#commonmonsters

[skippingframes]

@commonmonsters SAID: eleanora kisses hana in a club.

the club pulsed like a secret beneath the city, hidden behind a door mortals walked past without ever noticing. inside, bodies moved beneath red light and drifting smoke, all fangs and ancient hunger dressed in silk, leather, velvet, and lace. hana had never cared much for places like this; too many beautiful predators pretending they were more civilized than the blood on their tongues, too many old names and older grudges lingering beneath pretty smiles. but eleanora enjoyed the spectacle, the decadence, the little theatre of it all, and hana had learned she enjoyed nearly anything when the blonde was beside her. that realization should’ve unnerved her more than it did. because that was the dangerous part, wasn’t it? not the vampires crowded around them, or the music vibrating through the floor, or the countless eyes that turned their way because eleanora was difficult not to look at. the dangerous part was how easily hana had begun making room for her. days that once belonged only to silence and work now bent around eleanora’s presence. quiet mornings, shared baths, and paint drying while the blonde spoke from the other side of the room, the dramatic tilt of her head and pout when she wanted hana’s attention. centuries had taught hana to survive by wanting very little, by keeping attachment at a distance where it couldn’t sink its teeth in. then eleanora had come along and made wanting feel less like weakness and more like being alive. when eleanora caught her by the front of her shirt and kissed her in the middle of the dance floor, hana forgot the crowd entirely. her hands found the blonde’s waist as if they belonged there, fingers tightening as her mouth parted beneath the kiss and a faint, unwilling sound escaped her. it still startled her, how quickly eleanora could undo her composure and easily turn hana from ancient thing to aching woman with one well-placed touch. hana’s dark eyes opened only after the kiss lingered too long to be polite, dark gaze fixed on her lover’s face, amused and helplessly fond. “you’re impossible,” she murmured, though she made no attempt to let go. instead, she drew the woman a little closer, as if the rest of the room had no right to her at all.

[loudbarks]

@commonmonsters SAID: ardan kisses frankie in the ocean.

frankie had warned ardan the place was secret for a reason. the path down to the water had been half-hidden by stone and tangled greenery, the tide tucked away beneath a narrow strip of moonlight where no tourists, fishermen, or drunk late-night wanderers ever seemed to find it. she’d looked almost nervous before she dove in, which was ridiculous given everything she was (given everything he was) but the ocean swallowed her up before she could take it back. dor a few seconds, there was only black water and silver ripples. then the surface broke around them like the sea itself had decided to show off. she was different in the water. not less frankie by any means, but more. their red hair clung wet to their shoulders, their skin catching bits of moonlight, and beneath the surface, their tail moved in long, iridescent sweeps of color — blue, green, gold, and violet, all shifting like watercolor spilled into saltwater. her eyes had gone fully strange and stunning, too wide and too bright to ever pass for human, colors blooming through them like tide pools under sunlight. when they smiled up at him from below the dock, sharp fangs slipped into view, and for once, they didn’t try to hide them. maybe that was the terrifying part. maybe it was the thrill of being seen and not immediately regretting it. frankie swam closer and lifted herself up to the edge of the little dock, arms folding over the worn wood as water streamed off her. they barely had time to say anything before ardan leaned down and kissed them, and the surprise of it made them go still for half a heartbeat before they melted right into him, kissing him back with a delighted little sound. when she pulled away, she was grinning so wide it made her fangs show again, giddy and proud and a little breathless despite not needing the air the same way he did. their tail flicked beneath the water, sending a splash against the dock. “so?” she asked, tilting her chin up at him like she was pretending not to care, even though her eyes gave her away completely. “what do you think?”

[baggageclam]

Just head outside. Nothing to worry about. #commonmonsters

[skippingframes]

CLOSED for @commonmonsters

hana had lived long enough to know that praise was often the most elegant form of ignorance. all evening, strangers in black silk and expensive shoes drifted through her gallery with flutes of champagne in hand, tilting their heads at her work as if angle alone might grant them understanding. they called it haunting. exquisite. one man with a silver watch and too-white teeth told her he could really feel the femininity of the violence, and hana had only smiled, because killing him in front of the installation would’ve been considered poor etiquette. none of them saw the women hidden in the negative space. none of them understood the gold leaf was NOT decoration, but burial. they looked at centuries of hunger and grief and called it striking. by the time the third curator attempted to explain her own use of vermilion back to her, hana had slipped away from the orbit of admirers with the practiced grace of a woman who had been escaping rooms for eight hundred years. san francisco glittered beyond the glass in all its fog and electric arrogance, the city reflected in the dark sweep of her eyes as she crossed toward the bar tucked near the side wall. she accepted a drink without asking what it was, lifted it to her mouth, and let the burn sit on her tongue while the crowd murmured behind her like insects in a garden. humans had become very good at pretending depth. they wore it in tailored jackets, posted it under flattering light, purchased it when they couldn’t CULTIVATE it. hana glanced back at them over the rim of her glass, bored and beautiful and terribly awake.

[loudbarks]

CLOSED for @commonmonsters

the ocean had been calling to frankie all night, dark water licking at the pilings beneath the bar like it remembered her name. maybe it did. maybe that was the problem. they sat beside ardan with one thigh crossed over the other, vodka cranberry balanced between their fingers, pretending the salt in the air didn’t make their teeth ache with old hunger. it’d been so long since she’d done this. too long, probably. there’d been centuries where luring men had felt like breathing: a look, a laugh, and a song slipped under the skin until they followed the siren anywhere they asked. she used to hate herself for how easy it was. now, with a demon beside her and the sea waiting outside, frankie found herself missing the simplicity of it. want. follow. ruin. the man at the other end of the bar had been staring for ten minutes before he sent the drink over. frankie glanced toward it, then toward him, red hair spilling over one shoulder as their mouth curved. poor thing. he thought he was being bold. she accepted the glass with a lifted brow, letting her fingers skim the rim before she stood. “don’t look so pleased with yourself,” they murmured to ardan, though there was a wicked little spark in their eyes. “i’m working.” then she crossed the room like she had all the time in the world, easing into the empty space beside the man with the kind of smile that made men forget they’d ever been warned about beautiful women. they touched his arm when they laughed. leaned in when he spoke. let him think every look was earned, every little tilt of her head meant he was special. frankie knew exactly how to turn attention into devotion. they’d been made for it, cursed for it, and perfected by it. by the time she asked if he wanted to get out of there, he looked like he would’ve walked into traffic if she’d led him there. frankie only smiled, pleased and sweet as sin, and slipped their hand into his. “c’mon, baby,” she said, tugging him toward the door with a warmth that never reached her eyes. as they passed the bar, they looked back at ardan over their shoulder, gaze bright with invitation and challenge all at once. follow. outside, the night opened around them, all salt air and moonlit pavement, the ocean black and hungry beyond the railing. frankie turned toward the man again, backing him gently into the shadow near the building, one hand settling against his collar as she laughed at whatever nervous, stupid thing he said. “you’re cute,” they told him, voice dipping into that dangerous melody they hadn’t used in ages. “did anyone ever tell you that?” her eyes drifted past him, searching for ardan in the dark, and her smile sharpened. “i think you’re exactly what i wanted tonight.”

[nopartyinvitations]

closed starter for ayen ( @commonmonsters ) ──── ⋆☾･ﾟ

They’d been lying low in Aspen’s suspicion that there were Strigoi nearby. The town they passed through had ghost stories running rampant. Little did the residents know their spirits were bloodsuckers, perhaps even faces they might recognize. There weren’t explanations, at least not ones mortals would understand; they were never meant to. Aspen had been lucky enough to know some of her story, though it was limited. Her mother was a Moroi whom she never got the opportunity to meet. Whether the woman died or abandoned her family was information her father chose not to reveal. He didn’t even know the truth until much later, when his daughter appeared different than her peers and strangers appeared on their doorstep. Aspen was destined for more.

The blonde peeked through the blinds of their hotel room as part of her hourly check-in. Strigoi would be able to smell them right up to the door, which was why she’d done her best to hide every trace that might signal they had passed through. “You should try to get some sleep,” the Dhampir suggested, looking over her shoulder at the other female. “Trust me, if anything happens, I’ll wake you up.”

[peachfvzz]

@commonmonsters

"why didn't you ask me to be your date if you knew we were both invited to this thing, huh?" straight to the point, and zero hesitation. thank god the always confident nate possessed an infinite well of patience he was determined to spend on ayen. he eyed her from head to toe in a kind of shameless sort of admiration he didn't bother to hide. then, he took a tentative step closer into her space. "i'm a good plus one. my mom always says so." renata klein never had a single negative thing to say about her precious angel, which had to carry at least some merit, right? ayen just had to take it into account, add it to the already humongous list of reasons why she should fully let nate infiltrate her life. "c'mon..." he murmured, his shoulder nudging against her side as his trademark charming yet effortless grin took over his face, and his bright blue eyes locked entirely onto hers. nate's devastating good looks had to be at the top of the list, surely. "i've seen the way you look at me."

[peachfvzz]

@commonmonsters

she still remembered the last time she'd seen eleanora. the lingering, dallying touches that had left charlie's head spinning, dizzy and drunk. but it had ended too soon. too fast. all charlie's fault, obviously.

fear was a constant in her life, even back then. and with the suffocating threat of knowing gabriel was waiting for her at home, charlie had practically run away the second eleanora allowed her to breathe.

then everything happened.

years went by, dragging charlie through the mud until she became a whole other person. a fragile thing with frazzled nerves, too far removed from the girl eleanora once knew. but one thing hadn't changed. once charlie had the chance to gaze at the other again, she came to find out her heart still fluttered the same way.

"you..." a beat. her voice was barely a rasp, as if it was trapped in her throat. "you haven't changed a thing."