#and today was the confrontation and i told him things from my view

[mimimui]

hellooo i saw your 'genshin men asking for a kiss' and i loved it sm your writing is amazing <333

can i request relationship headcanons for the genshin men. specifically alhaitham but idm who else you add

stay cool and have a good day/night :)

genshin boys as your boyfriend

includes: alhaitham, scaramouche, kazuha, diluc, kaeya, childe, xiao

tags: established relationship, endearments, fluff, not proofread, non-mortal/adeptus reader in xiao's

a/n: thank you so much ♡⸜(˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)⸝♡ aaaah i am back after being mia..! the writers block is beating me up so hard rn + its 3am :') i wrote each part in different time frames so the writing might seem inconsistent aghuahgu i hope its still ok :( anyways, as always .. enjoy !

ALHAITHAM

he asked you to be his s/o while you were playing tcg together. you were in the middle of your turn when he asked you, and it'd be an understatement to say you were shocked.

(y/n): i'll use this support ca- alhaitham: will you be my s/o? (y/n): what? (shocked) alhaitham: what? (questioning)

while alhaitham is a bit aloof, he does loves teasing you. he would hide your things and help you look for the lost item like he doesn't know where it is.

when you're eating outside, he would step on your feet under the table. you can confront him about it all you want, but he will keep acting innocent.

if he's standing behind you, be wary because he might just throw his coat over your head as a joke, and then act like he did nothing.

alhaitham: do you want help putting on my coat? (y/n): seriously, haitham? alhaitham: yes? i'm seriously asking if you want my help.

when it comes to cooking, he'd leave you to do it. alhaitham would rather look forward to a meal you cook rather than a meal he helped make.

dinners are usually quiet, but if you want to tell him about the person that skipped in front of you in line today, then he's all ears.

the first time he told you he loved you, you were giving him a gift. you were smiling so brightly when giving it to him that he didn't know whether to be thankful for the gift or for you.

or at least you think that was the first time he said he loved you.

it was actually when you were asleep the first time you slept over. a very meaningful "i love you" was whispered softly in your ear.

SCARAMOUCHE

he brought you somewhere with a nice view. he grabbed your hand without warning, and when you asked him where he was taking you, he said, "no need to be nervous, just want you to see something."

(y/n): thank you for bringing me here, scara. scaramouche: you're my s/o, there is no need to thank me. (y/n): i'm your s/o...? scaramouche: are you not informed about that or what?

it turns out that scaramouche planned to ask you a long time ago, and from the amount of times he's rehearsed in his head, his mind convinced him that he already asked you.

you laughed at him when you witnessed the moment he realized he forgot to actually ask you. he huffed at your reaction.

he acts annoyed whenever you ask to try on his hat, but his actions contradict his words as he places it on your head.

scaramouche: there are a lot of places where you can get hats, i don't even know (places hat on your head) why you want mine. (y/n): :D scaramouche: if it falls, i'll laugh at you. (y/n): >:(

scaramouche would make you food if you ask him to. he's glad to do it, but he wouldn't want you to thank him. he thinks thanking him for things he's happy to do is a waste of effort.

it's somewhat his unspoken rule to never leave you alone at the table. even if he doesn't join you for the meal, he'd sit down just to accompany you while you eat.

he denied it when you heard him tell you he loved you. the three words escaped his lips when you were busy picking fruits together. or, rather, you were the one picking fruits while he holds them.

you asked him to repeat what he said, but he was quick to reply with "it'd be a waste of effort to repeat what i said."

but he knows. and you know. you both know he loves you.

KAZUHA

while he was out on sea, he wrote you a letter asking you to be his. along with all the other letters he wrote you, he made sure this was was sent out especially.

(y/n): welcome back, kazuha! about your letter... kazuha: yes, what about it? (y/n): my answer is yes. kazuha: i'm glad. thank you, (y/n).

he loves taking you out on adventures. even when he doesn't have a certain goal in mind for the day, kazuha will always find an excuse to bring you along with him.

you will always find him surrounding himself in nature. thanks to his extraordinary sense of hearing, he enjoys being outside even more. the world has a lot to offer.

one day, you ask him what his favorite sound of nature is. immediately, without fail, his reply is 'your voice', which you're flustered by.

(y/n): that doesn't even make any sense... i asked about your favorite sound of nature. kazuha: the world is full of nature, correct? (y/n): your point being? kazuha: you're my favorite sound of nature because you are my world, (y/n).

you both take turns cooking, always excited to try each other's new recipes. it's become sort of a competition of who can suprise the other one more.

his reaction is the cutest when you compliment his dish. if you're happily chewing the food he fed you, watch out because his hands will pinch your cheeks.

you two were hanging out one night, and you asked him to create a poem for you on the spot. he liked the idea, and immediately got to it.

without any hesitation, without thinking twice about it, he ended his poem with a very sweet "i love you."

when you stayed silent afterwards, kazuha got nervous. but his nervous expression soon washed away when you wrapped your arms around him, complimenting his impromptu-poem-writing abilities.

DILUC

he was closing up the tavern for the day, and you two were the only one there after work hours. he decided to take his chances and ask you right then and there.

diluc: can you pass me the wash cloth? (y/n): sure! diluc: can you fix the chairs? (y/n): sure! diluc: can you be mine? (y/n): sur- wait.

he's never said it outloud, but diluc actually enjoys having senseless conversations with you. just last night you told him he reminded you of an owl, which he found amusing, and he asked you to explain why.

whenever diluc takes shifts at the tavern, you'd be somewhere around helping clean tables or wash dishes. he has enough staff at angel's share, but he appreciates your assistance nonetheless.

if you know how to play chess, he would regularly ask you to play against him. he thinks it's a great game to play while also being able to converse with others. he loves talking to you.

(y/n): the main character realized—check—his feelings too late, and lost the love of his life to someone else. it's sad. diluc: what happened—oh, good move—to the main character after that? (y/n): he was never able to express his true feelings to her. he should've taken the chance. diluc: hm.. i agree. he was too coward when he had the opportunity. and checkmate, by the way. (y/n): wh- hey! i didn't see that move! diluc: better luck next time, my dear.

when you offer to cook dinner for him instead of the maids, diluc doesn't try to hide his smile. you've prohibited him from entering the kitchen, wanting to cook something for him all by yourself.

he will always stand by the archway and watch you cook. you go over to him occasionally, asking him to taste some parts of the meal you're making. these are some of his favorite moments with you.

it was when you were eating dinner that he first told you he loved you. you had just finished cooking a meal, and you were sharing details from your day with each other while eating.

halfway through the meal, he says, "i've been wanting to tell you something all day. may i?"

as you nod your head, he tells you he loves you. or, rather, he tells you he's in love with you. but what's the difference? diluc is all yours.

KAEYA

you brought klee back to the knights of favonius' headquarters after playing with her outside all day. albedo and jean thanked you, but kaeya wanted to express more than just gratitude.

kaeya: klee always returns happy whenever you're the one bringing her back. (y/n): she's precious. i'd do anything to keep her smiling. kaeya: likewise. but i also want to keep you smiling, sweetheart. (y/n): what do you mean? kaeya: be mine, (y/n), and i promise i'll always make you happy.

you, klee, and kaeya are always seen running around mondstadt. not only in the city, but also around the mountains. you'd all go find a big, empty space for klee to blow up.

rest assured he will always invite you for a drink, even if it's the morning. you've rejected about 90% of his offers, but he will always, always, make sure to invite you.

he is one call away when it comes to you. you have something urgent and needs his help? he's on it. you simply just miss him? he misses you too, he's on his way to see you.

(y/n): kaeya, aren't you supposed to be working right now? what would acting grandmaster jean say? kaeya: i missed you. that should be enough reason. (y/n): kaeya. kaeya: what? just wanted to see your face, sweetheart. i- ow! okay, okay, i'll go back now!

kaeya really enjoys when you cook for him. of course, he'll step in to help you, but the thought of you making him his favorite food is so heartwarming.

he insists on feeding you, even embarrassing you sometimes by pretending the spoon is a crystalfly and your mouth the cave it's about to fly into.

he first told you he loved you immediately after you agreed to be his. after you said 'yes' to his confession, he was quick to tell you those three words, and your heart fluttered at his boldness.

he will never forget to tell you he loves you. when he greets you good morning, when you drop by to pick up klee, when you come back to drop off klee, and so many more instances.

there was never a moment you doubted his love for you. he constantly reminds you of it, and kaeya will never let you forget it. he loves you. so much.

CHILDE

he had it all planned out when he asked you to be his s/o. he made restaurant reservations at your favorite place, and even made sure it was on a day where not much people visited.

childe: (y/n), will you be mine? (y/n): are you serious? yes! childe: you are the only one i've ever been serious about. (y/n): you're so corny.

whenever he gets back from missions, he always makes sure to bring you back a little gift or a souvernir. one time, he brought you back a ruin hunter eye because "you're the light of my life" he says. it didn't make any sense.

the first time he brought you to snezhnaya, he wrapped you in so many layers that you were better off rolling on the ground than walking.

he absolutely loves it when you play with his siblings. when he comes home tired, he'll immediately be energized if he sees you and his siblings spending time together.

(y/n): ajax, join us! we could use another person to play tag. childe: do i get a kiss if i win? (y/n): ...i was just kidding, you don't have to play with us anymore. childe: hey! okay, okay, i'll join. no kiss needed, i swear!

cooking is one of his favorite activities to do with you. doing something so loving and domestic as cooking with someone he loves is heartwarming.

no matter how much you try to keep yourself clean, childe will find a way to get you messy. he says you can't blame him if you can never catch him wiping his hands on your shirt.

he wasn't the first one to tell you he loved you. his siblings did it for him, actually. well, who was going to stop them? childe was asleep, and you weren't.

he brought you all on a camping trip outside snezhnaya, and he promptly passed out first after story-telling time. as you were cleaning up the campfire, his siblings all walked over to you.

"(y/n), our big brother loves you very much."

it was very random, but very sweet. you smiled at them as you gave them a hug each, asking them why they were suddenly telling you this.

"if you leave him, you leave us, and we don't want you to leave. he loves you a lot, we swear!"

XIAO

being uninterested in relationships, neither of you ever asked each other. but you've been together for as long as you could remember, and your memory goes back for centuries.

(centuries ago) (y/n): xiao, can you promise not to leave me by myself? xiao: that's a hard promise to keep. (y/n): but you'll try? xiao: ...yes.

xiao has never been the type to express much of what he was feeling—if he felt anything at all. unlike you, he has never bothered to fully understand mortals.

you thrive around the people of liyue harbor, and xiao will always find you casually strolling around or stopping to pet a cat you found on the sidewalk.

when xiao rests at wangshu inn, you find yourself accompanying him, staying with him on the highest balcony. this is the only time you accompany him though, as he has his duties to eliminate evil.

(y/n): need any help? xiao: you always ask, and i always say no. (y/n): well, you might need me one day. xiao: we've been together for centuries. you know i'm capable enough. (y/n): i know. you always have been. xiao: rest easy, (y/n). i'll be here. (y/n): good night, xiao.

food has never really been a problem for either of you, but if you want to treat yourself to a mortal meal, xiao will come along with you. with enough convincing, of course.

you eat at wangshu inn, and chef yanxiao prepares your meals. eating with xiao is quiet, but if you were to start a conversation, he will always reply.

he's never told you that he loves you, at least not directly. his actions will speak for him—one of them being always ridding the path you're taking of monsters.

whenever xiao has to leave you at the inn, he will never fail to tell you to "rest easy" before he leaves. he has sworn to himself to protect you, and eliminate all evil that might affect you.

his duty is to protect liyue, but it wouldn't hurt to make you his duty as well, right?

thanks for reading (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

[anarchomitsumi]

okay so stl 61 !! this chapter has laid out ujie's worldview: there are those in this world that are liked, accepted, popular, —and those that will always be shunned. only a limited amount of people may be the lucky ones.

and turns out, shima's worldview isn't so different. for him there are those who take, and those whose things are taken away from.

either you are born a shunned monster or the doctor that created it. no nuance is accepted. it's essentially a reaction to being socially shunned, you end up resenting the people you deem guilty of your misfortune so much that you deny them their own depth of being. they are the fortunate, they could never understand your suffering. it's a feeling quite common among teenagers, i think.

if i were to point out something, it'd be that for ujie this classification into fortunate-unfortunate is unmovable. he has no hope of changing his social fate. for shima, however, it isn't set in stone. he's determined to get out of it and get back the things he's been robbed of.

ujie just seems...very bitter about the way he's been treated. when both mitsumi and his unnamed classmate say 'you shouldn't criticize someone who's giving it their all', his eyes just seem to say yeah, but who's gonna empathize with me? no one gives me grace when I'm giving it my all.

he's essentially jealous of the good treatment he thinks shima is getting from their peers. to him, shima's fortune is the cause of his own misfortune.

but along the way he's denied shima any humanity, shima cannot have any depth or trouble in his eyes. i think this is especially easy to see in the ending pannel, after shima confronts him, when he says so that guy is human too — implying he thought before that shima wasn't human because he couldn't understand struggle.

it's a type of ideology that, though an understandable defense mechanism, is very unfair to the people around you.

what specially gets me though, is that ujie tells shima he's ARROGANT for taking the monster role. this is shima, we know he has been behaving against his wishes to please others since he was little. we know he performs to be liked, but despises the attention he gets because they like him for his appearance, his performance, never truly him. when ujie calls him "arrogant", he's implying shima enjoys the empty attention he gets from his peers. and to be told that you enjoy the very thing we know troubles shima the most...i can understand why he got mad.

here's the thing though — ujie understands that the attention shima gets has nothing to do with what he actually does or with who he truly is. he understands it's an empty sort of acceptance, but regardless to ujie it still looks more desirable than his own situation. it might be impersonal but that also means it's unconditional. shima will always be liked because he's attractive.

(to shima though, it's not unconditional at all. he thinks the moment he starts acting truly like himself everybody will despise him)

so yeah. closing thoughts. i think this was truly a beneficial encounter for the both of them. for shima, it helped him get out of his self pity spiral for a bit and acknowledge ujie's point of view. and also he was assertive for a change ! shima exhibiting an emotion that isn't a fake smile or resignated indifference?? what?? i can't believe he actually....got things out of his chest for a change.

and for ujie, i think this has broadened his worldview. he understands know that people as seemingly perfect as shima can indeed struggle as well. the world isn't cleanly divided into Blessed By God and Doomed Forever.

i also hope this helps him get rid of those awful thoughts that he'll never be accepted. if shima is an anomaly, —like he found out today — maybe he can be too. if that little smile in the last pannel is anything to go by, his bitterness might just start to crack :)

[berryunho]

THE ANSWER: XXVI

Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers ‘sect.’ pairing: ateez x fem reader genre: cult au, thriller, angst check warnings on AO3

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chapter word count: 10,791

“What the hell did you say to Hongjoong?” 

Seonghwa is quick to start grilling you as soon as San leaves the two of you alone, glaring at you across from the dinner table. It takes you a few seconds to even remember what he could be referring to, that conversation with Hongjoong taking the back seat in your mind to everything else that had happened today. 

You set your spoon down, resting your elbows on the table, “I could be asking you the same question.” 

Seonghwa scoffs, mirroring your actions. He leans over the table, though, getting closer to you, “Well I asked first.” 

Frowning, you look him up and down, trying to make him squirm a little bit. Unfortunately for you, he doesn’t seem to find you very intimidating. In fact, he only leans closer to you, his face basically taking up your entire field of view. “What did Hongjoong say that I said?” 

Seonghwa’s eyes flit to your lips, but you pretend like you don’t notice. “He said that you told him we had sex. Among other things.” 

“I said no such thing,” you glare back at him, “I only heavily implied it.” 

“Why?” Seonghwa wets his lips, “do you want to get me in trouble, Princess?” 

You don’t want to be the one to back down from this confrontation, but being this close to Seonghwa without him touching you might actually make you insane. His stupid fucking hot ass fucking face. It’s too distracting. 

But… you’re more stubborn than you are uncomfortable. “Only if you want to get me in trouble.” He smiles a bit at that, but you continue, “if you must know, though, I had to use you as a bit of a scapegoat. I figured you wouldn’t mind, considering the lies you’re telling him about San and me.” 

“Lies?” Seonghwa says sarcastically, “what ever would I lie about?” The question is clearly rhetorical.

But you answer it anyway. “You told him that San and I are together.” 

Seonghwa’s smile grows, “and is that a lie? Aren’t you?” 

“Frankly, it’s not Hongjoong’s business, and it’s not yours, either.”

He brings a hand up to rest under his chin, shrugging his free shoulder. “Difference of opinion. Why should I lie to Hongjoong for you?” 

“Well, San and I aren’t together,” you shrug as well, hoping he’s not picking up on the fact that you’re lying through your teeth. It’s actually a bit… uncomfortable to lie about it like this. You don’t want to have to deny… whatever it is that you have going on with San, but that’s just how it is. You suck it up and hope that Seonghwa can’t see your internal battle as you spit the words out.

Seonghwa bites his lip, “is that so? So he wouldn’t mind if I…” 

You do lean back, then, smacking his elbow out from under him so that his head falls, hopefully shocking him back into reality. “You wish, pervert.” 

He catches his head before he actually hits it on the table, gaping at you, his eyes wide as if he can’t believe that you really just did that. Honestly, you’re kind of surprised that you did it, too. Seonghwa is so fucking tempting. But you’re stronger than that…

“Plus, what would he think,” you tip your head in Hongjoong’s direction, not surprised to see him already staring directly at the two of you. He had been congregating with some of the Followers, but his attention is now clearly occupied, a sneer appearing on his face when he catches you looking. “He already thinks we had sex, no?” 

Seonghwa looks back over his shoulder to glance at Hongjoong, quickly spinning back to face you when he sees the look on his leader’s face. “Yeah, thanks for that, by the way. I had the time of my life trying to explain that I had absolutely no idea what you were talking about.” 

You shrug, “I needed some way to get his mind off of the fact that someone told me about Haneul. It worked.” 

His eyes really go wide, then, “Haneul? Who the fuck told you about Haneul?” 

“You did.” You smile, finally picking your spoon back up to eat some more of your soup. This is a damn good soup, you have to remember to compliment Wooyoung on it… if you guys are on speaking terms. You’re not sure about that. 

Seonghwa groans, also resuming eating his dinner. “I’m going to get my ass handed to me, Princess. Why wouldn’t you just tell him the truth?” He pauses, dropping his spoon back into his soup, “ wait, let me guess. San told you?” 

You shake your head, taking another bite, ignoring his eyes.

“Who else have you been alone with?” 

You shrug again, just to piss him off. 

It doesn’t work. “When San attempted to help Haseul with the escapade last night, did he have someone watch you?” Seonghwa smiles in disbelief. “He really covered his bases. Who was it?” He searches your face as if the answer will be plastered on it. 

It might be, frankly. “It had to have been Wooyoung. Am I right, Princess? Wooyoung watched you? And told you? How on earth did you get that out of him?” 

Staying silent, you opt to keep eating your soup. Wooyoung is the obvious choice, looking at the people that San is close enough to trust with such a secret, so it makes sense that Seonghwa would be able to guess him so easily. But you’re not about to tell Seonghwa that he’s right, so you do your best to keep your face plain. 

“Oh, this is quite fun information. What else did he tell you? Did you see his back?” 

That must be what Wooyoung had been referring to, where his scars are. But, again, you’re not going to ask questions or make Seonghwa believe that he’s right. The last thing that you want to do is throw Wooyoung under the bus for spilling cult secrets that he clearly shouldn’t have. 

Seonghwa leans closer again, whispering, “if I promise to not tell Hongjoong, will you tell me? I’m very curious.” 

You also lean in closer, putting your spoon down once more, “absolutely not. But will you tell me about Haneul?” 

He rolls his eyes, leaning back into his original position. “No, I won’t. She’s quite a sore subject around here.” 

… Yeah, you could’ve guessed that. “Can you at least tell me about Jongho and her?” 

“No?” Seonghwa looks at you like you’ve really lost your mind, “that’s not your business, Princess.” 

“Oh, so their relationship isn’t my business, but my relationship with San is yours?” 

“So you admit to having a relationship with San, then?” Seonghwa smirks, pleased to have finally gotten something out of you.

You sigh, “if you’re jealous, you can just say so.” 

He scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest, “why on earth would I be jealous of Choi San? If I wanted you so badly, you would be with me.”

You try to make yourself look disgusted at the mere prospect, “that’s bold, even for you.” You say this like the two of you had never been intimate. 

Seonghwa shrugs, looking you up and down before leaning closer once more. “If anything, I’m jealous of his ability to disregard Hongjoong’s orders.” The meaning of this admission isn’t lost on you.

You can’t resist returning the look, letting your eyes linger on the way the sleeves of his shirt strain around his biceps. Personally, you don’t give a damn about Hongjoong’s “orders,” but you’re not about to let Seonghwa win this by giving into him. And you have San to worry about. You lean in closer as well, smiling at Seonghwa. 

“You’re a pervert,” you whisper, keeping the smile plastered on your face. 

Seonghwa smiles, too, despite scoffing at your comment, “that’s really cute, coming from you, Princess.” 

“What is?” San’s voice appears from your side, making the both of you jump backward from each other. 

Seonghwa keeps the nasty smile on his face, looking up at San, “perfect timing, San. If you’d left her alone with me any longer…”

San gives you a puzzled look, sliding onto the seat next to you. He doesn’t get himself a meal, which is… a little strange, but you ignore it, going back to eating your own. 

He ignores Seonghwa’s comment easily. “I couldn’t miss the announcement, could I?” San asks Seonghwa, smiling tightly across the table. 

“Announcement?” You ask, looking between the two of them.

Seonghwa holds a hand up before San can start explaining. “You’ll see, Princess.” He smiles at you like you’re not going to like this announcement at all. “But, San, pray tell, where did you just run off to?” 

San gives you a sideways glance, and you can only imagine that he probably was doing something that you wouldn’t exactly care for. “I had a conversation that needed to be held, privately.” 

Seonghwa raises his eyebrows, “is that so? What ever about? Whomever with?” He asks these questions as if he knows perfectly well their answers, but wants to hear San admit it anyhow. “Why couldn’t your dear (Y/n) be in attendance?” 

You honestly aren’t really sure what San means, but the only explanation that you can think is… he apologized to Mingi? That would honestly make you rather happy, though, so you’re not sure why he wouldn’t want to say it in front of you. Maybe Seonghwa truly doesn’t know, and he wants to keep it that way? You’re honestly not too bothered by the fact that he doesn’t want to say. 

Before San can respond, the cafeteria falls completely silent. 

You twist in your seat to face the front of the room, not at all surprised to see Hongjoong standing there, his hands folded behind his back. He still has that weird outfit on, the ties of the robe dangling down, brushing against his knees with each small movement he makes. 

He looks to you, then, giving you a sideways smile before turning back to address the room. 

“It is with great joy that I make this announcement tonight.” The cafeteria is just as silent as the chapel. You look around, not at all surprised to see that not a single pair of eyes aren’t on Hongjoong. “Finally, we are prepared to start our harvest season.” 

A gentle applause starts, much like the kind you would expect at some sort of… gala, or something. Hongjoong holds a hand up and it immediately halts, everyone in the room once again waiting with baited breath. “Of course, this indicates the start of prosperous times for our group,” he gives you another glance, “but it also invites upon us some of the most troublesome ceremonies and events, as well as opening the door to… unwelcome possibilities.” 

… Yeah, whatever the hell that means. 

“As harvest will commence in the morning, our first event will happen during our morning gathering. I expect everyone to be in attendance, including children and those otherwise excused. It’s important that we are united as a group, as you all very well know.”

Everyone? Does that include Haseul? Surely it does, even if she hasn’t had a Choosing Ceremony. You want to believe that you’ll get to see your friend, but… You’re not sure. Hongjoong probably will keep her from you as long as he can; keep you on his little leash until he’s decided that you’re obedient enough again.

He waits, holding the attention of the room for a second longer, a tense look on his face. “You all must know that I don’t say these things to scare you. But the harvest season is trying for the Sign, and our connection is in peril every second that…” Hongjoong clears his throat around the words. “That we leave it unguarded. Those participating in the morning ceremony will be notified tonight.” 

With that, he turns away from the center of the cafeteria, eyes locking onto your table. Conversation picks back up as he strides toward the three of you, a smile replacing the tenseness. 

“Let me guess,” you say to neither Seonghwa nor San in particular, “I’m about to be notified of something?” 

Seonghwa smirks, “you can be so bright sometimes.” 

“(Y/n)!” Hongjoong calls your name when he’s a few feet away, closing the distance enough to rest a hand on your shoulder before asking, “Are you excited for your first harvest?” 

You blink up at him, amazed that he still even bothers, “you just made it sound like something to be weary of, rather than excited for.” 

He shrugs, squeezing your shoulder once before releasing you to sit next to Seonghwa. “We haven’t covered the Guardians yet.” 

“The what now?” 

Hongjoong waves his hand in the air to dismiss your question, “you’ll learn in due time.”

For a second, you think that Seonghwa even rolls his eyes, but that would be truly unfathomable. You’re happy enough to write off whatever the fuck the ‘Guardians’ are. The last thing you want right now is another lesson in cult lore.

“Anyhow,” he clasps his hands, resting them on the table. “You’ll be participating in the ceremony tomorrow. Its a fun one, too.” 

You look at San, though he’s looking anywhere but at you. Turning back to Hongjoong, you ask, “do I get to know what this ceremony entails ahead of time, or are you going to surprise stab me again?” You’re honestly surprised by how bold you feel, given everything that’s happened. Maybe seeing him cry reduces him a little bit… no, that’s not it. Whatever it was, you’re just not feeling particularly intimidated by Hongjoong at the moment, surprisingly.

Hongjoong waves a hand in the air, “there’s no need to be so dramatic, (Y/n).”

Honestly, you still think it was a fair question. But you feel lucky that he’s clearly in the bantering mood as well.

“You’ve already been Chosen; you won’t have to prove yourself again,” San offers, albeit rather quietly and more so to himself than to you. 

“I feel that its best that you’re prepared for the ceremony,” Hongjoong ignores San’s comment, “Seonghwa can cover it with you.” 

Seonghwa jerks his head toward his leader. “I can? I thought I wa—”

Hongjoong smiles, stopping Seonghwa in his tracks. “You’ll do as I say.”

He only nods in response, turning away from Hongjoong. To your relief, he doesn’t lay a glare on you once more, returning to his meal instead. 

“San, let’s talk privately for a moment,” Hongjoong rises, beckoning San to follow him. San furrows his brows, but stands anyway, following Hongjoong until they’re out of earshot from your table.

You turn your attention back to Seonghwa. “Let me hear it.” 

He drops his spoon again, looking annoyed at the prospect of having to spend anymore time with you. “I need a copy of The Answer to properly explain it.” 

“You’re telling me you don’t keep one on yourself at all times?” 

Seonghwa blinks at you. Leaning back, he unbuttons his jacket, reaching a hand to the inside pocket. Low and behold, he pulls a copy of The Answer from the interior pocket, gently placing it onto the table between you two. 

You had been half joking. 

He buttons his jacket again, sliding his tray away from himself. Wordlessly, he picks up the book, flipping to the back pages before landing on whatever page he was searching for. He turns his wrist, showing you the page.

Highlighted in yellow and underlined maybe five times is the title:

HARVEST PRACTICES

The chapter that follows is broken into a few different sections, from what you can see on the pages in view. The first subtitle reads:

INVOCATION AND PROTECTION

“Your hand is shaking too much for me to read that,” you complain, grabbing the book from Seonghwa’s hands. You slide your own tray away, setting the book on the table to read. 

The text continues.

Perhaps one of the most strenuous times a year comes during harvest season. Though the crop can be bountiful and the blessings many, there are also dangers that follow. This implicates the necessity to instate a protective guard around our group; a ward to protect ourselves so as to protect our Clones. 

On the first day of the harvest, the following ceremony must be conducted to insure safety throughout the season. The steps are outlined here; however HONGJOONG may adapt these provisions as he sees fit per the requirements of the year. 

Typical ceremony regalia should be worn by all Followers. Ten Followers are chosen at random to participate in the ceremony.

Participation is mandatory once selected; certain Followers may be required to participate every year due to their given role in Universe One. 

At 6 A.M. The ceremony begins. The ten Followers link hands in a circle.

They recite the following incantation, taking three steps to the left following each break.

On this day we make our vow.

The Answer is near; we shall not wonder or fear.

I myself am mighty and true. My blood will protect and provide anew

The barrier is weak.

United, we cast away the evil that would do us harm. We uninvite the spirits that dance between this Universe and the next.

Following the incantation, each member shall raise their hands. The ceremonial blade is presented, and each Follower shall gently open their left palm, letting the blood drop into the center of the circle while reciting:

I offer this vessel of myself for the betterment of the community. My blood banishes the evil from them, and calls it toward me. I swear this today and everyday.

At the completion of each vow, the final words will be said:

We call upon you to stay away.

The Sacrifice will then be presented. It is to be left on the altar for one day.

This is the conclusion of the ceremony.

This ceremony is not infallible. Should trouble arise before, during, or after, HONGJOONG and designated Followers will resolve the issue. 

You stop reading, looking up at Seonghwa. “Sacrifice?”

He nods. 

“That’s, like, pretty cliche,” you frown, “and that rhyme sucks.” 

“Be more respectful.” Seonghwa mirrors your frown, “Hongjoong isn’t a poet, he’s a prophet.” 

“Really? I thought he was God?” 

Seonghwa only gives you a more exasperated look, rolling his eyes.

You scan over the ceremony again, trying to make sure you’re getting the details correct. “What’s this about ‘calling the evil towards me?’ And the blood? Is that really necessary?” 

He glances over your shoulder, a relieved expression gracing his features, “San, you have a knack for perfect timing today.”

You turn to look back and, sure enough, San is approaching your table again. 

San looks between you, Seonghwa, and the copy of The Answer in your hands, putting the pieces together. “Questions?” 

“A few,” you mutter, suddenly not very interested. You don’t mind pestering Seonghwa for answers to all of your questions, but you aren’t keen on asking San the same way. “But it can wait. What did Hongjoong want?”

San takes his place next to you again, shrugging as he does so. “He was just letting me know the plan for tomorrow.” 

Seonghwa reaches for his book, plucking it out of your hands before you can respond to San. “I trust you won’t be needing my copy, anymore.” 

Resisting the urge to mock him, you respond to San instead. “Such as…?”

“When to be there, how to help you dress, so on.” 

So on… Why does it feel like there’s a lot more emphasis on the ending of that list? They had been gone for a good five minutes, there had to be more than that, surely. Why wouldn’t San tell you the whole truth? What good would that do for him? 

You stay quiet, trying to ignore your suspicions. If you can’t trust San, who can you trust? 

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

It turns out that you have to wake up significantly more early than usual.

San shakes you awake at four, ignoring your pleas for five more minutes. “I waited as long as I could, (Y/n).” 

You grumble and moan, but find it in yourself to get out of bed. For Haseul. That’s what you tell yourself. All of this is for Haseul. Your cooperation is for her. Had she not been here, you’d be kicking and screaming the whole way. 

But, unfortunately, Hongjoong figured out how to play you like a damn fiddle. So here you are, tugging on the same black dress pants that you had put on… what, three weeks ago? A month ago? Longer? You have no idea. 

You manage to button your shirt correctly this time, though your face burns at the memory of Seonghwa having to help you dress. What had happened to you? You never would have thought that the day would come where you would voluntarily wear this… cult regalia. 

San watches, already fully dressed by the time that he woke you up. You have to admit that he looks handsome in all black, the clothes clearly tailored to fit him. Two or three silver necklaces hang down his chest, matching rings gracing his fingers. He hasn’t put his mask on, yet, or his hat, leaving his features exposed in the security of your apartment. 

“Let me help,” he offers, squatting to his knees to help you tie your boots as you pull them on. He ties your right shoe as you tie your left, lacing them with the deftness of well-trained hands. 

Of course, he finishes before you do. He takes over tying your left shoe, smiling up at you as you yield the laces to him. “Thank you.” 

He only pats your knee, standing back up and offering his hand to you. You take it and rise as well, glancing at the clock. 4:29. 

The ceremony starts at 6. You’re not really sure why you have to be in positions so early, but… whatever. You’re not going to fight it. You can do this, you’re sure of it. For Haseul, you’ll do it. 

San opens the wardrobe, grabbing your two hats off of the top shelf. Had you ever noticed them sitting there? You’re not sure. Maybe someone had brought them in. 

He hands you yours, swirling his around on his finger instead of putting it on. “How are you feeling?” 

You put the hat on. “Fine.” 

“You sure?” He sounds genuine enough, and you don’t doubt that he’s at least a little worried for you. And, obviously, given the circumstances with Haseul… 

“I just hope I don’t fuck up.” 

San frowns, reaching for your hand. You let him take it. 

“Everything will be fine,” he promises, rubbing your hand with his. “It’ll be over before you know it!” 

Forcing a smile, you nod. He’s probably right. If you just grit your teeth and bare it, the whole thing will be over as quickly as you can say the stupid little incantation. There’s no reason to be afraid or worried. 

… That’s what you really want to believe. But you can’t bring yourself to think that it will actually be that easy. Something is going to happen. Something bad. You’re sure of it, now, in this moment. You’re more sure of it than anything else. 

Hongjoong won’t just let this happen. He won’t just let this pan out easily. He has something planned, and you’re sure that it’s something terrible…

The sacrifice mentioned in the steps… you had never had the chance to ask about it. Something is going to happen then, you’re sure. At the moment of the sacrifice or the moment that it’s presented, it’s going to be something beyond even your imagination. 

Hongjoong’s insanity knows no bounds, and that is something that you know for a positive fact. He can’t just have something go well or normally when you’re involved. He will have to stick his fingers in the pie, have to meddle to make something happen. 

Your stomach flips as you consider the possibilities. You suddenly feel woozy. 

“Hey,” San calls your attention back to the moment at hand, grabbing your other arm with his free hand. “Are you alright?” 

You blink at him, “Just a little lightheaded is all.” 

“Do you want something to eat?” He starts to pull you toward the kitchenette, but the thought of eating only makes your stomach feel heavier. 

Planting your feet, you shake your head. “No, no, I’m fine. I just want to get this over with.”

You’re not lying. If something is going to happen (when something is going to happen), you would rather just have it be done and have it be over. 

Whatever it is, you’re sure that you can survive it. You’ve made it this far without losing your wits or dying, you’re sure that you can make it through a ten minute ordeal. Even if it is particularly nasty or horrible. 

Fuck, you just hope the sacrifice isn’t a person. You’re, like, sixty percent sure that it won’t be, but… that forty percent is still a question mark. At least you know it won’t be you. 

That’s probably not the right mindset. But, hey, that’s life, isn’t it? 

San looks between you and the clock, looking disappointed. “I guess we don’t really have time, anyhow. I’m sorry.” He apologizes, dropping his hands from you. 

You brush off the apology, following him as he leaves the room and approaches your door. 

“You’re sure that you’re okay?” San asks again, pausing by your front door. “I can make up some excuse if I have to.” 

You don’t have to force a smile, this time. “I’m going to be fine as soon as this is over.” 

He nods in acceptance, opening the door and holding it open for you.

The two of you head to the chapel in silence, other Followers wearing their all-black regalia crowding the hallways and stairwells. A few people smile and wave at you, though you can’t really say that you recognize them. 

As you squeeze through the halls, you wonder where Haseul is being kept. In one of the single rooms, you’re sure, but which one… 

You almost have the urge to start knocking on every door on the women’s floor, jangle each doorknob and greet each person until you find her…

But that would be silly, and you know that. You’d only be punished if you went looking for her. Worse, she would probably be punished for your stupidity, too. 

That’s not going to happen. 

So you fight the feeling, just as you fought your panic. Your stomach is still a wreck as you follow San. You don’t hold his hand, not in public, but you wish that you could grab him for some semblance of comfort. 

He would take your hand if you tried, you realize. Clearly, he doesn’t have much of an issue speaking about your relationship, at least with Mingi. 

The memory of their argument brings a sour expression to your face. You’re still not very pleased with how San had acted, or with how Mingi had, either. Even after the apology… 

And San never confirmed that he apologized to Mingi. Well, you had never asked him. 

But whatever. That has to be a problem for another day, for another you. Or at least for the you of three hours from now. You can’t go into this being pissed at basically the only two people that you like here. 

That doesn’t give much credit to Nayeon or Yunho or Wooyoung or Yeosang, you realize, but whatever. You don’t need to be debating who your friends are and who your friends aren’t.

After what happened with Wooyoung, anyways, would you really consider him a friend? Had you really processed any of what he had told you? What the fuck.

Your head swims with the reality of everything that has been happening to you in the past couple days. You’ve experienced enough goddamn trauma to let Dr. Phil run another 12 seasons on you alone. Fucking hell. Literally what the fuck.

You finally reach the big doors, relishing the feeling of stepping into the cool outside air. The hallways had been stuffy with the weight of all of the Followers, and the sudden breeze is refreshing; especially given your fucking outfit. 

The sun hasn’t even poked above the horizon, yet. You wouldn’t even call it dawn. But you don’t have to squint to make out the chapel in this distance. 

The sea of Followers in front of you lead the way to the holy place, a swarm of black across the farm. 

You wonder how many of them there really are. If Hongjoong said that everyone had to attend this ceremony… fuck. There’s a lot of people. Just the people you can see outside seem to outnumber what you would have originally thought. 

How in the world had Hongjoong recruited so many people? 

How many of these people actually believed every word that he said? You’d have to assume most of them. What would they do to make him happy? To keep him happy? 

The thought sends an unwelcome shiver down your spine, only making your stomach worse.

The walk isn’t long, and you soon find yourself passing the doors that are being held open by the swarm of people crowding through them. 

It’s fuller than you’ve ever seen it, the chapel. Some people are already seated in the pews, chatting with their peers. The majority of the Followers, however, are still standing, mingling in the aisle.

You follow San’s lead, presuming that he’ll take you wherever you need to be. He goes about halfway to the front of the chapel, stopping in a less-populated area of the aisle in what you assume is an attempt to make you calmer. You’re not sure that it helps, but you appreciate the gesture, anyhow.

You wonder who the other Followers that were chosen for the ceremony are. Will anyone that you know be up there to comfort you? It probably wouldn’t make a difference, but at least one familiar face would be welcome. 

As you glance around the room, you find your eyes tugging toward the Sign of the Answer, the huge one on the wall. Hongjoong’s chair is gone in preparation for the ceremony, so you’re able to see it in all of its glory. Per usual, the chapel is lit by candles, and the light glints off of the Sign exactly how you remember it looking the night that you had been Chosen. The memory makes you more nervous.

San puts a hand on your arm, calling your attention back to him. You glance at his face first, only to see him looking ahead as someone approaches. For a split second, you’re worried that its going to be Mingi. 

But it’s only Wooyoung, you realize. 

He stops in front of you, two glasses in his hands. “Hello,” he greets you, looking between the two of you.

San returns the hello, but you can’t bring yourself to respond. Something about the sight of him disturbs you. And the glasses in his hands.

He gets straight to business.

“Drink this,” Wooyoung holds out a champagne glass filled with something that is decidedly not champagne. Instead of sparkling, yellow liquid, this is a flat, blood red. 

You hesitantly take the stem, tilting the glass to watch the liquid move. Thankfully, it doesn’t actually seem to be blood. You take a sniff, not all that surprised to smell the familiar red wine scent. 

“It’s just wine. For the nerves.”

Shrugging, you take a sip. He’s not lying, but… “Last time you fed me in this room you also drugged me.” 

Wooyoung mirrors your shrug. “Don’t drink it then.”

You glance at San, who also shrugs. 

“Well fuck it, then.” In an action reminiscent of your college days, you down the glass; ignoring the bitterness as best you can. 

Wooyoung takes the glass back from you. “Good luck, then.” 

He excuses himself, wandering back into the crowd with the other glass. You assume that he’s handing them out to all of the participating Followers, but you opt to stop watching him to look back at San.

“Do you think that was drugged?” You ask San, rubbing your palms on your jacket. 

His eyes go wide, “I wouldn’t have let you drink it if I thought it was!” 

“I’m not sure I trust Hongjoong that much.” 

“I do.” San puts a hand on your shoulder, rubbing it gently. His words don’t offer you any comfort, but the hand is pleasant enough.

Well, you’ll know soon enough, anyhow. Maybe this would all go a lot more smoothly if you were drugged, somehow. Your heart feels like a damn jackhammer in your chest.

You try to look around, wanting to spot any familiar face in the crowd for any sense of comfort. It’s just so damn hard with everyone dressed like the fucking grim reaper. You think that you spot Nayeon, briefly, her long brown hair contrasting beautifully to the fitted black of her coat. 

Yunho is hard to miss, his height only exaggerated by the hat atop his head. You’re not entirely sure where you stand with him, though, given your place with Mingi. If Mingi’s still pissed at you (which, to give him credit, you’re not sure if he is), Yunho probably is too. 

Speaking of Mingi, he approaches Yunho, his own height rather hard to miss in the crowd. He grabs his friend’s shoulder, exclaiming something that’s a bit too quiet for you to make out. But you know Mingi’s voice when you hear it. 

After this, you have to talk to Mingi. Even though you might be a little… upset? Disappointed? At his outburst and his childish behavior, you have to make things right by him. Yunho, too, you suppose. 

You still hold out hope that Haseul will make an appearance, though you’re sure Hongjoong made arrangements to keep her away. Though… if Mingi is here, who's watching her? It probably wouldn’t be hard to find someone else, but someone else that Hongjoong trusted that much… that’s a different story. You know that you should probably just drop it, but there’s something in you that feels like she’ll show up… you certainly have a lot of feelings, this morning. 

A hand wraps around your elbow, startling you. You don’t have to look to recognize Hongjoong, his touch alone enough to identify him, burning hot even through your jacket.

“(Y/n),” he purrs, holding you close to him, “how are you feeling?” 

You try to pull your arm away, to no avail. “Like I’m going to be sick.” 

Hongjoong laughs, “you’ll be completely fine. You’re not the sacrifice.” 

That doesn’t do anything to calm your nerves. That’s not what you’re worried about. And you’d rather not have to play one of his stupid games. “I have a sense that some anvil is about to fall on my head.” 

“Hmmm,” he hums, “maybe. Maybe not. It depends on what you’re picturing.”

“I’m picturing what you wrote in The Answer.” You force the words out through gritted teeth. It’s so fucking annoying when he does this; when he doesn’t just speak his mind. You’d much prefer him telling you that, yeah, you’re about to be grievously harmed than have him just dangle the thought in front of your eyes.

“Well, either way, I’m sure you understand what will happen if you disrupt the ceremony.” Hongjoong’s voice is laced with that sickening smile of his, “or if you fail to complete your part in it.” 

He’s right, he doesn’t need to remind you in the slightest. You can only imagine the fear that Haseul is in right now, but your own fear for her must be ten times worse. The idea of Hongjoong putting his hands on her makes your gut churn.

The fact that he backed you into such a perfect corner is almost sickening. It pisses you off to no end. Why did he have to bring her into this? Not that you would want him to use this treatment on Mingi, but, like, fuck, he at least already had him here. Was it really necessary to involve a completely innocent girl? 

If you didn’t care what happened to her, you might just spit in the man’s face at this very second. 

“I get it, Hongjoong.” 

“Then you’ll do great!” He releases your arm, opting to pat your shoulder a couple times. “Simply stick to the outline. Do your part. And it’ll be over quickly.” 

You take a deep breath, “Hongjoong,” you hope that saying his name will make him listen to you, “can I see her, afterword?” 

His hand stops on your shoulder, squeezing. “Let’s see how you fare, first.” His voice seems harder with these words, more sharp. Hopefully that wasn’t some sort of huge overstep to him. 

He cuts off the conversation at that, leaving your side to rejoin the crowd of Followers. He’s wearing the same outfit he had been wearing yesterday, the shiny material catching the light of the candles ever so as he moves. 

“San,” you turn toward where San was standing, only to find him gone. You whirl around in a circle in a way that must look comical, searching for where he could have gone off to. He doesn’t appear to be in your near vicinity, somehow completely, wordlessly disappeared. 

Dread swirls in your stomach. You were going to ask him if he knew what the sacrifice was going to be, finally reminded.

As if commanded by some outside force, the majority of the Followers suddenly stop their conversations. The room falls silent as people make their ways to their usual pews, sliding silently into their seats. 

Per usual, you’ve been left out of the loop. 

Without San to guide you into place, you really have no idea what you’re supposed to be doing. You look toward the front of the chapel, expecting to find Hongjoong glaring at you, but not even he is there to tell you what to do. 

Looking around to the other Followers that are still standing, you’re mildly surprised to see Yunho only a couple feet away. He catches your eye, tipping his head toward the front of the room in signal. He starts walking, so you start walking. 

You’re hyper aware of the sound of your footsteps on the wood floors, your boots clicking with each step. Yunho’s do, too. The steps are the only sound in the chapel. 

With bated breath, you reach the front of the room. You glance toward your usual pew, hoping to see San sitting in your spot. He’s not, however, only making the rock in your stomach that much heavier. 

Yunho steps up onto the little stage, offering you his hand to help with the step up. You take it, joining him and turning toward the congregation of Followers. From this angle, you can see… it takes you a second to count the heads… eight other Followers approaching the stage. You try to find Hongjoong among them, but he’s not there. Neither is San.

After what feels like forever, Yunho and yourself are joined by the others. You read this part, you feel okay about it. Well, not okay okay, but, like, you know. At least you know what to expect. 

Yunho grabs your left hand, as someone you can’t recall the name of takes the place to your right; taking that hand into theirs. 

The ten of you link into a circle, hand-in-hand. 

You had kind of expected there to be more guidance from Hongjoong in this process. A narration or a sort of sermon over the top of your actions, but Hongjoong remains unseen and unheard as the Followers around you start their recitation. 

“On this day we make our vow,” you don’t jump into the speech until the next sentence, unsure of how they knew that it was time to start. “From henceforth we pledge ourselves.”

You take three steps to your left. The Sign of the Answer twinkles in your peripheral vision. The Followers in the pews have their heads bowed. 

“The Answer is near. We shall not wonder or fear.” 

Three more steps. 

“I myself am mighty and true. My blood will protect and provide anew.” 

Three more steps to the left. This time, you almost step on Yunho’s toes. You try to look at the other Followers in your circle, but their heads are similarly bowed. You look back down at your feet. You’re lightheaded. 

“The barrier is weak.”

Your hands float upwards, along with the rest of the circle’s. Still connected, everyone’s hands hang in the air of the center of the circle. 

“United, we cast away the evil that would do us harm. We uninvite the spirits that dance between this Universe and the next.” 

Someone, you’re not sure who, breaks the circle first. Your eyes are closed, you realize. You open them only when Yunho’s hand leaves your own; barely hearing his hushed whispering at your side. Before you know it, the knife is in your own hands. 

It’s already sparkling with blood. At least Yunho’s. The lowlight makes it hard to see, but the Sign of the Answer does a beautiful job of illuminating just enough to reawaken your nausea. What the fuck is happening, right now? What the fuck are you about to do?

Yunho’s blood drips down the blade and onto your hand. It’s warm. 

You’re sure that you’re going to faint. 

But you hold the blade to your left hand, anyways, saying the words as quietly as you can. Surely, this is all just some batshit insane cult ceremony, but the weight of speaking them outloud is still sickening. 

“I offer this vessel of myself for the betterment of the community. My blood banishes the evil from them, and calls it toward me. I swear this today and everyday.” 

You swipe the blade across your palm, handing it off to the Follower next to you as fast as you can manage. You close your eyes again. Your hand burns. You almost think that you can hear your blood, dropping from your palm and hitting the floor.

At some point, the last person finishes. The knife clatters to the floor, the only sound in the chapel. You know to take three more steps to the left. And to finish the words. 

“We call upon you to stay away.” 

The scream makes you open your eyes. 

Disorientated, you realize that you’re facing away from the crowd, staring directly at the Sign. But it’s not glowing anymore. 

You turn around, blinded. Every candle in the chapel has gone out.

Was that the source of the scream? The lights going out? What the fuc—

The door behind the stage slams open. You jump again, spinning back as though you’d be able to see anything, anyhow. 

Someone in the audience wails. 

Are they seeing something that you’re not? Your heart pounds hard, so so hard. Is this panic? The spell? A heart attack? 

You need to sit down. Yunho grabs your hand before you can stumble off of the stage. He pulls you behind him, keeping the arm behind his back to hold you there. 

You fist the back of his coat, probably soiling the material with your blood, but it’s all you can do to keep yourself standing upright. The urge to vomit hits you again, but you prevail, closing your eyes as tight as you can. 

Is this supposed to happen? This wasn’t in the outline. Are you meant to feel like such shit right now?

How did all of the candles go out?

Who the fuck is interrupting? 

Something, or someone, drops in the middle of the circle. 

You open your eyes again, peering around Yunho. The rest of the circle had stayed in place. 

At the center of your circle, now, is a head. 

Not a human head, thank God, but a pig’s. Your stomach still revolts, still tumbling over and over itself as you slide back into your spot in the circle. You clamp onto Yunho’s hand like its the only thing that you’ve ever known, grounding yourself the only way that you can. 

Its still so dark. You close your eyes again

You’re not sure what you’re supposed to do now. Is it over? You hope to God that its over. You can’t take another goddamned minute of thi—

You open your eyes at the same instant that Yunho yells. Everything happens so fucking fast. 

Yunho falls backward, off of the stage. You process this secondly. Chiefly, however, your attention is caught by the figure now in front of you, where the pig head had been seconds before. 

It’s huge. You can’t comprehend it entirely, what it is that you’re seeing. It doesn’t even look human. It grabs your now vacant hand, pulling you away from the Followers. 

There’s a collective scream behind you, and you’re not surprised to realize that you’re also screaming. 

You try to look into the face. But it doesn’t have a face. It’s nothing. Is this death? 

You’re falling backwards, now. Before you know it, you’re on the ground, curling in on yourself.

Someone turns the overhead lights on. You cradle your hands to your chest, aware of the fact that you’re crying. The tears are hot on your cheeks. The blood is hot on your hands. The feeling of that, that, fucking thing making you want to retch. 

What the fuck was that? What the fuck? 

Hongjoong appears at your side, his face blurry. From your tears, from the panic? You’re not sure. 

He asks if you’re okay. You can’t answer him. You close your eyes again.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

In your sleep, you see it again. 

Even in this instance, you can’t tell what it is. It’s shaped like a person, but you can’t look directly at it. You know that if you look, it won’t have a face.

In your dream, it’s even bigger than it was. It towers over you, grabbing you over and over, your screaming and begging doing nothing to appease it. 

You can see its hands as they reach, as they latch onto you. They’re white. But they’re not skin. It’s cloth, you realize, gloves. 

The rest of it is white, too. But it certainly doesn’t look like clothing. You couldn’t ever explain it to someone if they asked, and you’re much too terrified to go digging into the details. 

All you know is that it doesn’t have a face. It’s not natural. Every part of you hates every part of this thing. 

You want to wake up.

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

And so you do, in the infirmary. 

The first thing you see are the familiar ceiling tiles. The second thing is Hongjoong.

You startle awake, twitching in on yourself as you try to sit up. 

Hongjoong sucks in a breath, though he doesn’t get to his feet to help you. He’s still wearing that outfit. 

You’re still wearing yours, you realize. The pants rub uncomfortably against the blanket laying over you. You’re able to sit up easily enough, and you’re relieved to realize that nothing hurts. You feel fine.

“So, do you believe me now?” Hongjoong asks once you’re up, but he’s not smiling in triumph as you would’ve imagined.

“What the fuck was that thing?” 

Hongjoong sighs, “Exactly what I was trying to protect us from. A guardian.”

You blink at him, dumbfounded. There’s literally no fucking way in hell that Hongjoong has been right about any of this. He’s insane. He is fully, entirely, batshit insane. 

You can’t explain away whatever the fuck just happened, but you’re not about to accept that he’s been telling you the truth. That there are alternate universes and demons that can jump between them. That’s not real life. That’s not how the world works. 

Whatever just happened, whatever that was, there’s a reasonable explanation. Surely. 

Though you can’t imagine what that explanation would be, it must exist. The last fucking thing in the world that you’re going to do now is believe in Hongjoong. Like, what the fuck? What the fuck? Why would you fucking believe in a fucking religion that has fucking faceless demons fucking running around freely? You wouldn’t. You refuse. You will not. 

Even if that is the only explanation for the thing in white, you are not going to believe it. You would sooner believe that you have a hallucination disorder than accept that Hongjoong is right about anything. 

Thinking about it, you probably would have to have some sort of psychosis to accept any of this. But, then again, this is exactly the sort of thing that would trigger psychosis… 

You’re thinking way too fucking hard about this. It is simple. Hongjoong is a freak.

“Where’s San?” The question is natural. 

Hongjoong raises his eyebrows, “Interesting follow-up question. I thought it best to separate you two for now.” 

“Why?” 

He doesn’t answer your question. Instead, he stands up. “How is your hand?” 

You had honestly forgotten about it. Holding it up, you examine your bandage. “Fine.” 

The two of you stay in silence. Hongjoong seems mad. 

“Is that really all you’re going to ask?” He asks, almost sounding whiny. Like a child. 

It’s certainly all you’re going to ask him. He’ll only lie to you. “Can I see Seonghwa?” You ask instead.

Hongjoong scoffs. He brushes his hair back, looking around the room as if he’s expecting some live studio audience to empathize with him. “I know you’re not fucking him.” 

You shrug. “Are you okay, Hongjoong?” 

His face falls flat. He crosses his arms over his chest, turning to fully face you again. “I’m great.” The words are strained. You’ve never known Hongjoong to be a bad liar. 

“You seem kinda pissed.” 

“I am not—” He closes his eyes, bringing a hand up to his forehead. “I’m fine. I’ll have Seonghwa come visit, since you clearly won’t be speaking to me.” He says this like he expects you to apologize. But what the hell would you apologize for? 

Hongjoong leaves without another word once it becomes clear that you won’t be giving him what he wants. You’re sure that he expected more crying, more fear, more begging and pleading for answers. 

You save that for once you’re sure that he’s gone.

Trembling, you pull your knees to your chest. Your fingers twitch with fear, your hair feels foreignly heavy, your wrist burns and burns where the thing had touched you. 

You refuse to believe that it was real. It cannot be real. None of this can be real. There was some trick, some show, some plan that you weren’t privy to. Seonghwa will tell you. He’ll have to tell you. He’s honest, most of the time. He’ll explain it away, he’ll tell you how Hongjoong did it and why it seemed so real. 

Where was its face? 

How had they done that? Where the fact should have been, there was nothing. You couldn’t even say that it was a color. It was a void. An emptiness. There was nothing there. 

The memory makes you dizzy. You lean back against the pillows, praying to God that you’re not going insane. Had you really seen that? You couldn’t have. Because that’s just not something that’s possible. 

If Seonghwa can’t explain this, you might go crazy. You might. What else is there to do? It wasn’t real. But the fear that you’re feeling now certainly is. 

What if it comes back? What if they make it come back? What was it? Where was its face? 

Even though whatever the fuck that was wasn’t real, the memory certainly is. You’re going to be lucky to sleep soundly one night for the rest of your damn life. What the fuck. 

Seonghwa lets himself into the room only a few minutes after Hongjoong had left. 

“You like me so much that you ask for me now?” He smirks, approaching your side. 

His face falls flat when he takes a good look at you. “Stop that. Why are you crying?” 

“Seonghwa.” You feel that it’s quite obvious why you’re crying. 

He only blinks at you. 

“What the fuck was that?” Your voice shakes with the question. 

“I—” He starts, opening and closing his mouth a few times. “Its complicated.” 

You cover your face with your hands. “Was it real? Just be honest.” 

You can’t see his reaction to your question, and he doesn’t answer it, either. 

“What was it?” You moan, hardly able to even spit the words out. To basically admit to Seonghwa that you were scared.

“I think it would be better if you talked to Hongjoo—”

“I am not talking to Hongjoong!” 

You take your hands away from your face, needing to look at him. You hate him. You hate him more than fucking anything. Why can’t he just be honest? Why is he Hongjoong’s little fucking doll? Why does he worship him to such a degree when he’s this fucking evil? Where would he draw the line? 

Seonghwa is stunned into silence. He only stares down at you.

“All I can say is that I didn’t know it was going to happen.” 

He looks blurry through your tears, only making you angrier as you recall Hongjoong looking the same way.

“Stop bullshitting me, please, Seonghwa,” you beg. “I think I’ll go insane if you don’t fucking answer me.” 

He turns away from your bed, striding to one of the medicine cabinets in an attempt to look anywhere but your face. He rakes a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his forehead momentarily. 

“What do you want to hear?” He asks, turning back toward you, though he keeps his distance. “Would you rather know what Hongjoong is capable of or would you rather keep the comforting thought that he’s right? Wouldn’t that just be easier for everybody?” 

“You’re saying that Hongjoong can do things scarier than the thought of fucking interdimensional demons being real?” You throw your hands out in front of you, almost yelling in frustration. 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying! Yes!” Seonghwa matches your tone. “He’s only going to come at you harder. He exists to make you break! Just fucking accept the truth for what he says that it is, and everything will come easily!” 

“I’m not going to do that!” 

Seonghwa laughs bitterly. “I’m sure you believe that, too, Princess.” 

You stare back at him, sure that you look insane. “Can you be genuine for one fucking second?” 

His face contorts into a scowl. “I’ve never been anything but genuine with you. You’re the one that deludes yourself.” He strides back to the door, freezing in the frame. “Is there anything else you wish to fling at me?” 

“I’m taking this to mean that it wasn’t real.” 

“If that helps you sleep at night.” 

Seonghwa leaves. 

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.

Can you bear some girl time? You’re not sure as Nayeon lets herself in, walking casually into the room as if the literal antichrist of her religion didn’t just make a physical appearance before her. 

“How are we feeling?” She asks, dragging out the vowel sounds in her question. 

“Uhm,” you look at your hand, the only injured part of your body, “fine, I guess.” 

“Perfect!” She smiles, reaching out to put her hand under yours. “The bandage looks fine. I don’t think it’ll reopen.” 

Nayeon had found time to change her clothes. She’s back to her usual farm girl outfit, smiling and happy. 

“Are you alright, Nayeon?” You ask, curious to know what a regular Follower made of what the fuck happened. 

She frowns, and then shrugs, and then smiles again. “I mean, it was, like, a bit scary. But Hongjoong made it go away, and he’s always with us, so it’s not like it can come back to hurt us. I was definitely scared at first, but then he showed up and I knew it would be okay.” 

“Uh-huh,” you nod, slowly. Nayeon has always been a valuable source of information for you. 

“It was just so valiant; do you remember how he saved you?” She giggles, “he still has it going for you. It’s amazing.” 

You shake your head. “I can’t say that I remember much…” Other than the fucking maw of emptiness. 

“Oh, well I got you.” She pulls up one of her rolling stools, sitting herself down right next to your bed. “So the ceremony went great. Textbook, really. But as it was finishing… I guess I’m not really sure how it happened, either. Like, one second everything was fine, and the next Yunho was on the ground— he’s fine, by the way; wind knocked out of him, but yeah, anyways— and the Guardian was there and everyone was screaming, it was so scary. I guess it grabbed you… and then Hongjoong appeared and it was like his presence just scared it away. I didn’t see what happened exactly… but the next thing I knew you were on the ground and Hongjoong was hollering for my help.” 

She shrugs. 

What you gather from that is that she didn’t see how it got there or how it left. Good signs, probably. She’d certainly remember seeing something… appear out of thin air. You almost want to smile. What a silly thought, that that could have all been real… haha… ha… yeah, funny…

“I see…” You respond, not sure what you’re supposed to say, “how much time has passed?” 

Nayeon looks at her watch, “like, three hours.” 

Great. Perfect, actually. It would be very unfortunate to find out that you had been unconscious for a week again, especially given the circumstances with Haseul. She’s probably already freaking out, but not hearing anything from you for a week… 

Is Hongjoong going to let you see her? After your brush with death? It wasn’t your fault that… whatever happened happened. Like, he planned that, not you. Surely he can’t hold this over your head. If anything, you basically almost just got kidnapped into a parallel universe, he should be treating you very kindly, right? 

Asshole. He’s probably going to bitch and moan for the next week about you not being scared of him. Fucking asshat. 

But… God, ugh, this is all so frustrating. On one hand, you’re pissed at him for, you don’t know, literally everything that he’s ever done to you, maybe? But on the other, you know that you’re going to have to play by his rules to get him to leave Haseul alone. Or, well, at least as alone as he can.

When is she going to have a Choosing ceremony, you wonder? Yours didn’t take very long… 

Well, if he doesn’t let you see her after this, at least you have that to… tentatively look forward to… ew, you don’t even want to be thinking like that. 

Nayeon stands at your side, bringing you back. 

You don’t realize why until you look behind her, only to spot Yunho standing near the doorway. 

He’s changed out of his clothes, thankfully. But just seeing him is enough to flood your mind with the thought of the thing, your stomach lurching over again as he welcomes himself into the room, clearing his throat. 

Nayeon pats his shoulder as she walks past him, excusing herself. Yunho stops at the foot of your bed. 

You have to admit that he might be one of the last people you would have expected to visit you, now. You had been thinking it before everything happened, but you don’t really think he has any lost love for you, given your circumstances with Mingi. 

“Thank you,” you break the silence, forcing the words out before you can think better of them, “for, uhm, trying to help me. And, I mean, actually helping me, too.” You can’t forget that he had kept you standing when the sacrifice was presented. How ruined is his coat?

He awkwardly looks at his hands, which are gripping the rail at the end of your bed. “Don’t mention it.” His voice is so meager that you barely can hear him. 

Yunho doesn’t look up. You’re not sure what else to say. So you speak without thinking, again. “How’s Mingi?” 

He peeks up at you, but then goes right back to staring down. “He’s… uhm, well, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” 

He pries his hands off of the rail, but then stares at them like he’s unsure that they’re even his hands. Tucking his hands behind his back, he continues, though he still doesn’t look straight at you, “I, uhm, yeah. Mingi is worried about you, and I think his worry came off the wrong way to you and San.” 

“Uh-huh,” you nod, slowly, and semi-sarcastically. You could’ve guessed that. “He has an interesting way of showing it.” 

Yunho takes a deep breath, “He doesn’t know that I’m here. I just thought that I would try and explain his side of things. From his perspective, he is the reason that you’re here and he feels guilty for that; but he’s also pissed that you’ve gotten close with San so quickly, because he doesn’t like him and he feels like you won’t take his concerns seriously.” 

“I don’t see what there is to be concerned about,” you plainly state, “do you have something against San, Yunho? Any reason at all to believe that Mingi could have reason to suspect that he’s not what he shows me?” 

Yunho startles when you say his name, like someone barely inhabiting their own body. “I mean, no. I think Mingi is probably just projecting his fear onto San, but don’t tell him I said that.” 

“Exactly. So why should I have to cater to Mingi’s ego?” The words sound harsh even as you say them, but its a genuine question. You don’t have much reason to believe that San would ever do anything to hurt you… besides him being someone that Hongjoong clearly trusts, but, like, you’ve been over that a million times before. 

Yunho just shrugs. “I don’t know. I just thought that maybe you would hear me out, since I know it’s hard for you to be alone with Mingi.” He stops his nervous fidgeting, finally looking directly at you. “I wasn’t nice to you because I harbor any sweetness towards you, for the record. I don’t even care that you’re the new object of Hongjoong’s affection. I only tried to help because I knew that, if I didn’t, Mingi would have.” His voice is harder than you’ve ever heard it; a shocking contrast to how he had been speaking just moments earlier. He maintains eye contact with you, his eyes dark. 

You’re the one to look away, this time, disturbed by what he said. What a very random and slightly disturbing thing to say. 

When you look back up at him, Yunho is already nervously looking around the room. His hands are in front of him again as he plays with his fingers. 

“Well,” you clear your throat, “thanks anyways, Yunho.” 

“Yep,” is all he says before leaving your room, basically running. 

… That was strange. Very strange. 

Nayeon doesn’t return. You’re left alone, puzzling over that entire interaction.

What… what was the point of that? Like, okay, sure you can get him wanting to try and vouch for Mingi. But… uhm??? The last part? What? Why was that so ominous? Huh? 

You had never known Yunho to be particularly timid… or… rude… This all is just very weird. Maybe even weirder than the fake demon situation. 

No, scratch that, definitely not any weirder than that. That one is gonna keep you awake for a while. A good while. But Yunho’s behavior was definitely not his usual, which is almost concerning. Almost… only because you suppose that you don’t really know him that well. Maybe he’s only really nice and outgoing to strangers… 

That wouldn’t make sense, either. 

Whatever, you really can’t be worrying about that right now. You have priorities. 

Priorities of which you would list, at least in your head, if San didn’t come barreling through the door the next moment. 

You startle, shocked by his sudden appearance. He’s changed, but he doesn’t look great. His hair is a mess, his lip is split, his shirt is untucked in places.

He reaches out for you, and you reach him halfway, grabbing his forearms as he grabs yours. Wordlessly, he looks over your face hastily, pressing his lips to yours before you can ask what happened. 

Your lips part, and he puts his forehead on yours. “We need to get out of here. As soon as possible.” 

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[jaidens]

The sand from your hair is blowin' in my eyes Blame it on the beach, grown men don't cry

pairing [s] : bradley bradshaw x reader

warning [s] : mentions of : crying, anxiety, death, drinking | angst with comfort!

a/n [s] : requests are open!

Bradley sits on the beach, but he feels a million miles away from everything.

You sit next to him as you tell him about work recently and how your coworker did something. Admittedly, he wasn't listening like he usually did, but he stares at the breaking waves and the wind that slips through his cloth Old Navy t-shirt and the shorts he brought to swim in.

Bradley grew up without a father figure after he was five years old. He only had the distinct memories of Goose, his Uncle Maverick, and his mother. He craved the feeling of being able to hug his dad one last time, not just staring at the picture of his Little League team and his father's dumb mustache and Ray-Ban Caravans that sit on his nose.

Bradley sits next to him with a dumb, blond bowl cut and a huge smile as he sits with Goose in his arms. He craves that feeling of being a kid, without worry. He's beside himself as the tears blur the sunset and ocean out of his view, striking like a broken mirror.

“Bradley..” A quiet voice is let through to his ears, as he covers his face with his hands and curls in on himself. “Hey, hey what's wrong?” He can't pull himself to look at you, the person he truly loves as you let your hand touch his arm softly.

Bradley found love, and was able to tell his mother as she laid sick that he was happy. After his father's death, he couldn't live for himself to love. Until Carole had slapped some sense into her son, telling him to find love and that everything will start to make sense. He heard all the stories growing up about Goose's romantic gestures of singing Great Balls of Fire; dedicated to his lovely wife.

When he found you, sitting at the bar sipping on a Sprite and eating one of Penny's famous dinner foods, he knew he was in love. He was freshly out of the Flight Academy, young and dumb when he met you. His mustache barely growing in and still wearing his college baseball shirts.

“Brad, don't ignore me. I know you can hear me.”

One thing about Bradley was his ignoring of problems. His therapist had tried to work him out of the habit, after the dangers of almost getting hurt in the plane after he disregarded Maverick’s commands. It also stood for emotionally ignoring. A year ago, Bradley would have never talked and would've let it out with anger and crying if he was confronted with a problem he wasn't sure how to solve.

“I—I–...” Bradley begins before that frog in his throat appears, biting on his tongue. The tears well up in his eyes, as he takes his hand and wipes them away. The feeling bubbles up inside of him like a Coke shaken with Mentos inside.

“It’s okay, I'm here.” You remind him softly, making sure to hold his hand to help him further in knowing you weren't leaving him alone.

“Hangman— today he mentioned Goose. Told everyone. Maverick didn't even do anything either, I almost fought him too. Then, I remembered Dad. He would've despised me if I used violence.”

“And– and, Maverick keeps bugging me about just fixing my relationship with him. I have no reason too! He pulled my papers!” Bradley stops when he starts practically sobbing, tears running down his face and hands shaking. The anger mixes into his sadness and fear of everything.

He feels embarrassed acting like this in front of you— a grown man crying in someone's arms about another grown man. Bradley feels the weight of his body falling off of him as you rub his back with your hand, and keep on hand raking in the curls of the back of his head.

“Bradley, whatever Hangman said, was unacceptable. Hopefully he apologizes because you do not deserve that at all.” You said. “Maverick loves you Bradley, he basically raised you. What he did as well was horrible, but from what I know about Mav, it was probably meant to happen.”

Bradley takes your words to heart, holding onto your hand now with an actual grip. His lip quivers while he feels your thumb trace over his knuckles. He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffles quietly. You smell like salt water and coconut as he lays in the curve of your neck and shoulder. “Thanks.” Bradley says a few minutes later.

Bradley stares at you, the soft smile you have and his big Ford Bronco t-shirt you have on. You look ethereal in the golden and pink hues that collect in the San Diego sky. He feels your connection that wraps your souls together. He's so in love with you, and he thanks whatever big guy is up there, that puts you and him together.

“Why?” You ask him back, looking down at him at where he lays.

“Because. You're always there for me. Always say the right things.” Bradley admits softly. Messing with the towel you have laid on the ground. “It’s why I love you so much.”

His words are anything but foreign to your ears. You smile at him and see him still finding his breath after the cry that he needed to get out of him. “I love you too. I will never stop loving you.”

He feels closer to everything, you as well as himself. Bradley hopes his mother can see him now, holding the person he loves in his arms.

[hyperfanfictions]

Yet another royalteeth fic

The au this time is the wonderland au by @obamerzslop! Let's have a look into how these goobers met.

Fic is under the cut!

Chattering filled the halls of the court. Kinger, in his red robe adorned with fluff, sat on an elevated stool high above the floor and the jury's seats. The current case today was about a burglary in the royal bakery, and it was to be settled if the current suspect was guilty or not. The jury had a feeling the latter would be chosen, considering the king's decisions in previous cases.

But something caught his royal eye: A witness to the event.

A magician was escorted into the court and to his pedestal where he would state his views of the event, but he was soaking wet. The rain outside the castle was especially pouring this particular night. Kinger couldn't help but feel something for the stranger. This only intensified when the stranger took off his coat.

After a grueling 10 minutes of chatter, the suspect was brought into the court and the jury fell silent. The King banged his hammer.

"State your name and age, suspect." He demanded, setting down his wooden hammer. The suspect stammered, "M-My name is Ruby Vilos, I'm 24 years old."

"Are you aware of why you are here in the royal court, Ruby?"

"N-No, not really. The guards told me about a robbery of some sort..."

The King clenched his fists in frustration. "You were accused of robbing the royal bakery behind the castle, Ruby Vilos." The suspect gasped and leaned forward in denial. "Your highness, I would never do such a thing!" She was pulled back by a guard.

Kinger looked at the witness, turning to him sharply. "You. State your name and age, stranger." The witnesses shoulders jumped, but relaxed immediately after. With a bow, he introduced himself. "My name is Caine Dante, and I'm 43!" The King felt honored by the polite gesture.

"You are aware you are a witness, correct?"

"Yes sirree, your highness! Though I don't think it was her in particular."

Kinger tilted his head curiously. "And why do you think that?" Caine examined Ruby closely from his pedestal. "Well, I remember the burglar wearing a striped pink and purple suit, and his ears were very long and strange."

Kinger sighed in disappointment, lifting his hammer. "That's all I need, really. Case dismissed." He banged the hammer. Ruby was set free of her shackles and escorted out of the castle, and Kinger commanded the guards to find the robber, who he named as "Cheshire Jax".

Caine approached the King, though hesitantly. "Could I ask who this cheshire is, your majesty?" The King jumped at the sudden question, but relaxed. "Oh, just a trickster. He pulls these so-called 'pranks' all of the time and it's pissing me off."

"Oh! Could I cheer you up with a trick, your majesty?"

"Sure, whatever."

Caine then proceeded to pull off his hat, flip it over, and reach his hand inside, rummaging for something. Kinger stared curiously. Caine grinned widely and pulled out a small white rabbit from the hat, surprising the King. He then handed him the rabbit.

"Wha... How?" Kinger stared at the rabbit in his arms. Caine giggled. "A magician never shares his secrets!" He began to walk away with the grin still present, but was suddenly pulled back and pinned to the wall by Kingers strong grip. His heart fluttered.

"If you are not to become my jester, I will have you beheaded." Kinger crouched to the magician's height. Despite his stern expression, he was panicking on the inside. Caine hummed nervously, attempting to wriggle his arm from his grip. When that failed, however, he accepted the offer. "Alright, I'll be your jester! When do I start?" Caines arm was freed, and Kinger began to dust off his coat. "Next week, Monday. I hope to see you there."

"Don't hope, my leige! I'll be there, guaranteed!" Caine ran from the court. Kinger lifted the rabbit from his feet, which he had placed to confront Caine. He began to pet it. "Little rabbit, what is this feeling? My heart is flying like a butterfly." The rabbit stared at him, twitching it's nose.

The King sighed, and left the court, his chest warmer than before.

[bagely]

SOMETHING ABOUT... SINCERITY

from my discarded university Au

Roier had been trying to convince him to join his language club for a week, which Missa saw as another silly excuse to skip a few classes for extra credit. All week she had been introducing him to member after member of his blissful club, and today was no exception.

"You're going to love this guy, he's kind of emo like you." Roier said, with that smile that wouldn't leave his face. "Ya'll get to listen to Green Day in the rain or whatever it is you guys do."

"It's alarming the endless new ways you find to insult me." Missa replied. "I'm not going to enter that stupid club."

"you are going to enter Cabron, we're all there, even your brother is in this club" Roier commented with an air of pride. "Do you know how hard it was to convince Spreen? This club has its things, you'll only see if you join."

"I don't want to join the weird social experiment Quackity is doing."

"Social experiment," He repeated as if it were a joke "Quackity can't even count."

Before Missa could reply into the room a person he hadn't seen before entered. The world felt on pause for about two seconds, as if reality would need a second to process his alluring aura.

He sat across from them with a captivating smile, Looking at Roier and then at Missa he introduced himself. "I'm Philza, nice to meet you.. uhm, Roier told me you were thinking of joining our cultural exchange club."

"I..." His mind debated for a second whether to accept, but I already had too many things on my schedule to also add, it wouldn't be a good idea. He simply had to turn down this offer. "Yeah, I'm thinking about it."

'Crap. I'm not thinking, I'm not thinking about anything at all. Why Missa, why' He thought, turning to look at Roier, and feeling like he read his soul Roier smiled, knowing that he won.

The conversation flowed pleasantly as his initial awkwardness was forgotten. Surprisingly his taste in music was indeed similar to Missa's as roier had said, though he still tried not to be persuaded by charisma alone.

"Oh, I must go now." Said philza shortly after they exchanged numbers. Missa nodded slightly disappointed, but Philza smiled at him that gesture infected Missa making him smile as well. "You do have a beautiful smile."

" Thank-what?" was all Missa could say before Philza left the room. Out of nowhere he became conscious of his own breathing.

"Are you joining the club yet?" Roier asked.

"No. Callate - I'm going to class."

Similar little incidents began to happen in spurts. It seemed that at every corner he met Philza, and at first all their conversations were casual almost as if this one himself forgot the ways in which Phil ended their conversations which was usually compliments from Missa's point of view excessive out of nowhere.

The strangest- and most frustrating thing for Missa was that nothing was happening afterwards. If he liked him, he just should ask him out or something but he didn't say anything apart from exaggerated compliments. he had even told him on one occasion, literally; "You're so funny, I have to go now. I love you." And then he was gone - who the FUCK just does that out of nowhere?!

He was starting to wonder if he had started dating at some point and for some reason erased all memory of that moment. Or maybe it was a strange way Roier was trying to manipulate him to get him into his club, which seemed more likely every day.

But there was nothing else to do but confront him. Yes, he just had to wait for the perfect moment.

That came soon enough when he was invited to a party at Quackity's house, to celebrate something from the club which meant Philza would be there, and also alcohol which would be good for courage. The time for the party was not long in coming, and upon arriving at the place he was greeted by Roier.

"Your absurd manipulation ends here." Missa said, as he entered the house.

"Yeah, whatever do you want alcohol? It's in the kitchen." Replied Roier ignoring him.

Missa felt surrendered and automatically went all the way to the kitchen where she grabbed some drinks that the host of the house was preparing.

"Missa! You came! You're finally joining the club?"

"It's not in my plans." Replied the black-haired man to Quackity as he continued to drink. He began to feel the alcohol rising in his head.

It wasn't long before he was intercepted by Philza after he went out of the house to the garden to try to get some air. Alcohol was not a good idea.

"Are you okay?" the blond said approaching him, and checking his face by cupping his cheeks. Philza let out a laugh " you're stunning."

Missa held his breath, staring at him. There was something about Philza that attracted him in an inexplicable way, like an irresistible magnet. Perhaps it was his warm smile, or the way his eyes sparkled with genuine kindness. Or maybe...

Shaking his head, Missa tried to dispel those thoughts. "Why are you always doing this?" he asked as he pushed Philza's hands away from his cheeks that were starting to turn red.

"What are you up to?" Philza asked with that smile that turned his stomach.

"You're confusing me..." He replied, but from his silence he sensed that Philza didn't understand what he was referring to. Which annoyed him. "Do you want a kiss or something? Am I hallucinating? Why are you always fucking flirting!?"

"Flirting?" He started laughing loudly Philza. Missa forcefully stomped on his foot. "Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I was just being sincere."

"Being sincere? Eres pendejo?" Missa felt his hair stand on end, and his face turn redder. Then he looked up into Philza's face who looked totally honest with what he had said. Then Missa started nodding.

"What, what's wrong?"

Missa said nothing and kept nodding as he entered the house again followed by Philza. "Roier!" He started shouting "¡Me uno al maldito club!"

[ywony]

Room 44 ⍟ Satoru Gojo

┊ Neighbors.

NOTE: this is my first time writing a fanfic… hope u enjoy :3

PAIRING: Satoru Gojo x fem!reader

CONTENT: friends (started as neighbors) to lovers + sorry if this is too badly written and includes typos, english isn’t my first language and i wanted to write smth for fun..!

You live in an apartment complex, room 43.

You led a pretty boring life since graduating. Waking up early in the morning, getting ready and heading to the office for work. Yet no matter how many times you try to wrap up early you always end up coming back home late from work, it’s the same usual scenery.

The moon making her way to her place, the sky turning darker and darker, parents picking up their children from the playground beside your work place since it’s getting late and the chilly breeze reminding you that autumn’s arriving.

-

You think of dating as a waste of time, well atleast, you’re the only one who tends to think so… You can’t find the time to make new relationships or get into one, plus you only have a few people in your life that you actually interact with .

You go out with your best friend on sundays for a drink to release stress and keep her up with what happens in the office, though it’s a pretty dreary topic but she insists that you tell her everything and after it’s your turn to ask her about how she’s doing ; you’re more like sisters than friends, and it comforts you to have someone that you can seek for advice.

The day after, your mom visits you to check up on you and brings you your favourite dishes.

-

Your mom is always nagging you to get a boyfriend and marry him in view of you not getting any younger..

“Mom, i’m only 28 years old..” that’s what you always say to her at the end of each conversation about dating.

In fact, even your best friend insists that she sets you up on a blind date to find your someone, but you end up refusing each and every time with the excuse that you want to focus on yourself and your job for the meanwhile. “Just get married to your work then, you workaholic!” she told you once in a snarly tone.

As much as you appreciate their concerns for you, you feel as if it’s still not the right time to start dating, add to that, you wouldn’t bother putting in effort to meet new people. Well, atleast for now.

-

It’s a usual friday night. You get back home, exhausted from a long day at work. You were left to finish overtime as per your boss ordered… but in return you get to have monday off in reward of your hard work.

You change into comfortable clothes and out of that suffocating shirt and tie choking ur neck all day long.

You lay in bed seeking for rest and peace after a long tiring friday, but as soon as your head touches the pillow you hear loud banging from the room next door, room 44. “Room 44? But i’m aware that nobody lives there…” you wonder to yourself and sudden thoughts run your mind, maybe it’s a thief? But there’s nothing to steal… And so that leaves you with one last conclusion, someone must’ve moved in next door.

Your new neighbor is very noisy. There’s always banging coming in from the next room late at night and it bothers you a lot… you’ve finally decided to confront him soon about it.

-

Usually you would hangout with your best friend at her place today, but this time you wanted to watch your favorite TV series alone at home.

You felt a strange sensation as you realized how silent things were, you were relieved that your eardrums were given a break from the noise. But you spoke too soon… A deafening bang hits the wall next room “BOOM!”

You get up, furious and angry, stomping your way outside to find yourself knocking on room 44’s door.

-

The door slowly opens, and you suddenly realize that you let your anger get the best of you.

A tall, handsome man was leaning on the doorframe. White frosted fluffy hair, deep crystal eyes hiding behind a pair of round dark sunglasses, a perfect nose and a grin was making its way on his lips. He was wearing a light blue shirt and dark baggy pants.

You can’t help but admit that he’s exactly your type… You get carried away admiring the man, your cheeks turn red and you rudely stare at him to admire his features. You got lost in his beauty that you almost forgot the reason you’re standing in front of him.

He tilts his head, greeting you “Well hey beautiful,” You can’t help but blush at his deep voice that just complimented you. Still you refuse to get easily swayed, “I’m from the room next door, you’ve been making a lot of noise ever since you moved in and it’s very bothersome. I can’t even sleep the night in peace.” you huffed while crossing your arms and tapping your foot.

He chuckled, “Are you sure you can’t sleep the night? You look too pretty for someone who didn’t get an an ounce of sleep.” he began. You got a bit annoyed because he’s not taking you and your complaints seriously, Not to mention, it seemed sarcastic because you knew you look horrible these days.

“Quit joking around would you, sir? I’m not here to play around or waste time. You’d better keep the noise down or I’ll have to file a complaint..” you scoffed while looking up to find his eyes. Why does he wear sunglasses indoor anyways? And at 9pm for God’s sake…

Before finishing that thought he interrupted, “Alright I’m sorry, it’s because I had visitors these last couple of days and they’re pretty noisy and a bit.. chaotic let’s say. But I wasn’t joking when I said you’re pretty.”

That was a bit unexpected, you thought he would drag it on considering his immatureness at the beginning. A smile escapes your lips and soon you chip in, “Thank you sir, I’ll head back then. I hope you have a good night.” You get ready to turn around and walk back into your room, however you feel a hand pulling ur shirt gently. “It’s Satoru Gojo.”

“What?” “…Gojo, that’s my name since you insist on calling me sir… I don’t even look that old...” he corrected you while pouting.

You can’t help but let out a giggle, “I’m y/n, Gojo, it’s nice to meet you.” you hummed.

“Do you have plans?” he asked, “Hm, well for now, not really.” you responded and it didn’t take him a second to say “Would you like to come in? Let’s have a drink together. I’d like to get to know each other. We’re neighbors after all.” he suggested, taking his sunglasses off.

“Sure,” you replied. That came out so suddenly.. you knew better than to enter a man’s house especially one that you just met above all… However, you just couldn’t help refusing after clearly seeing his gorgeous yet sharp blue eyes, staring at you with an excited look.

“Come in!” he cheered, moving out of the way and holding the door open as you entered the apartment.

[captainjacklyn]

Making my first DOL post today..random game I got into, it's so easy to get invested.

So here is my PC, don't be fooled- that's a boy he just likes his hair long cause an someone told him it looked nice.

Kinda felt like giving him a small description, how he views most of the LIs and other characters, maybe him as a person idk this really feels like a shitpost. I only recommend the game if you aren't a minor and have a strong ass stomach cause I almost vomited the first time.

!!TW!! mentions of SA, blood, gore, violence, human experiments, death, abuse (both mentally and physically), psychopathic behavior, murder, mutation, stalking, if I missed any other triggers please inform me immediately so that I may fix my mistakes. If any of these topics make you uncomfortable, I advise you to please ignore this post and find something else more suitable. !!TW!!

Degrees of Lewdity :

APPEARANCE :

The slender young man slowly stares back at you and returns your greeting. "Oh..it's you." his name is Elias, he's a resident at the local orphanage, he won't talk back if you try anything. Just avoid taking off his gloves unless he allows it.

PROFILE/MAIN INFORMATION :

Species - human, any hybrid Occupation - student Affiliation - orphanage, oxford street school Age - 18 years old Height - 178 cm Birthday - 04th of April Gender - male (can morph his system into changing sexe so female too) Marital Status - Dating Sydney, Avery's side hoe Zodiac Sign - Aries Best Subject - English, History Interests - Cross dressing, sunbathing, napping, gardening, makeup

PERSONALITY :

Elias is an unfazed and blunt yet somewhat gentle young adult who quietly cares for others from afar. At first glance, many would think that he only speaks up when others wish to converse with him, even then his answers are short with little depth. Though it is stated that his confidence becomes much more evident once he gets comfortable, Elias can tease his peers and act playful. Furthermore, he will occasionally invite friends to spend some time with him. Whether it be taking a nap together, walking along the beach shore or reading in the library. He can crave company and has no shame in asking for someone's attention.

Not only so, but angering/provoking Elias is a feat itself, he usually avoids confrontation by walking away and even when things get out of hand, the young man will still struggle for the sake of running off. Though reaching a certain state of insanity, he looses all control of reason and will attack the offender without limit. This livid persona gives him an animalistic instinct to kill, relentlessly harming the individual(s) who previously caused his senses to go a-wire. The way he does this can get more gruesome depending on the previously inflicted physical or mental wounds on Elias, from forcing himself on them to tearing their skin open and eventually creating a gash deadly enough to give them a slow painful end. He stops at nothing until he's satisfied with how much suffering his abuser lives through.

InGameAU/Canon

Note - The statements above is largely different to how he canonically behaves. I have a knack for 'book accurate' vs 'show representation' and wanted a similar concept for my character.

In the game itself, Elias is much less of a victim and instead finds himself to be in constant control (I've been wary of any nonconsensual interactions, making a save before every choice that could lead to gr*pe or getting..y'know v*red). He is manipulative, defiant and easily angered. Belittling any passerby who leaves him a crude remark, regarding his more manipulative tendencies, this does result in him being a bit of a player.

One ↦ Robin can only have a specific percentage of confidence, preferably leaning towards a hundred but never fully. There is the excessive guilt-trip technique, Elias takes care of him from time to time and the moment Robin says something that could waver the white haired boy's sense of control he half scolds him by reminding Robin of everything he does just for him.

Two ↦ Sydney's purity = max level at all times. He doesn't want to deal with the possibility of having a bratty little *sshole follow him around everywhere for s*x. Especially not if the church proceeds to act up along with his corrupted state. The two of them are dating in game, Elias mainly uses him for protection at school, status wise at least. Due to Elias' line of work and desperate need to pay off Bailey, my PC cheats on Sydney practically everyday, having intercourse with multiple NPCs who offer a good price in exchange for his body as well as acting as Avery's sugar baby.

Despite this, he does care, I promise that he does. But his way of thinking would be similar to Alicent Hightower from House of The Dragon. He isn't narcissistic and has never once acted that way, however Elias is heavily twisted by loneliness abandonment issues go brr, anxiety and peer pressure (e.g robin getting punished for not paying his rent, Bailey possibly selling him off to the farm, etc..). This causes him to appear collected and normal at one moment and then unexpectedly go nuts.

BACKGROUND :

Elias' past follows most of the in-game's PC backstory, he was raised in the orphanage by Bailey and supposedly lived within that town his whole childhood. Another NPC who is only present in Elias' story is Monika, an older sister-like figure who was also raised in the orphanage but soon adopted and taken away. She is said to have learned to read rather quickly and many youngsters would come to her for stories, including Robin. Monika was especially close to Elias, treating him like he was a blood relative than just another inhabitant, their bond grew strong as years passed and her depart created a rather detrimental impact on Elias. Who closed in on himself and ceased to socialize, a partial root to his present conduct.

However, there is a darker side to his story. This would also explain the truth behind his gloved hands which he hates uncovering at all cost, as well as his existence alone. Elias wasn't conceived naturally, instead he was created inside an artificial womb manufactured by a non-governmental laboratory which was currently exploring the nature of hybrids (e.g beings such as the Black Wolf or Great Hawk). A group of scientist took a step further, planning a project which was yet to be approved by their employer, and decided to combine several varieties of animal DNA along with human ones. Their goal was to revolutionize the science of genetic research. Unfortunately, the team was found out and reported to their boss, who visioned Elias' birth as a horrific mistake exhibiting complete disrespect to the laws of nature. The people who had fabricated the unnatural child were instantly discarded from further company work.

Up until that point, the infant mainly looked human and acted as such. So the executive ordered for the toddler to be dropped off at an orphanage and forgotten.

TRIVIA/BONUS FACTS :

Elias is rather fashionable, he sometimes goes into the supermarket to try on a set of clothes before leaving without purchasing a single item. (the art is in the savings)

It is stated by several NPCs that he has a bad habit of staring, this is actually due to him daydreaming/spacing out whilst looking ahead unconsciously.

His favorite drink is lemonade and favorite dessert is lemon tart, anything that has to do with lemons is usually enjoyed by Elias.

When adapting to an environment, his hands are the first to metamorphose. They also connect to his emotions/primal instincts, circumstances like these are what drove Elias to hide them.

His screams sound like a mix of Caraxes and Syrax, his sounds are more guttural than actual cries.

CREDITS FOR PICREW :

#1; #2; #3; #4; #5; #6; #7; #8; #9

[finalmemesx]

The Night Shift

By Alex Finlay.

“Can I go on break.”

“There was a survivor?”

“Thanks for coming, I’m sorry to interrupt your night.”

“I almost forgot, I made you something.”

“I’m pregnant, not incapacitated, you know.”

“You were buying ice cream?”

“What was that?”

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

“You tell them to take it easy.”

“What can we do to help?”

“Tell me you’re kidding.”

“This used to be my office.”

“You can brief me on the way to the scene.”

“We’re glad to have you on board.”

“I thought we were past this.”

“It’s probably incomplete but it’s a good place to start.”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“You’d better not tell them anything.”

“The cops want to talk to you?”

“Wanna get Starbucks?”

“You the lawyers?”

“Wow, stalker much?”

“You’ve had no contact with him.”

“You need anything, you tell them to come to me.”

“We’re just customers.”

“You’ve never been to a strip club for a bachelor party or something?”

“Sometimes it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

“Want me to come along?”

“But I do need you to stay over there, where it’s safe.”

“What are you guys talking about?”

“You told the detectives about this today?”

“They didn’t tell you?”

“I understand you were the only one able to get through to the survivor.”

“Any idea what it means?”

“I’m in some trouble and I need someone to come.”

“I didn’t fucking steal anything.”

“They’re good guys, if you get to know them.”

“You’ve just seemed quiet since the party.”

“Would that have been worse?”

“You lied about what?”

“You broke his nose.”

“Shall I make up the guest room?”

“Where the hell are we?”

“I went to the store to confront her.”

“You got plans tonight?”

“Ow, that looks like it hurt.”

“If I suck your dick, will you get me another Cherry Coke?”

“Then what’s with the frown?”

“I can drive you home after.”

“We’re gonna hang out after shift. You can come if you want.”

“And who do we have here?”

“One thing I’ll never forget is the crime scene.”

“What was the motive?”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I’m told you have more than a million views on YouTube.”

“I’m sorry but we have nothing to say to you.”

“I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“You have your work cut out for you.”

“You don’t have to believe me, no one else did either.”

“How’d you find that out?”

“We’re sorry to drag you in like this.”

“Well, this is humiliating.”

“Got a crowbar?”

“Want me to show you around?”

“I didn’t threaten anyone.”

“Don’t you dare back down.”

“Why were you researching the case?”

“Maybe you can start from the beginning.”

“What is it you wanted to show us?”

“How do you know all this?”

“Who was the father?”

“Are you alright? Do you need a doctor?”

“Woah, you need to take it easy.”

“How do you know I’m not dramatic?”

“Never mind, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Maybe we should go to the door.”

“What are we waiting for?”

“Is there a reason you remember it so clearly?”

“Can you give me a ride?”

“They’ve released you?”

“You understand what your lawyer is telling you?”

“Can you turn the fucking light off?”

“You don’t have to come.”

“They’re digging up the garden.”

“How did they find out where you were?”

“So you’d best leave them the fuck alone.”

“You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“As sure as I am that you’re a badass.”

[themagnusbane]

I swear, in all these Only Friends discourse that has been raging since the finale dropped on Saturday, I wonder if anyone actually took a second to be like: this story is being told through the eyes of 20-21 year old college students. They are the mouthpiece through which this story is being narrated. Is it possible therefore that their age, their lack of experience, their slightly sheltered lives, might play a role in how they navigate their friendships, the world at large and how they react?

Like @jojotichakorn has started several times, and I agree a 100%; this story isn’t a morality lesson. Nobody is saying casual sex bad. You are evil if you’re non-monogamous. Blah blah blah. As a graysexual polyam person who just uses the term queer cuz it’s easier than me having a 30 mins convo with a stranger about my orientation and how everything intersects for me, this show was everything. Cuz PEOPLE ARE MESSY! People are messy and judgemental and annoying. Just because they’re queer doesn’t mean they WON’T be messy. I was especially a fucking shithead at 21. Hell, I was a virgin until I turned 22 (not quite as sanctimonious as Mew, thank SPIRIT!!). Who I am now at 33 is vastly different from who I was over a decade ago. I moved out at 22. Been living on my own for that time. The person I am today is a product of all I have seen and experienced. I lost the black and white lens through which I viewed the world, in that period of time.

And you know what? I do feel that these kids (cuz they are kids to me. I haven’t sat in a university class in almost 13 years 🤷🏾‍♀️), will grow, and learn and evolve. Boston I think will do fantastically well in New York. He will continue to come into his own. Will figure out what kind of relationships work best for him (both in regards to his friendships and his sexual and romantic—if he wants any—relationships), and he will thrive.

Mew will eventually get that stick out of his arse and get off his high horse. He will realize that people are messy, imperfect, and make mistakes, and that he too is flawed. And that is okay. That he doesn’t need to be burdened to replicate the perfect home life he had with his mothers. That hell, just because he fancies himself better than others, doesn’t mean that he isn’t as capable of the depraved things the human mind can conjure up 🤷🏾‍♀️.

Ray will probably battle with his addiction all his life. Will realize that battling addiction is a life-long process. Will lean on the support he has. Will probably learn to forgive his mum, and come to terms with her frailty as a human being, and what that meant with regards her suicide. He will also probably let himself admit that as much as he loved her, and wanted her to hold him and love him, he is justifiably angry at her that she did neither of those things, and then left him. He will probably confront his dad about the role he played, and didn’t play in all of this. He might decide to break up with Sand later. And they will still be good friends. Or Sand might be that ex he hasn’t spoken to in years, yet he still thinks of and smiles when he hears I Wanna Be Yours.

Same goes for Sand, and Top and Nick as well.

And who knows, at some point Cheum might realize that she can be quite the shitty friend. That she’s been a shitty friend. She might reach out to her now former friends, and honestly sincerely apologize. Or not. That’s another thing. Some people take forever to grow. And some don’t learn a lick from their experiences. And when time has passed and they looked back at all their burned bridges and try to reconnect, they are left with hands fluttering in the wind, and everyone they love out of reach 🤷🏾‍♀️.

But yeah. I don’t know about y’all. Maybe you were well adjusted uni students who were always right and knew the right words to say, and didn’t fuck up every other Saturday, and whose lives were peachy. But I was a dumbass, making dumbass choices, being a sanctimonious dumbass, and being an absolute menace. And that was how I watched the show. Knowing that this is a story of these kids, told to us by THESE kids. P’Jojo was just the conduit for their story. But it is ultimately THEIRS. I just watched it for them. Not for any moral lessons (this isn’t a parable or a fable. And I say this as someone who has been fascinated by mythology since I was 7), but to be entertained by the lives of these messy kids, crash-figuring their way to adulthood, and thanking the universe that my early 20s are way behind me, cuz fucking hell. That era of my life was some shit-show!

[heykoonsy]

Word Count:  3.3k+

Pairing: Husk x Angel Dust (HuskerDust/AngelHusk), slight Angel Dust x OC

Summary: “Give him everything but your ass.” Angel Dust was tasked with one job: convince the investor to subsidize Valentino’s agency. Angel was more of a closer to Valentino, enticing the wealthier of his associates into funding projects for him. However, this latest pitch didn’t go as planned and Angel’s hubris prevented him from seeing the potential drawbacks of a one night stand with someone Valentino marked. In this slow burn love story, Angel must confront the worst parts of himself if he is going to win back his career.

Content Warnings: Rated 18+ for foul language and mature themes

Author's Note: I loved writing this chapter ❤️ please enjoy!

Angel walked into the cafe that morning, his head on a swivel. He was looking all around for Agony–unsure of where he’d be seated or if he even arrived yet. Then, Angel caught the sight of him from the corner of his eye. He rose from his chair ever so slightly, letting Angel know where he was. Agony was sitting at the table farthest from the door, at the table that got the best view of the park. 

Angel Dust came over quickly, setting his purse down on the unused chair next to them as he sat down.

“Thanks for meetin’ me,” Angel said quietly, scooting his chair closer to the table. 

Agony nodded, taking a sip of his latte. “Glad to see you still have my number,” he said. 

Angel took the comment in stride, noting Agony’s anger towards him had died down, but was not eradicated. “You were right,” Angel said.

Agony looked up at him, eyes wide.

“I should have called, I should have been there,” Angel said, his eyes focusing on Agony’s and not looking away. “I told myself that you wouldn’t want to see me, but really it was because not seeing you was easier for me. I’m so sorry, Agony.”

Agony took a deep breath, letting Angel’s words wash over him. “I forgive you,” he said after a moment.

“You don’t need to,” Angel dismissed his apology. “But, I still want to make it up to you.”

Agony stopped him, “I already know what you did.”

Angel stopped talking and looked at Agony, “You do?��

“Brut called me shortly after I met with you,” he began. “He said that you’d arranged for us to work with Spitzers at his new agency.”

Angel stayed quiet, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “I always meant to make it up to ya guys, Agony, honest.” He squirmed in his chair. “I think you’ll be happy with Spitzers, he’s got a knack for the business.”

Agony chuckled. “From what I’ve heard, he seems great.”

Angel smiled. “I wish you guys all the best.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, since I got blacklisted, it might be time for a career change,” Angel said, his eyes cast to his hands in his lap. “Any idiot with arms can bartend,” Angel added for a much needed laugh.

Agony shook his head, “Over my dead body are you quitting the business.”

“It’s fine,” Angel said, waving him off. 

“I’m serious Angel, if you don’t come work with me, I’ll reject his offer.”

Angel looked at him curiously. “You want to work with me? After…everything?”

“Angel, we had one dumb fight. It’s not the end of the world.” Agony said plainly, sipping his coffee yet again. “It’s definitely not the end of our friendship,” his eyes met Angel’s.

Angel felt the lump in his throat begin to form. He cleared it out with a laugh. “I guess I was a little dramatic,” he said, blinking away the tears that formed in his eyes.

“Okay, as it stands, we need to accomplish these four things,” Spitzers began, pointing to a slideshow that he’d made just before their little meeting today at the gentlemans club.

Angel was sitting on the opposite side of the table, Agony and Brut on either side of him. He watched closely as Spitzers went over each slide, touching base with each of them about their respective task over the next few weeks.

Now that Angel was officially part of the team, Spitzers made sure that he was included in all of these meetings. Despite the fact that he was completely new to this side of the business, he was not going to let his ignorance beat him. Angel was going to survive this blacklist if it was the last thing he did.

“Brut,” Spitzers said, gesturing towards him. “Get to writing as many scripts as you can. We’ll start with A Splash of Color, but we need to build a backlog if we’re going to last.”

Brut nodded along. 

“Agony, you’ll be responsible for locating a company to handle production and distribution of whatever film we produce.”

Agony nodded, “I already know a bunch of sinners in the industry, my last project needed all hands on deck since there were so few of us.”

“Great, then I’ll take care of finding a studio for us,” Spitzers said. “There are a lot of great places within our price range.”

“What about me?” Angel asked, cocking his head to the side. 

“Well, we’re going to be low on cash here soon with the lease,” Spitzers said. “We’ll need investors.”

Angel nodded his head. If he were honest, alarm bells began ringing in his head. 

It seemed that Spitzers caught on, because he put his hand up. “Angel, you’re one of the best adult film stars in the business. Where you go, sinners follow. But, I won’t have you do anything you’re not comfortable with. You’re not a whore.”

Angel chuckled at the sentiment. “I’ll do it.”

And thus began their pursuit. Brut got to work outlining what seemed like three different scripts all at once. He was coming up with all sorts of different scenes, thinking about what was hot right now. 

Agony got to work too, talking on his phone with any connection he acquired in the business that might be of use to him now. He was currently on the phone with his second choice–getting a quote. His first choice was still negotiating with their business leaders.

Spitzers was of course working twice as fast seeing as how he was built for this business. He was on a phone call and corresponding to several emails all at once. His plan of action was to contact as many realtors as he could that needed to offload some office space. If they couldn’t find a studio right away, they could at least convert a small office into one. If they outgrew it, they outgrew it, but now, they had to think small and cheap. 

And then there was Angel. He was honestly swept up in everyone getting to work so quickly that he forgot he had a job to do as well. Angel was quickly overwhelmed by his current position–but rather than distract anyone, he simply went out for a cigarette. He pulled out a cigarette and took a drag on it, savoring the flavor. He recalled his duty–to entice investors into supporting their agency. 

Angel thought back to all the times Valentino had him do the very same thing–and how much he hated it. Floating around like a cheap piece of ass just so that Valentino could get richer from his expense. Now, it seemed like he was expected to do the same thing. What did he even leave Valentino for?

That was what he was originally thinking–until Spitzers inspired him to do otherwise. Spitzers was right when he said he was the best the business had to offer–and sinners did wait on him hand and foot. But, was there really a difference between what he was doing before and what he was doing now? Of course there was. 

Before, he didn’t have someone in his corner that valued him. Sure, Angel was put in charge of gathering investors again–but this time instead of feigning some interest in the investor, he could charm them with his passion for the industry. He no longer had to worry about wearing the right thing and saying the right thing to garner favor. This time, he could talk about his accomplishments within his field. 

And Angel loved that about his new team. 

After a lengthy smoke break, Angel hailed a taxi and got right to work. It was time that he pulled his weight around here.

Angel returned to the hotel after a long day of seeking out investors. He was exhausted having sat in reception area after reception area, having the same polite small talk, and ultimately the same conversation. 

“We’re not looking to invest right now.”

“We’ve spread ourselves a bit too thin this quarter.”

“Ask us again when the economy isn’t in shambles.”

Every investor that he went to rejected him right out of the gate–and that was with his inspirational words. It seemed like no one was willing to take a chance on them. And who could blame them after what Valentino told them?

Angel heard from a loose-lipped secretary that Valentino had called all of the investors within the industry. He’d said a lot of terrible things, but all of them circled back to Angle being a traitorous slut. If Angel were honest, he’d heard Valentino say all of those things before so it really took the sting out of them when he heard them regurgitated by the secretary. He was able to shrug off the insults–but if things continued this way–the company would go under and his career, destroyed.

Angel walked over to the side of the hotel and plopped his ass down on the bench where he’d shared a bottle with Husk. He lit a cigarette, taking a drag and exhaling the pale smoke. 

Tomorrow he’d have to tell everyone that he’d come up with nothing on his search for investors today. He wondered if maybe Agony should have been looking for investors. There was a chance that Valentino didn’t besmirch his reputation–his attitude towards Agony’s career was lacking before. Angel could only imagine what he thought of him after being forced to take lesser roles. He could already hear Valentino’s commentary, right after being asked about Agony’s reputation.

“What reputation?”

Angel ashed his cigarette to the side and brought it to his lips again. He sighed, and the smoke bellowed from his mouth like smog. 

“That bad, huh?” 

Angel looked over and his eyes met Husk, who was flicking his lighter to start up a cigarette too.

“I’ve had better, I’ve had worse,” Angel said, leaning back on the bench and crossing his leg at the knee. 

Husk flicked his lighter again, his eyebrows knitting together out of frustration. He made his way toward Angel, his cigarette hanging out of his mouth as he inspected his lighter. Angel moved his legs slightly so that Husk could take a seat. 

“Val had a field day,” Angel chuckled wryly, putting his cigarette in his mouth to dig in his pocket for his lighter. “My reputation’s in the toilet right now,” Angel said, his cigarette between his teeth to keep it from falling out. 

Husk turned towards him, leaning his face into Angel’s. Angel went stiff with surprise, watching as Husk stopped abruptly. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he looked below him. Husk had pressed his cigarette to Angel’s and began puffing on it, trying to start his cigarette. 

Angel felt his cheeks flush with heat as Husk retreated, exhaling away from them. Angel tried to calm down, averting his gaze from Husk altogether. 

“You’ll just build it up again,” Husk said reassuringly. It was funny to Angel that despite his near permanent scowl, Husk was quite comforting in his own right. 

Angel smiled, flicking his cigarette away. “Let’s hope you’re right,” he said, stretching for a moment. “Man, I’m bushed.”

“You drinkin’ tonight?” Husk asked.

“You pourin’ tonight?”

Husk gave him the side-eye, and Angel laughed. “I’ll hang out with you,” Angel said with a devious smile, “all you have to do is ask.”

Husk brought his cigarette to his lips as Angel leaned towards him. He repeatedly knocked into Husk with his shoulder, egging him on.

“Come on Husky, just ask me nicely and I’ll do it,” Angel cooed. 

Husk flicked away his cigarette and got up.

Angel followed him towards the door, “Husky, wait, don’t you wanna hang out?”

Husk crossed the lobby with Angel in tow, both of them taking their places. 

“You don’t have to get all embarrassed,” Angel said, leaning over the bar.

“I’m not embarrassed,” Husk huffed, getting to work making a cocktail. 

“Ooh, watcha makin’?” Angel asked. 

“What do you think?”

Angel knew the answer before Husk picked up his shaker. He watched as Husk assembled his bay breeze for what felt like the millionth time. When it was done, Husk slid it towards him and put his hands on the bar. Angel took a sip, his eyes going to Husk and giving him a small satisfied smile. 

“I needed this,” Angel said happily. “Thanks Husky.”

Husk nodded, cleaning his shaker quickly. 

“You’re not gonna make somethin’ for yourself?” Angel asked, moving his cocktail to the side.

Husk shrugged in response, choosing to stay quiet.

Angel got up from his stool and made his way over to Husk’s side of the bar. Husk watched him, leaning back to get out of Angel’s way as he began collecting bottles of liquor.

“What are you doin’ kid?”

“I ain’t drinkin’ alone,” Angel said matter-of-factly. 

Angel assembled a Manhattan quick as a whip and handed it to Husk. Then, he plopped his ass on the bar and outstretched his own drink towards Husk. Husk chuckled, taking a few steps forward so that he was standing mere inches from Angel’s legs. Angel watched as he pressed their glasses together, a soft clink echoing in the space between them.

Husk took a sip of his Manhattan and Angel reveled in the pleased look on his face. He stirred his own cocktail with his straw, smiling to himself.

“Drunk already?” Husk asked, a sneer overtaking his face.

Angel made a face at him, “No,” he said with a faux annoyance. “I’m just happy is all.” He set his glass down to his right.

Husk took a step closer, “I thought you had a bad day,” he said while inserting himself between Angel’s legs.

“Well–

Angel inhaled sharply–suddenly very conscious of himself. He watched as Husk placed his drink on the bar to his left. Instead of stepping back–separating the two of them–Husk chose to stay, looking up and into Angel’s eyes. Their position was reminiscent of a few days ago in Angel’s room. Every ounce of confidence seeped out of Angel and he was reduced to a blushing mess.

“...you made it better,” Angel said–his voice barely above a whisper. Angel averted his eyes, embarrassment making it hard to maintain any sort of eye contact.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” Husk said, his sneer returning. “Did you say something?” Husk tried to catch a glimpse of Angel’s face, moving with him as he turned farther away from him. 

“I didn’t say anything,” Angel lied, hiding his face in his hands. 

“If you tell me, I’ll make us another round,” Husk bargained, his voice light and flirty–much like Angel’s before. 

Angel didn’t respond to his attempts to provoke him, moving away from Husk’s hands as they attempted to pry Angel’s hands away from his face.

Husk succeeded, peeling away Angel’s hands and holding them in his own. “You don’t have to get all embarrassed,” Husk whispered to Angel, giving him a taste of his own medicine it seemed. 

“I’m not embarrassed,” Angel huffed, his cheeks telling a different story.

Husk’s eyes fell from meeting Angel’s gaze to his lips and Angel bit his bottom lip out of nervousness. Husk slowly drew his eyes upward, his eyelids lowering ever so slightly once they made eye contact again.

“It’s okay if you are,” Husk said, pulling Angel towards him, “I think it’s cute.”

Angel grabbed Husk’s face, letting his thumb stroke his cheek before they met in the middle, their mouths coming together in a soft kiss. Angel had experienced many first kisses in his lifetime–but none were like this one. From co-workers to lovers, none could compare to this…gentleness. Despite Husk’s rough exterior, his kiss was supple and warm. 

Husk moved his lips against Angel’s, enveloping him in more of that heat. Angel’s hand dropped from Husk’s cheek to his neck, stroking the exposed fur there above his bowtie. And Angel felt Husk do the same, hands searching for more of him as they kissed. First, Husk’s hands slid down Angel’s forearms and soon brushed up against the tops of his thighs. They dragged lazily along the outside of his thighs, gripping them as Husk pulled Angel tighter against him. 

Angel felt himself melting beneath his touch–a feeling that he was not so much surprised by as much as he was completely overcome. He sighed into Husk, his exhale escaping between them as Husk deepened their kiss. He pulled in Angel’s bottom lip, sucking it gently before quickly moving on. Angel wrapped his lower set of arms around Husk, his upper ones finding themselves twisted up in his dark fur. 

Husk's right hand trailed towards Angel’s knee slowly, pulling Angel closer still and pushing his hips forward against him. Angel made a noise in the back of his throat, the movement of Husk’s hips catching him off guard. Husk reveled in it it seemed, because his kiss got progressively messier. Angel felt Husk’s tongue sweep along his bottom lip and the sensation made his heart drop to his stomach. 

Angel pulled their lips apart long enough to breathe, an annoyance, yes, but a necessary one. Husk rolled his hips again and Angel continued their kiss in kind, desperate for more. Angel wrapped his legs around Husk, drawing him closer. 

“Angel,” Husk managed between breaths. 

“Yeah?”

Husk drew back, a trail of saliva following him as he did. Angel watched from above as he licked his bottom lip–his eyes not wavering from Angel one second. “Your phone’s been vibratin’,” Husk said, pulling it out of nowhere and handing it to Angel. 

Angel palmed it quickly and looked at who was calling. 

Fuck, he thought as he released Husk from his leg prison. Not that he moved.

Angel cleared his throat, “Hey,” he said in his usual happy tone.

“Angel,” Spitzers said into the receiver. “How did things go on your end?”

Angel leaned back against the bar, his bottom set of hands propping him up. “Well…” Angel trailed off, not ready to admit his defeat to the gang yet. Angel began stroking Husk’s fur absentmindedly.

“About as much luck as us then,” Spitzers sighed. 

Angel knit his eyebrows together in concern. “Agony wasn’t able to get any labels on board? What about Brut?” 

“Valentino sent us notice about a copyright he’d gotten regarding A Splash of Color,” Spitzers explained. “He’s claiming that since Brut worked for him during its creation, he has a legal claim to the work.”

“That’s bullshit,” Angel said, anger welling in his chest. 

“Precisely, and since we don’t have the funds or time to fight him in court…” Spitzers trailed off. Angel knew what he was alluding to. 

Angel said nothing for a while, his mouth suddenly dry from the sobering conversation. “What…what do we do?”

Spitzers was quiet on the other end of the phone. Then, Angel heard a struggle ensue and Agony’s voice began speaking excitedly. 

“He’s so fucking dramatic,” Agony said, “Angel, we found a studio.”

Angel was hit with a flashbang. “What do you mean? Spitz was makin’ it seem like this was it for us.”

Agony groaned. “Look, it’s a lot to explain–but Spitzers heard from Jullien earlier today. He wants to negotiate a partnership.”

“What the fuck?” Angel asked excitedly, almost not believing what he heard.

“It’s too early to celebrate,” Spitzers said in the background.

“We’re taking the deal,” Brut said. “I’ll just write another script.”

“Now that we have a studio–that means we have connections to distributors and a built-in market. Whatever Brut writes up next will be our debut.”

Angel smiled into the receiver though they couldn’t see it. “Holy fuck, this is happening,” Angel said incredulously.

“Get some sleep, tomorrow we’ll be meeting at Jullien’s offices,” Spitzers said from the background.

“I will,” Angel said, his mouth hurting from smiling so much. He hung up and put his attention back on Husk. 

“What was all that?” Husk asked, his position unchanging. 

Angel pulled him into another kiss–savoring each second that they were joined. He leaned back, grabbing his cocktail and taking a sip. “I might still have a career,” Angel said with a giddy smile.

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[beardedmrbean]

The Alabama high school band director shocked with a stun gun after a football game last week in front of dozens of students was "just doing my job," he said Wednesday.

Police officers in Birmingham told Johnny Mims, the band director at Minor High School, to tell his band to stop playing about 20 minutes after the end of a football game on Sept. 14. The band was in the midst of playing music for a "fifth quarter."

Body camera footage released by police shows Mims continuing to conduct the approximately 145-member band through the end of a song. Then a physical altercation with officers ensued before he was shocked three times.

"The things that happened at that game should have never happened," Mims told reporters Wednesday. "The students should have never seen me Tased.

Mims was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and harassment, police. According to police, he "pushed" an officer during the altercation and had to be shocked to be subdued.

He denied pushing, hitting or attempting to strike an officer and said the force he was met with was "excessive."

"My client never struck or even remotely attempted to strike an officer," Juandalynn Givan, a state representative and Mims' attorney, told USA TODAY on Wednesday.

Givan said she and the Alabama Education Association, which represents teachers and other public school employees, were pursuing legal avenues to achieve accountability for the actions of police. They are also pushing for Mims to go back to work after he was placed on administrative leave while the school district reviews the incident.

Video shows officers telling director to stop the band

Footage released by police and additional footage provided to USA TODAY by Givan shows officers approached Mims as he directed the still playing band in a set of bleachers. Loud music drowned out much of the conversation, but an officer can be heard telling Mims to stop the band from playing.

"Get out of my face," Mims told an officer.

Mims told the officer they were wrapping up their last song. Mims continued to conduct the students while several officers stood in front of him and told him the stadium needed to be cleared.

At one point, an officer told Mims he would go to jail.

Mims gave two thumbs up and said, "That’s cool." Soon after, the stadium lights were turned off, and the band continued to play the remaining few bars of their song, at which point Mims motioned for the performance to conclude.

"Put him in handcuffs," an officer said.

Why was Mims arrested?

Mims was then pulled from the conductor's stand, Givan told USA TODAY. Much of the physical confrontation between Mims and police was obstructed from the camera's view. Police said Mims refused to put his hands behind his back and pushed an officer.

Givan said none of the footage she has seen shows Mims striking out at an officer.

As Mims was shocked with the stun gun three times, many of the onlookers, which included students, were screaming, the video showed.

It's not clear why officers were instructing Mims to wrap up the band and clear out of the stadium. Mims told reporters he and the opposing school's band director had agreed beforehand to play a fifth quarter after the game. He said once the lights went off, it was also hard for him to direct the band and officers standing between him and the students "interfered" with his ability to follow their orders.

"I was just doing my job as an educator, instructing the band, allowing the band to play and, again, just celebrating the achievements of our football team, cheerleader squad and our band program," he said.

Givan also told USA TODAY that officers did not inform Mims he was under arrest until later and cursed at him.

Legal experts told USA TODAY it's not clear whether his arrest was lawful. He should have complied with officers' demands and set a better example for the students, said Brian Higgins, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. But Birmingham defense attorney Victor Revill said it's important to consider whether Mims had a legal right to be in the stadium at the time.

Arrest has impacted students, community, lawyer says

Givan and members of the Alabama Education Association said Wednesday the arrest and use of a Taser on Mims has "traumatized" students and impacted the community.

"This was unacceptable. It's an embarrassment to the state, it's an embarrassment to the city," Givan said.

She said Mims sustained injuries and has seen a doctor. He is experiencing numbness and tingling as a result of being shocked, she said.

"He’s emotionally distraught over this," Givan said.

In extended body camera footage provided by Givan, an officer leading Mims away in handcuffs can be heard telling him that his actions would make students less trusting of police in the future while Mims insists it was the police that escalated the situation.

Givan said she is pushing for the officers to be put on administrative leave.

[berenwrites]

So Sweet - Stranger Things - Steddie

So Sweet: Hard to Begrudge Love

A/N – For @steddie-week day 2. Just a short little one today, because it's what I was feeling :). Thanks for stopping by.

Prompt: Bittersweet / Fluff and/or angst / Fade to Black by Metallica

Summary: Tooth rotting Steddie fluff from Robin’s point of view.

Also on AO3

Robin watched Steve flirt hideously badly with yet another girl and crash out spectacularly in an obnoxiously sweet way. She had to hide her smile behind her hand and keep the laugh in until the door closed behind the poor young thing.

“And I thought you were bad when you were really trying,” she said as she placed a tape back on the shelf.

“Gotta keep the reputation up, Robs, it’s camouflage,” Steve replied with a grin, “and she was smiling when she left.”

“Because you’re a giant dingus,” Robin told him, but that just made him grin more.

She liked this new, more relaxed Steve and that she had Eddie Munson to thank for it still blew her mind. She’d loved Steve ever since Starcourt, but she’d always seen the longing in him, the confusion, the searching. That he was now happier than he had ever been made her happy too.

The fact Steve had taken one look at a feral-more-than-ready-to-kill-them Eddie as their recently dead friend confronted them with a demobat army as they tried to get to Vecna, dropped his nail bat, and kissed Eddie into remembering who he was, was legend among the party.

Even Robin hadn’t seen that coming. She had been aware that losing Eddie had shifted something in Steve, made him think some things through and come to a few realisations, but she never would have guessed where it would lead.

Her dingus was in love. He kind of glowed with it. Luckily in a close-minded town like Hawkins, Steve’s previous reputation was set in stone. No one realised that glow was for Eddie.

They were all heroes now, the whole party, thanks to some ridiculous cover story Owens and his people had come up with. They had saved their town. It would have been nice to have been given credit for saving the world too, but Robin would take what she could get. Most people smiled at them these days, even Eddie, and the few who didn’t just avoided them.

Bits of the town were still broken. Bits of them were still broken. But the town was rebuilding, they were all healing, and love was in the air.

The bell over the door rang and Robin didn’t need to see to know who it was as she watched Steve’s whole face light up. So sickeningly sweet. It made her smile too.

Find my other steddie fanfic listed here in my pinned post.

[multifandom1writer]

Obey me! Replaced mc au brainrot

Mc=Noah (cause I don't like just saying mc, ik this isn't accurate btw I'm just a sucker for angst lol)

This contains explicit and harmful content, so, warning.

Part 2:

When a new student from the human realm was announced, I didn't think much of it

I thought maybe I'd get to make a new friend, hang out with them, hell maybe they could tell me everything that went on in the human realms while I was gone.

But not this

I'd never thought that she would completely take my place, it's weird saying it now.

Take my place, huh?

It was foolish of me to think I'd actually matter in their lives, their demons for fucks sake!

For all I know their waiting for the day to kill me.

Well, it wouldn't be the first time eitherway

My hand immideatly went to gently rub my throat remembering how belphegor had killed me in a brutal and slow way after I helped him escape.

Belphegor, weird, I normally just call him belphie.

Guess habits change.

I walked out of my room, messy RAD uniform and deep eyebags under my eyes, beautiful I know.

I walked into the dinning hall and everyone was with Angelica, the new student I was thinking about earlier, they were huddled around her as she told a story from the human realm.

I simply sat down and stared at my breakfast, deciding I'm not hungry I called out to beel.

He was the only one not fully engrossed in her story, simply listening while eating.

He turned his head to me and I walked over to him.

-"here, I'm not hungry bud, and your well, always hungry"- I smiled at him and silently cursed myself for the awkward phrasing

-"no, keep it."- said beel as he pushed my plate towards me.

-"beel, did you just reject food?"- I asked smiling at him, slightly nervous as to why.

-"no no, I would gladly accept it, the thing is that, I haven't seen you eat a proper meal in a week Noah"- he said as he handed me my plate, worry filled in his normally blank eyes.

-"Beel I'm fine I promise, please, take it."- I spoke through an honest smile.

-"no, you haven't been eating lunch or dinner either"- he said stubbornly as his voice raised a bit.

His brothers started to notice the commotion and slightly stared at us from time to time.

'shit, this is not how I wanted this to go' I thought to myself

-"I promise I have, I just arrive earlier than you and take it back to my room."- I spoke through a nervous aura, tensing up every few seconds

-"whenever I arrive your plate is there and served to the brim"- he spoke again, voice never flattering as he grabbed my wrist that was sliding my plate towards him.

-"well then, I didn't know that, someone must be refilling it, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again yeah?"- by this point the brothers were paying more attention to you than Angelica and were starting to grow suspicious of your odd and worrying behaviour.

You gave him your plate, waved at the brothers goodbye and left as soon as you entered.

-'Fuck..I can't go to RAD today, I can't stand the thought of confronting them, especially beel'- I thought as I ran a hand through my hair and then down my face.

I went to my room and pulled out my motorcycle keys, then the box hidden under the bed.

I made my way down the building with nobody noticing I was still there

The sound of a powerful motor echoed as I set out into the street, I admired the scenery around me but then remembered I forgot my helmet

-'Fuck it, it's fine, I normally don't ride with my helmet on'- I thought as I continued the way through the Devildom.

Blurry shops and demons all lined my view as I sped up through the busy streets.

I silently sighed as I arrived at my destination

It was a giant cliff with a barrier protecting the demons from the fall, it was very popular for it's beautiful view

I occasionally came here, normally on Saturdays on Sundays since I didn't have school those days but eh.

I doubt Lucifer will even care for a single missing day with demons missing school almost everyday

I sat down on the barrier and pulled out my stuff from the box.

Cigarettes and lighters.

I lighted one and felt the welcoming feeling of the drug invite me in.

Devildom cigarettes had 10x more effect than normal ones so as a human I fell under the influence rather quickly.

I stared at the view infront of me and stood up on the barrier

I took another puff and slightly let my thoughts wonder.

How couldn't I let my thoughts run? After all I had never been more alone.

Even in the human realm I was well known for my good grades and...devilish personality some would say.

I talked back to teachers, skipped class, did all types of drugs for whatever the reason and drank till I passed out.

I was never fully mentally stable and my body was concrete proof of that.

Scars, burn scars, littered almost every corner of my body.

There were scars on my arms and forearms, stomach, chest, legs and thighs.

I hated myself and I made sure that message got through to myself.

My scars weren't something to be ashamed of, infact I loved them, I remember I always showed them off when I was at any mental health meeting.

When this new school year rolled around that habit stopped.

Apparently me wearing a short sleeved shirt that revealed my scars was gruesome for Angelica.

I remember the day as if it was yesterday

I was walking through the halls, it was an early Saturday morning and I was wearing a shirt with no sleeves getting ready to accompany beel to the gym.

I smiled at myself in the mirror, loving the way my scars were on show.

Soon enough Angelica came in talking with mammon about who knows what

-"ready to go beel?"- I asked him with a smile he smiled back at me and said

-"yeah just one second, I left my protein drink in the kitchen"- he got on his feet and went jogging to the kitchen

I pulled my playlist up on my D.D.D and scrolled through the songs until I found one that I liked I reached for my headphones and Angelicas scream pierced through my ears.

I covered my ears while Lucifer and Satan, who had just entered the room came running to her side.

I looked at her wide eyed, wondering what caused such a reaction.

She was crying as she held her hands over her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut.

-"Angelica?! Answer me! What's wrong?!"- asked Lucifer, panic seen in his normally calm eyes.

-"T-their scars"- Angelica stuttered through tears

-"Who's scars?"- asked Satan a bit more calmly trying to understand the situation

-"Noah's! Noah's arms!, I can't bear to look at them"- she spoke once again through sobs as she sobbed into her hands

The demons heads snapped up at me, I shrugged and tried to continue my day.

Key word, tried.

Lucifer stood up straight and stared at me

-"Noah come with me, quick"- said Lucifer, I spread my arms and did a 'seriously?!' motion as I followed him

Angelica only sobbed louder as she saw the numerous scars on the other side of my arm

-"Noah!"- yelled Lucifer from the other room, a warning

I rolled my eyes as Angelicas screaming was starting to get on my nerves

-"oh suck it up! I'm the one with the scars not you!"- I yelled at her, pissed off that I was the one getting punished for something as ridiculous as this

-"NOAH!"- screamed lucifer, even madder from the other room,

-"I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME GRANDPA!"- I screamed as I left the room, the sounds of slight laughter being shot down by Angelica screaming at them for laughing as I closed the door.

-"yes, Lucifer?"- I asked, clearly annoyed as I stared at him crossing my arms, he simply scoweld at me as he slightly glared

A look I knew too well from the beggining of my first year at RAD.

-"given Angelicas reaction and your..actitude, towards it."-

-"from now on, it's mandatory for you, especifically, to wear a long sleeved shirt at all times, and I think this goes without saying but just to be clear, you aren't allowed to wear anything that shows your scars"- I stared at him in bewilderment.

All this for a girl he met a week ago?! Seriously?!

-"meaning, no shorts, no bathing suits, no exposing clothes, nothing along the lines of that"- he said as he slightly glared at me, we were the same height so it was easy for me to glare back.

I scoffed and looked at him.

-"this is fucking ridiculous, what, just because this random girl doesn't like some scars I have to change my entire wardrobe for her?! Fuck no!"- I yelled at him, I was pretty sure the other brothers could hear us two yelling but I didn't give a single shit.

I wasn't going to change everything for this random ass pretty girl I met barley a week ago.

That's absurd!

-"Yours scars are triggering for her, who knows when it might happen to another student when you decide to take off your jacket in class?!"- he yelled back at me stuff even he knew, were false and completely out of his ass.

-"Don't make me laugh! We both know the entire Devildom had seen my scars and none of them, GIVE A SINGLE FLYING SHIT"- You screamed at him, was it a bad idea? Yes Did you care? No, no you didn't

He massaged his temples with his fingers and glared at you.

-"I don't think you understand, I'm not asking you permission for this shit, I'm TELLING you, ORDERING you"- he screamed and you just scoffed at him.

-" well then! Fuck you too Lucifer! FUCK YOU TOO!"- you yelled at him, as you slammed the door on your way out.

The brothers stared at you in bewilderment and even Angelica stopped crying to give you a wide eyed look for talking back to Lucifer like that

-"not so triggering for you now, huh?"- I spoke through venom as I made my way to the kitchen where beel was packing some last minute snacks

I sighed and looked down at the joint in my hand at the memory

Smoke slowly coming out as I continued on my feet on the rail.

I couldn't believe how much this girl had affected me in less than a month.

I was forced to wear clothes I didn't like, be in charge of Angelica 24/7 since mammon barley did his job, relapsed terribly, got a terrible sleep schedule because of being forced to room with Angelica, lost motivation to do anything really, I didn't even feel hungry anymore.

Everyday Im just the walking skin of the person I used to be.

I took off the annoying sweater I had to wear, and stared at my arms, slowly rubbing my scars as a way to calm myself.

-"Nice scars yo!"- Spoke a demon on rollerblades as she sped beside me giving me a cocky smile

I smiled back and waved as a way of saying 'thank you!'

-"triggering others my ass"- i spoke softly bringing the drug between my lips before i got an idea.

I slowly sat down as I brought the burnt side of the cigarette to my arm, the feeling of burning skin brought me inner peace as I continued running it down my arm.

Blood slowly dripping as my arm got dirtied by the ash creating a gory wound behind.

The fire completely out by now as I put my sweater back, and rode to RAD, smiling to myself from the pain coursing through my arm.

As much as I didn't want to, I went to the nurse, it could get infected and that's the last thing I want to be honest, it's a pain in the ass.

After my lovely visit I went to my next class, which I regrettably had with Angelica.

-"Hey!"- she smiled at me as I arrived and sat next to her

I gave her a quick forced smiled and leaned on my arm.

Quickly shooting back as I had played down on my injured one, I gritted my teeth and shut my eyes

-"are you ok?!"- asked Angelica, worry sparkled through her features and eyes, as she held my arm gently

-"I'm fine.."- I muttered as I retreated my arm.

Angelica still looked worried and I could tell she could smell the horrid smell of cigarette on me.

I had a long week, Angelica wouldn't leave me alone, and my visits to the cliff with my lighter and cigarettes became more and more ordinary, the demon brothers pushed me away even more and we're starting to treat me horribly.

Lucifer would straight up ignore me and the only time he would speak to me was when he was screaming at me for my bad grades, oh yeah, did I mention? My grades took a downfall because of my, situation.

Mammon would steal and take my money from my room all the time, to either sell or give to Angelica, normally I wouldn't care but very important stuff has stared going missing and it's anger inducing

Levi would treat me like trash, straight to the point. Wonder what happened to the leviathan that would stay up all night playing videogames with me and would always invite me to read his magas with him.

Satan and Asmo just insulted me to no end, Asmo saying stuff about my looks and fashion sense, Satan about my likes in books and stories, judging everything about me.

Beel and belphie stayed quiet on the whole matter, they weren't close with Angelica and beel didn't really trust her so they stayed on the neutral side, but by doing that they distanced themselves away from me.

All for her.

For the shiny new girl.

Fuck them

Fuck her

And most importantly

Fuck me.

The burning of the lines became a known and welcoming feeling.

I was in my room reading a book I found in the library

I honestly couldn't care since I was more concentrated on my thoughts and burning arm than the pages filled with knowledge Infront of me.

Suddenly the room to my room shot open and I got on my feet.

An angry Lucifer followed by the worried faces of Angelica and the other siblings came into my room.

Great, what did I do now? I simply sat down as Lucifer continued glaring.

He simply slammed a box Infront of me.

Not just any box, my box.

Filled to the brim with bloody bandages, cigarettes, lighters, and bloody tissues.

I knew that if I acted surprised or looked over at my bed too see if it was the real one and not just some test it would be suspicious.

So I simply stared at the box and raised an eyebrow at him.

-"nice collection I guess"- I stated simply as I pulled out my D.D.D and started scrolling through devilgram.

-"Don't bullshit me Noah, I know this is yours"- he stated as he put his arms on my desk and leaned closer, his eyes weren't angry as I thought they would be.

They showed concern, sadness, worry.

What a joke.

I looked at him weirdly while everyone else stood stiff behind him.

"no it isn't, why would I need all that for?"- I said, pointing at the box.

I reached over and analysed the bloody bandage as if I didn't recognize the blood and smears.

Remembering how I dragged the cigarette across my arm, putting it out the farther it went, grabbing a tissue to wipe away the ashes and blood, applying the bandage over it.

Putting that ugly sweater on once again.

-"ew.."- I muttered throwing it into the box again.

Before I could retreat my hand, Lucifer reached towards and grabbed my arm.

It hurt like hell and I could feel the burns burning even more than normally.

The newest one slowly dripping droplets of blood, that have thankfully, not seeped through the fabric of the shirt and jacket I'm wearing.

-"what the fuck are you doing Lucifer"- I said, trying to break away my arm from his deadly grip but his firm hand never even flattered

-"Show us"- he spoke through gritted teeth

-"show you what exactly Lucifer?!, What do you want?!"- I asked him, taking my other arm and pulling on the other, trying to get it away from his grip.

I needed to keep a coolhead though, don't let them see you in a weak moment.

You gave up even if your brain was panicking in reality, thinking of every possible away to get away from them.

-"Come on Noah.., if ya don't have anything to hide, just show us ya arm, right?!"- spoke up Mammon since everyone else was in shock trying too see what would happen.

You stared at them.

And there she was.

In all her glory, cuddled up between the brothers on the verge of tears.

As if she was the one who was being interrogated and blamed.

As if she was the one hurting with thousands of burns on her arms.

As if she was the one drinking all her guilt away with wine and alcohol.

As if she was the victim.

I glared at Lucifer and used my magic to get him off me.

I could have used the pact but that would be suspicious, hence I barley use the pact to get the demon brothers to do something for me.

-"Jesus Christ man..."- I spoke softly as I rubbed my sore arm.

The brothers just deadpanned at me for a second but then returned to the matter at hand.

Lucifer glared and made his way around the table and Infront of me.

-"Fine then"- he turned around and glared at the group on the other side of the room

-"all of you take off whatever jacket or sweater your wearing and if your wearing a long sleeved shirt, pull it up"- he glared and everyone did as they were told immideatly

'and they say he kisses Diavolos ass godamn..'- you stared weirdly as everyone followed Lucifer's directions

He went around and checked their arms, then showing them too me.

Not a single one had a recent scar that would have been created by the stuff on the box

He circled back to me and glared as he stretched out his arm for me to give him mine.

As a last minute decision I casted a spell that allowed me to hide my scars.

I didn't do this since the beggining since there was a huge chance it might not work, hence it's a newly learned spell.

I scoffed and took off my sweater, hoping to any god or entity that it worked.

Luckily when I rolled up my sleeves, not a single scar in sight I relaxed a ton but didn't let anyone notice.

Lucifer simply examined them before he grabbed it tightly and pulled me towards him.

I tried to break free but I heard his voice, for everyone in the room to hear, especially me.

-"if you aren't hurt.., then, what's this?"- he spoke as he slowly raised his hand which was examining my arm filled with blood and burnt skin.

I stared in shock as I looked down and noticed the spell had worn off because I relaxed.

The brothers all stared wide eyed and some gasped.

Angelica broke out into tears but the brothers didn't pay any mind to it.

-'thats new'- I thought as I looked at their figures from Lucifer's shoulder since he still hadn't let me go.

He let go of my arm and hugged me and I felt him wrap his arms around me, his warm embrace brought tears to my eyes since it's been months since I felt it.

I hugged him back and hid my face in his shoulder as to not let anyone see my tears

I wanted to do nothing but make him let go of me, to scream and curse at him every profanity that came to mind.

But after finally being cared for after months of feeling nothing, felt so nice.

After that feeling of euphoria died I pushed Lucifer away and put on my jacket again.

-"Leave."- I spoke coldly as I didn't dare to meet their eyes.

-"Noah, please let us help you.."- spoke asmo carefully as he took a step towards

-"Are you all deaf, I said, Leave."- I spoke harshly once again.

-"c'mon Noah.."- spoke Mammon as he came closer.

-"why do you guys even care?!"- I yelled at them, Angelica flinching to which I just rolled my eyes at.

-"Because we care about you!"- yelled back Mammon

I scoffed and spoke -"sure you do, if you care then why have you guys been treating me like shit?"-

They all looked away knowing they were guilty

-"just admit you don't care and leave, go back to having fun with Angelica and leave me again."- I spoke as I simply glared and went to take my box.

Satan grabbed it before I could teach it and so I glared at him before walking over

-"Satan, give that back"-

-"listen, I know we..fucked up, but please give us another chance, we never knew this would happen, please."- I just grabbed the box and pulled it out of his grip.

-"yeah you guys fucked up, but you only care once stuff like this happens, what if you hadn't found the box? I'll tell you what, you would continue treating me like shit until I snapped because the guilt is eating you alive, it's not because you care or because your worried, it's so that you don't have to live with this guilt on your conscience for the rest of the year."- I knew some of what I was saying was a lie.

I could tell in their eyes they were worried and sad, that they were truly sorry.

But I wasn't going to forgive them easily.

Because part of what I said was true, they only cared once it came to this.

-"besides how did you even find the box"- I spoke harshly as I hid it again.

-"Angelica was commenting to us about how she was worried about you"- well that's new

-"and Mammon decided to look around your room too see if he could find something, then he found it..."-

You only scoffed at them before taking your backpack full of your stuff and clothes and leaving the room.

-"Noah! Where are you going?!"- spoke one of the brothers after you.

-"Purgatory hall"- you said bluntly continuing your path.

-"wait! Noah please! Let's talk things out!"- begged beel, being the only one who could keep up with you.

-"what's there to talk about?"- you muttered as you took a sharp turn

-"everything! Just please.."- Beel said as he grabbed your hands and put them to his forehead and he looked at you through tears.

-"Don't leave us..."- as some tears fell from his face

-"I'm sorry beel..but that's not your decision to make."- you pulled away and left the house of lamentation, not to be seen in a good while.

[fearthetallman]

Krang Pie chapter 4

[first] [previous][next]

Warnings: self harm descriptions, poorly handled self harm confrontation, gore, krang being eaten alive, mentions of torture

Chapter 4

Mikey cried until he ran out of tears. He cried until all he could do was stare blankly at the wall, sniffling and slowly returning to his normal breathing. Not to be dramatic, but he ruined everything. He’d been so worried about their trauma responses breaking apart that he hadn’t thought to check himself.

Dr. Feelings told him that he used Raph’s attempt to advise him as an outlet from the growing frustration that had been building. Some of it had been growing for years but the rest of it was from the pressure of keeping the krang secret and how useless he felt not being able to help Leo out. His explosion of anger was just a misplacement. Really he was angry at himself. Well, and the krang.

Having a Dr. Feelings inside of himself was really annoying sometimes.

His phone pinged and he picked it up. It was Donnie.

Raph told me to check on you

He considered not answering but knew that would only make things worse.

I'm fine dw

He was glad texts couldn't carry emotions. It was so much easier to lie. Ugh, when had everything gotten so messed up? He glanced at the closet doors. Had the krang caused everything to fall apart? Or was it ready to crumble from the start?

Sighing, he forced himself to stand up. He didn't feel like talking to Raph or Donnie yet, but he should at least check on Leo. Maybe he could get him to open up and he would hate himself less.

Peeking his head out of his room, he made sure there were no enemies nearby. It was empty. He slipped out, scanning everywhere to make sure no one was going to sneak up on him. He made it to Leo's room undiscovered. The tension in his shoulders melted as he pulled back the cover to Leo's room.

The red eared slider was in his room in the dark. Mikey's eyes struggled to adjust, faintly making out Leo's silhouette. His arm was moving in a steady motion, back and forth. Was he working on the pillow?

"Hey, Leo," he said, flipping on the lights. "Why is it so dark in--"

His words evaporated when Leo came into full view. With his gloves off and skin bared, bruises littered his arms, a palette of browns, purples, and yellows. But not only that. Cuts of various size and shapes were there too.

Mikey stormed over to him. "What are you doing?!"

Leo gaped at him like a baby bird waiting to be fed. His swords dropped from his hands "It's not…"

"What are you doing, Leo?!" He should say something more. Something helpful, something substantial but his mind blank and all he could do was repeat those four words.

“I’m just training with my gloves off!” Leo’s face twisted, trying to look angry but only looking like a toddler about to start wailing.

“’Just training’?” Heat burned in his chest and he grabbed Leo’s arm, holding it up so they both saw the damage. “Since when does training leave marks like this?!”

“It’s training. I’m not supposed to go easy on myself.” His tone was full of irritation, like Mikey was the crazy one.

“So what…you’ve been using training as an excuse? As a way to hurt yourself?”

Leo flinched when Mikey spat out the words hurt yourself. He picked a different line of attack.

"Why did you barge into my room like that?" Despite the harshness of the words, Leo's voice was strangled like he was about to cry.

"I wanted to check on you! How long have you been doing this, Leonardo?" His eyes stung. He had just stopped crying why did he have to start back up again?

Leo hung his head, eyes pinned to the floor.

"How long?!" he screamed.

"A year, okay?!"

His words punched Mikey in the gut. A freaking year. He ground his teeth. "You can't do this. You can't ever do this again, Leo!"

He looked sickened. Like he could throw up. "I know. I’ll stop."

"Does Raph know about this?"

Leo snapped his head up. "No, and you can't tell him!"

Why couldn't Mikey have found out another day except today? He swallowed past the sand in his throat. "Then give me your swords."

"What? I'm not giving you my odachis. I'm not stupid enough to stab myself with a mystic weapon."

His voice trembled. "Give them to me or I swear I'll tell Raph everything."

"What if someone attacks? I need my weapons on me."

He hated that Leo was right. It wasn't fair. Why hadn't he picked a less pointed weapon like Raph? "Fine. Then just leave them outside your room. But if I see they're not there even once when we're not fighting, I'm going to Raph."

"Okay, fine, you win." He grabbed his swords and walked out. They landed outside with a dull clunk. Leo walked back in, but Mikey couldn't look at him with the tears that threatened to spill over. "Are you happy now, Mikey?"

He reached out and grabbed Leo's arm with his empty hand. "Please. Tell me why you're doing this. Tell me what's going on inside your head. I just want to help."

If Leo confessed, so would Mikey. He would give up the krang. Face the repercussions. He would take whatever punishment he had to if it meant he could help Leo.

The red eared slider couldn't keep eye contact for long. His gaze always drifted. But his chin wobbled and he opened his mouth. "I...I'm just tired. It's nothing. Leave me alone. Please." The last word was no more than a whisper.

Mikey turned away. "Fine."

Once he returned to his room, a quick google search revealed he had done everything wrong, and Leo was going to hate him. He used to be so good at things like this. His brothers would come to him because they knew he would listen. They knew he wouldn't judge. They knew Michaelangelo would put their needs above his own and genuinely cared about them. But look at him now.

"Ugh, are you sniveling again?"

Mikey thought he'd been fairly quiet with his crying but the voice from the closet said otherwise. He opened the door, ignoring the smell and glared down at the fat blob.

"For your information, it's called crying. And I've had a really bad day."

The krang scoffed. "You wouldn't last five minutes if you were a krang. We have no need for such weak emotions."

"Crying is a perfectly healthy and acceptable way to relieve stress." Even he could hear how lame that sounded. He grabbed the cage and dragged it out. If the krang was going to criticize him, he might as well be face to face with it.

"I've lost ten of my brothers on a quest for a carnivorous vegetation planet and you didn't see me 'crying.' They were eaten alive, screaming and begging for death as they went down."

"That's terrible." His empathy had activated once again without his consent.

The krang smiled. "Hardly. If one is so weak as to beg for death, then we were better off without them."

"You mean you didn't feel anything for them at all?" He knew the krang were ruthless, but he thought they would at least care about their own. "They were your brothers."

"Feeling are for the weak. If you didn't care about your brothers, you would be much better off."

His tears were drying now, a tightness on his cheeks and a dull burning in his chest at the krang's words. "Caring doesn't make me weak."

"Oh really? Because I see how much you let others control your every reaction and mood. I knew what happened to my brothers, but I didn't care because I'm stronger." Its smile grew wider, pointed teeth glistening. "But you. You're the weakest I've ever seen. No wonder the krang didn't want you."

This again. If it was just going to mock him, he should lock it away again. He needed to figure out a way to slow it down anyway. All its criticizing wasn't helping anything.

Right as he reached for the krang, it spoke again. "But we do share one thing in common. Both of our brothers begged for death."

He froze. "What?"

It shifted in its cage, moving to the side so it could peer up at him better. "You do want to know what happened to him, don't you? Well, it was quite the show."

He was afraid to move, afraid to say anything in case it clammed up again.

"We punished him physically, of course. That's a given. But there's only so much you can break a body before it dies. But the mind. The mind can be pushed so much further. It doesn't understand time as well as the body. A memory can seem to last for hours but only be a couple of seconds.

"He was only locked in there for about six hours. But inside his mind, with us, he was in there for years."

The ache in his chest grew stronger, setting his heart on fire.

"We had such fun. Played all sorts of games. We showed him his own death, agonizing pain that last for hours. We did torture. Suffering. But that was only the surface. We let him think he won. That he escaped. He would run all the way home, meet his family again, only for us to come back and kill him. It was always his fault, of course. Since he tried to escape, he'd sentence his loved ones to death. Sometimes it wasn't just death. It was infection. He would bring us back and turn everyone in to more krang.

"We tortured his family. Made him watch. How many times did he watch you die, I wonder? At least a couple hundred. Decapitation, infection, shot in the head, having your guts explode from the inside out. There's so many more. But no matter what scenario we chose, we always made the reason the same." Its face twisted into something that was a mockery of a smile. Something sadistic. Something evil. "It was always his fault."

Mikey's pulse was racing. His head pounded. He felt every nerve in his body and they were electric, stabbing him with pain.

"When he was finally rescued, I wonder what he thought. Did he think it was a trick? Does he believe he's still back in there with us? I suppose it doesn't matter. No matter how far away you take us, he will never forget. He will never heal. We may have infected the body before but now we have infested in his mind."

His hands were shaking. He had never felt such intense emotion in his life.

"You may have trapped me. But look at you now. Trembling before me. Because you are just that weak. You may even kill me, but the krang still wins." It laughed, a horrible screeching sound.

Mikey was not like his brothers. Whether it was because he was the youngest or because he was born that way, he didn't know. But for as long as he could remember, he could feel other people's emotions stronger than his own. If Donnie was sad, he felt it stronger than his own sorrows. If Raph was angry, he could feel the energy coursing through his veins. And if someone was hurt, their agony cut through him more intensely than any physical pain ever could.

So when the krang revealed all that happened to Leo, it was not a static story. He didn't understand the words so much as he felt them. Lived them. Every single second of a thousand deaths he had never died. It all ripped through him until there was only one thing left he could feel.

Rage.

The krang was still cackling as Mikey picked up the cage. It only paused when he reached inside.

"Wait. What are you doing?" It didn't sound scared. Only confused. That wasn't enough.

His fingers sank into the squishy solidity of its pink body. He dragged it close to the bars. It cried out as its flesh singed. But even that wasn't enough. So he pulled what he could grab out. A single tentacle, slippery and trying to yank out of his grasp. He pulled it closer and closer until it poked out of the cage.

Then he opened his mouth and bit down.

It was not a clean cut. It was much tougher than he thought it would be, like trying to bite through a piece of solid plastic. But he pressed his teeth harder and harder until it snapped off like a carrot. The creature shrieked, a scream of agony and horror as blood splashed against the cage, some landing on Mikey's face with all the warmth of summer rain. The tentacle was rubbery but still warm as though life was still flowing through it. When his teeth ground it up, hot juice gushed over his tongue, sweet as pineapple but with a bitter aftertaste. It wasn't easy to chew it. The skin was hard to split and danced around his mouth.

He realized that's because it was still moving. A thin grease coated his mouth, making it harder not to gag. But he kept going. He chewed until his teeth landed on something hard. A bone. But it was brittle. Easy to grind up and didn't splinter like animal bones.

He chewed until it was small enough to swallow, nearly gagging twice before it went down. His breath came out heavy and ragged, thick juice still dripping from his lips.

It hadn't stopped its wailing, writhing in the cage in agony. He kicked at the cage to shut it up. "Who's weak now?"

As the adrenaline wore off, reasoning slowly began to settle back in.

What had he done? That was disgusting. Possibly the most disgusting thing he had ever done in his life. And he lived with three brothers, so he knew disgusting! There was shame, guilt and more than a little revulsion. But underneath all that, he felt something else.

He felt powerful.

"You…" the krang croaked. "You bit my arm off! You're a monster."

Oh, the irony. He wiped his face with the back of his hand. "Maybe next time think twice before you mess with my family."

He put the krang back into his closet. For the first time since yesterday, he felt hungry. It was about 3pm and way past lunch. Maybe he could sneak a protein bar or something.

Whenever he reached the kitchen, however, Raph was already in there, leaning against the counter.

"Oh," Raph said. "Hey, Mikey."

If he was feeling petty, he could have drawn this out. Greeted him, grab his protein bar and then make a hasty retreat. But he wasn't feeling petty right now. "Hi, Raph. I want to apologize for earlier."

"If you don't want to talk the--" The snapping turtle's head snapped up. "Wait. You want to apologize?"

He nodded. "I was upset earlier and while I did have some valid concerns, the way I voiced them and consequently exploded on you was immature of me. I'm sorry and I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Raph blinked and shook his head. "I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. I know I don't always treat you the age you are and I'm sorry. You're usually right about this feeling stuff. So if you want me to go talk to Leo then we can--"

Memories of what happened when Mikey went to check on him flood in and he shouts, "No!"

He froze, confusion furrowing his brow.

"I mean, I think we should talk to him but maybe not right now. If we all barge in on him now, he might get even more stressed." Like when I did that, Mikey thought. Not to mention if Raph went in there Leo might see that as a betrayal. "I'm sure the right time will present itself."

Donnie walked in as he was finishing his sentence. "Oh, did you guys make up yet? Good, I was tired of hearing Raph whining that he didn't know what we were going to eat if you didn't cook us something."

Raph shot him a glare that disappeared when Mikey turned to him.

"Obviously I was more concerned with repairing the rift in our friendship! But…y'know, supper was a close second." He laughed awkwardly.

Mikey had almost forgotten. Since Dad was going to be gone for a week, Raph had made them plan their meals out so they didn't eat pizza all day, every day. They were going to cook at least once a day with food from home. Since they hadn't done anything for lunch, the next meal was supper.

He'd been so distracted with everything that he hadn't come up with a plan for what to make. Since he was in such a good mood, however, he wanted to make something nice. Maybe something Leo really liked. He smacked his fist into his open palm when the idea came to him.  "I'll make pizza puffs!"

Donnie fist pumped while Raph cringed. The red turtle soon shrugged it off. "As long as they aren't poisoned."

Donnie scoffed. "That happens one time and you never let it go."

"It was not one time! It was multiple times despite me warning you not to."

"Well, we turned out fine so in the end it was all worth it."

"Mikey. Hold me back."

When they all sat down to eat, Leo kept glancing nervously up at Mikey. It still hurt to know how much pain his brother had gone through. But Mikey smiled at him. He was going to make sure that the pain was paid back tenfold.

[next]

[stormblessed95]

Hello, I found your blog and I would like to know your opinion (English is not my native language, sorry if there are errors). I was reading some of your posts, I don't know if you already addressed this. It's something that's on my mind. I don't consider myself a shipper, but I do think that Jimin and Jungkook have a relationship beyond friendship ♡ I avoid associating with or following jkkrs not bc I don't believe in jikook but bc fighting with other shippers affects me. I am Jimin biased and insults towards him really hurt me. It's not that JK/Tae doesn't receive them and doesn't bother me, but that they show themselves differently towards hate. Jimin became more and more reserved, away from social media. And his words still resonate in my mind in Seoul PTD "I don't do / don't like fanservise" It is obvious that he must have read something, it's not a random phrase. A lot of the hate that Tae is receiving from jkkrs or pjms towards Tae/JK is because they blame them, and I won't deny I also started to get annoyed. That was another sign that I stayed away from jkkrs. My ground wire is that if Jimin isn't distant towards them why should I get mad? I trust him. My question is why not put a brake? I understand it's not their responsibility to educate the fans, but wouldn't we prevent a lot of what happens if they told these people to stop? From my point of view Vminkook should bring this up to the fans. It's a snowball that's been growing, and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon </3 The fact that they're not distant is a good indication that it does not affect them too much, but it worries me that many shippers are crossing limits. Harassing people like what happened with Tae and model from Paris or Polyc, tattoo artist. Am I insane for thinking so??

Yes. It is bad to put the responsibility of insane cultists or horrible shippers on the members. That's not their Job, not their responsibility and if people LISTENED to what the members SAY, then they've said and done all they should need to do. Why continue to waste their own time, and sacrifice their own mental health, for people who twist their words and call them lairs no matter what. @minggukieology posted a good break down of shipping and shipper mentality earlier today here too that someone what relates

This whole discourse is the epitome of victim blaming. Tae and JK and Jimin have been very clear about their relationships together and what they mean to each other and how they love each other and even how they grew apart and back together, all 3 have addresssed how theyve grown and changed over the years. Tae even HAS addressed it when someone confronted him directly with it. Why are you blaming THEM when people choose not to listen. It's giving "well what were you wearing?" "Are you sure you weren't asking for it?" Energy. It's not THEIR fault when rabid fans decide to harrass someone. You saw you trust them, so do that. And stop placing expectations on them to control shippers who don't actually give a fuck about the members or what they do or say. Because those shippers, who spread hatred? They just call the members liars and will always twist the narrative into whatever story pleases THEM the most. They see the members as characters in a story they want to control, rather than real life human beings who have more important things to do in their lives than address people they don't even Consider fans. Like hang out together with the friends and enjoy their life. And let the haters scream into the void and make themselves miserable. They don't owe anyone anything. And if you think that if Tae and JK and Jimin all held a press conference and said something like telling shippers to stop and that they aren't dating and that jikook are or aren't in love or all 3 have gfs or bfs outside the group or whatever, that it would actually work? You are deluding yourself. They would be called liars again, or forced by the company, or hiding to protect themselves. It wouldn't work. So why give these hateful people their mental vulnerability and energy? Wouldn't it be better to just live their lives the way they want and protect themselves that way and give each other the love THEY know is true?

Everyone who keeps demanding this from the guys has never actually thought through how it would go and is more concerned about THEIR OWN PERSONAL well being in fandom space (which they can currate) rather than the members personal well being and mental health in their own lives. Which I'm sure they do what they do to protect that and live as well as they can at the height of fame they are. You want them to address this because it will make YOU (general you) feel better in your fandom experience and your life, not because it will make vminkook feel better or make their (or the other members) lives easier.