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seireiteihellbutterfly · 3 months

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Second Chance Sorcerer

Chapter 1 - Phantom Tokyo

Summary: After surviving Mahito's Idle Transfiguration in the Shibuya Incident, Nanami finds himself in an unknown realm between life and death. Will he escape?

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Fem! reader

A/N: I can't believe I actually got around to writing this! *sobs*. I hope everyone does take the time to read it, and enjoys what I've created here. This will be a multi-chapter fic, quite different from the one-shots I've posted before. It was originally made with an OC, which can be read on my AO3 account, but all changes have been made to y/n here.

Thank you @actuallysaiyan for making the lovely title banner and for listening to me rant and giving me all the encouragement to finish this chapter. Everyone needs a cheerleader like you. 💜

Nanami masterlist | Chapter 2

“You’ve got it from here…Itadori kun.”

Those were the last words Nanami remembers saying before Mahito’s Idle Transfiguration fragmented his soul into smithereens. All he felt was pain, gut-wrenching pain as his soul collapsed and rearranged itself, piece after piece trying various combinations of alignment, trying to come back into some semblance of a whole, like chromosomes after being hit with a lethal dose of radiation.

His eyes squeeze shut, senses overloading as he prepares to meet whatever awaits him on the other side. Would it be a lovely afterlife like he’d hoped? Filled with long days on the beach, reading the backlog of books he’d been holding off on? Laying in the sun, no work, no obligations, just doing whatever he wanted to his heart’s content? He felt warmth against his chest, a bright light emanating from it, and for a split second, it felt like someone was calling out to him, a very familiar voice…

And all of a sudden it stops. With a thump, he crumples on something solid, his side colliding with the surface. Was this it? Was he in the afterlife? Nanami hesitantly opens his eyes and takes in his surroundings.

At first, it appears like he’s landed on a sidewalk that wound deeply into a very gloomy and derelict-looking city. He could make out buildings, traffic lights, and little shops tucked away in between these larger structures, all of them looking abandoned or in various states of disuse. Not exactly what he’d hoped for. Was this actually the Great Beyond?

Nanami pushes himself to his feet, relieved when he realizes he’s not in pain anymore. Had Mahito sent him to a separate contained domain? He squints, trying to find his bearings. There was no sunlight wherever he was, but the street lamps were lit along the length of the sidewalk, casting shadows along the way. He cautiously looks around. The place looks strangely familiar…

He grasps his weapon, the blade having still been in his hand when Mahito touched him, and advances down the road. As he walks, he realizes with a jolt that wherever he is appears to be a phantom of his neighborhood. He recognized this road now, as he had frequented it so often. Up ahead was the grocery store he would go to every Saturday. And right opposite it, a little cafe he would sometimes wander into for their lovely croissants and artisan coffee. The more he walked, the more he started piecing together a map of this area, astonished at what he was seeing. This certainly couldn’t be a domain expansion. There was far too much detail resembling the real world and, although the place gave a foreboding aura, seemed to be unoccupied except for himself.

He stops in the middle of the sidewalk, lowers his weapon, and tries to think. Logic was telling him Mahito had sent him somewhere, perhaps a sealed space, rather than kill him outright. But if that was the case, why was he healed? His entire left side which had been covered with fatal burns was gone, the skin healed over like new, his eye regenerated, hair grown back. His clothes and shoes had somehow been restored to their original condition, his glasses back to their position on his face.

Things weren’t adding up. He continued to walk, then came upon a library he remembered passing by in the real world but had never really paid attention to before. Deciding this was as good a spot as any to glean information about his whereabouts, he enters, squinting through the darkness. Lines and lines of shelves stood neatly arranged in the building. Nanami walks between the rows, pausing in between sections for a brief moment before continuing his perusing.

He rounds the corner, then quickly presses his back against a bookshelf as he senses an unusual energy signature fading away from him. So he wasn’t alone, and the thought wasn’t comforting. The energy didn’t match a human or a sorcerer, so he had to assume it was a special-grade curse. After his interactions with Jogo and Mahito, he didn’t know what to expect in terms of its abilities. He was tempted to escape but knew he had nowhere to go. If he was trapped in this domain what hope was there to escape this odd being he was sensing?

Raising the clothed blade with its polka dot pattern, he follows the energy steadily, not daring to breathe too loudly as he advances. It moves stealthily and silently, as though trying to elude him. This makes him immediately wary, sensing he could be getting lured into a trap. He follows at a distance, then stops as he comes to a reading section, the area cleared out and decorated with little chairs, poufs, and tables. Struggling to see in the dim light, he moves into the open, instincts screaming that he’s making a mistake. He pauses, trying to sense the energy again.

“It’s rude to chase one with a weapon you know.” A voice says from directly behind him. Nanami startles and spins around to face his pursuant, arms immediately coming before him to block an impending attack. Upon seeing the sight before him, his gaze fills with both fear and wonder, the being in front of him a vision of amazement.

All he sees at first are a pair of piercing silver eyes that seem to probe the very depths of his soul. There’s a quiet insightfulness to them like he was looking into the eyes of an old friend, yet an unsettling intensity that made him feel apprehensive. The being appeared to lack a shape, but as Nanami took another step back, the light from the street lamps showed it to be made of wisps of black shadowy mist, neither fluid nor gas, swirling endlessly around it.

Something within him tells him he shouldn’t fear this creature, yet all instincts were telling him to charge the attack before it got to him first. They stood, staring at each other through the dimness, before Nanami gathered his courage and asked, “What are you? A curse?”

The being huffs, as if it was an impertinent question. “What am I…Who am I…The question has been asked for centuries. Yet, even I do not have an appropriate answer…But I am most definitely not a curse.”

It glides silently over the floor, and Nanami instinctively raises his weapon. The being appears to look amused, based on the way those intense silver eyes glowed. “Put away your blade, Nanami Kento. The things I could have done to you once you entered my realm can’t be defended against by you, or even a special-grade sorcerer for that matter. I doubt even Ryomen Sukuna would stand a chance against me.” The smoky form billows, ebbing and flowing as it circles him.

Not entirely reassured, Nanami puts his weapon back in the holder of his suspenders. There’s an odd feeling of reverence despite the eerie nature of the being.

“I am what they call The Mediator, The One Before Death, or The Spectator.” It answers his question.

“And where am I?” Nanami asks the shadow.

“You are in between worlds, Nanami Kento.”

“In between worlds?” The blonde man repeated skeptically. Did such a thing exist? He had never given death much thought (beyond the dying part), and always assumed it was like being asleep one moment and waking up in paradise the next. To be in between worlds…had Mahito somehow just locked him away in another dimension that was a bleak version of his neighborhood?

“So…am I…alive? But in another dimension?”

The Mediator looked at him thoughtfully, as though wondering how best to explain to him. “You are alive for now. But you definitely died, otherwise you wouldn’t have ended up here in my realm.”

“I died, and came back to life?” The sorcerer frowned at the obscureness with which this said. “That makes no sense. People don’t just arbitrarily resurrect from the dead. I was severely weakened. My soul was unprotected. Mahito’s attack should have killed me.”

“It did. However, something at that moment reversed the attack and restored the various fragments your soul had shattered into.”

Disbelievingly, Nanami started running his hands over his torso as though trying to find evidence that he had died. It was just…fantastical…impossible…He had survived Mahito’s attack? What divine intervention could have possibly saved him from something so deadly? As his fingers near his wrist, they brush over a small chain, hidden under the cuff of his shirt. He quickly undoes the button and looks incredulously at the small charm, an Aum symbol, dangling from the chain.

“Y/n…” he murmurs her name softly. His apprentice. He now remembers her fastening one of these to not just him but to Ino and Itadori as well before they were deployed to Shibuya.

“That’s probably what saved you,” the being said evidently, interrupting Nanami’s thoughts. “Whatever that is, it was imbued with a heavy concentration of neutralized curse energy. So when you died from the attack, that charm activated and repaired your soul.”

Nanami absently fingered the charm, trying to think. Y/n’s ability to neutralize cursed energy had improved immensely under his tutelage, he knew that, but he hadn’t imagined it to this extent. Her other ability included being able to manipulate any cursed energy she neutralized into forms of heat, summoning flames on her palms that towered at least 20 feet tall. How she had imbued the energy into the charm was anyone’s guess.

“And I’m in between worlds.” He repeats again, trying to make sure he’s not misunderstanding the conversation.

“Indeed. Think of this as your own personal purgatory.” Those silver eyes bore into him like moons against a black sky, waiting to see his reaction.

Purgatory. Nanami pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose, unable to fathom how insane this sounded. “I thought purgatory was for people who needed to be redeemed.”

“It is usually. But in your case, it looks like the veil partitioning the worlds got confused, seeing as how you left one dead, and then suddenly became alive in another. Death probably couldn’t figure out what to do with you so it sent you here instead.”

“So I’m stuck here?”

Despite the miraculousness of it all, Nanami couldn’t help but feel a twinge of irritation. He had been prepared for death for several years now. So much to the point that he had a will drafted, signed, and sealed, declaring all his possessions to be donated to charity since he had no other family or next of kin. A copy of the keys to his house had been entrusted to the lawyer who had helped draft the will. He had all his affairs set in order with the expectation that his death would be sudden and he was unwilling to burden anyone to deal with the repercussions.

He had known he would die in the line of duty. He had accepted his fate the moment Mahito had laid a hand on him in the underground, welcoming death as a tranquil friend. His whole life had been struggle after struggle, a gamble, clawing his way to stay alive. All he could say was that he had been lucky so far. There had to be a moment when that luck ran out. He had been dreaming of knowing peace and death seemed to be the only option for that.

“Does it bother you, that you are alive?” The purgatory being asks him curiously, noting his less-than-happy expression. “Most would rejoice at this second chance for life.”

The question hits Nanami with a gravity he hadn’t been expecting. “Most people haven’t lived my life. I’ve done enough. I’m tired. I’ve earned the right to a peaceful death.”

“And yet, it looks like someone desperately wanted you to live.” Those hypnotic eyes wander over to the charm dangling on his wrist. “Is that not reason enough? To not want to die?”

Disturbed by the notion, Nanami grips the charm. Y/n’s energy had kept him alive, unwittingly preventing him from moving on into the afterlife. Whether that had been her intent was debatable. Her desperately wanting him to live? It just didn’t seem likely to him. Sure, perhaps she didn’t want him to die in the way that people didn’t want others to die in general. But beyond that? He couldn’t fathom her being so consumed by the thought of his death that she would create a charm that essentially kept him alive after having his soul damaged to what should have been a point beyond repair.

Y/n had a late start in her career as a sorceress, and certain concepts about it seemed to stymie her, more typically seen in a younger student than someone her age. He had repeatedly told her to not worry about him when he took her on missions, to value her life more than his. He drilled it into her head when he taught her self-defense, that if there was an opportunity to escape she should take it, the hand-to-hand combat sometimes leaving bruises on her skin because she’d been unwilling to take a shot at him. It always pained him when that happened, marking her, leaving those unsavory blemishes on her but how else was she going to learn that fairness wasn’t something that existed in Jujutsu? Her willingness to get a little scuffed up if it meant protecting him from a curse irked him. She was rather like a kitten unwilling to be shooed away from a reluctant petter. His lips curled wryly as he imagined her expression if she ever heard that comparison out loud.

‘Don’t be so cruel Nanami san!’ She’d probably say, those large (color) eyes looking at him reproachfully. And for a moment, his mind’s eye couldn’t picture anything else except that; those large (color) eyes, and the shock in them when he told her that he didn’t think he’d live very long. She hadn’t said anything to convince him his mindset was wrong, but she did look like he had betrayed her by expressing his very honest and logical opinion. As though he had broken an oath to her by not saying he wanted to live long and prosper.

Nanami gives himself a mental shake. This wasn't the time to be thinking about Y/ni's opinion on his death. The bigger task at hand now was figuring out what to do about his imprisonment in purgatory.

All the while, the shadow hadn’t wavered and had merely continued to look at him work through his inner monologue. Realizing that Nanami had reached a limit, it said, “No, you are not stuck here. At least, not for very long.”

The sorcerer’s head snaps up at those words, eyes narrowing behind the green glass of his frames. “What do you mean, not very long?”

“Well, the neutralized energy imbued into that charm? It’s not infinitely going to remain contained in that. The seal broke when it saved your life, and it’s essentially trickling out little particles of it. It will run out at some point, although it’s difficult to say when that is.”

“And when it does run out?”

“You’ll die.” The being says simply. “And move on into the next realm. That’s the way purgatory is supposed to work. Cleanse you to be fit to live in the realm of death.”

“And it’s unknown when that will happen?”

The shadow appears to ponder his question before offering a hesitant guess. “A few days, maybe 4 or 5 at maximum, based on the energy intensity that it's currently emitting.”

“And what am I to do for 4 to 5 days here?” Nanami gestures around the gloomy library, obviously not impressed with this arrangement. These extra days before his impending death somehow made a vein pop in his forehead. It was like a pre-death before the actual one.

“Well, you must have noticed by now that this is the neighborhood you used to live in. You are free to wander around here and experience your old life one last time. You can visit your apartment, take the subway and wander around the Jujutsu High campus, or watch a movie in the theater.” The shadow suggested, sounding like a pleasant tour guide for the afterlife. “Think of it as a vacation before your death.”

It struck Nanami as a little absurd but he strokes his chin, considering. “And that’s my only option? To experience my old life before dying?”

“It’s not the only option. You could go back and live.”

A pregnant pause hangs in the air at those words. Nanami’s eyes widen at the thought. He could go back to the land of the living? He hadn’t even considered that as an option. He only had death on his mind. Thoughts of living on a beach, days filled with no responsibility still flickered through his mind but at the same time…

“What is it about life that makes you so hesitant?” The purgatory being asks him inquisitively.

Nanami opens his mouth but no words come out. Had he been thinking about how to escape his situation that all he had ever thought about was dying? It wasn’t unexpected of him. He had learned so long ago that life was mostly shit, with a few moments of relief folded in. At least it was for curse users. He remembers seeing all the people he knew die, how he had tried to escape from Jujutsu, only to be sucked back in because he knew he didn’t fit in anywhere else. When faced with the choice of remaining in a job of corporate greed, or one that endangered his life but was somewhat altruistic, the choice became apparent. He had returned to Jujutsu. Not entirely selflessly, but with the idea that it was the quicker way out of his misery.

“Is there nothing you would like to return to?” The shadow presses. “Remember that you are a very rare case. Hardly anyone ends up in purgatory under your circumstances. I would hate to see a life go to waste because you don’t know what to do with it.”

A sudden memory comes into Nanami’s mind. A day of unexpected frivolity, when Y/n, Yuji, and Ino had convinced him to come along to an amusement park. It was an odd day but to his surprise, he hadn't hated it. Y/n had mostly stayed away from the roller-coasters, leaving it to Yuji and Ino, wandering with Nanami to the food stalls, closer in age to him than she was to the boys. It was a strange feeling of domesticity he had never experienced before, almost like they were a hodgepodge family of misfits. It was the closest thing he had experienced to a normal day in a long time.

But days like that were rare. They were like sprinkles on top of ice cream. People could never have more sprinkles than ice cream. Life just didn't work that way. However, Nanami found himself contemplating his choices. Perhaps he had been so jaded that he thought life was wading through ice cream instead of appreciating the sprinkles? And here he was dreaming about sprinkles when he was stuck in purgatory.

He sighs and shakes his head. “If I did go back, would it make a difference?” He asks doubtfully.

The being’s eyes crinkle warmly, almost like it's smiling. “To one person, yes. And isn't that more than enough?”

The charm swings from his wrist like a pendulum. He considers the shadow’s words and feels his heart clench uncomfortably. The stakes almost felt too high, wagering his return to life on the chance that it would make a difference to Y/n. Well, maybe not just her. He frowns as he feels the energy in the trinket resonate for a brief moment when he thinks of her, as though it was trying to convince him to make the gamble. He had never quite paid attention to her energy signature before now, so concentrated within the tiny object; it felt like a warm cup of coffee on a lazy Saturday morning. He feels disconcerted that he could sense this now and it was making him want to change his mind about dying. He sighed deeply, feeling his resolve begin to solidify, even though it felt like he was making the wrong choice.

“How do I get out of here?”

The shadow has no features except its eyes, but if Nanami could assign it an expression, it would have to be triumph.

“I’m so glad you asked.” It appraisingly looks at him, before continuing. “Perhaps you might want to let the lady know you’re alive.”

“Must I?” Nanami asks with a hint of exasperation.

The shadow looks amused but continues in an even tone. “I’m afraid I must insist. It's better to give people a warning when you’re coming back from the dead. Prepares them for the prospect of seeing you again. Trust me, it’s better that way.”

“And how do I do that?”

It merely continues to look at him with that amused expression and Nanami almost lets out a growl of frustration. “Listen. I died. Then I was told I wasn’t dead, but I’ll die soon. Then I changed my mind and decided I wanted to live. The least you can do is tell me how to get a message out of here.”

The purgatory being laughs; it’s an eerie noise, yet had all the comfort of a long-lost friend. “Very well 7:3 Sorcerer. It’s simple really. To send a message out of here, all you need to do is blend your cursed energy with the cursed energy of the person you’re thinking about going back to life for. Imbue this energy into a small object which will then find a way to its recipient.”

The elementary way this was said nearly cracks his temper. “Is that all?” He asks, unable to keep the bite of sarcasm out of his voice.

The shadow chuckles at this, adding to his ire. “It really is. Just try focusing on something other than your disappointment of not dying today.”

Nanami takes a deep breath and exhales through his nose trying to keep his composure. “A small object…” His hand grips the handle of his blade and pulls it out, eyeing it carefully. The whole blade wouldn’t make it. He just automatically knew it. But he wanted to make sure Y/n would recognize the message was from him. He fidgets with the blade, thinking, and then by accident, the edge of it comes in contact with the Aum charm.

The blend of energy that shoots through him was a shock; a mix of the warm coffee on Saturday mornings, coupled with the calculated preciseness of a seasoned Q-grader who assessed those coffee beans. The polka dots spattered all over the cloth wrapping the weapon glowed at the edges for a brief second before the blade lost contact with the charm.

Nanami observed the whole process with fascination. Dormant instinct took over him, and he moved his hand so that the charm now swung over the blade. Focusing on that combined energy signature, he purposefully touches the charm to the blade. Y/n’s neutralized curse energy flows into the blade, and he feels his own beginning to fuse with it. He concentrates on his ratio technique, and with a flash, all the polka dots lift off the blade, glowing with a pale sea foam green aura.

“Find her,” he whispers to the dots, and in a hazy glow, they vanish.

Nanami watches, as though in a daze, unable to believe what had just happened. He turns to look at the purgatory being.

“Message sent. Now, how do I get out of here?”

The shadow being had been looking at the spot where the polka dots had vanished. It swirls around and looks at him in the eyes.

“By facing your deepest regrets.”

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purpleyoonn · 1 year

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red string 1

“our connection is determined by a tiny invisible string”

summary: you figured it was too late for your string to solidify, used to the idea of finding someone on your own, who also never got their string. However, your string began to tug when you least expected it, to the last person or people you would have ever thought.

genre: soulmate au, red string of fate au, poly au,

pairing: BTS (Yoongi centered) x Reader

status: ongoing (random updates)

warnings: slight yandere themes, smut, insecure reader, alcohol, talks of jealousy, soul bonds, mentions of past abuse,

chapter warnings: soul pain, first meetings, running away, mc didn't really want a bond, cinderella-esque plot line, small panic attack, mc is cynical, allusions to past abusive relationship,

I am not going to have a taglist for this fic. I will only be using the permanent taglist as its intended for all of my fics.

permanent taglist: @m1sss1mp @yourleftsock @skyys-universe @cryingpages @strxwbloody @drissteele @dustyinkpages @iamkookiesforyou @crushedblackroses @fluffy-canada-pancakes @blaaiissee @iiitsmaria @carolinexkpop @azazel-nyx @strawberry-moonpies @g-h-o-s-t-b-a-b-i @knjkitten @foreverweareyoung7 @lachimolala22019 @namuficxs @94z-93 @kimgmzmc @thenaverse @dahliasbouqet @black-rose-29 @tinyoonsblog @take-u-2-an0ther-w0r1d @stellauniverse @stupendouscookiehumanmug @tinyoonsblog @veronawrites @tatyhend @singukieee @m0v3m3ntsblog @exfolitae @butterymin @queen-in-the-shadows

masterlist // part 2

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Being in your twenties was weird. You went from being in a structured routine for twelve plus years, having to ask to go to the bathroom, to being on your own and having to make mistake after mistake until you get the hang of being an adult (even if you never actually figure it out).

Being in your twenties also meant something else to most of the world’s population. The tiny string of fate that was always thought of as a fantasy would solidify, only visible to you and the person or people on the other end. The string was supposed to lead you to your soulmate/s, but sometimes only served to be a reminder of what you couldn’t have.

Some people are lucky enough to already be with their soulmates and receive their string when they meet them, even before their twentieth birthday. You were not so lucky.

You weren’t one of the people who dreamed of having a soulmate, at least until you started getting into reading. There were hundreds of stories about different soulmate relationships and everything they entailed. You consumed any type of soulmate media you could until you got your string. Then, it began to seem too real to you. Like it wasn’t something meant for you, almost like fate made a mistake.

At midnight on your twentieth birthday, you had woken up to the red string on your pinky, the bond tugging at you. It was solid and taught, giving you the idea that you were, in fact, nowhere near your soulmate. Which meant you might never find them.

You remember spending a good couple of years doing research, trying to figure out if the bond would really lead you to your soulmate like the research said. Months spent in front of your computer screen, looking at different places hoping you would feel some kind of tug on your pinky; any kind of indication that you might be looking in the right direction.

You never felt anything.

After a couple years of this, you didn’t really give up, but you stopped worrying about the tiny red string. You ignored it, you moved on, getting your bachelor’s degree, and decided to follow your friend and become an English teacher in South Korea. She had been over there for a year now and loved it.

You needed new experiences and your friend had already worked with a private company, helping you get a spot; something that was easy considering your English degree. It took a while to get your documents together, and even longer to actually land in Korea.

You had been here only two months now, but you loved everything. The culture was beautiful and your students were helping you to learn the language and where the best places to eat were. You could easily converse in Korean and were able to read it and write it slowly, but your understanding was okay. You still had troubles but nothing you couldn’t learn over time.

You taught the older students, and really bonded with some of them over your love of Kpop. Your lunches were usually spent with a couple of students trying to teach you how to do the choreo of their favorite songs or helping you to discover more than just mainstream media.

Your best friend, Lindsey, taught the younger ones and was always bringing back artwork to your shared apartment. You used one of the walls in the living room as a display, hanging up all the different paintings and pieces her students gave her. They brightened the rather bleak apartment and served as a good conversation piece for your nosy neighbors whenever they knocked on the door.

Currently, you were lounging on the small sofa in the living room, watching television as you worked on a lesson plan for the following week. You were having the students create their own creative writing pieces where they needed to use at least two literary devices.

You had gotten out early and were waiting for Lindsey to get back from her school. You taught at two different schools within Seoul which was hard to work out times where you could hang out and explore outside of school.

Just as you were about to save your lesson plan to your school’s hard drive, the front door pushed open to reveal a sweaty and kneeled over Lindsey. Her face was a deep shade of red as she tried to breath, making you rush over to the red head.

“Oh my god what happened?!” You help her to the couch you were just on before moving to get her a cup of water.

“Did someone chase you? Are they still outside?” In your haste to figure out what happened, you move to open the front door, hoping that the person was outside still so you could go after them, only for Lindsey to scream again.

“What happened?” You rush back over to her, only now noticing the pieces of paper she held in her hands.

“I GOT THE TICKETS!” You blanked. You thought your friend was like attacked or something, running back to your apartment for safety. You were ready to grab the baseball bat you kept by the front door.

“You scared me half to death because of some…tickets?” You ask, your voice calm and tone even as you tried to keep from attacking your now grinning friend.

“Not just any tickets!” You just stared at her, blankly wondering if it was too late to get another roommate.

“I got us BTS tickets for your birthday!” She squealed, jumping up and down in place as she waited for you to get excited.

Your 25th birthday was coming up in a couple of days, and you had planned to just go and get drunk or pig out on food and binge your favorite kdrama. You didn’t really want to do anything else, never the one for actually celebrating your birthday.

“I thought the concert was sold out?” You question her.

The concert was going to be their welcome back, having all just gotten out of the army. They decided to go during the pandemic, knowing they wouldn’t be able to have any concerts or activities anyways. They did, however, leave army with plenty of material and songs to keep us happy while the pandemic was going on.

“It is. But my school was having a raffle for the tickets, and one of my student’s parents put my name in. I found out today that I won!” She squealed again, shaking the tickets in her hand.

“We have close to front row seats!” Your eyes were wide in shock, completely surprised by the turn of events.

You had always wanted to go to a BTS concert, not having been able to get tickets or the time off to go before, so to hear that Lindsey had gotten tickets to their welcome back concert, you were shocked and excited.

“When it is?” You ask her, thinking about if you would have to ask for time off.

“It’s Friday night.” Oh my. The concert was on the night of your birthday, in two days. You had nothing prepared. You had nothing to wear and you weren’t prepared to do anything that night.

“Uhm, babes, we have nothing to wear.” You tell her, breaking her out of her excitement. You see her face slowly move from excited to frantic, rushing around the room over to her bedroom door, throwing it open as you hear her begin to strip.

“Go get changed into better clothes! We are going shopping!” She yells out to you, and after not hearing any movement chucks a shoe at your head.

“Okay! Okay! Jeez! I’m moving. No need to get physical.” You mutter the last part as you trudge to your own room, looking for an easy outfit you could wear out.

Once the both of you were dressed, you waiting on Lindsey as she tried to fix her make up, you called an uber and made your way to the nearest shopping center. Lindsey was determined to get an outfit that went with one of their music videos. You just wanted to get like a pair of comfy pants and a cotton shirt. You knew you would get hot and stiff after a couple hours and wanted to be comfy.

After the first store you had what you wanted, even finding a BTS shirt to wear to the concert, you were waiting on Lindsey. After the sixth store you walked in, you were starting to feel kind of tired.

“Hey babes, you’re just needing accessories now, right?” You asked her, getting a nod in return as she holds two necklaces up to her neck.

“Okay. Well do you mind if I go get a pick me up or something? I’ll bring you back your favorite?” You ask, knowing she’s also probably starting to feel a little drained after working all day.

“Yes please! I’ll send you the money!” She says as you walk off, just waving you hand at her letting her know that you’ve got it. Her coffee order was only like three dollars anyways.

You leave the store and make your way to the nearest café, finding one only a couple stores away thankfully.

Opening the door, the scent of coffee fills your senses and you move to walk in when you feel a tug on your pinky. Something you haven’t felt since you first got your string. You were startled and freaking out a tiny bit as you moved to the side and out from in front of the door.

You sat down, not even checking to see if anyone was sitting at the table before looking down at your pinky. You could feel your breathing pick up and your heart begin to race as you saw more than one string.

You had four strings, one leading back out the door out away from where you were. The other three were leading to a table on the other side of the café, one string in particular way thicker than the others, a darker red instead of the bright one that it would normally be.

You follow the strings and find three men, covered from head to toe and wearing masks, already staring back at you. You could see their eyes were already wide, probably watching you walk in.

You were frozen as the men walked over to you, the thicker red string belonging to the man wearing the long black coat, a ball cap on his head and covering his face. The other two seemed to match in a way, their color scheme going together as they both wore varying shades of beige. Even their shoes matched, making you want to smile a little.

They sat down on either side of you, with darker string sitting on the chair opposite you. You were boxed in, and it made your fight or flight responses activate. No one said anything, as if not wanting to break the atmosphere. It had your nerves standing on end and had you gripping your bag ready to flee.

As if sensing you ready to run, the man on your right spoke softly.

“We never thought we would find you. We went everywhere, looked everywhere. We never once felt the string tug.” You could almost feel his sadness in your chest, tugging at your heart and making you want to move closer.

Despite the feeling in your chest, you couldn’t help but to feel that these men were familiar somehow, their voices and even now that they were sitting next to you, you thought you recognized them from somewhere.

“Please…say something. Anything.” You hadn’t realized you were sitting there, staring at the man across from you, silent. You didn’t even know what to say. You had pretty much given up the idea of not finding your soulmate after the fourth year of looking.

“I uhm,” You pause, noticing the man attached to the thicker string shudder as you started speaking. “I looked. I’m from a small town in the states and after a couple of years…I just figured fate was messing with me. I didn’t expect to have or meet my soulmate, let alone have more than one.” Your words resonated with them, and thicker string moved closer.

“What is your name?” You knew you were going to go crazy trying to figure out where you heard his voice before.

“Y/n L/n. I’m sorry if my Korean is bad. I’m still learning.” You notice the crinkle to his eye as he smiles underneath his mask. He pulls his mask down as he mouths your name.

That was his mistake, maybe. You recognize his face, and your own immediately widened in surprise. His dark gaze was locked to your own, and he tried to stop you from moving. He reached out quickly and gripped your hand in his own, the string pulling on your finger had entangled with his, as if ensuring you would bond.

You watched as he nodded to the other two, your string pulling as they moved their hands to move their masks slowly, giving you a couple of seconds before pulling them back up. You almost choked on your own saliva when you realized just who was sitting next to you.

You were sitting with Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Min Yoongi. You were connected to three members of your favorite band, with Min Yoongi being the one on the other end of the thicker, dark red string. His hand still gripping onto yours.

“No…It’s not possible. This has to be a joke. There is no way they could be connected to me.” You whisper under your breath, unaware that Jimin and Taehyung could hear you.

“Please. It’s not a joke. Why would you think that?” Jimin’s tone curious yet a little upset, the tugging at your heart making you rub at your chest with your other hand.

“I’m sorry. You don’t need to be stuck with me. I’m sure you probably are happy with your life the way it is. You could find someone so much better than me.” You apologize to the three men, not seeing the panic crossing their features as you try to tug your hand from Yoongi’s.

“What are you talking about?” Taehyung spoke up, moving to hold the hand still rubbing at your chest.

“You are our soulmate. There is no one better than you. Please, just let us go somewhere else, we can talk some more.” That was, unfortunately, the last thing on your mind as you panicked. You truly thought that they deserved someone else. That fate truly played a cruel joke on you, binding you to a couple of the men who helped you through every hard time.

“I can’t. That will just give me hope and I don’t think I could handle that.” You shake your head, trying to get them to understand. But they didn’t.

Yoongi couldn’t believe what he was hearing. You didn’t feel like you deserved them, deserved their bond. You thought that they deserved better, and it broke his heart. He wanted to know what was going through your head, needed to know who planted these thoughts so he could smack them. You were all they wanted; all they needed.

“I’m sorry. I uhm, I need to go.” You yanked your hands from their grip, almost falling back into your chair as you moved away from them. You were quick, dodging their hands and probably causing a bit of a scene as you ran from the café, trying to get back to the store where you hoped Lindsey would still be.

You could feel something tearing at your chest, the pain ricocheting as you tried not to sob.

Pain. Rejection. Hurt.

The need to go back to them tugging at your pinky, furthering the feelings in your chest.

You moved past the store after not spotting your red headed friend, scrambling to get your phone out of your bag.

“Where are you?” You choked out as you tried to quiet the sobs coming out.

“I’m waiting at the car. Are you okay? You sound like you’re crying. What happened?” She began to throw question after question at you, but you couldn’t even hear her through your heart pounding in your chest.

“Just please start the car, I’m almost there.” You answer back before ending the call. You could hear footsteps behind you, a couple of them as you maneuvered yourself through the crowd and out to the parking lot.

“Miss please! Wait.” Someone yelled after you, making you begin to run to where the Uber waited. You throw yourself into the car, almost landing on Lindsey as you did so.

“Please drive.” You ask the woman in the driver’s seat, who promptly pushed on the gas and drove away from the pick-up area before the large looking men could get to the car.

“Um, please tell me you didn’t just steal from a store. Orange would not look good on you.” Lindsey broke the tense atmosphere, referencing the color that prisoners wear within the states.

“I charge extra for getaways.” The woman driver spoke up, causing laughter to break out from everyone.

“No uhm, I met my soulmates.” Your words ended the laughter, Lindsey looking at you in shock.

“That bad, huh? No wonder you needed a getaway car.” Your uber driver spoke again, making you nod, looking out the window like you were in a sad music video.

“More like too good to be true.” You whisper to yourself, looking down at the strings attached to your finger.

Fate could be so cruel.

-*-*-

“So, tell me what happened again?” Lindsey asked for the third time, and you knew it was because she was trying to make you regret every decision you’ve ever made.

“I don’t know. I panicked to the extreme. I told them they deserved better and that I practically wasn’t worthy of them.” You had your head in your hands, knees up to your chest as you shook your head.

“Why would I say that? It’s not like they were going to accept the bond anyways?” You muttered only to be hit over the head by another shoe.

“Ow! What the heck Linds?” You scream at your friend, who was holding the shoe up again, ready to hit you for the second time. You held your hands to the back of your head, protecting you from the oncoming assault.

“You are stupid and when you are being stupid, sometimes you need a manual restart.” Lindsey states with no emotion, before hitting you again.

“I’m not a car or a computer Lindsey!” You rip the shoe from her hands, making her lunge for the other one.

“Well then, don’t act stupid and I won’t hit you.”

“I’m not being stupid.” You mumble back, pouting as you bring your hands to your chest,

“Babes, you are. You literally told your own soulmates upon meeting them that you didn’t belong with them, as if fate didn’t match you herself.” You cringed, knowing that’s exactly what happened.

You groan as you lay back into the back of the couch. You know you were being impulsive and blunt when you met them, your fight or flight responses kicking in, but you couldn’t, wouldn’t take it back. You knew you were right. You didn’t belong with them.

Everyone knew that BTS were a bonded group. It was a huge deal when it was announced, especially before their enlistment. Army was rallying together to make sure they were put together within the same unit.

You being bonded with three members would tear everything apart. And given the thicker red string attached to Yoongi, you knew something was different with your bond. You didn’t know what, but you felt that it would ruin whatever bonds he had with the others.

They were happy together. They had been bonded for over a decade, in a relationship for just as long and you couldn’t interfere in that. You would be the awkward outsider they would be forced to have contact with. You didn’t want that.

“Here is what we are going to do. We are going to go to the concert tomorrow. We are going to have fun celebrating your birthday. And we are going to make sure you see your men again. Ahh! Don’t interrupt me.” Lindsey pointed her finger at you when you moved to open your mouth.

“They are your men, and I would bet my soul that the entire group is connected to your string.” You rolled your eyes, receiving another shoe to the head.

“They’re not even gonna want to see me after what happened. They probably think that I don’t want them now.” You take the other shoe from her grasp, not wanting the concussion she was bound to give you if she continued.

“Didn’t you say they looked everywhere for you? Didn’t Taehyung say they wanted you? Honey, I’m sure if they said it, then they want you.” You wish you could be as sure of their feelings as Lindsey was. You thought that they didn’t want you or wouldn’t want you once they got to know you. They would see how plain you really were and reject you.

“Can we just drop it, please.” You were now overwhelmed and exasperated, practically digging the palm of your hands into your eye sockets.

“Fine. But once you bond with them, then I can say “I told you so” and you owe me some cool merch.” You hear her walk to her room and close the door.

You had been going over what happened last night, practically the entire day. Ruminating over every single thing. You couldn’t get over the way Yoongi looked at you when you ripped your hand away. Every time you closed your eyes, you saw the panic in Jimin’s eyes as you shot up out of your chair.

You were so out of it that even your host teacher questioned you. She had taken you aside between classes and asked if you were okay and if you needed to go home early. You had assured her that nothing was wrong, that you just couldn’t sleep the night before, and received a slow nod in return.

Tomorrow, your students had planned a ‘surprise’ party for you, and then you would be able to go home, courtesy of your host teacher who made sure you had gotten the afternoon off. It would be the first birthday you had away from home, and it made you a little sad. You always spent the day with your mom, doing your tradition of getting coffee and going window shopping where she would inevitably buy you a new shirt.

But now, you would spend it with your students, and then at a concert where your soulmates would be performing, slightly hoping they wouldn’t figure out you were there. But also, secretly wishing they did see you.

You secretly hoped they did want you. Despite everything you were thinking. You didn’t care who your soulmate was, you just wanted to be wanted, for once. You hadn’t felt that before, from any kind of romantic endeavor you’ve tried to pursue.

You wanted to know what that bond felt like, the red string becoming knotted with the other end, keeping your soul entirely bonded with the one fate tied you to. It was always something you thought about. But now seemed entirely too impossible given who fate decided to cruelly tie you to.

-*-*-

“Do you think she bought this to go to our concert?” Jimin asked his mates, holding up the shopping bag you left at the table, the single BTS shirt and pants held within.

Once they got home after running after you with some of their security, they rushed to tell the rest of their bonded group what happened. They all agreed that they needed to find you, convince you that you were more than enough for them. It hurt them a lot to know that you thought you weren’t worthy of being with them.

But no one was as hurt as Yoongi was, who hadn’t stopped looking at his own red string since he realized you were gone. All they had was your name and the shopping bags you left behind.

“We can’t assume that, Minnie.” Namjoon said as he paced the kitchen, making Jin, who was stress baking, freak out as he almost knocked over a tray of cookies.

Jimin glanced over to Yoongi, and then at his own string leading out the door and to you. None of them had slept that night, all worried over finding you. They spent countless hours looking for you on social media, hoping to find any inkling of information on you. All they could find was a couple old Instagram posts from when you were a teenager. Nothing that would lead them to you now.

“We can’t assume she didn’t.” Hoseok spoke up from his spot next to Jungkook, both watching their soulmates stress in their own ways. Jungkook had just gotten back from the gym, sweat and all before curling up next to Hoseok. He could notice the red eyes of his younger soulmate, hating the fact that he was crying.

“Let’s just assume she is going to the concert tomorrow. What would we even do about it?” Taehyung asked the group, everyone pausing in their step as the question sunk in.

“Well, the ticket would have to be associated with a name. We can always make sure that the people who take her ticket alert us if she showed, what her seat number is.” Namjoon started, his thoughts moving miles per hour as he tried to think of ways he could make sure you were theirs before the night ended.

They waited so long for you and they weren’t going to let you leave just because you thought you weren’t good enough for them.

“If she doesn’t already have front row, we upgrade her ticket.” Jin proposed getting nods of approval from everyone.

“We bring her backstage after the concert. Have a member of our personal security stand by her at all times.” Yoongi spoke up this time, his instincts taking over. Yoongi was protective, maybe even slightly possessive of his soulmates, and you were no exception. In fact, Namjoon theorized it would be more so with you, given you were his special bond partner.

Each of the members have a thicker, red sting connected to their main bond member. Within bigger soulgroups, always with an even number of people, there will always be two members who have a special bond. They will be ultimately closer to their bond partner, romantically, physically, spiritually. It gives you someone to connect with, to always have by your side.

This doesn’t mean your other string bonds are any less significant. Fate just wanted her bonds to never feel alone, which can sometimes happen within big groups.

And Yoongi had been waiting for you for a long time.

He wouldn’t let you slip away again.

-*-*-

“You know, we would have been there already if you had an outfit picked out and didn’t spend like, six hours choosing a single top.” Lindsey chided you as you waited in the line to enter the stadium.

It was finally the day of the concert and you were literally shaking in your shoes with nerves. You didn’t know what to expect and it was driving you crazy. You couldn’t find the clothes you bought for the concert so you spent almost your entire day trying to figure something else out, settling for a simple black t-shirt and a pair of jeans.

“I know. I know. I just can’t believe I already lost the shopping bag.” You shake your head before moving forward.

It took another fifteen minutes before you were at the front of the line, giving your ticket to the man at the head of the line. When you handed it to him, you noticed for a split second that his eyes widened, before smiling at you and printing out your stub.

“Thank you. Enjoy the show.” You nodded at the man, a little suspicious but nonetheless moved forward through security. You looked at the ticket stub while you waited for Lindsey, growing confused as you looked at the seats.

You were now entirely in the front row, only feet away from the main stage. Originally, you were about three rows back and to the side. Something had to have gone wrong. A misprint or something.

“Hey Linds? What seat are you?” You ask once she gets to your side, the both of you beginning the walk to your seats.

“Uh, row 1A, seat 3.” She read aloud, now standing shocked with you as you were seat 4.

“What if—” You cut her off.

“No. There is no way. Don’t even think about it.” You knew she was going to say that they knew you were here. But it’s not possible.

“It has to be a coincidence.” You stated, reassuring yourself but making your friend grin at you.

“Yeah, a coincidence all right.” She drawled out as she grabbed your hand and dragged you to your seats. She wasn’t going to complain if your soulmates decided to upgrade your seats. She was just along for the obvious ride.

It wasn’t your first concert, but you were amazed all the same as you looked around the stadium. It was an open stadium, and the stage was immense. You could see the butter music video playing in the background as different groups of armies sang along.

The stadium was slowly but surely beginning to fill as you were only minutes from the sold-out show starting. You gripped your army bomb close to your chest as you sat down in your seat. Now that you were there, and only inches from the gate that separated you from the stage and security team, you could feel yourself begin to shake.

It was like you could feel eyes on you, watching you. You felt immensely perceived and you didn’t like it. Looking past Lindsey who was chatting with the girl next to her, talking about their biases, you noticed a group of security just a couple of feet away, talking about something that seemed important before you realized they kept glancing at you every so often.

Now you had an idea of what was going on.

“How do they know…?” You whispered to yourself as the lights went down and the concert started, the boys walking on stage and going right into their intro. You couldn’t even focus on the stage as you looked over to the security member now stationed only a foot away from where you stood.

Lindsey noticed your stiffness and held your hand that wasn’t holding the army bomb.

“Hey, we can go if you want. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable the entire time.” Lindsey could see you fighting with yourself. All she wanted for you was to be happy, to see that you deserved everything good in life, but you were too stuck in the past. You were caught in the old relationships, filled with name calling and blaming.

She hoped she didn’t push you too far.

“No, I’m—I’m okay. I just need a second.” You squeezed her hand before sitting down and moving to open the bag you brought. It had your little hand lotion, something you always used when you were anxious.

Rubbing the shea butter scented lotion on your hands, you let your muscle memory take hold, giving you nothing to think about. At times like this, you needed something to do where you didn’t have to think, didn’t have to be in control of everything.

You were sitting for a couple of minutes, trying to calm your breathing so you could enjoy the rest of the concert. You didn’t even know, as you had your head down, that your assigned security member was looking at you, growing worried. Yoongi was also glancing your way whenever he could, trying not to be suspicious.

Your safety was important to them, and he didn’t want to start something with army when he couldn’t explicitly protect you. He had of course been notified that you had come, right after you had your ticket scanned. They all knew where you would be seated, somewhere they could easily find you and watch over you.

Due to the connection and type of string between you two, Yoongi’s instincts were in overdrive. He was naturally possessive and dominant, and it bothered him that he couldn’t be near you during the concert. He had to perform. It helped that he knew you would be in his arms by the end of the night, he guessed.

-*-*-

No matter what you did, you couldn’t get your body to calm down. You didn’t even notice the now seven strings leading to the men on stage. Your body seemed to be in an uncontrolled state, your breathing erratic and your heartbeat unstable. You couldn’t tell if you were having an anxiety attack, a panic attack, or both. Maybe even something else entirely.

“I need to go to the bathroom.” You tell Lindsey before you are moving through the crowd, away from the stage and towards the way you came in, remembering that you passed a bathroom. You were practically stumbling, a few people you passed asking if you were okay.

You threw the bathroom door open when you go to it, not caring if anyone else was in there. You were struggling to breath at this point, the pain in your chest excruciating as you tried to move even more forward. It seemed you were stuck at the door, a tugging on your finger keeping you from moving any further.

Looking down, you saw red; seven rest strings leading behind you. A cry left your lips at the sight, the number of strings hitting you and making you realize that Lindsey was right. You used the wall for balance as you practically fell to the floor, black spots dancing in your vision.

A cold laughter came from your lips, filling the empty space of the bathroom as you sat in front of the now closed door.

Of course, you thought.

You watched as the strings attached to your finger tugged again, trying to bring you to the other end. Tried to bring you closer to the fate you were determined to hide from.

There were so many people more deserving of them. How could there not be. You wouldn’t fit in with them. You would only ruin what they have, so you couldn’t understand why fate was so determined.

Your body was now refusing to move, leaving you stranded on the floor in front of the bathroom. Looks like even fate didn’t want you to escape.

“Hey, are you okay?” You see a pair of sneakers walk into your vision before the person bends down. The man seemed about your age, with a nice smile and glasses covering his freckled nose.

“Uh, not really. Fate is an ass.” Your sarcasm makes the man chuckle. You watch as he sits down in front of you, his back leaning against the opposite wall. Its only now you notice the badge around his neck.

“Well, Miss, do you need me to call the medical staff? It doesn’t seem like you can really use your neck there.” He at least seems a little concerned, even more so when you reply, “Or my legs, good sir.”

“Well, it seems like I will be carrying you over to medical then, doesn’t it.” He gets up, moving quickly to place an arm behind your back and one under your slightly bent legs before picking you up.

He starts walking down a long hallway before turning the corner.

“So, running from a soulmate, I see.” His voice is questioning and you are almost certain it was accompanied by a raised eyebrow.

“More like trying to.” He doesn’t say anything else, only hums at your answer to which you were thankful. He could see you didn’t want to talk about it.

You were about to turn another corner when someone called out to you.

“Hong! Have you seen a woman—” He cuts himself off when the person carrying you turns around, you in his arms. You are able to see the man as the security guard you guessed was assigned to you.

You watched as his eyes widened considerably before he starts forward.

“What happened? Oh no. The boys are going to kill me if something happened to her.” The guard, Hyunsoo, mutters loud enough for the both of you to hear as he tries to take you from the man, Hong’s, arms.

“What boys? What are you talking about.” Hong asks, moving back from the guard, keeping you secure in his arms. “I was just about to take her to the medical room. She is experiencing the soul tug and was stuck to the floor in front of the bathroom.”

Ahh, you think, that makes sense now.

The soul tug happens as it is intended; to force the bond holders to make the connection. It makes the string connecting you taught and keeps you from fleeing from the bond, like you were trying to do. However, it only happens when one of the people within the bond have already accepted it. Meaning, the boys have already accepted the bond.

Which explains the pain in your chest and the way your body movement just shut down, rendering you unable to move. You guess the string only gave you so much leeway before it brought you back.

“If Mr. Min saw you carrying her, you would need the medical room.” The guard’s words were blunt, but a little worrying.

“Mr. Min? You don’t mean…” Hong visibly paled as he looked down at you, his mind making the connection you didn’t want to say. His grip loosens as Hyunsoo takes you from his arms.

“I don’t need to remind you of the NDA you signed, do I, Hongmin?” The man who found you shook his head quickly, before looking down at you once more and walking away. You could almost see his body shaking as he did so.

Still unable to move your neck, you grumble into the guard’s chest.

“So, how’s it goin?” You ask, your brain’s defense system seeing sarcasm as its only choice.

Next Part

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reikamasama · 2 months

Text

𝙰 𝚂𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑 𝙾𝚏 𝚆𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚘𝚖 ? 𝘐

Pairing ; Hazbin hotel X G/N Teen!Reader

Warnings ; mentions of death !

Word count ; 4.4 k

Summary ; You are now one of the many sinners, joining them 6 feet under. You stumble upon a kind lady who helps you navigate through hell.

ೃ⁀➷ Prologue, ꕥ Chapter I, ꕥ Chapter II

It was another hellish day, the streets were buzzing, sinners were fighting and the rats were scurrying. A rotting scent lingers through the air from the unclean streets and unkept sinners, mixed with the fires throughout the city. The atmosphere reeks of negativity, probably one of many reasons that kept sinners dwelling on their past, before they went and made their way to the pearly gates only to be rejected — and fall to join eternal doom. You may have believed this day would be like any other, but there was something unusual about this day; a certain star had fallen from their grace. Their soul being rejected peace, and were now joining the fiery pits of hell.

⋇⊶⊰ ⊱⊷⋇

You feel a warm sensation wrapping around your body, the feeling was that of a warm blanket, something telling you that everything was going to be okay. That feeling was short lived as you hear a soft ‘thud’ followed by that comforting feeling being replaced with an uncomfortably negative one. Not only were you feeling uncomfortable — your nose also caught a horrible smell of rotting trash! You scrunch your nose as you take slow, controlled and rhythmic breaths trying to get your nose to get used to that god-awful smell.

You shift feeling uncomfortable in your current state. You could feel yourself sitting on some kind of hard pavement, or some kind of rocks. Probably a street of some kind.. then why couldn’t you hear any voices? Are you on an abandoned street of sorts perhaps? Okay, okay—Pause! The thoughts in your head stop brewing while you tell yourself ‘not to create more questions for yourself’. You gently lift your hands, up to your face. You let your fingers rub your eyelids gently, as they seemingly don’t want to cooperate with you, wishing for them to open.

You slowly feel your eyelids opening allowing you to scan the current location you were in. As your eyelids flutter you let your eyes wander. You quickly notice of a theme with where you were, there were two pink buildings on either side of you. The buildings had matching structures, and there was a filthy trash can to your left. Oh! That would explain the lack of noise.

Your eyes keep scanning your surroundings, you can for sure say that you are not in some area you have been in before.

Breath in— yuck, there’s that smell again.. your eyes land on the trash can and you notice how overfilled it is. We are talking months worth of trash. The trash wasn’t something of the ordinary but it had a horrible sent that liked to linger. You squint your eyes not being able to make out what was in the trash but you pay it no mind. You had to drop your curiosity for now.

All you needed was a main goal, right! A goal..

How about asking the first person you see questions about this place.. in other words, gathering as much information you can you can about this place. You loose yourself in thought, letting your fingers trail the lines between the pavement subconsciously. You let out a content ‘hm’ to yourself, pleased with the current plan. You look down at your hand that has been tracing the lines between the different rocks in the pavement. Wait, what-!

Your eyes widen as you see your arm, why is it not your usual color? Actually, why is it not a normal color at all! You go into panic to mode swiftly stand up. This has got to be some kind of dream, or- or! Maybe it’s just the light, you are sitting in the shadows of a dark alleyway after all maybe-! You stumble once you’re on your feet, you lean against the wall. The cold sensation of the wall cools your senses for a second, before you switch right back into panic mode. You feel your legs growing more wobbly as you stumble back down. There was nothing that sounded sounding more appealing, than curling up into a small ball and crying. Wishing for better days, tomorrow is another day after all.

That’s a sentence you’ve gotten used to telling yourself ‘Tomorrow is another day.’ It’s a sentence that has helped you trough thick and thin. When you had to deal with the woman you used to call mom, while studying.. just generally every other day at this point. You exhale with a shaky breath, tears building up, but before you were able to have a breakdown you hear a voice approaching you in a somewhat-normal pace. Breath.

“Dear, ..are you crying, are you alright?”

The tone of the voice sounded slightly worried. You could tell it was a woman trying to get your attention. She had a voice that radiated with confidence from that of an older lady, but also laced with kindness. You audibly inhaled, then exhaled trying to control your emotions as you look up at the lady speaking with you.

Your suspicions was correct, it was a woman. The lady had a very tall and slim figure accompanied with a beautiful long silky dress. The dress had short puffy sleeves, at the ends of the puffed sleeve continues a longer normal sized sleeve that ends right before the beginning of her palm. The lady had slender like fingers as well as a very slender neck with the dress reaching up to the very top of her neck. The woman had a pointy face, her teeth were sharper than the sharpest knives that you’ve ever seen and her eyes were completely blacked out. Even if her eyes were blacked out you were still able make out emotions in them. Your eyes traveled up to her oversized hat, it resembles a sun hat of sorts with a bunch of fluffy feathers sticking out from the top of the hat. The middle of the hat has a little skull with a cutie little heart next to it. The hat also had a beautiful pink rim— wait.. why doesn’t she look human?

You do a double take, the thing standing in front of you had a few resembling human features but nothing close to an actual human. Your confusion only grew but you had to remember your goal, figure out where you are.. you can ask more questions later! You take notice to the woman that was looking at you expectantly, probably awaiting some kind of verbal response. You keep your hands wrapped around your knees making sure the woman won’t get to close to you.

“Where am i..?”

You asked, you were surprised at hearing your own voice, it hasn’t ever sounded so panicked or weak before... A tone you are certainly not used to. The lady in front of you frowns slightly as she looks down at your scared form. Her voice turns into a more soft sounding one. Also making sure not to make any sudden movements to frighten you further.

“Ah, you must be new to hell correct?”

What —is she talking about.. hell? You’re in hell.? What the hell?? Well- to be fair you have just killed someone, and yourself. But hell? You never did anything wrong in your life, until there was that little mishap.

You were never one for religion, but apparently the concept of heaven or hell was true. There’s a brief second where everything clicks in your head, your strange appearance along with the smell.. the strange appearance of the women.

You nod your head slightly trying to follow that with a verbal agreement, but your voice doesn’t seem to cooperate with you. You close your mouth and you let out a barely audible sigh. The lady in front of you offers you a sad smile.

“Well then let me help you! The name is Rosie it’s a pleasure to meet you young fellow!”

The lady whom appears to be named Rosie does a little curtesy as she gives you a toothy smile.

“And who may you be?”

You let her question linger in the air for a second, how will it take before you’ll be able to talk, especially since your brain isn’t letting you.? You try your best, forcing out a quiet;

“I’m [Name], [Name] [Lastname]. It’s a pleasure to—“

Your throat begins to burn, or at least it feels like it. You yelp slightly. Swiftly lifting one of your free hands up to caress the sharp pain in your neck. You gently caress the pain back and forth. It takes a long second but at some point the pain begins to loosen up, the only pain left is a small throbbing in the middle of your neck. You find it ironic that the pain in your neck is where you stabbed yourself when you were alive. You suddenly remember the woman in front of you is still there, it’s quite rude not to finish your sentence you know.

“—meet you..”

She has a strange expression on her face, but she picked up on the pain in your neck and decided not to pry further.

“Oh my stars! I’ve never meet a young one like yourself with such manners! Why [Name] why don’t ya come with me? We can speak more of this over some tea! A cup of tea has never killed anyone, except my first husband ha ha!”

You now see Rosie standing in front of you with a toothy grin, showing off her sharp white teeth. Her eyes kind and warm as she laughs at her own joke. You find her humor entertaining. She reaches her hand down to your level. You look at her hand, surprised to meet someone this nice in hell. Maybe it’s all a trick? After all hell is supposed to be some kind of shit hole.. maybe you can’t trust her.? You hesitate accepting her hand, leaving her hand empty for a little. You go back and forth in your brain listing positives and negatives that were likely to happen had you accepted her hand.

You shake off your anxiety and decide that accepting her hand would be for the best.

Her hand smoothly lifts you up on your feet, you wobble but she keeps a steady grip on your hand keeping you grounded. You offer her a small smile as your eyes warily look around with every step the two of you take. Right as the two of you are about to exit the tightly fit alley you can make out what has been drenching the air in its horrid smell. It was flesh, months old flesh. You flinch slightly, eyes widening as you don’t know how to react. Rosie’s gaze follows yours, her gaze landing on the rotting flesh as well.

“I forgot to tell you where you are, how rude of me! Welcome to cannibal town dear. Here is where you can find the cleanest parts of hell! Well aside from the junk you’ve just seen I’ll get that fixed later! But I’m sure the rest of the town is fit to impress you!”

She smiles with pride while talking about her town. Rosie keeps a steady pace while the two of you exit the alleyway. You are now greeted with a more clear vision of this town, there are multiple buildings standing neatly next to each other. The buildings have a matching color scheme that contains a bunch of pinks followed along with the lighter pink accents resembling white. Everything has a vintage vibe and it fits really well and it leaves a good taste in your mouth! You also take notice to the sky, it’s a blood colored red. You’re not surprised as this is hell after all.

After a short walk around the ‘Cannibal town’ you aproach a large building, the building stood out from the rest. Its colors were rich having multiple shades of a brighter pink with pastel pink accents. The large doors were made out of stained glass and its shape was emerald like. Over the entrance you saw a huge sign with the words;

‘Franklin and Rosie’s’

‘Emporium’

You let the slim lady lead you up to the doors. Her slender fingers wrapping around one of the door handles as she gently opens the door leading you inside. You only walk into the large room after feeling Rosie’s urging hand on your back. The room had light pink walls and white flooring, it was the first time you had ever seen something that light-colored in all of hell..

You kept following Rosie. You look to your left and you see rows of glass displays, they were displaying a bunch of different body parts legs, arms, eyes and more. The display that really caught your attention though was a display with a bunch of pinkie fingers. They came in different colors, sizes and some even had accessories. You felt sick from these things being displayed so casually, you wanted to gag but you keep that to yourself not wanting to get on Rosie’s bad side. You can hear your foot-steps echoing as you make your way t the shop into a smaller more secluded area. Your head looks towards the and you’re presented with a beautiful round coffee table.

The coffee table was covered in a long black cloth. The cloth hangs down from the table forming a flower-like pattern. Each ‘petal’, or ‘bump’ on the cloth had a skull pattern embroiled into it. There were also frills at the beginning of each ‘petal’. On each side of the table you saw large chairs. The chairs had the same color scheme as everything else around this town.. mostly pinks with some lighter pinks or whites if you prefer, oh! But they did have a black touch to them! The chairs were very square like due to the cushions material that was used for them. The chairs had large skulls at the top of their crown.

On the table there was a light-pink tea set, the tea pot was filled with already brewed water. It was like fate knew you were gonna run into her.

You feel a hand gently nudging your back pushing you forward to the chair on the right side of the table. You stumble forward while looking at the chair in hesitation, your gaze lands on Rosie’s comforting face telling you it’s alright to take a seat. You take some steps forward and you let yourself sink down into the chair. It’s a very comfortable chair, made out of a very soft material, nothing you ever expected to feel in hell. But i guess if you live in hell you gotta make the most of it! You can’t help but feel a happy meeting such a kind soul in hell, you don’t want to think about what could’ve happened if you didn’t meet Rosie.

You straighten your back and place your hands on your lap as you watch her slink down in her chair. Your gaze follows her every move as she pours some tea into your cup and then hers. Some old manners you have ever been taught since the nick of time were keeping eye contact to show that you were playing attention to her. You do things like this subconsciously like a little mental list in the back of your head, smile, look the person your talking to, keep your hands in your lap not to take up much space, nod and chime in every once in a while — nobody likes a yapper. You get the picture. A long list of rules to make sure you present yourself in the best light.

Rosie curls her fingers around the cup handle, lifting the cup to her lips as she takes a sip of the steaming tea and lets out an audible laugh. “You sure know manners, kid! Have good parents growing up?” Her laugh echos trough the room as your shoulders stiffen, your smile drops ever so slightly. If Rosie wasn’t looking at your face she would’ve never caught glimts of your unpleased face from when she brought up your parents.

“Alright alright, i won’t pry.. but don’t feel any need to be so formal around me, you’re a good kid.” Your shoulders relax and only then you notice how tense you truly were. Rosie is offering you a comforting smile and you give her an apologetic smile in return. You shift in your seat making yourself more comfortable wondering where you’re gonna go from here.

“Now, i do believe we have a lot to talk about, i understand if any of this gets overwhelming — then you should tell me and we can take a little snack break, oh! Have you ever tried pinkie fingers? They’re a real treat when you try them—!”

“—No! Thank you Rosie, i belive I’ll be fine, I’m not ready to try.. cannibalism just yet..haha…”

Your voice sounds weak, and that sharp pain you felt earlier rises up from your throat to pay others visit. You want to yelp in pain, but the feeling of wanting make a good personal wins over your own comfort.

⋇⊶⊰ P A S T ⊱⊷⋇

“Smile, dear! Nobody will like you if you don’t show them manners!”

You sit on a small brown uncomfortable chair, a fancy tall golden mirror stands in front of you. Your mother’s hand rests on your shoulders with a soft grip as she smiles and looks into the mirror. You force that smile on your face, the smile your mom oh so much loves.

“Perfect, hands on your lap, sitting with a straight back.. good job dear!”

You always found her obsession with manners weird. You notice your mother’s grip on your shoulders loosen up as one of them moves to your chin. She has a cold smile that sends shivers down your spine.

“Never let anybody see you with frown, it doesn’t fit you, dear.”

⋇⊶⊰ H U R T ⊱⊷⋇

Your left hand is rubbing your neck gently as Rosie keeps ranting. Your hand reachers for the tea cup sitting on the matching plate. Your index finger and thumb wraps around the cup handle as you gently lift the cup and place it between your lips, sipping on what you believe is strawberry tea. The pain in your throat grows weak only leaves a small throbbing on your neck, you conclude that talking to much makes your throat hurt.

“Oh i get it, a kid like you would like to keep your figure! Oh im just kidding, it’s alright dear you don’t need to try cannibalism just yet! But the offer still stands, haha!

She snorts at her own joke as she takes another sip of her tea.

“On a more serious note, i would like to say that you shouldn’t trust anybody in hell, yes you might have trusted.. me but take that as a lesson. Oh! Also make sure not to make any deals— especially if it’s for your soul! It can make your (undead) life in hell well.. a living hell!”

Nodding you silently sipping on your tea showing her you are listening as she continues talking;

“There are a lot of things we can talk about, so how about i ask you something simple— something you might be able to answer right now.”

“How are you adjusting with your new body? I just wanna say kid you have gotten better luck than other sinners.”

Oh right your new body. You had been so caught up in everything you had completely forgotten about that. Your head tilts down, eyes catching glimpses of your hands. It feels unreal.. you place the teacup down on the table. Opening and closing your hands moving your fingers one by one. At least you aren’t struggling, but it’s still hard to take in.

You notice something that has been inching towards you from the corner of your eye. It’s Rosie’s hand with a small pocket mirror. She gently places it in your empty hand and you saw its pink flower theme. Your fingers linger over the smooth silver lining before you open the mirror.

The mirror shows you a frowning face, your face. Your mothers voice rings trough your head;

“Never let anybody see you frown my dear”

You give yourself a stiff smile letting your free hand trail up your face, softly brushing your fingers against your lips. Is it really you..? Your fingers move to your cheek as you gently tug on it. Your eyes wander around the mirror you find multiple features that remind you of your old face, the old you. You stare at your reflection and it stares back at you.. better get used to it. A sigh leaves your mouth before you close the flower themed mirror.

You place Rosie’s mirror onto the table, eyes still fixated on your new hands. Inhale, exhale, you take deep controlled breaths letting yourself take in what you just saw;

“I’m sure I’ll be able to adjust fine, I’m just not used to it that’s all. I was never a religious person either.. so when you told me i ended up in hell— i was quite suprised.. hah..”

Your hands fidget in your lap as you continue;

“I must thank you Rosie.. for helping me..with everything.!”

Your hands tightly grip onto your clothing looking up at her as you force a smile.

Rosie’s face lights up.

“I have barely helped you yet, dear — but you are most welcome! Now i have another question, why is such a young one as yourself down in hell? I’m not quite sure it was your time to die just yet.”

Your smile tenses, your body freezing in your tracks. Are you sure you can tell her? She has hinkt helped you so far.. but are you ready to tell your tale? Maybe you can..sugar coat some things! Possibilities fly around in your head.

“Well, let’s just say i decided to take the hard way out.”

Your answer stays vague, you don’t want Rosie to think you’re a weirdo— even if she is a cannibal.. maybe murdering is even crossing her own line? Does she even have any..? The bulging pain in your throat rises slightly but you ignore it for the time being. Rosie takes notice to the vague answer but doesn’t question it, she just offers you a little smile.

“I guess you wanted to kick the bucket early, eh? Well i won’t pry but if you ever need an ear I’ll lend one.”

Her smile just seems so warm and her actions seem so genuine, it reminds you of your music friends.. ah right you never got to say goodbye to them.

⋇⊶⊰ S M I L E ⊱⊷⋇

Laughter fills the diner. As Minori poke Yuki’s pouting cheeks. The atmosphere is a light one and it’s bubbling with happiness.

“Look at your pouting face! Someone’s maad!~”

“Well i wouldn’t be if someone wasn’t in my face all of the time!”

Yuki tries to get Minori off of her but after a failed attempt she crosses her arms, and only then Minori quits as she holds a cocky grin on her face. You alongside with Rinku giggle at the sight of the two bickering like children.

“Now let’s not be too loud and disturb the other guests!”

Rinku says as she pats Yuki’s head while holding in giggles.

“Boo your no fun!”

You all laugh in Minori’s protests as she sticks out her tongue.

⋇⊶⊰ N O ⊱⊷⋇

A real smile creeps onto your face as you think of them, happy memories of them quickly turn bittersweet ones but you can’t help keeping a happy smile while you think of them. Rosie’s smile grows as she sees your happy state. Her fingers tap alongside the tea-cup catching your attention as you stop daydreaming.

“So, [Name] you don’t have a place to stay do you?”

Your face perks up as you look at her eyes, you shake your head gently and you see her expression lightening up.

“Ah! Well I’ve got this suggestion! You see the Princess of hell has recently opened a hotel— and it’s one of a kind, she wishes to rehabilitate sinners just like yourself! The news may have been aired not long ago but it’s still the talk of the town! I also believe it’s a good thing for you, you deserve a second chance! You’re still a kid and hadn’t had time to experience everything the (under)world has to offer yet!”

Rosie keeps her content smile while looking your way. Suddenly she stands up as she walks over to a cabinet, the hinges whine as she opens them and starts looking for something;

“But it’s funny really, the hotel is a laughing stock of hell at the moment. At first she was only meant to promote her hotel on the news, but she burst into song! It was quite catchy if i do say so myself.”

Failing? Why would it, was she a bad singer? No..Rosie liked her song and you trust her judgement. You hear Rosie let out a content ‘aha!’ As she turns and walks over to you with a newspaper in hand. She flips through pages before landing on a certain one, place the newspaper on the table. Your eyes scan through the page and then you see the headline ’666 news disaster Charlotte Mourningstar makes a fool of herself on live tv’. The bold headliner makes you giggle slightly.

Rosie has a chipper tone, she’s enjoying gossiping about this topic a bunch it seems. Her offer was sweet really however you feel uneasy. You have just entered hell and you’re now gonna join a hotel? Are you really ready to start working on yourself when you barely know the rules of hell? No.. but an idea enters your mind. Maybe just maybe—

“Rosie, the offer sounds tempting really but i don’t believe I’m quite ready to work on myself just yet.. i was thinking maybe.. could i stay here.?”

You knew it was a selfish ask, but you really felt comfortable with Rosie, she was a kind lady and you knew you could trust her. If you were able to stay here— even only for a little it would mean the (under)world to you. Rosie places her index finger and thumb between her chin, as she considers your question.

After what felt like minutes she finally speaks up;

“I’ll tell you what, i offer you a place to stay and you help me around the parlor of the emporium! That charming attitude is sure to help my business! No contract necessary.”

You can’t help but light up at her offer, you felt lucky to have meet her, your hands clasp together as you offer her a bright smile;

“I’d love that!”

⋇⊶⊰ E N D ⊱⊷⋇

#Hazbin #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel rosie #hello rosie #rosie hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x y/n #hazbin hotel fanfiction #fandiction #husker x reader #angel dust x reader #hazbin x reader #hazbin x you

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shigayokagayama · 2 months

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The Beach Omake And Authorial Intent

initially i was going to save this for a big teru analysis i had cooking however i eventually ended up deciding that it would feel like a really long tangent in its original context and probably deserves a separate post.

when it comes to the whole "teru's parents" thing i generally see two competing ideas on it

a. terus absent parents are the real villains of mob psycho and are the direct cause of everything wrong with his life and any and all teru analysis must center around this fact

b. terus parents being absent in the first place is only revealed in an omake and only exists for plot convenience and is not something that should be focused on at all when writing him

and whenever i see either of these my mind always drifts to the question of authorial intent. i know how people are reading this information, but how are we supposed to? i know death of the author is becoming more of a common thing in fandom spaces (albeit usually misused) but i feel like a better understanding of why this omake exists and how we're supposed to read it might help to better synthesize two takes that seems to be completely at odds with each other.

okay first i want to go over the actual placement of the beach omake in the update schedule of the manga because, unlike most other omakes, i feel like this ones placement in the schedule of page releases is actually super relevant

the vast majority of omakes come at the end of weekly updates. you finish reading the usually 15-20 pages ONE put out and then you get a little bonus comic at the end, usually something funny or a slice of life but but occasionally more serious. multi part omakes are usually spread out over multiple updates, making you wait a couple weeks for a punchline.

beach omake is not that. between chapters 99 (mob gets hit by a car) and 100 (the whole rest of the omake) there was a 6 week hiatus from normal pages and in this hiatus is where we get beach omake. reading it all together immediately cuts away the sort of "slice of life sunday paper comic" tone other multi part omakes have and make you read it as a part of the actual main story, since that's how you're used to reading these weekly updates.

now the actual tone. generally the multi part omakes exist to be long punchlines and the rare emotional ones are a single page for maximum impact. beach omake has a very different structure compared to, say, the haunted doll omake or the pot of happiness.

off the bat from the first two pages there's not really a joke. the tone mostly seems kind of melancholic. mobs expression for the middle section of the second page (maybe purposely) is obscured by the panel breaking off, it's hard to tell his reaction, all our attention is directed at teru. with all of the panels taken up by dialogue (primarily his own), we're being asked to focus on what he's saying:

-teru lives alone

-he lives alone because his parents live overseas

-he hasnt seen them in a while

-he doesnt like having nothing to do

-he doesnt like being alone

all of this information is delivered with an extremely casual expression from him, implying that it's not something that seems ll the out of the ordinary for him. mob, on the other hand...

the hesitation before he says anything and the way his expression is obscured seems to imply something is... off... about this information to him. this isn't a handwaved "oh mob is walking home from school after passing out because he needs to for plot reasons", we're reacting to this information like it's weird.

the next two pages are, mostly, a lot more of what we expect out of a mob psycho omake. the first one works as a standalone joke page, teru is bad at identifying animals which leads to him showing reigen a roach, something reigen is terrified of, instead of a beetle.

the second page starts similarly, we get a dumbass joke about reigen trying to pick up women at the beach (note: i think this is the singular time we get an indication reigen is even into women) but then the next two panels take on a more melancholic tone again. we get a small panel of mob and ritsu playing on the beach and a much, much larger panel of teru sitting on the beach, watching them. the dialogue bubble forces us to pay attention to the fact that he is silent.

the ending of this omake is where we bring it home. generally the last panel centers the punchline of the page, or of the whole omake, but the final panel of this isn't really what was being built to in this case.

we start our second page on teru. his expression is obscured, reigens speech bubble is shoved to the side so we can see that teru's hat is being held in his hands.

when we see his face in full view he looks... confused. he looks like he doesn't know how to react to someone going through all this trouble for him. teru is a character who, up to this moment, we have seen as extremely independent. he always rushes into things alone, he always has to be the hero, he always has to be the one to save the day. hell, this omake is immediately followed by the confession arc. where... you know.

so what are we supposed to get out of this omake?

teru's been doing everything on his own up to this point

but he doesn't have to anymore

#mp100 #mob psycho 100 #teruki hanazawa #pic #edit: even though the hair makes this difficult to date timeline wise #i like to picture this as post confession arc #i feel like it makes the most sense

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writingquestionsanswered · 8 months

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How Much World Building is Too Much?

Anonymous asked: This question is on behalf of my cousin who came to me for advice. When he has an idea, he writes the most detailed worldbuilding EVER, designs the characters and has a general idea of how the story will go, but then when he starts writing he does maybe 2 chapters and it dies. I, on the other hand, do ZERO worldbuilding ahead of time (I don't need much) and end up finishing 80% of what I start out to write. How do you know how much worldbuilding is enough? How do you keep from spending so much time planning that by the time you get to writing, you don't know where you're going with the actual story? I want to help him but our styles are so different, I don't know where to start.💔

(Ask edited for length...)

I identify with your cousin a lot, because this is often how my stories go. I'm first inspired by a place, or the idea of a place, and everything sort of grows out from there. In my early days, I would also pour everything into world building and character creation, only to find myself falling flat with the story. And a big part of that, I learned, was that I didn't really understand how stories worked. It was easy to build a world and set up characters, but since I didn't understand story structure, I didn't understand how to flesh out the nugget of a story idea I had to go with that setting.

So, one thing you might do is try to get a feel for where your cousin is in that respect. You can start by asking pointed questions about the potential plot, and if he doesn't have answers already, it will help guide him in that direction. Some questions I would ask:

1 - Who is your protagonist? What is their "normal world" life like before things are turned upside down with the inciting incident?

2 - Who and what is important to your protagonist? (Stakes)

3 - What past experiences have led to them being who they are now?

4 - What needs to change about your protagonist's life, beliefs, or values?

5 - What happens to turn your protagonist's world upside down? (Inciting incident) Who (or what) causes this to happen? (Antagonistic force)

6 - How does this affect your protagonist specifically, and what goal do they decide to pursue in order to resolve the problem?

7 - What steps does your protagonist plan to take in order to reach their goal? What knowledge, skills, resources, or help must they acquire in order to achieve their goal?

8 - What obstacles does the antagonistic force create that the protagonist must overcome on their way to the goal?

9 - How do the events of the story help to change your protagonist's life circumstances, beliefs, or values for better or worse? How will they change by the end of the story?

10 - How does your protagonist face off against the antagonistic force, attempting to defeat them once and for all in order to reach their goal? Are they successful? What is the aftermath and how is the character's world/life changed--for better or worse--as a result of these events?

If your cousin can answer these questions, they'll have a reasonably well fleshed out plot that should help carry them through the story. How little or much planning of the plot ahead of time they need is something they'll need to discover over time, but if the above isn't enough to help them get through the story, they might want to go back and flesh out the specific plot points. You can point them in the direction of my post Creating a Detailed Story Outline, which suggest several different story structure templates they can look at to help them coax out the specific plot points of their story. And, bear in mind that story structure templates do not have to be followed exactly. They're just a guide to help you flesh out the story. Many writers like to combine different elements of different plot structures as a loose guide as they write their stories.

I hope this helps!

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otakubimbo · 1 month

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Checkmate

Yukuza Sukuna x F!Reader

Ch 3. Rules of The Game

Sukuna realizes that you were a tougher cookie to crack, what are his actual motives for not taking you in?

previous chapter | next chapter

You sat satisfied with yourself as you sipped on your cold brew, the disgustingly handsome man who invaded your space didn’t show up during your usual meeting in the park with the uncles. That was an even bigger win in your book, hopefully, he wouldn’t return. That was one of the few enjoyments you had left in this life, and you wouldn’t want it taken away by such an arrogant brutish man. This small victory of yours powered you into getting more work down than you had expected to that day. Your entire focus was on the materials in front of you and editing the structure of your dissertation. Since your attention was solely preoccupied with your work, you didn’t even notice the tuffs of pink hair that sat in the back of the café, eyes glancing at you every so often.

Sukuna realized that getting information out of you was going to be harder than expected, which is why he didn’t show up to play chess again. You weren’t going to show him any type of respect if you destroyed him again in a game and he wasn’t the type of man to be humiliated twice. After discussing the encounter with Uraume, they suggested that just kidnap you and torture you. It would be so much easier than this silly surveillance that everyone was doing, and now the king himself. That was usually his style anyway, kidnap and torture for any information that they had. There was a difference though with this situation, the Zenins were growing, and they weren’t making any moves that would constitute disrespect. They were expanding, pushing closer and closer towards his territory but not in it. Any type of interference with someone else’s family for what could seem like no reason would mean an all-out war between the two yakuza clans. And an all-out war wasn’t something that Sukuna wanted. He wanted to do this with the least casualties on his side as possible. On top of that, the brat Zennin hadn’t stepped out of his lane yet so there was no reason to be seeking out information directly. But he knew something was up, he could sense that there were plans in motion and you had to be involved, it was the only thing that made sense to him.

Even though, nothing about you was suspicious. That was the problem, you were such an outlier to the Zennin clan. You seemed strong and opinionated, but you were allowed to come and go from the compound as you pleased, you didn’t have any bodyguards, but it didn’t seem like you had a target on your back either. There had to be other clans who had taken notice of your presence at the compound, and he knew they must also have questions. It wasn’t like the Zennin to put trust or status in a woman, but it seems as if you earned that, that you had both of those things for that clan. It was with the way you carried yourself, you had to be. You had to be the key to Zennin's movements and the key to keeping his place as the head of the underground without going to war.

No one in the clan understood his motives to not go to war with the Zennins, it seemed like the most reasonable response. Even if it wasn’t a sign of outright disrespect for the Zennins to grow, the other clan was acting as if they didn’t know their place and that was disrespect enough. But Sukuna didn’t want to go to war, not because he didn’t think that he would crush them but because of someone. Yuji. His brother, Yuji. The boy didn’t have anyone besides himself and Choso, while Choso was off at college studying whoever knew what, Yuji was now his responsibility, and he was going to keep him safe while he was in his care. He and his parents kept that away from him since he was the youngest. Choso knew of course because if anything happened to Sukuna, he would be next in line and god forbid that would happen. Yuji was innocent and he was going to try to keep his innocence as long as he could if his actions put him in harm's way…… He already had enough blood on his hands, and he refused to let his brother be part of that death toll. Regardless, now here he was stalking you trying to figure out the best new way to approach you. He had no clue what you were doing, it looked like you were talking to someone through your headphones and everything you were writing was in English if only he could read what you were writing and what you were speaking about. Unfortunately for him, you were just talking to yourself and reading your own writing out loud. There were no secret plans or anything devious. Just a girl trying to get her PHD in order to fend off an arranged marriage.

….

You were really proud of the work that you accomplished in the last few days on your dissertation. That pink-haired man was already at the back of your mind since you hadn’t seen him since that day. Well, you hadn’t seen him, but he saw you. Every day at that, he saw you, watching your movements, seeing what people you interacted with. Uraume was annoyed by being left with all the tasks that were designated to the King of Curses, but Sukuna said that he would be the one to handle this and he didn’t trust anyone with this task but could only trust them with keeping things in order during his absence. On top of your surveillance, he had also been dusting off his chess skills. Surprisingly, the act of playing chess again helped with his decision-making when it came down to his actual business. He realized he couldn’t continue to just put all his efforts into what information that you held, but he needed to think deeper than this infiltrated into the Zennins differently, in a way that wasn’t directly attached to him. That’s what led him to have some of his underlings have their children apply for jobs at some of the fronts that the Zennins had. One thing a good Yukunza leader knew was to have valid fronts and that meant having to hire outside help. He hoped that one of the smaller-level bosses would slip out and get information out to an employee or two. Hopefully, the employees he planted.

But as of right now, he was back in the park, waiting for you. He knew you would show because his men said that you were walking in this direction. Something good must have happened to you because you seemed to be in high spirits, there was a pep in your step that wasn’t usually there before. As you approached the park, you had a smile on your face. All the pictures, all of the videos, all of the days watching you personally he had never seen you smile. And your smile? Not to sound cliché but it him it was almost blinding. He could see why these old men called you sunshine because when you smiled it was like looking at the sun itself. How could he not have seen you smile at all before? This was not what he was here for anyways. He needed information from you, that’s all that he needed. He could admit, he was a man after all that you were attractive. The pictures of you never did you any justice when he had finally seen you in person, your brown skin glowed in the sun, your coils were always perfectly messy sitting at the top of your head in a bun, your hips and thighs were full and voluptuous. But he’s seen plenty of women’s bodies, with and without clothing, but he had never seen or cared about a woman’s smile before right then. This was such an odd feeling for the King of Curses, and he almost felt himself feeling something out of character for him until your eyes fell on him and for a single second, he felt like a teenage boy again getting the attention from a pretty girl for the first time. Well, until realization crossed your mind and your smile instantly turned to a scowl, standing the hardened man from his uncharacteristic stupor.

At the sight of your scowl, he smirks that stupidly charming annoying asshole smirk of his which just deepens your scowl.

“Sunshine! Don’t look like that!”

“Smile! The boy brought us beer!”

“He said he wanted to get to know you, be nice. You need to find a good husband to settle down with anyway”

You resist the urge to roll your eyes so far back into your head that they may get stuck like that.

“Uncles, you know I have other things to accomplish before I find a husband.” You attempt to keep things light-hearted as you sit across from the man in question, knowing you wouldn’t be able to escape easily with them intoxicated like this. “Also, uncle, you should not be drinking, you just had surgery not too long ago. You are in no condition” your scowling going in one ear and out the other as one of them pushes his glasses back up on his face taking another sip.

“I am still young, and you are only young once!”

“Which is why she must find a husband before it is too late and she’s no longer so young and so beautiful, like my wife.”

The men around the benches and table laugh heartedly at the crude joke, whereas you just shake your head in disappointment.

“We want to see you play! Beat him again instead of us!”

“Yes yes, play him! Win her heart over by not losing son!” One of the uncles’ slaps Sukuna on his back as they all roar with laughter. Sukuna smirked at you again as he made the first move, goading you into playing with him and you took the bait.

Winning you over is what he does, well kind of. His strategy was miles better than when you played him originally, he played now as if you were an equal to him. He played as if he knew winning wasn’t the only option. You respected like, you liked that, and he was playing well. The dumb mistakes that he initially made last time weren’t even there anymore. He was taking this game as seriously as you always do and you were impressed, there were a few moves of his that actually made you think, made you have to move not on autopilot but with thought and caution. You still beat him of course but you had to put some thought into it, and you hadn’t had to do that in so long, winning was second nature to you at this point and this was almost considered a challenge. Unfortunately, you were impressed. He didn’t even look shocked or devastated by his loss as he did the last time.

“It was a pleasure playing with you again, sunshine” he said with an unexpectedly respectful tone. You gather your things, standing up before you respond, looking over your shoulder like you did the last time you saw him but instead of the arrogant sneer you had on your face this time, it was a soft look that made the man blink for a second.

“You can call me, Y/N”

That’s the last thing you said before you walked off from him again. He’s finally got it, he’s finally got your name, and now he needs more information about you. Any information. But most importantly, the one thing he couldn’t forget was what your importance to the Zennin clan was and what information you had on them for him to take them down.

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tigergirltail · 2 months

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TIGER HRT CHAPTER 1 - MONTH MINUS 6 - THE CONSULTATION

The specialest of special thanks to @ayviedoesthings for creating the original Dragon HRT story, and a big shoutout as well to @kaylasartwork, @welldrawnfish, @nyxisart, and @deadeyedfae for their takes on the concept! Every one of you is inspirational, and your work gives me so much second-hand gender euphoria!

---

"Miss Alexis, please come in."

I look around as I walk inside. Between the doctor being a balding middle-aged man and the office looking like any generic doctor's office, I'm honestly a little disappointed. I was hoping the infamous source of therian HRT would be a little more… I don't know. Exotic? Unique? I was half expecting the walls to have before and after photographs of clients, but I suppose when it comes down to it, this is a serious medical facility, not a beauty salon. I walk up to the desk and sit down in the chair.

"Now I understand you wish to be a… a tiger?"

I'm unable to suppress my euphoria at the idea, and I start grinning and nodding. "A white tiger! I haven't changed my fursona since I got one, it's about time I start embodying it!"

"Indeed… And I see on your medical history that you are transgender." He mutters under his breath, "Just like all the others…"

I give a little smirk. 'All the others' are the reason I'm here. If this guy is handing out meds that can turn people into dragons or fish or bats, then a tiger should be easy, right? It's a mammal, and not much bigger than a human, relatively speaking. I had even given some thought to the rumoured "Fifteen Minute Shortcut", but when it comes down to it, even if I did have the ungodly pain tolerance to withstand such a rapid transformation of my bone structure and musculature, I… don't really want to do it quickly. Mundane HRT has already been such an absolute gift in terms of euphoria from noticing the slow and gradual changes, I want to keep that up. I want to notice the little things.

"Now I'm afraid there are some requirements to be settled first…"

Oh boy. Here comes the bureaucratic bullshit. Everything that's been put in place to make sure Our Children don't Make A Terrible Mistake. When it comes down to it, bodily autonomy only counts when you're not one of the weirdos. The instant you decide to be capital-d Different, people start falling over themselves trying to talk you out of it.

"First of all, I see that you have been taking human hormone therapy for a little over six months. We do require a full year of human treatment before beginning therian treatments, and I'm afraid that is fully non-negotiable. There are matters of biology that require the body to be a certain degree of… receptive."

I was afraid of this, but at least it's not a deal-killer. Another half-year is bearable, even if I am going to be shaking with anticipation the entire time.

"I also see you have letters from a practicing physician and a social worker, but we do require a second psychologist to be involved in the process."

Okay. Absolute horseshit, but not impossible. All I've got to do is find another social worker or psychologist. And pay them for several months of sessions. And hope they don't decide I'm crazy for wanting to throw away my humanity. I can feel my expression souring…

"It's also required to live as your desired species for at least a year before beginning the process."

"What." I'm leaning forward and glaring at the doctor before I fully realize it. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that, without the… the requisite biology, or the inborn instincts, or the… the habitat!" I let out a frustrated growl. "Am I supposed to fly off to India or Bangladesh or somewhere, and start camping out in the wilderness??"

"Miss Alexis, please, I'm afraid these are… are the requirements set forth by the guidelines of -"

"Guidelines!" I slam a palm down on the desk between us, before letting out a frustrated breath. "Just that… Guidelines. You know, and I know, that a lot of people have come to you already, with a lot more… exotic requests. Flying animals? Aquatic animals? A fucking DRAGON??"

The doctor seems taken aback, maybe he didn't expect this level of resistance.

"What is even the natural habitat of a dragon anyway? Or the diet? Or the behaviours in the wild?? It's a mythical creature for gods' sakes, there's no firm evidence they even existed!!" I stare at him, unblinkingly, with what I dearly hope is a predatory glare. "But I do get it, though. You have to be absolutely sure I won't regret it. Liability, or whatever. …Maybe we just need to know how hard I can BITE."

Something changes in his expression. ...Malice? No, not quite. A sort of… satisfaction, maybe.

It was a test. He wanted to know whether I'd just roll over and accept the impossibility of my quest, or whether I was prepared to fight for it.

Joke's on him, just getting human HRT was such a godsdamned hassle, I already know how to fight.

He adjusts his glasses. "Perhaps there is something I can do for you… Let me get you some forms."

#tiger hrt #therian hrt #animal hrt #transgender #trans #furry hrt

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tonyspank · 10 months

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CHAPTER FOUR | RECKLESS

Tara Carpenter x G!P Reader x Female OC

Warnings: a lot of violence, some death, zombies, angst, smut, just a field of emotions tbh + this is almost 10k words

A/N: i hope this chapter makes sense i tried to do different points of view but it kinda sounds silly (and i used grammarly to edit this) also! after this is the epilogue

series masterlist | main masterlist | previous chapter | next chapter

You point at a certain mark on the map, triggering Chad to sigh, and shake his head. "Chad, we have to go past here, or we're going to go back home empty-handed. Chad sighs again, his expression filled with frustration. "I know, but what if we keep looking here? We could've missed something."

You clench your jaw, "We've been searching here for the past three weeks, Chad." Chad looks down at the map, contemplating your words. After a moment, Wes speaks up, joining in the conversation. "Maybe it's time to consider exploring other areas. There's a chance that we might find what we're looking for elsewhere."

Chad looks up, contemplating Wes's suggestion, before finally nodding in agreement. "Alright, let's broaden our search and see if we have better luck in a different location." Finally agreeing on another area to search, you all get back into the truck, hoping to find enough to feed your community.

There's been a shortage in the community's inventory. It seems like food is just not as plentiful as it used to be. Despite their best efforts, the current location hasn't yielded enough resources to sustain everyone.

People are getting frustrated due to their hunger, and tensions are starting to rise. It's crucial to find a new location with abundant resources soon, as the community's well-being depends on it.

The thought of returning empty-handed fills you with dread, knowing that it would only fuel the growing unrest among your fellow community members. You silently pray for a stroke of luck and that this new location can provide the nourishment your people desperately seek.

When you arrive, you notice Chad's uneasiness. "You okay?" you ask, concerned. Chad hesitates before answering, "I'm just worried about what we'll find here. We've been disappointed before, and I don't know if we can handle another setback." You understand his fears and reassure him that together, you will face whatever challenges lie ahead.

You grip your pistol tighter, ready to defend yourself and your group if necessary. Chad hops out of the car, with you and Wes following behind him. "Walker to our left," you announce, keeping your voice low.

Wes nods at you, silently jogging over to kill the flesh-eating creature before it becomes a threat. Chad scans the area, his eyes darting between the abandoned buildings and overgrown vegetation, searching for any other signs of danger.

You take a deep breath, the weight of the situation settling in as you prepare for the unknown lurking in the shadows. The tension in the air is obvious, but you trust in your group's abilities to navigate this risky panorama.

"Let's check out that building ahead." You suggest, pointing towards the best-looking structure that appears to be relatively intact. Chad nods in agreement, and together you cautiously make your way toward it, keeping a watchful eye for any potential dangers that may arise along the way.

You reach for your flashlight, illuminating the room with a beam of light that reveals the remnants of a once vibrant space. Dust-covered furniture and torn wallpaper hint at the life that once thrived here, but now only silence and emptiness remain. Chad scans the room, his eyes darting from corner to corner, searching for any signs of danger.

A sudden creaking noise echoes through the stillness, causing your hearts to skip a beat. Chad instinctively grabs your arm, his grip tightening as you both freeze in anticipation. Slowly, you turn towards the source of the sound, ready to face whatever awaits you in this mysterious place.

You relax, it was only a walker. Its decaying body lurches towards you, its hollow eyes staring blankly ahead. Chad raises his knife, ready to defend both of you from the threat. With ease, he kills it, sending it collapsing to the ground.

"Guys," you both turn your heads to Wes, who stares at a map nailed to the wall. "Look at this," Wes says, pointing to a marked location on the map. "It's marked food." You and Chad approach Wes, inspecting the map closely. "Yeah, but what if it's a trap?" Chad says, eyeing the map suspiciously.

"We can't afford to take any chances," you respond, considering the possibility. "But if it's true, finding a source of food could be a game-changer for us." Wes nods at your words.

"I agree," Wes says, his voice filled with hope. "We've been scavenging for weeks, and our supplies are running dangerously low. Plus, if it were a trap, whose would it be? It's a dead zone out here." Chad's skepticism wavers slightly as he contemplates the potential benefits.

He looks at the map again, tracing his finger over the marked location. "If there's even a small chance that we could find a reliable source of food, it might be worth the risk," Chad admits reluctantly.

You can see the weariness in his eyes, the exhaustion from weeks of uncertainty and constant danger. But there's also a glimmer of hope, a flicker of desperation that makes him willing to entertain the possibility.

"Okay, fine. But in and out, we'll park the car outside the warehouse, load it up, and then leave." Chad's voice trembles slightly as he lays out the plan, his determination masking his underlying fear.

He knows that every decision they make now carries immense consequences, and the thought of being caught in a vulnerable position gnaws at him. However, the prospect of securing a stable food supply for the community pushes him to take this calculated risk.

"Alright." You smile and say, "Let's do this." Wes smiles, checking to see if his AR is fully loaded and ready to go. Chad can't help but smile as well, holding up his hand. "High five!"

You playfully roll your eyes before meeting Wes and Chad in a three-way high five.

"In and out," Chad repeats, you nod, kicking in the warehouse door. The door swings open, and the three of you step inside, ready to execute the plan with precision and efficiency. The dimly lit warehouse stretches out before you, filled with crates and shelves that hold the promise of a stable food supply for your community.

As you make your way deeper into the warehouse, the musty smell of old cardboard fills the air. Dust particles dance in the beams of sunlight that filter through the small windows. The silence is broken only by the occasional creaking of the floorboards beneath your feet.

The three of you move in sync, navigating through the maze of crates and shelves with practiced ease. Each step brings you closer to your goal, the anticipation building with every passing moment. The success of this mission could mean the difference between survival and starvation for your community.

As you reach the end of the dimly lit storage room, you spot the crate you've been searching for. With bated breath, you carefully pry it open to reveal its precious contents - a stash of much-needed food supplies.

Relief washes over you as you realize that your community will have enough to eat for the foreseeable future. "Fuck yeah," Wes mumbles, sending you a smile.

You return Wes's smile, knowing that this small victory will provide hope and nourishment for everyone. Wes quickly picks up the container, and loading it into the truck. You pick up your own container, with Chad doing the same before heading towards the truck as well.

Chad shuts the truck, "Let's go." You shake your head, "We have like two more containers." Chad raises an eyebrow, his expression turning serious. "Are you sure? We've already loaded a lot."

You nod confidently, pointing towards the remaining containers. "I'll--" You're interrupted by the sound of gunshots, echoing through the air. Wes jumps in the car, panic evident on his face. "We need to go, now!" he shouts.

Chad quickly jumps into the driver's seat, trying to start the engine as you scramble to get inside. The urgency in Wes's voice sends a shiver down your spine as you realize the situation has taken a dangerous turn.

"Fuck! The car isn't starting!" You frantically glance around, searching for an alternative escape route. Gunshots ring out again, hitting your car. You duck down instinctively, feeling the bullets whiz past you.

"Oh, shit." The car's engine finally roars, and Chad slams his foot on the gas pedal, propelling the car forward with a screech.

"Watch out!" You shout at Chad, a figure in black stands in the middle of the road, a shotgun in their hand. Adrenaline courses through your veins as you brace yourself for impact, but Chad skillfully swerves to avoid the figure. The car narrowly misses them, and you both let out a sigh of relief as you speed away, leaving the dangerous turn behind.

"Who the hell was that?" Wes asks from the back seat, leaning up to look between you and Chad. You exchange a puzzled glance with Chad before responding, "I'm not sure, but whoever they were, they definitely meant trouble. We should report this to Gale and Dewey."

"No!" Chad yells, his voice filled with urgency. "We can't tell them we went past the safe zone." Chad's eyes widen with fear as he continues, "If they find out, we'll be in serious trouble."

You and Wes exchange worried looks, realizing the seriousness of Chad's words. The consequences of venturing beyond the safe zone without authorization could be severe, but you also understand the importance of reporting the encounter to Gale and Dewey for everyone's safety.

Like every other mission, you're greeted by the police force, who loads everything back up, including Gale, Iris, and Tara. "I'll tell her," Chad says, walking past you and to Gale. You watch as Chad approaches Gale, his look serious.

Tara runs to you, bringing you into a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," she whispers, her voice filled with relief. You hug her back, smiling. "Like every time. I told you, I'm not going anywhere."

Tara pulls away from the hug slightly, grinning up at you. "I know, but I still worry," she says, her eyes sparkling with affection. "You mean a lot to me." You feel comfort in your heart as Tara's words sink in. "You mean a lot to me too, Tara," you reply wholeheartedly.

Her smile expands before she brings you into a long kiss. The kiss is filled with love and reassurance, a silent promise that you'll always be there for each other. She pulls away, her eyes shining with happiness.

You don't notice Iris watching the whole scene from across the room, jealousy and longing evident in her eyes. She quickly turns away, pretending not to have seen anything, but you can't help but wonder what she's thinking.

"I have to talk to Gale." You tell Tara, and Tara holds your hand, shaking your hand. "Chad has all that handled, relax, babe. You don't need to worry about anything," Tara assures you, her voice soothing and comforting.

You take a deep breath, trying to trust in Chad's abilities and let go of your concerns. Tara walks you home, staying by your side as you navigate through the empty streets. "You wanna come in? I can tell you have something on your mind." You ask Tara, opening your front door.

Tara hesitates for a moment before nodding, grateful for the offer. "Sure," she says, stepping inside your home. "I'll shower, and I'll be right back." You tell Tara, who sits on the couch, making herself comfortable. When you return from the shower, you find Tara engrossed in a book she found on your coffee table. The sight warms your heart, knowing that she feels at ease in your home.

You join her on the couch and ask, "So, what's on your mind?" She closes the book and looks at you, a hint of vulnerability flashes in her eyes. "I've been thinking a lot about me and you," she confesses. "I...want you to be my girlfriend."

Your heart skips a beat as you process Tara's words, and you can't help but smile. "I've been thinking about us too," you reply, gently taking her hand in yours. "And I would love nothing more than to be your girlfriend."

Tara smiles, moves to sit closer to you, and rests her head on your shoulder. "I'm so glad you feel the same way," she whispers softly. "I've never felt this way about anyone before." You wrap your arm around her and say, "Me either."

"Now we can both relax, huh?" Tara says, letting out a relieved sigh. "No more uncertainty or wondering where we stand." You nod in agreement, "I could make you relax even more if you'd like."

Tara raises an eyebrow, "I just poured my heart out to you, and you wanna get dirty?" You chuckle and shake your head, "No, that's not what I meant. I just meant that I'll always be here for you, to support and comfort you whenever you need it."

Tara blushes slightly and smiles, "Oh...but I wasn't opposed to the other idea either."

Your eyes widen, surprised by Tara's response. You laugh nervously, unsure of how to respond. "Well, uh...we can definitely explore that idea too if you're open to it," you say, fiddling with the end of the couch. Tara's smile widens, and she leans in closer. "I think I am," she whispers, her voice filled with anticipation.

You lean in closer as well, connecting your lips. The kiss is soft and gentle, igniting a spark between the two of you. Tara smiles against your lips, her hands finding their way to your face.

You deepen the kiss, moving Tara to straddle you. Tara pulls away, panting slightly. "Do you wanna take this to the bedroom?" she asks, her eyes filled with desire.

You nod, scooping up your girlfriend in your arms. Carrying her effortlessly, you make your way toward the bedroom, feeling the electricity between you intensify with every step. Tara's breath quickens as you lay her down gently on the bed, trailing kisses along her neck and collarbone.

Her body arches in response, a soft moan escaping her lips. "Y/N..." she gasps.

You pause, looking into Tara's eyes, seeing the hunger and longing mirrored in them. "Yes, Tara?" you whisper, your voice filled with anticipation. Her fingers tangle in your hair, pulling you closer. "I want you," she breathes, her voice laced with need.

You can feel your heart racing as her words echo in your ears. Without a word, you crash your lips against hers, your tongue eagerly exploring the depths of her mouth. The taste of her lips and the urgency in her kiss consume you.

Her hands leave your hair, dragging from your chest to the end of your shirt before sliding underneath, her touch sending goosebumps rippling across your skin. "Take it off," she mumbles against your lips.

You oblige, quickly removing your shirt and tossing it aside. Her hand trails down your bare torso, tracing the contours of your muscles, igniting a fiery desire within you. You then reach for the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head, revealing her smooth skin and the curve of her waist.

You press a kiss on her stomach, feeling her muscles tense under your lips. Her breath hitches, "Fuck, Y/N, just fuck me." The intensity of her words sends a shiver down your spine, fueling your desire even further. You kiss her hungrily, and your hands wander to the button of her pants, eagerly undoing it.

Tara reaches for your hands, intertwining her fingers with yours, as she guides them to the clasp of her bra. With practiced ease, you unhook the clasp, freeing her breasts from their confinement. They spill out, full and inviting, and you can't help but lean in to capture one of her nipples in your mouth, teasing it with your tongue.

Tara's moan fills the room, sending a jolt of electricity through your body. Her hands move to your hair, pulling you closer as she arches her back in pleasure. "Baby, please. I want you inside me."

You let go of her nipple, savoring the taste on your lips and meet her gaze filled with lust. With a knowing smile, you whisper in her ear, "Patience, my love. I wanna take my time with you."

Your hands eagerly explore her body, tracing the curves that have captivated you for so long. You marvel at how smooth her skin feels under your fingertips, the way her muscles tense and relax as you caress her. Her soft moans of anticipation only fuel your desire, as you continue to worship every inch of her with your touch.

Your finger lifts the hem of her underwear, revealing a glimpse of the hidden treasures that lie beneath. With a teasing smile, you slowly slide her underwear down her legs, exposing her to your hungry gaze.

The sight before you takes your breath away—her delicate folds glistening with arousal, begging to be explored. You lean in, your warm breath grazing her skin, as you whisper, "Are you ready for me, my love?"

She responds with a soft whimper, her body trembling in anticipation. With a gentle nod, she whispers back, "Yes, please...fuck."

Without hesitancy, you position yourself between her parted thighs, ready to fulfill her deepest desires. Your hands, now guided by a primal instinct, caress her soft skin, tracing the contours of her body, heightening her senses.

The room fills with the intoxicating scent of her arousal, as you lean in closer, feeling the heat radiating from her core.

You can hear her breath hitch as you brush your lips against hers, teasingly. A soft moan escapes her parted lips, her need for you growing with every passing moment. Your tongue gently teases her, licking against her clit. Her body arches in response, aching for more of your touch.

"Shit!" You hear her whisper, her hands gripping the sheets, craving the release that only you can provide. You continue to explore her, your fingers sliding inside her wetness, matching the rhythm of your tongue. Her hips buck against your hand, desperate for deeper penetration.

She gasps, her eyes locking with yours, silently begging for the connection to intensify. You oblige, increasing the pressure and speed of your movements, driving her closer to the edge of ecstasy.

Her breath hitches as you skillfully curl your fingers inside her, hitting just the right spot. The intensity of her pleasure builds, and she gasps for air, her eyes locked with yours, silently begging for that final release. "I...I'm so close, Y/N..."

You can feel her body tense, her muscles quivering with anticipation. As she reaches the peak of her pleasure, her body convulses in ecstasy, a guttural moan escaping her lips. "Yes, yes, fuck!"

Your hand never falters, continuing its rhythmic motion, prolonging her orgasm, and ensuring her ultimate satisfaction. Finally, her body relaxes, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she catches her breath, a grateful smile spreading across her face.

You smile back at her and say, "You still think elevator horror beats Jason?" She playfully rolls her eyes, "Shut the hell up." Before you could make another comment, she brings you into a heated kiss, her lips eagerly meeting yours.

"Lay down, baby." You hear her whisper in a seductive tone, and you comply, not wasting a second. Tara's hands fly to your pants, pulling them down along with your boxers with urgency.

Your hard-on immediately springs free, throbbing with anticipation. Tara's touch sends shivers down your spine as she takes you in her hand, her grip firm and confident. "Mmm, fuck."

You moan in pleasure, unable to contain the intense sensation that courses through your body. Tara's lips trail down your neck, leaving a trail of hot kisses, as her hand continues to stroke you with expert precision. The room fills with the sound of your heavy breathing, mixing with the soft moans escaping your lips.

You whine when Tara pulls away, leaving you craving more of her touch. She locks eyes with you, a cheeky smile playing on her lips. She lowers herself on your cock, taking you deep inside her with a satisfied sigh. "Shit, Tara. You're so tight."

Tara's hips begin to move in a rhythmic motion, matching the intensity of your breathless moans. Your hand grips her waist, guiding her movements as you both find a steady rhythm. Tara moans, closing her eyes in blissful surrender to the pleasure coursing through her body.

You wrap a hand around her throat, forcing her to look up at you. Her eyes widen in astonishment and excitement as you assert your dominance.

The added pressure intensifies the pleasure for both of you, heightening the connection between your bodies. Tara's moans grow louder, fueling your desire to take her to new heights of ecstasy.

"Look at me, love." You command, your voice laced with desire and authority. Tara's eyes lock with yours, a mix of vulnerability and passion shining through. "Y/N..." she whispers, her voice dripping with adoration. "I'm all yours," she breathes, surrendering herself completely to your dominance.

You can feel the trust she has in you, as her body responds eagerly to your every touch and command. You place your feet flat on the bed, meeting her hips with a powerful thrust, causing her to gasp and arch her back in pleasure. "Ahh, fuck, yes...!"

You lose yourself in the rhythm of your bodies colliding. The sounds of skin slapping against skin mixed with heavy breathing makes the moment feel incredibly intense and raw. Tara's eyes roll back in her head as she moans uncontrollably, her nails digging into your chest.

"I'm so close, baby." She whines, biting down on her lower lip. You nod, feeling yourself getting closer as well, the pleasure building to an almost unbearable level. "Cum with me, love."

You whisper, tangled in the ecstasy of the moment, urging each other on, desperate to reach the peak together. Your thumb begins teasing her sensitive spot, eliciting a sharp gasp from Tara. As her grip tightens on your chest, her breathing becomes more erratic.

The room fills with the sounds of your mutual pleasure, each moan and gasp pushing you both closer to the edge.

The intensity of the moment builds and builds, until finally, with one final thrust, you both shatter into a blissful release. The world around you fades away as you cling to each other, basking in the aftershocks of your intense connection.

As the waves of pleasure subside, Tara's body relaxes against yours, her breath slowly returning to a steady rhythm. You run your fingers through her hair, savoring the intimate closeness and the lingering warmth between you.

In the silence that follows, you exchange a knowing smile, an unspoken acknowledgment of the deep bond you share. Tara raises her head from your chest, pressing a kiss on your nose. You chuckle, hugging her tighter until she falls asleep.

You barge into Gale's living room, surprising her and Sidney. Gale and Sidney jump up from the couch, startled by your sudden entrance. You apologize for the intrusion, explaining that you have urgent news to share. "We were shot at...during the mission earlier."

Sidney's jaw drops, and Gale's eyes widen in shock. They exchange a worried glance before Gale asks, "Are you both okay? What happened?"

You take a deep breath and recount the harrowing details of the ambush, Gale's eyes widen even more as she listens intently. Sidney's face grows pale, her hands trembling slightly.

The room falls silent as you finish describing the close call and the narrow escape. Both Gale and Sidney are visibly shaken, realizing the gravity of the situation.

"Gale...you should tell her," Sidney says, her voice barely above a whisper. Gale looks at Sidney, hesitation evident in her eyes. "Tell me what?"

Gale takes a moment to gather her thoughts, her gaze shifting between you and Sidney. Finally, she musters the courage to speak. "There's something you need to know about that ambush," Gale begins, her voice filled with apprehension.

TWO WEEKS LATER

"It's been two weeks, and they haven't attacked us," Dewey says, his tone laced with concern. "I think they might be planning something bigger, something more dangerous." Gale nods in agreement, her expression growing more serious.

"The best thing we can do is just continue fortifying the walls and staying stacked on ammunition."

Sidney leans in, her eyes narrowing with worry. "But what happens when they get through the walls? Everyone here isn't fit to fight." Officer Bailey and a lot of the other officers nod in agreement at Sidney's words.

"Everyone who can't fight should exit the community as safely and quietly as possible without being undetected. While the ones who can fight, fight. We fight until we can't defend this place." You say, your voice firm and determined.

"We'll need to come up with a plan to prioritize the safety of those who can't fight, ensuring they have a clear escape route and any necessary resources."

Chad nods, speaking up. "Y/N's right. But the thing is, we don't know how many of them there are." Chad's concern is valid, as we lack information about the strength and number of our enemies.

"We also don't know what weapons they have. What if they show up with just knives?" Sam adds, uncrossing her arms. You, Chad, Dewey, Gale, Sidney, Officer Bailey, Officer Kirby, and Officer Hicks all glance at each other, knowing that facing enemies armed with knives would still pose a significant threat.

Officer Bailey breaks the silence, suggesting, "We need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario. We don't want to run into a death trap by underestimating the enemy." Nodding in agreement, you all begin discussing the best course of action, understanding the importance of being well-prepared for any possible outcome.

Mindy, Anika, and Heather's heads turn to the door, which opened with a creak. Someone walks through Heather's bedroom door in a Ghostface costume. Mindy laughs, raising her head from Anika's chest. Heather smiles and says, Amber, babe, where did you find that?"

The Ghostface just stands there, silently staring at the three friends. Mindy's laughter fades as a sense of unease settles in the room. Anika cautiously asks, "Amber, is that you?"

The Ghostface remains motionless, causing a shiver to run down their spines. Suddenly, the masked figure lunges forward, making them all scream in terror. Mindy and Anika jump from the bed, along with Heather, who grabs her lamp and throws it at Ghostface's head.

The lamp shatters on impact, momentarily stunning the masked figure. They take advantage of the distraction to scramble towards the door, desperately trying to escape their attacker's reach.

Ghostface trips Anika before she can reach the door, causing her to fall to the ground. Mindy and Heather turn back, their hearts pounding in fear, as they realize they can't leave Anika behind. "Anika!" Mindy shouts for her girlfriend, running to rescue her but only earning a slice in her arm.

Heather looks around the hall, not finding a weapon to use, instead, she runs into the next room to search. Anika grabs Ghostface's cloak, trying to pull them down and away from Mindy. Anika's desperate attempt to save Mindy only angers Ghostface further, who retaliates by wrapping a hand around her neck and stabbing her in the stomach.

Anika screams in pain as Ghostface twists the knife in her stomach. Heather, hearing Anika's screams, rushes back into the room with a fire extinguisher in hand. With adrenaline coursing through her veins, she swings the heavy object at Ghostface, hitting them square in the head.

The impact momentarily stuns Ghostface, giving Heather enough time to grab Anika and Mindy and pull them to safety.

Heather shuts the door to Iris's room, her heart dropping as she notices her dead body in the bed. She fights back tears, realizing that Iris has become Ghostface's latest victim. "No...no..." she mumbles, walking over to the bed to check for any signs of life.

As Heather searches for a pulse, her trembling hands find none, confirming Iris's tragic fate. "Not my sister, no..." she cries, clutching her chest in disbelief. Memories of their childhood flood her mind, making the loss even more unbearable.

"Heather! The door!" Mindy yells, snapping Heather out of her grief-stricken daze. Startled, Heather turns towards the door and sees it wide open, realizing that Ghostface may still be lurking nearby. Fear grips her as she realizes she must now not only mourn her sister's death but also fight for her own survival.

Heather quickly shuts the door, pushing her dresser against it. She jumps when Ghostface begins kicking on it, desperately trying to break through. The sound of each thud sends shivers down her spine, but Heather refuses to let fear paralyze her.

She scans the room for any means of defense, her mind racing with thoughts of how to outsmart the masked intruder and protect herself from a similar fate as her sister.

She runs to her window, seeing someone walking down the street. Quickly opening it, she begins shouting his name. "Wes! Wes!" Desperation fills her voice as she hopes that Wes will hear her cries for help.

Thankfully, Wes turns his head, confused. Heather waves frantically, catching Wes's attention. She stops waving her hands, her heart dropping, when she notices another Ghostface behind Wes. "WES! BEHIND YOU!"

Heather's heart races as she watches in horror, realizing that Wes is in immediate danger. Panic sets in as she desperately tries to warn him of the masked intruder lurking behind him.

But Wes, unaware of the danger, continues to walk toward Heather, his eyes still fixed on her. Heather's voice trembles as she screams, "Wes, please, turn around!" Wes takes another step closer, completely oblivious to the imminent threat.

She lets out a sob as Wes's body falls to the ground, a scream escaping her lips. The masked killer stands over him before snapping their head at Heather.

Everyone jumps at the sound of a crash. You quickly look at Gale, who looks at Dewey. "It's them." Without wasting a moment, everyone springs to action, ready to fight off the attack on their community.

Everyone moves in flow as they execute the plan, each person knowing their role and working seamlessly together. You and Chad run to the armory, your hearts dropping when the guns are gone. Ethan runs into the armory and says, " We've been raided. They took all the weapons."

"Fuck!" You shout, quickly leaving the armory and pulling out your knife. "Chad, go make sure the perimeter is secure and warn the others. We'll have to rely on our hand-to-hand combat skills for now." Chad nods and sprints off, while you and Ethan run in the direction the crash came from.

"Do you...do you think Tara and Quinn are okay?" Ethan asks, in worry for your girlfriend and for his sister. You glance at Ethan, concern evident in your eyes. "I don't know, I know they can handle themselves." With determination, you both pick up your pace, catching up with Sidney, Gale, and Dewey.

They're on the lookout post, staring down at people that stand outside the gate. You quickly climb up the post, standing beside Sidney. You look down, seeing two men in black cloaks, with Ghostface masks in their hands. "Suprise, Sidney!" One of them shouts, a jolly smile on his lips.

Sidney shakes her head, her eyes never leaving the sight in front of her. "What's the matter, Sidney? You look like you seen a ghost." The other says, a smirk playing on his lips. Sidney's heart races as she recognizes the familiar taunting voice.

Another Ghostface appears, exiting the truck that tries to ram through your walls. He takes off his mask, earning a mumble from Sidney. "Mickey..."

Mickey smirks, "Surprise again, Sidney. Scared, aren't you?" Sidney clenches her fists, her voice filled with determination. "I'm not scared of you, Mickey. I've faced worse." Mickey's smirk increases, "Well, can you face all of us...including this truck full of walkers?"

Sidney's eyes widen as she glances at the truck, realizing the magnitude of the threat. She takes a deep breath, her resolve unwavering. "Bring it on, Mickey. I'll take on whatever you throw at me."

You walk over to Dewey and Gale, "Someone stole all of our guns. There has to be more of them inside." Dewey's eyes widen in disbelief, while Gale's expression turns grim. "We can't face them without any weapons," Dewey mutters, his voice filled with concern.

Gale nods in agreement, her gaze fixed on the truck full of walkers. "We need to find a way to arm ourselves before it's too late," she says.

You and Dewey climb down the lookout post, "Ah, Dewey! Where ya going? The party's getting started!" Stu shouts, leaning against the truck with a mischievous grin. Dewey ignores the man, turning to you.

"We need to find a place where we can scavenge for weapons," Dewey says, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of potential armaments. You nod in agreement, knowing that time is of the essence if you want to stand a chance against the approaching horde.

Chad runs behind his home, searching for his hidden gun box. "Fuck!" He shouts, realizing that it's been emptied.

"Sidney...Jill's on her way." Billy says, using his knife to scratch his head. "She's bringing another truck of walkers. You and your friends will not survive this." Gale shakes her head, "Neither will you fuckers."

Gale's defiance is met with a grim smile from Billy. "We'll see about that," he mutters, resoluteness flashing in his eyes.

Heather's heartbeat slows when the kicking stops/. "We have to get...Anika to the doctor." Mindy mutters, her voice filled with urgency. "She's lost a lot of blood." Anika groans, "Can you please say something more positive?"

Heather looks at Anika with concern, her voice trembling slightly. "We'll find a way to get you the help you need, Anika. Hang in there." Heather starts to search Iris's drawers, looking for a weapon in case Ghostface is still lurking nearby. She grabs a gun, checking to make sure it's loaded and ready for use.

Heather moves the dresser before quickly opening the door to the hallway, scanning for any signs of danger. She sees no immediate threats and motions for Anika to follow her. "Come on, let's get out of here and find help," she says, her voice filled with persistence.

Anika nods weakly, mustering all her strength to stand up and follow Heather to safety, Mindy helps her, and the both of them follow Heather.

As they make their way down the hallway, Heather keeps a watchful eye on their surroundings, her grip on the gun tightening. Mindy whispers words of encouragement to Anika, urging her to keep moving despite her weakened state.

With each step, they can feel the weight of their fear slowly lifting as they inch closer to the possibility of safety.

Heather nearly shoots as Chad bursts through the door, but quickly realizes it's him and lowers her weapon. Chad, out of breath and covered in dirt, explains that he managed to escape from the attackers and has been searching for them.

"Where the fuck is Y/N?" Heather shouts, "Iris is dead! She's dead, Chad!" Chad's face turns pale as he absorbs Heather's words, his heart sinking with grief. "I... I don't know," he stammers, his voice trembling. "We got separated during the chaos. We have to keep moving, Heather."

"SAM!" Richie calls out, walking further into Sam and Tara's house. He scans the rooms, his voice echoing through the empty hallways. Worried, Richie's mind races with thoughts of what could have happened to Sam. "Tara? Are you here?" he calls out, hoping for a response that would ease his growing concern.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Sam asks as he emerges from a nearby room, his face etched with confusion and surprise. Richie's relief washes over him as he realizes that Sam is safe. "I came looking for you," Richie explains, his voice filled with genuine concern. "We need to stick together; we're under attack."

Sam's confusion turns to alarm as he takes in Richie's words. "Under attack? By who?" he asks, his voice tinged with fear. Richie takes a deep breath, trying to steady himself before responding. "These group of people in Ghostface costumes."

"Where's my sister? Have you seen Tara?" Richie shakes his head, his worry evident in his eyes. "I haven't seen her," he admits. "But we need to find her and get to safety before it's too late." Sam nods, running to the door, but Richie stops her.

"I'm really glad you're safe, Sam..." Richie says, his voice filled with relief. Sam gives him a small smile, grateful for his concern. He walks closer, a small smile on his lips. "Because I really...really wanted to be the one to kill you." Before Sam can react, Richie stabs her, leaving her shocked and gasping for breath.

"Here. Take this." You say, handing Danny, Ethan, Quinn, Liv, and Frankie a handmade weapon. "Liv, I want you to get everyone who can't fight out of the community as fast as possible, you too, Quinn. Lead them to a safe place." Ethan and Quinn nod, before quickly leaving.

"Ethan, go check on Sidney and Gale, make sure the walkers aren't in the walls yet." Ethan nods and rushes off to check on Sidney and Gale, ensuring the safety of the community from the approaching walkers. "Danny and Frankie, you come with me, we're going to see if everyone else is okay."

"We should split up." Danny says, "It will be faster and more efficient if we divide and cover more ground," Frankie adds. You shake your head, Frankie, you're staying with me, I don't want you running off on anyone who needs help." Frankie looks disappointed but nods in agreement. "Alright, I'll stick with you," he says reluctantly.

Danny sends a nod to you before leaving in the opposite direction.

Heather raises her gun as someone else enters the door, but she lowers it when she sees it's her girlfriend and Tara. "Amber," Heather chokes out a sob, "They killed Iris." Amber rushes over to Heather, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Heather," she whispers, tears streaming down her face. "We'll find those responsible and make them pay for what they've done."

"Oh my god...Anika, Mindy, are you guys okay?" Tara asks, looking at the two of them with concern. "We need to get them to the infirmary now," Chad says, glancing at everyone.

"How long have you been here?" Amber asks Chad. "Why haven't you taken them to the infirmary?" Chad takes a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly. "I just arrived moments ago, Amber. I swear."

Amber's eyes widen in disbelief. "Moments ago? But how did you know to come here?" she asks, her voice filled with suspicion. Chad hesitates for a moment before answering, "I just wanted to see if Iris was here."

Amber narrows her eyes, still skeptical. "So you just happened to show up right when they needed medical attention?" she questions, her tone accusatory. Chad's face flushes with guilt as he stammers, "I... I didn't know they were hurt."

"Stop accusing him and take them to Dr. Oath!" Tara shouts, wrapping Mindy around her arms protectively. Chad looks relieved at Tara's intervention, grateful for the support. "I promise, I had no idea they were hurt," he repeats, his voice sincere. Amber rolls her eyes, helping Chad carry Anika, following Tara and Mindy.

They safely arrive at the infirmary. "We should go look for others," Tara says, earning nods from Chad and Mindy. They split up to search for the others, each hoping to find them unharmed.

Chad runs behind the houses of the community, calling out for anyone who may be hiding or injured. He scans the area, his heart pounding with worry as he realizes how vast the search could be. Chad stands there, taking a breather.

Not knowing that Ghostface is right behind him. Chad's moment of respite is interrupted as he feels a chilling presence behind him. He turns around, only to come face-to-face with Ghostface, his heart sinking in fear. Ghostface stabs Chad in the leg before he punches them and shoves them out of his way.

He tries to run, but the pain in his leg becomes unbearable, causing him to stumble and slow down. Chad's adrenaline kicks in as he pushes through the pain, desperately trying to escape Ghostface's clutches. With every step, his fear intensifies, knowing that his life is hanging by a thread.

After a bit of hopping, he hides behind a house, catching his breath again, then attempting to escape. He makes it a few meters before Ghostface repeatedly stabs him in the back, leaving Chad gasping for air and collapsing to the ground.

"Richie..." Sam whispers. He shushes her before pulling his knife out of her stomach. Blood gushes from the wound as Sam's eyes widen in shock and pain. "I can't believe we were able to get away with it." Sam's body trembles as she struggles to speak, her voice barely a whisper. "What...?"

Richie smiles at her confusion. "I mean, you recruited Amber and I, Sam! You let the killers into your walls!" Sam's face contorts in disbelief and horror, her breaths becoming shallow and labored.

The realization dawns on her as she weakly reaches out towards Richie, her voice trembling with betrayal, "How could you...?"

"How could I not? You all are so fucking stupid! Every week, I'd steal food from the inventory and supply my group with it. I had to do whatever it took to ensure our survival. And when they told us were going to get back at this place for coming onto our land...I was so happy."

Richie's voice drips with contempt as he reveals his true intentions, his eyes gleaming with a twisted satisfaction. "You think I actually cared about any of you? This was never about survival, it was about power and revenge. And now, you all will pay for what you've done."

"Think again, bitch." Danny says, tackling Richie. As Danny lunges at Richie, their bodies collide with a force that echoes through the room. Richie kicks Danny off of him, groaning from the pain in his side.

Sam reaches for Richie's fallen knife, and with a swift motion, she straddles him, stabbing him multiple times in his chest. The room falls silent as Sam's relentless assault comes to an end. Gasping for breath, Richie's eyes widen in disbelief, his body growing limp under Sam's weight.

"What about...my ending?" Richie gasps, coughing up blood. Sam lifts Richie's head, leaning in closer. "Here it comes," she whispers before dragging the knife across Richie's throat, ending his life with a final, gruesome act.

"We're almost there, break down the wall," Roman says over the walkie-talkie. Billy glances at Stu, who grins at the news, "Ya here that Sid? We're coming in, and we're bringing company!" Sid's heart races as she hears Roman's voice on the walkie-talkie.

She knows that her time is running out, and the arrival of Roman and his companions only adds to her desperation. She quickly scans the area for any possible escape routes, hoping to find a way out before they break down the wall.

"Remember what Y/N said, Sidney. We're going to fight these assholes until we can't." Gale says, determinedly. Sid nods, her eyes filled with determination as she prepares herself for the impending confrontation. She knows that they may be outnumbered, but they won't go down without a fight.

Dewey climbs back up the lookout post, "All the officers are helping Liv and Quinn escort everyone safely. I don't know where...everyone else is. But, I do know they're fighters." Dewey's voice trembles with fear and hope. He scans the area, searching for any sign of their allies. Deep down, he believes that together they can overcome any obstacle.

"Break it down, Mickey." Billy commands, Mickey honks the horn, causing Stu and Billy to step back from the truck, watching as it crashes through the barricade.

The sound of shattering wood and metal echoes through the air, sending a surge of adrenaline through their veins. They exchange determined glances, knowing that this is just the beginning of their attack.

"Uh, oh! Here we come, Sidney." Mickey yells out, his lead leaning from the window. "C'mon! Let's go!" Dewey tells Gale and Sidney, climbing down the lookout post.

Mickey backs up the truck, revving the engine as he prepares to charge forward once again. Stu and Billy brace themselves, ready to join Mickey in the next wave of their assault.

The truck crashes into a nearby tree, causing the branches to snap and the leaves to scatter. Mickey hops out of the truck with a bloody forehead before opening the back of it, releasing all of the walkers.

The walkers stumble out of the truck, groaning and reaching out with their decaying hands. Mickey leads a walker out of the gates, holding it at arm's length to keep it from biting him.

Stu and Billy quickly follow suit, each grabbing a walker and maneuvering it toward the gate. The trio works seamlessly together, using their weapons to fend off any walkers that get too close, determined to kill Gale, Sidney, and Dewey.

"Y/N!" Tara shouts, and you turn your head, "Tara!" You call out in relief, recognizing Tara's voice. She rushes towards you, her eyes wide with fear and determination. "We need to get out of here," she says urgently, grabbing your arm and pulling you toward the nearest exit.

You nod in agreement, gripping Tara's arm tightly as you both sprint towards the exit. The chaos around you intensifies as more walkers pour in from all directions. Adrenaline flows through your veins as you dodge and weave through the crowds of undead, destined to make it out alive.

"There! The car!" Tara points ahead, her voice drowned out by the growls of the walkers. You spot the car, its engine running, and a surge of hope fills you both as you push through the final wave of undead, reaching the car.

You quickly jump into the car, glancing at Tara as she slams the door shut behind her, "Drive!" You slam your foot on the gas pedal, feeling the car lurch forward as you desperately try to escape the horde of walkers closing in. You let out a breath, relieved that you had made it into the car and away from immediate danger.

"Do you think anyone else made it?" Tara's eyes dart to the rearview mirror, scanning the chaos behind you. "I don't know," she replies, "But we have to keep moving and hope for the best."

"What the fuck...?" You mutter, frozen in fear, as a truck, at full speed, approaches straight for your vehicle. Your grip tightens on the steering wheel as you frantically search for an escape route. "Hold on!" you shout, slamming your foot on the gas pedal, trying to evade the oncoming collision.

Tara's knuckles turn white as she clutches onto the passenger seat, bracing herself for impact. The truck crashes into your car, sending shards of glass flying and causing the airbags to deploy with a loud bang. The impact jolts you both forward, and for a moment, everything goes black.

"Gale...you should tell her," Sidney says, her voice barely above a whisper. Gale looks at Sidney, hesitation evident in her eyes. "Tell me what?"

"The people that shot at you used to be in our group...before this." Your eyes widen in shock as she processes Gale's words. Gale continues, her voice trembling slightly, "They killed people, Y/N! And when we kicked them out of our group, they swore revenge. They've been tracking us ever since, waiting for the perfect moment to strike."

"My brother and cousin are in that group." Sidney says, "They were once good people, but something changed in them. It's heartbreaking to see how far they've fallen."

Sidney takes a deep breath, her eyes glistening with tears. "I never thought it would come to this, but we have to protect ourselves now. We can't let them harm us or anyone else."

The once tight-knit group had been torn apart by betrayal, and now, the threat of impending danger loomed over them all. It was clear that Sidney's determination to protect themselves and others was unwavering, but the question remained: how would they outsmart their vengeful former comrades?

"Who all knows about this?" You ask with furrowed eyebrows. Sidney's gaze shifted to meet yours, "Only the police force, Dewey, Chad, and Sam." she replied. "We didn't want everyone in our community to live in fear of the day they really do come and attack."

Sidney's voice trembled slightly as she continued, "We've been discreet about it, but we can't be too careful. We need to come up with a plan to ensure everyone's safety without causing panic."

You wake up, your vision unblurring and ringing in your ears. As you try to regain your senses, you realize that you're lying on the ground, surrounded by debris. Panic sets in as you struggle to remember what happened and where you are.

"Y/N! Get up!" Tara shouts, a grunt following after. You manage to push yourself up, feeling a sharp pain in your side. Tara rushes over to help you, her face filled with concern.

"Your leg..." You look down at your leg and see a deep gash, blood staining your clothes. The pain intensifies as you try to put weight on it, making it clear that you won't be able to walk without assistance.

You look over at the truck, the two people driving it are now dead, but the walkers that were inside start to emerge, drawn by the commotion. Tara's eyes widen in fear as she realizes the imminent danger. She quickly scans the area for any potential weapons or escape routes, desperately trying to come up with a plan to protect both of you from the approaching walkers.

You sense this, groaning. "Tara, just leave me. I'll slow you down and put you in even more danger. You need to save yourself," you say, your voice filled with resignation. Tara's eyes well up with tears as she shakes her head, refusing to abandon you in this dire situation.

Tara begins walking, and you hop as fast as you can, trying to flee from the walkers that are closing in on you. The adrenaline pumps through your veins as you scan the area, desperately searching for any sign of a safe haven. Your heart races as you realize that time is running out and you need to find shelter before it's too late.

You and Tara retreat deep into the forest, trying to look for a place to get high ground on the walkers. The dense foliage provides some cover, but you can still hear the shuffling footsteps and low growls growing closer. With each passing moment, the urgency to find a vantage point intensifies, knowing that your survival depends on it.

"Up there!" Tara points at a large rock, jutting out from the ground, offering a potential refuge from the approaching walkers. You hop to the rock as Tara stabs a walker that gets too close, buying you some time to climb up.

You groan, feeling the strain in your muscles as you try to pull yourself up onto the rock. You fall back down, frustration building as the walkers inch closer. Tara reaches down, offering a helping hand and urging you to try again. "You go first, T...and help me up."

Tara nods, understanding. She quickly scrambles up the rock, finding her footing, and extending her hand towards you. "Hurry up," she urges, "they're right behind you." You take a deep breath, gathering your strength, and give it one more try.

You attempt to climb the rock again, gritting your teeth and pushing through the pain in your muscles. A walker grabs your leg, you try kicking it off, but it only tightens its grip.

Tara reaches down, grabbing your arm and pulling you up with all her strength. Together, you manage to free yourself from the walker's grasp and continue climbing towards safety.

Tara falls onto her back, catching her breath. You attempt to get up with a grunt and say, "Let's keep moving." Tara quickly gets up, helping you to your feet. She nods, and the two of you successfully make it to the same shed you found Heather.

You enter the shed, falling against the wall as exhaustion takes over. Tara scans the room, searching for any signs of danger, while you catch your breath. You lift your pants leg, revealing a deep bite from one of the walkers. Fuck. You were bitten.

"Tara..." you say, your voice filled with both fear and resignation. Tara turns to you, her eyes widening as she sees the bite mark on your leg. She takes a deep breath, trying to hold back tears, and mumbling, "No...no...no!

"Hey, hey...it's okay." You try to reassure Tara, despite the panic rising within you. "It's not okay!" She shouts, her voice trembling with emotion. "You promised me..."

"You promised me that you wouldn't leave," Tara continues, her voice cracking with despair. "I can't lose you, not like this." Tears stream down her face as she clings onto you, desperately hoping for a miracle. You place a hand on Tara's cheek, "I love you, Tara."

"I love you too," Tara whispers, choking out a sob. "Please, don't leave me alone," she pleads, her voice filled with vulnerability. You bring her into a kiss, pouring all your love behind it.

When you pull away, you lean your forehead against hers, trying not to break down in front of her. "Tara...don't let me turn...into one of those things...please." Tara's eyes well up with tears as she gazes into your eyes, her grip on you tightening. "No...stop! Don't make me do this, Y/N."

"Tara, please! You have to kill me before I turn, please." Tara's hands tremble as she clings onto you, her voice shaking with anguish. "I don't wanna..."

Your eyes glance around the shed, landing on an axe in the corner of the room. Desperation fills the air as you realize that the axe might be your only chance for a quick and merciful end. With a heavy heart, you suggest, "Tara, there's an axe over there. It's the only way to ensure I won't become one of them. Please, for both our sakes, grab it."

Tara's eyes widen in horror as she follows your gaze towards the axe. Tears stream down her face as she hesitates, torn between the unbearable thought of losing you and the grim reality of what lies ahead.

Slowly, she releases her grip on you and takes a shaky step towards the corner of the room where the axe awaits. Every fiber of her being resists the idea, but she knows deep down that it is the only way to prevent a fate worse than death. As she reaches for the weapon, her hand trembles uncontrollably, a reflection of the turmoil within her.

She walks back over to you, raising the axe. Her heart pounds in her chest as she looks into your eyes, silently pleading for forgiveness. With a heavy sigh, she musters the strength to swing the axe, knowing that this sacrifice is necessary for both of your sakes.

As the axe comes crashing down, a mix of relief and sorrow washes over her. She closes her eyes, unable to witness the gruesome act she has just committed. At that moment, she realizes the true extent of her love for you, willing to do whatever it takes to protect you, even if it means staining her hands with blood.

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ihearthhj · 12 days

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— if i could go back in time. -- (h.hj)

chapter 2 : what is love?

pairing : hyunjin x fem!reader

word count : 1.2k (lowercase intended)

a/n : short chapter !

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you met him when you were six.

one sunny summer day, you were at the local park.

you trudged through the multitude of play structures, vivid colors whirring in your vision. excited screams and shrieks of other children echoed in your ears, the overflow of noise making you want to run away.

you hated loud noises as a child. you preferred spaces with quiet and calm ambiences, finding peace wherever that was.

fleeing away from the big kaleidoscope of sound and colors that made your head hurt, you wandered off away to the parts of the park, hidden from plain view.

it was often these whereabouts that were the best. and every time you’d visited this very park, you were always found in this place.

as you dragged your stuffed teddy bear by its arm, you enter the intricacy of trees and sunshine.

a miniature forest, lit warmly by pure gold and bathed in dappled sunligh, was your definition of heaven. this hidden oasis felt like a sanctuary away from the noise and clamor.

walking deeper into the bundle of leaves, trudging in the long grass, your gaze trailed upwards, to the strips of light that seeped through the thin layer of leaves.

the atmosphere was tranquil, and a slight question mark hung in the pristine air, as if daring you to walk in deeper. the occasional breeze caused the leaves to rustle, providing background noise that coaxed the birds’ songs to life.

you settled yourself beneath a shading willow, the sunlight seeping through its graceful long leaves casting a halo on the lush grass, sprinkled with dew.

sometimes you’d think that this was actually a forest from a fantasy, a dream. its aura was magical, with a perfect amount of a somehow mysterious element jumbled inside.

you plopped down onto the grass, setting your teddy bear next to you. closing your eyes and breathing in the cool air, you sink into the silence.

a quiet, unfamiliar giggle escaped from behind another tree.

you opened your eyes, looking frantically around for the source of the noise. the only object that was around you was a crow, its head twisting around in jerky movements and its beady eyes staring.

a little boy around the same age as you followed behind it, taking careful and silent steps. his gaze was focused on the bird, his body crouched down. he was trying to catch the bird. your own eyes darted between the bird and the boy, intrigued by the scene unfolding in front of you. suddenly, he stepped on a stray stick on the ground, causing a snap to echo through the air. the bird flew away with a squawk.

the boy stood up, lips pursed. the frown on his face deepened, but it morphed into a grin when he turned his gaze towards you.

“hello,” he said simply.

after that, the two of you were inseparable. you learned that his name was hwang hyunjin, a new resident in town.

every other day, you and hyunjin would play together in that very forest. it became a place where your fondest memories were made, a secret childhood haven of sunshine and trees.

———

summer passed even quicker than you would have thought, the inching progress of change disappearing through the blur of everything. soon enough leaves turned into a series of red and orange colors, the temperature dropping slowly. in the first week of september, school started. if it were any other september, you’d be dragging yourself through the crowds of kids on the local school grounds, wishing you were homeschooled instead.

but this september was different—school was becoming a happy place, surprisingly. being the same age, you were in the same class this year as hyunjin, which allowed you to see each other almost all the time.

hyunjin's presence in your class was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds, illuminating the mundane with a warmth and light that filled you with a sense of joy you had never known before.

having not much friends yourself, you allowed yourself to become closer to hyunjin, who was a new student and unfamiliar with the school. every day became a better one when you had someone who you could call a friend. you started to look forward to being with hyunjin at school, even if it meant having to go through boring classes.

hyunjin and y/n, y/n and hyunjin. two peas in a pod with matching smiles and laughs, their friendship a beacon of light in a world that often felt dark and uncertain.

you were the happiest you had ever been at the place you called school, somewhere you had gone to unwillingly almost every day for the short 9 years of your life. now, you finally had someone to talk you whenever you wanted, someone to share your mother's homemade tteokbokki with at lunch, someone who was your default work partner.

what made it a million times better was knowing that they could do the same with no hesitation.

——————

as the years slipped by like grains of sand through an hourglass, your bond with hyunjin only grew stronger. every shared moment, every whispered secret, seemed to weave the threads of your friendship into something unbreakable, something that felt like home.

one crisp autumn afternoon, as the leaves rustled beneath your feet and the scent of fallen foliage filled the air, you found yourselves perched atop your favorite tree in the park, the world spread out before you like a painting waiting to be explored.

the wind danced through the branches, tousling your hair as you watched the horizon, the sun casting a warm golden glow over the landscape. it was moments like these that felt timeless, suspended in a bubble of tranquility that seemed impervious to the passage of time.

"hyunjin, what do you think is love?" you asked, the question tumbling from your lips like a leaf caught in the breeze.

for a moment, hyunjin was silent, his gaze fixed on the horizon as if searching for the answer in the distant sky. then, with a thoughtful expression, he spoke, his voice soft and contemplative.

"well, someone from school said that you get butterflies in your stomach," he began, his words slow and measured. "and your heart goes thump thump really fast."

you nodded slowly, mulling over his words as you watched the setting sun dip below the horizon, painting the sky with hues of pink and gold. so that was what love was, you thought to yourself. a fluttering in the stomach and a racing heart. you wondered when you would experience that yourself.

but it wasn't until three years later, as you stood beside hyunjin beneath the same tree, that you realized the true meaning of those words. It was the way your heart skipped a beat whenever he smiled, the way your stomach fluttered at the mere thought of being near him.

it was the realization that love wasn't just a concept to be pondered from afar, but a feeling that had crept into your heart and taken root, growing stronger with each passing day.

and as you looked into hyunjin's eyes, you knew with a certainty that transcended words that what you felt for him went beyond friendship.

it was love.

taglist : @hildaortara @203sucks @iovecb97 @kayleefriedchicken @rylea08 -> it's open, join taglist here

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penvisions · 6 months

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return the favor {chapter 18}

Pairing: Joel Miller x Smuggler! Reader

Summary: A cabin helps your trio to hide away from the winter storm that rages on as you trek across Nebraska. The little sanctuary is threatened as people discover the structure for themselves.

Word Count: 5.9k

Warnings: medial gore, medical jargon, description of injuries, blood, stitches, description of broken bone, use of narcotics, use of medical narcotics, reference to past fever, mentions of past violence, canon typical violence, sexual content, oral (f receiving), kissing, p in v smut, unprotected p in v, big feelings, small feelings, all the feelings, fighting, gun violence, mentions of forced restraint, tense moments, stressful moments, fear

A/N: found inspiration with these two and decided to get the ball rolling on this once again! sorry for the lack of updates with this and my frankie fic {the melting point}. this one is nearing the middle ground and the other is nearing the end and it's made me a little emotional. hope y'all enjoy this ♡ a lot happens, just be warned!

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist || kofi

The cabin was in good condition, for being abandoned for such a long time. Cobwebs decorated every corner, every arch of the walls, inside every cabinet. The snow outside was gaining weight as it cascaded down from the low hanging, dark clouds urged all three of you inside quickly. The wind had been steadily picking up, the darkness of the sky overhead as it barely contained a storm not allowing you to distinguish time.

“Winter is officially here.”

“It’s only going to get harder from here on out.” You sighed, breath misting with the deep exhale.

There was a fireplace in the modest living room, an open floor plan to allow the kitchen to be visible, separated only by an island that still had stools set neatly beneath the overhanging counter on one side.

“Most of the wood will be damp from the snow.” Joel was crouched down by the chute, pulling the small mechanism to open it up, causing a small billow of soot to shoot out. He ducked his head in time to avoid it getting directly in his face. But some of it settled in his hair, masking the gray of it from view in a rather…endearing way. For a moment, you could picture a different setting, a different time. Perhaps a weekend getaway with the man at a younger age, both committed to each other and many more years ahead of you both that didn’t require such harsh survival skills. “If I can find an axe somewhere in here, I could chop smaller branches off with enough bristle to kickstart.”

“A fire!?” Ellie hovered at the top of the staircase, her smile excited as she took in the way Joel was messing with the fire place to ensure it would insulate properly. “There are two bedrooms up here! I call dibs on one.”

“I’ll sleep down here, it’d make me feel better.” Joel spoke quickly, not wanting you to claim the one on the entrance level. If there was a threat, he was sure you could get Ellie to safety from the top floor at the first sign.

“Copy that,” You quietly agreed as you began to lower yourself to the couch. Dust puffed up into the air, causing you to cough as you tried to expel the sudden intruder from your lungs. The shuffling caused pain to spark along your injured arm, from the slash marring the skin down toward where your mending bones were healing. Breathing heavily, you leaned back into the cushions gently, body exhausted from the past two days of trekking.

The cold hadn’t helped your waning fever, making the cold feel even more biting despite the flares of heat that traveled over your body at random intervals. But it was time, you mused with a frown as you watched Joel go through the process of cleaning out the chimney, of leaving and returning with small branches and some dried leaves he must’ve taken from where they still clung among them. Time to take the stitches out and to bathe the wound, really get the skin around it clean and tended to.

Ellie had moved beside you and your eyes focused as flames roared to life at Joel’s hands. He provided you both in the ways that he could, bringing warmth into your lives to help stave off sickness. Ellie’s hand trailed up and down her thighs, trying to warm them as the fire steadily fought off the chill that permeated the small sanctuary.

With your fever having subsided, you were more about your wits. Residual chills only due to the howling wind and the snow that didn’t seem to be stopping in its falling any time soon. Your arm was sore, but you decided to take the morning to unwrap it and look over the stitches. Sighing at the sign of how puckered the indentations were, how well the skin was holding up and the tenderness of the sight had waned. It was time. You had to remove the material or risk another wave of infection. You could only hope that the healing for your bone was going well underneath the skin, but you were still too hesitant to stretch your arm out lest it pull and tighten in a bad way.

Digging around in your pack, you laid out all of the items that were crammed into it. Taking inventory of your clothing, the weapons and ammo, the small collection of sentimental keepsakes, the contents of your first aid kits. All of it was laid out on the small island in the kitchen where you were sat on a stool beside it.

Mind traversing through thoughts a mile a minute, you tried to gage if you’d be able to withstand the winter as it progressed. That was harder to determine, even prepared with a map and clothing. It was shelter you were worried about, frostbite, body temperatures, enough food to keep the body running enough to persevere. That’s how Joel found you, contemplating everything as you cradled a small jar only big enough to contain a handful of dried seeds.

“Everything good? Looks like you’ve got a lot going on.” He poked around the ashes in the fireplace with a stoke, trying to see if there were any embers smoldering. Resigning himself to needing to go out and get some firewood squared away, he came up to stand beside you. Your eyes were still unfocused, thinking again about how the man had been aware enough to take care of you and Ellie while you were out of commission. Strong and capable, reliable if you were lucky enough to be deemed important enough to him.

Your name said in a stern call had you jumping where you sat. Eye’s focusing, you turned to see Joel leaning against the counter with his fist balled up and leaning down to try and bring you back to the present.

“Yes, sorry, everything is fine.”

“You sure? Lost ya for a minute there, how long have you been up?”

“Didn’t really sleep, anxious. Kept hearing voices in the wind, but I know that we’re relatively save out here in the middle of nowhere.” You set the small jar down, the glass clinking against the counter and drawing the man’s attention. “Ellie’s still asleep, she came into my bed last night. Watched over her.”

One of his hands relaxed and he reached out to brush it against your own on the counter.

“You need your rest, still recoverin’ from everything.”

He watched over as you tended to your injuries, offering his help by silently standing beside you. A soft brush of fabric over the skin of your arm around the gash that trailed down your left bicep. Helping to wrap gauze more securely around it than you would’ve been able to with one hand.

Watching over as you carefully cut and pulled the stiches from your skin, the skin swollen and discolored in a way that you could see worried him. But you assured him that it looked good for what had happened, it would heal okay. It was just a matter of the bone fusing back together in a way that still allowed for normal movement, for the bearing of weight in order to use it even a fraction of well as you could before. But you were honest with him, it was a risky thing without stints, without plates, metal to adhere to the bone to ensure such perfect healing, without the ability to take an internal look.

It was then that he muttered he had a similar mark on his forearm from fending off the bear as it had given chase. You helped him to clean that, more than the haphazard swipe of alcohol he had done himself in the immediate aftermath. You checked his hands, the knuckles he had injured what seemed like so long ago now. They were still swollen, though he had movement back in them. They seemed to lock up if he didn’t stretch it out every so often, the bones holding trauma and no doubt aching in the colder weather. You applied a salve to his hand with gentle motions, massaging it into the skin with careful attention. His eyes watched over your face as you did so, trying to figure something out that he didn’t speak on.

The rest of the day was spent pouring over maps and trying to figure out where you had ended up.

Being lost was a worry both you and Joel shared, but you kept it between yourselves. Not wanting to alert Ellie of the possible mishap, she was already going slow, the weather dampening her in the wake of what happened in Kansas City.

“So, are you going to like split off from us the second we step foot in Wyoming?” Ellie asked, a weird air about her as she watched the way your head turns on a constant swivel, taking in the environment around you both. A small trek around the lake’s perimeter had been the activity of the day during the calm dusting of snow that the storm had diluted down to. “Cause, we’re going North, according to Joel’s calculations.”

“I’m with you, gremlin, until you don’t want me.” You didn’t turn to look at her, so when she clung to you suddenly, it caught you off guard and your feet slipped from underneath you. You tried to twist so you wouldn’t land on her and she held tight as you both tumbled to the ground in a puff of snow. Laughter rang out into the cold hair in puffs of hot breath as you both sat up. “I wouldn’t have said anything if I knew you were going to take me out!”

“Thank you.” Her voice was muffled where she pressed her face into your good shoulder, the one not supporting the weight of your broken arm with a makeshift sling.

“Of course, Ellie.” You nuzzled your nose into the top of her beanie, arms wrapping around her as best you could. You both stayed there, entangled on the cold ground for a few moments.

She stood up and helped to pull you to your feet, glancing back at the cabin on the other side of the lake, something behind her eyes.

“Joel has changed, but he…he makes me nervous.” Her gloved hands, your own pair given to her, twisted and tangled as she fidgeted beside you.

“I get that, but he’s a good man, Ellie. If he didn’t want us around or didn’t want to look after you, he would’ve made that known. He just…carries a lot. We all do in this world.”

“What did one ocean say to the other?” Ellie waggled her eyebrows at you, shifting from serious to goofy as she followed you toward where Joel had strung up some snares the day before. When you just looked over at her with a raised eyebrow of your own, she was about to finish her joke when you stole the punchline from her.

“Nothing, they just waved.”

“Ah, no!! I was so excited to say it!” One of her small hands punched lightly in front of her, face scrunched up in mock annoyance but the corners of her mouth struggling not to life up with her mirth.

“I’m shore you were, gremlin. But ocean jokes are in my blood. Water you gonna do about it?”

“You’re krillin’ my vibe, man.”

It was silent for a few moments as you both breached the tree line, going toward where Joel had set the traps up. As you neared them, you could see two hares had gotten tangled in them. A meal enough for all three of you if carefully prepared. Ellie watched carefully as you walked her through removing them without causing damage to the small bodies.

“Are the beaches different on the other coast?”

You were sure your steps could be heard as you walked down the stairs. As quiet as you were, you knew he was on alert, even with his bad ear, he had good hearing. Though you could tell as winter prevailed, it was waning in his right one more and more. You wished you had the mechanics and materials to try and make something for him, an aid of some sort, but it was long past when that was something to offer people. The state of the world didn’t care about ailing injuries, about the loss of senses, the loss of what helped to make survival easier. It would damn you and watch on as it did so. Time and time again.

You noticed his door wasn’t shut all the way, left open a crack so he wasn’t sealed away in a bubble of his own making. A silent way of saying, I’m here and I’m doing my best to provide protection and be on alert even in sleep. That he cared, even if he was unwilling to voice it aloud in a substantial way. But that was part of his growing appeal, the way he was so willing to do what needed to be done for Ellie, for you.

The incidents faced so far, the way he had been willing to send Ellie away from the bear and back to you, the way he had gone to that house to take out the shooter on higher ground that had been about to take out your group like ducks who didn’t know the danger about them. the way he had killed that man for calling you names, threatening you in a way that seemed more real than the Infected that had chased you through the depleted store. Threats eradicated at his own risk of safety.

It was warm in the cabin, the fire gently crackling as it lost height from not being fed. The flames cast moving shadows about the small room, an excursion of bare minimum comforts in the form of indoor protection all the way out here. You worried for a moment if more were in the area, scattered about the lake. But you hadn’t seen any other structures during your trek and if they had once existed, you were sure they would be in rough shape, even if still standing. Wind howled outside, a testament to the elements siding with the worlds downfall, take take take. Take everything that is not strong, that does not want to life, that can not handle living in the design of its making.

The creak of the door to his room would surely alert him of movement, if your steps hadn’t. He was sitting up in his bed, fully clothed save for his boots. Bed made and top blanket thrown over him gathered around his waist as his eyes traced your entrance into his space. A question on his lips was stolen from him as you leaned down once beside the bed. The kiss searing as you suddenly settled yourself over his thighs, hands curling into his hair. He groaned into your mouth, and your tongue to sought out his own.

His hands were gentle, rough fingers barely making any contact as his eyes watched the way he skimmed them over your exposed body. His plush lips pressing kisses in their wake as he moved down down down.

“Darlin’,” He looked up at you, strand of steel hair curled over his forehead above his eyes. Pupils nearly consumed the comforting brown of them, desperate and worked up, his breath hot exhales over the bare skin of your abdomen. His hands were gripping your hips, fingers digging into the give there while his thumbs were brushing over the crease of your thighs. You didn’t see, couldn’t see the desperation in his eyes as he felt the heat of you as your legs spread and made room for him to lean in close. How he fit so perfectly there like the space was his. Looking up to see your head thrown back on the pillow, hair fanning out loose and beautiful in the moonlight peeking through the blinds.

“You were so hesitant before, is this…is this okay? Don’t wanna cross any lines, but goddamn, you look so good f’me.”

He dared to move one of his thumbs over the course hair at the apex of your thighs, the action eliciting a shuddering gasp as it settled right at the top of your core, lips puffy and slick as they parted for him to brush against that little bundle of nerves he wanted to take between his lips and lave with his tongue.

He groaned at the sight, at the way you spread yourself for him to see, to feel. At the whimper that fell from your lips as your eyes flew open and gazed down at him, the color of your eyes all gone as pleasure shocked through you. He looked away from the sight of you on display and caught your eyes.

In a gentle move, you reached from where your hand had been tangled in the sheets to run through his curls. Nails scraping lightly against his scalp had him moaning quietly, his breath puffing out directly against you, causing you to flutter around nothing.

“Fuck, please.” You panted, needing him to do something, anything, to relief the ache that had settled there and simmered all day. “Joel.”

His mouth pressed up against you, his tongue licking through the mess of your folds and you let out a shout as your fingers tangled in his hair and pulled him closer. The strong line of his nose bumped that bundle of nerves and you gasped at the pleasure that shot up your spine. You rocked your hips, dragging your clit over the edge of his nose as needy sounds filled the air. Unable to stop the movement if that was something possible to want, seeking out more more more from him.

“That’s it baby, use me,” His voice muffled where it was buried in your cunt, his sucking kisses making you dizzy as he let you move against him. That coiling feeling was tightening, stomach muscles jumping in your stomach. Your injured arm was twitching at your side, laid out on the bed beside you as you struggled not to reach down and touch every part of him you could.

“Need you,” He panted against you, his mouth moving in languid motions, tongue swirling and fingers coming to tease at your entrance. “Need to feel you, c’mon, cum f’me, darlin’.”

The stretch of his fingers delving inside had you clenching tightly around him as pleasure shocked through your body. Your hand detangled from his hair to clasp over your mouth, muffling the shout that ripped through your chest as you soaked Joel’s face pressed into you. His tongue trailed down, lapping up what leaked around his fingers before he was pulling those from you and licking them too.

“So damn sweet, you taste so good f’me.”

It was rough, the way he clung to you and moved against you, desperate. Like he thought he’d never get the chance again, to be with you this way. To show you how much he appreciated you, the things you did for him. Something simmered low in your chest, spurred on by his actions but you tamped it down, fearing that giving it attention would allow it to blossom. That he would see it, recognize it, should he have ever known it before and turn away from you. Emotions something that could make this mess you both made of yourselves, tangling together in understanding suddenly giving depth to something and stealing the touches and looks away from you.

The stretch of him entering you, the feel of him hot inside you, the way he sent pleasure rippling over your entire body. It was damnation and revelation all in one breath and it brought you back down to the scorched plane of existence that you lead. Grounding you in a way you thought you’d never have again. A sob wracked your frame, tears building at the corners of your eyes as you felt just as desperate for him as he seemed to for you in that moment.

Good hand scrabbling, you reached for one of his as he lifted it to cradle your face, thumb brushing at underneath your eye to catch the tears as they fell. To wipe them away with such a gentle touch. His fingers tangled with your own and warmth blossomed in your chest as he stilled deep inside of you, pressed to you as completely as two people could be.

His eyes found yours as you looked up at him, words stuck on your tongue, stuck in your chest, stuck in the chasm that had opened up inside of you. He leaned down to seal his lips against yours, stealing them where they rested and began to move again.

“H-hey.” You greeted, a nervous energy about you as you descended the stairs. Returning to your own bed the night before had been the right call, you would stand by that decision. A little distance in the wake of sharing something so all-consuming with the man who you never expected to be in your life in such a way, to be so important. But it was just favors, given and taken between the two of you. It had to be just that, there was no room for anything else, barely any room for the favors to begin with.

You must’ve spaced out, because the next thing you knew a warm mug was being pressed gently into your good hand. Blinking, your vision came back into focus, taking in the trees and snow blanketed ground that had turned into a swirl of colors before you turned to see Joel standing close.

“You…okay? Not sore or anything?” He helped you to get a hold of the mug, cradling the bottom of the mug until he was sure you had it secure in your grip by the handle.

“Oh, um, a little. But it’s okay, really,” Warmth spread across your chest, tinting the tan skin of your neck lightly. There was the phantom feeling of scruff brushing there and you hid what you could of your face as you sipped from the drink. You mumbled around a thick swallow.

“It’s a good kind of sore.”

He didn’t ask about your tears, didn’t ask about the way you had crumbled at his touch the night before beyond that simple question. You worried it had been too much for him, too much for yourself.

The day dragged on, the storm that had lulled was back in full force. Thankful for the shelter of the cabin, everyone kept to themselves, lost in different trains of thought but still needing to feel the presence of one another.

Stirring suddenly as a mangle of memories and dreams bled from your mind, you sat up in the bed you had taken for the night. The room was bathed in bright moonlight, the skies clear through the window.

Anxiety hummed a low timbre in your body, urging you to your feet and you checked the room across the hall from yours. You expected to see Ellie curled up, but the bed was empty, the sheets rumpled.

“Joel.”

He turned from where he was on the couch, head knocked back onto the cushion that lined the back of the furniture.

“Ellie’s not in her room.”

“’s okay, she’s right here.” He motioned with his chin to the couch and as you rounded it you could see her laying across the rest of the cushions. Her head was in Joel’s lap, a weathered pillow underneath her head and atop his thighs. Her hands were curled into her chest and you realized gloves should be something you looked for next. She was so young, she shouldn’t have to experience her first travelling winter without all the proper supplies.

“Oh.”

“She had a nightmare and came scrambling down the stairs. Found her staring into the fire, so I’m tending to it.” He motioned to the living flames, the way they were stoked and flourishing underneath his touch.

“How’s your arm, darlin’?”

“’S fine,” You mumbled, suddenly self-conscious. You were competent, you were a survivor, you were capable but something about the way Joel Miller looked sitting atop the ratty couch with a wayward teenager comfortably cuddled up in his lap made you feel like a small thing. Made you feel like you wanted to be the person in his lap, the person he watched after with every swoop of his gaze over the horizon, the person in the back of his every thought, the person he bonded with in a way that would withstand any challenge. The person that he would want.

And you know, deep down that you are incredibly grateful for the ways in which he’s melded himself together for her, the figures he represents as an amalgamation of whatever she’s lacked in her life and transformed himself into for her. Proud of him as he did such a thing so effortlessly, transformed and flourished into something that had never even been so much as glimpsed at back at the QZ. But had steadily shown its face and true heart once the confines of the wall and pseudo societal pressures had fallen away.

A strong pillar of what humanity should aspire to be, the best qualities of man all tied into one figure.

At the very base of humanity, Joel Miller was a good man.

And you were beginning to feel for him.

It made you feel small to face the crashing wave of realization, here in the middle of a thick forest while you sought shelter in an abandoned cabin from a world before. All of the things you’ve endured led up to this moment, to these feelings, to this man. You grieved all of the past versions of yourself, even the ones who never saw the light of day. And you grieved for the person you would become once he was no longer a part of your life.

Because this world sees hope, it sees love, it sees possibility. And it tears it away from steadfast hands as if it were the ocean and you were a child just learning how to hold yourself up, getting swept away by the current.

Voices.

You could hear faint voices out beyond the line of trees that surrounded the cabin you had taken for yourself and your people. The book in your hand fell out of your grip and you looked over to a sleeping Ellie sprawled out on the couch. You stood from your spot, moving her stretched out legs from your lap and began to reach for her to rouse her.

“Hide.” The simple, harsh command from Joel spurred you and Ellie into motion as he entered the cabin from the only door, as quickly and quietly as he could so as to not draw attention.

“You hear anything, you run. Keep heading northwest, I’ll find you in the nearest town like we agreed. Even if you hear shots fired, got it? Both of you understand?” His tone held no room for argument.

You and Ellie hid in the room he claimed on the ground floor, underneath the bed, pressed together as far underneath it as you could manage. Packs fastened to your backs in case you would need to run.

The creak of the front door was loud in the tense silence. Ellie shook beside you, the cold seeping into the entire structure.

“From the snares to the smoke, someone’s gotta be makin’ this their home for the winter.” A gruff voice boomed, not bothering to be quiet as they stalked around.

“I dunno, it don’t look like anyone’s been here for years.”

The next words about to be spoken were cut off with a loud gurgling sound, followed by a shocked shout from the man’s companion.

“Land is taken,” Joel’s threat was clear. There was the sound of a body collapsing before running footsteps filled the air. Struggling, two bodies fighting against each other, and then a grunt from Joel.

“Looks like you aren’t as good as you think you are, old man.”

More voices filled the cabin, too many voices. Laughing and jeering at the sight of a beaten Joel filled the space in a mockery of how he hadn’t been able to hold his own. All men’s voices and fear had you reaching for Ellie to pull her closer to you. Men were dangerous, men were predictable, men could only mean one of two things for someone like you and Ellie. The sound of the front door slamming shut, and locking signaled your entrapment of a space that had meant safety only minutes ago.

Hours passed and night fell, the rowdy group not bothering to keep quiet or try to conceal themselves as your own trio had done. The fire roared to life under their ministrations, warming the place almost too much as they overfed the flames. Your entire body was wound tight, muscles screaming for relief from the crouched and tense position you were frozen in underneath the bed still.

“What’re we gonna do with him? He was obviously protecting something.”

“You got a pretty little thing with you, huh, bud? She out there hiding in the trees, waitin’ on you to return to her?”

There was no response from Joel, whether he simply didn’t engage or couldn’t due to a gag, you weren’t sure. But he was tied up, that much you knew from the effort it took to subdue him. He had been knocked unconscious, as someone had been preening over a few hours ago. He must’ve been coming back to consciousness, if the sudden stillness of the room was any indication.

They seemed to lose interest in his lack of engagement, the bodies dispersing to claim beds for the night, there would be enough for each of them. There were four different voices you had picked out as you stayed hidden. Heavy steps entered the room and the bed dipped as someone rested their weight atop it, the springs creaking against the frame protecting you and Ellie from the intruder.

She tensed up, nails digging into her palms as she looked to you. You shook your head, letting her know to keep quiet and that you would try your best to make sure things worked out okay. It was only a matter of minutes until loud snoring sprung into the air. You detangled yourself from Ellie, slowly guiding yourself along your back to the edge of the frame’s protection.

The man atop the bed was passed out, no weapon visible on him or in his grip as you held your head and torso up enough to glimpse at him. You shimmied as best you could out from underneath the bed completely, standing and ignoring the protest of your stiff muscles from the sudden movement after being locked for so long. You walked as lightly as you could over to the door and peered outside into the living room.

The fire was dying in the pit, a man passed out on the couch, and…

Joel was tied up, his hands and feet bound together. He was awake, though the swelling on his face didn’t look good. One of his eyes was blackened and it was swollen shut. They had taken his jacket from him, discarded it on the floor too far for him to reach for. Used to cover the body of the man he had killed. You crouched down to signal to Ellie that it was safe to come out. She stuck close behind you as you exited the room, trying not to touch the door and cause the hinges to give you both away.

Joel’s good eye widened as he say you move through the semi-darkness of the space. You crouched before him and used your machete to cut the rope from him. He got to his feet as quickly as he could, a frown overtaking his features as he retrieved his coat. Shrugging it on, he looked around for his pack but it was nowhere to be seen.

He made sure to get your attention and point to the door, motioning between you and Ellie. You nodded, understanding that he wanted you both to make a run for it while it was still quiet.

You were barely out the door when Joel was suddenly pushing you forward, a warning falling from him to run. The man on the couch had turned in his sleep, bleary eyes catching sight of a standing and unbound Joel jolting him awake completely.

“He’s making a run for it!”

Chaos ensued, heavy steps bounded down the stairs and echoed out into the open air as your trio trudged through the built-up snow. It was deep, nearly up to your ankles and made it hard to keep your balance as you waded through it. Ellie was ahead of you, a little faster, a little more right on her feet.

Joel grunted as a shot rang out from someone’s gun and he quickly brandished his own and fired a shot back. A howl as the bullet lodged itself into its victim was the only warning you got before a body collided with yours, knocking you down and you felt the world tilt as you rolled. Snow flying up all around you blurred your vision but the sound of something crackling was loud in your ear.

You stilled, panic spiking hard in your chest as you realized you had landed on the ice that covered the expanse of the lake. Up on the shoreline to the frozen water, Joel was still struggling fighting off two of the men. One lay dead next to Ellie, who was reaching for her gun to try and help. You yelped when there was sudden weight on you, pushing you hard into the freezing cold ice. Your face went numb as the ice cracked a little underneath it, the pressure causing the shards to cut into your flesh. There were two gunshots, one unnervingly close.

There was a loud cracking sound as the ice all around you broke. You felt your body fall, gravity taking your mind with it as you and your assailant plunged into the freezing water below.

“JOEL-“ Ellie’s terrified scream was the last thing you heard before the water swallowed you.

“No. No, no, no.” Joel chanted as he tried to put some distance between him and the last man still fighting him. He took a few steps back before rushing at him, throwing his entire weight into him and knocking him to the ground. As soon as they both landed, Joel stabbed his knife to the hilt into the man’s chest. He scrambled up as quickly as he could, ignoring the pain in his knees and shoulder. He slid as he ran toward the ice, being as careful as he could in his panic. He couldn’t see you down in the gaping hole of the broken ice, the water eerily still.

Everything fell quiet, there was no thrashing from below the ice, no more cracking of the ice. Joel’s mind was racing as his eyes scanned the expanse of the lake, hoping to catch a sign of movement from below.

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dividers: by the lovely @/saradika-graphics

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sillyrabbit81 · 1 year

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The Fallen Wolves Brotherhood - Part Seventeen

Series Summary: Lori "Babycakes" Tate swore she would never date a biker but when her life is in danger, she is put under the protection of a small club known as The Fallen Wolves Brotherhood. She suddenly finds herself attracted to not one, but five bikers.

A reverse harem, biker AU.

Part Seventeen Summary: Lori finds out more about Jake. Walker finds out about the pact.

Pairing: Captain Syverson x OFC, Walter Marshall x OFC, Mike x OFC, Geralt x OFC, August Walker x OFC

Word Count: Approx. 3.4k

Warnings:

Series Warnings: Reverse harem, age gap (OFC 23, ages range from 23 to mid 40s), oral sex (male and female receiving), unprotected p in v sex, anal sex, group sex, masturbation, praise kink, mentions of body fluids, drug use, recreational drinking, sex work, criminal activities, mention of death, violence, use of weapons, mentions of war, mentions of abuse, angst, fluff, probably a lot more that I will add as they come up.

Part Seventeen Warnings: slight angst, violence, mentions of blood, implied smut

Authors Note: Thanks as always to my lovely BBFs (Best Beta's forever) @henryobsessed and @nashibirne .

This chapter is from both Lori and Walker's POVs. I know it's a bit different to how I've been structuring the story, but I felt like it needed to be done this way.

There's more exposition here, but I think that will be all for a while.

Divider made by me. Edited by me, there will be errors.

Masterlist

Parts Masterlist

Part Sixteen Part Eighteen (coming soon)

Lori

“Are you sure you don’t want breakfast first?” Marshall asked as we approached the open door to Walker’s office.

I shook my head. “Let’s get this over with.”

He gave me a brief approving smile before cupping the back of my head and kissing me on the crown.

“Let’s go,” he said.

I took a deep breath to steel myself for what I was about to face and I walked into Walker’s office.

The space was simple enough, basically furnished with a dark, almost black, modern looking desk with a laptop and a number of open files and papers making a mess of the otherwise clean room. There was a matching filing cabinet and a bookshelf, a low modern black leather sofa and four simple chairs pushed against one of the grey walls and the floor was carpeted in a similarly grey rug. The only feature that appeared decorative was an abstract art piece that ran nearly the entire length of the wall.

It immediately caught my eye; it was impossible to ignore. The work was lit by museum style lighting and spread over two canvases. It was mostly white with sometimes wispy, sometimes harsh, feathery slashes of black, grey and brown paint. While there was an obvious darkness to the piece, there was something heartachingly optimistic about it. For some reason I was reminded of being a kid, blowing hard on a dandelion and watching with glee as the pappus floated away on the wind carrying with them the potential for adventure and a new life.

Walker cleared his throat. I glanced at him quickly, he was taking his seat behind the desk and Marshall was carrying over two chairs. I turned back to the painting and tried to reconcile the art with its owner, but couldn’t for the life of me see the connection.

What would a piece like this mean to a man like Walker? If it was simply melancholic and evoked feelings of fear and dread, I could see the attraction for him. However, the undeniable sense of potential hope and happiness born from the darkness had my curiosity piqued. Why would he not only buy it, but give the piece a place of honour, something that no other object in this room seemed to have? It couldn’t have been cheap, the artist was no doubt talented and experienced; it must have cost a fortune.

“Oh,” I mumbled, rolling my eyes. “Of course.”

It was an investment and a way to hide his true net worth from authorities. Granted, it was a high brow, convoluted way of laundering money, but it wasn’t unheard of, especially for international criminal syndicates. It was the only explanation that seemed plausible.

Taking one last look at the painting, I sat down next to Marshall. He pulled out his notebook while Walker selected one of the files scattered over his desk and opened it. He selected a page and showed it to me.

It was a grainy and dark photograph of the interior of a nightclub and appeared to have been lifted from security footage. A number of people were in the shot, mostly holding drinks and standing in groups of twos or threes. At first I didn’t grasp the significance of the picture, then I gasped as I recognised the couple in the middle of the frame.

“Jake,” I whispered.

“Jacob Owen Wright,” Walker corrected.

Barely able to tear my eyes from the photograph, I looked at the two men, “How did you find him? Just from this picture?”

Marshall looked a little sheepish and glanced at Walker who showed no embarrassment. “I had some associates sweep your apartment for fingerprints and DNA.”

“What?” I asked, my voice hard with anger. “You had no right to do that without asking.”

Walker took out another couple of pages and showed me pictures of what I recognised to be Jake’s apartment only by the kitchen cabinets because the rest of the apartment was completely bare.

“We didn’t have a lot of options. The whole place was scrubbed. Not a single piece of usable evidence was found to start an identification. Your apartment was the only other place we knew for sure that he’d been.”

“You could have asked,” I said, only partly paying attention to what I was saying.

My mind was in a whirl and I found it difficult to pin down any single thought. It was clear that Jake had lied to me about who he was and what his interest in forming a relationship with me was, but this along with the tracking device suggested that a bigger conspiracy was at play.

“So, you found something in my apartment?”

“Not a lot, but enough for an ID. A thumbprint was found on the top edge of the headboard of your bed and further examination found the rest of the prints on the back as if it had been grasped and used for purchase,” Walker informed me blankly.

My cheeks heated as I realised how those prints got there. I remembered when it had happened and remembered looking at the athletic cords of his arm muscles stretching and contracting as he used the bed as an anchor to go harder and deeper. I felt like such a fool. In the back of my mind I must have known there was something off about him, which was probably why I never want the relationship to make the transition from casual fuck buddies to something more serious. I don’t know why I ignored that feeling and let myself be drawn in by a man who had nothing to offer but lies and deception just because he had the veneer of civility. Looking up at Marshall, it struck me that while the Brothers appeared to be lawless and crude, they treated me better than any man I had known other than my father, Nate, and Hustle.

“Prints on file mean a criminal record right?” I asked.

Again the two men exchanged glances and again Walker spoke, “Not necessarily. But in this case, yes. One offence in New Mexico as a youth. While he was born in your home town, it appears as though he moved around a lot. His mother, born Louise Anne Huxley, married several times, however Jacob’s birth certificate lists no father and we haven’t been able to find one. Louise changed her name several times, with each marriage and on a few occasions without a marriage. Jacob’s birth name was Jacob Flynt, but he has also been known as Turner, Johnson and now, Wright.”

I peered at the photo of me and Jake again. He never even mentioned that he had been born in my hometown, only saying he had moved there a few months before we met; he hadn’t even said moved back. He hadn’t been open about himself like Marshall or Sy, or even Mike and I never would have asked him to be. I’d known the Brothers less than a week and I knew more about each of them than I did about Jake. Well, except for Walker.

“Anything else?”

Walker shook his head. “We have more leads to run down, I’ll let you know if we find anything more significant.”

“You’ve had some time to think,” Marshall said, “have you thought of anything else, anything at all that could help with the investigation?”

“No. Nothing I haven’t already told you.” My eyes were drawn back to the canvas. “Have you told my brother? Does he know anything about this?”

“I spoke to Hustle—” Walker started.

“I asked about Nate,” I brought my attention back to Walker whose jaw muscles quivered beneath his stubbled cheek. “Have you spoken to him?”

“No.”

I nodded and swallowed down my fear. Nate must be alright; Hustle would have said if he wasn’t and despite everything, I’m sure Walker would tell me if something had happened to him.

“Is that all? Can I go now?” I asked.

Walker gave me a curt dip of his head, so slight it couldn’t be called a nod.

I stood and turned swiftly on my heels as I headed for the door.

Walker

Marshall gave me a flat, unimpressed stare as he followed Lori out of my office.

“Jesus,” I muttered as I placed the papers and photographs back in the manilla folder. What the hell did I do this time to get her so riled up?

Sighing, I tapped the file on the desk and glanced up to see Marshall lifting Lori’s chin with a crooked finger in a way that suggested a familiarity that was far too inappropriate for my liking. It was a good thing Sy wasn’t here to witness it; no doubt he’d go completely apeshit. A kiss on the cheek was one thing, even Mike’s game yesterday was basically harmless, but the way Marshall was looking at Lori was absolutely not benign.

I was sure Marshall would pull away before they actually kissed. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to kiss her; the girl was far too attractive for her appeal to be ignored. She was artlessly beautiful and she had a spark of fiery willfulness that always made my cock ache when I imagined seducing her into submission. But this wasn’t about Lori, I didn’t give two shits if Lori stepped out on Sy, it was about Marshall. Marshall wouldn’t betray Sy, he wouldn’t betray a Brother. Surely he wasn’t going to—

“Holy Shit!”

He did it, he actually kissed her.

My blood ran like napalm through my veins, my sight going red as I lept my desk and letting the uncontrolled rage rush through my system along with the burst of adrenaline, I let it all out in one furious punch squarely in the middle of Marshall's face.

A scream and a warm spray of blood slapped me across the face, quickly sobering me.

Oh fuck, what have I done?

Marshall held his nose, no doubt busted and Lori was pushing me out of the way as she tried to get Marshall to lower his hands so she could see the damage. Marshall wasn’t having it, stepping around her as he confronted me.

“You deserve that, you know you do,” I said, coolly.

“And why the fuck would I?” Marshall said, blood pooled in his mouth which sprayed out as he spoke.

“You think Sy would have gone easier on you? Should I have just let him deal with this?”

“And why the fuck would you care what Sy would do?”

“I’m not going to let a woman break this club up, I don’t care who the fuck she is.”

“It’s not what you think Walker,” Lori had the hide to say. I turned on Lori, her face was pale with fear, but she held her chin up as if daring me to hit her too. Fuck, she was killing me.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about Walker,” Marshall added.

“What else could I think? You’re kissing his fucking woman. You think he’s going to shrug and get over it? You’ve put the whole club in jeopardy and—”

“Walker!” Geralt entered my office, planting himself firmly between Marshall and me.

“He was kissing Lori,” I said. Jesus, I sounded like a kid trying to obfuscate responsibility after being busted by their dad. I may as well have pointed at Marshall and cried, he started it.

Geralt didn’t react. Not even a tiny twitch of his eye.

“You knew? You knew and you didn’t think to stop it before he came back? He’s going to fucking kill him.”

Geralt sighed and looked at the grey carpet now decorated with a blood splatter that Dexter Morgan would have been proud of.

“Lori, take him to the kitchen and put some ice on his nose.”

Lori gave me a look of disgust that made my guts twist. Fear, I could deal with; disgust was something else entirely. Marshall still had his eyes trained on me, his eyes darkened with murderous ambition. I readied myself for him to attack, but Lori took his hand, with a gentle tug and he let himself be led away.

I turned my attention back to Geralt as Marshall and Lori disappeared into the hallway.

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” I said to Geralt, turning back to my desk and sitting in my chair.

Stunned, I sat slack jawed as Geralt explained the situation - the pact the others had made - although it sounded too far fetched to be true. But it made a lot of things fall into place and explained what the others had been whispering amongst themselves over the past few days.

How could I have missed this? How could I not have known what was going on. Jesus, what else was going on in the club that I didn’t know about?

“What happens when the job is over?” I asked when he finished talking.

“Same rules as before, she decides what she wants,” Geralt replied.

“What if she wants to go home? Would you go with her?”

Geralt shrugged.

“Jesus. You’d let the club fall because of the whims of some girl?”

Geralt raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.

“When were you going to tell me? When you were all packed up ready to leave and I’d be stuck here holding my dick,” I seethed through gritted teeth. “I’d expect something like this from Sy, he’s always been a little soft when it comes to women. Or Mike even, he’s a fucking kid. But Marshall? You? No. I thought you knew what we were doing here, what we were working for.”

“I don’t think she will want to leave when this is over, I think she’s found her place here.”

“This is no place for a woman.”

“She knows what she's getting into. She’s not naive.”

Geralt’s nonchalance about this whole situation was doing my head in. There was so much that could go wrong here. We could lose it all because my Brothers couldn’t think with anything but their dicks.

“You don't have to be on the outside looking in,” Geralt said with a sly smirk. “She likes you too, you know.”

I laughed, curling my lip and showing Geralt my teeth. “I saw the look on her face, she’s terrified of me.”

“Not of you, of what you represent.”

“I don't share my toys," I sneered.

Geralt nodded slowly. “It’s your call,” he stood, “I'll go check on Marshall.”

“Tell him…” I ground my teeth, what the fuck do I say?

Geralt paused and waited.

“Nothing.”

I glanced at the painting on my wall. The darkness loomed larger than usual and I turned away again quickly, not daring to hope for some light.

Over the next few days the divide between my Brothers and I widened while the others seemed to draw together as they closed in on Lori. Normally there was a schedule set up for guarding a client, even inside the clubhouse, but Lori didn’t need one; she was never alone. She went from Marshall, to Geralt, to Mike, back to Marshall. I didn’t bother offering to take even an hour of guard duty. I wasn’t asked to anyway.

I dared not ask which of my Brothers she was fucking. Marshall obviously, but had Mike and Geralt gone there too? It didn’t look like it, but I couldn’t be sure. I should have nipped the situation in the bud that first night when I found Sy in bed with her.

Dinners alternated between awkward affairs and actually entertaining. Mike in particular was lively, filling dull moments with jokes and conversation. But usually towards the end of the meal Marshall would look at Lori, and the air in the room became electrified as if statically charged. I would leave the room as soon as possible.

One evening after dinner, I walked into the common room and the four of them were there. Perched on Geralt's knee, it appeared she was playing a card game against Mike and Marshall, a small stack of chips were in front of each of them. Her brows were drawn low in concentration as Geralt whispered in her ear and pointed at her hand.

They all looked up simultaneously. Mike and Marshall dropped their heads back to their cards, Marshall still hadn’t forgiven me for the punch and barely spoke to me during meals. His bruising had faded to a few dark circles under his eyes and he had a small cut on the bridge of his nose. Geralt nodded in greeting but didn’t say anything.

Lori watched me move around the bar until Mike pulled her attention back to the game.

“It’s your turn Babycakes.”

She peeked over her shoulder at Geralt and pointed at a card. He nodded and grinned. Lori dropped the cards onto the table with a smirk and Mike groaned while Marshall dropped his hand with a disgruntled sigh.

“I won?” Lori asked, grining.

“G won,” Mike grumbled under his breath while Marshall nodded.

She raised her hands into fists above her head and bounced excitedly on Geralt’s knee. I turned my attention to pouring my drink, slamming the glass down angrily on the counter.

“Should we play again?” I heard her ask.

“I’ll deal,” Mike said.

“Walker, do you want in?” Lori asked.

I paused, the bottle of whiskey poised just about to pour.

“On the game,” she added.

Mike snickered.

I started to pour myself a generous amount before raising my head. All four of them were looking expectantly at me. I raised my glass to my lips and had a sip, relishing the sweet burn as it passed my throat and settled in my belly.

“No thanks,” I said, already walking across the room, “some people have to work around here.”

I went back to my office. I didn’t have any work to do, not really. All the leads we had in the investigation into Jake were being handled externally by various contacts who worked for us on occasion and I had decided not to take any more jobs until this one was over. We’d had requests and offers, but after investigating Jake and relaying the information to Hustle, I had a nagging feeling something wasn’t adding up. I think we were going to need everyone on this and Sy’s experience in particular was needed.

I lit a cigar and went to the sofa on the wall. I stared at the painting on the wall as I smoked, and drank, waiting patiently for the heavy buzz that would let me sleep.

I was getting close when the gate alarm went off. I went back to my desk and checked the camera feed and saw Sy rolling the large wire gate shut before riding off to the garage. I sat in the chair and waited.

It wasn’t long before he appeared, bag slung over one shoulder, helmet tucked under his arm.

“Walker,” he said.

“How did it go?”

He placed his helmet carefully on the desk, shrugged then sat. “It was straightforward. No problems. Need a report?”

I shook my head, “Not unless there’s something we should be aware of in future.”

He grimaced, “One or two things, but nothing urgent. I’ll get it to you in a few days.”

“Fine.”

I expected him to leave but he stayed sitting in the chair. After a few moments he spoke. “How is she?”

“Alive,” I said.

He nodded. Quiet again, he looked all around my office at everything except me then spoke again. “Where is she?”

“I last saw her in the common room with the others. If they aren’t there, then I expect she’s with Marshall,” I paused, trying to figure out what the fuck he was thinking, but he gave nothing away so I added, “Like every other night since we got here.”

He nodded again. Still nothing, his face totally impassive, I couldn’t get a read on him at all.

Sy stood suddenly, “I’ll get that report to you soon.”

I wanted to ask him where he was going to go; his room or Marshall’s? I wanted to ask him why he did it, I wanted to tell him I couldn’t have done what he did, I wanted to punch the shit out of him and tell him he was a fucking idiot. Instead I waited until he left and went back to the sofa and stared at the painting on the wall again until I fell asleep.

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kikiwritesfanfic · 9 months

Text

The Lovebug Virus - Chapter 2: Sun

Yandere! Sun and Moon x Reader

Masterlist || Chapter 1 || Chapter 3

*****

"And down that way past the daycare is Monty Golf," Max says. You try your best to remember everything he's telling you, but you're having a hard time now that you're close enough to the daycare to hear the children screaming and playing down below.

It's been about a week since the disaster at the party and Kat telling you she would call her older brother. Turns out, he's actually the head engineer here at the Pizzaplex, which you hadn't known. That's why Kat worked at the plex, because she wanted to make her way up the engineering ladder like her brother Max had done once he had finished with his degree. She only works as a night guard because it was what was open at the time. Kind of like what you were doing now. Except you hadn't gotten as lucky with the job opening you had to take.

"Well, guess that leaves the most important part now, doesn't it?" Max says, clapping his hands together in front of him. He was older than Kat, that much was evident. But he still looked young. You guess he can't be much older than 30, given the lack of worry lines or grey hairs. His face is clean shaven, but he rubs his chin constantly as if stroking a beard. If there is one thing you've been able to take from your interactions with him so far, it's that you definitely know where Kat gets most of her personality from.

"Yeah, I guess. Lead the way," you say, allowing him to guide you towards the employee entrance of the daycare.

Everything is so bright and colorful, and there's a rather silly song that never seems to end playing from somewhere overhead. Not that the kids could hear it over there incessant screams of joy. Max leads you over to a desk with several computers at it and a large screen behind it advertising the Sunnydrop energizing candies. Do they really give those to kids? You doubt they need anything energizing considering the pure molten energy they seem to have flowing through them right now.

Max types a password into the computer and fiddles with something in the system while you take in the sights around you more. Some of the children seem to be playing a rather intense game of tag, while others are sitting around a small table coloring. You smile. Even though you are nervous about being around so many little kids, you find some level of comfort in the thought. It can't be that hard, right? Especially if you're going to be working with... other people...

You look around the large daycare with more detail. There doesn't seem to be a single other daycare attendant in sight! Who is watching these kids? Were you expected to work alone?

You're going to mess this up. You always screw up, especially when it's something new.

"Okay, you're officially in the system, and you are authorized to handle drop offs, pickups, medicine inputs, and incident reports," Max says, pulling you from your thoughts.

"Uh, okay. A-Are you going to be working with me?" you stutter, the uneasiness you feel seeping into your voice. Max lets out a hearty laugh, as if it was the funniest thing he's heard all day.

"Hell no, I don't like being around the younger ones."

"Mr. Diaz, language!" you hear a robotic, high pitched voice say from behind one of the play structures. Your confusion must be pretty evident, because Max only laughs harder.

"Well, now you get to meet them," he says, winking at you once he calms down. "Sun! Remember when I told you that you'd be getting some help around the daycare?"

"Ohmygosh yes! Are they here now?" the same voice from before asks. Your eyes widen as a tall, yellow animatronic appears from behind the play structure holding one of the children in his arms. Several kids appear with him, all holding different stuffed Fazbear-themed plushies. He bends over and places the kid down before saying something to the rest of them and heading towards the security desk.

You take a hesitant step backwards. "I-I'm going to be working with an animatronic?" you ask quietly. This is insane. Neither Kat nor Max told you that there was going to be one of them working with you in the daycare. And it wasn't anywhere in the job description! The animatronic leans forward on the desk, his sunrays spinning slowly around his faceplate.

"Hello new friend!" he greets you. "I'm Sundrop! But you can call me whatever you'd like! Everyone has so many different names for me. But the most popular are Mr. Sun, Sunny, or just plain ol' Sun!"

Max types something into the computer again before smiling up at Sun. "She's going to be working with you as the human daycare attendant to get some of the work off of your back. Don't go chasing her away like the other one, though." Sun's rays stop spinning and shrink back slightly. It's almost as if he's... embarrassed?

"I-I'm Y/N," you say, sticking your hand out. Sun's face lights up and he reaches out to shake your hand from across the desk.

"That's such a lovely name, Sunbite! Oh, do you mind if I call you Sunbite? I give everyone nicknames," he says, speaking rather quickly. It makes you smile. He sounds just as nervous as you. The AI in him must be super advanced. You'd love to be able to read the coding that goes into his software, but you know you won't even get the chance to do anything like it until you're actually an engineer here, and not some measly little daycare attendant.

"I don't mind," you say. Of course you don't. You don't want to upset him already. He somehow seems to smile even brighter.

"Lovely!" he exclaims. Max's Fazwatch beeps and he curses under his breath. But before Sun can scold him again, he pulls his staff hat from his belt loop and puts it on.

"I am so sorry about this," he says to you. "But I have to go. Something just came up. But I'm sure Sun can show you the ropes of running the daycare for today, especially since naptime has already passed?" he pleads, turning to the animatronic. Sun nods eagerly.

"Of course I can, Mr. Diaz! Don't you worry, our new little friend will know all the ins and outs of the daycare before the end of today!" Sun says, waving as Max leaves. You, on the other hand, don't feel as confident. Still, you turn to the animatronic and smile nervously.

"So, where do we begin?"

You spend the last hours of the daycare day mainly learning about the routine and where everything is. Being distracted seems to have busied your mind enough that you don't really have time to have any negative thoughts. Especially because the kids seem to find an extra burst of energy with you being new, surrounding you and asking you question after question. After the first hour, you grew used to it though, answering them patiently. This had caused Sun to tell you that you were beginning to be a perfect fit for the daycare already, which had made your cheeks flush.

But now you're waving the last two kids out the front door from behind the security desk. The door closes and you sigh, flopping back into the office chair. Sun bounces in front of you on the opposite side of the desk. "You did absolutely wonderful, Sunbite!" he says rather loudly. It will certainly take a lot to get used to his base volume being noisier than you're used to. But still, you flash a grin at him.

"You really think so?" you ask as warmth tickles the back of your neck. "I-I don't really feel like I did much." Sun's rays begin to spin around his head again.

"You absolutely helped out. Normally the kids are bored by the end of the day and begin terrorizing each other because of it. But they really liked you." He turns and gestures wide with his arms. "Now for my favorite part of the day. Cleaning time!"

You find yourself chuckling softly to yourself. You don't mind cleaning - it was actually the part of this job that you were looking forward to the most. Making things nice and shiny was one of your favorite activities. It calmed you down and allowed you to think. Your anxiety would cool off and your negative self talk would quiet. So you head out from behind the desk and follow Sun around as he runs you through the cleaning routine. He continues to remind you how grateful he is for your help, repeating that the cleaning routine will go by so much faster now. Sometimes it feels like he's reminding himself in a way? If you weren't so enthralled by the amount of cleaning there was, you might have even wondered if he was talking to someone else...

After an hour and a half of scrubbing, wiping, sweeping, and vacuuming, you finally finish sanitizing the daycare with Sun. He thanks you repeatedly, and tells you that he can't wait to see you again the next day.

"Can I give you a goodbye hug, Sunbite?" he asks, holding his arms out. You smile sheepishly. You've only spent a few hours with the animatronic, but you find yourself enjoying his company and unable to deny his request. How could you deny that cute smile?

So you hug him. Much to your surprise, you don't come into contact with cold metal, and instead he is warm. It kinda throws you for a loop for a moment, as your brain tries to process the fact that you're not hugging another human, but you shove your thoughts aside and decide to just enjoy it. He also smells faintly of citrus, which only makes you smile and giggle a bit to yourself. When you pull from the hug, Sun turns his head to the side and his rays shrink down slightly.

"D-Did I say something funny?" he asks, and you immediately shake your head, still smiling.

"No, no, not at all, Sunny," you say. "I'm just finding this whole thing a bit bizarre is all."

"Oh, how so?"

You hesitate. "Well, where I'm from, there was an old Fazbear Pizzeria, but it was closed down when I was a teen. Still, there wasn't any kind of advanced AI in those animatronics. They were just machines inside of a cheap fuzzy suit." You shrug and walk back over to the security desk with Sun in tow.

"What was it like there?" he asks. You weren't expecting that. He's so curious, almost in a childlike manor. You wonder how often people actually answer his questions. But you smile nonetheless and answer him.

"Freddy, Chica, and Bonnie were on the mainstage," you say, and continue to describe the layout, pointing out that the daycare alone is bigger than the entirety of that small little pizzeria you used to spend all your summers at. You clock out of the system as you do so, and then place your hands on your hip. "It was my favorite place to go to growing up. Especially because.. Well, it doesn't matter," you say suddenly, cutting yourself off as bitter memories begin to cloud your nostalgia. Sun's shoulders sink at your unexpected shutdown.

"Hey, meatball!" a familiar voice says from behind you. You turn and smile at Kat walking through the door to the daycare.

"Hey, Catnip!" you greet. Sun also smiles and bounds over to Kat excitedly.

"Miss Diaz! What a pleasant surprise! You already know our Sunbite?" he asks. Your steps slow slightly as you approach. Wait, did he just say "our" when referring to you? Well, he probably means the daycare as a whole. Either way, you hug Kat once you reach her.

"Of course I know her," she says, ruffling your hair and flashing you a toothy grin. "We're roommates."

You place your hand to your chest in mock heartbreak. "Just roommates?! Kitkat, you wound me," you joke. She laughs and shoves your arm.

"My bad, we're best friends," she corrects herself. Sun's rays begin spinning around his head again.

"Oh! So this is the one you said worked at the uh... adult bar before!" he says, and your mouth falls open.

"You told him that?" you round on your friend. She holds her hands up in surrender.

"How was I supposed to know that you would end up working with him?" she asks, chuckling through her words. "Besides, it's not like he knows exactly what goes on in places like that," she says in a hushed voice. "But anyways, I came by to make sure you survived your first day, and it looks like you have, so I'm going to get ready for my shift!"

"Which parking lot did you leave the car in?" you ask, and she smiles deviously at you. "Figure it out," she says before turning back and walking back through the entrance. "See you later tonight, boys!" she calls over her shoulder.

"Bye Miss Diaz!" Sun says from your side, waving wildly. Before you can even begin to wonder why on earth she referred to Sun as "boys," he turns back to you. "So, the next day you work is this Saturday, correct?"

You give a puzzled look to the yellow animatronic. "H-How did you-"

"Oh! We're connected to the entire system!" he says, tapping his index finger to his head. "So we can see the schedules, place incident reports, and contact emergency services or head personnel if needed."

"Ah, well that makes sense." You walk over to the door of the employee entrance and Sun follows at your heel once again. You seriously feel like this poor animatronic doesn't get a lot of interactions from anyone besides the children. Once you reach the door, you stop and turn back to him. "Do you ever leave the daycare, Sunny?" you ask.

He clasps his hands in front of him, wringing his fingers together. "Well, uh, I don't," he says. You can't help but think that he looks adorable when he's nervous like this.

"Why not?"

"It's just not really required, I guess? Honestly, I'm not so sure." His rays shrink back once again, and you smile.

"Well, either way, I guess I'll see you Saturday!"

"Saturday it is!" he perks back up.

"Buh-bye Sunny," you say, and slip out of the door to grab your belongings from the employee locker room and head back home.

*****

A/N: AHHHHHH we finally met Sunny!! Does he meet your expectations? Does he?? God he's such a soft nervous boi, just needs some attention and love *cries*

Anyways, stay tuned because in the next chapter you get to meet Moon!! And then the real story can begin muahhahahah

Stay sweet, my lovelies~

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transmutationisms · 8 months

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@amarocit yes i would love to hear your analysis of the french context here! so i'm borrowing a lot from dorothy roberts, who talks about this in chapter 7 of 'killing the black body'—roberts makes a distinction between the american liberal's demands for "reproductive liberty" (a guarantee of freedom from specific forms of government intervention) and what she calls "reproductive equality", which would be a more expansive guarantee of reproductive choice that takes into account the background factors of social inequality restricting eg black women and poor women from accessing the full range of options in reproductive care / decision-making.

part of what's at stake here, obviously, is the simple fact that the right to abortion in roe v wade operated on the background assumption that health care is essentially income-restricted. but there is also a whole web of legislation of government action that perpetuates the inferior status of black women, and that prevents them from making all manner of choices about having / raising children. so, a negatively conceived right to abortion is simply insufficient to eliminate the subordination of black women. it's a right that was basically designed around the desires and needs of (wealthy) white women for whom "reproductive choice" had become very highly focussed on a right to abortion rather than, say, a right to the kind of overall economic stability that would allow them to actually access that procedure, or indeed a right to avoid the kinds of state coercive measures that sought to control black women's reproduction in other ways (eg, welfare policies that seek to discourage black women from having children, or punish them for doing so; forced sterilisation; various other means of trying to discourage them from having children). wealthy white women's desire to access abortion has basically come up against natalist pressures for them to reproduce; this is simply not the case for all demographics in the us. as long as demands for abortion rights assume (tacitly or explicitly) that everyone seeking an abortion is fighting against the pressure to HAVE children, it's impossible to adequately address the needs of those who are actually being coerced by various state policy in the opposite direction.

people have also made a lot of the fact that the roe decision hinged on a 'right to privacy' rather than an affirmation of bodily autonomy—obviously i don't think that was good, but i am honestly not convinced that even the best-written supreme court decision would have made much difference in this respect lol. as we've seen in the past few years regarding the court, and the past few decades regarding abortion specifically, what the court says is not really set in stone any more than any legislation is. i think abortion opponents would have been pretty determined to chip away at any legal conception of a right to abortion. it seems to me that the underlying issue here is, again, that the right to abortion was basically grafted onto larger structures of inequality and the subordination of black women; i don't think 'liberty' (if we want to use that word) can really exist so long as the underlying oppressive structures are still there. obviously the supreme court is not designed to be capable of challenging those structures because it exists within them and upholds them as an arm of the state.

in any case i guess my main point here is: a right to abortion was always going to be shaky and inequitable in the us so long as it was configured as a very limited freedom from specific forms of government intervention, rather than being placed in context with the larger social forces that act to constrain people's ability to make free choices about their bodies / reproduction. abortion needs to be available freely and on-demand, along with things like contraception, but also along with actual freedom from government coercion NOT to reproduce, which is something that the state directs primarily at black and poor women. abortion framed as a negative right has no redress for this type of issue because again, the us abortion rights movement has been so driven by wealthy white women who were in a position where their main concern was getting access to the procedure, rather than fearing being forced to have it (or being forcibly sterilised and so forth).

when we flip it around and start thinking about what's required to actually achieve equality and reproductive freedom, it's clear that just guaranteeing legal access to abortion is wildly insufficient for those subjugated by legal and systemic antiblackness, living in poverty, &c. and it's pretty depressing that the mainstream us abortion rights movement has never been able to grapple with eg, the very real and ongoing legacy of eugenics in welfare policy, white women's feminism, and yes the efforts to provide access to contraception and abortion. as long as these things are excluded from advocacy of abortion rights, and abortion is conceived as a freedom-from (a specific manner of state intervention), we're not actually able to discuss the broader factors that constrain people's ability to make free choices about their bodies and reproduction: poverty, racism, policies in response to these factors that may take either pro- or anti-natalist stances, depending on the state's goals and the specific population it's trying to control or manage.

anyway yeah: would be very interested in hearing what you have to say about the french context!

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universecorp · 1 year

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Temptation: Chapter 1

Chapter warnings: Brief smut (mentions of smut as well as short blowjob scene)

W.C.: 2.6k

Mood Playlist: Temptation

DAY 4

It had been four days since the fairies had (kidnapped) found you in their domain and you had learned a few things while you were here. One being that the five fairies lived together, two being that the fairies had some pretty cool magic, and three being that they were all in a relationship. A very healthy, active relationship. With each other. You discovered this when you had the unfortunate pleasure of walking into their shared room, and witnessing what had to be the filthiest orgy you had ever laid eyes on. Between the moaning, the skin slapping, and the other unspeakable things you witnessed, it was safe to say the fairies weren’t just friends. On top of that you were learning, they didn’t care whether or not you saw the things they did, which brought you to your current position in the tea room. You were already given a tree tour, marveling at the large wood structure, which Taehyun and Yeonjun had conjured up for themselves and their three other lovers. You had taken a particular liking to the fairies bedroom as well as the tea room. Yeonjun had been kind enough to expand a part of the tree for your own room, and you loved the space, but something about the tea room being deep within the trunk of the tree where no sound cuts through was so calming that you had frequented a majority of your time there. Today was no different, you had grabbed a book from the library and made your way down the stairs before pulling back the vine curtain only to freeze in place.

You and Soobin were currently holding eye contact as a blush crawled its way up to both of your ears. Soobin breathed out several apologies as he tried to push Yeonjun’s head off of his dick. “Yeonjun, stop.” Soobin whined out which only seemed to spur on the black haired fairy. The fairy that was currently bobbing his head vigorously around his boyfriend's cock glanced at you through his peripheral, changing his speed which caused Soobin to throw his head back in pleasure. “Junnie, please,” Soobin’s plump lips stayed parted as his breathing began to grow heavier, his lidded eyes fell back down to his lover. You watched as Yeonjun pulled off of the man, using his hand to make up for the loss of his mouth. “You wanna join?” A cheeky grin graced his lips as your flush grew deeper. You quickly shook your head before turning heel and heading to the library.

“Her loss.” Yeonjun shrugged before resuming his previous mistrations, pulling a choked out moan from Soobin.

“Y/N!” Your eye twitched slightly at the voice that was currently assaulting your ears. You did your best to ignore it, but another ear splitting shriek pulled you away from your book. “Oh, here you are, why didn’t you answer me?” You looked over at Yeonjun who was standing in the doorway. “I was trying to read, and kind of trying to avoid you.” Yeonjun scoffed before walking up to the pillow you were laying on. “Why would you want to do that?” You rolled your eyes, ignoring the fairy, in favor of directing your attention back to your book. “Come on, let's go do something.” You huffed, putting a leaf into the book to hold your place. “You have like four boyfriends, you’re telling me they don’t want to hang out with you?” He used his powers to conjure up a vine which he began fidgeting with. “I wanted to show you around the forest, you’ve been in the tree for the past three days. Plus Binnie and Kai went to the hub domain to get you some clothes, and Gyu and Hyunnie are taking a nap.” You thought over his proposition before ultimately standing up and following him out of your room.

“So how do you end up in your own domain anyways?” You and Yeonjun were currently walking through a garden of flowers, both large and small. “Domains are given to fairies that are bonded for life. Usually there has to be five or more fairies a part of the bond, which is very rare. There are 7 domains, one for each sin.” You hummed in understanding, running your fingers along the vine banister of the mushroom stairs you were walking down. “How do they decide what your domain is?” The two of you came to a small clearing, with a table and chairs, and a small kitchenette. “It's based on our bond. Not every bond is built from love in the beginning, and that's just how the five of us were. We saw each other as objects of lust, and it wasn’t until we were given a domain that we truly learned what love was.” You hummed again, with a bit more awe in your tone, you would’ve never guessed that's how the five started off. “So for example, if a bond started out of anger, would they be in the domain of wrath?” Yeonjun smiled brightly, walking back with two cups of tea and some fruit chips. “You catch on faster than I thought.” You huffed out a small laugh before thanking him for the snack. “So how did all of you meet?” You popped a chip in your mouth, awaiting the black haired boy’s answer. “We met in school, we all weren’t in the same grade, but we had a few electives together.”

“Hold on, fairies go to school?”

“Yes, now shush and let me tell you the story.”

You nodded, urging him to continue. “ I was in my last year of school, while the rest were in a grade or two below me. All of us grew up in different parts of the hub, so we had never crossed paths until college. We all knew for certain though, that we couldn’t stay away from each other.” The fairy took a sip of his tea before continuing, “At first it was me and Soobin only, I’ve always been persistent, and after we became partners for an assignment, we started fucking. After a group project, we all became really close, and that's when the others joined in. Believe it or not, Beomgyu was pretty reluctant to join us.” That made you laugh loudly, aside from Yeonjun, he was also the main instigator when it came to trying to “tempt” you. Him and Heuningkai were the second pair you walked in on, only a few hours before Yeonjun and Soobin. Beomgyu had done a similar routine as Yeonjun, except he just continued thrusting in and out of Heuningkai, whose face was pressed into a pillow, muffling his loud moans.

“You’re joking right?”

The pink winged fairy shook his head.

You giggled a little while blowing at your tea before taking a sip.

“So you’re in uni too right, what are you studying?” You nodded, setting your cup down, “I study photography, that's actually how I ended up in your circle. I was taking pictures in the forest for my class, but I lost track of time and before I knew it, my phone was dead, and it was dark.”

“So this is where you two disappeared to?” You and Yeonjun turned your heads towards the stairs to see Taehyun and Beomgyu, the older of the two was still rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Y/N and I were getting to know each other a bit better, she's still in uni like you two and Hyuka.” Taehyun’s eyes widened in surprise as he pulled out the chair for Beomgyu to sit in. “That's interesting, if you stay with us, you can transfer to our uni.” He smiled, leaning down to plant a quick peck on Yeonjun’s lips. You laughed awkwardly at that, “I wouldn’t count on it, but sure.” The three men shared a knowing look before dismissing the topic.

“How were your naps darlings?”

“Good, Taehyun woke up earlier than I did and started dinner, the soup is simmering back at the tree now.” Beomgyu replied, playing with a caterpillar that inched its way onto his chair. “Sounds like my little Iris has been busy.” Yeonjun smiled appreciatively at the green winged fairy who was preparing another round of tea. “I have, I was thinking that we could all make some dessert later, too. I also asked Binnie and Hyuka to pick a movie for us to watch, I hope you like Avengers.” Your eyes widened a bit at the mention of the familiar movie franchise. “You have Avengers here?” The three looked at you as if you were crazy, like it was something you should’ve expected. “Why do you think we have fairy circles, the main purpose isn’t so humans can stumble upon them, it’s so we can travel to different places without having to fly long distances.” You gawked at the Beomgyu causing the orange winged man to chuckle at you. “Although, we can’t fly to the human realm, it's more like another dimension.” You nodded, accepting your new cup of tea from Taehyun. “How do you go to the human realm with your wings though?” Taehyun sat down in the empty seat next to you, placing a small plate of fruits in the center of the table. “Well, there’s no magic in the human realm, so our wings as well as our powers go away.”

Everything was starting to make more sense the more questions you asked, the fairies weren’t shy when it came to sharing knowledge about their world. You noticed they seemed to enjoy it, especially Beomgyu, who was answering most of your questions.

“Wait, Beomgyu, what’s your talent?” The orange winged boy blinked up at you, as a bird perched itself on his shoulder. “I thought it was pretty obvious, but I’m an animal fairy. I can talk to animals, and they're also extremely fond of me.” The bird nestled on Beomgyu’s shouldered nuzzled against his finger when he lifted it to pet the small creature. “That’s so cool. What are Soobin and Hueningkai’s talents?”

“Why don’t you ask them yourself.” Taehyun said, gesturing to the stairs where the two aforementioned fairies were standing. “Good timing petals, Y/N has a question for you two. She wanted to know your talents” The two took their place at the table, before Soobin looked at Heuningkai, urging him to go first. “I’m a light fairy, I can manipulate any type of light source basically, so moonlight, sunlight, I can make rainbows…” The fairy rambled on which you found a little endearing. “and I’m a water fairy.” Soobin spoke up, swirling his finger in front of Yeonjun’s teacup, which caused the tea in it to rise from its container. Your eyes widened, a small smile growing on your face as the Fairy slowly brought the liquid back down into its cup.

“How was the shopping Petals?” Taehyun asked, growing a vine to swipe a small leaf that landed in Soobin’s fluffy hair away. “It was good, we found a lot of clothes for Y/N.” Soobin supplied, popping a grape into his mouth. “That’s good, Y/N will have plenty to wear now, it’ll definitely beat the flower dresses you’ve been having to wear.” The green winged fairy was making a reference to the dress you were currently wearing. Since they had to go buy you clothes, for the time being Yeonjun and Taehyun had been using petals from flowers to make you some dresses. The dresses were pretty, but a little too breezy for your liking.

“We should head back to the tree, I’m sure the soup is ready by now.”

“Dinner time!” Beomgyu screamed, rising up quickly from his seat and flying away, Hueingkai following straight after, while the other three walked all the way back with you.

It was now after dinner and Soobin was showing you all the clothes he and Hueningkai had bought for you. You were in awe at how your once empty closet was now full of garments. You felt a bit bad that they had bought you so many items, especially since it was more than enough clothes to last you a month.

“I hope you like everything, hopefully it all fits.” Soobin spoke as you held one of the sundresses he had bought for you up to your frame. Many of the clothes were very lacey and billowy, but you didn’t mind. Most of them were modest enough that you would feel comfortable wearing them. You liked how flowy most of the clothing was, it definitely felt fitting for living in a fairy realm. Smiling as you held up one of the pretty green tops to your chest, trying to imagine what it would look like.

“Why don’t you try them on? I can tell you’re dying to know how they look.” You thought over the water fairy’s proposition before ultimately nodding. You excused yourself to the small bathroom that was connected to your room to try on one of the skirts and tops you had been eyeing.

After changing you looked at yourself in the mirror, slightly taken aback by how pretty the garments looked against your skin. The skirt was long in the front, but cropped in the back, while the sage green top sat slightly off your shoulders contrasted with the bright white of the skirt. “Y/N, are you done, can I see?” You were so distracted that you had forgotten Soobin was still in your room. You stepped out of the bathroom to show the fairy the ensemble and blushed slightly under his gaze which immediately turned dark. “What do you think?” Soobin blinked almost like he was pulling himself out of a trance, clearing his throat a little. “It looks nice, I’ll get Taehyun and Yeonjun to make you some accessories, I think some vines would look pretty on your legs.” You nodded before going to the mirror to get a better look at how you looked. You smiled as you ruffled the fabric of the skirt, loving the way it flowed with each movement.

“Don’t you look darling, like a lily of the valley.” You looked over towards the doorway where Taehyun was standing with Soobin, his arm slung around the taller man's waist. “Thank you and thank you so much for the clothes, it was really nice of you.” Soobin blew out a puff of air, “Don’t worry about it, if you need anything else, you can come with us to the hub next time.” You nodded and breathed out a quick thank you before excusing yourself to the bathroom to change into the pajamas the fairies had gotten for you.

The rest of the night was very relaxing. You settled into a movie with the five fairies, who were practically laying on top of one another. The sight was endearing though, especially with the way Hueningkai was draped over Soobin. After the movie Heuningkai brought you outside to show you some of the glowing flora and even captured some moonlight so you could hold it. The light fairy used the moonlight to guide the two of you as you walked through the wooded area of the domain. Everything felt so surreal in this moment. In your mind you felt as if you would wake up and that all of this would be a dream.

“Y/N!”

The fairy's soft call broke you out of your trance as you looked over at him. His wings were glittered in the beauty of moonlight, casting a halo over the rest of him. “It’s getting late, we should probably head back.”

You nodded, with slightly glazed eyes.

This was going to be a long month.

<- Previous Masterlist Next->

#choi yeonjun #yeonjun smut #yeonbin #sookai #choi beomgyu smut #huening kai smut #soobin smut #choi soobin #choi beomgyu #kang taehyun #kang taehyun smut #taekai #beomkai #beomjun #beomsoo #tomorrow x together #taywork #unicorp #temptation-unicorp

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