irresistible / UNSTOPPABLE

it is incredibly difficult trying to maintain composure with ezra's blood covering her. and seeing the stab wound oozing it , she's left gagging and trying to keep from puking right there and then. " i compelled you to clean your mess ! not for anything malicious ! you've shoved me into the trunk of my own car , defaced my white board and left a scratch running from tail to hood of my challenger ! " chokes out from around a nearly lost , dry heave. " would you please , move onto the tile. your blood is getting everywhere and will take hours to get out of the rug. " she isn't heartless and does feel guilty for unintentionally sticking a knife into his shoulder , but bitching about stains at least distracts her enough to compose herself.

" murdered ? " that does make her heart squeeze painfully , even if she hates him. jules had suffered a similar fate . . . only he hadn't been granted with a bite to bring him back. " well , by who ? i mean . . . not to be rude , but why give you a second chance of life. supernatural or not. why couldn't they have just left you be ? what made you so special and not my brother ? it isn't fair. "

"everything i did to you, i did to you man to man," he snaps, scowling. "no funny business. just brute force and duct tape. you didn't tie me down and make me promise to wash up, you went and pissed all over my free will. don't act like you're the better person here." as far as morality goes, ezra has no high ground to stand on. hell, even sea level is too far up for him. the bottom of the deepest ocean trench is where he shouts up from—thankfully, moral grounds aren't the literal sort. otherwise nobody would ever hear his nonsense. "and shut up about the bloody carpet. you're the one who stabbed me. all i did was threaten." he glares bright red daggers right into analyn's soul. "i got murdered when he changed me. it's part of the bloody process! and you know what? i wish he'd broke my neck and left me there!" this is no time to hear about her stupid fucking brother, either. why does everything always have to tumble down on him at once? "but he didn't." this time when he speaks, his voice is lower, exhausted. "and now you have to deal with me while i figure this out. so if you don't mind, i'm going to go stitch myself up. and you," his eyes narrow into thin slits, venom creeping into his tone; "are going to clean up your mess."

to her credit , she fights to regain some upper hand. not that there's any to be gained any more ━━ she's ridiculously fatigued , which is made obvious , as her arms finally give out on her ━━ falling like jelly to her sides. there's only the sounds of her trying to regain her breathing , until analyn's speaking up. ' get off , already ! no more magic ! no more . . . vampire trickery ! just . . . explain , darn it ! pushing me around when you were human just wasn't enough fun , you had to come and kick someone while they're down ? you're so awful , ezra. ' everything is huffed out with a coating of agitation , as she tries to sit herself up. eyes still narrowed in distrust , while doing do.

frustrated, ezra manages to let her go. it's not as easy as she would like to believe, holding something warm and weak and squirming in his arms, so close to his fangs, and just letting it slip between his fingers. but all the most noble sacrifices go unrecognized, so he only silently adds it to his tally of moments where he's chosen to save her life. even if it is just from himself. "i wouldn't have had to tell you anything if you'd just bloody leave me be," he snaps, picking himself up off the floor. ugh, there's still blood everywhere. his blood. still leaking. he's going to have to stitch it until he can grab a bite. "but no, you just had to go and get in my head. calling me awful. at least i never compelled you to do anything." snagging a dish towel, he puts pressure on his shoulder wound. it won't actually heal—his blood, all stolen, doesn't clot—but it's better than dripping all over everything. "call me whatever you like. at least you're still breathing. you have no idea what it was like—i was murdered."

her voices of logic and reason are both screaming about how foolish this all was. the kitchen not being tidy enough to her standards is what started the entire ordeal , and here they are actively destroying it. which also fuels her to tighten the grip around his throat , taking great joy in seeing him squirm around like a worm. so much so , that ezra's voice doesn't quite reach her. what does , is the sudden morph of his features. serving to break every ounce of concentration she's got.

" you aren't human , anymore ?! you've been lying ━━ " everything else analyn's trying to say is violently cut off as she's yet again , being manhandled. even as she continues tussling with him , the pieces all begin to fall neatly into a picture. a very obvious one.

in a last ditch attempt , she tries shoving ezra off of her. " when were you turned ?! who even turned you !? " breathes out between each forceful push to his body , strength slowly leaving her arms in the process. it's the most magic she's used in a while and it's beginning to take a toll , leaving her weaker than usual. " why didn't you say anything about this ? i would've been understanding , had you have been honest ! "

there's really only one drawback to his plan—now that she knows, she's subjecting him to all the same questions he's trying to avoid. it's bad enough that it's come to this... can she really not recognize that there's a time and place for questions? and that, quite frankly, this is about the last time he would choose? just end it, the leak insists. analyn is weakening, that's clear from her feeble attempts to shove him off her again. it's not enough to stop him, anymore. grinding his teeth together, ezra pulls her into an iron grip against him, hoping to stop her from squirming. if she would just stop squirming... maybe he can still salvage this. "analyn," he growls, fighting hard to keep his grip around her, wrestling one hand around her open throat. "for the love of—stop struggling and i'll bloody explain!"

the sight of him bleeding out , has her doubling over and trying to fight down the urge to hurl. though being taken down does serve as a great distraction. she hits the ground with an oomphh and starts thrashing around violently , as ezra holds the knife over her. " ew ━━ your bleeding all over me , get the hell off ! don't stab me with your blood covering it , who knows if we're even compatible ! " nonsense dribbles from analyn as she panics beneath the weight of him.

overcome with fight or flight , she surrounds him within a case of her magic ━━ giving a forceful shove , she flings him back towards the kitchen. finally relieved of the pressure of him , she rolls over onto her front. wheezing for air as she does. " no , it's you who doesn't know when. you shouldn't have come here ! none of this would be happening if you would have just left me alone ! " adrenaline pumping through her now , she propels herself after him. in a twist of pure vengeance ━━ she coils a line of energy around ezra's throat.

" i'm sick of you throwing threats around at me. you're finished treating me like a hostage , in my own house. we're settling this for good. "

she's a little fiestier than ezra's been counting on, but he reasons with himself that it's perfectly alright. well, for him. it just means he needs to make his point more clear—and now that he knows she'll flounder when the time comes to land a real blow, his confidence has only grown. and still the darkness drips. wouldn't it just be easier to snap her neck? watch her writhe on the ground, twisting like a hooked fish, desperate for all the pain to stop? hesitation costs him. before he can do anything—fatal or otherwise—analyn's spell rockets him backwards into the kitchen and right into the island. crash! oh, now who's making a mess of things? dusted in drywall, ezra leaps to his feet with a gritted jaw—just in time for her to come and snag him by the throat. did witches ever fight fair? the irony of the question is, of course, lost on him. he squirms and fights against the noose around his neck, but realizes quickly that this isn't going to work. he can't just wiggle his way out. he needs to distract her. "analyn," he hisses, eyes glowing a bright, lurid red—so much for secrets!—and fangs sliding from their place tucked in his gums; "you have no idea what you're dealing with right now." hoping to startle her out of focus, he lunges forward with every ounce of strength he has.

#c ;; analyn #so true!

having clearly forgotten about her magic being on the fritz , she's far too indulgent on continuing to keep ezra running around as her little minion. so much so , that she doesn't feel the break of her hex. not in time at least , as her unwelcome guest now has one of her own knifes , pressed to her throat. " oh my god ━━ what the hell is your issue !? " his hand on her shoulder prevents her from scrambling back. analyn's breathing hitches just as frightfully as her eyes widen , heart racing wildly. she's vaguely aware that she's shaking , brought back down only from the sharp prick of the knife , breaking skin.

as he continues on , the fear slowly bleeds out. in exchange for rage of her own. " whatever , " is ground out from her as he starts to inch backwards. she doesn't need her magic to be at it's strongest , not to deal with him. he is only human ( as far as she knows ) after all , and they could be such fragile creatures. the moment ezra turns to stalk back towards the kitchen , analyn seizes knife from his hand with ease. letting it hover menacingly mere inches , from his face. " we've got more straightening out to do , actually. let me be the generous one. i'm giving you once last chance to leave on your own. or i put you out , myself. " peace being officially broken , she means to only light a fire under him. in the form of putting the knife into the wall behind him. only for it to end up in his shoulder.

" oh my god ! i didn't mean to ━━ well don't touch it ! leave it be , ezra ! you'll bleed all over my carpet ! " it's quite the change in demeanor from just minutes ago , as she's flailing around anxiously. " kitchen ━━ move to the kitchen , to the tile ! did i hit an artery !? have i killed you ?! "

the next few moments are more of a blur than anything else. he makes his point, he starts to withdraw his troops and... she decides to send out some of her own? hadn't he just established that magic wasn't going to solve this issue? the issue, of course, being himself. "you know something, lyn?" he starts, unafraid in the face of her supposed turntables. even if he had been mortal... what, did she think he had never been stabbed, before? now he could just ignore it. "you are making it really, really hard not to be a killer." but before he can lunge forward for a part two of her throat against his bare hands, the knife is lodged into his shoulder and she's flailing about like she's the one who's been shanked and not him. some people are just impossible! "oh, shut up," he snaps, pulling it free from his shoulder and waving it in her direction, ignoring the gouts of blood gushing from the wound. she's certainly hit an artery, but killing him would take more than a stray blade. "i'm tired of your nagging. you," he emphasizes with all his breath, puffed up like an alley cat and twice as likely to claw her eyes out; "are not," this time he does lunge forward, inelegantly ( but efficiently ) tackling her to the floor; "the one," the knife is lifted and in true slasher fashion, pointed down toward her face; "in control." but who is ezra really talking to? her, or himself? the leak he's sprung doesn't stop, shadow itself still pooling in his chest. he's so cold. and so hungry. and her heart is so loud in his ears. "you just don't know when to stop, do you?"

her brow twitches with the slightest hint of irritation , but chooses not to voice it aloud. in favor of enjoying getting to properly boss ezra around. which he still has yet to pick up on , at that. " all the time , hm ? and you just march to the beat of your drum , is that right ? nothing and no one can sway you otherwise ? " she gives him a curious while reaching to sip her tea. " oh ! you know what , i forgot to tell you grab honey. be a dear and fetch it for me. "

"nothing," he confirms, perfectly relaxed even as he starts to pull himself up from the couch; "and no one." all of a sudden, it was like the haze of obliviousness had cleared and the scales had fallen from his eyes—and now awareness takes hold. of what he had been doing, about what had happened... what she had done. outwardly, he keeps himself from letting on that he had recognized her mistake, listening silently to her gloating on his way to the kitchen. it isn't honey he takes, but a clean knife from the block. ezra stalks forward on calm, even feet—as long as he can reach her before she realizes her blunder, he can set things right. the instant he does, an arm slips around and the edge of his blade pinches into her neck. "you must think of me like... some sort of nuisance, am i right?" he asks, even and slow, free hand firm against her shoulder, pressing to keep her from leaping up and making a terrible mess of things. he should do that honor. "so let's get things straight, shall we? you and me." darkness starts to drip in from the back of his mind, coiled like a snake around his shoulders. he's so, so far beyond anger now. in fact, he's excited. it's exciting to be pushed right to the brink of murder—she's practically begging for it! "you are not graciously opening your home to me. i am taking the space that i need. you are the hostage that i am taking while i get my feet back on the ground. but you know what, lyn? i don't need a hostage." he lets the blade pinch deeper, just enough to draw out a hint of scarlet. a little more and he could... "so because i'm so generous, i'm going to give you a warning here. don't ever get in my head again."

" you're absolutely right. suppose it's just the control freak in me , that demands everything meet my level of standard. taking that out on you isn't fair in the slightest. oh , and the broom and dustpan can be tucked back into the laundry room. no need to clutter the kitchen. " call it a power trip but she'd earned this ! an unwanted and long term house guest is difficult enough to deal with , let alone a messy one.

"poor control freak you make. can't even get your pets to do what you want, let alone me," he snorts, rolling his eyes... and comes back around to fetch the broom and tuck it back into the laundry room. when he finishes, he sets her tea on the coffee table and drops on the couch beside her. "you really should try and be more like me, you know. people do what i want all the time."

finally a success ! weeks of having to put up with his fuckery and she's now the one with the upper hand ! containing herself from being too smug just yet , analyn offers simply a shrug. " well you know what they say about keeping your expectations high ━━ sorry to disappoint , i guess. " she steps curtly to the side as ezra makes his way towards the living room , still seemingly unaware of his hexing. " oh and not to overwhelm you , but you'll need to hand wash all of those dishes you've tucked into the machine. as well as dry and polish all of them. " downright giddy , she makes herself cozy on the sofa and flicks on her latest television obsession. surely a little taste of karma would do ezra good , why not take full advantage. " i think i'd also like a cup of matcha , now that i think about it. go ahead and fix that up for me , would you. "

"of course i've got high expectations," he snorts, shaking his head—and continuing to sweep up the entrance to the patio. Once finished, he tucks the broom against the wall and narrowly avoids a lingering sunbeam coming in from the door. "if you think that would—" he sucks in an exasperated breath, but continues to follow instructions; "it's not about being overwhelmed, lyn. i've done my part. you're just being ridiculous."

#musings #ezra walking back into town like

dailyflicks

POOR THINGS 2023 | dir. Yorgos Lanthimos

how could she forget what had happened previously. seeing as it left her walking on eggshells for a solid week. but analyn's a strong believer of standing your ground ! and this time , she won't be freezing like a deer in headlights. " there won't be a repeat of last time. it's just be a real bummer that we couldn't do this peacefully. " focusing her magic on it's intent , she let's out her first string of commands. " take the broom and dustpan , ezra. you'll start from the patio door and sweep properly all around the house. and then you dust and polish the countertops. "

he stands there waiting for what's supposed to send them to blows, but it never comes. really? she thinks she can just politely insist his way into doing what she wants? "what, that's it?" he asks, thoroughly unimpressed—and seemingly oblivious to the way he's already stepped over to take the broom and dustban and is already partway to the patio door. he even starts sweeping ( properly! ) but all the while rolls his eyes at the idea that he would. "you're ridiculous, you know that?" he asks, shaking his head. "take the broom and dustpan, ezra," he mocks, voice pitched high. "i was really hoping for something better out of you."

her face scrunches in protest of his backhanded compliment , the urge to hex him with something nasty , far too overwhelming. " they're both domesticated !? which is both besides the point and also my point ━━ dusting is something to be done daily , since i've got chlorine and glitch. and seeing as the kitchen is an open concept , it's a high contact area. which means detailing is a must ! " the nickname serves to further infuriate her as she points towards aforementioned area. " do it again and correctly this time ━━ or else. "

ezra is already tuning out most of what he considers to be inane ranting. it's like she doesn't want the house to seem lived in. perfect cleanliness is impossible. so naturally, his own response to that plight is—why bother at all? "or else?" he asks, snapping back to attention just as easily as he had left it. "or else what, 'lyn? what are you going to do? throw your cat at me?" he picks himself up from his seat, making himself larger in much the same way a bear might when making a threat—and he is making a threat. "you don't want a repeat of what happened last time, do you? thought we'd been doing better on that."

" i understand that. what i'm saying is you'll be banished to strictly patio and the guest room , and have rights nowhere else. " she places glitch on his tower and let's chlorine out to the backyard , rounding back with both broom and dustpan. which are also shoved into ezra's empty palms. " and just look at my floor ! it's accumulated an entire week's worth of dust ! and i'm sure you haven't taken the swiffer to the kitchen since our talk. it's like talking to brick wall , ezra. you're like a kid refusing to do as their told. "

"you're almost cute, you know that? thinking you can keep me from going where i please." but there's an edge to his voice, too—his patience is thinning with her, too. she's such a nag! he doesn't even use the kitchen for anything but the occasional placating 'tea' and still, he is generous enough to shove everything in the dishwasher! not good enough, apparently. how ridiculous. "dust is what you get when you've got wild animals in your keep. 'sides, who dusts more than one in a while, anyway? you're just too particular for your own good, 'lyn."

" and enable your horrible cleaning habits ? absolutely not. put glitch on his perch and you do the chore correctly ━━ or get banished out onto the patio. " both towel and cleanser are dropped unceremoniously into his lap as she scoops up the ungrateful feline. " you're a nightmare of a housemate , if you hadn't pieced that together. it's insane that you've made this far in life with such pitiful cleaning skills ━━ and i fear for anyone that'd willingly welcome you into their space. "

"glitch," he says the name like it's an insult—to him, it is! what a horrid name for such a distinguished creature—opening his arms to drop the beast in question; "goes where he pleases." proving his point, the damn thing clings to him instead. it's not like he's choosing to get grease stains all over his clothing. "besides, i thought you'd gotten bored of trying to throw me out. haven't gotten the message yet, have you? i'm here of my accord and you're lucky i've chosen to help at all. i could leave you to all of it like i did before, you know."

" am i , ezra ━━ am i really annoying ? who's the one living rent free in my house and against my will , hm ? because i'm pretty sure that'd be you ━━ which would also imply that that's top tier riling behavior ! " it's shot back with a quickness as she matches his stare with her own , the urge to find the light in the tunnel , suddenly gone. as though it'd never been present to begin with. " don't stop there on my account , seeing that that's not the only thing you suck dry. you can add my joy , safe spaces and mental stability , all to that list of yours. struggle , is the only thing i bleed at this point is ! "

taking a moment , she wonders how they haven't ripped each other's heads off. clearly nothing had changed in their time apart from one another. they're just far too different , personality wise. " how are you so vulgar ? and that's so far from the point that i'm trying to make it , be so for real ! what i'm getting at , is that i'm being reasonable. that instead of giving you the worst possible chore options , i gave you the bare minimum. the least you could've done was thank me ━━ not attack me for it ! " pausing in their walk , she whirls to face him. fuming as she stands her ground. for too long she'd been walked over by him and she'd be damned , if it'd continue. especially under her own roof !

" absolutely not. this isn't your way or the high way , ezra. you don't get to make demands or set terms , you haven't got authority over me anymore. in my safe space , we hand wash and dry the dishes. then they get tucked neatly away into the dishwasher for easy access. you don't like it , then tough luck. " she points and tries to boldly jab a finger at his chest , down right refusing to let him win this. violent tendencies be damned ━━ analyn's going to be the one running the show.

fast forward to a couple of days later and she's inspecting the state of her kitchen , decked out with white gloves and all. swiping index finger along the expanse of the countertop , analyn brings it up to examine it's state. " there's still a thin layer of dust coating the top and there's a partial ring , from the mug you used for tea. unacceptable , sir. it's like you enjoy , hearing me gripe at you. "

#c ;; analyn #good thing im lazy

"i think you like hearing yourself gripe at me, to be frank," he says, shrugging noncommittally. really, if she doesn't like his contributions to the chore board, she's more than welcome to do them herself. ezra's working theory is that she'll do anything to get a rise out of him—almost like he's holding her house ransom, or something—but truthfully doesn't know the faintest thing that actually bugs him. it's starting to become a little amusing. "take a rag to it if you're not pleased with what i've done."

her eyes narrow with an itty bit of suspicion. there's just a hint of too much snark , in ezra's snappy retort. " awfully defense about that one , aren't we. and they don't take bites out of people. it's more so of a scrape and lick , kind of thing ━━ considering that they drink blood. that's literally lore 101. and you act like a vampire trying to deny being one. " now that right there , is a great example on her brother's influence flowing through her thought process. something straight out of his own brain. " i'm not asking to track your location or anything , just that we give little updates here and there. i've already unblocked your number , so long that it hasn't changed. surely , we can both be reasonable about this. "

even as he goes about his ruckus , analyn bites her cheek to keep her face straight , refusing to let ezra see her crack. and if she weren't already , she's fully convinced that he's the actual worst. being a dick must come naturally for him at this point , there isn't any other viable explanation. or it could be summed to him being some sort of succubus , that fed off of the misery inflicted onto others , as opposed to sex. both explanations checked out , honestly. though before she's got the opportunity to chew him out , he's already reeling himself back in ━━ and agreeing to given chore , of all things ! her mouth falls open in shock and then closes , the process repeating itself a couple of times. once she's managed to form a coherent sentence , analyn's sputtering it out.

" why wouldn't i be serious ? and don't look at me like that ! i'm being so reasonable here , and that's the thanks i get ? i could've been a prick and told you to do the litter box , or to dust and polish all of the shelves ! " apparently asking for even the bare minimum of ezra is far too much , considering he looks ready to choke her out again. " toss some things into the washer ? as in the my dishwasher ━━ are you actually crazy or what. that's for storing the clean and dry dishes , you heathen. " perhaps there was some truth to his earlier joke and they could never hope for a peaceful mutualism. " you're impossible , you know. don't forget that the door is always wide open. and that you're more than welcome to leave at any time. "

#c ;; analyn #ILL KILL YOU

for what feels like the fifth consecutive time, ezra rolls his eyes. if there's ever a moment for semantics, this isn't it. of course he knows it's more of a scrape and slurp! he's the one who has to do the bloody slurping! but he's not supposed to be a vampire; he's just supposed to be a terrible fucking person. "gods, you're annoying. you know that?" fixing her with a withering stare instead of offering any stupid counterargument to what he's certain she thinks is witty banter, he adds; "feels like i should take a bite out of you just for that, vampire or not." but he won't, and if she hasn't realized that by now... really, it's like she doesn't know anything about him at all. of course, who does? "but... i think i'll stick to sucking the life out of you, instead. blood's not really my thing. now, if you bled tea..." if annoyance had been counted in silver, he would have been rich. scratch that—they both would have been rich. the idea that there's any peace to be had between them has already come back around from rational to amusing—them, really? of all people? they're like oil and water. light and dark. there's nothing remotely compatible to get a foothold in. and still... she's the only option he has. "you could have told me to do the boxes, sure, but i would sooner have thrown the beasts outside to shit. you know, like reasonable creatures. don't know why you couldn't just get them a bloody sand pit in the yard." now who's fixating on the details? if only that's something they could latch onto, instead of... well, irritating each other with. it might be the one thing they actually do have in common, even. but that realization doesn't spark any glow of friendship in him, and he can't imagine it's any different with her. they might as well live on different planets. "look, you can have your psychotic view of the world if you'd like, but in my world, we use the dishwasher properly—to wash the bloody dishes. the cupboards are for the clean ones." it's truly like she picks and chooses her own lifestyle based on what will annoy him most. anyone else, and he would find it impressive... just... does it have to be him she's infuriating? "'course, if you don't like how i'll do it... feel free to take the duty on for yourself. gods know i won't be complaining about kicking my feet up."

ofconnell

Don't you get it, Will? No. He doesn't. The gods know that what Will might have made up for in heart, he would have lost in his brains, but Ezra shocks him right back into place. He feels his mouth in waves and torrents, kisses falling over him like dead leaves before the wintertime. He doesn't let go of his buttons, of course, shocked by the turn of events as he feels lips on him, cold and enticing all the same. His kiss, like everything else about him, feels hungry. Will is simply caught in the undertow of emotion, letting everything ride out in a pleasurable wave.

His tongue drags, his lips touch his jaw as it sends shivers down his spine. The hollow of his throat feels exposed, as if he could take a second bite—and if he did, Will wonders if Ezra would have stopped. It doesn't matter, since as soon as that thought crosses his mind, the fangs are flashed and suddenly, he's left holding nothing, wrenched from his grip like the last toy at the shop. Will can only blink, as he's been told that the blood—oh right, he's got blood on him now, silly him, is coating his face. A woefully applied rouge that coats him crimson.

"I—of course!" He divests himself of his clothes, the shirt first, ruined by blood and his trousers. It's not a show. But it's not... not a show. He's naked, and he walks in, only the curtain separating them for a moment. "And I mean. Someone's got to get your back, right? I—" He forces his eyes to stay on Ezra's face, as he somehow realizes a minute after ridding himself of his garments that he's actually naked in front of him. "Ah. Fuck. Well," he says, walking into the all-too cramped shower. "Inside then. Let's get that blood off us, yeah?"