#which it's good pepple are listening to us about that

[river-neurodivergent-willow]

I'm beginning to think you guys only like listening to nonverbal/nonspeaking people when we tell you about how saying you "go nonverbal/nonspeaking" is bad but don't like listening to our experiences because that's just too hard

[rkgray]

#legacy

I've always been a dream chaser Since the day I was born I haven’t been able to sit still Never weak-willed Always been real I risk lookin' soft to avoid situations

just soon after re-signing his contract, the year 2019 had begun with news that had hit him right into the guts. gray had been out of it for a while, hadn't been himself, but in the end he had raised himself from it and pushed his own boundaries, even though there had been still a voice in the back of his mind to make him believe how he didn't deserved to debut with kt and how he just didn't fit in the company. if there was one thing he was great at, then it was being self-destructive by pulling himself down and tell himself how he had never been as talented as the others were.

over the course of his past years gray had tried several times to get into a company, to receive a contract and publish his music, but had failed every single time. he went to auditions and castings, wrote song over song, worked hard to built up his own studio, put his everything into pursuing music, had been judgded by others for living a dream, instead of a reality. people had called him ugly, not the standard, unconventional, his music useless and not the kind of music the industry out there wanted to hear. demos had been received and rejected without a proper listen, had been send back without any reply at all, even thrown back at him for being dirty. gray had seen and heard it all. just a few times longer and he would have become used to it, would have accepted it as fact of his life.

Small-minded petty shit Somethin' we don’t entertain' We do somethin' lame Live and learn Do it never again Then we teach game to one another Because y'all my brothers, my actions reflect y'all I'm slipping, I'm falling, I can't get up I know you’ll catch me, support me and help me get up Yeah this bullshit’s whatever, I'll show nothin’ but love

but then there had been kt, the only company who had actually given him a chance to achieve what he had always dreamt of. at some point gray had even believed that he was holding on something kt was interested of, and that he was worth their time and money, just to start anew at point one, taken aback and full of doubts. gray had been just laying low, doing his thing, trying to grow from the shadows, working on become a better version of himself, to overcome what was pulling him down and become a supporting pillar to the entertainment that had taken him in, in times, when he was about to give up.

and now that the new year, the new decade lied ahead of them, the sudden news of a experimental group and the fact that he had been chosen as one of the members had caught him completely off guard. this wasn't what he had expected, as he had accepted his fate of staying in the dungeons until his contract runs out. debut was now in a more concrete vicinity, not just a shadowy figure in the distance.

Who can I lean on when the world is on my shoulders I need someone I can build with and grow older Coz life is much cold and people can't uphold us Take a look around Now you seein' what it's cost us People in positions of power really imposters

it still felt too unreal for him to properly process the course of events. he couldn't quite grasp on the reason of why he was becoming a part of it, since he wasn't one of the rookies, introduced to the public, somehow had received a special status within the rows of unknown trainees. maybe it was just out of seniority, looking back at the three years he had been with kt by now. he didn't even dared to believe it was due to his skills, as he was painfully aware that he was nowhere close to what a idol was supposed to be. among those who were not included in the experimental line up, gray believed there were others who would fit in much better than him, as they brought in visuals and talents likewise. it was hard to believe he had been chosen before them and then again, he remembered the time when he was excluded from ktrookies both times and how he had hurt over that decision, no matter if that project would lead to debut or not. it was just the freezing thought of not being enough to join them, which he was afraid would grow in the three boys apart from the group. he felt guilty.

how was he supposed to be happy, to be excited when the other boys who were supposed to be part of their big family, weren't at their side? how was he able to think he deserved a spot in the line up, when he could already hear the haunting voices of people calling him old and not made for this world laying ahead of them?

but then again, things had been hard, gray had overcome every pepple, every rock, every mountain to get this far, to finally be about to achieve his dream. there was much that he was still afraid of, but didn't he deserved to be excited for once, even if it was just for the short time of the experiment, until the final results came out?

So let's enjoy it while it lasts With the smiles and the laughter Comes sadness, all black, up in front there’s a pastor To the hoes and the bastards, the trolls and backstabbers Never too late to change till you up in your casket Let's get it Look up at the sky Looked down at the earth Are you down for the ride? Right next to me For this legacy I need you, I need you right here For this thing called life

to him life was a rollercoaster ride of ups and downs, there had been times, when he was about to break apart from his hardships and then there had been times, good times, when he felt like walking on clouds. all these moments were part of him, were what made the kind of man he was now. gray knew he wasn't perfect, wasn't infailable, that he was still lacking, but ultimately he wanted to become an artist and make music and share it with the world, just like every else around them.

there was still uncertainty that kept him around, and he guessed it would never drift away, as long as he didn't tried and gave it his all. for the longest time he had believed to be just an accessory to kt, to be a toy of a child that had been taken away from others, just so they won't be able to take it instead. there was no usage for him, nowhere to put him in. but now that there was finally an opening, a chance right in front of him, he felt like he had to pull through, despite all conflicts in his head and heart, as for who knew how long it would take him to get another chance like this? if he wasn't too try and grabbing this opportunity, what was even the point in dreaming, in trying, in falling and rising himself up again?

Look, growth to me that's all that matters Life's a game of Shoots and Ladders Ups and downs okay but I ain't movin' backwards I don't feed in to propaganda Trying to anger me so I can do some crazy shit I don't believe it atheist They want you riled up until you say, "Fuck the peace" In this society it's so easy to lose hope Just know we got each other Hold your hand through the smoke Let's go This that shit that they don't wanna see It starts with you and me Let's go What you leave behind, use your energy Yes not just mine or yours man, this our legacy, wassup

so even without the certainty of a clear future, gray promised to himself to keep going, to not give up and play himself down like he had done so many times before. there was a vision ahead of him, a dream he had to achieve, as it had accompanied him throughout life. music was what kept him from veer off the road, music was what kept him alive over the years of trying and failing over and over again, music was just what connected them all. and for music, they all would be able to go far and even beyond.

So when I perform, you listen and I hope you relate Hey, I got a solid intuition, a lot of ambition I'm looking at the world through a clear-cut vision We gotta do better Let's change the way we eat Let's change the way we live And let's change the way we treat each other I gotta do this for my legacy

[paigesturning]

The Grandiose Burden of Being my Caretaker - 2

(Author’s Note: This chapter makes reference to eye trauma, and mentions self-harm in humans, specifically the chemical effects of it on human brains. Also there’s lots of blood, though no graphic violence. If this is not something you want to deal with, the unbolded part of this is a summary: In this chapter, things are getting weirder. In addition to Caret apparently being able to feel the movement of grass, Partridge’s old scars begin to bleed. Throughout the chapter, something mysterious seems to be stalking them. Partridge begins harvesting the blood she’s loosing, and designs a magical dagger, one that keeps the user alive during bloodletting, while inhibiting any biological responses that would cause them to become addicted. Caret learns to smell things. When Partridge and Caret head into the woods to activate the dagger, they come across the creature that has been stalking them, and discover it was a benevolent-yet-ominous collection of souls that call themselves We-are-the-Dead.) 

"Hey, Caret, could you come take a look at this?" I shouted behind me while I looked in the mirror. 

No response.

"Caret?" I looked around and left the changing room I had built. She wasn't in the living room/bedroom/dining room either. 

I found her outside, working on the cave she was carving into the cliff face.

“Hey, Caret!” 

She stopped mining and turned toward me, before dropping hard off the wall. “What’s up?”

“Look at my hair.”

“...Mhm?”

“How much longer is it than when we first met?” 

She blinked, “Uh, 2.3 centimeters? About? Was that all you wanted, or....?”

“Well, look at the color of it.”

“Liiiiiiiiiiiight blue?”

“And I don’t have any roots!”

She didn’t seem as stoked about my discovery as I was. “And, I’m to take it that you don’t usually grow blue hair?”

“I… I dye it, Caret.”

She crossed her arms, “Well, excuse me, you come from a weird magical dimension. How was I supposed to know that?”

I must have recoiled or something, because she softened, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m distracted. I’m running the calculations for my generator, tracking something, and trying to talk to you. I didn’t mean to snap.”

I took a step closer and worried my fingers together. “It’s fine. What are you tracking?”

“There’s a… something? I dunno, it’s hard to explain. It’s kind of like when you feel the wind move differently through your neckhair when someone gets close to you, even if you can’t describe why you know someone’s behind you. Except it’s like the grass around the house is moving differently.”

“You can sense grass movement?”

“Well, that’s the weirdest part: no.”

“Uh huh.”

“There’s something really strange about this place,” she said, scratching her eye, “Your hair, being able to feel the grass around me. Like, that’s weird, right? Plus, your stigmata.”

I shrugged. She’s tried to explain what exactly stigmata is to me, but frankly it seems far fetched. Only about three days after I met Caret, the scars on my hands and chest would occasionally start bleeding again, even though there wasn’t a proper wound. Just blood. “Sure, it’s not something I’ve seen before, but blood magic is weird. On one hand, it could be something about the world, but it could also be a combination of the residual blood magic and something about the world. Sort of like... “ I squished my fingers to interlock, “Baking Soda and Vinegar.”

“Were you planning on starting the blood magic back up soon?”

“Basically as soon as I can find a ruby, yeah. I need one for the knife.”

She made a face and stuck out her tongue, and climbed back up the cliff. I’m pretty sure she muttered “gross” under her breath. 

I almost missed the smell, like ash, coming from the woods, as a cloud passed overhead. 

“You smell that?” I asked, basically to myself, as Caret returned to drilling her hands into the stone above. I started moving toward the tree line. I was… drawn to an old, dead tree. It had been there since I began building my cabin. At the time, I hadn't noticed anything about it, but now there was something about it that stood out to me, a quality about it that I hadn't recognised before. Yes, I decided, this tree had allowed itself to be hit by lightning, to save the other trees. I didn't even think about how strange that thought was until I heard Caret's voice shouting at me.

"I am trying to focus, can you please get out of the grass?"

-

Caret and I were laying on the ground, listening to music. 

By which I mean, taking turns singing songs at the other. She was way better at it than I was at it, but I think having a music library built into your brain, with speakers in your neck is cheating, honestly. 

"No, no, the guitar was more like a… Wubwubwubwubwubwub, you know?"

"Nah," she said, "I think you might be thinking of like, a brass instrument or something? Maybe a tuba?"

I laughed, and wiped some blood out of my eye. "It was a guitar, I swear to Kom."

I heard her fans kick on, and when I glanced over to her she was looking at me intensely. "You're bleeding again."

"I… yeah, but it's fine." 

Suddenly she was upon me, one hand on my cheek and pushing down, the other on my eyelid and pushing up to get a better look at the blood. "I can't believe you," she said. 

"Ow!" I cried, "can you plea-" 

"When did you do this to yourself?" She interrupted, "When and why?"

"I… the bleeding happens automatically, you can't get mad at me just because the world is weird."

"Do you think I don't notice? That the blood comes from old scars?"

"Well, sure, it’s from my work at-" 

"I know."

"... Okay so," I hesitated, "why?"

"I don't know how anyone can do this to themselves, even for power. I," she cringed, "I don't even feel the way you do, and I still couldn't do it."

"It's just… normal where I'm from. Some people integrate stone into their flesh, some people take on animal aspects, some people drown themselves… some people do bloodletting," I put on an affectation, "that's magic baybey!"

"Well that's not how it is in Third York," her hands loosened up, just cupping my face. I could feel myself warming up and started to wish i had lost a little more blood.

"In Third York, before I was decommissioned, there was a wave of deaths from self inflicted wounds. People would get high off their own endorphins and endocannabinoids and accidentally kill themselves.”

I put my hand on her’s, and barely got out a soft, “well, duh,” before her head snapped like she was looking through the wall. “Shh!” she said, as her fans sped up further. Something black and fluid blasted past our window and chills went down my spine. I tried to move but even though Caret wasn’t pressing hard on me, she was immovable as a statue. 

“Plea-”

“Shh.”

“Please let go.” I whispered. One of her eyes glanced down at me, and she let go and stood, before grabbing a sword off of the table. 

Slam

Slam

I turned to look at the door. It was quiet again.

Slam

Sl-TANG, Caret’s sword pierced the door, followed by a loud scuttling. Caret audibly relaxed, her fans spinning down to a more reasonable level. 

“Is it gone?” I whispered. She nodded and walked toward me, before wrapping her arms around me and laying the two of us down on a bed. I was glad for the company. After that, I wasn’t going to fall asleep alone. 

-

Water flowed all around me, while I floated on my back. “Thanks for doing this with me,” I said to Caret as the blood flowed from my neigh-unopened skin, and into the basking pool.

She shrugged from her place next to the slate container I created. “Oh, it’s whatever, you know?”

“Nah,” I said, “I know it bothers you. But I don’t super like being alone when I do this.”

“Why not?”

“I’m always worried I’m going to get too relaxed and fall asleep and drown.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment. I closed my eyes and laid back. “Well, if you want to stay awake, how about I explain what I’m doing with my cave?”

“Sure!” I said, enjoying the water swirling around my body, the quiet darkness of the whole experience, as Caret started in on explaining the cavern.

It was… complicated. I got the sense that if I was from her universe I would have understood it. There is, apparently, a stream in the mountian, which she has powering a turbine, which helps run a screen, which she’s using to run diagnostics on her senses, I think? She also said that something about this process is making plants grow everywhere. I got the sense that she wasn’t sure why though.

“Think you’re done?” she asked at the end of her explanation.

I cracked an eye open, and lifted an arm out of the water. No blood, just scars. As usual. I nodded and closed my eyes again. "We're good."

"Can we please wash the blood off you?” 

I stood up and stretched a bit, “Mhm, yeah.”

“You smell… I mean, like blood.”

I stopped. “You can smell now?” 

She waved her hands around, “This place wants me to smell, I guess?”

“Yeah, uh, that checks out, I guess. Makes about as much sense as any other damn thing that’s happened this whole time.” I rubbed a temple. “Right. To the shower?”

She nodded and we went up the stairs, out of the house, and around the back to where the “shower” was. Honestly, it was just a hose that led up to her cave. I have no clue what it hooked up to. 

She turned it on, and blasted me straight in the face. “You know, I’m going to have to make some bandages. This is getting ridiculous.” 

“Aackpffthpfth,” I said, before she moved the stream off my mouth, “Tha-that’s true.”

She ran it up and down my body. “Honestly, I still don’t completely understand why blood magic. It just seems so high-risk. What even is the point of it?”

“Well, like… It’s hard to describe. For one thing, it’s a power source, you can make lights, weapons, pepple-”

“People?”

I shook my head. “No, they’re called Pepple? They’re… vaguely person shaped, but made of, you know. Viscera?”  

“Dear God,” She deadpanned, “Go on?”

“Well, all of that’s fairly advanced. On a micro level, it makes you like, way harder to kill? A lot of soldiers get into it. Adventurers, rune disposers too.”

She made a face, “You weren’t a soldier, were you?”

“No! Hell no. I,” I felt my face warming up, “Actually, I was trying to impress a girl?”

“Get on your knees, I need to wash your hair,” I did as I was told, and she came up behind me as I tilted my head back, spraying water through my undercut, running her fingers through my hair. Her voice was close to me now, a sensation that I seemed to always find out I was way less used to than I thought. “Did it work?”, she asked quietly.

I flushed. “Oh, uh. No. Turns out I uh, wasn’t her type.”

“What was her type?” 

“Not… uh. Trans?”

“Oh. Screw her.” 

I laughed a little too loud, but… who can blame me, it cut the tension. I may have snorted. Accounts differ. “It was fine, honest. It just got kinda awkward. And I was just... Young. Kinda stupid. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, and I shouldn’t have chosen a field of work just to impress someone. Buuut at least now I bleed randomly and freak out my only friend, so. Put one in the win column?” I said sarcastically.

She got really quiet and furrowed her brow. 

“Did I… We are friends, right?”

“I…” she said, trailing off.

“Oh god, I was joking but we are, right? Like, I won’t even be mad just surprised.”

“I really… Love you. Like a lot.”

“Oh. Woah. I love you too. You’re my best friend.”

“Ditto,” she replied. I didn’t often see her flustered, but I was pretty sure this had done it. She sprayed me in the face again as I sputtered, before she dropped it. “Alright get your bits clean. I’m not doing those.” 

-

I found a ruby. The knife had been made, along with the necessary preparations. It was a full moon that night. I had a pig. I had some blood saved from my basking pool. We were in a clearing in the woods. 

“I’m still… fuzzy on why we have to do this,” Caret said, trudging along behind me.

“Well, it’s partially tradition. But it also helps to activate the knife itself. It’s good to charge it a touch before you use it on yourself.”

“I don’t love that you’re testing it on an animal.”

“I mean, if all goes well it shouldn’t feel anything. Or even die,” I turned back toward her, “Theoretically you could do it on me. Wanna do some stabbing?” Her face said no. “I’m just saying, it’s an option.” The first time a new knife is used, it’s easy to be overzealous. Mostly because the anesthetic affect takes a moment to get calibrated for the first time. It’s meant to just make it so you don’t feel any pain and stay lucid, but some people have reported passing out from it their first time using a new one. Not a risk you want to take, especially with a knife in your arm. Even one that doesn't let you die.

“Really it’s not testing anyway. It’ll work, it just needs to get started up. This is how we do it.”

Cerat raised an eyebrow, "and the black robes, those were super-duper necessary, I guess?"

"It's just… the uniform they had us in back at the academy. It's comfortable. In more ways than one."

“Can we just get it over with?”

I nodded, and drew my blade. It was fairly simple. I won’t go into detail. I cut into it, filled a bowl, poured it over the knife. Just as I was finishing up, I heard a spinning up over from Caret’s direction. 

I saw her before I saw the other thing. In her hand was an oak wood crossbow which I had the privilege of watching her carve, and decorate with pink dye. What she was pointing at was far less adorable. 

It seemed humanoid, mostly. It was naked, with pallored, greenish skin, skin swirling around itself, with weird, empty faces appearing and disappearing, each frozen in a wail for the half-second they were around. The face was similar, so big, with sagging meat, that it almost seemed larger than the body, the eyes and mouth were huge and empty, cartoonishly so, the gape of it staring me down, as a bolt entered the eye. The eye-hole. The hole where the eye ought have been. 

It didn’t seem to get a reaction, but the mouth waggled, and the creature began to make a noise.

“Hhhhhhhhihhhhhhhhhhhhh”

“Caret?” I shouted, panic mounting.

“I’m thinking,” She replied coolly, as she loaded another bolt.

Another bolt loosened, this time into it’s endless dark maw.

“Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-”

“It’s still not working!” I said, raising my dagger.

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii”

Caret's stance changed as she held up a fist and shouted, "Hold!"

Everyone was motionless, apart from the swirling faces of the figure. Caret spoke up again. “Clarify your name and intentions,” she commanded. 

“We are We-are-the-Dead. We have been meaning to introduce ourselves,” they said, stretching each word out, as if it was a labor.

“So should I call you like… We?” I muttered to myself.

“To what end?” Caret asked. 

“To get to know those what live.” they said.

“Why’d you wait until now?”

“We are shy,” they said simply. 

“And that’s why you’ve been following us around?” she asked.

I blinked.

“Yes. We have been… unsure of how to introduce ourselves. We are the collection of those who have passed on,” I realized the looks on each face wasn’t some horrible wail, but an expression of extreme nervousness. They seemed far more comfortable now, though their presence hadn’t become comforting. “Someday, all will be part of us. It is only sensible that you should know us first.”

Caret narrowed her eyes, “Is that a threat?”

They shook their collective head, “An observation. A philosophy, perhaps. Everything joins the collection eventually. We-are-the-Dead. We all will someday be… the dead.”

Caret seemed to loosen up a touch, pointing the crossbow towards the ground. “Right. Are you staying some place?”

“We are staying… Around. Not many things die. We welcome anything that joins. We were about to welcome a brand new soul,” They gestured toward the pig, “or so we thought. But we travel, and meet the others.”

“Others?” I asked.

“To the sunrise. Away from the woods. Into the sand. Into the mountains. Even in the great empty space, someone roams.”

“So… What now?”

“What are your names?”

“Partridge,” I said pointing at myself, “Caret,” I pointed at her. 

“It is nice to see other faces. We remember…” They trailed off.

“Yes?” I asked. 

They shrugged, “It’s no matter. We shall leave you be.” 

They turned to walk back toward the woods, their body flopping and wriggling as they moved. Over their shoulder they called, “We shall see who else we can meet. And then, we shall all meet again… One way, or another.”

Like that they were gone, returned to the darkness. I looked at the knife I was holding, and tucked it into my bag. I looked at the pig, and untied it’s harness. As it ran off, I headed over to where Caret was poised. She seemed not-quite-ready to relax. 

“So that was fucked up.”

She nodded.

“Think they’re dangerous?”

“Who knows. How’s your knife?”

“It worked. Pig survived it, it should work for me now.”

“Great. Let’s head back. I want to lie down.”

We started walking back home. “‘Clarify your name and intentions,’ though?” I asked

“Oh, hush. Old habits.”

[brandnewbarelybroken]

Chance - Chapter One (Kookmin)

Rating: NC-17

Jungkook was just starting to clean himself up. Slow, lazy movements coming with practiced ease, that still managed to speak volumes about his non-commital attitude toward getting home at a decent hour. It’s not like it really mattered anyway, whether he was there or not. His eomma was probably already drunk and face down on the bedroom floor.

He was just pulling up his faded and least worn out pair of skinny jeans, when he heard something in the distance. It was strange. Not the noise, he could hardly hear it properly enough to identify what it was. It was the fact that it was there at all. He knew this school and its varying daily schedules better than he knew his own class schedule. He also knew the floor plans, lawns, ins and outs of everything. He even knew the maintenence room, boiler room, basement and shed. So, he knew there shouldn’t be anybody, AT ALL, left in the entire place.

It was Friday, everybody boned out as soon as the bell rings on Fridays. No clubs were meeting, at the school anyway. Maintenence was done on Saturdays and cleaning on Sundays. He knew some club or other did something on Saturday or maybe Sunday, but he couldn’t think of that right now because the sound was becoming louder, and Jungkook’s curiosity as well as his delay-going-home-tactics, were making him feel a bit —–voyeuristic.

Grinning widely, Jungkook could feel his heart beat picking up speed a bit in anticipation. He was pretty sure he knew where the noise was coming from. It was a personal favorite of his own for fucking random chicks (with its near constant availability and being practically unknown to most students.) Having identified the source, he pricked his ears to hear any proof of his conclusion.

“Shit, I can’t hear from here at all.” Standing up and haphazardly brushing any little pepples off his ass, he grabbed his shoes and socks and headed toward the roof access door to investigate.

Hopping down the stairs two at a time, he perked his ears. Weird. He was positive when he was on the roof that it was coming from the second girls locker room. Now it sounded like it was coming from the other direction. Well, whatever, the roof probably messed with his hearing.

Jungkook headed east, toward the gymnasium, keeping his steps quiet and listening intently. When he passed a bench he dropped his shit there and continued on barefoot. He always loved being in school alone. It felt more like home to him than the place he lived.

As he neared the basketball courts he began to hear a staccato rapping sound and what sounded like hushed voices.

‘Hah! They are probably being loud as fuck if I can hear them from here,’ he thought as he his face morphed into an excited smirk. ‘Maybe its that Sophia chick I fucked last week. She seemed really thirsty all day today. Hmm, if its not her I could always hit her up after this. Or maybe even if it is her. Heh. Earlier was good enough, even if the chick complained about being fat the whole time, but now Im about to get a show and I’ll need dinner to go with it.’ Jungkook laughed lowly at his own stupid jokes and crossed the basketball court heading toward the indoor courts.

Only, as soon as he entered and the heavy door fell shut behind him, the sounds seemed to take on a different sort of feeling. It was louder sure, but still heavily muffled. It also seemed to be echoing heavily. He paused to consider the places that could cause that sort of echo, but was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when an ear splitting wail crashed through the enormous room.

“Fuck! What the fucking hell?” He shouted in surprise. Feeling a bit like a wimp for having jumped a bit, too.

Before he could even think of a response he heard a heavy sobbing sound echoing lowly toward him, Without thinking he rushed toward the big storage room and threw open the door. Empty. He ran across the court toward the back hall that connected this gym to the theatrical department. As soon as he stepped inside he could hear a low whimpering.

“Shit, why is it here. This place is full of random alcolves and shit.” Although it was one of his favorite areas to nap in, it was also a great place for hide and seek, which made it the worst place possible at the moment.

Jungkook jogged down the hall, peeking through classroom windows, only to keep going when they each turnd up empty. When he reached the dividing hall separating stage access to dressing rooms, he grinded to a halt. He could hear much better now, and what he heard froze him in place. Quiet voices and gut wrenching sobs.

“Good boy. That’s my sweet boy. So beautiful when you cry. Trembling for me. I’ve waited so long…so long to see you this way angel. The pain of being separated from you is a constant crushing agony. To finally have you in front of me, to be able to touch you this way. It is truly paradise. My very own Eden, my sweet, sweet angel.”

Interspersed with the creepy monolouge were gasps and sobs, pleas.

“Please…I don’t know you. Please. I…I…Ah!…please, please… Why….what do you…no. No. No. Anything else, please! I…I…,” the pleas were riddled with broken sobs and heartbreaking hiccups, the voice seemed too afraid to finish its thoughts out loud, as though any question they could ask would have an extremely disturbing response.

'Shit, that voice sounds really familiar. Fuck, I know I know it from somewhere,’ feeling seriously shook up, still trying to pinpoint the direction he needs to go and simultaneously hoping to identify the terrified voice he was listening to, Jungkook was trying hard not to panic. He knows that if he had more time to slow down and think, he would probably be hysterical. He’s not the saving-people type. He’s the sneak-up-on-idiots-fucking-and-watch-them type. He doesn’t know what he is even doing. He just knows he can’t stop.

Jungkook threw himself toward the dressing rooms, hoping the echos were being produced there. He couldn’t tell, though, if the sounds were becoming clearer or not. When he paused for a moment to check, he heard the deep male voice again, and he froze.

“Why? Oh, Jimin. My sweet, soft, little Jimin. My precious angel. Surely you must know how utterly delectable you are? Completely sinful. So lovely. Though, no. No, I suppose,” the mans voice took on a gravelly and angry edge that was somehow even more frightening, “I suppose these… children,” he spat the word children like a vulgar swear, “have done their upmost to keep you from realizing the truth. Jealous of your spotless beauty and otherworldy glow. Uncomfortable with their own mediocre looks and lacking any useful skills or even remotely impressive talents. Filthy little shits.” He growled low, but suddenly took on a sweetened tone and cooed in a paradoy of sweet talk, “But I am here now and you belong to me. I will spend every moment from now on showing you exactly how others see you. You will be made to understand just how deep your abilty to drive men and women to the very depths of human desire runs. You are so effortlessly enchanting. So innocent yet utterly lewd. But you are MINE. ”

A loud thwack followed by a shocked cry forced Jungkook to wake up from the shocked stupor he’d fallen into. He had been frozen in horror, his heart positively vibrating. He could feel his hands shaking. The man had said Jimin. Jungkook knew of course that Jimin was a pretty common name in Korea, but this wasn’t Korea. And Jungkook only knew one person with that name, who had the same somewhat high breathy voice he’d thought he recognized only a short while ago. Only now it was busted and shredded and filled with fear, becoming almost unrecognizable.

Jungkook darted to the dressing rooms, taking them one at a time, positively flying through the lead roles, lesser roles, fitting rooms. He was panting harshly and dripping sweat, his thoughts not making any sense. He didn’t understand what was even happening right now. Odd thoughts and feelings were swirling through him so fast he couldn’t make them out. The only thing he could truly feel and understand was the fear. He was so fucking scared he wouln’t get there in time to prevent something truly deplorable. What was already happening? What if he was already too late? He could still hear that horrible voice talking, and talking. Jimin was still sobbing and it sounded almost like he was choking. But he couldnt find them!

“Do you understand? You belong to me. If you ever, ever, let anybody touch you in ANY way, I will kill them. I will remove their filthy hands and gut them like swine. Do you uderstand me Jimin? You belong to me alone! This soft hair. This smooth skin. These taunt muscles…. firm thighs… this pretty pink cock. They do not belong to you. They are MINE.”

Jungkook lost the voice for a second when it seemed to become a whisper. He couldn’t catch it, it kept slipping or multiplying or simply changing.

“FUCK! Its all over the fucking place!” But when the man shouted a possessive MINE, Jungkook spun around and ran back toward the stage access. That’s the only place left.

He knew he was having insane thoughts, trying to process the words he was hearing. He knew now Jimin must already…already… Fuck, he can’t think of that right now. 'It’s not too late Jungkook. It’s not too late,’ he repeated in his head over and over. It wasn’t really working but it did prevent him from getting lost in what ifs.

“Please! No! No! Don’t, don’t touch! Ah! No no no no no…”

“Ha! Sweet little Jimin! You say no but your body is greedy, it wants more. More than quick wanks used only to relieve stress. You havn’t been self loving yourself lately baby. Why is that? Or did you realize that you need more than,” Jungkook didn’t know if he could actually hear it or if it was just implied, but he swore he heard a gulp, “more than the tentative teasing of small fingers against your pretty little hole. I know it must have been so frustrating, trying to pleasure yourself and not knowing how. Not being able to reach. Ill help you my love.”

Jungkook knew he had tears slipping down his cheeks. He could feel the warmth dripping onto his collar bone. His eyes were becoming blurry and he was beginning to feel hopeless. This guy sounded like he knew Jimin. Like he’d been watching him.

He skidded to a halt in the middle of the rounded stage. Bending over with his hands on his knees, trying to breathe but mostly just panting harshly. He knew they were close by, he could hear them so clearly.

'Goddamn it Jungkook! Think! You know this place better than anybody!’ He tugged his hair roughly, and tried to block out the sickening sounds. Tried to ignore his tear soaked face and his throbbing heart.

“You are so lovely Jimin. So, so lovely. Glowing skin, shining with sweat, flushed and trembling. How long I’ve waited for this, for you to belong to me. I will mark you as mine and everyone will know. All those filthy vermin, feasting their unworthy eyes on you! On my property! Then the insolence! Turning around to shove you and mock you! They will pay, but another day. This day is for us. Oh, Jimin, we truly belong together. Soon you too will know this. Soon, I will put my body inside of you, connecting us deeply to one another, and then you will see….so beautiful…”

“Shut up! Shut up! Shit! Left wing, right wing, stage hands. Lights, curtains, orchestra… Shit, where, where?” Jungkook whispered harshly to himself, still tugging his dark, sweaty locks. 'As if this wasn’t already so goddman hard, that nasty shit won’t shut up!’ Then he heard Jimin again, and he was seriously afraid he was gonna pass out from his heart suddenly stopping.

“Ah! Ah! Please no! I don’t like it! I don’t like it! I don’t want it! Stop! No no no no. Why, this, stop…,” deep shuddering breaths interspersed with choked off gasps, “Ahhh! It..it hurts!”

Jungkook can barely see from the fat tears rolling down his face. 'Think…think..WAIT!’

Jungkook runs behind the curtain, and looks up into the lights. Of course, there was an electricity panel located near the spotlight high up in the rafters. It had its own little cupboard that was really more of closet. And he happened to know that Jimin was a volunteer in the various theatrical clubs. He helped soloists practice by running the lights and spotlights when the lighting crew wasn’t obligated to be there.

“Fuck!” Jungkook threw his body toward the ladder. His hands were sweating and shaking and his legs were burning but he pushed through, and continued to climb.

“Help me! Please! Somebody! No! Plea-”

SMACK.

“Jimin, baby, I don’t want to hurt your lovely face, and I love to hear you scream, but you really need to be a bit more quiet.”

Jungkook was almost there. He had to slow down so he didn’t topple over, this really wasnt a super safe set up. He had to make his way around two entire walls to reach the lights facing the stage, that were so stupidly located on the other side of this stupid huge room! But he was beginning to feel another rush of adrenaline. He forgot the burning in his legs, the practically dangerous beating of his heart, his tears. He was almost there. Almost.

“No! NO! No no no n-”

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

Jungkook jolted with every loud smack, the increasing volume shattering his barely built up hope. He was amost there. A few more steps, he could see the door. It wasn’t latched.

“Aww, Jimin. Look what you made me do. I so wanted to hear you and look into your eyes as I stake my claim on you, branding it into your flesh, for the very first time. Well, this docile you is quite enchanting, too. Oh, but I wanted to see you cum. Well, another time.”

Jungkook reached the door and didn’t hesitate to kick it with all his pent up adrenaline and fear and fucking aggression. To finally get Jimin away from that twisted, disgusting voice.

BANG! The door crumbled beneath his bare foot, he couldnt even feel any pain.