#WOO new oc time to go insane

[jellyfish-grave]

Guys. Guys would you still love me if i made a 1000th oc based on a media i just finished a couple days ago.

#WAA #OW Pumice #AHAH it looks like im hurt or smt when its just the media name #beautiful #cam ocs #WOO new oc time to go insane #i need to draw the time buddies #i have so many drawing ideas im insane #camma the drawer #oc introduction #my phoen takes horrible pictures i apologise for the quality #outer wilds #outer wilds oc #WOO #should i tag gabbro #yeah sure #outer wilds Gabbro #gabbro #can u tell which one is my fav #i have more btw but im splitting this into 2 posts

[cinnaminsvga]

Harana | Jungkook

harana (n.): the act of wooing someone by serenading them

→ summary:

Unwilling to settle down with you after five years of dating, Jeon Jungkook decides to break up to chase after his dreams. In the aftermath, you leave your hometown, desperate to forget your past and relearn what it means to be on your own. Two years later while on your way to work, you pass by a familiar voice singing songs about a girl he had left behind.

{or alternatively: Jungkook still sings the love songs that he wrote for you. He still means them, too.}

→ genre: busker!au, exes to lovers, angst, humor → warnings: jimin is insane and kinda crude (he has some issues going on), jungkook is a pathetic wet bunny but he's trying his best, oc has So Many Problems, so much arguing and yearning, ambiguous ending??? but my god there is hope!! the humanity of it all!! → words: 16.1K → a/n: HOLY SHIT IM BACK (kinda) and happy new year!! yeah ok its march but im relearning how to form coherent sentences so be patient ;w; this is the first installment of my hfoh series that i teased a LONG time ago... i made it a resolution to complete this series by the end of the year before i kms (Keep Myself Safe) so here's to a brand new year :D (oh god @ universe pls be kind)

part of the “heart full of hugot” series

Two days before the incident, your shower nozzle decides to explode.

Okay, you have to admit that statement is a little misleading. Shower nozzles, in all its nonsentience, do not randomly decide to explode no matter how much you try to defend yourself to your landlord. Maybe your grip had been a little too harsh that morning, or maybe hanging 5 pounds of hair products on the handle had been a bit too much for the old sport to handle. Or maybe, just maybe, the universe was warning you about the incident.

Whatever it was, it doesn’t erase the fact that your shower would be out of commission for the next week or so (though your landlord seems adamant about prolonging your suffering as long as possible). Until then, you’re going to have to find some other ways to keep the grease and grime from building on you. Heavens know that you already have a thriving ecosystem living in the back of your couch—you don’t need another one growing under your armpits. 

Lucky for you, you have friends. More importantly, you have friends who have showers. There is one problem though—all your friends live on the other side of the country. 

It’s been two years since you moved to the Big City™️, but you have done little to grow your social network. Call it introversion or depression, either way, you have no more contacts on your phone than you did when you left your hometown. Well, except for one person, if you could even consider him one. Frankly, you didn’t have a choice.

“Welcome to my humble abode, stinky,” Jimin greets you as you enter his house. Your nose is instantly assaulted by the smell of Bath & Body Works® Sweet Pea, reminding you once more why you didn’t consider him a friend. 

“Hey,” you reply gruffly, shucking your ratty shoes near his entrance. Your shoes look incredibly out of place amidst the sea of designer Chelsea boots and a singular pair of thigh-high heels. You take a glance at his living room, already feeling worse about yourself tenfold.

You had met Park Jimin by complete accident, much like how his mother probably felt when she first saw him too. You had never known anyone quite as… interesting as him, to put it lightly. 

When you got your job as a hostess for a luxury bar and restaurant, you figured you wouldn’t make many friends with your coworkers. Everyone was so… pretty, but in the shiny, untouchable sort of way. Almost all of the servers were as gorgeous as the models you’d see in magazines. You hadn’t known that the owners only hired a certain “demographic” of people for their restaurant, and you were equal parts flattered and disgusted that you’d somehow made it (though you suppose your bullshitting skills were all to thank). 

Unsurprisingly, even the bartenders were gorgeous, including one Park Jimin. He did have an aura to him that screamed “I’m a cut above the rest and I know it,” but that could just be the gold chains dripping down his neck. You almost mistook him as one of the patrons who mistakenly made his way behind the bar, and knowing the sort of clientele you’ve had to deal with so far, you wouldn’t have been surprised. It took a couple of weeks before you finally found out who he was (and what his fucking problem was).

Jimin was a part-time bartender with a full-time job as a bitch a self-made entrepreneur. Which is to say, he sold… tasteful photos of himself on the internet. You had nothing against his line of work. In fact, you would go far as to say you didn’t give a shit what he did outside of your shared workspace. But if there’s one thing Jimin is, it’s that he hates being ignored. 

So when you were adamant about not oohing and aahing at everything that makes Park Jimin perfect, he made it his self-appointed mission to befriend you. Or at least that’s what he claims, but given how he treats you lesser than the shit that cakes his cheeks, you have a lot of doubts. Perhaps he’s never made an effort to make a friend, hence his inexperience with being a decent human being. Or perhaps he’s just an asshole, but who is to say? The point is: he’s the only person you knew in this godforsaken city who would likely allow you to use his shower without being awkward about it and that’s that. 

The worst part about being an acquaintance with Park Jimin was that he lived in the richest area of Downtown but he wasn’t old money, that’s for sure. His entire essence screamed overconsumption, and his myriad of little trinkets littered across his apartment confirmed your previous assessment. You wouldn’t be surprised if you opened his freezer and found ten types of ice sorted assorted by color and shape like the extra bitch that he was. 

He made his money through sheer force, and it would have impressed you if he wasn’t, you know. Him.

“Bathroom is over there. I placed a towel and other shower amenities that you can borrow,” he says pointing to a door with a large “FART ZONE: ENTER WITH CAUTION” sign taped to it. You don’t ask.

“Thanks,” you say flatly. You wait patiently for his out-of-pocket comment. 

Like clockwork, Jimin smirks. “Sure thing. I gave you the super heavy-duty stuff. Figured you’d burn a hole through my expensive towels with how stinky you are, with your yeasty cu—”

“Aaaand I’ll be done in a few minutes. Thanks again Jimin,” you interrupt, making your way to the bathroom and slamming the door with as much force as you can muster. You hear something fall as the door shuts, and you vaguely hear Jimin mutter something about his “fart zone” signage. 

You begin to prepare your shower routine, humming lowly as you go about your business. You try to ignore the suffocating scent of ten million diffusers entering your nostrils, wondering for the umpteenth time if Jimin is suffering from long-term olfactory dysfunction. 

“Focus, Y/N. The quicker you shower, the quicker you can get the fuck out of here,” you whisper to yourself. However, in your haste, you knock over Jimin’s towel by accident. When the towel falls, a sheet of sandpaper slips out from underneath it, and you stare bemusedly until it finally hits you.

“YOU ARE SUCH A LITTLE BITCH!” 

From behind the door, you can hear Jimin’s infamous cackle. “Did you find the loofah? I got it just for you, darling!” he shouts back through his laughter, and you just grumble back in response. How on earth no one has strangled him to death, you have no idea.

“Whatever. I’m gonna shower now! Go beat off or whatever the fuck you do in your spare time,” you grouse, stripping as quickly as possible.

When the first droplets of water hit your body, you can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. You had both anticipated and dreaded going to Jimin’s house, but you desperately needed the shower. So you go through your routine, trying to find some semblance of relaxation throughout the process. However, it seems that Jimin was yearning for a little bit of attention as he chose to recline on the other side of the door and chat your ear off. Peace was never an option, it seems.

“Hey, Y/N! So why haven’t I seen you at work recently?” Jimin hollers from his living room. Despite the wall separating you, his voice manages to retain its volume.

You squirt a large glob of Jimin’s (expensive) conditioner onto your hands. “What do you mean? I go to work every day. You were the one who hasn’t been clocking in.”

You can hear Jimin scoff. “Um, correction! I went to work last Friday, which so happened to be your day off. If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed you were avoiding me.”

And right you are, you think. But instead, you say, “Yeah, what a coincidence. I’ll be back to my regular schedule on Monday, though.”

“So that means you didn’t see the Justin Bieber wannabe stationed outside the restaurant then?” Jimin asks, voice miffed. “The guy suddenly sat down by the entrance window and a whole damn crowd started to appear! The absolute nerve of these people—don’t they know Park Jimin was just past the doors?” 

This provokes Jimin to go on his long epic soliloquy, which you’ve learned to drown out over the past two years. He could go on hour-long tirades if he wanted, and any interruption from you would just bounce off his nonfunctioning ears. And so, you allow his voice to fall to the back of your mind, similar to white noise if it wasn’t so grating.

However, this was likely your greatest mistake. If you hadn’t been so exhausted, or if Park Jimin hadn’t been so damn annoying all the time, or if the stars had aligned just right… Maybe you would have been forewarned about the incident. It’s as if the universe was screaming at you to pay attention, but alas… You were standing on the proverbial highway, unbeknownst to the incoming traffic because you had your metaphorical AirPods on.

So there you are, completely showered but none the wiser to your impending doom, naively looking to the future with unsuspecting eyes. Even if you had known of what was to come, would avoiding it even be possible? In hindsight, you suppose not, but you still kick yourself for being so blind. If only you’d steeled your heart, then maybe you wouldn’t have felt like vomiting in front of a crowd of innocent bystanders the very next day.

xxx

Monday comes and your shower still isn’t fixed. Jimin makes the benevolent gesture of allowing you to use his shower in the meantime, though you’ll only partake in his offer as minimally as possible. He does mention that he’ll need at least an hour’s notice, warning you about “accidental voyeurism.” You shudder to think of what sort of horror you might find if you did visit him without warning, and you pray for the continued well-being of your retinas.

On your way to work, you’re too busy watching cute videos of animals to notice the unusual flock of people idling close to your workplace. When you get closer, however, the growing commotion is enough to rip your gaze away from your phone, and the sight of the large crowd makes you stop in your tracks. 

It is 4 pm and the usual line of waiting patrons should not start piling up for another three hours, so this confuses you more than anything. You shuffle closer, squinting at the crowd until you notice that they aren’t lined up at all; instead, they have congregated into a large circle, but you are too far to see what they are surrounding. 

An accident? You worry, wondering if something terrible happened. You tiptoe above the heads of people, subtly moving forward to take a better look. Curse you and your curiosity. You take a deep breath, bracing yourself to see something grotesque or astonishing, but instead…

It’s worse.

Inching closer, you can begin to hear a soft thrumming of a guitar and a gentle singing voice that causes alarm bells to ring in your ears. The warm melody digs up old memories of a time long past: of ballads sung outside your childhood bedroom window, of promises whispered under Spiderman sheets, of tender caresses tucking stray hairs behind your ears… They flood your senses, but all you can feel is dread.

It can’t be who you think it is. You accidentally elbow a guy on your way to get closer, unsteadying his grip on his phone. 

“Hey, watch it! I’m filming a totally not-staged TikTok over here!” He yells, but you can hardly pay attention to him when you feel unnaturally drawn to come closer, still. 

You’re nearly at the front, with just a couple of teenagers standing between you and the (not-so) mysterious street performer. But the distance is enough, and your breath catches. You can see him—

Black hair partially hidden under a bucket hat. Boots bigger than Pangaea and a pair of eyes equally as large. Dark ink snaking down his arms, peeking out from under oversized sleeves. Piercings that could rival Park Jimin on a good day. He isn’t facing you, but you can still see his big doe eyes, gentle sloping nose, and pretty lips stretched into a handsome smile.

Your heart is thundering in your chest. This can’t be happening, you panic. After two whole years of rebuilding and reshaping yourself, relearning how to be yourself and not… not just his girlfriend.

Jeon Jungkook stands before you, busking in front of your workplace of all locations. The universe could not have been any crueler to you.

You—you had been known as nothing more than Jeon Jungkook’s high school sweetheart. Buried memories of snide comments from jealous teen girls fill your mind, reminding you of the time when you were coined a simple side piece to the main attraction. Decor, as they would call you. Nothing more than a girl who happened to snag Jungkook before people realized he was going to turn… hot. A hot guy who could sing. An inevitable chic magnet, as they would call him. 

And now, years later after much therapy and soul searching, your worst nightmare is standing in front of you in the flesh. This is what you will eventually dub the incident. 

At that moment, however, there is little to no time to dwell on naming this ongoing core memory. All you can feel is the adrenaline pumping through your veins, as well as the nausea rising up your throat. You stumble backward, blatantly shoving onlookers away as you struggle to find some air to breathe. In hindsight, you probably should have backed away as subtly as possible, but you hope that your dyed hair might be different enough that Jungkook wouldn’t know it was you if he had glanced your way. 

Even when you stagger towards your work establishment, the walls cannot perfectly muffle his soothing singing. You can’t make out the lyrics to his song too well, but his unmistakable voice is hard to ignore. Working as a hostess, your station is also coincidentally as close to the door as possible for maximum torture. 

This can’t get any worse, you think as your mind races with conflicting emotions. You thought you had moved on, thought you were past the pain and the memories, but seeing Jungkook again, unexpectedly, stirs up a storm of feelings you thought were buried deep. Anger, hurt, betrayal—all rush to the surface, threatening to overwhelm you.

But there is no time to unpack all that baggage right now. Time will continue to march on, and your job is still on the line. How can you have the time to have a mental breakdown when you were still living paycheck to paycheck?

But even as you try to push Jungkook out of your mind, his voice echoes in your ears, his image burned into your memory. It's as if the universe is laughing at your misery, reminding you that despite all your supposed growth, you are still just you. 

Painfully and pathetically you.

As you struggle to pull yourself together, a familiarly loud voice rings outside the edge of your consciousness. “Hey, Y/N! Fancy seeing you here…” Jimin greets you, his usual jovial demeanor halting midway when he sees your panicked expression. He clears his throat, perplexed. “Umm… Are you alright there, girl? You’re looking a little pale.”

You do not even have the mental capacity to wonder why Park Jimin was miraculously early to his shift, nor why he seems genuinely worried for you. Rather, all you can do is wave him off and use what little time you have before the restaurant opens to steel yourself for hours of melodious torture. 

“I’m fine, Park. You should get to work,” you grit out, wiping your sweaty palms on your uniform. Normally, Jimin would have teased you about the obvious wrinkles on your skirt. 

“You’re not the boss of me,” Jimin huffs, always the contrarian. He thinks better of it, however, and softens his tone. “Are you feeling sick or something? You look like you just saw a ghost.”

You freeze, perhaps giving yourself away a little. “I’m fine,” you repeat. 

“You know, if you refuse to elaborate, I’m going to have to retract your shower privileges,” Jimin taunts with a smirk. 

You feel a migraine growing by your temple, making you wince. God, why must men be the source of all your problems?

“I’m just… a little annoyed by the busker outside the restaurant,” you eventually admit, trying to be vague. Unfortunately for you, Jimin hates beating around the bush and would never take your crap if he knows something is up.

Unable to withstand the weight of his unimpressed stare, you clarify, “He was someone I used to know, that’s all.” You aren’t going to be any more specific than that, though you imagine Jimin gets the picture. You zip your lips, hoping to whoever is causing you pain that Jimin would somehow let the matter drop and leave you to your misery.

You brace yourself for his onslaught of questioning to come, and… it doesn’t happen. Instead, when you glance at Jimin, he is mysteriously stone faced. You wait for him to speak for what feels like a few minutes, but he doesn’t show any signs of wanting to tease or ridicule you. He simply watches you with a pensive expression. You can barely stop yourself from staring back at him, slack-jawed at his silence. 

Of course, you aren’t just going to question your luck, or what little you have at least. So, you stay silent back and fidget uncomfortably.

Finally, Jimin seems to snap out of his strange reverie. He fixes you with a bizarrely sympathetic grin, patting you affectionately on the back. “I see… Well, if you ever need a drink tonight, head over to the bar for a little sip. I got you covered,” is all he says in response before sashaying away. 

That was so fucking weird. You want to chase after him, perhaps beat the truth out of him. Jimin is nothing but a scheming dick, and you aren’t about to let him roam free with such sensitive information about yourself. Just as you’re about to stomp his ass (perhaps to relieve some of the building tension from your weary soul), your manager pops his head from his office door. 

“Y/N! Make sure you’re logged into the booking system. There’s going to be a party of 20 coming in about an hour,” he reminds you, shooting you an apologetic look. You nod back with a sigh, swiping the booking tablet from the hostess desk and scrolling through the logs. Sure enough, it is going to be a busy night despite being a Monday evening. Perhaps a little busier than usual, in fact.

Whatever. You will use whatever distraction you can get, and perhaps the approaching noise from the restaurant patrons will be enough to drown out the sound of his voice. 

You aren’t religious by any means, but you pray to whatever higher power exists that Jeon Jungkook doesn’t somehow decide to enter the restaurant. Stay outside, you plead. Outside the restaurant and your life, if possible.

Throughout the evening, you do your best to push aside the memories that threaten to resurface. You greet customers with a smile, lead them to their tables, and ensure their dining experience is pleasant despite the anxiety poisoning your insides. It's a routine you've perfected over time, a shield against the chaos of your emotions.

As the night wears on, you can feel Jimin's eyes on you from across the restaurant. You sneak glances back at him, and you blanch at his pitying gaze. If the restaurant had been slightly less crowded, you would have flipped him off. 

He’s probably enjoying my suffering, you think darkly. Unwilling to give him the satisfaction, you straighten up and do your best to appear more unaffected. Just as you do so, you can hear Jungkook perfectly hitting a soulful high note. 

“I’m so sorry for thinking I was strong,” you whisper to the universe. “Forgive me for my insolence.” You clench your fist in anguish, ignoring the confused looks from the customers in front of you. 

By the time your shift comes to a close, you are completely and utterly drained. You feel like a snail that has been continuously salted over the past eight hours, and you cannot help but cheer in relief when the clock finally strikes two in the morning. You have to wait for the last few diners to make their leave, but otherwise you are ready to let your bed swallow you whole. 

You stand by your hostess desk, leaning your head against it with a defeated sigh. Jungkook’s voice had died down only a few minutes ago, and you hope that by this point he has mercifully left the premises. You want to take a peek to make sure, but just as you’re about to make your way to the door, you feel a hand on your shoulder stop you in your tracks.

“‘Sup, bitch.” Jimin still has that weird, pitying gaze pointed at you, though his words don’t match it. “Are you okay to go home alone tonight? I can bring your dumb ass home if you want.”

You shove his hand away, ready to bite his head off when you think better of it. If Jimin drives you home, then that lowers the chances of seeing Jungkook down to pretty much zero. 

“You know what? Thanks,” you grouse. Jimin smiles at you winningly, and the image of it brings a shiver down your spine. You hit him, creeped out. “Hey. Stop that, will you? You’re being really weird?”

Jimin scoffs, crossing his arms. “Me? Weird? At least I don’t look like a damn firework ready to explode just because my cringelord ex-boyfriend is singing sappy love songs outside—”

“Shut the fuck up,” you seethe, stomping on his foot. He yelps in pain and slaps your shoulder in retaliation. 

“Ouch! Watch your ogre feet! My shoes are worth twice your monthly rent I’ll have you know,” he bristles. He breathes deeply, likely finding his inner calm (which you doubt exists). “But because I’m so nice, I’ll ignore your earlier transgression and blame it on your underdeveloped amygdala.”

You don’t know what’s more surprising: the fact that Jimin knew what an amygdala was or that he was forgiving you in the first place. “Whatever. Let’s finish closing up and then head out. I’m exhausted.”

You make quick work of your task and when you’re ready to head out, Jimin is already waiting by the backdoor. He’s twirling his car keys with a finger and gestures for you to follow him. As you make your way to his car in the back parking lot, you catch sight of a lone figure standing next to a beat-up pickup truck. He’s leaning against it, his hands busy tuning a battered guitar.

Your breath hitches, and you immediately feel nauseous. Of course the incident has yet to end. The night is young, after all.

Jimin accidentally slams the backdoor closed, and the noise wrenches Jungkook’s attention away from his ministrations. Immediately, his eyes lock with Jimin before finally turning to you. 

Your heart skips a beat as he gazes at you, your mind racing with a hurricane of emotions. You hadn’t expected to see him again so soon, especially not after the tumultuous encounter earlier in the day. What did you say earlier? That “the chances of seeing Jungkook was down to pretty much zero”? 

The chances of seeing Jungkook is low, but never zero, your mind unhelpfully supplies.

There is a long period of awkward silence. Jungkook has his mouth slightly agape, his hand subconsciously lowering his guitar to rest against his truck. To your left, Jimin’s breathing quickens slightly. You, on the other hand, are trying your best not to projectile vomit in this damned parking lot. 

Jungkook is the one who decides to break the delicate silence. “Is that you…?” he calls out hesitantly. 

Don’t say my name don’t say my name don’t say my name don’t say my name don’t say my—

“Y/N,” Jimin interjects. His gaze is steel cold, uncharacteristic of the carefree boy. He slings an arm around your shoulders, gently nudging you towards his car. With your view still fixed on Jungkook, you miss the way Jimin shoots the other boy with a playful smirk. “C’mon, babe. Let’s go home.”

His words startle both you and Jungkook. “Wha—? Jimin?” you splutter, flushing at his flirtatious undertone. You want to curse him out for his strange behavior, but all the shock has left you mute. 

Jimin all but shoves you into the passenger seat. But just as he’s about to slam the car door, you hear Jungkook call out your name. It’s fleeting and quiet, but you heard him crystal clear.

It breaks your spirit to hear him say your name. For a moment, you feel as though you are floating.

When was the last time he called your name? And so softly, too? If you could replay that moment over and over, would you be able to catch some signs of tenderness in his voice? When you close your eyes later that night, would your dreams show you that he had been gazing at you with yearning? Was any of it true?

As Jimin starts the car and pulls away from the curb, you steal one last glance out the window, only to find Jungkook staring at you with an arm outstretched. You continue to watch him until his figure disappears into the night. 

You are quietly immersed in your own thoughts, the whirlwind of emotions intensifying your persistent migraine. Unaccustomed to silence, Jimin decides to give his unsolicited two cents, as per usual.

“Geez. Didn’t know you were into the whole starving artist type. If I’d known, then maybe I’d stop trying to brag about my fortune to you,” Jimin scoffs. “If loser buskers like him impress you, then maybe I should—”

“Would you shut the fuck up for once in your fucking life!” You explode, whirling to face him with a glare. Jimin has the audacity to flinch, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the road. 

“What the fuck? Why the hell are you mad at me?” 

“What the hell was that back there? ‘C’mon babe.’” You mimic his voice with a sneer. “Why on earth would you do that? Now he thinks that we…”

“Why do you care what he thinks? He’s your ex, remember?” Jimin cuts you off, but you can’t even refute him. He continues, “Figured as much. And judging by how spooked you’ve looked all day, I have to assume that he was an asshole, right? Why else would you accept my offer for a ride home if you really wanted to avoid seeing him?”

You shrink under his accurate assumptions. Damn, were you really that easy to read? “I… I mean, yeah but…” You clear your throat, still feeling wronged by him. “You didn’t have to act like a weird prick in front of him!”

Without warning, the floodgates burst forth. You begin to ramble, the thoughts that have been weighing you down pouring out of you in waves. “Jungkook was my ex, yeah. But he wasn’t an asshole. On the contrary, he was really sweet. The nicest guy in my school, at least. Wouldn’t hurt a fly, that sort of person. I dated him all throughout high school and he was a great partner.”

Jimin hums skeptically. “Then why the messy break-up?”

“It wasn’t messy!” You retort defensively. 

“Could’ve fooled me!” Jimin snorts. “I also frequently act like a trembling kitten when I see my exes,” he says sarcastically. 

You ignore him. “The reason we broke it off was because he wanted to pursue his dreams to become a singer after high school and I wanted to do other things. It was a mutual break-up! Honestly, I’m glad that we did. Too many girls wanted him and all the unwanted attention was getting on my nerves. I was glad to find a reason to end it all,” you explain, hoping you didn’t sound as shaky as you felt. What you said was mostly true, though you left out the important bits to yourself. Mostly to save some of your dignity intact. (Truthfully, you just didn’t want to admit things you weren’t ready to face.)

“Then if you’re so glad, why do you look like you wanted to shit yourself? It ain’t adding up,” Jimin fires back.

“It’s just—” you stammer, trying to find a reason why you were so bent out of shape after seeing him. “I-I was caught off guard, I guess. I knew he was pursuing his dreams to sing and all, so I expected him to leave the country. I wasn’t expecting to see him outside where I work, of all places,” you mutter lamely. You have your head bowed, biting your lips from the nerves. Again, you weren’t totally lying. 

Jimin is silent for a moment, contemplating your admission. When he looks so calm like this, it’s hard to get a read on what he’s thinking. As Jimin speeds down the highway, the street lights illuminate his face in a strange way, and for once, he looks like a stranger. His steely expression makes you nervous, for some reason. 

Eventually, he asks you a question you would never have expected. “And he just let you go?”

You pause. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Jimin huffs, irritated. “He just up and left without a fight? If I were him, I would have…” he trails off, his jaw clenching. 

You don’t know where this Jimin came from. Under the moonlight, Jimin looks livid, but that can’t be right. Jimin, mad for you? Sure, you’ve seen his anger directed towards you, but this? Everything’s gotten so complicated, and you are just about ready to succumb to sleep and hope to wake from this nightmare.

The rest of the drive to your house is silent, save for the sounds coming from passing cars. Jimin pulls up to your apartment complex, his mysterious anger finally subsiding. 

Just as you’re about to reach for the car door handle, Jimin places a hand on your shoulder. “Listen, Y/N. I’ll talk to management tomorrow morning. I know the manager well enough that I can probably convince him to do something about that ex of yours. He’s busking on private property, so it should be easy to get rid of him,” Jimin says, tone serious. He swallows, and for a moment you think he looks a little nervous. “If that’s what you want, I guess.”

His kindness scares you. You want to tease him, ask him where Mr. Bitchy and his $2000 Chelsea boots had gone. Anything to make this air of severe sincerity to abate. This new Jimin feels suffocating. But instead, you nod your head stiffly. 

Jimin makes a pained expression for a moment, but it’s quickly replaced by his usual playful smirk. He slaps you upside the head, laughing heartily at your stunned face. 

“Get some rest, babe. I’ll see you tomorrow evening,” he chuckles, reaching over to open the door for you. You scramble out into the cold city air, taking one last look back at him through his window.

He rolls it down, leaning forward to flash a toothy grin at you. “Hey, stop with all the angst, pookie. Wouldn’t want my favorite toy to get sick from overthinking. Who else would I bother at work if not you?”

You snort, both endeared and irritated in equal measure. He’s right. Everything was going back to normal tomorrow, you’re sure of it. You flip him off with a cheeky grin before making your way to your apartment.

Everything is going to be okay. Jimin says he’ll do something about it, and for whatever reason, you feel like you can trust him on this. Surely good fortune was soon to be upon you. 

xxx

Jimin had texted you while you were still sleeping:

Spoke to Manager Jeong about your little problem. He said he’ll deal with him.

You breathe a sigh of relief, your body feeling significantly lighter. Your sleep last night had been tumultuous and restless. You feel more tired than you did when you went to bed, but all your weariness fades once you read Jimin’s text. 

Once you make it to work, you find that management has gotten rid of Jungkook somehow. Added with the fact that your landlord has promised to look into repairing your shower (no guarantees, but you want to stay optimistic), today has been significantly better compared to yesterday. You even catch yourself humming as you set up your workstation, a small smile gracing your lips.

Jimin has a later shift this evening, and you find that you are somewhat disappointed for once. Your overwhelming gratitude is surely the only reason, otherwise you would never admit to wanting to see him at any given time. 

You are in the midst of texting Jimin about all the good news when your manager passes by your desk. You are quick to pocket your phone away from his prying eyes, ready to defend that you aren’t slacking off… but his demeanor does not reveal any ire. In fact, he looks rather pleased for once.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Jeong. What’s up?” you ask, suspicious. You instinctively fold your hands behind your back; it is a subconscious effort on your part to keep your distance from him. Something about your manager always gives you a bad feeling when he looks a little too happy. 

He grins widely. “Everything is going splendidly, Ms. Y/N. In fact, I think today might just be our lucky day!”

Never during your time working here has his and your luck ever coincided. “Our lucky day?” you echo.

“Why, yes! I spoke with your lovely friend and coworker Jimin this morning,” he starts, and immediately your alarm bells ring. You don’t even bother correcting him about the ‘friend’ part like you normally would. He continues, “He gave me a brilliant idea about the busker who had been performing in front of the restaurant the past two days.”

You nod slowly, not quite understanding. “Yes… The busker has been quite… the spectacle,” you say carefully. Somehow, you know calling Jungkook a ‘nuisance’ would have been the wrong choice in this instance.

Manager Jeong beams. “Exactly! You must have noticed the amount of people we served yesterday despite being a Monday. Additionally, almost all of those new customers requested outdoor seating no less!”

You feel the world tilt on its axis. What is he on abou—?

“What are you talking about?” you exhale.

“Don’t you think it would be even better for business if we got that busker to perform inside the restaurant? Why, it’s a brilliant idea and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it first! Our live band has always been missing something special, and perhaps a vocal accompaniment is the exact answer to our problem! Think about it, the atmosphere would be…”

Manager Jeong continues to prattle animatedly about his plans to your unhearing ears. There must be static or cotton plugging your head because you cannot possibly understand anything he is saying. Jungkook? Inside? Performing at your restaurant? But Jimin said he had spoken to the manager about getting Jungkook away from you! None of this makes sense. 

“That makes no sense,” you verbalize, unknowingly cutting Manager Jeong from his monologue. He halts in surprise, as if now just realizing you were standing there (much less capable of interrupting or disagreeing with him). When he snaps out of it, you sense that familiarly sinister aura emerging from him in waves. You belatedly realize he must have mistaken your outburst as antagonistic.

“Well, Ms. Y/N. Whether it makes sense or not, we have hired Mr. Jeon to perform live at the bar stage for the next four weeknights. If, for some unknowable reason, I am incorrect,” he pauses to emphasize his words, “then his services will be promptly terminated. However, judging by his popularity from simply standing out in the cold and singing silly love songs, I am sure that worry is unwarranted.”

Behind you, the telltale sound of the main door swinging open catches you even more off guard. You do not even have the chance to turn to face the newcomer, only managing to register the gust of cold wind that accompanies their entry.

And so, you hear him before you see him. 

“Hello?” Jeon Jungkook greets quietly.

Even without turning, you can imagine how he looks, how he stands, how he feels, how he tastes—

Manager Jeong claps his hands gleefully. “Splendid timing! Speak of the devil…” The older man nearly skips towards Jungkook like a youthful school girl, accompanied by his uncharacteristic squeals of excitement. 

You can feel his gaze on you, almost tangibly. With nothing but your shreds of dignity left intact, you force yourself to face him. 

He’s still so tall, is all your mind can helpfully supply as you stand feet away from your high school sweetheart for the first time in two years. He’s still wearing the same bucket hat from the night before, semi-shielding him from view. Despite that, you catch a small flash of white graze his bottom lip as he chews the soft flesh nervously.

“Hi, Y/N.” He addresses you directly, completely overlooking your manager without a single glance. Despite his hat, he still has his eyes lasered on you, as if not quite believing you were there. You hate how his attention makes you shiver all the same. 

Even though he ignored your manager (which would have been a major dispute had you done the same), Jungkook still receives a friendly handshake in return. “Mr. Jeon! I’m surprised you know Ms. Y/N, though I’m sure you must have spoken with her when she was escorting guests to the outdoor seating the other day.”

You had actually gotten your co-hostess to seat all the outdoor seatings yesterday, but you weren’t going to mention that.

Manager Jeong claps him on the back, inadvertently causing Jungkook to stumble forward closer to you. He looks up at you then, eyes bugging out of their sockets like a rabbit caught in a bear trap. You stagger backwards in turn, barely concealing the anxiety on your face. Oh fucking hell.

Your manager is none the wiser, of course. “Well, this makes my job much easier! Since you’re both acquainted, I’ll let Y/N show you the ropes. The band doesn’t start their set until later in the evening, but you’re free to take a look at the stage and other parts of our facility in the meantime,” he says, chuffed. Meanwhile, Jungkook looks like he’s been shot by a freeze ray. 

Then, your manager points a sharper gaze at you. “Ms. Y/N, treat our super star well. I know you won’t disappoint me.”

Fucking superstar… You can only nod in defeat. “Y-Yes, sir…” you whisper, clenching your uniform with your fists. It is the only way to keep them from shaking like a leaf. You watch as his figure disappears behind his office door, leaving you to fend for yourself. Powerless, you train your gaze to the floor, unwilling to meet Jungkook’s eyes. 

But the nerves are taking control of your body, screaming at you to eject, eject, eject!

“Sorry, I have to go to the toilet,” you splutter quickly, almost tripping over yourself on the way to the restroom. You dimly wonder if Jungkook is going to think you’re leaving to throw up, but you can’t find any self-respect left to care. All you need is air and space to breathe—preferably away from him. 

You slam open the stall, hardly checking to see if anyone else is around before locking the door shut. You sit on the toilet, plant your face between your knees, and scream. 

Should you go home and use sickness as an excuse? But even if you did, you still had shifts every weeknight. You would have to see him eventually. You can pray all you want that Jungkook will be fired by the end of the week, but even your delusional mind can never fathom the idea that anyone would willingly want to send Jeon Jungkook away. Plus, you remember that the regular band that plays at the restaurant has been wanting to get a singer to accompany them for ages, and you know just how damn affable he can be. They are going to love him, and you hate him for that.

It is clear to you that there is no other option:

You pull out your phone to quickly open up Indeed on your browser, frantically hunting for any openings that might fit your measly qualifications. However, you have to pause in your search to deliberate. Wouldn’t it be better to move out of the country? You had been so naive to think that moving cities was enough distance between you and Jungkook—going across the ocean is the obvious answer. Should you start up your Duolingo lessons again and hope that you can somehow survive in a different continent with only a few dollars to your name? 

You shut your phone in despair. Whether or not your plans of escape are feasible or not, in the short term, you are stuck with having to suck it up and just learn to ignore your ex-boyfriend’s presence. Surely you can force out a fake smile or two, especially with how much practice you’ve gotten after working with unbearably entitled customers. 

Taking a step outside of the restroom stall, you head to the sink to splash some cold on your face. You stare at the mirror, confronted by a girl who looks two seconds away from having a Netflix Original-esque meltdown. You rake your fingers through your hair, doing your best to look like you aren’t about to rush into incoming traffic. To no one's surprise, it doesn't work.

“Okay, I got this. Just pretend like he’s just some guy, because at the end of the day, he is just some guy,” you mutter to your reflection. She looks back at you unconvinced. “He may have broken my heart into little bite size pieces, but who cares! HE’S JUST A GUY!” You repeat the phrase over and over again like a lunatic, in a desperate attempt to cognitively alter your brain chemistry.

At that moment, one of the other stalls in the restroom creaks open, and a girl you recognize who works as one of the dishwashers walks out. You both have a silent eye conversation as she quietly studies your crazed expression and crumpled work uniform. 

Eventually, she awkwardly clears her throat, pointing to the only sink in the restroom. “Uh, sorry to hear about your, uh, guy problem. Could I use the sink please?” 

You hastily back away, allowing her to take your spot. You don’t even have the energy to apologize for your spectacle, just bowing sheepishly to her before making your way back to the main hall. If she rats you out to the rest of your coworkers, then that gives you another reason to move out of the country. Maybe you should consider a name change while you’re at it.

When you exit the restroom, you half expect Jungkook to be waiting for you by the door, but find that he isn’t anywhere nearby. He isn’t by your hostess station either, and you thank your lucky stars for once. Even if your manager had asked you to show him around, you’re sure that Jungkook can find his way around just fine. Plus, the stage is at the corner of the restaurant and is sufficiently far enough that you wouldn’t have to make eye contact with him if you were careful. 

You don’t know which greater entity has been messing with your sanity these past few days, but you hope that they can show you mercy just once—a brief reprieve, if anything. 

You clasp your hands in prayer. I’ll eat more vegetables, I’ll remember to floss, I’ll call my parents from time to time… Just please let me survive tonight. 

“Remember, Y/N… He’s just some guy,” you reiterate through gritted teeth. If a passing coworker happens to overhear your demented chanting, then you pay them no mind.

You walk towards the entrance, flipping the sign to open. You feel like a video game character when you glance at the clock, which signals the start of your shift. You can imagine the red bold text hovering above your head: 8 more hours until freedom. 

This is just like playing Five Nights at Freddy’s, except you’ve only watched the movie and you suspect your life is probably worse than whatever Josh Hutcherson had to survive through. 

You take a couple heaving breaths to brace yourself for what will be the longest eight hours of your life. You’ll show Jungkook just how well-adjusted and mature you’ve become. You are a professional, and not even a boy with angelic vocals will make you crumble. After all, what’s the worst he can do? 

xxx

He could, in fact, do a lot worse than you thought. 

“I have many regrets being born at all,” you mutter bleakly, three hours into your shift. 

Jungkook had started singing only an hour ago, so you had been filled with false confidence at first when the restaurant was filled with nothing but ambient chatter and soothing jazz music. You felt more and more confident as the minutes ticked by and your anxiety slowly melted away. You even forgot that he was somewhere in the back, likely warming up or whatever it is that singers did before a performance. 

However, your brief moment of courage shatters almost immediately when Jungkook finally takes the stage. 

At first, you did your best to tune out his voice, but it’s especially hard when whoever was in charge of the sound system decided to crank his volume to an excruciating level. You wanted desperately to grab some napkins and shove them in your ears, but you suspected that your customers (and manager) would be unappreciative of that gesture. And so there you lay, forced to wallow in Jungkook’s melodious singing like a criminal strapped to an electric chair.

But how much more pleasant an electric chair would be! Why on earth was Jungkook so adamant to sing sad love songs the entire time? Why couldn’t he be like his other singing contemporaries, who loved to write songs about getting bitches and making money? At the very least, even if he wasn’t quite a platinum selling artist just yet, surely he was constantly sharing beds with anyone he pleases? Couldn’t he sing about that?!

(In the back of your mind, you wonder if it would be less painful to learn that Jungkook has slept with multiple people… Because then, it would mean that he had moved on while you stood alone on your island, stranded and yearning.)

You didn’t want to think too deeply about his lyrics. However, you're only human. So when your mind barrier failed and you caught snippets of his singing, you noticed a pattern. There was always a girl in his songs. She was omnipresent, and Jungkook was always pleading for her. Begging and aching and wanting. But most all… he was always repenting. In every song, he always whispered a pious apology. 

You feared what would happen if you turned around in those moments of weakness. You were terrified of admitting something, of letting words spill that had been trapped in your throat for the better part of two years. 

Lucky for you, salvation comes in the form of one Park Jimin. Though, can you even count him as your savior when he had also inadvertently caused your demise?

Jimin doesn’t even have a shift today, so you’re more than surprised when his bright blonde head stumbles through the restaurant doors. His expensive coat is askew and his signature designer shades are nowhere to be found. He is panic incarnate—an expression you have never seen on his face before.

“Holy fuck,” he greets, his chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. His profanity startles the elderly couple waiting to be seated, their glares menacingly sharp. To his credit, Jimin doesn’t even seem phased.

In lieu of an answer, you gesture vaguely behind you. You can imagine how dejected you must look. “Holy fuck indeed,” you sigh.

It takes a moment for Jimin to regain his bearings. He straightens up and pats down his coat, but his hair is still tousled by the wind. If not for the fact that he has a car, you might have thought he had run all the way here. 

“I am so sorry. I didn’t know this was going to happen,” he starts, genuinely remorseful. “I texted Manager Jeong this morning and he said he’d get your ex to leave, but I didn’t think he’d offer the damn bastard a job!”

“Mind your language, Park. I’m still at work,” you scold. You try your best to ignore the scrutinizing gaze of the elderly couple. You lower your voice. “And don’t apologize. I know you’re an asshole, but I doubt you’d actually prey on my downfall like this. I know you’re not into public humiliation.”

Jimin brightens slightly at your joke, but he still looks like a guilty puppy who'd been caught shitting on the carpet. “Yeah, well. I happen to enjoy tormenting you and I won’t let some upstart Charlie Puth wannabe ruin your life. That’s my job.”

You smile wryly at him. “Well, that’s too bad. Jungkook’s been singing for a few hours now and I’m pretty sure Manager Jeong is going to keep him long-term. He might have broken my heart, but damn does he have vocals. I'm sure you'll have plenty competition when it comes to 'who can make Y/N's life feel like hell.'”

Jimin doesn't smile back, but instead studies your face for a moment. Then:

“Do you think if I offer to suck Manager Jeong off, he’ll fire him?”

“What the fuck?” You nearly yell out in surprise, your jaw dropping to the floor. Judging by his serious scowl, you know he's actually considering it. By now, the elderly couple waiting to be seated have left the premises.

Jimin continues, unperturbed. “I know he secretly wants me, based on how his wife seems to have a personal vendetta against me. He definitely wants a taste of my bus—.”

“Stop, I get it!” You wave your hands to make him shut up, heat rising up your cheeks. “Never say that string of words to me ever again. You have just inflicted ten years of suffering onto my poor brain.”

“Hey, I’m just offering solutions here!” Jimin pouts. 

You stare at him, unimpressed. “Save it. You tried solving my problems already, so let’s just accept the fact that there’s nothing else for me to do but to suck it up. It’s time for me to put on my big girl pants for a change.”

“I mean, I could do all the sucking instead, but you’re being a little bitch about it,” Jimin mumbles. He’s lucky you didn’t hear him this time, lest you give him something to really whine about.

“Anyway, I guess this is my life now. Nothing to do except hope that he never tries to interact with me or I can find another job,” you shrug. 

Over your shoulder, Jimin fixes Jungkook with an icy glare that is cold enough to give you the shivers. For the first time that entire night, you hazard a glance back at the stage, finding that Jungkook is already looking back at you.

You whip your head back forward, perspiration forming down your back. For fuck’s sake, this guy.

“Well, let me know if he tries anything. I’ll beat that little freak into the floor if he tries so much as breathing the same air as you.” Jimin huffs, puffing up his chest with false bravado. You can’t help but laugh at his empty threat, knowing that Jungkook could probably bench press Jimin without breaking a sweat. Jimin's muscles are only for aesthetics, after all.

“Don’t worry, he hasn’t actually spoken to me actually. He can keep singing his sad little love songs, I really don’t mind,” you say, like a liar. Jimin snorts, wholly unconvinced.

“Well, if you need me, I’m heading to the bar to grab a drink so I can stare at your ex uncomfortably until he leaves. See you!” Jimin bids you farewell with a cheery grin as he skips a little too happily inside the restaurant.

Why'd you have to befriend the largest lunatic in the city? You massage your forehead with a groan, willing away your growing headache. 

The rest of the night trickles away like molasses. Jungkook continues to sing his heart out, save for an hour intermission where he presumably takes a short break. In his absence, you hear Jimin guffaw loudly, his laughter too sharp to be considered happy. You faintly hear Jungkook shy stutters in response, and you momentarily consider running in to interrupt.

Why? Did you want to save Jungkook from Jimin’s unnecessary harassment? It’s not like Jimin is doing it out nowhere, he was just trying to be… a good friend?

You pause to ponder. As much as you hate to admit it, you know why you want to help Jungkook. But Jimin on the other hand? Why did he want to help you? Questions begin flowing through your head like a whirlwind, and your nausea increases. God, when was your next therapy appointment again?

You save those questions for another day. As you look at your watch, there are only thirty minutes left until two in the morning. You tap your foot impatiently, smiling curtly at departing customers as the restaurant slowly emptied. As they left, you overhear some of your regulars giggling amongst themselves, whispering about the cute new singer and his charming demeanor. 

The last nail on your coffin has been hammered. Yeah, Jungkook isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. 

With the restaurant closing soon, it sounds like Jungkook is ready to end his set as well. 

Throughout the night, Jungkook rarely made a point to speak. The only time he didn’t sing was when he quietly introduced the title of his next song and the band swiftly began the first opening notes. For his last song, however, Jungkook decided to give a little more backstory for his final song. 

“Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for listening to me for the night,” Jungkook says with a soft voice, his tone awfully shy despite his powerful belting throughout the evening. The few customers left give him a warm round of applause, and you hear the familiar sound of his timid giggles spill from the restaurant speakers. 

“This will be my final song for the night. Most of the songs I sang today were covers, but this one is an original. I…” He hesitates for a moment, and something pulls you to turn despite the alarm bells ringing in your ears. You face him, and just like earlier in the evening, he is already looking back at you.

This time, you don’t look away; he does. His eyes flit to the ceiling, and he licks his lips from nerves. “I… I wrote this song a long while ago. I’ve never sang it in public before and I never thought it would ever see the light of day. Until, well…”

He stops again. This time, he gestures to the guitarist in the band, silently asking to borrow it. With a guitar in hand, he smiles a little more confidently at the small crowd of people. He begins strumming the first few notes, and your heart stops. “I hope everyone had a pleasant evening. Get home safe and have a great rest of your week. My name is Jungkook, and this last song is called…”

Before he can sing the first line of his song, you make a break for it.

You slam the restaurant doors open, and the stinging cold air immediately pierces their fangs into your skin. Your coat is still inside, but you can’t bring yourself to reenter. You take a long breath, the chill barely registering in your mind with how loudly your heart is pounding in your ears.

Hearing the opening to that song was enough to bring you back in time, three years ago:

You are in his childhood bedroom, his walls littered with concert posters and his floor a mess with unfolded laundry and guitar picks. The afternoon sun is streaming through his windows, bathing him in gold. You have an exam the next day and he has cram school to go to, but you’ve both chucked your books somewhere on his desk, left forgotten. 

He has his eyes closed, concentrated. You’re both on his small twin bed, squished together side by side and thighs touching. You have your head on his shoulder and he has his hands on his guitar. He strums a few chords experimentally and sings a melody that only the two of you know.

(Not anymore.)

“Are you writing a new song?” you ask, voice a little scratchy. Neither of you had spoken for the past few hours, just basking in the setting sun and Jungkook’s indistinct strumming. But now, his chords sound more sure, more certain of something.

“Yeah, I just thought of it,” he hums. He opens his eyes a smidge, a smitten smile on his lips. You mirror him. 

“What’s it about this time?”

His brows furrow. “I’ve been trying to write about other stuff, you know? Namjoon-hyung tells me it’s important that songs have meaning and impact.” He pauses in his strumming, looking a little conflicted. “And I get what he means. Art is all about saying something, but… I can’t help that there’s only one thing I ever want to talk about. Is that so wrong?”

You chuckle, understanding what he means. You nudge your head against his cheek, grinning from ear to ear. The fluttering in your chest has become routine to you at this point, but he somehow always knows how to increase it tenfold. “God, you’re such a sweet talker. Really, Koo. There’s no need to serenade with love songs—I’m already yours.”

He looks back at you, brimming with tender affection. “I know,” he responds. Then, he takes a pen from his bedside table, and begins writing.

During those years of dating him, you always thought that If he was a waterfall, then you were a teaspoon. You desperately tried to be enough for him, but you’re barely able to fathom the depth of his devotion. Everything about him was excessive, and you could seldom understand how he managed to contain himself. He was born to share himself, to tear bits of his soul so that the world may understand him, love him. His songs were a testament that he was trying to do that, and you always felt so lucky to be able to receive him, wholly and fully.

How cruel was it that Jungkook uses that same song to rip open the barely healed scab on your heart, leaving you bare and stinging and raw all over again.

You have no idea how long you've stood there in the cold. It must have been barely a few minutes when Jimin finds his way to you. He wordlessly shrugs his coat off and places it on your shoulders, but you make no move to acknowledge him. 

You hope your silence is enough for Jimin to infer that you are not in a conversational mood, but he’s nothing if not impatient. He forcibly pulls you to face him, his hands warm even through your clothing.

“Hey, you good? Did something happen?” He asks with barely concealed irritation, but it’s not directed at you. Still, you flinch at his scathing tone, shrinking in on yourself. In your daze, you vaguely notice his resemblance to an angry baby chick. 

“It’s nothing. Go back inside, I’ll be right there,” you mumble lamely, weakly pushing him back towards the restaurant. Jimin does not budge, instead leveling you with a hard stare. This time, you’re sure his irritation is for you.

“You idiot, you literally ran out like someone was out to get you. Of course it’s not nothing,” he grouses. 

You sigh tiredly, shaking your head at him. “We can talk later. It’s almost closing time and I just want to go home and sleep.”

Before Jimin can argue further, the door to the restaurant opens once more, but it isn’t a leaving customer. 

“What the fuck? What are you doing out here?” Jimin all but shouts at Jungkook. He holds up an accusatory finger at him and uses his other hand to nudge you behind him as if to shield you. 

Jungkook winces, instinctively stepping back. Despite being a few inches taller than Jimin, Jungkook’s timidness makes him look smaller. “I… I was just worried about her—”

“Don’t you have a song to finish in there? Talk about professional,” Jimin spits out. Jimin maneuvers you so that Jungkook can’t see you, but you manage to catch sight of how his gaze follows you unfailingly.

“I finished up my set. It’s closing time.” Jungkook responds coolly. He’s still a little quiet, but you can sense some of his natural composure rising to the surface. When he needs to be, Jungkook has been known to stand his ground—usually when it comes to matters involving you.

At this time of the night and after hours of mental torture, the last thing you need is to watch your two worst nightmares duke it out in front of your work establishment. You are beyond exhausted, and you hardly have the fortitude to withstand another minute of their voices ringing in your ears. 

Your eyes well up with tears of frustration, causing the two boys to freeze up in panic. You don’t give them the chance to fuss over you; instead, you haphazardly wipe your cheeks before roughly pushing them back towards the restaurant. 

“Get back to work, you idiots.” Your voice sounds warbled even to your own ears, but you push past your overwhelming emotions in favor of getting back inside to close up. Hell, you might even call in sick tomorrow, just so you can cry pathetically into your bowl of cereal in solitude.

“I’m not even on the clock today!” Jimin complains faintly, but you only push him harder. 

When you all reenter, you walk back to your desk and pointedly ignore the two of them until they awkwardly float away from your orbit. Despite the distance they give you, their gazes are still fixed plainly on you and they feel like knives digging into your back. 

Eventually, all the final customers of the day take their leave, and your remaining coworkers start dimming the lights and bidding their goodbyes. From the corner of your eye, you see Jungkook bowing respectfully to the band, who were giving him friendly pats on the back for a job well done. Jimin walks toward you, his car keys dangling from his left pinky. 

“No thanks. I’ll take the bus home today,” you declare before he can offer a ride. Jimin opens his mouth like a goldfish, flapping his lips dumbly as he stares at you in shock. You have no idea why he’s so surprised, given how you’ve been making it obvious that you need some space.

He looks like he wants to argue again, but thinks better of it. A singular moment of restraint from Park Jimin, which is an act you once thought impossible. Maybe he does care about you more than you thought. 

He stiffly nods at you, shoving his hands and keys into his pockets. He still has a frown on his face when he tells you to text him when you get home. You flip him off with a shaky smirk in response, a feeble attempt to bring some levity back to your now tense relationship. It works a little, and Jimin brightens up significantly. How simple-minded of him.

With a flippant wave, you leave work and head towards your bus stop. At this hour of the night, the streets are mostly dim, save for some street lamps and bars that stay open longer than your restaurant. There are always some people milling about, enough that you never feel too on edge about how late it is. Still, your bus stop is often empty, leaving you to mull over your thoughts in peace.

You are in the midst of jamming your earbuds into your ear when a presence makes itself known beside you.

Is it possible to go through the five stages of grief in under a second? You suppose not, but it’s hard to tell what sort of emotions swim through you when you come face to face with Jeon Jungkook again.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” you mutter under your breath. You pause the song playing on your phone to glare at him with as much venom as you can muster. 

Jungkook holds up his hands in surrender, doe eyes wide like prey. “I-I’m heading home too! I’m not following you, I swear!”

You groan internally. Figures that you and Jungkook take the same bus home. But hold on— “Don’t you have a car? I remember you were parked near the restaurant the other night,” you note, squinting at him.

Jungkook looks sheepish as he rubs the back of his neck. “Oh, yeah. That car was my hyung’s. He lets me borrow it sometimes, but he needed it tonight.”

“Sure…” You level him with a skeptical frown. You remember his hyung, but don’t recall him ever owning a car. You aren’t even sure that his Namjoon-hyung is allowed by the country to drive a car, much less own one. 

He could be lying, but you don’t want to give him an excuse to continue any conversation. So, you busy yourself with your phone and keep your head bowed away from him.

When the bus arrives, Jungkook makes it a point to sit a few rows behind you. Thankfully, he has a better understanding of social cues than a certain Park that you know. He leaves you alone, but your entire body still feels like a rope pulled taut. You have to convince yourself not to look behind you, your morbid curiosity scratching your insides raw.

You are in the home stretch now, and it’ll only be a few more minutes before you get to your stop and make your way to your safe haven. Hell resumes the next day and the next, but at the very least you’ll have your home to yourself. No one could take that away from you.

Again, this is where you learn that tempting fate is never a good idea.

When you exit the bus at your stop, you can hear his footsteps following you. It’s hard not to notice, especially when his large and distracting boots make such a distinct racket that makes him so Jungkook. 

You hasten your pace towards your apartment complex, your shoulders hunched and hands shoved into your coat pockets in an attempt to hinder the bile rising from your stomach. He had promised that he wasn’t following you, but that proclamation seems to be standing on feeble legs with how long he’s been on your tail now.

Your street is filled with rows of low-rise apartment buildings, so you hope that if anything happens, you can yell as loud as you can and alert some compassionate neighbor to come to your aid. (Not that you think he would ever physically harm you, but… You can’t say the same about your mental state.)

Your home is just two buildings away from where you are, but Jungkook still seems determined to follow you to the end. You all but skip the remaining feet to your apartment entrance, your breath coming out in puffs as you finally muster up the courage to face your supposed stalker and give him a piece of your mind. 

“If this is some convoluted way for you to find out where I live, then you aren’t being very subtle about it,” you say, your chin held up high despite the growing urge to vomit pathetically in front of your ex-boyfriend. You have your hand rested on the doorknob, just a moment’s notice away from bolting into your house if the need for a quick getaway arises.

To your surprise, Jungkook wasn’t following you as closely as you expected. He had stopped trailing you about two buildings down, his own hand poised on the door with a look of genuine shock.

You both stand there, staring at each other as mutual understanding dawns on the two of you. 

Everyday, the universe learns of more creative ways to be cruel.

“Oh…” Jungkook’s voice falters. He looks simultaneously frightened and amazed, as if he too finds this entire situation unbelievably harsh. He swallows thickly, looking at you and back to his door in quick succession. “Well… This is a strange coincidence,” he murmurs. 

You want to believe that this was his entire fault, that Jungkook had somehow managed to track you down to haunt you for the rest of your days. You want to believe that he’s a crazed stalker who is willing to find where you work and live so that every hour of your wretched life is filled with nothing but reminders of what-could-have-beens. You just want someone to blame instead of just the cosmos—you want someone tangible to hate so that your suffering can be given some sort of identity. You want to give your mourning and hurt a name so that you can learn how to heal.

You want to believe all of that, but it’s hard to do so when Jungkook looks so incredibly uncomfortable, as if he’d rather melt into the shadows and never be seen again. 

In all your memories, you have never seen Jungkook look so small.

You heave a big sigh, your fingers grasping the door knob so tightly that you half-expect it to be dented from the force. You linger for a moment, your mouth opening but nothing spills out. 

What is there to say? What do you say to an ex-boyfriend that you haven’t seen in two years, who is suddenly so deeply entwined in your life once more? Do you tell him goodnight? Tell him to stay away? Tell him to come home with you?

Jungkook looks equally as conflicted. His lips are pursed tight with words left unsaid. You aren’t sure whether you want to punch the confession out of his mouth or seal them up forever. It feels like eons before he finally breaks the silence with a mirthless laugh.

“I… I just wanted to say—back at the restaurant. When I sang that last song,” Jungkook begins, and his voice feels loud because of how empty the streets are. For a moment, you are reminded of a cathedral you once visited during a vacation, how sacred silence can be. The world holds its breath, waiting for him to speak.

“I meant it all. Every word. Every lyric. I never stopped…”

He trails off, shrugging his shoulders. He stares at you helplessly, but you don’t know what to say. You don’t want to listen any more, but your feet are planted to the ground. You’re frozen like a deer in headlights, forced to brace against him as he crashes into you. 

He continues, “And when we broke up back then… I never wanted that to happen. You broke it off before we could even try something—and I hated how I didn’t fight for you harder. I let you misunderstand me because I was afraid you wouldn’t want to stick around if I didn’t succeed. I convinced myself that I was holding you down, but I never gave you—us—a chance. I never stopped regretting it since.”

“Me? Break up with you?” You echo incredulously. That statement is enough to break you from your trance, the telltale signs of indignation rising up your chest. “How dare you suggest—Me? You were the one who broke up with me, asshole! You were the one who broke my heart and decided to up and leave to god knows where! Only to miraculously respawn right next to me, groveling at my feet with sad love songs as if that’s enough for me to forgive and forget? Fucking entitled bastard,” you seethe.

Somehow, Jungkook manages to shrink more, like a bunny with his tail tucked between his legs. “Yes, you’re right that I broke your heart but… When I told you I was moving away to try and become a singer, it was always with the intention of staying together. I know it would have been difficult, but I wanted you to be with me through thick and thin. But when you misunderstood and took it as a break up, I let you go because, well… I was scared that it would happen eventually. Who wants to date a broke busking fool anyway?”

He laughs, but it sounds watery. He sniffles, and you hope it's only because of the cold. “I tried looking for you, but you blocked me everywhere and no one from back home seemed to know where you went. So I just accepted that we’d never see each other again… Until a few days ago, that is.”

A misunderstanding? Is that what everything boils down to? Years of trying to build yourself back up again, relearning what it means to be happy—all the fallen domino pieces in your life trailing back to a single moment in time? All because Jungkook was scared that you didn't love him enough?

You’ve never felt angrier in your life. You fear what you might say if you continue to stand outside there, face to face with the singular person strong enough to whittle you down to the bone. Jeon Jungkook is all soft smiles and sweet songs, but how come he’s always able to knock you off your axis? Few people on this earth can stitch you up and break you down in equal measure, but somehow, Jungkook manages to do all that and more.

Then, comes the guilt. Had it been all your fault? That you hadn't returned his love in equal measure? Had you secretly given up on the hope of being on his level? Always looking down on yourself: unable to move past your insecurities. Were you terrified of being his side piece, his girlfriend, forever?

Who are you, even? And where do you stand?

(Beside him, is what you want to answer. You don't know if that's the right choice.)

You can’t bear to look at him, least of all answer him. Without another word, you shove your house key into the door before slamming it shut despite the late hour. If you awaken any neighbors, you’ll apologize later. For now, all you require is sleep and hope that this has been all a terrible nightmare.

xxx

Reality is a bitter pill to swallow.

Jeon Jungkook continues to sing at the restaurant, and after only two days of repeat stellar performances, your manager decides to promote him as the official vocalist for the band. It hurts to admit that you're not the least bit surprised; you might have a hard time looking at him, but you can never deny his talent. 

His song list has added a larger variety of genres ever since his first performance. That is to say, he isn’t always singing about lost loves and tragic couples every night. Perhaps it is due to some requests from customers or his other bandmates, but it doesn’t stop him from sprinkling one or two love songs into the mix. 

He doesn’t sing any original songs ever again. That, at least, is a small mercy. He doesn’t make any moves to speak with you either, despite the daily awkward trips back home after the end of your shifts. Whether that’s because he’s given up on you (again), or he’s waiting for you to make the first move, you don’t know. Frankly, you don’t think you have the energy (nor courage) to do anything about it.

It’s a few weeks after Jungkook’s first performance at the restaurant, and closing time is approaching. You appreciate Friday nights the most because it means you’ll have two consecutive days to relax and avoid your problems. It’s also the busiest night of the week, when white-collar workers decide to drink and eat for as long as the night allows them. Busier nights mean more distractions, and you’re willing to deal with twenty Karens over one Jungkook.

During nights like these, your manager occasionally asks you to fulfill some waitress duties when there aren’t enough hands on deck. Normally you’d hate it, but earning the extra tips is enough to keep your grumbling to a minimum To this day, your landlord has yet to do anything about your broken shower, and you’ve finally conceded to the fact that you’ll have to be the one to do something about it. 

As you inform the customers in your area that the last call for orders is approaching, you sneak a glance at the bar to see Jimin dutifully performing his job. That is to say, he’s flirting up a storm, getting women and men alike to blush from head to toe as he serves their drinks with a salacious smirk.

What a swindler, you think to yourself, snorting when he makes eye contact with you. He gives you a cheeky salute, mouthing something as he gestures to the back door.

Despite the semi-fight the two of you had all those weeks ago, Jimin was never one to argue about the same topic two days in a row. When you saw him the next day after your confrontation with Jungkook, Jimin was back to all smiles. You still catch him sending death glares towards Jungkook on most nights, but he doesn’t bring up the matter with you anymore. For that reason, you’ve gratefully settled back into your weird, banterful friendship with him. Even if there’s still a lingering tension between the two of you that you refuse to acknowledge.

You nod thankfully back at him, excited to go to his house and take a much needed shower. At this point, going to his house has become second nature to you, and it gives you an excuse to not see Jungkook at your regular bus stop every day. You have half a mind to never fix your shower for that reason, but of course there is still the problem of having to deal with Jimin every time you need to bathe. You hardly consider yourself an impatient person, but Jimin likes to toe the line far more often than necessary.

You’re down to your last two tables before you can close up shop when your manager suddenly barrels right into your path. You nearly drop your tray of dirty dishes to the floor, holding in a loud yelp as your suspiciously stern-faced manager halts you in place.

“Ms. Y/N, may I have a word with you for a moment? It’s regarding your paycheck for the month,” he barks, lips downturned. He appears disgruntled about something, and it sends a worried shiver down your spine. And here you thought Fridays are meant to be fun. He doesn’t wait for you to reply before he stalks back to his office, an unspoken command for you to follow. 

You unload your dishes in the kitchen before making your way to his office. The small, dark room is cramped with overflowing file folders and coupons from multiple take-out places. You accidentally step on a stack of papers, and upon further inspection, seem to be a pile of applications for new hires. You distinctly remember complaining to him months prior about being understaffed and him replying that no inquiries were coming in.

As you approach, your manager shuffles through your coworkers pay stubs, and you notice yours and Jungkook’s on top of the piles. 

Manager Jeong clears his throat. “Well, Y/N. It seems to be your lucky day. As you know, we split the tips based on your hours and what sort of duties you fulfill. With the new hire we have as our in-house singer, we’ve had to split it one way more to accommodate his arrival. However, he has recently requested to me that his portion be reallocated… to you, Ms. Y/N.”

Your jaw drops immediately. “I-I don’t understand, Manager Jeong,” you sputter. 

Manager Jeong snorts, bemused by your reaction. “Don’t understand? Well, I suppose you’ll have to ask Mr. Jeon if you want his reasoning. Regardless, since we normally deposit your salary straight to your bank account, would it be alright if I hand you his tips in cash for now? He only informed me about his request an hour ago, and the accountant has already clocked out for the week.”

All you can do is nod dumbly back at him. With a huff, your manager presses a white envelope into your hands before promptly ushering you out of his office. “Well, that's settled. Out you go! Have a good weekend, Ms. Y/N. Don’t forget to lock the register before you leave!” He calls out before slamming his door in your face.

It takes you a moment to reanimate back to life. You stare at the white envelope for a long while, unable to fathom the scribbled out name of Jeon Jungkook replaced with your own name. Then, you crumple it into your fist before stomping over to where Jungkook and the rest of the band are in the middle of packing it up for the night.

Jungkook looks up from his guitar case when he senses you fast approaching. For a fleeting second, a smile graces his handsome face before it’s smacked away by your crumpled envelope. 

“Keep your fucking cash, Jungkook. What the hell is your problem?” You fume, cheeks heating from agitation. Jungkook splutters for a moment, prying the envelope away from his face and looking at it in bewilderment. When he sees it clearly, recognition dawns on his face, followed by guilt.

“It’s just… my way of saying sorry, I guess.” He answers you meekly, neck flushing red in embarrassment. Behind him, the rest of the band grow silent at the scene before them, and you debate on telling them to mind their own business when they quicken their pace to leave.

“Well, keep your apology to yourself. There’s nothing to apologize for,” you correct him with a frown. To offer an apology is to offer accountability. You aren’t sure if you’re ready to hear him say that. 

“No, it’s a sorry for… using you, I suppose.”

“Using me?” You repeat, dumbfounded. “For what?”

Jungkook smiles wryly back at you. “For inspiration?” he clarifies. For being the reason I can sing? He leaves that part unsaid, but you can almost imagine him saying it. 

You feel heat rising to your cheeks again, but this time you aren’t quite sure if it’s from embarrassment, anger… or something else.

Unable to conjure up a response to his simple confession, you stomp away from him with a pounding heart and shaking hands. You continue the rest of your closing shift routine instinctually, your body moving on autopilot as Jungkook’s words continue to ring inside your head. When all is said and done, Jimin makes his way to your station with a questioning stare, but you wave him off in favor of stomping ahead of him to the parking lot.

In his car, Jimin rattles off about his latest exploits and purchases, his grating voice a comfort for once. You hum noncommittally during his stories when appropriate, but you suppose your usual indifference feels different, even to Jimin's untrained ears. 

At his house, you drift to his bathroom immediately. You already have a shirt button undone by the time you get a handle on the door when Jimin’s hand stops you in place. You can feel his warmth emanating against your back as he slowly pulls the bathroom door close. With a tired sigh, you reluctantly turn to face him and find him standing closer than you expected.

He has an arm resting above your head, effectively caging you. You feel your shoulders sag. Damn, here comes another confrontation. Why can’t everyone just leave you alone?!

“Talk to me,” he says. No, he demands.

You push him away weakly, but he hardly budges. “Nothing to talk about,” you lie. Had you no filter, you’d be word vomiting all over the place ages ago.

Jimin groans, rolling his eyes in exasperation. “Enough with the emotional constipation. I’m here to listen, alright? No teasing or anything, I’m all ears and maybe a shoulder to cry on. Just don’t stain my Chanel top too bad,” he jokes.

You puff out a short breath—a sorry excuse for a laugh. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want to talk about it, and that’s that.”

“It’ll make you feel a lot better, though,” he offers.

You scoff. “What makes you think that? What if I just want to ignore all my problems forever and never grow from it? Is that so bad?”

Jimin pushes himself away from you, raising his hands in mock defeat. “You’re so fucking annoying. Can you stop running away from your problems and talk to me? Hell, talk to Jungkook for all I care! Just stop being a doormat and speak your mind for once in your damn life!”

“What are you, my therapist?” You brush past him, shower all but forgotten. You begin toeing your shoes back on, ready to head home tired and smelly. At the very least, you won’t have to deal with this stupid annoying asshole any longer. 

Jimin strides back towards you, but for once he doesn’t do anything to forcibly stop you. Jimin has always been gruff with you, not afraid to push and pull you in any which direction. It’s part of the reason why you can’t take him seriously, even though you’ve recently realized why he was always being such a prick towards you—

“Yeah, I’m not your therapist. But for better or for worse, I’m your friend and I—I fucking care about you, alright? And it sucks seeing that good-for-nothing stick his nose in your business and act like he can do anything without any repercussions.”

Is Jimin being for real right now? “With how often you look at yourself in the mirror, you’d think you’d be better at introspection,” is all you say to that. You shove your feet into your shoes, not caring that you’ve probably put them on wrong. Maybe it’s because it’s Friday and the fatigue from the week has finally settled deep in your bones, but you can’t help but leave one last scathing remark to drive the final nail in the coffin.

“You know, if you were a little nicer to me, maybe I would talk to you. Hell, maybe I’d like you back. But no, just keep being your domineering, asshole self and I’ll keep being the same fucking doormat bitch you know and love,” you spit, turning towards the door and away from his face. You’re not even curious to see how he reacts. “I don’t need protection, alright? When I tell you to stay out of my business, you stay out of it. So don’t try and pretend to be my knight in shining armor.”

There’s an ocean of silence, enough to hear a pin drop. The urge to apologize surges to the surface, but you stamp it down. He’s petty all the time, so now it’s your turn.

Okay, maybe that’s a little too mean on your part, but you’re exhausted. Perhaps it is true when they say you should never act on your anger when it’s past midnight. But can anyone blame you? You’re only a girl, and girls need to snap too. 

When he responds, his voice sounds weak. Park Jimin, weak? It's almost unthinkable. "Why don't you trust me?"

Isn't it obvious? you want to say. But some mercy remains within you. You'll pick up the pieces another time. Instead, you rasp out, “Good night, Park. I’ll see you on Monday.”

The walk of shame back to your house is long and arduous. Your phone dings thrice, likely signaling texts from Jimin, but you turn it off without checking for sure. For once, the weight on your shoulders is slightly lighter. You huff out a dry laugh, realizing belatedly that maybe Jimin is right—maybe speaking your mind has its benefits.

There’s a small park in your neighborhood that you always pass by. You don’t remember the last time you spared it a second glance, but this time you notice a lone figure swinging back and forth, arching dangerously higher than what you would consider safe. From a distance, all you can make out are the person’s comically bright boots, and you have a sinking suspicion you know who it is without seeing their face.

Cosmos, or whoever it is that controls my life, why must you braid our strings of fate so tightly? You ask, but as always, it refuses to reply.

Against your better judgment, your feet bring you closer towards him. He has his back towards you, his feet pumping him higher and higher and you half expect him to swing in a perfect arc like a gymnast on parallel bars. You have to keep your distance a bit, lest you get the wind knocked out of you by his signature stompers. 

You clear your throat, and the boy stops mid-swing and nearly catapults himself into the spongey, playground floor. Hunched over and wheezing, Jungkook directs his shocked eyes at you with a comical stare. 

You raise a hand in greeting. A peace offering, maybe. “Hello—”

“I swear I’m not stalking you!” Jungkook interrupts as he scrambles to his feet. He bows deeply in remorse, the action so endearingly him. “S-sorry, I’ll make my way home now…”

“I don’t own the park, Jungkook. I was just saying hello…” You snort, wringing your hands uncomfortably. You grind your shoes into the ground, the sound of crunching leaves breaking the still air. “A-and… to say sorry, for earlier.”

“Sorry?” Jungkook repeats, confused. When he realizes what you mean, he waves his hands frantically. “No, no! Don’t be sorry! It was my fault for being so inconsiderate. I understand how you might misconstrue my actions, and I made things more awkward. I’ll consider your feelings more in the future…”

In the future… You cough, unwilling to meet his bright and honest gaze. If you stare too long, you fear you might go blind. 

“I come here to the park often, when I feel too cramped inside my apartment,” Jungkook explains, frantic energy radiating off him in waves. He’s gesticulating too much, a clear sign that he’s trying to hide his nerves. You remember how he would do the same thing in high school, whenever he had to present his projects in front of the class. 

You hold a hand up, a weak attempt to get him to calm down. “I’m not here to interrogate you. I just wanted to…” What is it that you wanted to do?

The two of you just stand awkwardly like that, similar to a few weeks ago when you discovered you were neighbors. You’re grasping at straws in your head, both conflicted for wanting to tell him something and running away. Even if you were to talk to him, what would you say? There’s a reason you told Jimin you didn’t want to talk—frankly, it’s mostly because you have no idea what to say or feel. 

But you do know, the universe responds. 

I ask you questions all the time, and this is how you respond? 

Either that, or you’re going insane, the universe remarks.

Jungkook pulls out his phone, his fingers fumbling as he unlocks it. He takes a furtive step towards you, but thinks better of it. There’s a few feet of distance between you, but it feels like worlds apart. Close and yet so far. You recall how you’d easily pull him towards you in the past, how being together felt as natural as breathing. 

“I know you absolutely hated it the last time I played my original song at the restaurant, so I refrained from performing any ever since that night. But that didn’t stop me from writing them. I was fine with keeping them locked in a vault forever, but…” He hesitates, searching you for any signs of discomfort. When he sees the carefully blank look on your face, he continues with trepidation. 

“Can I try a song for you? You don’t have to say yes, and you’re free to tell me to fuck off and I’ll never even look at you ever again. Just…” He flails one last time, a choked sob making its escape from his throat. 

Are you hopeless for wanting to say yes? Or were you reverting back to your old self who relied on him and believed in him so heavily? If you wanted him out of your life for good, you would have quit your job at the first sight of him. Maybe you were masochistic. Or maybe were you hopeful for a new start, a chance to rekindle a relationship that you’ve secretly always wanted to repair.

You have so much life ahead of you. Many more mistakes will be made and maybe they’ll haunt you when you’re older. But would it really be such a terrible gamble to take one more chance? 

You nod, and seal your fate.

He presses play, and the soft strumming of a guitar fills the empty playground air. 

Not for the first time, you wonder how it can be so easy for Jungkook to be so… honest. He spills his heart in every song that he writes, and you know he’s never been a great liar. He can’t help it, being genuine is in his DNA. This crashing waterfall, this boy with overflowing emotions—he sings what he thinks but feels terrified because of it. You might not understand his honesty, but you know that fear. You know it all too well.

He beholds himself to you—raw and unfiltered. A little battered and bruised, but still Jungkook. Behind everything, still the boy you’ve been yearning for.

Maybe this song is what will give you enough confidence to admit everything to him, too. As you stand there, listening to his mellow voice sing confessions to no one but you and the stars, you think you grow a little more courageous that day.

Maybe you won’t be able to tell him tonight. Maybe not tomorrow, nor next week either. But as you gaze back at his hopeful eyes, you know deep in your heart that you’ll find the words you’ve been looking for.

“I’ll keep waiting for you, if you let me.” Jungkook’s voice floats gently to you, and settles in your open palms. This time, you don’t let go

xxx

Months later, Jungkook stops working at the restaurant when an offer from a major record company arrives in his mail. Apparently, a big shot from the local radio station had pitched him to an employee at that company and they were all pleasantly surprised to find a hidden gem at a random bar and restaurant.  

In your apartment, you stare outside your window and to where his home is—well, where it was. You wonder if he finished packing his things, ready to make the big move tomorrow. You stand up with a stretch, sparing a glance at your still broken shower. It would be nice to have one more shower at his place… And after that? Maybe you should start looking for a nicer apartment; somewhere far away might be nice.

Your phone rings, and you see his contact photo light up your screen. With a smile, you answer.

“Come over, if you want. I won’t make you,” Jungkook assures you. 

You laugh lightly, already halfway out the door. 

#bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #bts x reader #jungkook x reader #bts reader insert #bts fanfiction #bts imagines #bts fluff #bts angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #jeon jungkook #jungkook #bangtan #bts #bts fanfic

[artzzyb00-27]

Tavern Tales{Elyan x OC}

Robin Hood and his Merrymen meet the Knights of the Round Table. Along with King Arthur and Merlin. What could go wrong? Not much actually, but Elyan deserves more love so here you go.

Arriving at Camelot came a minstrel, one came from a land near Mercia. Who sang tales of Robin Hood and his legion of Merrymen. The people gathered round to hear the tale. The rhythm of the tale became engraved in everyone's head.

Robin Hood and Little John, walking through the forest

Laughing back and forth at what the other'n has to say

Reminiscing this and that and having such a good time

Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day

Never ever thinking there was danger in the water

They were drinking, they just guzzled it down

Never dreaming that a scheming sheriff and his posse

Was a-watching them and gathering around

Robin Hood and Little John, running through the forest

Jumping fences, dodging trees and trying to get away

Contemplating nothing but escape and finally making it

Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day

Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, golly, what a day

Eventually, the word made its way to King Uther. He wasn't pleased with the thought of rogues attempting to steal from nobles. So he sent his knights to disband the group. Out of the twelve that left, only five returned. When Arthur became king, he wondered what happened to the group of Merrymen, he had only heard stories in passing at the tavern whilst spending time with his knights and manservant.

Till one faithful day.

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

"Merlin! Feed the horses, they're no use to us dead!" The knights could only watch amused at the banter between King and servant. Wondering if they would ever become a normal pair of serving and be served.

"Unlike you right?" Dodging a blow to the head, Merlin ran off to feed their trusty steeds. Turning back to his knights Arthur addressed Leon.

"Where to next?" Looking at the map in front of the curly-haired man, he looked up to his majesty awaiting an answer. The long trip from Mercia taking its toll on the man.

"If we head through the Plains of Othanden, we'll cut travel time by a day. As long as there's no trouble with that my lord?"

"None at all, Sir Leon."

"Speak for yourselves, I'm famished." Gwaine, the lazy oaf he is, dragged out as he leaned on Percival who shook his head fondly. Once the horses were ready, they made haste to cut through the plains as best they could. 

With Lancelot keeping Merlin from going insane and Gwaine sharing stories with Elyan and Percival, it made the trip bearable. Arthur and Leon would only chip in their two silvers when necessary(when they wanted to). Once near the edge of Camelot, they spotted a village nearby.

"It's getting dark, we should rest in the village. Have some time to gather our energy." Merlin suggested. Thinking it over, Arthur agreed and led his friends to the village. Once there, people around whispered. Some are in awe of the king and his knights. Others appeared worried.

At this Merlin became paranoid. So he listened in more carefully at the villagers.

"Why are,..... think they'll,..... hope they,... what of,...?" Fortunately, one question was clear as day. "Do ya' wonder what Robin Hood will think?"

Merlin wanted to freeze in his tracks but his horse kept him along the others. Robin Hood was here. The man from tales at the tavern who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Honorable, but bad news if he tried stealing from Arthur.

No gold or valuables were on them, but Arthur wouldn't hesitate to kill if attacked. Merlin prayed Robin Hood was smarter than that.

Once at a decent-looking Inn, they left their horses to the stable boy and left to a nearby tavern for a light dinner. Or drink in Gwaine's case. A table maid sat them at a window booth and took their orders. Gwaine had attempted to woo her.

It gave the others amusement especially when she was particularly interested in Lancelot. She was making the man bashful and he tried to give attention to Gwaine again.

After she walked away, music began playing louder and cheers were heard. Turning their heads to see the commotion, they saw a bright red-haired woman dancing on the bar along to the beat of the song.

Her hair was in a braid and she wore boots with baggy wool socks. Black pants that sagged at her lower legs and a white blouse that brought out her purple bodice. It seemed she was there alone. 

When the violin played a certain chord, she jumped in the air towards the chandelier and swung in circles everyone around her. Including the visitors from Camelot.

Landing on a table nearby causing the men sitting there to fall over from shock, she continued to dance. Spinning around and swaying her hips along with the music. Getting wolf whistles from men and cheers of praise from women.

Entranced by her dancing, Elyan didn't hear the praise coming from his friends.

"She's good," Arthur said. Leon nodded while taking sips from his drink. Leon nodded his head in agreement.

"Elyan agrees, right mate?" Gwaine said laughing at his friend. Looking besotted at the bold red-head across from them. As the song ended she jumped off the table landing gracefully, giving a bow to the patrons around her. The knights and everyone else raised their glasses to her.

As she went to sit at an empty seat at the bar, Elyan debated on speaking with her.

"If you stare, she'll only think badly of you." Merlin's voice brought him back to reality as his friends sniggered at him. Turning towards the blue-eyed man, Elyan couldn't help but roll his eyes.

A woman as beautiful as her wouldn't be interested in him dressed like a peasant. When they headed into their rooms Leon implied it wise to change into something less formal for their trip to the tavern.

While the others agreed, Elyan couldn't deny he felt stripped. Despite Arthur's reassurance, being from no noble blood made him feel small. Even worse when some common folk looked at him in contempt. Which wasn't always because of his position or origin.

"I'd rather not. Besides she must feel tired, why keep beating a dead horse?" At his words the knights became rigid. Apart from Merlin and Gwaine who held in laughs.

"Because maybe it'll come back to life?" A different voice spoke behind him. An angelic voice. Turning around with a confused expression, Elyan met eyes with the redhead. Her green eyes glimmer despite facing away from the light. He tried to envision what they would look like in the afternoon sun.

"Perhaps that's true." He said after much debate internally, which was hilarious to his friends. Although, it did bring a smile out of her so maybe it worked.

"Glad to know someone thought my performance was exceptional."

"Very, love the bit where you jumped and almost hit the ceiling." Closing her eyes and laughing she headed off to another table shaking her head. She sat down at a table a good feet away chatting with some men sitting and drinking.

"Were you complimenting her or insulting her?" Lancelot may be honorable to anyone else, but his companions were at their wits end with him.

After getting their orders they headed off to the inn to get rest for tomorrow's journey home. Still while lying down on the bed next to Percival's he kept thinking back to the girl. He never got her name.

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

The next morning they awoke and had a small breakfast. Just something to keep them awake for the start of the path. That is til someone broke into the inn screaming their head off.

"Robin Hood's attacked! Lord John isn't happy!" The people near the door piled out, including the knights. They had heard the tales but had never seen it in person. Now was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"Robin Hood?" Arthur asked a patron who just shrugged their shoulders with a smile. Outside the village, people gathered around the middle fountain and grabbed bags of money from the Merrymen.

"Should we do something?" Leon whispered in Arthur's ear and he was debating himself. While they were meant to arrest outlaws, Robin wasn't an outlaw of Camelot. Uther had just been threatened by an outside power that most likely didn't even know of his existence.

"No, they're not a problem as long as they don't attack us. We should go."

And like that, they left. Leaving the village and heading into the forest was browsing but the mood and energy picked up when Gwaine began picking on Elyan again.

"So, did you end up getting her name or what Elyan?" Rolling his eyes he gave his friend a gentle glare.

"No, and for good reason. I'll never see her again. What's the point?"

"Don't speak like that Elyan, there are plenty of women who would love a courtship with Camelot's finest knights," Arthur said trying to console his friend which prompted Merlin to have his usual go at him.

"Makes you wonder why Gwen ever chose you." The knights 'Ooo'ed at this and the king simply threw a fake glare at his manservant. Looking past Merlin, he saw a group of horses running up to them.

Realizing it was the Merrymen, Arthur became tense. Noticing, the Knights drew their swords and turned to the charging quarry behind them. When they got close they slowed down and stopped a few feet away from them.

The figure in front of a white horse spoke from under the hood and mask.

"Relax boys, we know you don't have anything, we're just trying to get through. We're making a stop at Camelot. A friend of ours needs help."

"Who's this friend of yours? Perhaps we could assist you, after all, I would like to be more involved with my people."

The statement ran through the Merrymen. Except for the two in front.

"Her name is Marian and she needs money. Please let us through, she doesn't trust any type of nobility." Frowning Arthur went to retort but Merlin stopped him.

"Arthur no, let them come with us."

"He's right, it could give us a chance to keep an eye on them." Leon reasoned out Merlin's input.

"I for one would love to hear the real story of the mighty Robin Hood." A small chuckle from the opposite group could be heard. Guess they weren't as quiet as they'd hoped.

Elyan however, was more focused on the main hooded figure. Their laughter sounded familiar. Angelic almost.

"What do ya' think Robin?" The man next to the leader asked. The leader whispered and agreement and let the man next to him go up to Arthur.

The knights could tell he wasn't being threatening so they sheethed their swords back in their holsters.

"Very well, we'll accompany you. My name is John."

"Little John?" Percival asked gesturing at the man's size. Like Percival he was big and bulky, the only difference being a darker tone of skin and a subtle belly on him.

Laughter from John and the group startled birds out of the trees. They were called Merrymen for a reason.

"You're her! That girl from the tavern last night!" The Merrymen froze and exchanged looks. Some of them looked at their leader questioningly. Huffing out a small laugh only confirmed Elyan's belief and made him flustered.

The girl pulled off her hood and revealed wavy bright red hair that glowed in the morning sun.

"You got me!" She said and made her horse walk closer to Elyan. "Glad to see my biggest fan again." Smiling at her comment, Elyan went to speak but was interrupted.

"You were flirting with Robin Hood!" Gwaine was going to get beat when they got back to Camelot.

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

"So how did people think you were a man? Don't think anything different, but your physique isn't very masculine." Arthur asked as they sat in the knight's quarters back in the castle. The trip had let Elyan and the others learn about the Merrymen's travels and adventures.

Their recent heists. Any gone wrong attempts that required daring rescues. Including any potential romances whilst on the road.

"I needed people to respect what I was doing, not patronize me for it. So when the minestrel we saved asked to write a song about us I told him to make me male."

"Certainly fooled me, I thought you were a prat like Arthur." That comment earned Merlin a good wallop to the head creating laughter throughout the room.

"Tell us more." Elyan urged Robin leaning back on the bench next to her.

"Well, there was the time we invaded Cendred's castle unnoticed."

#sir elyan #elyan #merlin bbc #bbc merlin fics #merlin #merlin bbc fanfic #arthur pendragon #gwaine #lancelot #leon #percival #guinevere #robin hood #knights of the round table #sir leon #bbc elyan #elyanfest2024 #ao3 fanfic

[mitspeiler]

Whole Hog Ruby. Go

wowee, a total stranger asking about ruby. crazy

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

dear sweet precious ruby got her name from being a redhead, probably also in-universe. Her last name, Reveur, was suggested by @wubyreal

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

13 at the beiginning of Filmverse. She turns 14 over the course of Dream Quest.

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

Fenetre, a fox boy she met in a dream. Another boy will try to woo her later

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

she loves sweets and is a rare fondant defender.

💼 - What do they do for a living?

she's too young for a job at the moment. If she weren't a magical fantasy protagonist she would want to be a nurse

🎹 🥊- Do they have any hobbies?

Ruby is a big reader. she doesn't have many creative hobbies due to being sickly and infirm for most of her life. Now that she can move around a bit she will start trying out all kinds of new things. Ruby hates having to take her many many medicines

🎯 -What do they do best?

Ruby is actually a good problem solver. Her pathetic charisma also lets her make friends easily.

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

When they were little Henry made her a stone teddy bear, small enough to fit in her palm. It went missing at some point.

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

The week leading up to her solo adventure, Bones in the Ocean, was plagued with night terrors that caused her physical pain. Seeing as it happened shortly after Henry went missing it was easily the worst time in her life so far

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

Ruby's design has changed subtly over the years, starting with myself and her co-creator @wubyreal disagreeing over her eye color.My Ruby's eyes are purple; hers are red. I've also decided to turn the white elements of ruby's outfit black for future entries.

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

The Aristocrats

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

american gothic

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

cishet probably

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

none, but her cousin Henry is like an older brother to her

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

Ruby's relationship with her mother is strained. She faces a lot of negative reinforcement and emotional neglect, but feels as though she should be grateful to her mother for the fact she takes care of her, and at times feels guilty that her mother has been saddled with her. Morgause does not say

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

She is cool and everyone loves her. in real life

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

I post ruby daily in some circles. She has one complete novella

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

nah

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

She's afraid of lots of things but is brave in that she faces her fears. Her only really debilitating phobia is the idea that she is a burden

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

Probably Callisto Pellinger, spoiled girl playing pirate on the high seas

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

according to @wubyreal ruby was created on september 6th 2019. Insane to me, I feel like she's been here forever

#ruby reveur #filmverse #ask game

[oolathurman]

Asamta: 💦🚲🔥 Wanwo: 🧠🦴💐 Slovir: 💪😍💋

god i haven't thought about slovir in forever. i'm sorry for pretty much abandoning you buddy. slkfjdslfkjsdf

Piping Hot OC Asks

Asamta

💦: Is your OC’s attractiveness based on looks or a more intangible aura?

tbh I haven't thought about how attractive she is yet. She's such a new OC... That said, she's super thicc and if you're the kind of person who finds hyper competence attractive, she's got that going for you!

🚲 : Does your OC enjoy playing the field? Or are they more monogamy-minded?

Fun story! She was with Wanwo at one point (during their Korriban Academy days), they took a break, and then a few months later Wanwo finds her with two new boyfriends.

She said it was a break. Not a breakup, a break. And then Wanwo storms off.

So despite the ten languages she knows, she's terrible at communicating :)

... But yes she's poly.

🔥 : What’s a surefire way to make your OC get flustered?

So I guess this isn't 'flustered' so much as 'turned on' but unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with her character to know what flusters her. Anyway. At this point in time, Asamta's romantic life has consisted solely of dumb men. So honestly if she can find someone who can match her in intelligence I think that'd be very attractive to her, but in different fields.

Oh wait I know a way to fluster her: Being in her personal space. Being gentle with her, feather light touches, treating her with a reverence that she's not used to. At this point she's more familiar with being treated more roughly in bed so gentleness would do the trick.

Wanwo

🧠 : What is your OC’s most mentally attractive attribute?

I. He's a himbo. He's not smart. What mentally attractive attribute??? His mentally attractive attribute is that he's dumb as fuck :'D

🦴 : Does your OC have much sexual experience? What are they like?

Yes. He's a service switch. He likes making people come and then teases them afterwards and cuddles them and also brings hot towels. It's kinda insane how service-y he is. I can promise you that after that threesome with Davi and Xyraan both of them had small crushes on him for a while after that.

💐 : What is their courting style? How would they woo someone?

Acts of service and gifts. That's a courting style right? For Vette, who's really the main person he was ever smitten with, he tried to woo her with gifts and cooking food for her and stuff like that. He's like those birds trying to court other birds.

Slovir

💪 : What is your OC’s most physically attractive attribute? 

STRONK. BEEF. SHORT KING SWAG. LEKKU FOR DAYS BABEY.

😍 : What does your OC find irresistible in others?

I'm gonna be honest I'm not even sure what his sexuality is, much less what he finds irresistible. That said, confidence is always helpful. Someone who can take lead, maybe...? He has little to no experience with anything romantic or sexual.

💋 : Is your OC a good kisser? How do they do it?

Nah he's horrible. He's clumsy and there's so much teeth clacking. He's too eager and he's probably bumped his head against any partners' heads. He's like a puppy who has no hand eye coordination or depth perception... which can be pretty cute, but he needs training practice.

#valleyofthemachinegods #ask meme response #swtor #asamta taro #wanwo #slovir

[esthyradler]

I am Dungeon anon, djdjdjf. I hope submit is OK to use. But I didn't want be creative in attempting to fit everything in one post or in several posts. That might have the misfortune of being eating by the blob that lives inside all post boxes.

So here's the vague I'd I've had for a while now. Ok, not this one, this one only sprung to life by with that other anons writing story ask.

I have lots of IZ OC's only 3 are flushed, however, and only 1 is Irken and would work in accidentally finding Dr.Zam.

So, my Irken OC used to be a Elite Invader top in his smeet class, not as a whole, but among his smeet siblings. Since, I'm not sure of Zams age, but given my own Irkens timeline and what I gathered of Zams timeline. Either mine is a smeet group before, two groups above or actually during Zams time. (Still haven't decided if smeets are born in categorized classes. Like Invader smeets to one smeetary and science needs to another.) So, unsure if their actually smeet siblings, if the same age, again.

Anyway, during my Irkens invader life he was pretty vicious, even partook in the irken gladiator arena for sport between Invading worlds. On one mission he even turned off the air support on a whole planet and felt smug that he'd outsmarted n hid in fake skin never to be discovered, as he watched them all suffocate. He was true green Irken Nationalist - you know - more power to my people above all else, kinda Irken. Belief in Irken ideals that they were superior to organic lifeforms and all other races were inferior to the Irken Empire, that by enslaving n killing other interior lifeforms the Irken empire was in fact helping them. (Yeah brainwashed zombie.)

Anyway, karma is cruel n teaches us many things, like your whole way of life has been a lie and your no more important to the empire you pleadged to give your life to then other species you enslave n murder.

He was sent on his fifth invading planet right after being honoured and gifted a new ship for his last invade. When he was captured by the planet and headed over to their leading scientist. Dubbed 'insanity' A creature so devoid of apathy n emotions he experiments on his own people without blinking, just for shits n giggles.

He tore my irken apart. Broke him down mentally and physically. But it wasn't the torture or experiments that got my irken. It was the fact The Empire had been sending their leading invaders to their planet for years without a single success. Never to hear from a single one, or ever giving warning to future invaders of its danger. Because they meant nothing, once a toy was broken it was thrown away like garbage.

In the end my Invader wouldn't break. Wouldn't spill The Empires secrets. So he was given a virus in his PAK that would create a back door into The Control system n decimate the mem frame, wrack it from the iniade out, why giving the locations to every Irken whose PAK was still connected to Irk. N even has fellow irkens eye implanted in with a camera to watch the show.

But, what the alien scientist didn't know was. My irken may not of broke for him. He broke at very idea of returning to Irk and what The Massive and control brains would do to him if they learner he'd been defeated n let go. That he was a defected irken now, because he felt wrong. Complete mental breakdown ended up running from Irken space and has never looked back since. Especially, after finding out what was done to his PAK. He may hate what The Empire stands for, but he still believes in his people n what they could accomplish as free beings.

Dxhtrxtxxu, sorry, I figured that needed to be said to understand why everything happened.

My irken has killed a fellow smeet Invader Irken who accidentally ended sucked throw a black whole to his neck of the woods n he aligns himself in The Empires eyes just by knowing n speaking to other aliens aligned with The Resistance n The Resisty. Not mention defected, a traitor, still alive and so in. Lots of racked up reasons to be an enemy now.

I figure my aquatic Bounty Hunter working for The Sub branch The Resisty. Ends up way in over their head n leading several Irken towards my Irken. Or they are together my bounty hunter n irken possibly inspecting a new planet for the plant life (my irken is now a space green witch. They deal in the healing art of plants n such. They are very sick - ill explain that only if asked.) n their scanners on their ships don't pick up an training party of irken. Ooor they were already on the planet when the party shows up.

My Irken knows he's got a better chance of being kept alive n either escaping himself or being rescued tyab an inferior alien with ties to The Resisty who more then likely be killed right away.. Not mention he doesn't have the best self esteem anymore n if he dies it's no big deal. But the bounty hunter is his friend, their more then a friend, their the glue that holds my irken together.

So they cause a distraction or fight through all they fear to allow the bounty hunter to get away. N the irkens are more invested in traitors irken then some backwater planet alien.

In order to be kept alive longest my irken tells them in exchange for life imprisonment he'll tell The Empire all they want to know about their Enemies.. of course he's not involved with the Resisty.. knows nothing.. but he know how to be an Invader. He knows how lie n bullshit n work the system at the same time. (He knows they'll kill him after they get what they want. But he has a backup for that too.) He knows even the highest ranking irken can't make this decision alone.. so they gave no choice but to return him to Irken space to contact Irk.. because let's say the Massive doesn't exist anymore.. thank you florpis n Zim.

However, when get to Irk or radio in when close he lays down n the new tallest say simply to strip him of pak n download the info. He smiles n says he's been implanted with a virus any attempt to mess with his pak will infect every online system n destroy them. (He's bluffing.. as far as he knows. But they Don't know that.) Everyone's freaking out now n what to do with him. He's worth so much more alive than dead but he's also a danger.. so the tallest is like. The dungeons.. put him in the dungeons. Their old n there's no tech down there.. no way to infect the rest if irks whole gride system hundred if feet below the surface of irk.. untill they can figure out how to either exstrack the info without him or until they can get it out if him willing as before n just leave him down there to rot after.

At some point either my irken gets out n starts snooping around for a back exist or he just so happens to be stuck in same room as zams prison box.

Also, I figured out a way to keep Zam alive for so long without food or water or nutrient.. Irkens n their PAKs can go into a hibernation like the Wolly Bear Caterpillars.. Who freeze in winter, zero body functions, meaning they are essential dead n not using any resources.. He could be down there for eons without actual death.

I figure the smallest PAK function would be scan the area for other PAKs.. So Zam can one day escape. N his PAK senses my Irkens PAK n - that's as far as I have thought.

Just know Zam is going have to deal with my Irkens PTSD n emotional moments.. Being back in a dungeon all over.. being on irk around other irkens.. woo so many triggers. There might be even moments Zam will halve to talk my irken down from attempted murder as zones n blacks out from bounty of animalistic fear. (But, l figured he's not all stupid n excited puppy scientist. He's got lots of sides to him, especially, if he's going to be able to take care of Zim. So, he should do fine with this.)

I think I covered everything. Sorry about mistakes, I'm super nervous, hard writing this on a phone n I didn't write everything down. If there are more questions about the story or my Irken or any concerns in general, please ask. Oh, utccitcut n my OC Irkens name is Kravis or Krais as an Elite Invader it was SIVARK or SIARK (Still unsure about the missing irken letters in their language.)

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

This sounds interesting so far(i have a different idea for the whole zam au thing, but I'll allow anyone to make up scenarios with my oc, its sounds cool)

#submission #dr.zam #an au for an au which is about an oc #sounds coolXD

[choicesfanatic86]

TTS: Part 48

DISCLAIMER:  All characters belong to Pixelberry Studios, except characters unique to my story.  Those belong to me. ;)

PAIRINGS:  Riley (MC) x OC, Riley (MC) x Liam, Liam x Riley (MC) x OC, Olivia x Drake, Bertrand x Savannah, Maxwell x OC

SUMMARY:  Riley & Andy chat about their love lives.

If you are new to the series and would like to catch up by reading previous parts, please check out my master fan fiction listing.  CATCH UP HERE

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5/13/2019 - Ya’ll there is no excuse for how long I’ve been gone.  Life got crazy and unfortunately my Choices obsession had to take a backseat.  I’m back and writing again, and I’m so excited to rejoin the community and give you closure to the pieces I’ve had up, and introduce you to some new pieces as well.  I still love Choices and plan on getting updated on all the new stories too!

Thanks for all the feedback.  I LOVE IT. :)

Part 48 -  Girl Talk

Riley awoke with a small smile across her lips.  Had last night really happened?  Maybe she should pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t still dreaming?  Nope, not a dream.  She chuckled to herself.  How on earth did Liam always manage to sweep her off her feet?  She had been wary to make the trek back to Cordonia.  Okay, he had been more than wary, she had been downright reluctant to ever set foot in the country again.  She’d had her heart broken twice there, and she wasn’t in the market to have it happen a third time.  And although she woke with a sense of peace for the first time in months, she, admittedly, still had a whole lot of worry lingering inside of her.  But, just as he always did, Liam went far beyond any of her expectations.  First the office, then his impromptu visit and his talk of wooing her again – it wasn’t what she had expected at all.  She had been so certain that all they could ever be together again was co-parents, yet, here he was changing trying to change her mind yet again.  Could this really work?  Was this finally her second chance?  Could they finally have the happily ever after that she had so desperately wanted back when they first met?  She shook her head, trying to bring herself back to reality.  Her life would be forever different now.  Her wants, her needs, none of it mattered because she had an entirely new focus to think about now.  Her only focus was the health and safety of their lima bean.

Her hand drifted down toward her belly, grazing the still unnoticeable bump.  She rolled over in bed and paused for a moment, waiting for the familiar feeling of nausea to come over her . . . but there was nothing.  That was odd.  Most days she was awoken by the rumbling sensation of nausea deep within her stomach, but today there was nothing except butterflies - the good kind.  Her mind drifted back to Liam once more, and she released a sigh.  The evening spent with Liam played back in her head.  A courtship?  The idea alone caused a shiver down her spine.  It wasn’t traditional . . . at least not by any sort of American terms, and she wondered what exactly Liam had in mind.  As she recalled, dating in Cordonia was lavish, and while she admitted the exciting rendezvous she went on with Liam when they first met took her breath away, it was highly impractical to go along those lines of dating given the current situation they found themselves in.  After all, they weren’t just dating to see if they liked each other and to have fun.  It was dating to see if they could have a future together.  Talk about a lot of pressure.  Would she be ready to commit to the future with him?  Truly commit?  A life forever bound to Cordonian culture and society?  A life as queen?  She mentally chided herself.  Mere moments ago she was in a state of euphoria, and now here she was thinking of everything that could possibly go wrong.  She shook her head, pushing the uncertainties out of her mind for the time being.  All she could do was take things one day at a time.  They had four weeks.  Four weeks to give their relationship another chance.  She wasn’t going to think about any of the what ifs or maybes until then.

She ambled down the staircase slowly, the smell of something delicious making its way out of the kitchen.  The fact that she hadn’t woken with the nagging feeling of nausea was something to celebrate in itself.  The fact that she suddenly had an appetite was an added bonus.  She quickly wandered into the kitchen, mouth salivating.  

She spotted Andy putting on a pot of coffee as music blared from her iPhone.  She shimmied around the kitchen like she owned it, dancing along without a care in the world.  Riley could barely contain the smile on her face.  She looked absolutely ridiculous, but she also looked happier than she had ever seen her.  What more could she have wished for her best friend?

“Good morning, Future Mrs. Beaumont,” Riley sing-songed loudly over the blaring music.  “Someone is up bright and early this morning,” she teased her.

Andy jumped a little, throwing a hand to her chest.  “You scared the crap out of me,” she gasped.  “What are you doing up so early?”

Riley shrugged.  “I heard some movement down here and figured I’d see who was up,” she smiled.  “Little did I know that the Future Mrs. Beaumont was up and about dancing her way through the kitchen,” she teased.

Andy beamed at Riley, as she turned to the coffee pot that had just chimed.  “I love the way that sounds,” she sighed contently as she poured herself a cup of coffee.  “You need to call me that all the time, okay?” She chuckled.  “I still can’t believe it,” she grinned widely as she continued to flutter around the kitchen.  “Being engaged has me feeling so . . . domestic,” she laughed.  

“Apparently,” Riley agreed, her head turning toward all the dishes.  “My gosh,” Riley looked around the full countertops.  Andy must have been up for hours already.  There were dishes of pancakes, bacon, scrambled eggs, waffles and even some grits bubbling on the stove.  Andy had even managed to whip up a batch of sweet tea.  In all the time that she had known and lived with Andy, she had never showed that she had a domestic bone in her body.  She could barely pick up after herself let alone make an entire meal by herself.  “You did all of this?”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said excitedly.  “I wanted to call my parents at a decent hour in New York time,” she explained.  “Then once I had, I just couldn’t stop talking,” she exclaimed giddily.  “I chatted with mom for over an hour about wedding plans.  Did you know that my sneaky fiancé had my parents in on the whole thing!” She squealed.

Riley’s eyes widened in surprise as she shook her head.  “I didn’t.” She hadn’t actually been privy to the fact that there was about to be an engagement at all.  The last she knew, Bertrand had talked him out of proposing.  Then again, that had been months ago.  It amazed her that Maxwell had kept such a life-changing decision a secret, especially from her.  But it certainly didn’t surprise her that Maxwell had opted to include Andy’s parents in his plan.  Family was something very important to him, and considering that his own parents were long gone, she could certainly see why he would want Andy’s parents to be involved.  After all, they would become his parents, too, once they got married.  “How on earth did he manage that?”

“He took their numbers from my phone,” she explained.  “He’s such a sly dog,” she chuckled.  “Well, you can imagine what an awkward telephone call that was considering that I’d only just told them about him a few weeks prior,” she mused.  “He ended up meeting with them while we were in New York!  Can you believe that?” She asked.  “I mean, I was so distracted with everything that was going on with you and the baby that I didn’t realize he was off schmoozing with the parentals,” she said merrily.  “My parents didn’t say a single thing,” she murmured.

“Well, aren’t proposals supposed to be a surprise?” Riley asked.

“Yes, well if that was the intent, he most certainly nailed it,” she gushed.  

“How did they react to the news?”  Riley asked.  Andy’s parents were well-to-do New Yorkers, but they weren’t the least bit snooty.  They were relatively open-minded and supported Andy in every endeavor she had . . . even if her decisions were a bit off the wall at times.

“As any parent would I suppose,” she shrugged.  “Mom told me they were a bit surprised about how quickly our relationship had been progressing, but she admitted that Maxwell was absolutely endearing.  He even made a whole presentation as to why he would be the best suited life partner for me,” she sighed dreamily.  “Mom said it was adorable.  He had the ring with him and everything.  He told them that he wanted them to feel like they were a part of the whole thing, even though they’d be back in New York when it actually did happen.  Mom said they were so worried at first since he seemed a bit . . . eccentric, but in true Maxwell form, he won them over with his charm,” she said a bit wistfully.

“And your dad?” Riley asked

“Dad thought he was insane!” Andy laughed.  “But he said he could tell that Maxwell was an honest guy who really did care about me.  It helped that Maxwell tried to butter him up with the offer to take him fishing when they finally made it out to Cordonia.”

“Does Maxwell even know the first thing about fishing?” Riley asked.

“He knows absolutely nothing,” Andy laughed.  “He was just so desperate to make some sort of connection with my father that he fudged his way through.  Of course, my father saw through him right away.  He said that any man that would go through so much trouble to pretend he liked fishing had to have it bad for his daughter.  So, when he asked for their blessing, he found it rather hard to tell him no,” she murmured.

“I’m sure,” Riley nodded in agreement.  “He’s a pretty difficult guy to turn down,” she said thoughtfully.  Riley couldn’t help it, but she started to get misty-eyed over the entire thing.  Maxwell and Andy were going to have such an amazing life together.  She just knew it.  She admitted that when they first got together, she was a tad bit wary.  Maxwell had just come back into her life, and she was worried that if things soured between him and Andy, she’d be forced to choose between the two, and she hated to admit it, but her roommate had the upper hand.  But after only a few days in, she knew there was something different about their relationship.  They both genuinely seemed to care for one another, and it was apparent, that the connection went far deeper than just a casual fling.  Still, she couldn’t believe that her two best friends were settling down - with one another no less.  Who knew that it would only take a plane ride and a few thousand miles for their love connection to happen?

“Hey, no crying,” Andy admonished.

“These are happy tears, I promise,” Riley said, wiping the tears from her eyes.  “I can’t control these damn hormones,” she chuckled lightly.  “I’m just so excited for you guys,” she murmured.  “It’s been a whirlwind, hasn’t it?” Riley commented.  Thinking back on everything that happened over the last few months, things had changed tremendously.

“I’m so happy you’re here,” Andy said as she placed a glass of water in front of Riley and sat next to her.  “I can’t imagine going through all of this without you,” she smiled lightly . Riley forced a small smile out.  She didn’t want to remind Andy that she didn’t know how long she’d be staying in Cordonia.  She didn’t want her friend to get her hopes up that this was a permanent move.  “So? Any wedding plans?  Did you guys set a date or anything?” Riley asked, taking a sip out of a glass of water.

Andy shook her head.  “We’re hoping for a long engagement,” she explained.  “I want my parents to be able to fly up here and get to know Maxwell, and I also want to be a bit more settled as a couple in our own space before we get married.  The house won’t be ready for a while, but I don’t really like the idea of being newlyweds with Bertrand lurking around at every corner,” she cringed at the thought.

Riley could relate thinking back to Bertrand chaperoning her date night with Liam.  She knew that his protectiveness came from a place of love, but she couldn’t help but think that he was also being rather overbearing.  Even her own parents hadn’t been as apprehensive about what she did.  Bertrand took protectiveness to a whole new level.  “Yeah, tell me about it,” she rolled her eyes.  “Liam stopped by last night, and Bertrand was like a guard dog.  You know, he actually had the audacity to require me to leave the door open.  He acted like we were a bunch of horny teenagers who were about to jump each other at any given second.”

Andy laughed.  “Well . . . can you blame him?  You did lock yourself in your bedroom last time around for days on end,” she eyed Riley suggestively.

“Shut up,” Riley frowned.

“It’s just such a Bertrand thing to do,” she said in between side-splitting chuckles.  “He’s delusional to think that things can’t happen when the door his open,” she snickered.

Riley blushed a little.  “Liam and I aren’t even at that point . . . in our . . . thing,” she sighed.  She didn’t really know how to explain the dynamic between them.  Their conversation last night hadn’t exactly solidified anything between them except that they would court one another for four weeks.

“Thing?” Andy arched an eyebrow.  “Girl, you’re having his baby, you two are way more than just a thing,” she added knowingly.

Riley let out an exasperated sigh.  “I don’t really understand what we are right now,” she said with a slight blush.  “He kind of threw me a curveball last night.”

“Ooooh, do tell,” Andy leaned closer to her eagerly.

“So, as you know, he came over last night . . .” Riley trailed off.

“And?” Andy leaned even closer.

“And, he wants to try and court me,” Riley said simply.

Andy snapped back with a look of confusion on her face.  “Court you?  What is he ninety?  That sounds like something out of a 1950s show.” Andy burst into a fit of giggles.  “You realize how lame that sounds right?” She gasped out in between laughs.  “You’re joking.  You guys are way beyond courting.  You’re about to have a kid.  He needs to put a ring on it and seal the deal.”

“Will you stop and be serious for a minute?  This is a big deal, okay?  I’m not sure if I’m ready to do a whole courtship thing,” Riley admitted quietly.

“Well yeah, I mean, courtships are a thing of the past.”  Andy crinkled her nose.

Riley couldn’t help but roll her eyes.  “Look, things are complicated right now, and I know we need to figure out what the heck we’re going to do about our future, but the idea of a courtship is kind of . . . intimidating, ” Riley shrugged.  “I need your advice.”

Andy looked at her.  “I’m not exactly a dating expert, Riley.  You of all people should know that.  Pre-Maxwell, I bounced from relationship to relationship.  I mean, I never even thought I’d be remotely close to settling down until I met him.  I used to rely on things like Tinder to find guys, and those relationships never exactly ended well,” she mused.  “Nowadays, no one does the whole dating with a purpose thing,” she reasoned.  “Welcome to the generation of random hook ups and STDs,” Andy snorted.  “I didn’t really think about finding my life partner, you know?  I mean, at our age, who really thinks about settling down with the whole white picket fence.  But I met Maxwell, and then, something changed.  I mean, yeah at first, I kind of thought, well, he’s just going to be my random European hook up that I think back on when I’m in my fifties wondering if I ever did anything adventurous in my life . . . but then, I don’t know.  We started hanging out and actually started to get to know one another, and . . . well, I fell for him.  These guys . . . they were raised differently than us.  Yes, there are so many rules . . . so many freaking rules about proper etiquette and manners, but that’s what made them who they are you know?  You found a guy who actually wants to take the time to court you,” she raised her hands in quotation marks.  “As ridiculous and old-fashioned as it sounds, that’s way better than some random douchebag trying to slide into your DMs,” she reasoned.  

Riley chuckled a little.  She was right.  Gone were the days of guys opening doors and bringing flowers on the first date.  She knew very well that guys like Liam were hard to come by, which is why she fell so crazy in love with him the first time around.

“So, are you actually going to go along with it?” Andy asked.

Riley nodded slowly.  “I told him that I would,” she sighed.  “Do you think that’s the wrong decision?” she asked, suddenly feeling so uncertain.

Andy paused thoughtfully.  “I can’t make that decision for you, Ri.”

“I know that.  But I want your opinion.  Do you think I made the wrong choice?  What if this whole thing blows up in my face?  Maybe co-parenting was the way safer option for us.  I mean, what the heck do I know about courtships?”

Andy shook her head fervently.  “Riley, just stop for a second.  Breathe.  No.  Co-parenting was so not going to work with you two.  You guys have too much history.  Honestly  . . . as stupid as courting is . . . I think that saying yes to it was the first smart decision you’ve made . . . well a part from moving back here,” she nudged her as she took a sip from her coffee cup.  “Hey, maybe this is a good thing,” she reasoned.  “Your ‘courtship’ might actually teach you guys how to actually communicate with one another instead of jumping to conclusions all the time,” she teased.

Riley threw her hand up to her chest in mock indignation.  “Ouch.”

“Just being real,” Andy said, waggling her eyebrows.  “So after you agreed to the courtship, did Casanova spend the night?  Please tell me you at least fooled around a bit.”

“Oh my God, you’re too much,” Riley shook her head.  “Yes, Andy we fooled around so much with Bertrand pacing right outside the door,” she snorted as she rolled her eyes.

“Like I said, things can still happen with the door open,” Andy winked at her.

“Stop being so crude.  We don’t have overnight privileges,” Riley assured her.  “He was a perfect gentleman who came with the best of intentions,” she said.

Andy snorted as she poured herself another cup of coffee.  “Right, and it was those gentlemanly intentions that got you in trouble,” she motioned to Riley’s stomach.  “But then again, it’s not like he can knock you up again if he let those gentlemanly intentions slide for a night.”

Riley sighed as she shook her head.  “We are nowhere near that point in this courtship thing.  Even though I can’t get pregnant again, sex will still complicate things.  Emotions get involved and it gets messy.  I just . . . I just don’t have the luxury to be careless anymore.  Not when I have the baby to think about.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, Ri.  You know I’m just messing with you right?  I’m still on my engagement high and just want you to be happy, too,” she nudged her shoulder.  “So when does this courtship begin?”

“Today.” Riley answered.

Andy choked a bit on her coffee. “Wow, he certainly doesn’t waste any time,” she mused.

“Well . . . that’s the thing . . . we’re kind of working on a specific timeline,” she explained.

Andy arched an eyebrow.  “Explain,” she said simply.

“He wants me to give him four weeks to see if our relationship can be salvaged,” she began.  “So, I said I would try it out for the four weeks.”  She shrugged.  “I mean, I’m going to be here anyway, and he’s been really trying.  The least I can do is give it a shot for the lima bean’s sake.”

“And after four weeks?” Andy asked hopefully.

“And after four weeks,” Riley paused.  “I don’t know,” she furrowed her eyebrows.  “He did say that if I don’t think our relationship will work out, he won’t pressure me anymore about staying in Cordonia.  He’ll let me go back to New York and raise the baby how I want.  I mean, I guess if it doesn’t work out, we’ll just go along with the original plan of co-parenting and just move on with our lives.”

Andy grunted in disapproval.  “Yeah, right.”

“What?” Riley asked.

“You will never just move on, Riley.  Not when a baby is involved.  No matter what, that baby is half Liam’s, and no matter how much you want to believe you’ll be able to move on with your life and co-parent like it’s no big deal, it won’t work.”

Riley sat up a bit indignantly in her chair.  “What are you talking about?  Why won’t it work?”

“Because you’re head over heels crazy about this guy.  I know it.  Maxwell knows it.  Bertrand knows it.  Liam knows it.  The only person who is fighting this is you,” she smiled sadly.

Riley paused, considering her words for a moment.  Riley was so up in the air about everything, and the damn pregnancy hormones were making things worse.  “I’ve really made a mess of things, haven’t I?” She said sadly.  

Andy shook her head.  “Oh, Ri.  I didn’t want to make you feel bad.  It’s hard to maneuver through something like this.  I mean, I wish I could give you a textbook answer that would apply to this scenario, but I can’t.  I can’t imagine going through what you’re going through,” she admitted.  “I know I’ve been just as pushy as the guys about you and Liam, but I want you to know that no matter what happens, you’ve got me, okay?  I’m always going to have your back.”

“I know,” Riley nodded confidently.  “Same for me as well,” she offered.

“Look, I didn’t want to kill the mood.  I just want you to go into this courtship thing with eyes wide open.  Give the guy a chance.  Let loose a little,” she placed a hand on her shoulder, willing Riley to look at her.  “I know you’re scared, and I know there are a whole lot of things that need to be figured out, but please, just give him a chance, okay?  For him to take the risk of you going back to New York with the baby . . . he must have a whole lot of faith and love invested in this relationship.”

Of that Riley was fairly certain.  Liam had made it very clear that he loved her and their little lima bean.  She wanted desperately to believe that things will work out.  Andy was right.  She needed to give things a fair shot and she needed to open herself up to the idea of the three of them being a family.  “No, it’s okay.  Maybe I needed the tough love,” she shrugged, smiling sadly.  Riley took a strong whiff in the air around her, and changed gears for a second.  “What’s that smell?” She felt hunger pains rumbling around in her stomach, and it was a welcome sensation.  She had gotten distracted with their conversation and had forgotten about the hunger pangs she had awoken with.  She hadn’t had much of an appetite in weeks, but something Andy had cooked proved to be too much of a temptation to resist.

“Oh crap,” Andy said, jumping out of her chair.  I forgot I left the croissants in the oven,” she said, running over to the stove.  “I’ll never hear the end of it from Bertrand if I somehow burn down his kitchen,” she muttered.  “I’m sorry, I know all sorts of smells are ten times worse now that you’re pregnant,” Andy apologized.  She looked around the kitchen, her eyes wandering over the multitude of plates and dishes.  “Ugh,” she cringed.  “I know all this stuff must be making you feel absolutely nauseated, she frowned.  “I honestly didn’t think you’d be up for at least another hour, so I figured it would be safe to get all of this cooking done before you woke up.  I can open the windows to let the smell fade out,” she offered.

“Actually . . . I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think today is going to be a good day,” she said hopefully.  

“Really?” Andy asked skeptically as she pulled the croissants off the baking pan. “That will be like the first day since you found out you were knocked up,” she mused.  “Maybe your spawn is happy to be back in the land of his conception,” she laughed.

Riley narrowed her eyes at her best friend.  “That’s not funny,” she whined.  Admittedly, the same thought had run through Riley’s head when she had first woken up.  She thought that the change of scenery and timezone might have forced her body to reset itself.  

“Well, whatever it is, I hope it sticks,” she crossed her fingers and waved them in front of Riley’s face as she passed by to pull out a couple of plates.  “Dare I ask if you’d like some?”

“Well, I mean, I’ve only been starving for the last few weeks,” Riley chuckled.  “Plus, it’d be a tragedy if I let Maxwell and Bertrand eat all of this food all by themselves,” she motioned around her.

Andy laughed and started putting some bacon on her plate.  “Everything but the eggs?” Andy asked.

“Actually . . . the eggs smell sort of delicious,” Riley said thoughtfully.

Andy looked at her in surprise.  Riley hated eggs.  It had been a food aversion she had developed when she was a kid.  She wasn’t sure what it was about it that made her hate it, but eggs were just never that appealing for her.  It didn’t matter how it was cooked – fried, boiled, baked . . . it didn’t matter.  Eggs were just not her thing.  “You’re joking?” Andy asked.

“I wish,” she shook her head.  “Mind if I have some?”

“Are you sure that’s such a good idea?  What if you . . . ya know . . . upchuck it?” She asked hesitantly.

“Gross,” Riley wrinkled her nose in disgust.  “Can we not talk about upchucking when I’m not nauseous for the first time in weeks,” she sighed.  

“I just don’t want you getting a bout of that hyperemesis stuff and have you wind up in a Cordonian hospital,” she explained.  “Especially since you know what,” she said as she motioned to her stomach “isn’t exactly common knowledge.”

Riley sighed.  She knew Andy was right.  Just because she was feeling a bit better, didn’t mean that she should push it.  Winding up in the hospital in New York wasn’t exactly newsworthy.  Landing herself in the hospital here with Liam undoubtedly by her side, yeah, that would be front page news.  She wasn’t exactly ready for a media storm just yet, especially with things so up in the air about their relationship.  

“Ugh, you’re right.  Just a little of everything and no eggs.  The last thing I want is to feel queasy before my  date with Liam,” Riley finally acquiesced.

“Speaking of your date, where is he taking you?”

Riley shrugged.  “I’m actually not sure.  “We agreed that he’d pick me up around eleven . . . but that’s all I pretty much know,” she explained as she started to dig into her food.

“I like that he’s keeping it mysterious,” Andy said thoughtfully.  “It shows that he really wants to make things special for you,” she said cheerfully.

Riley nodded in agreement.  “I never really thought of it like that,” she smiled.  “You’re right, you know.  I really need to give him a chance.”

“Well, duh,” Andy said.  “Don’t you know I’m always right,” she said, trying to keep a straight face.

The two ate in silence for several minutes, before Riley looked at her best friend and smiled softly.   “Andy?”  Riley asked quietly.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you.  For talking me off the ledge earlier,” she smiled softly.  “I know it sucks to get wrapped up in all of this chaos, especially when you’re about to embark on one of the most exciting times of your life with Maxwell,” Riley said.  “So I appreciate you being here for me . . . for us,” she trailed off.

“Of course, I mean, you’d do the same for me right?” Andy said honestly.

Just as Riley was about to agree, the doorbell chimed from the main entrance.  Riley’s eyes bulged as she looked at the clock.  “Oh no, he’s like two hours early,” she said as she jumped out of her seat.  “I’m not even ready.  I still have morning breath and bed head,” she exclaimed.

“Go on and get ready,” Andy laughed.  “I’ll stall him with all this food,” she motioned around her.  “Men can’t say no to food,” she reasoned.

Riley smiled at her friend, kissing her on the cheek.  “Best friend ever,” she exclaimed happily as she ran out of the kitchen.

“And please, do something with your hair!” Andy called after her.

#trr #choices #choices fanfiction #choices: stories you play #choices trr #trr fanfic #trr au #theroyalromance #the royal romance #choices the royal romance #liam x riley #liam x mc

[proxylynn]

Lynchtale: File Name Game of Death #4

Chapter 4: To aid is sin and one that brings more pain.

WARNING: THIS IS A MATURE STORY THAT WILL HAVE BLOOD, GORE, PSYCHOLOGICAL SURVIVAL HORROR, HEAVY CURSING, AND LIKELY SEXUAL THEMES/BONING. I DO NOT OWN UNDERTALE, THAT BELONGS TO LORD TOBY FOX. I DO NOT OWN DEAD BY DAYLIGHT, THAT BELONGS TO BEHAVIOUR DIGITAL INC.. I DON'T OWN THE AU'S THAT SOME OF THE CHARACTERS COME FROM, THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS. I DON'T OWN THE IDEA FOR LYNCHTALE, THAT BELONGS TO PUNNYSIDEUP (AKA. SANSFULPUNS). WHAT I DO OWN IS MY SELF-INSERT OC ANOMALY LYNSIE AND THE LOVE OF FAN PARODY. IF YOU'RE STILL READING THIS, THEN CONGRATULATIONS ON EITHER BEING ONE WITH STRONG DETERMINATION OR AN ENDLESS WILL TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGE OF STOMACHING WHAT I HAVE IN MIND. EITHER WAY, IF YOU LIKE THIS AND/OR MY OTHER CONTENT, SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. HAVE FUN SINNERS. ^_^

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Two trials have passed since my reawakening. With a bit more explaining, Claudette was more willing to teach me her perk of Self-Care. Every little bit helps when it will come to stopping the killer within me. Even Dwight makes amends with me by showing me how to access the Bloodweb. To do so, one must close their eyes then enter a meditative trance-like state where the mind is a space between reality and abstraction. Basically, it can be accessed through thought and sleep patterns. In this space, one can use the Bloodpoints, Iridescent Shards, Auric Cells...mostly Bloodpoints though. With these points, one can acquire Add-ons, Items, Offerings, and even other Perks that aren't person-specific. But I don't have many after my first trial so I don't get to collect many things. If I'm honest, I just grabbed a few random Nodes. Though I did notice something odd. The web was broken in half and some of the things I got...I don't think are meant for Survivors. Despite this obvious red flag, I don't tell the others about it. I mean, I don't plan on using these blatant killer things so why tell them about it? Well...Maybe just one. The one that offers me bonus Bloodpoints. An unidentifiable cocoon that was breached by whatever was inside called Hollow Shell that gives a 25% increase. I don't see how this could do any harm. And extra points are extra points worth at least possibly getting. The timing of all this is rather convenient. A new trial is commencing. One that involves me. Time for my second trial to begin now.

[INTO THE FOG AND OUT ELSEWHERE]

My vision clears to a blackened sky, dead forest, full moon, and the faint scent of char of a long since past fire. I have never been to this realm but I know where I am. The Entity literally drilled all sorts of knowledge into my mind, Maps being some of it, and this one is the Disturbed Ward of Crotus Prenn Asylum.

There is insanity, and then there are minds that are so severely distorted that they cease being humans. Instead, they end up a feral, living, unwanted things. These people must be "stored" somewhere, and that's where the Crotus Prenn Asylum played a crucial role. Established in 1857, Crotus Prenn was originally a hospital, but as the need for storage grew, it was turned into an insane asylum. Crotus Prenn was a place riddled with tall tales that aren't even close to the reality that takes place within its walls. It was never the biggest asylum, but the one that held the most violent and warped minds the country had ever met. But it was not the residents that etched the name Crotus Prenn into the history books. Instead, it was the mass homicide where over fifty patients were found dead in their beds. The building was abandoned shortly after that. Investigators had no answers, and the town's folk became more and more worried as rumors talked about a woman still living inside the asylum. Finally, one night, smoke rose from the woods as Crotus Prenn had been set ablaze. The bystanders did nothing. They just let it burn. The last standing structure after the fire, that still shows the grandeur of the original architecture. Its two floors and dark basement leave nothing of the tale of horrors that took place here. Nothing but memories that linger in the abandoned rooms.

This place...This place is the home of the Nurse. In a funny sense of irony, the Entity did little to informed me of the monsters outside of the basics. She is technically the slowest killer currently in the realms but can blink/teleport with blinding speed to anywhere all over the area and slash you with her bonesaw, a rusted metal implement for tearing through flesh as well as bone. There is a painful tell if the Nurse is indeed here. In order to Blink, she channels the dying breath energy of past kills to allow her to pierce and jump through the Spirit World, sometimes multiple times in a row. Doing so leaves her in a state of fatigue as blinking is quite painful to her, hence why she will shriek after each Blink. Yet so far, as I crawl in the thick tall grass and decaying structures littering the grounds, all has been quiet. I'm lucky to find a generator with some decent cover and I start to fiddle with it. I'll show my team that I'm productive and not as big of a liability as they think. As this team is probably expecting me to fail. I got stuck with Adam, Min, and Nea. Poor guy is drowning in a torrential estrogen agro sea.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

That is a sound I was hoping not to hear.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

I don't even have to peek to see the ghostly figure fly upwards, leaving a trail of glowing dots and black smoke in her wake, through the asylum. My progress on the generator stops as I don't want to be distracted and mess up, alerting to my location. I know not if this is her intended strategy, but if I had that power, I'd use the height advantage to look for any movement or gen-repair happening in the mist. I don't know if she can see me from wherever she has landed in that place, but sight is only a minor thought. It's likely Legion has said things to the other monsters. He knows about my strange terror radius. If he told them anything, it was probably that and now I have to be on guard even more for monsters that are listening for me and can hunt me down easy.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

She sounds further away. Spotting prey elsewhere and going for it. I feel safe enough for now to continue repairing the generator. It feels a good 60% done when I hear softly crunching earth and yet no terror radius. One of my teammates is near.

"*whisper* Yo, who's there?"

His hair stands out before he can say anything.

"*whisper* It's me. Do you need a hand?"

"*whisper* Not really. This thing is almost done. But the boost wouldn't hurt."

He creeps over to help me.

"So...Did you see her yet?"

Here come the questions that will annoy me.

"Nurse? Not up close. She blinked up into the asylum and then out of sight."

"I saw her for a moment then she went near where Min was repairing."

"She'll be fine. She has Nea to cover her."

His expression is blank though it feels forced.

*CLANK*

The lights pop on and I back away from the generator.

"Where are you going?"

I don't look at him.

"She'll come investigating. You don't want to be around me in case things happen."

"You don't have to go it alone. We're a team. There's no 'I' in team."

"But there is a 'me'. And this me is going to make sure I don't hurt anyone."

He reaches out to follow but I scamper away into the thicket. I know Adam means well, but I am not a very sociable person. I prefer to be by myself. I'm a team player that doesn't like to be on a team. I know, that made no damn sense. Sue me.

*CLANK*

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

Two gens down and someone's only now just got hurt. Not bad.

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

...Never mind. I guess I have no choice but to play distraction to keep them from dying. Ugh...They're already forcing me to do shit. Damn it!

[Breaking Point: Triggered. Resentment Tier I activated.]

What?! God damn...No, no, calm down. Ignore the crap and be a good helpful person.

"Hellooooooo, Nurse!"

I shout to the heavens. Come on. Take my bait. Why go after them when I'm here and you can see what I can do?

"Come on! What are you waiting for? Don't waste your time on worms when there's a beast right here!"

Somehow I can feel the rage from across the map. Nea is so easy to piss off it's sad.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I barely see the burly movement zipping through the fog. I need to play this safely or all hell will happen. So what do I do? I impersonate Kermit the Frog like a flipping moron. Of course, this gets the Nurse's attention and the real game starts.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

The sudden whoosh of a weapon just missing its mark to hit a rock behind me has me kick it into high gear.

"Wee-woo, mother fucker!"

Probably more cocky than needed but can't take it back now.

"You can run, child..."

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

She cuts me off, taking a swing and slicing deeply into my arm when I try to dodge.

"But there is nowhere to run. Especially, from the likes of me."

True to the nature of my skills as dictated by the Entity, I don't make a loud sound of pain. I grit my teeth while biting my tongue and grab the wound as if my skin were to roll off like a torn sleeve. Blood covering my arm, hand, and ground in a steady stream.

[Breaking Point: Triggered. Resentment Tier II activated.]

My nerves jitter with a sense of warm darkness. I can feel that call from before. That want to panic and overreact, to lash out.

*CLANK*

The third generator pops and the Nurse is momentarily distracted and this good step toward progress does quell the feeling enough to remember I need to run! Nurse makes the choice to ignore the others and keep after me.

"You've got to be kidding?!"

She isn't blinking. She's merely chasing me, her form floating seamlessly and faintly gaining speed as she continues to follow. All while my pace isn't as steady, I'm stumbling over the slightest thing and seem to spook every crow without fail. I am regretting doing anything! During this messed up run, I notice lights flickering with power and decide to do a little test. I make a beeline for that generator. Of course, the three others working on it don't react well to this. To Adam's credit, he takes cover against the gen and a tree, letting the dark camouflage him. Min takes off in a burst of speed, probably telling herself button commands because of gamer logic. Nea, however, hurls an uncreative obscenity at me and proceeds to shove me back into the Nurse herself. Nurse doesn't take this well, her frail form is unable to support my weight and I crush the monster in my awkward tumble.

"Get wrecked, asshole!"

Nea flees into the darkness, aiming to find another generator since we only need two more to escape. My annoyance levels increase. I can feel the urges for violence strengthen. Whispers of dark intentions. I stain as hard as I can to keep sane and move away from the Nurse. But I can't see right with all this mental pressure and blood loss, I have to lean against a tree to not trip over my own feet...again. The Nurse takes some time returning to her floating state. She looks my way, her bonesaw clenched in her hand, yet she doesn't move from her position. She merely stares at me. I'm not sure which is more unnerving, her featureless staring or the loud heartbeat pounding my already aching mind? The uncomfortableness and pain are not letting me think straight. So I'm not too surprised that the part of me that controls speech goes off.

"*strained* What are you doing?"

"I beg your pardon?"

I turn to her as she tilts her head, at least getting a good look at her. The shape of this monster is...odd to me. She's not a shadow like Wraith or skeleton like Legion. She is an anthropomorphic mammal, one that seems familiar yet unknown due to not being able to see her face. An old stained white linen pillowcase seems to be smothering her head, tied tight by unseen binds, though this does allow for a shape to be defined. Her head is Bovidae-like and even has two slightly curved horns that poke out. She wears a worn standard-issue dirty purple nurse uniform from the early twentieth century, designed with white lace patterns on the breast and held around the waist with a blood-stained red belt. The bottom of her uniform is torn and tattered, showing off her white fur covered broken legs. Granted, I'm 100% that they're broken but damn they look it or are just deteriorated to the point that standing on them would be next to impossible. Her bare feet resemble paws and so do her hands except, you know, they're hands that are covered in fur. Honestly...She's the least scary thing I could've imagined when told a Nurse was going to kill me.

"*strained* Why aren't you trying to kill me? I'm an easy mark right now."

She ponders for a moment.

"I am assessing the situation."

"*strained* Why? You've hit me once already and I haven't healed. Hit me again and I go into the dying state to which you can hook me. What's to assess?"

"How much longer you will last with such a sickness eating away at your mind."

My eyes widen. She knows? Knows what's happening to me? How? Legion didn't know. He couldn't have jumped to such a conclusion with the tiniest of hints. So how in the hell does she know? What the fuck?!

"*strained* ...You're going to keep after me till I snap, aren't you?"

She holds the weapon in front of her, delicately skimming a small claw at the end of her finger over the smooth metal back.

"You are a clever one for one so sick. Then again, the clever ones always tend to be the sickest...and require the most attention."

Her tone is something more creepy than she herself is. It holds this strict authority and threatening power that has me flashing back to watching the movie Matilda as a kid, more accurately, being intimidated by the character Miss Agatha Trunchbull. And much like a child in the face of something dreadful, I mentally freak out running like a rabbit from a wolf.

My chest is pounding like crazy, not helping the bleeding arm. Nurse, again, resumes her pursuit of me yet now she's hammering me with jump scares blinking so close that my breathing falters quite a few times.

"*shrike* Leave me alone!"

If she speaks I know not. I can't hear anything but the heartbeat.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I crash in my panic into everything in my way. I'm a mess. I'm not even sure how I'm still running other than I'm burning adrenaline like crazy.

*CLANK*

The forth generator pops. I feel pressure lessen from my soul and for a second I recall relief.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

*HIGH-PITCH ROAR*

The slash to my back is so sudden I collide with one of the burning oil drums that light the fog. The drum remains standing. I do not. I'm in the dying state. Bleeding out unless hooked or healed by a teammate, the latter being highly unlikely.

"Poor child..."

She hovers over my bloody twisted form.

"They have left you to die."

Fuck! What is she going to do? Hook me? Mori me? Leave me to bleed? Damn it! I don't want to die! Not like this!

[Embrace it, worm. Embrace the gift the Entity has given you. Unleash the beast.]

The whispers repeat and overlap. Madness is engulfing what little humanity remains at this point. I can't take this!

"What will you do now, child?"

She reaches down to pluck me like a flower.

"What will you do to stop me from killing you?"

*THUD*

She pauses. Something is nearby. I'm not going anywhere, even if crawling is an option, so she investigates the sound. Might as well try to stop the other humans I suppose. She gets out of sight when something else enters my visual range.

"*whisper* Don't move. Man, she really got you good."

Adam? He came for me? I...I'm brain dead. He used his Distraction perk to toss a pebble. Yeah, as dumb as that sounds, that's a special perk of his. It's like my Snowball's Chance but only works when not noticed by the killer.

He works as quickly as he can to heal me, for it is the power of the Nurse to know when healing is being done. Thank goodness he has acquired a med-kit and gets me out of dying state, though not fully healed, by the time the heartbeat starts to return. I hobble just behind him, the Nurse no doubt trailing my blood and scratch marks.

"Can you keep up?"

Why is he concerned for me?

"*wince* Why did you risk exposing yourself? You only need one gen to leave."

He chuckles.

"There might be a 'me' in team, but this me won't let my team die if I can help it."

That hit me. He used my own words on me. Such a mad lad.

"*wince* Heh...Thanks, man."

He throws a peace sign and I laugh, feeling the most normal since this trial began.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

Wetness...Crimson...It's in my eyes. I'm blinded by Adam's blood spray.

"Look out!"

Of course, I can't.

*HIGH-PITCH ROAR*

I'm slashed across the chest and I drop to the ground, feeling so very weak. I blink enough to see in colors other than red only to see Adam scurry away. I don't blame him. It's only natural. What pains me is the look back take he does. His face screams "I'm sorry". He's not coming back. Not this time.

[What will you do now, little worm? He was your last chance.]

I feel myself being lifted and put over Nurse's shoulder.

*CLANK*

*ALARM*

The popping of the fifth generator unlocks the gates and now I know all hope is lost on anyone coming to get me. Nea and Min definitely won't make the attempt. And Adam? He might but it would be illogical to self-preservation. My attention returns to the here and now when Nurse stops moving...she's found a hook.

[Last chance, little worm. Will you let them get away with their sins? Their abandonment of you? The betrayal? The disrespect? Embrace the beast. Teach them the error of their ways. Embrace the Entity.]

As she lifts me, ready to pierce my back on the dirty metal of sacrifice, I give up...and give in.

[Breaking Point: Triggered. Resentment Tier III activated.]

[You made the right choice, little beast. Now...Prove to the worms that it is a mistake to wrong you.]

[Special Ability: Anomaly State...Activated.]

...

[Toriel.]

Nurse freezes in her action.

"Master?"

[Put the little beast down. Stop the other worms. The Entity will reward you handsomely.]

This is a bit puzzling to the Nurse.

"Of course, Master. But why not accept this one? Is she too sick?"

[You will see soon enough. Enjoy having a friend, my dear.]

Further confusion comes to her but no killer disobeys the Entity unless they want to be tortured. And the Doctor did say they should observe this one. So she sets the lifeless looking human down and does as instructed, blinking away towards one of the exit gates. A sudden light comes to Nurse's vision...Healing is happening. Locking onto this, she moves with long blinks to find the male being tended to by one of the females. The surprising yet predictable ambush does not go without bloodshed.

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

The male is struck down while the female tries to escape. He's not going anywhere, so Nurse blinks and lunges for a hard slash, but the female dashes quickly just out of range. Probably used that damn perk called Dead Hard to avoid the damage.

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

This has Nurse and human stop in puzzlement.

*ROAR*

The confusion only grows. But it's not like the monster or human forget where they are or what the situation is and resume the chase.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

The heartbeat? Then that means that sick one is near. Poor thing. She must truly be ill of not even the Entity wanted to feed on her soul.

"*grunting* Fucker! Get off of me!"

The sounds of a distressed and agitated human is close...real close. Curiosity peeked, Nurse shifts directions and follows the ever increasing pounding.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

Leaping out from the top of the asylum, the distasteful female lands on her feet to keep running as the sick human pounces down to chase after her on all fours. This sight is a perplexing one indeed. She couldn't see much, but based on their movements, they seemed to be healed. And their eyes...glowing?

*LOW-PITCH GRUNT*

Someone's healing. That's a no-no.

*GHASTLY SHIRK*

Zooming over to the healing humans, suddenly the healing stops. Before it clicks in her head as to why, Nurse blinks through a wall only to be blinded by the bright focused beam of a well-aimed flashlight and smacks her face into a large rock. The offending human is gone by the time Nurse's vision returns but the male they were trying to help is futilely crawling into the grass.

"I think not, little man."

If left alone he'd only need a bit more healing to get back up or bleed out. Nurse skips to the chase and hooks the poor soul up like a cow in a slaughterhouse.

*LOW-PITCH YELL*

"Now...Where did those little brats go?"

*HIGH-PITCH SHIRK*

Well, that's helpful.

She doesn't blink away, simply following the sounds of pain and heavy breathing off in the distance.

lub-dub...lub-dub...

This sick one again? What insanity is she doing now?

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"The hell is wrong with you?!"

"Get to the gate!"

Do they know she can hear them? Do they think monsters don't understand them? Such idiocy will be their downfall.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

*HIGHT-PITCH SHIRK*

"Blind this bitch!"

"I can't get a clear shot!"

"Don't you fucking leave me!"

Oh really? This is sounding more interesting.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

"You are so lucky I don't have Decisive Strike or I'd so stab the shit out of you!"

"*snarling*"

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

*HIGHT-PITCH SCREAM*

Was that...a hooking? No...It couldn't be. 'Twas impossible. This had to be a fluke. She was the only monster in the trial. Only one could be in a trial. That's the rule.

*ALARM BLARE*

The gate is being opened. Though judging by the hooked auras, it must be by the remaining female. Fine. Escape this time, brat. Your demise can wait a little longer. There are far more interesting events going on.

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

It's coming from behind the shack? It makes some sense. The basement hadn't spawned in there this time.

"*grunting* Disgusting freak! You're so dead when we get back to camp!"

Harsh words. Aimed at a fellow human? Such a strange trial.

*ALARM BLARE*

"It won't be long now..."

The sick one?

"Min won't come for you. How does it feel to be left for dead?"

"*grunting* Speak English, bitch!"

*ALARM BLARE*

*METAL SCRAPING*

*DARK BELL BONG*

One of the gates open, the End Game Collapse has begun as Nurse comes around the shack and what she witnesses through the cloth covering her is not something she expected. The disrespectful human was on the hook and being watched by the sick human, only she looked a bit...different. Her hair was loose and shrouded her face, though her eyes glowed white under such curtain. Her arms dangled limply at her sides, hands bent like claws with nails to match. Her posture was slightly hunched yet that was probably because she was standing on her toes.

The sky rumbles with the thunderous approach of the Entity, aiming to claim it's first snack and earning the sick human's attention to see Nurse. The slight turn in her direction gives a better view of her face. White orbs surrounded by darkness that seemed to drain down her cheeks. As if...crying?

"Poor sick child..."

The human doesn't blink.

"You look so unwell."

She looks at the hooked human.

"They use me...Call me a freak...A liability...Yet they bring about their own end."

Slowly she steps away. Heading towards the opened gate or where she perceives it to be.

"*grunting* Hey! Come back here!"

The sacrificed human is ignored.

"They need to learn...Learn that they won't get away with such things anymore."

Her tone is ominous yet somber, almost remorseful. Nurse only watches this odd human walk away. Now as odd as this is, the fact that the collapse is still happening means the trial is not completely over with. Even as the Entity returns to snatch up the other hooked human, the burning veins along the ground persist. Further curiosity has the Nurse following the remaining human. She pays the Nurse no mind, as if not believing her to exist. Arriving at the gate, the human pauses and stares at the site of the campfire. Her only promise of safety in an otherwise deadly world. The instinct to stop her comes to the Nurse but she restrains herself to witness any further oddities. Bit by bit, she gradually steps towards her freedom. She approaches the escape boundary, only for The Entity to spawn the same spikes that usually block vaults for Survivors and stop the Killers from leaving the Trial grounds. She is understandably confused and attacks the spikes with her claws to no avail. Poor thing. She's become so sick that she isn't recognized as human anymore. Something gets her attention, whispers on the wind speaking to her and telling her things she doesn't like. She roars out in frustrated anguish.

[She has learned a harsh lesson.]

"Master?"

[Monsters can not leave to the campfire of humans. Her only chance of leaving here alive is the hatch. But she has no time to look for it. She will not survive. I leave her fate to you, Toriel.]

Such a cruel thing. But so true. There is no saving this one. She's too sick to be saved. The only way out now would be painful. Yet perhaps...there is still some mercy to be given to this child.

"Young one..."

Nurse's soft voice gets her attention.

"There is no escape."

The poor girl looks completely defeated. She even drags herself over to Nurse.

"If you mean to kill me...please...make it quick."

Pity. An emotion Nurse believed she had forgotten. None of the other humans brought that feeling out in her or her fellow monsters. She puts her hands on the girl's shoulder apologetically.

"You poor thing. So much suffering is hidden in those eyes."

"Not sure how you can see that or anything else with that case over your head, but you wouldn't be good at what you do if you couldn't."

"Call it something akin to mother's intuition."

That got somewhat of a small smile to breach her gloom.

"Sorry."

"Sorry?"

"Yeah. For how I acted and junk. Just thought I'd say sorry before you...you know."

No need to make this difficult, human.

"Thank you, child."

She appears ready to speak further but Nurse makes the call to end it now. Her hands swiftly grasp the human's throat and she forces her to the ground. Naturally, the girl is reluctant to be strangled and grips at Nurse's wrists in an effort to pry them off. This struggle does little to lessen the pressure on her windpipe. With the life fading from her form she claws at Nurse's face. Her sharps nails snag a bit of the cloth and tear a small opening, showing off the intense red eyes hidden inside.

*CRACK*

The flailing ceases. Limbs fall to the wayside. Head lulls back and eyes empty of light. The human is dead.

"Rest now, child..."

Nurse gently strokes the cheek of the human in solace.

"Now you can rest."

With the last human in the trial now dead, the world begins to be consumed by the realm's fog. Time for the world to be reset for the next trial. Nurse reaches up and feels the hole, touching her face for the first time in unknown ages. It won't last though. This will be reset along with the realm. A fleeting glance with her own eyes before losing such clarity again.

[SURVIVOR'S FOREST]

Cold. Everything feels cold. Everything is quiet. Rather odd for the campfire to be so dead. Suddenly there's feeling. Poking. Sharp poking on the back of my head.

*CAW*

...Okay. That's not normal. Forcing my eyes to open, I see not the light of the fire or faces of those who will most likely piss me off. Only darkness and trees as a crow flutter off my back to gawk at me.

"I didn't realize you things double as alarm clocks."

The bird rears back like it will peck my eye out, only to turn and fly upward while cawing.

"Was it something I said?"

Oh well. Time to stop kissing the dirt and find the fire. I could use some cheering up. David's always good at lifting my spirit. Scrapping myself off the ground hurts. I'm sore and feel dizzy. But I can't stay here because of that. Even if my neck is killing me. Did she really have to snap it? I guess I should be grateful that she did make it quick. Shaking off the stiffness in my joints, I lumber through the woods unsure of how to get to camp but know it's where I'm going. Such a strange feeling. Stranger still is the crow seems to be following me. What do you want with me now Entity?

"I don't know why you didn't put me back at camp, but the least you could do was drop me off closer."

The bird ignores me yet continues to linger. Jackass. Either way, as long as it doesn't cause trouble then I don't mind the company. At some point in my tireless stroll, it takes perch atop my head and I groan.

"Having fun?"

It ruffles its plumage before sitting.

"*sigh* Just don't crap in my hair, okay?"

*CAW*

"I'll take that as a maybe."

I'm not sure how long I've been walking. The trees never seem to end. Yet...I don't feel the fatigue of it.

*CAW*

"What?"

The bird takes flight and something tells me to follow. I run after this harbinger of death. Not sure if it's even leading me anywhere. But soon...I see auras. Auras shaped like people. I move to all fours for faster speed. The smell of smoke finally gets to me. It makes me move faster. By the time I can see light, my body tingles with the anticipation of the fire's warmth. But then...I hear the voices.

"Good! I'm glad she's gone! Fucking freak hooked me!"

Nea. I slow down.

"Do you know 'ow often I've wanted to do that to you?"

David. Never taking her shit.

"Fuck you!"

"Well...It's not like she didn't warn us that something like this could happen."

Dwight. Even his points are nervous wrecks.

"It didn't help that we were going against the Nurse. Once she found her, the damn monster would not stop chasing her for nothing and ignored us till the end."

Thanks, Adam. Maybe it's okay after all.

"And who's fault was that? If she hadn't have shouted than the Nurse would've never found her. At least, no so easily."

Fuck you, Min. Just fuck you.

"She did that because both of you were being attacked. Or did you forget that part? If she hadn't distracted the Nurse, then both of you would've been down after popping that second gen."

I've crept into the bushes and can see them now. No one looks pleased.

"A lot of good that did anyway. Two of us were still hooked. With one being by a fucking team member!"

Nea...Oh, how you know just what to say to make my blood boil.

"You pushed her into the Nurse! And you're seriously wondering why she went after you?"

"The bitch ran at us while being chased! She's lucky I didn't knock her ass out!"

"Fuck you!"

I've had enough listening and spring out of my hiding spot. The whole group just stares at me. Sure, I expected some but not all of them to be looking at me so...oddly.

"What? Are we not allowed to swear all of a sudden?"

David takes a cautious step towards me.

"Luv? Is that you?"

Such a question has me tilting my head in confusion.

"I don't think she knows."

"Poor kid."

Ash and Bill remark.

"Know what?"

"Why is she growling? Is she upset?"

Meg questions as if trying to understand the barks of a dog.

"Okay...I'm just gonna pretend you guys aren't high right now."

I move to join them but barbed spikes, the same that kept me from exiting the gate, now block me from entering the camp.

"What kind of bull is this?"

I touch the spikes and only now notice what they have been seeing this whole time. My hands...These aren't my normal hands. But I died...Why didn't I return to normal? Why am I still a monster? What the fuck is happening to me?!

[Oh, did the Entity forget to mention that if you are killed while in the False Killer state, you shall remain as such till you are brought out of it? So forgetful. Bad Entity, bad. Heheh...]

The ever increasing look of fear and panic on my face has the few good ones concerned, especially David.

"Hey, it's okay, Luv. Just calm down. Can you understand what I'm sayin'?"

This is absolute bullshit! The Entity did this on purpose! Making me suffer still for holding back!

Gripping my stressed-out head, I roar is growing frustration before fleeing back into the woods and away from the shame this affliction is giving me. Vaguely, I want to believe the voices I hear behind me are anything but negative. Damn it all! Why? Why am I like this? Why am I always the freak?

Lost in my private pity party panic I fail to take notice of many warnings that I'm not the only monster in these woods. After probably circling the same carved tree for like the sixth time, something trips me and I skid into the ground. Frankly, I am not having a good day.

"Oh my..."

And suddenly a random voice from the darkness.

"That was quite the tumble. Are you alright, darling?"

Darling? No one calls me that. ...Oh shit. No one I know calls me that. Stranger danger!

"Hmmm...Not much of a talker, are you?"

A figure steps forth and crouches in front of me. Their outfit is pretty basic but they certainly aren't. Just a simple plastic mask with a sort of melted face look that covers part of their face, like the phantom of the opera style while the other side is covered in oil black hair. A faint pink glow shimmers from that lone eye hole. Eerie yet enchanting. Black fabrics shroud their form to help give cover, pinkish-white glossy textures provide light balancing accents, and tendril strips of cloth writhe behind them like four ghostly snakes. They look the most basic, but they are not...The flesh I can see is not meat, but metal. They are a murder machine. A killer robot. And going off the voice...It's a dude.

"Well, no matter. It's better if you just listen than chatter."

That part gets me as I make myself sit up.

"Wait...You're not going to try to kill me?"

He sighs.

"No, darling. At least...Not right now."

Oh great. One of those type of killers. How much worse is this going to get?

"Tell me something, darling...How would you like to have a friend?"

Um...Not gonna lie, I'm blindsided.

"Huh?"

"A friend. You know what one is. Someone you can trust. Depend on. Someone that can help you when you're in need. Now...Wouldn't it be nice to have someone like that?"

Ah. I get it now. He's going to mock me and take pleasure in my empty pointless life before killing me.

"Dude, can you skip the whole belittling me thing and just kill me? I have no fucks to give anymore."

He seems slightly insulted yet remains composed.

"Belittling? No, darling, I wasn't doing anything like that."

"Sure you weren't."

"Really. I wasn't. I am merely extending a hand to someone lost."

"And does said hand hold a weapon in it?"

Now he's offended.

"Well, I never. So defensive when I've done nothing to incur such hostility."

Great...Now I feel bad for insulting a murder...The fuck is wrong with me?!

"No, you're right. I'm sorry I jumped to a conclusion like that. I'm not...myself."

He skims a metal hand under his hood to go through his hair coolly.

"No big deal, darling. I get it. Bad days happen to the best of us."

Okay...This guy is confusing me. Wait...I know him.

"I'm sorry, but are you the one known as...Ghost Face?"

He flinches before becoming way more chipper.

"Oh~? It seems my reputation precedes me."

"The others spoke about you once. But I know as much as the Entity drilled into my head. I merely guessed it was you. I do not know what any of the monsters look like that I haven't met."

That knocks him down a tiny bit yet seems unphased.

"I see. Well, if that's the case..."

He stands up and offers me his hand.

"Allow me to offer you a chance to change that."

It takes a moment to process that.

"You want me...to go with you?"

"A little slow on the uptake. Yeah. That's what I'm offering."

"...Why?"

He sighs. Getting fed up with me enough to quickly reach down and yank me to my feet by the throat.

"Geez. I never thought you'd be so dull in person. I'm offering you something big. Some behind the scene action and get to know the crew. You should feel lucky. Nah, honored."

To try to pry him off would be futile. But that doesn't mean I have to just take this crap.

"*snarl* Let go of me!"

He wags a single finger on his free hand.

"Now now, darling. You won't get anywhere being demanding. Try again with proper respect to your better."

I cringe.

"*growl* Let go of me...Please?"

He smirks.

"Much better."

He puts me down yet doesn't remove his hand.

"Now then, rewinding back a bit...How would you like to make a friend?"

I am not liking this day. In fact, I fucking hate it.

"Sure?"

"Great! The others will just love meeting you. Some are dying to get there hands on you."

And now I'm uncomfortable.

"...I need an adult."

"I am an adult."

"A different one."

"I'll take you to them."

"Can we not?"

His grip tightens and I change my tune.

"*gasp* Okay okay...We can go."

His grip lacks.

"There. Isn't it easier to just go along with things than fight the flow?"

I don't respond. I can't figure a way to do so around him. His personality...It's too mixed to grip. But he gets the point of my silence. Tugging to get me moving as he treks beside me.

"I will admit...You're not quite what I was expecting."

Now he's chatty.

"I've been keeping tabs on you. Taking notes. You're not like this when with the other humans."

...He's been what? No wonder Nurse knew. This guy must've heard and reported it to the others.

"Maybe it's because you're unsure. I am a stranger. You know nothing about me or my motives. For all you know, I could be taking you away to do ungodly things with your body."

That legitimately made me shiver hard. A sensation that makes him chuckle.

"Now there's a reaction. Heheh...So cute. No worries, darling. I have no need of you like that."

I sigh with hope.

"Can't say any of the others won't."

I'm dead. I have to be. Somewhere along the line I died and went to hell. Maybe a bear got me in my sleep or was hit with lightning. Now I'm being punished. Maybe I can make a deal with the devil with a contest or sorts?

"Did that freak you out or are you thinking of a way to attack?"

My thoughts are broken.

"Huh?"

"Ah. You were just lost. Makes sense."

"Um...You were just trying to scare me...right?"

He doesn't respond.

"Right?!"

His composure falters. Unable to keep a straight face.

"*laugh* I'm sorry...*snicker* You just make it so easy to fuck with you."

I am so not in the mood for this.

"That's not FUNNY!"

He may have predicted I was going to hit him. He may even been ready for it. Yet he wasn't prepared for the brunt force not being a hit...but a charge. I end up taking him for a short ride into a tree, the bang catches him off guard and the shock has him release me. This momentary freedom is enough to get some space and I use it to run. Of course, he's not pleased by this and gives chase.

"*digital distortion* GET BACK HERE, YOU BITCH!"

Seems the robot loses his shit when upset. Good to know. Perhaps I can use that.

"Don't blow a gasket, ghost-bot. Aren't you used to this by now?"

"*digital distortion* I WILL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH!"

"You'd have to catch me first."

Granted, a clever guy like him probably knows these woods better than anyone and his costume is well suited to hiding in the darkness. Yet he does have a flaw. He's metal. Heavy heavy metal. While still of decent speed, he can't help his body mass and that is the key. Flesh be nimble, flesh be quick, flesh will adapt, flesh will strengthen, and flesh can overcome. All it takes is some careful maneuvering and just the right time to act. After all, he may have been watching me yet he doesn't know how I do things when pushed. He doesn't know what kind of beast I am!

"*digital distortion* DON'T THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE ME!"

The faint glint of a blade gets in my sight. From the right.

A slash comes down.

But it missed. Just barely though. I mistook his reach range and nearly took the blade of his tactical knife to the shoulder.

"*digital distortion* HOLD STILL, YOU WRETCH! YOU SHOULD FEEL HONORED TO FEEL MY KNIFE SLIDING THROUGH YOUR RIBCAGE!"

Now. Now's the time.

"Sorry. But the only taste of steel I desire is not that weapon!"

I lunge, but it's a false one. The shock is to take him by surprise and gauge his reaction time. But I should've attacked. I shouldn't test things and aim for max damage. Because that's what he does. He's fast. Too fast. His free hand grabs a fistful of my hair and uses it as the tether to swing me into tree after tree.

"*digital distortion* ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?! IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED?! THEN I'LL GRANT YOUR WISH AND BEAT YOU INTO COMPLIANCE!"

He doesn't joke about it either. The knife is put aside for now in favor of swinging me around and bashing me around the environment. Ground, rocks, bushes, trees. Nothing is off-limits to pummel my body into. In no time I'm coughing blood. The bright shimmering crimson is enough to get his attention. It shows his victory. Such a show calms him, reverting him to his relative ease as he holds my still form.

"*sigh* Oh dear...Look at you, darling. This is on you. All I wanted was to show you off. But no...You just had to be difficult."

I don't recall giving willing consent to any of this, so...fuck you.

"I suppose what's done is done. But I can't show up with you looking like this. Just...Hold still a sec."

The cold feel of his thumb smear blood from my face.

"Huh?"

His confusing musing tone has me look meekly up at him.

"Hmmm...Shame. I guess there's a time limit for that."

The only thing his words make me think of is my Anomaly State. So I move my hand enough to see it. Sure enough, I don't see the claws that were there moments before.

[Just as there are ways to trigger this False Killer state, there are ways to prevent and reverse you back to normal. Killers can also use pain to revert you to normal, with enough damage from clashing with a real Killer you will be back to being just another piece of meat waiting to be hooked.]

So he must have hurt me so bad that it reverted me to normal. Good. I'll let him believe there's a time limit. Jerk ain't getting any info out of me. Though I'll be real, I'm not gonna hold out very well if torture is used.

"Oh well. Human you will just have to do."

He tosses me up over his shoulder and resumes the action of taking me somewhere. For what? Fuck if I know.

"You're not going to stab me, are you?"

"*cough* Shouldn't I ask you that?"

"Just checking, darling. All's fun and game till someone gabs s shape object in your back."

"*cough* You are by far...the most confusing individual I have ever met."

"Do try not to talk. You're getting blood all over me."

Whatever. It's your fault I'm spitting blood. My annoyed monologue aside, I decided to just enjoy the ride. I ache too much to try wiggling free and even if I did I wouldn't get very far in this current state. Maybe a small nap would be nice. What's the worst that could happen? He kills me? Good. Then I'll pop my ass back at camp since I'm not all monster any longer. Just a short nap. Just for a...little...while.

...

[What do you think you are doing, Mettaton?]

This voice has Ghost Face pause.

"Oh...um...Nothing?"

[Do not lie. The Entity does not take lies well.]

"M-Master, I assure you, I have no ill intent here."

[Oh? Do tell then.]

"This human can become one of us, right? I figure...Perhaps we can, I don't know, make her more okay with becoming a killer."

[Hmmm...This one is rather reluctant to embrace her gifts.]

"Then am I allowed to continue?"

[Very well. Just do not be foolish. Your pride will blind you if you let your ego get the better of you.]

That made him flinch. It knew? Of course, it knew. The Entity is literally everywhere! It's always listening and watching. Best not fuck this up.

"Yes. Of course, Master."

Great. Now he had to be careful. The Entity didn't care about what the monsters did outside of trials so long as they didn't affect things leading up to trials. If they wanted to mess with the humans, it was okay. Often encouraged. Though this was a bit of hard one to gauge. It's a human but also a monster. If handled wrong, she could tell the other humans things that would give them a massive advantage in terms of strategy. And such a thing would be bad. Very bad indeed. So his plan to present the odd human as a "See? I deserve this more than Legion!" ploy will have to be reworked into a more "Hey guys, we need to make her like us more than them." type deal. Yet based on what he's seen and heard, that most likely won't be as hard of a thing to do than the other might think.

With this in mind, he continues onward. A location set in his thoughts, the forest around him giving way to emptiness and fog. Such a sight is normal for killers to see when traversing the realms. But he found it a little odd she did not react to this. A slight shimmying had him picking up on the sound of her shallow breathes. She nodded off. Rather a nice spot of luck. Less hassle while traveling. But perhaps he was a bit too rough in his anger. Oh well. No point crying over some possible internal hemorrhaging. The fog begins to thicken and wooden shack faintly hides within. This shack both exists in every realm and doesn't at the same time. But in this spot, in particular, was its own space. A place where the monsters would gather for meetings and other stuff. The only differences this shack had from the others was the lack of chests and the addition of bone piles used to practice hexes.

Entering the shack, he easily could tell it was empty. Not a sound could be heard before or after he descended the stairs to the basement. It would be a few more trials till their next meeting and she wasn't going back in one either, as no human was ever selected more than once a "day" to allow their soul to recover. Still, he had no clue if it was his time to kill and the risk of her being found in the open by one of the others would be too annoying to deal with. Thankfully, the lockers were the perfect place to stash a body. Though to be safe, he jams a bone in the handles to keep her from opening it and running away.

"There. Sleep tight, darling."

(SOME TIME LATER)

Muffled murmuring tempts my mushy brain to wake from soft slumber. Such sounds, most likely from others around the fire after I died. Fuck'em. I'm too tired.

*CLANG-CLANG*

My eyes shoot open. That wasn't a sound made at camp. In fact, I can see I'm in a container of sorts. Fuck! I need to heal! I start the process of healing with Self-Care. Damn it! Why is it so slow?!

lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...

I can't tell if that's just the Terror Radius going off like crazy or the pounding of my own heart about to explode in panic.

*CLANK*

I'm only healed enough to be maybe 30%, thanks the power of sleep, but that's not enough to get me to be fully healed.

"Rise and shine, darling. You've slept long enough."

The doors are flung open and Ghost Face snatches me by the hair as I try to scamper past. A rather harsh tug upwards has me roaring and snarling at the robo-fucker. Yet my flailing stops when the force of multiple auras comes down on my soul and I shiver at the many sets of eyes now on me.

"See? I wasn't lying. Our new member is right here."

They...They're here...All of them...All of them are here...All 16 monsters...I...I have no words.

"Say hello, darling. You don't want to be rude."

"what the fuck, shit-face?!"

Legion pushes his way through and part of me almost feels relieved to see him.

"i told you she's my plaything."

There goes that feeling and in record time.

"look what you did. she's all banged up and bloody. this is why you don't mess with other people's property."

...Excuse me?

"She's not yours, squirt. You haven't completed the Trials of Obsession. So till you do, darling here is fair game."

I want to punch them both even if the result is brutal stabbings. Wait...What are the Trials of Obsession?

"Both of you cease your foolishness."

Wraith steps up and slaps Ghost Face's hand, making him let me go.

"The lamb is one of us. Show her the same as we give each other."

They look at each other and then me.

"sounds fair."

Legion punches my shoulder and I hiss at him.

"welcome to the club, meat."

"Funny. I didn't think there was a way for you to beat meat."

There's this weird silence, mostly because I feel dumb for making a random masturbation pun in a room full of killers, and the looks aimed at me don't help. But then he snickers.

"heheh...fucking hell, meat...that was almost good enough not to be pissed off at you for...almost."

I shrug.

"Fair enough."

A low disappointed groan gets attention.

"IS THIS THE STANDARDS OF THE ENTITY NOW? PATHETIC."

Huh...Another skeleton? Neat. Wraith pulls me aside.

"Lamb, this is your superior. Trapper. Show him respect."

Aka...Mr. Grumpy Bones. This guy is tall. Wearing nothing more than dark red work boots, dark black with red trim overalls, and a twisted soulless scared mask that barely hides the glow of his red eyes. Hooks and metal shrapnel stab at his bare-bones. A thick brutal cleaver is held in his right hand while bear traps hang from his waist. No wonder he's agitated. That shit has to hurt. I bow my head.

"My apologies, Sir."

This calms him a bit. Though not much.

"*SCOFF* AT LEAST IT HAS MANNERS."

"It does help that the darling actually responds to us. Those other sacks of meat just ignore anything we say."

"Yeah, about that...I don't think they understand what any of you are saying. Like, at all."

I just had to chime in.

"Really?"

"They told me you guys couldn't talk and they had no clue what I was saying when I was a killer. So...I guess there's a language barrier of sorts."

"Huh...Explains a lot. Seems we have a new advantage! The meat thinks we're mindless beasts."

Well...Fuck. I messed that up.

"Maybe this faker is worth more than first thought."

This voice comes from an unamused, what looks like, a fish woman wearing a rabbit mask. The fuck? Her whole everything is confusing my brain. A thick torn sarafan that's black on the top while dull blue on the bottom, customized with pillaged soldier utility belts, dark pants, and she's barefoot. On top of that her skin is dark blue scales, odd fins stand out where her ears would be, the bottom of the mask doesn't cover her lower jaw so you can see a few scars, her long bright red hair is made dull with a black veil, one eye is blacked out while the other shimmers with gold, her teeth are like a shark's, her hands and feet are webbed. Her weapons? Small throwing hatches tucked on her waist and a traditional ax with a large heavy head. She is basically what you'd get if the creature from the black lagoon banged a lumberjack. She is the Huntress.

"So what? The bitch is still meat. I'm not going to see her as anything else."

So speaks up a rather odd sight. A ghost, kind of small but not really, wearing an old brown fedora and red with dull green strips sweater. I'd saw this fella wasn't all that spooky if he didn't have that bladed glove on his right hand or the strange way his ectoplasm causes his appearance to be mottled or the eerie death stare given by his cold dull eyes. This is Nightmare. And he is as messed up as his name.

"hAG like. Look yums."

As said, this is the Hag. A wild-looking thing she is. Their body is emaciated, dried skin deformed by insatiable hunger and lightly hinted with faint dirty white fuzz. She kind of looks like a dog mixed with a cat in some ways. The body is clearly dog but the face is a cat, yet has both pointy cat and flop dog ears. Her front paws are armed with fingers made into solid claws, perfect for rendering flesh. Her grey hair resembles a feathery mane and has a wreath of thorns worked into it. All that's left is the sky blue and yellow striped tunic that has seen much better days. She is simple. But oftentimes the deadliest things are.

"Bet that one there would make some mighty fine pudding."

Not sure I understand what Hillbilly means by that. But judging by some of their faces, eating humans isn't that big of a stretch. Hillbilly is a sad-looking thing. Less scary and more like concerned for its health. This light blue-furred rabbit-like monster has a red nose and a tuft of fur sprouting from the top of his head. He wears a dull dirty torn yellow short-sleeved shirt with a single vertical red stripe in the middle covers their twisted crooked skin, and dull red torn disheveled jeans. Almost looks like the rags of the unwanted farmhand. A brutal cattle hammer in one hand deals a sharp blow to the skull as the most effective manner of slaughter and in the other a hulking and motorized chainsaw of terrifying strength. Grinds through flesh, bone, and soul.

"Mmmm...Pudding."

This hulking brute is the Cannibal. The name says it all. An orange cat-like monster wearing a terrifying mask of dried human skin, with what looks like an M or something close to one etched on the forehead, stretched and stitched together. Tall with a bit of a gut who wears filthy pinkish-peach colored workman's clothes, a yellow bloodstained butcher's apron covers a dress shirt and dark slacks. He also has this dress tie that seems out of place yet nice and a strange charm bracelet on his left wrist. His weapons are similar to Hillbilly, a classic sledgehammer and aggressive looking chainsaw.

"*hack* If anything...She'll make for good practice. *cough*"

Now this one...This one disturbs me. The Clown. I hate clowns. And this guy is the sickest looking joke of them all. A bloated pig of a man, except he's no pig, this man is definitely some kind of goat. Tall with broad shoulders, a bulky body, a golden blond mane/beard, two large floppy ears, and two large curved horns. Eyes like coal with a small blue sheen. Face painted in a miserable smile. Wearing the attire of a much smaller ringmaster. Classic tailcoat with button-up shirt pushed far beyond its stretching point. Dirty purple with gold accents, large bow, buttons, a trick golden flower of some kind on the lapel, and suspenders with a comically big key ring holding severed human fingers. An oversize butterfly knife shaped like a bird's feather in one hand and bottle of brew in the other. I don't like this one. He scares me.

"❄☟☜☼☜ 🕈✋☹☹ 👌☜ ☠⚐ 🕯🏱☼✌👍❄✋👍☜🕯 ⚐☠ ❄☟☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠ ❄✋☹☹ ✌☞❄☜☼ ✋ ☟✌✞☜ 🏱☜☼💧⚐☠✌☹☹✡ ☼✌☠ ✌ ❄☟☼⚐🕆☝☟ ☜✠✌💣✋☠✌❄✋⚐☠📬 ✋ 🕈✋☹☹ 🕆☠👎☜☼💧❄✌☠👎 🕈☟✌❄ 💣✌😐☜💧 ❄☟✋💧 ⚐☠☜ ❄✋👍😐📬" (THERE WILL BE NO 'PRACTICE' ON THE HUMAN TILL AFTER I HAVE PERSONALLY RAN A THROUGH EXAMINATION. I WILL UNDERSTAND WHAT MAKES THIS ONE TICK.)

I suspect this one to be the brains of the group. The Doctor. Yet another skeleton but not quite. The bones that I can see appear to be more fused, solid even and melded with wiring in a super painful way. His face is the most excruciating. The straps, hooks, wires, and electrodes being used to contort his skull to the point there's some fracturing of the bone. Donned in a sleeveless doctor's coat that has seen better days and normal dress-wear underneath. The implement of punishment in his hand is one I fail to comprehend. It's like a metal stick but the tip is pointed like a stake and the midsection is spiked while crackling with electrical power. Yeah...Me no like that either.

"Allow m-m-me to assist you, Doctor. If t-t-that's alright?"

The lady with the stutter is known as the Pig, though that seems to stem from her mask and not the kind of monster she is. The visible skin looks to be yellow and scaly, possibly reptilian? A rotting pig's head with runlets of blood trickling from its eye holes and nostrils, topped with long black messy hair though yellow spikes seem to poke through it. Her posture is somewhat hunched over. The attire is that a long, maybe white at some point but now red, bloody coat and dark pants. A razor-sharp blade, attached to a mechanical contraption on her right wrist can be concealed or extended at will. And under the coat, are tucked away death helmets known as Reverse Bear Traps what when used will pry the victim's jaw apart.

"Yeah. Let's CUT her APART! Bit by BIT!"

Spirit seems to be more unstable than most. She appears to be some sort of cat but her grey flesh doesn't look real, like plastic or some other synthetic material, as if she were a doll possessed. Her pink hair is wild and windswept, dancing in the dark. She lacks much in the form of noticeable lady bits which is good since shredded bloody pink bandages are all that's covering her chest and lower half. Her body is a mess. Cuts large and small, gashes, limbs completely severed, all sprinkled with shards of glass forced in places as if trying to escape. Large golden jingle bells dangle under each fluffy ear. Her milky eyes hold a small hint of emerald color. She is a sad sight to look at but not one without danger. The tip of a single-edged straight katana protrudes from the base of her right hand, in a swift motion, heads would roll from an unseen blow.

"Sacrifice! The Entity demands sacrifices! This dearie will appease the hunger!"

Well someone looks like they came from a time of blind god worship that didn't go so well. Meet the Plague, a spider monster with periwinkle or lavender skin that is being degraded by disease, five eyes, six arms, and two legs. A sacred crown worn to hide the affliction that slowly took this possibly ordained priestess, twin pigtails stick out the back along with the flow of her black locks. Imperial red and ruby robes woven from the finest silks, probably crafted for her to display her status. Golden chains, necklaces, and even sharp claw fingermail adorn her in accents. Her weapon is one unseen before and yet fitting of her look. A profane censer, an ancient-looking incense burner held aloft by a long heavy chain exudes the sweetest fragrances to mask the decay around her.

So many faces. So many means of death. Yet...One is missing Where is the one known as...?

".........."

A faint whisper pulls my attention before being actually pulled by an overly strong hand and I wince at the knowing bruise forming in such a grip on my upper arm. This has eyes pulled to watch as one of the Entity's most relentless monsters interact with me, the odd human. This is the Shape, a fire monster. An expressionless white latex Halloween mask covers his head but the hair has burned away to be topped by his orange flames. Everyday dark navy almost black workman overalls contain a living furnace of hell's own fire. An oversized kitchen knife with devastatingly sharp edges is all that is needed to end a life. His eyes. He has the blackest eyes. The devil's eyes. And the inferno shines within them. Yet...Why don't I feel in danger?

"Um...Hello."

He tilts his head.

"Would you kindly let go of my arm? Please? It hurts."

There's this silence and damn if it's awkward. But slowly, that bone-shattering hold loosens and I'm allowed to lightly cover the area. It's so weird. This feeling on my skin.

"So warm..."

Absentminded thought is absentminded.

"Thank you."

He merely stares down at me. Such a tall guy. Hell, everyone is bigger than me except Hag, Pig, Nurse, and Legion. The hand that once did warm proceeds to pat my head and I feel dumb enough to giggle.

"awww...how cute."

Legion mocks me but I choose to ignore him and pay attention to Shape.

"Sound's like someone's jealous."

Ghost Face teases.

"what?"

"With no effort at all, he already holds more favor than you and you saw her first."

Legion sneers and Ghost Face piles on.

"I suppose nothing you did was all that grand if something as simple as a head pat holds more weight."

"*snarls* fuck you."

"Oooh. I'm shaking. Such biting words."

"i'll show you biting!"

Legion storms over as Shape continues test touch me curiously, like what one does at a petting zoo, and the sudden movement of Legion has me unconsciously move closer to the man of flame. He suddenly slams me on a wall, his arm braced against my throat while his free hand grabs my face.

"who do you think you are?"

"*grunt* The hell is your problem?"

I should probably put up a struggle. But I'm in no mood. Besides, he's not even pressing as hard as he could. So I don't try to push him back.

"don't forget your place here, meat. and don't forget who you belong to."

I shake his hand off in annoyance.

"Dude, I'm gonna be real with you. I am in no position to piss anyone in this room off. That said, I am in no mood to deal with this kind of crap. So take this power play you're doing and shove up."

His sockets widen.

"What's wrong, Legion? Can't control a human?"

Huntress remarks.

"And to think he wants to claim obsession rights. What a joke."

Nurse cuts deep with that one. Legion gets more annoyed.

"if you think you'll get away with embarrassing me, you're wrong."

"Hey, man, we were cool till you did this. You're the guy doing dumb shit because of peer pressure."

The snickers and whispers in the background aren't helping him. It becomes too much.

"*sharp roar*"

I didn't feel the initial strike. I most likely wouldn't have known till feeling something else entirely. But then there's a twist in my side that brings more pain than can be ignored. Now I'm clawing at his arm for release.

"*growl* this is what you get. this is what you get for thinking you're...!"

"That's enough. Your point has been made."

Wraith and Shape each put a hand on Legion's shoulders.

"......"

"i am calm! she..."

"Did nothing and you know that."

"............"

Legion's eyes shift to look at the floor as if he's been scolded into realization.

"......."

"i'm not going to apologize."

"You don't have to."

A slow tug is made and his blade is removed, making me gasp louder than intended. Though instead of backing off, he leans in to my side and whispers.

"never forget who you belong to. who's name was craved on your chest. remember that. you are mine."

Feeling my limits being pressed after everything this questionable day has done, I'm not about to just take this. The second he gives me any slack, I grab his hoodie and get in his face, but keep my voice low.

"I know."

There's a slight growl to my words but it's not from any hostility. It's from pain and the struggle to keep standing when I should be on the ground. My words rattle him, making him shove me and in my current state I give in to my bodies will to fall. Just peachy. Stuck in an enclosed space with a ton of monsters and I'm in the dying state. Easy picking for any of them.

"💧☟☜ ☼☜💧✋💧❄☜👎 ❄☟☜ 👎✡✋☠☝ 💧❄✌❄☜📬 ☞✌💧👍✋☠✌❄✋☠☝📬" (SHE RESISTED THE DYING STATE. FASCINATING.)

"The lamb is...quirky."

"*grumble* This lamb is bleeding out. Not deaf."

My annoyance is noted but ignored. Shape scoops me up onto his shoulder. Oddly, even though my wound is still open, bleeding stops when picked up by a monster. It's a momentary fix to not dying.

"*strained* Thanks, big guy."

A slight nod was the reply. At least so far, one of them I'd consider possibly decent outside of trial.

"SO..."

Trapper's voice chimes in.

"WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH IT?"

Wow. Really dude? Am I so beneath you that you don't see me as a person? Whatever. He does make a good point. What are they going to do? Other than killing me.

"✌💧 💣☜☠❄✋⚐☠☜👎 👌☜☞⚐☼☜📪 ✋ 🕈⚐🕆☹👎 ☹✋😐☜ ❄⚐ 💧❄🕆👎✡ ☟☜☼ 🕈☟✋☹☜ ❄☟☜ ⚐🏱🏱⚐☼❄🕆☠✋❄✡ ✋💧 ☝✋✞☜☠📬" (AS MENTIONED BEFORE, I WOULD LIKE TO STUDY HER WHILE THE OPPORTUNITY IS GIVEN.)

I take it I'm just being ignored as a living being as they contemplate among themselves on what to do with me. Oh well...Might as well try something crazy. I tap Shape and he looks at me. I say not a word. Merely motion to the stairs. I don't expect much. But I hope for some pity. He just stares at me and that unnerving stare has me shiver even when surrounded by his heat. Yet slowly he starts to make his way to leave. Sadly, this movement doesn't go unseen.

"hey, buddy, it's not nice to take what doesn't belong to you."

Oh my god, give me a fucking break! Shape looks at Legion, the others, then me, and then back to Legion.

".........."

"yeah, sure, whatever. just hand her over."

Wait what? Shape starts to hand me over to Legion and I hear internal glass shattering from my broken hope of escape.

"*strained* No...No, no, no, no, no! I thought we were cool, big guy! I thought we were cool!"

"don't whine. it won't make things better."

Now in Legion's grasp, I officially give up.

"*strained* Just...make it quick. Whatever it is."

"geez. killjoy much?"

I see a small opportunity and my brain says to take it before going completely dead.

"*strained* Kill Joy? I don't even know her."

It's a terrible joke. The kind that makes even people on laughing gas cringe. Yet...I feel him chuckle. He doesn't make the sound but his shoulders rock with mirth.

"☹☜☝✋⚐☠📬 👌☼✋☠☝ 💣☜ ❄☟☜ ☟🕆💣✌☠📬" (LEGION. BRING ME THE HUMAN.)

I sigh and shut my eyes. I don't want to see anything more than what I have to of this crap.

"yeah...no."

Say what now?

"☠⚐✍" (NO?)

"you heard me, doc."

"✡⚐🕆 ✋☠💧⚐☹☜☠❄ ☹✋❄❄☹☜ 💧☟✋❄📬 ✡⚐🕆 🕈✋☹☹ ⚐👌☜✡ ✡⚐🕆☼ 👌☜❄❄☜☼✏" (YOU INSOLENT LITTLE SHIT. YOU WILL OBEY YOUR BETTER!)

I open my eyes in time to see Legion flipping Doctor off.

"i think i've made myself clear. she's mine. if you want to do anything with her, you have to find her in the trials or...beg me for permission."

The rational part of me knows he's just asserting himself with this move. But the dumb hopeful part of me is thinking maybe this will be okay. A sudden jerk and he's sprinting up the stairs. This skeleton continues to amaze me. There's a commotion from the others, the few that bother to attempt chasing Legion, though once he boosts it becomes painfully clear that they're not going to keep up and stop. It's also clear that we're not anywhere anymore. My only guess is this is the space of the fog, the place between the realms the Entity made.

"*strained* I think you lost them."

He faintly looks over his empty shoulder yet keeps his fast pace.

"even if it seems that way, don't believe it. some of them..."

"*strained* Can teleport, become invisible, and hide their terror radius? Yeah, I know."

"heh...one minute you know nothing and the next you do. what changed?"

"*strained* The Entity mind raped me."

"...okay..."

Probably not the best choice of words on my end.

"*strained* Where are we going?"

He doesn't answer.

"*strained* Dude, give me a break. I've been stabbed multiple times, chased, beaten, abducted, and killed all in what feels like hours. The least you can do is tell me where you're going."

Again, he says nothing.

"*strained scoff* Typical. You don't see me. Just something to use. Damn it...Why do I always think the best of others when time and time again I'm proven wrong? You're no different than everyone else."

This has him skid to a dead stop.

"what did you say?"

Why do I suddenly feel like I'm gonna regret life even more? He tosses me off his shoulder and now I know I fucked up.

"i am nothing like them!"

He kicks me hard in the gut. My wound pours out more in response. I won't last long at this rate.

"*strained coughs* Ow...*sputter* real mature..."

"shut up!"

He proceeds to stomp his heel into my back repeatedly.

"you don't know a damn thing about me! don't fucking think for a second that you're better! you're no different than any other shitty human! you're not special! nobody cares about you! do you hear me?! nobody!"

It's getting so cold. The puddle forming around my body is outrageous. But karma is funny in a douchy way. He slips in the puddle while adjusting his stance and falls flat on his back...however...this makes his non-stomping foot kicks me point-blank in the face. Lights out instantaneously.

...

{bones? are you okay?}

{dumbass. the fuck were ya thinking?}

{i thought we were to keep her away from the others so we could inform her of the trial rights. not kill her. though great use of technique on brutality.}

Bones shakes his head. A fog clouded his judgment. Looking to the bloody body on the ground, he is fairly sure she's dead and the size of the puddle around her only makes it seem like he's right. Yet...she's still there and not fading into the darkness. Either she's resisting or there's still some time before she completely bleeds out. Going with the latter, he collects the girl and just barely feels the shallow breaths leaving her.

"*sigh* fuck my life."

{what happened?}

{he fucking snapped, genius. the fuck do ya think happened?}

He ignores the question to continue walking.

"boo."

{y-yes?}

"when we get back to base, i want you to take control and deal with the human when she wakes up."

{what?!}

{m-me? why me?}

{yeah, why ya putting the baby in charge for this?}

"simple. he won't do something stupid."

{like you did?}

"fuck you. chops, you'd do worse than me and you know it."

{meh.}

"and dead-eye...well...you'd kill her if the mood hit."

{you are not wrong.}

"it's settled. boo, you chat her up and get her on our side. it'll make getting those dumb rights easy."

{okay, bones. but, uh, are you sure you can't do it? she's never met me. what if she freaks out?}

{oh my god! grow a spine, you fucking pussy!}

{he has a point. you can not show uncertainty to humans. they will use it against you and we can never lose the fear we hold over them.}

{plus, scaring those bitches is fun as hell.}

{that too.}

That earns a snicker from the leader.

"just be yourself, boo. besides...i get the feeling her waking up to see me won't end well."

{yeah. ya fucked up.}

{big time.}

"alright, i get it! i don't need heckling from you dorks."

{dorks? us?}

{we aren't the moron that's stabbing our meal ticket to getting respect to death like a dumb fuck.}

"that! that shit right there is why you assholes don't get the body more often."

{if that's the case, why don't i get the body more?}

"shut up, boo!"

{o-okay.}

"and there's your answer."

{oh...ah man.}

Bones shakes his head. The fog slowly giving way to snow. Mount Ormond Resort begins to come into view as Bones starts to change. The color of his clothing altering to lighter blue hues, the binds of tape melting away, and a bow made with a long scarf tied around the waist looks like a target on his back. It's time for a new take on things. Perhaps Boo can salvage the plan. Here's hoping the human will take to him better than Bones.

#undertale #dead by daylight #Lynsie #Anomaly #lynchtale

[babblingfishes]

Another FroodPad Update

(I’m sending an email instead of tagging people about this one because the majority of you guys have changed urls.)

For anyone who used the original FroodPad (PiratenPad) teamsite for fic writing, the host is taking down the site next month.

As before with the Mozilla alternative, I have backups of most of the text.

Here’s what I do not have:

Backups of locked pads

Chat logs

Authors / authorship colors

Time slider histories

If you want any of those, you’ll need to grab them yourself asap! If you’ve forgotten a password, the quickest way to grab my attention is to let me know via the tumblr messager (or my Discord, if you have it) and I can help you.

As for the actual text of the pads, I have these saved! I can send them to you whenever you like. Under the cut is a VERY lengthy list of the pad titles I have backups of. I can also do a text search if you need.

!!HEY GUYS -- WRITER PROFILES *Goat scream* 2SPOOKY 2c Stories 365 days of Rabbit No! A Very Frood Pad Christmas An attempt to organize chaos And the Band Plays On Annie got her gun Ask Walter Kids BADLY SINNING BRAINTHUNDERING Best Ship Around Broken little pieces CC 4 editing Care Cat!Steve. Don't ask. Cat's sehr whichtig grad portfolio stuff Catori's Little Pad ^^ Cheeroko: ES Drabbles And Possible Story Cheeroko: Elder Scrolls Brainstorming Cheeroko: Fanficing Fanfics since ... Today? Cheeroko: Has Started Yet Another AU Cheeroko: Rabbit Appreciation Pad (Aka, SPG Pad) Cheeroko: Walter Manor Cheeroko: What Should I call this? [{Original Fic}] Cheeroko: You Know What? I'm Just Going To Use This Pad For My Gender Stuff Christmas List Come keep French Company! Please? Configuration (new-new CC and biocore planning) Counter Nonsense Crazy Community Fanfiction Crazy Community Fanfiction II Crazy SPG Collab Thing 2.0 DANGER 5 SOLVE THE GREATEST CRIME OF ALL Derelict (spoilers yo) Derelict 23 and other stuff Derelict Chapter 20 Derelict Chapter 24 Derelict Chapter 25 Derelict Chapter 25 for real this time Derelict Dragon Dreads Derelict Take 73 Derpy-Nuns Don't come here unless Fish is whining at you Don't look Dr. Babblefish's Quest to Only Become Moderately More Insane Dragon Lurve Elephants and Nachos Everyone Writing Everything FRANKENPAPPY Fantastic Mister Vox Fish Does Terrible Things Fish Fanfictions Salgexicon Now Fish and Serif attempt a role play thing. Fish and its monospaced text Fish has an F in evil Fish is Sailing a Ship Fish is a terrible person. Fish is just rambling Fish writes things about other fandoms Fish's Awkward Nonfandom Headcanons Fish's Lupin Drabbles Fish's Magical Tragical Guide to Not Writing Mary Sues Fish's OC Boat Fish's Originalish Pad Fish's Plots and Characters French Rambles French Writes Stony French is a Poet Froodpad Rules and Instructions Further proof we're all insane Futureverse G-Mans and Watering Cans GW2 Cav stuff Ghost! Ghostfacers! Hangout pad Happy Little Family Happy Little Family Notes Here ye go, Redacted Heyo, Achgfd Homestead-Ch.1 How to be nice in RP I blame everyone but me I figure at this rate I should just make a Weird SPG Dreams pad I have no idea what im working on I never tire, I serve I- I- I- LOVE ROBBIE DARREN IT IS A SMUT POWERED BLANKET MY GOOT SAR Ice Cream and Knit Bow Ties Imma figure this thing out by posting prompt responses Improb In Which Pappy Dies In Which Reed Becomes a Robot In Which Steve Drops Bass In Which There is an Abandoned Lab In which robots become metaphors for Autism Spectrum stuff Laying Down The Law Here MATURE REPLY MBG Tumblr Planning   MERRY HOLIDAYMAS YOU WEIRDOS! MWFGOH Notes MY FRIEND MATT WHERE YOU AT May B. we Feta get outta here May B. we Feta get outta here pt2 Muppet Baby Giraffe Fics Myth fanfiction maybe??? NOBODY PANIC (MICHAEL GOT THE D) Neoma's Writes Not Actually a Funeral Not!Derelict Nuns could use help writing a comedy piece for English Nuns does a research paper on GAY GODS Nuns fools around with a hero's journey Nuns hunts for the Holy Grail (and a good essay grade) OC ADVENTURE!! OFF Musingses OOPS Oedipus Script Old Money On the wings of steam One of the Fanmily Original stuff is harder than we anticipated PSILENCE WILL FALL Pappy Pad 2 Pappy Rabbit Old (Still needed though!) Pen & Kari's Pad of Fairytale Badassery Philosophy Notes Pokemanz SPG Post-Derelict Headcanons Princey and Leeland's Walter People Pad Princey definitely isn't using this pad for homework anymore Princey is the best right Leilani right Princey tries Original Stuff Princey wanted to write OC stuff too Princey's self-indulgent stuff Princeyfic (An Accident of the Smallest Kind final chapter) Princeyfic: An Accident of the Smallest Kind Princeyfic: Basically nothing but a mermaid OC Princeyfic: Canoe Catastrophe Pronz Psi does homework and other stuff Psi does homework occasionally Psi gets his shit together Psi is in pain. Also class. Psi jacks Cat's characters Psi plans the Derelict!Verse RP blog early because he's bored Psi reads Marsupial Psi takes out dysphoria on The Spine Psi tries for "canon" SPG Psi writes Cabin Pressure stuff Psi writes a thing about an author Psi's Headcanon Psi's Kazooland OCs??? Psi's class notes Psi's class notes and HatchWorth stuff Psilent's Hatchworth Feels Psilent's Pscribblings Psilent's Pstuff Psunny's Muppet Babby Stuff Public pad 2: 2 public 2 pad Pun and Psi Make a Porno Punny: Ask Index Punny: Broken little pieces Punny: Crack Fic ideas Punny: Ficlets Punny: HLF Th teen years Punny: Happy Little Family Punny: Justice Giraffes Punny: Major fics Punny: Rainbow! The Spine Punny: Trying to figure out how the hell Super spg works RABBIT NO RABBIT NO 2: electric boogaloo Rabbit writes fanfic Relish's Ramblings Reverse Pre Mid Life Crisis 3000 Rex and Captain. Rover! SICK ROBOTS. (Princey and Leeland) SIMNANIGANS SO I may have discovered aquabats and it may have given me some muse SPG/Avengers cross over collab-fic SS kills a lot of young women SS: Aftertheendverse SS: Aggressively writes happy fanfiction SS: Amnesia Home Pad SS: Amnesia Revisions SS: Amnesia!Spine Headcanoning SS: Ancient Mariner SS: Angsty Poetry xP SS: Annie/V SS: Dragon!Steve SS: Genderbends because of reasons SS: Just our positronic electronic harmonic SS: Michael wants the D(erelict!Steve's dick) SS: Michael wants the D(erelict!Steve) #2 SS: More Spine/OC junk SS: Okay actually writing Amnesia now SS: Poems by Peter VI SS: Possible Natalia 'Verse SS: Private Party SS: Ratchet and pumpkin SS: Spine/OC SS: Spine/OC #2 SS: Spine/OC #3 SS: The Only Constant SS: The Way Home SS: hoamwork Satyr Adventure script Secret Santa (Sign-ups closed, Santas have been assigned!) Serif needs to kill something apparently Serif's Dump Pad Serif's Dump Pad 2 Seth only starts things and never finishes them Sewing Stitches SisterofaFish's Pad So much craft poisoning Something Wicked This Way Comes Space-Opera Spoons' Stuff Goes Here Stalking Information Steve has Joined Your Party! THIS IS WHERE THE PARTIES AT TIME TO SCARE THE BABIES Tango's Reason Why The Case of the Quest of the Missing Coffee The Mythos Mythos The Rake This is a public pad because Fish is bored This is utter crap Thunder Charge Title! Too Many Thoughts Untitled 180 Untitled 217 Untitled 314 Untitled 322 Untitled 323 Untitled 324 Verse Fable...or something like that WE GON WRITE FLUFF WE LAV U HRUP WRITER PROFILES We write Mirrormask fics now. Mirrormask is cool. Well look what the cat dragged back in World Building You know what, ignore Nuns a surprise in every pad and no one was ever happy the end awkward monsters/spg campfire song song cat used to write hannafic class notes copper conduction 3: REVELATIONS copper conduction p. 4 death lullaby ye everybody look down fear and loathing in san diego half-baked hatchworth stuff hesitantly works on new chapter how rabbit got his groove back 2 i leik ur silileh lteile hat incdrop - frisk incwrites it's sort of like hellraiser except not lemarchand's fic oh heck there's a plot one time ruffy wrote angst original sexy awesomeness possibly part of Two Birds One Stone possibly not psi is the batman psi's original story (caution may contain robots) ((totally contains robots)) psi's presentation that's due in six hours ruffy's writing a thing schoolwork and such (go away) shit so many fics so little time so much writers block sometimes i doubt your commitment to sparkle motion the end. the fucking crying game the future doesn't love you the wit and wisdom of spg woo lets write pirates woo

#froodpad #long post #(sorry if tumblr doesn't cut this @ mobile folks)

[wwevampireamongkpop]

From Show-off to Hope

A/n: this is an idea I’ve had for a while and finally typing up all thanks to @empress-with-the-crown and the others of #TTC

A/n #2: It’s been forever since I’ve been able to write anything. this is a kpop/wwe fic

Taglist: @sugasfatgf @evilangel84 @ballins-princess @nerdlife0612 @littledeadrottinghood 

Pairing: Dolph Ziggler x Selene [OC] (past), Monster Woo x Selene (platonic), other kpop groups

Part 1  Part 2 Part 3

Name: Selene Rogers

Nickname: Moon

Height: 5′2

E/c: Hazel

Tattoos: 4, right ankle Captain America’s shield with Wolverine’ claws in front of it, left calf Shield logo, right side/ribs stars and notes, sternum the Deathly Hallows

Skin color: pale to lightly tan

Hair: Black and blood red later black and green

    The match was supposed to be a simple match against Naomi on SmackDown Live. Selene had gone for a sunset flip powerbomb and the moment her feet hit the mat to do the powerbomb her left knee gave out. In that moment she knew something was wrong. Pain shot through her body as she collapse to the mat. Naomi knew something was wrong and quickly got off the top turnbuckle. The ref called the match and medical came out.

    Naomi helped Selene to the back with the help of one of the trainers. Naomi and Selene both knew that it was serious. She didn’t need the trainers to tell her that she was going to be out of action for several months. She remembered Seth had the same thing happen to him at a live event. With this being on TV, she knew Seth and Roman would be calling her soon.

    She pulled her long black and blood red hair out of her face and into a messy bun. Tears running down her face has she knew she would be out for at least 8 months, maybe.

    Over the past couple months, Selene had been slowly losing who she was as a person. Training daily, being in character daily to the point she was going insane. To be honest, she was actually happy this had happened.

    “I’m so sorry about this, Selene. This shouldn’t have happened.” Concern filled Naomi’s voice.

    “Don’t feel bad, girl. Shit happens.” She tried to reassure Naomi. “Besides, this may actually be a good thing for me. I haven’t had a break in so long.”

    “I know but this shouldn’t be the way you go though.” Selene placed her hand on Naomi’s shoulder.

     “It’s all part of what we do.” She pulled Naomi into a hug without hitting herself in the knee. “Besides, it’s always fun being in the ring with you. Glow girl.” Naomi gave her a sad smile. “I’ll be fine, girl. I’ll keep you up to date on everything.” She nodded before walking away.

    Just then Dean walked into the trainers room, worry covered his face. Selene just sat there, knowing damn well he was just being worried over his non-blood sister.

    “I told you not to do that move, it’s the same shit that took Seth out for months.”

    “Dean, I knew what could possibly happen. Seth told me the best way to land on my feet for that powerbomb but it didn’t go the way I wanted it.” Selene felt a tear run down her face. Dean stepped closer to her and hugged her.

    “Seth called me and wanted me to tell you he’s sorry for you getting hurt, especially since it’s the same way he got hurt.” Selene hugged him tightly, like it would be the last time she ever saw him.

    “I’m going to miss ya, Lunatic.” With a sad smile from both, Dean pulled away and helped her to the women’s locker room. One of the trainers told her that they had a vehicle ready to take her to the hospital for further examination, leaving out the fact that she will be needing surgery.

   She gathered up everything that was hers, the best way she could and pulled on her Ambrose zip-up sweater. Being the sweet friend he was, Dean helped her put on her sneakers. He even helped her out to the awaiting vehicle.

    “Get healed and be back quick.” He kissed Selene on the top of her head then helped her into her seat.

    “I don’t know when I’ll be back Dean. I requested time out and I got it. Tonight was my last match for a while.” Dean looked hurt because she didn’t tell him. “Don’t look at me like that. I’ve been beginning to loose myself the past few months and I just need time to find myself again. I didn’t want this to be the way I go out but it happened.”

    “Why didn’t you say anything?” His voice low, annoyance and worry filled it.

    “You would try to get me to stay when I don’t feel like I’m myself.” She looked up at him. “You will always be an older brother to me, the same with Seth and Roman. I’ll keep you guys in the loop of what’s going on, recovery and everything after.” Her voice held sadness and reassurance.

    “You better, we know where you live and will come bug you during recovery and rehab.” A small smile curved his lips a bit.

    “After I’m done with rehab, I’m going to do a bit of traveling, so it will be hard to find me if you aren’t where I’m at.” She couldn’t help but smile. She truly loved the man before her like an annoying older brother but she wouldn’t want it any other way.

   Months later, bout 5 months, Selene was walking around on her own. Rehab had been hell but her friends kept her going. True to her word, she started traveling as soon as she was able to do things on her own she packed a suitcase and left. She went to Osaka, Japan for a couple weeks because Finn had told her about it.

    She had arrived in Seoul. She loved the view she had from the plane as it was descending. She had been wanting to visit for a number of years and Seth even poked fun at her for being a K-pop fan, which all she did was go “Shut up nerd.”

   As Selene walked around Seoul, she couldn’t help but feel like she was home. Her phone started going off in her purse, a familiar ringtone signaling her who was calling her. Her favorite lunatic, Dean.

   “Hey Dean.” She said the moment she answered his call.

    “Hey, doll. How’s everything going?”

    “Great, I arrived in Seoul late last night and just walking around right now.

    “Good. Ro wanted me to call and check up on you.”

    “How sweet of him.” She giggled a bit. “He is such the dad friend.” This comment made him laugh. She could hear Roman in the background asking what’s so funny and Dean telling him.

    “How’s the knee, Moon.” 

    “It’s good, great actually. The yoga I’ve been doing has been helping a lot.” She was off in her world  while talking to Dean and didn’t see the person walking in her path. He was talking to someone on his phone and wasn’t paying attention. They both hit damn near head on, which caused Selene to damn near fall on her ass if he didn’t catch her in time.

   The man looked intimidating but Selene was used to men who looked like that. His face relaxed a bit as he let go of her arm. She told Dean she’d call him back and put her phone in her purse.

    “Sorry I wasn’t watching where I was walking.”

    “It’s ok, you’re not hurt are you?” Concern filled his eyes.

    “No, I’ve taken bigger hits than that before. I’m all good.” She bowed to him, showing her thanks for not letting her fall.

    “You’re not from here, you’re from the states. Aren’t you?” Selene knew she stuck out a bit so she wasn’t surprised he pointed that out.

    “Yeah and you’re that guy on Instagram who his followers call um,” she snapped her fingers as she thought of it, “Daddy Woo.” He nodded showing she was right. “I’m Selene Rogers, my friends call me Moon.” She held out her hand.

    “Young Woo, friends call me Woo or Monster Woo.” He shook her hand. “You’re not scared of my appearance. Most people are.”

    “Nope, I’ve worked with men who can cause nightmares. So someone like you isn’t scary or intimidating.” She smiled at him. 

    Just then a couple of girls walked up to them with excitement on their faces.

    “Can we have your autograph and a picture please.” One of the girls sound nervous. “If that’s okay with you.”

    “Of course.” Selene smiled while she signed the magazines the girls had. She thanked what ever god out there that she decided to learn how to read, write and speak Korean.

    “I’m sorry that you got hurt. I hope you’re doing well.”

    “I am, thank you. Injuries happen sometimes.” She handed the magazines back. “Woo, do you mind helping with the pictures please.” He nodded and took the girls phones from them.

    “On three. One, two, three.” He took the pictures after they posed then handed the girls their phones. The girls bowed with a thank you and left. “What was that about?”

    “You know how I said I have worked with men who can cause nightmares.” Woo nodded his head. “Well I worked for the WWE, I am a female superstar.” She couldn’t help but smile. She knew she didn’t look like the typical female superstar but that was made her stand out.

    That was the start of Selene’s friendship with Woo started. A month after that, she had moved to Seoul. Within the first couple weeks she had met Wonho and Jooheon from Monsta X which led to her meeting the rest of the group. That also led her to meet some other groups as well and becoming great friends with everyone.

    Her world changed one day when she walked into a different gym because her normal was unusually packed. She walked towards the lockers, after asking where they were, put her bag in a locker and proceeded to the treadmills.

    She had her headphones in and her workout playlist going. She never noticed one of the guys there watching her from across the gym, completely in awe of her.

    Selene started the treadmill slow. Zutter by GD&T.O.P.  started playing in her ears and she couldn’t help but start swaying with the beat the best she could. From there she got her heart rate up and went on with her workout. It was leg day.

    Half way through her workout, she practically walked into someone and literally fell on her ass.

    “Sorry about that.” The man said as he reached out to help her up.

    “It’s okay, I should have watched where I was walking.” She allowed him to help her up. She pulls her headphones completely out of her ears. She got a good look at the man she practically ran over.

    “You’re new to this gym, aren’t you?” He looked familiar but she could place where.

    “Yeah I am. Easy to tell.” She suddenly got shy which caused him to get shy. Selene normally never really got shy around guys so this was kind of new to her.

    “Yeah, um.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “I know this may be bold but would you like to grab something to eat later?” She looked a bit shocked and she bit the side of her bottom lip.

    “Yeah.”

    “That’s great. I’m Hoseok.”

    “I’m Selene.”

#kpop/wwe #original character (Selene) #from show-off to hope #wwe fanfiction #kpop fanfiction #thirstythotcrew

[gogololo]

Little bird, Big tree

I plan on writing some more little short stories with these two oc dumbasses, lemme know if you wanna see them! ---------- “So your wife-”

“Partner” he interrupted without hesitation, a smile firm on his lips as he motioned for the interviewer to continue.

“Ah, yes. Partner. How did you meet her-”

“Them.” again, no hesitation behind his interruption but now his smile wavered “You would like to know how I met them?” The woman in the very pretty red suit gawked for a moment before nodding.

“Yes. if you don’t mind”

“Well” Alex drawled, leaning back in the too small chair and stretching out his long legs, looking away from the bright lights of the stage.  “I was not a hero at the time, furthest from it. I was working for some...unsavory people. I was in fact, a criminal.” There was a gasp from the studio audience and he allowed them to settle down before continuing “I was not a part of their group because of the want to be bad, no, I was just another person with a good quirk doing bad things to take care of my family.” 

“Of course” the false sincerity and understanding from the woman's voice made him want to growl, but he swallowed it down all the same.

“Swift and a few others had tracked my group down, They knew we were trafficking drugs amongst other things, so Swift had come ahead to scout the building out.” A rumble echoed from his chest as he gave a small laugh “They are very fast, yes. But at that time they were also very predictable, so I stood very still and caught them like very small bird. Tied them to a chair and warned the others I was working with before sitting with the then very new hero to make sure they did not escape” 

“Why didn’t you just kill h-them?” The man was very glad she had caught herself this time. Punching someone on live television seemed counterproductive to the reason he was here.

“Well” again he drew out the word, looking to the audience all on the edge of their seats “to be honest, I figure, worst case I use this hero as a hostage to get myself out of there. But...They did something I did not expect”

“And what was that?”

“They had compassion. Every hero I had fought up until them were arrogant, they wanted to win the fight, get their fame and go home...Swift...Swift did not think this way. They understood that bad people have not always been bad people, hell some still were not bad people, they just do bad things. Swift asked me why I was doing bad things, not why I was bad. They asked why I did not use my quirk to help others instead of harming. When I explained that the things I did were to help others...They offered to help me.”

“That was very noble of them” the look of awe on her face made him wonder if that was near the face he made at that time.

“It was. So we struck a deal, I untied them, helped them return to their team and gave over all the information I had which, at the time, was most of our operation. In return my family was given safety and security and I was given a job at the company Swift worked for.  A win all around”

“And that was when you fell in love with them?” He laughed then, a large booming sound that startled the interviewer and the audience as well.

“No, no not at all, I thought they were insane. I told them so at the time, I still call them Terror because of it. They are My Terror now, but at the time they were just Terror in general. When my partner says their gender is mayhem they are not wrong at all”  Shaking his head and sitting up some he continued, “It was only a few months later I realised the only reason the company agreed to hire me was that I was the only person to catch Swift without harming them and that I could speak reason to them. So when Swift was sent into field there I would go with to make sure that mayhem was at least contained some. It was an added bonus that we fight alongside one another very well.” The surprise on her face amused him, made him feel that if nothing else, that alone made this waste of an evening worth it. “When did you realise you had fallen for them?” Her words were genuinely curious but that question made him think a moment before nodding slowly. “Two or Three years later, when they made a meal for me. I had gotten very badly injured and was home on rest. I woke up at one point to them in my kitchen, not uncommon for our friendship at the time, but they had asked my mother of all people for a recipe to make for me. It...it was horrible. Swift is a horrible cook, you should never let them cook.” That made the audience laugh and he chuckled as well “I knew it was a bad idea when I saw them there, but the fact that they had gone through all this effort to do a nice thing, even went to special stores just to get the correct ingredients...it is silly, but it was then I realised why the world had made us find one another. I ordered us food and we watched some silly movies that they picked. It took me months after that to express to them my feelings, only to find out they felt the same way and had been waiting on me to say something.”  The room gave a collective ‘aw’ as he finished. 

“You two have come a long way since those days, What brought you here to Japan?” “You may have heard, the legal climate with heroes has...shifted, drastically, in the last few months in America. The announcement of new laws and the huge scale firing of heros has left many displaced.” Sympathetic sounds came from the crowd and he had to keep careful control not to scowl “Swift and I had decided a while ago that it would be in our best interests to leave the country and had been looking at work here. When our company became another one of those mass firings we were thankful to already have gotten approved to move here by the hero commission.” “It seems luck was on your side” “It always is when we are together” another collective ‘aww’ making the hero give a smile in return. “Well it seems we are out of time, Stena thank you again for coming on the show it was a pleasure to have you”  She offered a handshake which he took as carefully as he could getting to his feet. “Thank you for having me”  with a wave to the audience the immense man walked off stage, letting the crew in the back remove the microphone all chattering away in excitement about how well he had done, one asking to take a picture with him and another for a autograph before he finally escaped out the backdoor breathing a sigh of relief. “Wow babe, that was pretty damn sappy” There they stood, his Terror and Mayhem. Hair a mess and wearing one of his t-shirts cut to fit them but somehow still too big.  “Super cute overall though” “You told me to woo them, I wooed them” He chuckled rolling his eyes and stooping down to get a kiss “Now let's go find some food” Taking their small hand in his he stepped to move growing confused when his partner did not move with him “Sk-” “Thank you” it was uncharacteristically quiet when they spoke, making him pause and give them time to continue “not just for being face on this but like...making sure she got it right...I came outside and watched from my phone because she kept effing it up.” He hadn’t noticed how red their eyes were, or how smudged their eyeliner was until that moment. “Ptichka” He hummed the word more than saying it, drawing his love into his arms “of course I would correct her, if not for the cameras and crowd I would have punched her” The man gave a chuckle kissing the top of their head “honestly if she messed up again I probably would have punched her anyway”  that got him the small laugh he was searching for. “Love you Lexi” He groaned rolling his eyes forcefully “All these years and you still call me this. I ask so nicely even for you to stop” the other hero cackled in delight getting even louder as he scooped them up and tossed them over his shoulder “I give up trying to make you happy, it is time for food.”  he walked in silence for a bit just enjoying his partners giggles and laughs at being carried before setting them down so they wouldn’t receive more puzzled looks from strangers on the street. “Alex” they tugged him down to steal a small kiss “but no really, I love you” “I love you too Skylar” He smiled one of his rare warm smiles before taking their hand once more and continuing to walk with them. 

#bmhaoc #bmh #my hero academia #MY OCs #mhaoc #OC #gender neutral terms #gender neutral s/o #gender neutral character

[aprilmillerphd-archive]

This is a Bias List. Because I am Biased, and also a Follow Forever. For reasons. Mostly that April hit a milestone and that’s friggin’ amazing in my book.

So I have to start with @darcywho who has been my main and exclusive Darcy since... well actually since I took April from the private rpc into the independent rpc something like four or five years ago. I know Mariah IRL (and will soon be living within easy driving distance of her)-- and basically. Mariah is bombtastic. She’s hella smart and funny, and when I’m having a crappy day (or given how the beginning of this year went, a crappy year) -- she texts me incessantly to talk about what Darcy is doing, and what April and Darcy should be doing, and I have so much character history, and Important Events, and developmental experiences just from talking and writing with Mariah, that I honestly don’t think April would be the character she is, without having had Darcy’s mitigating influence. We’ve just done so much that we’ve reached a point in our friendship and writing relationship where I literally feel as if Mariah could write April, and do her justice and vice versa. If y’all don’t follow her already, you should get on that because seriously, she is the absolute best take on Darcy Lewis that I have ever encountered in the Marvel RPC, and I know the PC rp com is going to jump down my throat for ‘making comparisons’-- but again. THis boo is my main and exclusive Darcy Lewis, also I do whut I want. @scarsearned MANGOOOOO. Okay so funfact; this brat used to have a diff url and we chat on dis/cord and it STILL took me like three days to realize on tumblr they were the same person. I FOLLOW YOU ON FOUR BLOGS MANGO. THis is what you signed up for all those years ago. I’m sorry. SO TO THE POINT! Mango has a bevy of blogs she runs, I met her when she wrote almost exclusively on Rummers here, and what I say ‘met her’ I mean I started sending her asks talking about Brock Rumlow, reread her rules and realized she had a password, at which point we were already talking over Skype, and then I sent in her password and she teased me relentlessly for it. (I deserved it, I’m a total goob)-- Mango is right up there with Mariah in terms of IMPORTANT character development shit. Mango writes a CANON DIVERGENT Brock Rumlow, and has put so much time into developing him, I think Marvel should give her a fuckin’ job. She’s also like... insanely smart. I say this as someone who likes to play at being really intelligent. Mango talks and I feel like I’m back in grade school and I want to hide myself away in shame. So obviously it’s no wonder we ended up shipping. (Actually no, I still have literally no idea how or why THAT happened tbqh I’m a fuckin’ potato) -- but Mango and Mariah go hand in hand because I introduced them and now their Brock and Darcy are inextricably linked forevermore as siblings and it’s fuckin’ A Plus. @russkiyuragan YET ANOTHER PERSON I MET BECAUSE OF MANGO. But also hella quality child of canon OC. Like, legit we started talking because Mango dragged us into a group rp and it turned into us mutuall talking about character development and now basically Seamus is one of April’s smols. Even though he really ISN’T one of hers. She’s basically claimed him as a child who needs mothering and dammit she is going to give him all the mothering ever. Even if he doesn’t need or want it. AND BASICALLY THEY ARE A FUCKING SWEETHEART WHO NEEDS ALL THE FUCKING LOVE because they’re really insanely smart and super sweet and friendly and I heart them. @phxtxn PHIL!!! OKAY SO I MET PHIL IN A CLOSED RPC FOR-FUCKING-EVER AGO. And immediately Genis and April butted heads. (He destroyed like half her office, ruined a couple PRICELESS books and then offered to buy her lunch in apology. Suffice to say April was less than impressed) -- except over the years, they’ve gotten really close. Occasionally Phil and I delve into the divergent canon where April and Genis actually end up romantically involved but it always ends in heartache because April is bad at being happy and Genis is bad at... well.. mitigating April’s more extreme bouts of self-loathing. BUT they are exceptional friends and Phil has a fantastic knack for finding the fun and funny in every situation and driving April absolutely UP A WALL. Phil’s also another rp partner I dragged into the collective with Mariah, because I like it when my writing partners all write together because I’m a spoiled princess. Phil’s a total sweetheart though and his Genis Vell is motherfucking spot on. He’s spent a lot of time with the character and it shows, but he also understands pragmatic, human interactions from a writing sense so it’s always a joy when we write together or chat. @askprofessorx NAAAAYYAA -- Naya’s another of those rpers I sort of. Grew on. Like a fungus. I wooed her with poetry first and then introduced her Charl to April and what I consider to be one of my more beautifully painful plot ideas. It involved time travel and the overhanging possibility of April dying. And because April was from the modern era trying desperately to get back, it was that much more painful when she started developing connections. And basically Naya and I plotted everything out over IMs and asks and now we have the most ridiculous tiny person ship in the history of ridiculous ships and Naya’s Charles is like... the cornerstone of my favorite Charles’s. She’s got this beautiful grasp of our fave telepath’s charming flirtatiousness and paired with the very Serious way he views morality and the world, which combined with April’s general cynicism (and it should be noted, our mutant verse involves April being a touch-telepath who can’t actually touch people without destroying their brains because control? what is that)-- and you have an April experiencing her worst fear. Which is not being in-control of herself. It’s beautiful and Naya is beautiful bean. @iremembereveryonethatleaves AHAHAHA Lilo was the first  ‘child’ April ever like. Accidentally adopted. And it happened entirely because of my age of aquarius verse, wherein instead of April seeking out Charles Xavier, she looked for Magneto instead. She found him. And his kid. And I literally have no idea WHY OR HOW April ended up becoming surrogate mom to Lilo since there’s no rational reason for Magneto getting along with April who is a cynical, borderline nihilist with Serious Rage Issues. But-- April and Lilo. Mommy and daughter and just. LITERALLY ALL MY HEART AND LOVE FOR THIS PERSON WHO MADE WRITING MUTANT APRIL FUN AND NOT PAINFUL. Until you (you asshole) made it painful. I still go through our tags to read all th angst, and I didn’t do it half so well as you and Tori did so.. @actually-i-prefer-magneto frick me so apparently I did my mutant crew in a triumvirate.  The flipside of the age of aquarius verse, where April found Magneto instead and became part of his Brotherhood. Because who wouldn’t have a need for a hyperpolyglot, with genius level intelligence and touch-telepathy? Magneto knew what he was getting out of the bargain, I just don’t think he expected April Miller. TBQH. Nobody ever expects her which is great, and this basically started as an incredibly painful, probably tragic plot that I had (sort of) intended to result in April’s death and it didn’t go that route. Like. At all. probably because these two babes understand that good angst is hard to come by and with the persistent low-hanging threat of April’s head getting blown off, or even worse, her returning to her own time, it meant that every interaction was always charged with a lowkey kind of desperation and tension.  Even when Erik and April got that ‘happy’ ending. It took an actual fucking lifetime to get there. And the best thing about Kristy is that she’s smart as fuck, I seem to surround myself with people who make writing look easy, and whose ability to thread together a long arching plot is so absolutely bafflingly amazing I am often struck stupid. @captain-outoftime AaBbbbYyyyYyy. So like- I met Abby through Mariah. Abby is the Steeb to Mariah’s Darcy. They’re hitched. It’s great. April helped Steve propose to Darcy even though April seems to have a PERPETUAL ISSUE with Steve Rogers that defies all explanation. IDK-- it’s probably something to do with the fact that April is a giant pain the ass and a tiny, fight-y blonde? WTF knows. Steve tolerates April. Abby tolerates me. Abby is a goddess. Beautiful, smart, funny as fuck, and like. Constantly busy. How she manages to balance RL shit with rp is beyond the scope of my ability to grasp yo but she’s the bomb-diggity. @americanasitgets MOTHERFUCKIN’ GABBY! My DC babe. Light of my liiife, fire in my loins, (not really but I was on a roll yo) -- I also met Gabby because of Mariah. And Gabby’s Clark. Gabby’s Clark is made of fucking sunshine okay, and the best part is, is that we’ve had like a sustained rp universe where April harasses Clark and doesnt know he’s superman, WHILE TASH-TRALKING SUPERMAN TO CLARK’S FACE. It’s comedy gold. Poor April. But I love Gabby, because she’s smart as shit and fuckin’ hysterical, and will literally snowball crack scenarios over IM into the wee hours of the morning. Even better, I’ve found someone whose as bad at keeping track of threads as me. (I say, as I eyeball our New Krypton thread that’s been in my drafts folder for like. Six months. Oops). @talonscourt D I KNOW THROUGH MY TIM BLOG-- but who I first met on April and then promptly FORGOT ABOUT because I’m a total dipshit. D writes Jason Todd, April surrogate son. This is a recent development. Tim loves Jason, April loves Jason. D is amazing as Jason. D is like... my platonic lover from Narnia. They’re smart as hell, and incredibly sweet even when I’m shit at keeping in contact because my real life is a hot-fuckin-mess and I’m always sick and on the verge of nuclear collapse. I would be TOTALLY LOST WITHOUT YOU. @galaeus Echo. As written by the ever talented Amy who I’ve known since April’s very first incarnation. Which... is a long ass time, Amy’s seen April through several character developments and rewrites, and has legit known April as a character since like. Legit. Post Tim. When April was a baby.  Echo is April’s other southern, raised by a pageant queen biffle. They shoot the shit together, Echo is also legit the only person in existence whose allowed to give April nicknames, or turn April into a diminutive. Amy’s basically like... hands down the reason why i never gave up on writing an Indie female OC, and that’s because Amy’s a boss and she also happens to be a spectacular writer, both in the RPC and in real life. @agentharrisonofshield and last but not least, this girl. Right here. April has like... a bevy of Awesome Girl Squad frands. All of whom are infinitely more talented and bad ass than she is, like. Legit. April’s smart. but in a fight? She’s basically cannon fodder by comparison. She just isn’t built for the field. April and Viv became friends because they got locked in a closet together. I’m not sure HOW that happened, but now they get together and chat in other languages and April feeds her, and basically this s the woman April goes to when she wants someone shot. I literally love all the headcanons we’ve put together and that Agent Harrison is invariably the first ‘shield agent’ April casually mentions outside of Echo, in threads of mine. That’s how you know you’ve found an awesome rp partner and friend. When their own characters start casually infiltrating your threads in the form of namedrops.

#bias list #how the fuck did I hit a milestone y'all? #im confused #follow forever

[ruthless-king]

As a way of introducing my new Freedom Wars oc, Devlin. Here is information about him: Devlin “the devil”

height: 6" 1' age: 27 gender: male personality traits: cold clear-headed thick-skinned cynical wise

Likes: the sound of silence, listening to others talk, and slaughtering his enemies Dislikes: idiots, wanna-be leaders, people getting in his way, and being reminded of the past Main weapon: hyuga mk3 Gun: SR-42/Custom Thorn type: Shielding Thorn Description: He is well known for being a trustworthy ally, but only shows his trust to others that he knows he can rely on to have his back. Otherwise, he considers useless people to just be in the way. His choice with spear allows him to switch from close range to long range. If possible, depending on how crazy the battlefield can be, he can switch to his sniper rifle where he aims for the more critical points on abductors and deadly accurate head shots to get rid of human enemies faster. Only on the battlefield does he shows his true nature. Most people call him the devil instead of his actual name. His behavior on the battle field can be best described as subtle madness. Always a blank expression on his face when he slaughters his victims. Sometimes he will show an arrogant smile every now and then. Only if he is really in a good mood. After killing for so long he gets bored of the same routine, everyday feels like the same thing. He rarely talks about his past. More like he wants to forget it. He kills so much he loses track of time and what time of the year it is. His whereabouts of his sister is unknown. He has tried over the years looking for, but can only go based on rumors. He isn't even sure if she still uses the same name anymore. 

[ it’s sad I have to mirror his screenshot in order to get his hair to look like how I drew him. Shame it’s not Toukiden character customization when it comes to hairstyles. ] Notes: ------- The name Devlin is a Gaelic baby name. In Gaelic the meaning of the name Devlin is: Fierce. Song of choice: Empty me - Dark Tranquillity Also a short story with him and Rey. ----------------------

"...been a while. Ruthless one... Heh." A slight grin was shown on his face, dead eyes of charocal grey glanced in the direction that Rey was coming from. Devlin and Rey had talked to each other earlier to meet up before heading out to do a mission. It's only them in this quiet wide open area, others can be seen walking on the other side. Both of them ignore the rest of the world around them, not like they care at the moment. "Still alive and kicking I see..." Rey sat down on the very edge of the bench made of concrete. There was distance between them, not even a greeting was necessary with these two. Facing away from each other, Devlin speaks up as to break the silence. "It's been a while since we've done Ops. together....it's been a year or so? I can never keep track of time anymore. Every day looks the same. Wake up, kill. Go to sleep. Kill some more the next day...y'know how it goes... heh." He chuckled to himself a little bit about what he just said. Devlin has no problem speaking his mind. People who are unfamiliar with him might consider him crazy or insane with how he talks about killing people so casually. Truth is, Rey can understand where he is coming from. That's how cruel this world is, it's the only way to survive and get by. "The thrill to kill never goes away..." Rey responds as he closes his eyes, letting a slight smile appear on his face. Devlin turns his head to look at Rey. He is silent for a moment as he stares at him with a blank expression, "...so I've heard you have a girlfriend now..." Rey's eyes widen the moment he brought that up, he didn't even bother to turn his head to face him. "Um... ...." Devlin threw his head backwards as he couldn't help bursting out in laughter from the look on Rey's face and how he had nothing to say after wards. "Hahahaha! Oh man, I rarely see that kind of reaction out of you. Hahaha.... Woo. She must be something else if she makes you react that way." Devlin has a wide grin while he rubs away the tears with his finger tips that were coming out of his eyes. Rey is not amused by Devlin's laughing. Glancing off to the side he grinds his teeth together while letting out a small growl. "......." He didn't know what to say to him, he was always bad with words, let alone not being good at conversations. Rey did notice that this is possibly the first time that he can remember, where Devlin has actually laughed out like that. He is usually seen with a bored look on his face, and that dead look in his eyes. Heartless? Some would say he is, only on the battlefield and against enemy sinners. But not entirely cruel, he is also a reliable leader. Devlin gets along with others quite well, and doesn't have a problem with helping out others if it's possible for him. That's pretty much all that Rey knows about him. Actually seeing Devlin lively is rare to Rey. Not really sure if that's a good or bad thing that he actually made this guy laugh. Devlin settles down from the laughing as he continues to glance at Rey, "Ahahaha. Oh, man. This is too funny for me. I'll be honest with yah..." He paused for a moment as his expression changed to a serious look, " Didn't expect you to land a girlfriend..." "......." Rey returns his gaze back to him. Golden yellow eyes stare back at him with a serious look on his face and assumes that Devlin is mocking him for having a girlfriend. Before Rey could respond Devlin speaks up, "....it's a good reason to keep living...especially in this world..." Rey's eyes widen a little bit and then glances off to the side. That was unexpected, kind of. Full of surprises this guy is. Rey is familiar with how Devlin is by now and how blunt he can be. He always has a reason to what he says or how he handles a situation. Closing his eyes for a bit, Rey shakes his head a little bit. Reopening his eyes, he returns his gaze back to Devlin. "...make it sound like you know from experience. You make a point..." Devlin nods to him while a serious expression remains on his face. "Heh, but I do. And my advice to you is, hold onto her as much as you can. With how cruel this world is, you never know..." "....I'm....aware." Gritting his teeth together, Rey responds to him in a serious tone of voice as he continues to stare back at Devlin. Noticing that serious expression on his face, Devlin nods to him. "Good to know. Never took you for an idiot, just so y'know.. but something to remember by." Both of them shift their bodies away from each other, as they go back to sitting relaxed in their seats. Rey realizes that Devlin is being straightforward about this topic. Based on the fact that Devlin even bothered to ask Rey about his relationship at all. Maybe he really has some kind of past experience with someone else. That's what Rey can put together just by the advice he has given him. Rey has never been the type to flat out ask somebody about their history or what is considered personal to them. This is a rare side that he ever sees of Devlin, maybe he hides it for a good reason. A few minutes pass and Devlin breaks the silence by speaking up, "...I guess it's about that time to get ready." Devlin can already see the others getting ready in the distance to his right. "Time for fun." Rey stands up from his seat and walks in the direction where they are getting ready to load up with the other members of the group. Devlin watches Rey walk past him and slowly stands up after wards. Pulling his head back, he looks up at the late afternoon sky. Thinking to himself about the past, "When was the last time I had a good laugh or a good time... seems like forever... decades..." Staring at the sky with a blank face he cracks a slight smile. "Heh..if you saw me now, you would be afraid of what your big brother has become..." His head returns to facing forward, his feet move in the direction where Rey and the others are at. Those dark gray eyes of his returned to cold eyes. "....who knows. Maybe I can learn to change, just like Rey. Only time will tell...."

#sinner: devlin #FWCHARACTER PROFILE

[hellotvv]

Recap

Well, I guess I’m writing this for the second time now :( but I guess I could include my day today...

So last week was a fairly idk stressful week, but I’m feeling much better now! Idk things got figured out and yeah, stress went away. I, also, had a pretty great weekend too. It was especially good, since it was kinda full of surprises in some ways. Nothing was really planned, and it’s kinda cool when nice things happen unexpectedly. :)

Friday, it was a crazy storm day. I was supposed to go to office hours, so I could ask for some help on my lab reports that were due Wednesday before lab. But it was legit raining way too crazy that I didn’t really wanna go. So I emailed my TA and asked if he’ll be possibly free on Tuesday. So my TA is honestly the worst TA i’ve ever had. I legit think that if I had any other ochem lab ta, I’d be doing way way better in this class. Like on the first lab report, there should be some amnesty for certain things. He legit took a point off for having fringes left on the uh lab report paper... The thing is, I’ve legit always turned in with fringes, and it never really mattered since the lab reports are passed back for the students to keep. Like okay, he want fringes off. But it’s the FIRST lab report, can he seriously not write hey no fringes next time, otherwise I’ll have to take off points. Nope, he legit just takes off points -.- like zzz, he grades ridiculously hard and his quizzes are legit way harder than any other TA’s quizzes. So it’s actually ridiculous lol... The thing that upsets me the most is he finally replied to that email I sent him Friday morning BEFORE office hours, Tuesday night... It took him a whole 5 days+ to finally reply to my email, and when he did reply it was too late lol. He was like, can you ask the questions after the lab tmrw? I was like ??? in my head, since I legit wanted office hours to get help for the lab report that was due BEFORE the lab. So I had 0 questions for after lab today lol. I still don’t know how it took him so long to reply to his emails. Like he could have checked it during his office hours, or idk even on Tuesday. Like it’s his school email too and he’s a grad student/TA. Like pretty sure he gets emails... No clue how he only checks or replys Tuesday night before my lab... -.-  Anyways, Friday was kinda idk just a day. I ended up driving home in the pouring rain, and the trip took nearly 5 hours... The drive is normally 2 hours - 2 hours and 30 minutes maybe. But it took 5 hours, because of the rain. Since cars would break down, ppl would get into accidents, and you naturally have to drive slower in the rain. But yeah, the traffic was actually insane, and I understand since it’s some heavy heavy rain. But it was really really exhausting being stuck in traffic alone in a car, stop and go, for hours... ._. I was so tired that I ate dinner and immediately knocked out after I got home. So I didn’t really do anything Friday.

But Saturday was hmhm a pretty good day actually. So I woke up late and I didn’t really do anything on Saturday. Since my friend Fyona was busy-ish on Saturday, and I didnt really make any plans with people. Then it was around 5ish and Jia randomly snapchatted me and asked me if I wanted to eat with her. So I was like yeee, and chose raising canes. She was down and drove and pick me up! It’s nice being driven, since honestly I drive my friends most of the time, and I rarely rarely get driven around :( So it was very nice of her to drive me! When she first saw me get into her car, she was like woahh Theo you lost weight! I was like yesss, I’ve been really good about my diet~ and she was really impressed like wowow. Haha, idk it’s cool when ppl notice when you put in hard work! I’ve been pretty good about my diet for weeks now and have lost weight! :D #KawaiiTheoAgain? Anyways, it was just cool talking to her and catching up on life in general. We ate at raising canes, and then went to Cafe Maji for drinks and to just hang out for a bit longer. I ordered a thai tea latte, then a bit later Jia was like ooh u ordered taro? I was like ?? nono, I ordered thai tea! She was like ooh I thought u said taro. Then the waitress brings out taro latte o.o I was like huh... I guess I did~ I suppose i was reading thai tea latte and somehow said taro outloud, which was below thai tea in the menu. But it was fine, and I finished the taro latte and it was alright. Just surprising that idk I ordered something else and didn’t even know! Uhh, idk how the convo came up exactly, but I think talking about vacations to places. She wanted to like go to Japan, or like SF trip, or idk. I was like yoo, u can just airbnb with friends and split the cost and it’s not bad. She surprisingly never heard of airbnb, so I explained and told her it’s fairly cool haha. She was like wowow, and thanked me for sharing it with her. She was like huh, you know I learn something new each time I hang out with you. I realized that it was kinda true, every time I see her, somehow she ends up like learning about something new. I think this is pretty cool actually, since idk I don’t intentionally try to do it. But I do like sharing cool facts or sharing about my hobbies/passion with ppl, and I think it’s kinda cool learning something new :D. She enjoys it lol and I realized I got my friend Brent into fashion nowadays! He’s mostly into sneakers rn, but yeahhh. Idk I like getting ppl into new things :) I guess I have a wide range of interests and hobbies that I have quite a bit to share? But anyways, she drove me home, and it was a nice idk hangout with my friend Jia. She even said she’ll make plans one of these days to drive up to SB and hang out! I was like woo :) Then I went home and kinda just read chinese novels until I late at night, since haha.

The next day was a pretty adventurous day o.o and full of idk surprises. I’m also a very weak boy :( But uh to begin, I woke up at like 10ish and was sleepy. Since I was meeting up with Fyona at 11 to do a laundromat shoot with her. She was very very rushy, and was like yoo get here at 11. Since her mom is fairly strict and doesn’t like her hanging out, so she lied and said she had to go study at 11, so I had to be there at 11. I got there at like 10:58 and she was like, oh my mom is making me help her cook, and then she had to wait for her mom to leave until she could leave. But then she still needed to do makeup and etc, so I had to wait outside alone in the parking lot for legit 50 minutes nearly T_T I mean, I didn’t mind, since I was actually just chilling on my phone and was content. But yee, I had to roast her a bit for that doe. She was like haha you could have napped or slept longer, since I didn’t even get out till 11:50. So I called her a monster for rushing me and how she was super adamant about 11 AM, only to make me wait outside alone for 50 mins. But yeee, it was silly, and then I drove us to the laundromat. But it was too crowded to shoot actually. Like Fyona and I don’t mind shooting in crowded locations. But if we shot there, it would just inconvenience ppl, and we’re not big on dat. So we decided to just do the shoot another day. So we went to go eat, and then she had a shoot schedule at 1:30ish. She asked me to come along, and it was nearby at huntington beach pier. So I went along and while we were walking around, we randomly met a popular photography iger that we both follow! I was like huh that dood kinda looks like dfreske (guy was carrying a camera too), and it turns out to be him! Wowow, we said hi and said we’re fans of his, and yeah :) it was cool. Then we met up with uh the photographer that Fyona was shooting with. The dude was hmhm alright, I think the photos came out decently well, but he was fairly quiet and didn’t do too much directing or anything, and yeah. Around this time while the shoot was on going, Catherine texted me out of the blue, and was like wutt you’re in the oc area? Are you free? I was like, oh ye, I am, and she was like oh come hang with cole + these uh 3 friends of hers. Cole is a photographer that I met through Hope and Catherine previously and he’s a pretty nice dude. But yeah, I legit haven’t talked to Catherine since like winter break lol. Uhh after the shoot was over, it was almost 3, and Fyona had to be home by 3. Fyona tried to push it back to 4, so she could come hang with Catherina and I, but she couldn’t. So I had nothing better to do, so I head over and met up with them. They already finished shooting, so we met up at a mcd and chilled. It was cole, some girl, and this guy name Adam, and Catherine ofc. Cole and the girl had to go study math not too long after, so they left. But yeah, Catherine was like, ooh we can hang at her place, so we all head over to Catherine’s place (adam, cat, and I). Adam turned out to be a pretty nice dude, he’s into streetwear a bit, and plays overwatch. They all went to the same school at Catherine, so that’s how they know each other. Catherine told me that her mom and grandma occasionally asks where I’ve been lol, since I used to go over to her house quite frequently over winter break. When we got to her house, I said hi to her grandma, and she was surprised to see me lol. Also met her mom a bit later and she was like ooh you’re back home. Idk I think it’s kinda cool that they like me? Idk why they do, since I don’t really do anything lol. But yeah :D wooo! Anyways, we hung out and watched supernatural (meh tv show) at catherine’s living room. Then we decided to head over to south coast plaza, since nothing better to do. Walked around and it was cool. Stopped by the Saint Laurent store, but I was dressed poorly and didn’t want to go in, but Adam did haha. Shortly after, all the stores were closing and it was only like 6:30, but I guess it’s a Sunday. We head over to a thrift store nearby just for fun idk. Didn’t buy anything, but Catherine randomly met up/saw one of her friends, and they were like omg. They made me take a pic of them, and I used my iphone 7 portrait mode and they were like wowow lit. The girl left, and then Catherine, Adam, and I decided to go grab boba + ice cream at some boba place in garden grove. I’ve been there before once with Calvin, and the place is okie. It was getting close to 8:30 and Catherine had to go home. I was gonna go meet up with my buddy Brent, who came to the oc area to hang out. He also was hanging out with his gf, since uh she was staying at her roommate Shannie’s place in Laguna Beach for the 3 day weekend for fun. So he figured he’ll come down to hang with me and elizabeth/shannie. So I was driving Adam and Catherine back, and Catherine’s mom told her to be home by like 8:30ish or whatever. So I was like ooh, I can drop you off first, then Adam. But she was like oh it’d be easier for u to drop off adam, and then bring me home. I didn’t really mind the order, since they’re both the same distance regardless and nearby. Adam and I insisted on dropping Catherine off home first, since she did have a curfew and didn’t wanna make her get in trouble with her mom. So when I was dropping her off, she was like, ‘you’re gonna come to my place after u drop off adam right?’ I was like ???? what in my head O_O.. Since I was gonna go have a nice dinner with buddy Brent. Then she pulled the idk sympathy/guilt trip card. She was like, ‘oh you’re leaving tomorrow, and haven’t posted snapsfromtheo in a while. also idk if i’ll be able to make it to lunch tomorrow too’. She suggested lunch the next day, before I leave. So uhh, idk ;-; i’m a weak boy and couldn’t say no after she said all that... I had to text brent and was like T_T sorry I can’t make it ahhh, and explained why. Elizabeth and brent were fine for it and encouraged me to go to cat’s house... I was like lol... But yeah, went over to her place after dropping off Adam. Honestly it wasn’t anything eventful. We sat fairly close in her living room couch, watched supernatural, and made small conversation here and there. Then it was like 11ish and I went home afterwards. Idk it was okie and not bad, but I kinda would have rather ate dinner with my buddy brent and elizabeth. But yeah, Sunday was still a pretty surprising day. Hung out with Fyona, met popular ig photographer, randomly ended up hanging out with Catherine, got guilt tripped, and didn’t hang out with Brent/Elizabeth. But had a good day nevertheless!

Monday was still a fairly interesting day as well. So I woke up, and then around like 1ish, picked up Catherine, and we decided to get ramen. I chose kitakata ramen, since she never been there before haha. There was quite a wait when we got there like 40 mins. So we decided to stop by the camp or whatever, which is nearby Kitakata. The camp is like a small food + shopping area, with a unique design. It was kinda cool to walk around, and then uh Catherine made me take another photo of her with my iPhone 7 portrait mode haha. It was kinda nice hanging out with her, and then we made it back in time before we got called to come inside kitakata. She turned out to like kitakata quite a bit, and agrees it’s better than shin sen gumi haha. While we were eating, she made an instagram post and uploaded the iphone 7 photo I took of her that day, and had a very nice caption about me... ;-; I was like nooo, don’t give me affection, I am weak boy in my head. But yeah, while we were eating, she roasted me a bit for not telling her that I was back in the oc area, but I was like I casually snapchatted it tho! She was like wowow i had to find out from Fyona’s snapchat story sad. So now I have to tell her the next time I’m heading back. I dropped her off and got a big hug, and then I headed off to pick up Fyona. For Catherine, it was definitely nice seeing her and hanging out with her again after not seeing her in a while. She oddly was super nice and made a lot of idk effort/took the initiative to hang out! I guess I’ve kinda grown out of my crush on her, and not really interested anymore. But it was nice hanging out with her as friends and would prob hang out with her again if I go home for the weekend. Fyona wanted to hang out before I left, and was free around like 2ish. But I was still with cat until 3, but fyona nice girl and waited till 3 to hang out with me. Then we went to ikea, since she wanted to. We got ikea food, sigh I ate again, and idk how or why I did. But yeah, ikea food is honestly not that bad considering the price. I’ve eaten their ice cream/hot dog before, but monday I ate their other food, and it’s not bad considering the price. It was cool walking around and chilling with Fyona, and then it was like 5 so I had to drop Fyona off, then it was time to head back to SB. I left for SB around rush hour, but surprisingly there was no traffic at all! O_O I was so surprised... Like idk why, since shouldn’t national holidays normally have more ppl free and driving around rush hour? But yeah, even when passing LA, there was no traffic and it wasn’t even raining or anything... I got back to SB fairly quickly, but I was kinda tired after the short 2 hour drive. Idk I guess I don’t go home as often as I used to, so I don’t drive long distances frequently anymore, so it kinda burns me out nowadays haha. Oh well. But got back at night, rested for a bit, then had to do my history homework and math homework, so I stayed up a bit late. It was nice sleeping in my room in SB again, since idk used to my pillow setup at SB lol.

Tuesday and Wednesday has been ughhh. So Tuesday, I slept late on monday doing homework, but I had to wake up early for my 8 am history section. It was raining as well at 8 am, so I had to go to class in the cold rain at 8 am T_T. Then after, my friend brent came over to get lunch and hang out for a bit. Then went to 4 o’clock class and got back. Then my 2nd pair of yeezys came! So there’s quite a story behind this, but I’m lazy to write it all out. But brent and i supposed to cop yeezys together during the drop. He fell asleep at like 3 am, and I did wake him up by calling him, and then he went back to sleep and asked me to get his size. I did, but I didn’t tell him I did, since Idk if he deserved it. It’s like waiting in a long concert ticket line to get concert tickets at 3 am, and your friend who’s waiting in line with you is tired and goes home and asks for u to stay up and try to get their ticket. it’s like uhhh, if I put in all this work, and you didn’t at least wait up with me/tried with me, do you deserve it still? But yeah, I ended up being nice and sold him the yeezys for retail. He was very very surprised and very grateful, and it was like a nice surprise gift. Since he did want the pair, but was sad he didn’t get it since he fell asleep. But yeah, he promised to treat me out to a lavish dinner one of these days to make it up for me and was super happy. Then he left, and Tuesday night began. I had 2 long long lab reports due the next day on Wednesday AND I had a midterm for greek myth. I didn’t really study for greek myth, since class is fairly easy, but still. I legit pulled an all nighter with my friend Kristy, and we both finally finished the two long lab reports at like 10 AM lol... So I was EXHAUSTED. I went to class to take my midterm and I think I did pretty well on it, maybe an A. But I was sleepy af and just wanted to sleep sigh... Then I stayed up and then finished up lab report completely + did prelab, and then studied for the lab quiz that’ll happen during lab. So yeah did that, went to lab, turned everything in, took quiz, and the experiment was kinda long and lame. But I’m finally free! The rest of the week isn’t too bad, besides the fact that I have to study for my math midterm on Tuesday. But ughh, I’m basically ready to pass out, since I legit haven’t slept in so long lol... Long long day, but yeah that was my kinda adventurous weekend, and long Tuesday night and Wednesday. Tomorrow should be not bad and smash tournie to go to! So woo, hopefully this weekend will be great too~