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anon-188 · 2 days ago

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Can I have another request pls? Just ignore it if you don't like my idea. A smut of aj x f!reader, fingering while he drive 🤭💞 the f!reader wearing a skirt and he loves that

pairing: AJ x f!reader | genre: smut ❤️‍🔥 | wc: 1.8k

warnings: explicit sexual content (18+), possessive behavior, soft dom!AJ, fingering (while driving), light alcohol use, semi-public car sex, strong language.

a/n: thank you for further fueling my obsession with this man, as if i wasn’t down bad enough 😩

but seriously, thank you so much for sending this in!! <3 i hope you enjoy it :)

Tonight, you had a friend’s birthday party—one of those nights that always stretched long with drinks, dancing, and just the right amount of chaos. AJ was coming too. He usually didn’t mind these things. He’d post up at the bar, drink in hand, watching you move through the crowd with that smirk that said he liked having something everyone else wanted but couldn’t touch.

But tonight was different.

He was on edge, and maybe it started the second you stepped out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, pausing with a quiet, innocent question.

“Does this look okay?”

Black top. High heels. That mini skirt. His favorite—the one he always said he liked but never really explained why.

His jaw tensed as he looked at you, eyes dragging from the curve of your thighs up to the soft sliver of skin between your shirt and waistband.

He was hard just from that. From looking.

He didn’t even answer you. Just sat there, eyes heavy, tracking every movement you made.

“Is that a yes?” you teased, stepping closer with the smallest grin.

That was all he needed.

AJ reached out, grabbing you by the hips and pulling you in until you were standing between his legs. His hands didn’t hesitate. They didn’t wander either. Wander implied aimlessness—and there was nothing aimless about the way he touched you. His palms moved with purpose, gliding up your sides before settling at your waist, then lower. Once he reached your thighs, his touch changed. Grew rougher. More possessive.

He squeezed, rubbed, touched like he was working something out of himself with every motion. One hand left you only long enough to push your top up, just enough to expose your stomach. He kissed the skin there, slow but intense, like he couldn’t help himself. His hand returned to grip your hip, then the other slid between your legs.

Your gasp came instantly.

His fingers rubbed you through your panties, the pressure exactly where you needed it. Always too good. Always just right. Your knees almost buckled, but he kept you steady, held you exactly where he wanted.

But you didn’t have time for this. Not right now.

Your hands moved to his shoulders, fingers gripping lightly even as his pace picked up, each stroke of his hand between your legs faster than the last.

“AJ,” you breathed out, struggling to find your voice. “We can’t. We’re already late.”

“I don’t care,” he muttered, not even hesitating, not with the way your body responded to his touch. His fingers dragged another moan out of you like it was too easy.

You laughed, breathless. “I know you don’t. But—fuck.”

“Please. We have to go,” you said, voice barely holding together.

That made him pause. Of course it did. Please was the word. The one that always stopped him in his tracks when it came from your lips.

His hand stilled on your thigh. Then he looked up, eyes dark and brimming with frustration.

“Later,” you promised, leaning down to kiss him. It was risky, always was, but this time he let you pull away. He didn’t grab you. Didn’t stop you.

But the look on his face said enough. He would let you leave now, sure. But later? He was going to collect.

The night stretched on in a blur of flashing lights, pulsing music, and too-sweet drinks. You and your friends danced from one packed nightclub to the next, arms wrapped around each other, laughter spilling louder with every round.

AJ was there, playing his part. He hovered close, his hand occasionally resting at your lower back or brushing your hip. He nodded along to conversations, raised his glass when someone toasted, even cracked a smile once or twice. But you saw through it.

His jaw stayed tight most of the night, only easing when he stepped out for a smoke or brought a glass of whiskey to his lips. He didn’t say much, didn’t cause a scene—but he was pissed. That much was clear. And his silence? You knew it was for you. He was holding back.

You told yourself he’d be fine, that he just needed a minute. But then it happened.

A guy—some stranger who apparently thought confidence made him immune to consequences—bought you not one, but two drinks. Hand-delivered, no less. Right there with AJ standing at your side.

AJ's body tensed beside you as he shifted his weight like he was ready to move. To do what, you weren’t sure. But judging by the flash in his eyes, it wasn’t going to be subtle.

And that was it. That was your signal.

You thanked the guy politely and set the drinks down untouched, already turning toward AJ. He hadn’t said a word, but you didn’t need him to. You slid your hand into his and leaned in close.

“Let’s go.”

It wasn’t a question.

And truthfully, you were ready. Your buzz had dulled, the party haze fading into exhaustion. You were danced out, smiled out, done. But more than that, you didn’t want to keep watching AJ pretend. Pretend he was fine, pretend this night hadn’t been wearing him down from the start.

Because deep down, you already knew what was bothering him. You could see it in the way he gripped the steering wheel on the drive back to his place.

The car was dead silent as it moved down the interstate, headlights cutting through the dark. AJ’s sour mood filled every inch of space, heavy and unmoving. He hadn’t uttered a word since you left the club.

So you leaned over, slow and easy, letting your hand find the back of his neck. Your fingers slipped into his hair, scratching lightly at the base. Soothing. Testing.

“You gonna stay mad all night?” you asked, soft and teasing, lips tugging into a little smile as you glanced up at him.

He didn’t answer. Just stared straight ahead, eyes on the road.

You sighed, though there was still a small smile playing on your lips. Your hand drifted lower, gently reaching for his right hand. You guided it away from the wheel, pulling it toward you until his palm met your thigh. Still nothing.

But then his fingers twitched. He started to rub small circles into your skin, his thumb dragging lazy lines. A light grip followed, just enough to feel the weight of his hand again.

You leaned in a little closer, letting your voice drop just enough.

“I know what’ll make you feel better,” you said.

You didn’t wait for a reply. You moved his hand beneath your skirt, placing it exactly where you knew he wanted to be.

AJ exhaled, slow and rough, the sound laced with a quiet hum, low in his chest.

His grip on the wheel flexed, but he didn’t stop you. His fingers pressed against you, slow at first, rubbing over your panties. You were already warm. Already soaked. His touch only made it worse.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, eyes flicking from the road to your thighs, spread just enough in the passenger seat. His fingers moved in tight circles, pushing into the fabric, dragging moans from your lips in quick succession.

You rolled your hips forward, riding his hand as much as you could without pulling him off the road. Your breath hitched, soft at first, then sharper.

“Lift up for me,” he said, voice rough with restraint.

You did, just a little, just enough.

He slipped his fingers past the waistband, under the lace, and straight into you. Two fingers, deep and unrelenting, curling just right. You gasped, eyes fluttering closed, head dropping back against the headrest.

As his pace quickened, one of your hands reached blindly, gripping the edge of the seat beneath you, mouth open and moaning his name with each pass. Your thighs parted wider across the seat as his fingers curled again—and you couldn’t hold it anymore.

Your orgasm crashed into you hard and loud—back arching and your legs shaking. Your head tipped back, breath caught, body pulsing around his fingers.

AJ finally started to slow his hand, easing you down with a few deep, dragging strokes. But you weren’t done.

Not yet.

Before he could pull away, you reached for his hand, guiding it up to your mouth. You wrapped your lips around his fingers, sucking softly, tasting yourself on his skin. Your eyes flicked up to meet his.

This time, AJ looked. Really looked.

His gaze held on you longer, darker, hotter. There was something in it that made your stomach flip—something dangerous and full of promise. A silent vow for what he planned to do to you once you were back at his place, just ten minutes away. Then, finally, he looked back at the road—like it took everything in him to do it.

A second later, the car began to slow. Too early for his exit.

You blinked, confused, glancing at the road ahead. Nothing. No traffic. No lights.

He pulled off to the shoulder, engine humming low.

You turned to him, brows pulling in. “AJ?”

When his eyes met yours again, even briefly, that look was still there.

And you realized it wasn’t a promise anymore.

He had made a decision.

AJ threw the car into park, the shift sharp and final. The moment it clicked, his seatbelt was off and his hands were on you. He reached for your buckle next, unfastening it in one swift motion before pulling you into him. There was no pause, no space between thought and action—just his hands on your face, his mouth on yours, all tongue, heat, and frustration.

You barely had time to catch up before he was guiding you onto his lap, hands gripping your thighs as you climbed over him. The center console dug into your side, but neither of you cared. His mouth found yours again, hot and urgent, while his hands fumbled with his belt and zipper. You reached between your bodies, helping him, then adjusted your skirt and panties just enough before you lined yourself up.

When you sank down onto him, AJ groaned—the sound vibrating in his chest.

That sound told you everything. That this was what he needed. What he had been holding back. Something he couldn’t even wait ten more minutes for.

“Fuck, baby,” he rasped, voice raw as his hands slid over your thighs.

Whatever had been gnawing at him all night disappeared with every roll of your hips, every thrust into you. The frustration, the tension, all of it melted beneath your touch, your rhythm, the way you gave him exactly what he hadn’t asked for but so clearly needed.

You.

please do not repost, copy, or claim my work as your own.

tag list: @alealuvshayden @sythethecarrot @apocalyptichero @ggyuslovie @anak1ns-wife @5secondsofmoxley @f1wh0recom @purplerose291 @i5hyv @endairachristensen26 @mvst4far

if you want to be tagged in my future posts, just let me know (comment or message me). i’m happy to do it! :)

links: masterlist

#rain replies <3 #aj takers #hayden christensen x reader #aj takers smut #hayden christensen smut #hayden christensen #aj takers x reader #aj x reader #takers movie #takers 2010

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steelheart-redux · 3 days ago

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Steelheart Redux: Year 1 Retrospective

I meant to post this yesterday but forgot. Oops. Anyway, June 1st marked the official first full year of Steelheart Redux! For me, at least. While the comic didn’t go public until September, those who have been here since the start remember that I uploaded all of chapter 1 at once. That work started in June, so I consider that the comic’s effective birthday.

With that disclaimer out of the way: what a year it’s been! In 365 days, I drew 153 comic pages. That’s about 0.4 pages a day— a little shy of a page every other day. Granted, those numbers aren’t an even spread. I made all of chapter 1 in three months (68 pages) and then had to take a break for a while because of wrist strain (wonder how THAT happened…) and then the amount of backlog I had fluctuated wildly for a while. Some days I have more time and motivation than others. It happens.

Quite honestly, I’m mainly happy that I’ve stuck with the project. My worst fear was that I’d get a month or two into Actually Doing The Thing, then get bored, demotivated, and give up. Luckily, my brain has allowed me to stick with Redux with a level of consistency that is frankly unforeseen from me, and I’m just as motivated as I was a year ago, if not more, thanks to people's interest. I’ve said it before, but the reception to the story already regularly blows me away. I went into this with the expectation that it would take years for the comic to gain any real traction, if it ever happened at all. But here we are, a year in, with tens, if not hundreds of regular readers across multiple platforms. It’s an honor I don’t take lightly, and as I’ve said, I’m so, so grateful for the trust and support.

Looking back, the comic started on wobbly feet. That’s something I knew even at the time and had to make my peace with. Steelheart Redux is my first original story project, first long-form comic (first colored comic longer than a few pages, tbh), and first time I've ever really left the title of "fanartist" behind for longer than a month or so. I knew I was entering uncharted waters and that whatever I made, I'd later come to see as 'bad', or at least, not executed as well as it could have been. Unfortunately, the only way to get that experience and improve is to do it bad. So I did it bad!

STRUGGLES:

Chapter 1 is way too long. Not in terms of content, but in terms of page count. For some reason, I was utterly allergic to the idea of putting more than four panels on a page. While I do like the pacing of it, and the sort of slow ease-in to the world and the setting, I made way more work for myself than I needed to. I definitely could have cut at least 10 pages by compressing things without seriously hurting the pacing, and it would have saved me a lot of trouble. Figuring out how to "trim the fat" and get to where I'm going as fast as possible without making things feel rushed is still something I'm working on, but I'm a lot more intentional about things now that I know it can cost me time and physical strain. You can see the font size slowly shrinking throughout the comic's run as I pack more in, lol. Honestly, it kind of works.

I have various other nitpicks. I'm sparing myself from the general "I don't like how I drew that"s in terms of anatomy and such, as those are just an inescapable result of improving as an artist and not worth getting in the weeds over. I will raise my eyebrows over some lighting choices-- I went out of my way to plan out a way to make the nighttime section of early chapter 2 read as "night, but not dark", and then the entire bit was annoyingly dark as hell. Trying to get the purple DRACO to visually stand out from the concrete there was obnoxiously difficult. I don't think it's bad-- I like the 'scribble background' gimmick I came up with to save myself from having to do backgrounds there, for one thing-- but I don't think it would have killed me to brighten up that section a bit. Something to keep in mind for later.

Speaking of backgrounds. Maybe it's too early to say, but at least right now, changing the background style was a game changer. That was one of the largest time sinks of early pages, adding 2-3 hours to every page that had at least one or two backgrounds. They were doable, but tedious, and as time went on, I found myself enjoying them less and less, instead of more and more as I'd hoped. You can see details start to disappear as a result, as backgrounds stopped being a "fun worldbuilding element" and "visual element of the page" and became just "something I had to draw to get the page done". Changing the style to a much looser one has brought the fun back, and made it much easier to pack in all the details I actually enjoy drawing without getting bogged down in "is the perspective exactly right". I've written posts before about making things easier for yourself if you're doing a long-form project; this is honestly my best example.

GROWTH:

I feel like, looking back, I can see myself become a lot more confident with drawing various things. Steelheart Redux is filled-- intentionally and not-- with things I'm bad at drawing, which has forced me to improve at those things sheerly through unavoidable repetition. Mainly, this includes backgrounds, mechs (still can't get me to draw cars though LOL), full bodies, and profiles.

It's also interesting to see the way I draw characters change. Going into the comic, I'd already been drawing Arthur for years, but making pages forced me to really lock in his design and get comfortable with drawing it. While it's not too different in terms of content, it has a different 'feel' now. This, too, I know is inevitable, and honestly something I look forward to.

I've become a lot more confident in doing these things, which makes making pages less intimidating and lets me experiment more with layouts and angles I might have otherwise been afraid to try. It's nice! It shows in a lot of the end of chapter 2, which is one of my favorite parts of the chapter. I was worried about hitting those emotional beats, because they're setting up for a lot and really needed to feel meaningful, but I think I landed them alright. My character writing is still something I worry a bit about-- there's a lot of subtlety to these guys and this story I worry I won't be able to get across in a more visual story-- but that's something for me to increasingly focus on going forward.

Away from the comic, I've also improved a lot as a 3D modeler. My robot rigs have improved, and I have much better human bases to work off. I can also slam out a layout for a scene much faster, which is a nice time boost to my workflow.

Overall, despite the hurdles and rough edges of some of the early stuff, I'm incredibly proud of everything I've produced. This is the first time I've ever put my heart, body, and soul so thoroughly into a project like this, and I'd like to think it shows.

While we're still in somewhat of the early stage of the comic's story, I'm hoping I've made a solid foundation for myself. I'm so excited for what's to come, and hoping I can execute it even better, year by year.

#steelheart redux #behind the redux #retrospective #long post

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vividraft · 1 day ago

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DAYS OF KNOWING SATORU GOJO !! highschool au. ..!

a/n: still need to figure out a proper layout... but yay! first fic in months! want more?

Day 1

the first time you talked to gojo, he was sat next to you

the teacher had moved him to the front of the glass due to him talking in the back…

he leaned whispered, leaning over to you, asking if you had a pen

without a word you had handed him one, and kept looking at the board

gojo had kind of a reputation as a... rule breaker. or fuckboy if you will. best not to get too involved

Day 11

you had to work on a presentation together…

whenever you tried to find a time you two could meet up, he always had detention… what was this guy doing ?!

“don’t you worry, cutie, I’ll make sure to do my part, you can trust me! do I not look trustworthy?”, there he goes with the random nicknames again…

Day 13

after a bit of chatting gojo managed to get his number into your phone! now you guys can text about the project!!

his first text was something along the lines of ‘hey qt could u send me the notes again?’

you rolled your eyes but sent them to him anyways

Day 15

you managed to find some time to meet up in the library

… and my god was this guy LOUD

"ssh! gojo, we are in a library!", you whisper shouted after earning a side eye from the librarian

he laughed LOUDLY

"come onnn no one actually cares"

you started looking for a spot in the furthest corner of the library. let's not disturb anyone

Day 16

working with him was HORRIBLE

you barely got anything done, spent most of the time trying to avoid his bad pick up lines, and trying to explain simple stuff from class to him

you made him promise that on presentation day, he would have his stuff done

let's hope for the best

Day 19

presentation day came and went and it was...

...horrible to say the least

gojo barely had anything done, and left you standing there stupid. your grade ended up at a mere 63%...

you were reasonably upset with him, so you stopped talking to him during class

but it didn't matter, it's not like you guys were even friends in the first place

then why does he seem to be doing weird things to get your attention..?

Day 26

a horrible day... your necklace seems to be missing, and you have no idea where you could have left it

but then you remember! you took it off for gym class earlier today!!

but there's no way you'll get into the gym now, but what if someone will steal it?? and it's way too late now...

until...

"hey my favorite teachers pet! what's that sour look on your face for?", gojo leaned down mockingly. "I'm not a-- whatever", you sighed, and turned back to nervously fidget with your pencil. But Gojo's eyes seemed to be prying,, until you finally told him.

"I think I left my necklace in the gym, and someone will probably steal it if I can't get it back first..." "Then why not get it back now?", Gojo looked at you like a curious cat, as if he was genuinely confused. "It's way too late, no one is in the gym anymore. I probably won't be able to check until after the weekend", your mind seemed to be trailing off as you stopped talking. "Well? Then let's go get it, no?", Gojo got up from his chair.

A moment of silent passed where you just stared him down with your mouth slightly open in deep set confusion.

"Are you insane? We'll get into huge trouble if we sneak into the gym", you turned towards him. "Ah whateverrr, no one will catch us! I'm like a professional ninja", Gojo stood there proud with his chest out.

"...Yeah no.", you turned back to your desk.

"... Well if you're seriously not coming, I'll go look on my own", Gojo decided as he walked off. Your head shot toward where he was previously standing, as you realized he was seriously sneaking into the gym.

"Wha- Gojo! Wait! You don't even know what it looks like-! Gojo!!", you jumped from your chair darting after him.

When standing in front of your schools gym, Gojo pointed toward an open window. He placed himself below it, to give you a boost. You looked at him dumbfounded. Was this man serious?

You took the offer, and climbed through the window. He followed without needing any help whatsoever.

When inside, you headed straight for the girls locker room, and Gojo followed. Even with no one here, it felt strange seeing a guy looking around the girls locker room. "It feels way cleaner in here than in the guys locker room", he stated. You left it uncommented, though for a moment you wondered what the guy's locker room looked like.

You looked around, checked the lockers, any shelves, and below the benches. And sure enough -- there it was. Your beloved piece of jewelry.

Now that you finally had what you were here for, you noticed how nervous you were about being somewhere you clearly did not belong.

"I got it. Let's get out of here, quickly", you said, and Gojo nodded.

You were quickly walking back to the window you originally came through, when you halted, and Gojo did too.

"You hear that?", you asked, but Gojo just nodded and held a finger to his lips to let you know that being quiet, is a really good idea right now. You tried to control your breathing, and listen for anything that might point toward someone being here, but your heartbeat was way too loud in your ears.

Gojo's eyes widened, and before you could react he shoved you behind the next corner.

"What are you doing here?", your heart dropped into your stomach when you recognized the janitors deep and steady voice.

"Ah, Mr. Anderson! I was looking for something I had lost earlier. Didn't find anything though", Gojo replied without missing a beat. "You know you're not allowed in here alone? Way past schools over? I hate to be filled with so much prejudice, but your reputation makes it hard to believe you were in here for only that", you listened to the conversation. Why was Gojo trying to take the blame at all?

Your mind was racing with any way you could help, but you couldn't think fast enough.

"You wound me! Do I really look like so much of a troublemaker?", Gojo's voice followed, laced with fake hurt. "You don't, but your record surely does. You know, maybe I should take you to the principal for this", your eyes widened when you heard this. "Whaaaat? That's not fair! You don't even-", Gojo was cut off "Yeah, no. You're coming with me young man. Who knows what you were doing in here"

And after a little more whining, and some feet shuffling, the voices distanced themselves from you, and you were left alone in the gym again.

Your legs gave out, and you slid down onto the floor leaning against the wall, clutching the necklace you came here for. Your hand was still clasped over your mouth, and eyes still wide.

'Quick, get up.', you told yourself. Let's get out of this gym.

So you did. After a couple attempts, you managed to climb out of the window again. Your feet landed in the grass, and you finally felt like you could breathe again.

Did Gojo really just take the blame for something? Something like this?

part 2? <3

#jjk #! vivis drafts #jjk satoru #gojo jjk #jjk gojo #jjk x reader #gojo satoru #jujutsu kaisen #satoru gojo #gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #satoru gojo x reader #jjk x you

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threegoldfish · 1 day ago

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Relief washes over Marc when Jenny gives him the clear to stay here rather than to go to a hospital; The thought of being brought there in handcuffs, possibly, because of what he'd done - the reason why he's even here to begin with - had seriously frightened him, somewhere deep within his mind. He did not really think of it, not until now, but... that truth had been there, existing within his head, next to the fact that he would've basically been kicked out of this place in a similar way like he'd been kicked out of the military---

So, to know he's not being made to arrive somewhere while cuffed, with doctors treating him like the murderer he is, able to stay here instead... yeah, it... it allows another, much bigger weight to fall off of his shoulders - has Marc inhale, then exhale, eyes closing briefly as he listens to the nurse chatting along in her truly cheerful way.

"Thank fucking god---" A mutter under his breath, spoken to himself; Marc swallows, then nods when she mentions her need to actually do some other stuff there, leaves the two men alone for the time being. Will check on them in a minute, that's what she says...

And Marc looks back down at the ice-pack he still holds between his fingers, the towel wrapped around it---

It's a bit moist from the condense water that had appeared, soaked into the fabric. That's... convenient, really; Marc begins to unwrap that ice-pack, then puts it onto that small table next to himself, just so that he can use the towel then to dab away on his own features. He does not have a mirror anywhere close, no idea what he looks like, but... he knows where most of that by now dried blood is sticking to his lips and chin, so... he rubs some of it away. Being careful to not agitate his nose too much, just working on the skin surrounding it.

He also avoids the split on his upper lip, obviously. It's not too bad, thankfully, just a bit annoying...

---Then, another wave of surprise and Marc whips his head around to look at Harrow - properly take in the sight of him - at the offer he makes. It's... it's just so absolutely not what he'd expected that man to say, and it... well, it---

Shit. It does something to him. That doctor there, master of anything OCD, as dry as an old piece of bread, actually talks about staying by Marc's side - offers to get a book, cards even, or to just remain silent while offering his company.

Is Marc staring at the other because of that, all wide-eyed with his lips parted? Yeah, definitely. It's one thing to be nice, another to be a doctor who cares, but... this? It's a lot. Marc certainly did not think of Harrow to ever be like that. Why would he even want to remain in the first place? Marc's a grown ass adult. He can be at the infirmary all by himself without going crazy on the spot. Hell, he's even having his own room where nothing but white walls and a window surround him...

"...Listen, I'm..." Suddenly feeling a thousand emotions at once, Marc clears his throat as he glances to the side, the now quite bloody towel being lowered back onto his lap as his gaze roams, brain working as he tries to think for a minute here.

"---I said some things, I know, the whole 'it's nice to get rid of me'-thing, but... you don't have to stay. I can handle myself in here." Licking his bottom lip, tasting some leftover iron, Marc uses that towel again to dab away some additional crimson before he lowers it again - gaze on his own hands now as he starts to wipe them on the very same towel. "...I was just---"

Being kicked out of places feels... like losing hold, slipping, falling; Marc had panicked a little upon being faced with something similar again - being told to go somewhere else because he'd done a thing...

A sigh, with him visibly having to push himself to even speak the next words out loud - goes as far as turning his head away completely, not wanting to show off his always-too-vulnerable gaze whenever he's emotionally affected by something.

"...---I've already been kicked out of a place that felt familiar to me, been pushed into a place I don't wanna be at - no offense, but it's a psych ward, y'know - and... it feels like I'm some kind of prawn on a chess board, moved left and right because that's just how it's done; Being forced to go somewhere else yet again sounded... scary, yeah. A place where people stare at you, and where I would probably be handcuffed because I'm technically a criminal who's been told to go here instead of a prison... ---Besides, I've always taken care of myself. I know what to do."

Another deep inhale of air, followed by an exhale. A gaze that trails back to his hands, a subtle shake of his head...

"I appreciate that you wanna stay, but... I promise, I'm good."

Jenny gave a quiet noise in confirmation as she scanned Marc’s eyes, holding the flashlight steady. It was good that Marc didn’t flinch this time, noted only with a smile; just for a second, like she noticed and it mattered.

“You’re right,” she agreed, with a smile. “Doctor OCD isn’t wrong. But I’ve seen plenty of concussed heads, and yours isn’t the worst I’ve seen. No vomiting, no double vision, no confusion - I think we can manage without a hospital trip.”

She stood up, smiling kindly and giving his shoulder a small pat. “You’ll stay here for today, though. Rest painkillers, fluids, ice - just the standard stuff. The doctor can pick a good bed for you, and you can call for me if you need me - I’ll be around.”

She moved to scribble something else in the chart. “I’ll check in again in a minute,” she promised. “We’ve got some medications that I have to prep for the other patients - try not to punch Arthur, while I’m gone. You could probably take him down with less than that, if he irritates you too badly.”

Her nose scrunched as she smiled, indicating nothing more than a joke; she slipped out only a moment later, off to prepare painkillers for other patients, for those who were on temporary medications through her.

Arthur watched, his fingers curling around the paper cup as she left; he hadn’t said anything, even if he was almost tempted to.

“See?” He offered. “No hospital. You’ll stay here today, and I can stay with you. As long as no one requests me, I’m free.” Some patients would have a breakdown, if they couldn’t see him when they wanted him; other than that, he’d probably be free.

“If you’d like, I could bring you a book. Or if you’re up for it, I could bring some cards - or we can just stay quiet. I’m not a very forceful man, you know.” He sipped from his coffee, careful, trying to be gentle with it only because it was so hot.

#preemptivejustice #threads & interactions; marc spector #(oof. marc lots of emotions and fears)

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sanjoongie · 4 hours ago

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Bₐd Dₑₛᵢᵣₑ ~ ₚₛycₕₒ! ₛₑᵣᵢₐₗ ₖᵢₗₗₑᵣ! ᵥₐₘₚᵢᵣₑₛ!

🔪Pairing: Vampire! Heeseung x Vampire! Jake x Vampire! Jay x Vampire! Sunghoon x Human! Reader (Sweetheart) (f)

🔪Genre: smut, horror

🔪Au: vampire, dystopian

🔪Trope: captive/captor

🔪Rating: 18+, MDNI

🔪Word Count: 8,328

🔪Warnings: ⚠the warning is in the title folks, dark content ahead⚠, spitting, knocking someone out cold, holding breath under water, vampire powers (fast speed, super hearing, super smell, hypnosis), blood sucking, biting, details of areas where killings have taken place, verbal taunting, cutting by knife, descriptions of freeze dry food, details of bodily mutilation, serial killer tendencies, fainting due to blood loss, adrenaline shot, blood infusion, descriptions of stabbing, descriptions of wrists being cut, physical fighting

🔪Kinks: predator/prey kink, fear kink, licking, oral (f), knife kink (used to cut reader shallowly in order to drink her blood), orgasm denial, dubcon (hypnosis used to coerce sex)

🔪Summary: when four vampires decide to pick up a human for some steady blood, they certainly get what they paid for. However, you have no idea what's in store for you. If only you knew...

🔪Author's Note: all inspo comes from these different sets of concept photos that had my mind racing. i truly have no clue where I'm going with this and if there will be more but i had so much fun writing for these characters. no regrets

🔪Beta: @downtoamagicalland

🔪divider by @cafekitsune

In a vast theatre, where the remnants of velvet curtains still cling to the wings of the stage, a young man is pulled onto the stage. He struggles weakly against his bonds. The vampires in the theatre seats cheer, hoot and cat call. The vampires that had dragged the human on stage, laugh mockingly. It’s a fair for food, and that human isn’t going anywhere.

The announcer smiles broadly to his audience. “As you can see here, we have prime real estate with this one.”

A thug vampire pulls forwards the young man’s bound hands until his inner arms are on display. Two screens on opposite sides of the stage, where there used to be opera seats for the upper class have been repurposed for close ups of the selling product. On his inner arms, visible veins can be seen. The crowd goes wild for the view.

The announcer draws a finger down the line of the young man’s arms. “He was practically made for vampire fodder.”

The thug next pulls back the strong neck of the vulnerable young man, who whimpers at the angle his head is yanked to. A camera zooms in on the pulse of the human’s artery and some of the crowd rushes the stage. More thugs stand in front of the stage to hold back the throng.

“Now now,” The announcer walks forward. “Be good children and go back to your seats. We will start our bidding as soon as you all behave.”

Jay crosses one foot of the other, rattling the seat ahead of him in the balcony. “This is stupid.”

“We don’t have any jobs,” Jake reasons. “You know how Heeseung gets when he’s bored.”

Heeseung sits so forward on his seat, eyes glued to the screen where they keep flashing the veins of the human there. Sunghoon sighs and puts a hand on Heeseung’s shoulder. “We don’t have enough money for him.”

Jay snorts. “Yeah, and who’s fault is that?”

Heeseung turns his head slowly, an eerie grin pulling at his lips. “Worth it.”

“Listen, we should go to where the dredges are being sold,” Jake announces.

Sunghoon sends a look of regret towards the stage before standing up. He kicks Jay’s rude feet off the seat in front of him. “Let's go.”

They fall in line with each other, Jake shooting forward to walk beside Sunghoon as Heeseung and Jay fall behind them. Bad combination.

“Seriously,” Jay starts back up again, aiming his poison towards Heeseung. “Do you have to be such a psychopath? If you had just held back a little bit, we would be drowning in money. But nooooooo, you just had to go straight for the jugular and hold your mouth over the spray like a dog with a fire hydrant.”

“Drop it, Jay,” Sunghoon says over his shoulder.

Heeseung simply shrugs, pulling his knife. “How could I resist?”

Jay’s lips pull into a sneer. “Easy. Think about the many others we could have bought and tortured and enjoyed.”

Heeseung’s shoulders droop in disappointment. Then he licks his knife. Jay makes a look of disgust as a line of blood shows, black along Heeseung’s tongue. “Why’d we get stuck with the true psychopath?”

Jake flashes a giddy smile, laughing at his companions. “Just lucky I guess.”

The lobby of the old theatre features body hawkers, selling humans for a low price. These humans aren’t as tantalizing as the prime piece that had been on stage but they still pumped blood, and thus, are appealing.

Sunghoon’s eye trails over the offerings. “What are we looking for today?”

“I think…” Jake puts a finger to his lips in thought.

“Someone who will put up more of a fight than the last one,” Jay mutters under his breath.

“Heard that,” Sunghoon frowns at Jay, who is clearly in one of his moods.

Heeseung’s eyes zero in on a human across the room. All the others have given up, huddling on themselves, either hoping they don’t get sold on this day, or their eyes stare lifelessly at nothing. But this one stares defiantly. Her chin is stubbornly held at an angle, as if to dare anyone to buy her. She looked like she would fight tooth and nail.

Heeseung points at her. “That one.”

“Oh?” Jake curiously follows Heeseung’s finger.

“Seriously?” Jay questions immediately. “You want to take the choice of the one that will just bleed her dry immediately?”

Sunghoon cocks his head. He can see where Heeseung might be tempted. Breaking the humans of their will is a great pastime. So the even-keeled vampire meanders towards the body hawker clearly in charge of this female that’s pulled at Heeseung, and now Sunghoon.

“How much for that one?” Sunghoon inquires.

The body hawker looks derisively at the female who chooses the same moment to spit on Heeseung. “I haven’t broken her in yet, I shouldn’t have brought her to market.”

Heeseung thumbs the spit on his cheek and then brings it to his mouth, sucking down on it. The female tsks loudly. Heeseung begins to giggle.

Jake leans on the body hawker companionably. “You should give us a good deal then. We’ll take her off your hands, since she’s such a problem.”

The body hawker eyes up Jake uncertainly. “You won’t complain to the association that I sold you bad goods?”

“Course not,” Jake pats the body hawker in reassurance. “Now, what kind of coin are we talking about?”

Jay shakes his finger in front of Heeseung’s face. “I don’t care how much we pay for her, you don’t kill her before the month’s up, at least.”

“Jay,” Sunghoon warns the other vampire. “You know he’ll only put up with so much of your shit.”

Heeseung crouches in front of the female. “We’re going to have a lot of fun, you and I, I can tell.”

“I’d rather run into traffic,” the female snarls.

Heeseung casts his head back and laughs whole heartedly. Sunghoon is on guard. The more jovial Heeseung acts, the more off the deep end he actually is.

Jay moves his hand to grip her chin roughly in his hands, turning her head from side to side. “She’s small. Starved. Not much of a meal.”

Jake makes a face of agreement towards the body hawker. “He’s got a point.”

The body hawker grumbles. He comes to a price with Jake, handing over blood enhancement products to make the human healthier quickly. “That’s my final price. Take it or go.”

“Done,” Jake slaps his hand, with the coin, against the palm of the body hawker and shakes it eagerly. “Happy to do business with you.”

Sunghoon grabs the rope that binds the female and pulls her upwards effortlessly. “Come on now.”

She pulls back immediately. Fear flashes through her eyes but she doesn’t dare show it on her face. “No.”

Jay sighs and rubs a hand over his face. “She’s going to be like chewing tough meat.”

Heeseung is smiling like he’s a kid just given the go ahead to buy the candy he’s been whining for. “Chewing isn’t bad.”

Sunghoon throws the female over his shoulder with a grunt. “Whatever. Let’s just get out of here.”

Heeseung follows closely at Sunghoon’s heels, head turning any way that lets him make contact with the female. “What’s your name?”

“Fuck you,” She curses, squirming in Sunghoon’s hold.

Jake strolls beside Heeseung with his hands in his pockets. “What do you wanna name her, Heeseung? You found her. You get dibs.”

Jay rolls his eyes. “Yes, let the psychopath name the blood bag.”

Heeseung announces with a deep breath. “Sweetheart.”

Jake throws his head back in belly laughter. “Oh, that’s brilliant.”

Jay shakes his head. “What did I ever do to get stuck with all of you?!”

“Alright, Sweetheart,” Sunghoon says. “It’s light’s out for you.”

“Excuse me?!” Sweetheart says with barely withheld fury.

“Night night,” Heeseung whispers before Jake knocks her out.

“You really worried about her making a run for it, like Heeseung isn’t going to kill her quickly?” Jay says in disbelief.

“No one knows how to get to our lair, them’s the rules,” Jake says with a know-it-all look.

Jay rolls his eyes. “Can’t believe you let the psychopath name our blood bag.”

Sunghoon hefts Sweetheart higher on his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

***

A light humming tugs at your senses. It slowly but surely pulls you out of your subconsciousness and into reality. Your eyes flutter open and then the humming stops.

“There you are,” the same, melodic voice washes over you.

You blink blearily and realize it’s the vampire that chose you to be purchased leaning over you. You purse your lips, unimpressed. “I’m surprised I even woke up.”

Heeseung sports a small, knowing smile. “Where’s the fun in biting you when you’re out cold?”

You bank the curl of fear that surrounds your heart. You know better than anyone not to show any weakness in front of a vampire; especially not one as crazy as this one. “Where am I?”

Heeseung stands up and throws his arms out. “This is our lair, Sweetheart. We should throw a welcome party in your honor.”

You cast a wary glance around the open room. There are shuttered windows and tall windows with long curtains. It’s an open concept, perhaps an old lodge from a forgotten time when humans once ruled the world. There are antlers EVERY where. The irony that human hunters used to live here where now vampire hunters now inhabit isn’t lost on you.

“Where are the others?” You can’t help but wonder.

Heeseung’s smile slowly falls from his face. “They’re out hunting.”

You nod like you understand but you don’t. You’ve never lived the life of a vampire.

“That leaves you and I together,” Heeseung alludes.

You feel every muscle in your body lock up in fear. You lick your lips. “Oh? How delightful.”

Heeseung flashes a toothy smile. “Isn’t it? Just you and me.”

“The body hawker considered me feral, you know,” You advise the vampire who is stalking towards you with sure steps.

“What a delicious quality,” Heeseung purrs.

“Wouldn’t you rather someone pliant? Someone who won’t resist?” You persist.

Heeseung crouches before you once again. “That's no fun.”

“Ah yes, because what’s an immortal life without a little fun,” You scoff.

“Exactly.” Heeseung licks his lips slowly.

You raise your chin stubbornly. “Well, if you’re going to torture me, might as well get it over with.”

Heeseung cocks his head curiously. “Torture? Do you want that?”

A bitter laugh barks from your throat. “Want? Of course not!”

Heeseung pouts for a moment. “Oh. Why bring it up then?”

“I heard the other one. Jay? Say you were a psychopath. Psychopaths usually want to carve up their victims.”

“But Sweetheart!” Heeseung protests, his eyes swirling with madness and something else. “You’re not my next victim.”

You freeze like a deer caught in headlights as Heeseung reaches out to smooth his hand over your jaw. “And what’s with the goddamn nickname?”

“You wouldn't tell me what your name was. Besides, you smell sweet.”

“Why did you buy me if not to torture me then?” You can’t help but persistently question the vampire in front of you.

“For your blood, of course,” Heeseung answers you in a matter-of-fact voice.

You let out a small noise of disgruntlement. “Obviously!”

“Then you won’t fight me?” Heeseung says with an air of disappointment.

“I will fight you with every bone in my body,” You promise.

“Good.” Heeseung grins and you see what Jay sees: a pure psychopath. “I’ll give you a head start. Don’t bother trying the doors. They’re all locked.”

You jolt upwards and make a beeline for the stairs. It’s of no use. Heeseung was true to his word, all the doors are locked. You run back down, the soft chuckling of Heeseung haunting you. You dash for the basement stairs instead and find much more than you initially realized.

The basement is its own little world. You speed past stark white rooms with blinds and soft lighting. The further you go in, the more clinical it is. But some rooms are… dirty. Messy. Covered in blood and who knows what else. Well, you know, but your brain can't let you identify it without screaming. And you very much need to stay quiet if you want to keep Heeseung from biting you.

The deeper you go, with more stairs aiding you, the more the atmosphere changes. You go from modern to something wild. Dirt and rocks and you can smell sulfur. What is this place? You find a pond. A shallow pond, but a body of water nonetheless. If you submerge yourself, will that hide your scent from Heeseung? It is worth a try.

You don’t hear Heeseung first, per say. More like you hear metal against rock. You don’t dare duck your head under water and hold your breath until Heeseung is very close. But that doesn’t stop your heart from beating a mile per minute at the sounds Heeseung is making.

You know that you are only drawing Heeseung closer to you but you can't help your reaction. Perhaps it is a better idea to submerge yourself and attempt to at least slow your heart.

You did so for as long as you could, the faint beating of your heart echoing in your eardrums. Your head slowly comes out of the water, still unable to spot Heeseung. But you can hear him.

“Will you struggle for me?” Heeseung wonders out loud, his voice echoing through the corridors. “Will you claw at me and shout? I long to feel your pulse against my tongue. Sweetheart.”

You can’t help but shudder at Heeseung’s words. He truly is a psychopath. Or did that just come with the territory when you were long lived and hunted others?

You dunk under the water again, hoping that Heeseung would circle back towards the upper levels. Your sluggish heartbeat should be undetectable. This wasn’t the first time you had attempted to hide from vampires before.

You come back up to find Heeseung in the room you are in. You fill your lungs full of air quietly. If even the smallest whimper flits past your lips, you’re done for.

“How interesting for you to come here,” Heeseung ponders out loud still. “Was this a part of your monkey brain hiding in the water? Unaware that the crocodiles lie in wait.”

What the hell was that supposed to mea--

“Peekaboo.”

Your scream bounces off all available walls. You wince and close your eyes. Everything is ruined now.

“Did you really think you’d win?” The voice behind you says with amusement. “Did you think you were the only human that’s played this game?”

You turn around slowly and find the vampire that bartered for you with the body hawker. He is drenched like you, a tiny, smug smirk tugging at his lips.

“Fuck you,” You say, albeit somewhat weakly.

“Don’t offer me a good time, Sweetheart.”

Heeseung growls behind you. The vampire in front of you raises his hands. “Okay, okay, Heeseung. You’ve got first dibs. I get it.”

You slowly move out of the pond, angling for the end that Heeseung isn't waiting on.

The vampire in the water with you stays where he is but begins to giggle. “Now now, Heeseung won. You aren't about to get away.”

“He said some fucked up shit,” You say as if that will explain anything.

“Is that true, Heeseung? Did you say some fucked up shit to scare her?” The vampire asks.

Both vampires laugh together and you feel your temper rise. Fear spikes along with it when you see Heeseung with a short blade.

“Come here, Sweetheart,” Heeseung says in a sing-song voice. “I told you we'd have some fun.”

You begin to back up. “You said you weren't going to torture me.”

Heeseung takes a step forward for every one of your steps backwards. “Oh, I won't be carving you up.”

You gulp loudly. “Then what's up with the knife, Jack?”

Heeseung cocks his head curiously and looks to the other vampire for help.

“Jack the Ripper. Known human serial killer. He killed whores with doctor-precision. She's mentally reaching for something familiar,” the other vampire supplies.

Heeseung flips his blade, catching it by the hilt. “You want to be my whore?”

You laugh mirthlessly. “Fuck my life.”

“Just a little bit of blood,” Heeseung murmurs, his eyes zeroing in on your neck. “Then we can have all the fun you want.”

You refuse to break eye contact as your back hits the cave wall. Heeseung advances on you, knife flicking between his fingers. You hear the whish of the knife before you feel the sting of the cut.

“There's a good girl,” Heeseung whispers as he leans into your neck, where your pain is radiating from.

The roughness of Heeseung’s tongue on your skin makes you wince. Once his saliva is introduced to your bloodstream, your blood thins out and you bleed steadily for him. Instead of sucking at your neck, Heeseung continues to lap at the cut on your neck, like you're a saucer of cream and he is a cat.

Your nails dig into the palms of your hands. You feel warmth curl in your lower stomach and you inwardly curse. What the fuck was going on here?

Heeseung’s hands glide over your hips to hold you steady but you knock them away. Heeseung laughs and then slams a hand near the wall by your head.

“Will let me drink from you but won't let me touch you. You play a strong game, Sweetheart.”

“It's not a game,” You snarl.

“It's always a game,” pipes in the other vampire.

“Jakey boy? It's time for you to leave,” Heeseung suggests sugar sweetly.

Jake hums in discontentment. “Already? I can't stay and watch some more?”

“Watch what?” You demand.

“Leave!” Heeseung commands.

“Fine. I'm going, I'm going,” Jake mutters. “Geez.”

“You had your fill of me,” You say, legs itching to move with Jake.

Heeseung’s eyes zero in on you. “Oh no, sweetheart, I have not had my fill of you.”

“Why are you all like this?! In my world, this is done freely!” Your eyes widen once you realize what you've said.

“Your world?” Heeseung’s eyes grow dark with intellect. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” You vow to never open your mouth ever again.

“Heeseung! I told you he was going to have the first taste, Sunghoon. Heeseung!”

Heeseung sighs loudly and places his forehead on your shoulder. “And we were having such a fun play time.”

Jay, the disgruntled one, jogs into the cave. “I smell blood. I knew it.”

You watch as the vampire that had thrown you over his shoulder and Jay enter the cave. Sunghoon, you assume, is pushing back Jake with two fingers to his chest.

“Heeseung, we talked about this. You were going to hunt after we came back. You were supposed to watch over her,” Sunghoon says.

“And since when are you on his side?” Jay demands to Jake.

Jake shrugs. “We were just having a bit of fun.”

Sunghoon rubs the bridge of his nose. “He must have some sense of ownership since he picked her.”

“She’s OUR bloodbag,” Jay insists.

Jake smiles. “Sure she is.”

“Her blood is sweet,” Heeseung whispers.

All three vampires freeze, like they had no problem hearing the psycho vampires quiet voice. Damn super hearing.

“At least she’s not dead,” Jay begrudgingly admits.

“I circled back so I didn’t… I’ll take him with me to hunt,” Jake says, as if he’s making amends for pairing up with Heeseung’s tricks.

Heeseung turns around and stands in front of you. “All other blood will taste like ash compared to her.”

Jay rolls his eyes and shakes his head. “Dramatic much?”

Heeseung grins widely in response. “You’ll know soon.”

“All this talk about being hungry has me hungry,” You mutter under your breath.

Sunghoon jerks his chin in your direction. “Make sure she gets fed, Jay. I’ll make sure those two actually do what they’re told.”

“Do I need a babysitter?” Heeseung cackles maniacally.

Jake can’t help but smile a bit with Heeseung. “Seems like our brothers don’t trust us anymore.”

Jay roughly grabs your upper arm and yanks you back towards the entrance of the cave. “Come on. We’ve got food.”

Silently you follow along, even though Jay shows no signs of letting you go. “You act like I was in on it too. You know, if I had my say, I wouldn’t have run through this place like a prison escape.”

Jay looks down to the side of him at you, looking like he doesn’t believe a word you say. But you have a feeling he treats everyone like that. “Yeah well, either way, you’re more dangerous now that he’s had a taste of you.” Jay mutters under his breath to himself. “Sweet blood? Ash? He’s even further in the deep end today.”

Your hand unconsciously goes to the cut on your neck. Why slice you with the knife and not his fangs? These four vampires were beyond your comprehension.

Jay prepares a meal for you once you get back to the cabin portion of the fucked up place these vampires inhabit. It’s one of the simple pre-packaged bullshit the vampires make for their blood bags. Some kind of combination of astronaut food from the old world when humans were in charge and a sci-fi blend of the future. The packet goes from three portioned foil in a microwave to a plate of food. Either way, it tastes nothing like real food and you make a face when Jay puts it in front of you at the table.

Jay sighs loudly. “Eat. You’re lucky we’re even feeding you.”

“You have to feed me to feed from me. Even I know that,” You scoff back.

Jay slams his fist against the table, making you jump. “I don’t know who or what you think you are, but you are like livestock to us. You don’t matter much beyond a fun chase and some blood. Now eat before I break the rules next.”

“Yeah?!” You demand, feeling rebellion and anger surge through your veins. You pull aside your dirty shirt, bearing your shoulder and collarbones. “Why the pretense then? Just worry away at my neck like a damn dog. Break my neck and drink from me while my life’s blood drains from me. Go on! Do it!”

Jay’s eyes flash, too quickly for you to read, but red nonetheless. “You’re getting on my nerves, blood bag.”

“The feeling is mutual, Tick!”

“Tick?!” Jay shouts, pushing back his chair, the noise screaming against your ear drums.

“Uh oh, do you think it’s okay to leave those two alone together?” Jake wonders mockingly, having climbed up the stairs finally with Heeseung and Sunghoon.

“Jay?” Sunghoon says his name uncertainly.

“She started it!” Jay points his finger accusatorily at you.

“Yes, because I’m in charge of my life right now,” You mutter.

Jay lunges across the table to grab you but Sunghoon intercepts him. Sunghoon’s hand is firmly wrapped around Jay's wrist.

“Why are you rising to her bait? Are you not the superior species here?” Sunghoon says with an eyebrow raised.

“You will sit and you will eat,” Jay ignores Sunghoon and points a finger at you.

Now it's your turn to roll your eyes. “Yes, Mom.”

Jake snickers behind his hand. “Maybe he prefers Mommy.”

Sunghoon sends a withering glance to Jake. “Don't you start too.”

Jay won't meet your eyes now, but that's okay, you can't look him in the eye either. Grudgingly, you eat but the other vampires never leave to hunt. That makes you nervous but you do nothing to let that known

“She's coming with us, isn't she?” Heeseung says somewhat gleefully.

“Clearly none of us can be trusted,” Sunghoon says begrudgingly.

Did that include Sunghoon too?

Heeseung holds out his hand to you and wiggles his fingers. “Come hunting with me, Sweetheart. Oh, how your heart will pitter patter.”

You ignore the offered hand and walk to the door. “Well?”

“You can't just go out there,” Jay says.

“I'm with you four, aren't I?”

“But no one will know that,” Jake adds.

“And????” You say somewhat strained and impatient.

“You'll need to smell like one of us has fed from you. You can't steal another vampire's food,” Sunghoon says quietly.

Jake’s proverbial ears practically perk up. “Rock paper scissors?!” He asks hopefully.

“But! Heeseung fed from me!” You protested.

“No, Heeseung cut you and licked you,” Jake corrects.

Now you're the one blushing. When Jake put it that way... It sounded so dirty “So?”

“You need to be bitten. Our venom needs to be in your system. That's the only way,” Sunghoon says, making eye contact.

You stare at all four vampires. “This is a trick, isn’t it? The stupid little human who doesn’t understand, right?”

If Jake had a tail, it would be wagging. He fidgets from foot to foot as he says, “I can do it. It’ll be super quick. I’ve got the smallest fangs. You’ll barely feel it.”

This time it's Jay that snickers. Jake sends Jay a baleful look.

“Can you at least not do it on the same side Heeseung already cut me?” You ask quietly.

The words are barely out of your mouth before Jake zooms to your side. His clothes still move with gravity, hair fluttering over his face. “No worries. That’s Heeseung’s side now.”

Your face screws up in confusion and Jake laughs. You see his fangs flash for a second and then you feel a pain in your neck. Jake’s hand is cupping the back of your neck and the small of your back.

Heeseung is restrained, barely, by Sunghoon and Jay. “She doesn’t like to be touched!” Heeseung snarls.

Jay sends a look of confusion at Heeseung. “Since when do you care about what a blood bag likes?”

Heeseung snaps his teeth in front of Jay’s face. “She’s not a blood bag, Jongseong.”

“Come on man, don’t call me that,” Jay laments.

“There,” Jake whispers against your neck and then he takes a step back. “See? Not a problem.”

Your fingers can’t help but find the two holes on your neck now. Heat radiates from them. “That was quick.”

Jay snickers again and Jake zooms, ending up holding the front of Jay’s shirt with two clenched fists.

Sunghoon lets go of Heeseung with a loud sigh. “This human is starting to be more of an issue than I originally anticipated. Alright, clearly you two are hungry. Let's burn off that angry energy.”

Jake lets go of Jay, silently fuming, but then becomes all smiles. “Come on, Mommy.”

Heeseung waggles his fingers again but Sunghoon puts a hand on his forearm and pushes the hand down. “You have to hunt. I’ll watch over her.”

“Sweetheart,” Heeseung insists, eyes solidly locked with Sunghoon.

“Yes, I’ll watch over Sweetheart,” Sunghoon corrects himself.

Heeseung’s eyes soften when he turns to you but he says nothing, instead slipping out of Sunghoon’s hand and pushing Jake and Jay ahead of him. “Touch her again without my permission and I will pull your eyes out with a whisk.”

“That’s creative,” Jake grins.

Jay looks at Heeseung like he’s crazy. “Yeah yeah, come on, I’ll show you where we found a clutch of them.”

“Do not put me over your shoulder again!” You protest towards Sunghoon immediately. “That was degrading, to say the least.”

Sunghoon smiles but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “I wouldn’t dare bend a hair on your head, Sweetheart. After all, it seems like Heeseung is quite attached. That’s rare enough.”

“Good,” you let out a sigh of relief.

“You will, however, have to hold onto me. We are hunting and don’t move at mortal speed.”

You can’t help but wrinkle your nose. “Great.”

Sunghoon swoops you into his arms in a millisecond and the world begins to stream past you. “I don’t exactly enjoy doing this either, Sweetheart.” The nickname somehow sounds like an insult with Sunghoon’s lips.

“Must suck being the most sane of them all,” You mutter.

“Who said that?” Sunghoon murmurs.

Just as suddenly as you started, you stop. The scene is something you had been privy to countless times. Only this time you knew the names of the vampires. Heeseung was drinking from the wrist of someone’s broken arm. Jake had slashed the chest of another, the blood streaming into the clothes as he drank greedily as well.

As Sunghoon lets you down, you look away, not wanting to see the life slowly fade from the other human’s eyes. Bad idea, because now you’re looking at Jay. Jay’s face is stoic but he’s watching the other two feed. “You should have seen Sunghoon’s last kill. We weren’t as merciful as those two right now.”

You make a look of disgust. Vampires were animals. Smart animals, but feral nonetheless.

“Did someone get a pet mortal?” A melodic voice echoes from the shadows of the surrounding forest.

“Sunoo. Happy Hunting,” Sunghoon greets the new arrival.

“I never thought I’d see the day,” Sunoo continues to say, voice almost purring.

You shudder and he laughs. “Such a frail one at that. I thought you preferred heartier meals.”

“Go ask the psychopath. He’s the one stuck on her. Says he wanted a fight,” Jay jeers.

The clear look of shock is almost comical on Sunoo’s features. “Seungie?!” His nostrils flare for a moment. “But I smell Jake on her.”

Jay winces. “Sunoo.”

The air is heavy for a moment. You feel like something is being said over your head but you can’t catch it.

“Oh. Right. I forgot. Well, enjoy your new pet.”

You don’t even see Sunoo leave because Heeseung is wiping his face with the back of his hand, effectively smearing blood further along his face. “Disgusting.”

Jay shoves his hands in his pocket. “Such a snob now.”

Jake waves at you with two bloody hands. “All fed now!”

Sunghoon jerks his head back towards what you assume is their home. “Good. Let’s get out of here. We already attracted Sunoo’s attention. It won’t be long before word spreads.”

Heeseung crouches before you. “Hop on, Sweetheart.”

You look at the other three vampires but no one protests. Better than Sunghoon’s arms, right?

You cautiously straddle Heeseung’s back but he jostles you higher up his arms, making you collapse against him. And then it’s off to the races.

You duck your head behind Heeseung’s, cheek against the collar of his shirt. You’re worried that you’ll get hit by an errant branch or such. “Please don’t let me die,” You say to yourself.

“Nothing will ever make you bleed except us,” Heeseung oh so casually throws over his shoulder.

Super encouraging.

When Heeseung stops, you’re back in the log cabin. However, Heeseung doesn’t release your legs to let you down. He keeps you perched on his back.

“She’s sleeping with me today,” Heeseung declares.

‘“Heeseung, be reasonable," Sunghoon says, holding his hands out as if he’s about to calm a feral dog. “She needs to be restrained. We have a room for that.”

Heeseung shakes his head adamantly. “No. That’s not safe enough.”

“Not safe enough,” Jay laughs mirthlessly. “Heeseung, no one has ever escaped the second level.”

“I’m not worried about Sweetheart escaping. I’m worried about the third level.”

“He’s got a point,” Jake agrees.

“You just want Heeseung to pave the way so you can sleep with her!” Jay protests.

Sunghoon closes his eyes and rubs his temples. “She’s going in the secure room.”

Heeseung steps forward but Jay steps in his way. “You can’t always get your way, Psychopath.”

“Is it true? That you want Sweetheart to call you, Mommy?” Heeseung shoots back instead.

Jake is slapping his thighs while laughing. “Oh god, can you imagine?”

You tap Heeseung’s shoulder. “Can I get down now? Please?”

“You’re wrong, Jongseong. I always get my way.”

Sunghoon sighs. “Heeseung--”

Dark panelled wood blends seamlessly until you realize that you’re in a different room and the others are not here. “Be a good girl and sleep with me, hmmm? You’ll do that for me, won’t you, Sweetheart?”

You slid from Heeseung’s back, eyes flitting around. It’s bare of anything except a closet and a broken bed. “Surely not on that.”

Heeseung breaks out into a smile that sends a shudder down your spine. “No, not on that.”

The two puncture marks on your neck pulse and you slap your hand on your neck. “What the fuck was that?”

“Found her. He’s just in his room. Weird. Heeseung, buddy, what’s going on?” Jake calls out.

“Can you track me because of your bite too?” You demand.

Jake sends you a lopesided smile. “Sure can. Can do some other fun stuff with the bite too. How about we--”

“No.”

You now have the wonderful image of Heeseung’s back. He’s blocking your view of Jake.

“Oh, come on, Heeseung! You had the first taste, let me have this!” Jake protests.

“No one is having anything,” Sunghoon joins the chat. “Heeseung, go put her in the room!”

“No.”

“Well, you’re not sleeping with her. You know how unstable you get when you slumber during the day.”

“It will be different with her.”

“You don’t know that.”

“You don’t know that it won’t.”

Jake tries not to look excited. “Ah, an impasse. You know, I’m still here. How about--?”

Heeseung and Sunghoon say no to Jake at the same time. Which might have made you giggle, if you knew what the hell was going on right now.

“I won’t sleep,” Jay offers with a hesitant voice.

“The next time day breaks, you’ll sleep even longer though, Jay!” Sunghoon argues.

“It’s fine. I’ll watch over the bloo--Sweetheart. She’ll be safe. I swear it.”

Heeseung grudgingly moves out of the way, giving you a clear view of Jay at the door. Heeseung raises his hand as if he’s going to pet you but stops, thinking better of it. “I will dream of you, Sweetheart,” he offers instead.

You walk by Heeseung warily. “Vampires don’t dream.”

“Psychopathic ones do,” Jay grunts.

“Alright, now that that’s figured out, I’d like to go to sleep now.” Jake salutes you jauntily with two fingers to his forehead and then he’s gone.

“Good day,” Sunghoon nods resolutely to Heeseung.

You can feel that Heeseung’s eyes never leave your form, even as you exit with Sunghoon and Jay. They both walk down at normal paces down the stairs with you trailing behind them.

“Mind your temper, please. You know what will happen if Heeseung sees she’s been mistreated. He has seemed to form an attachment to her.”

“I got this. Okay?” Jay presses. He shoots you a look and then returns his gaze to Sunghoon. “I swore on it.”

“Pinky promise,” You suggest.

“Yeah yeah, whatever lame ritual the humans do too. I gave my word, Sunghoon.”

Sunghoon sends you a look that he’s clearly uncertain where you stand. “Try to stay alive.”

“That’s the plan,” You grumble.

“Come on. My bedroom actually has a bed for a human to sleep on. You should get your rest while you still can,” Jay suggests.

Jay’s room isn’t as dilapidated as Heeseung's. The bed is intact and there’s a few personal nicknacks. You take a seat on the bed.

“So. Why the sudden change of heart, Jay?”

Jay won’t look at you but he does close the door behind him with his foot. “Because I don’t want Heeseung to kill our latest blood bag during his slumber.”

“Come on, that must sound lame, even to you,” You scoff.

Jay’s eyes wander around the room. “Yeah, well, that’s the truth. It’s the best answer you’re going to get right now.”

“Don’t you think I should know some things since I'm going to be here for a bit?” You push.

“Listen, I don’t like the guy anymore than you do, but that’s not my story to tell,” Jay resists.

Still, Jay ends up sitting on the side of the bed with you. As he was pulled like a magnet, despite his attitude towards you. You couldn't quite figure this vampire out, even though on the surface, he appeared as a disgruntled guy.

“Guess I’m gonna die eventually anyways,” You shrug.

“You’re not going to die,” Jay stresses the last word like you’re being dramatic. “Especially if Heeseung has anything to say about it.”

“And you?” You poke.

Jay runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s weird. Heeseung has never acted this way before. With anyone. And believe you me, we’ve had a lot of you mortals.”

You cross your legs and start to bounce your foot anxiously. You were starting to wonder if your origins were the reason Heeseung seemed to be enamored with you. Even though he was attracted to you before he had even had a taste of your blood.

“Listen, I--”

“Do you wanna fool around?” Jay interrupts you. He’s half turned on the bed, one leg bent on the mattress.

“Do I what?” You say with shock.

“I heard your heart beat spike when Jake brought up the Mommy thing. I’m not going to last this entire day with you on my bed.”

The confession shocks you even further. You knew things had been awkward since that statement but you felt like Jay saw completely through you at this moment.

“Uh…” You honestly didn’t know how to respond to that.

Jay moves closer to you, his leg bumping yours. It causes you to meet his eyes. Those red orbs that seemed to simply suck you in. You felt yourself getting lost in them, falling deeper and deeper.

“You know what would be hot? If you sat on my face and I bit you. Think about it. A little something for you, a little something for me. Don’t you want that?” Jay’s voice goes down an octave, stroking something inside of you.

You find yourself nodding your head in agreement. “I do.”

Jay cups the side of your face, fingers easily sliding into your hair. “See? Fighting isn’t the only choice.”

Your inner core shakes and something suddenly doesn’t feel right. Shouldn’t you be fighting Jay? “I--”

Jay’s eyes swirl once again. “You want me to kiss you now.”

“Jay, why aren’t we kissing?” You echo, a whine growing in the back of your throat.

Jay smirks. “Let me fix that.”

His lips feel cool against the raging inferno your body is feeling. You press eagerly to Jay, lips tangling with teeth and tongue. Jay falls to the bed, smiling into the kiss. Your body straddles his chest, fully invested in this kiss. You feel your lower half becoming wet with need. Everything else falls away.

“So eager,” Jay teases.

“Please,” You whine fully this time.

Jay helps you out of your shorts and gleefully lays back against the pillow at the top of the bed. You eagerly settle on his chest, legs pinning his upper half to the bed.

“I’m about to feast on you, Sweetheart,” Jay groans.

You gaze down at the vampire between your legs with something akin to desire and ownership. Jay’s yours, he just doesn’t know it yet. His place was where he was exactly at this moment.

You cock your head flirtatiously. “You gonna make me feel good?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Jay’s eyes almost roll into the back of his head.

With his arms pinned under you, he uses his lips and tongue only. His nose dives into you at some point and you moan wantonly. He’s absolutely making a mess but you haven’t a care in the world except seeking out pleasure from what Jay is providing.

Mouth deep in your pussy, tongue circling your clit like crazy, Jay extends his fangs and almost passes out from pleasure. Your wetness and your blood is too much for him.

“What the fuck are you?” Jay demands as soon as he removes his mouth from you.

You pant and whine. “I’m a human. Goddamn it, Jay, I was almost there!”

Jay shakes his head. “No, you’re not. I’ve never tasted blood like yours. Shit.”

You sigh dramatically. “Fine, I’ll finish myself.”

You reach between your legs but Jay grabs your hand before you can meet your mark. His eyes are blown, you almost can’t see the red iris. “I don’t think so.”

“Fucking decide then, goddamn it!”

You cry out as Jay latches himself back onto you again. You have to brace yourself against the headboard as his arms wrap around your thighs and you are even more firmly seated on his face. He follows every line of blood that has found your cunt. He feasts on your folds, even pushing his tongue into your hole to lick up all the blood.

“Oh please, Jay, please, please,” You beg as you wind your hips.

“So fucking good, the psychopath just had to be right,” Jay grumbles before he’s committed to tongue fucking you to completion.

You collapse with a moan as you climax. You grind on Jay’s face until the pleasure you feel is a simple buzz in your finger tips. “Fuck.”

“Fuck is right,” Jay echoes you.

You feel lightweight and slowly you slip to the side, unable to raise your arms.

Jay catches you with a few choice curses. “Ah shit. You need a shot.”

Carefully, he lowers you to the bed, and then he’s gone. The edge of your vision becomes faded and your ears start to ring. You were about to pass out but you can’t find the capacity to care.

Hours, or seconds, you aren’t sure, pass and then Jay’s concerned face is above yours. Your body jolts as he slams something onto your chest. Suddenly, your vision is clear and your hearing returns to normal. Pain radiates from your chest but you feel like you could run a marathon.

“What did you just do?” You demand.

Jay scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “Too many of us have drank from you today. I gave you a shot that helps us in case we’re on the edge.”

You rub your chest where Jay stabbed you with the shot. “Jesus.”

“Yeah, we’re not exactly used to keeping you blood bags alive,” Jay admits.

You sigh and roll your eyes. “Thanks, I guess.”

Jay runs a hand through his hair as he sits on the edge of the bed. “Listen. I know it’s been rough for you…”

You pull down your clothes back into place, reaching for your shorts. “Rough.” You shake your head at how understated that term was.

“Yeah. Okay. Worse than rough. You were sold and bought. Heeseung has become obsessed with you. He played one of our games with you. Jake bit you. And now we’ve…” Jay smirks to himself. “...well we had some fun too. But you seem like someone with a good head on their shoulders. Just don’t fuck up and I think you’ll be good.”

“Oh sure,” You mockingly agree. “Don’t piss off the psychopath serial killer vampires. No problem. Easy peasy.”

Jay’s eyes flash with barely suppressed anger. “See? Like that. Why do you have to be so goddamn provocative?”

“But that’s why Heeseung chose me, Jay. I’ve got fight in me, he keeps saying. You got what you paid for!”

It’s silent for a bit. You don’t know if Jay is absorbing your words or if he just doesn’t know what to say. Either way, he decides to settle further onto the bed, with his back propped against the headrest.

“I don’t know how to do this either, you know,” Jay admits.

“This?” You wonder with a raised eyebrow, turning around to speak to him.

“Taking care of a human. A pet.”

“Don’t call me that,” You argue immediately.

“Whatever!” Jay shakes his head. “Most of the time we just kill you guys and--”

You hold your hand up, as if they could stop the words that are about to flood from Jay’s jabbering. “Please, spare me the details.”

“Don’t wanna hear what happens on level two?” Jay smirks.

“Not really.”

“Don’t wanna hear about how your boyfriend slits them on their wrists and lets the blood drain to the tiles? How he says that if they whimper and plead, it’s like music to his ears. How he enjoys slamming his knife over and over--”

“ALRIGHT I GET IT!” you shout, covering your ears.

Jay moves to grab your wrists and tugs your hands from your ears. “Don’t you wanna hear how I like it?”

The damn vampire is getting off on torturing you mentally. You meet his amused gaze with a steely one of yours. “Fuck you.”

“I think I get it now,” Jay laughs, sitting back.

You try to sleep, and you should, you’re beyond exhausted. But your brain is simply buzzing too much, or was that the result of the adrenaline and blood that Jay had shot you up with? How did he know what your blood type was? Was that why you were sweet? Questions circled in your mind over and over and you fitfully rested.

You knew the sun had set when Heeseung entered the room.

“You could knock,” Jay grumbles but there’s no bite behind it.

“Sweetheart,” Heeseung coos. He moves until he’s crouched in front of the bed. He’s like a kid that’s excited it's morning again.

“Uh. Hi. Heeseung.”

Heeseung practically beams with inner glee. “Can we play again today?”

“I had to give her a thunder shot last night, Heeseung. How about we give her a break?” Jay suggests.

The information sits in Heeseung’s brain for a bit as if he’s computing it and then his eyes narrow down at Jay. “Now you know.”

Jay won’t meet Heeseung’s eyes. “Yeah yeah, gloat all you want. I know.”

“Three tastes and two bites, you’re getting around, sweetheart,” Jake’s teasing tone comes from the hallway as he walks by.

“Again! Like I have had a choice in the manner!” You shout back but all you hear is Jake’s retreating laughter as he doesn’t stop.

“You look tired,” Heeseung brings your attention back to him.

“I didn’t sleep well,” You admit.

Heeseung nods like he saw that coming. “It’s because you weren’t with me.”

“Oh, come on,” Jay scoffs. “You chased her through a hallway and then cut and licked her blood. What makes you think she would have slept well with you?!”

Heeseung smiles crookedly. “Our hearts sing to each other.”

Jay rolls his eyes. “Not this shit again.”

“This shit again?” Heeseung’s smile grows wider. “Please enlighten me what this shit is, Jongseong?”

“Stop. Using. That. Name,” Jay says through gritted teeth.

This time there is no one to intervene when Jay and Heeseung clash. They snap their teeth at each other’s necks, zipping and flashing at lightning speed, grunting as their bodies slam against each other.

All you can manage is to wrap your arms around your head, hoping they remember you’re still in the room and to not accidentally kill you.

“Enough!” Sunghoon shouts.

Normally, you would say that Sunghoon’s outer appearance is cool, calm and collected but he is a totally different man right now. His chest is heaving and his eyes are burning. “I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with us right now, or if it’s the catalyst on the bed, but this is done. No more fighting over the blood bag. She is just a fucking human who is feeding us!”

Heeseung’s eyebrows furrow together. “No she’s not! She’s more than that. Even Jay knows it now. Please, just feed from her. Then you’ll understand.”

“Fine!” Sunghoon agrees immediately.

He storms into the room with such intense intent that you find yourself scurrying backwards on the bed. “Wait, Jay said you’ve already taken too much of my blood. I need a break.”

Sunghoon ignores your protests, crawling over you as you lie flat on the bed, as far away as you can get from him. “If I feel like draining you until barely a drop is left in you and then fill you back up with blood, I will. Don’t forget who is on top of the food chain, mortal.”

You whimper as Sunghoon grabs your wrist and brings it up to his mouth. He’s not nice about biting you either. After his fangs enter your skin, he turns his head sharply, ripping the skin as his fangs look to vacate your wrist quickly. It does give a steady flow of your blood, however. Sunghoon lifts your wrist above his head and pushes out his tongue, to let your blood drip onto it. He swallows it and still allows your blood to splatter onto his lips and face.

Sunghoon’s body shudders in reaction to the taste of your blood. “Delicious,” he murmurs.

“I smell--” Jake appears in the doorframe. “Oh. Sunghoon is starting a party in here, huh?”

“Do you hear her heart? Do you smell her scent? Do you feel her heat?” Heeseung demands insistently.

Sunghoon’s eyes zero in on you. You want to lean back from the scrutiny but there’s nowhere for you to go, certainly not with the firm hold of your wrist still.

“You’re different. I don’t know why, nor do I really care, but…” Sunghoon stiffly nods in Heeseung’s direction. “I understand now.”

Heeseung visibly reacts, shoulder collapsing in relief. “Finally.”

“You guys are fucking crazy,” You whisper.

“Crazy for you, maybe,” Jake jokes.

“She’s not going to have anything delicious to provide us with if you let her bleed out,” Jay grunts.

Your vision becomes fussy and your world slows down, similar to after your moment with Jay. The last thing you see is Sunghoon’s calculating visage before everything goes to black.

What the hell were you in for with these vampires?

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biancasaidstfu · 1 day ago

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Ugh seriously, can people please stfu? Stop tagging them/their teams/their family members in posts with thoughts that need to be staying in private spaces right now. Why is it so hard for them to understand?? The whole crocs thing and the fact they're not pushing for them to be picked up by big outlets is definitely because they were intended for the fandom. (Specifically the people still questioning L/A and N/J in public spaces.) I really do think that most things hinge on the A agreement and that J was only brought into the fold after A made her conditions known and certain things were agreed to. And the more people question her, the longer this whole thing will go. We can clearly see what J is getting out of the 'relationship' with Nicola - the movie screenings, the networking with celebs, the broadway show, (maybe SNL?), being casted in the play, having Nic's stans fill up the seats in the playhouse after all those bad reviews, being casted in this new show, getting to attend BAFTA nominee party & Cannes, having his name connected to Nicola in big outlets, having her PR team/management/grooming team/stylist helping to curate his image over the last year, etc.. The 'relationship' could end today and his career would be in a much, much better place than he was prior to when this all started. But when it comes to A... we are not seeing nearly as much. Not only is her follow count still super low (<15k) and her career in a similar place to where it was before the public connection to Luke, but their 'relationship' is constantly questioned. (The many PR fumbles this spring haven't helped unfortunately but even the ones that checked all the boxes felt so performative. Not to mention, there isn't a full on stalker discord dedicated to their relationship either.) In order for the fizzle out/public split to serve as a jumping off point for her career and satisfy certain conditions, they need to think that people (the fandom and GA) believe their relationship is genuine. Getting the loudest voices (the usual suspects 🥴) to accept L/A means getting everyone on board with N/J. The timing of J's show definitely plays a role and I think they'll have a more obvious pap session or even a pic together on socials to confirm she's there in the coming days. But these photos (Heathrow/crocs/croc walk) provide context and further evidence for anyone questioning things. And I fully believe the bike pics were meant to be released around this time. I'm sure we'll see pap pics come out shortly from L/A's walk in the park in Chiswick people were talking about last week. And/or some photos confirming A was in Rome. And/or some other pap pics. Less likely but still on the table - some event attendance or photo dump on socials from prior events that were never posted (Boss/various Bafta events). Anyway, thank you for this space. I hope people in more public places (ig/tiktok/twitter) STOP saying things that prolong this whole thing.

The one thing I don’t agree on with this is the idea that they’re they’re trying to get people to believe L/A are a legit couple.

I feel like small things, like her not posting him on her grid or the fact that he hasn’t tagged on her the cheek kiss pic, things like that, leaves it in this gray area where the people who notice can clock that this is all fake/PR and whatnot, and the people who don’t notice just think it’s a pic of his gf woo woo.

I think if there’s a stipulation that Antonia has to reach a certain milestone in her career, then they’re gonna be at this for a long time and I don’t think they’re dumb enough to have agreed to that knowing people don’t like her and some never will.

I think there’s a hard end date on all this.

This isn’t free advice btw, you gotta do something for me if you want to know what would make me flip 😘

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coraniaid · 3 days ago

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For the most part I'm probably not going to be posting anything like reviews or summaries for the various Season 1 episodes I watch this summer. I already have a pretty good idea of which of these episodes I like and which I don't like (and why), and I just don't feel repeating any of that would really add much. I'm more interested in focusing on occasional smaller details and thinking about the season as a series of interlinked writing choices and noting how characterisation develops as the writers and actors get a better sense of how these characters works.

But for this opening pair of episodes -- Welcome To The Hellmouth and The Harvest, both of which first aired on March 10 1997 -- I'm going to make a bit of an exception. These episodes were my introduction to the show, after all, and -- although I know other people started in different places -- they still feel to me like the right place for any new viewers to begin. I have a lot of sentimental fondness for them even though I know they are not exactly the show's best ever efforts.

So, what struck me in particular on rewatching them this week?

The good, first:

The opening scene with Darla and her unwitting victim in the deserted high school at night still holds up really, really well. You can definitely see why the show starts here (the original unaired pilot also started with a version of this scene, but I think they reshot it). Julie Benz is pretty seriously underused as Darla in the rest of the opening pair of episodes -- and I am not certain, but I'm rather inclined to think that Willow throwing holy water in her face at the climax of The Harvest was originally meant to have killed her off, though if so fortunately that didn't stick -- but this scene in isolation is wonderful.

Mark Metcalf is also really fun as the Master and I think he's basically perfect as this season's Big Bad. Yes, later villains -- Spike and Drusilla next season and the Mayor in Season 3 in particular -- are better in a lot of ways. But I don't think they would have worked as well as Buffy's first big villain, who really needed to be this sort of larger-than-life, horror movie archetype. Really the only problem with the Master as a villain is that, being trapped underground as he is, he needs other characters to bounce off of and -- as we see a little here but will see more and more later in the season -- the rest of the vampires in his circle aren't quite so impressive. (Sorry, Luke.)

Sarah Michelle Gellar and Anthony Stewart Head are both very solid in their roles right from the start, which is just as well as these episodes lean on them pretty heavily. According to Jonathan Freedland's timestamp data, over 40% of all spoken dialogue in these two episodes is delivered by one of these two characters. And both actors seem to get what makes their characters work almost straightaway: Giles as the exposition-delivering stereotypically British mentor figure ("it may be that you can wrest some information from that dread machine") and Buffy combining the part of the wisecracking and confident Slayer (who confronts Luke in the Bronze mid-Harvest and brightly says "oh, I'm sorry, were you in the middle of something?") with the part of the troubled and frustrated teenage girl (her speech to Giles about the cost of being a Slayer -- "go ahead; prepare me" -- nicely anticipates her breakdown in Prophecy Girl)

The fact that the show is, sort of but not exactly, a sequel to the 1992 movie works really, really well in its favor. The show obviously doesn't want to assume you've seen the movie, and it definitely stands on its own without having done so (I think Buffy mentions Merrick, her Watcher from that movie, by name in the unaired pilot, though it's been a while since i watched that, but she noticeably doesn't do that in this episode) But because we start the show with Buffy already knowing she's the Slayer, we just get to skip over what would otherwise have been a pretty tedious origin story and on to the actual meat of the episode. (If nothing else, it helps the pacing enormously that Buffy can deliver exposition about vampires to her new friends just as easily as GIles can.) I also appreciate that we don't spend too long with Buffy's secret identity actually being a secret.

Some of the dialogue is pretty good. Sure, in the decades after Buffy first aired this sort of Whedon-influenced self-aware and disaffected dialogue might have become pretty grating (some of it became pretty insufferable even when Whedon was writing it, honestly). But in the context of this show and these two episodes in particular, it works. That's the right sort of tone for this story. It helps that the writing largely seems to know when to try to be funny and when not, I guess. Buffy herself makes constant jokes and wisecracks about her situation as a kind of coping mechanism, but for the most part if a character in a dangerous situation is trying to be funny they're probably not personally in any imminent serious danger. Some funny moments I liked were Willow's reaction to finding out vampires are real ("I ... I need to sit down." / "You are sitting down." / "Oh. Good for me.") and the Cordettes discussing the new girl in school ("What kind of name is 'Buffy', anyway?" / "Hey, Aphrodisia!"). It doesn't really fit so well with his later characterisation, but I think Angel gets some good lines too ("They don't really like me dropping in." / "Why not?" / "They don't really like me.")

As for the bad:

I mentioned that some of the dialogue was really good, so it's only fair to admit that some of the dialogue is ... really not. Some of it feels underwritten (Cordelia testing Buffy's "coolness factor" feels like it could have used another pass, for instance), some of it is just inane (did we really need to have Luke tell Jesse that he's just been "upgraded to bait"? was that not already obvious?) some of it is just very, very clunky (even SMG and ASH can't salvage the 'sending away for the Time-Life series' bit) and some of it is fine in theory but delivered in contexts where it doesn't really make sense (why does Buffy feel the need to explain how vampire-siring works to Giles, anyway? Beyond for the audience's benefit, anyway. Couldn't we just wait a bit and have her explain this to Xander and Willow once they're on in the big secret?).

The special effects and fight choreography are both also a little shaky. The actual vampire dusting effect is quite nice -- and presumably where a lot of the budget went -- and I think I might even prefer the vampire make-up and prosthetics here to later designs, even if they do make it harder for the actors to speak -- but it's just a little too obvious that that the episode doesn't quite have the resources it wants (and will later get). (Count the number of times vampires get staked just off-screen, for example. Or effects like Buffy jumping over the school fence after her confrontation with Principal Flutie, and just how little we actually see of it.)

I praised the performances of SMG and ASH, but it's only fair to admit that some of the acting -- okay, most of the acting -- isn't on the same level. It's hardly an original criticism at this point to question David Boreanaz's abilities as a thespian, but I think his performance in these episodes is particularly shaky. Eric Balfour as Jesse is also pretty underwhelming (but I'll get to Jesse later), several of the extras are unusually wooden and -- while I think both of them get better -- I think Alyson Hannigan as Willow and Mercedes McNab as Harmony are a little shaky here too (though, to be fair to Hannigan, she wasn't cast as Willow until after the original half-hour pilot was filmed, so perhaps she just didn't have as long to prepare as some of the other actors).

Buffy herself ... doesn't really get to be quite as effective or self-sufficient as I remembered her as being. She has a fight with Luke at the end of the opening episode which she loses pretty convincingly and only survives thanks to the cross Angel gave he earlier (why didn't Buffy have a cross of her own before this? Yeah, she's 'retired' as the Slayer, but we see that she has a whole crate of vampire-fighting supplies in her room...) and then she fights him again and outwits him at the end of the episode, but between those two scenes she spends most of her time failing to save Jesse and frantically running or crawling away from danger. Why does Buffy need Xander's help closing a door? Why does she need him to pull her to safety when they're both climbing out of the sewers? Doesn't she have super strength? Didn't we just see her jump over a fence ten minutes ago? I understand why Xander accompanying Buffy underground makes sense -- the script wants Xander to meet Jesse, the show needs Buffy to have somebody to talk to while she wanders about in the dark -- but I wish it didn't give the impression that Buffy needed to be physically rescued by him.

But the big problem with the story here is Jesse. He just doesn't work at all. Quite apart from any problem with the acting, Jesse is just so utterly unlikable (Cordelia describes him as "my stalker" at one point, and she's not exactly wrong) and any shock value the show gets from killing him off is totally undercut by that unpleasantness and the fact he didn't appear in the opening credits anyway (unlike either of his friends). And the show just doesn't treat this death as mattering at all. I mean, I knew going in that Jesse's fate would never be mentioned after The Harvest: nobody asks where Jesse is, Xander and Willow never mention him when they reminisce about their childhoods, after that one scene in the library Jesse will never again be brought up by the show as a reason for Xander to dislike vampires. But what I think I'd forgotten is that Jesse essentially ceases to have ever existed even before the episode ends. He dares Xander to "put me out of my misery", gets accidentally staked, and then ... that's it! That is the last time the narrative will care about him at all. There's a post-fight upbeat stage-setting scene the next day, wherein Buffy and her new friends note how life has continued as normal even after vampires attacked the Bronze. And even in this scene nobody so much as mentions that Jesse is dead! Cordelia has decided the attackers must have been part of a gang and is suspicious that "Buffy, like, knew them, which is just too weird", but she's already forgotten Jesse tried to murder her? I mean, sure, I get why this happens -- Whedon didn't want to write a show where all the teenage cast spent a year mourning their dead friend and/or blaming themselves for his death -- but the obvious solution to that dilemma is not to write into the script that they have a friend who dies! Or, if Jesse really does have to become a vampire (to show us how vampirism works on the show and tell the audience that anyone can die), maybe the obvious fix would have been to keep him around for longer as a vampire. Make him one of the Master's recurring minions, delay the showdown with Xander until later in the season, maybe as late as Prophecy Girl (then his friends can be in denial about him being dead until the summer, when he can be mourned off-screen). That would also solve the problem of the Master often not having anyone to talk to. But the problem with that idea is that you'd have to have more Jesse on screen, and I don't think anybody would want that.

Complaints aside, I did enjoy rewatching these two episodes and I'm looking forward to what comes next. The show is, at this point, definitely still finding its feet. but there's already a lot of fun stuff to enjoy. You'd be forgiven for not guessing, at this point, just how good Buffy the Vampire Slayer would later become. But I think a lot of the seeds are there.

Some more scattered thoughts to follow later in a later post.

#btvs #btvs-weekly-group-rewatch

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