masterlist!! (i’ll try my best to update this every time i post!!)
⤷ ゛wips ˎˊ˗!!
˚◞♡ modern akotsk characters with a poc! partner hc's (ft. dunk, baelor, maekar, lyonel, valarr, daeron, aerion)
˚◞♡ no sé qué pasó con todo el amor que fue de los dos y ya de acabó (baelor targaryen x reader)
currently writing for:
yellowjackets!! 🐝🥩
interview with the vampire!!🧛🏼♀️🩸
a knight of the seven kingdoms!! 📜🖋️
mdni, please!! 🚫 no homophobia, transphobia, racism, xenophobia allowed, you will be blocked!!
asks/requests are open!! please do not request topics covering: pedophilia, rape, scat/pee, thank you!!
latest fic: celebrating your birthday with armand and daniel!!
frankenstein taglist!! (please send an ask with your @ and what you’d like to be tagged in!): @jspidey5 , @vampsclassiffied, @homiesexual-or-homosexual, @frozenhuntress67, @calam-arii, @progirl88 , @qardasngan , @itsthedanceofitalywoahwoahwoah , @pixviee @punkandnerdy9
enjoy!! likes, comments, and reblogs are deeply appreciated!! i mostly started writing for myself, so i'm glad to see people enjoy my work!! ₊˚ෆˎˊ˗
pls pls pls devil’s minion x short!fem!witch!reader I BEGGGGG
hello!! thank you so much for this request! i did a a good amount of research for this one, i hope you enjoy!!
note: mentions/descriptions of witchcraft practices, daniel is legitimately toxic, armand is a single mom with two badass kids (and is also a little toxic), reader is stressed and needs a drink, rather fluffy and fun near the end, though!
"Hey, Danny, can you pass me that incense really quick? " You currently had your hands full with setting up your alter. The offerings were purposefully stacked, each object having a distinct meaning in the pursuit of appeasing your God.
Daniel obliged, albeit with an air of curiousity. It had been persistent despite your growing annoyance and late night explanations about your practice of choice.
It seemed like no matter how much time you dedicated to answering his many, many questions, there always seemed to be more.
Armand was the exact opposite. From his place on the couch in your living room, he was quietly tapping away on his iPad. You could sense he was listening to each exchange you and Daniel had, but you opted to allow him to think that he was more mysterious than he was.
He never had many questions for you, outside of asking what items you required to continue your worship. From crystals, to candles, even the more niche items like what you required for rituals, you were always able to rely on Armand to get whatever you needed with minimal resistance.
Unlike Daniel and his blatant ogling.
As you were putting your incense away, you felt him eyeing your movements. You sighed, dramatically flaring your nostrils before turning to him.
"What do you want now, Daniel Molloy? "
He grinned, "Ooh, using the full name, are we? " He perched his elbow on your head, making your eyes widen. Unfortunately, your height was always a source of entertainment for him and endless irritation for you.
"I'd like to watch you do that ritual you were talking about this morning, " He continued. "And before you get all riled up, I just wanna say straight up, " He crosses his heart theatrically. "I won't be an asshole. You won't even know I'm there. "
"No. "
Daniel tilted his head down to look at you. One would think that the expression you had on your face told him exactly why.
"Why not? " He said with faux-innocence.
"Because! " You exclaimed, pushing his elbow off of your head, but he put it right back. You tried twice more, but failed.
"I just don't feel comfortable doing my spells in front of people, okay? Stop asking, you're really starting to piss me off. " You hoped that now he finally got the hint.
At first, you were hopeful. He lifted his arm from your head, and put his hands up in surrender. As he walked back, you turned your attention to your crystals. You picked a couple you thought were necessary for tonight, right as you heard Daniel speak.
"Not even if I'm in a different room, just listening? "
You slammed your hands on the armrests of your chair, spinning around to where Daniel sat next to Armand on the couch.
"Armand. " You said sternly. "Get your fledgling! " You stared at his face until he finally met your gaze. His golden eyes were filled with confusion. You flit your eyes in Daniel's direction, who was now currently scrolling on his phone with not a care in the world.
Armand turned to look at Daniel.
"Beloved. "
"Hm? "
"You may think that you are free to poke and prod to gain whatever knowledge you seek, but that is not the case at all. " His face minutely altered, almsot doll-like in nature. "It's best to respect that not everything needs to be stared in the face to acknowledge its existence. "
"Hey, I'm not saying what she does isn't real. I'm just a little curious- "
"Just say nosy. You're nosy, Daniel. "
He smacked his lips before continuing, "All I'm asking is to see my girlfriend in action. Is that a crime? " He was asking Armand, but you felt like it was your place to respond. Unfortunately, Armand had a habit of saying what you thought before you.
"It is not. But that does not grant you the right to break her boundaries in favor of your wants, Daniel. "
You sighed, pinching your brows. "Thanks, Armand, but I really don't need you to speak for me. I can do that just fine by myself. "
Armand looked like he disagreed, but kept his mouth shut. Daniel was unreadable, but had finally stopped scrolling. You pointed at him.
"You. Drop it. " You moved your finger to point at Armand. "Thank you for backing me up. But please refrain from reading my thoughts to do so, okay? "
You turned your attention once more to your items, focusing on writing in your journal for your intentions in your ritual tonight. You didn't notice the way Daniel's annoyance spiked. But Armand did, and he quickly tugged Daniel by his curls before returning to his iPad. That set Daniel hissing, but otherwise he got the hint.
The slam of the door ten minutes later following Daniel's departure didn't make you or Armand flinch. You sighed.
"He'll get over it, dear. You'll see, there's no need to feel guilty for establishing a boundary. "
"Armand, what did I just say about reading my mind? "
—
You were starting to get worried. It was day three of Daniel's petty tantrum, and there was no sign of him returning. You had asked Armand if he sensed his fledging, considering the severed psychic connection didn’t allow for direct communication, but he came up empty-handed.
You paced in your bedroom, Armand already in bed, iPad still in hand. You were starting to bite your nails when you finally spoke.
"I think I'm gonna do a finding spell to figure out where he is. Maybe not now, my amber's not properly charged. " You nibbled your thumb. "I'll go ahead and get it so I can use it tomorrow. " You rushed out of the room, asking Armand as you left,
"It's a full moon tonight, right, Armand? "
Tap tap tap, "Yes, darling, I'm sure of it. " He responded.
You returned, amber in hand, setting it on your dresser alongside your many other crystals. You made sure to leave the curtains open just a tad, to allow a trickle of moonlight to wash over the gems.
Satisfied at the sight and a glimmer of hope in your eyes, you settled under the covers next to Armand. The side of the bed where Daniel slept next to you was extra cold without his stupid, solid frame teasing you as you tried to fall asleep.
Armand finally set his iPad to the side in favor of offering his arms to hold you. You hestitated before settling into his arms. Your stature made it easy for him to spoon and coddle you. One of your favorite pastimes (and Armand's as well, you suspect) was spending hours in his embrace. The way his fingertips traced your features over and over, memorizing each mole, freckle, scar, or otherwise distinct characteristic was reverent. He made you feel so loved, his unblinking stare unnerving to most, but something you found to be especially intimate.
You sighed into his neck, inhaling his scent before saying, "Maybe I could've told him I was fine with describing it instead of flat out rejecting him. "
Armand's hands found the back of your head, stroking it as he hummed, "But were you fine with it? He has been especially demanding as of late. "
You half-heartedly shrugged, "I know he doesn't mean any harm. It's just…this is an important part of me. And I appreciate how interested and nonjudgmental you both are, but it just gets to a point, y'know? " You nuzzled his chest, and you smiled at how that must've startled him, at least based on the way his movements halted before continuing.
"There are still things I don't feel comfortable sharing, at least not yet. You've always been good about understanding, why can't Danny? Is it cause of the age difference? " You muttered, sleep beginning to overtake you, but not entirely.
Armand sighed, "Daniel has always been exceptional at pushing boundaries. He views it as an act of love, the way he endlessly pokes and prods to learn more about you. "
You snorted before Armand continued.
"I truly do not think that his journalistic instinct will ever be hindered. If anything, it has only grown in intensity since his turning. " At the sound of your eyes rolling, he began rubbing your shoulders, instantly making you melt.
"But I have a feeling that he will see the error of his ways and allow you to continue your craft in peace. " He finished.
You made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a hum, "Psh, yeah, right. The day that happens will be the day Hell freezes over. Or the day he admits he was wrong. Both of which will never happens. " It was the last thing you remember saying before finally passing out due to Armand's magic touch.
"You never know, darling. You never know. "
—
You woke up still in Armand's arms, but you felt something else pressed against your back. You lifted your head to look behind you as far as you could.
It was Daniel. He was in his classic sleepwear combo, an old t-shirt of his from the 90's and a pair of comfortable pants. If you didn’t know any better you would think that he was just another old man. But his lack of blood circulation and piercing yellow eyes said otherwise.
You loosened yourself from Armand's hold to face Daniel. You stared at his sleeping face, the rise and fall of his chest moreso instinctual than necessary for survival.
You poked his face. He twitched, but didn't stir.
"Daniel. " You whispered. Nothing, not even a stutter of his breath.
"Daniel, wake the fuck up or I swear I'll push you off this bed. "
Golden pupils met your furious gaze. You felt your heart rate steadily increase. The sight of Daniel carefree and relaxed in your bed after you were ready to start chasing him made your rage steadily ramp in intensity.
"Where have you been. " You said, voice still drowsy despite your best efforts to sound stern.
"Out thinking. " He responded quietly.
"About what? I hope it's about what you plan on doing to make up for making me worried sick. "
Surprisingly, he looked rather..remorseful? It was strangely sincere, so unlike the unabashedly humorous way Daniel often navigated scenarios like these. He kept his eyes down, and propped himself up on his elbow. You stared at him like he was an extraterrestrial, and he spoke softly.
"I don't want you to think that I'm just using you for entertainment. That's not why I'm with you. " You blinked, searching for any hint of this taking a sarcastic tone, but found none.
"I shouldn't have pushed for you to reveal everything about being a witch right away, that was…stupid isn't even the right word. More like ignorant and entitled. "
You wanted to interject and say that was already his default way of existing, but you held your tongue. His other hand found your cheek and began to rub.
"I won't up and leave like that again. I promise. " He leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead before laying back down. You blinked a few times.
"Danny, was that your attempt at an apology? "
He didn't respond, but the light smirk on his face told you all you needed to know. You scoffed.
"That was the shittiest apology I've ever heard in my life. I would say I can't believe it, but I guess now I can! " You shook your head in disbelief.
"I'm gonna go back to sleep and when I wake up, you better have something good up your sleeve. "
Daniel didn't respond, but you thought you heard him whisper 'okay, short stack' before you angrily turned and buried your face in Armand's chest.
Armand opened his eyes right as Daniel rubbed a hand over his face. They ensured you were unconscious before either spoke.
"Shame on you for preparing such a subpar apology for our beautiful partner, Daniel. " Armand whispered. Daniel quickly whispered loudly.
"You were the one who helped me with that 'subpar apology', don't even start trying to blame this square on me! "
"Hush, Daniel. Lest you wish to make her morning even worse than it already is. " Armand traced his fingers against your spine, reveling in your subconcious shiver.
"Well I don't intend to be hexed, not today, not ever. " Daniel responded before flinging the blanket off of his body and getting up.
"What are you planning, Daniel? " Armand questioned.
"Homemade food always puts her in a good mood. Maybe that and a workshopped apology will put me back in her good graces, too. " Daniel said before heading to the kitchen.
Armand looked down at you, so still and innocent.
It was a miracle you hadn't hexed either of them, he thought as the sound of Daniel's ruckus caused you to flinch awake and groan.
author’s note: i truly hope i have properly represented the witch community and their practices! if there is anything at all that has been misconstrued, please let me know!! a huge thanks to @lestattdelioncourtt for providing me with info regarding witchcraft!! thank you so much for reading!
pls pls pls devil’s minion x short!fem!witch!reader I BEGGGGG
hello!! thank you so much for this request! i did a a good amount of research for this one, i hope you enjoy!!
note: mentions/descriptions of witchcraft practices, daniel is legitimately toxic, armand is a single mom with two badass kids (and is also a little toxic), reader is stressed and needs a drink, rather fluffy and fun near the end, though!
"Hey, Danny, can you pass me that incense really quick? " You currently had your hands full with setting up your alter. The offerings were purposefully stacked, each object having a distinct meaning in the pursuit of appeasing your God.
Daniel obliged, albeit with an air of curiousity. It had been persistent despite your growing annoyance and late night explanations about your practice of choice.
It seemed like no matter how much time you dedicated to answering his many, many questions, there always seemed to be more.
Armand was the exact opposite. From his place on the couch in your living room, he was quietly tapping away on his iPad. You could sense he was listening to each exchange you and Daniel had, but you opted to allow him to think that he was more mysterious than he was.
He never had many questions for you, outside of asking what items you required to continue your worship. From crystals, to candles, even the more niche items like what you required for rituals, you were always able to rely on Armand to get whatever you needed with minimal resistance.
Unlike Daniel and his blatant ogling.
As you were putting your incense away, you felt him eyeing your movements. You sighed, dramatically flaring your nostrils before turning to him.
"What do you want now, Daniel Molloy? "
He grinned, "Ooh, using the full name, are we? " He perched his elbow on your head, making your eyes widen. Unfortunately, your height was always a source of entertainment for him and endless irritation for you.
"I'd like to watch you do that ritual you were talking about this morning, " He continued. "And before you get all riled up, I just wanna say straight up, " He crosses his heart theatrically. "I won't be an asshole. You won't even know I'm there. "
"No. "
Daniel tilted his head down to look at you. One would think that the expression you had on your face told him exactly why.
"Why not? " He said with faux-innocence.
"Because! " You exclaimed, pushing his elbow off of your head, but he put it right back. You tried twice more, but failed.
"I just don't feel comfortable doing my spells in front of people, okay? Stop asking, you're really starting to piss me off. " You hoped that now he finally got the hint.
At first, you were hopeful. He lifted his arm from your head, and put his hands up in surrender. As he walked back, you turned your attention to your crystals. You picked a couple you thought were necessary for tonight, right as you heard Daniel speak.
"Not even if I'm in a different room, just listening? "
You slammed your hands on the armrests of your chair, spinning around to where Daniel sat next to Armand on the couch.
"Armand. " You said sternly. "Get your fledgling! " You stared at his face until he finally met your gaze. His golden eyes were filled with confusion. You flit your eyes in Daniel's direction, who was now currently scrolling on his phone with not a care in the world.
Armand turned to look at Daniel.
"Beloved. "
"Hm? "
"You may think that you are free to poke and prod to gain whatever knowledge you seek, but that is not the case at all. " His face minutely altered, almsot doll-like in nature. "It's best to respect that not everything needs to be stared in the face to acknowledge its existence. "
"Hey, I'm not saying what she does isn't real. I'm just a little curious- "
"Just say nosy. You're nosy, Daniel. "
He smacked his lips before continuing, "All I'm asking is to see my girlfriend in action. Is that a crime? " He was asking Armand, but you felt like it was your place to respond. Unfortunately, Armand had a habit of saying what you thought before you.
"It is not. But that does not grant you the right to break her boundaries in favor of your wants, Daniel. "
You sighed, pinching your brows. "Thanks, Armand, but I really don't need you to speak for me. I can do that just fine by myself. "
Armand looked like he disagreed, but kept his mouth shut. Daniel was unreadable, but had finally stopped scrolling. You pointed at him.
"You. Drop it. " You moved your finger to point at Armand. "Thank you for backing me up. But please refrain from reading my thoughts to do so, okay? "
You turned your attention once more to your items, focusing on writing in your journal for your intentions in your ritual tonight. You didn't notice the way Daniel's annoyance spiked. But Armand did, and he quickly tugged Daniel by his curls before returning to his iPad. That set Daniel hissing, but otherwise he got the hint.
The slam of the door ten minutes later following Daniel's departure didn't make you or Armand flinch. You sighed.
"He'll get over it, dear. You'll see, there's no need to feel guilty for establishing a boundary. "
"Armand, what did I just say about reading my mind? "
—
You were starting to get worried. It was day three of Daniel's petty tantrum, and there was no sign of him returning. You had asked Armand if he sensed his fledging, considering the severed psychic connection didn’t allow for direct communication, but he came up empty-handed.
You paced in your bedroom, Armand already in bed, iPad still in hand. You were starting to bite your nails when you finally spoke.
"I think I'm gonna do a finding spell to figure out where he is. Maybe not now, my amber's not properly charged. " You nibbled your thumb. "I'll go ahead and get it so I can use it tomorrow. " You rushed out of the room, asking Armand as you left,
"It's a full moon tonight, right, Armand? "
Tap tap tap, "Yes, darling, I'm sure of it. " He responded.
You returned, amber in hand, setting it on your dresser alongside your many other crystals. You made sure to leave the curtains open just a tad, to allow a trickle of moonlight to wash over the gems.
Satisfied at the sight and a glimmer of hope in your eyes, you settled under the covers next to Armand. The side of the bed where Daniel slept next to you was extra cold without his stupid, solid frame teasing you as you tried to fall asleep.
Armand finally set his iPad to the side in favor of offering his arms to hold you. You hestitated before settling into his arms. Your stature made it easy for him to spoon and coddle you. One of your favorite pastimes (and Armand's as well, you suspect) was spending hours in his embrace. The way his fingertips traced your features over and over, memorizing each mole, freckle, scar, or otherwise distinct characteristic was reverent. He made you feel so loved, his unblinking stare unnerving to most, but something you found to be especially intimate.
You sighed into his neck, inhaling his scent before saying, "Maybe I could've told him I was fine with describing it instead of flat out rejecting him. "
Armand's hands found the back of your head, stroking it as he hummed, "But were you fine with it? He has been especially demanding as of late. "
You half-heartedly shrugged, "I know he doesn't mean any harm. It's just…this is an important part of me. And I appreciate how interested and nonjudgmental you both are, but it just gets to a point, y'know? " You nuzzled his chest, and you smiled at how that must've startled him, at least based on the way his movements halted before continuing.
"There are still things I don't feel comfortable sharing, at least not yet. You've always been good about understanding, why can't Danny? Is it cause of the age difference? " You muttered, sleep beginning to overtake you, but not entirely.
Armand sighed, "Daniel has always been exceptional at pushing boundaries. He views it as an act of love, the way he endlessly pokes and prods to learn more about you. "
You snorted before Armand continued.
"I truly do not think that his journalistic instinct will ever be hindered. If anything, it has only grown in intensity since his turning. " At the sound of your eyes rolling, he began rubbing your shoulders, instantly making you melt.
"But I have a feeling that he will see the error of his ways and allow you to continue your craft in peace. " He finished.
You made a noise somewhere between a scoff and a hum, "Psh, yeah, right. The day that happens will be the day Hell freezes over. Or the day he admits he was wrong. Both of which will never happens. " It was the last thing you remember saying before finally passing out due to Armand's magic touch.
"You never know, darling. You never know. "
—
You woke up still in Armand's arms, but you felt something else pressed against your back. You lifted your head to look behind you as far as you could.
It was Daniel. He was in his classic sleepwear combo, an old t-shirt of his from the 90's and a pair of comfortable pants. If you didn’t know any better you would think that he was just another old man. But his lack of blood circulation and piercing yellow eyes said otherwise.
You loosened yourself from Armand's hold to face Daniel. You stared at his sleeping face, the rise and fall of his chest moreso instinctual than necessary for survival.
You poked his face. He twitched, but didn't stir.
"Daniel. " You whispered. Nothing, not even a stutter of his breath.
"Daniel, wake the fuck up or I swear I'll push you off this bed. "
Golden pupils met your furious gaze. You felt your heart rate steadily increase. The sight of Daniel carefree and relaxed in your bed after you were ready to start chasing him made your rage steadily ramp in intensity.
"Where have you been. " You said, voice still drowsy despite your best efforts to sound stern.
"Out thinking. " He responded quietly.
"About what? I hope it's about what you plan on doing to make up for making me worried sick. "
Surprisingly, he looked rather..remorseful? It was strangely sincere, so unlike the unabashedly humorous way Daniel often navigated scenarios like these. He kept his eyes down, and propped himself up on his elbow. You stared at him like he was an extraterrestrial, and he spoke softly.
"I don't want you to think that I'm just using you for entertainment. That's not why I'm with you. " You blinked, searching for any hint of this taking a sarcastic tone, but found none.
"I shouldn't have pushed for you to reveal everything about being a witch right away, that was…stupid isn't even the right word. More like ignorant and entitled. "
You wanted to interject and say that was already his default way of existing, but you held your tongue. His other hand found your cheek and began to rub.
"I won't up and leave like that again. I promise. " He leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead before laying back down. You blinked a few times.
"Danny, was that your attempt at an apology? "
He didn't respond, but the light smirk on his face told you all you needed to know. You scoffed.
"That was the shittiest apology I've ever heard in my life. I would say I can't believe it, but I guess now I can! " You shook your head in disbelief.
"I'm gonna go back to sleep and when I wake up, you better have something good up your sleeve. "
Daniel didn't respond, but you thought you heard him whisper 'okay, short stack' before you angrily turned and buried your face in Armand's chest.
Armand opened his eyes right as Daniel rubbed a hand over his face. They ensured you were unconscious before either spoke.
"Shame on you for preparing such a subpar apology for our beautiful partner, Daniel. " Armand whispered. Daniel quickly whispered loudly.
"You were the one who helped me with that 'subpar apology', don't even start trying to blame this square on me! "
"Hush, Daniel. Lest you wish to make her morning even worse than it already is. " Armand traced his fingers against your spine, reveling in your subconcious shiver.
"Well I don't intend to be hexed, not today, not ever. " Daniel responded before flinging the blanket off of his body and getting up.
"What are you planning, Daniel? " Armand questioned.
"Homemade food always puts her in a good mood. Maybe that and a workshopped apology will put me back in her good graces, too. " Daniel said before heading to the kitchen.
Armand looked down at you, so still and innocent.
It was a miracle you hadn't hexed either of them, he thought as the sound of Daniel's ruckus caused you to flinch awake and groan.
author’s note: i truly hope i have properly represented the witch community and their practices! if there is anything at all that has been misconstrued, please let me know!! a huge thanks to @lestattdelioncourtt for providing me with info regarding witchcraft!! thank you so much for reading!
nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping
chapter 1 of 3: can't take my charm
note: description of panic attacks, severe survivor's guilt, animal death (heavily described, but no gore is mentioned), hints of character death, vampires and revenant vampires exist, reader is Going Through It, armand and daniel are Weird
You didn't even know the world had ended.
You lived on a small plot of land with your parents. Eventually, they retired and traveled the world, leaving you with the house that you had grown up in and intended to live in for the rest of your life.
It wasn't small by any means, you had enough room for a small garden and a shed in the back where you housed all your father's tools. You and your mother always teased your father about his lack of impulse control when it came to buying work equipment. He never made any quips back, he would just scratch his head and go back to work. This extended to the amount of household supplies he would purchase at stores.
You suspected he had an underlying need to always be in control, and that piled up quite literally in the amount of toiletries and canned food that had stocked up. Looking back, you had to give your father credit.
Without his paranoia, you might have never survived this long.
In the beginnning, all you heard were whispers of something killing animals. Briefly there was panic that it was another pathogenic pandemic, but it was quickly discovered that was not the case.
It was people.
People with fangs deep enough to puncture any vein in the human or an animal's body. People who were no longer stopped by bullets or any other weapon that others used on them. People that spontaneously combusted in the sunlight, slowly killed by fire, and who were basically walking corpses.
You laughed until your sides hurt when you realized what they were. Vampires. They were real, not something from stories or sparkly actors on TV. They existed and they stopped at nothing to get what they wanted. You were tempted to throw out your merchandise of a famous franchise with those same creatures, but you decided to keep it; to remind yourself that irony can still exist in this godforsaken new world.
It was almost evening, the sun sinking lower over the flat terrain that spanned as far as the eye could see. You sat in one of the rocking chairs your father had made for you and your mother. She was always fond of sitting outside whenever the cooler seasons came about. You sticked to sitting in your own chair. The wind caused the empty chair to rock back and forth to make it seem like someone else was sitting beside you.
You tapped your foot and listened for anything out of the ordinary. Birds were less commonplace. You assumed that it was because of the lack of humans in the area that caused the vampires to eat animals instead.
The sun had finally set.
There was nothing at first, at least that you could hear. But in the far distance you were able to catch something moving. It was one of those…weird ones. The kind of vampires that looked more like a corpse than a human. And it was heading towards your home. Without wasting any time to potentially catch its attention, you bolted out of your chair and deadbolted the door behind you.
You ran to the very back of your home into your room, locking and barricading your door as well. Superhuman strength or not, the precautions you took would buy you some time. But your main hope was that it would find the empty field that made up your backyard, maybe get stuck in one of the many holes you dug at the start of your lone survival.
It was silent, with no sounds of it trying to break in. You moved as quietly as you could to the window next your childhood bed.
As you peered out between the blinds, you prayed to whatever God was still listening that it would just go far far away from you and your home. That you wouldn't have to do what you had been doing whenever a vampire wandered onto your land.
Unfortunately, you saw its form stalk into your field of vision.
Its skin was pallid and rotting. It was balding as well, the lack of hair exposing a putrid scalp and cracked skin. No doubt it smelled grotesque as well.
You kneeled and reached underneath your bed for a box. Inside was all the material you used to…get rid of them.
You grabbed the alcohol bottle and stuffed a piece of cloth inside of it, grabbing a lighter as well. You lifted the miniblinds and opened your window. The thing was still limping in your field, not alerted to your presence just yet.
Carefully, you leaned the upper half of your body out the window, bottle in one hand, lighter in the other. You flicked the lighter, sparks flying but not igniting. By the fourth try, you were panicking. The thing still hadn't seen you, but your fingers were shaking from the fear that it might.
In your haste to set fire to the cloth, you dropped the lighter. Cursing internally, you give up on getting rid of the zombie and shut your window and blinds as quickly as you could.
You had successfully killed three vampire…zombies? All the previous times were via molotov cocktail and all three times you had forced yourself to watch them burn in the field.
The smell of their burning flesh and their piercing screams have followed you ever since. To rationalize your decision, you told yourself that they weren't even human anymore. Their brains no doubt shut down the moment they pursued flesh and blood in place of other food.
They weren't human, and you were doing them the favor. From afar, of course.
Sitting on the ground in front of your now closed window, knees to your chest, you wondered what your parents would think of you now. Their only surviving child, hiding like a coward and using molotov cocktails to kill people vampires in the name of keeping themself safe.
You would laugh, but instead you froze any and all movement the moment you saw a shadow cover you from outside your window.
You covered your mouth muffle your gasp. The shadow was moving, its noises audible despite the glass barrier. You flinched as you heard a thump against the window, and your hand found the alcohol bottle once more. Despite a lack of ignition, you grasped onto it in case you needed something to throw.
Your heart was pounding, sending blood rushing to your ears and the overpowering feeling of adrenaline coursing through your veins. The whitekunckled grip you had on the bottle caused a dull pain that your nervous system ignored.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the shadow disappeared, and you heard nothing from outside.
You slowly stood and looked out between the blinds.
Nothing was there. You were safe, at least for now.
You sat on the edge of your bed, still clutching the unlit makeshift explosive. It wasn't until much later, when you finally made your way into the restroom that you realized you were crying.
—
The next morning would be better, that you could be certain. You would make it better. Given the isolated nature of your home, you had to rely on the provisions you already had.
You tried your hand at scavenging a couple weeks back. You barely made it to your first house before you turned back.
The smell was awful.
Luckily, thanks to your father's paranoia, combined with your perpetual anxiety about your safety, you rarely ate full meals. You prefered to eat little snacks here and there, and it seemed to do the trick.
You were getting worried about water, though.
While you collected rainwater in barrels near the side of your house for recreational along with nutritional use, you were down to one barrel. And you promised yourself you'd only start drinking the water bottles you had in case things got more dire. You stared at the ceiling of your bedroom, still laying in your pajamas.
"Today is going to be just fine. You'll see. " You whispered. Optimism, despite how inconvienent it was in a world like this, was one of the only things keeping you going.
You sat yourself up at the same time you heard a gunshot go off.
You sprang up, hesitating before running towards the front door of the house. You peered through the peephole, then the side window that was covered by a curtain. From there, you could see a person running through the land, being chased by what looked like a pack of wild dogs.
You removed yourself from the window and backed away from the door.
"Please don't come here. Please don't come here. " You whispered once more, clasping your hands together like that would help your pleas come true. You continued taking steps backward, eventually turning before-
BAM! BAM! BAM!
You jumped as the knob of your door began to shake.
"HEY! Is anyone here?! Oh God, please!! " It was a male's voice, maybe around your age. He banged on the door again, and you covered your ears.
Bringing someone in, risking your safety for a man you didn't know wasn’t smart. But you don't think you could live with yourself if you just let a person die on your front porch.
You unlocked a side window leading to your roof and your bedroom window. You picked up as many rocks on the ground as you could and shoved them into your pockets. The sound of barking and the man's pleas grew louder as you climbed to the top of your house.
You caught sight of the dogs just as they were about to make it to your front yard. You dug into your pockets, took aim, and began throwing the rocks.
You felt bad for them. They were diseased, likely infected by rabies and whatever else those monsters brought to the world. The rocks seemed to grab their attention away from the man, who had quieted, and towards you instead.
They snarled and snapped, trying to climb up the side of the house and tear you apart. But that didn't happen. Instead, you army crawled to the other side of your home near your bedroom, clambered your way back in and went back to the front of the house.
You pressed youself as close as possible to the door for him to hear, clearing your throat.
"They're far enough away now, you can go. " You said.
"Please let me in. " He begged, and you chewed the bottom of your lip.
"I can't do that. " You replied.
"Can't or won't?! You don't know what it's like out here, man, I just need a place to stay! " His tone shifted to one of desperation and you knew you made the right choice not opening your home to him.
"I'm sorry. Please go. " You responded and began walking away once more. Like you should've the first time.
"Oh, come on! Come on, open the door! " He slammed what sounded like his palm against the door, but you continued on.
You shut yourself in your room and took to reading a book to take your mind off of the only other person you had seen in weeks. The same person who might have been eaten alive by dogs or vampires or who knows what else because of you.
You made it ten pages before the noises ceased entirely.
By the time you made it onto the porch, the man and the dogs were gone. Well, most of them.
There was a dead dachshund on your porch.
You recognized it as Caramel, one of your neighbors dogs. You never interacted with your neighbor much, but Caramel was always outside running around, a little happy bundle of energy.
And now here he was, as still as you ever saw him, on your porch. You didn't want to think about how scared he must've been in his final moments. Instead, you took a towel from your bathroom, wrapped his little body up, and took him to your backyard.
You laid his body gingerly on the ground and began digging a hole as fast as you could with your hands. Despite knowing that the vampires were only active at night, you wanted to spend as little time as possible outside. The rooftop attack alone had your mind moving on autopilot and at risk of shortcircuiting. But this was for Caramel, an innocent dog that just wanted to survive, same as you.
As soon as you dug as deep as you could manage, you placed Caramel into the hole. Taking a deep breath, you tried not to sob as you began covering the towel with dirt. That notion failed almost immediately as your eyes became more blurry the more dirt you added.
A twig snapped somewhere in the distance, and that was it.
You bolted, hands covered in dirt and sweaty from the adrenaline pumping through your being. You slammed the door behind you and locked it before slumping down into a pile of sobs and dry heaving.
You couldn't even bring yourself to give a dog a proper burial; what kind of a coward were you?
That question, along with many others, went unanswered as you attempted to lift yourself up. It took a couple of tries, but you did it. You needed to eat, maybe drink some water, too. You opened one of your limited supply of water bottles and took a shaky sip. There was a can of peaches staring at you from the corner of your food stack. You grabbed it and popped it open, inhaling their sweet smell. You sipped that, too, chewing on your peaches on the floor.
No amount of optimism would have helped you turn this into a better day.
—
A few days went by without incident. On the fourth day, as you were contemplating trying again to go out and scavenge, it rained. You almost started shouting with joy, but you stifled that in favor of a fist pump. You watched your open barrels of rainwater fill up and overflow from your kitchen window. You'd have to go out and lid them once it stopped raining before anything had a chance to lay their eggs in the water.
With scavenging off the table, you busied yourself with organizing your food supply. Then you organized your clothing. Eventually, though, with how limited your space was, you had nothing left to sort.
Pleased with how tidy everything was, you settled into your bed. You pulled the blankets to your chest, one of your favorite, well-loved books in your hands.
You began reading out loud, mostly for yourself, since you didn't want to go hoarse from not speaking very often, and to fill the house with something more than your noises of distress.
The pattering of rain against the house and the rumble of thunder was nostalgic. It reminded you of spending nights like these between your parents when you were still small enough to sleep in their bed.
You were on the cusp of fully letting sleep overttake you, book falling from your grasp when-
Knock! Knock! Knock!
You immediately jolted up, pulse skyrocketing. At first, you thought you were hallucinating, the stress of your situation finally breaking you, when you heard it again.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
It was a polite knocking that you were no longer used to hearing.
You started to shut your door, barricade, cover your ears until everything stopped.
But then there was a little voice in your head telling you that the person knocking wanted to help you. Perhaps they just were just checking if you were in danger, and you should let them know you're okay.
You shook your head, not even recognizing that train of thought. What if they were dangerous? Or they knew you were alone and vulnerable, and they wanted to hurt you in order to take the house for themselves?
The risk was too great.
But so was rejecting possible aid. Not everyone had bad intentions, and there was no harm in asking behind the safety of your door.
There was no harm in asking.
There was no harm in asking.
You blinked, and all of a sudden, you found yourself with your hand on the unlocked front doorknob. Before you could question how you could walk from your bed to the door without realizing it, you were already opening the door.
It wasn't just one man knocking.
On your porch, soaked from head to toe, were two men. One of them was younger, with dark curls and piercing golden eyes. The other was old enough to be your grandfather, with silver curls and sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.
Before you got the urge to slam the door in their faces, the younger man spoke.
"Hello there. I apologize for the interruption, but would you mind if we come in? It's awfully wet out here. " His tone was polite, but his eyes...
They weren't blinking.
Your head was feeling light, suddenly, but you managed a slight shake and responded,
"Uh…I'm sorry, but I can't let you in. "
"Why not? You got the room. " The older man said, his arms crossing over his chest.
"I just, " You swayed, but you caught yourself. "Don't feel comfortable-"
"Letting strange men into your home? " The one with dark curls finished for you. "I can assure you, we are not a threat. " He took a step forward, and you wanted to bolt into the safety of your room. But you couldn't.
"Listen, I think we'd all be better off you just let us in, okay? " The other one spoke.
You blinked, trying to gain your bearings in front of these men, but it was getting harder and harder to stay on your feet.
Against your better judgment and everything in your body screaming at you to run away and tell these men to do the same, you relented. You moved to the side, allowing both of them to enter your home without any more conflict.
As soon as you bolted the door behind you, the queasiness you were experiencing vanished. You stood straighter, staring at the men staring at you.
You gulped.
"Are you two gonna kill me? " You asked, eyes flickering between the two of them.
They looked at each other at the same time before sliding their gaze to you.
"No. " The younger one responded, finally remembering to blink.
"Not unless you give us a reason to. " The one with silver curls bluntly stated.
You almost collapsed on the spot, but you somehow found the strength to continue standing. You nodded, trying to play along with them in hopes that they would find your submission to be favorable.
"Uhm. There's another room in the back, next to mine. " You pointed to the back of the house, and neither of them reacted.
"Mine has the open door, the other one has a bed, some dry clothes you two can change into. " Those clothes were left behind by your parents when they moved out. They claimed it was something to remember them by, but you knew that it was just old clothes they didn't want anymore.
"Is it just you living here? " The older man said increduously. "I thought someone as jumpy as you would've kicked the bucket by now. "
"Daniel. " The other man said, and you were stunned at how demanding his tone was compared to before. The older one, Daniel, only put his hands up in defense.
"No offense, but I mean, " He gestured at you before clearing his throat. The younger man was glaring daggers at Daniel. You wanted to leave as fast as you could, but Daniel prevented you from doing so. He stuck out his hand to you and said,
"The name's Daniel Molloy. This, " He jerked his head to the man behind him, "Is Armand. No last name, as far as I know. How about you? "
You stared at his hand before taking it. His grip was strong, and as you shook hands, you introduced yourself with your name. Just go along with it, you told yourself, maybe they'd move on in the morning.
"Thanks for letting us in, that was smart. C'mon, Armand, let's get out of these duds. " Daniel put his hands in his pockets before sauntering through your space like he owned it. Armand followed close behind, staring at you until it was physically impossible.
It was the moment you heard the door close that you lost it. You collapsed onto the ground, catching yourself on one knee and trying your best to regulate your breathing.
This was the first time in several months that someone else had been in the house other than you. The first time you had talked to anyone other than yourself, and occassionally the inanimate objects in your kitchen. And now, everything was going to be out of place and wrong and you can't fix it because you can't just put these men in a spot because you can't trust them!
You can't even trust yourself, much less a couple of strangers who could do God knows what to you!
You pressed a hand to your chest, trying to stop your heart from beating a thousand miles a minute. You told yourself to breathe until you were able to do it automatically again.
You were fine. They hadn't emerged yet, and they weren't going to hurt you. As long as you didn't give them a reason to, you reminded yourself.
What that meant, you had no clue. And you sure as hell had no intention of finding out.
author's note: oh my gosh that was a lot of exposition, sorry!! ik people are here for armand and daniel, and i apologize for their absence except near the end :'( i really wanted reader's headspace to be established before i go straight into the relationship they kindle with armand and daniel!! also, twd is a really good show!! thank you so much for reading, i'll see you in chapter 2!!
nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping
chapter 1 of 3: can't take my charm
note: description of panic attacks, severe survivor's guilt, animal death (heavily described, but no gore is mentioned), hints of character death, vampires and revenant vampires exist, reader is Going Through It, armand and daniel are Weird
You didn't even know the world had ended.
You lived on a small plot of land with your parents. Eventually, they retired and traveled the world, leaving you with the house that you had grown up in and intended to live in for the rest of your life.
It wasn't small by any means, you had enough room for a small garden and a shed in the back where you housed all your father's tools. You and your mother always teased your father about his lack of impulse control when it came to buying work equipment. He never made any quips back, he would just scratch his head and go back to work. This extended to the amount of household supplies he would purchase at stores.
You suspected he had an underlying need to always be in control, and that piled up quite literally in the amount of toiletries and canned food that had stocked up. Looking back, you had to give your father credit.
Without his paranoia, you might have never survived this long.
In the beginnning, all you heard were whispers of something killing animals. Briefly there was panic that it was another pathogenic pandemic, but it was quickly discovered that was not the case.
It was people.
People with fangs deep enough to puncture any vein in the human or an animal's body. People who were no longer stopped by bullets or any other weapon that others used on them. People that spontaneously combusted in the sunlight, slowly killed by fire, and who were basically walking corpses.
You laughed until your sides hurt when you realized what they were. Vampires. They were real, not something from stories or sparkly actors on TV. They existed and they stopped at nothing to get what they wanted. You were tempted to throw out your merchandise of a famous franchise with those same creatures, but you decided to keep it; to remind yourself that irony can still exist in this godforsaken new world.
It was almost evening, the sun sinking lower over the flat terrain that spanned as far as the eye could see. You sat in one of the rocking chairs your father had made for you and your mother. She was always fond of sitting outside whenever the cooler seasons came about. You sticked to sitting in your own chair. The wind caused the empty chair to rock back and forth to make it seem like someone else was sitting beside you.
You tapped your foot and listened for anything out of the ordinary. Birds were less commonplace. You assumed that it was because of the lack of humans in the area that caused the vampires to eat animals instead.
The sun had finally set.
There was nothing at first, at least that you could hear. But in the far distance you were able to catch something moving. It was one of those…weird ones. The kind of vampires that looked more like a corpse than a human. And it was heading towards your home. Without wasting any time to potentially catch its attention, you bolted out of your chair and deadbolted the door behind you.
You ran to the very back of your home into your room, locking and barricading your door as well. Superhuman strength or not, the precautions you took would buy you some time. But your main hope was that it would find the empty field that made up your backyard, maybe get stuck in one of the many holes you dug at the start of your lone survival.
It was silent, with no sounds of it trying to break in. You moved as quietly as you could to the window next your childhood bed.
As you peered out between the blinds, you prayed to whatever God was still listening that it would just go far far away from you and your home. That you wouldn't have to do what you had been doing whenever a vampire wandered onto your land.
Unfortunately, you saw its form stalk into your field of vision.
Its skin was pallid and rotting. It was balding as well, the lack of hair exposing a putrid scalp and cracked skin. No doubt it smelled grotesque as well.
You kneeled and reached underneath your bed for a box. Inside was all the material you used to…get rid of them.
You grabbed the alcohol bottle and stuffed a piece of cloth inside of it, grabbing a lighter as well. You lifted the miniblinds and opened your window. The thing was still limping in your field, not alerted to your presence just yet.
Carefully, you leaned the upper half of your body out the window, bottle in one hand, lighter in the other. You flicked the lighter, sparks flying but not igniting. By the fourth try, you were panicking. The thing still hadn't seen you, but your fingers were shaking from the fear that it might.
In your haste to set fire to the cloth, you dropped the lighter. Cursing internally, you give up on getting rid of the zombie and shut your window and blinds as quickly as you could.
You had successfully killed three vampire…zombies? All the previous times were via molotov cocktail and all three times you had forced yourself to watch them burn in the field.
The smell of their burning flesh and their piercing screams have followed you ever since. To rationalize your decision, you told yourself that they weren't even human anymore. Their brains no doubt shut down the moment they pursued flesh and blood in place of other food.
They weren't human, and you were doing them the favor. From afar, of course.
Sitting on the ground in front of your now closed window, knees to your chest, you wondered what your parents would think of you now. Their only surviving child, hiding like a coward and using molotov cocktails to kill people vampires in the name of keeping themself safe.
You would laugh, but instead you froze any and all movement the moment you saw a shadow cover you from outside your window.
You covered your mouth muffle your gasp. The shadow was moving, its noises audible despite the glass barrier. You flinched as you heard a thump against the window, and your hand found the alcohol bottle once more. Despite a lack of ignition, you grasped onto it in case you needed something to throw.
Your heart was pounding, sending blood rushing to your ears and the overpowering feeling of adrenaline coursing through your veins. The whitekunckled grip you had on the bottle caused a dull pain that your nervous system ignored.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the shadow disappeared, and you heard nothing from outside.
You slowly stood and looked out between the blinds.
Nothing was there. You were safe, at least for now.
You sat on the edge of your bed, still clutching the unlit makeshift explosive. It wasn't until much later, when you finally made your way into the restroom that you realized you were crying.
—
The next morning would be better, that you could be certain. You would make it better. Given the isolated nature of your home, you had to rely on the provisions you already had.
You tried your hand at scavenging a couple weeks back. You barely made it to your first house before you turned back.
The smell was awful.
Luckily, thanks to your father's paranoia, combined with your perpetual anxiety about your safety, you rarely ate full meals. You prefered to eat little snacks here and there, and it seemed to do the trick.
You were getting worried about water, though.
While you collected rainwater in barrels near the side of your house for recreational along with nutritional use, you were down to one barrel. And you promised yourself you'd only start drinking the water bottles you had in case things got more dire. You stared at the ceiling of your bedroom, still laying in your pajamas.
"Today is going to be just fine. You'll see. " You whispered. Optimism, despite how inconvienent it was in a world like this, was one of the only things keeping you going.
You sat yourself up at the same time you heard a gunshot go off.
You sprang up, hesitating before running towards the front door of the house. You peered through the peephole, then the side window that was covered by a curtain. From there, you could see a person running through the land, being chased by what looked like a pack of wild dogs.
You removed yourself from the window and backed away from the door.
"Please don't come here. Please don't come here. " You whispered once more, clasping your hands together like that would help your pleas come true. You continued taking steps backward, eventually turning before-
BAM! BAM! BAM!
You jumped as the knob of your door began to shake.
"HEY! Is anyone here?! Oh God, please!! " It was a male's voice, maybe around your age. He banged on the door again, and you covered your ears.
Bringing someone in, risking your safety for a man you didn't know wasn’t smart. But you don't think you could live with yourself if you just let a person die on your front porch.
You unlocked a side window leading to your roof and your bedroom window. You picked up as many rocks on the ground as you could and shoved them into your pockets. The sound of barking and the man's pleas grew louder as you climbed to the top of your house.
You caught sight of the dogs just as they were about to make it to your front yard. You dug into your pockets, took aim, and began throwing the rocks.
You felt bad for them. They were diseased, likely infected by rabies and whatever else those monsters brought to the world. The rocks seemed to grab their attention away from the man, who had quieted, and towards you instead.
They snarled and snapped, trying to climb up the side of the house and tear you apart. But that didn't happen. Instead, you army crawled to the other side of your home near your bedroom, clambered your way back in and went back to the front of the house.
You pressed youself as close as possible to the door for him to hear, clearing your throat.
"They're far enough away now, you can go. " You said.
"Please let me in. " He begged, and you chewed the bottom of your lip.
"I can't do that. " You replied.
"Can't or won't?! You don't know what it's like out here, man, I just need a place to stay! " His tone shifted to one of desperation and you knew you made the right choice not opening your home to him.
"I'm sorry. Please go. " You responded and began walking away once more. Like you should've the first time.
"Oh, come on! Come on, open the door! " He slammed what sounded like his palm against the door, but you continued on.
You shut yourself in your room and took to reading a book to take your mind off of the only other person you had seen in weeks. The same person who might have been eaten alive by dogs or vampires or who knows what else because of you.
You made it ten pages before the noises ceased entirely.
By the time you made it onto the porch, the man and the dogs were gone. Well, most of them.
There was a dead dachshund on your porch.
You recognized it as Caramel, one of your neighbors dogs. You never interacted with your neighbor much, but Caramel was always outside running around, a little happy bundle of energy.
And now here he was, as still as you ever saw him, on your porch. You didn't want to think about how scared he must've been in his final moments. Instead, you took a towel from your bathroom, wrapped his little body up, and took him to your backyard.
You laid his body gingerly on the ground and began digging a hole as fast as you could with your hands. Despite knowing that the vampires were only active at night, you wanted to spend as little time as possible outside. The rooftop attack alone had your mind moving on autopilot and at risk of shortcircuiting. But this was for Caramel, an innocent dog that just wanted to survive, same as you.
As soon as you dug as deep as you could manage, you placed Caramel into the hole. Taking a deep breath, you tried not to sob as you began covering the towel with dirt. That notion failed almost immediately as your eyes became more blurry the more dirt you added.
A twig snapped somewhere in the distance, and that was it.
You bolted, hands covered in dirt and sweaty from the adrenaline pumping through your being. You slammed the door behind you and locked it before slumping down into a pile of sobs and dry heaving.
You couldn't even bring yourself to give a dog a proper burial; what kind of a coward were you?
That question, along with many others, went unanswered as you attempted to lift yourself up. It took a couple of tries, but you did it. You needed to eat, maybe drink some water, too. You opened one of your limited supply of water bottles and took a shaky sip. There was a can of peaches staring at you from the corner of your food stack. You grabbed it and popped it open, inhaling their sweet smell. You sipped that, too, chewing on your peaches on the floor.
No amount of optimism would have helped you turn this into a better day.
—
A few days went by without incident. On the fourth day, as you were contemplating trying again to go out and scavenge, it rained. You almost started shouting with joy, but you stifled that in favor of a fist pump. You watched your open barrels of rainwater fill up and overflow from your kitchen window. You'd have to go out and lid them once it stopped raining before anything had a chance to lay their eggs in the water.
With scavenging off the table, you busied yourself with organizing your food supply. Then you organized your clothing. Eventually, though, with how limited your space was, you had nothing left to sort.
Pleased with how tidy everything was, you settled into your bed. You pulled the blankets to your chest, one of your favorite, well-loved books in your hands.
You began reading out loud, mostly for yourself, since you didn't want to go hoarse from not speaking very often, and to fill the house with something more than your noises of distress.
The pattering of rain against the house and the rumble of thunder was nostalgic. It reminded you of spending nights like these between your parents when you were still small enough to sleep in their bed.
You were on the cusp of fully letting sleep overttake you, book falling from your grasp when-
Knock! Knock! Knock!
You immediately jolted up, pulse skyrocketing. At first, you thought you were hallucinating, the stress of your situation finally breaking you, when you heard it again.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
It was a polite knocking that you were no longer used to hearing.
You started to shut your door, barricade, cover your ears until everything stopped.
But then there was a little voice in your head telling you that the person knocking wanted to help you. Perhaps they just were just checking if you were in danger, and you should let them know you're okay.
You shook your head, not even recognizing that train of thought. What if they were dangerous? Or they knew you were alone and vulnerable, and they wanted to hurt you in order to take the house for themselves?
The risk was too great.
But so was rejecting possible aid. Not everyone had bad intentions, and there was no harm in asking behind the safety of your door.
There was no harm in asking.
There was no harm in asking.
You blinked, and all of a sudden, you found yourself with your hand on the unlocked front doorknob. Before you could question how you could walk from your bed to the door without realizing it, you were already opening the door.
It wasn't just one man knocking.
On your porch, soaked from head to toe, were two men. One of them was younger, with dark curls and piercing golden eyes. The other was old enough to be your grandfather, with silver curls and sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.
Before you got the urge to slam the door in their faces, the younger man spoke.
"Hello there. I apologize for the interruption, but would you mind if we come in? It's awfully wet out here. " His tone was polite, but his eyes...
They weren't blinking.
Your head was feeling light, suddenly, but you managed a slight shake and responded,
"Uh…I'm sorry, but I can't let you in. "
"Why not? You got the room. " The older man said, his arms crossing over his chest.
"I just, " You swayed, but you caught yourself. "Don't feel comfortable-"
"Letting strange men into your home? " The one with dark curls finished for you. "I can assure you, we are not a threat. " He took a step forward, and you wanted to bolt into the safety of your room. But you couldn't.
"Listen, I think we'd all be better off you just let us in, okay? " The other one spoke.
You blinked, trying to gain your bearings in front of these men, but it was getting harder and harder to stay on your feet.
Against your better judgment and everything in your body screaming at you to run away and tell these men to do the same, you relented. You moved to the side, allowing both of them to enter your home without any more conflict.
As soon as you bolted the door behind you, the queasiness you were experiencing vanished. You stood straighter, staring at the men staring at you.
You gulped.
"Are you two gonna kill me? " You asked, eyes flickering between the two of them.
They looked at each other at the same time before sliding their gaze to you.
"No. " The younger one responded, finally remembering to blink.
"Not unless you give us a reason to. " The one with silver curls bluntly stated.
You almost collapsed on the spot, but you somehow found the strength to continue standing. You nodded, trying to play along with them in hopes that they would find your submission to be favorable.
"Uhm. There's another room in the back, next to mine. " You pointed to the back of the house, and neither of them reacted.
"Mine has the open door, the other one has a bed, some dry clothes you two can change into. " Those clothes were left behind by your parents when they moved out. They claimed it was something to remember them by, but you knew that it was just old clothes they didn't want anymore.
"Is it just you living here? " The older man said increduously. "I thought someone as jumpy as you would've kicked the bucket by now. "
"Daniel. " The other man said, and you were stunned at how demanding his tone was compared to before. The older one, Daniel, only put his hands up in defense.
"No offense, but I mean, " He gestured at you before clearing his throat. The younger man was glaring daggers at Daniel. You wanted to leave as fast as you could, but Daniel prevented you from doing so. He stuck out his hand to you and said,
"The name's Daniel Molloy. This, " He jerked his head to the man behind him, "Is Armand. No last name, as far as I know. How about you? "
You stared at his hand before taking it. His grip was strong, and as you shook hands, you introduced yourself with your name. Just go along with it, you told yourself, maybe they'd move on in the morning.
"Thanks for letting us in, that was smart. C'mon, Armand, let's get out of these duds. " Daniel put his hands in his pockets before sauntering through your space like he owned it. Armand followed close behind, staring at you until it was physically impossible.
It was the moment you heard the door close that you lost it. You collapsed onto the ground, catching yourself on one knee and trying your best to regulate your breathing.
This was the first time in several months that someone else had been in the house other than you. The first time you had talked to anyone other than yourself, and occassionally the inanimate objects in your kitchen. And now, everything was going to be out of place and wrong and you can't fix it because you can't just put these men in a spot because you can't trust them!
You can't even trust yourself, much less a couple of strangers who could do God knows what to you!
You pressed a hand to your chest, trying to stop your heart from beating a thousand miles a minute. You told yourself to breathe until you were able to do it automatically again.
You were fine. They hadn't emerged yet, and they weren't going to hurt you. As long as you didn't give them a reason to, you reminded yourself.
What that meant, you had no clue. And you sure as hell had no intention of finding out.
author's note: oh my gosh that was a lot of exposition, sorry!! ik people are here for armand and daniel, and i apologize for their absence except near the end :'( i really wanted reader's headspace to be established before i go straight into the relationship they kindle with armand and daniel!! also, twd is a really good show!! thank you so much for reading, i'll see you in chapter 2!!
a little sneak peak for chapter 1 of nothing you take from me was ever worth keeping!!! will post later today around 7 (hopefully!) and i am currently writing chapter 2!! can't wait for ya'll to read it!
nothing you can take from me was ever worth keeping masterlist: a twd/apocalypse au! crossover with iwtv
summary: when a supernatural species threatens humanity, there are two groups of people: hiders and fighters. you were a hider, but now, with two strange men offering to protect you, there's really no choice other than to let them.
chapter 1: can't take my charm
chapter 2: can't take my humor
chapter 3: can't take my wealth (cause it's just a rumor)
omg im head over heels for your most recent fic with devilsminion. I love that you make both Daniel and Armand freaks when you write them because they are in fact freak4freak at their core and adding another person to the mix would only make them worse - i know this to be true like I know the sun will rise in the morning lmao.
No but so seriously I loved the way you wrote both of them teasing the reader and doting on them in equal measure and the way that they continue to plan and scheme behind readers back and AHHH THE IMPLICATION OF THEM KNOWING FOR SO LONG BEFORE READER THAT THEYRE GOING TO BE TURNED!!! IM BITING THE BARS OF MY ENCLOSURE!!!
Happy late birthday!! And thank you so much for sharing your "self indulgent" fic because it was so much fun to read 💜💜
:’3 this is literally the sweetest message i could have ever gotten in regards to one of my fics, thank you so much!!!!!
“I love that you make both Daniel and Armand freaks when you write” LMFAO thank you, i try really hard to capture their sheer insanity and i’m glad i managed to do that in a way that was entertaining to read!!!
“i know this to be true like I know the sun will rise in the morning lmao.” THIS SENTENCE MADE ME GIGGLE OUT LOUD IM SO SERIOUS😭
“I loved the way you wrote both of them teasing the reader and doting on them in equal measure and the way that they continue to plan and scheme behind readers back” EEE THIS RIGHT HERE!! writing both Armand and daniel as evil bfs, as people who are both inhumanly evil and also really sweet sometimes is my favorite pastime :) if they aren’t planning some bs then those are imposters, they are both messyyy (kinda tempted to write a dark!fic about them turning the reader nonconsenually, but i’m terrified of possibly triggering someone/myself so..perhaps not LMAO)
“Happy late birthday!! And thank you so much for sharing your "self indulgent" fic because it was so much fun to read 💜💜” aw thank you so much anon, you’re too kind :D like my intro post said, i mostly write for myself, so seeing the likes/comments/reblogs i get from my fics means the absolute world to me!! and getting sweet comments like this really helps motivate me to continue writing!! again, i really appreciate this message and will be looking at it the next time i doubt myself!!!!
Thank you for standing by my family. I know I keep asking, but your support is what keeps us alive, especially after the recent bombing that injured us all. Our sole focus right now is saving my brother Samer. Securing his vital medications and evacuating him for treatment is our only hope. Please share our story and encourage others to donate. @hazemsuhail
Once again, this is someone who is in need of aid!! Please, please spread the word to those who can help!!
