Among Japanese otaku, the phrase "See your hallucinations early on" is often used.
Right now I'm dying to read the official IBVS story, but I know once I start I probably won't be able to stop. So for now, I'm warming up by drawing the idols I'm used to sketching. (I'm just scared of falling even more for them, lol) This is bad—I keep thinking about them all the time, just like when I was in love. My heart's pounding and it hurts, but it's fun.
Ah, my study abroad in Korea ends the day after tomorrow...🥲 I wish they'd come study in Japan. Thinking that, I somehow finished this weird drawing. I want them to wear Japanese high school uniforms just once...👉👈
AU of es!IBVS (does that make it an AU of an AU or some kind of sub-AU) where Drew is a changeling but just doesn’t know. Whatever instinctual thing that’s supposed to tell a fae that “hey you’re supposed to be a magical fairy guy” just kinda skipped out on him and so he thinks he’s a completely normal child and that everyone just acts weird around him.
-
(Isaac and Drew’s PE classes are at the same time and at one point they’re both just walking around the track because a lot of the time PE teachers can’t be bothered to actually make sure the students are running. Drew gets bored and starts humming and Isaac with Extra Cool Vampire Hearing™ hears it and is like)
Isaac: “Wow that’s a great song, it’s so pretty.”
Drew: “Oh, I didn’t even know you could hear it.”
Isaac: “I have very good hearing. Can you keep humming the song?”
Drew: “Uh sure I guess..” *continues humming*
Drew, after a while: “Are you okay? You look kinda tired.”
Drew: “Actually I don’t think I will. You should go to the nurse.”
Isaac: “Okay.” *immediately starts walking towards the school building without even asking his teacher if he could visit the nurse*
Drew: “Yeah okay I’m gonna follow him.”
(At the nurse's office)
Nurse: "I can't figure out what the problem is, give me a second." *leaves*
Some kid at the nurse's office, probably James or Harley or Niki or something: "Not gonna lie I think he's just become a simp."
Drew: "He's literally dating my brother."
Other kid: "Your poor brother."
Isaac: "If you'd like I could break-"
Drew: "NONONonono how about you just go get some rest?"
Isaac: "Okay." *immediately passes out*
Drew: "what the heck"
Other kid: "I diagnose him with simp."
-
(Chris and Drew eating lunch at the same table)
Drew: *doesn't eat an apple or a cookie or something*
Chris: "Can I have that?"
Drew: "oh okay sure here you go"
(Later)
Drew: *hidden in a janitor closet* *on phone* "Nevin help I don't know what I did but Chris has been following me around like a lost puppy since lunch and I don't know what to do. It's like what happened with Isaac but worse somehow."
-
(Drew saves a stranger from getting hit by a car)
Drew: "May I have your name?"
Autumn: "As long as you give it back, haha. But yeah, my name's Autumn."
Drew: "That's a nice name."
Drew: "Do I actually have to give it back?"
The stranger: "Preferably, yeah."
-
Drew: “And not to even mention the time I was just sitting down in the forest and a ring of mushrooms started to grow around me! Or how I remember every time Nevin ever thanked me for a gift and not paid me back. And I keep seeing people just walk into places but I can’t seem to go anywhere unless I’m invited, which I thought was just me being polite but then Nevin became a vampire and has to deal with the same thing so I’m just now noticing it’s weird.”
Barry: “Uh, I think this is more of an Error specialty than a therapist specialty.”
Edward: *opens door* “Did someone say Error?”
Drew: “See? Like that! I can’t do that! I had to ask if I could come in.”
Edward: “WAIT DID DREW ALSO GET VAMPIRE-IFIED?”
Drew: “I dunno! Did I?”
Barry: “Drew, how about you tell Ed about how earlier you asked Autumn for her name and had to actually give it back?”
Drew: “I still think they were just joking around, I don’t see the big deal.”
Edward: “...”
Edward: “Drew what are your allergies?”
Drew: “Why are you asking the ‘what supernatural being are you’ question”
Edward: “Just, uh, what are they?”
Drew: “Well there’s iron, salt, something about the incense churches use makes me feel queasy...”
Edward: “Yeah okay you’re a changeling.”
Drew: *gasp* “Like from My Little Pony?!”
Edward: “Uh, no. I mean like, your parents probably pissed off some fae and out of spite the fae stole the actual Drew and you’re just a magical copy. Either that or some fae just wanted their child to be raised by humans because they thought it was cool, that’s sometimes also the reason. Either way you’re not the original Drew Jovel.”
Drew: “I-”
Drew: “...”
Drew: *on the brink of tears* “what?”
-
-
as always, ibvs is made by onebizarrekai, go check it out on ao3
so since i've been in this fandom for like 2 years at this point and haven't written anything at all for es!ibvs, i've decided to fix that. i remembered that sometime late last year ky mentioned something about vampire bites being very addictive and if a vampire fed on someone for too long the person would go crazy, so i took that and ran with it.
warnings for implied addiction and mentions of blood and drugs
ibvs/es!ibvs belongs to @onebizarrekai
~~~~~~~~~
His brother, Nevin, was a vampire.
One would think that was bad.
He was the main feeding source for him. Bite marks littered his shoulders and neck.
People would definitely think that was bad.
But it was good, at least in Drew’s eyes.
Drew didn’t know why, let alone how, but… the bites, they felt good. The second his brother’s teeth pierced his skin, he felt amazing. A wave of pure and unadulterated euphoria washed over him, consuming every single inch of his body. He felt light, floaty, as if he were made of air. Was this what taking drugs felt like, Drew had wondered the first few times. But he didn’t care.
Who needed drugs when he had vampire bites, after all?
Drew didn’t. He knew he didn’t. He had Nevin to bite him. Sometimes Isaac, if he happened to be hungry when the two of them were hanging out. Drew didn’t care which one bit him, as long as it was a vampire.
Were there other vampires at Foxfield? Drew just couldn’t help but wonder. Maybe he could try to find some. Befriend them. Gain enough trust so they could bite him, bite him everywhere.
After all, the more vampires he knew, the more vampires that would bite him, feed on him, make him feel good.
*****
“Are you hungry?”
Nevin glanced at Drew, who was scratching at his arms, his fingernails digging deep into the skin. He was indeed hungry, since he had missed lunch, but he was having doubts this time.
“Well, yes, but… I don’t think I should be feeding off of you so much. I just—”
Drew grabbed his brother’s arm, gripping it tightly, surprising Nevin. He glanced up at his brother, who had a look in his eyes that he couldn’t quite place.
“Come on, Nevin, you really shouldn’t let yourself go hungry,” Drew said, an odd tone in his voice. “Is something wrong?”
What was that emotion coming off of his brother? He couldn’t place it, he’d never felt it off of anybody before, especially Drew. It was unnatural.
But he shouldn’t pressure him, should he?
“No,” he lied. “Just Edward again. I’ll talk about it later.”
Drew shrugged off his jacket, moving onto Nevin’s lap. The vampire gripped his shoulders and bit on the neck hard, beginning to suck. He felt Drew relax as he did so, the unfamiliar feeling he’d felt at first fade away.
As usual, he only took what he needed, nothing more. He didn’t want to hurt Drew after all, that was the last thing he wanted.
“Done?” Drew gasped slightly as Nevin pulled his teeth out of his neck. That was understandable, vampires taking their teeth out of human’s skin always felt strange. With a nod, Drew stood up, saying something about going to do some homework for a class before heading upstairs.
“You… You have magic, grandma?” Nevin asks, his eyes huge. Drew looks just as confused as he feels. He’d thought that he had to hide his new nature from both his grandma and Drew in order to protect them - he didn’t want any of this supernatural crap causing them problems as it had for him… But apparently grandma had magic… And a lot of it, if the silent, amazed and/or slightly terrified staring that his boyfriends were doing was any indication.
“Yes, moonlight.” She said with a fond smile, chuckling a little bit as she walked over and gently ruffled his hair “I had originally planned on telling the two of you about the magic that you two possess and what it all means on your sixteenth birthday - as your powers would have fully awakened then, but… You were bitten by a vampire, and I have been trying to figure out how to speak to you both about that for months without you fleeing. This whole body-swap thing was quite helpful in that, although I do not know who cursed you.”
“Uhm… Nev’s been what?!” Drew spluttered, his eyes widening in worry as he runs over to his twin brother, hugging the other tightly “Does that mean that you need to drink blood? I’m guessing that’s why you suddenly only drink lunch from that mysterious stainless steel thermos of yours.”
“I… Yeah. I just… I didn’t want you to worry, and we’re not supposed to talk about this stuff to normal humans and I… I wanted to protect you.” Nevin admitted quietly.
Drew scowled a little and huffed at that - he hated that answer. But he also understood that Secrets were important “Fine… You know I would have helped you, if I’d have known about this earlier, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Nevin sighed, a small smile appearing on his face. He felt better, now that the secret that he’d been keeping from his family was out in the open. He felt… Lighter and calmer. “So what’s this about magic? I’m completely comfortable about talking about these things in front of Ed and Isaac - unless it’s some sort of family secret that must not be revealed to others sort of thing, even to other magical beings?”
“If you truly do trust them, you may tell them later. But, I would rather tell the two of you of your birthright and what that means privately. It will make more sense once I have explained all that I can.” His grandma responded with a gentle, but firm smile “Besides, those two should probably head home and reassure their families that they are themselves again. The fighting between werewolf packs and vampire clans haven’t been bloody in decade, but still…. Old hurts and suspicions still linger, though it does warm my heart to see young ones like the three of you loving and caring for one another without reservation or fear.”
Edward and Isaac both blushed at that and nodded. Isaac is the first to speak up “Alright, Mrs. Jovel. We’ll go. See you later, Nev!” The two of them got up and left the Jovels’ place, heading to their respective homes, very curious about what they’d just discovered about their boyfriend’s family,
~
“Please sit down both of you, this is going to be a long conversation - but a good one, or so I hope.” Their grandma encourages the two teens. Drew settles down on the couch next to his brother, and the two of them lean into one another a little. She smiled a bit at that, clearing her throat, before saying “First thing’s first - if asked by other magical beings, I and other members of our clan generally either pretend to be unknown humans, or if we were seen using magic, claim to be either mages or witches. That is a lie, but one that has been very helpful in keeping us safe, and not being bothered or hunted by those who would terrorize us into submission, or kill us as our powers offend them.”
Nevin and Drew both tensed at that, pressing a little bit closer to one another, and Nevin’s eyes narrowed a little, as a low growl rumbled in his chest. Like hell was he going to let anyone hurt his brother.
“I am glad that the two of you understand the seriousness of this. Now, we are not mages nor are we witches. We are emotion elementals.” Their grandmother explains, confusing both of them “We have human-like forms, as it is easiest to blend in with such forms, and our spirits are far less prone to being captured and either sealed into various objects or gemstones to power certain kinds of weapons or defensive structures, when we inhabit a physical form. Twins are extremely rare and… I am sorry for the pressure that your mother put on the both of you when you were younger. As soon as I found out that the two of you were twins and what was going on, I took the two of you away from most of our clan.” She paused for a couple of moments, a sorrowful look on her face.
Drew shifted a little and asked quietly “Why… Why did they seem to expect so much out of the two of us? I mean, we weren’t the oldest nor the youngest of us and our cousins… So why did we… Were we watched so closely?” and why was Nevin in particular focused so intensely on, scrutinized and scolded for every perceived thing that he did wrong - whether he did it or not. Among other things.
“Because… You two may be the reincarnations of the leaders of our clan. They were a pair of twins as well. The two of you share have the potential to share quite a few of their powers. Their names were Nightmare and Dream Nightmare fell into the darker side of his powers and caused a great deal of chaos and suffering, though he was doing what he thought was best to protect everyone... Eventually Dream and he ended up in a climactic battle that ended up killing the both of them.” Their grandmother explained with a quiet sigh.
“... Don’t your friends and sometimes your boyfriends call you Nightmare, Nev?” Drew asked quietly, his eyes widening a little bit. There was something… Awfully familiar about what she was telling them, btough he’d never heard of any of it before now. At least… Not in this life. But it explained the nightmares that he occasionally had.
“Yeah, they do…And our friends also call you Dream from time to time. But that doesn’t mean that we’re the reincarnations of those people.” Nevin huffed, hugging his brother closer “No matter how we argue, I’d never hurt you seriously, much less kill you.”
“Neither would I hurt or… K-Kill you…” Drew responded back, hugging Nevin back tighter, tears in his eyes at the thought. Both of the twins shuddered and hugged each other tightly.
“Even if you are their reincarnations, the actions of what your spirit did in a past life does not affect what you will do in this one.” Grandma responded firmly, a determined expression appearing on her face. She sighed for a moment “However, there is a way to check to see if you are their reincarnations. The clan will want to have the two of you trained in how to use your powers and for the leadership of our clan - and perhaps to see if the two of you can lead our clan to greater political promince and other such nonsense, but that is not something I feel that either of you should be forced to do. The two of you show great promise and could be quite powerful, but no matter who you might have been… I love you both. And I will love, care for and protect you both to the best of my abilities, while encouraging each of you to be the best version of who you want to be, not who others may wish or expect for you to be.” She stopped talking for a little while, for which both of the twins were grateful, as they processed the information that she’d given them.
Drew fidged a little with his hands, before asking quietly “You said that there was a test to see if we’re the reincarnations of these past leaders? What… What is it?”
Nevin was curious as well and murmured “Would anyone else in our… Clan? As you called it? Be able to perform this test, or is it something specific?”
Their grandma sighed, and answered “You would need to be able to open and wear… Something. I will bring the boxes out.” She responded. She got up and walked out of the room, before returning with two applewood boxes with brass latches and hinges. On the lids of the boxes was the symbol of a massive apple tree. On the face of one of the boxes was the symbol of a stylized star, the other a crescent moon.
Drew and Nevin froze for a moment as she set the boxes on the coffee table in front of the both of them. Drew reached for the box with the sun symbol, while Nevin reached for the box with the crescent moon. The latches opened without any effort and without meaning too, the twins grabbed the golden circlets inside of them, putting them on. They then grabbed the robes - violet and gold for Nevin, bright blue and gold for Drew. The two of them got up and left the room in a daze, blinking as they changed in two different bathrooms.
Nevin stared at himself through the mirror - the cloth felt so familiar to him. Light, yet impossibly heavy. For a brief moment, his eyes glowed a bright cyan and he swore that he could see a pitch-black, shadowy figure looming behind him, reaching out for him…. Nevin ran out of the bathroom without a second glance, and nearly collided into Drew, who tackled him as Nevin fled all the way back to their grandmother, carrying his twin brother in his arms.
Drew meanwhile… He had stared in shock at the surprisingly elegant robes that he was in - as well as the yellow cape that he was wearing. A sudden wave of worry for Nevin had hit him and he’d sprinted straight for where he knew Nevin was changing, utterly certain that the other was in danger. Once the two of them reached their grandma however, the feeling of danger and fear passed, and both of the twins were calm again.
Their grandma looked at the both of them, a soft sigh leaving her before she walked towards the both of them, wrapping her sweet grandbabies up in a tight hug “I had hoped to avoid this for a little while longer. But this is your birthright. Do you wish to know more, or would you rather wait and process what I’ve told you?”
Nevin and Drew glance at one another before answering at the same time “Could you please hold off on further explanation for a little while? It’s a lot to take in.”
She smiles kindly at both of them and nods, hugging them closer to her “Of course.” They hug their grandma and one another until Nevin’’s cellphone goes off.
It’s his boyfriends, who are reminding him of the date that they’d agreed to in a couple of hours, asking if he was still going to come. Nevin hesitated for a moment, but both Drew and their grandma encouraged him to answer with what he wanted to do, so he texted back [can we reschedule? Grandma gave me a lot of info and I’m trying to process it all. Not sure how much more stuff I can process today.]
Isaac answered first [no prob - my mom is threatening to keep me in the house for the rest of the day anyways.]
Edward answered a couple of seconds later [that’s fine - I can’t imagine how all of this must feel. Love you, Nev. Love you, Ink.]
Nevin smiled a little and texted [thanks. I love you both.]. He’s not sure what all of this might mean, but the texts from his boyfriends had helped him feel a bit more grounded.