#i just know people like to explore that in aus given it's mentioned in series

[whirlpool-blogs]

whirlpool's personal fic recs, part 2

well, it's been a minute since the first time I did this, so here's some more great fics I've read since then.

(this is a totally fresh list! if by chance you see a repeat from part 1, it's only because there's been an update to it since then)

-> Please let me know if any of my links are messed up, or if I got a tumblr handle wrong!

rarepairs/3somes/from perspective of other characters:

Biggest Dick on Base by @impalachick (Crosby/Bucky) you guys. this one is soooo hot. oh the dialogue is sooooo good. as the author says, "It's canon that Croz and Egan are the two horniest guys in the 100th" and this fic NAILS it!

dancing cheek to cheek (to cheek) by @meyerlansky (Curt/Bucky/Buck) Curt POV and it's soooo good, equal weight is given to the Curtbucky of it all, and there's this summering electricity in the Curtgale, and the Buckbucky devotion is so real, it's a true threesome fic and author absolutely nailed it!! also start taking your chances in the same series, WHEW!

I Get A Feeling That I Never Had Before by @darkimpala1897 (Clegan+Hambone) 978 words, so it's short but sweet! Funny and original and creative, and like, of COURSE this is how Buck discovers his feelings for Bucky & Ham.

Learning Curve by @hogans-heroes Clegan through the perspective of Alex Jefferson, explores his friendships with Buck and Bucky, and his observations of them from an outside view! Really heartbreaking and sweet and touching, such a great writing style.

Pegasus by merle_p (Rosie/Bucky) Egan is an absolute horny menace and a terrible authority figure sometimes lmao, and this fic gets it! Loved the characterization in this one. And the ending is just <3

Render Me a Wreck by @almost-a-class-act (Brady/Bucky) you guysssss you GUYSSSSSSS you KNOW I love me a Brady fic and holy shit this one is IT! this one is IT!!!! absolute masterpiece that comes roaring out of the gate and never lets up. a must-read!

save yours, and take mine from me by @corrosivesaints (Brady/Bucky) another Brady fic and I loveeeeee it!!! this author absolutely nails Brady's prickly little personality and the mutual trust and attraction between him and Bucky. and not just trust to not turn each other in, trust as in knowing they need to keep each other ALIVE. which is basically love. as the author said, "guys who are not normal about each other and never will be" <3

Squared Away by @meyerlansky (Curt/Bucky) wheeee you know i love me some John whump, and luckily Curt is there to give him what he needs <3 such a vivid writing style, love it!

the vein in my neck adores you by @galetops (Harding/Bucky) hardingbucky hARDINGBUCKY AAAAAAAAAAA!!!! bro!!!!!! oh it's so delicious, power abuse is one of my fave tropes and John gets fuckeddddddd OVER in this one. gripping. devastating tbh.

Would You Mind? by @johnslittlespoon @nicijones (Ken/Bucky and then Ken/Bucky/Gale) HOT! hot! HOT!!!!!! oh god I was literally melting....... KenBucky is so big brained and the way the authors characterize them is just. so good. did I mention it's HOT??!!?!?!

Clegan+Marge:

A Big Surprise by @sweaterkittensahoy (PerpetualMotion) (Clegan+Marge) MARGE GETS THE STRAP OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! biggest yeah buddy ever!!!!!!!

A Horse is Not a Home by @fascinationstrt (Clegan+Marge) Lovely and sweet, explores their post-war trauma and all of them coming together to support each other and also like. literally coming together. hee hee!!

Barefoot and Bareback by @soliloquy-dawn aaaaabrhrfhgh it's so HOT and physical and playful and fun!!! love the little notes of dom/sub floating in and out, truly just feels like you're watching something sweet and sexy between 3 people who love each other!

clegan fics:

3am eternal by @feyd-meowtha 90s club scene AU, oooff it gets messy, deals with the consequences of John's substance abuse and Gale's avoidance and overall both of their lack of communication, and god!! it's so good

a thousand feet per second by anonymous Sub Gale, Dom Bucky and it's delicioussssss, Gale is not doing well <3

another version of me, I was in it by @majorbuckyegan (brianmaybrianmay) post-war, hurt/comfort sex after Bucky has a nightmare reliving running through the forest. love when Gale gently leads Bucky to where he needs to go!!

baby doll eyes by @ladybundle John gets smashed on stalag hooch and ohhh it's hot and sad and beautiful and full of yearning!!!

Baby I’m on Fire & Keep Me Forever by @oopsiedaisiesbaby Teacher Gale and Student John (not underage fic) and yeesh!!! both of them are a menace tbh and I lovedddd both of these!!!

Before the Dawn by @atlanticslide THE stalag fic, like when I envision them in the stalag, it always turns out that I am just remembering something from this fic!!! especially the parts where they are in separate compounds and talking through the fence!?!?! like ouch. like wow. a slowwww burn and it's so worth it!

Branded by @hogans-heroes Gale stalag whump and protective Buckyyyyyyyyyy <3 oh my heart!!!! so good!!!

crossroads by @shipstorms (ipsilateral) has a BoB tag but you don't need any BoB knowledge for this fic!! Bucky and his unrequited love for Gale and it's ouch....it's oh.... I definitely recommend for the beautiful writing!

diamond eyes by @vveissesfleisch (cunninglinguist) whewwwwww dom gale and sub john and it's awesome!! jealousy and desperation and then getting their shit together in the end <3

Extinct Animals by @feyd-meowtha Mad Max AU, but as someone who has 0% familiarity of Max Max franchise, I can assure you no background knowledge is needed. this fic is BRUTAL. this fic is CRAZY!! it's heartbreaking and feral and raw and everyone is clawing for survival and it's soooooo well-written!

futile devices by @drylite ohhhhhh this one will forever be famous in my mind, John gets sick in the stalag and Gale takes care of him but it's so much more than that, this fic is HUGE to me, the feelings and John's descent into his stalag spiral, it's all so beautifully written!!

He Calls Me Bunny by @johnslittlespoon modern AU, John wears a bunny costume to their college Halloween party and Gale fucks him about it <33333333333 HEART EYES FOR THIS FIC!

hit me where the heart is by @london-cowboy / @luckydeuce Ohhhhh my god this fic. THIS FIC!!! modern BDSM AU, John is a medevac helicopter pilot who once transported Gale from a horrible private plane crash, and then they encounter again years later -- but like. ALSO THERE'S SO MANY OTHER THINGS GOING ON AND IT'S ALL MIND-BLOWING!!! past fucked-up Harding/John and current Harding/Gale and that's just the tip of the iceberg. so good. sooooooo good.

i followed fires by @swifty-fox Wild West/spooky supernatural AU. suing for emotional damages!!!!!! genuinely cried from this fic. and not just sniffle sniffle dab at my eyes. I'm talking tears streaming down my face, can't see anymore, this fic is HOLY SHIT WOW.

I think the love I bear you should make you not to die by @amiserableseriesofevents (WonderGinia) soooooo heartwrenching, multiple timelines and so many times they get so close but then lose each other

if it feels like love (then it must be love) by @rangerelizabeth College AU and it's a goddamn masterpiece!! John is Gale's RA and Gale navigates dorm life and college life and a new relationship and it's just. such a great journey from start to end!

jump the gun by @swifty-fox Part 2 of Outlaw AU (highly recommend Part 1 as well, obviously!) and whoa. hits you right in the gut. love love loveeee how swifty weaves the parallels between show canon and this au, while also keeping it super fresh and creative and you never know what's gonna happen next! there's one particular line that absolutely BROKE me......such a good read

kinktober 2024 by anonymous Goddddd. GODDDDDDDDD. Every time I got an update email for this fic, it was like get hand-delivered a delicious slice of chocolate cake that also happened to encompass like every single dirty kink and fantasy I've ever wanted to read???? author is big-brained. author is living in the 4th dimension. READ THESE!!

kiss my cheek, and pretend we're lovers by @euph0riacc Modern Au - Iraq War, and it's soooo creative and the desert setting is so well-described and the whole ensemble is weaved into this new imagining so well!! truly so creative and so well-executed, highly recommend a read!

knuckleball by @drylite PIT STUFF!!!!!!! PIT STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PIT STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! let me tell you i was screaming pretty much through my entire reading experience of this. did i mention. pIT STUFF??????????????

let us not desert one another; we are an injured body by @irregularcollapse cannibalism fic oh my godddd oh it's sickeninggggg (positive) it's crazy (positive) it's insane (positive)!!

Looking for Eight by @weimarweekly (VoluptuousPanic) modeln rodeo AU. absolutely blows my mind, every single chapter is so perfectly written, it's vivid and it's sweet and it's truly alive!! definitely take your time to savor each paragraph...so worth it.

love means nothing (in tennis) by @irregularcollapse this was in my part 1, but it's had an updateeeeee since then, so go read it!!! gale's orthorexia and overexercising goes brrrrrr

Moecher by @inpotatoeswetrust (Razor_to_the_rosary) fantastic, very show-like dialogue, love the Curt & Bucky friendship keeping it reallll, deals with John's slippery descent into his alcohol abuse and how hard it is to pull oneself out of that path!! but also like. john jerking off to a stolen letter from Gale. dry humping. HOT!!!

never falter or fail by anonymous Post-war John is in the hospital with temporary amnesia after a flight crash, he's getting visitors from his war days, but perhaps not everyone is who they claim to be....really creative, beautiful storytelling!! i'm hooked!!!

No Proof, One Touch by @c-goldthorn sweat kink!!! pit stuff!!! oh you knowwwww I'm here for it! it's flight school and it's so sweeeeeet too i love them so much your honor

Only You Can Cool my Desire by @johnslittlespoon a one-shot in the Tough and Sweet AU (which you should totally check out!!), Gale's POV this time and oohhh overstimulated, begging, overheated John <3

Rack 'Em Up and Knock 'Em Down by @happy-days19 a whump collection, each chapter is a one-shot and super creative and varied!! love it!!

release, please (no longer on ao3) by anonymous Oh goddd I wish I knew who wrote this, if you're out there plssssss shoot me a message, I love this fic so much!!!! Gale lets John piss himself and then he lets him come and christttt. I legit have this saved on my google drive because it's just like. everything to me.

Sous Le Ciel de Paris by @rambleonwaywardson Modern Olympics AU, Gale is an equestrian and John is a gymnast, super creative and well-researched (as ALWAYS by this author!!) and also HORSIES and also JOHN INJURY! hee hee <3

Stripper, Occasionally Hooker by @donotnomi Modern AU, lawyer Gale and dancer John, this AU is everythinggggg to me!!!! corporate intrigue!! paulina and harding at the law office and ensemble at the club! I can't even put into words how sexy and hot and mindblowing stripper john is, somewhere in the realm of surface of the sun perhaps???? I LOVE THIS FIC OH MY GODDDD. I EAT IT UP. I RE-READ IT CONSTANTLY. go read it, I beg of youuuu

Wind in the Wire by @livelaughlove-write extreme gale whump in the stalag, such a great concept and love seeing the author explore it here!

windfall by @rangerelizabeth modern meet-cute, John meets Gale in a corn maze and pretends to be lost so that they can spend more time together <3 so cute!!

Wrapped Around Your Finger (You Say That I'm A Home Run) by @johnslittlespoon Gale cleans up John's face after he picks a fight, and he's a little mean about it and then they fuck about it and it's great!!!

You Don’t Ever Have to be Stronger Than You Really Are by @oopsiedaisiesbaby ABO fic yeah baby!!! except they're stuck in the stalag and they're both miserable and hungry and itching to get out and oh it hits so good!

You, Me, and the Sky by @oopsiedaisiesbaby Major Character Death, so mind the tags, heartbreaking and gripping and terrifying and beautiful and sad!

"You were doing all this to a toothpick?" by anonymous Gale's oral fixation.....yeah you know where this is going >:-)

Your Idiot by @eternallytired17 John gets hit on a mission and doesn't register it until he's literally collapsing wheeeee!!! so good!!!

[swordsmans]

do you have any zolu fic recs? 🤔

oh boy do i.

my deepest apologies to others who have asked and only gotten "i promise i'll make a post!!" in response. now... here is my list! 36+ fics, including a few series i'm counting as "single" recs, (+3 not counted).

Spin a Yarn by SrirachaBunny

technically a series, this is a time travel fix-it that has expanded outward from its original premise over the years but is still very much THE zolu fix-it of all time.

Of First Mates and Duty by Whatev3rs

“First mates… we devote our lives to our captains. Our entire beings. We live for them, breathe for them. And they expect us not to fall in love?”

Devotion by BasicallyACat

two part canon compliant series that lives rent-free in my mind. this is my go-to "must read for new zolu fans" fic

without guilt by Augment

Luffy hungers, Zoro thirsts. (+ bonus honorable mention to "But Patience Boasts", which is the sanji-pov portion of this fic and is one of my faves of all time)

got all my attention fixed on you (and you're just where you said you'd be) by nevermordor

Luffy looks again at the bitemarks that he left on Zoro’s wrist. Zoro’s usually hurt, one way or another. Sometimes it’s definitely been Luffy’s fault too, but the bitemarks feel different. (honestly, just read all of nevermordor's fics; they are a fave of all time)

to cut your teeth on love by freckledshoulderblades

Zoro meets Luffy and gives himself over wholeheartedly the instant Wadō is placed between his teeth again. Luffy meets Zoro and decides in a heartbeat that Zoro is his.

tidings of war, tidings of joy by queerweather

Zoro is drenched in sweat already, but at least with his haki holding Luffy’s at bay he isn’t suffocating. And Luffy, damn him, looks completely unruffled.

Don't Go Where I Can't Follow by Leoporidae_Lagomorpha

Because before the Pirate King and the World's Greatest Swordsman there were two lost boys in East Blue. How people grow and promises change. (Zoro finds the color of his devotion.)

Fate and death are made in pairs by demonsLOver

"It's not because of his power or skill. He makes enemies and allies fight for his side. Among all the men of the sea, he has the most frightening ability." Mihawk stated to his pupil. (+ honorable mention to "Forged By Fire" as well)

our shores of starlight (come sailing in) by kurgaya

At Shells Town, Luffy does not meet Roronoa Zoro. Instead, he acquires a sword.

let me carry your scars by arkhamsjason

What Zoro didn't expect, as he made himself comfortable, as so many night before, to keep watch along with Luffy, was that he'd finally have the chance to know what his captain's ruined chest would feel like beneath his calloused hand and guilt filled heart.

and i will learn for you by blueacorn

Zoro will begin to realise that there are other ways to protect.

ship to wreck. by thychesters

Nami is the first one to notice something is amiss, but then given her current competition is Luffy and Zoro, it isn’t surprising. (+ honorable mention to "the salt & the sea.", a reincarnation AU!)

unspeakable love by gadgetronic

A character study with a focus on Zoro that explores promises, sacrifices, beginnings, and devotion.

Precipice of a Change by xpiester333x

Zoro stood there. He was on the precipice of something. One wrong move would send him over the edge into an unknown. He needed to step back, but his feet were locked and frozen on spot. (one of the few AUs to make this list! the characterization here is SPOT ON!)

First Mate, Soulmate by kkuroshii

Fighting with Luffy comes as easy as breathing to Zoro, and he can’t help but wonder what accomplishing his dream with this boy would be like

Robin Knows by leopardgeckoz

In which Nico Robin has always known how her captain and first mate feel for one another, and the scenario's in which the rest of the crew discover it.

with this heart of mine that's guilty; (not remorseful) by phosphenical

It had been two weeks, four days, and twenty-something odd hours since Zoro died. (WARNING FOR PERMA-MCD/HEAVY ANGST)

thank you. / goodbye. by Kenshi

WARNING FOR PERMA-MCD; short and... not "sweet", exactly; the style of this one does nice things to my brain

Blood Song by blue_wonderer

There's nothing to scream about because nothing happened.

blood-spitting loyalty by guiltylights

One day, you’re going to find something worth more to you than your own pride.

axiomatic by grainjew

Reflections on Zoro's devotion.

Providence by taizi

"You know, Zoro," he says, "I broke my end of that deal." 'If you ever come between me and my dream—' Ah, but then, "So did I."

Mutiny by VIKAN

Zoro disobeys a Captain's Order and it's all Sanji's fault. (not strictly ZoLu in the romantic sense, but this fic is a masterclass in both tension-building and how to write an in-character ZoLu argument)

something happened by torkz

Things are changing fast, and Zoro doesn't want to walk into the future with any secrets from his Captain.

Recognition by VickyVicarious

Zoro on titles, dreams, and Luffy. (old-school)

In the Blink of an Eye by InsaneMelon/Acewithapaintbrush

honorable mention to another old-school oneshot from FFnet UPDATE!! this has been re-written and the link has been updated.

Coming Home by thricepiercedpirate

What begins as a happy reunion, because everyone is accounted for and more-or-less in one piece, unexpectedly turns awkward as hell… (the only explicit entry on this list, but i'd be remiss if i did not include the fic that introduced/converted me to ZoLu for life back at the dawn of time... thanks from past-gyro, we wouldn't be here without you, dude.)

Stakes by CaptainJojo

Zoro has a good grasp of what fights are- and are not- worth his time. Or: Zoro gets lost and gets in one (1) fight about it.

Like a Dawning by WhirlyBird70

I am the man who will be King of the Pirates, Luffy said, says, and it’s not a promise but a will, and Zoro knows – knows that of anyone Zoro has ever seen, Luffy is the one to have the Haki of the Conquering King.

invisible threads that bind us by Pure_Night_Fury

Yin and Yang some people would say. Soulmates, others would mention. Or: Nami meets two idiots.

greed by species_baby

Something about his self-assuredness, his conviction makes Zoro dizzy. Although, that could also be the starvation.

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile by sciencemyfiction

Wouldn’t it be fucked up if Zoro was made to eat a smile fruit? And what would Luffy and the other Straw Hats do to help him?

Also, I'm including a shameless and horribly self-indulgent plug for my own stuff, because this is a ZoLu rec list and hey! I write that! lol

poly philtatos (the most loved by far) by swordsmans

25k; Zoro protects the crew and his Captain, and does not realize they will go to the ends of the earth to protect him, too.

ocean theology by swordsmans

40k; canon-compliant enma-asura/nika reincarnation. kinda.

the sea makes bones of bodies by swordsmans

88k; Only one is a monster, but both are a little monstrous. mafia hitman/underground fight club champion/reincarnated moon god x merman/legendary sea monster/reincarnated sun god AU. my magnum opus, probably.

[bonefall]

Does Wildfur (cat mentioned as having their back broken and dying of lung infection) get any expansion? They're only mentioned once but knowing how bad the family trees are im guessing they've been stuffed in somewhere (plus i love the name)

My DUDE!!!

MASSIVE expansion. GIGANTIC one. ACTUALLY shows up on screen and is an important supporting character, I actually need to re-do this character summary at some point because it leaves a LOT of the new stuff out.

Wildfur is going to show up as an important character in two side stories; Blackstar's, and a brand new novella for Cinderpelt.

Cinderpelt's is just a fun side novella about her friendship with Littlecloud. I don't even really have a message in mind for it. It's just exploring the brief but fascinating era where the Clan cats were trading with BloodClan.

Wildfur gets disabled by a car in that one, and Cinderpelt and Littlecloud put their heads together to invent that mobility device.

I want to show the "evolution" of some technologies as the series progresses, so this is the mobility device that Jessy eventually improves upon for Briarlight!

It helps him overcome a really bad state of depression, which was what was causing him to lay around and catch infection over and over.

In Blackstar's SE, Wildfur's just a friend of Blackstar's.

He's an example of the sorts of cats that TigerClan and Brokenstar would have discarded or given up on. Blackstar's SE is about him sitting with that.

I kinda want him to be the father of Ambermoon through surrogacy. Brightheart and Cloudtail are the bioparents. He just kinda feels like a dude with a punk daughter with a name like that.

He goes on the Great Journey in that mobility device, but needs to be carried at several points.

The Clans aren't going to leave behind the old and disabled like in canon jesus christ. That was super fucked up actually

"Elders are respected and cared for :)" my ASS

In terms of personality;

He's super vain and haughty, VERY proud person. Rockstar vibes.

Takes great care of his hair

Different people take their disability differently, especially when it massively alters your life. Compared to Briarlight, Wildfur actually had an easier time adjusting once his depression subsided.

Unlike Briar, he was never a very active or athletic person.

He doesn't mind being an elder, it means he gets to do whatever he wants and boss apprentices around. Pretty sweet deal tbh.

Campbound activities are more his style. He keeps an extra eye on the kits, likes to help out kitchen patrol. Has a lot to do with flax processing.

[kookieswan]

Red Light - Hole in the Wall

Nightmare!Hoseok x Psychologist!Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Genre: Horror AU, Monster AU, Psychological horror, some Angst as always, some small fluff.

Warnings: MC and JK drinking, mentions of harassment and injury/death- pretty tame otherwise. It should be noted that this story will contain themes of horror/psychological horror and also explore obsessive behaviors and codependency. Many characters are morally gray. Please be warned!

Summary: You had always hoped you’d make friends with your coworkers, and you technically have. You just never thought it would be over bloodshed and secrets.

Notes: Taking it back just a little bit to the night before Star Crossed Lovers. I hope you all enjoy, sorry for the very long wait 😅

This Part 35 of the Red Light series. Find the Masterlist here ♥️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I still don’t know how you convinced me to meet you here of all places. I can’t et say it’s my scene.” A small hole in the wall bar in the downtown area, there’s a surprising amount of people around, the drunken patrons moving around you clumsily. Eyeing Jungkook as you sit down, you watch him sip on his Jack and coke as he shrugs. He pushes another toward you as a gift.

“I knew we wouldn’t run into anyone else from work here since it’s mostly old shitbags we deal with; it seemed like the best bet. Plus, everyone’s already fuckin wasted so they won’t listen to a word we say.” Glancing around, it’s clear that everyone’s been drinking for a while. People are laughing and yelling up at the bar, others on the dance floor making a fool of themselves. It makes you smile.

“… Fair. So, I imagine there’s some background information you want to tell me that speaking of at work is a no-no. Yoongi’s outburst today wasn’t completely surprising but given how he’s been lately it did seem out of the blue.” Yoongi’s been on his best behavior for the most part, so the outburst is a little concerning. You know that there’s definitely a solid reason, Freeman doing something as small as opening his mouth gave you a decent chunk of intell.

Jungkook sits his cup down, staring into the drink for a minute. He taps the glass and then glanced around, long hair brushing his shoulders. It’s off to see him dressed so casually, but he’s probably thinking the same about you in jeans and a sweater.

“It definitely wasn’t fucking unwarranted. Imagine the worst fucking person you know, multiply it by a billion, then add two. That’s Freeman in a nutshell. He’s the dirt underneath your feet that you’ve dragged around for much too long.” You know a few people like that, but it pains you to know there’s a new addition into the group of slime balls. You sip on your Jack and coke, eyes glancing out over the bar. The light twinkle prettily overhead, properly distracting everyone from you. Good.

“I feel like a gossip for asking, but what did he do? I can only begin to imagine with how the other doctors act on our floor.” Jungkook scoffs, a look of pure disgust taking over his face. It’s obvious that the man in front of you dislikes many of the doctors just as you do, but his hate for Freeman seems to run deep.

“I can only give you my point of view for now… But, he clearly didn’t like Yoongi from the start. Was always fucking nasty to him, tossed insults, said disgusting shit disguised as a fucked up compliment. You met him, you know. I had to keep my cool, letting people in on what we have isn’t the best idea.” What they have.. You raise an eyebrow, and Jungkook raises back. Making a motion to zip your lips, you don’t say anything else and let him continue.

“Didn’t matter what we did though; he found out, I still don’t know how, neither does Yoon. It was endless fucking tourture after that; he was like a fucking monster... I’ll let Yoongi tell you the rest about him if he wants to. Not my place. You know why they keep me around though, won’t fire me?” It’s one of your biggest questions in regard to them, although the answer is somewhat obvious in your head. You lean inward, giving the guard in front of you all your attention.

“They know I’m the only one that can calm Yoongi down. They know that, I know that, and so I’m stuck there. They’ve sent an arsenal of threats my way about what they’ll do if I try to leave. Not that I would, I won’t leave him behind.” So you had guessed right. Yoongi’s a wild card, definitely unwilling to listen to just anyone. Without Jungkook, the doctors would be at a total loss. You nod, a grim half smile taking over your face.

“I’m so sorry Jungkook, that’s horrible. I wish there was something I could do but it seems I can barely keep myself afloat anymore.” It’s true; without Hoseok you wouldn’t have made it. He keeps you by king down in the depths of that place, and the other nightmares do too to an extent.

Jungkook shakes his head, quickly downing the rest of his drink. He slams the glass into the table and stretches, leather jacket squeaking slightly as he does. Scooting himself forward, the man scrunches his nose just a bit. Kind of like a mad bunny.

“It’s fine, we just never thought he’d come back. I heard he was transferred to a different facility, and then that pig Andrews took his place. But here we are over a year later with a dead Andrews and that asshat back in power.” It makes you pause, a wave of guilt washing over you even though it’s not remotely your fault. It’s not like you knew anyway but still… If you had known about freeman, you would have kept him at bay.

“… I’m so sorry. I know it’s not directly my fault, but still…” The lights flicker over head, a small sense of melancholy taking over your mind. Drinking always makes you emotional, and but you take another sip anyway. Jungkook scoffs, tugging at the hoop earring he’s wearing.

“_____, don’t blame yourself. Andrews was fucking harassing you and I’m not even slightly surprised Hoseok slaughtered him; I would have helped go in the chance. Hell, maybe he’ll kill Freeman too, I don’t think he was fond of the guy either.” You would have helped too. It’s terrible to admit, but some of the people down there just can’t be helped. It’s funny, the Nightmares you’re supposed to be testing have more humanity than the humans.

You sit in silence for a while, gazing over the bar and breathing in slowly. It’s the first time you’ve went out with a coworker after finishing school, and it’s to talk about the hell you live through everyday. The story of your life, you suppose. Glancing up at Jungkook, you think it’s some to bring it up, because talking about it inside of the facility…

“Can I ask you something? It’s not something I would likely ask at work.” Jungkook looks up from his phone, eyes wide as he nods slowly. You clear your throat, almost nervous to ask. You’re essentially prying for information at this point and it makes you feel uncomfortable but it has to happen.

“You can ignore me, and I’ll let it go, but can Yoongi… Well, does he have any… Abilities? I’ve had my suspicions but this morning was something else. I wouldn’t ask if I don’t think it was important to know.” You try not to ramble but Jungkook stares. And stares. Barely moves as he looks at you, eyes slowly narrowing as he remains quiet. It answers your question, but still, you say nothing until Jungkook speaks again.

“What do you think?” The bluntness makes you laugh abruptly, a loud laugh that nearly carries over the noise of the bar. Jungkook huffs and smiles, rolling his eyes as you continue to giggle. Well, you suppose the cat’s out of the bag now. It’s a good thing you think, you hope.

“Touché. Sorry, I won’t dig anymore. I just want to keep them safe and need to know what to look out for. I can’t ask stuff like this at work for obvious reasons.” Jungkook looks serious again after this, his face intense as he stares into your soul. With a sigh, he sniffs and starts to play with a piece of his hair.

“You’re not stupid _____.” That’s the confirmation you really needed, it all makes sense now. The rattling, shifting, things moving in the corner of your eyes. Nightmares can have abilities, and they can be wildly different.

You nod, looking down at your manicured nails as you pick at them. You don’t usually chip them this bad this early. Kissing your teeth in a very unprofessional way, you blurt out your own thoughts.

“I think they can do a lot of impressive things, more than humans can.” Jungkook doesn’t even seem remotely surprised, lips pursed as he nods, the lights flicker overhead again. How much does he know…? The question hangs in your mind, but you know that he’s been around much longer than you have, so he’s seen more. Experienced more.

“… We’re fucked, aren’t we?” The sudden question makes you grin, nodding your head slightly as you finish off your drink. Even with all the damage control you’ve been doing, somethings bound to go wrong eventually. It’s just a matter when and where. Standing up to grab another drink from the bar, you address the guard quietly.

“More than likely Jungkook, I’m much too inquisitive. Let’s see what the coming days bring.”

[postal-ech]

Alright no, I need to go into detail on this shit cause I swear to god, it lives rent free in my head. I'll split the post off here cause there's gonna be some spoilers for Lisa the Undone as well as a few other Lisa Fan Games that are on my mind

I'm also giving a CW here, cause Lisa covers some dark topics, and I want to unload it a bit here, especially given what I've seen out of Lisa the Undone.

Buckle up, it's gonna be a long, very autistically hyperfixated post.

So

I initially never really got into Lisa when it first came out. I was a shitlord that saw the fan content first, especially this project known as Interlopers - essentially, a Lisa-Undertale crossover featuring Buddy Armstrong and Chara Dreemur.

It piqued my interest a bit, but I never realized how one sided it was in exploring this stuff, especially given it was this crossover AU. It focused mainly on the Undertale fandom and some of the things that were popular at the time. It WAS going to explore its own version of Olathe on a sequel series but that was canceled later on, and the idea has become dormant since.

Later on, my curiosity grew and I looked into the Lisa side of things more. I discovered Lisa the Pointless, Lisa the Hopeful, and then I started looking into other fan projects here too.

Why this pretext? Because that was the gateway into Lisa proper.

I only got Lisa the Painful and Lisa the Joyful after its definitive edition released. At this point, I was pretty well versed in Brad's story - his trauma and pain, the struggles he faces after, the Joy abuse to numb the pain - so when I saw the campfire scenes between Brad and the other party members, especially with members like Terry or Queen Rodger, Bo and Olan, it sparked something there that's for fucking sure.

And then I got to the secret boss.

I'm a dude thar enjoys reading into shit, looking deep at the meaning of written projects be it games, movies, books, etc - Lore is my god damn drug, to put it in a TL:DR.

Seeing this huge call back to Lisa the First, Seeing the symbolism of joy spiders worshipping a Blue Eclipse above Brad's childhood home, fighting the manifestation of Marty Armstrong and reading the deeper, personal stuff that's said afterwards

That song, too, towards the very end of the sequence, with the music that's reminiscent of s church choir singing as Brad's childhood self descends into the darkness

That's what truly sold me on Lisa.

I know everyone has mixed feelings on Lisa the Joyful of course, especially in the way it handled Buddy - Some people were fine with it, and others didn't like the way she became this bloodthirsty girl out to murder shit indiscriminately

I say fair enough honestly, Joyful was a bit of a slog to get through compared to Painful

HOWEVER

There were two things I still enjoyed about it:

One, Dustin. Dustin was and still is the goddest boy despite his own flaws, and I was upset it wasn't explored more before his untimely death. Buddy actually starting to care about him before it all went downhill was tragic in its own right

Two, the DE content. Again, a lot of people were still mixed on it, but personally I saw it as a better expansion into Buddy healing from her trauma, understanding that- while Brad certainly was in the wrong in the way he raised her, he still tried his best in a world that definitely wanted to exploit her in the most horrific ways imaginable.

I'm fine with her even mentioning Lisa cause let's all be real here, she's definitely at least heard of her through Brad in some way, shape or form, and the ending bit where he explains the dead flower to her only reinforces that for me.

The more supernatural side of things feel interesting too, cause maybe it's just me, but reading into things, The Flash always had this sort of supernatural spin to it - how Olathe got so fucked up, how time doesn't seem to be entirely right in some areas or how everything got all mountainous and the likes. Probably just headcanon stuff but fuck it, I enjoy the speculation.

AND NOW, THE MOMENT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: LISA THE UNDONE.

So, with that context out of the way, I'll get into my proper thoughts with Lisa: The Undone.

Firstly, again I know not everyone will really agree with the ideas the Definitive Edition put out, especially in the case of Joyful with its Lisa the First callback and Buddy just slamming on Buzzo the way she does. That being said, I love the way Lisa the Undone tackles these ideas Joyful initially set our and explores them more.

The idea of Buddy being less hateful at first, just wanting to genuinely explore the weird and wacky world of Olathe despite its darkness is very welcome. With Dustin especially, this is only amplified.

A lot of the headcanoned and original stuff feel like they can fit right into the base Lisa games too honestly, and that's another thing I really appreciate about this fan gams

But the most important thing to me is the found family relationship between Dustin and Buddy, as well as the two other companions you can recruit.

Dustin is by no means perfect. This is undeniable enough given his actions in Painful and Joyful - He wants to do good, but it becomes a bit of a messiah complex especially for Buddy - who mind you, is only a pubescent kid during all of this shit. This is still translated well in this fan game, just less of a prominent character point - He still wants Buddy to have a good life and to be safe, but there's a clear struggle with seeing her as the Future of Olathe

And seeing her as just Buddy. Just Her.

And the fact that over the time, throughout the chapters, you see Dustin refer to her less as this important figure for the world and more as like a sibling, or just straight up family, that right there is what sells me on this.

Especially towards the end, where depending on your choices in the game, Buddy does eventually admit she can't help but care about people like Dustin.

That hits. That hits a good fucking bit.

And that's what I love to see in this. Sure, it may end with one of the two dying in part 2 of Undone, or depending on your actions it may end with tragedy for either of them

But the fact it works this found family dynamic so God damn well here, with how Buddy and Dustin care for each other AS that family despite Brad's own fuck-ups between the both of them.

Fuck man. It's good, and I hope this fandom explores it more here - especially with DE putting things into an interesting context too.

On a side note, God I also hope it explores DE's Warlord skills mechanics in the future, it's some god damn martial arts shit I love. Sure it may be Mega Man-esque bur god dammit the idea of Buddy learning and incorporating some ideas given from how each Warlord fights is SUCH a good idea and if there's ever a fan game that had Buddy exploring the greater world of Olathe, meeting the likes of Alex Churchland or Beltboy and shit like that, I wanna see her develop her own form of martial arts with or without the katana she's grown accustomed with god dammit.

God, I love Lisa. I love these games as much ad Undertale and Deltarune, and I need to write out some more shit for this series.

Thanks Austin Jorgensen you god damn mad man, and thanks to the Fandom for putting out such genuine bangers.

[tloupride]

TLOU Queer Fic Recs

Happy Pride! Admin Zoo here, with some of my favourite queer fics, please share your own recs, I'm looking for more to read!

🏳️‍🌈 🩷💜💙 🖤🩶🤍💜 🏳️‍⚧️

Late October, 2022 (Or The Last Time Joel Saw Bill and Frank alive), 5k, T, by Springandastorm, @spr1ngandastorm

Joel and Tess and Bill and Frank hang out and find community in each other. This devastated me in the best way, I have not stopped thinking about it since I read it. Beautiful and bittersweet and hopeful all in one.

trace my fingers across your frozen veneer, 2k, E, by fromthewhales @deervsheadlights

Bi Joel gets pegged by Tess, as he deserves. Like all the best explicit fics, this is a character study and really gets into their relationship. 10/10 no notes.

some sort of private conversation, 2k, M, by fromthewhales. @deervsheadlights

Bi Joel tries to have a hookup on the road but Ellie cannot mind her own business. So in character and hilarious, RIP Joel hope the next time works out better for you.

Eternal Love Bullshit, 3k, T, by @sedumlineare

STOP THE PRESS, ASEXUAL JOEL IS ON THE SCENE. Lovely fic where he bumps into an old friend in Jackson (who's a lesbian!), remembers past community, and it's just so sweet. Neare aced this one.

The Trans Joel Universe, series, 27K, G/T, by @sedumlineare

NEARE THIS GIVES ME LIFE. This series has everything: gender euphoria and mentorship, trans Joel through the years, and nonbinary Ellie! Stunning, lovely, special mention to Took a While But I Don't Mind (How Do I Look Now?) which is full of joy and is named after one of my favourite songs

I know, I know the sirens sound/Just before the walls come down, 2k, M, by @donttouchtheneednoggle

Trans Bill AND Frank!!! Oh. My. Sweet. Jesus. This fic left me in a puddle on the floor. Beautiful, stunning, please read it, it's gorgeous.

making yourself up as you go along, 6k, M, by awenswords, @awens-words

Trans Joel!! Really brilliant fic, I especially love the detail given to his smuggling operation and how that doubles up as a way to get hormones. Him trying to come out to Ellie is a particular highlight.

Different Shades, 773, G, by mandocule, @theydjarin

Ellie asks about Bill and Frank, and she and Joel come out. Really sweet little fic with lesbian Ellie and bi Joel doing their best to be #Vulnerable. One of the first queer TLOU fics I read last year!

mellow is the man who knows what he's been missing, 15k, G, by flannelfeelings, @boopernatural

The happy AU where Joel gets to meet JJ and Ellie, Dina, and Jesse have a polyamorous relationship! We love love, we love community.

Watch Me Bleed, series, 24k, M/E, by Fiachra, @consultingzoologist

Apologies for the self-promo, but writing this changed my life due to the people I met as a result. TLOU but Joel is trans, with an Ellie-centric sequel exploring her queer feelings, and a t4t TessJoel installment (that gets the E rating)

[nametakensff]

hello! Love your writing! I’ve never played D/isco E/lysium but read your fics anyway because they’re just THAT GOOD. Anywayyy this ask is actually abt your incredible steddie writing! was wondering what your steddie head cannons are in the mutual fetish au?? Maybe before they discover the fetish is mutual - How do each of the boys feel about sneezing in public? Embarrassed or could care less? How do they usually cover (or not cover lol)? Do they excuse themselves? Are they able to stifle or control their sneezes? Do their sneezes change if they’re sick vs allergies vs random tickle? Are they courteous sick people or clueless patient zeros lol? Any and all additional thoughts are more than welcome bcs I currently have brain rot after reading your series!!

Ahhh!! 😭💕 Thank you so much, anon! It means the world that you would read my DE stuff even if you’re not into the game yourself ✨️

As for S/teddie, I do have some headcanons that more or less continue throughout the series, though I haven’t read any of my fics back in a while so I apologise for any glaring inconsistencies 😅 I’ll answer your questions then see what else there is to mention!

💕 S/teddie Mutual Fetish AU headcanons 💕

(Loooong answers under readmore! Some NSFW things, naturally)

Maybe before they discover the fetish is mutual - How do each of the boys feel about sneezing in public? Embarrassed or could care less?

🖤Eddie🖤

He doesn’t mind sneezing in public in general – like, the odd sneeze here or there. They’re not nearly as loud or attention-grabbing as Steve's. However, the issue is that he has fucking awful allergies. Not just seasonal ones like his hayfever and mould in the autumn, but to a ton of chemical scents like perfumes and hairsprays, then also dust, and feathers…He’s just got an extremely sensitive nose. Combine that with the fact that he is prone to multiples and often has drawn-out fits if he can’t escape the source of irritation, it is less than ideal. If he’s having a rough time, and hasn’t been able to take any medication, then the sneezing will draw a lot of attention that he just cannot be bothered dealing with.

Another issue is that he gets off to his own sneezing – especially if he keeps going. So he has to deal with the humiliation of people watching and maybe cruelly judging him and the risk of popping a boner.

So, to summarise: a couple of sneezes here and there are no problem at all. He won’t think too much about it. He’ll probably even enjoy it and the odd blessing he gets from friends. But sneezing in public when his allergies are going haywire? Super embarrassing, incredibly unfortunate. Finding out about Steve’s mutual interest is a game changer for him – he becomes stupidly exhibitionistic around Steve but also gains a little more confidence in general.

💙Steve💙

He hates sneezing in public. He’s good at hiding that he hates it, but still – it is not fun. Because others sneezing is so intensely sexual for him, he feels uncomfortable doing the same around other people. Steve’s sneezes are also very loud, and he is terrible at holding back and stifling. Given that his sneezes are big in general, they can get messy fast. Huge, spraying affairs that make everyone around him jump several feet in the air. It’s just no fun for him at all, though he has enjoyed the flirtatious blessings he often gets from the girls he courts (or rather, courted before Eddie).

Steve is more prone to colds than Eddie. I don’t see him having any significant allergies except for to the odd scent – but when he does have an allergic reaction, his sneezes are just as colossal. I haven’t explored it a massive amount but I’ve really been thinking recently about him being a photic sneezer – not horribly sensitive, but bright sunlight will make him sneeze a couple of times a day unless he takes the precaution of wearing sunglasses.

After getting to know about Eddie's mutual fetish and starting their relationship together, Steve is still pretty embarrassed about sneezing in public. He learns to love indulging his boyfriend, and the fact that Eddie gets off to how big and loud and messy his sneezes are makes him feel marginally less disgusting. Even still, I don’t think it’s something he would ever really get used to.

How do they usually cover (or not cover lol)?

🖤Eddie🖤

He will, if in public or has it on hand, try and cover with his bandana or one of his handkerchiefs. Since he tends to sneeze regularly, he’ll more often than not have these with him, occasionally a pack of tissues. When at home, he will still sneeze into things – if not his bandana/handkerchiefs or tissues, then shirts and blankets. He enjoys the way the fabric feels on his poor nose. He tends to wriggle his nose around a lot, and really gets indulgent with rubbing it. He tries to do this less in public to avoid having a visibly pink nose.

He sneezes openly a fair amount as well – sometimes the tickle, especially from allergies, is too much for him so he’ll just let it go and wipe whatever he may have baptised after he’s done lol. I think because he’s such a sneezy individual, if his mind is otherwise occupied (working on music or a D&D campaign, for example) he would sneeze whilst barely acknowledging it, perhaps leaning towards his shoulder briefly.

If Steve is around, he will happily sneeze uncovered, covered, all over Steve etc – whatever will get him the most worked up. He loves when Steve holds handkerchiefs for him to sneeze into and melts if he starts massaging his nose for him.

💙Steve💙

He tries to cover. God help him, he tries. But he is often so paralysed by the build-up and so slow in his movements it’s all he can do to turn away from anyone in the potential splash zone when the sneeze hits.

If he manages it, he’ll sneeze into his elbow or a tissue, but more often than not he’s either making a total mess of his hands or the hastily raised collar of his shirt.

He also likes when Eddie covers his sneezes for him, but only in private, and it takes a lot of getting used to since his sneezes tend to render whatever is being used to cover them useless pretty quickly. The first time he sneezes a tissue in Eddie’s hand to pulp is mortifying, even though Eddie is pretty much dying of arousal.

Do they excuse themselves?

🖤Eddie🖤

He will excuse himself and sometimes bless himself, but it isn't an automatic habit to do so. He’s obviously got a loud and audacious reputation, so on occasion I can see him not particularly giving a fuck about being overly polite and excusing himself in front of a random stranger, and definitely not in front of people he dislikes. He will gentleman the fuck up in heartbeat around most women and girls, though. He can be a lot more chivalrous than people realise.

💙Steve💙

More so than excusing himself, he will outright apologise. Depending on the situation, though, in order to avoid more attention, he just won’t mention it at all. Fake it 'til you make it, right? He's totally not embarrassed, not at all, nope.

Are they able to stifle or control their sneezes?

🖤Eddie🖤

He is a habitual stifler and he is exceptionally good at it. Only when his allergies or a cold are really kicking his ass, or he’s completely alone and the tickle is strong will he fully let go. (To be fair, his allergies are often kicking his ass, so.) I think he tends towards natural half-stifled sneezes – or when the sneezes are let out, they’re certainly not screamed. When they are loud and open, you know his nose has been thoroughly tickled.

He can hold back sneezes pretty well, at least if he’s able to sneak off somewhere to relieve the pressure every now and then. A lifetime of year round allergies has trained him well.

💙Steve💙

Steve’s 'stifles' are louder than most people’s sneezes anyway, and they tend to hurt, so he doesn’t really bother. He *wishes* he could stifle properly, but it is simply not in the cards for him.

He’s also terrible at holding back. If he needs to sneeze, his body is making him sneeze, doesn’t matter what he’s doing. He finds it exasperating, and the only thing that makes him feel better about it is how much Eddie is aroused by his total lack of control.

Do their sneezes change if they’re sick vs allergies vs random tickle?

🖤Eddie🖤

His natural/random sneezes are incredibly soft and airy. They tend to come in multiples like all his other sneezes, but not as many – maybe triples? When he has allergies, his sneezes are much more vocally desperate and tend to be quite wet – ultimately, he can makes quite a mess also. It’s just unavoidable, becoming that drippy with such a persistent tickle in his poor nose. His cold sneezes are pretty violent, but not too different from his allergy sneezes other than they tend to get messier much faster.

💙Steve💙

All of his sneezes are big, but his cold sneezes are messy from the get go. He goes through an absurd amount of tissues and handkerchiefs. They also tend to sound a lot gruffer and more nasal, simply because he gets so, so stuffy. He gets so blocked up on occasion that his sinuses audibly squeak in addition to the already loud, messy sneeze, so that fucking sucks for him!

Are they courteous sick people or clueless patient zeros lol?

🖤Eddie🖤

He is as courteous as can be. He’ll try and wash his hands as often as possible, he’ll cover his sneezes, he’ll (for the most part) try to keep himself away from other people. He really hates the idea of being perceived as gross; most of his boisterous persona is a kind of shield to control the way other people feel about him. If he’s being loud and performative, he’s the one in control of making people feel that he’s crazy. If he’s got a cold and can’t stop sneezing and sniffling and coughing, he is very much not in control. He’ll happily ditch school or work, if possible, to avoid becoming a spectacle in this very not-in-his-control way, and will do the same with particularly bad allergy days.

He will also, for the record, ride out the rest of his illness by jerking himself off in the comfort of his own home. If the sneezes keep on coming, so does he <3

💙Steve💙

This poor guy tries his best, but if Steve has a cold, and it’s tickling his nose, he is best avoided until well. He will absolutely be a patient zero, even if he doesn’t mean to be. It can take him a good few sneezes before he even clocks onto the fact that he's getting sick. So many factors are against him – he’s terrible at covering, his sneezes are huge, his sneezes spray a lot and make a great deal of mess…nobody is safe. Remember that he also tends to catch his sneezes in his hands, which he can't always immediately wash, especially in the middle of a work shift. He’s a walking, extremely apologetic germ factory who ought to stay in bed.

Other headcanons:

Eddie keeps pepper in his room canonically; he totally snorts this for a little rush, and thoroughly enjoys the sneezes. If he's bored in his room he'll induce for fun, which often leads to masturbation

Eddie is a dramatic exhibitionist, and has a lot of fantasies involving humiliation and being degraded for his frequent sneezes. He would eventually explore these with Steve

Steve used to induce in private growing up – until he figured out that this was a sexual *thing* as a teenager, and ever since he stopped. Inducing for Eddie, or being induced by him, is an incredible rush because it feels so thoroughly taboo but also quite healing in terms of internalised shame

During fetish play, Eddie will take the lead more often than not, at least in the earlier stages of their relationship. He fucking loves when Steve takes control, though; as their relationship blossoms he’s delighted to see Steve’s confidence grow. Steve isn’t hung up on sex in general, not even remotely, but like I mentioned above, it takes a little time to really embrace this fetish and assert what he wants without external prompting

Eddie will purposely hold back and walk to whatever room Steve is in to sneeze openly in front of him. Steve would do this if he could, but Eddie’s gonna hear his sneeze no matter what – sometimes even over whatever metal record he’s blasting

Eddie would absolutely invest in a super decent camcorder for ‘creative purposes’ like music – but he would totally also film himself sneezing for Steve on it. Steve would eventually do the same for him, and they would have their own little collection of tapes

I think Robin would eventually figure out the fetish and absolutely rib them about it – she’d tease Eddie a lot more because Steve would simply combust and die

Neither are especially comfortable with the idea of disclosing the fetish to other people - when Robin figures it out, they beg her to keep it secret. It's their private, special and personal joy.

Both are bisexual and both came to terms with their bisexuality because of each other

Steve feels initially insecure about his ability to talk dirty about sneezing purely because he feels like his vocabulary isn't expansive enough or he isn't creative enough, especially when Eddie just starts oozing pure filth at the drop of a hat. He gets over this suuuper quickly when it becomes apparent that it makes hardly any difference to Eddie - Steve saying "Gonna sneeze" is more than enough eroticism for him. Steve could sniffle in his ear and he'd be getting hard

That's about all I can think of for now! I hope this continues to fuel the brain rot, anon! 🥰

[artficlly]

the shadow (miniseries - part one)

Post Endgame Avengers AU miniseries - part one

avenger!bucky x widow!reader avenger!yelena x widow!reader (platonic)

PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE

Reader is an ex-black widow sniper who escaped the Red Room with the help of Yelena and Natasha. After working as an illegal hired gun, Yelena recruits the reader to the team as a sniper. The reader is closed off, not wanting to form connections or friends with anyone. Though, as their shell begins to crack, they notice they have a lot in common with a certain Bucky Barnes.

Warnings: violence, death, wound descriptions, lots of blood and gore, mention of weapons, swearing, low self-esteem reader, mentions of past non-con, lots of angst. lmk if anything needs to be added.

Word Count: 6.8k

A/N: hi! this is a pretty angsty/gorey fic I've had in my brain for awhile now. i don't know if many people will vibe with this, so might just be written for my weird interests lol. i think this will be two, maybe three parts? I just wanted something a bit more intense to work on alongside face the music (which is a more wholesome college au multi chapter fic). I'm very interested in exploring the 'what if' side of what happens to all the widows once they escape. I am also a sucker for feminist readings/feminine rage so this is a fun outlet. I have some plans for more ex-widow content (maybe longer series) but i wanted to get this mini-series up as a sort of taster! there isn't a heap of bucky barnes content in this part, but oh boy, there is some coming in the next part!! not proof read - pls forgive any typos.

main masterlist

Many unexpected things had happened during your life, even before you were old enough to understand how unexpected they were. 

Firstly, you had been torn from your birth family at a young age. You never knew if your family had willingly given you up. You had heard tales of starving mothers, selling their children in order to survive. Other tales said that the mothers refused to sell their children. Though, a mothers love was not enough to sustain through the Russian winters. Those mothers died for the love of their children, but regardless their children were still taken by the Red Room. 

Others whispered that the women of the Red Room were specifically chosen for their genetics, hunted down and stolen. There was no regard for a mothers love, only the possibility of another weapon to create. 

Deep down you could hope that your mother had loved you. 

You would never know. 

The second unexpected thing to happen in your life was when you escaped. Much like the other Widows, you had spent most of your life under the control of men. You had been a weapon, faceless, deadly. You had survived the training that many didn’t and that was the only thing that made you of value. The discovery of a life beyond the Red Room? A life beyond what you had been crafted for? Freedom was more frightening than any mission or task you had undertaken. 

With the Red Room gone, thanks to Yelena Belova and Natalia Alianovna? You were purposeless. You were a small ship, lost at sea. You were a small ball of rock, hurtling through space, burning up and dying out. There was no reason for you to exist, there was no life for you. You were a killer, a monster. Why did you deserve peace? How could you ever find peace with all the blood on your hands? You were raised to be a killer, and a killer you were. 

In the Red Room you were The Shadow. A faceless sniper, one of the best in the world. You did your job, and you did it well. Even after you were freed, you continued to work as a sniper to find some meaning. You were good at disconnecting from your emotions. Taking the shot wasn’t one to sweat, you floated above your body and pulled that fucking trigger. 

The people who hired you didn't know your name. They didn’t see your face. You were a weapon and you would kill without question. A father, a mother, a child? It didn’t make a difference to you. It was just another target. Even if you were free from Dreykov, you were still the weapon he had built you to be. As much as you tried, as much as you fought, screamed and cried. You were a Widow, a faceless killer, a nobody, a Shadow. 

The third unexpected thing to happen in your life was Yelena Belova. She was a force, hurtling into your life. You had never expected it. You thought once she freed all the Widow's it would be over. She wouldn’t need to associate with her fellow Widows anymore. She was a hero, she made it big. She would become an Avenger like Natalia. Start over, fresh face, new name. Natalia, Natasha. She had been a hero, she had freed all of the Widows. You? You were a gun for hire, bottom of the barrel scum. 

Yet, there Yelena had stood, reaching out to pull you from the snake pit. 

You had been hired for an inside job, some drug deal with the potential to go very wrong. You were to keep watch, blow out the brains of their competitor if necessary. You didn’t think into the ethics, you just shot who you were told to shoot. You should’ve known Yelena would keep tabs on you, you should’ve known that day would come. Even if you were nameless and faceless, you were still a weapon. The world doesn’t just lose weapons, no, they either used them or prayed for their untimely death. 

The deal went messy, as anticipated. You went to shoot but a foot was on your rifle making you pause. 

“You’re getting sloppy, Shadow.” The blonde had tutted at you. “I have been standing here, for what? Two minutes? You didn’t even see me.” 

You didn’t know why her speaking Russian shocked you so much. You had spent so many years dealing with Americans and Europeans that you had slipped into the comfort of English too easily. You had just assumed that the world of superheroes had Americanised Yelena, like they had Natasha. But there she was, Yelena fucking Belova in the flesh. Your third unexpected thing. 

“Come to tell me off for being a bad girl, Belova?” You teased, hand subtly finding the knife at your thigh out of instinct. You doubted Yelena had come here to kill you, you had heard through the grapevine about her little mission. She had spent two years freeing Widows across the globe. Though, you couldn’t help but notice that Yelena was armed to the teeth. Knives and guns tucked into hidden pockets through her black suit. You had heard she had become an Avenger - well atleast what was left of the team. Stepping into Natasha's role, she wanted to do good so bad. You could never be that, a hero. You weren’t meant to be anything other than another man’s blade or bullet. 

After Steve Rogers death, the Avengers had spiraled for a time. Eventually, Sam Wilson had taken up the mantle. A few had followed, Bucky Barnes, Clint Barton, his protégé Kate Bishop as well as Yelena. You didn’t even know if they called themselves ‘The Avengers’ anymore, only that they acted like them. Seemed they were running off the left-overs of Stark’s money as well as government funding. You had heard rumors about Scott Lang or even Steven Strange still floating around. After Wanda Maximoff had gone near-insane, the world had turned a cruel eye on their heroes. Even if they had been the only ones to save them from The Blip. People - your people - they didn’t want to be classed as heroes anymore, but somehow they were still committed to ‘doing good’. 

“I could tell you off,” Yelena drawled, eyes following your every move. You were on your knees now, slowly rising from the lying position you had held. If Yelena was a predator, you were certainly her prey. Unfortunately for her, you were also a predator when cornered. Outside, you could hear gunshots overlapping each other, shouting and grunting. It hurt that it annoyed you, that Yelena would be inadvertently ruining your reputation. You always made the shot, always. Except this time. You supposed being held up by Yelena fucking Belova was a better excuse than missing your shot. No, now that would be embarrassing and reputation destroying. The Shadow missing a shot? Unheard of. 

“I want to offer you a job. Could be a one time thing, could be more. Pays better than whatever this is, and is certainly more legal than whatever this is.” Yelena continues her spiel. She had palmed a knife, waving it as she spoke for extra effect. It was a hunting knife, sharpened to perfection. You didn’t like to imagine how the serrated edge would feel cutting into your flesh. 

“Your jobs barely qualify as legal,” You snip back, carefully eyeing her movements. Was she signaling someone through the window? The glare of the sun against the blade would surely be visible outside. There could be an entire team outside waiting to take you down. Yelena could just be the distraction. Your hand tightens around the handle of your own knife, ready to pull it from its holster at the slightest indication of an ambush. 

“Everything is legal if you work for the right people,” Yelena cuts back, tilting her head as she observes you. Time was ticking, you knew this could go one of two ways. You really hoped it wouldn’t end with one of you bleeding out on the floor. You had respect for Yelena, for what she and Natasha had done. 

“What if I say no?” You ask, russian muffled through your mask. You always wore them on jobs, always. You were a faceless weapon, mixing your identity in would not help you shoot better. Yelena smirks at you, finger running down the blade of her knife. She looked so casual, leaning against the window sill without a care in the world. She was definitely better armed than you. Your ears strain, trying to hear if someone is climbing the stairs of the building. All you can hear is the scuffle of the deal downstairs in the alley. 

“The government is interested in you. They don’t have a name yet, just… a shadow of a person to look for. Ex-Widow, a hired gun. I can make it go away. I know powerful people.” You could see her teeth through her smirk as she spoke. It was a thinly veiled threat. Pull your shit together, you’ve drawn too much attention to yourself. No, this was the difference between you and Yelena. She had cared, she had become the hero she had needed. You had stayed the same monster, spiraled further into your own hatred and disgust. You had become the person people needed saving from. Yelena cared so much about every Widow that the idea of one slipping through the cracks? It would haunt her. She was warning you, giving you a way out. She wanted to help you. 

The shouting and gunshots outside had died down, now only the sound of several sirens approaching. Time was still ticking and you were running out.

“Make your choice quickly, Shadow. Make it wisely though, I really don’t want to kill you.” Yelena purred. You eyed her for a long moment, carefully getting to your feet. Despite her cold exterior, the way she tried to be intimidating… You could see the pleading in her eyes. She wanted you to come with her, she wanted to help you. But you couldn’t help but wonder if you deserved saving? 

So many years, so many dead bodies. The only thing that kept you going was your strength, your reluctance to die. But after so many years of running, so many years of being alone… was there a reason to keep fighting? That sickness, it clawed away in your brain. You didn’t deserve saving. 

The sirens drew nearer. Reluctantly, you spoke. Even if that sickness was strong, your stubbornness and desire to breathe was stronger. You would live out of spite. You would live just to spit in the faces of those who wanted you dead. If you were going to die, it would be on your own terms. 

“Who am I shooting?” You ask, reaching out your gloved hand for Yelena to shake. Yelena must feel some kind of relief, you see her shoulders droop every-so-slightly as she shakes your hand.

“That list seems to be endless these days.” She replies with a grin. 

��

The small rural town was desolate. A ghost town, Yelena had said. A ghost town that had become infested with vermin.

Remnants of society still remained. You could imagine the ghosts of people passing by as you navigated through the landscape. A cracked concrete road, overgrown with weeds. The apartment buildings with their windows smashed out, graffiti scrawled across crumbling stone. Billboards years out of date, forgotten band-posters peeling off walls and lampposts. You couldn’t say who once lived here - but whoever they were, they were most certainly gone or dead. 

You were positioned on the second-floor of a disintegrating school house. The building itself was several stories higher but you had taken one look at the unstable staircase and thought better of it. Ripped, stained curtains blew lightly in the wind, at the front of the room a cracked blackboard still had the date July 17th, 1994 scrawled across it. 

You were in your usual working gear. Your suit was tight and flexible for ease of movement, adorned with pads on the knees, elbows and shoulders. Your hands were clothed with fingerless gloves and most importantly you wore your mask. A belt holds a handgun, lower down some straps across your thighs hold knives and pockets for convenience. They were for if things got messy, your real weapon was tossed over your back - a duffle bag with your sniper rifle inside.  

Broken glass crunched under your combat boots as you cautiously approached the window. The building you had chosen was strategic. Across from you was an old office building, just as run down as the one you stood in. Unlike the school house, the old office housed a group of criminals. 

Sam Wilson had insisted that he didn’t want to kill them, that he just wanted to talk to them. He wanted to talk them down and tell them to surrender peacefully. If things turned messy, he would give you the signal and you would shoot. The two groups would be standing in the concrete courtyard between the two buildings. At the slightest chance of danger, the slightest chance they weren’t ready to surrender? You would pull the trigger and pop their leader's skull open. 

Sam Wilson and his crew hadn’t been happy to see you when Yelena had brought you to the aircraft for transport. He had taken one look at you, masked, all in black and imploded. 

“Yelena, who the hell is this?” Sam had snapped. Yelena had just laughed at him, motioning for you to sit and buckle in next to her on the aircraft. 

“You told me to get a sniper!” 

It seemed when Sam Wilson had asked for a sniper, he hadn’t asked for you. Ex-widow, criminal, The Shadow. When Yelena had introduced you with your alias, Kate Bishop had gaped at you. Bucky Barnes was tense, you would’ve been surprised if he hadn’t recognised your name. Clint Barton seemed neutral, you supposed he was used to dealing with deadly women. 

You found it ironic how upset Sam Wilson was. He had helped Steve Rogers save Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier. You supposed the difference was that Barnes had tried to change when he was freed. Despite the mind control, the torture… he wanted to do good. You were just damaged beyond repair. Sitting there, with those heroes? It made you feel sick. Playing dress up, that’s all it was. 

You had over 700 confirmed kills with your rifle, even more kills if you counted other weapons at your disposal. You were an assassin, a hitwoman, a fucking menace. Bucky Barnes would have more total kills than you, but he had stopped killing. He had felt remorse. You had kept killing, kept digging that hole because it was all you knew how to do. He had been a normal boy before the war. You were a killing machine, a girl robbed of a childhood. If you hadn’t been freed, would have even known about the childhood you had missed? You didn’t remember your mother, nor if you had any siblings. All you had known was cruelty. 

Brushing some of the broken glass away with your foot, you began setting up your rifle. Through the ear-piece you could hear the chatter of the rest of the team as they headed to their spot. You had gone ahead to set up, they were about 20 minutes away from the school house. Gun at the ready, you lay down on your stomach, eye to the scope. 

“In position, over.” You mutter into the ear piece. 

“Copy that, over.” Sam Wilson replied quickly.

You settled into your spot, watching the building ahead. You were a good sniper not only because of your ability to disconnect, but also because of your levels of patience. You had spent days in this exact position, waiting, sweating for your chance at a target. 

By the time the others were in position, you had counted every window in the building across from you. 25 per story, making it 125 all together for all 5 stories. There was movement on the bottom floor and the second. You assumed they didn’t go any higher due to the same reason as you - a crumbling staircase. Each window had blue curtains - different to the beige ones in your room. Nearly all the windows were smashed, except for on the top story that seemed to remain relatively untouched. 

Through the ear-piece you could hear what Sam was saying. Both groups stood in the center of the courtyard, hands on their undrawn weapons. The new generation of Avengers were outnumbered 5 to 1. The tenison was clear, even as Sam tried joking around with the opposing leader. Everything was going smoothly, exactly as planned. That was, until you saw a glint in one of the third story windows. 

You thought you imagined it at first - a trick of the eye. But then you saw it again, and then a third time. There was another sniper, trained directly on Sam Wilson. You didn’t feel stressed by this, it was just another complication in a high-tension mission. It made sense, you had anticipated that maybe your targets would be smart enough to bring a sniper to this ‘talk’. The other sniper was up slightly higher than you - you wouldn’t be able to get a good hit on him unless you went up another couple stories. 

“There’s a sniper, third story. Sixth window to the left.” You breathed into the comms, fully knowing the rest of the team wouldn’t be able to verbally respond. If the opposing side got any indication that you were up there? Game over. They would signal their sniper to take the shot on Sam. It would take hours to pick bits of his skull out of their clothes and hair. 

“I need to change positions to get a better look, keep him talking.” You continue. Slowly, you roll away from the window and drag your gun with you. You needed to keep to the shadows, become a shadow literally. If the sniper spotted you it would be over. 

With a quiet grunt, you pull the gun from the room. Pressing your back against the hallway wall, you quickly rise to your feet and head towards the staircase with a huff. Sam was still rambling on about peaceful surrender over the comms ear-piece, stalling until you could get a better look at the sniper. 

The stairs wobbled and shook as you moved up them quickly and quietly as possible. You could hear chunks of wood and stone crumbling from beneath and falling with each step you took. Opting for the 4th story, you quickly set up in position by a new window. Same torn, beige curtains and shattered glass across the floor.

From this position you had a better look into the third story windows. Looking down, you could see the outline of a body laid flat with the rifle, much like your own position. Due to the broken windows and ripped curtains, you had a fairly clear shot at the figures head as they trained all their focus on what was happening below. 

“I’m going to shoot the sniper first, he has a shot on you Wilson. I’ll still have a clear shot on the target, just might take a moment.” You explain. They don’t reply, as expected. The situation below seems to be growing tense, you can hear the tone of the target's voice growing more aggressive by the second. Lining up your shot on the sniper, you hold your breath. Sam says the signal word. 

You pull the trigger. 

As the shot rings out, the men below scatter. You can hear the rest of the team screaming at you through your ear-piece. It all gets jumbled up, just white noise in your brain as you line up your next shot. This was why you usually worked alone. You didn’t crack under pressure in a situation like this, but having screaming ringing in your ear was bringing you damn near to it. You can’t be bothered listening to what they are yelling about. You didn’t need them telling you that your target was seconds away from escaping your bullet. Didn’t they know you never missed? 

The target was a few feet away from the safety of the building. Chunks of flesh, skull and brains explode across the cracked concrete as you pull the trigger once more. Through the scope, you watch the body slump to the ground, a pool of blood quickly spreading around the corpse. 

“Holy shit!” You hear Kate yell through the ear-piece. You don’t know if she’s complementing your shot or reacting to the spray of blood up the side of the opposite building. The last of the men who scattered stepped over the body, disappearing into the office building. 

“There's another headed for the sniper rifle, Shadow!” Yelena shouts at you through comms. Her and Clint have breached the office, you can see the shape of them fighting through the broken windows. 

“Got it,” You mutter back. You cast a glance at where Sam and Bucky were fighting out in the open. Bucky seems swarmed, trying to shake a man who has wrapped his arms around his throat. You make a silent note of it, casting your scope back to the third story window. The figure that rushes to replace the dead man is quickly taken out by your rifle. He doesn't even get a chance to touch the rifle before his blood paints the wall behind him. 

No one else makes a dash for the sniper rifle. You turn your gaze back to the courtyard, noticing that Bucky is still swarmed by several men. Sam has been pulled too far away from him to help. You can’t see Kate anymore, but from the yelling coming through the comms she is inside the office with Clint and Yelena. 

One of the opposers has picked up a hand-gun and is pointing it squarely at Bucky’s chest as he struggles to get out of the grip of the other men holding him down. Sam barrels towards them, but you know he won’t make it in time. You huff out a sigh, lining up the dangerous shot. You knew if this bullet was at the slight wrong angle it could ricochet directly into Bucky’s chest. 

Is this why Yelena hired you? Because you would make dangerous shots without permission, without regard for human life? Bucky was a super soldier, he could probably survive several gunshot wounds (provided they weren’t directly to the head). Maybe if you cared you would’ve been nervous. Maybe you would’ve hesitated, let your hands shake and sweat. But you don’t care. You disconnect from everything, the shouting through the comms, the sounds of gunshots, the feeling of metal against your skin. You’re not in your body, you are floating above yourself watching the auto-pilot take over. 

You squeeze the trigger. The hand-gun clatters to the ground alongside the attacker. Blood is slick against the paved stones. Through your scope, you swear it has splattered across Bucky’s gruff face. The men attacking Bucky stutter for a moment, giving him the opportunity to shake them off and pummel them with his metal fist. 

He doesn’t even acknowledge what you did.

He doesn’t even say thank you. 

—

One job turned into two. Then two turned into a few more. 

Six months you had been working with Yelena and her crew of disgraced Avengers. You weren't their friends. You didn’t celebrate after missions with them. You kept to yourself, cold and distant. They didn’t know your real name, they hadn’t even seen your face. Yelena would give you a call, pick you up, you would complete the mission, then you would return home. 

You were The Shadow. 

You weren’t a hero. 

Kate and Yelena tried to crack your shell. It usually involved joking and parading around you. All it would earn them was a roll of the eyes and a quiet sigh. Over the comms though, sometimes you would make quiet digs and quips. Clint would roar with laughter, Sam just muttering that he was surprised you had a personality under that mask. 

The mask. Oh, they hated it. 

They were all determined to see beneath it. They made up jokes, stories as to why you wore it. That you were hideously ugly, or scarred beyond human recognition. Bucky seemed to be the only one who understood. He was the only one who was equally as cold to you as you were to him. Your exchanges were brief, usually a series of single words and grunts. It was a relief having someone not trying for your affection at all times. 

Once again, you and your deadly skills were needed for a mission. Another one of Sam’s ‘discussions’ which usually ended with brains splattered across the floor. This time you were in a lightly forested clearing, somewhere in the Estonian wilderness. You were set up in the tree line, laying in a mixture of mud and dead leaves. 

The countryside was peaceful, but gray. Winter was setting in, leaves falling from the birch trees. Their pale trunks were pale against the gray sky that threatened to spill. The breeze was cool, not as cold as Russia had been. No, a Russian winter could be deadly especially the further north you got. You remembered the snow, the discomfort of the cold leaking into your bones. You hadn’t been allowed to complain then, only soldier on. 

“You in position, Shadow?” Yelena asked through the comms. You could see her lips moving through the scope as the group headed towards the designated meeting point. 

“Affirmative. Over.” You state, pushing the ear-piece in a bit further as you settle closer to the cold earth. Relaxing your shoulders with a sharp breath, you surveyed the area through your scope. 

A small group of men had come to meet the team. There were less men than you had anticipated, if a fight ensued it would be one on one. You didn’t like the opponents odds, they looked scruffy, only armed with low-caliber weapons. Definitely not the type to take on a group of superheroes and super soldiers. 

You felt dread sink into your stomach. Something… felt wrong here. Your target reportedly had tons of men at his disposal. It was deep into the Italian mafia, and if they had anything, it was an abundance of men. Where were they all? Was this an ambush? Were they hidden in the brush like you? You could take down a few targets, but you would be more successful with your knives and fists against a small army. Your mind races, along with your gaze as you try to piece it all together. 

“There is something wrong.” You speak into the comms, eyes flickering between Sam and the target as they stood in front of each other. You had done plenty of jobs with the group, all had gone smoothly. But something… something was terribly off here. You could feel it in your gut. The targets men looked antsy, shifting in place. They knew something. They were anticipating something. 

“There’s not enough men. I can’t spot them anywhere in the treelines. Either he’s stupid or this is a set-up.” You ramble into the ear-piece. They can’t respond to you, but you can tell they’re paying attention to your warning. Yelena’s eyes sweep the area, trying to spot more men hidden away somewhere. 

Then, from behind you, you hear the snap of a twig. You spin around, hand flying to your knife. Across from you stand a group of men, armed with shotguns. They’re close, closer than you had realized. You had been too busy trying to figure out where all the men were, trying to anticipate the ambush. You hadn’t realized their ambush was against you. 

This was why you didn’t make friends. Connections. You were too busy worrying about them to realize the immediate danger you were in. The butt of a shotgun cracks against the side of your head. 

Everything goes black. 

—

The mud was cold underneath you, biting into your skin. Your hands were tied, and throughout the intermittent black-outs you recalled being dragged through the dead leaves. You must have been stripped of your weapons, you couldn’t feel the metal of your knives and gun digging in anymore. 

You were bleeding from a head wound, and you were definitely suffering from some kind of concussion. You had touched that throbbing spot with your fingers, rubbing the slick feeling of blood between them. Even through the fabric of your mask, you could feel the sticky blood had spread down the side of your face and neck. A gun was pressed to the back of your skull.

How many men had there been? Had you had a chance to count before you were struck? Had you managed to warn the others before the ear-piece was shattered by the strike? You could still feel bits of plastic and metal digging into your ear along with a high-pitched ringing. You weren’t sure if the ringing was from the ear-piece or from the hit you had received. 

“You really thought I would stand in the open like this? Like a fool?” Your target joked, his Italian accent thick as he laughed heartily. You were kneeling next to him, eyes warily looking between him and the rest of your group who stood across from you. Sam and Bucky looked less than pleased, lips pressed together in tight lines. 

“Rumors have been all through the underground, The Avengers somehow managed to recruit The Shadow?” He continues, still laughing. “Only an idiot would put himself in the open. Taking a chance with The Shadow is asking to have your skull blown open. I am no fool, but maybe you are? Thinking that I would fall for your trick?” 

You can see Yelena trying to keep her cold face on, the one she had given you when she recruited you. It may have fooled the opposition, but you could see the concern in her eyes. She surveyed the mountain of men behind you like she was looking at her next meal. The barrel of the gun pressed harder against the back of your skull.

“We didn’t come here to kill you, we came here to negotiate your peaceful surrender.” Sam spoke up, voice gruff and cold. Behind him, you watched Clint’s fingers ghost over the string of his bow.

“Surrender? Why do you bring a sniper to a peaceful negotiation?” The Italian purred, motioning at you with one hand. His fingers were lined with gold rings, they caught the sunlight through the clouds. He had a gun tucked into his belt, a knife holstered on his hip. 

“You know why. Things get messy. Now, we can still negotiate. You let her go and you hand over your weapons. You will be arrested unharmed, along with all of your men. You’ll face a fair trial for your crimes, a chance at a fresh start.” Sam explained. You could practically hear the target losing interest during Sam’s spiel. You watched him fidget impatiently with those golden rings, the way his men shifted uncomfortably behind you. 

“No no.” Your target chuckled, running his fingers over his bushy black mustache. With the swish of his hand, he dismissed the man holding the gun to your head. His hands then found the back of your neck, tugging you to your feet. Fingers under your chin, he forces you to look into his eyes. “Why would I let her go? I didn’t come here to play games with you, Wilson. I came here because I wanted her. Because I knew she would be here.” 

You resisted a flinch as his fingers dug into the skin of your neck, slipping it under the fabric of your mask. With one tug, he pulled the fabric from your face. This had not been the way you had expected this to happen, the way you would reveal your face to the team. You didn’t want them to feel some kind of connection to you, or any kind of guilt if this ended with a bullet in your skull. 

If you had been able to look, you would’ve seen their shocked faces. How they quickly turned to rage on your behalf. You would’ve seen how Bucky’s eyes darted between looking at you and the ground, like he was witnessing something forbidden. 

You imagined you were a sight, blood smeared across your skin from the head wound. Your hair had been perfectly woven into a crown braid, just like how they taught you in the Red Room. It would be lopsided now, chunks pulled out of place and flyaways from being roughly tugged across the ground. That and the layers of mud caked into your clothing. 

“You know, Dreykov would sometimes leant out Widows to important men like me. You were all so beautiful and you all did exactly what you were told. Made to deliver pleasure. So many men, they would ask for you. To get a glimpse at the mysterious Shadow of the Red Room. Dreykov would never let us have you… 

We would wonder if it was because you were hideously ugly? If you had been scarred like his dear Antonia? But looking at you now, you are as beautiful as I imagined. I can’t help but wonder if Dreykov wanted to keep you for himself? He always said you had too much bite for your worth.”

Gaze still cast at the Italian, you don’t see the team's reaction to this. You wouldn't have seen  Yelena's composure slip, how Sam clenched his fist in rage. Instead you stared, silent fury boiling beneath your skin. 

“I wonder how it will feel to break you?” The target hissed. He watched as your blank expression slowly turned into a sneer. Without much thought, you spit a mixture of saliva and blood into his face with a ragged laugh. 

His face contorted in rage, reaching for the gun in his belt. You don’t dodge, willingly letting him strike you across the face with the metal. You stumble backwards, falling to your knees in the mud. Your lip is definitely split, blood dripping to the ground below you. You’re still laughing though, much to the collective horror of everyone. Sam opens his mouth to speak, to demand your release but you cut him off. 

“You men, you are so emotional. You’re so busy pulling out your cock to piss all over everything that you don’t see the small details.” You seeth at the target. He stares at you in shock, completely oblivious to what you have done. What you are about to do. His men, even your group don’t anticipate what is to come next. 

“What are the smaller details?” The target asks, you can sense misguided amusement in his tone.

You don’t reply. He doesn’t have a chance against you. You had already slipped out of your binds. He was so caught up trying to strike you, trying to prove himself a big and scary man, he hadn’t felt it. Your nimble fingers had wrapped around the knife on his hip, he hadn’t noticed how you had ripped it from its holster as you fell backwards. 

The Italian doesn’t get a chance to take another breath before you snap forwards, striking like a snake. You dig the blade into his thigh, purposefully nicking his artery. Blood gushes from the wound the moment you pull the blade back out.  

Things seem to move in slow motion - you see him react - eyes opening in horror and shock as he stumbles back. You are still on your knees, a feral smirk across your face. His gun lifts, intending to shoot but he is too late. Wrapping your hands around his wrists, you pull the gun to the side just as he pulls the trigger. 

The bang deafens you for a moment, ears ringing. The bullet grazes your ear, then lands directly into the stomach of one of his men behind you. The man wails, falling backwards, knocking a few more of the men off their feet in the process. You move quickly, using your body weight to twist the target's arms, flipping him onto his side into the mud. 

The gun falls to the earth with a thud. Your target doesn’t even get a glance at it before you’ve kicked it away in Sam’s direction. The Italian man groans on his back as he bleeds out. You get to your feet, ignoring the panicked shouts from his men beside you as you observe him. 

“You’re bleeding out from your femoral artery.” You explain to him roughly, tilting your head. His hair is thick, black and greasy. A sheen of sweat has come over his pale skin, eyes glazed over. 

“On average it takes two to five minutes to bleed to death from that artery. That’s if you don’t fall unconscious first. Let’s count, shall we? You spent…around thirty seconds swinging that gun around…another thirty listening to me talk…” You drawl. 

Stepping closer, you crouch next to his shivering body. He is trying to stop the bleeding, pressing shaking hands to the open wound. Blood has already begun to pool around him, ruby red and slick. You tut, pushing his hands away with the knife to watch the blood spurt out faster. 

“You have, what? A couple minutes left? Now tell me, before you slip away… When you see God, what will you tell him?” You ask, a feral expression still across your face as you watch his skin grow gray. 

“You fucking bitch!” Your target manages to choke out. You laugh, standing and swinging the knife around. 

“Oho, I don’t think he’ll like that.” You say. An almost animalistic growl leaves your throat as you raise your foot, kicking him squarely in the nose with your boot. He cries out, bone crunching. For a moment you stand there, watching the sniveling man. 

With a sniff, you run your hand roughly over your cheek, wiping some of the blood from your skin. Then, your gaze falls on the group of men left. They are watching you in silent horror. You can’t imagine what you look like, covered in blood and mud, armed with only a hunting knife. You assess them with a predator's gaze, menacing and bloodthirsty and the men cower back despite being armed with guns. 

“We don’t want any trouble.” One stutters out. 

For a moment, you forget the rest of your team are feet away. You consider letting the wrath consume you. You could tear these men apart with your hands, teeth and nails. You imagine plucking out their eyes, teaching them what happens to men who see your face. 

“Shadow.” Yelena calls you. Your eyes snap to hers. 

Pulled from your trance, you run a tongue over your split lip. The act is near animalistic, a cat tending its wounds. Then, with a shrug sent in Sam’s direction you stalk over to Yelena. Sam, to his credit, quickly composes himself and instructs the group of men to drop their weapons and line up. 

“Are you alright?” Yelena asks as you pause in front of her. You don’t feel like answering that question right now. 

If it weren’t for the cold wrath that had taken over your body, you would imagine you would be shaking. Men like that made your skin crawl, made you revert back to how you had felt in the Red Room. It made you sick to your stomach, knowing that despite everything men like that still existed. You would kill one man and another would grow in his place. You had been lucky to escape. That no matter what, there would always be more places like the Red Room. Even if they weren’t to breed killers and spies, they would still use the bodies of women. Powerful men would use their authority to control innocent girls for the rest of time. Those girls couldn't all be saved. They wouldn’t be saved. 

“I need to retrieve my gun.” You reply thickly, nodding your head in the direction of the treeline. Your knives and other gear would have also been abandoned nearby, that’s if the men hadn’t pocketed it for themselves. 

“Go ahead.” Yelena says, thankfully not pressing you on your emotional state. She seems to sense your unease and your unwillingness to hang around. You pass by her and a gaping Kate. You needed to clear your head before you faced the rest of them. With the mask, you could hide your emotions. Now, without it, you felt exposed. You wouldn’t let them see you crack. They would have been trained to sense the slightest change in your facial expressions, to be able to interpret exactly how you were feeling. 

“Shadow?” Yelena calls, you glance over your shoulder reluctantly. 

“Yeah?” 

“Nice to finally see you. The real you.” She says, a subtle grin tugging at her lips. 

All you can do is hum in response. Though, as you trudge towards the tree line, a small smile forms over your bloodied face. 

PART TWO

[yoonieper]

Pecattiphilia— Part 5 | PJM

Pecattiphilia is the sexual arousal from performing an act one believes is a sin.

✽ Pairing: Jimin x Reader

✽ Genre: Angel Au, angst, fluff, future smut, this is a slow burn (kinda?)! 

✽ Rated: A for Asskicking!

✽ Series Warnings: This series will include discussion of religious aspects such as the afterlife and concepts of heaven and hell (There are no direct ties to any specific religion besides the mention of angels and demons— all aspects of religion was created by me for this series), this series includes a lot of violence (sometimes graphic depictions) and gore (nothing extreme, Jimin and the boys fight monsters sometimes), and mentions of sin (particularly revolving around sexual topics)

✽ Chapter Specific Warnings: Violence (think like a battle scene)! Lots of it!, gorey at times, torture is mentioned, lore~, questionable characters 😇, very brief mentions of illegal substances, things do get smutty towards the end ;)

✽ Word Count: 19k

✽ Summary: Jimin is sent to watch over you and as the years go by he gets more and more curious and sometimes just wishes he could get to know you. But he knows that’s forbidden, it's sin. However, a freak accident somehow causes Jimin and your eyes to meet for the first time with purpose. He knows it shouldn’t happen but he doesn’t want to break away. He wants you to look at him, wants you to touch him, wants you to be with him. The problem is none of this should have happened in the first place… what’s happening to him?

✽ Now Playing…: Gang Up by Young Thug, 2 Chainz, Wiz Khalifa, & PnB Rock— full playlist available on masterlist!

✽ Beta: Thank you to @theharrowing for reading over this <3!

✽ Author’s Note: The first “heist” chapter! This turned out like 2x longer than I thought it would be, but I made it through 😅~~ I won’t say too much but some of the details in these chapters are important for later so keep an eye out 😉

No reposting, modifying. Translating is not allowed unless given explicit permission. Thank you so much :D

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Phase #1 (Survey)

Devil’s Night

L'appel du vide.

The call of the void.

That tiny, impulsive voice that tells you to jerk the steering wheel to the right and take a flying leap off the ledge… that inclination to walk right into the ocean and never return… the urge to just jump as you gaze off the edge of a skyscraper… the call of the Siren song. 

The void was so unknown yet that innate urge for humans to explore and understand, even the things they weren’t meant to— sometimes that voice gets too loud. Their curiosity, so wondrous at first, oftentimes is their downfall. 

Humans are complicated yet so simple.

However that voice isn’t always their strange impulses trying to send them to an early grave. That void is sometimes very real and that alluring voice, that call to the void, is just a lure to trap its prey in its hungry grasp for eternity.

Devil’s Night

It shouldn’t exist. 

A casino that easily blended in with the hundreds of others along the strip. It was covered in enticing, flashy lights, easily attracting those who craved a quick trip to wealth or who wanted an eventful, possibly regrettable, night of fun. It had just as many people walk in for a night of celebration and just as many walk out disappointed as all the others, bringing any who walked through the doors the standard Las Vegas experience. To most it didn’t look out of the ordinary, it didn’t act out of the ordinary, it was just another casino in a city that was populated by the get rich quick scheme. 

But they saw what it truly was.

It was like looking upon a line-up of seemingly perfectly identical shapes. They were all circles to the untrained eye, but to a server of H.E.A.V.E.N. it was clear one of those circles was not as it should be; an oval in disguise, if you will.

A demon’s lair was a black hole for information. P2 angels were aware of everything that was happening according to their set clock, but even they couldn't see demon lairs unless they stumbled onto it by chance. The higher-ups even struggled to locate their lairs, it being the reason for how these situations can get as bad as they do. 

In this instance, they already knew it was going to be even worse. So many demons had managed to escape and just from the collected information there were a lot of high profiles. Who knows how long they’d been feeding as well?

It was Las Vegas, year 2002, time 11:35 pm as the boys flew over the neon lights. All the current information came to them in an instant except for the spot towards the end of the strip.

Devil’s Night

It was a place that all the locals believed had always been here. Those who were alive at the time had memories of passing by it during its construction back in the 70s and how it recently reopened after doing some intense renovations only a year prior. 

Business was booming now with their new modern look, and many tourists and regulars came through the doors everyday. But memories were so easy to manipulate on the cosmic scale.

Time itself was something that no human, even as an angel, can fully grasp to the point where no one who was born with a soul would ever experience it fully. But memories are so easy, even as a P2 angel getting humans to see what they want them too, to remember things that they’ve never experienced in their lives, was child’s play. 

None of them would ever truly understand how insignificant they were, how they were just pawns, apparitions really of the balance of the universe at play. 

Humans were nothing, yet you meant everything to him. 

You were all Jimin could think about as his team flew over the city.

You, your lips on his as you kissed underneath the tree where you first met— at least the tree you think you first met. He missed you, and despite how busy things have been, you were all he could think about.

2002– you were only six right now back in Seoul, the P1 angel that came before him watching over you intently until he took their place 14 years later.

Jimin had to make this mission quick, he wanted to get back to you.

You never fail to disappoint me.

I’m glad. I’m finally happy.

You don’t know what that is.

I know that’s what she makes me feel.

They are right here, you made a promise.

It was right, here he was thinking about you when he promised his leader that he wouldn’t see you again. Normally he’d be reviewing the battle plans they’d discussed in the meeting they had right before they left, but it was just you, you, and more you.

He had to get back.

He wanted to kiss you again.

In no time the group made it to the place that shouldn’t exist. A smear in the balance of the world, and it loomed with a darkness indescribable to man. If only these humans knew what they were walking into, a trap designed to feed on and corrupt all the hard work their protectors did for them over the years.

This place shouldn’t exist and neither should the demons here be in this plane. They disobeyed the laws of the balance and the only punishment for them was death, extermination in the cruelest fashion.

It was the only other thing bouncing around in his head. 

Purifying this world from this putrid sin. 

The boys landed on their meeting spot, the roof of a shopping center right across the street from the casino.

Like their typical routine, Namjoon immediately got to work constructing a small building they’d use as a base of operations for their short time here. It was about the size of their meeting room, just big enough for a table and enough chairs for them all to sit in.

“Alright everyone, phase one starts immediately. We need to handle this quickly, quietly, and I need everyone alive by the end. Just follow the plan to the tee and we should be fine with hopefully new intel for the higher ups.” Namjoon said as he took a seat at the head of the table, just like he would in H.E.A.V.E.N.

Everyone nodded. Every detail had to be perfect, missions like these were the most dangerous for teams, especially considering the scale and how many demons there were here.

Angels were far superior than most lower level demons, but while power wasn’t necessarily the issue, it was the numbers and confining to the limits of the normal plane. There were a lot of them housed here and the fact this battle needs to happen in the normal plane means H.E.A.V.E.N. can’t just send one angel to smite the place down.

In theory, that would be nice, but that kind of power in the normal plane might rip a hole in the fabric of spacetime, not to mention the amount of casualties besides the demons that would cause.

That kind of power would be enough to bring the fabled apocalypse that the humans talk about every other century. Nobody on this planet would be safe as the power of angelic light would cleanse this frame from the damned; even the universe itself might take a hit from only a microscopic amount of an angel’s full potential.

That is why it was essential that everyone acts in line and uses their abilities sparingly, just a fraction over and suddenly Las Vegas would be a crater that appeared out of nowhere.

This programming went so deep, even if an angel was getting swarmed, their last moments quickly approaching, they would still choose to die if they knew that much power would do noteable damage to the world. 

“Jimin and Taehyung, go ahead and start getting ready, I’ll join you in a second. Yoongi and Jungkook please begin the perimeter sweep. Hoseok and Seokjin, get the rest of this set up. Make sure to log every detail that’s reported.” Namjoon commanded and everyone immediately sprang into action.

Jungkook saluted— it was natural for him at this point. Perfect posture, feet together standing tall and proud with his right arm horizontal and the left in front and vertical. Perfect 90 degree angles, forming the symbol of their allegiance, the cross.

With that, suddenly the door was swinging open, the breeze almost sending everything in the room flying. 

“Does he have to do that every time?” Yoongi chuckled seeing everyone’s hair all over the place.

“He just likes to show off.” Seokjin rolled his eyes, before going and picking up the material Namjoon had already pulled out.

“We should tell him to come back so he can clean this up—“ Hoseok chuckled as he bent down to grab the papers, but before he could get a single sheet Namjoon clapped his hands and suddenly the room was back as it was.

“Focus. This is not a vacation, we have a job to do.” Namjoon sighed.

Everyone grimaced, noticing the leader was still tense. He was like this during the meeting earlier and he admitted the guilt of forgoing procedures and not reporting Jimin like he should have done was starting to eat away at him.

Namjoon earlier even questioned if Jimin should come on a mission like this, knowing something wasn’t right with him. It was risky either way, but he was basically forced to bring him, because the chances of the whole team being killed during this increased to astronomical amounts if Jimin wasn’t with him.

All he could hope was that Jimin could keep himself together for this mission, that he wouldn’t regret his choice.

Seeing their faces, Namjoon instantly felt bad. “I’m sorry guys— you know—“ 

“No we understand, this is business.” Hoseok said, grabbing onto Seokjin’s hand and guiding him to the blue, plastic chairs at the table.

The mood was tense, but they all understood where he was coming from. Things were weird these days, best to stay on high alert. 

“Yoongi? Where are you?” It was Jungkook who was speaking over their channel, waiting right in front of Devil’s Night.

It was like the different channels for radios, but this one was very special. Every team had their own personal channel, said to be the exact conditions and frequency of the electromagnetic field as it vibrated right when they became seven, right before they awoke. They didn’t need radios, no technology at all, it was a channel only they could tap into— named ##7732769(43278)287, or just 287, which were the numbers that truly made it them.

“I’m sorry, I got distracted.” Yoongi chuckled lightly, trying to lighten the mood. He held out his hand and the scope of his gun fell right into it.

Yoongi walked outside and headed toward the edge of the roof that overlooked the casino.

Everyone seemed to snap out of it, once again reminding themselves they had a job to do.

Hoseok and Seokjin took out their devices, a rectangular piece of what appeared as glass, turning into a keyboard with unfamiliar characters, and a projection appeared right in front of them. Humans would only be able to see it as bright light, but any angel knew it was the line to the higher ups. They both got their hands ready on their devices as they listened intently to Jungkook and Yoongi.

Yoongi held up his scope and zoomed to where he could see Jungkook standing by the pillar right at the entrance.

People continued to walk in and out, unaware of Jungkook’s existence as sometimes they’d just phase right through him.

“Jungkook, there’s eight standing by the door.” 

Yoongi saw as he held up a thumbs up in his direction before he was gone again.

Taehyung meanwhile had already set up a mirror in the corner of the room and dragged Jimin over to start trying on outfits to fit the time period.

On the way over, Tae suggested that they should trade their all white attire and go with the ‘rich club owner who has too much to spend’ look— already pulling out the suits he loved so much.

Jimin tried to focus on the channel or at least on Taehyung, who kept holding up outfits for him to try on, but there was something that was bothering him.

Not only was he missing you, but he kept thinking about his role in this mission. He hadn't done this since you both have been together, would he be able to do this successfully? 

Gathering intel used to be one of his favorite things to do, but his usual method might not work considering he has you in his life.

“Fifty on the roof.” Yoongi called out as he zoomed his scope in further.

“Fifty? On the roof?” Hoseok exclaimed as he typed it out.

“Maybe they’re looking for us?” Seokjin suggested. They both giggled at the thought. 

“You think they would be that dumb to think we’d come flying in from above?” Seokjin couldn’t stop the giggles, the image of the demons preparing for them as if they were an airstrike was all too amusing for some reason. 

“These are demons we’re talking about.” Namjoon tried to laugh as he looked out the door to Yoongi crouching at the edge of the roof. 

“Namjoon, which one?” Taehyung called out to the leader as he spun Jimin around and held up two hangers. One was a white button up, the other was black.

Taehyung held them over Jimin and switched between the two.

Namjoon hummed lightly as he weighed the two options. “What are you putting on the bottom?” He asked, trying to get a better picture. 

Taehyung tossed the hanger with the white button up and as he brought it back, suddenly it was a pair of black slacks instead, with a black belt that had a golden buckle.

“Would you do that for the white one?” Namjoon asked.

“Maybe a suit instead?” Tae looked down at the outfit.

“Yeah, I’m thinking the black one then. The suit’s nice but it might be a bit too formal considering we look like twenty-somethings here in Vegas— it’s 2002 remember.” Taehyung nodded at Namjoon’s words.

“You don’t think we should go for something a little more casual? We’re trying to blend in.” Namjoon also pointed out. 

“It’s part of the plan— if we look like we have a lot of money to spend, the more intel we can learn.” Taehyung tried to rationalize like he didn’t just come up with that on the spot. It’s not like he needed an excuse or anything to dress his members up in suits because he thought it’d look cool.

Their last mission sent them to 2221 BC in Egypt— he didn’t have a lot to work with for “time period appropriate.”

“Never thought about it like that— I guess you’re right.” For some reason Namjoon didn’t see any holes in his logic— not that there was any— but Taehyung beamed realizing he was going to be able to do this.

“Black works well though, I think it works with your hair.” Namjoon gestured up to Jimin’s blue locks that hung lowly in his eyes. 

“I’m still trying to figure out why it’s blue.” Namjoon said, still a little perplexed at the choice.

As soon as Jimin made it back to H.E.A.V.E.N. for their meeting, everyone was shocked to see he had come back with blue hair, standing out amidst the sea of blondes.

“Luckily for Jimin, this is Vegas, so he blends right in.” Tae mentioned as he handed the hangers to Jimin as he turned to the mirror to start picking his own outfit.

“I’m seeing the garage that was spotted, three exits in the back, and fifteen standing right outside.” Jungkook reported. 

Hoseok just had to laugh as he typed that down. “Things just keep getting worse.”

“There’s a skylight on the roof— we might be able to use that.” Yoongi mentioned, when one of the “guys” with black suits moved out the way.

“It seems we’re going to need all our options on the table for this one. Hoseok and Seokjin, I’m going to need you on high alert for strategies as we survey the inside. Jungkook and Yoongi, please keep us informed if you see anything.” Namjoon commanded. 

Tae was about to throw the leader hangers for some ideas for the outfits he could wear, but Namjoon simply spun around and gone was his off-white trench coat. Instead, he was wearing a navy blue suit, a tucked in white button-up, a fancy watch glinted in the light, and he pushed up a pair of black glasses as his transformation was completed.

Taehyung stood there stunned because, while he looked amazing, he still wanted to play dress up for a little while… 

Well, now that just left him. 

“What’s our story going to be anyway?” Taehyung asked as he stood in front of the mirror, pulling out different suit combos. 

That would be necessary, it would be a bit weird to say they were just tourists considering how dressed up they were.

“We can just say we came from a bachelor party— decided to test our luck on the slots for a little fun.” Namjoon said as he peered into the mirror, undoing the first two buttons of his shirt.

“Who’s the groom?” Seokjin asked suddenly.

Jimin, Namjoon, and Tae all looked at each other, but for a second everyone in the room's eyes went to Jimin. 

They were all thinking it, you, you would be his bride that he was spending the night away from. Your wedding was only days away and right now you were out celebrating with your girlfriends while he was spending his time with the guys that he adorned more than anything in the world.

If anyone got too nosy, Jimin was the only one who has experienced anything close to the feelings a groom should be experiencing so close to the wedding. And you, it was all so convenient.

“I’ll do it.” Namjoon suddenly said, raising his hand.

Everyone’s eyes went to him and they all nodded knowing that was best considering the way things have been.

They all thought he was dealing with withdrawals or a breakup of some sort, because they trusted he had listened and wasn’t seeing you anymore. Namjoon volunteered, thinking that it would reopen the wound too soon after they had the meeting.

If only they knew.

Jimin’s mind drifted back to you. He wondered what you were doing, if you were missing him as much as he was missing you right now. 

It only made him more excited to get back to you.

They just had to burn.

“Anyway Taehyung, hurry up. Everyone, prepare to proceed to the next stage.” Namjoon called out sensing the growing tension in the room.

They had work to do anyway.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Phase #1.5 (Information)

They made a promise and never in all the eons they’ve been a team had it ever been broken. It was never even something anyone entertained or played with. It was a promise that they all adhered too no matter the temptation. 

Except in certain situations. 

Taehyung especially had this method of doing whatever it takes to get information from people. Jimin operated the same way beforehand, not to such lengths, he couldn’t bring himself to do something so impure, but Taehyung had no care.

Mission success whatever it takes, he’d always say. 

Taehyung always thrived during this stage of the operation. He was good, sometimes too good, his charisma would be able to have them like putty in his hands as he subtly pried them for information.

It was crazy to watch considering what he was like with the team. 

The famed “heartbreaker” they would sometimes tease him with the nickname. Some might have called it cruel, but a few broken hearts for the sake of the fate of the planet, the universe really is worth sacrificing, he would say. 

They agreed.

“They’re only humans.” He’d smirk before getting ready to ruin someone’s life.

It didn’t help the effect they had on humans whenever they went into the normal plane. On the outside, it was like watching bugs swarm around a porch light, just sad and desperate creatures. They never knew what they were in store for whenever they got too close.

Angels have such a tremendous effect on the world around them and all celestial creatures are immune to this, it was always so amusing seeing the heads turn whenever they’d step into a room.

Namjoon, Taehyung, and Jimin flew down the street from the casino, quickly transferred to the normal plane, and started making their way inside. 

The casino was nothing spectacular, Jimin had practically been to every one that’s existed in history at this point. The place smelled strongly of smoke and it was decorated with golds and velvety reds, everything having a certain shine to it that seemed to wow guests as they all walked in.

It was something out of a movie as everyone’s eyes lingered on the three as they weaved through the slot machines and they all just knew how much they were wanted.

It was always so easy.

The boys quickly split up knowing it was always better for them to be seen apart and they had more chances of getting more information. Taking a deep breath, they put on the smiles, the charm that would have the humans practically eating out their hands.

Namjoon made his way to the poker table. It was always so simple— one glance at his watch and he’d already have their eyes. A couple of wins was all it took for people to gather around the table. Two girls had their arms wrapped around him despite mentioning the fact he had a fiancé and all the guys would toast anytime he would pull his newly collected chips in. 

All he really needed to do was make light conversation.

People were busy conversing all around him. Chelsey, the girl to his right, was talking to the guy who stood behind her— who clearly was more interested in her than his poker game. Veronica was the girl to his left and she seemed more keen on making sure he ruined his fake engagement tonight.

Veronica it was then. 

He took the opportunity of Chelsey being distracted to whisper in her ear.

“And who has you?” He smirked down at her.

The question visibly confused her at first, but the hand he had on her thigh was enough to keep her attention. His thumb lightly rubbed along the exposed skin her short, black dress allowed– he didn’t have to be “all-knowing” to see how much she was enjoying it.

So simple.

“I know you know sweetheart. It’s alright, you can tell me.” His soft smile would always do the trick as she stared down at his lips. 

“Gorgo.” She whispered mindlessly, like she had no idea what she was saying.

It was sad, so sad honestly. They had no clue what was going on, they didn't even realize they were here.

Taehyung had skipped the games altogether and had taken a seat at the bar. It didn’t take long for a crowd to form around him, and instead of fraternizing Taehyung had taken a more radical approach as he always did.

She was the first girl that came up to him, mentioned something about liking his outfit and how handsome he looked. The pinstripe suit he’d decided on with a white shirt underneath that hardly covered any of his chest and the gold jewelry he wore made him stand out for all the right reasons.

It didn’t matter to him, but she’d stayed by his side as he tried to decide who was the best in getting the most information from. To be honest, he got bored trying to choose and she just wouldn’t let go. 

She seemed desperate.

It was more of a favor, but he’d lured her to a more private section of the casino and used his tongue for getting more information.

Jimin normally would have been in Namjoon’s spot, pushing the limits, but not as far as Taehyung always did. 

But anytime someone would approach him, he’d always think about you and how much he missed you. 

Jimin had spent a little time at the bar and he wished he had got himself drunk enough to be able to do his job, but alas another downside to being “all-powerful.” Simple, earthly, human drinks didn’t work. 

He thought back to the time when he’d been by your side in the apartment, the week you cared for him. If he wasn’t so sick, a drink would have been nice to have, maybe in that state alcohol would finally be able to do something. 

He only really drinks it for the taste. His normal order, if they served it, was a drink called Hell’s Fury oddly enough— it was a drink that relied on equal amounts of Fireball, 151 proof rum, Everclear, and black absinthe, with an added habanero pepper at the base of the shot glass to give it even more of an intense flavor. It would always get a few concerning glances sent his way as he’d easily down shot after shot and wouldn’t react at all.

Of course Devil’s Night served it, this place was meant to have everything anyone could desire– Eden on Earth was their slogan. 

Yet even their concoctions couldn’t give him the desired effect. 

Some fucking Eden…

The drinks were useless, but sitting at the bar watching the humans pass by, Jimin couldn’t stop thinking about earlier– playing the groom. Wouldn’t it have been so interesting? Spending the night with the people he’s closest with and you– you were his bride and you were going to his soon in just a few short days.

He wouldn’t see this as his last night of freedom, but a celebration because he’s just so happy.

Happy? What did that feel like?

The mindless humans around him all knew, yet someone who was “all-knowing” couldn’t know the blissful feeling of happiness? It was strange, a strange world they lived in.

You were his only comfort these days.

He just missed you so much…

Pathetic.

It truly was.

Jimin had made up the excuse that he just wasn’t in the mood to do that type of probing, instead he’d taken Namjoon’s usual role in just casual chatting to those who’d pass his way, but more importantly, using this as an opportunity to survey the inside of the building.

They had absolutely no access on the outside, their usual “all-knowingness in the moment” just didn’t work with demon lairs. And to make matters more complicated it’s not like they could just send Jungkook in to do a quick run through of the building. 

It’s why there were so many guards inside and all around the building; they knew they were being hunted. 

Before switching to the normal plane, they diminished their “angelic presence” to a degree that remained undetectable to all their sensors. It’s why they didn’t get jumped as soon as they walked in the casino.

Even at higher planes, sending Jungkook in would have made them aware that they were here even though they couldn’t do anything, ruining that sweet element of surprise that always seemed to get them. 

In order to collect the vital information they needed for this mission’s success, they had to do this the old fashioned way— going undercover. 

Their angelic presence was diminished as low as they could get it, almost as low as it normally would be whenever they were given breaks. It was just enough that they would have some type of power if things went left for some reason.

It was still to the point though that humans were irresistibly drawn to them, always claiming they just seemed to almost sparkle in the light. They never saw it, and luckily the demons couldn’t either.

They were just three hot friends who were enjoying the last few hours of a bachelors party and who also had some amazing luck.

Jimin had been everywhere that night– the slot machines, bars, the game tables, the lounges, and even the mysterious VIP section he quickly learned existed. He surveyed, chatted, and probed for as much information as he could considering he was just walking around having casual conversations. 

In the end he walked away with $10,627 dollars in earnings, 3.5 grams of coke, 4 sticks of gum, 12 hotel keys, invitations to a wedding, birthday party, and a cookout, and more importantly, some interesting new information to share with his team.

Apparently a conversation and a little bit of wagering was all it took to get what he wanted. 

There were approximately 1000 demons here under the same roof— most of them resided in the basement but there were about 150 here on the main floor. The number nearly made him keel over and he heard Hoseok nearly choke over the channel.

“They should have sent a bigger team.” Seokjin groaned, they all did because this was ridiculous.

They were only seven, and while yes, they were one of the best P2 angel teams currently active, it would have been better to send a team with more members to handle this. 

It was an overwhelming amount— how they were going to come out of this alive was beyond them at this point. 

Some of the demons were refugees, those who’d escaped prior to Abigor’s legion. They had come from different points in time, slowly but surely they felt the presence of a new demonic lair and knowing they were stronger in numbers, crossed time just to be here. According to the demons that Taehyung and Namjoon managed to identify, they only accounted for a small majority of the demons speculated to reside in the building.

How this many managed to escape was beyond him, and honestly Jimin, all the boys really, had a few things they wanted to say to the P3 angels put in charge of watching over them.

Jimin also managed to do a bit of snooping to get a better feel of the floor plan. Not as much as he would have liked, but there were so many demons everywhere he turned, he just couldn’t wander like he hoped.

It was only through a bit of conversing that he learned where the door to the lower floors was— a secret elevator apparently that could lead someone down to the five lower floors. 

See, the humans have no clue where they are right now, the darkness being ultimately what lures them inside, and if they get too close they get “sucked in” truly like a black hole. Demons feed off of human darkness— a casino was the perfect place for that to accumulate. A human betting their life savings for the chance to turn it into millions and ultimately losing all of it, was like a buffet to them. 

Normally there was always a specific demon that put the human in this sort of trance like state, it was usually how they tracked how many demons were at the location, knowing a majority of them were always hidden.

The trance also gave the human a bit of access to the demon’s mind which is also why angel teams prioritized them whenever they were sent on this type of mission. They were just so out of it, they never had any idea what was going on.

In the end, they got as much information as they could— maybe Jimin could have gotten more if he used his tongue like Taehyung, or maybe even a flirtatious touch like Namjoon would have earned him that extra bit of detail to help increase the success of their mission. 

But he couldn’t kiss them, he couldn’t touch them, not when he had you in his heart. You were his now and he was yours. You were the only human who made him want to do any of those things.

Jimin relished in the fact that he had an excuse this time, but what about the next? Would he just have to tell them?

And then what?

They will understand.

They will not.

They will.

And if not?

I’ll make them understand.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Phase #2 (Hellfire)

03:00 was the time they decided on. Devil’s Night officially closed at 2, but they gave it an extra hour because there always seemed to be stragglers at places like these for some reason or another.

There was always a guy begging for another chance because he’d just lost all his money and he was so sure that one more chance would be all it took to win the money back and then some. 

Demons also had no issues intermingling with humans even when they knew they were being hunted down. All night Jimin would pass by the guards hanging around the walls talking with the humans, their intentions clearly less than pure as they easily touched, grabbed, and kissed the simple, entranced creatures. 

Much like Taehyung, but they had no issues taking things to the next level. Apparently one of the first few floors in the basement held rooms just for this purpose. Taehyung only did it for information, but no one knew why they did.

Did it provide them more opportunity to feed? This was one of the leading theories, demons had a horrible tendency to go after humans in committed relationships as their prey for the night. Others guessed they might just enjoy it which was strange.

They had no connections to humans like the P2 angels, for them to have that urge was odd but Jimin wouldn’t be surprised. An impure being wishing to commit an impure act made all the sense to him.

They staked out the building all day following Namjoon, Taehyung, and Jimin’s field survey, analyzing, trying their best to come up with a plan that would somehow have them coming out alive. 

Unfortunately the chances were slim, and growing slimmer by the hour as Yoongi would identify a new demon walking into the casino seemingly each hour. They considered giving themselves another day in order to do more observation, but they knew things were just going to get worse the more they waited. 

Namjoon and the rest of the boys had been seated at their table in their makeshift base, reviewing and reanalyzing their plan, making sure it was the best possible option. In the end, it was almost three and they had to get ready.

“I don’t care how this looks on paper, I need to see everyone of you back here after we’ve managed to contain the situation. Every single one of you. Got it?” Namjoon looked them all down, making sure they understood.

He couldn’t lose a single one of them.

“Affirmative.” The rest of them said in unison with an honorary salute. It was important, for the sake of the balance but also for each other. 

They couldn’t go on with anyone missing. Literally.

Taehyung and Yoongi were up first in the plan while the rest of them began to move in and start the process of containment.

This was extremely important. Celestial matters do not belong in the human world and the risk of getting caught would cause unnecessary drama that they did not need. It also made things easier for as soon as the place was cleared to begin the cleansing process— a building disappearing into thin air again was not something they needed on their hands.

Jungkook used the device specifically designed for this purpose, it almost looked like a white, glowing stick and as he pointed it down to the ground it created a glowing line that set up the base for Namjoon. Normally most teams have another device but with Namjoon’s control, he can create a barrier all on his own. Namjoon ran his hand along the wall that Jungkook created and a white shine would appear before eventually fading as he flew by, showing it had truly been blessed. By the end the lines were gone and the barrier was invisible to everyone and blocked out all perception from any nosy humans. 

It made it so they were still able to fight in the normal plane, without the prying eyes of humans to complicate the issue.

They only had a small window before someone would take notice of the barrier, so as soon as Namjoon had sealed it, it was on for Taehyung and Yoongi.

“Everyone in positions?” Namjoon said over the channel.

They all confirmed and with Namjoon’s signal, it was time to begin. 

Taehyung and Yoongi had maintained their positions on the roof of the shopping center, giving them the right amount of cover and distance for this first stage of the attack. 

Taehyung took a deep breath, stood up, and drew his bow back, a bright white light shining and taking the shape of an arrow. Taehyung squinted one eye as he always did as he aimed it toward the sky, the tip of the arrow setting ablaze before letting go.

The guards standing outside were hardly paying any attention, the whole patrolling thing getting a little exhausting. They were just talking to each other, trying to do anything to make the time pass by when suddenly a swift zip sound flew right past one of their heads.

They all turned and were shocked to see a flaming arrow pierced into the wall, one made of angelic light at that. It had not missed by even an inch to the guy standing on the far end. 

They were here.

They quickly looked around, trying to see where that arrow came from but one glance up and they saw another one heading their way.

What was going on?

Another zip sound filled the air, this time much faster, their attention all still on the arrow flying in from above when a thump finally pulled them away.

To their horror, the guy who was on the opposing far end was lying on the floor, and right in the center of his head was a glowing bullet hole as black tar slowly oozed out from it. They all just stared at the way his eyes were still wide like he was permanently stuck staring at what would ultimately be his demise. They were absolutely taken aback at what just happened as they continued to watch his body flake into ash.

There was only one thing that could do this. No mortal weapon could do them any harm, especially to so mercilessly slaughter one of their kind.

Yoongi smiled at the sight in his scope as he pulled back the bolt handle with astounding speed. He enjoyed the satisfying, fast paced click while he found their immediate panic and shock at the sight of his doing being far too satisfying. 

“Beautiful.” He said to himself as he moved his scope to focus on the guy standing closest to the door. This will be oh so glorious, a day of reckoning that he and his team would gladly deliver. 

With a steady hand, as soon as Yoongi had a clear path, he pulled the trigger again with no hesitation. Yoongi laughed at the sight. The guy fell so easily, they always do.

They really started to scramble, Yoongi watched as they headed for the door, but just as easily as the first two, he smote them down before they could make it to their sanctuary. 

“Are you having fun?” Yoongi heard Joon chuckle on the channel.

“Mhmmm— Taehyung, you can go ahead and start with the ones on the roof.” Yoongi said hastily as he took out three more that were by the entrance. Through the scope though he saw one of them likely calling for backup, that was only a second before he became another one of the bodies beginning to line the perimeter.

“I also think our brief moment of stealth is about up so prepare for stage two.” Yoongi called out as four more bodies hit the pavement.

Once Taehyung heard the needed confirmations, he pulled his bow back once again, this time the arrow making a faint sizzling sound.  

He let go and he watched earnestly as the arrow zipped through the sky, landing exactly where he wanted it to, the furthest point of the roof of the casino. It was only a second later when an explosion of white hot flames of purification erupted, consuming everyone in the near vicinity.

Even from where Taehyung and Yoongi were standing, they could hear the screams of their sins being purified.

“Now this is truly beautiful.” Taehyung beamed.

“Fun’s over. This is where things get serious. Take care of the perimeter as soon as possible so you can join the rest of us inside.” Namjoon commanded, getting a little more stern. 

“Rodger captain.” Yoongi flashed them a thumbs up where they could see from where the rest of the members had been standing, right by the edge of the boundary they had drawn.

With a majority of forces handled on the outside it was time to begin the brave journey of getting to Abigor, the head and ultimately why they’re here in the first place.

Abigor was a famous leader in H.E.L.L. leading rebellion after rebellion, always spewing nonsense about ‘the hellfire that will rain from above,’ that the P3 angels continuously had to put down. He was more annoying and hard to deal with than actually dangerous.

Still though, he had managed to convince a legion of demons to follow him and there were so many to face up ahead.

Namjoon, Jungkook, Hoseok, Seokjin, and Jimin finally shifted to the normal plane and made a beeline straight to the door. 

This, this would be when things truly got intense. 

Things outside were chaotic; all of the demons trying to locate where the shots were coming from made slipping inside easier than ever. 

Gone was the glitz and glamor that lured in all the passersby, instead Devil’s Night revealed its true state, the mask it put up for all the mortals nowhere in sight. The casino was uncanny, an unnatural dark haze clouded the halls and that same putrid black ooze slowly seeped from the walls.

Besides the horrific sight, it was easy to feel something was off about this place. 900+ demons or so were meant to fill the halls, yet it was uncomfortably silent. As they all entered, like it was some horror movie, the doors slowly closed behind them.

For some reason they all knew the only way out of here would be to kill every last one of them.

Namjoon turned behind him to confirm his team was still, in fact, behind him; sometimes these places liked to make things more complicated and instantly separate them. No worries, they would always find each other.

But to his relief, he saw their concentrated faces likely trying to think of the next procedure. 

“There shouldn’t be too many on this floor right now. I want this floor cleared entirely along with the confirmation from Taehyung and Yoongi that the outside is clear before proceeding. The last thing we need is enemies coming down from above. I want this handled quickly, we reviewed the floorplan for this floor, there should be no reason for any mistakes or hesitation. Affirmative?”

“Roger.” They all said in unison like the perfect obedient soldiers that they are.

All weapons were taken out, and for a second they just looked at each other. From here on out, things were going to be so chaotic. The chances of this mission going smoothly were not in their favor, but when had that ever stopped them? Still though, it was nice to have this one final image before they got too busy to realize who was even right beside them. 

They did this every time, and with that out of the way the fun could finally begin.

Jungkook, with his SMGs in hand, twirled them around his fingers before he zipped past them first into the darkness. 

Seeing his faint glow disappear into the despair, moments like these made Jimin remember when they had first awoken. His terrified eyes staring up at him and Joon as they clung to each other in such a terrifying and confusing world. So much time has passed since then, Jungkook has grown so much since then, and he has changed. 

Time was such a made up construct, especially to a being who never truly got to experience it fully. None of them aged, they didn't look a day older than the first moment they opened their eyes. Time stopped for them so long ago, and yet they weren't the same people who Atara and Celine first gazed upon.

If time hasn’t changed them, what has? 

Dragging Jimin out of his thoughts was the signal they needed. Jungkook’s whistle echoed in this chamber of silence, its power making his glow finally pierce through the haze. It was terrifying, it was as if their set clock stopped entirely as the image of Jungkook standing there in the middle of the fog, with deformed humans all trying to leap at him from all directions, blackness oozing from where their eyes and mouths should be. 

It was a split second, but Jungkook was faster as he flew above the herd, the window into the fog quickly closing, but that was all they needed.

Jimin, Seokjin, and Hoseok were next. 

Seokjin charged in quickly, his sword made from angelic light easily causing the lead of screams that sounded through the fog. He was skilled, easily out beating the best swordsman humanity would ever see as he effortlessly sliced through their flimsy, squishy bodies. Seokjin’s technique was deadly in the way he used the powerful momentum of his wings to sink his already more than lethal weapon at speeds so great, it was as easy as cutting paper.

He always used flight as an advantage to easily dip and dodge their attacks. They had weapons, far less powerful, but their dark bullets or blades certainly could kill them if they were struck too many times or a knife was sunk too deep. They also had the added advantage of that ooze seeping from seemingly every one of their orifices. Too much can lead to the speedy corruption of an angel. Not lethal by any means, but that would immediately turn the boys’ attention from the demons to their own comrade.

A corrupted angel simply can not exist. 

Seokjin was careful and despite his weapon not being a speedy bullet, he was quickly able to kill before they even had any time to fire.

Hoseok took a different approach. 

He simply flew into the fog but planted his feet in the ground as soon as he was deep enough in. 

Almost immediately the demons started trying to leap at him as well, but Hoseok’s quick wielding of his pike was faster. The pointed tip easily pierced through the fake flesh that housed the darkness within. Hoseok moved like water, a dance almost as he toyed with them. He’d spent an incomprehensible amount of time learning to make the most of less. 

Jimin could never forget how many times he’d walk into their training room, seeing Hoseok trying to practice his technique, something Celine and Atara said was essential for handling a weapon like his. 

For a while, the perfection that H.E.A.V.E.N. demanded seemed impossible to achieve, but Hoseok would always say the key was just thinking about it like he actually was dancing, that he was on a stage and this was all some elaborate performance. 

It was strange, Jimin never got it, but apparently that mindset flipped some kind of switch in him. Despite him usually fighting on the ground, he was sometimes more lethal than all the rest of them in the way he’d ‘perform’ with the enemies. It was graceful and incredibly beautiful as all the ‘performances’ would conclude with their screams as his angelic light pierced through their bodies entirely. 

“Maybe I used to be a dancer.” Hoseok would always joke around anytime they’d be cleansing a scene and the amount of bodies he’d created on his own was hauntingly beautiful, sometimes more than those with faster weapons.

Jimin always wondered, surely one of the lives he lived he had to be the greatest dancer that ever lived, because the way he moved topped even the most majestic sights.

Jungkook’s fighting style was a little more similar to Seokjin. He relied on speed and pretty much speed alone. He was fast, the fastest out of the team actually. Back during their training days, Jungkook came first place in all the races they’d do pretty much all the time. It was clear to Celine and Atara that he was to be their head scout, able to dip and dive enemies in case of emergencies easily.

His guns were also seemingly chosen with that fact in mind. The small guns shot fast, but only allowed him to fire so much at a time before reloading. It kept his mind prioritizing his movement in order to confuse the enemy before dealing a quick final blow.

From where Namjoon was standing, Jungkook almost seemed to blink, his light in the fog quickly disappearing before reappearing faster than it left. For brief moments in time you could see the demon's horrid faces stand around trying to find where he was before suddenly Jungkook’s light would barely illuminate the fact that they were beginning to pile on the floor. 

Jimin was trained to be the master of all trades. His handle allowed for versatile weapon usage unlike his teammates, but the dials on the handle made switching in the middle of battle slightly difficult. He’d been trained to use nearly every weapon his handle could create and the combinations exceeded the thousands. His training took the longest, but Jimin's efforts then created the killing machine he is today. 

He plowed through enemies with the light beam configuration, the handle now split into two with thick beams of light coming out from each end. 

Namjoon could see Jimin was fighting slightly differently today. 

Normally this was just business, albeit inconvenient business considering they were busy as it is with their guardian duties, but this was their jobs as warriors for maintaining the balance of the universe. 

As Namjoon watched, he was slightly stunned at the power Jimin would fly around with. It was with the same ferocity that he would sometimes encounter when watching over humans. Whatever it was, it was good.

Despite where Jimin entered having far more of the vile creatures, Jimin nearly beat Jungkook in clearing his side.

If only he knew Jimin was thinking of you. You were his fuel to the fire, he wanted to see you, he needed to see you and this filthy scum was getting in the way of that.

Namjoon smelling the burning of purification in the air and the fog filled with ash, he began his trek to the elevator Jimin found.

He entered the fog as he would a midday stroll, something he often enjoyed doing with the human he’s watching over currently. Most of the demonic creatures were more so focused on taking out the four who were actively fighting their legion, but some did notice him.

They ran up to him, their guns blazing in order to stop him, but they were nearly all but useless.

Namjoon’s angelic glow was powerful enough to practically melt any bullets that traveled too close or slow them down enough they simply fell to the floor as Namjoon kept moving.

Some of them tried to run up on him, but his blessed hands, now back to being wrapped in the necessary protective bandages, were more than enough to purify the enemy with a single touch. 

Namjoon’s presence alone was enough to create a near permanent path through the fog leading straight to the secret elevator’s entrance.  

When he made it, he simply turned around and watched as his team members slaughtered the last of the unlucky demons that were on this floor at the time.

It was a symphony of perfect chaos, the rumbling of explosives from Taehyung and terrified screams of those who noticed “there's a sniper on the roof!” They’d cry out but Yoongi was faster. Then the battle on the inside as his team began the cleansing of the building that should not exist, the stain on humanity that they must fix no matter the cost.

They cleared the entire floor in a matter of minutes. The battle was unfair, it usually was.

It also wasn’t long before Taehyung and Yoongi gave the confirmation that the perimeter had been cleared and would be heading inside soon.

The bodies that filled the halls it was nearly impossible to walk with how lumpy the floors were now, bodies and goop not the easiest to stand on. Jungkook, Seokjin, and Jimin quickly flew over top of it all and met Namjoon by the elevator. 

“Alright, we’re about to head down to the first basement level. Taehyung and Yoongi, have this mess cleaned up before we finish dealing with the first level. Join us as soon as you can and we can all regroup and do the clean up together.” Namjoon said over the channel despite talking to the three in front of him.

���Roger!” They saluted, perfect line, perfect posture like they’ve done this a million times.

Certainly more than that by now right?

With confirmation from the two outside, they proceeded inside the elevator, deeper into the belly of the beast.

Purification was necessary, unlike sins, it was a little harder to purify demons enough to deal with them. Quick blows from weapons weren't enough to cleanse the scene, instead they needed to taste the flames in order to truly be purified.

It was a grueling, nasty job that no one really wanted to deal with. Over the years though, Taehyung and Yoongi, normally being the ones responsible for being the “clean up crew,” had perfected their system to be the most efficient. 

Burn them all.

Simple, yet it always proved to be the most effective.

Yoongi and Taehyung would take up the task of flying around, collecting all the scattered body parts into one large pile— this time they chose to bring it all outside, right to the edge of where the barrier extended. They were quick despite how many casualties there were just in this one area, their keen eyes great at spotting even the smallest chunk. 

The most horrific sight awaited them at the end of their efforts, bodies stacked high enough to nearly surpass the height of the casino itself. 

It was glorious.

Taehyung got out of his bow and, much like the first shot he fired out earlier, the arrow lit ablaze before he fired. The white flames easily consumed the pile, their sins being a great conductor for making the fire grow in an astonishing amount in a short amount of time. 

The air smelled of burning flesh, and the black ooze that covered the bodies produced a unique scent that all the boys have grown to love despite its unpleasantness. This was purification, cleansing the world of sin like they had promised to do in a life they can’t even remember anymore. 

This was their duty and seeing it in this pure form would never not bring a smile to their faces.

Yoongi took up the job of cleaning up the ooze that painted every surface in the casino. It was hard to believe this was the same place Jimin, Taehyung, and Namjoon walked into yesterday. The place reeked of death, and the doom and gloom weighed down the atmosphere. 

With an arrow Yoongi borrowed from Taehyung, Yoongi used its flaming tip as he flew around setting ablaze to any ooze that remained. 

The battle that took place had the place covered in it, the shiny gold floors, the elaborate chandlers, the slot machines, roulette and poker tables, everywhere their sin had continued to drip. Quickly, the place was consumed entirely with flames.

Luckily for them, the flames of purification couldn't hurt anything unless they’ve been tainted with sin, something these damned creatures practically swam in.

They were quick, meticulous, and by the time they were done, the flames of purification had nearly returned the place to its former glory— well, as nice as it could be before they burned it all down. 

They headed to the elevator only minutes after their counterparts, and down they went to the first floor of the basement their team had gone down to. The minute the doors opened, Yoongi and Taehyung were delighted to hear the immediate screams from the demons and it seemed like their teammates were nearly done clearing the floor.

Namjoon was standing back, closer toward the elevator watching Jungkook, Seokjin, Hoseok, and Jimin go through each of the rooms and slaughter any demon they saw.

“Are things going well so far?” Yoongi asked, walking up to Namjoon.

“They have to.” He put it plainly as he gazed upon the chaos. It was almost like he was in a trance, fully enamored by its haunting beauty.

Namjoon snapped himself out of it. “But yes, so far things are going to plan. Jimin today seems especially motivated making things run even smoother than I anticipated—“

Interrupting Joon was a demon that had run out of one of the rooms, the ooze just pouring, but it was clear it was running straight toward them— or maybe the elevator, but that didn’t matter.

Taehyung already brought out his bow, fired, and watched as the arrow pierced right where its eyes should be. Nevertheless, the arrow was deadly, the demon being sent flying back as it flew out from the back of its head and shooting into the wall behind it.

“Bullseye.” Taehyung smiled because there was nothing more satisfying than watching their suffering.

Namjoon gave Taehyung a commemorative nod, before turning his attention back to the overall battle at hand.

“They seem like they’re almost done.” Yoongi mentioned as the screams of horror began to quiet with each and every kill.

“Seems so, maybe we should begin cleansing this floor. The quicker we make it through this the better.” Namjoon said wanting to keep things moving as much as possible.

During these missions Namjoon always felt the most useless. The fact he didn’t have a weapon like the others meant there was no way to “filter” his angelic energy making a vast majority of his capabilities too powerful for the normal plane. He always tried to help out when he could, oftentimes cleaning up the few stray enemies or literally joining the clean up crew with Tae and Yoongi.

Soon, the rumored rooms used for purposes less than pure were bathed in the very substance of their consequences. Black, black, as far as the eye could see. 

Hoseok, Jungkook, Seokjin, and Jimin were practically covered in it by now, their white clothes dripping with the black ooze. As soon as they gave the all clear Yoongi flew over to them to hand them the vials of holy water he prepared for just these types of scenarios. 

Normally this ooze that came from sins would evaporate over their holy bodies soon after it landed, but demons were darker and it took extra effort in order to purify after battle. 

They quickly unscrewed the caps and poured the glowing white liquid onto their skin. They immediately cried out at the burn, it wasn’t a pleasant experience, far from it actually. Holy water had to be intense to remove the filthy sin as quickly as it needed to be. The holy water reserved for battles was far stronger than the baths in H.E.A.V.E.N., working much faster than the relieving soak they would need to take occasionally.

Despite the pain, it easily washed away the black that had started to stain their skin, instead the red burn of purification left in its wake. 

They also had to change their clothes, the fabric too soaked to continue on. 

“Jimin, what’s up with you today?” Yoongi asked as he watched Jimin pull his new shirt over his head. 

“Huh? What do you mean?” He asked, only paying attention halfway. 

“You’re doing great, but wow are you making cleanup hard.” Yoongi tried to joke, but he wasn’t exaggerating. It was obvious which ones were what Jimin left behind. Hoseok, Seokjin, and Jungkook’s were those with only the necessary final blow, a few bullet wounds, stab wounds, and the occasional discarded limb, but Jimin’s were sometimes entirely dismembered, disemboweled, and Yoongi even came across one that was practically reduced to mush. 

“Oh? I’m sorry.” He mumbled but this time Jimin was looking at him. 

“No apologies, just save some of that energy for Abigor.” Yoongi moved in a little closer to pat him on his back. 

Jimin nodded, but he didn’t let himself relax, he was chasing a high he didn’t want to lose until this was all over and he was back with you.

You, he had to get back to you no matter what.

After their brief regrouping, the group hurriedly helped Taehyung and Yoongi with the new mess they created.

As soon as everything was collected, Taehyung fired his arrow and the bodies set ablaze. Just like the floor up above, they had to set the ooze scattered all over on fire to fully purify everything. 

With that done, they all headed to the elevator to continue their descent into madness. 

From here on out their plan kicked into full gear. There were five floors in total to this basement— Jungkook, Jimin, Seokjin, and Hoseok were to lead the attack on the next two floors with Namjoon, Yoongi, and Taehyung helping out whenever they could. 

As soon as they completed that, Namjoon and Jimin would ride with the rest to the following floor but continue straight to Abigor, interrogating, and extracting all the information they could while all of the rest of the team took care of the fourth floor.  

They moved systematically while trying to navigate the insanity as they passed through each floor. Demon lairs were strange in what its connection to H.E.L.L. did to the building, this abomination, this place that shouldn’t exist. The further down they went, the more that point became abundantly clear.

This building shouldn’t exist. Its windy halls that seemed to stretch for entirety, its strange physics that shouldn’t belong in this universe, the growing heat as they went deeper, the fire that burned across the walls, not of purification but red and hot of the rightful damnation they all deserved. 

Just like the sins they fought on a normal basis, everything was just never where it should be. Eyes crying in the walls, arms, legs, feet all trying to escape the tortuous flames. Scenes, as if it was stolen straight from someone else’s time period, were also stuck in the walls, sometimes entire streets were seemingly copy and pasted for no reason. 

It was strange but that didn’t deter the team as they continued to plow through any demon they came across in this madness. It took forever to clear the floors because of how endless they seemed. 

Luckily they were immune to the feelings of the passage of time, honestly there was no telling how long they were stuck going through the halls; years could have passed going through and killing the demons, followed by the necessary purification, and they wouldn’t have known. 

And then the fact they had to clear two of these floors…

They were angels, they couldn’t get tired, but for some reason, as they finished the third floor they all felt the aches, pains, exhaustion, and mental enervation of doing this for who knows how long. 

Strange… that didn’t used to happen. Maybe they really had been doing this for too long.

Riding down to the fourth floor they were covered in burns, scorched head to toe from being stuck in the flames for so long. Yoongi had tried to heal everyone but as soon as he did the burns were back with even more vigor. 

To make matters worse, the temperature only increased as they rode down. Angels were immune to practically everything that existed in the normal plane, but H.E.L.L.’s flames weren’t from this plane and had the capability to do noteable damage. 

It was painful, exhausting, and draining, but the worst was behind them now. It was honestly surprising they managed to make it through this, Jimin honestly at multiple points considered giving up, letting the flames embrace him, but then he’d remember you, who was still waiting on him, and then he’d brutally execute anything that was near him because he had to get back to you.

He promised.

This happened once in the middle of clearing the third floor, Jimin had nearly taken the head off his leader before he realized what he was doing. The blade had managed to graze Namjoon’s neck. They had all tried to joke and say Jimin was starting to lose his mind, but they all wanted out as soon as possible; any longer and they worried someone might do something stupid. 

As the elevator doors opened, they were greeted not by flames, but total darkness instead. Like most lairs this was probably where they housed the more powerful demons. It wasn’t the best idea splitting up now, but Namjoon trusted the other five to be able to handle this without them all here. 

“I know we've been at this for a while, but let’s clear this alright? Watch out for each other and you all better be alright when we get back.” Namjoon looked all of them in the eyes. 

They needed each other. Seven in, seven out, there was no other way.

They all smiled, before pulling each other into a tight hug, a goodbye that shouldn’t be long but with how this mission had gone so far, one never knows.

Namjoon told them all to follow Hoseok’s lead as he’d normally be appointed second in command whenever he was away for some reason or another.

They waved at each other as the elevator doors closed and Namjoon hit the button down to floor number five of this basement. 

This was a necessary move— Abigor certainly by now aware of their presence— any more time wasted gave him more opportunity to escape. They couldn’t take any chances.

The temperatures in the elevator continued to rise to astounding heights, it actually hurt just to stand on the metal, and the fact they both didn’t have any shoes didn’t help whatsoever, not like that’d help much. 

As much as it hurt, they had their sights set on the very being that brought them here. 

Abigor.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Jimin ran out into the red, fiery hellscape, no care at all for the flames that practically encased the hallway. He had to get back to you.

Namjoon was a little stunned about how motivated he still seemed after all they went through, but quickly sprang into action and ran after him.

One drawback of being this far down was that it was far too hot for them to fly, losing the advantage they had fighting in the air, but being this far down meant that they had escaped the normal plane enough for Namjoon to use some of his abilities. 

The demons down here had all heard that they were coming and had set up makeshift covers with the desk they had as they sprayed their demonic bullets down the hall. 

A strategy that might have easily taken them down if Namjoon wasn’t here. He quickly was able to catch up to Jimin and before a majority of the bullets reached them, he was able to move in front of him. Quickly clapping his hands together, the bandages around his hands started to glow and a slightly translucent barrier formed in front of them both, easily melting any of the bullets that came anywhere near them. 

Namjoon turned, ready to reprimand Jimin for his utter stupidity because he knew he was supposed to go in first, but when he did, he noticed the pained look on Jimin’s face as he was holding his right arm. A dark red trail speedily began running down his arm from the spot his hand tried to protect. 

That just made him even angrier because this could have been avoided if he just stuck to the plan. 

Namjoon was fuming but with a majority of his attention needing to be in front of him, he couldn’t stop worrying something worse had happened.

“Are you ok?!” Namjoon yelled over the gunfire.

“I’m fine, just a stray bullet.” Jimin grumbled as he fished out a piece of cloth from his pocket and hurriedly went to tie it around his arm. Blood and his angelic light continued to spill from the wound.

Namjoon sighed, an instant relief coming over him. 

“You can still fight right?” Namjoon called out, but he wouldn’t really take no for an answer. He was still mad.

“Yes! I’m sorry, just get me a little closer.” Jimin sighed as he watched the white fabric begin to soak up the blood. 

Namjoon picked up a little more speed and as soon as they got close to the tables, that was Jimin’s cue. With new found adrenaline from getting shot, Jimin whipped out his handle, turning the dials to first to split then to form two small blades. 

Jimin hopped over the tables and easily cut all their throats, despite their pleas. The guys on the other side were a lot more determined to take him down. 

One of the reasons Jimin was pulled from the mission upstairs was because of his insane athleticism and agility, even when fighting on the ground. He was easily able to dodge their attacks, his quick movements and flips making all their attacks basically useless as he crossed their spray of bullets and executed them just as easily as the others. 

With the front line cleared, Namjoon expanded the barrier as Jimin moved to attack all the middle ranks. 

Bodies upon bodies continued to hit the floor as despite Jimin trying to be as speedy as possible, some of them still ended up with their heads cut clean off. 

With Jimin handling the worst of it, Namjoon hurriedly pushed forward to get to their back line, the damage he did was even worse. 

He dropped the shield and with one pointed finger, he watched as they all dropped their guns and began screaming with pain. The bodies started to glow white from purification and as the light grew bright, so did their screams as well. 

It was the most pleasant deafening screech for life, but as the light faded he would find no one, their bodies finally tasting the light of purity. 

Smiting someone alive was not the best experience but it was what they deserve. 

The entire back line was extinguished almost instantaneously. Namjoon now had clear sight lines to the door that likely led to Abigor.

He turned around and saw Jimin running over to him. The gun fires had subsided, this hall was now clear. 

Before heading any further, Namjoon handed him another vital of holy water Yoongi had given him before they separated. Jimin was covered in it once again, but it was hard to tell what was the ooze and what was just burnt scorched marks. 

“You ok?” Namjoon checked in once again. 

“I’ll be better once we’re out. Let’s hurry.” Jimin said before sprinting straight to the door. 

Namjoon followed closely behind as Jimin was easily able to burst through the door. 

Inside they found two terrified demons with guns pointing straight at them and someone sitting right at a desk in the center of the room. 

Namjoon saw it before they could act and as the two demons were about to shoot, he smote them down before they could even process they were here.

Now that just leaves him. 

Abigor.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Phase #3 (Interrogation & Termination) 

Abigor was stunned, they could tell by the look on his face on how easily they took down his two guards. He was ready to run but Jimin was quick in sprinting over, a blade to his throat ready to end him at any second. 

“Don’t even try it.” Namjoon announced as he waved his hand and the blessed rope came up to tie him to the chair. 

Jimin resisted the urge to laugh, hearing his screams at the burn of the ropes. 

Not the time. 

Abigor gritted his teeth. “What.do.you.want?” He sounded less than pleased to see them. 

“As much as you can give us. Tell us why you’re here, how you escaped, or anything you think is of value.” Namjoon smiled while taking a seat on the desk. 

“And why would I do that?” The demon’s eyes bore into Namjoon, different from the rest, strangely human, but just as dark and sinister as the rest. 

“Because then he’ll kill you.” Namjoon motioned over to Jimin who still had the knives to his throat.

“I can make things quick for you but my friend here… I think you’d prefer I take care of things. You should see what he’s done to your colleges.” Namjoon couldn’t help but laugh, noticing the fear in his eyes for a second.

Abigor didn’t let it show for too long, instead that snarky attitude was back. “You’re both going to fucking kill me anyway. Just do it already—“ but Jimin wasn’t having it, he had been gone from you for so long, he had to get back. Jimin didn’t hesitate pushing his knives deeper into his throat. The burn of the purity from his blades was quick to get a reaction, they always did.

His screams were music to their ears.

“I’d try that again. Jimin knows exactly how to cut you in ways to ensure you’re still alive as long as possible. Talk and I’ll give you the death I’m sure you’ll crave soon enough.” Namjoon smiled.

What they didn’t expect was for Abigor’s eyes to light up for some reason.

“You’re… Jimin?” His eyes were wide, eccentric almost. 

Namjoon and Jimin both were incredibly confused because there should be no way for Abigor to be familiar with the name. They’ve never met before, Jimin hardly knew who this was.

Abigor continued to stare into Jimin’s eyes, the darkness unnerving and Jimin had to resist every tendency he had to stop himself from sinking his knives further into his throat.

His smile was too wide for someone who was tied up with blessed rope, the smell of his flesh burning filling the office, and blades were literally piercing into his skin. Why the fuck was he laughing?

A sick and twisted laugh filled the eerie silence of all the death through the halls. 

“And hell will rain from above, our days of glory are upon us!” Abigor shouted, his smile growing more unnerving. He also started to struggle, seemingly all of a sudden not caring at all about the ropes or Jimin’s knives sinking even deeper into his throat.

Jimin tried to stop him, but nothing he did seemed to work. 

“Permission to just end it sir?” Jimin asked just wanting to be done with this madness already. This one was insane, no other way to put it. It was a common occurrence from demons and even P3 angels occasionally, the conditions there were so extreme in H.E.L.L. it was easy to lose your sense of self in it all. 

Namjoon was stuck on the desk extremely perplexed. This wasn’t what he expected, everything in his plans suggested at this point he’d either sick Jimin loose or he’d have already started talking and he would be just a pile of ash on the floor soon.

Maybe he should have heeded the P3’s warnings a little more about how erratic Abigor was, or maybe there was something worthwhile here. 

Namjoon hopped off the desk and walked towards Abigor. 

“Permission denied. If he wants to die on this hill then so be it, but we’re going to draw it as long as possible.” Namjoon looked down at this pathetic man. 

“HELL WILL RAIN FROM ABOVE!” Abigor laughed maniacally, but Joon’s hand came up to cup his jaw. His laughs turned to tortured screams as Namjoon’s bandaged fingers started burning his flesh even more than the ropes or the graze of the blades. 

He was screaming but Namjoon still saw that crazed look in his eyes.

“We got time, the others will probably take a little while to clear the floor up above so take your time Jimin. Try and get as much out of him as you can.” Namjoon said coldly, going back to his spot on the desk. 

Jimin smiled. That was something he could work with.

He removed his blades from his neck.

Jimin turned the dials on his handles to get more appropriate tools. 

To be honest he didn’t care if he talked, this was one of his favorite parts during these missions.

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He didn’t talk. Throughout the whole session, Abigor just kept screaming about “hell raining from above,” whatever that means. 

Namjoon challenged him, wondering if he was going to die on that hill and apparently he was, to his dying breath it was the very last thing he screamed.

They could have kept prying for information but they both heard Hoseok’s winded voice over the channel reporting they had slain the last demon and was about to start purifying the floor. 

Time was up unfortunately and they hadn’t really learned anything new. This is usually how most of these missions went, demons were really tight-lipped, the most they ever got was an occasional name they could report to the P3 angels to keep an eye out for. 

It didn’t matter, their main mission was to cleanse this place and that’s exactly what they did. Any new information was simply an added bonus.

After Jimin’s efforts, Abigor’s neck had practically been reduced to just black mush that covered the ground all around him. Only Jimin could have kept him alive that long, by his final moments, he had carved away so much of his neck it was a miracle his head was staying up in the first place.

How Abigor was alive was an even bigger question.  

The miracle of what Jimin could do with intricately placed wires, a dull blade, and an incomprehensible amount of time and experience dealing with sharp objects– he could pull off the impossible.

The scene had been particularly brutal to watch even as Namjoon tried to focus on interrogating Abigor, watching his teammate work was almost sickening. 

This instance Jimin had used the wires to assist holding Abigor’s head up– not vertically but the hooks pierced his flesh on the sides of his face horizontally to keep his head in place while his neck could still bear the excruciating weight of his head. Jimin had pulled up a chair and ever so meticulously sliced, hacked, and cut away at the flimsy flesh as more and more of Namjoon’s questions went unanswered. 

With how precise his bladework was, it was obvious this wasn’t his first time doing this. Far, far from it actually. This was Jimin’s role in the group after all– deemed the executioner for his vast array of weapons and how skilled he was at using every single one. He was deadly, extremely, exactly the type of person who’d be great at extracting information from even the toughest of captives using whatever means necessary.

Demon’s are notorious for not giving up information even in the face of death, yet many younger teams looked up to him in the fact he was one of the most successful in getting them to talk whenever they were sent out on missions like this.

Not everyday can be a win though. Despite his effort and elaborate setup, it all proved to be pointless. They learned nothing.

As soon as they got the message from Hoseok, Jimin had turned his trusty tool and turned the dials of his handle for a longer, sharper blade and finally cut his head from that pathetic stalk, ending that pitiful creature’s suffering. 

And with that, the last demon was gone.

They honestly could have collapsed from exhaustion and heat alone could have taken them out, but they had bigger priorities, now was not the time to rest. 

Namjoon handed Jimin another holy water vial to clean up with once again.

This building that shouldn’t exist still existed and they needed to fix that.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Phase #4 (Purification)

After Namjoon and Jimin finished cleaning up the rest of the bodies and purifying it from that horrendous black ooze, they were finally able to leave the vexatious flames of the bottom level and finally start heading up once again. 

Even on the journey back up to the fourth floor, the heat difference was so great, it felt like the sun on a hot summer day compared to the literal hellscape a floor down.

As soon as the doors opened, they were greeted by the rest of their teammates. Namjoon instinctively did a headcount, more than relieved to see, including himself, they were seven once again.

They all looked even more exhausted, their skin still scorched from the heat, but with red burns sprinkled in between, likely from the holy water, and they were practically covered in blood.

They didn’t say much, they didn’t need to, anything of importance could be discussed later. Instead they all hugged once again as they rode up the casino floor. 

The fog had cleared, by now it just seemed like any other closed down casino. The sun was peeking in through the windows, a peaceful silence in the air.

It was strange, it felt like so long since they’ve seen the sun. It felt like years since they saw its blissful rays.

Also now that they were back up here, they finally knew what day it was again. 

Hardly any time had passed up here, time being a funny thing like that. It was the morning after they began their planned attack, the sun now up and a few early bird Vegas residents already walking the strip.

From inside the building, because of the barrier Namjoon put up, passersby would start at one end, disappear, and then reappear at the other end of the casino. To them, they saw a casino that was still closed, but they were completely unaware of the horrors that happened inside these walls in just a few short hours for them. 

Such simple creatures.

Sometimes Jimin couldn’t help but wish he was as blissfully unaware of things like they were. It would be so much easier that way. 

They all helped each other hobble over to the entrance. It was a task trying to fly up to the shopping center, that short distance up was hard for most of them to do, Namjoon and Jimin had to fly all of the others up to the roof. 

As soon as they all made it, they all just laid down with a sigh and stared up at the sky beginning to erupt with color as the sun continued to rise. 

“You think we can convince the higher ups to give us a whole decade off after this?” Seokjin let out a pained laugh. 

“Right… we have to go straight back to being guardians…” Taehyung frowned. 

“Why are we so tired?” Jungkook whined, hating the feeling. It was strange, but none of them thought too much about it, they had really been fighting for a long time and with so many enemies. 

“We must be getting old…” Yoongi sighed and they all laughed. 

If only. 

The moment was nice but they still had one more task left. Namjoon tapped Taehyung and after a little bit of complaining he finally got up to deliver the final blow.

Taehyung brought his bow back out and drew it for the last time. Another arrow appeared over the line with the tip blazing with flames, instead of white this time, a vigorous blue blazed over the tip. 

He let go and the arrow whizzed through the air before landing somewhere on the roof. A blue flame slowly began to grow in its place. 

This step usually takes a while. 

As soon as this was done, Namjoon would be able to swoop in and finally put the last piece back in place. 

Devil’s Night never should have existed and everyone who thought it did would forget about it, the world going back to the way it should be. The balance restored, time itself restored, in the end, while it may not have been the most satisfactory ending, it still was a mission success. 

Yoongi finally had enough energy to begin healing everyone, first tending to any serious injuries that had caused the pool of red to collect underneath them, then soothing their burns from either the flames or the holy water, and finally making his way over to Jimin and tending to the bullet hole that had gone straight through his arm.

It sucked, but getting shot on missions like these wasn’t something new, so he was used to the sting of Yoongi trying to patch up the hole that was seeping both blood and his angelic energy. The rag he’d tied around the wound was soaked with blood and the bright white light of the true beast that was within glowed brightly as soon as Yoongi took it off.

Despite all the injuries being fixed, they still felt exhausted for some reason. Instead of heading straight back to H.E.A.V.E.N. after watching Devil’s Night burn down, they decided a quick break at a restaurant would hopefully boost their spirits.

Food wouldn’t work like it might for humans, but the environment was nice to lose yourself in, making the stress and exhaustion go away even if it was just the slightest.

It took awhile for the casino to burn down, despite the flames quickly overtaking everything in sight, it was as if the building itself was fighting till the very end. The boys all watched from the roof of the shopping center as the bright blue flames consumed it whole. Eventually all things must come to an end, and instead of the magnificent casino that easily lured in guests, the casino sitting right in front of them was no more, instead a giant hole in its place.

Namjoon then came in and as he removed the barrier they had set up earlier he individually removed Devil’s Night from everyone who had memories of it. A process only Namjoon could do so fast and on such a large scale. 

The walls came down and the gaping hole in the ground was instead replaced with the abandoned building that was meant to be there. It looked exactly like the casino did, albeit in a more pathetic state than the flashy lights, golden floors, and the red velvety accents, but it started to make a lot more sense how they were able to set up so quickly. 

With that done, this was officially it.

Mission success indeed. 

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

Namjoon shifted up to the higher plane where their base resided and destroyed everything inside. He was back quickly and they all changed into more casual clothes that fit the time period, tshirts, shorts, hats, sunglasses.

Nobody would ever guess they weren’t just a group of friends who decided to hit up the strip early. Perfect.

They flew down from the roof as inconspicuously as they could, heading down in an alleyway, before emerging where the rest of everyone walked.

They enjoyed their time sightseeing, despite being more aware of all the sights than any of the baffled tourists they passed, they still had a little fun while they searched for a place everyone wanted to eat at.

The problem was that most places were closed since it was so early, in the end they decided to do breakfast instead. It was a cute place, themed around an old fifties diner. 

“So did Abigor end up telling you anything?” Hoseok asked as he stared at the mountainous stack of pancakes the waitress had just given him. They all had a surplus helping of the meals they ordered, apparently complements of the chefs, who all shyly waved once they noticed their eyes. 

“Nope, just the same shit the P3 angels said about him.” Namjoon sighed, taking a bite of all the bacon they had sitting on the plate. His attention turned to Jimin right as he said that.

“When we first got there though he acted as if he knew Jimin for some reason when I mentioned his name.” Namjoon said, adding that little bit of detail.

All the boys who weren’t there looked around a little confused. 

“Why…?” Taehyung looked extremely confused, they all were honestly. 

“I’m not sure, he was pretty crazy though, so I don’t think it’s something to worry about.” Namjoon tried to reason but he couldn’t get it out of his head how things were fine until Abigor heard his name.

“Do you think maybe the P3 angels were talking about us and he heard about Jimin?” Jungkook suggested. 

It was no doubt they were one of the most infamous P2 teams currently active, the idea of a P3 angel mentioning their name and Abigor happened to be listening wasn’t that outlandish. 

“That has to be it if anything, I think it’s worth mentioning in our reports but I think the higher ups will probably write it off too. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter anymore, he’s gone.” Namjoon put it plainly. 

Jimin was only halfway listening. He mindlessly used his fork to push around the overload of scrambled eggs on his plate, he was too focused on wishing you were here with them. 

You would have sat right beside him because he could easily put his arm around you. You would have been a little shy about it, but Jimin would have been smiling ear to ear, happy to have you here with his teammates.  

He had to get back to you.

Despite how tired he was, he was the only one who just wanted to head back so they could hurriedly start on those reports they had to get done before he could get back to you.

It’s been too long since he’s seen you last.

Luckily the boys knew to move speedily, they were expected to return soon, so as much as the others wanted to take their time and enjoy themselves after the literal hell they’ve been put through, they still had a job to do.

Despite the surplus of food, all of the plates were clean by the time they asked for the check. Even the waitress looked surprised as she came over. It was one of the only advantages of not having a stomach, you could enjoy food to your heart's content and there were absolutely no consequences.

As much as most of them didn’t want to leave, once they left the diner, they headed behind one of the buildings on the strip to quickly return to their higher plane. They quickly ditched their casual 2002 attire for the white, silky fabrics they were used to.

Now invisible to everyone except each other, they moved back into the open. A shiny, golden ring appeared above Namjoon’s head and he jumped up to grab it.

He tossed it into the air and the ring quickly began to spin before a black void appeared right in its center. 

With one last passing glance over the strip, the boys all flew through, the blackness only momentary before they flew right up to the landing bay in their headquarters. 

It was similar to the larger one used in H.E.A.V.E.N. but this one was the one for their own personal HQ. It was the same place they first awoke, the same place Celine and Atara trained them, the same place they’ve used to plan all their missions, and the same place they met every month while on guardian duty. It always molded and expanded to their every need.

They all stretched their tired limbs but immediately went to work on getting those reports done. They were always long and tedious and this one especially was going to be difficult to get done. They had to make note of everything that happened in the most explicit detail, even down to the names of every demon they located and killed. 

It was hard work and Jimin didn’t know how long it took them, it was impossible to know here anyway, but they eventually got it done. 

Finally they could put this behind them.

But the grind never stopped, they all still had humans to go back to look after.

Namjoon volunteered to be the one to turn in their reports, tell the higher ups to start the final cleansing (Namjoon whipped everyone’s memory in 2002 of Devil’s Night but for those who weren’t around at the time, they still died with the memory— something that can’t happen) and inform the watchers of their return, but at this point they all said their goodbyes, a commemorative group hug being the last thing they did before they started heading their separate ways.

The set clocks returned back to their synchronicity. June 6th, 7:34pm, all in their respective years, but he was going to 2021.

Jimin couldn’t be more happy as he started making his way back. 

He just missed you so much.

⊱ ────── {⋅. ✯ .⋅} ────── ⊰

You went to bed a little excited today. 

Your nights had been way too peaceful– there was no Jimin, no field, no date, it was just nothing. You found yourself in absolute darkness till the morning, something you found you weren’t used to anymore. 

Was it embarrassing to say you hated it? Yes, and maybe even more so that you were actually counting down the days till Sunday. It was only three days after your last meeting, but after the next night proved to be dreamless, as weird as it was, you still found yourself growing eager for the end of the weekend for the first time ever.

As soon as it got late, your excitement got the best of you, and so to speed up the process, you finally turned on that documentary about penguins that you would always fall asleep to. 

You would be out like a light every time.

Your excitement let you get past the opening credits, a rare occurrence unfortunately, and you even finally heard the narrator speak for the first time. It was by far the longest you lasted, but those peaceful, nature sounds and the soothing voice of the narrator didn’t let you get any farther than the introduction to their migration patterns.

Before you knew it, you opened your eyes to the clear blue sky, and the leaves of the infamous tree rustling in the wind. 

Realizing you were finally back, you sat up quickly trying to find where Jimin was, only to be shocked to see his smiling face next to you, staring up, as you both laid out on this picnic blanket.

Part of you was honestly surprised that he was really here on the day he said he was going to be. How was this possible?

How was any of this possible? It didn’t make any sense whatsoever, but in the moment, it didn’t matter because Jimin was right here with you once again. 

If things couldn’t get any more embarrassing your eyes started welling up as you quickly leaped on top of him.

Jimin laughed as he felt your tight embrace, but just the feeling of having you in his arms again, if he could cry, he would have been bawling his eyes out right now. 

“I missed you more…” His voice was soft as he gently rubbed your back. 

“Not possible.” You choked, trying your best to hold it together, but you were miserably failing. 

Jimin wanted to say no, it actually was very much so possible. It had been years since he’d seen you, the three days apart was nothing like it was on his end, but he let you have this one. 

You eventually pulled yourself away from his shoulder, still surprised to see he was here, you were here, that this was happening. 

Your position had accidentally turned a bit promiscuous as you sat up. You were sitting right on his lap, your white sundress dangerously kept inching up your thigh with every movement you made. 

Jimin realized this quite quickly and that word on his wrist that had healed back to gold, began to set a blaze at the dangerous thoughts bouncing around his head. 

No. Don’t do this.

“You kept your promise.” You smiled down at him as you wiped your eyes. 

“Of course I would~” He chuckled, his hands coming up to rest on your waist. 

Oh this position.

Jimin knew you could see his eyes drifting down to where your bodies connected.

“Mmm, we seem to be in a similar position to how our first date ended.” You smirked thinking back to it. 

Jimin just laughed nervously because you were right, this is exactly how your first date— well, the second attempt ended, you were right on top of him like this. 

You leaned forward so you were a little closer, this new position making it so easy for him to stare down your dress. You knew what you were doing.

“I know you know what I’m thinking, you always like to be in my head so much. Don’t you know how much I missed you?” Your voice was so sultry as you leaned in to start peppering kisses along his cheek. 

He knew, he knew exactly how much you missed him. You let him see it, see what you did late at night to soothe the ache that he left behind the last time you saw each other. 

A pained whine left his lips as you drew closer, the image so clear, your fingers working so well to please yourself at the thought of him. 

Of him.

Him!

You smiled at him before kissing him ever so gently, like you were oh so innocent, your lips, your soft lips against his. 

Oh no.

Almost immediately taking you out of the moment was the sound of plates clinking together and the soft murmur of voices. 

Confused, you broke away and you were a little stunned to see no longer were you by the tree in the beautiful meadow, but instead you and Jimin were on the floor of a restaurant.

You quickly looked down at Jimin and he looked like he’d just seen a ghost.

“Date! I wanted to take you out today.” Jimin sounded nervous as he looked around. 

He ushered you off of him and into the booth you were laid out beside. 

Trying to stop the embarrassment from rising at the fact you started to see others in the booths, you looked around hoping that would be a good distraction but you found yourself even more confused. It looked like one of those fifties diners you would see whenever you watched old American movies. You’d certainly never been here before. 

“Jimin, what’s going on?” You asked, a little scared. This was weird, this was the first time other people had been in your dream besides the two of you.

“I wanted to take you out, I hope you don’t mind.” Jimin tried to smile to reassure you. 

The same waitress he’d seen before his team left Vegas walked up to you both and asked for your order. 

“This place is amazing!” Jimin boosted and ordered the “special” which here just meant the same thing he and his group got when they visited. Was it far too much, certainly, especially for just the two of you, but he wanted to give you the experience.

The lady— Laura was the name on her badge— smiled at you both. 

“Y’all make such a pretty couple.” Laura cheesed as she finished writing down the order. 

Jimin blushed before thanking her. 

If you weren’t confused before, things got weirder in the fact you understood everything she was saying despite you not exactly being fluent in English. 

Maybe you were better than you thought, but…?

As Laura walked away, Jimin’s attention was fully on you. He knew you wanted to ask what just happened, he reassured you once again this was just a date like he always takes you on and you started to relax a little when Laura brought out the surplus of food, which you definitely wouldn’t have been able to eat all of it.

It got you to smile as plate after plate kept coming out and managed to take your mind off of the awkwardness earlier. 

As you started to dive into your breakfast, you asked him what he did over the three days he was gone. 

Jimin reiterated once again that he left to take down bad guys, to which you playfully rolled your eyes and asked for more detail. 

“Can’t tell you silly~” Jimin chuckled.

“Why?” You pouted.

“Confidential.” It wasn’t really in all technicality because you shouldn’t even be in a position to ask him this question. 

“Confidential? This is my head Jimin.” You laughed, baffled that this man was trying to keep secrets in your own mind.

You let it go though after he at least told you his mission had been successful. He knew you had more questions, but didn’t address it. It was not like he could anyway. 

You both laughed as you ate your breakfast, breakfast for dinner…? What time was it? Was this actually breakfast or was the night still young as that penguin documentary continued to play with you passed out on the couch?

It didn’t matter because Jimin was here right now as you enjoyed your spread of pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, French toast, and assortment of fruits. Jimin assured you, you didn’t need to eat it all, but you had fun trying all the different foods. 

The date was nice, something he pictured you would have had if you had been with him in Las Vegas back in 2002.

All was right, he was with you again, it should be as simple as that but it never seemed to be just that simple. 

As innocent as your conversations were, your mind was a broken record for what happened earlier under the tree. Not just that, but what happened when he was gone, or all the multitude of ways your mind seemed to come up with as you spoke like nothing was wrong. 

And to make matters worse, you weren’t doing it intentionally this time. Maybe Jimin had searched in your mind to find where your desires continued to play out, if he did, he didn’t mean to, but it was too late to go back. 

It was pissing him off. 

You were pissing him off, because while you had the luxury of fooling around with whoever you pleased, he couldn’t— it was a sin for him. 

A horrendous sin and a promise he made to the people he was closest to.

There was no way he could break their trust, to fall that low into temptation. 

Why were you doing this to him? 

Why wasn’t he stronger than this?

Jimin tried to pay attention to your rant about why you kept trying to watch that penguin documentary when you’re sleepy instead of in the afternoon or something, but your mind was filthy and it was so distracting. 

The more he tried to push away, the more he wished he never made this date happen. He wished right now you both were still alone and underneath that tree as he let you touch him. He wanted you to touch him and he wanted to touch you even more. 

Jimin hated the way his body felt, this unnerving flame that continued to grow brighter. He felt hot, hotter than the hell he was put through for his mission. His eyes encapsulated by your beauty was a dangerous fuel to the fire, it had just been so long, and your smile while you tried to recount how much you actually learned from that penguin documentary, it took so little for you to do this to him. 

Just one human, one, to make him feel like this? Was he really that weak to sin? 

Jimin knew he must have started to look strange, but he didn’t even realize you had stopped talking all together noticing his expression grow more… pained? There was a weird, scary look in his eyes.

“Jimin, you ok?” You asked worriedly. 

As quickly as you noticed, your voice was enough to get him snap out of it… slightly. 

Jimin didn’t say anything, instead choosing to beckon you over to sit with him. 

You were still confused, but followed his request, moving over to his side of the booth.

“Soooo, what’s up?” You tried again. There was a notable distance between you two and his eyes weren’t on you but towards the window.

“It’s a nice day, isn’t it?” He smiled. Your attention turned to the window.

“I mean… I guess. Jimin, what’s go—“ Jimin didn’t let you finish before he pulled the most classic trick in the book, the comical stretch into the arm over the shoulder.  Jimin giggled as he pulled you close so you were cuddled up next to each other. 

“Was that cheesy?” He laughed as he saw the look on your face. 

“Very but I’ll give you a pass this time.” Your cheeks were flushed, you probably had a stupid look on your face, but the more you felt his warmth, you made yourself cozy.

Jimin smiled knowing that you loved it.

Your gazes both trailed outside the window as you settled on the growing business of the Las Vegas strip. You couldn’t help but wonder how all of this was in your head.

Jimin invited you to his game of people watching, the strip infamous for bringing out a lot of interesting characters. It was peaceful, but you had more fun just having Jimin this close to you.

The playfulness faded into something more tender anytime you’d see a couple walk past hand in hand. You’d hold on to Jimin a little tighter and smile, it was a bittersweet feeling knowing you’d never get to do that with him. 

You distracted yourself with the memories you did manage to create together, the months you’ve shared meeting in your dreams every night. 

Unfortunately those memories also included your first encounter, how forward you were despite that being so unlike you. It included your date to Saturn’s rings, how it ended with Jimin on top of you, confessing his worries about this relationship and how you told him you didn’t care. And how could you forget what transpired only moments ago, a position so similar to the first time you met but this time you were able to kiss him, touch him slightly. If only you could have—

Taking you out of your thoughts was Jimin’s fingers coming up to lift your chin so you were looking up at him. 

“Behave.” His voice was dark, barely above a whisper. 

Suddenly it got very quiet in the diner. 

Jimin leaned forward, his lips trailing up your jaw. “You know I know what you’re thinking. You’re doing this on purpose aren’t you?” His voice was shaky, yet he was being assertive. It almost seemed like he was genuinely mad.

“What if I was…” Your words were dangerous, you were dangerous. 

You were making things even worse, so dangerous as you purposefully focused on what happened under the tree earlier. 

“Your mind is so filthy…” Jimin groaned, trying so hard to keep it together. He wanted to punish you for doing this, spread out over this table, show you exactly that there were consequences to your actions. 

“Mmmm, it’s your fault.” You smiled, climbing into his lap. 

You were right, the diner really was empty now, if you turned behind you, the Vegas strip was deserted as well.

Jimin would have cried if he could, it hurt so fucking much. 

“Y/n… you don’t know what you’re doing.” He sighed as you kissed his cheek, his grip on your waist probably way too tight.

“I think I do… I want you to fuck me.” Your tone could have ended an entire legion at how easily you whispered that into his ear. 

Your hands ran up his toned chest, to settle around his neck, beautiful whines of pleasure escaping his lips no matter how much he tried to stop them. 

You gazed into his eyes, that strange look returned to them, but you didn’t mind it and pushed on, kissing him like you’ve wanted to all night. 

The moment only seemed to last for a second before you felt you were falling and then the feeling of the soft blades of grass against your back made you open your eyes. 

Like when this dream first started you were back underneath the big tree, staring up at the bright blue sky. This time with Jimin on top, his silver necklace with the cross on it falling out of his shirt and dangling in between you two.

He pressed himself into you and quickly kissed you in the soft breeze.

“I’m trying so hard…” This time it was clear, he truly did sound pained as he hurriedly reached down to hick up your dress so it was bunched around your waist. 

“I’m trying so hard, I promise.” Then his lips were on your neck, kissing, sucking, as his hands ran up your sides. 

“Why won’t you just fucking behave like I told you to—“ It came out as a mangled sob, but he truly was angry with you. 

You just wouldn’t listen, if anything, you were just more turned on, choosing to hurriedly run your hands up and down his back to somehow try and get his shirt off.

But you were just making things harder as you moved from his lips, to plant needy kisses down his neck.

Jimin had his hand tangled in the grass as you let him feel all these new sensations, ones he’d never been on the receiving end of. 

It was too much. 

He wanted to make you feel good, but, but…

Jimin buried himself in your neck as his hips bucked into your heat, his grip on the grass growing too tight, the roots themselves started popping out.

Your moans, what he would have given to hear them more. 

He was making you feel so good but just like what happened on the rings of Saturn, right as things were getting too spicy you found your eyes shooting open to your darkened living room, once again alone. 

And you truly were alone this time. Jimin had flown out the window as soon as you got back.

He couldn’t be in that room, instead not even a minute later he was flying off to that forest, merging to the normal plane before diving into a random lake.

He’d hoped the splash would have quelled the burning of sin he felt from within, but as he started sinking to the bottom, he knew nothing would work. 

He’d nearly lost it right there with you. He had been so close to giving up everything, a promise older than anything of existence, just for a few minutes with a human. 

His wrist hurt, the letters blackened out once again and he hadn’t been back for long.

How, how was this relationship going to work?

He’d resist the temptation, he had to, no question about it, but it fucking hurt so much. The human that he once was, was haunting him even though they were long gone.

Jimin's eyes fixated on the full moon that continued to shine brightly through the waters.

What are you going to do? 

I’ll just have to resist it.

You nearly gave in already.

I’ll resist, nothing will jeopardize that. 

You’ve already compromised so much for that human, is this a promise that’ll last forever?

It has to.

No questions, no matter how much temptation might try to lure him into sin, he will prevail. 

Removing her from your life would make things easier to manage.

But she is now, and that was not going to change.

He would figure this out, no matter how much it might hurt, he’ll make it work. 

Maybe if it hurt more, the reminder of the path he’s straying down because of the sins he has committed that were marked all over his body– maybe then he would be put back in his place. 

If this kept going Jimin feared he might grow too used to it.

What then?

He had to make it hurt.

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[eagle-eyes-sideblog]

That Medical Anomaly

Summary

An AU where the reader is the subject of a secretive experiment that leaves them the perfect Player... among other things.

Possible triggering themes for this AU/story include medical trauma, descriptions of chronic illness, ableism, depression, and death. If I've handled anything insensitively, please let me know.

A more 'formal' introduction, along with rambling about my thought process, under the cut.

Self Aware MadCom belongs to @saltymongoose. The concept is really interesting to me, even aside from the xreader stuff (although it's definitely also that lmao). So I thought I might explore that a bit with a concept that's already been floating around my head for a bit. The world that the reader is from is deliberately left a bit vague, but it's sort of magical realism. Most relevant to this AU: there are things like doctors and computers existing alongside curses and other magical ailments.

Also, this doesn't really include much MadCom or SAMAU... Well, no interactions with the characters, anyways. It's mostly just an introduction to my ideas for this AU, so it describes more of what your life was like beforehand and how you found the series. Do also note that I've never played either M:PN game, so there might be some inaccuracies.

All that being said... enjoy!

~~~

You, along with several others, were the subject of an experiment when you were a teenager. It was so secretive, you were never even given the details of why it had been conducted. That, or you had forgotten, given that one of the major side effects of the experiment was memory loss.

The experiment itself was something about deliberately letting specific kinds of contagions into the subject's body. You knew a few of them were fungal, and many were magical in some way, although they were different for every experiment.

Apparently if they chose the right infections for the right subject and 'balanced' them properly with the individual's immune system... they would stabilize. This led to the subject gaining supernatural abilities based on whatever magical infections they had.

Of course, most of the subjects weren't so lucky. The various infections would usually just take their courses; often the combinations would very quickly kill the subject. Those that survived were left with permanent problems ranging from aphasia to compromised immune systems to seizures.

You were their star subject, the one better off than all the rest. The staff made sure to remind you of that every time you complained about anything. "Be grateful," they told you. "At least you can still speak. At least you're still recovering. At least you're still alive." They never said it out loud, but you heard the implication. All of this is only happening because of us.

Bullshit. You were only 'better off' because of sheer dumb luck. Had they succeeded? Maybe. But their idea of success didn't even take you into account.

And their idea of success still left you with problems. Yes, you have sharper senses now, and you can draw energy from more than just food. But you're face-blind, and your hands and feet are numb, and you sometimes hurt so badly that you can't walk.

Not to mention how unethical the experiment itself was. They didn't even study people who already had these conditions; they deliberately induced them. Hell, one of your roommates was six years old! Why they let her participate still bothered you today.

...But it wasn't all bad. You cherished the friends you'd made there, even if you'd lost contact with most of them.

Not just your fellow patients, either. Most of the staff were... annoying at the very least. But a few seemed to actually have your best interests in mind. For example, your favorite nurse, Max, recommended an animated series that might help take your mind off of things when you were in the depths of depression.

You very quickly fell in love with Madness Combat. The simple graphics, where characters were denoted by outfit and style rather than facial features, seemed perfect for you. You grew to adore Hank, Deimos, Sanford, Tricky, and every other character, getting invested in their fights even when nothing else made you happy.

And the episodes were just plain fun to watch. Even when you had issues with your memory, the fight scenes interested you more than enough to make up for it. The community, too, seemed to welcome you, and you came to cherish the friends you made there.

Not only that, but you found a little game on Newgrounds. Although your numb hands made it hard to play, it really did capture the things that made you adore Madcom to begin with. Your favorite nurse approved too; after all, it was an exercise in hand-eye coordination!

Naturally, you were beyond thrilled when Project Nexus came out. By that point, you'd already left the facility. And your memory had recovered enough to get well and truly obsessed with the lore.

You smiled, picking the Tourist difficulty and sitting back to watch the intro cinematic. This was going to be fun.

(Unbeknownst to you, it would also be much, much more than you bargained for.)

[aconflagrationofmyown]

How did you become such a good writer? You have an amazing imagination and such a way with words that really makes me feel like "oh shit, I'm physically in the world of this book experiencing what the characters are." You write like nobody else I have seen in the Elvis fanficdom (I truly mean that) and I am humbled by your talent.

Please tell me a little more about your writing process! I hope to one day write even half as good as you.

(Also I need you to continue the Elvis x Godfather AU fic, kthx. Pretty please? I will even help you with Italian dialogue, lol. I'll do anything for it. Here, take my firstborn. :P )

Oh my darling, this is a downright humbling ask. Between insecurity and imposter syndrome, it’s a wonder I manage to keep enough words from being deleted that I’ve actually got series of fics in progress. 🥶 So truly, I’m astounded and touched by your compliments and I adore chatting writing, so let’s see if some rambling of thoughts will be of any aid to you. 🌹 I just snuck a peak at your current fic (forgive me that I’m not in a season where I am reading much, it’s nothing personal, just business that is currently keeping me from exploring more) and I was immediately sucked in by how gorgeously you describe action? It’s poetic yet not overburdened, the way you write people’s movements and elements moving, makes me envy you that. I often feel my descriptions are quite Spartan most the time, so hearing it mentioned as transporting is always a surprise. I don’t think of it as my strong suite. I’ve no real notion how to write a kiss, for instance. Ha.

So, stories…They come to me usually as intriguing beginnings, with an occasional outpost of a stellar scene or two in the middle, and then the muses sit back and cackle like malicious banshees as I beg them for an ending. So, most of my stories are started in faith, often abandoned halfway through, as no clear ending comes. But so far in this fandom I’ve made the most progress and due to the help of this community of friends, I actually have a plot end for both my works. I know some people think of an end and concoct plots around them, and for some it all seems to come at once. And then there’s me with the beginnings and no road map. Which camp do you consider yourself to be in? 😃

And then there’s the work of plotting and outlining which I wish I was better at, as it appeals to me. But the minute I do it, all creative force dies within me. So it’s all buried in my lil noggin for safe keeping until the time comes to write the chapter. What I do plan out, however, is an emotional arc to a story, and a redemption/devolution plot for each main character. Knowing what growth I want to happen when, and what setbacks occur at what times has given me the strangest freedom of settings to accomplish it in -often none I would have plotted out intentionally. But that way I’m not forcing my relationship to grow in the confines of my plot, but rather my plot is the vehicle for the relationship to form and grow. I adore motifs, and I try to pay attention to how they appear in real life. I believe life is very subtly cyclical and the stories that ring truest to me are likewise.

I have a nasty habit in real life of observing everything like it’s witting material. Long before I started writing, I used to feel rather like a detached observer of other people’s reactions to life. It made me notice types of people, and while you can’t peg folks (much as I find personality tests a rather fun attempt) I do hold fast to the fact that in a story, if someone changes for worse or better, if they react for worse or better, it needs to be in character. It’s amazing how much this little detail can help something feel real. You can have a character fail, but if they fail in a way that doesn’t ring true to what we know of them and their motivations, it’ll feel like unnecessary drama to me. Does that make sense? Likewise with the victories -which victories will mean much or little to them? Does it ring true as being fully what they’ve always worked for? And who are they working for? Their own happiness and success? Or do they find more satisfaction in aiding others to reach the summit? Anyway, watching and identifying types of people and keeping those traits consistent on paper is easier said than done, as I’m learning every day. 😂

Lastly, (I suppose) I’d credit any vocabulary, thematic potency and rich setting to the sheer amount of old books and songs I’ve grown up immersed in. My favorite authors are Stevenson, Dumas and Mitchell. All of them set their stories in the middle of massive, world-changing events, yet their stories remained personal. Culture and necessity shape a person as much as taste and upbringing or anything else, and it’s a delight to try to immerse myself in a world different from my own. Basic goodness and basic evil may always remain, but the shades of grey and the loved ones getting caught in events far more powerful than their own strengths and best intentions yet trying their utmost to do well in the times they have been placed in: those are the stories and themes I adore the most in songs and literature. And they’re starkly abundant in dear Elvis’ near mythic life arc. So, here I am weaving tales about what could have been. 🥹

My messages are always open for a grand ole chat about writing, if you ever wanna pop in. I love you dearly and appreciate you so much. And The Godfather AU?! Oh how it has my heart still! I’ll totally take you up on the dialogue and any other suggestions you have that might ignite the smoldering concept. 😘

[convexicalcrow]

So I know I've mentioned the Lost Prince AU is part of a larger world I've been working on for like a decade or more, and I wanted to talk a bit more about that and explain some of the backstory and the other novels that are set in that universe. Some of this is going to change though, because I think I can actually salvage the two novels and complete them if I do a bunch of cutting and editing and redrafting. And if I cut out the third novel in the series that was just overcomplicating things too much bc modern setting and wibbly wobbly timey wimey shit that I couldn't figure out how to resolve. So that's gone now and it's made things so much easier. Those 200k words of novels won't go to waste after all! :D

Alright kids, buckle up, this is gonna get loooooooooooong. :D

This universe started life as thinly veiled RPF on 750words.com, little short pieces I was writing just to get the brain working and nothing more than that. It eventually came to be a series I referred to as astrological dystopia, which turned into an original novel titled Pasithea's City.

The setting was a Greek city in the middle of the Libyan desert, Neos Apollonia, an oracle city, where your fate was proclaimed when you were 7 years old, and then the city did everything in its power to make that a self-fulfilling prophecy. bc humans and oracles and wealth and whatnot etc. So the hubris is strong here and the worship of the gods is not. I bet you can guess how Apollon feels about this state of affairs.

The story is about a boy called Andreas, who ended up with a bad fate and was exiled from the city. He's a petty thief, close to Hermes, who has a strong distrust in Apollon and the Oracles for good reason. He's taken in by a couple of women from the desert tribes, who also ran away from their tribe for various reasons of their own.

The catalyst in this story is the Oracle proclaiming an Actual Oracle on the new year's day rituals, proclaiming the destruction of the city bc Apollon is Pissed and will bury them all under the sand bc why the fuck not. The city was actually originally much closer to Kyrini, but the physical drift into the desert matches the internal drift away from the gods. Ruins are left behind as the city moves, and it's where the exiles live, because there's nowhere else to survive out there.

Hermes manages to save Andreas, his mothers, the Oracle and his companion, after playing dice with Apollon, and spares them from the sandstorm that otherwise buries the rest of the city under the sands.

Hermes becomes their guide through the sands, taking them away from the old city and takes them north. Through this, they end up back at the tribe where Andreas' mothers came from, bc healing conflicts and old wounds and making new friends etc. And after a while, Andreas, his new bondmate Meri, the Oracle and his companion, head further north to Kyrini with Hermes bc exploration and seeing the city.

This is big on found family, given the tribe they end up with is build from refugees, outcasts, anyone who doesn't have a home, and who needs one. They're a group of misfits and outsiders who are highly protective of their own, and they've made their own way in spite of everything. They don't always get on with the other tribes in the area as they can be a little too close-minded or unwilling to meet ppl halfway.

But yeah, that's the gist of that novel. There's a lot I've left out of that, but that's the general plot I'm working on.

The second novel, The Black Priest, should really come first, narratively speaking. It documents the priests of Dja fleeing from the country with their gods and the last priests they have left, and heading west into the desert. It's at the end of the invasion of Egypt by a group I'm calling the Sea Peoples, for lack of a better identification and also bc it doesn't really matter who they are bc this is about the aftermath.

It was inspired by this music video by Sparkadia, bc ofc it was lol. I was Obsessed with this song (and this band tbh) back in the day. Most of the characters all had their start in this music video, but they've evolved so far beyond that now. I made them my own.

The big theme in this novel is unification. The Priests of Dja come from Lower Egypt, around the Delta, and the tribe where Andreas' mothers come from have their origin story in Upper Egypt millions of years ago. There are also themes here about religion in diaspora and how gods evolve to be what people need them to be.

So we have the priests of Dja being called back to their ancestral lands with the tribes, to unify the Two Lands. There's a lot to learn from each other, and how to do religion without a King/Kingdom, since much of ancient Egyptian religion relied on their being a King to send the priests into the shrines and temples.

(Yes, this is my way of processing my own Kemetic practice and how to work it in the modern world, with so much information that has either not been found, or has been destroyed, and there are no big temples to worship in, no communities irl to support that religion, etc, no Kings to rely on, etc.)

The timeline being what it is, and yes i have a gigantic spreadsheet with FOUR DIFFERENT CALENDARS in it that I've synced up so I can keep the plot organised, the priests of Dja actually make it to Neos Apollonia some time before it's buried, and honestly bc of that I do think this needs to be the first novel bc of that. There's a ton of world-building that I bring up in that journey that is never relevant to Pasithea's City, and I think it makes more narrative sense for this one to go first. Like, there's a moment where Andreas is found injured in a ruined temple a couple of my priestesses are searching for, and they care for him and heal him up. But that's never really mentioned or alluded to properly in Pasithea's City. Hence, they both need a lot of revision and editing and reworking but they'll be much better for it.

So, how does the Lost Prince AU fit into this? Well. It's set ten years after The Black Priest, more or less. Cub and Scar are in their mid-late 20s, having fled as teenagers. Their names are pseudonyms, but also not, and they've spent the time away from Egypt on the run, as they never really found anywhere to settle, and it felt too uncomfortable to settle in Kyrini as Libyans. Plus, well. Being hunted for [redacted].

They did meet up with the priests of Dja maybe a year after they settled with the tribes, as they sought shelter for a while, but they didn't stay, and moved on quickly. They've basically been nomads for a decade because it just felt safer. And then the gods started calling them back to Egypt, and with great reluctance that's what they're trying to do. There's a lot more to the plot that's coming, but I don't wanna spoil anything so. >_>

Also the identification of some of the nomes with Empires folk is broadly just flavour and not necessarily saying The Oasis Is Actually Pearl's Empire. It IS hers, but it's not Gilded Helianthia. It's Djesdjes, it's Bahariya Oasis, it's something else.

I do have a map of the region up at an old wordpress blog I set up six years ago, but it doesn't have the Copper King's mines on it for obvious it-wasn't-part-of-the-world-yet reasons back then. It also has some location notes there, and some cast lists for both Pasithea's City and The Black Priest.

So yeah. That's the basic gist of the world the Lost Prince AU is working in. If you have any further questions, please ask! I will happily ramble about this AU for hours if you ask nicely. <3

[indyflanery]

1, 3 and 11 :)

As usual, it got lengthy when I was given a chance to explain Indy's background. But I welcome all questions even without prompts!

Also with Indy 5 coming out, I retain my dibs on RPing this version of the Indiana Jones character, as I haven't seen anyone else write it as long as I have on this hellsite. Lol

1. What made you pick up this character?

It was a no brainer. I've been watching Indiana Jones basically since it originally released. It's my go-to comfort movie series. I watched the TV show when it aired, or at least I have vague memories of watching it! Any archaeologist who says they didn't want to be Indiana Jones when they grew up is a liar, and I stand by that.

When I first picked up RP with then-friends as it developed from a side AU that started from The Boondock Saints, the Sean Patrick Flanery character for the group that I picked had to be Young Indy. Plus, I was still in grad school for archaeology at the time. It definitely wasn't a stretch and I have not regretted writing him.

3. What’s the best thing about the show/series/books/comics/etc.?

There's too many good things about the movies/series/character. It's hard to decide. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles really tried to go for that exciting, educational aspect for its audience, however outrageous of a time frame for all his adventures. Not to mention, Lucas developed a lot of Skywalker Sound's digital editing with this show.

I think the best thing is between the show and the supplemental novels, they tried to fill in the gaps that hadn't previously been fleshed out for Indy's life, like details on his mother, the shitty relationship with his father mentioned in Crusade, and the backstory of the search for the diamond shown at the start of Temple. Fuck, Harrison Ford was actually in an episode! Thankfully, they confirmed the show as canon in the fourth shan't be named movie (the Pancho Villa reference). Too bad they canceled it before young Indy could first meet Marion Ravenwood and Rene Belloq.

Problem being, however, is that a lot of people just getting into the Indiana Jones world don't know about the novels/TV show, so there's crazy ass postulations out there that makes me go, 'No, they answered that already!'

11. Are there some things you dislike about how the show/series/etc. portray the character you have picked up? If so, what?

Hmm...I mean the given answer is that he's a terrible archaeologist and so many people are like 'Concept: Indiana Jones but he returns things to museums!' You can't actually divorce the context of the time the movies and the TV show takes place in from the character's actions. Archaeology in the early 1900s was a horrible, unethical discipline and that's just who Indy was - at that time there was nothing wrong with his actions.

Otherwise, I think things that irked me a little were some episodes like the one that takes place during the 1916 Irish Rebellion with vague hints of depth to Indy's character that in today's world could have been explored in different ways (i.e., sexual tension with another male character because a few scenes came across as very loaded). He was also a bit overly naive and they probably could have chipped away harder at the naivety once he experienced the Somme.

Also, just the sheer amount of shit he did in his life - not just as a young adult, but also as an adult. He'd have no time to do anything else with the small gaps in between adventures.

[zedpercyfan]

One thing I am genuinely confused about. I am happy that Ash beat Leon and is finally the world champion but why do people keep saying that he is a Pokémon master and has achieved it all? Isn’t that a vague and broad term? There’s still a LOT of world left to explore given anime’s timeless nature and being a master is more than being the top trainer in the world atm right? I think Ash mentioned something like this initially during this season. So if they wanna keep using Ash, they have plenty of things to start from.

Er...why am I involved in this conversation exactly...? NAH! I don't really mind. I enjoy it when people remember that me and my account exists.

I don't disagree that it's a bit odd that people are saying that Ash has achieved Pokémon master status but I can see why. Truth is is that Ash and the franchise don't really know what is meant by the term Pokémon Master. Verity in the AU debut film directly calls this out and Ash doesn't have an answer. It's noncorporeal.

I can see why some people jumped to their conclusion, though. Ash has essentially achieved the highest honor he can get as a Trainer. One way he seems to use to get to his goal is to beat the Leagues of the regions that he travels to. In this era he defeats some of the most high ranked Trainers ever from notable Elite Four members to Regional League Champions. Despite there not being an official World Champion yet, Leon was considered the closest there was and beating him is a validation that Ash's training and bond with his Pokémon surpasses that of Leon.

In the realm of fiction, especially for things like books and TV series, when a character reaches a high status, it often becomes a question of "where do they go from here?" Ash has for all intents and purpose reached peak of his career. I don't doubt that Pokémon can't find a way for his story to continue, but I understand that for many when character(s) overcome the highest stakes, continuing the story is a question of why. Trying to top that trivializes the prior challenge and can put the writers in a corner as they try to be bigger and write their biggest mythic aspirations, but then that runs the risk of overcomplicating things. So for many it just seems to be best to not continue because the stories become trivial; some characters can legitimately continue with lower stakes like James Bond and the Doctor, but some just reach a point where we must put a foot down and say "stop. The character already peak, there is nothing more."

I don't think Pokémon will ever get rid of Ash Ketchum, but if people were already ready to say goodbye as far back as the Sinnoh League, then I can see why some feel that this achievement is enough to shelve the character from main status.

[lividria]

Pikmin: Global Survey: Alph(a Wraith)

So one of my friends wanted to make a bunch of shitpost nintendo game ideas for something and he accidentally timed it right at the start of my pikmin hyperfixation so i went way beyond it and accidentally just made an entire pikmin AU essentially, it was meant to be pikmin 5 (and beyond) but for the sake of not retroactive consequences when/if pikmin 5 comes out i will call it Pikmin: Global Survey because the plot is pikmin 4's research team (plus other people) trying to explore as much of PNF-404 as possible to study stuff

so i'll start talking about it with the darkest & most serious idea of them all that started as a series of jokes and ended as the set-up for one of the funniest ideas i've ever had, what happens to alph

when i was writing the google doc from before i was taking this even remotely seriously i just wrote in the character section "Alph is dead." to explain why i brought back brittany and only brittany besides her just being my favorite of the koppaites (there was an entire gag planned where charlie was busy in a war in pikmin 5, mentioned being MIA in pikmin 6 and then pikmin 7's credits shows he's somehow on PNF-404 like pikmin 4 does with louie but that's the end of the series so he never gets an actual role), but then i realized i could work with that and it spiraled from dumb joke to extremely screwed up plotline

so the idea became like, for whatever reason koppai is going through a civil war after pikmin 3 (which i think takes place after pikmin 4 and i will treat it as such), and one of the sides decides to go to PNF-404 because they don't want to be in koppai anymore and they know there's food there as you can tell they didn't really think about it, and among other people charlie & alph are sent to get them to not do that but those 2 in particular are incredibly terrified of what's going to happen to all those people because they've seen all sorts of monsters, the plasm wraith in specific being yea, and given that they had siblings in pikmin 4 they could've heard about other shit like the water wraith which doesn't help

go fucking figure they crash, and alph and his ship lands right in front of the formidable oak (no idea where the other crew members went and it doesn't matter), and he's obviously panicking, and then the plasm wraith rears up behind him, clearly remembering him as one of the people who took olimar, and skewers him

with such a death you won't be surprised he comes back as a ghost, specifically the Alpha Wraith (i don't know if he counts as an actual wraith but what else would you call him, the Alpha Spirit? ...wait that doesn't sound bad actually), which is a bunch of concentrated alpha radiation (i love puns... does that count as a pun i don't know definitions) vaguely in the shape of a monster soul but with alph's face, hair and ears (but made of the radiation still obviously), and since he was the keen engineer in life he can control machinery & metal in general (he can probably like levitate metal around and assemble it into stuff but i haven't thought about it enough) but inhabiting anything for too long causes it to rust so he constantly has to jump around or stay vessel-less (i looked it up and radiation can actually cause rust but idk the details), but he obviously would prefer not just hanging out because radiation, if someone touches him that'd be bad, and by the time the research team finds him he's completely destroyed the spaceship he showed up with and i haven't figured the rest out from there besides him joining the team sorta lol but brittany is obviously very conflicted about the news because on one hand alph is dead but on the other hand he still exists sorta (but can't be taken out of pnf-404 because of course)

now for the actual reason i'm posting this, all of that leads up to this one idea for a gag comic that i was mentally assaulted with that i unfortunately cannot bring to fruition, where like, alph is obviously still not on good terms with louie after pikmin 3, so louie walks into whatever ship he's using and watches in terror as it begins to read out AM's hate monologue from I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream, louie stares up in terror with his horrible bulging eyes, while alph & brittany lose their shit in a nearby bush watching this happen

so this is a desperate attempt to see if anyone sees this and brings that to life because if you were there at the time and saw my reaction when that specific thought formulated in my brain it'd look like a ghost strangled me but if you saw my oatchi wraith post you know i am not particularly capable of creating it myself, so here we go

if anyone is interested in more ideas from this entire au almost-fanfic thingy whatever you'd call it i have a lot more to talk about with this idea but i don't think much of it is anywhere close to alph's part in most departments lol, sorry for the rambling & tangents but if you thought i was rambling too much in this post you're really in for it when/if i get into the other plot points

[matoitech]

Could u go more in depth about what u did/didn't like about the spinoff? Just curious as someone who enjoyed most of it but was a lil disappointed with the last few episodes

sure! i didnt like Hate it or anything there were things i did enjoy, i watched all the episodes, it was more that it just really didnt do it for me in a way thats kind of difficult to like. pin. i should state too that i was not going to watch it already bcuz i wasnt interested in the genderbend fanfiction characters being the like title piece and everything, but i gave the first two eps a shot and thought 'okay, i get it, this show is about simon and his complicated feelings about Everything that happened and who he used to be and who these characters represent to him about who he used to be' and then it just didnt really like, do more with that in a way that i expected or wouldve enjoyed, exactly? i like the idea of multiverse hopping and a bunch of different au versions of characters in a story, that stuff is obviously really popular right now and when its done well its done WELL. i liked how finn was characterized in episode 2. it was like, an entertaining watch, it just didnt really do much for Me, and i knew that going in. its really hard to explain like my negative feelings on something that are negative bcuz it just Wasnt For Me ykwim. and there r plenty of parts of adventure time that didnt really do it for me either bcuz it had so many writers

i read an interview w the director and writers and stuff and they mentioned that they made the series recognizing that the original fans were adult now and it was partly made for us and like having a more mature theme and everything, but i didnt rly feel thatit did that for me personally (which again is Fine), and i dont think it successfully captured like, 'more mature adventure time', i guess maybe in the sense that they can swear now? but adventure time itself is thoughtful and often more mature than it was given credit for at the time. its a kids show but a lot of the later stuff was made to just tell stories and explore ideas, whether kids like 'understood' it or not, they trusted their audience, stuff wasnt really like dumbed down. they mentioned trying not to step on the toes of the original too much too and i like did get the sense that they respected and loved the source material (some of the ppl working on it including the director were from the old team) but while the spinoff was clearly successful and ppl liked it a lot (ive already seen a lot of ppl talking abt how meaningful it was to them, and thats great, im glad it resonated for people) its like, read of the characters and world and the direction they wanted to take just wasnt really the kind of vibe i come to adventure time for, i guess? like i said it just didnt rly do it for Me personally in a way thats hard to articulate

i dont rly want to say anything like too mean abt it but ppl Know about me that i dont like Fandom Aware Jokes in media i dont think theyre charming and the spinoff leaning into that kinda stuff wasnt for me, and i get why bcuz its literally fucking named after the in universe genderbent fanfiction versions of finn and jake, but thats also something i never liked about adventure time and wouldve been happy if it hadnt made a reappearance i just thought it was going to be used to Say Something so i was curious to see where it went. so like from the start it isnt exactly for me ykwim. i dont think sailor moon reference sexyman ice king or jokes about alt universe versions of characters kissing themselves is funny. coffee shop Boy pb & marceline b plot is not interesting to me (i do like marshall's human design). i feel like not a lot of stuff Happened to me

and let me preface this next part by saying that i never got too invested in simon and bettys thing in adventure time so maybe some of this stuff WAS canon and i just completely missed it but i feel like the track they took w them and their relationship was like.. they were trying to say something but it wasnt exactly the direction i wouldve taken, which isnt a 'criticism' as much as its just, a thought , for me. i thought betty losing her shit and sacrificing herself for simon at the end of adv time proper was interesting bcuz to me betty wasnt like a completely selfless character, to me she wasnt MEANT to come off that way, she was interesting in part bcuz she did all that for simon but simon had been gone for a thousand years, she gave herself up to turn him back but didnt think abt whether he wouldve wanted that. she brought him back, but without her. its obviously tragic and i do get that like betty moving on now that simons like Safe at the end of fionna and cake makes sense but i was.. curious to see the whole metaphor w the choose ur own adventure book where the metaphor or whatever was that betty had given everything up for simon and simon had never took her own feelings into consideration or gave things up for HER and stuff, and all that about like, obsession, and uneven ground, and simon shouldve known better... and the show ending with simon saying wow damn yeah betty sacrificed herself for me and i never put her over me so i should live a good life. like okay but i thought betty sacrificing herself for him wasnt meant to come off as completely selfless bcuz it wasnt exactly? i dont think it was framed that way but again i COULD be wrong. im not gonna say that this stuff is not in character cuz again i dont Remember if this was canon to the mainline series. maybe betty was always a fan of his work and their relationship did start out uneven like that and i just forgot, i am not gonna say its Wrong. its not like 'is betty right' its that theres dif ways u can read like main adventure time series decisions and the grayness of it was interesting

and i dont say that to say like oh the focus shouldve been on Simons Feelings and not this woman who became a god for him its just like, i didnt really expect that direction of writing their past relationship, or the direction in general, and idk how to feel about it. maybe ill change my mind. maybe it all makes sense and i just didnt pay enough attention to betty and simons relationships and arcs before. what i did know coming out of the show is that i felt a little let down but i also felt like i shouldnt have expected much from something that just based off the series name was already something i expected to not vibe with THAT much