A city that never sleeps
The world isn't as it seems, and New Yorkers certainly know that well. While the element Asterium is not widely understood, those in the city's underground know better. For millenia, humans have known of this energy. They called those born with it in their bones changelings and mutants. Legends have told of werewolves and vampires for centuries. Those who can harness it became witches and warlocks. All they know now is that some things are better kept secret, and where else can you hide a secret better than New York City?
NEW YORK TIMES
07/07/2020 It's been (technically) our first month! Thanks to everyone who's joined us, and for more announcements, please check HERE for in-game and new developments!
17/06/2020There are staff & RP position tryouts here!
23/05/2020 Trying to gauge interest right now! If you want to help out and potentially take one of the leadership positions, please message me! (either on achromatic#7519 on discord or if you have my skype!)
A SUPERNATURAL ROLEPLAY SITE
Modus Operandi achromatic
Blueprint is a premade Proboards v5 theme designed and built by punki of Adoxography and Pixel Perfect. MODUS OPERANDI is the work of the mind of achromatic. All characters and content are copyright their creators, and may not be replicated without their creators' permission. All images belong to their original owners.
coincidentia oppositorum
CURRENT PLOT
We are currently starting up, and trialing some of the groups right now! There will be an upcoming plot in regards to some city shenanigans soon, but for now, we're simply fixing up the kinks and establishing roles/groups/characters. Feel free to join us! The community and the lore is still being built, and we're always open to new suggestions.
UPCOMING EVENTS
The strange Fourth of July groundhog day event is coming up! Please sign up HERE!
I don't know what "morals" are, and I'm too afraid to ask
kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Post by kat on Jul 18, 2020 7:45:14 GMT
[a/n bear with me as I dust off the ol' typin' fingers. Adding 18+ and Trigger Warning tag for any drug or alcohol mentions, or anything else 18+ that could be a trigger. I have no filter and sometimes I forget the consequences!)
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kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Post by kat on Jul 18, 2020 8:34:09 GMT
His eyes traced the patterns in the ceiling so many times he thought he was going to burn a figure-8 into the plaster. He could hear the brunette's slow breathing in his bed beside him. More noticeable to him, however, was the even thumping of her heart. His eardrums could pick up on the rhythmic beating against the sheets, as if she had a microphone on her collarbone. Outside his apartment on 9th, the city kept its promise by never closing its eyes. His ears picked up on the cabbie shouting something in Urdu, and someone from Newark giving it right back.
Though all his head could picture was red. All his ears could truly hear was thump-thump. thump-thump. thump-thump.
I have to eat something, Felix thought.
Slithering out from his bed, he effortlessly floated across the floor of his ever-dirty home. Clothes, mostly, and some food wrappers, all mostly for decoration. He was out of his apartment before the girl's second breath. He'd left her money for an Uber and a note without his phone number. Whatever her name was, he was just hoping she'd be gone once he got back.
In the early hours of the morning, he started down the streets of Chelsea, heading north towards the best place for a snack who wouldn't show up on a Missing Persons report tomorrow.
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achromatic
Member
She / Her
GMT / GMT+8
achromatic#7519
my life is just constantly existing at ungodly hours
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Post by achromatic on Jul 18, 2020 9:11:39 GMT
Hywel wasn't a morning person. No, he was very much a night person, thank you very much, and he owned a bar to prove it, but some nights faded into day, and he'd end up leaving a club at five in the morning, right as the sun rose. He used to have crazier party days years back–specifically in the 70s, because whoo-ee! People knew how to party in the 70s–but the 80s took a lot out of him. This decade wasn't bad, at least gay marriage was legal now; he didn't get heckled nearly as much as he used to. The music wasn't bad either, but then again, when he found the urge to party, it wasn't the music or the drinks that got him fired up.
A mixture of party drugs and someone to go home with often made his night worthwhile. During the last few hours, he had taken enough ecstasy to hallucinate, gone home with a stranger in a haze of bright lights and flirting comments, gone at it like rabbits, before fleeing as the sun rose to the sky. Shit, he ran a hand through his messy hair. It was clear he was taking a walk of shame; the black mesh-top and the skin-tight leather pants were not a morning look. Where was he? This was pretty out of the way for him, but he could recognize the Highline in the distance. Chelsea probably? He wasn't sure.
The streets were nearly empty, and for that, Hywel was grateful. He glanced to his phone–10% batter left–and decided to suck up his pride and reply to Rhiannon's 'wru?' text from last night. She was definitely going to be pissed, he was meant to watch Sylvan for the night while she was off doing whatever research she did for her potions or whatever.
'Omw home now, slept over last night, heading back from Chelsea lol'
He felt his stomach grumble, and he sighed, not exactly looking where he was going. The streets were practically empty, and accidentally bumping into someone made him jump and drop his phone.
"Shit," he hissed, glancing up to the man he had bumped into, his pupils still dilated from the sheer amount of MDMA he had taken, "ah fuck, someone's up early, eh? Sorry 'bout that, wasn' looking where I'm going." His words were still getting there.
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kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Jul 18, 2020 10:56:35 GMT
Post by kat on Jul 18, 2020 10:56:35 GMT
The sidewalks themselves were empty, to Felix's utter dismay. He could pick up on people here or there as he walked, but after a thousand years of being alive, he turned out to be pretty picky. The sky was black, quite literally, without a cloud to be seen. He'd learned that he liked it that way. At least for this period of his life, he'd found himself sick of the stars.
When he saw him stumbling every so slightly out of an apartment building and turning down 9th, the stomach that used to work would have growled. Easy pickings, he thought, tossing any other risk that could have come along with it out the window as the hunger inside him grew with each step. It wasn't hard to time the encounter perfectly. All it took was a well timed stop...
His stance remained unphased when he ran into him, standing too still for someone who should have been pretending they were human. As the stranger's phone hit the pavement, he eyed his next meal with contempt. He could smell the fentanyl seeping from his pores, and though it wouldn't do much of anything to Felix, it was worth a shot for a contact high.
"I could be saying the same to you," he said in the same instant that he cracked a smile and warmed his expression. He grabbed the phone off the ground, handing it back to him while saying, "You look like someone who needs a taxi and a water bottle." He was almost too easy of a target, as if he were asking for it. These types of humans weren't new to Felix, especially in this new decade. Always prepared for this exact scenario, he pulled a pack of gum from his back pocket and offered it to the person who would appreciate it most.
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achromatic
Member
She / Her
GMT / GMT+8
achromatic#7519
my life is just constantly existing at ungodly hours
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Jul 18, 2020 11:38:09 GMT
Post by achromatic on Jul 18, 2020 11:38:09 GMT
If Hywel had expected anything, it was for the man to either mutter a 'watch where you're going, fucking drunks' or to just brush it off and leave. New Yorkers were funny like that, they minded their own business and went off their merry way. Was he dreaming? This other man wasn't just a hallucination, right? Long golden hair and a face he could say was rather attractive, yeah that was nothing new, but for a stranger out of the blue to go out of the way to give him gum? If this had been decades ago, maybe he'd be a little more self-conscious, but young people these days lived hard and played hard.
The other man must've done the same once; how else would he know to offer gum? He took his phone and the gum from the man almost immediately, still too high to doubt the man's kindness. "Oh my god, what are you?" he chuckled, "an angel? Has god finally decided that he's done with my bullshit?" Quickly unwrapping it, he popped the stick into his mouth, already chewing. As much as he had trained himself out of that teeth-grinding problem, it still felt better to be chewing on something.
"To be honest, I probably need a cab," he grumbled, glancing around the empty streets, "but can't seem to find one right now. They probably think I'm going to throw up in their car." He gave another glance to the man standing in front of him. Frankly, it might've been the drugs speaking, but damn, he wasn't bad looking, and he supposed part of taking ecstacy really was feeling quite in love with anyone and everyone he met. Broad shoulders, chiseled jaw...he probably didn't swing his way, did he? Still, it never hurt to try. He bit his lip.
"I mean, maybe if I had a chaperone to get me home," he smirked, "you know, to make sure I don't vomit everywhere, they'd let me on. If you can find me a cab and manage to get me home in one piece, I swear I'll be forever in your debt." A chuckle left his mouth. "–and I mean, if I can't make it worthwhile, I can at least get you a free drink sometime in the future."
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kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Post by kat on Jul 19, 2020 7:38:21 GMT
Felix smiled, enjoying the fun of playing with his food. He eyed the tension in the stranger's jaw as he chewed, feeling his own clench as he heard the racing rhythm of his heart. His blood would be warmer than average, a deliciously hot meal with a nice kick. He caught himself licking his lips as he eyed his carotid, quickly shifting his eyes back to his face.
"I think I've got a better idea." His voice was velvet on his smooth lips, and he moved to gesture down the street. "My apartment is just down the street. You can come back, sober up, and call a cab, and not be a walking target to everyone in New York City." It could be considered, mainly by humans, that it was cruel what he was doing, leading him on. They should hear what he had planned next.
And the plan was brilliant, as long as what's-her-name was gone by now, and perhaps too easy. Whoever this was, he was exactly how Felix had described him - a walking target. No native New York - no native city dweller would put themselves alone on the street in early hours of the morning, after closing and right before cops made their shift change. Unless they had a death wish. So in some weird, twisted way, he'd convinced himself he was doing this poor hapless soul a favor.
Not that it mattered. He'd left his apartment with the intention to eat. It didn't matter the circumstances. Whoever this was, it was either his luckiest or unluckiest night of his life.
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achromatic
Member
She / Her
GMT / GMT+8
achromatic#7519
my life is just constantly existing at ungodly hours
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Post by achromatic on Jul 19, 2020 9:18:20 GMT
Oh huh. The other guy was offering his apartment? Hywel knew he should be suspicious; New Yorkers weren't nice like that. Unless they had ulterior motives, of course. Still, he couldn't think of an ulterior motive that the other man could have; Hywel didn't carry much cash and well, the other guy didn't look like a murderer. Maybe he was an undercover cop or something, but at this rate, even if he was dressed in his uniform, he'd probably be able to arrest him, walking out in the open the way he was. Other than that...well, if this guy was a serial killer, Hywel really didn't care. It had been years since someone had tried to kill him, and frankly, that would be the least surprising route at this point.
Maybe if he wasn't still feeling the world go wavy around him, he'd be in a better state to make better decisions, but clearly that wasn't the case. A chuckle left his mouth. "You're not planning on kidnapping me, are you?" he smirked, "I'm not carrying a lot of money and I don't have a lot of people looking for me so I probably wouldn't get a good ransom, you know."
Hywel shrugged. Maybe this guy had the same idea in mind, and the man gave Felix a smirk, eyes roaming up and down. "Okay pretty boy, where do you live?" he chuckled, "–and please tell me your hangover cure doesn't include prairie oysters." Hywel made a face at the thought of eating raw egg from a shot glass.
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kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Post by kat on Jul 19, 2020 9:43:50 GMT
Just as predicted, it didn't take much convincing. Rather, his question about his fate made Felix genuinely laugh. "I have no need to kidnap you," he assured him, which was the truth. He never liked storing his food for later; they tried that during the tougher winters in his early years, and if he was so privileged enough now to not have to do that, he wasn't going to. No, whoever this was, his family wasn't going to be getting any ransom calls. Maybe some missing person calls, but that would be the extent of it. He rationalized with him, attempting to ease any tension. "If I wanted to kidnap a person, I think I would be scouting closer to Central Park."
Felix turned, gesturing down the sidewalk. "Just four blocks, straight down. It's a quick walk." He started down the sidewalk in the direction of home, chuckling again at his hangover cure comment. Hangovers were completely foreign to him; with an undead metabolism, it was a wonder to him and any other vampire how he got drunk at all, but no matter how fucked up he got the night prior, he never felt the annoying affects humans always complained about. Still, he was prepared with an answer. "No one is drinking any raw eggs. I can make you something to absorb all that once we get there."
Now that they were in motion, it was only a matter of timing it exactly right. A moment would present itself, it always does, and Felix was on high alert waiting for the perfect opportunity to snatch him from sight and satiate the hunger raging in his brain. Just a few more minutes and he could walk home with a full belly, hopefully to an empty apartment.
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achromatic
Member
She / Her
GMT / GMT+8
achromatic#7519
my life is just constantly existing at ungodly hours
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Jul 19, 2020 10:10:04 GMT
Post by achromatic on Jul 19, 2020 10:10:04 GMT
Hywel wasn't particularly reassured by the other man's comment, but then again, Hywel wasn't a man who feared death. He chuckled at the other man's answer. "Central Park is a decent place to stage a kidnapping; not my kinda place though, bit too...central for that." He probably should shoot a text to Rhiannon about staying out a bit longer, but he'd do that later. His sister could be a little...overzealous when it came to making sure he was all right, and maybe he should be a bit ashamed to say that she probably had a reason to be, but right now, it didn't really matter.
"Ooh, food as well? I might as well be in heaven," the man sighed, looking content with the deal he had just landed, "well aren't you just a saint? You'd make excellent husband material; I bet all the ladies dig that."
"So is this a habit of yours?" Hywel teased, "picking up drunk strangers in the early morning and making sure they're all right? What's in it for you? You're not going to preach about the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ or something, are you?" Hywel had a cheeky grin on his face. "–because if you are, I'm Irish so you don't really need to."
He knew he was talking a lot, giving out a lot more information than he should, but that was what happened with the party drugs; he never knew when to stop. "Or you know, if you swing my way, I don't judge," he wiggled his brows with a laugh, New York city was practically gay central of the United States, if not the world anyway, it was why he settled here in the first place, "I mean not to be a total creep but you'd be a hit at any gay bar I'd visit."
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kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Post by kat on Jul 20, 2020 0:30:23 GMT
Felix held his smile with all his remaining morality, trying to placate the chatty stranger. Of course he could pass it off on the drugs, but there was a long list of reasons why Felix hated humanity as a whole. Spending more than five minutes with one reminded him of at least six reasons. He smirked at his husband material comment, reminiscing about the fifth "wife" - for lack of a better term - he'd kept during the 70s mostly, who raved about exactly that. It was too bad she didn't last through the fledgling years. "I've had a few people agree with you," he said with a quiet sigh, glancing at the plaza they were passing. It of course wasn't empty, with a couple of homeless people packing up their makeshift tent they'd set up for the night between some trees. He weighed his options, considered the risk wasn't worth it. Next. He listened to his inebriated yet intelligible ramblings, smiling as the stranger gave him the look. "It is, actually," he answered first, almost too quickly. "A habit I mean. Don't take that the wrong way," he assured with a smile and a chuckle, a gesture he'd seen humans fake a million times. "I don't sleep a lot, so when I'm out, I wander into plenty of people like yourself. New York isn't as kind as I am, so I try to help out where I can." He flashed a smile with perfect teeth. "And nothing is in it for me but good karma," he laughed internally, "so I also won't lead you on. I appreciate the compliments though."
Felix glanced at the sidewalk ahead of them as they crossed an empty sidewalk, before looking back at his face-rolling food to make sure he hadn't lost his step. They were nearing some rafters protecting pedestrians from the construction happening in the building next to it, and he felt a growl rumble in his chest like a purr. "If it helps, I'm confident you do just fine yourself wherever you frequent," he added just to keep his bait out. Just a quick shove through some already weak glass, or better yet, particle board, and he could have his meal somewhere that wouldn't be occupied for a few more hours at least. Perfect.
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achromatic
Member
She / Her
GMT / GMT+8
achromatic#7519
my life is just constantly existing at ungodly hours
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Post by achromatic on Jul 20, 2020 8:27:25 GMT
Hm. The man's words really didn't reveal much about him, Hywel figured. A stranger so willing to help another and yet, so closed off about his own life; if he had been thinking clearly, he would've certainly been a lot more suspicious. People had given him less to be suspicious about and he had still avoided them, after all. Yet, in this moment, he couldn't quite find it in himself to care. Stop being so damn paranoid, he grumbled to the voice in the back of his head telling him to just go home on his own. Even Rhiannon's wrath wouldn't be as bad that bad would it?
Then again, she'd have that holier-than-thou attitude for the next few months–or worse, the next few decades–and he'd be stuck dealing with that. Yeah...maybe not.
Again, his words didn't say much. He was pretty sure the guy was giving him a 'no' but his brain wasn't exactly sure; he didn't exactly clarify what he meant by not leading him on....was this wishful thinking or just his drug-addled brain? He couldn't quite tell. Yeah, maybe he needed to just sit down; he shouldn't have taken so much if he was just going to end up going home with someone ten minutes later instead of dancing off that extra energy.
"You know, I think I do," his words were slightly slurred now, exhaustion starting to creep in, "to be honest, I could probably use a nap. I wouldn't have taken so much if I knew I wasn't going to be out the whole night...you know?" He glanced at the man again, before laughing lightly. "Yeah, pretty stupid of me I guess...haven't really gone out this hard since..." he hesitated, "I don't really remember actually."
He shrugged. "Are we almost there?" Hywel groaned, glancing at his phone. It was already 6 am. "Maybe I should just get back home...I think the metro's about to open anyway..."
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kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Post by kat on Jul 21, 2020 6:51:09 GMT
Felix's smile crept further and further up his face. He could feel the beast inside him riling up like a pack of dogs. He was hardly listening to this walking bag of blood talk; his ears were just ringing with anticipation as they neared the spot he'd eyed as the place to strike. He had to force himself to keep his pace, the slow drudge down the street alongside someone who was inebriated.
He tuned in to the last thing he'd asked, if they were almost there. Everything in that current moment came back to focus as his eyes shifted sharply down to the stranger. He felt them go black, absorbing every ounce of light like the predator he truly was as he stared at him with every intent to kill. The veins under his skin bulged, and inside him he felt something rumble like an earthquake. "We're here actually." His voice and tone were calm; his pitch didn't even fluster. Yet as he stared at his next meal, he punctuated the sentence with a quick jab of his muscular shoulder into the stranger's chest, using the animalistic, inhuman strength to shove him through the weak particle board. He was careful; he didn't want his food going cold, so he made sure it wasn't something to kill him. It was just imperative to get him out of sight.
Felix didn't even look behind him before he disappeared inside. In a flash, he was over the stranger, waiting for him to move or flinch before he made his next move. He held his breath - he didn't need it anyway - waiting. Listening. He was having trouble hearing anything past the monstrous grumbling in his chest, but he was trying to tune in to the stranger's heartbeat.
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achromatic
Member
She / Her
GMT / GMT+8
achromatic#7519
my life is just constantly existing at ungodly hours
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Post by achromatic on Jul 21, 2020 9:59:33 GMT
He was bleary-eyed and half asleep, trudging behind the other man with barely an eye open for their surroundings. His bones could probably melt into the sidewalk right now, he thought, as he glanced up to the stranger again. He couldn't even remember if he had asked for the other man's name, or if it was just a detail in passing that he had already forgotten. Hywel wasn't exactly good with names.
His expression perked up when the man said they had arrived; he glanced up to look at the surroundings. It didn't seem like much of a residential area. The construction nearby must mean it was loud, he thought–and the next thing he knew, he could feel something smash into his chest. Wait, what was going on...?
He grunted in pain as he fell through what seemed like the boarded-up door of an abandoned building, crashing down into a ground much lower than he had anticipated. If his head had hurt earlier, this was a different level. Immediately, his blue eyes sharpened, the fear now striking up his chest. His back hurt like shit, that was for sure, and it wasn't because he had been alive for a hundred years.
Shit, what had he gotten himself into? He could see the man descending onto him, and if he wasn't feeling the adrenaline earlier, he certainly was feeling it now. Scrambling to his feet, he knew that whatever the man was, it wanted him dead. Fuck, where did his phone go? He glanced around, before spotting the cracked screen of his phone just a few feet away.
"What do you want? If it's money or something, I don't have any," he snapped, hoping to stall for time. The easy-going expression on his face all but gone as he inched towards the phone. If he could just make that emergency call...at least he wouldn't have to deal with this on his own. It was moments like this when he wished he could still cast even a single spell–his gifts had all been taken away along with the emergence of his curse.
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kat
Member
She / Her
MST
kitkatacrobat#9523
probably laughing at myself so you can too
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Jul 21, 2020 22:18:27 GMT
Post by kat on Jul 21, 2020 22:18:27 GMT
The setting was perfect. An empty high rise, stripped down to the concrete and studs, and they were the only ones deep in the center of what used to be a lobby. The sound of the stranger's body hitting the ground along with the debris echoed in the space, but Felix didn't worry about alarming anyone else. He'd taken a gamble - some construction sites had alarms, but in the city, it was a hit or miss, and luckily, he hit a home run.
He watched him scramble to his feet, scoffed slightly as he offered money. What a human concept. "All I want is for you to stay still." His voice had changed; deeper now, he was no longer in control of whatever humanity he'd had left. The stranger's heartbeat raced in his ears. He heard every movement he made, and Felix didn't move. He held his stance, feeling his teeth growing long behind his lips.
He was careful, watching his prey's movements. He saw his eyes dart for the phone that had skidded across the floor. Part of him wanted to laugh and see if he'd get it, but he didn't have the patience to toy with his food any longer. Still, he wanted to see if he would go for it. When he didn't, he reminded himself that he was probably doing this poor guy a favor. No one with a real intent to live would have put themselves in this situation.
Just as swiftly as he'd tossed him inside, he had the stranger pinned in his arms, almost as if he was embracing him to help him up. Instead, he sank his long teeth into his neck. He aimed for the jugular, but since it was different for every human, it was hard to have a perfect record. Still, any puncture would do it's job, and that it did. The second the first drop touched his tongue he didn't hear or feel or sense anything else. All that mattered was that blood, and trying to get every ounce out of him like he could. Like a juice box.
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achromatic
Member
She / Her
GMT / GMT+8
achromatic#7519
my life is just constantly existing at ungodly hours
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Post by achromatic on Jul 22, 2020 1:41:04 GMT
Hywel had survived what, two–no, three wars now? He wasn't going to let some fucking weirdo get him this time. Gritting his teeth, he ignored the pain of literally falling down how many feet, to dart towards the phone, but it was a moment later before the man grasped onto him, locking his arms practically in stone–Jesus Christ, how strong was this guy?–and he could feel man's teeth meet his neck.
Panic began to well up inside him. "Kinky," he gasped, laughing out of fear, "you know if you wanted to leave a mark you could've just asked." Oh shit, he was bleeding. This guy wasn't playing around. Fuck.
Let's just say vampires were definitely not Hywel's favorite creatures, especially with a previous encounter to someone he called an ex-boyfriend. Yeah no. Definitely one of the bottom-feeders on his tier list. If his arms weren't available, his feet certainly were. Aiming a kick where the sun didn't shine might not do anything to a vampire, but he'd at least try, slamming his foot into the pit of the man's stomach in an attempt to launch himself out of the man's grasp.
Perhaps it was the surprise or something, but he himself was surprised it actually worked, immediately making a beeline for his phone, pressing the home button. Emergency services...emergency services...ah! There, he almost cried out in relief as he pressed the button to his emergency contact. Pick up, Rhiannon, pick up!
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