#would murder most people she encounters without a second thought

[vespertine-legacy]

since it is Lesbian Visibility Week, I have decided that She needs to be More Visible

[alastors-left-lapel]

We've Found Ourselves In Quite A Situation Pt. 2

Author's Cut: I didn't think i would do a part 2, but here you go. I will be writing a part 3 to the series. If you have anything to add or suggest, please feel free to message me so.

The following story contains Trigger Warnings: It's hell so there are mentions of demons, all characters mentioned are in Hell for a reason, mental trauma, anxiety, violence (mention of a single punch), blood kink, all fluff no smut (yet)

Plot: AFAB Fox!Reader from part 1 is dealing with the minor fall out from her previous one on one with Alastor. He reflects on their encounters in the past and comes to a realization he may think of her differently, and she of him. Is it worth risking their friendship to find out?

Word Count: 5K +

Part 1

It had been nearly a week since Alastor and Y/n encountered at The Butcher's Room. Nearly a week had passed, and y/n couldn't believe she had given Alastor information about her Earthly situation. However, she still had a little bit of power over his questions about her as she hadn't told him the details of what exactly she had done to be sent to Hell. With each passing day, she grew more anxious, knowing sooner or later he would find out. Most sinners were never afraid to say what they did that landed them in the realm of Hell. Murders walked around proudly, thieves either thrived or perished quickly. Any ill-willed predators were quickly hunted for sport as they were not the type of people others wished to live their eternity with.<p>

All Y/n could do was continue with business as scheduled at the hotel. She steadily cleaned her desk before going on her break. She had been looking forward to refreshing her tea and to having thirty minutes to sit in one of the library sitting rooms that were often empty. Nifty was quick on Y/n's tail, following behind the much taller sinner with her sewing needle in hand. "Whatcha doing, Y/n? Going somewhere fun? Does it have bad boys?! I love bad boys."

The woman laughed looking down at Nifty, gently shaking her head. "Not today, Nifty. I'm just going somewhere quiet for a few minutes to drink my tea."

Nifty huffed, mumbling about it not sounding like fun before turning back around and heading toward the main lobby where Husk had been talking with Vaggie and Charlie. The woman continued her way toward the staircase, silently passing by Angel. She still hadn't spoken to him in a week after their prior discussion. It wasn't necessarily out of spite, but she hadn't been sure how to react to him calling her a nickname based on her death. He was either put off by her presence or was genuinely a good actor as he also ignored her, diverting his eyes away from her and scrunching his nose. Her face remained the same, with no change in any facial features. Yet, Angel acted as if he was disgusted by her presence. She turned around to look at the lobby once she was at the top of the staircase, watching how blissfully everyone had been acting, despite residing in Hell.

Maybe they were better without her at the hotel. It wasn't like she had any intentions of redeeming herself, having found comfort in her second life as a sinner in Hell. She had friends here who actually cared about her, like Rosie. Nifty was like a little sister to her but was still someone she could rely on if she needed to. But did the others even need her around here?

Exhaling the breath that was hitched in her throat, she continued on her small journey to the sitting room, planning on resting for a few minutes. It was a calming thought to have, a wishful one even. Yet, the afterlife often had other plans. As she walked into the sitting room, a shadow cast an eerie feeling as the familiar form of Alastor was found sitting on one end of the couch. She jumped a little, gripping her mug as the tea threatened to spill over. "Alastor! Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." her hand gripped the door handle as she attempted to leave.

"Oh, don't be modest. There's plenty of space here to share a quiet place with good company." His voice beckoned for her, a slight hum of radio static could be heard toward the end of his sentence. His microphone cane had been rested on the coffee table in front of the couch, his hands neatly folded in his lap with his legs crossed. He looked almost as if he was expecting company as if he had anticipated the room to be used.

Resigning to her original plan, she walked through the door, shutting it behind her as her blackened fingertips lingered on the door knob. It was a residual body feature from her death, along with the faint lines of black on her lips. The only light being emitted in the library was from the fireplace, and as Y/n passed from the door to the chair facing opposite Alastor, her eyes shined for a moment as they caught the light from the fire. One eye was considered typical, as most sinners had red scleras, and her pupil was yellow. Her left eye was mostly black with a white to off-grey pupil. If Alastor was asked, he would say she almost had a lightning pattern in her sclera that matched the hue of her pupil. However, that was a little too personal of a question.

Alastor watched as the woman carefully took a seat in the chair, prim and proper as most women of their shared collective time. She ran a hand under her as she sat to make sure her skirt would not crinkle. Her posture was nearly perfect, and not a single hair was out of place. In a way, she almost reminded him of his mother, if only in the little daily habits she exhibited. Thankfully for Alastor, Y/n was nothing more like his mother. She was somebody of true value, beyond what she would have ever imagined. "You look exhausted, my dear. Are you experiencing issues with sleeping? Is your room environment not up to your standards?"

It was rather odd that he had asked her this, she thought to herself. Her face was as puzzled as she was. "No, no. My room is fine. The mattress has been the softest I have slept on, dead or alive." She brought her hands together in her lap, setting her tea down on the coffee table in front of them, careful not to bump his cane.

"Hmm." Alastor crossed his legs as he observed her, a slight hum of radio static filled his audible response. "Your statement seems a little exaggerated, wouldn't you say?"

Is he trying to get a rouse out of me?

No, certainly not. Alastor would know if I was fibbing... wouldn't he?

Y/n took out a deep breath. Would he have known about her troubles here in Hell? Of course, he would, she sold him his soul in exchange for his protection. "Maybe your excellent showcase of pure demonic prowess worked a little too well? There hasn't been a single threat of a turf war or any type of altercation in front of the hotel in a week. Maybe the lack of Carmine weaponry and questionable war crimes has affected one's sleep." She raised an eyebrow as she smirked, then crossed her legs in a duchess slant.

Alastor had always admired her ways of deflecting the situation in the most complimentary of ways. He often remembered the time she had complimented Susan's new fox wrap, asking her from which designer trash can she found it. Oh, how the ornery old bitch was fuming at the back-handed compliment watching as Y/n and Alastor, The Radio Demon, walked down the streets of cannibal town with their middle fingers pointed at her.

"Speaking of Carmine weapons," Alastor spoke, "there is an overlord meeting occurring today. Usually, these things are only meant for Overlords and are top-secret topics of discussion. I could hardly fathom being there myself these days, and Rosie has some business she is taking care of in the Wrath Ring today. Please make this meeting easier for me and attend with me... as an unofficial understudy to Rosie. Or go on the basis of being my note-taker. Whichever makes you happier."

There it was, more time working for Alastor outside of the hotel. What could she do? Say no? Then be reminded he owns her, literally, and has no other option as long as she wishes to live her nefarious second life?

"I am no Rosie, Alastor. I do not possess the amount of charisma or style Rosie exudes. Well, except for the stylish skirt she gifted me on my most recent death day."

Alastor then stood up, swiftly grabbing his cane in the same motion. "Then it's settled. Now, please go change your outfit, and may I suggest wearing something that will allow for plenty of movement? These meetings can sometimes end in battle, and I couldn't let something happen to... you- wearing constrictive clothing can be a rather pain in the ass."

Y/n watched him as he stood, caring for his cane as if were a pet. She didn't want to read into it very much, but she thought she could hear the slightest change in his voice toward the end of his sentence. Why did it sound like that? As if his tone changed, like the comma in a sentence. He didn't say I couldn't let something happen to you.

He said I couldn't let something happen to You.

After an awkwardly longer moment than what it should have been, she grabbed her mug, nodding. "O-okay. I'll be but a few moments." She parted from Alastor in the library, leaving the room and swiftly making her way to her room. Her mind was still pondering his sentence and how different it sounded in her mind. Maybe she had listened in a way that wasn't the targeted audience. Maybe he was torturing her as part of his dealings with owning her soul. Yes, that must be it. He was a little bit of a sadist, so it would make sense that he would value his contract with her over the decades of years they had known each other before she sold her soul to him.

Yet for Alastor, who was still in the library, he was fighting with himself. He normally would care less about the contracts he had with others. He was quick to put his subjects into place by destroying a soul on the air, broadcasting their screams for everyone to hear. Y/n did have quite a tone on her at times, however, he found their banter something to be cherished. He found their conversations refreshing, and having her in the hotel among the residents gave him somebody else he could relate to. His fingertip tapped on his cane a few times as his eyes searched back and forth, wondering where his mind was leading him. He hadn't been necessarily the kindest to her within the last week, making her share her personal life experiences with him in a public place. He could make that up to her.

Yet, he was an Overlord. He didn't have to make anything up to anybody under his control.

But... he wanted to make it up to her.

He wanted to make it up to Y/n, because she deserved it.

-----

About twenty minutes later, Y/n appeared in the lobby. Her new change of clothes and freshened-up appearance caught the eyes of those who were in the commonplace; Husker, Charlie, Vaggie, and Angel Dust. The spider demon had been sitting at the bar, slumped slightly with a drink in his hand. Husker was nursing a bottle himself while Charlie and Vaggie were discussing the plan for the next lesson plans for the residents. Alastor had appeared out of the shadows, quite literally as he manifested a few feet away from Y/n. She had been used to him popping up from time to time so it hadn't caught her off guard when he manifested. "Oh, Al, perfect. I hope this is fine. I've never been to one of these meetings before."

Alastor looked at her, taking in her choice of outfit. A sweater top with a high-waisted skirt that ran down to the middle of her calf. The top was a deep red color, the skirt was black. She chose black oxford high heels and a similar red shade belt. She wore a black pearl necklace as well to round off her outfit. He met her eyes again, smiling his typical toothy smile. "You look like a proper representation of a resident of Cannibal Town."

Y/n hummed in amusement, smiling at Alastor as she adjusted the turtleneck collar. "Lucky enough for us, I still happen to have my apartment above the women's parlor room in Cannibal Town, so I may still claim it as my residence." After making sure her outfit was up to her liking after meeting with Alastor again and looked at him. Others would see his normal smile and relaxed eyes as typical Alastor, yet his eyes were not relaxed. He looked lost in thought, his pupils appearing dilated. "Al? You ready?"

This comment seemed to have pulled him out of his thoughts as he nodded, giving his cane a spin before turning about-face. "Certainly. I suggest we take the express route, seeing as we have maybe ten minutes to find our seats at this meeting." He offered her his arm, always mindful to keep his female companions safe when they were with him. He still felt this time that the offer came from a different sense of feeling.

Y/n carefully placed her hand on the inside of his elbow before he gently brought his hand back to his side. He tapped his cane to the ground once, then used his shadow mastery powers to teleport both him and Y/n to the front of Carmine Industries tower. As they manifested on the sidewalk, Y/n gave a little shake of her tail. Her appearance in Hell had altered much beyond her facial features. Just as Alastor had appeared with a human-like face and normal hands with the ears and antlers of a stag, Y/n had the aspects of a fox. Her ears were almost the same size as Alastor's, mostly matching her hair color and a distinctive off-grey pattern inside of her ears and at the tips. She also had an off-grey long and bushy tail, the tip of it matching her hair color.

Alastor paused as his companion settled after their express departure from the hotel lobby to the outside of the tall skyscraper. Once everything appeared to be settled, he guided them down the side of the building, making sure to flash a distorted smile and image to the cameras as they passed by, all in spite of his former acquaintance. The pair of friends walked up to an elevator, hopping in to go to the meeting. "I am assuming nobody knows about your sudden plus one to this super-private function?"

"Precisely, my dear." He looked over at her, his smile was thin, not showing any teeth. The most relaxed he had been around her recently. "Anything and everything that is mentioned here must remain here. Not a single soul will ever hear these conversations unless they are Overlords."

She looked up at him, arching an eyebrow. "But I'm not an Overlord, remember?"

"You are under my protection here. You must do anything I ask of you here, as I will be your token in. Now, when we enter, remain quiet. Seen, but not heard."

Y/n rolled her eyes. "It was already implied, as it is not my typical scene. However, I thought you would have thought better of me. Did you forget we both had similar upbringings? All children, and all women, should remain seen and not heard."

Alastor looked down at her, pausing for a moment. "It's not that I do think you would speak and interrupt. I know that the other overlords will either speak lowly of you or try to rouse you any way they can once they sense if it bothers you."

Y/n normally wouldn't challenge their friendship or debate her contract with him. However, her free hand moved up to rest on his chest long enough to give it a couple of small pats before she could realize what she was doing. "A wise man once told me a smile was a valuable tool to use in every situation. Something along the lines of keeping one's self in control, I believe."

At that moment, the air shifted around the pair. Alastor could feel something rip inside of his core. Or had it inflated? What was this feeling, and why did it occur in such a normal setting, such a normal situation?

But the situation wasn't normal.

Is this what Rosie described to him when she told him the story of how she fell in love with her first husband? Why did his stomach feel warm and fuzzy?

The pair had locked eyes with each other, and Alastor's hand reached up to cup the hand Y/n had on his chest, catching both of them off guard. Y/n's tail waved back and forth subtly while one of his ears slightly dropped. Alastor opened his mouth to respond to her but was cut off when the elevator stopped on the proper floor. As the doors opened both individuals let go of one another, quickly picking up their facades. Smiles were on, people were ready to be greeted, and the meeting would be the best buffer to their previous encounter.

-----

Alastor led Y/n to the board room, taking his usual spot and gesturing toward the seat next to him for Y/n to sit in. She nodded quickly, taking her sit and getting adjusted as she normally would in any situation. Her hands remained in her lap and crossing her legs. The first person to mention Y/n was Carmilla. She shot a brief look at Alastor. "I wasn't aware you were bringing in unauthorized personnel today, Alastor."

Alastor chuckled. "Oh heavens, no. In Rosie's absence, I wanted to bring in another set of reliable and vigilant ears and eyes, just in case I miss any information from today's meeting."

"I didn't need an explanation. Although, if you say she is reliable and you can attest to her being discreet about the meeting, that's all that matters." She replied as her daughters took their seats next to her.

Alastor nodded simply, falling silent as the meeting started. Carmilla had been tasked with keeping the Overlords up to date on potential threats to Hell from the exorcists and any Overlords who posed seismic threats to the balance of Hell. As she was speaking about the latest numbers of projected soul casualties during the next extermination the door of the board room opened wide. A loud and boisterous voice echoed through the room. "My apologies, there was an issue with the latest VoxTek updates. You know how it is, business as usual and all."

Y/n let out a quiet breath upon seeing Vox in the boardroom. Had Alastor known about this all along? Did Vox have enough backing to even be at the meeting in the first place?

Vox took a seat, inconvertibly across from Y/n. He adjusted his lapels as everyone stared at him. Everyone except Y/n, whose eyes diverted away from Vox and to an empty space in the wall just to his right. Vox's stare was blatantly drilling holes in her soul. Alastor took note of this quickly, being very familiar with their past. He cleared his throat before speaking. "Interesting seeing you here, Vox. I wasn't aware the Vee's had any business in the official business of Hell's Overlords. Certainly, you must obtain a substantial amount of souls to even be considered Overlords."

Vox then looked to Alastor, smirking as he spoke. "Oh, and do tell me, is that number affected if an Overlord obtains those souls through various gambles?"

Alastor furrowed his eyebrows. "Need I remind you of who won those gambles? Or rather who lost those gambles?"

Carmilla was quick to shut down the showdown, continuing with business. Y/n had pointed her chair slightly to the left in Alastor's direction. He was mindful to keep an eye on her and Vox through the use of his shadow companion. The meeting remained mostly boring as the Overlords discussed the topics that consumed their lives. Alastor could have skipped it, but with Rosie out he had no choice but to attend it. As soon as it had been officially over he was quick to guide Y/n out of the boardroom and head towards the elevators.

It was then again that Vox made his presence known. "Now, now, what's the rush Alastor? Afraid you'll miss the next newspaper printing? I can pull it up for you on your phone... Oh, that's right. You don't use modern technologies." His attention was brought back to Y/n, grinning with a thick layer of minacious intent. "Y/n, my once faithful assistant. How many years has it been now? Ten? Do you really have nothing to say to your former boss? I thought we were closer than that."

Y/n remained as stoic as she could, keeping Alastor's words in mind. Vox was excellent at stirring the pot, expertly identifying an individual's breaking point and using it to his advantage. She finally brought herself to look at him since he had arrived, hiding any evidence of her true emotions from everyone in the room, including Alastor. "We both know that you don't get close to your employees. Well, except for the moth and the princess. Where are they, by the way? being lef tin the dark as usual?"

Vox's screen glitched a little at the comment. Alastor chuckled. "Careful Vox, the screen is buffering. You don't want to be caught in the middle of another update, as you so delicately called it earlier."

Vox looked between the two observing them once again. "Oh, and your signal never never goes out, right?"

Alastor's pupils shifted to dials as he spoke. "Unlike some people, I do not need the troubling complexities of modern technology to be entertaining for the public of Hell."

Vox gave a little nod. "Let me guess, none of this has to do with little Miss Sparky over here?"

The other Overlords in the lobby gasped as they watched as the previously quiet woman pulled a hand back, then threw her fist at the televised Overlord. Her hand connected nearly perfectly with Vox's screen and it cracked, leaving a couple of small cuts on her knuckles. Alastor then took a step between both Y/n and Vox as the other man began to grumble. "You will see me again, Y/n, and when you do it will be when you are least expecting it." Vox took a couple of steps back before disappearing into a nearby camera. The other Overlords watched as Alastor tugged Y/n into the next open elevator, then descended.

Y/n shook her head a few times, noticing a small amount of blood running down her hand. "I'm sorry, Alastor. I will make this up to you. I let him get to me, and I should have known better."

Alastor reached out for her injured hand, carefully holding it as he brought it up to his mouth. Without warning, his tongue began to run over his cuts, lathing up the blood that escaped. She looked at him as he cleaned her hand, not sure how she should feel. She wasn't scared, and she wasn't confused. What he had done was generous and kind. Her cheeks began to flush as she felt her tail once again sway.

Alastor felt the job was done, as he straightened up again. He had a little handkerchief in his coat pocket, pulled it out, and placed it on her hand, tying a delicate yet firm knot in her palm before letting her hand go. "No need to apologize. Vox is rather vulgar and doesn't quite understand the rules of society down here. He believes adding the cost of his employee's souls to their contracts makes him evil enough to rise to our level. Besides, the meeting was over, and after the meeting ended, everything was considered free range. However, I am sure Carmilla will mention something about altercations occurring in the lobby."

He looked down at the fox sinner before him, noticing her disposition had changed. "I want this to be clear, I did not know he was coming. Or any of the Vee's. They are not invited to these meetings, yet always find a way to weasel into them. Had I known, I would have never brought you here."

Y/n had originally thought it was another mindless torture tactic, yet hearing the tone of his voice told her all she needed to know. He had been sincere about his unawareness of Vox's presence. She nodded, meeting his eyes. "I know you wouldn't. I'm just sorry you had to see that interaction."

Alastor led them off the elevator once it stopped. "I know, though I should have intervened before the situation came to that rather interesting turn of events. No doubt Vox will brag about this to his cohorts." He once again used his shadow magic to teleport them to the hotel. Specifically to the hallway of Y/n's room. "Do you have any type of technology in your room? Vox could easily navigate to the hotel and drop in for an unwelcomed visit."

The woman shook her head. "No, I don't. The only item in my room is a radio, aside from the furniture of course." She had been happy to be back at the hotel and away from the aftermath she may have caused in Alastor's business ring. Not to mention what Rosie will be told by Alastor or the other Overlords.

The pair had stopped right in front of Y/n's room, the woman spinning around to face Alastor. "Besides the obvious eyesore of the afternoon, I enjoyed it. Oh, and thank you for... cleaning my wound."

Alastor chuckled a little, "It was my pleasure." That it certainly was. He watched as she reached for her doorknob, and against all instincts, he placed his hand over hers, stopping her from opening the door. "Y/n, I-" How to articulate what he had been thinking about during the meeting's entirety. "I've was thinking about what you said in the elevator before the meeting. How a wise man once offered you advice. If this is the same supposed wise man, I believe we have conflicting thoughts about his actions."

Y/n looked at him confused, her smile dropping as she stared up at him. His presence normally brought her a sense of comfort, hardly remembering a time where she wasn't happy around him. Alastor was almost a walking embodiment of a warm hug, feeling like the sense of security a child's blanket brought them. "Al-"

"Please, just let me speak." His demeanor seemed level-headed, though the upbeat tempo of his chest rising and falling brought more concern for Y/n. Her breaths almost mirrored his. "A true friend would never keep another friend's soul on the swift promise of protection, among other stipulations. It brings about room to allow doubt and anxiety to grow."

"Yet, after today, I feel as if our friendship has been thrown into quite a situation." He stuttered for a moment before bringing their hands in front of them, holding her hand firmly in his, then taking his other hand and covering it. "I need to put my theory to the test. If you will allow me."

Y/n could nearly count the inches between her face and Alastor's as he begged her. The inches slowly turned into centimeters as she gave a single nod, his face lowering and moving closer to her.

"I am sorry, my dear. I need to hear your answer."

Y/n's eyes shifted constantly between his eyes and his lips, watching as he paused right before their noses could touch. "Yes... yes," she whispered between them. Alastor tugged on her hand to pull it toward his chest as their lips met, gently mashing with each other. She could feel her cheeks flush again, and he could feel his stomach doing flips. They paused for a moment before meeting each other's lips again, now one of his hands cupping the side of her face as her hand reached up to cup his wrist.

They shared quite an extended moment with each other before pulling their lips away from the other, their noses and foreheads resting against each other as they caught their breath. It may have been the most serene moment Alastor has experienced in Hell since his arrival. For Y/n, it was the most blissful she had ever felt in her entire life.

"I think I have my answer." He responded, pulling away from her before letting her hands and face go. He adjusted his jacket, smiling down at Y/n. "I'll leave you to the rest of the day. Don't worry about the hotel duties tomorrow. You deserve a day off."

Without a chance for her to interject, he turned around and took a few steps forward before disappearing again. Y/n was a blushing mess as she opened up her door, closing it softly before slowly walking over to her bed. She wrapped her arms around herself before spinning around and collapsing on the blanket. A sane person would believe they were going to be sick, while Y/n had believed she knew what was going on.

She fell in love with Alastor.

And Alastor chose to have some type of feelings for her.

He chose her, out of all the other souls in Hell, and the ones he knew when he was alive. Why her? Should she be concerned? What would people say if they had seen them in the hallway? Had anybody seen them?

Suddenly everything changed for both of them. Both positive and negative responses would eventually be felt by both of them. What impacts would this have going forward?

Well, Alastor could control at least one aspect left unopened. He had never broken a contract before, and with the recent events at the meeting, it could be deemed he failed to uphold his end of the deal to protect Y/n from any potential threat or harm. It would open up doors that were currently left in the unknown. His impulse on his actions today could be more bothersome than what they were worth.

Though as he appeared in his room on the opposite side fo the hotel, he had a realization.

Y/n was worth the risk.

Y/n was worth learning to get out of his previous comfort zone.

Y/n was worth it.

[guiquart]

Beraneth

A brief history: Grew up in the forests of Valenwood and abided by the Green Pact. She listened with rapt attention to her father's stories of his missions for Thalmor. When she managed to convince him to take her with him to Skyrim, everything changed. There, amidst the mountains and dangers, she enjoyed life: jumping over rocks, fighting sabre cat, meeting all sorts of creatures.  The fun ended when her father suddenly disappeared. After weeks of worrying, she found his body - mutilated, murdered on Thalmor's orders. She stayed in Skyrim, full of hatred for Thalmor. Without her father's support, she had to make a living by engaging in dangerous missions. Her skills grew, but it didn't bring wealth. When she was offered a well-paid commission in Riften, she accepted, despite having to work with «altmer» Pellyon Thaorius ( +++ ). Pellyon's arrogance and contempt infuriated Beraneth, and after he insulted her, she nearly killed him. All my text is translated through a translator. If you find faults, you can let me know so that I can correct it as soon as possible. Enjoy reading! This text was written for me by this author: @frimova Long story: Nothing in the life just happens. Beraneth had learnt that long ago, when her father had taught the little one how to hunt. Valenwood was a marvellous and most importantly green province, where bosmer could observe the Green Pact without any problems. But even such beautiful places could get boring, become so familiar and usual, so mundane that he wanted to climb a tree and howl from the eating boredom. Her father had travelled many places on Thalmor's errands, and Beraneth had listened with pleasure to his stories of hot sands, stinking marshes, beautiful fields... Until she encountered a real one.. Until she threw a tantrum so that her father would finally take her to Skyrim

A place her father had never been and a place where his help was needed. Beraneth had no interest in her father's business in Thalmor. She enjoyed jumping around the mountains like a mountain goat, riding sabre cat. Simply put - she was having a blast for all her years of living in boring Valenwood. With her father's work in Skyrim ending, she would be forced to return home with him and wallow in boredom once more.

And so the year went on. Beraneth had fun with her father when he was free, and the rest of the time she amused herself: having sex with random attractive elves, people; learning how to fight with an axe from some Nord. She did not remember names.  There was no point in memorising their names and faces. Why? She would outlive most of them anyway.

... her father didn't make contact. First a day, then a second, and then it had been a week! It was as if her father had vanished from her life, even though he was a pretty punctual Bosmer. In the second week Beraneth began to worry, no matter how much the innkeeper tried to reassure her.

- «Well, it happens...» - he said, spreading his hands, - «It's common in Skyrim to go on a bender. Your father's probably made friends with the locals and is drinking with the nords... or he's found himself some hottie and he's spending time with her. Don't worry about it. More Mead?»

The words were of little help, but they calmed Beraneth's anxious thoughts for the time being. Maybe the innkeeper was right. Father had always been outgoing, friendly and smiling, with such kind eyes. It was as if Beraneth's heart had died when the letter from Thalmor arrived. She didn't even remember the contents of that letter, which she clutched with trembling hands. But those lines....

«...killed by the enemy while on duty. We offer our condolences ... compensation will be paid to the family...»

That didn't make sense! At that moment, Beraneth smelled something wrong! Then she started searching every cave and ditch near Thalmor Embassy. Using all her skills, she overheard khajiit from the caravan saying that near one cave, on the way to the sea, there was a horrible stench of rot and blood. So bad that even the bitter Skyrim frost in the mountains couldn't beat the stench. So she went there. Found that cave. Crawled into the cave. Cracked the skull of a frost troll. Found her father's corpse.

Mutilated, wearing Thalmor clothes, with a broken embalming tool

in his pocket. The kind face was twisted with fear, one eye missing. The fingers he used to braid her pigtails were broken and had no nails. She would become part of the wild hunt without the ritual. Thalmor had used her father as a torture master. He was killed.

At that moment, Beraneth didn't go home. She wrote a letter home, explaining the situation to her family, enclosing Thalmor's letter and her father's ring. And so began her life in Skyrim, where she grew to hate the altmers. Without her father's support in the form of cheerful chatter and money, Beraneth felt lost. Money for food, a bed, alchemist and blacksmith services had to be earned and it wasn't nearly as much fun. The adventurers or rather the seekers of gold and glory were dying they were dying like flies.

But Beraneth was strong. She was able to adapt. She earned a few scars, often broke bones and tore muscles, but with each passing year she grew stronger, more beautiful.... but not richer. And that led her to a customer in Riften. Some weirdo from the Thieves Guild wanted some thing pulled from the deep ruins. Dangerous, especially since Beraneth had heard that a lot of mercenaries, adventurers and scholars died in those particular ruins. But it pays a lot and she just had to pay a blacksmith to sharpen her axe. And she needed to buy new boots....

Anyway. She needed money. And the sooner the better.

But there was one little ��but» that spoilt it. The reward would have to be shared. WITH ALTMER. A terrible disaster that Beraneth could have survived. The pale upstart with long hair like it came off the arse of an elderly mammoth annoyed her. His face was too arrogant. And what kind of stupid name was that? Who names their child Pellyon Thaorius? Too complicated and she wasn't going to spell that name even in her head, so she called the arrogant idiot Pelly and settled for that.

But her anger jumped a few degrees higher when two cats joined their group of two elves. What kind of noble orphanage was this? They hadn't even travelled two steps from the customer's house before conflict immediately broke out.

- «What is this?» - she asked rudely.

- «What?»-  interjected Pellyon coolly, not looking at Beraneth, giving most of his attention to the cat on his shoulder.

- «We didn't discuss having two others with you. And we're not going to split the reward four ways, and I'm certainly not going to mess with you and your cats.»

Khajiit jumped off his shoulder. The two elves stared at each other.

Pellyon said contemptuously:

- «Mudbloods weren't asked for opinions. Do your job, miserable trash.»

Pellyon flies to the ground, his nose bleeding. Beraneth breathes furiously, keeping himself from reaching for his axe.

- «I'll fucking kill you now, son of an Altmer whore and a Falmer brat!» *I'll tell you about the two Khajiit later Thanks for reading! Little of their interactions in the future:

[milfsloverblog]

Peace and Quiet

Larissa Weems x Fem!Reader

A/N: Here it is, the Larissa fic with a plot twist! Reader’s “identity” is kept hidden until the very end - however I left a few clues here and there to, perhaps, help you find out before Larissa does. Let me know if you enjoyed it!<3

TW: canon character death

“Larissa?” The barista called from behind the counter, snapping the tall woman out of her thoughts.

“Oh, yes! Thank you.” Larissa flashed him a smile and took the paper cup that was being handed out to her before going straight back to typing an email on her phone.

Life was honestly a mess lately, although Larissa would never admit it. If she had ever thought that she’d been overwhelmed by work before, it was nothing compared to the pressure that was on her shoulders since that creature had started its murder spree.

Larissa walked towards her usual booth at the back of the Weathervane cafe, her eyes never leaving her phone screen as she sat down on the leather seat and placed her drink on the table.

She drew in a sharp breath as she clicked on another unopened email, more students’ parents inquiring about their children's safety. There has never been a safer place than Nevermore, Larissa always answered. If only she knew how wrong she was.

“Hot chocolate?” an unfamiliar voice asked, snapping Larissa out of her thoughts once again. That’s when her eyes finally fell on you sitting across her in the booth.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t realise the booth was taken,” Larissa said, immediately moving to find another seat. No one ever sat in this booth, that’s why she had started calling it her booth. But here you were, she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t even been able to sense your presence. Perhaps she should put her phone down for a minute, get back into reality.

“You don’t have to go, I was about to leave,” you said and Larissa noticed that there were no traces of drink or pastry on the table in front of you, as if you had just been sitting there without purpose.

The tall woman sat back down, taking a closer look at you. You were wearing all black, a stark contrast with everyone else around you, although it didn’t really faze Larissa. She had grown up being Morticia’s roommate after all.

Larissa would very rarely wear all black, when she did it was mostly for funerals. She’d ask Morticia once if it didn’t make her feel gloomy to always be wearing black. Her roommate had frowned and shaken her head, telling Larissa that black was such a happy colour. The blonde hadn’t gotten it at the time, but looking at you now perhaps she understood. Black didn’t look morose or melancholic on you, it looked poetic.

The woman blinked and looked away when she realised that she had been staring at you. There was this strange sort of aura around you, something that pulled her eyes back to you almost immediately.

She watched as you stood up, eyes trailing down your front for a brief moment before they snapped to the hot chocolate placed in front of her.

“Have a good day, Larissa.” It took a few seconds for Larissa to register your words, her mind was already back to the dozen emails awaiting her response.

“How did you know my-“ The woman frowned as she looked up, finding you gone.

What a strange encounter, Larissa thought as she took a sip of hot chocolate and picked up her phone.

To be entirely honest, Larissa had forgotten about you rather quickly. Any other day you would have haunted her thoughts, but she had too much on her mind to think of a peculiar stranger she had barely talked to - no matter how enticing you had been.

That was until she bumped into you (or did you bump into her?) again.

Larissa had found out that Sunday morning was the perfect time to go grocery shopping. When most people were still in bed, the woman was on her way to the local supermarket. She loved how quiet it was, the other customers consisting mostly of retirees. No crying children, no youngsters running around in a hurry, just the quiet peace of a Sunday morning at the grocery store.

The tall woman walked around the shop, carrying a basket on her bent elbow which she filled with whatever was missing from her fridge and cupboards.

“Oh!” Larissa smiled seeing the pomegranates, reaching out to pick one up when she sensed a presence behind her.

“You?” Her blond eyebrows shot up as she turned around and her eyes landed on you.

“Me?” You raised an eyebrow in response. “Well, good morning to you too, Larissa.”

“You seem set on making me jump out of my skin.” Larissa’s lips spread in a wide smile. She couldn’t explain why she felt happy to see you. You were a mere stranger, someone she’d met once in a fleeting instant.

You were wearing the same outfit as the last time she had seen you, she noticed, and you weren’t carrying a basket or any food items at all. It was as if you were once again there without real purpose.

“It’s not ripe.”

“Sorry?” Larissa’s head slightly shook in confusion.

“The pomegranate,” you said as you carefully reached to wrap your hand around Larissa’s, your fingers looking comically short next to hers.

“Gently squeeze it,” you added, your hand closing around the woman’s to give the fruit a gentle squeeze. “It’s a little too soft. A perfectly ripe pomegranate will be hard and plump. Its skin should feel like leather under your fingertips, that’s how you know it’s bursting at the seams.”

Larissa’s eyes fluttered shut as she listened to your words, the warmth of your hand sending a shiver down her back until you pulled away. She hadn’t felt the touch of another person in so long.

She placed the pomegranate back into the stall and started feeling around the other fruits, searching for one that would feel like leather as you had explained.

“How about this one?” She asked, turning around to show you another pomegranate only to find you gone.

Larissa opened her mouth as if to call your name but quickly remembered that she didn’t know it. It was frustrating, almost as frustrating as the tingling sensation that your hand had left around her fingers.

After that encounter, Larissa found herself being on her guard more than she usually was, always ready to catch you sneaking up behind her. But days passed and nothing happened, not until she let her guard down again. It was as if you had sensed it, as soon as her shoulders had relaxed and she wasn’t as aware of her surroundings as she’d been for the last few days, you’d found her again.

“Chrysanthemums?” You hummed, watching the bouquet Larissa had just picked from the local florist’s stall.

“Jesus!” The woman gasped, her free hand flying to hold onto her chest. She was lucky shapeshifters usually had great hearts, or it’d probably have stopped beating by then.

“Oh trust me, Jesus has nothing to do with any of this.” Larissa heard you say, followed by a soft chuckle. You thought yourself funny, didn’t you?

“I’ll soon be seeing him if you keep creeping up on me!” She said looking at you, her lips falling in a soft pout.

“As nice as the yellow ones look, I think you should buy the white ones,” You said, ignoring her remark and tilting your head towards the white chrysanthemums. “They would fit better with your whole aesthetic.”

You were right. And Larissa both loved and hated that you were.

She slightly bent over to put the bouquet down and pick up the white one, her eyes never leaving you.

“You’re staring, Larissa.”

“I’m not,” she said. “I’m only making sure that you won’t disappear once I’ll turn my back for a second.”

It made you laugh a little and Larissa’s heart swelled in her chest, she was unable to conceal the proud smirk that tugged at her lips.

“Would you like to go out for coffee?” The words slipped from her mouth, leaving Larissa looking as stunned as you.

She watched as you seemed to struggle with finding an answer and immediately regretted asking. She was a stranger, and so were you. Sure, you had bumped into each other a few times, but it didn’t mean anything. It didn’t mean anything, right?

“Coffee? I thought you were a hot chocolate kind of woman?” You teased a little, Larissa’s cheeks turning a soft pink as she was reminded of your first encounter.

“I would love to, I really would love to but-“ you pushed an apologetic smile. “Work, you know? I need to get back to it.”

Now that was something that the tall woman could understand and certainly relate to. Work never waited, she knew that all too well.

“Maybe another time?” Larissa heard herself say, making herself cringe internally. Why was she so desperate to be in your company? Why was your presence so calming and soothing?

“Maybe another time.” You nodded, giving the woman’s forearm a gentle squeeze before wishing her a good afternoon.

Larissa watched you walk away for a few seconds before turning back to pay for her bouquet. When she looked back in the street, you were gone.

Days passed without any signs of you, but that didn’t mean Larissa had forgotten. She’d expect to see you every time she’d go into town, she would hope to be scared again as you sneaked up behind her. But it never happened. Not until that fateful day.

Something moved out of the corner of Larissa’s eye, making her look up from her computer. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped loudly when her gaze fell on one of the tall mirrors on the wall of her office, catching your reflection standing right behind her. She spun on her leather chair only to find the spot empty, making her chuckle a little. Of course, you weren’t there. You could bump into her at the Weathervane or the grocery store, but you wouldn’t just pop up into her office, that was impossible.

Wednesday suddenly barged into the office, nearly making Larissa jump out of her skin.

“How many times should I tell you to knock, Wednesday?” Larissa sighed. She was already exhausted before the gloomy girl even opened her mouth to speak.

Larissa listened as Wednesday told her all about Tyler being the Hyde and Marilyn being in control of him. Truth be told, the principal didn’t believe a single word of it but she would do anything to have some peace and quiet, including shapeshifting as the sheriff’s son to seemingly catch Marilyn.

They had agreed to do it that evening in the greenhouse, Larissa hoped it would be rather quick so she could get back to her quarters and slump in front of the fireplace with a glass of red.

She pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled loudly as soon as Wednesday walked out of her office. That child would be the death of her someday.

Something was off that day, Larissa couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong exactly, but something was. The air was heavy as if everyone was expecting something terrible to happen.

She was walking to the staff room for her lunch break when it happened again, she found herself catching a glimpse of you walking around the corner of a corridor.

Larissa took a few quick long strides, which proved to be easy with the length of her legs, determined to catch you. But as she turned the corner, expecting to see you, she was met by a large raven standing on the open window sill. It looked at her for a moment before croaking loudly and flying away, sending an uncomfortable shiver down Larissa’s spine.

She spent the rest of the day constantly eyeing the clock, waiting for this dreadful day to finally be over. Just one more thing to do, one more thing to do before she could sink into a warm bath with a good book and her favourite wine. She deserved it, she deserved a nice little treat for all the stress she’d been put under lately.

Larissa walked down the long corridor to the greenhouse, taking a deep breath once she’d reached the door. One more thing to do before she could get some peace of mind.

She stayed hidden until Wednesday gave her her cue and she walked into the room shapeshifted as Tyler.

She stood there, listening to Wednesday throwing accusations and watching Marilyn’s reaction. The redhead seemed confused at first, shaking her head and denying everything until she finally dropped her act.

“Tyler, honey, make Mama happy and shut her up,” Marilyn said, looking at her above Wednesday’s shoulder.

The air was knocked out of Larissa’s lungs. This couldn’t be, surely this was a misunderstanding. It couldn’t be.

Marilyn’s hands cupped her cheeks and Larissa barely heard what the redhead was telling her, telling Tyler. She had trusted Marilyn, she had trusted her with the students and the academy and she was the closest thing that Larissa had to a friend. She could almost feel the knife being stabbed and twisted into her back.

Larissa shifted back into herself, watching the redhead’s eyes widen in horror.

“Don’t make this more difficult than it already is, Marylin.” She didn’t try to hide the disappointment in her voice, she wanted the other woman to know how hurt she was.

And then it all happened so quickly, the syringe being stabbed into her neck, the burning feeling as the poison coursed through her veins.

The tall woman fell to her knees, then on her back, Wednesday quickly kneeling by her side and placing her hand on the woman’s. Larissa wanted to tell her that it would be alright, that nothing would happen to her. But she had failed. She had let the fox in the henhouse.

“Miss Weems!” Wednesday called, gently shaking Larissa when the woman’s gaze diverted away from hers.

Something had caught Larissa’s eyes again, a figure that she was more than familiar with by then. She watched as you stepped closer, seemingly invisible to everyone else in the room, that soothing aura still wrapped around you. And it quickly wrapped around her too as you knelt by her side, your hand gently cupping her cheek.

If she hadn’t been so close to dying, Larissa would have laughed. She would have laughed at how foolish she had been because who, other than her, would have grown fond of the Angel of Death?

“Shall we go?” Larissa heard you whisper. She did all she could do in response and blinked, letting you know that she was ready.

Two large black wings spread from your back as you leaned in to place a soft kiss on Larissa’s lips, claiming her life.

She exhaled one last time, and then everything went black.

Finally, some peace and quiet.

————————————————————————

taglist: @weemssapphic @larissaoftarthweems @principal-weems09 @readingtheentrails @catechristiesstuff @kimiinou @winterfireblond @im-a-carnivorous-plant @sicklygrlsicklygrl @tallvampirelady12 @thelastbraincells @renravens @haztanee @gwensfreak @azu-zu @gela123 @http-sam @whoreforthebeifongs @readerlet @imlike-so-gaydude @milfdilflover @mildcohen @notmeellaannyy @vigelvictoria @h-doodles @leftoverenvy @on-an-egotrip @imprincipalweemspet @alienstookourstars @opheliauniverse @weemswife @liviadimitrescu @geekyarmorel @theonefairygodmother @witchesmortuary @willowshadenox

[tcwmatchmakingau]

Everybody Hates Neyo Round 2: Matchmaking Boogaloo

A/N: This is a standalone sequel to “Everybody Hates Neyo,” (NSFW) by @dystopicjumpsuit​ (that’s me), and “The Blacklist,” by the brilliant @blueink-bluesoul​, who also generously let me borrow the character of Daria Trace (THANK YOU!). You don’t need to read those fics to understand this one, but you should because they’re great and they provide more background. I converted the Reader-insert into an OC because to be frank, she’s a piece of work, and I didn’t want to project that onto my readers. That said, as always, feel free to insert yourself into the story if you prefer; I haven’t described the OC beyond being a woman with hair long enough to pull.

Pairing: Commander Neyo x the Admiral (formerly Fem!Reader)

Rating: M | 18+ | Minors DNI

Wordcount: 6.5K (I know)

Warnings and tags: toxic, obsessive behavior; SO MUCH SMUT; hatefucking; rough sex; oral sex; PIV; hair pulling; biting; sex under the influence of alcohol; Neyo and the Admiral being absolute menaces to society

Disclaimer: Let me just put on my Auntie DJ hat for a second. *ahem* This is a work of fiction intended for entertainment only. Please do not take this as a guide to romance or a healthy relationship. Neyo and the Bad-miral are flawed characters in a wildly problematic relationship with more red flags than the Fire Nation. Enjoy!

Matchmaker extraordinaire Daria Trace was not accustomed to failure. When she applied her considerable intellect to a problem, she did not stop until she formulated a solution. Which was why her now-99% matchmaking success rate galled her so intensely. In all her years of matchmaking, she had never encountered a client so stubbornly determined to thwart her efforts as Marshal Commander Neyo. After twelve failed matches—one of which involved a call from an infuriated woman demanding to know “why the kriff you thought I was a good match for that sociopath”—she had reluctantly conceded defeat.

The blacklisting of Commander Neyo from the Right to Love Matchmaking Service spread like wildfire through the GAR gossip channels. Most of the troopers thought it was hilarious; others insisted that he’d finally gotten what he deserved. In fact, the only people who seemed to have any sympathy for Neyo were Commanders Bacara (to be expected) and Fox (somewhat less expected). And when Fox reached out directly to Daria and asked her, as a personal favor, to give Neyo one more chance, she agreed. One more chance, and ONLY to give her an opportunity to get that track record back up to a perfect 100%.

She glared irritably at Neyo’s file and clicked her stylus three times, twirling it between her fingers. The man was impossible. It was no wonder he’d turned to RTL for help finding a partner; any woman in her right mind would run in the opposite direction the minute she looked into those blank, frigid eyes. She shuddered involuntarily. Shark’s eyes. Daria had made a few discreet inquiries after he’d first signed up for the service, just to make sure she wasn’t about to set up some unsuspecting match with a serial murderer. Without fail, every single answer said the same thing: he was an ice-cold sonofabitch, but he had a strict code of honor, and no, he wasn’t a serial murderer. Probably.

She sighed and tossed his file to the side, to be revisited some other day. He was her most difficult client, but by no means was he the only problematic match candidate, and she had a small stack of what Blizzard liked to call The Hopeless Casefiles waiting for her to review. Just thinking about Neyo’s case had given her the beginnings of a spectacular tension headache, and she flipped through the folders quickly, looking for one that was a little less challenging. As she skimmed the stacks of flimsi, her eyes came to rest on one name: Reeda Wai’yen.

Now there’s a thought.

Daria was sure that Reeda was a lovely woman, despite all evidence to the contrary. She was just very… intense. Like Neyo, she had chewed through several potential matches, and the most frequent word that appeared in her failed matches’ post-date surveys was “intimidating,” followed closely by “terrifying.” Daria had sniffed disdainfully that those particular matches simply couldn’t handle a strong woman; however, she had to admit that after several months of trying, she had not been able to find a perfect match for Reeda. She pulled Neyo’s file and laid it out next to Reeda’s. As she compared their backgrounds and preferences, she became more and more convinced. This could work. Given their personalities, it might well be the best possible outcome for society at large if they were both removed from the dating pool. And if it happened to close out her two most annoying files, well. That would just be the cherry on top of her perfect-track-record sundae.

A timid knock sounded on Reeda’s office door.

“Come,” she called shortly.

Her assistant, Lissi, poked her head into the room. “Sorry to bother you, sir, but you’ve received a comm from RTL Matchmaking.”

Reeda cursed. She was up to her ass in flimsiwork, and she was meeting with the Senate Task Force on Galactic Security in ten minutes. She did not have time for this now. 

“Take care of it,” she ordered.

“Sir?” Lissi asked, her wide, startled eyes giving her a distinct resemblance to a terrified ash-rabbit. 

“Just take care of it,” Reeda repeated, tamping down her irritation at being questioned. “You know my schedule better than I do. Set it up. Somewhere nice—somewhere in the Federal district. I don’t have time to deal with traffic.”

Lissi blinked, nonplussed. “Don’t you want to see who you matched with?”

“No time,” Reeda said, rising to gather her materials for the meeting. “Just put it on my calendar, and I’ll be there.”

Three nights later, Reeda sat in the restaurant at the top of the tower where her penthouse was located, waiting for her mystery date to arrive. She had to commend Lissi’s efficiency in choosing the venue; the only traffic she’d had to endure was at the lift. And it was a lovely restaurant, she had to admit, with stunning views of the Coruscant cityscape. She had only eaten here once since she’d bought the flat, usually opting to have food delivered to her office at the Republic Center for Military Operations as she worked late into the night.

She had resisted the urge to bring her datapad with her to the restaurant, knowing that if she did, she would inevitably get sucked into work, but now she wished she’d taken a moment to review the file from RTL. It wasn’t that she thought all clone troopers were interchangeable; far from it. She had worked closely with them during the war, had fought by their sides, and she had found them to be brave, competent, and loyal. They were also notoriously attractive, but she was a professional, and she was their superior officer, and she had never allowed that line to become blurred—except on one memorable and highly regrettable occasion.

She had had no time for a personal life during the war, but now that it was over—well, to be honest, she still had no time for a personal life. Which was exactly why she had reached out to RTL; it was the perfect solution. She didn’t enjoy solitude. She wanted companionship, and maybe even something more. But she needed a partner who would understand the demands of her career, and nobody understood the burden of duty better than the clones. Now that she had separated from the GAR and returned to her post in her home planet’s military defense force, the rules regarding fraternization no longer applied to her.

She hadn’t bothered to review the file because she’d learned from the previous several failed dates that a promising file was no indicator of compatibility. Still, as she waited for her date, who was now seven minutes late, she wished she’d at least checked to see if he had any identifying marks or tattoos that would make him easier to spot. To be fair, though, the few clones present in the restaurant were already paired up with other diners.

Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t intended to skip lunch, but she’d had back-to-back meetings with the joint chiefs of the Core Worlds Defense Alliance and the senate appropriations committee, and one thing led to another. The service droid had delivered a basket of fresh, hot bread rolls, which she had heroically resisted for the first six minutes past the scheduled start of the date, but now her resolve began to crumble. If her mystery date didn’t have the basic courtesy to be on time, by the Force, he wouldn’t have a leg to stand on if she ate all the bread before he arrived.

She buttered a roll and took a small bite. She couldn’t suppress the groan of relief at the buttery, yeasty goodness, and she quickly polished it off, then picked up another. She had just begun to butter her third role when the unmistakable voice of a clone spoke next to her.

“Admiral.”

She turned automatically, a smile just beginning to form on her lips, when she caught sight of a familiar set of numbers tattooed on a handsome, arrogant face.

“Oh, no,” she said with disgust. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” Marshal Commander Neyo replied contemptuously. “I have as much right to be here as you do.”

“I’m on a date,” she snapped.

He looked pointedly at the empty chair across from her. “Looks like your date has a strong sense of self-preservation. Probably took one look at you and ran for their life.”

“He’s just a little late,” she said, tilting her jaw at a haughty angle to hide the flash of hurt at his words.

“That must kill you,” he said with a mirthless chuckle. “I remember the time you made a Jedi padawan cry for being three minutes behind schedule.”

“There were barely tears. Do. Not. Sit,” she gritted out as he made himself comfortable in the chair across from her. He picked up one of the remaining bread rolls and took a large bite, and she sighed. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“It just so happens, I am also on a date,” he said, mumbling around the bite of bread.

“Oh?” she wrinkled her nose at his table manners. “And who’s the unlucky lady?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Some civvie named Reeda.”

Her hand tightened dangerously around her butter knife. Neyo’s eyes dropped to the blade, and he smirked.

“Disappointed?” he asked.

“You could say that,” she said, grinding her jaw. “I’m Reeda.”

He choked on his bite of bread and wheezed a bit, pounding his chest to clear his airway. Alas, he survived.

“What?” he sputtered.

“You didn’t even bother to find out my first name after you were inside me?” she demanded. Her sharp tone attracted attention from the surrounding diners, and she heard a few quiet titters from the tables around her, but she was too irate to care.

“You didn’t even bother to find out who’d be eating dinner with you?” he retorted.

“Don’t pretend you aren’t just as surprised as I am,” she snapped. “Didn’t you read the file?”

“I didn’t get a file, just a call.” He grunted. “Apparently, ‘beggars can’t be choosers,’ and I was lucky to get a match at all.”

“Why am I not surprised?” she mocked.

“Careful, Admiral. Don’t forget they matched you with me.”

“I would be insulted if it weren’t so obviously a mistake. I can’t say I’m impressed with their performance thus far.”

“For once, I agree with you,” he said. “You’d have to be a special kind of incompetent to think we were a good match.”

The service droid approached the table and asked, “May I take your order?”

“He’s not staying,” Reeda cut in.

“I’ll have the bantha filet,” Neyo replied, ignoring her. “Bloody.”

He turned to her and arched his brows. The droid waited expectantly.

“I’ve suddenly lost my appetite,” she lied.

Neyo’s mouth twisted, and he huffed a breath through his nose. “The admiral will have the roast porg. And a bottle of Alderaanian red.”

The droid nodded and ambled away. Reeda glared at Neyo.

“I don’t eat meat, you presumptuous ass,” she said.

“Liar,” he said. “Unfortunately, the souls of the innocent weren’t on the menu, so I had to settle for your second-favorite meal.”

“At least you’re safe, since you obviously have no soul and you’re definitely not innocent,” she said in a pleasant tone.

Damn him for being right about the porg, though. How did he know?

The wine arrived, and he poured a generous glass for each of them. She didn’t toast; just downed half of it in a single swallow. Neyo sipped his and leaned back in his chair to observe her. His sleek, severe hair and the large tattoo on his cheek made him look menacing as hell, but it was his eyes that made brave men take a step back. She didn’t know how it was possible for his eyes to be that unnerving. Gods, why did he have to be so handsome? What a waste of perfectly good Fett genes to have a personality like that.

“Did you stay just to torment me?” she asked when the silence stretched beyond the limits of her endurance.

“And because I heard the filet was good,” he said affably. “What are you even doing on Coruscant? I thought you’d scuttled back to whatever hellhole spawned you.”

“Kuat,” she bit out from between clenched teeth. “I was assigned to work as our military liaison on Coruscant.”

“Couldn’t stand having you back on the planet?” he derided. “I don’t blame them.”

“I need to use the fresher,” she said, flinging her napkin down on the table with excessive force. “Feel free to die while I’m gone.”

She strode purposefully through the restaurant, her face set in a steely mask. She knew she was drawing attention from other patrons, but if she sat at that table and listened to Neyo needle her for one more second, she was either going to stab him or burst into tears. She pushed through the refresher doors and went to the sink, washing her hands just to give herself something to do. The face that stared back at her from the mirror was Admiral Wai’yen, not Reeda. Stern. Unyielding. Unaffected.

She swallowed, and her face crumpled. Tears of rage stung her eyes, and she ruthlessly wiped them away with her clenched fist. A soft noise at the door startled her, and she whirled to face the intruder. Horror flooded her. It was Neyo, and he’d caught her crying in the ladies’ room.

“What the kriff do you think you’re doing in here?” she demanded icily. “Get out.”

He stared at her for a moment, and then he locked the door. Stalking across the room, he cupped her jaw in his hands and tilted her face to get a closer look. She tried to pull away, to put her Admiral Wai’yen mask back in place, but then his thumb stroked softly next to her eye, wiping away the tear that had breached containment. She gasped involuntarily, and his lips collided with hers.

Reeda was so shocked that for a moment she went perfectly still, but then Neyo flicked his tongue across her lower lip, and her body remembered how to move. She thrust him away and stood back, glaring at him. His chest rose and fell quickly, and those cold eyes blazed with a dark and covetous fire. She raised a hand to her lips and felt the slickness left by his tongue. Something snapped inside her. She took two hasty steps forward, and she was in his arms again, his hands rough and dominating on her body as they consumed each other with a kiss that teetered on the edge of violence. 

Lips, tongues, teeth crashed together. He clasped her tightly against his hard, unyielding body, and unbidden, the memory of him deep inside her came flooding back. He gripped her ass and ground his rapidly stiffening cock against her. Her reaction was electric. She rolled her hips, nearly climbing him in desperation. He dropped his mouth to her neck and kissed her once, roughly, and then to her breast, yanking aside her dress as he closed his teeth on her soft skin. He picked her up by the waist and set her on the edge of the sink, dropping to his knees between her thighs, rucking up her dress around her hips, and then his mouth was on her.

He didn’t even bother removing her underwear, as though he couldn’t wait another millisecond to taste her. He licked and sucked on her through the fabric, his mouth working frantically. Her body jolted and trembled at the effort of staying upright, and then his tongue snaked past the lace and dipped into her, smooth and hot and wet. He let out a vicious growl and grabbed her hips, settling her thighs over his shoulders, and then he pulled her off the sink and thrust her against his face as his tongue speared over and over into her cunt. She yelped and scrambled to brace herself with her hands, her arms shaking with exertion.

She couldn’t come like this, but kriff, it was hot to feel Neyo throw her around with such ease, like she was his own personal toy. How many nights had she fucked herself to sleep to the memory of their first encounter? The way he’d lifted her bodily off the ground and thrust into her, supporting them both with those powerful thighs—it played on a loop in her head for months, long after the bite marks and bruises had faded.

His tongue slid out of her cunt and swirled around her clit, and her legs spasmed around his head. She couldn’t come like this. Could she? All the muscles in her body began to tense, and her pelvis began to rock rhythmically against his face. Shit, I’m going to come. No sooner had the thought formed than Neyo dropped her back onto the sink and pulled away from her.

“No!” she wailed. “You bastard, I was right there!”

He shot to his feet. “Shut. Up,” he bit out, and kissed her punishingly hard. “Do you want the whole Federal District to know what we’re doing?”

He pulled her head back to expose her throat, and he scraped his teeth across her delicate skin. She felt his other hand fumbling in between them. Within seconds, his cock was free and thrusting against the scrap of lace that still covered her. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him against her, determined to find the stimulation that she needed to reach completion.

“Get inside me,” she hissed.

“You aren’t calling the shots any more, Admiral,” he growled. “You don’t get to give commands.”

“I hate you,” she breathed. 

“And yet here you are, begging for my cock,” he said coldly. 

“I do not beg,” she said. “Ever.”

He released her hair and pried her legs away from himself, then took a step back. “You get nothing until you admit that you want me. I’ve waited a long time for this. I can keep waiting.”

“What the kark is that supposed to mean?” she demanded, sliding off the sink to stand in front of him.

“It means you give me what I want, or I walk out that door right now and you can figure your own shit out.”

Was this his twisted kriffing way of asking for consent? Because she was pretty sure she’d covered that when she all but ordered him to fuck her.

“Fine,” she said in a low voice. “I…” She nearly choked on the words, and Neyo’s intent gaze pinned her in place. “I want you.”

He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a bruising kiss, then spun her around and bent her over the sink. He pulled up her dress, yanked down her panties, and thrust into her. She muffled a whimper at the intrusion and squeezed her eyes shut as she adjusted to the stretch. He wrapped his hands around her hair and jerked her head up.

“Open your eyes. I want you to watch,” he ordered.

She complied, shocked when she saw her own ravaged face in the mirror as Neyo pounded into her from behind. Her makeup was smeared, her hair was a wreck, her eyes were dilated with lust, and a sheen of sweat glistened across her skin. She flicked her gaze to stare at Neyo. His face was twisted into a scowl, and if she had any sense at all, she would have been frightened, but she was in too deep to care. His hard eyes met hers in the mirror, and his jaw tightened.

He released her hair and slid his arm around her body, between her breasts, to wrap around her throat, and he lifted her upright so he could whisper in her ear.

“Do you know what you did to me?” His voice was hoarse and anguished. “Every time I kissed someone, all I could taste was you. Every time I hooked up, all I could remember was this perfect fucking pussy.”

He pounded into her with bruising intensity, furiously working her clit with his free hand. Her head began to throb. This was so wrong. He couldn’t be saying what she thought she was hearing. She was confused from the lack of blood flowing to her brain.

“I got matched twelve different times, and not one of them was right, because not one of them was you,” he snarled. “You cursed me. You haunt me.”

The world began to darken around the edges as her eyes drifted closed, and he released her throat and forced her head to the side so she faced him.

“Look at me when you fucking come,” he ordered.

She gasped, and he clamped his hand down over her mouth to muffle her scream as he wrenched an orgasm from her body. He didn’t let up, chasing after her at a frenzied pace that rocked her entire body as she sobbed into his hand.

“Inside?” he asked roughly.

She nodded and whimpered as tears blurred her vision and spilled down her cheeks. He came with two brutal thrusts, and she felt the hot rush of his release deep inside. He shuddered against her hair as his cock softened and slipped out of her. At last, he loosened his grip and turned her to face him as he leaned against the wall for support. He wrapped her in his arms and stroked her hair as she rested her head against him.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she sighed as she licked his neck, unable to resist the temptation of tasting his skin.

“I’m sure there’s an official list in my GAR file,” he said, pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

Reeda cleaned up quickly while Neyo went back to their table so they wouldn’t be spotted leaving the refresher together. Her hairstyle was destroyed, so she hastily repinned it as well as she could, and then wiped off the mascara that smudged heavily beneath her eyes. A quick reapplication of lipstick, and she almost looked presentable—with the minor exception of her missing panties, which Neyo had silently retrieved from the refresher floor and tucked into his pocket while maintaining strong eye contact.

When she returned to the dining room, Neyo waylaid her with a ferocious expression. Force, what is he scugged about now?

“We’re leaving,” he said, taking her by the wrist and pulling her toward the exit. A few quiet murmurs whispered around the room as he dragged her behind him.

“What?” she asked, tugging her wrist to no avail. “Why?”

“The karking droid gave away our table,” he said.

“My deepest apologies, Admiral,” the droid said. “We can locate another table if you would care to wait.”

Reeda assessed the room quickly. Every table was occupied, and none of the diners were anywhere close to being ready to leave. Moreover, at least half of the customers were eyeing her and Neyo with expressions ranging from amusement to overt curiosity.

“No,” she said. “Have the food delivered to my flat.”

“Right away, sir,” the droid replied, waddling off to relay the order to the kitchen.

Neyo looked at her inquisitively. “Your flat?”

“I live in this building,” she said. “Come with me.”

She was keenly aware of the many sets of eyes that tracked their hasty exit, but before long, she led Neyo into the private, secure lift that opened directly into her penthouse. He stood silently next to her on the trip up, watching her with an inscrutable gaze. She tried not to give herself an opportunity to second-guess her decision to let him into her home. Strange, she thought, how this seemed more intimate than allowing him inside her body. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d allowed another person into her home. 

The lift doors opened, and he followed her into the flat, pausing long enough to remove their shoes, then looking around curiously.

“Lived here long?”

“A few months,” she said. “I bought it when I found out I’d be stationed on Coruscant long-term.”

“It’s nice,” he said. “Very… clean.”

She laughed. “You mean sterile. I haven’t had time to do much decorating. I’m hardly here except to sleep, anyway.”

He nodded. “I thought I’d have more time for hobbies after the war ended, but now it’s just nonstop—”

“Red tape and committees,” she finished with a sympathetic grimace. He shot her a wry grin. She didn’t think she’d ever seen him smile before, and it did uncomfortable things to her brain. She tried not to think about it, instead asking, “What kind of hobbies? Aside from plotting my slow death, obviously.”

“Oh, you know,” he said vaguely. “Torturing small, adorable creatures; sharpening my vibroblade collection; collecting stamps; that sort of thing.”

She blinked. “I can’t tell if you’re joking.”

He regarded her steadily for a moment, eyes unreadable as ever. “You really think the worst of me, don’t you?”

She was taken aback. “I—”

Her reply was cut off by the chime of the door. The food had arrived, thank the Force, which gave her a moment to stop herself from blurting out her immediate thought: You’ve never given me any reason to think anything else.

Neyo was a competent soldier—brilliant, in fact. There was no question that he had one of the finest tactical and strategic minds in the GAR. But as a person? From the moment they’d met, he’d been antagonistic, sardonic, cold. He’d challenged her authority and provoked her in meetings. He’d only treated her with the barest semblance of civility in public, and in private—Well. They both knew how things went when they were alone.

The service droid rolled a cart into the dining room and began setting up the meal.

“Can I get you a drink?” she offered Neyo. “I don’t have any Alderaanian red, but I do have Cheedoan whiskey.”

“The good stuff,” he replied. “I’ll have a glass. Thanks.”

The droid finished setting up and shuffled out the front door as Reeda poured two generous glasses of whiskey at the wet bar.

“Ice?” she asked.

He didn’t answer, and when she turned around, she nearly dropped the glasses in surprise to find him standing close behind her. He locked his eyes on hers and never looked away as he took one of the glasses and drained it in a single swallow, then set it down with a decisive click on the counter. Her heart began to pound as he loomed over her. He traced his fingers from her elbow up to her wrist, and then he wrapped his hand around hers and raised her glass to her lips. 

The whiskey burned a fiery path across her tongue and down her throat. A few droplets escaped and splashed coldly on her chest. Neyo didn’t let up until she emptied the glass, and when she was done, he leaned down and sucked the liquor off her skin. His hands dropped to her hips and slid up her back as he located the zipper of her dress and dragged it down excruciatingly slowly, and all the while, his mouth moved across her skin. He slipped the straps down over her shoulders and let the dress fall to the floor, and then he kissed a path along the lacy edge of her bra.

“Thanks for the matched set,” he said, unhooking it and pulling it off.

“Those were expensive, asshole,” she said unsteadily.

He didn’t reply, but she knew she was never going to see that bra again. He kissed his way down her breast and captured her nipple in his mouth, abrading it lightly with his teeth. She jolted, and the empty glass slipped from her hand and smashed against the hard tiles of the floor. 

Neyo barely responded to the sound of shattering crystal. Reeda froze, keenly aware that the smallest movement could result in a bloody footful of glass. She stood utterly, helplessly still as he continued to explore her body with his teeth and lips and hands and tongue. He was thorough in his attentions, and something about being entirely at his mercy was wildly arousing. Her head spun as the whiskey began to work its insidious way through her bloodstream.

“I missed this perfume. What is it?” he murmured against the soft skin of her abdomen.

“I don’t wear any,” she said.

He nuzzled against her as though he could transfer her scent to his own skin. Without warning, he scooped her up and carried her out of the room, completely disregarding the risk to himself. But instead of dropping her as soon as they were clear of the broken glass as she expected, he asked, “Bedroom?”

“Left,” she said, and he strode across the flat and kicked open the door, to her intense irritation. “You gonna pay for the broken doorknob?”

He didn’t reply, just tossed her onto the bed and pounced on her as soon as she landed. He slid in between her thighs and gripped her hard as his mouth descended on hers, kissing her as though he were trying to devour her soul. He was still fully clothed, and she scrambled to pull off his shirt. He was completely unhelpful, too engrossed in her taste. She raked her nails across his skin as she yanked his shirt over his head, and he seized her lip in his teeth in revenge.

At last, the barrier of his shirt was gone, and she writhed against him, desperate to feel as much of his warm, smooth skin against her as possible. They clashed together, sinking nails and teeth into each other. At some point, Neyo got his trousers down enough to free his cock, and he shoved into her. His belt chafed harshly on her delicate skin as she wrapped her legs around him, urging him to go deeper, harder, faster. The sounds they made were unholy, primal: growls and grunts and screams of pain and ecstasy as they tore into each other with all the aggression that they had built over the years. 

She pulled his hair; he clawed her back. She slapped his face; he bit her shoulder. She snarled that she loathed him; he interlaced his fingers with hers and whispered how beautiful she was when she came apart beneath him. She thrust him away and kicked him across the bed; he pinned her down and fucked her until she sobbed and begged for more. At some point, she tasted blood, and she didn’t know or care whose it was. And when at last she lost count of how many times he’d brought her to orgasm, he curled his body around hers and traced his thumb softly over her features as she drifted to sleep.

“If I die while I’m inside you, it’s the closest I’ll ever get to heaven,” he whispered.

“Force, you say some kriffed up shit,” she grumbled.

Reeda awakened slowly, aware of something blissfully warm and soothing moving across her skin. She cracked her eyes open. Neyo was lying on top of her, dragging his tongue lazily over her body. He roamed along her curves, and it wasn’t until he paused at her bruised wrist that she realized what he was doing.

“Are you licking my wounds?” she breathed.

He didn’t answer, but his eyes met hers with an intensity that bordered on madness. Gods, everything about this was so fucked up, and she didn’t dare examine too closely why she found it so incredibly arousing. He moved slowly, meticulously, his tongue gliding softly over every centimeter of her body, until she felt like a bomb, ready to detonate at the slightest spark. She came before he ever reached her cunt, and again as he rocked gently inside her, his lips soft against her mouth, silent tears spilling from the corners of her eyes to course down her temples.

After, he guided her into the shower, and when her legs gave out, he held her upright as the hot water washed over them. Once he’d massaged her entire body with his strong, soapy hands, he dried her off and laid her back on the bed while he spread bacta across the damage he’d inflicted. It was disorienting to be cared for so thoroughly by the man who’d spent the better part of four years making her life hell. He didn’t speak, and she didn’t know what to say, so in the end, she simply watched him in silence.

When he finished with the bacta, he retrieved their dinner from the dining room. The food had long since gone cold, but after hours of intense physical activity, they were famished, and they ate it anyway, sharing bites and sipping whiskey straight from the decanter. Neyo sat with his back against the headboard, his long, strong legs bracketing Reeda as she leaned back against his broad chest.

“How did you know porg was my favorite?” she asked.

He shrugged. “They’re tiny, cute, and innocent. I just assumed you would enjoy extinguishing the life from them and consuming their remains.”

She laughed and snuggled closer to him. “Is that why you order your meat rare? Because it’s the next best thing to drinking straight from the source?”

“Finally, someone who understands,” he smirked. “Truthfully, I overheard you tell Admiral Coburn that porg was your favorite during a banquet at the strategy conference at Valor.”

She turned to stare up at him. “Neyo, that was two years ago. That was before we ever…”

“I know,” he said, burying his face in her hair and breathing deeply.

“Stalker,” she murmured.

He dropped his mouth to her neck, and she tilted her head back against his shoulder as his lips glided across her skin. 

“What does it say about you that you like it?” he whispered when he reached her ear.

He pulled her close, positioning himself between her and the bedroom door. From the proprietary way he held her, she knew it was a deliberate choice; any threat that came through that door would have to go through him before it got to her, and she had a feeling that there weren’t many beings in the galaxy that were brave or foolish enough to try.

Reeda jerked awake to a furious pounding at the front door. Neyo was already halfway out of the bedroom, stark naked and armed with a steak knife from their midnight dinner.

“Wait here,” he ordered, his voice hard and flat.

She rolled her eyes as she pulled on a bathrobe and grabbed a blaster from her nightstand. Neyo glared at her when she joined him, but didn’t bother yelling at her.

“Coruscant guard! Open up,” a modulated voice shouted harshly from outside the door.

Neyo glanced questioningly at her, and she shrugged, hiding the blaster behind her robe. He stepped out of view of the door, and she opened it to find none other than Marshal Commander Fox, flanked by two Corrie ARC troopers.

“Commander,” she greeted him, not bothering to conceal the surprise in her voice.

“Good to see you’re in one piece, Admiral,” he said. “Are you all right?”

“I beg your pardon?” she asked, baffled.

“We received multiple calls about a disturbance at your address. Are you alone?”

Reeda felt a hot rush of blood wash over her face and neck. “I fail to see how that is any business of yours, Commander.”

“Sorry, sir, but it’s my duty to—” He stopped abruptly, and his visor shifted to a point behind her. 

“Isn’t this a little below your pay grade, Fox?” Neyo drawled close behind Reeda.

Fox’s visor turned back to Reeda, then to Neyo, and then back to Reeda again. The two ARC troopers appeared to be fascinated by the walls on either side of the front door. 

At last, Fox spoke. “I don’t send shinies to wake up admirals.”

Neyo’s hand slid possessively around the front of Reeda’s abdomen, and he pulled her against his nude body. Something large and solid prodded against her backside. Dank farrik, is he turned on right now? Sick bastard.

“Thank you for your concern,” she told Fox, “but everything is under control.”

“So I see,” Fox replied. “Still, you’ll need to keep the noise level down, or I’ll have no choice but to arrest you for disturbing the peace.”

Neyo reached forward silently and shut the door in Fox’s face, then he spun Reeda around, picked her up over his shoulder, and carried her back to the bedroom. The last thing Fox heard was the unmistakable sound of Neyo’s hand slapping her ass as Reeda shrieked with indignant laughter.

Republic Military HQ buzzed quietly with speculation the next morning when not one, but two of the most senior command staff called in sick for the first time in either of their careers. Rumors swirled: some were convinced a secret bioweapon had been released by Separatist holdouts; others maintained that the stress of dealing with politicians was beginning to take a toll; still others claimed that it was a coverup and that the marshal commander and the admiral had been taken hostage by pirates. It was whispered that Commander Fox had a particularly haunted expression that morning, and two of the Coruscant Guard ARC Troopers had contacted the legal department to update their wills. In the midst of all this, the beleaguered Lissi received a brusque order to inform RTL Matchmaking that the admiral no longer required their services.

Daria drained her third iced caf of the morning as she flicked through her holomessages. Buried amidst the intake forms and meeting invitations was an abrupt-bordering-on-rude note from Marshal Commander Neyo ordering her to close his file.

“Why do you look like the tooka that got the blue milk?” her fellow matchmaker Tarsi Renda asked as she passed Daria in the corridor.

“Oh, no reason,” Daria smiled. “The galaxy is back to normal, that’s all—and my track record is once again perfect.”

---

DJ’s masterlist | Join my tag list here

[short-wooloo]

Kenobi S2: A'Sharad Hett

With there being some talk and speculation (nothing official from Lucasfilm right now, just fans and Ewan McGregor saying he's interested) about either a second season/sequel/follow up to Kenobi, I want to talk about why if this happens it should have A'Sharad Hett as the antagonist

First and most obviously

by doing this we can adapt a legends storyline, if you don't already know A'Sharad Hett is a Tusken Jedi Knight during the last days of the Republic, he knew Anakin and even found out about the Tusken massacre, but Hett chose to keep quiet on it (he regreted that), he fought in the clone wars and survived order 66, but not entirely, that betrayal, the murder of the Jedi, and learning (somehow, it was never really explained) that Anakin had done it broke him, and Hett fell to the dark side, returning to his people on Tatooine, began carrying out a murderous war on non Tuskens until Hett got too close to a certain moisture farm where Obi-Wan stopped him

Second

by using an antagonist localized to Tatooine, that let's us keep things on the planet, Kenobi managed to justify the concept of Obi-Wan leaving very well (brilliant just brilliant using that to include Leia), but I don't know if it can be pulled off twice, so best to just stay on Tatooine

Third

Clone Wars flashbacks, Ewan specifically said he wanted to do this with him and Hayden in their Clone Wars costumes, and we can also maintain one of the strongest points of Kenobi

Kenobi is fundamentally about the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin, as I said, getting Obi-Wan off Tatooine more than once is already a stretch, but doing that AND having yet ANOTHER encounter with Vader? No, not gonna work (also you'll never match/make anything as good as that confrontation in the final episode), so flashbacks are the way to go

Flashbacks also allow us to explore that fateful encounter between Anakin and A'Sharad

So maybe what we'll get is a series of flashbacks each episode to a particular battle during the early clone wars (I would say not long after the movie but still before the Malevolence arc, that way Tatooine is still fresh on Anakin's mind when he runs into A'Sharad) that Obi-Wan, Anakin, and A'Sharad were involved in, maybe even get in some cameos by Cody, Rex, and Ahsoka, and eventually these brief, beginning-of-episode flashbacks will culminate on a whole episode flashback involving Anakin and A'Sharad, and a brief rage-fueled duel between them

Also Hayden and Ewan in their characters' Clone Wars Seasons 1-2 outfits, c'mon

Fourth

parallels to Reva

I also don't think you can do a second season of Kenobi without Reva, she is a pillar of the show, a big driver of the plot, a foil to Anakin/Vader, and she can also be the same to A'Sharad Hett

Having Reva, someone hurt by Anakin and fell to the the dark side because of what he did to her, will make for a great contrast with Hett, who has also been hurt by Anakin and fallen to the dark side, especially since Reva has freed herself from the darkness and her need for revenge (and even more so if we continue following the legends template and have Hett go deeper into the darkness)

Furthermore, in a direct parallel to what Reva did at the end of Kenobi, a hypothetical season 2 could have Hett discover Luke and seeks revenge by proxy on Anakin, but unlike Reva he does not stop himself and Reva and Obi-Wan must stop Hett (are you picturing it?Obi-Wan and Reva dueling Hett side by side as Master and Apprentice?), really show just how much Reva has grown

Fifth

Set up (a version of) Krayt

Depending on whether or not A'Sharad Hett dead by the end of a hypothetical Kenobi season 2/sequel (which if it really takes inspiration from the legends comic) what we'll have is the perfect opportunity to set up him as the big bad of the post Skywalker saga era (and I'll have more thoughts on what I specifically want out of this in a different post) and enemy to Rey's rebuilding Jedi Order (even better if we get ro see Reva as a part of it too), as that is basically what happened in legends, Hett loses to Obi-Wan, his defeat and humiliation costs him leadership of the Tuskens, he goes out into the galaxy as a bounty hunter, ends up on Korribban, discovers a sith holocron, takes up the sith way (I'll go into why that needs to be dropped in another post), and prepares to take over the galaxy

So yeah, show could end with Hett's defeat by Obi-Wan, who tries to offer him help and a chance at redemption, which Hett rejects (more Anakin parallels), promises that he will destroy everything Obi-Wan is working towards, and leaves, with the final shot/scene of Hett in the show being him bleeding his lightsaber crystal (the RIGHT way, not acolyte's stupid bullshit mood ring way 😒)

[missheavenfield1215]

Beetlejuice The Musical Headcanons Pt 2

Hi again, guys!! This is a second part of my headcanons about the Broadway musical Beetlejuice.

Beetlejuice didn't harass Lydia, because she was able to get away from him because of that.

Even though Beetlejuice was very inappropriate with the Maitlands when he first met them and seemed to have a preference for Adam, he genuinely doesn't know personal boundaries, but it doesn't mean he doesn't know that what he did was wrong...

We can agree that Lydia was the person who hurt Beetlejuice the most for the entire duration of the show. She is the only one who managed to betray beetlejuice THREE TIMES IN A ROW!

I honestly believed that in a way, he would also do something very small to Lydia, I mean make her uncomfortable in some way, you know, what Keaton's Beetlejuice did to Ryder in the original movie.

My theory is that Beetlejuice knows that touching people without their consent or invading their personal space is wrong, but being so lonely, he does it to vent his painful loneliness... But he knows that's wrong, and he knows that the Maitlands despise those inappropriate touches and despise him for doing so, too.

That's why I firmly believe that Beetlejuice refrained from touching Lydia in the same way as the Maitlands, (Even if we're talking about the person he loves the most) and he didn't make any inappropriate comments to her, because he didn't want to give Lydia reasons to abandon him or hate him.

I don't think Beetlejuice's clones are distorted representations of himself.

I think Beetlejuice has ADHD to some degree, but I don't think that's why all of his clones are physically different.

I agree that maybe Beetlejuice doesn't have the proper physical recognition to know every part of his being in detail. But I don't think ADHD makes you look like you're another race, or a different physical build...

It would be very strange if Beetlejuice never crossed the veil into the Netherworld, it is very likely that he has done so many MANY times, and he has encountered all kinds of people. Like Lauren Boebert, from whom he contracted Herpes, but perhaps, he found people who really liked him. But it is likely that they have abandoned him and as a sad reminder, Beetlejuice formed his clones based on these strangers who cheered his immortality at least a little.

Lydia is and was Beetlejuice's ONLY choice to get married.

"Beetlejuice could have chosen Delia once Lydia left... But he felt so betrayed, that he preferred to murder everyone, rather than even think about marrying someone else."

Because even though Lydia had already betrayed him once, Beetlejuice immediately looked at her, but once she left with her father, Charles, there was only one last woman left alive, Delia...

In fact, his plan could have gone better, since he could go after them. Beetlejuice may have threatened Delia to marry him, and bring Lydia and Charles back.

But when he feels that Lydia has betrayed him again, he immediately cries: "Why does everyone keep leaving me?!"

I think he could have chased her to the Netherworld, but for fear of meeting his mother, he didn't want to go.

But he didn't, Beetlejuice didn't use the absence of the father and daughter to extort Delia, I have a theory that, even a little, Beetlejuice came to love Lydia to suddenly accept her: "I don't want to go through life alone".

Well, I also want to emphasize that, he did believe Lydia, but not Charles, so Adam had to intervene.

I mean, Beetlejuice was willing to believe everything Lydia told him (and I'm pretty sure if Lydia told Beetlejuice that the moon is cheese, he'd believe her). But, yes, Beetlejuice could only believe Lydia.... Not Charles....

Adam had to intervene to make the charade make more sense...

Plus I feel like if Beetlejuice believed Lydia for all of her lies, he didn't believe Charles because BJ may have thought Charles had a plan to take her away from him. Not knowing that the whole plan was made by her...

And although Lydia became the most beloved person by the pinstripe suit demon, and even if she would take every opportunity to hurt him....

he's going to want to keep trying.

Lydia was able to make Beetlejuice give up the urge to murder.

We all know that Lydia has some power over Beetlejuice, being, apparently, the first person to "genuinely love him as a friend" and may have actually manipulated him into doing more things for her.

I'm sure that if Lydia had shown interest in helping him reform, he wouldn't have refused.

Beetlejuice isn't as bad as we think.

From the beginning, Beetlejuice wanted Lydia to agree to release him, but he NEVER lied to her.

Beetlejuice told him that they are a great team, and in the song "That Beautiful Sound", he really believed that they were kindred souls, and he believed that because of that they were already friends.

But think for a moment, if Beetlejuice had wanted to manipulate her, he would have inquired into the reasons why Lydia wanted to commit suicide and there he would have discovered that she wanted to see her mother again and there he would have tricked her into saying his name three times and maybe even marrying him in order to bring Emily back.

But no.... As soon as Beetlejuice knows that Lydia wants to see her mother again, he is completely honest about it... And at least we know that he never lied to her, and while the way he convinced her to marry him was mean, at least it wasn't a lie.

He kept his word to get everyone out of the house and save Barbara.

Beetlejuice really holds Lydia in high esteem and we know that she is very special (because she can see and understand him), so BJ held her back as much as he could to keep her from leaving.

Even after being betrayed THREE TIMES IN A ROW, he was willing to face his worst fear by confronting his mother, just to save Lydia...

He was willing to sacrifice himself to prevent his mother from touching a single hair of the girl.

And that says a lot more than the manipulation he did out of desperation...

Well, that's all for now... Maybe I'll get a third part, but I'd have to watch the musical again to get more information.... Maybe...

(You can update this post regularly, because I keep adding a lot more)

If you made it this far, thank you enormously for reading my writing again...

Merry Christmas to all!! 💖💕

Link to the first part of these headcanons.

Part 1

[vynmin]

╰┈➤ Don't Fall in Love

CH2 - Blades and Band-aids

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

ˏˋ°•\*⁀➷ Summary: A bright young girl witnesses her lover being killed by her very own brother. Nothing out of the ordinary for a family with too many connections with the wrong people. Now she locks herself away in her room refusing to talk to anyone in the family. Or she walks out to visit the corner store owned by the same old man to buy the only things she’ll eat nowadays when one day she has a fateful encounter with the old man’s grandson.

ꕥ Pairing - jungkook x fem.reader

ꕥ Genre - allegedly unrequited love, sloowww burn, lowkey enemies to lovers?,

ꕥ Warnings CH2! - bloody murder! (flashbacks/nightmares), blood, profanity, fighting, brief mention of drugs, graphic nightmares, panic attacks, self-harm, scars, (some interesting decision making I do not recommend) 

ꕥ Word Count - 6.5k

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

The bright lights illuminated the city streets as you made your way back longing to feel the comfort of the sanctuary. As you neared the house you saw how the amount of cars in the driveway were less than usual and how silent the house seemed even from the outside. Hoping no one would be home upon your entry back you hit the code entering the house. As you walked through the dark hall the light of a lamp flickered as a voice began to question, 

“Where have you been all day?” Yoongi said, arching his eyebrow, still surprised you had left even your room let alone the house gates. Barely acknowledging the elder you shoved your hands in your pocket making your way upstairs when you were stopped again. 

“I want to know for your safety you shouldn’t be out all day and coming back at this hour. You know it’s not safe for people like us.” He tried to reason as you scoffed, chuckling a bit at the claims he had just made. 

“Yes I’m so scared for my safety when my brother killed my boyfriend. Or the fact that anyone close to me receives bribes to stay away from me. Yes, I am shaking in my boots at the thought of leaving this shit hole.” you taunted as he watched, taking the time to find his words wisely this time. 

“That has nothing to do with this and you know it doesn't,” he said sternly clearing his throat to begin again, 

“You won’t be leaving this house without guards whenever you feel like it because if you get your ass scoped I’ll be the one getting all the shit cause you wanted to take a trip to hell and not come back.” He said in a louder tone staring at you with those dark eyes you hated seeing paint his face. Knowing he was serious about his words you were just as determined to make sure his rules weren’t obeyed. Hoping you’d get under his skin just as much, you looked back at him just as sternly and gave your response, 

“I’d love to see what could possibly stop me from leaving this shitshow you and him love calling a home.” you said turning to leave before stopping in your tracks once more, 

“Oh and believe me I know the big guy won’t let me go down there till he decides to drag you down to hell too.” you said scrunching your face up in disgust while Yoongi only scoffed as you finally made your way up the stairs. 

Watching a maid scurry out of one of the rooms on the second floor adjusting her apron and wiping her smudged lipstick you simply nodded before opening the sanctuary door leaving her frozen on the other side of the corridor.

 As you closed the door behind you the nostalgic scent filled your nose as your mind drifted to all the memories the same room held. All the times he’d sneak through the now patched window and greet you with a passionate kiss all to stop you from scolding him over him sneaking in again as well as show his love for you. Or the times he’d bring something new for you two to “try” together knowing very well he was quite the expert and just wanted to teach you which was his way of showing his love. Helping you through things even if they were as silly as making crocheted bunnies.

What you loved most was the chemistry you two shared, the togetherness between you two even when not together, how you would always have him in mind and he would you too. When together whether in silence or in chaos there was always comfort and a loving aura that beamed when you two were together and the satisfaction that always came when everyone else around you both would notice it. Blinking out of your trance the blooming peace lily that you kept next to the shiny necklace with a blade that was the center of the design caught your eye and had you remembering you needed to water the plant. Although your drowsiness threatened to take over you reluctantly found a spray bottle and spritzed the plant as mist fell onto it. You couldn’t afford to let this plant die or any of them for that matter knowing that the guilt of letting him die already weighed down on your everyday life. The least you could do was keep him in your thoughts even though you couldn’t help but think even that was shameless and selfish of you. Knowing you didn’t deserve him after everything that had happened but the fact that you knew you’d always be too selfish to let him go always fed into your guilt. 

Flopping onto the cold bed you let out a sigh rolling over to watch the moonlight that seeped through the sanctuary from the patched window. Drifting off to sleep you curled up becoming slightly overwhelmed at the thought of him being right next to you. Imagining the way you’d lay your head on his chest listening to the calming beat of his heart and how his soft hand that laid on your lower back would slowly pull you closer and closer to his warm body. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Laughter erupting from the 1st level caused you to groan as you suddenly woke up sprawled out lazily on your bed. Rubbing your eyes, your mood had already turned slightly sour knowing that everyone you despised was downstairs going on with their daily “business”. Feeling around the nightstand for your phone you ultimately gave up almost falling out of the bed. 

“Look at you waking up at a decent time in the morning.” Yoongi teased once again leaning on the door of the sanctuary. Eyes still more shut than open, you stood up to rush over to the door almost falling down as the room started to spin and seeing too many colors of the rainbow. Yoongi, watching you almost fall knitted his eyebrows seeing you barely catch yourself. 

“You're not taking your pills again are you? They can’t be that hard to swallow.” Yoongi said, watching you sharply. Grabbing a hold of your head you tried pacing yourself as you walked slowly over to the elder. 

“I’m not taking those shit filled pills.” You barked low still trying to take in your surroundings. 

“Those shit filled pills are what keep you from walking like a drunkard. You barely eat either which just makes things worse.” He said mostly to himself, straightening his stance at the door. Finally facing the elder you watched the concern plastered on his face that made your blood boil. 

“Does taking a pill really affect anything going on down there?”

“Y/N-” 

“You could probably sell those pills if you're looking for consumers so much.” You taunted turning on your heel. Clearing his throat the boy begin to speak again, 

“Anyways I came here to revisit what we talked about yesterday. If you wanna leave the house, fine by me but with guards.” He spoke in that soft but stern voice most common with you nowadays. To that you chuckled, shaking your head as his eyebrows furrowed again. 

“Y/N I’m serious it's not saf-” 

“And I seriously don’t care.” You said roughly cutting off the elder who huffed loudly showing his frustration.

“God what would you do anyways lock me up in this chicken coop?” You continued laughing at your own scenarios. Walking up to the boy he stepped back now outside of the sanctuary as you gripped the door. 

“Oh and don't forget the windows wouldn’t want me to get out now would we?” Letting your laughter settle as you let the door shut in Yoongi’s face. Leaving the boy in shock he crossed his arms now lost in deep thought until he was interrupted by calls from the 1st level. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

You had never regretted bullshitting the way you did this morning more than ever. In your defense you didn’t think he’d actually follow through with your jokes, you were just teasing. But here you were now staring at the wooden planks that were nailed to the windows on the 1st level and the door that was locked from the outside with a different pin. 

“Damn windows.” You murmured as one of the two guards sitting on the couches walked up to you. 

“Ms. Y/N is there anywhere you would like to go, we would be glad to accompany you.” He offered a little too enthusiastic for your liking yet you felt slight guilt for insulting him the day prior. 

“No that would be quite all right thank you, Yoongi does have some interesting ways of showing lessons. I'll just have to find some interesting solutions.” You said smiling widely up at the guard who laughed nervously scratching his nape as he looked back to the other guard. Letting his nervousness be your queue to leave you turned, letting that fake smile of yours drop as you headed up to the sanctuary. 

Finding a way to leave the house wouldn’t be easy knowing how stubborn and calculated the elder was but it wasn’t something you couldn’t handle. Walking back down you begged for the two guards to buy you some made up feminine product from the stores and as they left you cursed in frustration not seeing the pin. Huffing you now walked back and forth amongst the windows that were nailed shut. Knowing there wouldn’t be anything you could do, you again walked up to the sanctuary slamming the door. Your eyes landed on the patched window as your thoughts began to run. Examining the window and looking down at the low and freshly cut grass you smiled, 

“You fucking lunatic.” You said to yourself as you opened the rusty window resting your foot on the bottom. Wanting to chicken out judging by the fact you’d be jumping from the second floor you heard the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.

 You were now right outside the sanctuary standing on the ledge as you stared in closing the patched window. Staring at the green grass knowing those two idiots would come up any second you closed your eyes and jumped. Your body hitting the grass with a thud you rolled straight into the green bushes as you repeatedly cursed. Spitting the grass out of your mouth you groaned getting up and out of the bushes. Walking against the house you watched the two men bicker as they walked towards the house. 

“How was I supposed to know what a coochie controller was? I even asked around and just got weird looks that one lady slapped me with her bag!” The guard whined as you stifled your laughter nearing the front of the house. 

Waiting for them to enter the house you jumped the black gates and rested your head against the gates breathing heavily. Looking around you just to be safe seeing the road seemed pretty empty you shoved your hands in your loose pockets and skipped along the streets disappearing into the busy city. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

The old man hummed an old korean trot as he dusted down the tables and benches outside the corner store. Not many customers on the sunny sunday as school students were the most popular but some would still come and go. Walking around the streets in a haze you almost flinched when you saw the old man as you walked with your head down not wanting to converse yet again. 

Of course he just had to use his old instincts because once you tried walking away he called from behind. 

“Y/N-ie is that you?” He said, watching your figure from behind with wide eyes. Thinking that you could keep walking was quite the tempting option but you sighed turning to face the old man with a smile. 

“Yes it’s me Mr. Li, I didn't see you there.” You said politely grinning as you took in the old man’s features. How his old age somehow enhanced the softness that was always on his face even from when you were younger. He smiled back, setting the rag on the bench as you walked closer to the shop. 

“It better have been that, thought you were ignoring me.” He said smirking lightly as the guilt settled in your smile thinned as you questioned, 

“Mr. Li why would you think that?” eyebrows knitted as he chuckled softly. 

“You know I haven’t seen you in awhile Y/N-ie and stop calling me Mr.Li before I call you Bubbles again.” He said pouting as you almost choked hearing that ridiculous nickname that you just couldn’t escape. 

“Yah Lili let’s be mature you know it was a one time thing.” You said biting your cheek refusing to look at the old man as he erupted with laughter. 

“The puddle of soaps you slipped in cause you wanted to perfect your science volcano caused me a lot of money brat. Poor Yoongi got a head full of glittery soap too.” 

Looking back at your youngerself’s desire to be good at everything you shook your head trying not to cringe too much. 

“How is Yoongi? I don't see too much of him these days either, especially after you forced him to stop walking you down here. “ He smiled at the fond memories he had of your loving older brother who was just a little too overprotective. You replied dryly with a simple “He’s good” half lying your way through the question. 

“Ah and Minho how is he you two still together you know that boy was always my favorite he was so modest and kin-” 

“He moved away last year; he wasn't well and had to move to the States.” you cut Mr.Li off not wanting to stay on the topic of him too long before you cried in front of the old man. His gaze softened seeing how your whole demeanor had changed. Meeting his gaze you saw his expression, the pity in his eyes and how silent he was and you immediately regretted even coming here.  

“I'm sorry I hope he’s doing better I know how much you loved that boy-” 

“Halbeoji, the suppliers aren’t here. It's past 12 and we can always reschedule.” The familiar raven haired boy said coming out of the store facing the old man. 

“Jungkook-ah you're not going to that race, if that's your plan you’ll be waiting right here until they come. Yah and what did I tell you about interrupting conversations.” The old man scolded as the boy pouted looking over to find you standing watching him with bored eyes. He huffed, bowing as he muttered an apology to you that the old man slapped the back of his head for.

“Aish whenever you come here your manners always leave now don’t they. Y/N-ie this is my grandson Jungkook.” He said, pushing the boy's head down making him bow lightly while you nodded. 

“Old man Li-” 

“Ah ok sorry Jungkook this is Y/N a friend you could say, better Y/N-ie?” He said facing you with a cheeky smile as you bit your cheek, arms crossed as you burned with embarrassment. 

Jungkook raised his head now facing you observing the contrast from the first time you two had met as he greeted you, 

“Y/N it's nice to meet you even if it is the second time.” He said trying to ease your embarrassment to which he was met with a slight nod from you. The old man watched you both as he spoke now facing his grandson, 

“Yah what are you still doing here go wait for those suppliers before I ship you back to your mother.” He threatened lightly as the boy groaned at his grandfather who shook his head. Before going back inside the boy gave you a small bow that you returned with a nod before walking back inside. 

“That delinquent.” Old man Li muttered and smiled as he looked back at you before breaking into a coughing fit. Your faint smile dropped again as you watched with your eyebrows furrowed offering to get him water. 

“No no ah it's just my age I’d probably choke on the water if I did take it.” He tried to joke as you grew more concerned. 

“Y/N-ie don’t look at me like that I'm fine.” He smiled brightly, his heart melting knowing you were concerned even if you tried not to show it. 

“Go to the doctor I’ll take if you don’t go. I'm warning you, you're old but you're so careless. Who’ll run the corner store if you don't hm?” You let out surprised you talked so informally while the elder walked up embracing you as you stood frozen. 

“Y/N I'm fine, don't stress over an old man like me, I’ll go to the doctor if it’ll make you happy, ok?” he said, still smiling so brightly and you only wondered how he did it all the time. 

Releasing you from the warm hug he walked in the store only to quickly come out with a bag of snacks that made you want to deny but he shoved the bag in your hands. Finally on your way back to the house you felt lighter, a way you hadn’t felt in a while. Not too surprised the old man always had a way with people from his smile to his way with words you were always jealous of.

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

“How did she even leave the house with you two still here?” Yoongi barked from the first level as the two guards hung their heads down. 

“Sir she wanted a product from the store and so we went ahead to buy the product.” One of the guards explained tripping on his words as he went on. 

“What product?” Yoongi questioned looking over at the other guard who raised his head only to put it back down shaking it. 

“Well- it was a feminine product that Ms. Y/N wanted-” 

“What product was all I asked for?” Yoongi cut off the guard, growing impatient as the man sighed, bracing himself for Yoongi’s response.

“It was a um a well a co-” 

“Coochie controller?” Your voice rang through the 1st level as you skipped downstairs. The man nodded and placed his head back down as Yoongi gritted his teeth. Watching as you grinned widely he dismissed the two guards with a “we’ll figure you two out later.” 

“These are very sturdy aren’t they who put them up.” You questioned playing with one of the planks that covered the windows. 

“So I try to compromise with you for your safety and you go ahead and trick other people and leave the house without telling anyone?!” He roared and you could feel his narrowed eyes burning in the back of your head. You turned slowly looking back at the elder who was running his hand through his black locks. 

“The compromise didn’t fit my interest so why would I abide, and it's not trickery if they don’t have the mental capacity to think on their own.” You said calmly but your nonchalant persona only made Yoongi more angry with you. 

“How did you leave?” Yoongi asked, seeming a little calmer than before. 

“A magician never reveals their secrets but I’ll be willing to negotiate if it sparks my interest.” You pushed watching the elder rubbing his eyebrows in frustration. 

“What exactly would that compromise be Y/N.” 

“Well Yoongi, maybe we could start small like planks on the windows!” You suggested sarcastically as the boy only shook his head. 

“Fine they aren’t so hard to take down anyways so how’d you get out?” He questioned listening carefully waiting for your response. Walking up to the boy and passing him as you made your way up the stairs you replied, 

“A magician never reveals their secrets Yoongi,” you paused as Yoongi called your name in frustration.

“But, you might as well change the pin back to the first one; those guards are quite gullible.” you lied making your way up to the sanctuary. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

You sat on the fresh green grass gazing at the summer sky humming to the tune of the song you and Minho had just learned on guitar. Blushing simply thinking of the silly boy you dusted your white flowery dress making your way back into the house. As you made your way back up to your room you heard a faint crash come from the basement. Puzzled, you walked down, going closer and closer  to the noise. 

“HELP! HELP.” The awfully familiar voice yelled from one of the rooms on the farther side of the basement. You felt a pit grow in your stomach as you slowly made your way towards the door. You sighed, taking a deep breath before opening the door knowing it wouldn’t be anything good on the other side. Tied against a chair in a dull green room you could barely make out who was struggling to get out. Though they suddenly stopped looking up to see who it was that opened the door. In shock yourself all you wanted to do was vomit seeing him in this state. A bloody red nose, busted lip and swollen eyes but you’d recognize him in any state. 

“M-Minho!” You practically screeched running over to him cupping his face in your hands. 

“What happened what’s going on who did this to you how did this happ-” 

“Y/N you need to leave now it’s not safe I’m fine.” Minho said cutting you off from all the frantic questions you were asking. 

“No you need medical attention, we can leave, I can get you out of here.” You suggested as the worry started to overtake you, you worked on untying his hands as he struggled trying to reason the situation out with you. 

“Minho tell me who did this even if I can’t help, I'll have Yoongi take care of it.” You pleaded as Minho rapidly shook his head, not even making eye-contact with you. 

“If you don’t want to tell me then let’s leave your injuries, you need treatment and-“ You decided to grab his arm to lead him out of the dark room. 

“Y/n, stop.” You cut you off once again now looking you directly in the eyes and you just knew something had gone terribly wrong. As he pulled his hand away you held onto him tightly as he struggled to get away from your grip. 

“Y/n get away from him.” Yoongi called from the door leaving you to sigh in relief as Minho frantically pulled his arm away from you.  Looking back at Minho you saw the way he gulped at Yoongi who stared him down with his dark narrowed orbs. 

“Yoon help his injuries are getting worse and worse and I don’t know who locked him up in this room but we need to get out.” You said out of breath letting your thoughts just come out.

“Well this makes getting rid of him ten times easier.” Yoongi muttered getting closer to you and Minho keeping his eyes on Minho. Watching Yoongi pull the firearm out of his pocket you watched in confusion not knowing what your brother’s next move would be and that scared you. 

“Y-Yoon what are you doing?”

“My job Y/n-ie now you need to go upstairs okay it’s much safer up there for you then here.” Yoongi said calmly, nearing you patting your head softly as you shook your head disobeying his request. 

“No, no no Y-Y/n please you need to go upstairs it-“

“No I’m not leaving you unless you come up with me and I’m going to find out what happened.” You said grabbing a hold of Minho’s arm trying to pull him along towards the door when Yoongi stopped your motion shoving Minho to the ground. Near the boy you watched Yoongi pull the firearm aiming it at the boy when you pounced in front of the fire-arm as Yoongi yelled at your recklessness. 

“You're not going to kill him, you can't, he's the only one Yoon stop this he didn’t do anything!” You tried pleading with the elder who only scoffed yelling for you to move out of the way while you only held onto Minho tighter trying to shield him with your whole body. 

“Y/N MOVE AWAY FROM HIM NOW!” Yoongi barked, grabbing the side pistol he had tucked under his shirt leaving you and Minho to gasp as he pointed the gun straight at Minho. 

“YOONGI PUT IT DOWN WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” You screeched as he stepped closer to you both keeping his gaze specifically on Minho. 

“Y/n I’m only going to repeat myself one more time, go upstairs you don’t have any business in this.” Yoongi said, still glaring at Minho who laid there as well in complete silence. 

“No I’m no-“ 

Your words were cut off by Yoongi who shoved you off of the boy now standing right above him and in front of you. You watched in complete silence as he cocked the gun back aiming it down at the boy. Hearing the gunshot you sat frozen as you let the first shot ring through your ear ignoring the other two that came after. Letting the third shot free you from the shock you pathetically crawled over to Minho who laid limp in a sea of blood. 

“Mi-Min hey it’s me I - I got you the hospital I-isn’t far we still have time l-let’s go ok?” You babbled on as the shock of it all really started kicking as you saw your hands, his waist, the floor, and your white dress all covered in his blood. 

“Y/n stop-

“N-no it’s fine really I can drive or we can get one of the better drivers as long as we ask nicely we should be fi-“ 

“Y/N stop it.” Minho cut you off going into a sudden coughing fit as you watched him cough up heaps of blood you swallowed still not wanting to accept the situation. 

“What went wrong things were g-going to be so nice today for me and you it was going to be lovely don’t you think?” He said in almost a whisper as you nodded slowly as you were thinking about just the same thing and how guilty you felt now. Your thoughts were interrupted by the boy’s chuckling, your eyebrows knitted as you watched him run his hand down his waist passing his hand up and down the pool of blood. 

“Do you see all of this Y/n?” The boy questioned keeping his gaze on his bloody hand to which you nodded slowly yet confused. 

“Maybe if I hadn’t come today this wouldn’t have happened, don't you wonder about that?” He asked again and you only responded with a nod not quite following his thinking he then grabbed your face running his red hand over your cheek with a look you couldn’t (didn’t want to) described. 

“If I hadn’t come here for you none of this would have happened you understand that too don’t you Y/n?” You gulped hearing the way he called your name with such disgust in it. 

“B-but Min it wasn’t like you knew it was going to happen.” You tried to reason as he shook his head the more you went on. 

“I’m bleeding here in this cold, dull room because of you, I’m on my death bed because of you, I can’t go home to my sister  and the rest of my family because of you.” He spoke fast, getting louder and louder while you only shook your head trying to get your wrist out of his grip. 

“Min it wasn’t me I didn’t know anything about this, I-I would never hurt you I love you.” You let out sounding so small and weak as he only held on tighter dragging you closer to him. 

“You don’t kill the people you love Y/n-“

“No, no I didn’t do this Min I didn’t know I would never!” You screamed, shaking your head violently as he chanted the word murderer repeatedly. 

“NO!” You screamed as you almost jumped out of the bed, hyperventilating you locked eyes with the necklace that laid near the peace lily you had watered earlier. Still breathing hard you got up from the bed, grabbed the necklace and rushed into the bathroom. 

Staring at the necklace your thoughts, those thoughts started to fight and you knew you would lose but it wasn’t that you didn’t try to fight back. You always did but your fighting was never good enough, you were pathetically weak. Scrunching up the necklace so that only the accented part stuck out you rolled up your sleeves running your fingers across the warm flesh. Letting out a deep sigh you lined the small blade up as you thought back to what you just dreamed about, think about Minho gripping your wrist and holding it up. Running your hand up and down you bit down on your lip as you now let the blade run along your wrist. Letting the blood drip it soothed you in a way hoping even maybe that you reprimanding yourself would free you of your guilt and the anger of the past. Except, it never did, it wasn’t like you didn’t know things would end up like this every time but ignorance was so much sweeter than believing the truth. 

Looking at yourself in the mirror those tired and dark eye bags that painted your face or your puffy nose and the pool of tears that accompanied them you saw how pathetic and helpless you looked. How it disgusted you and made you despise yourself even more than you thought to originally be possible. For some reason you laughed watching your face seeing how weak you look but as you looked down at the blood flowing out of your arms the laughter stopped and the pain started to take over. It was always like this. It's only fun for a minute, sometimes that minutes is longer but rarely is that the case and then the minute is over and you're left looking at the blood covering you and your sanctuary. The regret sinking in as you started breathing too fast running out of the room rushing over to your drawers. Throwing the contents on the shelves and in the drawers out frantically you looked for the ointments that were nowhere to be found until you looked over to the garbage can near your desk. Emptied and buried under white sheets of paper. Your breathing only got quicker and heavier as you rushed into the bathroom and just as quickly out being met with the blood in there as well. 

Rushing down the stairs as quietly as possible you hurried over to the front door not even taking the thought of guards being near as you punched in the old pin praying Yoongi had fallen for your lies. A red error sign appeared on the tiny screen as you cursed your luck rushing back up the stairs. 

“Think, think, think.” You said pacing around the sanctuary when you looked out of the patched window. Sighing you opened the window looking down at the same old low grass and the tall bushes you cringed jumping down. Rolling into the bushes you harshly shaked and groaned at the impact that felt a hundred times worse because of your current bleeding. Limping towards the front of the house you scanned for any guards before making your way over to the black gate. 

Today of all days might have been the worst day for you to have that nightmare, for you to let your thoughts swallow you and to be impulsive at 11 o’clock at night. Thinking about all of Yoongi’s ways to scare you and make you stay at home, you thought about the stories he told you about him having business after 12. Jogging as fast as you could, you made your way to the corner store even though you probably shouldn’t have because all of your energy was drained and it made the bleeding worse. Feeling the blood hug your baggy clothes you cringed before limping into the corner store. 

“Sorry were closin-“ The raven haired boy stopped in his tracks looking up to see you limping into the store. Getting up from his chair and throwing the car magazine he was reading to the side he walked around looking at you with knitted eyebrows. 

“Y/n are you okay, is there anything I can get you?” He questioned as you tried to avoid speaking to him as you made your way over to an aisle. Looking around you were getting more agitated as your drowsiness and low energy fought to take over. 

“You look a little out of it, it’s fine I can get you what you need and-“

“Jungkook I don’t need your hel-'' Curse your low iron because once you turned to face the boy the room just had to start spinning causing you to fall backwards. Awaiting your impact with the floor Jungkook had moved swiftly and caught you holding your back and wrist firmly. 

“Easy, you're okay.” He said as he brought you up to stand watching you take in your surroundings again. Looking now at your wrist he frowned as he watched the blood trickle through the fabric and down to your hand. 

“Y/n you're bleeding?” He stated yet confused of course of the how when you pulled your wrist away beginning to limp again down the aisle. 

“It’s in your other arm too I can treat them for you-“

“I already told you, I don’t need your help Jungkook-“

“I don’t care about how or why you're bleeding because it’s none of my business and I can respect your privacy but you are bleeding in my store after hours which is something my grandpa would definitely kill me for. He seems to take a liking to so let’s do each other a solid?” The boy said as he walked up to you staring down at you with a faint smile. You scoffed walking out of the store only to stop and sit at one of the tables leaving Jungkook to only watch. 

“Are you going to stop my bleeding or what?” You asked, growing impatient as the boy nodded, disappearing into one of the aisles to get what he would need. Quickly walking out with the needed materials he sat down across you laying them on the table. Gesturing for you to bring your arm you held on to your sleeve looking down before rolling up your sleeve and extending it to him. HIs gaze softened taking in the different scars that painted your arm in silence as you only looked away, taking away your arm rolling down the sleeve. 

“Hey it’s ok don’t worry about it.” Jungkook said, holding out his hand waiting for your arm as you rolled your sleeve back up, extending your arm to him once again. Dipping the cloth into the ointment you looked at the brands that were foreign to you and wondered if they would hurt as much as the ones you normally used. 

“Grandpa always used this ointment when I was little. He says it’s the best of the best.”  Jungkook smiled, beginning to imitate his grandpa’s raspy voice. As he applied the ointment you winced in pain feeling the cold cloth hit your skin. Jungkook uttered soft “im sorrys” as he continued to dab the ointment over your cuts. With not much to do in the unwanted situation you paid attention to how focused and cautious he was applying the ointments. Thinking back to the first time you met the boy and how strange it is whenever you two run into each other, how you’re somehow always in need of help. 

“Aaand done.” He said after passing the cloth against the last bloody cut which also stopped your thinking. 

“Oh,” Jungkook said, turning over to his left rummaging through the box stifling his laughter before showing a selection of band-aids to you. You rolled your eyes looking at the different kiddy-like designs the boy laid out for you to pick from. 

“I personally would take the Hello kitty one. She's quite popular nowadays.” The boy teased as you glared at him getting ready to leave when he took a hold of the tips of your fingers causing you to stop. 

“They aren’t necessary, it's a waste of time and money.” You muttered pulling your fingers back when he moved to the end of the seat and closer to where you were standing. 

“Just this once they’ll heal twice as fast. Please?” He almost begged looking up into your eyes as his dark orbs twinkled with some sort of innocence or in the way he held onto the tiny packs. Sighing you skimmed at the options and tapped on the spider man covered band-aids taking a seat once again. 

“Quiet the fitting choice for a tough cookie huh?” He teased again, smiling brightly to counter the narrowing of your eyes towards him. 

“Ok champ your all set.” The boy grinned letting go of your arm again now leaving you to roll your sleeves down as he walked back into the store. Nodding and shoving your hands into your pockets you  turned facing the dark road. Before you had the chance to leave you were again stopped by the boy who called out your name while hurrying out of the shop causing you to sigh again as your drowsiness was at its peak. 

Holding a small black bag to you, you looked down and back up letting your eyebrows show your confusion. 

“Uh ointments just in case you need any.” He said scratching his nape with his free hand as you stood there feeling your pockets for any money when you were interrupted by the boy who took your hand softly and placed the black bag in your hand. Looking up at him to meet his dark orbs silence rung through the area leaving you both to just look back at each other. 

“Right it’s pretty late, you should get home soon and safely.” He said letting go of your hand only to find the back of his neck again. Nodding your head slowly you shoved your hand back into your pocket turning to leave when you turned back to the boy giving him a small bow. Shaking his head slowly the boy waved walking back into the store after collecting the contents left on the table. 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

After sneaking through the black gates and practically rock climbing the side of the house to land back into the sanctuary you let out a heavy sigh. Changing out of the stained sweater and into a fresh hoodie and shorts you noticed that the spider-man band-aid had peeled off probably when you took the sweater off. Grabbing the black bag you walked into the bathroom looking over to the mirror. Finding much more than ointments in the bag you bit your cheek looking at the hello kitty band-aids Jungkook threw in the bag. Opening the package you peeled the band-aid covering off and laid it where the Spider-Man band-aid previously was. 

・❥・

Chapter 3

Author's Note➹: Hope chapter 2 is feeling much more lengthy and carries the volume I intended but here she is! I want to thank you guys for all the love and support you guys have been giving the series when it’s just gotten started. There was a slight delay with releasing chapter 2, so I ended up having to move the release day to Friday, but I hope the chapter was worth the wait. As always, any suggestions or ideas you guys have for the series or any future fics you want to read my asks are always open as well as comments! Let me know your hot takes on chapter 2 in the comments and I’ll see you guys in chapter 3!  - ♡ Vynnie

[baileyjane3769]

Original Copy is on Quotev, for a better viewing experience and chapter by chapter reading head on over to my Quotev page @BobbyWolf3769 or click the link here

***

When a game is over and all hidden things have been found, what is there left to do? Move on. That's what you would have liked to have done after finishing the disappointing secret ending of a popular otome game. But when the story is over, and all things were said and done, you find yourself trapped in that very game. Faced with the task to keep everyone alive, can you make it to the end without falling in love?

Long read ahead

Chapter One

 Secret Ending

There was no way that you could have predicted that a game so simple would lead you down this long and confusing path of love and murder. What originally started off as a typical Friday afternoon ended with you being stuck in the predicament you are currently in, and leads you to wonder if maybe you hadn’t been so obsessed with the darn game then maybe things would have ended differently.

The level of your obsession had amounted to you skipping lunch that day, sitting in an empty bathroom stall, your phone pulled out, and the game loaded in just so you could finish the current route you were playing. While normally you would consider yourself a good student who always found ways to study efficiently, get good grades, and listen to the simple rules that were given, you couldn’t help yourself this time as the feeling of completing yet another route in this game filled you with such contentment. 

The male lead of this route wasn’t even your favorite out of the three possible capture targets, as his personality was less than favorable most of the time. “Annoying prick.” You gently spoke under your breath, careful as to not alert any teacher to your current transgression.

If not for your want to complete all endings then you wouldn’t have bothered with his, the first few encounters between him and Yui, the name you decided to give the protagonist, is probably to blame for your dislike for him. Fukumoto Akihiko, the son of a wealthy family who mainly deals their business in the sake industry, he was the type of character who seemed to have everything put together in his life. The top academic student in their school, a wealthy family who had lots of money to spend, and the looks to match.

Despite all of this, many of his peers described him as easy to talk to and quite charismatic but the one flaw that everyone could agree on was his tendency to be overly critical and harsh to those who he feels attempted to take his place as the top student. It is this tendency of his that has caused you to find him less than appealing as the first half of the developing relationship between him and the protagonist is one based on a practically one sided rivalry centered around his inferiority complex. You felt that in many ways his character comes off as too rude and self important, even after the revelation of his strained relationship with his father, you still couldn’t fathom why so many people out there found him to be appealing.

“Well,” you started. “At least I won’t have to deal with him for too much longer.” You think aloud as you continue to play your game, tapping the screen every so often to change the dialogue. You were almost finished with Akihiko’s route when you heard the all too familiar sound of clicking heels enter the bathroom. Shutting your phone off, you lifted your feet off of the ground and pulled them up to your chest. 

“Y/n?” A familiar voice rang out in the deserted bathroom. Realizing it was just your friend, you let your feet fall back to the ground and made your way out of the stall you were currently in. 

“Jeez Louise, Ashleigh.” You exclaimed. “I thought you were a teacher, don’t scare me like that.” Exasperated, you huffed out a response. She also looked started for a second before her eyes trailed down to the phone in your hands.

 “Oh, so this is what was so important that you had to skip lunch for.” Her face held a playful smirk as she continued to tease you. “You can’t seem to put that game down. Careful now, you already look obsessed with it, one might even say–” Ashleigh held up her hand to her mouth, feigning shock. “—Addicted?”

Unamused, you playfully shoved her shoulder with your own smirk. “Yeah, whatever. You were just as bad when you started playing that DND styled otome game, remember? You went two whole days without sleep!” Her face went beat red with embarrassment as she let out the most horrified gasp. 

“You promised not to bring that up again! Besides, that’s different! It was over summer vacation and my game has so much more involved in order to progress. I can’t just play dress up mini games to unlock more chapters like some people.” She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turned her nose up. 

“Whatever you say Miss High and Mighty. Anyways, we should probably get going before the bell rings.” 

You said glancing at the blinking clock on your phone while also using your unoccupied arm to sling your book bag over your shoulder. “Oh shoot, you're right. That's why I came in here in the first place, so we could walk to class together.” Despite the constant bickering and light banter, you both would consider each other to be the best of friends.

“By the way,” Ashleigh began as you both exited the bathroom just as the bell rang to dismiss the D lunch students to the last class of the day. “Who's ending are you on now?” Your face held a deadpan expression as you recall your least favorite route. 

“I’m on Akihiko’s route now, can’t say I’m enjoying it all that much.” She turned her head to you. 

“Really? But isn’t he, like, good looking?” 

You sputtered. “That’s not the only thing I’m attracted to Ash! Yeah, sure he’s got a good face but his personality is too contradicting. How can this man be ‘a charismatic prince’ who was voted student body president but then also be a total jerk-wad with how rude and stuck up he acts around the MC.” Ignoring the looks you would occasionally receive, you continued your rant which eventually turned into a discussion about the rest of the endings. 

“So besides Akihiko’s route, as we both know how you feel about him,” You held back a quiet snorted laugh, “Is there anyone you actually like?” Ashleigh inquired, having made it to class, you both were seated and ready for it to start.

You hummed in thought. “Well, the game only has three obtainable love interests and their personalities are all kinda cliche.” Your friend nodded along as you talked. “There’s of course Akihiko Fukumoto, who is like this really smart and top of the class guy who gets along with everyone until the MC shows up and he goes all school rival on her because apparently she’s smarter than him. I don’t care for his character much. 

Then there is Ryōta who is the delinquent bad boy of the school with a heart of gold. Apparently the reason he became a delinquent was because everyone around him was scared of him because he kinda has a resting mean face so everyone would avoid him.” 

Ashleigh nodded her head. “As people do.” 

“Right, so he falls for the MC for the fact that she shows no fear towards him and actually stands up against him but eventually comes to see the good side of him. Overall he ain’t too bad as he isn’t exactly rude to her but he can be a bit dismissive at times, this was probably my favorite route to play as it was fun to actually see a female lead who can somewhat fight.” 

Ash hummed in thought. “That isn’t all that common in high school otome games.”

“Right? Anyways,” You waved your hand dismissively. “Lastly there is Fuyuhiko who is the playboy type and he is constantly surrounded by girls. The reason he fell for the female lead was because she would reject his flirty advances, you know the type who is always like ‘oh, she ignores me so I have to have her,’ type of guy.” 

Ashleigh snickered at that. “Really? That’s insane.” 

You laughed with her. “I know right. I mean he wasn’t all that bad but I have seen so many of these types, I don’t know, the game also uses many other cliches so I guess it’s not too surprising.” You shook your hand in a so-so way. “I mean if you take out the murder mystery plot then really it's just your average high school romance otome game.” You paused in thought for a second. “Hmm, actually I think there might be one more ending.” 

“Oh?”

“Well apparently there is some secret ending that can only be obtained through various specific steps. This is only what I’ve heard from what people online say, so I’m not sure if it's real but when I’m done with Akihiko’s route then I’m gonna check it out.” 

Ashleigh hummed in understanding. “Let me know if it is real, I want to know what it’s about.” You chucked along with her, taking out your notebook from your bookbag as the teacher just entered the room. 

“I will, but we’re gonna have to talk about this later.” She nodded her head in agreement and you both turned to face the front of the classroom, ready for class to begin.

You figured you will have to finish your talk with Ashleigh tomorrow because it was already the end of the school day when you had a free minute and by then you had to board your bus that would be taking you home. “See you tomorrow Ash!” You said, waving goodbye to your friend who waved inturn. 

“See ya, Y/n!” 

You were glad that the journey home on the bus was a brief one as it meant more time to play your games. Not just the one you were currently playing, but a few other interesting ones that you had planned to play after all routes were finished. In fact, you were in your room when you decided to stay up the rest of the night to finish the game so that by tomorrow you could start playing the other ones you had planned, it was the weekend anyway. Ashleigh was right, you have been obsessing over this game for too long now. It was time to move on.

Despite what you may say about the cliche archetypes that continuously come up in both the plot and characters, there were still many aspects about the game that you genuinely enjoyed. Like many otome games alike, the concept of choices determining the outcome was ever present but unlike most other otome games, ‘Whispers of Love’ had an interactive ability to look around certain locations in order to look for clues to help solve the various mysteries that would come up. It was something that you had never seen in an otome type game before, which is what initially caught your interest in the first place. 

Though after playing through almost every route, you were a bit disappointed with how the plot and characters turned out. Crime and mystery were one of its main selling points for you, but as the plot went on it became abundantly clear that the mystery behind the missing or murdered students didn’t matter as much as many trailers made it out to be. The annoyance you felt was immeasurable after finishing the first ending, and you still had no idea who the identity of the murder was.

“Finally.” You mumbled under your breath with a deep, slow sigh. You were finally finished with Akihiko’s route and could move on to the so-called hidden ending. With your eyes squeezed shut, you stretched both of your arms in the air, humming in satisfaction at the feeling. 

The time was only 4:35 pm, still plenty of time to get through one more route. You weren’t sure how long it would take since many of the hidden endings that you played before had varied in length. If you had to make a guess, based on the length of the game, you would be playing well into the night. Which was fine since it was the weekend, a little late night gaming wouldn’t hurt.

The sun had already set by the time you finished with the game prologue and had a dinner break. From this point on was when the choices really mattered. The final ending that you are trying to achieve is a hidden ending that doesn’t show up anywhere on the game’s home screen, it doesn’t show up in the game’s picture album, not the trailer, it doesn’t even have a progression bar like the other endings do. 

At first glance, the route is completely nonexistent. Luckily for you though, the internet exists, and with it you were able to first hear about the existence of the secret ending. An ending that was never promoted to the general public, and was  believed to have been added with the games most recent patch. 

You weren’t crazy enough to attempt it without a walkthrough video, that would take too long and you wanted to move on already. With the knowledge you gained after playing throughout every other route, you knew that you had to be careful as to not mess up, otherwise you would end up having to replay entire chapters.

It had greatly surprised you when Akihiko died. You didn’t think it was possible for a love interest to die in this game, especially for the fact that, until that moment, you didn’t think the choices you had made held any real significance. 

The walk through was very specific in its instructions. At first, the video followed the basic choices that would lead to the independence ending, an ending that was achieved by having zero to little progress in all of the romance progression bars, it was the first ending that you achieved. Then it started being weird. So weird that at some point you began to wonder if this whole secret ending thing was just a big joke in the community, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t because the next thing you knew, Akihiko Fukumoto was dead. He was the first love interest to die.

The game only got stranger from there. Certain quest areas and vital clues became locked, the atmosphere around the virtual school changed, and one by one the remaining love interests died. The game’s interface also changed. The cherry pinks and romantic aura that it used to have was no more, instead it was replaced with crimson reds, dark hues, and many illusions to a murder scene. 

At this point you were almost done with the game. All love interests were dead, and since most of evidence that was supposed to lead us to the culprit behind the murders was lost or never obtained, all that was left to do was to wait for the fire that would burn down the school a fire that would lead to the death of many students, including the last remaining friend of the MC, Akui Minato. 

Minato’s character wasn’t an important one. Playing the part of the MC’s childhood best friend and close confidant. It was easy to tell that he liked the protagonist, and many speculated that he was a hidden love interest. A speculation that was quickly dismissed after his death at the end of the game. Nothing was ever confirmed, but people theorized that he was the one behind the murders, all because he loved the MC to an obsessive point. You hoped that wasn’t the case. Predictable endings were your biggest pet peeve when it came to just about anything. Nothing spoils a game more than predictability.

“How long is this going to take?” you muttered exasperated. It was already 7:20 something in the morning and you were tired. The prolonged lack of sleep was getting to you, eyelids were heavy, words on the screen were blurring together, and you were pretty sure you had read the same sentence five times already. 

‘There isn’t even anyone else left, why is the ending taking so long?’ you thought to yourself. Playing a romance game with no more romance was becoming very boring, very quickly. By now, you were seated at your desk, the threat of falling asleep on your bed became too apparent to ignore, so you settled with the uncomfortable, wooden chair that sat in your room. 

Your boredom wouldn’t last long, though, as the infamous school fire scene was now taking place. The beginning of the event typically started when the MC began getting too close to finding out who the culprit actually was. You thought that maybe there would be no fire, since there was hardly any evidence found to come to any clear conclusions, but a fire still happened. 

Like in the many playthroughs you played before, an uncontrollable fire started in the music room, began to spread to several classrooms, and the entire school began to be evacuated. A sensible person would follow suit with all of the other evacuating students, but the MC was not sensible. At the first sound of a girl's cry for help the MC ran in her direction, yelling for direction in the smoke filled hallway. 

Dumb. That was how you described her the first time you saw this. Heroic, sure, but dumb nonetheless. It shouldn’t be too surprising, seeing as she is literally a high school student going around trying to solve a murder mystery. But that was kind of why you liked her. She was a bold, but kind, person who wanted to help people, which is why someone had to pull her out of the fire before she got herself killed.

During the fire scene she would go around helping people escape and when she was ready to leave as well, she remembered the evidence that she had collected over the school year. This is when she would rush back in and would have almost gotten trapped if it wasn’t for the love interest of that route pulling her to safety. For the independence ending, since she wasn’t close to any of the capture targets, she got saved by a teacher, which is what you assumed would be the case here, but instead it was Minato who showed up on the screen. 

‘Maybe he had a secret ending after all?’ you thought to yourself. ‘But doesn’t he die? Why would he be here? Unless…’ There was no need to finish the thought. Your worst fears had come to fruition.

As dramatic as that sounds, you were still very disappointed with the ending. After escaping the fire with Minato, the screen slowly fades to black, similar to the way a person's vision would blur and blacken when they faint. When the protagonist wakes up, as you expected, she is in a basement. Akui Minato was a yandere. 

“Oh, for crying out loud--” You exasperatedly muttered, phone pushed away and head cradled between your hands. Of course he had to be a yandere. What other ending were you expecting? A secret ending where all other love interests die, evidence is lost, and Akui Minato, the childhood best friend, was the only one left alive in the end. It should have been obvious. It was obvious. A game where a girl is trying to solve the mystery behind the various murders that are happening around her. Where her childhood best friend is not a capture target, despite being visibly in love with her. Where the murderer is never found but the best friend dies at the very end. Of course Akui Minato was a yandere, it was obvious. Which is why you’re disappointed. 

You inhaled a deep breath, dragging your hands up to your eyes, tiredly rubbing at them. At least she didn’t die, you thought. A bad ending, with all that build up, where every character, including the protagonist, ends up dead would have been a worse way to end the game. You exhaled.

 Picking the phone back up, you played through the last part of the game, reading Minato’s crazy monologue with little care. It was pretty basic. Well, as basic as any yandere’s monologue could get. He went on, and on, about how he ‘couldn't live without her anymore.’ That he ‘dreaded the years that she was away.’ And of course he ‘wouldn’t let anyone get between them.’ 

“Typical.”

When the game ended, and you claimed the final ending picture, you closed out of it and turned your phone off. The sun was now rising and you were left to reflect on how you felt about it, it being a game that you had been obsessively playing for the past couple of weeks. You couldn’t lie to yourself, you were disappointed and dissatisfied with how the hidden ending played out. You have seen it done once or twice before and its novelty was beginning to wear off. At least it gave some meaning to Minato’s meaningless character. The game itself wasn’t down right bad, sure, there were a few plot holes in it, and sure, the characters were sometimes basic and cliche, but it wasn’t bad for a free otome game. 

Slowly blinking, you tiredly stared at your desk for a second before saying, “Guess it’s time for bed.” Pushing your chair away from the desk, you sluggishly got up and crawled into bed, pulling the comforters over you. 

Falling asleep wouldn’t be a problem since you had stayed up all night, but as soon as you felt the comforting embrace of sleep begin to take over, your mother called for you from downstairs, “Y/n!” Jolting up right, you scrambled to get to your feet so as to not leave your mother waiting. As you did so, your feet got tangled in the blankets, tripping you and sending your head downwards right into the corner of your bedside table, and with a sickening, THUD, You sprung awake. Like a dream where you were falling, your body abruptly shot up in bed. The pulse of your heart was rapid and a cold sweat wafted over your body. It was just a dream. You told yourself.

***

A/N: Thank you for taking the time to read my first published original story on this account. In my time as a writer was always based on fanfiction around other people's stories and characters, but I have my own ideas that I wanted to share as well. I feel kind of worn out from writing fanfiction and find it more draining and less fun than I did when I first started. I have no intention of ever discontinuing any of the fanfics that I have started, I even have several chapters in the works, but right now I want to focus on my own writing. There are several things I need to work on and improve when it comes to my writing but I hope that I can create something here. It has been a few years and I can safely say that I am still fixated on isekai based stories, literally most of my original story ideas are isekai based. I really love the genre and the fish out of water feel that the reader has to over come as well as seeing the reader try and stay out of the original characters lives but still end up mixed in it all. This chapter probably needs a bit more editing before I can say that I am completely satisfied with it but I am proud of it. I know there might be a lot of info-dumping in this first chapter, I might remove some less important things later, and I didn't even go into the main conflict yet and I apologize for that. In my research to be a better writer I have come to learn that an uninteresting first chapter with too much exposition can turn off many readers but I promise that this will probably be the only chapter like this. Chapter updates will probably be inconsistent because I do most of my writing when I have breaks during school or on the weekends, which isn't a lot of time for me to write so it can be hard to get out full chapters, this chapter alone took me a few months to finish but I hope to be quicker with my writing now that I have the frame work fleshed out slightly. Thank you again for reading this and I hope you can give it a heart and comment, just try and be nice, I hope every reader can give my story a chance and continue to follow along with my story and my characters.

[foulfirerebel]

For the hundreth, billionth, umpteenth time...

Putting this under a read more.

Kiyoshi didn't kill on a whim, she was often forced into that situation per the novels. Nor did any of the other Avatars, again per the novels and comics and when they had to it scarred them for life. As for the LOK remark:

Amon and Tarlock? Murder/Suicide by themselves, the heroes just exposed Amon.

Unalaq? His consciousness was absorbed into Vaatu, he didn't exist anymore anyway. Also, Vaatu will most certainly return the next 10,000 years cause light and darkness coexist like that.

The Red Lotus? I'll give you Ming Wa and P'li, being electrocoated and having your head blown off are certainly ways to do it. Though P'li only died cause she was trapped in a metal container Su and Lin clamped on her quickly. Ghazan killed himself in a lava shower. zaheer was taken alive.

Hiroshi Sato? Sacrificed himself for his daughter.

Kuvira? Taken alive and imprisoned, got better per the comics.

Sozin was a product of his own arrogance, and killing the Fire Lord wouldn't have really stopped the war unless you're sadistic enough to do it in front of the many troops that he commanded. LOK showed this with Kuvira being out of the way, but some of her generals deciding to continue her work.

Ozai is powerless, it's Zuko's fault for listening to him for even a moment or two. Ozai was left an empty, broken, pathetic shell of a man hurling threats he could never cash in on. Frankly, that's worse than death for a man so arrogant he thought himself a god.

Jedi do kill. Jedi have killed. Jedi can kill without turning to the Dark Side of the Force, what is the OP even on about that?

As for the Batman/Red Hood argument...you do realize that would make Batman a cop, right? All the "Batman's a cop!" arguments would be correct if Batman ever killed his enemies. Not only that, but as SF Debris and other people put it, Batman just jails or otherwise hands people over to the justice system because he believes in it.

Why are people still blaming Batman for something Gotham's broken justice system does on the regular?

But back to Avatars for five seconds. You realize how horrified Kyoshi was when she and her friends found out their mentors killed a bunch of people out of some really skewed name of keeping the peace? How much having to put Yun down and others scarred her? How much power they all have and how the world can just bend to their will if they so much as lose control once and how horrifying that is?

But sure. Go the easy route. How long before that backfires, I wonder? How long before it becomes so easy to just...kill things that you start acting less like the hero you're meant to be and more like Zod or Injustice Superman or as whiny and stupid as Homelander? Or worse, you become so high on the dark side that you're hollow and empty.

Additionally, how long before you just encounter someone or something that can't be killed? and if it is, it'll throw everything out of whack? Like how Zhao killed the Moon Spirit?

But sure, people who don't kill are the stupid ones. Miss me with that "might makes right" authoritarian bullshit.

Honestly, so many problems in Avatar could be easily solved if people would just take a page out of Kyoshi's book, and just kill their enemies.

[kedreeva]

Hello! Sry if you got this message twice now but my internet connection is super whack and I think the first one didn't get through so here we go again: I think it's basically cannon Eddie doesn't get chicks but if he did, do you think he'd be a player/rake or would he be the type looking for love and a relationship? I think he'd still be the type true love but I'd like to hear your take on it :D

Also, in addition: Do you think Steve's little nuggets speech was romantic? Cuz I always took it as sad testament to how lonely he grew up since we know his parents are rather absent and with six lil nuggets he wouldn't be lonely again (but since I ship Jancy I'm not sure whether that's how it was intended or whether I'm biased. I'll live if Jancy doesn't stay cannon though so this is no bait or stuff, only asking for your honest take on it cuz I love your takes :D)

Your other ask DID go through but I like this one better because I will get to talk about more things.

So first of all......... honestly I think Eddie would be completely useless in a situation where he had to woo someone if the result actually mattered to him. We never see this in canon. The closest we come is his early scene with Dustin and Mike, and we only later learn that Dustin's opinion of him matters to Eddie- and even then, that opinion isn't romantic, that opinion is how cool Dustin thinks Eddie is. Completely different ballgame. His band friends? They sold him out to Jason and co basically immediately. They were just having band practice nonchalantly without him while he was literally wanted for possibly the most brutal public murder this town has ever seen. Eddie never mentions them. He certainly doesn't flee to them for safety.

The scene with Chrissy, while adorable and I love it, has no risk of personal investment for Eddie. If she rejects him or accepts him carries no risk of breaking his heart because he barely knows her. The same thing goes for anyone else he could possibly be involved with (yes, including Steve). He literally doesn't know any of them except Dustin, and Lucas once Lucas joins in and again, he's only interested in impressing them for seeming cool, not for romance. He's able to be big and flashy and lean in too close or play a fool because the outcome does not (cannot, at that point) matter.

And I choose to believe that when faced with actual potential consequences to his actions (ie he actually cares about someone and if he messes up he could lose them) that he would not be smooth at all.

Which is all to say that I think there's a chance he would peacock it up as if he could be a rake, trip and fall face first in love, and actually be a complete fool about it because love actually does matter a lot to him. He doesn't know why he cares about Dustin's opinion, but I do- because he tripped face first into adopting a child and loves him now, and this absolutely useless fool realizes what that means and one (1) second later goes and gets killed about it. He cannot be left alone with an emotion, he's just not responsible enough.

-----

As for the OTHER part. well. I should watch it again but in all honesty.... I think it was face value. People are gonna take it however they want to take it, but personally, I think it was Steve... being vulnerable, wearing his heart on his sleeve. I think he just nearly got eaten alive, they just stole a vehicle, they're kind of planning on going back into the UpsideDown to fight a very, very powerful and bad monster where they might get eaten by bats again. There's a better than good chance he doesn't survive a second encounter.

He's telling Nancy "none of this is how I imagined my life would go, I wanted something so much happier. i wanted a family." and later "I thought I might have been able to have those things with you. I wanted it to be you." I think the writers probably intended it to be romantic. I don't know that I buy it, personally, only because like... I like to think Steve knows Nancy better than to think she wants anything remotely resembling a nuclear family.

So, do I think it was romantic? I think it's supposed to be read as romantic. Do I read it as romantic? maybe sideways. I read it as a boy who thinks he's probably not gonna make it, maybe neither of them will, wanting to let a girl know he'd dreamed of being happy with her, once upon a time. It hits the same chord inside me as the saddest lines poem: "I loved her and, sometimes, she loved me too." It's a very Steve and Nancy poem.

[isleofdarkness]

What infuriates you most about Descendants? From the plots to characters (from the books and movies)

"You're telling me we're stuck like this until Lagoona fixes some freaky flaw? Which one?! She has so many!" - Toralei Stripe, Great Scarrier Reef

Now you might be wondering how a Monster High quote relates to my answer, but that's how I felt. How could I name only one thing that infuriates me? All of them infuriate me in equal amounts. That's why it took me a while to answer this, because I was debating. Until I realized that most of my grievences fell under one thing;

The lack of any genuine thought and effort being put in.

We have the lack of continuity, how the books struggle to match up with the movies while nothing from the books is ever mentioned in the movies. The really interesting characters from the books and/or the really interesting dynamics they could present, we see none of them.

We have the racism. Li Liang and Li Susu have a German and *supremely* disrespectful and unlucky name respectively. The misogynoir, how they treated Uma, Celia, Audrey, and Freddie. Celia wasn't even bad, she was mischievous bordering on a bit naughty, but they treated her like she was a Villain villain. Uma was right and I will die on this hill. Audrey was humiliated, cheated on, and spelled into doing something she didn't want to. Freddie was actually better behaved than Mal, like sheesh. Queen Leah being the "old, bitter bitch" when she was traumatized and had every right to react as she did in the first movie (while Aurora, the good one, was white with a black mom and biracial daughter.) Ursula being nasty. Cruella being "crazy." There are probably more but I've forgotten them. Carlos, moving off of misogynoir, was treated like a baby. Facilier and Coach were the only two genuinely okay black people in the movies, and they said maybe three lines each and got two seconds of screen time. An Indigenous actor playing an Arabian man. Evie being Latina never being discussed (aside from her possibly falling into the spicy Latina trope in the first movie and book.) It was just so racist, like wow. I could do better even without research, and I hope to do a lot better with a lot of research Disney should have done.

It's not realistic. Jafar tried to rape a fifteen-year-old girl, the same age as his son. Claude tried to rape a sixteen-year-old, who could be the same age as his daughter for all we know. There are children on an Isle of rapists and murderers and people who torture others just for the hell of it, but Disney does not acknowledge how the three of them probably encountered someone who went through it, if not them going through it (Jafar totally would, just saying,) once. No food insecurity, no PTSD (let alone C-PTSD,) no kleptophobia, nothing showing the trauma and constant state of survival they lived in for their entire lives.

The villains are not the Villains. They are cartoony even by Disney standards. Evil Queen would have tried to carve out Evie's heart at least once (she did in mine.) Hades would never cheat on his wife (I headcanon that Maleficent did a love spell.) Hell, most of them wouldn't have survived childhood because their parents are Villains.

How did the wild magic never leak onto the Isle?

Mal has a half-brother. Why was that never bought up?

Why is everyone speaking in such heavy Ebonics at times?

Why did Li Liang have cornrows in the second movie? Her hair doesn't need protective styles like that and she's probably damaging it, on top of it just being not good.

The fucking names. Hadie. Harriet and Harry. Jay and Jade. Claudine. LeFou Deux. The Gastons I give a pass for because Gaston would really be Like That. Yzla. Disney, c'mon.

I already touched on this but where did Mad Maddy and her crew go? Where's Anxelin? And Li Susu? Hadie? Jade and Diego? Freddie and CJ? Where did they go? What did you do to them, Mal?

Mal drugged her boyfriend and I'm one of those people who counts nonconsensual kissing as SA, so she SA'ed him. This is never bought up even though holy shit, that's problematic.

Uma, Audrey, and Maddy had every right to hate Mal. Celia had every right to drop the Ember into a bird bath.

Mal tried to hurt and kill Evie.

Jafar hit Jay at least once in the books. Maleficent ignored Mal until she wanted to exploit her. Evie was starved and forced to reduce herself to a walking cunt to please her mother. A slave in ancient Rome would have been on a pleasure cruise for what Carlos was going through. But they are all dying to see their parents. Make it make sense, Disney. I would kill the person who hurt me *once* if I had half the chance, so why are they sprinting down the bridge to see their parents?

Bringing the Barrier down was a shit idea and Auradon is doomed, Disney. Maleficent was ready to enslave everyone and now she's free? C'mon.

Kids died on the Isle. Unless the Barrier keeps the kids alive. Either way, should probably mention that because some of these people would kill their kids.

Honestly, to keep from ranting for five more pages, there would be so much fucked up shit going on on the Isle and Disney makes it seem like there was just a touch of mischief going on there.

Mal is not a good protag and should not have been marketed as such.

Snow White would never insult Evie's styles like that. Cinderella would never raise her son like that. Alice would never raise her daughter like that.

Beast was legit doing a quiet genocide on the Isle, at least on the children.

How's the Underworld running without Hades? Is Thanatos doing it? He get bumped from guy with one job to managing the hardest domain to manage? What about Persephone? What's she doing? Auradon seems to be in constant spring so it looks like she doesn't get to manage the Underworld.

Gods are inherently magical being and no Barrier, no one (possibly Hecate herself, but we never hear about her,) could stop them from doing magic.

Fae and djinni are inherently magic. Cecaelias (and I'm betting mermaids) need to be born underwater. Nothing can take the magic out of the ocean. How did they prevent that, Disney? Tell me.

And-

I think I've ranted for long enough. There's so many plot holes that I can't even strain pasta through it because the pasta would fall out. There's so much disrespect for other cultures that I can't even think of an analogy. There's so little creativity that I was writing better stories before I knew how to write. Descendants is a spite project made to put EAH out of business and sell dolls and it shows. Disney, do better.

"Sometimes fanfiction is a love letter to canon. Sometimes it's ninety-five things canon has done wrong nailed to canon's door." And mine is definitely the latter.

[starlightxsvt]

3 dates | c.sc

pairing ➳ badboy!Seungcheol x female!reader

genre ➳ badboy au, romance, some fluff, angst, bad attempt at humour, gets spicy at the end.

word count ➳ 12.4k+ (i have NO idea how this became so long so strap in for a ride)

warnings ➳ cursing, mentions of killing, mentions criminal activities, slight violence(non explicit), smoking, ma man Seungcheol ain't your typical badboy, self doubt, blackmailing, reader does all sorts of risky things cuz she's a SIMP, blood(nothing explicit), kissing, marking, some breast worshipping, grinding, reader is horny lol. (Please lemme know if I forgot anything.)

synopsis ➳ after one fateful encounter with him you cannot get him out of your head. so you opt to do some crazy things to catch his attention and even snag a few dates with him. only trouble is he isn't the type to stay after the whole disposition is over.

Swirling the third drink in your hand you heave yet another depressed sigh. You are so tired that you feel like you can just slump on the counter and pass out. Maybe it wasn't a good idea to stop for a drink, you alcohol riddled brain thinks.

The plans you had with Katelyn was cancelled last moment; she called to tell you that her thesis submission date was moved forward and so she couldn't hang out with you tonight. You're in the middle of an existential crisis quite literally, the too many part time jobs yet still lack of money and copious amounts of study getting to you. Staring hard at your drink you contemplate if it is worth giving up on college and your dream of becoming an arts major. It sure feels tempting right now, the long hours at the diner and not enough sleep at night proving to be the worst nuisance.

Sighing you put down your drink. It's still early, you should go home and try to catch up on the much needed sleep. You really had no intention of grabbing a drink tonight; you have morning classes tomorrow but you made a last moment decision to stop for a drink on your way back home. You didn't take your usual route to home today, and while trudging through the streets tiredly you came across this bar called Seventeen's. You've heard stories about this place, how it is the home to local gangs and how it's bad people's turf and what not. Your curiosity, probably too much of that made you get inside for a drink even though all the bones in your body ached. The inside is what you expected, nowhere near fancy but dingy, just decent enough. The people inside didn't look friendly and if the chains and tattoos on them gave any indication you'd say the rumours are true; this is the turf of gangs. The drinks taste decent, not the best but not the worst and from the overall look of this place you don't really have a reason to come back.

You're about to stand up from your stool when a large, clammy hand grabs your wrist out of nowhere, making you jump. "Hey sexy, sit down. Let me buy you a drink," the owner of the hand, a large, tattooed middle aged man slurs making your nose scrunch out of disgust. You're wearing nothing that can be called sexy; a plain cardigan and jeans and the way he looks you up and down makes you want to poke his eyes out.

You really shouldn't have come here. Clenching your jaw, you meet his eyes, "What makes you think I'm interested to have a drink with you?"

"Oh come on, why would you be here then, lookin' all nice? Just sit down," the man drawls, an ugly smile on his face. He still hasn't let go of your wrist and it's making you impatient. Looks like you're gonna have to kick his balls tonight. Maybe the self defense classes didn't completely go to waste.

"Get your disgusting hands off me while I'm being nice, sleazeball," you hiss at him, trying to get his hand off. The man stands up growling, "What did you say you bitch?" You're preparing to break his nose when out of nowhere a punch lands on his face that sends him tumbling to the ground. The attacker gets on top of him and twists his arm and you can literally hear a bone snap.

Shit.

"I think she said she is not interested," the man hisses, landing yet another another hit on his face before kicking his groin and getting up. When he turns around and his eyes meet yours, your heart skips a few beats and you almost The man is drop dead gorgeous, someone you would not expect to see here but probably on the cover of a high end magazine. His blond hair is long, crossing the nape of his neck as well as some covering his forehead. What takes your breath away the most is his eyes, the most beautiful pair you've ever seen. They seem to have their own galaxies in them, so deep and mesmerising and decorated with lashes long enough to make you jealous. His dress up, black jacket and jeans, immediately tells you what he is; a gang member.

"You should get home, lady," He speaks in a no nonsense tone, his face cold as ice. But you're offended. "Excuse me? Who are you calling lady? You make it sound like I'm old." You puff your cheeks and cross your arms, trying to appear intimidating. "Besides I had the situation under control, you didn't need to butt in." The man keeps looking at you with that no nonsense look, his features displaying annoyance if you are right and he's clearly not intimidated. The dude on the floor grunts and makes an effort to get up, only to be kicked by your saviour once more. "Hey Mingyu, get him out of here. What was this piece of trash doing here anyway?" The man orders to someone before turning to look at you, "Do you live far?"

"Uh- no, a ten minutes walk from here maybe," you reply unsurely, surprised at his question. The blond haired man nods before grabbing your wrist, "I'll walk you home. Hurry up, lady." You have a feeling he's purposely calling you that and though you start following him out of the bar, you make grunts of protest.

"Oh yeah, why? Trying to find out my address? So you can come later and hurt me like that guy?" You would not be this brazen if it wasn't for the alcohol in your system, after all the man next you isn't a friendly one if the rumours are true. The man raises a brow at you, "Did you do something that requires me to beat you up?" You hiccup at his serious tone. Does he not get a joke? He lets go of your hand now that you're at a safe distance from the bar but still stays close enough to you as your steps are rather stumbling and messy. You aren't fully drunk but your body is tired and feels like will shut down any second.

You really need some sleep.

"You know I'm not that drunk. You don't have to walk me home." You complain. "I'm walking you home because this isn't a nice place you should be alone at night. What happened earlier could happen again." He says not looking at you. "Mhmm," you keep on trudging behind him, "Thank you so much for your kind gesture, sir." You mock him but he doesn't reply, staring straight ahead, completely ignoring you as he walks quietly. In silence you two walk the rest of the path, before finally stopping as your apartment comes into view. At this point it feels like your bones will break and you will plop down on the concrete any second, but you manage to keep standing. "Well, thanks for walking me home." You shift your weight from one foot to another. "And for helping me back there." He shrugs coolly, a bored expression on his face. He's turning to walk away when you call, "Hey- I didn't get your name."

"What do you need it for?" He side glances at you. You shrug, "I don't know. You helped me so I thought it'd be nice to know your name." "You don't need to. Go inside, lady." He says, his tone final and starts marching away. You wait a couple moments before yelling, "Asshole!" and quickly rushing inside your building, partly afraid he's gonna come back.

You won't be surprised if you get killed tonight.

-

"So you are telling me Choi Seungcheol walked you home?" Katelyn screams in your ear, jolting up from her seat, earning glares from other people at the library in the process. "That's his name?" You whisper-yell, grabbing her hand to pull her back down. "I'm guessing from the blond hair you said," Katelyn shrugs. "Uh huh." You mean back in your chair, "He was hot though."

"Is that seriously all you have to say?" Katelyn whines exasperatedly. "No, I mean, if it wasn't for the way he dresses or talks I would have thought he's a model or something." You murmur.

"Are you sure he didn't hurt you?" Katelyn questions. "Hell no!" You frown. "He saved me from that creepy old dude. I was surprised too. I wish I didn't drink so much, I could have gotten a better look at his face," you sigh. "Seriously?" Katelyn raises a brow at you.

"Girl, you should have seen him. His aura and the way he carried himself was...so hot." You grin to yourself. Katelyn watches you like you've grown two heads. "Are you trying to tell me you have a crush on that gangster?" You smile sheepishly, "Maybe, I mean it's harmless. He was broody yet charming and I'm a girl so.... Also, it's not like he likes me too and is gonna come running whenever I ask him to bang me." You mutter.

"Oh he's gonna break your bones and bang your skull against a wall. That's what he's gonna do."

"Come on! Maybe he isn't so bad. Maybe the rumours are just rumours. Maybe he just looks intimidating and dresses up like that and people thinks he's a gangster." "Really? His name is on every bad thing that happens around here. From illegal racing to murders. Do you know that people say he has killed too?" "Like I said, rumours," you shrug being your stubborn self. Katelyn holds her hands up in surrender, "You know what? It doesn't matter. I'm glad you're alive so let's just put this behind us, shall we?" You don't reply but wiggle your brows at her, a conspirational look on your face. "Oh no, don't look at me like that," Katelyn warns. "Let's go to that bar tonight. Please?" You give her your best puppy eyes. "What are you? Fucking crazy? You wanna get killed?" She whisper-yells, scowling at you. "No. I just wanna take another look at him. Without the alcohol in my system you know. Besides, the place isn't that bad." You reply.

"Well then get killed by yourself. I'm not coming with you."

"I'll help you with your papers for the rest of the semester."

"Shit."

-

"Well, looks like your wish won't be coming true," Katelyn muses chugging down her fourth glass as you keep playing with your first one. It's nearing an hour since you've come to the bar and there has been no sign of the man you desperately seek. The place is exactly like it was the other day, filled with people who you wouldn't want to mess with.

Yet here you are.

"Let's call it a night," Katelyn sighs. "We're just wasting our time." You know that too but you don't want to leave; not just yet. You are well aware that this is just pathetic but you've this crazy urge to see that man once again. You don't know why you feel this way; you never felt like this before. Why are thinking yourself to death about a complete stranger? Has some kind of spell been casted on you?

"Yeah, let's get going," you murmur half heartedly. You help your friend stand up as she's a little wobbly on her feet and together you make your way through the door. "Should we call a cab?" You ask Katelyn. She shakes her head no and you nod, you arms wrapped around hers to support her in case she looses her balance. You start stepping away from the bar and towards the road to her place until a noise from behind makes you stop in your tracks.

"Did you hear that?" You ask, whipping your head behind. There's no one around and the street is mostly dark other than the light flashing from the name of the bar. You hear the sound once again and this time you can locate where it's coming from. There's an abandoned playground at the back of the bar and you've a feeling that's the source.

Katelyn hisses as she sees you step towards there. "What are you doing!"

"Didn't you hear that?"

"Yes I did. That's why I say we leave!" You ignore her and cautiously keep on stepping forward, mentally cursing yourself for wearing heels. Katelyn follows behind you murmuring all kinds of warnings. "You know curiosity killed the cat, right?" She whispers.

You roll your eyes, "Well I'm not a cat. Just- be quiet. It can be nothing." You both move past the bar gingerly and towards the playground at the back. There are old gallons of oil and abandoned materials just around the corner and you two quickly hide among them. It takes you a while to get adjusted to the low light after you poke your head up from the hiding spot.

You're eyes fix on him immediately. His blond hair makes him easily recognisable amid the darkness. There is a few more people around him, all kicking something in the ground. Not something, but someone. The man lying on the ground groans in pain and you realize this is what you both heard. "Shit," You hear Katelyn curse from beside you. "We need to get going." Instead of replying, you keep your eyes trained on the scene unfolding, holding your breath. You're tranced. Seungcheol lands continuous punched on the guy laying below him and after a moment his writhing frame seems to stop moving as it falls limp.

Fuck.

"You know in movies this is the part where people get caught." Katelyn whispers, her voice hoarse and her hand clutching yours in a tugging motion. "Uh-huh. But I can't seem to move. I wonder if he's... really dead." You whisper back. "Are you fucking crazy!" She hisses. "You wanna witness murder?"

Before you can reply you hear a sound that echoes through the empty field and it takes a second for you two to realise that it came from any one of you two. You don't have the time to figure out who made it as you both are crawling away from the playground without looking back, head crouched low to avoid being seen. You don't know if they heard that or if they're coming behind you, you both just keep scrambling, moving until you're past the corner. As soon as possible you both get on your feet and run like the grim reaper is chasing you, stopping only when you are far enough from the bar.

"I am never listening to you again!" Katelyn yells.

-

It's been a good few days since your near death experience and you somehow find yourself in front of that bar once again. You and Katelyn have not brought up that incident after that night. You made yourself believe that it was over and came to a conclusion that it is better to forget that man and leave all of it behind, no matter how much your heart disagreed. But it's easier said than done; you may not mention him out loud but in the back of your mind you think of him. He's like a ghost, haunting you all the time, plagueing your thoughts when you go to bed at night. It felt like he was ever existent and there was an itch in your heart that drove you insane.

Maybe that's why your subconscious brought you here, in front of Seventeen's, once again. You were on your way back home from library and you thought you took your usual route, until you realized you were standing in front of that place. But what is even terrifying is that the man haunting your mind stands in front of the entrance of the bar and you blink a few times to make sure you are not hallucinating. He's leaned against the entrance door, cigarette between his lips and from his pocket he fetches a lighter to light the poison in his mouth.

Damn, lighting up a cigarette never looked this sexy.

He hasn't seen you yet and you contemplate running the other way. That's the sensible thing to do but you, not being a sensible person, start walking towards him. Your footsteps make him look up and notice you and like the last time, there is no expression on his face. It's the same bored yet handsome face except now in daylight you can take a better look at him and this time, you notice a little mole on the left of his face, by his nose. Realising he's gonna stay silent you decide to speak, "Hi... It's me... Do you remember me?" Wow. That's such an intelligent thing to ask.

With the monotoned yet serious expression on his face, he goes, "Why won't I? I don't have Alzheimer's."

So he can joke.

You laugh, an awkward, probably exaggerated laugh. "What are you doing here? Did you not learn your lesson last time?" He cuts to the chase, his voice brassy and deep, almost threatening. You want to roll your eyes. "Who are you to say? I can be wherever I want whenever I want, thank you very much." "Well then, have fun getting in trouble like last time." He's nonchalant as he blows a smoke right past you and stands up straight, turning away. "Wait!" You almost grab his hand, desperate to stop him.

What is wrong with you? Your subconscious slaps her forehead. What are you holding him back for? To say 'hello sir, I think you're hot, can you please put your dick inside me'? Seungcheol turns his head back, his eyebrow cocked up.

Why do you find everything about him so attractive?

"Um...I know your name, Seungcheol." You speak, trying to sound intimidating, like knowing his name gives you some power over him. There's something definitely wrong with you which is why you don't want him to leave just yet and which is why you're stalling time. But it seems to have done the job as he pulls the cigarette out of his mouth and turns towards you, an annoyed look on his face. "How do you know that?" The timbre of his tone is deep and it rakes shivers down your spine. "Well, you've built quite a reputation for yourself so it isn't hard to get your name." You shrug coolly. "Well, if you know so much about my reputation, you should know what I'm capable of." His lone is low, almost threating as he starts to take slow steps towards you making you step back out of reflex.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Maybe you will also end up like the curious cat.

"Oh yes, I know. People have got a lot to say about you," you try to sound unfazed, not meeting his eyes that you feel are burning holes on your face. "What are you doing here, lady?" he asks slowly, pausing between each word and glaring at you as he continues to step forward. You can feel his patience thinning.

"I swear to God if you call me that-"

"What are you doing here?" This time his tone is scary, too scary. It makes you lose the ability to speak for a second as his dark gaze bores into you. He has backed you up against the wall behind you and you swallow. Right, what are you doing here? It probably has something to do with a very hot individual and his insanely attractive aura. Scratch that you are a hundred percent sure it has something to do with the blond haired, enticing man in front of you. He's driving you mad and you need to get your fill of him.

"Go out with me," you state and you are sure you've never spoken words more stupid than that. Internally, you cringe and pray that the ground below you would open and take you straight to the fiery pits.

This is the first time you see some sort of expression come across his face; surprise. He looks utterly shocked and somewhat confused. His mouth opens just a little and he squints at you, "What?"

There's no going back now.

"Go out with me. Let's go on three dates." you say once more, looking him in the eye. He seems to appear even more surprised, a dumbstruck look sitting on his face. He observes you quietly for a while and you can feel the gears in his head shifting. You wonder what he's gonna say next. Or maybe he won't say anything but bang your head on the wall and leave you to die alone. "I'm sorry I'm not following," he looks genuinely perplexed. "I want to go on three dates with you. They say after three dates you can figure out whether you like that person or not and I think I like you so..."

I think I like you.

The biggest understatement of the year.

Seungcheol tilts his head, an amused expression on his face as he studies you, those sharp eyes of his settling on yours, "What is your deal, sweetheart?" He crosses his arms, a brow raised. Sweetheart? That's new. And definitely better than lady. You can't deny how hearing him call you that makes your insides melt. "Nothing. I just want to date you," you shrug, trying to keep your wits together. His proximity is driving you wild; you can sniff a faint smell of cologne and cigarette, him being inches away from you. This time he laughs loudly, a mocking laugh you'd say. "Who sent you?"

Oh my god.

You roll your eyes. "Nobody sent me! Do I look like I'm a gang member or something?" "Then I don't see a reason why you'd want to date me," He states, throwing a challenging look at you.

"What if I said I have a thing for bad boys?"

He snorts. "You don't look the type to date bad boys," he mocks. "Who are you to say that?" You cross your arms. "I want to date you because I think you're hot, okay?" You can not believe you just said that. Looks like you don't have control over your mouth anymore. Warmth spreads throughout your face like a forest fire.

Seungcheol narrows his eyes on you, his tongue poking his cheek as he stands in front of you as if trying to read your mind. After a beat he sighs before looking at you, his eyes becoming darker than usual and his gaze unforgiving. "Hey. Does it look like I'm playing house here? Do you have any idea about the shit I do? The dirty work I do? I don't care if you have a fucking fetish or whatever but this is the last time I'm warning you. I don't want to see you around again. If I see you here once more, you're in fucking trouble," he spits and starts stomping away. His tone is serious and you know very well he is not joking, which is why you use your last resort. You're embarrassed at yourself for being so desperate but at the same time you feel shameless. It has almost turned into a game at this point, you want to make him surrender. That's right, you want him to give in. "You shouldn't be like that with me. I saw you, a few days ago. That night, when you and your friends were beating up that guy...in the playground," you casually stroll to come stand right behind him.

You can't believe you are blackmailing a gangster. Your death must be near.

Seungcheol whips his head back, his eyes glaring at you and you can almost see fire in them. Finally, you got his attention.

"My friend also saw it, we both did. You killed him, didn't you? Me and my friend witnessed a murder. What do you say? Should we go to the station?" You can see his jaw clench and you can't hold back a victorious smirk. Moments pass by as your words hang in the air and the tension between you gets thicker. Yet once more he surprises you, breaking the silence with a chuckle, "Well I killed one person, what makes you think I can't take care of another?"

You swallow.

"Well, my friend already knows so if I go missing you can be sure that the cops will come to you first." You throw back at him.

When did you get so wreckless?

Seungcheol stares at you for a few more seconds before shrugging and moving his hand dismissively, "Well then go tell the cops. I don't give a shit." He starts walking back to the bar leaving you starstruck. He stops and turns towards you before opening the door, "Also, I meant it. I hope I don't see you around. Otherwise I may just have to hurt that pretty face."

-

You don't show up after that.

Mostly because you are embarasssed.

It's been a good while after your last encounter with Seungcheol and you didn't go to the police, obviously. Because you don't have evidence and from what you've heard Seungcheol is pretty influential around here and you don't need to go to an extent to get on his bad side. You're definitely gonna end up dead if you do so, which you don't want just yet.

Classes have just finished and you and Katelyn step out of the classroom together, walking through the hallways and into the main campus. She rambles on about some bad sushi she ate yesterday while your mind remains preoccupied. Maybe you need to get laid. Maybe that'll make you forget about Seungcheol. You just need good dick that's probably why you were so desperate for him.

That's just a stupid lie.

You don't realise Katelyn is calling you until she shakes you by the shoulder and you snap back into reality. You notice her face is as pale as a ghost and following her line of sight your eyes stop on him.

Him. Seungcheol.

What?

You double take, blinking furiously to confirm your vision. He's standing there, in the parking area of your uni, leaned against a convertible Ferrari, a cigarette between his lips. He looks relaxed, like he does this regularly. Students whisper in each others ear while gawking at him curiously. "What did you do!" Katelyn yells. "Nothing!" You hiss back.

"Then why is he here!"

"I don't know!"

Your eyes meet with Seungcheol's and a smirk spreads across his face making you shiver. He stands up straight and tilts his head, an indication for you to come closer to him. "Fuck, he's here for me," you mumble. "Of course he's here for you, dumbass," Katelyn snaps. "Well, if I don't return, you know who killed me." You sigh starting to walk towards him. "Wait- you're going with him?" She asks incredulously.

"Don't worry. I'll keep my phone on. I don't think he's gonna murder me, I mean there are so many witnesses." You inhale deeply, leaving behind a lost looking Katelyn.

Seungcheol says nothing as you stand right in front of him raising an inquisitive brow but he only holds open the door for you to get in. Deciding to follow him you enter the car quietly and a wave of gasps go through the crowd.

There's gonna be talk about this tomorrow.

Seungcheol, still smirking victoriously for some reason rounds the car and gets inside and within seconds you're hitting the road. There's a thick silence for a while, which feels like ages to you. You're overwhelmed, bewildered to say anything; your poor brain still processing what is happening. You're nervous, jittery as you fiddle with you bag and look out on your side, for some reason scared to look at him.

What if he really kills you? He wouldn't, right?

"You're awfully quiet," Seungcheol says matter of factly as he spares you a glance while driving.

"I'm... processing."

"What are you, a robot?"

"Why are you doing this?" You question instead.

"Doing what?"

"Okay, you know very well what I mean. Why are you picking me up from uni all of a sudden? How do you even know I'm a student there?" "I have resources and...you didn't protest at all. You came along nicely," Seungcheol raised a brow at you, a cocky smile on his lips. You don't answer but continue to stare at him, trying to pin him down with your gaze. He finally sighs and pulls the car to a stop by the side of the road, the sudden brake making you slightly jerk in your seat. "I've decided to give you those 3 dates. That's why," He is calm, unreadable and you wonder if this is a prank. Then again, he has no reason to prank you, does he? "Really?" Your voice comes out breathy. "Yes. I thought I'd give you a taste of how it feels to be with someone like me. I can scare people without physically hurting them you know," He says in a menacing tone.

"So what? You're taking me to an underground fight or something?" You question. "Nah, we're keeping it simple today." He smirks as he starts the car again and turns on the radio, an indication that he doesn't want to converse anymore.

Shamelessly you take a good look at Seungcheol; he's dressed in another jacket today paired with a black tee underneath. Today, you notice he has upped his accessory game, his fingers full of rings and chains dangling from his neck. But what catches your attention is a tattoo, something like a dragon and words written in a language you don't understand, peeking from underneath his sleeve. You almost ask about it but decide it'll probably be too much and he wouldn't answer you anyway.

As you do so, in the back of your mind you think you should have dressed better, something cuter, more appropriate for a date rather than a plain blouse and jeans. But then again who knew Choi Seungcheol was gonna show up out of the blue. You're gnawing at your lower lip, lost in your thoughts when the car is pulled to a halt and you realize your ride is over. You're parked in front of a diner called Lacy's and from the vibe that the place is giving, you can tell that this is place where people like him hang out. You raise a questioning brow at Seungcheol who says, "I know it doesn't look fancy but trust me I has some of the best food I've ever eaten." Taking his words for now you quickly type out a text to Katelyn letting her know you're in one piece and get out of the car.

Once you're seated you look around the place which is relatively empty except some men playing pool at the far end. You watch Seungcheol who has gone to the reception booth to place your orders; his posture relaxed as he leans against the counter and talks to the girl standing there. They seem to know each other because their chat takes longer than it should and the girl has a shy, almost flirty smile on her face.

He probably fucks her.

You shake the thought off your head as the gangster comes back and sits in front of you. There's silence for a second as you wonder if you should just ask the questions that run free around your mind. "Are the rumours true?" You blurt out. He's raises a brow.

"About you. You know..."

"Do you want them to be true?" He asks back. "I don't...know," you reply. "Well, I think it depends on each person. If you want it to be true it is true, if you don't it isn't," he shrugs, leaning back in his chair. "Why don't you just give me a straight answer?" you snap. He smirks as if he's having fun but doesn't reply, watching you with his arms crossed. You roll your your eyes, blowing out an exasperated breath. "You know, I haven't seen one like you. Willingly hanging out with dangerous people, going to dangerous places. You say you saw me kill someone yet you're here. You're almost desperate to get in trouble," he observes. "I'm not desperate to get in trouble. I just...I'm just- attracted to you alright?" This is so embarrassing. You need to shut your mouth. "You've been on my mind ever since that night. I wanna see exactly how deep I'm into you." You bite your lip.

That's enough. You will boost his ego through the roof like this.

Seungcheol studies you for a bit before grinning cockily, "Well, if you didn't know, I am trouble baby. Just you being with me might end you up in a mess." Before you can reply, your food is served, that same girl from the booth setting down your plates and looking at Seungcheol for a bit too long with that same stupid smile which he returns. You don't know why but you feel jealous, jealous of whatever these two share, whatever she has with him.

You've lost your mind at this point. You're on a high that is Seungcheol. He has made you forget your morals, made you completely lose your mind. Or maybe you've been too good all your life and seeing him brought out that crazy, thrill seeking part of yourself.

Silently you dig into your food and as Seungcheol said, the food is really good. This is one of the best meatloaf you've ever had and you can't help but moan. Seungcheol watches you with an amused smile before popping a fry in his mouth.

"What's your major?" Seungcheol asks out of the blue.

"Uh- sociology."

"Mmhmm."

You're about to ask him what he studied in college but you assume he probably never went to one so you seal your lips. You wonder what his background is and who his parents are but you don't want to get too personal on the first day. So you ask something else, "How old are you?" He laughs out loud before he deadpans, "Thirty five." "What!" You almost choke.

There's no way he's-

"Why? What did you expect?"

"I... I don't know! A few years older than me? You're kidding right? You don't look thirty five." He has to be bluffing. "And how old would you be?" "You shouldn't ask a woman her age," you try to make a point. "Don't you have any manners?" He smirks,"I don't, sweetheart. To answer your question, I'm twenty eight."

Uh huh.

"Well, I'm twenty one," you mutter under your breath. You don't know if he hears it because he doesn't give any reaction, busy twirling a fry in sauce. The rest of your meal is full of silence as you wonder if your date will end like this; dry and boring. He's awfully silent and seems to be lost in thoughts as he doesn't engage in a conversation. You're about to take your last bite when the silence is broken by him.

"What did you see that night?" He leans over, his elbows resting on the table as he suddenly regards you with a sombre look, his earlier cockiness vanished. His eyes have once again gone dark and his demeanor says he's not being superficial right now. You're caught off guard as you cough loudly, reaching for your glass to take a sip of water. "What?"

"You heard me. What did you see that night? Exactly how much did you see?" He repeats. You're confused. You thought he didn't care about it. He said it didn't matter. So why is he bringing it up now? You've worked hard to push that night in the deepest part of your brain, pretending it didn't happen.

And then suddenly it clicks.

"You!" You point an accusatory finger at him as you catch on to his plan. "You've agreed to go out with me so that you can find out what I saw that night!" Seungcheol groans, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Ugh, just fucking tell me!" He snaps, annoyed that you've found out his little scheme. You scoff, "I thought you said you didn't care? Besides it's not like I'm going to tell the police." He rolls his eyes and leans back into the couch. "Just tell me and let me go."

You're baffled. His actions didn't make any sense and you actually thought he had no other intentions behind dating you but holy shit this sneaky bastard. "You sly little asshole!" You hiss at him. "Call me that once more and you'll regret it." He threatens. You roll your eyes sagging back into your seat, "Whatever." Then an idea hits you. "You know what, I'll tell you exactly how much I saw that night." You have Seungcheol's full attention now as he stares intensely at you, waiting for your next words. "On our third date. When this whole deal is over, I'll tell you. But in return you'll have to keep your promise and take me out on two more dates."

"Oh fucking hell," he groans rubbing his face in frustration. His state makes you smirk and you feel accomplished.

Choi Seungcheol is stressed because of you.

What a day to be alive.

You murmur, "Besides this isn't even a proper date. This was more like an interrogation. But I'll go easy on you and won't make you redo this date." You give him a sweet smile and he sees red. You can literally see fury blaze in his eyes. "Whatever!" He yells and abruptly stands up. "I don't have time for this. Your stupid play date is over. I'm dropping you home."

Before you can reply, he's marching towards the door. You've to admit this wasn't the best date but at least you've trapped Choi Seungcheol.

-

It has been a good week after your so called date at the diner and you haven't heard from him. You expected him to call or text you since he was gracious enough to ask for your number but he didn't. You now realize it was a mistake to not get his number; you had asked him for his when he took yours but being the prick he is he denied to hand over his number to you. You should have forced him to, you sigh. As you sit in the library the ping of your mobile distracts you from your racing thoughts as you realize you have a message. Picking the device up you tap on the notification. Even though it was from an unknown number, you have no trouble figuring out who it is from. A smile graces your lips as you read the words over again.

I'll pick you up from your house tomorrow evening at six.

That's all it says and that is good enough to send a thrum of excitement throughout your body.

-

You have not held back in dressing up today and you realize it's been a long time since you've dolled up yourself. A long before the clock strikes 6 you are ready; dressed in a cute pastel top and a matching skirt. You've also went ahead and applied makeup, not too much but just enough to maybe catch his eye. Maybe.

You wonder what he has planned for today.

A text from Seungcheol saying he's here has you flying out of your apartment as fast as your feet can carry your desperate self to see him. He stands in front of your apartment with his convertible, dressed in a white jacket that matched his pants. You take a deep breath before walking towards him, trying to calm all your nerves down.

"You know I expected to hear from you earlier. I've been waiting all week," you voice makes his head turn around to meet your eyes as you are skipping towards him with a teasing smile in your face. "I've been busy," he shrugs coolly, his eyes going over your whole body, from your legs to your face. He doesn't hide that he's taking a good look at you, in fact does it unashamedly.

You wonder if he likes what he sees.

Someone dressed up today," he comments. "Too bad we aren't going to a place where you can show off your pretty clothes." You frown, "Where are we going?" Seungcheol holds open the door, a mischievous smile on his face. "I've decided to grant your wish." With a confused face you get inside the car, the gears in your head running. What does he mean?

"I'm taking you to an underground fighting ring," he says with smirk as he reaches for something behind his seat. He pulls out a large hoodie and tosses it towards you, "Put this on. Otherwise you are going to attract a lot of attention and you don't want that." You gulp, taking the hoodie and putting it on you. You're slightly embarrassed. You were so excited to try this outfit but it's not like you knew he was taking you to a fight club. Hell you would have dressed like a guy if you knew. You shrug on the hoodie and it falls almost to your knees but it's huge and comfy and most importantly it smells like him. There's a hint of cologne, nothing too strong; a subtle, expensive scent that makes you want to take a deeper sniff. You wonder if you can keep this with you.

Stop it, pervert.

Seungcheol's voice pulls you out of your haze, "You can take it off later. Just wear it until we're out of there," he says and brings the engine to life.

Then you actually think about it. Underground fighting ring? Holy shit. You were only kidding when you mentioned it. Admittedly, you're shocked, somewhat horrified. Everyone knows it isn't the best place to be at especially for someone like you who never had such an experience. Seungcheol must have seen your expression because the smile on his face gets bigger, "Why? You not up for it?" His voice is teasing.

He's challenging you.

Oh well.

"Of course I'm up for it," you square your shoulders, keeping your voice cool. "Bring it on."

-

Seungcheol leads you into a bar and then through a door at the back that leads down to a lot of stairs, reaching a place similar to an underground parking lot. Quietly you follow Seungcheol, staying as close to him as possible, your bodies occasionally touching. He leads you to a pair of double doors and from the other side you can hear men shouting and chanting.

This is it, I guess.

Seungcheol throws one more smile at you before pushing open the doors as you scramble to follow him closely. The sight that greets you something you only see in movies. There's a boxing ring where two people are throwing punches at each other and surrounding them from all sides is a wild, loud and excited crowd. They continue to cheer loudly as the two men in the ring continue to box and you hear their grunts and groans.

Holy shit.

Swallowing your eyes meet Seungcheol's who is regarding you with curiosity. "What do you think?" He has to speak loudly for you to hear over the screaming throng. "Uh... It's loud," you say dumbly as you try to think of a reply. But it's too loud for you to even think properly as you take in your unfamiliar surroundings. You see a tall man approaching towards you and out of reflex you shuffle closer to Seungcheol until you realize it's his friend. The guy from the first night. He and Seungcheol grin at each other, patting their backs as they talk close to each others ears. You gawk at them curiously and realize they must be talking about you because his friend takes curious glances at you occasionally. His friend is tall, really tall and well built but unlike his body his face is sweet and puppy like, almost cute. When he grins his canines pop up just like a puppy and you wonder if all his friends are good looking.

After he's done chatting with his friend Seungcheol pulls you close and says, "This is my friend. Mingyu. Always stay near him, you hear me? Don't stray away unless you wanna get hurt." His eyes are stern as he pins you down with his stare but you have other thoughts running in your head.

"What do you mean? Where are you going?" You yell over the noise.

He just smirks at you and starts taking his jacket off. "About time you see how we do it around here." His tone is cocky as he hands his jacket to you, "Hold this for me. And stay close to him."

Giving a look at Mingyu Seungcheol starts walking away towards a door that you're guessing is the changing room.

He's gonna fight.

"Wait- but-" Mingyu stops you with a hand on your shoulder and offers you a kind smile. "It's fine. Just stay with me." He then ushers you towards the crowd, spotting a place where you can get a good look at the ring. "Do you guys do this often?" You look up at Mingyu. He smiles sheepishly, "Not me. I tried a few times and I always end up beaten to a pulp. But hyung does this often, he's really good."

"Uh huh, I'm sure he is," you smile dryly. "This is your first time watching a fight, no?" "Definitely." He grins, "Watch carefully then. It's really fun."

You have your doubts on how watching people beat each other up can be fun but you don't comment anything, instead chew on your lip anxiously. Seungcheol really didn't have to go this far? What if he gets hurt badly? Is he trying to impress you?

Don't flatter yourself, your subconscious rolls her eyes.

As the loud cheering that had died down ensues again, your train of thoughts are halted as you see Seungcheol in shorts and his hands covered in boxing gloves, step into the ring. You can't help but ogle at his naked torso, his finely defined and chiseled muscles. He has the perfect body, not too bulky, not too lean just the right amount that gives you a hard time taking your eyes off him. He seems to have noticed your gaze because the second your eyes meet, he throws a haughty, knowing smirk at you. Embarrassed you avert your gaze elsewhere.

His opponent is a muscular man who's growling and banging his chest with his fists, a gesture of intimidation, you suppose. You are definitely intimidated and you wonder if Seungcheol can actually win against him.

The fight starts with a whistle and in mere seconds they are on to each other, throwing punches left and right. Your eyes have a hard time keeping up with them and their fast reflexes and your hands fly to your mouth as a punch lands on Seungcheol's face, followed by repeated blows as Seungcheol falls back. There's a moment of silence as he wipes his bottom lip and you realize there's a cut.

He tilts his neck, popping the bones and glaring at the other man before launching himself on top of his opponent. The next moments are a blurry mess, Seungcheol beating the guy repeatedly until he ends up on the floor but he doesn't stop there. Seungcheol ends it with a sharp jab to his spine and you have no doubt the other man has broken bones with the ways he howls in pain. The match comes to an end like that as the people cheer wildly while Seungcheol steps down from the stage. Mingyu grins at you happily as if what you witnessed was just a regular occurrence, something you should be cheerful about. Shaking your head at the situation, you let out a deflated sigh.

Their life is really so different than yours.

-

Seungcheol seems to be in a very good mood after the fight as he buys you both some sandwiches and drinks from a deli after you both step out of the bar. You both sit down at a park nearby to eat and watch the night sky. "You know, I thought you were gonna lose," you speak after taking a few bites of the sandwich. Seungcheol scoffs, "You underestimate me, sweetheart. I've been doing this for a long time."

"Do you enjoy it?" You ask quietly, focused on peeling the wrapper from your food. You feel Seungcheol's stare on you. "Yes. Why? Are you scared already?"

"No. I was just... curious. Your definition and my definition of fun is totally different." You murmur. "Of course. What did you think? I go to the mall and shop and watch movies with my friends when I'm bored?" His tone is sarcastic. You bite your lip. "No I didn't. It's just...I feels different now that I have experienced it first hand." Seungcheol offers nothing more, taking a sip of his coke and leaning back into the bench. A silence stretches between the both of except the rustling of the wrapper of your food. "How long have you been doing this?" You blurt out. He frowns at you and you don't expect him to answer but he surprises you.

"For a long time."

He doesn't offer anymore and you don't have the heart to prod him for an actual answer. "And how long do you plan on doing this?"

"What?"

"I mean... don't you have any other plans. Like...do you wanna keep doing what you are doing for the rest of your life? Don't you wanna like... settle down maybe?" Your voice is soft as if you are talking to a child. Seungcheol looks annoyed. He doesn't speak for a while as he stares at the ground, a frown etched to his face. You're about to take back your question when he replies, "I really don't think you understand. I've been trying to tell you that my life is completely disparate to yours. So I don't think like you. I don't have plans like you but neither am I expected to follow a certain pattern like you. I can do whatever the fuck I want, ___. So don't look at me like you pity me. I'm the last person here that should be pitied. " His tone is sharp and it makes you feel bad, like a sensation of needles pricking your heart. "I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry," You whisper, feeling timid as you look down at your lap. He mutters, "Don't go poking your nose in other people's business. Specially people like me."

He's right. You shouldn't have asked that. You are not close enough to ask things like that. After that there is a silence, this time, an awkward one. There's palpable tension in the air and you feel jittery. Should you just ask him to take you home?

It's still early and truth be told, you don't want to leave him just yet. You only have one more date to go and judging by his reaction, he is in no way interested in a relationship. You heave out a long sigh. You knew very well what you were getting into, yet you couldn't stop yourself. Seungcheol is like a poison, the sweetest one, the one that has you addicted and unable to let go, no matter how much it hurts.

This is a fucking mess.

"Let's get going. I have plans," Seungcheol announces, standing up. You want to protest but you feel like you have ruined the mood, so you follow him mutely to his car.

The drive to your house is awfully quiet, to the point you want to scream out of frustration. Seungcheol seems to be lost in his head as he makes no move to talk. It's like you are alone, but you're not and it's worse, the air full of tension. Soon you have reached your house and he stops the car but keeps the engine rolling, indicating his rush. He keeps still and stares ahead while gripping the steering wheel as you step out of the car in silence. "Thanks for dropping me home," you say lamely, your voice meek. You turn around to walk away but his voice stops you in your tracks.

"I promised you three dates and I will keep my word. I expect you to keep yours, ___. I hope you will tell me what I want to hear when we meet next time." His tone is sharp with an edge of threat and you barely get to nod before he drives away.

It's not until you're inside your apartment that you realize you still have his hoodie on. Quickly fishing out your phone you type out a text.

I'm sorry, I forgot to return your hoodie.

After a while, his reply comes.

Keep it.

-

You watch Katelyn as she fills her lunch tray with food before walking over and taking a seat opposite to you. She looks extra radiant today, which probably has something to do with the way she's dressed; a bright colourful outfit which undoubtedly she put a lot of time into considering. She has a date, with a guy she has been talking to for the last few weeks. It reminds you of your pitiful situation and you sigh, trying to shrug off those thoughts.

It has been a good couple weeks since you last saw Seungcheol and you have not exchanged a word after that night. In the back of your mind you wonder if he is even alive. You want to message him, you really want to because you are going crazy but after how your last date ended, you can't bring yourself to. You are scared, exactly of what, you can't put your finger into.

The entire situation you have put yourself into is fucking scary. They say you become sure of your feelings after three dates but it did not take that much for you. You already are very certain about your feelings for him and how deep they run exactly and you also know that in the end you will be left scarred. He would never be yours. He has probably forgotten about you or decided that it is not worth another date to figure out what you saw that night.

You let a desperate, pitiable sigh.

"I know you are hiding things from me but I understand that you are not ready to talk yet. But I want you to know I am here for you okay?" Katelyn's voice makes you blink your way out of your thoughts. She squeezes your hand tightly and gives you a reassuring smile and you're left feeling guilty.

"I ...I will tell you. Soon. Just give me a bit more time," you whisper. She nods in understanding. A grateful smile touches your lips as her words make you emotional. Then there's a ping from your phone letting you know there's a message. Without giving it much thought you open the device and your eyes go wide.

I'll take you out for dinner tomorrow night. Wear something formal.

-

You wait outside your apartment for Seungcheol. Your day has passed by in a flurry of excitement and nerves as you carefully picked your outfit and did your hair and makeup. A soft baby pink dress that stopped just above you knees adorns you as your hair rests just above your neck in a loose bun.

You are fiddling with your fingers as you think about how this night is gonna end and wether you will ever see him again when a car screech that grabs your attention.

Seungcheol's convertible has taken a stop in front of you and you see the man getting out the vehicle and take big steps towards you.

You're mesmerized.

Perhaps there is not enough word in this world to describe his looks or perhaps you've simple lost the ability to speak; either way, you just stand and stare, drinking the godly man that stands in front of you. He looks delectable, completely flawless and agonizingly gorgeous in his sharp black suit and pants, with a silk black shirt underneath, the top couple buttons undone that reveals a beautiful porcelain skin. His hairstyle completes the look, parted to one side in a sleek way and showing his forehead and oh god is it sexy. You realize you have a forehead kink, if there is anything as such.

If you weren't in love with him before you are now.

He looks ravishing, and you wonder why it isn't illegal to look this good. It should be because you have completely lost control over yourself. Nothing exists in your world except for him and you feel paralyzed, unable to do anything but drink him in. You wonder if you are even worthy to stand beside him.

"____?" Seungcheol calls you, snapping his fingers in front of your eyes. He must have been calling you while you were eye fucking him. "Oh! Um, hi." You're flustered. "You- you look really, really nice." It isn't enough but it's what you can get past your lips. A knowing smirk kisses his lips before he teases, "Well, you look really, really nice too." Motioning you to his car he says, "Shall we? We'll be late for our reservation."

"Yeah, of course," you say, hurrying over to his car, embarasssed at your foolery. Seungcheol must have noticed you ogling him like that. But you don't really care when he looks like that. It is his fault for looking so devilishly handsome and idly you wonder if he did that on purpose. If he's deliberately teasing with, trying to make you the most miserable before letting you go with a slap of reality to your face. Pushing away those plagueing thoughts, you sit up straight and clear your throat as Seungcheol comes to sit beside you and brings the engine to life.

A decently long and quiet (except for the music from the radio) but not quite uncomfortable car ride later, Seungcheol stops in front of a really fancy and expensive looking restaurant just by the sea. You did not except him to take you to a high end restaurant, otherwise you would have put some more effort in your looks.

Feeling slightly out of place you quietly follow Seungcheol into the beautiful European styled building after he hands his keys to a valet. The interior is dripping with polished furnitures and extravagant chandeliers and marble floors as guests dressed elegantly have their dinner. As you look around the place in awe Seungcheol talks to the receptionist who then guides you towards a staircase that leads to a pair of large double doors decorated with gold which then, opens to a large balcony. In the middle of it sits a table with two chairs and an unceremonious gasp escapes your mouth as you realize this is where you will be having dinner.

The man from earlier takes his leave as Seungcheol helps you sit down before taking a seat for himself while you take in everything, overwhelmed with all your surroundings. Why did he put so much effort for a lousy and fake date?

"What do you think?" He asks with a smirk as he rests one of his elbows on the table.

"I'm overwhelmed," you reply quietly, honestly. He chuckles, "Well this place has really good food and a fantastic view so I thought it wouldn't bad for our last date."

Last date.

"It's really beautiful. I don't know why you did this but thank you, really," you murmur, eyes on the satin table cloth with intricate golden lining. Everything about this place is so pretty.

"Well, I decided it would be beneficial for me to extract words from you if you are wooed," his words have a teasing tone to it and his demeanor is completely different from last time, giving you a whiplash but you are not sure if he's fully joking. Before you can say that you are definitely wooed, a waiter appears to take your order and you leave the duty of ordering to Seungcheol since he seems to frequent this place. Prior to his leave, the waiter pours you Seungcheol's champagne of choice and then, you two are alone once more.

Reaching for the flute, you quickly gulp down the champagne to soothe your dry throat and to calm all your nerves.

Over dinner you talk about your uni and your parents back home and the farm they own. While Seungcheol mostly keeps quiet he doesn't ignore you but listens carefully, occasionally passing glances your way or commenting. He does not offer anything about him, which you expected and you don't ask any questions about him either. Instead you try your best to keep his interest in your words despite the lack of it from his side.

After a hearty meal of poached lobsters and wagyu beefs and creamy soups comes dessert; a chocolate orange mousse with spiced fruits and yogurt sorbet. You start eating your dessert in silence, the occasional crashing of waves filling the complete lack of sounds.

This location is truly magnificent and breathtaking, almost having a feel like you're in a fancy resort in a luxurious tropical island. It is undoubtedly the most beautiful place you have ever been, let alone have dinner at and you wonder if you would ever have the chance to visit some place like this had you not met Seungcheol. The man in question, continues eating quietly, seemingly lost in his thoughts. He looks lovely as always, if not more and you try to burn this image in your mind for you to look back at later. You want to ask him so many question, you want to tell him so many things but you're scared. Sacred if you do so this moment will break, scared it will annoy him and end your final date all too early. So you bite your tongue and finish your food as he does and after your plates are cleared away, you are served another expensive champagne as an end to your luxurious dinner.

Even though Seungcheol doesn't say anything, you assume it is time to spill the beans, to say what he has been wanting to hear from the beginning. You have teased him enough and it is time you give him what he deserves. Taking a deep breath, you open your mouth. "Me and Katelyn heard noises from the playground that night so we decided to check. It was pretty dark and we were tipsy but I recognized you and you were... beating someone up. We stayed there and watched until one of us accidentally made some noise. We were scared that you heard us so we ran. That's all that happened."

You have Seungcheol's full attention now as he listens cautiously, his sharp eyes trained on you. Gulping, you clench your hands together underneath the table, waiting for his reaction. There seems to be an eternity of silence as Seungcheol simply stares at you as if he's debating whether your words are true or not. It's torturous, awfully agonizing and when you can't bear it anymore you're about to speak but he beats you to it.

"I didn't kill him." His voice is quiet. You let out a breath you didn't realize you were holding. Somewhere in the back of your mind you believed it, you believed he wouldn't be cruel enough to kill someone just like that and as soon as he speaks those words you believe him, without a doubt, without a second of delay.

"I believe you." You whisper, holding his gaze. "That asshole deserved what he got. He shouldn't even be alive but I let him go. He's in a hospital now, if you are wondering." You nod quietly. It's scary how much you believe him, how much you trust him even though he is pretty much a stranger.

There's a moment of silence as you bask in his presence before he speaks, "____, men like me, we aren't the nicest people. But we are needed, the cops need us around. People like me do the dirty works for people like you so y'all don't face troubles. We do things in an unconventional way but that's just who we are. We aren't as bad as the rumours say but we definitely aren't someone you should be with." You open your mouth to protest but his sharp gaze makes you stop. "If you have not understood it yet, let me say it out loud. I am trouble. People like me is always bad news. Whatever we did until now, I hope you forget. That's the best, ____ trust me. I think we both got what we wanted so let's call it a night." Just like that, he stands up, not waiting for your reply.

You gawk at him, baffled as he pays the bill and starts walking away. Tears burn the back of your eyes and you bite your lip to hold them back. The ending that you had expected has taken place but you are having a hard time accepting it. Your subconscious reminds you that you deliberately got yourself into this even though you saw this coming. So there is no one to blame for it but you. Grabbing your purse, you stomp your way out of the restaurant and towards Seungcheol's car.

Seungcheol barely acknowledges you as you both get in the car and he presses the key to the ignition. You are fuming in your seat, his words and the way he dismissed you cutting you deep. His words come to you, I think we both got what we wanted. You want to laugh. How can he possibly think that? Is he really so stupid or is he deliberately ignoring your interest in him? You want to smack his perfect face, curse and scream at him but all you can do is sit still with your arms crossed as steam comes out of your head. Is he really not curious about your feelings? Does he possess none for you? Does these few days with you mean nothing to him? You have so many unanswered questions. Leaning back into your seat, you close your eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.

It feels like in the blink of an eye the drive to your place is over as Seungcheol halts his car in front of your apartment. He does not utter a single word, doesn't even spare a glance at you while patiently waiting for you to get out of the car.

Asshole.

You inhale deeply, trying your best to gather yourself together as you take off your seatbelt and turn towards him.

"Seungcheol?" Few seconds pass before he looks at you. Words are stuck in your throat. When your eyes meet his, you become mute, overwhelmed with emotions as your words die in your tongue. He keeps staring at you, not opening his mouth but waiting for you to speak. "Is this goodbye?" Your voice breaks.

"I believe we don't have any reason to see each other. We both got what we wanted," He says without batting an eye. You're left bemused, one step away from landing a slap on his face. How dare he say that?

"Do you really believe that?" Your words come out as an accusation. "I wanted to go out with you because I thought I have feelings for you! And I do! And my feelings have only increased since I first saw you. I want to see you again, Seungcheol. You may have gotten what you wanted but I didn't." Your fades into a whisper as tears burn the back of your eyes.

Seungcheol stays quiet, staring ahead, his brows knitted as if he's annoyed. "I promised you three dates, ____. And I gave you that. It's over. Your feelings? You'll get over them. It's better to be in pain for a while that be with someone like me."

"You can't say that! I get to decide for myself!"

"____," he sighs, rubbing his temples. "I'm a bad man. You should leave while you still have a good image of me. You'll get hurt because of me and I've caused enough pain to enough people. Just...go. Just forget me." You stare at him as frustrated tears roll down your cheeks. He doesn't meet your gaze but turns his head the other way. You are angry, infuriated and heart broken all at a time. Clenching your fists you inhale a shaky breath before reaching for him.

Before you can chicken out, you tilt his face towards you and quickly press your lips against his. Seungcheol seems to be shocked as a small gasp leaves his mouth but you don't let him push you away. Instead one of your hands come to rest on his thigh as he other cups his face to keep his mouth against yours. You kiss him with all you have left, pouring in every bit of passion and love for him as your tongues intertwine. By the time you are both breathless, Seungcheol gently pushes you back and peers into your eyes. "That's all I can give you, ____." He says, his voice the softest you have heard. You are broken into a million pieces and as much as your heart wants to cling to him, you suddenly feel tired, deflated like a popped balloon. Your emotions have drained you out and left nothing and right now, breathing almost seems too painful for you. Taciturnly, you grab your purse and step out the convertible. You hear another door shut behind you but you don't look back as your heavy steps carry you to the entrance of your building. When you are about to enter your apartment, you accumulate all your strength and courage to spare one final glance at him.

Turning around you see Seungcheol standing by his car, hands in his pockets, simply watching you. Even though your eyes are locked on each other, you don't see any emotion in them. He looks like the same expressionless, mysterious man you saw the first day. The man you fell in love with. Taking in his gorgeous features one last time, you bite your lip and turn away, forcing yourself to walk inside your apartment building.

Your chapter with Seungcheol ends here.

Epilogue

A/N : Okay so idk why this fucking app is being like this but it says I reached the maximum of 250 blocks but I thought tum1r didn't have a word limit?? Anyway so I've decided to break it up and put the rest of the fic in another post. Please click epilogue to read that.

Taglist: @koo-18 @shiningstar-byulxx @pcisonedhaos @happyvitamin @yoongischeeksluv @haluim17 @nayam14 @horanghae-gumanhae @cottonsthings @hotcheetosnorter99 @peekabooseoksoon @acapellaanna @amixoferrthang

[writtenbywings]

Battle Scars

Pairing: Hermione Granger x Draco Malfoy

Summary: Returning to Hogwarts as a professor, Hermione bitterly encounters Draco Malfoy as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, throwing everything into chaos.

Hatred and lust slowly begins to burn between them, though only as they recall their final, secret year at Hogwarts.

Chapter word count: 1.5k

Link: Battle Scars

SEXUAL THEMES AHEAD

Type: Slow burn romance

CHAPTER THREE

"Located on the offshore island of Moku o Lo'e– a Hawiian patch called The Mokulua Islands– three dragon eggs were found, all belonging to a woman named Dae-Ner-Eees. Can you guess what her legacy entailed?" Professor (Cuthbert) Binns asked, his phantom twinkling with the sunshine that streamed through the grand window.

A small girl in the front stuck her hand up, though gave the wrong answer.

A second tried, though to no avail.

Professor Cuthbert looked to the back, specifically to where I had been lumped together with a few Hufflepuff girls and a Ravenclaw boy.

I stared impassively through him, focusing on the trees that blew with the warm breeze outside.

"I… err… okay," He cleared his throat, "moving on."

Confidence wasn't an issue when it came to answering questions. I had read the text three times over, and knew the legacy of Dae-Ner-Eees seamlessly– or the lack thereof, as she was murdered tragically by her lover. Though I simply wasn't interested any longer in academia, nor what Hogwarts had to offer.

What was the point?

Why were we playing happy families when people were buried? When friends were laid to rest?

When Harry still woke up screaming?

Professor Cuthbert had charmed a few pop-quiz papers to our desks, and I glared with hollow eyes at the blank page in front of me, resisting the urge to walk out. To be compliant, I signed my name and looked emptily toward the front, trying to sift through my demons when one managed to manifest in real time.

Toward the left, Draco Malfoy's eyes were glued passively in my direction, observing every breath, blink and movement I made. Instinctively, I glared back, screwing my face into disgust at the simple thought of his attention.

Alas, he didn't look away.

I slumped my cheek into my hand and began dawdling answers, trying to ignore the piercing blue stare that was visible from the corner of my eye.

I realized my behavior was a little out of the ordinary, though it didn't need an audience.

I finished up the paper within ten minutes and charmed it over to Professor Cuthbert, giving a small wave to announce my leaving. He didn't say much, nodding without argument, seeming a little lost in thought himself. Without a word, and wand at my side, I waltzed out of the classroom and roamed down the deserted corridors– knowing Ron and Harry wouldn't be out just yet.

No, they had the substitute teacher for Potions, and not a lot was left to the imagination with her displayed chest and keen smile.

I'd asked to skip it altogether, knowing the perverted stares of my friends would end up irritating me more than any mock exam could.

The gardens were beautiful today, pruned by none other than Pomona Sprout and her endless supply of wild seeds. I admired their pretty flowers and crunched on a red apple, sitting on the window-sill that overlooked her cabbage patches and Hagrid's new flock of pumpkins.

Hogwarts had done its best to rebuild after the war, though there were still scorched patches where the death-eaters had come, and debris where chunks of the castle had crumbled to nothing.

Another sweet bite of apple skin and my mind was galavanting over the past month, and how Ron hadn't so much as given me a hug. He wasn't the most affectionate of men – something I actually enjoyed – though it was clear we were destined to be friends. The damage between us far too grave to heal.

I'm lost in daydreams about battle scars and pumpkin pie when a shadow disrupts my silence.

It's him again, though this time, he's not being shy about his unwavering stare.

"What do you want?" I scoffed, his presence a clear irritation to my day.

Draco nestled his shoulder against the wall, a handful of books in one hand and nothing in the other; his thumb absentmindedly playing with a signet ring of emerald green.

"What happened to you?" He asked, too curious to be polite.

Manners had never been his strong suit.

"That's rude." I objected, feeling the urge to leave. I wouldn't though – not wanting to give him the satisfaction of seeming hurt.

"The incessantly knowledgeable Hermione Granger isn't here anymore. She's… troubled, anguished. Different."

I'm trying to disguise my glare, though its coming across piping hot. "And I suppose you think it's your duty to start a conversation with someone equally as damaged as you?"

I expect him to retreat from the sting in my words, though he smirks; his mouth all lopsided and smug.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" I ask, a little more exasperated this time.

"I'm concerned."

"You're concerned?"

"Yes. It's a mortal emotion that surfaces intense stress."

"I know what the definition of concern is. What I'm trying to say is, we're not friends."

"I'm aware."

My eyes narrowed, and I felt all the heat of the sun against my face – turning my skin all irritated and red. Or maybe that was the frustration coming out.

"I'm not in the mood for games."

"Who said I was playing a game?" Draco angled his head to the side, getting a better view of what he was so intensely staring at – me or my problems, I wasn't sure.

"Has your guilty conscience finally caught up with you after all these years?" I asked.

"Something like that." He replied to my surprise, with no hint of humor behind his words.

We remained in a loop of silence, both watching each other in a confused light – like two predators who had wandered into a lamb's den, expecting bloodshed though finding familiarity in fangs, scars and history.

There was… an understanding. Though I wouldn't so easily fall captive to his menacing ways.

The twelve o'clock bell tolled from Gryffindor tower, and students flocked from their sessions with an appetite for lunch. Myself included.

I tossed the half-eaten carcass of my apple into the flower den, and a swarm of 'fang fletchers' chomped hungrily down on the fruit, getting their fill.

"This has been nice," I readjusted the bag strap over my shoulder, "though I'm going. I'll see you."

As I turned to leave, Draco's hand snared around my wrist, keeping us close.

"You're losing it." He said below his breath. "The others won't see it because they're too wrapped up in their own drama, and you've always been the independent one who doesn't need a shoulder to cry on or a helping hand. Though you're a thread away from cutting all ties to who you used to be."

His words burnt like a midnight sun, and I tried to yank myself free– though his hold wouldn't loosen.

"And how would you know?" I said spitefully through my teeth.

Draco twisted his grip and exposed the written scar on my forearm– 'mudblood' seared into my flesh forever, thanks to Bellatrix and her gift of the Cruciatus Curse.

I looked down at it with haunted eyes, though also toward the death-eater tattoo that possessed most of his milky skin. Another form of abuse… another manipulation from Voldemort's uprising.

I freed my arm away, scared and silent– forced to face the underbelly of my nightmares, of the pain that had ensued so many months prior – a torment that would stay as long as I drew clean breath.

"Let's not forget who gave me that scar." I snapped, feeling the sob build in my chest. "You will always be an enemy to me."

I left him standing in the dark shadows of the corridor, racing past the great hall and to my chambers.

-------------

"Miss Granger, is everything alright?"

"Hm?"

"You didn't touch any of your dinner."

Professor Mcgonagall had invited me into her private quarters– a desk, a quill and some scattered paperwork all that separated us from the elephant in the room.

"I've had a long journey." I excused myself, forcing a gentle smile.

"Of course, of course." She nodded, though clearly had a little more on her mind. "How is home life?"

I was taken aback, though obliged her all the same. "It's okay."

"And Mr Potter? Mr Weasley?"

"Causing havoc in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Minerva smiled, clearly pleased that the trauma hadn't stricken them of their mischievous ways.

"I'm sorry I didn't inform you about Mr Malfoy's position, it was very last minute."

My smile went stiff, though it didn't fall. "That's quite alright."

"I know you and Mr Malfoy have a… difficult past," Minerva adjusted in her leather chair, "though I was hoping you could use this time to patch up a few old wounds."

I couldn't help myself– my face reading as clearly as my thoughts spewed.

"Close your mouth Miss Granger, I beg."

I didn't even realize it had popped open, though I pinched my lips together all the same. "I haven't seen Mr Malfoy in a very long time, and I must admit… I was 'surprised', should we say, at his aversion to me."

Minerva straightened. "Ah."

"Yes."

"Well, may I propose you both work together? Slytherin and Gyffindor will be joining classes this year for Charms and Defense Against The Dark Arts."

My stomach knotted.

Joy.

"Really, Miss Granger. You need to work on your facial reactions if you're to work with children."

"Sorry, Professor."

"Very well."

I returned to my bed chambers a little after midnight, and found my case neatly packed on the bed.

The room was sizable, with burgundy interior and gold trim– the view from the window granting access to the back of the castle, and a peak of the grounds.

As homely as I remembered it all to be.

I cranked open the glass-paned doors and opened up the room to the breeze of the balcony, letting in the sweet smoke of the fresh forest and the fizzing smell of practical magic. Lilac dressing the sky and the moon winking from above.

I thought about him intimately for the first time in forever– not allowing myself to truly remember what we were, and how he made me feel, until this very moment.

Why did he hate me so much?

Why was I no longer the thing that made him weak?

I unclipped my hair from the long braid it fought in and my curls sprung freely to my waist– a little damp from the rain, though still as chaotic. My lilac robes shortly followed, landing as a sodden heap on the floor– needing to be washed at some point, though not now. No, now I wanted time alone to myself– a moment to breathe, to mull over the day… to speculate my newfound hatred for Draco Malfoy.

I felt thirteen again.

I approached the balcony in my silk undergarments and breathed in the night air, resting my elbows on the stone wall and letting my hands lull lazily over the edge– my curls dangling just as freely.

"Hermione," I could almost hear him say now, his tone having always been aggressive, always cruel. He had a meanness to him that could make the hardest heart recoil. Though in the comfort of a quiet chamber, that darkness softened into light– and his growled words became panted, weak ones.

"Hermione," his voice now moaned in my head.

"Put your hands behind your back like a good girl."

A flutter shot through my stomach and I opened my eyes, staring breathlessly into nothingness.

I needed to be careful. I couldn't let myself fall back into the toxic trap that we once found ourselves in.

That I, Hermione Granger, became submissive to.

I stepped away from the wall and happened to look down as I did– catching the edge of a jacket as it snapped around a corner. Disappearing into the goodnight.

It was him, I knew it.

He had been watching me.

Don't fight me, he had once said.

We're meant to be together.

[dayseternal-blog]

do you know any good modern au fanfic? it's better slowburn since i love read something long. thank you

I generally don't often read slow burn... I tried to compile here all of the longest modern aus I've ever read.

Multi-chapter Modern AU NaruHina

“Serenity Prayer” by @katarinahime - Rated E for domestic abuse, substance abuse, and smut, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing.  In the midst of picking themselves up from failed marriages, Hinata and Naruto cross paths years after losing touch with each other. 

“Common Side Effects” by @katarinahime  & “Medicated” by @szajnie - Rated E for a lot of things, Crime/Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Naruto and Hinata, in a struggling relationship, must confront the pain inside before they can love each other.

“21 Days” by @bunny-hoodlum - Rated E includes dub-con, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Anonymous internet friends decide to meet up IRL and give each other their first times.

“Gilded Butterflies” by Kid Crisis - Rated M for depictions of violence and miscarriage tw, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Tenshi, beautiful prostitute of the Villa, realized from a very young age that people seem to do nothing but empty her, and not even Naruto seems capable of convincing her otherwise.

“put on your warpaint” by @borzbois - Rated M, Tattoo Artist/College AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Hinata meets a stranger with beautiful tattoos. She never could have guessed the turn her life would take when she asked to draw him.

“If You are the Sun I’ll be the Moon” by vinczu - Rated T, Modern Soulmate AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Hinata is afraid, she really is. Naruto after three years of military service is finally back, and she is happy. She really is. But she can’t touch him, she just can’t what if he isn’t her soulmate. What if he is.

“I want you to cry” and its sequel “I want you” by Devahhole - Rated E for graphic murder, dub-con/non-con, and smut, High School AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. A sociopath blinded by revenge runs into his greatest opponent.  

“Fatal Attraction” by aisha12894 - Rated M for character death, Crime AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Hinata’s life was simple. Yet all of that changed when she witnessed a most heinous crime, which caused her to be the subject of numerous threats on her life. She most now trust her life in the hands of a certain blonde haired blue eyed cop.

“You love like you’ve always been lonely” by @linisen - Rated E for smut and referenced rape in the past, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Complete.  After a party-gone-wrong, Hinata decides to disappear for good.  A decade later, Naruto finds her.

“Second Chances” by enzhe - Rated T, High School AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Namikaze Naruto was abducted, then declared dead. Twelve years after he disappeared, his parents find him: now a scrappy, reckless teenager, with good friends, a lot of trauma, and ties to the murderous, anarchist Nine-Tails gang. As the family tries to put itself together, trust breaks, hurts heal, and the power struggles that led to Naruto’s abduction resurface.

“Missed Years” by Rinne-Kami - Rated T, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. The act of one night gave birth to their future. And now, with years past since that one night, they were left with years to return. Seven years of love to find, seven years of trust to rebuild, and seven years of fatherhood to return.

“I Met You at the Sex Shop AU” by @journalsofagoddess - Rated M, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Prompt #169: “I work at a sex toy shop and you come in frequently so I assume you have a significant other, but you just like coming in to make fun of how weird the toys are” AU. They both never really thought that their encounter would lead to more…fun and happy times.

“Opposites Attract” by KyuubiLover100 - Rated E, Yakuza AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Citizens of Konoha all know that “The Light cannot exist without casting its Shadow.” It’s the unspoken system that the city runs on. Everyone knows their place and their roles. Those in the Shadows do what those in the Light cannot. Uzumaki Naruto knows this and has known this since he was young. Hyuuga Hinata knows this as well and understands her Father’s wished, but still…

“The Cinderella Makeover Naruto Style” by CharismaHarmony - Rated M, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. When Hinata’s best friend, Naruto said that she wasn’t the type of woman men fall in love with, she bet him 1000 she’d have a marriage proposal in 3 months.

“The Lustful Maid” by HoneyWriter78 - Rated E, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. Hinata Hyuga wakes up in an unknown room on an unknown bed, after one of the most worst days of her life. Her only memory is knocking into a tall blonde handsome guy with her juice spilled over him! Was it a dream? I think not as now she has signed a contract to be his very own personal maid!

“Pink Chiffon” by @scalding-coffee-cup - Rated M, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. During the day, she wears pink chiffon and nude pumps; her glossed lips curve into an innocent smile. At night, she struts down the alleyway in black stilettos and wears a scowl on her red lips. The pistol is her most expensive accessory.

“The Girl in the Elevator” by TheseFourWords - Rated G, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Complete. AU in which Naruto and Hinata live in the same building take the same elevator on their way to work each morning but are too shy to speak to each other.

“Serial Killer” by Raven Young - Rated M, Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. She’s a Sociopath. She’s a Supermodel. She’s a serial killer. She’s a girl in love. She is Hinata Hyuga. And he is her undoing.

“Hard Love” by HoneyWriter78 - Rated E for smut and non-con (includes Sakura-bashing), Gangs AU, Multi-chapter, Incomplete. Hinata Hyuga was always kept within her father’s estate. Until her father comes home after losing everything. A powerful family comes and she makes her escape only to be caught and handed to the son.

“Echoes of Silence” by @ellaroundpanda - Rated E, BDSM Modern AU, Multi-chapter, Ongoing. Hinata Hyuga was trapped. Her relationship with Toneri was leading to nowhere and she wanted to find a new Dom. Naruto Uzumaki seemed to be the answer to all her prayers, but her fiancé wouldn’t give up that easily…

If anyone can think of other long modern aus, please add them!

[how-to-hide-a-body]

Love’s Warm Embrace

Y/N x Bucky (Y/N is fem)

Warnings: PTSD mentions, kind of sad, brief mentions of murder

Word Count: 1481 words

Quick Summary: Bucky has a nightmare and his girlfriend, Y/N, does her best to comfort him. Bucky has quite a bit of emotions and negative thoughts to work through and tries his best to open up to Y/N.

PART ONE: (800 words)

Bucky woke silently gasping for air, every fiber of his being on high alert. Even though he was himself again, he wasn’t quite the same, his past followed him like his shadow. The nightmares and flashbacks were constant. Tonight had been probably one of the worst since he had moved in with Y/N. 

Tonight he had witnessed his greatest fear. Relapsing into the Winter Soldier and hurting the best thing in his life, Y/N. Bucky pushed himself up and took a shaky breath, closing his eyes he could still see it. His knife plunged into Y/N’s heart, his metal hand clasped around her neck and her hair tangled between his fingers. He watched the life drain from her eyes, gasping for air that would never reach her lungs. She looked at him through teary eyes, her gaze begged for him to stop, but that wasn’t the worst part. Right before the last bit of life drained from her eyes, she did the most frightening thing, she forgave him. Her eyes softened and became sympathetic, then she smiled, mouthing “I love you, it’s okay,”

He slipped back under the covers, trying to coax himself to sleep, but Y/N started to stir. Bucky tried to will her back to sleep with his mind, then stopped because he was worried that she would wake up and be startled by his staring. Her eyes fluttered open and she asked, “What are you doing up?” Y/N checked her phone, “It’s 3:30 James, is everything alright?”

“Yeah, just couldn’t sleep,” Bucky answered.

Y/N sat up quickly and frantically questioned, “Is it too cold, do you want me to turn the heat up? I could go get some more blankets too. Or is it the lighting? Is it too bright or dark, so you need me to close the curtains? If it’s too dark we could get a nightlight or a lamp maybe?”

Bucky sat up himself and planted a kiss on Y/N’s forehead, caressing her face and brushing his thumb over her cheek. “Everything is perfect, just some bad dreams,” he soothed. Y/N always the thoughtful girlfriend, Bucky had thought a million times about how he didn’t deserve her. She had always been so accommodating, since he was the Winter Soldier for so long, just about anything could trigger a flashback. Y/N was so mindful of them, she kept a list in her notes of every trigger she knew of and added to it as they encountered others. She helped him work through his flashback, though he was usually reluctant to talk about them. Y/N also helped him work through his paranoia, he insisted she have a knife taped to her nightstand and a bat under the bed, she didn’t want a gun. Having a gun nearby oddly enough would have added to the paranoia. He was so worried about losing control and having something like a gun would mean less chances for her to fight back if he did.

Again he felt he didn’t deserve her love, she knew one of his triggers was being too cold. The mid-winter air reminded him of laying in the snow after falling off the train. It reminded him of the cold hunk of metal he called his left arm. How he’d killed all those people without a second thought, about how he’d never have his flesh arm back or his past innocence. It reminded him that he’d never forget the warm feeling of a recently fired gun and the sight of a folded limp body, knowing it was his handiwork. But it didn’t bother him as much anymore, Y/N helped reinforce the therapy he went to and it led to him breaking free from a lot of old chains. 

The cold not bothering Bucky was a new one so it was natural for Y/N to be concerned, she wanted to do anything to help him. She had to, she couldn’t let the love of her life hurt like that. Both of them huddling close together under the blankets, the cuddling was more to comfort Y/N than Bucky but she’d never admit that.

“If some flashback or bad dreams are bothering you then I want you to know that there’s nothing to worry about. You’re not him anymore, and nothing you do could ever make me love you any less,” Y/N reassured. Bucky pulled her a little closer. He ran his fingers through her hair and drew circles into her back, Y/N quickly started drifting towards sleep. 

As she drifted off Bucky whispered, “That’s what I’m afraid of” The added warmth from holding Y/N in his arms made his eyes heavy and he too drifted off. Though he still had his worries, Bucky was comforted by the thought that Y/N was there for him, in sickness and in health.

PART TWO: (681 words)

That morning Bucky woke up with the feeling that something wasn’t right. When he opened his eyes he saw why, Y/N wasn’t cuddled next to him anymore. He got up to go look for her and when he walked out of the bedroom the smell hit him. “Pancakes, eggs, and bacon?” he thought to himself. He leaned against the frame of the doorway, just smiling. Admiring Y/N’s beauty, to him she was always the most gorgeous person in every room. To him she shined brighter than the stars.

Noticing his stares Y/N looked up from the popping oil in the pan of bacon before her. She teased, “My darling boyfriend, are you going to stare at me all morning or are you going to come help me plate and eat all this food?”

Bucky sauntered over, wrapping his arms around Y/N and giving her a quick but passionate kiss. “I think it’s important to take my time admiring perfection,” he flattered.

“Quite the charmer this morning are we?” Y/N mused, smiling into his lips and giving him another kiss. She let his lips linger on hers a little longer this time.

Letting out a little chuckle Bucky cooed, “I try” Y/N quickly finished making their feast and sent Bucky to set the table. 

As he set the table he couldn’t help but think again how he didn’t deserve her. He wondered what saint he must have been in a past life to be granted the wonderful person he has now. Laying out the food on the table, Bucky thought of before the war. Bucky thought of having brunch on Saturday with his family and Steve. He thought about his sister and how he wished that Y/N could’ve met her. In his mind he could see it now, Rebecca, Y/N, Steve, and him. All eating breakfast together on a day like this, laughing around a table like the one he was setting now. Rebecca and Y/N getting along like two peas in a pod, inevitably ganging up on him with snarky comments and teasing questions. He never really had time to mourn the loss of his family, he had just recently begun to realize how much he missed them. As much as he knew he should be happy with what he had now, which he was, everyone always wants what they can’t have. And Bucky couldn’t get back the people of his past without giving up his future.

All his thoughts had distracted him from reality, Y/N’s taps on his shoulder brought him back, “Maybe I should start calling you Captain Marvel, considering how far in space you were just then,” Y/N joked before getting a little more serious, “Is everything okay though?”

“Yeah, well no. I just wish you could’ve met my family,” Bucky mumbled.

Y/N sighed, “I wish I could’ve too, but I’m happy having you. You know I’m always up for a good story though, so you could tell me about them any time. I’ll always be here for you James.”

“I know, but what if sticking around me gets you hurt.” he stumbled for his words, “What if I lose control and I hurt the one person I swore I’d never hurt.”

“You won’t, Bucky I truly don’t think you could ever hurt me. Even if you did, it would have been my decision to stick around. You don’t need to keep trying to push me away, I’m never going to leave.” Y/N stated. Y/N cupped his face in her hands, looking into his eyes she said, “So you can try all you want but I’m never letting go, I love you too much.”

The smile that lit up her face was Bucky’s favorite sight, it brought a smile of his own forward to play on his lips. In that moment he wanted nothing more than for his smile to crash into hers, so he did. Bucky allowed himself to let go, he was done being a careful driver. He was ready to be reckless and love with abandon, because she would always be there to help keep his eyes on the road.

Thanks for reading! :)