#oh and your favorite dude has a severe knee injury and every time you think about him u wanna cry

[applejongho]

me planning on giffing jongho and then things take a turn

[holographic-chogi]

Protector pt.19/?

Author: holographic-chogi

Pairing: fem!reader x skz

Warnings: mentions of guns, injuries, the cold.

A/N: Rising action my dudes, hope you guys are ready for the chapters I have planned!! Out of curiosity, any favorite characters so far? I have a lot of arcs planned for a sequel, but I’m trying to decide based on the character each arc is associated with. If you guys really want to see more of a certain character (assuming they survive this first installment muahaha) it might help me decide on what storylines I should include in the future!

Summary: a virus has wiped out most of humanity, and society has collapsed. People survive in groups where they live in constant fear and a struggle to survive. Women were the primary victim of the virus, leaving few behind. You are one of the few, kept in secret since the beginning. However, you’ve just been caught.

Masterlist

Numbness began to creep up your toes and through your feet as you trudged along.

You had tried your best to stay forward, but you began to realize that you had no idea where forward was.

At the sound of another gunshot, though farther away, you quickened your pace; your lungs stinging for more air as you practically dragged your legs behind you. The various points of pain throughout your body were either less noticeable from the numbness of the cold, or they were made worse by the lack of air.

But you were determined.

Eventually, through your blurry vision, you could see a tint of red surrounding you. Rosehips?

You fall to your knees, letting the snow soak up higher on your pants. As you land, you realize pretty quickly that it’ll be a lot of work to get back up.

You squint harshly against the sun as you attempt to focus your vision, the red slightly becoming more and more clear.

You felt a thrill of joy once you were able to recognize the several bushes of rosehips, blooming bright and proud, in the middle of winter.

Now the path. You look up and around where you are kneeled, and successfully spot a path that’s much less packed with snow.

This was it, this would take you to the farmhouse. To freedom.

You lurch forward in that direction, but your legs don’t follow suit, causing you to immediately crash into the snow in front of you. You recoil as all the impact lands on your bad shoulder, radiating pain through your entire body.

You can’t help but let out a small whimper as you lay crumpled in the snow, and tears stung your cheeks as they pooled beneath you.

“H-hello? Is somebody there?”

You freeze completely at the sound of Hyunjin’s voice. He was close. With all of your strength, you let out a strangled plea.

“Help…me…”

Your vision was blurred once more from the tears, but you could feel arms wrap around your body and hoist you up. “I’ve got you, it’s okay.” His voice was serene, calming, like it usually was.

“Let’s go home, Y/N”

—

You didn’t pass out this time; the pain pulsing from your shoulder as you were carried. You felt like you were standing on the edge of a cliff, inches between you and a cold, dark death.

But you missed the way Hyunjin smelled.

You let your head fall into his chest as you clung tighter to him, ignoring how your bad arm reacted. Your voice was still as strained as before, coming out as a murmur,

“I…missed…”

He gently shushed you, pulling some of the hair out of your eyes as you walked, “don’t talk yet, save your energy.”

You could see the conflict in his eyes as he stared down at you, “But I missed you too. A lot.”

And then, he leaned down and pressed a kiss on your forehead, causing an eruption of butterflies to erupt in your stomach.

But you were too tired to really process it.

In the moment you felt safe, wincing as you reached to cup his face, “I didn’t know if–” you take a deep breath, still struggling to hold air, “If I’d ever see you again.”

A gentle smile formed on his face as he looked ahead, still trekking forward, “I was always going to see you again, Y/N.”

How was he always so sure? How could he say something like that and actually make you believe him?

“How do you know that?”

His smile curled into a smirk, “Because, I was meant to hunt with you,”

He hoisted you up a bit, his pace slowing slightly as you noticed more brightness, “And you deserve a family like us.”

He leaned once more into your ear, “You deserve a family like me.”

You barely had a second to process his words, as a hand smaller than his gently held your chin and pulled your head away from Hyunjin’s chest, revealing your face.

You blinked a couple times against the brightness, but you couldn’t stop the grin spreading across your face as you were met with the freckled cheeks of Felix.

You smiled, but Felix stared back at you deep in concern. Despite what you knew were heavy circumstances, you still let out a raspy greeting, “Hey Lix.”

He finally stopped scanning your face, and smiled sadly as he met your gaze.

“Hi, Y/N. You don’t look like you’re doing so well…”

You simply shake your head, choosing not to exercise your throat again.

Hyunjin spoke from above you, “I found her collapsed in the snow, she must’ve made it most of the way on foot.” He paused, looking down at you with more emotion than you were used to, “She’s been beaten pretty badly. Her voice sounds like she’s been suffocated.”

As the men spoke, you let your eyes drift around your surroundings, recognizing the farmhouse as soon as you heard the old, rickety generator that whirs outside the kitchen window. In the corner of your eye, you notice a small chicken tagging along behind Felix’s feet, seemingly not to his knowledge.

You unravel your arm from Hyunjin’s waist and reach for it, causing you to almost fall out of hyunjin’s grasp. You can barely make out their words as you hear them murmur in concern around you.

You giggle at the circumstances, only stopping once you see how quiet the two boys are.

“I think we should get her upstairs, Felix. She needs to lay down so Minho can make sure she’s okay.”

—

You were so used to the post-injury chaos at this point, that you almost let sleep take you as soon as you laid in your own bed. You relished in the familiarity of the blankets as Felix tucked you in.

Then you felt a boot come off your foot, and out of instinct you shot up, ignoring the pain from your sudden motion.

Images of Hyuk kneeled in front of you when you only wore a tank top and shorts, eyeing you like a piece of meat as he told you to strip; was practically playing in your head on repeat.

He was here. He found you.

Then, through the panic and darkness, a calm, serene voice cut through everything.

“You’re okay. It’s just us.”

Hyunjin was staring up at you from the end of the bed, one boot in hand. “These are soaked from the snow. I’m just gonna get these off your feet.”

You gulp and nod, noticing Felix with his back against the wall. You must’ve startled him.

You reach out again instinctively, “Everything’s okay, Lixie.”

He nods, rushing back to your side. “I know, I’m sorry.”

But as the last shoe is pulled off, Felix is pulled away from you.

“Come on, let her sleep. She needs it.”

You watch sadly as the two boys leave the room, but you can barely keep your eyes open as you watch the door close.

And then you just give in, sleep fully embracing you.

—

You’re in the office at Jiho’s again, waking up tied to the bed frame.

What?

It was disorienting, the world swirled around you as you hung from the ropes.

Then it’s all happening again in a flash.

Taeil’s face burns into your eyes as he stares you down.

Your strangled again. Dragged. Bruised.

And when he raises the lit cigarette to your arm, you feel the ropes dissolve.

You won’t let him burn you again.

You lurch forward, clasping his throat in your hands as you catch him by surprise, the two of you rolling off the bed.

Wait…the bed?

You look behind you, and see your farmhouse bed.

A dream?

But his throat feels so real in your hands.

However, the hands that go to grasp yours, ever so gently, are not Taeil’s.

You whip your gaze back to the man underneath you, to be met with a mess of curly black hair, and two wide eyes staring up at you.

Your hands fly off of his throat like you had just touched a stove.

Him. Oh god, anyone but him.

Tears fill your eyes again, and sobs wrack your body.

“I-I’m so sorry Changbin, I-I”

Then you feel lips begin to gently press at the corners of your eyes, kissing the tears away.

“It’s okay, Y/N. I have you.”

You’re still sat on top of him, trembling as you stared down. You were terrified of what you had just done. You were terrified of how little he resisted, just looking up at you when you clutched his throat.

He trusted you completely, and you almost hurt him.

You begin to move away, beginning to mumble more apologies, when he sits up to your eye level and pulls you into him, pressing another kiss onto the top of your head. “I’m okay Y/N, I promise.”

You nod slowly, looking up to meet his eyes, seeing that they were full of tears as well. His voice came out small and pained. “What happened, Y/N? What did they do to you?”

You tried to hold back another sob at the mention of what had happened, and he simply pulled you back into an embrace, pressing more kisses into your cheek. “It’s okay. You don’t need to tell me yet.”

You felt him pull you in tighter. “But I’m telling you now. Every last person at that camp is going to suffer for what they’ve done.”

Taglist: @leetaemintrashnumber1 @peachescherryheart @lico-rice526 @claire4799 @lanie-is-a-unicorn @tottalbabe

[frommountainstolonestars]

An Open Letter to A7X

To Avenged Sevenfold:

Before I start this letter, let me just preface it with the fact that I have been having some hand/nerve issues and my writing may become disjointed because of that.

I first found out about y’all four—almost five—years ago. The reason I got into y’all is probably a little different than other fans. I’m an avid reader and one of the books I read said to understand the book better, the reader needed to look up the lyrics to “Dear God” by Avenged Sevenfold and then to listen to it. So, like a good reader, I did. I fell in love with that song and had to hear more from this band. (I thought y’all were country). The second song I heard was “Hail to the King” and the change in pace and tempo made me love the band even more. I bought that album (it had just come out) and started listening to all of your other songs. It took about six months for me to get through all the albums, but when I had, you had all awakened a part of me I didn’t know existed.

From my appreciation of your music, I started looking into other hard rock and heavy metal bands. Obviously, I knew who Metallica was, but I started digging into more of their stuff and even got into Judas Priest and Pantera, bands my parents hated and bands I thought I would never like.

When I got my resident assistant job, I was listening to “MIA” and that song became my lucky one. Unfortunately, some things in my life happened that might have torn down another person. It was y’all and other metal bands that helped me through.

You see, I’m a soon-to-be college graduate who has had a difficult six years, but the last two years of my life have been rougher than I ever expected them to be.

It all started in November 2015 when I got this terrible lower abdominal pain. I thought it was cramps or ovulation pain; the emergency room in Texas couldn’t find anything wrong with me. Flash forward to winter break, and I’ve had this pain for four weeks now. My wonderful mom got me into a surgeon, and I’d never been more nervous. I’d only had my wisdom teeth removed, so an actual surgery terrified me. They took me in and let me listen to a couple of songs (“Gunslinger” and “Strength of the World”) before I went under. It turned out I had two ruptured cysts and appendicitis. I easily could have gotten a terrible infection from either.

Time wears on, and I head back to my university (University of North Texas, go Mean Green!). I’m an athlete, have been for most of my life. I run/ran three times a week. My knee started to dislocate when I ran, but I could just pop it back in place. Eventually, it got to the point where running and even walking hurt too much. I waited until summer and returned home to see what the hell was wrong.

From all my years of soccer and running, and continuing to play soccer after a knee injury five years ago, I had torn the ligament that attaches my femur to my patella—the most rare knee surgery. A week before my knee surgery, my incredibly wonderful mother found out that my alcoholic father had stolen and gambled away $3,000 from their joint account. That same say, my father found out that his mother was dying. He flew out to San Antonio to deal with that situation. Mom started the process for divorce. Literally an hour before my knee surgery, I found out my grandmother had died.

When I woke up, I was in the worst pain of my life. My knee had to be immobile for four weeks before I could start physical therapy. I was up every four hours to take Percocet, which we later found out I’m allergic to. Having my leg (my dominate leg) taken away from me and not being able to do things for myself filled me with anger. A lot of what helped me through was y’all and bands similar to you. Post-knee surgery me was the worst, but your music helped me through.

Fast forward again, and I’m now back at school in my final year (Fall 2016) and my life was looking up. I found a publisher for my books, I would be turning 21 in November, and I’d get to see my favorite band with my best friend at Texas Mutiny.

Texas Mutiny was the most incredible concert of my life. I smuggled my DSLR camera in (don’t tell anyone) and captured some of the best photos of my life. That concert helped me figure out what I wanted to do with my photojournalism degree. And for my 21st birthday, my friends surprised me with a signed vinyl of The Stage and several of your CDs. It cheered me up because my birthday was on Election Day and very few people remembered it… which was understandable.

However, my life can’t always be sunshine and rainbows. Nine days before my birthday, I was rushed to the ER after puking up my guts. The ultrasound technician found five ovarian cysts. Three of them were the size of my uterus, and I needed immediate surgery. Because I’m a college student “immediate” meant my next time off. My Thanksgiving break was recovery and more of your music. My wonderful mom came down to Denton to help me through that surgery.

My 2016 winter break was spent writing and getting my older sister to listen to your songs. She really enjoys the white album and even some songs on The Stage. I also examined that album and just fell in love with basically every song. My cover for my book came in, and I got inspired to write a collection of short stories based on songs. My favorite bands are featured quite a bit… I hope that’s okay.

Now, I’m back at school again and my stomach pain comes back. Two months after surgery and the ovarian cysts were back. But something even worse happened at the end of January 2017. I’m a writer and a photographer who depends on her hands for work and stress relief.

At the end of January, my hands started to malfunction. They can’t fully flex of fist, they’re always cold, they get numb and tingling, my wrists and elbows hurt, and my joints are very stiff. My spring break was spent back in Reno getting tests done. They ruled out anything wrong with my central nervous system—thank god—but the pain still remains. And I was scared. I’m still scared actually. I have psoriatic arthritis and it’s incurable. Really the only things helping me are music, the Deathbat nation, my friends, and my mom. To make matters worse, my father had two heart attacks and two surgeries right before I came home. He only has maybe 2-5 years left. He’s an asshole, but I love him.

I know that was the longest intro ever, and y’all are probably wondering why I’m writing this at all at this point. My name is Carmen, and I’m a photojournalist (almost) and recently published author who just wants to thank you guys for everything you’ve done for me and the other fans. So here’s my long list of thank yous.

To all the guys: thank you for forming Avenged Sevenfold. Without you coming together, I wouldn’t have found a lot of my friends. Your music has gotten me through some of the most difficult situations in my life and your music has inspired my writing and made me a better person (the writing portion). There’s something about your music that just speaks to people and has made my life so much brighter. I can’t wait to see you and Metallica in June!

To Brooks: I know you haven’t been with the band long, but I’m glad you’re with them! I loved your drumming when you were with Tenacious D and Bad Religion. You definitely remind me of the dad friend out of all the guys, and I think it’s awesome to see what you add to the band. Your drumming on The Stage is also INSANE. I love what you did on “Angels.”

To Johnny Christ: I don’t think you’re a gnome for starters. You’re much taller than my short ass. All jokes aside, I love how you are on stage. You exude so much passion and energy; I wish I had gotten more photos at Texas Mutiny. You sing/shouting on “Nightmare” also adds a little depth to the song and never fails to put a smile on my face. Oh! Congrats on your son.

To Zacky V: I’m ambidextrous because I have to be from the hand issues, and I so rarely see left-handed musicians that every time I watch you play, it gives me hope. I’m not musically inclined at all, but knowing a lefty is out there brightens my day. You have such an awesome style and your skill with the guitar is out of this world. I hope we can get more solos from you.

To Synyster: dude, you are one of the best guitarists I’ve heard, excluding Santana. I could pick your style out so easily. The work you’ve done with A7X and Pinkly Smooth just blow me away. I can’t believe someone can have talent and skill like that. You are a guitar god, Mr. Haner.

To Shadows: as a writer, I most easily connect with words. Your lyrics speak to me on a spiritual level (which is probably why I have so many tatted on me). You have a way with words. And your voice is so unique and every time I hear “Dear God,” I remember why this band became my favorite. Just, thank you for doing what you do.

To the women of A7X (Val, Michelle, Lacey, Megan, etc.): thank you guys for being you. I hope you know how much love the Deathbat nation has for you. Without your support, the band probably wouldn’t be where they are (no offense guys).

To the fans: thank you guys! I have met so many amazing people through this band. Y’all have helped me through a lot, and I’ve met some good friends through it. Sevenfold has cultivated a fan base unlike any other, and I’d like to thank every Deathbat for who they are and for being so caring and for taking care of me.

So, I just want to say thank you from a fan who’s been through a lot and has made it through thanks, in part, to your music and the most supportive mother ever. The only thing I have to add is that my dream is to one day meet y’all and thank y’all in person. And this final part is going to sound so fucking cheesy, but I hope y’all sign my Deathbat and that the writer side of me gets to write your extended (not brief) biography.

Thanks again for all you have done.

 Sincerely,

Carmen