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polarisbibliotheque · 5 months ago

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Vergil and his s/o training together

Or Vergil and his s/o spar for foreplay fun!

Pairing: Vergil x Reader

Summary: With your sword recently broken, Vergil gave you a new devil arm to get used to. He is also your mentor when it comes to fighting - but being his lover doesn't mean he's going to go easy on you. Quite the contrary.

Restrictions: None, BUT I should tell you: lots of sexual tension in this one. What can I say, Vergil is a weird guy, sparring with his lover does things to him. Nothing explicit though, you know how I roll. Also, reader gets bruises from training/sparring. He's rough and doesn't hold back, I mentioned it before I think Vergil has this "only the strong survive" mentality, and I do think he gets ruthless as a sign of respect for his lover's abilities rather than anything else.

Author's Notes: I blame @yanderebishforlevi for this one after they dropped an ask I just answered :) I'm focusing on the Halloween specials, but that made me go through my unfinished, discarded, short stuff on limbo and rehash/put it together to post something new here.

Simple stuff, not really much of a story, just some training with sexy, bared arms, ruthless, emotionally constipated man. That's why I never thought about posting, it felt like it was missing something a plot so I was going to put it in Nemesis but, oh well. Hope you guys like it xD

“We’re done for today.”

Vergil’s words sounded final, as he lowered the Yamato after a devastating blow that had you tumbling back and struggling to fall on your knees – scraping them in a way you would have some bruises to display for a couple of days at least.

“Given it’s my training session, love…” You growled while pulling yourself back on your feet, using your sword as a crutch for help. Vergil observed you with those cutting silvery eyes, almost as if questioning your resolve to pull yourself up. Again. “I say when we are done. And I am not done.”

“You are being terribly stubborn, that is.” Vergil had Yamato back in its sheath, arms crossed while curiously watching you take your coat off, having only your training clothes underneath.

“Well, at least we got that in common, Dark Slayer.” You carefully watched as Vergil mirrored you and took off his own long coat, leaving his arms bare for the first time that night. He only did that when he was about to get rough during training – and you had to huff a laugh. “I’m only standing down when I master this damned sword, and apparently I’m not even close to that.”

“You are closer than you were when we started.” He took a deep breath, already choosing a fighting stance since you were doing the same – walking slowly in a circle, observing him with a pair of predatorial eyes. Vergil was used to be under that scrutiny around demons, but when it came to your eyes, they were threatening… And bewitching.

“And I would be even closer, if you hadn’t been cheating this whole time.” You narrowed your eyes, allowing a smirk color the corner of your lips as Vergil froze in place – you could even bet he stopped breathing for a fraction of a second.

“Cheating…?” His voice was dangerously low, words alarmingly taking their time, savoring every syllable of that little word. You knew you had struck a nerve – but, in your defense, Vergil had been striking your nerves ever since you started training a few hours prior.

It had been a couple of weeks you had a new sword in your inventory: big, heavy, resembling a claymore. Dante and Vergil had killed one particularly powerful demon that ended up becoming the sword now in your hands: brimming with demonic power, ready to be wielded to bring doom to its enemies. You had your previous sword broken into shards while protecting Nero during one of your jobs – a story for another time – and Vergil thought the claymore of sorts would be a nice replacement.

A new weapon, though, meant a lot of new things: new grip, new balance, new weight, new powers… So much to master, but you had to learn soon in order to keep up with your devil hunter job. Halloween was approaching and, given how chaotic the last few years were, you had to at least master the basics soon enough.

Vergil, being the thoughtful partner and lover of knowledge that he was, offered to help you train and master your new sword – all his arcane teachings would surely come in handy when dealing with a devil arm.

You had a problem, though. Learning and mastering things on your own was almost a given, and you always expected to do it at your pace – meaning, you didn’t have much patience to not be at least good and easily fighting after a few hours of practice. With a mentor like Vergil, though, that process was taking double the time.

He was relentless. You being his lover just meant he would go twice as hard on you – in his dictionary, it probably meant how much he adored you; but in your dictionary, you were absolutely and infinitely vexed that, by now, you hadn’t been able to at least get to a tie with him.

And that was something you always proudly said you could do.

“Yes. Cheating.” You held your sword with only one hand, throwing it behind your body and having your eyes fixed on your lover. That way, when you or him decided to attack, you could use all your strength to lunge forward. “You got exponentially worse every time I lost and got back on my feet again; you haven’t made it easier nor remained with the same level of fighting from the beginning. You are making it more difficult for me. If you hadn’t, I would’ve already had my sword on your throat by now.”

“Tsk.” You smiled as Vergil finally had that nonchalant attitude, but his eyes burned like the coldest circles of Hell. With a swift move, he unsheathed the Yamato and attacked you – as you had already prepared before, you threw your sword forward, immediately able to parry. He quickly tried another attack, but you managed to grip your sword with both of your hands and hold him back. You found Vergil’s silvery eyes staring at you sharply between the blades of your swords. “Don’t expect demons to have mercy just because the sight of you eclipses even the moon herself.”

“If we weren’t sparring, I’d take that as a compliment.” You had a small laugh hidden amidst your words, clearly seeing the shadow of a smile Vergil tried to conceal before he pushed you back with only half of his might – still having you stumble back and use whatever energy you had left to keep your body balanced.

“Your human body won’t be able to take it for too long.” And even if Vergil was trying to convince you to stand down, he still circled you, keeping his own predatorial gaze on your form and tense shoulders to quickly get into a fighting stance. You weren’t one easy to convince when you had your mind set on something, that he had to admit. “We should call it a day and tend your wounds. Your body doesn’t have the same resilience a devil’s body has.”

“I would have a lot more if you hadn’t been ruthless with me, love.” You pointed at some slight marks on your body – nothing too jarring, but still making an appearance here and there. “These bruises are on you.”

With those words, it was your turn to lunge forward and attack first. Vergil easily defended with a swift move from Yamato, trying an attack right after. You managed to defend as well, holding him still for a few seconds.

“They will make you stronger.” Were the only words he managed to answer before you attacked again. Vergil seemed to fight effortlessly, while you had to muster all your strength to wield your new sword – Vergil was right to say your body wouldn’t last for too long: you were already tired, thanks to his training, but your pride wouldn’t allow you to back down. And he knew that.

Even if Vergil worried about your stamina, he couldn’t deny how much he admired – and had a pang of pride in his own heart – every time you displayed that much willpower.

With a calculated attack to disarm you, Vergil was certain your playing would come to an end and he would have the final word on that argument – he did not expect, though, a graceful move from your side, spinning such a heavy sword in one of your hands and making it face down, coming between you and him and completely breaking his stance, foiling Vergil’s attempt to end your resolve.

You quickly threw your sword a little on the air in front of you in order to let go from the grip and hold the blade itself – strong enough to be able to wield it, but careful not to hurt yourself in the process – which gave you the perfect opportunity to spin around him and smack the hilt of your sword on his back.

Vergil slowly turned his head around, still impressed by your swift move after being so tired, only to find you with a smug smile on your lips.

“It will make you stronger.” You pointed at him with the hilt of your sword, throwing it slightly in the air again so you could grab the hilt with one hand and then another.

Vergil kept his back at you, calmly walking to the other side of the room so you could take your initial stances again – but this time you saw him shaking his head and heard a low chuckle coming from him.

Vergil was a survivor, one that lived the law of the jungle for so long that sparring and teasing his partner was one of the best ways to entertain him. To say you were both having fun was an understatement.

“Apparently, I haven’t been ruthless enough with you.” He turned around, holding Yamato’s hilt with both of his hands. You had to hold back a smile – that was one of his stances that usually meant Vergil was starting to lose his patience and considering going all out.

And that usually happened when he recognized you were starting to get the upper hand – which meant he saw your playful sword smack as a sign you were starting to get the hang of things.

After all, you only did that sort of thing with your old sword. Comparing to the way you both used to spar, he was going considerably easier on you tonight.

“Let’s remedy that.” His voice was almost a growl as his feet moved like lightning on the floor.

You had to put all your concentration in that fight – your eyes never leaving the Yamato, quickly finding the blade in the air from its shimmer and parrying with your heavy claymore. Using your weight, you pushed Vergil back – which only worked because he saw it as an opportunity to power another heavy attack to try to get you off-balance. You stumbled a little, but quickly gained your balance once more, holding back another quick attack from your lover – something quite frustrating for him, as you observed in his furrowed brows.

Even if he wasn’t going easy on you, it was the first time Vergil was tapping into some of his demonic abilities – strength, speed and power, for starters – and you took that as a compliment. If he wasn’t going to cut you some slack, he could at least fight you the same way he always did – and Vergil never really held back when fighting you.

As he said before, it would only make you stronger. And that was why you could easily fight some of the most frightening demons of Hell without even breaking a sweat.

Vergil didn’t take long to attack you again. He had that look in his eyes he only used when he was hunting, leaving no room for mercy. You held your sword in a vertical position right in front of you, having the Yamato hit the flat blade of your claymore with enough power to have you and Vergil recoil a little from the impact.

Thankfully, your sword was sturdy enough to take a powerful blow from a legendary blade and its less than formidable wielder and not shatter. That was something you would remember later, for now Vergil attacked again and you defended, holding back a series of lightning quick attacks that required all your attention, strength and speed – as well as both of your hands holding your new sword in order to be able to avoid all of the attacks.

As expected, though, you hadn’t mastered your claymore yet. Your grip faltered in one of your hands, and Vergil’s predator eyes were quick enough to notice that and see a window of opportunity. Spinning the Yamato on his hand, Vergil gripped its hilt and used the butt-end to hit your hands and make you lose your grip on your sword.

As you tried to recover without losing too much of your stance, Vergil took the chance to spin around you – as you did before with him – and use the sheath of the Yamato to smack your back. A bit lower, and he would’ve smacked your ass – at least, he allowed you to keep a little of your pride, as you allowed him when you chose not to do that as well.

You immediately leaned the tip of your sword on the floor, side-eyeing your lover – only to find him with his head held high, that convinced expression he would always wear whenever he had the upper hand, along with a ghost of a smile you knew very well.

“Shall we continue…?” His words were crowned with his usual slight tinge of arrogance, as you turned around and adjusted your grip around the hilt of your sword. “Or will you finally yield and allow me to take care of those wounds?”

“As my lover, you should know, Vergil…” You sighed and snapped your neck from side to side, getting back into position to fight. He had to raise one of his eyebrows, ever so impressed with your resilience. “I do not yield.”

His only answer was a smile before your powerful attack, holding you back with the Yamato still sheathed, using one of his feet behind his body as an anchor so he wouldn’t fall over. Even in his wildest dreams, Vergil could never had imagined he would find someone who would give such flawless answers. Yes, he wanted to care for you. But how could he deny the fire he saw in you when you said such things? It was the same fire that kept him alive for so many years; the same fire that made him get back on his feet even when defeat was certain, when all hope was lost, and only death and blood were expected. The same fire that made Vergil defy all odds and save himself, over and over again.

He didn’t know how he had found you neither how he could deserve you, but he did hope you remained for as long as he could have you.

With another attack, he took the opportunity to unsheathe his sword, using both the blade and the sheath to defend himself from a string of attacks as ruthless as those he had attacked you before. You didn’t see an opportunity, but you knew Vergil relied on a few tricks up his metaphorical sleeves, so you acted quickly to do the same he did before – and with the hilt of your claymore, you weakened his grip on the sheath, quickly spinning your sword and hitting it with all your might, making the blue sheath fly across the training ground. Vergil immediately held Yamato’s grip with both of his hands, trying not to let his surprise show on his face.

You could see it in his silvery eyes, though. You already knew how to expertly access them, to find Vergil’s emotions underneath the icy façade he used to wear. You had an advantage that made your heart swell and bolstered your resolve – and that Vergil was also able to read in your eyes. He fought back, putting a little more of his strength and power into a few riposte attacks, stopping your advances and making you fall a few steps back.

It wouldn’t be fair if he started using his demonic might when your body was almost giving out – but Vergil had to recognize you were lasting a lot longer than he expected. He thought, by now, your physical body wouldn’t be able to keep going, completely unrelated to your willpower. But there you were, proving him wrong – and making him fall even more in love with you, if that was even possible.

Your hands trembled a bit, though. You kept your eyes locked in his, reading his every move, his every emotion – and Vergil did the same, as if your fight didn’t rely on your swords anymore. As he got ready for another devastating attack, your sword found his in the air and, spinning your blades together, you brought them down with a flick of your wrist, having them rest together a few inches inside the ground.

You turned your back for a few seconds to catch your breath, pain starting to ebb through your arms. Vergil took some steps back in amazement, since that move was a first: you had never taken a break from a fight by disarming him as well as yourself, even if for a few seconds; you only asked with words and it usually took a few minutes. He observed you carefully – part of him reading if your body was going to give out and part of him reading if you would jump on him unexpectedly. Vergil didn’t know what to expect, but he could feel his blood tingling at his fingertips, ready to take action with whatever it is that you had for him.

After a few seconds, you immediately turned around, locking your hands around the grip of your sword once more and lifting it from the ground. Vergil couldn’t believe you still wanted to fight – and even win – but mirrored your speed and had Yamato back in his grip once more.

A few more attacks. He could see your hands trembling. A few more steps. He could hear your shaking breaths. A few more swift moves. He could see the relentless fire inside your eyes.

Vergil didn’t make it easier because of your crumbling endurance – if you broke, it would serve as a lesson on assessing your own energy and how far you could go. As you knew right from the start, Vergil wasn’t a forgiving mentor and would push you to your limit – he didn’t exactly expect you would do the same thing with yourself as he did to himself in order to improve his fighting to perfection.

A flick of his wrist. A powerful move from your hands. You found yourselves drenched in sweat, in the middle of your training space, the Yamato touching your neck, and your claymore touching the skin on Vergil’s throat.

You had your eyes locked into his silvery gaze, the gleaming blades of your swords ignored as the only thing that dictated that fight was your willpower – yours and Vergil’s. As you looked into each other’s reflections, you stated something you didn’t have to say out loud to be understood: neither of you would ever yield.

As that knowing reached Vergil’s heart, that was only one thing he could really do – something his logical mind and demonic pride could never fathom as the proper response to that situation, but his human heart burned to have him do it. His free hand cupped your face, pulling you into an immediate kiss.

When your lips found his, you used your free hand to anchor yourself in place by holding the back of his neck, pulling Vergil towards you. It was a kiss that burned with the very same fire he saw in your eyes, the one he mirrored in his soul and rarely let out as something other than willpower to keep on surviving. That fire was a will to live, a will to keep going, a will for life… A lust to experience, to burn bright and intensely, to take everything existence had to offer. A lust you could only safely explore with each other, not having to channel that only into surviving, but also into living life as it should be lived.

One of the things Vergil would always tell you, was to never let your guard down. You could be calm and collected, apparently unprepared, but always aware of your surroundings – and ready to kill at every waking moment.

Anything could be a distraction, anything could be a weakness. Being that close to you, in the middle of a fight, with that whirlwind of emotions stirring like a lightning storm that had to have its energy released somehow… Even if you had your sword still in one of your hands as he had Yamato in his, your blades were lowered - you had your grip almost letting go, ready to forget it on the floor.

You had your guard down.

“A demon would have killed you by now.” Vergil’s voice was but a rough whisper as he broke the kiss, his lips barely away from yours, hot breath still ghosting on your skin.

“A demon wouldn’t have kissed me.”

Both of your swords found the floor in unison, as your hands found each other with your lips locking in another breathless kiss.

Fortunately, you were both imperfectly human.

#devil may cry #devil may cry imagine #dmc #dmc imagine #vergil x reader #vergil imagine #devil may cry fanfiction #dmc fanfiction #dmc vergil #vergil sparda #I'm 99% sure sparring works as foreplay for Vergil when it's against his s/o #the other 1% is just actual training and focus #again no plot #only vibes #half of me is wanting to beat the shit out of him #and the other half is wanting to kiss the hell out of him #so why not both?

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hyunjinners · 1 year ago

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✧:･ﾟRunaway → Stray Kids headcanons˚₊· ꒰🌿꒱

꒰ 命 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘 ꒱┊During a serious argument he attacks you, raising his voice with hurtful words.

꒰ 命 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 ꒱┊hyung line x fem!reader

꒰ 命 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐑𝐄 ꒱┊angst, sad, established relationship, fights.

꒰ 命 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 ꒱┊possible trigger, fight, offensive words (maybe swearing? idk)

꒰ 命 𝐖.𝐂 ꒱┊2,3k (I got a little carried away ;)

꒰ 命 𝐀/𝐍 ꒱┊I really love sad themes, I think it makes me immerse myself in the story in a cool way. Remembering that these are just fictitious situations and that nothing in this chapter matches reality, in other words, just an imaginary scenario created by a fan, nothing is linked to the boys' real attitudes or personalities! Hope you like it, Remembering that English is not my first language, I apologize in advance for any grammatical and/or spelling errors. Have a good read! feedbacks are welcome. 🤍

⊹₊˚ʚ❛masterlist❜ɞ

𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍 ¡!

You two are definitely what people identify as the perfect couple, always understanding and understanding each other, But that doesn't mean you don't have your differences. You guys don't really like to fight, usually just silly fights or small vows of silence that are eliminated at the end of the day with a warm hug and kisses with vows of love. Chan wasn't one to raise his voice and neither were you, but perhaps due to the stress of the day, this discussion became loud and noisy.

You just wanted to spend time with him, as you were busy with your work throughout the week and barely got to see each other, but he just tried to explain how much he needed to finish reviewing some tracks and that he was too tired to do that. You rebutted tiresome arguments until he simply exploded at you, "CAN YOU PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE? SHIT! I just want you out of here, can't you see that I never wanted you here?" He shouted at you and you remained static in your place. Your eyes widen and you can't swallow the lump that forms in your throat. You couldn't speak, in pure shock and, as incredible as it may seem, he was no different. Regret and worry fill his chest in an overwhelming way instantly and he feels nothing short of guilty.

He opened his mouth, stammering failed attempts at an apology, his eyes glistening with tears that matched yours, that overflowed and ran down his face. Chan's heart sank as he realized that the cause behind your tears was him, wishing you would realize that he didn't really mean it. "...all good. I'll leave you alone, if that's what you want." You spoke softly, unable and tired of debating with him. "No- love…I'm sorry, I- that's not what I meant, please…" He whispered, trying to get to you, but it was too late. You were leaving his apartment with a broken heart and a new insecurity hanging over you, wondering if during your relationship he had thoughts like this, if he felt uncomfortable with your presence. It could have been a misunderstood mistake for Chan, words spoken without thinking that he bitterly regrets, but for you, it was a new milestone in your relationship.

𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 ¡!

Your relationship from the outside has always seemed a little strange. Minho is not the type to show affection in public and loves to make jokes to annoy you, but you know he means nothing and you know he respects and loves you above all else, so you never really cared about it, always taking it in stride. However, this nagging side of him gains strength when it comes to arguments and you find it particularly irritating. He has a strong temper during fights, being stubborn in his ideas and opinions, making it impossible for you to reach an agreement. You don't fight often, but when it happens, it takes you days to resolve it, out of sheer stubbornness and pride on both sides.

The stray kids' comeback was just around the corner, less than a month away and everything was moving quickly. Minho, who has always been committed to his work, he was working hard this week and his mood was technically sensitive, so to speak. You, being a good and understanding girlfriend that you are, He thought about something throughout the week to try to alleviate some of his tension, usually affection placed on your private person made everything better.

When he didn't show up at the dinner you prepared especially for him, you tried to be understanding because you knew Minho's physical and mental exhaustion. It was almost midnight when he appeared tired and sullen. He had stated that he would arrive on time, so you asked him why he was late. You remained calm throughout the conversation, but when he said he preferred to go out to eat with the boys and forgot about you, you felt the burning start to rise in your throat, "Minho, I really don't understand you. I really tried hard to see the good in you and you just act dismissive like it's nothing, as if we were nothing…” the anger was evident in your voice, but you couldn’t fight back, and apparently neither could he. He sits on the living room couch, leaning with his elbows resting on his knees as he runs his hands over his face and hair. He stands up looking into your eyes and you could see a different glow in his eyes, he was exhausted and angry.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT IF YOU'RE SO NEEDY! I'm tired of this, if you're going to be clingy like this, stay far away from me." Her eyes flutter unconsciously, your vision blurred by the tears that accumulate. You bite your lip in an attempt to contain them, you didn't want to cry in front of him. Minho clenches his fists as he slowly watches your reaction, scared of himself. He couldn't say anything, but you knew he wanted you to stay. He was sorry. You let out a shaky breath nodding your head, “right… whatever you want.” Minho felt helpless watching you forcefully close the door of a now cold and empty apartment, his absence making him feel incomplete. He wanted to apologize, but he couldn't find words in his mind, only the fear of losing you, because he knew it was all his fault. And you, the uncertain doubt as to whether this would be a lasting relationship.

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐁𝐈𝐍 ¡!

You have been friends since you were very young, always supporting and helping each other and that was a good reason for you to almost never fight and if you do, They make up very quickly, reaching a consensus that they both made a mistake at some point. He was always very sweet, so usually he would apologize first, unsure that maybe you would abandon him and that hasn't changed since he asked you to be his girlfriend. And that fact scared you because of what happened. He was never really jealous, it was more like fear and insecurity, but you always assured him that you loved him and he always trusted you. But this time it was different and you didn't understand where it came from. You have been invited to an alumni reunion at your old school where you graduated from high school.

You met many old colleagues but there was one in particular that you both were somewhat uncomfortable with. The boy was an ex-boyfriend of his and tried to start a conversation with you. The atmosphere during the event got a little heavy when he clearly looked at you in a way that made you uncomfortable. At the end of it all, Changbin rushed you home and when they arrived you immediately questioned him, worried about his change in mood. Of course, you weren't stupid, you knew everything was involved in this specific situation, but you were still worried about whether he would be okay. You thought he was angry because the guy was clearly inconvenient, but when he confronted you asking why you were paying attention to him you were confused.

It was supposed to be just a conversation, but it all piled up and became a noisy mess. You didn't want to change, but he knew it was unfair for him to place non-existent blame on you and he wanted to defend himself. "Binnie, I don't understand what I did. I swear I-"

"Don't you understand?" He interrupts you, anger overwhelming him and making his next words come out unconsciously, "YOU WERE CLEARLY HITTING ON HIM! I don't even know why I'm still wasting time being with you, honestly." Silence. You watch him in silence. You felt like you didn't need to say anything else because apparently everything that was stuck in your throats was carelessly deposited one above the other, weight forming on your back. Still scared by his response, you pick up your bag that was on the coffee table and quickly walk towards the entrance. You stop abruptly when you feel your wrist held by Changbin, strong but still light so you can let go. "My love, please- I, I don't know what came over me... forgive me but please don't go." Tears roll uncontrollably down Changbin's face and it makes his heart hurt even more, but you remember that he was the reason your heart was broken in the first place. "...I need to get away from you for today, Changbin." You go out. Now there were two hearts broken by an insecurity that unconsciously generated another.

𝐇𝐘𝐔𝐍𝐉𝐈𝐍 ¡!

Hyunjin is definitely a hopeless romantic, so it's almost impossible for you two to fight. Of course, there is no perfect relationship, but your fights, If you can call it that, they are small arguments over silly things and, if they fight over something serious, It's discredited in a short time since you can't stand being away from each other, especially if you're fighting. You've been together for almost a year, but even with this considerable passage of time, Hyunjin hasn't taken you to meet his parents. Of course, you didn't care so much, you knew and respected the limits imposed by Hyunjin, knowing that he just wanted to be sure if it was meant to be. But with your one year anniversary approaching, you couldn't help but feel a little insecure, naughty thoughts about herself invading her head like an avalanche of worries.

It was quite late when you were sitting in your room studying as usual. You were so immersed in your duty that you missed the sound of the front door. Not long later, you hear the clanking of dishes in the kitchen and notice Hyunjin's presence. Entering the kitchen, you watch him prepare some ramen for himself, a tired expression was visible on his face and sighs constantly left his lips. He looked exhausted and your heart squeezed seeing him like this. He doesn't seem to notice his presence, huffing impatiently at the water that was heating up. You surround him from behind, your arms hugging his waist and placing your head on his shoulder. He trembles a little from the fright, leaving it a little stiff. "Hey, my love. Relax, it's me." You laugh, patting his right shoulder.

"Sorry, I'm really tired today, y/n." He walks away to get the cutlery from the cabinet, you sigh, moving away to respect his space. "You know, Jinnie… I've been thinking and our anniversary is coming up, in less than a week." He looks at you for a few seconds, seeing where you're going and then goes back to what he's doing. Okay, his disdain brought a small pang to her heart. "And I thought maybe, just maybe, Can you take me to meet your parents." His voice was a little louder than a whisper and he stopped what he was doing. He ran his hand abruptly through his hair, looking at her with a different light in his eyes. "Look, I just want to eat this ramen and sleep, I don't have time to listen to that shit again." You were trying to be understanding, but you insisted. “I know, but- but I’m afraid you’re… ashamed of me. That's why I'm insisting on the matter. I know you're tired-"

"SO WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE? If you're well aware that you're being a pain in the ass, just shut up and leave," he says all this with a humorless laugh on his lips, "Maybe I don't really want to take her to meet my parents, maybe this will make me rethink whether our relationship is really worth it." That was the last straw to spill the water in his cup of anxiety. You could no longer blame it on tiredness. You didn't mind crying in front of him, but you felt helpless. You take a step back, uselessly drying your tears. You go up and grab your bag quickly, heading towards the main door, not bothering to look back. Hyunjin pulls her towards him, lightly holding your arms and looking into your eyes. "My love, please, please don't, don't go! I was wrong, I- I really shouldn't have said that-"

"But you said it, and you can't take it back. I'm going to sleep at my friend's house. I want to get away from you as soon as possible." You cut him off, now you were the one who was tired. You hurt him too, but he cut you first and plunged the knife deep into the wound.

ε ї з — a/n: I'll be posting the maknae line soon! I confess that I didn't intend to write something long, but I really can't write something with less than 500 words 😭 I hope you liked it. Please don't forget to leave comments, I'm happy when I hear your opinion on my chapters ;)

ε ї з — like × reblog! by: @hyunjinners ❜ɞ

ε ї з — part 2 !¡

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punkshort · 8 months ago

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What would a pregnancy scare look like between ikwya Joel and Reader? What do you think Joel’s reaction would be? Love your work ❤️‍🔥

Hi! I'm sorry I know you sent this in a month ago. I have a stockpile of asks/requests that I've been working through and I wanted to give this one some thought because I think both their reactions would be different pre and post accident.

I Know Who You Are Masterlist

Pre-accident Joel would absolutely panic. I think he would immediately think of Sarah and how he failed her, then Ellie and how he almost failed her, and he would get too in his head about failing a third child. He would probably say something he would end up regretting in the heat of the moment and I think pre-accident reader would give it right back to him. She wouldn't stand for his shit, she would call him out and remind him it takes two to tango and it wasn't something she expected, either, but there's no point in being an asshole about it because what's done is done.

They would probably get into a fight about it and Joel would grab the bottle of whiskey and take a shot. Then, without really thinking, while Joel was rambling on and on about how dangerous it is to have a baby, reader would reach for the bottle and Joel would slap her hand away, asking her 'Are you fuckin' crazy? You might be pregnant!' And reader, feeling embarrassed that she almost made a mistake, would yell back, 'It's your fault! You got me all worked up, I can't think straight! What do you even care, anyway?' And Joel would throw the bottle back into the cupboard and shout, ''Course I care! Kid'll already be stubborn as shit with her mama's smart mouth, we don't need to be addin' to it!'

Then reader's eyes will soften a bit when she says, 'You think it's a girl?' And Joel, still working through all his anger and adrenaline, will flare his nostrils and slam his fist on the counter and say, ''Course it'll be a girl! Look 'round. I'm surrounded by girls who talk back to me and drive me fuckin' crazy all damn day. Why would this be any different?' Reader would step a little closer and wrap her arms around his midsection, resting her chin on his chest while she bats her eyes up at him and says, 'Maybe it'll be a boy.' And Joel's resolve would begin to crack. The corner of his mouth would twitch and his hands would slowly find their place on reader's hips as he thought about the idea of having a little boy. All his anxiety and anger would melt away when he asks, 'Think we can name him after my Pops?'

Now post-accident Joel and reader are different.

They've been through hell and back. Joel thought he would lose the love of his life. After everything they went through, I think both of them have a new lease on life. Initially, Joel would be shocked, then scared, then happy. It would be a rollercoaster of emotions. Reader would be terrified, telling him she has no idea what she's going to do, she doesn't know anything about babies, she's not going to be a good mom and she would begin to cry. Joel would chuckle softly and pull her close, then murmur in her hair she was wrong, that she would make a wonderful mom and she wouldn't go through it alone. He would tell her all the reasons why she would be a good mom: how patient and strong she is, how smart and headstrong she is, and how he hopes if she is pregnant, that it would be a little girl so it would be a mini version of reader.

They would spend the rest of the night thinking about it and wondering what life would be like. Joel would be in the middle of dinner, quietly eating, and suddenly suggest that he could make a crib from the birch tree in the backyard. They would go to bed and each of them would be reading and reader would break the silence and mention Maria and Tommy probably have stuff they don't need anymore and they could use. The next morning, reader would wake up with Joel's face nuzzled against the side of her neck with his big hand splayed wide over her belly.

And if it was just a scare, the idea would be planted in both their heads and after a few months, maybe they would be walking home together from the Tipsy Bison, hand in hand, content and happy until reader suddenly asks, 'Do you want to try for a baby?' And Joel, without missing a beat, would say, 'Absolutely,' and practically drag her down the street towards home so they could start that night.

#ask #anon ask #ikwya fic

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shineonyoucrazyyandere · 9 months ago

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Which joestar do you think would be the worst yandere? And why

Pick your poison! I like to think the Joestar’s all have their little traits that shine the most based on their personality (so whose the worst can depend on what you’re uncomfortable with). Going to do just the og verse jojo’s for this 1-6.

Jonathan : Very sweet almost intoxicatingly so, but he tends to end up a bit overprotective/just a bit babying. Insisting he does things for you, if you have some issue somewhere else? Why not let him resolve it. Don’t fret over too much he has the means to take care of you. There might be a time or two your room might be locked if you’re a little more stubborn than usual

Joseph: What is this thing called “personal space” ? It almost sounds like a foreign language to this man. He totally didn’t mess certain things up so you happen to meet up with him. Not sure why your date stood you up? He couldn’t possibly give an answer other than they’re not worth your time since they didn’t bother showing up. He should take you to this great place he loves going to after a long day.

Jotaro: Stalking type usually, and mows past anything that he might feel gets in the way of you and himself. He’s used to punks, so he’s not afraid to pummel someone if they don’t get the message to scram. When it comes to classes, he’s glancing at you every so often, maybe there’s a “doodle” or two in his notebook. Need to walk somewhere? He’ll walk with you. If you’re hiding out to be alone, he ends up finding you. You’re probably the reason he learns any building’s layout in the first place. Clubs or class cleaning doesn’t stop Jotaro either, he’ll wait as long as it takes. Being sick at home doesn’t stop him either, usually there’s some kind of hot soup/dish that’s good to eat while sick sitting in your room somehow. (Not to mention potential kidnapping later down the line if you’re not really cooperating)

Later Parts like 4 and 6, he’s pretty similar in dropping you off things even if you never once told him your address. (He has a decent memory of these things). Similarly Jotaro has any phone numbers you have in his contacts, and he’ll have a talk personally with anyone that he isn’t fond of approaching you. He tends to have you in the back of his mind while out on his studies, or writing a paper, and yet again drawings somewhere he’s compelled to place them. Every so often he checks in on you (whether you want this or not doesn’t matter). Broken down car? It’s either replaced swiftly or he’s driving you places himself. Maybe he somehow (forces) nudges you to live with him.

Josuke : He’s head over heels for you, and similar to Joseph he’s going to take any opportunity to squeeze himself into your life. He just so happens to have some leftover lunch from that place you like? You looked sad when they had sold out of your favorite meal there, so why doesn’t he help with that? Speaking of, maybe your eyes are drifting somewhere else. He steals any potential love letters to a crush and rewrites them, making it look like you’re confessing to him. He may also leave one of your favorite treats you like in its place. It’s an enigma to you how he found that out.

Giorno : He’s the don of the Italian mafia, he’s almost constantly worried about you. So if he has eyes on you, it’s almost immediate you lose autonomy whether born in Italy or a tourist. He’s clever in his ways to trap you, whether you’re resistant or not doesn’t matter. (he does think you’re cute with a strong head on your shoulders). There’s some of that charisma he possess all the same just like his father. Even if it doesn’t work on you, it makes others around you to trap you easily. Giorno likes to think he gives you a lot of leeway with voluntarily coming to him. He’ll meet you casually in coffee shops or wherever you’re willing to shop at. The bill is covered without you having to say a word. Any cash you used is miraculously brought back to you somehow. The blond isn’t afraid to get his hands a little dirty however when it comes to you. If he has to take something for you to step into his arms (whether it’s your ability to walk around outside or someone close to you) he’ll do whatever it takes.

Jolyne : Sure she stalks somewhat, but like her father she can be bold in taking care of the competition. She’s not afraid to hold your hand or finding a way for you two to do so. Eavesdropping is something she does occasionally, and anyone that wants to stomp on your heart is going to get stomped themselves. She does delay you with stone free (or outright captures you) if Jolyne doesn’t want you to leave. It’s impossible to shake her off, no matter what you try to do. Of course she made a copy of your apartment key, what if there’s an emergency? Maybe she wanted to make you breakfast. Huh? What do you mean she can’t just walk in unannounced? Don’t be ridiculous.

#yandere x reader #yandere #yandere imagines #yandere jjba #yandere jjba imagines #yandere jjba x reader #jjba imagines #yandere headcanons #yandere jotaro kujo #yandere jonathan joestar #yandere joseph joestar #yandere josuke higashikata #yandere giorno giovanna

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delightedchips · 2 months ago

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the firelight family au (or how do i get isha, sevika and jinx meet ekko, heimerdinger and the firelights brain rot)

au where the firelights managed to escape the rally ambush and rescue isha along w it to the sanctuary after learning she was quite literally just a kid ... ekko meeting isha (hypothetically if he didn't get warped up in the arcane plotline yet) .. learning how to sign for her .. letting her meet the other kids .. jinx going on a search for her and instead getting an unexpected reunion w ekko .. the untapped enemies to friends opportunity scenario .. ?? ekko being hellbent on protecting isha when they meet only to get jumpscared his enemy and her were both family ?? them fighting over her ?? isha not wanting to leave so jinx stays as well ??? the rivalry ??? the bitter insults ??? eventual banter ???? reconnection ????? found family ?????? on GOD ((RATTLES CAGE

ekko witnessing the powder he thought he had lost firsthand .. slowly learning jinx was always just a product of an overwhelming absence of [healthy] love and connection during their painful years and not one born of some arbitrary hate and innate desire for destruction ... learning of the love ekko could have given her in the past ... learning not all of powder was gone after all ... in fact that jinx is powder and it has always has been that way .. and he sees it w the way she bickers w isha, how she jokes w the zaunite kids, how she quietly studies the abandoned tech ekko leaves around the treehouse base .. ekko slowly opening up to her , allowing himself to be vulnerable around her , letting her into his workshop office , unseen stories finally coming to view , :(

jinx seeing the beauty of zaun and its people ... slowly falling in love with ekko's pursuit for their peace .. hell why not have her parallel to vi's desire of wanting powder to grow up in a better world by wanting the same for isha after getting a glimpse of what zaun could be like w the home ekko had created ... . joining in on that fight ... reinventing stuff w the firelights .... improving their tech ... jinx having an outlet to use her craftsmanship not for weaponry but for innovation . for people . for living ... a chance for a new resolve ... a redemption opportunity ?? :[

hell why not throw sevika in the mix 🧎🏻 sevika would be with ekko's cause even if she'll be a lil impatient about it at first . sevika befriending the firelights . sevika helping w scar's family .. heimerdinger being a mentor now to ekko and jinx and getting to see them reconnect as they tinker together like in the past ... the dynamics would go crazy I'm On The Verge Of Insanity

this all very surface level i like a lil self-indulgent brain rotting without any regard of logic sometimes 🙏🏻 ... wouldveeeeee been cool if the stillwater rescue mission was held by ekko, jinx and sevika to save the other firelights thooooooooooo . ,,

ekko seeing vander too ,, ,, orrrrr the last drop surviving childhood gang reunion w vi, ekko, and jinx during the mines arc ,, , , ekko confronting vi's enforcer bs , , , ekko seeing the letter from vander ,, , , hell the warwick hug with ekko too ??? throw in some timebomb divorce where ekko and jinx are split between returning to the firelights or staying in viktor's paradise town ??? jinx's strong desire to give isha a better life so she would take this celestial protected village for her sake most definitely ??? after witnessing the dangers that the firelights must undergo she begins to sincerely consider staying instead ??? losing her initial resolve out of fear ??? then ekko's PISSED ? jinx is all pissy and stubborn about it too but refuses to get into detail as to why she feels the way she does ??? scarred by having everyone she has loved be hurt and even killed ??? their argument sounds so childish but it's really from a place of deeper feelings ??? desperately wanting for her relationship w isha to be different ??? but then ekko really does dip and leave them after an argument ??? (editor's note: i actually now dont think ekko would leave come to think of it I think after seeing that powder is still very much jinx w isha then i. dont think bro would let that go ?? LOL or that if jinx did get attached w the firelights wouldnt she choose to leave too . I FEELL LIKEEEE there would be a diff reason to all that. maybe ekko feels betrayed , maybe jinx also is still struggling to come to terms w her feelings HEHAHFKEA

and with great erasure of any sense for a moment . like hear me ouuuut . (rattles cage) but like imagine the alternate universe shenanigans following after ??? idk how that would work maybe like heimerdinger went alone and ekko was like hey where the hell did he go. then he jus somehow figures out he had gone to jayce's lab. idk. whatever. lets move on. AJSHFJAH

BUT LIKE FR .... ekko in the au understanding jinx's overprotectiveness and desperation better ??? how she wants to cling what has always made her life good at all costs after growing familiar w loss she has always believed her mere presence will always inflict ??? (e.g. au powder w vi's death and jinx w silco) relearning again jinx chose not to go back because she has yet to fully escape the mindset her narrative will always be that she deserves punishment, that isha should be protected at all costs or else she will be fall victim to it (like the sudden spike of anxiety one realizes stuff has been going good. too good. i might jinx it again. i have to stop it at all costs) an unspoken plea for reassurance to prove to her this was not the case, and it never was the case, and that he should've realized that and assured her that that unpredictable danger that will haunt them is not caused by her and that he's willing to prove it . that he'll stay w her to show it . and that whatever danger gets thrown their way he'd be there to feign it off and even prove one can heal from it . ekko realizing he shouldn't have left them in the first place and rushing to head back for them AOUGUGHoAUOG

and his sudden disappearance from the firelights during all that ??? then when jinx learns from the sanctuary that ekko had supposedly died after isha's sacrifice ??? affirming the thought everyone who gets close to her is bound for gruesome death ???

the absolute heartbreak ????? she gets so DISTRAUGHT and just Shuts down . so when ekko comes back during her attempt ???? A BREAKDOWN IMMEDIATELY dear GOD A REUNION HUG ? JINX MELTING INTO HIS ARMS ...... ???? the reconciliation .. the shared sorrow .. the desperate apologies we r fine chat we r FINE

bonus point to add but ekko learning his presence could have prevented isha's death hurts even more knowing ekko most definitely grew up with a semblance of survivor's guilt, having carried with him the regret and shame that maybe it was his fault that everything happened in the first place . and now he has to carry that grief w him again too Like. Lord

then we get the war shenanigans . the reconnecting again . the healing . reconciling . rebuilding . re re re a lot of restarting for these two yes... ough. mourning isha ... painting isha on the mural ... locking in for the incoming war ... and somewhere along the way timebomb canon we finally get a kiss (like YEAHAHHSHSSSYHEAAASSS. yHEAYYEAAAAHs) then the painting on each other, customizing their airship w semblances of isha ... :') auauau

ENDING CAN GO A LOT OF WAYS ... FOR SURE THEY MUSTTTT LIVE . ekko and jinx honored as heroes of zaun fr fr . i imagine after jinx's disappearance ekko finds her wounded and helps her recover before reuniting w vi and the gang :') jinx staying in zaun :-) both her and ekko being advisors of some kind to councilor sevika (HELL imagine theyre like her lil bodyguard CRIESSS they follow her around to annoy her on purpose. they genuinely check in on her if the counsel has been treating her right and threaten to beat them up lol) .. making an isha shrine in jinx's hideout like in the au ... painting more murals ... caitvi and timebomb double dates ... AOUGAOUGAO jinx and ekko staying on zaun's side till final breath together w the firelights :-(

ANYWAYYUAHUHA . ok. thats all. im done rattling my cage . moving my head like an empty christmas ball . JHSKAJH .. all i could think of for now at least. will a blast of loopholes hit me later. yeah but like. thats the point of aus .!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the delight of it . i mean that is tumblr status quo so. whatevehrvhr. whatveherhrv. let's be delusional together. let's take ibuprofen together <3 ok fr tho i jus kept thinking what possible scenario in the canon can we have that healing version of jinx and isha meet that angry ekko ... EUGH i wanna write about this soon . when it's winter break im going rabidddd . but for now . have a beautiful week :-] drink water and live laugh love timebomb

#WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN #i wrote this at 5am #delusional rambling hell yeah!#jinx #ekko #timebomb #ekko x jinx #powder #isha #sevika #heimerdinger #scar #vi #arcane season 2 #arcane #if anyone wants to work w this idea go for itt lol #arcane spoilers #arcane au #I WILL BE writing this soon enough

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drenched-in-sunlight · 2 months ago

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Hey, so I remembered in one of your earlier post you said something along the lines of souls women only really falling into the helpless victim or serious sword lady trop. And how Ema was a great subversion of it, I was wondering if you had any thoughts on

I’m making a souls-like and trying to avoid the pitfalls where I can

Btw, I love your art so much I would love to support you but I am broke

sorry i let this reply marinate in the docs for months (along with a lot of other replies like im having a catalogue of Fromsoft replies that read like thesis at this point *crying* my job is not letting me sit down and edit them) but here it is.

firstly, thank you for your message, kind encouragement already means a lot to me, so don’t worry about not being able to support me or anything ! After all I’m not putting out any new books or fan merch haha.

Here is a whole rant about Ema but somehow my grievances with how they handle Malenia's story in comparison to Messmer also pops up.

Regarding your question about Ema, I love her because of how complete her story feels and how her personal motivation and personality are written as coherently as the male characters.

She’s a war orphan who did her best to survive, learned the sword from the best swordman but with the only purpose is to kill demons. Ema saw firsthand how violence and meaningless killing did to people, so her aim can be seen as trying to offer those lost souls a mercy death, so they don’t have to suffer as a mindless demon for eternity (as in shura ending).

Yet, she's actually more interested in being a doctor & saving life and it’s not something expected of her because she’s a woman or whatnot, she chose that.

(+ she's skilled enough with the blade that it shows in her mannerism to the point Wolf, who had never seen her hold a sword, knows that she's good with one).

she was ready to kill Scuptor - someone akin to a parental figure to her, should he succumb to grief and hatred. because she loved him. not to mention she saw Tomoe - someone in a way is also her mentor, tried to take her own life, while her childhood friend Gennichiro slowly went apeshit. like that girl witnessed so many insane stuffs & they spur her to be strong & steadfast in her ideal to protect her loved ones, even when it means to lay them to rest by her own hands.

her dialogue in Shura ending "maybe i should have killed you long ago" feels like being punched in the guts to me, because she knew Wolf turning out that way meant that somewhere along the way, all of them had failed him, had ignored the signs that all the killings he was tasked to carry out was taking a toll on him. And so she took upon herself the responsibility to offer him a mercy death, even as it broke her heart.

It’s the passionate drive and decisions made as her own person, not out of blind devotion to another character, and how much we know of that because the game let us find more about her, that makes her stands out from the epic sword lady category, while the violence and steely resolve she was capable of makes her stands out from the helpless maiden one.

-kinda lose the plot here with Elden Ring rant jumping out-

This is one of the main points I have about the difference between Messmer and Malenia, how even though their stories parallel each other, I think Messmer has the better writing and gets a more complete story. He’s super devote to Marika, but in his own way, not what Marika wants of him. Evidently with how he still fights the Tarnished because he deems us unworthy, despite knowing Marika sanctioned us for Lordship.

We see a lot of sides to him outside of just a filial son, his rage and sorrow and love and a moment of stubborn selfishness that results in him willingly become a curse that clings to Marika than to let go. We see his relationship with other characters and even though his love for Marika outweighs all else, it doesn’t negate completely others that exist outside of it.

And precisely because of that, it’s more heartbreaking to see despite all these connections he has with other people, he yearns to be reunited with his Mother above all else. That kind of devotion is more hard hitting to me than the writing for the Empyrean twins.

Like, Malenia…. outside of Finnlay (whose description says more about herself than shedding any new light on Malenia) and the mentor that we actually don’t even know much about yet, what are other personal connection she has outside of Miq? I could argue the Marika’s Soreseal in the Haligtree was meant for her and that she still loved her Mother in some kind of way all I want, but at the end of the day that’s a headcahon I have to theorize from item placement, and not many ppl will notice that. We don’t know for sure what Malenia thinks of anyone else but her twin and it drives me up the wall.

Another comparison I want to bring up is DS2 Lucatiel.

I fr think even Lucatiel gets a better story arc than Malenia, despite also largely being shaped by her relationship with her brother.

Loss frightens me no end. Loss of memory, loss of self. If I were told that by killing you, I would be freed of this curse… Then I would draw my sword without hesitation. I don't want to die, I want to exist. I would sacrifice anything, anything at all for this. It shames me, but it is the truth. Sometimes, I feel obsessed… with this insignificant thing called "self". But even so, I am compelled to preserve it. Am I wrong to feel so? Surely you'd do the same, in my shoes?

She is trying to find her brother, but at the same time wrestling with her own troubles and limitations. We get to know a lot of her own motivation and her fear. I mean one could argue that it's because she's an NPC while Malenia is a boss, but the same thing could also be said for Messmer like I explained above.

-back to Ema-

As the extra sauce, I love that Ema boss music has such layers to it. the theme of her - someone clinging to her humanity to the very end because she has ppl love & support her, also acts as an elegy for Wolf's lost of humanity, of him not being able to escape the abuse trauma he grew up in. its opening instrument also appears in Demon of Hatred's OST. Her presence and theme affects other characters’ life, and we get to see her marks on a personal level in the story’s overarching narrative.

Which is the same as how Marika’s presence is everywhere in the Elden Ring OST, that little soft piano. A little in Radagon’s theme, in Shaman’s Village, in the final DLC boss ost where the female vocals starts belting out “Hail, Marika the Eternal”, in a boss arena where she had walked through to scavenge the remains of her fallen family and ascended to an existence she knew would kill her all the same, but she would do it again every single time. Walking down that hell with her eyes wide open.

When a character that could get me to write paragraphs about like that… man you know how much the writing cooks.

#if they had let Miquella reacts at least a tiny bit in the boss fight if we go in wearing Malenia's armor i wouldnt be this sad tbh #they did that with Raime and Vestaldt so we know they could #im glad how well Messmer story turns out but it makes me upset at the writing for Malenia....#anw endless ranting about Sekiro and Elden Ring at end year we r so back #er brainrot #ask #anon #reply

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smehur · 4 months ago

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A love letter to Running on Air

I wrote this months ago, directly after reading, and sat on it till now for no reason I can name.

I finally read this fandom classic. I paced myself, reading it in reasonable chunks over several days, until I reached the final third, which I read in one sitting, alternately smiling and despairing. Did I love it? Yes. So, so much. Even though it left me… wanting.

This is the most literary piece of fanfiction I’ve read so far, and I know of only a few others (À Bon Chat by @oknowkiss and Between the Power Lines by @tackytigerfic) that impart such a strong sense of placedness. Whether the author is familiar with the places they describe from lived experience or from research*, the impression of having been there with the characters never faltered. I could feel the bite of cold and the sting of salt and the prickling tension of the approaching storm. When I think about this story in a few weeks or months, it is bound to evoke the images of green and golden fields rolling past the car window.

But it’s not just the geography. There’s a tangible sense of space: just how far these places are, and at the same time, how terrifyingly close. Like you could drive for days, but it still takes only a few hours to return to London, the black hole you can’t get away from: the inescapable quagmire of routine, expectations, obligations, the stubborn conviction that things can’t change and really shouldn’t, that you don’t have the right to wish for more.

Even more tangible is the sense of time. Hours, days, weeks and months, crisply distinct and in sharp contrast with moments: fleeting, irreplaceable, inimitable moments. It is in moments that the story advances, though they are as feather-light and as far apart in the text as they are in life. The story never lingers on them: instead it lingers on those hours, days, weeks and months. It is very slow, yet it ends all too quickly.

Like youth! Like life.

The car trips perfectly embody the recurrent, omnipresent theme of going in circles. Harry and Draco can go anywhere, but they always come back to where they started, to how things were, to “real life”, with the feeling that everything they experienced together amounts to no more than a capricious dream. And the more intense and intimate those experiences become, the more painful it is to return, and the less possible it seems to believe that anything can change. The tension between dream and reality, wish and ability, grows into a pulsing pain as the story nears the end, and hope struggles against inevitability.

Obviously, it’s a love story. The romance is tied to the passage of time and it unfolds so gently, almost imperceptibly, that it is no challenge whatsoever to relate to Harry when he wonders when, exactly, he has fallen in love with Draco. Part of my sense of bereavement comes from the fact that, being deeply rooted in Harry’s point of view, the story doesn’t, and perhaps cannot show when exactly Draco fell in love with Harry. Could more have been done to illustrate this for the reader, without spelling it out for Harry? I don’t know. This story, like many of the fandom classics, seems far above my paygrade as an author. But as a reader, I was left with a deep and bittersweet longing, despite the happy ending.

In some ways, this fabulous, unforgettable story feels closer to canon than to fanfiction—and I don’t mean the Harry Potter canon, but every canon; canon as the material of fanfiction, as that which fanfiction seeks to transform—in that it stops just shy of providing complete closure, of giving the reader (or at least, this reader) what they crave. While frustrated, I do understand the author’s decision to stop where they did, because there’s no story past that point, no tension or conflict left to resolve, and portraying the progression of physical intimacy might’ve been seen as voyeuristic. Yet the frustration remains, and it stems from a sense of unfairness: we were invited to share the loneliness and longing, the glimmers of hope and the repeated, self-inflicted, staunching of it—but not the joy and the pleasure of the well-earned resolution.

Perhaps I should read the sequel, heh.

*Goes and reads the sequel.*

And now I’m in tears. Okay. Closure—check.

*I learned after writing this that the author had never visited any of the places in the story but did a whole lot of research, and frankly, that makes the whole thing all the more impressive.

*Banner is a crop of the fanart I made a while back.

#harry/draco #drarry #drarry fanfic #fic rec #running on air #harry potter #my post

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hearts4werka · 3 months ago

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NNN day 7 | Underground Secrets

summary: your boss has set up a dangerous mission for you—to take down the intel of the notorious rival gang, The Vipers. Your boyfriend, a drug dealer of a rival organization, Chris is advising you not to go through with the plan because of how dangerous it is for someone like you, will you listen to your boyfriend or value your reputation over the risk of life and go through with the plan?

warnings: ANGST, gang membership, drug dealing, strong language, mentions of committing murder, arguing, a dangerous mission, the risk of life or death, illegal possession of firearm, illegal underground gangs, viewers advisory is supervised! Proceed to read with caution

authors note: and the one week mark finally arrived! Tysm for all of the love and support I’ve received during this whole week and I’m proud to announce that week one has been done, there’s still a lot of steps to take before reaching the end but we’ll get through it! Luv y’all so much & hope y’all enjoy this one

no nut november | masterlist | guestlist

The city's dim lights flickered like a heart in distress, throwing long shadows that danced over the crumbling warehouse walls. I slumped against a rusted pillar, arms crossed, determination etched on my face. Chris, the infamous drug dealer from the rival gang, stood before me. His messy hair showed the exact replica of the tension in the air. Our eyes met, his glare sharp, frustration carving lines into his hardened features.

“Are you fucking insane?” Chris exclaimed, running his fingers through his messy locks in pure frustration with my stubbornness. “You’re seriously thinking about going through with this? Killing that intel guy for the Vipers? That’s a one-way ticket to getting yourself killed!” I straightened my posture, breaking the heavy silence between us like hammer on glass. “This is my job, Chris. I’m backed into a corner. My boss demands results, and if I fail, I’ll be the one buried in a ditch.”

“Do you really think I want to see you six feet underground for some bullshit mission?” He closed the gap between our bodies, his voice filled with urgency. “Listen, I’ve seen how these Vipers play. You’re walking into a total trap. They’ll have their eyes on you, and the moment you walk in, you’ll be history.” I stood my ground, not letting his shooting fire walk all over my resolve. “What did you just say? It’s just a job, I’m good at what I do. I can handle myself for once.”

"‘Handle yourself?’ Chris scoffed, a bitter laugh rumbling in his throat before escaping past his lips. “This ain’t some amateur shit, this is the Vipers we’re talking about! They don’t play nice, and this intel guy, he’s not your average rat. He’s got layers of protection, and I promise you, they’ll be ready to take you down.” His words hit hard, a mix of care and frustration mixed together. But I couldn’t show any signs of vulnerability. ‘I get it, but you can’t decide for me. I’m no damsel in distress, Chris. I can fight my own battles.’"

“Fighting and getting yourself killed are two different things,” he retorted, fists clenched together and almost threatening to do unspeakable acts. “And what do you think will happen if you go in there and fail? You think they’ll just let you go? No! They’ll take you out, and I won’t sit around and wait for news that you’re dead.” “You’re trying so hard to act like you give a shit about me,” I shot back, my anger rising to higher levels. “When have you ever given a shit about anyone but yourself? This is my life! If anyone’s making the final choice, it’s going to be me.”

“Damn it, you’re right,” he murmured, his voice barely a breath. “I can’t afford to care about everyone. But you…” He rubbed his face, laying the vulnerability I never saw coming. “You matter. I don’t want another goddamn funeral to attend because of this war.” For a minute, the walls between us felt like broken glass, and I noticed a spark of connection. But that spark couldn't wipe the weight of the mission on my back. I stepped back, shaking my head. “This deep in, I can’t back down. It shows weakness, you know how they treat that in this game.”

Chris's blue eyes blazed with intensity. “And if you have to sacrifice your life to prove a point, then what does that make you? Some fucking plaything for a bloodsucking boss? You deserve better than this!” A sharp stab pierced through my heart, a mix of rage and something deeper like fear. Fear for my life. Fear for this weird connection that felt like a chain. “This isn’t up for discussion, Chris. I’ve got a job to do here.”

His tone softened, becoming almost desperate. “I’m not asking you to quit. All I’m asking is for you to think. We can come up with a better plan. We can…” he paused, then added, “we can work together.” I become blindsided by his heartfelt sentence but I couldn’t let him get anywhere near danger this high of a lever, even though he is a strong ally to have on your side, I can’t bear the idea of him stepping into the wicked battlefield against the Vipers with not enough experience with them beforehand.

“I’m not letting you get anywhere near danger like this, it’s The Vipers. Without any experience with them in the past, there’s no way you’ll make it out of there.” The weigh of my decision hung above me like a noose, knowing how desperate he’s already got to make me stay and to what levels he could climb to make me think I have no other choice. “I’ll be fine, you can’t do this shit alone.” He pleads, the look in his eyes almost begging me to let him go with me, the vulnerable side of him is starting to show that rarely anyone gets to see.

While in the middle of the conversation mix between stubbornness and desperation, my phone rings inside of the pocket of my jeans, alerting me of an incoming call. Pausing for a moment before answering the call, finding out it’s coming from my boss with a demand to get the job done as fast as possible since if the Vipers figure out our plan they’ll be on the move immediately. He hangs up the phone, it beeping which indicates the call has reached an end.

“I have to go, don’t follow me.” I provide, shoving my phone back into its spot while picking up the black hand gun sitting on a nearby old crate. “Don’t dare to argue with me about this further, I have to get it done before the Vipers catch on.” He slumps over to me, rolling his eyes at how idiotic my decision is. Delivering a soft kiss on my forehead before letting go of me completely, glancing down at my face with sorrow etched into the features of his face. “Just don’t die on me, okay?” “I won’t, I promise.” With the last words placed on the table, I take off and walk towards the exit. Slipping on my helmet for protection before hopping onto a black motorcycle, sparing Chris one last glance before taking off into the dark dangerous night with determination to prove my worth and end the Vipers for good.

Guestlist!

| - @strnzzvsp - @sturnsxplr-25 - @luvvs4chriss - @sturniolosweetheart33 - @choclatestarfishwithahat - @venusxsturnio - @bagsbyclair0 - @sturnstvs - @dykes4chris - @hoe4matt - @cayleeuhithinknot - @strnilolover - @marrykisskilled - @phone4pills - @emely9274 - @cupiidk1lls - @lily-strnlo - @nicksgirlfriend - |

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hxltic · 2 years ago

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𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐒. 𝑺𝑼𝑵𝑨 𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑻𝑨𝑹Ō

part one | part two

Before you could think about how awkward it’d be if Suna wasn’t in here (or somebody else was), the door quickly clicks and an arm suddenly peeks out to rip you inside. A glimpse of soft, pale skin with the occasional court burn mark that scarred into a slightly darker version of his complexion allows you to recognize this as him; however, you meet face to face anyway with the door to your back and his breath fanning into your nose, only standing nearly an inch away from your face.

“Hello,” you boop his nose.

“Hello?” A wave of irritation surges through him, resulting in him only stepping closer. You didn’t think his eyes could get any narrower. This was a new amusing sight because you’d never really seen him genuinely angry, always just smug and insulting. “What the hell was that?” His eyebrows deepen as he rectifies you.

“Payback.” You grumble. Your eyes flicker up to him kindly.

In pure disbelief, he pauses before arguing, “That’s your payback? You do realize had anyone picked up on it your brother would’ve slaughtered me?”

You shrug and fiddle with your fingers carelessly. This most likely only angered him more, but was he even actually angry? He has yet to yell at you…just…establish his concerns.

“Yeah, but that’s what you get. Be glad people didn’t find out.”

“Find out you just gave me a handjob?” His head tilts as he looks down at you in annoyance. Your orbs roll into the back of your head, driving a strong sigh.

You exclaim, “You started it!” causing him to rush to explain himself. With a few steps back he runs his hands through his hair manically. His chest rises and falls in deep breaths. Yelling at you was not an option but he was trying really damn hard to get it across to your stubborn ass.

“I didn’t start it. You kept shoving and touching me after I told you to stop.”

“I didn’t know I was doing that!”

“I told you that too, did I not?”

Both of you stare at each other. He was technically right, and you didn’t want to admit it, especially now as you are backed into a door with an angry Suna that you hate to say you find attractive. You kind of wish he got angry more often; it felt good to get under his skin.

“But you liked it.” You cross your arms. He seemed to be thinking of the next move before you said it, staring off mindlessly. The words catch his attention immediately.

“What? So?”

“So?” you parrot.

What does he mean so? Clearly the confusion displayed on your face, convincing him to take the steps he took away from you back to get in your face again. With a solid countenance and an extreme amount of patience, he whispers. If he leaned forward just a bit, you would be forehead to forehead.

“It doesn’t matter how I felt. It doesn’t matter you felt. Your brother is somewhere on the other side of this door.”

You tease him and drop your head to the side while your eyes match his. “What, you scared of him?”

“You-”

Your arms reach out to wrap around him in a hug, rendering him idle. You touch all over him, including connecting your fingers behind his neck on your tippy toes and even lifting his shirt the slightest bit to run the pads of your fingers along the dips of his sharp v-line to belly button. The fleshy part of your cheek rests on his chest when you bat your eyelashes at him. He refuses to look at you, ridden of all anger to keep his cool as you tempt him.

You slip a nail under his waistband on one hand and bring the other to palm at his print again. It wasn’t even just a bulge—everything was on display for you.

Suna was just waiting to snap. From the time in the doorway to the table, his resolve was enough to impress himself, but he’s not so sure if that’s a veracious reward in comparison to your body.

A strong grip stops any movement. The male takes a deep breath, then bends down to your eye level so you could hear him loud and clear, front and center: “Your brother is my friend. You are his sister.”

The words replayed in his head a thousand times to keep him grounded, yet somehow they didn’t process, like a book you thought you were reading but instead you were just running your eyes over the pages cluelessly.

You were right. He wasn’t angry because you did it, he was angry because he couldn’t have you. There was a slight misconception.

You survey his pinkish lips, then back at him. With a squeeze hard enough to re-darken his eyes, you nag him.

“Pussy.”

“Drop to your knees, back to the door. Don’t say a fucking word.” He hisses declaratively.

It was a switch in his brain that you clicked with your acrylics. Although, you can say how embarrassing it was how fast you followed his orders. The jacket on your back ended up on the floor to protect your knees.

While you questioned whether to be annoying or not, Suna dug a hand into his sweatpants and started stroking himself. You watched as his hands trail up and down, only to twist at the height of his shaft and tug at the base. You’d been watching for only a small amount of time before your shorts started to become uncomfortable.

The man hovered over you while jerking himself off, eyes glaring bullets through yours. By this point you still haven’t said anything.

“You done this before?” He questions from above. Do you respond? Verbally?

You just shake your head back and forth.

A side of his lip lifts and it’s enough for your shoulders to slightly hunch. Would you be you if you obeyed him?

“You’re obedient now? You want it this bad?” This time he outwardly laughs at you, but removes his hand. You scoot backwards until you reach the door.

Suna hears a soft “yes” in response, so soft he could be just imagining he heard it. This was enough for him. He grabbed his length before shoving his waistband down his hips, not enough to fall in a pool at his feet but enough to leave his cock heavy in his hand, ending with a dark trail of groomed hair. You shift in your shorts.

Palm-up, a hand silently asks for yours, which when once received was wrapped around the shaft. You hadn’t seen it until now, only a little darker and redder than the rest of him, larger than you suppose what the average was, and pink with a brown tint at the top. With two hands instead of one, up and down, and with the hand on top handling his tip, you run it over any white leaking out to spread. His head throws back for a deep, sexy groan, and you promise yourself to do whatever you can to hear it again.

Your lips give it an open-mouthed kiss, you’re tongue peeking out to circle around as your lips cover more and more of his cock with each rebound of your head. Gradually, saliva spilled from your lips, coating more and more of him and small bubbles to form around your mouth. Soon he was slick, and a constant pace was set on your own.

He couldn’t do anything but stand there and question if this was really your first time, how long you would crave more than just the friction of your thighs, and what would it take to get you completely comfortable. Questions swarmed through his brain at your talented mouth. Long fingers search through your hair with uncertainty, not quite sure what he was allowed to do yet, but just resting them there as the slurp entertains him. Grunts and moans fall from his mouth, at least letting you know you were doing okay alongside the fact he was moving with you. You wanted to hear it from him.

You disconnect your lips from a little over halfway down his cock to speak.

You purr, “Is it okay?”

“Yeah, just like that. Twist it for me.” You correct your hand positioning and twist on the way up and back, naturally gathering whatever could drip its way down to his balls. Now thinking about how neglected they were, you fit whatever of his cock you could in your mouth and jerked the rest, then using the opposite hand to massage them. With an exiting pop you come off and suck on them, both fluidly coming into your mouth with ease. “Fuck, life’s much better when you’re quiet.”

One of Rin’s hands drop by his side while the other tightens in your hair to move wherever you did. No pressure. The view was mainly of his chin because when he wasn’t examining you he was thinking. Or maybe it was the opposite, and he wasn’t thinking. A rumble reverberates on his dick, and it didn’t take him long to figure out that was a response to your hair being pulled.

It takes everything in him not to roll his hips deep in your throat, so when you completely disregarded his past statement, and took it as an opportunity to do the opposite, he couldn’t help it when you mutter, “Being quiet isn’t my specialty.”

“Well let’s go deeper and see how well you can talk then hm? Call it throat training.”

This time he took matters into his own hands by making sure you were completely parallel to the wall, instructing you to open your mouth, holding two strong hands full of hair in the form of messy pigtails, and sliding in slow as much as possible to fit until you were unable to go any further. There may have been 2 more inches left?

After a few passes of glucks coming from flexing and relaxing your throat to match his movements, it became tolerable. You attempt to talk around him, and the fact that you could even still try to make out a word pissed him off. It didn’t help that the one word he did understand was “lightwork.”

The grip significantly tightened when he quickly sped up, snapping his hips to the point where his thighs were refuge for your hands because they didn’t hold any use anymore. He held you still with no way out. You were caged by his body, his feet planted and cock driving into your throat as a release of pure irritation. Every now and then he’d catch a drag of your teeth.

“I’m starting to think you like pissing me off to get what you want. You like it rough? Want me to fuck your little throat ‘till you can take it all?”

The pace was one you couldn’t keep up with. You’re not sure if you saw it as a challenge or something, but your panties were drenched from the leer he flaunted as he bruised your throat. But that is exactly what you wanted and in comparison to the embarrassment of saying it aloud, you’d rather just nod your head.

“Say it. Talk like you did just then.” A smile plasters on his face as he tells you what you just said you didn’t want to do. Like he could read your mind.

A muffled jumble of sounds come out as an attempt to answer him, and when you couldn’t, he laughed meanly at you. In a single stroke of his hips, he slows tremendously. The slightest movement of his cock heavy on your tongue led you to take this time to breathe through your nose while you still could.

“Talk.”

With a swallow to regain your voice, you pleaded, “Yes.” One brow of his cocks up, implying that wasn’t enough. “I like it rough,” your course voice finishes.

“Your first time and you want it rough?”

“Y-Yes, choke me, do whatever.” You took deep breaths that brought chills to his wet tip, chills that traveled all the way up his bloodstream. Your hands crawled up from his thighs to lift his shirt in the front, showing his abdomen. Since you were unable to back up because of the door, you slid to the left, and licked the side of his dick, right along a vein that one of your wet hands never failed to miss. It came down to caress his dripping length while your puffy lips left kisses as high as his belly button.

“You wanna be my whore for the day?” His own hand came to replace yours, so you dropped this one to your side, the one holding the fabric up while he stopped for a moment to look at you. He knew the answer was yes.

Lipstick smudged your chin and tainted his dick. Your eyeliner still stood strong. He’d fix that.

The other hand of his previously dug in your hair now covered your fingers rubbing his hard cock, so you took them off and held both hands at your side. Suna saw one slip into your shorts from above.

His best friend’s sister was on her knees, rubbing her clit, awaiting his cock with a now open mouth. He chuckles to himself. That’s crazy.

He holds himself before slapping it on your tongue teasingly, then anywhere else on your face, effectively spreading wetness to your eyes and cheeks, leaving them glistening. It was all from your own mouth, so hopefully you wouldn’t mind. It didn’t seem to be a bother considering you hummed through the whole thing.

His head tips back once more when his hips curl into your throat again, with the ride being a lot easier this go around. You had learned to regulate your breaths so well with his slower pace (slower in comparison to the one before), so your eyes could remain open, glossed over from your throat being abused. Vibration from your moans ring through him again.

“Haaahfuck, extend your throat. Take a deep breath.”

His free hand held under your throat, the perfect way to feel the way he was marking you from the inside, and also the perfect way to feel whenever you followed his instructions. You had.

And it felt fucking heavenly. He felt the breath you inhaled, when your jaw dropped the slightest bit, and he heard the small gluck when the muscle in your throat relaxed. So when the barrier dissipated, it allowed him to reach places he couldn’t before. Deeper and deeper the walls rubbed against him in the warm cavern of your throat, so perfectly that a line of curses slips from him. He was moaning now, breaths stuttering and voice getting louder with each time he hit the back of your throat. Did you even have a gag reflex?

“There you go, mmh- good fucking girl.”

The blue shirt refrained him from doing what he wanted, so he peels it over his head, stopping when it comes to a puddle around his neck and only one arm inside. Both hands come down to push falling strands of hair out of your way and tilt your head up to him as his pupils dilate at the sight of him disappearing into you.

Your black bra could be seen from your damp shirt being covered in spit dripping down your chin and falling from his thrusts. You fondle his balls as a finger dips into your wetness.

Once again, there was another moan—resulting in him speeding up. It was just as hard as the first time. It sent you back to the point you were in before as his cock breached your mouth, forcing your hands back to his thighs and your eyes to glaze over. You gagged but it made no difference to his pace, though it did release tears that carried black down your cheeks.

Suna could feel the pressure of your nails digging into him through his pants but he wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. The noises that came from what he was just thinking about last night on your couch was too much to handle. And honestly, it felt like he was losing himself.

He retreated from your throat to allow you to breath the smallest amount before stuffing it back. By this point you felt if you wished to live, you should just retract your mind and relax up, letting him use you in whatever ways he wanted. Your eyelids fall closed, and they may have even rolled back.

“You better not,” the man above you grunts. They slowly re-open to him pulling out, then bending down at the waist. It hurts when he pulls you up by your hair with a single hand, showing off his strength, but when you’re at an acceptable height, he closes his other hand around your neck, turns his head, and closes the gap between you.

You moan into the unexpected kiss. Your mouth wasn’t the cleanest, yet he still sucks on your tongue as if it’s a lollipop. He kisses you like he’s done it a thousand times but explores like he hasn’t: he turns his head whenever yours does and tastes your strawberry lips. You whimper when he pulls away with even more of your breath.

“Open up, stick your tongue out,” he commands. His eyes hang lower than ever before. Anyway, you follow his orders, waiting patiently on your palms. A glob of saliva drips from his mouth, landing on the pink muscle. He hadn’t told you to swallow it, but instead, he actually pats his swollen, red tip right on the spot before sliding himself back in. It mixed with your own, not even authorizing you to taste it.

He fucks your throat with his hands stable on your forehead. Not running through your hair, but the fleshy part of his palms set on your eyebrows.

“You feel so goddamn good...might start shutting you up like this more often.”

You don’t mind this proposal. It would’ve pissed you off, but you aren’t quite in the position to do anything about it, especially as his speed practically doubled. He pistons into your mouth.

His balls constantly slap on your chin. You feel the gag coming back, about to choke you, but he rotates to the back of your neck, tucking you in close so your nose was deep into dark brown hair. You still for a moment, your throat muscles moving along his cock. This is the time you take to observe him.

His face was completely flushed and his eyes were fuzzy. His mouth was held agape at the feeling, and his abs shudder each time you move. When you began to choke around him, he pulls off roughly, letting you sniffle and collect yourself. He does it again. It was clear the warmth near his stomach was bubbling up quick.

You cough this time on the exit, to where he tugs you immediately back down, but only on the tip. Taking down the three inches was a refresher. He turned you to the side, his tip making a bulge in the cheek that wasn’t closest to him. He slaps the spot as you’re held there. Not hard, but just enough to where he can do it a few times.

“You feel that?” He was fully breathless now, chest rising and falling with difficulty.

You nod. The slow blink that follows elucidates how fucked out you were.

“Now you can proudly tell your brother you’ve taken all of me down your throat. Can you do that?”

You respond, “Mhmm.” You aren’t completely sure to what, but you don’t care. He grins, then pulls out to grind slowly into your face.

“Shit, what a sight.”

Your cheeks are covered by his palms with his fingers stretched in different directions down your neck. Your eyes are puffed up, low, and decorated with a mix of smudged makeup. Your tongue has been in one spot for the majority of the time you’ve spent together. Rin’s head involuntary tilts as if he was admiring a painting at an art gallery. “Stop looking at me like you want me to take you right here, pretty.”

Purposely, whatever’s left of your eyelashes blink up at him like before and your eyebrows arch up the slightest bit. This combined with every gulp sound, evidence of him reaching the back of your throat each time, had his slick cock ready to fucking explode.

He kept his thrusts steady though, a slow, unchanging, grind. Before long, your breaths had steadied again and his forehead fell to the door. One particular thrust was extra slow. His fat tip yielded just at your entrance as if giving him time to catch his breath, so instead, you closed your lips around him, hollow your cheeks, and swirl your tongue just like when you first started. You only got to do this for about an utter five seconds before he was grunting, pulling out and quickly stroking above your face.

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Still following orders, your tongue hung ready to catch whatever he had for you. Heavy breaths, curses, and moans carried him through his orgasm as lily-white spurts of warm cum land on different sections your face. You took it upon yourself to replace his hand with your own smaller ones, milking him of everything he had and more. You squeeze until it leaks out of his tip into your mouth.

Two long, ring adorned fingers dipped into your mouth, reaching the very back. He just chuckled, to himself you assume. With his cock freshly out of your throat, you had gagged on them, to which he then shook them side to side, bringing your face along.

A fair amount coated you, a little even getting into your hair, and some dripping down the side of your eye. With a final lick and suck, you’ve successfully drained him. Your won’t dare try to speak, but after a second he hoists you up on your feet by your shoulders and gives you a peck. He’d eventually give you a paper towel from the dispenser as well, but for right now, he was busy sucking and biting onto your neck, efficaciously giving you a darkening hickey.

“Why would you do that?” You try to speak but nothing comes out, and the parts that were perceptible were extremely grainy. He’s learned to understand you.

“So your brother knows why your voice is gone.”

Rintarou now calls you his babysitter

©️ hxltic

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five-and-dimes · 7 months ago

Note

Had a very angsty thought about Dream that I thought you in particular would enjoy, so here it is:

Maybe this would be a human au, but I think it could work in universe as well.

Dream, because of the fact that he's not great with people, tends to be rather prideful, and is well aware of his own strengths, has been accused of being arrogant his whole life. Mainly by his siblings (Desire, I'm looking at you).

At some point, Dream being desperately tired of being told bad things about him, and desperate to have people around him who love him, decides that he must be the problem and so resolves that he will change himself.

How does he go about this? Well naturally he assumes that because he's been accused of arrogance, he can't trust his own judgement of himself. So whatever he thinks about himself, he believes that the reality of who he is must be worse. Which leads to a vicious cycle of self hatred.

Hob, who had become friends with Dream at some point, and had long since fallen for his friend, somehow finds out about this thought process of Dream's and is absolutely devastated. Which of course leads to Hob doing his absolute best to convince Dream he's not the worst person alive. Dream is very stubborn though, it takes a lot of work, but eventually Hob manages to help Dream see how unfair he is to himself and just how wrong his thought process is

Anyway, but I hope you enjoy this concept I thought of, it seemed like the exact sort of angst and hurt/comfort you enjoy, so I had to share

Bro you know me so Goddamn well.

(Vibing human au just cause I’ve been in human au mode for the fic I’m working on lol)

Cause like. Here’s the thing. Pride in and of itself is not a bad thing. There’s plenty of things Dream has every right to be proud of! But he grows up with parents constantly neglecting him and calling him selfish when he wants their attention/love/support, and siblings who call him arrogant when he speaks highly of himself. His siblings try to tear him down and he fights back by overcompensating, doubling down on his pride until it does in fact tip into arrogance, but he’s just so desperate not to let them make him feel worthless (even if it doesn’t really work). And when Desire or Despair are cruel to him and he fights back the only way he knows how, HE’S the one his older siblings scold and are disappointed in.

And time passes, and he’s not naturally good with social interactions, and then on top of that you have the trauma of his family life exacerbating the struggle. He starts having romantic relationships that start strong and then nosedive, and suddenly he’s being criticized and beaten down from all sides, no one willing to give him the benefit of the doubt or any compassion when he messes up. So he starts to figure… well, surely if EVERYONE says all these bad things about him they can’t ALL be wrong. Surely he’s the one who’s wrong.

So he enters university with this mindset that he can’t trust his own feelings unless they're negative. He’s not someone who struggles, he’s just a bad person. He’s not talented or successful, he’s just arrogant.

And that’s who Hob meets. Dream still has a haughty demeanor- a little part of him wants people to see right away what a “bad person” he is so that he can get it over with (plus, deceiving them would just make him a worse person, right?)- but Hob is obsessed with him immediately. Privately, Hob thinks of Dream like a stray cat, hissing and scratching out of fear and distrust, but it takes some time for him to realize just how accurate that assessment is. They become closer, and he starts to notice some things, like how Dream doesn’t tell him about the galleys he gets accepted into, or the stories that gets published, or the tests he aces. When he prods Dream about it, he shrugs it off, saying it doesn’t matter, it’s nothing, he wasn’t going to burden Hob with something so insignificant.

Hob tells Dream he should be proud of himself for his accomplishments and Dream is literally speechless.

No one has ever told Dream he should be proud. His pride was what made him unlovable, right?

Oops, did he say that out loud?

It’s like pulling teeth getting Dream to explain to Hob- How he’s always been wrong before, how he’s never gotten it right, so obviously he can’t trust his own perception of himself. Maybe he was excited, or felt a little spark of joy and pride at his successes, but he knows now that he actually has no reason to be proud of anything ever because he’s just a burden and a bad person.

Hob is going to cry.

It’s a hard battle getting Dream out of this mindset. Hob kind of just has to go all in, because it’s not like Dream talks openly about his thought process, Hob just happened to notice and drag it out of him. So even if it might seem like Dream is just chilling on the couch watching a show, odds are he’s actually deconstructing every single thing he’s said and done that day and twisting them into proof for why he’s unlovable. But it’s not like it’s a chore for Hob- all he’s really doing is giving Dream the validation and approval that he never got growing up, and showing him a bit of grace when he stumbles. To Hob it's nothing, but to Dream it's everything.

(It’s also very cute to see how red Dream gets when Hob compliments him or shows up to his gallery exhibitions or tapes his A+ essays onto the fridge.)

There’s ups and downs, and there will continue to be ups and downs for a while. But when Hob finally kisses him, Dream thinks to himself… If someone as good as Hob can love him? Then maybe- just maybe- he’s not so bad himself.

#the sandman #dreamling #my writing #asks #Thank you for sending this you are correct this is exactly my jam

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sleepingdeath-light · 1 year ago

Text

yandere hcs + overworked s/o ; poly millie & moxxie

requested by ; arcade anon (16/07/23)

fandom(s) ; helluva boss

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; millie & moxxie

outline ; “YANDERE ASKS ROUND THREE!‼️‼️

Can I ask for Yandere Millie and Moxxie team up/poly with a Stubborn, Overworked reader? Like, the job has been really ragging on em lately, and it shows, but they REFUSE to let up/take a break because "None of these fuckin nimwits know how to do the job right!" ?

-Arcade Anon”

note ; this was actually quite good fun to write as i’ve never gotten the chance to write for these two love birds before — but in that same vein, i hope this isn’t too ooc and is an enjoyable read ^^

warning(s) ; yandere!millie, yandere!moxxie, possessive and protective behaviour, referenced forcible restrainment, references to canon-typical levels of violence

despite their hectic work schedule at i.m.p, millie and moxxie are both quick to pick up on how much you’ve been run ragged by your job — but, being more than familiar with how stubborn you can be, the two resolve to give you some time to sort things out by yourself

though not without making it clear that they’re more than happy to step in on your behalf and will do so if things get bad enough — whether you want them to or not

you can dig your heels in and argue with them as much as you want, but you’re never going to convince them to drop the issue of your work schedule — nor are you ever going to be able to convince them to not use their… professional skills to take care of issues on your behalf

(they’ve killed people for just looking at you in a way that could be interpreted as disrespectful to you and your relationship… so needless to say, they’re a very protective duo)

between themselves, usually whilst dealing with marks for work, they toss around several ideas about how to make you take care of yourself — moxxie is initially much more focused on taking the pacifist of route and just arranging a meeting with your job or sitting you down and explaining their concerns as best they can, whilst millie is plotting all sorts of violent acts that span from torturing your boss into lessening your work load (if not outright killing some of your colleagues to send a message) to tying you up and forcing you to stay at home so you can finally take a fucking break

eventually, with some shockingly sound advice from blitzø (there’s a first time for everything), they settle on something in between the two extremes

(love is all about compromise, after all! just not with you this time)

one day you get home from work and your partners are sat in the living room with matching sober expressions on their face — millie is the one to greet you first, as usual, with a cuddle and a kiss as she asks you about your day, guiding you to sit on the settee whilst moxxie quickly goes and retrieves all of the materials he’d been preparing throughout the day (blitzø had rather generously given him the day off to do so — and as thankful as he is, he still dreads what he’ll be asked to do to make up for it)

they sit you down and talk through their concerns with graphs tracking your work hours and sleep schedule that mox had spent weeks making: millie’s alternating between reassurances that they both understand where you’re coming from, backing up moxxie’s statements with her typical wrath-ring charm, and lovingly telling you to shut up and listen whilst being as physically affectionate as ever, whilst moxxie is walking you through the data and (still polite as always) explaining just how necessary it is for you to take some time off

they refute every argument you have and force you (literally, millie is startlingly strong for her size and refuses to take her hands off of you until she’s sure you’re not going to bolt off) to stay and listen to reason

and they make it as clear as day that they’re not above keeping you at home by force if that’s what it takes to get you to prioritise your well-being

and, once they’ve finished with you and are absolutely certain that you intend to listen to their advice, they go and seek out your boss under the cover of night in order to sort out the problem at the source

if millie had her way they’d have just killed your boss outright and used their death as a clear-cut example about what happens to anyone who fucks with their partner

but, thankfully, she listened to moxxie’s pleas and they instead started out diplomatically (except for the whole breaking into their home and tying them up so they can’t escape thing): clearly stating their concerns, stating alternative solutions (like offering more thorough training so you don’t feel like the only competent person in a workplace full of ‘fuckin nimwits’), and making it clear that they will come back and finish the job if they don’t sort their shit out going forwards

(millie still gets her fill of violence by taking out a few armed bodyguards and wounding your boss badly — but not fatally — when they try to weasel out of giving you some time off like they demanded, so don’t worry about that)

… needless to say, you didn’t get overworked at all after that and were instead free to spend even more time showering your (at times concerningly) adoring partners with love and being smothered by their affection in return

#sleepingdeath #arcade anon #gender neutral reader #yandere x reader #yandere hcs #poly x reader #yandere poly x reader #helluva boss x reader #yandere helluva boss x reader #yandere helluva boss #millie x moxxie x reader #yandere helluva boss millie #yandere helluva boss moxxie #poly helluva boss x reader

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rainsoughtflowers · 25 days ago

Text

do you see right through me?

kyung-jun curses you under his breath, "let go you crazy bitch-"

"can you stop being stubborn for just one moment and take it? or is your pride too precious to protect that you'd deny help from someone willing to give it?"

kyung-jun's movements cease at your words. instead of fighting, he begins watching you closely, sizing you up, and you have no issue copying his actions. you watch his face just as intently, catching the way he digests your words, his resolve unfolding slowly as his fingers slacken beneath your own. the exact moment of his defeat is found in the way his anger settles, growing quieter, but never leaving entirely. he may realize the truth in your words, but it doesn't mean he has to like it.

whatever. it doesn't matter to you. you saw right through him then. for someone with walls so high, it was easy to climb up and look inside.

tw/cw - depictions of character death and violence.

a/n- new story! there's barely any content about this man, which is criminal, so i decided to break out the writing brain and do it myself. hope you guys enjoy!

the girl in the reflection looks like you, but you hardly recognize her.

there's disorder to her appearance, something chaotic surrounding her figure. a once perfect braid slowly unravels, and when she reaches her fingers up to press against the corner of her mouth, there's a cut there, slowly leaking blood. you wonder if it hurts. you certainty don't feel it. you do, however, sense the frown that pulls at your lips. your hands drop back down to your sides.

the rain outside continues, coming down harder with each second that passes. the sound is almost comforting. there's a rhythm to it, the way the impact against the ground blends with the tapping against the window. if you closed your eyes, you could fall asleep to it. tap. plink. thump. instead, you focus back on your reflection, watching her blink, the hollowness in her eyes never disappearing. rather, they move to follow the raindrops sliding down the window pane. the second one reaches the end first. she blinks again. time to go.

with the storm outside, there aren't any students wandering the halls. clubs were cancelled at the first sight of rain, and teachers retreated to their offices without a second thought. almost everyone has gone home by then. almost.

the sight of him as you round the corner ceases your steps entirely, due to a mixture of shock and hesitance. you recognize him, not by his tall frame, but because of his demeanor. ko kyung-jun wears anger like it's armor. he exhibits it on his face with a tight jaw, and he keeps it close to his body with clenched fists and a tense stature. you don't think you've ever seen him differently. not since you met him two years ago.

he hasn't noticed your arrival. it would be simple to retrace your steps. to go in a different direction through a different exit. you could avoid him and his wrath entirely. but hesitance keeps a strong grip, suffocatingly tight around your bones. the umbrella in your hands feel heavy, and you glance down at the object, considering.

you're not sure what compels you to do it. was it pity? fear? perhaps neither. perhaps both. either way, you don't stop your body from moving across the room or pressing your fingers against the button on the handle. you don't second guess yourself even when ko kyung -jun finally turns around, his fierce gaze landing on your face when you finally approach him, umbrella open, hanging above his head.

he raises an eyebrow in question, eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "what the hell do you want?"

"you'll catch a cold if you walk in the rain." you reply simply. it was the excuse you settled for once you'd made up your mind. really, it should've left no room for argument.

he glances at your outstretched hand, and you catch the exact moment his anger rises. his eyebrows draw together, and there's a sneer curling at his lips. kyung-jun scoffs, pushing the object away, "fuck off. i didn't ask for your help."

you should've stopped then. pissing kyung-jun off was something you tend to avoid. if he didn't want your help, then it was best not to push it, not unless you desired being the target of his temper. and yet, for some reason, there's a frustration building underneath your skin. it pulls at your muscles, spreading across your face and resting on your tongue. how strange. anger was kyung-jun's emotion, not yours. he wore it best after all. you, on the other hand, lived your life quietly. emotions were not something you wore on your sleeve.

so why did you release your own frustrated breath? why did your unoccupied hand reach for his own, forcing the handle of your umbrella into his possession? it's unlike you. behaving this way. you think back to the girl in your reflection. could she have disappeared so quickly?

kyung-jun curses you under his breath, "let go you crazy bitch-"

"can you stop being stubborn for just one moment and take it? or is your pride too precious to protect that you'd deny help from someone willing to give it?"

whatever. it doesn't matter to you. you saw right through him then. for someone with walls so high, it was easy to climb up and look inside.

you wake up slowly in the beginning. your hearing is the first sense to return, and you listen to the roar of the engine blend with the frantic voices towards the back of the bus. then your sense of touch. you feel your hands folded in your lap, fingers curled around the edges of your skirt. there's wetness coating your palms, something warm and sticky, like blood. a sharp pain pierces your abdomen then, like a knife being repeatedly plunged into your skin. your sight returns last. it is quick, and your eyes snap open to frantically glance down at your lap.

there is no blood there, not like you had imagined, and the pain in your abdomen is now nothing more than a phantom ache. your knuckles are white, gripping the fabric of your skirt like your life depends on it. you release it with a shaky breath, relieved. it was simply a bad dream. you're on the bus, heading to the youth center, not fearing for your life in-

in what? what exactly did you dream about?

"hey! kyung-jun is sleeping. it's too loud."

you shift in your seat at the sound of jin-a's voice, angling your body to look past the seats and towards the back of the bus. a large group is huddled together, sharing equal looks of guilt and annoyance, but their voices hush down to a quiet whisper nonetheless. your eyes shift towards jin-a, who settles back down into his seat. seung-bin, sitting in the row directly in front of him, wears a cocky smile on his lips. your attention then diverts to the boy beside him, who, to your surprise, meets your curious eyes.

immediately you feel struck by the feeling. not because the encounter is unexpected (though you had anticipated kyung-jun swiftly returning to his nap once the yelling ceased) but rather, the expression on his face. he raises an eyebrow at you, as if urging you to say something against his commands.

'go on. try it.'

an uncomfortable feeling arises in your chest. it feels tight, like someone reached in and closed a fist around your heart. it's hard to decipher the exact reason why.

'no. i don't think i will.'

you quickly glance away, slumping back against your seat. the rapid thumping of your heart can be felt in your ears.

there's movement in front of you, and you watch as hyun-ho and dong-hyun turn in their seats, wearing matching looks of irritation.

dong-hyun grits his teeth, "those assholes. always causing trouble." he lifts his body from his seat, as if to get up and march towards the back to tell them off. hyun-ho is quick to guide him back down with a reassuring pat on his knee.

dong-hyun slumps against his seat in defeat, though not before muttering a couple of curses under his breath. hyun-ho turns around once more, glaring at the trio, before shifting his gaze to meet your own. his eyes soften at the corners, "you alright? they aren't scaring you, are they?"

you blink, confused by the question at first, before realizing the underlying message. you shake your head softly, "no. i'm fine." hyun-ho continues looking at you, and you force yourself to meet his concerned gaze head on, fingers fiddling with your skirt. finally, he flashes you a reassuring smile before turning back around in his seat.

you release a shaky breath, glancing towards your left. jun-hee sleeps peacefully, his head resting against the window, his breathing quiet and even. you envy it. maybe you should try sleeping again, too. it would be another couple of hours before you arrive at the youth center after all.

just as the thought enters your mind a phone appears above your head, snapping a picture of the sleeping boy next to you. you glance up at the culprit, confusion drawing at your brows, "so-mi, what do you think you're doing?"

she puts on an innocent face, "nothing. just taking a photo of the fields. our window is dirty, so i'm using yours instead. you don't mind, right?"

you're not sure if you should be impressed by her boldness or offended over the fact that she believed you'd buy her excuse. you decide to go with the former. "jun-hee is sleeping. don't disturb him."

she rolls her eyes in annoyance, "it's just a photo. relax." she drops back down into her seat, turning around to continue her conversation with her friends.

you think about telling jun-hee, but another look at his sleeping form has you biting back your tongue. no point in disturbing him. he'd be busy the rest of the night with setting up for tomorrow's event, and there was also the class photo that needs to be taken before curfew. a trivial issue such as this could wait until later.

you glance around the front of the bus, searching for jung-won and yoon-seo. you spot the pair a couple rows ahead. jung-won is occupied on her computer, no doubt working on her submission for the game contest she entered a while back. yoon-seo, on the other hand, is peeking over the top of her seat, and you catch her gaze, already aware of the sight of her infatuation. you tilt her head at her, glancing between her and jun-hee's sleeping form. an invitation for her to switch seats with you. rather than jump on the opportunity though, yoon-seo's face flushes, and she shakes her head before turning around and out of sight.

you release a short breath. she was hopeless.

night falls faster than you expect, and before you know it, the wheels of the bus are rolling to a stop in front of the youth center. jun-hee shakes himself awake, and the two of you gather your belongings and step off the vehicle. you follow him towards the side of the bus, where he lifts up the door to the luggage compartment and reveals the supplies for this years trip.

"do you need help?" you ask him. jun-hee flashes you a grateful smile, which leads you to pick up the first box you see. immediately, you begin to regret your offer to help. the box is taped shut, so you can't look inside, but it's heavy. abnormally heavy. you shift the weight of the object in your arms, trying to find an arrangement that eases the discomfort.

you're so focused on your task that you fail to notice the person in front of you. the front of the box slams against their body, and you stumble back at the force, blinking in bewilderment. an apology dances at your tongue, but it gets caught in your throat when you meet ko kyung-jun's eyes.

you stare at one another for several long, silent moments, unmoving. you had prepared yourself for his anger, but when you study his expression, it's abnormally blank. maybe even a little bit surprised. strange.

"hey!" seung-bin steps forward, shoving you back with astonishing force, "watch where you're going!"

luckily, you're able to catch your footing, but it doesn't cease the rising irritation bubbling beneath your skin. your attention snaps towards the blond boy, who straightens his posture, exuding arrogance and sporting a smug smile.

kyung-jun smacks him on the back of the head. just once, but hard enough to make seung-bin wipe the smile off his face, "stop fucking screaming, idiot." he then shifts his focus to you, and you feel your body grow taut, unsure of what to make of the attention he lays at your feet. his dark eyes then glance down, considering the box in your arms. what surprises you the most is not the barely legible curse words under his breath, but rather, the sudden loss of weight in your arms.

"oh, you don't have to-"

kyung-jun ignores you, walking away without another word. his friends glance at each other in slight confusion, before rushing after him.

you stand there helplessly, watching his back as he disappears into the school. confusion clouds your brain, replaying the exchange over and over again in the forefront of your mind. one question stands out amongst the rest.

why had he done that?

it was so unlike him. ko kyung-jun wasn't exactly the caring type. even if he did suddenly feel generous, his kindness always came with a price. a majority of the time it meant being made into a laughing stock. a prank, or a game played for his entertainment. but he hadn't asked anything of you. at least, not yet. it was unnerving.

jung-won and yoon-seo are just several feet ahead, and you call out to them as you pass, letting the pair know that you're going on ahead. you make it up the steps and through the front doors, being greeted by a large statue in the center of the room. chiseled out of stone, a woman sits on a marble block, and blue light washes over her body delicately, like water. below her, there's a sign. you read it quickly.

SCAN THE QR CODE TO CONNECT TO THE WI-FI AND INSTALL THE YOUTH CENTER APP AUTOMATICALLY.

you pull out your phone, scanning in and continuing inside the building. just as you pass the statue, heading towards the hallway, you notice your teacher and several staff members engaged in discussion at the front desk. there's a worried expression on his face, his hands gripping the edge of the counter, but you don't give yourself time to dwell on the matter. you're sure it's nothing.

when you enter your room na-hee is there. by the looks of it, she just arrived as well, and the two of you greet each other softly. you drop your duffel bag beside your bed, along with your backpack. you consider your possessions for a moment. should you unpack? your clothes might get wrinkled if you leave them there for too long. but your teacher did insist that everyone meets in the gym immediately.

"should we head down together?" na-hee stands idly by the door, and you spare another thoughtful look at your bags. coming to a decision, you reach down into your backpack and pull out a sketchpad and a box of pencils.

"let's go." unpacking could wait until later.

as soon as you enter the gym your paths diverge. na-hee retreats to the snack table near the center of the room, which is being guarded by jun-hee and so-mi, while your path leads you off to the side. yoon-seo and jung-won are seated against the wall, greeting you with small smiles as you approach. you place yourself on jung-won's right side, flipping open your notebook and placing a pencil between your fingertips.

the next hour consists of your classmates indulging in their own activities. you and jung-won discuss the elements and progress of her game while yoon-seo stares longingly towards the snack table. on stage, a group of your classmates are tuning their instruments and playing soft, short melodies, and in the center, a group of girls are practicing their dance routine. the music they play is loud and boisterous, so much so you can barely hear your thoughts. at least it was entertaining.

just as the thought enters your mind the music stops, and you lift your head to find kyung-jun, the culprit no doubt, walking away from the speaker. a smirk rests easily on his lips, and even as the girls glare and curse at him, his amusement doesn't falter. he catches your stare, and somehow, his smile widens, boyish and foxlike. it sends a tremor in your heart. you quickly cast your attention elsewhere, which happens to be yoon-seo's face. she's still staring in the same direction.

jung-won grabs her attention with a small nudge, "hey."

"huh?" yoon-seo replies, but doesn't take her eyes away. hopeless.

"stop looking, you're making it obvious."

"at this rate jun-hee's head will explode with how much his ears are ringing." you chime in, earning an exasperated look from yoon-seo when she finally turns around.

"i wasn't looking." she denies, but the smile on her face says otherwise. she rests her head back onto the palm of her hand.

jung-won rolls her eyes, "of course you were," she goes back onto her phone, tapping away at the device. a frown immediately pulls at her lips, followed by an annoyed click of her tongue, "this really sucks. i can make something like this in a day."

you look over jung-won's shoulder, seeing the youth center app displayed on screen. she was right. it did look tacky. not practical at all for student use.

yoon-seo's head peeks over jung-won's other shoulder, and the girl angles her phone to show off the screen better, "didn't you scan the QR code? it was installed automatically," she shifts back, holding out her hand, "give me your phone. i'll do it for you."

yoon-seo leans back, almost offended, "huh? no," she pulls out a pamphlet, holding it up like a trophy, "i can just look at this."

jung-won gives her an exasperated look, "you want to carry that around for two days?"

"based on what you showed me, jung-won, that pamphlet is probably better than the app." you pipe in. yoon-seo grins at your reasoning, pointedly looking at jung-won as if to say, "see? it's practical."

jung-won sighs, but accepts defeat nonetheless. yoon-seo resumes her staring, and jung-won continues tapping away at her phone. faintly, you hear the teacher calling out jun-hee's name. maybe it was related to the heated discussion at the front desk earlier.

"i'm not getting an signal." jung-won mutters, and you examine her face, seeing her eyebrows knit together in frustration. you check your own phone, and sure enough, there's nothing.

"i thought it said we got free Wi-Fi?" you mumble absentmindedly.

"it did."

you open up various apps, but the same message appears. you check your service, but the bars are empty. was it a dead zone? you were pretty far from the city. the nearest village was several miles away, so it would make sense. but still, the issue of Wi-Fi...

before you can ponder the thought, everything goes dark. the lights shut off with a dying buzz, and there are murmurs of conversation erupting across the room, mainly of annoyance. you turn on the flashlight on your phone, being greeted by the sight of your beat up shoes.

"must be a power outage. come on, lets go towards the tables." it's yoon-seo's voice, and her logic is reasonable, so you stand up and follow her towards the snack table. halfway there someone screams, loudly, piercingly, and it echoes through your bones and halts your movements. around you, other classmates start screaming as well, yelling about a ghost in the center of the room. your eyes snap towards the chaos, and sure enough, a white figure stands silently in the middle of the court. it's ominous, how stark the contrast of white is in a dark room. it makes your heart pick up the frantic rhythm of it's beating ever so slightly.

what is-

a basketball is thrown across the room, and the illusion of fear is broken. the figure grunts in pain, falling on the floor, and when the emergency lights turn on, you realize the 'ghost' looks a lot like your classmate heo-yool.

"hey, stop goofing around." hyun-ho's voice breaks through the stunned silence, which causes several other annoyed voices to echo in the gym.

heo-yool hastily scrambles to his feet, pulling the sheet off his body "hey, listen. listen carefully." the voices hush, which gives him the opportunity to continue, "i heard something here. a female high school student committed suicide here once," a chill rushes down your spine at the words, making your entire body tremble. surely it wasn't true. it was probably just another harmless rumor to scare students. heo-yool's voice enters your ears once more, "there's something you absolutely can't do. don't look back after looking in the mirror past midnight. and don't look even if someone grabs your ankle while you are asleep. if you don't follow these rules, " he pauses. looks around, "it's a ghost!" he lifts his hands and dashes towards the dancers, who all let out screams and curses.

of course. typical heo-yool using a ghost story to scare his friends.

jung-won releases a short breath. it appears she also didn't find heo-yool's antics amusing. she turns towards yoon-seo, "let's go to our room."

yoon-seo turns away from the screaming dancers, nodding her head in agreement. you take a small step closer to the pair, "i'll come with you guys. na-hee is sending heart eyes to hyun-ho again, and i don't want to listen to her talk about him all night."

jung-won grins, sparing a glance at the shorter girl beside her, "sounds like someone else i know."

yoon-seo laughs, shaking her head, and the three of you walk out of the gym.

as the three of you approach the room you stop, earning you two similar looks of confusion. you hold up your notebook, "i'm gonna leave this in my room. and maybe get changed. i'll come by when i'm done."

jung-won nods in understanding, "we'll leave the door unlocked for you."

you nod, turning to leave. your room is just a couple doors down from their own, so it doesn't take long for you to slip inside and put away your things. once your notebook is safely secured in your backpack you slip off your uniform vest, folding it neatly and placing it at the edge of the bed. you glance down at your duffel bag, and once again you're faced with the dilemma of unpacking. realistically, it shouldn't take too long, but the thought of actually starting the task makes you hesitate.

a chime from your phone brings you away from your thoughts, and you pull the device out, thinking it was yoon-seo or jung-won asking where you were. however, opening the screen did not reveal any text messages from your friends. rather, a red screen with an announcement greets you instead.

WELCOME, THE MAFIA GAME STARTS NOW. CHECK YOUR OCCUPATION NOW.

a game? was this a part of the youth center app? or was jung-won playing a prank on you? an envelope appears then, furthering your confusion. you press it.

YOUR OCCUPATION IS NURSE.

you tilt your head, dazed. the screen changes once more, displaying different rules. you read through each one carefully.

1. THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE SECRETLY ASSIGNED AS CIVILIANS, A DOCTOR, A NURSE, A POLICE OFFICER, AND A MAFIA. THE DOCTOR CAN PREVENT THE EXECUTION OF A PARTICIPANT OF THEIR CHOICE. IN THE EVENT THAT THE DOCTOR IS EXECUTED, THE NURSE WILL ASSUME THE DOCTOR'S ROLE AND SKILLS. THE POLICE OFFICER CAN FIND OUT THE OCCUPATION OF THE PARTICIPANT OF THEIR CHOICE.

2. STARTING AT 8 AM TO MIDNIGHT, THE PARTICIPANTS WILL SELECT THE MAFIA MEMBERS THROUGH VOTING.

3. AT MIDNIGHT, THE PARTICIPANTS WITH THE MOST VOTES WILL GET EXECUTED AND THEIR OCCUPATION WILL BE REVEALED.

4. AFTER THE VOTING ENDS AT MIDNIGHT, ALL PARTICIPANTS EXCEPT FOR THE MAFIA MEMBERS WILL GO TO SLEEP.

5. DURING THE NIGHT, WHILE PARTICIPANTS ARE ASLEEP, BY 6 AM, THE MAFIA MUST EXECUTE SOMEONE THEMSELVES.

6. WHEN EITHER THE TEAM CIVILIAINS OR TEAM MAFIA KILL ALL OF THE OTHER TEAM AND WIN, IT'S GAME OVER. CIVILIANS, THE DOCTOR, THE NURSE AND THE POLICE OFFICER ARE ON THE SAME TEAM.

PARTICIPANTS, PLEASE FIND THE MAFIA AND START VOTING NOW.

you stare at your phone for several moments, processing the information you just read. isn't this the game your classmates were playing earlier? maybe it wasn't jung-won that created it, but one of them instead. but how did they manage to organize it? and how exactly do they enforce these rules? it seems a little impractical, especially with the event tomorrow. when would you find the time to play?

you quickly leave your room and enter jung-won and yoon-seo's. they are also on their phones. you hold your own up in question, "hey, did you guys get this?"

yoon-seo replies first, "yeah. what do you think this is about?"

before you can answer, another chime enters your ears. the three of you glance down at your phones, finding a message on the game's chat.

heo-yool: hi losers! let the game begin now!

eun-ha: heo-yool is the mafia. let's kill him.

"if you push a name a vote gets cast." jung-won announces.

yoon-seo leans over, "really?"

you sit down next to jung-won, spotting the option to vote displayed on her screen, "are we voting for heo-yool then?" .

she shrugs, "everyone else is."

you worry at your bottom lip, finding heo-yool's name on your phone. sure enough, when you tap on his image, the option to vote comes up, and you hesitate before pressing the button. it gets announced in the chat, which, based on a quick glance, shows that the majority of your classmates decided to vote him out as well.

you scan the rest of your screen, seeing all of your classmates pictures and names displayed, and in the corner there's a skill tab. you spare a glance at your friends, and you wonder if you should bring it up.

but how do i know they aren't mafia? isn't the point of the game to win?

it's probably best they don't know about your role just yet.

yoon-seo slowly lowers her phone, looking perplexed, "by the way, i didn't even sign up. how do they know all our names?"

her words cause you to straighten, an eerie feeling washing over your body. a chill rushes down your spine, a prickle on the back of your neck. something didn't feel right just then. jung-won must agree, for she starts rapidly tapping away on her phone. she pauses, slowly glancing up, "the internet isn't working either. how are we able to play the game?"

the question settles like a heavy weight, pressing down insistently on your chest. you swallow thickly, racking your brain for a reason behind the sudden dread, "maybe our teacher organized this? you know how he is with team building exercises. heo-yool probably helped him put it together."

yoon-seo hums absentmindedly, deep in thought, "he might be back by now, right? let's go look."

the three of you get up, making the journey downstairs towards the lobby. as soon as you arrive you know something is wrong, can feel it deep within your bones. not just because it was empty, but something else, too. something you couldn't explain.

jung-won glances around in surprise, "what? he hasn't come back yet?"

"he left a while ago, right?" you ask, meeting jung-won's eyes, "what was it even about?"

yoon-seo answers for her, "the other classes bus broke down. maybe something happened."

footsteps echo across the lobby, and you glance around to find the source of the sound. the origin of the noise comes from the stairs, and you're surprised to find jun-hee steadily descending, his own bewilderment apparent as he approaches the front desk.

"jun-hee," yoon-seo begins, meeting the boy halfway, "you don't know when the teacher is coming back, right?"

jun-hee shakes his head, "no, i can't reach him. are your phones working?"

everyone shakes their head. jun-hee releases a breath in response.

"where's the staff?" yoon-seo asks suddenly, prompting everyone to glance around. it seems like they haven't been around for a while, not since you arrived.

"i guess they all went with the teacher. no one's here." it seemed like the only plausible explanation. why else would they leave an entire class unattended?

jung-won's face twists into disbelief, "what? what do we do then? how long do we have to wait?"

yoon-seo perks up, and you can see the wheels rapidly turning in her head, "there must be a phone in the office. let's check it out."

the four of you go up the stairs and wander down the halls, finding the office at the very end. the door opens with ease, and your small group branches out to different corners of the room. jun-hee messes with a phone on the desk, pressing several buttons, but the tell-tale signs of it dialing never start. he shakes his head at you, causing a soft breath to escape your lips. this was getting weird.

you glance towards your side, finding yoon-seo looking strangely at a cup of coffee. your face creases in confusion, "what is it?"

yoon-seo lifts the cup for you to see, "the coffee hasn't been touched." sure enough, when you examine the mug, it's almost entirely full, meaning whoever it belonged to didn't have the time to drink it. she turns to jun-hee, "you really didn't see anyone?"

the boy shakes his head, "no, i didn't."

"why would they leave us alone?" you ponder out loud, but your question receives no answer.

just then the phone starts ringing. yoon-seo rushes forward and picks it up, pressing the device against her ear. you watch in anticipation, waiting for relief or concentration to pass over her features. but yoon-seo's face holds neither of those things. a strange looks passes over her expression, oddly similar to confusion. she looks up, "it cut off."

jung-won takes a small step forward, "call the police, 911, or whatever."

yoon-seo complies, pressing at the buttons. the confusion on her face intensifies, and she slowly places the phone down and shakes her head.

four chimes echo inside the room, one after the other, and you quickly grab your own phone from your pocket, hoping it's more information regarding this strange game. instead, it's a text from so-mi.

so-mi: lee yoon-seo, come to the pool in the annex right now. it's urgent.

"do you know what this is about?" yoon-seo asks jun-hee.

a bashful look crosses over his face, "well, the thing is for the event tomorrow. we're interviewing everyone and asking about the trip."

"why would you interview in this situation?" jung-won asks.

"and why only yoon-seo?" you mutter in response.

yoon-seo shrugs, smiling, "i don't mind. let's go."

you don't object, simply because it would be hard to change yoon-seo's mind once it was set on something. even if the request was off, and so-mi had a history of disliking yoon-seo simply because of her relationship with jun-hee, yoon-seo insisted on seeing past her prejudices and offering the vice president kindness. sometimes, you felt as if she was too nice for her own good.

the four of you retrace your steps back to the lobby, slowly going down the stairs. at the bottom you notice ju-won, who seems to be in a hurry, his entire body rigid and his face tense. jun-hee calls out his name, causing the boy to turn. with him facing you, you can easily spot the tissue stuffed up his nose, as well as the blood slowly soaking it.

"where are you going?" jun-hee asks.

ju-won looks down, averting his gaze, "well, the guys wanted to see me for a second. so..."

it becomes clearer then. the bloody nose. ju-won's skittish nature. his shameful expression. it had kyung-jun and his friends written all over the situation.

jun-hee must realize it too. he glances back, smiling reassuringly, "i'll talk to ju-won and join you later."

the three of you nod and finish the decent. right as you reach the bottom a thought strikes you, and you gain your friend's attention once more, "actually, i have to use the restroom. i'll also catch up with you guys later."

the two girls look at each other before letting you go with two small smiles. jung-won and yoon-seo head in the direction of the pool while you pivot around and walk down the opposite hall. you find the bathroom fairly quickly, and after being assured that no one else was present, you pull out your phone, staring at your classmates names and images. you bring your fingers up towards the skill tab, tapping it swiftly.

ERROR! YOUR SKILL HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVATED.

a frown pulls at your lips. you press your fingernail against your bottom lip, applying pressure against the delicate flesh in deep thought. well, you supposed that answered that question. either you had to find the doctor, or wait for them to be executed.

you walk out, faltering at the sight of hyun-ho and dong-hyun passing by. they pause as well, appearing almost surprised to run into you, before allowing easy grins to rest on her lips.

"oh, hey." hyun-ho greets you. you lift your hand up as a greeting of your own.

dong-hyun angles his body to face you directly, suddenly eager, "hey, you also got that game, right? what's your role? is it mafia?"

you blink in bewilderment, shaking your head slightly, "no, i'm a civilian." you pause your words for a moment, tilting your head at them in question, "what are you guys doing here?"

"heading to the gym." hyun-ho replies.

"oh. jun-hee is there right now." you glance away, thinking. should you check on him? you recall ju-won's face. the terrified expression molded almost permanently there. if it really was kyung-jun's doing, it was likely that a fight would break out, especially between him and jun-hee. the two never liked each other. you look back up at hyun-ho, "mind if i go with you?"

"not at all."

you follow the pair down the hall, trailing behind them silently. it's probably a good thing hyun-ho and dong-hyun were heading there already. if a fight did break out, they were capable of stopping it. you enter through the doors, and of course, as expected, jun-hee is in the middle with ju-won and kyung-jun's gang of friends. the tension in the air feels thick, electrifying like static. seung-bin approaches jun-hee.

"i hate how you act superior because of your pretty face."

hyun-ho scoffs at the sight, "of course those pricks are up to no good again." he picks up a basketball, weighing it in his hands for a moment before pulling his arm back and throwing it towards seung-bin. it hits him square on his back, and the boy lets out a grunt in response followed by several curses.

he turns around, rubbing the sore spot on his back, "shit. who was that?"

the three of you are closer to the group now. you make brief eye contact with kyung-jun, who looks amused, as always. nothing unexpected.

hyun-ho approaches seung-bin, smirking smugly, "seung-bin. you got pretty big. have you been working out?"

the blond scoffs, smiling in disbelief, "shit, hyun-ho, you son of a bitch."

you fear the two are going to fight it out, but kyung-jun approaches, his presence both diffusing the tension and causing it to heighten, "why are you all gathered here and flipping out?" he pauses in front of hyun-ho, stares at him seriously, and you know he's angry, even if it's not displayed so blatantly on his face. the ghost of the emotion unraveling at the corners of his lips, almost like a premonition. all it would take is one word, one move, and the world would explode. his eyes slide over to your own, and this time you don't look away.

'go on.' you urge, raising an eyebrow in question, mimicking his gesture from earlier on the bus, 'let the fuse burn.'

hyun-ho zips up his sweater, cutting off your vision as he steps in front of you. this gain's kyung-jun's attention once more, "we wanted to exercise. why? can't we?"

a smile curls kyung-jun's lips, and he lowers his head, laughing softly to himself as he presses his fingers against his temple. after a moment he clears his throat, slowly stepping closer, the sound building. he lowers his head once more, spitting on hyun-ho's shoes.

"you losers couldn't even get into the national team," he finally looks up, and the two are nearly the same height. his smile widens, "fuck, sure, work your asses off then." he pats hyun-ho's shoulder twice before brushing past him, motioning with his head for his friends to follow, "lets go."

seung-bin and jin-a shove past, slowly stalking away. faintly, you hear hyun-ho curse the three of them under his breath, and jun-hee's reassuring voice that's preventing him from adding fuel to the flames. your attention, however, stays rooted to the door, watching kyung-jun's purposeful stride, his air of confidence, as he disappears behind the doors. it's only when you can no longer see the green of his jacket do you let your eyes wander, settling on da-bum. there is hatred in his eyes, which is understandable. but the sight of it, the rage flickering across his face, threatening to unleash, felt dangerous somehow. he makes eye contact with you, and he looks startled then, his earlier emotion gone so suddenly and replaced by terror. maybe it was just a trick of the light. you glance away.

jun-hee calls out your name, and you turn as he comes up to you, "everything should be fine now. let's go find yoon-seo and jung-won."

you nod in compliance, following after the taller male. the two of you walk silently towards the pool, side by side, and from the corner of your vision you can see jun-hee's relaxed expression. even then, you still can't get rid of the unease prickling against your skin. there were so many strange things happening that it was hard to pinpoint one problem to mull over. the mafia game, the disappearance of any and all adults, kyung-jun's weird behavior. maybe this was all a strange dream?

a scream rips you away from your thoughts, deafening and frantic. you share a look with jun-hee, who comes to the same conclusion as you. that was jung-won's voice. something bad happened.

jun-hee moves first, sprinting towards the pool, and you follow directly after him. as you get closer the screams get louder, and you can hear the insistent chant of one person's name: yoon-seo. you both skid to a stop at the entrance, quickly surveying the situation. so-mi and her friends are gathered at the edge of the pool, and the water ripples as a result of movement within. your attention snaps towards the disfigured image of a girl beneath the surface, her arms flailing for help.

jun-hee swears, and before you can stop him he's running forward and diving in. you rush towards the edge, right beside jung-won, and watch in anticipation as he gathers yoon-seo in his arms and breaks through the surface of the water. her unconscious form scares you, striking fear into your heart as you crouch down and pull her cold, wet body onto the floor. thankfully, she starts coughing immediately after, hacking out any remaining water in her lungs.

"yoon-seo! yoon-seo!" jun-hee continues calling out her name, touching her shoulder in a reassuring manner.

"let's take her to the infirmary." you suggest, to which jun-hee and jung-won both agree. they carefully pull yoon-seo's arms around their necks, helping her make the journey across.

when you arrive, you help the two gently guide her towards the bed, laying her down on the mattress and pulling a blanket over her form. the girl immediately relaxes into the sheets, and it's not long before she succumbs to sleep. your face creases in worry.

"what happened?" you turn to jung-won, who swiftly changes her expression from worried to anger.

"so-mi and her friends. they acted like they were surprising yoon-seo for her birthday, but really they were picking on her."

you release a soft breath, feeling your own irritation rise, "of course they were. why am i not surprised."

jun-hee pulls over a chair and slumps into it, his once relaxed demeanor turning into concern and distress. beside you, jung-won grows rigid, glancing around while patting her pockets.

"what is it?" you question.

"yoon-seo's phone," she mumbles, "i think i left it in the pool."

"i'll get it, don't worry."

jung-won sighs in relief, sending you a grateful smile, "thanks."

you spare one last look at yoon-seo's sleeping form before leaving the room, finding the pool empty the second time you enter. you glance towards the spot everyone had gathered when yoon-seo fell in, a quick survey revealing no phone. you approach closer, keeping your eyes trained on the floor, searching for the teal phone case yoon-seo has owned since you were young. a frown slowly forms on your lips when nothing comes up. did it fall inside the pool?

you hear a splash, the sound causing you to whip your head towards the noise and freeze, heart beating erratically inside your chest. no one else was in the pool area. so what had made that sound?

you slowly inch towards the edge of the pool, heartbeat picking up when you spot a dark figure beneath the surface. something takes hold of you then, like a trance. you crouch down, leaning your body forward, getting closer and closer to the water.

was that a hand?

SPLASH.

a scream dies in your throat when something pulls you under, your entire body getting drenched in cold, cold water. your arms shoot out, pushing against the pressure, your lungs burning deep inside your chest. you're probably in the water for only a couple of seconds before something, a pair of arms, pull you out.

a gasp escapes your lips as you sit on the cold tiled floor, followed by several coughs as you catch your breath. your wet hair is plastered against your face, obscuring your vision, and you push it back with trembling fingers.

"what the hell were you doing getting so close to the edge?"

you almost don't believe the sound of the voice. it sounds like kyung-jun, but it doesn't contain the qualities that make up his tone. sure, there's the anger, a thick, heavy sound, making up the majority of his words. but the concern laced in the background feels like an off beat that wasn't meant to be there in the first place. a mistake.

and yet, when you turn your head to the side, there's no mistaking the boy in front of you.

"i thought i saw something." you whisper quietly, which earns you a scoff.

"what? a ghost? don't tell me you believe that idiot heo-yool."

his words annoy you greatly, especially when it's said so condescendingly, and the fact that it annoys you makes your irritation even greater. since when did you care what kyung-jun thought of you? you'd done a good job thus far of keeping your emotions in check. so what changed? was it you or him?

despite it all, you don't have an answer for him, which causes kyung-jun to release another annoyed breath. he glances down, and you barely have the words to describe the way his entire demeanor changes so suddenly. his entire body seizes in shock, and his eyes avert so quickly you'd think he was zapped by electricity. and even stranger, you swear his ears turn the lightest shade of red.

you raise in eyebrow at him in confusion, "what?"

"your shirt," he begins, still not looking at you, "it's wet."

your confusion grows, "i just fell in the pool."

your response must not be the right one, or maybe it was, because it finally causes kyung-jun to look back in your direction. he studies you like you're dumb, "and what happens when a white shirt gets wet?"

it hits you then, the underlying message he was trying to convey and you had failed to receive. you glance down at your shirt, and sure enough, where the fabric sticks to your skin, your pink bra is clearly visible. you immediately cover yourself with your arms, red hot embarrassment flaring through your entire body and face. you quickly stand up and rush towards the door.

"hey! where are you going?!"

"to change!" you shout back desperately. why did this have to happen to you? why did you have to get so close to the edge? why did you take your sweater vest off in the first place?

you can hear his footsteps behind you. another question pushes away the ones previously consuming your mind. why is he following me? "you can't run out in the halls like that. everyone will see."

you squeeze your eyes shut, silently cursing him before turning around, "fine. you got a better idea?"

kyung-jun stops, appearing almost surprised that you listened to him at all. the small moment of transparency quickly passes though, replaced by his usual look of frustration. he runs a hand through his hair, his expression torn, before he releases another curse. you watch, dazed, as he pulls off his jacket and shoves it against your chest.

"if you stain it, i'll kill you."

you blink, his threat passing over your head as you glance down at the piece of clothing. why was he offering it to you? the real answer was obvious, but your question was more so directed towards kyung-jun's intentions. was it some sort of game? a bet? was his kindness out of pity? unlikely. your fingers tremble as you take it, and you have to swallow thickly in order to speak, "thank you."

you lift your eyes then, meeting his own, and for a moment, no matter how small and miniscule, it feels like the world stops. you never realized it until then, how handsome kyung-jun is. of course, you recognize it subconsciously. everyone in the class agreed that the boy was conventionally attractive, even if his personality cancelled out that quality. but looking at him now, the determined set of his jaw, the barely concealed concern in his eyes, the act of kindness he was bestowing upon you, it was hard to ignore the way his entire demeanor made your heart pound inside your chest, so loud and so intense you could feel it in your ears. maybe he could hear it, too.

the spell breaks when kyung-jun brushes past you, and you wait for him to disappear around the corner before settling your attention on the jacket in your hands. you pull it close, immediately recognizing the scent of cigarettes and expensive cologne. the former was faint, and though you hated it whenever kyung-jun smoked around you, it was oddly comforting. it smelled exactly like him. and you hate what it does to your already vulnerable heart.

you slip the jacket over your shoulders, engulfed in the fabric and its warmth. tentatively, you zip it up, stopping at your neck, effectively covering your chest. satisfied, you begin the walk back to your room.

when you arrive you're relieved to find that na-hee isn't there, so you take the couple seconds to yourself to pull out your extra uniform and change into warm, dry clothes. kyung-jun's sweater lays folded neatly on your bed, right next to your sweater vest. the heat creeps back into your face at the sight.

just as you're buttoning up your shirt, however, the door opens, and your roommate enters the room. you freeze, watching na-hee's movements closely as she greets you and crosses the room to her bed. you glance back at the sweater, hating how distinct it was. why did he have to wear such obnoxiously loud colors. maybe na-hee wouldn't notice it. as soon as she turns around, you can hide it somewhere in your bag.

"hey, is that kyung-juns jacket?"

your body goes still, shamefully meeting na-hee's inquisitive stare. you chew the inside of your cheek, rapidly searching through your brain for something to say. you could always be honest to na-hee. maybe she'd even see kyung-jun in a different light if she knew he was being kind (or at least, his version of it). or you could deny it. after all, it was likely kyung-jun didn't want anyone else knowing about your interactions.

thankfully, you don't have to make a decision. beyond the door is the sudden onslaught of voices, and it's distracting enough for na-hee to wander towards the door to peek out. you shove the jacket into your duffel bag and follow her outside.

when the two of you step out an alarm goes off, followed by a voice announcing a message.

THE VOTING ENDS IN ONE MINUTE.

your phone vibrates in your pocket, and you pull it out to see a timer counting down for one minute. bewilderment molds itself into your features, and you find yourself searching for jung-won and yoon-seo. you spot them just outside their own room, and you approach them just as the timer ends.

THE VOTING HAS ENDED.

"i'm sure everyone voted for him," eun-ha smiles smugly, yelling across the hall towards heo-yool, "we know you did this!"

said boy sighs in exasperation, dropping his hands defeatedly, "what are you talking about?"

your attention is pulled away from the pair's bickering when jung-won catches the sleeve of your uniform between her fingertips, "hey, you didn't come back. everything alright?"

"huh?" you mumble distractedly. you direct your attention to her face, noting the concern lacing her features, "oh. yes. i couldn't find the phone though."

jung-won shakes her head, "don't worry. we ended up finding it."

the speaker crackles back to life.

HEO-YOOL, THE ONE WITH THE MOST VOTES, WILL BE EXECUTED.

what a strange way to word it. you turn towards your friends, unable to help voicing your curiosity out loud, "what do you think they mean by 'executed?' "

jung-won shrugs, "he'll probably just be a spectator from this point forward."

you consider her logic, humming absentmindedly. knowing heo-yool, he'd probably find a way to direct the game's events, even as a spectator. you wouldn't be surprised if he somehow managed to sabotage both sides for his own enjoyment.

"STOP!"

you jump at the raw pain interlaced in that one word, snapping your head towards the commotion. heo-yool leans forward, eyes shut tight, his hands clutching forcefully at his head. he looked like he was in pain. a lot of it. you take a step forward, only to stop when heo-yool's groaning ceases entirely. his body straightens, his eyes slowly blinking open. but something isn't right. was it a trick of the light, or were his eyes missing their pupils?

heo-yool drops down to the floor, hands pressed against the carpet, and bangs his head against it.

he does it again.

and again.

you're not sure who is screaming. the sound might have originated from your own throat, or maybe someone else's. but the blood on the floor, dark red, sticky, it belongs to heo-yool. blood is coming out of his head, and he's doing it to himself.

your feet move on their own. one by one, a small shuffle back, but it feels like you can't get away from the gruesome scene before you. your heart pounds inside your chest. thump thump thump. it matches the sound heo-yool makes each time his head connects with the floor. eventually, it becomes hard to differentiate the two. both are deafening, echoing across the hall, and it's too close, too loud, too much. you press your hands against your ears, a futile attempt to muffle the sound, as you continue backing away, slowly, step by step. if you don't focus on it, you don't have to think about it.

it stops for a brief moment, and you glance up to see heo-yool turn towards the right. he rushes forward, slamming his body against the picture frames on the wall. the glass shatters, eliciting more screams and you step back even further, a small, distressed sound escaping your throat. your back collides into another body, and you look back to meet kyung-jun's eyes. you study his face, note the shock and confusion reflected in every inch of his expression. and fear. for the first time since you've met him, kyung-jun is afraid.

no. this couldn't be right. fear was something kyung-jun left at the door. it's an item he burns, or hides away.

glass shatters again. you jump, glancing back at heo-yool one last time. his face is covered in blood, dripping down the side of his face and onto the floor. but he looks unfazed. why? how could he hide his agony so perfectly? was he even himself?

he starts running down the hall, towards your position, and you feel frozen. caught like a deer in headlights. you should move. you need to move. but your legs won't work, no matter how much you will your body to respond to the panic rising in your chest. move! just move!

someone pulls you back, and your body slams against the wall right as heo-yool rushes past. the rest of your classmates dodge out of the way, and it's then that you realize where heo-yool is going.

the window. he's going to run into the window. if he doesn't stop he'll-

everything shatters, and there's one last moment of chaos before everything goes quiet.

up above, an announcement comes on.

HEO-YOOL WAS A CITIZEN.

The thoughts come quickly.They blend together, containing no end and no beginning.

oh god.

heo-yool just jumped out of a window.

we're on the fourth floor.

his body probably collied with the earth.

the ground cracked.

his bones shattered.

he lost so much blood.

heo-yool was probably-

dead.

kyung-jun slowly peels away from the wall. your own body slowly slides down it. your breathing is heavy, and despite the amount of times you greedily gulp down air, it never feels like there's enough oxygen in your lungs. your fingers reach up towards your throat, and you realize then how badly they are shaking. you feel the beginnings of tears building at the corners of your eyes.

the alarm comes back, but this time there are no words. only the soft melody of a lullaby. the tune echoes in your ears, and whether its due to the exhaustion, fear, or something else entirely, your body grows heavy, and your vision fades.

NIGHT HAS COME.

part two.

#ko kyung jun #kyung jun #night has come #fluff #angst

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