𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐘:
Love is
(1997)

VIOLENT. BEAUTIFUL. DEADLY.

A merciless beauty and a mind that could easily enthrall anyone. It was alluring and impressive. She was born for this – for bending anyone to her will. For Jasper, Corazon had effortlessly captured his mind, body, and soul. Yet, he wouldn't have it either way. He is always meant to be hers until the end of time.

Corazon looks at him with hooded crimson-red eyes, teeth cut through the delicate tissue, causing a slow trickle of blood to spill out, pooling around the edges of the bite. Corazon's grip tightened ever so slightly, her other hand brushing against the person's trembling body as she drew more from them, taking what she needed with practiced precision. Jasper watched her from the shadows, his gaze never leaving Corazon as she fed. There was a raw beauty in the way she moved, so fluid and graceful, her instincts taking over as she sank her fangs into the human's skin.

His eyes darkened slightly as he leaned against the wall, unable to tear himself away from the scene. There was something undeniably magnetic about her, something he admired deeply—a strength that ran deeper than the blood she drank, something inherent in her soul, in how she carried herself.

Corazon's gaze flickered toward Jasper as she pulled away, the last drop of blood lingering on her lips. There was something unspoken in the air between them—an invitation, a challenge, or perhaps both. Her eyes gleamed with a playful yet possessive intensity, and with a soft, almost imperceptible motion, she beckoned him toward her.

Jasper's eyes locked onto hers, and without hesitation, he pushed off the wall, his movements as fluid as hers. There was no need for words; the invitation was clear, and he was eager to join her. His gaze lingered on her for just a moment before it shifted to the trembling human, now slightly disoriented from the feeding, their pulse still strong but waning.

They both sank their teeth into the human's neck with ease. Together, they moved in unison—two predators and lovers.

As they pulled away, the lingering taste of blood on their lips, the connection between them still burning, Corazon's eyes met Jasper's once more, a silent understanding passing between them.

Jasper leaned in first, his breath warm against her skin, his eyes dark with a hunger that was no longer just physical. Corazon tilted her head slightly, inviting him closer. And then, in a seamless movement, their lips met—soft, urgent, and full of something far deeper than just the shared act of sustenance.

The taste of blood was intoxicating as it mingled between them, a bittersweetness that deepened the connection between their mouths. Their kiss was raw, charged with the intensity of what they had just shared, a blending of their hunger, their thirst, and the undeniable chemistry that had always been there.

Carcass carelessly dropped on the concrete ground.

Corazon pulled away slowly, "Is the blood to your satisfaction, mahal?" She questions as her lips ghost over his as she wipes away the remnants of blood from his chin. Jasper hums as he tries to chase her lips, leaning in quickly. Corazon doesn't want to deny his request, so she kisses him once more.

"I'd like to think that a couple that preys together stays together," Jasper mumbles between their lips, and Corazon laughs, "And I am inclined to agree." Jasper placed a chased kiss on her lips, and they pulled away from each other reluctantly. Focusing their attention on the dead human on their feet.

"Burn it?"

"Easiest way,"

So Jasper carried the body, throwing it inside the dumpster while Corazon took a match. Striking a match against the rough side of the box created a spark that ignited the match head. Throwing it inside the dumpster as they awaited for the fire to spread throughout the body, then closing the lid.

Burying a body is too much work.

Then Corazon releases a heavy sigh, seeing the sign, "God didn't create gays, the devil did," Recalling why they chose the human in the first place, well, the human's end was met, their fate taken away by something far worse than the devil. She threw it inside the dumpster to burn.

"We should head back; they're probably waiting for us," Jasper tells her as he intertwines his hand with hers as they make their way back to the crowd of bustling protests. The air hummed with energy, the voices of hundreds, maybe thousands, rising in a defiant and unified roar.

They were joined by Alice, Aika, Emmett, and Rosalie, each brought together by a cause that resonated deeply—fighting for the rights of those marginalized and silenced for far too long.

Alice, ever the beacon of positivity, wore a bright smile despite the moment's gravity. She held a sign that read, "Love is Love," her small frame almost bouncing excitedly as she joined the chants.

Before the colonizers set foot on the shores of the Philippine archipelago, before their ships cut through the waves and their tongues twisted their words into something foreign, the islands thrived under the wisdom of the Babaylan.

They were the keepers of the old ways, the healers who spoke to spirits, the ones who walked between the worlds of the seen and unseen. They were neither bound by the rigid lines of man and woman, for their souls flowed like the rivers—shapeless, free, and divine.

Love, in the time before the foreign gods, was not a thing to be confined. It was like the rivers—free to flow wherever it wished, carving its own path through the land. And so, the Babaylan, neither man nor woman, yet divine in both, could stand before any two hearts and bless their union. They were not bound by the limits of gender, nor were the lovers they joined.

What was once divine became forbidden.

The Babaylan did not vanish.

Their blood still runs in those who refuse to be confined. In the laughter of those who love without shame. In the defiance of those who reclaim their truths.

Yet, the curse of colonialism lingers. Discrimination, hatred, and fear were instilled by those who sought to erase what they did not understand. But just as the Babaylan could never be truly erased, neither can the love they once blessed. It endures.

So Corazon wouldn't let anyone feel restricted to love because of their gender.

Because love simply is.

And someday, when all the lies of the past crumble like dust, the world will remember: Love was always meant to be free.