#THE POTENTIAL KAI ANGST

[yourhighness6]

Ugh I will always love the concept of Katara using blood bending to revive Zuko after the last agni kai, mostly because it makes no sense to me that Zuko was able to bounce back so easily after being struck by lightning, but also because the way the show treats bloodbending is just odd to me. It was a defense mechanism created by a traumatized victim of some of the most devastating parts of colonization, and although I understand that Hama was supposed to symbolize the "bad parts" of waterbending and was important for Katara's growth in realizing that the world isn't entirely black and white, its still disappointing to me that the show never explored the gray areas of blood bending, especially since that episode was, as I stated above, about understanding the gray areas of the war. Katara using blood bending to revive Zuko would add so much to the last agni kai in demonstrating that she has truly realized that "good" and "evil" are relative concepts, and Zuko being saved by both a defense mechanism of a survivor of colonialism and a type of bending used to terrorize his people would have even added to his arc, as the narrative required him to save and subsequently be saved by the physical embodiment of everything his family sought to annihilate.

[spiderman2099sleftnipplepiercing]

Dropping snippets of SpidermanAU! because I can…. Yes, I reuse poses sue me. Pose thief here 🫣

From Earth 1985

Johnny Lawrence is the Valley's one and only Spiderman. (I know it's cringe okay, but couldn't decide between Encino or Reseda.)

His biological Father split, but he continues to live with his Mother and ass hat step-dad.

Kreese is the one who gets shot when Johnny storms out the Cobra Kai dojo one night. (Uncle Ben styled canon event)

His boyfriend Daniel Larusso, whom he failed to save when he was thrown from the clock tower. By none other, then his ex-best friend, turned green goblin Tommy. (Cry about it- Gwen Stacy who?)

These are just notes. Please hath mercy.

(Waiting for YA'LL to say NO MERCY.)

[alastair-1205]

Going feral about Ninjago again. Going feral about Dragons Rising. Thinking about how long Kai and Lloyd must have been by themselves in the monastery. I know the wiki says it was only a year but Sora and Arin being teenagers goes against that so I'm working under the assumption that it was like a 5 year gap and like.

Imagine all the holidays spent alone. Imagine them honoring their friends on Day of the Departed because they very well might be dead. Imagine them not celebrating birthdays because it hurts too much when it's just the two of them. Imagine how much Lloyd doesn't want to be alone again when Kai leaves. Imagine them going to ask Zane about a cooking thing or Nya about a tech thing in those first few weeks and them not being there.

I'm mentally ill about the legos guys.

[amadeusevenstar]

the thing about cobra kai is that it truly is one of if not THE saddest version of how the story could’ve gone after tkk and i think we need to talk abt that more

[princessniitza]

but what if Bee dies in Andor season 2 and Cassian I’ve-never-let-go-of-anything-in-my-life-ever Andor salvages what he can from his ruined processors and then uses that as a personality matrix when he re-programms the KX unit that becomes Kay

what then

[ninjago-writing-prompts]

Kai gets hurt on a mission.  He's prepared to feel suffocated by the caretaking of the other ninja, and to an extent he does, but despite how strange and wrong it feels to be on the receiving end of the care, a part of him blooms at their attention in a way that surprises and scares him.

[homo-house]

Lawrusso being canon is not enough I need them to have sex onscreen for a whole minute

[kaichi-animations]

“Are you proud, mama?”

[little-hermit-crab56]

I feel like there's going to be a moment in DR season 2 part 2 where Lloyd just snaps and yells at the kids (especially Wyldfyre) in a moment of blind rage simply due to the amount of stress he is under.

Like, think about it, Lloyd has been really patient with them all, and we all know Arin and Sora are just angels, but now we have Wyldfyre with no Kai to wrangle her in, the group from the land of lost things have just moved into the monastery and Fritz and Spitz are just a duo of chaos, Wyldfyre would be grieving Kai and undoubtedly she expresses her emotions through destruction, Kai is stuck in this netherworld place, Jay may come into the picture which will cause Nya to absolutely lose her mind, Lord Ras is still out there doing his evil shit, Arin might be having a bit of a corruption arc, not to mention this man probably is still plaqued with visions that keep him up at night, making him sleep deprived, along with whatever tension the next part brings, plus he has a history of anger issues.

Also the angst potential!! All these new characters know Lloyd as this calm and patient teacher whose also a bit of a loser, can you imagine how they'll react if he just snaps and starts yelling at them??

[lxikoniko]

I don't see many people, if anybody, talking about the angst potential of Jay only getting parts of his memory back, specifically the painful moments of being a ninja.

Getting his crush/gf stolen by his best friend, the entirely of Skybound, losing Nya to the sea, whatever the frick was happening to him when they were stranded during Hunted. Even just little moments like Kai teasing him and calling him expendable or Cole constantly making jokes about how he talks too much, just enough negative thoughts and memories to make him think the other ninja don't care about him or even hate him.

[yoichiris]

holding onto love | itoshi sae x reader but we were something, don't you think so? ✩ strangers to lovers, second chance romance, implied intercourse but not explicit, use of alcohol, mentions of pregnancy, abortion and miscarriages, angst to happy ending

you meet itoshi sae at one of his games in japan. you're running around the back halls of the stadium, sent on an errand by a producer, when you see him standing around, hands in his pockets.

"um," you stutter, "are you lost, itoshi-san?"

he looks at you with disinterest. "no," he replies, and doesn't elaborate any further.

you're conflicted. players, and especially itoshi sae, should not be here. in fact, he should be at the exact press conference that you were currently running around like a headless chicken for. so you stand there, awkward, until his stare turns into a glare.

"yes?" he finally says, annoyed.

you balance on the balls of your feet. "it's just," you mumble, "i can guide you back to the conference room if you need..."

"fuck off," he waves you off.

you wince. you had heard about sae's disdain for press, so you simply pivot, and go back to work. you're just an intern, after all.

the next time you meet sae you're working your first big event as a reporter. it's awards season, and sae is up for an mvp award.

you find him in a quiet hallway, lazily scrolling his phone.

"hiding again?" you ask, fuelled partially by the flutes of champagne you've consumed.

he doesn't even look up. "mind your own business," he sneers.

"you wouldn't happen to have a comment for me about potentially winning mvp again, would you?" it couldn't hurt to try, you think. plus, it'd be huge if you got a comment from itoshi sae.

"no," he replies, as you expect.

you nod, pulling your phone out and pretending to jot notes down. "super excited to be nominated," you taunt, "really happy that my talents are being recognized."

"you're really annoying, aren't you?" he finally looks up from his phone, and takes a step closer to you. "write this down. it's only natural that i get mvp again. and i will get it next year, too."

you whistle. "got it," you tell him with a smile, pocketing your phone. "you can go back to hiding now."

you're about to leave when he grabs your wrist, and the heat from his hand sends a jolt through your body. you try to keep your gasp.

"what's your name?" he asks, and somehow, he still looks disinterested.

you grin. "yn," you tell him pulling out your business card, "read my article when it comes out, kay?"

sae comes up to you at the next event, some charity fundraiser assignment that you took just to suck up to your boss.

"that article was inaccurate," he deadpans, and you're so glad that you're buzzed enough for this.

you hum breezily, knowing he had pressed like on your tweet of the outgoing article, "i had to make you sound like less of a douchebag."

"that's not your job," he snorts, leaning against the wall next to you.

you shrug. the fabric of his jacket lightly brushes against your bare arm and you shiver. he's so close to you now that you can smell his cologne, and it raises goosebumps all over your body.

he spends the next few minutes watching the crowd, while your heart is thumping hard in your chest.

"i'm leaving," he tells you suddenly, downing the rest of his champagne, "are you coming?"

you look at him, confused. coming where? but he starts walking, and you can do nothing else but follow. he leads you through the marbled corridors, to a darkened room, where he corners you against the nearest wall.

your breath hitches in your throat, your hands going up to hold sae's arms to steady yourself. he's so close to you, completely overwhelming you, in every inch of your space. his thumb brushes over your bottom lip, and you almost whimper from the sensation.

"i want to rip this dress off you," he murmurs, his fingers now trailing down the side of your neck, down to your collarbone.

you gulp. "p-please," you beg, gripping onto his biceps tighter.

sae is a decisive lover, moving aside the fabric of your dress as he pleases, touching where he knows makes you cry hardest, pressing into you when he feels you cling to him. you're inexperienced, but not clueless, and you do your best to match him.

when he lowers you back onto the granite floor, your knees almost buckle under you. he catches you around the waist, holding you up against him.

"need a ride home?" he asks, his voice raspy. his hair is messy, his eyes cloudy, and you can't believe what just happened.

you nod, breathless, taken away.

it never occurred to you until now that sae was really never in japan.

you see him once in a while, when he has to return. he always calls you, a simple word of i'm staying here, and texts you the address to his hotel.

and you always go, regardless of how busy you are. while he's gone you focus on your career, finally promoted to being on-air talent, providing commentary for various matches. you look good, he'll text you after the broadcast.

you start to feel sick, in the mornings before your broadcast. you think it's stress, it's nerves, but your breasts start to feel tender, and you start to eat a little more than you used to.

there's a sinking feeling in your stomach, and you think about how sae will be back tomorrow. so you take a pregnancy test.

you hadn't really thought about defining any relationship with itoshi sae. in the first place, he had never said anything about it, and in the second, you were both busy with your careers. you had been content with whatever this was.

but sometimes, when he's holding you, you let yourself wonder what it would be like if, instead of a hotel room, he came home to you in your modest apartment. in those moments, you let yourself be hopeful.

yet you sit at the island counter in the middle of his hotel room the next day, playing with the glass of water that he had handed to you, wondering if it would go differently if you hadn't been hopeful.

"i'm pregnant," you whisper, your voice small, looking down.

he's completely silent for a few moments. sae, above all, has always put his career before anything else. the fact resounds in your thoughts.

"lose it," he finally replies, "and this... it's over."

your heart drops.

you put down the glass of water on the counter with a clumsy clang, and sae still hasn't turned around to look at you. that's it? you think. what about us? what about me?

you feel numb, stumbling off the tall stool, vision blurry, barely making it to the exit before you find your voice.

"bye, sae," you rasp, feeling like you couldn’t even breathe, and walk out the door.

sae has google alerts on for you.

at first, he convinces himself that he's only confirming that you had not gone through with the pregnancy. and you hadn't, even though you had never told him anything else. some nights he lies in bed, in the dark, trying to remember the feeling of you beside him, and wonders how you dealt with it all by yourself.

you're a regular caster for matches in japan now. he watches all your broadcasts, telling himself he's reviewing plays, even though he knows that he never had any interest in japanese football.

he finds himself staring at the pictures of you, from your broadcasts, instagram, anywhere—comparing them to the vision in his mind.

and sometimes, he catches himself staring at your belly, wondering what it would look like if it had actually been swollen with his child. he wonders what you would be like as a mother, as his partner, what it would be like if you were still here, with him.

sae tells himself a lot of things, but all of them lead to you.

it feels like a twist of fate when you are one of the casters for his match in japan, even though logically he knows that it had been a huge possibility.

all eyes are on itoshi sae, home at last, you say at the opening. he thinks you sound different in that moment.

he listens to you with his eyes closed, your voice blasting through his headphones. he hears it when you're excited, when you're in disbelief, in every tilt of your voice. and he hears it when your voice cracks, just like that day in his hotel room, just as he makes a game-changing pass.

sae-kun saves the ball! you exclaim, just as he catches it with his foot. itoshi sae is always so reliable in these situations...

he winces when you break, reminding him that he hadn't been reliable, not for you.

you're up for a best newcomer in sports broadcasting award that winter—a small affair that no one but the concerned journalists would know about.

but he sees a small mention of it in the corner of a magazine, and makes it his mission to gain access to the event.

the truth is that he hadn’t stopped thinking about you. about how you sounded when you left his hotel room, or when he saved the ball and hadn’t saved you. or the other things about you: your hair across his pillow, your skin against his, the little mewl you do when you stretch out in the morning.

sae corners you outside the washrooms. he thinks you look beautiful, or maybe he's never wanted you more than he does at this moment.

"sae...!" you breathe his name and he watches as your face pales, "what...what are you doing here?"

he takes a step towards you, wanting so badly to be near you. he can't find the words to say to you, to convey how he's been feeling for the past year, to wash away the hurt that he must've caused you. he thinks he can't, that there's nothing to say, but there's no way he wouldn't try.

"congratulations," he tells you, and it's anticlimactic, "...on your award, i mean. i'm proud of you."

you furrow your brows. "...thank you," you reply, tentative, guarded, "but how did you even get into this ceremony?"

"i asked around," he says vaguely, as if he hadn't agreed to at least one condition he wouldn't have otherwise to gain entry.

sae searches your face for any reaction, but all he sees is confusion, turmoil. he sees the apprehension, the distance between you and him even though you're standing right in front of him.

"...i wanted to talk to you," he finally admits.

to you, sae has always looked unreachable.

even when he was holding you in his arms, the rise and fall of his chest right next to your ear, it didn't feel like he was there, with you. and really, he hadn't been.

"...about?" you steel yourself, thinking about the last words he had said to you, "are you here to make sure i didn't have your secret love child?"

you watch him flinch, and you think he deserves it.

"no," he replies, and he sounds almost apologetic, but his frustration bubbles, "i just..."

you cut him off. "sae," you whisper, fists clenched, pleading.

you won't look at him, can't look at him. your heart hurts and you can't stop the sob that rips through your throat when you think about last year, about the moment that stayed with you ever since. your tears drip on the floor.

"do you even know what it was like?" you cry, "to have you, to have this baby, and then to lose it all? to know that... none of it ever mattered to you?"

he catches both your hands, and you gasp when he falls to his knees, leaning his forehead on your stomach.

"i don't know what it was like," he murmurs, brushing his thumb over your knuckles, "but i know that i can't be without you anymore. i can't stop thinking about..." the way that you had stumbled out of my hotel room that day. how much i regret not chasing after you.

he trails off.

you hiccup. "there were...complications," you explain, "i miscarried, sae. and i just... if i had been stronger... if i had fought for us..."

he feels like he's been punched in the gut.

"it's not your fault," he rasps, adamant, the heat from his skin burning through the fabric of your dress, "...i should have been there."

he feels angry, at himself, frustrated, that he was so stupid, and so much shame, watching you cry, without being able to do anything to stop it.

but even if sae isn't good at admitting weakness, at admitting he was wrong, he is good at making goals and achieving them.

"i will be there," he swears, "next time, and every time after that."

when sae holds you in his arms at night, you can't help but think that he might disappear again.

sometimes you get this faraway look in your eyes, so he takes you and anchors you to him, and wonders if he can undo the hurt. he feels you relax against him, but knows that there are still doubts in your mind.

so when you start to dodge his embraces, when you start to sneak out of bed early in the morning, he knows that you're starting to slip from him.

"yn," he calls, following you out of bed one morning, cornering you against the counter, "what are you doing?"

"sae!" you yelp, bracing yourself on his shoulders when he cages you in, "uh, just... getting ready. you didn't want to stay in bed?"

he stares blankly at you, "no," he replies, then lowering his head to your shoulder, "what's wrong?"

"what do you mean, babe?" you ask innocently, playing with the ends of his hair. you soften as he snuggles up to you, rubbing his nose against the sensitive spot at the base of your neck.

you can almost feel him pouting when he says, "you've been running away from me."

"no, i'm—" you feel a wave of nausea roll over you before you throw him off, bending over the toilet to gag.

sae is immediately by your side, on his knees, gathering your hair in his fist in one hand and running his other hand down your back. nothing comes out, but you heave, again and again.

you're crying by the time you stop. he gathers you in his arms, and you cry a little harder.

"i think..." you hiccup, "i think i'm pregnant again."

you feel sae tighten his arms around you, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

"why are you crying," he murmurs, "i told you i would be here."

you rest your head on his chest, listening to his heart thump under you. he doesn't seem nervous, his heart as steady as it was a few moments ago.

"i know, i just..." you trail off, linking your hands with his, "i'm scared, sae."

you remember, in the weeks after getting back together, how insistent sae was on showing you he would be there. you think about the condo he commits to buying even though he's not in japan for half the year, just to move you in despite your protests so that he could come home to you.

you think about what he looks like when he walks through the front door, nonchalant, but always searching for you, and catching you in his arms when he sees you paying attention to anything else.

"i love you," he says, simply, obviously, "so don't be scared."

sae doesn't admit to loving you often, but baring his heart to you now, in this moment, makes you hopeful once again.

[spicyicymeloncat]

Look Kai’s angst to me isn’t “he had to raise his sister bc his parents went missing”.

To me, Kai’s angst is: without his parents he felt unsupported and he “lost his way” to quote the show. Feeling resentful and internalising their disappearance as some act of spite against him, which is why he feels the need to prove himself (trying to be a better blacksmith than his dad in the pilots, wanting to be the green ninja), and boost his ego; he’s coping with the abandonment.

However this is very self focused meaning he doesn’t spend the amount care people think he does towards Nya. He doesn’t fucking raise her. And btw I’m not saying he neglects her bc I don’t think you can neglect someone if you don’t have to fulfil that duty in the first place. She’s not a little baby in need of fatherly love from her brother who is like 2 years older than her. And yeah I think Kai probably should’ve paid more attention to her a little bit but that’s it. And the fact that he didn’t is interesting for both of them.

It’s like people ignore Nya’s constant theming of being independent and being left out. She always feels that she’s falling behind in s1, which is why she eventually decides to do her own thing. Her own true potential is about trying to be perfect because she’s got her own high standards due to feeling like she’s not good enough because she was abandoned and then afterwards she was only seen as “the girl ninja”.

Also every time Kai and Nya talk about their relationship in their childhood they always mention how they were equals in raising eachother and that Nya was independent and that Nya helped and supported Kai.

[ryukatters]

"Potentially in the mood to answer some thirsts and or short requests"

gojo, just gojo.

don’t make this harder on me — satoru gojo x reader

content/warnings: exes to lovers, some angst, obsession, potentially yandere, they both kith

pairing: gojo x fem! reader

summary: you need him to stop looking at you like that. you’re just friends now. gojo says otherwise.

Ex-bf! Gojo who is so miserably insufferable. You didn’t expect to see him much after you broke up with him, but if there’s one thing Satoru Gojo is, it’s persistent.

You’re not sure what you were thinking, honestly, given the fact that both of you share mutual friends. He’s unavoidable. Akin to a shadow, him. You can feel the way his strikingly blue eyes sear into your skin whenever he’s around.

He’s sweet, too sweet, even after you walked away and left him all lonesome. The break up was more one sided than anything, but when did Gojo ever say no to you?

You wanted some space? He’ll give you some. But you need to know he’ll do whatever it takes to win you back.

He’s sweet while he listens to you, subconsciously leaning in to hear you better, clinging on to every word as though he were afraid he’d miss a single step in the cadence of your voice. Even sweeter when he presses up against you, effectively pinning you in between him and the marble countertops in Suguru’s kitchen.

The party is loud, nearing its climax with everyone too intoxicated to see what’s going on where you two are at. The music drowns out and all you can see and hear is Satoru.

“I’ve missed you so much, baby,” he murmurs against your cheek, pressing a chaste kiss on your plump skin.

The pet name makes you snap back to reality, with both arms trying to push your ex off. He doesn’t budge. He does pull away though, enough for you to see the unmasked disappointment and hurt in his cerulean orbs. Your heart aches, and you have to remind yourself that it’s not your place to comfort him anymore— even if you’re the source of his heartbreak.

Your hands grip at his biceps, in an attempt to both put even more distance between you two and to steady yourself. In return, he tightens the grip on your hips.

You’re trapped. With Gojo. The sensible part of you wants to run, to keep that distance between you both because you know the weaker, less rational side of you wants to curl up in his familiar and warm embrace.

“Gojo,” you begin with a sigh. “You can’t call me that. We’re not together anymore.”

“It’s Satoru to you, princess. And that’s why I’m here right now, I’m gonna change that,” he brings one hand to cup your cheek, and you have to will yourself not to melt into his warmth.

“You can’t change anything,” you whisper, though it sounds more like a plea. Don’t. I don’t think I’ll have the strength to keep refusing you.

“Shh..” he coos, his lips pressing another kiss, this time towards one corner of your mouth. You can practically feel yourself salivate from anticipation. “We did it your way the first time, but now you’ve gotta listen to me, ‘kay?”

You stare at him blankly, afraid that any word or action that comes out of you will betray what you’ve been so adamant about.

Your silence is telling, and Satoru can’t help but smile. He loves how stubborn you can be at times, because it makes the reward so much sweeter.

He kisses you, on the lips this time, with such gentleness that it makes your head spin. You stay that way for a few seconds before he pulls away. You find yourself craving his touch. He studies you for a second, azure orbs calculating before he pulls back in, this time with a more forceful kiss.

You let out a whine of surprise and he swallows it wholeheartedly. He brushes his tongue against your lower lip, urging you to let him in.

And you do.

Satoru moans the minute you part your lips for him, his tongue swiping against yours and easily overpowering it. He wedges one of his legs in between yours, muscular thigh pressing up against the slowly growing wet spot by your core.

Your mind starts to grow fuzzy at the edges because he hasn’t parted from you, and it’s only when both of you are gasping for breath does he pull away, but doesn’t let you go.

“Toru…” you whine.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I want to hear, baby.”

You want to curse yourself for being so weak for him. But with the way he looks at you, how it looks like he thinks you hung the moon, you feel a little bit better.

“You know what else I wanna hear?” His lips brush against your earlobe, and it feels like your entire body is on fire. He nips at the cartilage a bit. “Come back home with me, so you can find out.”

Work belongs to @ryukatters. Please do not repost or translate my writing on any platform.

[huelovening]

let you break my heart again

hueningkai x reader

summary: you were soo sure confessing to hueningkai, would end up in a cute relationship between you two.

warnings: angst lol, like 1k words

it hasn't been long since you started talking to kai, your little crush growing stronger with each conversation you held.

you were pretty sure you might have a chance with him, the way he softly spoke to you, or how he always made sure you felt comfortable. but after all, he's always been nice, so it's kinda hard to tell if it's actual interest.

however, you will try to shoot your shot.

you've all planned it through, you spent time with kai multiple times a week but these past weeks you did everything for him to see your full potential. you went as far as trying a new make up style, dressing up cutely or wearing your hair in a way you knew he'd like.

you remember one peculiar moment that got engraved in your mind.

it was one of your usual hang outs with kai, you guys wanted to meet at the arcade but he insisted on picking you up, like the gentleman he is. with kai, there never was an awkward silence between you both, you could talk about anything with him.

at the arcade he showed you his 'video game skills', he was kinda bad but not that he would admit that. but then it came to show his ultimate talent. the claw machine.

within a few tries he'd win whichever plushie he had his eyes on. "kai, will you show me your tricks?" you had asked, jealous of the multiple plushies he won.

he laughed at your pout "sure" he positioned himself behind you "see, you gotta do it like that"

god knows you paid no attention to his words. the way your back was pressed against his broad chest and the way he guided your hands distracted you more than anything. you could literally feel his breath on your neck, you thought you were going to faint till suddenly huening kai's squeaking brought you back to reality, you (it was actually mostly him) had won a plushie.

"y/nie, you did it!!" he hugged you, you couldn't breath, you weren't sure if it was because of his tight grip or the because of how strongly you could smell his cologne while he was wrapped around your body.

after that situation you always seemed to be nervous around kai, sure, you've always liked him but the thought of confessing made you anxious. till you finally gathered up the courage.

you were supposed to have a picnic today, that's why you're preparing a bunch of food, cutting several fruits into heart shapes, it would be obvious that you had put a lot of effort into it. that thought made you smile, a kind soul like him appreciates things like that.

you were quite confident, you and kai grew close in such a short time, you spent a lot of time together, you were pretty sure he'd like you back. you've never discussed things like relationships with him, the subject just never coming up.

you planned to pick him up at his dorm, where you usually spent a lot of time together at. yeonjun opened the door for you, smiling at you. you were pretty sure he knew about your crush on kai, it was pretty obvious, to anyone but kai.

you truly didn't mean to eavesdrop but at the mention of your name, it came natural.

kai was heard standing in the kitchen with soobin, conversating about, well, you.

"are you going to confess to y/n? she seems to like you as much as you do." soobin teased him, kai just laughed it off, his next words making your heart drop.

"you know i don't like her like that, i still have my eyes set on yuna."

oh. oh!

"dude what? yuna rejected you, move on with someone you actually enjoy spending time with." soobin replied, his smile fading almost as much as yours did.

"whatever man, i'll keep going. y/n's probably there soon" kai sighed, making his way out of the kitchen, his eyes meeting yours.

"hi kai! shall we go? you look good." you managed to speak, you have no idea where that confidence came from but you would rather act like nothing happened.

his face has immediately brightened up and that smiles that has you weak in your knees showed up on his beautiful lips.

"right, let's go!" he laughed, taking your hand. he always did this, making you feel like you're the one he wants but, oh, apparently not.

the way to your picnic spot was quieter than usual, he did talk a lot whether it would be about a new pokémon game or a new song he learned on the piano. you were interested, truly. but you couldn't pay that much attention on his words.

while putting out all of the food from your picnic basket, it was obvious by now, that something was wrong with you. kai noticed, being worried as always. "y/n what's wrong? you look kinda pale, let me put out the rest of the food, lay down."

"i'm okay, just kinda feeling funny." you denied. fuck, he was making this really hard.

the words that earlier left his mouth keep crossing your mind, unable to focus on his words.

"love, please. you can talk to me, i don't want you to be upset." he stroked your hand while saying that. that was definitely the last straw.

"f-fuck! this is exactly it! you call me love, you hold my hand, you make me feel like i'm the only girl that's on your mind but then you say you don't like me that way? what do you want me to think? i didn't know this is how friends act." by now, you were sure you felt your eyes water, tears slowly dropping down.

kai kept silent, staring at you. the realisation hit him, that you must have heard his conversation with soobin earlier.

"y/n, i'm sorry i gave off that impression but i-i just don't like you the way you want me to." he said, voice sounding much more monotone now.

"i think i should go."

a/n: im so not sure if i want to write a pt 2 for this pls lmk if youd read it!!

[shadowkoo]

The Taste of Sin

→ Summary: Following his sister's passing, Taehyung faced a daunting battle within himself, one where he eventually succumbed to the enveloping shadows that gripped his soul. Your task is to free him from the clutches of the black magic that now consumes him. The only problem? He doesn't want to be saved.

↠ kth x f.reader | 6.7k words | 18+ ↠ genre: angst, strangers to lovers, smut, black magic au, warlock/witch au

→ Warnings: Read at your own risk! Includes scenes of abduction/kidnapping, minor and major character death & dead bodies, murder, stabbing, knives and other weapons, blood, rituals and witchcraft (duh), slight torture / exorcism-like behavior? idk how else to describe it askldjf;skljdl, illusions to scars, burning skin, unprotected sex, explicit sex, angry sex, fingering, choking, oral (female receiving), teasing, begging, rough kissing, magical fucking? (we’re making that a thing lol), deep dicking, creampie

→ Author note: Thank you so much for reading! All likes, comments, and reblogs are appreciated. If you would prefer to bookmark and read it later on AO3, you can find it crossposted here.

Long ago, every instance of magic served a positive purpose. According to the tale, the cosmos gave rise to two mighty entities, Kai and Nyx, after many years of stagnant magic. For magic had been around for centuries by this point, but no one truly had mastered it.

When the culling eliminated many witches and warlocks, the magical line of descendants began to diminish. Kai and Nyx would become the light that the survivors could look to for guidance and protection.

They grew in unison, fostering and educating their apprentices about the complete potential magic can provide and how to harness their talents. Nyx was beloved by the people, and Kai’s gifts were powerful enough to keep them safe from those who dared to harm them.

Over time, Kai's feelings of resentment towards Nyx and his responsibility to safeguard only grew. He yearned to be worshipped. The affection that was once mutual turned into malice, and a sinister shadow wrapped around his soul. It tickled his spine, twisting around through his veins, until he let it take over and embraced the darkness within.

That was the day Black Magic was born.

In the present day, those who are gifted with magical powers are either deemed Sacred or Sinful once they’ve matured. It’s common knowledge that all witches and warlocks are originally born Sacred. Evil isn't born. We know that to be true. It's a learned behavior, created over time. However, the path someone follows in life can change everything.

It's not a matter of what side a witch chooses, but what side chooses them. And unfortunately, it's not as simple as good versus evil, light versus dark, or right versus wrong. 

It boils down to a witch's determination to defend themselves and the length their loved ones will go to in order to resurrect the person they once knew.

But black magic doesn't discriminate. It shows no concern for your family lineage, your economic status, or your future aspirations.

It's patient. 

It bides its time until your vulnerability allows you to embrace even the slightest taste before it creeps into your soul, waiting until you make the choice to devour it completely. 

At that point, you can no longer tell where the darkness ends, and a witch begins. They are now one.

So when the Kim family unexpectedly lost their sweet boy to the Sinful, they knew it would be nearly impossible to get him back.

The only way his soul can be saved is by someone who is accustomed to the taste of black magic helping to remind him of who he truly is.

"This is a photo we took on his eighteenth birthday. That was five years ago. We didn’t know it would be the last photo we would ever take of him..." Mrs. Kim hands you the photo and sniffles, a sign that she’s attempting to keep her composure.

'Please don’t cry, please don’t cry.’ you repeat to yourself. For being upper-class witches, they sure are some of the more sensitive ones. You can tell that they truly care for their estranged son.

Deep down you know that they have all the right reasons to feel this way, but your lack of certain emotions, specifically sympathy, makes it a little difficult for you to feel compassion in moments like this.

Ever since you were rescued from the darkness you've had a hard time understanding emotions and sensitivities. You don’t like either. They make you vulnerable, and vulnerability is dangerous for someone like you.

You are an exception to the rule, neither completely Sacred or Sinful. You’re a part of the Saved; a group of witches that have been brought back from the Sinful. Of course, you can never get rid of the darkness completely. It lingers in your blood, but you’ve learned to control it.

"So do you know what happened that allowed him to let the darkness in? I know that your family is one of the stronger bloodlines, so it couldn’t have been that his powers were limited. And he's not a half-blood either?"

Mr. and Mrs. Kim share a look, debating if they should disclose the reason to you.

"You're right. He was strong up until his sister died. He abandoned his powers and lost interest. We would have to plead for him to do anything remotely related to magic, and even then he put up a fight."

'That would do it. An emotional, grieving warlock that refused to use his powers would be an easy target.'

You rest your hand on Mrs. Kim's in an attempt to console her. "You know this is going to be difficult, right? He's been gone for so long. Are you sure your son is still in there?"

"I know he is. He has to be," she urges, her eyes begging for you to help them.

"Okay..." you say softly, "Were you able to track him? Where was he last?"

"On the east side of the city. We used a spell to pinpoint his exact location, and he was spotted three days ago on camera outside of this mini-mart." Mr. Kim hands you the blurry image. 

"Well, it looks like I’ve got some work to do. I’ll keep you two updated."

Taehyung gazes at the street lamps' reflection on the wet pavement. Unaware of the earlier rain, he stares at the puddles left in the wake of the storm.

His daze breaks as he catches the familiar sound of a woman's heels approaching. He closes his eyes, envisioning the woman within the shadows of his mind.

'She'll work,' he decides, watching her walk quickly in his general direction. Astral Vision is just one of the perks of turning dark. 

He waits until she’s closer, then conceals his body before she can see him lingering in the shadows outside of the bar. The spell took less than a second to manifest, and then he grabs her. One hand over her mouth and the other pushing her towards his car.

The woman is terrified, rightfully so, and Taehyung feeds on her fear. Her pale face, wide eyes, and fast pulse excite him.

He would have preferred to keep her lucid, but she wouldn’t stop screaming. Her high-pitched shrieks still echo in his ears. Thankfully, the sleeping spell he casts knocks her out, making the car ride enjoyable for the most part. 

If only there was a spell that silenced the constant whispering in his ear…

It doesn’t take long for them to arrive at his place. This part of the city was known for being the center of the dark arts, so when the woman's body trails behind him in the air, no one questions it because everyone is used to seeing some fucked up shit. Hell, last week someone set a captured spirit loose and kept walking through the walls of the old apartment building.

As they enter the dark lair, Taehyung waves his hand around and his magic carries the woman’s body to the worship room and gently lays her down on the makeshift altar table.

At the snap of his fingers, she wakes and frantically glances around at her new surroundings. A fireplace full of black flames, candlesticks everywhere she looks, pentagons and other unrecognizable sigils painted across the walls, and a mysterious man walking toward her with a devilish smile.

"Blood is old. Blood is powerful. Blood is exactly what the darkness wants." He starts chanting, making his way around her body, circling her.

"No, please!" The woman yells as she struggles against the restraints that suddenly appear from thin air. "Please. I beg you," she cries, "I have a child. She's two. *Please!*" The woman continues to sob as he lifts the knife in the air

"Shut up. This will go by faster if you just shut the hell up."

It wouldn’t matter if she was pleading as if her life depended on it. In this case, it did, but that’s irrelevant. Nor does the look in her eyes when she realizes she was going to die tonight. 

Taehyung doesn’t care. He just wants the whispering to end, and the only way to make that happen is to do what it told him.

So he did.

You listen quietly as Taehyung completes his incantation, completely drawn in by the way he handles his power. The unlit candles that fill his room all ignite when he finishes, signaling that your cover is close to being blown now that you’re no longer hidden from plain sight.

The girl notices your figure and wails out when your eyes manage to lock. If it hadn’t been for the fact that she saw you already, you weren't sure when, or how, you were going to make your presence known. 

That's how easily the darkness can get to you. You didn’t even realize when it had you paralyzed in time. And if a witch isn't aware at all times, they have a higher chance of being taken over.

"Please save me! I see you, help me!" Her shrill voice pierces through the empty room. You duck by a bookshelf and wait to see if he spots you too. 

Taehyung pauses to glance around; he doesn’t sense anyone so he closes his eyes and continues with his plan.

When you step out of the shadows she repeats herself, begging to be let go, begging for you to help her. 

You take another step closer, moving slowly while racking your brain for how you’re going to get her out of here when suddenly the dark flames quit dancing in the fireplace. Every candle in the room turns toward you and the room becomes too quiet.

Someone taps on your shoulder. Startled, you turn your head to find no one there. And when you move to face the woman again, a tall figure stands in your way.

"Who the hell are you?" Taehyung demands, a mere few inches from your position.

If you weren’t slightly concerned about what he was going to do to you next, you probably would have laughed out loud. That blade is pointless. You both know that he can do a lot more damage with his powers now that the darkness is on his side. 

Speaking of which, his other hand twists at his side and you guess he’s trying to inflict pain on you somehow.

You know this must be true when he frowns, clearly confused as to why you aren’t on the floor in crippling agony.

"Oh, yeah. That doesn't work on me babe, clearly not human." You admit rather smugly. His demeanor tenses as you close in on him. "You should really put the knife down. You don't want to accidentally hurt her, do you?"

"That's exactly what I want to do," he hisses, using his magic to send his knife flying through the air and into her chest before you can even process what’s happening. 

The second the blade touches blood, every candle in the room is extinguished.

You somehow manage to hold in your surprised gasp, despite not being ready for that.

This job isn’t for everyone. You’ve witnessed a lot of death in your short time as Saver. If it wasn’t for the good pay and the sense of accomplishment, (not to mention the high probability of making Nyx proud) there was no way in hell you would willingly put yourself in this traumatic position.

That's what you remind yourself of anyway. Especially since it’s hard finding anything else with your label. Damn witch society and their stupid social standings for making everyone believe that a Saved witch is any less of value than a Sacred one.

It’s been a while since your last assignment, and after how badly that one had ended, you’ve been contemplating if it was a mistake to come so soon - just like your coworkers had presumed. 

You brush those thoughts aside and remember why you’re here, to save.

"Did you have to kill her? Was that really necessary?" you prod.

"Yeah, it gets them off my back," he huffs, "What do you want?" He peers at you, trying to figure you out.

One ‘perk’, for lack of a better word, of being one of the Saved is that when a Sinful reads you, they catch onto the lingering darkness and assume you're one of them. It makes it easier for them to trust you, which inherently makes your job easier.

"Need a place to crash for a week or two. I sensed you from outside. Thought it was safe here since we're the same and all that." You had rehearsed this part, knowing you would need a valid excuse to get close to him. And it was normal, the Sinful did usually group together. Everyone is stronger in numbers.

"Does this look like a boarding house to you? Get the fuck out." He turns back to the dead woman's body and catches her blood in a vessel filled with ash and other unrecognizable ingredients.

"What kind of ritual is this?" You ask, ignoring his demand and following him around the room as he throws other components into the blood pool. "Looks very...ancient?" It looks disgusting if you’re being completely honest, but you have to play along. "Need help?"

"Why aren't you leaving?" He questions. "Did I not make myself clear? Get. Out."

"What if we make a deal," you suggest, starting your plan. "I'll clean up your messes and stay out of your way and you let me stay here. I'm a newbie, if you can't tell. So far I'm really enjoying how much I don't care. I can do whatever and go wherever I want. Well actually I can't, I think I'm being hunted-" Your rambling trick works and he interrupts you, clearly irritated. and doing whatever he can to shut you up.

Taehyung rubs a hand over his face when he realizes he can't get rid of you, "Okay! Okay, I really don't give a shit. Stay here then. Whatever. Just stop talking. Fuck."

It’s rather easy getting him to cave, but in retrospect, that's not a good thing. It just proves how far gone he is. For example, who doesn't care if a random person - specifically a person who broke into their home - stays with them for an uncertain amount of time? He just doesn't care. And that's scary.

He walks towards the door, the vessel still in hand, and turns to you to say, "I'll be back later. Take care of the body."

Lovely.

3:00 AM

There’s a reason why this time of night is called the witching hour. That's when witches and warlocks are the most powerful. 

So here you are, cross-legged and floating above the floor, getting ready to do something rather invasive, but effective. You aren’t sure if there’s a specific name for what you’re doing, but you’re basically putting yourself into Taehyung’s dreaming mind to pull the memories out of their hiding spots.

When the darkness takes over, it pushes everything aside and fills your mind with disturbing thoughts instead of your own, and it does this so quickly that you forget almost everything about yourself in a matter of minutes.

It’s also tricky because you aren’t able to detect what the memories are until after having drug them out from the deepest pockets of his mind. You have a 50/50 chance of this working in your favor, and you really need it to.

Being inside someone's dream is like being underwater. You don't move as fast as you usually do, and everything's a little fuzzy to look at. Thankfully Taehyung is smart enough to have his memories boxed away, so it isn’t hard to find them. You reach for the nearest one to you, then proceed to open the lid.

The first memory that you pull is one from Taehyung's childhood. You watch his family run around the beach, laughing and splashing around in the salty ocean water.

You reach for another, and suddenly it's autumn. Older Taehyung and his younger sister are kicking the leaves around in the park. A crisp breeze carries the leaves away in the wind while they play.

The next memory leaves you chilled. Taehyung is driving through a snowstorm on his way home after picking his sister up from school. He didn't want her to drive in this weather. You watch in horror as a deer runs out in front of them. He swerves and the car spins on the icy road before rolling several times. They're knocked out for a while, and when Taehyung finally comes to he notices that she's no longer next to him, and there's a giant hole in the windshield.

You return to your body, which is covered in a cold sweat. 'What a terrible way to watch a loved one die. No wonder he let the darkness in.'

You’re ready for your next plan of attack the following morning when Taehyung finds you in the kitchen. His face twists when he notices your bowl, he’s not-so-secretly judging your choice of food.

"What? A witch has to eat." You say, defending the sugary cereal. "Plus, it was in your cabinet. You bought it."

"Didn't buy it. Also not my house, I'm just ahhh - renting it for the time being." He grins, obviously satisfied with his response.

'He's in a rather decent mood. Especially compared to yesterday. Does that mean the memories worked? There's only one way to find out...'

"So," you start, even though you know Taehyung isn’t paying attention to you, "How did you sleep?"

"I relived my sister's death last night." 'Yeah. That one's on me. My bad.' "But I also dreamed about this breakfast cafe near my favorite park that my family used to eat at every time we came to the city."

Your eyes grew in size when you realize that he remembered a memory all on his own. This is really good. Really, really good.

Taehyung wakes up feeling different, but he can’t place how. For the first time in a while, he doesn’t hear whispering, and he can’t help but wonder if you have something to do with that.

'It must be', he decides. 'You, for whatever reason, keep the whispering at bay.'

And then it clicks. You're one of them. And he doesn't know what to do about it.

You're here to fix him. But he doesn't want to change. To go back to a normal life. Well, as normal of a life as a warlock can have.

He sits up in bed and opens his palm. The smallest flame appears and he watches it dance in his gloomy room. He doesn’t want to miss this. Without black magic, Taehyung is nothing but a weak man, incapable of protecting the people he cares about.

He plays it off when he sees you in the kitchen, choosing to talk about his dreams last night, and watches your face light up when he threw in that last one.

"Do you want to visit that place today? It sounds like it's nice," You suggest before getting up to put your empty dish in the sink.

Taehyung's face drops, he’s right. You’re one of the Saved.

"You'd enjoy that, wouldn't you? It's too bad that place doesn't exist," he hisses before driving you backward. Your head bounces off the wall and he doesn’t hesitate to push the knife he had hidden earlier against your windpipe.

"Do you think I'm an idiot? I know what you are," he seethes. His rage deepens as his face lowered to yours. His eyes burn into yours, "You're Saved. And now you're trying to save me. Correct?"

You swallow slowly and nod. This is a serious situation. At any point, Taehyung could snap. Then who would save him?

Both of you proceed to look at each other, waiting for the other to do something stupid. He presses the knife further into your skin, fighting with himself to end your life. But he can’t, for some reason, he’s intrigued and wonders ‘What if?’

"Fuck it," he breathes, having made up his mind, and closes the gap between you. His lips move against yours in a fight for power. The forgotten knife drops to the floor and his arms move to hold you tightly between his body and the wall.

You’re in shock. This isn’t supposed to happen. Definitely not a part of your plan. You don't sleep with the people you're supposed to save; you're pretty sure there's a rule against that somewhere. But strangely enough, you aren’t complaining. He’s a good kisser.

'This really shouldn't be happening.'

No matter how wrong it may be, you let things continue. He has you shoved up against the wall, his lips covering yours. 

Taehyung’s magic massages along the sides of your body, before joining in the middle and going right for your center.

He knows exactly what you want before you do, touching the right places, and bringing goosebumps to your skin's surface with every motion.

He’s addictive - whether it’s because of the taste of sin on his skin or the taste of the black magic vibrating through his veins - you can’t get enough of it.

Practically every nerve in your body is on fire and you haven't even gotten to the fun part yet.

You moan when the pressure between your legs grows, and bite your lip in an attempt to keep them in.

"You should be running in the opposite direction right about now," he purrs before leaning to drag his tongue along your neck.

"Oh please, I'm not going anywhere. Not until I get what I want." You pant. 

"And what do you want?" he questions with a sly smirk.

"You." 'And to save you.'

He doesn’t hesitate to tear your clothes off before removing his own.

"Please," you beg, needing to be touched by him. Your insides ache for more of him.

He brings a hand up and closes it around your neck, "No talking. Got it?"

You nod again, secretly enjoying the slight pressure and the tingling feeling the lack of oxygen creates.

He lifts one of your legs and you wrap it around his waist, opening yourself up for him. His fingers sink into your heat, moving at a pace you can’t keep up with, preparing you for what’s to come next.

Another moan leaves your swollen lips as he pushes into you without hesitation. Your back arches involuntarily and you squeeze your eyes shut at the amount of intense pleasure running through your body. 

Taehyung holds firmly onto your sides and he pounds into you relentlessly. His deep thrusts have you close to seeing stars. The magic he’s using simultaneously leaves behind sensuous, shadowy caresses upon your skin as he takes you to another dimension.

“Fuck,” he growls before placing lingering wet kisses along your neck. You marvel at how he stretches your insides out in the most delicious way.

“Don't stop. Keep going,” you choke out, unable to stay silent any longer, “Please keep going, oh god!” You’re so close to the edge. A few hard thrusts later and you’re shaking as the coil deep inside you snaps, sending waves of white heat throughout your body.

You whimper when he continues to pound into you, his release not far off. Taehyung moans one last time before releasing into you, and your convulsing walls suck in his warm seed.

You shudder when he slowly pulls out of you and dropped to his knees. A small gasp slips out when his parted lips meet your center. Your fingers grasp onto his hair as his tongue dove deep into you.

Taehyung indulges himself in your sweet taste. For whatever reason, he can’t get enough of you. It isn’t until you’re pleading for him to give you a break that he releases your already sensitive nub.

He takes a moment to catch his breath, and once he has he stands back up. Both of your chests are moving at the same pace as you look into each other's eyes, almost asking, what now?

"Okay. Well, um, I'm gonna shower... I'll see you later?" Fuck, you don’t know how to talk to him after that. Are you supposed to thank him for the best sex of your entire life? Do you just quit your job and run away?

Taehyung, on the other hand, is in awe. He isn’t sure what kind of spell you have over him but he’s already craving more.

He doesn’t care enough to argue about the fact that you lied to him. Not after that. 

Plus, sex is sex. If he has to put up with your annoying habits and attempts to 'save him' for a while longer for good sex then he will. Simple as that.

With his decision made, he accompanies you into the bathroom. "I hope you're ready for round two."

Honestly, you aren’t sure how long you’ve been with Taehyung. The days tend to blend together, particularly due to your inconsistent sleeping schedule.

You still have your mission in mind, but it isn’t something you desire to finish right away. The small sliver of darkness inside of you rejoices when you push your duties aside.

The second Taehyung becomes Saved and is returned to his family, you have to say goodbye. And that's something that you aren't prepared for. You know now that your heart has gotten involved, which is a dangerous game to play.

This is exactly why they say to never mix business with pleasure. It makes such a mess of things.

Taehyung keeps you in bed for most of the day, for reasons most can assume, and your exhausted body isn’t tired of this routine just yet. Habit has it that you usually fall asleep, phone in hand. So it’s no surprise that when you awoke to it vibrating you already knew what to expect.

After rubbing the sleep from your tired eyes, you squint at the bright screen in an attempt to read what it says.

Unknown Caller

Your heart sinks, and you crawl out of bed. 'This isn't going to be good.' You hurry to make it out of the bedroom before answering.

"Hey, Taemin-"

"It shouldn't be taking you this long to track a Sinful." Your supervisor interrupts, "What the hell is going on? Are we losing you?"

"Nothing's going on, I swear. I tracked him at first but then things got complicated. I even managed to break into his place." Your excuse is half-true. "I’ll keep you updated on my progress-"

"It’s been over a month. You have 48 hours to bring him in, or we're giving the case to Dino. My advice is to get the Sinful bastard on a leash and *bring him in.*" He hangs up on you and his words echo in your mind. 48 hours. 48 hours until someone else is taking him from you.

"Who was that?" Taehyung asks with a scratchy voice when you crawl back into bed.

"Wrong number. Go back to sleep," you whisper. You wait for his breathing to even out and take the risk of projecting into his mind once again. It’s dangerous to flood him with so many memories this fast but you don’t have a choice. You pluck memory after memory out of those damn boxes, hoping that it’s enough to make him come back. You’re running out of time.

The following morning, you realize just how dangerous it can be. Taehyung is in a sour mood from the second he wakes.

"Why can't you just stay out of my mind for one night!" he hollers, climbing out of bed and trying to get away from you as fast as possible. "I know you were in there. Why do you have to remind me of her." His voice cracks and it pains you to see how much he’s hurting.

You can’t stop though. Even though he’s in pain, he’s still feeling, and he needs to feel to get better. “Because your memories are important-”

"Stay out of my fucking head!" He rages, cutting you off and disappearing before you can say anything else.

It's now been several hours since you saw him last. Maybe you were pushing him too hard and the darkness realized that it's being forced out. They call it a flare-up; it’s like the last straw. The darkness will do anything to stay in its host, even if that means harming them.

Once Taehyung returns, you try not to panic when you see the bruises all over his body. Not normal purple-blue bruises, but deep green and black ones. Serious ones. Especially for a warlock. These kinds of bruises are caused by magic. Strong magic. Typically black magic.

"Oh my god, what happened?" You rush to him the second he steps in the door. He’s shirtless, hands all bloody, and covered in those god-awful bruises.

"I don't- I don't know. Blood everywhere. The bodies. I don't know."

Your hands rest over his and you close your eyes, focusing on retracing his steps with your gifts.

You’re transported to an alley, where you watch as Taehyung attacked a mob of the Sinful. You wince when he snaps the first man’s neck and then consumes the darkness seeping out of the slumped body. He claims the additional power for himself, as he does with the rest of the people that you see left lying around.

You pull yourself back to the present and look at Taehyung. With more black magic running through his veins, heat radiates from his body and his muscles tense, hoping to be used in another battle shortly.

"Taehyung, I know it hurts to remember and feel these emotions but I really need you to keep them. Don't let the darkness take them away. Please, Taehyung. It's important." His eyes meet yours and you can see the fight he’s putting up from the inside.

"I'm trying. I really am."

Your fingers trail down his cheek, "I know. I know how hard it is, and I know how strong you are. You can do this."

"I can't." Tears stream down his face, "I'm nothing without it, I'm weak. I have to let it in again. I need it."

His entire demeanor changes after saying those words, not realizing the weight that they carry. He’s so close, and now it’s back. He’s rid of the darkness for just a few short minutes and he’s so broken. There’s no way you can save him all on your own.

"You," He says, his voice deepening to something sinister, "Don't you know when to give up? Haven't you realized he doesn't want you to save him?"

"He wants to be saved. You just won't let him go. I'll get him back, and I'll get you out for good," you spit out.

"It's been too long, he's never coming back," the voice gloats, although the darkness that spills through his lips doesn’t match his eyes. "How pathetic it is that you have feelings for this weak warlock. Don't you know that he will never be the same? He won't love you. He doesn't even know what love is. Stupid girl."

"That's a lie." You remind yourself that this isn’t Taehyung talking. This was the darkness. “He’s capable and worthy of so much love, unlike you.”

Even though you know better, there’s a small part of you that’s scared it’s true. 'What if it’s impossible for him to love? Even after he comes back?'

Taehyung can’t help it. He really tried. But it’s just too strong of a fight for him. He doesn’t have the energy.

And you don’t have time to waste. Grabbing onto his head, you stare into his eyes, "I'll get you out of there, I promise." He tries to pry your hands off but you hold on strong. "I promise, Taehyung. Please hold on just a little longer."

You hate to leave him, especially after a momentary breakthrough, but you need help. So you dial the one person you know you can depend on.

"Hey Dino, how fast can you and the others get here?"

It's been different since you've left.

Taehyung doesn't understand why he feels this way, or why he feels at all. He doesn't care, at least that's what he's telling himself to get through the past couple of days. Although he can't help but wonder why you left, and if you’ll ever come back.

It’s thoughts like these that have him so distracted, that's why he doesn’t sense them. That's why they’re able to capture him. Once again, Taehyung is nothing but a weak warlock - even with black magic on his side this time.

Whoever it is, they’re strong enough to cast a sight spell. He can’t see anything. He doesn’t know where he’s being taken.

When they finally release the spell, he's confused by his surroundings. He was almost expecting to see more Sinful wanting to suck the rest of his powers out for their own benefit this time.

To his genuine surprise, it's you.

You and a crowd. All Saved witches and warlocks. Even though he knows what's coming, he's terrified. Not many make it through this part.

"I know you're smart, so I don't need to explain to you that this is going to hurt like a bitch. But I need you to hold on. The darkness is going to want you to give up, and I swear to god Taehyung, if you let that happen I will kill you. You need to hold on."

The group circles around his body and began chanting the spell while you prepared to do the worst part. You refuse to let anyone else do this. 

It’s horrific, to say the least. No one enjoys burning protective sigils into another person's skin, especially when that person is someone you love. You know better than to look at his face when you do this, but his screams remind you of how terrible it hurts, and the scars on your arms ache having been in this exact position. The smell of melting flesh is enough to make you sick to your stomach, let alone the combination of all of these things.

Hell is nothing compared to what a witch goes through to be Saved. The rush of everything that you have done but technically didn't do, the people you murdered, the emotions and memories that come flooding in. It's a lot to be overwhelmed with. And sadly, not everyone can handle it. 

You pray to Nyx that Taehyung is capable to make it through this.

'I'm okay, keep going.'

Raising your gaze to him as his voice sounds in your mind, he reassures you that this has to be done.

'Whatever happens, keep going.'

You nod, holding back tears when he lets out another blood-curdling cry.

You don't know what happened. An eerie sensation washes over you as you try to make sense of the scene in front of you. Someone screams. Who’s screaming? You don’t recognize them to be coming from you, but it has to be. The only thing you’re able to focus on is someone dragging you away from his cold, limp body.

Dino holds onto you through your endless fighting, "He's gone. We need to move. You know we're all at risk with that kind of dark power floating around, unseen."

And that’s the last time you saw Taehyung.

Life after leaving the city is hard. 

You refuse to talk to anyone about what happened, but they all have their own assumptions. Even your supervisor wants you to take more time off but you’ve been declining. Surrounding yourself with work is the only distraction capable of taking your mind off everything else.

You’ll gladly do anything but sit at home where you actually had time to think.

The assignment you recently returned from had been really underwhelming; you brought back and returned the woman to her husband in less than a day. A new record for you. All it took was a handful of wedding photos and snap - she was back. Granted, this one was only gone for a fortnight, so it was an easy job compared to... You let that thought end abruptly, refusing to say his name.

Unlocking your front door, you take a step inside and drop your bag at your feet, your magic closing and relocking it for you. 

'Something is wrong.'

You feel it, someone else’s presence. You have no idea how or why - but someone is in the next room over. Your magic can sense theirs.

Nobody knows where you live, not even the other Saved witches. You need to have your safe haven in case anything ever happens. Your house is spellbound to keep the Sinful from entering. However, if a Sinful took in an absurd amount of darkness, it isn’t impossible for that to happen. And you’re terrified to find out who is waiting for you.

It isn’t common for them to hunt you down but in the rare event that it does happen, you have certain protocols to follow, or else things can get very dangerous. Scared to death, you keep your hands at bay and pull yourself mostly together before walking into the living room.

"Why are you crunched over walking like that?"

Letting out a yelp, you immediately turn to your left. “Taehyung?" Your hand rests on your beating heart. 'He's alive?'

"Before you ask, yes I'm alive, and yes it's actually me." It takes you a moment to register his words, which he completely understandable. He knows you must have been through a lot these last couple of weeks. Especially since everyone assumed he was dead.

"There's no way... It’s not possible. Dino checked before we left, you were dead. I don't know how you are here right now." 

'You're hallucinating. That's the only realistic answer. You're going crazy and imagining all of this. There is no way Taehyung was alive this whole time. You would have known.'

"Well, apparently he didn't do his job very well because here I am," he chuckles. This is so not the time for chuckling and happy reunions.

You know it’s cliche to do so, but you really just had to poke him in the chest to check. Magic-wise, you can tell he’s alive. You can also tell that he’s still a warlock again, blessed with the gifts of Nyx, but you can’t place any darkness within him.

"How is that possible?” you mumble to yourself, reading his soul again.  All Saved have a trace of darkness...but he has none.

"This might be a wild assumption, but can it be due to the fact that I died and came back? I don't think the darkness could withstand that."

"That seems logical." You’re still weirded out by this whole ordeal but that answer would work for now, at least until you brought him to the base tomorrow to be checked out. "So then why were you hiding in the corner?"

His lips curl up, "What can I say, I learned from the best."

"Okay, so then why are you here? In my house?"

"I needed to see you. I didn't believe it at first either when I first woke up. I thought maybe I turned into a ghost or something, that my spirit was trapped since I died dark. But people noticed me on the streets. And for the first time in years, only my own thoughts were in my head. No whispering." He rests a hand on your cheek, "You saved me."

“It was my job,” you blurted out, not knowing what to say. This is absurd, everything that had just happened made absolutely zero sense. 

He gives you a look, knowing better than to believe that was the only reasoning for why you pushed so hard to bring him back.

"And can I just say for my personal well-being that I never wanted to hurt myself more than the day when fake-me said that it was impossible for me to love you. You have no idea how hard I was fighting to come through and say the exact opposite."

Taehyung steps forward and pulls you against his body, "Because I do, I love you."

Your heart nearly bursts having heard him confess the truth. Raising your hands up to his head, you pull him down into your waiting kiss, where you pour love and light into one another.

While you’ve become accustomed to the taste of sin on his lips, you’ve got to admit, the taste of love is so much better.

©shadowkoo 2023. All rights reserved.

[riptide0602]

Correct me if I'm wrong,but noone except Kai knows that Bonzle survived,right?That means Cole and the whole Lost family think she's gone. Not even dead,just gone bc all her power was used up for the ritual.There's so much angst potential here.