact we’re starting to build to all the plot twists and stuff that I actually knew would happen in part one. I hope you guys like it and I’m sorry that I’m sporadic in updates and have no real activity to speak of in between updates.

(part one) (part two) (part three) (part four) (part five) (part six)

Envelope #7

The train ride back was quiet yet again but this time not because you had nothing to say. You had so much to say and not enough brain power to process everything you wanted to say. You wanted to talk about how your father had cheated but it somehow felt like just because you knew didn’t mean you had the right to breach that subject further. It seemed like you knew something you weren’t supposed to know. Parents were supposed to have the perfect relationship and yet… knowing your father had betrayed your mother’s trust cut too deep. You had this idea of your parents’ relationship. The idea was that it was rocky, but they had stuck together through everything. You thought about it in terms of before you knew and after you knew. You wondered how many arguments had the cheating at the root of it.

You’d learned how arguing worked at a young age. It started with something small, some sort of uttered frustration regarding the dishes, to the electric bill, to forgetting the exit on the highway. And then the other person digged back and eventually the minor reason the fight started blew up until the train ran off its tracks. Until neither could remember what either of them was fighting for and was yelling just to yell. Or maybe… it was screaming to be heard. Maybe your mother had always been screaming because no one could notice how hurt she was. It seemed to make more sense.

The last fight you’d witnessed between your parents, you saw your mother cry and your father stormed out. It was easy to decide you didn’t want to be around them anymore after that. You packed your bags the next day and went off to college without so much as a goodbye. Now that you knew the full story, you felt just a tad bit guilty. Perhaps you should’ve been there for your mother, perhaps you should’ve know. You wondered when it even happened – you couldn’t recall the obvious shift.

Midway through the trip, Jasmine gently reminded you could open envelope seven and you pulled it out your bag. She looked surprised you had it with you. You were surprised at the drawing – it was the perfect capture of you at fifteen in your homecoming dress. You didn’t think she’d cared enough to remember that.

Honey Bun,

I barely remember your mother in any way other than a mom. Anya had you at seventeen and I was barely two when you were born. The huge age difference between us already worked against us as sisters and it didn't help that Anya didn't like my mother. In a way, it was easy to view her as an aunt or something to that effect. It's why I grew up closer to you, honestly. It's easier to view you as more of a sister than my own sister which sucks a lot. It hurts to think that I should relate to her, understand her but I can’t. It’s this massive barrier between us.

What’s really upsetting is that there’s a distance between the two of us now. We grew up as sisters and now… it’s my fault, really. I’m the older one, I’m supposed to be the one who takes care of things. I’m supposed to be the one who’s always there for you and to advise you. It’s on me. And I’m sorry. I suppose that’s what this envelope is… an apology. Accepting responsibility for the wedge between us that exists now. I run away when it gets hard and that’s on me.

I don’t stop to think what my actions can affect other people. I know that I’ve been hard on your father, harder than I should be. I hope by now I’ve told you what happened with your father and your mother. It’s the real root of everything. And I’ll be honest: when my only relationship models have been Anya’s and the ones my dad has had… it’s no wonder that I’ve had difficulty managing any of my relationships. And I know that sounds like an excuse but I promise that it isn’t.

I feel like it’s really hard to come up with tasks for these envelopes so I think this will be another wild card. You’ve probably been in New York City for weeks by now. Do something you loved again – you’d be surprised how different something can feel when it’s in a different context. When you’ve completed that, you may open envelope eight. I hope by now… we’ve started to rebuild our relationship.

All my love, Aunt Jas

There were no answers. Nothing in it seemed to give a way to move forward and only suggested that you look back instead. You felt your heart thud and then you couldn’t feel it in your chest anymore. You were vaguely aware of existing as a person but it was like something disconnected, snipping you away from the reality of the moment. You could blame a lot of things but the truth was… feeling disconnected from the moment was something that happened a lot. Out of body experiences like this were surprising common. It was just getting swept up into thought as some vague idea was forming in the back of your mind. You couldn’t articulate it quite yet, but you just started vaguely drawing something on your thigh. You were pulled out when you heard Jasmine say your name and the bubble broke. You blinked before looking up and realized the stunned look on her face. “Sorry,” you said, the apology instinctive. “Just… got distracted.”

A pause before she said softly, “I didn’t know you knew how to draw.”

“I didn’t know you knew how to draw either,” you said as you awkwardly put your pen away, a flush on your face. “Suppose we’re both artists, then.”

It was such an awkward pause. There were a lot of unspoken things in the air. You supposed the more that you thought about it, the more you could’ve reached out. You could’ve tried to stay in touch with Jasmine. But you hadn’t. Neither of you made the effort. You could understand the effort behind this whole trip. And you found yourself grateful for the slow pace you were moving at. Once it was over, you couldn’t go back to this moment. Savoring the moment seemed like the obvious thing to do but it was rather hard to do. The more you try to hold onto to a moment, the more it vanished like sand between your fingertips.

You couldn’t figure out how you ended up back at the apartment you were sharing with Pippa. It was empty, as it had been for the past few weeks around this time. You’d gotten used to the emptiness the way one got used to an unpleasant smell. You’d never really been alone before. In Los Angeles, you shared your apartment with two other roommates and usually at least one of them was home. You supposed at least it was better than coming home to your parents screaming at each other and threatening to leave… or damage property, at the very least. When comparing the alone time to that, it wasn’t so bad. You supposed it was all about context.

The bed beckoned and you ended up changing into pajamas, wiping your makeup off and pulling your thick curls back into a high ponytail to keep the hair off your neck. It was still warm but you noticed Pippa had set up a fan in your room in your absence. It was a sweet gesture and you overthought what it meant – just something that your mind tended to do. You got lost in a first draft, words spilling out easier than they ever had.

You barely noticed the hours flying by as you wrote, captive in your own world. It became easier to float away. The city enveloped you like magic, holding you captive and creating an entire world around you. When the front door slammed, you jumped half a foot into the air and glanced at the clock. It was midnight. Suddenly the exhaustion set in and you set aside the laptop as you stretched out on the bed. If you didn’t go greet Pippa, you wouldn’t see her again until Monday. “Pip,” you said, a bright grin on your face. “It’s so good to see you again.”

She was clearly just as bleary eyed as you but grinned at you regardless, pulling you into a tight hug. Her earthy scent filled your senses. “It’s getting insane at previews,” she said. “Almost every seat is filled. It’s getting nerve wracking. I don’t know how I’m going to do when I know you’re in the audience at the premiere.”

You flushed. “I’m sure you’re going to be amazing,” you said with a grin. “I can’t imagine you being anything other than amazing. Plus we get to go home together after the show.”

Pippa smirked. “You may have to let me get to second base,” she teased. “After all, I could end up going home with a hot date instead of you.”

“Please,” you said with a bright grin as you pulled away. “We both know I’m going to be the hottest date to have at the premiere. You might have to fight for my hand.”

“In that case, I might have to fight Lin for the right to take you home,” she said with a grin, bumping against you as she headed off to the kitchen. “How far have you two even gotten, anyway? There’s a pool going on. I’ve got ten bucks on second base.”

You made a face. “Sorry, you’re betting on my love life?”

“Sure,” she says with a bright grin as she gets herself some of the cashews from the cabinet and a sparkling water out of the fridge. “Why? Don’t tell me I’m losing ten bucks.”

“Erm, kinda,” you said, your cheeks feeling like they were on fire. “I mean, I sorta… listen, when your mom was a teen mom… and just… okay?”

Pippa’s jaw dropped and she looked oddly delighted. “You’re a virgin!”

“I did not say that,” you said, your eyes wide. “But yeah, kinda. I just… didn’t want to end up making a mistake. Like, I grew up watching my parents argue and fight over money and they didn’t exactly have a stable life. I just… didn’t want that to me. And the easiest way was… well, to not… do anything that could lead to having a kid.”

“No, it’s okay,” she said with a grin. “You just… should tell Lin. Cause I mean… it’s better that he knows that you wanna wait before things get hot and heavy, you know what I mean?”

“What if he dumps me? I mean… other guys…”

“Lin’s not other guys,” Pippa said with a roll of her eyes as she takes a swig of her water. “He’ll be cool about it. And if it he isn’t… Jas and I will beat his ass. But don’t worry. Lin won’t dump you just cause you don’t want to fuck like… right off the bat. And he’s a massive romantic anyway. Dumping you cause you wanna wait is like… so unromantic.”

Before you could even comment on the last part, Pippa walked off and left you with a mix of confusing thoughts.

The next day, you decided that the best way to deal with this was to talk with Jasmine. It was the last thing you wanted to do, but you felt that Jasmine would give the best advice on this. You had texted Jasmine that you wanted to talk to her about what to do and she gave you the address of some café near the Richard Rogers. You were kind of were surprised by how busy it was and how difficult it was to find Jasmine in the tiny café. “Sorry,” she said with a bright grin. “A lot of the people here are trying to track down the cast. Try not to draw attention to us.”

“So… this musical… it’s a bit of a bigger deal than you, Pip, and Lin lead on, huh,” you asked as you noticed that Jasmine remembered how you liked your coffee from years ago. You didn’t take your coffee like that anymore, but you were touched that she remembered. “Can’t believe I now have a famous grandfather anda famous aunt. You better hype my book when I finish writing it.”

Jasmine grinned. “You probably won’t even need us to hype it,” she teases with a bright grin. “I’ve read some of your early essays – you’ve got the talent. So what did you want to meet about?”

It was a strange feeling that you took a moment to bask in – the feeling of knowing Jasmine but also not really knowing her. Knowing that she knew you but didn’t really know you. You wondered how you would describe the feeling. And it also felt nice that she remembered reading your essays before she disappeared from your life. “I just… Look, don’t freak out about this but like… I sort of… need to tell Lin something kind of important. Sort of… sex life related?”

She made a face. “Ew,” she said. “So not the kind of thing I wanna hear my niece talk about.”

You didn’t blame her for that. You didn’t want to discuss this with your aunt either but desperate times and everything. “Er, does it help that the thing I need to tell him is that I’m a virgin?”

“Sort of,” she grumbles as she takes a bite out of the sandwich she’d ordered for herself. “So why are you telling him this? Also… is there any reason you decided to not have sex by now? Like… religious pact with God? Oh, are you like… that thing where you don’t feel sexual attraction? Asexual!”

You felt your cheeks get hot again. “No to either of those things,” you hurried out. “Like… I mean, I’m not exactly straight but… I just didn’t want to get distracted from my studies. And after growing up with mom and dad… you saw how it was. I didn’t want…. a kid growing up feeling like a mistake.”

“Makes sense,” she said with a shrug. “Doesn’t explain why you didn’t just lose your v card to a girl but whatever. More power to you.”

“Jas,” you hissed, nearly tipping over your coffee cup in shock. You didn’t often dwell on this – it was just something that was a fact of your life. Telling people seemed strange – normally it was something that came up on the third date and then you never saw the guy again. “I just… I’d rather not stay on this topic like that. I just… want to know how you think I should tell Lin. Like, I don’t want him to think it’s because I’m a prude or something. Or that I never want to have sex, just that… I don’t want to rush into it.”

She snorts. “Tell him on a fancy date,” she said simply. “Like… opera or something. No one’s allowed to make a scene on a fancy date. It’s like… social convention. That way you can get it out the way and hey, you could do it at the MET. Get the seventh envelope done while you’re at it.”

“What if he dumps me?”

This time she rolled her eyes. “If he dumps you over this, tell me and I’ll personally beat his ass. But I doubt he’s going to dump you. He’s too much of a nice guy.”

You had experience with nice guys before. Nice guys took you on a pity date and decided that it wasn’t worth waiting around for you to be ready to have sex. Still, you decided it would be worth telling him if only so he wasn’t surprised when you decided to stop when things got hot and heavy. So you called him, grinning the whole conversation as you asked him if he’d like to go to the opera with you. He mentioned having a night off and you agreed to see him Tuesday.

By the time Tuesday rolled around, you were regretting agreeing to going out with Lin again at all. You were scared and worried. It seemed like everything that could go wrong had played out in your head. You woke up from dreams where Lin just ditches you for someone else… thinner and blonder. Or someone who was less of a stick in the mud. Or someone more adventurous. Your first thought was that he can’t break up with you if he never sees you again. How the logistics of it would work didn’t make sense, of course, but you were on anxiety brain.

The brochure for something going on later in New York City (you hadn’t paid attention to what it said) ended up in a small shredded pile in your lap as you tried to remember the exact steps that Google Maps had told you to take to get from Pippa’s apartment to the MET. You wondered if it would be so bad if you called Lin and told him oh no, you got lost and couldn’t make it. You nervously ran your hands through your curls, putting your hair up and taking it down repeatedly until you transferred trains.

It didn’t seem like this long of a trip the last time you went but it seemed like it stretched on forever. You picked at the skin of your thumb, wondering how you bring up this subject in the first place. It didn’t seem like a casual enough subject to just randomly blurt out. You sighed deeply when you realized you were already there – how had it felt like ages yet like nothing at all? You were out of time to think of how to delicately approach the subject. Your heart was pounding and you smoothed the skirt out on your dress as you got off at your stop – Lincoln Center. Lin had suggested the two of you meet at that stop and you hadn’t stop to think about how it didn’t offer you the chance to mentally prepare at seeing him.

He was devastatingly handsome. Of course he was – that hadn’t changed. He never stopped looking so handsome and it drove you crazy. “Hi,” was all you managed to breathe out. Nerves were getting to you.

He didn’t seem to mind that at all. He had that typical easy-going grin that you were starting to associate with him. You noted that he seemed to look a little more tired than last time. You imagined he wasn’t getting much sleep and you had an overwhelming urge to tuck him in for a nap. It was irrational. He was a grown adult. If he wanted a nap, he would’ve had a nap. “Hi,” he replied as he took your arm, leading the way. Which was good because if you were honest, you were prone to getting lost in the city. “It’s pretty hot that you took initiative.”

Of course he was teasing. That didn’t stop the heat rising to your cheeks or the forced laughter coming out and you cringed internally at it. You swore up and down it sounded like a horse’s laugh but Lin was clearly charmed. He’d say that it was beautiful. “I mean, my aunt was pretty specific in her letters about what I need to do,” you rambled. “Kind of still owe her a thank you, I mean…”

He cut you off with a kiss and you melted into it. It was easy to melt into his kisses, you were discovering. And you craved them the way one craved sweets. When he pulled away, you were grinning as his hand moved to grasp yours. “That reminds me that I still haven’t thanked her for setting you up on this adventure that led to me getting to meet you.”

“If it helps, I haven’t thanked her yet either,” you said with a grin as he led the way to the MET. “I felt like… I’d thank her when I make it to the end of the adventure. I don’t know where it’s going… but it seems like it’s important.”

“Sometimes it’s more about the journey than where you’re going. Have you considered that maybe it’s just a journey and the outcome doesn’t mean that much?”

You considered that. A journey in which the path you took mattered more than the outcome seemed like a strange idea to process. The path you took from the very start of life seemed to have a very clear outcome. You went to school with the intent of passing, getting every good grade you possibly could to go to college. College was an escape from the fighting at home. You chose English because you fancied yourself a good teacher or even a novelist. You decided it was a good solid degree plan because the degree mattered more than what it was in. “Outcome always means something, though. If you don’t want to end up somewhere, you wouldn’t take a certain path.”

He seemed surprised by this. “You’ve never done anything for the sake of doing something? Never went out just because it seems like it’s a fun thing to do?”

“That was always Jas’s territory,” you said slowly as he squeezes your hand. “I’ve always been the boring one. She was the one who encouraged me to go out, who made the plans and cared more about the journey. I’ve… always thought about where it goes. Getting on a plane because aunt Jas told me to do it is more of… an example of the way our dynamic always worked.”

The thing you’d discovered with Lin is that he was relatively easy going and rarely suggested that the way you and Jas interacted was odd. Even after discovering Jas’s niece was closer to her in age than he expected, he simply rolled with it and never once made it weird. You liked that about him. You also liked how he seemed to be willing to bounce ideas back and forth, not once acting like anything you said might be stupid. And even now as you talked over the philosophical question of if the path matters more than the outcome, he never once belittled you despite disagreeing with you.

And somehow, he managed to get you to see his side of things. It wasn’t that he changed your mind (you still felt the outcome mattered when picking a path to journey on), but rather he helped you see what the point of a journey was. You’d almost forgotten the important part of what you wanted to do on this date until things started to get steamy with Lin. His lips felt so good against yours and then his hand was on your chest, his other firm on your hip and pulling you to him.

You didn’t know how you ended up in the back of the Uber pressed to him and you couldn’t recall what the opera was even about. All you could think about was how easy it would be let him take you home. It was easy to get wrapped up in the feeling of his lips against your neck, the feeling of his facial hair scruffing against your jawline. And then you realized what going home with Lin would entail, you pulled away. “Sorry,” you half yelped. “I just… I kind of… never done this before?”

He paused and you prepared for the break up. “You’re… a virgin?”

It took a minute before you found your voice again. “Yes.” You wished the earth would swallow you up so you could escape the look he was giving you. You wondered what he was thinking. And before you could stop yourself, you found yourself giving a word vomit. “Not because I… don’t want to or anything like that. I mean, I don’t know if I want to I’ve never even tried it before. Just that… it’s a huge deal and I don’t want to end up having kids by accident with the wrong person. Not that I think that you wouldn’t use protection or anything, I mean, I’m on the pill but that’s because I have these awful… you know what, that’s not romantic or anything sexy –”

Before you knew it, he cut you off and cupped you cheek. The minute you looked into his eyes, you knew he wasn’t going to dump you. “So did you want to go home with me still or did you want to continue to wait?”

“I… wait,” you admitted. “I just… I’m not a fast kind of person. Not to say that girls who are fast aren’t… you know what I mean?”

He laughs and nods. “I know what you mean, don’t worry,” he said before kissing your cheek and telling the taxi driver Pippa’s address. “I’ll call you later.”

You were worried that the “I’ll call you” was the start of being ghosted but when the taxi left, your phone lit up. It was Lin texting you good night.

[ritebeforeyoureyes]

I Want You, I Need You

I am loving the opportunity to keep writing. I am also taking requests on which multi-chapter fic I should continue; Ransom or Favourite Star Season so, let me know if you have a preference.

This smutty Sunday piece was requested by pink7184. I hope you like it.

I Want You, I Need You

"Why are we having this argument right now?" Zendaya was yelling, her arms raised above her head in exasperation.

"We aren't arguing, we're meant to be having a conversation - like adults!" Zendaya hated that word - adults. The age gap between her and Val was one that made her feel insecure, even after years of dating. She was a legal adult who lived independently and yet in moments like these, she always felt like a child. Val didn't mean it, but whenever he was angry, he felt it was necessary to highlight just how old Zendaya was. It was all most a way to belittle her when things weren't going his way.

"I'm sorry I'm not as mature as you, Val." Zendaya snorted with a tinge of bitterness to her voice. "But, right now, we are having an argument, a pointless one at that."

"Pointless?" Val scoffed in response. He was now pacing the length of her living room, his legs taking large strides within the confined space. "You're asking me to sit there and watch whilst another guy fondles you in public and you think this is pointless?"

Val and Zendaya's heated exchange had originated with her Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 contract. As stated in her contract, Zendaya was legally obliged to do whatever her publicist asked of her and in this case, it was a publicity stunt that starred Tom Holland. The aim of the game was to utilise Tom and Zendaya's friendship to boost the hype surrounding the sequel that was quickly approaching its release date. Fans were intrigued to know about Tom and Zendaya's relationship which meant they were seemingly interested to see how their characters' romantic plot panned out in the highly anticipated movie. For sales, the idea was utter genius but for Val, it meant he couldn’t do or say anything as his secret girlfriend paraded around with another man on her arm.

"We are just hanging out! It's the same as the last movie. We just do some of the press releases together, pose for so much pictures - that's it!" Zendaya didn't understand why Val was getting so jealous. In fact, Zendaya thought his overreaction was preposterous. She didn't object to when he had to dance up close and personal with his ex-girlfriends. She sat in the audience and watched him rumba like the proud girlfriend she was. She didn't understand why he couldn't do the same for her.

"That's not it-" Before Val could begin to list all that was wrong with Zendaya's contracted obligation, a knock came at the door. The two suddenly went quiet before automatically turning towards the grandad clock that hung in Zendaya's living room. It was approaching 11pm and neither of them were expecting any visitors, especially at this hour. Zendaya got up off her spot on the couch and stalked towards the door, her eyes scanning past the security camera feed as she did. Within seconds, Zendaya's frown was turned upside down; the smile stretching across her lips as she pulled open her front door.

"Bella!" Zendaya hadn't seen the familiar redhead in months and her unexpected arrival was bittersweet. Zendaya desperately wanted to continue her heated debate with Val but she also wanted to relish in the presence of one of her dearest friends. "This is a surprise. How are you?"

"Hey, Z." Bella went in for a hug and the two met in the middle, their arms curling around each other instinctively. “Sorry for stopping by so suddenly but there are road closures up ahead and the storms are meant to come in tonight.” Zendaya nodded knowingly. It was the reason why Val was staying with Zendaya tonight. The two were meant to spend the following day together after Val had gotten some well-deserved rest. He had been in extensive rehearsals approaching the new season of Dancing with The Stars and truth be told, his partner wasn’t much of a dancer. Hence why Val had decided that a full night’s sleep would leave him refreshed and ready to spend time with his girl. However, weather reports had claimed the approach of the storm of the century and Val didn’t want to be stranded, without Zendaya, on his only day off. “Is it okay for me to crash here tonight?”

“Of course, it is, you goof.” Zendaya pulled open the door, inviting Bella inside her home.

“Oh, hey Val!” Bella’s eyes bulged open, mentally slapping herself. She knew Zendaya and Val were in a relationship and it hadn’t even crossed her mind that Zendaya would have company. “I’m sorry if I’m interrupting anything.” Bella cringed awkwardly, her hands ushering between the two.  

“Hey, Bella! Don’t be silly, you’re welcome to spend time with us whenever you want!” Val smiled courteously even though a nagging part of him wanted to say, ‘Yes, you are interrupting. Leave.’  He liked Bella, he really did, but she couldn’t have had worse timing. Val’s jealousy was bubbling within him aggressively, the idea of Zendaya being so comfortable with another man wasn’t sitting right with him. Val needed to talk this out with Zendaya and he needed to do it soon.

“If you guys don’t mind, is it okay for me to just head straight to bed?” Bella didn’t want to be a third wheel and honestly, Zendaya was doing her a massive favour by letting her stay; she didn’t want to impose any more than she already was.

“Aw, B,” Zendaya closed the door behind her and turned all her attention to Bella rather than grouchy old Val in the corner. “Hang with us! We can watch a movie or something.”  

“No, no, honestly, I am exhausted!” Bella faked a yawn and Zendaya just chuckled at her. She knew Bella well enough to know that she was purposefully trying to give Zendaya and Val their alone time. “I’m just going to call Matt and get some sleep.” Matt, or Blackbear as he was known to most, was Bella’s current boyfriend and just like Val and Zendaya, the two were pros at living out their long-distance relationship.

“You know where the spare bedroom is, right?” The question was more rhetorical, Bella had been over at Zendaya’s place plenty of times; it was practically a second home to her. “You head up and I’ll bring you blankets and … some tea?” An excited nod was given at the mention of tea. Zendaya wasn’t a whizz in the kitchen but one thing she could do right was tea. Bella made her way up the stairs and Zendaya brushed past Val in order to make Bella’s tea. Zendaya was looking at her feet as she walked past him and Val, he was staring directly at her. His hand caught her wrist as she stepped through the doorway and into the kitchen, halting her movements drastically.

“We have to talk about this.” Despite holding her temporarily captive, Val’s touch was gentle. His thumb was tracing light patterns into Zendaya’s skin making unintentional shivers run through her.

“Val,” Zendaya warned with a whisper. She didn’t want to do this in front Bella. She knew they’d start having a normal discussion that would lead back to what Bella had walked in on – a heated, and rather loud, argument. “Not now.”

“Yes, now.” Val was whispering also but his tone was still firm, authoritative. He was a Russian man with hot blood, there was no way he was going to downplay his girlfriend’s current situation. “I go back to work tomorrow and what, you’re free to go on all these dates with Tom? That’s not okay with me.”

“I am not going on dates, Val!” Zendaya felt like she was going in circles just constantly repeating herself. She didn’t know what to say or do for Val to believe her – to trust her. “I am just hanging out with a friend.”

“A friend who has feelings for you.” Zendaya was about to intervene but Val held his hand up, quietening her within seconds. “And don’t try to tell me he doesn’t having feelings. I see the way he looks at you, acts around you.” Val didn’t like to acknowledge the fact that Tom adored Zendaya. The boy couldn’t keep the smile off his face whenever in her presence and Val couldn’t blame him. “I know because it’s the way I look at you.” Zendaya was perfect; her looks, her kindness, her talent. Zendaya was the whole package, hence why Val felt so threatened. He didn’t like the idea of losing her. Zendaya was the only girl Val had ever fell so wholly in love with. The thought of her not being in his life wasn’t just heart-breaking, it was earth-shattering.

“Val, can we not talk about this now, please.” Zendaya shook her hand out of his hold and continued to make Bella’s tea. From the corner of her eye, she saw Val leave the room and she let out an audible sigh. She hated fighting with him. But, for now, Zendaya needed to distract herself with the hospitable arrival of Bella – she could talk to Val later. Zendaya prepped some jasmine tea on a tray full of snacks and made her way upstairs, a fluffy blanket tucked neatly under her arm. Zendaya paused outside Bella’s door, placing the tray on the floor before reaching over to knock.

However, Zendaya’s arm paused as she heard a soft moan come from inside.

“I miss you so much, Matty.” Bella’s voice was raspy and seductive and Zendaya simply stood frozen in her spot. She didn’t know why but her legs just wouldn’t let her move. A sense of curiosity was ignited within her and she stopped to listen. “I wish you were here, I wish you were the one touching me, playing with me.” There was a light lag in conversation, presumably where Blackbear responded to Bella on the phone and Zendaya felt a sensation bubble within the pits of her stomach. “Are you playing with yourself, huh? Thinking about me here … by myself.” Listening to Bella was turning an already angsty Zendaya on. She could hear Bella’s fumbling on the mattress accompanied by her moans and Zendaya had to try holding in one of her own.  With Val’s crazy rehearsal schedule and her Spiderman promotion tour, the couple spending time together was a rarity. With this entailed a prolonged period of no sex. And truth be told, she missed him … she missed him like crazy. She missed the movement of his hips, the throaty whispers into her ear, his rough yet simulatenously soft touch.

As if she had been zapped by a sudden force, Zendaya snapped out of her turned on haze, dropping Bella’s blanket beside the tray of food. She speedily made her way to her own bedroom, knowing that was where Val had made his way to earlier. She spotted him instantly, he was stood in front of the TV, his fingers fussing at the buttons on top.

“Stupid remote.” Val was mumbling to himself, his anger seemingly being taken out on the TV and its inability to function how he wanted it to. He was so focused on trying to get the TV to work that he hadn’t noticed Zendaya walk into the room. With her hormones still running a rage, Zendaya made her way to Val, her knees dropping before him. Val looked down at her suddenly, his eyes looking down at her widened doe ones. “Babe,” Val said, the uncertainty evident in his voice. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t want to fight anymore.” Zendaya played with the buckle of his trousers, desperately trying to get them undone. She grabbed at his length through his trousers and Val took a step back. He knew that sex wasn’t the answer to their problem; a discussion was. He placed his hands against her shoulders, forcing her up and back onto her feet again. A look of sadness – and rejection - floated across Zendaya’s features and Val tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He let his hand travel leisurely down her face before he spoke.

“I want you-“ Val didn’t want Zendaya to think that he was rejecting her because the idea of her dropping to her knees and taking him was the hottest thing he had seen, ever. He adored her, in every sense of the matter and he wanted her to know that – fight or no fight. “But-“

“No buts, Val.” Zendaya pressed her chest against his tightly, their body heat intermingling. “I want you, no, I need you, right now.” And as she spoke Val knew he was putty in her hands. Her simple sentence of reassurance and the glazed over look in her eyes was enough of an indicator for Val to know that she was his. Regardless of Tom’s affection towards Zendaya, at the end of the night, she got into bed with Val. She told him she loved him, she made love to him and that was all that mattered.

Val’s hand progressed from Zendaya’s face down her body in admiration; her arm, to her breasts, her hips and then her thigh. Zendaya sucked in a breath as his fingers traced the smooth skin. His fingers inched closer and closer to her inner thigh, excusing her panties and finding their way inside her. Zendaya gasped, her eyes fluttering shut. “Val…” The sound of his name on her lips was ecstasy and enough to make Val move faster. He moved his fingers at an increased pace, his neck falling into the crook of her neck.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Val peppered kisses to her neck as she spoke. “I didn’t mean to get angry … I just I want to be the only man on earth who gets to adore you.” He was muttering into her neck whilst his fingers steadily moved in and out of her. Zendaya opened her mouth to respond but no words came out. She was gaping, like a fish out of water, the moans just ascending from the back of her throat. “I want to be the only man who gets to touch you, feel you.”

“You …” Zendaya’s moans were louder, her eyes still glued shut. She was captivated by Val’s touch: the way his stubble rubbed against her skin, the way his free hand cupped her hip. Zendaya knew she couldn’t use her voice to tell Val that he was only man for her so, she decided to use her body instead. She grabbed his face with her hands and pressed her lips against his, kissing him with a pent-up hunger. Her claw like fingernails pulled at his shirt, tugging it up and over his head in seconds. Then came her pleasurable torture. She scratched and tugged at his toned body, her whimpers soon drowning against his lips. Their mouths were pressed together tightly, both fighting for dominance. But as time passed and breathing became harder, Zendaya gave in. Val parted her lips with his tongue before tasting her mouth fully as she fell apart around his fingers. “Val!”

As Zendaya came down from her orgasm, they separated to catch their breath. Zendaya and Val took the opportunity to discard of all their clothing. The process was messy and clumsy; a depiction of how urgently they wanted one another.  Zendaya pushed Val back against the bed as soon as they were naked, her eyes devouring him before she inched up his body. She rubbed her fingers up and down his thighs teasingly, his body clearly tightening with the amount of tension he was currently experiencing.

“Don’t tease me, not right now.” Val grabbed at Zendaya’s hair, pulling her up his body. She smirked against his pouted lips before slowly straddling him, her body engulfing him fully. “Fuck.” The hiss left Val’s mouth in pleasure. He had missed this, being this close to her. They’d been apart for so long he had forgotten how good she felt.

Zendaya placed her hands flat against his chiselled chest as she began to rhythmically rock backwards and forwards. Val’s hands freely travelled her body; her arms, her stomach, her thighs, her perky little breasts. He gripped her firmly, massaging her breasts to the rhythm of their movements. “Baby, I’m so close.” Val’s head was flat against the bed.  

“Val … please … oh my god, please.” Val’s hands fell to her hips, all most guiding her so that he was effectively inside her more; deeper, harder. The two moaned each other’s names until they were effectively riding out their simultaneous orgasms – their argument completely forgotten.

[artificialqueens]

These Paper Walls Can Hold Your Feelings - Trixya - Star

“We live in adjacent apartments/hotel rooms and our bedrooms are on opposite sides of a very thin wall and one night I heard you crying and talked to you through the wall” AU set during the filming of season 7.

(Saw the prompt, fell in love with the prompt, wrote the prompt. Tempted to write a part 2)

I hope you enjoy!:)

When katya had first arrived at his hotel room he had cried.

He’d cried when he knew he could never win or even come close to winning up against the amazing bunch of girls that season as he sat in a grimy bathroom stall midway through the first day of filming - and he’d cried as he took his makeup off back in his own hotel bathroom after the day had ended.

Outside, it was raining, he thought. At least, that’s what the noise of the pelting droplets against the window of his room told him.

He opened one of the curtains, casting a fleeting look across the scenery of dreary Los Angeles.

It rarely rained here, or so he was told. Living in Boston for most of his life, he had become used to the relentless fall of rain on to the city. Yet to have it rain in LA on his first day there when it hardly ever did felt somewhat like a grim foreshadowing of his experience not only in LA but in drag race.

I bet Rupaul set the clouds out just for me, humoured Katya to himself.

It wasn’t that the girls weren’t nice, he acknowledged. If he was honest, they were far from a bad bunch of girls. Every individual, maybe apart from one confectionary named queen had greeted him with the warmth and respect that he was unaccustomed to. Strange.

I think I’ve gathered everybody’s names, he muttered to himself as he sat down on his bed, attempting to recall if he did actually manage to pick up every queen’s name at some point during the day.

Ginger.

Jaidynn.

Jasmine.

Kandy - though he’d rather blank her from his mind, for now. The age comment towards tempest was completely unnecessary and uncalled for. Ah - he shook himself. Of course.

Tempest.

Kennedy.

Max.

Mrs - Miss Fame.

Pearl.

Mrs Kasha Davis

Sasha - or maybe Shantelle?

Violet.

- And Tracy, wait - no. He scalded himself internally. How in the name of the Russian gods could I forget the name of a living Barbie doll - Tallulah? That can’t be it.

Sprawling backwards onto the comfortable hotel mattress, he allowed himself to close his eyes, even if only for a small number of seconds. If i fall asleep there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep tonight ready for filming tomorrow. He knew his body clock well enough to determine that.

Pressing his face into an overly fluffy pillow, he let out an exasperated sigh.

Mother, I’m having an existential crisis again. He flicked on the television as a distraction once he had discovered the remote laying on his bedside table. Five channels? Wonderful. They really mean it when they tell you no contact with the outside world at all. Contact. I should have brought my DVD. The television was switched off within half of a commercial about some god awful crime drama with little plot and overly dramatic background music. Enough of that. It was less than a minute later, he guessed, that the door of the hotel room next to his slammed shut forcefully. He jolted up into a sitting position almost immediately, knocking the television remote that he’d neglected to put back onto the bedside table from his hand and on to the carpeted floor.

Shit. He cursed to himself as the batteries flew out of the remote and under the bed. It’s not like I’ll be watching much television anyway, he regarded, I’ll be too busy drowning my sorrows in overthinking. Quit being so miserable, Katya. He rolled his shoulders slightly, attempting to relieve some of the tension in his body. A masseuse would be ideal right about now. A groan of satisfaction left his lips as he clicked his back and neck. If I don’t have arthritis by the time I’m 40 it will be a miracle.

Continuing with his seemingly over exaggerated stretching, he let the unwitting noises of pleasurable pain escape his mouth - until a laugh startled him.

Where did that - more laughter.

Perplexed, Katya looked firstly towards the door of his hotel room and then to the small vent hiding next to his bed.

Katya would have though that - surely this hotel had more modern and technologically advanced ventilation than a single vent located practically at the bottom of the wall separating his room and next door.

Evidently not, he realised, when the voice that had previously been laughing infiltrated his ears through the wall of the hotel room.

One of the queens, he noted. Though, that much should have been obvious to him since the beginning as the whole corridor of his hotel floor was home to himself and his fellow queens for the duration of filming.

“Hey-”. Began the voice, one which he recognised.

“- just to warn you, these walls are paper thin”

Katya, still puzzled, lowered himself to the floor next to the vent. Back resting, albeit uncomfortably against the wall, he opened his mouth ready to respond to the queen next door which he determined to be the girl he could not for the life of him remember the name of.

Tina?

Toby?

Maybe even Tilly?

“Sorry”. Katya stated simply, before he continued.

“I’ll try to keep it down”. Katya let his head fall back tiredly against the wall, creating a louder thump than he had initially anticipated.

“No don’t worry - I didn’t mean for that to come across as rude, I swear”. The voice began to ramble, and Katya felt his cheeks turn up ever so slightly at the younger - he assumed younger, anyway - queens distress.

“It didn’t”. Admitted Katya, establishing that the other boy must have moved closer to the vent on his side of the wall as the sound of his voice sounded a lot stronger and clearer the second time he spoke.

“Oh”. He heard the voice breathe, accompanied by a low cough.

“You’re Katya though, right?”. Persisted the other queen, and Katya knew then he’d have to face the inevitable awkward situation of asking for the Barbie doll-like queens name.

Katya nodded, before realising that god damn it you idiot, people can’t see through walls - even if they are thinner than tissue paper.

“Yeah, yeah”. Katya inhaled.

“What’s your name again?”. He questioned tentatively, listening to the cackle that left the other queen. That’s definitely a unique laugh - or rather scream, observed Katya.

“I’m that memorable, huh?”.

Katya could feel himself blushing, the heat rising to his cheeks and making hi forget the tear tracks of left over black eyeliner that must have been streaked across them.

“Ah - I’m so sorry”. It was Katya’s turn to ramble.

“It’s just been a really weird day and I just - I don’t know what I expected it to be like but it’s just so - tough, and I never really remember things well under pressure and - ”.

“Trixie”. His rambles were cut short by a single word from the other queen, who he could now attach a name to.

Trixie.

Obviously it was Trixie, he realised.

Trixie Mattel.

“Boy name is Brian, though”. Added Trixie, slouching against the bleak, grey wall of his own hotel room.

Katya laughed, the most that he had for the entirety of the day.

“Could we stick to drag names?”. Questioned Katya, pulling at a loose thread on the carpeted floor he remained sat upon. When he heard no response for upwards of five seconds, apart from a heavy silence, he began to elaborate.

“Just - my names Brian too, it could get a little complicated”. He admitted, once again hearing the scream of a laugh that seemed to leave Trixie’s body whenever he found something even moderately amusing.

“Alright”. Trixie exhaled breathily, fiddling with scraping the remnants of nail polish of of his fingernails.

The silence around them became weighty once again after their conversation had halted. Both boys, self admittedly had never been good at small talk. It’s just not a gift my genetics decided I needed in life, Trixie always reasoned - whereas Katya put it down to himself just being stupidly socially inept.

Thanks, anxiety.

The clock on the table across the room read eight in the evening when Trixie spoke next.

“I heard you crying earlier”. His words were soft and caring, almost protective as he pressed his cheek to the cool wall on the opposite side to Katya.

Recalling the night, Katya acknowledged that Trixie must have simply had her luggage delivered when he had heard the slam of the strong wooden door, and had in fact, been in his room long before Katya himself.

He would be informed that yeah, pretty much - that’s what happened, when he would speak to Trixie in the work room the next day. You’re very observant, though - Trixie would comment.

“I’m sorry”. Katya began, slouching further onto the wall, closing his eyes in presumed tiredness.

“I didn’t mean to disturb you or-”.

“Katya”. Trixie cut him off, worry filling his voice immediately as he heard the depression in Katya’s tone.

“Chill out”. Trixie eased, words calm.

“I was thankful to hear some noise, to be honest. I was worried I’d be locked in here for weeks with no noise or anybody to talk to”. Trixie continued, laughing lightly at the end of his sentence.

Giggling, Katya let out a breath of air that he didn’t realise he was holding.

A pause in their conversation allowed both Katya and Trixie to reposition themselves against their respective sides of the wall. Trixie swivelled his legs out from underneath him, stretching them out across the floor, whereas Katya laid down on the soft carpeted floor, head next to the vent that he’d become quite thankful for in the past ten or so minutes.

“Is the security guy in the hall?”. Trixie spoke seconds later, waiting patiently for Katya’s response.

“Mmh”. Katya mumbled, feeling sleep attempting to take over his body.

“The crew said there’d be alternating guards all the way through the night”. Katya finished, glancing over to the door of his room.

This feels more like a prison cell than it should.

“I’d come and give you a hug if I could”. Trixie laughed, attempting to make Katya feel slightly better - he could easily tell by the older mans tone of voice that he was anything but happy in that moment.

Laughing along with Trixie, Katya picked up a half empty bottle of water from the floor next to him, rolling it around aimlessly keeping himself occupied.

“I feel like I need the whole Russian army to come and hug me right now - is that weird?”.

“I mean-”. Trixie paused to chuckle airily.

“Maybe not the Russian army? But yeah - I totally get where you’re coming from”.

“I’m coming from the land of existentialism and homosexuality, Barbara”. As Katya spoke in one of his many strange voices, he heard Trixie cackling.

“You really do have a unique laugh, has anybody ever told you that?”.

“Yeah, you’re dad did last weekend”.

“I’m sorry that was so awful - feel free to eliminate me as soon as possible”. Katya confessed, continuing to listen to Trixie who seemingly found Katya’s words funnier than they actually were.

“Shut up, you fool”. Trixie joked, no malice in his voice at all.

“I’m the fool? I’m not the giant children’s toy, girl”.

“Was that a fat joke? Or an age joke? Or both-”.

It was Katya’s turn to laugh. Wheezing reverberated throughout his body, chest heaving and eyes closing in undeniable joy.

“You should be a comedian, Trix”.

“Why do you think I’m here, Putin?”.

When Katya listened to Trixie again, he focused on the sympathetic tendencies of Trixie’s words.

“You are ok though, right? If you don’t want to talk about it I get that but - nobody just cries for no reason and -”.

“I’m fine I just - I don’t think I was prepared, y'know?”.

Trixie hummed in agreement, which was barely heard through the vent by Katya’s

“As soon as I walked in to the workroom I felt so out of my depth”.

Katya paused.

“I’ll be out next week, guaranteed”.

A single chuckle from Trixie, followed by an unseen smile from Katya.

Maybe the ball of bright pink was right. “I think people are going to like you a lot more than you realise”.

[euroman1945-blog]

The Daily Tulip

The Daily Tulip – News From Around The World

Sunday 2nd September 2018

Good Morning Gentle Reader….  I had a great morning on the beach yesterday as I suggested, Saturday mornings are always quiet in a tourist town, especially when the children are going back to school soon, so I had plenty of room to lay and catch a few rays and enjoy the melody of the waves breaking on the shore… in fact I enjoyed it so much, I think I will do it again today…. But that would be after coffee…

GWRYCH CASTLE IN CONWY WALES TO GET £15M REVAMP…. A 19th Century castle on the Conwy coast which has previously been a theme park and zoo will be given a £15m renovation. About 100 volunteers have already carried out work to stop Gwrych Castle's walls from collapsing and held a medieval festival in the gardens. But Gwrych Castle Preservation Trust said it would be 25 years before the whole estate was restored. They bought it in June with £6,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Mark Baker was inspired to form the trust 21 years ago, aged 12, after passing the castle every day on his way from his Prestatyn home to Rydal School in Colwyn Bay. He hopes the castle, which still has 300 acres (121 hectares) of grounds surrounding the walls, turrets and towers, will eventually offer holiday accommodation. "A great deal has been done through people's goodwill and by volunteers as well as professionals and craftsmen who have given their time," he said. Gwrych Castle was built by Lloyd Hesketh Bamford-Hesketh from the early 1810s and completed by 1822. It was a stately home for more than 100 years with its own stables, brewery, dairy, bakery and ice house and was visited by Queen Victoria before she took the throne. It was also used to house Jewish child refugees during World War Two and after the war it became a theme park complete with a zoo and a small private railway. World middleweight boxing champion Randolph Turpin trained there in 1951, and in the 1970s and 1980s medieval jousting tournaments were held. From 1985 the site was abandoned to New Age travellers and had a series of owners. The renovation is being funded by grants and investment from private companies. Llyr Williams, of Swayne Johnson solicitors who helped with the purchase, said: "It's a quite fantastic building and one that so many people will have passed as they speed along the A55 but very few have seen close up."

BOEING SAYS ASIA NEEDS 240,000 PILOTS OVER NEXT TWO DECADES…. If you need a job, you may want to consider training as an airline pilot and moving to China. Boeing forecasts that the Asia Pacific will need the greatest number of pilots, technicians and cabin crew over the next two decades. The region's economic growth will lead to rising wealth and increased travel, spurring a need for 240,000 more pilots and 317,000 cabin crew by 2037. China will need half of these new personnel. The projections place pressure on an industry that is already struggling with a pilot shortage and training bottlenecks. Older pilots are set to retire over the next decade and there is increasing demand for business aviation services, such as helicopter tourism and private luxury jets. Boeing estimates China will need 128,500 pilots, Southeast Asia 48,500 and South Asia 42,750 pilots. Boeing's outlook is used to create projections for new airplane deliveries. Unsurprisingly, the Asia Pacific will also lead global demand for new planes. The US aerospace and defence giant projects that 40% of all new passenger planes will be delivered to airlines in the Asia Pacific over the coming years.

UK WIFE KILLER TO BE REPATRIATED TO INDIA…. An Indian man currently serving a jail term in the UK for murdering his wife will be repatriated to India, a top prison official has told The Daily Tulip. Harpreet Aulakh was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years in a UK prison in December 2010 for ordering the murder of Geeta Aulakh. Mother-of-two Ms Aulakh, 28, had her hand severed with a machete during the attack in Greenford, London, in 2009. Aulakh ordered the murder after she asked for a divorce. IPS Sahota, a top prison official in the northern Indian state of Punjab, told BBC Punjabi's Arvind Chhabra that Aulakh would arrive in India on Tuesday and would be sent to a prison in Amritsar district. "All arrangements are in place. According to the plan, the UK authorities will bring him to Delhi from where a team of Punjab police officers will bring him to Amritsar," Mr Sahota said. Inspector general of prisons Roop Kumar said Aulakh, who is from Punjab, had told the UK authorities that he wanted to serve his remaining term in India. The officials added that the transfer was made possible under international arrangements like the Repatriation of Prisoners Act. In November 2009, Geeta, Aulakh's wife of 10 years and the mother of his two sons, was hacked to death in Greenford with a 14in machete which he himself had chosen from a selection of swords at a store days before the attack. The attack took place when Geeta Aulakh went to pick up her two sons after leaving work at a community radio station where she was a receptionist. She was found with head injuries and her right hand severed, and died a few hours later in hospital. Aulakh, also known as Sunny, and two others - Sher Singh, 19, of Southall, and Jaswant Dhillon, 30, of Ilford, east London - were also found guilty of Geeta Aulakh's murder.

THIEVES STEAL PUPPY FROM PALMERSTON NORTH SPCA NEW ZEALAND…. Three thieves have stolen a puppy from the Palmerston North SPCA, before fleeing in broad daylight. The centre's manager Katie Pedersen said two women and a man threw Iris, a 4-month-old staffy, over a six-foot fence about 12.45pm on Thursday. Pedersen said the trio "plotted" together, with one woman throwing the puppy to the other woman, as the man distracted onlookers in the car park. They then fled in a black Holden. It's understood Iris belonged to one of the women, Pedersen said, before the dog was impounded by the Palmerston North City Council's animal control team. "That must be the motive." Iris was with the centre for two weeks, but was still vulnerable. "Her bones will still be very brittle and could break very easily, especially falling from that height. "I just hope she didn't get injured when she was thrown. She's very bubbly, full of beans." Pedersen alerted police, and posted images from the centres surveillance cameras to Facebook. "We've had a huge response. We've got one of the girl's first names, but no address." Pedersen hadn't seen an animal stolen before in her five years at the centre. A police spokesman said officers were following "strong lines" of inquiry.

THOUSANDS OF BEES BESIEGE HOT DOG STAND IN NEW YORK'S TIMES SQUARE….  Bees swarm a hot dog vendor's umbrella in New York's Times Square, forcing police to close the street. It was a case of hold the honey, double the mustard in New York's famous Times Square at lunchtime. Police were forced to shut part of 43rd Street near 7th Avenue after a thick swarm of bees gathered atop a blue and yellow umbrella over a hotdog stand in an area of Manhattan already buzzing with swarms of pedestrians, tourists and traffic. A police officer who keeps bees himself, arrived at the scene in Times Square, known as "The Crossroads of the World," wearing a mesh-hooded beekeeper suit. He deployed a vacuum cleaner-like device to collect the bees unharmed, said New York Police Detective Sophia Mason.  The scene drew crowds of tourists taking photographs. "It took about 45 minutes to suck them up," Mason said. "They are at an undisclosed location. They will rehive them."

Well Gentle Reader I hope you enjoyed our look at the news from around the world this, morning… …

Our Tulips today are amazing...

A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Sunday 2nd September 2018 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…

All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in

Be safe out there…

Robert McAngus #Spain #Tulips #Travel #Coffee