#act 1 scene 5 and 6

[henrysglock]

S4 Victims: Story by Proxy?

Okay so. In spitballing with Em...something stuck in my head.

So we all know how serial killers leave crumbs because deep down they want to be caught/want the truth to be revealed? Well what if the Duffers, or even current Henry, are doing the same thing. That is, leaving breadcrumbs.

This mainly has to do with the S4 victims, their stories, and the order in which they're chosen.

So, it goes like this:

Chrissy: Abusive mother who resembles Virginia

Fred: Eaten alive by the guilt of being responsible for the accidental death of an innocent.

Max: Suicidal over guilt about Billy's death and her response to it. Billy, who died saving her/while she was saving herself from the Fleshflayer, a regenerated form of the Mindflayer.

Patrick: Abusive father, not much else told.

Max (again): Suicidal Ideation, dies, soul taken, but was revived by El. She's now in some limbo-state, where her body lives but her identity/mind is elsewhere. She will likely be brought back entirely by El in S5.

It almost feels like a story by proxy if we piece it together.

So, let's piece it together:

Person with an abusive mother...feels responsible for the death of an innocent...a sibling who was killed while this person was trying to save themselves from a monster which came from Hawkins lab, which leaves them suicidal...and this person lives in a situation with an abusive father figure. This person becomes suicidal, and their suicide attempt was not entirely successful. They were revived by El, and end up in a limbo state. They may or may not be brought back by El later.

Now, let's collect details about our serial killer:

Abusive mother? Check. (No matter how we frame it, Virginia was not a good mother.)

Innocent died? Check. (Henry has nothing bad to say about Alice, which we know he would if she were not innocent, since he does this with every other victim.)

Sibling died as a result of saving oneself? Check. (The Creel massacre was a situation where Henry was, with whatever intentions we may assign for the other family members' deaths, trying to save himself from Virginia and by extension the lab.)

Ended up with an abusive father figure? Check. (Well...an abusive Papa, one might say.)

Brought back by El multiple times? Check. (El was the one who took Soteria out and brought Henry back from being powerless. El was the one who put Henry in the UD/limbo state. El was the one who opened the gate for his return to the RSU.)

IT ALL ALIGNS. So let's put it together with all the feelings involved:

Citations (I guess? Explanations?) are in the tags listed by number!

Henry had an abusive mother who was at least trying to have him shipped off to the lab, if not actually trying to kill him outright. This situation builds and builds, him wanting to be left alone (1), putting out subconscious and conscious cries for help (2), and her targeting him about it, until March 25th, 1959.

Virginia starts it, attacks, and this time she's out for blood (3). Henry defends himself (4). Virginia, being the parent with powers (5), doesn't actually die (6). Victor, Alice, and Henry go for the door (7). Virginia's on the stairs (8). She's got to finish what she started, since her original plan was botched (9). Henry puts his energy into trancing Victor (10), protecting him from Virginia, since logically two people can't occupy one person's mind.

This leaves good, innocent Alice to fend for herself, standing directly in front of the staircase. She's a loose end (11). Virginia kills her, but can't kill Henry or Victor while the trance is occurring. She figures Henry's going to run himself into the ground (12). She figures she can call Brenner in to collect Henry, like they planned (13). If she disappears, she figures it'll go into the news something like this:

"World War II veteran kills entire family in deranged fit of insanity. Wife missing, presumed dead. Son dies in hospital."

And on both counts, she's essentially right. It does basically go into the papers that way. Victor is taken in for murder, and Henry is taken by Brenner, but not before he sees that Alice was caught in the crossfire (14).

Henry ends up with Brenner, the abusive Papa. He's got the guilt about Alice's death, something that makes him sad and angry. Brenner, maybe, decides to push this in order to increase Henry's powers, but it backfires. Henry's powers increase, but he does...something. He lashes out, he snaps, maybe he even tries to kill himself. He's Brenner's prized pet, though, so Brenner can't let that happen. He seals Henry's powers away with Soteria. It's a death for Henry's entire identity, so far as to have him under the name Peter Ballard. Then comes along 011. She removes Soteria from Peter Ballard...and revives Henry Creel. She then exiles him to the Upside Down in 1979, only to eventually bring him back in 1983 when she opens the Mothergate.

All this to say: It could be his own story, told through the stories of his victims.

Breadcrumbs, or maybe...obvious things, which nobody by any chance ever observes.

Below the cut is where I speculate into motivations for his actions after Soteria's removal, so...not required reading for this particular analysis.

Years of MKUltra torture warp Henry's guilt about the situation into a bastardized, violent, brutal, unethical savior complex based in the notion that he's a predator by nature, but a predator for good. He "saves" the lab kids from a future like his own, filled with nothing but torture. He "saves" El from her ignorance about the lab and intended to have her join him, thereby attempting to "save" her, technically his little sister, from the lab entirely.

He "saves" his s4 victims from their guilt and suffering, which so closely mirror his own, which no one saved him from. I could even go so far as to say he was "saving" Will, who is set up to be so much like him, from a world of horrible people who (from Henry's viewpoint based on his lived experiences) would only serve to abuse and betray him.

This of course isn't to say any of it is right. None of it is right or good...but it makes sense. It follows a pattern. It coheres. The math...maths.

#Citations! #1: Henry often hides alone in the attic. #2: Victor's burning cradle vison (a child in need of help). The drawing of the Shadow Monster. Possibly Alice's nightmares. #2 (cont.): Can all be interpreted as calls for help. Children in distress act out and make disturbing art in hope of conveying that need. #3: Virginia may or may not have been trying to kill Henry but based on the Fleshflayer parallel re: sibling death...it's probable. #4: Henry himself describes that night as self defense/being forced to act. #5: Virginia likely had powers given that Henry has powers #6: Her powers are likely similar to Henry's and Henry has regenerative powers. There are also fishy scenes of her death which imply #6 (cont.): that she may have still been alive. These include: shots from her POV. The fact that her eyes are bloody-- #6 (cont.): but still intact in some shots. The unexplained POV from the top of the stairs. #7: Henry looks very nervous and fidgety at the door like he's antsy to leave with Alice and Victor #8: Again the unexplained POV on the stairs...stairs she earlier runs down after Henry gives her her mirror moment in the bathroom. #9: Henry was successful in disabling her initially which exposed her culpability. #10: Henry puts *so* much time into Victor in canon with basically no explanation why. #11: Alice seems to be a smart and upstanding girl. She might not be controllable re: Virginia being alive/the whole scheme with Brenner. #11 (cont.): The only way to eliminate that risk is to kill her...and we've already seen that Virginia is not good to at least one child. #12: If Virginia has powers like Henry's she likely has a sense of how long someone can be tranced before the trancer runs out of energy. #13: Who called Brenner to come get Henry during his coma? How did Henry end up in Brenner's hands specifically? #14: amerion-main's recent post re: Henry's position change in the foyer shots #End Citations! #This is all very much speculation when it comes to the actual path of events re: the Creel Massacre #but we can all agree that we don't have the full story about the Creels yet...so who knows. #henry/vecna/001 #henry creel analysis #henry creel #virginia creel #creel family #stranger things #stranger things analysis

[obeetlebeetle]

trying to crack ep3 is SO hard. wuvvy. hob. what is going on in ur little heads

#like the best i can get at for wuvvy is #1) she doesnt smell smoke and thinks of hob as a person who gave rue cause to write their letter / led them on #2) she DOES smell smoke and realizes hob could pull rue away from their role (destabilizing/dismantling her role) so she tries to deter him #3) same as 2 but she is genuinely trying to kill him? #4) she is wounded by rue but sublimates her anger through hob as the cause of their actions towards her #5) she is wounded by rue bc she is suddenly aware that they are capable of seeking something else and she acts on impulse to hold them back #5.5) i have to think shes acting on impulse. wuvvy is calculating but not like this #6) she is wounded bc she is rue's protector and she does not know how to protect them #and 7) hob really pissed her off in that conversation #knick is both harder and easier to understand #my guess is: he wanted to apologize to rue earlier but chose not to out of fear of being scorned by his superiors #and now wuvvy appears to demonstrate the failure of that choice and the apparent worsening of rue's injury #he is guilty but then cannot get wuvvy to provide a path for remediation and hob NEEDS someone else to tell him what to do #how to resolve the guilt #bc if someone gives him the structure by which to act no one can blame him for doing it wrong #instead wuvvy insists on the guilt. perhaps she sees him as a rake perhaps a political enemy perhaps a threat of a more personal nature-- #--she thinks he mocks her. she mocks him. it hurts. he chooses the only structure he knows which is satisfaction through violence #but i dont know what provoked them. why either of them react so so strongly and why the scene escalates so quickly #so uh if u have some answer for me.... hmu

[alistairlowes]

i'm sorry but this shit annoys me to no end. like this is about heartstopper and you all need to stop acting like that show invented everything.

fucking anyways

1. Koisenu Futari

Show that’s specifically made to be about aromanticism and asexuality as well as how aroace people are perceived by society. They are main characters. That’s the main plot.

2. Heartbreak High

Want a teen show with ace rep? No problem. One of the main characters is ace! Would you look at that! The representation already exists! It's got a ton of other rep too and it's on Netflix but somehow we never got that ace rep yet right? You don't even need subtitles for this one.

3. SkamFr (s12)

Is it a bit too much at times? Ye sure but you know what it also is? Another teen show where the main character is asexual that deals with asexuality as the main theme. And no you don't need to watch all those seasons before to get it.

4. Bojack Horseman

I didn't even watch this one but I'm aware.

5. Cherry Magic

Oh would you look at that a show with main mlm couple where one of the side characters is aroace? I mean surely it hasn't been done before.

6. Run On

You want some casual side character ace rep? Well here you go even kdramas have done it but I guess there just aren't any shows...

Honorary mention to Sex Ed for that one scene.

#asexuality #aroace show recs #aroace shows #i know there is more but these are ones me or my friend watched and we think they are good #alice o*eman would get a stroke over cherry magic because it's ~fEtIsHiSt BL so it couldn't possibly do what she does :// #and yeah i say that as someone who's fav book is radio silence #anyway if you actually cared about ace rep you would look beyond what is served to you by one streaming service goodbye #koisenu futari #heartbreak high #skam france #cherry magic #run on #bojack horseman

[autistichalsin]

Some of my favorite, understated moments with heartbreaking implications for Halsin

1. Halsin threatening to turn into a mouse in the epilogue if the player brags about his achievements- he's so shy and humble that just being acknowledged for LITERALLY BUILDING A COMMUNE HIMSELF makes him want to hide. A mouse is a very symbolic choice here: not only easy to hide, but also easily overlooked and forgotten. The idea of his accomplishments being acknowledged is so terrifying for him that he wants to turn into an animal no one will notice, instead of his usual strong, large, noticeable bear.

2. "Sometimes, I think people look at me and imagine my feelings can't be hurt." This isn't the kind of thing that happens after one or two people act like jerks. This is years and years of cruel treatment, of his emotions being demeaned and mocked because of his size. Of people judging him before even meeting him- and forming an entirely wrong view of him. Halsin is a bighearted, tender, sentimental man, yet because he's big... Well, big people don't have feelings, surely. /s

3. "You and I may struggle to go unnoticed in such environs, Karlach[...] Folk of our stature can be a lure for drunkards seeking a brawl, I have found," combined with, "There is a particular discomfort to besting one you know to be weaker than yourself - even when needs must," from a different scene. People have sought him out and fought him because of his size (which had to have been terrifying, especially the first time), and he feels guilty when he takes out someone he knows is weaker, even if they STARTED it. How many times has the poor guy been traveling and then had to defend himself against someone 1/2 his size, making HIM look like the asshole to onlookers, and reinforcing that whole "people think I can't be hurt" thing?

4. "It was always destined to be so, if we prevailed. But the foreknowledge makes it no less bittersweet..." (About the players' paths diverging post brain battle), combined with "I see... After all my years of living, I know all too well that nothing lasts forever. Yet a parting can sting, nonetheless," if the player breaks up with him in the ending. This poor guy was having the time of his life adventuring with the group (and possibly falling in love there) yet never believed it would truly last (because of his abandonment issues). And then to have it confirmed.... he must have felt so awful in that moment, even if he was being dignified about it.

5. "You came for me... thank you. I feared Orin's accursed smile would be the very last sight I beheld," when Halsin is freed from Orin, combined with, "Orin's blades. I hoped my friends would save me..." If he is killed by Orin instead and Speak With the Dead is used on his corpse. The tone of his voice in the first line, especially added to that bit in the second... he never thought the player was coming to save him. He HOPED they would. Not "believed". Hoped. He thought he was going to die there- just like how he was in the Underdark for THREE YEARS and no one came to save him. And if it's confirmed... Yeah. That. (Sidenote: if you ask his corpse if he has any regrets, he says not telling Thaniel and Oliver goodbye, and not getting to see their land flourish. :( My heart. :( )

6. "I... have not had true confidantes for some time. The Shadow Curse robbed me of almost all my peers, and replaced them with the weight of responsibility. Perhaps that caused me to gild undeserving memories of my youth." Halsin was so miserable and stressed being Archdruid that he romanticized his past as a sex slave, viewing it as a safer, even happier alternative. There were actually times when Halsin thought he might rather be a sex slave than continue to be Archdruid. In a sense, for the 100 years the Shadow Curse was around, Halsin was just as much a prisoner as Thaniel was in the Shadowfell, but Halsin's prison had invisible bars. The Shadow Curse took away his entire support system, and being Archdruid forced him to be the strong one, always, never allowed to be weak or scared, forced him to take control of situations when he hated it, forced him to spend his time sorting out people instead of being in nature. And he was MISERABLE. For 100 years.

7. "You understand me almost perfectly. Only my late mother may have bested you." (Said if you get one question wrong at the love dryad test). He misses his mama. :( Especially when you consider that if you steal Balthazar's "Mother Dearest" and taunt him about it, Halsin disapproves (and is the only one to do so), while returning her gets you approval (which only Halsin approves of). And then the line when you look into a mirror while controlling him, "more like my father, with each passing day..." He really misses them. :(

8. "I am loathe to see anyone behind bars. It reminds me of my time as a guest of the goblins." He is, secretly, still quite traumatized from his time in the goblin pens, but he brushes it off. Just like every OTHER time he is hurt.

9. "I am aware [of having a habit of getting captured]. Perhaps I put too much faith in my skills of negotiation, or want to see good where there is none. It would be easy to resort to nature's fury whenever something stood in my way, yet I cannot help but feel I would be sullying the Oak Father's gifts. Naive perhaps... but I still draw breath." Halsin is aware he gets hurt often because of his desire to see good in people until he has no other choice, but refuses to give up anyway (which is backed up by that letter Gut had on her where she reveals Halsin TRIED to help the goblins, saying he could cure them of their tadpoles, only to be thrown in the cage, with Gut threatening to have his stomach cut open and maggots placed inside it.) Further, even though he is an Archdruid, and one of the most devoted, and explicitly has Silvanus's favor (Halsin says that gaining his favor was the only way he was able to open the portal to the Shadowfell), he still constantly worries about using Silvanus's powers, to the point of wondering if an actual threat to his safety actually merits using his powers. Which... combined with some other stuff, reads like one hell of a problem with self-worth.

10. "At least you were not present. Grim as [the ruined battlefield] is now, it was worse on the day of the battle. A vivid wound upon my memory[...] I was lucky - I lived, when so many did not. It would take me a day and a night to recite the names of all the friends I lost" combined with, "I was [present when the Shadow Curse was unleashed]. Part of my spirit was shorn away from me here, and never left," and, if Last Light falls, "All gone... devoured by the shadows. Oak Father preserve us, it's just like a hundred years ago[...] We are [still standing]. Yet there is a burden to being the survivor... the witness to others' tragedies. It only grows heavier with time." He has so much PTSD and survivor guilt from the Shadow Curse. :( No wonder it's all he can think about- to the point that some of the other companions even get annoyed at him for his obsession.

11. "I never quite realised how burdened I was, until I met you. The threat of the shadow curse, the politics of the grove... I was forgetting who I was, but you lifted the fog. Thank you." Not only does this tie in with the above, with his PTSD from the curse and his utter misery at being Archdruid, but this HEAVILY implies Halsin had depression. Like... that "fog" line hits HARD if you have or have had depression, because that's exactly what it feels like. And the "forgetting who I was" bit too. Not just losing his sense of self to the depression, but to the neverending responsibilities of being Archdruid. I keep repeating myself, but damn, this guy has really and truly spent an entire century being absolutely MISERABLE. :(

12. "Forgive me. I... lost the run of myself. Sometimes, if blood runs hot enough, it's difficult to tame the beast." With that little disgusted groan/sigh, the fury and disgust at himself visible on his face, and the way he rushes to get out the rest of it- he thinks he fucked up so badly that you're about to leave him, maybe forever. And then if you reject him after this? "Ah... I see. Well, of course. Back to camp then." He has the most heartbroken look on his face here, and the way he says "of course" like he just... knew this was coming the instant he accidentally wildshaped. He felt that the first time he let ANY of his imperfections show, the player would leave him. :(

13. "Death is nature's final slumber - it awaits us all. Do not punish yourself over those lost, or give in to despair - not while there are still folk in need of your help." (Said to a Dark Urge if they tell him they're not much of a hero and most people needing them end up dead) Not only is Halsin speaking from experience here, but it's very clear he is STILL doing exactly what he tells Durge not to do, to himself- punishing himself over those who were lost, struggling with devastating survivor guilt.

14. "The grove has cut itself off from the world, to jealously guard its own little pocket of nature. No one shall ever enter or leave again. And I have been evicted from the very place I was charged to safeguard. A telling summary of my time as Archdruid, perhaps..." If the Grove is sealed and you ask him about it later, this is what he says. Interesting that he views being evicted from the place he was in charge of protecting to be a "telling summary." He was forced to take the leadership role there, and yet it was clear he wasn't wanted or respected by a great number of the Druids (exempting Nettie, Rath, and Apikusis). He got a truly thankless job that took damn near EVERYTHING from him emotionally/mentally, causing him to develop depression and causing him to backslide in his previous healing from his trauma from his time as a sex slave, he still gave EVERYTHING to the Grove, and in return...... almost none of his Druids appreciated or even liked him. (I could seriously write at least five metas about how obviously miserable Halsin was at the Grove, despite caring for it deeply).

15. "You could have done anything, gone with anyone... yet you chose me." Said at the epilogue to a solo romanced player who went to the commune with him. There's so many layers of heartbreak here. He is still surprised, six months later, that the player chose him. He even thinks the player will regret it, and will decide they want an adventurer's life after all after seeing everyone else. He doesn't think he is good enough- doesn't think he deserves the player, and yet at the same time he loves them so much that he is heartbroken over the possibility they might agree with him. He thinks that given a chance, there is little chance they would actually choose him again. (He is put at ease quickly when the player promises they picked him for a reason, but even the explanation he gives for why he was so worrie is heartbreaking- that he's so used to a tumultuous life that he thinks something must go wrong. He has been so traumatized so many times over the years that he just has almost no ability to think that true happiness is possible [or deserved] for him.) Something about that is just heartbreaking, even though his ending is one of the happiest of any of the companions.

Someone give this sweet bear man a hug, please :(

#halsin #halsin silverbough #bg3 #baldur's gate 3

[for-tymora]

30 Questions for Your Tav! [ Ask Meme ]

[ Send in a number for a question to be answered! What is your Tav like? Who are they as a person? ]

Your Tav as a Companion

1. What would your Tav’s greetings be (at different levels of approval)? 2. Describe their tent setup! What’s on the outside? The inside? 3. What would their character quest be titled? Why? 4. What would your Tav’s romance scenes look like? How many would they have? 5. Describe their idle animations! 6. How would the player go about meeting them in Act 1? What is their introduction? 7. Describe their arc. How would a player help resolve it? What choices can be made? Can your Tav be turned down a dark path, or pulled to a lighter one? 8. After Act 3, what does their life look like? What are they talking about at the reunion party?

Back to Basics

9. What’s the significance behind your Tav’s name? 10. Does your Tav have a last name? Is there a meaning behind it? 11. What is your Tav’s go-to comfort food? 12. Does your Tav have any tattoos or scars? Why? 13. What is your Tav’s main color palette? Why do they choose those colors? 14. Where are they from? What was home like? 15. Is your Tav more likely to fight/flight/freeze/fawn? 16. What do they do for fun, when not adventuring? What are their hobbies? 17. Do they have any enemies outside of the main plot? Any friends? 18. Where/with whom do they feel safest? 19. What is their MBTI Type?

Deep Dives

20. What is their relationship to touch? Do they shy away from it? Do they need it to feel present? 21. Describe a defining moment from their past, which makes them who they are today! 22. How is your Tav’s relationship with their family? Their parents? 23. How does your Tav act in situations of stress? In moments of peace? 24. What does your Tav consider to be their own biggest character flaw? 25. What is something they would die on a hill over? 26. Give us one of your Tav’s secrets! 27. What is the worst thing they’ve ever done/said to someone they love? 28. Describe a smell that reminds your Tav of childhood. 29. What fears keep them up at night? 30. What does your Tav want more than anything?

#ask meme #tav #baldur's gate #bg3 #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 tav #astarion #gale #wyll #shadowheart #lae'zel #karlach #this is for reblogging! feel free to do so to get asks in your inbox!! #i just wanna learn about other's tavs and thought this would be fun hehe

[phillipdiffy]

I literally want to go and reread it all now like now that I actually know what happens agdhajak

#homestuck #before this reread i mostly remembered parts of act 1-5 and like a handful of scenes in act 6 #but i never fully cared about unpacking the time stuff and i forgot stuff during the hiatuses #wont do that just yet... but probably soon (and ill try not to stay up til 3 am every night reading but who can say) #this troll disease called reading homestuck

[coffeebeanwriting]

Reasons your Novel Might get Rejected

Thinking of publishing traditionally? Here are some reasons why a publishing agency might reject your book. Don’t let any of these reasons keep you from writing, but rather help you strengthen your craft!

1) Your target audience is unclear. Are you writing for middle-grade boys or adult females? Suburban single mothers or war-enthusiast who love everything weaponry and explosive? Of course, your story can end up appealing to multiple categories of people (take Harry Potter for example). But if you know who your prime reader is, you’ll be able to use the correct language, voice, and reading level for them.

2) Your query letter or synopsis is lacking and doesn’t hook the agency. A query letter and synopsis are two different things presented to an agent or publishing company. You must be able to properly sum up your  book in an interesting way for an agency to want to peruse your novel. You have to pique their interest.

A query letter is a brief summary used to capture the attention of an agent/publishing company. A sales pitch one might say. It typically contains your story's main hook, some details about the book (genre, similar books, etc.), and some facts about yourself. If the query letter is successful, the agency will go on to read your synopsis/pages.

A synopsis is a summary of your entire book from start to finish and what happens in it (including character arcs and plot). This is all done in less than two pages.

3) Predictability. It may be predictable characters, or the plot itself. Either way, predictability isn't good. What's the point of reading a book if you can already predict the events? Conflict is the heart of all stories and if your book lacks conflict/stakes, it can become predictable. Give your characters inner conflict just as much as you do physical. Make it difficult for readers to know what your character will do.

4) Your story starts way too early. From what I’ve researched, a huge reason why books get declined is that they start wayyy before anything happens. You’re revealing tons of background information or your character is doing pointless things when they should be approaching the inciting incident. The inciting incident is the scene that launches your character on their journey and should happen sooner than later! 

5) You aren’t balancing showing vs. telling. Contrary to popular belief, a novel should have a bit of both (but... probably more showing). If you spend every scene in extreme detail, you risk slowing your story down. If you tell everything, you aren’t immersing your reader.

6) You’re spending too much time in Act 1. A story consists of three Acts. The beginning, middle, and end. The rising action/set-up, the middle/climax, and the resolution. Don’t spend too much time in Act 1 setting things up. You’ll want to properly pace your story so that it doesn't drag on too long before hitting the heart of the story.

7) Simply... bad writing/grammar. Also, consistent POV is important. This one is self-explanatory, but if you care about what happens in your story, you should also care about the grammar and prose! Typically, hiring editors is a step you must do before taking your novel to a publishing agency.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting

#writing tips and tricks #writing tips #writing advice #creative writing #writeblr #writing blog #how to write #writing help #writing fiction #writing prompts #fantasy writing #authortips #authoradvice #writingtips #writingmemes #writers blog #writingblog #authorsblog #howtowrite #writingtipsandtricks #writerscommunity #writers community #writinghelp #writingprompts #writertips #howtowriteascene #writingfiction #fictionwriting #fantasywriting #writing memes

[crabsnpersimmons]

This one goes out to all the slow burn enjoyers, the dense Y/Ns, and the soft robo jesters that suffer in silence!

Inspired by @bamsara's “Solar Lunacy” fic.

If you feel like reading my ramblings and want to experience more heartbreak for fictional jester blorbos, check under the cut where I detail all the planning behind the frames!

so i heard this song for the first time in a while and the opening lyrics immediately made me think of moon, so i was daydreaming some scenes and then i decided to thumbnail some ideas:

and it all went downhill from there as everything became a metaphor and a parallel to each other, which i will now go into detail on!

you thought the animatic itself was sad?

*writing muse laughs maniacally* IT'S ALL A METAPHOR

Frame 1. "turn down the lights" We start with a back view on Moon. The lights are out, the Moon is out, but we do not see his face. The music and the greyscale atmosphere are enough to establish the weight of the moment and the weight on Moon’s mind.

Frame 2. "turn down the bed" We cut to a shot of Moon's body, kneeling on the ground of the daycare, like a padded cell. Moon’s hands are twitching with the effects of the glitch, with purple sparks coming from his hands. We still do not see his face.

Frame 3. "turn down these voices inside my head" Cut to an extreme close up on the dark half of Moon’s face. Now we see his face, but only a portion of it. His left eye is wide open, red and glitching out. The voices in his head can refer to the glitch but also his repressed feelings. Or maybe it could be Sun's voice in their shared headspace.

Frame 4. "lay down with me" Y/N's hand enters the frame from the upper right corner, lowering down to meet Moon where he kneels on the ground. Only a corner of Moon's face appears on the bottom left corner of the frame, his starry nightcap beginning to cover his glitched left eye.

Frame 5. "tell me no lies" An full shot of Moon on the floor and Y/N standing in front of him with their hand stretched towards him. A light spills out from behind Y/N, creating a boundary between them.

Now we see more of Moon. It is only when Y/N enters the frame—enters his world—that Moon’s body is shown in its entirely. When Y/N is here, he is no longer fragmented. He is whole.

Frame 6. "just hold me close" pspspspsps Playfully, Moon extends his own hand, beckoning Y/N to come closer, to join him. His right hand crossed over his body as he uses the playful gesture to hide his true feelings—to put distance between him and Y/N. His hat continues to cover his glitching left eye. He doesn’t want to worry Y/N.

Frame 7. "don't patronize" In response, Y/N’s hand pats Moon on the head, returning his playfulness. Moon looks surprised by the action. Moon, notably, does not lower his hand—perhaps he has forgotten it or perhaps his invitation is still open.

Frames 8-9. "don't patronize me" Moon rotates his faceplate so Y/N’s hand is touching the side of his faceplate, a more intimate gesture than a head pat. However, his hat is in the way. At this angle, his starry nightcap fully covers his glitchy eye and the dark side of his face, hiding his defect and acting as a veil between him and Y/N. A self-imposed boundary. So close, yet thinly separated. It's better this way. It's safer this way.

The lyrics are broken up by Y/N's arm, both to illustrate how the song is sung ("patronize" is drawn out and "me" is briefly added in before the chorus starts) but also to show how Y/N interrupts Moon's resolve, highlighting the irony between the visuals and the lyrics. Demanding not to be patronized, yet Moon happily accepts this play at intimacy. Don't patronize me, I am weak for it.

This is also the only instance where the red light of Moon's eyes glow and tint the surfaces around it. Visually, it makes it look like Moon is blushing (heavily inspired by @restinsodaroni's art). But also, in this moment of honesty, Moon's intrinsic light spills out, colouring the greyscale world. In this brief moment of honesty, Moon touches the world with his own colours, his own light.

(and this is also where i forgot to clean up the shading on Y/N's arm, but it's okay it doesn't need to be perfect it simply needs to be. And Moon will still love Y/N even if they are a continuity error.)

Frame 10. "'cause I can't make you love me if you don't" A parallel to a frame 4, Y/N retrieves their hand away and immediately Moon is reduced to the corner of his faceplate in the frame. Only now his glitched eye is fully covered by his hat.

The lyrics here (and in the next frame) in particular grow lighter to emphasize Moon's diminishing resolve and agency.

From here on out, the lyrics here are broken up, carrying on this theme of fragmentation. Y/N is pulling away, Moon is breaking up, the words are breaking up. Everything is coming apart.

Frame 11. "you can't make your heart feel something it won't" Y/N turns to leave. The lyrics, broken up as before, highlight the irony of the situation. Y/N, a human, can’t feel something they simply don’t feel. Whereas, Moon, the machine, feels something his code never intended him to feel.

Frame 12. "here in the dark in these final hours" Another full shot that parallels frame 5, as Y/N steps towards the light and Moon leans forward into the space Y/N once occupied. Y/N is leaving—that which makes him whole is leaving. And he is only capable of making it to the boundary where the light cuts into the darkness. The "final hours" suggest it might be the end of Y/N’s shift, or perhaps this scene takes place right before the glitch takes over—the final hours that Y/N has with the true Moon. Either way, time is running out—and only Moon knows it.

There is a contrasting display of body language here. Moon is on the floor leaning towards Y/N with his hand still left out. Whereas Y/N is turned away, walking away, and has already slipped their hand away and into their pocket. Y/N is closed off while Moon is limply open. Y/N is actively moving while Moon is on the floor, waiting, hoping, for that which he lacks the agency to reach for himself.

Frame 13. "I will lay down my heart" A close up on Moon’s hand, rising up again, perhaps to beckon Y/N back once more. This is a slight parallel to Y/N's hand reaching out to Moon. While Y/N can freely reach out and touch Moon, Moon cannot. He can't enter the light and more importantly he can't risk potentially harming his relationship with Y/N—be it through the glitch or by his feelings. He can only lay down his heart—put aside his feelings or hope that someone will pick up his pieces and make him whole.

Frame 14. "and I'll feel the power" Still on a close up on Moon’s hand, now clenched in slightly. This initially was going to have the glitch effects. However, I felt it more meaningful for it to be left without. Leave it up for interpretation why Moon pauses his hand. What is the power that he alone feels and stays his hand?

Frame 15. "but you won't, no, you won't" A parallel to frame 1, a view of on Moon's back with his hand stretched out towards the light, and Y/N walking into the light spilling through the open daycare door.

The placement of the lyrics suggest two different “you won’t”—Y/N who won’t realize Moon’s feelings, and Moon who won’t dare speak them into reality.

Another note on the parallel to frame 1, this time we also see Y/N's back, but it is notably different from our view of Moon's back. With Moon, we literally see inside him through the hole for his loop. However, Y/N is shrouded in shadow, just a solid, obscure silhouette against the bright light of a world Moon—and Sun for that matter—are closed off from. We don’t see into Y/N, just as the Daycare Attendant doesn't have any vantage point of Y/N's life beyond their time at the PizzaPlex. (The unfortunate reality of a being a character made for the purpose of being a vessel for the reader.)

Frame 16. "'cause I can't make you love me" We finally cut to face Moon head-on, frozen in place with his hand stretched out, unable to cross the boundary into the light. His eyes have gone dark. Where we began by seeing bits and parts of Moon, and never seeing his full face—now we, the viewer, see the full Moon, open and vulnerable—unbeknownst to Y/N.

Frame 17. "if you don't" But in the dark, behind closed doors, there is no one to perceive him—no one to receive him. The light dwindles as the daycare doors are closed. Moon stays frozen where he kneels. It is no longer the glitch that plagues him, but a far deeper dread.

But a lone streak of light peaks through the gap in the daycare doors. Perhaps that is just enough. A silver lining. A frail hope. A single, ethereal thread out of darkness and into light.

Thanks for reading and watching!

We'll be back to our regularly scheduled fun and games shortly!

#fnaf moon #fnaf dca #dca fandom #so this idea had me by the throat ever since I heard this song again #I've never done an animatic before but I wanted to give it a shot #the opening lyrics already reminded me of moon right off the bat #but then i kept listening and started thumbnailing some frames #it was actually the frames with moon receiving the head pat and turning his faceplate that convinced me i had to do this lol #the sweetest images resulted in this work of angst #thank you if you read all this! #i promise to post something cute soon to balance things out #and no promises but i will say the second verse of the song is PERFECT for sun #“morning will come and I'll do what's right just give me 'till then to give up this fight” /lyrics #hahaha it hurts :') #crab art #traditional art #digital art #traditionally inked and digitally coloured #animatic

[princessleechan]

choi seungcheol must die masterlist

📌synopsis: Mingyu wasn't the one with his heart broken. It was his little sister. And Seokmin's older sister. And Chan's best friend. Choi Seungcheol is a menace to society and needs to be put down. Immediately. The sure fire way to do it is to give him a taste of his own medicine: break his heart. 📌pairing: fem!reader x ??? (seungcheol, mingyu, seokmin, chan) 📌genre: slight angst, romance, humor, eventual smut 📌series tags: 18+ only, SMAU, inspired by “John tucker must die”, John tucker!seungcheol, college au, revenge fic, tags will vary from chapter 📌status: COMPLETED WITH BONUSES TO COME 📌started: oct 6th, 2023 - feb 18, 2024 📌Tag list: please reply to this post, send an ask, or dm to get updated

Profiles #1, #2, #3

Act I :

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

Act II :

11 | 12 | 13+bonus written scene | 14+bonus written scene | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

Act III

26 | 27 | 28 | 29 written scene | 30+bonus written scene(18+) | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37

Epilogue

Bonus:

#seventeen smau #svt #seventeen #seventeen x you #seventeen x reader #seventeen x y/n #choi seungcheol #kim mingyu #lee seokmin #lee chan #scoups #dokyeom #lee dokyeom #seventeen dino #seventeen scoups #seventeen mingyu #seventeen scenarios #plc.smaus💕 #nana writes

[bangtanflirt]

(Un)natural Instincts (Part 9)

*Series taglist is closed.

angst, fluff, smut

Pairings: OT7 x Fem Reader, Human CEO Reader, Human Assistant Yoongi, Wolf Hybrids Joon, Jin, Hobi, Jimin, Tae, and Kook.

Basic premise: You and your assistant end up rescuing six wolf hybrids. No part of the process is easy.

Part 1 > Part 2 > Part 3 > Part 4 > Part 5 > Part 6 > Part 7 > Part 8 > Part 9 > Part 10

General Warnings: Hybrid abuse and lab experimentation, hybrids as second-class citizens/owned property (Minors DNI, 18+ content)

Specific Warnings: injury involving blood, toxic workplace conversations, one nonsexual bathing scene, very brief conversation around Hoseok's eating habits

____

Jungkook wakes up in the middle of the night, jolted out of sleep by the figure trembling against his body. He looks down at Taehyung, whose face is etched in terror. Distressed whimpers spill from his lips, quiet pleas of “please no” as his nightmares get more and more intense. The wolf tries to pull his packmate closer, tightening his grip to stop the shaking, but it doesn’t do much. He switches tactics, opting to whisper calming words in the man’s ear instead.

“You’re alright hyung. I’m here.”

He keeps repeating the last part, feeling powerless as his hyung’s whimpers turn into full-on sobbing. It’s Jimin who wakes up next, followed soon by the other two. All of them stare with wide, worry-filled eyes as Taehyung struggles against Jungkook’s chest.

Namjoon turns on the lamp, looking around when he sees one less person in bed.

The oldest wolf is nowhere in sight, and the bathroom light isn’t on either.

But there’s no time to wonder about Jin—not when Taehyung’s claws shoot out of from his fingertips, scratching frantically until he’s fully out of Jungkook’s grasp. The feeling of real skin underneath his nails is enough to drag him back to consciousness, eyes now open and processing his surroundings.

Blood.

Claw marks.

His Koo with a pained expression.

It all comes into focus one by one.

“Koo…I’m so sorry…I-I didn’t mean—”

“Shh, it’s okay hyung, it’s alright.” He’s flinching as the wounds sting against his skin.

Jimin swiftly acts, digging through the bedside drawers until he finds the first-aid kit. He carefully peels the bloody shirt off of Jungkook before working on the wounds, holding the pup’s hands as the iodine burns hot against broken flesh.

Namjoon and Hoseok focus on calming Taehyung down, turning him away from the stressful scene to look at them instead.

“Bad dream, huh pup?”

Taehyung nods, tears still pooling around his eyes, “Yes Alpha.”

Hoseok pulls him in close, “You don’t need to tell us about it if you don’t want to.”

Taehyung nods meekly.

Most of the nightmare is a blur, but there are parts he remembers clear as day: the researchers laughing with each strike on his heels…Jimin on the side laughing with them, delighted to see him mess up his duties once again.

Hit him harder. He’s just slowing the pack down. Useless mutt.

Taehyung cringes as Jimin’s voice rings in his ear, so crisp as if it happened in real life.

“I’m so sorry Koo.” He still doesn’t look back, facing Hoseok while apologizing.

“It’s okay hyung, it happens.”

“Are you okay? Should I help?”

Jimin interjects, ���I’ve got this Tae, just focus on calming down for now.”

It’s an innocent statement, but anything out of the other caretaker’s mouth is enough to irk Taehyung at the moment.

“I am calm.” He snaps.

The cold front between the two wolves is still as icy as ever, and only Namjoon has it in him to say something.

“That’s not the tone we use to talk to our packmates, Tae.”

“Sorry Alpha.”

“Apologize to Jimin too.”

The wolf bites the inside of his cheek, reluctantly looking back and forcing an apology through gritted teeth.

“Sorry Jimin hyung.”

“It’s okay. You’re just tired.”

Everyone knows that’s a lie.

___

The wolves finally find their oldest the next morning, curled up on the living room sofa with an open book as his pillow. He stirs awake at the sound of feet shuffling in, looking up and realizing he fell asleep while reading.

“You look adorable” Hoseok smiles, “Did you come out here because you couldn’t sleep again?”

Jin nods, getting up and stretching out, body a little stiff after being contorted on the sofa.

“Came out to read, didn’t realize I fell asleep.”

“Looks like it worked, you look cozy snuggled up in that blanket.”

The remark brings the blanket to Jin’s attention. He doesn’t remember ever grabbing it last night, but here he is, wrapped around in the dark blue fabric.

“Don’t freak out, but there was a little accident.” Namjoon recounts what happened, watching Jin’s worried gaze go back and forth between Taehyung and Jungkook.

“I shouldn’t have left. I should’ve helped take care of them.” He groans in frustration.

“It’s okay hyung. We got it handled, and I’m sure we’re all glad you got some sleep.”

The rest nod in agreement, but Jin still holds a bit of guilt in his eyes.

“Is the wound really deep?”

Jungkook shakes his head, “No, it wasn’t even a lot of blood. It was my fault, I should’ve given him space instead of holding him closer.”

“It’s not your fault Koo, I lost control. It’s all me.”

“It’s no one’s fault. Now we know to give Tae his space if it ever happens again.”

“Exactly, thank you Jinnie” Namjoon holds out his hand to ruffle the older wolf’s head, glad to have someone like Jin help lead the pack. Jin tilts his head back, leaning into the touch. It’s instinctive when the Alpha dips down, meeting his packmate’s lips for a chaste peck on the lips.

The moment isn’t lost on anyone in the room. Such a simple, domestic peck that screams “I love you.” It’s a gesture that the two haven’t shared in over three months, but still feels as natural as ever now.

The sight has hope wriggling its way into Jimin’s heart.

Things are slowly going back to normal. Taehyung and I will go back too. Everything will be alright.

It’s the first time since they’ve entered the house that the hybrids slept in late, and the first time breakfast is already waiting for them. The caretaker hybrids can’t help but profusely apologize, which you dismiss immediately, telling them you’re glad they’re getting more rest. Namjoon almost tells you about how little they actually slept, but decides it better to keep your good mood intact.

Jin can’t help but glance over at Yoongi throughout breakfast, but thankfully no one, not even Yoongi, notices. No matter how hard he tries, he just can’t understand why the man would bring him a blanket. He’s not his packmate, and he’s not someone Jin’s on the best terms with, so why?

It’s even more puzzling when the two of them reach for the last rolled omelet at the same time, and Yoongi retracts his chopsticks immediately.

“No please, take it. Humans first.” Jin says, pushing the plate towards the man.

The phrase causes a stare from both you and Yoongi, making Jin feel small.

“That’s not a thing here Jin.” You speak up.

“S-sorry.” He timidly takes the piece, watching to make sure Yoongi isn’t pissed off.

Yoongi’s response isn’t one Jin is prepared for,

“Do you like it?”

The hybrid nods.

Yoongi flashes the smallest smile, “It’s one of the few things I make well.”

Jin doesn’t know why, but his cheeks heat up as he bites into the omelet under Yoongi’s gaze.

___

“I’m really okay hyung.” Jungkook assures, holding his hands above his head as his packmate lifts his shirt off, stripping each piece of clothing until the youngest is fully bare.

“But I still feel bad, so let me take care of you pup.”

Jungkook doesn’t protest any further, getting into the bath and watching fondly as his packmate shakes off his clothes to do the same. He makes room as Taehyung sinks into the water behind him, pulling the younger one’s back flush against his chest.

Jungkook’s eyes flutter as Taehyung runs his fingers through his hair, carefully massaging his scalp with a decent amount of shampoo.

“Feel good Koo?”

“Mhmm, really good.”

Taehyung smiles at the way Jungkook gets lost in his touch, letting out low hums of contentment on occasion.

“Hyung”

“Yes Koo?”

“Was the nightmare really scary?”

Taehyung stiffens at the memory,

“It was.”

“Was it about the lab?”

“Yeah.”

“Well then no one in that nightmare can hurt you anymore. We’re far away from them, so don’t worry.”

Taehyung doesn’t answer, giving Jungkook’s hair a slight tug to get the boy lost back into the sensation—desperate to escape the conversation. It works, as Jungkook all but dozes off.

___

“You’ve been doing really well with eating Hobi, looking a lot healthier” you smile, curling up on the opposite side of the couch as him.

His face beams at the compliment, “Thank you!”

“I’m sure it’s been hard.”

“Sometimes,” he chuckles nervously, “it feels wrong to eat as much as everyone else. But I’m learning it’s not.”

“I’m really glad. Is there anything you need from me? I’m happy to help with anything.”

“Um…there is one thing…do you think you could take me out somewhere? I know you and Namjoon went for a walk, and he said it was really nice. But it’s okay if you’re too busy!” Your heart swells at the nervous request. If there’s one thing you’ve learned, it’s that Hoseok is the worst when it comes to asking you for things, so this is a big win in your book. You’re finally getting somewhere with him.

“I’m actually taking Taehyung to an art store after he washes up. If you want to tag along, we’d be more than happy to have you.”

“Yes yes yes!”

His enthusiasm has you almost laughing, but you catch yourself, not wanting him to think he’s being laughed at for saying something wrong.

“Can everyone go? It can be a group trip!”

You’re smile falters for a second, “As much as I’d like that, I don’t think I can take all six of you there at the same time.”

Hoseok understands, people wouldn’t exactly be happy at the sight of six wolf hybrids out and about—even if leashed.

“I get it.”

“Sorry sweetheart.”

“No no, it’s okay. Thank you for inviting me. Are you sure it’s okay, though? Even two wolves are enough to scare people.”

“Two should be fine, you leave worrying about all of that to me.”

As if on cue, Taehyung walks in, all giddy and ready to go out.

“Hobi’s joining us.”

Taehyung jumps in excitement, urging his hyung to go get ready quick so they can get there sooner.

The store is everything Taehyung could dream of and more, with every type of paint in every color imaginable lining the shelves. He’s like a kid in a candy store with the way he bounces around from aisle to aisle, and you’re sure that you would’ve lost him three seconds in if not for the leash.

“He’s really in his element” you laugh.

“Painting used to be his favorite thing in the world. There weren’t a lot of places that sold paint to us though, so we couldn’t indulge him like this. He’s in paradise right now.”

The statement makes you wonder how exactly they lived before all of this. You’ve seen news segments on hybrid communities, how they had their own currencies and hierarchies. Lower percentage hybrids were captured by humans and sold off pretty quickly, but the higher percentage ones found a way to create their own society.

Hoseok thinks back to those days too, reminiscing how good everything used to be. They were thankful everyday for the genetic lottery they had won—being not only wolf hybrids, but a high enough percentage for no human to ever try to capture them. His pack was truly the apex of their society, until humanity’s greed ripped it all from their hands. Now he’s here, on a leash with a head full of trauma that he can’t escape.

The cart fills up quick, partly because you tell him “get both” every time Taehyung asks you to choose between art supplies.

Everything’s going well until Taehyung’s excitement gets the better of him, accidentally knocking over a little boy in the canvas aisle. It’s a soft bump, but it does cause the boy, looking no older than twelve, to fall back. He’s shaking in fear as the wolf reaches out to give him a hand. Taehyung quickly realizes he’s not making the situation better and steps back, making himself small as he interlocks fingers with Hoseok. You step up to the front and offer your hand instead, pulling the boy up while making sure there’s no bruises or scrapes anywhere.

“So sorry about that, he’s just excited. Are you hurt?”

“It’s o-okay. I’m not h-hurt.”

“Excuse me, what the hell is going on?” A shrill voice asks, new figure emerging from the aisle over and yanking you away from the boy instantly.

It’s obvious she’s his mother, and you’re quick to explain the situation.

“If you can’t control your hybrids in public then you should leave them at home. My kid got hurt because of you.”

You put on your fake smile once again, trying to resolve this as quickly and quietly as to not make the hybrids anxious.

“He doesn’t look hurt anywhere Ma’am. I’ve apologized to him already, so I think it’s best we all continue with our shopping.”

She eyes you up and down, gaze lingering on your Prada purse and Gucci belt.

“Nonsense, your unruly wolf pushed my baby down. It’s only fair you compensate us.”

 Taehyung grips Hoseok’s hand tighter, unable to believe he messed up again.

You scoff, understanding exactly what kind of person this mother was.

“Compensate? For a small incident where no one got hurt? You’re not making sense Ma’am.”

“If I say my kid is hurt, then he is. Unless you want a complaint sent to Hybrid Control, I would find a good amount to make it up to us.”

Both the hybrids lose color at the mention of Hybrid Control…Hybrid Control complaints gave the government authority to take away hybrids deemed “dangerous to society.” It’s a case by case situation, but a complaint against a 40% wolf would no doubt lead Taehyung to being caged up.

You’re aware of this too, as you quickly open your banking app at the mention of the authorities. It takes a second after the woman puts her information in your phone for you to recognize it.

“Gong Hye Sun…you’re not, by chance, wife of Ha-jun, are you?”

She raises a brow, “You know my husband?”

Your mouth twists into a different smile this time, going from fake nice to condescending in a second.

“I’m his boss. Shin Y/N, nice to meet you.”

That changes the conversation entirely. Hye Sun steps back, heart racing at realizing who she’s talking to. Shin Y/N. The name she’s heard a thousand times from her husband’s lips—the name that determined when his next bonus was, if he was on the newest projects, if he had a promotion lined up, and everything else that their family aspired for. She takes back her words at the speed of light.

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Sure you didn’t,” you roll your eyes “I hope you don’t carelessly threaten Hybrid Control in the future. It’s not cute. Transferred some pocket money because I’m feeling nice. Get the boy some ice cream or something. Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

You brush past her, Taehyung and Hoseok trailing with relieved expressions.

“Why do I always mess things up?” Taehyung sighs, locking his seatbelt in as you start the car.

“It was just an accident, Tae.” Hoseok assures, giving his hand a squeeze.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s an accident or not. I’m always the one causing trouble.”

“Relax darling, you’re a lot better than I was at twenty-three.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

“I’m not! You can google it once you get home. I was a real piece of work before I inherited the company. There’s probably five hundred articles of me embarrassing myself at parties or events. If you ever feel like a fuck-up, read those and you’ll feel better in no time.”

You spend the rest of the ride telling them about your past, prompting the youngest into bouts of laughter every time you mention a drunk partying fiasco. Taehyung doesn’t even realize that he’s too busy laughing to do his usual routine of mental degradation after a mistake.

___

The day goes by with everyone shuffling in and out of the study, watching in awe as Taehyung works in his element. He’s got all the reference pictures of your grandmother in front of him, doing rough sketches and beginning the underpainting process. It’s mesmerizing, seeing a new layer on the canvas every time you peek your head in. You do drag him out for lunch and dinner this time, telling him he can’t eat while painting.

It's when Jin is wiping down the dining table does Yoongi speak to him again.

“Hope you weren’t too cold last night. It was the only blanket I could find.”

Jin looks around paranoid, making sure his pack is too preoccupied to overhear Yoongi’s words. The man catches on quickly.

“You don’t want them to know?”

Jin keeps his eyes at the table, avoiding eye contact. All the hybrids had agreed to keep a united front, making sure to let you know that they’re on your side when it comes to you and Yoongi. It’s not much, but just keeping him company made Jin feel guilty…maybe because of just how much he liked it. It was nice to have a reading buddy. The only other packmate who likes to read is Namjoon, and he prefers to do it alone. It’s a simple thing, reading with someone else present, knowing you’re both immersed in your own worlds while sitting next to each other—simple yet so nice.

Yoongi leans in, “It can be our secret, don’t worry.”

He walks away nonchalantly, not knowing that it’s the second time he’s made Jin’s cheeks burn today.

It’s 11pm when all the hybrids in their room—even Taehyung, who Namjoon had to pry away from his paints. The wolves are getting ready to tuck themselves in for the night, leaving you and Yoongi alone in the living room. You watch as he sets up his laptop in a corner, getting ready for an emergency meeting. He’d asked you to stay and listen in from the side, making it one less thing he has to write in a recap email. It feels odd, though, being alone with him for this amount of time. The awkwardness weighs heavily on both of you.

The meeting starts in a frenzy, as much as any other emergency meeting. It’s not uncommon in the field you’re in, not even when it’s 11pm on a Sunday. In the world of venture capitalism, the work doesn’t sleep, and neither do the workers. You listen in closely as your COO, Minhyun talks through the screen, calmly addressing everyone’s concerns and weighing in on the best course of action. It makes you more jealous than you care to admit, the way he commands a room with such a level-headed demeanor. Yoongi’s words creep back into your brain, reminding you of how much better the office is without your presence. You wonder if Shin Investments would perform better under someone like Minhyun—if you’re just not competent enough.

It’s 2am when a course of action is determined, the call full of tired businessmen all ready to hang up. All except one of the board members, whose voice you recognize as Mr. Yoo, who’s still somehow in the mood to gossip after a three hour meeting.

“It must be nice to be Miss Shin right now, going on vacation with six hybrids while the rest of us are here working long nights on a weekend.”

Yoongi looks over, telling you to be calm with his gaze alone. He knows you’re itching to give some biting remark and put Yoo back in his place, but the last thing either you or him need right now is people finding out you’re living together. Thankfully, you’re on the same page, biting back your tongue and remaining silent off-screen.

“Miss Shin hasn’t taken a vacation day off since she started here. I’m sure she’s earned to sleep through a couple more nights.”

Yoongi watches as Yoo’s facial expressions change, clearly not expecting anyone to defend you.

“Sure, sure. Just a little obnoxious to use it this way, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not like she has a family trip or emergency. Three whole weeks to have an orgy with wolf hybrids…” His smirk is especially sleazy at that part, causing other bursts of laughter to erupt from the meeting, “it’s just not very ladylike.”

Your knuckles are paper-white as you clutch the side of your chair, using every ounce of restraint in your body to not berate the man through the camera. Yoongi seems equally upset, as his response comes across even more annoyed than before.

“If I recall, Mr. Yoo, you’ve taken three vacations for honeymoons in the past two years alone. Three honeymoons in two years…I wonder how long the newest marriage will last. Why don’t we bet on it?”

“Mr. Min! Watch it.”

“My bad, I thought it was open floor to comment on our coworkers’ personal lives today.”

That one gets a laugh out of Minhyun.

“Alright alright, that’s enough. Mr. Yoo, just because Y/N isn’t here doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate such remarks towards her. I’ll give you a warning this time, but any further instances will land you straight to HR. And Mr. Min, let’s refrain from personal comments as well. Now, it’s been a long day and we should all get some sleep. Goodnight everyone.”

It’s only when Yoongi closes his laptop do you talk again,

“Thank you…for speaking up for me.”

“Always.”

It’s silent as he packs up his bag. Your expression is sour, and it’s clear you’re still bothered. He almost doesn’t say anything—fearing you’re not in a place to have proper conversations with him yet—but he can’t let you spiral in your thoughts alone.

“You can’t let sleazy comments like that get to you, Y/N.”

“It’s not Yoo’s comment that I’m thinking about.”

“Then what is it?”

You hang your head in resignation. “Minhyun would make a better CEO than me.”

“That’s not true.”

“Yes it is. He’s excellent.”

It’s reflexive the way Yoongi’s at your side at the first sign of you doubting yourself.

“Shin Y/N, ever since you’ve taken over the company, profit margin has increased by 15% and stock value by 6%. There is no reason for you to be doubting or comparing your abilities.”

“It’s not just about numbers, though, is it? He’s also kind and everyone seems to like and respect him.”

“And who says you can’t be kind?”

You look at him with a questioning brow raise, “You did. Very clearly when you told me how much happier the office is without me.”

He takes one of your hands, clasping it between his own to pull you face-to-face. You expect him to let go, but he doesn’t, and you don’t try to get away either.

“I never said you can’t be. I just said you need to try harder, and I’m standing by that statement.”

You scoff, “That’s easier said than done, you know?”

“Since when has something being too hard ever stopped you from trying?”

You hold his gaze, realizing he does have a point. It’s the first time you’re not getting fully defensive about the subject, and Yoongi takes that as a win in itself.

“They’ll call me a weak little girl the second I start, Yoongi.” The vulnerability is clear in your voice.

“Maybe they will, but we both know you’re not. There’s not one thing those men can do or say to take away from how competent you are—but, as long as they can make you insecure like this, they’ll be the ones who have all the power.”

You look down, words taking a moment to soak into your brain. The way he’s holding your hand feels strange…intimate in a way it’s never felt before.

“Will you really stay by my side through everything?”

“I will. I promise.”

____

A/N: Do you guys like the way things are progressing? Let me know! Comments and reblogs make me happy :)

Permanent Taglist: @skyys-universee @morelovefortn @seagulljk @shadowyjellyfishfest @m4gg13-g @wittyreader

Series Taglist [CLOSED]: @welcometomyworld13 @kalala22 @fxirytaetae @btsfluffsworld @belikejk @shycreationdreamland @danielle143 @singukieee @blackrockshooter780 @g-b-artist @i-have-no-life-charlie @sopemee @no-regrets-just-confusion @acciocriativity @ldysmfrst @amara-mars @caelumwrites @estrellaburnxd @borahaetelevision @on-1ce @fuckthinking @jaiele

#bts hybrid au #hybrid bts x reader #poly bts #ot7 x reader #bts angst #bts fluff #bts smut #hurt/comfort

[absolutebl]

Best & Worst BLs of 2023

My Top 15 BLs of 2023 are (in order)

1 Our Dating Sim

Korea Viki

Nerds in love, deadlines, gaming, teasing, pining tiny idiots, casual affection, linguistic oops, ADORABLE. If you haven't watched this, it's a must. A perfect short form KBL, an office set reunion romance featuring geeks that really suits 8 eps with no fluff and no chaff. Just comforting and yummy.

I adored every aspect from the casting to the pristinely simple premise to the quietly smooth execution. Sure it’s low stakes, but that makes it high domesticity and extremely warm and gentle. This is a fuzzy blanket of a story - a cozy BL. It lives in my rewatch pile and you know what’s best about it? Every single episode is in that pile. There’s no skipping with this one, it might be good natured and calmly sweet but it’s tight and the pacing is excellent.

Also recieves my 2023 award for best giggle.

2 I Cannot Reach You

AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Japan Netflix

This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen.

Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way.

This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

Also wins the best thirst award.

These were the 2 BLs that got 10/10 from me in 2023. The rest of these got 9/10 from me.

3 My School President

Thailand YouTube

GMMTV gave us a classic high school set Thai BL with tropes like messy boys singing their feelings that made this one Love Sick for the modern age with all the gentle sweetness and pining ache, but none of the dated damaging tropes or issues. Who let my BL be this wholesome and funny? My favourite GMMTV BL offering to date. And yes, I've watched them ALL.

Received the Namgoong award for best wingman 2023.

4 I Feel You Linger in the Air

Thailand grey

IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework. Steeped in history and family drama this is an elegant and classy BL. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. It's a marker of how great it was that it's so high on my list despite the ending which was very much not what I wanted.

Additional accolade, sexiest moment of 2023 - (the oil scene).

You could try to fight me, but you'll have no grip.

5 Kiseki: Dear to Me

Taiwan Gaga & Viki

The plot is totally ridiculous and slightly unhinged. There’s a gum-ball machine of cameos, elder gay rep, great chemistry from all pairs (everyone is queer), and a KILLER side couple. It involves all the tropes under a very offhand framework of gay mafia gangs + food = love. As a result Kiseki is a poster child for Taiwanese BL, and I happen to love Taiwanese BL. Bonus? They also managed to END IT WELL, which we cannot expect from Taiwan.

Best side couple 2023!

(thank goodness Taiwan made this list!)

6 Jun and Jun

Korea Viki

A delightful office romance about an ex-idol who joins cubical life only to find his new boss is his first love. With a snappy (sometimes even raunchy) script, enjoyable sides, a pretty as peaches cast, and descent chemistry this show made up for in style what it lacked in substance. I like fluff. I loved this. I smiled every moment I was watching.

Best flirting 2023.

AKA "the tongue knows" award

7 The Eighth Sense

Korea Viki

This one is a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it has a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

2023's most likely to appeal to non-BL watchers.

8 Unintentional Love Story

Korea iQIYI

The lead, Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is a fucking GIFT, who carried this show. He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes, which he used to carry a killer plot and challenging role. Forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the eyes EMOTING at us in PAIN. Driven by external conflict, social tension and pressure this story seems simple but it's actually refined and quite complex. I loved this show.

Best story structure 2023.

9 My Personal Weatherman

AKA Taikan Yoho

Japan Gaga

This is classic yaoi of the kind that really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. It's high heat is well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" which is exacerbated by the fact that they're already fucking. Sure is sexy tho.

Best use of props 2023 for the shower of sheets.

10 Our Dining Table

AKA Bokura no Shokutaku

Japan Gaga

Lonely salaryman and talented cook gets accidentally adopted by a college kid and his little brother. It’s a quiet & cozy little parable of found family alleviating loneliness. It's lovely & sweet with the romance beats used to build a family relationship, not just couple intimacy. Special.

First prize for domesticity.

11 Laws of Attraction

Thailand iQIYI

This is a great gay suspense thriller with several solid couples, fun plot, killer characters, queer rep, and a happy ending. It’s tons of fun and I had an absolute blast watching it.

Charn wins my favorite character of 2023.

12 La Pluie

Thailand Viki

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. With good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn high marks.

Most interesting concept 2023.

13 The New Employee

Korea Viki

So good, SO QUEER, so soft, a near pitch perfect office BL with conflict derived from that setting. Also found family and a lesbian bestie. This is what I wanted from this new crop of office set KBLs ALL ALONG. Rainbow rice cakes forever!

Best overall queer rep from Korea.

14 Step By Step

Thailand Gaga & YouTube & Viki

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk which added tension to the narrative and character development.

Chot wins best queer character 2023.

15 Love Tractor

Korea iQIYI

Most of this country-set BL had me feral for the beautiful broken city boy and his hot young farmer. Hyung romance, puppy/cat pairing, open frankness meets jaded reserve, language play, water hose frolicking, only one bed = all my favorite silly tropes.

Biggest "he so pretty" gasp of the year award.

10 Worst BLs of 2023 (that I watched)

My Blessing

My Universe: Casanova Begins

Boyband the series

Cafe In Love

Chains of Heart

Hit Bite Love

Only Friends

Senior Love Me

The Luminous Solution

The Promise

Yes, you read that right. I know I'm against the flow but I really did not like Only Friends. Everyone's taste is different.

However I DNFed faster and more BL's this year than ever before, so that means my 10 worst probably aren't quite reflective...

10 Probably Actually Worst BLs (I dropped 'em)

My Story

The Day I Loved You

Beyond the Star

Crazy Handsome Rich

Dinosaur Love

House of Stars

Mr Cinderella 2

Love Bill

Stormy Honeymoon

The Star Always Follow You

Codicils in General

I only carefully track/watch Thailand, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan. Other countries are not fully represented.

My Numbers

So my spreadsheet chronicled 138 BLs that finish airing in 2023.

101 = watched & reviewed

2 = still in the docket (WDYEY2 & Love Syndrome III)

15 = CNF (could not find)

20 = DNF (which also accounts for how few very low scores I handed out in 2023 as opposed to previous years, I just stopped watching). Speaking of which...

Ratings spread

(# of stars. #of BLs given that rating)

0 (see the DNFs instead)

2 - IT'S DEPRESSING they killed the gay, save yourself

7 - I DON'T KNOW WHAT I AM WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT

7 - FATALLY FLAWED but still basically BL, however… do we want to support this kind of behavior?

9 - WATCH IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO but don’t expect much, it’s a total hot mess

17 - WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED probably around the ending or in narrative structure/cohesion or censorship

14 - RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS i.e. isn’t quite BL, convoluted, not strictly HEA, too short/long, or chemistry issues

30 - RECOMMENDED some concerns around tropes (like dub con) or story structure but still satisfies as BL

13 - ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED probably a few pacing issues or one flaw

2 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED faithful to tropes, happy ending, good chemistry, few flaws, high rewatch potential

(source)

#Best BLs of 2023 #Worst BLs of 2023 #Top 15 BLs #Our Dating Sim #Korean BL #I Cannot Reach You #Japanese BL #Kimi ni wa Todokanai #My School President #Thai BL #I Feel You Linger in the Air #Kiseki: Dear to Me #Taiwanese BL #Jun and Jun #The Eighth Sense #Unintentional Love Story #Our Dining Table #Bokura no Shokutaku

[shoebillstork]

Mutual 1: (An extremely extensive post detailing their trauma on their secret blog)

Mutual 1: (A picture of the soup they finished making) Eeatting penis soup grab a bowl

Mutual 2: (Cropped batman yaoi) This scene was so compelling in the comics qnd established so much for Bruce Waynes character as a bottom

Mutual 3: Just updated my comic (it is one of the most compelling pieces of narrative youve ever read. Its based off of a bad game)

Mutual 4: Ngl this omegaverse gacha life youtube video is more compelling than most shows i watch

Mutual 5: Finally cocking out i swear if one more thing happens today i will snap

Mutual 6: PENIS TYPO

Mutual 7: PENIS TYPO

Mutual 8: PENIS TYPO

Mutual 9: This yak tranquilizer weak af

Mutual 10: Come make my sinister potion (posts how to make a pipebomb)

Mutual 11: Do i get plastic surgery and change my name and move to a different country y/n (poll is in favor of yes by a huge margin)

Mutual 12: Mutual 13 is a lying fucking piece of trash and i think they should drop dead. They live at 308 Negra Aroya Lane, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 87104 and im going to record me beating the shit out of them

Mutual 13: Aww my bestie is coming to visit me soon :]

(Mutual 12 and 13 are dating)

Mutual 14: who tf does she think she is (posts a sc of mutual 8 from three url changes ago. It is mutual 8 saying theyre going to the park)

Mutual 15: So in my latest session in dnd we rolled 1d12 for dick size and i rolled a nat 20 and idk what to do with this reponsibility now

Mutual 16: he looks so good im going to scream (a screenshot where said character is so far in the background he doesnt even have a face)

Mutual 17: eho up thinking about the moral dillemma presented in pokemon go

Mutual 18: take a look at my ocs :D (mona lisa if dhe was gay)

Mutual 19: i hadba really good day today i got to spend some time bonding with my entire family and we got to celebrate something we havent had the time for in 37 years

Mutual 20: (reblogging mutual 19) L + Don't care + 632146K~P PRC, dl.2146K~P, 5K > 2146K~P, 5K > JF 2146K~P, 2H, WS ([4]6H->P), 623H

Mutual 21: (Blurry photo of them running from police) they're after me for my stash kf yaoi cocaine

Mutual 22: (Miles long RP chain they started 2 months ago. You have post notification on for them because its awesome)

Mutual 23: Discussing the morality of liking bananas over mangoes

Mutuals 24 ans 25: having a dramatic wedding where theyre acting as a crack ship. They're on the verge of divorce

Mutual 26: She winding onbmy waker (is in the middle of intense controversy)

Mutual 27: (Callout for mutual 26)

Mutual 28: If Mutual 17 asked i would give them a sloppy toppy

Mutual 29: Anon get out of my inbox before j block you his ass is NOT flat. (His ass is fucking concave)

Mutual 30: Shes just like me fr (a picture kf a shopping cart)

#textbox

[circeyoru]

{Unwanted Soul} Masterlist

(it got too long in my Masterlist, so I had to open a new one...)

Pairing: [Yandere!Alastor x Owner of his Soul!Reader]

Main Story:

Part 1 — The Beginning of It All

Part 2 — Welcome Back

Part 2.5 (ask) — Knowing about the contract & Your scenes in Hazbin

Part 3 — Time Away From Home

Part 4 — Realizing & Accepting

Part 5 — Confession From The Heart

Part 6 — The Giver's Perspective

Part 7 — Reveal the Storm

Part 8 — Technological Dealings

Part 9 — The Cat Makes Its Appearance

Part 10 — Clean Up & Reveals

Trivia Asks:

— Songs vibing with the story

— What if Alastor's soul is returned?

— Hotel crew's reaction to finding out about the relationship + What if more yanderes?

— What if you gave Alastor your soul? Alastor's perception of it

— Short!Alastor imagine

— What if you die? Alastor's reaction

— Short!Alastor imagine II

— What if you were redeemed for saving Alastor from Adam?

— Dating Lucifer and Alastor?? (very very short)

— Alastor's reaction to you being flirted/harassed

— Musical Hell and Music lover you

— Reader's romantic view on Alastor? & Toying with feelings?

— Kisses in public for Alastor!??!!

— Declaration of love from you

— Slow to warm you & Alastor's reaction

— A date with Alastor

— Hotel members questioning your and Alastor's relationship

— Small rivalry with Cursed Cat Alastor

— Hotel members & Mimzy's reaction to you dating Alastor

— Continuation of redeemed you back in Hell

— Lucifer tells Alastor you're more powerful than you look + Demon design

— Redeemed Alastor after saving you from Adam

— You and a little visitor named KeeKee

— Angel snatching you away from Alasto

— You saved Cursed Cat Alastor, now you have two!

— Additional outfit inspiration for your demon design

— Cursed Cat Alastor VS Alastor: "Cat or me?!"

— Appreciate Alastor please

— Lore before your quill + Redeemed!Alastor Part 2

— Costume dress-up suggestions / theme

— What if you're physically clingy to Alastor?

— Accidentally hurting you while throwing Angel

— No cuddles while you binge-watch anime?

— Your interest in Black Butler | Alastor VS Sebastian??

— Alastor acts the way your favourite characters do

— Your past and career? + Powers & abilities lore

— Do you remember? Redeemed Alastor

— You and Alastor dancing

— You get hurt by some demon

— No angst for redeemed you & battling Adam

— Bambi shows favouritism to only you

— Anniversary with you and Alastor

— "Pokemon Alastor, I choose you!"

— Birthday celebrations?

— Someone broke Alastor's precious radio gift from you

— What if redeemed you got Alastor out of that insane phase?

— You dress up like a princess or evening gown

— Your interest in historical anime/manga

— Are you, by chance, a songwriter as well when alive? + Weakness

— Summoning Cursed Cat Alastor?! + Limitation to power

— How did the hotel crew learn not to disturb your dates?

— You and learning French to one-up Alastor

— What if redeemed you forgave Alastor

Polls:

1: Alastor's battle with Adam (ended)

2: Next Storyline of the Story (ended)

#Circe's Nighty Writings #Circe's requested writings #alastor imagine #alastor x reader #alastor x y/n #alastor x you #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #alastor headcanons #hazbin hotel fanfiction #alastor #hazbin hotel oneshots #yandere alastor #yandere alastor x reader #yandere hazbin hotel #alastor fanfiction #hazbin hotel imagines #Unwanted Soul

[lightbluetown]

i saw some people say ed and zheng are master strategists while stede is just some guy with ridiculous luck, but i think that's unfair. sure stede's ideas are insane, but they fit the looney tunes ass universe of ofmd perfectly. they're mostly well-thought-out, well-executed and they showcase stede's strengths and growth! so allow me to talk about them:

1- ghost of the forest - 1x02

a fuckery™ before stede even knows what a fuckery™ is! this is amateurish and stupid in every way. he's not even threatening izzy with a real dagger-- that's a letter opener. does izzy actually believe that stede has a huge crew hiding behind the bushes? doubt it! but this weird little act is enough to establish stede as a (ridiculous) pirate figure to the legendary izzy hands and to accomplish his goal of taking a hostage back

2- lighthouse - 1x04

imagine coming up with the exact same idea at the exact same time as the most brilliant tactician of the seven seas! we don't know who came up with which parts of the plan (honestly it was probably mostly ed) but this is still bloody impressive

3- stark revelations - 1x05

stede's first big success! he uses his knowledge of the aristocratic world to get a shipful of rich assholes to destroy each other, but he's also showcasing what sets him apart from them: this plan only comes to fruition because stede talks to frenchie, olu and abshir as equals. as people he can learn from, as sources of inspiration

4- duel with izzy - 1x06

this one was absolutely unhinged, but its success was far from dumb luck. only stede could think of using a brazillian cherry wood mast and ed's weird stabbing lesson to win a duel, and that's what makes this plan so undeniably stede and brilliant

5- faking his death - 1x10

i love that he just had to "die" in the most dramatic way possible. a heroic fight (tiger), a realistic accident (carriage) and the most cartoony death in the book (piano)... not only is his triple-death able to convince everyone in barbados that he's dead for good, it also allows him to have closure with his family. it's filled with stede's ridiculous unique flair, but it's designed to be a fuckery™ through and through. ed would be SO proud

6- stealing jackie's indigo dye - 2x01

quick little stealth mission. did ricky manipulate stede into trying this out? sure. did ricky also ruin it? absolutely. but it was working until then! the swede isn't part of stede's crew at this point, but his respect for stede is what gets him to cooperate and risk his relationship with his beautiful wife. also, it's thanks to his love for fine things that stede immediately recognizes the value of "blue dirt"

7- prison break - 2x03

in my eyes no scene depicts stede's growth better than this one. knocking zheng's entire crew out with tea is the most stede thing out there, and this plan uses the cherry wood mast as well! this plan relies on stede's (unrealistic) tea knowledge, overly-fancy ship and ability to coordinate his crew. what makes it breathtaking is that he secretly sets this plan into motion while actively mourning the "death" of the love of his life. he's putting his life on the line to rescue ed's "killers" because he's emotionally mature enough to look at things from their perspective and forgive them

8- inciting a mutiny - 2x06

yet another brilliant plan that could only be executed by stede. this entire episode revolves around his idea of "turning poison into positivity" and here he, well, fights poison with positivity. stede captains his pirates with respect and care (best he can) which just so happens to be the opposite of ned. he exploits this and gently gets ned's crew to turn on him. he singlehandedly saves himself and his entire crew from a notorious pirate! oh he also literally invents walking the plank right after this

9- "it's only suicide if we die" - 2x08

okay, yes, this one didn't go that well (sorry iz). but it's not like ed, zheng or anyone else had any other ideas! stede's weird suicide mission, for the most part, worked. they needed to get through british soldiers to reach their ship and they did exactly that. if only they'd remembered to check if ricky had his gun... oh well, you live and you learn

sure, ed and zheng are legends and stede is a silly newbie with wild luck. but he's also quick-witted, creative, confident and brave! he's a damn good captain and he deserves to be recognized as a good strategist!

#ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #ofmd meta #i love my boy so much i will not let anyone disrespect him thank u #🏴‍☠️

[saraswritingtipps]

Some quick tips for writing sexual tension in your novel:

1. Establish strong chemistry: Develop the characters' attraction to each other through meaningful interactions, shared interests, or a deep emotional connection. Their chemistry will lay the foundation for the sexual tension to build upon.

2. Use body language and non-verbal cues: Describe subtle gestures, lingering glances, or the way their bodies react in each other's presence. These non-verbal cues can heighten the tension and create a sense of anticipation.

3. Utilize dialogue: Employ flirty banter, double entendres, or suggestive remarks to create verbal sparring between characters. Clever wordplay can add layers of subtext and amplify the sexual tension.

4. Slow down the pace: Build tension by slowing down the pacing of scenes involving the characters. Emphasize their awareness of each other, the anticipation of physical contact, and the longing that grows with every passing moment.

5. Explore internal thoughts and desires: Give readers insight into the characters' internal dialogue, their secret desires, and the fantasies they have about each other. This adds depth and intensifies the sexual tension.

6. Employ the power of touch: Describe the impact of a brief brush of hands, accidental contact, or the lingering sensation left by a gentle touch. These tactile sensations can evoke a heightened sense of awareness and anticipation.

7. Create obstacles and conflicts: Introduce obstacles or conflicts that prevent the characters from acting upon their desires. These challenges can fuel the sexual tension, making the eventual release even more satisfying for both the characters and the readers.

8. Use sensory details: Engage the readers' senses by describing scents, sounds, or textures associated with the characters' proximity or potential intimacy. Sensory details can intensify the atmosphere and enhance the readers' experience of the sexual tension.

9. Play with power dynamics: Explore power dynamics between characters, such as a power imbalance or a push-pull dynamic. This can create a magnetic pull and increase the sexual tension as the characters navigate their desires and boundaries.

10. Employ the element of surprise: Introduce unexpected moments or situations that catch the characters off guard and heighten the sexual tension. These surprises can lead to spontaneous or forbidden encounters, increasing the anticipation and desire.

Remember to balance the sexual tension with the overall tone and genre of your novel, ensuring it aligns with your intended audience and fits organically within the story. With these tips, you'll be able to craft captivating scenes that sizzle with sexual tension, leaving readers eagerly turning the pages for more.

Happy writing!

#novel writing #writing #writing tips #character development #writer on tumblr #writerscommunity #writer tumblr #writblr #writing advice #love prompts #writing block #writing help

[yeonzzzn]

🪞mirrors: lee heeseung

a vampires bleeding series: seven / seven

pairing: heeseung x afab!reader word count: 11.4k

synopsis: as heeseung's secret gets revealed, along with the long history behind the secret, to you and the mates of the pack, they are all steps closer to ending this war with dorian and stopping his evil plans once and for all. with dorian's betrayal still fresh for you, you join the group to help put dorian down.

genre: enemies to lovers, vampire!heeseung, doctor!heeseung, vampire!reader, angst, some spice and fluff.

warnings: mentions of blood, swearing, one sex scene but it's spiced not full on smut, cute heeseung ♡

☾ jungwon(1) | jay(2) | jake(3) | sunghoon(4) | sunoo(5) | niki(6) | heeseung(7) ☽

You watched as Heeseung twirled the silver blade with his fingers, his eyes staring you down. 

The place where he burned your skin with the blade was throbbing. Your body wasn’t healing it fast enough, and probably wouldn’t. If the blade was made specifically for him, the vampire king, the blade was made to kill and leave scars. 

You scoffed, a small chuckle leaving your lips. 

Heeseung tilted his head, lifting his leg to rest against the chair he sat in, “Want to share with the class what you think is so funny?” 

You glanced into the darkness behind him, not wanting to make eye contact with him, “I was told you’re a doctor. How could the vampire king settle for such a low-class job as that.” 

Heeseung was at your side in a second, the blade inches away from your neck, “I am a doctor, which isn't a low-class job. I’ve saved lives, helped people, and healed people…It is not an easy job. When you’re stuck living for eternity you should put yourself to good use.” 

You rolled your eyes, “But you’re the king, what need would you have to help others!”

Heeseung scoffed, inching the blade closer, “Because I am not the monster I was created to be.” 

You sat still, not knowing how to respond to him. 

Heeseung removed the blade and sat back in the chair across from you, “When will you answer my questions?” 

You shook your head, “When will you stop asking?” 

Heeseung chuckled, “You’re in the presence of the actual vampire king and you still want to defy me?” 

“Just because you’re a king, doesn’t mean my loyalties sit with you, plus I can tell this isn’t the way you normally are,” You leaned forward as far as the rope tied around your body would let you, “You’re not some tyrant, or someone to torture anyone. This is all an act.” 

Heeseung stood from his seat quickly, his golden eyes burning at you. You struck a nerve. 

“I will do what I have to, to protect my pack!” he growled, “Unlike you, whose loyalties sit with a man who won’t be coming for you.” 

You sat back in the chair, not wanting to believe the words coming from his mouth. You don’t know how long you’ve been trapped down wherever you were, but you know it’s been days, maybe even a week and Dorian has yet to try and find you. You weren’t in a pack with him, so trying to find ways to get him to know where you were or sensing where he is, was hopeless. 

Heeseung knew you knew he was right. He could see it all over your face. 

There was a knock on the door, and then it slowly opened, Jungwon stepped in. 

“Hyung,” He called out, “We are all here.” 

Heeseung nodded, relaxing his body and his glowing golden eyes turned back to the coco brown. 

You stared at Jungwon, piercing daggers into him. 

He side-eyed you, his fist clenching, “Say something.” He snapped.

You smiled, “You’re the leader of the pack yet you still follow behind this king. Shouldn’t you be the king?” 

Jungwon smiled back at you, “The king needs his leader, doesn’t he?” 

Your smile faded. You knew their pack was close with their bonds, but you didn’t think it would be that tight. Most packs fight for the leadership role.

Heeseung walked out of the room, and Jungwon followed behind him, leaving you alone once again. 

“Got anything?” Jungwon asked. 

Heeseung shook his head, “The only thing I’ve gotten out of her is she thinks being a doctor is a low job for a king and that Dorian would come for her.” 

Jungwon rolled his eyes, “So the same shit.” 

Heeseung sighed, “Unfortunately.” 

They opened the door that led into the safe room, quickly closing and locking it behind them. 

Sunghoon and his witch mate sat at the kitchen table, her jumping up at the sight of Heeseung. 

Heeseung narrowed his eyes at her, “I told you to stop that.” 

The witch softly smiled, “We do this for our kings and queens in our covens, it’s not a habit I can get rid of overnight.” 

Heeseung knew his title coming out to the mates of the pack was big news. Mostly for the witch and the dhampir.

Jake and his mate got into an argument after Heeseung announced his title officially to them. 

“I have been in the presence of the vampire king my whole life and never knew?!?! We were all friends for so long!” The dhampir paced back and forth in the living room, “I’ve been so rude towards Heeseung!!” 

“My Luna Nova, please calm down, it's okay!” 

“No it’s not!” she snapped, “How could you have kept something so important away from me?!?”

The vampire king has been told in legends to be the most powerful vampire, and if the king was in a pack, his power amplified the number of members in the pack. 

So to call Heeseung weak is far from the truth. 

Jungwon called the others to sit at the table, “We need to make a plan to get Dorian’s followers to spill everything she knows.” 

Sunghoon wrapped his arms around his witch, “Why not let the hex girl here use her magical powers to get her to open up?” 

Sunoo chimed in, pointing at his elf mate, “My magical girl can help.”

Heeseung disagreed, “Using magic on her isn’t going to work. She’s too strong-headed.”

“I wouldn’t know what kind of magic to use anyways,” the elf added, “Using magic on a vampire is a difficult task, your brains and bodies don’t work the same as others.” 

The witch agreed, “You vampires are the undead, you weren’t naturally created creatures to begin with, so to use any kind of magic on you guys would be difficult, like __ said.” 

“And I am assuming threatening her is not working?” The dhampir asked. 

Heeseung nodded, “Her loyalty is also very strong with Dorian still, nothing will change that.”

The room fell silent. Everyone’s brains are working overtime to figure something out. 

“And we have been to Dorian’s compound multiple times over the last week,” Jay pitched in, “Still no traces of him or his followers either.” 

Jake covered his mouth with his hands and then his eyes lit up, “Have we thought about checking the farmhouses again? and the town where __ coven was?” 

The witch stood up quickly from her chair, “He could have found our underground sanctuary. There’s a library down there along with other magical items.” 

Sunghoon stood up beside her, furrowing his brows, “Why are you just now telling us about this hex girl?!” 

She rolled her eyes, “Oh shut up bloodsucker!” she snapped at her mate, “It’s heavily guarded and I assumed after Dorian burnt down the town and killed my entire coven that he wouldn’t be able to find it.” 

The dhampir quickly pulled her phone from her pocket, “I’m calling Archer.” 

Heeseung stood in silence, thinking of how this could go. 

Niki shook his leg with impatience, “What if Dorian is there and __ is with him?” 

Heeseung patted the maknae’s shoulder, ready to open his mouth but was stopped. 

“Archer said he’s felt a force nearby for the last hour!” the dhampir announced. 

Niki stood quickly from his seat, “When are we going.” 

Jungwon knew from the look on Heeseung’s face what the plan was, “Not everyone is going.” 

Niki whipped around, “Hyung!” he begged Heeseung, “If __ is with him!” 

Heeseung placed both hands on Niki’s shoulders, “If she is with him, I’ll bring her back. The moment you step foot near them she will run.” 

Niki wanted to fight, but didn’t, understanding. 

Heeseung looked around the room at his pack, “I will go alone.” 

“What? Fuck no! That’s stupid!” Jake yelled. 

“Are you fucking crazy?!” Sunghoon snapped. 

“Hyung, what are you even thinking?!” Niki and Jungwon asked. 

“Listen, Mr. Vampire King,” the witch scoffed, “This isn’t something to do alone!!” 

The elf agreed, “You need someone with you!” 

The humans even disagreed, “Bring someone with you!” 

Heeseung smiled at his family, happy with how big it had grown. Remembering a time it was just the seven of them. 

“I have something special to protect,” Heeseung yelled over the chaos, his family settling down, “I have eleven of you to keep safe.” Heeseung had a plan, it just didn’t involve his family. 

“Hyung!” Jungwon projected, “What do you even plan to do? Huh? Just walk in there?” 

Heeseung smiled again, “When I meant going alone, I meant without you guys.” 

Jungwon furrowed his eyes, “I am not following?” 

Heeseung nodded his head towards the door that led to you. 

You tried to force your way out of the ropes, twisting and turning in every way possible. 

You had to make it out of there and back to Dorian. You needed to tell him Heeseung was the vampire king. It would speed the progress of his ruling so much faster. 

As if on cue, Heeseung and Jungwon opened the door, Jungwon slamming it shut behind him. 

You smile, “Well well, isn’t it the King and his follower.” 

Heeseung grabbed the back of the chair, tilting it backward, your feet lifting from the floor. 

His face was inches away from yours, his silver special blade was also inches from your skin. 

“I don’t have followers, I have a family.” He growled, his eyes burning. 

You glared at him, not letting this tactic scare you anymore. 

He smirked, letting a small breath out as he clicked his tongue, “We are going on a little trip, if you behave you’ll get to die with Dorian at your side.” 

Before you could say a word, Jungwon covered your mouth with a cloth. Your head spun and your eyes slowly closed. Your world going dark. 

—

You woke up to the sun shining down on you. You slowly sat up, your head still spinning. 

You took in the area around you. The grass was burnt and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. 

You quickly covered your mouth the more you looked. Houses were burnt to the ground. Bodies spread throughout the land. 

“It’s a sad sight, isn’t it?” 

Heeseung’s voice made you jump. He was knelt, a patch of dead grass in his hands. 

You could see the pain on his face, “What happened here?” 

Heeseung sighed before turning his head to look at you, “This is what Dorian did. He destroyed this whole village and killed an entire coven, just to get the secret to the powers he wields now.” 

You shook your head, not wanting to leave it, “He didn’t do this! He said he threatened them and took what he wanted!”

Heeseung softly chuckled, “This whole area is proof of what he’s done. The only one who survived this incident is the witch in my pack, she lost everything because of Dorian.” 

You wanted to argue back, that you knew Dorian better than anyone else. He’s the one who turned you into a vampire after all. Found you after you were almost murdered in the street by some criminals, he saved you and took you in. It’s clear to you that the soft side of Dorian was a fake. That this was his true nature. 

“Stand up,” Heeseung Demanded, pulling you up by your arm, “Your lord and savior Dorian is in the secret underground library fixing to steal more magic from this lost coven, and you’re going to help me stop him.” 

Heeseung pulled you forward, his hand tightly wrapped around your arm. 

You listened to every demand, all the fight left in you was gone. 

The entrance to the hidden library was no longer hidden, proof in itself that Dorian was inside. 

Heeseung pushed you along, making you go down the steps first into the darkness. 

Small candles sat on the walls to light the path, sending you both down until the path became flat, a brighter light shone down the pathway that led to the opened door of the library. 

Heeseung’s grip on your arm got tighter. Dorian was down the hall and you were terrified of what to expect. 

“How nice of you to join us,” Dorian said as you both walked into the small library, his face planted in the book in his hands, “I was starting to worry when we’d meet again.” 

“You knew we were coming?” Heeseung scoffed, slowly pulling his blade from his pocket, “That means you have my youngest mate with you, ya?” 

Dorian closed the book, his shit-eating grin plastered on his face, “My dear __, please say hello to our guest.” 

The young vampire walked around the bookshelf, a couple of books held close to her chest. 

Heeseung grinned his teeth. He could feel the pain she was feeling being away from Niki, her swollen eyes said it clear enough. She hasn’t slept since being pulled away from him. It was eating her alive. 

“__,” Heeseung called to her, “You don’t have to side with him!” 

She looked away from him and down at the ground. Heeseung could see the battle she was facing. To drop everything and run towards him to return to Niki’s side, or to keep her loyalty to Dorian. 

“Please, Niki needs you.” 

Her body shook at the sound of her mate's name, and she took a step forward towards Heeseung, only for Dorian’s hand to lift, making her stop. 

“She belongs to me,” Dorian chuckled, “You can’t just take what’s mine.” 

“She doesn’t belong to you!” Heeseung snapped, his fangs starting to come to a point, but not fully, “She isn’t bound to you!” 

You couldn’t bring yourself to look at Dorian, you felt the betrayal of getting yourself captured, but also the betrayal that he’d destroy a whole village and coven, just for his gain. 

You then had the idea to expose Heeseung as the king, hoping that maybe Dorian would take you back. 

“How about a trade then?” You said, finally looking up at Dorian, begging him with your eyes, “Take the good-for-nothing girl who mated with the enemy and give her to Heeseung to trade for me.” 

Heeseung could smell your bullshit, his blade quickly pressing to the side of your jaw, the same side he already burned. 

You bit your tongue to keep from crying out, trying to keep your composer, showing proof you were still useful to Dorian. 

Dorian threw his head back in laughter, “Oh this is great! Y/N, do you think I would trade you for __? She’s mates with their youngest, she can help sense where they are if they come near me. What good are you for?” 

The pain from Heeseung’s blade no longer affects you after Dorian’s words. 

Your knees gave out, dropping your weight to the floor. Heeseung let you fall.

Heeseung was more pissed off now, “Give my pack member.” 

Dorian shook his head, “She’s useful to me.” 

Heeseung tightened his grip on his blade, looking back at the young vampire, “__, choose the side that’ll take care of you,” he softly spoke, “You’d have Niki again. You’d have a support system, a family.”

Heeseung could see the gears turning in her head. The way her heart rate picked up and the grip she had on the books in her hands, her knuckles were white. 

Dorian could see it too. The betrayal that was about to happen. 

She used all her strength to tear the books in half and throw them to the floor. Heeseung knew she was choosing him. 

But Heeseung could also sense what was about to happen. 

Dorian reached out, his hand gripping her neck and lifting her off the ground. 

“You idiot! After all I have done for you!” 

Heeseung acted fast. Using all the strength he had into a full sprint. The blade made contact with Dorian’s wrist, slicing his hand clear from his arm. 

Heeseung quickly grabbed __, tossing her off to the side and out of the way. 

Dorian screamed in agony, his hand gripping the nub of his arm, the sizzling sound of his skin burning echoed with his screams. 

“What kind of weapon do you have there hmm?” Dorian said through gritted teeth, “For it to be so strong to cut through my limb and burn it so quickly that not even a drop of blood fell.” 

Heeseung held the blade up, ready to use it once again, preparing for Dorian’s next move, “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you improvise on weapons to be created to help protect yourself and your family.” 

Dorian evilly laughed, “You and this family bullshit!” 

Heeseung heard enough and swung his blade back at Dorian. 

Only for the next turn of events to surprise Heeseung. 

Dorian jumped backward, transforming into a bat. 

“Well that’s not something you see every day,” Heeseung hissed. 

A chuckle came from the bat before he speedily flew out of the library. 

You saw this as your opportunity to run, but your legs wouldn’t move. 

Dorian made it clear he didn’t want you or even need you. 

The young girl knelt to your side, softly touching the burn on your jaw, “Heeseung!” She called out, “She’s not healing!” 

Heeseung knelt in front of you, taking your chin between his fingers, tilting your head to the side, “It will with time. But the scars will remain. My blade wasn’t made to heal.” 

Heeseung dropped his hand, staring at you and your lost face. 

You refused to look at him.

Heeseung scoffed softly, and stood up, walking away from you and towards the door.

“__,” he called out, “It’s time to go. We have things to discuss and I need to return you to Niki’s side so the bond doesn’t do any more damage to either of you.” 

She stayed by your side, her hand settling on top of yours, “We can’t leave Y/N here.” 

Heeseung raised a brow, “Why the hell not?” 

The girl’s eyes pleaded with him. Heeseung wanted to say no. It wasn’t in his playing cards to return home with the follower of Dorian. 

“Please, Heeseung,” she begged, “Y/N helped take care of me and treated me as if I were her sister, just like you do with Niki as a brother!”

Heeseung clenched his fist. The thought of bringing you back made his skin crawl. But he also knew leaving you here wasn’t something Heeseung would normally do. He can’t leave someone who needs help behind. 

He relaxed, looking away from the girls.

The young vampire knew Heeseung agreed to bring you along. 

“Y/N, let’s go.” 

You wanted to protest, to demand to be left alone. There was nothing left for you. 

You pushed __ away. 

To your Surprise, Heeseung was back at your side, pulling you up to your feet. 

You stared up at him, eyes locking together with him. 

A shock was sent down your spine, and by the look on Heeseung’s face, you knew he felt it too. 

He let go of your arm, stepping a few steps back, running a hand through his hair, “Let’s go. We need to get back.” 

—

You fell asleep in the backseat. Your left side leaned against the car door as you slept. 

Heeseung stared at you through the rearview mirror, watching as your chest raised and fell with every breath. The burns on your jaw are still a bright red. 

His heart raced looking at you. His hands softly loosen their grip on the steering wheel. 

“Your heart rate better be picking up pace because you feel like shit for hurting her!” the young one hissed. 

Heeseung glared down at the youngest pack member, “Why would I feel bad? She tried to hurt my family. My only goal today was getting you back and killing Dorian.” 

She rolled her eyes, “You were going to kill her too! I could feel your kill lust, Mr. Vampire King.” 

Heeseung quickly looked at her, “How did you know that?” 

She glanced out the car window, “The moment Niki and I bonded together, I could feel just how powerful your, well our, pack is. It wasn’t hard to put together.”

Heeseung looked back at the road, “Dorian doesn’t know?”

“No. He still believes the old king is still in power,” she looked at Heeseung, “How long has the old king been dead?” 

Heeseung dodged the question, “Why didn’t you tell Dorian if you knew?” 

She looked back out the window, dropping her head into her hands, “I couldn’t betray my pack like that. Even if I wasn’t officially in the pack at the time, I couldn’t hand over that information so easily to Dorian.” 

Heeseung knew she did it to protect Niki, and left it at all. 

You all pulled up at the safe house, Niki being the first one out of the house and at the passenger side door before the vehicle even came to a stop. 

“Oh my god,” Niki breathed out, pulling __ from the car and into his arms. 

Heeseung watched the maknaes embrace each other. Their bond is fully completed. The warmth of their love soothed everyone. 

You stayed in the car, watching as the young ones held each other tight. The other ones with mates follow suit, embracing their mates close to their bodies. Holding onto them tightly. 

Heeseung looked over at you, watching as you watched his family. 

His heart pulled to you, and he knew there wasn’t any stopping this, even if he tried. 

Heeseung reached over and tapped your knee, your attention being put on him. 

“If you want to run tail back to Dorian, be my guest, I am not going to force you here.”

You looked deeply into his eyes, scared of what this feeling was that was pulling you to him. You sat in silence, not knowing how to even respond to him. 

Heeseung rolled his eyes, removing his hand from your knee, ready to turn back around and get out of the car. 

You reached for his hand before he could, causing him to turn fully back towards you, “I can’t go back to Dorian,” you whispered, “He would just kill me the minute I got too close.”

You rubbed your thumb over the top of his hand. Half of Heeseung wanted to rip his hand away from you, the other half wanted to close his hand tightly around yours. 

“Why haven’t you killed me?” You finally asked, “You’ve had plenty of time to do so.” 

Heeseung tucked his lips between his teeth, debating on even continuing this conversation. 

“Because you were right,” he sighed, “When you first said this wasn’t who I am, some tyrant who tortures people…that’s not me.” 

You could see the hurt behind his eyes as he said this. 

Heeseung is a powerful king who has a pack of twelve under his thumb, being the most powerful vampire mixed pack in the world. Every other king that has ruled, did so with thousands of vampires at his side and was a solo hunter. Heeseung has single-handedly outdone every king before him. 

Yet his undead heart was still so pure and full of life. He became a doctor to help others…no wonder no one knows that the old king is dead and that he was the new one. Heeseung never once gave any hints he was a king. 

You held his hand tightly, looking down at the rings that wrapped around his fingers, “I will follow you.”

Heeseung furrowed his brow, “What?”

“Did I stutter?” You said, making eye contact back with him, “My loyalty is with you now.” 

Heeseung looked away from you, shaking his head, “You’re only saying that.” 

You squeezed his hand, “No I’m not. I’ve seen what you can do, and I know what you can accomplish. Plus you need me if you want to kill Dorian.”

Heeseung glanced at you, “I am listening.” 

“I know what his plans are, and where he will be hiding next.” 

Heeseung’s heart was telling him to let you in. To bring you close and never let you go and end Dorian once and for all, after all the harm he has done. But his brain was telling him differently. To let you in long enough to set the goals to kill Dorian and let you back out into the wild. 

“What reason do you have to kill Dorian and join forces with us?” 

You slowly blinked at him, “The things __ and myself have had to endure while living in that compound…being brainwashed into thinking he cared for us…” You shook your head, trying to push out the terrible memories that you’ve suppressed, “I want him dead just as badly as you.” 

Heeseung nodded, closing his hand around yours, “We have a lot to discuss then.” 

—

“WOAH NO WAY!?” the witch slapped her hands onto the table, her long black braid hair flipping behind her as she stood up from the seat, “You’re telling me you vampires can’t turn into bats on your own?!”

“Oh shut the actual fuck up!” Sunghoon hissed, grabbing his mate's arm and pulling her back into the chair.

You confusingly glared at the witch, “He got the spell to turn into a bat from your library…?”

Sunghoon sighed, “Just ignore the hex girl, she’s being stupid. Said the same shit when she saw my reflection.” 

The witch quickly whipped her head to her lover, her black nailed fingertips gripping his chin, pulling towards her, “Watch your tongue bloodsucker, I might hex you.”

Sunghoon smiled warmly at her, quickly planting a small kiss on her lips. 

You looked away from them, only to see every couple in the room either in each other's arms or hands tangled together. 

What have you gotten yourself into? 

Heeseung cleared his throat, “We need a solid plan before chasing after Dorian. He has more tricks up his sleeve than we thought.” 

You softly scoffed, trying to hold back a laugh.

“Something funny, public enemy number one?” Sunghoon raised a brow, “I don’t think you have any reason to be laughing.” 

“Sunghoon!” Niki’s mate snapped, causing glares from Sunghoon. 

“Nah,” he shook his head, “You both worked under Dorian’s thumb and are the reasons for all the bullshit we have gone through.” 

“Baby,” the witch said, wrapping her small hands around his bicep, “They were brainwashed, mostly __. If she could have run away from Dorian I am sure she would have. Mostly after meeting Niki. She was protecting him. Just like you would have gone to hell and back to protect me.”

Sunghoon slumped down into his chair, letting his mate win. 

Sunoo on the other hand, didn’t let the conversation end. 

“No, but, I still want to hear what Y/N thinks is so funny?” Sunoo clasps his hands together, leaning forward against the table, “What could be so funny?”

You glared between Sunghoon and Sunoo, both their eyes glued to you. 

“You are all the strongest pack in the world, following under the fucking vampire king!” you snapped, pointing a finger at Heeseung, “What other plan do you guys need to kill Dorian?!”

Heeseung slid his hands into his jeans pockets, tilting his head up, looking down at you, “Because I am not going to use my title as an act of power. I have a family to protect and cannot just go head first into a war.” 

Jungwon continued, “We don’t know what tricks Dorian has up his sleeve like Hyung said. We could walk into a trap and get us all killed,” Jungwon pulled his mate close to him, “Unlike you, Y/N, we have something bigger to protect besides just ourselves.” 

You were defeated. You couldn’t feel the bond that they all share, you would have no way of understanding. You’ve only ever looked out for yourself. 

Heeseung knew this conversation was going nowhere but in circles. He glanced up at the clock on the wall, the hands hitting midnight. 

“Let’s call it a night,” He yawned, “Most of us have jobs and school tomorrow.”

Niki and __ both groaned.

“Jesus Christ there’s two of them now.” Jay sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his fingers. 

“Is sending them two to school the best course of action?” Jake chimed in, “Wouldn’t Dorian know where to look for them?”

The elf jumped up, “Nope! I amplified my scent-covering spell with the help of our witchy friend, all our scents have completely been covered. Hee, Jay and I can return to the hospital, Niki and __ can return to school, and the others…can do whatever it is you guys do.” 

Jungwon clapped his hands, “We will split into search teams while those with jobs work and the teens are at school,” he glanced over at you, “You’re going to be stuck with me and Jake tomorrow.” 

“Lovely,” you whispered. 

Heeseung stood up, and by reaction, you did also, causing the rest to look at you weirdly. 

“He’s the king…do you guys not…react?” 

Jake chuckled, “We’ve known this man since way before he became king, we don’t use formals with him.” 

Heeseung raised his brows, “Wow okay I am going to bed.”

Heeseung made his way out of the kitchen, before popping back up quickly, “Make sure the teenagers sleep in separate rooms.” 

“Hyung!” Niki snapped, his face flushing. 

“Your mate and Y/N can share a room.” Jay added in, “We have enough spares for them to share a room.”

You agreed, not wanting to sleep alone anyway. 

Jay’s mate shows you and __ to the room. Two twin beds sat on opposite sides of the room. 

“Thank you,” you said, giving her a small smile, but your smile faded once you saw the bite mark scars on her neck, “Dorian did that, didn’t he?” 

She quickly covered her neck with her hand, “Yeah…he did. If it wasn’t for Jay and the others nearby, I would have died.” 

You wanted to apologize but knew apologizing wouldn’t be good enough. No amount of sorry will fix the mess Dorian created. 

So you settled for a nod and walked into the room. The young vampire follows behind you. 

—

You pulled your jacket around your body, as you knelt to the ground. 

Watching as Jungwon and Jake drank from their blood bags. 

Jake caught you staring. You quickly looked off into the distance. 

“Have something to say?” Jake asked between sips, “If you want a bag just ask.” 

Jungwon reached into the cooler bag pulling a blood bag out and tossing it to you, “You need to drink, looking kinda pale.” 

You held the bag in your hands, watching as the dark liquid fell to one side. 

“Problem?” Jake asked, bringing you back to reality. 

“No,” you shook your head, “Thank you for the blood.” 

Jungwon and Jake watched carefully as you ripped the bag, drinking the blood down. 

“You’ve never drank from bags, huh?” Jungwon laughed, clearly teasing you.

You nodded, “Dorian made us hunt for our meals, I am honestly surprised __ was able to take to the bags so easily. She was the only one out of us who drank from bags.” 

“Well when you’re stuck as a teenager forever and have no choice but to attend school, you can’t kill your classmates.” Jake shrugged. 

You sighed, “She still drank from humans, just not her classmates.” 

The conversation turned awkward. 

“Well, I have to piss soooo…” Jake stood up and ran off in the distance. 

You finished your blood bag, handing the empty plastic back to Jungwon, “Thank you.” 

Jungwon nodded, “We need you at your highest strength if you plan to stick around long enough to kill Dorian and be on your way.” 

You didn’t know how to respond to that. How could you tell the leader of this pack that you want to stick around even afterward? That you want to serve under Heeseung. 

But you knew they didn’t work that way. There wasn’t anyone from the outside that was with them besides __ twin brother, but that’s different. 

Jungwon’s giggles pulled you out of your thoughts. He held his phone in his hands as his thumbs went from zero to a hundred typing a message. 

“What’s funny?” you decide to ask, to clear the silence. 

“__ sent me a cute photo of herself saying she misses me.” He smiled brightly, “I want to return to her as quickly as possible.” 

You couldn’t help but smile at him, “It must be nice to feel love like you guys do.” 

Jungwon slid his phone back into his pocket, his smile growing even wider, “It is. I knew from the moment I met her that she was someone I needed in my life.” 

Your heart cried out for them, “I am so so sorry, Jungwon.” 

He looks at you, confusion written on his face, “For what?”

“For what Dorian has caused,” You tried to hold back your tears, “I was hunting with him that night, and he randomly disappeared, just to come back later talking so much nonsense about a girl he wanted. How she was important to his plan, I encouraged him to find her. I have no idea she was a part of your pack at the time, or else I wouldn’t have said anything.” 

Jungwon looked away from you, his lips between his teeth. He released a sigh before returning his eyes to you, “Don’t apologize for something you have no control over. It’s my fault this mess happened.” 

You narrowed your eyes, fixing to protest when he held a hand up to stop you. 

“I brought __ to the clearing that night,” he took a deep breath, “I could have taken her anywhere else, and I chose that place. Her blood is just…” Jungwon rolled his eyes as if he were in a daze, “The smell of it drove me crazy. The sound of her heart beating. It was all like a drug to me. I wasn’t thinking straight.” 

You could tell how badly Jungwon was beating himself up over what happened. 

You placed a hand on his shoulder, the leader side-eyeing you, “But you still have her,” you consulted him, “She’s alive and breathing because you met her, who knows what would have happened if Dorian got to her first before you did.” 

Jungwon nodded, “I know, and Dorian will pay for even attempting to touch her.” 

Jake suddenly appeared again, “I think we should call it a day,” he placed his hand over his heart, “I need to return to my dhampir.” 

Jungwon checked his watch, “Yeah it’s getting late. The teens should be back from school. Heeseung, Jay, and __ should be returning from the hospital too.” 

—

Another night worth of discussing plans to stop Dorian and find his other hidden locations was an endless circle. 

You and the young vampire told the group about multiple different buildings and compounds that he owned and could be at. 

“Since he knows we are coming for him now,” the maknae girl said, “He’s more than likely going to be moving around between them all.” 

“So it’s a game of catching him at the right place.” Jay groaned into his hands, “Why can’t this ever be easy.” 

Jay’s mate stood behind him, her arms wrapped around him tightly, “We will find him, just keep pushing.” Jay nodded, taking her hands in his. 

The dhampir bit her nails, her brain’s gears moving quickly, “Archer has also been searching the areas and hasn't caught his scent or presence either.” 

You couldn’t help the lack of Heeseung at the table or even in the house. The chair he normally sat in was empty. 

“Where is your king?” You finally spoke. 

Jay glanced over at the empty seat, “He got caught up at the hospital. An emergency surgery got scheduled and he just happened to be the doctor that was there when the patient was rushed in.”

You nodded, still in awe that these vampires were even remotely okay with being in a hospital. 

Jungwon rubbed his temples, “I say let’s call it a night,” he stood from his seat, “Sunghoon, the dhampir, and Sunoo are on search duty tomorrow.” 

Everyone nodded in agreement and made their way to their rooms. 

You woke up in the middle of the night, seeing __ slowly tip-toeing her way across the room. 

You quickly sat up and turned the lamp on, her freezing in place. 

“Sneaking off?” You crossed your arms.

She slowly turned towards you, “Oh no, absolutely not.”

You raised a brow, “You’re literally a seventeen-year-old, what else would you be sneaking out of the room to do?” 

She shrugged her shoulders, “Late night snack?” 

“Get back in bed, __. If you get caught in Niki’s room...” 

“Then guard it for me!” She quickly said, “Stand in the hallway and if you hear any signs that someone is awake, tap the door once and I’ll rush out. Easy!” 

You disagreed, “That sounds like a terrible idea!”

Yet you found yourself sitting on the floor beside Niki’s room. 

His room was only down the hall from yours, so it wasn’t like across the house that you and __ would have to escape to. 

You listened to the giggles coming from the teens. Their whispers talked about their school day and how well soccer was going for Niki.

You couldn’t help but smile, being very happy that __ was able to find happiness outside that damn compound. 

You were so distracted by the teens, you didn’t notice that a bedroom door was opened, and someone was standing in the hallway. 

Not just anyone. Heeseung. 

He didn’t notice you at first. His bare feet tapped against the floor. His shoulder hangs loosely around his hips. The only thing he had on was a towel wrapped around his shoulders. His perfectly toned body is on full display. 

You tried to control your breathing but then remembered everyone in this house was some kind of mythical creature with good ass hearing. 

Heeseung turned and looked at you, his brow raising, “What the hell are you doing on the floor?” he whispered. 

You tried to find the right words to say without giving away what was happening. 

But Heeseung’s eyes darted between you, and the door beside you.  

Heeseung rolled his eyes, carefully making his way towards you. 

You quickly and quietly stood up, placing your hands against his chest, “Shhh!!” you whispered, “Nothing is going on I promise.” 

Heeseung stared down at your hands against his bare chest, then slowly made eye contact with you. 

You realized what was happening, and quickly removed your hands from him, “Sorry,” you said, hushed. 

“What are they doing in there?!” he aggressively whispered.

“Being two kids in love,” you whispered back, “They aren’t doing anything they shouldn’t.” 

Heeseung went to take a step around you, only for you to follow. 

Heeseung smoothly wrapped his arm around your waist, pressing you against the wall without making a sound. 

His free arm lay above your head, the other slowly squeezing your hip. His face inches from yours. 

“Why are you trying to protect them?” he whispered, his eyes scanning your face. 

You laid your head against the wall, “Their lives were taken from them way too soon. Trapped at the same age while the world grows and changes around them. Let them be kids.” 

Heeseung pressed his forehead against yours, his breath hitting your lips, “What is the safe word you two agreed on?”

You rolled your eyes, “You're seriously not going to let them be?” 

“The code, please,” he growled.

You submitted, “Tap the door once.” 

Heeseung released his grip from your waist, lifting away from you, his left arm still above your head, keeping you trapped. 

He barely tapped on the door, it opened a second after.

“Oh…Heeseung…” The young one whispered, the embarrassment on her face. 

Niki groaned in the background, “He’s going to kill me.” 

She looked between Heeseung and you, confusion on her face. 

“Both of you go back to bed,” Heeseung barely said above a whisper.

She nodded, carefully closing Niki’s door and walking down the hallway. 

Heeseung fully moved away from you, shifting his head in the direction of your room. 

You nodded, slowly walking away.

“Y/N,” he whispered to you. You turned and faced him, “All our lives have been taken from us way too soon,” he gripped the towel around his neck, “None of us will get to fully experience life the way we should have.”

You didn’t know what to say, all you knew was he was right. 

“We just have to make the best of it,” was all you could say. 

Heeseung nodded, “I am not mad about tonight. They will find ways to be together. I’m just a protective big brother I assume.” 

You understood where he came from. __ was like a younger sister to you. And after the way she betrayed Niki, you knew Heeseung only was doing the best he could for the younger one. 

“Go to bed your highness,” you teased him, slowly walking down the hallway and into your room. 

Your heart racing at the full realization of the state Heeseung was in. How you touched his bare skin. 

Chills went down your body. 

Heeseung smirked at hearing how fast your heart rate went up. He made his way into the bathroom for a nice shower after his long shift. 

—

You followed behind the elf as she led you to Heeseung’s office. 

She yawned into her hand, saying how busy of a day it’s been already. 

You could only nod. You couldn’t help but feel inferior to the other women in the pack. Mostly because Dorian is the reason why most of them were even put in this spot, to begin with, and since you followed behind him…you were part of the problem. 

Another doctor came up to her, asking for help on a patient, and she immediately accepted. 

“Y/N,” she turned and gave you a big smile, “Doctor Lee’s office is that way,” she pointed down the hall, “It’ll be Doctor Park’s office first and then a few more doors down will be Lee’s.” 

You nodded, watching as she walked back in the opposite direction. 

With a sigh, you continued down the hall. 

You stopped and peeked inside Jay’s office through his door window. His mate sat on his desk with both hands on either side of her. 

She was smiling so wide with him as he pressed his forehead against hers, their nose slightly brushing together. 

You softly smiled, then continued a few doors down to Heeseung’s office. 

Heeseung was typing away at his computer, looking back and forth between some X-ray scans and the computer screen. 

You knocked on the door before opening it, Heeseung slightly glanced up at you and then back at the scans. 

“What brings you here?” He asks, rolling his chair over to his counter, and placing the scans on the backlit wall, the bones from the X-rays becoming more apparent. 

You closed the door behind you, taking a small glance around his office, “Jungwon sent me to get more blood bags.” 

Heeseung groaned, “Shit, I forgot.” He typed something quickly on his computer and stood up, “I will go grab the box. Be right back.” 

With Heeseung gone, you took the time to look more around his office. 

His doctor's license and certificate from graduating sat in one massive frame. 

A few drawings that you assumed were given to him from children he had helped. 

Multiple different pictures hung on the wall. A bunch were of him and the pack. Only one looks recent. Recent as in before the events with Dorian. 

The seven of them looked happy with pure smiles on their faces. It warmed your heart knowing that they were able to smile like that. 

One picture caught your attention. It was a painting. Hung in a really old frame. The painting itself you could easily tell was very old. Yellowish tint from its age shown with some paint in areas peeling. 

Heeseung was in the painting with what looked like his parents and an older sibling. 

The four of them had smiles, but for some reason, it broke your heart. 

You wanted to reach out and touch it but quickly pulled your hand back when the office door opened. 

“Okay,” Heeseung trailed in with a massive box in his hands, “I was only able to fill up one box. I’ll have to bring the other home later.” Heeseung used his foot to kick the door closed. 

He set the box down on the counter, dusting his hands on his black slacks. 

“Sorry it took so long, another doctor walked in—,” Heeseung turned and looked at you, his face growing concerned, “Y/N, what’s wrong?” 

You tilt your head to the side, “Hmm?”

Heeseung walked over to you, “You’re crying.” 

You quickly touched your fingertips to your face, feeling how wet your face was. 

You quickly wiped the tears away, but they kept continuing to fall. 

“Hey hey hey,” he said, his hands removing yours from your face and replacing them with his. His soft palms cupped your face, his thumbs wiping away the tears, “Y/N, what happened?” 

You couldn’t answer, or couldn’t give him an answer. You still didn’t understand why you were crying in the first place. 

Maybe it was the pressure of everything. The events that would unfold once Dorian was found. The fact that none of you could survive after this or everyone would live happily ever after with Dorian gone.

Maybe it was the painting on the wall and the fact that Heeseung was taken from his family. That the man standing in front of you, you were slowly falling for and the thought of him giving up his life for the rest of his pack scared you. Because you knew he would. 

“Y/N,” he called for you again, the tears still falling, “Baby, speak to me what’s wrong?” 

Heeseung lifted your face to look at him, his faded purple hair falling in his face. 

You took a deep breath, “The painting.” You decided to tell some truth. You couldn’t tell him the full reason. 

Heeseung glanced at his family's painting, then back at you, a soft giggle left his lips as he smiled, “Baby, you’re crying over a painting that’s older than time?” 

You rolled your eyes as he continued laughing, “It’s not funny!” 

He wiped the last bit of your tears, “What makes it not funny?” 

You just looked at him, trying to get him to read your answer off your face. 

“Y/N,” Heeseung sighed, “I am okay,” he cupped your face firmly, “My family is my pack now. I am not alone. If that’s what you’re worried about.” 

Heeseung could tell you weren’t telling him the full truth. But what place did he have to force you to tell him? To open up to him? And not open up just because he’s the king, but because you want to. 

But all you did was nod at him. Trying to push the rest of the feelings away. 

Your eyebrows furrowed, “Wait did you call me baby…twice?” 

Heeseung giggled, giving a small smirk, “Yeah I guess I did.” 

Without a second of hesitation, Heeseung’s lips were attached to yours. 

It was just one passionate kiss, and he parted from you. 

Heeseung dropped his hands and took a few steps back, “I uhhh…” 

You were more in shock than Heeseung was. 

As if on cue, the intercom speakers paged for Heeseung to go to the nurses' station. 

“Saved by the bell…” He awkwardly chuckled, slowly walking backward and out of his office. 

Heeseung quickly closed the door behind him, leaning against it as he stared straight ahead. 

What did he just do? Nothing has ever choked Heeseung up like what he just did. He’s a fucking king for crying out loud. 

Heeseung patted his face a couple of times, before walking to the nurses station. 

—

The house was silent. Heeseung could hear the tectonic plates of the earth moving from how quiet the house was. 

He tossed and turned in his bed, the only thing on his mind was you and the way your lips felt against his. 

He wanted to go to you. To bring you close to him and hold you tenderly in his arms. 

God, he hated the string of fate. He hated to be put in this situation, to begin with. He knew this pull towards you was his fate, but it was a question of when the string would just knot if it even would. 

Heeseung couldn’t take it anymore, his mind was driving him insane. 

He sat up in bed, ready to bolt out of his room when you opened the door. 

Heeseung sat frozen, watching as you slowly closed the door behind you. 

“Couldn’t sleep either?” you asked. 

Heeseung shook his head, sitting up more.

You couldn’t stop thinking about him, or the way he held your face and kissed you. It’s been driving your brain wild. 

You wanted to know what it would feel like to be completely held by him. To have his lips connect to yours and not stop. To feel his hands on you…

And the look on Heeseung’s face, you knew he was thinking the same thing. He could read you just as easily as you were able to read him right now. 

“Oh fuck,” he whispered, quickly jumping off his bed. 

He was on you within seconds, his body completely pressed to you as your back hit the door. 

Heeseung couldn’t put his lips on you fast enough. 

Your hands pulled through his hair as his hands roamed your body. 

His lips parted from yours only long enough to pull you on top of him on his bed. 

You stripped each other of your clothes one by one until it was bare skin against skin. 

You gripped his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around your waist as you moved against him. 

His sweet moans filled your ears, “Fuck…fuck…Y/N, oh fuck me.” 

Sex with Heeseung was pure bliss. Even once you both collapsed beside each other after you’ve both finished, it still felt like you were on cloud nine. 

You rolled over onto your stomach, propping your head into your hands. 

Heeseung followed your movements, lifting himself on his elbows. 

He pulled a lock of your hair behind your ear, then slowly traced his thumb over the scar he gave you from his blade. 

“I am so sorry for this…” he whispered. Heeseung couldn’t even begin to describe how terrible he felt marking you like this. 

You noticed an old mirror on the wall across from his bed, you tilted your head to the side, getting a better look at the scars. 

“Don’t worry about it.” You said shrugging it off. 

“No, I can’t just not worry about it!” He snapped, “I’ll have our magic girls fix it in the morning.”

“Heeseung,” you said, taking his hands in yours, “It’s fine. You did this out of desperation to protect your family.” You looked deeply into his eyes, seeing the worry in them, “You have a family to protect. You have your title as king to protect. I do not blame you at all for doing what you had to.” 

Heeseung looked away from you, tangling his fingers around yours, “It doesn’t excuse the fact that I did it.” 

“Stop beating yourself up, okay?” 

Heeseung just nodded. It was all he COULD do. He knew you weren’t going to let the girls heal the scar. 

Heeseung grabbed the blanket and pulled it over your bodies, “You’re so beautiful, you know that?” 

You scoffed and softly giggled, “I never thought I’d hear those words, you went from hating me to hating me a lot less.” 

Heeseung smiled, “We can call it hating you less.” 

You stared at him, your eyes moving over every inch of his face. You would have never thought this sweet, caring man in front of you was the vampire king. 

“Will you tell me how you became king?” 

Heeseung’s smile faded, “It’s…a long story.” 

“We have time. We are undead after all, stuck in eternity.” 

Heeseung sighed, “Well, long story short,” he started, “It was just Jay and myself at the time. Before we officially became a pack, we ran with the previous king.”

You nodded, waiting for him to continue. 

“He was a very…terrible person.” Heeseung’s whole body shook at the memories, “He treated us all like shit. He’s the one who nearly killed Jay and me. Deciding at the last second he wanted more warriors in his rank.” he took a deep breath, steadying his heart race, “It wasn’t until we traveled to Australia and found Jake, that it was the final straw for me.”

You put your hand on his shoulder, rubbing circles around his collarbone with your thumb. 

“He didn’t just turn Jake, there was an abundance of people he nearly killed just to add to his army. And all the women he turned he…”  

Heeseung didn’t need to finish the sentence for you to understand what he was getting at. 

“Anyways, there was a woman I was close with and the king…” Heeseung took another deep breath, “He killed her for disobeying him. I was filled with so much rage, I prepared for weeks on how I would kill him and then I did.” 

Heeseung stared at himself in the mirror, remembering the blood that covered his body. The power he inherited once the king’s undead heart stopped beating and was burned by fire. 

He remembers seeing his golden eyes for the first time, and how sharper his fangs were. 

“After that, I took the king's oath. Had some weapons forged in my honor, and then Jay, Jake, and I fled. We haven’t returned and that was the moment I decided to become a doctor. I wanted to put some good back into the world and show that not all vampires are monsters.” 

You met his eyes in the mirror, “That’s why you all drink from bags.”

Heeseung nodded, staring back into your eyes from his mirror. 

The way you two were both lying, the way your heartbeats synced and matched. 

“It’s like you’re my mirror,” Heeseung finally spoke again.

“What?” You asked, confused. 

“It’s like you’re my mirror,” he repeated, “I look at you and I see my reflection…I see us.” 

The both of you could feel the string of fate tying tighter around you, but still not knotting. 

Heeseung knew something was stopping the knot from completing. But he would wait for eternity if that’s what it took for you to become his mate…his queen. 

“I feel it too, you know.” you whispered, “This pull…” 

Heeseung shushed you, touching his forehead to yours, “We will figure it out, okay?” 

You nodded, trusting your king. 

He went to press a kiss to your lips, but his bedroom door flew open. 

“Hyung we, OH MY GOD!” 

Heeseung quickly covered you completely with the blanket, hiding you underneath. 

“Sunghoon!” the king frowned, “Don’t you know what fucking knocking is!” 

Sunghoon held his hands up over his face and stared off into a corner on the other side of the room, “Jesus fucking Christ, I didn’t know she was still in here.” 

“Still??” you questioned. 

“The whole house fucking heard you two!” Sunghoon retorted, “Anyways, Archer just called __, we found where Dorian is.” 

—

Heeseung slid two silver daggers to his belt loop attachments and pulled his black trench coat over his body. 

Jay laid out a map on the table, circling the area where Archer found him.

“Archer said he saw him entering from that side of the woods,” The dhampir pointed, “Archer said he also had roughly ten other vampires with him.” 

Jungwon stared down at the map, eyes wide. 

“Hyung, what’s wrong?” Niki asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s the place he attacked __ and me that night,” Jungwon’s fist balled tightly, “He’s going back to where it all started.” 

Sunoo looks at Jungwon confused, “What need would he have to go back there?!” 

“It’s because of the clearing,” you said, everyone’s eyes now on you, “The moonlight hits it directly, and on a full moon which is right now…” 

“Our powers are amplified.” Jake sighed. 

“Exactly,” you continued, “And since he has spells and other magic items to amplify it even more…”

“He’d be unstoppable.” Sunghoon groaned, “That’s fucking perfect.” 

“It’s also a trap,” the dhampir chimed in, “We are the strongest pack in the world, mostly because of the fact we have the fucking vampire king, but we have multiple different races of creatures with different abilities.”

“Dorian knew we would narrow it down,” Heeseung said through his teeth, “He’s going to lure us there and use every bit of magic and item he has in his deck of cards to kill us all and inherit our power.” 

“He still doesn’t know you’re the king, right?” Jay asked. 

Heeseung shook his head, “No. We never told a soul after I killed the previous king. I took the oath and the ones who stand under the oath can’t say a word.”

You started to get worried because if things went south, Dorian would be hitting two birds with one stone. This pack and the king. 

Jungwon gritted his teeth, “Who gives a shit what he has up his sleeves, we have what he doesn’t: a family. Finish preparing everything and we leave ASAP.” 

Heeseung agreed, “The humans are staying here, are we all in agreement?” 

Jungwon and Jay’s mates disagreed, but the men agreed. 

Jay held his mate against him, his hands cupping her face, “I can’t lose you, you’re staying here.” 

Jungwon held his mate tight against him, “I’ll return to you, I promise.” 

Everyone finished the preparations and started to head out. 

Heeseung took your hand in his, “Ready to kill that son of a bitch?” 

You squeezed his hand, “More than ready.” 

—

Dorian’s laughter filled the clearing as he sensed the pack coming closer. 

Jungwon made his presence known first. 

“Dorian.”

“Ah! Won! We meet here again.”

Jungwon walked off towards the side of the clearing, “Yeah shit crazy. A full circle.” 

“Where is your pack? Hmm?” Dorian looked around the woods, “I know they are here.” 

Jungwon chuckled, “They are doing the same thing your goof nuts are doing, scouting.” 

Dorian raised a brow, “Goof nuts? Really Won?” 

Jungwon shrugged, “We aren’t stupid like you thought we would be. Flying into here blind.” 

Dorian laughed once again, “Except you did come in blind.” 

Jungwon furrowed his brows, watching as Dorian snapped his fingers. 

A rush of vampires came down from the trees. Jungwon counted more than twenty. 

“Damnit!” growled, “He had more than Archer thought.” 

Jungwon steadied himself, trusting the process. 

Before the vampires could even touch Jungwon, the other members circled him, their weapons drawn. 

Dorian’s vampires jumped back, hissing at the pack. 

You jumped in front of Jungwon, staring directly at Dorian, your blades held up. 

“Now my vamps,” Dorian softly spoke, “You got startled by eight full-blooded vampires, a dhampir, witch, and elf? That’s…”

Dorian’s eyes wandered between you all. 

You smirked, “What’s wrong, Dorian?”

He stared back with the most pissed-off look, “Where is the oldest?” 

“Right here.” 

Dorian quickly turned around right in time for Heeseung swinging his blade, Dorian backed up and Heeseung barely cut him across his chest. 

Dorian’s hands flew to his chest as smoke raised from his chest, “God damn your blades.” He hissed. 

Heeseung twirled the blades between his fingers, “Let’s end this game of yours, shall we? It’s been going on way too long.” 

“Oh it has, and it’ll end with your bodies burning!” 

“GO NOW!” Jungwon screamed, initiating the pack to fight. 

One by one, the pack took down Dorian’s vampires. 

The witch and elf set their hands in a blaze to burn their bodies. 

But the fight with Dorian wasn’t over. 

Heeseung hasn’t fought like this since he killed the previous king. 

Dorian was also on another level than the king. Dorian had spells that he was throwing at Heeseung. Items that were helping boost the spells. 

He also was moving too quickly, making it harder for Heeseung to get any major damage done. 

Sunghoon and Jake jumped the last of Dorian’s vampires, tearing their bodies to pieces. 

“Hex girl!” Sunghoon called his mate. 

She responded with flames to burn the body. 

You looked over at Heeseung and Dorian, seeing the struggle. 

“Guys!” You called to the pack, “Get Dorian!” 

Everyone rushed him. 

Every single one of them had some sort of revenge to get towards him. 

Dorian has threatened the lives of their mates and their family. They weren’t going to let him get away. 

Each member took turns attacking, Heeseung following up every single time. 

You saw an opening behind Dorian and jumped on his back. 

“You fucking traitor!” Dorian yelled, desperately clawing at your arms and dodging the members. 

You fought against his arms to angle your blades at him, “Me? The traitor?! You left me for dead! I worshiped the ground you walked on and stood by your side for hundreds of years!”

Dorian wore a shit-eating grin, “I’m going to fucking kill you all. 

Heeseung’s eyes widened, “EVERYONE GET BACK!” 

Dorian released a burst of energy from his body, catching everyone in the blast in some way. 

Heeseung’s arms burned from the blast. He gritted his teeth, only for his face to fall. 

Dorian held you by your neck, one of your blades shoved into your stomach as your skin also burned from the impact of the blast. 

Heeseung’s breathing became uneven, rage filling him. 

Dorian glances over, “Oh my,” he chuckled, “You’re in love with this traitor here?” 

Heeseung gripped his blades. 

“Hyung!” Jungwon called for him.

But Heeseung toned him out. The only thing he could see was you. 

You slowly clawed at Dorian’s hands, getting lightheaded from the blood you were losing 

Heeseung started to build up his power, causing his brothers to yell at him even more. 

“Heeseung!!” Jay screamed, “Don’t do it!” 

“Heeseung!!” Jake joined. 

One by one each of his pack members yelled for him. 

Heeseung drew in the power he inherited from killing the previous king. 

Heeseung’s fangs came to a point, and his eyes shifted. 

Dorian’s eyes widened as he dropped you to the ground. 

“Oh, this is fantastic!” Dorian wore an evil smile, “This whole time I was hunting for where the king could be hiding, just for him to have been in front of me all along!” 

“__, __,” Heeseung called to the witch and elf, “Get Y/N.” 

Dorian paid no attention to the girls picking you up from the ground and dragging you back to the others. 

Jay kneeled beside you, slightly pulling at the blade stuck in your stomach. 

You let out a small groan of pain, you started kicking and swinging your arms, and Jay stopped moving the blade. Niki and __ holding your arms and legs down.  

“Fuck!” He cursed, his focus going back to Heeseung. 

“Jay!” The witch snapped her fingers at him, “Hey! Focus on Y/N.” 

Jay narrowed his eyes between the witch and you, “You want me to choose between my brother and someone who ain’t even in my pack?!” 

Jake touched Jay’s shoulder, “They are bonded, I can feel it. The string just isn’t knotted.” 

“I can feel it too,” Niki said, “It’s faint but it’s there.” 

“Don’t you fucking let her die!” Heeseung cried out, slowly standing back up to his feet, his knuckles white from gripping his blades. 

“Jay, __ and myself will provide the numbing magic so you can pull the blade out,” The witch said. 

He nodded, the girls hovering over you as Jay slowly attempted to remove the blade. 

You turned your head to Heeseung, your vision blurring. 

“Why don’t you just die already, ya?” Dorian asked, “Give me the power that I deserve.” 

Heeseung held his blades at eye level, “Only thing you deserve is to rot in fucking hell.” 

Dorian cracked his knuckles and ran full force at Heeseung. 

Heeseung pushed forward, pushing his speed past its normal limits. 

He swung the blade, cutting Dorian’s right hand off. 

“Damnit!” Dorian screamed and pushed forward again. 

Heeseung dodged him, sliding across the grass and slicing his Achilles heels. 

Dorian went down to one knee. His fangs made an appearance as he held his only hand over where the other would be missing. 

Sunoo and Jake appeared on both sides of Dorian, grabbing his arms as the dhampir pulled his head back by his hair. 

Jungwon and Sunghoon stood beside Heeseung. 

All their eyes glowed bright crimson and golden. 

Dorian laughed, “You think killing me will be the end? That the rest of my followers won’t come after you now that you’ve shown who you truly are?” 

You regained your consciousness, feeling the pain from the blade that was now missing. 

Jay held pressure to your stomach, as the witch and elf used their healing magic. 

“It’s working,” the elf said, “She’s awake again.” 

Jay slowly lifted his hands, seeing your wound closing up. 

Jay relaxed, looking back over at his brothers. 

You rolled your head over to Heeseung, seeing how they surrounded Dorian. 

“I don’t give a shit who knows who I am.” Heeseung hisses, placing both blades against Dorian’s neck, “I am the fucking vampire king in the strongest pack in the world, no one will dare cross me.” 

Dorian regained his shit-eating grin, “I’ll see you in hell, vampire king.” 

Sunoo and Jake wasted no more time, tearing his arms from his body. 

Jungwon and Sunghoon went for his legs, breaking them apart. 

The dhampir held her grip tightly on Dorian’s hair as he screamed in agony. 

Heeseung, with all his force, pushed his blades through Dorian’s neck, cutting it clean off his body. His blood splattered all over Heeseung’s face and clothes. 

“Babe!” Sunghoon called for his witch, her rushing to his side, her hands bursting into flames and setting Dorian’s body on fire. 

The sun finally rose, and the clearing became quiet except for the sounds of the fire. 

You were able to fully sit up, with the help of Jay and the elf. 

Heeseung hung his head low, slowly placing his blades back into his belt. 

It was over. It was finally over. 

“Heeseung!” You called out to him. 

He loved the way you’d say his name. 

He quickly rushed to your side, helping you stand up. 

“Are you okay? Baby?” Heeseung cupped your face, searching for any more wounds. 

“Hee, I am fine.” You said placing your hands over his, “It’s all over.” 

Tears filled your eyes, and the same did with Heeseung’s. He killed the man who had hunted and hurt his family. 

Heeseung pulled you into a kiss, his arms wrapping tightly around you. 

The string of fate finally completed its knot. 

“It’s because of Dorian,” the young vampire girl said, “He had this hold on them, it was complicating the bond.” 

The witch agreed, “Heeseung and Y/N, probably couldn’t fully let themselves have someone until their duties were done.”

Sunghoon raised his brows, “Do you feel that?” 

The members at that moment felt it. 

Heeseung released his lips from yours, turning to look at his pack.  

You also turned to look and the site surprised you. 

They all were kneeling, heads hung low but in an honoring way. Even the witch and the elf copied the men. 

“What’s going on?” You asked, looking back up at Heeseung. 

He took your chin between his fingers, “You’re my mate now, but it’s not just that. You’re now a queen.” 

You looked back out at your new family, feeling the bonds everyone shared. The respect they now held for you, and it wasn’t just because of Heeseung or that you’re bonded to them now. 

“Okay you idiots, stand up. Jeez, nothing has changed.” Heeseung teased, running over to his brothers, all seven of them huddling together. 

The happiness Heeseung was feeling was indescribable. 

He could finally truly be who he wanted, not just as himself, but as a doctor and even a king. 

Heeseung had a family. He had you. 

And that’s all that mattered in the end. 

“Let’s go home now.” Heeseung said, “We no longer have to live in complete hiding.” 

Heeseung wrapped his arms around you as you all walked together home.

the end ♡

a/n: thank you so much to every single one of you who has inspired me to continue writing this series and who have stuck around since the beginning of this series. I am forever grateful to everyone who has read, liked and reblogged. I hope everyone looks forward to the imagines I have planned for the future. This series is dedicated to you all! <3

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