#but ive never just.... written a horror story before

[silverskye13]

The urge to write a horror story rises once again

[sarahreesbrennan]

Thank you for writing Long Live Evil.

I'm no cancer survivor, so I haven't been through the horror that that must've been, congratulations to enduring and surviving, and my sincere condolences that you had to go through it.

But I am chronically ill (cystic fibrosis, genetic defect) and have so far lived for 5 years longer than my prognosis allowed. My health's been good and stabile for a long time now, but I remember times where I couldn't walk alone, had a 18/6 nasal cannula and a 24-hour IV drip instead of school or a future.

Now I'm working at university, an archaeologist, chipping away at writing stories for years and years, and incredibly glad and privileged to see the world. All this to say that seeing how hurt Rae was in the beginning (and again throughout the story, while also never truly forgetting her true roots and motives) and how she grew around it like a gnarled tree, was like catharsis for me. Having miraculously given a second chance, no matter how hard the fight to keep it will be; I haven't ever read any story talking about this in a way that made me feel seen and understood like this. Thank you also lots and lots for taking the time to mention Rae's appreciation for Rahela's curves — it's been the same for me, since I've managed to get out of the underweight-trap. It means a lot to me, and I guess to many others in similar situations, including you of course. Thank you for sharing this with us, it must've been hard to touch on a deeply personal experience like this in writing that's simultaneously removed from oneself through fiction (at least that's what I'm imagining).

Thank you, and I wish you nothing but the best, health, and lots of good days to come. Deeply curious to see how Rae's story will continue!

Thank you so much for this.

I am so glad you are alive. Thank you for that, too - for living on even when you couldn’t see a way forward and everything was helpless despair.

I haven’t been through what you’ve been through, either, but it’s a privilege to have shared adjoining experiences trapped in darkness, and to share gladness and the wide world with you now. I’m so sorry it happened, and so happy you have archaeology and stories, and the world has you.

I will be totally honest and say it has been hard sharing Long Live Evil with the world, and I’m so grateful to you for knowing that, and for sending this message because you knew. This book is highly personal to me, but it’s also meant to be a wild celebration of messiness, escapism, and finding humour in art and darkness. And that means to some it’s just a joke, and in the words of Joanna Russ, ‘she’s not really an artist and it’s not really art.’ And so it gets dismissed, and it does hurt to see my most important story dismissed sometimes.

I was with other writers in a public space at one point and they were talking about how their books were about serious issues while ‘Sarah’s book is just for fun, and that’s fine too!’ (I had to take a minute before I could lean into my microphone and say ‘My book is about cancer’ in a cheery tone.) I’ve seen readers saying ‘this book’s just fluff, just silly, I’m ashamed of myself for reading it, there’s nothing to it’ about the book I wrote about almost dying.

My Rae, while of course she has bits of me in her (every character I’ve ever written does), and evil queens I’ve loved, and characters with wild hubris going on in the Greek plays I mention often in the book, and readers I’ve seen and I’ve been who are blithely confident they know what’s going on without doing more than surface reading and while forgetting key details… she’s also bits of women and girls I’ve mentored, been mentored by, befriended. And some of them are dead. So seeing the bits that were them particularly scorned or judged, seeing her pain dismissed or the discussion of her body sneered at…

That has been hard.

But.

In the end I believe I am really an artist and this book is really art, and art is there for the wide world to judge - to be mocked and dismissed, yes, as a price that comes with the opportunity to also be truly seen and appreciated, to get to influence real people’s real lives. Art is the gold that comes from the crucible in which we put all our pain and all our love and all our joys. I believe it deepens and transforms.

I wrote this book about how deeply unsympathetic people actually are to sufferers of illness, chronic or otherwise, and especially to women expressing pain. How the world villainises imperfect victims—which means all victims. How the world villainises bodies, and robs us of our joy in them—even when there’s horror in a body, too. I did know that by putting this book out into this world, that attitude would be reflected back by the world onto the book. And that attitude has hurt me in the past, and hurts me when I see it now.

I still think it’s worth calling out that attitude, even if it means getting more of that attitude reflected back onto me - because it means readers like you see it, and know others have been through this, and it was never okay, and you were never alone. While I know there will also be readers with chronic illnesses and/or cancer whose experience doesn’t overlap with mine at all, that only means there need to be more stories. So everyone who needs it gets the map into fantasy lands.

And I do hope some able-bodied readers read it, and think twice about adopting the world’s attitude to the people in their lives who are already going through enough. Some readers have told me the book helped them sympathise with and understand the cancer sufferers in their family and friend circles, and that’s meant a great deal. What do we write for, if not to learn to love each other better?

Long Live Evil has also given me my life back, as truly as chemo did, in a way that makes the pain worthwhile - I think I would have kept telling stories in some form, but Long Live Evil was my last throw, for as far ahead as I could see. Now since the book’s done well so far I’m hoping I can write more books, and my life can be the storytelling shape I always wanted it to be.

I read your message and I regretted nothing. I remember the pain and the way so many of us laughed or tried to laugh our way through it, and I know this was my way. Jokes, like stories, are the golden thread we follow through the dark labyrinth of our own agony and incomprehension.

It really has been hard, and it’ll stay hard. But like living, it’s worth it.

Please know two things.

I am so happy I wrote this book. Ultimately more than any other feeling I had so, so much fun writing it, and I’m having even more fun seeing the book be read by the people it was meant for.

2. This book was written for you.

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞

Pairing | Yandere Jungkook x Reader

Word Count | 2,382

Warnings | +18, bullying, for the moment only this

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | If she had paid attention earlier to the sin that dwelt behind those obsidian irises, she would never have trusted it.

If she had noticed earlier the devouring love that dwelled in his corrupt heart, she probably would have fled.

She had done none of that, and now she had to come to terms with her new reality.

➢ Author's Note | This work originated in Italian, so i apologize for any errors you will find, i am not a native english speaker, so go ahead and write in the comments where and what i can improve! 🥺❤

Chapter List - I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII / The End

There was something in the air that day, something that weighed down her chest and left a bitter aftertaste in her mouth.

She looked outside her room and saw large gray clouds looming ominously, it was probably an approaching storm, and even so, she would still have to go to school, she could not escape her school obligations.

She had done so much to escape the harsh judgment of her family members, she knew that attending college was a huge expense for her parents, especially for being an out-of-towner with so much rent and bills to pay, so the only thing she could do to repay them was to get good grades and come out with a more than excellent GPA, without mentioning her problems.

So the girl prepared herself for yet another stressful and gloomy day, surrounded by prof's coaches and daddy's boys who wouldn't stop bragging about their possessions for a moment.

She adjusted her jacket and grabbed the bag containing all the necessary books, grabbed the house keys on the fly and locked the door behind her, not before nodding in the direction of the elderly neighbor who came out with her adorable little wagging dog every morning at that hour.The little Maltese barked in her direction and with a smile walked over to the couple, stroking the soft coat of the dog who, excited, hoisted himself up on two paws, accompanying her caresses with his head. Y/N burst out laughing at that warm expression of appreciation, could it be that only a dog was able to accept it without judgment?

"Do you go to school, Y/N?" asked the lady with a smile.

The girl nodded, "That's right, Mrs. Choi...I have a test today, I hope everything goes well."

"Oh, take it easy, my dear. I really feel that something new will happen for you today," the elderly woman's smile widened and Y/N was interjected.

She was no stranger to the strange outings of the woman, who very often seemed absent-minded and pensive, but a strange chill caught her. She tried to dilute the air with a giggle, "I hope it's also something good," she joked lightly, the woman rippled her lips.

"It depends on your point of view," she shrugged.

Y/N's smile faded away, not wanting to inquire further she decided it was getting quite late and waved a little awkwardly to her wacky neighbor, giving one last caress to the little dog, who continued to bark in her direction, trying to call her back.

"Come on, Y/N...you can get through this day too without too many hiccups," she said to herself, trying to mentally build up her courage. She arrived at the university with a lump in her throat, aware that once she entered the classroom she would see the haughty faces of her classmates again.

She was an outcast and the only classmate with whom she had come to form a decent bond of friendship had to change her address because that faculty was not suitable for her. But to say that she had simply grown tired of being bullied was perhaps easier.

She took a deep breath and entered the classroom, as she presaged, smiles filled with mockery accompanied her all the way to her seat, she took out the appropriate book for that hour of class and ignored everyone, no one however lent her a further glance, the arrival of the teacher had nipped in the bud any attempt at mockery.

Taking a test at the first hour was never easy for anyone, but the girl more than gladly accepted that chance to escape her foolish classmates.

She carried out the task in complete silence, interrupted only briefly by a few balls of paper and notes, some asking her to have her copied, others admonishing her not to sully their own air with her presence. Y/N swallowed, such doggedness seen from an outside eye might have seemed surreal, but to her it was normalcy.

They bothered her just for the sake of it, because she was the one without money, she was the unfashionable girl, she lived in a miserable apartment in a miserable neighborhood, she was everything they were not.

"Psst... Psst, little one!"

Y/N initially ignored that low whisper, but at yet another ball thrown at her head, she turned away in annoyance.

This was Kang Yoozu, one of the boys who worked hardest to make her school life a living hell; he seemed to take pleasure in constant torture and Y/N was often one of his favorite victims.

"What the hell do you want?!" she growled, impatient. He shrugged, "I just wanted to ask you if you were free later."

Y/N frowned, what was that jerk saying?

"Why would you care, Yoozu?" she asked, strangled.

A wicked smile spread across the classmate's face, "Your parents are street food vendors, right? How much can they possibly make per month?"

Y/N found herself gritting her teeth, ignoring the amused exclamations of the others; the professor seemed to have disappeared into thin air, which frustrated the girl even more.

"I don't know what you're getting at, but I suggest you shut your mouth," she said harshly and Yoozu's eyes narrowed.

"I'm just wondering how they were keep you, don't you think it's incumbent on them to lighten their load and earn money in other ways?"

The young woman blanched at the outrageous statement-what the fuck was she implying?! "And let's hear it-what would those ways be?" she rose from her chair under everyone's gaze.

Yoozu looked around with feigned interest, then elbowed his seatmate, chuckling.

"Well, I have a lot of money, a fuck or two wouldn't hurt, don't you think? You would earn honestly on your own strength," the whole class erupted in convulsive laughter, Y/N felt humiliated. She had endured much from them, had swallowed a myriad of bitter morsels, but no, that one would not let her get away with it.

In a very brief instant she found herself facing the smug boy who stared at her with satisfaction, and soon the scarlet shape of five perfectly outlined fingers was stamped on the candid face of that being, a being who for two years had made it unbearable for her to study for a better future. The noise was a dull pop and everyone fell silent.

Yoozu's eyes turned icy, and soon he jerked up from his chair, flipping it behind him.

"You dared too much, beggar" he made to approach threateningly, no one would intervene, she knew, but fortunately the professor's voice stopped whatever was about to happen.

"What the heck is going on in this class? Y/N! Yoozu! Go back to your seats immediately before I suspend your test."

The man's threatening voice made the boy take a step back, Y/N went back to her seat, but she felt the threatening gaze of her companion behind her the rest of the time, until the end of the hour sounded and everyone got up to leave their verifications on the professor's desk, who collected all the papers and added something to the register, which Y/N guessed was about her and Yoozu. A sick feeling invaded her stomach, she did not want her average to drop because of a bastard like Kang Yoozu, he had practically invited her to prostitute herself. With him.

Disgusted she took the art sketchbook from her bag, a small smile was born on her lips.

Classes with Professor Jeon always gave her a chance to get through the day in a slightly more uplifted mood.

He was a young boy ready to put himself on the front lines to help his students, older than her by five years, he had found a place in the university where he had studied because all the school staff thought he was deserving of getting a professorship there. And, Y/N admitted at least to herself, he was handsome as well as kind and helpful. She felt her heartbeat increase when her favorite professor made his entrance into the classroom, greeting all his pupils with a bright smile, exchanged a few words with the older professor who gave way to him, and during that conversation the girl clearly heard the excited murmurs of her classmates. They did not think much about it, giving vent to their shamelessly enamored sighs.

Y/N merely shrugged her shoulders as the young professor took a seat behind the desk and gave everyone a jovial look.

"Good morning, guys" he said quietly, a chorus of "good morning" and "hello" rose from the desks.

Y/N watched spellbound as the corner of his lips slightly lifted in a satisfied smile of the man, her professor's long hair that day was tied in a ponytail that the girl found damn adorable, which contrasted with the tattoos that decorated the entire arm left uncovered by the pulled-up shirt sleeve, the man crossed his arms and his biceps swelled in a hypnotic movement that caught the girl unprepared, she felt her body set on fire and with shame removed her gaze.

What she did not know was that Jungkook was also watching her. He never let her out of his sight, in truth.

From the first time he had caught her rushing into the classroom, wet as a tender chick, Jungkook could not help but feel a strange flutter every time he laid eyes on his pupil. Their eyes had met for the first time that day, a rush had gone through him from side to side, thunderstruck by that little figure who had bowed in apology over and over again.

And it was wrong, he should never have taken an interest in one of his students like that, but he was a man, a man with secret feelings and appetites, and everything about Y/N screamed timidity and fragility.

He wanted to protect her, wanted to take her away, wanted to make her his.

He knew about the way her classmates treated her, his colleagues sometimes talked about it during lunch breaks, this was terrible for him, it hurt him to even imagine the way the girl felt, he would have protected her if it was possible, but each time the bullying happened in his absence, and as a professor he could do nothing if Y/N herself did not ask for help. He could not punish the perpetrators without catching them in the act. The young man sighed, before lowering his eyes to the register, frowning at what he found written there.

"Park Y/N and Kang Yoozu were found standing during testing time, they looked like they were about to start a fight, I intervened in time to put them in their place."

Jungkook gritted his teeth as he read his student's name next to Y/N's.

The girl was too quiet a person to provoke a quarrel, his dark irises stopped on Yoozu, who was giggling along with his partner as his scribbled something in sketchbook.

Y/N, on the other hand, waited quietly and composedly for her class to begin, and that told Jungkook a lot about the dynamics of the strange event described by his colleague.

He rose from his chair clearing his throat, all eyes were soon on him.

He sensed the mischievous glances of the girls in his direction, he knew he was very much desired, after all he was the only young professor in the institution, but he did not let those attentions buy him, the only gaze he wanted on himself was that of the same girl who was anxiously crushing her fingers.

He leaned back against the desk, crossing his arms again, and in Y/N's gaze he read something very much like... desire? He looked at her, biting his lips for a thousandth of a second, clenching the tender flesh between his teeth, but that minimal amount of time was enough for the girl to widen her eyes and lower them immediately afterward, her cheeks flushed. Jungkook felt himself tightening in his pants, thinking that he was so adorable that he wanted to fuck her right then, in front of everyone.

He would have gladly made her cry as his cock penetrated her deeply.

"Guys, today I'm not going to talk to you about history and artists," he began, his voice crystal clear and smooth, "But about a subject that, unfortunately, will never stop being talked about," he paused behind Yoozu's desk.

He observed the lines drawn by the boy on the once-clean page, Yoozu made to cover his scrawl, but Jungkook was quick to catch him, "Let me see a bit, Kang," he said, before taking a better look at that jumble of shapeless lines, which took on the appearance of a naked girl with a tear-streaked face, there was a uniform at the corner of the paper and a bag, which Jungkook immediately recognized, raised an eyebrow in the boy's direction and returned the object to him, not without first tearing up the page, "Drawing your companions without clothes is not what I asked you to do, Yoozu.

Employ my hour to draw something in good taste, instead of indulging in such disgusting antics," the man scolded him harshly. The student bowed his head, humiliated, apologetically, and his deskmate turned away, as if to put some distance between himself and his friend, which the teacher laughed at internally. It was precisely people like Yoozu who had no friends.

Jungkook finally turned around and walked in Y/N's direction, stopped just behind her and lowered himself until he reached her ear, "Today's lesson is about bullying," he murmured, the girl felt her legs trembling under his low and sweet tone, she meekly nodded, writing on a vacant page the theme, then Jungkook raised his voice slightly, "I would like you all to draw a representation of bullying, also writing a small dedication to the kids who experience it firsthand."

When the young teacher turned away from her, Y/N resumed breathing normally.

Everyone caught the stinging reference, the girl gazed admiringly at Jungkook's strong shoulders, perfectly aligned in a proud posture that Y/N had no trouble finding attractive, clutched the pencil grip and set to work, unaware of the forbidden desire she aroused moment by moment in her teacher.

[sixflame438]

What Is Love?

Synopsis - You are a renowned author known for writing great pieces but youve never written romance because you dont know what it feels like. Until one day you visit a bookstore and you meet a cute girl who makes you feel things.

Pairing - Huh Yunjin x Reader

Tags - Fluff, Artist!Yunjin, Writer!Reader, possible errors

A/N - Originally written on and for Yunjins bday (over a month ago). Was longer but this was finished already so ive cut it. Part 2 one day

Word Count - 3300

You couldnt write romance for shit. It was a well known fact in your fanbase and you were always victim to their teasing. As an author you were renowned for your talented abilities when it came to writing, always creating amazing pieces of work whether it was simple screenplay in hallmark movies or your own books that you drafted and published.

No matter the genre you wrote in, you were always praised and respected for what you wrote. Action, angst, fiction, science fiction, fantasy, fluff, horror. Just name the genre and you had probably written something in it before. All except for romance.

Youve had multiple questions from readers and critics alike grilling you to write romantic fluff for a change but you always evaded the questions to the best of your ability. It wasnt that you didnt want to write romance, in fact youd love to write some happy centric stories for a change but the problem was that you simply didnt know how to.

What was love? You didnt know the answer to that. Obviously you were well versed in platonic and parental love but not romantic love. Youve never been in a proper relationship, hell you dont think youve ever even had a crush before.

And sure youve had kissed a few times with other people but you never felt anything different afterwards. The fireworks when you kiss, the feelings of butterflies, the nervous stuttering of speech, the lingering burn when you brushed your hand against theirs. These were all just urban legends in your mind, always spoken about but never found.

You were convinced people were making it up, how could someone affect you so much by just existing? How was the mere thought of a crush enough to turn someone red? Why red? Is that why its the colour of love? You really couldnt wrap your head around the whole concept.

As a normal person would when writing, you would spend time researching your topic at hand to ensure youd write about it accurately and make sure the things you wrote were described correctly.

But no matter how long you spent studying articles and scientific thesis’s you just couldn’t understand anything. There were too many unknown variables and it seemed each relationship was different. Too many factors for you to bother with and the lack of experience really affected your take on the idea of love.

Of course you tried to put yourself out there, love was always a topic that required field research and experiencing first hand rather than second hand through papers and books, but that didnt mean it ever lead to anything.

There was a situation you were in once where to others it may seem you guys were totally going to get together and become official but it was completely one sided. The girl was obsessed with you, always trying to impress you the best she could in attempts to win you over but you never felt anything for her. If anything you felt a little confused and very sorry for her.

It was valiant dedication from her part you could acknowledge that but you just didnt understand why. Why did she want you to like her so much? Why didnt you feel anything romantic for her? And its not like you didnt want to not feel those feelings for her you just couldnt for some reason. She was cute, loyal and extremely friendly and caring. Textbook green flag. Would make for a perfect girlfriend, but apparently not for you. Maybe love just wasnt for you.

==============

As you step into the bookstore you feel at ease, a wave of calm exuded from the atmosphere within. You walk between aisles of wooden shelves, each stocked to the brim with every type of book you could ask for. The newest and latest, the old but classic, super specific and niche gaming guides, you name it the store probably had it.

Having already known what you were coming for you swiftly made your way to the section that displayed the newest releases of the month. [insert a book title] was the name of the book, written by yours truly as shown at the bottom with a nice little font that worked well with the cover page.

You weren’t an artist, didnt know any either so the covers were always a little plain but the material inside was good enough to negate that. Well you hope anyway because otherwise no one would buy your stuff and you’d just be another tired broke writer with a dream.

Was it a little conceited to be buying your own books? Maybe. But you had to boost sales somehow and its not like anyone else was gonna find out.

While you were gathering your items you noticed how quiet it actually was in the store, nothing but soft music could be heard in the background, it was the type with no lyrics, just pure instrumental talent. Was that a trumpet just now? You wouldn’t know you weren’t well versed in music.

It was weird though seeing no one else around you. Usually thered be a few people wondering around browsing whether that be alone or with their friends and there was always someone who would stand at the register and greet people who came in.

Was the store closed? Couldn’t be the lights were on and the door wasnt locked so there must be someone in here. Maybe theyre in the back you wonder to yourself as you bring your books to the register counter. Just as you were about to ring the bell you notice a small figure hunched over the counter behind the register.

The person had long straight light brown hair and with the way they were hovered over the counter it looked like they were taking a nap.

“Hello?”

Clearly started by your presence, the person looked up at you shocked, immediately pausing what they were doing. It was a girl that looked about your age and damn was she pretty. As the mystery girl stands up you notice she isnt as small as you originally thought she was, in fact if you had to guess you’d say shes about 12 centimetres taller than you give or take.

You watch on stunned by her beauty as she uses one hand to push her glasses up to their correct position on the bridge of her nose and the other waving around animatedly as she tried to explain herself.

“Oh im so sorry I didnt see or hear you come in, must’ve had my music on too loud again” She explains sheepishly while gesturing to the airpod in her left ear. When she doesnt get a reply from you she just stares back at you with a confused tilt of her head.

“Uh hello?” The girl says with a light wave in front of your face trying to get your attention, “are you there?”

“Oh right sorry” you finally reply, shaking your head slightly embarrassed as you realise you just zoned out staring at the girls face. “just wanted to get these please”

“Of course! Let me help you with that it wont be a minute” the girl says cheerfully

As your stack of books were getting processed you took the moment to fully take in the girl in front if you again. Hazel eyes, black frames, white and black lined shirt, wooden pencil, blue krabby patty bun?

“What were you drawing?”

“Oh im drawing a jellyfish” the girl replies proudly, picking up her sketchbook to show you her half finished drawing.

“Oh haha woops” you chuckle nervously as you scratch the back of your neck. “I thought it looked like a krabby patty”

“A krabby patty?!? Ill have you know this unfinished blob is NOT a krabby patty but a beautiful to be blue jellyfish” scoffs the employee who just finished packing up your books.

“Hey now its literally just a blue weirdly shaped circle what else was i supposed to think it was??”

“A jellyfish?”

“Nothing about that says jellyfish”

“Ugh i dont know im just offended you thought it was a krabby patty of all things”

“Does it not look like the shape of a top bun on a burger? And you drew it with a blue colouring pencil, there are no blue burgers that ive seen other than those weirdly coloured krabby patties from spongebob so of course thats what i thought, can you blame me?? It doesnt even have legs yet how am i supposed to know that it was meant to be a jellyfish??”

“So you think im a bad artist?” She says with pouted lips. You didnt understand how but your resolve weakened at the sight of that.

“Now hold on i never said that” you hurriedly rush out in a panic, trying to come up with a way to make the girl feel better.

“Hahaha no im just messing with you”

“Phew you had me worried” you sigh pretending to wipe of sweat of your forehead

“No but i promise im not actually a bad artist, here look through the book ive got better sketches in there which are done and so much better than the so called “krabby patty””

As you carefully flipped each page you took in all the doodles and drawings she had drawn, ranging from realistic environment sketches of mountains and rivers to drawings of people and animals. You also noticed the many many jellyfish scattered throughout the sketchbook.

“You have a thing for jellyfish or?”

“Oh i love jellyfish theyre my favorite animal”

“Thats seems pretty obvious”

“Yea i like drawing them, theyre easy and simple to sketch too! Just a blob for a head and some stringy legs. They also look so cute as well just floating along in the water”

Youre so cute is what you hear a little voice say in the back of your head.

“Whats this?” You ask showing its originator loose pages that you slipped out from the back of the sketchbook. They looked like they had been scrunched up in frustration due to the creases and tear marks on the page and possibly almost discarded.

“Oh uh dont worry about those theyre just some random ideas and concepts i had”

“Well theyre really cool” you comment as you bring attention to a page with a highly detailed sketch of a character you hadnt seen before.

“Did you come up with this yourself?”

“Yea those are my original designs. Ive always wanted to illustrate for books and things alike but i dont know any writers and im not good with words so its hard to come up with my own story” the girl shares and you dont miss the disappointed hopeless tone of her voice.

For some reason the ache in ur heart is back and you absolutely hate the feeling. Without even thinking you blurt out “I can help”. This causes aspiring artist to snap her head towards you, a hopeful yes tentative sparkle in her eyes.

“You can? How?”

As you finally register your words you quickly come up with an explanation, worthy of your previous statement. Mentally slapping yourself in the process for even offering your help. Why did you even agree? There wasnt much else you wanted to do other than buy the books and get out of the store.

“Well im an author myself and i could help you with the storyline of whatever your book would be about. I would just need some pointers on what you want it to be about and what the characters are like etc. Or we could work together and collaborate on something”

“WAIT YOU WOULD DO THAT FOR ME?”

“Mhm”

“OMG I LITERALLY LOVE YOU YOUR SO COOL FOR THAT THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU”

Hearing the phrase of endearment had your heart racing a little. To her it was just a throwaway term and you didnt even know this girl so what was this feeling? You watched a little amused as the girl dropped to her knees literally for you

“Ok calm down its not that big of a deal” You say turning your head away to hide the blush and how much that stupid action had affected you.

“Right sorry that was probably a bit much, but are you serious? Im not even that good it might turn into nothing”

“Yea im sure, and if nothing proper comes out of this well im sure ill still have a nice time getting to know you” You say beaming with confidence you didnt know you even had. Were you okay? Were you still in your own body? Since when were you so social / happy and straight forward?

“EEEEEEEEEKKK” the girl shrieked with pure unfiltered happiness, it was cute how excited she was and how her entire being seemed to be radiating with nothing but positivity. The hopeful look in her eyes that screamed gratitude and how one single phrase was enough to seemingly brighten her up like that, you never wanted that light to dim.

The girl recovers her composure and clears her throat.

“Im Yunjin” Your cashier says with an outstretched arm

“Yn, pleasure to meet your acquaintance” You say as you shake her hand, trying to keep professional.

Naturally your eyes travel down to your interlocked hands, it felt nice having it in yunjins. Hers were much bigger than yours and you could feel how soft and gentle her grip was, the warmth sending chills up your arm. Yunjin clears her throat again when she sees you zone out again and not letting go of her hand.

Embarrassed again you drop your grip and mentally curse yourself for being a fool and for holding her hand for the longer than acceptable time.

“Can I have your phone number?”

You dont know why but hearing that statement scared you a little, a prickly feeling that felt unsettling. Sensing your hesitance she quickly adds

“To contact you about you helping me with writing”

“Ah of course” You reply as nonchalantly as possible, trying to mask the embarrassment from almost misinterpreting her words. Theres a light blush over your face as you hand your phone over, hands slightly trembling when you brush against Yunjins.

It doesnt take long for her to make a new contact and when youre handed your phone back you notice ‘Yunjin 💕’ is what she saves herself as. Its almost like she knows the effect shes having on you and shes purposely playing with you.

Other than the foreign feelings you were feeling there was also a different kind of nervousness you were experiencing . 

You had never worked with anyone else before. Its not that you didnt get offers but more that you didnt ever want to work with anyone. Many many talented people (artists and fellow writers alike) had come approaching you in the hopes of a collaboration piece but no matter how much experience or how famous they were you always turned the offers down, preferring your own silence and way of thinking.

It was weird, you were this amazing writer yet there was this indescribable feeling you couldn’t put into words that made you want to gravitate towards the girl. Maybe it was the comforting aura or her goofy personality you had started to see. Whatever it was it had to be big if it was leading you to make this kind of decision.

“So Ms Author what do you write? Do you even have published books?”

“I write childrens books” You say proudly

“Well i assumed thats the type of book you were referring too since your sketches look like they belong in some.” You comment causally with a shrug as if you didnt just diss her.

Wait that wasnt very nice you’ve hardly met this girl and yet youre already making backhanded jokes. Were you just that comfortable with her already to even say that or were you really just a bitch?

Yunjin sends you a glare and an angry pout as she turns her back to you with her arms crossed. You would’ve assumed you’d properly upset her if she didn’t break out into a fit of giggles a second later, wiping tears from her eyes as she turns back around.

“Damn you’re funny, I like you” She says while still laughing.

Then as if her emotions just turned off she pins you with a serious expression, her light tone replaced with a horrible attempt to sound grave

“Youre not serious though right cause you cant just come in here and insult my work”

“Yea im just fucking with you. You see those books?” You ask pointing towards the stack that you just purchased which were now neatly packed into a bag, ready for you to take. “Yea thats me” you finish, trying not to sound arrogant.

Yunjin looked at you in disbelief “You wrote that??!? So many people have come to get this ever since it dropped theres no way thats you, now youre really playing with me”

Not knowing what to say you just give her a small nod trying to remain unaffected as if it was information everyone knew but you couldnt help the little smile that creeps its way onto your face after hearing the praise.

“Shit so youre like famous famous….” Yunjin trails off as you can physically see the gears in her head turning, each furrow and blink signifying a new thought.

“Wait so people actually buy their own books? Can you not just get a free copy from the printing company or something? Why would you go out and buy one thats a waste of effort.”

“I do get a copy, I just like the feeling of buying something I actually made, its a nice feeling of satisfaction. Plus it boosts book sales”

“……is that not like cheating? Its smart, but it sounds wrong”

“Well im pretty sure im not the only one who does this” You say dismissively with a shrug.

“Huh guess you learn something new everyday” Yunjin replies as she slowly grasps the concept.

“Right here are your books you probably dont wanna be stuck here any longer, thatll be $57.94”

“Who says i wouldnt wanna be stuck here with someone as pretty and talented as you?” You reply cheekily as you lean on the counter to get closer to Yunjin.

Its funny seeing the blush rise from her face and you chuckle to yourself as you pull back from the counter to pay with your card.

Yunjin shakes her head lightly, getting out of her starstruck gaze and pushes the bag towards you. “Well here you go, thanks for shopping with us today and on a personal note thank you for offering your help. I really do appreciate it”

“Hey no worries Yunjin, itll be my first collab though so dont come at me if I disagree or do things weirdly”

“Haha dont worry, im quite excited either way”

“Oh me too. Im gonna go now but it was nice meeting you.”

“Yeah definitely” Yunjin says with a bright smile.

Youre waving as you leave and as your hand reaches for the door handle youre stopped by your cashier calling your name, turning to face her direction once again.

“Oh and yn?” Damn her saying your name felt nice. “Call me” she says with a wink and smirk.

You cant stop the butterflies fluttering around in your stomach but you turn back anyway and walk out as if you felt nothing.

Cruising down the street towards where your car was parked, you couldn’t help but be invigorated with this new feeling. It was hopeful, exciting and you couldn’t help thinking that this was going to be the start of something new.

[casually-salad]

cutie pox chronicles, full master-post.

welcome to my sick and twisted world.. everything will be found below.

so firstly! i know theres a couple people coming from off tumblr sites to check this out (( hi jay!!! )) so ill explain somethin real quick!

All of my comics have hand written text! now sometimes these can be hard to read, and so if you press this button ( image below ) and ive wrote out all the text in there for your convenience! make sure as well to read the body of the post and also the tags! usually i have some post upload thoughts or feelings i talk about there - some add context and some are fun!

normally i would recommend going through my archive and searching for "mlp infection au" or "cutie pox chronicles" but you wont have to do that here - but for nontumblr users if you want to check out other blogs i recommend that method.

now before reading there is a massive trigger warning: on all posts with these topics everything is tagged as "tw (topic)" and so i would recommend blocklisting ones that make you uncomfortable or understand what youre going into! triggering contents include: blood, gore, body horror, eye horror and eye trauma, child death, dismemberment, and cannibalism.

now! all posts will be in upload order, liked here with the title and the in story date ( as it changes. ) as well as which posts are single images and which ones are comics. when looking at stat sheets, the more full the better! 0% - or empty health is death, and 0%- or empty, composure is maina. alright!!!!! here we gooooo!!

The Cutie Pox. (day 0) comic

stat sheets ( day 1 ) comic?

Lillys last cutiemark. - single

first sightings -single

first nights out. - comic

how far away does a home stray? - single

lillys last mark - comic

the everfree - single

from hell and back - comic (day 0)

imbalance - comic (day 2)

finding the spark - comic

moon dancers melancholy part 1 - comic

moon dancer sheet - single

fleeting feelings - comic

helping hoof..? - comic

moon dancers melancholy part 2 - comic

freezerburnt - comic

fleeting calmness - comic ( day 3 )

dreams fall hard today - comic

princesses stat sheets - comic?

wilting lilly - comic

youre going to live with that guilt - comic

home - home again. - comic ( day 4 )

hurt everywhere you go part 1 - comic

bracing for impact ( hurt everywhere you go part 2) - comic

get well - comic

fly free canary. - comic

getting worse - comic

a storm on the horizon- comic (day 5 )

CLOSING THOUGHTS:

i really never thought this comic would get me as far as it did, seince i started posting i went from having 100 followers to about 210, thats more than double! thats insane. i wont lie i am SOOOO ANXIOUS to have such a following!!!!! usually my posts prior wouldnt get more than 5 notes but now!! almost all of them ( at least of this comic ) have over 30 on every one!!! thats just, so crazy. i hope everyone continues to look forward as i begin preparation on chapter 2, and what else i have to offer on here - i have a whole lot more story to tell and im excited to!

[red-might-be-dead]

hello hi here to force strange thoughts into your brain once again, this time about jrwi (wow who could’ve guessed)

been thinking about this for a little but it’s basically what i think some campaigns would be if not podcasts, i haven’t listened to some of the older ones so i’m sorry they’re not on here :(( if you have any ideas feel free to add them btw :DD

RIPTIDE!!!!! - really long animated series

not an anime though, no matter how much grizzly wants it, it would be an animation style where the characters could have very clearly different nose, face and body shapes, really pushing my riptide nose agenda here sorry, each episode would be like 20-40 minutes long and instead of coming out in seasons there would be massive gaps in between episodes, from 2-6 months long, to leave time for writers and animators to get stuff done (massive team of animators btw, i feel like it would be pretty successful)

PRIME DEFENDERS!! - comics

literally nothing else they could be, just really well made, well performing comics (i’ve already talked about this before you can stalk my talk tag if you really want to find it lmao), the comic company making them would be keeping well away from movies n shit btw

APOTHEOSIS!!! - i wasn’t really sure about this one to be honest

i had to ask my friend and she said anime which i don’t agree with but i can see it, i think maybe a short book series where each book is 150 - 300 pages and is about a different god they have to kill/a different episode, i think that works but if anyone has any better ideas please tell me :D!!

BLOOD IN THE BAYOU!!! - i hate to say it, i really do…

bitb would be a really long really good 80s horror book with strong homoerotic undertones, a satisfied fanbase and lots of active members in the community making fan comics, films, writing, theories and art ect… until well after the book came out……….. and then it would be made into the most egregious and awful live action movie you have ever seen, the most awful casting (like chris pratt as officer dudes….. throws up) and even worse sfx, oh yeah and the characters would be ruined and the story would become so butchered it wouldn’t make sense, they would do some shit like cut out becky so kian just kisses some random lady (removing both a really good and well written character and a layer of kian’s character that i think is super important) and make rolan really be an evil bug spy the whole time so rand has to kill him to save the town also add in a whole new sub plot that never existed like the rand family is secretly a long line of bug alien hunters or something fucking stupid like that and the entire fanbase would murder whoever thought re-writing the story was a good idea (ahaha can you tell ive been through something like this before ahahaha, character morals and motives being removed and whatnot ahahahhahahaha.)

anyways………

THE SUCKENING!!! - live action series

it would be well made though, unlike the bitb movie it would be its own original thing, have great makeup and effects also be well casted and well shot, well written, ect ect, it would bloody and gory and not suitable for people who can’t handle showing bones and organs all over everywhere, lots of shitty rip off merch would be made though and the fandom would be 99% gay little freaks (normal suckening enjoyers) and 1% homophobic straight white men who get mad whenever they see soda and emizel having gay sex on screen or whatever fag shit that biting thing was

again feel free to add your thoughts and ideas and shit in the reblogs it would be nice to read them :DD!!

[notedchampagne]

it's after halloween but trick or treat anyway here you go:

flattenings of john as a character, specifically the "deadbeat dad" accusations or referring to alecto's creation as "male gaze-y." he is a demonstrably involved and gentle parent the instant he learns he's got a kid; the issue is not that he's a deadbeat so much as that he set up a society where parenthood and authority are positions of naturalized abuse. Like, he's doing everything right on the surface, it's just that you can't be a good parent and also a god-emperor. You can't help your kid connect with her culture and ancestry when you killed all her ancestors and erased their culture; you can't let your kid inherit what you have when you're never going to die and she's already dead; you can't give her what she wants and have that be healthy when what she wants is a position in the army you run. but fuck if he's not trying to. from a surface level view, he's doing everything right! and calling alecto barbie male gaze-y eliminates the role of larger systems in literally everything john has ever done. is it not so much more satisfying for it to be a completely innocuous and even childish act that still ends up defiling a woman's body because the defilement of women's bodies is so baked into everything that an act as simple as "taking comfort in childhood toys when you're stressed" has the potential to be harmful? He's fucked up, for sure, but like. damn if the ways he's fucked up in canon aren't way more interesting than half the takes.

okay so tridentariicest totally has textual backing and i love that folks explore that, but i also feel like the sexual element of their whole deal is given way too much spotlight. what about all the other totally horrifying aspects of their relationship? there's so many good god diversify it a bit.

kiriona meta that either makes her out to be completely different or completely the same as gideon. this side of her always existed and she is fundamentally changed. if i talk about this too much longer i will write an essay because every time i think about kiriona for a second too long an essay happens but moral of the story she's one of those Characters I'm Correct About and i am sososotired.

buddy youve already written an essay lmfao anyway treat: i like hearing peoples opinions. ive already mentioned my opinions on kiriona and john before (TLDR this has always been gideon and people change/imperialism misogyny and classism is baked into the society john grew up in and it continues to exist as he made this new society). tcest grosses me out on a general level but it Is there in tlt and it annoys me when people boil it down to "oh isnt it so problematic when twins kiss are you offended" instead of exploring how the third house encouraged codependency and fused identity, coronas desperation to be needed vs ianthes desperation to be acknowledged and seen blahblahblah theres just more interesting ways you could explore text within a series about the horrors and unhealthiness of love instead of jacking into a sock about it

[foccaccia]

listen. im not saying the Avatar Yangchen duology is the most serious, heartbreaking, well-written, or adult story ive ever read. it isnt. but it also took me by fucking surprise. the torture scene? yangchen's successive breakdowns? jetsun's death and fate? all the deaths?? that one dead kid? (and all the other dead tortured child army kids??) the slow endless horror of the avatar cycle? being literally haunted and fucking lost in the countless incarnations of yourself and the knowledge that you have to dirty yourself for eternity with guilt, failure, death, and sin to save a bare few in the face of a world that will never stop trying to kill itself? having to make peace with that?

yangchen is so compelling to me. everyone loved her brief moment in the Avatar show, because of her stark "You have to abandon your own spiritual needs for the betterment of the world". but the novels drive that home in an interesting way.

yangchen is faced with greed on an unparalleled scale, and it is tearing the world apart. she is so desperate to do some good - shes so haunted by her countless past lives and desperate to at least not have regrets the same way they all do. she builds a spy network from nothing before she's even a teenager because she cant trust anyone, and at every step she is betrayed over and over by literally everyone she cares about, every choice she makes hurts or kills people, she spends almost the entirety of the second novel hopped up on enough drugs to would kill an ordinary person just so she can stay awake bc shes so terrified of hesitating for a single second. i cant figure out if haunted or chronically ill is a better term for whatever is happening in her brain but its. its fucked.

in a lot of ways she is objectively terrible at both avatarhood and being a spy, but she is exactly what the world needs. she so desperately loves her people, her culture, mercy, pacifism, and systematically cuts every tie to these things, no matter how much it hurts. she gets her hands so fucking dirty, she abandons her principles in every circumstance but one (the last Unanimity), she lets murderers and torturers go free and takes immediate economic control of half a world to abuse it.

and its the right decision. i know she gets flak because of how hard kuruk had to invisibly work the next cycle to fight the spirits yangchen pissed off, but yangchen's whole character is about balance, even more than aang's ever was, imo. aang gets a nearly perfect happy ending (which is good! there were good morals and a great story about culture and peace and genocide in the show, im not criticizing it) but yangchen's story really is wholly about balancing the world and the sacrifices you make to keep it even. for all that shes not a great avatar, shes actually a perfect avatar. she fixed it.

alao, kavik is fascinating. im putting him in a terrarium and shaking it. and the stark criticism of the white lotus the entire time... the implication they caused the platinum affair... ayunerak and do flatly admitting they will let (and even help along) the nations crash and burn in an apocalyptic war without fighting to stop it if it means they have control and can pop out of a bunker at the end to reshape society.... augh.

[frankendykez]

What r ur oc stories about?

OMG HIHI I NEVER HAD SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF MY CURRENT FRIENDS ACTUALLY ASK BEFORE UMMMM OKAY SO. i have 3! main oc stories that i Really care about at the moment but im Deeply fixated on mainly 1 of them but im gonna start with the one ive been liek "promoting" the most in a sense!! under read more cuz im gonna try to exlain all three of them bless. sorry if i seem overly passionate oops i was TRYING to summarise im sorry its so long u rlly dont Have to read All of it

Forgotten Man's Symphony

his (louis manoir) character is basically a spin off from a character mentioned in the novel frankensetin exactly (1) time by name in elizabeth's letter and by far he is the most organised oc of mine cuz we do actually have a clean, understandable summary doc (thought it is a tad bit outdated but its okay). shes like the most Normal narrative-wise i suppose so i'm not exactly sure on how to explain the plot of forgotten man's symphony it's just like??? him ruining his life in front of the reader and then #Healing?? i guess?? the story is an epistolary that starts with louis' Suicide Letter. so like. yeah. BUT!! i suppose i would say his story very much concerns the concept of like identity (including gender and such she would be considred either transfemme/bigender by the modern world but also idfk cuz i made her complicated and confusing on purpose) and also the lack thereof + the negative impact that comes with trying so hard to fit into the societal norms and what people Want you to be but you just Can't be, cutting away bits of yourself to fit through some sort of hole representing the perfect version of you until theres nothing left of Who You Are expect a palatable and small version yk?? and the the endless pursuit of wanting to be loved that leads yourself to changing and changing for people who just wont care or love you for realsies + @rosaniruby 's words "making it even like that so its not YOU who is loving and being loved but the dim visage of a version of you that fits the picture of what society loves; that it's not a love between individuals, it's the love for a society that cannot ever love anything because it was made to hate. and who believes that portrayal of love will not find it and forever be stuck. smth like society loves what it deems as perfect and hates the imperfect, since perfect doesn't exist it can only do the second one. and louis wanted to love perfect victor, hated his own imperfect self. but the perfect victor doesnt exists, and neither does any version of louis."

i like her he's great. sorry if that was less telling u WHAT his story is and more like Explaining the "themes" as theyre called of the story but idrk how to describe nromal stuff so TAKE WHAT U CAN GET!!! anyways,

Domus Carnis: The Transmutation of Guinevere Manor

idk if you're aware but i have a hyperfix on architectural horror and i DON'T MEAN SCARY GHOSTS AND SERIAL ILLERS IN AN ABANDONED HOUSE I MEAN HAUNTED HOUSES THAT ARE ALIVE THAT IS A METAPHOR FOR PTSD FROM CHILDHOOD TRAUMA ETC ETC!! this story By making it started my whole obsession with the House it's crazy... scary even.. (i recommend you watch jacob geller's video essay about houses) i really do like domus carnis but it's. Messy to say the least. i do feel as if i ought to change the time period it's set in to avoid talking about the wars going on in the time period i accidentally set it in without realising but im procrastinating on that rn. it was Suppose to be late 1800s to early 1900s..

in a few simple words: flesh-and-bone made lesbian sex house. does that get your attention yet. bless

domus carnis (which literally means flesh house in latin or something) will be written in the POV of a 40ish year old widowed woman by the name of harriet wren's diary entries, occasionally switching to the POV of her 20-something year old godson percival who is like old timey jake paul and hes like either a journalistt or a radio host depending if i choose to change the time period or not. we follow them after harriet's husband dies of whatever and they find out he has a large property in a foreign country of which they had not known of prior

somewhere in germany there is a house of ex-aristocrats that no longer live there that is Alive. the House becomes alive because it is in a sense "possesed" (not haunted) the ghost of kathryna von guinevere who was the last one to die in the house, who, in life, was incredibly obsessed with The House for reasons that i fear are too long to explain without boring you and going into info pre-story?? anyways, when she "posseses" the house, the materials of the house shift to flesh, blood and bone because it Materially becomes her body. now, it would be hard to accurately label what represents what body part, because it's all strangely jumbled up and isn't like really human anatomy either cuz kathryna Can in fact see inside herself?? anyways whatever. now, the house is now both her body AND her mind. i have taken the phrase "haunted by memories/trauma" and turned it literal. the house IS haunted, but most of the ghosts aren't ghosts, theyre mostly all manifestation of Memory from her life because she actively is replaying the speech and actions of other people IN her mind to process the (typically traumatic) events of which she's seen or experienced. the ghosts CANNOT do as they please because they only exist at all Due to kathryna remembering them in these specific scenes. the hauntings include scenes of people, sounds, and shadows. unless the "scene" has a mirror, you cannot see kathy directly because you are witnessin things through HER eyes, which makes memories from wee childhood interesting because im wondering if i should make the "people" seem wayy bigger than the viewer if stuff is replayed from childhood..

i really like the fact that a lot of this is based on memory because it opens a lot of doors to me when it comes to the appearance of hauntings. my friend showed me this video depicting neurons forgetting how a face looks like, and i feel as if i could use that in the story because well, realistically kathy isnt going to have a Pristine memory cuz she Was just a human before, not to mention the fact shes already suppose to have issues on facial recognition/rememberance (my friend with these sisues suggetsed htis). the alteration of the ghosts' bodies could be fucked with even more if i try to make use and research into the way that people (mostly children) can in fact like.... change the image of something traumatic in their brain and make it less scary bc the brain is trying to protect them? yeah. AND ALSO the fact that a lot of people forgets certain aspects of their trauma due to their brain trying to protect them as well but still have this feeling of Unease when it comes o specific things that they cant explain, i could incorporate this feeling in certain areas of the House, the strange uneasiness. i experience that myself so i hope ill portray it right!!

i Think that's it?? at least that should be the bare bones of the story... i have a pin board tho if u want to check it out!!

The Epinicium

THIS is the stupid fucking thnag thats ruining my entire life rn. i love it i hate it whagever man. THIS ONE ill keep short and simple because im too fucking mentally ill about it to explain in depth without being asked questions

so basically its fantasy world but not like. Completely new high fantasy i very loosely based the countries off of like real countries and stuff bc lazy as shite so its like mid fantasy maybe HOWEVER

basically its set in this world where theres a shit ton of religions and gods and shit and theres three categories of religions (the world is veyr uhnm. Categorical idk): earth, science and the arts. basically the arts religions are the majority and the gods of those religions are called the muses so thats what i'll be calling them from now on. the basic plot of epinicium is about the muses of the music religion declaring that humanity doesnt treat music as "holy enough" anymore and taking it away as a whole (songbirds go extinct as well which is importnat) which also fucks up the other arts religionsdue to the fact that artforms are very connected but they still exist yk and centuries later our main cast attempts to bring it back!!! we have this server with a channel that has the "summary" but its not a real summary its just an already outdated infodump but we are Trying to fill this doc but we're failing really hard but friendship is magic idk.

fin.

anyways thats. pretty much it i think im sorry its too long once again 😭😭 feel free to ask question esp on the epinicium!! id love to hear abt ur ocs btw ive yapped so much oops

[cass-windfeild]

Star stable Creepypasta: Staring Horse

At last, my sso creepypasta is complete! Sorry it took a while, work and Halloween preparation got in the way. But, as promised, it is ready for Halloween!

As stated before, this isnt going to be anything spectacular. Ive never written anything horror related before, and while I tried to do my own thing, I was mostly inspired by creepypastas like Ben Drowned, Sonic.exe, and lot of WildCraft creepypastas Ive been listening to. Its also mostly just a very edited first draft. This was more or less a test of my skills.

As a warning, there is no gore or blood in this, however there is a description of a pretty messed up horse model that may or may not be considered body horror, as well as mentions of a possible mental break? Not 100% sure, but I want to cover my bases.

Without further adieu, enjoy.

And Happy Halloween!

I've never really been obsessed with video games.

That's not to say I don't like them, or even that I don't play them. I game quite a bit in my free time, from action packed first person shooters, to emotional story driven games, even relaxing farming and life simulators. I've always tried to be open to all kinds of games. However, the issue is I never seem to stay interested. I tend to hyperfocus on specific games for weeks, even months at a time, and then, eventually, I just put it down one day, and don't come back. I just tend to lose interest, be it in the story, the mechanics, the characters. I just get bored and move on to new things.

Except for one game.

Star Stable Online. An open world MMORPG horse game where you can create a character, buy horses of varying breeds, coat colours, and patterns, train your horses in races or a variety of other disciplines, talk with friends, join clubs, dress up your character and horses, and complete story quests to save the world and learn about the island. Everything an equine crazed individual like myself could ask for in a horse game. Out of all the games I played in my life, Star Stable was the one that seemed to have a constant grip on my psyche.

It started out as just a way to finally unleash my love of horses, an obsession that had started as a child and only increased in my late teens, without shame or judgement. But over time, it became so much more. It became my comfort. My way to cope with all trials and tribulations of everyday life. No matter how mentally straining school was, how exhausting work was, or how bad my mental state was at any given time, so long as I had wifi, my laptop, and the will to stay awake into the dead of night, I had my escape. I could let my mind wander to a world where I wasn't alone or stressed. Where there was no homework that made me feel like I was going insane, no entitled or argumentative customers, no overbearing managers. Just me and my horses exploring the island of Jorvik, saving the world from evil organisations and dark magic, and living peacefully, knowing the real world couldn't hurt us here.

At least, until recently.

In the game, there are certain areas of the game that are closed off, having both invisible and physical walls around them to prevent players from getting in. They're either areas that aren't done yet, or ones that just never ended up opening up. Not that that stopped anyone though. If there's any area people know they're not supposed to go, they're gonna do everything in their power to get there. This is usually done through knowing the layout of the land, knowing what steps to take, and, often, getting a bit creative. There's countless tutorials online of how to get into closed off areas. Some are no longer working due to patches in the game, but finding one that still works is never too difficult. On days when there are no quests or special events, and training starts to feel repetitive, I've taken to testing these glitches and seeing just how efficient they are. I've glitched into Ashland, Devils Gap, Marchengast Castle, Cape Point, the typical areas that seem of interest to players. I even started trying the techniques in other areas to see if I could glitch myself somewhere no one had seen yet, though my efforts have so far seemed to be in vain.

Late one night, I was attempting to glitch into Mystic valley, like I had before, in hopes of getting some nice photos. I jumped out of the Secret Stone Circle and fell into the purple haze as usual, when I heard a familiar whinny, followed by a black screen with the text “Your horse was badly hurt.”. Great. I must've messed something up, I figured.I waited for my screen to return, expecting I'd be transported back to my home stable and have to start the glitch all over again. But to my surprise, when it did, I was in the Mystic Valley, as though I'd successfully made the fall, only, the area was now covered in a thick fog, like when you entered the Mirror Marshes.

I suspected that it was a glitch, or maybe the area had been updated. Hoping to find something new, I rode around a bit, checking all the edges and open space of the area. But after around 15 minutes running around and bumping into invisible walls, I still found that everything seemed normal. Just the same old rolling hills, sparsely placed bushes and trees, and occasional unfinished textures. After a while, I grew bored, and just started looking for some nice photo spots instead. But as I rode past an indented area in the mountain, I saw something I hadn't before. Something white amongst the trees and shrubs that was just barely visible through the fog. A horse. A grey horse with a black mane, standing perfectly still near the base of the mountain.

I had seen plenty of unused or work in progress models hidden in supposedly unreachable areas to keep them out of sight from players, and although I'd never seen one in Mystic Valley before, that's what I suspected it was. Possibly a new NPC horse or even an unreleased breed or colour the developers had been testing. I tried to get closer to see it better, but was blocked by an invisible wall that hadn't been there the last time I visited. Of course, they had to block off the most interesting thing in the area. I tried a few times to pass the wall, but no matter the angle or area, my horse halted and reared in refusal. I was giving up hope of getting any closer, so I resorted to just taking a photo and zooming in as much as possible. I got off my horse in the slim hope that I could get a little closer for a better angle. Only, this time, the wall didn't stop me. My horse couldn't pass, but I could walk on foot as close as I wanted. It was odd, but I wasnt about to question it.

I started approaching, but the closer I got, the more I realised how odd this horse looked. It didn't look like any breed of horse in the game, or like any breed I knew of. Everything looked… wrong. Like a bunch of different horses merged into one. Its legs were thin and long like a saddlebred, but its body was thick and wide like an ardennes or Jorvik wild horse. Its neck looked like that of the friesian, but it was bent down at an odd angle, like its head was being forcefully pulled against its chest. Its long, dark mane looked twisted and tangled, like a longer version of the mustangs. But what was the most disturbing was its face. It looked like it meant to be shaped like an Arabian, but the eyes were all… wrong. They were angled far more forward than they should have been, placing them more on the front of the face than more to the sides. Not only that, but the eyes themselves looked inverted, making it appear as though there were instead two hollowed out sockets in their place. Even the shading made it seem as though that was the original intent. Everything about this horse was downright creepy. Why the hell would SSE make something like this?

I decided to take a picture and see if anyone online knew anything about this eerie horse or if they had any idea why it looked like this. I pressed the photo button, but the second I entered photo mode, the horse vanished as though it wasn't even there. Was SSO so determined to hide this thing that they even hid it from the photo mode?

Not wanting to leave without evidence of this thing, I resorted to screenshots, taking a few photos before clicking out of the game to check the folder. But when I did, what I saw made no sense. In every screenshot I took, I saw my character, the area, the fog, even my own horse in some shots… but not the NPC horse. How was that even possible? The screenshots weren't in game, they should have just captured what was on the screen. I clicked back to the game to try again, but completely froze.

The horse had moved. It's neck twisted at a harsh angle, as though it had been broken in half. Its previously hollow indents of eyes now had two small pinpricks of light at their centre, barely big enough to make out. And with those tiny dots that made up its eyes, it started.

It started at me.

Not my character.

Me.

Have you ever had someone stare at you so intensely that, even if you had your back to them, you could feel it? Like an almost primal instinct kicks in to warn you that there's danger and to prepare to defend yourself. The moment you notice, you get this split second where your body freezes up, and everything around you goes numb except for that feeling of a pair of eyes. That's what I felt when I saw that things eyes staring back into mine through my computer screen. Those hollow eyes felt as though it was staring straight through to my very soul, making my blood run cold. I wanted to move, to scream, to  do anything, but I felt frozen in place, as though that things cold, unblinking stare had me trapped. As I stared, I began to hear the faintest sound in the back of my mind. Almost like a raspy, gargled breathing. The longer it stared, the louder the sound got, slowly becoming the only thing I could hear. As though, even without moving, it was drawing closer.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I managed to snap out of my frozen state, quickly slamming my laptop shut, not even caring in the moment if it broke. The second I did, everything stopped, and I found myself gasping for air despite not even realising I had been holding my breath. My eyes flickered around the room, instinctually looking around the room for danger. After a few minutes, I managed to calm myself down a bit. My body trembled as I became drenched in a cold sweat, and questions ran through my mind faster than I could even process any kind of answer. 

What the fuck was all that? Why did it feel like that thing was actually staring at me? Like it was actually in my room?  What was that messed up breathing sound? Why was that disturbing thing in a game targeted at kids? What the hell was going on? The questions, as well as the lingering adrenaline and paranoia of what just happened, kept me up the rest of the night. My eyes cautiously scanned the darkness, as though that thing would creep around the corner at any moment, until sunlight finally poured in the windows of my room.

I went about my day in an exhausted haze, still mulling over what happened as I tried to find a logical answer. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Was it a glitched horse model? Or a new scare tactic to keep people from glitching into areas they weren't supposed to, like the old anti-pirating screens of old video games? Maybe even an early model of a new Halloween horse? But why was I so freaked out by it? It was just a pixelated horse in a video game, but when it stared at me, it felt so terrifyingly real, like it would crawl out of the screen or even like it was already in the room with me. Maybe I was just tired from staying up late so often, and I was starting to become paranoid because of it?

The more I thought it over, the more I managed to convince myself. Of course it wasn't staring at me. It was probably just a glitch. Just a bunch of pixels on a screen. It wasn't real. Hell, maybe it wasn't even as scary looking as I thought. My brain was probably just experiencing hallucinations from lack of sleep. That had to be it, right?

Besides, even if that thing was real and as scary as I thought, I wasn't going to let it stop me from playing my favourite game.

That night, after I had dinner and finished my homework, I turned on my computer (which, thankfully, was not broken from the rough treatment last night), and logged on to Star stable again. As I waited for the site to load, I couldn't help but wonder. What if it was real? What if I loaded into Mystic Valley again, and that thing was still there? What if I froze up again? I pushed the feeling away. I had already left the lights on to ease this ridiculous fear, I wasn't backing down. It was just a stupid creepy horse in a video game. It was fake. I was safe. The game opened with the familiar welcoming ring, and I was thankful to see I was back in front of my home stable, and there was no glitched NPC horse anywhere to be seen. I sighed in relief. It was all just in my mind.

I spent the next few hours training my lower level horse, completing race after race as I made my way across the map like always. I even competed in a few championships, despite being one of the only people online at that time of night. However, I couldn't shake this eerie feeling. Everything was normal, but I kept feeling as though I wasn't alone. Like there was always someone or something watching me from just out of my line of sight, and whenever I looked around, it would disappear. I tried to ignore it, telling myself it was my imagination or that I was still just anxious from everything.

At around 4 am, I had finished all the races and decided to call it a night. I called for pickup, and went to enter my stable. But after a few seconds of loading, I noticed something. There was no image of Maya walking through the stable to take care of the horses. Just a pitch black screen with no text. At first, I thought my computer had frozen, and I begrudgingly waited for the “Star Stable.EXE has stopped working” pop up. But, after a minute or so, the loading finished, and I was standing inside the stable. Only, my horse was gone. All of my horses were gone. Was my game crashing? I looked around briefly before clicking the stable button to see where my horse went. 

What I saw made my breath catch in my throat. In place of every icon that was meant to be one of my horses was instead replaced by that same, deformed face of that horse, staring back at me with those dark, soulless eyes. And where my horses names should have been, was instead my name. My real name.

How was that even possible? I never used my real name anywhere on star stable, or anywhere online for that matter. I exited the stable menu, and there it was. That mangled, horrifying thing standing in the stable aisle staring at me. I felt my body tense, but I refused to let that thing trap me again. It's not real, I told myself. It's a glitch. That's all.

I pressed the exit button to quit the game, but nothing happened. I kept pressing, but no menu appeared. I started to panic as I heard the distorted breathing begin again, and as it did, I watched in horror as the horse's jaw slowly unhinged, stretching down towards the ground, revealing a set of sharp, fang-like teeth that lined its jaw. I felt its eyes burn into me, like a predator sizing up its prey before going for its throat. This wasn't in my head. This wasn't just a glitch. Whatever this thing was, it was real, it was sentient, and it wanted me. I kept clicking every button I could think of to get the game to close, but still, nothing worked. Even when I finally had enough and slammed my laptop closed again, I could still hear those tortured breaths getting louder and louder in my head. I covered my ears and closed my eyes, begging it to stop, to just go away, but still it persisted till I couldn't even hear my own panicked heartbeat over it.

I was about to scream out of pure fear and desperation when all of a sudden, it stopped. Just as quickly as the breathing had begun, it stopped, leaving me in the silence of my room. I sat motionless for a few moments before slowly opened my eyes, tears threatening to fall as I looked frantically around the room for any sign of danger, but all I saw was my lit bedroom and my computer all but tossed off my lap, teetering near the edge of the bed.

Was it over? Was that thing gone? I sat as still as possible for the longest time, as though waiting for something, anything to happen, but still, nothing. After what felt like hours, I mustered up the courage to reach for my computer. I had to know. Just a quick peak to make sure it was off and that that thing wouldn't come for me. Slowly, I lifted the screen, just enough that I could see the light of the screen.

Nothing.

Inch by inch, I opened the laptop fully, only to be met with a black screen. A sigh escaped me as I confirmed the computer had powered itself off after being closed. So long as I didn't log on to the game, that thing couldn't possibly get me.

But as moved to close it, my eyes caught sight of my reflection in the darkness of the screen.

And I saw it.

In the reflection was that long, grey, mangled face with its dead, hollow eyes staring motionless at me from the shadows, its jaw still unhinged like a snake.

The next thing I remember was my parents rushing into my room as I screamed bloody murder, thrashing violently as I tried to get away from that thing. They practically had to restrain me to get me to finally calm down. I cried in their arms as they frantically pushed for answere to figure out what had happened. When I tried to explain, they chalked it up to a night terror brought on by stress. The more I tried to insist it was real, the more they assured me it wasn't. I only stopped insisting when they started suggesting getting me psychological help and the idea that I was having a mental breakdown. I knew no one would believe me. Even if I got proof, what could they really do about any of this anyway?

It's been months since I last played Star Stable Online. Even the thought of logging on makes me feel anxiety build up in my chest. I want so desperately to have things back to the way they were. To just log on and forget the world again. And yet, I know that I never will. That thing didn't just  traumatize me. It stole a part of me. It stole my comfort. My escape from the world. It stole that sense of peace and safety, a part of me I will never get back.

What's worse, it stole my sense of reasoning. I tried researching what I saw and asking around the community. I even emailed Star Stable Entertainment themselves, just hoping for any kind of answer, and still got nothing. I dont have an explanation for what happened or why it affected me so much. 

I can't explain why it chose me, or how it was able to do what it did. 

I can't explain why I still see it, or why it almost appears to be getting a bit closer everytime I see it in the corner of my eye. 

I can't explain why every night since, the moment I start to fall asleep, I hear those same, horrid, gasping breaths in my ears, getting louder and louder. 

And, no matter how hard I try, I can never explain why Ive started feeling a cold rush of air run down my neck in time with each breath.

[penguinkyun]

chapter 150 review

*laughs* oh this chapter. this is the day ive been waiting for since 123 dropped last year. folks its finally over. but before that lets review: augh aqua looks so tiny in the first panel....standing with bloodsoaked pants. man. he can't ever escape that hallway huh. him and goro being stuck in that same hallway from over ten years ago, still drenched in blood is so....auhg. i am so happy we're finally getting back into aquas head after *checks notes* 31 chapters of no longer being in his head! and i really love the conversation between the two of them too! it establishes a lot of what i've been thinking of how aqua views his reincarnation vs how ruby views it i.e. she is continuing her life as sarina unbroken but aqua....is a wholly different person! a year is enough time to change a person let alone almost twenty years! and how goro refers to himself as a faint wound is also quite interesting because as we've seen in c.65 and c.95, goro is used almost exclusively as aqua's vehicle of self hatred, constantly telling him he has no right to be happy or that he deserves to live unless ai's murderer is dead (put a pin in that point). goro is wound that aqua has not allowed to heal and it festers until he does. AND FINALLY. WE ARE FREE. we've never really seen aqua's viewpoint of the whole Incest Debacle apart from the very very uncomfortable faces he makes when ruby is chasing after him and that's because the very instant we get back into aqua's head he instantly shuts down any notion of it ever happening. it really is just ruby seeing the illusion of goro amamiya in him and aqua is no longer that person. anyways speaking of c.95, goro giving up here is very....eh. sure seeing sarina happy must've triggered some rethinking because she was also a major part of his guilt but. its always been centred around ai! ai's murder is the reason goro can't let go, because he was never able to fulfill his promise to protect her. avenging ai is always the driving force of whenever we see phantoms of goro in aquas head! honestly this is part of like. the story largely removing ai as a driving force in the twins lives - from decentering her involvement in their reincarnation to excising her from goro and aqua's central motivation for vengeance. but as i say that, goro has always been a vehicle for aqua's self hatred when it comes to his revenge. he is exclusively shown as a restraint on aqua gaining any sort of happiness and all his self hatred given form. but the phantom that is actually his desire for revenge, pure and unfiltered is:

and we haven't seen aqua confront him yet have we? *laughs nervously* also goro acting like an elder brother to aqua and teasing him about his crush on kana is hilarious lmfao. and handing him the knife. ha. anyways kana is so funny here. girl does not acknowledge akane as her rival in any major sense. akane is crying somehwere in the background (for legal reasons this is a joke). anyways kana slowly working up the courage to finally confess to aqua is so beautiful because she has incredibly low self esteem and to see her hope in this? after reminiscing on all her moments with aqua is really sweet. honestly a lot of aqkn romantic moments feel overdramatic on kana's end but this was. just really sweet really. it reminds of the moment in sweet today where she just glances aqua's way before the camera comes on. actually this chapter itself gives me a lot of the early onk vibes in how its written which is quite different from the tone of the movie arc which swung between comedy and almost horror. i will say i like that both aqkn think of their more normal moments in between all the dramatic ones. and god that panel of kana. shes so beautiful. i am so scared. because there is no way aqua will accept, since she is still an idol, kamiki is somewhere in the background and. well baby aqua hasn't shown up yet has he?

either way the knife is in aqua's hands now. its his choice if he wants to turn it on himself or throw it away.

break next week!

[nordictwin]

A list of my IWATEX AUs and fanfics.

Since a lot of people have found me through IWATEX, I figured I should probably make an actual list of my AUs and fanfiction, just to have them all in one place.

Fragmented Futures - aka. the Everyone Knows AU

Probably the one most of you are here for, since it's the one I've posted about the most, but written the least for in terms of actual fic. An AU in which all of the Stratos-Helios kids suddenly become aware, that they're stuck in a timeloop... all except Sol. Or so the others think.

A story full of kids being friends, learning new stuff about themselves, and a generous dash of eldritch shenanigans.

Currently in the works for this AU: an as of yet "non-canon" vent-fic, in which I subject Sol to something a little more realistic than my usual treatment of them. Not sure if it'll be incorporated into the fic proper, but as of this point in writing, it's just meant to be a little side-thing set in the same universe.

The Tragedy of the Exocolony on Vertumna IV

The AU/fanfiction that has me in a chokehold at the moment, TOTEOV is an eldritch horror story that takes all my love for Sym and the Overseer, flips it upside-down, and turns it into a toxic mess of good intentions gone horrifically wrong. Oh, and Rex and Vace are forced to work together.

A story that draws heavily on the tropes of children stolen away by the supernatural, such as The Pied Piper of Hamelin and other fae tales.

Heed the tags. Seriously.

The Solution AU

An AU I've never really mentioned here except once, nor written a single word for. Ironically, this is actually the origin AU of TOTEOV.

The basic premise is that Sol, after many trips around the loop, decides to look for a permanent solution. They eventually decide that the best way to do so, is for them to become a Gardener from the very beginning and create an entirely new timeline from scratch. In collaboration with the Overseer, they turn the clock back to just before the Verma's departure and get implanted in the system as a seed to sprout in the future.

The issue is that this means Solanaceae won't ever have existed amongst the humans. And they're fine with paying this price, if it means a more harmonious future overall.

So aboard the Stratospheric, when that time comes, there is no child born to Flulu and Geranium, no cheerful Sol amongst the kids. Instead, when Besk dies, the twins are adopted by the cultivators and grow up... not quite the same as in the original timeline, but also not too different from how we know them.

And on Vertumna, Sol welcomes humanity to guide their gradual integration into the ecosystem. Looking from afar, forgotten by everyone they love except the Gardeners.

......except this is one of my AUs, so of course nothing is as it seems, and Sol will re-learn just how strong the power of love is.

The Person You'll Grow to Be - completed, canon-compliant fanfic.

My first fanfic for this fandom. Aka the Flulu Loves Her Kid So Much fic.

A story going from Flulu learning of her pregnancy all the way to her death during the famine. An tale of her love for Sol and how she felt about a lot of things.

[alessiamalfoyzabini]

𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 | 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞

Pairing | Yandere Jungkook x Reader

Word Count | 1,529

Warnings | +18, detailed descriptions of punishment, spanking, Jungkook is obsessed and angry, smut dubcon(?), fingering, male masturbation, forced cum consumption

This does not reflect my way of thinking or living at all, it is just a work of fiction, it is like watching a horror movie, many of us love horror movies, but we would never dream of what we see in those movies happening in reality as well.

Simply put, this story was written for entertainment purposes, it should not be seen as a reflection of my values, opinions or morals. I absolutely do not condone such acts.

⤷ Summary | If she had paid attention earlier to the sin that dwelt behind those obsidian irises, she would never have trusted it.

If she had noticed earlier the devouring love that dwelled in his corrupt heart, she probably would have fled.

She had done none of that, and now she had to come to terms with her new reality.

➢ Author's Note | Fifth chapter ready! Let me know what you think of the story or if you would like to be added to the taglist, i would be really happy!

Taglist: @katherine-kookie, @douknowbts, @aiiselle90210, @fewercascade

Taglist is open!

Chapter List - I - II - III - IV - V - VI - VII - VIII / The End

It had been exactly four days, Y/N had been locked in that room crying, eating what she had to eat so as not to upset Jungkook, but the sadness and disgust were still there. She still couldn't tell if it was for him or for herself. He spent those nights as tense as a violin string, going to work during the day and hermetically locking the front door, and at night he heard her crying and that upset him. But he had factored that in as well, Jimin had explained to him how the first few days had gone. "It's going to be hard, but if you love her you'll have to put up with it," the blond man in the principal's office had told him, while Seokjin just listened, typing occasionally on his phone. "I hate to see her so dejected, I'm the cause and that hurts me," he had hissed with his head clenched in his hands, Jimin had denied it with his head, totally frosty. "You are just too sensitive, she has to get used to a new way of life and certain reactions are more than normal, my wife had tried to kill me if you remember well, so consider yourself lucky," he scolded him. "Besides," Seokjin exclaimed, "her parents reported her missing and everyone thinks something happened to her, even the neighborhood she lived in was a good cover, don't think of stopping just now." Jungkook nodded, before freezing.

"What about Kang Yoozu?" he asked, threateningly. Jimin let go of an icy smile, "You don't have to worry about him anymore, with the material you provided me, there will be fun to be had." A few days later, Jungkook understood his friend's words, it was all over the news that Kang Yoozu, age twenty-three, had kidnapped and most likely tortured the now missing Y/N. It had only taken a few rumors put out there and a lock of the girl's hair found in the student's backpack to set off alarm bells. Jungkook thought Jimin had done a masterful job; everyone knew about Yoozu's bullying of Y/N, and as Jungkook had said at the beginning, it was those like Yoozu who had no loyal friends.

At the dinner table that evening, Jungkook avoided turning on the television, not wanting the girl to see anything inherent in her disappearance; she seemed upset enough to the boy, so he asked her how she felt. "Like someone who hasn't seen the light of day for almost a week," she hissed, listlessly moving the contents of her plate. "When I'm sure I can trust you, I'll take you for walks," he tried to appease her, but at those words Y/N huffed blatantly, which the man did not like. "Y/N." "Jungkook?" she wryly made, openly challenging him after days of unexpressed discontent, "I'm not even allowed to complain, professor?" The ass-grabbing behind that title pissed him off, and he jerked out of his chair and marched toward her with an expression that was anything but sweet and patient, as it had always been until moments before. Y/N caught the danger signal and tried to evade him, but Jungkook was quicker and caught her lifting her off the ground as if she had been a feather, at which point the girl screamed and full-throated, kicking in his direction, intimidating him to put her down, terrified by the man's sudden change.

Jungkook was not frightened by her hysterical threats, after all, there were not even neighbors who could hear them, and he flung her onto the living room sofa, the girl ended up between the cushions on all fours, tried to get up so she could stare openly into his eyes, but Jungkook imposed that position on her by crushing her with his own weight, in fear she felt the young man's hands lift the fabric of the skirt he had given her that day, she tried to crawl away, but once again she was blocked by him, a strong hand of the man held her head still against the cushions. She shuddered in shock when her panties were also brutally lowered onto her thighs, she felt so much embarrassment that she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to extricate herself. "Rule number one, Y/N, don't ever use that tone with me," he hissed furiously, before his free hand came down on a soft buttock of the young woman, who squealed in shock and pain at the searing lash, the dry sound lost in the room along with her voice.

Jungkook settled down better behind her, taking sadistic pleasure in seeing his imprint getting darker and darker on her tender and delicate skin, "Rule number two, finish your meal without complaining like a naughty and rude child," he hit the same area of skin with an even more deafening spanking than the previous one, the girl wriggled in tears under his body, Jungkook felt the blood run miles through his veins, his cock now throbbing in his pants at that fantastic sight. Adrenaline raced through his body, painfully clutching Y/N's hair in its hard grip. "Rule number three, never question what I say to you in that insolent way!" he continued to hit her repeatedly on the other side as well, ignoring the tears now soaking the cushions of his couch or the girl's constant attempt to slip away from his blows, writhing. He stopped only when the girl began to give in, begging him to stop. "P-Please stop!" she screamed against the fabric of the cushions, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll be good, I won't misbehave anymore," she continued, Jungkook pulled away slightly, watching with hungry eyes the buttocks now red and irritated by his punishing blows, the girl's body trembling, shaken by sobs and whimpers.

"Ah..." he sighed, "My love," he murmured bending over her, tenderly kissing the skin now burned and alive with pain, the girl tried to block her sobs, feeling only more discomfort at the boy's attentions, who not content left a long trail of saliva from the abused area to the column of her back, stopping shortly after at a corner of her neck, Y/N shuddered, feeling him push the covered cock against her buttocks which, if possible, burned even more. Jungkook sucked and bit the skin of her neck expertly, Y/N did not have the strength to evade, not even when one of the man's hands descended on her pussy . "Since you get it... you deserve a reward, don't you?" he highlighted those sick words of his with another thrust of his pelvis, "I'm going to make you feel so good, love," he moaned, running two fingers along the folds of the girl, who widened her eyes at the same time Jungkook did, finding her soaking and quivering, "Fuck. .. you liked it," he laughed surprised, Y/N instead wanted to disappear, tried to stop her moans by sealing her lips, shocked by that new realization, but she tensed at the rhythmic and insistent movement of the fingers around her taut and shiny clitoris, no ... it couldn't be true.

She could not feel pleasure at such a time, with such a boy! But her body thought otherwise when the man's fingers tapped on her clitoris, which contracted and forced the girl's hips to push against the young man's hand involuntarily, seeking a more direct and steady touch. She opened her mouth wide for air, but was only able to gasp for breath, only causing Jungkook to increase the speed of his intimate caresses, reaching up to penetrate her lightly with the tip of his fingertips, Y/N stiffened writhing wordlessly, her brain now mush thinking only of finding more friction, which Jungkook granted her with a kiss in her hair, slipping his fingers from her tight slit to move up toward her clit, rubbing on the now overly sensitive pearl, he expertly pinched one last time before and Y/N let out a choked scream that confirmed her orgasm, which continued to shake her body for endless minutes. Now almost fainting in his arms, Jungkook turned her body over, lost himself in looking at her distraught face before glancing at her soaked red intimacy, biting his lip, god he couldn't take it anymore.

He began to unbuckle the belt from his pants, releasing the thick, throbbing cock without lowering anything else, reached up to the young girl's tear- and saliva-wet lips, running the already wet tip of white, shiny cum over them, cupped his hand several times over the velvety, warm skin of his cock, continued to pump himself, moaning loudly, he accompanied the gestures with sloppy, slick movements of his hips, Y/N barely registered the boy's actions, too shocked by what had happened, a choked scream escaped her throat as a warm, foreign-tasting substance poured onto her face and hair, a few drops managed to enter her mouth as well, only later did she realize what it was. Jungkook slipped two fingers into her mouth, filling her with his cum, forcing it to the back of her throat, which made the girl swallow for air. "My beautiful girl is also a perfect slut for my cock."

[roanofarcc]

PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER FIFTY NINE → THE BEGINNING OF THE END

summary: steve harrington x oc

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 4.9K || masterlist || ocs moodboard

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

previous chapter ← → next chapter

TAG LIST. @sattlersquarry, @two-sides-samecoin, @leptitlu

Ellie Torres was tired. Her sneakers were ruined with mud and her skin was peppered with itchy bug bites, but she couldn’t reach to scratch them because her arms were wrapped around the neck of a man. He was a nice man, taller than her dad and with a head of white hair. Ellie rested her cheek against his shoulder as he carried her down a very long hallway. Her eyes tried to flutter close, but the overhead lights were too bright for her to fall asleep, and they hurt her head. 

The nice man said he would help her find her mom and dad. Ellie hoped she wouldn’t be in too much trouble. She had a habit of wandering off, especially when something bright and colorful caught her eye. She had never been scared of the woods before, but after she lost her way in search of some wildflowers to bring back to her mom and the sky faded from blue to black, Ellie suddenly became very scared. But as she wandered, she remembered the last time she slipped out of her mom’s sight at the grocery store. Her mom had found her a couple of minutes later and pressed kisses to her plump cheeks. It would be just like that, she thought. The nice man would call her mom, and she’d come, kiss her cheeks, and take her home. And Ellie would promise to never, ever run off again.

The hallway began to look more and more fuzzy as her eyes dropped, but the man kept walking. They traveled deeper into the building and she grew sleepier. She was certain that she’d wake up in her own bed and it would be like that whole night never happened. 

However, Ellie was jolted awake when the nice man sat her down on an uncomfortable bed. Her tired eyes strained themselves to stay open and she pouted her lip in protest, muttering confused mumbles that no one listened to. She tried to sit up, but hands roughly grabbed her bony shoulders and forced her back against the bed. 

“Mommy? Daddy?” she whined, weakly reaching out for her parents as if they were in the room with her. The nice man was gone and replaced with strangers. That bad feeling that turned in her gut back inside the woods resurfaced. Tears stung her pale brown eyes as she desperately tried to fight back against the many people hovering over her, but they were so much bigger than she was. They placed something over her nose and mouth and kept her shoulders pinned down as she breathed frantically. She was hit hard with a wave of sleepiness. Her arms and legs felt heavy, dropping their fight as her eyes forced themselves shut.

She woke up what felt like days later, with the number seven tattooed on her wrist. It didn’t take long for her to forget who Ellie Torres was, and it didn’t take long for her to react to the wires strapped to her freshly shaved head or the colored IVs stuck in her veins. With bloody noses and glowing fingers, Ellie was washed away, down the drains of Hawkins National Laboratory. Her mind was a blank slate that stopped calling out for mom and dad to rescue her.

She became 007, who didn’t remember, 

But she was starting to. 

It made no sense to Sunshine. She knew her mind was a tricky minefield. Her brain wanted to protect her, that was what Dr. Owens had told her. It took a lot of the bad memories, not all but most, and tried to bury them down deep in an effort to help her heal. All of the trauma she had endured was smashed into pieces that only visited her sometimes, in doses she could handle without going mad. 

Time and distance from the Lab helped, even if some of those memories were unfairly replaced by rows of pointed teeth and monsters with slimy skin. But the point was, that Sunshine had a handle on her memories and how she dealt with them. Sometimes they would creep out when she slept or found herself in situations too similar to ones she had been in inside the Lab, but it was manageable for the most part. 

After the awful showdown at Starcourt, Sunshine tried to move on with life as normally as she could. Her worries regarding the Russians were quelled and the Mind Flayer died. Even the photographs taken of her at the mall were supposedly “taken care of” according to Dr. Owens. She didn’t fully trust the man, but she trusted him enough to believe him; that, and she couldn’t spend the rest of her life in a worry-sick bubble. It was exhausting and all she wanted was to live her life as normally as she could and put her focus on the daunting but exciting world of high school. 

But, something was wrong with her as of late, and she traced it back to that night at Starcourt. She didn’t know exactly what happened, but since that night, memories had clawed their way out of their shallow graves to the forefront of her mind and drenched her in a never-ending series of headaches. She was forced to remember more than she ever wanted to. Even the little things that held no significance came back to her, and it screwed with her head. 

The smell of sterile rooms was stuck in her nose and the anxiety of spiraling into fits of memories consumed her. It would happen out of the blue, not just at night when she closed her eyes. Memories came back for no reason or without anything to trigger them. 

Like that afternoon, seated in math class with her chin resting in her palm. Her eyes averted to the window as she became lost in a daze the first time she met Dr. Brenner. His promise of finding her parents rang in her ears. Lies. The cold betrayal sunk into her skin like teeth. She tried not to get too swept away in the current of her memories, but they raged in waves against her skull. 

She didn’t understand what correlation there was between her over-using her abilities and the resurgence of memories bombarding her brain. The headaches and dizzy spells she had gotten used to had been almost constant since that night. Heal was a complicated process with no real cure, but remembering all the way back to her first night at the Lab was a weird side-effect. How badly had she rattled things around inside her head? She had been cleared by Dr. Owens and his team, but she felt far from in the clear. 

“Miss Torres.” The stern voice of her nightmarish math teacher broke through her thoughts, startling her. She snapped her attention in his direction. “Is there something outside more important than my lesson?” Sunshine felt her face flush as snickers from her classmates echoed from behind her. 

“No, Sir,” she said, sinking down in her chair to make herself smaller. 

He hummed in response and was about to resume his lesson before he did a double-take in her direction. His eye widened slightly, and he snapped his fingers toward the student seated closest to his desk. “Oh, uh, Munson! Pass that box of tissues back to Miss Torres.” 

Confused, Sunshine parted her lips to ask why, but then she tasted blood on her tongue, dripping from her nose. The students in her row passed back the box and she quickly pulled a couple before holding them to her bloody nose. Kids were whispering all around her in confused murmurs. 

“Head to the nurse,” the teacher said. “Take your things and try not to bleed on my floor.” 

A couple of desks over, Tamera Willow nearly jumped up. “I’ll walk her!” 

“I think she can walk herself.” 

“My little brother gets nosebleeds all of the time,” Tamera said, talking quickly. “They make him super dizzy. What if she falls and, like, hits her head or something? Then, that’s kind of all your fault.” 

The teacher huffed and rolled his eyes but agreed. Tamera quickly grabbed her books before rushing over to take Sunshine’s too. They said nothing as they left the room. The tissue was completely soaked with blood and her head felt fuzzy, as if always did. The pain was similar to when she used her abilities, but she hadn’t. Her head was sore, like a healing bruise that kept being hit. 

Once they were a couple of classrooms away, Sunshine’s vision blurred for a moment and her swayed slightly. Tamera grabbed her arm to steady her. “Shit, do you want me to go grab the nurse while you sit down?” 

Sunshine forced her eyes back open and shook her head. The fuzziness cleared just a little as she sucked in a deep breath. “No, I’m fine.” She pulled the tissue away and sighed at the blood coating her fingers. “I’m just going to clean up. You can go back to class.” 

“I’ll come with you. Just in case you do, like, pass out,” she insisted, but Sunshine didn’t know why. Ever since Starcourt, she hadn’t spoken to Tamera or Calum. They had been thoroughly lectured about their snooping and withholding government property. Calum had moved to Indy with his mother and Tamera almost seemed to have been avoiding Sunshine until that moment. She had gotten closer to Robin, but always made up some excuse to leave when Sunshine came around. 

In the girls’ bathroom, Sunshine wet a paper towel and cleaned the blood from her nose. A tiredness fell over her shoulders, but she still had half the school day to go. The memories exhausted her. Maybe when she had fought the Mind Flayer, she had knocked loose whatever helped hold the memories back. But that didn’t explain why her nose bled or her head hurt. 

Sunshine leaned over the sink and hung her head. The Gate was closed for the second time around, but nothing seemed to be settling down. Hawkins felt stuck in a state of grief and confusion while Sunshine and her group were trying to heal much larger wounds. 

“I want to apologize,” Tamera said, suddenly. Sunshine looked at her through the mirror. “I’m sorry for everything, especially the way we acted. We shouldn’t have shoved all of that in your face that night when you were clearly in the middle of something. We just…” she trailed off with a sigh, rubbing her dark eyes with her knuckles. “Cal wanted answers, and I was so sick of running around trying to help him. I wanted him to figure out where his dad was, so he’d just stop. He’s stubborn, really stubborn. And I couldn’t let him do any of them on his own, especially after we found that file. We shouldn’t have looked into it. We were just too curious and severely underestimated how big everything actually was.” 

Wadding up another blooded paper towel, she tossed it into the trash before turning around to face Tamera. She saw the guilt written on her face and the nervousness in her hands that played with the hem of her shirt. 

“I get it. He wanted to find his dad. I’m sorry things turned out the way they did.” It wasn’t Calum’s fault who his father was, or what he had done. She still felt uneasy about it, but Calum no longer being in town helped her. He was just a kid, but he had no idea what he was defending his father from. She wished he and Tamera hadn’t gotten involved and dropped into their mess, but it was too late for that. 

“Nothing went how I thought it would,” Tamera admitted. “I’m still processing it, I guess. That was the craziest shit ever.” Sunshine nodded in agreement. “And don’t get me wrong, that was the most terrifying situation I’ve ever been in, and I didn’t even see the monster-thing, but in a really morbid way, it was kind of cool. Obviously not the people dying or anything like that, but you were cool. Like, uh, your whole situation.” She gestured to Sunshine’s hands with a sheepish smile. 

“Thanks,” Sunshine said. She brushed her hand under her nose and pulled it away clean, thankfully. “I think we got off on the wrong hand.” Tamera tilted her head, a little confused before Sunshine corrected herself. “No. Uh, foot, I mean. We got off on the wrong foot.” 

Tamera chuckled. “Oh, you mean the fact that I’ve been helping my friend try to link you to his dad’s disappearance?” 

“Yeah,” Sunshine laughed. It was ridiculous, but they hadn’t been necessarily wrong about her connection to Calum’s father. “I’m not mad at you or Calum. I just wish you didn’t get yourself involved in our mess.” 

“No, you can be mad. We were stupid and couldn’t even fathom how far over our heads we were. We were pushy and assholes about the whole thing. Seriously, I don’t think sorry cuts it. If you wanted to yell at me or use your freaky magic on me, I’d totally understand.” 

“Oh, no. It’s not magic… never mind.” Sunshine shook her head leaving that as a conversation for a different time. “What if we just started over?” She liked Tamera, she really did. The girl was smart and funny. Hanging out with her while Steve worked at Scoops had been nice. 

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really? You don’t have to do that.” 

“If I liked you when you were snooping around in my life behind my back, I think I’d like you even more if we were friends,” said Sunshine. “Besides, you’re in on our little secret now. So, you are officially, unofficially, a part of the team, like Robin.” 

Sunshine doubted their trouble was over forever, and she doubted Tamera and Calum would stay out of everything now that they knew the truth. It was better to have them apart of their oddly assembled group than working opposed to them, she supposed. 

Tamera hesitated before her shoulders relaxed slightly and a smile spread across her face. “I promise, no more snooping.” 

“I’ll hold you to it.” 

The bell rang and Tamera held her books closer to her chest. “I gotta get ready for band. Are you going to be okay with the whole bloody nose thing?” she asked. 

Sunshine waved her off. “Yeah. It happens sometimes.” Not like that, but Tamera didn’t need to know that there was something off with her “I’ll see you around.” 

With a nod, Tamera left, and Sunshine returned her gaze to the mirror, giving herself a hard look. She looked fine on the outside. The bruises around her neck and across her face had cleared up nicely and any scars she covered with light makeup. Bags were under her eyes, but she learned quickly that was typical high school fashion. To anyone who looked at her, she seemed like every other student at Hawkins High, but she wasn’t, and her classmates picked up on that too. 

They knew her mysterious past and confusing reappearance. She was the girl who came back to life. They knew she was off; they just couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was that made her unlike them. And now she was the girl who got random nosebleeds in the middle of class. 

The longer she stared at herself in the mirror, the more disconnected she felt from her body. She blinked and pain flared up in her head once more, causing her to clutch the sides of the sink hard, riding out the dizziness. It passed quicker that time and her nose didn’t bleed, but she felt the ghost of hands clamped down on her wrists and Dr. Brenner holding her sleepy figure as he walked them down the Lab hallways. It made her skin crawl. 

The bathroom door was swung open with a little more force than necessary, startling Sunshine. She spun around and was met with a familiar face that made her relax instantly. “Nancy,” she breathed out. 

“There you are,” the brunette said with a huff, joining Sunshine at the counter of sinks. “People were saying your nose started gushing look in the middle of class. I thought that only happened when you use your…” Nancy trailed off, quickly looking at the row of unoccupied stalls. “Your powers?” 

“It does.” 

“But you weren’t using them in class, were you?” 

“No.” 

“But your nose was bleeding?” 

“Yes.” Nancy shot her an exasperated look, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t know,” Sunshine said with a half-hearted shrug. “But it’s not a big deal. I’m still a little burnt out after everything, I guess. I’ve never done anything like that before and I think my head is still trying to recover.” 

Nancy was quiet for a moment, staring through Sunshine was an intense and scrutinizing gaze that only she had. “You said you were feeling better.” 

“I am, but these things are tricky. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but I promise, I have everything under control.” Or she would, eventually. She just had to ride it out and hope her brain found itself back in place. “It’s one bloody nose. I’ve had a million before.” 

Nancy seemed to relax slightly at Sunshine words and began to fix her hair in the mirror. “As long as you’re sure, then I’ll drop it.” 

“I’m sure.” 

With a nod, Nancy switched gears. “In other news, aside from your bloody nose being the talk of the hour, the school is hosting a memorial service for what they’re calling The Tragedy of Starcourt. I’m supposed to cover it for the school paper, but it doesn’t feel right twisting the story so far from the truth and writing it off as a mall fire.”

Sunshine shrugged. “I think a mall fire is probably the best cover-up. It’s better than the truth.” 

“Is it?” Nancy turned to look at Sunshine. There wasn’t a challenging look in her eyes, she was genuinely asking. The truth provided closure, but knowing the people you loved were melted down, bones and all, to form a terrifying creature who wanted to take over the world, was deeply more unsettling than being lied to. 

“I think so. The truth isn’t always the best.” And remembering wasn’t always comforting and helpful, as Sunshine was experiencing. She started to prefer the time when there were gaps in her memories. She didn’t want to remember any of it, but her brain was force-feeding it to her. She didn’t think the people of Hawkins could handle the idea of monsters existing. 

However, Nancy seemed unsure. “Watering down the truth can only go so far.” 

Sunshine shoved her hands in the pockets of her sweater and opened her mouth to say something but stopped when her fingers grasped something balled up in the pocket. Confused, she pulled it out to revel a piece of paper, one that she didn’t remember putting in there. She unfolded it and smoothed out the edges to reveal a small drawing that was slightly smudged. It was a drawing of a clock, the outline of an old grandfather clock. It was the same drawing that Luke had given her that night at Starcourt, but she didn’t remember keeping it. 

Another headache came on, but it stayed as a dull pulse behind her eyes and was more annoying than painful. She traced the clock slowly, methodically, thinking.

“What is that?” Nancy asked, but Sunshine was swept up in her thoughts. She felt stuck, frozen almost. A single drop of blood landed on the picture, soaking through the thin and worn sheet, and falling from her nose. 

Luke’s voice rang out in her ears. “I think there’s something wrong with me.” 

So did El’s cries when the reality of her abilities being gone hit her with full force. “They’re broken! I’m broken!” 

☀☀☀

He should have called home that night. He felt the phone on his desk draw him in like a magnet, pulling him but he resisted because he knew if he picked up the phone the frustrated tone of his wife’s voice would ring in his ears the rest of the night. She’d tell him there were leftovers in the fridge, his son was already in bed, and that she had an early morning appointment at the hair salon, so he needed to be quiet when he finally decided to come home for the night. He sighed in response, tell her he loved her, and that he would make it up to her the following Friday that he was off. But, like always, he’d forget and get wrapped up in some emergency at work and she wouldn’t bring it up. 

Ryan Miller thought that night would be like any other; he’d finish up a file of paperwork on his desk and tests that needed to be greenlit, and then he’d stumble home too late to eat a proper meal without getting heartburn. So, he’d save dinner for breakfast and mix coffee with pork chops, which would make his son scrunch up his nose and tell him he was disgusting. Then, Ryan would leave for work again, watch bony fingers flex behind glass panels and disobey every law of science, and he’d try to ignore the bitter screams that rattled the walls before they were quieted. 

He wanted to make a world full of the impossible for his son. He wanted Calum Miller to know that the extraordinary was not out of reach if he worked hard. In order to pave the way for his son to succeed and understand that anything he dreamt up could be created with hard work. It was for that reason that he never objected to the lengths his partner went to with hopes of achieving that idea. 

To make the world better, and more promising for his son, he aided and abetted in prying newborns from disoriented mother’s arms. He didn’t falter when twin bundles of infants were found abandoned on church steps, in need of a home that they could provide, in a sense. He turned his head when little girls got lost in the woods and show up at the Lab perimeters because maybe that was the way things were supposed go. All of their parents were careless. Mothers not in their right minds, fathers who believed God would give his twins the life he couldn’t, and parents who didn’t pay enough attention to where their daughter wandered.

The children were to be used for a greater purpose than live some miserable lives in unhappy homes or die in the woods. Ryan kept reminding himself of that when their cries rang out, when their blood was washed off white tiled floors, and when their numbers were slashed down to two. They were doing the right thing, be believed. They were doing the right thing. They were. They were. He promised that they were. 

“This is your fault,” Martin Brenner seethed. He was losing his composure and Ryan had to admit, it was a pleasant sight to see someone so polished, so put together, begin to crumble. 

“My fault?” Ryan scoffed as he scraped his handcuffs against the metal tabletop. The room was bright and cold, and he saw his reflection in the one-way mirror stare back at him. The tables had turned, he supposed. Or maybe he had always been expendable. “How is this my fault?” 

Martin slammed his hands down on the table, but Ryan didn’t flinch; alarms still rang in his ears. “You let them go! You let them escape!” 

“Do you have any idea the kind of mess we were in the second someone outside finds them and connects them back to the children they really are?” They could only erase so much of each child who passed through the Lab. They didn’t remember, but someone would. Ryan shook his head. “I never wanted this to happen. They were never supposed to leave. You better find them, Doctor, because I’m not going down with this ship.” He had a wife and a son. He had done everything right. He was so careful. Why was this his punishment? 

Martin lowered himself to Ryan’s seated height and stared at him with red-hot anger that sat nestled behind cold-dead eyes. “You’ve always been weak, Dr. Miller. Spineless. A coward who choose to stay in his office and not make contact with the children unless absolutely necessary. And why? Because they remind you of your son? Because you feel guilty?” Ryan clenched his jaw but said nothing. “Guilty enough to allow our last two experiments loose at the worst time imaginable. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” 

“The worst time imaginable?” Ryan laughed dryly. “You mean your little discovery, oozing from the sublevel? Are you talking about the hole that your pet project tore open and how it's spreading, festering, and killing? Is that what you mean, Doctor?” Martin turned around, facing the mirror in a lame attempt to compose himself. He rubbed his chin as Ryan grew more frustrated. “I told you there was something wrong with her. I told you that Eleven-” 

“Is gone. That is what I’m worried about.” Martin cut him off. “But she and Seven couldn’t have gotten far. I have a team searching the woods and surrounding areas tonight. And we’re monitoring all phone calls within Hawkins. We will find them and leave no loose ends.” Their thread was unraveling. Two lost girls, two experiments, on the run. Ryan wanted to believe that there was no way two children could demolish everything they built, but the damage they had caused was already irreversible. He didn’t know exactly what he and Martin Brenner had created or how it was Subjects Seven and Eleven who were the last ones standing, but he knew one thing for certain: nothing would come to a pleasant end. 

A lonely diner off the interstate sat almost empty at that time of night. Ryan Miller stared out the window at the night sky while his piece of pie grew soggy from melted ice cream. He fingered the photograph hidden in his pocket, feeling the weight of it grow heavier as each day passed. There were bags under his eyes and a single bag of belongings at his side. The blond hair that once covered his head was outgrown down to his chin, where he had cut it off with dull scissors and dyed dark brown in a gas station bathroom in Ohio. The roundness of his cheeks and straightness of his shoulders disappeared, making him almost unrecognizable. Almost.

“Dr. Miller,” a voice called out, startling Ryan out of his skin. He snapped his head over his shoulder and dugs his chewed-down fingernails into the skin of his palms. “You’re a hard man to track down, you know?” 

A man slid into the booth across from Ryan before he flagged down the only waitress on duty. She was young, probably a year or two older than his son, with red hair and tired but youthful eyes. She put on a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen, leaving the men alone in the front of the diner. Neither one said anything until their mugs were refilled with steaming coffee.

Outside the front door stood two men with their arms crossed, blocking the entrance. Ryan sank into the booth and scowled. “Let’s get this over with already. You here to arrest me?” 

The man shrugged. “Depends,” he said, pouring cream and sugar into his mug and stirring it slowly. “I don’t know how people drink his stuff black. Doesn’t that take the enjoyment out of coffee?” 

“What do you want?” 

“Do you know who I am?” the man asked, and Ryan tried not to let his rising panic show on his face. 

“Yes,” he replied. 

“Good.” There was a beat, and Ryan heard the sizzle of the grill from the kitchen, even though there was no one else to serve. “Do you know why I’m here?” 

“No.”

The man wrapped his hands around the mug and leaned against the table, lowering his voice. “I have a proposition for you, one that could potentially get you back in good graces, bury some hatches, and maybe, if you’re lucky, get a one-way ticket back home.” 

Ryan shook his head, but desperation pounded in his heart. He was a broken man, that he’d admit. He wanted, more than anything, to go home and beg on his hands and knees for forgiveness from his wife and son. He didn’t deserve a second chance, but he prayed every night they gave him one. 

“I don’t believe you.” 

“You don’t have to, but it’s your choice. Either you come with me willingly, or we’ll have to make a scene. And I don’t really want to make a scene tonight. Do you, Doctor?” Ryan was silent, thinking. “You have a son. Nice kid. Real ambitious too. I think it’d do him some good to see his father again, don’t you?” 

Ryan sighed and slipped his hand back into his pocket, feeling the photograph once more. The air felt warmer and colder at the same time, causing him to shiver as sweat rolled down the back of his neck. Desperation painted him in a sick light. His gut twisted in knots, pulling and tugging him in another direction away from his running. He wanted some kind of salvation or an end. 

“What exactly do you have in mind, Dr. Owens?”

END OF SEASON 3

[morgombie]

Hiiii. I'm just here to hear about your current favorite fantroll/fantrolls. I like hearing people infodump and I wanna learn more about your babies <3 Who's rotating in your brain rn?

this ask is from forever ago im so sorry ToT but i was waitin to answer till i had the brain capacity to think on it

rn the trolls in my brain are izmera, baster, and rhiati... i love those guys :'3 mostly thinking about rhiati at the moment

i dont explore my characters stories suuper in depth on the blog, as most of the interactions and lore talk is done on discord, but i do like rambling abt them any chance i get! and i have a lot of big feelings on the intricate detailing of each of their stories... more + extra art under the cut :]

rhiati's story was written originally as a tragedy; they were never meant to survive the virus taking over their mind and body, and they were doomed to become the monster they always feared they would. now, however, their fate is up in the air--my friends and i have spoken a lot about a potential cure, and so i might play with that :] but definitely not until after rhia has gone through everything i have planned for them JKHDG their story may have a happy ending, or it may not, but its meant to be tragic nonetheless

i love them very dearly... i say as i put them through the horrors KJFHDGDG but its true!!!

currently in their story, rhia's moirial, aselin, is housing them in their hive on the outskirts of town. aselin is within a sort of guild that hunts shadow droppers, and rhia got involved one day by not listening to aselin's warnings to stay away. they got attacked and subsequently bit by one of the monsters, and have since been hiding out in aselin's hive as the two try their best to maneuver their situation

eventually, as rhia's infection gets worse, and it gets harder to hide the fact that theyre turning, the guild catches wind of whats going on and the two moirails flee for rhiati's life. from there, the story is less concrete as rhia's fate isnt yet decided, but they end up on the run for either the remainder of rhia's life (likely a few months before they fully turn), or until they find/make a cure :]

there's obviously a bunch of detail ive left out, but thats the general gist! these 2 make me emotional.....................

i could go on about the other trolls i have as well but... i shant or this ask will be 89474867 pages long LMAO TY FOR THE ASK <33

[thatneoncrisis]

20 questions for 20 writers!

tagged by @waitineedaname thxx

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

21 works, i feel like thats a healthy number

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

i have 439,385 words, a very large chunk of that is from We Have Always Lived in the Apartment

3. What fandoms do you write for?

right now its the locked tomb, used to be homestuck, i have some crossovers with the magnus archives and one with john dies at the end

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

We Have Always Lived in the Apartment -- TLT horror mystery modern au

Insert Jesus Allegory Here -- solkat focused continuation of karkats pesterquest route, i NEED my new fics to get more popular than this oh my god

Gehenna the First -- TLT houseswap au with harrow as god

the gap between a tragedy and comedy (in this life its just you and me) -- TLT coffee shop au.

What's Eating Gideon Nav?  -- TLT catholic boarding school horror au

5. Do you respond to comments?

not typically, theres some weird thing with my head where i kind of hate that it counts my comments in the total comment amount. i cant explain it i just dont like how it looks, plus just repeating variations of "thank you!!" feels hollow after a while. im more likely to answer direct questions about the story rather than general commentary i do love talking about my thought process and intentions

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

ok so i cant actually tell you this because none of those fics are Done yet but all you need to know is that i consider all of my TLT fics tragedies to some extent. take that as you will. i dont even Like the word angst really it portends a level of melodrama id like to avoid

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I'd say its a dead tie between A Brief Lesson In The Occult and Shit. Let’s Build A Fort. i can barely look at these anymore and if you read them and feel compelled to tell me you like them: dont. i can do better now

8. Do you get hate on fics?

never to my knowledge has anyone ever publicly disliked one of my fics. in fact sometimes i dream about someone posting it in their discord group chat and making fun of it because im so curious about what theyd say

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

yes i have. i do it almost exclusively as satire or character analysis as i find like, the physicality of sex to be inherently kind of goofy. liek the second you have to describe a dick or boobs with words the magic is gone it just becomes weird silly looking flesh. so i like focusing on weird and bad sex, unsatisfying or clumsy sex. sex that changes you in no significant way

10. Do you write crossovers?

yes i have. A Brief Disappearance and Statement of David Wong are both TMA/JDATE crossovers and i DID write a homestuck/TMA crossover but its not on my ao3 i guess? odd

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

no? does that happen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i think once someone asked but i have no clue if it happened

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@notedchampagne is my co producer in all things forever but ive basically written everything myself and they help polish it up

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

shiiiiiiite uh. jade/davepeta still means a lot to me. i think there are a lot of really engaging ships in TLT but i always kind of default to griddlehark i just kind of understand them the best

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

eventually SAM and i would like to circle back to our fanventure Therapystuck but we both got really busy with school, work and a general lull in the HS fandom. also maybe someday ill go back to Insert Jesus Allegory Here i liked the direction of the story i just have to get myself back in that headspace. being into homestuck Does something to you, like psychologically

16. What are your writing strengths?

after asking some friends theyve told me im good at tone, prose, funny metaphors, and dialogue but a caveat for the last thing as "I have yet to see how your Own guys talk and how you'd handle distinct voices from scratch so I'm only giving you about 80%"

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

i hate like. writing Around the important bits of a scene. i love the physicality of characters and what it reveals about them, along with pieces of the scene the narration deems important or interesting enough to mention to the audience. but im always worried im jsut fucking yapping. also i hate like, political scenes theres a rhythm to them that i dont quite understand. people sitting around using specific language that Feels important in a way that doesnt make it clear im bullshitting like 99% of what theyre talking about

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

AHAH. GOD. i actually looked this up the other day because theres an original story i want to write where i want to make it clear theyre basically speaking french the whole time, even though its written in english. i only speak english (i took some french in hs, its left me though i want to pick it up again) so i wouldnt know anything about how it reads to polyglots but i guess theres really only so much you can do outside of literally learning a new language just to write a story for free. ive seen a whole host of tips so i gues sit just matters how you employ them

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Homestuck. my only regret is that i wasnt a better writer

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

FUCK christ uuuuh. favorite right Now would be The Apartment but EVENTUALLY id like it to be Gehenna the First because its the hardest to write and i need it to pay off. if you havent read it uhhh. hi. hello. you should do that. i think its really cool and fun and junk

CHRIST who to tag i dont follow big writers uuuh @tranquilitybasehotelcasino and @accidentallyadorable sure have fun