#so maybe he isnt such precious character anymore

[tariah23]

Noooo…… first it’s Yuuta and Shoko, now they’re yo-yoing back around to Megumi.

[bassguitarinablackt-shirt]

THOUGHTS ON THE PJO TV SHOW??

OKAY OKAY OKAY!!!! overall my thoughts are. pretty mixed. so lets go over the things i think they did well and the things i think they did bad

did well:

the casting. i cant emphasize enough how fucking perfect the casting is holy shit

sallys character. i feel like they did a good job at portraying the struggles that might come with being a young mom raising a neurodivergent child who happens to be the son of a god

percys character. walker scobell does the role of percy amazingly and overall i think the writers did him justice

annabeths character. see what i said above and apply it to annabeth

grovers character. show!grover is alot different than book!grover but i like them both and overall think they did a good job writing show!grover (it helps that aryan portrays him like perfectly)

early luke. i do have a few problems with how they did lukes character in the later episodes of season one which we'll get to later but i think they did him pretty well in the first few episodes. charlie portrays him amazingly and i like how much emphasis they put on him thalia and annabeth having been a family and how much we got to see of him being an older brother figure to percy.

the "not everyone who looks like a monster is a monster, not everyone who looks like a hero is a hero" theme

the "to the gods power and glory and nothing else matters but percy isnt like that and annabeth doesnt want to be like that anymore" theme (this also ties into my percys character point and annabeths character point)

percy and poseidons relationship

sally and poseidons relationship

athena and annabeths relationship

medusas character and how they changed her from the books

did bad:

humor. the main draw of the pjo books was how funny they were. the show has its funny moments but its nowhere near as funny as the books and thats a problem when adopting something that so many people love for its humor.

show dont tell. the show often tells us things when it should be showing us and alot of scenes end up feeling expositiony.

LUKES CHARACTER AS A WHOLE. like i said i do like how they portrayed him in the first few episodes but holy shit they really fucked up with him later on. not to be a book purist but in the books the betrayal scene was so different. he went on a whole speech about how the gods precious western civilization was a disease and he was right and that was the whole point of the books. in the show he just says "they're bad parents, percy" and his hatred towards the gods is portrayed as a mix of a misunderstanding of their well meaning intentions, him being manipulated by kronos, and him just being a kid sad that he didnt have good parents. the betrayal scene completely misses the whole point of lukes character and by extension the whole point of percy jackson and the olympians as a whole. if im being honest im rather scared for how they're gonna end up doing with the other titan army kids.

may castellan. this ties into my luke point a little but i dont like how early and casually we learn about her in the show. percy and nico meeting may was such a good scene in the books because it gave us more insight into the main antagonists childhood, and thus why he ended up the way he did. annabeth just casually telling percy about her in the lotus casino doesn't have the same effect. prometheus showing percy luke and hermes's fight, percy seeing a fourteen year old luke yell at his dad "if you loved me youd tell me!" is such a huge scene in the books because it makes percy go maybe luke was right about the gods. and annabeth saying to hermes "i saw you and luke arguing, i saw him say what happened to his mom was your fault, that it was all your fault" just doesnt have the same effect

gabe being turned to stone. i dont like how it was his own stupidity that was his downfall and not sally making a concious decision to turn her and her sons abuser to stone.

overall there are some things i really like about the show and some things i hate with a burning passion, and im. hesitantly excited for season 2. i do genuinely want to see where the show goes and if it improves, if its previous mistakes become worse, if it finds new ways to fuck up, etc. (honestly there are alot of pjo characters i dont really trust disney with that im just kinda expecting them to fuck up on. mainly thalia tyson and nico but also like all the titan army kids)

i also do find something deeply fascinating about the way season 1 talks about thalia in comparison to book 1 but thats a discussion for another time 😭

[icharchivist]

was having banri thoughts lately just bc like. why not right. and then i suddenly remember u mentioning that some ppl... did not like banri at the start? which is wild to me bc in my mind ive always been ride or die for him. like i love juza so much but i feel like. that doesnt rly oppose liking banris character as well? banri is such fun character drama at the beginning of autumn and then his and itarus dynamic is fun from the start... gosh and the acting in the final bits of the autumn troupe between him and juza! suchhh fun tension. like. idk. it just started making me think like wow. digging thru a3 on my own with mostly the influence of like, just you has probably skewed my opinion of what the common perception of a3 is like. for example in my head winter is the most popular troupe which... it maybe isnt? i feel like recently i saw u mention summer might be the most popular(? this couldve been a dream) and i didnt realize itaru was super popular until like. last month. i mean if i had to pick a character i thought was the most popular i'd pick. misumi.

LKFJDLKFJD god what an ask

yeah i doubt i'm exactly the "common a3 experience" but to be perfectly honest i haven’t really kept tabs on the fandom per se since hh mid-2020 when i started to dig into some tags and saw so much negativity i was just :/ and stopped doing so (the curse to liking rascals </3).

Nowadays my knowledge of the a3 fandom is mostly the people interreacting with me, which already generally means that they vibe with what i post, so it gives me a skewed vision of the fandom like, are we all like that? or are the loud voices that made me go avoid the tag still here yaknow?

More stuff under cut

For Banri, i'll admit i wasn't too hot about him when i started the game, which now i regret so bad because he's my precious little meow meow hands down. He has such a good arc!!!! I know in my case i just had a hard time because i cared for Juza right away and i was still so high on Summer's development i kept comparing Banri to Tenma and going "here's why Tenma is amazing and Banri is cringefail". But it lasted me until a bit before Banri sees the portraits, when he starts to be conflicted, after that i was all, oh wait i like that guy. And then the more content i saw of him the more i loved him and he became my fav Autumn Chara. (so if you want to ramble about him more you’re free to do so because i’m team i adore this guy. please do. you’re so right in what you say of him.)

But so i did expect people to have my experience - hard time in the beginning, then mellowing on him before the end of the Autumn Chapter. And it wasn't the case 😭😭😭😭 At least at the time, the Banri's takes were rancid. Like it was genuinely annoying at a point, you couldn't go anywhere without some Banri bashing fuckery, even after his initial arc, people just. really hated him. My most hated takes were that i saw so many people say Banri would bully Yuki or stuff implying they would have an antagonistic relationship and it's probably why i cling to Into the Night so much, like HELL you're going to twist one of my fav crosstroupe dynamic!!! I legit saw so many things reducing Banri to a menace and a bully, and if not that, talking about how much everyone in the dorm hated him, and it was really driving me insane then.

I remember once making a post about how i was so close to blacklist "Banri" because people didn't filter this bashing with tags so i was just ready to just, not see Banri anymore, but it was breaking my heart. But somehow after this post i got a few people coming back at me about how it annoyed them too and i saw some of those people make their own posts in a more. direct way. and after that i never saw Banri bashing again. My power (< absolutely not, coincidence at best i'm sure).

A lot of Banri bashing i saw back then were from "newcomers" in the sense that it was after the anime aired, and a lot of people were just coming in without knowing about the events. imo i think the events do help giving a better feel to Banri in general so the fact people were fresh from the anime might have skewed things. I remember a friend who was in that case, newcomer and all, only read the main story, didn't like Banri after reading the main story. Then, Main story act 2 came out and while they didn't read the events, they read the main story and they started liking Banri there (because he did develop so much since then)

And as a whole i'd say, by act 2 it must have died out a bit.

There's another chara who gets bashed a lot but. Act 2 stuff 😔. Unfortunately a chara i like a lot so this was my breaking point of "i'm not checking the tags anymore none of you know how to behave". I think it mellowed since then? and i know the chara is popular in the JPN fandom meanwhile.

else i've seen like, Tasuku having very little content from fans and a few people being mean to him when they talked about him, but it was a long time ago and i sure hope it died out. I don't think i'd say he's bashed, more that most folks don't have strong feelings about him and stopped just with a bitter taste over his anger toward Tsumugi in the first winter chap.

Now. About popularity, Winter is DEF NOT the most popular troupe. Pretty sure it plays between Autumn and Summer in term of popularity. That said it's not like any of the troupes are unpopular so any ramblings about each Troupe would be meet with pleased reactions from the fandom, so it is harder to gauge that but yeah.

Troupewise something i noticed is that i think Summer is the most popular in term of GROUP, while Autumn is the most popular in term of Individuals. So a lot of people liked Summer specifically for their dynamic and how each of those charas played out each other more than individually liking each of them, while for Autumn it was, they liked all of them strongly! not specifically for their dynamic, though of course it plays a part, but as individuals. I mention it because i think it was the key difference in rank up in why i think Summer plays were okay to rank up to while Autumn were a nightmare. (that said that can also be "blamed" on "fans gravitate around characters that have elements they have as well" or something which means Autumn fans were more likely to be competitive and stubborn in a way Summer were more mellow.)

Itaru is definitely the most popular character of the whole game, period. It's not even a competition at this point it's so funny. when the EN server was live, anytime Itaru had a rank up card was a bloodbath (< survivor of Kniroun ranking up at 0.2%. Didn't sleep normally for the whole duration of the event it was so much.).

By the end of the server things were dying out a bit but still in general you could get a vague idea of popularity by how wild the rankings could be. For instance the fact Tasuku's ranking was a breeze without even trying was indicative of how he's not that popular.

In general i've noticed, at the time at least, that Winter ranks up were rather easy. I've ranked up for a few of Summer and i didn't see much of a problem otherwise*. Spring was really chill unless Itaru was in rank up. Autumn was THE Bloodbath. There were Autumn Stans organziation all over, the appp SYSTEMATICALLY broke EVERYTIME Autumn was around, it was always much more challenging, so yeah man.

Misumi* is probably the one i'd consider the second most popular character of the game, pretty much.

(*The funny thing is that Misumi got his lead play very early in the server's history, and i know i ranked up for him then and i didn't think it was too hard. In retrospect i'm sure it has more to do with the fact the game didn't have as many people playing it, than it had to do with popularity, so my word on Summer not being a problem is based on weird stats)

A while ago, for the Taiwanese server, there was a special set of cards in term of popularity on this server. Itaru got a SSR, Masumi got a SR, and Misumi got a R.

Masumi is in a weird position because i'd say he's fairly unpopular in the EN server, while he's popular in the JPN and Taiwanese server. Honestly i'm assuming he's especially popular with the teen audience.

AND THE MOST TELLING PART:

The first Cross-troupe's play was involving the most popular character of each troupe, by a poll being made by the JPN server. The leads were Itaru and Banri, then Misumi as a secondary character and Tsumugi as a more support character.

Meaning at the time, this was the order of the 4 most popular characters of the game.

When the mixed troupe event came to the English server, i remember a poll circulating on tumblr and likely twitter as well, trying to see if the EN Server had different favorites. Itaru still came on top, Misumi followed closely afterward. For Autumn, it was Juza and Taichi that were on the top of the Autumn poll, not Banri, and for Winter, i think it was still Tsumugi but Homare was very close behind.

So that was the popularity at least back then, god knows opinions now.

I've seen Homare be extremely popular on tumblr for sure. I have no doubt in Juza's popularity as well.

I saw a lot of Taichi fan going "Taichi is underappreciated" but i saw so many of them i was kinda just thinking "bro i'm pretty sure Taichi is in the popular character squad by now" But i'm also on the other hand as i've once seen a post saying Hisoka was popular and it stunned me a moment going ????? because as a huge Hisoka stan i don't see it???? There's a few devoted fans, and he has a better fanbase in JPN server, but in EN server??? (I'm comparing the last rank up for Hisoka VS the last rank up for Taichi in my mind and i genuinely don't see it for instance) so i also think it's likely i have a "fav blindspot" where i just don't think people are vibing with the charas the way i'm vibing, just. exactly like what i'm talking about with the Taichi stans so.... (that said i also once was tagged in a post that was going "i don't think i've ever seen a Hisoka or Tasuku stan" and a friend just went @ icha come here. Schrodinger Hisoka who's both popular and unpopular depending on who you're asking. And Tasuku IS MY UNDERRATED MEOW MEOW)

I think i recall Tenma being popular for a time, and Yuki is well appreciated by everyone around here. Kazunari has a loud fanbase but i'm pretty sure the seiyuu thing was a huge blow to them and a lot of them got more quiet at the time.

And for what it's worth i do think there's a sizeable portion of the fandom that really like Tsuzuru, but i think it's just, something you get to see a lot when a huge part of the fandom is creatives. And to be completely fair, Clockwork Heart is the one event i had a massive burn out at and didn't pay attention to the rankings at all, so i can't tell if people went really wild about it. And the next Tsuzuru rank up event was literally the last event of the EN server and i'm sure it's not indicative of anything since a lot of folks just didn't want to bother. So unlike the others were i'm using rank up as a gauge of popularity i can't tell how Tsuzuru's might influence his.

SO YEAH that's for what i could pick up BACK THEN, as i remind, i didn't really look deeply into the fandom itself. I'm really good in my corner so it might not actually be indicative of the fandom trends and i'm maybe completely off base.

Then about how, i, personally, don't represent the fandom, unless the fandom changed since then: When i first liveblogged a3, it was when the server was new and no one was on tumblr about it, so i was a little unfiltered from people's opinions. when i came back about a year later to comment on act 2, getting all worked up, and running then into the growing fanbase on this website, is when i started to run into fan takes and everything.

And, let's be clear, i came back because i was crying very hard over Hisoka and Azuma and the full Winter Troupe, and Chikage, so i really came here with my Big Winter Boots only talking about Winter and then Spring.

I ended up getting a feel of what people were talking about a lot at that time, and kinda ended up talking more about what i considered my Underrated Gems.

For instance, i absolutely adore Itaru. I ranked up for him, i've bleed for him, i love the dude. But he's so popular i figured i legit had nothing to say about him that a hundred people wouldn't have been able to say before. So i've mostly didn't really talk about him much despite loving him a LOT because i just didn't think i had anything to say. (now in my current reread i'm doing it so disconnected from what i know of the fandom that i indulged in talking more about how much i like him LMAO)

Meanwhile, there's characters i love that i know the fandom don't talk about much so i end up talking about them more, and it's the case of Tasuku. I wouldn't be surprised Tasuku is really low on most people's popular list. I'm just Not Most People and you're going to hear me ramble about that hunk of a man every few days or so.

I've made my niche in the Winter Troupe appreciation gang and i'm pretty sure by now a lot of other Winter people follow me as a result because i couldn't shut the fuck up, so then my perception of the fanbase gets skewed because i just think of Them ahah.

And there is the fact i adore the rookies, mainly Chikage and Guy, but don't talk about them so much mostly because they came out later in the main story and i've been rereading act 1 so many times instead,,, and didn't talk much about act 2 in case some people managed to save themselves from being spoiled (like you!!)

So my personal perception of a3 is probably not reflecting the whole a3 fanbase really much. God the amount of times i talked my friends's ears off about Winter, that they kinda just humored me without thinking much about it, until they found out one of the More Popular Chara (Itaru, Tenma and the whole Autumn Troupe mostly) and suddenly they're like *twirls hair* heeyy Icha tell us more about a3. It's genuinely so funny to me.

and again i don't know perhaps i'm full of shit, and it's not like i've kept tabs on the fandom recently either!

But that is at least a bit of what i remember in term of popularity and what i can say is that i shouldn't be taken as an example of the fanbase's views in general.

I'm vibing in my corner, and by experience, it usually meant i ended up talking about more niche things, but since i'm disconnected from the fandom i'm pretty sure i still have opinions that are popular opinions. So who knows! not me!

So yeah that's all i can say about the popularity of the a3 fandom. Def not an indication of it by me.

and it must be funny for you since you only really have me as your fandom gateaway because well. *waves at post* yeah.

The more you know!

[sorikkung]

just had a horrible day time for a pick me up 🤩 or to fall deeper down the hole, you never know with natgig, but yk what, that can be cathartic <3

the way i immediately knew it was gonna be yeonjun... it was either gonna be his past self or yeonjun but either way his past is coming back to haunt him oh boy im ready for this to HURT

flashbacks to that one chapter w dream mingi bc That Is Not Yeonjun!! oh my fucking god. every time i think youve come up with a way to emotionally torture wooyoung in the most psychologically damaging way possible for him specifically you outdo yourself and make it worse. what the fuck. my BABY. FREE MY BOY HE DID NOTHING WRONG!!!!

"He deserves this." NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Or maybe you really are as useless as he claims.” you really said "lets aim for every single trauma wound we can fit in one character then stab 85 different needles into each one <3" w him didntcha

oh no. oh no. that isn't seonghwa either isnt it. theres no way there'd be such a sudden jump to him being saved already. oh no. oh nonononono. oh noonoonononononooooononon. ohno

yeah look if wooyo been thinking abt seonghwa choking him out while he kisses him then like me the fuck too, but also, ouch. SDJKFSDKFHS

“That if anyone were able to love something as fucked up as you, maybe it would be me.” OH OUCH WHAT THE FUCK DUDE THAT SHIT HURTED 😭😭😭😭😭

its gonna be san then mc isnt it. ohhh man. oh man. oop. its san. fuckfuckfuck

OH. OH. OHHH MY GOD. BC THEY DIDNT NEED TO COME UP WITH THE MOST EMOTIONALLY DAMAGING THING SAN COULD SAY TO HIM - HE ALREADY SAID IT ALL. SO THE NEXT WORST THING IS JUST. LOSING HIM COMPLETELY. HIM BEING DEAD. OHHHH THAT WAS SO EVIL CORYNN I AM GRABBING YOU BY THE SHOULDERS AND SHAKING YOU LIKE A FUCKING FISHHHH

im still sussy of winter bc shes the only one we've seen Actually hold this kind of resentment towards him like the dream/nightmare state or whatever dont even needa twist Her behaviour LMFAOoo

there she is. man, with the very knife he took from her, how symbolic... also i never thought the words "I do too." could be SO FUCKING DEVASTATING and Y E T. AND YET!!!

yk i just realised we still dont know who the dark army are or why they want mc yet do we??? well presumably to finish what they started but like. i was gonna say or their beef w libaiya but. we know enough to guess why anyone could have beef w libaiya HSDKFJGKSJD but like man why are they willing to go to such lengths who the fuck are these people this whole time!! im so curious!! what are they fighting for!!

San wants his sword back. San also knows that he isn’t thinking about weapons anymore.

UGH I LOVE A GOOD COMPARISON LIKE THAT!!!!

hwa asking him to talk abt how they met just to pass the time n feel a bit better oh my god what is it about that thats so cute and precious ahh 🥺🥺🥺 also very clever way in getting the readers to the exposition on this without adding another entire triggering event for it hehe

“But then Woo showed up,” Seonghwa says softly. “Yeah,” San breathes, unable to help the smile that curves across his lips. “But then Woo showed up.”

ugh that pacing hit like a TRUCK 😩😩😩😩😩

THATS KIND OF PATHETIC DONT YOU THINK SHKJAJKDKJFG OH MY GODDD THOSE ARE SUCH GOOD FIRST WORDS. I LOVE AN ICONIC INTRO I LOVE THAT SM

He simply needs Woo there. Even when it’s wrong, even when he knows it’s an awful, gut-wrenching codependence at times. He needs him. 

nothing i love more in fiction than awful, gut-wrenching codependence like yaaaas kings make each other WORSE do it in the name of LOVE thats just as destructive as it is restorative WOOOO

Yes, San knew that Woo had feelings for Seonghwa. San just didn’t know that Woo knew that Woo had feelings for Seonghwa.

one of my favourite relationship dynamics honestly

"If there is any scenario San could imagine Woo confronting his feelings, it’s in a fit of rage." YEAH THATS WOOYOCORE ALRIGHT SHJKDFGHKFAKGHSKDHGKSJDFGJ LOVE THAT

oh damn hwa aint even had his gay awakening yet huh. you in for a real storm with this one brother! KDJFJKSHKJSKDFHK- [SPITS OUT DRINK] HE COULD WHAT. OH MY GOD. OH MY GODDDDDD ITS HAPPENINGGGG ITS FUCKING HAPPENINGGGGG!!!!!!! HOLY SHIIIIIT!!!!!

"Seonghwa is not upset that Woo confessed to loving him, he’s upset that he didn’t do so tenderly." THATS SO FUCKING RAW OH MY GODDDD san real observant for that one BUT ALSO MY HEART SPLIT IN HALF!!!!

"More than anything, San makes sure that the kiss is tender. " WHAT IF I PISSED MY PANTS SO HARD I DIED!!!! WHAT THEN, CORYNN!!!! WHAT FUCKING THEN!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHH FUCK THERE IT FUCKING IIIIIIIIIIIS OH BOY HE DID ITTTT FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUKCFUCK

“And why do you think that is, Hwa?” "Oh." HKSFDGKLJSDJKFGJKSDFGKJ FUCKING, GOTTEM

okay that was so tender and gentle and soft and

IM FINE.

there Is something freeing about confessing to your crush, even if they dont reciprocate, i feel that. getting real relevant in this chilis HSJKDKFGJKDJK OH MY GOD MC NOOO.

oh fuck i completely forgot abt minho's elixir. i also forgot what it does. hol up do i needa go back... ok i went back. cool so we dont know what it does! but i assume its going to be what gets us and the crew outta here alive.

KEEP MINGIS NAME OUT OF YOUR WHORE MOUTH COMMANDER!!!!! also i wonder if that ravine will come into play later. just a random hunch. surely it was mentioned for a reason?

cool so the dark army are just working under orders. i mean expectedly enough but theres no patriotism involved huh just some hidden big bad paying em to do it. hmmm :/

whew i knew sanhwa would show up in the nick of time fuck yeah side by side fight scene i love this shit!! pretty fitting that seonghwa first ever takes a life in a moment as dire as this. hes being so strong rn 🥺🥺 they all are 🥺🥺🥺 can you tell im extra emotional today.

A man swings at you, and you push backwards against San to avoid the swipe. You worry it will cause San to tumble, but instead he sinks lower on knees, flattening his back. Using it for support, you fall back and into the air, giving the man in front of you a firm kick to the chest that sends him backwards, crashing into a few of the men behind him.

this part is so cool and vivid youre back at it again w the sick action scenes 😩😩

a mere MONTH??? i thought it had been a couple months on the road at least damn this shit went by quickly hsjkdkjgskg

"You open your eyes and know that you will never be her again. " ooh bitch CHILLING!!!

ok there is something so fucking cool about wooyoung being the commanders last resort. not some other dark magic shit to make Him more powerful, but to use wooyoung as a weapon because he knows wooyoung is the most powerful one here. so this basically means they were smart in capturing wooyoung first - or maybe just lucky - cause theoretically he could've taken down this entire battalion himself, just like it was the wardens army. hes an absolute fucking wildfire and thats kinda sexy of him tbh

omg is that the first theyve heard wooyoungs name thats so AAAAAAAAAAAA PULLING ALL MY HAIR OUT THIS IS SO PAIN BUT SO GOOD

“Because, Wooyoung,” you say. “He deserves it.”

BANGER! BANGER! ABSOLUTE FUCKING BANGER, ATE AND LEFT NO CRUMBS, PERFECT BUILD UP, WORDING, DELIVERY, STANDING OVATION, SOMEONE GIVE THIS BITCH A GODDAMN GRAMMY OR SOMETHING THE CROWD GOES WIIIIIIIIIIIILD

i knew the ravine would be relevant and wow that visual is so picturesque, even if i dont think he deserved the swiftness to his demise </3

"Fuck." WHAT A PERFECT CLOSING TO THE CHAPTER SHJDFGAJDKJGSKJFGKSKDGKJSDFGK wow. what a climax. i mean was that even a climax we still dont know who the employer is or what will happen when they reach kuroku but that was sure a climax if not The climax... sheesh im outta breath just reading that. or that might be from coughing up a lung but imma give you the credit bc fuck this cold and this chapter was fucking awesome. angst fluff action all in one you really giving the bitches Everything. its me im bitches. dunno if my reaction is shorter than usual this time ive been so out of it but i really really enjoyed that one you know i always enjoy the wooyoung centric chapters that shits like crack to me <33 knocked it out of the park once again, cant wait to see where it goes from here!

Not all that Glitters is Gold -> 11

series pairing: (fem) princess!reader x seonghwa x san x wooyoung. eventual polyamory.

series masterlist | previous chapter

Part Eleven: a broken conscience, tenderness, and a final confrontation.

series rating: 16+

series genre: action and adventure. romance. angst. fluff. suggestive. fantasy au.

series warnings: character death, blood and violence, weaponry, injury, suggestive content, mxm content, elements of misogyny, language, monsters. (will only be using chapter specific warnings for things not included on this list.)

summary: as a princess fleeing a royal assassination attempt, you have no choice but to put your trust in a band of three thieves in order to reach the kingdom of kuroku alive. however, amongst magic, deceit, and the bounty hunters that are hot on your trail, you realize that you might have stumbled upon a relationship far more complicated than what meets the eye.

chapter details beneath the cut ->

wc: 16.2k

extra chapter warnings: themes of self-hatred, brief mention of suicide. heed the violence warning for this one.

chapter summary:

“I don’t know what happened at the lake,” Seonghwa starts, tentative and unsure. Clearly cautious to continue forward. “But do you think you guys will be able to work things out?”

“I don’t know,” San breathes, and it’s true. “I really don’t know, Hwa.”

Seonghwa nods, taking this in. He begins to chew on the corner of his cheek, nervous. “I need to tell you something.”

a/n: me apologizing for taking eons to write is getting a bit old, so imma stop LMAO. life is just busy but what’s new. anyway, to be frank i adore this chapter. it's a wild ride. i hope you all enjoy. mwah.

“Wooyoung!”

Wooyoung hears someone call out to him, but he isn’t sure from where. Their voice appears close, yet far off all at once. As if they are speaking from beside him, and at the same time miles away.

His senses feel muddled. Eye-sight a bit faded, it’s as if he’s looking through a window in the winter season. Fogged and clammy with precipitation, almost translucent. His hearing is muffled, his footsteps creating a dull-echo through him, as if they’re coming from within his mind rather than heard through his ears.

Wooyoung ignores this, instead choosing to follow the voice, although really, he’s walking aimlessly more than he is following. He can’t tell where the voice is coming from, and the darkness that surrounds him is disorientating. When he looks down, he can see his own eyes staring back at him, the ground polished and reflective. However, when he looks forward it all meshes into a thick blackness, like a mirror facing the night sky. 

“Wooyoung!”

He hears the voice again, and it sounds like it’s coming from behind him, but when he turns there is nobody there. Just more of the same darkness.

Wooyoung scowls. Something is wrong, although he can’t place what. An inkling of worry rests on his shoulders nagging at him to listen, but everytime he tries to grasp it, it slips between his fingers. Sliding like water over rock.

His frown deepens. Yes, something is very wrong. He should know what it is, and yet he doesn’t.

Wooyoung turns back around, walking back in the same direction from which he came, this time with more fervour, his cluelessness leaving him agitated. 

However, as he turns it is not only blackness ahead of him, but a boy.

He faces away from Wooyoung so that the elemental cannot see his face, although based on his narrow stature and height, he’s no older than his early teens. Wooyoung, struck by a sense of familiarity, heads towards him. 

Upon reaching him, Wooyoung reaches out to grab the boy's shoulder, turning him around to face him. However, just as the boy’s face is almost visible, he vanishes. Wooyoung blinks. Darkness sits before him, empty, his hand outstretched into the blackness.

“Wooyoung.”

He whirls around, finding himself face to face with the boy.

Wooyoung gasps.

The boy’s light eyes meet his, a rich grey colour that has always reminded him of a coming storm. His black hair has grown longer, shaggy as it curls around the boy’s ears. Although Wooyoung has grown quite a bit since he last saw him, the boy is still taller, even if only by an inch or so.

“Yeonjun,” he whispers, and then his arms are wrapped around him, pulling the boy close. Wooyoung presses one of his hands along Yeonjun's back, feeling his skin and the muscles along his shoulders, trying to make sure that he’s real as he remembers each of his skin’s crevices. Ensuring that he is not a trick of the mind, an illusion within the warped darkness. 

But he is real. Completely solid, his skin as warm and soft as so many years ago. Wooyoung places a hand onto the back of his head, cradling it as he pulls Yeonjun close. 

Yeonjun does not move to hug him back. He stands still, stiff. Arms planted at his sides.

“You’re dead,” Wooyoung whispers, because he doesn’t understand how this is possible. He tucks his chin over the boy’s shoulder, overwhelmed by the familiarity of it, even after all these years. There’s a rightness to it, like his shoulder was meant for Wooyoung’s chin to rest there.

Yeonjun doesn’t reply right away, and Wooyoung finally pulls away from him. Yeonjun’s deep grey eyes meet his, although there is a certain absence to them. Not of life, but compassion. His lips are pulled into a thin line, his jaw clenched tight. 

It’s not until now Wooyoung realizes that Yeonjun is not happy to see him. 

“You don’t have to remind me that I’m dead, Wooyoung,” Yeonjun says, and his voice is not how Wooyoung remembers it. Not in its actual sound, but in its tone. Wooyoung remembers Yeonjun’s voice within night’s spent up in the watchtower, huddled close together. He remembers it in whispers around the lunch table, jovial and bright amidst the darkness. 

He does not remember Yeonjun’s voice being so cold, nor so pointed. So hateful. 

“It’s not the kind of thing I would forget,” Yeonjun spits, releasing himself from Wooyoung’s grip. Wooyoung flinches, caught off guard by this ferocity of his words. 

“I didn’t mean-” Wooyoung starts, reaching out to place a comforting hand atop the boy’s shoulder. Yeonjun slaps it away. Hard. 

“Don’t touch me,” Yeonjun scowls. He takes a step forward, and Wooyoung finds himself stepping back. “Don’t you dare fucking touch me!”

“I-I’m sorry,”  Wooyoung says, and his voice is small as he takes another step back, pulling his hand away completely. 

“Don’t tell me that you’re sorry,” Yeonjun says, and then Wooyoung is flying backwards. Blown by a sharp gust of wind, he hits his back against the ground. It sends a sharp spark of pain along his spine, and he winces as he continues to roll, using his elbows to protect his face as he tumbles backwards. 

When he finally comes to a stop, he looks up, watching as Yeonjun storms towards him. “You think that you being sorry is going to change anything? That it’s going to fix what you did?”

“No,” Wooyoung whispers, because it’s true. He has hated himself for what he did to Yeonjun. Dragging him into his plan to escape, the plan that ultimately got the boy killed. However, even with all of his guilt, regret, and self-hatred, he never once thought that he’d have to face Yeonjun again. That he would have to own up to his failure. His unforgivable mistake.

He deserves this.

“You’re right, I am dead,” Yeonjun says, no longer shouting, but the ice within his voice is just as powerful. “I’m dead and it’s because of you.”

A ball of fire ignites in Yeonjun’s hand that the younger boy pulls it back, before letting it fly towards Wooyoung. The fire hurtles towards him, its orange and yellow flames twisting and turning, growing in size with each passing second.

Wooyoung would never hurt Yeonjun. Not intentionally, not with his own hand or flame. So instead of firing back with his own, Wooyoung redirects the flame away from him, sending it sideways.

Except that he doesn’t, because the redirection doesn’t work. 

Yeonjun’s aim lands true as the flames engulf him.

Wooyoung thinks that he is screaming, but he can’t tell, his ears having gone deaf amongst the pain that radiates throughout his entire body. The burning sensation starts at his skin, thousands of little needles stabbing him everywhere from his face down to his feet. He can’t think beyond the burning, the heat intolerable as it consumes him. He begins to roll around on the ground, wailing in agony as he desperately tries to put the fire out. 

When the flames subside, Wooyoung can’t rise to his feet. He drags his hand along the ground, weak and shaking as he pulls it to his side, and he catches a glimpse of his reflection in the mirrored floor beneath him.

His skin bubbles and blisters, it’s once deep bronze having shifted to an angry and repulsive bright red. His hand twitches, shaking as he attempts to move it. He lets out a low whine of pain, tears glistening in his eyes.

He hears Yeonjun’s footsteps approach him. When the boy crouches down in front of Wooyoung, his eyes are full of malice. He does not smile, even as Wooyoung looks up at him through bleary eyes, weak and pathetic.

Yeonjun’s hand fills with fire, and instead of throwing it at him, he simply places it onto Wooyoung’s arm. Wooyoung watches in horror as his skin catches light, the needles returning as sharp pain cascades over his flesh. He lets out a broken cry, trying to move his other hand to put it out, but he’s too weak. His other hand merely shakes, awkwardly patting at the fire in a way that does nothing to put it out, but rather makes his other hand hurt even more.

“Use your gift, Wooyoung,” Yeonjun chides, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “Or maybe you really are as useless as he claims.”

“He” meaning Warden. The only man Wooyoung has ever been genuinely afraid of. The only man who convinced Wooyoung that he was nothing. Has always been nothing. 

Is nothing, even now.

Yeonjun leans in closer, and when he speaks, his voice is a low whisper. “You deserve all that’s coming to you, Wooyoung. Remember that.”

The fire spreads up his arm and onto his shoulder, and Wooyoung closes his eyes, losing himself in the pain. It continues through him, the fire eating away at his flesh and burning its way into his mind. He can smell the smoke around him, and it's reminiscent of his skin. Rotten and vile, he breathes it again, mouth agape as he wails in agony. 

The fire consumes him until there is nothing left. His body gone, mind lost to the flames.

“Woo, get off of the floor,” a voice says from above him. 

Wooyoung blinks. His cheek is cool against the ground beneath him, as is the rest of his body that is sprawled out above it. He glances forward at his hand that sits out in front of him.

It looks normal, the burns completely vanished.

He narrows his eyes, glancing at his reflection in the mirror below him. All he sees is himself staring back, disbelieving. Wooyoung’s skin has returned to its normal, deep bronze rather than bright red, the blisters having disappeared entirely. His reflection blinks back at him. It’s as if nothing happened.

“Did you hit your head or something?” The voice says again, and Wooyoung glances up. Seonghwa stands above him,  looking down with a puzzled look on his face. 

Wooyoung frowns, a burst of both excitement and shame igniting within him, although he doesn’t know where it comes from. Did something happen between him and Seonghwa lately? He can’t seem to remember. 

“No, sorry,” Wooyoung replies, and Seonghwa extends a hand out. Wooyoung takes it, letting the blonde lift him back up to his feet. 

Wooyoung glances down at himself, at his once burnt clothing now perfectly in-tact. His frown deepens. “Do you know-” He begins, but whatever he was going to say dies on his lips, as when he glances up Seonghwa’s eyes are already staring into his own. 

Seonghwa is close, a little too close. His hand continues to hold Wooyoung’s, resting against Seonghwa’s own chest. His face is closer than Wooyoung thinks it’s ever been, mere inches apart, and Wooyoung can feel the heat that rises to his cheeks.

“I… I, um,” Wooyoung says stupidly.

“Hm?” Seonghwa hums, and a small smile grazes his lips. It’s coy, almost knowing, and if Wooyoung could feel the heat in his cheeks before then they’re practically burning now. “Were you saying something?”

Wooyoung swallows hard, and when he speaks again his voice is a whisper. “No.”

Seonghwa’s smile grows a little wider. “Good.”

Then Seonghwa kisses him.

It’s familiar in a way he can’t understand, almost as if he’s been here before, but also nowhere close. Seonghwa’s lips are soft, tender as they meet Wooyoung’s own. The empath’s hand is gentle as it reaches up to rest on the back of Wooyoung’s neck, whose mind melts. 

Seonghwa clearly feels the elemental stiffen in surprise, smiling against Wooyoung’s lips. He lets out a breathy chuckle that is oh-so-familiar, and Wooyoung lets the sound flow through his ears and fill the rest of him. His mind, his heart, his body. He lets himself become wrapped in the comfortability that is one of his closest friends, his mind’s long-harboured desire.

Seonghwa’s hand drifts from the back of the elemental’s neck to the front, fingers dancing along his Adam’s apple, which bobs as Wooyoung swallows in anticipation.

Then Seonghwa begins to squeeze.

His grip is not gentle, nor is it suggestive. Instead it is tight, increasingly uncomfortable, and Wooyoung tries to pull his lips away. “Hwa,” he murmurs, although it’s difficult to get out through the way Seonghwa’s hand squeezes around his airway. “Hwa, you’re hurting me.”

“Am I?” Seonghwa speaks against his lips, his tone shifting from fond to something that resembles seductive, but not quite. Mischievous, or even dangerous. “Awe.”

Seonghwa's grip shifts from uncomfortable to painful as he deepens the kiss, nails digging into Wooyoung’s skin as he presses harder on his airway. Wooyoung tried to pull away, to protest, but Seonghwa forcefully keeps his lips on Wooyoung’s own. 

Wooyoung places his hands on Seonghwa’s wrist, trying to pull his grip away. However, it’s as if Seonghwa has gained impenetrable strength, as his arm will not budge no matter how hard Wooyoung tries. Seonghwa finally pulls his lips away, looking down at Wooyoung, eyes full of a mocking pity.

“What’s wrong, Woo? Isn’t this what you’ve been imagining?” Seonghwa asks, and while Wooyoung opens his mouth to deny him, his squeezed airway prevents him from speaking. Seonghwa grins, squeezing tighter as he moves his face closer, his breath hot on Wooyoung’s skin. “Isn’t this what you’ve been dreaming about in that sick head of yours?”

Wooyoung tries to cry out but all that comes out is a choked, pathetic sound that makes Seonghwa snicker. Blackness creeping into the corners of his vision, Wooyoung’s head begins to become foggy, everything fuzzy but the pain and image of Seonghwa before him.

He can feel his eyelids drooping, his effort to pull Seonghwa’s hand away diminishing with each passing second. Seonghwa notices it too, as he coos in disapproval. 

“You really thought I could love you, didn’t you?” Seonghwa says softly, grip tightening to keep Wooyoung awake. Tears begin to fill the elemental’s eyes as his chest aches, desperate for air. For release, one way or another. “That if anyone were able to love something as fucked up as you, maybe it would be me.”

Seonghwa leans in, and Wooyoung feels his eyes roll into the back of his head, nothingness beginning to replace the space his thoughts once resided.

“I could never love you, Woo. Nobody could. It’s time that you stop pretending otherwise.”

Wooyoung awakens to his cheek pressed against the cold mirrored floor. Again. 

Taking a deep, gasping breath, he feels his lungs fill with air. Hand drifting to his neck, he searches for the pain of bruising, only to find that there is nothing there. His neck feels fine, his breathing having returned to normal, and he curses beneath his breath.

“What the fuck is happening to me?” He thinks, staring up at the never-ending darkness above him. He searches his mind for the memory of where he is, how he got to this strange place, but can’t seem to find anything. The answer sits on the tip of his tongue, but he cannot speak it, the words just out of his reach.

Anxiety pulses within his head, hands shaky as he pulls them down to his side. He feels as if he’s going crazy. Maybe he is. Maybe he already has. 

Wooyoung rolls over, prepared to rise to his feet, only to be stopped by the sight of a man lying next to him. He faces away from Wooyoung, but from the outline of the muscles of his back that poke through his shirt and the strap of the eye-patch that wraps around the back of his head, Wooyoung knows that it’s San.

Wooyoung lets out a sigh of relief, comforted by the fact that San is with him. San always knows what’s going on, what to do when nothing seems to make sense. San will be able to put together what Wooyoung cannot.

He extends out a hand, letting it fall onto San’s shoulder, giving the swordsman a gentle shake. San’s skin is cool to his touch, smooth, and Wooyoung smiles at the comfortable familiarity of it.

“San,” he says, giving the swordsman a gentle shake. When San does not reply, Wooyoung shakes him a little harder. “San.”

When San still does not move, Wooyoung assumes that he is sleeping. It’s not surprising, as even for a man so keen and alert at all waking hours, he sleeps like the dead. Sitting up on his elbow, Wooyoung tugs on San’s shoulder, rolling him over.

Except that when Wooyoung’s gaze meets man’s face, San’s eye is not closed in peaceful slumber. It is wide-open, glazed, and worst of all, vacant.

Wooyoung knows that he is dead.

Time appears to stop for a moment, although it feels more like an eternity. Wooyoung stares down into San’s blank stare, the coolness of his skin suddenly making far too much sense. 

San is dead. 

San is dead.

“No,” Wooyoung murmurs, hand drifting from San’s shoulder to his chest, feeling for a heart-beat and finding nothing. Wooyoung pulls himself up onto his knees, leaning down to press his ear to San’s parted lips, listening for a breath. There is none to be found.

“No,” Wooyoung whispers, turning his head to press a kiss to the swordsman’s lips, one that goes unreciprocated. “No, no, no,” he protests, hands shaking as he grabs San’s jaw, pulling his mouth to his own.

San’s lips are cold, unmoving, and when Wooyoung pulls away from him his eyes are stained with tears. His throat swells, chest aching, and he lets out an open sob. It echoes throughout the empty darkness around them, over and over again, like a lament of agony.

“This is your fault.”

Wooyoung’s gaze shoots up. In front of him sits a young girl, no older than thirteen, her long black hair tangled and pale face stained with tears. 

“Winter,” Wooyoung whispers.

“You couldn’t just let him leave,” she says, voice shaking as her hands clutch onto San’s tunic. They tremble around the light fabric, in desperation, in anger, in devastation. “He knew what you would do to him, but you couldn’t let him go, could you?”

“I…” Wooyoung starts, tongue feeling too big for his mouth, mind fuzzy. “I did this?”

He looks down at his hands. They’re coated in blood, as is San’s shirt. He doesn’t know how he didn’t notice it before.

“He loved you,” Winter says, eyes finally looking up to meet Wooyoung’s. The redness of her crying face and the gloss of her tears bring out the blue in them. “We both did. And this is what we get for it?”

“I’m sorry,” Wooyoung says, his voice barely above a whisper. Winter says nothing, her sobs merely grow louder, and Wooyoung looks down at San. The man he ruined. The man he destroyed. “I’m so sorry.”

When San makes no reply, as he no longer can, Wooyoung’s tears transform into loud, broken sobs. His own hand grabs onto San’s bloodied tunic, needing to hold a part of him but not daring to let himself touch the man’s skin. Tarnish him any more than he already has.

“I hate you,” Winter whispers, and it takes Wooyoung a minute to realize that although he’s heard her say those words before, it isn’t Winter speaking.

Wooyoung looks up to meet your gaze.

Your jaw is tightly clenched, your lip quivering. Although, what affects him the most is your eyes and the deep emotion they hold. A fiery blaze of distaste, of fury, wrath, and pure and unadulterated hatred.

“I hate you,” you say again, face contorting inward on itself as you look at him. “For everything you’ve done to me. For everything you’ve done to them. For everything you are.”

“I know,” he answers, and when he speaks his voice is barely above a whisper, as he lets out an admission. “I do too.”

He doesn’t notice the knife in your hand until it is buried in his chest.

Wooyoung stares down at the knife protruding out from him, your hand wrapped around its delicately engraved handle. It’s the one they gave to you, the one he took from you that first night.

He doesn’t fight it, doesn’t attempt to pull it out or shove you away. He deserves it.

Blood pools around the wound in his chest, leaking down. He opens his mouth to speak, but instead coughs, blood splattering from his mouth onto your face. You don’t seem to care.

You lean forward over San’s body, pressing your lips against his ear. However, when you speak, your voice is not your own. It’s deeper, more masculine. Familiar, although from where Wooyoung cannot place.

“Tell me where she is, Wooyoung. Tell me where she is and I’ll make it stop.”

“The refuge,” the answer comes immediately to his mind, dancing on his tongue, although he doesn’t know where it comes from or what it means. “She’s with the refugees. Sharing a tent with a young red-haired girl. It’s just three turns from the entrance.”

But he doesn’t say these words, even as the pain within his chest deepens, even as he wants everything to disappear. Even as he craves for the darkness to consume him, to rid him of this terrible mess. The horrors of everything he’s done. 

He doesn’t say these words because something in his mind screams that he can’t, something deep within him that pounds at the walls of his subconscious, that something is deeply, horrifically wrong. 

“Fine,” you say in that same voice that is not your own, leaning back from his ear to face him, the anger in your eyes having faded to a cold disinterest. “Have it your way.”

You twist the knife deeper and Wooyoung dies, this time in even more agony than the last.

This sword is nicer than San’s old one.

His old sword had been gifted to him from Gloria's blacksmith when he was thirteen. A kind old-man who knew the trouble that had entangled San, and wished to give the young boy a chance in a life where his fortune had run dry.

The sword was nothing special, hilt not quite heavy enough and wrapped in a cheap leather that had become worn over the years. It was not as flexible as to be expected of a good sword, and even with the trips he’d taken to sharpen the blade, the metal was becoming dull and had lost much of its durability. San was also thirteen upon receiving it, so of course, the blade was not long. Even for a short-sword, it had become too small with San’s growing height.

This sword doesn’t have those problems, with its thick hilt coated in fine leather. It clearly holds a stronger durability than the last, almost nimble with its flexibility. It’s even a little longer, allowing him to reach an opponent from a few inches further back, granting him better protection. 

The new sword is objectively better than his last in just about every way possible.

San hates it.

He hates the way the new sword glides through the air effortlessly, how the sharpness of the blade cuts deep against the wooden pole he strikes with a terrifying ease. He hates how it fits his hand so well, how the length suits him perfectly. It was made for him, fashioned for his grip..

There is no life to this sword. Not yet. It wasn’t given to him in a time of desperate need like his last, something to hold onto when everything else was falling apart. He has this sword because he simply needed a new one.

San misses his old sword. It’s heavy hilt and the roughness of the cheap leather against his palm. He misses how it wasn’t long enough, how he’d have to dance closer to danger within every battle. He misses the wrongness of it, and how right that wrongness felt. He misses the imperfection. The faults. The years spent getting used to those faults, of learning to navigate them. 

San wants his sword back.

San also knows that he isn’t thinking about weapons anymore.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, San takes a breath before attacking the pole before him once more. In a flurry of motion, he hacks at the pole’s cheap wood, landing blow after blow. There is no grace, no tactical finesse, just violence. The excuse of training having faded a long time ago, San simply seeks to cause damage.

Then he growls, a low noise of annoyance in the back of his throat, before throwing the sword to the ground. It clatters against a couple rocks, before settling itself in the grass, almost invisible within the night's shadow. Good, he doesn’t want to look at it anymore.

San leans against the pole, feeling the many indents he’s created against the bare skin of his back. His tunic sits discarded on the ground next to him, having been soaked through with sweat. He’s been at this for hours.

“Are you okay?” A voice asks from over his shoulder. San turns to see Seonghwa standing by their tent, a sad expression on his face. He asks more out of courtesy than anything else. San knows that the answer is obvious.

“No,” San says softly, and the honesty surprises him, but after a moment it doesn’t. San is tired of hiding how he feels about things. Of pretending things are fine when they so obviously aren’t. If he still had the energy for it after the last couple weeks — although more like years, really — then it left alongside Woo.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Seonghwa asks.

“Not really,” San answers honestly. He’s been thinking about it for hours, the last thing he wants is to continue doing so. 

“Alright, we don’t have to, ” Seonghwa says gently. San peers back over at him. Seonghwa’s arms sit folded over his chest, eyes big and full of concern. His hair is tousled, patches of blonde sticking out in opposite directions, as if he were trying to sleep but couldn’t. He likely has been. San wonders how late it is, how long he’s been out here for. 

“Do you want to just come inside then?” Seonghwa offers instead, tilting his head towards the tent entrance. San considers this for a moment before deciding he would rather be anywhere other than beside this pole, and nods in affirmation.

Following Seonghwa inside the tent, San takes note of Seonghwa’s crumpled sheets, evidence of San’s assumption that the man has spent the last few hours tossing and turning rather than in rest. 

“Do you want some tea?” Seonghwa asks. 

“I’m alright.”

“Good. Whiskey then?”

San can’t help the chuckle he lets out at that. “Please.”

Seonghwa reaches into the basket Yeji had gifted them, filled to the brim with different delectables. San knew that it was nice of her to do, a kind gesture, but the cynical part of him saw the silliness of it. Here, your friend just got kidnapped for ransom, but maybe these scones will make you feel better about it.

However, maybe she also saw the futility of it, having added a rather hefty bottle of whiskey to the mix of sweets.

Seonghwa pours the whiskey into two ceramic cups before handing one over to San, who sits down on his own bed of blankets across from Seonghwa’s own. Woo’s remains between them, untouched. 

Seonghwa extends his cup forward to meet San’s own in a form of cheers, although to what exactly San doesn’t think Seonghwa knows the answer either. They both take a sip, and the liquid burns slightly as it trickles down San’s throat. He makes sure to drink a bit more than he normally would.

Swallowing his own whiskey before San does, Seonghwa looks down at Woo’s bed between them, gaze contemplative.

“Have you ever told me how you and Woo met?” Seonghwa asks.

San quirks a brow at this, a bit amused but at the same time confused. “Many times, Hwa.”

Seonghwa nods at this, cheeks dusted with a faint shade of pink, as if he’s well aware of this fact and embarrassed to have been caught.

However, when the empath says nothing, San sighs. He knows that Seonghwa simply wants to talk about Woo, even if not about the situation at hand. The dire, horrible situation that plagues both of their minds with worry. The situation that San cannot bare to talk about, so lest he tear up this tent with his sword before heading up the mountain to kill the entire Dark Army himself

But how they met… he supposes he can talk about that. If it will bring Seonghwa some peace of mind, of course.

“We were both fourteen,” San begins, watching as an appreciative smile spreads over Seonghwa’s lips. “I’d been working a job for Jay, spying on an investor he suspected of embezzling The Cradle’s Funds. But I was still new to working for him, and hadn’t quite found my knack for stealth yet.”

Seonghwa closes his eyes as San speaks, as if what he’s saying is some sort of lullaby, a piece of comfort.

“He caught me hiding in the shrub garden of his courtyard and dragged me out by my hair onto the city street. He started screaming at me, before pulling out a knife from his back pocket," San says, and he can still remember that moment as clear as day. The terror that consumed him, that kept him frozen in place as the man advanced towards him.

San does not tell Seonghwa this, but what he remembers most is how in that moment he thought about how nobody would care if the man killed him. His father had left him, his mother and sister were both dead, and his expendability in Jay’s eyes was made blatantly clear by the fact that he sent San to deal with this man in the first place.

If the man killed San right then and there, nobody would have batted an eye. He would just become another one of the many nameless, faceless victims of Gloria’s streets.

“The man came towards me, and I remember closing my eye as he lifted the blade in the air. I didn’t want to see it enter me, I knew I couldn’t handle that.”

“But then Woo showed up,” Seonghwa says softly.

“Yeah,” San breathes, unable to help the smile that curves across his lips. “But then Woo showed up.”

San takes a deep breath, before letting his own eye close, reliving it. “Across the darkness I saw a bright flash of light, and could feel a sudden rush of heat across my face. I opened my eye in a panic. I thought that maybe I’d died, that he stabbed and killed me instantaneously, that the light had meant I’d ascended or that the heat was the fires of Hell.”

“But when I opened my eyes I saw the man standing before me, except that now his arm that was holding the knife was completely engulfed in flame. The look on his face when he saw it was priceless, completely in shock as he ran back into his house screaming for help, the poor boy in front of him that he was about to murder completely forgotten.”

“Then Woo walked up to me, standing up with his arms crossed. The light of the sun shone out behind him, and I remember at the time thinking he must have been the god of fire himself. Or maybe an angel that came to save me. It’s ridiculous knowing him now, but at the time I really believed it.”

“What was the first thing Woo said to you again?” Seonghwa asks, and San chuckles.

“He asked me ‘Were you really just going to sit there and let him kill you?’ I shakily replied yes, and then he said ‘That’s kind of pathetic, don’t you think?’”

Seonghwa laughs at this, shaking his head to himself. San gets it. Even now, so many years later, it’s a very Woo sort of thing to say.

“I thought about it, and then agreed that yeah, it was pretty pathetic. He laughed, and then somehow I found myself laughing too. He helped me up, and then that was it.”

“That was it?” Seonghwa asks, inquiring what he means by that.

“That was it. He never left my side after that. I joined him in his camp outside of the town. He helped me train with my sword even if his own knowledge on the subject was next to none. He never wanted to see me so helpless again. He joined me on countless missions that Jay sent me on, even the nasty ones, the ones that still keep me up some nights.”

San takes in a deep breath. “He was just… there. When I had no-one, he was there. I don’t know what I would have done without him.”

San looks down at Woo’s sleeping mat between them. Pristine. Untouched. A testament to his absence.

Things between him and Woo have been horrible lately. It’s been years of build up, of the little issues growing larger, of San’s discontentment boiling beneath the surface. He knows that things with Woo will never change. He knows the elemental will never give San all of himself. 

But it’s in these little moments, when he thinks about their past and everything that has happened between them, that he wants nothing more than to have Woo with him. In any form. In a blistering argument, in the cold quiet following, in his bed even when he knows the elemental will be gone come morning.

He simply needs Woo there. Even when it’s wrong, even when he knows it’s an awful, gut-wrenching codependence at times. He needs him. 

And with Woo gone, taken from him, it’s now that he knows this more than ever.

But then he remembers the jealous spats over the last few weeks. The many morning’s waking up alone. The way that Woo jumped after him over that cliff…

“I don’t know what happened at the lake,” Seonghwa starts, tentative and unsure. Clearly cautious to continue forward. “But do you think you guys will be able to work things out?”

“I don’t know,” San breathes, and it’s true. “I really don’t know, Hwa.”

Seonghwa nods, taking this in. He begins to chew on the corner of his cheek, nervous. “I need to tell you something.”

“Go ahead,” San says, taking a sip of his drink as Seonghwa takes a deep breath.

“Woo kissed me.”

San chokes on his whiskey.

“I’m sorry,” Seonghwa says as San sputters and uses a fist to pound at his chest, forcing himself to cough. “I should have waited until you swallowed first, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” San says through coughs, and while he tries to keep the blatant shock out of his tone, he fails miserably. “Woo kissed you?”

“Yeah,” Seonghwa answers, voice breathy and small.

“When?” San asks, bewildered.

“Before they captured him.”

“Before they captured him,” San repeats, more to himself than Seonghwa. He runs the idea of it through his head, although it doesn’t make much more sense to him. 

Woo kissed Seonghwa. He actually did it. Recently. Just the night before.

“Are you mad?” Seonghwa asks.

“No,” San says absently, before really registering the question. He looks over at Seonghwa, who looks at him, knees drawn up to his chest. His fingers tap against the cup in his hands as he chews on the corner of his cheek, both nervous habits of his.

San realizes that Seonghwa is genuinely scared that he’ll be upset with him, and even amidst the shock, San’s heart softens.

“No. I’m not mad, Hwa,” he says gently, running a hand through his hair to pull it out of his face as he takes another small sip of his drink. “I’m just trying to wrap my head around this.”

San knew Woo had feelings for Seonghwa, he has for years. He could tell by the way Woo looked at the empath in absent moments, when he thought nobody was looking. That undeniable fondness in his gaze that told San everything he needed to know. He noticed as Woo stiffened at Seonghwa’s touch, the way his breath would catch in his throat, just as San’s own did. 

Yes, San knew that Woo had feelings for Seonghwa. San just didn’t know that Woo knew that Woo had feelings for Seonghwa.

“I know, it was a lot for me to take in too,” Seonghwa says, before letting out a small laugh that doesn’t hold much humour. “Still is.”

“How did it happen?” San asks.

“We were arguing…about her, amongst other things,” Seonghwa says with a shrug. “And it quickly escalated to fighting. I asked— well, I yelled at him asking why he cared so much about what I do, and then he grabbed me and kissed me.”

It makes sense. If there is any scenario San could imagine Woo confronting his feelings, it’s in a fit of rage. 

“After he kissed you, then what did he do?” San asks.

Seonghwa sighs, and when he speaks his tone is bashful, cheeks flushed as if he’s embarrassed to say it aloud. “He ran away.”

“For fuck’s sake, Woo,” San thinks, giving him a mental slap that he hopes the elemental can feel from miles away. 

But San isn’t going to complain about Woo right now, because that’s not why Seonghwa brought this up, it’s not what the empath really needs. He just needs someone to listen.

“Do you know how you feel about it?” San asks, tone gentle.

“No,” Seonghwa says quietly. San catches a glimpse of annoyance in his eyes, as Seonghwa’s expression shifts from bashful to frustrated, lips drawing themselves into a tight line.

“No, I don’t. How am I supposed to know how I felt about it? If I liked it?” Seonghwa says, standing up from his sleeping mat and beginning to pace around the tent. However, given its small size he doesn’t have much room to actually pace, instead walking a mere few steps forward and back.

“There was no tenderness to it. It was nothing like a real kiss should be. He just grabbed my face and shoved it into his and then said ‘Sorry Seonghwa, you’re going to have to figure that one out on your own, I'm off to get kidnapped!’” Seonghwa says the last part in a high pitched sing-song sort of way, one that doesn’t really sound like Woo, but at the same time a lot like him in spirit.

Seonghwa sighs, taking a sip of his drink before pinching the bridge of his nose, as if he has a headache. When he speaks again, his voice becomes quiet. “That's not fair. I know it’s not fair. But neither is what he did.”

San looks up at the empath, contemplative. “Any ideas as to what it means to you yet?” 

“No,” Seonghwa answers immediately, before appearing to think better of it. “That's a lie. So many. Too many. I don't know, it’s just…”

He trails off, giving San a nervous glance that tells the swordsman that Seonghwa is worried of making him uncomfortable. San gives him a gentle smile, a signal to keep going despite it.

Seonghwa takes a deep breath. “It’s always been you and him. Always, from the moment I met you both. There was never another option, so I never considered another option. It would have been unfair. To you, to him, to myself… So I don't know. I honestly don’t know if I think of him that way. I don’t know if I think of guys that way. But now he’s gone and that’s like, the least of our problems to be worried about right now, but I just…”

“I know. I get it,” San says, because he does. He’s been there. San hadn’t loved a man until he met Woo, and falling for the elemental certainly wasn’t easy. Figuring out Woo had always been like deciphering a puzzle, or even navigating a ship out on a foggy day at sea. Disorientating, frustrating, and requiring a strong will and patient temper. 

Seonghwa sighs. “I don't know what to do.”

San see’s Seonghwa standing there, dejected and confused and what he’d dare to call a little heartsick, and the words come out of his mouth before he even registers that he’s thought of them.

“You could kiss me.”

Seonghwa’s gaze shoots back at him, and when he speaks his tone is hesitant, maybe even a little pointed as his lips hover above the rim of his glass. “That's not funny.”

San looks up at him, expecting to feel caught, or to begin back-tracking. Play it off as a joke and cover up his feelings as he’s so often done in the past, let them exist to him and nobody else.

Instead he says:  “I wasn't joking.”

And he isn’t.

He isn’t because San realizes that Seonghwa is not repulsed by the idea of Woo kissing him, or of even Woo loving him. He’s upset that Woo didn’t do it more cautiously, that he didn’t let Seonghwa give any input on his own thoughts or feelings. He’s upset that Woo did all of this in a moment of anger and aggression, without asking, and without apparent thought or care.

Seonghwa is not upset that Woo confessed to loving him, he’s upset that he didn’t do so tenderly.

“San,” Seonghwa says, and his tone is difficult to read. He says it like a warning, telling San to think about what he’s saying, what he’s really offering here. But San is thinking about, a small part of him always has been.

“I’m serious, Hwa. Think about it,” San starts, and he tries to keep his demeanour nonchalant, even as his heart begins to rapidly pick up pace in his chest. “You said you aren’t sure if you’re into guys. Well, I’m a guy. I’m not horrible to look at. You’re comfortable around me. It might help you sort some things out.”

“But…” Seonghwa trails off, and his complexion has gone a bit pale, clearly taken aback by the proposition. “But it’s you. It’s us.”

“Look, if you don’t feel anything or don’t like it I’m not going to take it personally,” San says, and maybe that’s not completely true, but what he says next is. “I’m not going to let it ruin our friendship. I promise.”

Seonghwa stares at him for a moment, large brown eyes scanning the swordsman’s face, as if searching for something. Eventually he speaks, and his voice is barely above a whisper. “Okay.”

“Really?” San asks despite himself, unable to contain his surprise.

“Yeah, whatever, okay,” Seonghwa says, his voice breathy, small, and all-around nervous. He walks over to sit down in front of San, this time on Woo’s unused sleeping mat rather than his own. Seonghwa does so with such a quickness that San is pretty sure the empath is trying to commit to this before he can talk himself out of it. 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Seonghwa asks, gaze meeting San’s own. When he speaks his tone is embarrassed, maybe even a little self-conscious. “I mean, it’s me.”

Seonghwa says “me” as if that’s something that would deter him. As if there’s no possible way that San would want to kiss him, of all people. As if that were something San should be repulsed by.

San decides that with this kiss, he’ll prove to Seonghwa just how wrong he is about that.

Reaching forward to take hold of the empath’s jaw, San’s grip is gentle as his fingers dust along Seonghwa’s cheek. Seonghwa’s skin is warm, a beautiful kind of soft, and San takes a moment to run his thumb along Seonghwa’s cheekbone, his own heart fluttering at the way the empath’s skin floods with a light shade of pink.

Seonghwa’s eyes flutter shut, lips parted open slightly, waiting for San to accept them. San waits for a moment, taking in the sight before him, registering that this is actually happening. That Seonghwa - the man he’s only let himself love in seclusion, in weakness, in devastating secret - waits for San’s lips to meet his own.

Closing his good eye, San takes Seonghwa’s face in his hand, fingers grazing the conjunction between his neck and jaw. The empath’s skin is warm and San wonders if he’s blushing.

Seonghwa’s lips are soft. Softer than San imagined them to be, admittedly watching the empath’s mouth at times rather than his eyes. Embarrassing. Foolish. Pitiful. 

But perhaps not anymore. Not right now. Right now is anything but such cruel negativity.

San makes sure that the kiss is good. That it holds a sense of passion, by no means chaste or hesitant, but also is not aggressive or to the point of formidability. He grips Seonghwa’s jaw a little tighter, pulling him in deeper.

More than anything, San makes sure that the kiss is tender. 

Seonghwa sucks in a tight breath, and for a moment San fears that he’s uncomfortable, repulsed by it. That this was a mistake. That the rejection he’s been terrified of for so long is just a moment away. Maybe Seonghwa won’t even be able to look at him after, he’ll be too disgusted. 

But then Seonghwa’s hand finds itself on San’s arm. It rests there, Seonghwa’s fingers gently gripping San’s tunic. In that moment, the swordsman can almost feel as the fear and anxiety leaves his mind, draining from his body like a fruit squeezed of its juice. 

Not rejection. Maybe not acceptance, maybe not a confession or admission on Seonghwa’s behalf. But not rejection.

And with no rejection to be found, San knows what he must do.

He pulls away from Seonghwa’s lips, albeit not far, as he rests his forehead against the empath’s own. He can’t look Seonghwa in the eye for this, he knows it will make him too much of a coward to get the words out.

“I need to tell you something now,” San says.

Seonghwa’s voice is shaky as he speaks, quiet as his breath grazes San’s lips. “Okay.”

San holds his breath, as if he is about to dive underwater.

“I love you.”

There is a pause, and while San knows that realistically it is no more than a few seconds, it feels far more like an eternity as they pass by. He imagines all of the things Seonghwa could say. All the many variations of rejection or denial he could utter, ranging from a simple “no” to an entire memoir on why Seonghwa would never feel the same.

Seonghwa says none of these things. Instead he asks: “As in how?”

It takes San a moment to register what Seonghwa is asking. “As in I’m in love with you,” San clarifies.

“But…” Seonghwa starts, and in the moment’s pause he finally draws away from San’s face. When he looks at San, his face gives nothing away, a surprise given the empath’s often animated nature. Perhaps it is because he also does not know how he feels, how to respond to such a confession. Seonghwa does not smile, nor does he frown. His eyes do not light up with joy, nor do they swim with despair. 

In fact, the only emotion San can read is the wariness within Seonghwa’s gaze. A deep sense of caution. “What about Woo?” Seonghwa asks.

“I also love Woo.” San says, because it is true. Even after everything. Even after what happened at the beach the other night. Even with the line dug in the sand between them, a line that San himself has drawn, he knows that he will always love Woo. Always. 

Seonghwa frowns, eyebrows furrowing together into a puzzled look, as if the possibility of loving two people in such a way had never occurred to him before. As if the possibility of San loving two people in such a way were impossible. 

“I love him differently,” San admits, before thinking about it for a moment. “But at the same time, maybe not so differently either.”

“I don’t get it,” Seonghwa says, and for a moment San believes that he is talking about how San could love them both, but then Seonghwa clarifies: “How can you love me? For the last year you’ve kept me at such a distance. You’ve barely been able to touch me, let alone anything more than that.”

The words settle like a stone in San’s gut, and he thinks of their conversation at the fire after their run-in at The Desert Lotus. How Seonghwa had believed that he made San uncomfortable.

It was true. Touching Seonghwa did make San uncomfortable. Uncomfortable with how with each touch filled him with the desire to touch him more.

San’s voice is quiet as he speaks. “And why do you think that is, Hwa?”

“I don’t know,” Seonghwa answers, an immediate response, dejected as his gaze drifts away from San to look downwards. To Woo’s bed beneath them.

A flash of realization dawns on Seonghwa’s features, lighting up within the empath’s eyes. 

“Oh.”

“Yeah,” San says, unable to hide the amused smile that grazes his lips. “Oh.”

Seonghwa seems to consider this for a moment, before looking back up at San. “You know I love you too, right?

San’s eyebrows shoot up at this, and Seonghwa rushes to clarify. “Maybe not in the same way. Or maybe I do. I honestly don’t know. This is all new. I need some time to think about it.”

San nods. That’s fair. He hadn’t expected Seonghwa to immediately reciprocate his feelings. Although, maybe a little part of him deep down had foolishly hoped that he would.

Seonghwa seems to take note of the slight solemnity to San’s smile, and places his hand over the swordsman’s own. “But either way, I love you. And I don’t know what I would do if I lost you.”                                             

“You won’t” San replies, and it is instant. It is instinct. It is the truth. “Take all of the time you need.”

“Thank you,” Seonghwa says, giving San’s hand a soft squeeze.

A moment of silence passes between them, and despite its slight awkwardness, San finds it the least tense he’s felt around Seonghwa in a very long time. It’s as if a weight has been taken off of his shoulders, finally free of the deep sense of guilt in the quiet moment’s between them. When San’s mind would wander, and he’d hate himself for thinking such things about his closest friend, and then hate himself even more for being too much of a coward to tell his closest friend what he was thinking.

But now Seonghwa knows. He knows. And no matter the outcome, no matter what he feels towards San in return, San no longer has to hide or wallow in his own guilt.

It is freeing.

Seonghwa takes a sip of his drink. “That was a good kiss though,” he mumbles over the rim of his glass, and San laughs. A real laugh, bubbling up from his chest. It’s been too long since he laughed like that.

Then, as if a reminder of how not all good things can last, Yeji bursts in through the tent flap.

“She’s gone,” Yeji says, voice cracking with shock and worry. She’s wrapped in her blanket to cover her nightgown, her hair falling in tangled red curtains over her shoulders, clearly having just woken up. “She’s gone and a horse is missing.”

San’s heart drops down into his stomach.

He doesn’t need to ask who the “she” is that Yeji refers to, nor does he need to question where you went.

You’ve gone to find Woo. Alone.

You've gone to find Woo, alone, amongst men who are willing to pay a fortune to see you dead.

“Fuck,” Seonghwa breathes, voicing San’s own thoughts.

“Do you know when she left?” San asks, as it couldn't have been long ago. It had to be some time after San came inside the tent, otherwise he would have noticed you sneak out.

“Her bed is still warm. So recently,” Yeji answers, confirming San’s suspicions. 

“Alright,” San breathes, before turning to Seonghwa. “Let’s go.”

Seonghwa nods in agreement, and without another word, they’re on their feet and heading out through the tent flap. Annoyance bubbles within San’s gut. He told you not to go. He told you to wait until he came up with a plan. A plan that meant getting both you and Woo to safety, not forcing you all to pick between one or the other. He is not one of the gods and has no interest in playing one.

You seem to have made the decision yourself, and while San resents you for not telling him or Seonghwa what you were planning, he understands why you did it.

Because San was never going to come up with a better plan. Time has been ticking since the moment he found the message scrawled in the alley, and his ideas have run dry. There is no better way, it was always going to end in you heading up the mountain to Woo’s aid. You wouldn’t have had it any other way, and deep down San knows he would have had it the same.

He just wishes that they were there with you. There to help you. To protect you. To kill these men with far too much power, who took everything from you.

Who took everything from him when they kidnapped Woo.

The sun has begun to set over the horizon as you ride along the Concorsus Mountain Pass.

An entire day having come and gone, your pace relentless as you rode in a restless pursuit, your body now aches in protest. Your thighs burn from their friction against the horse’s back, the muscles in your arms throbbing from maintaining your grip on the reins. Your stomach rumbles and groans, gnawing at your insides in hunger, head-pounding in demand of water.

But there is no time to eat or drink, not when only the god’s know what the black-clad men are doing to Woo.

You’ve had an awful lot of time spent in silence to consider the many possibilities of how they could be torturing him, all too gut-wrenching and grotesque to even think about. You try to push away the images of Woo bathed in blood, his face swollen with bruises and infected wounds. You hope that they have him in a room somewhere, untouched, awaiting your inevitable arrival.

You also recognize this as wishful thinking.

Pushing the thoughts from your mind, you focus on the trail ahead of you. The Concorsus Mountain Pass is not an easy ride, the ground full of jagged rocks and rolling hills that have put your elementary equestrian skills to the test. Looming cliffs rest on each side of you, the black-colour of the rock like two blankets of darkness threatening to crush you between them.

The black-clad men did not specify where along the pass you were to meet them, but as you continue to ascend higher and higher, the increase in altitude making you feel both dizzy and nauseous, you imagine that they are stationed at the mountain’s summit.

As far away from Bebbanburg and any chance at aid you could possibly be.

You swallow hard, riding onwards. You have no help here, no protection. Having abandoned the safety net that San and Seonghwa created, you are truly alone in this. Your only protection is the sword attached to your waist, as well as Minho’s elixir residing in your pocket— if you could even consider that protection. It’s old magic, not even the god’s know what it will do. You aren’t particularly keen on ingesting it.

But if it comes down to a choice between life and death, a matter of saving Woo, you will.

With this in mind, you approach a rock wall. It’s not particularly large, five-feet tall at most, but your horse whinnies in protest as it comes to a stop before it. You try to give it a bit of encouragement, but the animal does not budge, clomping its hooves in irritation.

You sigh. This is not a horse from the kingdom stables, bred to ride and trained to jump, you have to leave it behind. Letting yourself down from its back, you grab the cliff’s edge, pulling yourself up and over the wall. Crawling up off your knees, you cast the animal a glance backwards, to which it meets with its black marble eyes.

The horse continues to huff, neighing in frustration. You frown as the animal grows louder, squealing as it lifts up onto its back legs, crying out.

“What the…” you mutter to yourself.

“It’s trying to warn you,” a voice says from behind.

You twist around, hand reaching for the sword at your waist, but you are not fast enough. The stranger grabs your wrist as you turn around, his other hand digging into your scalp. He pulls your hair back, forcing you to look up at him.

He’s young, maybe only a couple years older than yourself, with dark eyes and pale skin. His light hair is made brighter through its contrast with the black armour he wears.

“Hey, Princess,” the man says, grinning. You spit in his face, but he simply laughs, giving your hair a sharp tug backward. His laughter is quickly accompanied by others, as more black-clad men appear from behind different dark rocks along the mountain walls. You count what appears to be a half-dozen of them, all different ages and sizes, appearances united only through the black armour they wear. 

Giving your body a sharp twist, you catch the man off guard, before giving him a swift knee to the groin. He lets out a groan, his grasp on your hair relinquishing itself as he stumbles backward.

You’re prepared to run, to jump down from the cliff and back to your horse in hopes of finding more allusive passage, when you feel the coolness of metal along your throat.

“You’ve gained some spunk since we last saw you,” the man holding the knife whispers, seizing your wrist as he tugs your arm behind your back. You wonder if he was one of the men that chased you down the corridors following the besiegement, that hunted you in your father’s library. That killed Mingi in the stable.

“Good,” another adds, although which of the men is speaking you cannot tell. “It’ll make this all the more enjoyable.”

You were correct about their base being set at the mountain’s summit.

The men have been dragging you with them for what you assume has been roughly an hour, the setting sun having finally fallen victim to the night’s darkness. Stars glitter in the sky above you, and they are the only light present besides the singular torch one of the men carries, alighting the mountain pass in an ominous, orange hue.

They’ve remained silent since your capture, although the glances and cunning grins they’ve exchanged between one another have spoken loud enough. You don’t know what exactly is waiting for you at the summit, but you know it isn’t pretty.

The cave you approach at the top of the mountain seems fitting, as it's possibly the most unwelcoming entry-way you’ve ever seen. Sharp rocks align its entrance, each of them bleached white from sun exposure, creating the illusion of a monster’s gaping mouth.

You swallow hard, fear curdling within your stomach. It’s fitting, as entering a beast's mouth seems an awful lot like what you are doing. 

Upon entering the cave, the initial darkness does not last long, as you spot light further up ahead of the winding tunnel. As you draw closer, you recognize the light to be lanterns, strown up and around the cave. The bustle of people fills your ears, their chatter growing louder with each passing step. When you finally leave the tunnel and enter the cave’s main area, you blink in surprise.

You aren’t sure what you were expecting. Solemnity, perhaps. A dark cave with minimal light, nobody talking. A monster’s domain.

Instead, it reminds you an awful lot of the refuge, albeit smaller. There are plenty of tents set up, people sharing in conversation between them. Others spend their time chopping firewood, or brushing dirt and gravel away from their own tent’s entrance. To the left of the camp-site is a massive ravine, haphazardly blocked off by wooden pegs stringed together with rope. You are not close enough to the edge to tell, but you imagine the fall to be  hundreds of feet down. Deadly.

You glance around, watching the many men bustling about, as if this were merely a war-camp and not the station of murderess assailants.

Then you see him.

Woo resides on a makeshift parapet in the center of the camp, chains clamped around his wrists that are attached to large stone pillars on both sides of him. He sits on his knees, head hanging out in front of him, his hair falling in a dark mop that hides face. It appears that if it weren’t for the chains holding his arms up, he’d have already crumpled over.

Your blood runs cold.

The talking comes to a quiet as you enter, the dozens of black-clad soldiers all turning away from their conversations or menial tasks to face you. “Look who we found wandering,” the man holding you says, bringing his knife up from your throat to your cheek. He presses the blade against your jaw, forcing you to look up, displaying your face to the many men watching you.

Some of the men begin to snicker, a few even cheer as the man pushes the blade a little harder, piercing your skin. You can feel the blood trickle down your neck, although the sensation feels more like a dream than reality, as you catch sight of a man walking towards you.

Not just any man, but the one that chased you through the library. The one that cornered you in the stables.

The man responsible for Mingi’s death.

He walks slowly, almost a saunter as he appears to be in no rush. His posture holds a sense of confident ease, of power, and you’re certain that he is the commander of this army. His narrow, wrinkled face adorns a thick black beard. His eyes are dark, sharp as they scan you up and down, a satisfied smile plastered across his lips.

“Well,” the commander says, his voice not particularly deep, but intimidating nonetheless. “We were beginning to think you wouldn’t come.”

You say nothing, merely stare back at him, venom in your gaze.

“I’m assuming you’re here to save your friend then,” he says, continuing despite your silence. “How very noble.”

You do not give him the satisfaction of a retort.

“You’ve become rather stoic since I last saw you,” the commander says, eyes flashing with something awful. Something cruel. “Before you wouldn’t stop screaming. Begging your other friend not to sacrifice himself— the tall silver-haired boy, wasn’t it?”

“Shut up,” you whisper, tears stinging in the backs of your eyes. They are born of rage, not sadness. You do not let them fall.

“I suppose this is some sort of retribution for that, isn’t it?” The man continues, tone calm, almost light. “He gave his life for you, so now you’ll give yours for another.”

“Shut up,” you repeat, this time louder and with far more bite.

“You should have heard him scream. You should have heard the sound it made when my sword entered him again and again-”

You’ve had enough of this. Tears sting your eyes, fists trembling at your sides. You don’t have to listen to this man, give in to his taunts. He simply wants to have some enjoyment before he kills you, some sick sort of pleasure. Your father always said it was impolite to play with your food, and for once you’d have to agree with him.

“Woo!” You shout, turning your attention away from the man in front of you, from his barbed provocation. When Woo does not look at you, nor move his head from its slumped position, you try again. “Woo, can you hear me?”

“Unfortunately, Wooyoung isn’t quite with us anymore,” the commander answers with a sigh, tone sympathetic, although the smile he wears is anything but. “Not mentally, anyway.”

You frown at the use of Woo’s full name. How does he know that? Did Woo tell him?

“What are you talking about?” You ask, your voice low as fury rises hot in your throat, pulsing within your mind.

The man grins. A mischievous, dangerous, evil grin. “Would you like to come and see?”

The commander nods towards the man holding you, giving a look that says— no, orders: “Let her go.” The man’s knife falls away from your throat as he reliquishes his grip on your arm. You can still feel the spot where his fingers were, aching where bruises will surely soon appear.

Nobody moves to grab you, and it strikes you that in this moment, you could try to flee. Bolt back down the tunnel, dozens of men sure to take after you and grab you once more. You’re certain they would be far less liberal on your second capture.

You could try and fight. Relinquish your sword from its sheath and take out as many as possible. It would likely be only one or two, considering they’d all be on you and you don’t have San here to coach you through it. By the god’s you wish that San were here.

But he is not, and thus instead of fleeing or fighting you follow the man, obeying as his hand beckons you forward. “Good girl,” he says, and your gut clenches in disgust, face twisting with repulsion.

If the commander is offended by the expression, he doesn’t show it. Instead he continues walking, the two of you winding past different groups of the black-clad men, each of their gazes falling over you. You feel like a gazelle in a den of lions, their stares hungry for your blood.

When you reach Woo, you take a step forward, unsure of what exactly you plan to do. Perhaps move the thick mess of tangled hair from his face, or give the chains some slack to loosen the pull on his wrists. You just need to do something.

The commander places an arm out, stopping you. “I wouldn’t get too close if I were you.”

“Well, good thing you’re not me,” you cut back through gritted teeth, moving towards Woo. You crouch down, reaching for the chain on his right wrist.

“Woo, I’m here,” you say, trying to keep your voice level, even as it shakes. The commander had suggested that Woo wasn’t mentally here, and while you aren’t sure exactly what that may mean, you know you should navigate this with caution. 

When your hand touches the chain around his wrist, Woo lets out an awful, blood-curdling noise. You’d describe it as a scream, but that would make it too human. It is nothing less than animalistic.

Flames emerge from the elemental’s palms, scorching your arm. You yank your hand away, wincing as pain bubbles within your fingers. Despite yourself, you step back, clutching your burnt hand.

Woo looks at you, except that he doesn’t really. Instead his eyes almost look through you, unfocused and distant, although that’s the least of what worries you about his appearance. 

Apart from the unsettling and distant look to his eyes, the whites of them have shifted to a strange and unnatural purple colour, like blooming lilacs during the spring season. It contrasts greatly against the many thick red veins expanding out from his pupils, which have spread across his iris’ in a way that reminds you of black marbles.

His wrists are laced with wounds, the metal of his bonds having heated up due to the fire he unleashed from his palms. The burns are clearly infected as they beam a revolting yellow, puss forming within their deep gashes. Those will scar, you have no doubt.

Sweat beads along Woo’s temple, trailing down his face and onto his neck. You hadn’t noticed it before, but his entire body is drenched, all of his clothes soaked through. He trembles, tremors seizing his body as he breathes heavily, chest heaving as he appears to not be able to get enough air.

“What did you do to him?” You whisper. The man chuckles.

“We gave him an elixir of sorts,” he answers, and your stomach twists at the thought. Old magic. The weight of your own potion grows heavy in your pocket.

Woo continues to shake, arms trembling as he continues to look through you. Tears form in his eyes as he begins to murmur beneath his breath, although what exactly you cannot make out. You didn’t know what the men would do to him, what state he would be in, but you never could have imagined this. Fury twists in your gut like a cheap ale, making you feel sick with ferocity.

“Why would you do this?” You ask, and it’s the question that has been pressing down on your shoulders ever since you watched the dagger enter your father's stomach. You twist towards the commander, and despite how he stands taller than you, you do not let yourself appear weak. Chin held up high, you meet his gaze.

“Why would you destroy my kingdom? Why would you spend so much time and effort hunting me across Burovia? Why would you place such an utter fortune of a bounty on my head?” You look him up and down. “Who are you?”

The man grins. “Me? I am nobody.”

“Enough games-” You snarl, but he merely shakes his head, giving you a dismissive wave.

“You think I care about a pampered royal brat bred by a kingdom of snakes?” The commander asks, his dark eyes glimmering in the many lantern’s light. “I couldn't care less about your disaster of a court, although I must say I enjoyed burning it to the ground.”

You frown. “Then why would you-”

“Because my employer cares,” he cuts you off, tone final. He folds his arms behind his back, a clicking noise filling the air as he taps his fingers along his black armor. 

“Who is your employer?” You press further, ignoring how the noise matches the beat of your racing heart, that’s pace only increases with each passing second.

“I am not to say,” he answers with a shrug.

You grit your teeth, frustration building in your chest. “If you plan to kill me then what does it matter?”

The man hums, grin growing wider with satisfaction. “Does it scare you, the possibility of never knowing?” He takes a step forward. “Does it terrify you to never know why your kingdom burned to ash, to never know why your father was murdered?”

The man is close now, peering down at you, the crow’s feet along the edges of his ageing eyes more prominent as he stands before you. He reaches forward, running two of his fingers along your bare cheek.

“Does it frighten you that you’ll never know why you died?” He asks.

You do not flinch, even as he touches you, even as your body demands it. “You do not scare me,” you lie.

He chuckles at this, his hand still placed on your cheek, his calloused fingertips rough against your skin. “Your eyes say otherwise.”

The commander reaches to his side, pulling out a knife. Its long blade is serrated, details of stars carved into its wooden hilt. It reminds you a bit of the one Seonghwa gave you, the one Woo took on that first night you met them.

He extends the blade out towards you, hilt settled neatly in his open palm. “Would you like to do the honours? Or should I?”

You stare at the knife out before you, its blade a cool white, almost glowing within the cave’s dim lighting. He’s offering you a choice. Not of whether or not you will die, but how. Or better, by whom.

To do the deed yourself, or have it done by his own hand. 

Your hand hovers out in front of you, fingertips a mere inch away from the hilt. You stare at the knife, at its cool iron, at its spotless white blade. Soon to be tainted. Your hand shakes despite your attempt to steady it.

It’s a horrible, horrible decision to make.

Fortunately, the arrow that embeds itself in the commander’s arm liberates you from making it.

Sticking out from the crook of his elbow, nestled within a small gap in armor that was designed for amplified movement, the man lets out a shocked groan of pain. The knife clatters on the cave’s rocky floor as he brings his hand to the wound, the blood emerging from the black fabric not noticeable until it coats his pale fingers.

In unison, both you and the commander twist in the direction from which the arrow flew.

Seonghwa stands atop a rock in the far corner of the cavern, bow drawn up, still in the position from which he let the arrow fly. You nearly let out a cry of relief. Joyous, unadulterated relief.

A scream cuts through the air, followed by the thud of a body hitting the floor.

There’s another noise, a gargled and choked sort of cry, and you hear the sharp sound of the many black-clad men unsheathing their swords before you actually see them do it.

This is because your focus is not on them. It’s on San, as he holds a body out before him. It’s one of the men that captured you on the mountain pass, the young blonde. San’s sword sticks out through the man’s chest, blood pooling out from his mouth as his eyes grow dim.

It’s immediate, how the cavern erupts into chaos.

“Seize them!” The commander orders his battalion, before ripping the arrow from his arm. Despite the blood leaking from the now open wound, his movements are agile as he removes the sword from his own sheath. The blade is as black as night, matching its shadowy hilt.

You stare him down, relinquishing your own sword, your mother’s sapphire glittering.

You prepare to take a step forward, however, something presses up behind your back. You prepare to twist around, strike the oncoming threat. However, San’s voice fills your ear, quiet as he speaks over his shoulder. “We move together.”

“Alright,” you breathe, lifting your long-sword out before you as San’s back presses into your own. “Together.”

The black-clad men attack.

They move at you from all directions. San places his free-hand along your waist, guiding you with him. The two of you move with the grace of one being, fending off the dark wave of men that surround you like a swarm of hornets defending their hive.

You swing at one of the men, catching his shoulder as San pushes on your left hip. You move with it, narrowly dodging the strike of a different enemy blade, the breeze of his swing cool against your cheek. The failed strike catches the owner of the blade off-balance, allowing you to seize the opportunity to stab your sword into the soft spot of his breastplate, straight through the opening just below the pit of his arm. The man cries out, face knotting together in agony as he falls to the ground.

You do not allow yourself the time to dwell on how you’ve likely just taken that man’s life, how there are even more to come, as you slice your sword along another soldier’s neck. Save yourself, save Woo, save your kingdom. You can mourn the horrors of your deeds later, for now that is all that matters.

You catch a glimpse of a man in the corner of your vision, hair the colour of flame as he sneaks in behind the soldier whose chest you currently run-through with your blade. You won’t reach him in time, his sword is raised high in the air, another second and he’ll bring it down on your neck-

An arrow shoots right through his skull, entering near his ear as the point sticks out the other side of his head. Blood sprays out from the wound, splattering onto your tunic. The man crumples to the ground, falling in the direction of the arrow’s path. Dead.

Your gaze shoots to Seonghwa. He stands atop the rock, eyes wide as his gaze falls to the man on the ground. The man he killed. Horror is plastered across his own expression, as if realizing what he has done. Woo had once told you that Seonghwa has only ever wounded with his arrows. He’s never killed, not even beasts.

You worry he will crumble, just as you did after the mimic, just as you had the first time you’d taken the life of something. Instead Seonghwa swallows hard, a glazed look to his eyes as he gives you a nod, before removing another arrow from his quiver. You have a sense he’s also saving his pain for later.

San tugs you to the left, and your gaze is pulled away from Seonghwa and back to the battle before you. A man swings at you, and you push backwards against San to avoid the swipe. You worry it will cause San to tumble, but instead he sinks lower on knees, flattening his back. Using it for support, you fall back and into the air, giving the man in front of you a firm kick to the chest that sends him backwards, crashing into a few of the men behind him.

You grin. It’s satisfying, watching the men who took everything from you struggle.

And struggle they do indeed. You and San work as a tight-knit unit as Seonghwa picks off the stranglers with his arrows, as well as those attempting to crawl atop his residing stone. 

“By the gods,” you think. “We’re winning.”

However, if you are aware of this, so is the man leading the operation. 

You search for the commander amidst the swarm of black armour surrounding you, trying to pin-point his dark beard and aging face. He doesn’t appear to be a part of the mob. 

“Do you know where he went? The commander?” You ask San, yelling over the sound of battle cries and the screams of the wounded. San does not respond immediately, likely searching for him amidst the crowd. 

San lets out a sudden growl of annoyance. “He’s with Woo.”

You glance over your shoulder, seeing the commander next to the elemental. He stands behind Woo, lips drawn close to his ear, hand placed on the elemental’s shoulder. You cannot hear what the commander is saying to him, but you know that it is nothing good. 

Woo’s eyes are wide, the purple where the white’s of his eyes should be growing darker. Tears stream down his face and they are a matching colour, like drops of ink. You can see Woo whispering something, and while you cannot make out the words, the desperation on his face makes you believe that he is begging. Although what he is pleading for you do not know.

Fire surrounds them, leaking from Woo’s fingertips and onto the cavern floor. The flames run thick, the consistency of molten lava. You’ve never seen that from an elemental before, didn’t even know it was possible..

“We need to make our way over there,” you say while stabbing your sword into the arm of a black-clad soldier. You can feel San nod his head in affirmation.

Wrapping his free hand tighter around your waist, San pulls you with him, the two of you spinning through an opening within the mob. You nearly trip over something, and upon looking down you see that it is a body. His dead eyes look up at you. They are a light hazel.

You would vomit if there was anything solid in your stomach.

San pulls you past the man before you can stare at him for too long, before you can memorize the features of his face, before you can wonder if it was he or you who killed him.

So much death. So much needless death. You close your eyes, only for the briefest of moments, for the split of a second. You imagine you are the person you had been a mere month ago. The girl who let her baths be drawn from her, her clothes picked out and placed on her body by others. The girl who sulked when Mingi left for battle training, who’d never held a sword in her hands, let alone ran someone through with it.

You open your eyes and know that you will never be her again. 

San continues to pull you with him through the opening within the dark swarm, letting go of your waist as the two of you break through and sprint towards Woo.

The commander continues to whisper into the elemental’s ear, more molten lava dripping from Woo’s hands. It forms in pools on the cavern floor, slowly trailing down the parapet in a way that reminds you of the baby basilisks, like long thin glowing snakes.

It’s not until now that you realize what the commander is doing, as Woo grows more and more affected by his words, blood-vessel’s bursting in his eyes as red mixes itself into the purple. A mosaic of burning hues.

The commander knows that he is losing, which means he’s pulling out a last resort, willing to play his wild-card. He plans to use Woo as a weapon. He’ll do whatever it takes to take you out, even if that means his battalion goes down with you. Bastard.

The commander steps back from Woo, walking over to the top of the chain tied to one of the stone pillars. He will set Woo free, grant him full range of motion with his gift. After all, an elemental can only summon flame with movement, with the dancing of their fingers or full swing of their arms.

Only Woo is not your average elemental.

Before the commander can finish untying the first chain, Woo screams. It’s not as animalistic as his last, but far, far more broken. Fire flares out from around him, a massive wave of curling flames that tumbles in all directions, standing over ten feet tall.

You grab San’s wrist, yanking him with you as you dive behind the nearest rock. Face pressed to the ground, you do not see the fire as it stretches over top of you, but you can feel its heat along your back even through your tunic. Screams echo from all around, bouncing off of the cavern's walls, and you know that not everyone was so lucky.

Once the heat disappears, both you and San are quick to settle onto your knees, peering up over the rock. Woo’s head has fallen back down, shrouded in tangled black hair, chest heaving as he catches his breath. The commander, who had fallen to the ground behind him, rises to his feet.

You gasp.

While it appears he managed to find shelter before the flames completely engulfed him, he also did not make it out unscathed. The left half of his face burns a bright red colour, the skin bubbling with boils in a way resembles lumps of flour in unkneaded dough. His dark hair is gone on the affected side, both on his face and the top of his head, smoke billowing out from his disintegrated scalp.

With so much of his skin burned off, his eye nearly pops from his head, stark against his bright red skin. He looks undead, like a walking skeleton, the teeth on the left side of his mouth permanently visible due to his upper lip having been incinerated. His gums bleed, the red almost glowing against the whiteness of his teeth.

Your gut twists at the sight of him, and you have to look away.

Black-clad soldiers sit slumped around the cavern, broken moans leaving their lips as the fire was not enough to kill them all. The agony of their cries fills your ears, and although you fight against it tears sting your eyes. You know that these are bad men, men who killed your father and countless innocents in the castle, who ruined your life and want nothing more than to see your end.

But right now they are just men. They are just human, each one with their own life and story, and they are dying a slow and horrible death.

The blow to the back of your head stops you from becoming too absorbed in remorse.

It comes sharp and quick, carrying the heaviness of what you assume is a rock, and your vision momentarily sways. It doesn’t knock you out, but it does throw you off balance, giving the attacker enough time to seize your wrist. They give it a sharp twist, causing you to let out a whine of pain as your sword clatters to the ground.

The culprit drags you from behind, and you fight to remain on your feet. You shout to San, and while he twists to face you he is moment too late, as the person from behind shoves you away from them.

And into the arms of the commander.

The commander grins, his smile even more unsettling with his missing lip as he casts an appreciative nod to the young, brunette soldier who had grabbed you. He wraps his hand around the back of your neck, uncomfortably tight as he turns you to face away from him, chest pressed against your back.

With his spare hand he holds a knife to your throat.

“Enough of this,” the commander says. “Put your weapons down.”

The world around you stills as San comes to a halt, gaze sharp as his good eye flickers between you and the commander, analyzing the situation. He appears to come to no solution as he slowly retracts his sword back into its sheath.

However, not everyone follows his orders.

“Let her go.”

Seonghwa no longer resides atop the rock, likely having dived behind it to avoid the flames. Now on the ground, he stands roughly twenty feet ahead of you, his bow up and arrow drawn.

“What an awful accent,” the man laughs, and his voice sounds more manic now that he is on the verge of defeat. Of death. His cheek presses to yours, and you can feel his spittle against your skin, smell the rotten tang of his breath. “Like a Mainlander that swallowed his tongue.”

Seonghwa’s frown deepens, eyebrows furrowing together as he pulls the bow taught.

“You let that arrow fly and we both go down with it, boy,” the commander warns, and you can hear the smile in his voice. Such an awful smile. “Choose wisely.”

For a moment you don’t understand what he means, but realization sinks like a stone in your gut. The ravine resides behind you, hundreds of feet deep, the belly of a monster whose darkness would swallow you whole. 

“Take your mutt and leave,” the man says to San, nodding towards Woo, who has returned to his slumped position, skin glistening with sweat as his arms tremble.

“So you can kill her as soon as we’re gone?” San bites back, tone venomous. “I don’t think so.”

“I promise to make it quick and painless,” the man says softly, before pressing the knife into your neck. Not deep, but enough to make you gasp in pain. “Otherwise I can make it very, very slow.”

Seonghwa’s hands grip tighter around the bow, San’s expression settling into a snarl of fury. However, neither of them move. If San moves to attack him, he’ll simply slice your throat. If Seonghwa fires the arrow, you’ll plummet with him. You try to reach Minho’s elixir in your pocket, but cannot manage it. Besides, even if you did manage to grasp it, there’s no way the commander would let you go long enough to down the liquid.

He has you cornered, and you all know it. 

Well, that is except for one of you. You turn to Woo.

The elemental does not look at you as you speak. “Woo,” you call, the knife sharp against your throat as it bobs. “Can you hear me?”

“No, he can’t hear you.” The commander whispers into your ear, and you can feel the hollowness of his cheek as he speaks, the rough and ruined texture of his skin.  “Or maybe he can, but who knows how much of him is even left in there.”

“Woo,” you call again, ignoring him, even as his words send a shiver down your spine. “I don’t know if you can hear me, but it’s me. It’s us, we’re all here. San, Seonghwa and I. We’re all here.”

Woo twitches at this, although he still does not lift his head. You hear him murmuring something beneath his breath, and it’s a moment until you can register what he is saying.

“You’re not real,” he whispers, voice shaky and blubbered. “You’re not real.”

You swallow hard. “I don’t know what he did to you, and I don’t know what you’re seeing or hearing or what’s going on, but I need you to lift your head.”

He doesn’t respond and you try again. “Please, Woo. Please, just lift your head for me.”

It takes a moment, but shakily, he does. His hair falls in dark matted clumps over his blood-shot, purple-stained eyes. His pupils still do not focus on you, a distant vacantness to the broken expression across his tear-stained face.

“Leave me alone,” he says, and it is a hoarse, beaten plea. “Please, please just stop. Let me die. Don’t bring me back. Please. I deserve it.”

Your heart twists at hearing Woo - confident, self-assured, unbreakable Woo - say something so self-demoralizing.

However, it’s with these words, these broken claims that he deserves it, that you have an idea of what horrors he may be seeing before him.

“Wooyoung,” you say, and you notice as Seonghwa’s brows furrow in confusion at the name, San raising an eyebrow. Perhaps it's the first time they’ve heard it. “Wooyoung do you remember our conversation by the fire?”

“Please just stop,” he whispers, shaking his head as more of the molten lava begins to leak from his hands.You don’t even know if he’s still listening, but this is your last shot, so you push on.

“You told me that you knew you should regret what you did to the wardens, that it should eat you up inside. But it didn’t, because they deserved it.”

Tears continue to stream down Woo’s face, which is contorted in a pained, agonizing expression. However, as he does not deny your words or continue his broken mumbling, you take his silence as a sign to continue.

“I haven’t been able to forgive myself for what I’ve done, and I don’t think I ever will,” you continue, and you know both San and Seonghwa are watching you as you can feel the heaviness of their gazes. The confused curiosity mixed with desperation that swirls within them, staring intently. Yet, you ignore them. You ignore the commander and the knife at your throat, the wails of agony in the air and the thick stench of burnt flesh.

Right now it is just you and the broken elemental before you. You and Woo.

“But that’s the difference between us,” you say, swallowing hard. “I chose to harm people that never deserved it.”

“Enough of this,” the commander says through gritted teeth, pressing the knife harder against your neck. Choking down the increasing pain, you ignore him.

“And you never deserved it Woo, any of it. Any of what Warden did to you, any of my father’s cruelty, any of my lies. None of it was ever deserved.”

Woo’s breathing begins to escalate, but this time it is not as if he’s having trouble taking in air, it’s as if he has realized that he finally can.

“Enough,” the commander says again, with more anger in his voice as he appears to come to the same realization about Woo as you do.

“You’re there,” Woo whispers. His gaze is still lost and distant, his limbs still trembling and words blubbered with misery and fear. But there is also something more. Something powerful.

“We’re here,” you say back, relief blossoming in your chest. Even as the commander twists the back of your wrist and you let out a cry of pain, you’re filled with an undeniable, unbridled sense of hope.

“We need your help, Wooyoung,” you say, and the elemental swallows hard in response.

“I can’t,” he says, voice a quiet breath as he shakes his head in denial.

“You can,” you say, tone firm. You have him, even if only for a moment, and you will not let yourself lose him again. “You’ve done it before.”

Wooyoung stops shaking his head as he realizes what you are suggesting.

“Stop this!” the commander says, and now he’s shouting. He means it as a demand, as a threat, but it sounds instead an awful lot like a plea.

“You can do it, Wooyoung,” you say, the softness leaving your voice and replacing itself with a hardened encouragement. You will not yield.

“How do you know?” He asks, and even though his voice shakes, its weakness has fallen away.

A grin spreads across your lips. Even with the knife to your throat, the burnt bodies around, and the commander rotting breath hot against your skin, you smile.

You smile because you know you’ve won.

“Because, Wooyoung,” you say. “He deserves it.”

You can feel the commander’s grip around the knife clench, his elbow brought higher as he prepares himself to slice it clean across your throat.

“I said enough-” 

A blast of heat ignites from behind you, burning hot along your back, and you instinctively push forward. The commander's grip loosens without protest, the knife within his hand falling to the ground, clattering against the cavern’s rocky floor. A strong stench floods your senses, the same horrid and sickening scent that had previously hung around the cavern, only now increased ten-fold.

You twist around, putting yourself face-to-face with the commander, who’s entire body is engulfed in flame.

His screams leave him like waves crashing along the shoreline, powerful and ominous amidst their build-up but shattered and broken upon their downfall. The fire spreads across his body in a way that is almost unnatural, hugging close to his flesh as it eats away at his skin, a vicious parasite devouring him whole. He stumbles, and you cannot make out his expression, his face covered in the burning orange glow. Perhaps it is better that way.

He reaches forward blindly, his flame-covered hands extended outwards as he searches for your body. Even in death, he seeks to take you with him. Find his glory, his vengeance, even if it’s accompanied by his final breath.

And yet, even with all he has done to you, Woo, and your family, you grant the commander one final mercy. 

A quick death.

Reaching forward, you place your palms flat against his chest, giving him a firm push. It burns your hands, although only for a moment, as he stumbles backwards. His foot catches on one of the pegs tied together with rope before the cliff, sending him tumbling backwards. Time appears to stand still for a moment, an eternity slipping by as he hangs in the air, a ball of glowing flame suspended above the ravine’s gaping mouth.

He falls, the glow like a spark slowly diminishing, until it disappears entirely. You do not hear him crash against what lays beyond the darkness.

There’s a moment of silence that follows as you stare over the ravine’s edge. You half-expect the commander to fly back upwards, to catch you in a moment of weakness, suddenly equipped with new fire abilities of his own.

He does not. There is only darkness.

You turn back around. Both San and Seonghwa stare at you, both of their expressions difficult to place. Mouths parted slightly and eyes wide, they appear to be in disbelief. Awe, even. You imagine your face looks the same.

Woo sits with head hung over, eyes closed. For a moment you fear he is dead, but from the shaky rise and fall of his chest, you know that he is merely unconscious. 

There is the sound of footsteps as the few black-clad men left unscathed flee down the cave’s passage-way, leaving you behind. 

“Well,” San whispers, his good eye drifting from you, to Seonghwa, to the scattered bodies around you, before finally settling on Woo. He laughs, shaky and unsure, but at the same time so, so sincere. “Fuck.”

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

next chapter coming soon.

thank you for reading! feel free to come chat with me about any thoughts you may have, feedback is the one thing that keeps me going tbh. also, if you’re bored in the meantime, here are both my ateez and skz masterlists for your convenience. i hope to see you around :3

[leona-florianova]

Who else agrees with me that special agent Dale Cooper is one of the most precious characters on television 

[yellowbluemoonshine]

Bnha 293;  Why Deku couldnt reach out to Dabi

I wanna talk about that little moment between Deku and Dabi. I know we didnt even get translations but i couldnt wait so.

First,

Dabi says ‘you shouldnt interfere family issues’

I mean, yeah, he kinda has point but Deku cant just watching his friend’s dying there so of course, he has to interfere them.

And this scene;

‘I am gonna interfere! Todoroki-kun is my precious friend!’

Yeah, of course.

‘Endeavour is a mentor who helped me strong’

...yeah but such an unneccessary information.

‘The past never dies! cant be erased!’

Yep.

‘And thats why i am looking at the present Endeavour who is doing his best’

.....ok.

So the problem with Deku’s words is;

He says Endeavour does his best and changed which is not true.

You can not change without facing with your past and Endeavour didnt do that. Endeavour didnt take responsibility for his actions.

Endeavour is the reason Touya became Dabi, he is the reason Dabi is traumatized and become broken but he doesnt take responsibility for his abuse.

To Deku;

its ok because he is mentor, hero.

And he is not doing it anymore so its enough.

But Dabi is responsible for being crazy cause ummm he is villain and he is keep doing that (like th they gave him a chance to change)

And Deku basically says ‘past is past but he is not like that anymore’

In here, what Deku doesnt understand is the affect of abuse. Yeahi all that trauma happenned in the past maybe but it wont just stay in past cause trauma, abuse affects brain, your mindset. You wont suddenly be ok, after you were abused.

So of course, Dabi’s reaction would be laughing off cause thats doesnt matter cause Endeavour didnt pay for what he did, he didnt take any real responbility for his actions. Thats the whole point.

What Dabi is supposed to do? Changing with a few words from random guy? Like those words even something new?

People like Endeavour can continue their life, unlike Dabi cause he is not the one who is traumatized.

All Dabi and people in league wants is to be knowledged their pain, not that acting like it was nothing. This is exactly why Deku’s words didnt reach out to Dabi.

Not because Dabi is too far gone. Not because Deku didnt try.  But because Deku didnt acknowledge Dabi’s pain. 

Because main problem isnt solved. Dabi isnt the main problem. He is side effects of main problem. And that main problem is what Endeavour did to his family and that society let that guy rising.

For people like Deku, worse scenario is villain’s killing people. But for people like Dabi and league, worse scenario is the way society is. To them, nothing can be worse than right now. A society let people suffer, ignoring their pain and acting like everything is ok can burnt to ashes.

Deku cant solve the main problem cause he himself doesnt face with main problem. Deku is doing this cause he wants to help Dabi too but his way is so wrong. Dabi cant change without his pain being acknowledged and getting proper help so his behaviours is no surprise.

Unlike Shigaraki, Deku can reach out to people and inspire like Shouto, Eri with his behaviours but unfortunately, you cant deal with completely broken people like that. This is why, unlike Deku, Shigaraki can reach out to people like Dabi cause first thing he does is acknowleging their pain, needs, giving them a healthy environment.

I am not saying Deku is bad guy here cause he has good intentions and unlike Endeavour who is responsible for all of this and just standing there, Deku at least is trying to do something. But right now, the place Deku in is wrong. The way he tries to solve this is problematic.

Well, no surprise since Deku is abuse victim too and this is how he handled his own abuse. Deku didnt reach his breaking point, he still has good things in his life, he can endure so he doesnt understand. So this is all comes from lack of character development which story needs to let Deku to grow that point.

Just really wanted to talk about this. I never ever thought i would talk about both Deku and Dabi in same post so glad that this happenned, i hope Deku can get interact more characters and grow. Cant wait that to happen.

[magicflowershop]

one day kitty; Kita version

《inspired by movie A Whisker Away》

✿✿ you wished to be with the person you like and wish granted. whiskers, button nose, tail, four legs and ears on top of the head; you turned into a cat. with this, you are given the opportunity to be with the person you want to express your affections to. but as a cat. and only in one day.

― haikyuu characters x cat!reader imagines!

❀ masterlist ❀

the wheel of names have spoken.

kita was having a good time by himself in his grandmother’s rice fields, feeling the breeze like the precious farm boi he is,,, when he saw a cat sleeping on a wet patch in the middle of the field

gathering concern for the little cat, he brought him home and decided to clean it up 

then you woke up

you felt something scrubbing your back when you open your eyes you see a guy aiming a hose at you 

you scream bc obv, but that scream translated into a screech leaving your mouth and you see your hand

homie that was a paw

why do u have a paw?????

"stay still, you might hurt yourself”

and why is there a Kita Shinsuke spraying water at you lmao

you see that he’s kinda annoyed that you’re moving so much while he’s trying to clean you up but at the same time you arent sure since he isnt easy to read and that don’t know him too well rip so you let yourself be cleaned for free ig

but yo what the hell??? so you’re a cat now????

you try to remember what happened before all this and how in the world you suddenly turned into a cat and magically wake up in Kita’s place 

you dont know the exact location of his place so you have no idea how to get back home from here

Kita pulled the cat closer to him, and wiping the wet fur with a towel as generously as he could that the cat soon found comfort from his gentle caresses

okay maybe you could stay for a while yk huehue

“you’re having fun”

you hear a familiar voice from a mile away, you look back and see a fat, creepy cat standing on two of its hind feet

o wait

you saw that cat last night when you were watching the shooting star outside,,, you thought it’d be cute if you suddenly wished for something so you did then that thing appeared outta nowhere promising you that he can make your wish come true than compared to a stupid star

so he forced the wish outta you

that you wished to be closer to a guy you admired,, and you had a lot of crushes in your school ykyk,,, just that Kita takes the entire cake

“you have until midnight to remain as a cat. be sure to leisurely fulfill your desires, y/n.”

and so he vanished

while knowing full well you’re basically Cinderella now, you take consideration of your leisure time with Kita-sama

do you stay or do you go home first to check on your household

“oh what do we have here?”

Kita’s grandma entered the scene and you think that okay maybe this development is a little too quick since you weren’t ready to face his relatives yet

“i found this cat in the fields. it looked like it could get sick so i cleaned it”

o yea you were a damn cat

also Kita calls you freakin “it”

:) 

pennywise who

you chose to stay in Kita’s place bc grandma thought it’d be lovely to let you stay there for a while,, and that you looked like you were starving when you saw the food on the table

thank goodness you were a cat bc jesus were you actually drooling

so you spent time in Kita’s place big deal

but his place isn’t what you’re aimed for no?

“i’m leaving”

Kita says putting on his shoes, ready to leave and he’s wearing casual clothes,, you don’t think he’s going to school for volleyball practice

IS HE GOING ON A DATE????????????

lmao

as if thats actually true cmon Kita doesn’t even hang out with girls that much,,, even though he prolly has a bunch of admirers like the other Inarizaki Vball bois

but what if he swang that wae?

??????????

so you followed him right?

you wanted to find out where he’s headed also that he looked good in casual clothes you just want to keep looking at him like this 

Kita went to the grocery store

ah

and apparently he was buying ingredients to make food

ahh

so you begin to think that you were foolish for lowkey gate-keeping him

like sis cmon you’re a cat rn keep your head in the game,, what do you do with those paws of yours that cant even grab his hand and pull him away when he was about to bump into a girl as he was about to grab a bottle of tomato paste

heck you cant even get inside the damn grocery store and walk in between them cause you’re a fcking cat!!!!!!!!

you watch their mouths say sorries to each other

the girl was blushing

hm?

Kita looked worried that he couldve hurt her since the hag was coverin her face

hm

nani k

n̸̢̪̜͚͑́̾́̑̋ á̴̠̜̳͖̼̃͗̚͘͠ͅ n̵̼͙͇̻̹̓͜͜ i̷̥̲̻̪͈̞̙̩͛̾̅̓͝͝͠ ̶̨̡̜̞̟͆̿̈́͜ḵ̶̂̓̀̚ o̶͎͛̋̋̊͋̊̅̈̅ͅ r̶͙̮̱͊̎͠ ę̷̺̪͎͈̗̖̯̣͍͒͊̒͆͂̈́͛́̒̃

you started tapping the glass windows like mad SKSKD

and ofc since you’re a stray animal ppl wont let u get away with absolutely anything so one personnel saw you tapping the windows and shouted at you from inside the store

Kita and the hag saw you and yea that was enough embarrassment for the day, you ran away and let your feet take you wherever 

its a bit boring that since its a weekend there’s nothing to do,, you never expected that Kita’s weekends would be this boring too :(

so the creepy cat appeared

“what’s wrong you dont seem to be enjoying yourself anymore”

“turn me back to human i need to finish my homework”

maybe thats not the most liable excuse you have but it is true that you need to finish an assignment

“but i gave you a chance to be with the person you admire, no? is this not enough?”

“yea well its-”

“here you are”

you feel someone pick you up and you see that it was Kita:0he must’ve looked for you since you dont even know where you are

oh my god Kita Shinsuke looked for you ma’am eye- or mayhaps you took the route back to his house without knowing since you were busy staring at him when you were stalking him earlier ye

you watched how he looked at the creepy cat you were talking to and and judged it from head to hind feet lmao Kita

“do you have the same owner as this cat?”

he asked you and you gave out every ounce of your energy to shake your head as a no as well as to let out the most disgusted and disapproval meow you ever could-

“the hell would i want to be acquainted with that thing!”

a

what

no way did u just speak

so Kita stared at you for the remainder of the time but decided you speaking isnt physically possible and that he could’ve been real tired since he saw the Miya twins along the way

he took you back home since his grandma seemed to be real happy seeing a little animal in the house with them

but you didnt miss to see the little knowing smile from the creepy cat from earlier, you just knew from that alone that he was messing with you since as you said you were bored 

it was wrong of you to talk to that lil disgusting thing

since that moment you refused to speak with your mouth every again, if you were going to speak thought you would probably just purposely say meow only to not make anymore mistakes

also you’re spending a lot of time with Kita’s grandma than Kita himself

“i wonder what your future spouse is doing at this moment, Shin-kun”

Kita looked like he wanted to roll his eyes so bad lmao since he always hears things about his grandma wanting to see his wedding before she dies :c

and yk it makes you sad too just hearing about this

and you want to help 😔

and you would offer help 😌

they heard the cat speak and now you’re running away bc they heard you talk about wanting to marry Shinsuke 🤡

the day ended and you managed to go home before the sun set basically nothing happened and your transformation was all for nuttin, you were bamboozled by a demon cat you randomly saw one night

the next day you were back to your human self and it was a school day so ofc you have to live on normally in school as if nothing happened, as if you didnt just stalk a guy from your school but we’ll get to that

see, you’re friends are friends with a few of the guys from your school’s volleyball team,,, so you’re within vicinity of Kita’s attention 

when you explicitly did not want to see him atm

BUT THEN YOU REMEMBER YOUR FRIENDS KNOW YOU LIKE KITA

WHAT THE HELL DO YOU DO NOW

you decided to run away but you realize that’s useless bc you’re all going home together :D

now you weren’t the crowds type of person,, you had no idea how it come to this, you’re used to hanging out with your girlfriends yes but they were having fun altogether like this it was fun just watching them goof off and whatnot

“hey”

when i told you you’re almost dropped the second you hear Kita calling to you, you best believe

you said hey but in a different tone of voice bc it was too early for him to notice you had the same voice as the cat he saw yesterday,,, then you both walked in silence

you couldnt take it anymore and decided to go to the nearest convenience store since you had something you want to buy,, you went and whispered this to your friends but when they were asking you to let your voice out, you were deadass croaking

but then you clown yourself sum more bc Kita was concerned of you acting like this and asked if you were alright

now you’re stuck with him in the convenience store bc your friends and his friends thought it’d be a great idea for him to go with you :D

“you should eat something warm before going to sleep, and take a warm bath too”

:((((((

okay now you feel bad for actually making him worry lol

your alibi of getting sick works really well with not speaking at all around him so you used this till the end thinking you can escape him with this until it rained and you dont have an umbrella with you

aight y/n you’re one hell of a clutz

Kita was enough of a gentleman to buy an umbrella for you until its actually out of stock

you guys stayed in the convenience store for the time being

you were losing your mind

how much longer will you stay with him

you thought of an alibi to save you from the embarrassment so you told him you gotta jet and go back to school bc you forgot to bring your notebook with you 

but now you realize you realize you didnt have to tell him bc he’ll still follow you as if his life depends on taking care of you :(

after you randomly stormed out of the convenience store, he caught up to you and pulled you somewhere where there’s a roof over

“are you usually this reckless? or do you just like getting yourself sick?”

homie does not hold back

he pulled a spare shirt from his back and put it on your head,, proceeding to wipe your wet hair with it until he realized he’s subconsciously invading your personal space

he looked right at you, so you two were standing there,,, staring,, his hands on both sides of your head,,,,, both of y’all are wet hunni

he let go and turned the other way,,, the darkness wasnt dark enough to conceal his red cheeks and hunni you made him blush aight

“you reminded me of a cat i saw yesterday im sorry about that”

“you dont have to apologize”

o sis you did it now

you s p o k e

so Kita was beyond surprised to hear that voice again,,,, and this time from yOU,, ALL NORMAL,, NO FROGS

“i, i can explain”

he looked at you confused, hell was he so confused, that you sounded exactly like the voice he randomly heard yesterday which made him think that came from the cat,, he didnt think that was physically possible bc yk but the embarrassment from your face was enough for him to guess

“did you really say you’re willing to marry me”

gOD

“i mean,,, i don’t mind”

“grandma would be glad”

stay tuned for more!

[shiro-0197]

Hello hello! Good night XD

AH I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH, BUT CURRENTLY, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING— quarantine and zoom meetings are no fun and since I'm president of my club, it's just me prompting everyone to answer 😭 I miss the lively irl meetings. We'd be good friends, I'm sure. I'm so curious of your mannerisms and habits irl ://

sadly yes, not everything is meant for everyone and although that's sad to note, it's good thank you two are doing much better rn. Thankfully, all in the past, and I don't take things are seriously anymore so I find that absolute character development :D

ah yes she's cool! I met her on the first day of middle school but we only became friends around mid-year, because we never really thought we'd be friends as we're so different haha. Thankfully we did, and our personalities compliment each other, while still being as different as they get >.< She's more serious, quiet, and introverted, while I'm more... well, I guess you know how I am XD

AHH Shiro, ngl I'm blushing rn (because I'm so happy 🥺🥺) it makes me feel really special to know that, and I hope you know you're the best thing that has happened to me this year. I love you too, truly I do.

penis flytrap? Like Venus skdjsksk that's a humourous one xD but omg your friend sounds so cute, albeit a bit mischievous. Rocchan, huh? 😭😭Guys will be guys. and you sound so fond of him, that's just so precious, I like him already 💖💖

Oooh kuchuk!! That's such a cute word, thank you for teaching me. My other friend calls me shortcake, because I'm shorter than her (the audacity😭🤚 all my nicknames are about my height istg) tho i'm sure you'll still grow :D but even if you don't, your size is perfect the way you are.

Hold up, you cook? Alright marry me and I'm not taking no for an answer 😤🤚 jkjk, tho I'd love to try your quiche, and maybe I'll steam you some dim sum in return 👉👈💖

Good afternoon!! I hope you slept well, I couldn't answer earlier cuz I had a terrible headache and felt like I'll kill everyone is someone talks to me, sorry~

YEAH, THE ZOOM MEETINGS ARE ALSO SILENT, AND THE CLASS REP'S HELPER IS ALWAYS SO MAD AJJDJSJDJ it hurts to see

Same stuff happened to me and my bestie, she knew me but neither of us spoke, but then one day we both sat nearby and started talking about how we have no idea what's going on. Now she's one of the best thing that's ever happened to me:) a lot of wonderful people started talking to me randomly at times I didnt expect anyone (you included<3) and I already know when something good is gonna bloom:D

I'm also vv happy to know that I'm precious to you!!! You're a really good person, I love you so much<33

Yep, they made a mistake in typing venus and wrote venis instead, which lead the autocorrect to change it to Penis, and for some reason everyone thought the nickname would suit me well, so I just went with it:)

Yeppp, hes like that!! You can message him, @/kurokuro0197 on insta, or kuro0197 on tumblr but he isnt online often so oops xp

Yeah hes really important to me🥺 We went through a lot together and if he goes down, I'm after him without a second thought.

It's actually spelled as küçük, but I decided to spell it so it's easier for you to read, even though I just realised I could probably write both xD

SHORTCAKE that's so adorable 😭😭😭 very fitting as well considering how sweet you are

Let's go girl were getting married🤵👰💍

Ohhhh I'd love to try your cooking!!! I bet you're good at that hehe ~ if we ever meet, we should totally exchange foods we made

I hope you're having a good day!! I'm pretty exhausted today even though it's just started, but your message made me a bit better, thank you~♡

[elfdyke]

ivy for character

putting this under readmore kdfjngkd

favorite thing about them

i LOVE how passionate she is about environmentalism.. i love how she basically gave up on humanity until harley fell into her life and she was like.......ok maybe humanity isnt completely unsalvagable.. i just love that she was able to see hope in humanity again because of her seeing the good in harley.. i think shes just got such a big heart thats been hurt a lot : ( shes good

least favorite thing about them

not so much about HER her but i dont like it when certain comics make her violent with harley... like sure some of them r obviously overblown for comedic value but it doesnt translate very well and i wish ppl would like.. not do that anymore x_x i think the bruce timm comics r rly cute but ivy being violent toward harley jus feels kinda ooc to me

favorite line

UM WELL. i have zero idea i need to read more of the comics : ( but whenever she says shit like.. calling harley peanut and banana bread etc.. it warms my heart

random headcanon

SHES VEGAN! because i fukkin sayso

unpopular opinion

......SHES VEGAN DFKGJDFNG  

song i associate with them

simmer by hayley williams! especially these lyrics

If I had seen my reflection As something more precious He would've never Mmm and if my child needed protection From a fucker like that man I'd sooner gut him

favorite picture of them

heh. well, I have a few!!

[briarjay]

Adam is/was Wasted Potential and You Can’t Change That Fact

i may or may not make a video about this, but i need to post this somewhere. 

adam IS wasted potential. the fact that he went from a threatening faunus leader who wanted his version of revolution to a fucking crazy stalker ex boyfriend is BAFFLING. not to be that guy, but i seriously doubt monty wanted adam to be JUST a non-threatening crazy ex boyfriend trope that suddenly stopped caring about the faunus cause. do you realize how many deep plot lines relating to faunus racism we could have had if adam remained a threatening faunus leader? adam was SUPPOSED to be a threat who was ALL ABOUT the faunus revolution. does this mean his ideologies on humans and faunus relations are justified? NO!!! thats the POINT! he was SUPPOSED to be blake’s antagonist in the fact that he was against her own ideals on fanus-human relations! HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HER OBSTACLE IN FAUNUS RIGHTS, NOT A HALF ASSED EX BOYFRIEND SCORNED ROMANCE PLOT! 

to reduce adam to just a crazy ex boyfriend and throw away the fact he was all about the faunus mission even after blake left and STILL Deny adam isnt wasted potential? how much delusion can bumblebee shippers be in to sit there and say “adam only existed for bumblebee development!” 

in the flashback episode in volume 3, adam says so himself that he doesnt give a fuck that blake left him! the white fang grunt offers to have a search party for blake, but adam says “forget it” and basically admits he has more important things to deal with! why throw THAT particular scene, which clearly shows us adams mentality and role, then throw it away to force bumblebee in our faces? 

adam was done SO dirty ever since volume 3 and you crazy bumblebee shippers are gonna sit there and brag when people like me who acknowledge adams potential as an antagonist are suffering from seeing the writers just THROW him away instead of taking up the keyboard and FUCKING FIXING HIM! the writers threw adam away just because they knew they fucked up in changing him from a faunus leader to a fucking ex boyfriend trope! they knew they fucked up beyond repair so the only lazy thing left to do is throw him away so they wont have to think hard about his scenes anymore. it’s fucking bullshit.

not to mention adam got a fucking character short to himself before this volume and yet he only shows up in a big way towards the fucking end of the volume. there was so many ways to include adam and the branding on his face. there was MANY opportunities to show GROWTH in adam when he knows he cant win against blake and yang. but instead of showing adams an actual character, they just use him for blake and yang’s development and then dispose of him, completely ignoring the fact that Monty DID NOT want Adam to end up as a fucking joke like this 

if they just kept adam and blakes relationship strictly platonic and student/mentor, this crazy ex boyfriend bullshit would  NOT have taken over. monty even said once they werent supposed to be romantic, but the writers made it seem that way and BOOM, we get a different adam after volume 3. they took the “my love” shit in volume 3 WAY too far.

take out the blake and adam romance. make them enemies on a moral and ideals standpoint. think of how many fucking potential storylines for the faunus we would have had if adam did NOT stalk after blake to kill her or her friends and was instead just a threatening faunus leader whose missions kept getting stopped by RWBY and friends? imagine that each time blake had to stop adams white fang plans and each time they crossed swords, they’d have deep monologues about faunus rights and the racism they received? how about when we finally got the face reveal, adam continues to fight his ideals against blake’s ideals and the scene between them would have been way more deep in terms of plot and character development? 

to kill adam just as we got a smidge of his backstory is also baffling. the fact that cinder--a character with NO clear motivation other than power...a character with ZERO backstory--gets to live and still be nonsense, while adam DIES? it’s baffling! cinder still has chances to be a good antagonist while adam doesnt just bc the writers got LAZY and killed HIM instead of giving him a chance to fix his fucing character!

let me also bring to you that adam showed signs of having BPD. the only way to “explain away” his behavior with blake is that he had BPD. the brand shows a traumatic event in his life, and depending on how young he got the brand, it is his traumatic abusive experience. the reason he was suddenly “abusive” to blake is because he was abused by humans and knows NO OTHER way to cope with it, so he just does what he knows onto others. his extreme impulsiveness and rage is explained with BPD as well. the scene with blake in the adam short, where he flips attitudes about blake’s parents is explained by BPD. the fact that adam reacted and felt this strongly about blake abandoning him is also explained by BPD. 

so you want to just sit there and say ur “precious lesbians” killed a man with BPD? he was powerless without his sword. blake and yang were going to make it to the pieces of blake’s weapon before him anyways, so why stab him? could have just held him at blade point. have yang punch him to knock him out, take him to the atlas base and chain him up. leave a note or some shit saying this was adam taurus and have him get arrested. maybe then he’d have a chance of getting help for his BPD symptoms.  without his sword, he is powerless. he was essentially gonna lose anyways. 

POINT IS: ADAM IS 100% WASTED POTENTIAL!!! 

[ellerevelle]

okay so im feeling crazy and detached again (as usual lately)

but instead of spiraling into absolute fucking panic, I’m deciding to take today to just ... not wholly subscribe to this manner of thinking BUT. JUST FOR NOW. I feel like taking some of the craziness flack off myself and blaming it on some shit outside of myself. Because feeling this weird and detached cant all just be me. So here’s a brainstorming of whats got me fucked up, in no particular order: 

Trump is our stupid President

That guy who told me he loved me daily and asked me to be his girlfriend after basically living with me immediately after meeting me and I fell for hard despite a ton of red flags CHEATED on me while I was away visiting home. 

And then blamed it on MY bad communication? fuck that guy. 

But now I see one of the girls he slept with (multiple times, three days in a row) I see her everywhere all the time in everyones instagrams, at everyones parties... ugh. 

Um. People are dying. Close to me. More importantly and spefcifically women I love are dead. 

I didnt get to see Inga before she died. I was too busy forging a relationship with CHEATER GUY. Didnt get home in time to see her. Talk to her. 

Grandma. This has been the whole first year without her, come November. Its subtle, but terrible and I hate it. She was my last matriarch. The last woman who’s blood is in me. 

because Mom’s dead too. And has been since August of 2015. 2015, right? God it feels like forever ago now, probably because I’ve pushed it away. She died unexpectedly and NO ONE IN MY FAMILY HAS SAID THE WORD SUICIDE OUT LOUD even though thats what happened. She OD’d on prescribed opiate painkillers to escape her depression. And we NEVER talk about it. 

So I kindof feel insane. Not talking about things that are clearly there. Like, are they not clearly there for anybody else? Now all my women are gone. My brother literally avoids talking about feelings. My dad is a little more receptive but is more the comforting type than the forthcoming, express onesself type. Getting sentimentality out of my brother is like pulling teeth sometimes. But yet if his son does something cute, its God’s Work and he cant help but cry and get that beautiful lovie squishy look on his face. 

I’m jealous of my own nephew. I see the way my Mom loved me, in the way my Brother loves his son. And I miss being that perfect to somebody. My Dad loves me forever and always and there isnt a word for how grateful I feel for our relationship. I dont take that for granted at all. It actually kindof scares me because... hah, well what if Dad dies? Like, before I’m ready? I’ll be even MORE fucked! 

Anyways. Austins been pissing me off. I’m sorry but although Polyamory is possible and cool and im sure quite beautiful for many, 

The Austin poly scene is fucked and tainted and a bunch of slutty people having orgies and not TALKING about anything and its ruining the healthy vibe poly is incumbent upon. 

So, whatever I’m angry. So fuck that noise. 

I feel like because of cheater guy and my anger at the psuedo poly orgy sexy bullshit scene in Austin, I feel like I’ve broken up with a whole group of friends. Like, I dont want to be around any of it. I dont want to see you eat mushrooms and twerk. I dont want to see your stupid, super naked outfit. I dont think its hot you carry a flogger or can pole dance or slink around like a tarantino character. It used to be hot and thrilling and fun, when I felt like it was connected and for love and sharing and caring. But now it all just is slutty and vapid and useless and cold. Like a sad clown. And thats not sexy, its dark and desperate. *this is about both VERY particular people and broad general strokes. There are several extremely amazing friends in the scene and outskirts thereof that truly inspire me and dont fall into this catagory in my mind, although they’d probably still be angry with me for dissing things ^^ the way I just did but. fuck it, this is MY journal entry and I can be irrational if I want to. 

You cant be open fucking minded ALL the time. Sometimes people really arent acting with anyones best intentions but their own. I’ve used up SO MUCH FUCKING ENERGY making myself soften and open and “woke” and trying to go with everybodys flow. And I’m exhausted and over it. I have my own principles and theres nothing wrong with having differing opinions than someone else. 

All summer I’ve been feeling like I’m a bad person for not liking or not understanding this hyper sexual scene in Austin. I thought, “why am I shaming a scene thats giving me opportunity to really shine and be free?” when, in an IDEAL world, yes thats what the scene could be. But in what actually fucking unfolds -- humans SUCK and dudes SUCK and girls SUCK and everybody (especially when horny) are fucking STUUUUPIIIIIDDDD and ideals get thrown out the window! people arent nearly as “woke” as I gave them the actual credit for. Seriously. So! I’m fuckin OUTTIE! 

I’ve felt broken up with a whole scene. FUck cheater guy, fuck poly, fuck orgies, fuck people who are reckless with my love. 

Back to the list:

I’ve been eating too much out of boredom. Which I’ll blame on lack of quality social interaction in this town. Where are the scholars? Where are the sexy edgy BRAINY people? I’m tired of hot people in little clothing in the summer. 

Ah! Another thing for the list. its been TOO FUCKING HOT OUT. FOR MONTHS. 100 DEGREES FOR MONTHS. thats enough to make anyone insane. 

So i’m sick of teenie boppers in their nothing outfits in the heat. 

I want old smart people in peacoats. I miss books and weather and frowns. Irritable debates about literature or physics or religious theories. 

I only like my own brand of cigarettes. 

My roommates are annoying me. I dont really like my house anymore. Theres too many humans and not enough square footage. Four people to one kitchen is TOO MUCH SHIT. EVERYONE BUYS THEIR OWN BANANAS AND THEY ALLLLLL GO BROWN ON THE TABLE. thats four peoples worth of bad bananas. FUcking stupid. 

I dont have a hairdresser here. Sometimes when I feel shitty I like to throw money at the problem. Buy something. Get a haircut. See a show. Etc. 

And my hairdresser love is in Philadelphia and getting a flight to get a haircut is slightly insane (without a longer visit)

I miss Adam. 

What else can I blame my upset on. Shitty politics, shitty weather, shitty social sexual scene in my town, I dont like my house, I dont like my hair. Its too expensive to live here. No one in my immediate acquaintance or friend circle seems interested in the sort of romantic relationship I’m seeking, nor if they did does anyone have the “it” factor I look for which I’ll *try* to describe maybe in another post. 

So. I sit inside my room and try to fix stupid remedial things as if itd make a big impact. I tidy and put away clothes in attempt to feel less cluttered but am too scared to make BIG cuts and BIG changes. So instead I light insence and watch netflix and eat too much. I have started going to Barre3 again more and have been semi regular with therapy so thats something. 

I really ought to start doing “morning pages” like the book Fiona loaned me suggests in its FIRST GODDAMN CHAPTER. But, alas, I am lazy. 

No, I have become recently lazy. 

I’m spoiled. I dont do things I dont want to do. Its a major character flaw. I only push and struggle if I see worthyness in it, and lately theres been serious lack of evidence of that in, well, anything.

 #depression! 

so, I guess in summation- because nothing has been a WORTHWHILE struggle, EVERYTHING feels like a struggle. Humph. thats... thats not good. But it does, because i dont see the worth in a lot of goals or tasks or even relationships, (and i dont mean the greedy “what can I GET for ME out of this!” sort of b.s.) (I mean the... conserve precious energy, is this going to teach me something or help me grow as a person or bring love into my life sort of vibe) ...

when I dont think the energy expenditure is going to pay off, I dont do it. Or I do it half way or lazily or with tentative fear. I guess I could do an experiment and just do everything with HOPE and see if my energy put in will get a different result... but. like. I feel like I did that all summer and he cheated on me. And my “friends” said “dont be angry, be poly” and I couldnt call on my Mom or Grandma and so I call on eating and isolation and running away to visit home where no one cares I dont have a job. where the house is big and the air is cold and my friends are smart. 

I really miss Kristian. That was one of the greatest feelings of self love in my entire life. I felt like, if someone that special noticed ME. Saw ME. Little old, semi chubby, not famous ME, and wanted me around for a couple tour dates. Then I ought to believe in myself TOO. I wanted to dance, I wanted to make art, I wanted to take photos, I wanted to be bold, I wanted to be humble, I felt so open and content with myself. I was motivated to work out, I was motivated to eat healthy and clean and small portions. It was easy. It felt so fun. I loved him. I dreamt big. My imagination was so warm and excited. My inner critic was GONE. 

But he faded away. He got back with his ex. The shooting star left the sky. I’m still grateful for the experience at all, but. 

I feel a little stupid for thinking anything could’ve happened. 

And I truly miss feeling so special and excited about life. 

I dont want to run away from Austin out of fear. But I cant tell if I’m unhappy and want to leave genuinely, or if this is the spoiled part of me thats like, “this sucks, lets leave.” instead of pushing though, curating something better with some struggle, and sticking it out. 

How do people make big life decisions like this? I feel like thats what marriages do. People stay together and fight. But sometimes they get divorced anyways, its just been longer. More years wasted. When maybe it wouldve been healthier to leave sooner and cut the cord and be free to live without, sooner. 

I really like a lot of things about this city. But I really dislike a lot too. And I cant tell where I want my life to go, in a grand sense, so its hard to pick which attributes will matter in the long run. 

I dont think I should leave yet. Maybe a new house. Or like, serious efforts to declutter this one. Is this just excuses? Ugh. 

Declutter this house. If that doesnt feel better, leave the house and move to a new part of austin. If that doesnt feel better, leave austin. 

I need a job. 

[ravenofthefandoms]

Here are my thoughts on S8E2!

REAL QUICK THO AN ANGRY REMINDER

If you’re gonna post about an episode after watching the leak TAG UR SHIT I saw way too many spoilers and literally two hours before it aired. If you can’t tag ur shit then don’t post at all until it’s over. At least then most people have seen it. If you don’t tag ur shit then ur legally an asshole so be careful

ANYWAYS Thoughts from S8E2:

- Hi yeah did Dany kinda forget that her dad was the Mad King or is she just gonna act like she’s the only one with the right to want Jaime dead?

- Also I love how she’s like “your sister lied to me wut you gonna do about it”

- She needs to step oFF of Tyrion

- I hope Jaime really does slit Dany’s throat tbh how great would that be

- Bran is great fuckin hilarious

- YAS BRIENNE DEFEND YO MANZ

- God I love Sansa so freaking much 😭 she actually values her advisors opinions unlike another queen I know

- I love how Dany expects Jon to be like “yeah babe whatever you want” and then he’s like “nah Sansa’s right”

- Grey Worm I love you but you’re not intimidating buddy I’m sorry

- Jonno does a 10/10 walkout

- Tyrion you don’t deserve this work environment abuse go give your wisdom to someone else who deserves it

- Mmmmmmm Gendry what a man

- “It’s strong enough” what ur dick?

- “What do they smell like?” What kinda question is that wtf

- PSA: sharp objects handled by Arya Stark turn on Gendry pass it on

- Arya Stark, Queen of BDE

- Fuck yes I love this Bran and Jaime reunion

- Bran is like it’s chill tbh it’s like a good thing that you pushed me out the window and made me a cripple cuz now we’re here and I’m a magical motherfucker

- Bran is the most understanding person ever after he became the Three Eyed Raven

- “She’s your new queen too” mmm no

- Actually, contrary to popular belief Tyrion, it’s not hard to blame her

- Tyrion is both smart and a dumbass at the same time how the fuck

- Jaime’s like a dog who just heard a squirrel like “????brienne?????”

- Podrick isn’t a boy anymore HE IS MY MANZ AND HUSBAND AND HOLY FUCK HE GOT HOT SO FAST LIKE THE LIGHT FACIAL HAIR? WET. SWORD FIGHTING SKILLS? WET.

- Awww Brienne and Jaime are like the awkward high schoolers who have a thing for each other

- Why does Jorah still call her Khaleesi

- I’m glad Jorah isn’t a dumb bitch. Like he literally betrayed Dany to her brother’s killer and she still forgave him but Tyrion decides to trust his sister for once??? Nope he fucked up too bad not trustworthy

- Uhhh the position wasn’t Jorah’s to be stolen

- This scene is proof that Daensa will never happen and I am glad for it

- “I wish I could have that kind of faith in my advisors” uhh??? Maybe get some new advisors then??? You should trust them??? That’s why they’re your advisors????

- PREACH SANSA CLAPBACK ON THAT BITCH BEING A HYPOCRITE

- Uh no a) the northerners accept Sansa pretty well they actually like her and b) you’re not doing a damn good job of it dumb bitch

- Uh the family that destroyed Sansa was your family dumb bitch

- Is this bitch really making the excuse that she was manipulated?¿?

- This bitch big stupid

- This scene literally reminds me of high school like Dany literally reminds me of those fake ass bitches who were sickly sweet just to get what they want from me like wtf Dany is so obviously fake that it makes me cringe

- BREAKER OF CHAINS MY ASS THE NORTH BROKE THEIR OWN CHAINS AND NOW YOU WANNA PUT THEM BACK ON DUMB BITCH EHHA (read that ehha as Cardi B)

- THEOOOOOOON YAS

- I love how he just ignores Dany and is like SANSA I WANNA SERVE U BB

- Suddenly I ship Theonsa

- This Theonsa hug is all I have ever needed in life

- Isn’t that the thief from Merlin?

- I love that little Irish girl who’s like “imma fight give me a sword” like is this Arya 2.0??

- I heart Gilly

- “I’ll defend the crypt then” YES YOU WILL LIL HUNNY YOU’LL DO A DAMN GOOD JOB OF IT TOO

- EDDAAAAAAAY AND TORMUND YAS MY FAVE BITCHES

- Tormund is like surprise bitch you getta hug me first

- Beric is basically that cool as fuck and chill as hell uncle

- “The big woman”

- We love a Jon Snow pep talk

- Bran is like “hi yeah I’d like to be uhhh bait”

- Damn Samwell you didn’t have to flex on us like that with that deep thinking aight

- YES THEON REDEMPTION ARC AS FUCK

- Noooooo let Tyrion fight you ain’t his boss bitch (I mean you are but)

- Need it for what? Taking over the north?

- “No one’s ever tried” hehe I’m in danger

- Stark fam looking badass as fuck

- Walkout #2 isn’t as smooth but still acceptable

- “It’s a long story” bitch I got time start talking

- I CACKLED when those girls walked away from Missandei like I felt bad but that was just such a “you can’t sit with us” moment

- CAN GREY WORM AND MISSANDEI JUST GO TO NARTH AND STAY THERE FOREVER AND GROW OLD TOGETHER PLEASE

- WE WILL PROTECT YOU IM CRYINGGGGG

- Ghost is that you homie????

- Awww the Nights Watch reunion made me tear up a lil

- Sam’s like “I AINT NO BITCH I KILLED A WHITE WALKER KILLED A THENN AND STOLE BOOKS FROM THE CITADEL IM THE BADDEST BITCH AROUND”

- I love this banter with my whole entire heart

- i miss grenn and pyp so much I’m crying grenn was my pre-Pod husband

- I love Lannister brother moments so much they are so pure

- Oprah is handing out redemption arcs left and right wOw

- PODRICK HE IS A MAN NOW HE IS MY HUSBAND HE IS JUST SO SEXY NOW

- CACKLINGGGGG “half a cup” pours in half the wine jug

- What a squad

- TORMUND MAKES ME LAUGH SO FUCKIN MUCH

- He’s the awkward kid who tells weird stories and then does weird shit

- “Kingslayer get it right” - Jaime on the inside

- Everyone just has a “wtf” look on their face and I’m dying

- I. AM. CACKLING. AT. TORMUND. SEND HELP

- I fucking love Sandor with my entire heart and soul

- “I fought for you didn’t I?” Touche you got her there

- *sandor doesn’t get to sit by himself* fINE WHY DOESNT THE WHOLE FUCKING NORTH COME SIT BY ME TOO HUH IF YOU ALL WANT TO. CROWD. ME HUH???

- “I’m not gonna sit with you old shits I’m gonna go fuck a bull I mean uhhhhh I gotta go ”

- Arya being lowkey jealous makes me cackle like a witch

- “Is that your first time?” “Well yeah Arya I don’t put leeches all over my dick every time I get home wtf”

- YES ARYA GET THAT DICK HUNTY YASS RIDE HIM TO STORMS END HUNTY YAAAAAAS

- ARYA IS DOM AND GENDRY IS SUB PASS IT ON

- Arya having her first time be CONSENSUAL and with someone she loves makes me happy as fUCK

- GENDRY IS THE PUREST MOTHERFUCKER I SWEAR (only after Pod though)

- All I want at this point in my life is for Podrick to hold me in his big strong arms like I just wanna cuddle him fUCK

- “Not a Ser?? Why the fuck not get outta here with that bullshit”

- “I never wanted to be a knight” Podrick: I call bULLSHIT

- Tormund is supportive of Brienne even when she’s dating another guy he doesn’t even care

- WE WAITED SO LONG FOR BRIENNE AND JAIME TO HAVE A ROMANTIC AND INTIMATE MOMENT AND WE GOT AND BRIENNE EVEN GOT WHAT SHE DESERVES OUT OF IT

- Podrick is Brienne’s proud son I am living for it

- BRIENNE’S SMILE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL AND PRECIOUS THING ON THIS WHOLE ENTIRE EARTH IT MUST BE PROTECTED

- Honestly Tormund just wants to see Brienne happy and successful and tbh I don’t think he would care if that meant that she was with Jaime

- I stg if anything happens to babygirl Lyanna i will throw fists she looks like such a little bad ass in her armor omg she’s adorable

- Yeah Jorah you don’t gotta wield it in Randals memory he was kind of an asshole

- Can Podrick sing me to sleep every night please holy fUCK

- Theonsa? Check. Gendrya? Check. Grey Worm and Missandei? Check. Podrick making my whole self thirsty for him? Check.

- Uhhh Daenerys are you not gonna be concerned that you were idk fuckin your nephew or maybe that you aren’t the last Targaryen???? Maybe something important like that not the Iron fucking Throne???

- This bitch really thinks that Bran and Sam were lying hAh she drank a lot of dumb bitch juice this episode

- Daenerys is like those anti-vaxxers or flat earthers who refuse to see the facts

- Fun fact: episode 3 is going to tear out my heart and soul, put them in a blender, and then fucken shook it until it exploded like a coke with a mento in it

- I read somewhere that said something to the effect of characters who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it and that sounds like Dany w/ the Mad King to me rn

- Honestly every time Dany talked in this episode I got pissed off so that’s not good

- People be like “aw this episode was so boring” like bITCH ARE YALL MISSING THESE GREAT DOMESTIC MOMENTS?? GAME OF THRONES ISNT ALL STABBY AND SHIT IT CAN BE NICE FOR ONCE

- This episode made my heart full and I’m going to cry

- Ummmmm in case y’all haven’t seen in Dan Portman (Podrick) posted on his Instagram and it may or may not be a spoiler and if it is then I’ll kill myself

[the-kipsabian]

i am, up, for hearing you ramble about some of your ocs??? Maybe just some general things you have planned for some!! i am up for t h i s

ooooooof alRIGHTY YOU ASKED FOR IT

im gonna. go with a group of ocs tied into a story together cause its easier than picking some random ones and also cause i. love this group a whole lot tbh aaaaaAAAAAA

k so theres this group of kids called ‘supernatural nerds’, in a story together titled ‘hunters of fate’, which is basically just a modern supernatural setting with various beings alongside normal humans, like you have demons and witches and people with extraordinary powers and shapeshifters and a vampire. at least in this group so far, theres a whole lot of other beings appearing throughout the story but not really as a regular cast

as for main characters we have ada! shes a witch who owns a little witchy shop in the city, and has her workshop, where she brews her potions and performs other witch things she does, near the outskirts of the city. she also works with a local private detective (and her love interest cause ofc) to help him solve cases related to more supernatural happenings around the city and other places nearby

april is a vampire~ im not 100% sure yet how im gonna exactly fit her into the things, but shes definitely gonna be the spice of the city nightlife, so shes gonna bring up some trouble to the people already having to deal with the rest of the supernatural stuff running about tbh

aurora is a shapeshifter! she can turn into a chipmunk and back to a human at will, and she loves being mischievous and pulling pranks on people a lot tbh. especially since she can get away with it really easily by turning into a chipmunk and just disappearing, and as shes homeless, people dont really know how to locate her very easily

blair is a little of an odd one as im not entirely sure how im going to place him yet either, but he has a superpower of electronic disruption, which allows him to make stuff like machinery and lights go haywire and misfunction at will. which he uses a lot just to cause mayhem and general chaos in public, mostly cause he has a need for attention

blaire is also a witch, def friends with ada, i’d say they work quite a lot together and possibly co-own the witch shop in town too? im not entirely sure as im. also actively trying to sell this girl right now so im trying to not tie her down too much, but if i end up keeping her, that would probably be the plan!

brendan is the previously mentioned local private detective who ada works with, he mostly deals with the realms of the paranormal, in cases that other detectives wont take cause of their nature of being related to something more supernatural that seems to plague the city and its surroundings

brooke is blair’s sister, and a class a hacker. she can basically get into any system, personal or higher grade, if you just give her enough time. mostly she just uses her skill and the things she learns from hacking into people’s stuff, to track down her brother who she lost contact with, but if theres ever a chance to grab a little extra cash on the side selling the info she finds forward or anything like that, shes probably gonna take it. brooke isnt exactly the most morally high character tbh

declan is a soft rich pretty boi, working safely in his father’s company and stuff, tho he does have. a side job as an underground fighter lol. cause he wants to make a name of his own and not just lean on his father’s and whatnot, so he wants to make his own way of things

evan is a young boy, an “adopted” son of hunter. he just pretty much hates everything and everyone and loves to rebel cause “youre not my real dad” and well. hes not wrong (this is a whole big complicated spoiler-y story thing im not gonna get into right here and now but yeah. evan has issues with everything cause people are assholes mmmm)

faine! is a childhood friend of nates! shes an important character tbh, and shes a soft sweetie who will fist fight anyone who talks shit about her friends. shes a babe that loves pink, but also shes. kind of a sad character cause shes way too dedicated to nate and his stuff for her own good, and her backstory includes dead parents so heyyyy

hunter is a demon. and spoilers, responsible for the death of nate’s parents (which was technically ruled just as a car accident but welllllll). really his whole business is to just do demon stuff and make deals with people so he can either get them to do his bidding for him, or so that he can possess them or their souls to get shit he wants done done without having to involve himself in stuff. also yes hes technically evan’s “adoptive dad” cause evan’s parents sold him to hunter for riches

iris! my sweet little witch bean aaaa

kevinnnnnnn, nate’s boyfriend. somewhere down the line in canon, i havent exactly figured out where or when its gonna happen but its somewhere down there lol. i dont. have too much for him yet honestly? highly debating on giving him some sort of a more high profile career like maybe hes. a model or a small time actor or something. something more high key. idk but hes just. yeah he gay thats about it so far lol

narrator is a demon with the ability to see in the future of others. they do a little bit of fortune telling, tho its never straightforward told to people what they see, even if they do see some things in the future happening very clearly. they can only give out cryptic hints, stuff like ‘beware of the red eyes’ or something like that, giving out anything else will have dangerous consequences to the people who’s future he is telling tbh

nate my boi

nicolas is the second shapeshifter of the group! and is friends with aurora cause of that obviously yay ~ another homeless little dumpster diver, pretty much just like aurora, cause they constantly hang together and just enjoy making a mess together. i dont. have too much on him yet or where he fits into the story, but i love him nonetheless aaaaaa hes precious ~

aaaand finally! zakath! the third demon boi of the group! hes tied together with hunter (cough friends with benefits cough), as they work together closely - zakath is referred to as a ‘collector demon’, who takes the tasks of collecting what humans have promised to demons when making deal with them. thats for example how evan was brought into this whole mess, as zakath picked him up from his parents and brought him over to hunter who the humans had made a deal with to give him their first born child for monetary riches. he might have. some ulterior motives with things and hanging out with hunter tho, buuuuut story spoilers yay, so we dont talk about that now

that should be. everyone? this got long hhhhh i just. love my babies so much goshh i really need to write more for this story again at some point soon mmmmm

[chocosvt]

for the fic title, can i suggest sunspots?

sunspots:

bc you mentioned the SUN i have to choose lee seokmin as my character. first off it’s going to be a futuristic, dystopian setting bc y not. we’ll say that something happened to the sun, like it exploded or smth bc that beech is a star after all!

and what remained was this array of beautiful, brightly glowing sun shards that have been floating, dislodged, throughout space. so basically, in a far away galaxy where everyone in this fic would live, seokmin was born with a very specific intention: he, along with others of his kind, are designed to collect these shards and protect them (lets say people of different galaxies are always trying to steal them bc they are very powerful and shit). however, if the shard is removed from seokmin, he’ll die!!!! it’s very daunting to lead the life that seokmin has, and bc the sun shards are so precious, he’s rarely allowed to explore beyond his galaxy which makes him :( upset.

however he manages to meet another of his kind!! which is you! and he feels very happy that he isnt the sole one in his galaxy to harness this power anymore! you most likely fall in ♡and wish to lead the rest of your lives together! but then… smth tragic happens where you two venture out of your galaxy. maybe you get captured and seokmin has to harness the raw power of the shard within him to save you, but in turn sacrifices himself, leaving this black, sort of charred spot on his chest that you kiss before his body turns to stardust :-(

[tentoxa]

got tagged by @tsukishima-tadashi for a thing!

1. What are some fandoms you never really reblog/talk about?

ive mentioned it a couple times but ape escape!!!! i love ape escape so so fucking much but basically nobody knows about it so i never get a chance to talk about it lmao! im also massively into spyro and borderlands i just dont really follow many people who also blog about it so shrug

2. For any of your fandoms, are there any minor characters you like more than the main cast?

uuuuhhh skdjffdjss not.. really...? like i love the minor oso characters but probably not more than the Boys bc uh. im a thirsty bitch. iyami could get it tho

3. What are some rarepairs you enjoy? 

ohohohoooo okay. OKAY. get ready for some real self indulgent bullshit: tendou and yama. hmmmmmmmm. mind you ive never gone looking but i’ll bet good money theres gonna be fuckin NOTHING for that ship

also i love ichitoto and ichinyaa but theres way more content for those 

4. Do you have a favorite breed of cat/dog? 

BOXERS!!!!! BOXERS ARE THE BEST DOG BREED HANDS DOWN!!!!!! ALL THE BULLY BREEDS ARE SO GOOD AND SO PRECIOUS!!!!!

for cats i like the fat fluffy ones like persians and ragdolls :3c

5. Are there any unpopular/hated characters you really like? 

hummmmmm i guess perhaps.... kylo? like i know he has plenty of fans/stans but they feel like a minority. and sonic underground isnt very well known bc of how old and admittedly shitty it is but manic is my fuckin uhhh boyfriend

6. Do you have any anime/manga you’d recommend to me? 

panyo panyo di gi charat!! its sickeningly sweet but very simple and cute and the episodes are only like 5 minutes i think? i think it was the first anime i (properly) watched. it holds a very dear place in my heart i rec it to everyone regardless of taste lol

7. Convince me why I should ship your OTP. Or, if you’re up for it, why I shouldn’t ship your NOTP. 

we have a lot of the same opinions on ships actually!! im not really one for Meta on characters and relationships i just kinda gesture to them and make weird noises

8. Are there any qualities all of your favorite characters share? Basically, do you have a type when it comes to characters you stan?

honestly i couldnt personally tell you i feel like im all over the place... i certainly have my biases but i’ll also go for characters that are the complete opposite. its wild im just along for the ride

9. What’s the pettiest reason you’ve ever unfollowed someone for?

skdfjkjkdsg i dont know omg uh... i unfollowed someone not that long ago for breaking mutuals but honestly they were on thin ice for a host of other reasons already soo

or maybe that one person ages ago who posted ships i didnt like bc i couldnt blacklist at the time

10. Are there any minor details that can completely ruin an otherwise promising fanfic for you? Conflicting headcanons and such. (Example: I instantly exit any fanfic that mentions Yamaguchi being bad at baking because it conflicts so heavily with my image of him.)

theres probably plenty but oh man i havent read fanfic for months i just dont have the attention span for it anymore

im not taggin anyone bc im a lazy bitch lol ╰(・∇・╰)

[itskimtaehyung]

Alibi (M)

Detective Jungkook keeps getting himself into trouble… But he can’t stop. Not until he’s caught.

Member/Pairings: Jungkook x Reader, Jungkook x Jimin, Jungkook x Yoongi, Jungkook x @jeonjiah, Jungkook x OC Genre: Detective!Jungkook, SerialKiller!Jungkook, drama, mystery, horror, smut.  Word Count: 20.1k Content/Warnings: Very graphic depictions of death/mutilation/gore, LOTS OF SMUT, necrophilia, strong language, BTS member deaths A/N: This is my first time writing mxm smut so forgive me if it’s not... idk accurate? and I know all the medical stuff isnt 300% accurate please forgive me.

Also special thanks to jeonjiah for letting me use her as a character, @hipsterminseok and @pasteljeonggukk for helping me brainstorm ideas, @taendencies for encouraging me to keep going even when I really did not want to, and @4oclockvmin for being my beta 💕

Where the fuck am I?

Jungkook pried his eyelids open to find himself lying on a bed, the room completely silent aside from the soft whirring of the ceiling fan above him.

I don't have a fan in my room.

It was dark, but the room was just faintly illuminated by the street lamp shining through the window.

He reached a hand out and swept it across the sheets next to him, only to be met by a warm, sedentary lump.

Jungkook sat up, a bit too abruptly, and was met with an intense pounding in his head. He pressed a palm to his forehead, trying to still the room that was spinning around him.

Oh god, how much did I drink?

He always drank too much. It was a habit he picked up during his college days and he could never seem to shake it. However recently, he'd been blacking out more than usual, and it was starting to affect his work.

Jungkook looked over at the naked woman passed out next to him.

Please be alive.

He reached out two fingers and pressed them against her neck, searching for a pulse. To his relief, she stirred when his fingers made contact with her skin. He breathed out a sigh and silently put on his clothes, tiptoeing around the stranger and walking out of the room, careful not to wake her.

He exited the house to find his car in the driveway. Well, kind of in the driveway. It was half in the driveway and half on the neighbor’s lawn, having torn hideous tire marks through the grass.

Now where the fuck are my keys?

He patted down his jeans and jacket until he felt them in one of his pants pockets. He pushed the button, unlocking his car with a chirp chirp! and climbed inside.

His head was killing him, but at least he wasn't drunk anymore. It was stupid of him to drive drunk the night before. Who knows who he could have accidentally killed because of his stupid mistake. Even more stupid considering what he was. But what's done is done, and he can't undo it.

He pulled his phone out of the glove compartment and unlocked it.

12% battery. Shit.

Jungkook opened up the GPS application and searched for directions to his house.

Sunrise District. What the fuck am I doing in this neighborhood?

It was clear on the other side of the City from where he lived. He had no reason to be here, especially not at this hour. But whatever, he'd gone home with a lot of strange people before, so he decided not to question it further.

God, I really can't remember anything. Jungkook, you really need to stop with all this drinking.

But he's told himself this many times before, almost every weekend as a matter of fact. And it was to no avail. Every weekend he still drank until his liver screamed and he went home with questionable men and women, forgetting nearly all of it the next day.

One day you're going to do something really stupid and you won't be able to fix it.

He started the engine and tore down the quiet suburban street, making his way toward his house on the other side of the City.

Jungkook walked into the precinct the next day, fully caffeinated and with his dark circles prominent beneath his eyes.

“Good morning, Detective Jeon.” You approached him, handing him one of the cups of coffee in your hands.

He greeted you and accepted the beverage.

I guess another cup wouldn't hurt.

It was his fourth cup that morning. It took two just to stop him from feeling like a zombie after the night he had, and another to give him enough energy to sit through rush hour traffic to the police station.

“Hey, Jeon, you look like shit.” Detective Kim Seokjin came over and clapped him on the back.

“Thanks, Jin.”

“Rough night?” You asked him.

“Yeah. A bit. But nothing I can't handle.” He tried to laugh it off, but he knew it sounded forced.

You gave him a smirk, an expression that made him immensely uneasy.

“I hate to get right into it,” Jin said, directing Jungkook’s attention away from you, “but there's been another murder this weekend.”

Shit.

“Again?” Jungkook tried to sound surprised. In a way, he was surprised, since the person he woke up next to was still alive when he left. “Where this time?”

“Sunrise,” Jin informed him.

Fuck.

“Where in Sunrise?”

“Over on Smeraldo and Bloom Street.”

That was just a few blocks away from where he woke up. But it couldn't have been him. How would he have killed someone and then gone home with someone else? Without any blood on his hands?

Usually when he woke up he was still at the scene of the crime, more often than not lying in a pool of blood. Not his blood.

Other times he would wake up in bed with a random person he met at the bar, but those times, there was no murder.

Never had he done both.

Maybe it was just a coincidence? Maybe this had nothing to do with him?

Maybe… Hopefully…

Jungkook pulled up at the house, with you in the passenger seat and Jin in the back. It was a small, unassuming, split-level home, painted a faded retro pink. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw one of the neighbors peeping through their curtains, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on next door.

When the detectives set foot into the home, the sharp tang of blood filled their nostrils. There was a trail of it, leading down the cream carpeted staircase, through the living room, and disappearing at the door.

“So the blood just stops…?” Jungkook asked, to no one in particular.

One of the medical examiners walked over to where the three detectives stood, confused by the odd and abrupt end to the blood.

“Yeah,” the medical examiner answered. “There’s no trace of it past the threshold of the building. But…” He hesitated. “That’s not even the most bizarre part.”

“What do you mean, Hoseok?” You asked.

Hoseok let out an exasperated sigh. “Just… It’d be best if you just came to see for yourselves.” He led the detectives up the blood soaked stairs,ensuring they put on shoe covers beforehand so that they wouldn’t get any precious evidence on themselves.

There was a lot of blood. Seemingly more than a human body could possibly contain, appearing to be an endless trail that led down the hall toward the master bedroom.

“I hope you had a light breakfast,” he told them, voice devoid of any humor, before pushing the door open, letting out an even stronger whiff of metallic iron. “Men, prepare yourselves. I’m sure this will be far worse for you than for Y/N.”

The three detectives nodded and entered.

“Oh god!” Jin gagged the moment he saw what was in that room.

“Holy fuck!” As gruesome as it was, you couldn’t take your eyes off of it.

Yet Jungkook just stood there, dumbstruck.

Shit.

However, it was not the horrors before him that had him so aghast, but rather the fact that this was definitely his work.

The man lay on the bed, surrounded by his own blood. Much of it was dried, however some pools were so deep and thick that they remained wet and sticky, even hours later. It appeared that his eyes had been removed, with X’s carved into his eyelids. There was a long, deep gash down the middle of his chest, sliced with the utmost precision.

But that wasn’t the worst part.

“Oh god. Is that his dick?!” Jin exclaimed.

“Detective Jin,” you scolded, “we are in a professional environment. Please, watch your language.”

“Sorry. Is that his penis?” He revised.

Everyone in the room looked over to the window. Laying on it’s sill was indeed the man’s penis, surrounded by even more blood, soft and flaccid, with testicles still attached.

You and Jungkook approached the window while Jin stayed behind, trying his hardest not to vomit and taint the crime scene. Upon closer inspection, the two of you saw that the shaft was cut down the middle lengthwise, held together only by its base.

“What do you think, Jungkook?” You asked.

“I– uh– God, who knows. I’m at a loss for this one.”

You nodded and turned toward Hoseok. “Do you think it was a woman? I mean, who else could hate a man this much?”

Hoseok shook his head. “I don’t know. The M.O. seems to be consistent with a couple other murders that have been happening lately.”

“So you think this was a serial killer?” You pursed your lips.

Hoseok crossed his arms and nodded.

Jungkook’s mouth went dry. If they noticed a pattern between all of his victims, that just meant they were one step, even if it were a miniscule step, closer to catching him.

“But the thing is,” Hoseok continued, “most serial killers leave a signature, like some carve messages into their victims, or decorate them with flowers, so that the cops know that it’s them. However, this one…” He walked over the the victim, using his hand to gesture toward the slash down his chest. “The only way I could tell they were the same person is the way they made the cuts, quick and precise, with a sharp… I would like to say knife but really it could be any sort of sharp object, but they were done with the same weapon.” He stood back and looked at the man, particularly at the bright red void in between his legs. “They also like to mutilate their victims, in this case sex organs, which is actually quite common among serial killers, often because they feel like they’re ‘ridding the world of sin’ by doing so, so I couldn’t use that reasoning in drawing my conclusion that this, the Ambrosia murder, and the Skyline murder were all committed by the same person.”

“But they are committed by the same person, right?” You asked.

Hoseok nodded. “I believe so, yes.”

Jungkook fixed his gaze on the body and clenched his fists at his sides. “And do we know anything about this person?”

Hoseok sighed. “No, nothing. We don’t know gender, height, weight, age. Nothing. Although since all his victims are in their twenties and all the murders seemed to have occurred during sexual intercourse, I would assume the murderer is also around that age. Each victim seems to have experienced some sort of penetration before being murdered, but that could have been with a penis, strap on, or anything else long and rod shaped. Again, these are just guesses. We don’t know anything.”

Good.

Jungkook continued to stare pensively at the victim.

The thing was, whenever he killed someone, he never remembered it afterward. Not until he saw the bodies again, and then his memories came rushing back.

He was at a new nightclub in the Seaside district. It was one of those trendy ones, with a light up dance floor, white leather chairs and booths, and touch screen table tops so you could order drinks without having to leave the comfort of your seat. Whenever Jungkook went to places like these, he avoided the VIP area, and he avoided anyone who went up to dance on the shiny gold stripper poles. Not because he had anything against those people, but because those are the ones that people will recognize. If one of them went missing, or had their face shown on the news as a murder victim, there was a higher probability that someone recognized them from the club or bar or even remembered that they left with Jungkook.

He hovered by the bar, downing enough shots to get himself in the mood, and scanning the premises, searching for his next victim. It had been a while since his last kill, and he was feeling anxious to get some blood on his hands. Jungkook could feel the alcohol starting to seep into his veins. His mind grew fuzzy as he ran his thumb over the small knife in his jacket pocket.

That’s when he spotted him. He sat at a table alone, watching as the people around him swayed their hips sensually to the music, and drinking away his sorrows.

He had a sad look in his eyes, something that told Jungkook he wouldn’t mind hooking up with a random stranger to take his mind off things.

Jungkook downed another shot and strode over to the man.

“Hey,” Jungkook greeted him. “Mind if I join you?” He asked, yelling over the loud thumping of the fast paced song that just came on, flashing the man a flirty smile.

The man, with his mouth slightly open and seemingly taken aback at the fact that someone was approaching him, paused before replying with, “Sure, go for it.”

Jungkook sat down in the seat next to him. "You doing okay? I noticed you earlier and you look kinda down."

The man took a sip from his cocktail and shrugged. "I've been better."

"Care to elaborate?"

The man raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "I just met you."

"Good point. Why don't we introduce ourselves. You are...?"

The man stared back out into the crowd. "Jimin," he answered curtly.

Jungkook extended his hand out. "Nice to meet you, Jimin. I'm James."

He gave Jungkook a questioning look, ignoring his extended hand. "James..." Jimin repeated slowly. The name was foreign on his tongue, in a language he wasn't used to speaking.

Jungkook reached over and placed his hand on top of Jimin's, which held onto his cocktail glass that rested on the table. "Say, Jimin... You up for some fun tonight?" He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"What kind of fun?"

"Oh, I think you know what kind."

Jimin chuckled. "So my place or yours?"

"Yours."

Jimin nodded and finished his drink before standing up. Jungkook followed him out the door, pushing through the crowd and into a cab.

By the time the two of them stumbled into Jimin’s house, groping and covering each other with sloppy wet kisses, the alcohol had plenty of time to set into Jungkook’s veins. He felt bold and energized. So much so that, when Jimin was tripping over his own feet trying to get up the stairs, Jungkook brazenly picked him up and carried him. He didn’t want to waste any time. He needed this and he needed it now.

Jungkook threw Jimin on the bed and began undressing.

“I take it you’re a top,” Jimin said, propping himself up on his elbows to watch Jungkook, who stood at the foot of the bed. “What if I am too?”

Jungkook ignored his question and continued vigorously yanking his clothes off his body.

“I guess I don’t really have a say in this, do I?” Jimin raised an eyebrow and chuckled.

“Why are you still dressed?” Jungkook was now fully naked and pulling a condom out of his pocket.

“Do you really have to use a condom? I swear I don’t have anything,” Jimin said as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it on the floor.

“I don’t fuck anyone without a condom. Especially not a stranger.”

“Tsk tsk. Is that all I am to you?” Jimin smiled playfully.

“Precisely.” Jungkook rolled the condom over his hard length and gave it a couple of strokes to make sure it was secure. He then, deciding that Jimin was not getting undressed nearly as fast as he liked, leaned over the bed and helped Jimin yank off his jeans.

Jungkook saw how hard Jimin was through his underwear. His cock strained against the fabric, trying to break free. Jungkook’s mouth watered at the dark stain of precum pooling at its tip.

This is going to be a fun one.

Jungkook lowered himself onto Jimin, grinding his thigh against Jimin’s dick, watching the precum spill out of it.

Jimin gasped as Jungkook rubbed against him. He grabbed onto Jungkook’s ass and pulled him closer, Jungkook’s latex clad cock grazing his hip.

“James, I–” Jimin gasped as Jungkook pressed his thigh harder onto Jimin’s length. “How long are you going to make me wait?”

Jungkook pushed himself off of him. “You got any lube?”

Instead of answering, Jimin reached over to his nightstand, pulling out a bottle of clear gel and tossing it to him.

Jungkook squeezed a glob onto his hand and ran it over his shaft, making sure the condom was nice a slick before leaning over and lining himself up at Jimin’s entrance. He pushed himself in slowly, watching Jimin’s eyes roll back as he took in every inch with ease. Jungkook placed a hand on either side of Jimin’s shoulders, trapping him with his body.

“Fuck,” Jimin breathed as Jungkook began moving his hips, guiding his cock in and out of him.

Jungkook bent down and latched his mouth onto Jimin’s neck, sucking hard, enough to get him to moan, but not hard enough to leave marks. He quickened his pace, thrusting vigorous enough and fast enough to cause the bedframe to creak beneath them.

Jungkook took one of his hands and placed his thumb on Jimin’s nipple, massaging it, pressing hard circles into it as Jimin squeezed his eyes shut, breathing erratically and getting lost in the pleasure. Soon, Jungkook looked down to see Jimin’s abs twitch as milky white streaks of cum shot out of the tip of his cock, onto his stomach, his abs, some making its way even to his chest. Jimin cried out as he came, and Jungkook was grateful that they were in a house and not an apartment, otherwise the neighbors would have definitely heard him.

Watching Jimin cum made Jungkook’s cock throb, but it wasn’t enough to push him over the edge. He needed more. So, as Jimin was coming down from his high, Jungkook pulled out, and pumped his dick in his hand. Jimin was so far gone, that he didn’t even notice Jungkook rummaging around in his clothing, cock in one hand, digging in his pockets with the other, and finally pulling out a small knife from his jacket pocket. Jungkook grabbed it by the hilt and placed the blade between his teeth, ripping it out of its sheath with his mouth.

Jungkook returned to kissing Jimin’s neck, the knife hidden behind his back. “Did you enjoy that, Jimin?” Jungkook asked with his lips pressed against Jimin’s skin.

“Couldn’t you tell?” His eyes were still closed, and his softening cock still twitched from his orgasm. He opened one eye and looked at Jungkook. “What about you, though? Aren’t you going to cum?”

Jungkook hummed and placed a kiss on Jimin’s collarbone. “Oh yes. Very soon.”

With that, he pulled back and plunged the knife into Jimin’s chest, dragging a clean slice down his torso.

Jimin’s scream was cut short as Jungkook punctured his trachea and severed one of his lungs. Blood oozed out of his chest, along with the last remnant of his life, which only served to turn Jungkook on even more.

But Jungkook didn’t want to stop there. He placed a hand over Jimin’s now soft member, picking it up and squeezing it, playing with it in his hands. He brought the knife to its base, carefully slicing it off.

Beautiful.

That was what he thought when he brought the severed penis up to his face to get a closer look at it. Blood dripped down his wrist and forearm as he held it. He licked a stripe up the shaft and swirled his tongue around the head, letting the remainder of the cum drip into his mouth. He used his hand to stroke himself while he did this, feeling the muscles in his abdomen tensing and the heat rising in his core.

“Mmmm,” Jungkook moaned at the salty taste that coated his tongue.

He continued to stroke himself as he walked over to the window, placing the cock on its sill.

I wonder if there’s any cum left inside.

To get his answer, Jungkook ran the knife swiftly from the testicles up to the head, slicing it clean in half, held together only by the base in a V shape. To his disappointment – or maybe his enjoyment – there was only blood. More blood than he expected.

“Fuck,” Jungkook couldn’t help but say out loud. Jimin was so healthy, his blood so red, its scent so metallic, it made Jungkook’s head spin in the best way possible. Although, that might have also been due to all the shots he took at the bar.

Taking one last glance at the mutilated penis, Jungkook turned back to Jimin’s body, Jimin’s glorious, sexless body. He pushed Jimin’s legs together – which only forced more blood out of his gaping wound – and straddled him. He leaned over and rubbed his cock on the oozing slit that tore through Jimin’s torso. A slew of grunts and moans escaped his lips as he thrusted himself closer and closer toward his orgasm.

But there was something missing. He felt like there was something else he had to do. Then, he looked up at Jimin’s face. He saw that Jimin’s eyes were still open, frozen in the split second horror and realization that he was being murdered.

Jungkook tilted his head to the side, studying, contemplating. That’s when he decided.

He grabbed the knife that had since been resting beside Jimin’s thigh and brought up to Jimin’s face. Without hesitation, he jabbed the weapon into one of Jimin’s eyes, swirling it around and nearly pulverizing the eyeball. He did the same with the other eye, until both eyeballs were pools of blood and jelly. When he pulled the knife out, he closed the lids over their empty sockets, carving X’s on top of them.

Jungkook pulled back to get a better view. He chuckled at how comical it looked, like how cartoon characters were marked as dead with X’s for eyes.

He pushed himself off of Jimin and sat back on the bed, admiring his work. One hand held onto the knife while the other gripped around his cock, moving up and down until Jungkook was releasing into the condom, chest heaving and raspy breaths leaving his throat.

God. That was one of the best ones yet.

Jungkook continued to run his hand up and down his cock until his sensitivity became unbearable and he began to soften.

He lay back on the bed next to Jimin, waiting for himself to calm down. Intending to rest only briefly, he closed his eyes, but accidentally fell asleep.

He couldn’t seem to recall how he woke up in that woman’s bed, or who the woman was for that matter. All he knew was that he fell asleep at Jimin’s place and woke up somewhere else, with both him and his clothes completely clean of Jimin’s blood. And it obviously wasn’t a dream since he was standing here now, staring at his creation.

“Jungkook, are you still there?”

The sound of your voice pulled Jungkook out of his memory.

“Huh? Yeah.” He shook his head, trying to bring himself back to the present.

Noticing the uneasy look on his face, you placed a hand on his arm. “You don't look too great. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I just. I don't know what to think," he lied. "This and the previous unsolved murders. I'm stumped.” He let out an exasperated sigh, which he hoped didn't sound too fake.

“Don't blame yourself. We’re all stumped," you reassured him, giving his arm a light squeeze.

“There's no DNA evidence at any of the crime scenes?” Jin called from where he was hunched over in the doorway, trying not to look at the body and still attempting to keep his morning coffee in his stomach.

“No,” Hoseok replied. “This person was very careful. No hair, no semen or vaginal fluid. Not from anyone but the victims. And there's not enough saliva to pull a viable sample.”

"Well if that's the case, can we pack up the body and get out of here already? Before I projectile vomit all over the place?"

Hoseok nodded and motioned for this assistants to pack up the body into a big black bag.

"What about the...?" You nodded toward the window sill.

"Ah, yes. Boys," Hoseok called to the men who packed up the body, "don't forget that too."

The men nodded and followed their orders.

Back at the precinct, Jungkook sipped on his fifth cup of coffee of the day as he looked over the case files for the Ambrosia and Skyline murders on his computer. He looked for any evidence that could point toward him. To his relief, there was none.

All three case files said the same thing.

Each victim suffered from some form of mutilation and it was most likely that the mutilation occurred during sexual intercourse, after the victim was deceased. However, there was never any DNA left at the scene, or any readable fingerprints. The weapon could be a number of things: a small knife, a switchblade, anything small and sharp, and most likely untraceable. Each one used the same kind of weapon. There was nothing that they could use to determine the height, weight, or gender of the killer.

"Whatcha doin?"

Jungkook jumped at the sound of your voice and turned to find you leaning over, your face right next to his, reading over his shoulder.

"I– I'm looking over the case files of the previous unsolved murders to see if there's anything I missed."

You raised an eyebrow. "Mhm."

"What?"

"Nothing. Don't overwork yourself." You smiled and patted his shoulder before returning to your desk.

That was fucking weird.

Jungkook looked back at his monitor, opening the Ambrosia murder file.

I remember this one.

June 13th, 2020.

That date marked the one year anniversary of Jungkook working at the precinct. In such a short time, he had already become well loved by his boss and fellow coworkers. He was considered one of the best detectives in the precinct, something that gave him a tremendous amount of pride.

To celebrate this anniversary, you, Jin, Hoseok, and the rest of the precinct took him out to a fancy bar downtown. Hoseok, quite the party animal outside of work hours, ordered an excessive amount of shots on Jin's credit card. Which meant Jungkook got utterly fucking drunk.

By around midnight, more than half his coworkers were passed out, leaving you, Jungkook, and a few other guys from forensics still standing. The lot of you helped haul your inebriated friends out of the bar and into cabs so that they got home safely. Soon, the forensics guys had also had enough, and went home, grumbling about the killer hangover they would have the next day.

"I should get going, too," you said to Jungkook once they've left.

"What? So soon?"

"Yes, I've had more alcohol tonight than in my entire time in college."

Jungkook pouted. “Fine, but I'm gonna stay. Maybe find a friend." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Alrighty, well I'm gonna call myself a cab." You threw on your jacket and patted Jungkook on the arm. "Don't stay up too late, Kookie."

He chuckled. "I'm not making any promises."

You smiled at him before walking out of the bar.

Now that his coworkers were gone, the real fun could begin.

Jungkook scanned the bar, looking to see if there was anyone worth flirting with. Not finding anyone to his liking, he stumbled out to a bar a couple of blocks down. The second he walked in, his eyes fell on a man, talking with a small group of friends and sipping on a beer. He had shiny blonde hair, golden like a halo around his head. Jungkook tilted his head to the side and watched him. He was intrigued by this man, and the glittering aura he gave off.

Jungkook decided to study him a bit longer, not quite ready to approach him.

Have I ever seen someone so beautiful?

He went up the the bar and ordered a few drinks, keeping his eyes on the man and his group of friends. He leaned back against the bar and took a couple swigs of the beer the bartender had set in front of him.

One of the man's friends said something funny, causing him to laugh, his smile taking up his entire face.

Wow.

Jungkook toyed with the small knife in his pocket. It was a gift from his grandfather, something he considered a good luck charm. He always took it to work with him, and now, he hoped it would give him the confidence he needed to talk to this man.

Luckily for Jungkook, soon the man's friends left him, probably to go home. Jungkook set his beer down and took a shot of liquid courage before making his way over to where he stood.

The man raised an eyebrow as Jungkook approached him.

"Hi," Jungkook greeted him with a confident smile.

"May I help you?"

"I just noticed you earlier and thought you were very attractive."

"Thought? Past tense?"

Jungkook laughed. "No. I still think you're very attractive."

"Mmmm," the man hummed. "Interesting..." He narrowed his eyes.

"You alone tonight?" Jungkook asked.

"I am now."

"You single...?"

"Maybe..." The man looked at him, wanting to know where he was going with this.

"You up for a little something tonight?"

"Hmmm." The man looked Jungkook up and down, taking in his loosely fitted white t-shirt, tight black jeans, and scuffed up sneakers. "You're a bit younger than I usually go for."

Jungkook raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"But I think I'll make an exception. Because I think you're very attractive, too." The man flashed him a flirty grin.

"Then can I get your name?"

He smiled. "Yoongi."

Yoongi. That's why he seems to be glowing.

"I'm Joshua." He never gave his real name when it was just a one time hookup, in case they tried looking for him afterward. Too many times in the past have previous hookups added him on social media or searched for his contact information, wanting to hook up again, but to Jungkook, they were a one time, and one time only, type of fling.

"Nice to meet you, Joshua. So I guess that leaves the question of my place or yours?"

"Yours."

"You're the one approached me, and now you're imposing on me?" Yoongi teased.

"Believe me, you would not want to see my place." At this time Jungkook's roommate hadn't moved out yet, so he still shared a tiny studio apartment with one of his college buddies.

"Why? You're not a serial killer with some freaky dungeon or something, right?" Yoongi joked.

Jungkook let out an airy laugh. "No, I just have a roommate."

"Ahhh, Of course, it's a bit early for an audience. Maybe, one day, if you're up to try a little exhibitionism."

Jungkook chuckled. "Not in this lifetime, I don't think."

"Very, well." Yoongi finished his drink and led Jungkook out of the bar.

Turns out Yoongi's place was quite swanky. He lived in what appeared to be one of those old hotels that had been converted into apartments. It was the kind that was decorated in gold and velvet and looked more like an opera house or theatre than those modern condos that have been popping up everywhere.

"Whoa," Jungkook breathed as he entered the lobby.

"Nice, right?"

"Yeah, man. How old is this place?"

"It's a replica. It was actually built in the last ten years or so."

"Really? It looks so authentic."

"And how would you know what authentic looks like?"

"Movies."

Yoongi chuckled. "Of course." He and Jungkook entered the elevator and Yoongi pressed the button for the 8th floor. "Coolest part is, that, like the old hotels, each room has its own name and theme."

"Really? What's yours called?"

"Ambrosia."

The way that word rolled off Yoongi's tongue, the way it danced on his lips, the way it tickled Jungkook's eardrums, sent shivers up Jungkook's spine.

And sure enough, when they arrived at Yoongi's gold painted door, Jungkook saw on it a little placard that read "Ambrosia."

"I like that word," Jungkook told him.

"Hm? Ambrosia?"

There it was again. That beautiful sound, rolling exquisitely off Yoongi's tongue. Jungkook licked his bottom lip and then caught it with his teeth as Yoongi opened the door and let the two of them in.

Through the golden door was a one bedroom apartment. Everything was decorated in white and gold. It was somehow fitting, not at all excessive or gaudy or cheap looking, but rather pristine, like it belonged to the gods. It suited this glowing man and his golden aura.

"Wow," Jungkook gasped, taking in his new surroundings. "You really live here?" He walked around the moderately sized living room and adjoined kitchen. It was beautiful yet dizzying, and he wondered if it was because of the alcohol that was still ever so present in his bloodstream.

"Yeah, man." Yoongi replied as he shrugged off his coat and threw it on the white leather love seat. "The great part about this place is that it all come fully furnished and decorated. You only have to pay for the furniture if you damage it. Bad part is, the availability of these apartments is low, so if you're first on the waiting list and a room opens up, but you don't like the theme, you either have to live with it or give up the room and rejoin the waiting list. Thankfully I got a nice one."

"Shit. Yeah. I haven't seen the other rooms but I'm pretty sure you have the nicest one in the entire complex."

Yoongi chuckled. "I don't know about that. I heard there’s one decorated like a sex dungeon."

"Oh? I take that back. You have the second nicest one."

Yoongi laughed and stepped over to Jungkook, grabbing onto his waist. "Now, are we gonna do what we came here to do?"

Suddenly remembering, Jungkook leaned in, pressing his body against Yoongi's. "Oh, yes. Definitely."

Yoongi closed the distance between them, crashing his lips with Jungkook's, and placing his hands on the back of Jungkook's neck to pull him closer. Jungkook returned the kiss eagerly, feeling the excitement and electricity coursing through his veins. Yoongi's tongue snaked it's way into Jungkook's mouth and played with his. They stood there kissing for a few minutes before Yoongi pulled back.

Jungkook's eyes grew wide. "Shit, that's some tongue you got there."

"You wanna find out what else it can do?"

"Fuck yes."

With that, Yoongi pushed Jungkook into his bedroom and onto the bed.

Jungkook lay flat atop the puffy white comforter, his erection protruding prominently through his jeans. Yoongi crawled on top of him and began kissing him, stroking Jungkook's hard cock with his hand.

Jungkook groaned into the kiss, feeling Yoongi's erect member rubbing against his thigh.

"Fuck," Jungkook moaned. "Get undressed."

"You too, handsome."

The two of them discarded their clothes onto the floor and returned to their original positions.

"God, you're so fucking hot, Yoongi."

Yoongi chuckled and started kissing down Jungkook's jawline, neck, chest, abs, belly, until his face hovered over Jungkook's crotch.

"Are you ready to experience Min Yoongi's tongue technology?"

Jungkook nodded, unable to form any words. His breathing ceased in anticipation. He could feel Yoongi's warm breath against his cock, which quivered at the sensation.

"But first." Yoongi got up to grab a condom from his drawer.

"Do we really need one of those?" Jungkook asked impatiently.

"Hey, I don't know who you are or where you've been and I don't wanna catch anything you might have."

"I'm clean, but I get it if you don't trust me. Just hurry up."

Yoongi rolled the condom over Jungkook's length, giving it a couple pumps of his hand to make sure it was secure. Before he knew it, Yoongi's mouth was around him. Jungkook gasped at the sudden warmth that enveloped him, and couldn't contain his moans as Yoongi proceeded to give him the greatest blow job he'd ever experienced in his entire life.

In mere minutes he was already coming into the condom, filling it with his milky white goo. But Yoongi didn't stop there. He kept going, using his hands, fingers, his lips, his throat, and most importantly, his tongue, until Jungkook came yet again, overflowing the condom with his sticky cum.

He had never experienced pleasure as intense as that second orgasm. Yoongi was the first person to have ever left him completely speechless. His mind was completely blank, only thinking about how good it felt and how he couldn't move.

Yoongi still continued even after Jungkook came, until he was squirming and whining at the sensitivity.

"Yoongi!" He moaned. "Agh. Stop. That's enough."

Yoongi pulled back with a loud smack as Jungkook's cock left his mouth and flopped down into Jungkook's stomach.

"Did you like that?"

"Oh, fuck yeah," Jungkook answered, still trying to catch his breath. "I'm pretty sure that was the best blowjob I've ever gotten."

"Great, because that was the most fun one I've given." Yoongi smirked. "You came twice."

"I know. Shit. I didn't even know I could do that."

"That's the magic of the tongue technology."

"Oh my god, is that really what you call it?"

"Yep. Coined the term myself. I'm quite proud of it. 'Whether man or woman, I'll make you cum with my tongue technology'."

"Oh that's good. I like the sound of that."

Yoongi chortled. "Thanks."

Jungkook lay back and sighed while Yoongi reclined next to him.

"Let me know when you're ready again," Yoongi said. "I want you to fuck me hard in return for what I did for you."

"Oh, god. Give me a few minutes. I need to recover," Jungkook jested.

The two of them lay there for a while, staring at the white marble ceiling. All Jungkook could think about was how good Yoongi's tongue made him feel. Yoongi knew just how to use it, and it was no doubt he was experienced. He had a right to brag about his "tongue technology" because it was truly incredible.

Jungkook recalled the way Yoongi's tongue licked up and down his shaft, the way it expertly swirled around his tip. It was no surprise that soon he was hard again. He leaned over and ran his hand down Yoongi's chest until he reached his crotch. He grabbed Yoongi's still hard cock and stroked it, spreading the precum all over.

"I think I'm ready," Jungkook muttered.

Yoongi looked down at Jungkook's crotch. "Oh I definitely think you are."

Jungkook smirked and moved to straddle Yoongi. He ran his hand over the cum filled condom that hugged his cock. "I think I need a new one."

Yoongi pointed toward the nightstand. "That drawer over there. The lube is in there too."

Jungkook reached over, opening the drawer and pulling out a fresh new condom and a bottle of lube. He removed the old one, tied it, and tossed it aside to deal with later.

This cannot wait.

Jungkook put on the condom and slathered his length in lube, giving his cock a couple of pumps before lining himself up at Yoongi’s entrance.

“Ready?”

Yoongi nodded and Jungkook pushed himself in. Both of them moaned as Jungkook slowly slid in.

Jungkook fucked him fast and hard until Yoongi’s chest was coated with his glistening cum. Jungkook kept fucking him, trying to get himself off for the third time that night. He thrusted into Yoongi over and over, but it wasn’t enough. Jungkook leaned down and kissed Yoongi’s neck, sucking hard until purple patched began to form.

Maybe I could try…

Jungkook jutted his teeth out, biting into Yoongi’s skin softly, testing the waters. Yoongi moaned at the feeling, causing Jungkook to become more bold. He bit down harder this time, drawing the slightest bit of blood. He ran his tongue over the wound, and his mouth was coated with a salty, metallic taste, and Yoongi groaned loudly.

Jungkook pulled back. “Am I hurting you?”

“No, that feels good.”

Jungkook stopped thrusting and pulled out. “Wait here, I have an idea.” He leapt off the bed and over to the pile of his clothes on the floor, pulling out the knife from his pocket.

“Does this scare you?” Jungkook asked, holding out the knife and peering at Yoongi through his lashes.

“Not at all,” Yoongi smirked. “Josh, you seem to be into some kinky shit.”

Jungkook unsheathed the knife and returned to the bed. He re-entered Yoongi but stilled his hips. Yoongi gasped as Jungkook pressed the knife to his throat, feeling the cold metal against the delicate skin that housed all his most precious arteries.

“I won’t hurt you,” Jungkook reassured him. “Just tell me if you wanna stop, and I’ll stop.”

Yoongi nodded. “Go for it.”

The first slice was not very deep. Jungkook just barely breached the dermal layer, inciting the tiniest bit of blood to arise from Yoongi’s veins. He took two fingers and brushed them against the beads of crimson oozing from the cut. His lips curled as he inspected the blood smeared on his fingertips. Their eyes locked as Jungkook slowly brought the fingers up to his mouth, and sucked them clean.

His blood tasted pure and rich, like nectar of the gods. Like ambrosia.

That’s when something in him snapped. Jungkook stared at Yoongi, cocking his head to the side. Something about his expression darkened, and for a split second, Yoongi was scared. It was only for a split second because – he doesn’t know what came over him, but – Jungkook slashed the knife across Yoongi’s throat, cutting off his air supply, and allowing more of the divine nectar that Jungkook loved so much to spill from his veins.

Yoongi lay still as Jungkook began thrusting again, getting himself off to the sight of Yoongi’s blood spilling down his pale neck, onto the clean, white bedding.

Mmmmm.

Jungkook leaned over Yoongi’s lifeless body. He hovered right above his face, somewhat expecting to feel Yoongi’s breath against his nose, but there was nothing. Jungkook’s fingers parted Yoongi’s lips, and he leaned in for a kiss.

Still warm.

His tongue roamed Yoongi’s mouth, swirling the soft muscle around Yoongi’s, relishing his sweet taste. But there was something, some weird feeling, gnawing at the back of his brain. It was like a weird persistent buzzing that he couldn’t quite decipher. He thought that maybe it was just the alcohol messing with him.

Jungkook pulled back and focused on Yoongi’s open mouth.

Do it.

Without thinking, Jungkook brought the knife up to Yoongi’s lips. Jungkook’s fingers pried his jaw open wider, allowing him better access. Jungkook slowly placed the blade of the knife into his mouth and in one swift motion, sliced off Yoongi’s tongue.

The muscle fell to the back of Yoongi’s throat, and Jungkook fished it out with his long fingers. He held it up to his face, juggling it in his fingers.

Exquisite.

Jungkook played with Yoongi for a little while longer before finishing, completely overwhelmed with pleasure, coming so hard that it drained him of all his energy. He fell asleep next to Yoongi’s dead body and awoke the next morning covered in blood. He showered in Yoongi’s bathroom and put on his clothes. When he left, he took his used condoms with him. Of course he wasn’t stupid enough to leave them behind, he was a detective for god’s sake. He knew exactly how to avoid getting caught.

Jungkook placed his elbows on his desk, clasping his hands together in front of him, and sighed at the memory. His brows were furrowed and his lips pursed as he stared at the screen.

“What did I say, Jeon?” You called to him from your desk.

“Hm?” Jungkook peeked his head over the monitor so that he could see you.

“‘Don’t overwork yourself’,” you told him, quoting what you had said earlier.

Right then, Jin entered the precinct after trying to subdue his nausea in the bathroom. “Any updates from Hoseok and his crew?” He asked as he strode over to your desk. His skin had lost its usual color and glow, taking on a sick, slightly green tinge to it.

“Nope, nothing,” you answered him. “I don’t think there’s anything to report. There were no fingerprints, no DNA, nothing. He’s just as confused as we are.”

“Should we pay him a visit?”

“Would you be okay with that, Jin? You still look a bit pale.”

Jin straightened his posture and puffed out his chest. “I’m perfect! Totally fine! Let’s go!”

You and Jungkook stood from your desks. Before joining Jin, you waited for Jungkook to catch up to you so you could whisper, “Can you believe this guy is our boss?” You scoffed. “How is he head detective if he can’t even handle a crime scene.”

“You shouldn’t speak that way about our boss, Y/N. Especially at work,” Jungkook deadpanned.

Your eyes widened slightly. The coldness in his voice surprised you. His steely expression didn’t change as the two of you followed Jin to the morgue. You brushed it off as just being his stress talking, but something had been off about him all day.

Hoseok was running lint samples in the precinct’s materials database when the three detectives entered the morgue. On the cold metal table lay Jimin, completely exposed, causing a sour taste to creep up Jin’s throat.

You leaned over to him. “You alright there, detective?” You asked him.

He gave you a quick nod and nothing else.

“What do you got?” Jungkook asked Hoseok.

“I got nothing, man. The only fibers I found were cotton fibers from a white t-shirt, but that doesn’t help, because do you know how many white cotton t-shirts there are out there?!”

“Yeah, I have like 30 of them in my closet.”

“Exactly! And it could even be the victim’s for all we know! We took some samples from his clothes and he has at least three shirts that match this damn lint. ”

You raised an eyebrow. “So you can determine that this, the Ambrosia murder, and the Skyline murder were all done by the same person just from the way they made the cuts, but you can’t find any other evidence that could point us to an actual person?” You asked incredulously.

“I– uh, well. Yes,” Hoseok stammered nervously.

“Well, do we have a name? Anything to identify him?” Jin joined in.

“Mhm. That we do. His DNA matches that of a man named Park Jimin.”

You nodded. “Send us his identification number and we’ll do some digging.”

Jungkook stared at the body that lay before him, the sick, mutilated mess he’d created. Sober, he could barely stand the sight of it. It was revolting, horrifying, and utterly wrong. He found the psychology behind it quite intriguing, because the human brain just knows that that body part shouldn’t be missing, the flesh there shouldn’t be exposed, or there shouldn’t be so much blood outside of the body, and has the most extreme reaction to it. Some experience dizziness, nausea, or even fainting, because something in their brain is telling them this is not right.

But drunk, the pleasure he derives from this kind of mutilation outweighs it all. It outweighs the anxiety, uncertainty, disgust, and most importantly, the fear of getting caught. He can’t describe it. He’s never quite been able to replicate the intensity of this pleasure, this thrill, through anything else, especially not sober.

And that is precisely why Jeon Jungkook cannot stop. Not until he’s caught.

You and Jungkook were sitting at your desk, working on paperwork for a drug bust the three of you did last week, when Jin came around and plopped a manila folder stuffed with various papers in front of Jungkook.

“Park Jimin, born October 13th, 1995. Recently laid off from his job at an accounting firm,” Jin announced.

So that’s why he looked so down that night.

“A couple of months ago he broke up with his boyfriend, Kim Taehyung, but friends and family say it was a mutual decision and they split off amicably.”

“Did you check his alibi?” You asked him.

“No, I just took their word for it.” Jin rolled his eyes. “Of course I checked his alibi! What do you take me for?”

You gave Jungkook a knowing look and he snickered.

“Hey! What was that look, Y/N?” Jin waved his arm at you. “Are you forgetting I can fire you?”

“Sorry, sir,” you replied with a smile, not at all meaning it. You knew he was bluffing and would never actually do it.

“Anyway, as I was saying, Taehyung was at the vet with his dog last night after his dog got a bout of food poisoning. There’s no one else in his life that could be a potential enemy.”

“And you got all of that information in,” Jungkook looked at his watch, “just two hours?”

“There’s a reason I’m lead detective here, kids. Although some of you seem to forget sometimes.” He gave you a pointed look, to which you responded with a sarcastic smile.

“Okay,” you said, “but what do we do with this information? This doesn’t bring us any closer to catching the killer.”

Jin sighed. “That, Y/N, I don’t know. No one knows where he went last night. Taehyung said he asked but Jimin just told him he was going out.”

“What do we do?” Jungkook asked. “We can’t have three unsolved cases.”

I pray to God we have three unsolved cases. Please let these go cold.

The head detective frowned. “I don’t know, but we’re in deep shit if we don’t solve this soon. The public are going to think we’re incompetent if we can’t get any evidence that points to a culprit. Or even worse, they’re going to start panicking because there’s a serial killer on the loose.”

You spun your chair around to face Jin. “How can it be possible that we know absolutely nothing about this person?”

“I don’t know. They seem to be targeting random people in their early twenties. There’s no discrimination in gender it appears, so we can’t make inferences about the gender of the killer.”

You looked back at Jungkook. “It’s like they know exactly how not to get caught.”

The shift of your gaze and the tone of your remark made Jungkook squirm in his seat. He hoped it wasn’t noticeable, but lately it seemed that you were always able to see right through him. The longer you stared at him the more uneasy he felt.

Jin picked the folder back up and tucked it beneath his arm. “I’m gonna do some more digging and I’ll let you know what I find.”

“Sure, yeah,” you replied.

“Mhm,” Jungkook answered.

The rest of the week passed and there was little news from Hoseok. Jin was becoming frustrated because three unsolved murders made the precinct look bad. They were the only detective team in the City, and if they couldn’t solve crimes, then who could? You remained enigmatic as usual, but the uneasiness Jungkook felt around you came in waves, rarely even there, only sometimes flooding him when you looked at him a certain way or said something that made him think you suspected him. However, you never voiced your suspicions outright, which made him anxious. He felt it was only a matter of time before you connected the dots and accused him.

But there were no dots to connect. Hoseok said it himself. There’s no evidence to point toward a killer. Jungkook was safe. So why did he feel so restless?

Jungkook decided to give the drinking a break this weekend and instead spent Saturday night wandering around the shopping district in search of another way to satiate himself. He roamed the streets illuminated by the yellow tinge of the street lamps and neon signs that hung at the entrance of each of the shops. It was nearly midnight, but the streets were still bustling with students from the nearby university, out for a fun night on the town.

Dozens of carts lined the sidewalks, selling various street foods and pretty much every fried thing you could imagine. Jungkook made his way from cart to cart, ordering the most appealing item from each one, and eating it as he made his way to the next one.

After a while, he noticed someone following him. It was a woman, going from cart to cart just like he was, always a few steps behind. At first he thought it could have been you, making sure he didn’t get into any trouble, or making sure you caught him if he did. But once he got a better look at her face, he saw no familiarity in it. She was simply a stranger.

Feeling full of all this greasy and sugary food, Jungkook was feeling a little bold. When he finished his business at the fried shrimp cart, he stayed back, and waited for the stranger to catch up.

“Hi,” he greeted once she approached the cart.

“Hi,” she replied with a smile. “Whatcha got there?”

Jungkook held up his fried shrimp skewer. “Curry. They have a bunch of different seasoning choices, but I think I like curry the best.”

“You’ve tried all of them?”

“Mhm.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Just now?”

“What?” Jungkook shook his head. “No. No. I couldn’t possibly eat that much in one night.”

“I don’t know. I’ve seen you buy something from like seven other carts tonight, so what’s another load of fried shrimp to you?”

Jungkook chuckled. “I’m sure if I ate that much shrimp I’d explode.”

The woman let out a silvery laugh before turning to the cart owner to order. “I’ll have the curry one please.”

The two of them waited in silence until her order was ready. The woman took a bite, making a noise of approval and nodding her head. “You’re right, this is pretty good.”

Jungkook nodded and a silence followed. Wanting to break it, he asked, “So you’ve been following me, huh?”

The woman’s confidence suddenly disappeared as she shifted her gaze away from Jungkook and toward the crowd behind him. “Maybe... “ she replied meekly.

“Why?” He pressed further.

“I just thought you were attractive. And I wanted to look at you a little longer.”

Jungkook let out a sigh of relief, which he disguised with another laugh. “That’s it?”

“Yeah. What did you think? That I was stalking you to murder you or something?” she joked.

“That’s always a possibility.”

The woman giggled. “I’m Jiah, by the way,” she said, extending her hand for Jungkook to shake.

Jungkook took her hand into his firm grasp.

So small. So soft. So… Nice.

“I’m–” he paused, trying to come up with a name on the spot, “Jin.”

“You sure?” She asked, noticing his hesitation. “Just Jin?”

“Yeah. My full name is Seokjin, but I usually just go by Jin.” He grinned nervously.

“Well, Jin. What do you say we go to my place for some coffee to wash all this fried food down,” Jiah suggested.

Jungkook nodded. “Sure.”

Just regular sex, Jungkook. No drinking, no murder.

Jiah led him down the street and hailed a cab.

They skipped the coffee, and it turns out that Jungkook couldn’t keep his promise. About half an hour into a very heated makeout session in Jiah’s kitchen, Jungkook still couldn’t get into it.

“Are you nervous?” Jiah asked him. “This isn’t your first hookup is it?”

“No. To both of those questions,” Jungkook replied.

What’s wrong with me?

Jiah hopped off the counter and pulled a bottle of whiskey and two glasses from the cupboard. “Here,” she offered him a glass filled with a golden brown liquid. “Why don’t you have a drink to relax yourself.”

“No,” Jungkook shook his head and pushed it away. “I really shouldn’t.”

“Come on, Jin, one little drink won’t hurt.”

But somehow that one little drink turned into a whole bottle finished between the two of them, and Jungkook was, without a doubt, drunk. Their kisses became sloppy, way too much tongue and completely driven by drunken lust. Jungkook’s hips were grinding into Jiah’s as she sat on the counter. He could feel himself getting hard as he rubbed himself against her. The alcohol incited his sexual urges, among others.

Quickly, the two of them shed their clothes, discarding them onto the floor. Jungkook pulled a condom out of his wallet – one that he kept there for emergencies, although it was quite old. He fumbled to put it on, with his vision distorted from all the alcohol.

After quite a bit of floundering, he finally got it on and was ready to go. He wrapped an arm around Jiah’s waist to pull himself closer and used his other hand to reach down and play with her folds. She moaned as Jungkook used his fingers to spread her arousal all over her labia and clit while he kissed her neck.

Jungkook slowly pushed a finger in and curled it, causing her to gasp. “Fuck, Jin.”

“You like that?”

Jiah nodded. “Yes! Fuck!”

He added another and began to pump his fingers slowly in and out, eliciting soft moans from Jiah’s lips. When he felt her tightening around him, he pulled them out, inspecting her juices that coated his fingers. He brought his fingers up to his face, about to put them in his mouth, before he stopped himself.

Instead, he held them up to Jiah. “Suck.”

She was surprised by his order and cautiously leaned forward to wrap her mouth around his glistening digits, using her tongue to lap up every last bit of herself on him.

“Taste good?”

Jiah nodded hesitantly.

“It’s too bad I won’t get to taste it for myself.”

“What do you–”

Her words were forcefully cut off by Jungkook plunging his cock into her entrance, sliding in easily, and causing her to cry out. He began thrusting quickly, in and out, chasing his own pleasure and not paying any mind to hers. He could feel the alcohol pumping through his veins, heating him up from the inside out. The kitchen was filled with the sounds of Jungkook’s slick cock moving in and out of Jiah’s dripping sex and the uncontrollable moans arising from both their throats. She held on to his shoulders as he roughly pushed his hips into her.

“Jin…” Jiah gasped. “Slow down. I’m gonna c–c–”

“Come?”

She let out another moan as she answered, “Yes.”

“Good.” Jungkook’s lips curled as he kissed her. “Come,” he whispered against her lips.

Soon he felt her walls convulsing around his length as she came.

He could hear her heart beating through her chest, and loud thumping that had only grown more intense as time progressed. It was like a siren call, enticing him, provoking him. He couldn’t control himself. Without realizing, pulled away from her, reaching over to the knife block and pulling out a knife.

“Jin, what are you–?”

He watched as his strong hands plunged it into her chest, piercing through her breastplate and puncturing her heart. Her face contorted in horror and she let out a strangled gasp before collapsing into Jungkook, his own chest becoming smothered in her blood.

He pushed he back and lay her against the counter, getting himself off as he leaned over her and twisted the knife around in her chest, carving into it the shape of a heart and then setting the knife down on the counter. He made a rather large hole, just big enough to pull her real heart out. He held the organ in his hand, no longer beating but still warm.

He juggled it in his fingers, squeezing it and watching the blood drip down his arms and onto the kitchen floor.

It’s soft… Nice… Just like her hand.

He set it down next to her on the counter and returned his focus to getting off, thrusting into her, using some of the blood to ease the friction. The sight of all her blood led to an orgasm so intense that he couldn't hold in his scream.

Shit. They just keep getting better and better.

After he came, he pulled out, his cock still slick with her juices and blood. A sticky string of her cum connected his tip to her entrance. Jungkook knelt down before her, his face mere inches away from her glistening slit. He pushed a finger in and then pulled it out, coated with her cum and blood. He put it in his mouth and sucked.

I guess I was wrong.

He stuck his tongue out and dragged it up her folds, savoring the taste of her on his tongue. Jungkook picked the knife back up, and gently used the tip to separate her lips. He could see her juices still leaking out. The tip of it became coated as it just barely grazed her entrance. Without hesitation, he shoved the knife into her, wiping his prints off of the handle and anywhere he touched on the counter. He washed the blood off of his hands, arms, and chest in the sink, put on his clothes, and then left.

The second Jungkook got outside, a sudden rush of cold air blew past him, sobering him up, and he was met with a pounding headache and the sudden realization of what he had done.

What the fuck, Jungkook? I said no drinking, no murder tonight.

He stumbled down the driveway and onto the sidewalk.

How the fuck do I get home from here?

He wasn’t even sure where he was. He had never been in the Parkside district before, and he didn’t notice any bus lines or train stops on the way here. It was much too far from his house to walk, and there most likely weren’t any cabs around at this hour. He looked around the street, studying the unfamiliar surroundings, suddenly feeling trapped.

That’s when he saw something across the street, lurking. It was barely visible, yet its presence was unmistakably there.

Is someone watching me? Do they know what I just did?

That figure approached him. It wore all black, attempting to blend in with the night. But even in the pitch black darkness, he recognized what, or more specifically, who it was.

Jungkook took a step forward. “Y/N, what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean what am I doing here?” You whispered back, stepping toward him. “I followed you and I’m here to help you.”

“What? But why?”

“Shhh. Would you keep it down?” You gave him a confused look before realizing. “You don’t remember do you?”

“Remember what?”

You paused and studied his face to see if he was bluffing. “Who do you think drove you home after you killed Jimin?”

“I– uh what? I didn’t kill Jimin.” Jungkook shifted his gaze away, not wanting to make eye contact.

“Don’t lie, Jungkook. I know you did,” you stated sternly. “Now answer my question.”

“I–I drove myself home. I woke up in some woman’s bed in the middle of the night and drove myself home.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. “Jungkook, who do you think that woman was?”

No. What? It couldn’t have been.

“You?!”

“Ding ding ding, genius.”

How had I not recognized her?

“How…?”

“You know that Jimin’s house is just a few blocks from my house, right? On my way home, I saw you stumbling out piss drunk and completely covered in blood. I drove you back to your house and helped you clean up. And then for some reason, you wanted to go back to my place and you insisted on driving. I tried to talk you out of it but you refused so I had to sit in the passenger seat, holding on to the little handle thing for dear life, as you barreled down the streets at 2am and skidded into my lawn. It was stupid as hell of me to let you do that but thankfully there aren’t that many cars on the streets at that hour.”

Jungkook’s brows knitted in confusion. “That… makes no sense.”

“What the hell do you mean it makes no sense?”

“If we drove my car back to your place, wouldn’t your car be at my house? I didn’t see it when I got back there.”

“That’s because there’s never any parking on your street, you dumbass. So I had to park down the block and walk you to your house, trying to conceal the bloody freakshow from the neighbors. Then I took the bus to your place and picked my car up in the morning.”

Jungkook gaped at you, having trouble comprehending what he was hearing. “Why did you help me? Why didn’t you just turn me in?”

“Because you’re my friend. And you’re a decent detective; I can’t have them locking you up. You expect me and Jin to do all the crime solving when you’re gone? Have you met Jin?” You paused and then added. “Also no one ever suspects the detective, so what do I have to lose?”

He scoffed. “You’re fucking crazy.”

Your lips curled into a smile. “Maybe so.”

Jungkook let out a defeated sigh. “So, did you drive here? Where’s your car? How do you plan on rescuing me this time?”

Your face twisted in annoyance. Here you were, doing him a favor and he was getting crabby with you. “It’s over there.” You turned around and silently led him across the street to you car.

Once in the car, you started the engine and drove. It wasn’t until you entered the freeway that cut across the City that you broke the silence.

“So why do you do it?”

“Huh?” Jungkook was caught off guard by your question. “I don’t know. It just feels… nice. Seeing all that blood, feeling it against my skin, it just… I don’t know. Sex just doesn’t feel as good when there isn’t blood involved.”

“Ouch, that hurts,” you reply flatly.

“What…?” Jungkook’s eyes widened. “Did– Did we…?!”

“You don’t remember? Double ouch.”

“Fuck, I guess I should have known. Considering when I woke up, neither of us had clothes on.”

“You know, for someone so smart, you can be really dumb sometimes.”

Jungkook stared out the window as you drove. “So I didn’t try to murder you?”

“Nope. I’m here, aren’t I?”

“But why?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to know what goes on in that brain of yours.” You grimaced.

“Shit, I wish I knew, too…” He trailed off and paused before speaking again. “I used to be able to do it, you know. I used to be able to sleep with someone, even drunk, without wanting to kill them. But lately it had become increasingly difficult to refrain from murder.” He sighed and contemplated it. “Maybe it was because you felt just as good.”

“Jeon,” you warned.

“What?”

“Don’t.” His sentiment was so cliched it made your skin crawl.

You rode in silence the rest of the way. Soon you were pulling up in front of Jungkook’s house. All the lights on the block were off, which meant his neighbors were asleep. Jungkook got out and turned toward you.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

“Yeah whatever,” you replied, anxious to get rid of him.

“We need to talk about this sometime, though.”

“Sure we do.” He swore he could detect a hint of sarcasm in your voice.

Jungkook’s frowned at your stubbornness. “Anyway, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, murderer,” you called after him as he closed the car door and walked up his driveway.

You didn't bother waiting for him to open his front door before driving away.

Jungkook was awakened a mere four hours later by his phone ringing.

“Hello?” He answered.

“Wake up, Jeon.” It was Jin.

“Why?” Jungkook groaned.

“There's been another murder. Why else would I be calling you?”

Jungkook rolled over and sat up. “What time is it?”

“A little bit before 5am.”

Jungkook groaned again. “Text me the address. I'll be there soon.”

A few seconds after hanging up, Jungkook received a text message from Jin. He opened it, revealing an address in the Parkside district.

God damn it.

Not long after, he received another ping! It was a message from you.

Y/N: It's yours.

Jungkook flopped back onto his pillows and sighed, using his hands to rub the sleep from his eyes.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed out loud, punching the air.

What the hell were you expecting, Jungkook? They going to find the body eventually.

“Shut up,” he said to himself.

Jungkook then got up and got dressed before leaving for the crime scene.

When he got to the scene, Jiah was just how he had left her. Her heart on the counter, blood spilling out of her chest and from in between her legs. Some of it had dripped onto the floor, in a now-dried puddle.

You walked in with your hand over your mouth, trying to stifle a yawn.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Jungkook greeted you with a sarcastic grin. “Late night?”

You shot him a warning look.

A couple of seconds later Jin walked in with three large cups of coffee. “Morning,” he greeted and held the tray forward. Each of you took one, chugging the hot liquid energy down your throats.

You and Jungkook looked at Jin, expecting him to explain.

“Well?” You said, after Jin remained silent.

“There’s been another murder,” he said.

“I can see that,” you replied.

“Her name is Jeon Jiah. Twenty four years of age, worked at the bank on Union street. Hoseok said cause of death was, well,” Jin pointed to the space between Jiah legs, “someone driving that kitchen knife into her chest.”

You grimaced at the sight, letting Jungkook know just how disgusted you were.

“Has he found anything else?” Jungkook asked.

“The knife appears to be her own, since there’s one missing from the knife block that looks about the same size as the one the killer used on her. Other than that, there’s not much else. But let’s look around, see if we can find prints or anything,” Jin suggested.

You and Jungkook nodded, although Jungkook knew that you wouldn’t find anything. He wiped the place clean before he left. He was thorough, and never left anything behind.

After an hour of searching the house and coming up empty, Hoseok had the body packed up and delivered to the lab. You snapped some photos of the crime scene, and Jungkook pretended like he was helping.

“I’ll meet you two back at the station,” Jin said. “I called Park Jimin’s ex-boyfriend in for questioning, and he’ll be there at nine.”

You and Jungkook nodded. After Jin, Hoseok, and the rest of the crew left, you pulled something out of your pocket and handed it to Jungkook.

“What’s this?” he asked.

“I found it by the sink. I think it’s yours. I thought you might want it.”

Jungkook took the small strand of hair between his fingers. His eyes grew wide as he studied it, because it did, indeed, look a lot like his.

“I swear I cleaned up after myself,” Jungkook whispered.

“Then what is that?”

Jungkook frowned. “Thanks,” was all he said to you before walking back to his car.

Taehyung fidgeted in the plastic chair in the interrogation room. He tried to calm himself down, knowing that his nerves would make him look guilty. He had no reason to be nervous. He didn’t do anything. But just this whole situation was incredibly nerve wracking. He had never been in a police station before and honestly never thought he would be, especially not as a murder suspect.

Whenever he shook his leg, the cheap plastic chair – seemingly salvaged from an old high school – creaked incessantly, so he stopped himself. Instead, he scratched at the patch of hair behind his ear, another nervous habit of his. It was all he could do to prevent him from actually ripping his hair out.

Sometimes he would still wake up in the middle of the night, expecting Jimin to be next to him. It had been more than a week, but Taehyung still couldn’t process the fact that he was gone. He read the report that Jin had shown him. It made him sick that someone would want to do that to Jimin. He regretted breaking up with Jimin, and it was a stupid decision on both their parts. Taehyung couldn’t help but think that maybe he would still be alive if they were still together.

Taehyung’s thoughts were interrupted as you, Jin, and Jungkook walked into the interrogation room.

“Good morning, Taehyung,” Jin greeted.

Taehyung simply nodded and avoided eye contact.

“We called you in here to ask you some questions about Jimin.”

Again, Taehyung nodded and stared at the empty table in front of him. “Ask away.”

Jin glanced at Jungkook briefly and turned back to Taehyung.. “Did Jimin have any enemies? Anyone who would want to hurt him?”

“No. Everyone loved Jimin.” Taehyung looked up at the detectives. “I thought this was the work of a serial killer. Why are you asking me about that?”

“We’re just trying to think of every possible scenario,” you assured him.

“Well, then no. He didn’t have any enemies. Like I said, everyone loved him.”

“Was he seeing anybody knew?” Jungkook asked.

“Not that I know of, and I’m pretty sure he would have told me if he was.”

“So you two remained close even after your breakup?”

“Yeah, we were still friends. I like to think that he still loved me, since I still loved him.”

Jungkook frowned. “If you still loved each other, why did you break up?”

And why did he sleep with me?

“We didn’t really have time to see each other. Jimin was always working, and I’m still in grad school, so our schedules never really worked out.”

“Jimin had been laid off from his job recently, right? Wouldn’t that allow you more time together?” You asked.

“I guess we were both too scared to ask the other if he wanted to get back together. So, we just kind of left it and remained friends.”

“Was there anywhere that Jimin frequented? Anywhere he liked to hang out, either with friends or alone?”

Taehyung furrowed his brows, thinking. “Uhhh. We used to go to that new club over in the Seaside district. What was it called…?” Taehyung looked up at the ceiling, trying to recall. “Ah! LightRoom. We used to go there for some drinks and dancing, even after we broke up. But I don’t think he’s ever gone alone.”

Was that the place I met Jimin?

Jungkook couldn’t remember the name of it, but it seemed right.

“LightRoom. Okay, we’ll look into it. I think that’s enough info for now,” Jin declared. “Thank you, Taehyung. Oh, and one last thing. May we take a DNA sample from you just in case we find something and need to rule you out?”

Taehyung opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it, choosing to nod instead.

Jin went out to get a DNA kit and swabbed the inside of Taehyung’s cheek.

When he was done, he said, “Taehyung, we’ll call you if we have further questions.”

Taehyung nodded and let himself out.

“Jungkook, Y/N, I want you to head over to LightRoom and ask the staff if they remember seeing Jimin that night, and if they remember if he was with anyone.”

“Yes, Jin,” you replied.

“We’ll take my car,” Jungkook stated.

“Sure, whatever.” You then followed him out of the room with a frown.

Once in the car, Jungkook started driving in the direction opposite of the Seaside district.

“So where are we really going?” You asked him.

“Back to my place for a fucking nap. We only got like what? Three or four hours of sleep last night?”

“I actually didn’t sleep,” you admitted.

He turned his head toward you. “What? Why?”

You shrugged. “Wasn’t feeling it. Eyes on the road,” you told him.

He returned his attention to the road. “What do you mean by it?”

“Sleepy. Wasn’t feeling sleepy.”

Jungkook rolled his eyes. “Whatever, I’m gonna nap. You can do whatever you want. Just don’t fuck up my house.”

“No promises.”

Back at his house, Jungkook went straight to his room, closing the door behind him and flopping down on his bed. You wandered around his home, studying, observing. You had never been in his home before. As a matter of fact, you knew very little about his private life. But then again, it didn’t seem like he had much of a private life. His house was quite small and  free of decoration, aside from a couple of books, tv, gaming system, and a framed picture of what you assumed was a teenage Jungkook posing with his mother. Other than those few possessions, the place seemed quite impersonal. The walls were white, the shelves were white. His couch was a basic gray tweed sofa, with enough space for three people. He had a glass coffee table which looked like every other glass coffee table in existence.

You made your way into the kitchen rifling through his cupboards and cabinets, not finding much. A couple of bowls, some instant ramen, ground coffee. His fridge was empty aside from a half empty carton of eggs and some expired orange juice. He had a microwave, toaster, blender, and coffee maker, but the coffee maker seemed to be the only one he regularly used among the appliances.

You decided to make yourself a cup of coffee. You searched the kitchen for a mug, opening and closing the cupboard doors, only to find a few still in the dishwasher, unwashed. You sighed and loaded the dishwasher with detergent and turned it on.

All your commotion was making it difficult for Jungkook to fall asleep. After about 10 minutes of you banging around in his kitchen, he grew frustrated and got up, ready to march over to you and tell you to pipe the fuck down.

“Do you mi– What are you doing?” He asked, seeing you climbing on the counter to reach a bag of ground coffee on the top shelf of one of his cabinets. Darn you for being this short.

“I’m trying to make coffee. It’s the only thing that’s keeping me going right now.”

“Why don’t you just take a nap like I’m trying to.”

“Can’t. Too wired. You know that feeling where you’re too tired to fall asleep? Yeah, that’s me right now.” You finally got a hold of the bag and climbed off the counter.

“That’s bullshit,” Jungkook scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest. Then his demeanor softened. “Come on. Come nap, relax. You can take my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“I don’t think I could possibly relax right now,” you told him, fiddling with the coffee maker.

“Maybe I can help.” Jungkook smirked.

You turned around to face him and raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“What took you two so long?” Jin asked when you and Jungkook returned to the precinct.

You glanced at each other.

“We came up with nothing at the club,” you lied. “None of the workers recognized the photo we had of Jimin. There were some regulars there, so we asked them a few questions, see if they knew anything.”

“So did they?”

“No,” Jungkook answered. “But one of them wouldn’t stop talking. She wouldn’t shut up about how it’s so unsafe to go out these days and that people are getting murdered left and right and it doesn’t seem like the police are – ow!” you elbowed Jungkook to get him to stop talking “– really doing anything,” he finished quickly.

Jin raised an eyebrow. “Damn. Okay… Well, Hoseok wants to see us in the lab now, so we should head on down there.”

“Okay.” Jungkook nodded, relieved at the change in subject.

You and Jungkook then followed Jin downstairs to the lab.

“Hey, Hoseok,” you greeted him when the three of you entered the lab.

“Hey, Y/N, and Jungkook and Jin.” He was standing next to Jiah’s body, which lay on the metal work table covered by a white sheet.

“So what do you got for us?” Jin asked.

“Well, as you may know, this victim was killed with her own knife. As for the other three murders, the weapon was not found at the scene. However, the cuts are the same. Careful and precise. And this case in particular shows quite a resemblance to the Skyline murder. The heart shape that the killer carved into Jiah’s chest was done in the same way the wings were carved into Hyojin’s back. I think our little serial killer has struck again.”

“Okay, but is there anything useful?” Jungkook asked rather rudely.

Hoseok frowned at his tone. “There’s something I found that I still need to double check, but I just thought I’d update you before the day was through.”

“Thank you, Hoseok. Keep up the good work.” You smiled at him, which he returned.

The three of you turned to leave before Hoseok called out, “Jin? There’s something I need to talk to you about. If you could stay for just a moment longer?”

Jin looked at Hoseok questioningly and nodded. “You two can go back upstairs,” he said to you and Jungkook.

The two of you left, leaving Jin and Hoseok alone in the lab.

“So where’s your crew?” Jin asked him, noticing that the lab, usually bustling with all of his assistants running around, was now quiet and empty.

“I sent them on a break. A few of them were getting frustrated because we weren’t finding anything.”

“Ah.”

Hoseok stepped around the table to stand in front of Jin. “You’re probably wondering why I asked you to stay behind.”

“That did cross my mind, yes,” Jin chuckled.

Hoseok frowned. “We found traces of semen in the victim.”

Jin’s eyebrow quirked up. “Semen?”

“Yes.” Hoseok let out a sigh.

“Why do you look disappointed? Isn’t that a good thing? It means we have a suspect.”

“Yes, but…” Hoseok looked down at the his shoes, not knowing how to break the bad news to Jin.

Jin’s brows furrowed. “But what?”

“We ran the sample against the DNA in our system…”

“And…?”

“We might have to run it again just to be sure, because this system is old…”

Jin was getting fed up with Hoseok’s beating around the bush. “Hoseok, just say it.”

Hoseok looked up and made eye contact with Jin. “You’re not gonna like this.”

Jin strode down the hallway that led from the the elevators to the main room of the precinct.

“Jeon Jungkook!” he called out. “Jeon Jungkook, where the fuck are you?!”

Jungkook was over by the kitchenette, making himself his third cup of coffee of the day, when he saw Jin barreling towards him.

Shit.

Before Jungkook could brace himself for impact, Jin had a hand against his throat and pushed him against the wall.

“Jeon Jungkook,” he said in what Jungkook could only describe as a growl. “I swear to god…”

Jungkook gulped. Some of the officers in the precinct turned to see what the commotion was. All of their eyes on Jungkook made him immensely uncomfortable.

Fuck. He knows it was me. How could he know it was me?

“Hoseok is going to double check the semen sample he found inside of Jiah, but if it turns out it does belong to you I will fuck you up far worse than you did any of those poor victims.”

Shit. Semen? But I used a condom. I was so careful…

“I–I–uhh.” Jungkook didn’t know what to say. Should he confess right here? It was hard to breathe let alone speak with Jin’s hand still wrapped around his throat, pinning him against the wall. The room began to spin and he felt light headed as his brain tried to come up with a suitable reaction.

Seeing the fear in Jungkook’s eyes and noticing his inability to breathe, Jin huffed and lifted his hand off Jungkook’s windpipe. Jungkook took in a sharp gasp of air.

After regaining his composure, Jin spoke again. “Until we have definitive results from Hoseok, I think you should take a leave of absence.”

“Jin,” Jungkook started, but he didn’t know how to follow up. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to say to him. Should he deny? Confess? Accept? What?

Jin sighed. “Just go. Sorry for causing a scene. I’ll call you if there’s anything new. But until further notice, I’m taking you off this case.”

You stood back, watching all of this unfold. It infuriated you, seeing Jungkook just stand there, not saying anything. “Jin,” you asserted, stepping forward. “You said it yourself that Hoseok still has to double check that it actually was Jungkook. You didn’t even let him defend himself. And now you’re sending him home? Like he actually did commit all those murders? What happened to innocent until proven guilty?”

“Y/N, Hoseok said–”

“Look, I don’t know what Hoseok said, but I know what the law says and you can’t send him home over something that has not been proven.”

Jin gaped at you. He knew you were right. This was just the first piece of evidence they had found on any of the victims that pointed toward a culprit and he didn’t care just how absurd and improbable it sounded, because it was something. He finally had someone to blame, even if it seemed improbable.

“Fine, Jeon,” Jin resigned. “You can stay. But if Hoseok is right about the sample and about you, I will show no mercy.”

“I understand, sir,” Jungkook replied weakly.

Once Jin walked away and the other officers returned to their work, you stepped toward Jungkook and pulled him into an interrogation room so no one would hear you. “I’ll cover for you,” you told him. “I’ll be your alibi for that night, and all the other nights if you need it.”

“What?!” Jungkook exclaimed, stepping out of your grasp.

“I can go downstairs and distract Hoseok while you sneak into the lab and alter the data.”

“Y/N…”

“What?”

“Are you fucking crazy?” He blurted out.

You crossed your arms. “Well, how else do you expect to get out of this?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Prison?”

“Hell no. I won’t let you.”

“But if you lie for me, and they find out, it’s not just me going to jail. You will too for aiding and abetting.”

“Maybe so, but we go together or we don’t go down at all”

“Why would you help me? Y/N, do you like me or something?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. What is this? High school? ‘Do you like me or something?’” You mocked. “You think because I’m trying to do something for you, there are feelings behind it? I’m doing this for me, for my benefit, and for the benefit of the City, because we both know this precinct will go to shit if you were found guilty. I would be out of a job and the whole city will be left defenseless.”

Jungkook frowned. “Now you're just being dramatic.”

“Really? Let’s play it out in your head, Jungkook. Let’s say one day you fuck up. You leave behind something that points toward you. Oh look! That day is today! You’re questioned, you get sent to trial, you’re found guilty, you go to prison for the rest of your life. What happens to us? Well first, the media will attack us, asking us how we could let one of our own get away with four whole murders before he was caught. Then they’d speculate. Were we in on it? Were we working with you? We’d have to go on trial, too. Even if we’re not found guilty, there will always be those people who think we are. People who think we lied and used our status to get out of indictment.”

Jungkook was about to say something but you didn’t let him.

“Jungkook, there’s a reason why there are only three detectives in the City. No one wants to see the shit that we see. And no one’s gonna want to step up to fill your place. And we both know that Jin is incompetent.”

Jungkook opened his mouth to protest, but again you stopped him.

“The guy nearly vomits at a crime scene! Like what kind of detective does that? It doesn’t matter how gruesome it is, we have to be able to handle it. And then that just leaves me. You think I can do everything on my own? Actually, honestly maybe I can. But do I want to? Hell no.” You take in a deep breath to calm yourself, which Jungkook feels is the first breath you’ve taken since you started ranting. “Anyway,” you continue, “now do you see? Now do you understand why I’m doing this?” You sighed. “How could you even let this happen?” You asked. “First the hair and now this?”

Jungkook was getting frustrated at all your attacks. “I–I don’t know!” He stuttered. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen last night. I didn’t even know I was going to be having sex so all I had was the emergency condom I keep in my wallet.”

“Are you stupid? You know condoms expire! And keeping them in your wallet can cause them to tear!”

“It wasn’t that old! Plus I told myself that it was just going to be a regular hookup! No drinking, no murder!”

You crossed your arms over your chest. “And how well did that plan go, hm?”

“I–I–”

You groaned. “Maybe you deserve to be locked up.”

“Hey! I made it this far without getting caught. Don’t you think that’s something?” Jungkook pulled a tissue out of his pocket and unfolded it. Inside lay a strand of hair. “I did manage to get this for a little insurance,” he said, picking it up off the tissue and showing it to you.

You raised an eyebrow.

“Taehyung left it behind,” he explained.

You nodded your head in understanding. “So are we going to do this, or what?”

After your whole speech, Jungkook felt like he really didn’t have a choice. He sighed in resignation and led you out of the interrogation room.

You stepped out of the elevator and into the lab having unbuttoned the top three buttons of your work shirt. You took your hair out of its ponytail and gave it a zhoosh before walking over to Hoseok.

“Hey, Hobi,” you smiled at him flirtatiously. “Can I ask you a favor?” You looked around to see if his assistants were around, but it appeared that they were still out.

“Hey, Y/N. Sure, what’s up?” He asked with a warm smile, stepping away from his computer toward you.

“May I see Jimin’s body? There are some things I need for the report.”

“I already emailed you all my data on Jimin.”

“I know but, I just want to double check.”

“Oh, okay, sure.”

Hoseok led you away from the lab and into the morgue. He grasped the metal handle to one of the metal drawers on the wall and pulled, revealing Jimin inside. He removed the sheet that covered Jimin’s body and stepped aside, allowing you to look at whatever you needed.  He started to turn around to go back to the lab, and in the second that he faced away, you dropped the strand of Taehyung’s hair into Jimin’s gaping wound. As Hoseok stepped toward the door, you stopped him.

“Wait, what’s this?” You leaned closer, pretending to get a better look.

Hoseok approached the body. “What?”

“Can you hand me the tweezers over there?” You pointed toward the tray on the far side of the morgue away from the door.

Hoseok went to fetch it and brought it to you. You used them to pluck the hair off of the body.

“It’s a hair,” you stated.

“Wh– How did I miss that?” Hoseok stared at it incredulously.

You shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Give it to me and I’ll run it in the system,” Hoseok told you.

As you were handing Hoseok the strand of hair, you fumbled, dropping it and the tweezers onto the floor to buy you some time.

“Oh my god! Clumsy me!” You exclaimed.

“Y/N, are you okay? You seem a bit... off right now.”

“Yeah! Totally fine! Haven’t slept in over 48 hours but I’m totally fine!” You laughed.

“Oh. Oh my, Y/N. Hopefully, with the evidence that I’m still waiting on, we can wrap up this case soon and you can get some rest.”

“Please. I want nothing more.”

Hoseok smiled and nodded at you before turning toward the door.

“Wait!” You called out to him again. “Maybe… when this case is done…” You draw out your sentence, hoping to stall him for longer. “Maybe you and I could go out for a drink? Just the two of us?” You smiled at him hopefully.

“I would love to, Y/N, but I’m married,” Hoseok replied.

“Oh.” You frowned. “I never see you wear a ring,” you pointed out.

“I never wear it to work,” he explained. “I can’t be accidentally losing it inside a body or something like that.”

You chuckled. “Oh, that’s true. Never mind, then. Forget I asked.”

“I mean we could still go as friends. But from the way you asked me, I felt you wanted it to be more.”

“You’re right. But that’s fine. Anyway, I should head back to work.” You gave him a smile before leaving, hoping you gave Jungkook enough time to do whatever he needed to do.

Jungkook waited about five minutes after you left to head down to the lab. Relief washed over him when he stepped out of the elevator to find that the lab was empty of all personnel. He headed straight for Hoseok’s computer, searching to see if the results from his semen sample came back yet. Thankfully Hoseok was so distracted by your presence that he left his computer unlocked. The program was at 92% completion at that time, and Jungkook hoped it finished before you and Hoseok returned from the morgue. He waited, watching the loading bar inch closer to 100% at an agonizing pace. He stared at it intently, willing it to hurry up.

He was broken from his focus by a loud clang, which caused him to jump. “Oh my god! Clumsy me!” He heard you exclaim from the other room. He tongued his cheek and cocked his head to the side.

Y/N, you need to chill. You’re overdoing it just a bit.

He stared back at the monitor. 96%.

Come on, come on.

97%...

98%...

99%...

100%!

Fuck, finally.

MATCH FOUND: JEON JUNGKOOK, 1997/09/01, CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Jungkook quickly deleted the data and entered his own.

ERROR: NO MATCH FOUND

When he was done, Jungkook bolted out of there, not wanting to risk getting caught when Hoseok returned.

Taehyung sat again in that same plastic chair in the same interrogation room, feeling every bit as anxious as yesterday. He had no idea why he was called in again. He hoped it was because they found new information on Jimin’s killer, but the way Jin spoke to him on the phone, it sounded like he was in trouble.

He couldn’t stop his leg from shaking, which resulted in the chair’s incessant creaking that drove him crazy, only adding onto his nerves. The minutes seemed like days as he waited for someone to come in and tell him what was going on.

However, he was completely caught off guard when Jin entered the room, startling him and causing him to nearly fly out of his seat.

“Good morning, Taehyung,” Jin said, although the deadpan in his voice suggested that it most certainly was not a good morning.

“Hi, why am I here?” Taehyung blurted out, wanting to cut to the chase.

“We are here because we found some evidence that could lead to a suspect,” Jin explained.

Taehyung let out a sigh, relieved that the police were one step closer to finding Jimin’s killer.

“Well, do you have a suspect? Who is it?” Taehyung inquired. He stared at his hands which lay in front of him on the table.

“It’s you.”

His heart stopped. “Me?!?” His eyes shot up, looking at Jin for the first time after refusing to make eye contact up until now.

“Yes, you. After a closer examination of Jimin’s body, we found a hair on it that belongs to you.” Jin pulled out the chair and sat down across the table from Taehyung, facing him. “Can you explain to me how your hair got on the victim?”

The victim. Jin said it like he wasn’t even a real person, like Jimin was a thing, an object.

“Please don’t talk about him like that,” Taehyung mumbled.

“Huh?”

“His name was– is– Jimin. Please call him that.”

“Alright. Can you explain to me how your hair got onto Jimin,” Jin corrected.

“I can’t.” Taehyung grimaced. “I already told you, I was at the vet taking care of my dog that night. At that point I hadn’t seen Jimin in a few days, since I thought he would need some space to cope with getting laid off. I don’t know how my hair would have gotten onto him.”

“I see,” Jin said, contemplating.

“Honestly, I find it offensive that you think I would do such a thing to Jimin. What kind of sick person would want to hurt him like that? I just don’t understand what would drive someone to do something like that.”

“I understand, Taehyung. That’s what we’re trying to figure out ourselves. Your alibi checks out, but we just don’t see how your hair could have ended up on the victi– I mean– Jimin. It makes no sense unless someone planted it, but that would mean it had to be someone… within… the precinct.” Taehyung noticed Jin’s faraway expression as Jin remembered what Hoseok told him yesterday about the semen sample possibly being Jungkook’s.

“What is it?” Taehyung asked.

Jin shook his head dismissively. “Nothing.” He then pushed back his chair and stood up. “Thank you for coming down here on such short notice. I apologize for you having to come all the way down here for such a brief meeting.”

“It’s okay. Anything to help find out what happened to Jimin.”

Jin nodded. “We’ll be in touch if anything new arises. Again, I apologize.”

He then walked out without another word, and Taehyung was left confused by his sudden departure. What did he say? Something about someone within the precinct?

“Hoseok!” Jin called out as he exited the elevator. “Hoseok, are you here?” He surveyed the lab to find Hoseok behind a shelf of case files.

Hoseok made his way over to Jin. “Good morning,” he greeted with his usual warm smile.

“The results. Of the semen sample. Have you gotten them back yet?”

Hoseok sighed. “Yes.”

“And?”

“Unfortunately, there was no match found.”

“What?!”

“The DNA didn’t match anyone in our system,” Hoseok explained. “And we have nearly all of the City’s data in there, so it must be someone who isn’t from here.”

“So are you saying that Jiah was not a victim of the serial killer?”

“I didn’t say that. I still think she is. What I’m saying is that the serial killer most likely does not live in the City.”

Jin clenched his fist. “That makes no sense! Why would someone travel all the way here to kill people? Why can’t they go plague their own city? Why do they have to tarnish my beloved town?”

“I don’t know, Jin,” Hoseok replied, disappointed that he couldn’t give Jin an answer.

“So for sure it doesn’t match Jungkook?”

“The DNA does not match Jungkook’s,” he reiterated.

“Are there security cameras down here?” Jin asked, seemingly changing the subject abruptly.

“No, it wasn’t in the City’s budget, so there aren’t any cameras below the main floor. Why do you ask?”

“Do you think someone could have tampered with the evidence?”

“What, you think Jungkook…?”

“Yes.”

“No. I’ve been here all day, everyday since the Ambrosia murder, and I lock everything securely at night. Only I have the key to this place, so it’s not possible for anyone to get down here without my knowledge.”

“But this doesn’t make sense!” Jin exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air. “You’ve always been very thorough with your autopsies. There’s no way you could have missed Taehyung’s hair. Someone must have planted it!”

“Well, Y/N was the one who found it. Do you think it was her?”

“Hoseok, do you think she is capable of producing semen.”

“Good point.”

Just then, a rookie police officer stepped out of the elevator. “Jin, we need you upstairs immediately.”

“What is it?”

“Someone confessed to the serial killings.”

Jin and Hoseok’s eyes widened.

“What?!”

“He’s in the interrogation room right now.”

Jin stared at the man in front of him, still shocked that, after months of dead ends and zero leads, someone was actually confessing.

“So… You killed Min Yoongi, Kang Hyojin, Park Jimin, and Jeon Jiah?”

The man leaned back in his chair. “Yup,” he answered with irritating nonchalance. “It was me. The one, the only, Kim Namjoon.”

“Okay, but why?” Jin asked, still confused. He was so sure it was Jungkook, yet here this man was, confessing to every single one of the murders, even with no evidence pointing toward him.

“It’s fun. I enjoy it. Seeing all the blood gush from their veins as the life leaves their bodies. It’s beautiful, almost romantic.”

The way he said it made Jin’s skin crawl.

You scoffed, seeing right through Namjoon’s lie. “So that’s it? Are we really going to just accept that?” You asked.

“Y/N, it’s a confession. There’s not much we can do about it, especially when there’s no evidence that points toward a real suspect.”

When Jin said that last part, his eyes flicked over to where Jungkook silently stood in the corner, seemingly staring into his soul.

Jungkook squirmed under the weight of his gaze.

I know he knows it was me. But he can’t prove it was me.

You roll your eyes. “Fine then, let’s get out of here and fill out all the paperwork we need for his arrest.”

Jin nodded and followed you out of the interrogation room. Jungkook remained behind.

He walked over the the table and circled it, studying Namjoon. “Why did you do it?” Jungkook asked him.

“I already explained why. I enjoy it.”

“No, I mean, why did you lie? You and I both know you didn’t kill them. So why say you did?”

“Why, for the fame of course. This serial killer is the talk of the country if you haven’t noticed. And I crave attention.”

“That’s disgusting.”

“So what if it is?” Namjoon narrowed his eyes. “How are you so sure I didn’t do it?”

Jungkook shot him a warning look.

“Nooo,” Namjoon breathed. “You? The detective? The City’s most praised detective is this country’s most notorious serial killer? Well I’ll be damned.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, but you do. I can see it in your eyes, Detective Jeon. I can see the hunger, the bloodlust behind those dark irises. You’re not fooling me, Jeon. Hell, I’m surprised you’re fooling anyone. Seriously, no one else knows?”

Jungkook glanced out the glass paneled door to where you stood, talking about something with Jin.

“No, her? She knows?” A sinister grin spread across his lips. “You’re not fucking her are you?”

Jungkook shifted on his feet, which Namjoon noticed.

“You are! And you haven’t tried to kill her yet? That’s a dangerous game you’re playing, Kookie. It’s only a matter of time before you lose control. Such a sad, twisted love story.”

“It’s not a love story. We don’t love each other,” Jungkook corrected.

“Why would she lie for you, then? If not for love.”

“For ourselves.”

“Ah yes, yourselves. Humans are selfish creatures. That would only make sense.” Namjoon sneered.

Just then, through the glass in the door, Jungkook and Namjoon saw six police officers enter the precinct in uniform, here to haul Namjoon away.

“It looks like my time with you is up.” Namjoon feigned disappointment in his voice. “Maybe I’ll see you again soon. Have fun with your game, Jungkook.”

At that moment, the six officers stormed into the interrogation room, placing Namjoon in handcuffs and whisking him away.

Weeks passed and Namjoon underwent trial and indictment. The judge sentenced him to life in prison, which Namjoon seemed happy about. He held his head high and smiled proudly for the news reporters as he exited the courthouse, being escorted in handcuffs to an armored vehicle which would take him to his new permanent home.

Jungkook felt like he could finally breathe. With someone else behind bars, he felt like the suspicion was no longer on him, aside from the occasional sidelong glances from Jin that suggested he still thought Jungkook was guilty.

However, even with Namjoon behind bars, and even when Jungkook decided that he would take a break from the murders for a while, Jin still couldn’t let it go. Something in the back of his mind was still telling him that Jungkook was guilty. Sure, there hasn’t been a murder since Namjoon was locked up, but something still didn’t seem right. Why was that hair found on Jimin after Hoseok did the autopsy? Why did the semen sample not have a match after previously matching to Jungkook? Why were there so many things that just didn’t make sense?

On a slow day, he decided to pull Jungkook aside for some questioning. Not a formal investigation, but more of a boss-to-employee kind of talk.

“Hey,” Jin started, walking up next to you and Jungkook as you sipped your coffees in the kitchen. “What are you two up to?”

Jungkook shrugged. “Just waiting for a case to come in. Things have been slow ever since we put that serial killer behind bars.”

“Yeah,” you added. “Not much to do aside from the occasional missing child cases that just turn out to be some kid who decided to skip school for a day.” You pursed your lips and stared at your coffee.

“Jungkook, may I ask you some things in private?”

“All due respect, sir, but whatever you ask me you can ask in front of Y/N.”

Jin sighed. “Fine, but do you remember a few weeks ago when Hoseok found semen inside of one of the victims, and when he ran it, it matched you?”

“I thought that he ran it again and came up with nothing,” Jungkook pointed out.

“Right… It was a fluke.” Jin didn’t sound convinced. “But I just have to ask…” He hesitated, to which Jungkook raised an eyebrow. “Where were you on the night of Jiah’s murder?”

Jungkook slowly turned his head and locked eyes with you. After holding your gaze for a brief moment, he looked back at Jin and cleared his throat. “I was with Y/N.”

“Wow, way to expose me like that,” you grumbled and swatted his arm.

Jungkook winced and rubbed the spot you hit.

“Is that true?” Jin asked you.

You sighed. “Yes, I was with him that night,” you answered.

“So are you two, like… dating?”

“That’s really none of your business, Jin,” you quipped.

Jin grimaced. “I know, I was just curious.”

“I was with her for the rest of the murders, too, if you were curious.” He saw Jin squirm. “And if you’re still not satisfied, I have a camera installed in my driveway. If you go to the night that Jiah was murdered, you’ll see Y/N dropping me off at home.”

“Alright, alright. You don’t have to get so defensive. I’m a detective for god’s sake! It’s my job to ask questions!”

“That’s understandable,” Jungkook replied. “But considering I’ve been wrongly accused before, I felt like I needed to defend myself. Also, I think Y/N’s constant bad mood is starting to rub off on me.”

“Hey! I’m not in a bad mood! I’m just annoyed to be constantly surrounded by men every hour of everyday.”

Jungkook looked at Jin and shook his head, a gesture that said, “Don’t listen to her, she’s just being dramatic.”

Jin let out a nervous laugh. “Well, I best be going. Lots of case files to input into the system.” He nodded curtly before leaving, not wanting to get tangled in a quarrel between you and Jungkook.

Once he was gone, Jungkook turned toward you with an annoyed expression. “What was that all about?”

“What?” You asked, furrowing your brows in genuine confusion.

“You said you would be my alibi and then got all snappy when I said you were,” Jungkook answered.

You shrugged. “Just trying to make it more believable. You think I would just let you rat me out to our boss like that?”

“No, I guess not.”

Almost getting caught really put Jungkook on edge. Even months later, he still refrained from killing. He was okay with it for the most part. But, he missed going out and searching for victims. He missed the thrill of the chase and finally getting to fulfill his desires.

He didn’t particularly miss the sex though. Now, he had you to satiate him.

But the blood… The murder… Watching as the life left people’s bodies. That was a lust that couldn’t be sated by you.

“Everything alright, Jungkook?” You asked, noticing the vacant look in his eyes as you straddled him on your bed.

“Hm? Yeah, I’m fine.” He leaned forward to plant kisses on your neck.

You craned your neck back, giving him a better angle. “You want to be on top?”

Without answering he grabbed onto your waist and threw you onto the mattress, knocking the wind out of you.

As you tried to catch your breath, he continued kissing your neck. He started at your jaw, then moved down to your throat, pressing his lips softly against your skin until he reached the large vein that carried your pulse. He paused, able to feel it beating erratically beneath your skin.

That’s a dangerous game you’re playing, Kookie. It’s only a matter of time before you lose control.

He could hear Namjoon’s voice so clearly in his head, saying the words Jungkook had been trying so hard to block out over the last few months. He had been successful for a while, but now, all he could think about was that vein in your neck, all the blood rushing through it, circulating throughout the rest of your body, and how satisfying it would be to just slice it open, letting all of that rich, red blood spill free.

You noticed that you’d lost him again. “Jungkook, what’s wrong?” You searched his face for an answer.

“I’m sorry, I can't do this,” Jungkook said, pulling away from you abruptly.

“What do you mean?” You tilted your head to the side.

“I think I need to turn myself in.”

“What? Why?” You sat up and watched him as he threw on his jacket and shoes. “Where are you going?”

“To the police station.”

“Right now? After all I did to save your ass, you’re going to turn yourself in?”

“Y/N, I have to. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me not to kill you right now?”

“What? But you’re not even drunk!”

“I know… But lately… Ever since I stopped with the drunk murders…” He had trouble wording his thoughts. “I’ve been wanting them sober as well. It’s been too long. I need something.”

“Something…” You repeat, not satisfied with his vague answer.

“I can’t explain it! All I know is that right now, all I can focus on is the vein in your neck, and how much I want to cut it open and watch you bleed. I don’t have to be drunk to want to kill you anymore. And I’m scared that one day I will.”

“I don’t know, maybe murdering me wouldn’t be so bad.”

“This isn’t a time for jokes, Y/N.”

You sighed. “If you do turn yourself in, what happens to me? You used me as your alibi. If you go to jail, so do I.”

“I’ll think of something. Do you trust me?”

“No.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to.”

Without another word he turned around and walked out. Soon, he was gone.

Jungkook stormed into the precinct around midnight. Some police officers were still there, waiting for emergency calls, others were patrolling the streets for crime. Jin was nowhere in sight, probably gone home at this hour.

“Where’s Jin?” He yelled when he barged in.

“Jin went home a couple of hours ago,” one of the senior officers answered. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Yes, Officer Bang. Please call Jin and tell him to get his ass down here.”

Jin arrived at the station confused. Officer Bang had called him to tell him to come to the station without any further explanation other than the fact that it was urgent.

“What the hell is going on that you had to call me at midnight and tell me to come down here with no explana–” He stopped when he saw Jungkook. “Jungkook, what are you doing here?”

“Jin, may I speak to you privately?”

Jin opened his mouth to reply, but instead closed it and nodded. He then led Jungkook out of the main room and into one of the interrogation rooms.

“What’s up, Jungkook?” Jin asked as Jungkook closed the door behind him.

He knew that if he pondered on it longer, he might change his mind. So without hesitation he blurted out, “I did it.”

Jin leaned against the table, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow. “Did what?”

“I killed Min Yoongi, Kang Hyojin, Park Jimin, and Jeon Jiah. It was me, not Namjoon.”

Jin gaped at Jungkook, not knowing how to respond. He always had a feeling it was Jungkook, and awaited the day he confessed, but now that he had, he couldn’t quite process it.

“You…?”

Jungkook took a deep breath. “Yes, me.”

“Why now?” Jin stood up straight and scrutinized with the detective.

“What?” He squirmed under the intensity of his boss’ stare.

Jin narrowed his eyes. “Why are you confessing now? After months? After an innocent man went to prison?”

“You make it sound like he was falsely accused. He turned himself in, he wanted to be arrested.”

Jin tongued his cheek, trying to decide what to do next. “So you really did it? You’re really confessing?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, that brings me back to my previous question: Why now?”

“For a long time, I wanted to stop with the killing, but I just couldn’t bring myself to. Not until a few months ago when I was almost caught. Then I was able to hold myself back, but lately I’ve been… I’m worried I’ll do it again.”

Jin nodded solemnly. “You know, I have no choice but to arrest you.”

“I know,” Jungkook casted his gaze down toward the ground.

“And, we’re going to have to hold you in the station’s cell until we can get a court date.”

“I’m a detective, Jin. I know how things work around here.”

Again, Jin nodded, his lips pressed into a straight line. “Just making sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.”

“Do I really have a choice at this point?”

“No, I suppose not.”

For the first time in his life, Jin was not happy that he was right.

Jungkook sat in the hard wooden chair in the courtroom, listening to the prosecutor drone on and on about his case. It was immensely uncomfortable, both on his ass and his back, and no matter which way he shifted, he experienced no relief. The fact that his hands were chained together didn’t help with his discomfort either. He spent most of the time zoning out and the rest of the time answering questions.

“Regarding the murder of Jeon Jiah, semen was found inside the victim, but no matches were found in the system. Are you saying that it was yours?” The prosecutor asked him.

“Yes,” Jungkook answered. “The reason there was no match was because I snuck into the lab and altered the results.”

“And what about your alibi? You said you were with Y/N for the night of that murder, as well as the others. Did she know about this and cover for you?”

He looked over to where you sat in the audience. “No, Y/N didn’t lie. She didn’t know about the murders. I always met up with her afterward, within the possible time of death timeframe, but I didn’t tell her where I was or what I did before. I used her as my alibi, but she didn’t know.”

“Mhm. And with Park Jimin, did you tamper with the evidence and plant Kim Taehyung’s hair on the body.”

Jungkook nodded. “Yes.”

The prosecutor nodded. “That will be all, your honor.” He bowed to the judge and took his seat.

“Do you, Jeon Jungkook, plead guilty to the murder of Min Yoongi on June 13th, 2020, Kang Hyojin on March 2nd, 2021, Park Jimin on July 8th, 2021, and Jeon Jiah on July 15th, 2021?” The judge asked.

“Yes, I, Jeon Jungkook, plead guilty to all of those murders,” Jungkook announced.

“I hereby sentence you to 85 years to life in prison, without bail and no opportunity for parole.”

Jungkook looked down at his chained wrists and nodded.

It’s what’s right. It’s what I deserve.

“Kim Namjoon shall be released in the next 24 hours, and I request that he undergoes a psychiatric evaluation. That will be all for today. Case closed.” The judge banged his gavel onto the sound block, signalling the end of the trial.

You followed close behind as the police officers escorted Jungkook out of the courtroom, aggressively pushing past the sea of news reporters shoving their camera in Jungkook’s downcasted face. You watched them shoving and yelling, trying to push their way to the front of the crowd to get the best photo of the City’s notorious serial killer. The real one this time. You lingered at the scene, a few feet away, as Jungkook was led into an armored van that belonged to the local penitentiary. He turned back before entering the vehicle, and gave you a reassuring smile, which was undoubtedly forced. You didn’t smile back, and when he saw that, you were met with a frown. You continued to watch as the van drove away, disappearing down the street, taking Jungkook away forever.

You never visited him, and he never called you. To this day you don’t even know if he’s still alive, or if he was killed in a prison fight or poisoned by some corrupt guard. Although, as famous as he became, you would assume it would be on the news if he passed.

Kim Namjoon was released within 24 hours of the trial, per the judge’s orders, and underwent a psychiatric evaluation. You don’t know what became of him after that, and honestly, you don’t care.

Thankfully, the commotion you had so feared, the very thing that drove you to lie for Jungkook’s sake, did not happen. There were no accusations of conspiracy within the precinct. The media and the citizens left you and Jin alone, without so much as a single whisper of corruption. But still, you left the precinct, unable to tolerate working with Kim Seokjin by yourself, and opened your own private detective agency. You were finally at peace, and hoped that all of your lies wouldn’t catch up to you one day.

Read about the Skyline Case here.