#appreciate my monster high bedsheets

[partypoopur]

not sure if anyone here cares for pinkie cooper but for the low low price of free i got a pinkie cooper jet set pet today?? ive been looking forever omgg im losing my mind

sprinkles.. with (almost) all her accessories.. sadly could not locate a doll but its in such good condition too theres nothing wrong with it

good grief shes naked! the pigtails slash ears make a nice popping noise when u take them out im a big fan

this pet is sprinkles, she belongs to ginger jones you could buy her in a single pack and im soo super happy

[yoongsisbae]

Bon Voyage: Into the Sea - Chapter 3

BTS fantasy AU. OT7 x reader. werewolf!Namjoon x werewolf!Hoseok x werewolf!Jungkook x siren!Yoongi x vampire!Jimin x vampire!Jin x whatis?Taehyung. This is the "vampire chapter" :'D

Thank you for all the love on this random nightmarish story lol. This extra update is for all the readers who made it my most popular post! Thank you! <3 Also this is my contribution to the start of the spooky season :D

Warnings: Hi, remember when I said this was horror? This chapter in particular is pretty horrific, you have been warned! blood, fighting between m/w, blood, graphic violence, blood, imprisonment, blood, blood, blood, minor character death, vampires doing vampire things including noncon blood drinking, human imprisonment, mind manipulation, stockholm syndrome, dubious consent, slut shaming, anal, degradation, foursome, orgasm control, orgasm denial, what a ride, you must be over 18 to ride this ride, scary scary scary

Word Count: 22k

---

“Scared, y/n?” Jimin’s face sends you a wicked smile.

You look back and forth between the men, uttering an unconvincing “No.”

Seokjin speaks again, “You should be.”

---

‘So did you get the answers you are looking for?’ You sit up, jolted out of your sleep, Hoseok’s words echoed softly in your mind.

Seokjin moved so fast, his striking face in front of you in an instant, his red eyes centimeters from yours, delicate lips curving into a smile over his fangs as water splayed around where he stood. That was the last thing you remember.

He smiled down at you sweetly and held you by the neck, putting pressure on your vein until you passed out. It all happened so fast your scream remained halted until this moment. The response came out of you abruptly, as fleeting as the memory.

And now where the hell were you? It looked like the room of an old bed and breakfast; large bed, writing desk, love seat, high windows; but to your captors the breakfast on the menu was you.

The first thing you notice is how the curtains are drawn together blocking the sunlight, but you know it’s there, just out of reach, as evidenced by the small line of light that trails its top edge. The room you found yourself in was dark, from the wallpaper to the furniture, the stillness unsettling, you listened as your own rapid breathing filled the silence.

You were seated right in the middle of a king size bed. They left you atop the cleanly-made white bed sheets, a treat placed in the center of a platter. You shiver, your clothes still remained damp from the night before, cold and stuck to your skin. That is why you shiver, you tell yourself, because you don’t hear them, but you feel them...watching you...

You build up enough courage to scan the room, and that’s when you see two pairs of red orbs staring back at you from the corners’ shadows, glowing in the darkness. Eyes of beasts, watching you, studying you.

You try not to react, not show your captors how scared you are, but every mechanism in your body betrays you, and the pair immediately pick up on your rapidly beating heart, the sweat on your brows, your unsteady breathing-

“Good morning, y/n,” Seokjin says, walking out of the shadows. Jimin stays hidden, but you can hear his soft laughter.

Those answers you wanted, where are they?

Seokjin slowly moves to the edge of the bed. “It seems like our friends have taken quite an interest with you and I want to find out why. Is that okay?”

You purse your lips, keeping your eyes trained on the thin strip of light showing at the top of the window curtains. You sit in silence. Has your breathing always been this loud? The shaking of Seokjin’s legs, a sign of his growing impatience, rattles the bed and your resolve.

He clasps his hands together, finally saying “If you don’t want to speak to me,” he leans in slightly and whispers the rest, “I can always let Jimin pry information out of you, but I don’t think you’d appreciate that very much.”

The pounding of your heart and the uneasiness in the pit of your stomach makes you feel like you’re going to become sick at any minute, but you manage to form a coherent sentence to ask him, “What do you want to know?”

“First, I want your permission to find out,” he speaks softly, placing a gentle hand on your calf, but you flinch away anyways. That’s a loaded question if you ever heard one. You wonder if it’s all an act, the same way Jimin fooled you. You stay silent.

Seokjin sighs again, looking over his shoulder, “Jimin?”

“No!” you yell. “Not Jimin! You...you, okay I give you permission.”

“Thank you, y/n.” He smiles, “I’ll be gentle.”

You yelp. Seokjin’s cold hand travels down your leg, wraps around your ankle and pulls you down the bed closer to his body, and in an instant his lean frame is hovering over yours. This close, his beauty is intimidating alone, but his eyes feel like they are piercing through you, digging inside, seeing all the ugly secrets you try to hide from even yourself, you feel like you could catch fire the way his gaze burns you.

He holds you down loosely by the neck, fingers searching for a pulsing vein, eyes focused on you with the concentration of a doctor performing surgery. Seokjin wipes away the tears that begin spilling from your eyes and smirks, “Don’t cry Dove, I promise this time will be the least pain you’ll experience from now on.” His words are devoid of any real sympathy, a false comfort, a looming warning.

You consider fighting back, but in this position there is no way you would be able to reach for your dagger (hidden away in a secret pocket in the front of your corset) without Seokjin stopping you, and even if you were lucky enough, there’s still Jimin, waiting in the shadows.

So you choose to wait, and try to find comfort in Seokjin’s twisted words. It could be worse. A tiny voice inside you reminds you it will become worse. You’ll just have to escape before then. You take a deep steadying breath, preparing yourself.

Don’t cry.

Seokjin’s lips latch onto your neck, soft and full as he rolls his tongue harshly over your pulse point. Goosebumps bloom across your body, and you try to focus on the sunlight rather than the vampire above you and his overwhelming aura, that sliver of light that you pray won’t dim.

This could be worse. This could be more painful. This could be Jimin.

Seokjin can feel the jumping of your pulse against his tongue. The vampire wants to know your story, what is it about you that riled Jimin up more than he’s ever seen him. But with your sweet scent enveloping him and the cocktail of emotions Seokjin’s keen senses could smell: fear and anger and mounting arousal, you smelled better to him than the finest wine and he can’t stop himself from teasing you a little longer, drink it in just a bit more and savor the moment.

Seokjin still understood the importance of ‘living’ in the present, he enjoyed taking his time with things. Others would have gone mad by now with the infinite amount of time, but not Seokjin, he used it to his advantage. Your warm body, your addicting smell, the softness and saltiness of your skin, the shifts in your breathing, Seokjin took his time to savor the gifts of life that he still missed.

You try not to react to his sensual touches, tensing your body under him, until you feel two sharp pricks on the surface of your skin. Your reaction is involuntary, you grip the bedsheets with your fists and let out a soft cry, moving against him. His bite hurt for only a second, like a pin prick, but Seokjin in his precision had nicked an artery for optimum bloodshed. With each gasp of breath you take, with each pounding beat of your heart, you feel your blood drain as it escapes the punctures in your neck and into Seokjin’s waiting mouth.

Seokjin groans against your skin, sending fire through your veins, pressing himself harder into your body. The vampire is better at keeping his physical responses to blood drinking at bay than Jimin, but he hasn’t had a new taste in awhile, and you’re so responsive.

When he pulls away from you you reach to cover your neck and stop the blood, a reflex in an attempt to save your own life, but Seokjin grabs your wrists before you can, pinning you to the bed, studying, his red gaze challenging you.

You gasp as the blood rushes out down your neck, over the sheets, seeping into your clothes. ‘They’ll underestimate you...’ Yoongi’s words replay in your mind and you stay still. No matter how much you want to fight back, this time you have to be smarter, you have to believe in Yoongi’s words.

Jimin has stayed quiet for this long, staying in the shadows, but your whimpers and grunts of pain are music to Jimin’s ears, the blood pouring from your body like an offering to him. His groans can be heard from the shadows.

He holds himself back for now, waiting for his turn. Jimin wonders where all that fight went, he had expected a show, for you to thrash away from the older vampire like you did the merman. He can’t help but feel a little disappointed. When it’s his turn, he thinks, you’ll become more entertaining then.

You watched in silence as Seokjin licked his lips clean of your blood. The red liquid that he had stolen from you, that was now steadily seeping from your wound and covering the white bedsheets underneath you, like a Rorschach picture mapping your life. “You’re strong,” he grins, speaking too tenderly for the brutality he was inflicting. “Stop fighting and it will end sooner, y/n. Let me into your mind.”

What does that even mean?! In your blood loss the tips of your fingers begin to feel cold like your captor’s, your head pounds and your vision blurs with each passing moment as the blood drains from your artery, you don’t want to give in, but if it will end this torture...

You shut your eyes tightly, and turn your head to expose your bleeding neck further to the monster above you. When Seokjin lowers his lips to your neck, you try to think of sweet Jungkook instead, his warm body instead of Seokjin’s cold one. You didn’t dare wish to be with him again, you didn’t dare think you made a mistake, that you should have stayed. Now all you can do is hope you can save him and yourself from this horrible island. Jungkook doesn’t deserve to be imprisoned with the likes of them.

Seokjin drinks the warm liquid pouring from your throat. You listen to him gulping down your blood, How much longer, until he finds what he’s looking for? You feel your fight escape you with each swallow, you feel yourself slipping away. It reminds you of drowning, it reminds you of Yoongi and how he kissed life into you instead, but this was the kiss of death.

‘Yoongi,’ you close your eyes and think of him. And then you felt it, the pull inside your mind. Your current circumstance falls away in shambles, your memories are pulled out of you through the cracks, the images race through your mind as Seokjin bears witness to it all.

---

Yoongi sits at the table, hair and clothes dry, turning his head to see you awake.

The relief that softens his features as he’s walking to your side.

The delicate way he places the hairpiece back in its place.

The way his eyes melt at your words.

Why hadn’t you seen it before? Seokjin saw it all. The way Yoongi screams at you, the rage and embarrassment in his eyes as he tells you how much he can’t stand you, the way he licks his lips when you yell back. His eyes studying you when you yank him closer, full of anger and full of-

You weakly push against Seokjin, you don’t want to remember, you don’t want to miss him. You can’t stop it, you can’t stop the memories flooding through your system.

You suddenly remember Jungkook’s sparkling round eyes watching you, wanting you, the crinkle of his nose when he laughs, the pink flush on the edges of his ears when you talk to him, the muscles of his arms flexing as he cages you under him, his deep groaning in your ear, the vein in his neck when he pushes into your wet heat, the truth in his voice when he says he’ll protect you.

You feel Seokjin’s hands travel down your body the same way you remembered Jungkook. You curse him in your mind, but your body couldn’t tell the difference, your stomach tightens and you’re no longer cold, warmth spreads over you to the tips of your toes.

You want to scream, scream for Jungkook, but you’re frozen, lost in your own thoughts, confused by your senses. Jungkook feels as real as Seokjin, but you know he’s not really there, no matter how much you wanted it to be true.

You remember Hoseok’s harsh looks, the growing anger in his eyes, the hurt in his eyes, the pain in his eyes, the pain still present in his eyes even in his wolf form when he howls and cries at you. He’s begging you to stay, he’s telling you he can’t bear to lose someone again. How could you leave them? Why can’t they be enough for you? Hoseok will treat you better, if you just stay with him, please. You understand his barks and howls now, because Seokjin understands. Tears well up in your eyes and you try to move away, but Seokjin is too solid, too powerful, and unyielding in his search.

Namjoon’s eyes are on you as you eat next to his brothers at dinner, filled with nothing but warmth and happiness. Those brown eyes, you miss them. You feel dizzy and helpless, you can’t take it anymore. You grab a fistful of Seokjin’s hair to try to pull him off of you.

“What have you done to Jimin? What have you done?!” Namjoon’s voice roars in your memory. But it’s not any memory you remember having. Before you realize what you are doing, your hands hold on tightly to Seokjin’s hair, pulling him closer and holding him to you so you can see more.

---

“It-It wasn’t me...” The tall vampire is covered in blood. Some of it is Jimin’s blood, yes, but the majority of blood that drips down his face and hands, that covers his clothes, belongs to five other men. Dead men. Men who beat the broken man in his arms to the brink of death.

Seokjin found his dear friend screaming in pain. He saw them over Jimin’s bleeding body, blood Seokjin treasured just as much as he treasured his bond with the compassionate and playful man. His friend, Jimin, who wailed for Seokin, for Namjoon, for Hoseok, for Taehyung, for anyone to help him, while his bones cracked, lying in the dirt, choking on his own blood, precious blood.

Seokjin explained to Namjoon when he saw them laughing, like hyenas over a carcass, spitting hateful slurs down at Jimin, he couldn’t control himself. Seokjin tore them apart one by one. He chased each one down like the pathetic animals they were, and tore the limbs that touched his dear friend straight from their bodies.

Seokjin had been weak, he had become too accustomed to the harmonious life he and Namjoon had created for themselves. Had it been decades before, he would have endured, but living with the pack had softened him too much and he couldn’t stand the pain of losing Jimin, so when he found a weak pulse he gave Jimin as much of his venomous blood as he could.

Namjoon simply nods at the information, his weary eyes examining his two friends, friends who were like family to him. He didn’t want to lose Jimin either. “We need to take him somewhere safe...to the island, before he wakes up,” Namjoon places a hand on the trembling vampire’s shoulder.

“What if he doesn’t wake up?” the vampire’s voice shakes, he notices the cuts on Jimin’s face and body have yet to heal themselves.

“That’s not something you should be worried about,” Namjoon runs his hand through Jimin’s tangled hair, gently placing the dark strands back into place, his eyes filling with tears, “it’s when he wakes up, we need to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Seokjin nods weakly.

“Go now. I’ll clean up the mess, brother.”

Your hands fall, the blood loss making you too weak to grip onto Seokjin’s hair. Seokjin had taken more blood than he intended, lost in his own memories.

The vampire pulls away from you, even as the edges of your vision blurs, you see his eyes, glowing red and glassy with unshed tears, staring at you with a mixture of pain and surprise. He shakes away his bewilderment and rips into the flesh of his wrist, placing the cut across your lips as you can no longer hold consciousness.

---

When you wake again it’s night time, the light behind the curtains has left you.

Your body aches. You run your fingers along your neck, searching for the punctures, and you can only feel smooth skin crusted in dried blood. Your head feels like it’s splitting. You groan in pain.

You see Jimin before you hear him, and even then you’re not sure if your brain created the sounds to ease your mind as he stalks closer to your waking form.

“Finally! Now what could you have possibly done to Jin?” Jimin says, contemplating the reason his friend holed himself up in his office, refusing to speak to Jimin or even look at him.

He jumps on the bed, shaking your already pounding head. “He refuses to let me bite you,” he whines, “Explain now, pet.” Jimin prods you with his foot. “Explain what memory of yours Seokjin pulled.”

You just groan back, turning away from Jimin, burying your head into the cold pillows of your bed, one of the few things not soaked in your blood. Everything is so cold you can’t stand it. Jimin places a hand on your shoulder to make you face him. Cold fingers touch your skin, everything is cold.

“Don’t touch me!” you pull away from him, yelling.

Your face stings. Jimin had slapped you hard, you come to the realization only after the fact, the skin he touched burns hot. It makes you laugh, because you wanted warmth, didn’t you?

Jimin’s eyes narrow on you, “Say that again, I dare you.”

You bite back tears and ask, “What the fuck happened to you?!”

“So you’re back to being a disrespectful brat. You’re not on the same level as me, human. Learn to behave.”

“No! What happened to you to make you so heartless? What changed you?” How did the bleeding man you saw Namjoon cry over in Seokjin’s memories become this monster? He was human at one point too, you wouldn’t have believed it if you didn’t see it for yourself.

Jimin rolls his eyes, “Don’t act like you know anything about me, bitch.”

You take a deep breath trying to calm your temper. Not only had you seen Seokjin’s memories, you had felt his emotions. His pain lingers in you still, beside the fear and hatred you feel, you look at Jimin and feel...sorry for him. You have to look down, the emotions are too much and too overwhelming. It was easier when all you knew was the monster before you. Jimin takes your silence as obedience instead.

“Now can you be a good little pet and answer my question,” he says, tapping you on the head hard enough to make your headache roar back to life. You flinch and search the eyes of the man before you. Or rather the shell of a man, you think bitterly.

And what a beautiful shell it is. Jimin is stunning, bright white hair pulled away and styled so you can see the delicate features of his face. He holds himself gracefully, like a dancer, his elegant figure hiding his true strength. You wonder what he was like before turning into a monster, what kind of man was he? Someone whom Namjoon cared for.

“It wasn’t my memory...you. I saw you…” You whisper, knowing Jimin’s sharp senses can hear you loud and clear, “I saw Seokjin turn you.” Silence falls over the room again, a silence so deafening you start to hear the pounding in your head becoming louder.

The vampire stares at you, soft features stoic. He looked lost in thought, you pictured his face full of cuts, bloody lip, black eye, human, and Seokjin so unsure, scared, worried, trembling, so unlike themselves now.

“How did he turn me?” It surprised you how genuine Jimin’s question sounded. Did he really not know?

You keep your mouth shut, you don’t think it would be wise on your part to tell him. Jimin seems like the type to shoot the messenger. Unfortunately, unlike Seokjin, Jimin had little to no patience. His expression changes like lightning, full of anger. He pulls you by the hair dragging you off the bed and onto the floor.

The vampire crouches over you and grabs your face, holding you down to the wood floor, pressing his sharp nails into the skin of your cheeks making you yell.

“Ahh there’s your voice! Tell me.”

“Why don’t you ask Seokjin?!”

“But I rather you just do as I say,” he says playfully, as his fingers dig harder into your skin, cutting the flesh and drawing blood.

“Why don’t you just bite me, then?!” You spit the words out through clenched teeth.

You watch the vampire lick his lower bottom lip, thinking it over briefly as he pulls your face closer to his, you struggle against his painful grip. “How impetuous...” he watches you squirm like an insect stuck in glue. “You’re rather dumb, aren’t you?”

Should you reach for your dagger now? Should you try to kill Jimin?

Every time you thought about hurting him, you remembered Seokjin’s crying face, and you wanted to cry as well, what was happening to you?

“Jimin, leave us.” Jin stands in the doorway to your room.

Jimin stands up in a huff, letting you go. You fall back onto the hardwood floor. He balances on his heels, ignoring you and scrutinizing Seokjin. He wanted to question the older vampire, he has so many questions now, but decides against it. What does it matter anyways? The idea of being a weak and powerless human revolts him. “I’m getting impatient,” he says before he leaves, slamming the door and making you jump.

“T-thank y-you.” You try to calm your breathing.

Seokjin looks at you with a frown, extending his hand out to you. You hesitate and place your hand in his and he easily lifts you to your feet. You watch the older vampire walk slowly around the room, drawing his fingers along the furniture he passes. You stand awkwardly, you don’t think making a run for it would gain you any favors right now.

“I’m hungry,” Seokjin says. He doesn’t even look at you when he says it, continuing to meander around the room, waiting for your response.

You clench your jaw. So this is what you’ve been reduced to, you think, a late night snack. “Are you going to just keep me trapped in this room? I’m hungry too, I haven’t eaten anything-”

“Dinner's already passed. Before I let you go roaming around, I need to make sure you’re going to behave yourself, do you understand?”

No, you don’t understand at all. It sounds like he’s going to starve you into subservience, and you have to get out of this room, you have to find the portal.

“I will do as you say...please...” you walk over to where he’s standing, trying your best to seem meek. “I’m starving,” you reason, “I’m sure you know how it feels to hunger for something” you say, turning your head to stare at the windows, curtains now open to the night sky, extending your neck to the vampire. His eyes are pulled to your attention, following the lines of your shoulder. You roll your neck, loosening the stiff muscles, moving close enough to him that your chest bumps into his. You look up into Seokjin’s eyes through your lashes, “I-I will behave.”

Seokjin smiles, bringing his head down into the curve of your neck, lips skirting across the skin. Your fingers reach up to caress the back of his head. You can see the pair of you in the bedroom mirror. Another myth proven wrong, you think, as you study your seduction, how his lean frame bends closer to yours, his arms wrapping around the lower part of your back.

In truth, Seokjin wasn’t hungry. He had taken more than enough blood from you this morning already, but Seokjin wanted to see if lightning could strike twice. Never had the pull been so strong for him that a human had been able to enter his memories, not even when Jimin was alive. He needed to learn more.

Seokjin licks your face, tongue tracing the cuts Jimin’s nails left behind. You hold your breath, trying to act like you enjoyed it. You hated it, you wished you could stick Yoongi’s dagger into Seokjin’s cold dead heart and be done with it already.

Seokjin trails kisses back to the place he bit you before. He keeps kissing your sensitive skin until his lips reach your ear and he whispers, “I’m not Jungkook, little Dove, you’ll have to do better than that.”

You stumble backwards but it’s too late, Seokjin already has you in his clutches.

He pulls you into a tight embrace, walking you backward even more. His bite is precise, you suspect perfectly precise to where he bit you this morning. Your arms are locked tightly in between your bodies as he holds you to him.

Thunder roars in your memory, you feel yourself drowning. Your muscles ached, your lungs burned. You feel Yoongi’s hand on your ankle, pulling down, hand on your waist, pulling down, hand on your neck, pulling you closer, his lips on your lips-

You cry and yell against Seokjin’s grasp. Cold turns to warmth as you see Namjoon, Jungkook, and Hoseok laughing around the firepit, and Seokjin, and Jimin, laughing too. Yoongi sits with a calm expression on his face, his lips curved upward, and a man you don’t recognize sits next to him-

Seokjin yanks his mouth away from you and you fall backward, back hitting the bed while you struggle to breath. You cover the holes on your neck with your palm to stop the rushing blood.

“How?” is all Seokjin can say, shaken by the happy memory that even he had forgotten about.

You stare up at the high ceiling dazed and too weak to move, “Do I...” you can feel the blood spill between the gaps of your fingers, “look...” you gasp, “like a vampire expert...to you?”

Seokjin moves to the window, his back to you. He watches the waning moon and lets his mind wander to his old friends. If they were off the island, he could see a scenario where you and he would meet at a bar, laugh over drinks, but the ending would always be the same. “You look,” he looks over his shoulder at you, “like you could use a drink,” his lips curving into a half smile.

“Are you,” you gasp, “offering?”

He walks over to you slowly, bringing his wrist to his mouth, and then extends the sliced skin to your mouth, waiting expectantly.

You take his offering bitterly, gulping down the metallic liquid, the wounds burn like fire as they heal over. The pain is nothing like you’ve ever experienced before. You shut your eyes tightly, you want to cry, or scream, but like Namjoon said, no one can help you here. You feel fingers intertwine with your bloody fingers, pulling your bloodied hand away as you weakly protest. The room spins, even if your wounds are healed, your blood is still gone and you’re feeling the effects of two feedings.

Seokjin brings your hand to his lips and licks away the blood, tongue circling your fingers. “This can hurt or it can feel good,” he says slowly.

You laugh, delirious from hunger and blood loss. “I wonder, that memory,” you gasp, still laughing, “does it bother you to be reminded of your humanity? Does it hurt you?”

You probably shouldn’t have said that, but the blood loss is doing funny things to you, or maybe you just really wanted to get a reaction from the guarded man, no, guarded vampire.

If your accusation angered Seokjin he didn’t show it with any emotion, instead he sighed and bent over you, biting down hard on your shoulder. The searing pain makes you scream. You cry out, not expecting the sharp and throbbing kind of ache from his bite as Seokjin’s teeth stayed deep in your flesh.

Seokjin pulls another memory out of you, and you curse your luck in remembering Jungkook again, remembering his tanned and muscled body next to yours. Jungkook kissing your knuckles and telling you how he’s yours now. Jungkook kissing down your body. His head between your legs, his mouth feverishly licking at your folds. The more you try not to think about him the stronger the memories feel. The pain in your shoulder dulls as your legs tighten around the vampire's sides.

Perhaps it was your bloodloss mixed with Seokjin’s bloodlust seeping into your consciousness, the memory of Jungkook’s length buried deep inside you and feeling of Seokjin’s growing bulge pressed against your stomach makes your head spin and you just want to feel more. You hear Namjoon’s deep authoritative voice whispering dirty things in your ear, it makes you shudder, a moan escapes your throat-

Seokjin pulls away from you abruptly at that, his eyes are deep red, so dark they look black. He watches as your body twitch in pain, as he focuses on calming the storm of human emotions, your emotions, running through him, as he tries to forget the compromising memory of his old friend. He bites down on his bottom lip until he draws blood, his blood mixing with your own blood in his mouth, and he presses his lips on yours.

You realized how passionate Yoongi’s kisses were compared to Seokjin’s. The merman was distant, but his actions were full of feeling, whether they be good or bad. Seokjin was cold in body and mind, a hard shell, you felt like you were kissing a statue as you choked on his blood, the liquid metallic and sweet.

You can feel the punctures in your skin closing, it hurts so much worse than when he bit you, you distract yourself by licking into his mouth, feeling his tongue against yours.

Seokjin jumps off of you the second your wounds are healed and leaves without saying a word. You can hear the door lock in your daze.

You scoff, what was up with him, you wonder, dining and dashing like that. The blood loss has you quickly falling asleep despite wanting to use the time alone to plan your escape.

---

They both leave you alone all day until night again. You wake up hungry and weak. When Seokjin wordlessly stalks towards you that night you tell him so.

“I still can’t trust you to play well with others.”

“I need food! I need to eat! I am not a goddamn vampire like you! I can’t survive off your blood!” You throw your pillow at him. Should you have done that? Probably not, but you’re too hungry to care.

Seokjin pauses, looks at the floor where the pillow lays at his feet after coming in contact with his chest. “I’ll bring you food later tonight, now lie down, I’m hungry too.”

Ugh.

---

There were so very little things now that intrigued Seokjin, and this connection had become a mystery he wanted to solve. The strength of his pull on you was so intense it had become almost addicting to feel for Seokjin.

A vampire's pull had always been one-sided, but this pull acted like a wave, crashing onto the shore of your consciousness, pulling back and forth, dragging his memories along the current too.

Promised food, you comply, lying down against your better judgement. You glare at him as he lies next to you, and he smooths your furrowed features with his fingers instead of matching your anger. It makes you feel self conscious, the way he watches you with searching eyes. “Well? What are you waiting for?”

“So demanding, do you want me to bite you that badly?”

Is he teasing you? “No. I don’t. At all!”

“Okay then.” he lies back down, his arms underneath his head.

You sit up to look down at him. “Is this a joke?”

“I’ll wait, I don’t mind. I can wait for days, the question is can you?”

If you tried to stab him now he would definitely be able to stop you. Too bad. “I think I can’t stand you.”

“You barely know me!”

“I’ve seen enough,” you scoff.

“I’ve lived a long time,” Seokjin says, serious again, “you don’t care to see more? Who I really am?”

“Who are you?”

“Let me bite you and find out,” he winks.

'Well, he seems to be in a better mood,' you think. You wonder why he is even bothering to ask you, you’re his prisoner, after all. “So this is not just about feeding anymore?”

“I’m a vampire, of course it is.”

You sigh, you’re hungry and tired from blood loss. “Okay, bite me, but choose some place else,” you rub the sensitive spot on your neck and shiver. “NOT THERE!”

Seokjin stops pushing your legs open. “But there is an artery in your leg-”

Your face goes hot, you shove your wrist in his face. “Here then!” He sighs and lies back down again, pulling you over his body easily. You sit awkwardly against his lap as you watch his fangs prick your inner wrist. The blood loss this time wasn’t so bad, but it still made your weak body sway, your free hand bracing yourself against his chest.

He does the same thing to you again, pulls memories of your life. You saw memories from before the boat wreck to your childhood, and you saw glimpses of Seokjin’s life as well. You learned at one point in his very long life he stopped being a complete monster and became a part time bartender.

For decades he moved from taverns, to pubs, to bars. The perfect career, and as his beautiful looks were admired everywhere he went, he was never short of meal options. You woke in the morning and you laid on clean sheets, there was water for you and bread and butter and jam, an apricot and an apple, food not found on an island. The portal.

Tonight. This night you will be ready for Seokjin. You quickly realized you weren’t just remembering with Seokjin, you were feeling, and he was feeling too. If you could distract him well enough with a memory, you think you’d be able to escape!

---

Tonight Jimin walks into your room instead.

“Where’s Seokjin?”

“You didn’t miss me?” He holds a pear in his hand, throwing it up in the air and catching it easily. “He is busy, the others were feeling neglected by him-”

“There are others? Other humans?!”

Jimin smirks at your wide eyes. “Yes, pet, did you think you were special?” You swallow, keeping your questions to yourself. So Seokjin really meant it when he talked about playing well with others. Who were they and how long have they been here? Could some of them be your friends? Maybe you weren’t the only survivor on your boat! More humans, more people to help you fight against Seokjin and Jimin, if you could just meet them and somehow convince them...

Jimin heard your accelerating heartbeat, could see the happiness dance across your features. “What ever you are thinking, I suggest against it. Actually, go ahead and try, I haven’t punished anyone in so long.”

“Are you going to bite me or not?”

“Oh, so now you’re eager for it, it’s always the same.”

“Still not allowed, huh? Must suck to be you. Ha! Get it?”

“Do you think you’re being cute? Jin said I can’t bite you, he didn’t say anything about not hurting you.” Jimin throws the pear in the air again, “What? No clever retort?”

“I don’t know about Seokjin,” you speak softly, “but you used to be human, why do you act like this?” You watch as Jimin drops the pear on the ground and steps on the fruit with his feet. You bite your lip. What a waste. You consider pulling out your dagger just for that.

“Being human?” Jimin runs a hand through his hair, “I don’t remember anything about that. I can’t imagine being so weak and foolish.”

“You really don’t remember?” You look at the pear, squished into a pulp. “Can you do what Seokjin does, with the memories?”

“What makes you think I want to learn about your pathetic life?”

“No,” You idiot. You sigh. “But maybe you want to learn about your pathetic life?”

You scream, Jimin’s nails were digging into your skull, a handful of your hair in his fists. “Call me pathetic again,” he threatens lowly.

“Pathetic,” you say bearing your teeth. Jimin smiles, because in that moment you reminded him of someone. He’s going to enjoy breaking the bones of your body and watching your limbs reassemble again. He grabs your forearm, pulling your arm closer to your face. You wince as his grip tightens, struggling against his tight hold on your hair. “Call me pathetic again,” he sings, his eyes sparkling with delight.

You weigh your options in that moment.

“Seokjin!” you scream.

Jimin laughs, tightening his grip even more so you are sure to have bruises, “Do you think he really cares about what happens to you?”

“Jimin was a regular at your bar! Wasn’t he?!” You had seen the younger vampire, only briefly, you barely recognized him with dark hair, but you knew it was Jimin the way you felt your own heart soar when Seokjin glanced at him for the first time.

You screamed louder than you’ve ever heard yourself, making the vampire wince at your volume, because in that moment Jimin snapped the bone in your forearm. “Even if you don’t remember,” you cry, mumbling out the words through your pain, “you were human. Just. Like. Me.”

Jimin grabs your upper arm this time, and squirm in his hold. You start to cry harder despite trying to hold the tears in. The door to your room slams open. Seokjin looks furious when he steps towards the both of you.

“Jimin leave!"

“What?” The white haired vampire loosens his grip, but stands his ground. Seokjin doesn’t speak again, only gives him a look, and Jimin relents, breaking his stare with several blinks and releasing you. The younger vampire can’t hide his emotions as well as Seokjin and you see the hurt twist his beautiful features.

You sit on the ground grimacing in pain, holding your broken arm to your chest. Outside your room you hear the familiar crash of glass and scrape of wood and you suspect Jimin is not taking Seokjin’s orders well. Seokjin looks much more unhinged than you ever recall seeing him and then impassiveness washes over his face again, much to your disappointment.

“He is usually not like this. He can go months without drinking blood, it seems my ban has just made him all the more obsessed with you,” he sighs.

“Greeat,” you wince, “Lift the ban then, might as well.” If you were being honest with yourself, you were curious what would happen if Jimin bit you. Maybe then he wouldn’t despise you so much.

“The ban is not to protect you, naive little dove.” He sits down on the floor next to you. You find the sight comical, Seokjin in an expensive suit sitting on the dusty floor.

You roll your eyes. Of course. “You care a lot about him,” you whisper softly. He nods. You turn to him, “Do you remember why you started caring? Do you think who he is now still acts in the same way that made you care so much for him?”

“You think I’m a fool?” he laughs softly, “I know Jimin’s...lost his way...” You sit in silence as you struggle to take your mind off the pain in your arm. “For us, time, is infinite. This is only a small stretch of time compared to what I’ve been through. Jimin will come back around, I know it.”

“Well I think he’s a lost cause,” you mumble.

“He’s not, no one is...This is going to hurt a lot, if you don’t mind, I can make it quick.” His hand traces your jaw and turns your head to face him, eyes glancing towards your lips.

“Am I going to have to get used to this, you fixing the pain he causes-”

“Am I going to have to get used to you both provoking each other all the time?”

You bite your lip, he started it, it’s not your fault he freaks out over every little thing you say. You change the subject. “Are there really other prisoners here? Other humans like me?”

Seokjin tuts disapprovingly, “House guests, y/n! They can stop being in service to us whenever they want, we provide them all with a choice.”

“Oh, and what are the options, be your personal feeding supply or die?”

“Ahh see, you catch on quickly, and Jimin calls you stupid.”

Your eyes narrow on him, “Not much of a choice there.”

Seokjin leans into you, “it comforts them, when they think they have some control. You know, you would all be at the bottom of the ocean if it weren’t for us.”

You pull your legs closer to your body, it’s hard to look at him, much less listen to the disturbing things he says, “Why are you telling me this? Am I supposed to be grateful?” You shuffle your body, trying to get comfortable despite the throbbing pain of your broken arm.

“Perhaps,” he scrutinizes your body, “At least don’t provoke Jimin. Ready?”

You hum, “Yeah, I’m ready for my medicine, Doctor.”

He looks down, nodding. “No anesthesia for this surgery I’m afraid.”

He motions you closer, bites into his wrist and fills his mouth with his own blood. You’re careful not to jostle your arm too much as you move in front of him. His long fingers hold your head still as he presses his mouth onto yours, feeding you his blood. Even when you scream in pain he holds you to him as your bone readjusts itself and heals back together, your body in excruciating agony. He holds you tightly, his mouth swallowing your screams until the process is complete, until you pass out in his arms.

---

You wake up to clanging silver. The light feels warm on your face, and then you feel nothing as the curtains are drawn. You open your eyes, ready to protest.

“Oh my god!”

The woman before you jumps at your words. “Your breakfast,” she motions to the tray.

“You're real, oh my god, it’s true! Help me! Please, we can escape together!” The woman stumbles away from you as you desperately try to hold on to her.

“What?” Why is she looking at you like that? Why is she acting like that?! She pushes you away as she opens the door. You’re too stunned, too hurt by this stranger who you thought could help you to question her when she says, “There is no escape.” She closes the door, locking you inside. What just happened?!

Now that you’re alone again you search the room from top to bottom, desperate now that you’ve realized you’re up against so much more. All the drawers are empty, not even a pen and paper in the desk. The window opens but that doesn’t help you because you’re several floors up. The bathroom has running water and the prettiest bathtub you’ve ever seen, so you give up and spend the day soaking yourself, in your clothes. The dress floating and surrounding you reminded you of a certain man, well, merman. No one visits you that night.

The day repeats itself six times. You try different approaches to try and convince the older woman to help you and every time she refuses or ignores you completely.

You don’t get it, you don’t understand, and her behavior disturbs you. You had asked her, “Don’t you want to see your friends and family again?! Do you have children? Or a spouse?” Her answer was, “I don’t think so.”

‘I don’t think so.’ She couldn’t tell you how long she’d been here either. The implication scared you.

You sit at the door, your ear to the wood all day. Sometimes you’ll hear footsteps, you know it’s not Jimin or Seokjin, because they don’t make any noise when they walk. Sometimes you yell and bang on the door waiting for a response that never comes.

One day you yanked down the drapery, opened the window completely letting all the sunshine in, and soaked it in like a cat. Before you woke up the next morning everything had been set back the way it was. It was maddening.

So one day you flooded the bathroom, just to see if anyone would come to stop you. They didn’t and the next morning the tub was gone. You cried all night.

For six nights you’re alone. The fifth night you dig into your dress pockets to find the tiny shell Yoongi gifted you. You tap it three times and wait, holding it to your ear.

“Y/n?” His groggy voice fills the sea noise. You can’t bring yourself to speak, or you would really break down. Hearing his voice was enough.

---

Before the sun sets on the seventh night there is a knock on your door. You’re already so close to the entrance you can hear the soft click as it unlocks and you swing the door open to see Jimin.

He smiled down at you, a picture of sin. The young vampire wore casual loose-fitting clothes, shirt hanging over his shoulders. He dresses so relaxed, so opposite to Seokjin, who wore his shirts buttoned up to the collar. All you wanted to do all day was talk to someone, be heard, but with Jimin here you feel like an animal cornered in a trap, and you want to hide.

He gives you a cocky smile and drapes his arm over your shoulders, dragging you back into the room. “Look at you! Perfectly fine, Seokjin always overreacts,” he whines, “I’m tired of waiting. I can trust you not to tell on me, right pet?”

The vampire presses himself against your back and wraps his arms around your waist, locking you to him, chin digging into your shoulder. You stand frozen against him, Jimin is excellent at making sure you feel like you’re trapped and powerless when you’re around him.

His nuzzles your neck, lovingly like a lover would, inhaling your scent. You craved human contact, but this man isn’t exactly human now, is he? Your stomach turns as the familiar feeling of fear bubbles inside you.

“And if I don’t?” you whisper, and his grip tightens around you.

“You tell me, what do you think will happen, if you don’t?” he mumbles against your neck, teeth grazing your skin and he moans softly. He wrapped himself around your body, caressing your curves, it confused you at how affectionate he was being, or was he just a snake constricting his prey?

Your stomach tightens, you were stronger than this, right? A week in time out didn’t work on you, right? You couldn’t stop the sounds escaping your lips every time Jimin shifted against you. You blame Seokjin’s fondness for him that must have rubbed off on you. You try to step away but Jimin pulls you in closer.

“I thought I was a disgusting human, are you the one who missed me, Jimin?” You ask him softly.

“There are things about you that are only barely revolting, I guess.” He can feel the shift in your mood as annoyance bristles through your body, it makes him smile. You are so defiant for being so scared, it makes him want to break you even more.

You’re scared, but deep down there was a part of you too curious for your own good, that just wanted Jimin to bite you, just to see why and what Seokjin was protecting him from. It would only be to your advantage, if that was the case, right? You stretch your neck to the side slightly to see what Jimin’s reaction would be. His fingers dig into your hips. “What’s this?” Oh no.

Jimin pulls the shell hidden inside your pocket. You grab at his hands, but he’s too fast, dancing around you as he pushes you away, pushing you to the ground.

Somehow you always end up here on the floor, at Jimin’s feet, probably exactly where the vampire thinks you should be. You’ve never seen him more excited, it twists your insides.

Jimin’s cold fingers inspect the tiny shell, tutting. He mouths the words, ‘bad girl’ silently. Tapping the tiny shell, he brings the shell to his lips.

“Yoongi, I know you’re there. Do you want to hear y/n?” He crouches next to you, lifts your chin so your eyes meet his, smiling as if you were playing along on an inside joke. “Do you want to hear her cries? Do you want to hear her moans?” his sinful voice sings tauntingly.

The younger vampire promised Jin he wouldn’t touch you, but Seokjin has so many rules, and this just proved you couldn’t be trusted, that you needed to be taught a lesson. Seokjin will forgive him, Jimin thinks, he always does.

“C’mon, Yoongi wants to hear you, y/n! I bet he misses you. Let him hear your pretty voice.” You just glare at him, staying silent. Jimin didn’t seem angered by your defiance, in fact, he seemed happy.

He pulls your hair, moving your face closer to the shell, his nails dig into your scalp, and you feel them pierce your skin. The pain causes you to let out a strangled cry. “That’s it!” You hold back tears as you glare at him, Seokjin is wrong, Jimin can’t be saved.

“I’m not afraid of you anymore,” you grit out, scratching at his hand.

“Oh, no?” He releases your hair. You jump up but Jimin pulls you down to the ground again. Even as you kick and hit him, it’s obvious it’s not hurting the vampire. He easily pins you down, caging you in with his thighs, his knees pinning your arms to your sides. His fingers wrap around your neck, holding you tight as you grunt against him. You’ve become a mouse, trapped by a snake.

“Afraid yet?” You know he won’t kill you, it seems like torturing you is just too much fun for him. Jimin may be stronger than you, faster than you, but he’s as caged as you are, stuck on this island, leashed by Seokjin’s rules, acting out like a child.

“No.” He lets go and you heave in air, coughing. “Seokjin will find out, even if I don’t say anything. He said-”

“Jin,” he bares his fangs, “says a lot of things.” He brings the shell to his mouth again, “What bone should I break first?”

Jimin laughs, and you wonder what the merman said to him.

Jimin grabs your jaw, tilting your head to the side, reveling in your struggle. He places the tiny shell next to your ear. You try to silence your heavy breathing. “Yoong-g-gi?” You hear the ocean, the rumbling of the sea, and you hear-

“Y/n!” Yoongi’s voice rumbles through the tiny shell, he calls out to you, words rushed and worried, full of concern that has your heart dropping, “Jimin has a weakness, It’s T-” Jimin crushes the tiny shell between his fingers.

Jimin pouts, “I thought he would have used the opportunity to confess, now he’ll never get the chance.”

He moves away from you, “Well, aren’t you going to make a run for it? I didn’t lock the door.” He lifts his eyebrows up, nodding towards the door.

You lie on the cold hard ground stunned. Yoongi's gone. You think of a scenario where you rush towards the door, only to be stopped by Jimin as he tackles you again. No, you won’t do that. Jimin takes and takes, you're going to make it your mission to take from him. You stand up on shaky legs and walk towards Jimin.

“Actually, I rather you just bite me instead.” You’re not confident that he’d really go against Seokjin, so might as well egg him on. “Unless you’re scared of Seokjin?”

Jimin scoffs, jaw clenching in annoyance and eyes narrowing. “Any other cute little means of communication you tried to sneak in here, hmm?” He yanks you close to him again, his hands pull at your dress, wandering over your thighs, skirting dangerously close to your center. He smirks down at you as you pretend to act unaffected by the way his hands glide over your ass, kneading the flesh. His hands run up your corset, getting closer and closer to your dagger.

You run your hand over the front of his pants. It was the only thing you could think to do to distract the vampire before he found your dagger and really killed you. It worked. Jimin stops you, digs his nails into your wrist, but he doesn’t pull your hand away.

So without many other options, you send your quarrel with the vampire off into a whole other direction as you grab for the bulge in his pants. You feel the weight of him in your palm, your mouth drops a little at his size. Jimin’s jaw tightens as you rub up and down his bulge.

You’re stuck in a staring match with the vampire. Two stubborn beings, challenging each other to see who breaks first.

Surprising you, he spins you around and starts undoing the straps of your corset.

No, no, that’s the opposite of what you wanted! “What are you doing?” You try to wiggle your body to face him again, “Just fuck me already!”

Jimin cages you against his lean frame, crushing your body to the closest wall with his own. He inhales into your neck. He can sense the torrent of your spiraling emotions, he feels your hatred for him radiating off your body stronger than ever as he slows his advances down.

“You are acting more stupid than usual, pet.”

“You wanted to play,” you say, “Well, let’s play then.”

He’s never played this kind of game before, and you’ve enticed him, he has no problem calling your bluff. His hand runs along your cleavage, kneading the flesh.

Jimin pulls your dress up slowly, his cold hand running up your leg. You rest your forehead on the wall, shuddering when he drags his fingers across your center. “Your hands are cold.”

He pushes two fingers inside you, deep, you were barely ready for the stretch, crying out from the sudden intrusion and cold sensation. Jimin groans as you whimper against him, “Forget what I am already?” He licks your neck, fingers pumping in and out at a dizzying pace.

“How could I ever forget?” you whisper.

“I regret destroying that shell, I would have liked to let Yoongi listen to what a whore you are.”

Your body tenses and Jimin leans his body harder into yours, pressing another finger inside. “What would the dogs think, knowing their bitch is so wet for their enemy, hmm?” Making you angry is too easy, he thinks, and makes you smell so much better, sexier. Jimin is used to fear, he’s grown accustomed to desire, but your rage makes him ravenous. If Jimin wasn’t so consumed by his carnal desires, he might question himself as to why he wants someone to hate him so much, but all he can think about is how he’s going to drive you to madness with just his fingers. He resists the urge to bite you by sucking harshly on your neck, pulling the blood closer to your skin and leaving dark marks behind.

Before you have a chance at release he pulls his fingers out of you, leaving you empty and holding up the evidence of your arousal, the clear substance clinging to his fingers as he licks them clean, moaning in your face. The sight is depraved, and you can’t look away. He smiles smugly at you as he smells your lust surround him.

“I knew you wouldn’t bite me.”

“We will get to that, we’re playing a game remember? Or do you want to stop now?”

“All this talk and I still haven’t been bitten or fucked, are vampires impotent or something or is it just you?”

Jimin laughs, yanking your body to face the wall again and pinning you to him. “I’ll make you forget everything but my dick while I’m fucking you, you won’t have a single other thought in that pretty little head of yours other than giving me all your pleasure.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m waiting.”

Jimin laughs again, pressing three thick fingers deep inside you again, you legs go weak as he holds you up with the force of his body against yours. He drags his fingers out and higher until he’s circling your other opening. His digits press into both of your holes, filling you up completely as you cry out. You haven’t had someone give attention to that part of you in so long, you tense at the unexpected stretch. His thumb works against your clit expertly as he rocks his hand against yours. You feel so full and overwhelmed by Jimin. “So close already? Beg me to make you come, pet.”

“I’m not your pet.”

You take his torture silently, hold in your moans as he brings you to the brink of release and stops short of satisfaction over and over again. He thrusts his fingers in and out of your holes, until the tight stretch goes away, his fingers easily gliding in and out of your wetness, until the ache is replaced with a need for more. Your entire core pulsates as he slowly and torturously circles your swollen bud, changing the pressure just enough to drive you crazy by ghosting over your clit when you needed more and rubbing even harsher circles when it all becomes too much, his touch making you feverish and sick with desire. When you clench around his fingers, closer than you’ve gotten to release since he started this torture, he pulls out of you completely, pressing his hard cock, straining against the cloth of his pants, into your sore center.

“You smell so good,” he moans. You don’t want to think about Jungkook, you don’t want to taint his memory, but Jimin’s words are so similar. Jungkook is nothing like Jimin, but they are more similar to each other than to a human like you. Perhaps you are just as weak and pathetic as Jimin says, a human can be no match for a vampire, and you’ll never be able to win against him.

“Please Jimin...just let me cum...”

“Beg me.” His usual airy voice drips with arousal, and he presses his bulge harder into your wetness.

You don’t do as he says, you can’t, so he continues his torturous little game, until you’re moaning loudly, head thrown back against his shoulder, whimpering every time he stills. He pulls his fingers out of your dripping core, focusing his attention on your ass, thumb rubbing harsh circles into your throbbing clit, you feel so empty and painfully full as your sensitive walls clench around nothing and his fingers stretch your rim open for him. Your entire body vibrates, but you’d rather stay unsatisfied than say please to Jimin ever again.

Finally, as the sun sets and the last bit of light around the curtains disappears, Jimin realizes he can play his game no longer and pulls away from you completely. Your legs give out as you slide down the wall, mind finally free from the haze of lust Jimin kept you in.

“So weak,” Jimin tuts.

“...impotent...dick...”

“Pathetic slut.”

“I thought about Seokjin the entire time,” you whisper.

“...liar.”

---

You must have fallen asleep, you feel a hand cupping your cheek, and you open your eyes to Seokjin, blonde hair, red eyes, suit buttoned to the collar. You let out a small laugh, and then groan once the pain in your joints wakes you fully.

Jin carries you back to your bed. You tug on his sleeve.

“Please take the pain away,” you ask softly.

Seokin’s eyes search the expanse of your skin, “There are no cuts on your body.”

Groaning, you sit up and kiss the vampire who freezes against you. So you take the opportunity to straddle Seokjin’s lap, and start unbuttoning his shirt, kissing, licking, biting his smooth skin. Jimin’s harsh words replay in your mind and sting you. Screw him, let him think whatever he wants, let him hear you. This had been a part of your plan anyways, first Seokjin, and then you’ll worry about him, might as well have some relief too.

“What happened?” Seokjin asks as you rut into his body, tearing his shirt open. He doesn’t look upset that you popped the buttons, does he ever get upset anymore? You hastily unbuckle his belt. His hands cover yours, repeating his question, “What happened, y/n?”

You grab his hand and move it under your dress. Seokjin stills as his fingers come into contact with your thigh, slick with your wetness from hours of Jimin's teasing. His hands travel up your shaking leg.

“You’re so wet,” he groans, “...Did Ji-”

You silence him with a kiss. “Fuck me, I feel like I’m dying.”

Seokjin laughs against your lips, “Humans are so dramatic,” but he’s already pulling you closer, turning you around to lie on the bed. He bends down to your core, pushing your dress over your waist, you spread your legs wide open for him.

He licks your arousal from your inner thigh, fingers massaging your aching center.

“Ugh fuck, stop teasing me,” you whine. Seokjin fills you with two long fingers, pushing inside you to the knuckle. His teeth bite down on your inner thigh, it stings but your lust somehow lessens the pain. Your body tenses, you clench around his fingers and he speeds up, pulling more blood from your veins.

You flinch when you see Jimin again, reliving the memory from Seokjin’s mind. He’s half naked, kissing a beautiful woman who is fully naked, right in front of Seokjin.

Jimin looks so different, dark hair, flushed skin, tenderness in his eyes.

The girl lowers her body between the men, and fills her mouth with Seokjin’s hardening length. You feel yourself become wetter. Seokjin moans against your feverish skin, biting you for a second time, higher up your leg. It stings again, but you’re too busy trying to get off on his fingers to care about anything but release. Seokjin bites the mound of flesh close to your center, his tongue pressing against your hood, your vision goes white and then-

You see Yoongi’s sharp eyes above you, his naked body on top of yours, cold and wet, hard cave rocks against your bare back. You see Namjoon, a younger version of him, long hair pulled back into a low bun, across the room in bed with another woman. The room is small and empty. Two beds, two couples, Seokjin watching his friend fuck the random girl senseless.

You feel jealousy, watching Namjoon through Seokjin’s eyes. He looks so different, so feral and savage. The bed creaks loudly underneath him as he grips the headboard, and thrusts into her wildly. Jin pumps his fingers inside you in time with Namjoon's thrusts, it makes you feel like you’re going to burst into a thousand pieces. Namjoon’s eyes glow yellow as he gives Seokjin a wicked grin and you’re scared for the first time of Namjoon as he growls, releasing into the woman.

“Don’t make a mess,” he drops the spent girl on Seokjin’s lap, who caresses her face. She’s breathtaking, you feel inadequacy course through you, you feel jealousy, you feel turned on when her full lips envelop Seokjin's thumb. Namjoon pulls the sleeping naked girl from Seokjin’s bed, tapping her check to rouse her awake.

Seokjin’s arousal is overwhelming you. He slams into the woman’s body from behind, chasing his high while holding her face down into the bed, and then his fangs pierce her back as her screams are muffled. You don’t want to come to this, to the feeling of her blood filling his mouth, arousing him and arousing you. Namjoon’s grunts and sounds of sex fills your mind again and you come undone in a silent scream around Seokjin’s fingers.

---

Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit.

You run around the room, darting around Seokjin who watches you rather calmly for the unfolding situation. The rest of his body frozen, the blessed dagger lodged in between his vertebrae, stopping his regeneration.

Once you came, thighs snug around his head, you pulled the dagger from your corset and stabbed him in the back. You kicked him away from you before he could attack and he fell backward, the dagger piercing deep into his back, and that’s where he was currently, frozen on the floor, watching you as you run around the room in disbelief that you actually managed to stab a vampire.

You trip over him by accident and he lets out a soft grunt. “Fuck! Are you okay?” you sit next to his frozen body, “Like, relative to being stabbed, I mean? Don’t answer that...because you can’t. Oh fuck.” You put your head down, resting it on his chest, you don’t hear anything but your laboured breathing. ‘Believe in yourself, y/n! Yoongi believed in you…’

You gather yourself up once again and you move to the window, jiggling the handle. It’s still unlocked! You’re too high up to escape but...

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you whisper, “I really am sorry,” you grunt as you heave the immobilized vampire to the window, inch by inch, Seokjin’s body like a sack of bricks. You place him against the wall and crouch down so you can look him in the eyes, patting down his messy hair, tousled in your struggle to move him, “I’m sorry,” you repeat again, “but you’re a vampire right?” You say encouragingly, and you give him a couple of pats on the cheek, his eyes dart down to watch the action, “Technically, you can’t die.”

With every ounce of strength you have left inside you, you shove Seokjin out the window.

---

You quietly lock the door to what had been your room and prison cell behind you, quickly walking through the halls. You’re not sure what you expected, maybe a gothic interior fit for Dracula, burning candlesticks and red velvet drapes, but you got electricity and mid century modern eclectic, the walls were colorful with art pieces, deep emeralds and golds and blood red. You open the first door you come across.

A young woman sits on a large bed reading a book, looking up at you. Is that how you looked to them? A more disheveled and unpleasant version of her? She looked happy, until she noticed you, and then her smile fell, disappointed you weren’t Jimin or Jin. You slam the door shut and lock it again.

You race as quietly as you can through the halls, you have no idea what you’re looking for, quickly peeking into each room you come across. Strangers, stop what they are doing to look at you, waiting like obedient lap dogs. You have yet to find an empty room. Four doors you’ve opened on this floor, no empty rooms, and you begin to feel hopeless.

You open the fifth and final door and you’re assaulted with the loud sound of moaning. The moaning comes from a woman specifically, her cries almost as loud as the slapping of her skin against Jimin’s naked body. Jimin had needed an outlet after his time with you, specifically, someone to use and bite that wasn't 'off limits.'

You stand frozen in shock, it feels like all the air has escaped the room, filling the woman’s lungs instead as she screams in ecstasy. He is standing next to the bed, fucking into her at an inhuman speed, holding her hips in the air as she struggles to hold the rest of her torso horizontal. You can’t look away, because her body, her stomach, her large bouncing tits, it’s all covered in blood. You almost scream, almost, but the small huff of air you let out instead is enough. The bed stops creaking as Jimin’s movement stops and you meet his surprised eyes.

You shut the door, lock it and run.

You run down the stairs, you see the entrance and you almost run out the door, but you instead run down the hall, flinging every door you see, praying you find something. There's a kitchen, a dining room with the longest table you’ve ever seen, and an empty room! It looks like an office! You run inside. You run to the desk, looking over the papers. Weird markings litter the pages, it reminds you of the markings on Yoongi’s bag. You have to be getting closer to your objective, you have to be! You scatter the papers around, yank open the drawers, hoping to find something useful. There’s a bookcase behind the desk, and you start pulling down books, nothing is catching your eye. You pull on the bookcase, you run your hand across the wood frantically, searching for perhaps a trap door-

“What are you looking for? I can try to help.”

You jump, almost screaming. You hold your heart, it hadn’t stopped, to your surprise. You had no idea someone else was in the room with you. You stare back at a calm man with messy brown hair, he looks at you timidly. “Sorry, I didn’t want to scare you. I just wanted to help, and it took me a while to organize those books,” he laughs softly. The man shuffles back to the wall, you hear metal clanging and look at his feet, they have chains around them, his hands too.

You look down at your feet, papers and books are all around you “I-I’m sorry. I was just-I didn’t know-” You had no idea how much more time you had to spare so you cut to the chase. “Is there a portal here?!”

The man’s eyes go wide, “Not here,” he speaks softly, “One level lower.” He gave you the answer you were looking for without any hesitation, was this a trick? You look at him more closely, his clothes are loose, like pajamas, and he’s barefoot, he looks at you happily, like you didn’t just storm into his room and destroy his things. The innocent expression on his face reminds you of Jungkook.

You remember why he looks so familiar, “You were sitting next to Yoongi!”

The man tilts his head confused, and then he stares at the door, “you need to leave now,” he rushes towards you, “Go down the stairs to the right.” He finds a pen on his desk. “The portal is in the basement, in Seokjin’s office. You’ll need this to open the door, it will only work once.” He grabs your hand and writes a long looping character on your palm, it burns gold and then disappears, while you stand still in shock.

Before you can question him the door bursts open. Jimin stands in the doorway, looking at you and the other man. His anger is replaced by an expression you don’t quite understand. Heavy silence envelops the room. The awkward tension is cut when Jimin speaks to you calmly saying, “Come here. Now.”

The man steps between you and Jimin. “Stay here, he can’t come inside, just like I can’t leave.” The man leans against the desk, his long legs blocking you from leaving, his chains clanging again.

“Y/n, come here now.” That was the first time Jimin said your name. You look between the men.

“Why would I go to you? You’re going to kill me!”

Jimin runs a hand through his hair, rolling his eyes to the side, “I promise you I won’t kill you if you come here right now.” He says the words as sweetly as he can in his growing irritation, trying to coax you to him, but to you he sounds patronizing and angry.

“Jimin’s lying,” the man next to you whispers, confirming your suspicions.

“Tae, just bring her to me!” the vampire screams.

“No, I don’t want to, you’re going to hurt her.”

‘Tae, he said. Is this Taehyung?’ The same man you saw next to Yoongi, the same man Namjoon warned you about, the man who is protecting you and gave you a way out of this hell of a place?

“Can’t you just do the right thing for once?!”

“You haven’t come to visit me in how long, Jimin?”

They yell at each other like an old married couple. You stare down at your hand, it looks perfectly ordinary, you think you might have just imagined it all, what Taehyung did, but you realized on this island nothing was impossible.

“A-are you a wizard?” you interrupt the men’s arguing.

Taehyung turns back to you surprised and gives you a bright smile, “No, I just learned from one. He didn't call himself a wizard, though” he laughs, “I think the correct term is warlock?”

“Oh, okay, good to know,” you mumble. Jimin quietly seethes at the doorway.

“Why do you have chains on if you can’t leave this room?”

“Yeah, why do I have chains on, Jimin?” He turns to the vampire accusingly.

“Just wait until Seokjin comes,” Jimin mutters, and he pulls the dagger you used on Seokjin out of his back pocket, holding the handle with a handkerchief. “Nice trick, by the way, y/n. Seokjin is still healing himself from the fall. You’re going to regret not coming to me when I asked.” He glares at you.

“So that’s what fell!” Taehyung roars with laughter.

“I said I was sorry,” you mutter, biting your lip. How the hell are you going to get out of this situation now? As if you summoned the Devil himself, Seokjin appears next to Jimin.

You hide behind Tahyung out of instinct, grabbing onto his chained arm. Taehyung holds in his joy while the two vampires' expressions darken.

“Don’t fucking touch him!” Jimin seethes.

You let anger get the best of you and wrap your arms around Taehyung’s waist instead, glaring from behind his shoulder.

“Y/n-” “Don’t,” Taehyung interjects. “-get away from him,” Seokjin warns.

“Why?! How do I know you both aren’t going to murder me as soon as I leave this room?”

“Is there not a spell we can use to get her out?!” Jimin turns to Seokjin ignoring you. You grind your teeth. Two can play that game.

“Why are you locked in here? How do you know Yoongi and Namjoon?”

“Yoongi? We all met him when we came to the island.” Jimin screams Taehyung’s name to silence him, but he ignores him easily. “You should have seen Seokjin and Jimin, he got them all wet and they vowed to make sushi out of him!” he laughs, turning his body around in your arms to face you instead of the pair.

You look over to the two vampires who have gone quiet. “And Namjoon?”

“Taehyung..” Seokjin warns.

“What? I’m not even allowed to talk about it now?” Taehyung whines.

“Enough! Y/n come here...please.” You hadn’t expected a request from Seokjin. “I swear, I won’t punish you for what you’ve done, just come here.” he holds out his hand for you, you can see the magic swirl around his fingers, burning his skin. He winces, but doesn’t move his hand away, even when his tips begin to turn black with char.

“What about Jimin?”

“Yes, fine, I won’t punish you, just hurry the fuck up,” the younger vampire looks anxiously at Seokjin’s hand.

“Y/n, please no! I’ve been here by myself for so long, I can’t stand it! You’re the first person who’s visited me. I don’t want to be alone,” Taehyung whimpers, a high pitched whine as you hesitantly make your way to Seokjin. He reminds you so much of Jungkook. He paces around you, begging you to stay.

“I-I don’t want to be locked in that room anymore.”

“Okay! Just come here!” Jimin yells.

“How can I trust you? How do I know you won’t go back on your word?!”

“They will, y/n, please! Look, Jimin promised he would visit me, he lied!”

Seokjin pulls his hand away, completely burned black and puts out his other arm instead. “You’re just going to have to trust us, like we will have to trust you not to pull any more stunts. We’ll trust each other, okay?” Seokjin pleads with you.

“I-I’ll come back to visit you,” you say to Taehyung. “Right?” You turn to Seokjin who relents and gives you a hasty nod.

“No!” Taehyung whimpers, “They are going to lock you away! Please believe me! You’ll never be able to escape.”

You reach for Seokjin’s hand, but Taehyung jumps in between you, holding out his chained hands. “Look at them! Look closely, what are these made out of, y/n? LOOK!” You study the metal, it looks shiny and silver. It’s silver.

Seokjin lurches forward quickly, his suit catches fire, his warm hand grasps onto yours and pulls you out of the room and away from Taehyung and everything goes black.

---

You wake up in a different room. You’re not alone. Another woman sits on the bed next to you, she jumps when you wake up. It makes you jump, ‘fuck why is everyone so jumpy here?’ you think holding your head in your hands to calm your nerves.

You try to scoot away, and you feel a tug on your ankle, so you pull the covers off of you. You’re in a new dress, all white, like the sheets, like the woman’s dress next to you. You see a chain connected to your foot that reminds you of Taehyung’s shackles but darker metal. No. “My clothes!”

“They made me, I-I’m sorry, I had to give them your clothes. The necklace wouldn’t come off, I-I didn’t tell them,” the woman pulls at her sleeve. “I kept your secret, but I can’t promise you they won’t find out, Master might look into my memories.” Your hand traces the gold watch chain around your neck, calming down.

“Okay...thank you.” You whisper uneasily. “H-How long have you been here?”

The woman thinks, humming to herself. “I lost count, Master did give me this on our Fifth Year Anniversary!” She shows off the blood red jewelry dangling from her ears.

Ugh. “That’s nice,” you say and get out of bed. The dress is tight around you, covering your arms and flowing down to your ankles, the one place the fabric doesn’t touch is your neck, the hemline sits off your shoulders and plunges into a deep V. You scoot your way to the door until you can’t take it anymore and reach for the bottom of your dress, pulling the fabric until it tears.

You hear the woman let out a soft, “oh no.”

The chain stops you from reaching the door, even if you stretch out your legs you can’t grab the handle. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

You wheel your body back around, “Hey, what’s your name?”

The woman thinks, humming to herself. “I don’t remember.”

“Listen, I’m going to need you to-WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T REMEMBER?!”

The woman flinches from your volume. “Well Master calls me his little doll and I like that name a lot, and I just, well, forgot my other name.”

You take a deep breath as you try not to be sick. “Well Dolly, your MASTER IS A HUGE FUCKING ASSHOLE. YOU FUCKING LIARS!”

---

The group in the parlor turn their heads to the small voice echoing through the halls, Jimin winces, hearing your words clearly, moving one of the women off his lap. “She’s awake.”

“I’ll go-”

“It seems you failed at controlling her, brother. Why can’t I just try?”

Seokjin scoffs, “You can barely control yourself.”

Jimin’s jaw clenches. “I’ll-” he coughs, “-use restraint. I won’t hurt her.”

---

“Monsters!”

“Oh no, they’re going to be so mad.”

“Taehyung was right! I swear to God-”

“So so mad, oh no, oh no no no.”

“I won’t let you get away with this! Liars! Bastards!”

“Master!”

The door opens and Jimin stands against the door frame, ignoring your irateness and addressing your new roommate with a smile, “Hey Doll.”

Jimin standing in front of you had extinguished some of your rage and replaced it with apprehension, halting your tirade for now. “You fucking lied,” you glare at him.

“It’s not locked, I’m not forcing you to be here,” He looks over your shoulder, “Right Baby Doll?” The woman nods enthusiastically back. “The chain was a precaution, I’ll remove it, I promise. We just need to set some ground rules, okay pet?”

“I am not your fucking pet!”

He moves around you, like a buzzard circling it’s next meal, “You look so much better in this instead of that ugly sea dress.”

“Don’t I look pretty?” you hear the woman’s tiny voice ask Jimin.

“Of course!”

You rub your temples, “Jimin, just take this chain off me.”

“After everything you’ve done, and you’re still trying to make demands? Do you know how incredibly lucky you are? Can’t you just show a bit more gratitude like her?”

Jimin kisses the woman and she moans against him, deepening the kiss. You rub harder at your temples. You're chained, a captive audience to what ever the hell display is happening in front of you, becoming more uncomfortable and annoyed with each passing minute.

“Seriously?”

He drapes his arms around the woman’s shoulders and stares at you, “Jealous?”

You scoff. You think back to the version of him in Seokjin’s memories, with the other woman. You remember the tenderness in his eyes as he watched her and you swallow down the lump forming in your throat. You are not jealous! And anyways, Jimin’s tenderness is all gone now.

“She doesn’t even remember her name anymore.”

“She doesn’t seem to mind,” he winks at her, and the woman giggles at your exchange.

“Her entire life has been taken away! What happened, it’s worse than death.” You hug your arms close to your body. Was that going to become you if you stayed here?

“Worse than death?” Jimin echoes your words and you notice him stare at his reflection in the room’s mirror. You stand in silence, watching him as he runs a hand through his hair, pushing back the loose strands while the woman softly hums to herself a sweet melody. She doesn’t sense the looming danger all around you and it makes your chest tighten in anxiety.

“You’re right y/n. Come here.” He holds out his hand for her.

He pulls her into a kiss, she smiles against her lips. You awkwardly shift at the exchange. She seemed happy with Jimin, even if she couldn’t remember the person she was anymore. It makes you wonder if she had resisted in the beginning or had always been this irritatingly agreeable...or maybe she even loved him, maybe her love was the only thing left in her.

Jimin holds her face in his hands, dragging his lips across hers, a spectacle of two lovers. She’s beautiful like Jimin, they fit perfectly together, a rose and a thorn.

It happens so quickly you stand stunned, you don’t have time to scream or stop him. She’s on the ground, neck twisted, dead.

You’re so stunned you can’t even cry, you just shake, fallen to your knees, staring at her beautiful lifeless face. Her red earrings dangle from her ears catching the light.

“What have you done?” Your voice sounds tiny and high, like hers.

“I saved her from a fate worse than death, according to you. Isn’t that what you wanted?”

You can’t speak. He moves closer, putting a hand on your cheek, the same way he had held the woman’s head a few seconds ago. His cold finger wipes away your tears. When did you start crying?

“We aren’t liars. I’ll unchain you. So, will you behave now?”

---

You walk the halls during the sunlight. You stop by Taehyung’s door knocking four times, opening the door an inch. “I found this in the kitchen!”

“I’m...allergic.”

“Allergic to chocolate?! I-I’m sorry,” you mutter, though it doesn’t stop you from enjoying the bar yourself.

You lean forward into Taehyung’s room, he puts his chained arms over your head, and gives you a hug. He reminds you of Jungkook so much, sweet and gentle. But he’s not warm like him, he’s still a stranger to you, always dodging your questions. Namjoon’s words constantly play in your mind not to trust Taehyung. Even though out of everyone here, you trust him the most, you like him the most. Being able to spend time with him, even if your conversations are shallow and lighthearted, is the best part of your day.

“Y/n?”

“Hmm?”

“Why haven’t you escaped?” He whispers.

You play with the hem of your dress as a distraction, “I don’t know.”

He always asks you the same question and you always give him the same answer, but today Taehyung persists. “They won’t catch you if you go now! Isn’t that the whole reason you let yourself get caught?” Even though you hardly know anything about Taehyung, he knows so much about you already.

“I’m...I’m scared.”

He pats your head, you shake his hand away, lightly shoving him back. “I’m not a dog!”

Taehyung laughs, “Yeah, you’re a scaredy cat.”

“How dare you!” you hit his leg as he giggles.

“I want to show you something! It will help you when you finally escape!”

You cover his mouth with your hands, shushing him. Looking around to see if there were any others lurking around you, but no one ever comes around Taehyung. “What is it?”

“Well, um, you’ll have to come all the way inside.”

“...I can’t.” You move away from him again and lean your head against the door frame.

Taehyung sighs. “I knew you’d say that!” he whines. “Do you do everything Jimin says now?”

You roll your eyes, “Not even close,” you mutter. “And it’s not just Jimin...”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been told not to trust you...and you haven’t been very open with me, have you?” you look down at your hands, intertwined with his, you trace the gold markings along his chained wrists.

“It’s complicated,” he whispers.

“I can’t see how it could get more complicated than being a werewolf trapped in a house full of vampires.”

“It’s much more complicated,” he pulls on your arm, staring at you with pleading eyes. “Leave a shoe outside and they won’t notice you’ve come inside, I promise!”

You hum, searching for a compromise. “How about this,” you scoot over the entrance, sitting closer to Taehyung while making sure to keep your legs outside. “Technically, I am inside and also outside.”

“But the magic won’t work unless your body is fully inside here,” Taehyung pouts. “The spell on the room will clash with mine and who knows what will happen then!”

“How do you know so much about magic?”

“I can’t say…” Taehyung whispers.

Your expression turns sour, ‘What can you say...’ you think. “Well can’t you just like, Houdini yourself out of here?”

Taehyung shakes his head regretfully. “No, if only it were that simple. And please don’t ask me to explain,” he teases. Taehyung scoots behind you and pulls your body onto his lap. “Let’s stay like this for a while.”

“Okay,” you hum.

“Let go of each other!” You wake up on the floor with Taehyung cuddled to your side, one lone foot of yours still remains outside the door. Jimin pulls on your foot before you can untangle yourself from Taehyung, dragging the rest of your body into the hallway. Taehyung grunts, waking up as you’re pulled from his embrace.

You blink away the sleep from your eyes, face-to-face with Jimin, his head hovering over yours, eyes bright red with anger.

“Leave her alone, Jimin!”

“I-I am allowed to talk to him,” your words come out small and high when you finally speak and you hate it, the way your fear strangles your voice.

“On one condition, just one.” Jimin hisses.

“W-well, t-technically-”

"You're being so unfair!" Taehyung yells. "Do you like her that much?"

“Tae, enough!” He slams the door in Taehyung’s pleading face.

There is a bang on the door, only once, so loud and strong it shakes the entire connecting wall, the picture frames wobble and dust falls from the ceiling, the sound so abrupt and booming it makes you, and even Jimin, flinch.

---

“Jimin told me you were in a...compromising position, with Tae today.” You and him watch the stars from your bedroom window, now locked.

Your stomach tightens. “Taehyung is lonely, maybe if Jimin spent time with him I wouldn’t have to,” you mutter.

“Do you care about Taehyung?” Jin’s eyes study your features, his sharp hearing picks up your heartbeat, waiting to hear any lies in your answers.

“No, I just-He’s the only normal person here.”

“Person? Normal?” Jin quietly laughs.

“A werewolf is a person too.”

“Ahhh, so you think Tae is a werewolf.”

“He is, isn’t he?” You spin around to look at Jin but his poker face is as strong as ever as he smiles down at you.

“Is a vampire a person too?”

You chew on your bottom lip, “I guess so,” you side eye the man next to you, “Deep down. Somewhere.”

Jin kisses your lips softly, carrying you back to your bed and placing you beneath him. You’ve managed to latch onto Jin since that night, a lesser of two evils. The vampire truly was a forgiving man, and even if parts of you were weakened by fear, your mind had impressively blocked Seokjin’s pull since that night as well, so he had deemed you his personal pet project, his puzzle to solve, keeping Jimin an arm’s length away from you.

Jin was nice, sometimes. And sometimes, you enjoyed his company too.

You play with his soft blond locks. You know the pain is coming eventually, so you do everything you can to distract yourself, admiring the vampire’s beautiful features before you. He pulls the deep neckline of your dress easily down your body, exposing your chest to his piercing eyes. His eyes stop on the gold piece nestled in your cleavage, like always, he ignores it. He knows what it is, what he doesn’t know is why Namjoon gave it to you.

The cold air and Seokjin’s cold fingers kneading your breasts sends you into a bout of shivers, when he drags his tongue across your skin you arch your back and push your chest closer to his soft lips. He’s so gentle with you now. Sometimes, you wish he was rougher, like the Seokjin you witnessed with Namjoon.

“Won’t you let me in again, Dove?” Namjoon’s watch falls into the dip in your clavicle, replaced by Jin's fangs as he bites the flesh of your breasts, his fingers pull at your nipples distracting you from the pain. He doesn’t drain you unconscious anymore, instead Seokjin likes to covers your skin in lovebites, taking all night with you.

“I-I can’t control it.”

“Let’s practice control,” Seokin smirks, lips stained red, and he moves his hands down your body.

He takes time stretching you full with his fingers, his lips never leaving your chest, steadily building up the pressure inside you with each quick stroke of his thumb against your core until you’re tightening around his digits. “Don’t cum.”

You tense around him, unable to successfully hold in your moans. “I can’t. I’m going to-”

“Just try, Dove.” You would hope he’d stop moving his fingers, at least slow down, but he’s steady and relentless, his digits pushing inside you in the most perfect mind-numbing pace. There’s no way you could stop your impending orgasm, but you try to hold it off, just two more three four five agonizing seconds longer. Seokjin sucks on the sensitive skin of your breast, mouth pulling as much of the mound as he can fit inside while you pulse around his digits. You feel his teeth sink deep into your flesh and his name escapes your lips in a strangled moan.

His usual dull eyes look up at you shinning with desire. “Let’s try again.”

---

“I brought biscuits.” You hold up the sweet cookies in front of Taehyung’s confused face.

“Thank you, y/n.” Taehyung gives you a bright smile and hugs you extra tight when you peek your head into his room.

“Ready to escape?”

“I-I don’t know.”

Taehyung pouts. “You’re-I'm-” Taehyung struggles to say the right words, “We’re running out of time, y/n.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just need a couple minutes with you, please. I have everything ready!” Taehyung runs to his desk, pulling together a stack of papers. “You want to see everyone again, don’t you? You friends and family?” he pleads.

Your family, you’re ashamed to admit you haven’t thought about them. It wasn’t even purposeful, your mind just had stopped wandering to thoughts of them.

Yoongi, Namjoon, Jungkook, and Hoseok, you couldn’t bring yourself to think about them anymore either, it hurt too much. The small traces of their personalities that Taehyung reminded you of had become sufficient enough as you tolerated living. “W-What do you mean we’re running out of time?”

“I think I have just enough magic to fill your necklace,” he whispers, “but if I remember correctly, that model only holds twelve weeks worth of time. How long have you been on this island, y/n?”

Your fingers clutch at Namjoon’s watch resting against your heart. Could you really rewind back time to when you never got on that damned boat! “I-I just need to take off a shoe?”

Taehyung’s face lights up. “Yeah, or something that has your scent that they can still sense, just in case”

“So the more I leave the less noticeable it would be?”

“Well, I guess so?”

You look around at the hallway, still empty like always, and pull off both shoes from your feet. “Do you have a shirt I can borrow?” You begin to shimmy out of your dress. Taehyung’s eyes go wide, and he wets his drying lips, then he springs into action, searching his closet for something to cover you. You pull his large sweater over your body and take a hesitant step inside.

Taehyung wraps you into his arms in a proper hug, holding you close. “I’m so happy you found me, y/n. I’m so happy.” He whispers.

He holds you tight to him, you're ashamed how affected you are by his kind gestures, you shouldn’t feel this way about someone who Namjoon told you to stay away from, it felt like a betrayal. “Don’t forget about me once you escape,” Taehyung whispers.

You melt into his embrace. “I won’t. Isn’t there a way to break the spell on the island? There just has to be! There has to be a way to save you and Yoongi and-”

“You like him,” Taehyung pouts.

“What? Who? Yoongi?!” Your face flushes hot.

“I don’t like sharing,” Taehyung mumbles into his sweater currently draped over your shoulders.

You swallow thickly. “Tae?”

He pulls away, holding you loosely, searching your eyes. During your interactions, you usually kept your attention around Taehyung, unable to focus too long on his intimidating aura and good looks, worried you'd start feeling too much for the mysterious man, worried you'd disappoint Namjoon. But now Taehyung is all around you, and his magnetism is too strong for you to resist. “Tae-”

His kiss is brief, however no less impactful, the way he pours his desires into you until your lost in a haze, following his lips as he pulls away, entranced by the small smile he shows you.

When he lifts his chained arms over your head, he pulls your necklace off as well. You were surprised how easily he removed it, when even Jimin couldn’t pull it off you (much to the vampire’s annoyance). You watched intently as Taehyung turns the watch's dial and whispers a spell in a language you can’t understand. “There, it worked, I set it to the full twelve weeks. you’ll know when to use it.” He places the watch around your neck again, his fingers cupping your cheeks and he rests his forehead against yours, content. Your face burns hot, Taehyung is so affectionate and sweet and treats you like glass.

This close, you can peer into his deep warm brown eyes, irises twinkling back at you so beautifully, it looks like gold swirls in them. “Just one more thing, and then the world is ours,” he says.

---

You sit up in your bed abruptly. Your fingers search for Namjoon’s watch as you try to steady your breathing. The hard gold feels comforting against the tips of your fingers as your eyes adjust to the darkness. You’re reminded of the night you first arrived. But gone is Yoongi’s colorful dress, the clinical white fabric of your new dress, sits tight around your body like a straight jacket and blends in with the white bed sheets.

Weren’t you just with Taehyung, what happened? You remember he told you you were running out of time. Then what happened?

You have to go find him!

You leave the bed and search out his room again. Jimin passes you in the halls, as quiet as a cat, startling you so much you almost fall if it weren't for his fast reflexes. “There you are, ugh I figured you’d be headed to Tae’s room,” Jimin frowns, “Let’s go.”

“Where are you taking me?” You fight against his grip as he pulls you in the opposite direction.

“I haven’t fed in weeks, and my favorite meal is gone because of you.”

You shut your eyes tight, trying to push away the images of the woman who haunts your dreams.

“So you’re taking her place.”

“What?!” You're doing what now? “J-Jin said-”

“Are you his parrot now? Well lucky for me, tonight Jin went to go speak with Yoongi,” he says smugly.

You step into Jimin’s room. The dresser was covered with random items that don’t seem personalized to the vampire’s taste at all. Unread books, countless jewelry pieces, and a plethora of knives.

“Don’t even think about it, pet.” Jimin warns as he sees your eyes stop on the sleek blades.

“I wasn’t,” you mutter. It was the truth.

There’s no window in his room, no mirrors, just wood furniture, covered in scratches and dents of aggression. The areas of his room, like his dresser, are littered with things, so many discarded things. The room is soulless, like Jimin, it feels like a lavish prison cell.

“So,” you don’t look at Jimin, instead you look at his things, trying to find some sense of his personality, “I guess you’re going to finally prove to me you aren’t impotent after all?” you mock. You know you shouldn't poke the beast, but Jimin is like an annoying itch you can't help but scratch.

Jimin scoffs, “Slut, can you go a night without getting fucked?”

“Can you?!”

Jimin smirks. “I'm almost going to miss that.”

You take a step away from him at his words. “What are you going to do?”

“Jin is too sentimental, he only skims the surface of his powers now. There is another aspect to a memory pull, it’s much more fun. Can you guess what that is, pet?”

You’ve been guessing and trying to make sense of everything since that night. “That woman's memories, you took them, right?”

Jimin claps his hands, slow and mocking at your right answer. “It’s not a simple task, but she was particularly compliant,” he bites his lip in memory. “She was much more willing to part with her past, her previous life wasn’t so great if you were wondering...some would see what I did as a blessing.”

The vampire stands in front of you cupping your cheek. “But I’m sure you...” his hand follows your jaw, “...will put up an impressive fight.”

You let out the breath you've been holding, if you can do what happened to Jin, maybe you can find something you can use against him. Maybe his torture won’t work on you...!

“You’re going to regret this,” you say, pulling your head away from his hand.

He laughs, “I regret not doing this sooner.” Jimin was tired of Jin's special treatment of you, all these new rules, all the things you've gotten away with when he wasn't even allowed to drink from you, follow his most basic of urges, it was annoying, you were annoying.

You feel exposed under his penetrating stare, you turn your head and hold your wrist out to Jimin, “Well? Go right ahead.” You think the inevitable has been dragged out long enough.

He looks at your wrist, lips rolling over his tongue as his fingers glide over the thin skin, and then he pulls you closer so you stumble into him, yelping. He looks up and down your body, his hair brushing against your forehead, the strands ticking you. You're supposed to hate each other, but the way he holds you and touches you, it’s too intimate, too rough and too soft for you to make sense of it.

“Do you have to ruin all the dresses we give you?” He noticed the slit you cut into your too long dress.

“Why are they so tight?” you say, watching his eyes as they roam over your exposed skin, feeling hot from his attention. You try to keep your thoughts calm, pure, so he doesn't notice what he's doing to you. “I can barely walk around.”

“Then maybe you should stay on your back,” his voice low and taunting. His free hand reaches for the torn fabric and as quick as a flash Jimin tears the slit higher up to your hip bone.

Your hands attempt to pull the slit closed in vain, and Jimin takes the opportunity to pull at the neckline of your dress, ripping the line even lower, exposing your cleavage to him. You slap him across the face, like you would have done any other man, but Jimin is not just a man, not anymore. He turns his face around and you see his fangs against his curled lip, he looks delighted, like you gave him just the reaction he wanted.

He grabs you around the waist and you feel vertigo as you're thrown across the room. You land on his bed, sinking into the mattress, and before you can scream Jimin is hovering over you.

“Your foreplay sucks.”

Jimin pulls your head back, laughing down at you.

"Get it?" you struggle to speak, “because you're a-”

You scream as Jimin finally bites the column of your neck, his body weight pressing down on you. Pain erupts and you can barely breath. His bite is somehow even more painful than Jin's, you hit his shoulders, pull at his shirt, trying to push him away to release you.

---

“What’s your name?” You can barely hear Seokjin’s voice over the trumpets of the band.

“Jimin.” He yells back.

“Military man,” the bartender nods to his uniform, “This one is on the house.”

“Thanks, um?”

“Seokjin.”

Jimin pulls his bottom lip in, studying the handsome stranger. “Thank you Seokjin.”

---

Jimin pulls away from your neck, breathing heavy. You laugh, and laugh, feeling exhilarated, eyes meeting the vampire while you laugh again. Did you just beat Jimin at his own game?

Your laughter stops when Jimin flips you on your stomach. His fingers dig into your hair, bending your back up to meet his chest. You grunt, jaw slack. “Still waiting to see what you've got, Jimin.”

You’re confusing. Jimin doesn’t even smell fear on you anymore, even when he tightens his grip. You must be feeling overwhelmed, like Jimin, who is trying to make sense of the long forgotten emotions coursing through him right now.

For the first time in a long time, Jimin feels uncomfortable, struggling to make sense of your taunts and why you aren’t submitting. Something unpleasant inside him stirs. He’ll make you regret acting like this, he’ll break you in half until you beg for mercy. He’ll do it. So why isn’t he doing it?

“Well?!”

“Fuck, you’re annoying,” he hisses into your ear.

“So I’ve been told, military man.”

Jimin knows you're goading him, yet still, blind rage courses through his veins, stinging his chest. He rips the back of your dress, tearing it down the center.

Was Jimin fulfilling a twisted fantasy you had ever since you saw Namjoon and Seokjin fuck that nameless woman senseless? Could you admit that to yourself as you feel your core become wetter as he presses his hand down onto your bare back.

You push up on your elbows, but Jimin uses his strength to push you back down, holding your head down. His sharp hearing can hear your muffled moan and the unpleasant feeling in the center of his body twists again.

"You like this?" He groans, affected by the smell of your lust. “Fuck, you act like such a desperate slut.” He palms his dick, needing a release. His moans fill your ears as his stokes himself to the state of your body.

You feel his spit hit your skin, his hard length running along your center, covering his member in your juices and his saliva. His tip teasing your entrance, you push back into him seeking more, and his hands hold you down, making you all the more feverish.

Your arousal hits the vampire’s senses in waves, affecting him more than usual as he tightens his grip to keep you still, focusing on the blood blotting your neck. His cock runs up your slit until he rests over your second hole. You look over your shoulder, prepared to taunt the vampire even more, but his dark expression, filled with carnal desire, slightly unraveled, entirely captivated by you, sends your thoughts into a tailspin.

Jimin pushes his thick length into you, stretching you over his cock, inch by inch until your whole body spasms.

Jimin stayed pressed up against you, a small kindness, his fingers circling your aching core. “Don’t-” you moan, and he stills against you, “d-don’t hold back.”

"I wasn't intending to."

And he doesn't. Your orgasm wracks through you, you feel so full and empty as your walls clench down on nothing while he pounds himself into you relentlessly. You start to shake in overstimulation. His thrusts are wild, your neck is there, you smell so delicious and he's so close to release.

When you come close again, at the peak of arousal, he bites down on your soft skin. You yell, clenching around him even tighter.

“This is your fault.”

You see Tae laugh, so unlike his usual sweet boisterous laugh, he chuckles deep, fighting against the chains around him, his wrist markings glowing gold, then deep orange like fire. “No, this is your fault. You were supposed to kill Jin, we could have had everything we ever wanted. How could you betray me like this?”

Jimin’s hands go lax around your waist, so you put yours over his, holding on as tight as you can.

You see Seokjin and Jimin under a street lamp, you and Jimin watch the way the flies dance around the bulb.

“You’re a vampire.”

Seokjin tenses, so Jimin continues, “I saw you with that girl, the regular with black hair.” His eyes scan the man beside him.

“And what are you going to do now?” Seokjin’s words come out low, almost menacing. Jimin laughs.

“Would you believe me if I said you’re not the strangest thing I’ve seen?” Breaking the awkward silence, Jimin brings an arm over Seokjin’s broad shoulders, pulling the man into a headlock. “I forgive you for always ditching me for lunch.” He teases.

Jimin releases his mouth from your neck.

You shift beneath him to look up at the vampire. Jimin’s bite wasn’t as meticulous as Seokjin’s who knew how to expertly pierce an artery, so you weren’t profusely bleeding, but the wounds still ached. Seokjin has the precision of a doctor, Jimin is messy, wild, his entire front is covered in blood. Jimin's eyes were unfocused, you could tell he was lost in thought.

“Jimin?”

“Enough,” his voice shakily commands you. “I’ll just take the part of you that keeps doing this.”

He pierces your exposed flesh once more concentrating harder.

---

Jimin is tiny. His head reaches the older woman’s knee as he hugs her leg. He points to the butterfly, wings fluttering back and forth slowly as it sits on a leaf Jimin found.

“I fixed it, see!”

“My beautiful son,” she kisses the top of his head, laughing at his cuteness. She looks weak and fragile, sunken eyes and skin pale.

“I’ll fix you too, I’ll learn!” He hugs her leg tighter. She soothes her little boy, knowing it’s already too late for her.

“Grow up to be a doctor, heal people.”

---

He pulls away from you. His eyes look wild, like an animal’s, caught. “Stop looking into my mind!” He screams.

“I can’t control it!” You’re just as stunned as Jimin, you never expected to see a version of himself so innocent.

Jimin holds you down by the neck, he doesn’t squeeze your neck enough to stop your breathing, even though he should, he thinks, he can’t do it, he can’t bring himself to tighten his grip.

“Do it again and I’ll fucking kill you,” he lies.

“I said I can’t control it, asshole!” you struggle against his hold, “Maybe if you weren’t so weak-minded-”

Jimin roars. Pressing his weight back on you, his fangs strike at the sensitive flesh between your collar bone. Your first kiss was so special to you, you could still remember it to this day. You were young, awkward and shy, he was your first crush, a cute boy, his features reminded you of one of your favorite idols at the time, who was-

What did he look like? What was his name? When did he kiss you again? It was after school, you think, you can’t remember. How did he kiss you? That’s right, it was an awkward kiss, because you and him were...friends? Weren’t you? You can’t remember, you can’t remember what had happened, it was so special to you and now it’s gone.

Jimin sucks harder onto your skin, pulling more blood out of you. He took it, your first kiss, you know he did. Jimin, if that sweet little boy could see himself now.

You start to cry. You cry for your stolen first kiss.

His teeth sink into your neck again, pulling more blood greedily, trying to silence the memories he found with the steady beating of your pulse instead. He drags his fangs across your skin, more blood releases, so much blood lost already that everything spins around you. “Jimin!”

He covers your mouth to stop your protests. Jimin seems determined to lose himself again, ravaging your body with more bites. So you close your eyes and your thoughts drift to the young boy.

“Good job!” the soft voice of his mothers fills both your minds. Jimin holds a syringe full of milk to a tiny kitten’s mouth. “You have to take care of her now, remember, treat her gently. There you go!”

“She’s so cute, momma, I love her.”

“You both have to watch out for each other when I’m not around, okay?”

You can hear Jimin whimper into your neck.

You feel sadness wash over you. He could have been a doctor, he could have been a healer. He is, in some twisted way, he been given the gift of healing, and yet he uses it to inflict pain. Even if he wanted to pretend he didn’t experience it, you felt the love that he held so dearly for his mother as a small child. You can hear his laughter, he had the same laugh as his mother.

‘Jimin, I’m going to save you too.’

---

You wake up healed, your head pounding. You look around, Jimin lies next to you, he’s out like a light. You both look like you’ve been in a massacre. Your clothes shredded and blood everywhere. You move away from him, his features look angelic, but his skin is covered in dried blood, like a killer. What the hell happened? You take a step and your legs buckle, you cry out when you knee hits the hard floor. The vampire next to you sways, moves across the bed until he falls completely out of it, groaning.

You crawl your body to the other side of the bed where he is still lying on the floor.

When you look at him again, meeting his eyes, you come to a realization. You know his secret.

“Oh Jimin...”

“Y/n...” his voice is shaky, he covers his face with his hands and his soft cries fill the room. You struggle to get up, everything feels tilted on an axis. You sway and hit furniture as you make your way to the door.

There’s a ringing in your head that won’t leave. You follow the halls down to Seokjin’s office, a place Jimin has been so many times before, retracing his footsteps from a memory of his.

Taehyung���s spell worked just as he said, opening the door to Seokjin’s office, the bright markings glowed and then burnt away from your skin, leaving a trace of ash. ‘Taehyung,’ you’ll have to deal with him later, you think. First you need to get away, as far from the island as you can and try to find Jimin’s family.

There’s a large door to the right of his desk, wood an alien shade of purple. The high pitched ringing in your ears makes the room sway again, but you’re able to grip the handle and fall through to the other side.

---

You sit on the floor of a tiny shop. There’s intricate gold pieces; statues, vases, piled high on countless of glass shelves, every inch of the shop is filled with items, it reminds you of someone but you can’t remember who. You can’t even remember how you got here. Where the hell are you? It feels dangerous, it feels wrong.

You move to a corner and hug your knees to your body. ‘Where am I? Wait, who am I?’ You try to remember anything, any memory from your childhood, from your adulthood. And the past five minutes replays in your mind instead. Gold jewelry in glass cases and the feeling that you shouldn't be here, and a deep voice in your head whispers, “y/n.”

Y/n, is that your name? Your hands skim over the fabric of your torn dress, looking for pockets, looking for anything that might explain something to you. You need to get out of here, you need to leave, but you don’t even know where you are.

You hear a ding, a bell alerting an opening door. You hear a man speak to another. You run out the door while the man behind you lets out a surprised yell to come back.

You run and you run, past buildings past people. You’re barefoot, your clothes hang off you. Eventually you stop. Eventually you decide to ask an old couple who looks unthreatening where you are while you unsuccessfully try not to burst into tears. The old woman holds your hands and strokes your arm to calm you while the husband calls the police.

At first they suspected you were a victim of abuse. They took you to a hospital. The doctors performed several tests on you, each one worse than the last. You had no old memories, and all your new ones were horrible. Clinical, painful, strangers prodding and poking your body. Your dreams were filled of palm trees and warm sunshine on your skin, a sparkling blue ocean, laughter, happiness. So you slept most of the day.

Then one day, detectives came with nurses and they told you who you were. That it took so long because you had been pronounced dead over a month ago. Your parents were on a flight to come get you. You listened to them explain the events hoping to have a jog of memory but nothing comes. They talk about the boat, the crash, no survivors. Always another horrible new piece of information. When will it end?

When your parents picked you up, a lovely man and woman who you tried desperately to remember, the hospital staff gave you a bag with the clothes they found you in. There was a gold pocket watch, an item you didn’t remember having, but you didn’t remember anything, so it didn’t surprise you. You told them to throw everything away, but you kept the watch with you.

You have to stay with them, everything in your life had been reduced to a few boxes they had kept. You lost your home, your identity, you had no money, no job, the only thing you acquired during this whole time was a death certificate.

You start remembering your childhood, slowly at first, a memory here and there, a fall and cut knee, a tea party with stuffed animals, a school field trip, and then years at a time.

You found yourself again. You remembered who you were, your entire life up until you didn’t, the memories fracturing at the end, and the harder you tried to remember how you could have ended up in a different country across the world, your mind would construct horrible images instead, blood, drowning, and death. You couldn’t bare to think of it.

---

“Y/n!” you make your way into the coffee shop, you reconnected with some old childhood friends now that you were back in your hometown.

“Hey, oh my god, who is this big cutie?” Your friend’s dog barks excitedly while you fluff the black fur on his head. He’s so cute, his ears flop to the side with each happy bark.

“Y/n, are you okay?”

“Huh?”

“You’re...well you’re crying?” She looks at you concerned.

You touch your wet cheeks. Why? You don’t know when it started, but as your friend’s dog nudges his head into your palm for more pets, your heart aches.

---

One night, a crazy thought enters your mind. You want to go back to that shop. You want answers. You leave a note for your parents telling them your intentions and pack your freshly made identification cards and travel documents into a suitcase.

So here you are again, in a foreign country, alone again, filled with purpose that seems to pull you in despite how terrified you are.

You scroll through your phone while you lie on the hard foreign hotel mattress. You open a map of where you are on your phone, and zoom out until you see water.

There's islands around the peninsula, you zoom into each one and search each name on your phone, learning each habitat, who lives there, if it is accessible. You do that to pass the time until you fall asleep.

“It’s too dangerous.”

You reach for the merman, grabbing at Yoongi’s shirt and pulling him closer, your eyes meeting his. “Explain.”

Yoongi is taken aback, licking his lips trying to think of a good way to start. "We made a blood pact to protect this island from the outside world, it's indiscoverable and once anyone does come here, they can't leave."

"Why..." you let go of his shirt, but he stays close, "Why would you do that?"

"Think, just think what you humans have done to the world...the others needed some place safe to go to and I-" the merman huffs, "At the time, I thought...well, they were...at the time I didn't mind sharing the island with them. "

Your fingers roll over the bracelets Yoongi put on you. "That was nice of you." The merman glares at you in return.

"You know, they'd come here, we all spent time together." Yoongi's stare is faraway and distant. "In the beginning, at least."

"I-I'm sorry." You hold his hand, and he stares at your fingers only briefly before shaking you off.

"Whatever, I'm surprised they didn't start trying to tear each others throats out sooner," He mutters. "We had portals of course to leave when we wanted to, but one day Namjoon and those dumb dogs destroyed all the portals-"

"What?! Why would they do that?"

"I don't know all the details, but I believe Namjoon did it to protect the rest of his pack. I can respect him for that...but the problem is they trapped us all here like idiots!"

"Is that why you're helping Jin and Jimin?"

"What? To get back at Namjoon? Pfft no. Jin came to me with a deal. He looked off, sick, and he offered me anything I wanted, so I helped him. That's it."

"So technically you can leave the island?"

"I can swim the waters, but I can only go so far, the magic always pulls me back eventually, it's useless to try," he mutters.

You hum.

"Anyways, what Namjoon doesn't know is Jin used some leftover magic and created a portal. Jin has lots of friends that serve him, owe him favors, he uses it as a delivery system."

"So you think if I?"

"That's the only portal I know of, but the magic is dangerous, the vampires put so many protections on their house, they won't even go through it themselves, there has to be a reason, right?"

"I...I'll take my chances."

"They wont even chance going through it, and you will?"

"Yes! And what if I can find a way to break the spell? Then you can finally leave! Yoongi, you have to let me at least try!"

"You're going to get yourself killed one way or another," Yoongi scoffs.

"No, I refuse to believe that."

"You're impossible to understand."

"I'm going through that portal. Then I'll come back for you."

"Wait, you'll come back?" Yoongi asks.

"Well, yeah, if you help me, a deal is a deal. Yoongi please, help me come up with a plan and I swear to you I'll come back with your payment. You're the only one who can search the ocean, you just have to find me again, so what do you say merman?"

"I'll find you again."

---

Your alarm wakes you up. 'What a weird dream,' it felt so realistic. Like all your dreams, the more you think about it, the less you remember, but that man's scarred eyes, whose name you forgot already, they stay with you.

You brush your teeth and wash your face. You notice something as you rinse off your skin. 'What the hell is that?' You inspect the gold writing behind your ear. Taking some more soap, you work to remove it but it doesn’t come off, the glittery ink is permanent. You rubbed your skin raw trying to take it off, it didn’t look like a tattoo, but nothing you did would get rid of the gold markings. You pace around your hotel room, things are getting weirder and you start to feel a nagging sense of dread, but there's a voice inside you that says to keep going until you find the answers you are looking for.

You don't walk right into the shop at first, instead casing out the place. You drink coffee at a nearby restaurant and keep watch on the shop. There are not many visitors, and those who do enter are not who you would expect. You would think maybe some older people who were looking for vintage items would decide to enter, or eccentric younger people, but it was almost always a intimidatingly large man entering, bringing items in rather than taking items out.

You’ve gotten into the habit of playing with the gold chain around your neck, the gold pocket watch had become a permanent accessory.

It's almost closing time for the restaurant, so you reluctantly make your way to the shop, and walk in after a group of tourists.

The shop looks different than what you remember, new items litter the shelves. You hide behind the large cases, studying the objects, until you come across something that makes you hesitate. A necklace with a large red gem hidden behind a thick glass case with a lock.

“You’re that girl! You...you came back.” Your head turns into the direction of the voice, a very old man stares back at you. He looks at you incredulously while you can only stare back dumbly. “C'mon, let’s go,” the old man says, he grabs your elbow. “Seokjin should be awake by now.”

“Let me go! You can’t keep me here!” You pull away from his grasp, your hand tightens around the amulet.

He laughs at you amused, giving you some space. “You walked into my shop, did you not? You don’t want to talk to Seokjin?”

“I…” Do you?! Would he know what happened to you, why does it make you shiver hearing his name.

Wait...you look down at your hand, to make sure you didn't imagine it, and there you see the necklace in the middle of your palm, heavy in your hand, you hide it behind your back, looking over your shoulder to the empty case, the shock of it makes you freeze.

The man looks at you cautiously, “Why are you here, girl? Are you here for Seokjin?”

Seokjin. That name fills you with dread. A vision of a man flashes across your mind only briefly, “I d-don’t know.” The old man raises an eyebrow at you. “Stay here, girl. I'll be right back.”

Where is he going? What is he going to do with you? Your mind spins and the skin behind your ear stings. 'Now y/n. Do it now.' that deep voice is back. You panic when the old man comes back with two others.

'Use the watch, y/n. Use the watch. NOW!'

---

“On one condition, just one.” Jimin hisses.

As you lie on the ground you feel like the weight of the world just crashed upon you. Your chest feels like it’s going to explode, there’s a ringing in your ears, the skin behind your ear still burns hot.

Jimin noticed the sudden shift in your demeanor, the way your heart begins to race as you start to break down. Every day, starting on the night your boat was capsized, replays in your mind as you start to remember your time on the island. You see Taehyung, who looks at you and then his eyes go wide, realizing the situation, eyes ablaze with growing excitement.

“It worked, didn’t it?” Taehyung’s deep baritone voice breaks the silence. You can only take in shaky breaths as your tear filled eyes try to focus on where you are. You traveled back in time, precisely twelve weeks to the second, you’re back on the island, thrown back into your nightmare like you never left. The only difference now is your left hand clutches a second pocket watch, now broken, and your right hand clutches the amulet.

Jimin looks between you and Taehyung. “What have you done?” Jimin accuses Taehyung, whose eyes haven’t left yours. Taehyung’s lips curve into an encouraging smile, he holds out his chained wrists to you. The vampire whips his head in your direction, but it’s already too late. You throw the amulet into Taehyung’s awaiting hands. You didn’t want to give it to him, but as if Taehyung had pulled strings around your body, you complied to his silent request. The minute the gem touches his skin, the gold markings around his wrists burn away.

The explosion knocks you back meters, everything is broken, everything is dust, you can’t see and your body aches. You hear screaming and yelling and groans of pain. You crawl through the debris searching for a way out.

Red light flashes through the smoke. You choose to crawl towards it, hearing Jin’s loud booming voice.

Taehyung pulls you back, his body behind you like it just materialized out of thin air. "C’mon y/n. Let’s escape."

“This...This is all your fault!” He looked surprised by your reaction.

“What you think you know, you’re mistaken.” He lifts you to your feet easily.

It feels like the air around you is vibrating, your body feels lighter in Taehyung’s presence.

“Please let me go,” you cry.

“Don’t worry, once we escape, we’ll be fine again.” His hand holds your hip tight to his body as he drags you in the direction of the portal.

Seokjin crashes into you both, knocking Taehyung away from you. You hear their struggle, and you’re back to crawling away through the smoke helplessly. Your fingers hit the hard cold gem of the amulet, and you wrap the chain around your fingers.

You can’t remember how you found the stairs, the wood half shattered, or the exit, blown wide open by magic, you can’t remember leaving the mansion, you just remember once your bare feet hit the soft grass outside you ran and you didn’t stop running, until you heard the sounds of waves. You ran until water hit your feet and then you screamed.

---

YAY I FINISHED THIS MONSTER OF A CHAPTER (Get it? I’ll shut up). Thank god, I felt as trapped in this chapter as y/n in that damn room :’). Okay, but now we’re getting somewhere! What do you think is going to happen now? Looks like this story might finally be headed off the island :D. I’m excited!

Questions to ponder for the next chapter: What is Jimin’s secret? Looks like there was a good reason for keeping Taehyung locked away, so what is his ultimate goal? What did Taehyung do to you? And why are Jin and Namjoon no longer friends?! Those are just some of the questions floating around in my mind as I am writing the next chapter, now do you have any questions you want answers to? Let me know! <3

[yourtamaki]

the wanderer’s lodestone

dabi x f!reader

word count: 3.6k

warnings: violence, detail of injury, murder, morally grey reader, dry humping, mutual masturbation, oral (m receiving), angst ending

if there was one thing dabi has learned over the years, it was that people always fell in one of two categories. there were those who would meet his gaze and those who avoided it. he’s not sure which is worse. the brave ones and their wide eyes, always staring at his marred skin with such sick fascination it made his palms itch in the worst way. or the spineless bastards whose eyes stayed glued to the ground when he walked past only to gawk at him like a sideshow freak when they thought he wasn’t looking.

two sides of the same judgemental coin, all part of the same corrupt society that preaches love until someone doesn’t fit their mold. it was getting harder to differentiate between them and at some point he stopped trying all together. what did it matter if he couldn’t remember how it felt to be regarded like a human being? he didn’t need to be human to carry out his vengeance, he only needed to be alive. 

that changed when he met you. 

it wasn’t his cleanest break-in but he couldn’t care less, too busy focused on not passing out from blood loss. it was shit luck that the alley he had chosen to rest in was part of a new hero’s patrol route. the kid was clearly scared out of his mind when he realized dabi wasn’t just another thug on the streets, his pale face illuminated in the night by blue flame. it was a shame, for a rookie the kid had talent with his dagger quirk, being able to throw and call them back at will, even change their trajectory midair. he could’ve made it far in the ranks. 

dabi wondered if they’d bury him with his daggers, scorched bones and all. 

it wasn’t his problem anymore. all he cared about was finding something clean to wrap the nasty cut on his abdomen. there was no special reason he chose your bedroom window to climb through. it was the first apartment with a fire escape he stumbled upon just far enough away from the ashes of the pro hero that he wouldn’t have to worry about being followed. your dim window was the first he reached and it didn’t take much effort to jam a knife between the glass and the lock to force it open. he thought the place might be empty for the night when he stepped inside and heard no signs of life. he got to work tearing the bedsheets in long strips and was nearly done when you walked in. 

there were people who met his gaze and there were people who avoided it. you were neither. 

you saw him. 

even in near darkness, your eyes found his and didn’t flinch at the monster that stared back. the room stayed silent as you seized each other up save the drops of blood that slipped past where he held his wound shut and splattered on the floor. 

“could you not rip my sheets up?” 

your voice was enough to startle him from his initial shock, twirling the knife once before going back to cutting up the fabric. “i need them more than you do. i’ll be gone in a minute, scream and i’ll kill you.” 

you scoffed but didn't reply, walking across the room and flipping the light on in a bathroom he hadn’t seen earlier. a wave of irritation washed over him as he watched you rummage through drawers. who would turn their back to someone who broke into their home? did you have no self preservation? 

you walked back, tossing several things onto the bed before making your way back deeper into the apartment. “close the window on your way out.” 

and with that you’re gone. a part of him wanted to chase you, to tie up the loose end but the memory of your eyes kept him frozen in place. the thought of those same eyes looking at him with fear made his gut twist and he didn’t understand why. he grabbed whatever you tossed at him, the few strips he’d managed to make and left the way he came. it’s not until he’s found an empty alley to rest in did he inspect the items. ace bandages, an entire bottle of hydrogen peroxide, fish wire and a sewing needle. 

your kindness tasted like pity and acid. he couldn’t convince himself to spit it out even as it burned a hole straight through his tongue. 

dabi hated you and he etched that hatred into his skin, stitch by painful stitch. hated you for reminding him that he had yet to purge the weakness from his soul. the same weakness that forced him to walk past your apartment over the next few weeks. it was stupid to stick around in the city for so long, especially after killing that hero. he told himself it was to make sure you’d upped your security since he’d tumbled into your home but it sounded the excuse rang hollow with no one to hear the lie. 

it became such a mindless part of his routine it took him a moment to realize one night that your window had been shattered open. his throat tightened almost painfully, your eyes flashed in his mind and he was flying up the fire escape a moment later. 

a lean figure was pulling open drawers when the sound of dabi stepping on broken glass made him whip around. it’s a pain, not being able to turn the man into fuel for his ever hungry flames but he didn’t think you’d appreciate him saving your house just to burn it down. 

the man’s movements were clumsy and uncoordinated, taking desperate swings that left him wide open for dabi to sneak under his defences. he’d just managed to grapple the intruder into a chokehold when the bedroom door creaked open and both men’s attention snapped to you. 

“you done yet?” you asked and dabi had to force himself to speak under the full weight of your gaze.

“were you here the whole time?” you nodded, acting far too casual for his liking. “why the fuck didn’t call the cops or something?” 

“i figured you’d show up.” you cocked your head at the incredulous look he threw you. “what, you thought i didn’t notice you coming around all the time?” 

he clicked his teeth in annoyance. “well, what do you want to do with him then, sweetheart?” 

it was a test and it was clear you knew it, glancing down at the intruder that had started weakly clawing at his arm. dabi would kill the man regardless of what you said but your answer would speak volumes on where you stood in this society rotted by false gods. 

“i don’t care what you do, just dump the body far from here.” you didn’t blink once as you sentenced the man to death, didn’t blink as dabi shifted his hold and the echo of a snapped neck rang out in the room. you held steady and a begrudging respect rose up in him.

he heaved the man over his shoulder, being mindful to keep the head hidden from your line of sight. you’d already passed his test, there was no need for you to see it any longer then he’d already made you. he just had to know if you were putting on a front or not. if you were, it would’ve been all the more likely for you to put in a tip about a certain villain that lurked around your neighbourhood. 

but instead you had held his gaze, didn’t look at him any differently and dabi didn’t want to know why he felt so relieved for it. 

he honoured your request, carrying the body through back alleys and shadows to the very edge of the city. his thoughts wandered, as they always seemed to where you’re considered, wondering how soon he could see you again while he watched the flames climb high into the night sky. 

“a tarp? seriously?” he’d lasted two full nights before his feet led him back to your fire escape and the brand new thick tarp that covered the missing window. you were in bed this time, reading a book the title of which he couldn’t make out with the dim light from your bedside lamp, not even bothering to look his way as he made himself comfortable on the window sill. 

“shitty landlord is taking his sweet time replacing the glass so yeah. tarp.” 

“you should move. i hear there’s a lot of break-ins going on around here.” he didn’t like how much your huff of laughter to his poor attempt at humour felt like a reward. 

“not all of us can afford to live in the hero sectors, you know?” 

the venom in your voice when you mentioned the hero sector caught him off guard. they’re one of the more subtle forms of corruption present in all cities with a hero presence. living in the hero sectors ensures one’s total safety from any threat. from robberies to natural disasters, a hero’s priority is focused on the rich who can afford the protection. no hero will ever admit to it, though. on paper, the sectors don’t exist. and yet the heroes flock to the same handful of neighbourhoods the moment a threat occurs. another underhand tactic to keep the poor in their place and the rich comfortable. 

you’ve become that much more interesting in his eyes.

“so, you here to bleed all over my sheets again or what?” 

dabi scoffed, “no, but i was hoping you could take these stitches out and we’ll call it even for saving your ass.” he could rip them out himself but where was the fun in that?

“yeah right. who saved who first?” despite your grumbling you waved dabi over, gesturing for him to sit on the bed while you went off to grab supplies from the bathroom. 

he expected you to pull up a chair once you returned but instead you placed a hand on his chest and pushed him onto his back. it took all his concentration not to flinch when you straddled him, your hand trailing under his shirt, fingertips grazing his burnt flesh as you pulled his shirt up, bundling the material and forcing it into his mouth. 

“you might wanna bite down on that, i’m all out of painkillers.” 

there was a gentleness in how you cut the stitches from his body, how you took care to dab an alcohol soaked cotton pad over each one. it made his chest go tight, unable to recall ever being this close to someone and not walking away with new scars. 

dabi found himself lulled into a trance by the rhythm of your hands, a trance that shattered as your fingertips strayed from the path of the cut, following the rows upon rows of staples that held him together instead. he watched your face closely, waiting for the disgust and horror to swim to the surface but your eyes kept the steadiness they always seemed to have. 

“does it hurt?” you whispered. 

he wanted to tell you that it didn’t hurt, not in the way you thought it did. that the nerves beneath his burnt and darkened flesh had died long ago and he couldn’t even feel the patterns you were now tracing on his stomach. it’s the unblemished skin that hurts, that always hurts. the parts of him that still cling to life. 

the human brain processes pain differently than any other stimulation it feels. pain never dulls, never vanishes no matter how long it lasts. every waking moment, his own mind tortures him with fresh waves of pain and never lets him forget the countless staples that pierce his flesh and tear him open everytime he moves. 

there’s so much he could tell you but the words refused to come out, burning up in his throat and leaving him choking on the ash. 

you didn’t push when no answer came, prying his shirt from his clenched teeth and pulling it back into place. “you’re good to go, stranger.” 

his hands that had been clenched by his sides twitched when you started to move away from him and judging by the tilt of your head, it didn’t escape your notice. you settled back over him and this time he couldn’t stop his hands from gripping onto your waist, trying to stop you from shifting.

“stop that.” he said through gritted teeth.

you gave another roll of your hips and smirked when his fingers dug deeper into your sides, “stop what?”

“you’re a fucking menace, you know that?”

“yeah. but you like it.”

he hated that you were right. but he’d be damned if he gave you the satisfaction of seeing him lose it from a little grinding. he used his hold on you to push you back slightly, spreading his legs even further until you were straddling his thigh instead. syrupy smugness filled his veins seeing you flustered for the first time since he’s met you.

“go on, don’t get shy on me now.” you were quick to shake off any reservations, growling at his teasing tone and grinding down on his thigh with a desperation that sent a thrill down his spine. “just like that, make yourself feel good.”

he couldn’t wrap his head around how right this felt. there should have been a moment of hesitation from either of you as you walked hand in hand over a line you’d have no way of crossing back over but instead you melted into each other, all his senses heightened and flooded with you, you, you. 

he was so focused on memorizing every minute expression that crossed your face he didn’t realize you were asking for help until you moved his hands from your waist to your ass. he was more than happy to take over, setting a brutal pace that had you crying out, bunching his shirt up in your fists to try to stay grounded.

“c’mon baby, let go.”

you cum with a strangled cry and he can feel every pulse and clench of your cunt through the layers that separated you. your whole body shook in his arms as he helped you ride out your high before you collapsed on top of him, your head buried in the crook of his neck. he let your hands wander up and down his sides but grabbed hold of your wrists when they started to make their way between his legs.

he was about to tell you to forget about it, to not worry about the ache that sat heavy and hard in his jeans but the pout on your face when you looked up made him freeze. 

“can i?” you asked, so close your warm breath fanned his face.

“you don’t- i didn’t…” he didn’t want you to think that this is all he’d wanted from you, that this wasn’t why he was compelled to return to you over and over. you seemed to understand his silent struggle, gracing him with a small smile. 

“i know. i want to.” any hesitation vanished at the challenging look you gave him while you freed his cock from its restraints. you held your palm out to him and dabi spat into it, never breaking eye contact as you do the same and wrapped your hand around him, coating his length in the mixture of you. you took as much care touching him as you did cutting his stitches, careful and sure with each stroke, sweeping a thumb over his sensitive tip to gather the precum that leaked like a faucet. 

as you worked his cock, he grabbed your leg that had fallen between his and pulled it up until your thighs were spread over his own. he couldn’t help the low groan that escaped him when he slid a hand into pants and past your panties and felt just how wet you were, sinking two fingers inside you just to hear you whine from the stretch. 

it wasn’t the best angle but dabi made it work, crooking his fingers and letting his rough palm slap against your clit with each thrust. when your eyes started to roll back into your head, he used his free hand to grab the back of your neck, pressing your forehead to his and making sure your vision was filled with nothing but him. 

“keep your eyes on me, don’t fucking close ‘em.” your mouth fell open as you nod, somehow keeping your pace steady even as he felt your walls fluttered around him. “show me that pretty face you make when you cum, sweetheart, i wanna see it again.” 

“‘m cumming ‘m cumming oh fuck- ! ” you gasped as your orgasm hit you. he moaned right alongside you as you squeezed just underneath his blunt tip in a sudden death grip, the pain-laced pleasure was almost enough to push him over the edge. 

you dropped to your knees quickly as you felt his cock twitch in your hand, popping the head into your mouth and rolling his heavy balls in your hand. the sudden sensation of your wet, hot tongue pressing at his slit had him shooting rope after rope of cum down your throat and his head spun when you swallowed every drop and showed him your empty mouth. 

dabi pounced, tackling you to the ground, cradling your head before it could hit the floor and crashing his lips onto yours so hard he already knew he’d have to give a gruff apology when they ended up bruised. he chased the bitter taste of himself that lingered on your tongue and shivered when your tongue ran across his scarred bottom lip and you didn’t recoil at what you felt. frantic, rough kisses melted away into a lazy make out that banished all but one thought from his mind. 

he could get used to this. he wanted to get used to this. 

“hey,” your voice pulled him back down to earth, something soft glimmering behind your eyes and dabi didn’t want to look away until he figured out what it was. “i wanna show you something.”

you wiggled out from beneath him, making your way to the window and pushing the heavy tarp out of the way before stepping onto the fire escape. 

following you up the winding stairs felt natural, like he was born to witness the small smile you threw over your shoulder to make sure he was keeping up. 

the view at the top was underwhelming. too many buildings pressed too close together, all the exact same height as the one you two stood on stretching as far as the eye could see to create the most painfully ordinary view he’d ever seen. but it was quiet. the roar of the streets below couldn’t be heard at all and dabi hadn’t realized how loud it all was until deafening silence took its place. and it was cold. cold enough that he couldn’t tell if the ache in his lungs was from the freezing air or the hazy memory of white hair that floated through his mind.

it was the closest thing to peace he could remember feeling in years. 

“you like it?” you were watching him closely, hopping from foot to foot and he didn’t know what possessed you to come out wearing only your flimsy sleepwear. you seemed proud of the little hidden treasure you found and something stirred in his chest thinking about how you chose to share it with him. 

“‘s nice.” he said, reaching out to cover both your hands in his and using just enough of his ever burning flame to warm you both. he found himself waiting once more for the sudden twist of revulsion in your features, for you to jerk away from his touch but you sighed in contentment as heat seeped back into your fingertips. you brought his hands up to your face, making him cup your cold cheeks and closing your eyes to savour the warmth. 

it was as you nuzzled into his palm that dabi realized exactly how dangerous you were to each other. undeserved kindness and crooked smiles and sharing secrets. he hadn’t earned any of these things and yet you handed them to him like it was the most natural thing in the world. 

and he’ll take them. because that was the nature of the fire he had been cursed with. it takes and takes and takes and you’ll be left with nothing to show for it but the grey ash of your generous heart. and in return you’d lull him with the false belief that he is more than the hatred that flows through his veins, that there was still a person buried under the mountain of rage he carried inside him. he doesn’t think he could survive without it but you would make him believe that he could. 

he’d destroy you. you’d ruin him. 

this, whatever this was that was growing between you was doomed to end before it had even started. he should leave you on this rooftop, leave the whole damn city and forget whatever you had tried to awaken in him. but dabi could never resist the call of destruction, would always want to know exactly how hot and how bright things could burn. what did love look like when it’s been bathed in flames? 

dabi pulled you closer, determined to find out.

dedicated to: @saintdabi​

[watchyourbluesturngolden]

songs that make me think of vampy and why

this is for drea and leyla ONLY thank u

daylight- taylor swift "i don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you, i don't wanna think of anything else now that i thought of you" bc vampy loves her so much he only wants her 😔 midnight love- girl in red "I know I'm the last one you try to call but I always give in to give you it all" "your silver is my gold" bc miss chiropractor treated him terribly but he loved her with everything and would have gone back to her no matter what watch you sleep- girl in red this one is obvious: bc vampy watches bloodbag sleep :) also "the scar on your spine, you fell off a roof when you were nine" is all appreciating the tiny details about someone and that is definitely something vampy would do :( paper rings: taylor swift "i hate accidents except when we went from friends to this" line without a hook- ricky montgomery "oh baby i am a wreck when i'm without you" bc vampy loves bloodbag so much he just wants to be with her always 😔 dead girl in the pool- girl in red this one is kinda weird but i feel like bloodbag is gonna die at some point and then vampy will just be like "theres a dead girl in the pool (or wherever her corpse is laying slfjskldfjkldsj) i don't know what to do" and then he's gonna make this face

bad habits- ed sheeran bc he was just slutting around before he met bloodbag demons- imagine dragons dont make fun of me for this I KNOW but fr it's vampy renegade- taylor swift "you wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody" he needs bloodbag 😔 starting line- luke hemmings i can't really explain this one but it's like how you always talk about how his happiness is overshadowed by the fact that he's a monster or whatever million dollar bills - lorde "theres nothing i want but money and time" and vampy has literally all the money and time :) solar power- lorde this is harrys hot girl anthem idk happiness- taylor swift "there'll be happiness after you, but there was happiness because of you" this is him reminiscing on miss chiropractor i wanna get better-bleachers "i didn't know i was lonely til i saw your face" "I didn't know i was broken til i wanted to change" come on 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 good 4 u - olivia rodrigo this is his fuck u song for miss chiropractor my tears ricochet- taylor swift "if i'm dead to you why are you at the wake" it's ironic innit 😌 what a feeling- one direction "what a feeling to be right here beside you now, holding you in my arms" please 😔 "everybody needs someone around" 😔😔😔 "but i can't hold you too close now" bc he has severe attachment and commitment issues :) all you had to do was stay- taylor swift "had me in the palm of your hand, then, why'd you have to go and lock me out when i let you in" omg miss chiropractor really hurt him 😔 king of my heart- taylor swift "and all at once you are the one i have been waiting for" bloodbag @ vampy 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 cruel summer- taylor swift "I love you ain't that the worst thing you ever heard" bc he knows getting close to bloodbag will ultimately only lead to pain for everyone involved "i don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you" bc he can't tell bloodbag everything about him even tho he probably wants to :( thank u next- arianna grande this is weird BUT if miss chiropractor hadn't fucked him up so much he never would have met bloodbag tear in my heart- 21 pilots again don't make fun of me for this I HAVE AN EXPLANATION "you fell asleep in my car i drove the whole time but that's okay i'll just avoid the holes so you sleep fine" if bloodbag fell asleep in his car he would definitely do this :( shape of you-ed sheeran "now my bedsheets smell like you" his room probably smells like honey and lavender all the time now and he's probably foaming at the mouth constantly cowboy in LA "let's skip the club, lets skip the crowd, i wanna take you on a date" bc they both hate clubs!!!!! "I'll hold your hand I'll hold the door bc that's how i was raised" he's a gentleman 😔😔😔😔 & burn- billie eilish "i'll sit and watch your car burn with the fire that you started in me, but you never came back to ask it out" idk for some reason this has vampy and miss chiropractor vibes take me to church- hozier religious trauma babes 🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼🕺🏼 speechless- dan+shay "i'm speechless, staring at you standing there in that dress" love 😔 yours- russel dickerson "i came to life when i first kissed you, the best me has his arms around you, you make me better than i was before, thank god i'm yours" SCREAMING AND CRYING AND SHAKING tolerate it- taylor swift "i know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it" MISS ******** DIDN"T APPRECIATE OR CELEBRATE HIS LOVE MIA- anarbor "thinking about my life and everything i did wrong along the way"😔 lay low- josh turner for when bloodbag and vampy go to a cabin in the woods for a week and just love each other 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 who can save me now- anarbor "you stabbed me in the back" this one is pretty literal LSKFJLKSJFLKDSJ "you could have at least been kind enough to let me turn around" ouch 😔 dopamine- anarbor "i'm hooked on your dopamine" vampy and bloodbag ugh lie to me- 5sos this give me vampy and ******** vibes "i wish we never met, cause you're too hard to forget" "while i'm cleaning up your mess i know he's taking

off your dress" bc she probably cheated on him while they were together 😔 and he would have stayed with her if she told him she loved him, even if he knew it was a lie 😔 cotton candy- yungblud it's just a happy song with good vibes like bloodbag and vampy currently have :) small talk- niall horan i don't even have to say anything here pillowtalk- zayn "so we'll piss off the neighbors" chappy 9 vibes dancing with our hands tied- taylor swift "i loved you in spite of deep fears that the world would divide us" vampy rn 😔 once in a lifetime- one direction vampy will live a million lifetimes but he will only ever have one bloodbag 😔 holy ground- taylor swift "tonight i'm gonna dance for all that we've been through but I don't wanna dance if i'm not dancing with you" they've come so far omg 😔 since we're alone- niall horan "you can show me your heart, if you put it all in my hands no i swear no i won't break it apart" crying if i could fly- one direction "for your eyes only i'll show you my heart" rollercoaster- bleachers again i can't explain it but it makes me think of him 😔 so long- niall horan "so if we knew all along why did it take so long" good question bestie current location- LANY "i need your current location to be my current location" they're idiots in love and want to be together all the time 😔 why dont we go there- one direction "hey i don't want you to be the one that got away i wanna get addicted to you you're rushing through my mind i wanna feel the high i wanna be addicted" well hes already addicted to her blood so might as well like you lots- LANY bc they both have issues and can't say love lmao too much to ask- niall horan vampy though wanting love was too much to ask of miss chiropractor 😔 walking in the wind- one direction this one just has his vibes man 😔 heartbeat- carrie underwood "dancing to the rhythm of your heartbeat" bc vampy is obsessed with listening to bloodbag's heart (fan behavior if you ask me) idfc- blackbear this is vampy and ******** bc "tell me that you love me even if it's fake" city of angels- 24kgoldn "i sold my soul to the devil for designer" yes this made me laugh the woods- olivver the kid "waking up in the middle of the woods" "don't you wanna get out of here, out of the woods" flashback to when he was dead in the woods oop "you brought me down to the river, and you pushed me in, hoping that the white rapids would challenge my ability to swim" bc... she's a murderer omg this verse is talking about leaves and i'm freaking out it fits 100% this is crazy "You pick up two handfuls You tell me they're all dried up & dead You know that's nothing like us We'll live forever instead" just a little bit of your heart- ariana grande vampy bc he loves so deeply and completely that he will give all of himself to someone even if they won't do the same my strange addiction- billie eilish bc he is addicted to her blood :) cross your mind- niall horan this is vampy and ******** "love the way you hurt me and it doesn't even cross your mind" "leaving me in pieces (literally lmao) but i swear it's worth it every time" everywhere- niall horan that scene where vampy smelled some perfume or soap or something and it made him think of bloodbag 😔 everything makes him think of her now 😔 "swear it's hard to think it's hard to breathe when you're in the air" put a little love on me- niall horan "you're the only one i need" 😔 bend the rules- niall horan VAMPY AND ******** ALL THE WAY "i'm not saying that you're lying but you're leaving out the truth" heartbreak weather- niall horan "all of my life i've been sleepwalk living, running around the same bars i've been in, it can be so lonely in this city, but it feels different when you're with me" bloodbag and vampy 😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😔 mr loverman- ricky montgomery "i miss my lover man" vampy is probably dramatic like this all the time now that they're official 😔 bad blood- taylor swift again, just for the irony 😌 vapor- 5sos "i want to breathe you in like a vapor i want to be the one you remember i want to feel

your love like the weather all over me" they're so in love like this 😔 catch fire- 5sos "all my life i've been waiting for moments to come" he's been waiting for bloodbag his entire life 😔 beside you-5sos "i wish i was beside you" they want to be together all the time 😔 black and white- niall horan "that first night i was standing at your door fumbling for your keys then i kissed you" ARE YOU KIDDING ME not in the same way- 5sos this is vampy and ******** just bc they were so toxic lkfjskldfjsdlkjf lonely heart-5sos "and i haven't slept in days" lmao ghost of you-5sos "my feet dont dance like they did with you" thinking about when vampy danced for bloodbag and what if they break up 👁️👁️ why wont you love me- 5sos vampy at ******** 😔 he just wanted to be loved 😔😔😔😔😔 fool's gold- one direction "i let you use me from the day that we first met" "i know your love's not real, but that's not the way it feels" STOP IM SAD last first kiss- one direction "let me be your last first kiss" i want them to be together forever 😔 truly madly deeply- one direction "foolishly completely falling and somehow you kicked all my walls in" bloodbag really snuck into his heart huh 😔 fireproof -one direction "nobody saves me baby the way you do" ugh 😔 long story short-taylor swift "clung to the nearest lips long story short it was the wrong guy" (or in vampy's case the wrong vampire) gold rush-taylor swift "and the coastal town we run around has never seen a love as pure as it" bloodbag and vampy are all i want 😔 no judgement- niall horan bc vampy would never judge bloodbag 😔 daddy issues- the neighborhood again im not even gonna say anything here new angel- niall horan "the touch of someone else to save me from myself" this is vampy 😔 god is a woman- ariana grande vampy after he brought bloodbag home the first time something like this- the chainsmokers "just something i can turn to, somebody i can kiss" ALL VAMPY WANTS IS LOVE sweater weather- the neighborhood idk this song makes me think of him all of me- john legend "all of me loves all of you all your curves and all your edges all your perfect imperfections" KSFLKSDJFKLDJSFLJSDKLFJDSKL i like me better- lauv "i like me better when i'm with you" she makes him a better person 😔 sex- eden "oh no, i think i'm catching feelings" vampy when bloodbag went on a date with someone else half a heart- one direction bc bloodbag completes him 😔 theyre so disgusting 😔 only angel- harry styles "turns out she's a devil in between the sheets" woman- harry styles vampy when she was on a date with someone else bc hes a jealous moron temporary fix- one direction this has chappy 1-2 vibes a.m.-one direction when they first started falling in love and he wanted to be with her more often 😔 something great- one direction "i want you here with me like how i pictured it so i don't have to keep imagining" through the dark- one direction just all of this song 😔 happily- one direction "you know i wanna be the one who holds you when you sleep i just want it to be you and i forever" 😔 electric love- borns "i can't let you go now that i got it" canyon moon- harry styles they're just happy like this rn 😔 sunflower vol. 6- harry styles "kiss in the kitchen like it's a dancefloor" "mouth full of toothpaste" when they brushed their teeth together 😔 adore you- harry styles obviously

[lluvguts]

Cool Blue ; Chapter Seven

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frightened by my feelings

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☽ a/n: i'm so sorry for the long wait! i've been in a mood.

☽ warnings: internalized homophobia

☽ fic masterlist

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Alberto broke away from Giulia's hand clasped in his own and listened to their steps (his silent, always barefoot but Giulia's sandals slapped the boards unpleasantly) up the rickety staircase to the hallway. Mismatched pairs of socks and a few pencil shavings led them off in a distinct line to Alberto's room, ending at his door, a sign to anyone else in the house that Alberto had been rummaging through the downstairs cupboards at night; whereas Giulia's room opposite his, clean when she wanted it to be, teeming with school books and Machi's homemade cat toys and plant life, had no such trail.

"You know, come to think of it, this makes much more sense now," Giulia mused, her eyes fixed on her toes as Alberto abruptly stopped them at the doorway to his room.

Alberto felt a headache start to blossom beneath his eyelids, above his browbone. A throb with no rhythm but all the more pain to make up for it. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the steadying weight of the doorframe pressing on his shoulder as he leaned on it. Giulia knew, but she...also didn't. A tiny fleck marked the frame and only became apparent in his blurry vision, just a chip on the wood. Stripped of paint and sticking out against the cream walls in an ugly slash.

He trailed his thumb along the divot, feeling the splinters biting underneath his calloused hand. Giulia was still talking, ignoring his silence. The tension only grew the longer Alberto hovered at the door, refusing to open it and let all of those things come seeping out, with Giulia's smug remarks making the pain reach a high point.

"...I'm not nearly as obvious about, uh, my thing as you are. I don't go painting pictures of him--which I'm almost positive you do, by the way. Oh! And Papa's camera? You took photos, too? Santa mozzarella, Alberto, this is just like a soap opera--"

Alberto's thumbnail dug into the wood. "Yeah, okay Giulia, we get it. You're such a genius or whatever for knowing my secrets, alright? Will you ever shut up?"

Giulia blinked, losing some of that teasing glint in her eyes, but only for a moment. She stood up straighter and examined Alberto's pained expression and his half-stance, shouldered up on the wallpaper so he didn't faint from fear. She yanked his forearm away from the divot in the doorframe and pulled it forward, propelling them into Alberto's room without any other notice.

"Wait! Giulia! It's-It's very messy in here! I wouldn't want you having a heart attack or something..." Alberto rambled, flinging free of her grip once again to run ahead of her.

Always in the lead, scrambling to kick his discarded bath towel under the bed, and the rush of feelings that surged with it. The photos. The pictures were still on the dresser, and Giulia was standing by the bed, so that saved him at least a few agonizing minutes. While she grimaced at his crumpled sheets, pinching her nose and complaining of the fish smell, Alberto shied away from her gaze, laughing nervously and edged closer to the dresser.

"Honestly, Alberto," Giulia picked up his comforter, then wrinkled her nose in disgust and it flew from her fingers. "Haven't you heard of airing out your bedroom? The window is literally right here."

He glanced over Giulia's shoulder at the harbor beyond, thinking she should be at work. They should both be at work, or working, or doing at least something. "Don't like it."

"Don't like the window?" A piece of dirty laundry, another item under close sibling scrutiny, was dropped from her hands. Giulia turned from the wall and smirked unconvincingly at Alberto's palms outstretched along the top of the dresser, practically leaning on it for dear life.

He tried to clear his throat, but it was dry. Everything in his room was dry. The towel from the night before was cast under his bed, stiff as old citrus. The empty glass behind him, the tiny ring of water that clung to the bottom now dried up. Definitely what had happened hours before had nothing to do with what was already drying inches below his belt. God, he needed a shower to scrub off the memories. No, sear them off his skin.

Stop. Don't think of that.

"No! I, uh--" Alberto closed his eyes, opened them, closed them again, that headache never seeming to go away. "I don't...like...the boats."

That was mostly true. He just didn't like some boats in particular, the ones that hunted down sea monsters and pried the scales from their bodies as if they were gold flecks. He didn't mind giving up the salty nighttime breeze for peace of mind. What he didn't want to sacrifice, however, was the lingering (stifling) smell of Luca's scales clinging to his bedsheets and in the bathroom, with the door constantly open, a heady ocean candle that was never snuffed out.

"Pfft! You liar, you basically live on a boat you work so much. What about it could you possibly not like?" She tried a new tactic, no longer rooting through article after offensive article of boyish mess, and instead picked apart the uneasy smile in Alberto's upturned lips, evident in the sweat along his temple.

Her dark eyes roamed over Alberto, looking up at the wall then back down to his sprawled arms and aching shoulders, realization dawning. "You're...stalling! Hah! Think changing the subject will do you any good when you're around me, eh?"

Giulia marched over to Alberto, who even hunched back to conceal the contents of the dresser was taller by a few inches.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?" Giulia whispered, her voice once dripping with an easygoing slyness that only came with being siblings. But now, she steeled her eyes over Alberto's shoulder, freckled and tanned and nicked with fishing scars, searching but said nothing else.

Alberto slid his tongue along the rough roof of his mouth, tasting salt. He winced at Giulia's tender fingertips brushing over the top of his shoulders to reach for something outside of his vision, but by the feather-light intake of breath that Giulia did a poor job at hiding, he knew exactly what she had found. One photo turned to two, then three, and soon Giulia was thumbing through all of them like the old card deck they always managed to misplace on late nights.

"Luca," Giulia murmured softly, the polaroids pinched between her shaking fingers. She said his name, and the grapefruit that Massimo had held in his bare hand came to mind, suddenly. His name sounded sweet as she said it, peeling back the shocking rinds to a much more bitter discovery, the picture wrapped in a thin little fruit membrane that Giulia had torn apart and dove in hands first to pick out the seeds. She said his name, and Alberto bit his tongue, waiting, waiting. The salty tang was met with the quick release of blood as he chewed on his lip, not caring for the sting but more so for the way the air in the room stood still.

Giulia was sitting on the bed now, and Alberto was still sprawled out along the dresser, feeling time rush back in to greet him. The window was still closed. The bath towel peeked out from hard bedframe, sage fabric frozen in place, silently screaming if Alberto could guess. All of the warmth in the room flooded to Alberto's face, his flushed cheeks burning so hot he covered them with clammy palms. This wasn't happening...

The dizziness in his brain had subsided, at least for now. Pushed to the side. "I...uh...I think I can--You aren't afraid, are you?"

Giulia opened her mouth, speaking silent demands. The pictures were still in her hands. Though she was shaking and casting their glossy film over Alberto's pleading eyes. He took a step to her, and she held up a hand--the one that wasn't clutching the polaroids. Holding Luca. Così bello, Luca.

"Take me to him."

"Huh?" Alberto skittered back, eyeing the photos but afraid to take them from her hands, gently thumbing through them again like she was seeing the glossy scales and bright eyes for the first time. "I don't know...uh, I don't know what you're asking, Giulia," Alberto breathed, itching to take the stack of photos. Giulia sensed her brother's restlessness and stood up to place them into his trembling hands. They fit perfectly into his palms, and he carded through the five with a fond smile he quickly abandoned when realization hit him and Giulia was, there.

"Saying they were just a myth, Alberto?" Giulia brought all of the photos together carefully, choosing not to see Alberto's eyebrows shooting up into his head of curls but at the rows and neat edges she'd made. "But oh, wow, Luca. So...much different that what Papa says about sea monsters. He's so..."

Alberto's heart sped up. "Beautiful?" Was he even allowed to say that? What would she think?

Giulia nodded, flashing an appreciate grin but still indecisive.

"That's okay, Alberto," She wrapped her hands over Alberto's, a pillar to his crumbling resolve, and put her chin against his collarbone to still him. She sighed, a rumbling breath into his ribcage, and he felt his chest lighten. "It's okay to think he's beautiful."

Alberto didn't think he could get a word out, with his sister's hair inches from his nose, filling his head with soothing, sleepy smells. She had stuck a stem of lavender from the vase in the kitchen behind her ear.

No it's not.

"Shhh, fratello. Just don't think for a moment, si?" Giulia took the photos again and put them in her pants pocket, then wrapped her assuring arms around Alberto's neck as he let out a soundless cry. "You're okay."

Alberto buried the bridge of his sunburnt nose into Giulia's hair, the tiny periwinkle flower buds tickling his cheekbone.

"The lavanda in the vase, you bought that? It...was for him, wasn't it?" Giulia murmured to distract, petting the side of his neck to calm him down.

"...He couldn't keep it. The petals would float to the surface." His words came out sniffled and ugly-sounding, making him cringe but also hold in a laugh imagining Luca bringing a bouquet of flowers underwater just to see them all rush past his wide eyes to the surf above.

Giulia snorted and laughed against his chest, and soon Alberto was chuckling softly along with her. "Let's go see il tuo cuore, okay?"

"You're serious?" Alberto readjusted the lavender stem in her hair. "Giulia, this is like the total opposite of how I thought this would go."

She took his hand tenderly and went to the door, but not without a whiplash turn of her head, cocking one eyebrow in defiance. "What, did you expect me to reach for the nearest harpoon? Like everyone else in this town? I don't think so." She tapped her forehead, smirking. "Open mind, dummy."

Alberto squeezed her pinky finger. "Okay, you were so sweet a second ago. What happened?"

"Lots of things, big guy," Giulia clicked her tongue and pulled Alberto's hand closer. "But that vase on the dining room table, those flowers. That's how I knew. If it were a girl, you would have listened to Papa's advice for roses. But you got lavender."

Alberto sighed, fighting the impulse to tug his hand away and retreat fearfully back to his room. "If you think it's such a stupid idea, we can make tea with them. Papa got a new kettle at the market."

Giulia gave him a side glance again. "And what about Luca?"

"Fine, no tea then." Alberto stumbled on his words, choking on them almost. Would Luca...even be there? After what had happened...

He blushed and stopped, inches above Giulia's head when he stood one step higher than her, looking directly into the kitchen on his right where the vase was. Evening light spilled in the window by the sink the Marcovaldos refused to close, bathing the ornate, bottle green glass in moody flashes of color on the patched up tablecloth. A sliver of a grapefruit rind sat, hard and darkened next to the reflection of lavender stems, from Massimo's talk. Alberto swallowed the immediate flush of nausea, hating the way he could almost taste the embarrassment and worry on his tongue, inside his pores.

It was going to get dark soon.

[mst3kproject]

Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow

This movie has no dogs, which is a shame because the title definitely sounds like a lost episode of Scooby-Doo.  What it does have is Elaine Dupont from I Was a Teenage Werewolf (and the Beach Girls and the Monster) and Russ Bender from It Conquered the World (he also wrote Voodoo Woman, which makes him indirectly responsible for Curse of the Swamp Creature), in a genre crossover that reminds one of Catalina Caper and is even less successful. It’s also even less funny.

Our heroes are a bunch of super-cool hot-rodding thirty-year-old fifties teens who speak in painfully embarrassing slang. They’ve been evicted from their headquarters and need some new digs, but all their efforts to find a place have come to naught… until an elderly lady offers them her house at Dragstrip Hollow. It sounds like it’ll have everything they need, as long as they don’t mind that it’s haunted.  The gang is a little unnerved by strange events their first evening at the house, but ultimately decide that if nothing else, it’s the perfect place for a Hallowe’en party.  What they haven’t realized is that with everybody in costumes, the monster in the basement will be able to walk among them un-noticed!

This is yet another movie that sounds like a good time but is actually almost unwatchably boring.  A party in a haunted house with a monster who just wants to have a good time?  I’m up for that!  But Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is only an hour long, and spends most of that time dithering around doing absolutely nothing.

There are two potential main characters.  One is Lois, a young woman who’s far more interested in cars and racing than in boys and makeup, much to her parents’ chagrin. Her mother believes this is a phase she’ll grow out of, but her father keeps trying to encourage her to be more feminine and never gets very far.  This sublot drops out of the movie halfway through, without ever coming to any kind of conclusion.  Lois is also at odds with Nita, a member of a rival racing gang.  Lois spends most of the movie refusing to be goaded into a racing rematch with Nita, but eventually gives in, and their climactic race takes place off-screen while we watch the band at the Hallowe’en party try to play their instruments while dressed as bedsheet ghosts!  Nothing comes of it.

The only thing Nita’s gang does through the whole movie is show up at parties they haven’t been invited to, exchange insults with Lois’ friends, and then leave.

The other potential hero is the reporter who’s doing a series of articles on rebellious teenagers.  He quickly makes friends with the kids, becoming an honourary member of their club, and apparently helps them search for a new headquarters. In spite of this, he doesn’t actually have an arc.  He sympathizes with these young people from the beginning, and based on the questions he asks it’s pretty clear he wants to show that their cars and racing are a harmless hobby rather than a gateway drug to crime.  This opinion doesn’t change over the course of the movie.  Neither does his insistence that the house is not actually haunted, even as unseen hands light his cigarette for him and untie his bow tie.

Most of the movie is totally useless – like the slumber party at Lois’ house, which serves no purpose except to make a joke about women taking too long in the bathroom.  I’m sure that was already tired and unfunny in the 50’s. Or the old lady’s opinionated pet parrot, who provides annoying commentary that makes already not-funny scenes even less funny.  I was sure the parrot was going to be a plot point, because one of his demonstrated talents is imitating a police siren and the hot rodders are worried about getting in trouble with the cops.  Surely during a climactic race the parrot will trick Nita into pulling over, allowing Lois to take the lead!  But no, that can’t happen because that would be useful.  Nothing in this fucking movie is allowed to be useful.

All of this bullshit, with the slumber party and the stupid parrot and the old lady being bad at playing the flute… and the rival gang showing up and then leaving… and the musical numbers, one of which has no lyrics except a guy saying Geronimo! and then firing blanks at the ceiling, and this is played twice… and Lois’ parents and the reporter hanging around and the short guy with the tall girlfriend… all of this drags on and on and on and takes up three quarters of the movie and has literally nothing to do with the plot!  The fact that the club needs a new place to hang out is introduced pretty early but then gets shoved aside until almost the end.  You’d think we ought to see them trying to find a place until eventually being forced to settle for the creepy old house in the middle of nowhere, but no, we sit through forty minutes of nonsense and then suddenly arrive at characters talking about it.

The haunted house must be the actual plot because it’s the title, but it isn’t worth waiting for.  When the club arrives to take a look around, there is indeed a monster creeping around causing mischief.  And it’s definitely a monster, not a ghost – although there is also a ghost. In fact, when we get a good look at the beast shortly thereafter… it’s the fucking She-Creature.

I’m not even kidding.  It is literally the She-Creature without the dumbass blonde wig and with the chitinous tits toned down into chitinous pecs.  This thing creeps around and growls at people, then turns up at the party to dance with a couple of girls before getting its mask ripped off (I told you this was an episode of Scooby-Doo!) to reveal, and I promise you I did not make this up, I could not make this up, a bitter stuntman with a high squeaky voice. He looks a little like Lois’ father and I thought for a moment we were doing a Beach Girls and the Monster thing here… but no, he’s a totally different character.  Why is he dressed up as a monster haunting this old house with a collection of special effects equipment he keeps behind the fireplace?  Because nobody appreciated his performance as the She-Creature.

He actually says that.  Fuck this movie!  The monster suit isn’t even bad enough to be funny.  In fact, it looks better here than it did in The She-Creature or Voodoo Woman, possibly because the lighting allows us to actually see it!

Oh, and as I mentioned, there’s also a ghost, but he left because he didn’t like the rock and roll music.

In order to find the creature’s secret lair, they ask ‘Amelia’, the nerdy guy’s superintelligent, talking, self-driving hot rod.  This machine speaks in a deep, somewhat ghostly voice, and isn’t mentioned or even hinted at until the movie’s almost over.  People accidentally blundering into secret rooms behind the fireplace is a time-honoured tradition in movies, but apparently that wasn’t good enough for Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow.  No, they had to have a deus-ex-machina supercomputer fire-breathing car figure it out without even saying what the clues were.  Fuck!

I’ve watched several films for this blog that left me with the impression that the people making them knew what parts go into a movie but not how to put them together.  I don’t think the makers of Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow even knew what movies are made of – or if they did, they were actively contemptuous of that ingredients list.  Their film seems to have been cobbled together from bits of several stories, without including enough of any single one to really get a plot.  Remember Face of the Screaming Werewolf, which really was made of random bits of two other movies?  Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is about as coherent as that.  It feels like there’s at least another hour of material missing somewhere, which would deal with things like Lois’ relationship with her parents or the rivalry between the two racing clubs.  It feels like anything that would help unify this story, or bring proper closure to any of the plotlines, was deliberately left on the cutting room floor, just to piss me off!

I only laughed once in the entire movie, at a bit where the parrot complains about his mistress’ bad driving (he wails and me so young!).  The rest of the time I couldn’t even find it ironically funny.  When I wasn’t rolling my eyes at the attempted jokes I was staring at the screen in bafflement because I couldn’t figure out what the movie was trying to do. What ought to be plot points are quickly forgotten, or else resolved with nonsensical trifles and then thrown away. The result is confusing and ultimately deeply frustrating.  I mentioned Scooby-Doo, but that’s not even a fair comparison, because the unmasking of the villain in Scooby-Doo always includes the reveal of a master plan.  The monster in Ghost of Dragstrip Hollow is just fucking around.

I hate this movie.  It’s not even a movie.  It’s just a bunch of unrelated things that happen to the same set of characters, without even any laughs to make it worth watching.  They could have filmed an hour of their asses pressed up against a windowpane, and it would have annoyed me less.

[the--sad--hatter]

Name Calling (32)

FANDOM - MARVEL MCU

PAIRING - BUCKY X READER (female reader, no physical descriptions)

WARNINGS - ALL OF THEM, SMUT, VIOLENCE ANGST

DESCRIPTION -  In which the ongoing and bloody war of words between you and Bucky turns in your favor when a disgruntled one night stand of his lets slip a secret when you run into her in the elevator… Now you have all the ammunition you need to destroy your enemy but you don’t plan on killing him quickly. Oh no, Bucky Barnes was going to suffer and you were going to enjoy every second. You just didn’t count on how much you would enjoy it.

Current Word Count -  89,843

MASTERLIST

Moodboard by @talesofakindredspirit

Chapter Thirty Two - Let Sleeping Soldiers Lie

When you had arrived back at the compound you had promptly been abandoned by Bucky as he grabbed Sam and Steve and hustled them away, leaving you pouting in the hallway. However when he came slinking back two hours later he was quickly forgiven when he explained his reason for leaving.

“I’ve never taken you on a date doll. So will you allow me to make it up to you and let me take you out tonight?” He begged, giving you a pair of puppy dog eyes that rivalled, nay beat Steve’s.

You grinned happily and practically floated to Wanda’s room to beg for her help getting ready.

To your surprise he didn’t take you very far, you stayed on the grounds actually. He led you through the tree’s at the edge of the compound to a small clearing set up with a picnic basket and a blanket on the ground.

“It was actually Sam’s idea.” he admitted with a grumble.

“Look at you, giving Sam credit!” You praised him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

The picnic basket was filled with all your favorites but the food was hardly touched in favour of kissing the gorgeous man sat beside you. The innocent kisses and touches became more heated with every passing minute.

The last rays of the day’s sunlight streamed through the trees, lighting up the small clearing with a soft, warm glow. The way the light hit Bucky’s hair was almost ethereal and it was mesmerizing as he kissed his way across your collarbone, the warmth from his mouth a stark contrast to the cool breeze dancing across your skin.

When he had told you he was taking you on a date, this wasn’t what you had expected but it was perfect in it’s simplicity. So perfect it almost felt like a dream, but it wasn’t, it was so very real and the internal gratitude you felt for that fact was almost as intense as the lust roaring to life in your blood as your lover pushed you down onto the blanket.

His tongue ran across the thundering pulse point in your neck and you shuddered as his mouth closed around the sensitive spot. His teeth scraping over the skin awoke something feral and carnal in you and you stretched your neck as much as you could, exposing the vulnerable skin of your throat to him.

There was nothing to hide now and you offered Bucky what you could tell he wanted, the chance to leave his mark on you. He eagerly accepted and bit down gently until it was almost too painful, stopping at just the right point and licking and sucking the tender flesh to ease the sting. You responded with a breathy appreciative moan as you tightened your grip on his biceps.

The stars that were beginning to sparkle in the darkening sky were not as bright nor as magnificent as the stars that burst to life behind your eyelids as Bucky languidly rolled his hips into yours. Even through the coarse material of his slacks and the soft lace of your underwear his hard length was noticeable and the sensation of it pressed against your most intimate parts was spine tinglingly wonderful.

“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He professed.

“So I’m not ‘damaged goods with a poisonous personality wrapped in an average looking package’?” You asked, quoting his insult from all those weeks ago.

Part of you was just teasing him but a large part of you was hoping he didn’t still think that.

He leaned back to look at you, his eyes dark with the guilt and pain.

“I never thought that, I was too ashamed to admit I cared about you, even to myself. I said those things because I was embarrassed that Steve was accusing me of trying to flirt with you.” He admitted shamefully.

“It’s not like I didn’t deserve it. I was just as awful to you and you didn’t deserve it.” You confessed.

“We were stupid.” He said.

“We were.” You agreed.

“Let’s not be stupid anymore.” He suggested and leaned forward to kiss you.

You eagerly and readily accepted him, your arms wrapping around him.

“I love you, every part of you.” He whispered into your skin like a promise.

But he didn’t, he couldn’t. Vernichtung was a part of you that could not be loved by anyone. If Bucky knew the truth about the monster contained within your soul he wouldn’t love you anymore. Nobody would.

“I love you too.” You whispered back.

Nobody could know the truth, it would remain between you and The Professor and you would find a way to eradicate Vernichtung so you were worthy of the love bestowed upon you.

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

The soft buzzing of your phone alarm woke you and you sleepily turned it off. You didn’t remember coming inside last night which meant Bucky probably carried you. That explained the warm body at your back and the unfamiliar bedsheets.

You smiled happily and nuzzled into the pillow, ready to go back to sleep when you remembered why you even had an alarm set. You stifled a groan as you realised you had training with Natasha this morning. You tried to slip out of the bed as silently as possible but a metal arm snaked around your waist and yanked you backwards into a muscular chest.

“Buckyyy” You whined.

“Shhhhhhhh” He chastised.

“If I’m late to training Natasha makes me do crunches.” You complained and wriggled away from him.

He rolled over and settled his body on top of you, nestling his head into your cleavage.

“Ungh, you’re crushing me.” You wheezed.

“You’re a super soldier, you can take it.” He muttered into your chest sleepily.

You didn’t have time for this, you weren’t kidding when you said Natasha would punish you if you were late. As much as you’d rather stay and cuddle your sleepy soldier, your fear of Natasha was much greater than that want. You huffed and shoved at his shoulder, pushing yourself up at the same time.

You’d misjudged the strength you were putting into it and Bucky hadn’t been trying to stop you so as a result he was pushed not just off you, but off the bed. He landed with a thump on the floor and you froze in fear. Bucky sat up and his glaring face peering over the edge of the bed was hilarious and terrifying in equal measure and you ran for the door, laughter bubbling out of you.

“Love you!” You called over your shoulder through your giggles as you fled his room and sprinted for yours.

You were absolutely going to pay for that later, but he wasn’t as scary as Natasha and you had training to get to.

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

Your back hit the mat for the fourth time in a row and you whimpered in pain as Natasha’s upside down face grinned smugly at you.

“I thought cat’s always landed on their feet?” Clint laughed from his position at the targets across the gym.

“And I though cats caught squawking little birds and ripped their beaks off so I guess I’m breaking a lot of stereotypes today!” You snarled at the archer as a laughing Natasha pulled you to your feet.

“Unless you want take over for Nat and see if we can’t change that?” You offered with a daring smirk.

Clint shrugged and put the bow down so he could saunter over as the gym doors swung open.

“Why don’t we double up?” Bucky called, clearly having heard you taunting Clint through the door.

“A Spider and a Hawk vs A Kitten and a Soldier? Sure why not?” Clint said.

“Oh no, she’s not on my team.” Bucky said jerking his chin at you.

You groaned and shot Nat a pleading look.

“Alright Barnes, she’s on mine. Hope you boys are ready to have your ego’s shredded.” Nat sassed.

They stepped onto the mat with cocky expressions and you and Natasha exchanged a knowing look.

You and Natasha had been sparring together for long enough you knew how the other thought.

You aimed a high kick at Clint’s face and as you’d hoped he caught your foot in mid air. Before he could do anything you reached behind yourself, wrapping an arm around the widows waist and pulling her around to your front, lifting her into the air. She took over from there, springboarding off your hip to wrap her thighs around Clint’s neck and pushing him backwards.

Natasha used her perch on Clint to hold her arm out at the right height for you to grab it and vault into the air, your own thighs wrapping around an unsuspecting Bucky’s neck as Clint hit the mats with Natasha straddling him.

“Nah fuck this, there’s two of them now. I’m out!” Clint yelled, slapping the mat to tap out.

Bucky gripped your thighs and prised your legs apart but you countered by pushing your knee’s together and he failed. He tried a different tactic and body-slammed you into the mat. Considering he was over six feet tall it was a hell of a height to be slammed from and pain shot through your spine as your breath was knocked from your lungs but you didn’t relent your grip, pushing through the pain.

Bucky huffed as your calves locked behind his neck and your thighs squeezed around his neck, cutting off his air supply. He couldn’t prise or knock you off himself so he resorted to dirty tactics and with a wicked glint in his eye, bit the tended flesh of your inner thigh. You yelped and loosened your hold and he grabbed your knees, thrusting your legs apart and shoving you away but keeping hold of you.

There was a split second while you tried to think of how to counter before he used his grip on your legs to flip you over onto your stomach and planted his knee in the small of your back, pinning you to the mat. You wondered where the hell Nat was as you struggled to get up.

“Wanna tap out yet doll?” Bucky asked you.

“Go fuck yourself Barnes.” You snarled.

“When you’re pinned underneath me so nicely? I’d rather fuck you sweetheart.” He leaned down to whisper in your ear.

Ignoring the coil of lust his words had started to unravel you thrust your head back and the loud crack and blinding pain in the back of your skull told you you’d hit your mark. Bucky’s hold loosened just a fraction and it was enough for you to push him off you and roll away.

You quickly scrambled to your feet and saw him kneeling a foot away with blood dribbling from his nose and murder in his eyes. Curiously the gym was empty save for the two of you.

“Sorry my love, didn’t mean to make you bleed.” You apologised half heartedly and he glared at you.

He slowly stood up and stalked towards you, pulling up the edge of his shirt to wipe the small trickle of blood from his face and exposing his glistening abs. That pesky little coil of lust unravled a little further.

“You have two choices here doll. You can continue this little charade and we can tear a few more chunks out of each other, or...”

“Or what?” You challenged cockily and he smirked at you and pulled his shirt off.

“Or you can wrap those thighs around me again and let me fuck you right here on these mats.”

The coil snapped.

You surged forward to kiss him but he grabbed you and spun you round, pressing your back to his chest. His metal hand held you in place around your throat while his flesh hand teased it’s way down your body. He slipped his hand under the waistband of your shorts and you automatically parted your legs for him.

“You’re already soaking wet doll.” He noted, his voice heavy with lust.

You simply moaned in response, your head rolling against his shoulder.

“There is a third option sweetheart, you can leave if you don’t want this.” He whispered softly, giving you an out.

“Just fuck me Bucky.” You begged as his finger teased at your throbbing clit, not quite touching you but close enough to drive you wild.

Bucky released you and before you could even blink your tight shorts were ripped down your thighs.

“On your knees.” He instructed and you complied straight away.

One hand went to the back of your neck as he shoved you face down on the mat roughly, somehow still managing to be gentle enough to ensure he didn’t hurt you. His fingers tangled in your hair and held you down as he smacked your ass, the sound making you jump more than the contact did.

“Did you think you could just shove me out of my own bed and leave me on the floor without any kind of retribution?” He asked you, his voice even and low.

“No.” You admitted.

“Are you sorry?” He asked.

“So sorry Bucky.” You whimpered.

“I don’t quite believe you sweetheart.” He teased and smacked your ass again, harder this time and you winced.

“I didn’t mean to do it!” You protested.

“Hmm.” He murmered, massaging the stinging flesh where he’d hit you.

“What about when you headbutted me, did you mean to make me bleed?” He enquired.

“Fuck sake James, no of course not!” You snapped.

You knew the next smack was coming, you’d definitely asked for that one. You felt your wetness begin to run down your thighs as your ass stung and you buried your face into the mat.

“James, James I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do it.” You whined pathetically, trying to push your hips back towards him and he chuckled.

“I know you didn’t.” he admitted.

“Then why the fuck are you torturing me?” You snarled and a filthy moan fell from your lips as you felt his heavy cock drag through your folds, running across your sensitive clit.

“Because you beg so sweetly when you want this.” He told you.

He coated himself in your wetness as he rutted against you and while his hardness sliding over your clit felt fucking heavenly you still felt empty.

“I want you inside me.” You admitted truthfully and the raw honesty and need in your voice made him groan and readjust himself.

“Right here, you want me inside you here, where anyone could walk in?” He asked.

“I don’t care where we are, I need you to fuck me!”

He rammed himself inside you, his thick length sliding into your tight cunt with little struggle. You damn near screamed in ecstasy as he set a brutal and punishing pace, fucking you with wild abandon right there in the middle of the day in a public room.

Your hands scrabbled for something to grip against the mat as you pushed your hips back to try and meet his relentless thrusts. His hand in your hair twisted painfully as he gripped your hip to hold you steady and the sound his groans joined your moans as you gave up trying to find any semblance of control and surrendered to him.

His cock hit every sensitive spot inside you every time he thrust forward, filling you up perfectly before he would drag himself out and snap his hips forward again. He repeated the cycle over and over until you couldn’t think straight.

As far as you were aware there was only Bucky, and the pleasure he was driving into your pliant body. You could have been there for seconds or maybe hours as his movements caused pleasure to ripple through your body, building up inside you until you were like a cup ready to overflow. One more drop and it would spill over…

You screamed his name unaware and uncaring who might hear as it became too much and the pleasure spilled over. Your body shuddered and convulsed below him, his own orgasm chasing yours as his hips stuttered and his abs clenched as he came inside you with a deep, guttural groan of your name.

You collapsed on the mat and his body fell next to yours as you both panted for breath. He affectionately peppered kisses across your shoulders and arms, the only parts of your skin he could reach and you forced yourself to turn your head so he could reach your lips. He immediatley captured them in a sweet kiss, vastly contrasting from the violent and carnal way he’d just fucked you.

“I fucking love you.” He muttered between kisses and your heart melted.

You reached back to run your fingers through his damp locks and smiled into the kisses.

“I love you too” You mumbled against his lips.

You felt his cum start to trickle out of you and hastily pulled your shorts back up before you leaked evidence of your tryst onto the mats. During your struggle you noticed your phone was flashing and you crawled over to where you’d left it with your water bottle at the side of the mats and picked it up quickly to check the message.

Natasha: Enjoy ‘sparring’ with your man. If you’re not outside in 20 minutes I’m sending Wilson to look for you.

The message had been sent 16 minutes ago. You had four minutes to get outside but your legs still felt like jelly. Bucky kissed your shoulder as he read the message over it.

“If I’d have know he was going to walk in I would have taken my time.” He chuckled and you elbowed him.

“If you torture Sam like that I’m going to ‘accidentally’ sext Steve.” You threatened.

Bucky growled and gripped your hips, pulling you back into his chest.

“Don’t you fucking dare.” He growled.

“I wouldn’t. Even as a joke.” You admitted, leaning into him happily.

“Good. You’re my girl, no one else’s.”

“Yes Sergeant, yours.” You agreed and spun round in his arms to kiss him.

He kissed you back hungrily and you regretfully pulled away before Natasha made good on her threat to send your best friend after you.

“I’m going to go find my best friend, go find yours.” You sighed and headed towards the doors shakily.

“Forgetting something doll?” He asked and you turned back before you left the room and smiled fondly at him.

“I love you James.” You said and blew him a kiss.

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

Natasha had told you to come outside but there was nobody around. You frowned as you wandered across the grass, searching for your team mates. Your senses started screaming that you were in danger and a shadow fell across the ground. You quickly whipped your head up and squinted, seeing Sam fully decked out in his falcon gear diving towards you.

You realised a split second too late he wasn’t slowing down and you tensed as he swooped down and plucked you off the ground.

“What the fuck are you doing?” You screeched as he flew away with you.

He grinned toothily at you as he carried you further up into the air.

“You’re late and we’re playing a game, a team building exercise.” He explained.

“Oh ok, that’s fine then…. PUT ME DOWN YOU OVERPLUCKED BIRBRAIN!” You screamed.

“No can do baby, we’re playing a kind of capture the flag type game.”

You saw the red blur hurtling towards you from the left that meant Vision was coming towards you at the same time you spotted Clint perched up a tree, arrow aimed straight for you and Sam and it clicked.

You were the fucking flag.

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

Full disclosure, I am having the worst day ever so this probably isn't my best work but I promised you all a chapter every day and I will fucking deliver if I have to bitchslap the devil himself and crawl out of hell to find a WiFi signal.

Reader: You can't just fuck me into being nicer to you. Bucky: ..... Reader: Yeah even I didn't believe me when I said that.

.

@nerdandproud-86 @harrison-shot-first@chook007@thejourneyneverendsx@thelostallycat@inquisitor-selvala@the-corruptor @iovher@kendrawr-kitkat@phoenix-whiskey-tears@the–real-wombat@buckitybarnes@fairislesheets@angieptt@meganjonezzzz

@dugan365 @fluffeh-kitty@memanda17@krystallynx@theonelittleone

@piscesbarnes @free-as-fishes@tarastudiesalot@captainamericasbeard

@dropthepizza346 @jaynnanadrews @likes-to-smell-books@drdorkus

@life-wanderer @metalarmlover @animegirlgeeky @jsmith509

[huntingredjacket]

King of Dust

A man tells the story of how his home crumbled to nothing but ashes and dust.

TW: Violence.

“Once a prince was born to the kind king and queen of a vast kingdom. His childhood was filled with happiness and strict education. He’d spend his days learning how to be the ruler his kingdom would one day need. On his twenty-first birthday, he was crowned king allowing his parents to pass their final days in peace. Three prosperous decades passed under his care. Each day he worked to the bone,” he spat, “to ensure the kingdom ran smoothly.”

“Year after year passed. On and on and the public began to see him less and less. Once he had reached the age of fifty it had been five years since anyone outside of the palace had seen him. Some began to wonder if he was even alive. His chambers always remained locked, his curtains closed, candles unlit. Only a select few servants were allowed in his room; all of them completely blind. Every order and request he had was relayed through them.”

“Eventually, some of the other servants joined together to create a plan. One of them would impersonate a blind servant to check on him. A young maid named Nucia volunteered and so their plan was set into motion. She quietly snuck into the blind servant’s quarters, stole their clothes, and, once she had changed, slowly approached the king’s chamber. She nervously knocked on his door. When there was no answer she called out to him with a stutter. After a moment she heard him say, ‘Come in.’ She slowly opened the door and entered his room, making sure to close it behind her. The dim moonlight shined through the curtains giving her just enough light to not bump into anything. She could see the king’s outline sitting in a chair a few feet from her. 

“He asked her what she needed and she replied with a hurried ‘I’m here to change your bedsheets, your highness.’ He told her to be quick because he had much to do, and he preferred to be alone with his work. She promised that she would be and carefully made her way over to his bed. When Nucia got close enough she eyed the large window next to it, covered by dusty curtains that hadn’t been touched in years. She took in a deep breath and tore the curtains open. A thud came from behind her and when she turned around she gasped.

“There in a cushy armchair sat the king—or something that had once been him. The book he had been reading laid fallen on the floor. He looked as young as he did when she saw him last but his once healthy, plump skin had turned a sickly pale, and his eyes—oh, his eyes— had gone from a serene dark blue to a deep pupilless gold that looked like broken glass.”

The woman that sat in front of him whimpered.

“Please, allow me to finish.” He cleared his throat and continued. “Nucia ran out of the room screaming, ‘Monster! Monster!’ She caught the attention of the guards, who charged into his chambers. When they saw the creature, his soulless eyes, they grabbed their weapons and stabbed him, slashed him, skewered him.” His hands tightened on the armrests of his throne. “It had to be a shapeshifter or some other horrible creature that had taken the form of their beloved king. A being worth nothing that had taken and killed their ruler. Over and over and over and over again they attempted to kill the beast but he didn’t so much as bleed or cry out. Eventually, the creature had enough. His eyes glowed and the guards’ weapons removed themselves from him and turned on their wielders, cutting them apart.

“Once every soldier had fallen he saw her. Standing in the doorway, a look of utter horror on her face, was Nucia. Her brown hair still up in a neat little bun. Not a single scratch was on her despite her being the cause for the massacre. The creature yelled in anger as he commanded the blades to attack her but, once again, she managed to avoid punishment. 

“I wonder…” he mused, “Would she have still run if she truly understood the depth of her crime? The destruction it would cause? What do you think?” he asked the woman. She sat tied to an old, splintered, wooden chair. Her mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth. She shook her head while struggling against her restraints.

“I suppose it doesn’t really matter, does it?” he sighed. “Word spread quickly of the unkillable beast that had taken the king’s form. Some fled, others chose to storm the castle in hopes of reclaiming the land. One after another each hopeful knight, farmer, commander were all slain by the monster until the kingdom was left abandoned. Fields wilted, houses crumbled, each and every one turned to nothing more than dust. The beast, the king, was left with nothing. 

“That was…” He slowly stood from his throne. “Until a human got a little too curious for their own good. And not just any human, but one with a strikingly familiar face. Eyes the same shade of green as someone who escaped his grasp so long ago.” He stepped closer to her. “Unfortunately, the king knew it couldn’t be Nucia because, despite the similarities, the woman was too young and had hair as dark as the night. Even with this in mind, he captured her and brought her to his castle, the only structure that hadn’t completely crumbled to dust, because he knew, deep within him he knew, that this woman was Nucia’s descendent.” He came to stand in front of her. He leaned down so that his face was a hair’s breadth from hers. “Am I wrong?” She stared at him her eyes wide and body frozen.

 “I knew it.” A wide toothy grin came across his face. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a thick metal collar. The woman let out muffled screams as she fought even harder against the ropes. He quickly snapped it around her neck, locking it into place. Then he pulled out a knife. Tears fell down her face as he brought it closer and closer to her arm. She closed her eyes and looked away but no pain ever came. She looked at him in confusion as he cut each of her limbs free and ungagged her. As soon as the last rope was cut she pushed him away and ran. He effortlessly grabbed her arm and threw her to the ground. He stomped on her hand making her cry out. “Just as much of a coward as your ancestor, I see. Does it run in your bloodline, I wonder?”

“What do you want with me?” she yelled while trying to pull her hand out from under his boot.

“You are going to finish what Nucia started. You’re going to kill me.”

“What? Why would I do that?”

“This collar,”—he dragged her up by the collar— “keeps you linked to this place. If you so much as take a step outside the castle grounds you will die.” He pushed her back causing her to fall onto the dirty floor of his broken throne room. He pulled a key that was on a string around his neck out from under his shirt. “If you want to be free you will need this and the only way you can get this is if my heart stops beating.” He tucked the key back under his shirt. He dropped the knife to the floor and kicked it over to her.

She stared at the knife. After a moment, she picked it up with trembling hands and slowly got to her feet. He stood patiently waiting for her to ready herself. She took too shaky steps before falling back to the floor in a mess of sobs.

“Hmph. How disappointing.” He returned to his throne and sat, glaring at her. “ I had hoped you would get started as soon as possible, but I suppose that was too much to ask. I’ll give you time to rest and acclimate but don’t forget; I can wait forever. You, on the other hand, only have so much time.”

Thanks for taking the time and reading this! Any feedback is appreciated.

[imdoingthismspaintadventure]

WORM 1.5 : In which we are saved by the bestest of good boys

You don’t properly appreciate what superhuman strength means until you see someone leap from the sidewalk to the second floor of a building on the far side of the street.  He didn’t make it all the way to the roof, but he came to a point maybe three quarters of the way up.  I wasn’t sure just how Lung kept from falling, but I could only guess that he just buried his fingertips into the building’s exterior.

Holy shit.

He just mega jumped to the building where Taylor is and is hanging on the outside wall by his claws!

You better come up with a way to escape or to do something, cause you seem preeetyy dead right now.

I heard scraping and crunching as he ascended, and looked to my only escape route.  I didn’t harbor any delusions as far as my ability to get down the fire escape before Lung came over the top of the roof and deduced where I’d run off to.  Worse, at that point he could probably just beat me to the street level by jumping off the roof, or even just shoot fire at me through the gaps in the metal while I was halfway down.  The irony of the fire escape being anything but didn’t escape me.

Yeah that’s kind of a disadvantage of being in high-up places if you can’t fly or teleport or something. Pretty easy to get trapped.

I wished I could fly.  My school offered the choice between Chemistry, Biology and Physics, with Basic Science for the underachievers.  I hadn’t picked Physics, but I was still pretty sure that no matter how many I could gather together, jumping off the roof with a swarm of flying insects gripping me would be just as ineffective as the 9 year old superhero wannabes you heard about in the news, jumping off ledges with umbrellas and bedsheets.

 I really don’t think they can carry your bodyweight, or even slow down your descent. You would splat on the floor like a, well, bug.

Also holy shit that is kinda dark and probably a likely consecuence of powers in our world. Poor kids.

For the time being, I was stuck where I was.

Home BuildingStuck

Reaching inside the convex armor that covered my spine, I ran my fingers over the things I had buckled in there.  The EpiPens were meant to treat anaphylactic shock from allergic reactions to bee stings and the like, and likely wouldn’t do a thing to Lung, even if I could get close enough and find a point to inject.  Worst case scenario, the injections would supercharge his power by prompting a surge of whatever hormones or endorphins fueled his power.  Not useful, dangerous at best.  I had a pouch of chalk dust that was meant for climbers and gymnasts, I had seen it in the sports store when I was buying the lenses for my mask.  I had gloves and didn’t think I needed the dryness and extra traction, but I had gotten the idea that it could be useful to throw at an invisible enemy, and bought it on a whim.  In retrospect, it had been kind of a dumb purchase, since my power let me find foes like that with my bugs. As a tool against Lung… I wasn’t sure if it would explode like regular dust could when exposed to flame, but fire didn’t hurt him anyways. Scratch that option.

...Fuck yes

I love characters that think about what they could do best in every situation with the resources they have. If Taylor is like this for the rest of the serial....God I’m gonna enjoy this.

The problem is that I don’t think she has many options at all

I tugged the little canister of pepper spray free from my armor.  It was a black tube, three inches long, not much thicker around than a pen, with a trigger and a safety switch.  It had been a gift from my dad, after I had started to go on my morning jogs for training.  He had warned me to vary my route, and had given me the pepper spray for protection, along with a chain to clip it to my belt loop so it couldn’t be taken and used against me by an attacker.  In costume, I had opted not to keep the chain for the sake of moving quietly.  Using my thumb, I flicked the safety off and positioned the tube so I was ready to fire. I crouched to make myself a smaller target, and waited for him to show himself.

Hmmm could pepper spray work? Maybe if he doesn’t have his eyes or face fully armored...

Also I find the mental image of this possibly hilarious.

Lung’s hands, still on fire, were the first thing to show up, gripping the edge of the roof hard enough to bend the material that covered the roof’s raised lip.  His hands were quickly followed by his head and torso as he hauled himself up.  He looked like he was made of overlapping knives or spades, smouldering yellow-orange with the low temperature flame.  There was no skin to be seen, and he was easily seven or eight feet tall, judging by the length of his arms and torso. His shoulders alone were three feet across at the very least.  Even the one eye that he had open looked metallic, a glowing, almond shaped pool of liquid-hot metal.

He probably looks more like a daemon than a dragon now. At least he doesn’t seem to have wings...

Just a veritable inferno of molted metal and flame and a looot of anger

I aimed for the open eye, but the spray fired off at a sharp angle, just glancing off his shoulder.  Where the spray grazed him, it ignited into a short lived fireball.

Taylor used improvised flamethrower against the fire demon! Doesn’t seem very effective...

Hopefully the spray doesn’t ignite before touching his face because I think a pyrokinetic can handle himself otherwise...

I swore under my breath and fumbled with the device.  While he brought his leg over the edge, I adjusted my angle and shot again.  This time – with a small tweak of my aim mid-shot – I hit him in the face.  The ignited spray rolled off of him, but the contents still did the trick. He screamed, letting go of the roof with one hand, clutching the side of his face where his good eye was.

AAGH MY EYE! WHY IS IT ALWAYS THE GODDAMN EYE??!

Taylor could be an excellent markswoman, she seems to have a lot of precission and nuance in aiming.

It had been vain to hope that he would slip and fall.  I just counted myself lucky that however metallic his face looked, there were still parts of it vulnerable to the spray.

At least for now...

Lung hauled himself over the edge of the roof.  I had him hurting… I just couldn’t do anything about it.  My bugs were officially useless, there was nothing left in my utility sheath, and I would hurt myself more than I hurt Lung if I attacked him.  Making a mental note to pick myself up a concealable knife or baton if I managed to live through this, I bolted for the fire escape. 

Time to use the Joestar’s secret technique then!

Also yeah some hand to hand weaponry could be useful for the future. Probably not with this warp-demon, but with regular joes, so that we can be less squishy wizard in our approach

“Muh… Motherfucker!”  Lung screamed.  With my back turned, there was no way to see it, but the roof was briefly illuminated before the wave of flame hit me from behind.  Knocked off balance, I skidded on the gravel and hit the raised lip of the roof, just by the fire escape. Frantically, I patted myself down.  My costume wasn’t on fire, but my hair – I hurriedly ran my hands over it to make sure it hadn’t been ignited.

Oh fuck!

Yeah the fact that the costume is not yet fully complete came back to bite you it seems. Let’s hope we don’t end up with too severe burns in our first night out, christ.

Small mercies, I thought, that there was no tar used on the roof.  I could just imagine the flames igniting the rooftop, and just how little I’d be able to do if it happened.

That... would have been unfortunate. 100% fucked instead of the .... 87% we are at right now.

Lung stood, slowly, still covering part of his face with his hand.  He walked with a slight limp as he approached me.  Blindly, he lashed out with a broad wave of flame that rolled over half the roof.  I covered my head with my hands and brought my knees to my chest as the hot air and flame rushed over me.  My costume seemed to take the brunt of it, but it was still hot enough I had to bite my lip to stop from making a sound.

The costume seems to be fire resistant! Mostly.

Spider silk is fucking badass.

Lung stopped advancing, slowly turning his head from one side to another.

“Cock.  Sucker,” he growled in his heavily accented voice, his cussing interrupted by his panting for breath, “Move.  Give me something to aim for.”

Actual perfect recreation of trying to hunt a fly at 4 am in the morning when you can’t sleep, and aren’t a white hot metal terror.

I held my breath and stayed as still as possible.  What could I do?  I still had the pepper spray in my hand, but even if I got him again, I was running the risk that he would lash out and bake me alive before I could move.  If I moved first, he would hear me and I would get knocked around by another blast of flame, probably before I could get to my feet. 

Eeeh your options are...

1) Spray him in the face, get blasted

2) Stay quiet.... probably get blasted as well.

3)Try to get away, and get... I’m starting to see a pattern here

Lung moved his hand from his face.  He blinked a few times, then looked around, then blinked a few more times.  It was a matter of seconds before he could see well enough to make me out from the shadows.  Wasn’t pepper spray supposed to put someone down for thirty minutes?  How was this monster not an A-Lister?

Well ain’t that a fucking horrible thing to think about.

Either:

1) He’s way stronger than he should be and he’s basically content with being small-time thug, even with the potential he has in the larger world stage

or...

2) He’s a big fish in a small pond and the people out there make him look silly by comparison which is.... holy shit.

He suddenly moved, flames wreathing his hands, and I screwed my eyes shut.

At least he’s not saying feel the heat over and over

And also how the fuck will you get out of this one

When I heard the crackling whoosh of the flame and wasn’t burned alive, I opened my eyes again.  Lung was firing streams of flame, aiming for the edge of the roof of the adjacent building, a three story apartment.  I looked to see what he was aiming at, but couldn’t make anything out in the gloom or in the brief second of light Lung’s flames afforded.

!!!!!

Reinforcements!! Someone has come to help!! Or at least to fight AGAINST Lung!!

Yes!

With no warning, a massive shape landed atop Lung with an impact I could swear people heard at the other end of the street.  The size of a van, the ‘massive object’ was animal rather than vehicle, resembling a cross between a lizard and a tiger, with tangles of muscle and bone where it ought to have skin, scales or fur.  Lung was now on his knees, holding one of the beast’s sizable claws away from his face with his own clawed hand.

OH FUCK

A GIANT FUCKING METAL-LOOKING BONEY FERAL BEAST JUST FELL FROM NOWHERE AND IS FIGHTING AGAINST THE INFERNAL DRAGON MAN

Lung used his free hand to strike the creature across the snout.  Even though he was smaller than the beast, the impact made it rear back.  It took a few short steps back in reaction, and then rhino-charged him off the edge of the roof.  They hit the street with an audible crash.

AND THE TWO BERSERKERS ARE HURLING THEMSELVES OFF OF THE BUILDING TO THE STREET BELOW

This is glorious.

I stood, aware I was shaking like a leaf.  I was so unsteady on my feet, from the mixed relief and fear, that I almost fell over again as two more impacts shook the roof.  Two more creatures, similar to the first in texture, but slightly different in size and shape, had arrived on the rooftop.  These two each had a pair of riders.  I watched as the people slid off the backs of the animals.  There were two girls, a guy, and a fourth I identified as male only because of the height.  The tall one approached me, while the others hurried to the edge of the roof to watch Lung and the creature duke it out.

THEY WERE JUST THE RIDES FOR THESE PEOPLE

What a fucking entrance

“You really saved us a lot of trouble,” he told me.  His voice was deep, masculine, but muffled by the helmet he wore.  He was dressed entirely in black, a costume I realized was basically motorcycle leathers and a motorcycle helmet.  The only thing that made me think it was a costume was the visor of his helmet.  The full-face visor was sculpted to look like a stylized skull, and was as black as the rest of his costume, with only the faint highlights of reflected light on the surface to give a sense of what it was.  It was one of those costumes that people put together out of what they can scrounge up, and it wasn’t half bad if you didn’t look too close.  He reached out a hand towards me, and I leaned away, wary.

Damn he looks cool. He’s giving me ghost rider vibes in his outfit, but without the flaming skull part. Just badass biker energy

I didn’t know what to say, so I stuck to my policy of not saying anything that could get me into a worse situation.

At least you are not on fire, even though mr black leather and his zombie behemoths aren’t really giving me heroic vibes

Withdrawing his hand, the man in black jerked his thumb over one shoulder, “When we got word Lung was aiming to come after us tonight, we were pretty freaked.  We were arguing strategy for the better part of the day.  We eventually decided, fuck it, we’d meet him halfway.  Wing it.  Not my usual way of doing things, but yeah.”

Oh! ooooohhhh.

So the “Killing kids” part wasn’t actually murdering random civilians for the evulz

It was probably a territorial dispute! Cause these are totally villains or anti-heroes/vigilantes. Either/or

Behind him, one of the girls whistled sharply and pointed down at the street.  The two monsters the group had been riding on bounded across the roof and leaped down to the street to join the fight.

Seems like that one is the trainer.

The guy in black kept talking, “Wouldn’t you know, his flunky Lee is there with a half dozen guys, but Lung and the rest of his gang are nowhere to be found,” he laughed, a surprisingly normal sound for someone wearing a mask with a skull on it.

He doesn’t seem to consider us a threat at least so that’s a relief

So they fought his underling while our girl here, on her lonesome, straight up picked a fight with bossman.

“Lee’s no slouch in a fight, but there’s a reason he’s not leader of the ABB.  He got spooked without his boss there and ran.  I guess you’re responsible for that?”  Skull-mask waited for a response from me.  When I didn’t offer one, he ventured towards the edge of the roof and looked down, then spoke without turning to look at me, “Lung is getting creamed.  The fuck you do to him?”

Oh shit the venoms or the eye-injuries are making a difference in helping the hell-mount win!

“Pepper spray, wasp and bee stings, fire ants and spider bites,” the second of the girls said, answering the question for me.  She was dressed in a skintight outfit that combined black with a pale shade of blue or purple – I couldn’t tell in the dark – and her dark blond hair was long and windblown.  The girl grinned as she added, “He’s not holding up too well.  Gonna feel a helluvalot worse tomorrow.”

She can know all that with just a look??

Information-based powers!! Intuition? Clairvoyance? Omniscience? Those always seem crazy OP to me in terms of offering support!

The man in black suddenly turned to look at me, “Introductions.  That’s Tattletale.  I’m Grue.  The girl with the dogs-” he pointed to the other girl, the one who had whistled and directed the monsters.  She wasn’t in costume unless I counted a plaid skirt, army boots, a torn-up sleeveless T-shirt and a hard plastic, dollar-store rottweiler mask as a costume. “-We call her Bitch, her preference, but in the interests of being P.G., the good guys and media decided to call her Hellhound instead.  Last and certainly least, we have Regent.”

Grue? Huh, I can’t really guess what he could do based on that. Isn’t it like an urban legend or fairytale monster?

Tattletale...so her power IS information based! I also like the simpleness of her costume which I hadn’t mentioned

Bitch (Hellhound think of the children! ) looks really butch and badass from what I can hear. She seems to be the one with the beast power, cue the “Bitch” in her name

Regent...hmmm, something nobility-related?

I finally caught up with what he was saying.  Those monsters were dogs?

Abyssal doggos!!

“Fuck you, Grue,” Regent retorted, with a chuckle and a tone of voice that made it clear he wasn’t really that offended.  He was wearing a white mask, not quite as decorative or made up as the ones I associated with the carnivals in Venice, but similar.  He’d placed a silver coronet around his short black curls, and wore a ruffled white shirt with skintight leggings tucked into knee-high boots.  The outfit was very renaissance faire.  He had a build that made me think more of a dancer than a bodybuilder.

He looks really theatrical. I really like his aesthetics. I still wonder what his power is.

Introductions done, Grue looked at me for several long moments.  After a few seconds, he asked me, “Hey, you okay?  You hurt?”

“The reason she’s not introducing herself isn’t because she’s hurt,” Tattletale told him, as she continued to lean over the edge of the roof and watch whatever was going on at the street level, “It’s because she’s shy.”

Damn omniscients and their lack of privacy!!

Her power is actually scary though. No secrets with her around..

Tattletale turned around and it looked like she was going to say something else, but she stopped, turning her head.  The smile she’d been wearing faded, “Heads up.  We’ve gotta scram.”

Bitch nodded in response and whistled, one short whistle followed by two long ones.  After a brief pause, the building was suddenly rattled by impacts.  In just moments, the three creatures of hers leaped from the alleys to either side of the building and onto the roof.

Grue turned towards me.  I was still standing on the opposite end of the roof, by the fire escape. “Hey, want a ride?”

What?? Oh god is someone else coming as well?? What now?

I looked at the creatures – dogs?  They were bloodied, snarling creatures out of a nightmare.  I shook my head.  He shrugged.

The dogs look like something you would see on doom and it is amazing

“Hey,” Tattletale said to me, seating herself just behind Bitch, “What’s your name?”

I stared at her.  My voice caught in my throat before I was able to get the words out, “I don’t… I haven’t picked one yet.”

“Well, Bug, a cape is gonna show up in less than a minute.  You did us a solid by dealing with Lung, so take my advice.  Someone from the Protectorate shows up, finds two bad guys duking it out, they’re not going to let one walk away.  You should get out of here,”  She said. She flashed me a smile.  She had one of those vulpine grins that turned up at the corners.  Behind her simple black domino style mask, her eyes were glittering with mischief.  If she had red hair, she would have made me think of a fox.  She kind of did, anyways.

It’s true she doesn’t have a name yet! I guess bug would suffice for now.

And yuup they were bad guys, I knew it. Seems they have mistaken Taylor for one!

Well when you take into account the possibly too-grimdark edgy-lite costume and what she fucking did to Lung with her bugs in his eyes.... yeah I could see how they can draw that conclusion

With that, they leaped over my head, one of the three beasts hitting or stepping on the fire escape on the way down, eliciting a screech of metal on metal.

When I realized what had just happened, I could have cried.  It was easy enough to pin down Regent, Tattletale and Bitch as teenagers.  It wasn’t much of an intuitive leap to guess that Grue had been one too. The ‘children’ Lung had mentioned, the ones I had gone to so much effort to save tonight, were bad guys.  Not only that, but they had mistaken me for one, too.

Happy first day out as a hero, Taylor! Well done!

And it still might not be over yet, let’s see what happens with this hero arrival. Let’s hope they don’t reach the same conclusions this time.

But we will see that next time! See you in the next update!

[babygirlgalitzine]

Any smut about what might have prompted Aaron to plan a proposel ;)

so this took longer than i anticipated (ao3)

Aaron decides he wants to propose to Robert, or, a look back at their sex lives from the past four years.

Loving is easy, when everything’s perfect

It was just sex. They’d been doing it for almost four years.It was like second nature to them.

But it had changed, ever so slightly.

At first, in 2014 and 2015, the majority of their sex hadbeen rushed. It was Robert texting ‘A’, telling him to meet in out of the waybarns, stealing sneaky kisses behind closed doors. It was Robert falling to hisknees, and Aaron just falling. Robertkissing Aaron’s neck, biting his chest, marking him as his own- despite nothaving him. It was fast, and passionate, and fucking infuriating.

Aaron remembers a time when Robert had just grinned to him,body stretched over a small mountain of hay. He had his elbows back furtherthan his torso, leaning enticingly with his shirt open, exposing his chest,belt buckle unfastened as he commanded, “Come here then.” with a jerk of hishead.

Even when they booked hotel rooms, nothing was different(other than the fact they could spend more time together). It was still full tothe brim of passion, heat exhuming from their bodies. They just had more timeto themselves, to be themselves. Robert over Aaron, Aaron pinned to themattress as Robert moved in and out of him in a masterful rhythm, like he knewAaron’s body inside out.

Aaron supposed he did.

“Good enough for you?”Robert asked, walking into the extravagant hotel room holding his overnight bagin one hand, the rooms key card in the other.

Aaron looked aroundappreciatively, smiling. Robert had really sacked off work, and his family forthe weekend, just to spend time with Aaron. “It’ll do, I suppose.” He joked,watching as Robert’s face fell slightly. He recovered with an, “Oi, I’mkidding. This is incredible Rob! I never expected anything like this.”

Robert grinned inresponse, dropping his bag, throwing the key card in a similar direction,praying that they’d be able to find it later- and kissed Aaron. Like, properlykissed him. Hands on his cheeks, fingers cutting through his stubble, as Aaronsmirked into the touch, hands fumbling to the front of Robert’s body, undoinghis tie in anticipation.

Their bodies fell ontothe bed, the tidiness of the pristine white sheets quickly become unruly asthey teared layers of clothes off each other.

“Fuck Aaron.” Robertmoaned, with Aaron dipping his fingers into the back of Robert’s tight boxers,Robert tilting his head back instinctively.

Aaron just grinned,and then grinned even more so when Robert moved from kissing his lips, tokissing his neck, biting down when the moment took him. Especially when hewhispered “Fuck me.” into Aaron’s ear.

No need to ask himtwice.

It was rough, but theyboth felt amazing. They dripped in sweat as their orgasms took over theirbodies, pressed together as Aaron pushed into Robert one last time, legsshaking and lips trembling, entrapped in Robert’s.

Robert’s hands wereheld firmly above his head, Aaron’s fingerprints more than likely going toleave bruises, but he didn’t care much. That was probably the best sex he’dever had.

2016 was the year where it changed slightly. They’d beenapart for so long, that this amount of passion was inevitable. Robert had beenhelping Aaron through what would probably always be the most difficult time ofis life, and he managed to do that as his friend. Nothing more, nothing less.

They’d hugged more in the last couple of months more thanthey had in the two years prior. It was Robert comforting Aaron, telling himthat he’d get justice, and then he’d finally be happy and free. It was Aaronsmiling into Robert’s neck, lips tracing the skin that not long ago, he’d havebeen kissing and biting. It was Aaron finally getting justice for what that monster put him through, and gettingthat justice with his boyfriend by his side, holding his hand and supportinghim through that.

Aaron supposed that in that moment, he knew Robert was theone.

Which is why, when they finally reconnected in bed, thechange was evident.

“Are you sure?” Robertwhispered, his hand stroking Aaron’s cheek.

Both of them were laidon Aaron’s bed, covered only by their boxers, thin shirts and his greybedsheets.

Aaron nodded, restinghis cheek in Robert’s hand. “He took so much from me. I’m not letting him takeyou, us. I want this Robert, but if you don’t then we can just wait.”

“I’ve never wantedanything more. You know I love you Aaron, I just want to do right by you, makesure you’re okay.” Robert said, smile on his face, watching as Aaron leaned into kiss him.

Their lips touched,and sure, they’d kissed countless times before, even kissed a couple of times thatvery day- but nothing came close to this very moment.

Sensual, that was theword.

Aaron’s lips betweenRobert’s, slow and steady. Aaron even put his hands in front of him, liftingRobert’s shirt up and past his head. He kissed Robert’s collarbone, trailinghis lips down, leaving open mouthed kisses all down his torso, and then hestopped at the band of Robert’s boxers, huffing an almost silent laugh as hefelt Robert’s semi, and grinned as he freed Robert from the tight andrestrictive material, before taking the head of Robert’s cock into his mouth,licking at the tip, tasting saltiness and smirking as he pulled off with a‘pop’ sound, Robert’s fingers already intertwined in his hair. He looked upthrough his eyelashes and grinned even more, seeing Robert in his- nobodyelse’s- bed, eyes closed tightly, mouth open in lust, skin blushed a pink shadethat was visible even in the one bedside lamp that was switched on.

Getting to work, Aaronlicked the underside of Robert cock, closing his eyes in relief and pleasure asRobert tugged gently at his hair. He knew exactly what that tug meant- they’d donethis so many times before. It meant that Robert wanted Aaron to take all of himin his mouth, so that’s exactly what he did. And in that second, Robert swearshe could’ve come.

 2017 is the year it changed all again, for the third time.It was planning for their wedding, Aaron being arrested, an impromptu ceremonythat really meant nothing for anyone apart from Robert and Aaron, and then itwas all Aaron being sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment, reduced to twelve.It was when he got out that everything seemed to have changed, because the sexon their wedding night was incredible. It was their time, romantic, perfect andalso funny. Robert had almost gone flying when he tried to climb out of histrousers, still drunk from the high of marrying the man he loved, but also fromdowning several pints from a welly.

Oh, the Dingle traditions.

But when Aaron was released, the sex was just filled withguilt. Guilt of what Robert did.

“I love you.” Aarontold Robert, smile on his face.

They’d just burst intothe cricket pavilion, Aaron grinning at the thought of having alone time withRobert. And Robert loved to see that smile, he really did. But his stomach turnedover, doubled over in the pain of his terrible guilt. He knew he had to tellAaron before someone else did it for him, but he was scared, terrified even, oflosing the man he’s loved more than anybody.

“I love you too.”Robert said, truthfully. Because he did. He loved Aaron, and always had done,probably (most definitely) always will do, regardless of what people say abouthim.

Aaron leaned forwardand kissed Robert, taking his jacket off his shoulders, undoing the buttons ofhis shirt, ready to have sex, even if it was in a public place. Robert tookthat as initiative and unzipped Aaron’s hoodie, throwing it on the floor in apile where the rest of their clothes would soon follow. It was cold, yes. Butthey’d suffered through worse. This was just like reminiscing on their firstweeks and months they spent together, hiding from the world, but falling inlove all the same. Aaron’s legs shook as Robert pressed him against a dustywall, hitching his legs up to wrap around his waist as Robert pushed in and outof him, sweat dripping from his forehead, Aaron rolling his head back andmoaning as Robert came inside a condom, and Aaron came all over his (and Robert’s)chests.

“Oi, that’s my shirt.”Aaron smirked as Robert shoved the white t-shirt on over his head, quickly grabbingAaron’s black jacket putting it on. “And my hoodie.”

“Humour me.” Robert grinned,putting his hands on Robert’s face and kissing him softly, pulling away andseeing Aaron looking at him, waiting for another kiss.

He loved Aaron, hereally did. He loved sex with Aaron. But he didn’t love this guilty feeling hehad in the pit of his stomach- didn’t even like it.

It had been a long seven months, from July to February, butthey’d finally gotten back together. They’d made their way back to each other, throughall the pain and anger and hurt, and they’d decided that they’d change to maketheir relationship work.

They’d struggled, course they had. But they always made itwork. Always made time for each other, in and amongst the madness of their lives.Now, they definitely had changed, and it was for the better. They were stronger,and more settled. Which is why, when laying in bed, with Robert by his side,Aaron knew he wanted this for the rest of his life.

Robert had been toweringover Aaron, fingertips tracing every little bit of his skin lips following mereseconds later. “I love you.” He kissed into Aaron’s skin, not expecting a responsefrom Aaron, who was impatiently waiting for Robert to suck him off.

‘He’d have to wait awhile longer’, Robert thought, kissing Aaron’s hips, jumping to his thighs andlicking upwards, tongue running over the hairs on his legs, but he didn’t mind.

Eventually, he madehis way back up to Aaron, face to face, chest to chest. His eyes were shut,like he was trying to focus on anything but the moment they were sharing.Robert decided to kiss the tip of his nose, something that didn’t happen allthat often at all. It was that, that made Aaron open his eyes, pupils blown outand his eyes growing dark.

“What do you want?”Robert whispered, teasing him as he grinded down ever so slightly, watching asAaron’s face contorted.

“You.” Aaron breathedout.

And with that, Robertopened Aaron up, not that he needed much help, still gaping from the night before.Aaron moaned and writhed underneath his touch, head tilting back as Robertslipped his cock inside him, tongue and teeth pressed to his exposed collarbone.

He couldn’t help butgroan with every push in and out that Robert orchestrated, overcome withemotions.

Their bodies movedtogether, so in tune with one another. This was more than just having sex now.Everything was just so much more.

They’d come together,literally within seconds of each other, Aaron moaning Robert’s name and Robert collapsingonto Aaron, blond hair flicking into his eyes as he tried to gain some energy.

In the end, they’dcurled up next to each other, Robert’s arms wrapped around Aaron’s body, theirlegs intertwining, neither of the caring about the fact that they were starknaked and had barely just wiped the come from their bodies. Aaron put his handin Robert’s, holding them close to his chest, before lifting them to his lipsand kissing Robert’s left hand, feeling the harsh coldness of the ring that hehad put back on that finger just five months before.

He smiled, rememberingthat first morning after they reunited, and how they’d put their wedding rings backon. And it was in that moment, right there, Robert falling asleep cuddled upbehind him, that he knew he had to propose.

[teroknope]

I have a request if you aren’t too full? If it sparks your interest I was thinking maybe a Hux x general! Reader (or maybe a high ranking officer) and an emergency happens while she’s off duty & she’s summoned to the bridge IMMEDIATELY & has no time to change or anything so she runs to the bridge in her silk night gown and the whole time Hux is flustered. After the issue is resolved he & the reader flirt & confess feelings, he gives her his greatcoat to cover up while they walk back to her room?

A/N: This took me like three rewrites! I Hope you are happy with it Anon, thank you for requesting. I am in Hux hell at the moment ♥（ﾉ´∀`) Also, thank you to @yourdeadgirl-walking for helping me when i hit a writing block. 

Word Count: 4.K

Finally, it was over. The shift from hell. It was hell for two reasons. Firstly, for the fact, it was only supposed to last five hours and it had extended to a gruesome thirteen hours; the only light that met your face that day was the dull reflection of the computer screen. Secondly, it was a day filled with fixing numerous problems, faults and bugs within the tracking programme.

You were a lieutenant for The First Order, your speciality was the upholding and monitoring the tracking programme within The Finaliser; used to trace any foreign ships.

The shift began as normal, with you monitoring your station and performing standardised checks. Then, all the systems began to report vital errors. You visited engineering to request an inspection of the external scanners that sat on the dull grey panels of the ship exterior. But they concluded that it was in working order; this resulted in you spending all shift fixing the system itself. A cycle of repetitive calibration, repairs and testing. Over and over. It was tedious.

As the shift was finally drawing to a close, you found yourself leaning over the console, your back aching. The leather belt you wore around your mid-front made your stomach ache. Your leather gloved hands continuously tampering with the numerous buttons, praying that the repairs were sufficient. 

After a short while, the affirming sound you wanted to hear about four hours ago rattled through the grey earpiece you wore. It was a good sign, it meant the system was finally working.

The relief that flew through your body as you relaxed was welcoming. Then, you remembered you had to file a report regarding the malfunction. Hopefully, you would not be requested to complete it until your next shift. You shifted the earpiece off your head, letting it rest at around the grey collar.

“Lieutenant L/N”.  Ah, that stern voice. The one which you admired so much. Eagerly, your eyes glanced up to look at the path that was above you. Your eyes met the tall demeanour of General Hux. His woollen greatcoat resting on his slim shoulders, falling elegantly behind his slender legs. His arms were locked behind his back; looking at proper as always.

“General Hux,” You acknowledged your superior officer. You had had a secret admiration for General Hux. Friends on your homeworld would call him a monster, a tyrant. It was not his stern composure which attracted you to him, but his uttermost dedication to a cause you both believed in with all of your beings.

“I take it from your relieved expression, that things are to be in working order?” his voice was as authoritative as usual.

 “Yes, Sir. The targeting system appears to operate correctly.” You conceited “Although I am unsure what caused the error.”

You tried to hide the pride in your voice, you nearly offered to continue to investigate the issue. But you had already overstayed your welcome on the bridge, and you felt your eyes going tired. The report would be a jumble of incoherent sentences.

“I’m sure that will come to light in due time, and well done on your efforts today” Hux’s unusual friendly l demeanour struck a chord in your heart. 

“Thank you, General” You saluted him before removing your headpiece from your beck, gently placing it on the console and marching off to the next best thing; your bed. You sauntered up to the metallic stairs to the exit door, where General Hux was waiting at the bleak doors.

“Have a pleasant evening, L/N” His voice was unusually soft.

your eyes met his, you never noticed before the greenish tint in his eyes, or how tired he actually looks. You found yourself admiring how he always presented himself as the exact opposite of perhaps what he actually was; an overworked, sleep-deprived individual.

“Likewise, General.” The corner of your lips lifted upwards into a generous smile before you walked off to your chambers. Hux found himself subconsciously watching you stroll out of the bridge; his eyes lingering for slightly too long.

While you were only a lieutenant, it did come with small privileges. The greatest one is having a room to yourself. It was small, cramped, but yours. The room consisted of furniture which was all the same reflective black metal. The bed was small and rested against the corner of the room. A small table sat next to it, where you placed your transceiver and holopad. Other than that was a small wardrobe which consisted of your uniform and casual wear. As well as a small ensuite bathroom.

It was your room, but it was still really dominated by The First Order. The only piece of individually you truly had was a piece of night clothing you kept in your wardrobe.

When you returned to your chambers the first thing you did was remove your uniform and neatly lay it on the dark bedsheets. You took a long shower and change into the standard night attire. A simple black long-sleeved top and bottoms; although you knew you would not be wearing this for the rest of the night.

As scheduled The protocol droid arrived at your chambers; the doors automatically opening for it. It had to bend down slightly to peer into your room.

“I am here to collect your uniform” It hollowly informed you, it was the only thing it ever said to you. You handed it your uniform, it departed without another word. Once the doors shut, you set the private code on it; you would have to give the approval to allow anyone to enter your room unless it was a general of course. 

One of the benefits of being a high-ranking officer of The First Order is small luxuries. Some officers hold exquisite alcohol in their cabins, others choose to spend it on one night with the most extravagant escorts. But for you, it was the luxury of a dark silk nightgown.

You pulled out the small black box that rested in your wardrobe, placing it on the dark bathroom counter. Pulling out a sleeveless black silk down. You placed it on the immaculate floor, stepping into it and pulling over your hips, pulling the dark straps over your shoulders.

You always adored the fabric as it glided over your skin. An exquisite change, this was your vice, your luxury. You loved the feel of it as it rested on your body, falling just above your knees. The soft lining made for a relaxing change compared to the restricting rough uniform. 

After changing you settled on your firm mattress. you remembered the soft feathery feeling of the pillows from your home planet. As a child, you found them infuriatingly soft, but compared to the rough firm material of the First Order standard pillow and duvets, they were a luxury you wished you had enjoyed more. Even so, the thirteen-hour shift had taken its toll. It was not before long that you found your eyes shutting, hoping to awaken refreshed and relaxed. 

An irritating noise disturbed your peaceful sleep.

Your eyelids creased themselves open, blinking a few times before noticing the flashing of the intercom that was cemented to your bedside table. A lowly sign escaped your dry lips as your hand lightly clicked the device. Thankfully, it was only an audio transition and not a holovid.

“What is it” You drowsily murmured.

“Regardless of the time of the cycle, I expect you to respond to your captain as appropriate” The stern voice of Captain Hackin boomed through the speakers. God, the thought flew through your mind if you spoke to General Hux in such a manner. You would have been distraught.

A quiet sigh escaped your lips, your fingers rubbing your eyes in frustration “My Apologies Captain, what is the issue?”.

As you ached yourself out of the comfort of your small warm bed to sit on the edge of the bed Hackin continued to speak;

“There is a bug within the tracking system, we require your expertise on the matter.” His voice was as bleak and as monotone as ever. You ran your hands through your messy hair, you attempted to hold back a yawn as you replied;

“Officer Geller Sir is the most suitable to fix the problem”. The answer flew through your lips quicker than it entered your mind. This was the first time you had been disturbed while off shift; You really did not appreciate it. Especially after your hard efforts today

“We contacted officer Geller, He appropriately informed us that he was inadequately skilled to fix the issue” A scoff left your lips. Inadequately trained your arse, he was just too afraid to face the wrath of General Hux if he could not fix the problem, or make it worse “As a result, your presence is demanded immediately on the bridge Leuitenant L/N”.

“Sir,” You tried to battle back, but in your sleep ridden state “I am not on shift. Additionally, my uniform is- “

“Be on the bridge in five minutes, L/N. No later. Or you will face the consequences.”

Bastard. The intercom shut off before you were able to reply. While you were proud and good at your job; the fact you had to return to work after a relentless thirteen-hour shift frustrated you. You checked the time of the cycle, you had been asleep for no less than two hours.

“What will they gain from a half-awake officer” You murmured to yourself. You wanted nothing more than to collapse into bed, but instead, you found yourself throwing on the only uniform you had. You’re drab worn-in leather boots. You slid them onto your feet, took one look in the mirror to fix your messy hair and left your room.

The bridge was quiet when you ambled through the dull doors. There were officers who worked during the night cycle, it was almost half the amount. Numerous faces you were not accustomed to. You confidently strode on the path in front of you, heading in the direction of Captain Hackin who was currently deep in discussion with General Hux.

Your hands were clasped tightly behind your back, anxiety flew through you as you noticed the stern slim man. You had stridden through the corridors without a thought of your appearance. You did not notice if anyone was looking at you, and you did not care, your duty came above all else. Even if it was after hours. You reached the end of the path and waited for Hux and Hackin to finish their conversation before speaking; you did not see fit to listen to it.

More so, your eyes focused on General Hux, the way he held himself with confidence as Captain Hackin whined to him, pointing out figures on the datapad in his hands. It was a short moment later when Hackin turned to acknowledge you. You noticed the small movement of his lips as he went to speak; then pushing his lips closed again. His face appearing slightly flustered.

“L-Lieutenant L/N” Hackin stammered, His gloved fingers dancing around the edge of the datapad. He appeared nervous.

You kept your voice low “May I have the details of the issue Captain so I can get to work.”

Hackin handed you the datapad which contained the vital details of the error that had encapsulated the system  Your ungloved hands taking the cold metal into your grasp. He delved into the details, his voice slurring as he continued to point out the numerous faults that had occurred.

Meanwhile, Hux did not interrupt your conversation; rather he was encapsulated by you. The whole of you. He became aware of how his stern composure was slipping, but only when you were there. 

He watched your ungloved fingers move across the datapad, noticing how slim your hands looked without the bulky gloves. He imagined how soft they would feel. His eyes adverted to the thin black straps that floated on your soft shoulders, as well as the small details of your soft supple neck.

Hux felt himself hearing his heartbeat in his ears, his hands getting clammy underneath his gloves. His eyes travelled across the gentle back scoop of the neckline which rested just above your chest. The scoop was humble, Hux could have easily glanced down at your gentle curve of your breasts but he maintained his strict composure, as much as he wanted to let his eyes explore he found it wildly inappropriate. 

Hux realised, he found you beautiful, It really had been a long time since he had an individual such as yourself effect him so much. Someone who lingers in his mind when he get’s time to rest.

Hux assumed you were focusing on the datapad, but as Hackin was blatantly overexerting himself by giving too much information, your eyes shortly flickered to Hux. You gratefully observe how he was gazing at you. Your eyes locked for a short second, a very small smile crept on your lips before you diverted your eyes back to the datapad. You still had a job to do after all.

“I’ll get to work right away Captain” You tucked the cold pad under your arms and made your way to your station; it was left in the same clean state that you left it in, which unfortunately meant that no one had tampered with the console, how irritating.

An hour had passed swiftly while you ran diagnostics on the console, you were still wearing only your boots and your night attire. Thankfully, no one had pointed this blatantly obvious fact to you, far too focused on their own duties. This was a time where you were truly grateful for the strictness of The First Order officers, any diversion away from the task at hand would be met with swift and brutal consequences. 

You found yourself missing your uniform; you usually believed the uniform was far too stiff and uncomfortable. Yet, it really made you warm. You realised how cold the entire ship was, especially the bridge. You tried to prevent yourself from running your arms across your Goosebumps ridden arms and settled for crossing then against your chest, at least your feet were warm. You began a diagnostic test and awaited the results on the console.

Hux strutted down the sullen steps into the array of consoles; a few other officers were hard at work but he paraded past them and headed towards you.

“Lieutenant, L/N” His voice was stern.

“General” You peered at him, your arms still strongly wrapped across your chest, indicating how cold you were. It was difficult to hide your shivering.

“As your commanding officer I have to ask,” Hux felt nerves bubble throughout his empty stomach, he was glad he had not eaten yet or he feared it would have come up through his mouth. “Where is your, appropriate uniform?”.

Even you could sense the change in his voice; he seemed nervous. “General, I tried to inform Captain Hackin. I am not due to shift for another two cycles. My uniform is being cleaned. I can only apologise for my attire” You felt calm in front of the presence of this man who sent fear into hearts of the republic, as well as your fellow officers.

Hux knew you were doing your job, he also knew Hackin could have phrased his call to you much better. Although, he was grateful for the naïve captain’s mishap. 

The console beeped through the earpiece you wore, drawing your attention away from Hux. As you pulled your arms away from your chest to click the numerous buttons the coldness of the ship hit you again. Hux noticed a shiver creep through your form, as much as you tried to hide this fact it was very obvious. A lump caught in his throat and he found himself doing something rather unusual.

Your eyes were focused completely on the console, it was only until you saw the woollen material creep into your field of vision that you realised what was happening. Hux had smoothly removed the greatcoat that loomed over his slim figure; he grasped it by the shoulder seams, his knuckles tightening as she nervously gripped it, he wondered if he would regret his actions. He slowly placed it on your freezing frame.

You could feel the warmth through his gloved hands as he skimmed your shoulders, it was divine. His touch was surprisingly gentle, you found it intensely intimate. You swore you could feel his hands lightly shaking as they rested on your shoulders for a second before he removed them. The coat fell on you, you could feel the looming weight of the fabric.

You turned your head to face him, looking away from the console for a brief second. There was an awkward silence.“…Can’t have you freezing on the bridge” He stated as it was a matter of fact.

A grateful smile crept onto your lips “Thank you, General”.

For General Hux, the greatcoat hovered at his ankles. But for you it was touching the floor; you felt bad for such a fine piece of clothing having to sweep across the metal slabs. 

Your chilly ungloved hands gripped the lapels tightly as you pulled them closer to your chest; embraced the thickness of the coat. You observed that the lining was dark grey, and very soft. The coat smells like him, you could not pinpoint the smell, but It made your heart beat faster in your chest. You adored it.

Hux interrupted the silence that had surrounded you both “Once you have finished with the repairs, report to my office.”

“Yes, sir,” You eagerly beamed.

He grinned at you before walking away confidently; his hands wrapped around his back. Your eyes followed him, now finally fully awake, as he returned to the edge of the bridge. You noticed how the officers in your area threw their heads back to their work as Hux passed them, it made you feel giddy.

An hour and fifty minutes later and the repairs were finished; you knew in your mind that Geller could have fixed the issue if his fear of General Hux did not prevent him. Perhaps if he did fix the issue he could have earned himself a nice promotion. But has luck would have it, he cowered out. Thankfully, this resulted in you now standing in front of General Hux’s office door. His greatcoat still looming over your shoulders and unfortunately the fine fabric gracing the clean floor.

As you were striding from the bridge to the office you held the greatcoat closer to you; it would fall off your shoulders otherwise. You adored how it elegantly flowed as you walked. Unsurprisingly to yourself, it gained more attention than your nightgown. Of course, the ranked stripes on the arm did not match your own rank, no doubt officers would begin to gossip and talk about this. The thought made you excited inside, although you were not sure why.

You pressed the intercom that rested next to the silvery doors; they shifted open instantly. Wearily, you entered his office, unsure what to expect. The lights were dim, around twenty percent. A luminous light that rested on the bleak office desk reflected off Hux’s face, making him look more light-toned than usual.

“Lieutenant L/N” You could sense tiredness in his low voice “I take this to mean the issue has been resolved?”

“Yes, sir.” You responded.

“I understand, I will tell Captain Hackin not to disturb you again.” Hux noticed how your hands were clinging to his coat, pulling it closer to you. While it slightly aggravated him that his greatcoat was sweeping the floor; he was more taking notice of how it enveloped you.

Knowing you would be returning to your room for the night, you sorely began to shift the heavy woollen coat from your shoulders; you could feel the chill of the room hit your shoulders as you began to remove it.

While Hux secretly wanted nothing more than for you to remove his coat from your shoulders, he found himself rising to his feet from the uncomfortable office chair. His voice authoritative as he spoke “Please, keep it” He paused, almost regretting his choice of words “Until you have your uniform returned, of course.”

A soft smile graced your lips, as you lifted it back onto yourself “Thank you, General.” You pulled it closer to yourself, “Permission to speak freely, sir?”

He closed his lips together before speaking, “Granted,”

“Did you not fear what people would say when you gave me your coat?” You were half genuingly curious; and half wanting to know what he would say.

His lips curved into a smirk “Well, people love to talk. But they know if they dare talk about me in such a way, that they will face severe consequences.” 

The way he asserted his power sent ripples through your being. He found himself walking closer to you as he answered your question. By the time he finished his sentence, he was standing opposite you.

It was now and never, you decided to push. See what made him react, out of the confines of the bridge “What do you think they will talk about if they did?”

He admired how forward you were becoming, he found it immensely attractive. “Do you care about what other people say?” His voice low, quiet. 

“I can’t say I do, General.” Your voice sultry. You found that your bodies were nearly touching. Your right hand lightly brushing his left one; you could feel the coldness of the leather on your fingers as you moved them across the back of his hand. 

“I think we have gotten past the point of titles now, Y/N” Hearing your name leave his lips sent ripples through your stomach. Your eyes shifted up to meet his expression, the light in the room was dim. You could just about make out the small details of his face, he was bearing an alluring smile. “Of course when on the bridge, I expect you to refer to me as General”.

You replied eagerly “And I expect you to continue to refer to me as a lieutenant, Armitage”.

The way you name left your soft lips sent impulses flowing through his mind, and other parts of his body. He watched your lips eagerly, That same smile still present on them. It felt too much for him.  Your fingers were still brushing over his hand, then you felt him twist his hand to meet yours. He held it firmly in his thin fingers. He wished he had removed his glove so he could feel his hand on his own skin.

You went to repeat to say what he referred to you “Only on the bridge,” You looked into his eyes again, his expression was intense, almost threatening. You were not sure what he was thinking, or what he would do next. 

“Armitage, I should- “ 

Before you could finish your sentence, you felt his fine lip meet yours. It was intimate and unexpected. Your smooth lips brushed against his, relishing at the contact you both had desired for so long. 

You leant into the intense kiss; unsure where to place your hands and decided to rest them on his slim chest. His arms twisted their way around your back, underneath his greatcoat and clutched at your waist. Pulling you closer to his slim frame. 

You both pulled away, his hands still rested on your waist. Both of you breathing heavily, your lips still brushing against one another. You looked up onto his face, his eyes were closed; savouring the moment.

“We should wait, until we have more privacy” Armitage quietly spoke, his hands regrettably removing themselves from your hip.

“I agree,” You softly planted a warm kiss on his hollow cheek. “I should go,”

“Of course, after all, it is the middle of the night cycle.” His smile was small but genuine.

You pulled the greatcoat closer to yourself again, “Goodnight, Armitage. Please, make sure to get some sleep.”

Armitage did not expect a comment to come from your lips, it had been a long time since someone had taken notice of his wellbeing “I will, Y/N. Have a pleasant night”.

One the doors shut, he sat down at his desk and attempted to return to his work. He frequently found himself running his fingers over his lips.

Two Cycles later you returned to the bridge, thankfully in your uniform. You folded Armitage’s coat across your arms as you walked to the bridge. You thought about taking it to laundry first, but that would result in invasive questions from the protocol droids. You decided to return it to his office.

You walked up to the grey door, the moment you met it he ambled. For once, not looking as tired as usual. It appeared he had heeded your advice and slept well.

“Ah, Lieutenant L/N” His voice authoritative and low.

“General Hux, I wanted to return your coat before I reported to the bridge.” There it was again, the mischievous smile that crept onto your lips; Hux adored it. You handed him his coat and he took it off you, he secretly brushed his hand against yours as he did.

“Thank you, Lieutenant L/N”. 

“Have a pleasant shift General, check the inside pocket” you spoke very quietly. Before Hux could react you turned and paced to the bridge.

Hux threw the greatcoat over his shoulders, manoeuvring his slim arms into the softly lined sleeves. The coat felt different, it smelt of you. It made him warm and relaxed. He reached his leather gloved hand into the hidden pocket, pulling out a small piece of neatly folded white paper. He unfolded it slowly, his eyes slowly glancing at your neat handwriting.

Thank you for your greatcoat General, it kept me warm especially during the night cycle. My room number is SX42.

You knew Armitage Hux had the power and access to retrieve your personnel file, which contained your room number. But it was more of a symbolic message; this much he understood. The corner of his lips turned into a small before he placed it back into his hidden pocket. 

[heartslogos]

seas who could sing so deep and strong [92]

Kore wakes to the sound of something familiar, something that pulls at something deep in the recesses of her mind. Not like a new memory - and old memory, being made new again, and being made fresh with its unfamiliarity - resurfacing and coming over her like a wave that she needs to brace for. This is not a memory, this is something pulling at a memory. There is a difference.

Kore wakes, the heat of one of her numerous companions steadily breathing against her back - based on the size and lack of snoring she’s going to guess it’s either Valencia or Alpha - and her Djinn cuddled up against her stomach and chest, its fleshy body warm against the palm of her hand as she absently runs her thumb over one of its ridges.

She looks around, blearily looking for the source of this sound.

And she sees Umbra sitting next to the somachord, hand raised over it.

Umbra’s back is to her as he quietly interfaces with the machine.

She begins to register the actual sound, now.

A woman’s voice. Singing. Not words, just sound. Slow, simple.

She knows what comes next.

A pause.

A chorus.

Her throat and chest close and she croaks out, “Stop.”

The sound is swallowed by the chorus of voices, children’s voices, repeating back the notes.

Memories shake inside of her, a rumbling and a clattering that stirs up the dark and the dirt and the forgotten and the lost and the willingly consigned, obscuring everything else as she quickly untangles herself from Sentinel, kubrow, and blanket. The Orbiter floor is cold beneath her knees and palms as she drags herself out of bed, sheets tangled around her ankles, pinned by her heavy dog - Alpha, based on the color - and she grunts when she’s pulled back by his weight.

“Stop,” Kore repeats, as the voices was over her, high and young and gentle and so very unaware of what they are about to become. The memories rise around her, pulling her down and into them.

Is the Orbiter floor cold, or is it just her hands?

Margulis. Would-be-mother-Margulis. Mother of all Tenno. Mother of every single child on that fucking ship.

Memories.

Margulis and her kindness. Margulis and her empathy. Margulis and her courage. Margulis and the Jade light.

Margulis’ outrage. Her fear. Her disgust.

Margulis and her smiling face even after she was blinded.

Margulis’, “It is not your fault,” after they found out that she was condemned.

The songs. The books. The stories. The comfort that never quite reached her, but the sentiment and the effort did.

Kore never believed in the things Margulis told them - that they were gifted, that they were alive for a reason, that they are children and Orokin and should be protected and held precious, that they weren’t monsters or tools or things to be experimented and studied and built upon. Kore didn’t believe it when they were muzzled and kept in chains and prisons.

But Kore believed in Margulis’ intent. And she appreciated it. The kindness. The attempt to make them people instead of things again.

Kore appreciated it, even if it was not for her.

“Stop,” Kore repeats as the song begins to crest, to evolve, to complicate and change. Umbra hears her now, or maybe decides to pay attention to her, and turns over his shoulder.

Kore reaches out and gets her fingers around the tail end of his ragged scarf, clenching the black material in her fist.

“Stop,” She repeats.

Umbra flicks his wrist and the song changes to an ambient thing that fades from her attention as she lies on the floor, half tangled in bedsheets, fist clenched around Umbra’s scarf.

Umbra’s hand moves over her, running fingers through her hair. The texture of his hands catches on her hair a little. Kore closes her eyes.

Alpha, awake now, quietly chuffs. She doesn’t hear him move - he really does live up to his namesake - but she feels it when he noses at her side, and then places a paw on her back, gently nudging her.

“I miss her, because I feel sorry for her,” Kore tells Umbra.

Umbra, who has known her mind as she knows his, Umbra who she cannot lie to. Umbra, who is part of her soul and therefore can tolerate no lies.

(Every warframe she has been in, every single body she has piloted, all of them become part of her and she a part of them. Empty slates that bear the faintest ghosts of her hand.)

“She was not my mother,” Kore says as Umbra untangles her from her bedsheet and helps her stand up. “But she wanted to be. For all of us. And I can appreciate that. And hen they took her away for it. They took her away from the ones that did need her, that did rely on her, that did want the connection she offered.”

Kore sits back down on her bed, Djinn immediately slotting itself into place in her lap, like a very fleshy toy, and Alpha lies back down along her side, a quiet and warm bar of heat.

Umbra kneels next to her, silent. She reaches over and puts her hand on his shoulder, and she feels the warmth of transference between them. She imagines a single gold palm print on his shoulder as energy flows from her to him.

There is a sea of empty calmness, and the faintest touch of sympathy.

“What were you looking for?” Kore asks. She knows Umbra wanders her ship. Sometimes he just sits in the transference chamber, or he stands on the observation deck and just looks out into the darkness of space. She hasn’t really come across him actively doing anything, not like today.

She feel-remember-hears the sound of drums. The sound and beat of them familiar. The ceremonial drums for summoning the guardians. The Dax, the Tenno.

She wonders if he misses the familiarity, the formality, of being summoned. The drums, and then the war.

“Ordis,” Kore says, “The drums.”

“Of course, Operator,” Ordis replies, instant and clear, and the soma chord switches once again. Umbra’s chin tilts up, as he refocuses on the device and his posture seems to relax just a little.

Kore lets her hand fall from his shoulder, and he turns to look at her.

“It’s okay,” Kore says, “You don’t need permission to remember the things that hurt you.”

Umbra shakes his head, just a little, after a pause. He holds his hand out and Kore takes it. She feels the wash of a faint and lingering emotion.

Pride.

Kore understands this too.

“You don’t need an excuse or permission for that either,” Kore says. “You can be proud of what you once were.”

Umbra’s fingers curl around her hand and he turns back towards the somachord.

Kore slowly lies down, and goes back to sleep.

[darling-archeron]

Taken

What exactly happened the night two human sisters were taken from their beds to the lands of the fae? Nesta’s POV.

The first thump awoke Nesta.

She had been sleeping later these past nights, ever since the Illyrians had been posted at the manor. She rarely saw them, but that almost made their presence more unnerving.

Perhaps she would’ve fallen back into another fitful sleep, mistaking the thump as nothing more than an animal outside.

But the noises didn’t stop.

Thump.

Thump.

Crash.

What the hell?

The unmistakable sound of a sword being drawn, of blades crashing together as a pain-filled scream pierced the air – an Illyrian’s scream. Shit.

What would have to be done to fae warrior to get him to scream like that?

Shit.

Nesta leapt out of bed, adrenaline pumping through her veins as panic began to cloud her vision.

Not now. Stay focused, damn it. Deep breaths.

Her hand found the edge of her nightstand, palm digging into the wood hard enough to hurt.

Find Elain. Breathe.

Forcing the panic to the back of her mind, Nesta felt for the top drawer of the nightstand, pulling it open in the darkness and drawing out a small, plain dagger. She had purchased it at the market last week out of pure paranoia, careful not to let Elain see it. She trusted Cassian – and Feyre - enough that she thought he wouldn’t leave disloyal guards at the residence of two human woman – but she didn’t trust the Fair Folk enough not to make the purchase.

She was glad she had bought it now, not to fight off a Night Court soldier, but to offer whatever flimsy defense she could against whatever hellish creatures were in her house.

The crashes and thuds continued from the bottom level of the house – and then suddenly stopped as something heavy thumped on the mahogany floors.

For a moment the fear overtook her again, and she couldn’t think, couldn’t move. Her body and mind seemed to catch up all at once, shifting over to autopilot as Nesta raced for the floor, nearly tripping over the bedsheets her feet had been caught in as she threw the door open. Skidding down the hall in her bare feet, she almost wished for a fae’s unhuman reflexes for not the first time.

She reached her sister’s door – the one closest to the stairwell - just as several pairs of footsteps began their ascent up the stairs.

Nesta drew a sharp breath in, fumbling with the doorknob in the darkness before twisting it open so fast her skin burned.

A scream greeted her.

Elain stood in the center of the room, holding an upside-down wooden chair by its back like a weapon. She wore only a lacy, pale blue nightgown – no shoes or dressing robe. Her stance relaxed slightly as she realized it wasn’t a faery, eyes darting across Nesta as she took in her sister’s equally unkempt appearance, eyes catching on the dagger still clutched in Nesta’s fisted hand.

Seconds had passed – the footsteps were nearing the top of the stairs now. Nesta slammed the door shut behind her and ran to Elain.

“Climb out the window, Elain.” She hissed. “Let me deal with this.”

Elain shook her head. “I’m not stupid, Nesta –“

Nesta pushed passed the pillar of determination her sister had become and went to unlatch the window, determined to get Elain out even if –

The footsteps reached the top of the stairs, right in front of the room. A low chuckle sounded, a voice like fingernails scraping the edge of a knife. Elain made a sound somewhere between a whimper and a scream.

“I can hear every word you ladies are saying, you know. Running won’t do you any good – but I think you both know that already, don’t you?”

A woman’s voice interrupted. “Now, Bates. There’s no need to be so uncivilized.” Nesta could’ve sworn she heard the tinkling of bells as the door opened with a click, Elain’s breath catching in her throat as Nesta turned back, stepping in front of Elain.

The door swung wide open, and a lithe woman stepped through.

No – not woman. High Fae.

She was shorter than Nesta had expected, cloaked in a blue robe, with strands of blonde hair framing her face. And – indeed, bracelets of bells adorned both wrists.

Behind her stood two guards – also high fae. They looked as though they were made of stone, carved from the mountains themselves. The only distinguishing feature between the two of them seemed to be the eye color – one had silver, one black.

Nesta stepped forward, shoving her fear into a corner. “Get out of my house.”

The female laughed. “Or you’ll do what, Nesta dearest?”

How did she know my name?

She looked Nesta up and down, eyebrows raised as she noticed the dagger. “Your grip is all wrong.” The haughtiness in her voice made Nesta want to throw said dagger at her, wrong grip and all.  

“I was expecting more of a fight from you after everything I’d heard from Feyre.”

Feyre…had lied to them?

Memories of the past months flew through Nesta’s head as she combed through every encounter as quickly as she could. Her blood was boiling, her pulse was racing -

No. It doesn’t add up. She thought the words just as Elain – sensing her tense up – grabbed her arm.

“What business do you have with Feyre?” Elain’s voice was surprisingly fierce, even as she released Nesta and went back to twisting her pearl engagement ring.

Feyre would not have sold them out. Despite their clashes over the years, she refused to believe her youngest sister have betrayed them like this.

The female’s voice remained serenely calm. “We’ve been sent too…retrieve you on behalf of both Feyre Cauldron-Blessed and the King of Hybern –“

“Feyre would never conspire with a monster like him.” Nesta hissed, rage boiling up inside of her.

“Enough of this, Ianthe.” One of the stone-hewn guards spoke for the first time since entering the room. “We have a schedule to keep.”

Ianthe waved her hand flippantly. “Yes, very well. Seize them.”

Nesta froze. This had to be a nightmare, some kind of sick dream. The words from these monsters sounded almost cliché - like something the villain from an adventure novel would say right before the prince swept in and saved the weeping damsels.

But this wasn’t a book, and no prince was there to save her.

And Nesta Archeron certainly was not a weeping damsel.

So as the soldiers moved to capture the ladies of the household, Nesta lunged.

She threw the dagger – forcing all her energy into the throw – only to be grabbed so roughly from behind she felt her nightgown tear and shoulder pop. The black-eyed guard bound her hands before she could blink.

Behind her, Elain screamed.

No.

She tried to turn around to catch a glimpse of her, only to be shoved down, forehead on the floor.

She kicked.

She screamed.

A guard leaned forward to touch her face, and she bit his finger.

Still, it was not enough.

Finally, she caught a glimpse of Elain. The woman’s skin was already starting to bruise from rough hands, hiccupping sobs racking her body as the silver-eyed guard looked down at her, staring appreciatively at her body.

“Get. Away. From my sister.” Nesta hissed through clenched teeth, shoulder still burning. Not Elain. Never Elain.

She wasn’t met with a response as the black-eyed guard swung her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing.

His grip remained like iron as Nesta went limp and then started thrashing all over again.

Ianthe remained in the same spot, wearing a smirk like fine jewels.

“Elain!” She screamed, hot tears rolling down her face. Nesta felt with absolute certainty that they were going to die.

Elain was bound on the floor, hiccupping sobs gasping out of her. She was now being grabbed the same way. Her guard’s hand, however, rested firmly on Elain’s hips for a moment too long.

Bastards. She was going to tear them to pieces, she was going to –

Every one of Nesta’s violent thoughts disappeared as the world seemed to…fold, somehow. Darkness engulfed her, the only presence she was certain of was the guard holding her.

She screamed into the blackness again and again until, suddenly, the world returned – if only for a moment before the darkness took her into its fold once more.

Perhaps this was winnowing. The skill that – according to Feyre – only powerful High Fae could accomplish. The gift given to the mortal queens.

They continued on, weaving in and out of darkness’s fold. Until they arrived at the gates of a dark castle, a fortress for a demon king.

Elain is going to die.

[academla]

Debunking studyblr stereotypes, or something like that

I see a lot of new studyblrs worrying about these things and it really bothers me that these are worries at all. This is not me railing against the many studyblrs who are fortunate enough to have or happen to have all the supposed “studyblr” things, but rather the point of view as a blogger who feels entirely at home, supported, and accepted in the community, and who is also paying for college. I’m opting not to use a read more, because I feel like read mores get disregarded half the time.

To start with, I will unabashedly admit that I use few, if any, of the studying techniques touted by the studyblr community. They just don’t work for me, and that’s cool. I don’t have the time/energy/ability to do mind maps and aesthetic notes, I don’t have the discipline to do pomodoros, and my attempt at bullet journaling failed within a few days. I have a cute school planner, but to be honest as the weeks approached finals I legitimately did not write anything in it.

As for stationery. My current favorite pen is this Paper Mate Write Bros. pen my friend lent me in psych class one day. Yup, you know the ones I’m talking about — the ones that schools stock in bulk because it’s $2 for 12 pens, and $7 for 60. The closest I ever got to “studyblr” was the Pilot G2′s, which I like, but I still far prefer my super cheap alternatives. I also got a giant bag of similar pens (Bic, Paper Mate, and Staples) for free on Freecycle, and I’m 1000% content with that collection. I didn’t buy anything new except $5 worth of bargain school supplies this year (some notebooks and filler paper). I reuse old notebooks to make filler paper. A lot of my binders and folders are dog-eared, but I mean they work. I also like the college-ruled notebooks you can get at like pharmacies and generic brands — no fancy dotted, high quality paper for me! Oh, and I only have Mildliners and Fineliners because a follower sent them to me. I love them, particularly the thought behind them, but I do still revert back to my Bic highlighters and Paper Mate pens. Look, if someone offered to send me stationery (which I don’t need at this point), I would ask for a white-out pen (which I received!! Thank you!), maybe a couple new erasers, a Sharpie or two, and if I’m really splurging, a 60-pack of those Paper Mate pens. (((*cough*mywishlist*cough*))

Now let’s talk electronics. I have a MacBook Pro from 2011 that I received as a gift when I started high school. It’s literally imploding, like each of its functions are gradually falling apart (first the battery went to shit, and now the CD drive doesn’t work). It’s a Mac, but honestly as soon as this one dies — and I intend to stretch out its life as long as humanly possible — I’m going straight for a $200 Chromebook or other PC laptop. Let’s be real, literally all I need it for is to go online and tote around with me, and I don’t even have $500 to spare. Plus, using messages/FaceTime on my Mac slows it down, so there’s no real reason to hold onto the Mac OS X. I bought my iPhone 5s when I was 18 (two years ago) with my own money, paid cash up front. It’s sluggish now, but like my old MacBook, I’m seeing if I can make it last through til grad school. And the idea of having a high quality camera is laughable. I film silly little, hopefully relatable vlogs on my iPhone, edit them, and upload them to Google Drive.

Also, I don’t have succulents; I’d kill them by mistake. I don’t make cute healthy meals; if I make ramen it’s a huge deal. I’ve had the same twin bed and bedsheets MY ENTIRE LIFE and not a single one is white. My desk is a hand-me-down wooden monster and it’s got stains all over it.

Here’s the other important thing. Do I feel remotely bad or envious of studyblrs with all this fancy stationery, who can be so productive? Frankly, no. I think it’s awesome they have everything they need, and that it works for them. But being a studyblr is about SO MUCH MORE than materials and studyspo. I appreciate the “real studyblr” movement that happened a little while ago, but I dislike the divide it created at all. Live and let live, right? The only reason I’d want a pretty new MacBook Air is because it probably isn’t as slow as mine. I wouldn’t reject Muji stationery or pens, but I don’t really feel any desire for them. And much as I admire others for being able to do habit trackers and bullet journaling, it’s not like I sit around wishing I could do it too. I mean, I can watch professional dancers all I want, and appreciate their beauty and ability, but I’m not going to go home and berate myself for not being able to do the same thing. They’re doing what they enjoy doing, same as I do.

MY POINT IS, to all these new studyblrs who are worried that they don’t have what it takes to be a studyblr, BRO DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. I’m relatively well known and respected in the community, and we’ve just listed all the ways I’ve breached every single fabricated studyblr “rule” — so if I can do that and get away with it, you certainly can too.

[beckettsthoughts]

new yrs asks 9, 10, 25

Thank you for asking, anon! I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you on this sooner, it turns out my day went from bad to worse. Long story short, I ended up needing an emergency nurse’s appointment, crying my eyes out so hard on the clinic bed that it disintegrated a hole in the paper bedsheet and being promptly prescribed high-strength antibiotics and post-surgery level painkillers. It has been, in all honesty, a heck of a day. I needed this distraction more than ever, though, so I appreciate your patience and I hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoyed writing them

9. Best month for you this year?

This is such a hard question, but probably either July, August or October.

July because I’d finished my exams, I went to my partner’s prom along with our mutual best friends and I also had a short holiday in Paris. It was a month of newfound freedom, strengthening friendships, improving health and good weather. August was a simple continuation of this, spending time with my friends and my partner, when he was here. Playing games, going to gigs, headbanging my way through the summer festivals. I used to think I hated summer and to some extent it still makes me uncomfortable, but I think I was spending it in the wrong way. These days, now that summers are spent with my best friends and we know our own interests so well, it truly is an enjoyable time of year.

October, then, I enjoyed for different reasons. It was the month after I moved to the mainland for university and I’d settled in, so I could truly begin to involve myself in university life. I joined societies, made friends with my classmates, took the time to explore both my new honorary hometown and some of the surrounding towns as well. I caught the train to and from the city, and though it was starting to get colder I soon realised just how beautiful autumn is on the mainland. Rather than freezing, damp and harsh there was a brisk chill in the air, no wind to disturb the bright copper leaves from the trees. It was comfortable and yet pushed my boundaries at the same time. I feel that I grew a lot as a person throughout that month.

10. Something that made you cry this year?

Early this year I lost a pet that I’d had since I was about nine, and it honestly hurt me to my core. I was exhausted and suffering with particularly poor mental health at the time, which was exacerbated by stress both at home, school and from online harassment. That was the day I abandoned my old blog, after begging to be left alone only to receive more messages joking about my sadness and mocking how I felt. Now, I can admit I deserves a certain amount of the criticisms that had been levelled at me, I did. I made some awful decisions and I still very much regret them, but this was the moment when I realised that the negative reaction far outweighed my initial offence. That, honestly, was probably my darkest moment this year. I lost my pet, I’d recently fallen out with two people I’d trusted more than anything, and my mental health had fallen to the point where I was suffering paranoia over being harassed, stalked and, my mind continually suggested to me, potentially killed. I hope I never reach that point again, honestly, the only good thing that came out of it was the continued support of my best friends my ever-growing trust in them.

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

Yes! As a creative writing student, you can bet I’m always creating characters. Right now, though, let’s talk about Beatrice.

Beatrice is a teenager, a full-time photography student and part-time monster-hunter alongside her best friend, Annecy. Bea wasn’t initially buzzed about the idea of spending long nights in dingy bunkers, hidden in nooks between coastal rocks or huddled in the damp undergrowth of the woods, even if it was supposed to catch her a glimpse of whatever Annecy had decided was the monster of the week. In fact, she fully believed it to be pointless at first, like playing pretend and making a club with your best friends in school breaktimes. However, Annecy was firmly enthusiastic and believed that Bea’s photography skills would come in handy on her expeditions, and so Bea was dragged along regardless.

Let’s just say, she soon learnt that Annecy’s apparently-frivolous interest in monster-hunting has a little more basis in reality than she first assumed.  

I’m hoping to be able to answer all of these over the next few weeks so if anyone who sees this wants to send me any of these “end of the year asks”, pick yourself some numbers and head on over to my ask-box