#this took a long time because every time i start talking about due south i cannot stop i want to write

[flippinpancakes64]

A few days ago I had a dream, and from that dream I got an idea! The Cullens in their mortal life had a daughter, whom they left when she was about 8 years old due to her transformation, they took care of her and watched her grow from afar, but a few years later she disappears without a trace and although they looked for her they didn't find her, until the Cullen vs Volturi battle happened, they saw her again after many years after giving her up for dead, but on the enemy side. This dream was actually the other way around, Aro had a daughter who disappeared and when he found her it turned out that she had run away with Carlisle 😅 but I know you don't write about the Volturi, so I did it the other way around!!!

The Cullens with their Daughter! Reader

Thank you so much for changing this from the Volturi lol. I’m still in the middle of my Twilight rewatch, but it’s gotten sidetracked with me watching every movie that Hugh Jackman’s ever been in so

And I love this idea it’s so cute!

Thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy!

Edward:

Honestly I cannot imagine a scenario where this prude of a man has a kid

Especially from so long ago when he was still human

So we’re just gonna use our imaginations for this one

Just insert whatever backstory makes sense to you here cause I got nothing

With that out of the way

It’s the day of the fight for Renesmee

He’s standing next to his daughter and Bella, rigid as he waits for the fight to start

Carlisle’s in the middle of the field talking to Aro

Across the field, his eyes lock onto yours

Bright red, but familiar, somehow

Not to mention the reddish hair, the sharp jaw, the nose shape, everything

You have to be related somehow

After the fight diffuses and tension’s resolved, he goes up to you

This close now, he can smell the similarities too

And your mind is instantly filled with memories of him

You remember him too

You decide to go with Edward and the Cullens

You and Renesmee quickly become besties

And Edward does his best to help you acclimate

Alice:

Her past is very fuzzy

She can’t see anything from back then, so it’s very possible that she had a daughter that she just doesn’t remember having

Over the years, she’s caught glimpses of you, but never understood why

They’ve always been quick flashes, never enough to actually give her an idea of who you are

So when she sees you next to the Volturi on that fated day, she recognizes you instantly

And all of the pieces click together

She cheerfully goes up to you after the tension dissolves, chatting like you two aren’t supposed to be enemies

Despite not remembering her, something in your mind clicks with Alice too

You trust her immediately

She takes you home with the Cullens, not caring that the Volturi aren’t too keen on letting you go

She’s so upset that she can’t remember you, that she never tried to find you earlier

But then you tell her that you can’t remember your past either

Your memories start with the Volturi

You got turned because of your relation to Alice, Aro had been hoping that you would manifest the same power that she had

And you did

You both bond over your hazy pasts and love for fashion

And the fact that the Volturi would do anything to get their hands on either of you again

Like mother like daughter I suppose

Jasper:

Unlike some of the others, he knew he had a daughter

Only, he never got to meet her

During his days wandering the south as a soldier, he came across a young woman who he had a one night stand with

He was in town just long enough for her to tell him that she was pregnant

He promised that as soon as the war was over, he would come back to her and help her raise the baby

Only he never got to see the end of the war as a human

Maria got to him first

So he had to watch his daughter grow up from afar

He always felt bad about not being there for her, but he felt worse when he would go for stretches of time without seeing her

One day, you went missing and he never saw you again

Just like that, the last piece of happiness that he had was gone

So imagine his surprise when he pulls up to the scene with Alice, ready to plead Renesmee’s innocence, and he sees you

You look just like how he remembered, only paler and with red eyes

At once, he felt every emotion

Anger at you being turned, happiness at seeing you again, and sadness at seeing you hidden under a Volturi cloak

After the fight, he approaches you and introduces himself

To his surprise, you grab him in the tightest hug he’s ever felt

You go with him willingly

He’s so happy to finally get to know you

Rosalie:

Half of her unhappiness would be gone if she had a kid

Only, she did at one point

She had gotten pregnant when she was 16, and her parents were not happy

They made her hide it, and eventually give it up for adoption

She was devastated

She was young, yes, but she wanted her daughter more than anything

Now, years have gone by, and she still has no clue what happened to her baby girl

She doesn’t know who her parents gave her to, where she ended up moving, or what her name was

She thinks about her all the time and mourns the loss of her baby

But then, she sees her again

A vampire with the Volturi

Blonde hair, red eyes, beauty mark, rbf

It can’t be, but it is

Her beautiful baby girl, subjected to the same torture Rosalie herself lives every day

At this revelation, Rosalie could rip off every single Volturi head in that field, but she holds herself back

When the fight is over and everyone begins to leave, she stops you before you can

And from the look on your face, you can feel the resemblance too

She’s so happy she could start crying

No ifs, ands, or buts, you’re coming home with her

She can’t leave you now that she’s just found you again

Very happy reunion

Emmett:

Pretty simple one here

He got a girl pregnant when he was in high school

He was unsure, but the girl wanted to keep the baby, so he prepared himself to become a father

And then he got mauled by a bear

For the first couple of years, he was so delirious with bloodlust, that he couldn’t even think about the daughter he was leaving behind

It was only when talking with Rosalie one day years down the line that he remembered you

Rosalie was so excited, she immediately started trying to hunt you down

But she couldn’t find you

There were records of you being born, of you attending a local high school, of you beating Emmett’s previous records, but then after you graduated, there was nothing

He felt defeated

And Rosalie was so upset and disappointed

He kept a picture of you that he clipped from an old newspaper article in his wallet

Just in case he started to forget you, he could refresh his mind

So when he sees you across the field, he almost can’t believe it

He talks to you after it’s all over

He doesn’t want to scare you or be overbearing

But you are so excited to meet him after all these years

And especially since you know the truth now about what happened

You two instantly become best friends

Two peas in a pod

Esme:

I also can’t see a world where she has a baby

She did have a baby, but we know that it died, and I’m not sure how else it would fit in story-wise

So we’ll make up something and say that her baby lived and it was actually a girl 🤗

I love changing the canon

When she got turned, she had to leave you behind

She didn’t want to turn you as well, and she was afraid she would hurt you

So Carlisle helped Esme find a nice family to place you with

She kept tabs on you pretty regularly, even coming around to visit you every once in a while

Until one day you just vanished

She went crazy looking for you, but she never found you

She fell into a depression after that

It was like losing you all over again

So when she sees you with the Volturi, she’s so excited she almost forgets the fire situation that they’re in

When all’s over and resolved, she comes up to you immediately

You recognize her too as your mom’s friend that would come over once in a while

And you don’t hesitate to come home with her

You never liked the Volturi anyway

Too strict

Carlisle:

I’m a firm believer in the Carlisle hoe era

He might not have been drinking human blood but he might have been having human relations if you catch my drift

Only he never stuck around for long enough to see the effects of it

He only ever got one girl pregnant, because even when he was doing the do he still wrapped it cause he’s a doctor

But he never thought it was possible to get a human pregnant, so he never worried about it

But he starts thinking about his past when Renesmee comes to be, wondering if there’s a chance he did that at one point

His questions are answered when he sees you across the field

He can hear your heart beating

And why the Volturi still doubt Renesmee despite you being right there is a mystery to him

But the conflict gets resolved quickly, and he instantly goes to you

He’s so curious about how you came to be, who your mother was, if you have any abilities, all of that

He asks if you want to go with him, and of course you say yes

He never felt a strong desire to be the biological father of someone, but you might have just changed his mind

He’s always felt a paternal instinct over the Cullen kids, but with you it’s especially strong

Carlisle Dad Supremacy

Vampire! Bella:

Again

I cannot think of a scenario where this could be possible

I mean, we follow her for her whole human life, she does not have a kid

So I’m just gonna go with a niece for her ❤️

She was never too close with the rest of her family, but her little baby niece who had been born just a few years before she moved to Forks always captured her attention

She was always super sad that she never got to be around her a lot

Bella kept in touch with her aunt and uncle through Facebook, following along with their posts

But one day, they posted a missing poster, asking for help finding their daughter

Her niece

Bella was in hysterics, frantically asking Edward and Alice and anyone to help her find you

But it was a lot cause

And besides, they had bigger things to worry about

Namely, the Volturi

She tried her best to push you to the back of her mind

Only to see you standing across the field with bright red eyes

She was so angry she could have snapped Aro’s neck

After everything dissipated, she ran up to you and tackled you with a hug

It took you a moment to realize who she was, but once you did you reciprocated, wrapping your arms around her

Bella did not take no for an answer after that, you were coming with her no matter what

Family reunion am I right

[gyunglitter]

introducing𓏧

the losers club !!

summary: just you dicking around with txt college!au besties

warnings: doja cat fandom slander, mentions of soobin's feet, mentions of bullying, cursing

contrary to your group’s self-appointed nickname, you guys are actually well known (and liked!) on campus!! :D

you guys have NO IDEA as to how so many people on campus grew to like you and want to hang out with you

especially since you guys had a hard time in school before

but woohoo to not peaking in high school right?!

tbh, you guys are testaments to that second round of puberty nobody talks about

ya know, the glow up that happens after you graduate high school and get away from all the pricks you were forced to see everyday?

yup, you and your losers are finally thriving

besides when you’re dying bc of all your classes and tests

but yeah

while other ppl really like your group’s personalities

YOU GUYS ARE SUPER HOT TOO🤭

i mean, just look at y’all!

[choi yeonjun]-

‘99 liner//junior

took a gap year before getting dragged back to go to school so he could learn to be a normal human being

did someone say IT BOY??

literally the girls and the gays are in love with this man

dance major and student athlete who unironically does zumba every saturday morning

had no social life in high school because kid was NEVER there

he was a bored only child, while his neglectful parents were filthy rich and figured their kid could do whatever he wanted to entertain himself

so what he wanted, they got it—including vacations

with him being gone so much, his classmates always wondered who this choi yeonjun guy was and how he could miss so much school while still passing

though the intrigue kind of stopped when he pulled up to school with the ugliest shoes to walk south korea

him and his obnoxious shoes gave a lot of people the ick :(

but never fear, yeonjun and his footwear are just ahead of their time!

(you can't say they are in quite yet, but they probably will come around some day!!)

yeonjun typically spent his days doing sports, travelling, and running away from talent scouts lmao

no idol life for him in THIS lifetime

but as life would have it, the man is too scrumptious to be out of the spotlight for too long

bc he became a model not too long after college started due to a school project photoshoot went viral on twitter!!

his twitter is a minefield while he reserves his insta for the wholesome content :)

[choi soobin]-

‘00 liner//junior

glue of the group despite insisting how much he HATES y’all

broadcast and entertainment major so he can get into the entertainment industry and get the bts of moviemaking!!

(really just wants to meet all of his favorite voice actors tbh)

known for being the Ultimate Boyfriend™ despite never actually being in a relationship lololol

in middle school he got into anime, which was COMPLETELY normal! he actually made a ton of friends that way!!

at least until one of his friends came over and saw his body pillow collection

yikes :/

unfortunately didn’t take long at all for the whole school to find out, and then they never let it go

all the way up until he graduated high school :(((

it’s okay tho!

he had tons of online friends from going to conventions and stuff!!

but making irl friends was definitely hard for him when he got to college

[choi beomgyu]-

01’ liner//sophomore

absolute MENACE to your little society

he’s the guy who gets whoever is in his company to unironically admit “last night was a movie”

music major studying composition while playing guitar in a band

the girlies are FAWNING

ppl are so in love with him because he’s so pretty

but then the kid opens his mouth :/

he was the most extroverted kid

which worked perfectly bc with his good looks and personality, everyone wanted to be his friend!! :D

but with high school, friends, and all his 100 extracurriculars

kid burned out by senior year :(

his last year of school, he totally ghosted his friends and stayed inside all day playing video games

(he actually got diamond 1 on LoL, boy is nothing if not determined)

eventually rumors went around that he got dropped and turned into a social outcast

but he didn’t really care since he was fine with rotting away the rest of the school year

by the time he got to college, he wanted nothing to do with things that would suck his already nonexistent energy

[kang taehyun]-

02’ liner//freshman

the one that always has the braincell

and really wishes he didn’t so he could escape yall

stem major for engineering, which is just another one of his controversial choices (being second only to befriending yall)

everyone on campus knows him as that one guy you go to when you need the answers to your homework or your final

yeah, he’s selling the test answers on the black market :P

what? he’s in DEBT

he never gets suspected tho bc he alrdy knows all the answers, so why would he be involved with that??

but the rest of the town?

well, the town knows him as terry

mans is always seen at the gym and the club pulling without even trying

this is TOTALLY contrasting to his high school life, where he literally only gave his time of day to his studies

mans did not have TIME to hang out with anybody

bc of this, he became a bit of an easy target to the one-dimensional jocks that tried to use him to get them better grades :(

he was a small kid, so he got picked on and tossed around a lot :(((

it’s okay, since he’s buffer than them now!! >:)

[huening kai]-

‘02 liner//freshman

maknae that’s more mature than ALL OF YOU

he acts like he isn’t, but kid grew up a MIDDLE CHILD between TWO SISTERS

they’d managed to craft the most perfect and thoughtful angel to grace south korea

except for his demonic laugh :/

but YOU GUYS LOVE IT!!

he’s coasting through college, wishing he could tell you what major he was

but boy is constantly changing it LMAO

he just loves learning about different subjects!!

not to mention he’s good at most things he tries

so he makes tons of friends!!

but he didn’t always :(

from middle to high school, he was THE band kid

he could play the guitar, percussion, trombone, and piccolo!!

so when little kai walked home in his minecraft hoodie carrying his giant instrument case

8/10 times kid would get pelted by eggs or something on the way home

good thing he had his trombone case to shield him!! :D

kai would also be insanely awkward and didn’t have good icebreakers besides his plushie collection

too bad that didn’t become socially acceptable for another few years

[y/l/n y/n]-

‘01 liner//sophomore

ladies and gentlemen i give you

her

the group's resident photographer, despite the fact that you're SO HOT

you are beauty

you are grace

well, you are now

high school: not so much

you were LOSER #1 girlie ://

you were just a little slow to pick up on a lot of social cues and what was "cool" or not, making you prone to awkward situations and bullying

for example: pinky promises and saying “on god” was quirky and acceptable, but spit shakes were not

neither were bowl cuts

or pretending to drown at the school pool and see how everyone would react

like i said, you were behind on a lot

but what took you the longest to learn—the people you thought were your friends were no longer laughing with you and your unfortunately timed puns, but at you (and your unfortunately timed puns) :(((

but you digress, because your overactive imagination worked to your advantage of getting clout and a full ride scholarship!!

you’re an art major with a minor in photography, winning a national photography contest that got the attention of your college

your genius piece of "different kinds of falls in public", where you purposefully tripped people walking by you and taking photos of them, had won the heart of the public and the school board over to the point of them begging to have you!

your parents and teachers just wished you had the same genius outside of cameras--as you slacked off in every other academic aspect

notes: enjoy me being unfunny but having a blast anyway! feel free to send in asks/requests regarding this fic. can't guarantee i'll respond to it, but i'd love to see what you guys think/want!

[chaotic-on-main]

HEYY can I get uhhh a vanilla bean sugar cone with candy pls? 🎀

(And they’re both shy and blushy heheh)

Order up!! One vanilla bean sugar cone with candy for Tay!!

Sky's Summer Fall and 250 Follower Event!

☾ Pairing ➼ Armin Arlert x gn!Reader

☾ Content/Warning ➼ fluff, modernau, mutual pining

☾ A/N ➼ hi hi bby!! :3 thank you for sending a request in. i actually had one completely different planned but for the time, i had to move it and decided to go in a different direction. worry not though, i do plan to write that other one eventually!! because it's so cute. ANYWHO. have a cute armin hehe reader isn't too blushy but she is on the inside! i hope you like it!! happy birthday to the babiest of all babies, armin <3

☾ Wordcount ➼ ~2.2k

Armin Arlert spent his whole life busting his ass for a successful future. At a young age, he lost his parents from a plane accident and since then it's been just him and his grandfather. Due to his grandfather's old age, he did what he could to step up as soon as he was old enough – working odd jobs despite his long hours in school during the day. 

With great persistence, he worked hard enough to get into a decent college off the coast to pursue an education in marine biology but of what focus, he wasn't sure. Regardless, to say Armin was tired would be an understatement.

With his program came multiple opportunities to gain experience in his field. At first, he dabbled in small research groups, taking samples of the local corals and sea water – but it wasn't nearly as satisfying to him as when he got to volunteer once a week in the aquarium just a few miles south of campus. 

It took a few semesters to gain the necessary certifications and log enough dives to qualify. But eventually, he was able to start working as a diver, helping observe animal behavior and cleaning what was needed.

Armin has loved the sea for as long as he could remember, something his grandfather had instilled in him as a distraction from his deceased parents. It wasn't until his late teens that he was able to actually visit one, let alone live by one. Nothing could have prepared him for how much he would love it.

Even more so when he was underwater, whether it be in a tank or the wide ocean. There was nothing quite like the warbled silence that comes with diving deep in the fish tanks in full gear, nothing but various sea life and bubbles floating around him. But even with all of the beauty that surrounds him, nothing compared to the person that walks by the tank every shift with a gaggle of young kids and their chaperoning adults following behind.

You, the tour guide who worked every Saturday and a student who sat two rows ahead of him in the organic chemistry class you both shared.

In class, you were studious as ever. Attentive to every word the professor said. Typing away with nimble fingers at every comment and question proposed. Every day you would walk in like you were floating on air, a bright smile on your lips that matched the same shine in your beautiful eyes. There have been a couple times that you shot him one of those smiles and he swears he could have dropped dead then. He doesn't know when he developed this crush on you, but it was all consuming.

So he watches as he always does, you coming down the ramp with that smile and your arms flying around animatedly as you talked about the next tank – the one he was in. Like clockwork, you raise your hand and look over to him then wave prompting the little ones to wave as well. Armin waves back, as he always does, but his bright blue eyes don't leave your face.

Just as quick as you came, you ask your group a question before starting off in the next tank's direction. On your way past, you look up to where Armin still floats and offer him another small wave, this time your gaze lingering on him. If his face wasn't covered up, you would have seen the warmest pink flush his face.

The conversations between the two of you remained professional for the most part, whether it be about the aquarium or the coursework load. Armin would love to extend that conversation with you, but he was always too nervous around you. He was lucky to get more than thirty words out before choking or having to pull away for air. There was something about you that was just so intoxicating and Armin had no idea how to navigate that, never mind the fact that he hadn't had time to even think about dating ever with his busy schedule.

But one day, you made it easier for him.

Sometime during the late fall months, you found Armin in the break room propped up in the back corner with a book in one hand and sandwich in the other, half eaten. His blue eyes are practically glued to the page with his mind in another world, so much so that he doesn't even hear you come in. You take a moment to inspect his face. His eyebrows are furrowed in concern as his gaze flits across the words.

“That must be one hell of a book.” You joke as you walk over to your work locker. You miss the way Armin jumps at your sudden voice, but settle down quickly because he realizes it's you.

“I didn't hear you come in. It really is! Have you read it?” His soft voice responds back.

You look over your shoulder to see Armin holding up his book with a small smile. At first glance, you notice the big Stephen King across the top of the cover. Under that is a picture you know all too well with the title, ‘The Institute’. The biggest smile pulls at your cheeks as you see Armin holding your favorite book at the moment.

“I love that book! I've read it at least a few times!” You exclaim as you grab your belongings and sit on the chair next to him. Armin's heart leaps into his throat at your sudden proximity. Your faint honey-vanilla perfume dances in his senses as you lean over to get a better look at where he was at in the story.

“Oh you’re just at my favorite part, too!” Armin has to pull back so that you don't bump heads with him. He's never been so close to you before, but now that he is, he takes in the beauty of your face and complex coloration in your eyes. You raise an eyebrow at him, and he just now realizes that you've asked him something.

“W-what was that?” He squeaks out, feeling his face warm even more.

“I was asking how you liked the escape scene. It's so thrilling right??” You lean back finally but Armin still feels like he can't breathe from being near you.

“I- yeah. It's stressful for sure.” He smiles back at you, cautious but sweet.

“I'm sorry for getting so in your face, I'm just so excited to see someone I know reading that. It's easily my most recommended read.” You dig in your bag as you continue on, searching for the cool metal of your car keys that must be buried deep.

“What was your favorite part, if you don't mind me asking?” Armin carefully closes the book, making sure to place his bookmark in the right spot before doing so. Your excitement and happiness radiates off you like the sun.

“Oh my gosh, I love questions! It's gotta be when Nick and Kalisha kiss! I shipped them for so long so when they finally did that, it was like it all paid off. Not to mention that it was placed during a high tension moment!! I love those kinds of kisses. And you never would have thought they would end up like that, you know? Like, it's one of those romances where they end up falling for each other due to their circumstances and what not. It's just so cute!” You rattle on, staring straight into Armin's crystal blue eyes with a large grin on your face.

Armin’s interactions with you were always brief that he never really knew you, so to see this side of you was surprising to say the least. Not like it was a bad thing though, he already had a crush on you but now he was enamored. He could listen to you talking about your favorite things all day, he thinks.

“You think it's weird that such a little moment would be my favorite, don't you?” You tease, not a hint of distress in your tone.

“No! Not at all! Different, perhaps. But interesting for sure!” Armin waves his hands in front of his chest in a defensive manner, the book's pages fluttering from the back and forth motion.

“Good, because I was about to tease you about how goofy you look in your diving gear.” You laugh, the sound of it reverberating off the break room's walls. It tickles his brain in a pleasant way.

“What's wrong with my gear?” Armin glances at the clock briefly and notices he only has a few minutes left before he needs to get ready to leave for his night job. He found it easier for himself if he brought everything he needed for the day instead of going back and forth from his apartment.

“Nothing, silly. I'm just kidding. You look rather dashing in it, if I may be so blunt.” You mutter as you force your face into your bag. You still haven't been able to find your keys. Because of that, you miss the shell-shocked expression gracing his soft face. It's gone though as soon as you pop your head out. “Ah-ha!” You pull out a keychain with various charms sparkling off the bright fluorescents.

“Seems like it's time for us to head out, huh?” You check the time on your phone with a soft sigh before glancing over at him. Seems to Armin that he's not the only one who noticed you both left at the same time most days.

“Hey Armin, what are you doing tomorrow?” You ask innocently as you stand up, slinging your bag over your shoulder then turning to face the blushy blonde.

“Um, well it's my day off so I'll be catching up on some school work.” Armin stands up too, and much to your shock, you notice how much taller he is to you. Whenever you talked to him or worked with him, he was always in the tank or sitting at his desk. He wasn't towering per se, but you absolutely had to look up to keep his gaze.

“There's this bookshop that I've been dying to visit and I heard it has some published research journals I think would be great for our end of the year project.”

“Oh, uh. That's awesome, you'll gave to tell me what you think of it in class on Monday.”

“Well, why don't you come see it for yourself. Shopping is always fun with people you know, right? Do you have about an hour or so to spare?” You adjust the strap of your bag, mainly out of the sheer anxiety that floods your veins. You kept up a solid front, but inside you were churning.

“Yeah!-“ His voice jumps an octave before clearing his throat in a way to compose himself. “I can make time for that, sure.”

“Awesome! I think I still have your number from that homework assignment a few months ago so I'll message you when I'm ready tomorrow, yeah?” Another wide grin pulls from your cheeks, your stomach somersaulting at his cute expression. You were nervous around him but he was just so adorable, it made everything easier.

His heart quickens in pace as he fumbles with putting his own things away into his bag and zipping it tight. There's a pause as he watches you give him one more smile before turning on your heel for the door. He reaches a hand out as if to stop you but he hesitates. Is this what he thinks you're asking? If you were anyone else, he wouldn't have been so bold but there's something about you that makes him want to be a little more brave. So he calls your name to get your attention.

“Wait! Is this… is this a date?” His voice cracks ever so slightly.

“If you'd like that, yeah.” Your upper half turns in his direction as you throw him a cheeky smile.

“I would love that, actually.” Armin shuffles his feet, looking down at them only for a second before meeting your eyes once again. You're met with a shy smile and the softest shade of pink lighting up his face.

“Great. Then I'll see you tomorrow for our date.” And with that you're out the door, the lingering scent of your perfume the only proof of the interaction he just had with you. His hand closes in front of him, as if to grab hold of this moment.

On his way to his car, an inkling of a voice telling Armin he didn't have time for something like this creeps up on him. He had homework to catch up on, and not to mention the school week started up again so soon. For once though, he finds himself being able to overpower that voice so much so it turns into a whisper. He was allowed something like this. And if part of his day off included you, well. Working harder to make up some things would be worth it. 

[1-siracha]

obey me characters as the asian extended family stereotypes!! older brother edition

younger brothers / dateables / undateables

massive disclaimer: i am chinese-malaysian, and this is created solely off my own personal experiences and videos on the internet i have seen regarding this topic. these experiences and memories may not apply to you. this is also a joke, these are stereotypes and do not apply to all asian families or all ethnic families. also may be a little ooc since i havent played om! yet

☆

lucifer: the exemplary cousin

when i think of this guy, all i see is my younger cousin

absolute genius, gets high grades, focuses on school, DOES VIOLIN AND PIANO, wears the most concealing clothing, very mature

be prepared because your parents are about to relentlessly compare you to him

"aiyoh mc, why are you not like lucifer yet?! when he was your age, he was raising all his brothers on the streets after he fell from heaven, and what are you doing loh? smoking weed? doing cigarette? studying to be artist?"

during family gatherings, he is absolutely smothered in attention by all the aunties and uncles. most of the time sits with the parents instead of the kids and talks about whatever the fuck they talk about at the parents table

every other kid there gives him the death glare because these mfs KNOW he is loving the attention and the massive ego boost it gives him.

mammon: the disgrace

ok my southeast asian homies (and maybe south as well) we all know this mf

the main antagonist of the auntie gossip

often comes in the form of a sketchy uncle

has at LEAST two tattoos and one of them is probably a dragon (i am projecting my own disgrace uncle on to him so hard)

got in a lot of trouble for either scamming another relative out of money or gambling away their families money

smokes on the balcony during gatherings (if he's even allowed to go)

actually pretty nice and funny but nobody wants to be around him because hes a lowkey faliure. most of the older kids like hanging around him, but often dont stay around him too long as their parents are worried of his influence.

also he probably took up modeling which made the aunties hate him even more

eyes flick to mammon as he seats himself at the dining table, and he responds to them with a nervous smile. "mammon," one of the adults starts lowly, in a belittling tone that made him sick to his stomach. "didn't bring anything to the gathering, not even 古老肉..." they look at him before adding another taunt. "oh.. that's right.. you never learned mandarin, did you? nothing to contribute lah. always take, take, take with you. just LIKE WHAT YOU DID TO MY HUSBAND'S MONEY!!"

ruckus erupts as everyone on the adults table simultaneously starts yelling, as though the family tension built up over the past year head finally snapped.

shit.

Leviathan: the teenager

congratulations dude, you just got the most underrated type of asian at a family gathering.

doesn't get as much attention as lucifer due to being relatively mediocre and not as talented as him, but will occasionally his parents will flex his coding skills or an award he got at school.

doesnt really talk due to not much people at the family gathering being his age group, so he mostly sits in a very solitary corner of the kids table on an uncomfortably small plastic chair and plays games to pass the time.

SPEAKING OF GAMES

the moment the asian parents kick the kids off to the nintendo switch or wii u so they can freely argue about politics or whatever (im not sure im still stuck at the kids table 😭), this man completely shifts.

beats everyone MULTIPLE TIMES. makes them fucking bawl. oh my gosh its actually so funny.

the little kids hate him because he beats them so often in mario kart.

[wolfofartblock]

Trying to get some semblance of a story put together for the Researchers Au because I want to be consistent with what I draw, but I'm not a writer lol, so this is going to be long, it might run on and on, it'll probably be full of typos and errors because I'm also listening to music while typing it up, and more so please be patient >.> Things stil might change but for now I'm mostly satisfied with this.

Researches in the south pole find two creatures trapped in ice, as if they were frozen in the middle of a big fight. Both are cut and thawed out to be studied.

Dr. Mercer is such an important and world-renowned scientist that the (corporation/organization/government/idk) that the team works for lets him do whatever he wants when it comes to the research project. This includes him being the sole person allowed in the labratory containing the first creature's body (Alex).

Dr. Mercer was weirdly obsessed with Desmond, but also really hated him. Didn't think he deserved to be there, just like most of the scientists there, but to the extreme. While studying the creature he comes to theorize some of its abilities, including how it's able to consume and replace any organism, but of course this is just at theory and he needs a ginea (<- how do you spell that) pig.

Dr. Mercer then lures Desmond into the lab and attempts to get the creature to eat him. This backfires. Even while trapped in ice and subsequently the cyropod, the creature was aware of the presences and actions of each person at the station it came into contact with. It kind of liked Desmond and it was aware of what Dr. Mercer was trying to do. So it ate him instead. Easy.

Desmond obviously sees this, tries to tell the others but is not believed when "Dr. Mercer" appears behind him looking just fine and clearly not eaten. The real Dr. Mercer had never shared his theories with anyone, so no one suspected a thing.

Once everything is settled (for the night), Desmond goes to bed and the creature disguised as Dr. Mercer (Alex) goes to find the creature #2 to finish what they started however many thousands of years ago, but it's gone. No where to be seen. He thinks maybe it took advantage of the chaos Desmond caused running down the station's hallways screaming about Dr.Mercer's death. He swears and leaves the room.

For the next week Alex takes advantage of Dr.Mercer's refusal to allow anyone into the lab, pretending to hole up in there studying while actually crawling around through vents and pipes trying to find signs of the other creature so that he can take them down. Instead all he manages to do is give Desmond 20+ heart attacks a day and once again every time Desmond tries to tell someone he just saw something, he's brushed off, but at the same time some are worried. They think the isolation is getting to him, the way it did to his predecessor, Clay. They ask Alex to keep any eye on him because they've "noticed" the two getting closer recently anyways, but Alex was already watching him due to other reasons: already being 100% Desmond is a human since they were in the same room together when everything went down (or at the very least, that his locations can be checked and verified in some way or another the day of) (Thank you @teecupangel for that!)

At the start of the second week (as in week 2 since Dr. Mercer was eaten), one of the many sled dogs go missing. Desmond is distraught and some of the others at the station go from worried for him to scared of him. There's talk of sending him home or possibly getting him into some trouble. He's reprimanded and sent on his way. It's after this that him and Alex really do start to become a little close. There's still some odd behaviors from him here and there that weird Desmond out (stuff that Desmond would've easily connected to Alex being one of the creatures had the rest of the station not already convinced him he's being paranoid/crazy/needs help/etc.).

At the start of the third week, another dog goes missing. Desmond is once again pulled aside but this time with the promise that soon he will be returning home. He's either 1) incompetent and can't take care of them properly or 2) doing something to them and it's scaring the other station members (alongside his other recent actions). He finally goes to confront Alex about everything, because he knows that Alex knows something. Alex finally admits to being creature #1 and answers every question Desmond throws at him. He also admits he needs help finding creature #2 and Desmond is probably the only one who's able; Alex stating that he's noticed Desmond's abnormally keen senses for a human (or maybe that he might have a 6th sense altogether) and his knowledge of their environment and survival skills (thank you @twitcherpated-replies) would go a long way. Desmond says he wouldn't be able to because he leaves at the start of week 4. Alex says by then it might be too late. Creatures like them get stronger the more they eat, and the fresher the food they eat is. Alex being the good creature he is has been eating normal human food, and while it doesn't do much, it keeps him sustained. After some talking, Desmond of course agrees to help. They share whatever information they have with each other, anything and everything (turns out Desmond has way more information than Alex does because like he said, Desmond has something of a 6th sense and has noticed more wrong at the station than he's let on to others), and come up with a list of suspects that creature #2 could be: Daniel Cross, Elizabeth Greene, Lucy Stillman, etc. (thank you again @teecupangel for that one)

While carefully observing their suspects, Desmond questions how they're going to stop creature #2 if it's stronger than Alex. Alex brings up a drug Dr. Mercer had created called bloodtox, one that he was going to use on Alex had things actually gone according to his plans and Alex had eaten Desmond. They have three viles. Alex has one, Desmond has another and the last is back in the lab.

Finally, the day before Desmond is set to leave, they confront their #1 suspect, Lucy. While doing this, they're stopped by creature #2 revealing itself and the fact that it was just sticking close to Lucy because she was a really good scapegoat for them. A big fight ensues.

Alex's syringe is broken in the fight against creature #2. Desmond's syringe is broken while luring creature #2 away from Alex's unconcious body, letting himself get chased down multiple hallways and even thrown around a little. Rebecca runs into a security room and puts the building on lockdown (think of the doors closing in among us lolol), momentarily cutting creature #2 in half long enough for Desmond to get up and run and hide (2 doors closed in on it). The entire time it tries to go through the station, Rebecca is slamming doors in its face or turning on something or another to slow it down. It finally gets fed up, stares into the nearest camera at her, and flings itself into a vent. Desmond realizes creature #2 is no longer after him but after her and goes to stop it. Lucy and Shaun are left to find the last syringe. After some debate between each other they take the bloodtox out of the syringe because clearly these things aren't working. They find an empty spray bottle and decide that it'll just have to do. Desmond gets to the security room just in time to save Rebecca and Alex gets there just in time to save the both of them, but creature #2 is still stronger and the presence of Rebecca and Desmond is a little bit of a hinderance. Finally Shaun and Lucy show up and just start spraying creature #2. It's working, it's getting weaker and weaker. It tries to swat the spray bottle out of their hands but unlike the syringes, it can't shatter on impact with the ground or wall, so Alex just picks it right back up and keeps spraying them.

Finally the fight is over, Alex wins and consumes creature #2, to the horror of everyone but Desmond.

[wooahaeruby]

WHAT THE HELLLLLLLLLL IS WRONG WITH YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 GODDAMNNNN THAT WAS SO INTENSE BROTHERRRR, and also finally I see the enigma’s chapter is here huh, dear readers it was our own dear seungcheol who always threatened to shot mouse but we all know why not, the next chapter coming is so devorable, you all will enjoy it and maybe go through the trauma that im going through.

I’m really sorry for not reading it sooner, things kind of went south these past few weeks and I have been sick as well, and finally got well today and the anticipation was killing me to read your work as soon as I get well and it was worth it, OH MY GODDDDDD, so I had my playlist on shuffle and I lost my shit when strange by agust d started playing, the ominous and the music was so perfect and I was drowning in chapter 39 for a very long time, my whole body it was like it was on fire and it still is, I am going insane fuck I DONʼT THINK I CAN DO THIS EDITORS HOW DO YOU DO THIS FUCKING HELLLLLLLL 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

seungcheol :(((((( i think the things are becoming more intense from this point forward, and i wish mouse to be safe and sound and happy, and jeonghan dk PLEASE BE SAFE, FOR THE SAKE OF GOD I DONʼT THINK I CAN DO IT ANYMORE.

AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH I think I am going insane, my emotions are truly heightened up and its like a part of me is also burning, you wrote this chapter so so so so well, this is what I signed up and you are devouring it so well, this is what I died to read for, this is intense FUCKKKK I know I am repeating myself but fuck, I really cannot do this anymore I am on my knees begging for next chapter, editors please send your condolences to me because I am sure I will not make it alive without dying some times. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Also trist, I missed you so much I was dying to read your writing and I am so happy to read it, I hope your days is going amazing and lots of love to you, you really are my favourite writers and there is also another thing I want to talk about, I will write in the next ask.

— 🌙

I'm going to do the same thing I did last time and reply to all your things in one shot lmao.

Ummm, a lot is wrong with me, I watched Criminal Minds writing BSH so no one should be surprised :D Mouse and Cheol? They might have their moment sooner or later~ Who knows~

It's okay!! My editor and I were going "When will Moon return from war!" as a joke but I hoe you are doing well! chapter 39 was...oof. It took me so long to write because I wanted it to be perfect. I have nothing else to say for myself haha. I'm glad you enjoyed it despite the pain that came with it. My editor, they....deal with me :D On a daily basis :D Sometimes they want to beat me with a baseball bat. Sometimes I write something nice and it smooths things over for a short period of time before I am evil again.

I don't think you really need to worry about Cheol, Joshua, Jeonghan, or DK. I don't plan to hurt anyone else. However, if that is how the dice rolls, so be it. No one is going to full out die, I never planned on that to begin with!

I'm glad you continue to enjoy BSH!!

There is a long running joke between Dooahae, my editor (our editor), and me, that we are constantly throwing mental rocks at FF Jeonghan. Uhhhhh, it somehow bleed into BSH due to our editor.

Editor: "I know this isn't Fallin' Flower Jeonghan but I'm throwing mental rocks at him."

Especially when Jeonghan was being a heathen in the beginning flirting with Mouse.

I sent this to to our writing group chat this morning and he sent this

So know your comment reached the right person!

I hope you know that I wait now for your comments about the chapters. I'm sorry they are so spread apart. I'm in a small bump of writer's block so I'm trying to get more done but I'm more than likely going to get 10000000% more busy due to some job changes and things coming up! I'm trying my best!!

I have you are well and I hope you continue to enjoy BSH

And....

As always....

Nothing Bad Every Happens in BSH

<3

[thegreenersideofit]

All things Mysore

Mysore (now officially: Mysuru) finds a mention on every page of the history of India. It’s located in the southern state of Karnataka. It is called as The Heritage City, the City of Palaces, the Cultural capital of Karnataka or even the sandalwood city of India. Mysore’s past is so profound; it actually defines its present. One cannot just casually talk about the history because the referencing overlaps ONE ERA TO ANOTHER. Inexhaustible material is available to understand the essence of Mysore city.

The Mysore pak, Mysore masala dosa and many more things with the word Mysore as a mnemonic should remind us non- Mysoreans of the royal connection that we are dealing with. These south Indian delicacies found their way out of their hometown due to the efforts of chain hotel owners who introduced them in their menu and then right into the heart of every other state. The Mysore silk production flourished during the reign of Tipu Sultan and it has come a long way since then. In fact, Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation has received the GI certificate for Mysore silk. Only sarees woven in Karnataka will be Mysore Silk sarees, thus patenting it. GI tag has also been received for Mysore Paintings, Mysore beetel leaf, Mysore Sandalwood oil, Mysore Sandal soap, Mysore Agarbatti , Mysore Mallige,Mysore Rosewood Inlays and Ganjifa cards.

Mysore is the seat of Maharajas, having been ruled by the Wadiyar(Wodeyar) dynasty since 1399. It is believed that a curse was cast on the Wodeyar family by Alamelamma  – the widow of King Tirumalaraja ”May Talakad turn into (a barren expanse of) sand, may Malangi turn into a whirlpool, may the Rajas of Mysore not have children (for all time to come)” The Wodeyars never had a natural legal heir. It emerged that no natural heir to the throne born to a king (adopted or otherwise) could beget children, whereas one who became king by virtue of adoption or other indirect inheritance was blessed with a legal heir. That brings us to the 27th and current custodian of the royal house of mysore – Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wodeyar. Yaduveer was 22 years old, when he was adopted by Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, following the death of her husband Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar.

The tales of the royal family are plenty. A visit to Mysore palace is a must for every Indian. The pride felt when standing in front of the Palace validates the pages of history and makes you a part of it.

I have travelled the Ooty- Bangalore – Mysore- Coorg circuit with my family. Yes, I know, but I still cannot bring myself to call Coorg as Madikeri. Our stay in Mysore city was a very memorable one. The Mysore palace was the highlight of the trip. The palace is managed by the Government of Karnataka. The Royal Family currently resides here in a part of it. The entire palace is not open to tourists. One can visit the Museum that is within the Palace. The encapsulating Light and sound show towards the evening (except Sunday) portrays the history and tradition of the Wodeyars in a visual manner. There are in all 7 palaces in Mysore. The main being the Ambavilas palace or the Mysore Palace. This was day 1 @Mysore and we unwound at our hotel after our visit to Mysore Palace. We had just landed here from Bangalore in the morning and we needed to start early the next day.

Our itinerary read Chamundeshwari Temple. It is at a distance of 10 kms from Mysuru. Chamundi or Durga is the slayer of demon. Goddess Chamundeshwari is the deity of the royal kings of Mysore from time immemorable. The temple is located atop the Chamundi hills. The view of Mysore city from here is breathtaking. The temple architecture is a sight to behold. Usually, Friday is the most visited day to take the blessings of the deity. One can wait in the queue for the darshan or there is a paid darshan too. We took the paid one as the queue would run into an hour and we, as tourists, were eager to move on to the next highlight of our star city. 

After taking the blessing of the powerful Goddess, we left for Chamarajendran zoo also called as Mysuru zoo. It is spread over several acres of land. It’s very well maintained with all kinds of animals – hyenas, leopards, black bucks, magpies, several kinds of parrots. Basically, many species of birds, monkeys, wild animals and all species of deer. It has excellent litter control methods which are taken care of at the very entrance of zoo. The entry fees are quite reasonable too. The zoo is highly maintained. The zoo management is also in process of building a huge library/database area. There is also a small/ immaterial canteen. There are cream stalls located at several corners to help you take a break. Minimum 3 hours are required to cover the entire zoo. Rest depends on your ability to move up faster. I loved every bit of this zoo which was at par with international zoo standards. 

For the lunch breaks, we loved eating at a small joint run by the Mylari family. Its location is in a small lane, but the food is 5 star quality. The food business is probably passed over from generations to generations. This is quite inevitable in the taste of the dosas they serve. The lip smacking, finger licking dosas last on your taste buds long after you have eaten it. We MYLARIED every day we were at Mysore.

Last on the itinerary was the Brindavan Gardens. It is built on several acres of land.  And has a unique blend of many types of flower plants, ferns, shrubs and show plants…It’s a huge garden interspersed with different types of fountains. People of all age groups visit here and enjoy a beautiful evening with their loved ones. As we sat on the grass in the garden, we felt happy breathing the Mysore air without a hair of worry. At 7 pm, tourists eagerly await the dancing fountain show. To reach this part of Brindavan gardens, one can either walk up the huge stretch or take a ferry at Rs. 50 per person. We walked it up to see the show but took the ferry while returning.

We ended our Mysore trip with this, though there is much more which needs a tourist’s attention. We would be heading towards Coorg. Another super exciting journey…

[missmickiescorner]

Not Free, Not For All: A Retrospective on the Public Library’s Complicated History With Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Something that I feel is talked about—though not loud or often enough—is the complicated relationship between people of color who aspire to be librarians and the institution of the library itself; because while the library—as a concept, within the global public conscious, and as stated by in most mission/value statements—is an information organization that has always existed in order to make knowledge free and accessible, it is still—in many ways—an institution. And like most institutions that are supposed to provide a public service, it has also been utilized as a tool of the government to systematically deny and disenfranchise underrepresented, low-income, and minority communities.

This of course is a consequence of European colonialism and chattel slavery of Africans in the United States—a topic far too vast to cover here—but due to the fact that there were actually laws written denying enslaved people the right to learn how to read and write, in the development and funding of public libraries that took place at the start of the twentieth century, not only did libraries have an issue with representation and diversity in their available materials and collection policies, most people don’t realize (or remember) that for a very long time, in a lot of different places (not just the South) people of color weren’t even allowed to enter libraries or acquire a library card. (Pawley, 2022)

Now as a person of color—a Black woman—who has always loved reading, writing, and being in the library; when I learned that libraries were also used as instruments to uphold white supremacy I was incredibly distraught. Here I am, wanting to be a librarian—a qualified information professional serving my community in an information organization—and I have to shoulder the knowledge that at one point in history—not even that long ago (my mother was born the year Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and my grandmother was one of the millions of Black people who left the South during the Great Migration in hopes of finding more opportunity in California)—I not only couldn’t have been a librarian, I wouldn’t have been allowed in the building and I possibly wouldn’t have known how to read. Even more distressing? Just last year I discovered that in my own library system in my own progressive, Californian, Bay Area town, the first Black librarian wasn’t hired until the late 1960s. Which is insane.

This is about the time where one might wonder, well, if the library has a history of aiding the goals of racism and white supremacy, why would I—the self-proclaimed Black woman—still want to become a librarian (or information professional in general) at all?

And to that I say, being enslaved didn’t stop Frederick Douglass from wanting to read. It didn’t stop Benjamin Banneker from wanting to study and understand the stars. Sojourner Truth, W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Booker T. Washington, Carter G. Woodson—racism, discrimination, and for some of them, slavery, did not hinder the human desire to learn and grow intellectually. Moreover, the way I tend to look at it is that they, my mother, my grandmother, my great-grandmother and father didn’t face all that discrimination, or partake in all of those protests for me not to love literature, read every book I can, and desire to be a librarian. They lived, fought, and died so I could have these dreams—and because of that, as an aspiring librarian, I believe the best way to address the historical issues with the library as an organization and ensure that no person will ever have to endure those injustices again, is to both enter the profession myself and use my power within the profession to educate people on that history.

*Takes a big breath*

All of that context laid bare, the next few posts will feature brief annotations of books that can better help to shine light on the darker side of the public library’s history and to close out the discussion of diversity, equity, and inclusion we’ll double back to examine what some consider to be the last barrier to free and accessible librarianship—the M.L.I.S.

References

Pawley, C. (2022). History of Libraries, Information, and Communities. In Information services today : an introduction (Third edition., pp. 15–27). essay, Rowman & Littlefield.

[mrphilhernandez]

Long Distance Bae Part One

It’s finally here.

The moment I've been imagining for weeks now. Well, for months. Ever since we started talking.

I was finally going to meet Q on my trip to South Carolina.

The guy from Instagram who decided to follow me due to us having mutual followers. The guy who intrigued me right away with his bio where he called himself a southern gentleman. I was hooked. I wanted to get to know him.

We started a conversation that led to days worth of messages back and forth. Those days turned into weeks and the weeks transformed into months. He became more than a pen pal. He became someone special to me.

The L word eventually came into play and I had always been scared to say it to another guy that was not part of my family. The vulnerability of those three words are powerful. I never wanted to say them to the wrong person. But he was different. He was special.

On a random summer Tuesday, my cousin Crystal and her boyfriend Joe joined me on an adventure to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It was a vacation for us but also a chance for me to finally meet Q. However, his work unexpectedly kept us apart.

I wanted to see him. I wanted to meet him. I wanted to look into his eyes. I wanted to hear his southern accent. I wanted to be in his presence.

I had lost all hope until I asked him to meet me on my last day in Myrtle Beach. He decided to use his lunch break to see me. This was finally happening.

As I arrived in our designated meeting area, I could see Q's car pull up next to mine. All I could do was smile. Nervously smile. He got out of his car and walked toward mine. I got out of mine and took a deep breath before closing the door. I turned to him and saw his big smile. "Hey there, big head" is what he said to me in his southern accent that I loved so much. I smiled so big.

We gave each other a big hug and the smell of his cologne began to make me melt more than the heat. The way his hands firmly wrapped around my back felt so good. I didn't want him to let go.

After making small talk, he suggested we go in his car to talk in private. As I entered his car, I could smell his cologne even more. It smelled so good.

Our conversation began with him asking me more about my week in South Carolina. However, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful his eyes were. Well, more beautiful than what I've seen on FaceTime. Every time I spoke, I would have to look away because his eyes were laser focused on me and my every word.

The conversation ended after some time and awkward silence quickly followed. I thought about how this moment may be the first and last time I ever see Q. No one knows what the future holds. So, I took a chance. I looked at him. He looked at me. We both smiled. I grabbed the middle of his shirt and pulled him toward me. Our lips met.

The kiss was magical. I couldn't keep my hands off of him. I caressed his face with my finger and played with his beard. I looked at the time and quickly remembered that he decided to use our meet up as his lunch break.

Before I exited his car, I gave him one last look. He looked at me as well. I said "Goodbye." He said the same. Our faces moved toward each other and we were kissing once again. I didn't want it to end. I didn't want to stop kissing him. I didn't want to leave him.

We eventually stopped and I wished him a great day. He said "thank you" and gave me a big smile.

As I walked to my car, I turned back around and saw his eyes look at me through the rearview mirror. As Tyra Banks would say, I saw his eyes smize.

He drove away and I wondered if I would ever see him again. I wondered if he would come see me in New York. I wondered if he would ask me to come see him again in South Carolina. I wondered if our love story would continue.

I wondered what would happen with Him...my long distance bae.

-P.H.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 3: Back to Sydney

Hi everyone - another quick week in the books! This week consisted of the second, more relaxed leg of our NZ trip. Here are the details:

On Tuesday, we spent the day at the Franz Josef glacier. Franz Josef is a rustic, small town on the west coast of NZ’s South Island, situated between multiple frozen glaciers with beautiful lakes and waterfalls carved out in between. We stayed at the Glow Worm hostel, which was our favorite of the trip because they provided free soup every evening and poker chips for us to play with at night!

In the morning, we did an off-road ATV experience. A tour guide took us through the rainforest and along the flowing glacial rivers. Super fun and dirty!

In the evening, we completed what was unanimously our favorite hike of the trip. We hiked the Robert’s Point Track, which is an exhilarating, super-technical scavenge up through the rocks and ravines that gives you a very cool view of the Franz Josef glacier at the top. It consisted of many ups and downs, rock climbs, and long suspended bridges. We got off to a late start because my friend had to finish class before we could begin the hike, so we were kind of racing against the clock to get back to avoid being lost tourists in the dark woods after sunset. Additionally, it is strongly advised to not do this hike after it rains due to the slippery rocks, and we decided to do it anyways, after it had rained. We only saw two other groups of people throughout our hike. One of them was a couple, and the man had a strap-on seat with a baby on his back. We were shocked at how he was able to do this with the baby. During times when the hike seemed a bit terrifyingly technical, our motto was “Remember the baby”.

On Thursday, we traveled back down the Island to our final destination, Queenstown. Queenstown is a much larger city compared to our other stops, with many touristy shops, attractions, and restaurants. That night, we had dinner at an Asian infusion restaurant called Blue Kanu which was delicious. On Friday, we did our final hike of the trip to the top of “Queenstown Hill”. By the time we got to the top, our legs were quivering, and we all laid down on the rocks for at least two hours and just enjoyed the solitude of the picture-perfect view. 

On Saturday, it was time to say goodbye. We packed our stuff and made our way to the airport for our flight back to Sydney. I think we were all pretty ready to get back to our normal civilized routines, yet we couldn't stop talking about how insane all the activities we packed into the trip were. That's the sign of a good trip. New Zealand, I will be back!

I can confidently say that it is pretty cool to be able to call Sydney home. Excited for our next adventures!

See you next week, and Go Blue.

Sam Goldman

Industrial and Operations Engineering

UNSW Sydney

[marley-manson]

If you're still doing the ships meme: Count D/Leon (because I've been reading fic of them lately lol) and/or Fraser/Ray (because I'm curious 👀)

Thank you!! Especially for giving me an opening to talk about Fraser/Ray lol.

Send me a ship and I’ll answer three questions based on if I ship it or not.

D/Leon

Ship It

What made you ship it?

I read Pet Shop of Horrors because I knew I'd be into it, but what made me shift from 'they have a fun vibe' to 'oh they're in love in love' was D running away because he doesn't know how to love a human and Leon running after him.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Bickering frenemies who get really attached and fall in love. Leon coparenting his kid brother with D while still regularly accusing him of every felony under the sun lol. Going on a family vacation together. The hilarious "...him?" factor of mysterious supernatural being D falling in love with Leon of all possible people. The epilogue with Chris' drawing of them as a family as the thing Leon wanted to find D to return to him 😭

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Idk I vibe with the fic pretty well. Mmmaybe my semi unpopular opinion is that D's the one who needs to change to make a relationship possible, not Leon. I'm not really into fic concepts where Leon has to like, spend his time tracking D down bettering himself to be worthy or whatever. And I also got the vibe from the sequel (mediocre as it is lol) that part of the point is D changing and coming to like humanity more at least on an individual scale, and I dig that.

Fraser/Ray V (lmaooo okay so you didn't specify which Ray, because obviously you don't know that Ray was replaced by a character with the same fucking name, so I'm doing them both.)

Ship It

What made you ship it?

SO I'd heard about Due South because back in like 2005/6 when file sharing comms got popular on LJ there was a burst of fandom activity in a lot of old fandoms as people shared the episodes around and they got easy to get into. Due South was one of these because it was very homoerotic and had an ending that involved Fraser and Ray riding off into the sunrise together. I was like, sounds fun, I should check it out!

It was playing in reruns on tv so when I checked it out to give it a shot the first thing I ever saw was the last five minutes of the second episode of season 1. The scene was Ray V handing Fraser a wolf license, and Fraser being shocked and overjoyed. "I only mentioned it once, and you got it for me?" "Well yeah, you asked for it right?"

And I was like, okay, I'm on board, let's go.

I only realized about halfway into season one that there were two Rays and the ship everyone talked about and hyped up was a completely different ship lmao, but it was too late, I was already sold.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I absolutely love their mildly fucked up dynamic and the show's self-awareness about it. Fraser's central character trait is his devotion to duty at the expense of himself and his personal relationships, and Ray's is his devotion to Fraser at the expense of himself, and there are multiple episodes that exist to examine it - a little imperfectly, maybe, and without full resolution, but very intriguingly.

Ray took an explosion for Fraser in the first episode and then crawled out of the hospital and flew to the NWT just to tell Fraser something he realized about his father's death. He mortages his house for him, he takes a bullet for him - twice - he carries him on his back through a forest, and nearly every time Fraser fucks him over in return, and Ray knows it, and he keeps sacrificing himself anyway.

I also think there's some deliberate classic gay subtext there, from certain lines and relationship parallels to the overarching themes. The first season is about Fraser being on a pedestal and Ray like, looking up at him in awe, and getting real, real weird about the possibility that his sister slept with him towards the end of the season, which reads as jealousy but also a sort of rejection of the idea of Fraser being touchable. And then he confronts his sister about it, and her response is to tell Ray that he's afraid to dream and reach for what he really wants. Which, I mean, come the fuck on, there's literally only one thing that could possibly apply to. And then the finale happens and that's all about Fraser falling off his pedestal and turning out to be human after all.

I also like that season 2 puts them on a bit more of an equal footing. They hash a lot of this out in the first chunk of season 2 after the season 1 finale shitshow, and Ray sees Fraser's flaws more clearly and Fraser starts to appreciate Ray more. By the end of the season they're pointedly very in sync. But their issues are never completely resolved either, which makes it like, perfect for fic imo - you can see how their relationship would develop further and how those flaws could be fully resolved with Fraser's continuing growth as a person.

Oh also I love Ray's constant constant bitching in contrast to his extreme loyalty. He will do uncountable amounts petty dumb annoying shit for Fraser and whine about it the entire time, but also if it's serious, he'll do it without ever saying a word about it. I love that Ray will bitch Fraser's ear off about having to drive him around the city during a basketball game he wants to watch, but he'll sing duets with him while carrying him around the Canadian wilderness.

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Hmm. Idk, I think most people who ship it have a similar take on their relationship to some extent. Well, I don't think this is unpopular (but it's maybe not the most popular interpretation), but I really like the idea of Ray's stupid intense loyalty to Fraser easily overcoming the internalized homophobia he'd have from his roman catholic upbringing and abusive father. Like flipping a switch - oh Fraser is dtf, well then no problem, not even an issue, what's a sexuality crisis after nearly dying for this guy fifty times?

Fraser/Ray K

Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it?

I tried, I genuinely really did lol. I really wanted to like it so I'd be able to enjoy all the fic, and I knew I might have a loyalty issue wrt Fraser/RayV so I specifically started watching the RayK seasons while I was still going through season 2 the first time to try to combat that.

Didn't work. My problem isn't the ship, really, it's the whole show. I don't like how it changed after Paul Gross took over - even mid season 2 has some of these problems tbh, though not quite as bad. But yeah I don't like season 3/4's tone, the themes completely shifted to basically the exact opposite (let's just say Fraser returning to the Canadian north would not be a happy ending according to season 1), the scope got way too big, the magical part of magical realism got too excessive, and, frankly, the writing got kind of shitty lol. I legitimately consider Due South season 1 to be the best piece of episodic storytelling I've seen. Season 2 is mostly fine. Seasons 3+4 just get purposelessly wacky and weird.

There's one episode I legitimately thought had to be a fucking dream sequence when I first watched it because it was so nonsensical and weird, and that's about when I knew I wasn't gonna be able to get into it.

What would have made you like it?

Better writing probably lol.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

Facilitates Ray/Ray which can be pretty good.

[c-is-for-circinate]

For a long, large part of my life, being queer in a media landscape--finding queerness in a media landscape--has meant theft.

I'm a Fandom Old, somehow, these days, older than most and younger than some, in that way that's grown associated with grumpy crotchetyness and shotguns on porches and back in my day, we had to wade through our Yahoo Groups mailing lists uphill both ways, boring and irrelevant anecdotes from Back In Those Days when homophobia clearly worked differently than it does now, probably because we weren't trying hard enough. I've seen a lot of stories through the years. I've read a lot of fanfic. (More days than not, for the past twenty years. I've read a lot of fanfic.)

When people my age start groaning and sighing at conversations about representation and queerbaiting, when we roll our eyes and drag all the old war stories out again in the face of AO3 is terrible and Not Good Enough, so often what we say is: you Young Folks Today have no idea how hard, how scary, how limiting it was to be queer anywhere Back In Those Days. Including online, maybe especially online, including in a media landscape that hated us so much more than any one you've ever known. And that is true. Always and everywhere, again and again, it's true, we remember, it's true.

We don't talk so much about the joy of it.

Online fan spaces were my very first queer communities, ever. I was thirteen, I was fourteen, I was fifteen--I was a lonely, over-precocious "gifted kid" two years too young for my grade level in an all-girls' Catholic school in the suburbs--I lived in a world where gay people were a rumor and an insult and a news story about murder. I was straight, of course, obviously, because real people were straight and anyway I was weird enough already--I couldn't be two things strange, couldn't be gay too, but--well, I could read the stories. I could feel things about that. I would have those stories to help me, a few years later, when I knew I couldn't call myself straight any more.

And those stories were theft. There was never any doubt about that. We wrote disclaimers at the top of every fic, with the specter of Anne Rice's lawyers around every corner. We hid in back-corners of the internet, places you could only find through a link from a link from a link on somebody else's recs page, being grateful for the tiny single-fandom archives when you found them, grateful for the webrings where they existed. It was theft, all of it, the stories about characters we did not own, the videotaped episodes on your best friend's VHS player, one single episode pulled off of Limewire over the course of three days.

It was theft, we knew, to even try and find ourselves in these stories to begin with. How many fics did I read in those days about two men who'd always been straight, except for each other, in this one case, when love was stronger than sexual orientation? We stole our characters away from the heterosexual lives they were destined to have. We stole them away from writers and producers and TV networks who work overtime to shower them in Babes of the Week, to pretend that queerness was never even an option. This wasn't given to us. This wasn't meant for us. This wasn't ours to have, ever, ever in the first place. But we took it anyway.

And oh, my friends, it was glorious.

We took it. We stole. And again and again, for years and years and years, we turned that theft into an art. We looked for every opening, every crack in every sidewalk where a little sprout of queerness might grow, and we claimed it for our own and we grew whole gardens. We grew so sly and so skilled with it, learning to spot the hints of oh, this could be slashy in every new show and movie to come our way. Do you see how they left these character dynamics here, unattended on the table? How ripe they are for the pocketing. Here, I'll help you carry them. We'll make off with these so-called straight boys, and we only have to look back if somebody sets out another scene we want for our own.

We were thieves, all of us, and that was fine and that was fair, because to exist as queer in the world was theft to begin with. Stolen time, stolen moments--grand larceny of the institution of marriage, breaking and entering to rob my mother's hopes for grandchildren. Every shoplifted glance at the wrong person in the locker room (and it didn't matter if we never peeked, never dared, they called us out on it anyway). Every character in every fic whose queerness became a crime against this ex-wife, that new love interest. Every time we dared steal ourselves away from the good straight partners we didn't want to date.

And: we built ourselves a den, we thieves, wallpapered in stolen images and filled to the brim with all the words we'd written ourselves. We built ourselves a home, and we filled it with joy. Every vid and art and fic, every ship, every squee. Over and over, every straight boy protagonist who abandoned all womankind for just this one exception with his straight boy protagonist partner found gay orgasms and true love at the end.

Over and over, we said: this isn't ours, this isn't meant to be ours, you did not give this to us--but we are taking it anyway. We will burglarize you for building blocks and build ourselves a palace. These stories and this place in the world is not for us, but we exist, and you can't stop us. It's ours now, full of color and noise, a thousand peoples' ideas mosaic'ed together in celebration. We made this, and it will never be just yours again. You won't ever truly get it back, no matter how many lawyers you send, not completely. We keep what we steal.

.

Things shifted over time, of course. That's good. That's to be celebrated. Nobody should have to steal to survive. It should not be a crime, should not feel like a crime, to find yourself and your space in the world.

There were always content creators who could slip a little wink in when they laid out their wares, oh what's this over here, silly me leaving this unattended where anybody could grab it, of course there might be more over by the side door if you come around the alleyway (but if anybody asks, you didn't get this from ME). We all watched Xena marry Gabrielle, in body language and between the lines. We sat around and traded theories and rumors about whether the people writing Due South knew what they were doing when they sent their buddy cops off into the frozen north alone together at the end of the show, if they'd done it on purpose, if they knew. But over the years, slowly, thankfully, the winks became less sly.

A teenage boy put his hand on another teenage boy's hand and said, you move me, and they kissed on network TV, in a prime-time show, on FOX, and the world didn't burn down. Here and there, where they wanted to, where they could without getting caught by their bosses and managers, content creators stopped subtly nudging people around the back door and started saying, "Here. This is on offer here too, on purpose. You get to have this, too."

And of course, of course that came with a whole host of problems too. Slide around to the back door but you didn't get this from me turned into it's an item on our special menu, totally legit, you've just got to ask because the boss throws a fit if we put it out front. Shopkeepers and content creators started advertising on the sly, come buy your fix here!, hiding the fine print that says you still have to take what you've purchased home and rebuild it with your semi-legal IKEA hacks. Maybe they'll consider listing that Destiel or Sterek as a full-service menu item next year. Is that Crowley/Aziraphale the real thing or is it lite?

And those problems are real and the conversations are worth having, and it's absolutely fair to be frustrated that you can't find the ship you want on sale in anything like your color and size in a vast media landscape packed full of discount hetships and fast-fashion m/f. It's fair to be angry. It's fair to be frustrated. Queerbait is a word that exists for a reason.

There's a part of me that hurts, though, every time the topic comes up. It's a confusing, bad-mannered part of me, but it's still very real. And it's not because I'm fawning for crumbs, trying to be the Good, Non-Threatening Gay. It's not that I'm scared and traumatized by the thought of what might happen if we dare raise our voices and ask for attention. (Well. Not mostly. I'll always remember being quiet and scared and fifteen, but it's been a long two decades since then. I know how to ask for a hell of a lot more now.)

It's because I remember that cozy, plush-wallpapered den of joyful thieves. I remember you keep what you steal.

Every single time--every time--when a story I love sets a couple of characters out on a low, unguarded table, perfectly placed to be pilfered on the sly and taken home and smushed together like a couple of dolls, my very first thought is always, always joy. Always, that instinct says, yay! Says, this is ours now. As soon as I go home and crawl into that pillow-fort den, my instincts say, I will surely find people already at work combing through spoils and finding new ways to combine them, new ways to make them our own. I know there's fic for that. I've already seen fic for that, and I wasn't really interested last time, but the new store display's got my brain churning, and I can't wait to see what the crew back at the hideout does with this.

Every time, that's where my brain goes. And oh, when I realize the display's put out on purpose, that somebody snuck in a legitimate special menu item, when the proprietor gives me the nod and wink and says, you don't have to come around the side, I know it's not much but here--there is so much joy and relief and hope in me from that! Oh, what we can make with these beautiful building blocks. Oh what a story we can craft from the pieces. Oh, the things we can cobble together. Look at that, this one's a little skimpy on parts but we can supplement it, this one's got a whole outline we can fill in however we want. This one technically comes semi-preassembled, and that's boring as shit and a pain to take back apart, but that's fine, we'll manage. We're artists and thieves. I bet someone's pulling out the AU saw to cut it to pieces already.

And then I get back to our den, which has moved addresses a dozen times over the years and mostly hangs out on Tumblr now (and the roof leaks and the landlord's sketchy as fuck but at least they don't charge rent, and we've made worse places our own). And I show up, ready for joy--ready for a dozen other people who saw that low-hanging fruit on that unguarded table, who got the nod and wink about the special menu item, who're ready to get so excited about this newest haul. Did you see what we picked up? The theft was so easy, practically begging to be stolen. The last owner was an idiot with no idea what to do with it. The last owner knew exactly what it could become, bless their heart, under a craftsman with more time on their hands, so they looked away on purpose at just the right time to let me take it home. I show up every time ready for our space, the place that fed me on joy and self-confidence when I was fifteen and starving. The place that taught me, yes, we are thieves, because it is RIGHT to take what we need, and the beautiful things we create are their own justification. We are thieves, and that's wonderful, because nothing is handed to us and that means we get to build our own palaces. We get to keep everything we steal.

I go home, and even knowing the world is different, my instincts and heart are waiting for that. And I walk in the door, and I look at my dash, and I glance over at twitter, and--

And people are angry, again. Angry at the slim pickings from the hidden special menu. So, so tired and angry, at once again having to steal.

And they're right to be! Sometimes (often, maybe) I think they're angry at the wrong people--more angry with the shopkeeper who offers the bite-sized sampler platter of side characters or sneaks their queer content in on the special menu than the ones who don't include it at all. But it's not wrong to be mad that Disney's once again advertising their First Gay Character only to find out it's a tiny sprinkle of a one-line extra on an otherwise straight sundae. It's not wrong to be furious at the world because you've spent your whole life needing to be a thief to survive. It's far from wrong. I'm angry about it too.

But this was my den of thieves, my chop shop, my makerspace. Growing up in fandom, I learned to pick the locks on stories and crack the safes of subtext at the very same time I learned to create. They were the same thing, the same art. We are thieves, my heart says, we are thieves, and that's what makes us better than the people we steal from. We deconstruct every time we create. We build better things out of the pieces.

And people are angry that the pre-fab materials are too hard to find, the pickings too slim, the items on sale too limited? Yes, of course they are, of course they should be--but my heart. Oh, my heart. Every single time, just a little bit, it breaks.

Of course the stories are terrible (they have always been terrible). Of course they are, but we are thieves. We steal the best parts and cobble them back together and what we make is better than it was before. The craftsman's eye that cases a story for weak points, for blank spaces, for anywhere we can fit a crowbar and pry apart this casing--that's skill and art and joy. Of course we shouldn't have to, of course we shouldn't have to, but I still love it. I still want it, crave it. I still thrill every time I see it, a story with hairline cracks that we can work open with clever hands to let the queer in.

That used to be cause for celebration, around here. I ask him to go back to the ruins of Aeor with me, two men together alone on an expedition in the frozen north, it feels like a gift. And I understand why some people take it as an insult. I understand not good enough. I understand how something can feel like a few drops of water to someone dying of thirst, like a slap in the face. If it was so easy to sneak it hidden onto the special menu, to place it on the unguarded side table for someone else to run off to, why not let it sit out front and center in the first place? I know it's frustrating. It should be. We should fight. We should always fight. I know why.

But my heart, oh, my heart. My heart only knows what it's been taught. My heart sees, this thing right here, the proprietor left it there for you with a nod and a wink because they Get It. It's not put together yet, but it's better that way anyway. It's so full of pieces to pull apart and reassemble. I bet they've got a whole mosaic wall going up at home already. We can bring it home and make it OURS, more than it was ever theirs, forget half of what it came from and grow a new garden in what remains.

And I go home to find anger, and my heart breaks instead.

[lubdubsworld]

The Devil’s Own.

Jungkook x OC

Mafia Au!

Warnings : Non-Con ! Manipulation, Degradation, Shitty hero with no redeeming Qualities you have been warned. ( i mean he does get better but not much.) 

Summary : Just Mob Boss Jungkook doing mob boss things. 

Chapter 1

“ Sign it. ”

I glared at him, feeling sick at the tone. The entitlement.

“No.” I said sharply and I could feel his anger swelling, morphing into something dangerous and deadly but I couldn’t care anymore. I was tired. Exhausted. This cat and mouse game had gone on , long enough. It wasn’t an even playing field, in any sense of the qword.

If today was the day I died, so be it. I would accept it. I would even welcome it.

I was done.

He had everything : an empire at his beck and call , enough money to pave the streets of Seoul in gold and an army of loyal associates behind him. His face was plastered on Billboards across the country , the President posted pictures of him on his fucking SNS and delegates from other countries had to wait weeks , just to get an appointment with the youngest billionaire South Korea had ever seen.

And yet none of those white collared dignitaries saw this side of him. The dirty, violent ruthless man who had more blood on his hands than anyone else in the country. My father’s. My brothers’.

Jeon Jungkook was both the most revered business man in the country and the undisputed king of Seoul’s criminal underbelly.

“You defiance only makes me want to break you in other ways Elena.” He said warningly and I felt my throat go dry. I stared at him, wondering how someone could look so expensively gorgeous and yet, like a hardened criminal.

The expensive silk shirt, the fitted slacks and the handmade shoes ought to clash with the dark ink that covered his entire arm and neck, the piercing on his eyebrow and the glint of metal on his tongue but it didn’t.

It just all came together to make him the most attractive man in existence.

I took a deep breath. Perhaps begging was the way to go?

“ You have my father’s company. You have my brother’s Hospital and you have the family mansion. It’s all yours. This bakery belongs to my mother. It’s all I have left of her. My sister in law is pregnant , due any day. She needs a place to stay and I don’t… I don’t have money to rent anywhere else.” I said desperately, thinking of the paltry wage I earned waiting tables. I could barely afford food for myself let alone for Jisoo and the baby on the way.

The bakery was abandoned but it had a roof. The furniture was crumbling but I could fix that. If I didn’t have to worry about rent, I could save up enough to make it livable. At least till I got a better job.

“I’ve offered you solutions for all of that.” He reminded me softly, eyes trained unblinkingly on me and I stared at him.

“I’m not going to be your whore.” I felt my voice shake.

He grimaced.

“You aren’t qualified to be my whore. And I don’t need one either. Whores are not my thing. I have a beautiful fiancée, don’t you remember? ” He grinned. I felt my heart ache because that fiancée was once my best friend. The only person I had trusted with my entire life. Lisa had betrayed my trust, had spied on my father’s operations and brought him down and I had the horrible, horrible inkling that she had also had something to do with my father and brother’s untimely death in a car crash.

But I couldn’t think about that. Every time I thought about her my heart broke and head spun, and I had to be at my maximum mental capacity if I was going to deal with her heartless fiancée.

“ If you ask me, you’re not fit for anything more than a back alley blowjob for a couple bucks. But Hoseok thinks you have potential. Join his agency, there are a lot of very wealthy men who have a bone to pick with your father. He made a shit ton of enemies. Most of them would love to fuck the defiance out of you. ”

His words felt like worms crawling all over my skin and I could feel the nausea churn inside me.

“I’m not signing the bakery over. You can call the creditors. I still have another year and half to pay the one remaining loan and they won’t come for me till then.” I felt my head begin to throb and Jungkook sighed.

“Suit yourself.” He stood up and I stayed still, watching his tall frame tower over me with ease. He gave me a small bitter smile. It was fraught with hatred and I stared back at him, knowing the emotion was probably mirrored in my gaze.

“Beautiful Elena. As pretty as the day you left me at the altar.” He smirked and I flushed.

“Your vengeance is petty and pointless and unfair…just like you.” I said angrily, frustration building u at his words. The way he talked about our broken engagement like it even mattered. It hadn’t even been real. We had hardly spoken and my father had called the wedding off at the last moment. But apparently, that had been the last straw for the Jeons. They had come after my father’s entire existence with a single minded intent to destroy him and they had succeeded. The man was dead . His two sons were dead.

But apparently it wasn’t enough.

Jungkook stared at me, slipping his hands into his pockets.

“Maybe. But it’s also deadly and potent. And it won’t rest until I see you reduced to nothing but a whore on the streets, spreading your legs for every man who can afford you.” He laughed. “ Saying no is a luxury , one that you’ll soon be unable to afford.”

I refused to be cowed, refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that his words scared me. Because they did.

They scared me so damn much.

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

“This bed is so lumpy… I’m so sorry, unnie..” I said apologetically but Jisoo shook her head quickly, palms cupping my face as I held her elbows, gently lowering her to the bed. I stared at her feet, feeling my heart race at how swollen they looked. That can’t be normal, a voice whispered and

I didn’t know if that was normal and I had no money to take her to a clinic. The social center we usually went to only allowed three visits per month and we had used it all up. I wanted to throw caution to the wind and spend the thirty thousand won it would take but that would mean no groceries for a week and surely bread and eggs wouldn’t stretch that long, even if I could sneak meals in the restaurant for myself.

“I’ve been feeling a little dizzy…I’ll just sleep.” She said tiredly. She was thirty six weeks along, not due for another four weeks but her blood pressure was erratic. Her lab numbers were oscillating and there had been talks of an emergency c section. Even with insurance it was way more than I could afford but I had my own jewelry, a few expensive trinkets from my teenage years. I’d been obsessed with diamonds and my father had indulged me and I had a pair of earrings left. I’d already sold the rest but this would take care of the medical bills for the birth itself.

“My shift starts in ten minutes. I have to go. Give me a call if you need anything…” I said softly and I saw the familiar blank and listless look come into her eyes. I knew she was depressed, dealing with grief and pregnancy and loss but there was nothing I could do for her. Nothing. I had applied for a bunch of other jobs but they never wrote back. It wasn’t easy, being rejected over and over again but it wasn’t like there was much else I could do. And the truth was I was resigned to this, accepted that at some point I would have to take more loans and be stuck in an endless cycle of debt for the rest of my life.

And I had made peace with that.

There was no future for me. And I was okay with just surviving.

If only Jungkook would let me.

Apparently, watching me wipe down greasy tables and mop up floors and toilets trying to earn just enough to get a few square meals didn’t soothe his anger. It only fueled it. Jungkook couldn’t fathom that it had been six whole months of me on the streets of Seoul and I wasn’t completely destitute yet. I’d kept myself and my sister in law alive, safe and it pissed him off.

He wanted to see me broken and on my knees, begging him for help. The idea of me somehow surviving despite him taking everything away from me, it just didn’t sit well with him.

I couldn’t afford to have him as an enemy so all I could really hope was that one day he would wake up and give up. One day he would just wake up and decide that I wasn’t worth it.

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

When I walked into my shift and noticed a familiar pair of high heeled Louboutins , completely out of place in my seedy place of employment, I knew I was in trouble. Lisa sat against one of the booths and her gaze was fixated on the door which meant she was waiting for someone. And when her eyes narrowed at the sight of me, I just knew I was the someone.

She wants to get me fired.

It wasn’t rocket science and I felt the urge to turn right back around and leave.  But I tamped down on it. I could get through this. I would get through this. Lisa and Jungkook got off on invoking reactions and I wouldn’t give them that.

Except it wasn’t that easy.

It was a nightmare, watching her demand and reject and walk all over me but the sleeplessness from the past few days made spacing out easier and I just stared away at the wall as she yelled and complained and made a scene.

“You’ve stopped fighting? Finally giving up? Good…” She hissed when the manager apologized to her and told me to meet him after my shift and I felt myself tremble in indignation.

“I won’t fight you or Jungkook, you and I both know I can’t afford to.” I said quietly and she went still, something flashing in her eyes for a second. It was gone before I could fully process it but it had been there. Guilt.

Lisa wasn’t a terrible human. She had been a dear friend. We had grown up together and she had even hugged and teased me when I’d been betrothed to Jungkook, all those years ago. I had been twenty back then, naïve and spoiled. While Jungkook had taken my father’s entire legacy apart, piece by piece, Lisa had been nothing more than a pawn. I remembered all the times I had let her home, how she would disappear for lengths of time.

Planting bugs all over the house. All over his office. Jungkook had been smart. Someone like Lisa, so fascinated by thr wealth she had grown up around would naturally jump at the idea of more. It wasn’t greed. It was human nature. And with her help he had destroyed everything my father had built over decades.

I shuddered. My father hadn’t been a good man. He had been greedy, yes. But he hadn’t deserved to die. And Jungkook would have to pay for that sin, someday.

“There’s a job waiting for you in Hoseok’s club.” She smiled cruelly , “ you don’t need this one.”

“The fact that you want to take it away from me, tells me that maybe there’s nothing left in you save.” I said blankly and she turned her nose up at me.

“I have Jungkook. I don’t need to be saved.”

I shook my head. She was so naïve. Men like Jungkook cared for nothing but themselves. But I wondered if women like her didn’t care for anything but the money that came with being his. Money was precious, I thought bitterly. I’d never realized how privileged I had been until I’d had it all ripped away.

“He’s the one you need saving from. And one day you’ll realize that.” I shrugged, not in the mood to offer her anymore life advice.  If she was alright with being a trophy wife in exchange for a few pretty shoes that was her prerogative.

Before she could reply,  my phone rang.

“Hello?” I asked nervously and I felt my heart drop to my knees when I heard who it was.

I turned on my heel rushing inside and my manager gave me a look of surprise.

“ My sister..she’s… she’s sick. I need to go.” I said desperately and his eyes narrowed. It was the worst timing. He was already annoyed because of Lisa and I stared in disbelief as he quickly shook his head.

“No. I’m sorry Elena…I just can’t let you leave like that…” He said sharply.

It was so unfair.

“I haven’t taken a single day off in five months…” I said desperately..” Please, she’s pregnant..She needs me, she-“

“If you leave, you won’t have a job to come back to. I can’t do this.. First you make trouble with a customer and now you just want to walk out in the middle of your shift without any notice…”

“Fine. Fire me.” I snapped, because I’d just had enough of it. I was exhausted, and tomorrow I’d go knocking on some other tore and I’d get a job. I lived in Seoul …How hard could it be? For now, I had to get to Jisoo. I had to get the hospital and things would be okay.

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

It wasn’t okay.

“I… You want to keep her in? So soon?”

“Her blood pressure is through the roof. There are signs of severe pre eclampsia and we want to get her started on a magnesium drip. Steroids to help the baby’s lungs incase we need to deliver…”

“Deliver..?” I couldn’t breathe.

“Yes, I’m sorry…. If her blood pressure doesn’t come down we’re going to have to deliver.”

I nodded, glancing at the bed where Jisoo was sleeping, her face swollen and I knew that she was sick. Really sick. She looked pallid and ill.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked hoarsely.

“We’re going to do what we can… But I’m going to be honest, we’re looking at a c section, a lot of meds and also some time in the NICU for the baby…. Can you afford it? Your sister’s insurance only covers 80% .”

I blinked, completely thrown. White noise rushed through my ears,  a dull throb settling right at the base of my skull and beginning to spread all the way to my arms and back. It was panic mixed wth anxiety mixed with despair and I couldn’t quite cope. The earrings wouldn’t cover all that.

“Oh… Oh..yeah.” I said dully, “ Of course I can… Let me just…. Can I have a moment? There’s somethings I need to do.”

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

I carefully slipped the cash into the envelope, swallowing as I sat on the pavement. I’d got another call from the hospital, they had administered the steroids but Jisoo’s condition seemed to be worsening. They wanted to try inducing labour soon but they wanted me to pay for the room and for the medicines, and apparently, the earrings weren’t as valuable as I thought they were.

I fought nausea wrapping arms around myself as I stared at the cars whizzing by, the putrid city air clogging my lungs as I tried to come to terms with what was happening. Jisoo needed help. She was the only one left and she carried my brother’s son. I felt my throat clog when I thought of Daehwan. He had been a good guy. I had loved him. It wasn’t fair, what Jungkook had done to my family, I thought miserably .

And the only reason I wasn’t driven by vengeance or anger was because I was nothing like Jungkook. I hated him. I didn’t want him to live in my head, didn’t want to waste any part of myself on him , not even my anger. But it was hard when he wouldn’t let me breathe, always at my heels like a wolf : jaws snapping and blood thirsty eyes trained on me at all times. I couldn’t fathom his obsession sometimes. Surely, his hatred was uncalled for now? He’d taken everything from me anyway.  

There was a dull roaring in my ears, one that said that this was not really a surprise. I’d thought about it way too often, had considered it countless times. Had even spent one absolutely horrifying evening scouring the streets of Seoul’s red light district just to see how sex workers behaved.

I’d also realized that in the face of desperation, dignity didn’t hold much value.

You are going to pay your debts on your back and on your knees.

The first time Jungkook had thrown it at my face, eyes glinting with glee, my stomach had rebelled so hard. I’d been absolutely infuriated, had thrown a vase at him. And it had been awful,  watching him catch it out of the air with ease, his mocking laughter making my bones rattle as he shook his head, “ That’s how this ends, Elena. Mark my words.”

And it was pitiful ,  that he went through life so consumed with hatred and vindictive cruelty that he couldn’t leave me alone . He was pathetic. That’s how I saw him. A pathetic child who refused to stop tormenting the helpless ant on the floor although it was no match for his cruelty.

At some point Jungkook was going to win. And his idea of winning was seeing me stripped bare of the one thing that kept me alive : my freedom.

It had just happened sooner than I’d thought.

Because I knew what it would mean, to go to Hoseok. He would own me. Hoseok’s whores were all slaves, tangled in his web so badly that there was no hope of escape. He wasn’t cruel but he was smart. No one left the his ‘ agency’ once they went in. I would be lost, forever. And I couldn’t stomach it.

I stared at my knees, fists clenched on the fabric of my skirt. I grabbed my phone, scrolling through the contacts. I considered it carefully. I had to do this on my terms. Had to make sure I retained some sort of control here.

And I knew just how to do it.

Hoseok picked up on the third ring.

“Hello.”

“I need help.” I croaked out.

The deep chuckle made my skin crawl.

“Elena Gong. What a wonderful, wonderful surprise. What can I do you for?” He drawled.

“Well sweetheart, I’m all out of charity so you’re going to have to make it worth my while.”

I took a deep breath.

“I’m a virgin.” I whispered.

The line went completely silent.

“What?” The amusement in his voice died.

“You heard me and I’ll let you cash in on it. I’ll let you auction it off…” I tamped down on the burning protest in my lung, the screaming inside my head that said it was horrifying, that I was considering this. “ But only if you keep my terms.”

“What makes you think you have a say in that.” He said sharply and I laughed.

“I belong to your world, Hoseok. Did you forget that we were friends, once.” I whispered and he didn’t reply.

Laughter, kindness, a big brother I could always count on, hobi oppa, nine year old me with my fingers curled around his wrist as we ran all around the gardens , a smile so wide that he could spread sunshine on the gloomiest days. Different from Jungkook and Namjoon and Yoongi and the others. Willing to include a ‘ girl’ in his playtime. Lisa and I the only girls, not even fazed watching as the rest of them wielded toy guns and mock interrogation scenes, pretending to kill and maim and torture because that was the world we were born into.

“We’re not friends, Elena. Let’s get that straight. The only part of you that holds any value to me is th part between your legs. So tell me, what do you want.”

“When was the last time you auctioned off someone’s virginity? You know how much money you can make off something like that. Not just from the sale itself but from the entire night. Your club… Your gaming hell…. All of it.”

“You expect me to believe you’re a virgin. At twenty seven.” He scoffed.

“Put the word out, everywhere. If you find one man who says he’s slept with me , I’ll back off.”

“That would require me to tarnish your  family name. And you’re alright with that?”

I smiled biotterly.

“Isn’t that what you and your precious Jungkookie want? To see the last living Gong, be labeled as a whore and a slut.”

He didn’t reply.

“I’ll give you that. You can do it… You know that will only interest more people. As Jungkook so eloquently put it, most of them would love to fuck the defiance out of me.”

“What’s the catch. What do you want. ”

“2 billion won.”  I said firmly “It will be one night. One night only and I want enough money to pay off every one of my father’s debts, to get me an apartment for my sister in law and to support her and her baby for a year at least.”

“Done.” He said without missing a beat and I went still. What must it be like, to throw around money like that without a care in the world. And it sickened me that Jungkook was probably ten times as rich as Hoseok , the money my father owed him and his associates not even pocket change in comparison to his gargantuan wealth and yet, he stayed on my heels, snapping his jaws like a dog with a bone.

“And Jungkook doesn’t get to watch.” I said softly, knowing exactly what Jungkook would get off on.

That made Hoseok laugh.

“You know him too well. I keep forgetting he was madly in love with you once.”

I resisted the urge to vomit. Jungkook didn’t know love. He knew ownership. He didn’t love me, he thought he owned me. That I was his to play with…. For the rest of his life. And when my father had denied him that, just like a toddler in a toy store being denied a shiny toy to break and trample on, he had thrown a temper tantrum.

Except his tantrums always ended in death and destruction.

“That’s the deal. He doesn’t turn up there to gloat.”

“He’s heading out to Switzerland for a week , two days from now.” Hoseok said evenly.

“Good then. My sister in law…she “ I swallowed. “ She’s in a hospital in Yongsan. I’ll send you the address.”  

“I’ll take care of it. But I want you here tonight. I’m not going to drop a couple billion won on your head without making sure I’m getting my money’s worth. And I can’t have you changing your mind and bolting either. My reputation is on the line here. If I put out the word that I’m serving something so fucking delicious and then back out, they’re not going to want to buy Hobi’s wares anymore. You understand what I’m saying darling?” Hoseok drawled and I knew exactly what he was saying. If I agreed to this, it was blanket consent for him to whatever he wanted.

“I won’t back out. I can’t. But this is one night. One night with whichever bastard you choose and that’s it. I want out.  I don’t want you or Jungkook hounding me again. Ever.” My voice shook as I dug my fingers into my knees.  

“My men will be there in ten minutes. Sit tight, princess.”

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

I stared at Hoseok as he carefully poured me a finger of whiskey, neat. He gave me a smirk and I shrugged.

“you remember.” I said casually, throat itching because it had been way too long since I’d had quality alcohol. I missed the burn,  the warmth , the numbness that followed.

“Of course I do. You could drink all of us under the table with little effort. It was spectacular.” He laughed and I leaned back against the couch, letting my head fall back.

“I was half certain that you would have a doctor around to make sure I’m a virgin.” I stared at him and he shrugged. “ Pointless. You’re twenty seven, you’ve probably had stuff up there anyway… Not like your hymen’s still going to be intact.”

I thought it was rather horrifying, that I didn’t feel nearly as mortified as I should. This was how Hoseok talked, matter of fact and open and that was why he was so popular. Anytime an important person came into the country, Hobi was the one who offered entertainment for the night. Hobi’s girls were always the prettiest, most well behaved and perfect. They were educated, knew what they were talking about and he didn’t force them into the life. They loved it, enjoyed it and it showed.

Not to say he was a saint.

Far from it.

Hoseok knew how to dine with kings in castles  but also how to wrestle with  swine in the gutter. The seedy brothels in Seoul’s back alleys were his as well, and he ruled his kingdom with an iron hand. The prostitutes there feared him, one look or word enough to silence any rebellion, any thought of escape.

He was called Hope. And yet somehow that was exactly what he denied the women under him. There was no hope here. There was only lust and power and money. You came to Hobi…. You never left .

I took the glass he offered, taking a small sip, savoring the taste.

“But you believe me. I wonder why.” I watched him closely and he scoffed.

“Between your father and Jungkook, no one ever really had the pluck to come anywhere near you  did they?”

Undisputable.

I sighed, leaning back to stare at him.

“Do you think dying hurts?” I asked softly.

It was frightening, how his entire body went stiff, eyes wide and jaw dropping.

“Elena, what the fuck-“

“Its just a question. You’ve killed people. You’ve watched them die… how do you think they feel?” I asked , curious.

“None of them wanted to die. If that’s what you’re asking.” The look in his eyes made me nervous.

I stared at him and the question was obvious. None of them wanted to die, but do you?

I didn’t.

“I’m not thinking of killing myself , oppa.  Stop looking so horrified.” I laughed. He shook his head.

“ Don’t joke about that. It’s not fucking funny.”

I sobered up, remembering with a jolt. Ah, of course.

“I’m sorry. I forgot.” I said quietly.

Hoseok’s little sister had killed herself when I was seventeen. She was a year older than me and her father had lost her in a wager to a seventy year old man, known for torturing his bedmates. She had heard the news, taken a deep breath and taken a deep dive off the seventeeth floor of the condo where she lived with her mother.

I’d been engaged to Jungkook by then. And I had almost wanted it. Jungkook wasn’t old at least… twenty one to my seventeen.

“Just so you know, he’s going to find out. And he’s not going to like it.”

I shrugged. Three years is a long time to be preyed upon and now my mind was resigned to a life of being hunted. Hoseok was right. Jungkook would find out and he wouldn’t like it.

Good.

“I don’t care what he does anymore. All I care is that Jisoo and the baby are left out of whatever plans he has…. If you promise me you’ll keep them safe , I’ll cooperate.”

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

It was a baby boy.

I stared, fingers itching to hold the baby but it was impossible, the little one whisked away to the NICU right after with respiratory distress and Jisoo had gone into a seizure, eyes rolling back into her eyes.

She as alright now, resting in a VIP room with the best care money could buy. Hoseok had asked me if I was happy with the arrangements, and if I would name the boy after him.

I stared at the room, large and breezy and filled with flowers and gifts, toys and baby stuff and I knew right then that I had sealed my fate. I was going to have to go through with this. I could imagine how much Jisoo would protest when she came to her senses. The only relief was that it would take her a few days to be good enough to fight or protest. But then this would all be over and done with.

Jungkook would leave this afternoon. His flight was at three.

I would reach the club at five. The patrons would arrive at seven.

One night, I reminded myself , staring at the gentle rise and fall of Jisoo’s chest as she slept, my fingers playing with the soft skin on her wrist. The IV line went through her veins and I watched the gentle drip of it.

One night.

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

I didn’t know how auctions happened and while I’d been prepared for the worst kind of humiliation,  Hoseok assured me that he wasn’t going to make me stand naked on some podium or something.

“Generally, I would do something like that simply for the flair of it but consider this a favor ….a respite because you were, as you said, once a friend.” He gave me an even smile and I could only nod in mute relief.

I was grateful. Beyond grateful.

And what was more, he hadn’t told anyone, who I was.

That stunned me. Because wasn’t that the selling point? The murderous, greedy mob rat Gong Hyo Suk’s only daughter forced to spread her legs for one lucky stranger? If Hoseok had cashed in on that he would have made a fortune. But he hadn’t. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Would , whoever it was be upset if he recognized me?

I was led to a bedroom, large and tastefully decorated with silky satin sheets and dark curtains and dim lighting that lit up parts of the room and left other parts plunged in darkness. Hoseok had told me to wear whatever I wanted and I realized with a pang that he really didn’t see this as some sort of transaction. He was trying to make it as easy as possible without making any decisions for me. Offering me choices and options and some illusion of being in control.

I didn’t have anything fancy so it was just a dress shirt that I borrowed from Hoseok. I’d left the underwear off, eager to merely get the whole thing over with. I felt a sudden overwhelming urge to laugh out loud.

If Jungkook were here he really would have lost his damn mind, simply because of how little this whole thing affected me. And that was it, really. He was always desperate for a reaction.

Earlier when this whole thing had started, I’d obliged him with that. I would scream, rant and yell….launch myself at him like a wildcat, scratching at him , fists flying  and it was obscene, how much he seemed to enjoy that. He would press me up against walls and tables , fingers choking the breath out of my lung, just so he could see me struggle and push back.

He fed off from every negative reaction I offered him and it had taken me a long long time that the way to beat him was to become passive, unresponsive. I would go limp in his arms, stare at him blankly as he tried to manhandle me and that…that had pissed him off. Because that meant I wasn’t playing his game anymore.

If the prey wasn’t playing, the game wasn’t fun anymore. It was drab.

Boring.

And I knew that Jungkook kept raising the stakes, kept tightening the noose around my neck….just to bring that girl out again. The one that had wanted to put up a fight . The one that wanted to mouth off even with the muzzle of a gun pressed against her head. The one who would spit in his face in front of all his associates, even if it earned her a vicious strike of his hand across her face.

I shuddered. They weren’t memories I liked reliving.

Well, if that was who he wanted, I’d make sure he would never see her again.

The door opening made me jump and Hoseok came in , with a wide grin on his face.

“Baby…. Your guest for the night.” He said softly and I peered over his shoulders, my heart and mind grinding to a halt when I caught sight of what had to be the most breathtakingly beautiful man on the face of the planet.

I felt my heart begin to pound, fear taking over because this wasn’t okay. Not really. I was okay with old, creepy and disgusting , not able to get it up for more than ten minutes.

I wasn’t okay with someone who looked like they stepped right out of the latest issue of GQ.

Hoseok left quickly, closing the door behind him and the man stepped into the light, the brightness lighting up his perfect features even more. I felt my throat go dry, and fought the urge to get up and run. Growing up as the daughter of a mobster , I’d learned how to trust my instincts over appearances.

And right now, every single one of those instincts screamed at me that this man was absolutely dangerous.

“Well, you are beautiful. I’ll give you that. “ He said casually.

“Thank you.” I said stiltedly, watching as he tugged on his tie, pulling it off his neck deftly . Instead of tossing it aside , he wrapped it a bunch of times around his wrist over and over as he smiled at me.

“Don’t thank me yet. The only reason I like beautiful things is because of how easily they break.” He smiled.  “ I haven’t been with a virgin in a while…. I miss the screams.”

And there it was the full blown panic that came with stark terror. I crawled back on the bed, staring as he moved closer and there was no mistaking the look on his face, the harsh grip of his hand on my ankle telling me that I was going to regret every one of the choices that led me here.

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

“Hoseok wasn’t at the airport.” Jungkook observed casually, glancing at Yoongi as the latter finished cleaning his gun carefully, eyes fixed on his weapon with utmost concentration.

“He’s holding some sort of auction tonight. Some chick …” Yoongi said casually and Jungkook hummed. It was not the kind of thing he was interested in. Anonymous bids were often boring : actresses or female idols past their prime, desperate to make some money to survive. He had no interest in those but he was a little peeved that Hoseok hadn’t told him anything about it.

Hoseok was one of Jungkook’s most trusted friends. He was almost as powerfully rich as Jungkook and the only reason Jungkook reigned supreme was because Hoseok had no interest in challenging him for the throne. Hoseok was dangerous and cunning and loyal and Jungkook was grateful to have him on his side and he had hoped to see him before leaving. Just to ask him to keep an eye on Elena.

He grimaced, hating himself.

God, he couldn’t go two hours without thinking of her. It fucked with his head, the amount of space she took up inside him. Jungkook , for all his wealth and power, was driven solely by his need to prove himself. He wanted to be powerful and terrifying yes, but more than that , he wanted people to know.

He wanted people to look him in the eye and acknowledge him for what he was : the most dangerous man in the country. He liked seeing that fear, that worship, that admiration. He got off on it. He wanted it , craved it and for some reason he craved it more from her , than anyone else.

And instead of giving him what he wanted, instead of begging on her knees for mercy, instead of licking his shoes and begging for him to let her live….she ignored him. She looked at him with defiance and pride, her chin straight and her back unbending, her gaze locked right on him like she was his fucking equal….

And Jungkook, he’d taken a lot of insults. Taken more than his fair share of hits in life …..

But when she looked at him like that , like he was something stuck to the bottom of her shoe….

Fuck it drove him wild with fury.

It made him want to teach her a fucking lesson, to remind her that he owned her because he owned everything. To break her down, snuff out the flames of defiance that burned so bright in those ember eyes… Take her into his bed and brand her with his body. Till she was on the floor, on her knees covered in his spit and cum begging for mercy….

Because no one looked at Jeon Jungkook like that and lived to tell the tale..

“Seokjin’s here. Landed in Korea a couple of hours ago. ” Yoongi said casually and Jungkook smiled a bit at that. He loved his older brother, technically a step brother and growing up he had only saw him when he visited his mother in China. That meant a couple of months a year and now as adults,  a bit more often because Seokjin loved Jungkook and liked to visit him often.

Seokjin was a celebrity trainer, working with actors and athletes and he did a good amount of modeling as well. He was rich,  handsome and well liked and the only thing that gave away the Jeon blood in him was the fact that he was a sexual sadist.

The face of an angel with a devilish streak, he had a penchant for sadism and inflicting pain on his partners and while Jungkook didn’t particularly enjoy indulging him, he knew there were women who were into that and usually had them arranged for when Seokjin dropped by in Korea. His hyung’s visit seldom lasted more than a few weeks at a time and it was a pity that he would miss out one whole week of it .

But the issue in Switzerland was a little pressing and Jungkook had to be there in person to sort it out.

He leaned back against the seat, staring out of the window, sighing.

“An unsullied dove ….What the fuck is this shit..” Yoongi muttered and Jungkook turned, curious.

“What?”

“Hoseok’s been hyping up some new girl for the auction and Seokjin hyung’s bidding on her.”

Jungkook laughed at that.

“Jungkook…..” Yoongi’s voice is completely stunned, his eyes confused as he looks up at Jungkook.”  Its Elena.”

Jungkook’s thought process came to a grinding halt.

There’s a sound between his ears, a dull rushing sound like the wind in a storm and he can’t quite comprehend what he just heard. Even Namjoon who had been buried in his laptop , looked up then, tugging an airpod out of his ear.

“Wait…did you say Elena?” His eyes were wide , lips parted in shock. Yoongi and Namjoon exchanged glances, no doubt bracing themselves for the explosion that was to follow.

Jungkook took a deep breath.

“Turn the fucking plane around.”

That jolted Namjoon out of his stunned stupor..

“Turn-? Jungkook what…. We’re on a fourteen hour flight-“ Namjoon began but the look on Jungkook’s face made him stop.

“DID I FUCKING STUTTER?”

Namjoon swore.

“Fucking hell… alright just calm the fuck down, Jesus…just put a fucking bullet in that girl’s head and spare us all the headache fuck…” He growled, unbuckling his seat belt and rushing to the cockpit and Yoongi groaned.

“ Let me guess you want me to get in touch with someone in Seoul and ask Hoseok to hold off on letting Seokjin near her…”

Jungkook glared at him.

“If you already know that why the fuck are you still here…” He growled and Yoongi gave him a look.

“Just tell her you’re in love with her and let us live, Jeon Jungkook.”

In love….. what the fuck….

He glared at Yoongi’s back, his asinine words making him madder. God he wanted to crush someone’s skull into dust with his bare hands.

And right now, in his head , that skull belonged to Jung fucking Hoseok.

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

 “What just happened?” I asked, frantic staring at the door as Hoseok’s men casually led a fuming Seokjin away while the man himself stared at me, looking pale as parchment.

“ Jungkook found out.” He said shortly and I felt my heart drop although I was half relieved because there had been something insane in Kim Seokjin’s gaze when he’d reached for me , a cruel glint of hunger that told me he would have hurt me really badly if Hoseok hadn’t barged into the room , frantic and worried.

He had given Seokjin a wide smile and then, “ I’m so sorry. We were waiting on her blood results and turns out she has a…. well, certain occupational disease that is very infectious.”

Seokjin’s mouth had dropped open even wider than mine.

“I thought she was a fucking virgin.” He had snapped, and I flinched at how cold and furious he had sounded.

But apparently there was a reason this whole thing had happened.

“What do you mean Jungkook knows? What does that mean?” I asked frantically, fear taking over.

“ He’s heading back here… He wants to see you.”

I felt my entire body go ice cold as I shook my head…

“No…fucking no bring Seokjin back here , he can fuck me that was the fucking deal, Hobi, please don’t../…”

“Elena , I’m so fucking sorry.. Seokjin…he’s fucked in the head…. He likes hurting his whores, likes making them bleed and he would have fucking destroyed you…”

I gaped at him horrified.

“What?!” I hissed shaking my head in disbelief.

“He’s Jungkook’ stepbrother. I’ve arranged whores for him before, I knew he was a little crazy but I’d never seen him before and I didn’t know he was the Kim Seokjin…fuck he outbid everyone and fucker looks like a fucking angel, how the fuck was I supposed to know he’s unhinged? Thankfully, I messaged Yoongi and …. Fuck… Listen… I know I paid for your sister’s surgery but you’re going to have to pay me back….”

I felt my body convulse in rebellion.

“I can’t.. You know I fucking can’t…”

“I can’t make an enemy out of Jungkook…. I can’t.” Hoseok shook his head. “ You can get out of here now if you want but I’d advise you to stay. If you run it’s only going to make Jungkook angrier.”

“WHAT DID I FUCKING DO TO HIM?!!!” I screamed, feeling my composure crumble into smithereens. “WHAT THE FUCK DOES HE WANT FROM ME?!!”

Hoseok flinched, stepping back and holding his hands up.

“Whether I want to or not, I answer to Jungkook.  I shouldn’t have done this in the first place , I’m sorry Elena.” He shook his head and stepped back like the coward that he was and I wanted to hurt him. To shake him and ask him to fucking remember who I was. That I had nothing to do with my father’s sins . That I had been a fucking marionette in his hands, had wanted nothing more than to be left alone.

I stared at him in disbelief.

“So much for being a friend…” I whispered.

His jaw tightened. But he didn’t look guilty. None of them ever did. It was like guilt didn’t exist in their world. They did what they wanted to whoever they wanted , whenever they wanted and they got away with it because that bastard’s word was law. What Jeon Jungkook wanted, he got.

“I’ll get your clothes sent in.”

I watched him leave, the door slamming shut behind him and sagged against the bed, staring at myself. What had just happened?

Was I born to endless misery and misfortune?

Couldn’t I catch a fucking break?

I’d agreed to sell myself hadn’t I? Would have even let Seokjin hurt me if that was what he wanted. Because it was one night. It was one night of this…whatever the hell this was and then freedom. That was the deal.

The door opened again and I stared as a young girl brought me a pile of my clothes neatly folded.

“Do you work here?” I said sharply.

She blinked before bowing her head.

“Yes, mistress.”

I scoffed.

“Don’t call me mistress , I’m here to get fucked, just like you. Tell me does Jungkook ever use the women here.” I demanded.

She looked trapped, glancing at the door, clearly wanting to run .

“Tell me.” I snapped and she flinched.

“I..uh..yes. Sometimes.” She said softly.

“Can you tell whoever fucks him next to kick him in the fucking balls?”

The girl bowed deeply and all but ran out and I sighed, feeling myself shaking. Jungkook was on the way here and I wanted to yell and scream and rave at him but I knew that was exactly what he wanted. I wanted to deny him the satisfaction …wanted to act all cool and composed in front of him but it was impossible…

Because I hadn’t realized just how tired I was of this whole thing, till right this moment, when the end had been in sight. I was supposed to get my two billion won pay off all the debt , give Jisoo the rest of the money and disappear. I was so tired, so tired of this life I’d gotten trapped into, slaving over for hours on end just to afford a couple of meals a day. No friends, no boyfriends, no hope of a future …..

The door banged open and I jumped, crawling back when I recognized the man who had just entered.

“Yoongi-“

“Jungkook wants to see you.” He ground out and I swallowed.

“I need to get dressed. Please just wait outside.” I said shakily.

And then the door opened further and a tall looming shadow stepped in familiar and vomit inducing.

Jungkook looked livid, piercing glinting through the dimply lit room and I stared at him. He was dressed in a tight black t shirt, he sleeves stretched thin over his biceps and the tattoos stark against his skin.

“Leave us.” He said softly and Yoongi moved away to the door leaving me alone with the devil himself. I cursed myself for not putting at least my panties on, I was naked underneath this shirt and although it was big it left nothing to the imagination.

Jungkook’s eyes raked over my form before resting on my face.

“You think you’re smart enough to outsmart me, Elena?” He whispered softly.

I swallowed.

“Send you brother back in. He can fuck me and I’ll pay you back.”

Jungkook hummed, stepping closer and grabbing my clothes from the bed, he grabbed the plain white bra and the pastel pink underwear and then to my complete and utter mortification he brought the clothing up to his face, breathing in .

“Fucking pervert!!!” I screamed, feeling the action like a physical touch and wanting to claw his eyes out and the smirk on his face told me that this was exactly what he wanted but I was too fucking gone to care.

“If you want me to be a whore, fine. I’ll be a whore. But on my terms…” I spat out and he shook his head, laughing.

“I don’t just want you to be a whore, Elena. I want everyone to know that you are one…” He dropped my clothes and moved closer, holding a hand out. “ Come here.”

I stared at the inked fingers, adorned with sterling silver rings and bracelets with the motifs of his gang. I shook my head.

“No. I’m not playing this game with you.” I turned my face away.

His hand shot out gripping my upper arm with enough strength to bruise and I screamed, agony shooting up my arm and shoulders as he dragged me off the bed and onto the floor. I landed hard, hips and elbows bruising from impact and I stared at him in disbelief.

“I’ve been to gentle with you. You’ve forgotten your fucking place.” He bent over and grabbed me by my hair, yanking me to my feet so hard that it felt like my scalp had been ripped away from my skull.

“Okay…okay…Okay Jungkook..just…!!” I said softly, flinching because my pain tolerance was almost zero and Jungkook’s grip was so hard that my eyes were beginning to water now. He let me go, grabbing my panties off the floor and tossing them at me.

“I’m going to count to five. Put those on and get out.”

He walked out of the door and I stumbled a little fumbling with the fabric before quickly, slipping my legs in and yanking it up to my waist. I made to put on something else but his voice came, loud and impatient.

“Get the fuck out here.”

I walked out of the door and he was standing there next to Hoseok. I couldn’t meet either of their gazes , hating how they had so much power over my life. I stared at the floor. It was tempting to yell at them and scream but that never led anywhere.

“ I’ve asked them to stop the payment on the Hospital bill. Seeing as Elena hasn’t kept her end of the bargain.”

I felt my breath hitch at that, willing down the tears as I glared at him.

“What do you want?” I snapped. “ Tell me who you want me to fuck…. I’ll do it. Let’s get this over with so you can go back to whatever sewer you fucking climbed out of. ….”

Hoseok’s breath caught like he couldn’t believe what I’d just said and the look in his eye was a warning but I was sick of this. Sick of them all.

Jungkook turned to Hoseok with a laugh.

“You see hyung? See why I can’t let her go? If I let her scot free, everyone’s going to think I’m a pushover….that any worthless bitch can talk to me any way she wants and get away with it….” He shook his head, staring at me with a glint in his eye. “ I’m not going to choose. They are. You think you can charm your way into Hoseok’s heart and get special treatment? You think you’re ready to be a whore, Elena? Let me show you how a real whore gets treated in Hoseok’s club.”

He gripped my wrist, yanking me behind him as he stalked off down the narrow corridor that opened up into the club. I let myself get dragged out into the club dismally aware of the fact that I was wearing nothing but Hoseok’s shirt. I could feel eyes on me but I kept mine on the back of Jungkook’s head as he dragged me all the way to the front. I knew what he was going to do and at this point I was just numb.

There was no point reasoning with the devil.

I glared at him as he pointed at the stage. “ Get up there.” He whispered harshly.

I stared back at him, not moving. I saw Jungkook’s jaw clench.

“Either you go up there by yourself, with your clothes on. Or I carry you up there, after stripping you naked. What’s it going to be? ”

I glared at him, pursing my lips before climbing up using the small stair in the side. I moved to the center, right in front of the stage lights, so the rest of the room would disappear. I had no wish to see any of the bastards in the room.

“I think all of you recognize this little beauty here, don’t you?” Jungkook’s voice was cheerful, friendly even and I bit my lips, fists clenched. “ Well, if you don’t let me tell you . This is Gong Hyo Suk’s daughter. Remember that bastard? He put a hit out on my father. Killed him and my mom on the night I was supposed to be marrying his fucking daughter. A daughter who later called off the wedding, because I was too poor now, to give her the life she deserved. ”

I felt the familiar ice cold guilt in my vein. I was seventeen, I wanted to scream. I was seventeen and all I did was say what my father asked me to say, do what my father asked me to do.

“ That was nine fucking years ago… and you know what I told myself…. I told myself, that a greedy little bitch like this, doesn’t deserve shit.” He laughed. “ If money’s what she values the most, then the only thing she deserves is to be treated like the whore she is.”

“Why don’t you guys tell me, how much money you’d be willing to spend, to fuck her? Come on, Hobi’s been treating you guys so well lets help him make some money tonight… be generous. ”

I could barely hear what they were calling out but when Jungkook climbed onto the stage next to me, I jumped. Moving back instinctively, I winced when brought a forearm around my throat nearly choking me as he dragged up against his body.

“90 million won….That’s a lot.” He grinned. “ Jihan hyung….. that was you right? You’re gonna pay 90 million won for her?”

I felt my heart race, it was a lot. More than enough for the Hospital Bills, would even leave extra to get a decent apartment somewhere... I grabbed his wrist as it pressed into my throat, trying to pull his hand off me but he just wrapped his free hand around my waist, wrapping his entire body around mine and chuckling into my hair.

Jungkook pressed his head against mine and I froze, hating the close contact.

“Okay…but since I’m feeling a bit left out here…Why don’t I pitch in… 500 Won.” Jungkook said loud and clear.

I froze. An eerie silence fell over the club, laughter stilling and the clink of glasses slowing down.

What.

I struggled to get away from his but his hold tightened.

“Anyone else?” He called out. “ Come on… Not even thousand? Surely you think this one here’s worth a thousand won? Aren’t you going to outbid me?”

No one responded of course they didn’t. Jungkook’s anger was palpable and no one was going to get on his wrong side …..

“Ahh… is that it then? Bid’s going to close for 500 won then…. Hear that baby?” He whispered against my ears and I swallowed. “ 90, million won to five hundred won in a few seconds… What does that tell you?”

“It tells me you’re a fucking psychopath in love with your own voice… Get off me.” I hissed.

“No. What it tells you is that only I get to decide how much that body of yours is worth, not you. . You don’t get to go sell your fucking body behind my back for two billion won and then pay off all your debts and ride off into the sunset, that is not how this works….”

I went limp in his arms fighting tears because he never played fair. Never.

“Hear that Hoseok-ah… I win her for the night for 500 won…fair and square…. Is that alright?” He called out into the darkness and I felt the first inkling of dread begin to seep in.

“No.. No… get off me.” I hissed and he laughed, dragging me off the stage with ease. I screamed, kicking out in disbelief.

Jungkook grinned at me, before grabbing both my arms and yanking them behind me, and I whimpered, unable to move as he easily pulled me along to the door that opened into the hallway. Behind us I heard Hoseok’s voice.

“Jungkook, don’t be impulsive. Think about whatever you’re going to do.”

I flinched at that, panic building.

“He’s not going to do anything. I’ll fucking kill him if he touches me , I-“

“Shut the fuck up, you little bitch.” He shook me hard till my teeth rattled and I sobbed out.

“Jungkook…” Hoseok warned but he merely snarled.

“I know what I’m doing hyung, just…. Don’t disturb us. And make sure everyone here knows that she’s open for business.” It was loud enough to carry through the club and I felt humiliation burn my throat, acrid like acid.

I froze in disbelief.

“Jungkook …” Hoseok’s voice held a tone of reproach.

“ And tell them that her body is amazing. Tell them she spent the night with me , the best fuck I’ve ever had , mouth made for cock.”

I stared straight ahead as he pulled me all the way to the room we had left earlier and I tripped when he shoved me inside, landing on my hands and knees . I quickly rolled back around to land on my ass, crawling back as he slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside.

He stared down at me, mouth grim.

“You do owe me a wedding night. I was so ready to fuck your tight cunt, nine years ago… I think I’ve waited long enough yeah.”

I stared at him in disbelief. I knew exactly what he wanted me to do, to yell and scream and protest and fight so he could get off and forcing me…. Fucking psychopath.

I took a deep breath and nodded.

“If you pay for my sister in laws bills, and give me an apartment sure. “ I shrugged. “You’re not any different from any of the bastards here. I don’t give a damn which one of you idiots wants to rut into me like the absolute animal that you are…. I don’t care…” I said softly.

“you don’t? Really? You want me to tell you what your brother said when one of my men put a gun into his mouth…. He begged for his life���said he had a kid on the way….” Jungkook laughed, shaking his head. “I told him it was better than what his father did…. My sister was six months pregnant when his lieutenant gunned her down on the streets.”

I shuddered, wrapping my arms around myself.

“Why are you telling me this…” I snapped.

“Because she didn’t deserve it did she, Elena? She didn’t fucking deserve to die like that , like a dog on the street when she had nothing to do with any of this…. She didn’t deserve it.” He growled, bending down and gripping my chin hard.

“Maybe she did deserve it.” I spat out. “ If I deserve to be here, maybe your sister deserved to die too. “

He snarled, hand flying to my hair and dragging me up off the floor in one sharp yank. I whimpered as he pushed me on the bed, before climbing on top of me. I felt like every bone in my body was about to snap in two, the weight of him unbearable on me.

“I won the bid tonight…. I won it fair and square… You signed the waiver didn’t you…that you agreed to the auction…I won and I’m going to fucking collect.” He growled, and I kicked out, trying to buck him off of my body.

“Get off me.” I hissed. “ I’m not letting you fuck me for 500 won.”

“How about for your Jisoo then?” He whispered and I went still.

“What?”

He chuckled, reaching down and I felt my pulse pound as he pulled his phone out, dialing quickly and turning on the speakers.

Yoongi’s voice made me go ice cold. Everyone knew what Yoongi did for Jungkook.

“Daehwan’s wife is in a hospital room in Yongsan. Hobi’s got the details. I think she’s served her purpose.”

“No!! JUNGKOOK NO!!” I  screamed , thrashing so hard my head began to spin but he grunted pressing down into me harder.

“Are you serious? I’m not home yet… I can take care of it tonight.” Yoongi said, voice casual and I sobbed, shaking my head in sheer terror.

“Okay… I’ll behave.. I promise.. please just don’t…”

Jungkook hummed.

“Well, that was easy… Yoongi-yah… why don’t you stay on the phone yeah…. Going to get that wedding night I’m owed and if my baby doesn’t co operate you know what to do, yeah?”  

I bit my lips, glaring into the sheets as he gripped my waist, pulling me up.

“Ass up like the bitch that you are, baby.” He whispered and I felt my entire body shudder in disgust. It was worse because I hadn’t done this before. Didn’t know what to expect. But I couldn’t let him know that. If Jungkook knew that I was a virgin, I could just imagine how much fun he’d have with that info.

Hands gripped my wrists, pinning them to the bed and I turned my face away when I felt the press of his lips on my cheeks. He gripped both my wrists with one hand, keeping them pinned over my head and I flinched when I felt his fingers pulling the fabric of my panties aside, just enough for the blunt head of his cock to press against my slit.

“Yoongi, you there?” Jungkook said softly and Yoongi grunted over the phone. I felt my face flame in embarrassment.

“You’re a sick bastard but I’m used to it. What’s up?” he said casually.

“Remember how we used to wonder just how tight Elena’s cunt was… back when we were in school.”

Fucking monster, I thought in disbelief. I hate him I hate him I hate him….

“Good times…” Yoongi chuckled lightly .

Jungkook pushed into me in one hard thrust and pain shot straight up my spine, my insides burning like he’d fucked me with a knife and not his body. I couldn’t stop the cry of agony that got torn of me, my eyes tearing up and tears spilling over onto my cheeks.

“Damn Jungkook, she okay?” Yoongi’s chuckle made me want to claw his face off, and just the urge to kill was growing inside me.

“Well, I can confirm that it is, in fact just as tight as we thought…” He grunted, thrusting into me at a pace that was inhumane, every push and drag of him rubbing my insides raw and I bit down on the sheets under me, afraid that I would do something absolutely humiliating, like beg him to stop.

“Good, you should let me take that tight ass for a ride someday then. With her permission of course…. I’m a gentleman after all. Big on consent.” He laughed and I swallowed the urge to tell him that I would puncture his balls with a switchblade if he came anywhere near me.  

“Oh, she’s going to do whatever I ask her to….aren’t you baby…” He grunted, “ Turn around so I can see you.”

He pulled out of me, his weight lifting off my body as he moved away. I couldn’t move, limbs numb and insides throbbing in pain . His palm landed on my thigh, hard and the sharp sting of it made me jump.

“I said turn around, I want to see your face when I fuck you.” Jungkook growled. I stayed limp, breathing hard and he grunted impatient, fingers sinking into my hair , yanking me to my knees and the movement made my legs scream in protest.

“How’s she so quiet? You fucked the voice out of her, kook-ah?” Yoongi asked amused and Jungkook pulled me by the hair, dragging me to the center and pushing me down till my head landed on the pillow.

“Hyung you should see her right now, all fucked out …. Like she’s never had a dick in her before.” He shook his head, “ Fucking slut. Take that off and hold yourself open for me.”

I stared at him, uncomprehending and he grabbed both my hands, placing them on my knees.

“Grab your knees and pull your legs back… So I can fuck that tight cunt the way I want to.” He said slowly, like I was a dog he was trying to train and I stared at him , defiantly.

“ Go to hell.” I whispered.

Yoongi’s laughter came from somewhere to the right.

“Your dirty talk needs work, Kook ah… Tell her she’s a precious little kitten and she makes you feel really good…. Bitches love that shit…”

Jungkook hovered over me, grabbing the back of my thighs and spreading them wide enough to make me whimper in pain.

“Is that so babygirl? You want me to tell you that? That you make daddy’s cock feel good?” He cooed, nudging the tip against me again and I had never hated anyone so much in my life. I stared up at his face, and he smiled at me, a cheeky little grin that made his bunny teeth stand out and for a second he looked so deceptively angelic and the glimmer of his piercing caught my eye.

I couldn’t help but swallow, gaze trained on the glint of metal on his tongue.

“You like that?” He grinned suddenly, sticking his tongue out for me to see, I felt my eyes widen at how sinfully good he looked .” Hyung she likes my tongue piercing.”

“Show her how it feels on her clit.” Yoongi laughed and I could barely fully process what I heard before Jungkook was crawling down my body, arms, curling on my thighs and yanking me onto his tongue .

I felt the press of his tongue on my slit, licking right into me and the jolt of pleasure was so unexpected, the pleasure so unwanted and yet so overwhelming and I couldn’t stop the way my body thrashed against the streets, lips parted as I practically mewled out in pleasure.

“Definitely a kitten…” Yoongi called out and I shuddered as Jungkook slipped two fingers into me , the ice cold press of his ring inside me making me jump. I wanted to pull away, grab his hair and yank him off but I couldn’t because it was

“Next time I’ll put the dick piercing in too, yeah? Fuck you with a bit of metal on my cock so you can feel that up there…. ” He laughed into my thighs and I screamed when he bit into the flesh there , hard.

“I’m getting bored… Either turn on facetime so I can at least jerk off to this , or I’m hanging up…” Yoongi called out .

“Hyung she clenches down on me every time she hears your voice… Just stay on for a few more minutes yeah, she tastes so fucking good, I’m gonna cum soon….” Jungkook added another finger, slipping in deep before spreading them apart inside me. I whimpered when he pushed his tongue in between the wet digits, licking into my walls and I could feel the ball of his piercing drag against my walls, ice cold and hard.

Was it fucked up that I did clench down on him again, my body apparently a slave to my base desires even as my mind screamed that he was the absolute worst bastard on the face of the planet.

“Elena, you owe me a blowjob at least for this…” Yoongi called out and I glared at the phone.

“I’ll bite your fucking dick off if you come anywhere near me.” I snapped.

“Fuck, I could get off just to that mouthy fuckhole of hers…..” Yoongi grunted.

Jungkook pulled away, climbing back up over me and lightly slapping my breasts.

“Now, how about you open that mouth and let me fuck it?”

Yoongi snorted from behind us and Jungkook glared at the phone before glaring at me again.

“Well?”

“You want to know how hard I can bite?” I said sharply, the pleasure ebbing away into nothing and resentment taking it place, the momentarily physicality of the situation fading and the reminder of who he was and who I was entering my sex addled brain.

“No.. You’re right…. But you know what, I’m not feeling it anymore. I was right.. you really aren’t qualified to be my whore. Your body…it’s frigid like a fucking popsicle…such a fucking turn off. ” He reached over and hung up on the phone.

“Now…”he whispered, leaning in closer and I yelped, when his fingers closed over my throat..” Shut your mouth and take what I give you like a grateful bitch.”

I swallowed when he pushed into me again, his pace steady as he fucked into me, eyes closed and I realized that he was almost fully dressed having just unbuttoned himself enough to get his cock out.

When he stiffened, spilling into me his eyes blew open and he locked eyes with me, wide eyed and for one horrible second he looked young and vulnerable and hurt.

I blinked as he pulled out, the sticky warm mess of his cum dripping down my inner thighs and onto the sheets.

“Well, that was much worse than I thought it would be.”  He said and I stayed on the bed as he grabbed his phone and buttoned himself back up.

He smirked at me and then reached into his pocket.

I quickly pulled myself together, ignoring the aches and pains and getting to my knees before reaching for my dress on the bed. it was kind of pointless because I still had Hoseok’s shirt on and I wasn’t going to take that off in front of Jungkook.

“Well, I’m a man of my word , Elena so…here you go..just as we discussed.” He tossed a coin on the bed and I stared at the engraved 500 on the shiny surface, feeling my rage swell inside me.

“If you still want to work out a payment plan for your sister’s bills …. Why don’t you come to my office tomorrow?” He tossed his card on the bed before  moving away to the door.

Fucking bastard.

Author’s note : My whole life is filled with regrets . 

[sekceesimps]

The Adeptus’s Temptation (Xiao x reader oneshot)

summary: Xiao watches and reacts to his darling being flirted with by a certain Geo Archon.  angst (kinda) but ends with fluff.  

a/n Hey anon, I loved your requests so I decided to do both of them… hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the love and feel free to leave another request (that goes for all of you!) 

This is sort of a more in depth version of the Xiao part in the Genshin Jealousy HCs

Also sorry for the delays between publishing, Tea and I have been busy with our personal lives, but we’re trying to write more! 

Keep liking and following us, it genuinely motivates me to write. 

 Sincerely Coffee  

Who would have ever thought that the Conqueror of Demons, the Vigilant Yaksha, the great adeptus Xiao would ever have a significant other that was human. Certainly not you and definitely not him. 

Xiao is not someone who is easy to open up and be kind, but you managed to break through his cold and harsh demeanor. A surprise to the adeptus who had resigned himself to living his life alone and far from others. You are someone special to him in a world filled with incompetent and useless humans. 

It took some time for him to allow you to spend more days with him and even allow you to initiate physical affection. At first, it came as a relief when you were out doing commissions or just going out to work, he needed his space after all. He was worried about how fast he was falling for you and clung onto the hope that the space he left would allow him to protect himself. 

As your warmth and presence grew on him more, a part of him yearned to be at your side and let you closer to his heart. He had put up his icy walls to combat the heartbreak that comes after losing friend after friend, he was distraught with how quickly you broke through to him. He grumbled at your hand holding, but leaning into your touch nonetheless. 

Your dangerous commissions started to lessen as he refused to let you take on the most harmful of enemies without him. After all, he had no idea what he would do if he lost you. 

Xiao’s favorite thing to do with you is sit at the top of Wangshu Inn or even just the cliff sides of Liyue and bask in your attention and presence. He practically glowed under your loving gaze and from the light brushes of your hand against his. He had known the land for thousands of years and he had seen the most beautiful of landscapes in his time guarding it. He thought that he had seen every stunning thing in this world, that was at least until he met you. 

Your bravery, resilience, and overwhelming beauty had completely captured him, and as time went on he fell further and further for you. The life he envisioned the two of you to live together was a calm and peaceful one. He knew it probably wouldn’t be possible with the nature of both of your responsibilities and his own life span, but an adeptus could still dream.  

Now as much as Xiao wants to protect you, he can’t really leave Liyue. He’s able to help you when you’re here with him, but he’s essentially powerless when you go to Mondstadt. Of course, he’s entertained the thought of just leaving for a bit and staying by your side to protect you. In the end, he always lets you leave for work with a light kiss to your forehead and a heavy feeling in his heart. 

You had accustomed him to your soft affections and gentle mannerisms. He was always reluctant in letting you leave, but he trusted your abilities and simply had to stew in his reluctance when you were gone. He often told you to simply call out his name if you were in trouble and he’d be there in a moment. To this you would simply smile and reassure him with soft kisses to the top of his head. It was a miracle when he had managed to convince you to take on more commissions and bounties in the Liyue area. It made it easier for him to come to your side for aid and also to watch over you. It also allowed for more frequent dates, which made both of you incredibly happy. 

You always had the most interesting stories from your time adventuring. When you two were relaxing on loving moonlight nights, he looked forward to the smile on your face when you spoke in detail about your commissions. He was silent and let you speak, paying full attention to you. Xiao loved the silence and peace. He hated when humans would talk for hours on end, it was unnecessary and wasted his time. However, this sentiment didn’t carry on with you. 

He often urged you to talk about your day and the people you met. Xiao does everything he can to coax more of your sweet voice out. Your voice had always been like music to his ears. For you, he could bear not being alone. For you, he was carving out hours of his day to cuddle and listen to you speak. 

That was until everything changed with your adventuring routes. Previously, right after you switched from Mondstadt routes, the Guild had kept you near the Wangshu Inn and around the Qingce Village area. However, due to increased demand for your services, you had been moved South towards Liyue Harbor. The adventures you went on now were much simpler, but much more boring. You’d complain to your boyfriend about how you had to talk to too many people and how exhausting it was for you. Xiao would listen intently and offer a comforting embrace, silently happy that at least you weren’t out risking your life every day.  

His concern began when you moved on from random requests and commissions with different people to a more stable and consistent job. You had accepted a job from the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor as a one time thing, but your skill and agreeability had earned you a more permanent position there. 

Your day to day job was to just assist and protect different members with finding and restoring relics across Liyue. However, it allowed you to move around more and actually engage in combat, a welcome change from before. You had helped the director herself, but your favourite employee to work with was Mr. Zhongli.  He was a tall and serious man, but he was powerful and amusing to talk to. 

The first adventure you had gone on with him, you couldn’t stop talking about it with Xiao when you came home that night. One adventure turned into ten quite quickly as the two of you made a habit of engaging in all your commissions with the parlor together. Zhongli as your companion in travel gave you a sense of stability and a feeling of safety when you were out in dangerous situations again. 

Every night you came back, you told Xiao about the mysterious and strong man’s aid to you. The passion you spoke of his power and of his intelligence in the culture of Liyue surprised him at first. As you kept talking about Zhongli, Xiao started to feel different. He was no longer eager to hear of your adventures because he felt something very strange now. 

Xiao has never felt afraid. At least, not truly. He is not afraid of death as he had accepted it long ago. Yet now you had given him something to live for and losing you would leave him back into a pit of despair, suffering, longing, and emptiness. Seeing you gush over the assistant to the funeral director filled him with a new unpleasant feeling. Heart numbing fear. 

He was careful to not let you know how he felt. He was nervous that you would view him as pitiful for what he truly felt in his heart. Bile would fill up in his throat when you talked about that man as he held your full attention. In response, Xiao would start to capture your mouth with a kiss if he sensed that you’d talk about Zhongli on your dates. It got you to shut up and restored his happiness for a moment. 

He felt guilty for interrupting you of course. Yet, he couldn’t muster up the courage to confront his own feelings of insecurity. The best he could do was try to prove to you how much he could offer. As his kisses began to get more heated, he found it fit to use his strength to carry you back to your shared bedroom. 

Out of curiosity, Xiao decided to actually look at this Mr. Zhongli one day. If he was feeling insecure before, oh man, any self confidence he had was now wrecked. The man was absolutely perfect with you. 

You were smiling and walking through the harbor-city side by side with the sharply dressed golden eyed man. The walk that the two of you had was powerful. The men and women of Liyue whispered behind you two about how cute the both of you were. Xiao silently watched as you two sat at the tea house and drank tea in silence. Zhongli had never taken his loving and intent gaze off of you. The Yaksha took in more of the man’s appearance. He was much taller than Xiao was and carried himself with a royal sort of dignity. As the two of you finished your tea, the man made a move to pay for your tea by charging it to the funeral parlor. He’s rich too, Xiao thinks sourly. What doesn’t he have? He has enough when Zhongli’s resoundingly deep voice tells you how well you fought today. If Xiao sounded like that he would never want to shut up.  

He goes back into his bad habits of distancing himself and retreating back into his own silence. His awful self loathing that you worked hard to remove has manifested itself again and begun lashing out on you. Brushing you off, short snappy responses, and hardly responding to anything. This results in you thinking you did something wrong. 

Oh how the adeptus breaks when he sees you try to make him Almond Tofu and various other small gifts to please him. He knows you didn’t do anything, but all he wants is you to free yourself from him and spend your life with someone who could provide so much more than he could. 

In your shared bedroom, he would be physically present, but he was silent and hardly even looked at you. He could hear your muffled tears at night when you thought he was asleep. It took everything within him to not turn to you and let you lay your head in his chest and leave kisses across your face after he dried away your tears. It hurt him again when he heard you asking Verr Goldet if she could help you plan a nice surprise for him. As he stayed to listen, he had to listen to the innkeeper give you kind words as you broke down explaining what it was for.

All your advances towards his forgiveness and love go rejected. He decides that it would be better for you in the long run if it was like this. He stays cold, at least until he sees something that pushes him back to your side. 

His pity party and moping is interrupted by the strangest feeling in his heart. Something painful crackles and burns inside of him. He’s not sure how he knows, but he feels that something is very wrong with you. 

Xiao was not called the adeptus of speed for no reason. The speed in which he reached you was one he had not used for hundreds of years. 

You weren’t in any life threatening danger, but the bond that you two shared was. He could see Zhongli gently move a strand of your hair behind your ear. You had a more nervous smile on your face. 

“How fascinating, Y/N” his voice breaks the silence, “Your abilities seem to get stronger every day,” he continues praising you.

Your face flushes a light pink and you look down, breaking the gaze between you two. “You’re too kind, Mr. Zhongli, but I wouldn’t have been able to grow so much without your guidance,”

The golden eyed man smiles at this as he leans in slightly closer to you, “In that case, would you like to have dinner with me tonight?” 

Xiao clears his throat as he steps out from the bushes and stalks towards you with a glower on his face. You look at your lover in surprise, not seeing or hearing his voice in quite some time. 

“Actually, she’s already taken so you can take your leave now,” his words filled with venom. He doesn’t even try to be subtle as he holds his emerald spear by his side in warning to the man who tried to make a move on you. 

Zhongli nods, “I understand, sorry for intruding,” as he leaves. Xiao’s watchful gaze not leaving him until he’s far out of sight. Your adeptus moves to your side and engulfs you in a warm hug that he wishes to convey all of his feelings of love into. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you like that, it was unnecessary and you didn’t even do anything wrong. Give me a chance,” he seldom begs, “please,” he adds. His golden eyes piercing into your soul and displaying such regret. 

You don’t respond, but you lean closer to him and press your lips softly against his. He forgot how much he missed this. 

Oh how stupid he was for not letting you know how much he adored you known more. Well, now he had the time to make it up to you. He brings you towards the cliffside and the two of you sit down together once more, the bond shared between you too also renewed. 

As you look at him, he lets you lean on his shoulder and look at the sun’s light beginning to wane as the sky was touched with beautiful pastel pinks and purples. 

“I love you, Y/N” he whispers softly as he nuzzles his face into your H/C hair. 

“Hmm, I love you too, Xiao,” you respond sweetly and relax under his presence.

The brown haired Archon chuckled lightly as he watched his Adeptus gently place his arm around your waist. He was happy that the cold guardian had finally found someone to love and someone to take care of him in return. When the time was necessary, Morax was ready to bring a contract to let the two of you spend the rest of eternity together, as two soulmates should. 

a/n Hope you enjoyed it! Leave a like and some feedback, please.

[emerald-chaos]

Touchdown

*gif not mine, credit goes to the owner*

I just want to take a moment to say thank you for the love on my last fic! It made my lil ole heart swell to see that peopled enjoyed it enough to leave a like or reblog.

This is just something special I had in my arsenal that I wrote for a friend a few months ago. I touched it up a bit and added a few things here and there. It all started when we were talking about how much we loved when Chris' accent got heavier after he'd been drinking, and well, I couldn't help myself lol. I hope you enjoy the fluff! xoxo

I apologize for any grammatical errors, I tried to proof-read but am also a little exhausted lol.

Pairing: Chris Evans x Reader

Word Count: 2844

Warnings: I don't think there's anyway? Mentions of being drunk/drinking alcohol, cursing, and illusions to sexy times, but that's about it.

You hadn’t noticed how furiously your knee was bouncing up and down until the person sitting next to you on the subway got up to move seats once the train squealed to a stop. You sighed and ran your hands down the front of your thighs. Normally being a little late didn’t bother you as much, but tonight you were meeting him.

You flipped your wrist over to check your watch. 8:30pm. In all honesty, it had probably been only thirty seconds later than when you checked it the last time. Another deep sigh escaped from your lips as you started to become hyper aware of the train remaining still at the current stop. What could possibly be taking so long? You knew he wouldn’t care if you were running late, but the time the two of you had together already felt so minuscule. You wanted to capitalize on every second you could.

The train began moving again and you slumped back into your seat, feeling only a small amount of relief. It was becoming painfully apparent that you needed to try and relax. You could feel the sweat building up on your body, the sting on your palms from where your fingernails were pressing in with a vengeance moments ago, and you could hear your heart thumping in your ears. Your hand dug around in your purse for a few moments before finding the small case you were looking for. Opening it, you slipped your headphones into your ears and let your head rest on the window behind you as music intertwined with your thoughts.

Once upon a time, you made fun of people who decided to go to grad school. What kind of a clown would spend thousands of MORE dollars and go BACK to school?? Not to mention the stress of the assignments, the due dates - it was not for you...or so you thought.

Now here you are, a regular booboo the fool.

NYU’s graduate program for design and merchandising wasn’t necessarily part of your 5-year plan, but when the opportunity landed in front of you it was difficult to pass up. NYU was a school you had only dreamt of attending back in high school. When you were a senior in high school you were able to tour the campus and fell in love immediately. Hours upon hours were spent researching grants, scholarships, and all sorts of ways to try to make it happen. However, the dream ended as most teenage dreams do - crushed. There was no way you or your parents could afford the loans that it would surely wrack up to attend the out of state university, and there was no way you could ask your parents take on that kind of debt just so you could go to college. UMass was the way to go - close to home and familiar. Not to mention you were able to obtain several scholarships and grants that helped bring down the cost tremendously. Little did you know, boring ole UMass would bring you one of the most important things in your life.

Applying for graduate school wasn’t an easy decision and one you couldn’t really take all the credit for. A smile crept across your face as you reminisced on the night you nervously brought up the idea to your long-term boyfriend.

“I think you should do it,”

“I know, right?” you scoffed, “it’s insane, why would I do something so stup...wait, what? You do?”

“Of course I do. This is something you love and that you’re passionate about. Do you know how many hours of my life were spent listening to you ramble about NYU?” he questioned with a grin.

“It will open up so many doors for you. We can make things work,” a chuckle escaped from those beautiful lips as he saw your dumbfounded expression. He wrapped his fingers around your waist and pulled you close, “What? Did you expect me to forbid it? Cmon, baby, what kind of guy do you take me for?”

You didn’t have a lot of wins in your life, but you did have Chris.

When you got accepted, he took off a week from work to drive you 3 and a half hours south to help get you settled and moved into your temporary new home. The two of you ate a disgusting amount of pizza, moved a ridiculous amount of heavy furniture in the middle of a summer heat wave, and enjoyed each other’s company before the long-distance thing would set in. Chris spent that week encouraging you every step of the way, talking you off the ledge when you were convinced you had made the wrong decision, and made sure to help you christen every possible surface of your new place in the most deliciously sinful way.

You bit your lip slightly at the thought and a warm feeling spread across your face. Chris was one of the most incredible people you had met in this world. Kind, caring, funny, intelligent, passionate, and god was he sexy. The connection the two of you had was scary at first, but now you just couldn’t imagine spending your life with anyone else.

The robotic voice came over the loud-speaker in the subway car and you were rudely ripped back to reality as it pulled into your stop. You hurriedly scooped up your bag and jogged off the train.

It had been a promise between the two of you when you moved that there would be equal effort when it came to visiting and keeping in contact while having good, open communication. Long distance was hard but the two of you were determined to make it work. FaceTime calls, hours upon hours of texting, and even as far as writing the occasional letter back and forth (because your boyfriend was a hopeless romantic and you loved it so much). This weekend was your turn to come home to visit, and of course your last class had to go longer than anticipated. Fuckin’ Tiffany and her stupid ass questions.

The muscles of your calves burned as you kept up your hurried pace, weaving through the crowds of people gathered on sidewalks outside of various clubs and restaurants. It was a weekend night and the Patriots were playing, which meant the city was more alive than usual. New York was it's own beast, but it was a different type of hustle and bustle. Nights like these made your heart ache for home - the thick Massachusetts accents, the rowdy voices of bar patrons arguing about the game, the hugs shared between family members as they parted after dinner, and the faint smell of nicotine and alcohol that hung in the air.

As the neon sign that hung in the pub window came in to view you felt your heart dip down into your stomach. Last weekend’s visit had to be cancelled due to some stuff coming up with Chris’ work and a surprise assignment for you, so you hadn’t seen your boyfriend in 2 weeks. With a deep breath you swung open the door and scanned the crowd for him. He told you that he would be there promptly at 7:15pm for pregame shenanigans with his friends - which actually translated to how many pitchers of beer could they suck down before kick off.

“Aw, come ON! That is such a bullshit call!”

You heard him before you saw him. Of course. A grin spread across your lips as you shook your head. The thought of leaving to avoid secondhand embarrassment crossed your mind briefly before you picked up your feet and made your way through the crowd toward the sound. A room full of people from New England and you would still recognize that voice anywhere.

Everyone else seemed to fade away as you saw the outline of the tall, dark haired man standing at the bar. The slight freckles that spattered the back of his neck, the Brady jersey that he spent WAY too much money customizing, and the signature backward ball cap were ingrained in your subconscious memory. Not to mention if you didn’t recognize his outline or his voice, you would definitely recognize that ass anywhere.

You loved how passionate he got about sports and the way his Boston accent seemed to get thicker with each beer he consumed. Growing up in the area, you wouldn't think the accent would send a tingle down your spine the way it does, but it was different - it was Chris. Not to mention the sparkle in his eye when he would watch his favorite team or the way he would get in to arguments whenever someone tried to say something negative about them. You loved your big, handsome, over-sized toddler man so damn much.

A light tap on his shoulder made him whip around, his slightly opened mouth from his interrupted conversation curved upwards into a wicked grin as he made the connection of who was finally standing in front of him.

“Hey there, handsome. I don’t see a ring on your finger. You single?” You grinned, feeling your entire body fill with warmth as Chris leaned back and grabbed his chest as he erupted in laughter.

“Nah, nah, nah, unfortunately for you I am taken” he responded as he snaked his arms around your waist, sliding his hands into your back pockets as he pulled you into his figure.

“That is too bad,” you tsk'd, running a finger down his toned bicep, “she’s one lucky girl.”

“I think I’m the lucky one,” he grinned. He leaned down to meet your lips in a kiss. You sighed into it, allowing your body to mold itself so perfectly into his. The taste of beer on his lips and the smell of his cologne was intoxicating - it was home. You immediately allowed him entrance as you felt his tongue glide along your bottom lip. Your body felt small in his strong grip and you couldn’t help but laugh a bit as he gave your ass a firm squeeze. Normally, this type of bold, public display of affection would make you cringe away but at this point you were lost in Chris that you had absolutely no shame. Each time the two of you embraced had always felt like the first. Your heart still fluttered and your knees still got weak, like you were a 16 year old being kissed for the first time.

In the middle of your reunion moment, however, something happened in the game that made the entire bar erupt in boo’s and curses. Chris lifted his lips from yours to look over his shoulder and inspect what he had missed. You laughed and shook your head as you pushed him back towards his friends and took a seat in the bar stool he had been standing behind initially. His large hands found a natural place on your shoulders. While his eyes remained glued on the TV he began applying a moderate amount of pressure to your neck and shoulders. You didn’t realize how much your body craved that touch, his touch, until you immediately melted back into him.

The bartender slid a beer in front of you with a wink and you mouthed your thanks. You felt a twinge in your heart as you looked around, taking in the atmosphere of the bar. This was a typical weekend night for the two of you whenever you were living together. Football, drinks, pub food, and friends. If it wasn’t this pub it was your living room, just a couple blocks away. You didn’t even mind that it was your first night back and you weren’t alone, spending it immediately wrapped up in your satin sheets. The atmosphere, the people - it was so warm and familiar that you really wouldn’t rather be doing anything else. Plus, being wrapped up together in the sheets was sure to follow.

“I missed you,” hummed a pair of lips as they placed a kiss on the shell of your ear. A shiver shot down your spine at the sensation of his warm breath fanning over your neck. You reached up a hand and connected it to the nape of his neck.

“I missed you too,” you replied, turning your head to plant a kiss on his stubbled cheek.

His arms changed position as he wrapped them in front of your shoulders and crossed them, resting his chin on the top of your head. Your hand absentmindedly rubbed his forearms as you nursed your beer and placed your focus onto the game for the first time tonight.

The laughter seemed to escape from your chest naturally and effortlessly the entire night, as it always had a habit of doing when Chris was around. The camaraderie between him and his buddies during a game was something you’d grown to enjoy over the years. Chris’ competitive nature and the way his jaw clenched when something wasn’t going the way he wanted was always kinda...hot. All of his friends were huge assholes, but in the best way. It was always entertaining to hear them jab at each other and do what they could to rile someone up. They were the life of every party you had ever attended and they had a way of making a boring night a lot more interesting.

Thankfully (for the integrity of the bar) the Pats won the game with a surprise touchdown in the last 30 seconds of the game. Chris, being the guy he is, bought a final round for his friends and a nearby group they had been going back and forth with all night. You couldn’t help but laugh as he drunkenly leaned across the counter and slurred his order to the bartender.

“I need a round for m’friends and for these assholes over here who thought Tom Brady was anything but a winner!” the group started yelling in protest and he simply waved them off and started sliding beers down the bar.

The group eventually moved to a bigger round top so everyone could shoot the shit and banter about the outcome of the game. You were tucked into Chris’ side, hands intertwined as he was passionately discussing the importance of Brady’s legacy with a stranger who made the mistake of stopping to talk to him. Your eyes followed the motion of your thumb as it traced small circles onto the back of his. Your other hand under your chin, holding up the weight of your head as your exhaustion started to catch up with you. Chris, although slightly drunk, picked up on your body language and raised your hand to his lips for a kiss.

“Alright, fellas,” he said as he stood up from his seat, pulling you up with him, “the lady and I are gonna call it a night. See you boys next weekend”.

“Chris, we don’t have to go,” you began to protest as he tucked his jacket around your shoulders.

“Mm, ‘course we do,” he replied with a soft smile, “you’re so tired, baby. I can see it in those beautiful eyes”.

You could feel your cheeks turn a light shade of pink as you rolled your eyes at his attempt at laying it on thick. After what felt like a proper 10 minute goodbye session, the group said their final goodbyes, hugs included, and you walked out of the pub hand in hand.

The walk home was filled with the sounds of cars passing by and conversation of what each other had missed in the week prior. Small talk typically felt like such a chore, but with Chris every conversation came naturally. Even when he had absolutely no idea what you were talking about, he would listen intently and ask all the questions as if it was the most interesting conversation in the world.

The lock on the apartment door clicked as you pushed it open and entered. You smiled as you stopped into the middle of the living room, taking in the home you missed so dearly. A soft tapping of toenails against the hardwood made your heart soar as you met the eyes of your sweet pup, Dodger. A squeal left your lips as you squatted down to give love to the sweet boy. Chris always made fun of you when you came home, saying that you always seemed to miss Dodger more than you did him and I mean, he wasn’t entirely wrong about that statement.

Once again lost in your own world, you didn’t even notice Chris leaned up against the wall watching you with a smile.

“Oh my god,” you gushed, standing up, “do you like...like me or something?”

Chris grinned as he crossed the room and caught your belt loop with his finger, pulling you into him slowly.

“Yeah,” his voice had dropped down an octave, “you could say that”.

“Mm,” your tongue swiped across your lower lip and you wrapped your arms around his neck, “care to show me how much?”

The look in his eyes made your core burn. The tension building between you two became too much to handle as you crashed your lips into his. The kisses were messy and you could feel the sense of urgency between you two. His beard scratched against the column of your throat with a delicious burn as he left wet kisses across your jaw and down the side of your neck. Chris’ hands found their way back into the ass pockets of your jeans as he started walking you back towards the direction of the bedroom.

Soon, there was a trail of clothes leading to your bedroom and you felt very sorry for your neighbors. It had been a long time, but Chris always had a way of welcoming you home.

[demigoddessqueens]

Who Could Learn to Love A Beast?

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30709340

Tags: 18+, smut

You lifted your head from sharpening your weapon, distracted by the stead’s aggravated roar. That could only mean one thing. Your partner, in command and in affection, was returning after an unsuccessful search. Well, he’ll be in a mood.

The leader, and your lover, Seraphim angrily lumbered into the cave you two had begun to share, throwing his bident across the stone floor. He sat down on the makeshift thrown he created with an annoyed huff. Your voice seemed to alert him out of his soured mood.

“What happened? An unsuccessful raid?” He quickly glanced to acknowledge you before turning away with a huff. Sighing, you made your way over to the brooding demon. “You know you can talk to me, Sera. It doesn’t have to be suffering in silence. He let out one last huff before divulging into his worries.

“I just learned of two important events that denied me of a life, but I will not burden you with them.” You cupped his face in your hands and bore into his gaze. “You know you can talk to me, right? These aren’t burdens you have to carry on your own.”

That’s when he looked at you, truly looked at you. He saw no ill will or malicious intent in your eyes. You, a human who was an outcast like him and one he begrudgingly took in. He didn’t know why back then, but now he was glad he took you in. From stranger to friend to confidant, he appreciated you greatly and then some.

He took your hands into his and noted the difference. Such small ones that he cradled and treasured. You could tell he tried to conceal whatever was a bother to him. “I will, but for now i will not cast them onto you.” You decided not to push on any further but just be present for him. The demon lifted his head to hold your gaze again, but acted on what was driving him.

Seraphim’s clawed hands brushed over your shoulder. He pressed his lips to your neck, with an arm around your waist and the other that wrapped around your neck and hair. The demon leader wanted to make his intentions and feelings clear. You could feel him beginning to remove your clothes, nail and claw raking down your soft skin.

Returning the favor, you began to remove the fur and girdle that wrapped around his body and waist. Running your hands over his toned and chiseled body, admiring every inch of him. He titled his head slightly away from your gaze, trying to conceal the faint flush on his cheeks.

He continued to press kisses along your collarbones and shoulders as the final pieces of each other’s clothes fall away. Both of you are bare before each other, in all your vulnerability and letting your walls down. You move to straddle him, hands threaded in his snowy white locks, as his kisses become more desperate.

You moan as Seraphim begins to graze his canines against your supple flesh, hands tightly gripping your hips and waist. You feel his ever growing hardness pressed against your as you begin to grind against him, growling moans emitting from him. He shifts to where his cock teases your wet folds feeling slick on your thighs.

He wants this, to just surrender himself to something and someone. Just to be in a place where he feels comforted for once, and not subject to the harsh realities of his wretched life. Not being a slave to Hera or to his desire for revenge. And you give him that. You can feel him growl against your neck as he gently knicks you with his fangs. Seraphim begins to move his hips in time with yours, wanting to feel the friction between you. He’s still not so used to human touch and just wants to indulge in the moments he has with you.

You move your neck away from his teeth for a moment, only to return his own kisses to his lips. You can hear a faint moan mixed with his low growls. Gently cupping Seraphim’s face in your hands, you gaze into his eyes. “Make love to me. Give in and be with me.” Your hand moves from the sides of his face, grazing down his chest, down to his member where you begin to gently stroke and pump his twitching cock. He gasps sharply, and only offers a quick nod of acknowledgement.

You place your hands on his toned chest and guide him to lay down on the bed of furs beneath you both. You can feel his cock twitch beneath you in anticipation, the coil of desire ever growing within your core. Seraphim lets out on last plea, the desperation still tinged on his words. His clawed hands gently knead at your breasts, so soft and supple under his touch.

You look down at him affectionately only to be met with his intense gaze. Despite what the others have called him, demon or beast, you don’t deny the feelings of a man that lie beneath this exterior. Gently guiding his cock towards your entrance, you slowly lower yourself down onto him. You both gasp at your union together, his harsh gasp of pleasure such a reassuring sound to you.

You begin to slowly rock back and forth, admiring the delicious looks that form on his face. The cave soon fills with the sounds of your moans and groans. You grip tightly at his chest and shoulders as you being to slightly pick up the speed of your hips, bouncing up and down. You try to stifle the moans that escape you but to no avail. His growling ones mix with yours into a song of desire and passion.

You look at him while riding him. Fangs and hair that are caught in the light of the fire, his blue skin turning darker with the flush that covers his body. “You’re so beautiful... a vision that none...can...compare”, you moan as you thrust faster. Seraphim cries out at the pleasure you give him. “My love ...”, he chokes out between a growl and moan.

His grip on your breasts and waist slightly tighten as you clench your walls. You stare deep into those eyes, as you laud more praise. “ My love, my protector, my king.. .” He can feel his heart race at your words, and they only spur him on. “Yes, L ove me..be with me. .”, he softly moans in a tone of desperation.

You stare into each other’s eyes, admiring the gentle loving looks you shared. You stare deeply into his eyes before leaning forward and pressing a searing kiss to his lips, so much so it takes him by surprise. Kissing wasn’t something frequent between you two, not that Seraphim didn’t appreciate them, but the suddenness of your actions sends all of his blood down south.

His thrusts become more erratic as he pulls you close to him to where your foreheads press against each other’s. The demon returns your kiss, probably more so than he intended as you both whisper an “I love you” to each other. It’s not long until you both chase your orgasms, seconds within each other. For the briefest moment, you feel weightless and collapse against the demon’s chest, breathing heavily.

It wasn’t much of a rest before you both feel his cock stirring again, and you find yourself beneath the sculpted body of this rugged demon. Damn that supernatural stamina. His thrusts start off slow before he picks up the pace. The slap of your skin and breasts against him is a sound Seraphim will never tire of. He grips at the cave floor, not wanting to hurt you, while you hold tightly against him. Rutting like an animal, the overstimulation sends shivers down your body.

It’s not long until his hips shake and quiver, and he soon cums with a moan that purges all the emotions he’s held inside. A sonorous sound filled with lust and brokenness. As Seraphim comes down from his high, he falls to his side as the ragged breaths escape his chest. He soon pulls you close to him, where his heart was.

The intimacy and sound of his heartbeats soothe you in your aftercare. You feel safe in his arms, listening to his heartbeat and....was that a purr rumbling from his chest? So there was a gentleness under all that ferocity.

As Seraphim held you there in his arms, he felt himself suddenly overcome with fear. He knew he had affections for you, but now...it felt different. All consuming. Persevering. Determined. He was in love. In love with you. And that scared him.

Love was something that never came easy to this demon. For as long as he knew, because of the gods and the folly of man, he never knew true friendship or the love of his mother. And he never will. Yet he couldn’t deny what he felt for you and that’s why it scared him, because it could be taken or used against him at any moment.

He wanted to tell you about his mother. About Hera and her schemes but a part of him was afraid you would see him different afterwards. But he was also afraid Hera would use you against him, and he couldn’t bear to lose anyone else. He would tell you soon in due time, but for now, he just wanted the solace of you.