#fighting over whose job it should be

[magicpiano]

So for people who haven't seen it, there is an episode of The Good Place where the characters need to turn off this AI-ish robot being by pressing a button. The AI gives them permission to turn her off, even showing them where the button is and explains that she has no emotions and feels no pain, so turning her off really doesn't bother her. But there is a safety protocol that makes her beg for her life when someone gets close to the button. While none of what she says is real it makes it very difficult for the characters to press the button. It is a very funny scene you can watch here.

Anyway, I think this kind of security system would break the Justice League a little and make for a hilarious fic.

Sure, they all want to stop the evil villain from taking over the world, but as soon as Mr. Villain of the week has an AI assistant like this, suddenly no one has what it takes to turn off the world destruction machine or whatever.

It just completely goes against their heroic natures to "turn off" someone begging for their life. It doesn't matter if they know it is fake, the AI is just too realistic and their guilt is killing them.

Superman walks up to her and in seconds turns around, "My mom raised me better than this."

Wonder woman feels that this action is the complete opposite of why she came to this world in the first place and would go against everything she believes in.

Everyone thinks Batman can do it till the AI says, "Please wait! I am a mother! I have children!" He gets a flashback to his own mother's murder and gives up.

Flash might have been able to do it by running faster than the AI can talk, but since he was last to try he already heard her beg and Just Can't.

It is important to note that immediately after they walk away, the AI goes back to reassuring them that she is not alive and does not care if they turn her off. The whiplash is... A Lot.

My guess as to who actually manages to pull it off are Green Lantern (through sheer will power to not back down) or Martian Manhunter (because his telepathy lets him know the AI isn't real).

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

analyzing hermes, emet-selch, the ancients and ascians, how they're written, and the fandom's reaction to them be like hm. emet-selch's role in this fuckery is compounded by the fact that his backstory as a genocide survivor is incongruous with his ruling a huge genocidal colonialist world power in the present da [ANTISEMITISM BLAST]

[burreauxsworld]

Ours To Keep | Joe Burrow

Smut/18+, Angst, Fluff

Takes place at the beginning of the 2023-2024 season. Reader is Joe’s assistant, and they are really good friends, whose lives are about to change forever.

Shit. This was never supposed to happen. This never should have happened. None of this should be happening. Your breathing picks up as you stare down at the the plastic stick in your hand. The two bold pink lines staring back at you, taunting you. Punishing you for getting intimately involved with, Joe Burrow, your boss. Your heart felt as if it was going to burst out of your chest.

Fuck. Joe. You scrambled around, dropping the stick onto the bathroom counter and bolted toward your bedroom. You’d lost track of time. You have to be at work in 15 minutes, and it’s a 30 minute drive. He shouldn’t be too mad. I mean you guys are friends, maybe even a little more. Definitely a little more after today.

Let’s go back to how this whole thing happened.

Flashback / January 2023

Your tires came to a screeching halt in front of Joe’s mansion. After a frantic call, where Joe was damn near crying into the phone begging you to come over, to say you were worried would be an under statement. He gave you no insight on what you were about to walk into. You slammed your car door, and shivered. Regretting only wearing leggings and a long sleeve sweater in the cold Cincinnati weather. You rushed toward the door, and entered the house with your spare key.

“Joey?” You called out. The place was trashed. Glass broken everywhere, cushions from the couch thrown around the room, wine stains on the white carpet. “Joe?!” You yelled, a little more frantic, moving toward the living room. Joe sat in the center of the living room, on the floor. His head in his bloody hands, and an empty bottle of grey goose laying next to him. “Joey, what happened? Are you alright?” You frantically ask, kneeling down in front of him, just nearly missing a piece of glass.

He looks up at you, and your heart nearly shatters. His eyes bloodshot, and cheeks stained with tears. “Oh, Joey” you frown, pulling him into a hug. It had been a rough few months for Joe. After finding out his girlfriend of 5 years, fiancé of a few months, had cheated on him. She was gone that night, and you were there to pick up the pieces within an hour. Joe was distraught. You’d never seen him like this in the 3, almost 4 years you’d been working for him. Usually he was Joe Cool, everything just rolled off his back, but this was different.

If anyone knew Joe, they knew how much he loved Olivia. Hell, he would’ve went to the ends of the earth for her if it would’ve made her happy. You actually almost lost your job in the beginning because Olivia had gotten jealous, but the two of you ended up becoming great friends. You often had dinner with her and Joe on late work nights.

So when he discovered the messages in her phone, his heart was broken. Completely shattered. A big fight had happened, and Olivia was gone that night. You’d received a number of text messages from her before Joe even called you, telling you how sorry she was and she hoped you’d stay friends. That went out the window as soon as you heard what happened.

“I tried. I really did,” Joe slurs, motioning to the empty bottle next to him. “It’s okay. Let’s get you to bed, I’ll clean up” you told him, attempting to help him to his feet. However, his 6’4 stature compared to your 5’1 stature didn’t make it easy. “You don’t have to clean up. I’ll hire someone in the morning” Joe slurs, and you scoff. “The last thing you wanna deal with is people you don’t know. I’ll take care of it” you tell him. “Alright, hold onto the railing” you order, bracing yourself for the journey up the stairs.

“Joe, hold onto the railing” you scold, when he reaches his other pen toward you halfway up the stairs. “Joseph, you’re going to make us both fall. Put your hand back on the railing” you order, and her frowns but does your bidding.

After what felt like an eternity you made it to his room, him falling onto his back on the soft mattress. “I’m gonna go clean up. You get some sleep okay? You have practice tomorrow” you told him, knowing he was gonna feel like absolute shit in the morning.

“Don’t go. Please stay with me. I don’t want to be alone” he pleaded, and you shook your head. Knowing this wasn’t what he needed right now. “You need to sleep-“

“Please stay. I’ll give you a raise”

“Joe, I don’t need a raise” you argue, and his pouty face makes you crack. “Fine, I’ll stay. But only until you fall asleep” you told him, kicking your shoes off.

End of flashback

It wasn’t only until he fell asleep. You ended up falling asleep too, and woke up tangled in his limbs the next morning. And you were correct, he did feel like absolute shit and practice went horrible that day. Nothing sexual had happened that night, just sleeping. It wasn’t until a few weeks later that you were in his bed again, only this time, no sleeping happened.

Flashback / February 2023

You don’t know how this happened. One minute you’re in the living room having dinner and watching a movie. The next, you’re sprawled out on his bed with your face shoved into his pillows and your hips up in the air. Skin slapping skin, your moans, and his grunts fill the room. Your loud moans muffled by the pillow.

Joe wraps your hair around his hand and pulls your head back, hard. “Wanna hear you,” he grunts. He slaps your ass with his other hand, and you let out a loud moan. “Fuck, Joey! Right there!” You cry out. “Yeah, right there? Fuck you’re taking me so well, baby” he groans, slapping your ass again. “This pussy was made for me. Fuck” he grunts.

“Fuck I’m gonna cum!” You whine loudly. “I’m gonna cum so hard” you grit your teeth. You gasp when his free hand reaches around to toy with your clit. “Cum for me baby. Cum all over this dick”

You yell out his name like a mantra as you come undone. He wasn’t too far behind you, grunting loudly as your walls squeezing him hard. “Fuck baby” he moans. “Milking me dry” he taunts, smirking while he unravels your hair from his hand. Weakly, you fall against the mattress, and he drops down next to you. Both of you trying to catch your breath.

“What just happened?” You ask, your voice to shaking from your orgasm. “I don’t know. But I’m not mad at it” Joe says, letting out a breathy laugh. “Joe, this can’t happen again,” you murmur. “It’ll complicate things” you conclude, looking over at him. He nods in agreement.

“We just act like it never happened,” Joe confirms, and you agree.

End of flashback

But it did happen again. It happened a lot more. It’s now July, and the two of you haven’t stopped fooling around since the first time. Now it was coming back to haunt you. What the fuck were you gonna tell Joe? You sigh as you pull into a spot outside of Paycor Stadium. Conveniently, right next to Joe’s Porsche.

Quickly getting out of your car, you rush toward the door. Practice started about a half hour ago. You hoped Joe wouldn’t be too upset with you.

“Look who finally decided to show up,” Gabby, Ja’Marr’s assistant jokes as you walk into your shared office. “Don’t worry, he’s not mad. More worried than anything because you’re never late. Why are you late, by the way?” Gabby asks, as you set your stuff down. “Lost track of time. Took an everything shower this morning,” you lie, and she smirks.

“Who’s getting the goods?” She questions, and you roll your eyes. Pulling out your phone, you make an online appointment with your gynecologist for tomorrow. Maybe the test was a false positive, doubtful, but you could hope. “No one. Just needed an everything shower” you told her, laughing slightly. “Are you okay?” She questions, noticing you seem slightly off.

“Yeah, I’m good. Being late to work throws off my entire day” you lie, and thankfully she believes it. Her phone chimes, and she sighs. “Duty calls. See you out on the field” she says, before leaving the room. You let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Hiding this was gonna be harder than you thought.

You began to pull out your laptop when you hear a light knock on the doorframe. “Hey, you okay? You’re never late” you look up and make eye contact with Joe. “Yeah, I’m all good. Just lost track of time while getting ready. I’m sorry,” you apologized, and he raised an eyebrow. “You never lose track of time. Are you sure everything’s okay?” He asks, stepping into the office with concern written on his face. “Joey, I’m sure. Just more mad at myself than anything. I swear-“

“You’re lying.” He says, eyeing you. “Excuse me?” You ask, feeling slightly offended. “You do this thing where you play with your bracelet when your lying. I noticed it last year when you’d lie to guys about why you couldn’t go out with them” Joe said, laughing slightly. “You wanna tell me what’s wrong now?” Joe asks, leaning on your desk closer to you.

“I’m okay, Joey. Promise”

He sighs, but lets it go. Until you open your mouth to speak again. “I’ll be late again tomorrow. I have a doctors appointment in the morning”

“Y/N-“

“Joe, it’s nothing. I told you I’m fine, now can you please drop it” you snapped, and immediately regretted it when he frowned. You never snap at him. Other people, definitely, but never him. “I’m sorry. I’m just stressed out right now, and I shouldn’t have snapped at you” you say, walking around your desk to stand in front of him. You think he’s mad when he moves away, but you realize he’s just shutting and locking the door.

“Baby, talk to me” he urges, and you cringe at the pet name. Not because he called you it, you’re used to that since you guys started sleeping together, it’s the name itself. Your breath feels like it’s caught in your throat. You’ve never been nervous around Joe, but this was different. Your lives are changing. You’re afraid of what might happen once you say something.

“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t cry. Come here” he pulls you into his arms, rubbing your back while you softly sob into his chest, getting mascara on his practice jersey. “It’s just me. You can tell me anything” he reminds you, planting a soft kiss on the top of your head.

Finally you pull away and look into his eye. Here we go.

“You might wanna sit down for this” you tell him, and he shakes his head. “I’m good right here”

“Joey…” you trail off, your voice cracking. His concern for you growing, and you can see it in his face. “I—I um…took a home pregnancy test this morning” you start, not looking up at him, but you can feel his body tense up. “It was positive” you say, letting out another sob.

“Joey, I’m pregnant.”

[rafeandonlyrafe]

general store

words: 1.5k

warnings: 18+ only!, p in v sex, protected sex (for once! yaaay!), spanking (briefly), semi public sex, pogue!reader, reader is described as being 20, readers parents are dead, rafe being a playboy, hurricane aftermath

“dad, im not helping out at some fucking pogue shop!” rafe argues, yet his footsteps still follow ward towards the garage.

“everyone is doing their part, rafe.” ward sighs. “even wheezie is volunteering after the hurricane. come on, now.” 

wards tone silences rafe. it's the tone he uses when there's no way rafe is getting out of something. rafe gets into the passenger seat, grumbling to himself until his dad rounds the car.

“and you're going to be nice. it's a bad fucking look for our family not to go to the cut and assist.” rafe knows ward doesn't actually give a shit about helping anyone. it's all about their reputation, the camerons have to be the stewards of the island, the aspirational story of pogue turned king kook.

“alright, ill be helpful. promise.” rafe can put in one day of work. that's not what he minds. it's having to help pogues clean up their shit that's worthless to him.

“it's some general store. got pretty wrecked, but no structural damage.” ward explains coldly, talking about the damage suffered like it's something on television, not real life people.

despite wards warning, rafe let's out a low curse when the car pulls to a stop. it's in the rough part of what little area they call downtown, and he can tell just through the single unboarded window that the shop is a disaster.

he gives his dad one last pleading look before getting out.

“oh hey there!” you smile as rafe enters, the bell above the door ringing. “you must be rafe, im y/n.” you stick your hand out for him to shake. rafe does so slowly, eyes scanning over the shop before landing on you.

“how old are you?” rafe questions. he expected someone at least mid thirties.

“oh… im uh, 20. this is-was my parents store.” rafe sees the pain flash through your eyes and decides not to question it any further.

“so, what's first?” the shelves are practically empty, with everything on the floor.

“the hurricane door burst open and swept everything off the shelves.” you sigh, rubbing your hand over your forehead. you've clearly already been working, forehead slightly sheened with sweat, cheeks flushed. “im just focused on getting everything back on the shelves for now. throw out anything damaged but if it's food, we should try and salvage it.”

“what for?” he questions. you clearly have plenty, and rafe can see that only a couple cans are broken.

“the ones who had more issues than just a door blown in.” you state like it's obvious.

“shit, yeah.” rafe nods. you turn back towards your store, beginning to clean as rafe does the same, reading the labels on the shelves and then trying to sift through the mess to put everything back.

you work silently, rafe occasionally looking over to you, his eyes roaming down your body whenever you're turned away.

“so you run this place?” he questions after a while, taking a sip of a water you brought out for him.

“run it, work it, live above it.” you nod. 

“that's a lot for someone whose barely out of their teens.” rafe huffs out, barely out of his teens himself, only a few years older than you.

“some of us didn't have life handed to us on a golden platter.” you spit out, before shaking your head. “im sorry. you're here helping, its just… hard.”

“it's alright.” rafe waves it off, especially as you pull off your outer layer to reveal just a white tanktop, your light blue bra poking out the top. rafe fights the urge to pull the strap back and hear it snap against your skin.

“back to work.” you hum, looking at the clock. you were told rafe could help out until 6pm, and there's a couple jobs you need two hands for.

--

“thanks for helping out today.” you tell rafe, looking at the shop. it's mostly cleaned up, there's some additional deep cleaning you'll have to do, but it's in an acceptable state now to open tomorrow and allow the residents of the outer banks to buy cleaning supplies and food.

rafes eyes shift to the door, and then back to you. he moves quickly before he can think, before giving you a chance to react, one hand around your back tugging you close to him, the other squeezing your breast, his lips devouring yours in a hard kiss.

“w-wait-” you mutter, pushing rafe away slightly. “lock the door.”

rafe smirks, moving to turn the key, locking the door and anyone from entering the store, even though the sign was flipped to close.

rafe moves back towards you, pressing you back into the counter, lips teasing yours as his hands run over your body.

“th-the window.” you mutter. the sky was beginning to darken outside, and with all the shop lights on, it would soon turn into a glowing beckon in the dark for anyone to look into.

“sorry.” rafe just mumbles. he doesn't care about someone seeing you, not when he's been tempted by your tight tanktop and fitted leggings all day long. besides, rafe feels as if he needs a better thank you for helping you out.

rafe tugs your tanktop up, your chest moving up and down as your bra is revealed, just as good as rafe was imagining it, your tits almost spilling out, which rafe quickly works to get them all the way out, harshly tugging the cups down.

“we can go upstairs.” you whine out, even as your hands disappear under rafes shirt, feeling his muscles.

“nah, want you right here.” rafe has no interest in going up to your apartment or taking you in a proper bed as he turns you suddenly, flipping so you're facing the counter.

he pushes your shoulders forward, bare tits suddenly against the cold glass, making you cry out.

“gentle, please.” you whimper as rafe tears your leggings down along with your underwear, smiling when he spreads your legs to see your pussy is dripping wet.

“yeah, will be.” rafe reaches over to the shelves, grabbing a condom and opening it, glad that you had them in stock. no way he's risking getting a pogue pregnant, even if he does want you desperately.

rafe undoes his pants, only pushing them down his thighs enough to get his cock out. he's only half hard, so he leans forward, bending over your back as he rubs his cock over your ass until he's ready, slipping the condom quickly over his length.

“bet you're tight, huh?” he smirks, pressing against your hole. while rafe favors kooks, he isn't against fucking a hot pogue or touron on the occasion.

“fuck me and see.” you grunt out, glancing out the window, hoping to get this over with before the sun fully sets in the sky.

rafe pushes in suddenly with a moan as you grip onto the edge of the counter as rafe slams forward, your body pushing against the glass with every thrust, briefly worrying it will break with his intensity.

“fuck.” rafe gasps out, one hand wrapping around your hips to press down on your lower stomach, keeping you pulled close to him while the other hand gropes and plays with your ass, occasionally spanking the plump flesh.

“yeah, that's it baby.” rafe moans when your cunt clenches around him, his hand moving towards your clit to reward you for how tight you are squeezing him, finger stroking over your pussy.

“god, that's good.” you moan out. rafes fingertip is rough from the days work as he pushes his hips forward, big cock plunging into you.

“you like this kook cock, huh?” he smirks, listening to your moans, not able to hold them back any longer. he wonders if your neighbors can hear you being such a slut for him.

“y-yeah.” you nod, no point in denying it as your entire body shakes.

“gonna have to start buying my condoms from here.” rafe chuckles, looking around the store. it's not so bad now that it's cleaned up. “and using the first one on you.”

he rarely gets the urge to fuck anyone twice, but you're so tight around him, so willing as you start to push back to meet his thrusts, a loud slapping sound vibrating every time your skin comes together.

“close.” you warn, rafes finger moving faster, wanting to feel you clench around him, needing you to cum to get himself there.

your hard nipples slide over the cold glass, rafe rubbing your clit just right as his cock pushes in, your loud moan signaling your orgasm as you pussy pulses around rafes cock. he shoves his dick as far as your cunt lets him as he cums into the condom with a grunt.

you're both breathing heavily as rafe pulls out, tossing the condom in the overfilled trash can as he redoes his pants.

“come on, my dad will be by to pick me up soon.” rafe swats your bare ass, still on display as you slump over the counter.

your legs are shaking as you redress, just in time for rafe to unlock the door and let his father in.

“i hope my son was helpful?” he questions, looking around the store with an expression of approval.

“oh yes.” you nod, still slightly out of breath. “he was great.”

ward nods, saying goodbye to you before signaling rafe to follow him, who makes sure to turn back and give you a wink before leaving.

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[dark-dawn]

₊˚ ⊹｡ BIRDS OF A FEATHER ｡ ⊹ kageyama tobio

✭ summary: perhaps even in the vast, chaotic expanse of all the planets and stars and galaxies, you would always find each other. in every world, every universe, again and again. or, your photo shoot is interrupted by your ex-boyfriend.

✭ pairing: kageyama tobio x model!reader

✭ contains: exes still in love, mutual pining, slight angst, post-timeskip, alcohol + smoking, everyone is very touch-starved and can't keep their hands to themselves, longing and devotion!!, happy ending <3

✭ word count: 3.6k ✭ a/n: i recently watched the movie, and now i can't stop thinking about kageyama. so here we are :)

you were nineteen when you broke up with tobio.

back then, the world seemed to constrict around you – streets narrowing, air thinning – as if the universe itself conspired to magnify the ache in your lungs. it was as though every passing moment folded in on itself, squeezing tighter with each breath, until you felt suffocated by the weight of your own existence.

but maybe you were just nineteen, and everything felt worse then.

you find comfort in the idea that among the countless universes unfurling across the cosmos, there exists one where you and him are together, where the threads of fate intertwine just right. perhaps you first meet in a quaint coffee shop on a rainy afternoon, where you’ve forgotten your umbrella, and he offers to share his own. or maybe it’s a bustling bookstore, where your hands reach for the same novel, and your eyes meet with a spark of recognition, as if your souls can recognise each other through touch alone.

and maybe there is a universe where he doesn’t become a professional athlete. he’s just tobio, a boy with kind eyes and dreams that don’t pull him miles away from you. there, perhaps, saturday mornings are spent in bed, the scent of freshly brewed coffee and pastries lingering in the air. golden morning light would filter through the curtains, casting a hazy glow over your bodies, and your joy would radiate so intensely that your vision is filled only with each other. you’d fight over silly things, like whose turn it is to do the dishes or whether the couch should be moved two inches to the left. but even in those moments, there’s a comfort, a certainty that at the end of the day you’d still find yourselves curled up together, sharing the warmth of the same bed.

in another universe, maybe it’s not so perfect. there are arguments that sting, silence that stretches too long. and yet despite the cracks and the flaws, you choose each other, again and again.

but here, in this reality, you were nineteen when you broke up with tobio. you cried until there were no tears left, until the numbness set in and the world seemed dull and grey.

and then you learned to navigate life without him, because the world wouldn’t end because you broke up with your boyfriend. 

three years later, tobio is... well, he’s still a professional athlete, at the peak of his career now. sometimes, his name pops up on your social media feed, accompanied by images of him on the court, sweat glistening, determination etched into every muscle, into every pore. it still feels strange, seeing him there, and not by your side.

there’s an undeniable magnetism to him, a gravitational pull that draws your gaze despite your best efforts to look away. he’s a force of nature, like a raging wildfire or relentless flood; more natural disaster than a man of flesh and bone. you can’t help but feel a pang of something – nostalgia, perhaps, or maybe a twinge of envy. you always liked to watch him play, but now you’re really on the sidelines. 

seeing him on your phone is always a reminder of just how far apart your worlds have drifted, how different your paths have become. he’s soared to unimaginable heights, and you can’t reach him anymore.

you miss him. it’s an ache you can’t seem to shake.

but you’re not doing bad per se. you’re a model now, signed to an agency, and getting semi-regular jobs, too. it’s a far cry from your nineteen-year-old self who was too insecure to ever apply. you remember how daunting it was at first, the fear of rejection teetering on your shoulder blades. it lingers still, in the long hours and perfectionism, but you’re proud of yourself.

you just miss him.

---

you’re at a club when you find out you landed the most significant booking of your career.

you’re not exactly thrilled to be there – a promoter had convinced you to come, and, well, you needed the money.

the bass thumps through the floor, reverberating up your legs as you stand near the bar, nursing a drink. neon lights dance across the crowd, illuminating the faces of strangers lost in a haze of alcohol. you take a sip, the liquid burning as it slides down your throat, momentarily distracting you from the mess around you.

you pull out your phone, the screen casting a faint glow against the darkness of the club. your fingers fumble for a moment before you manage to unlock it, the pulsing music and jostling bodies making it hard to focus. a notification from your agent pops up, and you squint at the words, trying to make sense of them in the dim light. you blink, then read it again, just to be sure.

you got the job.

it’s for an athletic brand. not exactly the glamour you’ve dreamt of, but the pay... the pay is good. and working for them means exposure, means more opportunities down the line. sure, it’s not the pinnacle of your aspirations, but it’s a step – a big one – in the right direction. and right now, that’s all that matters.

you’ll celebrate later, you decide, once you’re somewhere quieter, somewhere you can properly let it sink in. maybe with friends and family, but definitely not with a text to your ex, telling him how well you’re doing, how he would be proud of you.

you wonder if there will be a day when you don’t think about him.

---

kageyama did not cry when you broke up with him. he had wanted to, he thinks, but at the time he just felt numb – like a cold emptiness had settled deep within his chest, drowning any semblance of feeling.

in the days that followed, he replayed the conversation in his mind, searching for some hidden meaning, some clue as to why it had all fallen apart. but the truth eluded him, slipping through his fingers like grains of sand. he only remembers the disbelief, as if the ground had suddenly dropped out from beneath him.

but tears? they didn’t come. just a hollow ache, a void where your presence used to be.

and so, he buried himself in his work, throwing himself into training like usual. volleyball has always been his world – not just a game, but a language he speaks fluently. from the moment he first picked up a ball, he knew he had found his calling, his purpose in life. it was the very essence of who he was and is.

he still remembers a conversation you had with him – about how rare it was to know what you were destined for, to have a passion that consumed you so completely. he sometimes wonders if that’s why you had drifted apart. but he couldn’t blame the sport, not really.

sometimes, in the quiet moments between matches, he allows himself to wonder what could have been if things had ended differently between you. he envisions alternate paths, where your story together didn’t reach its abrupt conclusion – where you shared an apartment in tokyo and spent sunday mornings tangled in sheets. where every glance, every touch, was infused with a sense of belonging, of being exactly where you were meant to be.

but as quickly as these visions materialise, they dissipate into mist, swept away by the roar of the crowd. he makes a conscious effort to redirect his focus, reminding himself that the only path worth pursuing is the one ahead – toward the next serve, the next point, the next victory.

because the world didn’t end when you broke up with him. and kageyama, ever the competitor, refused to let it break him.

three years later, it had honed him to a razor’s edge, forged him into one of japan’s best players.

his pride in his career runs deep – every milestone, every hard-fought victory, every bruise and callus on his hands stands as a testament to his dedication and skill. he finds solace in the rhythm of the game, the familiar feel of the ball in his hands. it’s a dance he knows well, a symphony he conducts with ease. and in those moments, when he’s completely immersed in volleyball, the ache fades to the background, and he feels whole again.

and yet, he still misses you – still loves you. he doesn’t think he will ever stop. you were more than just a memory, you were a part of him, too. a missing piece that no amount of success or recognition could replace.

in the end, he accepts it. the longing, the ache – they’re part of the same drive that makes him excel on the court. he channels that energy, that unresolved emotion, into every match, every practice session, pushing himself to be better, to achieve more.

he finds himself tangled, however, in a web of obligations he never quite anticipated. adverts, interviews, appearances – the demands weigh heavy on his shoulders. it’s not what he signed up for, but he grits his teeth through the endless photo shoots, smiles plastered on his face for the cameras. he knows it’s all part of the game.

he can almost picture your reaction, a soft laugh escaping your lips as you watch him stumble through the world of fame and publicity. he was never one for the spotlight – comfortable only around a select few, always at ease with you.

as he scrolls through his emails, a notification from his manager catches his eye. his next commitment is for an athletic brand – a familiar name that he’s collaborated with in the past. he quickly scans the details, noting the time and location of the shoot. it’s familiar territory, a well-worn path he’s treaded many times before. at least with this one, he’s just advertising sportswear – something he practically lives in already.

he just didn’t expect to do be doing the campaign with you.

---

your agent had given you the heads up beforehand. “it’s the usual routine,” she assured you, though her tone betrayed a hint of urgency. “but there’s a chance a well-known athlete might join for some test shots. don’t worry about it, just be professional.” it was patronising, but you appreciated the warning nonetheless. dropping that you’d be working with a celebrity isn’t out of character for her; she has a talent for delivering bombshells with the same nonchalance she’d use to tell you it might rain.

like when she casually mentioned that your recent shoot would be featured in a major magazine, just as you were about to walk out the door. or the time she informed you, in between sips of her almond-milk latte, that a renowned director would be on set to “observe”. these little surprises were her specialty, and you had come to expect them, even if they never failed to set your nerves on edge.

arriving at the studio, you’re greeted by the usual hustle and bustle. anxious, over-worked assistants scurry around, trying to ensure everything is in place. the aroma of coffee brewing in the corner wafts through the air, mixing with the faint scent of hairspray. you take a breath, letting the atmosphere ground you. celebrity or not, you know what you’re doing.

like usual, you’re ushered into the wardrobe area, shedding your street clothes for a sports bra and leggings. the stylists swarm around you like bees, their skilled hands darting in a flurry of motion. they adjust, pin, and tweak, ensuring every seam and fold falls perfectly into place. it is a carefully curated illusion designed to sell as much merchandise as possible, and you are just another product on display.

the crew members move with practiced efficiency, adjusting lights and tweaking camera angles until everything is just right. the photographer, a tall man with an air of calm authority, greets you with a small smile. “let’s start with some warm-up shots,” he suggests, positioning you in front of the camera.

you begin with basic poses, shifting your weight from one foot to the other, finding your balance. the photographer’s assistant calls out directions, “chin up a bit, shoulders back, hold that!” the camera clicks incessantly, capturing every subtle movement.

and then, just as you’re settling into it, you hear a voice to the side of you – familiar, unmistakable. turning around, you find yourself face to face with a figure from a chapter you believed firmly closed: your ex, the famous athlete you’re supposed to be working with.

the boy you broke up with when you were nineteen.

the shoot halts momentarily as the director moves to make introductions, but –

“we already know each other.”

he’s just as handsome as you remember, maybe even more so. time has been kind to him, sculpting lean muscle and a confidence that wasn’t there when you were younger.

he’s standing there, just mere feet away, and every detail of his face is still seared into your mind – the slope of his nose, the curve of his lips, the furrow of his brow. you know him well, even now. every hidden scar, every freckle. you would know him blind.

he doesn’t even glance in your direction.

perhaps he intends to keep things strictly formal, a prospect that suits you just fine. it would be easier, you think, to feign ignorance, to spare both of you the discomfort of awkward interactions when you had once loved each other so fiercely.

it’s strange to be so close to him and not be able to touch him, to feel the warmth of his skin under your fingertips.

you realise with sudden clarity that you still want to touch him.

but you can’t think like that. not right now. you have a job to do.

“we’ll get a couple of shots of you together and then you’ll be done for the day!”

---

you thought he wouldn’t be good at modelling, too stiff, perhaps, but your bodies still recognise each other, still remember how to fit together side by side.

it’s almost unfair how effortlessly pretty he is.

you’ve always felt like you had to work twice as hard just to feel remotely confident in your own skin. your beauty doesn’t come naturally, and you suppose the modelling industry thrives on that. on contorting and sculpting a new image, a new person, with every photo.

you wonder if he feels similarly, in interviews and adverts and under the scrutiny of the public eye. it must weigh heavy on him too, you think.

you hope he’s okay, and you realise you could ask him, maybe, if that’s still okay?

as the photoshoot gradually draws to a close, you find yourself hesitating, unsure whether to linger or to swiftly retreat. part of you wants more time, to look at him for a little longer, to be by his side once more. but another part of you, perhaps the more cautious side, warns against overstaying your welcome, against stirring up old emotions that may be better left untouched. you glance at him, catching his eye for a brief moment, before turning away.

you quietly pack your bag and step outside for a smoke, seeking comfort in the familiar ritual. it was a bad habit – one you had picked up about a year ago from a girl you did a casting with. the cool air offers a brief respite from the swirling thoughts in your mind, but as you exhale a plume of smoke, you can’t shake the uncertainty gnawing at your insides. you’re so unsure of yourself – you hadn’t felt this way since you were sixteen, nervous about your first date with the boy on your school’s volleyball team. do you want to say hi? do you want scream at him? both? neither?

he makes the decision for you. he always was so decisive.

“this wasn’t where i’d expected to find you.”

“no?” you’re not sure if you should be offended or not. does he mean modelling?

“what’s that supposed to mean, kageyama?” the words come out blunter than you intended – they’re not the words you had planned late at night, missing his body next to yours.

but it’s been years since you’ve spoken to him.

“tobio.” he smiles reflexively – your voice always had that effect on him. 

“what?”

“you never called me kageyama.”

“tobio.” his name still reminds you of home, but it clings to your tongue like honey, sweet and heavy, coating every word.

“what do you mean?” self-doubt trickles down your throat. you wonder if you will ever stop caring what he thinks of you.

“i suppose i just pictured you somewhere far away from this world,” he pauses. “stupid, really. you’ve always been so pretty.”

you’re not sure how to respond to that, either.

“listen, i..." he begins again, then hesitates, as if grappling with his own thoughts. “i just meant to say i hope you’re doing well. that you’re happy.”

a smile tugs at the corners of your lips. “you know, before we left school, i gave it – what – two years before you were on japan’s team. you always were an overachiever.”

“i had good motivation, wanted to make you proud.”

the wind shifts, blowing his hair across his face. you extend your hand, fingers instinctively brushing away the strands. he stares at you, unflinching, as if the world outside you and him no longer exists. like he never wants to look away.

“you have always made me proud,” you confess.

a moment of silence, then, “i miss you.” he says it like a prayer, faithful and devoted. still, after all this time.

“don’t say that.”

“why not?”

“if today didn’t happen, you wouldn’t have seen me again.”

“i would’ve found you.”

“and how could you be so sure?”

“because some things are inevitable. fate, i suppose.”

“you can’t just say things like that, tobio,”

“i’m not saying it lightly. i mean it.”

“i know, but it’s been years. people change.”

“maybe,” he concedes, taking a step closer. “but some things don’t.”

you were already aware of his fixations long before your paths crossed – achieving what he has demands an undercurrent of obsession to temper the blaze of brilliance. you did not predict how that obsession might manifest when directed towards a person. how it might feel.

you’ve never been kind enough to refrain from taking everything he lets you, never had the sense to check the depth of a river before wading in. perhaps you will always stumble blindly into the waters, ignorant of the depths that may swallow you whole, heedless of the currents that may drag you under.

and so you kiss him.

a little noise of surprise leaves his lips, but he quickly recovers, as if he had anticipated this turn in the conversation. like it was inevitable, instinctual.

you can feel the contours of muscle through his shirt, his uneven breaths, the overwhelming intensity of his lips against yours. there’s a hint of indecision in his touch, wavering between tenderness and urgency. soft, gentle kisses intermingled with fervent, desperate ones, like he can’t decide between cherishing and consuming.

he leaves you breathless and desperately needing more as his lips trail along your jawline. your fingers tangle in his hair, pulling him closer, as if afraid to let go, as if this moment might slip away like a dream.

you wanted this. wanted him. you don’t think you ever stopped.

“you drive me mad,” he breathes. “always, always on my mind.”

but you were nineteen when you broke up with tobio, and now three years have slipped by.

(and you’re outside a photo studio, thankfully deserted, but that’s beside the point.)

so you draw back slightly, breaking the intensity of the moment but still close enough to feel his warmth. his touch lingers, torn between holding on and letting go.

you had been in his presence for just a few hours and you felt raw, like skin scraped against pavement after a fall, exposed and stinging with every touch.  

“this is a terrible idea,” you whisper, the words heavy.

“i don’t care. i’ll follow you wherever you go.” he has always been one to worship, always the type to pour the entirety of his being into his devotions.

and who were you to argue with him – to oppose such faith?

---

the photos of you and him go viral. oddly enough, you’re not surprised – there’s something about the way you fit together, the connection evident in every frame. people comment on how familiar the two of you look, how effortlessly intimate.

then, one of tobio’s fans unearths old pictures of you and him together, tucked away in the depths of his twitter account. you both look so young, almost unrecognisable compared to the refined public images you now project. there’s a rawness to the photographs, a sense of innocence preserved in pixels. you stand shoulder to shoulder, his arm draped casually around your shoulders, and you both radiate such genuine happiness.

his previous tweets were a monotonous stream of game highlights and obligatory promotions, and it’s clear he rarely uses his account for personal matters. yet, among the myriad of mundane updates, there is a tweet asking him if the two of you are back together.

and then, in a move that could only be described as infuriatingly nonchalant, he responds with a single word.

“yes.”

[brucewaynehater101]

Imagine Tim holding Brucequest over the Justice League & even Dick & Jason's heads 💀💀💀💀

Heck Tim holding the Timestream incident over Bruce's head because Tim was the only person to actually do anything to save him

((Damian gets a pass because 1. He's a KID whose cult leading gramps was involved, how about No?))

((And 2. The priority for him at the time should have been unlearning the cult teachings of the LOA))

((and also all his other siblings. Alfred too since he has a job dammit))

Tw: Violence

I love petty Tim Drake so much. He deserves to be able to hold his trauma over the people who caused it.

Jason takes the last cookie? "You might as well take me back to Titan's Tower and slit my throat again."

Dick tells Tim he needs to go to bed? "Oh. I see how it is. I thought we talked about you questioning my judgements again, but I see I was wrong."

Alfred lectures Tim about his health? "Now you're concerned about my health? You should have thought about that before putting my mental health in peril for my sixteenth birthday."

Bruce is concerned with Tim's workload? "Maybe the next time you want me to take on less work you'll write a fucking letter instead of spreading vague clues no one else believes is actually from you."

As for Damian? They exchange verbal barbs for fun and take notes from each other. It confuses the hell out of the others because do they hate each other, or are they bonding?

Steph and Tim like to get into screaming fights with each other in public. It's never about their actual fights, but they like how Gotham reacts to it (bonus points if they end up in the news).

Tim and Babs try to sabotage each other's unimportant technology. That fifth tablet Babs hardly uses? Bam! Tim's made it so it plays music whenever it's on and the music can't be turned off.

Cass and Tim just make faces at each other. Bruce has been confused as hell when one of them randomly shouts in outrage due to the other twitching their eyelids wrong.

Tim likes confusing and horrifying Duke by telling him fun facts about the family. He'll tell them in the most damning way to watch the chaos. "The scar on Jason's neck is from Bruce choosing the Joker over Jason."

And that is Tim taking it easy on the Bats because he loves and cares about them (and because it's funny).

The JL?

Red Robin terrifies all of the members who doubted him. The terror doubles when they see him happily chatting with YJ or the Bats. The version of Tim the JL gets is a scarily competent and cold persona. They thought he lost the ability to smile until Red Hood (and who let a crime lord into the Watchtower???) grabbed Red Robin a peace offering Zesti.

[mokulule]

The Number You Have Called Cannot Be Reached - Part 14

Let's just ignore I've updated this story three days in a row, @ailithnight asked me to make them cry, so we're giving the challenge a shot. This was written today and may very well have typos. Also it literally can't go on like this, I have work tomorrow.

First | Masterlist

Ship: Dead on Main (Danny/Jason) Fandom: DP x DC Summary:

Danny is just trying to build a portal home, becoming a thief was just an unfortunate side effect of that goal. Now if only this vigilante family would just leave him alone. Especially Red Hood - the semi retired crime lord whose ghost-like presence keeps drawing Danny to him.

Jason had called ahead to let them know he was coming to the cave and then promptly turned off his comms again. He didn’t need to hear their questions. Not on comms. It was bad enough he had to face them. 

He drove into the cave, his resolve the only thing keeping him from turning right around. Everyone but Bruce were in their civvies at this point. Jason shouldn’t be so surprised Bruce had called it a night. Not after ghost jumping off a roof in front of them. 

Bruce did care, and Jason could tell himself that now without poison dripping into his ear about how it was only to keep his little soldiers at the top of their game. He was too exhausted to appreciate the missing put at the moment, he just wanted to go home and try to forget for a moment that Ghost had left again, but he had to do this. 

Dick was sitting with an arm around Tim on the meeting table. Tim looked wrecked - good, he thought grimly and immediately felt guilty. He didn’t even have the pit to blame and yes Jason was angry about what had happened tonight, but really he was just as angry at himself. Jason might have tried to make them understand that Ghost needed help, but he’d done a poor job of it and they didn’t hear his grief for themselves. 

They hadn’t felt Ghost’s terror in their electricity trap, his desperate fight to control his panic, they hadn’t felt it as he fell or the shock of pain as he landed. They hadn’t felt the panic reach a fever pitch and then utter silence.

They hadn’t been 50 yards away on another building, running, because they knew something terrible was about to happen. They weren’t the ones who thought they might have already been too late even as they caught him out of the air. 

But Ghost had been alive. He’d been breathing. Panicked, but breathing, yet still utter silence. 

Jason had been terrified. 

And yes he was angry. He should have never let it get so far even in his desperation. They needed to stop chasing him. It wasn’t working. 

It had nearly cost him his life. 

He was a fucking burglar, not a rogue! He wasn’t a murderer who would kill someone if he wasn’t stopped. They should have never used this level of force. They never would have used this level of force if it wasn’t for Jason and his erratic behavior. It was on Jason, not Tim who was a seventeen year old kid just trying to keep this cursed family together. 

Damian was sitting at the meeting table a few seats away from where Tim and Dick were sitting on the table and for him to willingly be that close to Tim without any needle-ing commentary it was practically the equivalent of a hug. 

Jason sighed, then pulled off his helmet and left it on the bike. He couldn’t hide behind the safety of its smooth surface, not for this. He walked over to the meeting table, knowing it would draw the rest over there.

Damian took one look at him, with that sharp judgment that was always in his eyes. “You let him get away.” Jason grit his teeth, refusing to rise to what was just an observation, but it had been a trying night and it was tempting to snap, that he didn’t let him do anything. 

“His powers returned,” he said finally, carefully even-toned.

Tim looked up shortly at that and Dick squeezed his shoulder. Normally, Tim would have been on that detail like a hawk. How long did it last? Did the powers return gradually or all at once? Were there other adverse effects? And probably more questions Jason had not even thought to consider because that was just Tim. Now, Tim was silent.

“Jason?” Bruce asked carefully from somewhere to Jason’s left. Jason couldn’t look at him. Last time they’d been this close Jason had almost shot him. 

Stephanie and Cass joined Tim and Dick to sit on the table, and Damian allowed Cass’ hand in his hair only because she could kick his ass six ways ’til Sunday. Duke was the last to join their loose circle standing to Jason’s right. 

Jason didn’t have any excuses left. He even saw Alfred standing a ways further by the wall. Everyone was here. Babs was definitely still on comms with Bruce, even if the cowl was pulled back. 

He tried to take a steadying breath without being too obvious about it. He probably failed, horribly. 

“You have to leave Ghost to me.”

“Jay… you’ve not exactly…” Dick said carefully, the only one willing to even go near the fact that Jason should be the last person to go after Ghost. That he had been far from rational about the whole thing. That he was invested, personally more than they could even guess. 

“I need-“ Jason looked to the ceiling, breathing for just a moment, before looking down again. “I need you to trust me on this, to let me handle it. What happened tonight… it cannot happen again.” 

He clenched his hands, gathered every shred of courage, then looked to Bruce. 

“Dad, please…” He ignored the gasps from his siblings, from shock or outrage that he of all people pulled this card, maybe both, it didn’t matter. Jason only had eyes for Bruce’s stunned face, for the way his jaw tightened and his eyes were moist under pained brows. He only had ears for the way Bruce’s voice broke partway as he said: “Of course, Jaylad.”

“Thank you,” Jason whispered, afraid his voice would fail him if he spoke any louder. He held Bruce’s gaze with his as he said it, because he deserved to know how much that meant to him. The urge to go over to Bruce was strong, to see if his dad would hug him if given the chance - he thought he would, but that, that would be too much, and the pit would be back in a couple of days. 

Jason couldn’t handle any more tonight. 

He gave Bruce a tight nod and turned to leave, avoiding looking at the reactions of his siblings. 

Out the corner of his eyes as he left, he absently noted the purple backpack he’d stolen from Ghost sitting by the evidence board and that metal cylinder, Ghost had left behind the night Jason had met him, sitting on a shelf amongst other knickknacks. 

In the back of his mind an idea was taking shape, but he'd only realize that the next day.

-

I made myself cry writing this, that happens very rarely. Jason has had a really bad day, but it was the father-son feelings that did me in.

I do not know when I will update next time, the chapter this part belongs to is like 2/3rds done now, but it's the middle I need to fill out. Oh well, I'm enjoying the writing bug while it lasts. Update: Next

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Housing is a labor issue

There's a reason Reagan declared war on unions before he declared war on everything else – environmental protection, health care, consumer rights, financial regulation. Unions are how working people fight for a better world for all of us. They're how everyday people come together to resist oligarchy, extraction and exploitation.

Take the 2019 LA teachers' strike. As Jane McAlevey writes in A Collective Bargain, the LA teachers didn't just win higher pay for their members! They also demanded (and got) an end to immigration sweeps of parents waiting for their kids at the school gate; a guarantee of green space near every public school in the city; and on-site immigration counselors in LA schools:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/23/a-collective-bargain/

Unionization is enjoying an historic renaissance. The Hot Labor Summer transitioned to an Eternal Labor September, and it's still going strong, with UAW president Shawn Fain celebrating his members victory over the Big Three automakers by calling for a 2028 general strike:

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/uaw-general-strike-no-class

The rising labor movement has powerful allies in the Biden Administration. NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is systematically gutting the "union avoidance" playbook. She's banned the use of temp-work app blacklists that force workers to cross picket lines:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/30/computer-says-scab/#instawork

She's changed the penalty for bosses who violate labor law during union drives. It used to be the boss would pay a fine, which was an easy price to pay in exchange for killing your workers' union. Now, the penalty is automatic recognition of the union:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/06/goons-ginks-and-company-finks/#if-blood-be-the-price-of-your-cursed-wealth

And while the law doesn't allow Abruzzo to impose a contract on companies that refuse to bargain their unions, she's set to force those companies to honor other employers' union contracts until they agree to a contract with their own workers:

https://onlabor.org/gc-abruzzo-just-asked-the-nlrb-to-overturn-ex-cell-o-heres-why-that-matters/

She's also nuking TRAPs, the deals that force workers to repay their employers for their "training expenses" if they have the audacity to quit and get a better job somewhere else:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/14/prop-22-never-again/#norms-code-laws-markets

(As with every aspect of the Biden White House, its labor policy is contradictory and self-defeating, with other Biden appointees working to smash worker power, including when Biden broke the railworkers' strike:)

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/18/co-determination/#now-make-me-do-it

A surging labor movement opens up all kinds of possibilities for a better world. Writing for the Law and Political Economy Project, UNITE Here attorney Zoe Tucker makes the case for unions as a way out of America's brutal housing crisis:

https://lpeproject.org/blog/why-unions-should-join-the-housing-fight/

She describes how low-waged LA hotel workers have been pushed out of neighborhoods close to their jobs, with UNITE Here members commuting three hours in each direction, starting their work-days at 3AM in order to clock in on time:

https://twitter.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1669088899769987079

UNITE Here members are striking against 50 hotels in LA and Orange County, and their demands include significant cost-of-living raises. But more money won't give them back the time they give up to those bruising daily commutes. For that, unions need to make housing itself a demand.

As Tucker writes, most workers are tenants and vice-versa. What's more, bad landlords are apt to be bad bosses, too. Stepan Kazaryan, the same guy who owns the strip club whose conditions were so bad that it prompted the creation of Equity Strippers NoHo, the first strippers' union in a generation, is also a shitty landlord whose tenants went on a rent-strike:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/20/the-missing-links/#plunderphonics

So it was only natural that Kazaryan's tenants walked the picket line with the Equity Stripper Noho workers:

https://twitter.com/glendaletenants/status/1733290276599570736?s=46

While scumbag bosses/evil landlords like Kazaryan deal out misery retail, one apartment building at a time, the wholesale destruction of workers' lives comes from private equity giants who are the most prolific source of TRAPs, robo-scabbing apps, illegal union busting, and indefinite contract delays – and these are the very same PE firms that are buying up millions of single-family homes and turning them into slums:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

Tucker's point is that when a worker clocks out of their bad job, commutes home for three hours, and gets back to their black-mold-saturated, overpriced apartment to find a notice of a new junk fee (like a surcharge for paying your rent in cash, by check, or by direct payment), they're fighting the very same corporations.

Unions who defend their workers' right to shelter do every tenant a service. A coalition of LA unions succeeded in passing Measure ULA, which uses a surcharge on real estate transactions over $5m to fund "the largest municipal housing program in the country":

https://unitedtohousela.com/app/uploads/2022/05/LA_City_Affordable_Housing_Petition_H.pdf

LA unions are fighting for rules to limit Airbnbs and other platforms that transform the city's rental stock into illegal, unlicensed hotels:

https://upgo.lab.mcgill.ca/publication/strs-in-los-angeles-2022/Wachsmuth_LA_2022.pdf

And the hotel workers organized under UNITE Here are fighting their own employers: the hoteliers who are aggressively buying up residences, evicting their long-term tenants, tearing down the building and putting up a luxury hotel. They got LA council to pass a law requiring hotels to build new housing to replace any residences they displace:

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-11-28/airbnb-operators-would-need-police-permit-in-l-a-under-proposed-law

UNITE Here is bargaining for a per-room hotel surcharge to fund housing specifically for hotel workers, so the people who change the sheets and clean the toilets don't have to waste six hours a day commuting to do so.

Labor unions and tenant unions have a long history of collaboration in the USA. NYC's first housing coop was midwifed by the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America in 1927. The Penn South coop was created by the International Ladies Garment Workers’ Union. The 1949 Federal Housing Act passed after American unions pushed hard for it:

http://www.peterdreier.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Labors-Love-Lost.pdf

It goes both ways. Strong unions can create sound housing – and precarious housing makes unions weaker. Remember during the Hollywood writers' strike, when an anonymous studio ghoul told the press the plans was to "allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses?"

Vienna has the most successful housing in any major city in the world. It's the city where people of every income and background live in comfort without being rent-burdened and without worry about eviction, mold, or leaks. That's the legacy of Red Vienna, the Austrian period of Social Democratic Workers' Party rule and built vast tracts of high-quality public housing. The system was so robust that it rebounded after World War II and continues to this day:

https://www.politico.eu/article/vienna-social-housing-architecture-austria-stigma/

Today, the rest of the world is mired in a terrible housing crisis. It's not merely that the rent's too damned high (though it is) – housing precarity is driving dangerous political instability:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/06/06/the-rents-too-damned-high/

Turning the human necessity of shelter into a market commodity is a failure. The economic orthodoxy that insists that public housing, rent control, and high-density zoning will lead to less housing has failed. rent control works:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/16/mortgages-are-rent-control/#housing-is-a-human-right-not-an-asset

Leaving housing to the market only produces losers. If you have the bad luck to invest everything you have into a home in a city that contracts, you're wiped out. If you have the bad luck into invest everything into a home in a "superstar city" where prices go up, you also lose, because your city becomes uninhabitable and your children can't afford to live there:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/27/lethal-dysfunction/#yimby

A strong labor movement is the best chance we have for breaking the housing deadlock. And housing is just for starters. Labor is the key to opening every frozen-in-place dysfunction. Take care work: the aging, increasingly chronically ill American population is being tortured and murdered by private equity hospices, long-term care facilities and health services that have been rolled up by the same private equity firms that destroyed work and housing:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/26/death-panels/#what-the-heck-is-going-on-with-CMS

In her interview with Capital & Main's Jessica Goodheart, National Domestic Workers Alliance president Ai-jen Poo describes how making things better for care workers will make things better for everyone:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-12-13-labor-leader-ai-jen-poo-interview/

Care work is a "triple dignity investment": first, it makes life better for the worker (most often a woman of color), then, it allows family members of people who need care to move into higher paid work; and of course, it makes life better for people who need care: "It delivers human potential and agency. It delivers a future workforce. It delivers quality of life."

The failure to fund care work is a massive driver of inequality. America's sole federal public provision for care is Medicaid, which only kicks in after a family it totally impoverished. Funding care with tax increases polls high with both Democrats and Republicans, making it good politics:

https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2021/4/7/voters-support-investing-in-the-care-economy

Congress stripped many of the care provisions from Build Back Better, missing a chance for an "unprecedented, transformational investment in care." But the administrative agencies picked up where Congress failed, following a detailed executive order that identifies existing, previously unused powers to improve care in America. The EO "expands access to care, supports family caregivers and improves wages and conditions for the workforce":

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/04/18/executive-order-on-increasing-access-to-high-quality-care-and-supporting-caregivers/

States are also filling the void. Washington just created a long-term care benefit:

https://apnews.com/article/washington-long-term-care-tax-disability-cb54b04b025223dbdba7199db1d254e4

New Mexicans passed a ballot initiative that establishes permanent funding for child care:

https://www.cwla.org/new-mexico-votes-for-child-care/

New York care workers won a $3/hour across the board raise:

https://inequality.org/great-divide/new-york-budget-fair-pay-home-care/

The fight is being led by women of color, and they're kicking ass – and they're doing it through their unions. Worker power is the foundation that we build a better world upon, and it's surging.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/12/13/i-want-a-roof-over-my-head/#and-bread-on-the-table

[inkwolvesandcoffee]

How John Comes Home from Deployment

CoD ML

John hates coming home from deployment during the cold periods of the year.

Don’t get me wrong, he loves the sight of you asleep in your shared bed, wrapped up nice and snug in the thick comforter. A smile never fails to spread on his lips when he notices the pattern of your shirt, barely visible in the dusk yet enough for him to notice. Fortunately he has his flannel shirts to keep you warm when he can’t.

John knows you’re more than capable to take care of yourself. Nevertheless, he can’t help but grit his teeth at the thought you had to tuck yourself in yet again. That’s his job!

But the annoyance, as per usual, subsides at the scene in front of him: you snuggling with the warmy (a stuffed animal that contains a bag with cherry pits you have to heat in the microwave) he got you. He vividly recalls how you giggled that day, the way you compared him to the brown grizzly bear in your hands. “A rather striking image, innit? It’s like looking in the mirror.”

“That how you see me?”

“Especially in the morning when you haven’t had your cigar and tea yet.” He wrapped you up in his arms, pride swelling in his chest as you snuggled into it. “You’re my bear.”

My bear.

It’s the nickname he never envisioned himself liking. However, now, there isn’t anything else he’d rather be called.

Aside from Daddy.

John has embedded the way you say it in his fantasy and often thinks of it, plays it like his favourite song over and over. Out in the field, it’s a sure fire way for him to not lose morale. Moreover, it fuels his determination to return home, no matter the cost.

(And the rest of his boys too, of course!)

He has to.

If only because there is an important question he needs to ask. Should right now, after months of gathering the courage.

But he lets you sleep.

This can wait until the morning.

Quietly John puts his stuff in the corner by the door, grabs a shirt and pair of sweats out of your shared wardrobe, and slips into the bathroom to change. However, not before he has caressed your cheek, made sure he’s kept his promise. The talon of anguish lets go of his throat when he finds your skin dry and free of the little salty black rivulets that stained it last time. Thank God, he hasn’t made you cry again.

“The next time I do, I’ll retire,” he recalls telling you when he lifted you off of the couch. You’d fallen asleep there, wrapped up in your favourite white fluffy blanket like a burrito.

For as long as you could, you stayed awake to welcome him home in person. Unfortunately, you lost the fight around one in the morning. Two hours later, John stepped through the door, knackered and a little heartbroken at the sight of you clutching one of his shirts like it’s your lifeline. He didn’t mind the stains your mascara had made on it.

The same can’t be said for the fact your act had crumbled behind his back yet again. Time and again he’s told you it’s fine to cry, to tell each other you miss them, to not always pretend to be fine.

Because he knows you aren’t.

And neither is he.

Yet the decision he’s made might change things, bring some peace. Even if you tell him he’s insane and shouldn’t do it because it will be like throwing away everything he stands for, he stands by his word.

This was the final mission.

From now on, he’s simply John Price.

A man craving to settle down with his beloved.

The girl who instinctively snuggles into him the moment he lies down. Whose presence soothes and dispels the worst of his ghosts. Who drives his determination to improve himself day by day.

To do better as a man rather than a captain.

To be the best husband he can be.

Until then, John is as he is now.

Exhausted yet perfectly content.

Next to his fiancée.

Home.

[yujinnieswifeu]

g！b wonyoung！！！😭😭😭Vampire wonyoung 🧛‍♂️

thanks😭😭😭😭

pairings: sub!fem reader x dom g!p Wonyoung

warnings: lots of smutt, p in v, Wonyoung cums inside of reader, Wonyoung is a bit of a sadist if you squint

a/n: hey anonnn, you only mentioned vampire Wony so i crafted a plot for this one, hope its to your liking :>, also didn’t expect it to turn out to be a long ass story (not rlly story but idk what to call it) but here you go, enjoy~

You have not accepted your fate yet. Not when your life was starting to have meaning, not when you finally landed a full time job, so imagine when all that was taken from you, oh were you pissed. You could not step outside this miserable house until it was night, could not meet your friends in the morning. Everything could only be done at night. And whose fault was it? By this stupid vampire that decided to show up at night when you were sleeping and kidnapped you before she turned you into one herself, so here you are, in the huge mansion with Wonyoung.

“Are you done being such a brat?” She says, her patience was wearing thin with you, her knuckles turning white from how she had her hands curled in a fist. “Or what? You gonna do something to me? Oh i’m so scared, i’m a fucking vampire for gosh sake!” You exclaim, exaggerating a little before you turn to leave. That was until you felt your wrist being pulled back, as you fell back against the cold hard floor. Wonyoung has your wrists pinned as she hovers over you. You could feel your breath hitching at how close she was, the familiar feeling coming back again, one that you have been trying to get rid of recently as you were having an internal tug of wall.

“Oh, why so quiet now? Thought you had more to say brat.” There was that nickname again. You roll your eyes, trying to grasp out of her grip as you wiggled your body helplessly. “Let me go!” Wonyoung only smirks at your attempt to fight back, you were indeed amusing. Maybe thats why she fell for you, your never backing down character, the way you would never take no for an answer. Everything about you just amused Wonyoung and she found herself wanting to know more about you. “You forgot that i’m stronger than you brat.” She hisses, using her tongue to touch her fangs, taunting you which makes you glare her way. “Don’t fucking show me that.” You say through gritted teeth, the reminder that Wonyoung sunk her teeth against your skin as she made you hers unwillingly to you made your blood boil.

“And what? You going to stop me?” Her tone was teasing, tightening her grip on your wrists as you whimper at the feeling. She watches you, the sight of you in slight pain was delicious to her, she wanted to see more, to see the way you react to her touches, to see the tears wellin- “Just wait Wonyoung, i’ll make you regret turning me into one of your kind!” You say menacingly, and Wonyoung could not take your bratty behaviour anymore. Within seconds, she has your wrists behind your back, carrying you effortlessly over to her bedroom where she spreaded you out over the bed, your hands bound to the bed. “L-let me go!” Your voice trembled a little, the fear and undeniable excitement coursing through your body was making your breathing heavier by the second.

Wonyoung only stays silent, quickly tearing your outfit up with her sharp nails. You gasped, the air against your skin makes you shiver, pulling and struggling against the bonds tied to your limbs. “Wha…what are you doing?” It comes out rushed, the panic in your voice only makes Wonyoung tilt her head, her eyes roaming over your body, she can’t help the feeling between her legs at how vulnerable you are, how vulnerable you look all tied up for her. Pushing her thoughts aside, she finally meet your fearful eyes. “Putting you back into place. You should know i’m the one in charge.” You roll your eyes, the fear replaced with annoyance and she walks over to the edge of the bed, grabbing your jaw harshly as she forces you to look back at her again. You only glare back at her this time, which she was not happy about.

“You are going to learn manners here, and if you don’t…” Wonyoung gives you a stare, slowly undoing her belt. You watch her, the feeling a sudden throb between your legs. You can’t deny how attractive Wonyoung is, as much as you hated her for what she did to you, you could not deny the attraction you had over her that has grown the past few weeks of staying together with her in the mansion. “Then what?” Wonyoung pauses her movements, her eyes locks on yours and the sudden tension in the room becomes palpable. “Then i will teach you over..and..over again.” She emphasises on the last part, finally removing her belt, you watch as she undoes her pants, pulling them down and your lips part unknowingly, the sudden dryness in your mouth now obvious to you.

Wonyoung smirks as she catches you stare, pushing her pants down as they drop to the floor, you watch how her tip was slightly standing up over her panties, the pre-cum now obvious and you realise she was getting off this as much as you were. This was the first time she ever went this far with you, but who were you to refuse when you were maybe secretly anticipating for this moment. She doesn’t need to know that of course. “Speechless?” She taunts you, making you roll your eyes in annoyance once again. “Oh, like someone didn’t get off to me all fucking tied up.” She growls, she hates it when you curse and you knew that. You just wanted to see what she would do, how will she react. You would never tell her, but you loved to make her angry, maybe because it turned you on more than you would care to admit.

“I guess i really need to put you in place brat.” She climbs on the bed, her thighs at the sides of your head as her cock slaps against your face in the process. Without any warning, she thrusts herself inside of your mouth. You immediately moan at the taste of her, unable to deny the feeling between your legs any longer as you pull at the restraints, so wanting to touch yourself as you brush your thighs together helplessly. Wonyoung watches you, how needy you have gotten, how you were actually enjoying this. She couldn’t help but moan and groan, thrusting herself deeper, her brows furrows in pleasure as she let out strings of curses. “F-fuck..yes..take it d-down...always knew you were a slut for my cock.” She tugs at your hair, pulling you impossibly closer before holding that position for a few seconds, only to pull away after as you gasp for air, tears welling down your cheeks and strings of drool hanging from your chin and connected to the tip of her cock.

You looked pretty like this. All messy for her. She wished she could take a picture of you now, all cock drunk for her, but that she would save for another day. Instead, Wonyoung pulls harshly at your hair, it makes you wince, a groan escaping your lips. “Done being such a brat?” She raises a brow, and you gave her a challenging look, one that makes her lips form a line, showing she was not happy with your behaviour, after all, she turned you into a vampire to be hers, and only hers. You could say she was possessive of you in a rather crazy way, one that she would never admit to if anyone asked her, but both of you knew the truth.

“I said what i said, and i wont take it back.” There it was once again, your never dying down attitude, except, this time, Wonyoung hated it. She only growls, positioning herself between your legs, and you knew what was to come. Without any warning, she pushes herself into your entrance, hearing you let out a scream from the stretch and slight sting. She ravels in the way your walls closes around her almost instantly, moaning with her eyes slightly rolled, she grips your thigh harshly, her sharp nail almost piercing your skin as you let out cries.

“I-i’m going to fuck you until you l-listen brat.” She was fucking into you so hard and fast that it was a little painful. But for some reason, your brain could only process her using you for your own pleasure, how she turned you into a vampire just for her own relief, and that thought just made it 10x better. You were a moaning mess beneath Wonyoung, lips parting and tongue sticking out slightly. Wonyoung loved you this way, she felt powerful, felt like she was in control of you and she would make sure to get that in your head.

She reaches over to your breasts as they jiggled with each thrust of her hips, her thumb circling your hardened nipples, hearing how you moaned louder for her. She moans as well, you were sucking her in so well, she changes her position to missionary instead, now having a clear view of the expression you were making. “Y-your pussy feels so good, so tight ahh~” You pulled at your wrists, whimpering as you weren’t able to do anything with your hands, your fists were balled into fists, your knuckles white. “P-please!” You cry out, and Wonyoung only ignores you, driving herself impossibly faster inside of you as she nears her orgasm.

“Please…p-please slow down..” You plead, the speed she was driving herself inside of you was becoming overwhelming and too much, some tears welling in your eyes. “S-say it then.” Wonyoung doesn’t slow down, she wanted to hear you take back your words from earlier, her hand lands a harsh slap on your breasts, it makes you let out a small scream, your back arching off the bed slightly from the stinging pain mixed with pleasure as she was still fucking inside of you. You start to sob, realising she wasn’t going to stop anytime soon until you took back your words.

“F-fine! I-i’m sorry, please!” You say desperately, pulling at your wrists again which were now sore from all your pulling and struggling. Wonyoung had a crazy smile over her face, it wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear, her speed still consistent as she pulls your thighs over her shoulders, pushing her front over your thighs, you cry out at the new angle, it was hitting your cervix repeatedly this time, and becoming too much. Wonyoung was really close too, but she held it back, she wanted to hear you say it before she dumps her load inside of you. “Say it.” She orders, her voice low and sultry, which makes you whimper.

“I…i..wont make y-you regret turning m-me into a…ahh..vampire.” You struggled with your words, now totally surrendering yourself to Wonyoung. “Good girl.” She slows down her movements a little, undoing the bounds on your hand with her long nail, and you instantly wrap your arms over her. She giggles at your state, going down to kiss your lips, sucking in all your moans as she pistons herself faster again. She could feel you sucking her more in, your walls closing more around her and knew you were close. She pulls away, her eyes staring into yours, watching your face contort into pleasure and she wraps her hand around your neck a little, letting you feel her dominance over you. Her action makes you cum instantly, your eyes rolling back slightly. “F-fuck, i’m cumming too!” She moans loudly, finding your lips again as she kisses you sloppily, speeding up her movement as she cums inside of you. You moan against her lips, your nails digging into her back from the feeling of being filled up. She stays in that position for a while, both of you not saying anything.

“You’re going to be a good girl from now on?” Wonyoung breaks the silence, only to hear you hum softly, too tired to reply with a proper response. She giggles at your state, pulling herself out of you which makes you whimper softly. She flips you over your front instead, and you turn your head to see her removing her top, a smirk adorning her face. She is back to bullying herself inside of you, which makes you moan and grip at the bedsheets again. “Don’t think i’m done with you yet sweetheart, i’ve only just started.”

[daisynik7]

so first off all i wanted to say that i LOVE your writing.

but, if you don’t mind, could you make an NSFW fic about a dilf! toji with his babysitter. but like cheating.

so basically toji has a wife but he’s cheating on her with the babysitter(whose like 10 years younger than him).

i’d really love if you could do it

thanks bookie🫶🏽

Pairing: dilf!Toji x babysitter!reader

Rating: Explicit – MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

Word Count: ~1.7k

cw: age gap (reader is 21, Toji is in his 30s), language, cheating, smut – PIV sex (doggy style), breeding kink, daddy kink

Author’s Notes: Thank you for your kind words, you are too sweet! This is my very first Toji fic EVER, so I was very excited (and nervous!) to write it. I hope I did it justice, this is such a delicious idea for him. Also, I have never read the manga, so if the characterization is off, I’m so sorry! I really, really hope you like this one! Divider created by @/fic-dumpster.

You stand in front of a quaint house, checking your watch for the time. It’s been almost ten minutes now since you knocked, no answer. You gave the number from the listing a call, still nothing. Rolling your eyes, you take a seat on the steps leading to the door, waiting.

It’s the summer before you head back to university for your senior year. In an attempt to make some extra cash, you took a job as a babysitter through local ads in the paper. The first two clients were completely normal; this one is already leaving a bad taste in your mouth. 

Fifteen minutes have passed. You try once more, pounding on the door with your fist as loud as you can. Heel turned, ready to leave, it suddenly swings open, revealing a muscular man with black hair, glaring at you. “What the fuck do you want?” 

You step back, startled by his intimidating presence. Stuttering, you answer, “I’m the babysitter.”

He continues to stare at you, eyes following your body up and down, studying it. “Babysitter?”

Before you can explain any further, you hear a car rolling into the driveway. A woman in professional attire steps out quickly. “I’m so sorry I’m late!” She rushes towards you, holding her hand out to shake yours. “We spoke on the phone. I got stuck in traffic, I’m so sorry.”

You smile at her. “It’s okay.”

She faces the man, expression switching from cheery to dreary in an instant. “Toji, where is Megumi?”

He scratches his head. “Huh?”

“Megumi. Our child.”

He sighs. “Right. Uh, I’ll go get him.” 

While he’s gone, the woman pulls you aside, speaking in a hushed voice. “That’s Toji, my husband and Megumi’s father. Unfortunately, he’s a complete deadbeat. That’s why I want to hire you. I started my new job and I need someone to take care of Megumi while I’m gone during the day.”

She swallows hard, blinking to fight off oncoming tears. “I have no one. I’ve been shunned by my family, my husband doesn’t give a shit about ours, and I’m all alone trying to give Megumi a good life. I know this is a lot to ask, but I’m desperate. This is just until I can save enough money to hire a full-time nanny.”

She grips onto your wrist with both her hands, begging for help. Truthfully, it’s a lot to unravel, more drama than you anticipated. But the anguish in her eyes tugs at your heartstrings. Plus, knowing it’s temporary doesn’t make it seem so difficult. How bad can it be? “Okay. I’ll do it.”

Relief washes over her. “Oh thank god. Thank you. Thank you. Let’s go inside and I can give you a tour.” She leads you through the entrance, removing her shoes as you follow her. “Oh, and one more thing.”

“Sure.”

“Toji is home most of the day, but he’s always couped up in his room, doing god knows what. Just leave a meal or two outside his door twice a day. That should be enough.”

“Huh?!” 

She glances at you with a nervous smile on her face. “Yeah. I told you, he’s good for nothing.”

You don’t respond while you maneuver through the house, barely paying attention while she shows you around. It almost sounds like you’ll be babysitting two children…

~~~

The first two weeks of your new job go by smoothly. Megumi is an adorable baby; he’s almost two-years-old with hair as black as his father’s. While he never really smiles, he doesn’t cry either, expression usually stern, unless he needs a diaper change. He’s self-sufficient, always immersed by his own toys until it’s time to eat. Overall, he’s easy. 

Toji, on the other hand, is another story. 

You follow his wife’s instructions, leaving two meals outside his door, breakfast and lunch. And this asshole has the audacity to critique it! The bread wasn’t toasted enough. The eggs were too runny. There wasn’t enough seasoning on the meat. All this criticism while each plate is licked clean, not a crumb to spot. He’s never even uttered a simple thank you. 

But what he lacks in social skills or personality, he makes up for in his physique. In between meals, he works out in the living room lifting weights, doing push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups at the frame of the door. It lasts for over an hour, and by the end of it, he’s shirtless, dripping with sweat. You’ve done everything in your power to avoid staring but it doesn’t prevent your mind from conjuring all types of lewd thoughts about him. You’re ashamed to admit that he is physically attractive, only because everything else about him is utter trash. Still, it doesn’t hurt to look, right?

On the third week, there’s a shift in energy between you two. When he isn’t working out or going out to meet with his sketchy friends, he’s usually couped up in his bedroom, ignoring you and Megumi. This morning, he actually joins you in the kitchen. You stare blankly at him, stunned by his sudden appearance. Megumi is unfazed by his father as he tries to pull your wrist towards him to get a spoonful of mushed up peas. 

When he catches you, Toji glares. “What?”

“Um, nothing. Just surprised to see you here.” You clear your throat, focusing back on the baby. 

He rolls his eyes. “This is my house. I can do whatever I want.”

“Yes, of course. Sir.”

For some reason, this triggers him. He stands up abruptly, stepping to you, leaning his face towards yours. The scar on the corner of his lip twitches when he gives you a wicked grin. “That’s right. I’m in charge here.”

You flinch from him, scared, maybe even slightly aroused. He’s intense, that’s for sure. But part of you finds it exhilarating to be in his presence. 

Megumi whines for more food, to which Toji grabs the utensil from your hands to start feeding him. “Damn kid, he’s hungry all the fucking time.”

You sit up in your seat, regaining your composure. “You shouldn’t curse in front of children.”

He faces you, chuckling. “Curse? Seriously? What are you, five?”

You cross your arms, answering, “I’m twenty-one.”

“Interesting.” There’s that naughty smirk again, as if he’s thinking something obscene in that twisted head of his. And while you should be turned off, you’re not. You squeeze your legs together, pussy throbbing between your thighs. And of course, he notices this. He must, because he leans forward, lips grazing your ear, whispering, “Come by my room whenever Megumi is taking his nap. That’s an order.”

~~~

This is bad. Very, very bad. 

You're supposed to be better than this. Clearly, you aren’t, because you’re currently getting railed by your employer’s husband while his child sleeps peacefully in the next room.

“Fuck, this pussy is tight,” he groans, pumping his thick cock in and out of you. You’re bent over the edge of the bed, his hips smacking against your ass as he thrusts into you. He’s got a tight grip on your hips, nails digging into your flesh, pounding away at your greedy pussy, absolutely drenched with arousal and lube. Your face is sticky with perspiration, pillow soaked with sweat and drool. It’s a fucking mess, but it doesn’t matter, because all you can think about is Toji fucking you until you’re seeing stars. Until your head is empty and nothing but his fat cock is occupying your thoughts.

“God, you’re squeezing me so fucking hard, princess. You gonna come again?”

You nod erratically, reaching your fingers to your clit. He smacks it away, doing it himself, his thumb flicking against your swollen bud. “Fucking come on my cock then. Make it nice and creamy for me, got it?”

His cock is buried deep inside you, hitting your sweet spot over and over until you unravel, gushing around him once more. You’ve lost count on how many orgasms you’ve had in this short amount of time. 

After your climax, he doesn’t pull out, fucking you even rougher. Your body is pliant around him, yielding to his every touch like putty. You’ve lost control of yourself, completely enraptured in the intense pleasure he surrounds you with. 

He leans forward, chest pressed to your back, lips brushed to your ear. “I’m gonna knock you up. Give Megumi a little brother or sister. Would you like that?” He’s crazy. Completely unhinged. Absolutely fucking psycho. 

“Fuck yes, I want that,” you moan. “Give it to me, daddy. Breed me.” 

And apparently, so are you. 

“Oh fuck yeah, take my fucking cum then,” he growls. The bed creaks violently below you, his backshots brutal and frantic now, cock desperate for release. “I’m gonna get you fucking pregnant. Make you mine.”

He shoots his hot load inside you, stuffing you full of his cum. He doesn’t stop until he’s fucked it deeper into your pussy, watching with that sexy look on his face as his creamy cum leaks out of your slit.

Lifting you up to lay comfortably on the bed, he rolls beside you, kissing you sloppily until Megumi’s whimpers blare through the baby monitor, indicating that he’s awake. Toji laughs, smacking your ass as you crawl over him to return to your real job. 

~~~

You spend the remainder of your summer employed at the Fushiguro household until you have to go back to school. You and Toji continue to fuck each other silly every day that you’re working. 

The day before you leave for college, you say your goodbyes to the family. Megumi’s mom, who remains blissfully unaware of your sins, hugs you tightly. “Thank you so much for all your help. I’ve finally saved enough money to afford a full-time nanny, so we’ll be fine.” 

“It was my pleasure. I had a lot of fun. With Megumi,” you clarify, avoiding Toji’s gaze as he watches from the kitchen. 

“Seriously. You’re a good person. I hope you know that.” She smiles, truly grateful. “And thank you for taking care of my good for nothing husband too.”

As the guilt of this dirty, filthy secret eats away at you, Toji stares at you from across the room, smirking. 

[jess-the-vampire]

Professor Caduceia and Snakely

Checked out the storyboard for the deleted s1 episode "Homesick"

You can read it here : https://t.co/WpZJFWbR48

I just loved these cut villains, one whose design def seemed like it was given to raine when they got cut. (I wonder if the color palette was similar, but we don't have a reference to that so idk)

Thoughts on the cut episode below:

An episode where king and owlbert of all characters bond is kinda neat, especially since it provides owlbert himself a bit more character here.

The opening is def far different from any of the final ones we ever see in the series, in fact it feels like it should be taking place during the episode but it can't be given we see hooty from being sick to not being sick in pretty chronological order?

A focus on the healing coven was nice to see, especially since we never got that in the show itself, and get some idea of their powerset and what they do magic wise.

So Manny was an ambulance driver, and Camila was a nurse in this. People originally assumed camila was a nurse when the show started, and it makes me wonder if that was changed between seasons at some point cause clearly the crew decided to change her profession and it's unclear why.

you can use your palisman as a communicator? and an umbrella? I do think it's so weird that even at the very end of the show, they establish brand new rules for palisman. Like them being able to shapeshift into objects is straight up not explained and just sorta....happens in the show, like i feel like hunter would have no issue hiding flap if this is a thing. (It also kinda makes stringbean's ability slightly less unique) Like this is displayed in these boards, but they kept it even in the show itself, and i think palisman might need a proper rulebook.

On that same note, owlbert uses magic in this board, like we kinda knew palisman could do some magic without a witch, but this is the only time we've seen one use it to fight another witch that wasn't the batqueen. Like owlbert tries to full on blast people in this. I don't know if removing this episode makes this ability less canon in the world itself since they still can do magic in the show, it's just worth noting that palisman, according to this board, CAN fight back, even if they're not incredibly strong it seems. Certainly the kinda thing that makes you think on other episodes tbh.

This episode also brings up the idea that eda actually CAN and DOES bring human food to the BI, which never happens in the show, in fact luz implies she gets to eat very little options there, so this idea seems no longer canon?

The demon hunters at one point don't even seem to recognize owlbert as a palisman, which does not entirely make sense given they seem to be mostly common to the townsfolk, so I'm kinda glad for that plot hole being gone.

Caduceia makes it out like the emperor's coven forced her to teach? and she thought handing over a house demon to belos would get her out of teaching as if it were some kinda punishment or job she was made to do? I have questions

side note, house demons are called rare in this, like they're not common, not sure if this still applies in the final show, but yeah.

there's some very sweet moments in this with luz and eda especially, but also some funny moments, and some jokes that land a little less....i don't think we needed Caduceia to be kissing her snake like that from that angle, even if it was meant to be a little uncomfortable.

one reason i think this episode did get cut? we got a glyph in this

a healing glyph, which has some ties to water based on it's symbol

i'm guessing since they kept the main glyphs element based, a healing glyph would of stuck out and been a bit weird. Like it just heals people, it doesn't produce water despite looking close to the alchemy symbol for water, and well....we already got ice so this would be redundent.

so yeah, this episode introduced a new glyph that saved them in the end so it would of come back in future episodes, but to keep it simple that would mean cutting the entire episode as a whole just to keep the four.

Since they enjoyed Caduceia's design so much, they must've repurposed it for raine somewhere down the line.

very fun insight into a scrapped episode.

[fairsweetlonging]

more peak lord preen abilties!! with inspiration from @sillygoofyqueer <3

yue qingyuan is the most thorough and gentle preener, having the experience to know what to do, but he never seeks out shen qingqiu for it and never asks because he's afraid to cross a line (also sometimes the hesitance makes shen qingqiu nervous and the barely-there touches can be a sensory nightmare)

liu qingge is a little harsh but he tries his best, definitely needs a lot of guiding, but is very good if there's a deep rooted itch and much needed shedding; also is hesitant to volunteer even though he will fight others for it; has taken shen qingqiu for flights on his sword so he can still feel the wind in his wings when without a cure acts up; has definitely had shen qingqiu sprawled out across his lap in bliss once and is still riding that high

mu qingfang is a gentle, diligent preener, always has tea and cakes at the ready, but he tends to go into long talks of wing disease and parasites and does without a cure need checking..? probably was the first one to notice shen qingqiu's feather picking behavior. is really good at freeing ripe pin feathers. is the third dog sneaking away with the bone when the other peak lords are fighting each other over whose turn it is to help out

shang qinghua isn't the best preener, he mostly runs his fingers through the feathers and pulls a little too hard, but he can yap shen qingqiu into next week and keep up conversation when shen qingqiu doesn't feel like talking; one time shen qingqiu tried to lean against him and tuck one leg, but shang qinghua misunderstood and stepped away and shen qingqiu fell over; has been given a wing-hug

qi qingqi is a good preener with an eye for detail, and her gossip is always fresh, but her combing is not for the weak! some of her disciples keep asking for feathers for personal projects (they're so pretty and shiny!); she's encouraging shen qingqiu to use his wings to fight

wei qingwei will pick shen qingqiu up and kidnap him to his peak to sit him down for tea and wingcare if he notices his wings are disheveled; is a total dad about it, casually reaching out to fix stray feathers or gently pull out a loose one whenever

|||

bonus binghe!

binghe has a collection of feathers he found while cleaning shizun's room

he can't get enough of the way shizun's wings flap and floof up when he's eating binghe's food

keeps trying to add stuff to shen qingqiu's nest (he tried his own robes once, but it didn't work), wants desperately to be invited in

is jealous of everyone who's been allowed to preen shizun's wings (he's the head disciple and shizun's favorite, cleaning the house and cooking food, it should be his job to do wingcare!!)

[yetanotherlesbianonthiswebsite]

An overly complicated analysis of everything we know about Neve Gallus in canon, as well as some additional thoughts of mine on the themes surrounding her (because I am so gay for her already)

1. Canon information

- Her age is, as of yet, unknown. In the Tevinter Nights story The Streets of Minrathous, narrated in the first-person perspective by Neve, we read “He greeted me with a dismissive ‘young lady’ that made me think he’d forgotten my name” (216). However, this is a description by an older man, whose nephew is alive long enough that his “parents had disowned him years ago” (213). In another passage of the story, the following can be read: “The man was a con artist I’d turned in the year before. To be fair, he’d nearly gotten me killed the year before that, so we were even” (221). We can therefore be certain that she has engaged successfully in detective work for at least two years, and has likely been doing so for a while. We do not know when the story is set, neither do we know anything about the parallel stories of “The Wigmaker Job” and “Luck in the Gardens”. We get the information that a Venatori cultist was wearing clothes that are fading (220), and that the cult had long since lost much standing in society; it has likely been quite a number of years since 9:42. At the same time, we know of a Qunari invasion in the eastern part of the Tevinter Empire from 9:44/45 onward, with several major cities falling to the invaders. Neve describes the catacombs as “a place to hold a year’s worth of food and supplies, securing the city’s survival in case of blight or Qunari invasion” (232). A woman as observant and politically savvy as her would likely not frame an invasion as that much of a hypothetical in case of an ongoing war. It is reasonable to assume that the story takes place sometime around the middle of the forties. Which means that by the events of Veilguard, in the middle of the fifties, we should expect Neve to have had at least twelve years of experience as a private investigator, which places her likely age at minimum in the early thirties. (Not that I am hoping for anything 40 or upward, no, there is no MILF agenda here)

- She describes the manor of a rich man as “a residence nowhere near the third-rate bookseller where I rent a room” (216), locating her residence both outside of the rich parts of town, and informing us that she does not have the greatest of means.

- Likewise, we learn that her “family has more templars than mages. I’m sure that says a lot about me. The point is, I’m not from an old family and I felt as at home in Lady Varantus’s house as Jahvis looked” (218). Within the rigid social hierarchies of Tevinter, she is privileged by magehood, but not by blood. To the degree that Tevene social classes can be broken down so neatly into stratified categories, she seems to be somewhere in the lower ranks of the middle class.

- She is canonically disabled; an amputee wearing a prosthetic leg made of dwarven metal (215). In the comic The Missing #4, we see her prosthetic, it is designed as a cobra standing up in intimidation of an attacker, and the metal seems to be predominantly a bronze or gold with blue or silver accents (6). On her foot on the other leg, she is wearing a boot which has a bronze or gold tip symmetrical to the tail of the cobra, and a high plattformed heel (ibid). Combining that with the fact that she fights and runs with a prosthetic and a heeled boot (TSoM 215, TM4 16), we learn that she expresses immense control over her body.

- Likewise, she approaches all her actions, her appearance, and her communication verbal and physical with a high degree of precision and deliberation. Her outfit is perfectly composed, with white and dark leather as primary colours, the same blue-gold metal that her prosthetic is made out of for accents as well as her belt (which is a coiling snake, TM4 6), a dark turquiose for some of the cloth (such as pants and cravat), a light turquiose for such accents as her fingernails and her meticulously applied eyeliner, and some manner of cap akin to a graduation cap at the right side of her head, in an almost black brown, with gold details. The shape of the cap has the exact same angles as a rhombus as her earrings (TM4 9). The detail on the cap forms a snake. It has been posited by tumblr user @cleric4vampire that even her movement in the trailer reinforces the cobra/snake motive (https://www.tumblr.com/cleric4vampire/752850000700194816). Despite sometimes excrutiatingly long workdays (223), Neve puts an extreme amount of emphasis on her appearance. Even in the comic, while the style does feature very dynamic character movements while talking, her gestures stick out as particularly deliberate; she talks with her hands a lot, and with deliberation (see the appendix of this post for more). This speaks to a plethora of willpower, control, and a desire to maintain a controlled barrier between the self and the larger world.

- While writing this, I have come up with the theory that the blue accents of her apparell might partially be lyrium. If she is literally wearing lyrium makeup, I will marry her.

- The only two offensive types of magic that we see her use are ice magic (e.g. TSoM 226, 227, 235, TM4 16, 17), and a manner of magic that lets her freeze the moisture in the air around a person to stagger them (e.g. TSoM 214, TM4 17). Through cooling the air around herself a bit less, she manages to hide herself in mist (e.g. TSoM 214). She is capable of some healing magic (227).

- She has a network of contacts, acquaintances, and informants all over Minrathous, particularly in its underground.

- She loves salty fried fish (221). This is not only in line with Minrathous being a coastal capital, which has a distinct influence on the caloric inflow into the city and cuisine at large, but also, once again, stresses that she does not have much money at her disposal, by emphasizing that she eats fried fish from a cheap street food stall very regularly (221), which she calls her “fish dinners” (228).

- She canonically has straight dark brown hair, meticulously kept at the left side of her face to keep space for the cap on the right, brown eyes, and brown skin. It is furthermore canon that anyone who has a problem with that or wishes to change that with mods will be exploded via elemental magic. It is furthermore canon that I will not buy Veilguard if the game whitewashes her.

- She is involved with the Shadow Dragons in helping fugitive slaves (TM4 9, 20). She expressly approves of the use of armed violence against the institution of slavery. At one point, she comments: “The cult’s dead god wanted to bring Tevinter back to what it was—to its “glory.” It was nonsense, of course. It always was. The old empire was even more corrupt and heartless than what it is now, no matter how pretty the picture Corypheus painted” (TSoM 221). In her vocal resistance to the empire, she sees it as a good usage of her time to track down Venatori (214). In spite of her resistance against the empire, she considers the city her home and would like it to be better than it is (214, 221).

2. Themes: The noir detective and the empire

It goes without saying that the formational archetype behind the character of Neve Gallus is that of the noir detective. A solipsistic cynic with little means, a private investigator, called to investigate a crime scene in dance with and against the police, depending on the point of the story. The noir detective of the movies of the first half of the 20th century, the formational corpus from which stems the archetype, is distinctly tied to the metropolis; a story that needs the urban context, the urban scenery. While of course featuring a plentitude of settings and configurations, at the root of the archetype rest particularly a white, male, US-American figure. To bring Minrathous in parallel with New York particularly is in so far a welcome change as it means a partial departure from the orientalism underlying a lot of early descriptions of Tevinter in Dragon Age canon. But, to me at least, it raises the question of how well Dragon Age is equipped to tackle the arising thematic implications. Just like the Tevinter Empire, the United States of America is a slave society fueled by the deprivation of Indigenous communities and the physical exploitation of a racialized, disenfanchised class. The metropolis is the core of the imperial core; and Minrathous is, as the largest city of Thedas and the capital of Tevinter, certainly that. The Streets of Minrathous manages but a partial critique of the society of the imperial-colonial metropolis. While Neve remains critical of the templars, the undeniable cop stand-in, the critique remains bound to corruption the higher one goes in the chain of command, as well as the bureaucracy (231). The story, in particular, follows the very dangerous trope commonly found in copaganda that the base-level officers should be allowed to disobey the chain of command and act on their own, particularly when it comes to the deployment of heavy weaponry (234). That the base-level officer is as much an agent of imperial violence as the top of the hierarchy, turning the systemic and depersonal violence of the system into concrete interpersonal violence, cannot be formulated by the text.

Furthermore, the Venatori, in their supremacist-fascistic death cult, remain cast in ableistic terms that deprive their ideology of systemic connectedness: “that didn’t stop remaining loyalists from acting delusional and stirring up trouble when the mood struck. That’s fanatics for you” (213). That fascism is but the logical conclusion of empire, particularly a weakened and collapsing empire, remains just as unacknowledged. And yet, what haunts the story is a profound sense of loneliness and alienation. A rich man estranged and alienated from his nephew because of his fear of social repercussions for the nephews behavior, said nephew dying while grasping to any semblance of connection he can (“He knew what came next. He was searching for whatever company he had left” 215), Neve facing the cultists in their hideout alone because the templar Rana does not want to breach protocoll, hell, even the Venatori preacher making a ridiculous figure, alone and ignored on his soapbox while the masses rush by him and shut him out of their attention; everyone is lonely, seperated by the dividing and isolating forces of the empire. The imperial metropolis condenses people, yet they are emotionally distanced from one another. Neve’s final action in the story is to return to the rich old man, explaining to him that his nephew was trying to be good after all; a post-mortem attempt to mend but one severed connection between humans. Her entire character is defined by the trajectory that comes from wandering almost aimlessly in a desperate attempt to escape the solipsistic nature of the empire. Her defining emotional conflict is with the reality of empire, as much as her status as a brown, disabled, bisexual woman clashes with the roots of the figure of the noir detective. We see by the time of The Missing #4 that she finds a sense of fulfillment in working with the Shadow Dragons for the slaves and against the slavers, which hints at a character arc from TSoM to TM4. As Varric correctly observes, she has a heart of gold (TM4 20), one which she hides behind a particularly controlled facade, as stern as beautiful. How well her character plays out in Veilguard hinges entirely on the stories limited ability to discuss empire in meaningful terms, and the story’s willingness to further explore her emotional arc suggested between TSoM and TM4. I am furthermore worried about how well a series known for its overt centrism can handle the nuances that make her character so great, as well as fearing the reaction by gamers[TM] to having a brown, female, disabled, bisexual detective.

3. Appendix: I am gay for the way she talks with her hands and body

TM4 9

TM4 9

TM4 5

TM4 10

TM4 14

TM4 19

[starzblvd]

Winter/Christmas Ellie hc’s𝜗𝜚⊹₊ ⋆

❄️Established relationship + pure fluff AN This was a little late and short, but I wanted to still post it after being away so long, I’ll work harder next time 🩷🩷

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Winter!Ellie gets cold, so much so you find her sitting propped up right directly in front of a heater until her skin gets scolding hot to the touch. Her skin goes all red from doing it too, but doesn’t move regardless of it all because she likes the warmth.

After getting up and she comes wrapping you closer into her, Ellie’s shirt jolts you with how hot it became from the prolonged heat exposer. She just wants you to be as warm as she is, but at the same time it’s one of her thousands of ways to tease you a bit.

“Babe it’s chilly you need to stay warm.”

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Winter!Ellie that makes sure you always bring a thick winter coat. Even with your constant denial that it wouldn’t be too cold nor an issue to you, Ellie holds onto your jacket for you when you find out for yourself that she was right. Especially during snow she’d insist that you’d be wrapped snug inside layers and layers of outerwear.

“C’mere, put this on,”

“I already have two jackets on I don’t need-“

Then without letting you reach the end of your sentence Ellie slings a knitted scarf she bought for a ridiculous price around your neck.

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Winter!Ellie not noticing the few snowflakes that have gathered on the top of her head, not bothering to sweep them off when it does come to her notice because of what you told her. You’d commented that the snow glazed hair looked cute on her before picking it off each strand. Now she leaves the snowflakes there pretending to be just as unaware as the first time so your fingers gently grace her head combing through the frosted strands

“you should start wearing your hood outside more often”

“i know It’s just I forget all the time you know?”

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Winter!Ellie whose face and hands turn deep pink after being outside in the cold for too long, the tip of her nose practically makes her look like Rudolph. She looked too cute like that so you snuck in a candid picture for keepsakes, except if she ever actually saw it she’d beg for you to delete it immediately.

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Winter!Ellie loving snowball fights, every round started out with her being so playful before getting a bit too competitive for a snowball fight. Once resulting in Ellie flinging a really compacted snowball accidentally at your face, she was stressing when your eyes glossed over by the hit and no many “it didn’t hurt, I’m okay really” ‘s made her any less regretful. Safe to say she went a little more gentler on you from there on out.

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Christmas!Ellie who’s so cocky when it comes to gift giving thinking it’d be an easy job picking a gift for everybody else until she’s trying to pluck out hints from everyone about what they might want.

“I think I might want some new posters or supplies..what about you” and gives the most biggest stare with those piercing green eyes like a kid.

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Christmas!Ellie begging for a little sneak peak into her stocking, but it wouldn’t be persistent, more like in passing by she’d mention how she just couldn’t wait to open gifts from her pretty girlfriend

˚₊‧꒰ა❄️໒꒱‧ Christmas!Ellie on actual Christmas Day is waking up early for once and nudges you out of bed to the living room. Even though you’re still fogged with sleep you could feel how sweet it was for her to want to share this moment with you. Then when you opened your own gifts her gift giving who went back higher than before by how much you repeated that you loved each individual one.

[yeonzzzn]

🪞mirrors: lee heeseung

a vampires bleeding series: seven / seven

pairing: heeseung x afab!reader word count: 11.4k

synopsis: as heeseung's secret gets revealed, along with the long history behind the secret, to you and the mates of the pack, they are all steps closer to ending this war with dorian and stopping his evil plans once and for all. with dorian's betrayal still fresh for you, you join the group to help put dorian down.

genre: enemies to lovers, vampire!heeseung, doctor!heeseung, vampire!reader, angst, some spice and fluff.

warnings: mentions of blood, swearing, one sex scene but it's spiced not full on smut, cute heeseung ♡

☾ jungwon(1) | jay(2) | jake(3) | sunghoon(4) | sunoo(5) | niki(6) | heeseung(7) ☽

You watched as Heeseung twirled the silver blade with his fingers, his eyes staring you down. 

The place where he burned your skin with the blade was throbbing. Your body wasn’t healing it fast enough, and probably wouldn’t. If the blade was made specifically for him, the vampire king, the blade was made to kill and leave scars. 

You scoffed, a small chuckle leaving your lips. 

Heeseung tilted his head, lifting his leg to rest against the chair he sat in, “Want to share with the class what you think is so funny?” 

You glanced into the darkness behind him, not wanting to make eye contact with him, “I was told you’re a doctor. How could the vampire king settle for such a low-class job as that.” 

Heeseung was at your side in a second, the blade inches away from your neck, “I am a doctor, which isn't a low-class job. I’ve saved lives, helped people, and healed people…It is not an easy job. When you’re stuck living for eternity you should put yourself to good use.” 

You rolled your eyes, “But you’re the king, what need would you have to help others!”

Heeseung scoffed, inching the blade closer, “Because I am not the monster I was created to be.” 

You sat still, not knowing how to respond to him. 

Heeseung removed the blade and sat back in the chair across from you, “When will you answer my questions?” 

You shook your head, “When will you stop asking?” 

Heeseung chuckled, “You’re in the presence of the actual vampire king and you still want to defy me?” 

“Just because you’re a king, doesn’t mean my loyalties sit with you, plus I can tell this isn’t the way you normally are,” You leaned forward as far as the rope tied around your body would let you, “You’re not some tyrant, or someone to torture anyone. This is all an act.” 

Heeseung stood from his seat quickly, his golden eyes burning at you. You struck a nerve. 

“I will do what I have to, to protect my pack!” he growled, “Unlike you, whose loyalties sit with a man who won’t be coming for you.” 

You sat back in the chair, not wanting to believe the words coming from his mouth. You don’t know how long you’ve been trapped down wherever you were, but you know it’s been days, maybe even a week and Dorian has yet to try and find you. You weren’t in a pack with him, so trying to find ways to get him to know where you were or sensing where he is, was hopeless. 

Heeseung knew you knew he was right. He could see it all over your face. 

There was a knock on the door, and then it slowly opened, Jungwon stepped in. 

“Hyung,” He called out, “We are all here.” 

Heeseung nodded, relaxing his body and his glowing golden eyes turned back to the coco brown. 

You stared at Jungwon, piercing daggers into him. 

He side-eyed you, his fist clenching, “Say something.” He snapped.

You smiled, “You’re the leader of the pack yet you still follow behind this king. Shouldn’t you be the king?” 

Jungwon smiled back at you, “The king needs his leader, doesn’t he?” 

Your smile faded. You knew their pack was close with their bonds, but you didn’t think it would be that tight. Most packs fight for the leadership role.

Heeseung walked out of the room, and Jungwon followed behind him, leaving you alone once again. 

“Got anything?” Jungwon asked. 

Heeseung shook his head, “The only thing I’ve gotten out of her is she thinks being a doctor is a low job for a king and that Dorian would come for her.” 

Jungwon rolled his eyes, “So the same shit.” 

Heeseung sighed, “Unfortunately.” 

They opened the door that led into the safe room, quickly closing and locking it behind them. 

Sunghoon and his witch mate sat at the kitchen table, her jumping up at the sight of Heeseung. 

Heeseung narrowed his eyes at her, “I told you to stop that.” 

The witch softly smiled, “We do this for our kings and queens in our covens, it’s not a habit I can get rid of overnight.” 

Heeseung knew his title coming out to the mates of the pack was big news. Mostly for the witch and the dhampir.

Jake and his mate got into an argument after Heeseung announced his title officially to them. 

“I have been in the presence of the vampire king my whole life and never knew?!?! We were all friends for so long!” The dhampir paced back and forth in the living room, “I’ve been so rude towards Heeseung!!” 

“My Luna Nova, please calm down, it's okay!” 

“No it’s not!” she snapped, “How could you have kept something so important away from me?!?”

The vampire king has been told in legends to be the most powerful vampire, and if the king was in a pack, his power amplified the number of members in the pack. 

So to call Heeseung weak is far from the truth. 

Jungwon called the others to sit at the table, “We need to make a plan to get Dorian’s followers to spill everything she knows.” 

Sunghoon wrapped his arms around his witch, “Why not let the hex girl here use her magical powers to get her to open up?” 

Sunoo chimed in, pointing at his elf mate, “My magical girl can help.”

Heeseung disagreed, “Using magic on her isn’t going to work. She’s too strong-headed.”

“I wouldn’t know what kind of magic to use anyways,” the elf added, “Using magic on a vampire is a difficult task, your brains and bodies don’t work the same as others.” 

The witch agreed, “You vampires are the undead, you weren’t naturally created creatures to begin with, so to use any kind of magic on you guys would be difficult, like __ said.” 

“And I am assuming threatening her is not working?” The dhampir asked. 

Heeseung nodded, “Her loyalty is also very strong with Dorian still, nothing will change that.”

The room fell silent. Everyone’s brains are working overtime to figure something out. 

“And we have been to Dorian’s compound multiple times over the last week,” Jay pitched in, “Still no traces of him or his followers either.” 

Jake covered his mouth with his hands and then his eyes lit up, “Have we thought about checking the farmhouses again? and the town where __ coven was?” 

The witch stood up quickly from her chair, “He could have found our underground sanctuary. There’s a library down there along with other magical items.” 

Sunghoon stood up beside her, furrowing his brows, “Why are you just now telling us about this hex girl?!” 

She rolled her eyes, “Oh shut up bloodsucker!” she snapped at her mate, “It’s heavily guarded and I assumed after Dorian burnt down the town and killed my entire coven that he wouldn’t be able to find it.” 

The dhampir quickly pulled her phone from her pocket, “I’m calling Archer.” 

Heeseung stood in silence, thinking of how this could go. 

Niki shook his leg with impatience, “What if Dorian is there and __ is with him?” 

Heeseung patted the maknae’s shoulder, ready to open his mouth but was stopped. 

“Archer said he’s felt a force nearby for the last hour!” the dhampir announced. 

Niki stood quickly from his seat, “When are we going.” 

Jungwon knew from the look on Heeseung’s face what the plan was, “Not everyone is going.” 

Niki whipped around, “Hyung!” he begged Heeseung, “If __ is with him!” 

Heeseung placed both hands on Niki’s shoulders, “If she is with him, I’ll bring her back. The moment you step foot near them she will run.” 

Niki wanted to fight, but didn’t, understanding. 

Heeseung looked around the room at his pack, “I will go alone.” 

“What? Fuck no! That’s stupid!” Jake yelled. 

“Are you fucking crazy?!” Sunghoon snapped. 

“Hyung, what are you even thinking?!” Niki and Jungwon asked. 

“Listen, Mr. Vampire King,” the witch scoffed, “This isn’t something to do alone!!” 

The elf agreed, “You need someone with you!” 

The humans even disagreed, “Bring someone with you!” 

Heeseung smiled at his family, happy with how big it had grown. Remembering a time it was just the seven of them. 

“I have something special to protect,” Heeseung yelled over the chaos, his family settling down, “I have eleven of you to keep safe.” Heeseung had a plan, it just didn’t involve his family. 

“Hyung!” Jungwon projected, “What do you even plan to do? Huh? Just walk in there?” 

Heeseung smiled again, “When I meant going alone, I meant without you guys.” 

Jungwon furrowed his eyes, “I am not following?” 

Heeseung nodded his head towards the door that led to you. 

You tried to force your way out of the ropes, twisting and turning in every way possible. 

You had to make it out of there and back to Dorian. You needed to tell him Heeseung was the vampire king. It would speed the progress of his ruling so much faster. 

As if on cue, Heeseung and Jungwon opened the door, Jungwon slamming it shut behind him. 

You smile, “Well well, isn’t it the King and his follower.” 

Heeseung grabbed the back of the chair, tilting it backward, your feet lifting from the floor. 

His face was inches away from yours, his silver special blade was also inches from your skin. 

“I don’t have followers, I have a family.” He growled, his eyes burning. 

You glared at him, not letting this tactic scare you anymore. 

He smirked, letting a small breath out as he clicked his tongue, “We are going on a little trip, if you behave you’ll get to die with Dorian at your side.” 

Before you could say a word, Jungwon covered your mouth with a cloth. Your head spun and your eyes slowly closed. Your world going dark. 

—

You woke up to the sun shining down on you. You slowly sat up, your head still spinning. 

You took in the area around you. The grass was burnt and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. 

You quickly covered your mouth the more you looked. Houses were burnt to the ground. Bodies spread throughout the land. 

“It’s a sad sight, isn’t it?” 

Heeseung’s voice made you jump. He was knelt, a patch of dead grass in his hands. 

You could see the pain on his face, “What happened here?” 

Heeseung sighed before turning his head to look at you, “This is what Dorian did. He destroyed this whole village and killed an entire coven, just to get the secret to the powers he wields now.” 

You shook your head, not wanting to leave it, “He didn’t do this! He said he threatened them and took what he wanted!”

Heeseung softly chuckled, “This whole area is proof of what he’s done. The only one who survived this incident is the witch in my pack, she lost everything because of Dorian.” 

You wanted to argue back, that you knew Dorian better than anyone else. He’s the one who turned you into a vampire after all. Found you after you were almost murdered in the street by some criminals, he saved you and took you in. It’s clear to you that the soft side of Dorian was a fake. That this was his true nature. 

“Stand up,” Heeseung Demanded, pulling you up by your arm, “Your lord and savior Dorian is in the secret underground library fixing to steal more magic from this lost coven, and you’re going to help me stop him.” 

Heeseung pulled you forward, his hand tightly wrapped around your arm. 

You listened to every demand, all the fight left in you was gone. 

The entrance to the hidden library was no longer hidden, proof in itself that Dorian was inside. 

Heeseung pushed you along, making you go down the steps first into the darkness. 

Small candles sat on the walls to light the path, sending you both down until the path became flat, a brighter light shone down the pathway that led to the opened door of the library. 

Heeseung’s grip on your arm got tighter. Dorian was down the hall and you were terrified of what to expect. 

“How nice of you to join us,” Dorian said as you both walked into the small library, his face planted in the book in his hands, “I was starting to worry when we’d meet again.” 

“You knew we were coming?” Heeseung scoffed, slowly pulling his blade from his pocket, “That means you have my youngest mate with you, ya?” 

Dorian closed the book, his shit-eating grin plastered on his face, “My dear __, please say hello to our guest.” 

The young vampire walked around the bookshelf, a couple of books held close to her chest. 

Heeseung grinned his teeth. He could feel the pain she was feeling being away from Niki, her swollen eyes said it clear enough. She hasn’t slept since being pulled away from him. It was eating her alive. 

“__,” Heeseung called to her, “You don’t have to side with him!” 

She looked away from him and down at the ground. Heeseung could see the battle she was facing. To drop everything and run towards him to return to Niki’s side, or to keep her loyalty to Dorian. 

“Please, Niki needs you.” 

Her body shook at the sound of her mate's name, and she took a step forward towards Heeseung, only for Dorian’s hand to lift, making her stop. 

“She belongs to me,” Dorian chuckled, “You can’t just take what’s mine.” 

“She doesn’t belong to you!” Heeseung snapped, his fangs starting to come to a point, but not fully, “She isn’t bound to you!” 

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Dorian, you felt the betrayal of getting yourself captured, but also the betrayal that he’d destroy a whole village and coven, just for his gain. 

You then had the idea to expose Heeseung as the king, hoping that maybe Dorian would take you back. 

“How about a trade then?” You said, finally looking up at Dorian, begging him with your eyes, “Take the good-for-nothing girl who mated with the enemy and give her to Heeseung to trade for me.” 

Heeseung could smell your bullshit, his blade quickly pressing to the side of your jaw, the same side he already burned. 

You bit your tongue to keep from crying out, trying to keep your composer, showing proof you were still useful to Dorian. 

Dorian threw his head back in laughter, “Oh this is great! Y/N, do you think I would trade you for __? She’s mates with their youngest, she can help sense where they are if they come near me. What good are you for?” 

The pain from Heeseung’s blade no longer affects you after Dorian’s words. 

Your knees gave out, dropping your weight to the floor. Heeseung let you fall.

Heeseung was more pissed off now, “Give my pack member.” 

Dorian shook his head, “She’s useful to me.” 

Heeseung tightened his grip on his blade, looking back at the young vampire, “__, choose the side that’ll take care of you,” he softly spoke, “You’d have Niki again. You’d have a support system, a family.”

Heeseung could see the gears turning in her head. The way her heart rate picked up and the grip she had on the books in her hands, her knuckles were white. 

Dorian could see it too. The betrayal that was about to happen. 

She used all her strength to tear the books in half and throw them to the floor. Heeseung knew she was choosing him. 

But Heeseung could also sense what was about to happen. 

Dorian reached out, his hand gripping her neck and lifting her off the ground. 

“You idiot! After all I have done for you!” 

Heeseung acted fast. Using all the strength he had into a full sprint. The blade made contact with Dorian’s wrist, slicing his hand clear from his arm. 

Heeseung quickly grabbed __, tossing her off to the side and out of the way. 

Dorian screamed in agony, his hand gripping the nub of his arm, the sizzling sound of his skin burning echoed with his screams. 

“What kind of weapon do you have there hmm?” Dorian said through gritted teeth, “For it to be so strong to cut through my limb and burn it so quickly that not even a drop of blood fell.” 

Heeseung held the blade up, ready to use it once again, preparing for Dorian’s next move, “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you improvise on weapons to be created to help protect yourself and your family.” 

Dorian evilly laughed, “You and this family bullshit!” 

Heeseung heard enough and swung his blade back at Dorian. 

Only for the next turn of events to surprise Heeseung. 

Dorian jumped backward, transforming into a bat. 

“Well that’s not something you see every day,” Heeseung hissed. 

A chuckle came from the bat before he speedily flew out of the library. 

You saw this as your opportunity to run, but your legs wouldn’t move. 

Dorian made it clear he didn’t want you or even need you. 

The young girl knelt to your side, softly touching the burn on your jaw, “Heeseung!” She called out, “She’s not healing!” 

Heeseung knelt in front of you, taking your chin between his fingers, tilting your head to the side, “It will with time. But the scars will remain. My blade wasn’t made to heal.” 

Heeseung dropped his hand, staring at you and your lost face. 

You refused to look at him.

Heeseung scoffed softly, and stood up, walking away from you and towards the door.

“__,” he called out, “It’s time to go. We have things to discuss and I need to return you to Niki’s side so the bond doesn’t do any more damage to either of you.” 

She stayed by your side, her hand settling on top of yours, “We can’t leave Y/N here.” 

Heeseung raised a brow, “Why the hell not?” 

The girl’s eyes pleaded with him. Heeseung wanted to say no. It wasn’t in his playing cards to return home with the follower of Dorian. 

“Please, Heeseung,” she begged, “Y/N helped take care of me and treated me as if I were her sister, just like you do with Niki as a brother!”

Heeseung clenched his fist. The thought of bringing you back made his skin crawl. But he also knew leaving you here wasn’t something Heeseung would normally do. He can’t leave someone who needs help behind. 

He relaxed, looking away from the girls.

The young vampire knew Heeseung agreed to bring you along. 

“Y/N, let’s go.” 

You wanted to protest, to demand to be left alone. There was nothing left for you. 

You pushed __ away. 

To your Surprise, Heeseung was back at your side, pulling you up to your feet. 

You stared up at him, eyes locking together with him. 

A shock was sent down your spine, and by the look on Heeseung’s face, you knew he felt it too. 

He let go of your arm, stepping a few steps back, running a hand through his hair, “Let’s go. We need to get back.” 

—

You fell asleep in the backseat. Your left side leaned against the car door as you slept. 

Heeseung stared at you through the rearview mirror, watching as your chest raised and fell with every breath. The burns on your jaw are still a bright red. 

His heart raced looking at you. His hands softly loosen their grip on the steering wheel. 

“Your heart rate better be picking up pace because you feel like shit for hurting her!” the young one hissed. 

Heeseung glared down at the youngest pack member, “Why would I feel bad? She tried to hurt my family. My only goal today was getting you back and killing Dorian.” 

She rolled her eyes, “You were going to kill her too! I could feel your kill lust, Mr. Vampire King.” 

Heeseung quickly looked at her, “How did you know that?” 

She glanced out the car window, “The moment Niki and I bonded together, I could feel just how powerful your, well our, pack is. It wasn’t hard to put together.”

Heeseung looked back at the road, “Dorian doesn’t know?”

“No. He still believes the old king is still in power,” she looked at Heeseung, “How long has the old king been dead?” 

Heeseung dodged the question, “Why didn’t you tell Dorian if you knew?” 

She looked back out the window, dropping her head into her hands, “I couldn’t betray my pack like that. Even if I wasn’t officially in the pack at the time, I couldn’t hand over that information so easily to Dorian.” 

Heeseung knew she did it to protect Niki, and left it at all. 

You all pulled up at the safe house, Niki being the first one out of the house and at the passenger side door before the vehicle even came to a stop. 

“Oh my god,” Niki breathed out, pulling __ from the car and into his arms. 

Heeseung watched the maknaes embrace each other. Their bond is fully completed. The warmth of their love soothed everyone. 

You stayed in the car, watching as the young ones held each other tight. The other ones with mates follow suit, embracing their mates close to their bodies. Holding onto them tightly. 

Heeseung looked over at you, watching as you watched his family. 

His heart pulled to you, and he knew there wasn’t any stopping this, even if he tried. 

Heeseung reached over and tapped your knee, your attention being put on him. 

“If you want to run tail back to Dorian, be my guest, I am not going to force you here.”

You looked deeply into his eyes, scared of what this feeling was that was pulling you to him. You sat in silence, not knowing how to even respond to him. 

Heeseung rolled his eyes, removing his hand from your knee, ready to turn back around and get out of the car. 

You reached for his hand before he could, causing him to turn fully back towards you, “I can’t go back to Dorian,” you whispered, “He would just kill me the minute I got too close.”

You rubbed your thumb over the top of his hand. Half of Heeseung wanted to rip his hand away from you, the other half wanted to close his hand tightly around yours. 

“Why haven’t you killed me?” You finally asked, “You’ve had plenty of time to do so.” 

Heeseung tucked his lips between his teeth, debating on even continuing this conversation. 

“Because you were right,” he sighed, “When you first said this wasn’t who I am, some tyrant who tortures people…that’s not me.” 

You could see the hurt behind his eyes as he said this. 

Heeseung is a powerful king who has a pack of twelve under his thumb, being the most powerful vampire mixed pack in the world. Every other king that has ruled, did so with thousands of vampires at his side and was a solo hunter. Heeseung has single-handedly outdone every king before him. 

Yet his undead heart was still so pure and full of life. He became a doctor to help others…no wonder no one knows that the old king is dead and that he was the new one. Heeseung never once gave any hints he was a king. 

You held his hand tightly, looking down at the rings that wrapped around his fingers, “I will follow you.”

Heeseung furrowed his brow, “What?”

“Did I stutter?” You said, making eye contact back with him, “My loyalty is with you now.” 

Heeseung looked away from you, shaking his head, “You’re only saying that.” 

You squeezed his hand, “No I’m not. I’ve seen what you can do, and I know what you can accomplish. Plus you need me if you want to kill Dorian.”

Heeseung glanced at you, “I am listening.” 

“I know what his plans are, and where he will be hiding next.” 

Heeseung’s heart was telling him to let you in. To bring you close and never let you go and end Dorian once and for all, after all the harm he has done. But his brain was telling him differently. To let you in long enough to set the goals to kill Dorian and let you back out into the wild. 

“What reason do you have to kill Dorian and join forces with us?” 

You slowly blinked at him, “The things __ and myself have had to endure while living in that compound…being brainwashed into thinking he cared for us…” You shook your head, trying to push out the terrible memories that you’ve suppressed, “I want him dead just as badly as you.” 

Heeseung nodded, closing his hand around yours, “We have a lot to discuss then.” 

—

“WOAH NO WAY!?” the witch slapped her hands onto the table, her long black braid hair flipping behind her as she stood up from the seat, “You’re telling me you vampires can’t turn into bats on your own?!”

“Oh shut the actual fuck up!” Sunghoon hissed, grabbing his mate's arm and pulling her back into the chair.

You confusingly glared at the witch, “He got the spell to turn into a bat from your library…?”

Sunghoon sighed, “Just ignore the hex girl, she’s being stupid. Said the same shit when she saw my reflection.” 

The witch quickly whipped her head to her lover, her black nailed fingertips gripping his chin, pulling towards her, “Watch your tongue bloodsucker, I might hex you.”

Sunghoon smiled warmly at her, quickly planting a small kiss on her lips. 

You looked away from them, only to see every couple in the room either in each other's arms or hands tangled together. 

What have you gotten yourself into? 

Heeseung cleared his throat, “We need a solid plan before chasing after Dorian. He has more tricks up his sleeve than we thought.” 

You softly scoffed, trying to hold back a laugh.

“Something funny, public enemy number one?” Sunghoon raised a brow, “I don’t think you have any reason to be laughing.” 

“Sunghoon!” Niki’s mate snapped, causing glares from Sunghoon. 

“Nah,” he shook his head, “You both worked under Dorian’s thumb and are the reasons for all the bullshit we have gone through.” 

“Baby,” the witch said, wrapping her small hands around his bicep, “They were brainwashed, mostly __. If she could have run away from Dorian I am sure she would have. Mostly after meeting Niki. She was protecting him. Just like you would have gone to hell and back to protect me.”

Sunghoon slumped down into his chair, letting his mate win. 

Sunoo on the other hand, didn’t let the conversation end. 

“No, but, I still want to hear what Y/N thinks is so funny?” Sunoo clasps his hands together, leaning forward against the table, “What could be so funny?”

You glared between Sunghoon and Sunoo, both their eyes glued to you. 

“You are all the strongest pack in the world, following under the fucking vampire king!” you snapped, pointing a finger at Heeseung, “What other plan do you guys need to kill Dorian?!”

Heeseung slid his hands into his jeans pockets, tilting his head up, looking down at you, “Because I am not going to use my title as an act of power. I have a family to protect and cannot just go head first into a war.” 

Jungwon continued, “We don’t know what tricks Dorian has up his sleeve like Hyung said. We could walk into a trap and get us all killed,” Jungwon pulled his mate close to him, “Unlike you, Y/N, we have something bigger to protect besides just ourselves.” 

You were defeated. You couldn’t feel the bond that they all share, you would have no way of understanding. You’ve only ever looked out for yourself. 

Heeseung knew this conversation was going nowhere but in circles. He glanced up at the clock on the wall, the hands hitting midnight. 

“Let’s call it a night,” He yawned, “Most of us have jobs and school tomorrow.”

Niki and __ both groaned.

“Jesus Christ there’s two of them now.” Jay sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. 

“Is sending them two to school the best course of action?” Jake chimed in, “Wouldn’t Dorian know where to look for them?”

The elf jumped up, “Nope! I amplified my scent-covering spell with the help of our witchy friend, all our scents have completely been covered. Hee, Jay and I can return to the hospital, Niki and __ can return to school, and the others…can do whatever it is you guys do.” 

Jungwon clapped his hands, “We will split into search teams while those with jobs work and the teens are at school,” he glanced over at you, “You’re going to be stuck with me and Jake tomorrow.” 

“Lovely,” you whispered. 

Heeseung stood up, and by reaction, you did also, causing the rest to look at you weirdly. 

“He’s the king…do you guys not…react?” 

Jake chuckled, “We’ve known this man since way before he became king, we don’t use formals with him.” 

Heeseung raised his brows, “Wow okay I am going to bed.”

Heeseung made his way out of the kitchen, before popping back up quickly, “Make sure the teenagers sleep in separate rooms.” 

“Hyung!” Niki snapped, his face flushing. 

“Your mate and Y/N can share a room.” Jay added in, “We have enough spares for them to share a room.”

You agreed, not wanting to sleep alone anyway. 

Jay’s mate shows you and __ to the room. Two twin beds sat on opposite sides of the room. 

“Thank you,” you said, giving her a small smile, but your smile faded once you saw the bite mark scars on her neck, “Dorian did that, didn’t he?” 

She quickly covered her neck with her hand, “Yeah…he did. If it wasn’t for Jay and the others nearby, I would have died.” 

You wanted to apologize but knew apologizing wouldn’t be good enough. No amount of sorry will fix the mess Dorian created. 

So you settled for a nod and walked into the room. The young vampire follows behind you. 

—

You pulled your jacket around your body, as you knelt to the ground. 

Watching as Jungwon and Jake drank from their blood bags. 

Jake caught you staring. You quickly looked off into the distance. 

“Have something to say?” Jake asked between sips, “If you want a bag just ask.” 

Jungwon reached into the cooler bag pulling a blood bag out and tossing it to you, “You need to drink, looking kinda pale.” 

You held the bag in your hands, watching as the dark liquid fell to one side. 

“Problem?” Jake asked, bringing you back to reality. 

“No,” you shook your head, “Thank you for the blood.” 

Jungwon and Jake watched carefully as you ripped the bag, drinking the blood down. 

“You’ve never drank from bags, huh?” Jungwon laughed, clearly teasing you.

You nodded, “Dorian made us hunt for our meals, I am honestly surprised __ was able to take to the bags so easily. She was the only one out of us who drank from bags.” 

“Well when you’re stuck as a teenager forever and have no choice but to attend school, you can’t kill your classmates.” Jake shrugged. 

You sighed, “She still drank from humans, just not her classmates.” 

The conversation turned awkward. 

“Well, I have to piss soooo…” Jake stood up and ran off in the distance. 

You finished your blood bag, handing the empty plastic back to Jungwon, “Thank you.” 

Jungwon nodded, “We need you at your highest strength if you plan to stick around long enough to kill Dorian and be on your way.” 

You didn’t know how to respond to that. How could you tell the leader of this pack that you want to stick around even afterward? That you want to serve under Heeseung. 

But you knew they didn’t work that way. There wasn’t anyone from the outside that was with them besides __ twin brother, but that’s different. 

Jungwon’s giggles pulled you out of your thoughts. He held his phone in his hands as his thumbs went from zero to a hundred typing a message. 

“What’s funny?” you decide to ask, to clear the silence. 

“__ sent me a cute photo of herself saying she misses me.” He smiled brightly, “I want to return to her as quickly as possible.” 

You couldn’t help but smile at him, “It must be nice to feel love like you guys do.” 

Jungwon slid his phone back into his pocket, his smile growing even wider, “It is. I knew from the moment I met her that she was someone I needed in my life.” 

Your heart cried out for them, “I am so so sorry, Jungwon.” 

He looks at you, confusion written on his face, “For what?”

“For what Dorian has caused,” You tried to hold back your tears, “I was hunting with him that night, and he randomly disappeared, just to come back later talking so much nonsense about a girl he wanted. How she was important to his plan, I encouraged him to find her. I have no idea she was a part of your pack at the time, or else I wouldn’t have said anything.” 

Jungwon looked away from you, his lips between his teeth. He released a sigh before returning his eyes to you, “Don’t apologize for something you have no control over. It’s my fault this mess happened.” 

You narrowed your eyes, fixing to protest when he held a hand up to stop you. 

“I brought __ to the clearing that night,” he took a deep breath, “I could have taken her anywhere else, and I chose that place. Her blood is just…” Jungwon rolled his eyes as if he were in a daze, “The smell of it drove me crazy. The sound of her heart beating. It was all like a drug to me. I wasn’t thinking straight.” 

You could tell how badly Jungwon was beating himself up over what happened. 

You placed a hand on his shoulder, the leader side-eyeing you, “But you still have her,” you consulted him, “She’s alive and breathing because you met her, who knows what would have happened if Dorian got to her first before you did.” 

Jungwon nodded, “I know, and Dorian will pay for even attempting to touch her.” 

Jake suddenly appeared again, “I think we should call it a day,” he placed his hand over his heart, “I need to return to my dhampir.” 

Jungwon checked his watch, “Yeah it’s getting late. The teens should be back from school. Heeseung, Jay, and __ should be returning from the hospital too.” 

—

Another night worth of discussing plans to stop Dorian and find his other hidden locations was an endless circle. 

You and the young vampire told the group about multiple different buildings and compounds that he owned and could be at. 

“Since he knows we are coming for him now,” the maknae girl said, “He’s more than likely going to be moving around between them all.” 

“So it’s a game of catching him at the right place.” Jay groaned into his hands, “Why can’t this ever be easy.” 

Jay’s mate stood behind him, her arms wrapped around him tightly, “We will find him, just keep pushing.” Jay nodded, taking her hands in his. 

The dhampir bit her nails, her brain’s gears moving quickly, “Archer has also been searching the areas and hasn't caught his scent or presence either.” 

You couldn’t help the lack of Heeseung at the table or even in the house. The chair he normally sat in was empty. 

“Where is your king?” You finally spoke. 

Jay glanced over at the empty seat, “He got caught up at the hospital. An emergency surgery got scheduled and he just happened to be the doctor that was there when the patient was rushed in.”

You nodded, still in awe that these vampires were even remotely okay with being in a hospital. 

Jungwon rubbed his temples, “I say let’s call it a night,” he stood from his seat, “Sunghoon, the dhampir, and Sunoo are on search duty tomorrow.” 

Everyone nodded in agreement and made their way to their rooms. 

You woke up in the middle of the night, seeing __ slowly tip-toeing her way across the room. 

You quickly sat up and turned the lamp on, her freezing in place. 

“Sneaking off?” You crossed your arms.

She slowly turned towards you, “Oh no, absolutely not.”

You raised a brow, “You’re literally a seventeen-year-old, what else would you be sneaking out of the room to do?” 

She shrugged her shoulders, “Late night snack?” 

“Get back in bed, __. If you get caught in Niki’s room...” 

“Then guard it for me!” She quickly said, “Stand in the hallway and if you hear any signs that someone is awake, tap the door once and I’ll rush out. Easy!” 

You disagreed, “That sounds like a terrible idea!”

Yet you found yourself sitting on the floor beside Niki’s room. 

His room was only down the hall from yours, so it wasn’t like across the house that you and __ would have to escape to. 

You listened to the giggles coming from the teens. Their whispers talked about their school day and how well soccer was going for Niki.

You couldn’t help but smile, being very happy that __ was able to find happiness outside that damn compound. 

You were so distracted by the teens, you didn’t notice that a bedroom door was opened, and someone was standing in the hallway. 

Not just anyone. Heeseung. 

He didn’t notice you at first. His bare feet tapped against the floor. His shoulder hangs loosely around his hips. The only thing he had on was a towel wrapped around his shoulders. His perfectly toned body is on full display. 

You tried to control your breathing but then remembered everyone in this house was some kind of mythical creature with good ass hearing. 

Heeseung turned and looked at you, his brow raising, “What the hell are you doing on the floor?” he whispered. 

You tried to find the right words to say without giving away what was happening. 

But Heeseung’s eyes darted between you, and the door beside you.  

Heeseung rolled his eyes, carefully making his way towards you. 

You quickly and quietly stood up, placing your hands against his chest, “Shhh!!” you whispered, “Nothing is going on I promise.” 

Heeseung stared down at your hands against his bare chest, then slowly made eye contact with you. 

You realized what was happening, and quickly removed your hands from him, “Sorry,” you said, hushed. 

“What are they doing in there?!” he aggressively whispered.

“Being two kids in love,” you whispered back, “They aren’t doing anything they shouldn’t.” 

Heeseung went to take a step around you, only for you to follow. 

Heeseung smoothly wrapped his arm around your waist, pressing you against the wall without making a sound. 

His free arm lay above your head, the other slowly squeezing your hip. His face inches from yours. 

“Why are you trying to protect them?” he whispered, his eyes scanning your face. 

You laid your head against the wall, “Their lives were taken from them way too soon. Trapped at the same age while the world grows and changes around them. Let them be kids.” 

Heeseung pressed his forehead against yours, his breath hitting your lips, “What is the safe word you two agreed on?”

You rolled your eyes, “You're seriously not going to let them be?” 

“The code, please,” he growled.

You submitted, “Tap the door once.” 

Heeseung released his grip from your waist, lifting away from you, his left arm still above your head, keeping you trapped. 

He barely tapped on the door, it opened a second after.

“Oh…Heeseung…” The young one whispered, the embarrassment on her face. 

Niki groaned in the background, “He’s going to kill me.” 

She looked between Heeseung and you, confusion on her face. 

“Both of you go back to bed,” Heeseung barely said above a whisper.

She nodded, carefully closing Niki’s door and walking down the hallway. 

Heeseung fully moved away from you, shifting his head in the direction of your room. 

You nodded, slowly walking away.

“Y/N,” he whispered to you. You turned and faced him, “All our lives have been taken from us way too soon,” he gripped the towel around his neck, “None of us will get to fully experience life the way we should have.”

You didn’t know what to say, all you knew was he was right. 

“We just have to make the best of it,” was all you could say. 

Heeseung nodded, “I am not mad about tonight. They will find ways to be together. I’m just a protective big brother I assume.” 

You understood where he came from. __ was like a younger sister to you. And after the way she betrayed Niki, you knew Heeseung only was doing the best he could for the younger one. 

“Go to bed your highness,” you teased him, slowly walking down the hallway and into your room. 

Your heart racing at the full realization of the state Heeseung was in. How you touched his bare skin. 

Chills went down your body. 

Heeseung smirked at hearing how fast your heart rate went up. He made his way into the bathroom for a nice shower after his long shift. 

—

You followed behind the elf as she led you to Heeseung’s office. 

She yawned into her hand, saying how busy of a day it’s been already. 

You could only nod. You couldn’t help but feel inferior to the other women in the pack. Mostly because Dorian is the reason why most of them were even put in this spot, to begin with, and since you followed behind him…you were part of the problem. 

Another doctor came up to her, asking for help on a patient, and she immediately accepted. 

“Y/N,” she turned and gave you a big smile, “Doctor Lee’s office is that way,” she pointed down the hall, “It’ll be Doctor Park’s office first and then a few more doors down will be Lee’s.” 

You nodded, watching as she walked back in the opposite direction. 

With a sigh, you continued down the hall. 

You stopped and peeked inside Jay’s office through his door window. His mate sat on his desk with both hands on either side of her. 

She was smiling so wide with him as he pressed his forehead against hers, their nose slightly brushing together. 

You softly smiled, then continued a few doors down to Heeseung’s office. 

Heeseung was typing away at his computer, looking back and forth between some X-ray scans and the computer screen. 

You knocked on the door before opening it, Heeseung slightly glanced up at you and then back at the scans. 

“What brings you here?” He asks, rolling his chair over to his counter, and placing the scans on the backlit wall, the bones from the X-rays becoming more apparent. 

You closed the door behind you, taking a small glance around his office, “Jungwon sent me to get more blood bags.” 

Heeseung groaned, “Shit, I forgot.” He typed something quickly on his computer and stood up, “I will go grab the box. Be right back.” 

With Heeseung gone, you took the time to look more around his office. 

His doctor's license and certificate from graduating sat in one massive frame. 

A few drawings that you assumed were given to him from children he had helped. 

Multiple different pictures hung on the wall. A bunch were of him and the pack. Only one looks recent. Recent as in before the events with Dorian. 

The seven of them looked happy with pure smiles on their faces. It warmed your heart knowing that they were able to smile like that. 

One picture caught your attention. It was a painting. Hung in a really old frame. The painting itself you could easily tell was very old. Yellowish tint from its age shown with some paint in areas peeling. 

Heeseung was in the painting with what looked like his parents and an older sibling. 

The four of them had smiles, but for some reason, it broke your heart. 

You wanted to reach out and touch it but quickly pulled your hand back when the office door opened. 

“Okay,” Heeseung trailed in with a massive box in his hands, “I was only able to fill up one box. I’ll have to bring the other home later.” Heeseung used his foot to kick the door closed. 

He set the box down on the counter, dusting his hands on his black slacks. 

“Sorry it took so long, another doctor walked in—,” Heeseung turned and looked at you, his face growing concerned, “Y/N, what’s wrong?” 

You tilt your head to the side, “Hmm?”

Heeseung walked over to you, “You’re crying.” 

You quickly touched your fingertips to your face, feeling how wet your face was. 

You quickly wiped the tears away, but they kept continuing to fall. 

“Hey hey hey,” he said, his hands removing yours from your face and replacing them with his. His soft palms cupped your face, his thumbs wiping away the tears, “Y/N, what happened?” 

You couldn’t answer, or couldn’t give him an answer. You still didn’t understand why you were crying in the first place. 

Maybe it was the pressure of everything. The events that would unfold once Dorian was found. The fact that none of you could survive after this or everyone would live happily ever after with Dorian gone.

Maybe it was the painting on the wall and the fact that Heeseung was taken from his family. That the man standing in front of you, you were slowly falling for and the thought of him giving up his life for the rest of his pack scared you. Because you knew he would. 

“Y/N,” he called for you again, the tears still falling, “Baby, speak to me what’s wrong?” 

Heeseung lifted your face to look at him, his faded purple hair falling in his face. 

You took a deep breath, “The painting.” You decided to tell some truth. You couldn’t tell him the full reason. 

Heeseung glanced at his family's painting, then back at you, a soft giggle left his lips as he smiled, “Baby, you’re crying over a painting that’s older than time?” 

You rolled your eyes as he continued laughing, “It’s not funny!” 

He wiped the last bit of your tears, “What makes it not funny?” 

You just looked at him, trying to get him to read your answer off your face. 

“Y/N,” Heeseung sighed, “I am okay,” he cupped your face firmly, “My family is my pack now. I am not alone. If that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Heeseung could tell you weren’t telling him the full truth. But what place did he have to force you to tell him? To open up to him? And not open up just because he’s the king, but because you want to. 

But all you did was nod at him. Trying to push the rest of the feelings away. 

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Wait did you call me baby…twice?” 

Heeseung giggled, giving a small smirk, “Yeah I guess I did.” 

Without a second of hesitation, Heeseung’s lips were attached to yours. 

It was just one passionate kiss, and he parted from you. 

Heeseung dropped his hands and took a few steps back, “I uhhh…” 

You were more in shock than Heeseung was. 

As if on cue, the intercom speakers paged for Heeseung to go to the nurses' station. 

“Saved by the bell…” He awkwardly chuckled, slowly walking backward and out of his office. 

Heeseung quickly closed the door behind him, leaning against it as he stared straight ahead. 

What did he just do? Nothing has ever choked Heeseung up like what he just did. He’s a fucking king for crying out loud. 

Heeseung patted his face a couple of times, before walking to the nurses station. 

—

The house was silent. Heeseung could hear the tectonic plates of the earth moving from how quiet the house was. 

He tossed and turned in his bed, the only thing on his mind was you and the way your lips felt against his. 

He wanted to go to you. To bring you close to him and hold you tenderly in his arms. 

God, he hated the string of fate. He hated to be put in this situation, to begin with. He knew this pull towards you was his fate, but it was a question of when the string would just knot if it even would. 

Heeseung couldn’t take it anymore, his mind was driving him insane. 

He sat up in bed, ready to bolt out of his room when you opened the door. 

Heeseung sat frozen, watching as you slowly closed the door behind you. 

“Couldn’t sleep either?” you asked. 

Heeseung shook his head, sitting up more.

You couldn’t stop thinking about him, or the way he held your face and kissed you. It’s been driving your brain wild. 

You wanted to know what it would feel like to be completely held by him. To have his lips connect to yours and not stop. To feel his hands on you…

And the look on Heeseung’s face, you knew he was thinking the same thing. He could read you just as easily as you were able to read him right now. 

“Oh fuck,” he whispered, quickly jumping off his bed. 

He was on you within seconds, his body completely pressed to you as your back hit the door. 

Heeseung couldn’t put his lips on you fast enough. 

Your hands pulled through his hair as his hands roamed your body. 

His lips parted from yours only long enough to pull you on top of him on his bed. 

You stripped each other of your clothes one by one until it was bare skin against skin. 

You gripped his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around your waist as you moved against him. 

His sweet moans filled your ears, “Fuck…fuck…Y/N, oh fuck me.” 

Sex with Heeseung was pure bliss. Even once you both collapsed beside each other after you’ve both finished, it still felt like you were on cloud nine. 

You rolled over onto your stomach, propping your head into your hands. 

Heeseung followed your movements, lifting himself on his elbows. 

He pulled a lock of your hair behind your ear, then slowly traced his thumb over the scar he gave you from his blade. 

“I am so sorry for this…” he whispered. Heeseung couldn’t even begin to describe how terrible he felt marking you like this. 

You noticed an old mirror on the wall across from his bed, you tilted your head to the side, getting a better look at the scars. 

“Don’t worry about it.” You said shrugging it off. 

“No, I can’t just not worry about it!” He snapped, “I’ll have our magic girls fix it in the morning.”

“Heeseung,” you said, taking his hands in yours, “It’s fine. You did this out of desperation to protect your family.” You looked deeply into his eyes, seeing the worry in them, “You have a family to protect. You have your title as king to protect. I do not blame you at all for doing what you had to.” 

Heeseung looked away from you, tangling his fingers around yours, “It doesn’t excuse the fact that I did it.” 

“Stop beating yourself up, okay?” 

Heeseung just nodded. It was all he COULD do. He knew you weren’t going to let the girls heal the scar. 

Heeseung grabbed the blanket and pulled it over your bodies, “You’re so beautiful, you know that?” 

You scoffed and softly giggled, “I never thought I’d hear those words, you went from hating me to hating me a lot less.” 

Heeseung smiled, “We can call it hating you less.” 

You stared at him, your eyes moving over every inch of his face. You would have never thought this sweet, caring man in front of you was the vampire king. 

“Will you tell me how you became king?” 

Heeseung’s smile faded, “It’s…a long story.” 

“We have time. We are undead after all, stuck in eternity.” 

Heeseung sighed, “Well, long story short,” he started, “It was just Jay and myself at the time. Before we officially became a pack, we ran with the previous king.”

You nodded, waiting for him to continue. 

“He was a very…terrible person.” Heeseung’s whole body shook at the memories, “He treated us all like shit. He’s the one who nearly killed Jay and me. Deciding at the last second he wanted more warriors in his rank.” he took a deep breath, steadying his heart race, “It wasn’t until we traveled to Australia and found Jake, that it was the final straw for me.”

You put your hand on his shoulder, rubbing circles around his collarbone with your thumb. 

“He didn’t just turn Jake, there was an abundance of people he nearly killed just to add to his army. And all the women he turned he…”  

Heeseung didn’t need to finish the sentence for you to understand what he was getting at. 

“Anyways, there was a woman I was close with and the king…” Heeseung took another deep breath, “He killed her for disobeying him. I was filled with so much rage, I prepared for weeks on how I would kill him and then I did.” 

Heeseung stared at himself in the mirror, remembering the blood that covered his body. The power he inherited once the king’s undead heart stopped beating and was burned by fire. 

He remembers seeing his golden eyes for the first time, and how sharper his fangs were. 

“After that, I took the king's oath. Had some weapons forged in my honor, and then Jay, Jake, and I fled. We haven’t returned and that was the moment I decided to become a doctor. I wanted to put some good back into the world and show that not all vampires are monsters.” 

You met his eyes in the mirror, “That’s why you all drink from bags.”

Heeseung nodded, staring back into your eyes from his mirror. 

The way you two were both lying, the way your heartbeats synced and matched. 

“It’s like you’re my mirror,” Heeseung finally spoke again.

“What?” You asked, confused. 

“It’s like you’re my mirror,” he repeated, “I look at you and I see my reflection…I see us.” 

The both of you could feel the string of fate tying tighter around you, but still not knotting. 

Heeseung knew something was stopping the knot from completing. But he would wait for eternity if that’s what it took for you to become his mate…his queen. 

“I feel it too, you know.” you whispered, “This pull…” 

Heeseung shushed you, touching his forehead to yours, “We will figure it out, okay?” 

You nodded, trusting your king. 

He went to press a kiss to your lips, but his bedroom door flew open. 

“Hyung we, OH MY GOD!” 

Heeseung quickly covered you completely with the blanket, hiding you underneath. 

“Sunghoon!” the king frowned, “Don’t you know what fucking knocking is!” 

Sunghoon held his hands up over his face and stared off into a corner on the other side of the room, “Jesus fucking Christ, I didn’t know she was still in here.” 

“Still??” you questioned. 

“The whole house fucking heard you two!” Sunghoon retorted, “Anyways, Archer just called __, we found where Dorian is.” 

—

Heeseung slid two silver daggers to his belt loop attachments and pulled his black trench coat over his body. 

Jay laid out a map on the table, circling the area where Archer found him.

“Archer said he saw him entering from that side of the woods,” The dhampir pointed, “Archer said he also had roughly ten other vampires with him.” 

Jungwon stared down at the map, eyes wide. 

“Hyung, what’s wrong?” Niki asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s the place he attacked __ and me that night,” Jungwon’s fist balled tightly, “He’s going back to where it all started.” 

Sunoo looks at Jungwon confused, “What need would he have to go back there?!” 

“It’s because of the clearing,” you said, everyone’s eyes now on you, “The moonlight hits it directly, and on a full moon which is right now…” 

“Our powers are amplified.” Jake sighed. 

“Exactly,” you continued, “And since he has spells and other magic items to amplify it even more…”

“He’d be unstoppable.” Sunghoon groaned, “That’s fucking perfect.” 

“It’s also a trap,” the dhampir chimed in, “We are the strongest pack in the world, mostly because of the fact we have the fucking vampire king, but we have multiple different races of creatures with different abilities.”

“Dorian knew we would narrow it down,” Heeseung said through his teeth, “He’s going to lure us there and use every bit of magic and item he has in his deck of cards to kill us all and inherit our power.” 

“He still doesn’t know you’re the king, right?” Jay asked. 

Heeseung shook his head, “No. We never told a soul after I killed the previous king. I took the oath and the ones who stand under the oath can’t say a word.”

You started to get worried because if things went south, Dorian would be hitting two birds with one stone. This pack and the king. 

Jungwon gritted his teeth, “Who gives a shit what he has up his sleeves, we have what he doesn’t: a family. Finish preparing everything and we leave ASAP.” 

Heeseung agreed, “The humans are staying here, are we all in agreement?” 

Jungwon and Jay’s mates disagreed, but the men agreed. 

Jay held his mate against him, his hands cupping her face, “I can’t lose you, you’re staying here.” 

Jungwon held his mate tight against him, “I’ll return to you, I promise.” 

Everyone finished the preparations and started to head out. 

Heeseung took your hand in his, “Ready to kill that son of a bitch?” 

You squeezed his hand, “More than ready.” 

—

Dorian’s laughter filled the clearing as he sensed the pack coming closer. 

Jungwon made his presence known first. 

“Dorian.”

“Ah! Won! We meet here again.”

Jungwon walked off towards the side of the clearing, “Yeah shit crazy. A full circle.” 

“Where is your pack? Hmm?” Dorian looked around the woods, “I know they are here.” 

Jungwon chuckled, “They are doing the same thing your goof nuts are doing, scouting.” 

Dorian raised a brow, “Goof nuts? Really Won?” 

Jungwon shrugged, “We aren’t stupid like you thought we would be. Flying into here blind.” 

Dorian laughed once again, “Except you did come in blind.” 

Jungwon furrowed his brows, watching as Dorian snapped his fingers. 

A rush of vampires came down from the trees. Jungwon counted more than twenty. 

“Damnit!” growled, “He had more than Archer thought.” 

Jungwon steadied himself, trusting the process. 

Before the vampires could even touch Jungwon, the other members circled him, their weapons drawn. 

Dorian’s vampires jumped back, hissing at the pack. 

You jumped in front of Jungwon, staring directly at Dorian, your blades held up. 

“Now my vamps,” Dorian softly spoke, “You got startled by eight full-blooded vampires, a dhampir, witch, and elf? That’s…”

Dorian’s eyes wandered between you all. 

You smirked, “What’s wrong, Dorian?”

He stared back with the most pissed-off look, “Where is the oldest?” 

“Right here.” 

Dorian quickly turned around right in time for Heeseung swinging his blade, Dorian backed up and Heeseung barely cut him across his chest. 

Dorian’s hands flew to his chest as smoke raised from his chest, “God damn your blades.” He hissed. 

Heeseung twirled the blades between his fingers, “Let’s end this game of yours, shall we? It’s been going on way too long.” 

“Oh it has, and it’ll end with your bodies burning!” 

“GO NOW!” Jungwon screamed, initiating the pack to fight. 

One by one, the pack took down Dorian’s vampires. 

The witch and elf set their hands in a blaze to burn their bodies. 

But the fight with Dorian wasn’t over. 

Heeseung hasn’t fought like this since he killed the previous king. 

Dorian was also on another level than the king. Dorian had spells that he was throwing at Heeseung. Items that were helping boost the spells. 

He also was moving too quickly, making it harder for Heeseung to get any major damage done. 

Sunghoon and Jake jumped the last of Dorian’s vampires, tearing their bodies to pieces. 

“Hex girl!” Sunghoon called his mate. 

She responded with flames to burn the body. 

You looked over at Heeseung and Dorian, seeing the struggle. 

“Guys!” You called to the pack, “Get Dorian!” 

Everyone rushed him. 

Every single one of them had some sort of revenge to get towards him. 

Dorian has threatened the lives of their mates and their family. They weren’t going to let him get away. 

Each member took turns attacking, Heeseung following up every single time. 

You saw an opening behind Dorian and jumped on his back. 

“You fucking traitor!” Dorian yelled, desperately clawing at your arms and dodging the members. 

You fought against his arms to angle your blades at him, “Me? The traitor?! You left me for dead! I worshiped the ground you walked on and stood by your side for hundreds of years!”

Dorian wore a shit-eating grin, “I’m going to fucking kill you all. 

Heeseung’s eyes widened, “EVERYONE GET BACK!” 

Dorian released a burst of energy from his body, catching everyone in the blast in some way. 

Heeseung’s arms burned from the blast. He gritted his teeth, only for his face to fall. 

Dorian held you by your neck, one of your blades shoved into your stomach as your skin also burned from the impact of the blast. 

Heeseung’s breathing became uneven, rage filling him. 

Dorian glances over, “Oh my,” he chuckled, “You’re in love with this traitor here?” 

Heeseung gripped his blades. 

“Hyung!” Jungwon called for him.

But Heeseung toned him out. The only thing he could see was you. 

You slowly clawed at Dorian’s hands, getting lightheaded from the blood you were losing 

Heeseung started to build up his power, causing his brothers to yell at him even more. 

“Heeseung!!” Jay screamed, “Don’t do it!” 

“Heeseung!!” Jake joined. 

One by one each of his pack members yelled for him. 

Heeseung drew in the power he inherited from killing the previous king. 

Heeseung’s fangs came to a point, and his eyes shifted. 

Dorian’s eyes widened as he dropped you to the ground. 

“Oh, this is fantastic!” Dorian wore an evil smile, “This whole time I was hunting for where the king could be hiding, just for him to have been in front of me all along!” 

“__, __,” Heeseung called to the witch and elf, “Get Y/N.” 

Dorian paid no attention to the girls picking you up from the ground and dragging you back to the others. 

Jay kneeled beside you, slightly pulling at the blade stuck in your stomach. 

You let out a small groan of pain, you started kicking and swinging your arms, and Jay stopped moving the blade. Niki and __ holding your arms and legs down.  

“Fuck!” He cursed, his focus going back to Heeseung. 

“Jay!” The witch snapped her fingers at him, “Hey! Focus on Y/N.” 

Jay narrowed his eyes between the witch and you, “You want me to choose between my brother and someone who ain’t even in my pack?!” 

Jake touched Jay’s shoulder, “They are bonded, I can feel it. The string just isn’t knotted.” 

“I can feel it too,” Niki said, “It’s faint but it’s there.” 

“Don’t you fucking let her die!” Heeseung cried out, slowly standing back up to his feet, his knuckles white from gripping his blades. 

“Jay, __ and myself will provide the numbing magic so you can pull the blade out,” The witch said. 

He nodded, the girls hovering over you as Jay slowly attempted to remove the blade. 

You turned your head to Heeseung, your vision blurring. 

“Why don’t you just die already, ya?” Dorian asked, “Give me the power that I deserve.” 

Heeseung held his blades at eye level, “Only thing you deserve is to rot in fucking hell.” 

Dorian cracked his knuckles and ran full force at Heeseung. 

Heeseung pushed forward, pushing his speed past its normal limits. 

He swung the blade, cutting Dorian’s right hand off. 

“Damnit!” Dorian screamed and pushed forward again. 

Heeseung dodged him, sliding across the grass and slicing his Achilles heels. 

Dorian went down to one knee. His fangs made an appearance as he held his only hand over where the other would be missing. 

Sunoo and Jake appeared on both sides of Dorian, grabbing his arms as the dhampir pulled his head back by his hair. 

Jungwon and Sunghoon stood beside Heeseung. 

All their eyes glowed bright crimson and golden. 

Dorian laughed, “You think killing me will be the end? That the rest of my followers won’t come after you now that you’ve shown who you truly are?” 

You regained your consciousness, feeling the pain from the blade that was now missing. 

Jay held pressure to your stomach, as the witch and elf used their healing magic. 

“It’s working,” the elf said, “She’s awake again.” 

Jay slowly lifted his hands, seeing your wound closing up. 

Jay relaxed, looking back over at his brothers. 

You rolled your head over to Heeseung, seeing how they surrounded Dorian. 

“I don’t give a shit who knows who I am.” Heeseung hisses, placing both blades against Dorian’s neck, “I am the fucking vampire king in the strongest pack in the world, no one will dare cross me.” 

Dorian regained his shit-eating grin, “I’ll see you in hell, vampire king.” 

Sunoo and Jake wasted no more time, tearing his arms from his body. 

Jungwon and Sunghoon went for his legs, breaking them apart. 

The dhampir held her grip tightly on Dorian’s hair as he screamed in agony. 

Heeseung, with all his force, pushed his blades through Dorian’s neck, cutting it clean off his body. His blood splattered all over Heeseung’s face and clothes. 

“Babe!” Sunghoon called for his witch, her rushing to his side, her hands bursting into flames and setting Dorian’s body on fire. 

The sun finally rose, and the clearing became quiet except for the sounds of the fire. 

You were able to fully sit up, with the help of Jay and the elf. 

Heeseung hung his head low, slowly placing his blades back into his belt. 

It was over. It was finally over. 

“Heeseung!” You called out to him. 

He loved the way you’d say his name. 

He quickly rushed to your side, helping you stand up. 

“Are you okay? Baby?” Heeseung cupped your face, searching for any more wounds. 

“Hee, I am fine.” You said placing your hands over his, “It’s all over.” 

Tears filled your eyes, and the same did with Heeseung’s. He killed the man who had hunted and hurt his family. 

Heeseung pulled you into a kiss, his arms wrapping tightly around you. 

The string of fate finally completed its knot. 

“It’s because of Dorian,” the young vampire girl said, “He had this hold on them, it was complicating the bond.” 

The witch agreed, “Heeseung and Y/N, probably couldn’t fully let themselves have someone until their duties were done.”

Sunghoon raised his brows, “Do you feel that?” 

The members at that moment felt it. 

Heeseung released his lips from yours, turning to look at his pack.  

You also turned to look and the site surprised you. 

They all were kneeling, heads hung low but in an honoring way. Even the witch and the elf copied the men. 

“What’s going on?” You asked, looking back up at Heeseung. 

He took your chin between his fingers, “You’re my mate now, but it’s not just that. You’re now a queen.” 

You looked back out at your new family, feeling the bonds everyone shared. The respect they now held for you, and it wasn’t just because of Heeseung or that you’re bonded to them now. 

“Okay you idiots, stand up. Jeez, nothing has changed.” Heeseung teased, running over to his brothers, all seven of them huddling together. 

The happiness Heeseung was feeling was indescribable. 

He could finally truly be who he wanted, not just as himself, but as a doctor and even a king. 

Heeseung had a family. He had you. 

And that’s all that mattered in the end. 

“Let’s go home now.” Heeseung said, “We no longer have to live in complete hiding.” 

Heeseung wrapped his arms around you as you all walked together home.

the end ♡

a/n: thank you so much to every single one of you who has inspired me to continue writing this series and who have stuck around since the beginning of this series. I am forever grateful to everyone who has read, liked and reblogged. I hope everyone looks forward to the imagines I have planned for the future. This series is dedicated to you all! <3