#v: small town weirdos

[feminaferitas]

@healiotrope is at the stump, doing something dangerous in front of Jackie Taylor.

"Lottie, what--"

Jackie didn't often stay late at the compound. In fact, she practically never stayed overnight, and often left before the darkest hours of the night just to make sure she could see the roads headed back into town. But with Natalie's frankly surprising arrival, she had lingered on the grounds as she counseled Lottie about proper practices moving forward. Natalie wasn't trapped here, no one was.

And even if signs of the wilderness had been brought into its landscape, the Yellowjackets weren't trapped in their past.

That didn't mean the past couldn't resurface though. Lottie had taken some private time and went to pay a visit to her psychiatrist -- all nobly intended. Jackie wouldn't pry. In her line of work, it was good to be practical and skeptical, but she had no reason to outright distrust Lottie. So when she stumbled onto the woman kneeling at a tree stump -- a natural fixture of the woodland area, only familiar in the sense that yes, there were trees fucking everywhere, even where they were stranded -- Jackie wasn't deeply concerned. Until she saw the flash of a knife.

"Holy shit, what are you doing?"

[feminaferitas]

"A twenty-five year anniversary is nothing to scoff at," Misty shrugged with a toss of her blonde, bouncy hair. "Plenty of people still care, even if the rest of us are telling them to just move on. These types come out of the woodwork every few years hoping they'll finally be the ones to break the case."

Still, the fact that Jessica had approached several members of the team with varying degrees of an aggressive offer... there had to be some other angle. This was more than just a case of wanting to break the official story. While she'd never confirm it (like they all promised), if Misty had to wager, she would guess that most of the actual truth could be pieced together from all the wild speculation and unofficial accounts that had been published. Of course, what stuck in their craws was the fact that the survivors still held all the power -- they held the knowledge they wanted to hear, whether or not they'd actually listen.

"I've seen plenty of obsessives on the citizen detective forums. In fact, moderators of certain subsites I'm keeping tabs on have banned the topic entirely, isn't that fun?" The idea amused her deeply, hiding behind her AfricanGrey alias. "But you're right, there's definitely something strange about this woman. She thinks she's investigating us, but she's got something else coming."

If someone accused Misty of treating this like a game... they wouldn't be entirely wrong. She may have owned a bird, but she always had a catlike sensibility about her, playing with her prey. The blonde was less concerned than the others -- like dealing with illness, you just had to target and treat the symptoms. Even if her teammates weren't aware she was doing so.

"Talked to them? Not exactly. I mean, I've kept tabs on everyone -- even you, of course -- but it just hasn't felt like the right time... Taissa is so busy with her campaign, Van's not even in the state anymore... Oh! But Natalie did show up at my house with a shotgun. That was actually pretty exciting, even if this Roberts woman wasn't bothering her while she was in rehab," she rambled, a pleasant smile sitting across her lips as she spoke. "I'm not surprised you haven't kept in touch, but being back home... you haven't even crossed paths with anyone accidentally? Or am I just lucky?"

the yellowjackets themselves are almost gone from audrey's mind.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎they were before the crash too.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎the memories of soccer remain at a distance,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎she's learned better than to linger‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎(almost,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it's almost what she's learned and yet here she is standing in misty quigley's home trying to fight the feeling the simmers just under her skin screaming to scratch the itch).‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎she's quick to flash a smile over her shoulder,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎brown eyes usually warm turn slowly to dilated iris.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎as much as their shouldn't be:‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎there is fear.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it's not fear of the blonde herself,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎no,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it's the quick glances of a teenager she sees from the corner of her eyes,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎as if the misty she once knew is still somewhere hanging on and waiting.

she drops her bag gently,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎and lips pull into a thin line...‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎waiting with adverted gaze‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎(avoiding the bird himself)‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎and only giving a smile as he says goodbye.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎the child in her wants to laugh:‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎because if she were asked years ago where she pictured misty quigley,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎she could paint this picture with a million words and get nearly every detail right.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎although maybe she'd pick a cat over a bird...‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎so close.

" i don't get it,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎i don't get why she cares so much. "‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎her voice is just a train of thought,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎lost as her gaze seems to drift off.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎the topic pulls her in,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎put her in a place where every joke or smile that threatens to pull on her features at the state of her grown self.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎" maybe she's just obsessive.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎maybe she's just a crazy fan...‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎i don't know though. "

the shake of her head and the furrow of her brow ages her,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎worry ages her‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎(and she wonders,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎whenever she catches herself in the mirror looking this frustrated,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎she wonders how she looked back with the combination of dust settling in the cracks of her skin under the warm yet dim light of the fire).‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎" no,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎no i haven't talked to anyone. "‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎which is funny,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎she thinks,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎considering how close she still lives to everyone.‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎to leave wiskayok would be to abandon audrey evans,‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎are the other girls the same?‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎" why?‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎have you? "

[ironwoodwizard]

Name: Ian D’Arcy

Age: 240 (looks to be late 20’s-early 30’s)

Birthday: October 13, 1783

Gender: male

Sexuality: bisexual

Race: vampire

Appearance: dark loosely curly hair, brown eyes that turn a fathomless black if you look directly at them for too long, pale and too-smooth skin, sharp porcelain-white fangs, tall and lanky form. Greatly resembles his father, but he has his mother’s smile.

FC: young Johnny Depp

Personality: very…odd. Eccentric. Highly intelligent and intuitive, but he doesn’t lord it over others unless he finds it too amusing not to (usually does it to those who insist that they know everything, or especially heinous charlatans). Known as the town weirdo, and he relishes in it in a mostly subtle way. Absolutely a theater kid. Quick-witted goth dude with a heart of gold that he playfully insists is cold and black. Has a background in psychology and criminology and continuously studies it as a hobby. Low-key anarchist. Hates being stuck in boring meetings, and his patience for people only goes so far in settings where he’s forced to sit still(this developed after he was turned; as a mortal, he was well known for his patience in court).

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Powers/Abilities: telekinesis (up to 100 lbs without much effort, but he can lift more if he really pushes himself; the more he lifts, the more it drains him. Heaviest thing he’s lifted/moved was a 300-ish-pound bookshelf that nearly fell on him, and he blacked out afterward.) Fanged bite/exsanguination. Healing factor (drinking blood helps him quickly heal wounds that aren’t caused by holy water or blessed weapons. Burns from sunlight or rushing water heal slowly.) Flight (sort of. His telekinesis allows him to make himself levitate for short periods of time or glide short distances.) Prophecy (when he was a mortal, he often had dreams where glimpses of future events flashed before him. He could not make sense of them unless hypnotized. As a vampire, the visions are much less erratic, and he has learned how to induce them instead of waiting for them to come.) Spiderclimb (he can walk on walls, ceilings, and inverted surfaces as if gravity has no effect on him.) Excellent poker face. Hypnotic gaze (making direct deliberate eye contact with someone for a moment too long puts them under his thrall, though he cannot command a thrall to do anything that they wouldn’t normally be able to do. He often wears dark sunglasses to avoid doing this on accident.) Shapeshifting (he can turn into a bat or a black cat, and is resistant to sunlight in cat form.) Excellent deductive reasoning skills.

Flaws/Weaknesses: Sunlight sensitivity (daylight burns him unless his skin is fully covered, and he has limited day vision), running water (burns him), holy water (burns him), blessed weapons (burn him and do lasting damage), elder wood stake through his heart (paralyzes him until it is removed. If he’s decapitated by a blessed weapon while in this state, he dies. If the stake is blessed, he dies instantly.)

Nationality: English, American

Languages: English, Latin

Style: usually Regency or Victorian gothic inspired, though he dresses more casually when at home and not expecting guests. A lot of black and white with dark jewel-toned accents. Takes great care in his appearance when he knows he’s going to be dealing with people.

Profession: Antique/Curio Shop Owner (current), Lorekeeper (aka Dungeon Master/Game Master. He’s one of the few regulars who show up to run tables at the tavern’s monthly D&D nights), Freelance Detective (former, when he was still mortal, and for a short time after he immigrated to America.), Magistrate (original, while he was still mortal. He wanted to do more to help his village, so he began sleuthing, using his position to gain as much information on various crimes as possible.)

Family: Maeve D’Arcy (née Watson, mother, deceased), Arno D’Arcy (father, deceased), Caolán D’arcy ( pronounced Keelan, younger brother, disappeared, presumed deceased), Robyn D’Arcy (triplet sister, alive, vampire), Sadie D’Arcy (triplet sister, alive, vampire)

Backstory: Born to descendants of French nobles and Scots-Irish merchants in October of 1783, Ian was the second in a set of fraternal triplets. He was brought up in a small but well off village not far from London, taught by the best tutors his father could afford, and groomed from a young age to become a proper magistrate and courtly gentleman. His sisters were educated in much the same manner, set to enter into high society in the same year that he first took his apprenticeship; they were seventeen at the time. A little over a decade later, Ian officially became a magistrate and heard his first case. The case seemed rather simple; a traveling man had been accused of stealing sheep from a local farmer under the cover of darkness for a little over a week, and several witnesses testified that they’d seen him lurking around that farm at or around dusk. The defendant rather adamantly pleaded not guilty, stating that he’d only been watching the farm because he’d seen some strange entity sneak in on his first night in town, and he wanted to see if he could catch it for a reward. Something about the case didn’t sit right with Ian. He knew in his heart that the man was innocent, but he had just as much proof that claim as the rest of the town had of his guilt. Siding with his gut, he announced that they would take a two day recess so that he could investigate the matter further, much to the townsfolk’s disdain. To placate them and protect the defendant, he had him temporarily locked up before asking the farmer to give him a private tour of his farm. The investigation yielded few clues, aside from two sets of boot print tracks and a trace amount of dried blood on the fence, but the most intriguing detail came later that night. Another sheep was stolen, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that the traveler could not have been the thief after all. Ian declared him innocent and set him free, though he publicly resolved to find out who the mutton thief truly was. The case took months to solve, as the thief was extremely elusive, and Ian and his two colleagues had other cases to hear in the meantime, most disturbing of which was the murder of the traveler, who was found a week later, mauled and drained of blood. Ian couldn’t help feeling responsible, but that only strengthened his resolve. He was determined to find and prosecute the culprit of this heinous crime once and for all. In the meantime, more livestock were stolen, and when they were moved inside locked barns for the night, people started to go missing. Bodies were discovered in bushes and ditches, mauled and drained, just like the traveler had been. With the fifth body, there was a note written in elegant script with what was most likely the last remaining drops of her blood:

‘You should have left the sheep out for me. Now I’ve developed a taste for daughters instead.’

All of the victims aside from the traveler had indeed been young women, which made the killing spree all the more disturbing, but also triggered something in Ian’s mind. He’d read many Eastern European tomes on the occult in his youth, having had a fascination with morbidity, and recalled several creatures that feasted on blood under cover of night. Vampires. They were dealing with a vampire, though what kind he did not precisely know. He doubted that it was a strigoi, as they were spirits and couldn’t leave boot prints or write. More research was in order. In the meantime, he conferred with the other two magistrates, and they declared a curfew. Citizens must be locked indoors from half an hour before sundown to half an hour after sunrise. The townsfolk readily complied, terrified of losing more young ladies to this horror of the night. Ian, meanwhile, through himself into researching various vampire legends from around the world, and determined his foe to be a Nosferatu, a bloodthirsty humanoid creature native to Romania that was vulnerable to sunlight and capable of turning humans into vampires. All a victim had to do was drink its blood after having been bitten themselves, but most never survived long enough unless the Nosferatu wanted them to. A human turned by Nosferatu would then become an immortal Draconian vampire, retaining their youth and beauty for as long as they retained their humanity, but never able to bask in heaven’s light again. Running water was also a bane to them, eroding their skin as if it were sandstone, and a stake crafted of elder wood could immobilize them if driven through the heart with enough force.

Filled with renewed determination and youthful hubris, Ian set out to hunt down the dastardly beast, commissioning the local arbalista to make him a crossbow that could launch a wooden stake. Thankfully, the man was an experimental sort, always up for a grand challenge; he had a prototype ready in no time. Ian whittled stakes from elder wood in his free time while he waited, unaware that his sister Robyn had already been turned by the beast and was urging Sadie and young Caolán to pursue its gifts as well.

Sadie was eager to comply, having grown bored of her wealthy but snobbish husband, but Caolán was hesitant. He was only eighteen, after all, and just made his debut in society. He wasn’t ready to give up on life as he knew it when his life had only just begun. Robyn didn’t let up. She and Caolán argued back and forth for weeks until he suddenly disappeared without a trace. The night beforehand, Ian was plagued with nightmarish visions that he couldn’t make sense of, but stayed with him throughout the following day. Hoping to ease her brother’s pain, a newly turned Sadie briefly hypnotized him, making the visions slower and much clearer. He saw a familiar door, and a pale, shaking hand grasping the knob. It was locked. The owner of the hand pounded on the door, screaming for help in a voice that he recognized as Caolán’s, but was not let in. It had grown dark. There was a jolt has he was yanked backwards, a clawed hand wrapping around his throat as another gripped his torso and dragged him away. Fighting. Kicking. Screaming. It was one hell of a struggle, but it was all in vain. Ian could do nothing but watch through Caolán’s eyes as the Nosferatu pinned him up against a tree, the rough bark scraping at his back as he stared up at its grinning, horrifying, hauntingly beautiful, gaunt face. It said something that Ian couldn’t quite make out before lunging forward to dig its sharp teeth into the young man’s throat. Caolán’s scream was cut off as Ian’s vision faded, and the magistrate fainted from the stress.

By the time he woke up, night had already fallen again. He’d been too late to save his little brother. Heartbroken and frustrated, he set out anyway, crossbow in hand and rage festering in his vengeful heart. He was hellbent on killing the vampire, even if it was the last thing he’d do. Ian stalked the streets by the light of the full moon, hypervigilant and itching to pull the trigger. He quickly became aware that he was being followed, and began taking sharp turns through alleys and around buildings in an effort to throw off his stalker, or perhaps get a glimpse of them. No luck. He quickened his pace. So did they. Stalking became chasing as he began to run, sprinting for the woods, only to run headlong into Robyn just after making it past the tree line. He demanded to know why she was there instead of safe at home. She didn’t answer. Neither did Sadie after she revealed herself, and Ian came to the horrifying conclusion that they had been turned, luring him out there to meet the same fate as his poor little brother. Eyes widening in fear and pain, he turned to run again just as the Nosferatu slammed into him, knocking him to the ground easily. The rest of that night was a blur. A sharp pain in his neck. The pull of the trigger. Blood. So much blood. And a hunger for life that had to be sated then and there.

When he awoke the next morning in a basement that had been outfitted to be a temporary bedroom, his sisters explained everything. Robyn had been attacked by the Nosferatu the night before the curfew was set in place and enthralled by it to convince her siblings and the family members of the other two magistrates to let it turn them. If they did not comply, they would be slaughtered. Under its influence, Robyn started with Sadie and Caolán, though she had no idea what had happened to the latter after she’d locked him out of the house. Ian was the last remaining member of his family who needed to be turned before they could get to the other magistrates, but he’d managed to incapacitate the Nosferatu in the process, breaking its hold on his sisters, and somehow knew to drink its blood to save himself from death. Ian remarked that he’d done his research. The vampiric triplets then resolved to try and resume their normal lives while they searched for their little brother, whom they presumed to be dead in the woods somewhere. He was never found. Ian was able to remain in his post of magistrate for another decade and a half before rumors began to spread about his ageless appearance, skillful avoidance of daylight, and peculiar change in demeanor. By the early 1830’s, he and his sisters were forced to either leave town or be executed as witches. They parted ways afterwards, with Ian departing for America, Robyn fleeing to Switzerland to meet with a brilliant doctor she’d been writing to, and Sadie traveling to Venice with her husband, whom she’d turned shortly after the Nosferatu was dealt with.

They’ve all kept in touch throughout the centuries. Ian used his vampiric abilities to become elected as a magistrate in Richmond after reaching Virginia, managing to keep a low profile while judging cases fairly and helping with the Underground Railroad. The Civil War made things far more complicated. It was tragic, for sure, and he hated not being able to aid those in need, but the scent of blood hung thick in the air, maddening him. He found it difficult to keep control of his feeding habits, and was forced to flee up north to Canada in hopes of finding peace. After the war was over, it took him over a century to feel comfortable setting foot in America again, and he never stayed in one place for too long, studying psychology and collecting books and knickknacks as he went a long to keep himself occupied. The 1980’s brought him to Texas, one of the few states he’d never been to before, where he found the small, oddly idyllic and peaceful town of Morningstar. It was there that he finally settled down and made a life for himself, encouraged by the welcome attitude of its residents, a quarter of which were supernatural in nature. He opened up a curio shop to display and sell some of the antiques he’d collected, and often offered his services as a pro bono private investigator for those who could not afford to hire one. He also developed a love of board games and table top role playing games, as they allowed him to further explore his sense of whimsy.

[alwaysmoncheri]

𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐧 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫

summary: in which best friends, y/n henderson and steve harrington get caught up in their feelings while paranormal activities occur in the small town of hawkins, indiana

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐧𝐞

I - the vanishing of will byers 1.9k

II - the search 2.1k

III - the weirdo on maple street 2k

IV - the house party 2.1k

V - the body 2.4k

VI - pictures 1k

VII - the woods 2.4k

VIII - don’t turn off the lights 1.7k

IX - monster hunting 2.5k

X - the kiddie pool 2.7k

XI - let’s kill this son of a bitch 4.1k

XII - happy holidays 2.7k

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐰𝐨

XIII - mad max 3k

XIV - new kids on the block 2.4k

XV - halloween night 4.6k

XVI - tension 1.9k

XVII - episodes 2.3k

XVIII - the cellar 2.3k

XIX - sexual electricity 3.1k

XX - the junkyard 3.3k

XXI - hawkins lab 2.3k

XXII - the spy 1.8k

XXIII - together again 3.4k

XXIV - the fight 2.6k

XXV - tunnels 3.1k

XXVI - the snow ball 3k

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

XXVII - scoops ahoy 3.3k

XXVIII - suzie, do you copy? 2.7k

XXIX - the code 2.4k

XXX - evil russians 2.6k

XXXI - the air ducts 2.1k

XXXII - child endangerment 2.4k

XXXIII - booby traps 2.8k

XXXIV - the gate 2.4k

XXXV - caught 2.9k

XXXVI - drugged 2.1k

XXXVII - escaping evil russians 101 2.8k

XXXVIII - interrogate me 3.6k

XXXIX - the bite 2.4k

XL - the mind flayer 2.1k

XLI - scoops troop 3k

XLII - the battle of starcourt 4.5k

XLIII - new beginnings 2.7k

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

XLIV - the pep rally 5.4k

XLV - the nightmares 5k

XLVI - the game 2.5k

more tba!

alwaysmoncheri © ─ all rights reserved. please do not repost/translate/copy any of my work.

[urlocalnonbinarybastardwrites]

Hcs for greasers with a GN!goth s/o who moved to town, and everyone, both greasers and socials are afraid of them, because everyone thinks they’re a “witch”

<twinning with @sadie-bug345 btw go check out her blog it’s amazinggggg here’s the link to her hc for this>

Ponyboy Curtis

-he was definitely afraid of you at first, and he 10/10 believed you could actually brew potions but also secretly thought you were cool and interesting

-he was SUPER intimidated by you

-but one day got enough courage to approach you when you were reading under a tree and found out that you were pretty chill and not yk a witch (he does ask tho, just it case)

-Y’all hit off and you showed him some of your music which he actually liked!

-eventually you guys started dating n stuff which was only surprising to those who didn’t know Pony that well

-you go on library/reading + music dates a lot

-Not a lot of Socs mess with him now that he’s always with his witch

-Fr no Socs mess with him he has such a scary dog privilege with you

-matching bandanas + belts

Johnny Cade

-he’s so in love with alt people honestly

-didn’t believe you were a witch and knew weirdos get a bad rap

-he wasn’t scared of you because he thought you were a witch, He was just scared to actually go up and talk to you

-he kind of always admired you from afar cuz yall had a similar vibe and you went to the lot a lot (hehe)

-One day after a long pep talk in the mirror he got the courage to go up and talk to you

-you guys really got along and started dating!

-when you first chatted he admired one of your best rings and you just gave it to him

-(he hasn’t taken it off since istg)

-you did his eyeliner one time and it looked SOOOO GOOD

-10/10 he does matching rings n belts and sometimes small makeup with you

-you guys are v cute together and honestly make so much sense, you’re also his scary dog privledge

Sodapop Curtis

-he saw you and was like ohhhh that’s why they call them a witch

-honestly surprised he liked you bc you aren’t usually his type but opposites attract yk

-he finds your style exotic and so different from his own it opens up his world

-you meet buying snacks at his gas station and he does his usual charming boy personality, suprised when you don’t respond to his flirtation and roll your eyes

-after lots of him flirting and you rejecting (more playfully over time) he finally manages to get you on a date with him

-you guys actually hit it off rlly well

-you guys are like golden retriever x black cat and compliment eachother soooo well

-tbh people saw it coming because yk opposites attract

-he tries to copy ur makeup one time and it did NOT end well 😭💅

-yall turn heads fr

Darry Curtis

-he didn’t necessarily wary of you because of the rumors, he’s just a traditionalist and not rlly used to seeing different people

-so when you come into town you rock his world

-one day your walking along just minding your own business when he grabs your arm and is like “wait” as if he isn’t stopping you from literally moving

-“so uh, what with the, uh, getup?”

“Idk man I just like to dress this way….”

-you guys start talking and actually become good friends

-after a few months he asks you out

-you guys are a pretty stable couple, and ponyboy definitely thinks of you as his rlly cool older sister

-I think yall are the most surprising

-he’s the most likely to change his wardrobe to match yours, def goes all out. Like not tooo far but he changes all his outfits to be vaguely goth

Dallas Winston

-was he a little (a lot) scared of you because of the rumors? Hell yes. Was he going to show that? Hell no.

-probs approached you on a dare or some shit 💀

-made a rude remark or joke so you slapped him and he was kinda surprised such a quiet thing could leave his face that red

-he was kinda in love with that ngl and loved your spunk

-he bothered you everyday after that

-back and fourth after much banter (enemies to lovers energy)

-he managed to actually get you to go on a date with him

-POWER COUPLE FR

-people are SO scared when they see yall walking down the streets yall are sooo intimidating together fr

-matching belts and rings

Two Bit Matthews

-you guys probs met in the back of the classroom

-he made some joke like “Damn, how’d you get out of your coffin this mornin’?!

-to which you responded with an eye roll and a chuckle

-you guys actually end up cracking jokes the whole period and laughing a little too loud

-he finally asks you out and you say yes

-you guys go out and make fun of Socs together and have a grand time

-you guys kind of started dating a bit immaturely, but you actually get to something that’s a lot more mature and have really deep conversations, you kind of ground him, and he kind of bring the humor out of you a bit

-he def takes advantage of the fact people are scared of you and you both jumpscare people and just have so much fun

-best Halloween couple fs

-overall pretty solid

-matching shirts

Steve Randle

-he probably heard the rumors and thought they were stupid and he was the least phased by your look

-I mean don’t get me wrong he liked it but he wasn’t gonna tell you that right away

-you don’t like eachother at first but after you start talking you start to appreciate eachother

-he asks you out and you say yes

-you guys are sooo cute n iconic

-you sometimes play music out loud when he fixes cars and just vibe together

-the EGO boost he gets from your compliments on his style

-he wears matching rings and shirts with you

[feminaferitas]

Callie was hesitant to sit with her mother, afraid of what might come next. She also felt increasingly uncomfortable with every brush of the jersey fabric against her skin, needing to get out of this relic of her mother's past, as if Jackie's vengeful ghost might actually start to haunt her more than the echoes of her already haunted the Sadecki family home.

But she did, because there was nowhere else she could go -- if she went to her room, her mom could just follow. And this was another rare instance of actually, maybe getting something out of the older woman that wasn't just a brush off and a "you're not ready for that". Against her better judgement, Callie sat next to Shauna and bowed her head in shame as her mother touched her back gently as if she hadn't desecrated something sacred that she didn't understand.

"You're right... I'm sorry, it was so stupid," she admitted, her words thick with emotion. Callie rubbed carelessly at her eyes, smearing the already hazy 'dead girl' makeup she'd done to complete the look. But her mom's admission was almost too much for her to process at once. She turned her head to look over, her own eyes wide and glistening, wondering if she really heard correctly that her own mother kind of didn't really want to love her.

"All I ever wanted... I just wanted to feel like maybe I wasn't some regret or mistake, living in your shadow," Callie hiccupped, a few tears shaking loose and rolling down her face. "I thought -- I thought this was your uniform and yeah, maybe... maybe I was a little mad. All my life I've lived in the shadow of your trauma. The daughter of a Yellowjacket, like some sort of... living dead girl. I didn't know this was Jackie's b-but... I hate that it took this happening for you to actually notice me."

I'm sorry. Callie barely tolerates Shauna, forty-some years and lifetimes more experiences written off with a scoff, eyeroll, and toss of her hair that is so painfully Jackie. Needless to say, Shauna was beginning to think 'sorry' wasn't in her daughter's vocabulary. At a loss for words, Shauna stammers, "I-It's--"

But it's not okay. It's irreparable. Callie took the last remaining untainted memory Shauna had of Jackie, and quite literally rubbed dirt in it. She lets out a deep sigh, a sigh that's sat inside her for twenty-five years, and sits on the step that Callie stands on. Patting the step, she says, "Sit with me."

She rests her hand on Callie's back, her fingers scratching up into Callie's neck and hair as she smiles sadly.

"I know you didn't know whose it was, but it's still a shi-- A bad thing to do. I had years of memories attached to that uniform before all of the bad. And now... Now it's gone." She let out a soft huff. "But you're right. I've... I've held you at arms length, and it's not fair. The truth is, I'm scared, honey. In a way that will never go away. Scared that if I love you, or your dad, something will happen to you guys. I know, that's silly, but it's something I can't help, and you can't either, and I'm so sorry."

[stranger-fanfiction-n-things]

season one of "stand by me"

diana sinclair lived a perfectly normal life. all she needed was her loving family, two best friends and a pair of ballet shoes. but when the mysterious disappearance of will byers shakes the small town of hawkins, diana finds her perfectly normal life turning upside down.

prologue

chapter one: the vanishing of will byers

part ii part iii part iv

chapter two: the weirdo on maple street

part ii part iii part iv part v

chapter three: holly, jolly

part ii part iii part iv part v

chapter four: the body

part ii part iii

chapter five: the flea and the acrobat

part ii part iii part iv

chapter six: the monster

part ii part iii part iv

chapter seven: the bathtub

part ii part iii

chapter eight: the upside down

set between season one + two

coming soon...

extras:

meet diana sinclair hawkins high questionnaire 1983

seasons of “stand by me”

[pondslime]

Do you think that what Bo said about him and his brothers ending up in foster care was also a lie? I've seen some who think he wasn't lying about that but I don't think the timing and the codependency him and his brothers have adds up to them being separated for a bit, ya know? Sorry for bombarding you with a question but ugh there's just so much untouched lore potential I wanna screeeeeam

*cracking knuckles* oh baby u just opened the floodgates I am about to be SO fckn annoying

so personally, I very much believe that bo's spinning an ENTIRE crock of shit during that conversation w/carly and wade

something that I think we all need to highlight more is that the baby idiot himself has SUCH a flair for the dramatic. our favorite caveman is a chronic theater kid. like, okay acting 101? okay thespian? okay daytime soap OPERA??? the scene he sets for this fuckmurdermayhem is just...................SO grotesque and dramatic and entirely UNNECESSARY LMAO

he's a weirdo who has sequestered himself in a town full of corpses and u just KNOW the gaps between the wax nonsense are LONG and BORING and he's ANTSY

the whole time he's chasing carly thru town he's just. blissed out. goin hehehehehhehehehehe be vewwy vewwwy quiet!! we're huntin' wabbits!!! elmer fudd-mode FULLY engaged

he GRINS before he's shot by a fckin crossbow?????????? BABY???? WHAT ARE U DOING??????

he is truly on some other shit!! convinced his bargain bin broadway play will go off without a hitch and he will somehow??? be getting a standing ovation for his foolishness????

sighing DREAMILY

this is the most fun he's had in possibly months, and he's living la vida loca. he's that one tiktok of all the kids performing summer loving in the denny's. this is his golden globes. his bafta (big ass fucking truck absurdity). his academy award winning performance, starring his raging boner & very little foresight!!!!

I think there might be LIL grains of truth to his story, ofc. the best lies have small kernels of truth to them, and bo's lies seem to work the best when he adds those in (mentioning that he's close to the deceased to incur pity/getting nick to agree to follow him to a second location by mentioning that they might have gone up to the house)

but I do believe that most of it is complete bullshit lmao

there is absolutely no way in hell that those boys EVER got separated. to me!!! at least!! nope. they were in that miserable little house together the whole time. vincent and bo's interactions together speak to years of sibling tension and growing resentment. lester's inclusion in all of this w/his role of like. the ferryman to the fckin UNDERWORLD that is ambrose. is so v a marker of his attachment to his older brothers

they're all inextricably linked!!!!!!

bo 100% killed victor tho. u do not mime shooting urself in the head when discussing ur dad's death if u did not shoot him point blank range w/a smile on ur face. u simply do not. not entirely sure if he killed trudy. feel like that might've been vincent/a group job. or. pet theory. she DID just die of natural causes. or. other pet theory. she was actively participating/aware of the first couple murders. we'll never know but. huh

I also REALLY don't buy the "trudy got a cyst in her brain" stuff. I've played around w/it in a couple fics, but I v much think the probablity of it being a complete fabrication? oh 99.9%. most definitely. talking about ur mom getting strapped to the bed & screaming loud enough for the whole town to hear? hsdfjhfdsjhsdf BOY GOODBYE.

like????? that's SUCH a deranged thing to tell someone u just met. and it v much seems like smthn he tossed out to purposefully unnerve them. he didn't have to say that, but he DID. bc he loves the cat and mouse game. that's why he creeps on them @ the campsite. he's so deeply abnormal

it's all this weird sad little story that's designed to make u uncomfortable. also. sidenote......................in this version of the scene that he's set, he's the mourning parishioner sadly recounting a tale of woe that he's notably detached to. who is he in relation to the story he weaves? nobody. just an observer.

if life could be a fckin dream boseph!!!

BTW. he does this in the original script, but it's somehow EVEN weirder.

he is. and I CANNOT stress this enough. roleplaying as a kid in the neighborhood that trudy liked and would spoil.

???????????????????????????????????????????

babygirl is truly going thru it!!!!!! babygirl this is EMBARRASSING!!!!!! ur MOMMY ISSUES!!!!!!!!!!! BABYGIRL!!!!!!!!! they are SHOWING!!!!! they are STAPLED to ur forehead!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

he's so ABNORMAL!!!!!!! I need to make out w/him!!!!!!!! RN!!!!!!!!!!!

vincent waiting 2 hear what dumbass alternate reality bo has cooked up for this batch of tourists:

I always talk about how dumb bo is. and I mean every word of it. I really do. but I do think he's got a couple braincells.

I v much feel like he's v much a creature of habit. he's been doing this shebang for years n years and he knows how it goes. he gets his fuckin n suckin and vincent gets his wax sculptures. bada bing bada boom. showtime baby.

his "plan" is v much as solid as a plastic bag drifting thru the wind, wanting to start again. he is fr hinging this whole thing on a series of events, that, should they not happen, he has no alternative for. and he is so weird and so strange and cannot deviate from his script LEST he get pissymad and ruin everything. he's so dumb. I'm so v in love w/him.

TL; DR!!

I wrote this for my peabrain video essay script and it's all the above bullshit nonsense. but more coherent:

& an unrelated bit. bc it's still my favorite bit of the script & the only part I recorded a voice clip for sfjdhdfjshdfs

[feminaferitas]

@scatcrccio gets a call from Shauna the day after Halloween

Yes, maybe Shauna was still rattled from seeing her daughter in Jackie's uniform last night. But no matter how pleasant their resulting conversation had actually been, it didn't change the fact that Callie had been getting high on ecstasy on Halloween at a dance club. And yes, Shauna had also been out at that club with Adam, but that was way beside the point.

After giving her daughter an earnest talk about the consequences of trying to blackmail her about the... cheating, Shauna resolved to do the responsible, motherly thing. Which, in her messed up life, meant calling one of the least responsible, but frankly quite consistent people she knew for intel. Preventative measures, she told herself.

"C'mon... pick up..." Shauna stood at the kitchen sink, looking out into the sunshine beyond the window to see if there were any pests in the garden. Then the line clicked. She perked up, if only in a sort of formal manner -- Nat Scatorccio wasn't exactly a girl-talk kind of friend.

"Hey, Natalie... Hope I'm not disturbing anything. Good Halloween?" A nervous laugh, and the smallest of small talk before launching into her ulterior motive. "I have a question that I think someone of your... local networking abilities would have an answer for."

[feminaferitas]

Of all the girls on the team, Jackie had probably spoken with Van the least. The redhead had been the antithesis of the class queen's energy and attitude, and after Jackie had tried to leave Van to die save Shauna from hurting herself, it was hard to share space with her for long before it would devolve into friction. And after Van was attacked... point was, they weren't exactly what anyone would consider chummy.

So when Jackie appeared to her former teammates twenty-five years later, she wasn't sure what to say. With the others, she was usually able to leverage their relationship to give herself some sort of edge in the conversation. She wasn't a fucking spirit guide or something, or just an internal manifestation of their guilt. At the end of the day, Jackie was still a part of them all and always would be, as they knelt down before their team captain and pulled her flesh apart like a dark communion at the altar of her demise.

Despite the fact that her teammates were still alive, seeing what constituted as "living" to them was always a bit of a shock, at first. Van looked tired, worn, sitting on this couch in a room that looked like an attic. How much of Van had left the wilderness? How much of the wilderness had left her? Her scars looked faded with time, and the bottle of pills on her counter didn't look like the self-medicating tendencies of Natalie. Finally, Jackie hummed in her throat.

"Well, it's not Wiskayok, huh?" She gestured around to the posters and paraphernalia on the walls, shelves, and all around. "Guess this stuff is considered retro now, isn't it?"

[Starter for @feminaferitas]

V. Palmer. 

Vanessa Palmer. Van Palmer. Van. 

The V. Palmer on her prescription bottle of pills was for her and Van couldn’t stop staring at it. She shared those initials with her mother, a woman that Van actively avoided thinking about, and now here she was, taking prescription medication with a V. Palmer on the label just like she used to. Back then, Van’s mother had used some bullshit excuse about an old injury playing up that needed the pain relief, and eventually mixing the opioids with booze had been what killed her in the end. Van had always known it would, and getting the call hadn’t been a surprise. 

Van sighed and shook the pill bottle, debating whether she wanted to take them or not. She’d not taken any since she’d been given the prescription a couple of months ago, but as the cancer had begun to eat its way deeper through Van’s body, the pain had increased to an almost unmanageable level. Even then, Van was doubled up in pain over her kitchen counter after closing the store, using her hips and her elbow to keep herself from falling all the way down to the floor. 

Still, Van felt doubt creeping into the edges of her thoughts and she turned the bottle over to read the potential side effects. 

Nausea. Check.

Vomiting. Sometimes. 

Rapid heart rate. Yep. 

Migraines. Increasing in regularity. 

Constipation. You have to eat for that. 

Loss of appetite. Very much so. 

Dizziness. The pain was worse. 

Drowsiness. All the time. 

Lowered libido. Not relevant. 

Hallucinations. Maybe tripping balls was a better option to the bone deep pain she was already feeling. 

Addiction. Van knew she wasn’t going to live long enough for it to matter. 

With a tired, defeated and pained groan, Van twisted the lid off the pill bottle and shook two capsules onto the countertop before putting the lid back and putting the orange bottle aside. It took another moment of deliberating and talking herself into it before she was able to put the little pills into her mouth and stick her face under the faucet to gulp water and force the medicine down her throat. 

Van wasn’t sure how long it was going to take to start working, so she forced herself to straighten up and walk over to her sofa, sinking down into the plush surface to wait and see what came next.

[prpfz]

😼hi !! idk how well this emoji will work bc im on my laptop but !! im 22, they/them and i mostly do oc x canon or oc x oc !! currently i am very interested in oc x oc, especially f/f !! i do double up in anything i do if that's your speed and i don't have any specific plot in mind atm bc i'm writing this off like two doses of nyquil and a migraine but ! im mostly interested in something small town, maybe with themes of southern gothic. i write basically exclusively poc characters and i know its wild to have to mention but if you do not like that !! dont contact me <3 id also like anything horror themed, esp to do with haunted houses and cursed families !! my fandoms currently for oc/cc are: - the hunger games (finnick odair/my oc, i play anyone) -stranger things (mike wheeler is preferred and i play anyone but lucas is my special baby) -house of the dragon/game of thrones (anyone, honestly, and i play anyone but my best are aemond and rhaenyra) -gen v/the boys (my preference is jordan li! and i do write anyone with a special fondness for sam) -the secret history (i prefer camilla for f/f! i do not write henmilla because i.. dont want to) i write canon/canon as well but i am very picky about the ships <3 so feel free to approach me but i cannot promise a yes. i am comfortable with any themes but i do enjoy dark ones and do not care for smut. i have a special fondness for morally grey and grotesque characters so bring me your weirdos ! you can contact me on discord @. carnivorelambchop im currently shadowbanned but dont be scared to reach out ! if i have ghosted you before i am SO sorry, i unfortunately do have memory problems so i do unintentionally do that at times so it is up to your discretion if you would like to dm me <3 i am ghost friendly so if you have ghosted dont be scared !

carnivorelambchop

[the-obnoxious-sibling]

I don’t care about his haters I want to hear about buggy’s qualities 😭😭😭

i let this one sit in my inbox for a while because your phrasing kept making me laugh. i hope you don’t mind the delayed response.

buggy’s qualities! (note i did not specify good qualities or bad qualities.) let’s get into them.

already established in that post:

greedy (obviously)

selfish (obviously)

two-faced (very obviously)

loyal (limited applications)

self-preserving (a strong instinct)

untrustworthy (almost comically obviously so)

trusting (to the point of naïveté)

an interesting, contradictory lineup. what else is there to buggy?

he has very romantic notions of piracy.

despite saying the only thing that matters to him is treasure & the acquisition thereof, the way he acts says otherwise. he parties at the drop of a hat (improving crew morale). when his crew, thinking he’s dead, has moved on, even going so far as to adopt a new captain and flag (after… how long have they been apart, exactly? weeks? days?), he rescues them, no questions asked. he weeps to hear how badly he was missed after his arrest, how proud his crew was to hear of his involvement at the paramount war, and he returns both sentiments instantly. the captain-crew bond means something to him. (small wonder why.)

he turns up his nose at crocodile’s deeply unromantic “piracy is a business” mindset—buggy doesn’t care about building capital, he wants to find the one piece! who needs a five-year plan when you can just find the biggest, best treasure that ever existed right now?!

oh, hey, related to that:

he’s impulsive.

why make a plan when you can just do things?! who needs to learn anything from these soft-hearted pirates—buggy’s got a treasure map and a devil fruit worth more money than he’s ever seen in his life! he’s gonna head out on his own ASAP! that should be no problem at all… for this pre-teen… on the grand line. mm hm.

he wants to get back on the grand line and find the one piece—or captain john’s treasure—or any other treasure he finds a map for, really. how? well, he’ll follow the map, obviously! …and when that leads him into danger?

he can be inattentive.

more specifically, he gets fixated on his goal—treasure, killing luffy, silently panicking, yelling at shanks, whatever—to the point that he somehow misses everything else going on around him. does not notice shanks walking up behind him—twice. does not notice smoker or his officers surrounding his men until it’s too late. walks into a cave that’s actively being mined because he thinks treasure might be there. walks into a well-appointed navy garrison because he thinks treasure might be there!

he doesn’t notice he’s standing next to whitebeard—you know, the nearly twenty-two foot tall man—until he hears the guy call him by an insulting name.

buggy makes rash decisions and has a short temper—a dangerous combination.

he hears insults where none are intended, and lashes out violently—maybe lethally?—and sometimes when insults are intended, he doesn’t bother to wonder who’s offered the insult until after he’s fired one back. at which point he may wilt like a daisy, if the person he’s insulted turns out to be, say, whitebeard.

(why yes, i do think that moment is hysterical. not least because i suspect whitebeard cannot remember buggy’s name, and calls him red-nose because that’s all he does remember about him.)

but even at his most weak-kneed, fawn response, pathetic little guy, we have to keep in mind:

he’s charismatic and inspirational.

and i’m not just talking about the impel down guys! his original crew were just as impressed by him—though maybe impressed and terrified in equal measure?—at the start of the orange town arc. they were confident in his victory over these three weirdos to the point of cockiness, just laughing when zoro cut buggy down. they’re really shaken when luffy, after a few minutes of devil fruit v devil fruit combat, totally curb-stomps buggy. they prefer to believe he’s just not taking the fight seriously yet.

they’re fully convinced of his strength, cleverness, and power!

…now i’m not saying their impression of him is based in reality.

buggy’s an excellent bullshitter.

but it’s not enough to just tell a good lie, you also have to be convincing about it. (usopp, early on, is more entertaining than convincing—a good liar of a different flavor. storyteller, not self-promoter.) and while there are plenty of characters who can see through buggy’s act (to name a few: alvida, galdino, luffy (sometimes), most of luffy’s crew, most of the named characters who broke out of impel down…), there are plenty who can’t.

buggy’s “who am i?!”/“captain buggy!” chanting with his crew is not super original, maybe, but it sure gets his men pumped up. his “let’s go after the one piece!” rant in ch 1082 doesn’t impress crocodile or mihawk, but when he airs it to cross guild as a whole it sets things in motion such that the two of them can’t do shit to stop it.

…and that’s buggy as i see him, more or less! let me know if you think i’ve forgotten something! i certainly may have, or i may have lumped the trait you’re thinking of in under one of these other headings, but you won’t know unless you ask.

[singukieee]

'24 A R C H I V E

—of fics I've read or been reading. this archive is being constantly updated!

[back to NAVIGATION]

♡ : works I'm following closely

☆ : my ultimate favourites (mostly finished)

① : oneshots

Might as well be drunk in love

ceo!bts x reader

In which your friend thought it would be funny to give you a love potion, and in which seven CEOs accidentally drank it.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Bangtan Host Club ♡

host!bts x reader

Tired of your boring mundane life? Become an exclusive member of The Bangtan Host Club™ today and let 7 charming men help you out.

Strange

idol!bts x businesswoman!reader (jin focus)

You and Jin grew up in an orphanage together. With no parents or family to take care of you, you both looked after each other. But it all changed when he was eventually adopted by a loving family, leaving you all alone. What happens when you're now a grown, successful adult working with him and his six boyfriends?

American Mate ♡

hybrid!idol!bts x human!reader

The Hybrid K-pop group BTS is on tour in America; of course, things don't start out the way they should, but after an encounter with Y/n, things change but will everyone follow Fate?

To Love, To Heal

bts x fem!reader | neighbor au

You’ve thought you’d healed from the pain. The feeling of insecurity, the pain of knowing you’ve given you’re all for it to all blow up in your face, making you the fool. After the antagonizing heartbreak from your ex- husband, you’ve found it hard to open up to anyone since. It’s been years since the breakup, and you’ve thought you’ve moved on and in a way you completely did. You may not harbor any feelings for your ex-husband anymore, but you’ve found that your heart isn’t as open as you initially thought- especially when seven kind and handsome men are striving for your love and affection next door.

House of Addams

bts x private investigator!reader

Private investigator!reader is hired to look into the deaths, disappearances, and disturbances in the small town of Farrow's End, where she meets a gang of weirdos that help her along the way while she vehemently denies her attraction to all seven of them.

My Strange Addiction

idol!bts x idol!reader

In which bts find themselves completely and utterly infatuated with one of the members of hybe’s newest girl group, le sserafim, developing a strange and unhealthy addiction to their junior

Strawberry Princess ♡

hybrid!bts x hybrid!reader

When a certain hybrid starts to appear whenever Jungkook is at the gym, an immediate pull is felt between the two and their eventual friendship soon is spread to the rest of his pack.

CH 1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8 | CH 9 | CH 10 | CH 11 | CH 12 | CH 13

influencer!bts x animator!oc

Neighbors

A story where a girl who is barely present in social media doesn't know that her new neighbors are famous online stars.

Green ♡

rabbit hybrid!single dad!jungkook x fox hybrid!author!reader

In which you got set up on a blind date with jk, but you didn't know he came as a package. Even tho it started with a misunderstanding, it might be a start for something beautiful.

CHANTAJE ♡

ceo!bts x actress!reader

Being under the watchful eye of the media and your fans, your managers are in desperate need of regaining back your popularity after other influencers who hate you cause mayhem to your life. what best way to do so by having you pretend to be in a relationship with the popular 7 who are known to be intensely wealthy and stoic? will you be able to regain their trust or will they go with their promise of damaging your reputation even more?

Penny for your Ghosts ♡

hybrid!bts x hybrid!reader | ghost hunter au

The world is haunted. There's ghosts, so many in fact that sometimes it feels like they're taking over the living. Incidents are on the rise, ghost related injuries and deaths are getting worse and more common, fear is taking place in hearts of those still here.

And the only ones who are born with the gift, with the ability to see, hear and fight this epidemic, are hybrids. Between the countless agencies and corporations ran by humans exploiting hybrids' gifts for profit, you desperately try to apply your gifts and end up at a small shunned hybrid ran agency fighting to help people and gain respect.

Change My Mind

idol!bts x makeup artist!reader | soulmate au

As a make-up artist, you were expected to glamorize your clients with brushes and products that cost a week-worth of food, not to befriend them outside of work, let alone have them save you from dates yet here you are five years later as one of their closest confidants. Being a stylist of the world's biggest boyband is no easy feat, someone is doing flips, someone can't stay still and one's asleep but its fine, you can work around their chaos but what you can't do is accept the fact that they're your soulmates.

Dragonheart

dragon!bts x knightess!reader

The Gong-li Empire has been on the peak of its power for a little over a millenium, and there was a very simple reason for that - dragonkind. When the first emperor of the Li Dynasty struck a deal with a witch that would allow him to bind dragons to the crown and force them into obedience, it was the beginning of its reign of terror and the end of freedom for creatures as old as nature itself.

Now, a woman hoping to change everything enters the ranks of the elite dragon rider unit among the imperial army and meets seven men that not only change her life, but help her change the fate of the whole world.

Moonchild ♡

werewolf!bts x reader

Working at a coffee shop that only opened in the late hours of the night was the most exciting thing about your life, really. You never had that many friends, your love life was nonexistent, and you just couldn’t explain the feeling of not belonging that chased you no matter where you tried to find your place. It was when seven very handsome strangers came into your life that weird things started happening around you and within you. Could they be the ones to fill in what’s been missing? Or would getting involved with them and their world put you in danger?

['21 ARCHIVE]

['22 ARCHIVE]

['23 ARCHIVE]

[stuckincoolsville]

7/23/24: what's my name?

i absolutely hate these things. 

intros, blogs; it's all stupid, really. it's not even worth the effort of capitalizing, let alone proper grammar. 

who's gonna read this? who's gonna care about some random weirdo teenager moving to some random weirdo town? in OHIO, of all places. the meme is writing itself and dying as we speak.

but my therapist says this will help me. somehow. he says we don't meet enough, so he has no way of knowing how i'm truly doing or feeling. starting a little blog will, supposedly, help me get my feelings out.

i feel it's just another way for him to keep tabs on me, but whatever.

don't worry, i'm not dumb enough to reveal my actual name. just call me V. 

i recently graduated from a high school in New York. yes, i lived near bodegas. yes, i'd rather attend NYU, or a CUNY, or anywhere else besides Coolsville Community College. yes, i walk wherever and whenever i fucking want. yes, i miss the bagels. and the pizza. and the water.

so, that being said, what am i doing in Coolsville, Ohio? 

moving into the house i inherited from my mom. who i have not seen since i was...twelve? yeah, about twelve. i still have this vague memory of watching her pack up her car with all her stuff. her mouth, pressed closed. how she kept refusing to look at me, at my dad. and then walking back in the rain so she can get in her car and drive out of our lives.

yeah, that's rather grim...but it's also relevant. 

surprisingly, she's not the main reason i'm in therapy at the moment. well, not because she left. children are abandoned by parents all the time. most divorces are the result of a parent walking out on a family. i'm not special because i'm another statistic.

i'm in therapy 'cause of the other thing.

anyway, the relevance of this is that i haven't seen my mom in six years. no one seemed to know where she went. it was like she literally dropped off the face of the earth. and yet, a few months ago, my dad and i got a visit from a lawyer. my mother's lawyer.

he said my mother died of a tragic...accident (spoilers: i don't think it was an accident), and that the ownership of the house she lived in recently transferred to me. a house in Coolsville, OH.

if this was last year, i would have slammed the door closed in the man's face. or had my friend Johnny do a prank call and scam the guy out of his money. or maybe had Marcy

...

i think you get the idea.

but this year...it was like the guy handed me the solution to all my problems on a silver platter. after everything that had happened this year, all i wanted was to disappear. to go to a place where no one knew my name or who i was. 

you'd think that'd be easy in New York, a city of several million people on its own. but when you've gone through what i've gone through, when your picture has been published in enough NYC newspapers or blogs or anything with readership, it becomes difficult to be invisible again. 

i had to argue about it with my dad, but it was weak on his part. i think everything was starting to strain on him too.

so with a few bags packed and a rather emotional goodbye with dad & the few friends i have left, i hopped in my car and headed for Ohio.

took me a little bit to find this place. Coolsville is pretty obscure, even by most small town standards. if you can get past the sense of dread you get from Toledo—with all its emptiness and boarded up houses & buildings—you're already on the right track. 

go past the long highway. head east, towards where the trees gather most. down that long, long road that seems to be an entrance to another realm. towards the faint sound of rushing water flowing from a place you can't see yet. and suddenly, you're there. in a town stuck in time, struggling to embrace modernity as we understand it. a place that is just outside the border of the area considered to be part of Appalachia. 

it's like i walked right into the 1960s...or maybe early '70s. every house is painted in bright colors, the grass never seems to brown; and the flowers are always in bloom. and all the people seemed to dress like they go thrifting on the regular, their clothes are so...retro? vintage? any of those words work? and they always seem to have a smile on their faces. typical welcoming committee, wholesome small town edition, i suppose.

i was a bit wary at first. still am. but it's been a couple weeks since i moved in. no one's asked the questions i've expected yet. no mob is calling for my blasphemous head. everything and everyone i speak to actually exists, which is a relief. so things are okay. 

for now.

no idea what the future holds, but i recently registered for classes at the community college here. it's much more affordable than the schools in NY, even for a newcomer like me. (guess enrollment must be pretty low over here.) no friends, but the few neighbors i've met seem friendly. there seem to still be teens my age over here, so that gives me some comfort. the house my mome left me is already paid for and has all the furniture and appliances i need. i just need to pay for utilities and maintain the house.

that's why i got the job at the bookstore. it's pretty cool, run by this weird old lady who likes to cackle and rant about the new age occult scene. says my generation doesn't know how to properly communicate with the Old Ones, and that will lead to our ultimate downfall. 

things like that. 

she has a lot of weird takes, now that i think about it, but i'm not gonna argue logic and reason with the crazy lady signing my paychecks.

not much else to say at the moment. i mean, there's more but. this was just supposed to be an intro. i don't wanna vomit out everything in my head. not yet. 

(Dr. Dimaggio, if you're seeing this, you already know. so there's really no point anyway.)

so i guess i'll be signing off. i'll update this when something happens or if there's something i wanna get off my chest.

later.

signed,

V.D.

[keepthisholykiss]

everyone is sharing their life changing/impactful text they read in highschool and many people are (rightfully) including shakespeare but my life changing shakespeare experiences were before high school and I want to yell in the void about them so

when I was a small six year old weirdo there was a traveling shakespeare education program. they came to the under funded schools that didn't have towns with theatre. at six years old I sat in my multipurpose room to watch some college kids perform for this troupe and it was there i saw a woman playing hamlet and my entire course of life immediately changed. I was OBSESSED i did NOT fully grasp it but i didn't care I knew it was the most important thing in the world to me. when i close my eyes i can still see some of the scenes it was so wonderful.

this same company came to my schools every year until i hit high school. i watched macbeth, midsummer, julius caeser, henry v, and so many others. when i was ten my grandpa started taking me to library book sales to buy 10 cent copies of paperbacks and one day i found a complete works of shakespeare that made my eyes wide and i begged him to spend the 5 or 7 or whatever dollars for it. i sat up in my room every night reading scenes i didn't fully grasp and when i was 12 i walked into a drama class for the first time and my teacher made us read the duel scene from romeo and juliet, a play i somehow hadn't read or watched yet, and i went home that night and devoured it. i completed the canon at god knows what age and then i did again and again because it was the thing that made me the most excited about art and reading. i didn't have the desire or god knows the access to ever act or join clubs or anything. just one drama class with a retiring english teacher who hated english class. so i only ever read plays and kept them to myself.

a whole lot of things happened in my life that made me have to stop paying attention to writing and reading and enjoying theatre but i found it again when i turned 23 and it literally saved me from the world i had been sucked down into against my will. it brought me my own identity and my now wife and my masters studies and soon my phd studies. and it wasn't something i experienced in high school or college even but it was a seed planted that grew into some of my most favorite parts of my childhood and the only bright moments for me throughout life. anyway i think art and theatre and books that impact us at any age or time are good and important and im glad we can have that experience.

[hannieween]

the shadow | yoon jeonghan

› pairings: yoon jeonghan x female reader › aus: demon hunter jeonghan, supernatural au, demon reader › genres: angst, smut (18+) › word count: 10.6k

› 🎧: truth be told – baekhyun | blame – i.m | slidin' – kai | ribbon – dpr ian | burn it – bibi ft. dean | show me – devita | shadow – ten | lovememore – dosii | fuxxin' love (2019) – OoOo | hold me down – hyejin

› proofread by the lovelies @gyuhao5 and @monamipencil ty 🩵

› this is part 3 of the curse - hannieween fest

› warnings after the cut! READ THEM CAREFULLY 🗣️

› warnings: violence: abduction (not jeonghan at reader or the way around), yandere undertones, toxic relationship, smut with plot, unprotected p in v sex, creampie, comfort fuck, switch reader, switch jeonghan, jeonghan is down atrocious, dirty talk, cowgirl, worship. pet names: little demon, baby, (hers)

› disclaimer: minors dni this post is intended for 18+ readers. please have your age stated in your description and try not to look like a bot please 🙂

the shadow

THE GROUND VIBRATED BENEATH YOUR FEET. It was a Friday night, and the city was alive with desire and sin. The streets were busy with people going around, and the buzzing from their souls was distracting, making you hungry.

But, living in the human world as a demon meant that you had to keep your head down. It would be incredibly dumb on your part to start a carnage in the middle of the street. Besides, you were odd, since you liked living amongst them like you were part of their world too.

In that same vein, you had adopted some of their nature too, so you were running late for work. It was your third month working in a small local pub in the town you used to live. It was a simple enough job. You had found out that you had a natural talent for tending to drunken people, and they found themselves naturally attracted to you. So, suffice it to say, that you earned a good amount of tips every night.

“I’m sorry, I’m late,” you said, removing the scarf you wore on your neck and hanging it on the coat rack.

“You’re only wearing that?” your co-worker, Daisy stared at you as though you were an odd bug. “It’s cold as a witch’s teat outside.”

“Witches are cool. That is why I am team cold,” you sighed, grabbing your pen and a notepad. “How’s it been?”

“Slow,” Daisy replied with a dead tone. “A passerby asked for you,” she mentioned offhandedly as she looked at her reflection in a hand mirror, checking out her lipstick.

“Who?” you frowned. You had a few regulars that admittedly only came to see you, but Daisy would know them by name.

“Some random weirdo,” she shrugged. “Didn’t say your name, but he gave your description to the last hair on your head. Creepy.”

You grew more intrigued, turning to her to see the disinterest on her face. “What did you tell him?”

“To fuck off, naturally,” she replied with the same ease. “He refused to give me his name, so I refused to give him details about you.”

“Is he still here?” you asked, walking towards the door and sneaking a glance through the small round window to the pub.

“He’s sitting on one of the stools. If it gets to it, I already warned Mike about him,” she smirked triumphantly, crossing her arms. “I wouldn’t mind having a little fun watching him throw that creep out. It would make my Friday night.”

In the bar, you saw a man, sitting on the far side of the row of stools. He kept his head down, so it was nearly impossible for you to discern the features of his face. But one thing you knew, it was the first time that you had seen him.

“Well, I suppose that my Friday night just got more interesting.”

Daisy sent you a knowing look, her shoulders going slack in a sign of defeat. “Don’t tell me you’re going to talk to that guy?” she asked with an incredulous tone. “I was a bitch to him, I gave him the middle finger already! All for nothing?”

“We’ll find out,” you smirked at her, pushing the door open and stepping out of the backroom of the pub and into the warm and cozy place, buzzing with the sounds of the people gathering, clinking their jars and laughing out loud.

Some people greeted you with nods and waves of their hands, some people called your name whenever you strolled around the pub, between the tables and chairs. Usually, you would make your way to the first table that waved you down, but this time, you walked straight behind the bar.

“Hi, Mikey,” you greeted with a sing-song tone. “How’s it going?”

“Like any Friday night,” the older man spoke, he was about a foot taller than you, his beard adorned with gray hairs. “A guy is looking for you, Daisy told me,” he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. “First sign of trouble, tell me.”

“Thank you, Mikey,” you sighed, showing him a smile. Something within you stirred with something akin to satisfaction. To be surrounded by people who take care of you, in the best way humanely possible, made you feel special, and welcomed.

If only they knew. If they knew that you were very much capable of handling any trouble, even more capable than Mikey to kick out any drunkard without batting an eye. But they did not have to know, in fact, you were trying your best to keep your head down, and avoid drawing attention to yourself.

However, that happened naturally to you. People glanced your way without you even looking for it. So you made your way to the end of the bar, stopping in front of the person sitting on the last stool.

He wore a black leather jacket, his hair equally dark was long and arranged in a ponytail, some hairs hanging on the sides in a messy fringe. He toyed with the rim of his jar, half emptied already.

“You’ve been looking for me?” you placed your elbows neatly on the countertop, leaning slightly so you could sneak a better look to his face.

The man beat you to it, raising his head so he could direct a careful glance over you, sizing you up. Once he gathered with his eyes every detail of your physique, he nodded. “Yeah, that might be you who I’m looking for,” he said offhandedly, tilting his head to one side.

You coughed, getting an uncomfortable feeling as he eyed you up and down. “What can I help you with?”

He pushed his tongue against the inside of his cheek. You could not make out what he was about, and that was when you started to get a flight or fight feeling. Like a prey who is being sighted by its killer, far between the lines of discretion.

“I want you to tell me,” he began, keeping his voice low and his brown eyes on your face. “Why does a demon live between humans? Isn’t that surpassing the line of playing with your food?”

You froze in an instant, fear of being caught sizzling underneath your skin. “Who are you?” you asked.

“I should be asking that to you,” he frowned. “Listen, I see that you care about the humans that are around you right now, so, I’d suggest that we take this conversation elsewhere, away from any potential casualties.”

“What if I don’t care about the humans around me?” you countered, making him pause and consider your words. “Like you said, what if I like playing with my food?”

He narrowed his brown eyes, his lips forming a syllable, but then they broke into a grin. “You’re lying.”

You looked at him in pure perplexion. You had heard about demon hunters before in your short life as a demon. But you never had the opportunity to come across one, so you never really cared.

“Are you a hunter?” you asked, silently reprimanding yourself for showing that you were actually shaken by his presence.

He was dark. Alluring, even. If you dared to glimpse past his mask, you saw a smoking light dancing inside him, it was his soul.

“I am,” he nodded politely, as though he had a rule to keep diplomacy before he hunted you down.

“Suppose I don’t get a name?” you smirked, trying to keep your nerves in line.

“Only if I get yours first.”

That was smart. The hunter knew that there was a power in knowing your name. Demons were creatures of subservience. They were ruled by sin, by corruption. But as such, they had to be kept in check somehow. And when you knew a demon’s domain, you could practically rule them. If you were strong enough.

You stuck out your hand to him, smiling before uttering your name. “At your service.”

The hunter raised his brown eyes, you saw the confusion in them. Your brazenness was not something out of the ordinary for demons who were in the human world like you, but the nerve to give out your name like that did its work to shake him. But he took your hand, all the same, slightly parting his mouth. “Yoon Jeonghan.”

Both of you stilled, your hand instinctively tightening around his as a foreign, but also so familiar feeling crept inside you, gripping you wholly. You sucked in a breath, your eyes glazing over. Oh, no, your mind echoed. Is this…

A bond. And not just any bond.

Yoon Jeonghan frowned, his mouth agape, his eyes teary as he shared that feeling with you. And you waited to see if he knew the reason behind the preternatural sensation coiling around his heart. But he remained motionless, did not even protest when you slipped your hand out of his grip. The turbulent fire inside him calmed down when his dark eyes met yours.

The hunter cleared his throat, blinking dumbly as he jumped down the stool, exiting the place without saying a word.

And that is how you meet Yoon Jeonghan. Your soulmate.

A year went by like water slipping through your fingers. Seasons changed and you welcomed each one of them like any regular human would, except that instead of wearing a costume on Halloween like everyone else, you would just display your horns on your head. Instead of celebrating Christmas, you would go out on a hunt for sins, which oddly enough was a day with many to choose from.

But one thing that was a constant in your life for the whole year round, was the push and pull with Yoon Jeonghan.

Many nights had passed since your last encounter with him, the night you confessed to having been starving yourself of human sins in the fruitless attempt to become human yourself. Nights had turned into weeks, then months, three to be exact. Now you were running from him, only stopping to feed from him.

You were out one night, enjoying the buzzing from the streets of the city. The excitement you felt around you from human souls was nearly making your mouth water. That was until you felt someone tracking you, a distant shadow that kept you out of your line of sight.

He had been lurking for too long, following you from town to town, through the shadows that the tall buildings of the city cast. Following you like a monster on a leash.

You smirked secretly, looking over your shoulder to see his silhouette wrapped in shadows. Jeonghan had found you again, just like he always would. As long as you and him lived, you would always cross each other’s paths.

It had become a game for you. And now it was time to run.

Being a demon was freeing in so many ways. Now that you were at your full strength, you were also freed from all kinds of inhibitions. You did not need a house or shelter, you did not possess belongings or extra clothes.

So you just sprung into a run, quickly devising a plan to escape from this city, and hit the next town until Jeonghan found you again. The city passed you in a blur, and soon your surroundings turned into walls made of thick trees.

You were not sure if Jeonghan knew you were playing a game. At this point, he was just as enslaved to it as you were, running away, only to be found by him. An endless push and pull.

But this felt different to all the times he loomed on your back. No, this was a first. Jeonghan kept himself far away from you out of shame, yes. However, this time it was not a shame for liking you, nor not being able to resist you.

Jeonghan was sorry.

And he would watch you tear through a different town until he mustered all the strength he needed to come to you, announcing himself between the shadows, tail between his legs. You were completely familiar with that. But now you just decided to make him suffer a little.

Other times, you did not resist him; you would take him wherever you could, an empty alleyway. The last time you did this, you took him in the backseat of his car, fucking him until he was a complete mess. You would wait until he fell asleep to exit his car quietly and leave him to wake up completely alone.

Yoon Jeonghan was no fool. He knew you were playing hard to get. He knew that what you were doing was payback for all the times he tried to resist you. All the times he tried to pretend that what he felt for you was some sort of divine retribution.

But in truth, he could not keep allowing himself to be with you. You showed up in his life like a comet falling out of the sky, crashing and burning everything around him, leaving him blind to all reason, too stupid to do anything. So stupid that he lost whatever made sense in his life, and he lost you as well.

Even if he did not actually have you.

Jeonghan sat alone in a booth pushed up to the corner of the diner, where he was slowly chewing the last bits of his breakfast, looking out the window pensively.

The pull he had towards you grew stronger, sometimes thinner, but it was always there. Now that he knew that what he felt was a result of something bigger than him, and than you, he had resorted to analyzing it.

After finishing up his plate, he raised his hand to flag the waitress down, asking for another cup of coffee.

You slid to the seat in front of him with a short sigh, fixing your hair with your hands as if you had just finished jogging, which, Jeonghan thought, could have been the case.

The waitress refilled the cup of coffee, and Jeonghan kindly thanked the lady, pushing the cup to you to then hand you the sugar.

“Did you know I was close?” you asked, bewildered at noticing how quickly Jeonghan had learned to discern your proximity by using the bond.

Jeonghan was tempted to say that he also knew how you liked your coffee. Two sugars, no milk. But that had nothing to do with the bond. So, he just nodded with his head.

“Well, that’s no fun,” you muttered, pouring the sugar on the teaspoon, one, two and sending him a look, you poured a little more sugar.

Jeonghan smiled quietly, it was not a happy smile. “I supposed you would grow bored if I stopped following you across the country. I was right.”

You rolled your eyes. “No. I’m here because I’m hungry,” you said flatly, raising your hand to flag the waitress down.

He also knew that. And not only that, but he also knew that you did not need waffles and bacon, your favorite. You needed something that would never be found on a diner’s menu. Or any restaurant’s menu for that matter.

“Can I have waffles with syrup, please?” you asked with a sweet tone, beaming at the lady. “Oh, and can I have bacon with that?”

Jeonghan looked at the way you smiled at the waitress, his stomach tightening a little in both nervousness and something more, it was a foreign feeling.

He noticed how the woman tensed up at your presence. Humans had a natural fight-or-flight response to demons, but with you, they just assumed it was because of your natural beauty. Or your assertiveness.

“And you suppose I can help ease your hunger?” Jeonghan asked, keeping an eye on the surroundings for any signs of danger, in case you and him needed to run.

“Yeah,” you responded in an obvious tone, taking a small sip from your cup of coffee.

Jeonghan noticed the way you carefully pressed your lips on the rim, as though you could burn yourself.

“I mean, how else am I going to pay for this?” you smirked, placing your chin on your hands, expecting him to laugh, or to say something quippy at you.

“Fine,” Jeonghan said, releasing a puffy sigh in annoyance.

He wondered if this would lead to a serious conversation about what happened the last time you talked. But chances were, you were just having more fun torturing him.

He deserved it.

Something deep inside him pulsated, kicking the air out of his lungs. The feeling rippled, it went on as he blinked and found you, looking equally astounded. But you recuperated faster than him, you usually did.

“How did you know?” Jeonghan heard himself blurt, his tone rough as though he had been screaming for hours. “About the bond?”

You cleared your throat, composing yourself on the seat by resuming to stir your coffee. “I’ve lived in the underworld, Jeonghan, I know how a bond behaves and feels like,” you said, eyeing the woman closing up to leave your breakfast on the table. “Thank you, ma’am,” you smiled politely.

“I thought bonds were only made after making a deal with a demon,” Jeonghan mumbled, keeping his tone in a volume only you would be able to hear. “You and I have never struck a deal.”

“Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Einstein,” you quipped, taking a generous piece of waffles bathed in syrup to your mouth. You moaned blissfully, the sound was not sexual, but it had several eyes drawn to you.

Jeonghan knew why, your voice was sweet, appealing to the human senses. It also had an effect on him, but that was because of an entirely different reason. He cleared his throat too.

“Bonds made with deals or promises are quite common. No, this is different,” you said after gulping down the waffles with coffee. “You and I were made with this bond. It’s always existed for us.”

He looked at you confusedly as you tore through your breakfast. “What do you mean we were made with the bond?”

You dragged the last bit of waffles through the pool of syrup on your plate. “We were born with it.”

“You were born…” he trailed off.

“I was made, Jeonghan,” you pointed your fork at him, narrowing your eyes at him.

“I knew that,” he said, blinking slowly. “But following your logic, you had to be born at the same time as me.”

“Time is different in the underworld,” you reminded him, chewing slowly to enjoy the last bit off your plate. “I’m actually a little bit older than you.”

Jeonghan had assumed that as well. Though he knew you were a fairly younger demon from the ones he has faced, you had to be older than him, guessing by your physical strength alone. “So you’ve known all this time.”

You nodded, pushing your empty plate aside. “Ever since we spoke to each other,” you crossed your arms on the table, directing a serious look at him. “I’ve always known, Jeonghan.”

“You could’ve told me just to toss it at my face,” he pointed, there was no venom in his words, he was as confused as he was the night you left him. “All this time, I thought that this was some sort of retribution, a divine cause and effect I had to endure for wanting to be around you. Why didn’t you tell me?”

At that, you lowered your eyes in guilt. “I never thought it would make a difference. I never thought you would believe me, so I never said anything.”

Jeonghan felt a kind of pain he had never felt before he met you. It coiled around his heart, it was remorse because he knew what you did not want to say, what he could not bring himself to do.

Because even after you told him, he did nothing. It did not make a difference. He still refused you, he refused to give in.

“Can I help you with something else?” the waitress approached, addressing him intently.

You kept your head down, so Jeonghan never saw the glimmer in your eyes from the tears that were beginning to form.

“The bill, please,” he said, but he was quickly distracted.

You were sliding on the seat, walking away from the table, and then pushing the door open, exiting the diner.

“Shit,” Jeonghan muttered under his breath, reaching for his wallet, and pulling out a bill, quickly leaving the place to follow you, knowing that by the time he reached outside, you would be gone.

You were nowhere to be seen, Jeonghan scouted with his gaze his surroundings, were you mocking him again?

When he turned around, he let out a short breath in relief. You were sitting on the passenger seat of his car, aloofly checking the roots of your hair, pretending to ignore him while hiding a smile.

Jeonghan sent his gaze skyward, trying to find some patience in the grim-looking sky. It would rain soon, and you did not have somewhere to crash now that you were effectively on the run and alone.

He decided to go along with whatever crazed plan you were crafting, he felt he was in no position to do otherwise, but to follow. Even if you were just toying with him in revenge.

You followed him with your eyes as he went around the car, yanking the door open and sliding to the seat silently. “Where are we heading to?” you asked, primly tucking your hands between your thighs.

“We’re skipping town,” he said, turning the key on the engine.

“Already?” you turned slightly to get your seatbelt on. “I thought you would like this town.”

“Why is that?” he kept his town flat, trying to keep the discontent at bay.

“It’s lonely,” you said sweetly. “For lonely people such as you.”

“We need the opposite of lonely right now,” he replied, trying to ignore to the best of his ability to omit the fact that the last town he lived in was solely because he could keep an eye on you that way.

“Mn,” you hummed pensively. “You’re no fun when you’re angry and quiet,” you pointed with a knowing tone, turning to look out the window.

Jeonghan arched an eyebrow, trying to appear as nonchalant as ever, he leaned his head to his hand, an elbow propped on the windowsill.

You read his silence, your lip curling a little in a smile. “You know that I can also read you, right?”

“I don’t want to fight with you,” he muttered tiredly, avoiding to look your way.

You clicked your tongue but decided to keep quiet. Jeonghan was frustrated, that much you knew, telling from the rigidness of his movements, the way his hand tightened around the steering wheel. Two fingers rubbed his bottom lip harshly, he kept that motion for so long that you thought that it had to burn him at some point.

But aside from that, you could see the enraged flame inside him, dancing erratically from the moment you showed up at the diner. You knew that your tantrum had run its course, and he was now trying not to tell you how miserable you had made him these past few weeks.

And he knew that you were only turning to him so you could feed. That had been obvious from the moment he saw you. Your skin was colorless and dry, the bags under your eyes were prominent, and not only that, Jeonghan probably assumed that you no longer wanted to consume human souls, only his sins.

Soon, you entered a new city that welcomed you with a big sign, Welcome to Veridian Bay! leading to a bridge crossing over the waterfront and into the big city with big, tall buildings.

You leaned to the window to take a look at how tall the buildings stood, the streets were busy with people, and everything was alive with buzzing sounds. Jeonghan kept driving deep into the city, until you reached a quieter part, away from the tall buildings, the shiny stores and flashy signs.

“What are we doing here?” you asked, looking curiously at the big shopping mall he just parked his car in front of.

“We need to buy clothes,” he directed a judging look at you.

“What’s wrong with mine?” you asked to no end. Your clothes were torn and filthy, another reason why people threw you second looks at every place you walked into, demon allure or not.

Jeonghan exited the car, and you followed him closely, as though you were trying not to lose him in between the people.

“I have a question,” you said, sticking to his side to shield yourself from the weird looks you were receiving. You did not care about it, but you wanted to keep a low profile as much as you could. “What happened to the two hunters?”

“They stopped chasing you,” he replied in a quiet tone, leading you to a department store.

Everything was bright with colors, and shiny lights hanging from the ceiling. Rows of clothing racks are laid in front of you in an elaborate maze. You had been to malls before, but never to one as big as this. And definitely never with Jeonghan.

“Do you think I’m free from them, then?” you yanked your gaze from a row of pretty blouses, your fingers itching to touch the fabric.

“Not by a long shot, no,” he answered, tensing beside you when your arm brushed his. “Choose something quickly, the shorter we stay here, the better.”

You grabbed a plain white t-shirt, measuring it over your torso and facing the mirror where Jeonghan stood, watching you intently. “Do you think this one goes with my body type?” you asked fruitlessly.

He just huffed, rolling his eyes swiftly. “Stop playing,” he said, looking around precatively. “We need to find somewhere safe to stay, and you need to feed soon.”

The way he gritted out the words allowed for the quiet rage simmering inside him slip through. A light shock appeared on his face, much as if he heard his own words and quickly forced himself to composure.

Jeonghan was mad, and you were the reason why the flame inside him was growing into a merciless fire burning inside him.

“Alright,” you hummed, picking a pair of jeans, a long t-shirt and undergarments.

Jeonghan followed you as you made your way to the queue line to pay. His mind was once again buzzing with questions, if anything, the conversation back in the diner left him even more confused.

He had thought all this time that what he felt for you was some kind of joke. The insane lust, the deep craving, the endless nights he spent thinking about you, dreaming about you… all because of a supernatural bond he never had control of.

You made a tiny cooing sound, making him snap his gaze to where you stood in line. You were lifting a finger to match with a baby’s pointer finger. The baby girl was looking over the shoulder of her mother who queued up in front of you. Somehow, you had attracted the focus of the baby, and you were now caught up in her big eyes, in her dimpled hands.

Jeonghan’s stomach twisted violently. You smiled at the baby as she wrapped her tiny hand around your finger, laughing with you. The feeling tightening inside him was completely alien to him, he wanted to get rid of it as you would an illness.

He never understood why it was impossible for him to fight against you. He used to think that your innate allure created that attraction he felt for you, he used to think that you were playing games on him.

But that did not explain one thing. As he watched your joyous smile, he realized that what he felt was not entirely carnal. He recalled what he felt that night he knew you were slipping away, the fear of losing you.

The tight feeling coiled inside his chest when you lifted your eyes at him, keeping that joy with you from being paid attention to by an innocent baby. The interaction had been so pure and out of the ordinary for you that it brought a spark to your dark eyes.

The knot inside him broke free, blooming inside him freely, filling his chest with a warmth that was nearly intoxicating.

“Are you okay, hunter?” you asked quietly, noticing the change in his eyes, the quiet rage dying down at the same time the look of bewilderment on his face set in.

“Yeah,” he forced out, pulling out his wallet from the pocket of his jacket and handing it to you.

“Thank you,” you whispered awkwardly, still shocked at how suddenly his erratic mood disappeared. What added to the shock was that Jeonghan did not lie to you, he was indeed fine, however, the shock on his face was confusing to you. 

“One bed, again?” you deadpanned.

Jeonghan closed the door to the small motel room. This one had a leather couch that looked decent compared to the thin white curtains that allowed for the light coming from the street outside to seep through.

“What’s the point in asking for two beds?” Jeonghan shrugged, taking off his black leather jacket as he let out a cough.

“I’d appreciate it if you actually made some effort in swaying me,” you mentioned off-handedly as you started zipping down your hoodie. “I’m still a lady, you know?”

At that, Jeonghan chuckled. “You are as much as a lady as I am a gentleman, so,” he shrugged. “There’s the couch, if you care that much.”

“You’re right,” you snapped your fingers at him. “You can sleep on the couch, I’ll sleep on the bed!”

Jeonghan rolled his eyes. “Whatever,” he said, raising his arms to grab his tight black shirt and pull it over his head.

You stopped, dead in your tracks. Jeonghan had a very deceiving build, most would think he was lean and due to his affection for dark clothes, he masked himself well to curious eyes. But in fact, Jeonghan had a toned body, a low bulk that had been built up due to the nature of his work.

His milky white skin was adorned with scars, bruises and bitemarks from creatures he hunted down. As he removed the sleeves from his arms, he sent you a look. “What?” he blurted.

You were too caught up to come up with a lie, but something deep inside you recoiled in nervousness. “I was just looking at you,” you mumbled meekly, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “You’re gawking.”

You shrugged. “Can’t blame me. You’d be gawking too if I suddenly decided to strip naked.”

“Tsk,” he smiled playfully, throwing the t-shirt on the couch. “It would be fair game, at least.”

“Shut up,” you sighed, rolling your eyes at him. But still, you stared at his fingers undoing the belt of his black denim jeans, pulling it from the hoops.

“Alright, then,” he said, giving his belt the same treatment, discarding it on the couch. He placed his hands on his hips, his torso forming a perfect inverted triangle. “Are you going to keep playing dumb with me?”

You arched one eyebrow at him, too surprised at his bluntness to even speak. Gaping, you stood there for a second, trying to decide on deflection or acceptance.

“I don’t know what you mean,” you turned your back on him, mustering all the will in you to not glance his way. You started rummaging in the bag of clothes, pulling out an I love kitties shirt that you got as a nightgown. It had a doodle of an orange cat on it.

“Please,” he huffed, and you bit your bottom lip. “You can’t lie to me so don’t try to treat me like I’m stupid.”

“Take a hint, hunter. I don’t want to talk about this,” you said but failed to coat your words with enough venom.

A hand circled around your wrist, pulling you to his body, commanding you to face him. With a gasp, you yanked back, looking at him furiously. But his gaze smothered that fire inside you at once. “You left,” he said, the trouble in his mind mirrored in his dark gaze. “You left me.”

“Yeah, I left because you could not even talk to me, Jeonghan,” you replied, trying to step back from him, the back of your knees finding the bed.

He gave you an incredulous look. “I’ve spent three months chasing you across the fucking country,” he said. “You only stop running when you need to feed from me. I’ve paid enough, don’t you think?”

“I’ll be the one to decide that,” you gritted, betraying yourself. Your eyes started brimming with tears, angry tears, sorrowful tears. They carried all the misery that you had lived as his soulmate.

“What do you want from me?” he demanded, his tone rising in exasperation.

“Nothing,” you muttered, shying away. You lowered your face, bringing a hand to wipe the wetness on your cheeks.

“That’s not true.”

As you raised your head, you involuntarily sniffled. “Well, you know what I want, Jeonghan.”

Jeonghan gaped at you for a moment, choking on his argument. He knew then that nothing would give peace to this fight because there was no solution to this.

You wanted to become human. In your mind, it was the only way you could stop feeding from his lust, his greed. It was the only way to make you stop feeding from human souls. And by that, you would not be hunted down for being a demon. Jeonghan would not have to feel remorseful every time he looked at you.

But it was something uncertain. You did not know whether the path to becoming human would even work, or if you would survive it.

“Is there a way to end this?” Jeonghan asked, his heart stammering painfully in his chest.

“End what?” you asked slowly.

He blinked for a long second, gathering his strength. “Is there a way to break the bond?”

The question robbed you of air, and Jeonghan could see it in your gentle exhale. Your eyes glinting with sorrow, wide and looking at his face as though you had trouble assimilating his words.

“You-you want to break the bond?” you asked, stuttering under an overwhelming pain.

“Is it possible?” he pressed, breathing hard, trying to shake off the numbing pain in his heart.

“N-no, I don’t know,” you sucked in a breath, which he understood to be a sob. “D-do you want to break it, Jeonghan?”

“If it means we’re free from each other then yes,” he whispered, hating the look in your eyes with a passion that he could not stand. He was causing that pain and in turn, he felt it too.

But maybe what you felt for each other was not real. Maybe once the bond is broken, you would realize that what you felt for him was all a farce, he thought.

You rubbed the pads of your fingers against the corner of your eye. “M-maybe,” you mumbled. “But I don’t think so. One of us would have to die, I think,” you spoke with uncertainty because you were sure that the bond would not be broken, not even then.

“You don’t know if your way of becoming human will work,” he mumbled, trying to reason with you. But the truth was, he felt guilty for making you cry.

And you could feel the guilt, it swarmed around him like an angry cloud.

“I know one thing,” you raised your eyes, heedlessly showing him how affected you were by this. “I wouldn’t have to feel how fucking miserable you are when you’re with me,” you spat.

Jeonghan went still, as though petrified. The only thing that moved in him was his gaze, heavy with a dangerous darkness, it coasted over the features of your face. “Is that what you think I am? Miserable?”

“No, Jeonghan, I know it,” you replied with a shaky tone. “I can feel it in you. When you look at me when you touch me.”

He yanked his gaze from you, running a hand on his face while blinking his anger away rapidly. “You don’t know shit,” he hissed at you, motioning to turn his back on you but quickly decided against it.

“Oh, yeah?” you taunted.

“Yeah, you don’t know shit,” he doubled down, his voice raw. “You think that because you can sense what I feel it means that it’s all because of you,” he spat, taking a step closer to you but you raised a hand, trying to stop him, but he insisted, grabbing your hands to stop you instead.

“Then what is it?” you pressed.

“Ever since I met you nothing has made sense in my life,” he hissed, leaning over you. “I hate myself,” he shuddered, swallowing hard. “I hate myself because even if you were human, I wouldn’t have anything to offer you. I can’t even say that I’m sorry because it’s the truth. I can’t give you what you want.”

You looked at him in plain shock. It was such a shame that the only person in the world who saw you for who you were still rejected you. The pain from that realization shook you hard, so hard in fact that you physically recoiled from him, closing your eyes to let your tears go.

Jeonghan watched your tears roll down your cheeks, the silence in the room broken by the occasional intake of breath coming from you. But he stood there, silently cursing life and its way of making fun of him. He was raised to not want anything in life. Not shelter, nor warmth. His sad world, cold as ice and hard as stone. He would have followed this path blindly until the day of his untimely death.

But the truth was, he did want one thing in life. He wanted you. And it was killing him not to admit that.

“I…” you croaked, opening your eyes after a long second. A gaping hole in your heart tried to suck you in. “I thank you for the clothes, Jeonghan,” you said dejectedly, turning away from him and walking towards the door.

Jeonghan stared at the wall in front of him, your arm brushing his as you passed him by. His mind reeled wildly, considering what he went through the last time you walked away from him. “Where do you think you’re going?” he blurted.

“That is none of your concern.”

“Like hell it is,” he said, grabbing your arm before you could reach for the doorknob. You sent him another one of those looks, a dangerous animal realizing it had been caught. “You’re not safe out there.”

“Like you give a shit,” you said, pushing him away with one hand on his chest.

But he grabbed that hand, pulling you to his frame with a sharp tug. “Yeah, what do you even know about me?” he challenged, his words cold. “I wouldn’t be protecting you, chasing you if I didn’t give a shit about you.”

“I would prefer that you didn’t,” you bit back.

“That’s not true,” he said, but his tone rose in desperation. He released your arm, fear crossing his features when he realized that if you walked, he would have to let you go.

“You have a very weird way to show that you care, Jeonghan,” you mumbled, understanding where that fear came from. Because all this time, you accepted the turbulence in his thoughts, in his soul. If you decided to go, he would let you.

The heavy darkness in his gaze dissolved as the features of his face relaxed. The gentle resignation swept over him, reminding you how hard it was for him to even comprehend what the bond was.

Jeonghan had two ways to show his emotions, either through carnal desire or brute force. One of them was the one that was unleashed in the vicious cycle he had with you.

But you welcomed it all the same. He took one step towards you, reaching for you as though fearful you might step away. His hand found the side of your head, the other sliding on your waist, gripping you gently before his lips met yours.

The kiss was slow, tentative at first, showing you an apologetic need to you. But you were still to fueled up from the argument, finding his bare chest with your hands to push him off you.

Jeonghan looked sad for a second, but he quickly understood that you were angry, and looking to make him pay. You pushed him again, more forcefully, but he was stronger than you, stepping towards you like a magnet that refused to keep away from you.

His hands returned to their previous positions, as you found his shoulder with one hand, his nape with the other, welcoming him with a vehement kiss. He groaned under your touch, revelling at the fact that you were kissing him even though you were being harsh with it.

Jeonghan broke the kiss abruptly. “I’m sorry,” he gasped, the turbulence inside him dying down, like smothering a fire.

“You should be sorry,” you mumbled on his lips, diving for another hungry kiss before pushing him by the shoulders, and shoving him onto the couch behind him. He sat down, gasping in surprise at the brute force you used on him. A wolfish grin appeared on his lips when you walked over to him, sitting down on his lap, straddling him.

His hands welcomed you, grabbing you by the waist to give you a squeeze. He thought of all the nights he has had the opportunity to be like this with you, and the nights he wished he had never let you go. “I don’t want to break it,” he confessed, tilting his head back to meet your eyes. “The bond. I don’t want to break it,” he repeated.

“Then why did you say…?”

“What if what we feel for each other isn’t real?” he blurted the tight feeling inside him protesting in pain when he spoke those words.

You smiled at him sweetly, making him feel worse. “What do you feel for me, Jeonghan?” you baited.

He swallowed hard, instead of communicating with words, he carefully brought a hand to cup your cheek, his fingers caressing your skin in the process. He pulled your face closer to his, eyeing your lips and then your eyes before giving you a sweet kiss. You reciprocated the kiss, outlining his bottom lip with the tip of your tongue, slowly meeting his.

“Do you think all people with bonds feel this for each other, Jeonghan?” you mused. When he was unable to speak out an answer, you continued. “I think the bond only helped us find each other. The rest just happened on its own.”

Jeonghan listened to your words intently, his gaze coasting the features of your face. You’re your eyes, to your mouth and back again. His fingers grabbed the hem of your t-shirt, tugging it up your torso.

You raised your hands, helping him take your t-shirt off. He sighed, his hands returning to hold you, caressing your naked back freely, his breath fanning on the plain of your breasts when he leaned over to plant a kiss on your skin.

You raked his hair with your fingers, getting rid of the hair tie holding his ponytail, making him groan as your fingernails caressed his scalp. His lips reached the swell of one of your breasts, planting wet kisses, enjoying the way you always responded to his touch; your skin prickling in the wake of his lips.

He encircled his arms around your waist, using his strength to trade the positions of your body, placing your body on the sofa, him crawling on top of you. Then he kissed you, he kissed you with such force that you thought you might break. It was electrifying to have his lips on yours, him moaning your name in between kisses.

Your hands explored his chest, fingertips lingering on his scars, his nipples, his bellybutton. You undid the button of his jeans, tucking your hands between his underwear and his ass, feeling his skin freely as you pushed his jeans and boxers down.

Once he was completely bare, and on top of you, he took his turn taking your shorts and underwear off. He did so without wasting time, effectively leaving you bare on the couch, and under his body.

He leaned over you, placing a hand beside your shoulder to prop his weight on it, lowering the lower half of his body on you. His skin was warm, you could feel everything, the beating of his heart, the soft pubic hairs brushing your skin. He was hard already, his cock pressing on your lower tummy.

There was a pause, as soon as your naked bodies came into contact with each other, something came alight inside you. You knew Jeonghan felt it too, because his reaction was the same as yours. Like sparks firing wildly inside your chest, lingering on your skin, robbing you of air.

“Jeonghan,” you whispered shakily, trying to hold onto the feeling fluttering in your chest.

“I know,” he breathed, leaning so he could give soft pecks to your lips. “I know, baby.”

You sighed a moan, it sounding pathetic as you let him adore your skin. He continued kissing you, your lips, your earlobe, your throat. He hummed softly when he breathed in the scent of your skin when he tasted you on his tongue as he licked your breasts.

You sucked in a breath, caressing his hair as he took one of your nipples in his mouth. “Fuck,” you whispered.  

But he was in a hurry, trailing down your torso with soft, open-mouthed kisses. You moaned, trembling under him as he inched closer and closer to where you needed him the most. Jeonghan knew you better than anyone else on earth, sometimes, you thought he knew your body better than yourself.

“Shit,” you hissed, clenching your jaw as he kissed your mound, pressing his tongue on you’re your skin with a raspy moan on his part. You parted your legs for him, allowing him to lick a broad stripe between your pussy lips, blissfully drinking you in.

The room was flooded with a series of sweet, airy moans from your part. You called out his name multiple times as he ate you out, licking your pussy with soft smacking sounds and low hums. All you could focus on was his tongue on you, gliding on your folds, teasing your clit with flitting motions.

His hands cupped your breasts, the pads of his thumbs swirling around your nipples, pinching softly to bring out more sweet noises from your mouth. You writhed uncontrollably on the sofa, keeping your hands on the back of his head to try and anchor yourself to enjoy his mouth pleasuring your pussy.

But as you drew nearer to your release, you could not just hold out any longer, pressing your hands on the back of his head and pushing your hips to grind your pussy on his tongue. Your mouth parted. “Jeonghan,” you whined, feeling his mouth relax, letting you ride him.

Moving your hips faster on his mouth, you felt his hands squeezing your tits gently, his thumbs teasing your nipples, pushing you to the edge. You closed your eyes as your sweet, sweet release washed over you, sizzling beneath your skin.

Your muscles went lax on the sofa, moaning out his name repeatedly as you felt like dissolving in the aftershocks of your orgasm. But you decided against it in a second, grabbing Jeonghan by the shoulders and urging him to sit back on the sofa.

“What–,”

“Let me ride you,” you mumbled, cutting in before he could protest.

Jeonghan nodded obediently, and you took one whole second to comprehend that he was just letting you do whatever you wanted to him. No complaints, no snarky comments.  

You straddled him, grabbing his cock with one hand and jerking him off a few times just to see the muscles of his face go soft. You smiled, shifting on top of him so you could guide the tip of his cock to your pussy, sinking in him slowly. “Gods,” he breathed, closing his eyes.

“Keep your eyes on me,” you said softly, holding his chin with one hand. You lifted your hips slightly, letting them roll on him as you sat back down, eliciting a short groan from him. “That’s it, baby. Feel me. Do you like that?”

Jeonghan blinked slowly, pushing his tongue on his bottom lip before nodding.

“Words, Jeonghan, use them.”

He obediently kept his gaze on you, like you were the moon, and he was looking at you for the first time in ages. “I love it,” he replied with a strangled tone. “I love your pussy. I love how it feels around me.”

Jeonghan dropped his head back on the headrest of the couch, swallowing his moans, his fingers clenching around your hips. “I love your taste too,” he choked out, much as if he needed to say it but barely found the strength to do so, enraptured by pleasure.

One of the corners of your lips curled slowly as you rolled your hips on him, inch by inch, tortuously slow. “Oh, yeah?” you breathed, closing your eyes briefly to savour the feeling of his worshipping washing over you, making your blood dance under your skin.

“Yes,” he hissed out the word and now you knew he was trying to resist himself. “I miss your smell when you’re not near me. Drives me crazy.”

You giggled quietly, knowing that he was letting go of his deepest thoughts.

His fingers dug into your skin hard enough to leave marks. You opened your eyes, seeing the strain in his voice reflecting on his face, his teary eyes coasting all over your body. “Le-let me come, please. I needed you so much, baby. I don’t think I’ll last any longer.”

You held onto his lean shoulders to lift your hips off him, his wet cock slipping out of your walls and leaning to one side on his lower abdomen, the tip was reddened, a vein tracing on his wet shaft.

Jeonghan groaned, closing his eyes tightly to let out a shaky sigh. “Please,” he sighed. “I want to come inside you,” he said but did not make a move to slip his cock back into your cunt.

“Say you’re sorry,” you murmured.

And there it was, the hole in your chest opening once again, sucking you back in.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, not wasting a second, he said again, “I’m sorry, I let you go.”

You showed him an empty smile, which you pressed onto his lips, grabbing his chin again. “Don’t let me go again,” you pleaded but masked your words to sound sweet, not letting it show that his apology, though forced out of the need for release, was making you feel pain.

Jeonghan returned the light smile, though he was genuine with it. “Never,” he whispered, wrapping an arm on your lower back to keep you in balance as you sank down on his cock again, making him shudder in pleasure. “I promise.”

“Jeonghan–,” you gasped, pausing the sway of your hips on him to look at him perplexedly. “Don’t make promises, you’ll–,”

“I promise I won’t walk away from you,” he said, his dark eyes coasting all over the features of your face.

You closed your eyes, shuddering hard at the tingling rush of blood swimming in your veins; the bond tightening due to the force of the promise setting. “Jeonghan, don’t,” you whispered in plea.

Stopping the movement of your hips completely, you hugged his shoulders, trailing the hair of his nape with your fingers. You breathed raggedly, just as he was by the weight of a new promise binding you both.

“I want this,” he whispered shakily. “Let me.”

“You don’t know what this means for you,” you warned, a violent shudder shaking your body on top of him.

He hugged you tightly to his body as if shielding you from the world. “I do, and I want it,” he reassured.

“Jeonghan…”

But he just went on, “Like you said, we’re meant to be, we’ve always have been,” he said with a low raspy tone, blinking in an enamoured way at you. “And I am sorry it took me so long to accept it. I’m sorry.”

A sob coiled in your throat, fingers curling around the long strands of his dark hair. “I forgive you,” you whispered, daring to give him a shy kiss.

Jeonghan trembled underneath you, reciprocating your kiss with so much delicacy that it could break your heart. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”

You stilled completely, your breath coiling in your throat. “Me too,” you finally confessed.

“It’s okay, baby,” he breathed, moving his arms so he no longer wrapped your body in them, but his hands gripped your hips, urging you to retake the motion that he so desperately needed.

So you did, swaying your hips on top of him, moaning sweetly when his hands roved all over your back, caressing your skin, his fingers trailing on the spot he knew your wings grew. You shuddered hard, sinking on his length with more urgency. “Jeonghan,” you moaned, crushing your mouth on him.

Jeonghan hummed in response, smiling at you when you broke the kiss off to see his face. The smile was of genuine bliss, mixed with the pleasure of being so utterly yours, forever. It was something similar to insanity what he felt, but he was aware of it, giving himself into it. “I love you,” he drawled lazily, his eyes glazing over the image of you on top of him.

“J-jeonghan,” you forced out, a euphoric wave swarming inside you, better than anything you had ever felt in your life.

And he felt it too, consuming him in fiery waves. “I love you,” he repeated, enjoying the feeling sizzling beneath his skin, lingering on the muscles of his face.

“F-fuck,” you grabbed onto the headrest of the couch, your fingers ripping into the fabric. “Please–,” you choked out, slamming your hips down on him, moaning out loudly as another orgasm hit you hard.

Jeonghan did not love you. Not like in fairy tales, or romance movies. But he was not lying either, you could feel the genuine calm of his realization as he drawled the words out. He could no longer resist it, nor keep the feeling to himself any further. Jeonghan did not love you, he was worshipping you wholly.

It was rapturing, if it was not before. You came on top of him, loudly, walls clamping around him, making him moan with you. His hands held your hips, urging him to keep moving them so he could also reach his high with you.

But the only thing he needed was to sneak a glance up your face, tears of pleasure brimming in your eyes as your orgasm shook hard inside you. That tipped him over the edge, pushing his hips up so he could spill himself deep inside your walls with a loud, raspy groan that resounded across the room.

“Jeonghan,” you kept moaning his name, hiding your face on the curve of his neck. Your breath fanning on his skin forced out a shudder that made you smile.

He responded with a smile of his own, but his was lazy, drunk over the euphoria coursing through you, the same that coursed through his. “I love you,” he whispered again, clutching your hips gently, moving his hands to your thighs.

Ever since you met him, his lust and need for you have been making you stronger. But now, the near maddening love that brimmed for you drove you to feel so full that you seemed to glow. You stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment, breathing hard. He was still inside your body, relishing in the warmth, the wetness, the blissful look in your eyes.

Your hand slid beneath his chin, leaning towards him to prop a featherlight on his lips. “I love you too,” you breathed, feeling like a child who felt pure joy for the first time.

He cursed under his breath, his hands roaming all over your skin as you littered his face with kisses, trailing down to his neck where you sucked his skin into your mouth, marking red spots all over him. He chuckled lazily. “Ready for round three?”

“Mmn, I think I’ll pass out,” you said, giggling at yourself.

“Tired already?” he asked, searching your face with his gaze.

“It’s just…” you sighed, catching your breath but your heart stammered in your chest. “I didn’t expect this.”

“Didn’t you, really? Was it too much?” he hummed bringing his hands to cup your cheeks.

You shook your head slightly, pressing a palm to the back of his hand. “So is this your way to tell me you want this?” you asked.

Jeonghan went still for a second, his gaze lingering on the features of your face illuminated only by the warm light of the lamp. “The odds will be against us,” he said.

“Well I’m willing to bet on us,” you said with a light smirk. “Are you?”

Jeonghan nodded, the avid look in his eyes not quite brushing off. “I’m tired of running from this,” he slipped a hand on your nape, pulling you to a quick kiss. “I want you. I want it to be you and me, as we’re destined to be.”

You drew in a shaky breath, reciprocating the featherlight kiss. “Okay,” you whispered. “Then it’s us.”

“I want nothing more, baby,” Jeonghan said.

 You bumped the tip of your nose with his gently, eyeing him. “What about what you said? About not being able to be with me?”

“I don’t care. I’ll quit that life. I’ll stop hunting,” he muttered.

“And then what?” you mused.

“I can adapt quickly,” he replied, and you chuckled. “I’ll take up a boring human job, we could find somewhere to live in a small town. You’re not the only one who can blend in the human world, you know?”

Okay, you breathed, the glint in your eye told him that you were happy. It was the first time he saw that in you, the first time he had been the cause of that glint.

So he kept going. “I can take you to dates, take you to those fairgrounds, do normal boring shit humans do,” he muttered faintly, closing his lips on yours.

“You would do that, Jeonghan?” you asked softly, pulling back to see his face. “I mean, you would quit everything?”

“To be with you, I would.”

You leaned your face forward again, pressing your forehead with his. “I love you,” you mumbled, brushing his lower lip with the pad of your thumb.

Jeonghan shuddered gently, but everything inside him came alight with the strength of a thousand suns. Now, if he knew whether a demon could be capable of loving or not was beyond his lucidity at the moment. You were only capable of feeling such things after you first attempted to become human. So the concept of love was as new to you as it was to him.

“I love you,” he whispered back.

“Can we go to bed?” you asked sheepishly, fighting off the urge to nestle in his warmth, to press your nose against the crook of his neck. “I’m ready to pass out.”

“Let’s go to bed,” he replied, noticing the languor in your eyes, blinking slowly.

That was the first time Jeonghan held you through the night without wondering what the morning would bring. For the first time in knowing you, he did not feel guilty for nestling in your warmth.

He stared at your face as you both shared the bed. You were lying on your tummy, one arm draped over him, your head lying on his chest, sleeping soundly in his arms. He languidly brought the pads of his fingers to draw circles on your shoulder, earning soft hums and sighs from you.

He had never felt this happy.

The following morning, you were skipping town again. Jeonghan had woken up with the idea of searching for a town to settle down for a while, and in the meantime, you and him would start planning.

You were returning to the bedroom, draped in a bath towel, your hair damp as you watched Jeonghan grabbing your clothes and his from the night before. He was dressed already, clad in black clothes: jeans, boots, a sleeveless tank top and a zipper hoodie.

Jeonghan approached you to drop a featherlight kiss on your lips. “I’ll go downstairs to return the key,” he informed you. “See you in the parking lot.”

“Yeah, okay,” you whispered, closing your eyes to enjoy the light kisses he left on your face before he stepped back.

“Don’t take too long,” he advised, reluctant to step away from you. So much so that he came back, taking two steps towards you just so he could kiss you quickly, eliciting a joyful laugh out of you.

“Okay, okay, I won’t,” you replied, watching him leave the room finally.

Jeonghan sucked in a breath, shuddering from the cold air receiving him as he went down the stairs. First, he crossed the parking lot in front of the motel, opening the door to his car to leave your bag on the passenger seat. Closing the door, he walked back to the front desk where he rang the buzzer, propping his elbows on the high top and waited.

He felt you before you could even make it to him, drawing a smile on his face when you hugged him from behind. “Go to the car, I’ll be there in a minute,” he mumbled, turning over his shoulder to see your face.

You showed him a playful smile, standing on your tiptoes to give him a kiss. “Don’t take too long,” you whispered, turning away to cross the parking lot to where his car was parked.

He rang the buzzer again, tapping his fingers impatiently. He looked around, but no one was to be seen or heard around the place. In fact, it was too quiet for a Friday night in a motel. Something’s not right, he thought, leaning over the desk, only to discover that there were no personal items, nothing to indicate that anyone was working in the place.

He focused his hearing, the noise coming from the ice machine making it harder to find another sign of life around him. But the fact was, there was no one else around. His heart sunk to his stomach.

“Jeonghan?” you called, worry echoing in your voice.

He turned around, facing the parking lot. It was too late. “Run!” Jeonghan bellowed from the opposite side, starting to run towards you as two hunters emerged from the thicket of trees, grabbing you. One of them seized you with his arms, while the other brought his fist to the center of your face, knocking you out on the spot.

He would have been able to reach you, but another hunter got to him first, knocking him to the hard ground, making it impossible for him to fight back, or to stop the hunter from getting his car keys out of his pocket.

So he watched as you were shoved into the trunk of his own car, and the two hunters who had grabbed him got into it and drove away, leaving him with another hunter to fight against. And you, being taken from him. 

› author's note: heyoooooo

this has been such a ride huh. i never expected my short drabble to turn into series but i guess i should've known better lol

stay tuned for more!

!! PART FOUR !!

toodles

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