Modern Fantasy Headcanons #2

Modern Fantasy Headcanons #2

Vampire covens have largely shifted from the wealthy upper class adults to the lower class college kids over time. In fact a recent study has shown that vampires will specifically target college kids to change and bite. This is mostly due to the fact colleges still abide by the forgiveness of student loans if you are dead- or in this case undead. With the rise in prices and the stagnation of wages most college students jump at the opportunity. This makes it easier for the covens to get new members. 

Despite the targeting of college students the coven leader will send scouts to observe the human for a series of months to see if they will fit within the coven. They will then strike at the human’s lowest moment to ensure consent. From there the coven will begin observing the human’s connections. It is not uncommon to find an entire family or friend group being bitten and absorbed into a coven. This ensures stronger coven ties and the strengthening of the coven as a whole. 

LIGHTSVERSE MASTERLIST

I finally figured out the links thing and feel like a born again idiot lmao. I’ll try and keep this updated as it progresses!

PART 1

 https://morsartis.tumblr.com/post/637540536742543360/lights-part-1

PART 2

https://morsartis.tumblr.com/post/637560034518302720/lights-part-2

PART 3

https://morsartis.tumblr.com/post/639353903581888512/lights-part-3

PART 4

https://morsartis.tumblr.com/post/670139166780260352/lights-part-4

Lights Part 1

There was nothing quite like going for a random walk. The urge hadn’t hit you for a very long time- so long in fact a small tremor of fear shot through you. It couldn’t be him. He’d been destroyed with the creation of the new worlds and the new timeline. Simply put, there wasn’t a way for him to reach through the ever calling void to pluck your strings. But for a moment you were reminded of your time on Alternia. You’d traversed that planet in a mind controlled haze and it was an experience that left you shaken. One you never wished to experience again. So when the urge to get up and go somewhere hit you it had taken you an embarrassingly long time to calm your racing heart. It was an ordinary urge, one that didn’t mean you were back under his control. Still, you were anxious as you stepped out of your front door. Your little corner of the world wasn’t all that exciting. A welcome reprieve from the constant action Alternia had given you. As it was, the neighborhood was as calm as any other day. Afternoon sunlight filtered over the houses and across the sidewalks giving everything a warm feeling. There was no reason for your anxiety. Even so, you took careful steps. You weren’t interested in making friends this time around. Just going for a simple walk. Your coat kept the autumn chill off and you were happy about your sturdy boots. Both had cost you pretty penny but the price had been well worth the quality. It also helped that they looked damn good on you. 

It took less time than you remembered to reach downtown. Everything a steady stream of people and activity. People were no doubt doing last minute shopping. You wandered down the streets with no particular destination in mind. There was a little hole in the wall coffee shop not too far away that you liked to frequent. They had some of the best drinks and their prices didn’t leave your wallet openly weeping. Then there was the bakery not too far away that had the best donuts you’d ever had. Among all the shops there was plenty to choose from that you’d enjoy. You decided to go to the coffee shop first. The darker lighting and overstuffed armchairs hidden in the corners were exactly what would set your mind at ease. They had no bell to alert them to customers- music soft but unmistakable floated through the air. That wonderful coffee smell permeated the building and it took little time for the barista to get your drink made and hand it to you. Dropping a tip into the tip jar you took your drink and sat in the furthest arm chair you could find from the door and the drink station. As far as anyone was concerned you were simply part of the backdrop. Pulling out your phone you scroll through the latest news feeds and try not to lose your will to live. Things will always keep happening and quite frankly you aren’t sure how much you can take anymore. Or rather, what was that popular quote? Something about drawing a line somewhere and looking deep inside of yourself for what you’re willing to put up with today. Either way it isn’t this shit. 

You’re so engrossed in the latest bullshit your country is spouting you almost don’t notice the new occupant of the coffee shop. Almost. Too many years being on a hair-trigger of flight or fight have engrained a deep sense of your surroundings. Even if they hadn’t you’d recognize this particular customer anywhere. Her hat is pulled low over her face and her steps purposely soundless. You both know that the barista and the other customers haven’t noticed her. There is only the steady swish of her coat as she walks and even that is drowned out by the music. You look down at your phone and watch her out of your peripherals. She takes a seat across from you as silent as a phantom which is just the way she likes it. You both know that you’ve seen each other. She makes no move to talk and neither do you. If she sought you out then that means there’s a problem. None of your other friends had reached out to you and while you hadn’t attempted to hide you made no move to reach out first. It would be a long time before you felt secure enough to reach out first in your friendships again. 

“He’s gone.” She says barely a whisper. You bob your head in a nod. Its a statement not a question. “I’ve managed to keep tabs on all of our mutual acquaintances.” 

“I expected nothing less from you.” 

“Adalov has been cyberstalking you.” That makes you glance up. There’s the barest hint of an amused smile on her lips. You raise a brow for her to continue. You weren’t completely unaware but if Boldir is bringing it up then its more significant than you gave credit for. 

“He’s been methodically going through every scrap of information about you he can get his claws on.” She pauses to take your drink from you and take a sip, you let her because despite everything you still consider her a friend. You’re pretty sure she knows this too. “He started out doing so of his own volition, however, I believe an acquaintance of yours- Dirk Strider- is also cyberstalking you. Adalov has taken note of that and started stalking him as well-,”

“Which in turn means Dirk is stalking him.” That almost makes you laugh, the two of them stalking each other to see what the other is up to is just the type of Spy vs Spy bullshit that only leads to further shenanigans. Even Boldir has a look that says she thinks its equally as amusing. The two of you sit in a momentary silence. A comforting thing you’d almost forgot to miss. Now it settles around you like a warm blanket. Taking your drink back from Boldir you take a sip. 

“I have a feeling Adalov and Strider will try and contact you at some point soon. I thought...” She hesitates for a moment- eyes darting, “I thought I should warn you so that you aren’t caught by surprise. I know the control he had over you has made you wary.”

“Boldir... I may not have reached out but that doesn’t mean I’ve missed you any less. I can’t bring myself to be the first to reach out. Not after... Everything that happened on Alternia. But I’d never turn away a friend.” You reached across the little table to hold her hand. Her claws dig into your skin with how hard she grips it back and you watch the way she relaxes. It’s almost enough to break your heart. 

“Would you like to go on a walk with me?” She asks, voice uncharacteristically fragile. You smile as you stand up with your drink. 

“I’d love to.” 

Lights Part 2

It’s been a few months since your encounter with Boldir, you won’t say ‘chance’ because it had been arranged, and you’ve been simply continuing with your life. As it turns out Boldir lives in a little apartment downtown not too far from the bakery you frequent. She’d seen you going there and recognized you, apparently it was Mallek and Dirk’s cyberstalking that led her to seek you out officially. You aren’t sure if you should feel grateful for their paranoia and less than morally applaudable methods bringing Boldir back into your life. It’s not as if you’re happy those two are stalking you but you are happy to have a friend back. It sits on the back burner of things you worry about- not so much a pressing thought as a pop up. 

The two of you have slowly been getting to know each other again. Outside of his control you aren’t the same person that Boldir was familiar with, and even she has changed outside of Alternia’s influence. Some things remain unchanging, such as her fashion sense and love of conspiracies but its noticeably not driven by a need to survive. She’s more relaxed. Though there will always be that part of both of you that is still on guard against threats. That’s willing to do the morally dubious to survive. It’s an unspoken acknowledgement between the two of you. There’s blood strewn between you from what you’ve both done in Alternia’s harsh nights to sleep through another harsher day. You don’t think any one of your neighbors or any manner of people you’ve interacted with understand it the same way Boldir does. Or any of your old friends do. You know that no one would suspect you capable of half the things you did. Some nights you still wake up with horror numbing your body and terror screaming at you to move. Those are the nights you make yourself something strong to wake up to and settle in for feeling like shit through the entirety of the day. To say you’re working through it is a hopeful mantra. You hope that there will be a day these feelings will be but a distant memory. As it is you’re wide awake and nursing a coffee like it’ll burn your unsavory memories away with enough exposure. You’d decided to go to the mall today since you hadn’t been in some time. Mostly you were just looking for a way to kill time. Sitting on a bench watching the other mall goers flit about you were starting to regret your decision. Everything here was just making you feel worse and even more exposed. What you wanted to do was crawl your way under your blankets and stay there. Getting up you tossed your drink into the nearest trashcan and went looking for the right exit. You had to pass one of the little mall theatres and suddenly stopped. Now wasn’t the time to miss her. And yet you were frozen remembering the taste of popcorn and the comforting darkness as the credits rolled. Of her hand in yours. It had been a while since you had an episode so bad you missed Polypa like one might miss a limb. The breath you took rattled through you thinly and you knew you had to get out of there before you got any worse. It took a conscious effort not to break out into a dead run. Instead you were walking briskly, eyes glued to your own feet, as you rushed towards the exit. You tried hard not to bump into anyone but even so you still managed to do it. Just a clipping of shoulders and elbows. Head shooting up you went to apologize only for the air to leave your lungs entirely. 

She looked wonderful, black cargo shorts and her signature tank top. The chip in her horn was still there but it wasn’t the jagged wound of your memories- instead it looked tended to. The edges softened to keep it from being so glaringly obvious. Her hair was still the messy black you came to appreciate but this time it had a sort of neatness to it. Polypa looked right at home. Tongue tied you could only stare with wide and disbelieving eyes. There was movement out of the corner of your eye- slow and deliberate- but you only had eyes for your moirail. Or rather, former moirail. A hand carefully hovered near your cheek and you could feel the tears stinging against the corners of your eyes. Her lips pulled taut into a thin line and her hand pressed firmly against your jaw. Then her other hand came up to do the same. There was the rustle of plastic and you were vaguely aware of the bag dangling from her arm as her hands cupped your face. As she took a small step closer. 

“Polypa?” Your voice cracked and you shut your mouth with a click of teeth. She wasn’t your moirail anymore. She wasn’t. It didn’t make you want to collapse against her any less. The harsh lines of her brows seemed to soften at that as she carefully guided you closer and you had to wonder exactly how pitiful you must have looked. 

“Where’s your scuttlebuggy?” She asked quietly. Your shoulders trembled. 

“I walked.” The walk had seemed like a good idea at the time. A way to clear your head. Now it seemed like the worst decision you ever made. 

“Okay.” She was wrapping an arm around you so tightly you were forced to walk pressed flush against her side. A protest bubbled up your throat and promptly died on your tongue when you saw the few trolls scattered about blatantly staring. Against you Polypa’s chest rumbled with the hint of a warning growl. You were reminded of all the times you’d been in a similar situation back on Alternia, though those times you’d been the one doing the comforting. Had Polypa ever been given the chance to return the favor? There was that first time but you’d been so out of it he’d stolen your words and warped them to fit the narrative. The realization helped sober you just a bit. This was the first time she was seeing you break. The real you. Your entire body shuddered as the realization settled into your mind. This was it. If Polypa didn’t like what she saw it was over. The comforting memories of the two of you together would be overshadowed by this. This simple but momentous moment. Your tears were finally getting to the point of blurring your vision as the two of you exited the mall. She was warm, you thought to yourself, not the same warmth a human would give off but warmer than you remembered. And she was still tugging you along pressed tight and held firmly in her grip. How the two of you managed to walk all the way back to your house you weren’t sure. It seemed as if one minute you were walking away from the mall and the next minute Polypa was taking your house key out of your fumbling fingers to open the door herself. Again you could feel a protest bubbling up. A warning that she had to leave now because you couldn’t handle it if all this amounted to was you getting your hopes up. As she shut and locked your door behind you both the words stilled in waiting on your lips. 

Why had she locked your door?

“Force of habit, come here.” She replied forcefully, you hadn’t even realized you’d asked her that out loud. As Polypa gathered you back up close again she took in your little home. It wasn’t much of course. Just what you’d managed to scrape up and get when you started out here, but it was nothing to be ashamed of. With a careful precision she walked you through the house and straight into your room. In moments you were being sat on your bed as Polypa knelt down to unlace your shoes for you. The action had you feeling rubbed raw. Fresh tears spilled down your cheeks as she carefully pulled off your shoes and set them aside. Her face was impossibly soft as she looked up at you. 

“Is this okay?” There was something raw in the way her voice just barely trembled. As if this was just as meaningful to her as it was to you. With a choked sob all you could do was nod. She was careful as she crawled onto your bed with you- kicking off her own shoes as she went. There were the beginnings of translucent olive colored tears in her eyes. A desperation you felt just as keenly mirrored in her actions. 

It broke what little restrain you had as the agony of it all overwhelmed you. 

“I missed you.” She whispered as you laid barely awake and hollowed out curled up close and warm against each other. You squeezed her with what little strength you could muster, voice long gone from your feelings jam. Me too, you wanted to say. A few more tears tracked down your face as Polypa settled in closer. You two still had so much more to talk about. To discuss. To figure out. But it could wait. As you finally drifted off into a well deserved sleep you knew she’d be there when you woke up. It was the first time you slept like the dead since coming here. 

Bro you sure you wanna open requests for the clown man? You may end up drowning in all the thirst. Your writing is awesome! Loved both one shots.

I'm 100% ready to start watering those dying thirst crops lmao. And thank you so much! I'm glad people enjoy them so much.

Home pt. 2

(Part 2 of the Home series.)

Dead on your feet did not describe you at that moment. You were well past that mark, swaying ever so slightly as you stood, at this time of night the store was almost dead. Only a few other people were milling about, most of which were nocturnal. At the moment you stood in the hardware aisle. You needed more bathroom tiles. Luckily it was only a small spot but you wanted it done before any water damage could set in. But the tiles you needed were out of reach on the top shelf. You had told your parents you were stopping at the store for a new shaving razor- and you were- but your main reason was the tile. It would take away from your fridge budget but even so all you needed was one more check. The thought of having such a big part of your renovations done had put you in such a chipper mood you hadn’t even complained about the double shift one of your bosses had forced on you. Though now you were beginning to see a problem. It was going to be dangerous climbing up the shelves in this state but you needed those tiles. 

“(Y/N)!” A voice called out causing you to jump from surprise. Azar stood at the other end of the aisle with a basket hanging neatly from one arm. He looked just as surprised to see you as you were to see him. 

“Azar? Hey.” You smiled tiredly. The surprise melted to concern the closer he came to you. It might have been the bags under your eyes. 

“Are you alright?” He asked, his antennae flicked about in concern. For a moment you found it incredibly endearing- and distracting. 

“Yeah just a double shift y’know?” Your laugh sounded only slightly defeated. Azar frowned and grabbed the tiles you had been staring at. 

“Is this all you needed?”

“Yes, thank you.” 

“You can thank me by letting me take you home. There is no way you can drive in your state.”

“I walked-,”

“Even more concerning. Just let me do this alright? I’ll sleep better knowing you didn't pass out on the sidewalk or got jumped on the way home.”

You bit your lip. On one hand you didn’t want to walk home. He had valid points on that front. But on the other you knew your parents would throw an absolute fit if they saw him. 

“Listen Azar, I’d love that but-,”

“No buts. I am going to take you home.”

“Yeah, okay, but-,”

“(Y/N). If the thought of me knowing where you live makes you uncomfortable I’m alright dropping you at the end of your street. I just don’t want you to walk all the way home when you are clearly exhausted.”

“It’s not that Azar,” You sighed, shoulder’s slumping, “It’s my parents. They’re very... Traditional.”

You could see the moment he realized what you meant. At first his face went carefully blank and then his whole body went taut with what you assumed was anger. 

“So you have to sneak around behind their backs? That is no way to live!”

“I know but I’m working on it. They already kicked out my sister, she was lucky she had a fiancée she was already semi-living with.”

“Do you have a place to go if they do kick you out?”

“Sort of?” You dragged out sheepishly. Azar sighed. 

“I won’t pry. Just know that if push comes to shove you can stay at my place for as long as it takes to get back on your feet.” 

You stared at him stunned. Was he really willing to do that for you? It nearly made you cry with relief at having a plan b that didn’t involve crashing with your sister and her wife. Instead you simply nodded and allowed him to lead you towards the check out. The cashier raised a brow at the two of you but didn’t ask questions, just rang you both up and sent you on your merry way. 

Azar dropped you off two houses down from your own, waiting until you had given a wave from your doorstep before he drove off. Fortunately it seemed your parents were fast asleep and you happily snuck up to your room. Closing the door softly you pulled out the tile and stuffed it into the bottom of your hiking bag. The less questions the better. Next week was pay week and the thought followed you to bed. Next week was the break you needed. Soon you’d have a fridge to stock and the only major purchase you’d have to make after that was the bed. Everything else could simply be moved. Your parents couldn’t have you arrested for theft if you only took what you had bought in the first place. Yes, once you had the fridge and the bed you’d be home free. 

(Part 3 is up!)