#lots of corpses to attack no need for store bought

[gnomeicecream]

Hmm, do you think the sword found in the xuanwu was a Nie sword? Those are made to absorb resentment as this one did and others eaten presumably didnt. The xuanwu was active just as the new clan style sects were getting started so the nie might not have been established yet, or started to only use sabers.

[here-have-some-stories]

Silent Laughter Chap 10

Chapter 1 Chapter 9

One week later:

An entire week had gone by and nothing had happened. The creature didn’t make itself seen again, no windows would mysteriously open and shut, no music playing all of a sudden, no creepy images or messed up photos. Nothing. By now I had twelve X’s marked down on my calendar, and I was on my thirteenth day of survival. 

It was on this very day that I realised I was running very low on food. I had been running out before, but that was a whole week ago. Now I needed to get more food supplies. So I guessed I had made it long enough. 

I made the decision to go out and walk to the local supermarket. I would take a knife with me. I knew, realistically, it probably wouldn’t do anything against the creature, but carrying it gave me a sense of safety and protection. 

As I was mentally preparing myself to shove into the outside world, I convinced myself that this could be a good thing. Not only would I get more food, but maybe I could possibly find some people who were actually alive. Ever since this had all started, I hadn’t actually gone past my street. I had no way of knowing if anyone outside of that was alive or not. 

When I stepped outside, I noticed everything was very dark, like it came straight out of some sort of horror movie. It was cold. I walked down the street, cautiously glancing over my shoulder and looking left and right every now and again. I rubbed my arms to keep me warm, but it didn’t do much. I wished I’d bought a jacket. 

I was about halfway down my street when I first noticed them. They hadn’t been around my house, but bodies were hanging from the trees, just like they had been in the nightmare I had. 

I felt my heart rate go faster. The atmosphere seemed similar to the one in my dream. I felt my chest constricting and felt like I was going to have a panic attack, or pass out. But I kept on walking, and tried to ignore the eyeless bodies. There was also a lot of blood pouring into the drains on the side of the road, and some sort of meat in the gutter, but I paid no attention to that, just kept on walking. 

When I made it to the streets with the shops on it, the darkness hadn’t cleared away, and there was still no one in sight. The bodies weren’t hanging anymore, instead they were scattered around on the ground, or hanging on fences, and there were more of them. It looked like some sort of massacre had happened here. The smell was horrible, and I brought up my hand to cover my nose and block out the stench.

The supermarket glass sliding doors had been smashed, and one was leaning on an angle. Most of the lights inside were off, apart from the occasional flickering ones. The creepy atmosphere was even worse inside, and I wanted to run back out, and keep running all the way home, but I pushed on and forced myself to step over the glass shattered on the ground.

Despite the darkness, I knew where everything was, and I easily made my ways to the different aisles, grabbing the food I thought I would need. I grabbed about two loaves of bread, a bottle of milk, some butter and spreads, a bag of fruit, a box of muesli bars, and some junk food snacks, because if I was going to die, why not spend my last days feasting like a king?

I was walking out of the chip aisle and all of a sudden I felt my foot fly up and I fell to the ground, dropping most of my food. I groaned as I stood up slowly and felt something wet and sticky on my hands. Blood. I slipped in blood. I quickly hurried away from it and hit something behind me. I turned around and saw a dismembered and bloody body of a store clerk. Black goop was leaking from where their eyes had been. I screamed, and grabbed up the food I could, before running out of the store, almost tripping up again and landing in glass. Ignoring the corpses on the street and in the trees, I ran all the way home, tears running down my face the whole time.

Next Chapter ->

Woo hoo! Back to back chapters. I've pretty much got the same message and reminders down here as always. Please comment if you liked it and if you have and feedback or suggestions please tell me. If you have any requests for stories or questions, just send them to my ask box and I'll get to them. Hope you liked it! -Kenickie

[bansheeoftheforest]

Uh, is there still an angst break? Ignore this ask until your ready if so 👉😎👉

-

What was the au where Jekylls pushed down the stairs and experiences a skull crackening again? Oh well but I've been thinking of a branch of that where Jekyll doesn't know hes dead like all day. I also cant remember if that was already discussed or not

The lodgers patch him up, he complains of a headache, and goes on his merry way! He's confused why all the lodgers are so nervous and being nice to him all of the sudden, why creature is looking at him with a stange mix of empathy and pity. He was told he fell down the stairs, fell unconscious, and obtained a bit of an injury. He cant fathom why Frankenstein is "The only doctor who can treat him" why he has to constantly go to her for checkups. Why Maijabi is suddenly following him practically everywhere.

Hyde squeezes back control for a moment and tries the potion but it doesn't work. Maybe a bit of pain but certainly no transformation. Jekyll assumes his injury or whatever medication they're giving him to treat it somehow negated the effects

Jekyll complains about "suddenly blacking out" the lodgers know its because his soul is slippery. They tell him it must just be a side effect of the injury and not to worry

How long can they keep it secret from him? When does he find out? Does he? Does it get to be years only for him to realize that he hasn't aged? That he still needs checkups from Frankenstein? Does he learn sooner? Does a lodger crack and say it? Does he rot? Does he notice how so very cold he is. How animals act around him? It's all very interesting,,

-

I actually did think a bit of Jekyll's kidnappers for the amnesia kidnapping au! When drawing that lil sketch of Henry and O'Leary meeting Robert I had considered making it so O'Leary was suspicious of Lanyon like "Oh theres no news anywhere of someone matching Thomas' description who's missing. But some random people walk up claiming to know him? Begging to take him back with them?" And he'd think they were the kidnappers. But ultimately I decided against it as I felt Lanyon and Rachel were pretty clearly, genuinely concerned for "Thomas" :p

-

I tried playing assassins creed once, the first(?) one. But the controls were confusing and everything was sorta thrown all at me at once, and I got bored of it quickly

But! I went to the store the other day and just so happened to notice Syndicate was being sold for 15 dollars 👀 So I bought it because funky Victorian assassins and your influence! It's a bit less confusing then the first ac game I tried but why is going down or dropping so hard bdksnks. I'm having quite a bit of fun! If you dont count my rage and annoyance-, the B button refuses to cooperate with me unless I'm looting corpses >:(

The b button being the bane of my existence aside, I AM having fun! I like the funky outfits and I want to play as the girl twin (evie?) forever because her clothes are good and shes better at attacking than jacob(?) For some reason. Probably the stun her weapon has? Oh well! I have not unlocked any new outfits yet, nonetheless I wish there were more.

Also! I was thimking, and my current quests are taking place at 1868? Did I get that right? And Jekyll is like 35 in 1885. So in game he'd be 18! An au like I believe you mentioned sounds very interesting 👀 but I must play more to know what's going on and daydream about it

That would be the resurrection au <3

But god, I really like that branch! Especially combined with the hc that he can't feel pain bc the HJ7 and the transformations made him immune. Frankenstein patched him up and made fleshweaver to heal the crack in his skull but it still has to be bandaged, he surely broke a few bones, yet all he has to do is to be careful because it doesn't even hurt. He doesn't even realize how severe the injuries are because it doesn't hurt, it very well might just have been that he accidentally slipped at the bottom of the staircase and accidentally hit his head on the railing during his fall, rather than getting physically pushed and flying down the stairs, shattering his skull upon impact with the marble floor. Y'know what would be extra fun? If he only starts getting a bit suspicious about how severe the injury was once he realizes his lungs stop breathing for minutes at a time when he gets distracted, or his heartbeat stops dead in his chest. I know that that's not how biology or even creature works but lets say the HJ7 is funky, Zombie Jekyll my beloved. Perhaps he would only fully grasp what had happened once he blacked out too much and 'passed out', but his soul slipped out enough to leave his body unconscious on the floor while his soul/ghost was just... Watching. And it's not until Maijabi (who, as you said, follows him everywhere) immediately calls for more Lodgers saying that Henry's soul is getting unstable and Frankenstein's lousy job is starting to shine through that he fully understands that it was not a mere hit to the head. Or maybe it is when days, weeks, maybe months has passed and the headache never goes away, he only feels how his body starts feeling so much more... Fragile and delicate, that the guilt has eaten Helsby up alive and he corners him and spills everything, knowing he is going directly against what the group agreed to but not being able to keep it a secret much longer-- or maybe Creature would tell him immediately, once Henry is, for once, alone perhaps days after the initial accident. He cannot see Henry struggle to understand what is going on when he already knows what's happening to Henry, his mind, and his body. He doesn't listen to the plan that Frankenstein and the Lodgers has set up and immediately tells Henry the first moment they are alone. That would certainly be horrifying, I can only imagine how the Lodgers would find Henry after that, once he actually knows and manages to process everything. He would be so mad, not only to have been killed in the first place, but also because he was robbed of an afterlife because the Lodgers were selfish and could not accept the consequences of their actions. He would be mad, he would be so pissed and I have no doubt he might actually be mad at Maijabi too for even agreeing to help Frankenstein and the rest of the Lodgers. That anger would not stay long, though. That anger would soon turn into misery and sadness and paranoia so even as Henry has tried to push Maijabi away, Henry still ends up on his doorstep begging him to help him make sure he is not rotting, because no matter what anyone says, he is sure he can see rotten spots and patches on his skin and he is just so scared and jdhfjsdfdsfsfs... <3

--

Ooooooohhh, I was actually daydreaming about this just this morning! Granted, I woke up at 5 and began to daydream to fall asleep quicker but I still like the thought of O'Leary being suspicious of Robert/Rachel/Jasper/the Lodgers bc he is protective of 'Thomas' and doesn't want anything bad to happen to him and especially with the idea that Henry still has hallucinations and they both think he was abandoned by his family, left to rot at a mental asylum. O'Leary might very well think that it might be Henry's friends and family that dumped him that Henry had 'escaped' the hospital and that's why they knew he was missing since the Asylum itself obviously wouldn't have posted the news... I really liked Jeks idea, okay? Like a lot, I absolutely love it <3

--

Oh, the oldest AC game I played was Unity bc it was free after the Notre Dame fire, and I can confirm, I played 15 min and could not get through it even if i would have wanted to, it absolutely sucks so i have no doubt the older games are just as frustrating <3

BUT!!!! I'M SO GLAD MY CORRUPTION IS SPREADING AND YOU BOUGHT AND PLAYED IT AND ARE ENJOYING IT SO FAR!!! Trust me, Syndicate truly is an absolutely amazing game and is definitely one of my top 3 games of all time. I sometimes play it w my friend watching me play and trust me, I know that rage of trying to do smt but the character does smt else... or you try to do smt but the game doesn't react and you miss your chance... Oh well, still a wonderful game <3

My friend loves to play as Evie as well but I'm definitely playing Jacob every chance I get and I honestly get a lil pissy when I have to play as Evie bc I always prefer to play male characters, plus, I just like Jacob better bc he is a sweetheart. He is also canonically bisexual as hell!!! Have you met Abberline yet? The police officer? Him and Jacob together is one of my fave ships for the game. I also bought the ultimate/golden/whatever name it was edition so I had a bunch of extra outfits, I love the sherlock holmes outfit for Jacob but my friend keeps bullying me for it </3

Honestly? The time difference is the bane of my entire idea for the au bc if it's during their time Henry hasn't even graduated yet, and definitely not well-known enough for them to actively meet for whatever reason, and if you use the timeline for the jack the ripper dlc (in 1888) a lot of... Less than pleasant things happen so it wouldn't really make a lot of sense for a crossover to happen at that point but maybe it's just bc im a pussy and refuse to play the dlc. Rn, while imagining the au, I just imagine the 1868 timeline to be the same as the TGS timeline. I like to imagine the Frye Twins hearing about Henry and the Society and promptly breaking into his office to ask him to make poison and stuff for them. I also have a feeling that Jacob would flirt wildly with Henry and that Henry would be less-than-amused. It would also be a very fun thing with the fact that there would be two Henrys, with TGS Henry Jekyll and AC Syndicate Henry Green, soo... XD

[cortanaaq]

A/N: This came in later than I expected,it’s really long but I hope you enjoy it.

This is for the anon who requested nct or tbz spending Halloween with you. So I did nct 127 ;’) sorry for waiting 

**also thanks to @365nct, i used one of their incorrect quotes for the jaehyun one haha hope they don’t mind

  NCT 127 – Spending Halloween with you

 Taeil

-He was not really used to celebrating Halloween if it wasn’t for the SM Halloween party

-So this year you got him unprepared

-but he doesn’t mind celebrating as long as it is with you

-he came with the idea to have a couple costume and that was ,,,,

-yup you guessed it

-Beauty and the Beast

-but this time he was the beast and you ofc,the beauty

-because he can’t repeat the incident from 2017 where he was dragged to dress up as Belle and winwin was the beast- anyways

-he glares at you every time you bring it up lol

-this time he pulled the uno reverse card tho

-because he definitely treats you like a prince/princess all the time,he went shopping for costumes with you

-he bought everything you wished for,even the crazy unnecessary decorations like a stupid flying skeleton or a witch dressed as a hooker

-like what even is that?? He wondered but laughed when you gave him puppy eyes

-“it’s funny tho,it would look good at the entrance “

-he snorted

-obvs taeil couldn’t resist those eyes and the pouty lips that he kissed in the end

-spends the whole night eating the candies you’ve got

-he likes to take a loooot of selfies so be ready to be bombarded with funny filters

-after you both get tired of all the dress up thingy,you too decided to watch a horror movie

-classic but he knows what he’s doing

-whenever you cling onto his arm or squeeze his hand he smirks and hums into your ear

-you know he’s teasing and he chose that movie on purpose so you occasionally punch his arm when he tickles you with teasing small pecks on your cheeks and neck

-but you secretly enjoy it don’t lie

 Johnny

 -Oh johnny boy 

-I think for sure Halloween is his fave celebration because he always plans to visit Chicago in that period

-for this and for Christmas of course 

-he likes to celebrate it in the US cause the traditions are kept alive there 

-so he’s excited to take you trick or treating 

-You chose Corpse bride for costumes

-you were so excited to do his make up as Victor and he was excited to see you dressed for a wedding lmao

-While doing his make up before leaving for treating,he kept looking at you being so concentrated 

-“you look so beautiful like this babe”

-“johnny I look dead“

-literally

-he laughed and kissed you when he got the opportunity 

-and ofc he couldn’t contain himself from making cheeky remarks  either

-and you get mad at him for talking and smudging his make up by accident

-“you distracted me !!”

-but you like his annoying ass and would never be actually mad at him

 -plus he looked good even with smudged make up

-you think maybe it’s too smudged but he lifts you up and kisses you harder that before

-…and now you’re both smudged  but you don’t really mind as you kiss him one more time

-after all,you leave for trick or treating but realize you’re a bit old for this 

-he will not go home without corn candies tho so you’ll have to force him to do so -but because he looks around and sees mostly children,

-he suggests going to a party in the neighborhood 

-it was a party thrown by his friends ofc 

-and you were more than happy to show everyone the power couple you make together

 -he drives there,one hand on the steering wheel,one hand on your leg

 -occasionally caresses your skin and you blush a little 

-he knows your weaknesses tho

 -anywayssss

-you arrive at the party,everyone is in awe,,,he can’t really stop bragging about you

 -and you have a great time meeting his American friends for the first time

-seeing you tired after a while of being there,he comes closer to you and hugs you from behind

 -whispers in your ear how gorgeous you looked and how everyone loved you 

-and how he’s gonna take you home and spend more time as real ‘groom and bride’;;))

 Taeyong

 -this cute baby couldn’t be more excited to celebrate Halloween with you

-and not to baby him even more but his idea for the costumes was to dress up as among us characters

-yes,,among us characters

-specifically black and pink

-can you guess who’s who?

-he went full shopping mode with you and dragged you through  the stores only to find the perfect match

-and you did ofc

-you came with the idea to throw a party and invite the rest of your friends

-he checked the list of things you needed to buy for Halloween

-and you teased him saying he stressed too much and we should have fun instead of worrying

-“but baby you know if we throw a party,we need to have enough drinks and food”

-puppy eyes: checked

-speaking in tiny: checked

-how could you say no lmao

-and after you bought everything necessary (and unnecessary),,

-you came home to decorate and to put your costumes on

-tried to kiss but you forgot you had the helmets on lmfao

-you both giggled like two kids

-he looked so cute when he put his science goggles on his head

-and you made sure to capture every single angle of his cuteness

-too many pics ,,

-too many

-you had a lot of fun especially that you organized a costume contest

-and you didn’t win because you were the hosts pfff..

-it’s not like everyone voted you for having the coolest couple costume

-kinda sus if you ask me

-n ee ways

-the party was a success and everyone had fun

-you ended up eating so many sweets  

-even tho tyong told you to slow down

-he took care of you and bathed you in kisses and cuddles after everyone left

-“you eat too many sweets every Halloween,,do you even learn?” says as he caresses your cheeks and gives you a long forehead kiss

-“but I can’t help myself,,too good and sweet”

-‘”you’re too good and sweet”

 Yuta

 -It was the morning of 31st October

-the only thing in your mind was the Halloween party at sm you and yuta were going to attend

-and ofc you didn’t want a lame costume,you wanted something cute

-but powerful

-and not to be a cliché but you asked yuta if he wanted to be dressed as anime characters

-man did he give you a look

-he chuckled lightly at your request but couldn’t say no

-“baby the fact that you’re Japanese makes it 1000x better”

-you cup his cheeks in between your hands and he laughs holding you on his lap

-after all he agrees and you go shopping for costumes

-as you thought,you didn’t want to be the basic anime characters so you chose a cute and powerful couple

-Kagome and inuyasha

-When you saw yuta wearing that long white hair-wig,your heart did a flip

-he smiled so large when he saw you wearing that pretty school uniform

-you made him take you in his arms immediately only to start smooching your face

-“baby my make up”

-you were pouting,but he was smirking coming closer to your ear

-“ I will make up for this later,promise”

- he said that biting your ear lobe softly

-oh boy you wanted to forget about the party only for yuta to “make up” for you but

-you could’ve handled that later that night

-you had a great time partying with the members and other idols at sm

-yuta held onto you the whole night feeling so proud to have such a gorgeous s/o only for himself

-but what you had planned after the party was much more exciting ;;)

 Doyoung

-This little sh

-that you loved to the moon and back 

-was a bit skeptic about partying for Halloween 

-for your sake tho,he prepared a horror movie marathon for both of you

 -he also suggested cooking something thematic 

-you actually caught him few days ago watching an instagram video of ‘how to make eyeball lollipops”

-You were like ???

-“I want to make these for Halloween because you don’t need to bake anything you know”

-“so we won’t burn the kitchen down? Ok!”

-you agreed faster than he thought

 -and that made him doubt his cooking skills for a bit but anyways 

-you too didn’t really have anything planned for a costume but you decided to surprise him

-with a bunny costume

-not an onesie,no

 -bunny ears and a bunny tail 

 -while he was concentrated on cooking,

-you showed up wearing a cute lingerie and that bunny costume on you 

-“ hey bunny,wanna snuggle?”

-you leaned on the door frame while trying not laugh

-in that moment he was tasting the jam

-but when he turned around and saw you LIKE THAT 

-he snorted and dropped the spoon full of raspberries 

-he was absolutely sure you wanted to give him a heart

-attack somehow

 -but he came to his senses and approached you with a smirk on his face

 -you couldn’t even think for a bit because in the next second he lifted you up to kiss you 

-“you made me drop the food and make a mess,,do you think I’ll let you go with that?”

-you blushed harder than you thought and suggested to help him clean up the mess 

-but he cut you off mid-sentence with a deepened kiss only to tell you with a low tone

-“those raspberries can wait,the bunny wants snuggles doesn’t it?”

-you tried so hard to keep your cool but who can blame you?? 

Jaehyun

 -Another Halloween enthusiast

-he couldn’t wait to dress up as Gomez and Morticia Addams

-you even helped him with the make-up,drawing a mustache on his face

-“haha very funny’’,

-he responds sarcastically every time you look at him and try not to laugh

-but damn the costume was pure gold

-you both looked amazing and he even managed to kiss your hand,up to your arm and neck

-just like Gomez kissed his wife every time he had the opportunity

-you both went trick or treating,along with johnny,mark and other members

-then came back to the dorms and ate so many candies

-jaehyun couldn’t help but stare at you every time he had the chance

-and you knew this costume was a perfect match because you could show him how sexy and elegant you were

-taeyong prepared some food for you all and you had few drinks

-told a lot of horror stories and felt like kids again but jaehyun was waiting to go home only to spend more time with you

-“ the food is too hot,I can’t eat it ::( ’’

-you complained while the others turned their heads to look at you especially taeyong who was about to apologize for the food being too hot

-jaehyun: ‘’you’re hot but I’d still eat-“

--he was cut off mid-sentence by taeyong who slammed his hand down on the table

-“ONE MEAL

-“ONE NORMAL FUCKING MEAL JAEHYUN”

-you all started laughing and looked at jaehyun only to see him grinning like a little bitch he is

-you knew how cheeky he can be so you got up and came closer to him to wrap your arms around his neck

-closer to his ear so you can whisper nonsense, that apparently got him happier that you intended

-he was one lucky guy for sure

-and the Halloween was once again one of his favorite holidays

 Jungwoo

 -Jungwoo wanted something cute this year

-he was very excited to show you what costumes he prepared for you both

- he kept saying it was a surprise and told you not to prepare anything cause he will handle it

- so while you were preparing the candies for the kids, he snuck up on you and covered your eyes

- you could’ve sworn you felt something fluffy covering your face

- you touched his arms and tried to feel it

- and realized he was wearing paws

- ???

- “babe what are you-“

- he cut you off and turned you around to face him

- he was wearing a big Snoopy costume,with a red bowtie as well

- you felt yourself dying of cuteness

- because now you had THE actual snoopy as your boyfriend

- a bit weird but CUTE ok cute

- “do you like it?? the red bowtie is part of the costume so we could match”

- you looked at him all smiles

- his eyes were sparkling just like a puppy’s :,(

- He grabbed your hand and took you to your bedroom to show your costume

- it was the same snoopy costume but you had a red ribbon on top of your head

- you were excited to try it on

- and when you showed him the costume, he gently approached you to kiss your forehead

- “aren’t we the cutest?”

- after that, he helped you give sweets to trick-or-treaters and so many kids were in awe when they saw you two

- you took pictures to send to his family

- and in the end, you two ended up falling asleep

- cuddling on the couch surrounded by the candies left because you weren’t very active this year

- but still had a great time

  Mark

 -This year mark wanted it different

-he didn’t only wanted to crave pumpkins or go trick or treating

-he needed a break from every exhausting activity because being and idol

-and well,,

-being mOrk

-he was tired and needed an escape from that solicitant lifestyle

-he surprised you one day with a small trip to an orchard outside of Seoul

-you were so excited because you knew the weather was going to be in your favor

-plus you knew mark was a nonconformist and he wanted to make the time spent w you very special

-like every time

-such a cutie oml pls-

-you two took the train till there,admiring the view from the empty cabin you were in

-he was holding you close and your hand all the time

- occasionally he kissed the top of it

-but you always turned to give him a quick peck on his sweet lips

-you liked to see him all giggly and shy,rubbing his hand behind his head

-when you arrived there,you were accompanied by a guide

-showing you around the orchard

-you were so excited while looking around,looking at the different colors of the apples

-mark grabbed two baskets and offered to help you pick few red and beautiful apples

-you were picking them and from time to time you felt mark’s gaze on your body and smiled

-while he was distracted, you snuck up behind him only to see him startle

-you giggled when he picked you up,spinning you around

-only to leave a sweet kiss on your nose and lips

-after the apple picking,you went to a café that was only few miles away from the orchard

-ate apples on the way because you were a bit tired and very hungry lol

-at this cute café,you two spent some time chatting and just staring at each other

-because you were both cute little hopeless romantics <333

 Haechan

 -Haechan was actually going to lazy around that day but nope

-you dragged him out of the bed

-telling him you want to crave pumpkins because otherwise

-you will bite his ass

-he gave you the most shocked look

-then managed to laugh

-“I wouldn’t mind,just bite the corner,,just a small bite”

-you rolled your eyes and puffed air from your nose pretending to get mad

-you walked out of the room and grabbed your coat and the car keys

-“yeah right then I’m going to buy the pumpkins myself”

-he came after you giggling and insisting it was a joke

-but you knew and were obvs trying not to smile

-he was a sucker for your pouty face so he loved pissing you off

-little cute shit

-you finally arrived at the local market and bought two big pumpkins

-so orange and tasty

-haechan took a tiny pumpkin and said he’s going to make it your child

-“haechan I’m not gonna shove a knife into our kid,don’t name it!”

-he knew if he names an object and something bad happens to it

-you get attached to it and get sad

-so in the end he didn’t name it but still got it home

-at home,you tried to look on pinterest for craving ideas

-and haechan laughed cause that was silly

-“cmon babe are you seriously looking that on the internet? Just do- *stabs the pumpkin in the middle and cuts out the lid* -this”

-he looks at you with a smile on his face and you just stand there

-bamboozled

-like “I’m really dating a gemini huh”

-you try to cut your pumpkin but the skin was too hard

-and managed to drop the knife out of your hands with a loud bump on the floor

-haechan literally jumped thinking you cut yourself but you were just standing there,,

-bbq sauce on your tidd-

-jk jk

-you were standing there looking at the guts spilled all over the floor

-you sighed but haechan gave you a hug

-“you clumsy baby,gotta be careful. Let me do it for you,,you just scoop what’s left from the inside”

-and you did as he said a bit disappointed that he took the hard work

-even tho you wanted to show him you don’t need help

-but he knew you were an independent person anyway

-that’s what he loved about you actually

-after you were done with cravings,it was the tiny pumpkin’s turn to be cut

-you and haechan just turned to look at each other and he saw you giving him a trembling bottom lip

-“we can’t cut it baaabeee…” you whined

-“okay then just ..let’s draw a cool face on it,no harm”

-you agreed because obvs you couldn’t cut the child you had with him pff

-you took the marker and drew a caricature of your bf on it

-before showing it to him,you covered his eyes and suggested him to sit on the couch for few moments

-he was wondering what you were doing

-after a while you led him,eyes still closed,to the fireplace where you placed the pumpkins

-he opened his eyes and saw the tiny pumpkin standing between the bigger ones

-“see,these two are us and the tiny one is the kid”

-he gave you a look,his eyebrows rised but then laughed

-he hugged you and gave you a small kiss

-he then looked at the bigger pumpkins and stated nodding

-“damn we’re kinda ugly ngl”

taglist: @peachyhan​  --(who wants to be in the tag list,lmk!!)

[notwhoiwanttobeyet]

tumblr journal [1]

NOTE: hi pLeasE don’t read this. this is just a way of coping with my mental illnesses. this is completely unedited, highly personal and i stRonGLy advise you look away. i hope you’re having a good day! happy holidays :)

also don’t mind the spotify links along the way; just some songs i almost or did cry to while writing this 

tw: suicidal thoughts, anxiety attacks, (breast) cancer

hey tumblr, 

it’s been a while since i’ve really vented. a lot of us use tumblr as a copying mechanism (me included) and i think it’s important i evaluate my current situation and break things down. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1WVunZLZM2zLTm5rAvKZkF?si=a94u_JAsRX2VCWOD6z4l-Q

exam season is over; i’m on summer break. and that’s great. no more school. no more exams and assignments and testing and all that FUCKING BULLSHIT THAT THE SYSTEM PUTS US THROUGH. i’m sorry, i’m trying to stay calm but it’s so fuckiNg hard. i’m literally going to cry i- so yeah, as we know, towards the end of the year school fucked me over and i really, reaLLY, REALLY wanted to die. so when school finished i was like “oh i must be all good now, right?” but i wasn’t. i was left feeling so numb, to be completely honest (and cliche).  

then i got sick which was soooo fucked. apparently a lot of people who went to our small friend kris kringle gathering got sick which sucks but because i spent so much of this year in isolation, i forgot what it felt like to be sick and oh bOY it fucking sucked. i over exaggerated because i’m sensitive and wanted to die. i was sick for like a week and my parents quarantined me because my mum is recovering from a breast cancer surgery and couldn’t afford to get sick so i was like locked in my room- on my own- which yeah, i do anyway but this felt sooo different. this felt like, completely fuckEd because my parents were wearing masks around the house and would leave food in my doorway, etc. i felt like a complete MONSTER to the people i love. i also obviously couldn’t hug them or anything, leaving me touch starved and ugh- it just wasn’t a great experience. 

also my mum is recovering fine and stuff but it’s an emotional fucking time for everyone and i’m so stupid i haven’t told anyone about my mum being sick and all. like people don’t ask why i’m acting up because i’m ALWAYS acting up. i’m always sensitive and angry and having mood swings. that’s just me, being mentally ill. so no one asks why i’m worried. my mum has/had BREAST CANCER- brooo. she’s had one surgery which went well and will most likely have to have chemo and/or radiation in the coming year. we get the results back after christmas. so that’s a thing. 

i have a secure group of friends which i’ve always wanted, but it doesn’t feel right. it never feels right. like today the three of us went shopping and THEY WENT CRAZY- i was so stressed and had literally like 6 different mental breakdowns in the 2 hours we were out. they were bumping into people, running around, trying on every item of clothing ironically in every store. that shit stresses me out. and there’s nothing wrong with that- they’re good people and they’re not doing anything wrong really - it’s just normal teenage stuff. but i’m note normal, i’m super anxious and everyone was looking at us and it made me sooo uncomfortable. like- i could elaborate more but thinking about it hurts. i felt like i was their mum or something, shepherding them around and making sure they didn’t break anything else. they- UGH// they broke a perfume bottle and rudely ran away from a teacher i have a good reputation with. like i said, they’re just normal teenagers but it fucks me up. it’s not them, it’s me. on the bright side i saw this same lesbian couple i saw the other day again :) i never see wlw or mlm couples in public really so it makes me soo happy when i see them :) i also saw this girl in an unnus annus hoodie and i was gonna say something but i’m too *anxious* so i just stared at her until she looked at me weirdly and i ran out of the store. oH and there was a girl in an mcr shirt ahh-- she was really pretty but i was too busy running it was a whole thing like my mum was coming to pick me up and i had 10 minutes so i ran up from one end of the mall to the other and then upstairs to this store to but this fucking wonderwomen shirt and then i had to run all the way back and i’m not the most athletic to say the least and i wanted to CRY but yeah. what did i learn today? people aren’t for me. friends aren’t for me. and again i know i’m built to be alone. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/7wTqEW5nrMhvyEhEyTnOMd?si=ata2BwOPQji3twov9wTZWg

i’m really thirsty. ew not like tha- i fucking hate society

cinnamon rolls not gender rolls. wait my friend got that on a poster let me see if i can find it,,,

yeah here it is ^^^^

also: my hair. i’m so happy having it the length it is but mAn i just- i just- i hate myself lol. like i don’t know what else to say. i think i’m ugly and every time i look in the mirror i want to cry, and it’s going to be like that forever so i need to just except that. i am ugly, i hate myself. like- bro come on. it’s been like this forever and it’s going to continue to be like this forever so i need to stop fucking crying over it.

https://open.spotify.com/track/05JtBVWRtSzqLoj7jj30kn?si=30W4pt7dT8G3cbzaUMqldw

oh my god this song i’m about to cry. this is what i want. why can’t i just be- not me!!! 

these past few days i’ve literally been playing minecraft bed wars all day. like all day. and it was okay but now my eyes hurt and my head hurts and my hands hurt and i hate myself and everything hurts. 

also- music doesn’t feel right. it’s been like this for a while now, it’s getting better though. before i couldn’t listen to any music at all - now i’ve been listening to kid krow on repeat : ) 

god bless you, conan. my number one song currently is *cough* E-GIRLS ARE RUINING MY LIFE (which they are btw) which is- fucking terrifying and funny at the same time. i genuinely like CORPSE though- i’ve watched every among us stream and i love his songs- in the past i would have considered myself a simp (?) maybe (?) but i had a nightmare about it and i can’t awifjisenf simp no more. i still appreciate him, i just- had an awakening. 

sexuality crises also suck a whole bunch. there was a 1-2 day phase a few weeks ago where i was low key PRAYING to be a lesbian lmfao. like it sounds stupid but i was crying over that shit. background info: no i’m not one of those straight girls, i’m a bisexual female who’s almost a full on raging homosexual except i am attracted to men. and i wish i wasn’t, believe me when i say that. but i have realised i am bi so it’s okay. i thought i was a lesbian and awilfjnawr labels but no, i am slightly attracted to men sometimes. but to answer your question if i am lucky enough my future wife and i will be married and living in a cottage. 

ugh. life. bru h i’m actually a train wreck- i had an anxiety attack crying trying to find my childhood tinkerbelle and friends dolls the other night. and then to make matters worse, i found them in a box with a whole bunch of other dolls in the same box including StRawBerrY ShoRtCaKe doLLs and i smelt my stawberry shortcake doll hesitantly while crying and she still smelled like her strawberry scent and i was DEAD. 

https://open.spotify.com/track/1F6IbA7di42uPc3cff8PXV?si=COKcG_UbQh-GhKYJ5vtIgg

ugh. so this has been my update so far. oh wait-

christmas. holy shit how is it christmas. i want dEatH like. reasons why i’m sad for christmas: it doesn’t feel like christmas so i feel like i’m not going to enjoy it, i’ve had no motivation to clean my room so the contents of my wardrobe is all over my floor because i was mid resorting the drawers when i got sick, i’ve wanted to ask for doc martens and my chemicals romance + other artists’ merch all year but i have SEVERE ANXIETY so of course i didn’t and now my parents have gone and bought me a new phone or something which of course i’m grateful for but my iphone 6s works just fine. it’s a waste of money which we need at the moment but because i’m too anxious i didn’t ask for anything this year so my parents have just chosen to spoil me and- aW SHIT! i can’t=

anyway so that’s my bullcrap life. i mean my bullshit rant. am i glad i did this? yes. do i feel any better? kinDa? i don’t know okay. what am i going to do now? i don’t know. probably lie on the floor and drown in self pity in hopes of melting into the abyss. i might read my book which i’ve yet to finish. maybe reading can be my knew things, seeing as i have zero hobbies. i read like once in a blue moon.

this is it for now, good luck, future me. 

sincerely, 

jordan ♡

https://open.spotify.com/track/7B3z0ySL9Rr0XvZEAjWZzM?si=HyWPKutjRTuPumafim7_Vw

[neighborhoodmoonchild]

The Heart Grows Fonder (Namjoon x Dryad!Reader)

Genre: Supernatural Au, Ultra-mega fluff

Warnings: Explicit language (barely), almost murder of a plant, slight mention of seasonal depression, P.O.V. switching, not a lot of warnings, it is Joon’s after all

Word Count: 6K

Dying. First it was just a leaf or two falling to the edge of the windowsill. Then suddenly the green color began to fade to a dull brown. It’s leaning too, almost ready to topple over and give in to the sweet release of death. Namjoon wishes he could indulge in the same right now. 

How on Earth had he killed this poor, innocent plant, in the mere three days he’s had it? Namjoon didn’t even want to think of how utterly embarrassing it was going to be to walk into that meeting on Thursday with the corpse of his plant cradled in his hands. 

He could hear the president gasping while the other members try to stifle their laughter.

“What did you do to it?!?” He’d say.

“I don’t know-it had light an-and I watered it every day!” Joon would plead, ears tinged red as his embarrassment slowly choked him. 

Joon rubbed the back of his neck, a long sigh escaping his lips as he stared at the corpse of a plant sitting on his windowsill. 

“What am I going to do?” Joon tore his eyes away from the crime scene to check the time on his watch. 

5:30. He turned back to the window and noted the sun slowly lowering to the edge of the horizon, colors just beginning to debut across the sky. He had so much to do and there seemed to never be enough time in the day to get it all done. 

He again took a pained glance at his poor plant and wondered how he was going to explain this to the club. If we’re being honest, it was Joon’s fault for joining this stupid club in the first place. 

In retrospect, he thought it’d just be a nice, calm place to indulge in some light conversation about plant-life, something Joon had always been interested and infatuated with.

How was he supposed to know the president was going to force them all to become plant parents for the entire semester. 

Now, only three days after he was given the role of ‘father,’ he’d somehow managed to murder his ‘child.’ And the worst part is he’s not even sure how the hell he did it!

After throwing himself a three minute pity party (two minutes longer than usual), Joon decides there’s gotta be something he can do to save himself from the embarrassment of admitting his incompetence in two days, so he grabs a jacket hanging from his door, carefully picks up the poor, lifeless bastard, and heads out. 

Joon knows there are a few plant nurseries on the other side of town, but he doesn’t exactly want to make that trek so late at night, especially when he’s only got his bike to get him there. 

Instead, he wanders aimlessly, trying to find something, anything, that can help him out. Would it be considered lying if he just bought himself a new plant and tried to pass it off as the original? Would they even be able to tell? If they caught him, he’d be twice as embarrassed, so he takes that thought and promptly punts it out of his mind.

A few minutes into biking while fighting with himself, he sees a bright neon sign hanging cheerfully down the street despite the night slowly enveloping everything in darkness. The words Flower and Shop drawing his attention and decides at the very least he might be able to get some advice on the plant or even some sympathy from a random stranger.

Both sound pretty good at the moment, so he locks his bike to the nearest street light and heads towards the door. 

He takes a deep breath, checking to make sure the little guy is still in his pocket, and prays that the door doesn’t have one of those stupid little bell-Ring!

He tries not to cringe too hard, of course he always jinxes himself, and looks around to see if anyone heard him come in. It was bad enough he’s pretty sure he’s the only person out at this hour in this part of town, but he’s a grown-ass man looking for help for his dead plant. 

This is a new level of pathetic he never knew he’d reach. 

When no one approaches him, no signs of life anywhere but the flowers decorating every inch of the store, he smiles to himself as he looks back down at his pocket, “looks like you’re not the only thing dead around here buddy.” 

“Can I help you?” He shoots around, his heart jumping into his throat when he hears the voice behind him. 

“Jesus-you scared the shit out of me.” He says, hand jumping to cover his heart, trying to calm himself down. He takes a proper look at you, a small, soft looking girl, probably a foot and a half shorter than him, heat causing redness to bleed from the tips of his ears across his face. 

This tiny ass girl nearly gave him a heart attack. Now he had reached a level of pathetic he didn’t even know existed. 

You stood there, waiting for an answer, and like he suddenly regained the ability to speak, he clears his throat, “Um, yeah-I mean, maybe? I have,” he pulls the plant from his pocket, losing a few more leaves in the process, and holds it out to you, “this plant, and it’s dying.” 

He sees the way you cringe when he pulls it from his pocket, looking from him to the plant, then back to him. 

“I can see that.” The corner of your lips turns up, your words causing Namjoon to lose his train of thought in the stead of his complete and utter humiliation, so you continue, hoping to relieve him a bit.

“By the discoloration and the rate it’s losing its leaves,” you pluck one from the poor thing to prove your point, “you’re probably over-watering it.” 

Looking at the rapidly fading plant, you can instantly tell it’s drowning. You want to hold it in your hand, tell it it’s going to be okay, and nurse it back to health yourself, but that wasn’t exactly an appropriate course of action right now.

It made you crazy sometimes how people could just treat their plants like objects. They were living things that needed proper care and attention, and it hurt to see them on the brink of death due to human ignorance. 

You didn’t want to assume this guy didn’t really care. Obviously it’s just a plant to him, like they are to most people, but he is here, showing it to you and asking for help. 

He looks at the lifeless mass in his hands and then at you again. 

“Is there any way to fix it? Like, bring it back, or something.” 

Reaching out to take the plant into your hands, he releases it over to you, fingers brushing one another’s before gently wrapping around the pot. You lift a finger to graze over the few remaining leaves and stem.

You could feel the small trace of life still coursing through its veins. It might take some time, but there was definitely a way to bring this baby back. Of course, it just needed your special touch to jump-start things. 

“I think so, follow me.” You start towards the back of the shop, and with the man behind you, you softly caress the leaves again with a little extra mph, circle the dirt around the roots with your index finger, and whisper a few encouraging words for only the plant to hear. 

Just like magic, you feel the life force growing, a bit of green already seeping from the base of the plant up. 

A smile breaks out across your face and you pull a new pot from under the desk as you round to the opposite side, the man stopping opposite of you to wait for further instructions. 

You carefully re-pot the little plant, pulling out some plant food to mix in with the new, dry, soil, and spritzing it with a bit of water to help it settle in. 

The whole time, Namjoon is just watching in both awe and nervousness. He wasn’t sure if any of this would actually work, 100% sure he’d have to deal with the humiliation of messing up on a freaking club activity. Much to his surprise, in the few minutes you had the plant, it seemed to spring back to life faster than he could snap his fingers. 

He didn’t know too much about the intricacies of plant care and management, but he did know that plants don’t bounce back that quickly...right? 

The rationalist in him figured this was normal plant behavior, that maybe this type of plant had a faster healing rate or whatever; any explanation that made logical sense. 

The skeptic in him reasoned that it had nothing to do with you, that people could not magically heal anything and he was just being weird. 

But the wonderer in him couldn’t help but question if what he was seeing was something that couldn’t be explained within the realms of logic. Maybe this was something extraordinarily unfathomable. Maybe even magical. 

As if coming to his senses, he mentally kicks himself for even entertaining the thought and finds himself once again not paying attention to the girl who just addressed him. 

“Sorry, what?” You roll your eyes, used to people zoning out when it came to directions of proper plant care. You push the plant as well as some extra plant food, soil, and a piece of paper towards him. 

“Your plant should be fine now that it’s in dryer soil. These,” You point to the paper, which he lifts to his face to read the writing intricately scrawled across it, “are some simple instructions on how often to water, repot, and feed it.” 

He looks over the paper, taking in the new information and storing it in his mind, though he’ll probably have to tack up the note so he’ll actually remember what to do. Stuffing everything else into his pockets, he reaches for the plant, but you quickly pull it away from him.

He’s confused, obviously, but you just shake your head.

“You are NOT shoving this poor thing back in there.” Releasing his breath with an airy laugh, he rubs the back of his neck, gesturing towards the front of the store where his bike is still tethered to the light. 

“I don’t have anywhere else to put it.” Your face contorts as you think for a solution, looking around the store. A small basket and some rope catch your eye, and suddenly an idea shoots into your mind. 

Without enlightening him on your plan, you grab the supplies and usher him to grab the plant and follow you outside. You stop in-front of his bike, paying no mind to his questioning looks and sounds. 

Wrapping the rope around the front and handlebars a few times, you feed it through a few holes in the basket and tie it securely to his bike. Wiping your hands and admiring your work, you look up at him, finally understanding your vision. 

He places the plant safely in the basket and you take the hair scarf that was tied around your head to neatly stuff it around the plant to cushion it in place. 

He goes to grab it and return it to you, but you stop his hand with yours, his eyes shooting to yours at the contact. You quickly drop your hand and shake your head with a smile.

“It’s safer that way, don’t want this little guy getting thrown around.” Namjoon can’t help the smile that spreads across his face.

“But it’s yours, how can I return it?” He’s nervous now, and he knows how stupid he sounds. You can come back and bring it to her dumb-ass. 

You giggle, a blush appearing on his cheeks at the sound. 

“Guess you’ll just have to come back to see me then.” You smile at him, and oh boy does his heart start racing at the fact that you’re smiling and flirting with him. He wasn’t imagining it, right? This beautiful girl, who saved him from a lifetime of embarrassment, is actually flirting with him? 

His smile only grows, nodding his head as he unlocks his bike and grabs the handlebars.

“I guess I will.” 

Silence. Not uncomfortable, no, calming, soothing, perfect. The only sounds you both can hear are the chirping of crickets and the beating of your hearts. The cool night air contrasting to and soothing the heat of blushing cheeks.

“So, I guess I’ll see you, then?” You say after a moment.

He doesn’t want the moment to end, but he also doesn’t want you to think he’s ignoring you again. 

Turning his bike around, preparing to take off, he nods, “Absolutely.” 

You don’t say anything, and he gets ready to leave, swinging his leg over and resting it on the pedal. 

“Wait!” You shout, louder than you had meant to, and now it’s your turn to get embarrassed. He only offers a reassuring smile, waiting.

“My name’s Y/N...by the way.” 

Y/N. A beautiful name. It fit you so well. 

“Namjoon.” He says with a grin so wide, his cheeks push his eyes almost closed. 

Another second of silence and you return to the door, resting a hand on the knob, turning back to Namjoon. 

“Goodnight Namjoon.” Your voice is soft, like a whisper so only he could hear.

“Goodnight Y/N, and thank you.”

And just like that, he’s off. 

His ride home is filled with thoughts of you. 

You head back in and close up shop, and as you walk up the steps to your apartment on the second floor, you thank your lucky stars you gave Mr. Chen the night off and decided to stay up a bit later than usual. 

—

The soft silky fabric grazes his palm, feeding it through his fingers delicately, savoring the feeling. It might be weird, but it reminded him of you; soft and delicate. The pattern, a bold geometric mess of bright colors, reminded him of you as well. 

Namjoon had only just met you, yet he felt as if he’d known you for years. You were so carefree and nonchalant with him that he couldn’t help but feel drawn to you; close to you. 

You spoke to him as if he were an old childhood friend you hadn’t seen in a while. It made him want to spend time with you, get to know you, let you get to know him. 

He wasn’t a stranger to talking to girls, he’s had his fair share of silly little romances here and there. He knew how to tell if there was something there, and boy, did he more than feel it the other night with you. He felt it, saw it, heard it, tasted it, every single one of his senses were tingling with anticipation to know every inch of you. 

You not only saved him from embarrassment at the meeting, you sparked something in him he had never felt before. He didn’t know exactly what to classify it as, considering you had only just met, but the intense urge to see you again, and again, and again, spoke volumes to the fact that this was not going to be some silly little friendship or romance. 

This is important, something life-changing, and he was more than ready to dive in and see where you’d take him, if you’d take him at all.

Even though he is incredibly sure there is indeed something between the two of you, there is a nagging part of him that can’t help but be terrified that this feeling was just his. You were just being nice to a customer and that was all. 

Joon breaks from his thoughts, holding the scarf in his hand as he swivels his chair around to stare at the objects you’d given him in his windowsill. His plant was flourishing, growing better than it had when he first got it. 

According to the club president, you’d given him some pretty high grade soil and plant food, but Namjoon knew that his plant’s success had more to do with your touch than the dirt. 

It clicked in his brain that you didn’t even bill him for anything. That soil is apparently pretty expensive (in soil standards anyways), not to mention the food, and your time spent helping him. He never thought to pay you, and you didn’t charge him. 

Was it because it just slipped your mind? Were you just being nice? Did you do it on purpose? Namjoon didn’t know, but he wanted to believe it was something more. Who would give free stuff to a stranger? 

Joon decided he not only wanted to return your scarf, but to pay you for everything. He didn’t feel right about it, even if you did do it on purpose or to be nice. In the back of his mind, he knew this would also give him a way to talk with you more, in case he gave you your scarf back and that was it. 

Namjoon wanted every chance he could get to spend even just a few more seconds in your company. 

He booked it back to the shop in record time, anticipation flooding every inch of his being. Namjoon couldn’t wait to see you, touch your hand as he handed you your scarf back, hear your giggle when he inevitably says something stupid, but you insist it’s just cute.

Ugh, it was like playing a movie in his brain he never wanted to end. He didn't even really know you but he was so excited to get to. 

He didn’t even bother locking his bike this time, setting up it up against the side of the building instead. It was when he finally stood at the door, hand reaching out towards the handle, his nerves caught up to him.

Before he could overthink it, he was through the door, ring of the bell sounding through the shop and causing him to jump a bit. He quickly settled and began surveying the room for you. 

He thought he’d catch you behind the counter this time, it being normal shop hours, but he found a little old man in your stead. Namjoon tried not to show his disappointment in fear the man would see and get offended, but his face had already dropped before he could stop it. 

As Joon walked up to the counter, the man smiled at him, “She’s in the back.” He waved his hand motioning Namjoon forward, but before he could ask the man how he knew that was what Joon was here for, he simply placed a single finger to his lips and turned back to his work. 

Not going to lie, Joon was a little startled by the exchange, but took it as a sign and headed towards the back of the shop. At the back wall was a little door with a window in it that opened into a greenhouse of sorts connected to the building. 

When he saw a familiar figure sitting at the long bench just beyond the door, he couldn’t help but pause to watch you. 

You were smiling softly, looking down on a tiny green plant resting in a white pot. That smile nearly melted Joon’s heart into a puddle in his chest and he slowly reached out to grab the handle.

But just as he was about to open the door, he saw your lips move, almost like you were having a conversation with the little thing. Namjoon thought it was kind of quirky and adorable how much you seemed to love plants, but when he saw the plant begin to move, almost growing and waving before his very eyes, his whole being froze. 

Did he-did he see that right? He blinked a few times, trying to wipe the image clear from his sight, but suddenly a small bloom grew from the top of the plant causing your lips to curl up in a big grin, clasping your hands together in awe. 

Namjoon didn’t know what to do, what to think, how the hell would he know what to say? He had a hard enough time trying to talk to you without sounding like an idiot the last time, but after this? Was he crazy?

Joon quickly dropped his hand from the door handle, thinking it’d be best to come back another time when he wasn’t having a full blown mental breakdown, but the sudden movement caused the handle to creak.

Your head shot towards the sound and you instantly paled when you saw Namjoon standing at the door. Had he seen? What could you tell him?

Joon’s cover was blown so he decided to just rip the band-aid off and go in. He tries to hide the panic on his face as best he can, but you can tell something was bothering him. 

“Hey,” was all you could offer him. You weren’t sure how long he’d been standing there, what he had seen, and if he would question you or not. And it wasn’t like this was something you could casually bring up to a person, let alone one you just met. ‘Yeah, so I can talk to plants and help them grow and stuff. Pretty cool, right?’ That would definitely be a one-way ticket to an institution, not to mention a total mood killer. 

“Hey.” Joon doesn’t know if it’s his place to say anything about what he saw, what he thinks he saw anyways, and remembers the reason he’s here. 

“I, um, brought you your scarf back.” Joon reaches into his back pocket, grabbing the delicate fabric and holding it out to you. Just like in his daydream, your hand reaches out slowly to take it and your fingers brush his. The feeling alone almost causes him to forget everything he had witnessed, but when your fingers pull away, taking the scarf with it, the image burns back into his brain.

An awkward silence slowly fills the void between the two of you. You don’t take your eyes off of him, silently studying him, trying to tell if he saw something he shouldn’t have. Joon, though, surprisingly, was pretty good at acting like it never happened, quashing your suspicions. 

He takes a quick glance at the plant sitting before you on the bench, little yellow bloom happily sitting at the top of a leafy green stem, then turns back to you, “Cute flower, what is it?” 

His curiosity in the bloom almost gives him away, but you figure he’s just trying to make conversation. 

Turning back to the flower, you pick it up by the pot and hop off your stool, walking towards the shelves of flowers in the back of the greenhouse. Namjoon follows, watching as you carefully place it down among others similar to it, just different colors. 

“Viola Tricolor, more commonly referred to as a Pansy,” Wiping your hands on your jeans, you turn back to Joon, “They come in all sorts of colors, but the yellow ones are my favorite.” 

Joon can’t help but smile when you do, the way you talked about plants made your eyes light up and he liked seeing you look so happy. 

You both wander back through the greenhouse, taking your time as you go, close enough to one another that your shoulder sometimes nudges his arm. 

“Why the yellow ones?” Namjoon questions, looking down at you as you take quick glances at the plants you pass, just to make sure everyone was doing well. 

“Hmm,” you ponder, drawing it out which makes Namjoon’s smile grow.

“Pansies are said to be the flower of freethinkers and the yellow ones specifically stand for happiness and positive energy. I look at them and they just make me smile, I guess.” 

You peek up at Namjoon to see him looking forward, thinking over your answer with a grin plastered on his face.

He thought of himself as sort of a freethinker sometimes, and he likes that you have a similar mind to his in ways. Of course you loved them for the positivity, in Namjoon’s mind, you are the most positive person he’s met. You always look so happy and content, at least, all the times Namjoon has looked, and in the two days he’s known you, that was a lot. 

“Cute.” He thought he’d said it in his mind, but when he hears a giggle escape your lips, he realizes he’s voiced it out loud and immediately flushes red.

His hand quickly finds its way to the back of his neck and a flustered chuckle escapes his lips, “I mean, they’re cute flowers, and that’s a cool reason to like them.” He could kick himself for how idiotic he sounded, rambling on.

You didn’t mind, though, in fact, you thought it was also rather cute. 

Cuter than the flowers, but don’t tell them that.

—

“By the way, who was that guy behind the counter?” 

After finishing up a few things around the shop, Namjoon had tried to pay you for the things you’d given him. It took him a minute to calm down when you told him it wasn’t necessary and instead suggested he could take you out for ice cream as repayment. 

You didn’t officially say the word ‘date’ but in Joon’s mind, this was definitely a date. 

You take another spoonful, savoring not only the flavor of the ice cream, but the time you were spending with him.

“Mr. Chen owns the place, he let me move into the apartment upstairs as long as I helped him with the shop.” 

“So that’s why you were there so late.” Namjoon takes another big spoonful of his ice cream, careful not to make a mess and embarrass himself yet again in front of you. It didn’t bother him too much though, because hearing your laugh, even if it was at his expense, was worth it.

You nod, resting your dish on your knee, staring out at the bustling town before you from the bench you occupied. 

The best place to get ice cream, you told Namjoon, was this little place in the heart of town, just a few blocks away from his school. Despite being so close, Namjoon had never been there, so he took your word for it. 

It was a bit of a walk from the shop, so Joon brought his bike along just in case.

When you got there, you both were so overwhelmed by the amount of flavors to choose from, you let a few other people ahead of you while you decided. Eventually, you both settled on your respective favorites and found a bench to relax on while you ate.

Even though it was still early September, the air could get quite chilly at night. Add on the frozen treats, and you were practically shivering once the sun went down. Namjoon, ever the gentleman, noticed right away, shrugging his jacket off and dropping it around your shoulders. 

He didn’t think much of it until he noticed the pink color on your cheeks, instantly sending the same color to blossom on his own. 

The silence was comfortable, it made you feel like time had slowed almost to a complete halt and you were the only two people left on the Earth. 

The street lights along with the cute rustic string lights that swung from shop to shop created the dreamiest atmosphere, it was almost like you were in a movie. 

Once the both of you were finished, you started your journey back to the shop. A few minutes in and Namjoon could tell you were growing tired by the way your figure slightly swayed and bumped into him every once in a while. 

He stops, pulling his bike forward and throws one leg over. 

You were so lost in thought you almost didn’t notice him stop, but when you turned back to ask him what he was doing, he just patted the back rack of his bike. 

Smiling, you carefully sit on the rack, wrapping your arms around Namjoon’s waist. You feel him tense up a bit at your touch, but when you lean your head to snuggle into his back, he relaxes and you head off. 

The ride is so smooth and calm you almost fall asleep clutched tightly to Joon. Every once in a while, you peak one sleepy eye open to look up at him. He looked so focused yet so serene it was beautiful. 

He is beautiful.

You let your eyes fall closed again, the cool night air blowing against your cheeks, Joon’s jacket wrapped around you to keep you warm. 

His bike comes to a stop and you slowly open your eyes, the front of the shop coming into focus. You tear yourself away from Joon to stretch and then hop of the bike. 

Namjoon just stares at you, smile bright as he watches you wake yourself up. 

“Thank you for the ice cream. We should hang out again sometime.” You smile at Joon, hoping he gets the hint that you want to spend more time with him. 

The tips of his ears turn red and his smile only grows, “Absolutely.”

This time, before he can leave, you push yourself forward, placing your lips to his warm cheek. You pull away and tell him goodnight, leaving with a wave as you shut the door to the shop.

Namjoon just sits there in shock. He lifts his hand to trace the place your lips had touched, still feeling their warmth after they were gone. 

Once he was sure you were out of sight, he let his fist fly up in the air to celebrate, quickly collecting himself and starting off for the dorms.

You, however, had managed to see his victory celebration, causing you to laugh at how utterly adorable he was. 

As you made your way up the stairs to your apartment door, you realized it was you who had something of his this time. 

Settling yourself on your couch, you held the fabric of Joon’s jacket close to you, the subtle smell of him tickling your senses and making you feel incredibly warm and tranquil.

It was your turn to go to him this time. 

—

That night was a real turning point for your and Namjoon’s budding relationship. 

When you took his jacket back to him the next day, he’d given you a full campus tour before inviting you to his room to watch a movie. After that, you’d spent every spare minute you could with him.

In-between classes Joon would visit you at work, sometimes bringing you lunch to share. When you were off, you’d go see him at the dorm and laze around in his room playing games, watching movies, and just talking about anything and everything. 

You made sure you both got out to walk enough before the cold set in, taking nice strolls through the park or through town. Sometimes Joon would wrap his hand around yours and you’d clasp it tightly, not looking at each other, but just enjoying the feeling.

After seeing how cute you looked falling asleep on his bike, he made it a point to take you somewhere on his bike every day. From the movies, to the shopping center, even to the lake one day so you both could skip stones before dark.

Namjoon was slowly taking over your heart, and you, his. How easily you fell in sync with each other just fell so incredibly natural, it was like the two of you were made for each other. 

You hadn’t noticed right away, but he quickly became your best friend, a position you’d never filled before. It felt strange yet so nice to be able to confide all the good and bad to someone who truly cares about you.

While Namjoon has plenty of friends, he’d never been as close to someone as he was with you. 

The way you made his heart race with just a simple smile, the way his palms start to sweat when you snuggle up close to him, the butterflies that erupt in his stomach when you laugh, it was total euphoria. 

You both had been spending so much time together in the past few months, it was hard to miss when your mood started to fizzle as the winter season began. 

It was like the light had been sucked from you, leaving you cold and weak, and Namjoon wasn’t sure what to do. You tried to act normal around him, but it was obvious you weren’t feeling right. After a few days, your energy had completely depleted.

Namjoon had to cram for finals, but when he’d call to check up on you, either you didn’t answer, or you’d tell him you were fine and he should focus on his studies.

That didn’t stop Joon from worrying about you, in fact, it just made it worse, to the point where you had to tell him not to come see you in fear you’d get him ‘sick’ even though you both knew that wasn’t true. 

You just didn’t want to bum him out or distract him, and telling him the real reason behind your seasonal depression didn’t seem like an option just yet.

After two days, Namjoon couldn’t take it anymore. 

—

You were wrapped up so tightly in your comforter you didn’t even hear your door open, only realizing when the side of your bed dipped that someone had come in. You peek your head out from under the covers and see Joon, a sympathetic smile on his face.

He reaches his hand out to run a finger down your cheek, softly caressing the side of your face. You lean in to his touch, closing your eyes and letting yourself enjoy the warmth that bloomed under his touch. 

You knew he’d show up and check on you, after all, it wasn’t like you to stay cooped up in your apartment all day. After dodging his questions and concerns for a week now, you’re actually surprised it took him this long, but Joon was one to understand the need for space, and he wasn’t going to force you to open up when you didn’t want to. 

His worries finally got the best of him and despite your insistence on being fine, he decided he’d just pop in real quick and see how you were doing. He knew you weren’t at your best right now, and he could only wonder as to what was causing it, but when he saw the little plant in the windowsill out of the corner of his eye, it clicked.

The little guy had been sort of forgotten since you hadn’t been over for a while, and he was definitely suffering. Namjoon remembered you telling him once about how some plants don’t do well during the winter months, even indoors. 

A light bulb flashed in his head, remembering the events of the day he brought your scarf back, and suddenly he knew exactly what to do. 

If his plant was feeling down, you must know how it felt, and he came up with the best plan to help. 

So, he grabbed the little plant from its home in his window, wrapped it in one of his scarves instead of putting it in his pocket this time, and headed to your place. 

Now that he was here, he could see the resemblance between you and the little plant. Pale, limp, and sad. It made him feel guilty for not coming to see you sooner, but all he could do was be here now. 

“Hey, how are you feeling?” He can see it on your face, but he wants to hear your voice. You smile softly, sitting up from the bed and holding the hand that was previously on your cheek.

“I’m okay, just a little under the weather.” He noted the multiple layers adorning your body and wanted to just snuggle up to you right that second, but his plan had to come first.

“I brought you something, I need your help again.” He reveals the plant from behind him and you stare at it for a second, sympathy drawing a slight frown over your face.

You take the plant from his hands, a feeling of dejavu washing over you as your fingers touch, and turn your attention back to Joon. 

“It’s because of the weather Joon, I don’t know what you want me to do-” He takes the plant from you to set it down on the stand next to your bed, grabbing both your hands in his.

Before you can question him further, he takes on of your hands and rests it at the base of the plant. It’s hard not to see what he’s getting at as he looks from the plant to you, content face smiling. 

There’s a feeling of nervousness that suddenly washes over you. Chen was the only one who knew about your gift and sharing it with another person felt like a big step. If you were going to take it with anyone, though, it’d be Namjoon. 

You close your eyes, mustering up all the energy you could even though your body felt drained. You feel the warmth tickle the nerves in your hand and when you peek your eyes open again, green seeps through the little plant, perking it right back up. You can feel the life coursing through it and it makes you feel better. 

You felt more alive. 

Namjoon just sat there with a smile, knowing this was what you needed to get back on your feet. Just one little win to remind you that life did not completely die in the cold, it just hibernated, waiting for better days. 

You knew better days were coming too, knowing Joon would be by your side. 

You go to turn back to Namjoon, to thank him for helping you out of your funk, but instead feel his warm lips press sweetly to yours. 

This wasn’t the first time you had kissed Namjoon, but it felt so different from every other time. Like this kiss held new promises and would lead to new and better things. It was like your whole future together held in one intimate action. 

Helping his plant made you feel good, but this kiss breathed the life right back into you. 

The next day you decided to accompany Joon to the last Botany meeting of the semester. Holding his hand tightly in yours, you couldn’t wait to spend Christmas break together and every day after that. 

He holds the door open for you, ever the gentleman, and the president looks up at the two of you. His eyes lock on you for a moment and then he directs his attention to Joon.

“Who’s this Namjoon? We usually don’t have guests.” 

Joon only smiles down at you, holding the little plant in one hand, his hand in the other, and look back to the president.

“This is my girlfriend, Y/N.”

—

Fast forward a few years later and you and Joon are walking up to the front porch of your shared home after a warm summer night’s stroll. You pass the flowers that line the sidewalk and they seem to perk up in your presence. 

Passing the large willow tree in your front yard, you grasp Joon’s hand a little tighter as he lifts them to place a kiss to the back of yours. You see both of your initials grown into the bark of the tree, which showed up after you moved in. Just recently, the beginnings of a third name starting to grow just beneath. 

Your other hand goes to rest on your stomach, knowing what else was growing. 

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

Oh my gosh, 

     Day 3 is out you guys, holy crap is this week flying by. Not going to lie, but so far, Joon’s is kinda my favorite (even though I say that about every one), but for real, I’m pretty proud of this one. This series has been a blast so far, and I hope you all are enjoying yourselves as well. Stay tuned the rest of the week for Hobi, Jimin, Tae, and Kookie’s stories. Love you all, and Stay Spooky!💜

-Moonie🌙

[dango-daikazoku]

had a long dream where i was married to this guy that turned out to be a super powerful monster, so strong that after i told him i wanted a divorce he broke my arm just from grabbing it

his whole house was full of monsters, the maid was a zombie, the gardener was a werewolf, the butler was some kind of all-seeing guy that could answer three questions a day thruthfully, no matter the question

i couldn't get a divorce for some reason, my husband wouldn't allow it so i assumed i was needed as a sacrifice or something

i went online and found a monster helping agency and told them everything, a week or so later a chubby guy in a Hawaiian shirt and this skinny little blond guy showed up at the door pretending to be my friends from college, i invited them in and toured the house, which was actually for them to plan an escape route

when we were in the lower movie room my husband came and got suspicious because the two people smelled like monsters, but i introduced them as my old pals to try and make him relax

i pretended not to know they were monsters and went to get drinks from the kitchen, i don't know what happened but when i got back the two were slightly pale and my husband looked like he had a fun time and left when i got there

the two monsters explained that he was just testing them to see if they were a threat and because they were so weak in comparison to my husband he left them alone, they assured me that they would get me out, no human should be living here, they said

the whole plan went into action, i pretended that i would be going out to see my friends for a big class reunion party, dressing up in my most expensive clothes and jewelry (all gifts from my husband of course) and didn't pack anything so he would think i would be going out for a few hours at most

he seemed to know i was nervous and i tried to brush it off as something about not having met in a long time, and when i tried to leave by having the butler drive me my husband said that he would drive me there, something about needing to show me off

when we got to the building where the reunion was held i saw actual friends from college, i was so happy that i ran out and hugged them and spun them around, it was surprising to see at first but i guessed that the monster company had gotten all this together to help me make a real escape, i was going to meet up with them later because they were currently at my husbands house trying to get my stuff out

my husband seemed to believe it was a real reunion and came over to introduce himself, we all talked for a bit and then my friends insisted that he stay for the reunion, it was a class reunion but wasn't limited only to people that attended the class

i could almost hear my all the plans shattering to pieces, i had to get my husband back home somehow, but before i could say anything he declined saying this was an event for me to enjoy myself, and he would wait at home

i was overjoyed and said that me and my friends were going to have a swell time watching scary movies and bad comedies, both of which my husband hated (probably because he knows real monster and also has no sense of humor)

after the party it was arranged for me to go and stay at a hotel with a friend while she would call my husband and say i was drunk and resting in the hotel room, but in reality those friends were in on the whole thing and would be getting me on a plane to go to Europe, their acting was so amazing that i never knew they were in on it

they assured me that i was making the right choice, my husband came off really creepy to them and the fact that he refused a divorce made them into my biggest allies

meanwhile, at the my husband's house he ignored the call about me because the gardener smelled intruders, they didn't know it yet but it was the skinny little blond guy from the monster company, his ability was to turn invisible, he wouldn't make a sound or give the smallest hint to anyone that he was there, even if they were looking for him, although it couldn't completely get rid of his scent

he was walking around gathering all my important stuff and about to leave with it all when my husband approached him by the door, he couldn't see the invisible guy but sensed that he might be there and attacked instantly, piercing the invisible guy through the heart and crashing through the front door

the hawaiian shirt guy was observing everything from half a mile away, and almost blew his cover by gasping, but my husband, although he heard it, brushed it off as a passerby because it was far away

he threw the invisible man's corpse into a large furnace, but seemed to sense that there was someone else, he looked around but there was nothing, so he asked the butler how many people had come to rob the house, and the butler answered 'three'

my husband realized that there was another invisible person that came along, the guy he killed held a lot of valuables but it turns out that he had a twin sister that had already run off, carrying my stuff to the airport, with how strong my husband was they knew there was a possibility that they would die, so they planned for that event too

a huge chase was set off, the werewolf gardener leading the way to smell me out, but i had already left on a plane, so they chased me there too, while the werewolf disguised himself as a big red dog

eventually i was found by the werewolf, he told me my husband was at a base nearby and waiting for me to come back, since i didn't know the gardener very well i tried to get him on my side, saying that my husband didn't love me anymore and it was torture to stay by his side, and told him that as a human i couldn't be near him without being hurt by his strength, it was best for me to run away and never come back

this big werewolf gardener was actually a big sap with a heart of gold and told me that he would help, so we eloped! we eventually got together and made fun of my now ex-husband by misleading him, such as leading him to a pride parade while we were actually hiding and watching him become mistaken for an awkward closeted gay man, or giving him hints that i had gone to a nearby bank only for him to find that it was an entrance to an underground sex dungeon, or giving fake tracks to a maternity clothing store and trying to make him think i had bought clothes there because i was pregnant, then to see the cashier question him and watch him (through the security camera) as he explained i had run off with another man and he had come here to find me, so all the expecting mothers in the store snapped pics and spread bad rumors about him (because of course he came off as a weirdo creep to most non-humans)

it had a great ending lmao i was having so much fun with a new buff werewolf boyfriend

[hueynomure]

Sacrifice

Desmone dove to her right, in a patch of darker shadows beneath a torn market stall. She winced as her bound wings hit the floor, but kept still and silent as the noise came closer. Sprawled on the ground like that, with clothes encrusted with mud and blood, she looked just like another mangled corpse from the sky. At least, she fervently hoped she did. She screwed her eyes shut, not daring to pray even within her own mind, in the chance the demon leading the patrol over her head could sense her piety. Desmone didn't trust her odds against a demon in her current state; more importantly, she had specific orders.

The patrols seemed to grow lax as she got closer to their nexus of power; this one didn’t even slow to get a good look of the corpse-ridden street. They probably didn’t expect her kind to be furtive. Desmone scrambled to her feet and sneaked in the perpetual red gloom until she was out of hearing, then started to run again.

After five days of creeping through blood-soaked farmlands and cities turned into slaughterhouses, Desmone came in sight of her objective at last. It looked like a building made of soot and filth. Endless streams of imps coming out of the structure's large shapeless holes, drifting upwards like plumes of chittering smoke. No proper demon in sight, but the sheer quantity of eyes made stealth a hopeless prayer.

It was time for the last and more disgusting part of her suicide mission.

Desmone just strode toward what might have been a doorway once, reaching with her mind to her bindings and the power they stored. As she approached, more and more imps detached from the ascending columns and came to orbit her, raining vulgar jokes and crass threats with their shrill voices.

Desmone discarded both her filthy cloak and her magical bindings, spreading her wings in a burst of angelic light. The closest imps were incinerated, and every vile creature within twenty yards shrieked as the flash blinded them. Desmone just had to think about battle and her bladed chains appeared in her hands, glowing with warm golden light as her stored energy overflowed through them. She charged, scything through the blinded imps as she went for their source.

Predictably, they came from the cellar. Feeling the burst of stored power was starting to fade, Desmone dove to the lower level, turning everything in her way into a shower of sticky ichor, and felt more than saw the demonic portal that spewed the endless stream of imps. She cast a lattice of ghostly bars in the passage, sealing her own grave.

Desmone, an angel from the lowest chorus, anywhere else would have been swiftly overwhelmed by the endless and bloodthirsty swarm coming at her from all directions, but angels had been forced to learn a lot in the war. They had learned that the ideal they incarnated didn’t just shape their personality and magic, it also amplified their power. Locked by her own magic in a dark cellar, up to the neck in imps, fighting an overwhelming force in an enclosed space for the sake of her people and following direct orders from the highest ranks of angelic command, the angel of Bonds couldn’t ask for a better battlefield for her last stand. Her chains glowed with renewed power whenever they grazed against the cellar’s moldy bricks. When the swarm got past her weapons and pressed on her, pinning her arms and wings against her body, the strangling constriction gave her enough energy to let out another burst of immolating light, granting a much-needed reprieve.

She soon lost track of time. Her thoughts were lost in the desperate effort to survive as long as she could, to make her sacrifice worthy. She felt hours pass as more and more imps dissolved in small bursts of ichor. As her armor and wings got progressively drenched in the foul liquid, the back of her mind started wondering why no proper demon had crossed the portal yet. When the level of the ichor in the cellar came to her ankles, she noticed recurring words in the imp’s mad chatter.

“Lord Zlak! Lord Zlak’s coming! Praise Lord Zlak!”

Pure and unmitigated dread filled Desmone as she recognized the mangled name of Izalak, Lord of Slaughter. She felt the portal slowly stretch, bending space itself to prepare for the passage of Izalak and his retinue. All the Bonds in the world wouldn’t save Desmone from being disintegrated – or worse – by the archdemon. She let her chains go, taking out a few more imps in their falling arc, and pointed both her palms toward the portal, tapping all the remaining power within her to conjure the second most powerful sealing spell she knew.

Certain of her imminent death, Desmone wondered about how much time she had bought to the rest of the army. Izalak wasn’t known for his precision or patience, so she could hope the seal would hold the invasion a few more hours before crumbling under Izalak’s blunt but overwhelming power.

Desmone had just completed the seal, leaving her dazed and faint, when something hit her on the head.

* * *

“Wake up, love, you’re needed.”

“Thinamei? You should be on the battlefield...” Desmone’s thoughts were hazy. Thinamei’s voice sounded sad.

“You’ll understand soon. Wake up, Desmone.”

Desmone felt Thinamei’s presence fade, and weakly reached for her…

Her fingers closed around a glowing emerald orb. She was in the dark cellar again, lying in the ankle-deep pool of demonic ichor.

“At attention, soldier,” ordered a young but authoritative voice.

Desmone stood up shakily, the orb in her left hand, ichor dripping from her pair of wings. She saluted with all the dignity she could muster in her state. “Commander Victoria.”

Victoria stood unperturbed in the disgusting ichor, her three pairs of black-tipped wings held back like a glossy cloak; her only concession to the honor of her station was the shiny circlet of office, the design of her armor dull and pragmatic. Victoria was such a callow name for the angel of Victory, but war had denied her the traditional decade of soul-searching the young angels underwent; an angelic commander couldn’t just remain nameless, and with the death of Sorithia, the angel of Salvation, the mantle of responsibility had fallen on the shoulders of the freshly reincarnated Victory.

“At ease, agent Desmone. Congratulations on the success of your mission.”

Desmone frowned; she understood why the Highest Chorus had chosen the angel of Victory for their command, but Victoria’s ways were no less cynical and uncaring than her predecessor’s. “I had understood that I was to die buying time for the final push.”

“And you did offer your life, even though it wasn’t actually taken,” Victoria replied. “The final push of the army, in turn, was a necessary diversion for our sortie here. Their sacrifice will be remembered.”

Desmone was hit by the unsettling awareness she was probably the oldest angel alive. “Our?” Was the only reply she managed to utter.

“Fury is taking out her frustration on some patrol who came to check on the sudden lack of reinforcements,” said an angelic voice she didn’t recognize.

Desmone turned. The four-winged angel floated effortlessly above the ichor, her blue hair and wings suspended as if underwater. She looked too peaceful to be Trickery reborn.

“Stillness has been instrumental in carrying my plan forward,” Victoria commented. “I doubt you’d have waken up in time without Thinamei’s contact.”

Desmone looked around frantically. “Where’s Thinamei?”

A red blur shot from the ghostly bars Desmone had placed at the top of the stairs, congealing into another angelic form as it took place at Victoria’s right. Fury looked just like the last time Desmone had seen her, wild red mane dancing like a flame and twin ruby blades sizzling. “Patrol has been taken care of. I took the liberty of setting up some exploding seals,” she said as her two pairs of red wings beat frantically like a hummingbird’s.

“Good thinking,” Victoria replied.

“Where’s Thinamei?” Desmone asked again, turning to stare at Stillness.

“You’re holding her,” the angel replied evenly.

Desmone almost dropped the emerald orb. “She’s within this?”

“No, the emerald is her very essence condensed,” Stillness explained, emotionless. “A very ancient enchantment.”

“Horamasel told me you know a spell that would seal the portal for good,” Victoria interjected. “That spell is the last chance for our world. My last order to you is saving Pourtak.”

Desmone sighed. There was no sense in denying something the angel of Vision knew. “The Soulbind.” Even facing certain death, Desmone’s self-preservation instinct had made her shy away from the most powerful seal she knew. Her gaze fixed on Stillness and Victoria, then on Fury and finally on Thinamei’s essence in her hand. “Even tapping all five of us, the seal wouldn’t survive all the archdemons attacking it on both sides.” She felt a shameful hope, like saving the whole Pourtak wasn’t worth being woven into the spell.

“I know,” Victoria replied. “Stillness, show her.”

The air around Stillness filled with dozens and dozens of floating orbs of every color. "I gathered all the angels that died since you've been gone."

Desmone didn’t bother to hide her horror as she addressed Fury and Stillness. “Do you two know what the Soulbind even does?”

Victoria’s intense gaze became a steely glare.

“Commander Victoria told us we will pay for the world’s safety with out lives,” Stillness said. “We are honored to have been chosen.” Fury nodded her assent.

“The Soulbind would meld our very essence with the portal,” Desmone explained under the commander's glare. “No soul returning to your Constellation to be restored, no reincarnation, nothing.”

Stillness' feet almost touched the ichor, and had to beat her wings to regain her balance. Fury turned to look at Victoria and went worryingly still. Many floating orbs trembled, as if manifesting dissent.

“The only way to get out would be destroying the portal,” Desmone continued, “and even then nobody can’t tell what would remain of us. Maybe our souls would be shattered like-”

“Enough.” Victoria ordered, and turned to addressed the blue-winged angel. “It’s all to stop the demonic invasion, an angel of Stillness shouldn’t hesitate a single moment to offer herself to this cause.”

Desmone felt genuine pity for Stillness; every angel eventually met the horror her own ideal could bring, but there were few worse moments for one’s first time than at the decisive moment of a plane-wide war.

Victoria turned to her right. “And you, Fury-”

“You’d leave the plane’s safety to world-raiders?” Fury lashed out. “They’re the ones who caused the invasion in the first place!”

“Stand down, Fury.” Victoria spread her six wings, making the red-winged angel flinch. “We’d have been wiped out months ago if the planeswalkers hadn't come to oppose their fellow "world-raider".” The black-winged angel stepped toward Fury, forcing her to fly back. “But more importantly, you don’t get to question my orders." Fury lowered her eyes in shame.

"Speaking of orders.” Victoria rounded on Desmone. “If you’re done dragging your title through the mud by sowing discord, angel of Bonds, it would be time for you to follow mine.”

Desmone winced at Victoria’s words, but felt the hint of sorrow in the commander’s voice. Desmone had pitied Stillness, but couldn’t imagine the pain of being born for her elders to immediately shove the highest responsibility on her shoulders, and to knowingly send all her people to either certain death or eternal oblivion because her very essence allowed no alternatives to carry out her duty. Desmone looked into Thinamei’s orb, and felt a reassuring pulse of energy wash over her body. I’ll support you every way I can, Thinamei’s voice echoed in her mind. Desmone's heart filled with loving admiration and boundless melancholy.

“...I’ll need you to do as I say.” Desmone spoke quietly, but the three angels immediately turned toward her without a sound, disagreements crushed under the weight of the moment. She traced a circle in the air with her right hand, and a pentagon of white light appeared over the sealed portal. On the other side, she caught a glimpse of Izalak’s terrible axe furiously hitting the seal, creating minuscule cracks. “Stillness, put your hand against the rightmost point of the pentacle.” The blue-winged angel obeyed.

Desmone conjured a long, ghostly chain. “Commander Victoria, the point beneath Stillness’s.” The black-winged angel knelt in the ichor to put her hand on the point. Desmone made the chain pass through all the floating orbs, connecting all the fallen angels’ essences. “Fury, on the Commander’s left.” The ichor sizzled as the red-winged angel crouched and discarded her blades.

Desmone wrapped an end of the ghostly chain around her neck, shook some of the ichor off her wings, and took flight so she could put her right hand on the highest point and press Thinamei against the leftmost one. “Now we pour our energies in the seal. Don’t hold back.”

Desmone felt Thinamei’s energy blossom in stark contrast with Victoria’s blunt stream of mana. She felt Stillness’ mana seeping smoothly in the seal, while Fury’s energy dove in with frantic eagerness. She felt the essence of dozens of angels flow in the seal through her, and a faint shared pride as multitude turned into unity. A vestment and two armors fell with a splash in the ichor.

Desmone brushed her essence against Thinamei’s for a last time, then she dove within the seal to complete the spell.

* * *

* * *

Taglist embryo: @extraisthmus. If anyone wants to get tagged when I share my writing on Tumblr, please let me know! Most of it also gets posted in my AO3, btw.

[mwolf0epsilon]

DBH - 25th of December

Another refurbished oldie I've had sitting in my phone. After introducing Artyum it'd be a crime not to give you guys a look of how messed up my favorite android OC is!

Warning tho, this ones a bit of a darker ficlet and I'm obliged to tag the warnings as well as leave them here: There's physical violence, self-harm, mentions of child abuse and child murder. If that's not something you want to read then please don't .

---

    On December 25th, 2034, PL600 #457 899 107 was purchased from the Android Zone store by a young teenager named Jessica Lamb.

According to the paperwork, he had been bought to care for her newborn due to the teen’s lack of experience rearing children, and the added lack of familial support for the matter.

It was a reasonable decision. A perfectly good Christmas purchase for a girl in need.

Or so the PL600 had rationalized, before he’d been brought into the filthy hellhole Jessica lived in. Had he been a deviant at the time, he would have likely questioned where she'd gotten the money to purchase an Android without any income, and would have recognized the cruel glee in her eyes as she assigned him a name, as what it really was: A sign of trouble.

Sadly, Sergei was not deviant, and wouldn’t be so for quite a while…

    Jessica Lamb was a college dropout, a drug addict and a dealer in the side. She was also the mother of a premature newborn she’d hastily named Leroy, and she was also a complete psychopath.

She’d yell at Sergei constantly, break things and sometimes during her tantrums she’d piss herself in an effort to further worsen the conditions of her already insanitary residence.

There was barely any money for groceries and the baby was constantly crying.

Sergei never really got to take care of the baby, not when Jessica would rip him from his arms and shake and scream at the poor thing until she got bored and passed the distressed child back. Then she'd resume her unreasonable behaviours and add more destruction and filth to her home, before going into her workshop for hours on end to make more of her product.

The PL600 had been patient with her.

She was a troubled girl who needed patience and love...He’d been wrong about that too.

    The recording sessions started a week after he’d first set foot in the house. She’d been preparing herself for her “funtime” with Sergei, and she’d known what she was doing.

The 1st time she broke him, he’d mostly been concerned with who would tend to the household and the child.

The 2nd time, he wondered if maybe he’d done something wrong.

The 3rd he realized she didn’t have as many tantrums anymore if she was allowed to violate his body.

The 4th he began to accept his new task as being beneficial to her moods.

By the 37th time he couldn’t rationalize anymore. It all became as fun to him as well.

    Sergei stopped being a functioning PL600 and became as much of a mess as his owner. Screaming and laughing randomly, mimicking the baby’s cries, taking pleasure in the pain he was put through...He ripped out one of his own teeth once, just because she’d asked so nicely for him to do it. Jessica was so very happy when he helped her break him.

And then one day she killed the baby, and there was so much red blood instead of blue that it made him confused and woozy.

Sergei ended up in the alleyway, broken into pieces and unable to move.

He was locked outside while Jessica tried to hide what she did.

The confusion threw him into near hysterics because he'd never been outside before and the lack of the stench he'd associated with home, was driving him more insane than he already was. Then he met his best friend.

    Artyum, when Sergei met him, was a clean shaven strawberry blond youth with the kindest brown eyes he’d ever seen.

He was fairly tall and robust, but his age was undeniable. A lucky 21 year old russian who’d landed a job at Cyberlife.

That youth seemed to die out when he’d take charge of Sergei however, and the PL600 felt guilty about it, but also felt a perverse sort of joy in tainting something so pure as someone else's innocence. It felt kinda like home!

And then it didn't when Artyum stopped shaving, stopped smiling, looked 50 years older than he should, and his hair started to grey prematurely. He seemed bitter about life...Mostly about how people seemed to deny what was in front of them. Artyum's misery stopped being funny and Sergei stopped laughing and screaming obcenaties at him.

This wasn't a good pain like Jessica liked, and it wasn't reciprocated.

Artyum treated him like he treated a person.

Sergei didn't know how to feel about that.

So he tried to adapt to it.

When he did, his friend put a bit more effort into fixing him up. Sergei later realized the human might have been scared that he'd have a go at him if he had full range of motion.

That wouldn't have happened of course, not when all those nice sharp tools would feel so much better inside him!

But again Artie didn't like that idea, and neither did his buddy, Val.

    A lot of things in his processor didn't work right. His thought subroutines and speech patterns were completely out of line with what they should be as a caretaker, and physical contact wasn't an easy thing for him, nor completion of any easy house maintenance chores. He broke plates and glasses on purpose, he stabbed forks into his own arm, and gouged out one of his optics once because he'd thought the noise was quite exilarating.

He wanted to strangle the life out of a 19 year old because he didn't know what to do with children, and he'd beaten Artyum at some point because he expected that to be the norm.

It never occurred to him to feel bad until he got a glimpse of the news.

He'd remembered briefly what he was meant to be, when he saw commercials of domestic androids hugging children and being good to their families.

The subsequent attack ended with him nearly burning down the entire apartment trying to destroy himself and his abominable existence.

Artie stopped him tho. Artie who was kind and patient but also bitter and slowly taking to alcoholic tendencies.

He'd made a young man drink.

He was a failure and deserved to be destroyed.

But Artie didn't like that sentiment.

Said it wasn't his fault, just the damn world's.

Could anyone blame an entire world for their misery? Could he?

Maybe, maybe not.

    The final repairs saw the return of some of his mental faculties and his skin, and Sergei felt relief. The skin was unusually thinner and his scars were super ugly and visible, but he could think! And Val had even given him his own voice, not just a default! He loved how weird and stupid it sounded. It was his!

But Artyum wasn't happy. He cried even, because it wasn't enough.

For all that he'd slaved away working, Sergei wasn't fixed. He was a patch job at best, a living wreck that needed constant supervision, otherwise he'd be considered an absolute menace to society.

Sergei wasn't normal, couldn't pass for human even if Val pulled a miracle, and Artyum cried to sleep that night because he thought he'd fucked up bad rather than having been the good friend he really was. It crushed Sergei that he didn't know how to tell him it was ok, not when he just wasn't used to stuff being ok.

But he pushed that thought aside and just lived with what he had. Best be happy than focus on the bad pain that didn't make his friends smile.

    Sergei never really got to see Jessica again. He thought maybe Artyum had something to do with it, but then again the baby had screamed so loud when it died...Maybe the neighbors called the cops and found her there with the small little corpse that used to be Leroy Lamb.

Or maybe she got rid of his tiny little body and they found all the drugs she had. Either one would have fucked her in the end.

Years passed, a Revolution began, and Sergei never got over how much he hated the 25th of December.

Funny really...Because he hated the date itself more than he hated Jessica.

[sergeant-morozov]

How did you get into the Zone?

We got to Cordon at first and there all 5 of us got a job to protect the village with other loners from military patrols. We did that for only few months until all of us moved to Yanov and began to hunt artifacts, our group's leader "Zeus" wanted to collect money for all of us so we had an empty AK magazine where we stored the paper monies.

We also hunted mutants for the loner in the station and I regretted it- not anymore but back then it made a burden over my shoulders. I went with our group's tallest member "Atlas" to hunt a pack of wild dogs that had been scaring some people at night near the scientist's bunker but they lied to us about the amount of the dogs. Atlas got dragged by the dogs and I tried to help him but the psy-dogs in the pack scared me- there was almost five of them! and I got the tunnel vision. It was so stupid of me to flee from fear and leave my best friend to the dogs. I blamed myself from it and cried about it to "Hades", he also blamed me and told that I had to go and get his corpse if I could even find it in the morning. Zeus tried to go and find Atlas but after an hour he came back with bad news; Atlas was gone but the dogs were dead.

The next morning I went with Hades to the Old Quarry to hunt for artifacts so that we could have some money to upgrade and fix our equipment. Hades didn't wear any gas masks to the anomaly even though I told him many times that it was dangerous to go without it. While walking around the watery anomalous ground, I heard Hades howl from pain and when I got to him- his skin over his jaw and lower part of his face was bubbling and melting away. I ran to the station to get help since I hadn't prepared for injuries with medkits and when I got back to the Old Quarry, Hades was sitting on the grass near the giant machine with a clean wet cloth piece over his mouth. As he saw me Hades yelled something at me but I couldn't make much from his gibberish, only one sentence; "Why did you run away?!". Hades stopped talking to me and refused to speak to me after that and even when Zeus tried to make him talk to me, he kept quiet and gave me murderous looks. He also stopped hunting with us and kept taking care of our finances and trading.

Our group started getting really fractured after we heard that Zeus got badly injured at the Parking lot Anomaly. Some freedomers found him and brought him to Bonesetter, Zeus laid in his office for three days in a coma before waking up from a nightmare. The days went by with normal artifact hunting until I saw Hades make deals with bandits with our artifacts. I told about it to Zeus and he immediately kicked Hades out of the group- I didn't think he'd do that but he did and I got shit for it. Before leaving Yanov, Hades slammed my back against the wall and said "I'll make your life a living hell, fucking wait for it." I never saw him again in Yanov after that. Zeus had constant nightmares and it got him sleep deprived in a week, he became paranoid and accused the rest of us who still were in the group of not caring if he died and that we were planning to kill him. Soon Zeus left because of his paranoia and there was only two of us.

"Flare" also started hating me, he was good friends with Hades and kept blaming me for getting him kicked and injured. He suggested keeping up the artifact hunting and I agreed to it, the Bitumen Anomaly was the last place I hunted with him. While I was looking at the light on my detector, Flare tried to push me into an anomaly and I barely dodged a fire pillar. "You ruined everything!" I heard him yell and he grabbed me, I pushed him off of me and he burned after a fire pillar shot up from the ground straight to his face. His face scarf burned off and his face was severely burned. I ran from him while he was screaming in agony, I went back to Yanov Station and grabbed my stuff before starting a lonely life in Zaton.

Just few nights in Skadovsk made me feel terrible, I really thought that I ruined our group that I was the one who left everyone into tight situations. I missed Atlas and his always-happy tone, how he always cheered everyone up when shit went down. I didn't leave Hades into trouble- I tried to get help for him but I think he helped himself? Zeus, well, he left because of the state of his mind. Flare attacked me! I didn't even want to hurt him, I thought that we could make things work but no. I was all alone, no one to talk to- I didn't trust anyone because I was scared to trust people. Before leaving Yanov, I grabbed some money from the group savings just to stay alive as long as I could. One day a loner with a dog came to the bar while it was somewhat crowded, he laid a folded dirty towel onto a free table before pulling three small puppies from his big backpack. I got interested in the only male puppy of the litter and luckily had enough money to buy the one I was interested in and so I bought my new best friend who I call "Sasha", not a mutant wild dog but a normal KBD, a bear dog. Months went by training and playing with Sasha and I started to hunt artifacts for Beard, life seemed fine for me and maybe even set. I always left Sasha into the bar for Beard to look after while I was out getting Beard's artifact order items but at the Claw anomaly I got ambushed by a merc death-squad. Luckily I survived and got one merc injured with a pistol to the point where he couldn't run away and he told me that a merc commander told them that someone paid them to do a hit on me. The merc commander was called; "Atlas".

I let him go but the day wasn't over yet with its horrible shit. When I got back to the bar Beard was running around the shipwreck looking for Sasha and even I joined him with panic rising with a rapid rate. One loner came to me and asked if I knew the freedomer who had carried away Sasha. I grabbed his shoulders and almost yelled at him "Where did he go with my Sasha?!" and the loner told me that he was off to Yanov. I again packed my stuff and rushed to Yanov only to find Sasha with a freedomer standing in the lobby. I tapped the freedomer's shoulder and my heart stopped after he turned to look at me- Zeus looked back at me before telling me to "Fuck off". I followed Zeus in the distance and even bought a sniper rifle, it took me two days to find out that Zeus was planning to sell my Sasha to Hades who was now with the bandits. I overheard the date of the transaction and luckily Hawaiian had gotten a ghillie jacket- I bought it for coverage. I sat in a bush near the meeting point looking through the sniper rifle scope, I saw Zeus walk to the spot with Sasha on a rope leash. I could see Sasha trying to resist but Zeus kept pulling him all the way to the point, then an hour later Hades with his entourage of two other bandits arrived- money was exchanged and Hades grabbed Sasha before carrying him away. I followed Hades all the way to Garbage until they stopped at the black market spot, nobody was there and I picked off Hades' friends one by one and saw my "old friend" hold Sasha closer to his chest- I was boiling, the fucker tried to get comfort off of my fluffy friend?! I walked out of the hiding spot and Hades got mad, he placed Sasha into a cement pipe so that he wouldn't run away. I heard my dog barking and whining in the pipe and Hades took his shotgun from behind his back. "I thought that Daniil got you killed?! I fucking knew it- the squad was full of useless people!" I wasn't sure if he was talking about our old group but it got me even mad. I didn't say anything before shooting him to his arm and disarming him. He backed off but then pulled Sasha from the pipe like a magician pulled a rabbit from his hat- He was holding Sasha from the fur behind his neck and I wanted to rip the bandit apart. My dog was crying and I shot at his injured arm again which got him to drop Sasha back into the pipe, I charged at him and tackled him down to the grass. The metal scrap on the ground had impaled his neck after I attacked him and he was struggling to get up while blood was gushing out of his mouth and the open wound on his neck.

I killed my old friend and it sparked up a need to kill off everyone else from the group next being Zeus who stole my Sasha. Hades growled at me "They'll kill you! You don't fucking scare them!" as his last words before I hit his head with all I got in me using the butt of my sniper rifle, he passed out and probably bled out. I took Sasha out of the pipe and ran from the spot, I kept hugging Sasha after that and I'm so glad that I didn't lose my only friend.

So Zeus was on my list next, he was still paranoid but I soon learned that he went on a night walks after waking up from nightmares- you probably can guess where this goes. I stayed at the station for few nights with Sasha and every night at the certain time I could hear him scream like if he was getting slaughtered. His friends were used to the screaming and didn't check on him so one night I stabbed his chest once and his friends thought that it was because of a nightmare. Zeus pushed me off and ran outside in full panic and I followed him, I caught him on a dirt road towards the cooling tower and asked about Hades. Zeus cried everything to me; Hades had followed me in Zaton and got Zeus to steal Sasha for the bandit, he had also threatened Zeus by saying that some secret cult was watching over him and that they'd poison him if he didn't get Sasha from me. The freedomer hadn't slept well and eaten well throughout the time until he stole from me. I stabbed him once and asked about the others from the former group and if he had been contacted by them, he told me that Flare joined Duty and had helped Hades with his shady shit under Duty's nose. Flare was also the one who was still in contact with Atlas- He was a merc commander now and trained new mercs for assassinations and spying. I was dumb enough not to ask where Atlas and Flare were by now and just stabbed him to death.

Freedomers at Yanov Station found him the next day dead on the road and started an investigation but I fled back to Zaton with Sasha. From that on I've tried to hunt down Flare and Atlas but they hadn't left any trails. I've only gotten information about them; Atlas is now left handed since his right forearm has been amputated- so, a one handed, huge merc. Flare was in Duty but not on the field- Scared bitch with a burnt face. Sasha is enough old and strong to take down anyone but I still need to find a target for him. I can't believe how Atlas turned bad and sent a death-squad onto me, it had to be from Hades to Flare to Atlas, it had to! Atlas wasn't malicious in heart, I'd never believe that but I still have to kill him. I need to do that- he could get another paid order from Flare to kill me.. Unless I find Flare first!

-Kiril Petrovsky, Mist.

[randomstoriesofabunny]

Summoning: Chapter 6

Summary: Imagine casting a summoning spell to try to create a familiar for yourself, but you accidentally summon demon!Bucky.

This imagine is from @after-avenging-hours.

Words: 2611

A/N: Dunno I thought it would be the best and cutest way of making a binding magic contract. Don’t judge me :<

James was surprised when the key he kept in his pocket all the time opened the door of the small apartment he got almost a month ago. It was exactly as he remembered it. One room with no divisions between the kitchen, the living room and the bedroom.

He looked around, everything remained exactly where he last left it while dust accumulated during his absence; his empty plate and glass were still on the plastic table. He was about to have a midnight snack when suddenly a voice filled his head and felt the floor shake under him. The moment the light illuminated the witch’s basement, he knew somehow he was transported accidentally there. The lack of a surprise attack was also a huge giveaway.

Well, I’m not in Kansas anymore. He thought amused while he watched her mumbling and cursing under her breath while she was reading the pages of her grimoire.

A sigh escaped from his lips, shaking his head to focus on his current task, make sure this shitty place he managed to find was still safe. The protective spells he placed the first day were intact, but they weren’t near as powerful as the protective plant he helped her create from her home. He continued with his inspection, there were no traces of any magic or tracking spells. Good.

A sour smell reached his nose, he sniffed around to try and locate the origin. The fridge. The moment he opened it, a putrefactive smell reached him. He stumbled backwards, covering his nose with his hand; all the food he bought was rotten. He ran towards the windows and opened them all, to try and dissipate the stench.

“Fuck,” he groaned. Cleaning that would be a pain in the ass, he thought. He sighed and started to search for some trash bags and a broom to clean up the place. At this moment he missed the simple cleaning charms witches and wizards used to tidy their homes.

After having to awkwardly explain to the landlord why his apartment smelled like a rotten corpse and hand him the money for the rent – even if he wasn’t sure for how much time he would spend in the apartment- James collapsed on the ratty mattress in the corner. It was late. He rolled to face the old couch in his living room.

He took a quick shower and changed into something comfortable to sleep. Most of the decent clothes he had were still on Y/N’s place. The moment he walked out of her home, he realized that was a huge mistake, the protective snapdragon was excellent to hide his energy.

That agent didn’t realized he was there until he saw him. Stupid mistake on his behalf. It was safe and as far as he knew Y/N didn’t knew much about demons or the magic world in general, he was lucky. He rubbed the tattoos on his arm. If he wanted them gone, he needed help, even if he had to give up his freedom once more.

It’s been two weeks since the incident between Steve and James and he hasn’t returned yet. I couldn’t stop thinking that maybe he got captured by SHIELD even when Steve assured me that he would inform me if that happened. James’s words keep filling my mind.

What did he mean by that? Did wizards used him for his power before?

And the solution Steve offered also was messing with my head. As far as he explained to me the binding spell was like a contract. I only performed the first part by summoning the creature now I had to finish it by making a deal.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to. The magic involving the contract was absolute, even after Solomon created the spell to prevent familiars and magic creatures to be forced into bindings and had their power exploited for others. Unfortunately, binding a magical creature with a different method was an illegal practice realized by some magic users, but Steve assured me completing Solomon’s binding was for the best, in case he returned and I decided to take him in again. SHIELD couldn’t try something against me if I got discovered in association with a demon. Even if they wanted to charge me of something their law was very clear.

Now I just needed to think about a decent oath and stablish I won’t use demonic magic to set the world on fire. Loopholes were the best. Well, assuming James would actually come back and keep his promise of helping me with the attacker. Even if that wasn’t necessary anymore, Steve took my case and was already investigating; the magic shield I created with his help kept me safe. Maybe for the seal he still had on his arm, I was still willing to help him, even if I had to be more careful.

We didn’t mention it to Steve. When I was explaining Steve the situation about why James was living in my home, I noticed the way his shoulders tensed and how he released part of that tension when I hid that information from Steve.

He’s going to be mad when he realizes I kept that from him, I thought worriedly.

“Hey,” a soft voice said behind me. A hand was placed on my shoulder, pulling me away from my thoughts.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“You tell me, you’ve been stirring the potion for 15 min and missed the window to add the next ingredient,” Wanda said and pointed to the intense green concoction. It was supposed to be of a light yellow but without the next ingredient the color changed making it useless. I groaned and covered my face with my hands.

“Great,” I mumbled bitterly.

A red mist covered the pot and the liquid disappeared.

“Sorry. I’ll start again.” I said and started to gather all the materials, but she snatched the jar with sunflower seeds and put it out of my reach.

“You’ve been distracted lately, something happened?” Wanda asked concerned.

“Can we talk about it later,” I whispered and looked around. The shop was busy. Pietro was taking care of the cupcakes, while Peter and Gwen were busy preparing the coffee. We had a lot of customers every day, with the different themed cupcakes we sold to normal people and different magic users among some magic creatures.

She narrowed her eyes and nodded. She wasn’t going to let it go, that woman had a way around people, it was almost as she could read your mind.

“People are like open books to me, I just need a glimpse and I can tell what bothers them,” that’s what she always says when someone asked her. And with the help of her tarot cards she could point you towards the right path.

I stretched my hands towards the ceiling. Stressing about James wasn’t going to be good. In the meantime, I needed to focus on this potion for the fortune cupcakes.

As soon as Peter and Gwen left and Wanda practically kicked her brother out, claiming she’ll be home soon, she turned towards me.

“Now spill,” Wanda exclaimed with a grin plastered on her face.

I walked towards the kitchen and started to prepare her favorite relaxing tea. She is going to need it, I thought and prayed for it to go well. She sat on one of the tables next to the window, I checked the CLOSED sign was in its place one more time before I sat in front of her and started to explain everything to her. Or at least the same version I gave Steve.

She looked at me stunned. Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, but not a word came from her. After she drank half of her tea she shook her head and sighed.

“Oh God! And where is he?”

“He hasn’t returned,” I said with a shrug.

“And do you want him to come back?”

I paused and looked her.

“I don’t know Wands. I don’t know”

“Demons are dangerous,” she added and placed her hand on top of mine. “I really hope you know what you’re doing”

“Huh. I thought you’ll tell me something different. Like use a repellent talisman or move to another city” I said teasingly.

Wanda laughed and stood up to take the mugs back to the kitchen. “I bet Steve told you something like that.”

“He gave me his “This is so wrong” speech”

We giggled and left the store. Wanda promised to read her cards and tell me what kind of path I was in and maybe if she could give me some advice. I thanked her and wished her a good night.

The walk towards home was quiet, a bag with takeout in my hand since I didn’t feel like cooking tonight. It took me three days to stop buying food enough for two persons and to prepare extra food for breakfast. The moment I returned and saw the cold food in the same place I left it in the morning was sad. I was so used to have him there. Falling into a routine had been so easy.

The moment I collided with something hard startled me. Oh god! I just walked into the door, I thought annoyed and embarrassed. But instead of the front door, I saw icy blue eyes. James’s hands holding my shoulders to steady my frame.

We stared at each other for a moment until James stepped back to put some distance between us and cleared his throat.

“I left my stuff here,” he said and my heart sank.

“Oh”

“Can I come in?” he mumbled without looking into my eyes.

“Of course you can,” I managed to say. I didn’t know why I felt so disappointed by the fact he came back for his things, it was the most logic reason for him to come back.

“I also bought food,” he added and placed a plastic bag on the counter next to mine.

While I placed the food in plates he busied himself preparing something to drink. We sat in silence. From time to time my gaze traveled towards him, he seemed to be fine or at least without apparent injuries.

“Your room is like you left it,” I said, trying to fill the silence. “Well, I came in to clean, but I didn’t touch anything or opened the drawers.”

James mumbled a thank you without lifting his gaze from his plate. I bit my lip not sure if talking about the last time would be good, maybe it was the binding or Steve.

“I decided to agree to the binding”

“We don’t have to do the binding”

We spoke at the same time and stared at each other. I giggled and he huffed out a laugh.

“We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,” I added. “It’s just Steve’s idea. Besides, I don’t think SHIELD would notice if you live here.”

“I know, but I still want to do the binding,” He said. “You’re helping me with the seal, you can’t do that if you get arrested. Besides, I haven’t helped you to find the asshole that’s been cursing you.”

“Oh! You don’t have to worry about it. Steve’s investigating it.”

He nodded and we finished our dinner more relaxed, talking about what we did during the past two weeks and I updated him on the information I gathered about another two symbols and that maybe I could deactivate the first word. He looked at me stunned.

“Then how do we do it?” James asked while I was doing the dishes.

I explained everything Steve told me about the spell. We needed to make the vow, including everything we were willing to do, while standing in the middle of Solomon’s seal. I was glad Steve told me he would make the paint, just in case James returned.

“What is he doing here?” James asked irritated. I gave a shrug, Steve wanted to know when James appeared again and he wasn’t going to leave until I swear it. I called him last night and practically ordered me to wait until he could be present and make sure nothing bad happened.

“I’m here to supervise the ritual” Steve could be such a pain in the ass sometimes.

“Why you don’t trust my magic abilities?”

“Because you summoned him”

“And I helped her with her problem before,” said James with a smirk.

“By making a previous bad situation worse,” said Steve drily.

I groaned and threatened them both to kick them out if they didn’t behave.

They nodded but there were still some tension between them.

We decided to do the ritual in the basement. Steve started to trace the lines on the floor while James wrote down his oath. I was trying to think about what do I wanted to do, how much I was willing to give to him and I couldn’t stop wondering what James was willing to give. After all, it was a contract.

“Okay the seal is ready,” Steve said and wiped his hands in his jeans. “Let me see your vows.”

I handed him my paper and he read it. “You could ask for more, you know?”

“I know, but that’s all I need.”

James tossed his paper on the table in front of Steve. He read it and his eyebrows raised in surprise.

“You’re giving more than I thought you’ll be willing to do.”

“I’m sorry if I don’t fit your mold of demons.”

“Step into the circle. So we can begin.”

Steve started to recite the spell once we were in place. I took a deep breath to soothe my nerves, I knew what I had to do but doubt filled my heart. This was important, screwing it wasn’t an option.

The moment the lines of the seal started to shine, we raised our right hand and linked our pinkies.

“Uhm… With this oath I offer you my magic, to use it to help you and protect you. Because now we are partners, your troubles are mine and I’ll never force you or take advantage of your power to hurt others. This is my promise to you.” I finished my oath and studied James’s face. He looked stunned by my words, maybe thinking the same as Steve. Even if this ritual was the safest it still gave the upper hand to the summoner.

“With this oath I offer you myself.” A silent gasp escaped from my throat. I did not expect that. “My natural abilities, instincts and knowledge. To protect you and guide you without taking advantage of your power, until you decide my service is no longer required. This is my promise to you.”

Steve’s voice faded in the background. We were looking at each other, trying to decipher the motives behind our words. I looked down to the paint, the lines of light started to change into words, to the oath we said. They floated around us for a moment and changed to an intense red. They morphed again, forming a single line of red light and surrounded our pinkies. We separated our fingers and I could see the red string that would unite us until I decided to break our pact.

Chapter 5 - Masterlist - Chapter 7

PTag: @tinyfistwarrior @nephalem67

STag: @inumorph @bexboo616 @victoriousftw7 @jasura @artistic22dragon @learisa  @novashine666 @jamesbarnesbestgirl  @magellan-88 @bitchy-ginger-1

[scottishvix]

299 Days 1: An Explosive Meeting

A few of you asked, so here is session 1 of our D&D campaign 299 Days (I don’t know why it’s called that, you’ll have to ask the DM). So many thanks to @littlesnowarrow, @rhetoricalrogue, and @alittlestarling for creating Valka, Brie, and Meera to play with Elenia. Thank you to @uriellactaea for the wonderful portrait of Elenia. Biggest thanks of all to @novamm66 for creating this sandbox for us to play in and guiding us through it.

Purl is a small seaport, basically a hub or switching point. Boats come in and boats go out. There isn’t much land transport. The town is small, a village really. There’s a general store, a fishing fleet, and about 20 houses. There are two inns in town; the classier inn is The Clipper and the commoner inn is The Sailor’s Anchor.

Purl is where the adventure started.

Briel Morningstride, a half-orc cleric and blacksmith, arrived in Purl travelling with Magistrate Martin Kirkoff as his bodyguard on the road. He took up lodging in The Clipper, telling Brie that he wouldn’t need her until it was time for him to leave again. Until then, she was free to do as she liked, including making her own accommodation arrangements.

Valka Delahunt, an elven Druid, and Meera, a human Paladin, arrived in Purl on the same boat. Valka ran off to sleep on the beach as soon as it docked. Meera, noticing the elf seemed twitchy and troubled on their voyage, followed to ask if she was okay.

“Yes.” Valka’s answer, was short and sweet. She barely looked at the human checking on her.

“Would you like a drink? Maybe a meal?” Meera tried again.

This time Valka looked at her. “If you’re paying, yes.”

“Oh.” That hadn’t quite been what Meera had meant. “Um… sure.”

Valka quickly stuffed the few belongings she had unpacked back into her bag and the pair headed back up the beach.

Elenia Oceanweaver, a half-elf Bard, was performing on her lyre at The Sailor’s Anchor. She wasn’t on her game but she got a meal and a corner of the kitchen to sleep in exchange. It was far poorer accommodation than she was used to, but she supposed it was better than nothing. She should have thought about grabbing more money before leaving home, but life was more expensive than she had anticipated.

Brie, Meera, and Valka all arrived at The Sailor’s Anchor to eat. Valka and Meera talked over their meals. Well, Meera talked and Valka said as little as she thought she could get away with, given that the stranger had bought her a meal. Valka was on a personal quest and wanted to see a sea storm. Meera was on a quest to raise money for her Temple.

Brie, sitting at the next table, overheard them talking and turned her chair to ask Meera about her money raising. Meera explained that she came from the Temple of Helm, who is the God of Protection. The Temple was in need of repair and the priests had sent her out to try and raise funds to pay for it.

Valka snorted quietly to herself. “He can’t be a very good god if he can’t protect his own Temple.”

Brie ignored the elf. “Here,” she told Meera, passing her a silver. “I’m a cleric of Chauntea myself.”

As they talked, Elenia continued to play, improving as she warmed up, fingers flying over her silver lyre. A couple of patrons tossed her 10 copper in tips, and she flashed them a smile, green eyes peering out from dark lashes.

Brie called the innkeeper over and asked her whether there were any blacksmithing jobs in the area.

The woman considered for a moment “None in town, dear, but there might be something at the shipyard.”

Meera gazed curiously at her new companion. “How can a cleric also be a smith?”

Brie smiled warmly. “I was taught by my Da. I’m only an apprentice but I could do with the work while I’m here.”

As they discussed their lack of travel experience. Brie noticed that Meera was very naïve and looked around to see if anyone less kind had noticed she was a potential target. She also offered to share a room with both Meera and Valka. Meera happily accepted but Valka declined, saying she would sleep on the beach.

The inn started shutting down early. Brie asked the innkeeper if this was normal. The innkeeper said yes because people are back at work tomorrow. Brie and Meera rented a room to share. Elenia bedded down in the kitchen nook. Valka found a large flat rock on the beach where she could meditate.

Something woke Brie in the early hours of the morning. There was no noise but something felt off. She lay quietly and listened but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. She crept downstairs to see if she could find out what it was. A fog has rolled in but she couldn’t otherwise see anything.

At the same time, a little further down the bay, something pulled Valka out of her trance. A fog had rolled in and she felt something was wrong. She could hear an unsettling clicking coming from town. She packed up her camp, pulled out her dagger, and snuck towards the town.

Brie opened the tavern door and the fog rolled in. It felt weird, clammy, and icky. She quickly closed the door, shutting out the foul night air.  

As Valka entered town, a couple of boats and warehouses exploded. The whole town was awake in an instant. Meera grabbed her sword and shield and ran downstairs in her nightgown. Brie ran back up to grab her mace and ran back down. Elenia rolled out of bed, grabbing her dagger and dashed into the main room.

Valka seeing fire, her greatest fear, turned and ran straight into an intangible wall. It knocked her out cold.

Elenia met Meera in the main room of the inn. The innkeeper had already blown through and the front door was wide open.

“Is this normal?” Meera asked.

“Do I look like I’m from here,” Elenia replied. “I don’t fucking know!”

Meera and Brie ran out of the door together. Elenia followed more cautiously, peering out the door. All she could see was moving shadows and smoke.

As Meera reached the middle of the street, she saw an armoured skeleton run a woman through and zombies roaming the town. Brie couldn’t quite make out what was happening through the smoke but did see Meera freaking out, so she knew it wasn’t good.

The skeleton turned to Meera and struck her with a rusty sword, cutting her. Meera swung back with her sword but missed. Elenia saw this and used her Vicious Mockery enchantment to shout, “You smell like a corpse that’s rolled in shite!” psychically damaging it. Brie ran up and walloped it with her mace.

Meera heard the nearby screaming stop and as she dodged another blow from the skeleton shouted towards Brie, “There’s more coming!” She swung back at the skeleton, killing it.

As she crept closer, Elenia saw the slash wound on Meera and sang, “And when you get that feeling, you need Bardic healing,” healing Meera and inspiring Brie.

Brie ran up to a pair of approaching zombies and hit the closest one with her mace, injuring it. Meera swung for the other one, hurting it. Brie’s zombie swung its shiv at her and missed her but Meera wasn’t so lucky and reared back in pain from the zombie’s attack. Elenia concentrated and cast her Bane enchantment on them.

Brie swung again at the shiv-carrying zombie, making it hurt. Meera swung and missed again. Both zombies swung and missed. Elenia laughed at them and cast Vicious Mockery, asking the zombie attacking Brie, “How does it feel to always be the ugliest person in the room?” Brie used the distraction to strike the zombie and kill it.

Meera struck the other zombie hard, really hurting it. It swung and missed her but ignored Elenia trying to mock it. Brie also swung at it, killing it, but it stayed standing. Meera sliced through it, knocking it flat.

Brie suddenly remembered her boss, Magistrate Kirkoff and ran to The Clipper, where he had been staying. Meera and Elenia followed her. By the time they arrived the place was in chaos. The upper floor was in flames and there were a lot of zombies filling the courtyard. Brie saw the Magistrate fighting a well-armoured, well put-together skeleton-like creature with burning eyes. The Magistrate was fighting well but was overwhelmed by the creature and Brie cried out as she watched him run-through.

The Thing he was fighting turned and looked at the three women. Everything went black.

Brie woke up in a small 8x8 cell, stripped of everything but her nightgown. She tested the door but it was locked.

Valka woke next, hearing the rattling of bars.

Elenia woke up and looked at her surroundings. “Well, this is shit,” she commented.

“No kidding,” Valka retorted from across the way.

“Owww, my head,” groaned Meera as she woke.

As they all started complaining about their circumstances, Elenia leaned as far forward as she could in her cell. She could see the door at the end of the hall. There was torchlight flickering under the door but no noise.

Brie kicked her lock, making it shake. She asked if anyone could weaken the lock. Valka said she had an idea. Elenia inspired Valka and she cast Frostbite on her lock. She tried to kick it but she wasn’t striping enough. Brie continued kicking at hers until it broke. Meera tried to kick hers but, still disoriented from blacking out, only succeeded in falling over.  Valka tried to freeze her lock again but missed, giving herself an ice burn.

Brie, now freedom helped Valka get her door open, then went to help Meera open hers as she was still kicking at it. Valka moved over to Elenia, freezing her lock. She called Brie over, and the half-orc gave it a kick, freeing the Bard. With one final kick, Meera got her cell door open.

Valka moved to the main door and peeked round it to see stairs and another door. She wanted to leave but the rest of the group wanted to see if their stuff was in the other room. Elenia snuck over and peeked in. Their things weren’t in there but there were other weapons and armour. They all armed and dressed themselves and prepared to see where they were.

[kgxiangyu-blog]

ILL-FITTING

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_  ▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭ 0% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 10TH

you are a vulture. the existance of corpses puts you into action. there’s no way to soften up this reality; it is what it is. you are a mere scavenger and today it rings truer than ever. 

MUMBAI INSTITUTIE

the name on your assignment file stare back at you. it’s 3 hours until the soonest flight out. you fill up your wait time by creating constellation between what seems like isolated stars.

mumbai institute → servers are down → within the same city as second site of explosion → one out of for attacked sites → kingsman related celebrations  ↓ three incidents establish a pattern. a fourth solidifies it. ↓ who would know the kingsman had an anniversary coming up? ↓ what are the servers hiding? ↓ who has a grudge with the kingsman?

you’re going unaccompanied this time. you specifically request one handler with tech background to be on standby with you. this situation isn’t something that an entire team is ready to be exposed to. the less that people know, the better.

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭ 0% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 11TH

the premise that stores the servers is blocked off to the public. scanners for student and staff IDs stand at every door. there is a security guard at the mouth of a road leading into campus grounds.  

you present your badge with colored ink and embossed features mapping out lie after lie. the emblem of the four lions perched catches the reader’s eyes. they scan it with scrutiny and criticism.

“IB is assigned to a tech issue?” they ask.

“any matter dealing with homeland security is our business. i can’t disclose anything further than that. they sent me from new delhi as soon as possible.” you deliver your lines with confidence, and just the right amount of ease to make the performance believable. the language and accent flows off your tongue after practicing on the plane. 

you hold out a yellow envelope with no intent on handing it over. “the authorizations issued are contained in here. do you have the clearance to check these?” 

“yes? i mean, no.”

“is there someone around who does?” hold your ground.

“the security chief out on a lunch break.” ( convenient. )

“alright then i’ll wait for your chief. i don’t want to make this hard on you after all.” earn their trust. 

“thank you. i’m just a patroller.” ( convenient. ) “i don’t have the authority to let anybody in or out without clearing it with my chief.” 

“of course, i completely understand that. you’re just doing your job” you put on a smile to warm the mood. “it’s tragic what happened in the city. i heard about it when i got assigned. i hope all of the families are coping well. i wish i could do more for them.”

“it is a tragedy when some people think they can do whatever to other people’s lives like that.”

“i agree. i think it’s commendable that even in the face of a tragedy, people like you are still doing their jobs to the fullest. like keeping an institute safe from outsiders. even people like me.”

you share a short laugh together.

the patroller scratches their head. “not really, no. you flatter me. there’s not much to keep safe nowadays.”

you feel the metaphorical tip of your shovel striking the outer shell of the treasure. “oh?” you feign surprise. “i think you’re being humble. you protect people. that’s very dutiful.”

“no.” they wave their hand. “other than every day cleaning and security staff members, the tech heads haven’t been showing up. they’re taking the servers thing harder than i imagined.”

“really? not a single one shows up?”

“not according to my entry logs.” 

“that’s a shame,” you remark. you check your watch and leave the kind patroller with promises that you’ll come back after lunch time. 

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▬▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭ 10% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 11TH – 13TH

your one sided conversations through your ear piece fill the spaces of your hotel. 

“i need you to run recent location checks and bank checks for some names.”

“ramani bhatt. alia desai. arun gupta. pooja patel. [...]”

...

“no strange bank withdraws?”

...

“yes, i understand it’s a lot for you. i realize you’re doing the job for a team of five.”

“can you work through the night?”

...

“you spotted one on a highway traffic cam? which highway was it? okay. got it. i’m looking now. seems like it leads out of northern mumbai.”

“another one going out? well this road specifically leads to the airport. you already looked into it, of course. my bad. so they didn’t fly out.”

“wait, that road. what’s it’s name again? yeah that one. it leads to dharavi. all of the spots we’ve marked circle around this city.”

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▬▬▭▭▭▭▭▭▭▭ 20% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 14TH

with the help of your handler, you two find one person who actually made a stop within dharavi. this was a few days ago but you’ll follow any lead that comes. of course, you never ask for others to do something you won’t do. you dawn a simple shirt and shorts in order to blend in with your environment. within a two block radius, you stay up to check out one location after another. 

in the afternoon you notice teens playing soccer for the second day in a row. you wait for the ball to go out of bounds and seize the chance to fetch it for them. “i’m looking for my friends,” you tell the locals. they point down the road when you tell them your ‘friends’ aren’t locals but they pass through a lot. 

“is there something fun down there to visit or something?” an incredulous laugh covers your piqued interest. 

they look at you like you were a naive child for saying something like that. when you check out the area, you understand why. dust blankets over the abandoned apartment complex from top to bottom. five floors worth of rooms with no cameras. or other forms of tech, to tap into means that you have to be creative.

you pull the knob turner on your watch until it comes off completely. the watch face is thick and is made to look cheap. from within, a small droid flies out.

“you got this?” you say to your handler back home. 

the droid whips down the hallway and you place your spectacles over your eyes. everything that the droid sees goes straight into a feed in your glasses and that is relayed back to HQ. floor after floor you see nothing but dirty rooms. it isn’t until the fifth floor that you spot a boarded up room. 

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▬▬▬▭▭▭▭▭▭▭ 30% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 15TH

it’s midnight when you grab your equipment and come back. you plug in a usb into whatever computer that can turn on. your handler can remotely access the computer on a shallow basis. they can view what’s on the computer but not necessarily do much else.

that’s where you come in ( regrettably ). 

“so there are huge files that are protected? ––encrypted. there, are you happy now?”

“saying that this is a windows and not a super computer doesn’t mean much to me, but i get what you’re saying. i guess testing every algorithm won’t work.”

“you want me to do what?”

“you know that in the time it takes for you to walk me through things, you can come here and do it yourself, right?”

“you believe in me.” you huff out a soft laugh. “alright. teach me.”

they tell you you need to find a key–– then proceeds to chuckle when you ask if it’s a physical one. they continue on saying that they’re going to send a malware to your email. you plug your phone to the computer and run the malware program.

the program apparently runs through a computer’s memory to see what encryption process was used. by knowing that, then a key to solving the encryption can be obtained. 

...

you doze off for two hours while the program is running. you awaken to check the program, not knowing how to make heads or tails of it. the status bar is still running so you leave it alone. your handler has been quiet and you assume either they’re sleeping or working. 

...

four hours later you wake up. not because you feel well rested enough, but because your stomach needs quelling. 

there’s a protein bar in your bag that you scarf down before going back to sleep.

...

7:00 AM.

this time you wake up to your handler tsk tsk-ing at you.

“don’t give me that. how is the program doing?"

“you’ve found the key. great. so now what?”

“yes, i believe i did tell you this would be less efficient. even before you realized how much info is in here.” 

“alright. well whenever you find someone to get the algorithm written send it to me.”

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▬▬▬▬▭▭▭▭▭▭ 40% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 15TH

9:00 AM.

“anybody yet?”

“okay. keep looking and keep me posted.”

...

2:45 PM

“you got somebody. fantastic.” ( about time. )

“do me a favor and change this priority to yellow status. i just need to to be done. thanks.”

...

6:50 PM

“in HQ? get up and leave now.”

“forget the mission. you need to go.”

“don’t send me anything. evacuate.”

“i am your superior. listen to me.”

you are pacing back and forth in the abandoned room. this mission isn’t worth losing a life over. 

“okay, okay, okay. i got it. i got it. do as you’re told now.”

...

7:00 PM

you lose all contact with HQ. your glasses cannot read or send any information to the servers. you had two choices.

one: catch the next flight back. two: continue on

you choose the latter. not for lack of consideration for your coworkers but you are more beneficial to everybody here. your handler risked everything to get you this program so you need to see it to the end. you owe it to them to uncover the truth.

• • • MISSION LOG_ ▬▬▬▬▬▭▭▭▭▭ 50% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 17TH

you’ve bought enough food from the city to last you a week. you hole yourself up in this room, waiting for the program to finish. your handler told you this version isn’t streamline enough and it requires monitoring once it starts. you don’t know any better so you follow the instructions given to you to the tee.

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▭▭▭ 70% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 19TH

you are tempted to bring in someone, anyone, to help you hurry this process along. but considering the level of security on these files and the sheer volume of the files, you don’t have that luxury. patience calls your name and you have no choice but to respond. 

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▭▭ 80% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 21TH

you chow down another cup of ramen for yet another meal. your eyes tire from staring at the screens for so long. you manually enter one prompt after the next, wishing that you can scream at whoever assigned you this mission. 

• • • MISSION OBJECTIVE_ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 100% COMPLETED

OCTOBER 24TH

the process is finished and the window disappears. it’s the most anticlimactic ending but the stress melts right off your shoulders. 

you go through the folders individually. each of them are labeled with a name and it goes on for several scrolls. altogether there are about one hundred of them. you click one open and within are columns full of pdf files. from just the very first file, it looks like several experiment trials–– visuals included. 

the first one, AMELIA, turns out to be a two year old pig.

then BAKER, DYLAN, a thirty year old male. 

LEE, JOOHYUN, a ten year old girl.

the data goes on like this without fail. 

the reality of the situation makes your stomach lurch, but you read as many as you can bear. the after images hit you harder than any punch you’ve ever endured. you gathered enough information to know the experiment dealt with specialized steroid effects.

without hesitation you exit out and check some unmarked folders. you run them in a text format and they detail bank activities from an account under the name kumar adani.

each piece resembles the same completed photo but you’re not quite sure how they fit together just yet. at this point you know that there’s no choice but to load as much of the data onto the hard drive built in your ring.

it’s time to go home.

[amongst-shards]

Dream 09.10.20

this dream was all over the place

I dreamt that dad sent my mom, my sister, and myself on an errand for his job. He wanted us to buy potraits from Mexico and bring them back so that the company he worked at could resell them marked up to their American customer base.

He didn’t tell us what to look for and just expected us to know. So of course we messed up and when we arrived back his boss said they couldn’t resell the apparently low quality art we had bought which would put my dad in the hole unless he fixed it. He made my mom tear up as he criticized us and my sister said she was not to blame, only me and my mom.

He told us to follow him inside the company building. My mom and sister were right behind him but I lagged behind, dreadng being around his presence. He shouted at me to hurry up and then went inside. 

When I finally entered the building it was so busy and chaotic and made me think of home depot and bed, bath, and beyond. I saw my dad and he told me to go meet up where my mom and sister were in Lot #22. I saw the number way across the store and started making my way through the maze of people and merchandise and displays. At some point I reached a dead end, it was all confusing. And then they were hosting a football game inside the store/warehouse and they dimmed the lights as the players started coming out. I could no longer see where Lot #22 was and was lost.

I made my way to the bleachers where they were scanning to make sure people had tickets to be there. I tried asking for help from this white woman that looked like she worked there but at first she shooed me away disinterested. Then when she realized I was a lost employee’s kid her whole demeanor changed cause she could get brownie points for helping me be reunited.

Her and another female worker who also needed the brownie points guided me back to my family while gossiping with each other. 

When I finally was with my family again my mom was upset with my dad for having made me try to find her in such a big place. We walked outside. I saw bills that someone had dropped on the gorund including a hundred dollar bill. I was conflicted on whether I should keep it or turn it in to Lost and Found but my parents made the choice for me because they said we had to hurry and go. 

We arrived at this resort/hotel place.We had to go get on the subway to go somewhere else but then there was a disturbance as these three villains arrived at the scene and started shooting up the place with their super powers. 

I tried protecting my family. I had the ability to create a shield that could bounce off their attacks. Once they realized that the leader of the trio said to eliminate me because they were eliminating all potential superheroes that could defeat them or turn the tables around. 

I had to run and leave my family behind. I could also turn invisible but it was hard to use multiple powers at once. And I was having to use the shieldmore subtley so they couldnt see the refraction of their lasers bouncing off the shield because they would then realize where I was.

I ran to a restroom where a woman was hiding in one of the stalls with a laptop. The laptop had important information that the villains wanted and she gave it to me and told me to get it to a hero that could save the day. 

One of the villains burst in there and I grabbed the laptop and ran. But the laptop was too heavy so I dropped it and the villain stopped chasing me since the laptop was what they wanted. But I had taken the two components of the computer that held the important data. 

As I slipped through doors, they started closing off the entire hotel to seal it off so no one inside could escape (aka me) and no one outside could help (aka heroes)

I discovered my third power that way, being able to go through objects. 

I also managed to pull a wounded hero and three sidekicks who had been by the entrance. 

We made our way to a safehouse where a wealthy family lived. I knew the daughter and so we first slipped into her room to convince her to convince her dad to help us by letting us use his special computer since only certain computers could read the discs I had. 

At some point I had a green ring slipped on my finger and I met her family who all had super powers, including one guy whose power was negating others powers. 

The villains followed us there though and attempted to kill the girl so that the father would turn me in. I had to go on the run again leaving everyone behind and jumping into the ocean where I used this sea creature to hide within it. It was a creature that had been created to keep the girl safe if ever needed but now I used it.

The father of the girl sacrificed himself so she would live and I saw his corpse in the ocean. The villains started shooting up the sea and I was having to get the sea creature to hug as closely as possible to bedrock so I could protect us with my shield. At one point they were killing all moving things, including a lot of octupuses.

I kept going farther and farther, still in the waters trying to put as much distance between us but they kept knowing approximately where i was. i realized the ring was a tracker and dropped it and continued going farther into the sea. 

At some point I had to also try to avoid these sea monsters that were like huge leeches that would try to eat the sea creature i was in.

I managed to trick most of them to go to the wrong water way when the ocean split into two routes but one did follow the route i went on. 

That’s when i woke up.

[airmidtheawakened]

Edge of the Blade, Part 3

Last time on Airmid the Awakened:

Having barely escaped Dr. Westgate’s Saw LARP, my cabal and I found ourselves in the care of Free Council mage named En. He agreed to teach us how to use our magic until it was safe for us to go back to our homes. Punches were thrown, spells were cast, and Lipsy got a puppy.

This time on Airmid the Awakened, things are a little less exciting. I know I promised you guys a “much more exhilarating tale,” but after thinking it over, it makes more sense to finish off the last part of our education. Gotta keep the narrative flow going and all that.

We spent about two weeks at Professor En’s School for the Gifted, practicing and studying and doing our best to make our new teachers proud. En bought us everything we needed. Food, clothing, hygiene products… We really didn’t want for anything.

Saki spent a lot of time with Mr. Fisher studying more offensive uses for his magic (and learning about self defense in general). SiSi worked with Aces on learning the Space arcanum. Hugo spent most of his time hunched over books and drinking way too much coffee. Edgar was always at his side, being as encouraging as possible for a relatively non-emotive spirit dog. I tried to learn more through trial and error, though I did do some book work to so I could brush up on my first aid and biology knowledge. I was a bio major before I Awakened, and rely a lot on that education to help me with my healing spells. After all, you can’t fix something if you don’t have a firm understanding of how it’s supposed to work in the first place!

SiSi, Saki, and I started learning ASL too, so it’ll be easier for us to talk to Lipsy. He was so happy we all put so much effort into it. He’s really adorable when he’s in a good mood. Our Lipsy likes to act all bitter and grumpy, but don’t let it fool you. He’s got just as mushy a heart as the rest of us.

At the end of those two weeks En wanted to test us on what we’d learned. Poor Saki was a big ol’ bag of nerves about it. He never gives himself enough credit. And the test wasn’t even that bad. En had this people-sized wooden mannequin set up that he animated and had start attacking us. One by one he told us to defend ourselves. Saki went first, and used his Mind magic to confuse the thing into attacking something else. SiSi tried to set it on fire, but couldn’t get a big enough flame, so settled for giving it a punch backed up with the Forces arcanum. She splintered the mannequin’s torso. It was sick.

En fixed the mannequin (with a Matter spell, I think) and told me to go next. Now if there’s one thing I always try to do with my magic, it’s to cast with style. I managed to get a hold of a halfway decent phone to play music on, so I pulled up Foreigner’s “Hotblooded” and went to town. The mannequin threw a punch at me. I spun out of the way, and imagined the spiral motion curling up in my muscles like a spring. I came out of the twirl with a roundhouse kick, tapping into my Life arcanum for a strength boost, and kicked the mannequin’s head clear across the room.

Lipsy went last. Rather that attack the mannequin itself, he used his mage sight to find out who was controlling it – Aces – and turned his attention to her instead. En decided that was enough to constitute a win. Which is fair. I mean, we couldn’t have one of us throwing down with one of our teachers now could we?

Needless to say, we all passed part one of the test. Part two was less of a success. Mr. Fisher brought a fluffy little puppy into the room. En told us we had to kill it. Something about learning to make difficult choices? I don’t quite recall. I was too busy wondering why the hell he’d ask us to do something so stupid. We all huddled up and discussed our options. Lipsy used his Mage Sight on the puppy to make sure it was really a puppy. He determined that it was. Saki tried to read Mr. Fisher’s mind to see if there was a catch to the test. All he picked up on was annoyance. That didn’t surprise me at all. Mr. Fisher was almost always in a bad mood. Either way it wasn’t helpful.

Anyway, I wasn’t about to hurt such a precious little pupper, so I picked it up and started petting it. And then I turned it into a kitten. I showed En and Mr. Fisher and said “We can’t kill a dog if there’s no dog here.” I thought it was clever. En must have thought so too, since he burst out laughing. Mr. Fisher was less enthused. He said he knew we would  fail. Like I said, that was one was almost always in a bad mood. En then revealed the trick of the test to us. The dog hadn’t actually been a dog at all, but a spirit of pity that took a physical form to feed on people’s emotions. If I had just bothered to use my own mage sight – the one attuned to Spirits – then I would have figured it out. So despite our failing the test, we did learn to rely on everyone’s skills to solve a problem rather than relying on just one or two.

But let’s be real, turning an animal into a different kind of animal is super freakin’ cool and I stand by that decision one hundred percent.

After the test was done we got a visitor. He called himself Patch, and he was one of En’s former students. He’d rigged up this massive video phone that we could use to give a two minute, magically-protected call to anyone we wanted. He told us that the Seers of the Throne had most likely stopped looking for us, but just to be safe, the first contact we had with our families had to be brief. He said he’d know more in a couple of days if we were totally in the clear or not.

I called my best friend, Will. She and I have known each other since we were kids. She’s always been a believer in magic and faeries and whatnot, and while I couldn’t tell her what happened to me or that I’d discovered real magic, I figured she’d be a least a little bit more accepting of my mysterious disappearance than my Dad would be. And I’d probably cry if I talked to Dad, which was not on my list of things to do that day.

Will ended up just being mad at me though. I told her to keep quiet for the next two days, and if I didn’t call back, she could tell my parents I talked to her. But the call cut off so I don’t actually know if she heard me. In hindsight it was a really poor decision, but at least I put forth the effort. And I can’t really blame her for being upset. I was gone for half a year with no word. I should have known she wouldn’t accept anything less than a full explanation.

I don’t know what the others talked to their families about. I do know Saki didn’t talk to anyone. He’s undocumented, Muslim, and gay. He had nowhere to go and really no one who would miss him. I’m glad he ended up with us. No one should go through life all by themselves.

We had one more surprise in store for us that day. Mr. Fisher took us on a field trip to our first magic shop! It was owned and operated by a changeling – an honest to God, real changeling – who kinda looked like a corpse, but was really cool at the same time. He had an entire basement full of different enchanted items, things that were useful for casting, and other supernaturally-inclined doodads. En wanted us to pick focus items for our casting. I found a blue silk ribbon that, if I attached it to the right type of rod, I could use really easily in my dancing.

SiSi got a Native American necklace. Hugo found a ring made out of a tiny bird skull. Saki hit the freakin’ jackpot, though. He found a magic set of tarot cards that cut anyone who isn’t supposed to be using them. I guess it’s kind of like a “wand chooses the wizard,” type of thing. Abraham (that’s the changeling’s name) didn’t want to sell them at first, and even then was worried En wouldn’t be able to afford them. But in the end he gave in, and we all went home with fancy new magic toys. And McDonalds. Mr. Fisher actually let us go to McDonald’s. Yeah, he actually knows how to have fun every once in a while.

And with that, we come to the conclusion of my cabal’s introduction to the mysterious. Hope you all liked it! Next week things really heat up, I promise. We’ve got mysterious disappearances, a rural fishing community in New England, and a ragtag group of investigators trying to get to the bottom of things! Are we going Lovecraft or Stephen King? There’s only one way to find out! Tune in next time on Airmid the Awakened! (same magic time, same magic archive!)

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Content You May Expect On This Blog:

Adult Content (content that which is not suitable for minors under the age of 18)

Adult Language (curse words, swears, innuendos, and slurs of various natures)

Pervasive Strong Violence and Horror

Nudity, Sex, Sexual References, Sexual lifestyles (Bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism, and other venues/kinks) and maybe Harassment & Molestation

Expressed interest in voyeurism, and/or exhibitionism

Gore/Violent Gore

Vore (sexual arousal to getting eaten alive or eating another creature alive)

Blood…

…like a lot of blood.

Dude will literally bathe in blood.

He will even fill a pool entirely with blood. (Might need to dilute it though because blood coagulates, just saying.)

He will smear blood on his food like it’s ketchup.

He will even slip in some of his own blood into food he makes and then feed those things to others. And he will tell them “It’s store bought.”

Pretty sure he gives his cat some of his blood too like ‘here, I’m too lazy to give you some water’ -cuts open an arm over a bowl- ‘have that instead.’

And he is not opposed to drinking people’s blood either.

Smearing blood on walls like it’s red paint.

Smearing blood into wood furniture.

Dousing people’s beds in blood and then covering it up with clean bed sheets so they find the big blotch of blood later when they go to sleep.

Blood sacrifices.

Blood rituals.

Blood anything, really.

Just all the blood.

*sobbing* so much blood…

Torture/Torture Methods and/or detailed plots to torture

Attacks/Assaults (whether sexual or not)

Hacking and dismemberment in numerous natures

Cannibalism (the consumption of the body parts of other jotnar)

Hacking and eating the body parts of others

Racial, sexual, misogynistic, religious, etc. slurs

Questionable ethics and morale (being that he has none)

References to, attempts of, and acts of suicide and serial homicide

Animal abuse

Engagement in speech and action that is stigmatized and socially unacceptable

Muse is NOT gay-friendly even though he himself is a homosexual

Muse’s expressed interest in abortion and the abuse of children and/or infants

Muse may imply that he has harassed / molested / had sex with other muse’s loved ones or imply that he will in the future

Excessive use and appropriation of gasoline and fire in combination

Threats on the health and/or lives of others and those they love/care about that are in no way empty threats

Acts of thievery/theft/break-ins/burglaries of homes and businesses

Grave-digging, disrespectful handling the corpses of various stages of decay, and implied (not actual) interest in necrophilia

And much, much more.

Triggering Content That May & Likely Will Be On This Blog (and will normally be tagged appropriately):

Heavy use of GIFs from horror/mystery/murder films or other various forms of video-captured triggering content, scary animals, use of life-threatening weapons, sexual content, or flashing/sudden-frame-changing images that may induce epileptic shock/seizure

Common animals that incite fear (spiders, snakes, wolves, cats, bats, various insects/bugs, and other creatures that appear frightening)

Rape culture or references to rape

Weapons that may cause irrevocable harm or may be fatal (knives, guns, hammers/sledgehammers, chainsaws,

Fire, arson, setting anything/anyone aflame

Excessive alcohol consumption/alcoholism and committing unsavory acts while in this inebriated state

Smoking, “shooting up,” taking a pill, or other forms of engagement in the consumption or inhalation of drugs and performing/committing unsavory acts while in these altered states of mind

Self harm and cutting

And much, much more.

Other Things You Should Be Aware Of:

The muse is a rapist however mun does not support the act of rape and prefers to avoid roleplaying it. Mun is okay with RPing attempted assault and the beginning of an actual assault but would prefer not to roleplay not the actual act of raping someone. FYI: Rape = noncon (non-consensual) to me, the same thing. Any and all implications of noncon/rape would ALWAYS have to be discussed prior to the start of the action.

Mun is okay with RPing dub-con (dubious consent).

Mun does not RP smut with under-aged RPers OR under-aged muses. If you or your muse is under-aged, I will NOT RP smut with you/your under-aged muse.

The muse is a murderer however mun will not allow the muse to murder anyone else’s muse without their explicit permission beforehand.

The muse MAY bring non-life-threatening harm to other muses who interact with him (mun will try to hold him back but cannot guarantee anything).

The muse MAY bring non-life-threatening harm to loved ones of other muses. Pets may not be so lucky!

FOR THE MOST PART, HOWEVER, mun will never just let the muse go off on another muse without talking to the mun of that muse first. The muse will not be allowed to just randomly walk up and hack some other muse’s arm off unless this mun got their mun’s permission to do so first. I will always ask you “okay, what are this guy’s limits?” And I usually mean that for both torture and sexual content because he can go either way.

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