#and now i can never unsee it-rip

[zkretchy]

2022 is nearing it’s end which means I get to dig up wips I never finished Like this one of Kos..........sorry my guy (fun fact: for the whole...world/story he is also part of he was the first oc I designed....which makes the fact that I drew the rest of these guys first and then quickly finished his piece more sad actually xD oops?)

anyhow like with the rest, the character info i dug up is under the readmore

tl;dr he is what happens when a human woman has a child with a demon and the Gods themselves looked at that and went “Wouldn’t it be funny if he were destined to bring upon the end of the world?” and then don’t do anything with it other than make people panic Starting with a tl;dr may be unusual but I also have no idea how to even bring any of that up casually so I’ll do it in little notes like I wrote for myself Father is an incubus-but not in the new-world (classic) way of sex demon, but more old-school not yet a new species-more of a vampire type demon really....demon Aka he is better off eating hearts than being horny but can do both. Now for the whole end of the world part- He is supposed to be the vessel for a demon that will devour the world which basically makes him unkillable in a sense-he just loses more and more of his humanity and thus becoming more and more of his previously mentioned old-school demon part (well that and also timetravel Tbh I think the whole relation between him, said demon and Namir actually (hi there) would need it’s own post because I need to write it in a way people other than me can understand first (sry)(also I really made this as complicated for the opposing force which wants to reawaken their ‘God’ and kill Kos and with that the demon who will end the world or whatever because trust me-it is not as easy as stab Kos and have him stay dead)

But to get to more character stuff and none of that destiny bs: As you may see his childhood wasn’t too great He was mostly hidden away for most his childhood until he escaped with the help of a knight when his father had his mother burnt at the stake. Afterwards he stayed hidden in a village further away, hiding out in a brothel and later managed to get to school to study both law and arts Generally after that he decided to go out and travel where he eventually met Randall and got to not only know the general landscape but also all kinds of beasts that accompany it which want to eat you. He is generally rather carefree and cheery, always wary of getting into either a bad mood or situation as when he gets driven too far in a corner his body WILL remind him of his part demon side (accompanied by the whole World Ending piece added into the mix it’s not too fun) Extra bit of info: World Ending Demon actually has a name: She is called Abyss but also has multiple other titles so if there is someone people are generally afraid of and speak negatively about but who mostly just chills and has the vibe of a cat batting at a beehive until it’s someone elses problem-it’s her

[atzfilm]

— 『 𝐖𝐎𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋; 𝐨𝐭8 』 [3] (M)

— 𝚠𝚘𝚗 • 𝚍𝚎𝚛 • 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚕, adjective. having someone who serves as a pillar in your life, who offers a sturdy place to lean in times of trouble. somebody you find yourself thinking about constantly and are completely infatuated with.

❝humans were such strange creatures. wretched in their mere existence. none of the eight were ever truly interested in them until they found you. they just find it strange that despite their status and rank, you'd rather spend time with your lover. that isn't much of a problem, though. one they can fix with ease.❞

〘ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ, ᴍʏᴛʜ, ꜱᴍᴜᴛ, ꜰᴀᴇʀɪᴇꜱ〙(m.list)

— pairing: ot8 x reader, mxm (this chapter); yunho x reader; 10.9k

— note: this is a yandere fic. sensitive topics such as manipulation, gaslighting, murder, and other topics involved with the genre. please heed the warnings and read this work of fiction while keeping this in mind. also note: these chapters are very much introductory of each character & their roles, so smut is further down the line ♡.

CHAPTER WARNINGS: murder, manipulation, blood, torture references, dark magic, kidnapping, emotional turmoil, injuries, descriptions of gore, needles

Chapter 3:

The days seem to drag on. Rarely do you run into anyone else in the home. Awake at early hours of the morning, grab something from the kitchen, stay in your designated room throughout the day. It's a routine you've made for yourself; none of the Unseelie bother you. They leave you alone to your thoughts, even Wooyoung, surprisingly. So here you are, peeling off the skin of an orange as you sit on the balcony. Tossing it to the ground below, taking slow bites. Do the townspeople worry? Now that you're gone, do they wonder what happened? Has anyone seen the aftermath of your shop – back door ripped from its hinges, bookshelves broken, piled on top of one another? Do they care?

Has Soobin come back yet?

Your eyes move to the loud steps on the porch to the left of you. Yunho stands there with someone. You're not too sure, you've never seen this faerie before. Height matches Yunho's, arms crossed as he speaks. You can't hear what they're arguing about, their eyes flicking up to you. You pause in your eating. Yunho nods, a small smile on his lips. The other doesn't say anything, giving you his back. He leaves the house behind, ignoring the yells of Yunho. Your teeth almost puncture your bottom lip at the sight. You expected him to walk through the barrier they've created, but his clothing shreds in an instant, body disappearing from view. The pieces slowly float to the dirt.

There's no reason for you to be shocked at all since they are Unseelies, but seeing someone dissipate, just like that?

What have you gotten yourself into?

"He's having a moment, no need to be alarmed," Wooyoung says. You jump at the sound of his voice, looking to the side of you. He sits on the railing, leg swinging. "Mingi doesn't like to be put in a situation he can't take control of. Yunho just told him about you staying. He isn't exactly happy about it."

"I didn't choose this," you murmur.

Wooyoung shrugs, "And that's what makes him more angry. You didn't choose to stay so he can't be angry with you. He trusts us, our opinions. So when his own thoughts conflict with ours, it's a lot for him. He then turns into that raven and leaves for a while."

"Hm."

Wooyoung turns to you. His clothing is loose, a brown, sheer robe draping over his lean frame. The shoes are long gone, tan skin shown. You can see the outline of his chest, the transparent material not leaving much to the imagination. If you squint, you're sure there's tattoos decorating his skin. But you look away after the brief silence, not wanting to let your eyes linger on him longer than they have to.

"We're having a harvest celebration soon," he begins. "Other faeries and Unseelies will be joining."

A party at a time like this? And while you're out and about in the hallways? Unseelie aren't tolerant of humans from what you can see. This occasion will only lead to terrible things.

"When?"

"Tonight," he smiles. "Right in our dining hall and parlor. It'll be fun. Happens once a year. You should join, pretty."

"A human celebrating with faeries? Sounds like a recipe for a disaster."

His grin widens, "Even better, no? Everyone in our spark will be there. You'll get to see all of us at once. Instead of avoiding us at every chance you get like you've been doing for the past couple of days. We've all noticed by the way."

"I'm here for Seonghwa’s tests and nothing more. I don't have a reason to go to that party."

"But you do, solaris." The nickname slips off his tongue with ease, as if you didn't yell at him days prior for it. Again, another silly mistake on your part to think he'd ever stop. "Trust me when I say it'll be advantageous to not try to avoid this one. Luck won't be on your side." He waves, sliding off the banister. You look down to see if he landed but he vanished from sight completely. Another thing you haven't exactly gotten used to. Knowing they're Unseelies is one thing, but seeing the magic first hand is another. You stand up from your spot, stomach growling.

This time of day is what you dislike the most – the Unseelie are roaming, doors opening and closing, laughter echoing through the hallways. Instead of it being comforting it only causes you anxiety. Their promises of not hurting you fall on deaf ears. You don’t doubt that whenever they are finished with their experimentation, they will end your life. It is mindless for you to even stick around here.

“Not like I have much of a choice,” you murmur, glancing at your bedroom door. A soft knock startles you, but you walk to it anyway, swinging it open. Seonghwa stands there, eyes flicking over your attire before meeting your eyes. The Unseelie provided you with sleepwear – which you vehemently refused. So you soaked your own clothing in soapy water last night and let it hang dry until early dawn. It’s more than wrinkled, still a little damp from the lack of sunlight in the forest.

“You didn’t take the clothing.” he states. It’s not a question, so you don’t bother answering. His eyes narrow. “You look unkempt.”

“You would say that even if I wore what you gave me.”

“Being stubborn will only get you so far, human. Here,” he holds out a small container, filled with breakfast food. Why it bothers you that he did not deny your words is beyond your own comprehension. “I need you to eat before I pull more samples. Having you faint is not ideal.”

You hesitate. The rules you’ve written down play over and over in your head. The first one on the list that you have no choice but to break. Do not eat what they offer. You take it from him, thanking him quickly. He merely shrugs, turning on his heel.

“Follow me. Close, please. The others are around all late morning into the afternoon and I’d rather not have any distractions pulling you away.”

You take his word for it, sliding an apple slice between your lips as you follow. A loud crash echoes around the hallway and Seonghwa glances to the side for a moment. His brow quirks in irritation, looking back at you. “Ignore him, he’s starting trouble again.”

“I’m not,” Wooyoung’s loud tone echoes through the hallways and you definitely take the advice of Seonghwa, stepping a bit closer to him. Seonghwa enters his lab, holding the door open for you. You step inside and he takes the key from the lock immediately, slipping it into his pocket as he closes the door. He sees the questions in your eyes, and nods.

“If I didn’t we’d have another surprise guest. Yunho will be back soon, so while we wait we should continue with testing. Please take a seat across from that table,” he points further into the room. Just like his library, the lab is neatly organized, books of equal height shelved next to each other, binders of what you can assume is research, labeled and placed in height order. Vials line the wall as you sit, Seonghwa’s steps silent as he sinks in the seat across from you. Between the door and you sitting he somehow changed his clothing, a lab coat covering his attire, sleeves lifted and gloves stretched over his fingers. He holds out his hand, palm up. You place your hand in his, and he thanks you, reaching for the syringe.

“I didn’t think I’d need more blood from you,” he starts, pulling off a tab. He curses to himself, placing it on the table and reaching for a small alcohol pad, wiping off your skin. “But one of my spark took some blood off my shelf, mistakenly with your sample as well.”

You’re not too sure how to feel about your blood being stolen.

He senses your perturbation as well, continuing. “We prefer not to conjure blood curses unless absolutely necessary. Despite us being Unseelie, the process to perform creates a heavy burden on our bodies. As to your blood and well, human blood overall, we use it to aid in potions and other things. Nothing with much substance. San used it to assist with something he was practicing with Yeosang.”

“Your explanation only makes me worry more.” And you haven't the slightest idea on who these people are that he's mentioning.

“No need to, we can’t truly bind you to anything if your mind and soul are not willing,” he lifts a tub, inserting another into the holder. His hand holds your arm, eyes glancing at your upper arm. You cannot see it, but something wraps tightly around it, lifting your skin. He presses his finger against your vein again, before slowly sliding the needle beneath the surface. The pressure is gone as you watch him fill the vials.

“Wooyoung told me you were displeased with the nickname he uses for you,” he glances at you, placing another tube in the holder. “You should be thankful. It’s rare that he cares for something enough to create one.”

“Is it necessary? My name is y/n, nothing more,” you say. “My partner didn’t even call me anything other than my name.”

"He never used nicknames with you." He states matter-of-factly.

"He always thought they were a bit silly," you murmur. You notice Seonghwa gaze lingering on you in the silence. "What? Is that so strange?"

Seonghwa furrows his brows. "Not quite. But I've seen how humans interact. How they create nicknames for ones they are fond of. It seems strange that your partner of several years wouldn't make up something endearing."

His observation makes your thoughts muddle. Soobin cared for you in ways you can’t quite describe. Did it ever bother you that he only called you by your name? Not at all. But the more you dwell on it, the more your stomach turns. You decide to change the conversation. "Are you saying you are fond of me, Seonghwa?"

“I’ve never used a nickname for you.”

You widen your eyes, “Did an Unseelie just lie?”

He scowls. "I’m not lying. Why would I call you anything else?"

“You call me human almost every time you see me. Is that not a nickname?”

Deadpanned, he continues, “Calling you what you are isn’t exactly what I’d consider a nickname, y/n. As I have said before, you are just an experiment.”

"And if I weren't?" you tease, leaning forward. "What's the first thing you think of when you see me? An annoyance? Irritating?" It's only a way to poke his buttons, but he just stares at you, thinking. Quite hard. The silence is long enough that you lean back, clearing your throat. "I was kidding."

"I wouldn't be able to call you anything other than beautiful, y/n, if I were so fond of you. You are kind and merciful, proud and resilient. Human words cannot describe it. I can see why your former partner adored you; it's hard not to."

You're not sure what else to say, his words more than shocking. He cannot lie. He believes everything he just said. And that scares you.

"You're afraid," He says simply.

"Yes."

"Of?"

What a hard question. "This. What you just said."

"I can't see why. Beauty comes in many forms," he explains, sliding out the needle. He grabs a small square of gauze, pressing it lightly into your arm. "It would be foolish of me not to see it in you. Have you forgotten that before all of this that us two were friends? Even if it was manufactured by me at the time, it shouldn't be surprising that I feel this way. I've seen how you've interacted with other humans. You are kind, patient, soft spoken. You fear what you cannot predict, but you don't let it stop you from continuing. Even now, you are worried about a bookstore that is not even yours. I am not lying when I say that I find your existence beautiful in itself. Humans are often selfish. But you, you seem the opposite."

He places a bandaid over the hole, "Done for now."

You nod slowly, holding your arm close. Seonghwa pushes the food closer to you, standing up and taking the vials. Not often are you left speechless. From what you know, what you've read, Unseelie do not love the same way as humans. He probably doesn't understand how words like that could affect you. Yes, that's right. It's an objective look, an affirming statement. Nothing more than observations.

Seonghwa moves to the door, opening it. Yunho enters, resting his jacket on the coat rack. His eyes relax when they meet yours, waving. "There you are, pretty girl. Sorry for my late arrival. Our meeting lasted longer than deemed necessary. Quite annoying," he glances at Seonghwa. "The tests are what we talked about, correct?"

Oh.

The two of them talk to each other, but your mind is stuck. Glued even. How could he let those two words just slide from his lips? Pretty. Girl. No. Your mind is playing tricks on you, you decide. Yunho is kind, sweet even. But that? That.

You can't even begin to fathom the reason.

"y/n?"

You're pulled out of the depth that is your thoughts, Seonghwa waiting. "Do you feel faint? Should we wait until you've eaten more? You look as if you've seen a specter."

You shake your head. "No. I'm good. Perfect even." The grin you plaster on your cheeks must be horrendous, Seonghwa’s lips forming a scowl.

"We'll continue, then. You would think that a human being able to lie meant that they could perform it with ease. That doesn't seem to be your case, though."

This time you frown. "Thanks for that, Seonghwa."

He shrugs. "Truth hurts. Yunho will perform his tests now with you. I'm not needed for this, so I'll be in my library. Hesitate to bother me, please." He exits, tossing the key to Yunho. Said man locks the door, turning to you.

"Is he always this grumpy?" You ask.

"Unfortunately yes. Shall we begin?"

-

The test is simple.

Yunho holds out his hand, you take his. His eyes rest on yours as he tries to listen to your thoughts. It's easy enough, not much that you need to do. The others have said it failed previously, so it's very likely that it may fail again this time around. The likelihood of it does not settle your heart though. It still thumps against your chest as it always does when any of them are around. A defense mechanism, sure. No way for you to control it. Your palms aren't free from the nerves either, clammy. You wipe them on your pants for the nth time.

"If I can listen it'll prove enough. My perception abilities only go so far. I'm not as majikly inclined compared to San or Mingi. Rarely do I ever use it, I won't linger longer than I need to."

"Do you promise?" It may be an empty one, but you must be sure. It'll help your heart stop hammering against your chest.

"Of course. A test now and nothing more," he assures you, palm resting on the table, waiting for your hand. The moment is slow, your palm dropping onto his. He lets his long fingers curl into yours. "Look at me, pretty girl."

"...Can I talk?" You ask, and he nods.

You meet his gaze. The brown of his eyes and hair begin to slowly change. Brown darkening into a deep burgundy, lighting up the more you look at him. The situation is strange in itself, but his eyes are still kind.

"Why do you call me that?" You ask.

His lips quirk, "Pretty girl?"

Your fingers tighten slightly in his hold, before nodding. "Yes. That."

"I overheard the conversation between you and Seonghwa. How your former partner never called you anything special. I thought it was… weird, I suppose. Since I first saw you, I thought you were pretty. And," he glances away from you for a moment. Your mind must be playing games – pink begins to dust his cheek. No way. He wouldn't be blushing, would he? No. Just a trick of the eye. Probably because of his red hair. "It's the first thing that came to mind when I saw you sitting here waiting for me. I couldn't help it. I do find you pretty, y/n. It shouldn't be that strange to you."

You use your free hand to rub the frown lines on your face. "Ah. No. I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Why?"

"I mean, Yunho…" It's hard to explain when he's looking at you like that.

Guilt begins to rise. You shouldn't be this way. But the more you listen to him, the more wrong you feel. It's only been a few months without Soobin. Entertaining someone, especially a faerie, an Unseelie… you can't. Not when you really haven't moved past your ex-boyfriend. You still think of him daily. No matter how warm someone else looks at you, you just can't. Not now.

"I hope you keep that nickname to yourself," you say. "I don't think I want to hear it from you."

"Oh," you don't notice the change in his expression. It's subtle. Brows slightly arching, an irritated twitch of his lips. It disappears when you look at him. "I never wish to make you uncomfortable."

"You don't make me uncomfortable," you state this plainly, sure to keep your tone neutral. "But I'm just not used to things like that. I hope you understand."

"I do," he nods. "But if there comes a time when you're not so hesitant, please tell me. I wouldn't mind calling you that instead of your name, y/n."

It's no surprise his simple words make your heart skip a beat.

"Okay. Thank you for listening to me," you say. His head tilts, eyes still on yours.

"No need. Still can't read those thoughts of yours," Finally looking away, he sighs. His fingers slip from yours, the warmth gone. "I guess we'll have to try something else. Or just wait and see what Seonghwa has found."

Just like that. You pull your hand back into your lap and enclasp your fingers. Hoping that same warm feeling will come back somehow.

Silly.

"What will you do when you find out?" You ask.

He thinks. "Figure out a way to stop humans from having your trait, ability, whatever it may be. Your existence is one thing. If you're one in a billion, a slip in the evolution process, then that's fine to us. We just can't have it happen over and over again, you see. But I'm sure you know the reason why. You're not a selfish one."

He stands, adjusting his shirt. "You didn't eat much. May I…?"

You look at the assortment of fruit Seonghwa gave you, most just picked at. You nod, expecting him to grab the ones you haven't really touched. Instead, he takes one of the apple slices you've bitten already, sliding it between his lips.

"Tasty," he grins. "You taste good."

You can't control your blinks, confusion etched into your features. No, you couldn't have heard that right. No. So many thoughts cross your mind, many not too appropriate for the situation you're in at this very moment. Yunho grabs another fruit you bit into, humming. "Sweet."

Your eyes widen.

"Something wrong?" He asks, darkened eyes staring unrelentingly. The air in the room feels denser, thickened with his mere look. You can't look away even if you want to, fingers digging into your pants.

"I put the samples away," Seonghwa enters the room. Yunho breaks eye contact with you and you let out a long breath, chest throbbing from how hard your heart was racing. Yunho's expression is back to how it usually is, soft eyes following Seonghwa’s walk. As if he did not just freeze you into this very spot. If Seonghwa notices anything he doesn't say a word, grabbing his fleece off a chair and sliding his arms inside.

"Hongjoong wants to see you." He looks to you, gaze roaming over your clothing. "I would prefer if you wore something more appropriate when meeting him. Dressing as you are now is a bad look."

"He wouldn't care if she wore nothing, Seonghwa," Yunho shrugs. "You know that. And there's nothing wrong with her attire now. You cannot expect her to scroll around with those horrid faerie clothing you've given her. None of it fits properly."

"I said that I would prefer it. Hongjoong is a different character," Seonghwa rolls his eyes. "But it doesn't matter. He wants to see you now, so there's no use in trying to change. Come, human. Yunho, San needs you to help with the decor. Jongho is having another fit."

Yunho's jolly expression breaks for a second, an irritated twitch in his brow. "Has he broken the lighting again?" He nods, a groan escaping him. "Perfect." He bows his head at you before leaving.

"Come," Seonghwa turns to you. "Or would you rather help with the mess?"

"I'd rather not be here at all."

Seonghwa cracks a smile, "Don't we all?"

You stand from your spot. Just as you're about to leave, Seonghwa hesitates. You cannot utter a word because he starts first.

"Take his words with caution. Hongjoong is a character to say the least. Though most of us are straightforward with our words, Hongjoong likes to play a lot with it. You cannot be sure of what's next to come out."

"What are you telling me this for? To run?"

He turns around. The solemn expression makes your own mask slip. "If needed, yes. I will not be far unless someone pulls me away. But on the off chance that I'm not around, don't waste time to leave. The barrier is gone right now. You'd have a better time escaping the woods than staying with him."

"He's your leader, no?"

Seonghwa nods, "And this is why I'm telling you what I am. Be careful, y/n. You are a mere rabbit in his eyes. Nothing more than that."

—

Seonghwa’s words repeat over and over in your head. A mere rabbit. Prey. You're not foolish to know that your stay here is temporary. Hiding your anxiety at the situation is what you've done, what you've been doing. But having to pretend in front of the leader, holding back your fear? You don't even know what he looks like.

Why did Soobin make you go to that stupid festival?

He is just on the other side of that door. All you have to do is knock. That's all. Your hand hovers over the wood.

The door swings open. You expect to see someone standing there but instead, there's no one. You slowly enter, glancing back. Seonghwa left you alone to deal, unfortunately. Just as you move out of the door's proximity, it closes itself, locking. You can help but let out a low laugh. Mythical creatures being real is something you'd never wrap your head around. The hallway is dark, luminescence peeking from underneath a door further away. You take another long breath, before opening it yourself. Immediately, your eyes move to him.

He is Unlike the others, that you can see. When you first learned of him, you thought he would be stern, rigid. Instead, you stand at the doorway to his spell room – a clap echoing as he stares at the table filled with vast ingredients.

"Finally," he breathes. "Took three hellish hours. Ah," He pauses.

He turns to you, wholly black gaze blinking away into a softer brown. The sight isn't terrifying in itself – it just scares you that you cannot distinguish him from another human, aside from his quiet beauty. He hides his potions away, leaning against the tabletop. You do not say a word in fear of upsetting him. He seems to notice this, head tilting as he stares at you.

"Oh, so you are the dear, pitiful human that has gotten my spark all ruffled up? What to do with you?" He smiles.

It is all but friendly.

His stature is on the shorter side compared to the rest of the Unseelie you've met thus far, about Wooyoung's height. His black hair is wild, strands scattered about, some tucked behind his ears. A seemingly permanent sly smile coating his lips. You can see why he's their leader. Charisma oozes from him despite having said no more than two sentences. Two sentences that have left you utterly speechless. Choosing your words carefully, you finally speak.

"I've heard some things about you," you say. A sleek brow of his lifts at your words, daring you to continue. You take the challenge. "Hongjoong, leader of your spark."

His grin is slow, eyes flicking between yours as it widens. His tongue drags across his lips, playing with the piercing hooked into the bottom one. A quick glance and you see several – studs lining his ears, fingers covered with golden jewels. A small amulet resting on where his pulse beats on. "In the flesh. Humans haven't seen me in centuries. You should be proud to even grace my presence, my pretty star." He glances behind you. "Everyone else seems interested in you as well. It took many of months to finally see you for myself. I have to admit, I do see the unwavering appeal. Ordinary looking, but there's something," his eyes roam over your outfit. "Your aura, maybe. What do you think, Mingi?"

"I think we should get ready, Hongjoong."

You tense up at the deep voice, looking back. Well, looking up. Mingi stands not a breath away from you, barely giving you a glance as you stare up at him. His golden clothing is as wispy as Wooyoung's, sheer against his chest and darkening as it flows down. You take a step to the side to bring some distance between the two of you, heart racing. You're only startled every time one of them pops up. And from the disappearance act you witnessed earlier, Mingi can make himself do it with ease. You would expect someone of his size to at least make a bit of noise when he enters a room. His blonde hair is neatly slicked down, mossy green markings starting at the curve of his jaw, covering the rest of his body. Mingi clears his throat and you look away from him.

The tales didn't mention that Unseelie were all unnaturally beautiful. Though it does make sense. You can't see how humans will follow them to their deaths otherwise. Even you, knowing what you do, are already falling without trying.

Falling for their traps, you correct yourself. Nothing more than that.

"Ah, and I assume that she will be joining us?" Hongjoong glances at you. "It'll be a very interesting gathering."

"Chaotic to say the least," Mingi sighs softly. "We should just lock her in her room until sunrise. The others will smell her, but there will be spells and other spoils to deter them. I'd hate to have to care for the human all night."

"I'm not a child," you frown.

Mingi does not bother looking in your direction nor acknowledge your response, "Wooyoung should watch her, not I."

"Neither of you are watching her. Yunho will be by her side most of the night."

Mingi's eyes widen briefly, "Hongjoong, is that the best choice at this time–"

"Take her back to her room to get ready," Hongjoong turns to you. "We've prepared a few outfits for you to try. It'll help you blend in more with the rest of us. If any are unsatisfactory, I'll have Yeosang conjure up another. Until you are satisfied with your choice."

You shake your head, "Not needed–"

"I want my star to shine bright tonight, y/n. You will not be dull when everyone else is watching. I bid you adieu–" He giggles. "I've always wanted to say that." He looks back at Mingi. “We’ll talk after you drop her off and get ready yourself, there’s much to do to prepare."

"Hongjoong…" He sighs. The leader does not bother saying anything else, turning back to his assortment of potions. Mingi finally looks at you. "Please follow me."

"I know where my room is," Your words are neither heard nor acknowledged, Mingi disappearing back into the dim hallway. You follow after swiftly, his pace much faster than yours.

You stumble after him through the hallways, passing by your designated room. "Hey, Min…"

He stops. His steps are quick, barely a breath away from you. You step back as he steps forward, your back hitting the wall. Anger resides in his eyes as he stares down at you. "You do not utter my name. You do not acknowledge me outside of forced interactions by one of the others. We do not speak to each other unless absolutely necessary. Do you understand?"

Your fear is a good enough answer for him. He moves back, gesturing to the door behind you. "Yeosang prepared your outfit in a different room since the others are lurking around yours right now. Get dressed, Yunho will be here promptly to explain how to act properly in front of the other faeries." He leaves you, dissipating right in front of your eyes. You can feel how your heart beats against your chest. You blink, hand reaching for the knob and turning it open. You close it behind you, back against the wood.

It's too much. All of this is just. too. much.

—

"What is your goal?"

"I am just trying to have a successful gathering. Is that too much to ask for, Mingi?" Hongjoong stares at the potions on the table, deep in thought. "She will be here for quite a while anyway. It's better to show them that we have everything in order rather than attempting to hide her."

"You told Seonghwa you did not care for her and wanted her gone. And now you're compromising Yunho's sanity because you want to get back at us, is that it?"

Hongjoong’s brow twitches at Mingi's words. "You know I would never put you in danger. Any of you."

"Then why are you now?"

Hongjoong finally looks away from his table, eyes flicking up to Mingi's. "You question me?"

He sighs, rubbing his face, "I just want to know your reasoning. You know well what he means to me."

"I am beginning to wonder," Hongjoong steps closer to Mingi. He lets his hand rest on his cheek, thumb rubbing the skin slowly. Mingi's eyelids flutter at his touch, leaning into it. "If any of you truly trust me. Yunho has been so misguided, removed from modern society. We all know how he tore that Seelie apart. It wouldn't have happened if he had the chance to leave, to experience things like us. We isolated him to the point of inner destruction. Him keeping by the human’s side is a test, yes. One of self control. I need to see how he will fair when he is beside someone he desires and yet cannot have. I have to test his temperament before I decide what to do next, Mingi. This is for him."

Mingi covers Hongjoong’s hand with his, "I trust you. I just have one more question."

"Speak it."

"What is your plan? With the human?"

Hongjoong bares a sliver of his teeth, black irises only deepening. "Everyone is enthralled with her. It's my chance to have my own fun."

—

You stare in the mirror at yourself.

Right as you pulled the slacks over your finger, it adjusted itself to your body. The Unseelie you've met have only worn sheer clothing around you and this is no different. It would make you uncomfortable if you didn't see how it clearly hides sensitive parts of your body, leaving it to the imagination. Still, it is unlike you. You're used to something different. Your pile of clothes next to the bathroom door is all the more alluring as you gaze at yourself. Heavy bags beneath your eyes from lack of sleep, hands that are endlessly shaky. You look tired.

Exhausted.

A light knock on your door pulls you away from those pesky thoughts that were soon to move to your Soobin. You clear your throat, giving yourself a look once more before rushing to the door after a second knock.

You open it to Yunho. He looks cleaned up, hair neatly tossed, a small curl resting on his forehead. He wears an outfit very similar to yours but much more sheer and revealing, your face glued on his. His flicks over yours briefly. You think you see a light blush coating his cheeks.

"Faerie clothing suits you," he says softly. "I will respect your wishes and not say anything more."

You let out a breath, "You think? I feel like it looks silly."

True shock coats his face, "No. You look fine. You," He struggles with his wording and you can only smile at him. He sighs, rubbing his cheeks. "You are … breathtaking."

“You’re flattering me,” you look away from him, quickly coming up with something else to pull him away from those thoughts. “When is the party?”

“It started an hour or so ago,” Yunho says simply, taking in your shocked expression. “They are all awaiting your arrival, y/n. It should be quite fun.”

If your heart could sink any further, it would. “Waiting? I’m not a special guest, I just found out about this tonight. I –” You barely ate breakfast, but it feels as if your insides are about to come out. It only makes sense that Hongjoong would catch you off guard like this. It makes complete sense, but why would he? Does he expect you to fail this test, or whatever it is?

“You’re letting your thoughts run from you,” Yunho says. “Don’t leave yourself behind.”

“I don’t want to do this,” you admit. “At all.”

“Neither do I,” he sighs simply, glancing behind him. “But it’s out of my control. This Gathering of ours has been planned for months on end. Hongjoong loves masquerade balls to discuss important matters with other Unseelie and Faeries. In fact, pardon me – ” Yunho steps inside the room, closing the door behind him. “Wouldn’t want unsavory ears to listen to my words.”

You notice the masks in his hands now, “Masquerade?”

“Yes, a lot of faeries are shy without it, believe it or not,” he glances between your eyes. “Do you mind if I place yours?”

You shake your head, and he smiles. He takes his time, making sure it fits comfortably over your eyes before tying it in the back. “Too tight?” he asks softly. His lips barely hover over your ears as he asks. With a quick swallow, you shake your head. “Perfect.” He ties it with ease, moving back. Somehow between that time he’s put his over his eyes, looking over you once.

“Unrecognizable?” You tease.

“I’d recognize you in any room. As Mingi told you, I'll explain briefly what will happen. Since you are the only human that will be there, eyes will follow you. I won't be leaving your side all night in the event one of them tries something unsavory. And though I will be watching, please don't hesitate to tell me if you feel that something is wrong."

"Is this dangerous, me being around them?"

"Our spark isn't dangerous, but many others are. We all use humans in many ways, y/n. We as a species aren't the kindest to yours."

You're glad he's explaining it all to you. But it doesn't lessen your fear at all. "You won't leave me alone?"

"I won't. Be yourself, y/n. It'll go well. Shall we go?” he holds out his arm. You slip yours beneath his with ease, fingers lightly touching his sleeve. His outfit isn’t transparent like the rest you’ve seen, a solid satin blue. Still it leaves nothing to the imagination, securely fit to his body. Your nerves catch up to you as you walk through the hallways to the opposite side of the house you haven’t been to yet. All doors are ajar, many attendees you have yet to set your eyes on. Most shift their gaze to watch Yunho escort you to the main hall. All of this is too much too soon, your nails sinking into his arm without you noticing. Running is not an option. No matter how much you want it to be.

No matter how close he stands to you, how much they speak to you, you are alone.

“Hey,” Yunho stops walking. You look up at him. “You’re holding on a bit tight there, y/n.”

You look at your grip, noticing that it’s tight enough to break skin. Just as you begin to pull back he covers your hand with his free one, shaking his head. “Hold on to me if you need to. It doesn’t hurt.”

“I’m sorry–”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay, that’s all. Hold on to me, y/n. I’m here.” You feel the stares, feel them glued to your back as you look up at him. “Hear me?”

“…Yes,” you whisper. You close your eyes for a moment. “Okay. We can go.”

He squeezes your hand before letting go, moving forward. The gazes are still burning into him and yourself, but you pretend not to notice. Ignore how much it bothers you. How silly it is – trusting an Unseelie, a man you barely know. How much you’re relying on his arm to steady yourself, his words to keep you calm. How with just a few months, you’ve let someone else other than Soobin help you.

You enter the grandeur hall.

It’s massive; chandeliers hang from the high ceiling, jewels and cold everywhere you look. Tables filled with faeries speaking amongst one another, laughter throughout the area. Yunho pulls you forward through the crowds. He seems to command a presence here – faeries without prompt giving him a pathway. They continue to talk but you hear whispers in languages you cannot understand. The word human sticks out. Still he pulls you along to the front of the room. There a banquet table sits, nine seats lined side by side. Hongjoong sits in the middle of the table, literally. He rests himself on top of the table, legs cross as he speaks to an unfamiliar faerie in front of him. You barely get a chance to look at the rest sitting there, one at the far end startling you. He stares at you with such disgust, a scowl seemingly permanently carved into his face.

“You’ve made it,” Hongjoong says, tilting his head around the faerie to look at you. “And how lovely you are.”

“I would say the same, but it will only boost your ego.”

The faerie in front of him widens their eyes. Hongjoong smile slips, waving them away. They leave without a second thought. He stands, brown eyes dissipating within an instant. The black stares at you as he moves closer. You shift your body towards Yunho, his head slightly shifting to the movement.

“You will hold your tongue in front of me,” Hongjoong says. “Do you understand me, human?”

“Yes.” You say, looking away. Not missing a beat, his smile slides back.

“Perfect, I hope you enjoy the rest of the party. It will be more than entertaining. I must leave now to tend to the other guests. Please let the others introduce themselves to you – we all will be seeing a lot of you for quite a while.” He bows to Yunho. Yunho bows, stepping to the side to let Hongjoong mingle.

“You could draw blood from that fearsome gaze of yours,” Yunho whispers, nudging your shoulder. “Even I am petrified.”

“I, sorry,” you say again, sucking in a breath. “Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing for your expressions y/n. Hongjoong was just…” he thinks for a moment. “You know of his status, no?”

“He is the leader of your spark.”

“Yes, but he is not only the leader of the eight of us. He is the head of Unseelie, y/n. There is not one faerie within this room who would defy him. So those words in front of another faerie, challenging his status at an event,” he quirks his brow.

Oh how you wish you could crawl out of your skin. You turn back, watching as all the masked party guests bow as he passes, his laughter echoing around the room. Charisma oozes from him, yes, but so does pure unrivaled power. A passerby gives him a glass and he takes it within a breath. You look at Yunho.

“He’s going to kill me.”

Yunho snickers, shaking his head, “He will entertain himself with the others. Worry not.”

“Solaris!” An irritating familiar voice echoes through the hall. Without a second to beat he throws his body into yours, wrapping his arms around you. His giggles echo around you, squeezing quite tight before letting go. He pulls back, the same grin still on his face. Wooyoung steps back for a moment, eyes flicking over your attire. “As always you are a beautiful sunset.”

“You cannot calm yourself even at a party?” Yunho frowns. He feels the emptiness of your arm since you’ve let go to steady yourself from Wooyoung’s attack. The absence of your warmth is not comforting. Only annoying him further. You seem not to notice at all though. Between your exasperation at him slamming himself into you, Yunho can see the tension in your shoulders ease. He just wishes that he were the one to do it, not him.

“My pretty solaris is shining, Yunho,” Wooyoung sticks his tongue out at him. “I cannot believe that Hongjoong made him your bodyguard when I am here!” He sighs, sitting in the spot Hongjoong once was. His mask rests on the top of his head. He holds out a drink for you and you take it, eyeing it.

“Is it alcohol?”

“Faeries do not really enjoy it since we don’t get intoxicated like humans. And it tastes disgusting,” Wooyoung murmurs. “This is a tonic of concentrated fruits. Sweet, but does nothing to humans.” He encourages you.

You trust his words only because you know he cannot lie, taking a sip. It’s sweet, but not off-putting. “Tasty,” you point out. Yunho takes the other resting on the table, sitting next to Wooyoung. He widens his eyes, digging in his pocket.

Yunho smiles at you, “I almost forgot. Hand.”

"Hand?" You shoot him a quizzical look. He holds out his to you, waiting. You're sure he'd wait forever until you place yours upon his so you do so, his large hand covers yours entirely. At first, you feel a soothing feeling across your skin. The warmth rises in temperature, just enough to the point where it's bearable, but sweaty. He stares at your enclosed hands. With a small whistle, they begin to illuminate in the dark, swirling around your skin before disappearing into the air. His eyes flick to yours, a sunset staring back at you.

"Pretty, no?" He grins, squeezing your hand once. "It took me a bit since I'm not an expert at majik like the others. Yeosang helped me with the spell, and San helped me cast."

Their names mean close to nothing to you now. You're very sure they will in the future, though. Close future, from the gazes around you.

"What's it for?"

His grin widens, then. "To impress a pretty human. And it will help me keep an eye on you if you ever leave my sight tonight. I will take it away once this gathering ends."

You tuck it in your front pocket.

“You’ve made it,” Wooyoung says, looking behind you. You don’t exactly need to guess who it is, the quiet movement enough for you to pinpoint. His conversation, well, threat, from earlier is enough for you not to acknowledge him at all. Instead, you move a bit closer to Yunho’s side. “You said you hate parties.”

“I do,” his deep voice murmurs. You take a quick glance at Mingi. He avoids your gaze entirely, hands tucked in his pockets. “But Hongjoong insisted. No matter how much I tell him my presence here will only put the others on edge.”

You look behind him. Still the eyes are on yours, but you see others observing Mingi. Many look away quickly. How much fear does the Unseelie resonate?

“They would be on edge anyway since they are in our residence,” Yunho shrugs. “y/n’s presence along with ours brings more questions than answers. None are brave enough to speak about it though. Secures our status.”

You speak, “Even if they asked, I have nothing to say.”

Yunho smiles, “I can pick one thing you’d be able to shock them with.”

Ah, right. Resistant to faeries. Your eyes flick over to one Unseelie who sits at the table. He’s beautiful, to say the least. Black hair in wisps, resting at the bottom of his neck, silver jewelry wrapped around strands. A peak of what looks like a birthmark on the side of one of his eyes, stretching to his temple. His brown eyes are not looking at yours at all, focused on your lower face. As you stare, it looks like he’s watching your lips. You look away.

His head rests on his hands as he watches you speak to Wooyoung. Your words are quick, annoyance drawn on your face when he twists your words, often vulgar. He only laughs at the expression, continuing his rant. Yeosang himself and the others are used to his antics, his quick words and joking tone. He quite honestly thought you'd be deterred by it, but you match his wit in an instant, sometimes causing Wooyoung to falter, skip words. Yeosang can't help but grin, eyes steady on yours. You look to the side, meeting his interested gaze.

"Yeosang doesn't speak much," Wooyoung starts. "Especially when I'm talking."

"Maybe because you can never stop," Yunho hums from behind him.

"Nice to meet you, Yeosang," you hold out your hand. Yeosang's brows furrow at the gesture. Humans are often disgusted with faeries, especially one of the Unseelies. You extend out your hand with such ease, well, it makes him confused. The time must have passed long enough for it to be uncomfortable, your hand sliding back away.

He reaches out before you place it back on your side, his fingers gripping yours softly in a quick shake.

Your skin is quite soft, he thinks.

“You are not afraid of me,” he states, his hand dropping from yours. “Why?”

“Should I be?” you question. It lingers in the air, eyes briefly moving to Yunho’s for assistance. He merely shrugs, your gaze moving back to Yeosang’s. “I’m not immediately afraid of an Unseelie. Not anymore.”

“That’s delightful! It’s all me, by the way,” Wooyoung grins, interrupting. Mingi meets his eyes for a moment, gesturing to the side. He sighs, hopping off the table. “I would love to mingle more, but Hongjoong needs me. I’ll see you all soon enough. Yeosang, he needs you as well.”

“Just a moment,” Yeosang waves him off. He pats his pocket, putting out a small map. “Can you read this?” he holds it out to you. He seems insistent on it, gaze sharp. “Humans are able to, not Unseelies.”

“Oh…?” You take it from him. You can read it easily, some words more advanced than you’re used to, but it’s all legible.

“Now is not the time, Yeosang,” Mingi murmurs, rubbing his eyes beneath the mask. “Not at a party.”

“It is just for a moment. If she knows, then she’ll be able to assist me. So, human?” Yeosang asks, turning back to you. “Can you understand the writing?”

–

A threat.

That's his first thought as he stares at you across from the room. The reason why the others are on edge, wary. A human with a strange allure. He would have eradicated you immediately if it weren't for their affinity towards you. His frown only seems to deepen when he sees Yeosang's lip quirk at something you've said. His eyes widened at the look, silent shock. His friend isn't one to attempt to grow closer to anyone. In fact, he's even more surprised that Yeosang is here in the first place. The Unseelie hides in his room often, rarely interacting unless necessary. The smile on his lips confuses him.

His fingers dig into his forearms. Despite how exhausting it is to be around you, he can't help it. The looks you send the others, the shaking of your hands as you point to the map. The smile that is barely there.

Why is he aching to touch you?

“Sulking in the corner is not a good look,” Jongho appears next to him, arms crossed. “You know that she can see you. You’re not so far away to go unnoticed.”

“She’s infuriating,” San frowns, watching as Mingi pulls Yeosang away from the rest of them, into the direction of Hongjoong. “Why bring her around all of these faeries? Some are bound to realize that she is not like any other human. I don’t doubt that they might already know. What is the endgame, the solution? Why is he doing this?”

“Hongjoong has a strange way of thinking,” Jongho says, watching you with the others. “But he is wise above many. It took me a while to determine exactly why he would introduce a human to this world of ours. And I’ve finally figured it out.”

“Don’t keep it to yourself.”

“Not even a small guess?” Jongho frowns.

“Jongho…”

“Fine,” he sighs. “He wants to show them that our position will not be challenged nor should ever be. If we have a human captured that is not affected by any of us and still fears us, yet joins us on these events. They will see where we stand. They will start to question if we know of more, if she is a halfling. So many inquiries and yet all are too afraid to speak up. It will keep them subdued for now. Delay their anger for the incident from the other night. Distract them enough to keep it calm.”

"Is there any news on the Seelie?" San asks.

"Much. Yeosang and Wooyoung are on their way to take care of it. They will be gone for quite a bit until it's solved."

San watches Yeosang leave the room after Wooyoung. The Unseelie seems to sense his gaze, turning around to meet it. Neither of them say anything, but Jongho sees San's expression shift. Worry. Yeosang merely nods at the look, disappearing from view. It is what he has always done to calm him down. But San's worry just continues to pile on as it continuously has.

"We should have gone with them too," San murmurs, looking back at you. "A trio at least. If one of them were injured the other one wouldn't be able to leave."

"Hongjoong made the call. It will be fine."

"As fine as a human resistant to our charms waltzing around faeries that want to consume her, fine? Something will happen tonight."

Jongho grows serious at his words. "Have you seen it?"

"No. That's the issue Jongho. I can feel everyone else's in this room. But with her, there is nothing. Not even a hint. That only happens for me if the person is destined to die suddenly. If that doesn't worry you, I don't know what will. It makes me think of that movie, the one with the blood sucking faeries. How the main character couldn’t penetrate her mind because she had a shield."

Jongho deadpans, "You really need to stop consuming human media. It's making you lose your mind and credibility."

San sends him a toothy grin. "You're just upset you don't understand my references."

"Oh I do, a little too well unfortunately. There's only so much of it that you say that won't stick. I'm still upset you made me watch that movie. What was it, Dracula?"

San looks away, momentarily distracted. "Yes! We should watch it again."

"And this is why Hongjoong didn't tell you to go with them," he murmurs, easily maneuvering out of San’s shove. "In all seriousness, I am worried. You cannot witness the future because she is in it. I don't like the odds." Jongho looks to the side, eyes narrowing. "So much for the delay of anger, especially since some uninvited guests arrived."

—

"Stay close and don’t say a word," Yunho stands up from the table, shifting you behind him. Mingi turns around, relaxed expression tightening. You can’t quite see over their shoulders, most of the crowd hiding your view from what’s exactly going on. Mingi's hand slips to his side. You notice the handle of what you can only guess is a sword, his fingers wrapped around it as he stares forward. The crowd is hushed now, bated breaths. What exactly are they facing, and why is everyone on edge?

The familiar smooth voice of Hongjoong breaks the silence, “You show yourself here?”

“We were not invited, we presumed it was just a mistake.” The person responds slowly, deliberately. Yunho’s arm wraps around your shoulder, pressing you tightly to his side. “We heard that you have a human within this area.”

“Is that any of your business?” MIngi hisses. Your gaze shifts to the side, seeing the angry Unseelie that was standing in the corner appear next to Mingi. “You were not invited for a reason, Seelie.”

“Is that the way to speak to your brother?” The voice laughs. Hongjoong appears in front of you in a blink, standing next to Mingi. He does not acknowledge you behind him, but your eyes flick down. His hand waves slightly, as if gesturing for you to leave. Yunho stands still, a slight shake to his head. “You protect it from my sight?”

“Yeonjun, you know your kind is not allowed at these events, why appear? Everyone in this room is disgusted by you,” Hongjoong says simply, a small smile on his lips. “Uppity faeries who believe they are above us all. You stink up the place.”

The air feels tender, your heart beating quicker. No matter how much you try to control it it just hammers on and on. There is little doubt that the Seelie cannot hear you. The Unseelie around you seem to know it as well, all of their hands shifting to weapons that rest on their sides.

“Let me see the human.”

“No,” Hongjoong raises his brow. “You have no presence nor authority here.”

“Is it wise to hide it from me after you have butchered my people? Wooyoung was his name, yes? And Yunho is lucky that I am being so kind despite the massacre that he created.”

Yunho’s hand around you loosens slightly at his name being uttered.

“Seelie attacked the human unwarranted and without notifying us. They were in our territory. It was our right,” Mingi states simply. “He did what needed to be done.”

“Did he? We visited the location shortly after, Mingi. It was utterly drenched and soiled.”

“Enough,” Hongjoong holds up his hand, “What is it that you desire? To see the human? Is that all?”

“That is all,” the Seelie states.

“Fine. Mingi, move. Yunho, let her go.”

Questions rise in Yunho’s eyes. With great hesitance, he lets his hand drop from your arm. Hongjoong slides his hand into yours, stepping forward. Your momentary shock at him touching you all vanishes when you meet the eyes of the Seelie in front of you. You expected the grotesque figure like before, but he is anything but. Matching the height of Mingi, he stands. His hair neon green, slicked back. Small strands brush his cheek as he looks down at you, white eyes alarming. Despite that, he is beautiful. Ethereally so. He holds your gaze, a smirk forming.

“You are the human they have started a war for?”

“It has not come to that, Yeonjun,” Mingi starts, hushed immediately by Hongjoong.

“Oh but it has, Mingi. Unless you provide me with a small favor.”

“No,” Yunho says between his teeth, standing by your side. “I will not allow you to take her away.”

“Why? What is so special about the human? Why are you risking your people for its existence? Does it have something I cannot see with my eyes? Or does it have to deal with her being resistant to our charms?”

Hongjoong shrugs, “Whatever do you mean?”

Yeonjun’s smile drops. “I have coerced her to let go of your hand several times but she looks at me as if I’m a ghost.”

“How unfortunate that not every being will drop to their knees for you. You must truly be disappointed.”

Yeonjun merely rolls his eyes, hands tucked in his suit jacket pockets. He glazes over the crowd, stepping forward. The crowd backs up from his movement until they can no longer. He stands in front of a small child, bending down to stare at them. “I can read between the lines, Unseelie leader. I can see how you avoid my inquiries. So if you will not allow me to take the human, perhaps I will take one of these other things for my use.” Just as he is about to touch the child, you move forward slightly. Hongjoong’s grip on your hand tightens tenfold, a bruise imminent.

“Let the child go,” you say.

Yeonjun turns around, grin widening. “Oh, she speaks. It is all too bad, though, you did not speak up quickly enough.” He raises his hand. All of your gazes turn. An adult faerie rises in the air. Before any of the Unseelie next to you can move, Yeonjun snaps his fingers. You look away from the sight, a cry falling from your lips at the mere sound. Flesh splatters across the walls and guests, their cries much louder than yours.

“Yunho, go!” Hongjoong says above the shouts of the crowd. “Take her out of here,” he lets go of your hand, throwing your body into the trembling Yunho’s. You look at him, eyes glossed over. His eyes flick up to yours, shaking his head.

“I can’t.”

You barely get the chance to convince him to go, Yunho grabbed by a Seelie in the crowd. This one as horrid as the others you’ve witnessed. You look around for an escape, the ajar door too far away for you to go. So instead, you turn to the side, shoes sliding against the hardwood as you navigate around everyone running every which way. The sound of bodies exploding fills your ears, tears running down your cheeks. It is all too much to take in now, but your body does. It barely holds itself together as you push through the people. Someone grabs the back of your shirt, dragging you to the floor. Your head slams against it, eyes losing focus.

“This is your fault,” The Seelie spits, stepping harshly on your hand. It grabs your face, pulling you up from the floor. “My people have died for such a silly little human. You have started a war, don’t you know this?” You look down, leaves slowly rising from the floor. The moist leaves begin to rise, wrapping around your wrists.

“I didn’t.”

It drops you to the floor, turning around. It’s too late, another Unseelie appearing. He grips its neck, slamming it against the wall. "Beg."

His grip on its neck is tight as he holds it up against the wall, other hand stationary on his side. His eyes narrow as they stare into the Seelie's. You can only stare, hands still entangled in the tightened seaweed. His lip curls, a glint in his eyes. The Seelie makes no attempt to utter a sound. He hums, fingers digging into its neck.

"Look away, y/n," his voice is softer as he acknowledges you, eyes flicking to the side. "Unless you want to see its death." A crack echoes in the air just as you close your eyes. The body makes a loud thump, hitting the concrete. He steps to you, pulling the leaves off your wrists with ease. He wraps his arms around you, lifting you off the ground. You hiss at your wound pressing into him slightly.

"You can open your eyes now," he says. "Sorry about that. Didn't expect any of them to be hanging around you when there’s a lot more chaos to be dealt with. Thought we killed them all off, to be honest," he glances behind him.

His gaze moves to yours. Blood covers your cheeks, scrapes and scabs already forming. His expression hardens, until you look into his eyes. He should be angry right now. furious that your presence has led to this. But perhaps Mingi was right.

There's just something so strange about you.

You flinch when he tries to touch you. He pulls his hands back promptly, holding them up in defense. “Hey hey, I’m not a Seelie. You saw me earlier, didn’t you? I was talking to San, the guy that was shooting daggers across the room. I’m with Hongjoong, y/n. My name is Jongho.”

His name sounds vaguely familiar. You nod, and he helps you up. The screams have died down now. You keep your gaze on the floor, the smell already rising. You wouldn’t have guessed how familiar that scent of death would be. Jongho pulls you along, navigating you around the bodies and blood, and out the door.

“Yunho…?” You murmur, thinking back to how he was grabbed by a Seelie. “Is he okay?”

“Fine. Poor guy who grabbed him though, he’s shredded to Hell,” Jongho snickers, turning down a hallway. “Seonghwa isn’t in the lab, but one of us will be around soon. Stay there for a bit while we deal with this, okay?” Jongho stops in front of the door. It’s already open. You still haven’t looked up from the floor, too overwhelmed with what you’ve just witnessed. “Hey y/n, you okay there?”

“This is all my fault, isn’t it?”

Jongho does not answer. He pats your shoulder once, "We will solve this. Stay quiet." He closes the door, leaving you alone.

-

“Is Yunho alright?” Jongho enters the room, glancing to the side. His nose wrinkles at the devastation surrounding the area. Tables flipped over, masks scattered about. Dead faeries in pieces. No one answers him. Hongjoong stands in the middle of the room, staring down at a body. Jongho begins to look around and spots Yunho in the corner. He’s still, gazing down at his trembling blood drenched hands. Mingi is near him, crouched in front of him as he whispers. Jongho isn’t particularly interested in hearing anything he has to say, moving closer to his leader.

“We looked weak in front of them all,” Hongjoong says. “Pathetic.”

“It was the best choice at the time-”

“Was it?” He looks at him, brows furrowed. “Was it a good choice to allow a massacre to happen because they wanted a human? Our people saw me defend it over everyone else. They will remember this day.”

“They know the stakes well enough. They understand that you had a reason for it. Anyone with eyes could see that she is different. That’s why Yeonjun himself wanted her so badly-”

“You should have given her up,” San grunts, lifting a table back into its place. “Now we have to deal with Seelies following us wherever we go. It will be a hindrance.”

“I already have Yeosang and Wooyoung dealing with that,” Hongjoong waves him off. “But I have lost favor. It will take a while to gain it back.”

“We are all faeries, Hongjoong,” Seonghwa’s hand hovers over a body. It slowly dissipates, his gaze shifting up to look at his leader. “We took the risk in keeping her because we know of the influence she has. Despite what I have been saying, I do think it is best to keep her around. At least until we find the cause of her resistance. Once we do, that information would be more valuable than anything that has happened tonight.”

Jongho frowns. “Life is less valuable?”

Seonghwa shrugs simply, “They will be remade. It is nothing.”

“You’re beginning to sound like the Seelie,” Jongho murmurs, his spark’s gazes shifting to him. “We are to be better.”

“We are Unseelie, Jongho. We are nothing better. But speaking of the human,” Seonghwa stands, wiping his hands on his pants. “Where is she?”

“In your lab.”

Seonghwa’s eyes seem to widen comically, pushing past Jongho.

"What's wrong?"

Mingi looks at Jongho from his spot, “None of us looked around to see if it was clear, Jongho. You may have just killed the human. All of this bloodshed for nothing.”

Several of the others follow behind Seonghwa, Jongho running after them. He arrives at the lab just as Seonghwa slams open his door. The sight startling to behold. Seelie blood coats the walls, tables destroyed and medical supplies scattered about. But it is almost the least surprising thing in the room.

In the middle of the carnage sits you, fingers wrapped around the handle of a dagger Seonghwa stored on the wall for decoration. Wounds cover your body, leg twisted at an odd angle. But your eyes are away from them. Glued to the pieces of Seelie below you.

“y/n?” Jongho whispers.

You hand trembles at the sound of his voice, dagger dropping from between your fingers. You look up, passed Hongjoong and Seonghwa. Directly at him.

“I didn’t mean to.”

[p1nkm1lkslug]

MORE random shit I have seen as being in the creeps fandom:

People shipped jack x Frankie..😭(look nothing wrong with it, but I mean it when I say whole heartedly THAT THIS IS THE WORSE CREEPS SHIP)

under one of fungal zombies videos (he cosplays frankie) was told that his frankie cosplay was "wrong" By some random comment... He is the co writer of frankie 💀

Ik I said this already BUT THIS ONE GOD AWFUL FRANKIE X LJ FANFIC SMUT ON WATTPAD,IT WAS SO BAD THAT I GENUINELY WILL NEVER FORGET IT

will being snuffbitches self insert (ick)

The audible scream I let out when I speed ran as much info on creeps to find out that it got canceled

THAT ONE POST THAT I CAN NOT FIND THAT SAID THAT THEY WOULD CAST EVAN PETER AS WILL BECAUSE I CAN NOT UNSEE IT NOW

issac Grossman = belos from toh (no I haven't watched toh)

The situation behind sabrinanightmaren and snuff bomb (she was insulted by snuff and he even ended up taking laughing Jill and reducing her to the nina of the laughing jack story,which sucks)

Snuff bomb in general like EXPLAIN TO ME HOW I STILL SEE MFS TRYING TO DEFEND HIM???

Younger me trying to find more videos on creeps and then seeing those very very cringe videos of snuffbomb and his friend on YouTube (yes it's still up and yes it is hard to watch 💀)

THAT one specific drawing of Jack in the "ask laughing jack" Thingy by sabrinanightmaren

You know when you make an oc and then realize it's a rip off of another character? That was me with frankie 😭😭

This doesn't have anything to do with creeps but my first blog at 11 AND OH MY DAYS IT WAS SO BAD I think its still up and I'm tryna find it 😭😭

[waddei]

full story behind these images (6.5k words open at your own risk)

pacing back and forth in the damp grass roman bit his nails waiting for tomas to pick up the phone.

“cmon…cmon…”  

his boots splashes on the muddy puddles, staining his soles.

“fuck..” 

a small click from the phone made him jump.

“tom thank god-”

“what do you want” his friend whisper shouts. voice as always a strange mix between quiet but assertive.

“i need your help” he says with far too little shame for someone calling in the middle of the night.

the wind hit his back harsher than before now, dark clouds swerved above him and he could only pray that the night ended with a storm. He can imagine himself, staring through the window at the flooding street with a grin, watching the rushing  mud and sand wash the town clean. 

tom doesn't  answer,but thats normal by now.

“its important” he begs, a ‘please’ goes unsaid for his own egos sake.

“lets meet at our spot shall we?” he sounds as frantic as his heartbeat feels, tom mooks him from the comfort of his home with an intentionally loud sip of his mug.

he doesnt let the distance stop him from feeling those hollow green eyes stare down at him

“what did you do” tom asks, impatient. for what though, roman doesn't know, that sense of hurry around him never faded.

he swallows as he looks down at his feet. resting next to them in the grass was the man's head, his nose had long stopped bleeding and lifeless eyes stared up at him in long ignored plea of mercy, they were starting to gloss over. roman bit back a sound of disgust.

“i cant tell you right now.just come here” 

tom gave a long heavy sigh “my brother’s sleeping” he said, like it mattered at all.

“do i look like i care?" he snarled “bring your bike too if you're coming”

the body below him caught his eye again. it was fairly tall,only a few inches short of himself,which was impressive in its own right. 

“two trash bags too if you happen to have any”

“two?” 

“yes… two”

tom huffed and the call was cut with no goodbye, again ,not unusual but it never failed to annoy him.

with a groan he squats down in the grass, careful not to stain his jeans neither green nor red. 

he feels unseeing eyes  burn his back.the body had not moved, obviously, its mouth hanged open after having its last words die on his tongue.

He doubts he would have had anything of value to say anyways.

The bastard,miserable not unlike himself, chose to go down swearing until the very end when, after the reality of his situation dawned on him, he began pleading and bargaining like he was talking to the devil. which, if you where to ask anyone else, he was.

his last words where as nonsensical as they were a threat.

Roman doubts it'll amount to anything, after all the plan was to not get caught.

as for the rest of ‘the plan’ as he likes to call it: it didn't have any more steps for now. at least until tom got here, he'll figure it out from there.

He looks up at the moon,bright and unusually big. She sat in the sky directly above him like an otherworldly spotlight parting through the clouds with little struggle,he revels in it even if just for a moment. his childish fascination with her never quite faded.

the wind continued to ruin his moment, swaying tree branches dangerously close to his face, his jacket wasn't enough to keep out the cold, shamefully he wrapped his arms around himself.

a leaf smacks him in the face. He rips the small branch out.

‘tom should be on his way already’-he thinks to distract himself- ‘if he's even coming’.

he's sure he will, where else would he go?

man of habit he is,he’ll find his way here eventually even if roman hadn't called him, he's sure of that.  hed make his rounds like he always does and, eventually, they'd meet again even if he didnt move an inch until then.

he doesn't want to move really,not at all. feeling like he's putting his life on the line if he leaves the corpse alone.

walking through the dense vegetation wasn't easy, he envies the ease tom seemed to have with it.

He makes it to a clearing in the bushes, a familiar checkpoint when traversing the landscape that tom had originally shown  him.

he skips right through it this time, heading for a particular tall tree that stood out against the horizon.

at its base was everything he ever needed. 

Tom, with his bike and two large trash bags pooling out of his cammo vests pockets.

his head snaps to look at him once he crosses the threshold to ‘their place’.

a nice, semi enclosed area by the base of a tree older than everyone they've ever meet where a fallen log made a makeshift bench. tom was sitting on it with his bike next to him. 

wordlessly and shielding his shaking hands he motions for him to follow and  Tom does so with a disinterested look.

roman begins leading him to the scene.

tom jumps over the bushes roman had gotten his pants caught on before. “what did you do?” he asks, verbatim as he had done so on the phone. roman ignores him and hops over a hole in the dirt, tom follows and he helps him haul his bike over it.

they reach the clearing, small drops of water already drizzling made each blade of grass sparkle.

 tom stares at them as he always does,roman assumes a certain fascination with it might exist but the boy's eyes remain as painfully neutral as they always do.

he does not bother hurrying him up as he too takes a moment to stare, only he looks up at the moon instead, trying to  steady his trembling hands.

they move on once tom grows bored of watching the ants or whatever. Roman leads him to the other semi cleared area where he knew the body was.

parting the bushes for tom like the gentleman he is, he lets him take a good look at the scene before saying anything. He takes note of how wide his eyes grow as he scans the ground in front of him. a horrified look begins to paint itself on his face.

it doesn't last much, the small flash of emotion was quickly drowned out by  his usual apathetic look. 

“what did you do?” he asks for the third time, carefully looking at him up and down with a hint of disgust showing through the ice.

“i think its obvious”  roman jumps over closer to the body and further away from tom.

“i fucked up..” he sais with his hands on his hips in a vain attempt a showmanship. “went a bit too far this time”

tom crouches down near his foot and near the man's head, his eyes go wide again when he makes eye contact with it. he watches incredulously as roman, nonchalantly,  nudges an arm with his foot.

“i think i might need some help” its a bold thing to admit for someone like him, tom doesn't fail to notice it.

greyish green eyes narrow on him like a hawk and with a single precise motion he throws the trash bags at his feet.

“im not touching it” he declares with a tone that leaves no room for argument. 

 that's fine, a sensible boundary even. all he needed was the bike and the bags. He opens up the folded bags and lays them in the ground next to the body while avoiding his friends stare.

“welp” he announces to no one, for he knows tom isn't paying attention. “lets get to work”

with more effort than expected he sits the man,dead as he was, against a short stump.

a  phone falls out of his pockets in the meanwhile, tom immediately smashes it below his foot. roman jumped “whats your problem?”

“they can track that” he stomps on it again for good measure.

“i could have sold it-”

“tell me what happened” 

tomas isn't someone he’d call intimidating. the boy was as thin as one can get and a full head shorter than him, but he was hard to read. impossible even. it scared roman in a very specific way he struggled to explain. 

he sighs, with the stars as witnesses he pulls the man's legs closer to his chest.

“well we were just supposed to fight. fucker slipped me a note with a date and place and i just came-uhmp!” He struggled with folding the arms over the chest.

“and?” tom pressed.

“well i had a bad day! and He was pissing me off more than usual..” he takes one last look at the mans’s face, ridden with  bruises and with an undeniably broken nose, his eyes couldn't glare at him anymore. “so once i had him down i just kept stomping on his head”

it felt strange to admit it so easily. tom winced and looked away back to the clearing.roman  took this as a cue to finally fit the first bag over the corpse's head. it covered it all the way to his hips as he expected.

the legs turn out to be much harder to lift than anticipated but he makes due without help. Once the two bags meet he ties them both together at various points until the body is fully secured inside, clumsily  wrapped like a home cooked meal.

he giggles at the thought,Tomas glares at him again.

"we have to get this out of sight somehow" he mumbles "do you still have that shovel in your garage?"

Tom doesn't answer, but he does not freeze either. He stares intently at him, watching him struggle to balance the body on the bike;he sets it with its legs between the front bar where he,while driving, could hold it still.

struggling to drive the bike through the bushes he almost misses Tom silently walking away.

"hey!"  he almost loses hold of the handles. "where are you going?" 

the boy jumps the bushes into the clearing. his hair  sways violently with the wind but Tomas never seemed to mind the way it covered his eyes at random.

"you want the shovel right?" he spits,not bothering to look back at him.

A smile creeps up his face and he bares his teeth like a child;far too giddy even for his own comfort he watches his friend walk away. 

in the meanwhile a thought emerges, unwanted and uncalled for, a little voice inside himself that trembled and stuttered at every word like he's sure he used to  'what if he tells on you' it whispers into his ear 'what if he tells his brother' 

he groans, pushing the bike up another bush. tomas wouldn't, he barely fucking talks in the first place. that won't happen.

the bag slumps forward,too distracted to catch it he lets the corpse hit its head against the front wheel.

he snorts imagining how it's nose must have flattened against it. his shoulders immediately sag after, there's a dirty feeling that comes with laughing at a corpse,no less one you've killed.

He reaches a big rock, too big to jump over,too heavy to lift and too annoying to push the bike around.

scanning the skyline he sees nothing but short,spiky bushes and scattered trees in front of him. the already dim lights of the town were completely lost from sight. the wind lifted up the sandy ground into his eyes but aside from that? it was a perfect spot.

He sets the bag on the ground, letting the bike and himself rest.

now he waits.

He can do nothing without something to dig with. He can get as many rocks out the way as he wants but that in the end doesn't take too long.

he looks up, the moon hadn't moved much from when he last saw her,now without branches to bother him the ghostly light pools over him.The stars shine brighter here in the open field, they occasionally peek from behind the rapidly moving clouds. He lets himself relax,leaning over the hard rock. even with the cold freezing his face a sigh escapes him, carelessly he kicks the bag away and rests his legs over another rock. thunders threatens to make the sky fall on him,he cant bring himself to care.

the beating inside his chest slows down for the first time since the man's head hit the floor. leaves and sand fly at his face so his eyes shut on their own.

'hes taking too long' the meek voice whispers. Tom's house was not too far, but without his bike it's quite the trip. He's not taking detours, his brother was asleep. 

‘shut the fuck up’ he mentally yells at it.

his head drifts and he slowly sinks down as he lets himself lay down more and more against the rock.

ignoring the way the cold bites at  his skin he rests.

with his eyes closed he can't tell if hes asleep or not until  he feels movement on the bushes.

before he can open his eyes to check he's smacked in the stomach with a blunt object.

roman jumps to his feet, hands balled up and ready to fight but before him stood tomas. with a shovel.

"thank God" his hands fall to his sides again.

Tom's hands extend, silently offering him the shovel.

he takes it with a quick remark."you scared me"  

tomas ignores him again and sits down on a different rock a few steps away, staring at the floor he snaps a branch off one of the nearby bushes.

"well!" he dusts his pants off, mostly to amuse himself "I better get to work now! 

the shovel was small, not meant for anything more than some mild garnering or playing in the sand. it stood to about his knee when he stuck it in the ground;still he had to make this work.

bit by bit he began shoveling the sandy dirt out of the way,he would have been sweating hadn't he already been freezing.

"y'know when you mentioned-" the shovel struck a rock, he struggled to lift it up again "having a shovel I wasn't expecting it to be so-" the rocks pops out the ground successfully "small"

he complains to the wind, because tom wasn't listening and even if he was he was not going to respond.

"should have told me it was more of a toy than anything-"

"there's blood in your hands now" tom cuts him off, fancying himself a cryptic bastard all of a sudden.

roman scoffs "no there isn't,I get any on me" 

the conversation, if you could even call it that, dies there. buried with the other guy most likely.

dry grass swayed, some of it stuck to his hair, some brushed at his arms and legs.

most of it he ripped off.

Tom's wordless stare burned on his back, but at least he wasn't alone. his own heartbeat set a rhythm for the shovel going in and out the dirt. the mount behind him grew bigger as the stars moved closer to the Horizon.

"it's 4:36 already" the boy  spoke up eventually.

roman took the last bit of dirt off the hole. "I'm almost done" carelessly he began pushing the bag into the it  with his foot.

tomas waits for the wind to quit loudly howling on their ears to speak again . "my brother wakes up at 5:30" 

he clicks his tongue, being a little meaner than he intended  "I don't care-" 

"he'll notice if I'm gone,give me the shovel back"

roman ignores him, instead hitting the bag with it, making it go down further into the dirt.

"give me 5 more minutes with it" he argues, not bothering to wait for a response.

quickly he covers the hole back up and, as soon as he dusts his hands and before he declares his work done, tom rips the shovel out of his hands. roman doesn't protest when their eyes lock for a second too long.

he stares at the ground where he knows the body is. only shooting a goodbye to Tom once he hears him pick his bike up.

he doesn't doubt the boy waved at him.

he always did.

He picked  his bike up and drove through the terrain like it was nothing, roman knows he has been here before, but he doubts he'll come  back.

confidently roman adds ‘corpses’ to his (mental and very short) list of things he knows  tomas does not like.it sat comfortably next to some classics like: ‘talking’,‘strawberries’ and  ‘staying still’

he giggles at it, although more concerning probably was that he couldn't name a single thing tom liked aside from walking and probably the color green, nor a single other  person he knew aside from himself and his brother.

a brother that to this day remained unnamed. 

He has fun imagining what he'd be like sometimes, there's plenty of time to kill during the day after all. 

‘he probably wouldn't like to meet you’ a weaker version of himself comments, he ignores it.

a single drop soaking through his jacket was enough to drag him back to reality.

the clouds had grown darker, they obscured the moon completely now.

he fills his chest with the salty humid air one last time before turning his back on the burial and heading back the same way Tom had.

he avoids the kill site and prays to no god in particular that the rain was enough to wash it all clean. it was starting to pick up now so the world might be on his side after all.

He reaches the port before he does any roads, the rotten wooden docks left much to be desired but he was used to them now, as a child he had enjoyed watching the crabs that lived under it bury themselves in the sand. the river led directly to the sea. Fisher boats rested on the sand,some new and shiny, most  rusted and abandoned for tourists to take pictures next to.

bright yellow street lamps made the raindrops much more evident. 

taking the chance he looked at his reflection in a closed storefront, he looked as he always had,just a bit more wet. his mask was getting a bit  uncomfortable but it stayed on.

the paved road was the longest way back but he takes it anyway,more mud on his shoes wouldn't be ideal. He blindly walks until he reaches one of the two main roads in the town with a stoplight in it.  he turns right, avoiding walking by it for too long, the backstreets being even more empty if this was possible.

thunder roared above him and a smile tugged at his lips. almost immediately the light rain turned into a violent outpour,but that didn't matter, he could see his house from here already.

doing his best to not wake anyone up Roman limbs to his window like he always does though this time the heavy rain helps disguise the noise.

before he sets foot inside,still sitting on the windowsill, he take this shoes off and carries them to the bathroom.

the jacket lands in the floor and his pants on top of the toilet as he tears his soaked clothes off without much care and almost trips trying to plug the hairdryer on.

he sets it balanced against a shampoo bottle and pointing at his jacket, hoping to dry it while he, using a random brush his mom used to clean the ceramic, aggressive cleaned the mud off his shoes in the shower. 

in the meantime the rain got worse-or better if you where to ask him. his mom's carefully pruned garden began to flood and soon so did the street. the dirt ones-he assumes-aren't doing much better.

he gets giddy at what that means for him tonight.

He dries his clothes, washes his hair and cleans his shoes. by the time he's done it's nearing 7am already.

he goes to sleep, the rain still falling above the house served well for white noise.

the trees outside slammed their branches into his window but his eyes remained shut.

the brewing storm outside promised flow but he didn't care.

his brother was snoring again, he could hear it even with the wind whistling louder and louder. javier was a heavy sleeper, tomas envied him for that.

deep breath after deep breath he failed to fall asleep for the third night in a row,though at least today he had more of an excuse. the branches scratching at his window are more than distracting.

he stares at the back of his eyelids for some time, he can feel the gears on his alarm clock ticking,the hands moving 

every second.

every minute.

every hour.

it marked 2:30 am.

too tired to sleep, Tomas springs out of his bed in frustration.

his feet blindly find his slippers and he's off to the hallway in less than 3 steps.

he takes a practiced route to the kitchen, practically blind he feels the texture of the floor change From the more textured tiles of the hallway to the smooth, cream colored ones on the kitchen. he pries his eyes open but the darkness doesn't get any better until he hits the light switch next to the door.

the wind makes the windows shake and creak, it drowns over the sound of the cabinet opening perfectly.

the movement is near automatic when he fills a small pot with water and sets it on the stove. tomas opens the gas tank and lights the burner on.

from a small box his mother had left them behind he takes a teabag while the water boils.

the kitchen small window leaked the same way it had been leaking since they where kids, tomas stepped over the small puddle to grab his cup from the cabinet and brew himself something warm.

as he blows on it, the phone at the corner of the room lights up. 

at this hour and  with this climate there was only one person that could call.

so,at this hour and with this climate tom let's it ring for a minute or two while stirring his drink.

roman is persistent, and eventually he lets himm get his way.

"tom thank god-" wind  came through the other end stronger than his voice.

"what do you want"

he hears roman swallow "I need your help"

aware of how those words burned his tongue yhe lets them sit in the air.

Uncaring, he waits for roman to get tired of waiting.

"it's important" he clarifies uselessly "let's meet at out spot shall we?" he rushed over his words, trembling slightly.

the  cold must be getting to him-tomas thinks. he wraps his hand around the warm mug and takes a sip, loudly savoring it.

he can feel roman grow impatient. 

"what did you do" he asks him, wary of the volume in his voice to not wake his brother up even with the incoming storm raging outside.

roman swallows, he hears  the gears on his head turning even though the heavy winds. his tongue clicks a few times while he's lost in thought.

“i cant tell you right now.just come here” 

tomascarefully eyes the hallway, still dark and with only javi's  snores coming through.he gave a long sigh.

 “my brother's sleeping” he said,more so as a comment than an excuse.

“do i look like i care?" roman  growled at him, needlessly angry like always “bring your bike too if you're coming”

he went quiet again, tomas wished he could see his face at least. He hated talking through the phone.

he hears him take another deep breath, “two trash bags too if you happen to have any”  

the wind filled the silence on both sides,his brother was still sleeping.

“two?” tomas eyes the drawer where javier keeps them.

“yes… two”

he hangs up,taking another sip in the meanwhile.

the dots are not hard to connect, it was going to happen eventually.

his fingers curled tightly around the cup.

with a deep breath tomas dumps the remaining tea down the drain and rushes to the hallway.

at the end of it was his brothers door, halfway open and with its handle poorly painted. 

"javi" he calls out, quiet enough to not wake him up but loud enough that if he where to be awake he'd hear it. 

the only answer he gets is a loud snore. 

avoiding looking at himself in the hallway mirror like always he makes his way to his room.

the curtains where drawn, the orange fabric tinted gray by the dark sky behind it.

He closes the blinds like he should have before going to sleep.

his bedsheets were still in the mess he had left them in and they will stay like that for now.

tomas changes out of his old pajama shorts in favor of a pair of dark jeans, over his shirt he throws on a dark long sleeved one and then a puffy vest after hearing the wind seemingly pick up even more.

he doesn't take his phone with him, roman was an idiot for taking his.

He stands before the wooden door now, heavy and old it'll surely wake javier up if he opens it. the keys dangling were already too noisy for him to feel safe holding them. The 3 locks taunted him. not to mention the extra bar door outside with its extra two locks, he took his eyes away from it when the window creaked once again.

it led to the patio, right in front of the grill they never use.

he took off the teaspoon that had been acting as a lock for years now after the wooden hook had snapped on an storm not too dissimilar from this one.

the wind immediately threw the glass open and he fought to keep them from slapping against the wall.

tomas grinded his teeth, climbing on top of the couch and pilling on the cushions behind him to block the window he eventually took the small leap into the outside.

immediately he doubled over shivering. warm air form his mouth formed vapor clouds in front of him. 

he rushed down the stairs to the street, taking a sharp turn to the garage he where fiddles for a minute with the lock. the gates draw sand with them when they open and next to javiers beat up sienna  was his bike, slightly rusted from pedaling in the sand.

the fig tree swayed it's branches dangerously low to the ground and to his face, it slapped the back of his head as a goodbye when he jumps the front gate.

he braces himself under the yellow streetlight, getting on his bike the wind hits even harder.

knowing the dirt street like the back of his hands he swiftly dodges potholes and rocks. passing by the same houses he always did, Tomas takes the last street along to the beach all the way to the very back of the town.

his heart races when he spots the bushes he's about to go into.

the empty, wild terrain, was uninhabited.tainted only sometimes and near the road with attempts at building makeshift houses or old tent set ups abandoned. he never bothered fucking with any of them.

above the unfinished foundation and trash stood an unfinished two story house, all bare bricks except for it's roof which had surprisingly been finished but now was partially caving in.

he ignored it for now. he knew what it's inside looked like down to every graffiti painted, but it served as a nice checkpoint to know where he was going.

turning a sharp left from the front of the house where  the bushes began to become trees one large one stood out, literally, above the rest.

his second checkpoint.

‘their spot'

he gets there with ease, and now he waits. thankfully not for long.

the cold humid air was soured when roman, panting and trembling, jumped over the bushes to meet him.

he doesn't say as much as a hello. only becoming him to follow.

so Tomas, against his better judgment and like he always does, follows.

looking from side to side every time a leaf swayed Roman led the way, clearly not comfortable having his back turned on him he looks back to meet green tired eyes multiple times. they narrow on him, and tomas is  sure he can feel it.

“what did you do” he asks, just like he had before.

roman stutters in his step, almost tripping on the grass, but he doesn't respond. he silently offers help to haul his bike over a hole,tomas takes it.

they reach a clearing in the trees soon enough. the air became thick and uncomfortable almost immediately. it's an energy tomas  can't describe, but he's sure he knows what it is deep inside.

he stops, bowing his head down to think.

roman gladly waits for him, spelling out that he, in a way, didn't want to continue either;he stares at the moon with silent guilt weighing his eyes.

they moved on eventually, when tomas wraps his head around the atmosphere and roman quits brooding the later parts the bushes for the former.

tom jumps without looking ahead.

previously blocked by Romans back he saw a man, unconscious, laying in the grass.

his eyes glazed over.

his mouth hanged open.

his face with no spot left unbruised.

he saw a man,dead, laying on the grass

“what did you do?” tomas asks for the third time. eyeing Roman up and down with barely disguised disgust showing I'm his eyes.

“i think its obvious”  roman jumps over closer to the body and further away from himself.  “i fucked up” he says with faux boredom coating his tongue  “went a bit too far this time”

tomas crouches down near the man's head, inspecting with a heavy hearth it's expression twisted in a final scream of anguish.

he watches incredulously as roman, with needles fake casualty nudges an arm with his foot. “i think i might need some help” 

tomas, understaiding, tosses the bags his way. “I'm not touching it”

roman huffs.

“welp” he announces, ignoring the way tomas burns his eyes into him “lets get to work”

tomas watches him struggle with the body, trying to make it sit. 

the man's phone falls out his Pockets and he panics. He immediately smashes it below his foot.

roman jumped “whats your problem?”

“they can track that” he stomps on it again for good measure.

“i could have sold it-” roman whines.

“tell me what happened” he more or less barks at him, wincing at the volume of his own voice.

roman gives a shaky sigh, pleading to the sky for strength to help him pull the man's legs closer to his chest while he talks.

“well,we were just supposed to fight” his gaze drifted over the body, faltering for only one second before continuing. 

“fucker slipped me a note with a date and place and i just came-uhmp!” he interrupted himself, struggling with the bodies limbs.

“and?” tom pressed.

“well i had a bad day! and He was pissing me off more than usual..” he splutters, throwing the dead man a Nasty look like he could see it. “so once i had him down i just kept stomping on his head”

his gut twists in disgust. roman, completely occupied with the task at hand, didn't notice.

he turns his eyes back to the clearing where the soft grass swayed in the strong wind.

tomas hears roman fitting the bags over the man.  a soft giggle, tone-deaf if you where to ask him, leaves his lips when he finishes. he doesn't know what came first, if the head or the legs but when he turns his head to glare at roman the man is fully covered.

"we have to get this out of sight somehow”

roman talks to himself.

tomas bites his tongue.‘we is a strong word’

unaware roman keeps going "do you still have that shovel in your garage?” 

not waiting for an answer roman grabs his bike like it belonged to him and,with little consideration for its owner standing behind him, balances the bags on it. 

he hopes he can feels his eyes burning his back. 

he watches, still struggling to believe it all, how his friend handled the corpse like it was no more than an inconvenience, cursing quietly to himself trying to thread the bike over a bush.

he'd love to be surprised to see the utter lack of care on the man's eyes.

he's grown accustomed to it,it always lingered whenever he talked about anything that wasn't himself,though tomas struggled to call him narcissistic; there's a slight difference between believing you're above everything and believing everything is below you. 

a certain nihilism always accompanies the latter. he knew this to be true, roman wasn't particularly shy about it. pessimistic anger coated his every word when they pertained to the world outside their own bubble.

he watches the only person outside his own brother that he's directed as much as a word towards in the last 6 months struggle with the corpse of the man he’d just killed.

silently as always, he makes a choice and jumps into the clearing.

"hey!" his friend calls out  "where are you going?" 

"you want the shovel right?" He avoids romans eyes. not letting him see the guilt welling on his own.

As soon as he's out of sight he sprints through the trees, blindly jumping and dodging until he hits the road again. out of breath he pushes himself, filling his mind with every minute detail of the dirt road below his feet to black out any other thoughts.

his chest burns already when he reaches his own street. With Every step he took  he could imagine his brother, arms crossed in the kitchen table, maybe drinking a coffee, maybe staring coldly at the door. waiting for him.

his voice, always weighed down with worry, would ask him where he went; and tomas, the weak man he is, would not be able to lie.

not to him.

he reaches the crossroad his house sat on, old and weathering with a certain charm that was lost in everyone but him.

the lights were all off still.

he jumps the first ,low, gate.going up the concrete stairs only to peek inside .he saw the kitchen empty. his legs give up in relief but his heart still pounds on his throat.

he went down the stairs again, letting his eyes linger on every leaf the tree besides it had to offer. in summer,it would blossom in beautiful pink but the wind didn't let him entertain that idea too much.

it didn't take him long to find the shovel. he gripped it in his hands like his life depended on it, but he didnt take  off with it, not instantly as he’s sure roman would hope.

he could turn back. climb back up the stairs and go back to bed.

he could call the police too, but the thought of not seeing roman again didn't feel right.

 only once did he consider himself behind bars too, it occurred to him in that moment that he cared very little where he got to spend the rest of his life, only his brother's imaginary disappointed-no- disgusted glare really moved him.

forcing himself to make a choice he again picks the worse one and takes off running again, now with the shovel clenched tightly to his chest

he gets to the crime scene and runs north from there, following the tracks of his own bike in what little dirt was left uncovered by vegetation.

roman;the man of the hour, sleep like a baby on a rock.he envied  him really.

slowly he approached, stalking just above the grass like a predator about to pounce, he sees the man stir as he raises the shovel.

in an anger fuelled attempt at playfulness tomas hits roman in the stomach with non insignificant strength.

roman yells and jumps to his feet, fists clumsily balled up in mockery of what could be a fighting stance. his eyes focus soon enough  tough and he lets his hands fall.

“thank god, you scared me” he lets the shovel be handed to him with no comment.tomas sits down on a different rock a few steps away, staring at the floor he snaps a branch off one of the nearby bushes.

"well!" roman dusts his pants off for show "I better get to work now! 

blindly he hears him struggle and lift the dirt from off the ground, occasionally feeling specks of it fly into his face.

"y'know when you mentioned-" the shovel struck a rock, roman struggled to lift it up again "having a shovel I wasn't expecting it to be so-" he pops it out the ground "small"

he complains like always, not really waiting for a response. even now tomas appreciated it to some degree.

not enough to fully ignore everything sadly. 

"should have told me it was more of a toy than anything-"

"there's blood in your hands now" tomas cuts his rambling off with a warning. a remainder he hopes will make it through that thick skull.

roman  scoffs "no there isn't,I get any on me"  he deflects, simple but effective it sent a very clear message.

‘i dont care’

silence,like always, is king between the both of them until tomas checks his watch.

"it's 4:36 already" he spoke up.

roman took the last bit of dirt off the hole. "I'm almost done" carelessly he began pushing the bag into the hole with his foot.

distantly the wind kept howling. tomas waited for it before he spoke again.

"my brother wakes up at 5:30" 

javier still had work early in the morning on saturdays.

roman clicked his tongue "I don't care-" 

"he'll notice if I'm gone,give me the shovel back"

tomas  demanded,but roman didn't listen, instead hitting the bag with it, making it go down further into the dirt.

"give me 5 more minutes with it" he argues. Tomas doesn't even bother to look back to him, nodding a yes hes sure roman didnt turn around for.

quickly he covers the hole back up and, as soon as he dusts his hands and before he declares his work done, tom rips the shovel out of his hands. roman doesn't protest when their eyes lock.

he runs again for the fourth time that night, reluctantly waving on his way out, mostly out of habit.

hes only a couple of steps away from his house when the sky gives in.

making his way into the kitchen he can hear his brother still snoring  loudly in his room.

He throws his clothes into the washer with the rest of the pile and starts the cycle, careful not to make too much noise, before going back to bed.

[pedge-stuff]

emerald velvet (pedro pascal x gn/m!reader)

a/n: same vague universe as “marked.” drop a line if you have a sug. (do people not comment on tumblr posts anymore??? rip)

summary: Pedro is ready to tell the world about you.

——————————————————————————————————

There is a world where he comes out, ironically, to Jimmy Fallon. Casually, over a sip of black coffee from a Tonight Show-branded mug. Swallows down the lump in his throat, chokes, in the half second it takes for the audience to react. You can see, in the TV monitor, the shiny glint in his eye as the thundering applause rolls in.

You still can't help but feel like this is your fault. Like maybe you just forced a 47-year-old man onto a blue tweed couch to reveal the secret he'd perfected hiding for decades. It hadn't been an argument, not really. No one was mad. But looking at him now, you couldn't unsee the flash of hurt that had struck him upon your prodding— "would it be so bad?"

So stuck in the tension of the previous night, in his unwillingness to see you in the stupid dressing room before the show, you almost miss what comes next. Definitely missed what came after, couldn't hear over the dull roar in your ears: "He works in the building, actually—"

Pedro is recomposed, smiling on TV like a good actor does, and you're here, crying in your office, several floors above. A few shaky breaths, heels of your hands swiping over your eyes, and then you're down the hallway before you can even register standing up. No one in the SNL offices look twice as you pass; they don't watch Tonight Show tapings, though their host for the week is promoting the show. Amongst other, life-altering things.

You slip through the stage door in Studio 6B easily, standing in the dim cover of the backstage area. The crowd roars again, and it sounds so much louder here. You can feel the force of the applause. Hear the headset call for an act reset, see the blue curtains part, and then— 

You're in the air. Cheeks wet, chest pressed against Pedro's as you both gasp for air. One of the crew guys needs to take Pedro's mic pack, and maybe this can wait til you're back in his dressing room, but you can't bear to peel yourself off of him. He, who came out on national television and then, in the same conversation, claimed you as his own. He who slept turned away last night, embittered by the threat of change. But who loves you enough to suffer the consequences, anyways.

You slip quickly back to his dressing room, where you both are swept into separate congratulatory hugs. Claps on the back. A vague, fleeting embarrassment that you're very under-dressed, contrasted against Pedro's velvet emerald suit.

Nothing has ever mattered less.

— — — 

You would never tell him this, never admit to it for fear of stoking the hurt and guilt that had gripped him for years. But, you'd been curating an album on your phone: "Pictures I Will Share, When Sharing Is Possible."

They are easy enough to narrow down for Instagram's limit of 10. Harder to post. The first image, you favorite— a picture of him you'd taken on a hike last fall, which also serves as your phone background— taunts you from its little thumbnail.

The caption, at least, is easy enough: "What, did something happen?"

It is 11:29pm EST. In about 20 minutes, give or take a long monologue, your life will change forever.

You hit send, roll over, and fall asleep with your arm slung low on Pedro's waist.

As it should be.

[7nessasaryevils]

And so we begin... Gods I'm terrified... ep 7 of Wandee Goodday: how shall thee fuck me up?

- oh great we starting it right off with fucking cuddling on Yak's chest this is such normal non-boyfriend behaviour 🙄😑

- Yak my darling, if you're looking for psychiatrists, I'd recommend one that isn't a crazed Naga prince hell-bent on revenge on a reincarnated chicken... just saying 🤷🏾‍♀️ - although I am immensely in love that Dee does bring up therapy for Yak 🥹🥹

- them just comforting each other in a physical way that isn't sex... IM GOING TO KILL SOMEONE

- I have never hated a title sequence more than when it came right before I know yak was about to ask for a kiss as his reward 😤😡

- Yak being so fucking comfortable in Dee's space... I hate you both and I'm going to smush your faces together if it's the last thing I do

- WHAT PICTURE WAS THAT MY EYES SUCK!!never mind it was ter now im wishing my brain can unsee it

- yak my darling he loves you I promise!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺

- not me barely taking in the fact that Dee kept the picture rather than throwing it out (which... I will shake you for Dee!!) and then getting fucking smacked in the face with the first kiss poster... P'Golf you test me today

- normally I don't condone vandalism but today... YEAH YAK RIP IT

- Kao our king asking the important questions as always! (Psst shake him harder Kao please and thanks)

- Ter... I swear to god you try some shit I will snap you in half (though the sunlight is doing ✨fabulous ✨ things for Pod!) edit: in retrospect that sunlight is literally turning his eyes red P'Golf you actual fucking genius

- me as soon as ter starts speaking

- pfft Cher you absolute king ♥️♥️

-uhhh... is this the weight training equivalent of that pottery scene from Ghost??

- ohhh they're so stupid i wanna die

- Cher and Yak are the mother son relationship I never knew I needed ♥️

- CANDLE LIGHT DINNER

- TER I WILL END YOU

- ohhhh i have a bad feeling about this... but also Dee.. you dumbass put on pants at the very least when you're entering a snake's house!

- this sequence of events is most horrific and terrible and I do not like it

- I'm going to kill Ter. Anyone who stops me... beware my wrath. Yak should've broken his fucking nose.

- also the fact that Ter lives in room 666. HE IS THE DEVIL YOU ARE SO RIGHT

- nooooo yak! Baby!!

- Kao. sir. I'm going to conquer empires in your name! MY KING!!

- the break up episode is meant to be #11 not # 8 what is this?!??

- not the necklace... no please not the necklace

- I hate everything nobody talk to me

- oh cool yak made it hurt even more im going to rip out my eyeballs thanks

- NOT DEE REACHING UP FOR THE NECKLACE ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME

- the worst the worst the worst I'm in pain

- that's it. That's fucking it. Someone get me Vegas Therapanyakul on the phone right now, I need to order a fucking hi- never mind the idiot doctor fell asleep. My sincerest wish is that Dee knees Ter in the balls as he gets up.

- Taem baby girl what was that??? 😦😦🤨🤨🤨

- sassy english my beloved 🤣🤣

- oh... ohhh no no no no no no- oh what the fuck what the fuck YAK CONCENTRATE BABY

- did i fucking expect the grim reaper? No. And neither did Yak if that right hook was any indication ouch!

- yak and yei fighting... this epsiode really said how can i hurt Nessie today....

- ohhhh fucking fuckity fuck why won't this epsiode let me BREATHE

- yak's face when he see Dee!!!! His teary eyes!!! I ACHE THANKS

- ROOF TOP KISS SCENE MY FUCKING BELOVED IM SO FUCKING OKAY GEWNFUCKINGCHANA 😭😭😭😭

- also throwback to The Sign and their bolster light effect I have never been the same again

- I 'm just gonna die in a corner bye don't look for me I do not exist to any of you

This episode has finally culminated in the kiss we all have been waiting for and I don't know about any of you but I feel the same as I did three years ago watching Bad Buddy. The absolute joy and heartache in me as these boys who so clearly love and care for each other finally acknowledge their feelings.

Next episode is also coming for my existence and I shall keep myself alive until then to regale you all with my incoherent screams ♥️

Until next time! 🥊🩺

[beewithknee]

of death and pain

redactober day 10 !

asher/babe angst

“SAM FUCKING DO SOMETHING!” The Beta screamed, tears streaking down his face.

Sam sighed a truly awful sound, “I’m sorry Asher. There’s nothing I can do. It’s too late.” He sounded dead, eyes wide and unseeing as he surveyed the surroundings.

“No, please. I just need- I need one more minute. Please.” Asher begged, crumpling to the ground. Hysterical sobs were ripped from his chest as he took in the sight of his lover.

White sleeves stained red as he reached forward to pull their body to his.

They were so limp, so cold, so lifeless.

Tears filled Sam’s eyes as he watched the heartbreaking display. Love was something that transcended time and space. It was infinite. It was precious. It was forever.

Some things just weren’t meant for eternity, he supposed.

“Sam…” It was a plea. It fell from his lips without second thought. Asher needed them back. He was fully aware that he wouldn’t cope with this loss; it would be the death of him.

“I’m so sorry.” Sam was restrained, though his voice still cracked. He was the pillar of strength. He never cracked. But there, where he’d so blatantly failed, Sam shattered in every way a person like him was capable.

The thick coppery scent had the vampire almost scrambling to cover his nose. It had leeched into the ground, marking the earth with the evidence of what had transpired.

“Baby please. Don’t do this.” Asher whispered, pressing his forehead to theirs. They were so cold. He shivered, body unable to process what it was seeing. “We’ve gotta go get married, c’mon.”

The gaping wounds in their neck and chest had mutilated their perfect body. His loathed that the last memory he’d ever have of his mate would be their mangled body.

They were so beautiful.

The ring on their left hand was blood-stained. It sent a harsher sob through his body.

“Babe…” He croaked, voice wrecked from a bleeding throat.

Sam stood and moved away. He needed to give the grieving lover some room. He needed to call David. He needed to call Darlin’.

Asher didn’t process anything, not even when Sam’s gravelly voice registered in his ears did he lift his eyes from his mate. His forever. They were gone. He felt untethered from reality; unable to ground himself, unable to look away from the sight he knew would haunt his dreams, unable to wake up from his nightmarish reality.

“Come back.” It was angry. A growl seeping out from between clenched teeth. Asher vaguely recognised that his mouth was salty, whether it was tears or blood though he was unsure. He shook the soft shoulders under his grip, “Babe. Wake up now. This isn’t funny. I’m-“ He cut off, anger sweeping out of his body in foul swoop.

His shoulders shook and chest heaved as he spluttered. Rough palms dug into his eyes, physically trying to carve the horrific view out from behind them.

No words left his lips, too caught between despair and panic to formulate. Asher was drowning and he didn’t know how to save himself.

Warm hands pulled at his wrists. A sturdy chest slid along his back, thighs bracketing either side of him. Asher fell back into the embrace, unable to remain kneeling as he was.

Everything flooded out of him.

The wolf hadn’t registered that it was Sam holding him. Hadn’t connected those dots. It didn’t really matter, Sam supposed. Asher was a tactile creature and any contact would likely aid him at least a small amount.

“Breathe, Asher. David’s on his way. I’ve got you.” Sam soothed, wrapping his arms tightly around his weeping friend. He longed to take the pain away. Longed to draw it out like he did his Darlin’ wounds. Fix the internal injuries.

He couldn’t though. This would likely never heal, not fully.

Months later, Asher would recognise that he was grateful to have had Sam that day. He’d be thankful the vampire hadn’t offered any fake platitudes about everything being okay or how he’d learn to live.

Because in that field, with the smell of his Mate’s blood ingrained in his nose, Asher felt like he was dying all over again

[fullstcp]

"Aurora" Sentence Starters

AURORA

"You found me in flames."

"You're my morning sun."

"You're the one."

"When I was away, you called from a fever dream."

"The crazy ways are done."

"I kinda think I wanna make it last forever."

"I'm here. I won't disappear again."

"How soon can you come?"

"When you reached out for my touch and I couldn't give you much."

"I kinda thought that night was gonna last forever."

LET ME DOWN EASY

"You found me lost in a daydream."

"My eyes are open while my heart keeps sinking."

"Doesn't mean I couldn't believe it."

"Doesn't mean I won't believe it still."

"Every lie is true at the time."

"Won't you let me down easy if you're gonna let me down?"

"Don't you go and tell me that you love me while you're leaving."

"I got you under my skin now."

"Why do you make it so hard?"

"Don't leave me broken and free."

"Won't you tell me where you are?"

KILL YOU TO TRY

"I've been an angel all summer long."

"I swear I've done nothing wrong."

"I want all of your tears to be gone."

"Come on home."

"Could the words ever be unspoken?"

"Could the truth ever untell those lies?"

"Could a promise ever have been unbroken?"

"Would it kill you to try?"

"Don't rip me out of this photograph."

"I need you, you're my better half."

"What is it I must do?"

"What is it I must do for you?"

"Call me back to bed with that old lullaby."

"You've got no damn right to be so damn heartbroken."

"It would kill you to try."

"Let me come home to you."

"Promise me you'll mean it."

TWO AGAINST THREE

"This was never any cause for alarm."

"It seems you have a choice to make."

"Either way, it's just as well."

"All I need's a promise I can keep to myself."

"I know those mornings were as good as it ever could be."

"I'm nowhere near you."

"Nowhere near where I should be."

LOOK AT US NOW (HONEYCOMB)

"I don't know who I am."

"Do you know who you are?"

"Is it out of our hands?"

"Tell me how we made it this far."

"Did we unravel a long time ago?"

"Is there too much we don't wanna know?"

"I wish it was easy, but it isn't so."

"We could make a good thing bad."

"Now, where do we stand?"

"No one knows who you are."

"Tell me why you've been crying in the dark."

"How did we get here?"

"How do we get out?"

"Oh, baby, look at us now."

"This thing we've been doing ain't working out."

"Why can't you just admit it to to me?"

"We used to be something to see."

REGRET ME

"You regret me and I'll regret you."

"I don't care what you feel."

"I'm the slippage in the system with a natural gift."

"So go ahead and regret me, but I'm beating you to it."

"You couldn't handle your liquor and you can't seem to handle the truth."

"I'll do anything you please."

"Go ahead and regret me, but I always will too regret you."

YOU WERE GONE

"Can't you tell by my face there are things I'm trying to erase?"

"The future is over now."

"Memories are nothing."

"There's no life left to see."

"Nothing ever seems to stay that way, not for too long."

"Where were you?"

"When I needed you, you were gone."

"The hand that pulled me through the center of the night was you."

"How about I turn it off?"

"Every story has an ending."

"Then it's not our job to stay."

"Just forget it like it's gone."

"We'll forget about the way you turn me on."

MORE FUN TO MISS

"I still need a drink for all the glasses in the sink."

"For the record, I'm fine with what's left of what's mine."

"Almost took you by mistake for someone else."

"You're just a wild guess in a see-through dress."

"That little thing you do just ain't right."

"You're more fun to miss than to be with."

"You're more fun to kiss than to be with."

"Now, do I shoot straight or do I cheat fate?"

"It does a number on my head."

"Another shot at just the wrong place and time."

"You'll be more fun to miss."

PLEASE

"Please, I'm down on my knees."

"Please, it's a deadly disease."

"I need what I can't unsee to disappear."

"I know what I'm doing here."

"I need you to say no, please."

"Let me take it onto myself."

"Meet me under the table for a kiss."

"Please, know I'm better than all of this."

"Please, never give me a second chance."

THE RIVER

"Will you stay with me forever?"

"Will you chase me in my dreams?"

"You had a choice I couldn't make."

"Give me your hand, here is my heart."

"Where does it end?"

"When do we start?"

"I'm an echo in your shadow."

"In your shadow, I'm in too deep."

"I lost you here."

"I know this isn't fair."

"It's a promise you couldn't keep."

"I know I love you now."

NO WORDS

"Everything I've tried so far, it don't feel right."

"I just don't know the words for what I'm trying to say."

"If all I could do is stare at you, don't take it the wrong way."

"I'm at the end of my mind trying to do the right thing."

[cshfvck]

𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰 - 𖤐- 𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐚𝐤𝐮𝐕𝐚

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾ 　☽༓･˚⁺‧͙

Genre: Angst/Comfort

a/n: AH. Okay hi, I have never used tumblr and I haven't wrote anything in ages so I thought I'd rewrite an angst - comfort fic I wrote! Hope you lot enjoy my first post on here

cw: breakdown/yelling/anger/abuse mention/possible emetophobia warning?, possible spoilers for the storyline of Dontis (?)

Gender neutral reader!

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾ 　☽༓･˚⁺‧͙

You really are pathetic, hm?

A wolf watched you. I don't mean just watched... i mean it would snarl and watch you, staring as if you were prey. Maybe you were, who knows? You call yourself prey because this is all you can do. You've always been prey to him. The would would watch from afar, baring its teeth and hating every shed of dignity that remained on your use, shattered body. Other times it'd just sit afar, shaking in pleasure. Lust over coming it's abusive ridden brain. Distorting the torment of pleasure instead of violence. That's all it could do. Claws snagged a bottle, acting as if they were the trembling hips of your body and how you would call out his name. The name rolling of your tongue like some cheap, plastic vomit. The bitter taste violated his mouth the same way he violated yours. You curl up and hold a spoon, allowing the spoon to scoop out every shed of used skin on your body. This was all you could do.

Corrupted purples and yellows littered you, thighs, shoulders, every inch of your body. Hands crushed flesh, grabbing as much as it could as gluttony took over. Who knew greed could corrupt someone. Your flesh faltered and collapsed under such a bruising touch. You vomited as you scooped out chunks of bruises, bugs crawling underneath. This was all you could do. A wolf bared it's teeth at you. Claws ripping away dignity. Leave you your sin. Leave you your hands. Leave you. You begged the wolf, it grabbed the spoon and scooped used bruises and flesh back inside of you, it put it all back. That's all you could do. You choked out a sob as the wolf grabbed you but-

*alarm sound*

Your mouth was dry, salty tracks running down your cheeks as red cheeks burned. The lump in your throat turning to bile as you shot up in the bed, grabbing the bin beside you and heaving, nothing came out. It was all to much, you looked around after hearing footsteps and got out of the bed, footing slow and unsteady, eyes unseeing. Please stop. All the movement you were doing should be forbidden. Cries echoed in the room as you felt a large and pat your waist, not registering the persons voice. Please stop yelling. Sobs echoed from your body, your frame broken and half collapsed to floor while begging and pleading, you heard your name... that voice.

"Y/N.."

Dontis. A blur of h/c hair fell to the floor. Heaving, crying. Dontis quickly got up from the bed, eyes darting and not seeing as dontis crouched at your side. Your eyes flickered and fell shut, slowly curling up on the floor beneath you. A whisper. It was so.. so gentle.. no. You cant fall for it again. But... it felt too good to resist the comfort.

"There you go love... calm down.. shh shh shh.. it was a nightmare.. poor baby.."

His voice was so familiar. The strong accent making your abused ridden mind clear up. The voice almost felt as if it was wrapping you up. Yet, it spoke again.

"It's okay, Y/N."

Dontis whispered again. His voice comforting, not a lace or hint of threat or abuse in it. You cried harder than ever now, realizing it was Dontis, your shaking limbs slowly being held and touched by Dontis as he took your cheek in his hand, gently stroking soothing circles into tear stained flesh.

"Dontis-"

Your voice was broken and hoarse, cracking as you spoke. Those e/c eyes locking with Dontis' , feeling yourself getting lost in his comfort.

"Shh... I'm here. Take as long as you need too calm down..."

Dontis got permission for a hug as you nodded, his arms and hands pulling you into his lap while you both sat on the floor. Your trembling body curled up and cuddled against Dontis' chest, hands gently running over your sides, soft kisses being planted on your head, seeming to melt away the tears you shed earlier. All the comfort made you slowly forget your dream... Dontis' hands being the only thing you focused on. His touch comforting not lustful or wanting.

You soon drifted off to sleep, e/c eyes falling shut, a gentle snore coming from your exhausted body. Streaks of moonlight shone down on your face, highlighting the dried tears on your face, making them seem like glistening rivers as you lay in Dontis' arms, his eyes admiring your soft, red, puffy face. Rosey lips kissed your nose, Dontis' grip becoming stronger on you, not wanting you to ever feel like that again. Dontis gently sat you both in bed, his broad frame easily engulfing you in a giant cuddle, his hands seeming to soothe you.

It's almost as if everything Dontis touched turned brand new.

You were once used, now brand new...

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾ 　☽༓･˚⁺‧͙

HI!!! I hope this was okay and you all enjoyed! This is the first time ive posted in a while so i hope its okay! :D

feel free to send me any requests and as always...

thank you for reading x

‧͙⁺˚･༓☾ 　☽༓･˚⁺‧͙

[vashatxt]

fair game (an angsty kafka x blade drabble)

"You've been avoiding me," Kafka's mouth feels dry as she finally speaks the words that have been on her mind for days. "Don't think I didn't notice, Bladie."

She wishes she could unsee him flinch at the sound of her nickname for him.

"I'm fine."

"You're in pain."

"I don't need your help, Kafka. Just leave me be."

"Blade...,"

There are boundaries that shouldn't be crossed, but they aren't the same as walls. And Kafka knows Blade well enough to see what he's doing. Wallowing in the agony of his body repairing itself, the anger and the resentment that clouds his mind. "I'm here. Listen to my voice. Close your eyes and reach out into the darkness. You'll find my hands. Hold them tight and never let go."

His bottom lip quivers, but he's not strong enough to fight the spirit whisper. "Why... won't you leave me... alone...," Blade's voice cracks as he sinks to his knees; but Kafka is ready, she's right beside him - propping him up with her arm around his back and gently lowering him to the ground until they're both sitting, and he slumps against her chest, too exhausted to protest.

"There you go," she presses a kiss to the top of his hair. "I'm sorry, Bladie. I just can't let you push me away. You're too important to this mission. You're too... important to me."

Blade shakes his head. "I know, Kafka." "Know what?" "I know... I know you love me. I don't think I'm supposed to know you're even capable of that, but you are. It makes things so much harder for me, Kafka. I'm just here so I can put an end to this miserable existence. Why won't you let me die in peace?"

He may as well have take his sword and stabbed her in the heart, turning the white hot blade and ripping the organ out in an agonising, bloody array of violent motions. "You're not the only one waiting to have a promise fulfilled, you know, Blade. I'm just trying to get us to the finish line."

He must know it's nearly time. The end of the mission, the completion of destiny. Pushing Kafka away makes it easier to want what he says he wants. The worst part is, she knows he's right.

Even if he agreed to live life, with Kafka by his side to soothe and ease his ailing, what would happen when Kafka's came to an end? Would Elio be willing to grant him death then, or is it a one time only offer? What if even if he agreed in principle, it didn't align with destiny's newest plans?

"Kafka? Why have you never told me what's in this for you?"

She sniffs. "Mhhm. I suppose you never asked."

"Before, it would have felt like small talk. Now, though, I think it's relevant."

Is there anything to lose now, by telling him? Will she hurt him - or herself - more, that way, or is it fair game now?

"I want to know more," she finally says, her arms wrapping around Blade's waist so her hand can look for his. When their fingers interlock, she squeezes them, tight. "Fear. Anger. Happiness. Satisfaction. Sadness, grief, elation, awe, obsession... the spectrum of human emotion is a wonderful thing, and not something I had the privilege of developing within myself."

"Why would you want that?"

"I ask myself that question every day."

"You realise all of that is already inside of you, right?"

"Oh, Bladie," she feels that pang of pain in her chest again. "But he promised me I wouldn't be alone when I figured that all out. He promised me there was someone out there that understood my soul - and that I would find him. And he would be mine."

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale's Thoughts: My Adventures with Superman

So I recently saw the first episode of the show, and my first impression was that I liked it a lot but something a miss. Then I rewatched it to get a better grasp of the characters. And I decided to give my thoughts on it.

Superman: Clark Kent. They nailed the Country boy from Kansas. The kind hearted and Naive Clark. The guy doing his best to blend in, sure. His adorable and dorky nature, nailed it. But that also is the problem, Clark kent isnt accidentally Clumsy, he is intentionally clumsy. He had YEARS of experience with his powers and your telling me he cant even keep his shoes from ripping? Like, its one thing if he's nervous, but Jimmy even points out they keep having their alarm clocks break, this is not an unusual thing. Thats my only pet peeve with it, aside from that he is pretty spot on. I am more forgiving of his superman persona not being there yet (he has yet to figure it out, thats fine).

Lois Lane: Its Luz from Owlhouse

Just make her slightly older, and change the artstyle and bam! Luz Lane.

I didnt realize it on first watch, but after the rewatch, its so blatant I cant ignore it. And its not only the looks, its the hyper active personality to! The not really getting what authority figures are telling her, the obsessive drive to chase what she wants to do, dragging others into her shenanigans, but mainly its her approach on how she gets information, a kids news paper route? I dont really buy it, I can see the argument that Lois would Leverage ANY and all connections she would have, but this just felt a bit ridiculous. Lois is a snarky all business girl that can banter and pursues her story, she can be flirty and be headstrong, the one thing she never is, is awkward. I cant envision this as young lois, Maybe future episodes help fix that but right now this is just Luz Lane.

3. This one is a nitpick but

Who approved this haircut? You want me to take this person seriously? Someone please alter it. It doesnt make her look cool or mysterious. It looks like her parents put a bowl on her head and then got lazy. Aside from that the character is fine, but I just cant stop laughing at their hairstyle.

4. Jimmy Olsen is fine, but if I had to

To be fair, he doesnt look that much like Gus, but he reminds me so much of him. Its not a nitpick because quite frankly Jimmy has always had different personalities depending on the medium, but I cant unsee gus after I realized how much Lois looked like Luz

I still find the show fun and I am willing to watch more later on, but I just noticed some things I cant unsee.

[dcwnthercbbithcle]

THE CONJURING HAS SUCCEEDED. From the abyss, your efforts are initially answered with a whisper. Like wind blowing through the branches of trees, your home comes alive with whistling that sounds ever more like CRIES. It's inexplicable. 

The table SHAKES, threatening to rip itself from your hands and overturn, as it almost seems your home shape shifts around you. It's like it has a life of its own, a mind and WILL fighting to rip and pull wood and metal to destroy your home, your sanctuary, in its own image. Pulling yourself back into your chair, a distant crash and bang catches your attention. 

DOORS: Your front porch has crashed open, bringing a cold wind. Now, HOWLING in frustration, the wind has brought the warmth of your house down to an almost freezing point and an aroma of wood. Grass? Decay but pleasant, earthy, like a walk in the woods. You'd expected disease and rot, but it never comes. No, the wind carries leaves and paper, but you almost feel nostalgic between the sound of the wind, the aroma, and the cold. It takes you back to walks in late autumn and visits to forests where the trees spear upwards, threatening to skewer the clouds. You can almost see it in your mind's eye, and with a blink, you're... there. We aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto. 

Standing on the roadside, you are surrounded by quiet, foreboding serenity deep in the heart of nature. No civilization as far as the eye can see, let alone hear. Underfoot, you're clearly standing on a beaten, old gravel road. It's... fitting. Surrounded by pines and fir trees, you feel like you're on a postcard. It would be nice, but, given the circumstances and a growing sense of dread, something in your heart tells you things aren't so picturesque. This deep in nature, no one can hear you scream. 

Still, dressed only in your pyjamas, you know that if you want to return to your home, you won't get that by sitting and waiting for whatever power brought you there to explain. So, you walk and walk. Deeper and deeper into the forest, you hope you're working your way toward a road, but as you come to the end of the line. There is nothing more than trees knitted tightly together through growth and darkness. You couldn't crawl through them if you tried. You move to turn when you hear the howling from before and the whispers. You're frozen, out of the corner of your eyes, you see her, a hand at first, dragging itself out of the ditch at the roadside. You don't move; your gut wants to run, but you can't; you can only squeeze your eyes shut, trying to protect yourself from a horrific sight you can't unsee. But something supernatural settles over you; she means no harm. You hear it in a voice that isn't yours before you can question it. She speaks,

" Hello? Who's there?! I have a tire iron!—"

You expected something rasping and broken, but no. This person sounds normal but frightened. Something in her voice belays a kind of flightiness masquerading as confidence, like a cornered animal trying to persuade you with its claws to back away. You feel confident enough to open your eyes then and are greeted with a small woman that seems like a time capsule of the 80s, a mess of long, curly hair styled back in a ponytail, blue eye-shadow, puffer style jacket and high-rise jeans. She could be an extra on stranger things; you wouldn't question it for a second. Beyond that, she seems decidedly NORMAL from the angle you were observing her. In a similar situation as you?

"—Listen, there's nothing here for you, and I don't want any trouble! Just turn around, and we can go our separate ways, okay?! No harm, no foul! "

Weird, with how she's talking, it's almost as if she doesn't seem to see you? You can feel able to move then, your body unfrozen, and you approach, a quiet 'hey,' being met with the sight of this mystery woman freezing, as if startled, then slowly turning, both looking directly at you and through you. Then you see it, her face, oh god, her face. 

It all comes back to you, then. The notes, the case, the newspapers—how could you have forgotten? You feel like an idiot for a second. How the obvious flew over your head is beyond you, it doesn't matter. 

[canon-fcdder]

Without warning, Peri flies into Dev's arms, wrapping his own around the child's neck. He makes sure to hold him tight, but not tight enough to hurt, just like his parents had always hugged him. " I'm sorry, Dev. I'm so sorry, but I can't grant that wish. You don't deserve to be alone. And I'm not going to be the one who leaves you like this. " or how the birthday episode should have ended - ✧ ˖ ˙ 「 @cielsmuses 」 ˙ ˖ ✧

「 ☆ 」 Fairy Godparents are supposed to make things easier… They’re magic. They’re specifically assigned to ❛ miserable ❜ kids. Their sole purpose— as far as Dev is aware —is to take terrible circumstances, wave their wands and twist things around to be BETTER. But Peri didn’t fix this. He wasn’t there when Dev needed him. He wasn’t there. Now that he is— there’s nothing he can do. He may as well be gallivanting about doing whatever it is faeries do when their godkids have no use of them. Maybe they do the same thing kids do when their parents set them aside.

Just… try to pretend they don’t mind it.

His dad was gone. Was never even there to begin with. Hazel was gone. Pushed away with an ease that scares Dev as much as it relieves him. Peri… isn’t gone. He’s supposed to be. But, as has become common with the fairy, Dev’s wish goes un-granted. Only this time it’s not because of the rules. It’s because— … Stiffening when arms are abruptly around him, it takes a second for Dev to even realize what’s happening. Brain struggles to tear itself from the fog of shock, the boy still as a statue. Not even breath seems to shake his form. Wide eyes, unseeing where they gaze off into the depths of his dad’s ❛ secret evil lair ❜ — as expected of a Dimmadome, even if Dev hadn’t understood that until this moment —blink, dull hues brightening back to consciousness.

Slowly… tentatively…. arms wrap around Peri. Shaky hands holding onto the back of his shirt with a whisper of a grip, such a far cry from the firm hold the fairy has on him. Like he wants to be sure Dev understands he won’t be ripped away. That he doesn’t want to be, no matter how much he should. Dev had yelled at him, after all… It’s scary when people yell. Although, perhaps it isn’t when Dev does it. He’s not big enough. He doesn’t realize his grip has tightened until his hands hurt from the strain, tears brimming to blur blue hues before trailing down his face.

Expression crumples like— … Well, like a little kid. Dev feeling more like one than he ever has before. Go figure, on his tenth birthday— double digits; a big kid —he’d bawl like a baby. It’s been a while since he cried like this. Really cried. He wants his dad. Hiding his face in the embrace, he hiccups and fights for breath, reminded of how uncomfortable it is to fall apart. Dads are supposed to be there when their kid cries. After what feels like forever, he manages to breathe enough to speak. But all Dev can think to say is— ❝ Wh-Why… Why doesn’t he care about me? ❞ Weakly sobbed with a raw desperation, as if Peri has the answer. As if somehow… his fairy godparent really could make everything better.

He can… Right? Peri can help him. Please. Please, help him.

❝ What am I doing wrong? ❞ 「 ☆ 」

[meezer]

being extremely negative about the new dragon age trailer. if you want to spare yourself that kind of rhetoric, please skip this post, no hard feelings

holy shit. holy shit it is. SO BAD. I will try to condense my criticism here. I feel stunned and a little bit sick tbh. this is unreal, unbelievably bad. link provided, so you can watch it and come to your own conclusions:

that was really something, right? let's discuss.

The Marvelization of Every Franchise You Love, For Fun and Profit

I watched it and scrolled down to the comments (where everybody is ripping it a new one),

and these comments made me realize, oh my god, this trailer is so... marvel. it's so marvel cinematic universe. just the silliness of it all, and the way the characters move, and the words they speak and how they speak them. the overall tone of everything. I would be very interested in going back and watching the other trailers in the series and comparing the seriousness and gravity with which they seemed to treat the upcoming game... versus this one. long gone are the days of the epic and gritty da2 trailer.

The Art Style

WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? OH MY GOD? I said before that it looks like a shitty league of legends animatic, and wow was I right. it is unreal how bad this looks. this is very subjective, but I think that this is all so violently UGLY. the lighting is garbage and makes everything look... dusty and grimy, the models look soulless. it looks like a cheap mobile game with shady microtransactions and lofty promises it doesn't even try to fulfill. I hope that won't apply to this game, but somehow I don't have much energy to hope anymore, because I'm aware that it's in vain.

seriously, look at this. these are TEN YEARS apart. ten whole years of development, only to go from this:

to this:

this feels like a fucking joke. I'm not saying realistic is the only worthwhile art style for video games. I'm just saying that whatever they're doing right now... is not it. and I'm clearly not the only one who thinks so!

semi-related, two things. first, what did they do to varric? why does he look... like that? I'm aware his appearance is slightly different in the novels and comics and whatever the hell, but it feels so wrong to see him look like this, it's such a drastic change from inquisition and ESPECIALLY from 2.

second, a lot of this looks AI-generated. credit to my brother for this observation, but since he pointed it out I can't unsee it. of special interest: the blood splatter effect at 0:52, which looks exceptionally cheap. the way varric's hair moves at 1:06. maybe we're just seeing things. maybe someone with a more trained eye and more patience will comb through the trailer and catch more of these little bizarre visuals.

The Characters

I'm perhaps a little negatively biased here, because I never cared about scout harding. I just felt like she was a nothing character. her being a full-fledged companion in this game infuriates me a little for this reason, and it does not bode well for my enjoyment of it. if nothing else she will be one companion I never take with me on missions and never talk to. I realize the world doesn't revolve around me though, so let's talk about the other companions, where we should all be coming at this from a neutral standpoint.

everyone else looks boring to me as well! it feels like we're just getting Brave Quirky Sarcastic Adventurer #75491 over and over, except they look different and have different classes. this might be because not much of their personality is showcased in the trailer, and what little personality is shown is very... marvel, forspoken etc. the only somewhat interesting character to me is the necromancer, and I certainly hope, if nothing else, this game will let him be morally gray/evil/fucked up, and not do the starfield thing of "every companion is a holier-than-thou lawful good hero and chastises you if you go against that."

if I ever play this, I'm thinking it might be the first dragon age game ever where I don't romance anyone. historically the romances have been some of my favorite parts of these games. it's a shame, but also, everything about this is so sexless, I don't really feel like I'm missing out. speaking of romance...

Did They Straight Up Just Copy Gale's Design

down to the forehead birthmark in almost the exact place, seriously. this feels like a real "we have gale at home" moment. and it might seem like an outlandish accusation to make, but it will only seem that way if you think these games are made in a vacuum. they are not. there are focus groups, research, and... devs aren't stupid, they will often look at the games around them to see what sells well. you can bet your ass the dragon age devs have looked at bg3 especially when it's been compared to their games so much, TO DRAGON AGE'S DETRIMENT. I mean bg3 literally filled a gap in the market that DA left open for... ten years. this isn't a secret to anyone. hey, larian had a companion who looks like this and uses magical abilities. maybe if we have something like that in our game, it'll be successful too!

Conclusions

I'm extremely disappointed. there was a very short time in my life where I was eagerly anticipating the sequel to DA:I. that time has come and gone, but I've still followed development from afar, so I could see what became of this franchise that meant so much to me growing up. I really wanted this to be good, obviously all DA fans did. it seems that, for now, we will have to resign ourselves to looking for the DA vibe in other places. I'm just sad that Anders, one of the most important fictional characters to me, ever, is confined to this franchise that has become less than a shell of its former self. it's become embarrassing. it's become AI-generated marvelized quippy slop, that we will one day look back on with regret and even more cringe than right now. I think Anders deserves much better. him and all the other friends I made in my time playing through this series.

[judasrpc]

US PRESIDENTS PLAY POPPY PLAYTIME (YOUTUBE 2023) STARTERS

add context & change gendered language to your needs !! containts references to violence and horror.

if multi, please specify which muse(s) !! credit goes to the channel presidentsplayhorrorgames

" What the hell is it with you and creepy old places, [name]? "

" Let me guess, this is the neighborhood you grew up in? "

" That's like the fucking stone ages, [name], die already! "

" Is that a Pokémon or whatever it's called? "

" What the hell is that supposed to mean, [name]? "

" It's a very self-explanatory sentence. "

" I have a lot of confidence moving forward now. "

" Why are you so fucking negative all the time? "

" 'Cause I'm around you. "

" I told you assholes that we were caught in a paradox, but none of you guys wanted to believe me! "

" These are dangerous toes I'm stepping on. "

" Either he's French, or his parents did not like him as a child. "

" I mean, if your child was French, wouldn't you be disappointed? "

" Never mind, I see what you're laying down. "

" While you two nincompoops are over collecting the scraps of your brain cells, I already know the objective. "

" Good job, guys. Teamwork makes the dream work! "

" Ah, my favorite music from the menu. It's like I'm in a retirement home. "

" Did he just rip his fucking head off? "

" And what not to do! Like rip somebody's head off. "

" Just the casual things! I can reach items on the top shelf, airbend some electric waves, and land in prison for a double homicide. "

" Now you can only commit singular homicide. "

" You're vandalizing an already vandalized building. And it's not even vandalism, you're just moving some boxes around. "

" Funny, the second you mention work, he stops. "

" You know damn well that's too much like common sense. "

" Tall?? He's like the Jolly Green Giant! "

" Alright, listen here beanstalk- "

" I am not enjoying this music at all. This does not give me very friendly vibes. "

" Doesn't matter where it came from, we know where we have to go now. "

" Ah, you really just put anything in someone's mouth and roll with it, huh? "

" I don't even believe I said that yet in your imaginary little world. "

" The hell do you mean I can't misuse company time? I get paid three cents to move around boxes, I'll do whatever the hell I want. "

" Well, it looks like I'll take over for the time being! "

" I could say a lot right now, but I'll keep my mouth shut. "

" Welp, I see no problem moving forward here. Clearly no present danger that is alarming us to what's ahead. "

" I think Hell would be a better place to go than through that door. "

" A long and dark hallway never killed anybody. "

" Is it leaking carbon monoxide to kill us, hopefully? "

" Set the bar low? Got it- "

" It's not practical, but I can see why they implemented these things. "

" That's Business Failure 101! "

" Like I would waste the budget flopping around my Disneyland dick on the table because I wanted the under operations to feel magical. "

" If [name]'s hiding it, that doesn't promise anything good. "

" [Name] was definitely the kid to put the square blocks in the circle hole. "

" [Name], you probably sucked on a wooden spoon as entertainment. Hell, you'd probably do that now! "

" Damn, we're old! "

" You are old and I am not. "

" Are you smarter than a fifth grader? You can put the pieces together. "

" And with that note, I think it's about time we high-tail it out of here. "

" Have you seen how long that motherfucker's arm is? He could probably wear me like a sock puppet! "

" That's an image in my head I wish I could unsee. "

" First, jump off a cliff. Second- "

" Yeah, that really fucking helps, [name]. Just sit there and focus on commentary while you leave the puzzles to me! "

" I thought you said you were done questioning the logic? "

" And that's after five bankruptcies, two divorces, and a criminal record. "

" Another classic [name] joke. A couple more, and they might let you back on the late show. "

" He would know about shady business practices. "

" Yeah! A one percent increase in performance- Let's burst open the champagne bottles! "

" [Name], you would be the type of person to be concerned about international cybersecurity, but will watch online porn sites with so many viruses you'd think it came from a lab. "

" You old bastard, I genuinely wish you'd have a stroke. "

" You're just being an asshole, [name], but what else is new? "

" Those eyes look like they've been around since the Civil War. "

" What do you think I'm trying to do? So shut the hell up! "

" What can you say? I had to bring it home for the boys. "

" It's like the Victorian era vomited all over here. "

" This was not what I meant, but to each their own. "

[lieahsblog]

I’m writing this post today because i believe that there are people out there, kind people, like my friend Mohammed, who help people. open up their homes to people.

Let me begin by saying this: the last four months, i have seen videos and pictures from gaza i will never be able to unsee. ever. every video and picture i’ve seen from a palestinian in gaza, i cant help but notice the heartbreak, the bone-deep exhaustion in their eyes. They’ve been locked in with their killers, and no one has made any move to free them from this perpetual hell. They have been condemned. can you imagine being in their position? do you ever look up at the ceiling of a room and wonder, how does something like this collapse on top of a human body? how does something like this collapse on top of a child’s body? a baby’s body? there is torture of human bodies in gaza. from collapsed buildings, to bullets ripping flesh, to skin engulfed by burns, to stomachs eating themselves from starvation.

Every image coming out of gaza, every story, seems to be worst than the last. the levels and the forth of cruelty on display right now… i’ve never seen anything like this in my whole life. the fact this is all being streamed onto our phones. palestinians are clinging onto any way to save their loved ones, their families.

Among those families is my friend Mohammed. There is one thing i’ve come to know about him in the short time i’ve known him: he is incredibly kind. When people in the north of gaza were forced to evacuate by the occupation, they had no shelter. Mohammed opened up his home, in the middle of everything, to four different families from the north. He himself has been forced to evacuate as well, and is no longer in his home. In this freezing weather, people in gaza have only a tent to protect them from the cold. His beloved parents have recently been displaced to a tent: I don’t think we can imagine the pain of seeing your loved ones in that condition and not being able to help them.

People in gaza had a life before this current genocide. For Mohammed, this involved his new company that he recently launched. the building of his company is in pieces now. He has a beautiful wife, and two beautiful children. he loves them very much, and they love him too.

Amongst the heartbreak, the violence, the cruelty, palestinians in gaza have constantly helped each other in any way they could. There is man named Ehab, who i met on twitter. His team’s account @GazaDirectAid on twitter, and his account is @rida_ehab on twitter. Being a displaced person himself, he has been working tirelessly throughout these past four months collecting donations to provide food, shelter material, sanitary products, diapers. you name it, he’s provided it. He was recently ill with a virus, and on the telegram channel where his team posts updates, they translated his messages and the first thing he wanted to was hand out more relieved to the children in his displaced community, whilst being actively ill with covid like symptoms.

Time and time again, palestinians in gaza have shown everyone the meaning of humanity, though they themselves have been denied it. In gaza, people who have nothing give everything. Palestinians in gaza have found that they can only rely on each other. Let’s show them that they can rely on us, too.

Mohammed has a campaign to raise funds for evacuation. Just 300 people donating $88 will be all that it takes for Mohammed’s donation goal to be reached. 300 people giving $88 to his campaign will be all that it takes to save a palestinian family who has been abandoned by the rest of the world for four months. I know that there are more than 300 people who are disgusted with the genocide gaza is being subjected to. I know that there are more than 300 people who want to help palestinians wherever they can. I know that this can be accomplished very quickly, because time is not a luxury gaza has right now.

I’m writing this post today because i believe that there are people out there, kind people, like my friend Mohammed, who help people. open up their homes to people. I’m writing this post today because i believe that 300 of these people will see my post, and donate $88 to my friend mohammed, the kind man.

@reesepiece2

@humanvoicebox