atethewriting

[atethewriting]

TO PUNKS/PPL WHO WEAR DOC MARTENS, SPECIFICALLY BLACK ONES: please follow lace code. i don’t care if it’s dead. if you wear red or white laces and you KNOW lace code, it’s your fault if you get punched. we do not tolerate nazis or white supremacists in the punk community. shut up and follow lace code.

[atethewriting]

The fire had considerably died down since last night. That boy was still knocked out cold and they had begun to believe he was actually dead. 

"His pulse is faint, but there. I say there's been considerable brain damage. You probably got him in his frontal lobe, so he may have significant memory loss. There's a good chance he won't remember why he's here. That may send him into a panic." Yeojin fished around the room, grabbing all the stuff she could to try and help. Her sister sat beside the boy, checking and rechecking again to make sure he didn't have a weapon in his possession. "I would be careful if and when he wakes up. If he was part of the gang - especially if he was born into it, he'll have outstanding fighting capabilities."

"I am aware. I saw what they did to mom and dad." Her sister murmured, pushing the boy's hair out of his face.

"Fucking yuppies," They said in unison.

Her older sister checked his pulse again, seeing his chest move up and down stronger than a few minutes ago. She counted the heartbeats for a full minute before looking up at Yeojin, whose arms were filled with medical supplies that probably weren't needed. She sat down next to her older sister, letting the items spill onto the floor.

"65 BPM, I'd say pretty normal considering how old he looks. He's probably just sleeping now."

"Then let's wake him up!"

"No. If he has brain damage like you said, he needs a considerable amount of sleep to heal. If we want him to give us intel, then he's gonna need to be in a stable state."

@5sosxseulgi here’s a preview of chapter 1

[atethewriting]

ACT I: YEOJIN.

A fire crackled and burned bright, her eyes glistening from the reflection. An orange hue glittered all across her body. Blonde hair that was tightly tied back into a ponytail, two thick strands falling over her face. Inside this abandoned skyscraper, she was hidden from the rest of the world. This, of course, was a good thing.

The girl poked at the fire, keeping it lit for as long as possible. Nights were cold, and she couldn't afford to die in the middle of the night. Her sister still hadn't returned, after all. Being the youngest, she was always told to stay and keep the fire going while her sister went and looked for supplies. At least they're not dead.

Since the fallout, Yeojin had to learn many things quickly. One of those things was memorizing footstep patterns. Being that the building was hollow and echoey, it was easy to determine who was walking into the building. Her sister had a habit of sliding her feet sometimes, but this was not the sound she heard.

Thick, heavy steps made their way up the stairs. Quickly, she put out the fire and grabbed the gun beside her, loading it and aiming it at the hole that used to have a door attached to it. Her hands were shaking like crazy as she held back the urge to cry. 'The footsteps probably belong to a man,' she thought while putting her finger on the trigger, 'and men are the scariest thing in the world.'

Her breathing became unsteady and paranoid as the man made his way towards her direction. She saw his shadow on the wall, illuminated by the night sky that always beamed through the glassless windows. Yeojin held her breath, putting in all her effort to keep quiet even though she knew he knew she was there.

As if it was all a dream, Yeojin watched the shadow fall to the ground, a 'thud' booming throughout the hallways. 'Blunt force to the head,' she thought, 'he's dead, I think.'

A familiar smile entered the room, her sister's head bruised from where she just head-bumped the intruder into a state of unconsciousness. Her arms were filled with the essentials, which were insanely hard to find these days. Water, paper towels, a roll of toilet paper, some bread, firewood, a bar of soap, and a singular box of matches.

"How did you manage to find all of that?" Yeojin snorted, unloading the gun and running to her sister, helping her in bringing the groceries over to their small shelf that they had set up earlier that week.

"Stealing." She replied with a grin, pushing the watered-down logs off to the side and starting a new fire, sitting beside it while she went through her stock on ammunition. "Could probably steal that kid's clothes, too. He looks pretty dead to me."

"You probably just knocked him out. And I'm not going to be wearing a dead man's clothes either way. That's disgusting. You don't know where he's been."

"Oh, I do know where he's been. He has a rose mark on the back of his neck. He's probably a navigator, checking to see if this building's empty. My guess..." Her sister got up and went over to the body, dragging it into their room and flipping him over so he was laying on his back. "Yeah, they're not gonna send any more. He doesn't look all clean and shiny as the rest of that gang. Unless he was born into it and escaped, that could be possible. I doubt he's any harm to us either way."

"Those stupid idiots think they can own the world..." Yeojin fussed, kneeling next to the man's body and checking his pockets. "Fucking yuppies." She uttered in a nasty tone as she took a small knife out of his pocket, muttering the model and manufacture date under her breath.

"Where did you learn to speak like that?" Her sister barked, a harsh snap in her voice.

"Dad."

"I'm not surprised."

"Can you tell me more stories about mom and dad? Please? If you have any more?"

"Of course."

[atethewriting]

"That's absurd, Johnny."

"I know, but just...listen."

"I already did listen, Johnny! I think you're going insane! There's no fucking way that's even real! Now stop fucking with me. Yuta isn't a police officer, Jaehyun doesn't smoke, and I don't know who 'Mark' is but there's no way in hell that I'm married to him!"

Hyuck stormed out of the room, leaving Johnny to sigh and fiddle with his fingers. He stared blankly at his computer screen, leaning back in his chair.

"Mark's okay...bullshit..." He mumbled, "Theres no way in God's name he's okay...you don't just brush off 14 floors, let alone disappear when you hit the ground."

Getting up from his seat, Johnny went over to his closet and opened the sliding doors, rummaging through the mess on the ground until he found a box labeled "home". Sitting on the floor, he took off the top and picked up an old cellphone. It hadn't been charged in at least 2 years. He stared at the casing, sighing and placing the phone back into the box.

A small photo book collected dust, so he took it in his grasp and blew all the dirt away. Flipping through it, he swam in old memories of his old friends...before the incident, that is.

He remembers when they took this picture. It was about a year after the first incident, and they had all gone out for lunch. Doyoung, Sicheng, Ten, and Jaehyun decided not to join in the photo. He had taken it, of course.

"Shit, man..."

㊀　㊀　㊀　㊀

"Oh fuck oh shit oh man" The artist panicked as he trampled over paint cans in his studio, landing face first into the staircase that lead to a door upstairs. A small 'you good, bro?' spoke from across the large room, which was in the basement of an apartment complex (that he didn't live in).

A friendly face approached him, helping him up with a smile. His face was completely covered in ink, as were his hands.

The area was a shared space that about 3 people used (not including the artist who just tripped over paint cans). The other guy never really showed up but he was a jerk so that didn't matter.

This guy? He's Ten. A wannabe animator who's too batshit broke to afford college. He always has a smile on his face, for some odd reason. The clumsy artist took his hand and helped himself up, wiping away the ink on his jeans.

From behind a large, stone block, a girl peeks her head out. She had a concerned look on her face, twisted with sympathetic cringe. Second-hand embarrassment, probably.

"You okay, Mark? That sounded like it hurt." She spoke, a hint of worry through her gritty voice.

"I'm fine, just messy," He sighed, grumbling and fixing his hair. "We really gotta stop leaving stuff around."

"More like Jungwoo needs to stop leaving his stuff around. Ain't that right, Snoopy?" Ten joked, putting his hands on his hips and looking back at a blond-haired man, who was spray painting a canvas in the corner of the room.

"Says the man who's always got ink on him. Looks like you came face-to-face with a squid!" Jungwoo exclaimed in a snarky way, "But it wasn't me this time, I've been focusing on other stuff. It was probably Taemin."

"That bastard" The group sighed in unison.

"Well, I should head out. Next time someone sees that bastard tell him to clean up his mess."

[atethewriting]

┊　　┊　　┊　　┊

┊　　┊　　┊　　★

┊　　┊　　☆

┊　　★

☆

㊀　㊀　㊀　㊀

The artist sighed and took off his heavy mask, examining the art he had just finished. His hair was black and messy, sticking up in all different directions even with the effort he had recently put into trying to make himself look presentable.

Putting his supplies away, he cleaned up the alleyway a little and left with his backpack slung over his shoulder.

㊀　㊀　㊀　㊀

All of his clothes were covered with splotches of paint and spray paint. Even his underwear, somehow. This brought him to the conclusion that he would have to get new clothes, unfortunately.

So, slipping into the cleanest clothes he could find, the artist locked the front door to his apartment and headed out into the city streets.

It was a nice place to be, since his art was everywhere. Walls, billboards, traffic poles, practically any once-empty place was now covered with his art. Some of it was useless and silly, while others were deep and meaningful. All of it depended on his mood.

Occasionally, he would overhear people talking about him. Usually appreciating the art itself, but, some of them were asking questions! He loved the questions the most, it made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside when he overheard people asking questions about him or the art. Questions meant people were invested, it meant they were thinking about his art that he had worked so hard on.

The artist frequently got lost in his own thoughts and tended to mumble the answers to the questions under his breath without realizing it.

'I wonder who made this?' One would ask.

'Me.' He would mumble without anyone listening at all.

Sometimes he worried that people could hear him. That would be his worst nightmare, surely.

Entering into the clothing shop he oh-so loved, the artist made his way to the back, where all the pop culture stuff was. He usually disguised himself as a big Star Wars fan, which wasn't entirely wrong. He's quite literally watched every Star Wars movie 15 times.

"We have a sale, currently!" A shop employee smiled, making the artist jump.

"Ah! Oh, thank you..."

Silently celebrating, he watched as the woman walked away, then continuing to browse through the clothes.

By the end of it, he had bought 15 shirts, 13 pairs of jeans (all of the same style), countless pairs of underwear, socks, and 3 hoodies. A pretty solid purchase!

Walking home, he passed by a group of teenagers doing a "photoshoot" in front of one of his art pieces. The artist didn't entirely mind, but he silently hopes they don't claim his art as their own. Teenagers lie, that's why he's so worried.

Entering back into his apartment, he threw the bags down somewhere and headed straight to his small studio.

㊀　㊀　㊀　㊀

[ Do You Wish To Take This Test? ]

- Please Select Either Yes or No -

Yes           No

[ Good. Very Good. Now, Pick A Color ]

Red Orange

Yellow Green

Blue Purple

Pink Black

White

[ Interesting. . .Very, Very Interesting. Pick A Number. ]

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20

[ . . .I Do Not Like You. These Answers Are. . .Dangerous. . . ]

[ I Would Like You To Do One Thing For Me. One Last Thing. . . ]

[ Pick A Name. ]

Harrison

Mark

Louis

Molly

Quinton

John

Katie

[ Nevermind. ]

[ Saving. . .Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer. . . ]

[ Complete. ]

[ Thank You For Taking This Test. ]

"What the actual hell? Hey, Johnny!? What the hell?! I think your computer has a virus or something!"

"Why the fuck are you on my computer, dude?"

Hyuck shrugged.

"Got bored."

"Don't you have your own computer?"

"Ye, but yours is better."

"Fine."

[ Welcome Back ]

[ . . .I Know, You Were Just Here. . . ]

[ Go Grab The Owner Of This Device. ]

"Yo Johnny your computer wants you over here!!"

"What?"

The taller male made his way over to his computer, leaning over Hyuck's shoulder. Donghyuck then got up and allowed for Johnny to sit down.

[ Welcome Back. ]

[ I Have A Few Questions To Ask You. You Must Answer Them Honestly. ]

[ Do You Wish To Take This Test? ]

- Please Select Either Yes or No -

Yes           No

[ Good. Very Good. Now, Pick A Color ]

"It knows something..." Johnny mumbles, picking the color he thought of first.

Red Orange

Yellow Green

Blue Purple

Pink Black

White

[ Interesting. . .Very, Very Interesting. Pick A Number. ]

1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12

13 14 15

16 17 18

19 20

[ Perfect. ]

[ Pick A Name. ]

Harrison

Mark

Louis

Molly

Quinton

John

Katie

[ Do You Know A 'Mark'? ]

Yes No

[ Do You Know Where He Is? ]

Yes No

[ Would You Like To Know? ]

Yes No

[ He Is Okay. ]

[ Shutting Down. . .Do Not Turn Off Your Computer. . . ]

[ Thank You For Taking This Test ]

Johnny slumped back into the chair with a terrified look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Hyuck...I need to tell you something. You must promise to tell absolutely no one. Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

[atethewriting]

{BONUS} Bittersweet [scrapped draft]

The past and the future became irrelevant after Mark disappeared. Witnesses claimed that he just...poofed away into nothingness. It was strange and scary. None-the-less, he was pronounced dead 24 hours later since no evidence of a body was ever found.

About a year had gone by since Mark passed away. Darcy still paced the rooms every night, waiting for her favorite person to walk through the door. She probably knew by now that he wasn't ever coming back.

Ever since Mark died Yuta seemed unhinged. Johnny stopped looking for jobs. Sicheng and Taeyong made pies in silence instead of talking like they usually do. Jungwoo and Jaehyun became so terribly anxious since they quit smoking. Ten stopped wearing makeup. Doyoung overworked himself even more than before. Taeil rarely smiled anymore. Donghyuck cried every night, leaving the door unlocked. Just in case. Just in case he came home. Something of hope in his heart that he was still alive. Somewhere out there in the world. Living his best life. He hoped and he dreamed and he wished.

Donghyuck zoned out, falling on his back into the soft mattress. It cradled him in a warmness that he hated oh-so-much. It wasn't comforting, just painful. Reminded him of how many mistakes he had made. Reminded him of the cold, empty space next to him. Reminded him of Mark's smile and how he would hold Donghyuck so, so close. He missed that smile. He missed those hugs. He missed Mark.

An unopened letter sat beside him on the bedside table, collecting more and more dust with each passing day. He was scared to open it and he was scared of what would be inside. He knew it was a suicide note. The envelope clearly said 'To Friends and Family'. What else would it be?

The unfamiliarity of everything seeped through the walls. Since he was gone. Everything was broken. Red flares in a forest at witching hour that no one will ever see. Tucked away in a closet that would never be opened again. Boxes upon boxes of memories the sporadic writing and reading and working was beginning to get to him it bubbled up and boiled over a pot with no lid. Whistling. He wouldn't believe it. Never, ever, ever.

Twisting, falling, breaking.

An unfamiliar-familiar place hugged him tightly and softly brought him down onto dirt. Familiar-unfamiliar faces surrounded him, all on the ground beside him. He shook, sobbing softly into his hands. Mark knew this place. He never liked to admit that it was real. Even though he knew, it probably was. Guilt bubbled up, blood flowing from his wrists and arms consequently staining his white shirt. 13 words muttered softly from his mouth.

"If this is what home looks like I don't want to be here."

Bubbling, bubbling. Light the Candle. Let it burn to the ground.

Flames that would burn eternally, he lit the match and stared at it longingly.

Darkness is a lonely thing. Indeed, indeed.

"Breaking News: A worldwide phenomenon has occurred. In every continent, a mass amount of people have suddenly disappeared. Some of the victims in our area include the famous professor John Jun Suh, who is widely known as Johnny Seo, Chemist Moon Taeil, Pop Star Choi Ye-Rim, and Lee Dong-Hyuck, beloved partner of the famous chemist Lee Minhyung. We pray these souls rest in peace, goodnight everyone. Stay Safe."

Smile for the camera. Click! Click! Say Cheese! Burn the match! Red! Red!

An emptiness filled him as he was caught by the hands of Mother Death and thrown down onto the dirt. A man cried beside him, notes of self harm in the way he moved and adjusted himself. This place wasn't familiar. Quite scary, but intriguing.

"If this is what home looks like I don't want to be here" He heard the crying man say. What could it mean, what could it mean...

On his left side, Taeil and Johnny sat bug-eyed, muttering amongst themselves. On his right side, a Mark, along with Jungwoo and Yukei. They all remained silent.

Haechan's hands burned, charring and blistering. A dark red spot arouse from Johnny's back and stained his clothing. Jungwoo pinched the bridge of his nose and tried his best not to sob. Yukhei was dazed out, not a single thought in his mind from the look of it. Taeil sat in silence, mouth hung open in utter shock. And, the unfamiliar Mark, who had since stopped crying, wiped his tears away and stood up.

"Now I have to find that dirty bastard and ask him what happened," Mark spoke through a clenched jaw, scanning his surroundings and rolling up his sleeves. Deep, clean cuts dripped with blood from his arms. He looked pissed.

Johnny was the next to stand up, his tall stance spooking Mark. The professor was 7'2", after all. He stretched, a sharp look in his eyes.

"Which bastard are we finding?" He smiled. "I have no fucking clue where we are."

"Fairyland. It sounds like horseshit, I know, but I've been here before." Taeil was the third to stand, a confident look beaming bright. "And I assure you, John, we just solved the multiverse theory."

Scarce beams of light punctured him.

The bitterness in the back of his tongue just being a simple myth. It made him so unreasonably angry. The fact that drowning in sadness wouldn't be an option because he had so much work to do. It made him angry. He hated it. Why did it have to be Mark?! Why couldn't it have been him?!

Talking to the mirror wouldn't do any good. He wasn't able to make the right choices. He should've listened. He should've cared just a little bit more. Maybe if he spent more time at home Mark wouldn't have jumped. He should've asked what Mark was writing that day he came home early. He should've done so many things that he regrets not doing. Just because he was tired or angry or sad. He shouldn't have been so fucking selfish. But it didn't matter anymore because his husband was dead and there was no going back. He wanted to look back. He wanted to go back to the time where he wasn't so anxious. Leaving that door unlocked. It was of no use. Simply an excuse to be robbed in the middle of the night.

[atethewriting]

Birthday \ Jisung

The day was quiet. A quaint little home, just amiable enough, supported a small family. It was in the first row of houses, just close enough to the tall, candy-colored gate that spoke with so much pride. The King always had to have brightly colored things, pink and green things littered around. Nevermind that, today is a very special day for a very special kid.

Jisung, a small Fairy boy, is going to turn 13 years of age today. You must all know what will happen the day a Fairylander turns 13, it determines what their alignment will be. Shall he be a child of Life, kind and considerate? Perhaps he’ll be a child of Time, studious and smart? Mayhaps a child of Nature, with their ways of finding easy solutions? Or, lest he be a child of Death, hotheaded and strong?

“How shall you explain how to determine it?” You may ask. I’ll have you know that the four Goddesses absolutely love candy. Life has a taste for sour candies, lemon pastries, and anything citrusy. Nature likes the simple things, and only enjoys fruit-flavored gum. Time prefers licorice, any flavor, really. And Death famously loves caramel candies, wrapped with the iconic sugar solution. This is how people determine it. Because, you must know, the four Goddesses love their candy and their candy only. All others are disgusting to them, bland.

On his 13th birthday, Jisung was sat at the dining room table. 4 small boxes rest in front of him, his mother and father sitting across the table. His Mother was a child of Life, so caring and kind. However, his Father was a child of Death. It was miraculous how easily those two fell in love. Jisung’s Father was extremely critical, glaring at him. He’s always wanted a Nature child. He constantly spoke about it. Jisung’s Mother just wished to have a child who would grow up to be the best person they could be. His alignment meant very little to his Mother, a part of her that he always loved. 

He was told to open the first box. It was decorated with bright colors on the outside. Inside it was a small sour candy, one of Life’s favorites. He popped it in. Mother and Father were on the edge of their seats, seemingly, as his face contorted into disgust. He quickly spat it back into the box, leaving his chair to go fetch a glass of water. 

“Are you trying to poison me?” Jisung sat back down, his expression still one of disgust. 

“That checks Life off the list, sorry, dear.” Father spoke, rubbing his wife’s back to try and comfort her. She only smiled, telling Jisung to try the next one. This box was earthy and green, inside was a small stick of gum. He curiously took it in his mouth, chewing slowly. 

“Gross.” He spat this one out as well, commenting how it tasted like dirt and how disgusting it was. Father seemed unamused. Almost angry, even. But, before he could even speak up, Mother quietly reassured him that Jisung was too young to be facing such emotions from his parents. He grumbled in agreement, waving Jisung off to try the next candy. 

This box was neat and tidy, polished, and shiny. Inside, a small piece of black licorice, perfectly placed in the center. Perfectly bite-sized. Jisung seemed intrigued by it, carefully picking it up and examining it before placing it in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed it, shivers going up his spine as he shook his head no. His parents looked at each other expectantly, they probably knew this was coming. 

Quietly, his Mother told him to open the last box. This one was appealing to the eye, and covered with patterns. He opened it, staring down what was inside. A perfectly-made caramel ball, wrapped in an edible wrapper. He seemed excited to grab and eat it, to which he did delightfully. 

“Finally, something that actually tastes good.” Jisung smiled, looking back into the box to see if there were any more. He wasn’t as tense as before, a satisfied grin on his face for quite a while. Mother cleaned up the boxes while Father started preparing the cake. Jisung was in his own little world, humming and kicking his legs. Everything was alright in that very moment. Calm, peaceful, and happy. Exactly how things should be. 

𝔗ℌ𝔈 𝔈𝔑𝔇

[atethewriting]

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Our next move!

Rate 1 Star On Trump Tower. Let’s Shut Him Down Again. TUMBLR. DO WHAT YOU DO BEST. SPREAD IT LIKE WILDFIRE. REBLOG REBLOG REBLOG.

! ! ! ! ! !

@radicalreliablerandomness @thelastflyingfuck @thatbeluga @awkward-sunshine-and-rainbows @mispelled @pickledwombat @disaster-j @official-lucifers-child @jongins-laceglove

[atethewriting]

'there's a house right outside of town' he tapped diligently in morse code, '1930 it burned down from an incident involving 2 teenagers, Lee Jeno and Huang Renjun. They died in the house during the fire. 1969 a brother and his sister; Lee Taeyong and I Suppose ventured into the house and supposedly fell into the basement, they didn't return. 1987 two unidentified children were found dead in a river near that house. 1999 some girl named Melody Galloway was also found in the same river. Here's the interesting thing, though. 2000, someone named Lee Donghyuck also died in that house. Another person the same year, Na Jaemin, who had discovered the house through his interest of the paranormal, could apparently talk to the ghosts. Lee Donghyuck, he had said, had a partner who was still alive. That partner knew Na Jaemin's roommate, John Jun Suh, or Johnny Seo, and called him over to the house. A year later both Na Jaemin and Lee Donghyuck's partner both passed away. One by car collision and one by suicide.'

'John Jun Suh?' Xiaojun tapped, multitasking while he was studying. 'our teacher?'

'well that answers it'

----------------

Scrapped draft of Chapter 2 from Temp. Tattoo

[atethewriting]

At least the man next door always welcomed him after Chenle ran away from that horrible place day after day. The man was kind and old, probably in his late 40's by now, and always dished out wonderful advice. He provided meals when Chenle got no dinner, provided a warm place to sleep, and even provided clothes from time to time. His name is Johnny, and his father has no idea he exists. 

Although the walls of Johnny's house were covered with polaroids of the same man over and over and over again, Chenle had never seen this man once. He had tried asking one time, and that ended quite horribly. It was best to just keep quiet about it. 

The moment he met Park Jisung, his entire world flipped on its' side. It was a few years ago.

Failed Draft Of Temp. Tattoo Chapter 2

('ω')✌︎

[atethewriting]

Lee Minhyung

≫Lee Donghyuck

Professor John Jun Suh

Doctor Moon Taeil

Kim Jungwoo

Wong Yukhei

Flames that would burn eternally, he lit the match and stared at it longingly.

Darkness is a lonely thing. Indeed, indeed.

"Breaking News: A worldwide phenomenon has occurred. In every continent, a mass amount of people have suddenly disappeared. Some of the victims include the famous professor John Jun Suh also known as Johnny Seo, Chemist Moon Taeil, Pop Star Choi Ye-Rim, and Lee Dong-Hyuck, beloved partner of the famous chemist Lee Minhyung. We pray these souls rest in peace, goodnight everyone. Stay Safe."

Smile for the camera. Click! Click! Cheese! Burn the match! Red! Red!

An emptiness filled him as he was caught by the hands of Mother Death and thrown down onto the dirt. A man cried beside him, notes of self harm in the way he moved and adjusted himself. This place wasn’t familiar. Quite scary, but intriguing.

“If this is what home looks like I don’t want to be here” He heard the crying man say. What could it mean, what could it mean...

On his left side, Taeil and Johnny sat bug-eyed, muttering amongst themselves. On his right side, a Mark, along with Jungwoo and Yukei. They all remained silent.

Haechan’s hands burned, charring and blistering. A dark red spot arouse from Johnny’s back and stained his clothing. Jungwoo pinched the bridge of his nose and tried his best not to sob. Yukhei was dazed out, not a single thought in his mind from the look of it. Taeil sat in silence, mouth hung open in utter shock. And, the unfamiliar Mark, who had since stopped crying, wiped his tears away and stood up.

“Now I have to find that dirty bastard and ask him what happened,” Mark spoke through a clenched jaw, scanning his surroundings and rolling up his sleeves. Deep, clean cuts dripped with blood from his arms. He looked pissed.

Johnny was the next to stand up, his tall stance spooking Mark. The professor was 7’2”, after all. He stretched, a sharp look in his eyes.

“Which bastard are we finding?” He smiled. “I have no fucking clue where we are.”

“Fairyland. It sounds like horseshit, I know, but I’ve been here before.” Taeil was the third to stand, a confident look beaming bright. “And I assure you, John, we just solved the multiverse theory.”

[atethewriting]

Server 4928492 / S T A B L E

Connection / S T A B L E

Running On 「XYMORE NEW AGE INTERWEB」

Cell Number / 16492774298429

Gate 14 / O P E N

Gate 61 / O P E N

Gate 45 / C L O S E D

Gate 12 / C L O S E D

Gate 90 / C L O S E D

Gate 52 / :( NO CONNECTION :(

R E B O O T I N G. . .

Awaiting Arrival From GATE 14. . .

Awaiting Arrival From GATE 61. . .

Connection Successful! :)

Fall Number / 1749383

Status / ! C R I T I C A L !

Fall Number / 9825814

Status / S T A B L E

Fall Number / 51758233

Status / ! I N J U R E D !

Fall Number / 12452853

Status / S T A B L E

Fall Number / 42957358

Status / S T A B L E

Fall Number / 875387483

Status / ! I N J U R E D !

Fall Number / 295825384

Status / S T A B L E

[atethewriting]

≫Lee Minhyung

Lee Donghyuck

Professor John Jun Suh

Doctor Moon Taeil

Kim Jungwoo

Wong Yukhei

A sharp sigh left his lips as he looked down at his tennis shoes. The silence was deafening, city lines and skylights were his only view. His last view. His head was pounding but he knew this was the only option left. He’d come so far all these years.

Mark Lee felt bad. He felt bad for his husband. He felt bad for his dog. Felt bad for all the friends he had. Yuta, Sicheng, Johnny, Taeyong, Ten, Jungwoo, Doyoung, Taeil, Jaehyun...Donghyuck. Donghyuck. Donghyuck. Hyuckie. Baby. Honeybun, his only light. It hurt so much but he felt so bad because this was his only option left.

The view in front of him looked so familiar. That’s because it is. He’s lived there for a very long time. A wedding ring rest neatly on his ring finger, he clenched his fists to not lose it. People had started noticing him standing on the 14th floor window because they were yelling things like “dont jump” and “you have so much to live for”. He didn’t care. He knew they were just doing it to get publicity. They didn’t care. They don’t care.

Take a deep breath.

Jump.

He did.

The fall was slow and painful, but, maybe that was just the cuts he had on his body that caused this feeling. 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

An unfamiliar-familiar place hugged him tightly and softly brought him down onto dirt. Familiar-unfamiliar faces surrounded him, all on the ground beside him. He shook, sobbing softly into his hands. Mark knew this place. He never liked to admit that it was real. Even though he knew, it probably was. Guilt bubbled up, blood flowing from his wrists and arms consequently staining his white shirt. 13 words muttered softly from his mouth.

“If this is what home looks like I don’t want to be here.”

[atethewriting]

Server 4928492 / S T A B L E

Connection / S T A B L E

Running On 「XYMORE NEW AGE INTERWEB」

Cell Number: 16492774298429

Gate 14 / O P E N

Gate 61 / O P E N

Gate 45 / O P E N

Gate 12 / C L O S E D

Gate 90 / C L O S E D

Gate 52 / :( NO CONNECTION :(

Awaiting Arrival From GATE 14. . .

Awaiting Arrival From GATE 61. . .

Awaiting Arrival From GATE 45. . .

Fall Point / fqufke x qpoifosf y

Scanning For Updates. . .

No Updates Available! :)

Opening Gateways, Please Remain Patient. . .

Loading 「WELCOME MESSAGE」. . .

Please Enjoy Your Time Spent Here :) Your Guides Will Arrive Shortly! The Fall Will Be A Bit Harsh, So A Healer Will Be At The Scene As Soon As Possible.

Thank You :)

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Fall Successful.

[atethewriting]

Her face is faceless. Flesh in a neat pile on the floor. Teeth scattered across the room and a noose hanging lifelessly around her small neck. Her hair once blonde but remained empty and yellow. Body stripped of any clothes while an unfamiliar look in her dead eyes plucked a heartstring in me. The muscles worn away in her hands as if there was a struggle but yet a stool still stood beneath her. Clumps of yellow hair murky with blood rest around the room, sleeping. My dog, also skinned, lay in a pile of dead and rot in the corner. Poor Fido. I don’t know what happened. I just came home from after-school activities and the person who was once my twin sister was dead in the worst way possible. Hanging from a rope. I’m afraid if I call the police they’ll blame it on me but I can’t live with this. What am I going to do?

[atethewriting]

His body went limp. Heavy to move. Unable to see any expression from the blood covering his face. His neck slit with the neatness of an open sky, as if was an open bubble of puss on an animal. He didn’t breathe. I watched as the life and blood pour out of him, a KitchenAid knife lodged deep in his skull. The blood in my mouth tasted metallic and salty, the redness of it tricking me to think it has the taste of ketchup. His body was stiff and mutilated but I could finally see his eyes which were lifeless and dead. I stood over him with my hands in my pockets, a white shirt scattered with droplets of blood tied around my waist. I couldn’t tell which blood belonged to him and which blood belonged to me, wrists covered in cuts and bruises that I had created. He didn’t need to be dead. He just walked in on me at the wrong time in the wrong place. The purple carpet beneath my sock-less feet didn’t feel warm and comforting but instead cold and sticky. Flies cover his body and I began to realize that I had been standing there for hours. His blood was clotting around him and the room began to stink. His body was now in my sink and soon down the drain. With enough effort I had pushed his last limb in the tiny trashcan I had in my room. I had to dispose of him somehow.

[atethewriting]

The Tail Of A Golden Deer: The Sixth

This is a collaborative project with the account @jongins-laceglove. We apologize for the delay and hope you enjoy the sixth part of this series!

A Deer watched as the two men ran off, staring at the group before him with a wide smile on his face.

“I’m gunna go find Jisungie!!!!! I’ll be back!!” He yelled enthusiastically, running back into the dark and scary wood.

A carefree, young lad spun and skipped around without a single thought in mind. Except for, well, Jisung. Little did he know someone was watching him from the trees. Eyes that roared with green hues, and a uniform in which was for little girls. The thing stared and pondered with its’ little green eyes, growing curious.

Another watched the deer carefully, just as unaware. A man with spitting red hands and tan skin, followed Chenle by foot. All while Peppermint remained carefree.

That is, until he saw something so dreadfully horrible that made him stop right in his tracks.

A boy with dark hair hang lifelessly from a rope that was carefully tied into a noose. The boy’s body was bruised and cut and mangled, while his head dangled by his spine. Slowly, the fairy fell out of the rope’s hold and landed silently on the cold ground.

Chenle felt himself tick and buzz as he began to laugh, allowing the toxicity of freedom and in-sanity crawl under his skin. Crack, snap, bloody murder. The Canary’s hair and once-beautiful antlers went ink black, dripping with blood and dead skin. His once-gone fingers into sprouted bones, all the while his mouth tethered shut and spread into a sewed-on smile that reached to his ears. With eyes as red as hers, the Canary turned around and laughed at Haechan. This laugh wasn’t carefree and joyous at all. This laugh...this laugh spoke murder.

“Hiya, Freak!” He giggled, getting a bit too close for Haechan’s liking. The smell of death reeked throughout the forest, nothing the two hadn’t smelled before. 

Haechan let out a hearty sigh and fought off the feeling to kill Chenle, realizing that he was definitely needed. “Hey.” He spoke blankly. 

“Haha! Acting tough, are we? How cute, how cute indeed. Yep! Yep! Such carefreeness for one who just killed my best friend. How cute, how cute indeed. Yep! Yep! We found your double. There is always the possibility of replacing you, but my Mama said we need you and your triples later on. Yep! Yep! The Canary always wins! Indeed, Indeed!” The boy’s voice worked like clockwork, ticking and buzzing and slowly losing control. A small whisper in his ear told him what to say, so he gladly listened. 

Haechan remained silent. 

“My Mama said not to trust men who know men in lab coats! Yep! Yep! How cute, how cute indeed! Rude! Rude!” Chenle sang as he paced around the Mage, laughing and giggling. 

That seemed to trigger Haechan in a way that made him stumble back and fall on the ground, a small gasp leaving his lips. “W-Who told you about that!?” His eyes went wide, a part of him trying not to cry. 

“My Mama!” The canary replied cheerfully, humming.

“G-get away from me, freak!” The mage yelled, getting back onto his feet and running off. 

Chenle only giggled, turning around and returning to his normal self. 

“Well, I found Jisungie...I guess...” 

---------------------------------------------

Winwin sat nearby the mangled body of a wind, mumbling about how he can’t leave Kun with a child and no one to protect him. He had no clue if Aldrich had returned yet but he knew that he couldn’t leave Kun with a fucking CHILD. It was a bad idea to let Kun keep her in the first place but it was even worse for this to suddenly happen. 

It then hit him.

“FUCKKKKKKKKK Even if i do make it back Baekhyun is literally going to slaughter me if he found out this happened!” Winwin yelled quite loudly, scaring off some birds. 

A loud whistle sounded throughout, spooking Winwin. Curious, he sprung up and followed the sound. 

Oh, it lead back to the cabin. OH, everyone’s here. 

“I have news...” The deer whispered, staying awfully close to his double. “J-Jisungie...Jisungie is dead...” 

Minseok blinked at him, trying to process his words before sighing heavily, moving sit down on the deck.

Hybrid Jisung smiled at the news, turned away from the group as he sat next to Yixing’s body.

That night was one big blur, everyone getting ready for bed as Minseok stared off into the forest, pacing nervously as he tried to decide on what to do with Yixing.

He walked by his body countless times, not even having the stomach to look at his lifeless form.

The moment he died kept replaying over and over in his head, the feeling he got as his friend’s life force slipped from his body like it was nothing wasn’t anything short of pure, unfiltered dread.

He finally gave up, letting out a loud frustrated noise as he opted for just putting a bed sheet on him and walked into the house.

He would have missed it when Chanyeol woke with a start, blindly searching for his notebook if it weren’t for his excessive cursing.

“Fuck if I don’t find it now I’m not going to be able to write it down, shit where is it I’m gonna fucking scream that god damned notebook is-“ Chanyeol flinched when his notebook smacked him in the face after Minseok threw it right at his face with an expectant look in his eye.

Chanyeol quickly sat down at the coffee table, quickly trying to scribble down all the events of his vision before it completely slipped from his mind.

“Fuck!” He growled, throwing his notebook across the room when he completely forgot some important information before he could write it down.

Minseok gingerly picked it up, flipping through the tattered book before stopping at the page he wanted, only to be more confused than ever.

“Orange. Blue. Black. Death. Jongin. Ch” He furrowed his brows and repeated it over and over, looking between the book and Chanyeol with a questioning look on his face.

“I don’t know, Minseok.. I really don’t know. I can’t help beyond that, I’m sorry. It’s gone.” He sighed, slumping over on the couch in defeat and running his hands over his face.

“And Jongin? Why does that name sound so familiar...” Minseok pondered as he walked over to Chanyeol, handing him his book back.

Chanyeol shook his head, taking the book absentmindedly with furrowed brows. “I.. It’s on the top of my tongue, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it. For some reason my first thought is that he has something to do with Renjun.. but that can’t be right, no that’s impossible. Right? It’s gotta be.”

Minseok stood there, his mind racing as he tried to figure out what to think of this situation when he and Chanyeol were suddenly startled out of their thoughts by the sound of the glass door slamming shut- making them both jump in surprise.

They exchanged a suspicious glance before they both scurried outside, seeing an orange-headed boy with a fluffy striped tale slinking quietly into the dark forest and immediately following after.

~~~~

He stared down at the dead body of his doppelgänger, happy with his work as he tied the cloth pouch that held Jongin’s eyes to his belt.

He was about to fly off- before he heard the argumentative shouts of.. three? People in the distance, and decided to have some more fun that night.

He quietly walked through the forest, slowly getting closer and closer before he broke through the tree line, and startled the three men.

“W-wait, you look.. Chanyeol I think you were right about Jongin being related to Renjun... I think they used to be friends.”

Kai snarled, his boney dragon wings twitching and his white eyes seemingly glowing under the moonlight. “You knew Jongin?” He threatened.

The tallest one nodded once, his ears flopping slightly with the movement. “Yeah actually. He was- wait, knew?” He backed up.

Kai smirked, staring right into him “Yes, knew. Why I killed him, after all!”

They gasped, but the one with the orange hair stood out to him in particular, so of course he did the most logical thing.

Kill him.

He lunged forward, ripping into the soft skin of his stomach with his left hand and tearing out organs as the boy let out pained screams. Black flames from his hand burned him from the inside out.

Kai turned to the other two that were trembling in fear, too shocked to say anything as he twisted his hand once more- making the boy scream even louder and enjoying the way that they flinched.

He finally had enough, reaching into his rib cage and burning right through his lungs to rip out his heart.

He kicked the body aside, moving towards the other two.

“Now. What do you know of Renjun? Where is he. If you play nice I might let you live~ barely, of course- But you’ll survive.” He teased.

The short one shuddered, his eyes still glued to the corpse of his friend and not even registering the words his taller friend sassed back at the man.

“I’d like you to say that again with just as much confidence after you know just how many seers I’ve killed, boy.”

The boy glared as he moved to punch Kai- but let out a guttural scream when he grabbed his arm, breaking his bones with the sheer force of his grip and tossing him to the ground as though he weighed nothing.

Kai smiled at the two before he slowly lifted both of his arms. One backed up as the other merely sat on the ground in horror, pathetically scooting against the dirt in an attempt to escape. “No.. no, please! I’m begging you, don’t!”

Kai just chuckled deeply, and steadily grew flames in the palms of his hands- the left being black, and the right being blue.

“Well, this was fun while it lasted.”

He shot his flames at both of them, their cries of pain the only thing he could hear over the sound of burning flesh.

He frowned at the blue flame, being reminded once again of the days when his bastard of a father took him to that small blue room.

When their screams finally stopped, he relented- and made sure he was satisfied with their charred beyond recognition corpses before finally flying back to wherever he came from.

~~~~~~~~~

What’s it like to lose your best friend?

Only few know that feeling.

Only few know the hopelessness.

A deer, a mouse, a bard, and many.

In-Sanity is a lot of fun.

When you’re doing it with another.

The Deerest of Deers stood silently and blankly, rapidly changing from his other form back to the original. It couldn’t decide. Didn’t want to decide. In-sanity is funny. It likes to bounce around wildly in your mind while you try to stay alive. Quite humorous, if you ask us. It likes to glitch and sting and buzz. A monster of all sorts, we must say.

He ticked and buzzed and flinched when the others around him in the cabin living room spoke. Everything was incomprehensible, blended in with each other. Reverbs and autotunes lifted their voices until everything was just hums and squeaks.

The boy let out a small, freakish sound. Down he went, to the ground. Not unconscious, just overstimulated. The voices mocked him. Told him it was all his fault.

The voices only laughed and the buzzes and static noise got louder. Every other sense blocked out as he fought his mind.

Don’t slip into In-Sanity.

Don’t slip into In-Sanity.

Don’t slip into In-Sanity.

Mint, snapping, twisting, deer.

The boy let out another freakish sound, covering his ears and trying to drown out the hearty thoughts that stabbed him countless times over.

It was testing him. Probing his mind with questions. He wasn’t ready, wasn’t worthy.

“Stop go away!” He yelled, yet nothing came out.

“I can’t!” He said once more, no one heard him.

A slip out of mind. To where no one heard his cries. His mind. His mind. His mind.

As soon as it started, it was over.

Skin, pale and scared, seemed to glow. The red and white hues to his features returned, no longer gold. He wasn’t worthy anymore.

To everyone else, he had merely changed colors like a chameleon. No one saw his pain. No one saw him collapse.

“Don’t trust men who have green couches! Don’t forgive men in lab coats! Don’t believe men in orange! A tiger is dead! Yep! Yep! A griffin has no heart! Yep! Yep! Dobermen Dead! Indeed! Indeed!” He blurted out, unable to control what he just said. Covering his mouth, he shook. “W-what...I-I didn’t mean to say that! Why did I say that?!!”

Jisung watched Chenle from a corner of the room, his own eyes swimming with worry. He’d been trying to muster up the courage to walk over and help him- seeing as nearly everyone else couldn’t see his distress through the haze of their own.

He mentally slapped himself when Sicheng and Yuta stepped into his line of vision, unfamiliar serious looks in their eyes.

He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but before he could get the words out they both reached down and grabbed an arm, pulling him up. A confused noise escaped his mouth as they dragged him up the stairs into his and Chenle’s room.

Sicheng pushed him down on the bed, Yuta sitting down next to him as he pulled a chair away from the desk in front of the window it sat in front of.

He was speechless, eyes flicking between the two with a suspicious look.

“What do you two want.”

Sicheng snorted out a laugh, crossing his legs in the chair.

“We wanted to know if you need to talk? Not just about all the deaths.. but things in general.”

Jisung looked surprised, and he was indeed as to why they’d want to talk to him of all people. Why not Chenle? He certainly needed it more than him.

“I.. I suppose so. It honestly hasn’t caught up to me yet.. and I don’t think the worst has come.”

Yuta nodded, moving to wrap his arm around Jisung’s shoulder. “I see.. well, you know we’re here for you when it does hit. If you need us we’ll be there- no matter what. Don’t be scared to come get us.”

“I second that!”

Jisung chuckled, reaching to grab the desaturated orange blanket with cream splotches and black stripes that was draped over the headboard.

He wrapped it around himself, a comfortable silence settling in between the three. He didn’t have to speak for them to understand his situation or noisy mess for thoughts. They just knew. almost as if they’d been through something similar.

~~~~

Jisung shot up from his sleep in a cold sweat, looking out the window to see a bright crescent moon.

He swallowed, but the lump in his throat protested, causing him all the more pain.

He blinked, suddenly realizing the wetness of his cheeks.

All too fast, his mind flashed with the memories of his boyfriend from his dream and he only cried harder.

He got up quietly, padding through the hallway and down the steps to the bathroom. He picked up a small animal that was glowing dimly, and grabbed some sugar cubes for it on his way to the bathroom.

He set the small fluffy yellow creature onto the side of the counter, right in front of the mirror and giving it the snacks. He smiled softly as it’s glow became brighter with happiness, nearly buzzing in delight as it hummed sweetly.

With shaky hands, he took out Chenle’s pocket knife and sniffled, staring into the mirror at his own blurry and disoriented reflection.

He raised the knife to his hair- slicing off chunks until it was an inch long on top. With shaky hands, he shuffled through the drawers in the shelf behind him, pulling out an electric razor and deciding to shave the bottom a bit.

He stared into the mirror with a dull look, holding back the urge to scream and cry and punch something until his fists were bloody.

He clenched his jaw, suddenly turning to go back upstairs.

He walked right past his room, turning into an empty . His tears started falling even heavier, dripping onto the ground as he searched through the drawers for Chenle’s lighter.

He finally found it, pulling it out of the drawer and dropped to the ground. He hugged it close to his chest, sobbing freely.

After a while he calmed down a bit, and he decided to get up and go act upon whatever impulses his mind feeds him.

As he was standing up to leave the room, he jumped- the silhouette of his roommate startling him.

“C-Chenle? What are...what are you doing out of bed...?”

“What the heck do you think I’m doing?! I’m trying to find that stupid book...Yep! Yep! Indeed!” Chenle grinned and approached the other, his figure darkened and bloody. In between the knots and strings of his mouth, a set of sharp teeth rest, waiting to strike. The boy’s red eyes glowed so brightly that it was almost blinding to look at. 

“Would you like to commit a crime as horrible as murder with me? For sure! For Sure! We shall ruin life and death! The king has befallen! Yep! Yep! In a pile of roses, once more! Yep! Yep! May we pray for his poor soul!” The Canary giggled, twitching and ticking as he hummed around the room. 

“My Mama,” He continued, looking back at Jisung, “My Mama said to have you help me, as you are as heartbroken as I am!” 

Jisung gulped, shoving the lighter into his pocket and averting his gaze to the floor. “I don’t know who your ‘Mama’ is, but she’s wrong. I’m not heartbroken. I don’t know why I would be. It’s not like.. like he’s really gone or anything. He’s just, he’s just missing, that’s all. Yeah, he’s missing!”

He bounced over to the doorway, looking behind him to Chenle, waiting for him to follow.

“I- I’ll find him! Yeah, You’ll burn the book, and i’ll g- go look for him. And I’ll find him! He’s okay, I just know it.”

Chenle stopped the taller one, tightly gripping his wrist and looking down. 

“Jisungie...You can’t go in the woods anymore...there’s an evil man there. H-He...He killed your...your me. He’ll kill you, too, if you go out there. The man with...dragon wings...He doesn’t show any mercy. Just...Just grab the book. We’ll burn it together, okay?” 

He let out a shaky and weak sigh, the tension in his body slowly disappearing. 

“I.. I will burn the book with you. But after that, I can’t promise anything. I appreciate it.. but I have to go into the forest. I can’t explain it, it’s like there’s something calling me. And I need to know what it is.”

“Then, I’m going with you.” The Deer let go of the mouse’s wrist, leaving the room and coming back with a lit lantern. “But let’s do it before it gets too late. We can burn the book when we get back, or we’ll get it now and do it in the woods. How does that sound?” 

Jisung only nodded. 

And, off they went. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With winds of ice and horror, two boys stood at the edge of a dark forest, wielding only a pocket knife, a lighter, an old book, and a lantern. In Xymore times, right now it would be 2 First, or, 2AM. 

The Wood, alive with creatures only the night knows, crawled up their backs and made them shiver. Howls and shrieks and cries they had never heard before. Sounds only heard in dreams. The wisps of eerie whispers tickled them. 

Only a small flame brought them to the center of it all. Everything fell into a sort of enchanting spell at this hour, whistling a tune while purple lights dangled from the trees as if they were hung for a birthday party. 

“Mendorus Candelactum...” Chenle mumbled, “The Goddess Of Memories...She’s watching...We mustn’t make a sound, Jisung...” 

“How do you know th-”

“Shh...” 

The Deer stood tall on his heels and sniffed the air, pointing North, deeper into the forest. 

“That way...” He breathed, quietly heading the direction he pointing to. 

The reeking smell of death filled their noses and blanketed their tastebuds with rotten, human flesh. Chenle, quite used to it, kept moving closer towards the smell. Jisung, however, gagged and unwillingly followed the canary. 

What they saw was hideous. 

Guts scattered the forest floor. Blood, clotted and gooey, stuck to the bottoms of their shoes as they directed the light towards the source. Three dead bodies rest mangled and stagnant, hollow of any magic. Just a shell of the people they used to be. The youngest let out a choked sob once he saw someone familiar, yet the oldest directed his attention towards the rope that hung from a tree, and the man who lay beneath it. 

A graveyard of magic and unfulfilled hope. It disgusted them, yet, intrigued them, as well. A lighter and a book, four dead bodies, possible doom...It intrigued them. Made them so undeniably curious. What lie at the end? Only the dead knew that answer. 

The small “tick, tick, tick” of a lighter being lit was the only sound made in this moment. Soon after, the crackling of a book being burned to ashes, and the choked laughs of two In-Sane children. ‘Such a pretty sight,’ they pondered, allowing for the in-sane-ness to drown them in such a pretty and curious light. ‘Such a pretty sight to see the ones we hate mangled on the forest floor.’

Jisung giggled, the misplaced happy sound cutting through the air over the crackling of the burning book. His hand subconsciously reached towards the dancing fire, before the sound of a twig snapping from behind startled him.

He whipped around towards the sound, flinching and swiftly pulling out his dead boyfriend’s knife from his back pocket.

His eyes widened at what he saw, the corpses of their deceased friends- and his boyfriend- rising from the ground, their empty eyes dull-ly twinkling from the light of the small fire.

“Burn.. Burn.... Burn........” They groaned, clawing and stumbling after the pair before Jisung had to slash at Minseok’s hand when his body got too close. “I.. I think that’s how they died...” Jisung mumbled to himself, clicking his tongue as he grabbed a heavy rock to bash Chanyeol’s skull in with it while stabbing Minseok in his rotting temple, successfully killing them one last time.

He panted, staring down at the bodies in a moment of uneasy silence before a shrill scream of surprise ripped out from his throat, being shoved to the ground with a harsh pushed from behind.

He struggled, slashing at the crazed, re-animated body of his boyfriend that reached for him while he sobbed. “No! No, please- Chenle! It-It’s me! Don-don’t you recognize me?! It’s- it’s go-ing to be ok-okay! Just please, Don’t hurt me!!!”

Our very deer-like Chenle twitched and ticked towards his double, pulling him up by the back of the shirt and giving a dead stare. Looking him in the eyes, the Canary’s pupil dilated until the eye was as small as a pin. Looking death in the eye, giving his doom the final laugh before reaching up the lighter in which the book was burned from. Slowly, the small whispers of the forest silenced, being filled by the short breaths of someone who’s faced death many times over.

“You can’t hear me...You have nothing left...But, I promise you...I will take care of him. You shall hurt no-one...an-y-mo-re. May Death never forgive you, and may you light up in flames and fuel our heat.” 

The Silence, like a bubble, popped. Soft, crackling noises from the fire that burned a familiar body. 

“He’s watching us. Such...a foolish boy...Jisungie...Someone’s watching us. He’ll make it 21...We must hurry home.” 

A whip of dark light flew by them. The small laugh of a confused man, creeping up behind them. 

“I recognize those certain words, yes yes,” The voice spoke, making himself apparent. 

Kun. 

“Mark told me once, I thought it was your father who would say it. Of course, it’s you. He could tell the future! Ah, green, green!” Wrapping his arms around Chenle and squeezing tight, a bright smile lit up the forest. “Your father wouldn’t be proud of you, but I am.”

“Kun!!” The Deer smiled, returning to his normal self and helping up Jisung, “Jisung! This is...oh, are you okay? You look awfully pale.” 

Said boy shivered in dread, wrapping his arms around himself on the ground he sat disoriented upon. He stared Into the distance- the feeling of something being wrong consuming him before the question registered, and he stood up stiffly, offering a curt nod to no one in particular.

“Yeah, I’m.. fine. I’m just not used to an... anybody el-se b-ut m..my Chenle car-ing about m-e.”

He wiped blood off of the blade of his knife with the fabric of his tattered gray shirt, cutting a long slit into it accidentally as a result.

He scrunched up his nose in anger, impulsively flipping the knife downwards in his hand before shoving the knife into the hole.

Right as it registered in his head what he’d done, it was too late.

He gasped, the pain slowly spreading through his body before he pulled the knife back out of the side of his side in a panic- spasming in pain and flinging the knife through the air blindly.

Kun blindly caught the knife, recognizing its’ pattern and dropping it to the ground, letting a small gasp grab his throat and strangle him. A choked cry brought him all the way left as he stumbled over to Jisung and absent-mindedly started to treat his wounds. A strange tingling feeling brought him to a halt, feeling as if there was a ghost touching his shoulder. He shivered, continuing what he was doing until the wound was bandaged and secure. 

Yet, something felt off. Not in the way that’s like “oh I’m not home”, but in a “I know this place” kind of way. He knew this forest. 

It was the forest he went missing in over 20 years ago. 

“What the...”

---------------------

By now it was getting to be sunrise and the three In-Sane members of the group made their way up the steps, too tired to notice that a green book and some pointy object rest where Yixing was supposed to be, but now gone. 

Tired, but aware, Kun saw the small sign that was hung right next to the door, absolutely speechless. 

“Renjun...Renjun...Huang Renjun...?” He spoke to himself, entering into the cabin after the two boys.

With Chenle and Jisung already in their rooms, probably sleeping, Kun took his time peeking around the cabin until he had someone to talk to. Reminiscing the old cabin and memories he had in the past. 

The fiery heat of a Phoenix made his way down the stairwell, still sleepy and in his soft pajamas. It was quite early, after all. Sunlight breeched through the large windows Kun was facing, causing him to groan and shield his eyes from the powerful light. His tucked-away Fairy wings were quite visible, now, as his black shirt wasn’t at all heavy. This caught Renjun’s attention. He gasped so loud that it made Kun swiftly turn around. 

The two shook as they tried to keep themselves together. Many, Many years it had been since they last made eye contact. So many lost years in which the Phoenix called the Fairy’s name deep in the woods with no response. They both looked so mature now, it was almost too good to be true.

“Kun?” 

“Renjun?”

Renjun trembled, his eyes stinging with the pain that came along with the remembrance of lost memories.

Pictures of his childhood flashed before his eyes in a vivid haze of laughter and fun. He had been friends with the fairy at a young age.. up until he disappeared without a trace one day, leaving the boy to wonder if it was all a dream.

But he stood before him now, in all his glory.

He blinked his thoughts away, stepping closer to the other man.

“Is... is it really you? I- I assumed you were dead. You look so different now...”

“I would say the same for you, Renjun. Yes, it really is me...I uh...thought I’d never see this place ever again, honestly.” Kun didn’t seem to smile, even in this moment of joy. Yet, the phoenix could tell Kun was insanely proud of him. “Oh, right. My Renjun wanted me to tell you that he is okay. He’s at home resting....Mmmm...Do you have any soda...? It’s been years since I’ve had a coke.” 

Renjun’s caramel brown hair glowed ember in a moment of excitement as he jumped to the kitchen happily.

“That’s right, you used to really like pop didn’t you?” He thought out loud, swiping a can of coke from the top shelf of the fridge.

“I like to drink one out in the place we used to play around as kids... I never really thought about it before, but I really miss those days.” He pondered reminiscently.

“Mmm...” Kun looked down at the floor, holding the can of coke tightly in his hands. Soft tears slowly fell down his face while he attempted to push them away and act like nothing was happening. “S-Sorry...Sorry I’m sorry...”

The distant arguing of two of the now awake members came crashing down the stairs. Winwin...and Yuta...Surprise, surprise. Winwin came tumbling over to Kun, tackle hugging him. 

“Saonac, soam-raoc acaas!!“ He slapped Kun right on the cheek, giving a small pout and sitting on his lap. 

“Shoth of!“ The stupid, tear-faced idiot returned. 

“Dhraeen~” Winwin stuck his tongue out, wiping Kun’s tears away. 

“I’ve missed you, too.”

The loud crash of a startled man came tumbling down the stairs, quickly collecting himself and looking at the group with wide eyes.

“I know the coordinates!”