#those white highlights did some magic

[marcmorrigan]

"If I was Kira, you'd be dead, Yagami-san."

redraw of one of my fave L panels!

[barbwritesstuff]

The Goodreads Choice awards has happened. It included a 'romantasy' category and no 'graphic novel' category. I take that as permission to make up my own ridiculous genres as I tell you about what I read in 2023.

Obviously, 2023 is not finished yet, but I'm doing a reading challenge at my library, so I don't think I'll be reading stuff I want to read for the rest of the year. Just stuff my librarian friend thinks its funny to make me read.

I've read 65ish books. Here are the highlights sorted into easy and normal groups.

Scifi books in which the main character spends 99% of the book wandering around a horrifying cave:

I enjoyed both of these, but Piranesi was a joy to read.

Vampires:

Empire of the Vampire was wild. House of Hunger was horny. Dowry of Blood was both of those things.

Ace books:

Disclaimer: I didn't actually like Loveless or Let's Talk About Love very much but I know a lot of people did, so I thought I'd include them here.

Vanilla surprised me because I don't normally like poetry but it was really good. Heartbreaking, but good.

Memoirs by people way too young to write memoirs:

All of which were funny!

Books about white people being shitty to Asian (specifically Chinese) people in the entertainment industry with ambiguous endings and a huge amount of research into the industry on blast:

Yellowface is for you if you like Hbomberguy's latest video. Seriously, those two go together like a fine wine and a good cheese. The Whitewash was also fantastic and so under appreciated.

Books that made me want to quit my job and become a ridiculous but stylishly dressed criminal:

Seriously. Rogues included a step by step guide on how to become a wine forger... and I was tempted.

HISTORY:

Okay, so Babel isn't really history, in that it's actually a magical dark academia, but it's tied into historical events, and made me look up some history, so I think it counts. The wager was the most exciting history book I've ever read. I was so invested in the lives and deaths of these silly scurvy-ridden seamen.

There are other books I read and enjoyed but I can't think of funny categories to put them into, so you don't get to hear about them.

Anyway. That's it. Read books.

Also, get a library card if you can. I practically live at my local library and have learnt so much from reading.

Here's last year's post if you want more books...

[themusingsofacurlyhairednerd]

In the Moonlight

Author's Note: This is a part of the Dancing With the Devil AU, but can be read as a stand alone. The Vamp!Rhys brain rot has taken over and there aren't enough fics to satisfy me so I wrote more ;)

Pairing: Vamp!Rhys x Reader x Vamp!Azriel

Content Warnings: SMUT, threesomes, oral (f and m receiving) blood, typical vampire stuff

Based on this post/ original fic

-------------------------------------------------------

You’ve always loved music, the steady flow of the strings, the heavy pulse of the drums; it’s always been something that moves and excites you, your body knows how to respond to it as if it's its basest instinct. Music was the siren song that had pulled you and Nesta to the dance floor all those years ago, as children, eager to dance and move and lose yourself in the steps of a blooming waltz that made the other mortal children dizzy. It had been one of your few chances at freedom, and you had chased that opportunity all the way to the Velaris Estate weeks ago, and had now found a new sense of freedom.

It’s still tied to music, by some humorous twist of fate. You’d learned early on that the Lord of the Estate had the set list planned: Something graceful and elegant to start, the slow thrum of the string section pushing people onto the dance floor, highlighting easy prey in those lingering on the edge with no partner to claim them. Then something more sensual, as the predators take the floor, snatching their prey with a charming bow and disarming smile. These will span several songs, get their prey comfortable with their presence, before the shift becomes something with more drums and base, music to disappear into the dark corners to. 

Their ability to move so seamlessly, so flawlessly that no one suspects there might be ill intent in the gesture is still mind boggling. You stand in the shadows of the upstairs veranda, watching Rhysand and his horde move as you sip from a full wine glass, content to study for now. The bargain had never specified when Rhys was supposed to turn you, for now, you attend his parties and do your best to study them, so when the time comes you’ll be prepared. 

There are new faces in the crowd tonight, less and less of your neighbors and childhood friends filling the expensive ballroom now that word had spread that you hadn’t returned home, all those weeks ago. As expected, your brother had nearly torn the Spring Estate to shreds when he’d found you gone. Nesta had apparently witnessed you sitting in Rhys’s lap--though by some magic or sheer luck, she hadn’t seen him drinking from your neck--and had gone straight to Tamlin to tell him. The betrayal had burned white hot, and not for the first time, were you thankful the ancient vampire hadn’t turned you yet, or else the destruction you might have caused in the aftermath would have made Tamlin’s look like a child’s temper tantrum. She hadn’t tried to explain herself, every one of your friends had turned their back on you, a couple of them had outright called you a whore to your face before vowing to never speak to you again. None of them were known to be tight lipped either, the whole town was sure to know that you’d “debased yourself with the Lord of Velaris”. It would have hurt less if you hadn’t spent the last couple of years protecting Nesta’s own secret lovers, but you had to admit, the newfound freedom of living here lessened the sting more and more each day. There were no governesses dictating your every outfit and hairstyle; no stewards limiting the amount of food you got at each meal to ensure you stayed pretty and thin for a would-be husband; no guards to regulate how much time you spent outside and where you could go. If you wanted to wear something, you did; if you wanted to eat you could go into the kitchens now and ask for it and the staff would do so eagerly; if you wanted to go outside and run until you got lost in the mountains, you were free to do so. There were no restrictions with Rhys, the fact alone was enough to keep you here, though the prospect of immortality pulled a little more and more each day. It wasn’t even the living forever thing, you really weren’t that interested in that part. It was the strength, the power, the freedom to be wild and unrestrained and never have to worry about being hurt or caged again. Once you were a vampire, no one could keep you locked away. 

You take another sip of wine as the music begins to shift and the lights dim. Feeding time. Rhys dances beneath you with a blonde woman, the neckline of her gown so deep you can see the heavy swell of her breasts from your vantage point. You shove down the pang of jealousy you feel upon seeing those hands on someone else’s hips with another deep drink from your wine glass.

Mor dances with a female on the edge of the crowd, the darkest part of the dance floor, where the judgmental eyes of the town won’t be so quick to spot her. Cassian hasn’t danced all night, has spent the evening prowling around the refreshment table, trying to get drunk despite his accelerated metabolism making it hard. He’d hoped to make a similar bargain with Nesta all those weeks ago, but you’re pretty sure he’d stepped on her foot and she’d left scowling in search of you before she’d found you in Rhys’s lap. Poor Cassian has been moping since.

You haven’t seen Azriel all night, but that’s how he likes it. He could be as charming as Rhys if he wanted, but he likes his solitude too much to risk it. When he steps out of the shadows to your left, as if your thoughts had materialized him, it’s little surprise. Rhys had explained that every vampire had their own unique abilities, among some shared traits, and Azriel’s shadow manipulation made him an excellent hunter.

“You’re not dancing tonight?” He says as he comes to stand beside you, scared hands resting on the banister railing. 

You take another sip of wine. “I didn’t know I was on the menu tonight.” A lie, Mor had helped you pick a gown with a neckline that plunged all the way down to your midsection with the intent of catching the Vampire Lord’s eye, but you had chickened out at the last minute and hid. Having the freedom to chose and the bravery to walk out in public were two very different things, but you hadn’t realized it until too late.

Hazel eyes roam the expanse of your exposed skin, the way your hair is pinned up out of the way so that the full expanse of your throat is available. It doesn’t hide the hickey’s Rhys had left a couple nights ago either, the dark marks smattered across your collarbones and lower, following the path of your gown. “So everyone knows your mine,” Rhys had purred in your ear and before the ball you had been thrilled to show them off. Until a few wandering eyes had lingered too long, the judgment clear on their faces. You’d spent the rest of the night hoping everyone would forget you’d existed.

“He’s looking for you,” Azriel says half-heartedly, eyes still exploring you. There’s a hunger there you can’t miss; that has you pressing your thighs a little tighter together. Azriel is as devastatingly handsome as Rhys is, and this is not the first time you’ve noticed the attention he gives you, but it has never gone anywhere. Especially not when his sire is the one leaving all these marks on your throat.

“He seemed plenty preoccupied with that blonde,” you reply.

A half-smile creases the vampire’s usually stoic face. “Jealous, little one?”

“No,” you say. “Just observing.”

The grin remains as he holds out a hand in silent invitation and when you take it, you can’t help but wonder how those large, scarred hands would feel on your thighs, spreading you open…

The world spins and flips as Azriel shadow steps the two of you down into what they call the Den, the unlit corners of the ballroom where they can feed in near privacy. There’s no doors to lock, though there are several glamors in place to keep wandering eyes from getting suspicious. 

Mor and a newly turned Emerie are already sharing a female on a couch in the corner, and the blonde winks at you as she sinks her fangs deeper into her prey.

On the opposite side of the Den, nursing a glass of whiskey under the light of the full moon peeking through the curtains, is Rhys. He looks like a god in this lighting, violet eyes glowing in the dimness. You can’t help but notice that he sits alone, his dance partner nowhere to be seen. While it’s never been discussed that you’re the only human he’s feeding on, a part of you is relieved to see that he hasn’t taken anyone else. It’s a strange sort of satisfaction, knowing there’s something in your blood that keeps him coming back again and again.

Violet eyes watch your every step forward with the intensity of a jungle cat on the hunt. “There you are, Darling,” he purrs. “I was looking for you.”

“Liar,” you tease.

He makes himself more comfortable in the large wing-backed chair, legs spread and you can’t decide if you want to climb in his lap or get on your knees for him more. 

“Did you spook your dance partner?” 

“No,” he says as he brings the whiskey back to his lips and takes a slow drink. “She was dull and she kept stepping on my toes.”

“You poor baby,” you croon and he grins as he sets the whiskey down on a small side table.

“I would have been spared if you hadn’t decided to be a wallflower tonight,” he replies, hand tapping at his thigh for an invitation for you to come sit. “What’s bothering you?”

The slit in your skirts makes moving them out of your way easy as you climb into his lap, knees bracketing his hips. Every time you think you’ll enjoy it less, but there is no feeling quite like this one, you could sit here forever. “I-”

Rhys presses his lips over a bruise on your neck.

“I was going to come down, but,” the words catch in your throat a bit, your cheeks flushed. “I think I should have worn something else.”

Slender fingers brush over your exposed skin making a shiver run down your spine. “Why would you do that?” He counters. “You look breathtaking. Doesn’t she, Az?”

You’ve almost forgotten the other vampire was still standing there, still watching in that silent, shadowy way of his. When you throw a glance at him over your shoulder, he’s standing with his hands in his pockets, eyes narrowed into the exposed bit of your thigh from where the dress is split.

“Absolutely sinful,” he says softly.

Now you’re really blushing. “I-I was hoping you’d like it,” you stammer. “I just… I don’t like when people are looking at me.”

“I do like it,” he says so lowly that heat begins to build in your core. “So much so that I had to stop myself from taking you against the railing over and over again.” Teeth scrape lightly over your skin, teasing, not quite tasting you yet.

“Az was thinking about it too,” he hums into your skin. “You should hear the things he thinks about you.”

“Rhys-” Azriel begins, the apology on his lips, but Rhys pulls away from your neck to motion him over.

“What do you think, little one, should we give him a little taste?” You’ve never been more aware of your own body than you are with Azriel at your back, and the firm planes of Rhys at your front.

You glance back and forth between them, at the tension that rolls off Azriel, at the hunger that chases your every motion in Rhys’s eyes. In your mind he says, “It’s your choice, Darling.”

“You-you won’t be mad?”

His laugh is a beautiful thing, even in your mind. “Azriel and I have shared many females. Cassian too. I enjoy it, as long as my partner does too. And I know that you’ve thought about him, it’s hard not to, but only if you really want to.”

You’ve been studying all of them: The way they hunt, the way they move, what separates them from humans and other vampires alike. Rhys is refined in his ability to hunt, uses his charm and his wits to bait prey into the Den; he makes feeding an art form, something graceful and dazzling, an allure only someone who’s done this for a long time can make possible. Cassian is messy, he likes to splatter blood when he feeds, and while he’s calculating and strategic in the initial hunt, he has no qualms getting dirty. Mor thrives in the dark corners of the ballroom, meeting in secret with her lovers because she does not trust people enough to bring a stranger into the Den. And Amren, well you’ve only met her once, and she’d traded some of her books for a mere drop of blood from your wrist before she disappeared again. But Azriel, you haven’t really figured out. He always hovers at the edge of the crowd, only speaks or feeds when he needs to, as if denying himself the pleasure the others chase will absolve him of whatever darkness lingers in his past. You know it’s there, have heard it hinted at, but no one will say it out loud. The more you try to learn about them, the more a mystery Azriel remains, and you’d be a liar if you said you weren’t curious to see how he feeds compared to Rhys.

“I do.”

And there is no judgment there. Unlike everyone else tonight. The freedom to choose, to want, is enough to make you toss your arms around his neck and lean in to kiss the tip of his nose. Anywhere else he might be regarded as a monster of the night, but here, like this, you’ve never felt safer.

Rhys presses a gentle kiss to your lips. “And who am I to deny my little pet anything?”

Azriel’s hands settle on your hips, that immortal strength never failing to make you feel fragile and small in their grip. It sends a shiver of delight through you; there’s no denying how much you love the freedom of handing over your power and knowing they won’t abuse it.

His warm breath fans your neck as he brings his lips to your exposed throat. “Been thinking about this since you arrived.”

Rhys nips at where your neck meets your collarbone, hands skimming your sides until he finds your breasts, nipples peaked through the thin fabric. “How would you like to taste her first?”

Teeth scrape over your pulse point, savoring the rapid beating of your heart. “Turn her around.”

They move you together, fingers digging into your hips as you're positioned with your back to Rhys’s chest, legs spread by his knees. Your skirts get caught, bunched up around your hips, baring most of your legs and you give a little squeak of surprise as you try to close them, to spare what’s left of your dignity, but there’s no room as Azriel kneels between both yours and Rhys’s legs.

Heat pools in your core, even as your cheeks heat in embarrassment. “Someone is going to see us!” You squeak, voice more shrill than you would have liked it to be. You want this, you want it more than you’ll ever allow yourself to say out loud, but there is a crowd nearby and even with the glamor in place, it is still a far more compromising position than you’ve ever been in. At least before, your skirts hid your coupling, but there’s no hiding like this, as Rhys loops an arm around your waist and sinks his fangs into your neck.

The shadows that leak from Azriel drift off his broad shoulders, shimmering and darkening, as if they’re absorbing the moonlight seeping through the window. “Not unless you want them to,” he says as those scared hands drag up your soft skin.

Your hips buck despite yourself, body aching to be touched; for more, more, more. The aphrodisiac in Rhys’s venom takes hold quickly, makes your whole body molten. The combination of pain and pleasure makes you close your eyes and lean your head back against Rhys’s shoulder.

“Good girl,” Rhys purrs into your mind so he doesn’t have to release his grip on your neck. “Just relax, let us take care of you.”

Azriel must be linked into your conversation, because he says in your mind, “There’s not much room for creatures like us in temples, but I’ll worship here just the same,” as his own fangs sink into the tender flesh of your inner thigh.

It’s a far more tender spot than you thought it would be, a whimper of pain escaping you, body rocking back into the hard planes of Rhys’s chest and the growing bulge in his pants to try and escape. Their combined grip on you keeps you from getting far, but that whimper turns into a moan as Rhys drags a hand down between your legs to give you some relief. He chuckles into your mind when he finds you’re not wearing any underthings, but the slit in your skirts had made you nervous that someone would see the lacy underthings that kept appearing in your drawers if you moved too fast.

“Fuck,” Azriel moans as he unlatches his fangs from your thigh, fingers playing in the bit of blood that trickles out the puncture wounds. “She’s so sweet!”

Rhys, never one to make a mess, laps at what escapes from the wounds he made at your throat before saying, “I told you she was.”

Hazel eyes narrow into the teasing strokes the other vampire is making between your legs, watching with rapt attention the way Rhys spreads you open as he licks your blood off his lips. Vampires, you’ve noticed, have a strange sort of stillness about them, they can become still as statues, unmoving, never blinking, it was still nerve wracking, especially now that you know that predatory stillness comes right before they pounce, and Azriel has that same look about him, right before he leans in and licks a stripe up your center.

Rhys chuckles in your ear as you moan and try one more time to squirm away from their dual ministrations, body overwhelmed as he curls a finger inside you and Azriel follows with his tongue. 

You’re going to reach your high embarrassingly fast at this rate, especially when Rhys’s free hand slides your top to the side so he can roll a nipple between his fingers. You squeeze your eyes shut, one hand reaching behind you to tangle in Rhys’s hair, the other in Azriel’s to try and ground yourself. The intensity of both their venom in your bloodstream has heightened everything beyond what you’d already thought possible, your skin burning, coated in sweat from this alone. Their efforts are somehow too much and not enough and you’ve lost the presence of mind to tell which of their names you’re crying out first, it might be both of them. 

Azriel feasts on you like a male starved, and the shadows not making a shield around the three of you writhe eagerly over your thighs, dusting your heated skin with cool touches that make you buck your hips as best you can against their master’s grip. Rhys adds a second finger, using your gathering wetness and Azriel’s spit to spread you open further, giving the other male more access to you, his nose brushing your clit, chin absolutely soaked in the mess you’re making. The move has you panting, stars blurring across your vision as an orgasm tears through you.

“Fuck,” you whimper, body shaking from your high.

Rhys peppers kisses along your neck and shoulders as Azriel pulls back, licking your release off his lips. “No wonder you’ve been hiding this one from the rest of us,” he says huskily. “I could spend all night like this.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, little one?” Rhys purrs in your ear, breath tickling your still flushed skin. Their venom hasn’t worn off yet, body still not satiated, still begging to be touched and claimed. There’s not a chance you can close your legs, the evidence of your still budding arousal leaking onto his pants.

“Please,” you whimper.

“Which one of us do you want first, hm?”

How are you supposed to choose? There are too many things you want and it’s all getting muddled in your head. “Both.”

It’s Azriel’s deep rumble of a laugh that skitters across your skin as he says, “You can’t take both of us in this body, little one.” Scarred hands skim your exposed thighs, fingers kneading into the bite marks that are quickly turning into a bruise. “Humans are so fragile.”

And damn do you certainly feel it like this, tucked between the two of them. They could so easily break you, so easily overpower you. It’s thrilling and terrifying all at once. 

“Want…” your cheeks heat, a blush crawling its way up your neck and Rhys runs his tongue over it with a chuckle.

“Tell us what you want, Darling.”

You shiver, despite the flush of your damp skin. “Want to taste you then.”

You watch with rapt attention as those hazel eyes widen, the golden ring thinning until there is nothing but pupil as he processes what you’re saying. Still, you grind yourself down on Rhys’s bulge as you reach for the laces on Azriel’s pants, hoping he gets the hint as well.

“Greedy little thing,” Azriel tuts, but he steps closer anyway, letting you figure out how to get the laces untied in the moonlight. “I don’t think you’ve properly trained your pet, Rhys.”

Rhys’s fingers dip into the tender flesh of your hips mercilessly as he grinds you back against his erection, a rumble of a moan echoing through his chest. “Don’t want this one trained,” he purrs. “They taste better when they’re wild.”

You manage to get the laces undone, hands shaking a bit when you realize what you’ve just gotten yourself into. Rhys is a lot on his own, Azriel is… bigger than you expected. A lot bigger, his cock heavy and erect against his stomach. 

They must be having their own mental conversation, when you pause to consider how to even go about this, Azriel suddenly reaches out to grab you by the hair, pulling you forward as Rhys moves your skirts out of the way. Their movements are in perfect sync and you don’t know whether you should hiss from the sting of those large hands in your hair or moan as Rhys rubs the tip of his cock against your center. The sound that comes out of you is a little bit of both in the end.

“Are you sure about this?” Rhys inquires as if there could possibly be any thought in your head other than how much you need the both of them right now. Do they not share the same ache you feel? How are they not consumed by this thing that begs beneath your skin to be touched and soothed and filled?

You lean forward just enough to lick Azriel’s tip, catching a bead of pre-cum on your tongue as the male’s fingers tighten in your hair, a hiss escaping him. “Very sure.”

“Tap my thigh twice if it gets to be too much,” Rhys orders.

You nod your understanding as he slides slowly into you, letting you get adjusted to the feel of him from this angle. He’s deliberately slow, gliding in inch by inch, making your eyes roll back into your head, all your focus on the feel of him instead of tending to Az. 

“I see she gets her greediness from you,” Azriel teases.

You have to brace yourself against Azriel’s hips as Rhys rocks your forward, chuckling. “Just because I said I’d share, doesn’t mean I’m not going to have my fill.”

Stars dance across your vision as he hits an angle inside you he hasn’t reached before, mouth falling open as pleasure licks its way up your spine. 

Azriel grips your chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing you to look at him when all you want to do is squeeze your eyes shut under the pleasure. “Are you gonna put that pretty little mouth to use?”

You run your tongue over your lips, whimpering as Rhys settles fully inside you, “Mmhhmm,” is all you can manage to get out before he’s guiding you down to his leaking cock. 

“Been thinking about this for a long time,” Az whispers. “Always wearing that pretty shade of lipstick that would look so good smeared across my cock.”

You swirl your tongue over his tip again and his hips jerk involuntarily. It’s a greedy sort of satisfaction you get in knowing that you can reduce a thousand year old vampire to this with just your tongue, and you want to see how much farther you can push him. Keeping a hand on his hips for balance, you use the other touch him, tracing a line down the underside of his shaft that has him hissing as the muscles in his abdomen tighten.

Rhys takes as much time sliding out of you as he had sliding in, setting a leisurely pace you know is to help you get comfortable with this setting. As tight as his own muscles are, you know he’s holding back, and you’re grateful for it, as you start to take Azriel in your mouth. It’s going to take time to get used to, you have to focus all your effort into breathing out your nose and slackening your jaw. There’s no way you’re going to be able to fit all of him.

“Just like that,” Az moans, using the hand in your hair to guide you down further.

“Look so pretty like this,” Rhys encourages as he trails soft kisses over your spine. He’s far more gentle with you than a vampire ought to be, and you can’t help but think he might be getting attached to you; a notion that would have sounded absurd weeks ago, but makes your heart stutter a little now.

“Feels so good,” you tell him mind to mind.

He slides back into you with a groan, just a little more forcefully than before, making your head bob down Azriel’s cock until he hits the back of your throat. Az moans louder than someone who is usually so stoic ought to and you have to release him for a second to catch your breath.

He gives you mere seconds before he’s hurriedly pulling you back, groaning like he can’t bear to not have your mouth around him anymore. Rhys sets his pace to match, giving you a rhythm to follow as you get a hand around the parts of Az you can’t get your mouth around. 

This is a pleasure you didn’t know you needed; the way they both moan and pant over you has you rocking your hips back into Rhys, your hand pumping a little harder around Az. As much as you want them to ruin you, you want to do the same to them.

Rhys’s fangs scrape over your shoulder, fingers tightening into your hips in a move you know will leave bruises. He’s getting closer to the edge, all his praises whispered in pants against your skin.

Az throws his head back as he hits the back of your throat once, twice, then a third time, the muscles in his abdomen tightening with every thrust. 

They’re both so close, you not far behind, especially when Rhys slips his hand between your legs again.

“Fuck,” Az whispers. With his head thrown back like that, eyes pinched shut, muscled body bathed in the moonlight, he looks every bit a god. And if his tongue between your legs counts as worship, then so should this as you take him as deep as you can without gagging, face a mess of spit and pre-cum.

“Gonna cum,” he warns.

Rhys’s thrusts are getting harder, the chair groaning beneath him as he fucks up into you. This is usually where he likes another taste of you, you’re used to the routine of it, ready for him to sink his fangs into your shoulder, though the force of it this time is different, as if he’s losing control, the bite sloppy, teeth scraping against your skin before they push in.

Your whole body tenses at the sensation of a thousand year old vampire losing a bit of his usual control, pleasure building white hot in your core. You want to see him a complete mess one of these days. 

It’s your moan around his cock that pushes Azriel quickly over the edge, warm cum spurting in your mouth before he can pull away from you. Azriel, quite, broody Azriel groans and pants as he cums, the sound like music to your ears as you drink him down. His hand still hasn’t left your hair, now scrapping gently against your scalp as you release him with a pop that turns into a squeal as Rhys bites down on your shoulder a second time.

One more thrust, then a second before your own release barrels through you, white hot in the buzz of sensations swirling around your head. Your own release chases Rhys into his and he jerks forward with a cry as he spills inside you.

You fall back against his chest as you come down from your high, body trembling, breath escaping in pants. 

Azriel reaches out and wipes a bit of the mess he made on your chin with his thumb, muttering, “Beautiful.”

Still catching his breath, Rhys presses a sloppy kiss to your cheek, and judging by the wetness on his lips you think there might still be some blood on them, but you’re too blissed out to care.

“Did so well,” he praises in your ear, voice still low and husky.

You raise a hand to card your fingers through his hair, eyes drifting shut, beyond satiated. If someone had told you this would have happened because you’d decided to sneak into a party and dance with a stranger, you wouldn’t have believed them in the slightest, but now, it doesn’t matter how long it takes for him to fulfill his end of the bargain. There are new freedoms to be found still, new pleasures to experience. You know things will be different once he turns you, and you’re not ready to feel so different yet. Right now, you like this thing between you. It’s good. Freeing.

“I’m glad I met you,” you admit softly.

“How very human of you to say,” Azriel teases as he fixes his pants. Despite his words, once he’s done, he still leans down to kiss your forehead.

“You like that I’m human,” you counter.

Rhys manages to get you repositioned so he can stand and carry you upstairs to his room, where you know a warm bath will be waiting for the two of you. “That we do, little one,” he purrs. “There’s still so much more to explore before you turn.”

[wifeofsnowbaird]

You Can't, You Can't Catch me Now I'm coming like storm into your town

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3/

Masterlist

[Mentor!Coriolanus Snow x time-travel, hg-era, tribute!reader x toxic!Finnick Odair (in the Peacekeeper era)]

Warning: gore, blood, gun and knife violence, serious injury, death, physical assult, possibly non-con...as I said, maybe...

Summary: You are a rebel, the last chance of the rebellion against President Snow. You're told to go on one last mission to kill the man who massacred Panem. It took you years to understand your mission when you became [name] Lily Baird, starting from the age of five till before the reaping day of the 10th Hunger Games.

The day you began your plan to destroy President Snow before he became the villain he was meant to become.

'Both sisters, Lucy Gray and [Name] Lily Baird are a part of the Covey, and though they have been chosen as tribute for both District 12 and 9 because of our own mistakes, we hope they will stay safe.'

You knew about [Name] Lily Baird, named after her because your mother was inspired by her fiery personality and strength, but now you realize that you were transported to a time before the Baird sisters died, one of sickness and one because of Coriolanus Snow himself.

'I will kill you, President Coriolanus Snow.'

The reason you had volunteered to kill Snow was the debt your parents had owed him. They had cried and pleaded with the Peacekeepers to have some more time but they refused to react. Most District people had been forced into poverty and needed money and the Capitol granted them ways to gain some, but unfortunately, it was a loan that kept on growing. This started with President Snow’s reign and imposed slave labor on many of the people living in the poor Districts like 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.

Your parents had died in those situations, your father being forced into the coal mines and your mother transported to District 8 to work on Peacekeeper uniforms. 

Both were killed by the very people they worked for. 

‘[Name]! Are you ok? The train was very harsh…’ A bright-eyed girl-Lucy Gray- bent over you to wake you up from your sleep. The sun shone through a slit in the ceiling, highlighting your bronze skin as you moved.

She grinned over to you while sitting on the floor, eyeing you as you moved. 

‘I loved your song, [Name] Lily, it was magical.’

You suddenly gasped, how did you…faint on stage?!

The small girl beside you nervously smiled before she extended a hand in your direction.

Lucy Gray motioned over to the extended hand and introduced you to her.

‘That’s Wovey from District 8, and I’m sure you know me!’ Her grin widened.

‘Of course I do, Lucy Gra-’

‘District 9 girl tribute, it’s time to meet your new mentor since Plinth’s son wanted your apparent sister, so your mentor is now Coriolanus Snow.’

Lucy Gray frowned, slight fear shining in her gaze. You bent your head to whisper in her ear a quote which should gift her strength.

‘Don't let them sense your fear or they will laugh with joy…’

And that is true defeat…

You had woken up in [Name] Lily Baird’s body 13 years ago, when the original [Name] Lily Baird was adopted by Lucy Gray's parents. It hadn’t taken you long to understand how to survive in the Covey after the...deaths...of your adoptive parents because you had lived in 12, the poorest District.

But you had never understood what happens in the Hunger Games besides the fact that most tributes wish they were dead.

‘Get out.’

A disgruntled Peacekeeper snatched you from the floor and pushed you toward a man with analyzing blue eyes. He smiled at you and offered a gorgeous white rose. 

‘So this is Coriolanus Snow…I take it back, Haymitch was right, he’s hot-no, focus, [Name]!

You grimaced at the rose and snatched it, scratching his hand lightly. His smile faltered a bit but once he noticed her flaming face his smile returned, brighter than before. 

‘So is this the only thing you do?’ You elaborated once you noticed his furrowed eyebrows. 

‘Bringing me roses, is that your only skill?’ He glanced at your hand gripping the rose before straightening to reply.

‘I’ll do my best to take care of you,’ You looked annoyed once you heard that and he noticed before you could even form a thought as if he wanted you to view him as a man worthy to be your mentor. ‘And I’ll make sure to keep you safe.’

You rolled your eyes before catching the movement of his hand gliding through the tresses of his platinum blond locks. 

‘I’m sure you will, Coriolanus Snow.’

Until I kill you.

‘Tigris,’ The blond-haired woman hummed, her adept fingers quickly stitching one of Grandma’am’s old shawls. ‘I think my tribute is in love with me.’

She paused, glancing at the blue-eyed man sitting beside her.

‘Why…why would you think that?’

‘She…trusts me, to keep her safe at least.’

Tigris chuckled, careful not to wake the Grandma’am at such late hours.

‘Do you want her to be in love with you? Because it seems like you have an infatuation with the singer.’

He focused on the scratch she’d marked him with.

‘Maybe…”

[thinking1bee]

You Haven't Failed Part 8

Requested by Anonymous

Pairings: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Tags: Spidey!Reader, Venom!Reader, So Much Angst, Fluff, Established Relationship, Graphic Depictions of Injuries, Blood, Violence, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, Smut

Everything Taglist: @sammy90682 @nobody13 @owloftheshadows @captain-josslett @camslightstories @worldovart @finleyfray @acertainredhead @sammm9068 @reginassecretlover @ara-a-bird

The last thing Wanda heard before communication cut out from you, were your screams of pain. Then, there was an unnatural kind of silence that made her panic. She was sprinting through the halls, cleaving her way through the gathering reinforcements with her magic. She slammed them out of her way as she moved, the force she used rendering them all unconscious. Wanda whipped out her phone, the screen flashing red with the word WARNING in a prominent white. Your entire body was highlighted in red, and her heart dropped. When she got closer to you, just two floors away, that warning message that had her heart beating against her ribs went away, and she skidded to a stop on her feet. A cold sweat blossomed over her skin, her hand shaky as she held the device in a tight grip.

“Y/n?” she called into her comm. Still, there wasn’t an answer from you.

Wanda kicked back into action, visions of her seeing the absolute worst fueling her movements as she ran into the room that Bucky was pinned down in. He took cover behind an overturned metal desk, and he was just reloading his rifle when Wanda sprinted into the room. Her eyes were already glowing red, and small balls of red magic were already in the palms of her hands as she raised her arms. With her palms facing the room, her fingers splayed slightly, she focused on every soldier in front of her, and projected herself into their minds all at the same time. She willed them to sleep, and Bucky watched with wide eyes as the shooting ceased and every person that was their enemy collapsed onto the ground. Wanda didn’t hesitate. She pulled Bucky to his feet and ran back into the hallway.

“Let’s go!”

Bucky was right behind her, but her display of power reminded him just how truly powerful Wanda really was.

***

You roared as tentacles wrapped around another soldier’s head and you threw him up as hard as you could. His screams suddenly cut off once his back smashed into the ceiling, and he was silent as he crashed back onto the floor. Gunfire marred the air as people yelled and screamed. It was like your body knew what to do. Some tentacles extended from one of your arms, and it flattened as it coiled around itself. You formed a shield, which you used to protect yourself from the firestorm of bullets fired in your direction. Heated breaths had your chest heaving, and you faced every soldier and scientist in the room with a feral bloodlust taking over your rational mind. You were going to kill each and every one of them. They were going to die by your hands. Even as you thought it, you felt energy, wild and potent, course through you. It grew and grew, and as it did, you felt every muscle vibrate inside of you. Your body tensed, the energy gathering still until you reached a threshold. With another roar, you released that energy, the shield dropping from you as you extended your arms wide. Tentacles exploded out of every inch of your body. Thick, sharp spears of shiny, black flesh shot out of your arms, back, legs, and chest, and they engulfed the room as they impaled all of your enemies. The shooting stopped, and the only sounds that echoed around the room were the terrified screams of the hostages, and the revolting, squelching, sounds of wet flesh as those same tentacles slid out of dead bodies. You breathed hard as you watched them slowly retract, the new suit you wore shifting as it absorbed the extra mass that slithered back to you.

When Wanda and Bucky arrived, they stopped outside the door, and Wanda just barely saw what was left of the tentacles as they returned to your body. She saw the dark silhouette of your form, but she didn’t know it was you. She raised her hand and watched as her magic illuminated the room in red. Every scientist and soldier inside were dead. Blood ran darkly on the floors and walls, the crimson black under the light of red. Wanda could see all the hostages, and they were all unscathed except for the few that had already died due to the experimentation. She stepped into the room slowly, her chest shaking as she tried to find her voice.

“Y/n?”

She watched as the black figure in front of her, whose body was darker than the shadows in the room, turned to face her. White, unsettling eyes, like the ones in your spider suit, took her in just seconds before the mask unfurled to reveal your face. Even in the light of her magic, Wanda could tell that something wasn’t right with you. You still looked like you, but your eyes were cold and hard.

“We have to get these people out of here before more reinforcements come.”

You barely spared her a second glance before you got to work. Bucky’s eyes were wide, the rifle still in his metal hand as he stood by Wanda’s side.

“Was that Y/n?” he asked.

All Wanda could do was slowly shake her head. It was you, but what she saw wasn’t her Y/n.

***

Everyone was back on the jet after delivering the survivors to S.H.I.E.L.D. Bucky, Wanda, and Natasha all gave you looks as they took in the changes to your body. After a while, you couldn’t handle their obvious stares, and you left the main cabin of the jet. You were in the back of the aircraft, in a massive room dedicated to supplies storage. You stood in front of a mirror bolted to the inner frame of metal, your eyes taking in your new appearance. You admired the new way you looked, your body looking sleeker in the new suit. It felt connected to you, alive and almost sentient in a way. Your hands rubbed up and down your arms, feeling the way it breathed under your touch. Your face was still unmasked, but from the neck down, you were still covered in black.

“Hey, Wands,” you murmured with a slight smile on your face.

Wanda froze. She was in the process of descending the stairs, and she hadn’t realized that you knew she was there.

“Y/n.”

You cocked an eyebrow at her voice. She sounds so…on guard. The darkened look in her green eyes almost made you lose your smile. Her usual warmth was muted, but you were too high on cloud nine to read too much into her demeanor. She stopped before she got too close to you, and when you noticed that, you did frown.

“What’s wrong?” you asked.

“Are you okay?” Her eyes took in your new suit, her lips pursing at the white spider adorning your chest. “We all heard you screaming.”

“Wanda, I feel great. I’ve never felt better. I feel like I can take on the world!”

Her frown deepened. “детка, where did this come from?”

You shrugged. “I have no idea, but I’m glad that it did. I’ve never taken down a room of people so fast.”

“You killed them.”

You stared at her and shrugged again, your eyebrows furrowing.

“What’s your point? I killed no one worth saving. If it wasn’t me, it’ll be someone else. I just saved them the trouble,” you replied nonchalantly.

Wanda felt her heart drop. This wasn’t like you. Just days ago, you were almost inconsolable when you damn near beat a prisoner to death. Right now, you were acting like you didn’t care. You hated violence. Abhorred it even. You did your very best to save everyone. Good or bad. Up until now, Wanda had never known you to have a body count, and it scared her that you were so apathetic about it.

When Wanda didn’t respond, you cocked your head and looked at her a bit more closely. Though her expression was stoic, her eyes betrayed her feigned composure. The green within rippled with confusion and anxiety.

“Why would you want me to keep a whole bunch of murderers alive, Wanda?” you demanded. “You’re acting like I didn’t do the world a favor.”

“There was a different way we could have gone about this.”

Her voice was hardening, her expression now morphing into angered exasperation.

“They were experimenting on people. You would know better than anyone what that’s like!” you pointed out, surprised to even be having this conversation.

Wanda crossed her arms. “Some of those scientists were working against their will, Y/n. They had families. We could have saved them too.

You scoffed. “They were weak, and maybe they should have made better choices before they got in my way.”

The conversation ended right there when you stepped away from her and left her alone in the room. Icy trepidation chilled the blood in Wanda’s veins. She had no idea what came over you, but she knew that it had something to do with that suit.

***

You couldn’t believe that Wanda didn’t understand. How could she not?! They were hurting people, innocent people, and when you did something about it, this was the thanks you were getting?

You stalked through the slender walkway, the sounds of your steps reverberating in the air. Wanda should be happy, joyous even, that you stepped up to clean this mess! Your jaw clenched and your anger rose. Indignation boiled your blood at the sheer thought of your girlfriend judging you. It kept rising until it reached critical level, and with a roar, you slammed your fist into the wall. The metal screeched as it cratered under your massive strength, the tentacles that spawned from your burst of outrage retreating back to you.

Fine. If that was the game that she wanted to play. You’d play too. You didn’t need her. You didn’t need anyone. If you had to save the world all by yourself, then you would.

Part 9

[blackcherryvelvet0909]

Beach Body (Idia x GN!Reader)

Content Warning: Body insecurity, mild angst, self-esteem issues, self-deprecation (Idia)

A single speck of black was visible on the sandy beach. It sat alone, highlighted by wisps of fiery blue hair that peeked out from under its hood. The legs that curled up before the speck, tucked under its chin, were paler than the sand, as white as a sand dollar. The umbrella high above the speck was the only thing to shade it from the harsh, hot rays of the sun. It cowered away from them, as if it wished to disappear from the scene altogether. That assumption was correct - Idia would rather be elsewhere. 

The only reason the man was not back in the safety of his hotel room was the robot boy that played among the waves. Idia had made that waterproof body of his for the trip, so he could play with his peers like any other kid. Idia thought that would be enough; he could simply watch Ortho play from the balcony of their condo. Ortho had other plans, however. There was nothing the boy wanted more than to have his beloved brother with him out on the beach. He said it would be fun to make such memories with him. Though Idia silently disagreed, there was no way he could refuse those pleading eyes. 

So, here he was, sat alone on the beach while Ortho had fun. The boy would come check on him once in a while, try to coax him out into the sea to play with him, or to play in the sand. The only successful attempt had occurred two days ago, when the sandcastle building contest took place. To think Idia thought they actually had a chance at winning - laughable. It was bad enough that they weren't allowed to use magic; when Idia was asked to hand over his tech, and Ortho was told he couldn’t use any tricks of his own, Idia knew they were goners. They came in dead last that day. Ortho had fun, but never again would Idia expose himself to such humiliation. 

The black hoodie that covered his torso sweltered in the heat, but it was the best Idia had to cover up with. You won’t catch him frolicking about like some oblivious loser in a beach episode. That sunny spotlight was for the main characters, the hot NPCs - Idia was neither. He hated this so much…he let out a long sigh as he draped his arms over his knees and rested his chin atop them as he continued to watch Ortho. He cracked a little smile as he heard Ortho squealed in delight when Epel splashed him with water. Well, at least one thing he did was worth something. 

“Idia?” 

Idia flinched at the sudden sound of his name. He whipped his head around to look up at the person addressing him: [Y/n]. “W-What?” 

You pointed to his hoodie. “Aren’t you burning up in that thing?” 

Idia glanced to the side as he lied, “No.” 

“I can clearly see the sweat dripping off your face.” You tugged on his sleeve. “C’mon, you’ll burn up if you don’t!” 

“No!” Idia tugged the hoodie closer to his body. He glared down at the towel he sat on as he grumbled. “Geez, can’t a guy get some peace?” 

You furrowed your eyebrows at his sour attitude. “Are you still upset about the sandcastle contest?” 

“I’m not upset,” he mumbled. Another obvious lie. 

“Don’t be mad - ignore Leona and his bullshit.” You knelt down to look Idia in the eye. “He was just trying to get a rise out of you. You did a lot better than I would have.” 

Idia clicked his tongue as he scoffed. “You can make something worse than a pile of sand?” 

“It wasn’t a pile of sand,” you chuckled. “It was a cute little house! Ortho told me you came up with it; it’s the one from ‘Miko Doesn’t Talk’, right?” 

Idia’s eyebrows lifted, surprised you knew of the show. “Y-You like it?” 

“The anime? Yeah, I think it’s cute! I’ve only just started watching it though, so I can’t say much about it.” 

Idia let out a quiet giggle, “Noob - haven’t even seen a show that beginner grade.” 

It was your turn to scoff, though a smirk accompanied yours. “Well, if someone would come out of their room and talk to me more often, maybe I wouldn’t be such a noob.” 

Idia had nothing to say to that - he just rolled his eyes and looked back out at the sea. Ortho had come closer to shore, he and Deuce now looking for seashells. Baby games…but Idia thought it was cute how Ortho wanted to make them matching shell bracelets. He then saw you move out of the corner of his eye, a water bottle slowly coming into his line of sight. He looked back in your direction with a confused expression. 

“Here,” you said as you lifted the bottle closer to him. “I came to give you this. If you really have to keep on the hoodie, you need to drink more water.” 

“Water’s for normies,” he mused. 

“And heat stroke via stubbornness is for losers,” you retorted. 

Well, you had a point. Idia hated plain water, but he was thirsty. So, with an overdramatically annoyed sound, he took the plastic bottle from you. His fingers brushed against yours as he grasped the bottle; he quickly pulled away and looked down before you could see the pink of his cheeks. “Thanks…” 

“No problem.” Your smile was as bright as the sparkles that came with an SSR card pull. The swimsuit you wore made you look like the love interest in an otome game…why did Idia have to be like this? Before his thoughts could get too carried away, you broke Idia out as you spoke again. “Why are you wearing that anyway? It’s not even that windy today, and it’s not going to rain either. You don’t need it.” 

“You don’t need it,” Idia mocked in a voice that exaggerated yours. He scoffed again as he continued, “What do you want me to do, huh? Take it off and get laughed at by everyone?” He sipped his water sharply before he mumbled under his breath, “It’s not like I’m a protagonist with abs.” 

You furrowed your brow, “Epel doesn’t have abs, neither do Deuce or Ace, and they’re out without a shirt.” 

“They don’t look like a dweeb,” Idia grumbled as he took another swig of his water. 

“You do not look like a dweeb,” you said as you gently elbowed his side. 

Idia smirked again as he chuckled. “What do you have, x-ray vision? How do you know?” 

“I don’t,” you admitted, “but you’re not bad looking, Idia.” Idia glanced back your way as you finished your thought. “I’ve always thought you looked pretty cute.” 

Cute cute you called him cute aaaaahhh!!! 

‘Calm down Idia,’ Idia told himself. ‘You’re fine, you’re fine, you’re cool, you’re fine. Be cool, be…be cool.’ 

Idia managed a grin as he leaned a little closer. “C-Cute, huh?” He mentally called himself dumb for the stammer. “Like what, a puppy?” 

“No, not a puppy,” you laughed. “That’s more of Jack than anything.” Idia held back a laugh of his own as he saw Jack’s ears perk up in the distance. It nearly slipped when the beastman looked in your direction with a look between surprise and puzzled on his face. “I think…hmm…” You thought it over for a bit; honestly, Idia was afraid of what you might say. When you finally did speak, he was nowhere near prepared for what you said. 

“You remind me of the cute loner best friend the main character ends up with in a romantic comedy.”

Idia’s mind ran a mile a minute as he processed your words. Him, cute guy? Love interest in a romantic comedy? What? Good thing his hoodie hid his face when he looked down, or you’d see just how blushy he was. He barely registered the words that came out of his mouth in his flustered state. “Are you the main character?” he mumbled. 

“Huh?” you asked. “What did you say?” 

Idia quickly regained himself, though clumsily. “I, I, u-uh, nothing!” For the first time since he’d gotten to the beach, Idia scrambled up from his spot on the ground. “I-I just remembered I forgot, um…O-Ortho’s bag! Need that if he’s going to collect shells.” He was sweating more now than he ever had before. “I-I’ll see you later!” 

Never did anyone know that Idia Shroud could run that fast. Idia felt ridiculous, honestly - like some anime school girl that just got rejected by her crush. You hadn’t rejected him, but you surely would have laughed if you heard what he said. C’mon, you? With him? Laughable. You’d likely end up with one of the main guys, like Malleus, or Vil, or Leona.

It’d never be with him…never. Idia felt a lump form in his stomach as he slowed down. As his shoes clumped along the wooden walkway that led to and from the beach’s entrance, he tugged his hood further over his head. He could see his once blue hair was now a flaming bright pink. He groaned as he rolled his eyes to the sky, so very frustrated with himself. He told himself to be cool…when was he ever. 

“Get an actual beach body and maybe you could have a shot with the main character,” Idia grumbled to himself as he walked along. 

Hopefully you didn’t notice Ortho’s bag on the beach towel where he’d left it. 

[anon-sect]

Eric has ten employees he supervised in his department at work. He had a level of respect for each of them. The only thing he required was the same level of respect back. But there was one employee who was a major thorn in his side. He did enough to keep himself employed, but every time he had to be corrected, he showed a lack of respect to his position. He really wanted to fix this issue to make life at work much easier.

Eric had heard of a guy named Genie who was solving financial issues but helped in other ways. He had to see if he could help solve his disrespectful employee problem. He called and set up a meeting on the next day.

Eric met Genie at his office. "How can I help you, since you aren't interested in money? Most of my clients are usually here for those partucular reasons." He asked Eric.

Money wasn't an issue currently, but an employee was. "I have this one employee that is really annoying, but I have no grounds on which to fire him. And he won't quit. I just want him dealt with where he is no longer an issue or concern for me." Eric explained his slightly strange request, wondering how a guy named Genie can solve it.

Genie snapped his fingers and a magical contract instantly appeared before him. He looked it over before turning it around for Eric to sign it.

Eric was amazed how an old looking form of paper instantly appeared out of nowhere. "Are you some kind of magician?" He asked as Genie turned the paper for him to read. "Let's just say my magic is far more ancient than some magician. Just sign and initial the highlighted areas. Also, on the bottom in the fine print, I need you to write in a name, it has to be a close friend or a close acquaintance you know well." Genie responded to his question.

Eric read and signed at the same time. He understood what was on the old parchment looking paper. The wish would be permanent with no reversal. But what confused him was that he had to provide a name at the bottom. And it had to be a close friend or acquaintance. "Why do I need to write a name down here if I have already signed?" He asked him curiously.

"You see, I don't grant wishes for free. I require something in exchange. The name you provide will belong to me as my possession. Otherwise, I won't grant it." Genie spoke his response, waiting on Eric to finish signing it.

Eric thought of who he should write in. He didn't want to put in the name of someone close to him he cared about. That would be cruel. He then had the perfect name. It was someone he knew by acquaintance really good, but was also annoying. He honestly wouldn't care what Genie did with him. He wrote in Jake on the line and handed the paper back over to Genie.

Genie looked it over one more time and saw everything was in order. He snapped his fingers, and the parchment vanished just as suddenly as it appeared. "Your wish will be granted in the morning. Just remember, it's permanent. It will not be reversed. I think that concludes our business." Genie motioned him toward his office door.

Eric left wondering how his annoying employee situation would be dealt with. He was told it would be handled by the morning. He couldn't wait to see what would happen.

The next morning, Eric took his shower as normal, but when he came out, he saw a pair of white AND1 socks with a small note beside it. He read the note: here is Malcolm. He is now your pair of socks, enjoy them as you please. Sign, Genie. P.S. there is no reversal if you should happen to feel any remorse.

Malcolm was just having breakfast when suddenly he found himself laid out in a strange place. His body was split in half, and he couldn't move at all. Nor could he physically speak or utter any sound. It was like being trapped in your own mind with no escape. He hated this feeling. He then heard a familiar voice approach. "Wow, he really did solve my Malcolm issue. He made him into my personal pair of socks. I literally get to wear him." He heard as the familiar voice laughed afterward. He knew exactly whose voice it was. It was his supervisor, Eric. Did he hear right? Was he turned into a pair of socks? He quickly realized it was his current reality when he felt Eric picked him up and slid his foot into his sock body. Even though Eric's foot was clean with no odor, it still sickened him at the thought that he was now wrapped around his supervisor's foot. He then experienced it a second time as the other sock was put on. He felt Eric wiggling his toes in him. He screamed so many curses at him and realized Eric didn't hear a single one. He was a powerless pair of socks, and Eric was his owner.

Eric loved the way Malcolm felt on his feet. He would make him his favorite pair of socks. The thought that Malcolm would be at work but providing support for his feet made him smile. The annoying employee became useful to him. The best part was that his socks couldn't speak. No more disrespectful tone coming from him, nothing but bliss silence from the only employee he had that got on his nerves. He then thought about the one whom he gave up to get his wish granted. He wondered what Genie would do with him, even though he honestly didn't have any concern for his well-being.

Jake felt strange. The last thing he remembered was being in his bed. Now he felt like he was somewhere else. He was in a dark place and wrapped around something that felt familiar. He tried to speak but found he no longer had the ability. He tried to move, but his motion was minimal at best. All the most he could accomplish was squirming motion.

Genie felt his underwear moving. He laughed at the futile attempt to escape his current fate. The wish was granted, which meant Jake was permanently his. The good thing was the guy that gave him Jake didn't even care what happened to him. But he would let Jake know of his fate. Suddenly, he had the urge to fart. He let out a long five second fart. He laughed as he finished because he remembered making the guy's face be in the ass part of the underwear. He literally just farted in his face. He really felt the underwear squirm like crazy. He laughed even more.

Jake tried to get away from the smell as an almost toxic gaseous smell bombarded his face. It was so ranchid that he would have gagged or vomited if he had an actual mouth. He realized his reality. He was underwear, and his face was at the rear end of the underwear. He was looking directly at another guy's ass and there was no escape from it. He himself was a straight guy, loves the ladies. But to literally end up on a guy's ass was the worst thought he could ever imagine, let alone it be his reality.

Genie unzipped his pants to speak with his underwear for the first and last time. "Your friend or associate Eric offered you to me in exchange for his wish being granted. So I decided you would be my underwear. The last guy given to me was turned into my favorite pair of socks. I have to tell you, you do make an excellent pair of underwear. And you absorb my fart gas well. I don't smell any of it." Genie paused and laughed at Jake as he farted again, this time it was almost eight seconds long. "This is permanent for you." He finished as he zipped his pants back up. He went and sat down to watch television. He rubbed his butt in his underwear for a bit, enjoying the fact that he knew exactly what he was doing as the underwear squirmed like crazy.

Jake knew of Eric, but for him to trade him off like that was cruel and unforgivable. That last fart was worse than the first one. Then the guy sits down and rubs his ass in his face. He would never wish this fate on any straight guy. A gay guy might be loving this, but he was hating every last moment.

At the end of the day, Eric arrived home from work. His socks had a little sweat in them. He sniffed his shoes and found his strong foot odor in them. He shook his head. He was glad he wasn't trapped in that smell all day. The thought that Malcolm was trapped in that all day amused him. That must have been torture, he thought to himself. But Malcolm's day wasn't over yet. There was one more thing he wanted his former employee to experience.

Malcolm was literally praying for death. The weight of Eric constantly bearing down on him was torture enough. It was just made worse by being trapped and surrounded by an intense foot odor that made him wish he could commit suicide. Add in tasting Eric's feet the entire day. All of this combined was a pit of hell that he would not even wish on someone he hated. Eric only spoke to him that morning. All the rest of the day, he was completely ignored. He was just treated as normal socks. He mentally tried to reach out to his friends at work when he heard their voices, but all attempts were futile. Even if Eric had let them see his socks, no one would come to his rescue. All they would see is normal socks. Only Eric knew the truth, and he wasn't telling anyone about what happened to him.

Eric put on a porn video on the TV. He removed one sock and placed it over his dick. As the video action intensified, so did his dick. Next he was shoot hot cum straight into his sock. "How does that taste, Malcolm?" He laughed as he cleaned off his dick. There was still some cum left on his cock, so he took the other sock to wipe it off. "You also make an excellent cum rag." He added. "Just to let you know, this is permanent. You will never be human again. You only exist to support my feet and be my cum rag forever. I can't reverse what's been done to you, and neither do I want to." He laughed as he placed the socks on the couch. He would wash them later so that he could wear Malcolm again tomorrow. He would wear him to work every day just to torture him, knowing he would never see his old life ever again. And no one to come change his fate. This was the best way to handle my annoying employee issue, he thought. He would have to thank Genie later on. As for Jake, he didn't care what Genie did with him. They weren't close friends anyway.

Malcolm mentally cried as he tasted hot cum that would soon dry up in his sock body. His humanity was reduced to servitude to his former boss's feet and for sexual pleasure. And there was nothing he could do to change it.

[gattnk]

For every shadow there's a light source. For Malachia, there's Reina.

The superior villain pair of the show and the highlight of the first season, everyone! I would've kept them secret for a bit longer but my darling @angelsfriendsass did one of their famous crossover pieces showcasing my (until now) server-exclusive Reina so... I guess my hands are tied :P Here's how the magic happened:

The first thing I did when I set myself to revamp the Angel's Friends plot, was work on Reina and Malachia's role in the story. They're the driving force behind the plot in both the series and the comic, which meant it was crucial to determine what their story would be this time around: what would I keep, what would I change, and what would be tossed out entirely.

I looked into Igor Chimisso's work for Malachia and Reina to better understand his design work (he was a lead character designer for the series). I also looked into their theme songs for inspiration. My research brought me to four key words: light, shadows, opposites, and neutrality. Reina would be searing light, and Malachia would be creeping shadows. The "opposites" and "neutrality" concepts would tie them together and unify their designs.

I love the idea of protagonists seeing themselves mirrored by their antagonists in some way. Reina used to be an angel in the show and Malachia used to be a devil in the comics, so I cemented this into my own canon; they would mirror Raf and Sulfus quite naturally this way.

Malachia's new personality and role as a "creeping shadow" made me choose a variety of greys for him. Being a former devil, his focus on ambiguity and "neutrality" would fit well with him. Reina instead has more polarizing tones, dealing in extremes like the "searing light" she embodies: being a former angel, her line of thought would be more black and white, and this would be reflected in her dress with "opposite" hues.

You can't have a villain duo without complementary concepts, and what better way to represent complementary concepts than with complementary colors? I gave Reina yellow eyes and Malachia purple ones, and included "hints" of each other by adding shades of these colors on their counterpart.

Malachia has ochre accents, a yellowed shirt and bronze skin, very straightforward. Reina has dark magenta accents and her iconic blue hair to tie her to his counterpart. I considered white hair like her young self in the series at first, but it clashed with the dress; I took a page from her adult design and kept her silver bangs to frame her face instead.

Reina's shattered halo pieces are arranged over her head like a crown, a tongue-in-cheek reference to her name ("queen" in spanish) and her position of leadership in Limbo. Malachia instead used his shattered horns to fashion himself a diapason, like the one in the comics. The function of this tool is very different in my rewrite, but I'll keep the specifics to myself for now ;P

Also, I wasn't entirely sure where to include this, but remember how angels are tied to circles and devils to triangles? Reina, Malachia and other neutrals will be tied to a half circle on top of a triangle, kinda like a diamond with a round top. See how many of those you can spot around!

It'll be a long time before they show up in my fic proper, but I still encourage you to keep your eyes open just in case while you read my rewrite fic. After all, Raf and Sulfus aren't particularly careful or subtle, so who knows what's lurking around the Golden School these days...

I'll Fly With You (rewrite fic) Art masterpost

[delirious-donna]

They Call Him The Reaper [Hanma Shuji]

an: after many discussions on discord with @unknownspecies over Shuji and especially soft Shuji in the past few days, this idea was born. A huge thanks to Zoya for helping a ton with the inspiration and characterisation.

pairing: Hanma Shuji x female reader

warnings: SFW, suggestive at best but only in one section, canon level violence mentioned, fluff, photographer timeline Shuji, soft Shuji, self-indulgence

Masterlist

They call him the Reaper.

A title bestowed upon him when he was only an adolescent. A delinquent with seemingly no moral compass, little compassion and a desire to watch the world burn, but only after being the one to strike the match. Nothing but a thug with no qualms about being used by others to enact their worst ideations.

Even now, in his mid-thirties, the namesake remains.

Sure, he isn’t the most upstanding citizen, but he is a far cry from those youthful years when he would pull the wings off insects just to watch them writhe. He found his passion, and it wasn’t taking orders without question. Perhaps those years helped him capture the world in a way that others couldn’t, a unique take on the subject of his photographs that no one but he could draw out because he didn’t see the world like anyone else. 

His studio was full of his favourite shots, landscapes blown up to cover large sections of the walls with small intimate photos scattered around in what seemed like a haphazard way when, in fact, there was a logic and pattern that only made sense to him. Photos taken with a polarizing filter caught your eye amongst the raw scenes on display. Natural sunsets stood out against a sea of cityscapes with twinkling lights, the pure magic of the sun outshining any number of neon lights that covered the glittering buildings.

It was safe to say that he had an eye for photography, and his fully booked calendar only highlighted that fact. However, he hadn’t entirely turned away from his criminal past. He would still lend out favours to those he called friends and they weren’t many. Those that did make the exclusive list were some of the most powerful men in the entire country and the majority of their wealth was stained in crimson, not that he cared.

An enforcer, a dangerous presence or sometimes the kindling to spark the flames of a dispute that had taken too long to reach this point. He played the role well, and it would be a lie to say he didn’t enjoy it when he was called upon. His fingers itched for a good fight often, and whilst he could now channel that energy in other, less violent ways, sometimes nothing could quell the bloodlust than a brawl where his knuckles split wide and smears of his opponent's blood covered his golden-hued skin.

Of course, he was still the Reaper. To be feared simply from how he smiled when he entered a room. It didn’t matter who occupied it or how high up the tree they might be, his smile was crazed, a warning and a threat rolled into one. The wolf called in when things were growing arms and legs, when attention was being drawn and a conclusion was needed sooner rather than later.

One flash of his perfectly white and deadly sharp teeth was enough to silence a room and he got off on that feeling. A glance at the stark black ink decorating the backs of his hands was more than ample to strike fear into the most hardened criminals. They all knew the atrocities those hands had committed, the blood that had long been washed away but still evident on the slender fingers by reputation alone.

An animal. A hired thug. A monster.

Except, he wasn’t those things, at least, not to you. He was gentle, a good listener and a whirlwind of his own making. Not always, and he had his moments when he was far from gentle, but you loved those times nearly as much as you coveted the soft times.

He liked the sound of rainstorms and would pull you to bed simply to lay in his arms and talk whilst the heavy thud of raindrops pelted against the roof and lashed the windows. He was a curious creature and often questioned you over things that seemed trivial but somehow were important to him. What had you eaten for lunch in middle school? What had you wanted to be when you were a kid? Which was your favourite ice cream flavour? 

You’d laugh and press your hand against his shoulder in a playful shove, he couldn’t seriously want to know those things but he truly did. His nose rubbed into your hair as warm laughter met your ear, the arm around your waist tightening until you yielded and gifted him the answers he sought. Did he remember them? You weren’t sure and you didn’t test him on it, it was enough that he had asked in the first place.

The man called the Reaper thought about you and not just when he needed something from you. It had taken some time to sink in but the evidence was plain to see as the little trinkets grew on your vanity. He had an uncanny ability to sense you weren’t in the best of moods, perhaps it was a hard week at work or your monthly cycle kicking your ass. It didn’t matter the reason, simply that in these instances he would appear on your doorstep with that wicked grin curving his lips and a small bag or box in hand. It was never a random item either, always something you had previously spoken about like the hobbies and interests he teased you over or an item you had lingered at whilst out together.

Someone considered a monster couldn’t be that sweet, but he was. Perfect he was not but soft, measured when it counted and open with his affection. He didn’t shy away from twining his fingers with yours, thumb stroking over your knuckles while you swung your joined hands happily. What a funny pair you made when out walking, but he didn’t mind one jot when you had a spring in your step or you pulled him to stop over something you had spied. Maybe you couldn’t see the secret smile that he wore only for you but the ghost of it caught your eye now and then.

For everything that made him hard, dominating and the master of his universe, there was a parallel to be drawn. All you had to do was look within the box tucked away beneath his bed to know that to you, he was no monster to be feared. Inside a frayed box that had been opened and closed so many times that the stiff cardboard was now peeling in places, scuffed and overused, was a thick stack of photos. Polaroids and glossy photos sat in a jumble and the subject of every single one… you.

Some only showed the curve of your shoulder as the morning sun streamed through a bedroom window to bounce off your skin and the rumpled white sheets. Others were candid shots that you remembered fondly. Being chased around your apartment whilst he snapped photos that you tried playfully to avoid. Bright smiles and splayed fingers across the lens blurred the surroundings but did nothing to dampen the happiness they exuded. You’d blush at the intimate ones carefully thumbed by long fingers. Hair spread out on pillows like a halo, features twisted in bliss and uncaring for the camera poised above you. 

Yes, there were lewd images of the two of your bodies joined and the decadent mess such a joining resulted in. Streaks of saliva on heated flesh, a pink tongue painted in creamy white, a hand painted with ‘punishment’ wrapped around an eager throat and other things that made you blush to even think of. 

He even kept the photos you had taken, the ones from a lazy Sunday morning when you had grabbed his camera and snapped away at his tousled hair and carefree expression. Capturing the curls of smoke that rose from one of his morning cigarettes and asking him to try and blow smoke rings just to amuse you. The ones where you kissed his cheek and peeked at the camera with a wink and others where you made stupid faces together until you couldn’t breathe from the laughter.

Despite it all, the violence he was capable of and the times he tested your patience and sanity to the very limit, he had stolen your attention but you had gifted him your love.

They called him the Reaper, but you called him Hanma Shuji.

[zoobus]

@dtwoh2

This ended up being super long so I decided not to harass OP's replies

(this is about my opinion that Elliot the billionaire from Breaking Bad S1E5 "Grey Matter" was not a generous, kindly rich friend offering Walt a way out with no strings attached)

First, let me say this: I know most people don't notice or care about fashion but BrBa actually did put notable effort in their costume design and it's because characters like Skyler are consistently well-dressed that made this point so glaring

When she's hosting, when she goes to the office, hell even her house robes are sophisticated, put together fits - I'm not sure how she affords those sumptuous silk kimonos she's always wearing but it hammers home Skye as an appearance-minded person, a woman who knows how to dress. Even with the shit camera quality, you can tell her hot pink baby shower dress was made for her.

And yet.

Walt and Skye go to that party in complementing loud, harsh, ugly blues for what they learn is a beige party - the literal exact opposite of blue.

Now, it'd be one thing if they'd known and worn beige outfits that were shabby in comparison and Walt got in his feelings about it. Or if they'd truly "missed the memo" as Walt snarks and come in normal-wear that was out of dress code - yep could see Walt assuming it was intentional and throwing a fit.

But this poor couple attending a billionaire's party for some reason thought they should wear gaudy blue, with Skye's dress in particular highlighting exactly how cheap it is. It's almost as if they were under the impression they had to wear a color a domesticated adult would be unlikely to already own and rarely looks good on a budget, doubly so if you're 8 months pregnant. Skye would NEVER wear that shiny ass prom dress with the ruched center seam, scratchy 100% polyester raschel lace shawl, and sequined evening bag in public unless she thought it was her only choice. She never wears anything like this again, not even in the same season. The only rational explanation is someone lied to them. The more I explain this, the more I realize why most people missed it.

Now for the less special interest type reasons:

Walt asks (then later confirms) the invite said "no gifts." You might say oh, maybe Elliot was trying to spare Walt's pride but if so, why make a point of sharing it like he did? Why even invite your broke prideful friend to this kind of party, like you can't think of any other way to meet, chat, and ask if he'll work for you?

Additionally, how odd that Walt's was the only invite that didn't say this was a beige party.

Really can't downplay how hard it is to swallow they forgot to tell the Whites not to show up in clown uniforms.

Elliot's loudly showing off his gifts, with the last being an autographed Eric Clapton Stratocaster® which on the low end today is a $2000 electric guitar, but can go to the tens of thousands. Then he spots his friend's meager, teensy little thing, smaller than his hand and LITERALLY POINTS WALT OUT so everyone knows for damn sure who did this. Elliot unwraps it and does this full body sigh. Hands dropped. Your dad getting another tie for father's day type reaction. Young Good Ramen. No this is great man. You can get 10 for 1.99.

Sorry, no it WAS malicious. Listen to his voice. Feel how long he held that unpleasant silence before forcing a chuckle. Holding eye contact throughout while the crowd darts their eyes and smirks. This isn't Harry Potter - you can't emphasize how shitty something is then magically negate it like "and that's why I love it hahaha!" Elliot made it clear where he thinks Walt stands. Beneath him.

The whole party is like this, a humiliating horror show of socializing out of your social sphere. We don't even know what their relationship was like before. The implication is that Walt separated from this guy before for a reason and the reason was probably in line with what we saw today.

Elliot isn't stupid. He knows Walt. He knows Walt's character. He knows their financial disparities. He knows Walt is sick. Presumably he's well aware of Walt's pride. An intelligent and well-meaning friend doesn't accidentally combo-hit the exact weak points that caused you to drift apart in less than an hour before asking hey how would you like to literally owe me your life? How would you like the kind of debt that can't be repaid? :) You're a smart man.

If Elliot really cared about saving Walt, he wouldn't have gone about it the way he did. If, however, he wanted to antagonize and flex on Walt, make him as uncomfortable as possible, keep in his wife's good graces by offering him a job, and end the night with two possible outcomes - either he accepts and gets richer or he rejects and elliot can say "Welp honey, your former lover and ex-fiance Walter White said no for some weird reason. oh well, I tried! :)"

Idk, I guess it could be a projection but the way Elliot talked to Walt reminded me of old friends whom, in retrospect, didn't even try to hide their disdain for me. Like wow how did I miss that.

I think Gretchen had honest intentions. Her husband didn't. I don't know what his deal was exactly but I'd exhaust all other resources before accepting this dude who publicly embarrassed me as my savior, livelihood, and future employer.

[tfyoulookingatgiuxs]

Happily ever after

Vampire!Eddie Munson x Princess!Reader

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: A usual day in the kingdom of Nyzeen. Winter was always cold but never as cold as this day, when chaos reigned, shedding a lot of blood but giving you a magical gift.

𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: Angst, fluff, fem!reader, use of Y/N, drama, bad language, age gap, secret relationship, violence, blood, threats, invented events, violent themes and actions, vomiting, illnesses, murder, crying. (Attention! in this one-shot themes and characters invented by me will be explained, and it is not a continuation of any of my previous works.)

𝐀/𝐍: I said I'd bring back another one-shot about the vampiric version of Eddie in this fantasy world, and so I did! I love when I invent fantastic places and creatures, and I really like how I wrote this one-shot, I hope you like it too. Sorry for my english this is not my native language. Please support and reblog! Hope you enjoy this one. (DIVIDER NOT MINE)

The snow fell gently, coloring white the entire kingdom of Nyzeen. The cold was felt and obviously evil was always present to threaten your home. Many vampires have killed families and children who lived in the village, draining their blood and depriving them of their lives. Your father, the king, together with some soldiers went to clean up The Black Forest, eliminating as many vampires as possible.

Even if you wanted good in your kingdom you couldn't deny your concern for Eddie, as he was also one of those creatures and also your beloved.

It was all out of the ordinary, it's true. But your affection and love towards a mystical and deadly creature like Eddie was something you couldn't explain. He was everything you wanted in a man and certainly his dangerousness and his species didn't matter to you in the slightest.

You were wandering around the castle, it was late afternoon and there was a solitary air in the large walls. Your long ash-colored dress highlighted your beauty along with the ruby ​​jewelry. You looked at the large windows noticing the beautiful cold snow falling. You had left your rooms to move your legs a bit, you were tired of always staying in your room and you asked your mother if you could spend some time around the facility. She didn't deny it but still warned you to be careful, even though the castle was well protected, no one could assure you that they wouldn't get in somehow.

Your mother was now in her room sick, the cold had played a bad joke on her by making her catch a fever. The doctor said she would recover and that in the meantime she should stay in bed and eat only hot meals. Meanwhile, your father was becoming more and more obsessed with vampires. They were driving him crazy and he swore to God that he would exterminate every vampire scum on the earth. This big hatred of his was obviously justified, after all the vampires had killed his mother, or rather your grandmother. However, you couldn't fully understand his obsession with creating chaos. You wanted to tell him how all vampires weren't like that, and that there are good-hearted vampires, like your beloved Eddie.

You stopped in the middle of the long corridor feeling your head spinning and a sense of nausea come over you. You've been like this for at least a week, you didn't have a fever or anything but you felt slightly cold and ate little. You didn't say anything to anyone, you wanted to handle it yourself, you knew what would happen if you opened your mouth, you didn't want to stay in bed for days, so you decided that you would take care of yourself in your own way. Most likely you had eaten something that made you sick and even made you vomit, so you made sure to eat healthy meals and water from the Lake of the Three Fairies. Water which is said to be magical and governed by the three fairies, small creatures who give magic to the lake, in this water it cures and heals those who drink it. You remember when some time ago your father had taken it upon himself to fetch water from the lake to save your mother from serious injuries after the war against Lilith. The lake from here is quite far and full of dangers, it was not easy for him, but everything he did was not in vain and he managed to meet the fairies and ask them for permission to take water.

You placed a hand on your belly, slowly feeling the nausea go away after you took some deep breaths. Screams outside alarmed you and through the foggy glass of the window you saw some torches lit. The fire from those torches was blazing hot and people shouted something as a large black figure headed over the castle. You ran to see if your mother was okay. You didn't know what that thing was, but you hoped with all your heart that it hadn't entered the castle.

You were in front of the door and heard the sound of armor. You turned and saw your father "Y/N!" He hugged you and you looked at him "Father, are you okay?" He nodded "I came to see if you and your mother were okay" You released yourself from the hug "I'm fine. But, what was that thing?" You asked looking at your father's panting face, apparently he had run too much to reach you "He was a high-class vampire, we managed to hurt him but he managed to fly above the other floors of the castle. I ran to you straight away" you didn't said nothing, you just watched his movements as he took a deep breath "I'll take care of your mother, you lock yourself in your room, I'll send a guard to check on you" he said and you nodded "Yes father" You replied. Your father entered while you ran to your room.

A high-class vampire...

It couldn't be him.

High-class vampires are people who have been transformed and have taken in a large amount of blood over a hundred years, thus making them vampires with self-control but evil and ruthless personalities. Eddie was one of those, you were seriously afraid that he was seriously injured. You entered, slamming the door and what you saw left you speechless. Eddie lay bleeding on your balcony as he shivered from the cold.

You didn't think twice. You opened your balcony grabbing the vampire and dragging him into your room. It was freezing and the blood just flowed. His wings were also wounded but never as much as his stomach was torn by a blade stuffed with Verbena. You were panicking. Verbena was a powerful plant against species like them, if you didn't do something immediately he wouldn't survive. You sat him on the floor with his back against the wall. His eyes were closed but he was still breathing “Eds…” you whisper, placing a hand on his cold cheek.

No. I don't have to waste time. You thought. You stood up determinedly as you left your room running to your mother.

You were in front of her door, you prayed that your father wasn't there and so you opened the door, there was no one there. Your mother was sleeping peacefully on her bed and you immediately spotted the dresser. You got it. The water of the Lake of the Three Fairies. You couldn't have taken better medicine to heal his wound. You left unnoticed and as soon as you arrived in your rooms you opened the door to find a guard in front of the vampire, ready with his sword to cut off his head.

"Princess stand back, I will kill this beast in no time" he said as the vampire whimpered in pain.

The blood was on the floor and still spreading across your wooden floor. A horrifying scene. The sword filled with blood as dark as your jewels as you moved his body to the side getting closer to the vampire. Eddie had his hand on the wound, most likely trying to stop the bleeding.

“Eddie” you called out to him but he didn’t answer. You took the bottle and poured the water on his wound. Eddie groaned in pain, most likely burning but then he calmed down and you saw his wound heal itself. The bottle was empty, you had used it all. You had to be one hundred percent sure that the water would save him. You placed your hand on his chest feeling his heart beat. You let out a smile. But it was still freezing. You stood up past the guard's corpse and lit the fireplace in the center of your room with a match.

After a while the vampire woke up in your warm room with his stomach healed, as if he had never been hurt. Before him lay a dead guard wrapped in a blood-stained sheet and the floor apparently cleaned of the mess. You were cuddled up to him, giving him more warmth. The vampire's wings wrapped around you keeping you close, he understood that it was you who cured him and also killed the guard, he couldn't be more in love. You opened your eyes looking at him in that sweet and affectionate state "Hey..." You said and he smiled at you "Hey princess" You stroked his long brown curls "How are you feeling?"

“Better, thanks for being my knight” as a response you gave him a kiss which he immediately returned.

You wanted that sweet moment to last forever but then a loud noise made you jump on the spot "Y/N open the door!" your father was banging repeatedly on the sealed door of your bedroom “Fuck...” you cursed in a whisper, both of you jumping up. You looked at Eddie and now even with just one look you could communicate. He nodded, opening your balcony and flying away but not before saying, "I'll be right back."

"Y/N are you in there? Honey open the door please" your father begged again. You didn't answer and just stared at the wooden door while holding one of the Verbena swords.

The time had come...

Eddie returned after half an hour, dispatching the uncontrolled vampires before they arrived at the village and caused more trouble. It landed as usual on your balcony in your room, but no trace of you...

Indeed, the corpses had increased. Now three corpses lay on the ground, all royal guards "Y/N..." he said your name afraid of where you had gotten yourself.

He walked through the corridors of the castle noticing that the corpses of guards and Lady and Lord were on the ground. Eddie thought some other out-of-control vampire had attacked your castle and made a killing. But then he saw you...

You were on your knees while holding on to the sword, your father looking at you in amazement who was also armed. Your clothes were stained with blood and you were now enduring great nausea and vomiting, apparently your illness had not healed...

"My daughter...why are you doing all this? Has someone done something to you? Please tell me" Your father looked at your pain and couldn't point his sword at you, you were his daughter... "Honey, what's wrong with you? A vampire bit you? Did they hurt you? " He knelt in front of you admiring your gorgeous face. You wanted to get up, but you couldn't, the headache was strong and your strength was leaving you "You could never understand father..." You said in a weak voice as your hand lay on your belly "Why did you kill everyone Y/N? Did anyone put a curse on you? Explain it to me!" The man was on the verge of crying but you didn't respond.

Eddie, who had remained there watching the scene, made himself noticed by the king and the man remained silent for several seconds before saying "No..." then he looked at you, he had understood everything.

"Son of a bitch..." he took his sword back and Eddie was on his guard "It was you. You abused my daughter by making her your slave" he screamed at him but Eddie didn't move "You ruined her future, her life! And now I will make sure you suffer" he declared, positioning himself waiting for his move. Eddie however didn't move "Father..." you called him "No! You have been defiled by him Y/N. I promise you that I will get rid of that beast he created, even if it means hurting you... but I will save you my daughter" his words were unfortunately as you expected. He would never understand, and you certainly didn't expect him to, but you were very sorry.

He then pointed the sword at you and Eddie wasted no time, now blinded by rage. He jumped on the man and your father yelled "Eddie!" You screamed in fear as you tried in vain to get up. Eddie injured the man and then walked towards you trying to keep you standing. The headache was still present from too much effort, but the warmth of the vampire and his wings that protected both of you were enough to make you take deep breaths, calming you down and making that feeling of vomiting go away.

Your father was seriously injured and cried seeing you two so close. Your heart was about to break in two, you tried to move closer but Eddie's grip stopped you "It's okay" you said and he let you go. You knelt down and looked at your crying father's face "My daughter please don't let yourself be subjugated by him" you caressed his face "Your mother and I love you and you know this, so recover and save yourself from his clutches" you shook your head smiling as a few tears fell "I know father, I love you too. But I love him" the king was shocked "Of a vampire..." he continued to stare into your eyes "what a shame...my daughter is a witch" he said and your tears continued to fall "Go to hell-" he didn't have time to say anything else before you stabbed him with your dagger that until now you have hidden under your dress.

You were sad, but you knew it had to be done. You had always been afraid of getting to this point but you had to find the strength to keep going. Eddie hugged you from behind consoling you "It's okay princess..." your tears stopped after a while and together with Eddie you walked out of the castle.

The snow was always more beautiful as it was freezing. It reminds you of when your parents told you about your birth, one of the coldest days Nyzeen had ever felt. The inhabitants of the castle had been exterminated except for your mother. She was sick in bed, therefore an easy target, but if killing your father was difficult, your mother would have been impossible, you didn't kill her. You cut off one of her legs to prevent her from walking and therefore from doing anything. She wouldn't understand either, but you wanted to make her understand, she would learn to accept Eddie and that not all vampires were like Lilith, the devil's daughter and woman who had reigned over vampires for years and years, then defeated by your father.

"So, why did you exterminate everyone?" Right, Eddie still didn't know anything. "They saw you, they hurt you and I killed a guard to protect you. I could never justify myself" was your response as the darkness was about to arrive "That's all? Just beacuse you do a little murder? Don't lie to me princess, I know you're hiding something from me. You would never have done something so rash without a specific reason" you were in awe of how well he knew you and you smiled "It's true. I had to do it for you, for us" you confessed "For us? Well, I appreciate the thought princess but I don't think the two of us can live in such a huge castle. Not to mention that there are humans in the village who fear me, who knows how they will react when they discover that their princess has exterminated everyone" you kept a straight posture while the sunset was the most beautiful vision that nature had ever created "Don't worry of this. I will show the people of this village that your kind is not all as bad as they think, and that vampires can be good. You know, I don't mind hosting your trusted friends at the castle, as long as they behave properly" Eddie let out a chuckle "How kind for someone who has just committed mass murder, I love you every day that passes princess” he smirked and you blushed.

"In any case, I'll try to study the castle later. Back when Lilith ruled here I was minding my own business in the Black Forest" you approached looking at his chocolate brown eyes "I'm sure you will, otherwise how will you manage to get care of us if you don't even know where to go in the castle?” the vampire's face became confused "Us?" his smile widened showing him your hand on your belly “Seriously?” Eddie didn't seem to realize it yet "Yes Eds" the vampire smiled showing his fangs "Oh princess" he said happily kissing you passionately. You reciprocated hoping that kiss would never end.

This was everything you wanted. A beautiful life in the company of the man you loved. The life you had created for yourself would be turbulent and certainly taking care of your mother while trying to make her see reality would be difficult, same thing with the village, but you were ready. You would have faced the worst storms for your love and your future child. This was your happily ever after.

[cursedonyx]

Wand Woods and Cores

In planning my fic, I did a lot of research into HP and HL lore to try and make it as accurate as possible. In doing so, I had a wonderful time trying to picture what wands our emerald trio had, and came up with the following. Included below are the woods, cores and lengths of their wands, as well as notes from Ollivander on what each wood symbolises, and I highlighted the parts that I thought most relevant to our trio. I also threw in some floriography for the woods, which I personally think match our trio marvellously.

Dracaena – 10 ½ inches

Blackthorn wood

"Blackthorn, which is a very unusual wand wood, has the reputation, in my view well-merited, of being best suited to a warrior. This does not necessarily mean that its owner practises the Dark Arts (although it is undeniable that those who do so will enjoy the blackthorn wand’s prodigious power); one finds blackthorn wands among the Aurors as well as among the denizens of Azkaban. It is a curious feature of the blackthorn bush, which sports wicked thorns, that it produces its sweetest berries after the hardest frosts, and the wands made from this wood appear to need to pass through danger or hardship with their owners to become truly bonded. Given this condition, the blackthorn wand will become as loyal and faithful a servant as one could wish."

Symbolism - Transition, Sudden Change, Death

Core - Phoenix Feather

This is the rarest core type. Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike.

Phoenix feather wands are always the pickiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won.

Ominis – 11 ¾ inches

Cedar

"Whenever I meet one who carries a cedar wand, I find strength of character and unusual loyalty. My father, Gervaise Ollivander, used always to say, ‘you will never fool the cedar carrier,’ and I agree: the cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception. I would go further than my father, however, in saying that I have never yet met the owner of a cedar wand whom I would care to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them."

Symbolism - I live but for thee, Think of Me, Prosperity, Longevity

Core - Unicorn Hair

Unicorn hair generally produces the most consistent magic, and is least subject to fluctuations and blockages. Wands with unicorn cores are generally the most difficult to turn to the Dark Arts. They are the most faithful of all wands, and usually remain strongly attached to their first owner, irrespective of whether he or she was an accomplished witch or wizard.

Minor disadvantages of unicorn hair are that they do not make the most powerful wands (although the wand wood may compensate) and that they are prone to melancholy if seriously mishandled, meaning that the hair may ‘die’ and need replacing.

Sebastian – 12 ¼ inches

Aspen

"Wand-quality aspen wood is white and fine-grained, and highly prized by all wand-makers for its stylish resemblance to ivory and its usually outstanding charmwork. The proper owner of the aspen wand is often an accomplished duellist, or destined to be so, for the aspen wand is one of those particularly suited to martial magic. In my experience, aspen wand owners are generally strong-minded and determined, more likely than most to be attracted by quests and new orders; this is a wand for revolutionaries."

Symbolism - Excess of sensibility, fear, Lamentation

Core - Dragon Heartstring

As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner.

The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.

Masterlist

Wandlore

[bohioeveanga]

Oh, boy do I got a dumb Zelda theory that I will not be translating into any other language because this will be long as heck...🙃

And I do mean long, so buckle up and get ready. Because the theory goes as follows: what if the Zonai and Minish are somehow connected?

I know I'm grasping at the stupidest straws and I actually thought about it while falling asleep last night, I've only got one open eye this morning while writing this, so these are really rambles of a madwoman!🤣 Still, I think this needs to be discussed. I think there might be, in the smallest of chances, a connection.

Let's start with the obvious, physical traits. There's not much, I know. We only have the extremely large ears and snout. That's about it, really. Minish have lighter skin, and seem to have a feathery tail coming from behind. On the other hand, Zonai have a grayish-greenish skin, overall white hair, and don't have tails. The biggest and most obvious difference is size, with the Minish being small and the Zonai, well, do I really need to explain that? The Zonai are even much taller than Hylians in comparison.

Though it seems they can have a lot hair, both, if we compare Rauru and Ezlo in his Minish form. Who knows if Zonai can grow beards too?

Also, the Minish came from the sky, much like the Zonai did. Coincidence?!

But wait! There's more. Let's talk about designs.

Can you see it? The eye. That effing eye! Took one look at that shield, and all I could think was the Four Sword Sanctuary. Now, granted, that's in FS and FSA, but those stories are connected to MC. I saw the Elemental Sanctuary, and while there's no eye, it's safe to say that maybe there's a connection to the sanctuaries, housing the Four Sword and elements. And the Ranger Constructs seem to have an akin eye to the shield and sanctuary, even hanging at the side of their faces. It's so similar, that I can't help but think there might be a connection. (Low-key, I actually thought the Ranger Constructs would be a new version of the Eyegore.)

Still on the eye-theme, the Zonai themselves have a third eye. You know two other people who seem to have a connection to a third eye? Hmm, yeah, Vaati and Astor.

Now, Astor is from AoC, so I'm not too worried on him, but he's eerily similar to Vaati, to the point I actually believed he was an incarnation of him back before AoC came out. And why not? Similar dark clothes, gold accents, red highlights in magic, the circlet with red jewel, gray skin, maniac tendencies, need I say more? But Vaati used to once be a Minish, remember? He turned human with his newfound powers through the magical cap Ezlo made prior to the MC events. The Minish are creatures of magic and desire good. Zonai too. If we analyze at a slightly scientific and magical perspective, maybe the Minish might have evolved into a large and superior advanced race, even going as far as abandoning there small stature and simplistic lifestyle. Similarly to our smart Sheikahs from BoTW/AoC/ToTK and 10,000 years prior.

Eye these other shots! (See what I did there? No, okay, I'll shut up.😏)

Dark Hyrule Castle in MC? Filled with eye-related puzzles. Zonaite armor? Eye on the freaking helmet! Mazaal, boss for the Fortress of Winds in MC? Eyes on his hands, literally! Plus, who's to say that Mazaal isn't some super ancient prototype of a Construct? Look at the shape of the head and Zonaite helmet! (WHAT IF THE SHEIKAH TOOK INSPIRATION TO CREATE GOHDAN FOR THE TOWER OF THE GODS IN WW?! Theory for another day.)

Now, finally giving a shut-eye to that topic (I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself,) let's talk about Constructs. Asides from Mazaal above, you know what device is super similar between Minish and Zonai?

A classic Zelda staple seems way too similar for this particular theory. Sure, the Remote Bomb is gray, but the aspect between the Remote and Time Bomb are way too similar. Even the 'fuse' is pretty much the exact same look and color! On top of that, its usage is exactly the same. It's a small stupid piece of circumstantial evidence, but I'm going with it.

Now, finally, for my last bit. TotK brought some new flora into the game, fitting naturally. But there's one that's unique and stands out, and surprisingly shares a part of its name with a plant that makes an appearance in MC. Can you guess?

Aren't they pretty? The shape and look of the Brightbloom and Pico Bloom, respectively, are identical. When the bud is close, its shape is similar as well. When the bud is open, it provides lighting in its general area. Pico Blooms, in particular, offer different lights, asides from the above yellow, including, yes, white. Pico Blooms lights glow very obviously while the Brightbloom's glow is steady and unwavering. While it's hard to guess if Pico Blooms are able to provide as much light as a Brightbloom in the darkness, maybe the Depths, the similarities are impossible to ignore. Even the way the leaves at the bottom of the stem are similar. Brightblooms don't make an appearance in BotW, much like the Pico Blooms do not exist, or at least, not seen, in any other Zelda game. And while Pico Blooms serve more as a side quest appearance, they still form a part of the Minish's general flora. Brightblooms appeared right after the Upheaval, a crucial item to explore the Depths. And they seem to have a strong connection with the Zonai, as they are seen as a part of the Ranger Constructs decoration, as well as within the shrines, and even in the mines and other architectural locations found in the Depths.

The entire Miner's freaking Set is an entire copy to the Brightbloom!

Welp, that's my tea and essay for today, y'all. I think I'm still kind of asleep, despite everything I wrote and all the above images. Am I crazy and seeing too much into it? Probably am, but it seems there's a connection. Maybe the Minish evolved into the Zonai, much like the Zora evolved into the Rito. Maybe the Minish, while trying magic, backfired into the Zonai? Or maybe they're just completely separate from each other. The possibilities are endless. At the end of the day, that's what makes the games so great, and makes me just another sleepy Zelda theorist.

See later ya later guys! Back to bed!🤣

[antlerqueer]

hii, megan! I hope everything is going well for you. I was wondering if you'd be willing to share how you created the gifs and images overlay effect in this /post/727210103698259968/scott-pilgrim-2010-lgbtqcreators-bingo pretty set? Have a nice day.

I will do my best!

First and foremost shout out to @nelsonnicks Norah whose beautiful gif set here inspired me!

In order to make this as succinct but also thorough as possible, there are some assumptions this tutorial makes:

We are working in photoshop

You know how to make a gif using photoshop

You know how to use the timeline feature to make/edit gifs

Okay let's learn how to make this gif:

(Due to Tumblr's image number limitations, there is a PART TWO linked where I add that "item" and gif, which you can find by clicking this entire sentence.)

STEP ONE: The Image Overlay

Pick your image! Here's the one I've picked, I cropped a page of the graphic novel:

From there, I'm going to click on that magic wand tool:

And select subject (crudely circled for emphasis)

If it's not perfect, you can either use the quick selection tool to refine the selection before or continue on with these steps and use the eraser later. I do both, but it's up to you.

Now I have a lasso around the subject, and I'll click that "Select and Mask" button next to "Select Subject"

Now I can see what my lasso'd image looks like against a white background, and I see that it's pretty good, nothing I can't fix with an eraser if I really want to later.

If the image looks rougher than you were expecting, use the SMOOTH option and play around with that slider.

If it looks a bit more smooth than you wanted (not clear defined lines where you were aiming for clear defined lines) use the CONTRAST option and play with that.

And if you wanted a little more or less around the edges, you can use the SHIFT EDGE tool to grab like 1px-ish of additional space.

Anyway, I like what I've got, so I am gonna CLICK OK

And I'll either cut or copy it onto a new file, and throw away my scraps.

Now it's time to add my character details! I'll use the same format I did for the original set here, and create 3 equal-sized rectangles using this lovely shape tool tool:

So my working file now looks like this:

I move the rectangles closer, I'll want them behind the image of Ramona after but here's just what it looks like while I'm adjusting them.

Then I add the text:

Now, it looks like when I put the bars behind her it'll cut off her name! I don't want that, so I'll adjust the side of the bar for her name and scoot it over....

Nice!

Now I'll adjust those layers to be closer together and behind Ramona...

And this is what my screen looks like now!

It looks how I want it, so now I'm gonna merge all of the layers EXCEPT the background layer. This makes it so the part that's merged has a transparent background.

Highlight the layers, right click, and find the "Merge Layers" option

And now it looks like this:

Step one COMPLETE. Great job. Have you been drinking water? It helps you think clearer. Or something.

STEP TWO: Make the gif you want. Sorry I'm not doing this step-by-step it would be so long I'm sorry!!!

STEP THREE: Put Ramona on the gif!

So I just use the selection tool and make a square around my bestie Ramona here to create this:

And then paste her right on top of my gif here:

Woah! She's ginormous!

Let's resize her by hitting CTRL+T....

This is where we get a little creative. Personally? I think the font is legible, but doesn't look nice now that I've resized it. So I'm going to back to the original file and UNDO my last action (merging the files):

And hit CTRL + T on the Ramona layer (Layer 1 pictured) and adjust her size:

Time to merge these layers again, and redo the process:

MEGAN SHE'S LARGE AGAIN! I know, I'd rather work with big files I have to make smaller than small files I have to make bigger. Sue me.

Resize the layer, make any adjustments to the gif you have under it in terms of placement/size:

And WHEW we got this part done.

STEP FOUR: Add color overlay

I'm gonna make her color overlay blue like her cartoon hair, so I'll eyedrop tool her hair:

Go to Layer:

Add new, and then using a regular brush at like 5000px just click onto that new layer, and...

Bump that layer under your Ramona cut-out,

Go back to the layer drop-down menu, and select Blending options...

And this little menu will pop up:

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE PROPER LAYER SELECTED FOR THIS. Otherwise you're going to be very confused.

See where it says "Blend Mode" and it has a drop down under normal? For these purposes, I'm gonna use the drop down and select COLOR:

Now you can see that all-blue layer in the background now is showing the original gif behind it, but you know your original gif? "I know of it." It's all blueee. /ref

This is what it should look like:

Before I go any further, I'm going to check my timeline to make sure this is covering the WHOLE duration of the gif:

It does, so let's drag that bar on the right to line up with the end of the gif:

All fixed!

So now we've got this:

Oh man! See those white spaces between her arms? I'm gonna go back and fix those now, fortunately I can edit it directly on the full file itself, by just editing that layer.

Using my magic wand tool, I'm selecting those white spaces between her arms and her jacket and deleting them-

She's not perfect but you can always be nit-picky and zoom in really close and refine with the eraser.

PART TWO

[fourswords]

/New q!! Four Swords Links Meet:::

How would someone tell them apart visually other than age and height?

Ooooh interesting question! So, my thoughts:

Let me actually start with Knight first—I think he's gotten tall enough that he'd probably gotten fitted for armor at some point or another (have you seen how tall some 15 year olds get these days. what are they putting in the milk in school cafeterias....), but I sincerely doubt he would be in full plate whenever he was magically thrust into this situation where he's meeting four other wielders of the Four Sword. I'd say he's probably got on a layer of chain mail in a similar manner to the Links from Twilight Princess/Skyward Sword/Hyrule Warriors, a pretty standard green tunic, white pants, brown boots, what have you. Unfortunately he's the most basic person ever because his game just doesn't give the players any information about him at all other than the fact that he's Zelda's childhood friend, but one thing I do think one thing he has is a pair of expensive-looking arm guards for archery, probably with some detailed flourish to it as well. My reasoning for this is the fact that his official Four Swords art has both his Green Link & Blue Link wielding the bow and arrow:

And I have to give him something, so a proficiency and a preference for archery it is. (This makes him an interesting contrast to Light, who—given Vio's ability to just Pick Up A Bow And Start Shooting in the FSA manga—is also apparently very skilled at archery, but not a single one of his official artworks for Four Swords Adventures includes the bow.) He also has those three-fingered gloves used for archery. I think he ditched the cap after a while, though, so no cap for him. He could've grown his hair out some as well and keeps it pulled back a single straight braid so it doesn't bother him while he's training/fighting/etc.

Light himself is funny to think about because I do think FSA Link would incorporate all four colors that represented Green, Red, Blue & Vio somewhere into his outfit some time after the manga, but I don't think he'd do it in a super over-the-top way because he's more about Going Out And Kicking Ass than fussing over what he wants to look like (and also Shadow would laugh at him). Maybe Zelda did some multi-colored embroidery on his belt or something? Or his belt is just split-dyed all four colors or something in addition to the embroidery. Also, the manga is extremely wishy-washy on the color of his undershirt, but it seems like he wears a black undershirt (and they were just colored in with a metric fuckton of green highlights), and that's something I always liked given that Shadow wore a white undershirt, so it was like an inverse sort of thing. Given that Light specifically only comes like six months after the end of that adventure, I don't think his outfit would differ too much at all from the manga, so he is a bit stuck in the "plain" box with Knight. Hilarious considering their nicknames rhyme, I know.

Four is also funny to think about because never once in the LOZ series were we given a picture of the Hero of the Four Sword. We got his legend written out in the FS manual & the FSA game prologue and a brief excerpt in Hyrule Historia and that was IT. But given that his whole thing was "show up out of nowhere, kick Vaati's ass and seal him away, and then disappear into the woods never to be seen again", I like to think that he wears greens and browns to blend in with the forest, and I'll say that he doesn't have a cap either because it's too easy to get snagged on a tree branch and lost or something. I think he inherited a little of Smithy's messy hair; it's not quite the level of "total rat's nest" that Smithy's is, but it definitely looks like it could use a brushing. Or four (ha!). Nothing too heavy for him, though—I'd imagine his clothes are actually a bit threadbare or even obviously patched-up in places because he's just sort of a free spirit traveling wherever he pleases. The type to let his boots wear down until you can see his toes every time he takes a step because there's nothing holding anything together and only THEN will he go to a nearby market and buy a new pair. You know how the original Link from 1986 was drawn with a BUNCH of shit on his back? Like, his entire inventory? Four is the opposite—considering the manual says that he appeared with "little more than a sword at his back", I think he could just be a really minimalistic type of dude. He's got the tiniest pack in existence with a spare bit of food and a waterskin and a pouch with some rupees and that's about it. He'll work out anything else.

When it comes to Smithy, I'm biased towards having him wear the Roc's Cape from the game because I think having it helps him out with fighting (the Minish Cap strategy of jumping directly over Darknuts with the Roc's Cape and hitting them from behind before they can hit you), but also I'd imagine that a cape that can magically catch the wind like it does has to be decently thick to maintain that gliding in the air, so it helps him keep warm, too. He still has the cap that Ezlo gave him, of course, and he's just happy that he hasn't outgrown it yet. Under that cap, of course, is the messiest head of hair in the franchise, like Ezlo loved to rag on him for. He's the one that sticks out the most just because he wears the Roc's Cape all the time, and also given his funny-as-hell expression in his official art while using the Mole Mitts, I'm sure he loves to whip those out at any given opportunity like a little madman, too. He's the one who still carries the Four Sword, of course, and since he was the one who collected and infused all the elements into the sword itself, I like to think that he's the one who gets the fun little color-changing eyes that you sometimes see in other fanworks of different Links wielding the Four Sword. I think his eyes only change color when he's actually wielding the Four Sword, though—they're just his regular blue otherwise. Other than that, I doubt his outfit under the cape has changed much either.

[misc-obeyme]

9 Days of Solomon: Day 6 - Snow

Okay this one's a little different, so here's a bit of an explanation.

I just really wanted to write a scene with my OC Arsenios and Solomon because their relationship is so funny to me. So this is a short scene from when they first met. It takes place before the brothers fell, but after Solomon has made his pact with Barbatos. It's written from Solomon's perspective and happens in the human world. I think you can read it without any prior knowledge of Arsenios, but if you want to know more about him, his post is here.

(Also I was struggling with the snow prompt until I got this idea and then there was no turning back lol.)

Solomon had been hearing the rumors for years. Whispers here and there about humans selling their souls in exchange for musical talent. He hadn't really thought much about it, but he did file away the information whenever he came across it. He was surprised how frequently it seemed to come up in his travels. So when he finally learned a name, he decided to find out more for himself.

Winter had just begun, but the air was already frigid. Everyone knew the best time to summon a demon was at night, so Solomon was outside in the bitter cold darkness. Fortunately, there was only a light sprinkling of snow on the ground, but it still crunched underfoot.

People had talked about this demon being easy to find at a crossroads, so Solomon had gone out to a spot where two dirt roads crossed each other. Carefully, he traced the summoning circle on the ground, drawing the symbols in the dirt and snow.

When he was done, Solomon recited the summoning spell, finishing with, "I summon the music demon, Arsenios!"

Magic crackled through the circle, converging upon the center. There was a brief flash and a demon materialized out of thin air.

He was tall and thick with light brown skin and long dark brown hair with bright red highlights. His eyes were purple, his outfit all black, but he wasn't in demon form. His stance was casual, his hands in his pockets. He seemed almost bored, like he was used to being summoned out of the blue.

Arsenios squinted. "Solomon?"

Solomon smiled. "Have we met?"

"Nah," Arsenios said. "But I'd have to be living under a rock not to recognize you. What do you want?"

"A pact," Solomon said.

Arsenios tsked. "Sure. You want a pact. For what? Not musical talent."

"No," Solomon agreed.

"If you think you're gonna add me to your collection, you've got another thing coming," Arsenios said.

Solomon laughed. "Is there really no reason you can think of to make a pact with me? You would be joining some important names."

Arsenios actually looked contemplative at this for a moment, but then he shook his head. "I don't know what happened with you and Barbatos, but just because I respect him doesn't mean I have to respect you. I don't know what you want with all those pacts, but I have more than enough to deal with in that area, thanks."

"All right," Solomon said. He wasn't worried. He hadn't really been expecting to make a pact with this demon. "But if I may ask, what exactly are you doing in that area? Giving humans musical talent?"

Arsenios folded his arms. "It's none of your business," he said.

Solomon sighed. "It's my business if you're making pacts with humans only to kill them over it later."

"Who said anything about killing?" Arsenios asked.

Solomon frowned. "I've been hearing about it for quite some time. A demon who grants musical talent to humans who then die tragically young."

"That has nothing to do with me," Arsenios said. "And I don't answer to you either way. Don't summon me again."

Solomon was about to say something else, but Arsenios was gone.

Solomon looked up at the night sky and shivered as it began to snow. He would continue to listen for rumors about this situation. It was his job to keep humanity safe. If he had to summon this demon again, he would. But for now, he smudged out the summoning circle, glad that this area would soon be covered in a layer of white.

day 1: stars | day 2: nostalgia | day 3: knife | day 4: ocean | day 5: pact (nsfw) | day 7: familiar | day 8: Barbatos | day 9: humanity

masterlist | Thank you for reading!