#Granted: even when I was required to attempt I slacked off as much as physically possible

[adhdo5]

Also OK I might, in fact, have to learn how to do a pull-up

[stowaway-macaw]

Biome Curse (Part 3)

Cub looked at the message in the chat, with the long, blurred out name and the lines of enchanting runes. He was put off, and there wasn't much that could do that since he himself was somewhat of a force of chaos. Something made him more worried though.

Cub could have sworn that someone close to him had been saying something about feeling emotions that weren't theirs and other strange presences, but try as he might, Cub couldn't recall who that might have been. No faces, names, or voices came to mind. Deep within himself, he knew something was up and he knew he was forgetting something important, but the fog in his mind simply wouldn't let up. His gaze drifted into the distance and the hot noon sun was glaring down on him. He had grown used to the desert, but the bright crystalline shapes protruding from the ground were breaking the desert scenery. Again, in the back of his mind, something screamed at him that those gigantic crystals were because of someone, but Cub still couldn't place the name. 

Sighing in discomfort, he turned away from the magical structure and lent his attention back to the chatroom. The messages have died down and Xisuma had said that he was looking into the strange message. Cub shoved the communicator back in his pocket and grabbed some rockets. He took a step forward, ready to take a trip to the jungle to look for some more melons to trade. But before he could, something in the back of his mind told him no. He wasn't sure what, but something in his gut told him that something was seriously wrong with that place. Cub wondered if it had something to do with what the person he couldn't recall had said. 

Huffing, Cub decided against the trip and flew off to the cowmmercial district instead.

Mumbo, meanwhile, was hardly as calm. He had had a growing sense of anxiety ever since… since… for the life of him he couldn't remember, but he knew it had to do with the mysterious mansion in the mountains. He always felt the need to stay as close as he could to his base and he had somewhat honored that, but now ever since that strange message had shown up in chat, he felt like he couldn't leave. He felt like leaving would somehow be some kind of ultimate betrayal, but to whom he did not know. Even so, he stayed put. 

Mumbo sat on one of the giant structures in his base and looked out at the mansion. As far as he knew, it had mysteriously started construction one day, but nobody knew who was building it or who it belonged to. As Mumbo thought this, something stirred in the pit of his stomach and his face scrunched up. He felt like he should know. He somehow felt that out of every hermit, he would have known who had constructed such a structure. But he didn't. And he felt horrible about it without knowing why. He felt just as horrible every time his gaze wandered to the mountainous horizon. And so he looked away.

Scar and Grian were the only two who knew what was going on, and it was obvious from the way the other hermits were talking. It was like the two never existed. While the situation was definitely concerning, hermits were resilient by nature. The two had already started walking the perimeter of the village to see just how far the barrier stretched. It was like that that they found out that while Scar was bound by the barrier, Grian was not. That being said, Grian was physically incapable of doing anything, including leaving the barrier, without Scar telling him directly to do it. 

"I guess that's what they meant by you being my familiar, huh?" Scar said, half jokingly. Grian was less than amused. It went against everything he had worked for, so literally not having any freedom was not something he enjoyed at all. All he responded with was a huff.

"Hey now, we've got to be optimistic! It's important you know!" Scar was obviously trying to keep them both calm, and Grian would have responded sarcastically and made some defiant joke, but since what Scar said was technically a command, Grian could feel a smile creep up on his face. Before Scar could comment, Grian reached for the mask hanging off his neck and pulled it over his face and hair. The mask itself was designed to resemble what was probably the most colorful bird either of them had ever seen and made Grian look even more strange. The mask covered his whole face so Scar couldn't see his grin under the mask, just his mischievous, defiant, violet eyes. It also allowed Grian to physically touch things, and Scar had connected the dots by realizing that so long as nobody could see his face, Grian wouldn't be in his strange "spirit form".

"I'll feel however I want thanks." Grian said, his smile apparent in his voice. Scar sighed with what was thankfully a genuine chuckle and Grian's eyes now smiled for real at the wizard.

"Oh come on…" Scar's voice cut out, like he couldn't say what he wanted said.

"Argh! Seriously! Why can't we say each other's names!? I know what your name is, so why can't I say it!?" The two were definitely frustrated. Neither could say the other's name despite knowing it. However, it was low on the list of problems they had to solve. It was merely inconvenient, but still infuriating.

The pair joked around as they finished marking the border, both attempting to cheer the other up. When they reached the snail, a border had been drawn that marked the barrier which was mere meters from the edge of Scar's village. The pair turned to each other and Grian started with a new topic.

"Alright. We've got to find a way to communicate with the other hermits. You can't use your communicator and mine is straight up gone somehow. I can't do anything without you telling me to do it, which is bad, considering you can't exactly go all the places that I can. What do we do?" Scar thought for a moment and Grian did the same after his small recap. Scar was still trying to get his emotions under wraps and it made it hard to think, so he started to think out loud.

"So, we need you to talk with the hermits, but in a way that doesn't require any actions that are too complicated. Something that I could quickly tell you to do now that wouldn't cause any misunderstandings. The worst thing that could happen is that the hermits start seeing us as threats." Grian nodded along and asked Scar something he hadn't yet considered.

"The voice called you the wizard right? And since it made me some weird magic bird thing, maybe it gave you more powerful magic?" Grian sounded unsure, but the two were grasping at straws.

"Umm, maybe? How would we even test that?" Grian shrugged. Scar hummed and eyed Grian.

"Wait hold on, I'm not gonna be your test dummy am I?" Grian tried to back up, despite knowing he couldn't leave earshot without permission.

"Tell me… " Scar began.

"Tell me if either of us have any abilities that the jungle gave us." It was like a spell, Scar's words, because as soon as he had uttered them, Grian felt the voice again and its words could be heard through his whole being.

See. The jungle had helped the bird. The bird needs to know that the jungle owns it. The wizard knows that the jungle owns it. The jungle has given the wizard crystals. The jungle has given the bird a different form. The jungle has gifted the bird with what it wanted most. The bird owes the jungle. The bird must stay with the wizard. The bird must stay with the jungle. The wizard can do the same. The wizard is like the jungle. The wizard will gift those with what they want most. The wizard and the jungle will be one.

 And then the voice was silent. Grian hadn't realized he was wheezing and Scar could see the panic in Grian's uniquely colored eyes, which were the only things visible under the mask.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I won't do it again, please, just deep breaths. Deep breaths." Scar was doing his best to console the gasping familiar.

"Y-you…" Grian started, slowly catching his breath. Scar relaxed slightly at his voice.

"You can… grant wishes… " Scar's eyes widened.

"What?" Grian repeated what the voice had said to the best of his memory.

"But… what did the jungle give you then?" Scar asked Grian. Grian wasn't quite sure, but felt he knew what the jungle gave him. After calling him "the bird" so many times and after the costume change, he could guess. Whether or not the jungle had actually been right in saying it was his heart's desire was something that only Grian knew. He knew it to be wrong, but only because what his hear desired was something he already had. Putting the thoughts aside, Grian clamped his eyes shut and focused on his body and what the jungle had changed.

"Woah!" He could hear Scar's shout as well as the shuffling of his footsteps as he backed up. Grian opened his eyes.

"What changed?" Scar looked him up and down.

"You've… got wings…" Grian turned his neck and sure enough, two honest to goodness wings were resting slack on the jungle floor. 

"I had a feeling that's what it would be… " Grian mumbled. Scar tilted his head.

"You most wanted wings?" He asked, confused.

"No. But the jungle thought I did. I already had what I wanted." Scar relaxed somewhat, slightly relieved that his friend wouldn't have such a shallow heart's desire, especially when they already had elytra.

Suddenly, Scar had an idea.

"Oh! What if we trade wishes in exchange for favors!" Grian looked at Scar with a mix of confusion and concern.

"How would that help us?"

"Neither of us can tell the hermits anything about our identities, so we'll look suspicious no matter what we do. The barrier makes my village impossible to enter or exit unless it's you. If we offer the hermits something they can't refuse and tell them to investigate the jungle for us in return, then we can gain their trust, all you have to do is be a messenger, they get their wishes granted, and we get information on what on earth happened to us!" Grian thought about Scar's proposal, and realized that it was probably their best shot. Who could refuse a chance to have their wish granted?

"I think that just might work… " Scar smiled. 

"Perfect! We'll look into more details tomorrow, but I think it's about time we rested a bit." Grian agreed and the two cursed hermits made their way into the snail, anticipating the next day.

[thebiasrekkers]

Make It Right [BTS Mafia!AU]

Plot: “It’s always darkest before the dawn…” It’s a dog-eat-dog world in Seoul, South Korea. One has to dwell in the shadows in order to reach for the light. What are you willing to sacrifice in order to feel the sunlight on your face? What will it take to drag you back into darkness? How long will the journey be to make it right?

Rating: NC-17 // NSFW

Genre: Series | Mafia!AU | Crime!AU | Angst | Romance/Fluff | Smut

Pairings: Jin x OC | Taehyung/Hoseok x OC | Yoongi/Jungkook x OC

Warnings: Graphic Violence (bloody violence), Heavy Language, Angst, Slow Burn, Smut

Additional Warnings: Video footage of torture, graphic physical violence, captured/kidnapping

Previous Chapters: Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49

Links: FAQ || BTS Masterlist || Admin E’s AO3 || Admin E’s WP || [ REQUESTS ARE OPEN ]

Word Count: 2,778

Tag List: @prisczero​, @pinkpjmin​, @btsaudge​, @flowerwrites06​, @unoriginal-username15432, @halussali​, @shrimpmsg​​,

AN: It’s about to get dark, dark, and even darker still. I just want to remind everyone that I love you all for coming on this journey with me. Thank you for loving this story and remember that you are loved.

Chapter 49: Danger

“You’re in danger right now, why are you testing me? Why are you testing me? Stop confusing me.“

© thebiasrekkers (Admin E). All rights reserved. Reposting/modifying our work is prohibited. Translations are not allowed. Plagiarism/stealing is not tolerated by any means. Legal action will be taken in instances of theft.

Three Days Later Seoul – Hannam; Yongsan District South Korea

Hoseok took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose as he leaned back in the plush leather chair. Soft music played from the stereo in the corner of the room; a semi-vain attempt at quieting his thoughts. They were pervasive, loud, and extremely unwelcome these days. Namjoon insisted he take the day off, reassuring Hoseok that both he and Yoongi could handle things while he was away from the office. He wasn’t one to be fussed over, but even he had to admit that the mounting stress from the last few months was finally beginning to take a toll on him.

It was quiet. Too quiet. This disturbed him on various levels in ways that he couldn’t possibly describe. It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. He had. Hoseok tried time and again to empty his feelings at Seokjin and Namjoon’s feet. But it always fell short; something felt incomplete about his trepidation.

There shouldn’t have been a reason, however. Hoseok knew this. He’d made his stance very clear with Changkyun the last time they crossed paths with one another. He would not be part of the little games he was attempting to play, and he wouldn’t be coerced into walking back into darkness. None of them would.

Too much was at stake now. They were all slowly building something with their own hands; something that was of some semblance of clean. Happiness fluttered around his brothers like butterflies and he enjoyed that they were able to indulge in the little things in life for a change; things they often took for granted when they were living in the countryside.

Anastasia was pregnant, her belly swollen with the life that she was nurturing. Seokjin babied and pampered her and the others were getting used to the idea that they were all going to be uncles. When the topic of marriage was brought up, Seokjin merely smiled. He said nothing else on the matter and they didn’t push. It was clear that he would do things at his own pace.

Raelyn, too, was pregnant. Truth be told, it stung Hoseok in a way that he wouldn’t dare admit aloud. Taehyung loved her and it was clear she cared for him as well. Who was he to get in the way of that happiness, regardless of his own lingering attachments? It wasn’t fair. He wouldn’t be unfair. She was only a month behind Anastasia and Taehyung made a point to notify everyone that Raelyn was forever spoken for. No one mentioned marriage at all since Taehyung had plans of his own.

Jungkook and Eden were now living together. He remembered the look on his youngest brother’s face when he closed on the house, notifying the others that he would be moving out of their home in UN Village. The others protested at first. They didn’t think it was necessary for Jungkook to move out when Eden could have easily moved into their home instead. They had plenty of room and privacy. But after a conversation Hoseok had with Jimin and Jungkook both, he realized that it was the better option. He didn’t want to pour salt into any wounds. Especially not Yoongi’s.

It came as a surprise, at first, when he’d heard about Yoongi’s relationship with Eden prior. None of the others poked or investigated their brother, believing that he was going off to be with someone he cared about after being dragged through the dirt in the underground. While he knew that Yoongi’s loyalty was absolute and he cared deeply for his brothers, sometimes even The Lightning Claw yearned for an escape from the shadows that clung to their ankles persistently.

As he leaned back in the chair, he pressed his forearm against his temple while his other hand rested along his stomach. Dark eyes idly stared at the ceiling, looking at nothing in particular. His heart beat softly against his chest and he drummed his fingers along in time with the sound. He hummed a tune to himself, closing his eyes as he took a moment to think about everything they’d gone through to reach this point. It was a long journey – seemingly endless. Ten years flashed by so quickly that Hoseok often questioned if it was a dream they were all sharing; one where they hadn’t been able to wake up from yet.

So much fighting, stealing, and climbing over horrifyingly large mountains. Their knuckles burned white and their fingernails bled from how hard they were holding on to both themselves and their goals. Reaching the peak of the mountain, gazing over the horizon – over their kingdom – Hoseok could claim that it was something they could look back on with a mild feeling of fondness.

He couldn’t help but wonder if things would be different had they all decided to remain in their hometown.

Letting his arm fall against the armrest of the chair, he scoffed and shook his head. What’s the point of worrying about that now?

They all decided things together. They agreed to uproot themselves and walked hand-in-hand into the pits of Hell. Hadn’t everything they’d accomplished to this point, means be damned, been the result they wanted? It was all so they could have a better life at the cost of their innocence.

Im Changkyun had been right about one thing. Sacrifices had to be made. They had to be willing to make them.

The soft chime of the doorbell rang throughout the house. Hoseok sat up, brushing his hair out of his eyes. Looking at the video phone, he picked it up as the person near the front gate lifted his face toward the camera. The young man wore a uniform, presumably a delivery service. He had a small package in his arms. He waved to the camera and Hoseok felt his brows furrow. He wasn’t expecting a delivery.

“Can I help you?”

“Uh, yes Sir? I have a delivery for Jung Hoseok?”

“Who’s it from?”

“There’s no return address, Sir.”

He sighed. “Just leave it.”

“It’s requiring that someone sign for it, Sir.”

Something uncomfortable settled in the pit of Hoseok’s gut. He could have just told the delivery boy to go away and have the package returned to the shipping company. It wasn’t like he’d be punished for it and Hoseok was certain he hadn’t ordered a parcel. If anything, this was a potential headache in the making and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.

“Uh, Sir? Are you there?”

Hoseok pressed two fingers to his forehead and groaned. “Fine, I’ll be right out. Stay there.”

Rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, he exited his office and headed toward the front door. Sliding into a pair of sneakers, he grabbed his wallet and slid it into the back pocket of his slacks. The security lock beeped behind him as the door closed and he slowly trudged down the winding path of the front garden toward the front gate. He entered the passcode and pulled the gate open slowly, his back rigid as he prepared to brace himself for anything that might have attempted to catch him off guard.

The young man smiled, holding out the small parcel toward Hoseok. He took it, cradling it under one arm, while he signed the tablet with the stylus. The delivery man checked his signature, bowed, and bid him a wonderful rest of his afternoon. Hoseok merely nodded, closing the gate and began heading back toward the house when the security lock beeped again.

Mindlessly inputting the passcode, he entered the house while examining the package. It was a simple white box with red and blue accents around it – presumably the logo and color scheme of the shipping company. It was no longer than a standard envelope and as thick as two decks of cards. His name was on the front but like the delivery man stated, there was no return address.

For the sake of argument, Hoseok shook the box and heard the soft rattling sound of something hitting the inside along all four corners. Whatever was inside was small and light. He tossed the box up and down, confirming much of the weight was from what was concealed in the box. Opening the flaps from one end, he held the box at an angle and a small USB thumb drive fell into his palm. There was nothing about it that stood out; just a simple red and black thumb drive with the manufacturer’s logo on it. He shook the box again but nothing else was inside.

Tossing the box into the nearby waste bin, Hoseok entered his office and closed the door behind him. His legs moved toward his desk and he flopped into his chair. Pulling up a virus scanner on his computer, he made sure it was ready and waiting before sliding the thumb drive into one of the USB ports. Two minutes went by and the virus scanner confirmed there was nothing malicious on the drive, deeming it safe to open.

Clicking on the icon for the drive, there was a folder with his name on it. He opened it and saw three files inside: two video clips and a text document. There was nothing urgent on the text file’s label. It merely read For Hoseok. The video clips, however, had two different dates on them: three days ago and today, followed by the numbers 1 and 2.

He clicked on the first video.

The picture was dark, showing that whatever room the video was being filmed in had poor lighting. He could make out a couple of silhouettes, but there weren’t any distinctive features that could help him discern who the figures belonged to. About ten seconds into the video, a light clicked on – illuminating one of the people in the video.

It didn’t take him long to recognize who it was and the moment he did, Hoseok thought his guts had fallen out of his body.

In the video, there was a woman sitting in a chair. She was tied up with what looked like a combination of regular ropes and large chains. Her mouth was gagged with a bright red cloth and her head hung forward, the light over her head shadowing the rest of her face. The intensity of the light hanging over her made it only slightly difficult to discern her skin color, but her dark curls that fell around her neck and across her shoulders was unmistakable. Something dangled from her neck – he could only assume it was a necklace of some kind.

But he still couldn’t see her face.

“No,” he whispered while shaking his head. He could feel a cold sweat forming on his brow. “There’s no way that’s…”

All the moisture left his mouth in mid-denial. A masked man grabbed a handful of the woman’s curls, yanking her head back. A muffled yell of outrage pushed from her chest, lost against the bright red fabric pressed over her mouth. Her face was fully illuminated in the light and even Hoseok could no longer deny who was sitting in that chair.

It was Eden.

The video was only ninety seconds long and it abruptly ended with a hand holding up two fingers in front of the camera lens. The person in the video was telling him to click on the second video file.

He clicked on the other video file labeled with today’s date.

It was the same nondescript room and Eden was still sitting in the chair. A trail of blood seeped from her temple and her shirt was torn open from the neck to her stomach, exposing her bra and skin. The necklace continued to hang from her neck and he could see there was a ring looped through the chain. It appeared that her shoulder was injured, the denim jacket stained a darker shade of blue on just her right shoulder. A large cut decorated her thigh and he could see where the blood blossomed across her jeans – staining her entire upper leg red.

Eden looked like she was fading in and out of consciousness. Suddenly, water was splashed over her face and chest, jolting her awake and it appeared that she was attempting to focus on her current predicament. When it seemed like the answer was dawning on her features, Eden raged through the bandana over her mouth, her body rocking back and forth viciously to break free from her restraints. One of the men backhanded her hard and she went limp, her head rolling forward.

Hoseok saw the blood leaking from beneath the gag.

The video ended.

Horror and fury tore through Hoseok’s entire body, threatening to rip him asunder. His shoulders vibrated from his anger and his vision blurred from the onset of furious tears. Getting his hands to steady over the mouse was a task in and of itself. When he managed to finally tether it down to move it, he clicked on the text file with his name on it.

It felt like the ground opened beneath him and swallowed him whole.

Hoseok Hyung,

I have to say, I’m impressed. Truly. I can’t find a single weak point in your defenses. But that shouldn’t come as a surprise, should it? You’ve always been so careful; always fully aware of your surroundings. The others are the same; a habit they’ve picked up from you, perhaps?

It’s a shame that same skill wasn’t embroiled in your women.

Not that it’s their fault. When you believe that you’re safe, what reason do you need to keep your guard up? Blissful ignorance does that to a person. Believing you’ve won makes you sloppy.

Your brothers have become sloppy, Hyung.

As interesting as it would have been to go after the women carrying your brothers’ children, I’m not a monster. Besides, Eden is the strongest of them and breaking her will only prove my point further.

That you’ve all grown weak in the light.

Hyung, this is my final offer. Stop letting the light blind you. Stop letting those weak dreams and ambitions dictate the rest of your lives. You can’t protect the things you love when you don’t have the power to stop anyone who would try to take it from you. You had that power and you threw it away.

And for what?

For love? Success? So you can lay in your graves, close your eyes, and think you’ll greet the Reaper with a nice clean conscience? Don’t be ridiculous.

Let’s see how long it takes you to find her. You already know asking for the police won’t do you any good. We have the Chief in our back pocket; we have for years.

By the time you read this, the boys and I will be out of the country on a business trip. Tracking us down will just be a waste of time. Both yours and hers. Every minute counts and the longer you take to find her, the more she’s going to suffer because of your inability to act.

The clock is ticking, Hyung.

And the game is still on.

Good luck.

Im Changkyun

For a moment, all Hoseok could do was stare at the words on the screen. He couldn’t breathe. He could barely think.

Then he saw red.

Hoseok jumped from his chair, grabbed the monitor, and hurled it across the room. The sound that ripped through him was beyond anything a human being should have been capable of making. Glass shattered as it crashed into the wall, breaking into numerous pieces. He picked up the keyboard and began to smash it across his desk, breaking the glass top as the keys popped off and scattered across the floor. Even when the keyboard was split in half, he continued to pummel his desk – creating more spider vein cracks along the surface.

And then he blacked out.

Hoseok didn’t know how long he was out. What brought him out of the darkness was the sound of Namjoon’s voice, as well as his body moving back and forth. Slowly, Hoseok’s eyes opened and he saw his friend looking down at him with extreme concern.

“Hoseok-ah!” Again, Namjoon shook him. “Are you alright? Hey, come on!”

His vision blurred in and out of focus, his head spinning, and he reached out blindly to grab onto Namjoon’s shoulder. “N-Namjoon-ah,” he croaked, realizing how raw his voice sounded, “the boys. C-Call the boys.”

Namjoon frowned, not sure what he was trying to tell him. Hoseok growled in frustration.

“GET EVERYONE HOME RIGHT NOW, GODDAMMIT!”