#I think maybe in his distant previous life where he had a different human

[kyluxtrashpit]

Guy who was LOSING HIS GODDAMN MIND trying to get my fucking popcorn earlier

#I think maybe in his distant previous life where he had a different human #he probably had popcorn given that he’s usually very suspicious and unsure about new foods #(like my guy wouldn’t even eat shrimp or steak lmao if he doesn’t know what it is he doesn’t eat it) #but he went NUTS over the popcorn and happily enjoyed the tiny piece I gave him #or idk maybe the butter smell made him insane could be that too lmao #(the picture is dark cause I was watching a movie - hence the popcorn - and I brightened it as best I could) #misc #my pets #shut up nerd

[cosurmqne]

02 — a short life of trouble

[ RDR2 X fem reader , 2310 words ] — previous ✶

“what were you thinking! bringing another woman in here.” “great, another mouth to feed.” “what if she draws more trouble right to us?”

“SHUT UP! all of you. she needs help. last time i checked half of you wouldn’t be standing here today if it weren’t for us taking your sorry asses in.”

the blood stained stranger was laying down in a bed of rough canvas and animal hide, it’s fabric the softest thing she had ever felt after a month of dirt floors and blankets of pine-needles. the distant voices slowly awoke her mind, her eyes opening carefully as the morning sun stung them with its bright beams. how long had she been asleep? she knew it was morning when she was lifted onto a strangers horse, morning still when she slumped onto the mans back out of exhaustion and defeat, not even caring what would happen to her when she awoke or where he was taking her. and yet here she was, still morning? no, the stiffness of her joints suggest at least a full days rest, her legs wobbling slightly as she turned over and placed them on the soft grass beside her.

her hands travelled to her face, expecting the almost familiar texture of dried blood, crusty and flaky, but was met with her soft skin. the edges of her hair and a few tricky spots still had reminisce of blood she could scrape off with her chipped nails, but it seemed someone had wiped her face clean.

her clothes were different too, the blouse and pants she was wearing a size too big but clean and comfortable, her ripped outfit she last remembered wearing folded neatly at the end of her bed and completely pink. she figured someone had tried to scrub them clean, but the redness was impossible to remove.

“good to see you’re finally awake.”

the sudden closeness of a mans voice made her jump and spin around. she was met with a surprisingly kind face of an older man, smiling cautiously and offering a homemade mug in his left hand, the steam and smell suggesting the rare liquid that was coffee. her mouth watered instantly.

“here, it’s for you.” he moved closer, kneeling down next to her bed and placed the warm mug in her stuff hands. “don’t worry, it wont jump out at ya’”

y/n let a small smile escape her lips, “thank you.” she croaked, her voice straining and making her cough slightly. maybe she had been out for more than a day?

as she sipped her drink and let the coffee warm her from head to toe, the man continued. “my names hosea. i’m … i guess you could say i’m kind of a top man around here. just don’t tell the others i’m really in charge …. HA!” he joked and let out a small chuckle, but the woman just looked at him curiously, seemingly frozen still apart from her arms lifting up and down. he guessed he should change his approach ….

hosea cleared his throat, “ahem, well…. you sure gave us a fright earlier on. all that blood on ya, we’d thought dutch brought back a corpse, with you slumped over and all…” with again no response, he continued. “look miss, we’re good people here. well, not really good, but better than most, i can assure you. why don’t we go somewhere a little more private, you can talk to me. tell me how you got into this mess.”

he stood and offered his arm. to y/n’s surprise, she rose and linked her own. while she should never trust a man so easily, her conscience screaming at her for it. but he seemed kind. honest and trustworthy. human. something she hadn’t seen in a long time. besides, she figured if they had wanted her dead, she would be face down in a river by now…

they walked, making a beeline towards the trees in front of them. “what was your name miss?” hosea asked.

“y/n.” she responded.

with her eyes adjusted, bearings found and legs moving again, she let herself scan the area around her. she was in a camp, one that seemed small but … live in? tents, campfires, horses and even a kitchen of sorts was set up. quite a few people were living here, men, women, even a child? she tried avoided the eye contact of the strangers around her, not knowing what mess she could have landed herself into. it seemed a few had stopped their morning chores for a fleeting moment to get a glimpse at her walking past them, pretending to take no notice of her and continuing on whenever she caught their eye. had they been waiting for her to wake up? she guessed she was a stranger sleeping amongst them, concluding she would be just as curious to get a glance at herself as well.

looking around still, she held the gaze of a familiar face, the one she had once pointed a gun towards and one took her to this place. dutch was his name right? hosea beside her seemed to look his way as well, letting out a single tune whistle and pointing his head towards the forest they were heading too. the dark haired man instantly dismissed the two men he was talking to and started coming their way. it was like a shepards call she thought, a codependent understanding that could only be trained with years of practice.

“here, this is a nice spot. i tend to do a lot of thinking here.” hosea said, leading and sitting them both down to opposite logs on soft grassy ground, much greener than the almost dirt floors back at the camp, untouched and unflattened by consistent steps. it looked out over the lake that surrounded the area, but was still thick with trees and streaked with sunlight peeking through the canopy.

the heavy footsteps of dutch became closer, his voice loud and true, “aaah, our celebrity guest, awake at last.”

as he stood before them, y/n rose upright at once, standing stiff and attentive before she could stop herself. she tried to swallow the familiar feeling of guilt like a rock stuck in her throat. “th… thank you.” she let out, quicker than she was intending. “i’d sure be dead and buried if not for you.”

she felt like this needed to said, right then and there. not totally understanding it herself, but knowing that his actions will forever be a debt she could probably never return. she knew from experience and dread that owing someone an unpayable debt was the worst burden to carry, and a feeling she wanted to loosen as soon as possible. a thanks was a start.

dutch just smiled and chuckled, raising his hands up like he did in the forest on their first encounter, “theres no need for thanks, just … take it a day at a time. at ease.”

y/n sat back down, almost embarrassed by her outburst but distracted when hosea spoke up. “dutch here said you had a run in with some o’driscolls. dealt with them pretty well too, where did you learn to shoot like that?”

the woman swallowed, she figured there was no reason to be coy anymore. a voice in the back of her head was yelling out, what are you doing!? you don’t know these men!? they don’t need to know nothin’!? and yet …. she was almost beyond caring about that now.

“my pa taught me,” she admitted, taken aback already by her honesty. “and my brother. he was a lot older than i am, sharp shooter and kept us out of trouble.”

dutch let out a noise, “tsss, some trouble you must have had. not even half my men here couldn’t kill with such efficiency.”

“well, we had a farm up north, a big property. it wasn’t much, just a few horses to sell and trade but it had been with my family for generations. it was home.” she paused. dutch and his partner were sitting opposite her and staring with unbroken attention, seemingly hanging on every word. it threw her off a little but she continued on. “being isolated up there we were bound to run into trouble, usually just some fool trying to swipe a horse, wolves maybe trying to take one for a meal. nothing unusual, but being able to take care of ourselves was a high priority, and my pa taught us well. he made sure we knew how to handle all kinds of trouble…”

“when my brother went and got himself killed down south in the war, it was me who was left in charge, with my father too old and my mother untrained. we got along just fine, until these men keep knocking at our door. harassing us, showing up constantly, trashing our barns, stealing our horses. they wanted us gone, for what reason i couldn’t say … after a few months it was manageable, i’d shot enough of them to make their appearances less frequent… but…”

she had stopped, her throat closing slightly her but no tears threatened to break free. she was thankful, crying in front of these men seemed like the worst scenario. never again would she let a sign of weakness slip from her. she had done her weeping, was done with meekness and dependency. she could tell dutch sensed that about her, while hosea watched her with concern and understanding, he was smirking slightly, like he was seeing straight through to her core.

“but?” dutch pushed her on.

with a tough swallow, she continued. “but… one day when i was collecting water from our well down by the river, i looked back up the to see a pillar of smoke. thick, grey and as high as i’d ever seen. by the time i ran back and got view of our burning home, our barns were pitch black, the horses aflame and running in every which direction, the air orange and almost unbreathable. when i saw the roof of our house collapse completely, i knew it was over. everything inside was destroyed, my parents included….” she cleared her throat. “i had just raced to our shed and grabbed as many guns as i could carry, when i heard men laughing. all those men, probably twenty, who had been coming up to us for months. all here. i realised they must have all been from some sort of gang, and could tell they’d tried to steal as much as they could from us. i knew we had hardly any money in the house, and by the small bad one of them was holding, they’d only managed to swipe no more than 30 dollars …. all that . my home, my family, everything. taken away for 30 dollars….”

she could feel heat rising through her cheeks, hands clenched into fists without knowing and her voice rising. “i guess they weren’t happy with that and decided to make their exhibition worth their time… their laughing stopped as soon as i started shooting. one by one, not even caring to hide or take cover, just wanting them dead. i needed them all dead. i don’t even know or care to remember what happened. a-mist the flames and gunpowder i one jumped me, but id stabbed with him their own knives. i shot though them all like they were no more than the deer i had killed countless times for supper. like it was a necessity, not a murder.”

“wether they were all dead or ran away or lost in the fires, i’d escaped with nothing but what i had on me. for months i’ve been running, not really sure what to do, where to go. stealing food, money, constantly moving and too scared to fall asleep or stay in one spot for longer than a week… i ran into a few more of those men here and there, they seemed to be scouting me. i learnt that they called themselves the o’driscolls and their leader was furious that a woman had outsmarted his men, that a quick robbery had turned into a slaughter. he wanted me dead. still wants me dead i guess…”

“and, this is where we meet?” dutch said, his arms now rested on his knees and hands fidgeting with the large rings on his hands but full attention of her words.

“yes, i’d been running for four days straight, how far i travelled i’m not too sure but i knew they wanted me dead for good. they’d sent a bunch of those irish bastards to me and i was constantly trying to lose them. i didn’t know if i was alive or dead, asleep or awake, i just shot anything that moved, trusted no one and tried to make it to the next sunrise… and yes, thats where you come into the picture and … i guess, now i’m here.”

“well … hell of a time you’ve had.” hosea finally spoke, his sympathetic gaze surprisingly comforting. when he reached out and cupped his hands on her own, she didn’t resist. “you can let your guard down y/n, you’ll be safe here for however long you need. i assure you, we hate those o’driscolls just as much as you do. for every one of those fools shot dead the dirt beneath us gains another worm!” to this, he chuckled to himself, y/n even letting out a small giggle.

dutch joined in with his deep laugh, “oh yes, you will fit in just fine here miss.” he stood up and gestured to the camp behind him, now full of activity. “this gang can be your home now, we’re all misfits and outlaws, once lost and then found again.”

he looked at her not with hoseas sympathy, but with eyes that assessed and schemed, invasive and sharp.

“yes, i think you’ll be just fine…”

#red dead 2 #red dead redemption 2 #rdr2 x reader #red dead redemption 2 x reader #arthur morgan x reader #kieran duffy #dutch van der linde #dutch van der line x reader #rdr2 oneshots #rdr #rdr2 #read dead redemption

[winter-leftovers]

Til The End Of Eternity || Chapter eleven: Smother (11/?)

(Douxie Casperan x f!reader)

Summary: Y/n is trying to figure her life out but is going to be hard since her brother is the new trollhunter and she is plagued by dreams and feelings she doesn’t understand.

Chapter Summary: Y/n learns about Douxie’s new feelings for her. Strickler needs protection

Word count: 2582

Warnings: lil bit of angst?

(Season 1 Episode 20, 21,23,24)

Song?: Smother by Daughter

Previous - Next

Masterlist

“Jim is in more danger than we thought” Y/n grabbed one of Blinky’s books and showed him the page she was reading “Angor Rot made a bargain. He obtained his magic but cursed his soul into a single ring, the Inferna Copula” she pointed to the picture of the ring.

“Mm, picture. Helpful” said Aaarrrgghh.

“Who wears the ring, controls him” Y/n continued. When her magic came back, a lot of knowledge came back too.

“It says here that Angor’s been stealing the souls of Trollhunters in a blasphemous attempt to fill the void ever since” Blinky grabbed the book from Y/n’s hands. After a moment he turned to his friend “You don’t have to hide it from me. I might only have two eyes, but I can see clear as day. It’s obvious”

After their quest to Gatto’s cave, Blinky had returned differently. The once blue troll was now…a human.

Y/n straight herself up. She had sensed a shift in Aaarrrgghh behavior but said nothing in fear of overstepping.

“Ever since my human deformity you have been…distant” Blinky complained.

Y/n frowned. She wasn’t expecting that.

“Uh…yes. Distant” the bigger troll nodded.

“I may look different but I’m the same Blinky. How about to cheer you up, maybe later today, I could rent a mini-van we could go for a drive? Something with tinted windows, of course” Blinky offered with excitement. He was desperate to fix the problem that had separated from his friend “I hear we are not too far away from the world’s largest thermometer! I bet you could eat it!”

“Mm, not today” Aaarrrgghh shook his head and left the library.

“Perhaps another time, my dear friend” Blinky said as he watched his friend leave.

“I’m sorry, Blinky” Y/n tapped his shoulder in an attempt to calm his sadness.

Blinky sighed, still looking at the door.

—

Y/n walked down the stairs of her house in a hurry. She overslept and was late to her shift at the store.

“Hey, m-“ she stopped when she saw Blinky sitting on the couch. She furrowed her brow. Why would the troll be here?

“Oh, good, good. Good afternoon, Mr. President Eisenhower” Blinky said into the phone.

Y/n rolled her eyes “Great cover” she thought.

“I suppose I could pencil you in” he stood up and walked away to a place where Barbara couldn’t hear him.

Y/n stood still at the foot of the stairs, observing Blinky mumbling into his phone.

“Angor Rot is in the school” she heard him say.

She took a deep breath and said “Mr. Blinky, do you need a ride to the school? I could give you one” she already had her hand on the door.

“Oh, yes, yes. Thank you, very much” Blinky nodded nonstop.

They were out the door and in Y/n’s car before Barbara could say something.

She started her old car and prayed for no transit.

“Do you think I could, you know, drive?” Blinky turned to her.

Y/n turned to him. Eyes wide open. She couldn’t believe his timing.

“Not today but someday” he continued.

“No” she stepped on the accelerator.

By the time they got there the fight was over. The police was there making sure all the kids were there.

“Master Jim” Blinky ran to Jim, Toby and Claire.

“Is everyone okay?” Y/n asked “Sorry for the delay. We wanted to help but we had to make a couple bathroom breaks” she gave Blinky a dirty look.

“Oh dear!” Blinky stomach gurgled.

“How did you survive Angor Rot?” Y/n asked ignoring the troll.

“Long story” Jim sighed and turned to where Strickler was standing “Have you heard of the Inferna Copula?”

“Indeed, I have” said Blinky. He and Y/n shared a look after seeing the ring on the changeling’s hands.

—

“Okay. We wait until he’s asleep” said Jim.

“I use my shadow staff to get us in” added Claire.

“And I ever so gently remove the ring from his finger”

“Woah. Hold up there, Mr. Storyteller. Do changelings even sleep?” Toby interrupted his friend.

“Yes, but we don’t know Strickler’s schedule” Y/n explained through the phone.

The kids were reunited in Claire’s house planning how to steal the Inferna Copula from Strickler, Y/n couldn’t go because she had to make up for being late to her shift.

“Good point. New plan” said Jim “We spike his coffee with extra strength cold medicine.

“I use my shadow staff”

“And I brin my warhammer in case that doesn’t knock him out”

“And I ever so gently…”

“Wait. What if he’s not alone? His office was guarded last time” interrupted Claire.

“Okay, fine. We spike the coffee”

“Shadow staff”

“I use my warhammer to take out his goons”

“Then, I ever so gently remove the ring”

“But what if it doesn’t come off?” Toby interrupted.

“Why would it not come off?” Jim was getting nervous.

“Oh lord” Y/n said to herself.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s glued on, or he added a few pounds” Toby explained his reasoning.

“Why would it be glued on, you dingus?” Claire said.

“You said be ready for every precaution!”

“He’s waking up!” Screamed Claire.

“Oh, how is he waking up? This isn’t even really happening!” Complained Jim.

“Cut off his hand!” Claire screamed again

“What?”

Y/n giggled. She could see the desperation in his brother’s eyes.

“Use your sword. Hurry do it!” Claire insisted.

“No, I’m not gonna cut—“

“Do it! Do it! Before it’s too late”

“Wait!” Y/n stood up.

The man that was still hanging out in the store looked at her.

“Sorry” she whispered. She sat back down and turned to the side so he wouldn’t hear her.

“If you cut his hand you cut mom’s hand too”

“Oh, I forgot. Angor Rot’s binding spell” Jim sighed “We’re not ready. There’s too much risk”

The costumer came up to the register and Y/n had to put her phone down.

“We’ll figured it out, Jim” she said before hanging up.

After the last buyer left, she was finally free. Outside the sun was setting. The sky was a beautiful pink shade. Around this time, the people of Arcadia are already home or on their way, leaving the streets almost empty.

She put the store keys on her bag and stretched her arms, her elbow cracked after holding the phone for so long.

Y/n crossed the street. It’s been three days since she started avoided walking by the library were Douxie worked. She has spent a lot of time with Douxie lately and she was afraid that she was smothering him. Of course, all she wanted was to keep the routine they had the last couple of weeks: go to the library, scratch Archie’s head and hang out with Douxie until his shift at Benoit started and then go home but she was scared it was too much. What if she was too much? Maybe she should give him some space and focus on her training for a while.

Y/n lifted her eyes from the floor to see if the stoplight had changed and saw them. Douxie and the pink haired girl that worked at HexTech, Zoe, they were just a couple steps away from her. Y/n started to get close go them to say hi when he heard him:

“I don’t know how to tell her! I mean, I don’t want to be rude”

“It’s not rude to set a boundary” Zoe replied. She seemed annoyed “If she’s annoying tell her to stop”

“But she has been so nice. I don’t know, Zoe” he scratched his head.

Y/n felt the blood rush to her ears. It couldn’t be.

“Listen, I already told you this last week. Talk to her”

The stoplight shifted and everyone keep walking but Y/n just stood there, watching them leave.

Y/n’s soul had fallen to her knees. She felt her blood stopping in place, her eyes filling up with tears. She felt light-headed. Her heart was broken. She had smothered him and he was too kind to tell her.

A thunder erupted making them stop. The cold rain started to fall. Everyone rushed to get protection except Y/n that stood there, watching the spot where Douxie had told Zoe he didn’t want her

“Are you okay, kid?” An old man holding an umbrella stopped next to her.

“Yes” she sighed. Her eyes wouldn’t leave the now empty spot.

“Let me help you cross the road” the man offered.

She nodded.

The man grabbed her arm and guide her across the street, stopping under the roof of some store so she wouldn’t get more wet.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to call anyone?” He put his hand on her shoulder

Y/n lifted her eyes from the floor and looked into the man’s pale blue eyes. He was much taller than her.

“No, but thank you for your kindness” she smiled.

The man smiled back.

“You remind me of my kid. Head always in the clouds” he laughed and left her under the roof.

Y/n got home and went directly to the bathroom. She dropped the wet clothes on the floor and sat in the shower. The hot water melted the sadness off her skin. Her mind was numb. No thought went through her head, just the water hitting her back. She waited for the tears to fall but they never did. Eventually, she gave up and stood up.

When Y/n got out of the shower she stepped on something hard. She lifted her foot and saw her pebble, the pebble that she thought was on her bag.

“Maybe Al dropped it here” she thought, taking the pebble to her chest.

Y/n dragged her feet to her bedroom. Her body didn’t have energy, every single bit of it left through the drain.

Eventually, she dressed up and threw herself into the bed. In the darkness, she felt something or someone stepping on her mattress but she couldn’t care. The void had swallowed her.

“What happened?” Al stood next to her head.

Y/n sighed in response.

“Doesn’t matter” he said as he curled himself next to her neck “Tomorrow is another day” he licked the single tear that had fallen from her cheek.

—

Y/n opened her eyes, she wasn’t in her room anymore, she was in the woods, the woods that she’s been dreaming all her life.

“Welcome back to the land of the living”

Y/n stretched her arm trying to feel her comforter but she wasn’t in her bed, she was laying on top of a bed of leaves. She turned to look for Al and saw him sleeping next to her feet.

“Do you feel better?” Asked the woman to her right. A shadow was blocking her face but Y/n’s recognised her anyway “A bed made of leaves is no place for a lady like you to sleep”

Y/n didn’t say anything, she could only focus on the woman’s warm hand brushing the leaves away from her hair.

“Everyone is worried about you, Y/n. You can’t keep running to the woods like this”

“That’s not true” Y/n sat up.

“Oh, Y/n of course it is”

“Hisirdoux is not. He told me himself” Y/n crossed her arms.

The woman chuckled, “He is worried the most. Your father had to stop him from running to the wood to look for you!”

Y/n imaged Hisirdoux pout when he was told he couldn’t do something and smiled.

“Look at that smiled” the women tickled Y/n side “You like him”

“I do not” Y/n blushed.

“Young love is so sweet” The women chuckled and pinched the little girl’s cheeks “There is no crime in liking the errand boy”

“Stop it” Y/n’s cheeks darken further.

“I will not until you admit it” the women try to tickle the confession out of Y/n.

“Stop” she laughed.

—

Y/n lay there in her bed for what felt months yet also felt hours. Her phone stacking with messages yet she wouldn’t answer, she couldn’t even see them in case one of them was Douxie’s.

She heard the news of the destruction of the Inferna Copula in the brief time she met with Jim by the door of the bathroom. He had stopped his rambling when he saw his sister’s lack of response but that didn’t stop him from trying to get a reaction out of her.

One morning, Jim opened the door, his armor on.

“Y/n wake up! I need your help” he shook his sister awake.

“What?” She turned to him.

“Strickler is down stairs hiding from Angor Rot”

“Is this another attempt of getting me out of bed? I told you I am sick” she turned to the wall.

“No, no. Come with me” Jim grabbed her by the arm and dragged her to the kitchen.

“Slow down, Jim” the boy had gotten stronger with his training and was almost dragging his sister down the stairs “Why do you have a smelly sock?” Y/n cringed when the smell got to her.

In the kitchen, Strickler was strapped to a chair, sleeping.

“Really?” She rolled her eyes at the view.

“He said Angor Rot was trying to kill him but nothing happened”

Y/n sighed. She didn’t have the patience to deal with the changeling. She took the sock from Jim and dangled in front of his face.

“Ugh! What is that?” Strickler jumped after smelling the rotten sock.

“Wakey, wakey. We survived the night with no sign of Angor Rot. Congratulations” Jim stepped in front of the changeling and took back the sock from his sister’s hand “We thought we’d bring you some breakfast” The boy threw the sock in his face.

“I don’t eat socks” Strickler scoffed “And I don’t appreciate being tied up”

“Cry me a river” Y/n crossed her arms.

“I asked you to protect me not torture me”

“And I said I’d keep you safe, not comfortable” with his sword, Jim cut the rope that was tied to Strickler’s wrists.

“Well, the sun is up. We’ll have until sundown to get me as far away as possible” Strickler rubbed his wrist as he looked through the window.

“Fine. Let me call the team” Jim grabbed the walkie-talkie from the counter.

Y/n jumped onto the counter next to her brother.

“Trollhunter to Warhammer, you copy?”

“Oh, goodie. The puberty Patrol is on the case. I feel so safe” Strickler mocked.

Y/n rolled her eyes and stuck her leg up when Strickler started to get to close to Jim but he yanked Jim’s walkie-talkie away anyway.

“Do you think your friends will have any chance against that killer? They’ll be a liability” Jim grabbed the walkie-talkie back while Stickler talked “May I remind you, you destroyed Angor’s soul. He’ll be out for blood, be it yours or theirs”

Y/n took deep breaths, trying to control the anger that started to simmer in her stomach and not hit the changeling right in the face while Jim told his friend to look for information on the last stone.

“Smart choice. For once, you’re learning” Strickler grabbed the empty coffee pot.

“For the record, Angor Rot destroyed his own soul” Jim said giving his teacher the cereal box.

A/n: hiiii hellooo!! I didn’t forget about the update!! I just had the worst migraine in the world im sorry 💖

#tales of arcadia #douxie x reader #douxie #hisirdoux casperan #hisirdoux x reader #toa #trollhunters #my writing #til the end of eternity

[visceravalentines]

DEAR MEG

I think you wrote that you loved the movie Annihilation. If I misremembered, please feel free to ignore this asdfg.

I remember I saw it and I really enjoyed the visuals, and the terrifying mutated plant bear screaming with a human voice (that part was haunting holy crap) but besides those scenes I wasn't super scared???

Maybe my brain is too small to understand the horror of it asdfghjk

But anyway, what I wanted to ask is, what were your favorite parts of the movie, and what scared you? If you don't mind me asking!

Have a nice day!!!

SOL MY LOVE

thank u for sending me this ask it is so lovely let's talk about cool movies!!!

I love Annihilation the movie but I also love Annihilation the book!! they are very different, only the very basic characters and concept make it into the movie. which makes sense because the book is surreal and abstract and can be hard to interpret what is actually going on at certain moments, and that doesn't translate very well to the big screen. the book, to me, is far more unsettling than the movie. I will answer for both! brain explosion below the cut!

it's an absolutely gorgeous film, weird and captivating and creepy. I love the body horror, the found footage from the previous expedition where the man's intestines are moving of their own accord......incredible. that bear???? scares the bejeezus out of me every time I watch it. one of the scariest creatures I can think of in a horror movie, creatures don't usually freak me out. the sound it makes haunts me. and the bear is not in the book! the book has......other guys. I also thought Natalie Portman ate the role of the biologist. she is distant and offputting and has very little interest in anything but the natural world around her, both in the book and in the movie.

in the book we get much more of a look into the biologist's very rich and strange internal life, and I remember reading it for the first time and being shocked how much I related to her. she was one of the first characters, maybe THE first character, I identified with on a meaningful level. when I read the book again recently I was pleased to find that hasn't changed, even though I have changed a lot since my first read. she is by no means an ideal role model or even a reliable narrator, but I just adore her. and her husband nicknames her Ghost Bird, which is everything to me.

the horror in the book is ultimately about something unmaking you and the world around you in a way you cannot understand. it's a very cosmic horror concept distilled down into very manageable pieces--a plant that begins to alter what you are with just a single touch. a creature that looks like something familiar, but feels distinctly wrong, or distinctly human. something wearing a face that does not belong to it. a sound you cannot identify. words you know, words you can read, but you can't understand what they're saying. it's there, it's right there, but you don't quite get it, and suddenly you are no longer you anymore and it's too late. it's about love and nature and knowledge and meaning and the value of all of these things and the horror of all of these things.

here are some of my very favorite lines from the book, the ones that give me the shivers every time I read it for one reason or another!!

"I am walking forever on the path from the border to base camp. It is taking a long time, and I know it will take even longer to get back. There is no one with me. I am all by myself. The trees are not trees the birds are not birds and I am not me but just something that has been walking for a very long time..."

This was really the only thing I discovered in him after his return: a deep and unending solitude, as if he had been granted a gift that he didn't know what to do with. A gift that was poison to him and eventually killed him. But would it have killed me?

I took the photograph out of its frame, shoved it in my pocket. The lighthouse keeper would come with me, although he hardly counted as a good-luck charm. As I left the landing, I had the peculiar thought that I was not the first to pocket the photo, that someone would always come behind to replace it, to circle the lighthouse keeper again.

Can you really imagine what it was like in those first moments, peering down into that dark space, and seeing that? Perhaps you can. Perhaps you're staring at it now.

"We should never have come here. I should never have come here." "That's all?" "I've come to believe it is the one fundamental truth."

There shall be a fire that knows your name, and in the presence of the strangling fruit, its dark flame shall acquire every part of you.

An almost plaintive keening, a lonely sound in that place, called out to me. And kept calling, pleading with me to return, to see it entire, to acknowledge its existence. I did not look back. I kept running.

Almost anyone else might see it differently. But I am not those people. I am just the biologist; I don't require any of this to have a deeper meaning.

#asks #mintgalaxia #i <3 horror analysis #thank u again for this ask sol it was so much fun to gush about one of my favorite pieces of media!! #highly highly recommend this book #the rest of the trilogy is fine imo but annihilation is the first and really stands head and shoulders above the others #i prefer to read it as a standalone

[cloudenthusiast2]

To be a human - Scaramouche x reader - Part 2

You knew committing to a relationship with Scaramouche would be no easy task but you loved him dearly and unlike others, you believed he wasn't evil. But as a mortal and the devoted protector of your village you were too much of a good person, too much of a human compared to him and your differences slowly start to show.

Previous: Part 1 Next: Part 3

Warnings: mentions of violence

Length: ~1000 words

As soon as the child disappeared into the forest, Scaramouche turned to you with an annoyed look on his face.

'Who was this brat?'

'Her name is Yu.' You answered calmly. 'She's a really sweet child and...'

'I couldn't care less about that' he interrupted you in the classis way of his which didn't surprise you any more but it sure made you sigh. 'Why are you associating with people like her?'

You rose your brows at him. You looked like you were bored and amused by his words at the same time.

'That's my job, remember? I'm a protector. And I also do love these people from the bottom of my heart.'

'Whatever' he snorted. 'I could never understand why you chose to become a slave of these absolute nobodies... Only if you joined the fatui.'

Icy silence followed his words as you stared at him. He has mentioned his crazy idea of his before but you never really took it seriously.

'You're joking, right?'

He shrugged and turned his face away but you stared at him until he was forced to lock eyes with you again. A defiant look sat in his gaze.

'Let's go back' you finally broke the uncomfortable silence. 'I do not wish to continue the walk with you until you leave this horrendous mood.'

Without further ado, you turned back to where you've come from and started walking towards Qingce with definite steps.

Scaramouche caught up to you but he said nothing as you two were walking on the same path.

It was obvious that something put him in a bad mood that day. You just couldn't get your head around what.

Maybe on of his coworkers riled him up. Or a servant didn't follow his orders properly. Maybe he just got some ridiculing looks for his hat - he sure hated that.

All of those were possible situations but it just didn't feel right somehow. Scaramouche could be really stubborn and stupid, but he wouldn't be so stupid to ruin your precious day together because of some irrelevant events.

Could it be... that he really wanted you to join the fatui?

You took a quick glance of him. He was walking next to you with his chin straight up, still visibly angry.

It was no secret that he hated your job. But the question was, did he hate your job because he thought it was unnecessary or because he too wanted to be with you more?

It's not the same, you decided.

But you also knew that the only way you could find his true reasons out, is if you ask him. He would've never admitted something like that unless you actually forced it out of him.

So you threw away your pride and cleared your throat to get his attention.

He looked at you - and you swore that he seemed relieved for a distant moment. Maybe because he could've never ignored that stupid pride of his - even though he longed to talk to you as well - so it made everything easier that you took the first step.

But before actual words could've left your lips, a scream cut into your thoughts.

You froze as if someone would've applied cryo on your hydro. But even before Scaramouche could've reacted, even before the scream could've stopped, you moved.

You started running towards the source of the desperate sound as fast as if you had the winds backing you up.

Because you immediately recognised the voice.

It belonged to one of your people. The people you once swore to protect by all means.

The trees and fields all blurred into a quick flash in your eyes. It felt like your feet didn't even touch the ground, almost like you were flying.

And in the next moment, you stood in between a woman from Qingce and three fatui agents.

'What is happening here?' You asked as sharply as the edge of your polearm in your hand. You rose your other arm to form a shield for the woman behind you, who was kneeling on the ground, shaking and nearly in tears behind her own house's gates.

'They... they tried to take food stored in my garden... and when I didn't let them... they just pushed me away and...'

'I see' you cut her off. Your eyes narrowed as you looked at the agents. They all stood there with their weapons out, looking at you like they would happily end you in an instant.

You felt Scaramouche's presence as well but you didn't turn around to acknowledge it.

'Is that true?' You asked loudly, still, to make sure that the harbinger hears and sees everything that was going on.

A tall, burly man smirked at you.

'Yes, why? We just wanted to ease our hunger after guarding the village all day long. I believed Liuye people were welcoming but it seems like the rumos were wrong. They are so greedy, they don't even want to provide us with food.'

'Asking for something and taking it away are two very different things.' You hissed. 'I don't know what's going on in Sheznaya but stealing will not be tolerated in my village!'

Your furious outburst was powerful indeed but the agents weren't even looking at you, they were looking at Scaramouche behind you. You couldn't see what he gestured towards them but all of a sudden they moved.

The fatui agents turned their backs to you and started walking away.

'Hey!' You yelled after them. 'Do you really think you can get away with this without apologising to...'

'No, please!' The woman kneeling behind you grabbed your coat and pulled you back. 'You've already done enough! Thank you for saving me but... please don't anger the fatui!'

You knew she was right. Even though you belonged to one of their harbinger, your life didn't mean much in their eyes, not to mention the people's in the village.

It was better to stay silent.

Your grip tightened on the polearm. Then you lowered your arms, letting the weapon fall back down to your side.

You turned back and helped the woman up from the ground. From the corners of your eyes, you could see other locals slowly gathering getting out of their houses. It seemed like everyone thought hiding from the fatui was a better idea.

There was a shadow among the trees but once again, you didn't acknowledge it. Without calling his name out or even looking at Scaramouche, you left the garden of the one you protected and started walking towards your own house.

#cloudenthusiast #genshin impact #genshin impact headcanons #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche angst #scaramouche #scaramouche genshin #genshin #genshin x reader #genshin fanfic #angst

[h0rnyshakespeare]

could you do a fantasy au with bakugou as a kitsune? you’ve just recently moved into a cottage in the woods to get away from your previous life, when you stubble across baku in a trap surrounded by hunters! you of course aren’t going to let some assholes hurt an innocent creature, so you devise a plan to get him free. you draw the hunter’s attention away from the caged baku, causing them to run off. you then get to baku, and are able to free him. though a slight problem, the hunters are coming back, and they see you messing with their ‘find.’ while you’re frozen in place, baku literally picks you up, and jumps into the trees, evading gunshots. he keeps you there until the hunters go away.

after all this drama, you start hanging out with the kitsune more and more. you two get closer as time goes on, and bakugou becomes more and more infatuated and protective of you. he’s touchier, softer, and overall more gentle with you. he even lets you touch his ears and tail. everything is all well and good when oh no, the hunters are back, and they’re out for revenge. while you’re at the cottage, they ransack your home, chasing you out into the woods. you’re sprinting, calling for bakugou as the hunters are gaining. just then, none other than the fox himself jumps in and beats the absolute shit outta the hunters. he then turns to you, worry as well as rage in his eyes. he sees they’ve hurt you, and that’s the final nail in the coffin for what he’s about to do. “Stay with me.” he pleads. “you don’t have a safe home anymore, and even if you did, i can’t promise your safety. i NEED you to be safe, okay. stay with me as my mate. i’ll hunt for you. i’ll protect you. anything, and you’ve got it.” you’re stunned. eyes wide, you ask him why. why does he care so much? nobody else ever did, so why does he, as powerful and as beautiful as he is. the answer isn’t as hard as you would think “it’s because i fucking love you...”

OKAY this is definitely long and more of a vent than anything but i think it’s so cute! just imagine cuddling with him as soft and as cute as he would be, hanging over you like a jungle cat. very nice, very nice indeed

kitsune!Bakugou x gn!reader (I couldn't think of a title, sorry)

Genre: Fantasy

Warnings: Swearing caz Bakugou, brief mentions of gunshots (that’s it I think?? But if there’s anything I missed please let me know)

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: Tysm for requesting, this was such a cute idea! I’m sorry this took some time, exams are coming so my writing’s a little slow haha. I wrote this to be gn!reader but if anywhere implies otherwise please let me know :) And to everyone else who requested, I’m working on them!

Y/N: Your name

L/N: Last name

You had recently moved into a little cottage in the woods, not too far away from the main city, but enough to be away from the busy, commercial life you once lived. Others might disagree, but you felt more at peace among nature, like you were truly satisfied. You had never enjoyed living among many people, so you were excited to start your new life, out here in the woods. As you walked back to your cottage after taking a walk to familiarize yourself with your new surroundings, you heard a few voices up ahead. You groaned, not wanting to socialize with anyone, but before you could turn to take a different route to avoid whoever was there, you overheard one of the voices say, “We’re gonna get a fine amount of money for this creature’s fur, ya hear me? So make sure the trap is secure.” A couple of other voices mumbled in agreement. You frowned. Although you could not really make out what animal they had caught, you did know that whatever they were doing, it sounded illegal. You sighed. You did not want to confront anyone, but you made your way towards the voices. You saw three men surrounding a cage, holding… guns? “What have I gotten myself into?” you internally groaned, but it was too late to turn back now. “Um, excuse me?” you called out hesitantly. They turned at the sound of your voice, looking displeased. You smiled nervously. “Hi, um, it’s actually illegal to hunt in this area…” you trailed off, seeing their annoyance. “How would you know, you little punk? Go braid daisy crowns or whatever you do in this dump,” one of them sneered at you. You were slowly growing irritated, but you kept the smile on your face, determining to help whatever animal they had imprisoned. “Ok, well, I was going to let you know that if you walk a few miles from here, there is a hunting area. You guys aren’t the first hunters I’ve seen around here,” you lied through your teeth, trying to distract them to give you enough time to release the trapped creature. “If you check it out, I’ll forget I even saw you guys here, and no one will know that y’all were hunting illegally, ok? Plus, I’ve seen a lot of finer animals in that area.” “Maybe we should listen to her, boss,” one of the hunters said to the one who had spoken to you first. “I mean, it is just a fox, and if we’re caught…” he whispered the rest of his sentence to their leader, who in turn frowned. “Fuck, whatever. How far is the hunting area, kid?” he asked, the question directed to you. “Oh, um, about… 10 miles from here? In that direction,” you said, pointing. “You better not be lying to us,” the hunter glared at you, making you gulp. You tried to act nonchalant until they were out of sight, then immediately rushed to the trap. You gasped when you saw a beautiful fox with… tan, almost golden fur. You had never even heard of foxes that colour. The hunters were idiotic to listen to you and leave this amazing creature, but you were glad they did. The fox made a low, growling noise, snapping you out of your trance. “Ah, right, I’m sorry, I’ll let you out now, don’t worry,” you said, suddenly feeling stupid that you were conversing with an animal. You quickly set your attention onto setting it free. The trap looked complicated to deactivate, but you realized it was actually quite simple, and you managed to free the fox in no time. “There you go,” you smiled, “You’re free now.” Surprisingly, the fox lingered, studying you with beautiful carmine eyes. First tan fur, now red eyes? “You’re like something outta a fairy tale, huh? So pretty,” you said softly, gazing at it at wonder, when you heard distant voices shouting.

Crap. The hunters.

“You really thought you could fool us! There were no animals in that area!” “Ahaha fuck, I’m in trouble,” you murmured, thinking of a way to escape, when you remembered the fox was still here! “Hey uh, you really should get outta here-” you said, turning to find not a fox, but a man with fox ears and a- no wait, nine tails. Your eyes widened, freezing as you tried to process what just happened.

“Oi, dumbass, if you’re not gonna run they’re gonna get you, you know.”

“I- uhhh… well this is a weird dream,” you chuckled nervously. “Tch, idiot,” was all he said before picking you up bridal-style and running faster than the hunters could catch up. You felt something whizz past your ear. “HOLY FU- THEY’RE SHOOTING AT US!” you yelled, grabbing at the man’s collar. “Thanks for stating the obvious, dumbass!” he yelled back. “Now would you shut up so I can focus on not dying?” You quickly turned silent after that statement. Without warning the… man? fox? man fox?? suddenly took a huge leap into the trees, landing on a branch that somehow held his weight. You yelped, then quickly covered your mouth in order to keep quiet as you saw the hunters running past from underneath. “They’re gone now,” you heard the man speak as he set you down on the branch. The tree you both were on was sturdy, giving you a secure foothold. You turned to face him. “Uh, thanks for saving me back there, but I’m pretty sure you were a fox when I first saw you…?” “Tch. Humans really have gotten dumber over the past few years haven’t they. I’m a kitsune. Ya know what that is?” Your eyes widened. “A-a kitsune as in the ones in the fairy tales? The foxes who can shapeshift to humans, and have many tails…” you trailed off, feeling stupid that you had not noticed earlier. The kitsune smirked in response. “Yeah, and I have nine, meaning I’m the most powerful. You’re lucky I was there to save you.” “You saved me? Who was trapped in a cage, huh? If anything, you should be thanking me,” you huffed, annoyed. Who did he think he was? He said nothing, simply gazing at you with interest written all over the flaming pools of scarlet that were his eyes. You tried not to feel intimidated by them, not knowing what powers this creature possessed. You could not deny that he was beautiful as a human, alluring even, with blonde hair similar to his fox fur, and his body looked as if it were sculpted by gods. You gulped, forcing yourself to stop staring at all the scars scattering his bare chest. He smirked as if he knew exactly what you were thinking of, causing your face to heat up. “Where do you live, dumbass? I’m sure you can’t climb down trees.” You rolled your eyes, embarrassed that he was right. “Not far from here, I’ll manage.” “Don’t be ridiculous,” was all he said before he lifted you in his arms again, leaping to the ground and taking you home in no time. “I didn’t even give you directions,” you said, confused. He sighed. “I could smell your scent from here. Why do you live in the middle of the forest?” “Caz I want to??” you said. “That’s weird,” he responded. “Don’t you live here too though?” you retorted. You saw a smirk flicker briefly on his face before being replaced again with his bored expression. “I’ll see you around then, dumbass.” He said, turning to leave. “Wait!” you called out, immediately regretting it. Why’d I do that? But there was no time to question your actions as he looked at you, eyebrow raised. “Uh, I-I just wanted to know your name,” you said a little breathlessly. “Katsuki Bakugou,” he said, never breaking eye contact. “Bakugou, huh? Well, I’m Y/N L/N,” you replied. Bakugou shrugged. “I’ll be leaving then dumbass.” You huffed. “I literally just told you my name!” “And?” was all he said, before vanishing through the foliage of trees. You exhaled slowly, feeling a little disoriented. You had so many questions but decided not to think too much of the day’s events, instead opting for relaxing in your new home.

The next day, you decided to just hang out at home, yet you could not get the kitsune out of your mind, making you frustrated. “Ah, fuck it,” you mumbled, before heading out. You were not sure where you were going, but you walked in the same direction you did yesterday. “What are you doing this you idiot? What if the hunters find you again?” you thought, yet your body did not listen, continuing to walk in the same path. You did not run into anyone on the way. Unfortunately, that included Bakugou. You decided to just sit down under a tree and read the book you had brought with you. You had been peacefully reading for a while, the sounds of the forest soothing to you ears.

“Well fancy seeing you here.” You whipped your head at the sound of his voice. You saw the fox with tan fur you rescued yesterday. “Bakugou?” He transformed into his human form, grinning as he did so. “So, what’re you doing here, dumbass? Missed me?” You rolled your eyes. “You wish. I came here to relax for a bit.” “Whatever you say, dumbass. What’re you reading?” You showed him your book, causing him to snort. “What?” you asked, slightly irritated. What was his deal? “Your taste is so bland, I’m not surprised.” “Fuck off,” you responded. “As if you’ve ever even touched a book before.” “I have,” Bakugou said, raising his eyebrows. “Didn’t peg you as the type to read,” you said, getting back to your book. “Is that all modern-day kitsunes do these days?” Bakugou shrugged. “I’ve never met any others here.” You looked back at him, surprised. “So… you’re alone?” “Tch. I just prefer to be by myself.” You nodded. “Me too.” “Pfft, you? You look like someone who would love being around people, with how much you talk and all.” You glared at him. “And this is exactly why I like being on my own.” He raised his arms. “I guess I’ll leave then. Since you seem to really hate company, right dumbass?” “My name is not dumbass, it’s Y/N. Why’re you so rude?” you hissed. You were met with silence when you realized he had left. You could not believe you actually came out all this way just to talk to him, only for him to randomly leave mid-conversation. You huffed, shifting your position to get more comfortable. “I’m still here you know.” You jumped, hearing his voice from above you. “What the hell?” He snorted in amusement. “You really think you could get rid of me that easily, dumbass?” You rolled your eyes, but inside you felt secretly happy that he had stayed, and you hated it. “You’re so annoying,” you retorted, turning a page in your book, yet somehow not really seeing the words. It was quiet for a while, before Bakugou jumped back down to the ground, sitting next to you. “Read that for me,” he said in a tone unlike his usual one. “What?” “You seem to like this trash so much, so read it,” he said, making himself comfortable. You sighed. “Fine.”

And so began the afternoons you would spend with him. Every day, you would meet him under the same tree and read. Sometimes he would fall asleep next to you, exposing a more soft and vulnerable side of him, contrasting to his normally brash and rough personality. It was pretty sweet, and over time, your feelings for him only grew. You were not sure, but you felt that he too had become softer and gentler around you as time went on. He even let you pet his ears, blushing whenever you did so, trying to hide his flusteredness behind his colourful words. He even went as far as falling asleep on your lap in wolf-form, making you happy he could trust you with the more vulnerable side of him.

You were at home, about to leave to meet Bakugou, when you heard some commotion outside. You were about to check when you heard the door break open. “Find them!” you heard a loud voice say. Your blood ran cold. The hunters? Why were they so set on revenge? You heard something break as they stormed through your house. Before you could grab something to defend yourself, one of them burst into your room, causing you to freeze. “There you fucking are,” he said moving towards you, blocking the exit. Thinking fast, you opened the window next to you and jumped out. Thankfully, it was close to the ground, so you easily picked yourself up and you ran, not daring to look back, but you heard them shouting and running after you. You sprinted down the familiar path, calling for Bakugou as you did. “Goddammit, where are you Bakugou?” you yelled as the hunters gained on you, when-

“The HELL you fuckers think you’re doing, HAH?”

You had never felt so relieved to hear his voice. “Bakugou!” “Stay behind me,” was all he said before going absolutely feral. He beat them up in no time, then watched as they ran away in terror. When he made sure they were gone, he turned to you, anger dissipating, his eyes filled with worry. “You ok?” You nodded weakly, then raised your arm, showing him the wound you had gotten when one of the hunters had shot at you. “It’s not bad, don’t worry. The bullet didn’t hit me, just grazed my skin.” “Shit,” Bakugou cursed as he took your arm in his hand, examining it. “That’s definitely more than a fucking graze.” “It’ll heal, I’m good at first aid,” you said. Bakugou looked at you, incredulous. “Dumbass, this needs more than first aid, are you really that stupid? Don’t move,” he said as his hands began to glow. He positioned them above your wound, using his power to heal you. “Thanks, Bakugou,” you said when he was done. “Really, I appreciate everything.” “Katsuki,” he said, not looking at you. “Huh?” you said, confused. “Call me Katsuki, dumbass.” A playful smile made its way on your lips. “Sure, when you call me Y/N.” He chuckled, then looked at you with a serious gaze. “I want you to stay with me.” You looked at him, dumbfounded. “W-What? What do you mean?” “Your home isn’t safe anymore. Those hunters could come back anytime, I went easy on them. I need you to be safe, Y/N, I-” he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “What would’ve happened to you if I wasn’t there? Just… please, become my mate Y/N. I’ll do anything for you, I’ll hunt for you, protect you, anything you want.” You were stunned, trying to process what he had just asked. “Y-You want me to be your… your mate? Why? And why would someone like you care so much about someone like me when no one really ever has?” He blushed, looking away to glare at the grass. “Fuck, I don’t know, maybe it’s caz I fucking love you, dumbass.”

#kitsune!bakugou #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou #anime #bnha oneshots #mha oneshots #mha #bnha x reader #bnha x y/n #bnha x you #mha x reader #mha x y/n #mha x you #bnha fics #mha fics #katsuki bakugo x y/n #bakugou x reader #bakugou x you #bnha fantasy au

[xhisokas-harleyx]

Your Hisoka headcanons were so good😭 and i completely agree with all of them- I wanted request something, u can ignore if u want. 🏃

I am just thinking of a scenario where Hisoka got hurt, by someone who 'cheated' in the fight maybe, and his first instinct was to go to his 'friend's place. And Reader helps him without hesitation, they're even worried and stuff. And he is just like "are they just so naive or dumb? Kind? What do they get from this? And tf is this feeling in my chest? A poison maybe-" Maybe hcs? Or an oneshot? Whatever you like to do. Have a good day or night!:)💛 damn i wrote too much lol sorry

This warms my heart. Thank you SO MUCH for your support!!! And no, you did not write too much! I love having my ego stroked ;) 😂 seriously tho I love hearing from you guys!

I love this prompt. I hope that I was able to bring this to life for you, please feel free to request more!

To be honest, I’m not really happy with how this turned out, but I haven’t written in a long time and feel really rusty. I may rewrite it at some point, because I thought of a different way this could also go! At any rate, I hope you enjoy it.

Word Count: 2880 (yeh, it’s a long one :o)

A little song inspiration I had:

As The World Caves In: Matt Maltese

Hisoka x Reader One-Shot: The Man Beneath the Monster

...

Well... this wasn't supposed to happen.

Currently, the jester of everyone's nightmares lay on the ground, golden eyes staring up at the dull night sky while shrapnel and debris etched patterns into his back, remnants of the attack he'd just barely survived. Hisoka didn't normally have much of a problem mowing through his opponents- but then again, they usually didn't possess the ability to play with their enemy's mind. It was insanely unfair, the way he'd been attacked, and while it had been an interesting battle to say the least, Hisoka had barely pulled through.

Admittedly, he was invigorated by the feeling of almost being beaten- save for the searing pain that inched its way through every nerve in his body. Hisoka wasn't usually so affected by pain in general- in fact, more often than not, it gave him a certain indescribable gratification. He tended to brush off the feeling of most wounds he obtained during battle, distracting himself with shuffling his cards or fantasizing about the next battle he'd be facing. Only this time, if he didn't get help, he wasn’t sure there would BE another battle.

Hisoka strained himself to sit up, and looked down at his body, analyzing just how much damage he'd sustained. A deep gash opened up his chest, revealing glimpses of the muscular content underneath, and it was oozing a lot of blood. His arms and legs were burned, and some of the skin was a little charred, which smelled just lovely against the night breeze.

This is going to be difficult to cover with Texture Surprise... he thought, forcing himself a bit angrily to his feet, when he heard the cracking of the joints in his left ankle, indications of a break. He needed medical attention, badly. His gash wasn't going to heal itself, and he would bleed to death within hours if it didn’t get bandaged.

But where could he go? Hospitals wouldn't dare take him- even though he was a hunter, most people wouldn't be caught within miles of him, let alone would provide him any remedy. In fact, most people thought the world would be better off if he were dead anyway.

Maybe they were right.

He chuckled a little at the thought, but as he tried to brush those creeping inner fears off, he soon realized that his normal detached approach wasn't going to work this time. Already, his legs were getting weaker, and his vision was getting a little darker by the second. In that moment of weakness, when he felt the most vulnerable, the magician was puzzled by the singular thought that came to his mind.

Y/N.

She was a girl he’d encountered more than a few times in his travels; not by accident, but through carefully orchestrated meetings he initiated himself. She was strong in his eyes, which was not a compliment that he offered freely, especially to someone who didn’t regularly seek out altercations to smash their enemies. She was strong in a different way- not because of her nen or battle tactics- but because of her resolve. He found it intriguing that she didn’t run at the sight of him (even when he popped up behind her in the park), and he liked that she wasn't afraid to tell him exactly where he could shove his cards, if warranted. Y/N was appealing to him in an indescribable way that made him continue to think up excuses to meet her ‘randomly’- but he could never put his finger on what it was that made her unique. However, through brief conversations and what he considered to be highlights of his travels, he’d gotten to know her only a little, but he hardly had enough contact with her to call her a ‘friend’.

It wasn't like she had any special sort of healing nen. She probably couldn't help him anyway. But if he did bleed out, and his last thought had to be of something...l it might as well be of her.

The pink-haired clown looked to the city up ahead in the distance- he was close to her house already. It didn't take him long to get there; Y/N lived on the outskirts of town in a small place away from most other homes.

It was a place he knew well, although he'd never been inside. He'd spent more than a few long nights watching the residence from the rooftop of a distant neighboring home as he denied his human emotions. He often watched her pack groceries, or try to figure out why her porch light wasn't working (which he certainly had nothing to do with), or watch TV on the couch all alone.

Hisoka quite liked those stupid romantic comedies that played late at night on the local channel. His only opportunity to watch them was through her window- and in his mind, he was sure that she left the subtitles on because she can somehow sense his presence. She usually fell asleep watching those, and missed the part where the hero gets the girl. He always watched that part with particular interest, but he can't figure out what makes the protagonists so special to each other. If there was a feeling that caused them to sacrifice so much for one another… he sure didn’t know what it could be.

But he's not a hero, so why would he know what that feels like?

As Hisoka reached her door and lifted his hand to the doorknob, not bothering to knock, a pang of what could only be anxiety ripped through him. It was well past 2 AM, and he knew she had things to do early in the morning. Their previous encounters had been abnormal, to say the least, complete with him teasing her and being a douchebag. He's been nothing but an annoyance to Y/N, so why would she help him?

As soon as he was about to pull his hand away, the door swung open, revealing a disheveled looking y/n in its place. Hisoka was bent over in pain, holding his chest, but as she startled him a little, he straightened up and put on his mask, acting complacent and confident. He wanted to say something smart and witty like he always does- that always helped to bat the pain away. But his lips wouldn't move- his tongue wouldn't function as he stared at her, unable to reach out in a way that normal humans seem to find so easy.

He felt frozen in that moment. He was normally so deliberately irreverent, but seeing the look on her face made his blood run cold.

Don’t let her see this weakness. It was a plea to himself.

But Hisoka had no choice. He was broken, and he needed her to fix him. He wasn’t used to depending on someone else to save his life, but now his life rested in the hands of someone who most likely despised him.

"...Hisoka." Y/N breathed, her eyes widening as she placed a hand over her open mouth. Only seconds passed before her delicate hands were pulling him inside the door without hesitation. She didn't bother to ask what happened, what kind of trouble he'd gotten into, or whether she would also be in danger. Instead, she sat him down on the couch, laying a pillow under his head for comfort, which he annoyingly refused to use until he absolutely couldn’t hold his head up any longer.

Hisoka was a bit dazed from the loss of blood, and the crimson river was flowing all over y/n's lightly colored couch. He was puzzled by the swiftness of her reaction, and he watched tepidly as she shuffled frantically through the drawers in the bathroom for something to heal him. Though he was on the brink of death, his default deflection of emotions still shone through, a reflex that he didn’t even mean to activate.

“I don’t need your help, you know.” He said with an impudent grin, watching as she began to work on his wounds. “It’s just a scratch. But I can see how badly you want to touch me…” Why was he like this? Here she was, giving up everything to help him (a criminal and the scum of the Earth),yet he can’t so much as even show her an iota of gratitude. He knows, but will never admit that it comes from his inner vulnerability; that fear of getting hurt by these things called emotions. She could just as easily let him bleed to death in front of her; he knows she has the capability to be stone cold. But she won’t… why?

Why?

Y/N could have easily let Hisoka’s false complacency hurt her. But she knows that what he cannot express in his words, his heart cannot truly hide. It was the way he was built, she told herself, and she pushed on through his antics because she wanted to see him safe again. Through the laceration in his tough exterior, she could not only see the flesh beneath, but a glimpse of the man he tried to hide using the monster that he assumed everyone saw.

But she was different.

The jester was confused by her silence. Normally, she would have retorted at his smugness, but right now, she didn’t even seem concerned with it as she began to fumble with cleaning his wounds. The alcohol seared his flesh just as the emotions boiling within him burned his heart. Why would she ever care to help him when he’s been nothing but rude and degrading to her? Could it be that she really can see through the detached front and overbearing persona? Impossible, he’s spent years building that reputation!

Suddenly, he became enthralled with the way Y/N’s eyes focused on threading the needle to sew up his gash. The way that those fingertips danced over his pale skin made him jolt unexpectedly at her touch, exhibiting a softness that Hisoka has never known before. In fact, he can’t even fathom someone wanting to touch him without the intention to hurt him in some way.

The details slowly became a blur in his depressed mental state- but he still analyzed every motion Y/N made.

Oddly, the promised sting of death had never scared Hisoka before; he did as he pleased, without care for his own life nor anyone else’s. But as his vision faded, and he watched her through the gaze of someone nearing death, he realized that he did not want to leave this world yet. He wanted to live- and maybe he wanted to discover and experience what he’d been missing in those movies he’d watched through her window.

With that, Hisoka’s heart began to beat faster.

Blood loss. That’s what it is… Hisoka thought; but he wasn’t stupid; only unwilling to admit that he was beginning to exhibit the same qualities he saw in the protagonists of those hopeless romantic flicks. He was unable to accept that the tightening in his chest was not just because of her stitches pulling his lacerated skin together.

“Are they dead? Did you kill them?” Her voice brought him out of the trance-like state he was in, and his golden eyes focused on her face. Her hands were covered in his blood (which in itself made him feel delightfully feverish), but his gash had been mended, the bleeding stopped for now. Once again, he didn’t say anything. It was unusual for the smug magician to keep his mouth shut.

“Because if you didn’t kill them, I’m going to.” A protective tone dripped into her voice, bewildering Hisoka again. That quality in her voice was both threatening and comforting, and the duality sent a chill up his spine. It inspired him to use his voice, though it had lost some of its signature modulation.

“You have that little faith in me…” A cough escaped his lips before he could smile as if nothing was bothering him at all. “Of course I killed them, my dear.” Somehow, calling her ‘dear’ no longer felt right; that was typically a placeholder, a default name to use for someone he had no connection with, and she seemed to be worthy of more than that now.

As Y/N suddenly dipped to her knees, Hisoka refrained from any lewd thoughts that he normally might have had in such a situation. That sensation in his chest was too distracting to allow this memory to be defiled with something he often indulged in fantasies of. She began to slide the high-heeled shoe off of his swollen foot to wrap it. She began to struggle with ripping the fabric she’d gathered to act as a cast for the bone.

Surely, she knows who I am. Why would she bother to help someone like me? What is she gaining? She knows that with the flip of a card, I could end her life. She’s not even protecting herself in any way. She’s leaving her guard down right in front of me.

Perhaps it was his dark desire to set fear into everyone he came across, or his distorted need to drive away anyone who might care for him, but his body suddenly acted on its own. By instinct, almost as if it were a test of her intention, a card spawned between his middle and index finger, which was right against her neck. With just a slight movement of his knuckles, he could spill her blood. His golden eyes analyzed the way she froze for a moment, and he believed that to be the end of this fragile trust between them. That was until she lifted the fabric she was holding, sliding it along the edge of the card, and cutting it to the perfect length.

“Thanks.” She spoke, beginning to wrap and set the ankle in place.

At that small motion, Hisoka’s discretionary eyes widened, and his lips fell open in surprise. Rather than interpreting his advance as an attack, she’d innocently taken it as an offer of his help. Was this a joke? Was she stupid enough to trust him, or was she bold enough to outsmart his games? Was Y/N this confident that he wouldn’t just kill her? This naive girl at his feet seemed to be the only person in this convoluted world who didn’t see him as a disgusting, heartless monster… and that warmed his icy heart.

“I’m surprised this hasn’t happened before. I know you’re graceful, but high heels are always a recipe for a broken ankle.” She offset the pain of wrapping those bones by talking to him all through the procedure, and it worked wonders. He scoffed, but by that time, Hisoka’s snide comments and emotion-killing thoughts had been expended. Somehow, she’d broken through the barrier that he’d spent so long building around himself.

Unable to ignore his whims anymore, Hisoka reached out to touch Y/N’s hair, the soft delicate strands pleasing his senses. It’s the only movement he can make now, his body weakened from the loss of blood. His gilded eyes were barely open, but they looked directly into hers with an unfamiliar realization. His hand travelled weakly down her face, caressing her cheek with the most delicate touch he could muster, and held her head in his large hand as she froze there. He wondered for a moment if she was afraid, or if something deeper that he cannot see calms her.

A small, genuine smile is all he could muster for her before his hand dropped to the side of the couch, the same couch he watched her curl up on most nights. For once, it’s not a smirk, and it’s not a smug smile- but something she has never seen before- a true smile with good intention behind it. His eyes closed, with uncertainty that they would open in the morning.

After she’d finished her work, she stood up, and looked down at him. The only remaining light in the room was the silent flicker of the television set in the background, which illuminated both of their faces.

“I need you to be alright, Hisoka,” She cooed, unable to know if he could still hear her. He didn’t know if she even realized how much he wanted to kill her right now, because the way her kindness was attacking his heart while his chest was already sliced open was something he should not excuse.

As Y/N’s final healing gesture, she bent over his body gracefully. He was taken off guard when he felt the feathery soft sensation of her lips on his forehead, the kiss of an angel on his clammy skin. As she went to pull away, however, she was startled by the lunge of Hisoka’s hand initiating a death grip on her wrist. He used the last bit of his strength to pull her lips into his, causing her to lose balance and be forced to brace on either side of the couch cushion below him. His lips were cold, but Y/N graciously returned the sensation, and boldly moved to embrace both sides of his face with her mending hands. Before she pulled away, and he passed out, she felt that same smile against her lips.

And in that moment, before he fades away, Hisoka realizes what he’s been missing.

Y/N.

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

Hmm... part two? I KNOW, it’s super freakin’ sappy. I could have taken a lighthearted approach to this (and maybe I will later), but I wanted to kind of challenge myself to write a more depth-driven version of Hisoka. Maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew :0.

Anyway, let me know what you think, and once again thanks to anon for the request! Hope you all enjoyed!

Mac

#hisoka morow #hisoka x reader #x reader #reader insert #hxh #hunterxhunter #feeling sappy #love #lovelorn #ooc? probably #hxh 2011 #hisoka

[kerikaaria]

Second Chance: Part 2

(Yoongi x reader) Short series, Hybrid!au, Hybrid!reader

Genre (whole fic): (PG15) Angst and fluff In this part: Fluff and angst

Warnings (whole fic): Mentions of euthanasia on hybrids, mentions of mistreatment and abuse (including PAST sexual)

WC: 13.1k

Description: As a rare predator hybrid, you are considered dangerous and your days left in this life are numbered—unless a human decides to take mercy on you and is willing to take you into their home. But after three years of having people walk past your window without paying you any attention, your hope of that happening has all but run dry. You just hope your brother can get out of here in time, even if you can’t.

A/N - Thank you to @suhdays​, @birbdae​, and @jeonsbun​ for beta-reading for me ^^

A/N - Just like in Part 1, there are a few times “N/n” is used to mean “nickname.”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

“Come eat, Y/n. Hoseok said dinner is ready,” Seokjin gently said, trying to coax you into the kitchen where Hoseok was currently setting the table.

“We shouldn’t eat at the table with him,” you whispered. “And why do you keep calling him by his name?”

“Because he asked me to,” Jin said. “I know this must be hard for you to get used to, but we don’t need to follow those rules that our last Masters had.”

“Hybrids aren’t supposed to be equal to humans, Jinnie," you insisted. "You know that.”

Seokjin sighed. He had expected that you would have some pushback on this new lifestyle that the two of you could have with Hoseok; you were the one who suffered the most from your previous owners, afterall. But it had been four days since Hoseok adopted you and you still weren’t able to feel comfortable quite yet.

He had hoped that things being easy between you and Yoongi would have helped you not be so distant and had healed a lot of the damaging mindset you both had been taught and raised with. However, when he asked you about it in hushed words at night when the two of you lay in bed, he gathered from your responses that in your mind, Yoongi was a one-in-a-million exception that fit right alongside Jimin.

“It’s okay, hyung,” Hoseok said. “No need to push her. I’m sure she’ll come around when she's ready to.”

Hoseok handed Seokjin your plate, knowing that you would feel nervous if he got too close. That was a mistake he had made not too long after you woke up your first day here. He believed that you'd get used to him as easily as your brother did, and had very quickly been proven wrong. But he was more than willing to give you the time and space you needed to become more comfortable with him and in his home.

Seokjin walked into the living room with you, placing your plate on the coffee table in front of where you had come to designate as your spot on the couch. Once you sat down, you waited for Jin to sit next to you only to realize he didn't bring his own plate with him.

"Where's your plate, Jinnie?" you asked.

"I'm going to eat in the kitchen with Hoseok today," he carefully said.

You felt panic rise in your chest. "You're not eating with me?" you asked.

"You could eat with us if you'd like," Seokjin said, threading a hand through your hair to try to help calm you down. "I just want to eat with Hoseok today, okay?"

"But," your eyes nervously flitted between Jin's face and the table in the kitchen, visible from the couch through the open archway, where you could see your owner setting two plates down. It wasn't like you wanted to have a monopoly on Jin. You could easily see that he already had a connection with Hoseok despite your own hesitance to trust that he was completely different from the previous two owners you'd had just yet. But you just needed time to become comfortable, and Jin was your anchor and made you feel safe. No matter what, he was always there for you. He had always protected you to the best of his ability, would even take hits for you.

It was easy to sense your anxiousness, heightened senses letting Seokjin easily tell that your heart was speeding up. He felt really bad about doing this, knew it was going to be a bit of a difficult step to take, but he had to do it. The best way for you to understand that Hoseok was a good person would be to let you see for yourself that things were different.

"I'll be right there," Jin said in a soft voice, pointing at the table. "You can come with me if you want, but if not you will still be able to see me. I promise it'll be okay."

You still looked nervous, but he could see the gears in your head working as the physical signs of your anxiousness began to subside.

"I'm going to go in the kitchen now, okay?" he asked, sensing that it was probably safe to leave you but wanting to let you feel more in control of the situation by asking you instead of telling.

It took you a moment, but you softly nodded. Jin smoothed down your hair and placed a kiss on your forehead before retreating slowly, feeling your eyes on him as he walked away.

He was right. It wasn't like anything was going to happen to you while you sat here by yourself eating dinner. And you trusted him more than anything, so you knew that he wouldn't tell you that things were okay if they weren't. But out of all the people who you had encountered in your life, incredibly few were actually trustworthy.

How you had even attached to Yoongi so easily was a mystery to you, but you figured it had something to do with the fact that it was a rare instance that you got to be with your brother at the shelter, and for two years no one else had been even a little kind to you. Then in came Yoongi with that soft smile and sweet words, things you craved so much that you soaked it up like a sponge.

That wasn't to say that you felt Yoongi didn't deserve your trust. While you may not have believed he could do anything at the time, it was now impossible to ignore how much effort Yoongi put in to ensure that your last days weren't in that shelter. And in that same vein, a lot could have been said for Hoseok's case, since he was the one who hurried to the shelter last minute to adopt you barely in time. Seokjin had told you about why it took so long, and how everything had lined up just perfectly. If it had taken one more day for the license to go through, or if they had taken you to the vet just one day earlier, there would have been nothing Hoseok could have done for you. So it absolutely wasn't lost on you that Hoseok was obviously more caring than your past owners. Neither of them would have made any effort to save you how he had done. Well, maybe your second Master, but that would have only been because you were a popular favorite and made him money.

You stayed in the living room to eat, but watched your brother in the kitchen. Hoseok had sat right next to him and was easily engaging him in conversation as they ate, smiling and laughing. Seokjin looked so happy and comfortable with him.

You weren't sure how long it'd take you to let your protective walls come down, but if there was one thing you knew as you observed the two in the kitchen, it was that you wanted to feel as happy as Jin looked.

One thing you had surprisingly little trouble with since being adopted was sleeping. Sure, you woke up at least once a night in a sweat, memories of the other day and drugs running through your system haunting you. But your brother was always right there, already holding you tight and assuring you that you were safe. So when the nightmare left you alone, you were able to sleep the best that you had in years.

By the time you would stir awake, Hoseok was either just about to or had already left for work, leaving you and Jin in the house by yourselves. This was the time when you felt the most relaxed and comfortable ever since coming here. Getting to be with your brother, no wall keeping you separated, and not worrying about learning to be comfortable around Hoseok.

Although today, you couldn't help but feel a little restless as the two of you cuddled on the couch and watched a show on TV that Jin proclaimed as his favorite.

Ever since dinner last night, you couldn't help but feel unsettled. Torn between your instincts yelling at you not to relax around your owner—a human who is supposed to be above you—and your desire to trust and get close to him. You of course knew Jin would never lead you astray, but after the years spent in that place, the time living day by day on the street, and then how poorly the shelter treated you, your instincts were rather hard to ignore at this point.

But seeing your brother so carefree and relaxed last night made you crave to be the same, not remembering the last time you could truly be worry-free.

When the door to the house opened, your owner having arrived home from work, you felt yourself subconsciously stiffen. You tried to not let it show too much, actively trying to work against your pesky instincts in an effort to make sure Hoseok didn't feel as concerned about making you uncomfortable.

Seokjin's grip around you loosened as he prepared to greet Hoseok when he would inevitably come into the living room. He probably expected you to move away from him as you had every day prior, distancing yourself so that Hoseok could approach your brother. However, you stayed right where you were, fists clenched to try to hold in some of the tension you felt from the need to keep away and protect yourself.

As the human's footsteps approached the room, you silently reprimanded the thoughts that insisted that you needed to keep your distance, that Hoseok wasn't safe. You had no reason to think he wasn't. No, you knew he wasn't a danger to you. You had more than enough observations with how he treated Seokjin to back that up and you were going to fight through this.

You kept your eyes locked on your hands, gripping tightly to the fabric of your pants as Hoseok entered the room. Despite not looking up, you could hear that he stopped for just a moment before finishing his path to the couch, slower than he had been walking before.

"Welcome home," Jin said in a light voice that must have been punctuated by his smile.

"Thank you, hyung," Hoseok responded, now standing next to the couch you were both sitting on. The light chuff from Jin let you know that his ears were receiving attention in greeting. “Did you guys have a nice day?”

“We did,” Seokjin responded, sounding a little sleepy. Both of you were huge suckers for physical affection.

When Jin leaned back toward you as he relaxed into the comfort of Hoseok's attention, you lifted your head up enough to see the smile that sat on your owner's face while he stared at Jin. Just a moment later his gaze flitted to you, and while his eyes widened from having not expected to meet your own, his smile didn't falter at all. In fact, it seemed to become even softer.

"Hi, noona," he greeted.

Your instincts were still screaming at you in your head, but you urged them as far back as you could to respond. "H-Hello," you said in a very quiet voice.

Hoseok's smile widened once more, thrilled that you were talking directly to him for what was probably the very first time.

"What did you do today?" he asked, still looking at you.

You glanced at your brother when he lifted away from you, Hoseok no longer petting him. Jin gave you a slight nod, encouraging you to answer.

"We- we mostly just watched TV," you replied.

“Oh?” Hoseok responded. “Is it that crime show that Jin says is his favorite?”

You nodded in confirmation. “It’s interesting.”

“Yeah, it is,” Hoseok agreed. “What show is your favorite, Y/n?”

“U-um,” you felt flustered, not really having an answer. “I don’t r-really have a favorite ye-yet.” Starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, you partially hid behind Jin.

“We’ve pretty much just watched the shows I recommend,” Seokjin replied.

“Well, you should let her browse through the shows, too,” Hoseok said. “Let her find stuff she likes too.”

Jin nodded before turning to you. “Okay. You can find a show you want to watch tomorrow, N/n.”

“Okay,” you mumbled in response.

Hoseok gave another smile before backing away a bit. “I’m going to go get comfortable and then make dinner, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Jin said, smiling back at him.

When Hoseok was out of the room, you relaxed. You were still feeling really nervous, but you could swear that you felt just slightly less anxious about Hoseok now.

Jin turned slightly to engulf you in his arms, tucking his head into your neck. “That was really good, N/n. I’m proud of you for doing such a good job.”

“It was hard,” you mumbled into his hair.

“I know,” he said. “But you still tried your best and you did so, so good. I’m so happy you’re trying.”

You chuffed, feeling proud that you made your brother happy. The two of you sat on the couch snuggling for a moment before Hoseok came out of his room, on the phone.

“I’d love to say yes,” you heard him say to the person on the other line, “but I don’t know if it’s a good idea, especially to bring Jungkook.”

You turned to look at him, cocking your head to the side in curiosity of what he was talking about. Jin followed your actions as well.

“You know how I adopted two hybrids recently?” Hoseok asked, quieter. Probably trying to keep you guys from hearing, or at least paying attention. But he’d have to be in another room behind a closed door for you not to hear with your strong senses. “One of them is still anxious at home, not used to me yet. I don’t think another human and his hybrid being in the house would be a good idea for her.”

You couldn’t help but feel a little warm at the idea that Hoseok was concerned about your comfort. Yet again confirming what your instincts were still having trouble accepting.

“I’m sorry, Jimin.” Both you and Jin perked up when you heard the name. “Maybe I could come over there? They’re brother and sister and are fine being alone together in the house, so it wouldn’t be a problem.”

“Jimin?” you asked, bringing Hoseok’s attention your way. That name was most definitely familiar to you.

“Oh. Yeah, Jimin is my friend,” he said to you.

“What’s Jimin’s last name?” Jin asked.

“Park,” Hoseok answered easily. “Why?”

You felt excited, and sensed that Jin was too.

“Have you told him our names?” your brother asked.

“No, I haven’t.” Hoseok looked a bit confused, but mostly curious now. “Why all the questions?”

“Tell him our names,” you said. “Please?”

He was most definitely primarily confused now, but still did as you asked. “Um, they’re asking me to tell you their names. I’m not sure why. But uh, the hybrids I adopted are called Seokjin and Y/n.”

He was silent for a moment while he listened to the Jimin on the other line, his brows furrowing at the response. “Yeah. I don’t think I mentioned their species to you before. How did you know that?” He pulled the phone away from his ear for a moment, cringing. Jimin on the other end was loud enough that you could hear him, but not quite what he was saying. “He wants me to put him on speaker,” Hoseok said, now talking to the two of you. “Is that okay?”

You quickly nodded, excited that maybe your suspicion was right, while Jin vocalized the affirmation.

Hoseok followed directions once more, holding the phone in front of him. “Okay, you’re on speaker now.”

“Jin-hyung? Y/n-noona?” Jimin’s voice came through the phone. It was definitely more mature than the last time you had heard it and distorted through the device, but there was no mistaking that that was your Jimin.

“Minnie?” you responded.

“Oh my gosh, is it really you guys?” Jimin asked.

“Yes,” Jin responded for you. “Yes, it’s us. And we know it’s you, we’d recognize your voice anywhere.”

“I can’t believe this,” Jimin breathed out, a light laugh sitting on his voice. “What are the chances?”

“Okay, anyone want to fill me in here?” Hoseok asked, eyebrows raised.

“Hyung, you remember the hybrids I told you about when we were kids?” Jimin asked Hoseok. “The brother and sister tiger hybrids that I grew up with? Their names were Seokjin and Y/n.”

Hoseok’s eyes widened. “The ones that your parents sold when we were teens?”

“Yes,” Jimin confirmed. “I can’t believe this. I know the chances of this being a different sibling pair of tiger hybrids with the same names are basically impossible, but Hobi hyung can you turn on video? If they’re okay with it. I just- I need to see it with my own eyes.”

Hoseok looked to the two of you for permission, which you both easily gave. “Would you use your video too?” Jin asked.

“Of course,” Jimin responded.

Hoseok obeyed once more, adding video to the call and turning the phone around so you could see the screen. A moment later, an older version of a familiar face appeared, smiling brightly.

“It really is you guys,” Jimin said. “I can’t- Oh my gosh. I have to come over now. Can I?”

“Yes!” you immediately responded.

You heard a voice in the background of Jimin’s end of the call. “Hyung?” he said. “You seem really happy.”

“I am, Kookie,” Jimin answered, turning to the source of the voice off camera. “The hybrids Hobi hyung adopted are the ones that I grew up with. That my parents sold before they got you.”

“Seriously?” the voice asked, sounding a little bit closer.

“Yeah,” Jimin said before turning back to the phone. “Guys, if I come over, is it okay if I bring Kookie? He’s my hybrid. He’s a German Shepherd, but I promise he’s friendly. He won’t cause fights or anything. He knows that place is your territory and won’t try challenging you or anything. I’d really like for you guys to meet him if you are okay with that.”

You looked to Jin to see what he thought, and when he met your gaze and smiled, you knew that both of you were okay with that. “Yeah, that’s fine,” you said. “We’d love to meet him. I’m so excited to see you again, Minnie.”

“I’m really excited too!” he exclaimed.

“Well, looks like we’re having a reunion at my house,” Hoseok chuckled. “Alright guys, sorry but I really should get to making dinner now. I guess we’ll see you tomorrow, Jimin.”

“See you guys tomorrow!” Jimin said cheerfully, waving at the screen before the call ended.

You couldn’t wait.

Hoseok informed you later that he and Jimin worked together, and that after a quick stop home to pick up Jungkook, he’d be here not too long after Hoseok got home himself. You didn’t have enough courage to sit at the table with Hoseok and Jin for dinner, but you did feel just a tad more comfortable than the previous day. Especially when your mind was on tomorrow.

You and Jin could hardly contain your excitement over being reunited with Jimin after so many years. The two of you spent the day using that energy to clean up around the house, making sure it was perfect for your special guest. Hoseok was a very organized person, so it wasn’t like the house was by any means a mess. But between the two of you, you made sure that there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere and everything was perfectly in its place.

When Hoseok got home, he was surprised to see the two of you running around the house, ensuring last minute that you hadn’t missed anything. He chuckled to himself, giving Jin his usual greeting pet as he passed him in the hallway, and throwing a smile your way which you easily returned. You were way too excited to be anxious about being around Hoseok today.

It felt like an eternity, but was really only about fifteen minutes later that there was a knock at the door. Jin held your hand, keeping either of you from rushing to the door and overwhelming the hybrid that you could already smell on the other side. Hoseok calmly approached the door to let them in himself.

Your tail twitched behind you, unable to contain your nerves at seeing your first friend, the first human you ever trusted, after you had thought you’d never see him again when his parents sold you years ago.

As soon as the door opened, you could see Jimin searching around to find you, a smile brightening his face once he did. You were just about to rush to envelop him in a hug, wanting to scent him in an expression of how much you missed him, how happy you were to be able to see him again, when the scent hit you.

The scent that let you know that Jimin was mated, that another hybrid had lay their claim on him. Being able to smell without the interference of a wall between you, it was quickly obvious that it was the hybrid Jimin brought with him who had mated him. Jin hesitated beside you as well, both of you unsure if you were allowed to express any kind of affection toward him with his hybrid mate there.

But the worry was quickly dissolved when Jimin made his way right over to you and pulled both of you into a tight hug, saying “I missed you guys so much.”

You eyed the dog hybrid who slowly approached the three of you, making sure he didn’t show any signs of aggression before making any moves. But when he shyly smiled back, you knew that at least this level of affection was considered fine and relaxed into Jimin’s hold, still being careful not to scent.

“We thought we’d never see you again,” Jin said.

“I know, me too,” Jimin replied, his grip tightening just a bit before releasing. When he pulled back, you could see tears starting to pool in his eyes. “I was so worried when my parents said they sold you guys. I had no idea who bought you or what happened to you. But I guess I didn’t really need to worry.”

You smiled tightly, not wanting to make him upset, but not being able to recall your second owner without a shiver running down your spine.

Behind Jimin, the hybrid cleared his throat.

“Oh! I’m sorry, Kookie,” Jimin said, moving away from you and Seokjin. “This is my hybrid, Jungkook. Jungkook, this is Seokjin-hyung and Y/n-noona.”

Jimin linked his arm through Jungkook’s as the hybrid bowed slightly. “It’s very nice to meet you,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Jimin-hyung.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Jungkook,” you said, smiling as you took a good look at him. He was tall, almost as tall as Jin, and looked really strong. You could tell that Jimin felt safe with him, and were curious to learn more about the two of them. You remembered from the call yesterday Jimin said something about his parents buying Jungkook, but he was clearly now Jimin’s hybrid and mate and there were a lot of questions left in the middle for you. Particularly about his parents.

Your little group followed Hoseok into the living room when he suggested that you all sit in there to chat. Jimin sat down first, and you were kind of shocked to see Jungkook go to sit at the loveseat instead of on the couch right next to his mate. You looked at the empty spot on the couch, tail twitching as you contemplated if you should sit there.

“You guys should sit with Jimin-hyung,” Jungkook said when both you and Seokjin hesitated. “I can tell how much you guys miss him.”

“But, you’re-” Jin started, but stopped when Jungkook shook his head.

“It’s fine,” the dog hybrid said. “I know I can trust you guys with him.”

You looked back to Jimin, who reached out for your hand, gently guiding you to sit next to him. “It’s okay,” he said. “He’s not very territorial.” He reached out to Jin as well. “Protective, sure. But he knows that you guys were like family to me, and trusts me to have good judgement, too.”

Hoseok sat on the loveseat with Jungkook, the hybrid snuggling into his arm. You felt all of the tension from being worried about overstepping dissipate due to both Jimin’s words and seeing how easygoing Jungkook seemed. You relaxed into Jimin’s side, letting out a happy chuff at smelling his familiar scent.

“What’s the story with you and Jungkook?” Seokjin asked first. His posture on the other side of Jimin resembled yours.

“My parents adopted him not too long after they sold you guys,” Jimin said, reaching his hands up to run through your hair and scratching at the base of your ears. “I was so mad at them when I found out about you. I hoped you knew that I had no clue. If I did, I would have fought them tooth and nail not to do it. And if I failed, I at least would have made sure to say goodbye to you. But I didn’t even get to do that, and I was so angry. It had been about six months or so of me being a moody teenager and hanging that over their heads before they decided that getting a new hybrid would settle me down.”

“They also thought that getting a ‘guard dog’”—Jungkook used a hand to make air quotes around the phrase—“would help keep him in line. But I’m not really aggressive at all, never have been. I knew other German Shepherds that were, but I’ve just always channeled that part of me into protecting people I care about.”

“They still treated him pretty much the same way they did you guys,” Jimin continued. “Like he was some kind of servant, but then a glorified pet whenever it suited them. Showed him off to their friends and ordered him around all the time. They asked him to do things he was uncomfortable with, too. Treated him like a showpiece sometimes. By that point, you know I was a teen, so I had understood more of what was going on and was able to keep them from being too harsh, but I knew that as soon as I left for college I couldn’t help him anymore.”

You curled further into Jimin’s side, remembering your own time at the Park’s. They had adopted you and Seokjin when you were around 9 years old and Jimin was 6. Jimin was fascinated by the two of you at first, but he never treated you poorly. He always wanted to play with you and acted like you were his real siblings.

But his parents had different ideas. They gave you a small room to share, hardly bigger than a closet. You didn’t even get offered a larger room as you got older, despite the fact that there were plenty of rooms in their big house that weren’t being used. They would let it go for the first few years when they’d catch you playing with Jimin here and there, but as you all got older you’d get scolded more and more for it.

When they had events to go to or friends came to visit them, they’d show you off and you were expected to stay silent and listen to everything they asked of you the whole time. If you acted out or disobeyed even a little, the punishments would be worse than any others. And when you were at home, you were expected to spend the day cleaning. They had some hired help, primarily a cook and gardener. But as for anything in regard to cleaning, that was something you two were expected to do as soon as you were adopted.

Jin had always been a little taller than you, but at that age it was rather dumb to expect your little legs and arms to be able to reach the high-up shelves or cabinets that needed cleaning. You’d climb on each other’s shoulders to reach those spots once you learned that even that was expected of you.

So they didn’t exactly treat you the best. As Jimin said they expected of Jungkook as well, you were like servants at home and glorified pets to show off outside of the house or with their friends. But it took Jimin quite a few years to realize how his parents had treated you, having been quite young even compared to you when you were adopted. Once he did realize, he felt terrible and he really did try to help you out, but he could really only do so much.

Then, when they felt like you were being too much of a bad influence on their son and no longer had any use for you, they got rid of you. Didn’t care who took you off their hands as long as they were paid well. The two of you were just barely 17 when that happened, Jimin only 14 years old.

Despite not liking how his parents treated you, Jimin was always wonderful. He’d always been sweet, enjoyed spending time with you both, and treated you just like he would have any other friends or family. It may not have been perfect, but that was still the best place you had lived in your lives, at least before Hoseok adopted you.

“Jungkook and I…” Jimin started, seeming to think hard about his words. “He was when I realized I liked boys. I didn’t really notice before then, or care to, I guess. And it wasn’t like it happened right away, but after a while I realized that I cared about him differently than how I cared about you guys. I knew my parents would be mad, so I kept it a secret. Jungkook was shy about it at first, but he said he was able to tell because of my scent that I had… less than platonic feelings for him. But he felt the same so we would sneak kisses and hold hands when we were alone.” Jimin smiled at the memories.

“I tried convincing my parents to let Jungkook come with me when I went to college, but they refused,” Jimin continued. “I was able to stall going for a year, and then before I went the following year, Jungkook and I decided that I should be his mate. It was a little drastic at the time, and ideally I probably would have wanted to wait a little longer before dedicating myself to one person like that, but I was desperate. I had heard my parents planning to sell him, and we just couldn’t handle the thought of being separated. So, he marked me as his mate, and then they had no choice but to let him come with me.”

That was one of the other hybrid laws that had been passed – that a hybrid and their mate couldn’t be forced to separate if it was consensual on both ends. It was really a great law overall, but there were times when people attempted to abuse it and the cases had to be investigated. Sometimes, a human would force a hybrid to mate with them to not allow them to leave. But those usually end up happening when the human was already at risk of losing the hybrid so the cases were easily taken care of and tended to work in the hybrid’s favor more often than not.

Being separated from a mate for a long time could be difficult for a hybrid, causing their instincts to scream to be with them and making them distressed. But, if a hybrid ended up being mated to someone they didn’t care about or that they felt unsafe with, survival instincts would override their mating ones and they wouldn’t have an issue staying away. So in the cases when humans attempted to abuse the law, the hybrid wouldn’t have any problem staying away from them, and eventually the mate bond would dissolve and they could start a new one if they ever wished to.

“It didn’t really go over that well,” Jungkook chimed in. “They were so mad. Well, not so much mad as disgusted with us. They called Jimin all these names, and I- well, I’m just glad I have a lot of self-control because I really felt like clawing their faces off when I heard them insulting him and our relationship. And then they told him that he wasn’t their son anymore.”

Jimin nodded solemnly, grip in your hair tightening a little. “And they really weren’t lying. They refused to give me any money or help and told me ‘Good luck succeeding on your own.’ Luckily for me, my first year of college was already paid for, including an apartment near the campus for me. They couldn’t take it back, so I still got to start and I just made sure to get a job and started saving up so I could keep going. And I really did have good luck. Still got a great education and started up my own business with Hobi hyung that’s doing really well. Plus, I have Jungkook with me.”

During the pause that followed, Jin quietly asked, “Do you regret it?”

Jimin turned to him, brows furrowed. “Regret what? Mating with Jungkook?”

Jin flattened his ears as he glanced at the dog hybrid before gently nodding.

“Not at all,” Jimin answered without hesitation. “It may have been a bit early to do it at the time, but I love Jungkook with all my heart and if we hadn’t done it then, we still would have years ago. We just didn’t really have much of a choice, if we wanted to stay together.”

“But then your parents still tried tearing us apart,” Jungkook said, burrowing into Hoseok’s shoulder for comfort as his scent soured in distress over whatever memories were coming to mind.

“Come here, baby,” Jimin said to Jungkook, reaching an arm out toward him. Jungkook uncurled from Hoseok’s side, approaching the couch. You moved to the side a bit to give room for Jungkook before Jimin pulled him into his lap. “The important thing is that they couldn’t.”

“What happened?” you tentatively asked.

“They submitted a report saying that I forced him to mate me,” Jimin said. Jungkook looked small as he tucked himself further into Jimin’s embrace. “In all honesty, I had wanted to try to look for the two of you, see what happened to you and maybe adopt you if I could. But once a report like that enters the system, it takes a long time to no longer affect your record. They investigated and of course came to the conclusion that it was consensual and we were happy together, but even to this day, that mark against my record still prohibits me from looking into adopting any other hybrids.”

“The good thing that came out of it is that your parents ended up getting blacklisted themselves,” Jungkook said, a smile stretching on his face. “We submitted counterclaims about how they treated me, and Jimin’s accounts of how you two had been treated before. What really caught their eye from that was the fact that when they sold you, it wasn’t a legal transaction. The name they transferred you to on your files was an alias and there was no way to track it. They should have done it through the official system to ensure that didn’t happen. So that on top of our accounts of how they treated me and you two, they’re not allowed to do anything related to hybrids ever again.”

You felt relieved at that knowledge. While you knew from personal experience that there were far worse people out there, they still weren’t people who should have hybrids.

“Which is one of the reasons why I’ve been worried about what happened to you guys after they sold you,” Jimin said, frowning. “They said that it was mostly people involved in black markets and who don’t treat hybrids well that hid themselves in those kinds of transactions and with aliases. And especially with your breed, they didn’t like the look of it. But after my case was done they couldn’t keep me informed and I could never look into it myself.”

You inched a bit closer to Jimin, nervous of touching too much with Jungkook right there, but couldn’t help wanting the comfort. When Jungkook gave no sign of wanting you to stay away, you snuggled into Jimin’s arm, releasing just a bit of your scent but not too much to let it linger on him.

Jungkook straightened up a bit, and you flinched, concerned that you did cross a line. But instead of being defensive, he looked at you concerned. “You smell distressed,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

Jimin looked at you, then turned to Jin who must have had a similar expression to you. “Hyung? Noona?” Jimin asked, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“It was a black market,” your brother mumbled into Jimin’s shirt. “He wasn’t a good person.”

You instantly felt both Jimin and Jungkook tense up, while Hoseok’s scent turned bitter as well. Everyone remained silent for a moment, the others in the room processing the new information.

“What-” Hoseok was the one to finally speak the question they were all curious about. “What did they do?”

“Was a Hybrid House,” you said in a small voice. Jimin let go of Jungkook and wrapped an arm each around you and Seokjin, holding you as tightly as he could. “We were there for a while. Not sure how long, though. Days blended together a lot. I guess it was about three or four years before we managed to escape.”

“House?” Jungkook asked, getting off Jimin’s lap so he could look at you all more clearly. “What’s a Hybrid House?”

“It’s not a good place,” Hoseok answered. “I have never been to one, and never will be. But I’ve heard about them. It’s-” you could feel his gaze on you and Jin before he breathed deeply and continued. “It’s a place where people will pay to receive… certain services from hybrids.”

“Certain servi-” Jungkook started, before his face lit up in realization. “Oh.” He turned back to the three of you, now snuggled even closer together on the couch, sadness tainting his scent. “Oh my gosh.”

“I’m so sorry,” Jimin said, voice thick with emotion. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Seokjin assured him, tucking in closer to him. “At the very least, we still had each other. We were put in the same room together and we took care of each other.”

A heavy silence hung in the room for a few long moments before Jimin asked, “How did you get out?”

“They forgot to lock the door one night,” you said. “Jinnie was the one who noticed. So when we knew they were all asleep, we snuck out.”

“We almost got caught, too,” Jin added. “But even though we weren’t in the best of shape, there was no way they could catch up to two tiger hybrids.”

“We were living on the street for a little while before Hybrid Patrol picked us up and sent us to that shelter,” you added. “Probably about half a year?” You glanced over to Jin, asking for confirmation.

“Yeah, that sounds about right,” he confirmed. “No way to know for sure since we didn’t exactly have a way of keeping track of time.”

“And then you were in the shelter for three years,” Hoseok supplied.

Jin nodded. “And now we’re here. And Hoseok is really amazing, and now we even get to see you again, Jimin. This is the happiest I’ve ever been.” Both you and Jin chuffed happily at his words.

You could feel Jimin smile as the tension in the room started dissipating. “Hobi hyung said something about one of you still being uncomfortable?”

“Oh.” Jin sat a little straighter. “It’s Y/n. But don’t blame her, she’s been through so much.”

“The both of you have,” Jimin supplied.

“I mean yeah, but she had it even worse,” Jin insisted. “There was nothing I could do to help her when-”

“Don’t worry about it,” you interjected quickly, throwing Jin a look that told him you didn’t want him to continue. It already haunted you enough every day and in your nightmares, but there was nothing anyone could do so you didn’t want them to feel any worse for you about it.

But that definitely didn’t stop the rest from being curious.

“What happened, noona?” Jimin gently asked you.

You just hid your face in his shoulder, shaking your head. “It’s personal,” you said.

Jimin sighed, but said, “Okay,” as he brought his other arm around to fully engulf you in a hug.

Being fully embraced, you instinctively started to scent Jimin, but quickly stopped in your tracks, the scent of him being mated reminding you it was a bad idea.

But then, “If it makes you more comfortable, it’s okay to scent him, noona,” Jungkook offered. “I don’t mind, really. I know you’re not trying to claim him, and to be honest your and hyung’s scents are really nice.”

You didn’t question his permission, taking that as more than enough reason to relax and scent Jimin like you wanted to ever since he stood at the doorway.

“I’m trying, though,” you mumbled.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Jimin asked.

“I’m trying to do better with Hoseok,” you said, slightly turning to glance at him. “It’s just that, I kind of learned that hybrids are below their owners and I am naturally afraid of people after everything. But I know he’s not a bad person. Jinnie wouldn’t be so comfortable with him, and he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to save me if he wasn’t. So I’m trying to do better.”

“She opened up a little more yesterday,” Hoseok said, smiling. “We had our first proper conversation. It was short, but it made me really happy.”

“That’s good to hear,” Jimin said.

You nodded. “And now I know that you’re friends,” you said. “I don’t feel nervous at all right now with you around.”

Jimin giggled a little at that. “I’m glad to know. Maybe I can come around more often, then? If it’ll help you open up with Hobi hyung more.”

“Maybe,” Hoseok said. “I’m sure they’d really like to see you more, with your history. I still find it amazing that the hybrids I adopted ended up being the same ones you would tell me about when we were kids, though,” he laughed.

“Yeah, it’s a pretty crazy coincidence, huh?” Jimin said.

Jin had been looking to be in thought for a little bit, and suddenly he spoke up. “If people she’s comfortable with help, then maybe we could see if Yoongi could come over too?”

You perked up at that, sitting up straighter.

“I think she likes that idea,” Jungkook chuckled.

“I could give him a call,” Hoseok offered. “See if he could come by one day. I’m sure he’d like to see how you guys are doing after everything he did for you.”

“Who’s Yoongi?” Jimin asked.

“He’s a worker from the shelter,” Hoseok responded. “From what Jin-hyung has told me, he was always really nice to them. And he also did a lot to make sure noona was safe, and that I got there to adopt her in time.”

“In time?” Jimin asked. “What happened?”

So you talked about some of your time at the shelter. About the employees who were rude and harsh with you. Yoongi who was a blessing in such a dark place. When Hoseok came to adopt Seokjin. When your date was moved up and Yoongi quickly worked to make sure they didn’t harm you.

Jimin and Jungkook were obviously sad to hear about how difficult of a time it was for you, but whenever you or Jin talked about Yoongi they smiled. Jimin commented about how kind he seemed and how glad he was that you had him there to help you through at least some of it. And more than anything, he was glad that you two were now safe, had a good home and a kind owner who he knew would take good care of you.

Jungkook was really sweet, as well. After you finished talking about the past, he started chatting a bit more. He was a little goofy and had an interesting sense of humor, and was really nice. It was a little surprising that he was so comfortable around two predator hybrids in what was technically their territory, but you had a feeling it had something to do with how at ease Jimin was with the two of you.

Jimin and Jungkook were obviously so happy with each other. When you and Seokjin had scented Jimin enough to make you feel better about missing him for so long and finally separated from his side later that evening, Jungkook remained glued to him. He seemed to be a bit careful to not completely cover up your scents, knowing that it was more of a family or pack thing for the two of you than anything else, but he most definitely became much more touchy with him.

Jungkook was really such a considerate mate. Especially with certain hybrid breeds, you would expect them to be very territorial and not like other hybrids’ scents on their mate no matter what. But probably from years of stories about how close Jimin was with you and Seokjin, he must have understood that there was no threat with you and accepted that you were essentially family, regardless if you had officially met prior to today.

With the comfort and ease of being reunited with Jimin, on top of Jungkook’s hospitality, you really did find it much easier to be more open with Hoseok. You all ate dinner at the table together, and at one point you had even sat next to Hoseok on the couch. You were all snuggled out then, so you didn’t look for any affection. And while he wasn’t tense or uncomfortable, he didn’t attempt to give you any either, probably wanting to make sure to not breach your boundaries.

Hoseok also contacted Yoongi in the evening, asking if he’d like to stop by sometime soon to see you and Seokjin. He had taken a while to respond back, but when he did you were thrilled for Hoseok to let you know that he said he’d love to stop by soon.

Despite digging into the parts of your past that you try not to think too hard about, today was easily the best day you’d had in so, so long. You had your brother, Jimin who you considered family and his mate, and your new kind owner all with you. Almost everyone who was family was there. It would have been perfect if only Yoongi was there, too.

Well, almost perfect. But you had accepted a while ago that the last three family you wished could be there were probably lost to you forever, no matter how much you craved to hold them in your arms.

After that day, you did find yourself opening up with Hoseok even more quickly. It was only two days later that you let him pet you for the first time. The following day when you unintentionally chuffed happily when he did it again. And by now, all three of you ate at the table together with no fuss or issues.

You found yourself feeling so much more relaxed at home, and it made you a lot happier. But, you still couldn’t ignore that you missed Yoongi a lot. Something about being apart from him for what was two weeks now was really getting to you, almost like a piece of yourself was missing.

You were also starting to feel really achy. You had mentioned it to Seokjin, and he said he’d been feeling the same. He figured at first that it was just him getting used to the new, actually comfortable bed, but it got a little worse every day. You thought maybe you should let Hoseok know, maybe something was wrong. But you didn’t want to impose on him, making him spend money on a hybrid vet for you.

Today the aches were really bad so you decided to take a nap, hoping you would feel better after some rest. You rarely took naps, usually just slept at night with your brother. But he wasn’t tired, so you napped by yourself while he was no doubt watching some show on TV as usual. When his comforting presence was next to you while sleeping, you didn’t have nightmares as frequently so you tried not to sleep without him very much now that you had the chance to. But today, you just felt like you couldn’t avoid it.

Unsurprisingly, the nightmares came. The most haunting memory from your time spent at the Hybrid House was what your mind chose to torment you with this time.

While unexpected, you were given a gift that you wanted to keep oh so badly. But you knew that they wouldn’t let you. You knew that once the time was up and the gift had arrived, it’d be ripped away from you just as quickly. You hoped to at least hold them, get your scent on them even a little. But no, they didn’t even allow you that.

As soon as the three little miracles arrived, they were ripped away from you. Despite your exhaustion, your insides screamed, your mind recognizing they were in danger and that you needed to protect them. You yelled for the people to give them back, to please not take them away. You promised to take good care of them, they wouldn’t get in the way.

But alas, there was only one reason you were allowed to even go through with this. And it most certainly wasn’t so that you could keep them.

Just as you had when it happened, you screamed and thrashed around in your nightmare. Yelling for them to bring them back, that you needed them. That they needed you.

You were abruptly woken up from the nightmare, but still so high on your emotions and disoriented, you didn’t comprehend that you were no longer in that place.

“My cubs! Bring my cubs back!” you wailed, thrashing for another moment before your eyes registered your surroundings.

Your heart began to slow down, realizing that there were no threats around, that you had been merely dreaming. You looked around you, expecting the hand on your shoulder that shook you awake to belong to Seokjin as it usually was. But when you turned to look, it wasn’t him that had woken you from your agitated dream state.

It was Yoongi.

Your eyes widened, realizing that he had heard you cry about cubs, and fear welled in you over the questions that were bound to come.

“It’s okay, Y/n,” he said, voice calm as he pulled you closer to him in a gentle but protective embrace. “You’re safe, no one is hurting you.”

“Wha-what are you doing here?” you asked.

“I had let Hoseok know earlier that I was able to come by today and he said that was fine,” Yoongi responded. “I’m sorry for shocking you. I guess he didn’t get to tell you.”

You breathed in his warm earthy scent that you had missed so much, letting it wash over you and calm you down. You let your senses fill with nothing but Yoongi, Yoongi, Yoongi, nearly forgetting about the memory you had just relived.

After a few minutes when Yoongi could tell you had calmed down enough, Yoongi loosened his grip enough to look you in the face. “What was your nightmare about?” he asked, his low timbre soft and relaxing. “You said something about cubs?”

You tensed back up a little, knowing you didn’t really have a way out of this. You nodded, not trusting your voice at the moment.

“Do you want to talk about it?” He ran one of his hands through your hair, scratching at the spot behind your ears that he knew would soothe and keep you relaxed.

You turned your head to hide your face in his chest again, unsure of how you wanted to answer.

Just a moment later, you heard someone else walk into the room, Seokjin’s citrus scent reaching your nose. “Is she okay?” he asked.

“I think so,” Yoongi responded. “She was definitely having a nightmare, but”- he hesitated for a brief moment –“she said something about… cubs? Do you know anything about that, hyung?”

You tilted your head up to look at your brother, his eyes meeting yours in a silent question. You hesitated still, so he remained silent as well.

Yoongi hummed. “Okay. I understand, it’s something that must be a sensitive topic, and based on the subject I don’t doubt it is. I won’t force you to talk about anything.” He let out a breath as he thought. “But I want you to know that if there’s something wrong, I might be able to help you. I understand if you don’t want to talk, but if you do then maybe it’s something I can help with.”

“Help?” Seokjin asked in a soft voice. “What do you mean help?”

“I came here because yes, I did want to see you guys and how you were doing,” Yoongi said, “but I also had something I wanted to tell you. I couldn’t risk saying anything while you were at the shelter, and had to make sure I could trust Hoseok first as well, but I’m positive that I can so now I wanted to explain something to you. Let me do that first, okay?” He turned back to you. “Then, if you decide after that that you want to tell me about your nightmare, then you can. But only if you want. Sounds good?”

You thought for a moment, eyes still on your brother who tightly smiled at you, before nodding.

“Okay,” Yoongi said. “How about we go out to the living room? I want to say this to Hoseok as well.”

You moved to stand up, Yoongi holding onto your hand to support you along the way, and Jin joining your other side with a hand on your back as you began walking out of the room.

“Is everything okay?” Hoseok asked, a concerned look on his face and standing up as you entered the living room.

“She had a nightmare,” Yoongi said, thankfully vaguely. “She’ll be fine.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Hoseok asked.

“Most nights,” Jin answered. “It’s not as bad now as before, when I’m there with her. But sometimes they are still bad.”

The three of you sat down together on the couch, your brother on one side of you and Yoongi on the other.

“But we’ll talk about that in a little bit, right noona?” Yoongi asked, hand returning to its place by your ears. You nodded in response. “I have something I actually wanted to talk to you about today,” Yoongi said.

“Oh, okay,” Hoseok said. “Sure, what’s up?”

“I wanted to tell you guys about my real job,” Yoongi said.

“Real job?” you asked. “What do you mean real job?”

He took in a breath before replying, “I don’t actually work for the shelter. I mean, I’m technically employed there, they think I work for them. But I don’t.”

Seokjin furrowed his eyebrows, expressing everyone’s confusion. “What do you mean you don’t work for them?”

“I’m there undercover,” Yoongi said. “My mission is to gather as much evidence as I can so that my real boss can submit a court case against the shelter and get it shut down.”

You were still pretty confused, but Hoseok seemed like he understood better than you, expression lighting up. “You mean, you work for one of those places that help hybrids? Like, rescue them from bad owners, shut down black markets and bad shelters, stuff like that?”

“Yes, exactly,” Yoongi confirmed. “Being in that place is absolute hell,” he said, rubbing his face. “I hate watching how they treat the hybrids there, and the people there are disgusting. Well, at least most of them. I think that the vet is being made to work there somehow based on what he said to me when I took Y/n there that day. And not everyone knows everything that goes on there. But I’m going to be so glad when I get enough evidence and don’t need to deal with those people anymore.”

“Oh, so you are there because you want to get them shut down?” you asked. “Because they’re bad?”

“Yes,” Yoongi said, turning to you. “That’s why I always seemed different than the others to you. Not every shelter is that bad, even the other ones that should be shut down as well. Most shelters have more people who are sympathetic and don’t treat hybrids like animals without even letting them be animals. But that one, it’s one of the worst in the region, and we’ve tried to get them shut down before but apparently didn’t have enough evidence to. So they sent me in to work from the inside and I’ve slowly been gathering evidence. You’d be surprised how hard it is to shut down these kinds of places. They need mountains of proof of abuse to even consider it.”

“So that’s why it’s taking so long then?” Seokjin supplied. “Because you’ve been there for at least a year.”

“Precisely. We think we almost have enough evidence. Once my boss tells me that I can get out of there, I’m booking it.”

“That explains why you worked so hard to make sure noona got out of there, too,” Hoseok added.

“No matter who it was, I would have tried my best to keep that from happening to them,” Yoongi answered. “But I won’t lie and say I didn’t develop a soft spot for Y/n.” He turned to you and smiled. “I call her my Daylily.”

You felt yourself blush at the admission. “I still don’t know what that means,” you mumbled.

“But I told you you’d have time to figure it out, didn’t I?”

You smiled, remembering how confident he was that you wouldn’t spend your last day in that shelter when you had given up all hope. “You did.”

“So, what I’m saying is that I work for a company that helps hybrids,” Yoongi summarized. He looked at you, conviction in his gaze. “If there’s hybrids in need then we want to help however we can. And if you know someone who needs help, I will do everything I can to see what we can do.”

You felt a lump in your throat. You knew what he was talking about. Your cubs. The cubs that you didn’t outright admit to having, but he must have been pretty sure exist after hearing you wake from your nightmare. Looking to your brother, you saw his eyes wide with hope, but he stayed silent, wanting you to take that first step to ask.

“My cubs,” you whispered, sure that it was quiet enough that Hoseok couldn’t hear. “You could find them?”

“Maybe,” Yoongi replied, rubbing comforting circles on your back with his hand. “I can’t say for sure, but I could let my team know that there are hybrid children in need. But if we’re going to look for them, I need you to give me as much information as possible.”

Your ears flattened to your head, unsure if you could talk about what happened. Looking to Jin for support, he offered you a soft smile and reached his hand out to grasp yours.

“Do you want me to tell him? And are you okay with Hoseok hearing?” Jin asked.

You bit your lip, anxious about anyone knowing at all, but knowing that it was best to tell them for the sake of your babies. You ultimately nodded, turning into your brother for comfort. This was something that you couldn’t get through without him.

He didn’t hesitate to pull you fully into his lap, you making yourself small as you tucked your legs in and hid your face in his neck, scenting him.

“We told Hoseok about this recently,” Jin started. “About our second owner. Where we were before we escaped and lived on the street for a bit. It was a Hybrid House.”

Yoongi’s eyes widened in shock before his mouth downturned, sadness dulling his scent. “I always wondered,” he mumbled. “I never wanted to ask.”

“We had to have been there a few years before it happened,” Jin said. “We told them that Y/n couldn’t take any male patrons, that she was too close to her breeding cycle. But the guy requesting her was a regular and she was his favorite. He always requested her, and wouldn't take anyone else. And they didn’t want to turn him away, so they took her to the room. There were always things for protection provided in the rooms, but customers rarely used them. Y/n told me she even asked him to, told him she was too close, but he didn’t care. He…. He hit her for even suggesting it.”

You could feel both Yoongi and Hoseok gradually tensing up as your brother talked, the former scooting a little closer to you to place a hand on your knee comfortingly.

There were many unpleasant memories from your time there, but most of them blurred together. A bunch of people who didn’t care if they hurt you, people who liked odd things that you were uncomfortable with but had to do anyway. People who intentionally hurt you. But that day will always remain separate in your mind. That was the day that you were bred.

“A week later, I could smell that she was pregnant,” Seokjin said. “We were so scared. We knew from the small interactions with others at the House that if that ever happened, they didn’t let it finish. There was no way of hiding it, but trying to tell a hybrid that they weren’t allowed to keep their babies rarely ever went over well. We decided that it was better if we told them sooner rather than later, make sure that Y/n at least wouldn’t be at risk of getting as hurt.

“But,” Seokjin continued, sighing shakily, “when we told them, they decided they weren’t going to do that. That they’d let her have the babies because we’re a highly sought after breed. They wanted her to have the babies so that they could take them away from her as soon as they were born and sell them.” You couldn’t help the tear that fell when your brother said it like that.

“And what’s even more sick is-“ he paused, glancing at you before he said what he wanted to. You knew what he was thinking about, his rising anger obvious to you. You nodded, letting him know it was okay to say. “They advertised her for the fact that she was pregnant. It was a thing some of the patrons liked and wanted her for. Even when she was close to finishing her term, they didn’t care. They still had her working.”

The anger in the room wasn’t only coming from your brother anymore, but also the two humans. It didn’t necessarily scare you since your natural instincts were to fight back in the case of an aggressive threat, but it did make you feel insecure and you curled up further.

“And just as they promised, once she delivered the babies, they were taken from her,” Jin pushed out through clenched teeth. “They didn’t let her scent them, or even hold them before they took them from her. Just took them to sell them off as soon as possible.” Seokjin took in a shaky breath. “We don’t know what happened to them.”

“How many?” Yoongi gently asked.

“Three,” you replied. “Two boys and a girl.”

Yoongi nodded before looking into your eyes. “I’m so sorry they did that to you. Places like that shouldn’t even exist, and no one ever has any right to forcibly take someone’s child away from them.” He breathed deeply, seeming to gather his emotions before he spoke again. “If we’re going to have any chance of finding them, I’ll need to know a rough time frame of when this happened. Your files say when you were transferred to this second owner, and when you were picked up off the street. But anything in between isn’t going to be there. How long before you guys escaped did you have the cubs?”

You thought for a moment. “I want to say it was probably about two months?”

Jin nodded. “That sounds about right. And then we were on the street for probably six months or so.”

“Okay so about eight months before you would have been taken to the shelter,” Yoongi summarized. “I can work with that. I’m assuming that the person who bought you from your first family used a false name to stay hidden since he was involved in a black market. But with that information and with my team, we may be able to trace it back to who it was and where this House may have been.” He paused, squeezing your leg a little tighter where his hand rested. “Thank you for telling me all this,” he said. “I promise that we’ll try to find them.”

“You will?” you asked, feeling emotional. Was it possible that you could really see your cubs again?

“I promise we’ll do our best,” Yoongi said.

You leapt out of Jin’s lap and into Yoongi’s, wrapping your arms around him tightly and scenting him out of gratitude. “Thank you, Yoongi. Thank you, thank you,” you mumbled, a few tears rolling down your cheeks as he held onto you to keep you from falling out of his lap.

You couldn’t believe that Yoongi, the angel that he was, could possibly give you the chance to find out what happened to your cubs, and maybe even the chance to see them once more. It was the best thing you could ever ask for.

“Anything for you, Daylily,” he whispered back, quietly enough that Hoseok wouldn’t have been able to hear.

Speaking of Hoseok, he hadn’t spoken for a while. You turned to look at him, seeing a really blank expression on his face with his fists clenched, bunching up the material of his pants.

Jin followed your gaze. “Hobi?” he asked.

“You didn’t deserve any of that,” Hoseok said quietly. “Neither of you deserve anything that you’ve been through. Being sold to that House, being forced onto the street because of it, the shelter… It all makes me so angry that humans thinking they’re so much better than hybrids causes so much unnecessary suffering with people who don’t deserve any of it.”

“That’s why I chose my job,” Yoongi said. “I couldn’t stand it so much that I wanted to do something to help. And unfortunately, we can’t save or help everyone, but we do our best. With the number of hybrids we’ve been able to help, seeing them go on to live happier, more fulfilling lives, it makes me feel like I have a purpose in the world. After hearing all of that, I’m infinitely happier that Hoseok adopted you two. You seem happy here.”

“We are,” Jin said. “It took Y/n a little bit to warm up to Hoseok, after everything that she’s been through and having trust issues with people that she needed to work past. But she’s much better now.”

“Trust issues with people?” Yoongi asked incredulously, pulling away from you a bit to look you in the face. “What trust issues? I mean yeah, she obviously had an issue with the shelter workers who mistreated her, but she never had any issues with me.”

Seokjin shrugged. “Who knows.”

“Maybe you’re ‘true mates,’” Hoseok mused.

You turned to him curiously. “True mates?”

“You don’t know what a true mate is?” Hoseok asked. “That’s what Jimin and Jungkook are. I had to look it up when they mentioned it, but basically from what I gathered, Jungkook could just feel that Jimin was his. He knew they were meant to be together. Said that it would feel like something important was missing when they were apart, even before they officially became mates.”

Your face scrunched as you thought. How could you tell if someone was your true mate? Yeah, you almost immediately warmed up to and trusted Yoongi and your feelings toward him very rapidly developed into something much less platonic. But you always just figured that you got used to him so easily because you so desperately needed the care and affection he offered. But then again, feeling like something was missing when you’re apart? Yeah, you most definitely felt that. You’d have to figure that out sometime, and hopefully soon. Maybe it was possible.

Done worrying about it for the moment, your mind returned to the present and you saw Yoongi looking at you curiously, as if he was trying to figure you out. Realizing you were still sitting in his lap, you tried to nonchalantly slide back onto the couch. Yoongi’s hold on you didn’t let go so easily, but he still made no move to stop you, letting you settle next to your brother once more.

“Oh yeah, maybe Yoongi could answer that question we had about the aches?” Seokjin asked, seeming to change the topic due to you being uncomfortable with continuing that last vein of thought.

“Aches?” Hoseok and Yoongi both asked at the same time.

“Yeah,” Jin continued. “Y/n and I have been feeling achy, kind of sore all over after coming here. We’re not sure why, but we can’t seem to get rid of it. Sometimes it’s really bad.”

Next to you, Yoongi seemed to be deep in thought.

“Maybe I should take you guys to the hybrid vet,” Hoseok said.

“No!” you countered. “I don’t want to trouble you with that.”

“It’s not a problem, Y/n,” Hoseok insisted. “You’re my responsibility and I wouldn’t want you to be sick or anything. If something’s wrong, I’d rather you get checked out.”

“Really, I’m sure it’s no big deal,” you said.

“Have you guys shifted recently?” Yoongi asked.

“Shifted?” Jin asked. “What do you mean?”

“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Yoongi asked, looking confused. “Have you guys shifted at all lately?”

“We don’t know what you mean by shifted,” you responded.

Yoongi opened and closed his mouth before turning to Hoseok.

“Can they shift?” Hoseok asked.

“Yes,” Yoongi said. “Didn’t the shelter tell you they’re natural hybrids?”

“No, they never said anything,” Hoseok responded.

“Natur- what?” You and Seokjin were utterly confused at this point.

Yoongi raised his eyebrows at you. “You guys don’t know?” When you continued to look at him like he grew an extra head, he sighed. “I can’t believe you’re fully adult hybrids and have never been told, or even seen it, especially since you lived on the street for a bit. Didn’t you feel achy when you lived on your own, too?”

“I mean, yeah,” Seokjin shrugged. “But we were sleeping on the hard ground so we figured that was to be expected.”

“Okay, history and biology lesson time then,” Yoongi said, turning fully to face the both of you. “There are two kinds of hybrids. The first, naturally occurring hybrids that have been around for a long time and eventually started to integrate in human society, which obviously hadn’t gone that great for them, but that’s a story for another time. And two, the kind that crazy scientists created from experimenting, attempting to replicate the already existing natural hybrids.

“Natural hybrids,” Yoongi continued, “can shift between the form you’re currently in and one that fully resembles their animal counterpart. And hybrids who were created from a lab, or descended from those created in a lab, are incapable of shifting since humans couldn’t replicate the shifting process in their experiments. You guys”—he gestured between you and Seokjin—“are in the first category. Your lineage is descended from natural hybrids.”

Your eyes widened. “What? We can become full-on tigers?!”

“Well, you can shift into one, yes,” Yoongi said. “Technically you’re still a hybrid no matter which form you take. When you shift, you’d appear exactly as a tiger but maintain your more abstract human traits, like your conscience and emotional intelligence. And when you’re in this current form, you can’t get rid of your tails or ears, but otherwise appear almost entirely human except for those animal traits, as well as retaining your natural instincts based on your breed and heightened senses.”

Both you and Jin remained silent for a few moments as you digested the information. Eventually, your brother was the one to break it. “How come we never knew? And how do you know we are natural hybrids?”

Yoongi pulled out his phone and started searching for something while he talked. “Well the first one, I’m not quite sure. But I’d assume it has something to do with the fact that you’ve been living in places that supplied you with medication that suppressed your need and ability to shift. There was a pill you were given at the shelter, which I assume you’ve been given since your first owners… Ah, this one.” He turned the phone around, the image of a particular pill you were very familiar with on the screen.

You nodded. “Yeah, we’ve always been given those. Before we were adopted, and at the Hybrid House, too.”

Yoongi visibly cringed when you mentioned the House. “Yeah, I’m not surprised. But these pills, their job is to suppress your natural need and urge to shift. Now that you’re off of them, I’m guessing your bodies are aching because they feel the need to let out your tiger half. Which wouldn’t surprise me, if you’ve spent I’m assuming your whole lives in this form.”

“Okay, that would make sense,” Jin said. “But how did you know we’re natural hybrids?”

“For two reasons. One, because I know you had been given this pill at the shelter. And two, it’s on your files, which I have seen. And that Hoseok should have seen.” Yoongi turned to look at the mentioned human, you and Jin following his lead.

“What?” the human practically squeaked. “No, they didn’t give me their files when I adopted them. I asked for them and they said they’d get them to me, but I still haven’t gotten them.”

Yoongi sighed. “This shelter, I swear… Took, what? Three weeks to get Seokjin’s file updated with his new owner information, didn’t let the person who was adopting two natural tiger hybrids know that they even were natural, and now they didn’t even give you their files? I can’t wait for this place to get shut down.”

“So, I guess they should probably shift now and then, huh?” Hoseok said.

“Yeah, that would be best,” Yoongi said. “Unless you want to put them on the medica-”

“No, definitely not,” Hoseok interrupted. “I don’t believe in that stuff. If they can shift, they should shift.”

“Okay, well that’s a relief to hear, I won’t lie,” Yoongi said.

“But how?” you asked. “How are we supposed to shift?”

“It’s tricky for me to explain since I’m not a hybrid,” Yoongi said before taking a moment to think. “Hoseok, did you mention a bit ago about another hybrid you know? Is he a natural hybrid?”

“Who? Jungkook?” Hoseok asked. “Yeah, he’s my friend Jimin’s mate. He’s a natural hybrid. Jimin also happens to be the son from Y/n and Jin’s first family.”

“Oh,” Yoongi said, blinking a few times. “Are you… on good terms?”

“Yes,” Seokjin answered. “He’s like family to us.”

“Oh okay, good,” Yoongi said. “Well, maybe he could help explain it to you guys. I would suck at explaining it, seeing as I’m human and have no idea what it feels like to shift.”

“Okay, we’ll ask him,” you said.

“Well, I’m glad that I was able to get that cleared up,” Yoongi said. “It was a really good thing I came by. I’m glad you guys are doing well, that you’re happy with Hoseok.” Yoongi’s eyes met yours, his expression hard to read and making you wonder what he was thinking. “Make sure to talk to this Jungkook soon about shifting, okay? And I’m going to be talking to my team first thing tomorrow about your cubs, Y/n. I can’t guarantee we’ll find anything, but I promise that we’ll do our absolute best. I would love to stay, but I do have a lot of stuff to do for the case against the shelter, so I have to go.”

“Would you be able to come by again?” you asked, not sure how you’d feel if he said no.

“Of course,” he responded easily, giving you a soft smile. “I’d love to see you again soon. I don’t know when I can, but I’ll keep in touch with Hoseok.”

“Sounds good,” your owner chimed in.

Yoongi gave you and Jin each one last scratch at the ears as he said goodbye. Maybe you imagined it, but you felt like he lingered on yours a little bit longer.

Just as he was opening the door, you suddenly remembered something. “Oh! Yoongi!” you called out. He turned around, looking at you curiously. “How’s Taehyung?”

“He’s good,” Yoongi answered. “I let him know as soon as you were adopted. He cried another river in relief that you were okay. He says he feels a bit more lonely now, but I’m making sure to keep close to him.”

“What will happen to him when the shelter is shut down?” Jin asked.

Yoongi pursed his lips. “I’m not sure. I’m hoping to have a potential owner lined up for him by then. If not, then he’ll probably end up in another shelter like most of the other hybrids there will be. A good shelter, one that won’t see them as disposable.”

You weren’t sure what kind of answer you were looking for, but just knowing he was okay made relief wash over you. “Tell him we say hi?” you asked.

Smiling Yoongi said, “Definitely.” And then, he was out the door.

You already missed him.

You definitely had questions other than the shifting to ask Jungkook about.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Tags: @aroseforyoongi​ @shadowsremedy​

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#bts fanfic #yoongi x reader #thebtswritersclub #btswriterscollective #btsbookclub #hybrid!au #hybrid!reader #hybrid!seokjin #suga x reader #min yoongi x reader #fluff #angst #hybrid fic

[inkyfishesii]

Ghosts ask 37 and 28 for the captain

Super duper thanks, anonymous!

37. What do you think [the Captain] was like when they were alive? Do you think they were exactly the same as they are now, or do you think there were any major or minor differences?

okay so SIMILAR to my previous post on this, I subscribe to the idea that the ghosts are imperfect snapshots of the person at the time of their death, rather than a whole human person.

When the Captain died, he was - obviously - acting as a Captain in the British Army. This was such a strong element in his life - possibly because he was so desperately trying to repress his sexuality - that his ghost lacks so much of the nuance of an actual human person. To the level where - sometimes - I’m not even sure whether he remembers his name (see below answer!).

Of all the ghosts, I think the Captain would be the most different in life. He would certainly be a good leader, an intelligent officer, and a bit fussy - and certainly when he died these qualities would have been of upmost importance to him - but he also would have had all this extra stuff - a family, a home - which would have complimented and broadened him.

28. Top 5 headcanons for [the Captain]?

As per the above, I don’t think he actively knows his name. I think he can remember it, but it takes effort - it’s something distant. Like, trying to remember the name of whoever sat next to you in your first primary school classroom.

Died of a hernia. A post which noted that there was some foreshadowing along those lines has set it pretty certain in my head now. I’m imagining they were doing fitness manoeuvres in the Button House grounds and for some reason - maybe to impress a senior officer, to convince them of his fitness to go to war? - he over-exerted himself and corked it.

He was a smoker when he died and most of his irritableness is permanent nicotine withdrawal.

He was the quickest to accept that he was a ghost. It was almost a relief. After being explained what had happened, learning the rules to it, he could just, you know. Keep calm and carry on.

Owned a whole lineage of pedigree dogs, all suited and booted with KC registration (assuming the KC existed back then). He had them all trained, could control them with the slightest whistle, spoiled them rotten.

#ask games #bbc ghosts #the captain

[pinkbunnygirlwattpad]

I’ve been writing a fanfiction based off this image for DBD Ghostface and I think it’s going pretty well. I still have to write the rest of it, reread it and edit it but it’s going pretty well. I think I might be half way through it but idk depends. Underneath is about a third of what I have so far.

Warning: Stalking, Danny being a pervert, murder(?), mentions of sex, other things

Summary: Reader is a closeted age-regressor but Danny is nosy so he’ll know

Daddy’s Little Girl

Danny had been stalking you for a while, much longer than any of his other victim but that was because you were special. He had seen you whilst he was at some house party with cheap liquor and horny idiots practically fucking on the walls and floor, he bitterly thought that it was more like an orgy than the drinking fest the host wanted it to be. Your friend had dragged you to the piss poor excuse for a party and one look into those round, doe eyes had given him the feeling he had when he saw someone he knew had to be one of his victims. He examined you closer while you were there and saw how your whole being exuded purity, from the way your hair looked so soft and the way your skin looked like a blanket made of silk. It was your face that really made him want you, though. Your lips were parted slightly, and you had slightly chubby cheeks, giving them a squishy, bouncy texture that made you look more like a child. But what made him really hooked was the innocent gleam in your eyes when you looked around the room.

 He followed you throughout the night and it made him much more excited about what he was going to do to you when he saw the oblivious state you were in with every guy who flirted with you. It would be so easy to trick you, unlike his previous victims who would have never been interested in some reported with a heart of gold, you would immediately fall for that shtick. He wanted to have sex for the pure gratification of corrupting you. Clinging to your friend all night had made it hard to get close to you but no matter, not when he could stalk you, find out your interests and then sweep you off your feet.

 It had not been hard to find out about you, it is what he does best. You were too busy worrying over your friend to notice a mysterious figure behind you. Danny even had fun of being obvious about it, but you didn’t notice a thing, a kind of obviousness that was hard to find in Roseville where all the people were cut-throat due to the high population of rich people in the area and harsh jobs that were specialised in that area. Your friend wouldn’t help either due to their pathetic drunken state. Thinking in this direction was getting Danny worked up and would leave him with a boner if he were not careful.

 After some time and a quick walk down a path in the nearby woods, you were home in your cottage with a white-picketed fence, beautiful flowers of all colours blooming in the front and some along the stone path leading to the back. The fences seemed to be more for décor reasons than serving an actual purpose since Danny knew that this particular land was quite spacious. You lead your friend inside and, from the window in the front, Danny observed you catering to your very drunk friend. He noted that the inside of the house were pastels and had lots of fantasy, fairy, cottagecore and light academia vibes. He did have to admit, even though he didn’t care for interior design aside from to keep up appearances, he appreciated something so beautiful like that.

 Now knowing where you live and marking it down in his black, pleather (he may kill people, but he wasn’t so heartless!) journal, he left for the night to get some rest. This was the first time in awhile he felt this excited for killing! Don’t get him wrong, killing was fun but it got monotonous to kill the same types of people over and over again. It was exciting to spicy his routine up a bit.

 Danny had been stalking you for 3 weeks and 4 days. He had taken pictures of you throughout that time, at your job, with your friends, when your alone and even in the shower! He did feel guilty about it for a few seconds before he decided that he was entitled to see your body if you had bad security in the first place that allowed people like him to get in. During the duration of this time, he had begun to psychoanalyse you and what your behaviour means, how your body language was an indication of your emotions and built a profile for you within his mind palace (it was easy with his photographic memory). You were so wholesome most of the time, whereas you did occasionally participate in conversations of kins, for the majority, you didn’t want to talk about sex or anything that came anywhere close. Something he also observed was that you had a tendency to not talk in ‘big words’ a lot of the time and he could list so much more that you did but that would be ranting. You bought many plushies, colouring books and ready-made snacks like chicken/tofu nuggets and yoghurt pots, stuff traditionally children liked. Although it made sense seeing how you were the go-to babysitter for the majority of your co-workers and friends, as well as distant neighbours and relatives. Plus, who didn’t enjoy hugging or collecting plushies? And Danny himself was a big fan of ready-made meals due to the time consumed by his work and ‘hobby’.

 Packages were often delivered to your house, at least from what he had seen but maybe it was a wave of them at once, like a spree shopper may do. The thing that intrigued him most to the contents of those deliveries was the way you were very protective over them, not letting anyone see even though you thought you had nothing to worry about. It made him want to know what you might be doing with them or what was in them. For all he knew, it could be something from the dark web, something disgusting and vile that would make you a devil in angel form. Entertaining this idea made him more desperate to find out what it was. And he would.

 He had snuck into your house after you had gone to work so he knew he had a long time before you came home. Once he was inside after going through your unlocked window, (what a forgetful, little thing) he saw a pile of discarded clothes. Approaching the crumpled garments, he picked up a shirt and smelled it. Yep, it was dirty laundry. It sent a shiver of excitement up Danny’s spine from excitement. Oh, what a naughty bunny you were, leaving him such a tantalizing gift. If he didn’t know better, it would seem like you were hoping to rile him up. During this stalking periods as he called it, you became dissimilar to his previous victims who pull a dark desire straight from the depths of his heart where his sick fantasies were locked from the world, you made him want something different than what he already experienced with them. He thought that it could be a new way to kill you, one only for you and designed to be the perfect art form in which to send you off to the afterlife. Of course, he was beginning to realise it was different to this. But back to why he was there.

 Looking around, he spotted one of the boxes that had been opened on your bed with objects seemingly thrown haphazardly into it. He nearly ran up to it he was so exhilarated from the rush of finding out what you were hiding from him. Not that he couldn’t make as much noise as he wanted, your cottage was 40 minutes from the outskirts of the city, which wasn’t the safest environment anyways, and 3 hours away in all other directions from anywhere containing sane, human life.

 Once within reaching distance, he picked it up without peaking in and sat on your soft bed. His hands were trembling from a strong surge of adrenaline and, without wanting to torture himself further, began to look through it. He prayed to find anything that made you deceitful and like him but what he saw wasn’t what he expected.

 Adult pacifiers, shortalls, sippy cups and more items similar to them were inside it. His initial thought was that you were into age play, but he doubted it, even if you were, you wouldn’t use anything this expensive in your casual hook-ups. Now that he knew what was in the box, he had even more questions which wasn’t what he had expected. With a new determination, he had arranged everything back into its original position and left your cottage to collect his thoughts and write down his questions at his base of operation. As he was driving back to the house he bought, he went down to his basement where he kept all his hunting equipment locked in. Looking at the corkboard he used to pin information about his current target, he methodically updated your information. As he did, he realised that he couldn’t stop smiling. This was new, having reached this level of excitement from his victim, it only made his obsession grow bigger for you. Oh, how you would regret going to that party that night.

#danny johnson x reader #danny johnson #dead by daylight #DBD Ghostface

[peachyteez]

angel nurse ≫ DAY THREE, LEAP OF FAITH

this fox hybrid was brought into the recovery facility covered in scratches, whip marks, blood, and every other injury you could imagine. due to this, yeosang has trouble trusting humans, as he was afraid they could just hurt him all over again. until he meets jiyu, his “angel nurse”.

PART OF THE HEAVEN SERIES.

✧ taglist: @defsoul15, @jaeminpeachy, @joongiebug, @sunsethw4, @t-tbinnie, @chanyeolol, @danibookmarks, @hello-its-ya-boi, @murralyn, @alienmashup, @panini, @moon8894, @koasworld, @taetae123094, @luv3rxcha, @treasure-hwa, @etherealbyeol, @hwaseongzzz, @lovely-sanie, @orbitiiny, @pirate-of-the-dark-seas, @babydolljo, @ms-starlight, @everrrlasting, @bls-luv-me, @atzgiggle, @arohabyeol, @rainbowmagicpixecorn, @soverystupid, @ayetothezee, @kingalls00, @sanstreasure0305, @sparklingmallow, @peachseok

✧ notes: seojin is a made up character! refer to the following to maybe play a little game? ⬇️

if you can guess who i visualized seojin as, there may or may not be a little surprise :)

hint: i visualized him off a webtoon character!

hint: said webtoon has to do with vampires

there’s also a small description of him in the story 👀

back。| next。

yeonjun pinched his nose bridge as he tried processing his dear best friend’s words. “so how do you plan on helping him recover if...you’re not going to see him in person?” he asked. 

jiyu bit the inside of her cheek in thought. “i haven’t figured that out yet. but i don’t think it’s a good idea for him to be exposed to human interactions yet. he seemed so closed off and unwilling to cooperate when i came in yesterday.” she said.

“but do you really think he’ll warm up to people when he’s in there by himself?” yeonjun asked. “it’s not like he'll magically—”

“i know, i know,” she groaned before running her hand through her hair. for once, she was stumped on what to do. she didn’t want to force him to break his walls down, but she didn’t want to leave him alone for too long. 

“maybe i can ask taehyun to talk to him?” yeonjun offered. “he told me they’re friends.”

she shook her head. “i don’t want to make it look like we’re using his friends to have him cooperate. if anything, it could push him further into his shell.”

yeonjun quietly chuckled before ruffling her hair. “well, seojin checked up on him earlier and he looked to be okay. physically, he looked to be recovering from his injuries, but he looked to have a lot on his mind, according to seojin anyways.” 

seojin was one of the hybrid assistants that the facility employs to help patients settle into their new, temporary living space. jiyu remembered him; he used to be one of her former patients before getting adopted by a new family. after settling in, he decided to return to the facility as a caretaker assistant. coincidentally, he was assigned as jiu’s hybrid assistant. small world.

“is that so...?” she mused. “where’s seojin? i might ask him a few questions.”

“last time i saw him, he was in the break room.”

making a beeline for the break room, she saw the familiar tabby hybrid sitting and sipping at his milk carton. 

“oh? miss jiyu! it’s been a while,” seojin greeted as jiyu took the seat across from him. jiyu did a double take at how much he had changed compared to the last time she saw him. he was no longer a small, frail tabby cat hybrid; he now looked to be thriving, buff might she even add. he even dyed his hair red, although a bit darker than mingi’s.

“why does no one ever listen to me when i tell them to drop the ‘miss’?” she playfully groaned.

“sorry, force of habit,” he chuckled, referring to his time spent under her care. “but what’s up?”

“you checked on the new fox hybrid this morning, right?” she asked. 

one of seojin’s ears twitched as he tilted his head. “the grumpy one? then yes, i did.”

“you say that as if you weren’t grumpy yourself,” she wryly commented with a chuckle. “i had enough scratches to tell.”

he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. “anyways, yeah, i checked up on him this morning. poor guy seemed lost in his own thoughts. he spent most of the time looking out the window with this distant look in his eyes,” he recounted. “i managed to get his name, though. it’s yeosang.”

“yeosang...” she said to herself. the name sounded so smooth as it rolled off her tongue. “is he...better?”

seojin pursed his lips. “i asked him if he was willing to let people here help him, but he seemed to shut down at the thought. but i gave him a small pep talk, too so there's maybe a slim chance that his mind cracked a little.”

she thoughtfully nodded. “i can understand here he comes from though. being abandoned by people you love into a harsher reality is never fun. nor will it be easy to forgive,” she mindlessly commented. “but i need to check up on him sooner or later, i can’t just leave him in there by himself for who knows how long. i just...don’t know how to approach him,” she said, wracking her brain for any new ideas. 

“maybe you just need to show him like how you did with that tiger hybrid. hongjoong, i believe was his name? during my visits with him, i saw how he changed after each day,” he said. “coming from a hybrid that was treated here, we all come in a little skeptic and hesitant about accepting help from humans, when they were sometimes the root of our problems and why we ended up here in the first place. but you all never gave up on us, and still treated us with care and kindness. it may be part of your job description but we all still appreciate your efforts since we never received much prior to being here.”

jiyu was touched by his words, and also found solace in them. she was glad that majority of the hybrids found comfort and love here. after all, that was the primary goal of their recovery process: to accept a helping hand from their caretakers, form a trust connection with them. “...i’m glad to hear that.”

a small grin was plastered on seojin’s face. “what i’m trying to say is, yeosang might be a little bit more closed off than the others, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t yearn for love and kindness like the rest of us.” finishing his milk, he stood up to throw the carton away and leave. he bent down and booped his head with her’s, giving it the smallest of nuzzles. “i’m sure your hybrids won’t appreciate my scent on you, so take this small nuzzle and good luck!” he childishly grinned before leaving the break room. 

watching the tabby cat hybrid leave the room, she chuckled as she watched his tail sway back and forth before she was left alone with her own thoughts. “in a way, i guess he's right...she mused to herself. “alright then, i’ll pay him a visit tomorrow,” she promised herself, the plants by the windowsill being her only witnesses. with the promise, she left the break room to return to the office. as she passed by yeosang’s room, she resolved her promise again.

in his room, yeosang was curled up in the hospital bed as he replayed the conversation he had with seojin a few hours before. 

“will you be willing to allow the people here to help?” seojin asked as he joined yeosang by the window, looking out at the different hybrids wandering around with their caretakers. 

yeosang was silent. he still didn’t know if he could take another potential betrayal. how would he end up? where would he end up? looking back down outside at the various hybrids, although he would never admit, he was envious of them. envious at how they were able to open up so easily to others, envious at how they were able to smile freely without a care in the world, and envious at how they managed to form a connection with other humans. 

seojin observed yeosang’s expressions and slightly smiled before returning his gaze back outside. “i was here once, too,” he admitted, earning yeosang’s attention. “and i had jiyu as my caretaker, too.”

yeosang remembered the female that came in the previous day and inwardly cringed at how awkward they regarded each other. 

“and i was like you, too. got hurt pretty bad by my old owners, not to mention other people when i became a stray. and not to mention i gave jiyu enough scratches for a lifetime,” he chuckled. “but she never gave up on me. she always came back at the same time, whether it be for medical checkups or just for a casual hello—”

“why are you telling me this?” yeosang quietly interrupted before feeling a sharp pain on his side. grimacing, he clutched onto his side and slightly bent over from the unexpected pain. 

seojin immediately helped him to sit back on the bed before checking his wound and changing the bandages. while preparing the cotton ball and tweezers for the ointment, seojin gently smiled. “i told you because i thought maybe it’d help you relax a little bit while being here,” he said before spreading ointment on yeosang’s gash. “maybe if you heard some personal experiences, maybe i can help you open up a little.”

after changing yeosang’s bandages, seojin started preparing to leave. “maybe give jiyu a chance. i can guarantee she won’t harm you. actually, she’s more prone to accidentally hurting herself rather than others,” he laughed. “see you tomorrow!”

and with that, the door slid shut behind seojin.

yeosang sighed, staring up at the rectangles on the ceiling. it was a constant game of tug-of-war in his mind. ‘yes, maybe she’s different and you can open up’ but also, ‘no, you’ve been through too much to risk it all again’. it wasn’t like he wasn’t taking seojin’s personal experience into consideration, it was just...opening up again was hard. 

how did others do it? how did they find it in themselves to be open and friendly with humans again, when humans were the reasons majority of them were there in the first place? 

either they have guts of steel, or i’m just a coward. he thought. but the scars and marks on his body were constant reminders of his old life. a life full of pain, anger, distress. fear. he never wanted to feel as much fear as he did ever again. 

but he realized that he would never be able to escape his bubble of uncertainity if he just wallowed in it. if he continued to stay how he was, he would never break the cycle of doubts.  

taking a deep breath at his revelation, he closed his eyes and steeled his nerves, making a promise to himself.

i’ll take the leap of faith. whether or not it turns out well, that’ll be fate's decision.

#9th member of ateez #ateez imagines #ateez scenarios #kang yeosang #kang yeosang imagines #yeosang imagines #yeosang scenarios #ateez yeosang #hybrid au #kpop hybrid au #hybrid!ateez #ateez hybrid #ateez au

[ohbae-me]

okay so, im about to go ham because i truly stand strong in my shoujo fantasy.

In my opinion, im pretty sure (like 89%) lucifer tells us that whenever mammon breaks off a relationship with someone, they go broke completely after. so hes had previous relationships before, as for the rest of the boys, im pretty sure lucifer has, but nothing serious, he wont let anyone in, MC is literally the only person who has pushed past his walls and seen him for more than pride. satan, 100% he has never had a relationship, levi, has had a couple of fwbs and other relationships but they always fizzle out, never lasting. asmo has never had a serious relationship, always just flings. belphie never had a serious relationship and same with beel. i truly believe MC is their first true loves, i know what youre thinking "theyve been alive for so long, theres no way someone couldnt have been special to them" but the thing is, theyre so different with MC; their entire dynamic and relationships changed with MC, MC saw them for more than their sin and got to know them to their very core, while yes the other relationships never lasted, thats not to say the boys didnt love them; but just not in the way they love MC. i believe MC to be a true love, not just a love, the difference for me is all of the boys would gladly give up chasing MC once she finds herself happy with another brother, instead of forcing them to choose yk? the "as long as youre happy, it kills me everytime i look at you smile at him, but i love you too much to let you be miserable with me" and i dont think any of them have experienced. also, with the whole "new relationship" thing, the honey moon phase, while yes every couple has it, i feel like with MC it would just, last. not to say they wouldnt have fights; ofc they would, but its different with MC, everyday the brothers would wake up and chose the option to love and fall in love all over again, speaking further on that, i dont think any of them would truly get over MC. and i mean that; (i dont think MC is going to die, obey me devs have something planned LOL, plus theyre super powerful, like the other anon said i dont think theyd be able to really function without them, even if they do "get over" mcs death at some point.) after MC dies i feel like the family dynamic wouldnt be the same, the brothers would get quieter and would never truly forget about it? and every relationship would fail because theyre not MC (you dont have to agree but i love reverse harems), like i 100% hc that after MC chooses another brother or after they die, mammon would try and try to find new flings, even after its been decades mammon finds someone whos super similar to MC, their look, personality, etc, but one wrong move and theyre out. (say MC doesnt like pickles, but the replacement for MC does, he would immediately start crying and call mc a stupid human who he shouldnt have fallen for.) anyways in conclusion, i truly dont think MC would ever die canonically in the obey me game, the devs are sneaky (love you devs), but even if they would, i really feel like they would never get truly over it. some part of me truly believes that the brothers would go back to being distant, how they were before. they would sit at the table and eat in silence, asmo would begin partying ten times harder (since we already know he uses his ego to cover up his major insecurity of people not liking him and how he feels about himself) and the brothers would become even more indugled in their sin. also, for every relationship they would have, they would just compare them to MC, and yeah but I cannot see MC dying. the other stuff about what the brothers would be like after MC dies could also be applied to when MC chooses her s/o. i think the brothers would be super fucking hurt, that was their first love, their first understanding who walked out and chose someone who wasnt them. anyways thats all, you dont have to reply i just felt like i needed to get this off of my chest, also im gonna be pretty frequent on your blog ( i love ur writing ) so im gonna call myself cake anon! have a great day! - cake anon

Hello Cake! iluuu! Thanks for this, i really love getting every ones take on these things! And there is defs a lot that i agree with here. 

I agree with the Mammon part. Out of all of the brothers, i feel he is probably the easiest to get emotionally attached in a relationship, so i see him as the one with the most previous relationships. Asmo coming in second, but his being mostly flings or poly/open relationships. I’m sure Mammon has had some serious ones as well as many flings, where Asmo’s have never been overly serious and certainly never long lasting. I’m also sure Luci has had a few, some more serious than others, but he wouldn’t get overly attached emotionally. I’m sure he’d be too busy with Diavolo since arriving, being the workaholic he is. I’m sure not many partners would be willing to deal with that level of non-commitment and emotional unavailability from him.Levi I feel like all his relationships never left that awkward early stage, and his only ‘serious’ relationships would have been strictly online, maybe a couple meetups that made him nope right out of it. Satan, again, has probably just gone on some casual dates but didn’t have much interest in actually dating rather than gaining connections. i feel like Beel is the most likely candidate to have had healthy previous relationships. He is pretty well balanced emotionally and has a good outlook on love and family values. I’m sure he’s had a few serious relationships and has dated his share of people. Belphie gives me vibes of had one or two previous serious relationships that did not end well at all and now he’s a salty sob over it lmao. 

I still don’t feel like MC is necessarily their first true love, but maybe the first different kind of love for them. MC has reached them in ways no one else has, they don’t try to change anything, they fit in well with the whole family, they understand their sins etc. I have loved a few different people in my life, and each one was such a different experience for me. The first guy i loved, i consider to be my first true love. However, it didn’t work. And then i met the man I eventually married, he wasn’t my first true love, but it was a better kind of love, yk? 

And uugghh you ripped my heart out with how the brothers would feel if MC chose a different brother!!!! Because they all would be so heartbroken it’s not them, but they really truly just want mc to be happy and cared for, and they know their brother would keep them safe and provide well. 

A few asks ago, i mentioned that the brothers would move on eventually. I think there is a big difference in moving on and getting over that I maybe didn’t articulate very well. If MC were to die or choose someone else, they would move on eventually, but they might not ever really get over it. My heart hurts just thinking about how they would feel trying to move on. Like you mentioned, the empty, quiet dinner tables, lackluster parties and festivals, it would be like they lost their best friend. (i giggled picturing your mammon scenario with the pickle because that’s exactly how he’d react to something so small lmaooo)

I also agree that i don’t think the devs will kill mc off (again), that just seems like a really crappy way to end the game!! I’m curious to see how they would make different routes go if you can only romance one of them end game, vs you being able to have them all? I wonder if we’d get a choice in the whole becoming immortal thing or not? 

Sorry if this reply was too long and rambly, i absolutely love discussing these kinds of things!! I always welcome these asks!!! 

#obey me #obey me asks #sheptalks #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me asmodeus #obey me satan #obey me leviathan #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor

[bonjour-rainycity]

Double Heart | Chapter Fourteen ~ Haldir

|previous part|

Rating: PG-13

Word count: 1754

Warnings: TW -- mentions of illness

**Read on Ao3 under the user “bonjour_rainycity” if you prefer!**

A/n Can I just say, that I TRULY believe I have some of the best readers in the entire world? Each of you is so kind, so encouraging, and you take time out of your day to read this story!! Thank you, each and every one of you, so, so much! 

Immediately after leaving Cosima’s room, I seek out Baranor. I don’t want to leave her alone and must find a task to calm my mind. Though Cosima sounded sure of her ailment being non-severe, humans are so fragile. What if she were to sway like she did earlier but didn’t have me there to catch her? She could fall to the stone floor and crack her head open.

I freeze. Should I go back?

No. I stop myself. She said she would be fine, I have to respect that. Besides, I sigh, focusing on the bigger picture. I can check on her tomorrow. In the meantime, Baranor might have insight.

It’s still early, only five o’clock or so, and Baranor is exactly where I expect him to be — the healing wards. Like me, his is not prone to taking an extended period without work.

He sees me coming and greets me with a smile, passing along a small jar to another healer clothed in a robe of pale green. “We’re attempting to develop a new salve for burns,” he explains. “What brings you to the healing wards?”

I sigh, suddenly feeling exhausted under the stress of the last twenty minutes. So much could have gone wrong. “Cosima.”

Baranor’s brow furrows in concern and he directs me to what looks to be an extra office loaned to him — it’s already covered in his belongings and notes. He sits in the oversized chair behind the desk, clasping his hands in front of him. “What happened?”

I practically sink into the chair across from him. “We agreed to meet this evening in her room so I could begin to teach her self-defense. She seemed fine when I arrived — her usual personality, bright eyes, didn’t seem tired. One second she was laughing, and the next, gasping in pain. I-I mean, Baranor, you should have seen it.” I gulp at the memory, reliving the moment Cosima’s condition shifted. “All the life left her face and she swayed like she was going to faint. I caught her and sat her on the couch but she pitched forward and nearly vomited. She said she had a headache. When the sickness and pain faded enough for her to open her eyes, she looked absolutely exhausted. She said she wants to rest so I left her room and came straight here.”

Baranor nods, looking calm. “How long did the episode last?”

I concentrate on the memory, though everything in me wants to shy away. “Maybe three minutes?”

Baranor dips his head as if expecting this. “Humans are much more fragile than elves—you know this. If they do not sleep enough or get proper nutrients, they can become susceptible to headaches and mild sicknesses — even stress can have that effect on them. Sometimes headaches can be severe, in which case they are called migraines and usually come with nausea, dizziness, and more intense pain.”

My eyes widen. That’s terrifying. Such normal things that wouldn’t do much to an elf — stress, inadequate sleep, water, food — can incapacitate a human. How much more vulnerable to serious circumstances they must be — injury, for instance.

But Baranor only looks infuriatingly serene. I have to remind myself that he encounters things like this every day, even if he does typically treat ellyn. Mild fluctuations in health do not alarm him because he knows how they are likely to turn out and how to threat a patient if their health declines further.

“I will check on her in the morning after she’s had time to rest, but do not worry, mellon nîn. This is just something that happens to humans from time to time.”

I take a deep breath, leaning against the back of the chair. “Alright. Thank you. I’m sorry to burst in on your work.”

He waves off my apology. But, after a pause, he grimaces.

My stomach sinks. “What?”

He speaks much too slowly for my liking. “I do not want to alarm you, but there’s a chance Elrond might mention something to you or your brothers, and I’d rather you hear it from me so you are not caught off guard.”

I feel my eyes widening and attempt to reign in my expression. “What, Baranor?”

He sighs. “When we first encountered Cosima, she was as good as dead. Her fæ was so far gone, I had to expend serious energy calling her back. I…I had hoped that because she had actually made the choice to wake up that she would acclimate well—make a full recovery. When I dealt with her arm after the attack, I again used the power in my fæ to heal her. I noticed that there is still something…‘off’ in her own fæ.”

I feel my jaw lock. A roaring rushes through my ears. “Off?”

“Yes,” Baranor nods steadily. “Alex’s is the same way. Both the human spirits seem…torn, almost, or wounded. Like I said, ‘off’. I spoke to Elrond and he has agreed to work with them both. He believes their memory loss could related to the injuries in their fæs and, as we heal their memories, their fæs will repair themselves. Our working theory is that the memory loss is so severe it has caused the fæ to forget, almost like the memories were violently cut out of it. I do not know what that means but I think it likely originated when they arrived in this world, possibly before when they somehow transferred from their world to ours — it’s logical to think that had some impact on their fæs.”

I exhale slowly, taking all this information in.

It is alarming, to say the least.

A fæ should not be damaged…it could cause an elf to fade.

But humans are different, I reason. The health of their spirits isn’t tied to their longevity. Well — I have to correct myself. Maybe it is and humans just don’t live long enough to know for sure. I try to turn my focus back to Baranor — these worrisome thoughts are not helpful. “Do you believe this poses a threat to them?”

Baranor grimaces. “I cannot say for sure, but my instinct is that it’s not as long as they receive proper care — almost a physical therapy of sort, but for their fæs. Again, I would not have bothered you with this if I didn’t think Elrond might bring it up.”

I set him with a stern look. “Any information about the health of those in my care is of concern to me. I ask that you keep me updated.”

He bows his head. “Of course.”

I stand, feeling like I need sleep but knowing my mind is racing too much to do so. I say farewell to my friend and catch an attendant on the way to my room, requesting that dinner be sent to my chambers. I don’t feel like eating in the company of the hall. Part of me wonders if I should have the attendant take food to Cosima, just in case she’s decided she’s hungry, but I remind myself that she is perfectly capable of requesting her own dinner. If she wishes to eat, she can arrange it.

That doesn’t stop me from tucking away a banana and some bread just in case she hasn’t eaten by the time I visit her tomorrow. Proper nutrients, enough rest, sufficient hydration, and low stress.

Right as I cut into dinner, Rumil swaggers in with a plate of his own. He snorts, joining me at the small table. “Great minds, huh?” He leans towards me, furrowing his brow and studying me more intently. “Are you alright? You look pale.”

I roll my eyes, trying to cover my anxiety. “I’m always pale.”

Rumil huffs. “Come on, what’s bothering you?”

I sigh. Rumil is probably going to hear it from Elrond or Baranor anyway, so I may as well tell him. I start from the beginning. “I visited Cosima this evening.” Rumil sits back in his chair, a strange look in his eye. Could he already know? How? “I meant to teach her to defend herself, but not long after I arrived, she—she just got sick. Within a moment’s difference, she was nearly collapsed on the floor.” I shake my head against the memories but dutifully recount the full story to my brother, including Baranor’s observations and theory.

By the end, Rumil slumps in his seat, staring over my shoulder with a distant look in his eye. He’s silent for a long time.

“Haldir I…I owe you an apology. Cosima, too, though I don’t think she’d understand why.”

I furrow my eyebrows. What could he be sorry for?

“I’ve been teasing you both lately and have been encouraging your feelings for each other. It was wrong of me — I didn’t consider her mortality and what pursing a relationship with her would mean. I won’t do it anymore, I promise. Can you forgive me?”

I blink. What? “I don’t have feelings for her.”

Rumil sets me with a dubious look. “I’m your brother, you can be honest with me.”

“I don’t have feelings for her,” I repeat, more forcefully this time. Rumil’s being ridiculous. And the youngest of my brothers — his age is showing.

He huffs, looking to the ceiling as if to request strength from the Valar. “Are you really so unaware of yourself? Of her?” At my look of annoyance, he groans, seeming like he wants to push it. I set my shoulders, making it clear that we will be discussing this no further.

Finally, Rumil shakes his head, turning his gaze to his meal. “Fine, I am sorry, I can see I’ve overstepped my bounds. Forget it.”

I return to my food, watching my brother warily. His shoulders sag and he looks almost…scared. His distress is apparent, even if his accusations are baseless. He brings his eyes back to mine and the grief there causes me to freeze. What is going on with my brother?

“But Haldir…Be careful. She will be dead long before this age is done, and that is if she chooses to stay in this world.”

My fork falls to my plate.

A hollow, aching feeling makes my chest feel tight.

I don’t even know what to say to that.

Rumil stands and places a hand on my shoulder, squeezing briefly. Then, he makes for the exit. “I will leave you to your thoughts.”

And then he closes the door behind him and I am indeed alone with these terrifying thoughts.

A/n This one is shorter than the others I’ve posted, but I feel like it’s kinda dense and it was a good place to leave off. Thanks for reading! Likes, comments, and reblogs make my day! Also, if you have any thoughts/theories, I would love to know those! @eru-vande sent me one the other day and it was really fun!

|next part|

|masterlist|

Tolkien tag list: @anangelwhodidntfall @eru-vande

Haldir tag list: @tolkien-apologist

Double Heart tag list: @lainphotography @themerriweathermage @thophil2941btw @kenobiguacamole @wishingtobeinadifferentuniverse @from-patroclus-with-love @boywivlove @ordinarymom1 @my-darling-haldir @sweet-bea-blossom @moony-artnstuff

#tw mentions of illness #haldir #rumil #orophin #haldir x oc #haldir x ofc #haldir fanfic #haldir fanfiction

[bvccy]

Tenderness and Ferocity | 2. The Second Day

Pairing: Winter Soldier!Bucky Barnes x Hydra!Reader Fic Synopsis: The Winter Soldier is starting to make stupid mistakes in the field, which is Bucky's way of trying to wrest back control and sabotage his handlers. Hydra brings a new doctor to figure out what's wrong with him and fix it. As she spends time with him, she becomes fond of the Winter Soldier, and he becomes fond of her. Bucky has other ideas. Or, a fic in which the Winter Soldier is the good guy and Bucky is actually the bad guy. Warnings for this chapter: Angst Word count: 1488 Read on AO3: [link] [Previous Chapter] [Fic Masterlist] [Next Chapter]

"Human perfection and technical perfection are incompatible. if we strive for one, we must sacrifice the other… Technical perfection strives toward the calculable, human perfection toward the incalculable." — Ernst Jünger

"Tell me about your last mission. Why did it fail?"

"It didn't."

"Why did it almost fail." Excuse me.

"First shot missed the target."

"Mhmm... Did something get in the way?"

"No."

"Do you think it was a miscalculation on your part?"

"I don't know."

"I... See, I have no idea how shooting works." she laughed. "Did you misjudge the distance, maybe? The wind, the... trajectory?"

"No."

"So why do you think the first shot failed?"

"The shot didn't fail. I failed. And I don't know."

"But you got him the second time. So what went differently?"

"I don't know."

She thought she knew, but she needed to work him through it. A lot depended on it, and it wasn't just her dedication to her career, but to the whole Winter Soldier program. None of the other recruits were remotely as promising, their minds unhinged or too far gone, hours wasted into them and all that brilliant work. If she got it right just this once, they could do so much more, so much...

Hydra's reach tended to exceed their grasp. This led them to be overly ambitious and fail — painfully, and often. She had to remind herself that it led to growth, that perseverance in the face of your own failures was what growth was. But if she could contribute to a move in a new direction, a right direction, she will have accomplished something with her life. Even if she didn't get any credit and was never remembered, as many of the staff often weren't, at least she could have that small knowledge for herself. She certainly didn't have much else: just her job, and distant family, and colleagues that passed for friends.

"I'm going to say three words. Try to remember them: glass, gecko, charity. Say them back."

"Glass. Gecko. Charity."

"Good. And three things you can see in this room. How about... the lightbulb, that metronome over there, and the sink in the corner. Name them."

"The lightbulb. The metronome. The sink."

"Very good. Now I'm going to get you some paper and a pen." She paused mid-way from getting up to ask "Promise you won't stab me with it?"

He stopped to think, and said "I won't. ...Stab you, that is."

With a wry smile, she went to the little table on the other side of the room.

The Director agreed to give the Soldier a cell with a bunk to sleep in, some bare amenities, and now he spent his time there when he wasn't in session with her, or training (which was most of the time) . She couldn't tell if the change in environment or sleeping made any difference. But as the fabric of his speech got looser every time she plucked at it with a barbed question, she was convinced it had to matter.

They had their meetings in a completely different room, with no bars or windows, and no cameras either. It would have been intimidating to anyone else, that sort of consummate interrogation room lifted out of a dystopia, but anything was better than the sterile stench of the lab where they killed him over and over only to start him up again.

And she wasn't afraid that he would hurt her anyway, not when she reminded herself he physically couldn't disobey. The moments when she forgot about that, however...

Nevertheless, he kept almost as still as he had when he was strapped down. He didn't move more than he needed to, and didn't say more than he needed to. But in spite of everything, she felt herself slip into seeing him as just another person, as a man.

Big mistake. He's a machine, a machine, a machine.

But when she turned around and saw him waiting quietly, the body at ease, the mouth sad but relaxed, those large grey eyes tracking her, and behind them a mind so clever, so curious... When she saw him like that, she felt dirty to have ever dehumanised him.

"I want you to draw a clock for me." she said as she placed the paper before him. "Just a circle, with the hours and everything... Set the hands of the clock at sixteen past two."

She sat back down and watched him, looking at how he held her pen — how long had it been? it's not like Hydra needed him to sign any documents, so this was probably the first time he held one since... — how he drew the circle: strong, steady, with almost an artist's precision — how he set the numbers: 12, 6, 3, 9, methodical. He finished in short order and slid the paper back.

"Good." she smiled. "Very good. Now, let's turn it over and..." giving it back to him, blank face up, "let's imagine that's a map of Europe, west to east. Could you point out where Portugal would be? Where do you think... Good. And Iceland? ...Yes. How about Greece? So the Bosphorus runs where?... Good, and where's Sweden? Yes... And do you think you can point where Belarus is? Very good... Can you name their capitals for me?"

"Lisbon. Reykjavik. Athens. Stockholm. Minsk."

"Excellent." she beamed at him for one unguarded second before she looked back down and missed his school-boy smile. "What about those words from before, do you remember what they were? The words I told you to remember?"

"Glass. Gecko. And charity."

"And the things in the room?"

"The lightbulb. The metronome. The sink."

"Very good." Then she took the paper from him, put it in her folder on top of all the other notes, and tucked the pen back in.

"Did you sleep last night?" she asked pointedly, looking him straight in the eyes.

The suddenness of her question didn't seem to put him off, at first. "Yes."

"Did you dream of anything?"

"Y-yes."

"Do you remember what it was about?" Silence. "Soldier, do you remember what it was about?"

"No."

She noticed with a shudder of excitement that he just lied to her — a fraction-of-a-second twitch at the corner of his left eye gave him away. Or maybe she just imagined it...? After all, he shouldn't be able to lie. Right?

"There's nothing wrong with dreaming, you know." she prodded with deliberate sweetness, the same sort she used with the Director, he noticed with displeasure. "Even if it's about bad things... it's a sign of improvement." Silence. "And I won't tell anyone, I promise. This is just between us." Silence. "Alright, well... That's good too."

She made no effort to hide her disappointment, and the Soldier swallowed while he kept the coolth of his eyes on her. He knew she was trying to charm it out of him — and what's more, she wanted him to know she was trying. Just like he wanted her to know that he wanted bitterly, ardently to tell her.

But she either didn't notice or didn't care, and she changed her tone to that of punishing reserve. "Right then, as there's nothing left to our session today, I can let you go."

She got up briskly and gathered her things without looking directly at him, sipping glances from the corner of her eye to his right arm as it rested on the table, pale and muscular and chiselled smooth, up to the round shoulder which disappeared under the t-shirt. A glimpse, further down, of his thick legs in the black combat fatigues.

He got up and followed her as she started walking. She unlocked the room and directed him out with a nudge of her head. They went out together, the Soldier following behind her clipped steps with his particular gait, heavy boots echoing through the corridor in a strut that lilted under the odd weight of his metal arm.

As they approached the T-section of the hallway with the two guardsmen standing ready for him, another man noticed her and stopped to wait, smiling politely. He wore the same lab coat, but with an amalgam of comfy grey sweater and jeans underneath.

"Hello, Kai." she called as they got closer, a genuine smile in her voice.

"Got that report you wanted."

"It finally finished downloading? Thought it was stuck."

"Nah, it was just too big. Maybe we can apply more filters next time."

"Narrow it down, yes..."

She turned to walk with her colleague toward their offices without so much as a parting word while the two guardsmen walked him in the other direction, toward the training facilities. He spared one longing look back, and as if sensing him she turned her head and caught his eyes for one moment, before turning back to the limp-wrist scrag who had her attention.

"How's the test subject?" Kai asked with a knowing smile.

"Fine. He has... excellent neuroplasticity."

"Wow. That good, huh?"

"By the way, did your girlfriend finish her forensics dissertation yet, or...?"

"Such threats are completely unnecessary."

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky Barnes imagine #Bucky Barnes fanfiction #Bucky Barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes x you #Bucky Barnes x OFC #Winter Soldier fanfiction #Winter Soldier x reader #James Buchanan Barnes #The Winter Soldier #Tenderness and Ferocity #bv;fanfiction #Bucky x reader #Bucky x you

[whatifyoulivelikethat]

selfie | jjk | 2

pairing(s): jungkook x reader

summary: Is this a rom-com, slice-of-life drama with unsolicited social commentary about gender stereotypes, idol music, and the meaningless meaning of the word, “adult”? Yes. But also, Jeon Jungkook shouldn’t be in love with his hyung’s little sister and he is. Shit.

warnings: rated M (18+) for language; mentions of depression, anxiety, loneliness; fluff, but also frustrating because flirt already, sheesh; loons-to-lovers; non-idol!AU - oppa’s bestfriend!Jungkook x SHINee fangirl!reader

happy lunar new year!! year of the ox - jk’s lucky year <3

–

previous episode.

2. in which the two loons getting somewhere, only for more misunderstandings to happen.

Is this too much?

You stared at the picture and the message. Jeon Jungkook once again. Sending a picture of himself at the gym. It was a while since the last one, so his hair was slightly longer now. Was he growing it out? Oh well, none of your business. You sent your usual reply.

?

You sighed and went back to your journal, only to have your phone aggressively sing ‘3 PM’ from the Animal Crossing New Leaf OST. Directly asking for a video call this time. You thinned your mouth into a line and closed your journal, sliding it out of frame before accepting the call.

Jungkook’s big brown eye filled up the screen, directly on the camera.

“Why don’t you respond like a normal person?”

“Why don’t you start conversations off like a normal person?” you shot back, placing a hand on your cheek and leaning against it. There was stationery scattered all around you, but your journal was behind the charging stand.

Jungkook withdrew his eyeball, frowning. You could see his entire face now, his long black hair tied up into a silly sprout on top of his head. He was still wearing the dark gray sweatshirt from the photo, but he seemed to be in his apartment. All you could see was the wall.

“What about the pic though? Is it too much?”

“Too much what?” you responded irritably.

He waved his hand, shaking the phone with his movement. “You know… Too, ‘Hey I work out and am attractive, pay attention to me’ much?”

You raised an eyebrow. “You’re not even looking at the camera. Or wearing a sleeveless shirt.”

He blinked at you. “Should I?”

You rolled your eyes. “No, those are things not to do. Picture is fine,” you added, shifting some pens away so you could rest your head on your forearms.

“Oh.”

He looked uneasy for a second before the camera jostled around as he scurried to a different part of the room. You puffed your cheeks and closed your eyes, not wanting to get motion sick.

“I’ve been playing Persona 5!” Jungkook said cheerfully, making you open your eyes to see him directing the camera at his television where the Persona music was merrily playing. “Just finished Sakura Futaba’s Palace.” He switched the camera back as you smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

“Nice.”

Jungkook seemed to spy your deflated form on your desk.

“What’s wrong?”

You breathed out. “Nothing.”

He frowned. “Doesn’t seem like nothing.”

You shrugged. “Just thinking.” Your eyes flickered to him, smirking a little. “You wouldn’t know about that, I suspect.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes. Other than that, he didn’t react to your remark.

“Thinking about what?” he asked, leaning back into his gray couch. His long hair flared out, sprout blooming against the cushions.

Your eyes shifted to the pens all over your desk. To your tablet, where you had been practicing digital drawing for a little while now. Just little drawings of cute animals, no people yet. To your journal, where you had been writing your diary entry.

“Lonely.”

You said the word without thinking. It was the title of your diary entry. You hadn’t meant to say it, but it was the only thing on your mind right now. Your eyes flickered back to Jungkook, who was watching you carefully. You sighed, feeling the need to explain yourself.

“All my friends are busy with school and their jobs. Oppa is always at work or with his girlfriend. Parents are always working.”

You could feel the distance between you and your high school friends. They were chasing your dreams and you were chasing nothing at all. You weren’t distant from your brother, but you were respectful of how much time he wanted to spend with his girlfriend. She might become his future wife someday, after all. Would you have a future husband one day? You wondered what he would be like.

You shook your head and shrugged. “But I did it to myself by taking a gap year, so it can’t be helped.”

“It’s okay to feel lonely.”

Slowly, your gaze shifted back to Jungkook. He was getting up from the couch, holding the phone up as he walked to what looked like the kitchen.

“I mean, you can’t help what you feel, right?” he said as he set the phone in a cupboard and went to the fridge. “Feeling lonely isn’t some kind of crime, so you don’t need to lock it away or anything.”

Jungkook picked up a take-out container and opened it, stiffing the contents. He seemed to be debating if it was edible or not. How long had that been there? You wanted to ask but then again, you didn’t want to know. Jungkook shrugged and dumped the mysterious contents into a bowl.

“I’ll talk to you whenever you want.”

You scoffed. “Why would you do that?”

Jungkook placed the bowl in the microwave and set the timer. The machine hummed as he turned around.

“To prevent you from feeling lonely.”

A butterfly danced in your chest.

You chuckled. “Why would I want to feel annoyed instead of lonely?”

Jungkook shrugged, taking out some chopsticks. “At least you have someone to be annoyed at instead of being alone?”

Two butterflies danced in your chest.

You huffed and rested your cheek on your forearms.

“Have you been talking to your Confidants?”

“What?”

“In Persona 5.”

“Who?”

You slapped your forehead. “Listen up, you monkey…”

“I’m an ox in the zodiac.”

“I mean your monkey gameplay…”

You began to explain the importance of Confidants in Persona to Jungkook.

-

That’s how you ended up in video calls with Jeon Jungkook several times a week.

He would usually start the call by sending a selfie, to which you would respond with your usual question mark. He was going to university for graphic design and worked at an electronics store part time. You, on the hand, were doing nothing. Well, not nothing, because you were clumsily learning digital art, but unless you were showering, you were always by your phone. Checking idol social media, especially SHINee. Sometimes your brother and his girlfriend asked you to accompany them to dinner, but you always declined, because being the third wheel was weird.

Also, watching your brother in love was weird.

Bleh.

“They always make out in front of me,” you were telling Jungkook as he asked why you weren’t at dinner earlier with your brother and his friends. Your brother had taken his girlfriend, of course. “It’s weird.”

Jungkook winced. “Yeah, I get what you mean. But I was there.”

“So what?”

Jungkook raised his hands. He was in his bed, rolling around in gray sheets. “Maybe you care?”

“I’d like to be spared watching oppa’s PDA, thanks.”

As usual, you were at your desk. This time your tablet was in front of you. You pushed the pen around, indecisively drawing lines and undoing your last action, twisting your mouth to one side, not really looking at Jungkook. He wasn’t doing anything of note, anyway.

“You don’t like PDA?”

You shrugged. “It’s whatever. I don’t really care.”

“What are you drawing?”

“Nothing good,” you sighed, putting down the tablet pen. The little cat character looked back at you, its expression the same bored and dispassionate face you usually had. You hadn’t really decided on a color for it yet. Maybe gray. That’s how you usually felt, anyway. You knew the collar color was going to be aqua though. A nod to your SHINee obsession.

“Show me.”

“No.”

“Come on.”

You looked up to Jungkook’s smile. There was a radiance about it. You felt the two butterflies dancing in your ribcage once again, fluttering, fluttering. His two front teeth where just ever so slightly too large for his mouth. It was endearing, like seeing a bunny. You looked back down at the little cat you created. Maybe you would make a bunny for Jungkook.

Pfft.

Why would you do that?

You laughed, confusing Jungkook as you placed your hand over your mouth, eyes squinting as you chortled to yourself, trying to imagine Jungkook as a silly little bunny. Probably one that worked out too much and drank banana milk every day. Probably loved to take selfies too. A cool bunny who wrote sunglasses sometimes and was probably altruistic and interesting.

Not like you.

Your laughter died down, eyes on the cat. You picked a cat to represent you because it was lazy and didn’t do much. Spent all day sleeping and staring outside, but never actually trying. Curious about things, but never committing.

“What’s so funny?” Jungkook asked, lifting the camera and holding it above him. You saw his long black hair flare out around his head. He was casually handsome, the kind of attractive that didn’t need much to be that way.

That’s weird. Why would you think something like that?

“Your face,” you replied, missing the usual bite you usually had behind your words. “You need a trim.”

He raised his eyebrow, pursing his lips. “You don’t like long hair?”

You pointed at the phone even though he probably couldn’t tell what you were pointing at. “The ends of your hair are splitting. It’s not going to grow well at this rate.”

“Are you a secret barber or something?”

“I’m a human being who cuts her own hair,” you replied impassively, sitting back in your chair.

Jungkook looked surprised. “Really? Since when?”

“Since the last time oppa attempted to cut my hair in high school.” You cringed at the memory.

Jungkook looked apologetic and ready to burst out laughing at the same time. “He tried his best.”

“He did not,” you retorted, remembering the botched bangs and blunt shoulder length cut. It was horrible. You went to the salon afterward and had it trimmed into a short pixie cut, because you would rather be bald than look like an overgrown coconut.

“The pixie cut was cool though.”

“Eh.” You shrugged. “Too hard to cut it by myself. Need some length to hide my mistakes.”

“Your hair always looks nice though. A little messy.”

You touched the top of your head self-consciously. Maybe you should start brushing it before accepting his calls. You didn’t really brush it that often because, well, who was going to see you? You basically only brushed it when you noticed a tangle.

Jungkook was smiling at you. His dark brown eyes seemed sparkly because of the overhead lights in his bedroom. The butterflies in your ribcage circled each other, looping round and round. You made a disgruntled face, reaching up read the current time at the top of your phone.

“Don’t you have class early tomorrow? Go to sleep.”

And then you pressed the end call button.

For some reason, relief and disappointment washed over you. Relief because there was a palpitating anxiousness you felt when you looked too directly into Jungkook’s eyes. Disappointment because maybe you shouldn’t have hung up so abruptly. That was a little rude.

You noticed you had a text. From Jeon Jungkook.

Good night.

-

Jungkook placed his phone beside him after he sent the text. He thought about sending a selfie too, but maybe that was too much. She had just seen him seconds before, anyway.

Why had she hung up like that?

He smiled as he remembered her laugh. He liked her laugh a lot. She hid it behind her hands and her eyes always squinted when she did so, nearly making them disappear. It looked a little bit like a cat when it was purring in satisfaction. Jungkook wondered what made her laugh like that. It must have been a thought, because he could see her face changing as she observed him. When she stopped laughing, her face was different too, becoming introspective.

She looked pretty today too.

Her hair a little messy, combed through with her fingers. That’s how it looked best, he thought. She had a natural prettiness, the kind that needed no help to be that way. Every action she did seemed cute, from the way she held her pen, to the way she twisted her mouth to one side when she was working on something, to the way she touched the top of her head, lips parting in thought.

If she wanted to be a model, she probably could.

At least, Jungkook wanted to take her picture.

He frowned a little. He’d been consistently sending her selfies before calling her and she always responded with a question mark. Maybe she wasn’t used to taking selfies? Or maybe, and what was more likely, she probably didn’t even care about them.

Jungkook exhaled, flopping to his side. Should he give up? But then he remembered her face right before she looked at the time. It was like she was staring at the screen, at his face. And for a split second, he swore he saw her upper lip upturn a bit, shyness in her gaze, a bit of pink flushing her cheeks. Was it just the lightning or something? His mind playing tricks on him?

“Bleh.”

Jungkook made a weird noise and plopped his face into his pillow.

-

Jungkook stopped calling you.

You wondered why. You had been kind of rude to him last time. Maybe he was mad at you? Maybe he wanted an apology? But you weren’t really sure what to apologize for. And it was weird to call without a purpose, right? And besides.

You didn’t really need to apologize to Jeon Jungkook.

He wasn’t even really your friend. He was your older brother’s friend.

You chewed on your lip, staring at the last picture he sent you. He wasn’t your friend. He was… well, what was he trying to do? Why was he talking to you? Maybe he was bored. Maybe he was nosy. You did say you followed his art Instagram, so maybe he was enthralled with the idea of knowing he had a fan or something?

But you weren’t a fan, per se.

Well, a little bit. He was really talented.

But not that much!

Because Jeon Jungkook was kind of annoying. He still hadn’t returned Persona 5 to your brother. Not that your older brother noticed, at all. He never finished Persona 5 and it was mostly your game now, with how many hours you had sunk into it. Jungkook hadn’t even known about Confidants until you told him. Hmph. Didn’t he look up game guides? Well, he should. Confidants were really important to the game. They helped you with useful abilities during boss fights by developing relationships with the other characters.

You stared at the last selfie Jungkook had sent you.

You kind of wished he was looking at the camera.

Maybe you needed a Confidant. You certainly didn’t really know how to develop relationships with anyone, except maybe your older brother. But that was because he was your brother and familial responsibility. Well. Not true. Your brother was really nice to you.

That’s why you folded his underwear for him, even to this day.

Sigh.

Jungkook did like SHINee though.

At least that was one thing in common, right?

-

next episode: 3. in which only a major event can bring these two loons back together – SHINee is back!

--

masterpost

#jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook fanfic #jungkook scenarios #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x you

[yandere-sins]

Tough Love

[My Commission Info] | [My Ao3] | [Ko-Fi]

Another lovely anonymous commission, acting as a prequel to this story! Thank you for commissioning me again ♥

Characters: Yandere!Dragon!Shinguji Korekiyo x Boyfriend!Gokuhara Gonta x Reader Words: 3282 Warnings: Yandere, Kidnapping, Threatening, Body distortion

Gently and mindfully closing the door behind him, Korekiyo took a deep breath. Having brought both of his new humans into their respective rooms, it was now time to wait and see what would happen. He didn’t think of himself as too harsh when he grabbed them off the ground, carrying them off to his castle. But even so, the shock and stress might have caused them to blackout. However, even if there were minor injuries, Korekiyo was confident he could treat them by now. Kiyo’s steps echoed through the silent corridors of the castle, his right hand brushing over the doors lined up on the wall. Everything was prepared and ready for them; there was nothing they’d lack while staying in this castle.

It had taken years for him to become so comfortable with what he was doing, his first few tries having ended in disaster. Never again did he want to repeat what happened, even if that meant he had to be more careful, more prepared, and more distant from his subjects. Part of him wished to be closer to them more than ever. Still, year-long experience had shown that humans and dragons could never coexist peacefully. He would never be able to go into a city without fearing getting speared upon sight, even in his humanoid form. To some degree, he could understand their fear. All of their experiences with dragons had been negative. But at the same time, he had never wanted anything more than to learn from the humans and understand them like no one of his kind had before. Compared to him, humans were so fragile and easily withered, like flowers in the winter. And Kiyo was the frost, yearning for sunny days.

Perhaps this time, it would be different, seeing that there were two of them. His previous studies had shown that connections between humans were vital for their well-being. At the same time, his presence as a dragon didn’t seem to have the same influence on them. They wouldn’t accept his companionship or love, no matter how well or bad he treated them. But now that he had the chance to observe what it was like, perhaps he’d be able to use it in the future as well. It would be interesting to see and compare those two to the knowledge he had acquired so far about singular humans, even if it would take time and patience - two things he had plenty of. Nonetheless, he knew he couldn’t be too lenient with them. Too many had opposed him before; he couldn’t risk losing these two because he was growing soft. Tough love, that’s what the humans called it, right? 

It would be exactly what he’d use on them.

Your head was still throbbing when you opened your eyes. It didn’t come as a surprise, but it was awful nonetheless. No one liked waking up feeling like shit. Warm sunlight shone upon you as you turned over in your soft bed, clutching your sides when you felt the sharp pain left on you after being grabbed by a dragon. Had you been rescued? Were you even alive? The images were still vivid in your mind; the chaos, the screams, and Gonta’s hand holding yours as you two were running away.

Gonta!

Sitting up straight, you instantly regretted being hasty. Of course, your body couldn’t keep up with the sudden movements after all that happened, but your mind grew frantic as you thought about your boyfriend. Straining your eyes, you made out the layout of the unfamiliar room you were in, furrowing your brows as the questions in your head multiplied. It was a nice room, probably the nicest one you had ever seen in your life. Finely crafted amenities, vivid colors, and pristine conditions - just like what you’d imagine a fairytale would look like. Where were you? What happened after you blacked out? Was Gonta taken too? Had someone rescued you and put you in this room so you could recover? Looking down at you, you still had your usual clothes on you, even if they were sullied with dirt. Why would someone put you in such a fancy bed this way?

It almost made you feel bad to sit in the clean white sheets with your dirty clothes, but it wasn’t the time to worry about how hard it would be to wash the stains out of the sheets. You lifted your legs off the mattress, trying to stand up, feeling the backlash of being knocked out. Even though it felt weird and a bit painful, you could determine with relief that nothing was broken. Taking weak steps, you made your way towards the exit of your room to call out to someone, ask what was going on. And maybe, find the one person you wanted to be held by most.

The door swung open quickly as you pushed the handle, no pulling or tearing like you were used to from the sometimes stuck doors all around your village. Everything seemed so immaculate. It was almost intimidating. Stepping out, you found yourself in a long hallway filled with doors. Paintings hung from the walls of places you had never seen. Even if you guessed before that this was no small house, you were still amazed by how endless it seemed to be. However, even if there were traces of living - books and plants decorating the hall - you couldn’t see anyone. “H-Hello?” you asked, your voice hoarse from screaming so much when the dragon captured you. 

No response.

Overcome with a weird feeling when no one answered you, you tried again without success. A mansion as big as this should have servants running around, right? Meeting anyone would calm the anxious rumbling in your stomach, but this way, you didn’t know where to go or what to do first. Suddenly, you heard the sound of heavy footsteps approach you from the front, and you noticed the intricately decorated door. Before you could step up to it, it swung open, revealing a very familiar face. The shudder of your name fell of Gonta’s lips before he hugged you tightly, and you sunk into his arms while a heavy stone fell off your shoulders. “I’m so glad you’re alright,” he sighed, relieved, sniffling a little. 

It took a while before you two could let go of each other, but you were so thankful for feeling his warmth, knowing he really was there with you. No matter how strange and scary the situation had seemed at first, knowing you weren’t alone made everything better. “Do you… still remember anything that happened after… you know?” you asked as you separated from him, and Gonta’s expression turned apologetic as he shook his head. “It’s okay,” you whispered, reaching up to caress his cheek. Gonta gave a heavy sigh as he leaned into your affection, and you could feel how relieved he was too. “I thought… I really thought…” he mumbled, his face twitching in pain.

“Shh, it’s okay.” You didn’t want him to think about these things. About the ‘what if’s and the ‘could have been’. Hell, you didn’t even want to think about these things yourself, and you knew that they’d only cause you both suffering. All that mattered was that you were reunited and a little less lonely in your confusion. 

It came as a surprise when a sudden clap interrupted your moment of togetherness, and you looked to where it was coming from alerted. It was strange, and you hadn’t noticed anyone before, but a little down the hallway, the figure of a man was sitting on a delicate white bench, a closed book in hand. He slowly looked up, your eyes crossing. Never before had you seen such a pristine-looking human, very different energy coming from him. Having spent all your life in your village, you found it hard to discern if this was simply the aura of a noble or something else entirely. 

“I am glad to see you woke up,” he spoke as he stood up from the little bench located between two doors. “I was worried about you two.”

“Where- Where are we?” was the first question on your mind, your hand gripping a bit tighter into Gonta’s shirt as the man approached. 

“My castle. Your home,” was the curt answer you received, however, the man didn’t stop walking, eventually passing the both of you who stepped out of the way respectfully. “What do you mean?” you replied, but the man kept walking down the long corridor as if he had heard nothing. 

“You may explore as much as you want. I hope it will be to your liking,” the man stated, finally coming to a halt in front of one of the many doors, opening it before giving a short glance back towards you and Gonta and ultimately disappearing inside what laid behind. You heard the click of a lock as the door closed and looked at Gonta helplessly. “What did he mean?” 

However, Gonta didn’t have an answer for that either. “I’m not sure, but Gonta doesn’t like it…” 

You had to agree with your boyfriend, who seemed to grow more anxious by the second. Taking his hand in yours, you squeezed it reassuringly before suggesting, “Let’s look around, maybe we’ll find a way out,” and he nodded, giving you a squeeze back.

Many doors wouldn’t budge as you tried to open them, but the few rooms you were able to enter didn’t help you two much on your pursuit for a way out. One led to a long banquet hall, only containing a seemingly endless table surrounded by more chairs than you could count. Another one hosted more books than anyone would ever be able to read in a lifetime. As wondrous as it was, all of these rooms didn’t help soothe your own anxiety, much less Gonta’s. It became more evident with every passing chance that something was wrong, even if neither of you wanted to admit it. You just held hands tighter, hoping that the next door would be the key to go outside. 

“Look!” Gonta called out as you searched through the office you two had stumbled upon. Perhaps it was just your own desperation, but you wanted there to be something in here to help, even if it was just a key for one of the locked doors or a map of the layout of the ‘castle’ you were in. But even after skipping through the books, some too hard to read and in questionable languages, there were no clues left behind that would point to your whereabouts. As if this place was isolated from everything. Stepping up to Gonta, he pushed away the curtain for you, big windows being revealed behind them. 

“Oh…” you gasped as you looked outside, seeing how high up you two were. It might not have been an exaggeration after all when the man told you it was his castle, considering there was a tall defense wall surrounding the building and endless fields of gold-shimmering wheat surrounding it. Inside the walls, you could only see the flourishing gardens lying beneath, decorated by colorful flowers and a small river bed winding through it. Just like everything inside the castle, it was astonishingly beautiful with flowers you had never seen before, but it didn’t deter you two from the main point of interest.

“That’s… a big wall,” Gonta mumbled thoughtfully, and you agreed with a shake of your head. Not only was it tall, it also consisted of firm, solid blocks of stone, without even a hint of aging on them. Of course, you couldn’t tell how good the condition of the outside of the wall was, but just from looking at the inside, you figured it would be hard to find a nick in it. “Do you see an exit somewhere?” you asked, stretching your neck to look as far as possible in hopes of seeing a tower or the huge gats you imagined castle walls to have.

“There is none,” a voice rang out from behind, and you turned around, startled to see the same mysterious man from before approach. Neither of you had heard the door open, and yet here he was as if he appeared from nothing. “When my humans kept trying to get out of the castle, I put a boulder in front of the exit. Now, only I can come and leave as I please.”

“Who are you?” you yelled at him, standing protectively in front of Gonta, who flinched when you raised your voice. However, the man’s words rang alarm bells in your head, and the bad feeling you had before intensified. Something about him wasn’t right. Even if it was just a slight difference, he didn’t appear as human as you would have liked him to be. Especially now that you got a better look at him, your gaze clearer than when you had just woken up, he simply felt off to you. 

“I am…” His voice trailed off as he hesitated to finish the sentence, bringing a finger to his lips in contemplation before shaking his head almost as if he was disappointed. “Have you not thought about it yet? Very well, I shall tell you then. I am who brought you here. You may call me Korekiyo.”

“Brought us… here?” you muttered, the sudden grip on your shoulder startling you, and you looked back at Gonta, who was shaking as if he had seen a ghost. Oh, you realized, your eyes widening in shock and surprise as you gasped, “The dragon!” before quickly covering your mouth with your hand.

“What-” you croaked, as you were left speechless momentarily. You felt your pulse quickening, but having Gonta behind you gave you back some strength and composure to not panic. In the very worst case, you two would make a run for it. Even Gonta knew how to act quickly, and his strength would not be useless when trying to get out. The only important thing was that you two stuck together no matter what. You could make it if you were together.

“What do you want from us?!” you yelled accusatory, brushing your hand over Gonta’s on your shoulder in comfort for both of you. “Why did you bring us here?! I- I demand to be let go, right now!”

“Why would I?” was the man’s - dragon’s? - simply answer, and he stepped forward, effectively cornering you two between the window and the office table. “You’re here to keep me company, and I can’t wait-” Holding out his hand, you saw it coming too close to comfort to your face, making you flinch away from it and bringing you and Gonta into a backwards stumble. “-to see how you’ll do,” he finished his speech, leaving you none the wiser. His hand remained in the air for a moment longer before the dragon curled it into a fist, taking another step forward.

“We’ll get out!” you announced. You had no plan and no idea how you’d manage such a deed, but neither would you accept whatever your captor planned for you two so ominously. 

A strange gleam appeared in the dragon’s eyes as you spoke rashly about your plans, and with another step, he was in front of you. Perhaps it was just a trick of your eyes, but you thought to see him change as you looked at him, a wave of shimmering scales erupting from his skin before disappearing again and his face deforming briefly into a much more grotesque form. It left you speechless until you felt both of Gonta’s hands clawing into your shoulders before he pulled you away while another hand wrapped around your chin. 

“Don’t forget at whose mercy you are.”

He was so close now that you could feel his hot breath against your skin, your body instinctively starting to shiver. Even if you pretended to be strong and courageous, your subconscious knew better as to not fear the predator in front of you. Even if his fingers were soft, claws were protruding from his nails, and his grip was merciless. It resembled when he grabbed you and dragged you off as a full-fledged dragon before you lost consciousness, a memory you’d rather not remember. 

Gonta was the one to break you two apart, his arm wrapping around you as he pulled you back and close against him in an effort to protect you. You couldn’t see his face, but with how desperately he was holding on to you, you realized that he was beyond worried after witnessing this exchange. There was only a small gap between you and the dragon now, but his touch did not linger as he looked up at Gonta, who quickly began to stammer an apology. “We- We won’t! So please…” 

It was unclear if this satisfied the dragon, but he let off, crossing his arms behind his back again. “As long as you know how you should behave, it’s fine.”

Way too quickly, the dragon composed himself, not even heaving a heavy sigh despite the displeasure of being confronted by you. The deformities you thought to witness stopped, as well as the shimmering gleam of scales. He was almost back to looking like a ‘normal’ human, despite being the farthest lifeform from it. “You may explore the open rooms and sleep in the ones you woke up. Or share them, I don’t mind. I’m sure you’ll find the amenities quite comfortable and interesting, but do let me know if you need anything.”

Turning on his heel, he seemed unbothered to turn his back to you, even though you were seething with the desire to ram something into his vulnerable body at that moment. Part of you was scared, but the other was angry and confused, wondering what would happen and why you were here in the first place. If only… you hadn’t survived. Maybe it would have been better that way.

But you couldn’t think like this. Not when there was another person who needed you.

Supported by Gonta’s arms, you tried to stand on your wobbly feet alone when the dragon suddenly turned around to you again to add something to his words, making you flinch as his piercing gaze fell on you especially again. “Make sure you come when I call,” he spoke demandingly, with no room to argue. This was an absolute order, one you wished you could ignore, but it only amplified the fear inside you.

When the door finally closed behind Korekiyo, you collapsed, unable to keep your composure as tears of shock filled your eyes. Gonta sunk to the ground with you. The only comfort he could offer was holding you tightly in his embrace, his head dropping on top of yours. At least for a little bit, you could hide inside his arms, but a million questions kept coming while you tried to calm down. You wished you could just go to bed and sleep, the nightmare finally being over when you opened your eyes again. But Gonta’s warmth reminded you this was no dream, only making you more agitated.

“What do we do now,” Gonta muttered into your hair, and you were so desperate to give him a positive answer, for a moment, you managed to lie to yourself.

“We’ll find a way. Maybe… maybe he’ll just let us go after a bit.”

It was the best you could do, but a lie nonetheless. You didn’t know what would happen, but the only thing you have in this situation was hope. 

Hope that it wouldn’t be as bad as the scenarios playing in your head.

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