Tumgik
#and it's down to the DNAs of its structures
variousqueerthings · 2 years
Text
there’s so many ways that queerness exists in texts, unintentionally and intentionally, coded and uncoded and partially coded and baited and confused and limited and expansive, and then there’s whatever is happening with Hawkeye Pierce, M.D. of the 4077th MASH unit
#hawkeye pierce#MASH#there is of course also the constant mist of gender/sexuality queering that hangs over the narrative because of its structure#its structure as comedy (often subject to whimsical departures from acceptable gender/sexualities)#its structure as anti-establishment and anti-conformity#its celebration of non-conformist personalities and lives and its redefinitions over and over of madness and mutual aid#its structure - of course - as found family#its structure as an island in a sea of militant and fascistic surrealism and answering the questions of:#well what does the alternative to that violence look like?#so the idea of intentionality/unintentionality sort of doesn't matter#because it's creating a manifesto/ethos of sorts that speaks the same language as queerness#and it's down to the DNAs of its structures#(not even mentioning the structures of echoing the realities of those making it -- ethnicities - romantic lives - cultures and religions -#friendships and political beliefs - family structures created on the set of the show itself)#but yes hawkeye pierce is depicted as fascinatingly overtly queer and comedy is (like horror... which....) an acceptable space#for him to be this#(which -- when the horror and tragedy takes more of a front seat his funny-man queerness is somewhat diminished#but a. still very much present b. given an air of drama that legitimises it further c. underpinned by seasons and seasons of existence#d. embedded in that self-same DNA of the structures -- he IS the main POV character#which means he's carrying so much of that idea of non-conformity/civilish disobedience as good and right/whimsy/gender-and-sexuality/etc#so you see... there's whatever is happening with hawkeye pierce M.D.
1K notes · View notes
comicaurora · 4 months
Note
Nick Bostrom's "Fable of the Dragon Tyrant," which CGP Grey adapted into a video, left me feeling unsatisfied, and I got a certain unsettling vibe about the entire story.
I don't think it was the dragon's lack of agency, that just makes it an unusually traditional Western dragon.
You're a master at picking narratives apart to figure out why they don't satisfy. Do you have any insight, opinions, or cracktheories about why this story might be unsatisfying to some folks?
Probably because it's a very unsubtle metaphor casting the dragon as death, and death itself as a cruel, malevolent beast devouring and subjugating humanity for its own whims. This is very much intentional on the part of the writer. The paradigm of the story is that the dragon is huge, terrifying and incalculably cruel, and everyone lives their lives in the shadow of its terror or are just too deluded to recognize that it's COMING TO EAT THEM OH GOD
Intrinsic in this metaphorical structure is the idea that the dragon, aka death, is an artificial imposition on the natural order, and if we just got rid of the big ol' mean dragon, everybody would live forever and be fine. Accepting that the dragon exists is framed as a sign of desperation or even cowardice. This is an understandable read when facing a monster that only SEEMS timeless and inevitable (like LeGuin's thoughts comparing the current state of capitalism to the historical acceptance of the divine right of kings) but becomes bizarre when applied to something as legitimately factual as biological death. It's not even framed as unnatural death - the dragon specifically gets sent mostly old people. The metaphor is very explicitly about trying to frame death from old age as a big horrible dragon that everyone only thinks is unstoppable.
I get what they're going for here. The purpose of this story is to make the audience question if death is a true inevitability or if it can be fought, staved off, even defeated. But in the process, the story frames the systems of the world that have formed around death - doctors, pallative caregivers, will executors - as macabre gears in the machine dedicated to the genocidal cruelty of feeding the dragon.
Tumblr media
In the dragon tyrant framing, these people only exist to make the rest of the world more okay with flinging themselves down the gullet of the dragon and to streamline the process by which everybody dies. By casting death as the enemy, everybody whose jobs are based on the compassionate act of comforting and aiding people suffering from loss become reframed as collaborators with the incalculably evil enemy, and everyone who's ever accepted their own death becomes a loser. This is a deeply cruel way to frame people who dedicate their lives to helping people through one of the hardest and most tragic aspects of life.
Tumblr media
Damn, that's fucked up. Look at this eloquent idiot, explaining why we should be okay with letting a big dragon eat us because it's the natural order. Clearly he is wrong and it's not debasing at all to want to stay alive and not get eaten by a big dragon. This is a fallacy of false analogy: death is like being eaten by a big mean dragon. All his arguments look ridiculous when applied to getting eaten by a big mean dragon, therefore they must be ridiculous when applied to dying when your organs start failing because they've been running nonstop for nine decades and biological systems accumulate wear and tear like literally everything else in the universe.
Entropy increases; systems break down, from DNA to planetary orbits. Successfully shoot down the dragon and you'll end up outliving everything you thought was eternal, even the stars. The goal of immortality isn't really to personally witness the sun exploding, it's to have more good time. It's to make your twenties last into your sixties. It's to keep your back painless and your vision good for longer. We want to postpone the story's end as long as we can, and so we extrapolate "more time" into "I never want to die, I want to be young and healthy and hot forever" even though "forever" doesn't exist. To look to "forever" is to understand that your culture and language will drift, your home will eventually crumble out from under you, your shoreline will erode and change, your climate will transform, your tectonic plate will subduct or shatter, your moon's orbit will slow and tidally lock, and eventually your sun will start burning helium and cook your planet. You don't want "forever" to look like that, you want it to look like your twenties felt. But at that point you aren't fighting the Big Mean Dragon That Eats People, you're fighting the ocean and the biosphere and the earth and the stars, trying to hold them in place against entropy so your immortality can have an equally immortal world to enjoy it in. No, this argument doesn't want true immortality, it wants their twenties to last longer. But it can't admit that.
Back to the story. There's a condescending and spiteful tone in the narration. Death (being eaten by a big mean dragon) is OBVIOUSLY awful and we should all be fighting as hard as we can to make it stop happening. Even a child can see it.
Tumblr media
The story even helpfully adds a lengthy moral explanation at the end, in case you didn't understand that the dragon was the inevitability of death and we should dedicate all our resources to figuring out how to make a big rocket and shoot it.
"Nobody should ever die" is generally understood to be a childish dream with extremely obvious and unpleasant consequences that would turn its realization into an unending and waking nightmare, and once out of the confines of easy metaphor, the story tries to act like that wasn't what it was just saying. But its more realistic proposed substitute, "It would be great if people could live longer and have more healthy, youthful years in them," is probably the world's most uncontroversial statement. This story frames it like a bold revelation that the world will attempt to beat down and crush out of a misguided acceptance that Big Mean Dragon comes for us all. It's a morality fable whose conclusion is "I hope science improves the length and quality of our lives, potentially even to the point where we never have to die at all," which has been the number one goal of huge swaths of science since the invention of agriculture. This is not a bold or controversial take. It's just being written as though we're all looking at the naked emperor and pretending he's wearing pants.
602 notes · View notes
Text
It was only supposed to be a simple mission. Red Robin and Nightwing were sent to investigate some magical ruins that might have a lead on one of thier shared cases. Kon had practically begged to come along since he and Tim hadn't seen eachother in a while. Nightwing didn't see a problem with it so off they went.
It was later that night when they were asleep in thier tents (Timm was forced to sleep via the power of kons puppy dog eyes) that something strange happened.
---
Phantom wobbled a bit in flight. He didn't know where or when he was. He had just escaped his parents after they saw Vlad transform and in a fit of rage, Vlad outed Danny too.
Vlad was killed pretty quickly. But Danny? They tried to "fix" Danny. It was only thanks to Jazz freeing him that he could bolt into the Ghost Zone and disappear. And bolt he did. He went so far so fast that he didn't even notice when he re-entered the living realms and just kept going.
Not wanting to make his situation worse, he decided to bed down for the night. His wounds weren't exactly healed but they were closed and that was what really mattered. He phased the blood out of his clothes as he silently approached a camp. Thier fire was out, properly drenched too. Danny had a thought to swipe some food but decided not to. Not out of morality, desperate times and all that, but because he physically couldn't muster up the energy to do anything more than curl up on the grass and pass out from exhaustion.
Needless to say when Tim wakes up the next morning and sees what appears to be a younger version of himself curled up outside he freaks out. He sneakily snags a sample and compared it to his own DNA and, suprise! Its a match. Aside from the obvious marks of cloning in his genetic structure and this odd unknown element sticking to it he was a perfect match for Tim Drake Wayne.
Nightwing woke up to find Tim standing over his unconscious mini and muttering about him being a dad. Dick was glad he packed that expensive coffee. They were all going to need it.
Kon was just excited to be an uncle.
2K notes · View notes
anonymous-dentist · 16 days
Text
Bobby and Roier die together in the midst of a robot uprising 1,678 years after Bobby was born and seven galaxies away. They stop the revolution from happening a thousand years before its time, but at what cost?
Two hours later, Roier sits in another man’s clothes holding Jaiden’s hand as they watch Bobby’s body float peacefully into a black hole. They’re side-by-side sitting in the TARDIS’ doorway, and the universe, for once, is completely still.
“I’m sorry,” Roier croaks, not for the first time. But he’s still surprised by the sound of his own voice, he doesn’t know whose voice it is yet.
Jaiden shakes her head. Tearfully, she leans her head onto Roier’s shoulder.
“Nah,” she says. “Don’t be. He was a hero.”
“He was stupid. I told him not to follow me, and- ugh!”
Roier groans and throws his head back in frustration. God. Damnit!!
Jaiden sniffs. “Don’t be a dick. He saved an entire planet.”
“Yes, and? He still died.”
“So did you, so. So stop moping, okay? Look at him.”
She reaches up with her free hand and guides Roier’s head until it’s facing front again. They watch together as Bobby sinks into the event horizon, and it’s kind of nice, isn’t it? He’s frozen, now. Eternal. You can’t see past the event horizon of a black hole, there’s kinda just nothing beyond it. Just Bobby forever.
Dead.
“I’m looking,” Roier says, words all smushed together by Jaiden smushing his cheeks. “Maybe we should’ve done an actual funeral.”
“This is a funeral. He asked for it, and we gave it to him.”
It’s true. When Roier and Jaiden first met their little stowaway, Bobby hijacked the TARDIS’ controls and steered them towards the nearest black hole just so he could try and kill it. Even after giving up on that whole thing, he insisted that he’d get to fight a black hole one day. He might’ve been a kid, but he was gonna grow up eventually!!
Well. Look at how that turned out, hah.
Roier lets out a quiet laugh through his nose and averts his eyes.
The life of a Time Lord is a lonely one. Being immortal is one thing, but having your entire DNA structure and personality changed every time you die is another. Keeping friends is hard, and keeping them alive is harder.
(Roier curls his left hand into a fist.)
Humans are social creatures, though, and Roier loves them. Sure, he might be a freaky time-traveling alien, but humans are kinda like intergalactic cockroaches, and they can actually cook decent meals, and they were the first creatures in their galaxy to discover the concept of love, so Roier can’t not take them with him when they want to see the stars.
“I want to go home,” Jaiden quietly says.
Roier lets out a breath and nods. “Okay.”
Neither of them moves. They watch their dead son circle the black hole he’s always dreamed of killing, and they cry, and this is it, isn’t it? The end of an era. No more Familioier because Bobby is dead and the Roier that Jaiden met and knew and loved died with him and was replaced with some goofy dude with a new face and new voice and blegh. No wonder she wants to go home, her son is dead and her best friend was replaced with a stranger.
Still. It was nice when it lasted.
-
So Jaiden goes home. Roier drops her off five minutes from when he first picked her up almost a year ago. He even managed to get her in the right city, hell yeah! (Apparently he’s good at driving now, go figure?)
She hugs Roier and makes him promise to come and get her only when she calls him, and she’ll know if he does some time travel bullshit to get her before he’s ready, because she just knows him like that. She’s his best friend, and she’s the best human he’s ever known.
They hug one more time outside of the TARDIS, and then Roier is alone again.
He slips back into the TARDIS and closes the door behind him. He leans against the wall next to it and looks down at his ring and idly rubs it with his thumb.
“Goddamnit,” he mutters.
Time Lords have 12 ‘lives’ before they die. They change each time, both physically and mentally. It’s some metaphysical biochemical bullshit Roier doesn’t care too much about, but. But he’s on life number 12 now. One more death, and they might even get to see each other in the cosmic abyss. He can introduce him to Bobby, wouldn’t that be nice?
…Nah! He isn’t dead! Sure, he might’ve disappeared during the War, but so did, like, half of the planet, and most of those Time Lords have turned up. Some haven’t, but most have! What’s to say he isn’t any different? He’s probably in jail or something, wouldn’t that be crazy?
Roier smiles to himself. Hell yeah, prison time? Time for prison? He’s only got an infinite number of prisons in an infinite number of galaxies in an infinite number of years to dig through, easy!
He’s halfway to the TARDIS’ controls when he hears it: a quick, panicked-sounding knock-knock-knock on the TARDIS’ doors. Which should not be happening, the TARDIS is literally another dimension stuck inside a box, it’s soundproof! What the fuck!
Hesitantly, Roier goes to the door. His hand hovers over the handle until he hears another round of knocking. Then, he swings the door open to see… a guy.
A very surprised-looking guy. Human, probably, though you can never be too sure these days. Green shirt, messy hair, slight beard, chain necklace leading under his shirt. Nice-looking, if not kinda super visibly terrified out of his mind.
Roier’s son has been dead for an hour and a half. He still hasn’t gotten a chance to see what he looks like now- for all he knows, he could be, like, ugly, ew. His best friend has left him to grieve all by himself because she needed to grieve by herself, and he is starting to get just a little bit annoyed by, like. Everything.
Still, he tries to smile when he asks, “Hello? Can I help you?”
“Um,” says the guy, “hi. Sorry to bother you. But… help?”
Giving Roier absolutely no time to think about it, the man ducks under Roier’s arm and runs into the TARDIS, and he only halfway gasps when he sees the whole pocket dimension inside.
Roier briefly wonders, ‘what the fuck?’
And then he sees what this guy was clearly running from: a bipedal robotic polar bear thing easily the size of a horse running towards Roier and the TARDIS with a gun pulled.
Ah.
Roier closes the door and listens as the bear shoots his beloved spaceship. (Piece of shit…!)
That’ll do it.
101 notes · View notes
science-sculpt · 3 months
Text
Tumblr media
Epigenetics: A Journey Through Inheritance Beyond Genes
For centuries, scientists have been fascinated by the mysteries of heredity and how traits are passed down from generation to generation. DNA, the molecule that stores our genetic code, was once thought to be the sole determinant of our characteristics. However, a new frontier in biology, revealing a captivating layer of complexity beyond the DNA sequence itself: Epigenetics.
What is Epigenetics?
The term "epigenetics" was first coined in the 1940s by British biologist Conrad Waddington, but it wasn't until the late 20th century that its significance truly blossomed. Epigenetics, literally meaning "above genetics," refers to the study of heritable changes in gene expression that occur without alterations to the DNA sequence itself. Imagine DNA as the musical score, but epigenetics are the conductor and musicians who determine how the music is played. Through chemical modifications and adjustments to the proteins around DNA, epigenetics dictates which genes are turned on or off, influencing how cells function and ultimately shaping our health, development, and even behavior. Think of your DNA as the hardware: it contains the basic instructions for building and running your body. But epigenetics acts like the software, fine-tuning those instructions and determining which genes get turned on or off at specific times and in specific cells. These modifications, like chemical tags or changes in the packaging of DNA, don't alter the underlying code itself, but they can have a profound impact on how it's read and interpreted.
The Key Players:
DNA methylation: This process involves adding a methyl group to DNA, essentially silencing the gene it's attached to. Imagine it like putting a dimmer switch on a light bulb.
Histone modifications: Histones are proteins that package DNA, and changes in their structure can make genes more or less accessible to the cellular machinery needed for expression. Think of it like adjusting the curtains around a window - open wide for full light, slightly closed for filtered light.
Non-coding RNAs: These are molecules that don't code for proteins but can regulate gene expression in various ways. They're like the backstage crew in a play, ensuring everything runs smoothly.
The Power of Epigenetic Regulation
Epigenetic regulation plays a crucial role in various biological processes, including:
Development: During embryonic development, different cell types emerge from the same DNA blueprint by activating or silencing specific gene sets through epigenetic modifications.
Cellular differentiation: Specialized cells like muscle or nerve cells have unique functions due to differences in their active genes, controlled by epigenetic mechanisms.
Learning and memory: Epigenetic changes in brain cells are thought to be essential for learning and forming memories.
Aging: As we age, our epigenome accumulates changes that can contribute to age-related decline and disease.
Environmental influences: Diet, exercise, stress, and exposure to toxins can leave epigenetic marks on our genes, potentially impacting our health and even the health of future generations.
Epigenetics reminds us that we are not simply products of our genes. Our environment, choices, and experiences leave their mark, shaping who we are and potentially influencing our children's health. This deeper understanding of ourselves opens doors for self-awareness, empowerment, and potentially reshaping our narratives – not just as individuals, but as a species with the potential to leave a healthier legacy for generations to come.
104 notes · View notes
science-lover33 · 8 months
Text
Unraveling the Wonders of the Neuron and Brain (Part 1)
Hey there, Tumblr fam! Today, let's dive deep into the intricate world of neurons and the brain. 🧠✨
Anatomy of a Neuron
Neurons are the building blocks of the nervous system, responsible for transmitting information throughout your body. They have a unique structure, consisting of three main parts:
Cell Body (Soma): This is like the neuron's control center. It contains the nucleus, which houses the cell's DNA and controls its activities.
Dendrites: These branch-like extensions protruding from the cell body are the neuron's antennae. They receive signals from other neurons or sensory receptors, transmitting these signals to the cell body.
Axon: Think of the axon as the neuron's transmission line. It's a long, slender, cable-like structure that carries signals away from the cell body, toward other neurons or target cells.
At the end of the axon, you'll find axon terminals, where neurotransmitters are released to communicate with the next neuron or target cell.
Physiology of a Neuron
Neurons are all about transmitting information through electrical impulses and chemical signals. Here's a quick rundown:
Resting Membrane Potential: Neurons have a resting state where the inside is negatively charged compared to the outside due to the uneven distribution of ions (like sodium and potassium) across the cell membrane. This creates a potential difference called the resting membrane potential.
Action Potential: When a neuron receives a strong enough signal (usually from dendrites), it can generate an action potential—a rapid change in membrane potential. This electrical signal travels down the axon like a wave.
Synaptic Transmission: When the action potential reaches the axon terminals, it triggers the release of neurotransmitters into the synapse, the tiny gap between neurons. These chemicals bind to receptors on the next neuron, initiating a new electrical signal.
The Marvelous Brain
Now, let's shift our focus to the brain—the command center of your entire nervous system. 🌟
Your brain consists of various regions, each with specific functions. Here are a few key areas:
Cerebrum: This is the largest part and is divided into two hemispheres, each responsible for various cognitive functions like thinking, memory, and sensory perception.
Cerebellum: Located at the back of your brain, it plays a crucial role in balance, coordination, and fine motor skills.
Brainstem: Situated at the base of the brain, it controls basic life-sustaining functions like breathing and heart rate.
Hippocampus: Essential for memory formation and storage.
Amygdala: Involved in processing emotions and emotional memories.
And there's so much more to explore!
References:
Bear, M. F., Connors, B. W., & Paradiso, M. A. (2016). "Neuroscience: Exploring the Brain." Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Purves, D., et al. (2017). "Neuroscience." Sinauer Associates, Inc.
Kandel, E. R., Schwartz, J. H., & Jessell, T. M. (2012). "Principles of Neural Science." McGraw-Hill Education.
These references will provide you with in-depth insights into the fascinating world of neurons and the brain. Remember, your brain is a universe waiting to be explored! 🌌💡🔬
Stay curious, Tumblr pals! 😊🧠
Tumblr media
Tumblr media
155 notes · View notes
holybibly · 5 months
Text
Divine Rosa  ❢ot8xreader❣ 
Tumblr media
❣ Pairing: yandere!otx8 x reader
❣ Genre: Dark Romance, vampire au, angst, horror, yandere au, smut
❣ Word Count: 8.5k
❣ Summary: The moth always pours itself into the flame; what a pity that in the end it burns out. After the tragic death of her sister, MС tries to find answers to the questions she left behind. This leads her to a gated cottage town known for its luxurious rose gardens. In addition, there are also these mysterious men who manage all the affairs in the city. Too sweet, too helpful, too intrusive, and too in love.
❣ WARNING: only!18+ Themes of death, suicide, severe depression, stalking, blood, yandere behavior, panic attack. Sexual themes: hematolagnia, body worship, masturbation, bite kink, olfactophilia, voyeurism.
❣ Disclaimer: I don't support yandere behavior, stalking, or religious imposition. Themes include violence, obsession, possessiveness, and emotional or psychological manipulation. This book is intended solely for entertainment purposes.
❣Chapter 2: Wolf in sheep's clothing❣
Love is a word that deserves closer consideration, halfway between the dry hypocrisy of the dictionary and its deep sacral meaning.
What a strange feeling…
Love, both virtuous and vicious, motivates us to accomplish great feats yet also triggers the commission of heinous crimes. This mysterious and inexplicable feeling interweaves its complex structure within us, becoming the most unstable, contentious, and hazardous of all human emotions.
Love is the fundamental source of all our emotions and experiences in the world, both beautiful and disgusting.
Love has a multitude of motives, including the desire for control, submission, care, seduction, lust, protection, worship, creation and, of course, destruction.
The feeling is manifold; We can call this complex emotion by different names, including passion, hatred, obsession, alienation, objectification, mania, unattainable dreams, happiness, idolatry, spiritual unity, and possibly the most poetic of all—the second half of the soul.
Humans crave love from birth until death. This desire is inherent and everlasting. As we take our first breath, we unconsciously absorb the toxic essence of love, which settles in our lungs like delicate, silky flowers.
This need is woven into the very structure of our DNA, an animal instinct that inadvertently condemns us to eternal suffering.
Love exists as a palpable entity, often obscured by human perceptions of carefree happiness and joy. It can be likened to a lurking deep-sea creature, concealing its true visage, branching and moving under the thin surface of our skin.
She is as cunning as a murderer's grin, and she is well aware of the inevitable tragic end of every story she is about to tell. Though we may be in the belief that we have had a joyful life, in reality all our actions have been under the impulse of love. For the sake of this deceptive feeling, which unites us for a moment in the ecstatic joy and privileges of angelic ugliness.
In the end, our physical bodies will serve to feed the earthworms, to house the larvae and to nourish the roots.
Never again will they gaze into each other's eyes, never again will the turquoise flame passion between them ignite, and never again will their lips meet in a voluptuousness kiss. 
Love has the power to drive us insane, to blind us, and even to lead to our demise.
And yet, in life, it is possible to miss everything but love.
· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·
 3rd POV 
I want to fill my mouth with your name. I want to eat you whole. Pablo Neruda, Twenty Love Poems, and a Song of Despair
“You look pathetic, San. Don't you think so? I wonder what Seonghwa would say to that?” Yeosang lazily runs his pale spidery fingers over Yoru's silky black fur, looking with contempt at the naked brunette stretched on a pile of knocked-down sheets and pillows.
The rings on his hands burn with blood, like the eyes of the Devil.
San looked blissfully relaxed and languid, like a caressing predator. His golden skin seemed to glow from within with an otherworldly glow as the translucent sunlight greedily licked his body with its soft touch.
Still, there was something vaguely animalistic, almost primitively predatory, about him, which in no way connected him with the arrogant aloofness that was inherent in the entire vampire race.
There was hot blood running through his veins, making him even more dangerous.
He was unbridled.
“I don't care what Seonghwa says, if he says a word at all in the next few centuries. Personally, I would prefer that his magnificent body continue to rest in the coffin for a very long time.” A smug smile played on his sensual lips. “And unlike you, my dear brother, I don't hide my true desires.” A slow, almost lazy glance from San's silvery eyes swept over the slender body of Yeosang sitting in the chair, lingering for a moment on the pale pink patch of soft skin on his temple.
He imagines, not without pleasure, how, with particular cruelty, he tears it from the porcelain face of his beloved brother with his long claws, leaving behind a wet, gaping wound.
San hated it. His birthmark is indisputable proof of his connection with his beautiful Rose.
The sign that binds their souls tightly into a single whole.
He should have found her first that night.
“Look at you, Sangie. You act like a coward, hiding in dark corners and wandering in her dreams. Perhaps I could understand you if your wayward antics gave her pleasure. If our Rose woke up with your name on her lips, all wet and needy, so desperate for more.
You have to ignite her passion and her desire to be loved, make her feel special, and fill her with thirst and hunger for our touch and our love. All her thoughts should belong only to us. But how did we end Yeosangie? Tell me, huh? Our Rosa has an animal terror before you. Sarang is afraid of you. Isn't that really pathetic? You know, I can smell that sweet scent of fear on her sheets.” San buried his face in the soft fabric of the silk pillow on which Sarang usually slept and took a deep, slow breath. “So damn delicious… I want to eat her whole.”
All he wanted now was to feel her from the inside, so that her scent would stay forever in his lungs, merge with his blood, be absorbed into his skin, and become an integral part of it.
God, he is prepared to worship this woman and idolize her in every conceivable way. 
She was his.
Not in some figurative or metaphorical sense, no. She was his everything. A soul that fills the shell with his dead body, blood black as night, that runs through his veins, his thoughts. Every second of his life. San couldn't tell where he ended, and she began, for you were two halves fused together into a single breathing living being.
The beginning and the end of his life
If he could know death, which was no longer possible for him, he would be happy to suffocate on that heady aroma that was spinning his head like a powerful drug. And to do so until death takes him into his arms.
How beautiful would his death be! Silk sheets, roses, and Sarang are the only true loves.
“She smells so divine, Sangie; how can you resist this temptation?” His back arched gracefully. Under the golden canvas of the skin, the jagged vertebral bones were outlined, and the flexible muscles were stretched like tight velvet ribbons. The relief of his chiseled abs pressing against the bed, his thighs rushing up, creating a perfect s-line.
He moved so smoothly. A large predatory cat, draining gross sexuality and animal dominance. A true erotic vision, fringed by the diffused glow of the lazy midday sun. The smell of her fear brought out the worst in him and made him crave to devour her heart and soul, but he couldn't do it.
“You don't know shit, San. You come here whenever you want and act like a cranky kid, pouting and expressing anger because you couldn't get her first. What a pity, because I was the one who made the connection. I can feel her; I can feel her in my veins; I don't have to act like a bitch in heat fucking her bed.” Yeosang's voice was indifferently cold, so deceptively calm, but San could clearly hear the poisonous malice in every word he said.
It looks like he hit a nerve.
“You tell me you'd never been in my place, Yeosangie?”  San grinned, and on his cheeks appeared charming dimples. “You never could lie;you always spilled everything to Seonghwa like a good puppy at the first snap of his fingers. You should ask Wooyoung to teach you some lessons if you want to play games with me. We all know exactly what you do, so didn't be shy about it, honey. Do you think you can hide from Hongjoong your little dream manipulation, constant stalking, and night visits? Or how pathetic and pathetic you look, whining and wriggling like a whore when you come in with her dirty laundry, which you hide under your pillow. Oh my God, what will Seonghwa say when he finds out? You should care. Our good boy has gone to the dark side; he's going to be so disappointed that he lost his mutt. Although you know, maybe you and Wooyoung aren't as different as I originally thought. He's just as pathetic a puppy as you are, my beautiful brother, and look how that turned out for him. Perhaps you'll be the next one to end up in a coffin. I'd change my behavior if I were you. Bad boys get punished.” There was mockery and outright bullying in his voice.
That's right, they were family; their loyalty to each other was an unbreakable blood oath, and if necessary, they would be willing to die for each other. Blood is thicker than water. But the bond they shared with Sarang was different from anything that could be explained. She wasn't a missing part; to think so would be foolish. No, she was a part of themselves, a part of their dead souls, filling their bodies with a semblance of life. Something extremely more dangerous than any possible blood bond. A bond where the lines between reality and fantasy, obsession and morality, understanding and rationality were blurred.  And that bond was the reason, why Wooyoung, Yunho, and Seonghwa were still resting in their luxurious coffins. Iron, velvet, and crystal—so completely different, so frighteningly the same.
San remembers with pleasure how good it felt to drive stakes into their black hearts. The spell would be broken with a kiss. Perfectly. He hopes their sleep will be eternal. This time, it should be different. He will be the first, yes. San will be first—not Seonghwa, not Hongjoong, not Wooyoung, but him.
That's right. Everything will be the way it should be from the beginning. After all, he was the one who started it all.
Once upon a time, Sarang belonged only to him.
“San…” Yeosang hissed menacingly, digging his bony fingers forcefully into the soft feline fur, causing Yoru to meow painfully and curl up into a ball in his lap. His fangs bared, scratching his plump lower lip, and black veins trickled in an intricate pattern down his thin neck.
The brunette laughed and rubbed his cheek against the soft fabric of the pillow, covering his eyes dreamily.
The silk felt wonderful against his bare skin.
“You hiss like a kitten; will you show me your sharp little teeth?”
“You'd better watch out for your tongue, or I might rip it out.” The fierce gaze literally stabbed him. It burned and penetrated to the core of his being.
“I dare you.” The bloodied lips opened, allowing the pointed tip of his tongue to traverse the tortured, swollen flesh, licking away the blood that seeped to the surface.
“Let his lips be like rose petals - red as fresh blood.” Said the Queen Witch.
San covered his eyes and completely ignored the angry brunette. He loved to play with fire. It was his nature. If it had been Hongjoon or Mingi in Yeosan's place, he might have thought twice before poking the tiger with a stick, and of course he would never intentionally offend Seonghwa; the outcome of any of those confrontations would not have been in his favor. But this was Yeosang - airy and gentle as melting snow.
The shadows of San's long eyelashes lay in a lacy pattern on his heart-wrenching cheekbones. They were one of the most striking features of his appearance - sharp and angular - and they made his face a masterpiece. A creation skilfully crafted by the hand of a master.
Yeosang's beauty was soft and angelic, the kind of beauty one might see on the faces of the winged, plump cherubs beneath the vaulted ceilings of Gothic cathedrals. He had once admired their beauty so much, especially when he tore their flesh with his claws and tore baby, fluffy wings from their pale, soft bodies.
Such an exquisite, decadent taste.
San's beauty was of a completely different kind: vicious, dark and hypnotic. Chiseled like the eternally frozen perfection of a pagan marble god, every line of his face was sharp and deadly seductive. From the feline cut of his eyes, shimmering with silvery immortality, to the capriciously curved corners of his plump lips, always inflamed and soft, so tortured and tender from incessant biting and kissing…
San's appearance was sinful.
He was the most desirable of all nightmares, the special kind that seduces the girls of the church, then fills his bathtub with their blood and organizes orgies in the bloody pieces of their torn bodies. San was formidable and intimidating, but his aura was alluring and seductive. The terrible prospect of an inevitable end and death had never looked so appealing. Maybe he was having an affair with you, or maybe he was going to kill you. There was lust, danger, and rage. There was a delicate balance between horror and desire, as if he were the embodiment of both the horror and the charm of God. He was the man everyone secretly dreams about when they caress themselves before going to bed, in a cold, lonely bed.
He was the person who made you feel uncomfortable in your own skin and who made you experience a shivering sensation of fear that would spread over all of your exposed areas.
San was undoubtedly that person. Despite the potential for his eyes to linger on your skin, his presence was desired. Exquisite wounds, reminiscent of blossoms from damaged tissue, were created by his razor-sharp canines.
Death and sex were not enough for San; he had a craving for disorder and hot sensations.
He always wanted more, whether it was blood or pleasure. He never felt satisfied.
His sole desire was Rose—just her alone.
“Do you smell that Sangie scent?” San inhaled deeply again that intoxicating divine scent, resisting the urge to savor her flavor like a dog, choking and whimpering. “Mmmm, I want her so badly. I want her whole, every fucking cell of her body. She's driving me crazy.”
Sarang emitted a scent that was distinctly sharp and overpowering in its fragrance. Reminiscent of aged wine, it was infused with the bitterness of dark chocolate, the piquancy of red pepper, and the sweetness of roses. It tastes like sin and blessing at the same time. Like a slight saltiness akin to the tears she had shed, he longed to lick them off her rounded, flushed cheeks. The fruity sweetness of illicit fruit. The taste of his own blood. The metal and thick aroma of their sexual encounter. Thick as semen and honey.
San wants to have her. Wants her to love him. He desires his love to be reciprocated as fervently and passionately as he does.
His only wish is her love.
Although it is not enough for him to possess her love, he wants her to have an intense and almost sadistic affection for him—one that goes beyond what seems possible. He yearns for her to destroy him. Because he's confident in Sarang's ability to do so. He needs more. More than she could offer him, more than she could ever agree to. He is but a slave, created to worship her.
San's aim is to belong to her; he would go to any extent, even to the point of destroying the entire world, if that is what it takes to achieve that. The value of her love is immeasurable, and his objective is absolute.   She is the center of his life and the very essence of his being.   She is the haunting presence in his dreams, a seductive force that both seduces and tortures. The midnight idol of his desire, the serpent that dwells around his heart, tempts him to sin.
San craves her love so much, and that need is so painful, so all-consuming, and so twisted. If need be, he would kill her with his own hands, just to be sure that no one else would ever have her.
Sharing her with his brothers was like hellfire burning him from the inside out, but it was a paltry sacrifice he could make in exchange for her love.
This time, he won't let her go. This time, not even death would dare separate them. Saran will be his. She will be theirs. In life. In death. Forever and ever.
Soon.
It will happen so soon. San can't wait for the day when his Goddess is beneath him, in the cage of his body, sprawled on the black velvet of his bed. With his fangs deep into her sweet flesh, and she will screaming his name in a haze of ecstatic pleasure.
He would make her see stars. San will take her all the way to the doors of Heaven.
“San,” “San,” “San,” “San” over and over, until her voice completely collapses to a painful wheeze, until he absorbs every tiny sound she makes, every moan, every breath, every barely perceptible note, until all she will remember is his name.
Until Sarang whispers right into his lips, “I am yours.”
Soon.
In the meantime, San can patiently wait. He will wait as he always has, obediently and without complaint. He will be such a good boy. San will wait obediently, as he has done for centuries and centuries before. Until the time is right to pursue his desires, he will take all that he has dreamt of, and God will save the souls of those who get in his way.
Right now, he thinks he could die here — in her bed, surrounded by the lingering warmth of her body and her maddening scent. He would like nothing more than to show her all his passion and devotion and all the love he could give her.
He dreams of running his lips over her skin and tasting her until his whole face is wet and glistening with her juices. He will fuck her into oblivion until night turns to day and then drown her in tenderness, worshiping her caress-weary body as an obedient slave should.
Sometimes, he thinks it's not normal—the feelings he has for her. Such love simply cannot exist. How can someone love someone so much? Is it normal to hate the very existence of nature and the heavenly bodies for being able to see her beauty, which should belong to him alone?
However, these were only momentary musings until he regained his composure, dispelling any doubts. How could he even question his love? It felt so perfect and effortless, like breathing. How could such thoughts even enter his mind?
Her love was a life worth living.
It was destined since the dawn of time, when spirits roamed the earth, the sun was young, and the old gods had not yet vanished. She belonged to them, and they belonged to her. They sensed her first breath on their lips. He felt. 
Their love bloomed again—a blood rose.
Soon…
These fantasies drove him mad; every cell ignited with the desire to possess, awakening his animal predatory nature. The ugly nature of his genuinely depraved being.
He pictured Sarang biting into his neck and taking possession of him. She aimed at him as if he were nothing more than a thing, a toy for her amusement.
“Say my name, Sarang. Express your fondness for me and acknowledge that I am your only one. I want you to own me and claim me as yours. Say my name until it burns your lips. Again and again. Drink my blood, bite me to death; I'm nothing more than your slave, just a pathetic means of pleasure. Hit me. Hurt me, I beg you. I need it so badly. Please, my love, I am begging you to love me. Love… Love me so much until it kills me. That is what I wish for.”
His hips moved smoothly, grinding his arousal against the rumpled bedclothes. San moaned, breathlessly gasping as he found the perfect angle to satisfy his intense desire for release. He needs to cum; he couldn't leave here without cumming. He buried his face in the pillow, panting and whimpering like a wild animal possessed. His primal instincts demanded he leave his mark on her, to possess her and fuck her into oblivion until her belly bloated from the amount of cum pouring into her and her head felt light and empty.
His claws lengthened, digging into the mattress, leaving sickening jagged stripes as his hips moved uncontrollably, continuing to rub his throbbing wet cock against the silken folds of the crumpled sheets.
The sounds he made were almost heavenly.
Soft, extended moans that turned into pitiful sobs. He sounded like an angel in the throes of passion.
In his fantasies, San imagined drinking from her as long scarlet streams of her sweet blood ran down their naked bodies, staining everything red. How deeply he entered her body, seeing the imprint of his cock on her flat stomach as her neat, pointed nails plowed into his back into gaping lacerations.
His teeth clenched as he let out a hoarse moan, the sound vibrating deep in his throat. San needed to cum; he was on the verge of madness. The need for pleasure was more obvious than anything around him at the moment. The transparent essence of his arousal dripped down onto the sheets, sticking to his golden, wet skin with every movement of his muscled thighs.
His thoughts returned to the dark, vicious images of hot animal sex. A fine shiver ran down his entire body.
He will run his tongue along every contour of the intricate bloody lines, licking up every last drop. First, the longest neck-open and vulnerable to his insatiable mouth, then lower down the hollow between the heavy breasts, rising in time with her labored breathing. His lips would close around the hard pink nipples, scraping them with his teeth, making her squeal and gasp. Lower down her flat belly, where the flowers of his hungry kisses and hard touches bloomed. Until his tongue is between the moist puffy folds of her pussy, he runs the pointed tip along the soft silken flesh, plunging deeper into the tight hole where blood mingles with her natural sweetness. He wants to feel the velvety, wet walls of her vagina clench and quiver around his tongue.
“Sarang!” His voice was hoarse, and his hands gripped the sheets beneath him with such force that his knuckles turned white, almost tearing the skin.
He looked pornographic.
San was so lost in his fantasies that he had completely forgotten about Yeosang, who was still in this room, until he was reminded of it with a sharp, painful tug of his hair. Long, thin fingers gripped the dark, damp strands with force and tilted his head back rigidly, revealing a view of a strong neck with veins swollen from exertion and beads of sweat running down her
“Here we go, such a pathetic, stupid bitch.” Yeosang said it with mockery in his voice. His lips curled into a wicked smirk, and San could feel it on his skin as the brunet whispered in his ear. “Look at you, you're nothing more than a slut; where's your pride, San, eh? The great general of the dark army, the heartless ice prince, the ruthless Ripper, is nothing more than a drooling whore shamefully rubbing his cock against the sheets.” Yeosang's fingernails dug painfully into his scalp, tugging harder on the long silk strands the color of night.
“Yes, yes, keep calling me that.” His request sounded like a plea. All Yeosang's words made him move faster, almost in desperation.
The rhythm of his hips became erratic and uncontrollable. He was close. His teeth clenched as he let out a hoarse moan, the sound vibrating deep in his throat.
“Are you imagine fucking her, Sannie, hmm? Or what would it taste like? I bet the taste will be heavenly; she's sweeter than ever in this life. Oh no, I know exactly what you're thinking.” A mocking chuckle escaped his ruby-red lips. “You want her to bite you.” Those wicked lips pressed against the frantically beating pulse point. “Right here.” Yeosang's teeth sank with force into the flushed skin of San's neck—that particular sensitive spot on his neck beneath a scattering of pale freckles.
San's eyes rolled back in pleasure, his mouth opened in a silent moan, and his hips shook with the intensity of his orgasm. Thick, hot cum splattered onto the sheets, staining them with the pale, milky liquid.
The brunet unclenched his teeth, releasing the tender skin. The bite mark was wine-red, with swollen incisor impressions and drops of black blood in the hollows. A poisonous flower, tempting to know sin.
“Sannie, look at the mess you'd made. Truly a royal fuck. I always thought it was more Mingi's style.” Finally, thin but surprisingly strong fingers let go of the silken strands, allowing San to rest his face tiredly against the pillow. His whole body relaxes after the overwhelming orgasm. The entire pillow is soaked with drool and sweat, and semen cools beneath his stomach, sticking uncomfortably to his skin.
He opens one eye and looks up at the vampire leaning over him with a lecherous smile.
“Would you like to join me, my beautiful brother? We still have a few hours before she gets home.” The brunet rolls onto his back to make room for Yeosang in the bed. His fingers run along the sculpted curves of his abs, scooping up the viscous, pearly liquid and sliding it into his mouth. “Mmm…” A long tongue swirled around his fingers, licking up every drop with lazy, slow pleasure.
“You're disgusting, San.” Yeosang puckered his lips in disgust, looking around at the brunette sprawled on the bed. He turned sharply on his heels and strode away from the room;  to he pick up Yoru on his way, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, in his arms. “Get up; we have to go. Hongjoon is calling us.”
“You're not leaving the cat?”
The brunette turned around over his shoulder, meeting his gaze with San's silver eyes.
“June misses his darling; for our little girl, it's time to come home.”
San propped himself up on his elbows, looking at the departing Yeosang. His lips stretched in a satisfied smile full of devilish anticipation.
The time had finally come.
· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·
1st POV
"Feed me to the wolves, let them take my flesh."
“Well, I'm glad to finally meet you in a more relaxed setting, Miss Ahn. Please take a seat.” With an elegant gesture, the man motioned me to a deep leather chair in front of his desk. On the glass tabletop was a silver plaque engraved with the name “Mr. Lee Taeho”.
“Miss An” - how sad and tragic that sounds. I never wanted to try out this role. I didn't like being addressed like that, because it was always Mina, and before her, it was my grandmother, and probably my mother was addressed like that when she was alive.
But here I am, the new Miss Ahn, and unlike my predecessors, I have not sought to carry the weight of this unbearable crown. I don't need the congratulatory ribbons and the wet glitter sequins smeared across my face.
Although there was nothing in the address itself that I could call unpleasant, the tone with which it was always delivered foreshadowed the inevitable tragic ending of its own and tasted of earth and chrysanthemums.
You're bound to end up as one of them; it's not all by chance, Sarang.   Don't kid yourself.
I saw the future as a series of predetermined events, especially after Mina's death. She had the arrogance to dispose of my life as she saw fit, putting chains of obligations and secrets around my neck. I buried her in the ground, and my days became nothing more than a list of dull plans, paltry hopes, and bitter regrets, as murky as the water in the city canals through which a coffin floats. Still, I couldn't help but wonder who would be the next Miss An when I died, or would I be the one to hold that title forever?
There are never any former queens. There are only dead ones.
I could feel the blood flowing faster through my veins.
For a few moments, there was silence around us, thick and enveloping like fog. If I'd felt any hint of confidence as I walked through the tall glass doors of Silver & Black LTD, now, alone with this man, I was floundering in my social insecurity like a butterfly caught in a spider's web. I resisted the urge to squirm under the gaze of his night-dark eyes. Beautiful and terrifying at the same time.
Lee Taeho wasn't just one of Silver & Black's most successful lawyers; he was also a devilishly handsome man.
He was built like a god. Broad shoulders, narrow hips, and a tight-fitting white shirt that accentuated his muscular biceps, bulging pecs, and flat stomach. The image of strength and power was completed by the perfectly tailored, tight-fitting trousers. The rolled-up sleeves revealed several tattoos on his wiry forearms—something in Latin that I couldn't make out.
His face was also striking, with angular, pointed features that would have looked strange and out of place on anyone else, but the luscious, perfectly sculpted lips made them something unimaginable and outrageously beautiful.
I felt uncomfortable under the weight of his scrutinizing gaze. He was looking at me like I was something special, but not in a sexual or romantic way; rather, it was the look of an explorer who had found an unexpected treasure in a pile of rubbish.
“I honestly didn't expect you to have any free time in the next few months, so thank you for seeing me at such short notice.”
To be honest, I knew absolutely nothing about Silver & Black until Soomin told me about them on the way here. Soo turned out to be absolutely right when she told me about them. This place was the epitome of the arrogant domination of money and power—cold, glassy, and sterile, like a morgue where the remains of all “happy stories” are taken.
I could never belong to such a place, but I could easily imagine Mina here, with her developing blood curls and the unemotional grandeur of royalty. People like my sister were part of that 'proper' society so suited to closed Sunday clubs and icy glass offices. Like all of her kind, Mina was a great predator, used to labeling people and giving them her own names and definitions. She knew exactly how to make those around her feel uncomfortable with just one look.
Some people have everything, others nothing. It's as cruel and true as the inequality of love.
I still didn't understand how Mina had so much money to afford the services of this company, but judging by how polite and “sweetly” the receptionist greeted me at the entrance, she was very much appreciated here.
Blood of my blood.
“You have nothing to thank me for, Saran.” He said that, and I looked back at him in surprise. It wasn't so much the fact that he allowed himself a familiarity that surprised me, but the way he said my name—as if it had always belonged to his lips. It was as if he'd said it over and over again until the intonation was perfect.
My heart beats fast in my chest, but I couldn't tell if it was fear or something else entirely.
“We will always make time for you. If you'll allow me to be frank, I've left a few free hours each day, just in case you decide to call me. Honestly, I expected it to take a little less time on your part, but who am I to judge you, Sarang?”
“But why?” I tried to gather information and put it together in a way that wasn't absurd. I didn't want to assume anything.
“Why? Do I have to explain? Maybe I just wanted to see you; you're a beautiful girl, and I'm a great admirer of the beautiful. He smiled, seemingly satisfied with the embarrassment that must have been written on my face. I could feel the heat spilling over my cheeks, turning them a painfully inflamed shade of red.
I had never been a girl with a 'cute' blush. I was more like a girl burned by the gold of the sun, pressing her cheek directly against the boiling, bubbling surface of the sun.
Taeho lightly drummed his perfectly filed nails on the glass tabletop, completely ignoring my obvious embarrassment at the situation, and continued:
“But let's say that this is due to the fact that your dear sister was a valued client of ours, whom everyone here at Silver & Black LTD sincerely appreciated. Miss Ahn was our special customer. All the staff will agree with me; your sister is impossible not to love.”
“A special client?” I interjected. Somehow, that didn't surprise me at all. Of course, it was only natural that Mina was always at the center of the universe. People followed the sound of her voice like rats behind the magical melody of the flute.
“Are you surprised, Sarang? Your sister has helped our firm in many ways, bringing us new clients and introducing us to the 'right' people, making our firm one of the best in Korea. She's contributed a lot to the development of Silver & Black. There was a strange note in his voice, as if between the cracks there was something terrible—a terrible secret that could change my whole life.
For some reason, I don't feel comfortable at all right now.
“I'm pleased… hmm, or rather, I'm pleased to know that my sister has done so much for you. Lately, she and I haven't really been close, and we've barely chatted. So I didn't know where she went or what kind of people she hung out with.” My words come out a little sour, and I press my lips together.
The lovely Mina, as always, is proving to be the best. I wonder if the day will come when she damn pedestal will be nothing but a pile of ruins at my feet. I thought all this time you'd been pining for roses, but instead you've been doing the right thing. What else don't I know about you, Ahn Min?
What don't I want to know about you?
''Yes, yes, she helped us a lot. Now let's get on with signing the documents, do you mind? I don't want to keep you any longer than necessary.” His words were very dry, businesslike, and in no way in keeping with the previous flirtation. Something flashed in his eyes—concern, doubt, maybe even fear—there was a tense tremor in his hands, and his whole aura changed, as if something huge and evil had turned its attention to him.
“Sure, let's get started.”
The entire process took no more than 30 minutes. I signed document after document, with occasional detached comments from Mr. Lee, which were completely at odds with his previous behavior. There was nothing special about the documents, except for one thing: Rose Hill. As best, I could make out from the extensive stack of papers, it was a small house in the style of Victorian England. It was in the ownership of a gated cottage community, the grounds of which were owned by a private company. It was all too complex and confusing to realize the meaning in the space of 30 minutes. I'll deal with it later, most likely in the company of Soomin and a couple of bottles of wine.
“Can I sell the house I inherited, Rose Hill?” I asked without lifting my head from the papers; a few more strokes and I could be out of here. The atmosphere in the office was terribly tense; my skin itched unpleasantly and tingled in places as if it no longer belonged to me.
“To my regret, I cannot help you in this matter. In all matters concerning Rose Hill, you must deal directly with the owners of the land; I will email you their contacts.” The smile he gave me was forced, and I couldn't help but wonder what had made such a difference in his change of mood.
“Okay, thank you.” I signed the last form and handed the pile of paperwork to Mr. Lee. “I'm done; hopefully everything is settled now. Can I get a copy of the documents, preferably today?”
Taeho cursorily flicked through the pages to make sure each one was signed.
 “Our administrator, Sunwoo, will give you all the documents. There is one more thing you need to get before you leave. When you leave here, go further down the corridor to the vault, and Bora will show you a locker in the storage room that belongs to your sister. Now, if you'll excuse me, my next customer is waiting, and I don't want to keep him waiting.”
“Yes, yes, of course. Thank you very much for your time, Mr. Lee.” I clumsily rose from my chair, trying to get out of this stuffy room as quickly as possible. The air felt pressurized, and I felt like I was going to start suffocating a little more. I needed to get out of here right now.
“It was nice to meet you, too, Miss Ahn. Please take care of yourself.” The look he gave me was sad—so unusually sad, like the look of a man living his last day on earth. It was as if the end had come for him before he could realize it.
His words, on the contrary, were a warning. “Take care of yourself.” What kind of lawyer wishes that to a client as a farewell? Was I in danger? Perhaps you were. Although that's true, it's worth crossing out the word “perhaps”, yes, I was in danger. Could he have known about it? Did Taeho know about the roses or the people who sent those awful flowers? Was there something he hadn't told me? A thousand questions were in my head as I walked out of his office.
Mechanically, I reach for the strands of pearls at my neck and twist them around my fingers, nervousness bubbling in my stomach. This isn't some worldwide conspiracy, Sarang. Wake up.
I think I'm becoming paranoid.
The door closes softly behind me. I'm alone in a sterile, shiny corridor.
In the distance, I hear a cheerful laugh—Soomin. She was definitely laughing. Soo is having a great time waiting for me to wrap things up. Even though she was denied my escort to Mr. Lee's office, she wasn't upset at all because the nice receptionist, Sunwoo, I think his name was, was determined not to let her get bored alone.
I could have fallen in love with him. He was charming and cute, with a sweet, heart-shaped smile that would make your teeth rot. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit, Armani Prive, in a thinly stitched pinstripe. I'd say he looked like a puppy. With those big, wet, shiny eyes and the way he struck the right pose when you told him to.
Yes, that was the kind of guy I fell in love with—the kind with a good reputation and a well-paid job—the kind who makes love, not fucks. They're the ones who make sure he looks you in the eye and whispers to you about how good you're feeling when he's caressing your body.
Good boys. Obedient boys. Sugar-coated like candy.
If I fell in love with a guy like that, Soomin would break him up like a Christmas candy bar and take a bite right down the middle of him. She liked that type—kind, gentle, and submissive. There had never been a lack of male attention in her life, but for some reason, Soo had always surrounded herself with this type of boy, like colorful toys. She wasn't afraid to break them because she could always move on to the next one. They never crossed her, nodding in obedience and jumping as high as she asked. Men were no more precious to Soo than broken crystal balls, shimmering but useless.
The corridor in front of me was long and empty, with a single door at the end. The sound of heels hitting marble tiles echoed in my head, and the checkerboard pattern on the marble was jarring. For a moment, I thought the corridor was narrowing like a rabbit hole, endless and dark. I was short of air, unable to breathe, and the oxygen in my lungs was as thick and viscous as swamp sludge. I clawed at my neck with my fingernails, trying to pull off the pearl collar, but I felt myself tightening it stronger. My eyes stung from tears and mascara, and ink streaks ran down my cheeks, and somehow they felt colder than they should have.
My fingernails dug into the skin on my collarbones, scratching at it with cruelty and anger.
I needed to get away from myself. To be separate from my body and the way I felt. The nightmare awakened inside me, licking my veins, working its way inside, and gnawing into my soul. My consciousness was beyond my mind.
I hear the sound of tearing threads and thousands of pearls falling at my feet, and I fall with them. I want to go back to before it all began. Before the pain, Before the roses.
Fluorescent lights flash like the tails of nameless comets on the pearly roundness of the beads. I see stars exploding behind my eyes, painting the underside of my eyelids with intricate strokes—the constellation Gemini. Nergal. I want to remember the days when roses were just roses, not home to the ghosts of my soul.
I hear a sound—it's pearls crunching under sharp heels. Under steel heels, like the teeth of the Witch Queen. 
“Oh my God, Saran!” Someone shouts. Soomin isn't laughing anymore.
Her hands are so cold against my clammy skin. She presses my face against her chest, and the feverish beating of her heart brings me back to reality. She is my white rabbit.
Voices, voices—there are so many of them. It's a cacophony of sounds and unpleasant cracking noises. The pearls keep breaking, and I keep crying.
Someone brings me a glass of unpleasantly cold water; it runs down my throat like a liquid flame.
I finally took a breath.
“Take me home.” That's all I can say right now. I want to go home, away from the world, away from the sun, and away from the memories.
“She's having a panic attack; she needs air.”
“No! I need to go home.”
“It's OK, sweetheart. I've got you,” Soo purrs, kissing the top of my head like a little baby. She pulls me off the floor with effort, lifting me to my feet.
I look down at the checkered pattern of the marble slabs and at the scattered pearls. In some places, the white slabs are smeared with red, like lipstick smeared by a kiss. This is blood. My blood.
My legs shake like a newborn fawn as Soomin leads me away from this place. Every step was painful, almost more painful than Soo's tight grip on my forearm.   “It's okay, Sarang, we're going home.”
It's okay, Sarang.
It's okay.
· · • • • ✤ • • • · ·
“Are you sure you're feeling better?”
“Yeah, I'm fine now.” I squeezed out the shadow of a smile. Apparently it was useless; the look in her eyes remained the same: worried, with fear lurking around the edges. Fear for me.
“How long have you been having these attacks?”
“This is the first time. I guess… I don't know. Let's just say it's a consequence of trauma. I don't want to talk about it.”
“I'm so sorry.” Soo crouched on the edge of the bed, taking my hand gently. I was made of glass; she didn't want to break me or do the opposite by hurting herself on me. “It's so horrible that you have to go through all this, baby.”
“Yes, it is.” What else could I say? I could not have said a word, and everything would have been understood. The wounds under the bandage itched terribly. Long red marks stretched along my collarbones and neck. Mascara was still smeared across my face, as was the soft pink lip gloss. I looked like a mess. I was a mess.
My throat was all dry and thirsty, and my eyes were so swollen I couldn't even open them fully.
“Do you want me to stay with you tonight, love? We can watch a film or something; maybe one of those stupid comedy shows Mina hated. I'll make dinner and open the wine.”
“No need; I'll be fine. Soomin, go home; you should be resting too, not babysitting me. I'm fine, really. I'm feeling better, and I'll definitely get through the night. I'll probably go straight to sleep as soon as you leave.” Much as I loved Soo, I didn't feel like seeing anyone right now.
“If you say so, Please call me in the morning as soon as you wake up, okay?”
“Of course. Be safe, Soo. Love you.” I thought I covered my eyes for only a second before I heard the click of the front door. The mark of her kiss burned on my cheek.
I don't know how many hours I sat like that—completely still, not taking my eyes off the dark landscape outside the window, which was getting brighter now that a little moonlight was seeping through the thick clouds.
I didn't want to get out of bed, drowning in pillows and blankets like a pipe dream. I felt good in my bed. I couldn't understand what exactly had changed, but I could feel the change. Even in the morning, the bed had been cold and lonely, but now the silk under my fingers was warmer and softer to the touch. Even the smell of the blankets seemed to be different, like purple lilies and musk, a scent that remotely reminded me of something very familiar but long forgotten. Could it have been Soo's perfume? No, more like the scent that Yoru always brought with her.
By the way, where did she go? She was here when I left this morning, but knowing her talent for disappearing and reappearing at will, I didn't hold out much hope of seeing her today. It would be nice to have her around now, though.
I rolled onto my side, resting my cheek against the pillow. I didn't want to sleep, but I didn't want to get out of bed either. My gaze settled on the small box that lay on the chair across from the bed. A casket from a storage locker.
After my panic attack, Soomin took it away, since I was apparently incapable of doing so. Next to it was a neat stack of papers with black paint poisonously embedded in them, listing all the possessions I now owned, including Rose Hill, but the most valuable and important thing was kept in this little silver coffin.
The metal walls of the casket shimmered like liquid silver when moonlight hit them. I was mesmerized by this otherworldly glow. Number 0711 - Miss Ahn Mina. Sometimes a lifetime can be folded like origami and placed on a velvet cushion like a collector's item.
I struggled with myself for a few more minutes before I threw back the blankets and got out of bed. My curiosity outweighed my fear. At that moment, I had to remind myself that “curiosity killed the cat,” and if I had been any smarter, I would have thrown the box to hell and never thought of it again.
The box opened silently, and I felt a chill, as if someone had dipped my heart in ice water. There weren't many things in the box—something old, something new, and something blue—all like a wedding tradition. It wasn't like Mina. She had always despised the idea of marriage; the very thought of anyone daring to claim her freedom made her sick.
It wasn't for her, and it wasn't for me.
Weddings are gorgeous, creamy bouquets of fragrant flowers that breathe in the dawn. At the end of a long journey down a narrow church aisle, a handsome prince awaits with the promise of eternal love. As if. Girls, guard your hearts, for they will eat them for breakfast. Piece by piece, like a birthday cake, until there's nothing left to keep you alive.
Then there'll be another, just as naive. And then another, and so on, endlessly. That's all love is. A streak of devil's rubies and eaten hearts.
There was no heart and no love in that box. Just one little piece of paper with torn edges and a handful of precious trinkets. Just one small puzzle piece that had fallen out of a huge and complex picture. I could recognize Mina's handwriting from a million others, but the words written on that little piece of paper were not hers. In each letter lurked something that had never belonged to Mina; her hand had scrawled those lines, but her lips had never uttered those words.
“My only love. My divine Rose, when I leave this world, I will leave you everything you could ever want. When you read this, I will be gone. Everything has been arranged; everything is ready for you. The whole world will belong to you, my love. I took care of it. On the back of this page, I have left the number of my good friend. Please give him a call; he will help you with all the things you need. He'll be waiting for you. He is the only one you can trust, Sarang. Your beloved Mina P.S. Don't forget, love is eternal.”
I flipped the sheet to the other side. The handwriting was the same but so different; the letters were sharp and crumpled, as if they were written in a hurry.
Hongjoong. I had heard that name before. I knew the taste of it on my tongue.
My fingers hurriedly dialed the number; I didn't look at the time, and, to be honest, I didn't care. I wanted to make sure that he was real and that this wasn't another one of her crazy fantasies that would lead me down a blind alley. I needed to know that Hongjoong wasn't fiction but blood and flesh, intermittent breathing, and an unevenly beating pulse.
At the other end of the phone, the long beeps were interrupted, there was a static pause for a second, and then I heard the sleepy and so welcome sound:
“Hello.”
143 notes · View notes
pansear-doodles · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
Was slightly delayed due to mental health stuff but Spearmaster is now in Art Fight
Description below
Name: Spearmaster (Spear, Speary, Spears) Pronouns: Any/All Likes: Drawing, Crafting, Quiet Places, Climbing, Ice Cream, Sweet Digestable Food, Nectar, Being listened to, Progression, Being praised, Looking their best, Solving Puzzles, Getting technical Dislikes: Frequent bodily touch (unless consentual), Being caught off-guard, Being ignored, Bitter-tasting foods, Being shouted at, Staying dirty, Feeling out of place, Pressure on the chest
History: During Wanderer's silent departure, Seven Red Suns created Spearmaster using the same DNA Wanderer was made with, added some modifications to ensure the resilience of their new messenger. Spearmaster was born without a mouth but instead must rely on their spears to feed, and sign language they were taught. Spearmaster would spend most of their adolescence training and especially with Hunter, a slugcat created by Suns's nearest neighbor, No Significant Harassment. They would become friends and remain closely in contact, until internal complications arise. Another neighbor of Seven Red Suns, Five Pebbles, contracted the rot, and has stolen most of his sibling Looks to the Moon's water supply, slowly destroying her. Worried for the both of them Seven Red Suns makes an attempt to reason with Pebbles to make him stop. They appoint Spearmaster to deliver a pearl, carefully tucked inside their body so they wouldn't lose it, containing the message. Upon their arrival, Spearmaster was expecting a warm welcome, but was only met with anger and their pearl being violently ripped out, causing mass bleeding. Pebbles discards the pearl, disregarding its content and angry shuts out Suns, kicking Spearmaster out of their chamber. Slowly recovering, Spearmaster begrudgingly picks themself up and carries the pearl to Looks to the Moon, hoping for her answers on the manner. In her chambers, Spearmaster meets their adopted child, Rivulet, and the two became acquainted. Spearmaster consults with Moon regarding the issue with Pebbles, and she offers to rewrite the contents of the pearl, unable to find the answers on how to make him calm down. The pearl's new content consists of Moon's final message before her inevitable fall. As the structure starts to break, Spearmaster grabs a desperate Rivulet and carries them to safety. Feeling bad for the slugcat, they offer to accompany them to the Communication Arrays to deliver the final message. The two went on that adventure and throughout the whole mission, Spearmaster was listening closely to what their creator is thinking and overhears about their worry for the slugcat, as well as them feeling a variety of upsetting emotions regarding Pebbles and Moon. Initially, Spearmaster doesn't really have much forgiveness for their creator, but with these lone signaling messages and Rivulet's encouragement, they decide to come back after delivering the final message. They part ways with Rivulet, who goes back to Moon's fallen structure, feeling better than before, while Spearmaster returns to Suns, who greets them warmly and consoles with them. After spending a good amount of time with them, Spearmaster decides to visit Rivulet to see what they're doing- and to Spearmaster's surprise, Moon was reanimated once more thanks to Hunter's effort. The two start catching up on things, until they were visited by Monk and Saint, the former of which is looking for their lost sibling, while the latter guides and protects them. Befriending Monk, Rivulet and Spearmaster offer their help in escorting Monk to their roots- eventually reuniting them with their sibling. Altogether with the slugcats they've met in their respective journeys, they established a friend group. Spearmaster would later find their estranged sibling Wanderer, who turns out to be extremely guilty for contributing to Pebbles's and Moon's fall and hid away. But Spearmaster's calm assurance encourages them to open back up and console with Suns. Nowadays, Spearmaster serves as Suns's messenger, and continues to make contributions to their friends' day-to-day activities.
Personality: Spearmaster is sharp, observant, and abides to what is lawful. They carry out their tasks dutifuly and takes it quite seriously with almost no questions asked, though they do identify if certain circumstances are questionable. They are extremely loyal to their friends and family, listening to what they have to say and giving them their pieces of advice- most of the time, it is extremely helpful and encouraging. However, with Spearmaster's soft spoken tones and overall silence, most of their opinions are bottled up and unheard, and only when prompted they'd explode in talking about these opinions and thoughts, which happens rarely. They believe that their own woes are not prioritized, and even if others are open about the such- they're still quite stuck in that belief. They are not shy- their actions can speak louder than words and knows how to put their foot down, but they tend to not make the conversations about themselves and is hesitant to be put on the spotlight. Creative incentives such as drawing and crafting provides an outlet for Spearmaster to express themselves more, which brings them at peace. Having their inputs and thoughts dismissed can bring the worst out of them.
Biology: Spearmaster was a heavily bioengineered slugcat, with the only way to feed is through spears that can be pulled from their tail connecting to their systems. They do not have a mouth, being unable to speak in proper, but thanks to their long self-training, they are able to manipulate the noises that come out of their spear holes to create soft speaking noises. Their way of communication is emphasized further with modified sign language (ASL with some differences), and spear tapping. Spearmaster is agile and quick-witted. They are heavily armed in the arts of combat and defense, being able to wield two spears at once and chuck them at a far distance. Their tail spikes up when surprised or shocked. They are an adult.
Appearance: Spearmaster is a purple slugcat with a tall stature (tallest of the group), sharp snout and ears, blank eyes (but not blind), lean body and a spotted tail where the spears can poke out of the spots. They have a stitched sun-like scar located on their chest where the pearl once was. They like wearing fashionable clothes but also uniform and formal ones. Many of the clothes they wear are designed by them.
Relationships: Rivulet - Likes?/Best Friends - Despite Rivulet being extremely talkative, they can actually listen to Spearmaster- the two are very close and foil each other as a dynamic duo, always seen hanging out together. Spearmaster does have mild complex feelings about Rivulet, unsure about these slowly developing feelings. Hunter - Friends - Friends since childhood, Spearmaster knows Hunter just as well. They once had a crush on them, but its long passed and has moved on. Gourmand - Friends - Both keen listeners of each other, but Spearmaster does not open too much on them. Survivor - Friends - Spearmaster looks out for Survivor, pitying them on their past trials and tribulations in the wild. Artificer - Friends - They are in good terms, though Spearmaster is wary about Artificer's recklessness. Monk - Friends - They think they're a nice kid. Nightcat - Neutral - Doesn't mind talking to them. Enot - Neutral - Uh. Saint - Neutral - Highly suspicious of them and doesn't really trust them.
160 notes · View notes
pokemoncenter · 8 months
Text
On Pokemon genetics
If I am being honest, I do not want to post this. The truth contained in this post is something I despise. Not due to any moral judgment, nor is it unbelievable. It is simply... deeply unsatisfying, to have chased this truth, and come to such a ridiculous answer.
Ditto is a very unique Pokemon. Through its signature ability, Transform, it can transform into anything, capable of rearranging its entire cellular structure to perfectly mimic anything it sees. Somehow, its visual scan is even able to identify the DNA of the other Pokemon, making it able to become a viable- that is, fertile- member of that species.
Mew is believed to have been the first Pokemon, three hundred million years ago. It was believed to have the same transformative properties as Ditto. Thus, it can be assumed Mew had the same properties. Mew was able to transform into anything, and thus, could breed with other beings. It was believed it became extinct in this way- By breeding by transforming into other beings, the resulting babies were not Mews, and thus, the species could not maintain its own population.
Even if it can rearrange its own cellular structure, its own DNA, its own natural structure must remain recorded, so it can change back.
In other words, when Mew bred with other beings... and passed on its own genetics to the children. This may be the origin of Pokemon as we know it. This is the meaning of the fact that all Pokemon are descended from Mew. All Pokemon share the genetics of Mew.
... I digress.
Through our studies here, we have determined that Pokemon have a far, far greater quantity of 'junk DNA' than any other creature. However, though it is non-coding, it appears to not be junk. It seems that ncDNA is... remnants of not only Mew, but every other Pokemon in that Pokemon's ancestry.
(This also seems to explain why Pokemon are able to interbreed among each other, despite not being the same species.)
I have mentioned before, the Great Mysteries of Pokemon. One of them is the extreme mutatability, the extreme changes that occur in Pokemon, but only when they need to for environmental factors, that then stabilize so quickly.
The ncDNA has so much information. While all the Pokemon have so much interbreeding between species, this means that generally, each Pokemon will have quite a variety of ancestry in them, with an endless variety of traits.
It is our current belief that when faced with environmental pressures, a mother Pokemon will be able to use... something of a degraded form of Transform. Not for itself, but for what genes it will pass down. It will make it easier to adapt its children to different environments, by bringing forward atavistic traits.
Atavism, for the record, is when recessive or seemingly-lost genetic traits are suddenly expressed again, many generations later.
For example, if there was a prehistoric mammalian Pokemon adapted to the cold- likely, one that would have existed during the Ice Age after the Chicxulub Impact- that was within this Vulpix's distant, distant ancestry, Team Winter's sudden freeze would have caused this Ninetales to attempt to adapt its children. Two of them were already too developed to receive the adaptation, but one of them was able to properly receive the atavistic transformation.
The idea of genetic code lasting that long is ridiculous. Everything about this is ridiculous. Ascribing this all to Mew genetics feels like we may as well be ascribing it to magic.
And yet, it is, as far as we are able to tell, the truth.
Regional formes, extreme mutations, inexplicable mysteries of Pokemon... So much of it is nothing more than ncDNA being called upon to create atavistic regressions to more suitable forms.
As a side note, the mother Ninetales was not released to our care, so we were unable to find the genetic mechanism by which the mother can trigger this effect, which is causing no end of frustration, yet we know it must be there.
69 notes · View notes
tohokuu · 2 years
Text
wicked games - park seonghwa
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
tumblr is based of a system of reblogs, not likes. reblog my work.
warnings : smut, short mlm (seongjoong), mentions of homophobia, horror, fantasy, gore, angst, violence, suicidal behaviors, character death, mentions of eating/cooking, mentions of religious figures, angel/demon au, mentions of blood. takes place in various time periods. y/n exists after 2022. futuristic au.
a/n : i spent endless hours sitting in odd positions everywhere in my house for 2 months to write this. moodboard credit to @/baekhvuns
words : 35k
fic playlist : here !
Tumblr media
angel/demon guide
seonghwa as samael
yeosang as michael
san as alastair
yunho as uriel
jongho as ezekiel
Tumblr media
seonghwa grumbled in irritation as he stared off into the chipping white wall of his office canteen. the chipping paint reminded him of his chipping life. it was basically inevitable concurring how he had consistently challenged his father for years on end. seems like family matters between celestials and humans weren’t much different; at the end of the day, they were still relationships. 
the angel, or rather former angel, was in a daze. it wasn’t until his coworker, hongjoong, turned the machine off and grabbed the overfilled cup of boiling coffee from his hands. 
“seonghwa ! what the hell ?” he yelled. rushing to grab ice and napkins to clean the mess lethargic celestial had made. as the human made quick work of cleaning the coffee, seonghwa took the ice pack and placed it over his hand. 
it didn’t hurt. this was nothing, but he knew that his short and overcaring coworker would not let him rest if he didn’t take care of the “wound”. he looked down lazily at the man who was now wiping down the cabinets with lysol wipes. 
“why are you always so worried about me?” seonghwa asked. hongjoong looked up at him, slowly standing up. “why not ? you’re a complete idiot. all you do is work all day and you don’t even eat.” seonghwa cringed. hongjoong was painfully correct. 
when he was first cast down from heaven, he had no issues staying on earth; he was ecstatic even. the newly clipped wings were a reminder of his father's hatred and he was more than overjoyed to be rid of the stupid body structures that his father had provided him with. the former celestial was going to prove to his father that he did not need him; that worked for a couple thousand years, it really did. 
seonghwa could recall when he was sitting on the throne and taking on the name of the newest emperor. maybe he’d entice a new individual, man or woman, and spread his dna halfway across the world. at this point, he was probably the father of over a couple hundred offspring, and even now, he was not going to take responsibility for a single one.  the thrill of being free, being immortal, was something he had always desired and when he finally had it in the palm of his hands, he took full advantage. 
but as everything meets its end, so did seonghwa’s happiness of being away from the silver city. he assumed it was his father placing these emotions into him; there was no way god himself would let the celestial be happy. but the thoughts of his despair went away when a specific short man shook his shoulders. 
“seonghwaaa ! seonghwaaaaa !” hongjoong yelled as he grabbed the taller male's shoulders. the latter looked down at hongjoong, “what is it, hongjoong ?” that was something beautiful about the humans: their names. each of them had a name assigned to them, but in a way, so did he. 
the fallen one. 
“do you wanna grab a drink tonight ?” the human asked. seonghwa rolled his eyes. “we literally went out last night.” that didn’t seem like the answer hongjoong was looking for because annoyance crossed his eyebrows quick. “so ? i wanna drink and you’re coming with me.” 
there was no point in fighting his friend of the last 7 years. he was a short, angry little man with a rather nice ass and lots of attitude: perfectly endearing. seonghwa was not exempt from the man's charms. if there was one thing that lit up seonghwa’s day every now and then, it was hongjoong. 
seonghwa would never tell anyone this, but he was madly in love with hongjoong, but he was too terrified of his feelings despite already having a relationship with the man. 
death did not take bribes. 
-
the drinks seonghwa was grabbing with his friend went great. hongjoong was tipsy, barely drunk yet. seonghwa always wondered if hongjoong was a celestial in disguise, the man never got drunk no matter how much he drank. however, the celestial was certain that if his boyfriend drank another bottle of soju, he’d not make it home without vomiting all over the grey checkered vetement suit he was wearing. 
just as seonghwa predicted, hongjoong reached for another bottle. the taller male grabbed it from his hands. “i think that’s enough for tonight, buddy.” he told him calmly. hongjoong turned around in annoyance. “excuse me ?! who are you to decide that ?” he yelled, turning a few heads in the crowded bar. 
“your very boyfriend. now, lets go.” seonghwa said calmly. hongjoongs eyes widened. ‘this is the first time you’ve called me your boyfriend in public, oh my god !” seonghwa cringed, the crease between his brow intensifying. 
he grabbed the shorter male's arm and put it around his neck, although he didn’t really need it. 
“let’s get out of here.” 
the walk out of the bar was quiet, filled with hongjoong’s adorable giggles and seonghwa’s attempt at hiding his smile. the night was peaceful and he couldn’t wait to take his boyfriend home, but it all shattered within the span of four minutes. 
these were the moments that seonghwa wished he still had his wings, moments he wished his father still loved him enough to not cause him so much pain. he did his best to protect his lover that night, shielding hongjoongs body with his own. but the debris continued to fly around them and he did not have the ability to protect them from it. 
the heat from the nearby explosion slowly affected hongjoong, charring his once milky skin. the man looked at seonghwa with adoration and fear all at once. the tears on his cheeks froze in time and seonghwa cried as his love was being ripped from him; he couldn’t do anything to stop it. 
the last straw was when the end of a street sign pierced both their bodies, the burning metal discerning the celestial and the human. seonghwa’s eyes rolled back as he felt the impact, crying out as it went through and stabbed hongjoong as well. 
the charring pain from the hot metal seared their insides, connecting and dividing all at once. seonghwa wished he could take hongjoong away from all this, but no. it would not work even if he tried. in an explosion this bad, it would never work. 
hongjoong died that night. he was pried from seonghwa’s grasp and hung on a display as a reminder that his father hated him and would not let anything past seonghwa. there would never be a moment that wouldn’t remind him of hongjoong for the remainder of his days, and he was forced to live through this for a singular mistake he made years ago. 
-
“father ! father, they’re an abomination ! all they do is take advantage of each other and wage war on innocents.” seonghwa pleaded, but the entity sitting above didn’t seem to care, as if god himself had lost all morality. his back bled, and feathers lay everywhere; it was the most excruciating pain seonghwa had ever felt in his years as an archangel. 
“take him away,” he said. 
and that’s exactly what ruined the perfect balance that upheld heaven. his own brothers wrapped their arms around seonghwa’s shoulders, dragging him out of the silver city. his back dragged across the floor, painting the marble crimson. seonghwa slowly felt the moon-like essence leave him, his body was soon going to be nothing but fire.
seonghwa was in anger. tears spilled from his eyes at how he lost his father so easily. ezekiel and michael ripped any remaining pieces of the wings off, causing seonghwa to yelp in agony. his eyes glowed white as his brothers cried tears at his torment. 
“brother, why would you go against him ?” they yelled. their white eyes blazed as they tore through seonghwa’s spine, dissecting the very fabric of the angel wings out of his back. he had lost the title of a celestial being. no longer was he god's favorite son: his right hand. 
“you don’t have to listen to him..” he said to his brothers, voice weaker than a duckling. “you don’t have to lose your brother.” blood fell past his lips, dripping down his chin. michael and ezekiel held him closer, “we don’t want to let go, brother.” but they had to. none of them would ever dare to go against their father; they were far too scared of the outcomes. 
“i’m sorry...” michael whispered to him, before pushing him off the edge of the silver city. 
he fell limp, unable to fight the pain his brothers and father had caused. his eyes were hooded as he stared at the surrounding stars. seonghwa no longer had the energy to fight his father. he figured he’d do it later when he wasn’t bleeding into the universe. 
his form shrunk to the size of a human, and the second pair of eyes under his regular ones disappeared. he lost the milky color of his iris’, now replaced with a pitch black. he was beginning to lose his essence of an angel and all that would remain was the immortality and raw strength he had been granted eons ago. 
heaven was now nothing but a fading star as his body heated up, fire beginning to encase him. the silver city grew smaller and smaller and before he knew it, he was passing the atmosphere of the earth. he screamed in pain as the fire cut through his wounds; there was no rest for someone like him. 
he swore he’d corrupt every single soul that his father held so dear. he’d bring hell to earth if he was to be banished like this. 
-
and that’s exactly what he did. spending eras and eras corrupting every human he came across, tricking them with his appearance and getting what he wanted. he enjoyed toying with the foolish meat bags that had so happened to separate him and his father. 
it was all their fault anyway. 
but every once in a while came a human that he took a particular liking to. someone that was a little too vibrant, a little too beautiful, and stood out to him more than he liked. 
seonghwa was well aware of his immortality, knowing that they’d never last as long as him, so he kept matters up till the bedroom and nowhere else. he figured ruining human lives and not taking responsibility for his actions was a good enough move to show his rebellion, including being a heartbreaker. 
hongjoong was the first human he had finally given a chance to. he figured that god was no longer angry enough with him anymore and maybe living this mundane life was his punishment. hongjoong was a soul that held care for the broken angel more than anyone else he had known in his life. seonghwa and hongjoong had finally forged their love into the clouds, establishing their rebellion against god's wishes together. 
“homophobia is a bitch, ya know !?” hongjoong would yell at random extremists that would stand at pride parades each june. seonghwa laughed, eyes tearing up at the reminder of his dead lover. god took away hongjoong from him too. 
the tears and charred skin of his lover marred his sight. it wasn’t anything he’d forget and if he had to curse out his father halfway across the universe, he would. for hongjoong, he’d wage a war but what could he do without his wings ? he couldn’t fly to hell or heaven; he had no army and it seemed like corrupting humans was not doing the job anymore. 
so seonghwa gave up, choosing to visit hongjoong’s grave daily instead. it was a grave atop a hill that they had once had a picnic on before they became a couple. it was the first time seonghwa had ever confessed his feelings to someone. it was a chance he had taken when he figured that his father was done ruining his life. 
“i’d like to see the moon with you.” he told hongjoong.
“is this your way of confessing your love to me?” the shorter male laughed. 
seonghwa stupidly smiled, looking down at his feet, unable to offer an answer to the very cute young man in front of him. 
“oh my god !” hongjoongs eyes widened in surprise, “it is !” 
seonghwa didn’t realize the tear that had fallen down his cheek, wetting a speck of dirt that was on the grave. why was he being forced to suffer like this ? 
“i miss you.” he whispered. “i miss you so much.” 
there wasn’t much for him in this city anymore. it had become a place that consistently reminded seonghwa of hongjoong. the bar that they had always gone to when hongjoong was in the mood for drinking. the workplace where hongjoong held photos of them both on his monitor. it was better to just leave the city. so that’s exactly what seonghwa did. besides, time was beginning to pass and he wasn’t looking any older since the day he was created. 
there wasn’t a single place in the world that he hadn’t been to. he liked some more than others. madrid was magical to him that one last time he visited. getting lost in the music festivals, la tomatina, and taking part in the infamous pamplona bull race. the thrill was better than burning villages and starting wars. that’s when he had decided that being lowkey was much more enjoyable. 
sort of.. 
regardless, seonghwa picked the one place that hongjoong wanted to go to. it was initially a stupid idea considering seonghwa was trying to get away from his dead ex-boyfriend. the shorter male had always told him that he dreamt of visiting new york city to live out his fantasies of making out with some babe in an empty tram. if anything, seonghwa was going to honour this memory for him; no strings attached this time because to be quite honest, he’d rather fall through heaven again than face the heartbreak he went through when hongjoong pulled an armin arlert right in front of him. 
so he set sail for manhattan, booking the closest flight and grabbing nothing but hongjoong’s favourite watch and a pack of strawberry soju. he’d rather leave the kiss-stained collared shirts back at home. 
-
the first day in manhattan was like a splash of water in the face because what the absolute fuck was the hotel manager so fucking rude for ? if seonghwa hadn’t built up a tolerance against murdering humans, he’d gouge the manager's eyes out. his eyes blazed red before he grabbed his key card and left to go find a job, which wasn’t exactly the most difficult of tasks. 
over the years, seonghwa decided to put himself through university, again and again, each time taking a different course. why ? because he wanted to do so and it was a tiny bit rewarding seeing his various degrees and awards hung up in his library. but just because he chose to go to university, doesn’t mean he attended his classes diligently. he had an eternity to spend on this planet and his father wasn’t going to eradicate it until a million more years so he’d enjoy whatever the humans had come up with as a source of entertainment. 
women were the first ones and that was something he’d never get tired of. tits were too cute to pass up. men were next, but in his first couple of years on earth, men weren’t exactly interested. 
the next was war, funding criminal organizations, and probably arson. 
the burj khalifa was prettiest when on fire. 
seonghwa had finally decided to enroll himself into an academic institute when aristotle was rambling about the earth being in the centre of the solar system. as someone who fell into the milky way during his fall to earth, he was more than aware that the earth was certainly not in the centre of the universe. so since aristotle was spewing such bullshit, everyone found him hanging by his ankle naked the next day drenched in the scent of mead and ale.
no one would believe a drunkard, right ? 
there was pure enjoyment and mischief in making the lives of humans so much harder than they needed to be. 
but now that his life was hard, he didn’t see much point in meddling with other people's lives. he was more concerned with reminding himself that all the people around him die and maybe his punishment was losing all the genuine happiness he had ever found in this dumbass world that his father created. the small amount of powers that he did have left was used to convenience himself in times of trouble. 
through the power of trickery and absolute mischief, he landed himself a job through a simple phone call on a saturday morning while leaning shirtless against his balcony. it was effortless for him. he leaned over to wave to a couple of girls who gawked up at him. 
“good morning.” he mouthed to them with a cheeky wink. they giggled at each other before waving back at him. seonghwa turned his attention back to the person on the phone, making sure to use his powers. 
“aw, i’d love to come in tomorrow.” he cooed to the giddy company owner. “yeah yeah, 10 am is more than perfect.” he chuckled into the phone, not giving a fuck about actually wanting to show up tomorrow. 
“i won’t be late. you can count on me, ma’am.” 
with that, he set the phone down, “dumb slut,”  he cursed to himself. seonghwa was untrue, dishonest, and most importantly, immensely fake. there’s no way he’d have given a flying fuck about anyone other than hongjoong in the last couple thousand years and now that he’d buried hongjoong, literally and emotionally, it was time to return to his old self. 
maybe there wouldn’t be any true happiness in what he’d find, but mass murdering innocents would be a surefire way to send his father a celestial middle finger. 
-
seonghwa didn’t sleep that night. it wasn’t because of new job anxiety or anything, it was because he spent his entire night picking up random people and tossing them into ravines like some kind of daredevil. 
funny, innit ? ‘cause he’s actually the devil. 
when he thought he had a large enough pile of bodies, he dusted his hands off, wiping the sweat off his eyebrow and holding the middle finger up to the sky. “fuck you, asshole.” he cursed before walking away from the ravine. maybe he’d have fun causing a little traffic in hell, especially when he’s not even on the throne to fix the issue. 
perhaps, dear old michael will take care of it for him. 
the walk home was quiet and restless all at once. seonghwa was content with what he had just done but he felt like it wasn’t enough. it was like a part of him was still missing and him being unable to find it felt like an itch that he was unable to scratch. he ignored it. 
and continued to ignore it for the next 32 years as he reigned a wave of terror and a string of infamous murders across the world. he had gotten more than enough visits from his brothers to stop doing what he was doing, but god himself never called out to seonghwa. 
as someone who had such a soft spot for blood, he was more than okay with spilling that of his brothers. he longed to see the essence that looked silver in the glow of the sun. seonghwa would make them remember the way they painted heaven with his blood. 
but one tiny sliver of seonghwa, that was perhaps dead, longed to see his brothers once more. he longed to run his gentler fingers through their hair and tell them he was proud of all they must’ve have achieved while he was gone. he wished to care for them like he had always done as an older brother. 
but until god came to seek out his son, seonghwa was not going to stop what he was doing. he felt drunk on the power he’d acquired. the news headlines and the newspaper columns all about the gruesome murders and the cities set on fire made his cold heart mellow with happiness. the safety band that was hongjoong was long gone; it was lost in the wind of the last 32 years and nothing remained but the rich, leather-clad devil who secretly reigned terror from wherever he wanted. 
-
seonghwa tipped her chin up with the edge of his gun, staring at the girl with distaste. 
“let me go !” she screamed, tears and blood running down her face. seonghwa chuckled at her. there was so much blood on her, that she’d die by the lack of it. how ironic. 
“why should i let you go ?” he questioned. “i-i’ve got a family. a l-little brother. he’s 10. i’ve got a mom and dad who need me. i’m the only one in my family with a paycheck. they need me.” 
seonghwa pulled the gun away from her, nodding. “good reason, to be honest. how do i know you’re saying this for your family and not so i could just let you go ?” he asked. 
she stared at him, shunned. her eyes went wide before bursting into a fit of tears all over again. “please, please just let me go. what did i even do ?” she begged. 
seonghwa chuckled, “nothing in particular. you’re just a scapegoat. a detail to a bigger story.” he leaned forward, grabbing her chin and pulling her forward. “don’t worry. your death won’t be meaningless, my dove.” he wrapped a hand around her throat, squeezing the life out of her. 
“thank you for your sacrifice,” he told her as her body fell limp against the chair. a small smile made its way onto his face, happy that this was a step closer to pissing off his father. he knew he had triggered a reaction now since his brothers seemed to visit almost daily. 
seongjwa walked out of the warehouse where he took most of his victims, leaving it open. he didn’t bother to lock the door, not like they’d be able to do anything even if they ever caught a scent of him. it’s not like anyone had gotten a whiff of seonghwa in the last thousand years. 
seonghwa walked up to a small dock, taking a seat in the water taxi waiting for it to reach wallstreet. he looked at the stars, pursing his lips in annoyance. everything his father made was just so fucking pretty, it made him angry. the humans around him seemed to agree. residents and tourists of new york city looked up at the glowing buildings accompanied by the starry night sky. he scowled in disgust. 
the boat ride came to an end after a few minutes when he made his way to his own home. an apartment at the end of the river. he stepped off the boat, climbing onto the sidewalk and heading towards the large apartment building. the building glowed in the dark, lights reflecting off the glass structure. 
he didn’t bother using the elevator, instead using the fire exit on the other side of the building and climbing through the window like he was some sort of thief. which he is, he stole this apartment from his last employer 7 years ago after hanging the man on a pole. 
upon entering the house, seonghwa slipped off his jacket, leaving it on the coat rack. next, the black button up. his lithe fingers gently unbuttoned the soft cotton shirt as he stared at his own figure in the mirror. seonghwa’s tan skin glistened with sweat from the heat. he figured a shower was necessary, blood was staining his skin anyway. 
he undressed the rest of him and stepped into the steaming shower, grabbing a bar of soap and his favourite red loofah, soaping it up before scrubbing his skin of dirt and grime. although, he adored the act of murder and enjoyed himself a lot while committing it, he hated getting blood on himself. he rolled his eyes as he stared at the diluted blood falling down the drain. wet hair framed his face and if seonghwa was narcissus, he would’ve fallen in love with himself. 
he massaged shampoo into his hair, rubbing his scalp until it felt fresh and clean. he couldn’t stand the heat, truly. he wish he had the power to keep the heat away, but unfortunately he’s not a full celestial. he looked at himself in the mirror that was placed inside the bathroom, a light smile finding itself onto his face as he thought of hongjoong. 
someone he hadn’t thought of in a while. 
seonghwa stared at the white soap encasing his hair, remembering the way his old lover would make random hairstyles with the power of shea moisture shampoo. it was the same one hongjoong had used, and it was the only one seonghwa had used since hongjoongs passing. 
seonghwa used his own hands to push his hair up into a mohawk, embarrassment falling on him when he couldn’t get it as perfect as hongjoong could have. he probably looked so stupid right now, and if hongjoong was here, he’d probably snap a selfie, even if his phone fell into the water and clogged his speakers. 
he sighed. hongjoong wasn’t someone that anyone could forget and seonghwa wasn’t an exception. he missed the sleepless nights they spent tangled up in each others arms, sweet kisses and marks tainting each others skin. he missed it all. 
but this wasn’t a time to dwell on the past.
he turned the water off, rinsing the rest of the shampoo out of his hair and walking out of his bathroom. seonghwa dried his hair off with a towel, looking out the window and the peaking sun. it was beautiful every time but he would never admit it. nothing had been beautiful since hongjoong passed. 
he got ready for work, needing to manipulate his secretary into believing he’s been showing up to work. he put on a dark blue button up, pairing it with khaki pants and a khaki coat. seonghwa slipped on his diamond cufflinks and hongjoongs expensive watch, getting ready to head to work. 
he didn’t have to show up everyday since it was a long commute, but he had a company to manage now since he killed the last owner and stole his spot. 
seonghwa figured if he left early enough, he could stop by his favourite coffee shop and see his favourite barista, an old woman named, marcela. he smiled as he thought of the woman. he’d seen her 32 years ago when she was young and vibrant and he had watched her open her coffee shop, get married and have children and spend the rest of her remaining life in the sweet coffee shop with beige walls and dark brown borders. it was a shop seonghwa had helped her put together. 
she was the only woman that knew of seonghwa’s reality. after serving him coffee for 3 years, she had seen him fall from the top of a building during a brawl with azrael. azrael’s wings were spread open shamelessly and seonghwa’s eyes glowed white and his shirt was torn enough for the woman to see the scars of old angel wings on his back. 
there was no point in killing a woman who had no one to tell so he spared her. choosing to trust her with his secret, a secret only hongjoong had been trusted with years ago. he pressed the gas pedal harder, speeding his rs7 along the road to his favourite coffee spot. he raced along the road, smoothing his hand over the leather steering wheel.
he pulled into the small parking lot after taking the last right. he parked into his usual parking spot and headed out to grab his coffee. it was an order that would surely cause a regular human a heart attack but he drank it whenever he got the chance. an americano with 10 shots of espresso. he needed the energy for all the terror he was going to spread, after all. 
but the second he stepped into the coffee shop, he wished he had never stepped in at all. when he pushed open the door to the coffee shop, he got splashed in the face with someone’s large iced coffee. the cold sensation woke him up for the next 30 days. who needs 10 espresso shots when you can get splashed in the face by an overly iced and overly sweet coffee at 7 am in the morning ? seonghwa’s eyes went wide. not once in his life had this happened to him and so- he didn’t know how to deal with it 
was he supposed to feel embarrassed ? 
“oh my fucking god- i’m so fucking sorry.” someone cried. she stood in front of him in a pair of cream colored pumps and light beige dress pants. he looked at her from the toes all the way up to her face. he was taken aback. 
for a second, seonghwa felt like he knew her, like he’d seen her before. he felt a wave of emotions when he met her eyes. they were something that brought him immediate comfort, like it was hongjoong all over again. but just as fast as those thoughts had come, he pushed them away immediately. 
“oh-oh you’re fine. you’re okay. it’s not a problem.” he stuttered over his words. he didn’t know why he was being so awkward, if it was his usual self, he would’ve cussed her out and killed her the same night. but seonghwa didn’t seem to want to kill her. 
meeting her eyes was like scratching an itch that he’d had forever. 
seonghwa’s eyes widened at his own thoughts. he must be so stupid. 
she pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his shirt, trying to clean off the coffee. he barely noticed her hand on his shoulder and her downturned eyebrows, like she was worried the coffee would hurt him or something. he just stared at her, letting her clean his shirt off with her pink handkerchief. he found it… cute. 
it was disgusting. he scowled at his own thoughts, looking visibly disgusted, which caused her to step back. she crumpled the handkerchief in her hand, stumbling back while nervously tugging her lip between her teeth. 
it was endearin- no. 
“oh- uhm, was that too much ? i’ll pay for your dry cleaning. the suit looks really expensive and i’d hate to-” 
“its fine.” he said. he pushed away the thoughts of familiarity from before, returning to his usual cold demeanor. he cleared his throat. “it’s not an issue. i’ll pay you for another coffee since you spilled yours.” he said politely. 
she pushed her hands forward, shaking them. “aw, no no. it’s fine. i should really be on my way, really.” she told him. 
“i insist.” he said. “what’s your order?” he asked. it was like she got visibly smaller, shoulders pushed together while she looked down. “uhm, one medium iced matcha latte is fine.” seonghwa nodded his head, turning to face the register. “and whip cream.” she squeaked out behind him. he chuckled internally. 
he faced the register, this time he was faced with marcela’s beautiful smile. “il mio !” she greeted him. he smiled in return, flashing his perfect teeth.
“hello, my lovely marcela. my usual and an extra cold matcha latte with whipped cream for the lady, please,” he told her. 
she smiled in response. “un momento, hwa.” 
“i apologize for wasting your time.” the girl next to him spoke. he waved her off. “it’s not an issue.” he told her. seonghwa had the urge to ask her another question but he didn’t, leaving it for never. they awkwardly waited a few more minutes while marcela prepared the two drinks. seonghwa pulled out a 20 and left it on the counter, going to the end to pick up his and the woman’s drink. 
“you can bill me for the shirt. it’s really not a problem,” she said. she followed behind him like a dumb puppy trailing after it’s owner. “if you keep insisting i might actually bill you.” he said, jokingly. “that would mean we’d have to meet again, yes ?” she asked. 
seonghwa thought about it for a moment. would it be so bad to see her again ? you know, without the interference of his murderous tendencies ? 
seonghwa nodded. “i suppose it does. i’m seonghwa. park seonghwa. you?” he asked. she smiled shyly before pushing her hand out. “i’m y/n. y/n l/n.” 
your name was pretty to him. “y/n.” he said it out loud, like he was tasting it on his tongue, and to his heart, it tasted like the sweetest wine he’d ever had. “i guess this means we have to exchange contact information now, do we not?”  
you nodded, pulling out your phone to hand it to seonghwa. he punched his digits in, sending himself a text so he’d save your contact information later. “i guess i’ll see you another time.” he smiled at you. you nodded, trying to stop yourself from a smile too. 
“later, then.” 
-
the drive to the office was filled with conflicted thoughts in seonghwa’s head. was he supposed to kill her for spilling her coffee on him, or was he supposed to take up that dry cleaning date- wait, when was it a date? 
he rubbed his eyes, sick of his own head. for the time being, he decided that shutting his heart off would be a good solution to his problems. his eyes rolled back into his head for a few seconds while he put his heart to sleep. they rolled back to their normal place moments later, eyes blue instead of brown. icy and cold just like how he was supposed to be. the warm, comforting brown was no longer there. 
he stepped out of his car, going back to his trunk to pull out a spare shirt, but all he really had was his outfit for when he worked out. a pair of sweatpants and muscle tee. he sighed, suddenly gaining the urge to gouge out your eyes.
he grabbed the clothes and the newest nike air max that he’d bought just the other day. he walked in the office building, the one he had done absolutely nothing to earn other than manipulate, cheat, murder and assult to acquire. 
beating the fuck out of your boss with a brick at 4 pm in the evening was a surefire way to land his spot after you slowly kill everyone that stands in your way. now at a ceo position with employees that feared him and worshipped him at the same time, he felt accomplished. 
“good morning, mr. park.” his secretary, wooyoung, greeted him, standing up to acknowledge his presence. “it’s good to see you, sir.” he said. seonghwa smiled at wooyoung, bending down lazily to meet the younger males height. 
“it’s nice to see you too, woo.” wooyoung gulped. “sir, you’ve missed a lot of meetings. why haven’t you been at the office?” he asked but then quickly corrected his question. “if you don’t mind my asking, sir.” 
seonghwa chuckled, “i’ve been here every day. have you finally lost it ?” seonghwa told him. wooyoung scrunched his eyebrows, trying to remember if he had actually lost it or not. 
seonghwa patted wooyoungs shoulder. “get some sleep and get off the percs, kid.” he told him before walking into his office. he breathed a breath of fresh air before unbuttoning his sticky shirt. he threw it on the sofa and headed into the bathroom in the office. it wasn’t like he could shower, so he just wet a paper towel and patted down his body, trying to get rid of the stickiness. 
after doing that, he changed into the gym clothes from earlier. seonghwa splashed his face with water, looking run down and tired after barely getting any sleep last night. he thought about who he should murder next, maybe you if you caused him some sort of inconvenience again at the laundromat. but then he thought no, you were too pretty to kill off so soon. he looked at himself in the mirror, hair beginning to curl up from the air dry. seonghwa inspected his eyebrows, figuring he should visit his eyebrow lady again. 
he pulled away from himself at the sound of a knock at his door. he quickly left to go see who it was and the last person he expected to see popped their head into the doorway. he felt his heart drop out of his ass when he saw none other than you. 
upon noticing who opened the door your eyes went wide and you almost dropped your matcha. was this the same man who paid for your drink this morning ? the same drink you held in your hand right now ? the same man you inconvenienced so badly at 7 AM in the morning ? 
you gulped. you were so gonna get fired on your first day. 
seonghwa’s jaw dropped in slight disdain and slight comfort all at once. he blinked at you, not knowing what to do. he wasn’t even dressed appropriately. 
“miss y/n.” he started, “what are you doing here?” he asked. 
your heart froze and beat in your chest at the same time. you felt sick to your stomach. how were you supposed to even respond? you tried your best to cool down. 
“mr. park,” you started, opening your mouth again but nothing came out. the silence bit at your skin so he soothed it.
“i apologize for not being appropriately dressed. you spilled your coffee on me this morning, remember ?” he spoke. you were still in a daze. you blinked repeatedly, trying to see if this was a dream or not, but nothing changed so you assumed it was real. 
“oh- yes. i understand. it’s really not a problem. it’s nice to see you again, mr. park.” you told him, unsure of what else to really say. 
you took notice of his eyes. weren’t they brown this morning ? 
contacts, you suppose. 
he nodded, inviting you inside to take a seat. you did as he instructed, sitting down in one of the black chairs in front of his desk. you looked around the office curiously, finding nothing but the cross of saint peter hanging next to the window and a keyholder that held a remote for an audi. you swallowed. he was intimidating and rich.
after you spilled your disgustingly sweet coffee on him this morning, you did your best to keep yourself together. if anything, you didn’t know he was your boss. a man named mark lee hired you from the finance division and you were just supposed to complete your orientation by meeting up with the ceo. 
had seonghwa’s secretary not told him of your appointment ? 
“so, are you working here now?” he asked you. you nodded. “i had an interview with mr. lee a few days ago and he said i’d be starting today.” you responded. 
he tapped his fingers across the table, nails trimmed to perfection and buffed to a perfect shine. you were jealous. your own nails were 3-week old acrylics that you should probably get rid of now. 
“hm, so the finance department ?” he asked. you nodded, “yes, sir.” your voice was quiet and you sat with your legs crossed, unable to ignore the unmistakable need you felt for him. it was odd. the air was full of something like a thick jell-o. your vision felt blurred and the air felt hot. 
did he feel it too ? 
seonghwa stared you down, leaning in to inspect your soul. it was a bit difficult without his horns but he did what he could do for now. 
his eyes widened when he looked at the fabric of it. it was similar to something he had seen years ago. a pattern that he’d noticed in most of the humans he’d had taken a special kind of liking towards. 
your soul was awfully similar to hongjoong’s.
it made him scowl. he felt like someone was trying to replace hongjoong.
this caused you to think he was displeased with you but he pushed the scowl away in a second. “there’s not many people working in finance at this moment, so i appreciate you joining our company. please feel free to let mr. jung outside know if you need anything.” 
you smiled in return, “thank you, sir. i’ll be on my way now.” he nodded, standing up to lead you outside but just before you passed the threshold, he grabbed your wrist. 
“so which dry cleaners?”
he returned to his work after getting the details for your local dry cleaner. it wasn’t too far from his place and he figured he’d give you the dirty shirt after work. he opened up a new file to inspect but nothing plagued his mind more than you. 
you smelled just like him, you even dressed similar to him. seonghwa shut his drawer in annoyance. 
seonghwa decided that he should probably look through your file to see who you are. he turned his monitor back on, typing in his password before going into the “staffs” section of his laptop. sure enough, there was a new file on there with your name on it. curiously, he dragged his arrow over your name and double-clicked. 
a new file opened up and at the surface, there wasn’t much out of the ordinary. born in seoul, and moved to new york 4 years ago. he scanned your details a bit longer; your birthdate was 02/22/22. 
that was what caught his eye the most. 
that’s the day of the explosion when hongjoong died. he squinted as he scrolled down further, reading more about your background. you went to the university of seoul, and worked at a pottery barn before moving to new york. he scrolled back up to your parents' names. he clicked on both of them but the office server had nothing but their birthdate and death date. the death date was the same as your birthdate. 
nothing made sense to him right now. 
seonghwa opened up google, typing in your parents' names. various articles came up listed, “tragedy occurs during 2022 seoul explosion.” he scrolled through the article, and well enough, a picture of your parents was presented in the article. your mother sat on a chair. her belly was round and she had two hands placed on her stomach as your father stood behind the chair, a grin on his face as he looked into the camera. 
as he scrolled through the article, he learned that your parents were shareholders in the nuclear plant that was responsible for the seoul explosion. a flash of anger passed through him.
turning back to the article, he read more reports of your mother having her delivery at a hospital far from the city. your father was too busy at the nuclear plant and died on impact while your mother was affected slowly in her bed. she died from the delivery, not the explosion. 
seonghwa swallowed, taking in the information. it all sounded like a rough start but he just found it crazy that you were born the same day hongjoong died. the emotions he felt when staring at you were the same emotions he felt when he used to look at hongjoong. 
for now, he shut off his laptop, closing the lid. he grabbed his jacket and slung it over his shoulders. he didn’t bother picking your physical file up, instead he left it in his office, figuring you were tomorrow's problem. 
he took one last look at the blue folder before closing the door, humming the daunting tune of mozart’s lacrimosa as he walked out of the building. everyone had already gone home and it seemed like even that bottom-feeding slut, wooyoung, had gone back home. 
seonghwa had missed his chance to give you his dirty shirt and slacks. it was alright, though. you worked here now. 
the former angel swung his umbrella around, dragging it behind him as he walked through the cold rain. he ignored the water, not caring if it ruined the seats of his car. 
he sat in and started the engine. the hum of it ignited life into the night, and it would only get livelier as he’d descend to pick his victim for the night. 
maybe he should set the chrysler building on fire ? 
-
the next morning was relaxing as it usually is for seonghwa. he went to the office yesterday, so he didn’t have to show up today. but then he remembered the pretty girl he had to meet with today and groaned, setting down his cup of coffee before changing into a pair of slacks and a button-up. he made the same trip as he had made the day before, descending down the bridge and this time, he couldn’t stop for coffee. 
walking back into his office building, his employees stared at him in shock. he wasn’t supposed to be at the office and he rarely showed up anyway so what brought him here today ? 
no one questioned him, not even wooyoung. the former angel walked straight into his office, shutting the door behind him. seonghwa dialed the number of the secretary in the finance department, mr. jeon
mr. jeon picked up the phone two seconds later, “soul enterprises finance department, how may i help you ?” he said in his deep voice. 
seonghwa spoke into the phone a little too fast, like he was impatient. “hey, this is seonghwa. can you send miss y/n l/n upstairs to my office ?” jungkook’s eyes grew wide. the boss had never called before. 
“uh-uh sure, yes. i’ll send her up right now.” 
the call for you was similar to being called to the principal's office when you were in school. everyone stared at you and you could feel their eyes on your figure as you quickly made your way up the escalator. 
upon your arrival, you greeted mr. jung and headed right to the door next to his office. you poked your head in and greeted seonghwa with wide eyes and a lip tucked between your teeth. he looked dashing as ever. his body proportions were so perfect that you wanted to take him between your teeth, but you put those thoughts away for the moment. 
“good morning, miss y/n.” he told you, a smile on his face. you bowed your head a bit. “good morning, mr. park.” you said back. you were unsure why he seemed to be in such a good mood today. yesterday, he seemed a little uncomfortable with your presence. 
“i hope you’re doing alright this morning.” he took a pause to shove both his hands in his pockets. “i didn’t have a chance to give you my dirty laundry last night.” you nodded. “i’ll take it now if that’s what you’d like.” 
he shook his head. “i’d tell mr. jung if i wanted to do it right now. i’m just here to give it to you.” you nodded. “i understand, sir.” he took his lip between his teeth while your line of sight immediately fell on the dark wood floor beneath you. 
his expensive leather shoes came into vision and suddenly a fingertip beneath your chin lifted your face up. you swallowed. he was so much more breathtaking this close and if you stared any longer, you swear you’d pass out. 
“why do you seem so nervous?” he asked. you shook your head, “ ‘m not, sir. it’s just a little hot in here.” you slapped yourself internally realizing how that sounded once you said it out loud. 
his eyebrow rose. “really ? it’s like 67 degrees here. i didn’t think that was considered to be hot.” now that he said it, you realized that it was chilly in here and that his hand under your chin was so so fucking hot like he was running a fever of some sort. 
“really ? i keep my apartment at like 65.” you laughed nervously. you were beating yourself with a bat on the inside. genuinely, how did you fuck up a conversation this bad ? he paused, nodding awkwardly before turning behind you to grab a dark blue shirt and khaki slacks. you cringed at the dark brown stain on the front of his slacks and the sickingly sweet smell that came from the clothes. 
“i’ll bill you via the company card. is that alright ?” he asked. you nodded your head. “that’s fine. also, when do you need them back? because my dry cleaner works great but she takes awfully lon-” you rambled but he cut you off. “whenever you can get them back to me. be careful, though. it’s my favourite shirt.” 
and that wasn’t totally a lie. marcela bought that shirt for him and he’d be rather upset if it didn’t make it back safely to him. 
“i think that would be all, miss y/n.” you nodded for the millionth time since you’d been here. if he stared at you any longer, you swear you’d combust. how was he this intimidating ? 
 “i suppose we are done, indeed,” you responded. you felt stupid the second it came out of your mouth. before letting him say anything after, you bowed quickly and walked out as soon as you could. 
you let out a breath that you never realized you were holding. bunching your blouse in your hands, you walked out of the corridor, waving at wooyoung before making your way down the escalator with his clothes in a small paper tote. it smelled like burberry, sugar, and coffee. it was an odd mix and made you scrunch your nose but you’d make candles out of this scent if you could. 
the perfume was a reminder of him with you and the coffee was a reminder of yourself on him. you smiled at that thought and then quickly scolded yourself.
“there’s no way i’m crushing on my boss.” you said to yourself. 
-
seonghwa drove to the dry cleaners rather quickly. it was a small shop run by someone’s nan on staten island, where you lived. it was in a corner plaza and initially, seonghwa expected to see his shirt hung up on the rack with a hole the size of a press iron in it, but instead he was met with you behind the counter, talking and ranting to the woman who was seemingly ironing his slacks. 
the crease was perfect and seonghwa smiled in delight; he loved a good crease. he stared at you through the glass walls of the shop. you wore a headband on your head, a pink face mask, pink shorts, and a white crew neck.
cute, he thought. 
he swung the door open and tipped his head a bit when he walked in. the door was small. you almost fell off the stool you were sitting on when you saw him walk in, clad in a white shirt and leather jacket. 
“hi, miss y/n.” he addressed you, your cheeks heated up in embarrassment at your clothing and you thanked the face mask for hiding it but at the same time, you looked so fucking stupid. 
“h-hi mr. park. you’re here early..” you squeaked out. he nodded, “i apologize. i should’ve informed you before i arrived.” he said. except he wasn’t sorry at all. he had to stop himself from trailing his eyes down your legs, staring at your hips and thighs as you sat on the stool. your thighs pudged together and looked so thick as you rested them on the stool. 
“can you give me a moment, please ? i just need t-to change real quick.” he nodded, stepping aside but you could feel his eyes on you as you trailed up the stairs real quick. you lived with nan. she managed this dry cleaning business and right above the shop was a quaint 2 bedroom apartment where you and nan lived. the ceilings were low and the kitchen was small. it wasn’t much but it was enough for you and her. 
you quickly peeled off the mask, washed your face, and put your hair in a low bun. it was almost time for work anyway. you smoothed the gel out and put one small flower pin in the bun, giving your hair a good look before moving on to your makeup. taking the mascara you just bought, you slid the brush across your lashes, pulling them along your eyelid and pushing them back. 
next was concealer, blush, and a bit of lipgloss and you were all done. giving one last look over your reflection, you quickly settled into a pencil skirt and a button-up, leaving the first two buttons open. the urge to open another one was crazy. 
you grabbed your heels and went back downstairs. this time, you found seonghwa chatting with nan while he was sitting on a stool watching her iron his suit jacket. his chin was in his hand and he looked beautiful, breathtaking even. your nan laughed right along with him and you approached behind him quietly. 
“nana, have you finished ? i’m sure he’s gotta leave for work soon.” your nan nodded, “almost done, sweetheart.” you froze as you remembered that you never offered to get him anything to eat or drink. 
“uh- mr. park, would you like anything to eat or drink ? coffee or a light snack maybe ?” seonghwa thought about it for a minute. “coffee will do.” you nodded, walking past him and into the small kitchen in the back. you felt his eyes follow you again and you shivered, goosebumps running down your naked legs. 
starting the coffee maker, you put in 2 scoops of dark roast and worked your magic, remembering what his previous order was back at marcela’s shop. you were unsure if he’d like you to change it up but you did so anyway, putting in star-shaped ice cubes and mixing them in. you tried to not make it as sweet as yours and failed successfully. 
“you use star-shaped ice trays too?” a voice came behind you. you let out a shriek, dropping the stirrer you were using. placing a hand on your chest, you turned around to face the owner of the voice, just to be met with seonghwa. his eyes were brown as chocolate and wide and curious. 
“i like the way they look.” you told him. he nodded, “someone i used to know used them too. i thought it was a little childish, but he never let me buy regular ones.” curiosity struck you. who was he talking about ? 
“who’s he?” you asked. the celestial stiffened, pausing for a moment, and cleared his throat. “an old friend. he passed a couple of years back.” you nodded, unsure of what to say other than, “my condolences.” 
“i’m sorry for ruining the moment. is the coffee done?” he asked. you smiled back at him shyly before putting an unhealthy amount of whip cream on top. you handed the mug to him with both hands, a proud smile on your face and seonghwa decided you looked like a smiling cat. 
he grabbed the mug from your hands, bringing it up to his lips. with one sip, seonghwa remembered everything that happened before the last 32 years. he remembered sweet kisses under the moonlight and a boy with soft pink hair. 
the coffee was just like the one hongjoong used to make. 
sickeningly sweet with star-shaped ice and lots of whip cream. seonghwa got the cream all over his lips and if anyone else had noticed, they’d probably laugh. 
you were no different.
you leaned in and swiped your thumb over his lip. “you have a little cream on your…” you trailed off, biting your lip as you cleaned off the cream on his lip, taking it into your mouth and licking it off. 
seonghwa coughed, choking on plain air. his face was furiously red and he couldn’t control himself. you were just like him. 
if he had it his way, he’d grab you by the shoulders and look into your soul until he was positive of his suspicions, horns visible and all.  
“seonghwa ! are you okay ? do you need water ?” you asked frantically. “does it taste that bad ??” he put a hand on your shoulder, shaking his head. 
“i’m okay. i’m okay.” he put a hand on his chest, taking another sip of the coffee. it was admittedly disgusting, but he’d hand you a blank check to drink more of this nasty coffee forever. 
“is it bad ?” you asked quietly. he shook his head. “it’s not bad at all. i really like it.” he told you. you smiled in contentment, drinking from your own mug. 
“let me drive you to work.” he said abruptly. you looked up from your mug. “uhm.. you don’t have to.” you said quietly, suddenly shying away from his stare. 
“it’s fine, really. you got my clothes dry cleaned,” he said. 
“but you paid for my coffee.” you argued back. he laughed quietly. “darling, 6 dollars don’t make a difference to me.” you nodded, remembering who he was. 
“i still don’t think it’s appropriate that you drop me off. people might talk.” you told him quietly. he laughed. you wondered what was so funny. you genuinely believed there was a line of sense behind your words.
“don’t worry about all that, sweetheart” you tilted your head, raising one eyebrow at him. “are you sure ?” you asked. he nodded, placing one hand on your shoulder. it was sweltering like the man was running a fever.
you grabbed his hand in yours, clasping your fingers around his hand. “are you feeling okay ? your hand is really hot.” you expressed. seonghwa’s smile faded from his face, looking down at you with a red glint in his eye. he pulled it away quickly, turning away from you.
“yeah. it’s all good. just finish up your coffee and meet me outside.” 
your eyes were as wide as saucers when you stepped outside your and nan’s place. a dark grey bmw parked outside with a beautiful man sitting inside. when you stepped inside the car, the scent of seonghwa filled your nose. 
it was a mix of expensive perfume and coffee beans. you loved it. 
“are you ready?” he asked. 
“let’s go.” 
keeping your emotions composed while sitting in the car with seonghwa might have been the hardest thing you’d ever done. your knees were weak despite never standing and your panties stuck to your cunt uncomfortably. his aura made you feel hot and for some reason when he placed a hand on your chest to keep you back when making a hard brake made your heart flutter. 
his left hand twitched, almost like it itched to be on your thigh and a part of you wished he’d give in and a little more. 
your life flashed before your eyes when he made eye contact with you while you stared at him. “like staring ?” he asked. 
you shook your head. “uhm no. i was just looking outside your side of the window.” seonghwa laughed and his laugh made you wish he’d never stop. you stared at the pearly white teeth in awe and the pronounced canine that he ran his tongue over. then you noticed the small diamond etched onto the canine. 
the perfect way to show money. 
“when did you get that done?” you asked him. 
“what done ? if you’re referring to my nose, i haven’t gotten a nose job.” he flashed a grin at you, showing off the canine again. “all natural, baby.” 
you blushed at the nickname, pointing at your own canine instead. “the diamond thingie on your pointy tooth.” 
seonghwa smiled, “i got it done a couple of years back. a friend of mine and i got it done together.” 
“is it the same friend that you lost?”
“yes.” 
and the rest of the ride was silent.
-
after dropping you off at work, seonghwa miserably spent the rest of his day watching tv and drinking from his giant wine cellar. he had plans for the night so his entire day was free. he’d done his office work the day before and he had a business meeting on saturday. for the next 5 days, there wasn’t anything he had to get done. 
so with all the free time he had, he decided that focusing on you was gonna be his new hobby. this included showing up at your house at 8 am to drop you off at work and waiting in front of the office building at 5 pm to get you home. 
throughout this ordeal, you had learned two things 
one, seonghwa was definitely older than he looked. 
and two, you wanted to fuck him. 
he was a good boss. he paid you well and the job came with dental coverage and great healthcare. however, you seemed to have more benefits than the other employees. 
this included rides in expensive cars, dates at expensive restaurants, and spending your time with the most handsome man you’d ever seen. he claimed he wanted to get to know you and become friends but the way he undressed you with his eyes was nothing like how friends were supposed to act. 
he started with a simple movie and dinner, taking you out to a vintage restaurant with a huge projector so you could watch while you eat.
they played ‘a quiet place’ that day. 
you remembered clutching onto his arm when the monster came up. you remember digging your face in his arm when the monster ate the man who screamed too loudly and you remember him taking your face in his hands and kissing you slowly until you forgot the fear that brewed in you. 
his tongue had slipped between your lips and he had let you put yours past his lips. he had sucked on it lightly and his hand had inched closer and closer to your inner thigh. 
but he pulled away before anything could go further. 
he claimed it was in the heat of the moment, but you knew better because he still came to pick you up the next morning and take you to work. he still placed a hand on your thigh. you had no idea what was going on in that beautiful mind of his. 
“you remind me of someone.” he told you one day while he sat at your place, lying comfortably in your bed with a bowl full of butter pecan ice cream. 
“who?” you asked him, bending down in front of him to grab your dirty laundry. you straightened back up with one lacy panty in your hand and you saw him eye it before looking you back in the eye, all with a spoon in his mouth as he licked the cream off sensually. 
you lost your breath. 
“my ex-boyfriend.” 
“what?! you’re gay ?!” suddenly, you felt the world crash around you. was the man you liked gay ? which is totally isn’t an issue. you’re just surprised is all. 
“what? no, i’m not gay. i’m bisexual. i go down both roads.” he said with a grin flashing his teeth at you, a mouthful of dripping cream. 
“ohhh.” you responded. 
“what ? were you disappointed ?” he asked. 
now it was your turn to be surprised. “huh?! no! i was just surprised.” you argued. but your heated, red cheeks told a different story. “even if you were gay, you wouldn’t be any different to me.” you told him. he smiled at you thoughtfully, “thank you.” 
“anyway, what about me reminds you of him?” you asked him. 
“well, the disgusting coffee is the first one.” he said flatly. 
your eyes went wide and hands flew to your hips. “huh?! but you say it’s good.” seonghwa shook his head. “nope. it’s the shittiest thing i’ve ever drank.” he told you. you pouted at him, “why are you telling me this after i’ve served it to you almost every time you come over ?” 
“because you make your coffee just like him. even the ice is the same shape.” your eyes widened. “you’ve talked about him before!” you said. he nodded, focusing on his bowl of cream. “i have.” he said as he nodded. 
“what was his name ?” you asked him. seonghwa took a pause, setting the bowl aside. “his name was hongjoong. we met in seoul a few years back and became friends. then we started dating and then…” seonghwa pursed his lips as he took another pause. “then he died.” 
the room went quiet and suddenly you felt sorry for asking. 
“i don’t mind talking about him. you can ask questions if you want.” he said, sensing that you were uncertain about asking him questions about hongjoong. so you decided to ask him the biggest question of all. 
“how did he die ?” 
“car crash.” he said. you didn’t ask another question but he continued. he told you everything you seemed to be curious about.
“it was one of the shittiest things to ever happen to me.” he told you. “i finally found someone after a really long time and then they were pulled away from me so soon. i wasn’t really expecting it.” 
seonghwa was peeling the walls off his heart. it was odd but it felt nice to ramble on and on about something he still never properly processed. 
“sitting with you like this is a lot like sitting with him.” 
you smiled in adoration at his words, leaning over to hug him but before you could, a loud crash emanated from the kitchen. seonghwa stood up immediately, pushing you behind him and pulling out a knife from his back. 
when did he have that ? 
it was a smooth silver blade with a white ivory handle. pretty to say the least. but focusing on the knife was the least of your concerns, seonghwa slowly pushed you back as footsteps were heard from the other side of the closed door. 
“stay quiet.” he told you. you nodded, gripping his shoulder and just barely peeking from behind. the room was suddenly quiet. your hair stood on your arms and the silence was eerie. 
you were about to speak up and forget about the issue but suddenly the door burst open. it flew off its hinges and landed right past you and seonghwa. 
a scream erupted from your throat, terrified at who this possible intruder could be. as you opened your eyes, you were first met with the sight of feathers flying everywhere, white feathers that seemed to encase the whole room. 
you looked around in surprise, wondering if maybe your pillows exploded. 
you slowly peeked over, suddenly witnessing a fair-complexioned man with long blonde hair that was tied behind his neck. 
“michael.” seonghwa spoke. he took a pause before speaking his next sentence, a lilt in his voice. “it’s nice to finally see you after all these years, brother.” seonghwa growled. 
brother ? 
“you know what i’m here for, samael. stop this madness.” the other angel replied. 
seonghwa chuckled, pushing you back into the wall. he lunged forward, striking the other man with the silver knife. a deep gash was seen on his arm as scarlet blood seeped from it. 
you didn’t know what was going on. who was this other man ? who was samael ? your head spun with confusion and you suddenly couldn’t handle it anymore. you fell back against the wall, shaking as the two men fought each other in your small bedroom. 
the blonde man’s wings knocked over all the little trinkets and the picture frames in your room but you couldn’t care less. you wanted to know who the fuck seonghwa was. you wanted to know what the fuck seonghwa was. 
you saw the two men lunge at each other once more before falling out the large window in your room. you screamed as the glass shattered and flew everywhere. it landed on you and suddenly you felt a stinging sensation on your cheek. your hand flew up to touch it and it felt wet. you couldn’t tell if it was your tears or the blood from your fingers alone. 
you brought them down to inspect your fingertip, trying to blink away the tears that clouded your vision. you scrambled up, watching the fight occur outside. the creature's wings flapped as he and seonghwa fought in the air. they landed punches and gashes at each other as seonghwa clawed at the other’s wings, trying to rip them apart. 
and he succeeded. seonghwa managed to slash a large gash in the wing. it was approximately 3 feet long and the gash glowed white, a silvery essence oozing from the wound. you heard the yell in pain and then launch seonghwa into the ground. he landed from a high altitude, making a large crash on the asphalt and being pushed back several feet, causing a ripple of broken asphalt in his wake. 
as the smoke from his crash cleared, you were met with a white-eyed seonghwa staring directly at you. his shirt was torn from the shoulder seams and his slacks were dirty. horns erupted from his head and you could spot what seemed like pink scars on his back. 
the blonde, white-eyes creature was nowhere to be found and seonghwa seemed to be darting straight for you. he ran insanely fast and managed to cross the parking lot within 30 seconds.
your eyes widened in horror, running out of your room to the basement. you quickly close the door behind you, rapidly moving any kind of furniture you could get your hands on to barricade the door. you shrieked as the door opened slightly. 
“open the door, y/n!” seonghwa screamed. you shook harder, crying as you tried to push against the furniture to keep him out. 
“i’ll explain everything, i swear!” he yelled. you didn’t know what to believe. what was he ? why hadn’t he died from that fall ? what was that other thing he was fighting ? 
“what the fuck are you!?” you screamed from behind the door, yelling as tears clouded your vision. your throat burned as tears ran down the apple of your cheeks. you didn’t know how to feel. who was he ? who had you been in love with this whole time ? 
“i swear i’ll answer everything. just please open the door.” he asked once again. 
the shaking of the door stopped but you didn’t. your body still panicked with shock and fear. you fell to the floor, bringing your legs up to your chest and shaking as you tried to force another sentence out to him. 
“just leave me alone.” you said. “this isn’t real. this isn’t real. this isn’t real.” you told yourself as you shook back and forth, trying to rock yourself to comfort. 
“this is fucking real, y/n. open the door like the good girl you are or you know i can force it open myself.” a chill ran down your spine as you thought of what he had just said. quickly, you scrambled up, pushing away the furniture from the door.
you backed up, pressing your back against the wall. you waited ten seconds before the doorknob started rattling, and suddenly it creaked open. you slid down the wall, burying your head in your knees and trying to become as small as possible. you kept your head down, slowly seeing a pair of dirty leather shoes come in your view. 
he stood right in front of you, crouching slowly and placing a hand on your cheek. or tried to place a hand on your cheek, because you flinched away first. seonghwa swallowed the lump in his throat, awfully feeling guilty. 
“i promise i won’t hurt you.” he told you as he placed a gentle hand on your wrists, slowly pulling your hands away from your face so he could see you properly. he offered a gentle smile, but the white glowing eyes still alarmed you. your breathing picked up as you tried to scoot away from him and further into the corner. 
“i’m sorry. i’m really sorry.” he said. “please stand up. we can go somewhere sa-” he started. 
“i don’t want to go anywhere with you.” you snapped. 
he looked down. “you’re gonna listen to what i have to say. i’m not letting you go until you hear me out. my name is park seongh-”
“no, it’s not! stop lying to me!” you yelled. 
“just shut up and listen!” he yelled at you, grabbing your shoulders and shaking you so you could stare directly into his eyes. 
“my name is park seonghwa. i’m your boss and you’re my employee. we’ve known each other for 8 months. we met at the coffee shop, remember ? marcela’s shop off the side of the highway ? and- and you spilled your coffee on me and then i got you another one but you felt bad so you decided to dry clean my suit for me. do you remember all that, baby ? do you remember when i took you out for the first time ? i bought you caramel corn and coca cola! do you remember the time i kissed you at the movies ? please, tell me you remember, baby.” he cried. 
flashes of images poured through your mind as he mentioned each event. you thought about how he had treated you like glass since the very first time you met. he was always a gentleman. he was a bit reserved but he was seonghwa. 
but one question still plagued your mind. 
“what are you?” you asked him. 
he pulled you up, bringing you up to stand against him. his arm wrapped around your waist as he pressed your head against his chest, kissing the crown of your head. 
“i’ll tell you everything soon. i promise.” 
-
the sun shined through your eyelids hours later. you tossed around the silky bed, unsure of your surroundings until you finally felt a presence at the foot of the bed. you shot up immediately, bunching the comforter around you. 
it was seonghwa. he sat in the chair at the foot of the bed, a glass of alcohol in his hand. he swished the liquid around, trying to cool it down with the ice. he was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of silk pajamas and a silky robe. you looked down to see what you were wearing and as expected, you also wore silk pajamas. 
it was a short mid-thigh length chemise with lace hemming and thin shoulder straps. it was the same shade of color as his. 
“why did you bring me here, seonghwa?” you asked. 
“because you wouldn’t listen to me otherwise. i promise i’ll explain everything to you today.” 
he leaned forward, staring right at you. “ask me anything you want.” 
you huffed, “first of all, what are you?” seonghwa rolled his eyes. “is that the only question on your mind?” he asked. now it was your turn to roll your eyes. “you said you’d answer any question i asked so answer it.” 
“an angel. formerly, an angel.” 
your eyes bulged out of your head, a nervous laughter bubbling past your throat. your heart sped up and you awfully felt like you were sitting in the cyclone, going up and down and back again. 
“so like- so you’re telling me that you’re an angel? like the ones in the bible ? ” you asked. seonghwa raised an eyebrow, nodding his head as he met his eyes with yours again. 
“okay… okay… so, you’re telling me that you’re an angel? and the guy you fought is your brother?” 
“former angel but yes, basically.” 
your eyes went wide as you stared in disbelief. was this even real ? was this… you had no words. 
“so like, why are you a former angel and not you know,… just an angel?” 
“go back to bed.” 
“no! you said you’d tell me! seonghwa!” you screamed, but he ignored you. he walked through the door, leaving you alone in the large, spacious room. 
you huffed, sitting back against the bed and crossing your arms over your chest. 
“fuckin’ asshole.” 
-
it was a little while later that seonghwa came back to get you. a dress in his hand and a small box of you don’t know what. 
“here’s some fresh clothes and a bit of makeup. it’s mostly mine, just use what you need and come down for breakfast.” 
you nodded, taking the clothes from him and heading over to the bathroom to change into the dress. the dress was pretty. it was white with small red cherries dotted around the entire dress. doll sleeves and a deep neckline. when you opened the box that he gave you with the dress, your eyebrows rose as you came in contact with a pair of white lacey underwear and a bra. 
you put it on anyway. 
you used the makeup you could use, sticking with just mascara and some concealer and lipgloss and light blush. giving yourself once last onceover, you exited the lavish bathroom, going back to find seonghwa sitting on the bed, scrolling through his phone. 
he eyed you up and down as you approached him. “you look good.” he told you. you nodded, “thanks,” you said to him. 
everything was awkward. nothing was like how it was before. there was a silence that overtook you. you felt too scared to say anything. he was an angel for god’s sake. you were scared he might smite you for saying the wrong thing. 
“i got your favorite. strawberry crepes, eat up.” you sat down and he sat in front of you, his own self dressed in a black suit and a black button-up with diamond cufflinks. he looked just as good. his hair was parted down the middle and it seemed like he had also just showered, his slightly longish hair curling up as it dried. 
“so have you ever like…” you paused to bring your knife across your throat, running it over the soft skin. “someone…?” 
seonghwa chuckled in amusement. 
he looked back down at his food, cutting and stabbing the crepe with a fork and putting it in his mouth. he chewed his food on the side as he answered you. “last night, actually.” 
you almost threw up the strawberry crepe. 
“i’m just kidding!” seonghwa said as he noticed your rigid form. “i was just joking. anyway, you can ask me questions now. just don’t ask me why i’m a former angel. i’ll tell you that in time.” 
you nodded, dabbing your lips with the white napkin. “so.. how old are you?” 
“i’m honestly not sure. i’ve been around since before adam and eve.” 
your heart dropped down to your ass. “you’re joking, right? i’ve always thought you were a little older than you said you were because you have all these different degrees in your room and i thought that being 36 was like.. really young and plastic surgery has really advanced so...” 
“i can promise you that i’ve got more degrees than that and i’m definitely older than 36. that’s like..a baby to me.” he told you. you nodded, “okay so next question. do you have wings ? like your brother ? also, are all of you really handsome like he is ?” 
seonghwa dropped his fork and stared at you in disbelief. for a second, you thought you really pissed him off but then he said, “why do you want that asshole’s number ? i’m literally right here! and he also fucked up your apartment !” 
“i was just kidding!” you told him. “i’m kidding, i swear.” but seonghwa rolls his eyes and continues to cut into the crepe he was munching on. he seems more upset than you would assume he would be. it was a joke after all. 
“are you that upset? it was just a joke. i don’t even know if he has a dick !” you exclaimed. but seonghwa set his fork down sassily. 
“i have pursued you for the last 8 months, have i not?” he asked. 
you nodded, “we’ve been going out for quite some time, yes.” 
“i’d like to make you mine.” 
the revelation from seonghwa was mind-boggling. you had just found out that he was a celestial being and then found out that this celestial being wanted you. upon hearing all this, you choked on a bite of the crepe and the celestial in front of you had to perfrom the heimlich manouver to get the bite out of you. 
you coughed it up disgustingly and suddenly, none of you had an appetite. peering behind him guiltily, you offered him a cheesy, toothy grin as though you were wordlessly saying ‘sorry.’ 
seonghwa looked at you unamused and dragged you up but the elbow. “come on, we’ve got places to be.” 
-
you didn’t expect him to drive you back home. 
“get your stuff, you’re staying with me until i get that window fixed. i don’t trust michael.” he said. 
you looked up at him with downturned eyebrows, “but-but what about nana?” he rolled his eyes. “go get your stuff.” “b-but-” 
“y/n, calm down. go get your things, i’m waiting for you right here.” 
you slumped your shoulders, making no further conversation and just moving on towards your house. you walked slow on purpose just to piss him off. it’s like he knew what you were doing because he honked his car horn and then suddenly pissing him off was a dream you left behind, making a dash for the apartment. 
entering the small laundromat at the bottom of the apartment, you yelled out for nan. “nana! nana! are you home?!” there was no answer. a pang of worry hit you and suddenly you didn’t trust going into the house further. 
upon entering further into the home, the odd eerieness of the place spooked you. the silence was deafening and your skin awoke with goosebumps. your lips turned down as you felt a presence behind you. you felt a cold breath ghost the skin of your neck and before anything else could happen, you ran back outside to the man in the car. 
“seonghwa! there’s someone in the house.” you told him, out of breath and exasperated. “babe, there’s no one in there.” he told you calmly. “yes, there is !” you pointed towards the apartment. he sighed, stepping outside the car and grabbing your hand to lead you back into the apartment. 
when you reached inside, you didn’t feel the presence from before. it was gone and suddenly you felt stupid. 
“y/n, there’s nobody here, babe.” he told you. you sighed. “but there was someone here!” 
seonghwa grabbed your hand and led you into your bedroom, opening your closet and throwing all your stuff out on the bed. 
“go get a suitcase. pack it up.” he commanded. 
you did as told, quickly piling your shit in and zipping up the suitcase so you could leave the building. it felt odd and scary like there was something crawling on the back of your neck. however, you trusted seonghwa to keep you safe like he did last time. you grabbed his arm and moved through the house with him, trailing the suitcase behind. 
as you approached the car, you noticed the large gashes on the side. you trailed your hands over them in shock. your suspicions were proven correct and you looked back at seonghwa in shock.
seonghwa raised an eyebrow in front of you, chewing his lip as he cautiously looked around the neighborhood scanning his eyes around the building. 
 he threw your suitcase in the back seat and tugged you to the driver's side, opening the door and putting a hand on your head to push you in safely. 
“get away from here. go.” 
you looked around frantically for any entity but you saw nothing. all you saw was seonghwa on edge and cautiously looking around. he slammed your door shut, urging you to drive away but you couldn’t help but look back and worry. 
but he looked at you through the window and you could make out his lips telling you, “leave! hurry up!” so you did as told, putting the car in drive and hitting the accelerator, and speeding out of the neighborhood as fast as you could. 
you watched seonghwa in the rearview mirror, watching him get smaller and smaller. you swore you only looked away for a second, focusing on the road as you were approaching the main road. when you looked back, your heart fell to your stomach as you saw a cloaked dark figure come and swoop seonghwa away. a hand flew over your mouth and your foot hit the brake. 
it was all done at the wrong time.
-
seonghwa had sent you off as fast as possible. he picked up the familiar scent off of you the second you came running telling him that there was someone in the house. his heart internally freaked, skyrocketing into the sky with panic. 
but he played it cool, telling you that it was nothing and then worrying even more when he saw the scratches on his car. he knew exactly who did this and it was no angel. 
when you were out of sight, he yelled out around all the buildings that surrounded him. 
“it’s nice to see you again, alastair!” seonghwa called out. 
the said demon emerged from seemingly nowhere, a dark cloak encasing him. his cheekbones were high and his hair was a fiery shade of hot pink. it was fitting for the flamboyant demon. 
“you ruined my car, asshole.” seonghwa said. 
the demon shrugged. “i asked for one last christmas. i didn’t receive it!” he called back. seonghwa rolled his eyes at his old friend. 
“why are you here?” the celestial asked. 
“dad sent me down.” the demon called. seonghwa raised a brow in confusion. his father had only been sending angels down for the last 32 years, which side did the sun rise from today ? alastair was the last demon he expected to see here on earth. 
“dad says you keep mass murdering innocent people” san responded. “says you’re not allowed to.” 
seonghwa raised an eyebrow in confusion. “why is that?” 
alastair shrugged his shoulders, hopping down to another shelling on the building, he crouched down in a spiderman position, “i don’t know. i’m just supposed to get rid of you.” 
seonghwa’s lips turned in disgust. his dad seemed to be a shittier father as the days went on. if all fathers in the world were like him, seonghwa was positive there would be hell on earth.
“i don’t think so, little brother. you know you’re gonna have to get through me first and when have you ever won against me?” seonghwa teased. 
the pink-haired demon smirked. “i didn’t win back then, but hell has changed since you’ve been gone. lilith is in charge and she’s a lot rougher than you ever were.” 
seonghwa rubbed his hands together. “good for blondie,” he said in reference to the queen of hell. 
‘let’s test you out, huh?” 
with that, alastair dived straight for seonghwa, picking up the celestial with the force of three jet engines. the breath was knocked out of seonghwa’s lungs. the ground splitting as seonghwa held his posture, his eyes turning white and horns emerging from his head as the veins on his neck bulged. seonghwa’s shoulder seams ripped as he put his full force into pushing alastair back. 
“come back to hell, brother.” alastair gritted through his teeth. seonghwa laughed, “i’d rather stay on earth than go back to hell. you know it was a short gig.” 
a blast emerged between the two brothers as their force collided, pushing both of them back into the tall neighbouring buildings. seonghwa coughed, dusting off his ripped shirt as he looked up to see where his brother landed. he made eye contact with the damage and the imprint of large wings and a body in the centre of a building, but the demon himself was absent. 
seonghwa pushed himself off the building, landing on his knee on the pavement. a tingle was felt behind his ear and he turned, then he felt one on his neck and then another on his hip. 
seonghwa seethed in anger. “cloaking isn’t going to save you, brother.” suddenly, he felt a cool blade at the back of his neck. he knew what it was. it would hurt him but it couldn’t kill him. it could definitely kill the other demon, though. 
“brother, you know better than to go around and mess in daddy’s toolbox.” seonghwa chuckled. “where did you find it?” he asked. san tilted his head as he poked the tip of the blade further into the celestials neck. 
“i took it from michael when he wasn’t looking. i’ll give it back to him, you know.. in due time. it’s got a great amount of your essence attached to it. i’m surprised it didn’t pulverise me.” 
seonghwa rolled his eyes, “save the lip-service for michael.” he muttered before turning quickly and unhanding the silver sword from the demon. a hand was now wrapped around alasiair’s throat and he was lifted off the ground. his eyes wide as saucers as he stared at his older brother. 
seonghwa examined the blade as he finally put his hands on his rightful property: the flaming sword. blue and white fire encased the blade when seonghwa held it, igniting as seonghwa felt a burst of power wash over him. his eyes bulged white as they rolled back into his head, glowing like his sockets had flashlights behind them. 
seonghwa’s body shook as the thunder roared in the sky. the sleeves of his shirt encased with great white flames as they burned off, revealing white ancient enochian glyphs that glowed on his veiny arms. 
seonghwa hadn’t felt this much power in the last 5,000 years. he hadn’t felt the touch of god himself and now that he has, he felt unstoppable. the rain poured on the two brothers as their wounds bled black and silver onto the street. it mixed together to form a grey fluid that seemed to be diluted with the rain. 
the rain poured, thunder roared above, and lightning flashed around seonghwa. alastair couldn’t be more scared than he already was but he swore he’d die when he saw the shadow of two giant wings and an enlarged humanoid on the pavement each time the lightning flashed. 
seonghwa had his wings back. samael was back. 
the scars were still apparent, making no move to sprout a new pair of wings for the celestial but the shadow was there. alastair thought he was hallucinating but when seonghwa flew up into the sky, his brother still held by the neck, he knew everything he saw was real. 
the wind rushed past seonghwa’s hair as he smiled, running a tongue over his teeth as he relived the feeling of being free in the air once again. he hadn’t felt this in 5,000 years and he never thought he’d experience it again but here he was. seonghwa flew higher and higher, reaching above the clouds and past the storm. he cheered and roared in happiness. 
“i got my fuckin’ wings back, dad!” he cheered as he flashed his middle finger to the sky. there was no physical set of wings weighing on his back but the power was back. the raven haired male had gained his full powers back and he was gonna finally take what he’d been waiting for all these years. 
he made loops and dove up and down in the air, cheering and whopping while alastair screamed in agony. the double cheeseburger he had that afternoon now seemed to be a mistake. his brother's grip was far too strong now that he had the sword in his hand and due to this, alastair couldn’t get away. 
“you see this, little brother?! maybe i won’t snitch on you after all.” seonghwa cheered as he spun in the air, holding on to his brothers ankle and spinning faster and faster until he was tossing his brother behind him. seonghwa watched until alastair was nothing more than a twinkling star in the atmosphere. 
“and tell dad that i’ll pay him a visit in a few days!” 
seonghwa smiled as he flew over the city, cloaking himself so he’d be invisible to the human eyes on the ground. he looked at the tall buildings that erupted from new yorks foundation, gleaming as he took in all the life. he stared at the men playing saxophones in the street, the tram going across the island, and he could even spot his apartment complex from here. 
he dove straight for the window of his apartment, arms pushing back as he turned into a rocket, blue flames encasing his body as he paused right before he hit the tall windows. he was still on fire but he didn’t seem to be burning anything. he sighed in relief. 
seonghwa opened up the window, hopping inside and falling flat on the floor. it took a couple seconds to gain his balance on the ground again, finding his footing before he could eat shit again. 
as he looked at his shadow against the wall of his large room, he chuckled to himself. there was indeed a pair of wings sprouting from his back, but when he turned to see them, his smile faltered. he felt nothing but the jagged scars he had received from his brothers years back. 
but he pushed it away, trying to hide his disappointment and focused on the fact that he could fly again. just as he looked up to the front door, it burst open with you behind it. you ran up to him, clutching his body in a hug as you two fell onto the bed together.
your face was streamed with tears and messy mascara. your nose was sniffling and it made seonghwa coo. 
“i thought you were gone! i thought something happened to you! hwa, please don’t make me leave like that ever again, you know i ca-” your rambling was all interrupted. your eyes went wide as you came to the realisation of what had just occurred. you didn’t know if you should respond to his actions or just stand there dumbfounded. 
but his lips slotted against yours felt too good not to kiss back. you moaned as he gripped your jaw, wrapping his arm around your waist. you kissed each other messily, saliva spilling past your lips as you chased after the wasted time between you. 
you chased after his lips as he pulled away only for a moment to push you back up against the pillows. you moaned as he spread your legs apart with two hands on your knees. 
you let him slide himself in between your legs, curling them around him so you could lock him into your grip. 
“you have no idea how happy i am today” he whispered against your clavicle, the bone shining with his spit as he sucked marks onto your skin. you tangled your fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to your body. 
“why ?” you asked him. you felt the smirk on his lips against your skin as he kissed down your chest. “i’ll show you later.” 
he focused on removing your dress, the same cherry one he had bought you. seonghwa lithe hands flipped you around so you could face the mirror in the corner of his room. 
“look at yourself. look at how you’re such a mess for me without me even doing anything yet.” he pulled into your ear. he was right. sweat ran down the expanse of your chest, trailing further before sinking into the valley of your breasts. your hair was dishevelled and there were marks that littered your soft skin.
his marks. marks that proved that you belonged to him and him only. 
he reached a hand up to the zipper on your back, using his other hand to grip your jaw so you could see yourself in the mirror. 
“look into my eyes as i undress you, break contact and i stop. understood ?” he said lowly into your ear. 
you nodded, listening closely and staring hard as his fingers pressed against your neck, pulling the zipper of the dress down. you zeroed in on the clinking of the metal as the fabric became loose around your shoulders.
he pushed it back to reveal the straps of the lingerie he had bought you. seonghwa teeth sunk into your shoulder, sending you forward in pain. “you look so fucking good for me.” he praised. 
you cried as he dug his teeth harder, feeling your skin almost break from the force. he grabbed your wrists, pulling them back as he slowly pushed you down. 
your cheek was smushed into the mattress and your ass was facing up. seonghwa chuckled as he kissed the back of your neck, slowly trailing his fingers behind your ear to push your hair out of the way. 
with another hand, the shoulders of the dress came off and pulled away until it was nothing but a heap of cotton on the hardwood floors. you lay bare in front of him in nothing but lacy lingerie and even in that, the fabric was still transparent.
seonghwa chuckled at the dark wet patch on your panties, prodding at it with two fingers as you cried out for him. but seonghwa didn’t seem to be done just yet. he wanted to take his time since he had all the time in the world, quite literally. 
he kissed down your back, smoothing a hand along your spine to arch you properly for him. “you look so good in what i bought for you.” he praised. 
when you offered him no response, he slapped your rear, scolding you. “you say thank you when i praise you. understood ?” 
you nodded, “yes, sir.” you cried as tears begin to sting at your eyes at the searing pain of the slap he delivered to your cheek. seonghwa kissed down your spine, reaching your ass and suddenly stopping to slap it and grope it fondly. 
“such a cute baby.” he told you. you remembered to thank him this time, to which he hummed in approval. his kisses seared your skin exactly how you’d imagine the blades of hell. it felt hot against your flesh and if he so wanted, you’d let him have a piece of you. 
you moaned as he pressed two fingers against your clit, prodding through the fabric until your cunt gushed for him. “aw, you’re so fucking wet, baby.” he told you. you whined in response, unable to get a word out due to the two fingers teasing your clit through the thin lace panties.
“f-fuck, hwa!” you screamed as he pushed aside the fabric and plunged his fingers inside the wet, gushing muscle. he thrusted his fingers inside at a rapid speed and your moans came out in broken fragments. you screamed as a searing thumb landed on your clit, rubbing the bud with fervour and joy. 
“you’re so fucking tight, baby. gonna have to stretch you out for my cock.” he taunted as he continued his rapid pace. you felt unbelievably good and it was expected. no one would imagine sex with an angel as bad. the few times you had sex, it was mid. he made you cum with his fingers and then proceeded to show you out to the door. 
but with seonghwa, it felt mind numbing. your senses were gone and overheated all at the same time. he made you feel so many emotions at once and you genuinely thought you’d break if he continued to touch you in this way. 
his teeth latched onto your neck, teasing and pulling at the skin while his hands spread open your lower lips so he could attack your clit better. he was on top of you, fucking you on his fingers like you were his little toy. 
and maybe you were. you felt an irreplaceable emotion of pleasure as the knot in your stomach tightened. “hwa, f-feels s-so good.” you told him. he chuckled in pleasure. “i make you feel good, don’t i?” 
he grabbed your jaw, juices littering the edges of his fingers. “tell me who makes you feel this good. look in the mirror and tell me.” your lips turned down as you caught sight of yourself. you looked worse than earlier when he made you look in the mirror, breasts spilling out of your bra and panties on the verge of tears. they created red marks where they were strained on your hips due to all the positions seonghwa was putting you in. 
your nipples perked up at the cold air and seonghwa reached up and flicked it to which you responded to him with a breathy moan. a few more moments passed by without you providing him an answer and suddenly, you felt a sharp sting on the side of your breast. you shrieked as you looked to the side to see a red mark the size of his hand imprinted on your breast. 
“h-hwa-” you cried but he cut you off. “i thought i told you to answer me when i ask a question, doll.” you only looked up into his eyes, tears spilling past your own. “such a crybaby.” he crooned. his fingers pushing your cheeks together until your lips pouted. 
“say ‘ahh’” he commanded, and this time you listened. he spat into your mouth and shut it for you. “swallow it.” he directed. you listened again, too scared of his heavy hand on your body any further. despite the sting, you couldn’t ignore the gushing between your thighs each time his hand made contact with soft skin. 
“now tell me, who makes you feel this good?” he asked again. you were gonna answer him but his fingers in your cunt sped up at an inhumane pace, making it hard for you to form words. whatever words you could force out were garbled and messy and he mocked you for that. 
“on-only yo-you. fuckin’ slut can’t even speak.” he snarked. seonghwa tossed you back down, shoving your face into the mattress as he lay down in between your thighs. your cunt hovered over his mouth, dripping your juices into his mouth before he even got a chance to taste it himself.
“hwa, please.” you begged him. he listened to what you wanted, grabbing your thighs and bringing you down so you were sat on his face. using the remaining strength left in your arms, you brought yourself up. 
“look at yourself.” he commanded from between your legs, the vibrations reverberating through your cunt and making you grip the headboard harder. you did as he said, cunt pulsing tighter as you stared at the sight in the mirror. 
you kneeling over seonghwa’s mouth, and gripping the headboard for dear life as he dove into your cunt. his tongue worked wonders, plunging inside you to explore the tight, wet muscle between your legs. then he licked back up, flicking his tongue across your clit in rapid, harsh motions. 
seonghwa groaned at the soft fingers that gripped his ebony locks, pulling at his scalp for mercy. you felt the vibrations of his noises as he continued his work, drinking in the nectar you continued to provide him with. 
“you’re so beautiful.” he told you before attaching his lips to your clit, sucking harshly and sending your body overboard. you shook as the wave of pleasure washed over you. your body twitched as you fell from the grip you had on the headboard, collapsing backward but before you could fall, seonghwa held onto you. he supported your body up as he continued to suck on your clit. 
waves of heat and ice rolled over your body as you succumbed to the pleasure. your mind felt numb as he continued, no time for mercy. you shook and cried, trying to pull away but he wouldn’t let you. the celestial kept you planted on his tongue, licking and sucking until you didn’t have it in you to fight him any longer. 
when you felt like you were gonna pass out two more orgasms later, that’s when seonghwa let you go. he let you fall onto your side, trying to catch your breath as he sat behind you, legs wide as he pulled you up against his chest. 
“was it okay? was that okay, baby?” he asked you. you responded a moment later, still trying to recover from the shocks of your orgasms. “great, so so good.” you whined out of breath. “ ‘m so sensitive..” you whined. he chuckled behind you, kissing your neck and smiling into your skin like a bumbling idiot. 
“we aren’t done just yet, though.” 
your eyes went wide as seonghwa pushed you down on the bed, pulling your thighs apart so he could slot himself between. the bulge in his boxers was surreal and your eyes went wide at how you’d be able to take him properly. but he shushed you, calming you down and holding onto your hand. fingers interlaced with each others, he pushed his cockhead in, pausing to allow you time to adjust to his size. 
you gripped his shoulders, trying to steady your breathing and get used to what it all felt like. he pushed in a bit more as you gave him the green light, using your own heel and pressing it into his back until he was all the way in. 
you gasped as he filled you up all the way, tip kissing your cervix. “still got an inch to go, sweetheart.” he told you. “hwa..” you cried, cunt burning with pain as you tried to get used to it all. “shh, shh.” he cooed into your ear as he left soft kisses on your face to calm you down. it all felt so good but it hurt so bad. 
as seonghwa delivered small, cherry-like kisses to your body, the pain between your legs slowly dissipated. you only felt pleasure as seonghwa began to move back and forth. he pushed his hips in and then pulled right back out before slowly inching in slowly. 
you thought you were gonna go crazy. his cock felt so good. it was thick and long and you thought that he might just bruise your cervix if he kept thrusting in as hard as he was going. 
“slow down…” you begged him, placing a hand on his stomach as you tried to slow his movements. hwa didn’t listen, which was quite unfair considering you were quite obedient for him. 
he grabbed your hand and captured your other, pinning it above your head. the celestial sped up, slamming into your cunt easily with the amount of lube you had provided him with. 
your cunt squeezed and gushed around him, pulling him inside and barely letting go as he fucked into you. seonghwa rested his cheek against your chest as he fucked you, breathing out an array profanities and praises. he told you how good he felt, how good you made him feel. 
“you’re so good to me, baby.” he told you, kissing your forehead as his hips began to stutter. his thrusts got sloppier and the knot in your tummy got tighter. 
he laced your fingers tighter, pulling you close by the waist as he continued to ram his cock into you at an inhumane pace. “gonna cum inside you. inside you, baby” he groaned. 
you laced your finger in his hair, urging him to do what he was saying to you. “cum in me. please, hwa. wanna be yours so bad.” 
with that, seonghwa came inside you, a white hot feeling bursting in your gut as he continued to ride his orgasm out. seonghwa groaned and whined out loud as you dug your nails into his biceps and shoulders, trying to pull him into you. 
“cum for me.” he told you, and that’s all you needed to reach your own orgasm, cock twitching inside you as your own walls tightened against him. he whined louder as your nails dug into his back.
“fuck- y/n, pause. don’t touch me there..” he whined. you retracted your hands, pulling them away to quickly apologise but seonghwa didn’t let you. he pressed his lips to yours like he didn’t wanna talk about what you had just done. 
he fucked you harder instead, pushing in that remaining inch of cock that he didn’t bother to fit in earlier. your eyes rolled back as you clawed at the bedsheets, twisting and turning your hips. there was no way you could take him any longer. 
attempting to push him away, seonghwa just flipped you over. his cock was still inside and he just arched your back for you as he continued to fuck. you could not fight him on this any longer. your hands tucked behind your back as he kept a grip on your wrists. 
seonghwa fucked you through your orgasm, making you shake and cry in ecstasy. “h-hwa! fuck! f-feels so good!” you cried out to him. he hummed in excitement, ready to unload himself into you for the second time. 
the intense wet feelings between both of your legs led you to a blinding orgasm, sending you both forward onto the bed. you fell forward and he fell on top, arms wrapped around your waist while he buried his face in your neck. 
“are you okay?” you asked him, reaching back to run a hand through his hair. he nodded, smiling into your neck and suddenly, you were smiling too. his teeth showcasing a perfect set of pearly whites as he peered down at you. 
you twisted your body to rest against the headboard, seonghwa still laying in between your legs. he hugged you around you waist, resting his face against your bare thigh. 
you smiled in adoration at the man. he was beautiful, ethereal even. you wondered how a man like him was so stoic to everyone. a man that cracked dark jokes and liked to scare you before hugging you and comforting you until you were no longer mad at him. his ebony hair glowed in the sunlight, painting a golden hue against his skin tone and the rest of the room. 
as you look up at the wall, you noticed the shadows of two large wings. your eyes widened, fingers reaching up to touch whatever was there but your fingers couldn’t even make an imprint. staring at the wings in shock, you looked down and saw nothing but two jagged scars that ran down his back. 
they were messed up. his skin was torn, mended together, and finally, tainted. the scars ran from in between his shoulder blades, down to the middle of his back. you wondered how these scars never healed. 
every single scratch you had ever witnessed him receive had disappeared within a day, so why hadn’t these scars healed ? 
your eyes teared up as you inspected them closer, your breath ghosting along his back. seonghwa was fast asleep, softly breathing against your thigh. his eyes were shut closed as his lashes pressed to his golden cheek. 
you pressed your fingertips to his back, running your fingers around the scars but never touching them. 
“who did this to you?” you wondered out loud, tears threatening to fall past your waterline. your fingers got curious, hands trailing closer and closer to the jagged scar tissue and before you could reach your destination, a strong hand came around your wrist. you were met with white, glowing eyes and a cold expression. 
“it’s none of your business who did this to me.” 
he got up from between your legs, letting your wrist go and moving away to put on his boxers. your rapidly beating heart could do nothing to get him to come back and answer your questions. 
suddenly, the atmosphere went dark. not even a moment ago, he was telling you how good you were for him and softly cooing at you, but now he had a stoic expression on his face. it scared you. 
he walked back over to you with a black button up and black boxers. he reached down to pull them over your legs and under your bum until they were snug around your hips. then he took the black button up and pulled it around your shoulders, letting you move your arms through the sleeves yourself. 
as he buttoned you up, he spoke to you, “i’ll tell you in time everything about myself.” he buttoned two buttons. “i’ll tell you everything and make sure there’s no more secrets between us. i want you to trust me completely.” he said. 
you nodded. “the story about my wings is a little personal. i’ll tell you in time but if you look a little harder, you’ll find out yourself.” he did the last two buttons, looking up at you with a warm smile and equally warm, chocolate eyes. 
you didn’t know what he meant but you decided that piecing together the timeline of everything that’s happened between you two so far was the best way. 
he patted your bum for you to get up and move to the living room so he could fix the sheets. you did as told but chose to head to the kitchen instead. looking through his fridge, you spotted colourful bell peppers, chicken breast, onion, and some eggs. 
you pulled out all the ingredients and set them aside. looking into his large pantry, you found packs of red buldak ramen. you smiled in content, giggling like a child as you stared at the packet. 
‘it’s been so long without you,’ you sighed, hugging the packet to your chest. you took the packet to the counter, pulling out a knife and cutting board. chopping up the bell peppers and onions, you stir fried them in a bit of olive oil. 
then you got started on the egg, whipping it and then frying it in the same oil you used for the vegetables. you smiled in content at the scent of bell peppers and onions. 
once the egg was done, you put that aside too. 
taking the chicken, you cut the breast into pieces. throwing them into a skillet with some oil and the red sauce packet that came with the ramen. you threw some salt and turmeric in, stir frying the chicken until it was fully cooked. 
you wondered where seonghwa was, looking around to see if he had sneaked up behind you, but no. he was nowhere in sight, just you and the black cat, lucy, he had. 
the feline purred as she wrapped around your feet, nuzzling her face against your ankle, licking at the skin. you giggled at the sensation, leaning down to give her a piece of cooked unseasoned chicken. she snarfed it down happily. 
with your attention away from the stove, seonghwa walked into the kitchen, turning the heat down under the noodles. 
“you’re cooking ?” he asked. you were startled, reaching up and looking back at him with shocked eyes. “don’t scare me like that !” you yelled at him. he smiled, stepping behind you as you went back to the stove. 
you combined all the ingredients together, putting them in one large skillet and stir frying the noodles together with the chicken, chopped scrambled egg, and the vegetables. you added a bit more seasoning and the rest of the sauce. 
seonghwa stood behind you, staring in fondness as he gripped your waist. “smells so good, baby.” he told you. you thanked him, glad he seemed to like the food you had made him (so far). 
“now go sit at the table. i’ll bring it to you.” you ordered him. he listened but not before taking the needed plates and utensils with him. four chopsticks, two bowls and glasses for water. 
you filled the pitcher with ice cold water and handed it to him. it was a lovely movement. the array of tasks you completed together. your actions and souls met together just like the perfect puzzle pieces. he kissed you tenderly as he grabbed the skillet of noodles from your hand and set it down on the table. 
as you both served each other, consoling each other as the spice hit the both of you right in the mouth, a presence watched from above. you were unaware of the eyes on you and seonghwa. he didn’t notice it either, too engrossed with the idea of you. 
-
seonghwa had a rendezvous with someone at a cafe. you asked him to stay safe and he did nothing but throw a silver and blue blade into the back of his jeans, kiss your cheek and walk out the door. 
he figured he didn’t wanna wreck another one of his cars so he used his wings. the feeling was a bit foreign to him after so many years and although, he was happy to gain them back, he preferred the leather seats of his expensive cars. 
he flew into an alley, walking out so he didn’t seem too suspicious to the various people walking around. he crossed the street quickly, walking into the cafe and soon coming in contact with the exact person he wanted to see. 
pulling a chair out, he stepped down to come face to face with his older brother. he had soft pale skin, broad shoulders and a puppy-like charm. 
“uriel.” seonghwa started. the other angels lips quirked up. “hello, samael.” he responded. the two angels exchanged small talk over a cup of coffee. uriel was always the sensible one. he used his brain over his power and it always seemed to aid him. this meeting seemed to be like one of his negotiations. except, this lacked the presence of millions of angels overlooking his decisions. 
“what human name do you go by?” seonghwa asked. yunho took a sip of his coffee, setting it down with a gentle thud and looking back up to meet his brothers eyes. 
“jeong yunho. it’s been a while with this name. i think i should change it soon.” he said. the angels voice was like chocolate. rings adorned his fingers and he held a great power to him, even seonghwa felt it. 
“i haven’t changed my name since 1922. i think you’ll be fine.” seonghwa said. yunho nodded, finishing the last of his coffee and setting it down in front of him. seonghwa scowled in disgust, looking aside at the sheer atrocity of sugar sitting at the bottom of the cup. 
“what did you wanna see me for ?” seonghwa asked. his eyebrow was raised as he took a sip from his dark, boiling brew. “i know you didn’t just randomly ask me for coffee.” 
yunho chuckled, “i came to speak to you about your recent activities.” seonghwa rolled his eyes. was this all these stupid angels wanted to know about ? he felt a slight twinge of jealousy within him but he brushed it away. 
“alastair attacked me yesterday and michael attacked me the day before. im glad you’ve got the brain to meet me with some class but what’s your guys’ issue?” seonghwa berated. 
“you’re a real special case, bozo.” yunho chimed. 
seonghwa nodded, “i’m well aware. is there anything else?”
“do you know why father hasn’t contacted you personally?” yunho asked. 
seonghwa raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. he shook his head ‘no’ but asked yunho to enlighten him. after all, he was curious to know why his father had gone this long without him. 
he was also concerned with why his father intended on killing off his happiness despite already giving him a hoard of punishments.
“after you were banished, eve apologised for eating the fruit but father didn’t want to bring you back and after her sin, father banished her and adam as well. in her guilt, she asked michael to tear her soul in half.” yunho narrated.
seonghwa leaned in closer to listen intently, the story catching his attention. “go on..” he urged yunho. 
“with a torn soul, a majority of the humans conceived after were failures. it’s why cain killed abel. their souls weren’t whole.” yunho trailed off. 
seonghwa scowled in disgust. “so what the fuck does that have to do with me ?” 
yunho looked up in thought, then back down to connect with seonghwa’s eyes that slowly seemed to change in colour. 
“father isn’t aware of what michael did. after what happened to you, michael kept all his mistakes hidden from father. you promised him that you’d corrupt every single soul that he’d create, so ” yunho trailed off again. 
“so fucking what?” seonghwa retorted. he looked away, staring at the passing cars as he felt the blood in his veins boil. 
yunho seemed to be a tiny bit offended. he leaned in, fingers interlaced on the table as he looked at seonghwa with a dark glint in his eyes. “father’s under the impression that you’re the reason the souls are torn. he can’t repair a broken soul so he can’t reverse the damage that humans have been causing. he’s more pissed that you succeeded in your mission to ruin his little… earth project.” 
seonghwa didn’t want to listen to this anymore. he got up, grabbed his keys, and slammed a 50 dollar bill on the table. “enjoy your nasty ass coffee.” 
but yunho called after him, not caring about the various human heads that turned to listen to their conversation. 
“talk to him yourself, samael ! or else you’re gonna keep losing everyone you fall in love with!”
but seonghwa pushed his words away. he ignored the words that yunho threw at him. 
he was disgusted. he wanted to tear his brother apart. michael was going to meet his end. his eyes burned red in anger. 
michael was the reason he was blamed for all the things that kept happening. 
he couldn’t piece his mind together. 
he flew throughout new york city with fire igniting his body. flames licked his skin and the invisible wings behind him were also painted by flames. he truly looked like a man of fire. the man who held the rage of every living being. 
-
google was free. 
sometimes you wished it cost you a dollar per search, though. you wish you hadn’t gotten too curious about your boyfriends backgrounds. you wish you hadn’t open up your laptop and typed in “samael” into the search bar. 
you wish you didn’t click on all the sites that seemed to have some kind of information about the angel samael. 
your eyes widened as you scanned the words on the screen. ‘fallen angel, various names, corrupted humanity, found evidence.’ all the info startled you. you took a deep breath, taking a large sip of the ice cold water sitting on your desk. 
you closed the laptop shut, backing away from the desk. you put your head in your hands. there had to be some kind of mistake, you believed. if seonghwa truly was the devil, the fallen angel who corrupted humanity, why didn’t he tell you? 
there was only one way to find out and that was to directly ask him. there must have been a reason he was avoiding your questions about why he was a former angel and not a regular one like michael. 
there must be an explanation for the scars on his back. 
you decided that tonight would be the perfect time to ask. 
-
the silence in the room when seonghwa came back home was deafening. he was slightly annoyed. 
he left to go shower. his feet padding a little too loudly against the floor as he stormed off into his room. when seonghwa was out of sight, you decided to fix up the house a bit to appease him. 
you wanted to avoid the question until he calmed down so you did the job for him. there was no issue in doing a little housework while he was around to make him appreciate you. 
you felt wrong. it was a teeny bit manipulative but a little buttering up couldn’t hurt. you made him a small meal before he got back, cleaned up some of his laundry and fixed his sheets. he hid truths from you too, didn’t he? 
as soon as he walked back in, he let out a sigh of content before walking over to you. strong arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into his body. you hugged back and wrapped your arms around his shoulders and pressed your cheek against his chest. 
his face was in your neck as he pressed small, sweet kisses against the soft skin. 
“where did you go?” you asked. 
“meeting with one of my brothers. he wanted to talk.” he spoke into your neck.
“what did you guys talk about?” you asked again. 
“i don’t wanna talk about it. let’s just say that my father’s been unknowingly blaming me for my brother’s mistake for the last 5,000 years.” 
your eyebrows turned down, a frown set on your face. you pulled away from your man, holding his face in your delicate hands. he peered upon you with adoration, looking at you with nothing but love in his eyes. 
within seconds, his brows furrowed once more. “are you alright? you seem a little tense.” he stated. your body went rigid but you did your best to hide it, put on a smile and fake it till you made it. 
“i’m perfectly fine, hwa. just busy with things in the office.” 
that seemed to convince him. the crease between his eyebrow soothed and he went back to looking at you with fondness in his eyes and a delicate hand on your body. 
“i love you.” he spoke as he gripped your wrist. when he spoke like this and looked at you with utter tenderness, you lost all the doubt you had in mind after finding out he was an angel. 
“i’ll love you forever.” you whispered to him. despite the new information, there was no reason for you to forget about him. if he hadn’t hurt you yet, you believed he wouldn’t do so in the future. with that, he pressed his lips against yours. the music you played in the back helped him sway you along to the beat of his heart. 
indila sang to the rhythm of ‘love story’ as seonghwa swayed you on his toes, leading you into the kitchen. 
“il n’est pas fou,” he sang into your ear. you smiled, feeling rejuvenated as he sang the lyrics of the french song tenderly to you. 
“non, non plus rien ne le retient.” you sang back to him. 
he pulled away from you, a smile so wide that his gleaming white teeth showed. the melody played in the back as you danced together, your hand on his shoulder, his on your waist and the rest of your five fingers intertwined with his. 
he spun you around and around, right under the glass chandelier that hung in his spacious apartment. 
“dans sa love story.” you sang together, a symphony erupting in your hearts. the beat playing from the speaker swelled your souls, love and reverence pouring into your joint home like a violent storm. 
“dans ma love story..” he saved the last few lyrics for himself, singing them to you as you stared into each others eyes. his were warm and soft, and he pulled you into his arms, holding onto you tightly. 
“hold on tight, baby.” he told you and suddenly, you felt the marble floor shy away from the pads of your feet. “s-seonghwa?!” you cried in shock, but he shushed you with a kiss to your lips. 
his hands wandered tighter around your waist and you gripped his shoulders with just as much force. as your lips slotted together with more force, the sudden feeling of wind rushing past you encased your body. 
you refused to open your eyes, just kissing the love of your life. the weather was warm and sunny, but never burning. you felt ecstatic as shocks spread out in your body. the wind blew past you and the scent of sky and rain filled your nose. 
“open your eyes, baby.” when you opened your eyes, you let out a loud scream. you were in contact with pink and purple clouds. the sun shined in the distance and it felt so close, you thought you could walk into the flaming ball of hydrogen gas. 
your feet touched the clouds but never touched anything you could ground yourself on. you let go of seonghwa suddenly, curiosity overtaking your senses. you felt the grip of his fingers on your waist; you knew he’d never let go. 
he lead you forward on the cloud and you walked along with the pink cotton-like formation. 
you laughed, joy encasing your mind as you stepped along. seonghwa smiled behind you, looking at you in adoration. 
“seonghwa, i’m literally walking on a cloud!” you told him enthusiastically. “i know, baby and it’s the ninth one too. you can finally say you’ve reached cloud nine.” he smoothed.
when you looked up and stared at your surroundings, you realized he was right. there weren’t many clouds in the purple-orange sky but the ones that were there, you could count on your fingers. 
you really were on the ninth one. 
“alright, hold onto me again,” he spoke behind you. you wish he waited a tiny bit for you but before you knew it, you were diving down again. seonghwa traveled faster than the speed of light. you dug your face into his neck, avoiding any of your own drool spilling out itno the atmosphere. 
when he stopped again, you were finally making contact with solid ground. you sighed in content and opened your eyes, only being met with more surprise. you stood on the tip of the empire state building. your eyes went wide and your breathing sped up in exasperation. 
as you looked far into the horizon, you saw the central park tower shining amongst the skyscrapers in manhattan. the one world trade center reflected the sun’s light off of it, shining it back onto the tourists that traveled towards the statue of liberty. 
seonghwa showed you new york in its entirety and from a perspective you never thought you’d see. 
talk about going on a date. 
“so beautiful.” you told him. he nodded, “you really are.” you laughed at his stupid joke, slapping his chest. 
“do you like this ?” he asked. you turned to look at him, pulling him down to meet your lips. he kissed back with just as much need, sliding his tongue against your bottom lip. 
“i love this.” you told him. pressing another kiss to his lips, you told him once again, “i love you.” 
-
asking seonghwa about the information you had found online, in the libraries, and at the local religious places in the city had proven to be difficult. 
how would you ask him ? 
‘hey man, i read this online. are you satan?’ you told yourself. 
you sighed in irritation. there must be a way you could approach him with this but you couldn’t understand how. you thought that maybe digging around in his apartment would prove to be fruitful but looking for the answers to samael were fatal enough.
it couldn’t hurt to try though. 
it all started with a fake stomachache on monday morning. he insisted on staying home for you, but you urged him to visit the office. you felt terrible lying to him like this, but this was a mystery you insisted on getting to the bottom of. 
“baby, you should really go today. it’s been a while since you’ve visited the office.” you cooed to him, holding his face in your hands. he held onto your wrist, looking at you with a somber and worried expression and a part of you felt like it was breaking. 
you felt so incredibly guilty for going behind his back like this. 
“but you’re si-“ he started, but you cut him off just as quick. “it’s just a stomachache. i’ll have a few tums and tea and i’ll be fine. don’t worry about me too much.” you assured him. 
the crease in his eyebrows hardened. “hm, okay. i trust you. call me if you need anything, okay ?“ 
‘i trust you.’ 
“yeah, i will.” you told him. he kissed your forehead, saying a quick bye and adjusted his cuff links before grabbing his car keys and leaving the house.
the second you watched his car leave the complex garage, you scrambled out of bed. you tip-toed towards his closet, trying to find something that seemed incriminating enough. 
you looked through the various expensive suits, expensive shirts, and cufflinks of every design that you could imagine. you felt the pockets for anything significant but to no avail. there was nothing within his clothes that you could find. you gave up on the lower closet, heading towards the higher cabinets instead. 
his room had closets and shelves that reached the ceiling. you grabbed the slideable ladder, moved up to the ledge, and climbed onto the ladder. there was a slight danger of you falling back down but you didn’t worry about it too much. 
you felt up the trousers and pants that he owned, touching up and down the pockets. it was still no help. you looked up and under and tried to check the insides of the closet. it wasn’t until you moved towards the end of the closet, feeling a bulge under the carpet. you crossed your brows in confusion. 
you felt the knob, feeling it through the thin material. you shined your flashlight onto the carpet. your eyes widened as you saw a seam on the side of the bump. you dug your fingers underneath it, feeling the hard sensation of a zipper below the seam, you lead your fingers to the end of it, finding the hook of a zipper and pulling it back. 
with a rough pull around a square-like piece of the carpet, you were met with a locked safe under the thin carpet. a lock with a combination was set into it. you frowned, wondering what it could be. 
maybe it was seonghwa’s birthday. you put in the numbers quickly, spinning and turning the lock. 04-03-98. you waited for a second to see if the lock would click but to no avail. the crease in your eyebrows hardened. you tried the next combination you could imagine.
10-24-18. it was allegedly seonghwa’s favorite number’s. they were set in a special manner and for some reason, you hadn’t figured out why. you turned and twisted the knob again, waiting for a second to see if you put it in right. you huffed in irritation, trying the same numbers again but the result was the same as before. 
you thought that maybe the third attempt would be a charm. you tried your own birthdate, clicking in the numbers, 02-22-22. this time, much to your joy, the lock clicked. you smiled in victory, grabbing the handle and pulling open the safe. 
a light emanated from the safe, it was blue and white. you almost felt blinded by the glow of it. squinting your eyes, you attempted to reach your hand into the safe. you felt nothing but when you took a closer look, you saw a silver and white handle with a blade that stretched a good meter down. 
reaching your hand for the handle, you lost sense of what you were doing. as your hand touched the handle of the blade, you felt a shock go through your body. your skin felt like it was on fire, a flame encasing the part of your hand that the blade touched. you cried in agony, losing your grip on the ladder and falling back. 
you prepared yourself for the impact of the hard marble floor and the feeling of your skull cracking but it never came. instead, you were met with the feeling of strong, warm arms holding your body. you rested against his chest, crying and feeling so guilty for what you did. 
the fire from your hand was still ignited, but it didn’t burn any longer. your tears kept flowing as the pain from before was still resonating within your body. he hugged you closer and closer, pulling your head against his chest. 
you gripped his shirt, setting it on fire as well. the fabric slowly burned off but seonghwa showed no sign of any kind of pain. he grabbed your hand, holding it in his. you felt a rush of power go through you and suddenly, the fire was extinguished. you sighed in contentment as the pain left your body, but your hand still felt like you dropped boiling coffee on it. 
“what were you thinking?!” seonghwa roared. you flinched under his loud voice, shaking as you pulled away from him. his lips formed into a thin line as looked at you. you couldn’t see any love behind his eyes, only the fury and rage and maybe a hint of disappointment. 
“i-i was ju-” 
“just snooping around my stuff, y/n?” he barked. seonghwa looked away at the ground, lowering his voice as he mumbled a soft, “that thing could have killed you.” 
“i’m sorry..” you cried, tears running down your cheeks. your eyes burned and your head filled with fire. you couldn’t stand the feeling of him being angry at you. you cowered under his eyes, trying to crawl away from him. he didn’t let you, though. he advanced forward, leaning over you as he held your face in his hands. 
“i just need you to tell me the truth on what you were doing, y/n.” he told you, calmly. despite his calm demeanor, you still felt like he spat your name like a curse. you took a deep breath, calming down as he wiped your tears away. his thumb caressed your cheek as he stared at you with sadness in his eyes. 
it pained him to see you look like this. your body radiated guilt and pain. “y/n… just tell me what’s going on. is it the stomachache making you do shit like this?” 
you shook your head, not bothering to look into his eyes. “then what is it?” he asked. you felt like a child being rebuked by her parents. 
“i know.” you cried, more tears slipping past your waterline. seonghwa’s eyes widened only for a second before reverting back to a thin line, squinting as he inspected you. 
“know what ?” he asked. 
“you’re the one that fell, right ?” you asked him. 
“what?” seonghwa asked. his eyebrows crossed in confusion as he looked down at your figure. “what do you mean?” his words came out fast and sped up. 
“the story of lucifer. the angel that fell from heaven…” you trailed off. seonghwa looked down, his lips forming a thin line. he didn’t bother looking into your eyes. he stayed quiet, not bothering to confirm anything. 
so you spoke further, “it’s true, isn’t it?” he still didn’t answer. you added fuel to the fire as you continued to speak. “michael called you samael, that’s who are, right?” 
“don’t fucking call me that.” he snapped. you flinched at his tone, backing away further into the corner of his room. “i am not samael.” he declared. “i haven’t been samael since father kicked me out of heaven.” 
seonghwa’s voice was slowly raising in volume. his eyes slowly changing in color to what seemed like a deep red. he looked incredibly angry, a crease between his brow and his lips pursed shut. the red glint in his eye didn’t scare you. you were already sure of what you had found. physical evidence was not far from your sight, though. the light of the sun peaking from behind a cloud shined through the windows of seonghwa’s apartment. the light reflecting off the dark marble floors and hitting the celestial perfectly. 
your eyes widened as you saw his shadow. the sun painted a horrifying picture against the wall of his bedroom. two horns grew from his head, a large pair of wings, sharp nails and his stature was so much bigger than before. there was a hooked tail peeking from the end of his spine but when you looked back at seonghwa, he just looked like a regular man again.
“so it is true..” you said in realization. your lip quivered as more tears threatened to spill. you were unable to face seonghwa and it seemed like so was he. the silence between you two was deafening. you felt bile rise in your throat, unable to handle what was in front of you.
“i think i need some time..” you told him. you got up from your spot, rising to your feet and slowly walking away. you felt the world crash around you when he didn’t even bother to stop you. it wasn’t like your other arguments. he always apologized but now you were almost at the door and you didn’t feel the heat of his fingers wrapped around your wrist. the pads of your feet dragged against the floors, moving further and further from where seonghwa stood. 
before you could open the door and leave, a grip on your wrist stopped you from completely leaving. you knew what he wanted, but you also knew you couldn’t give it to him right now. 
“leave me alone, seonghwa.” you told him, not bothering to even sound commanding. your chest flamed a bit in pride but you didn’t feel comfortable enough to go to him just yet. he cringed slightly as you used his full name; you rarely did. 
“please listen, y/n.” he said to you. you pulled your wrist from his hand, looking at him with slight disgust. “you lied to me.” you told him calmly, however you were anything but calm. you wanted to beat his chest, scream, cry and don’t know what else. all you knew was that you couldn’t be around him right now. 
he looked at you with a pained expression, letting you go as you grabbed your shoes and slipped them on. you didn’t bother getting your phone, just wanting to head out as fast as possible. 
the slam of the door shutting close was the que for seonghwa to unleash his anger. 
he screamed and yelled as perfume bottles and other cosmetics went flying off the dresser. they landed on the floor with a crash, many of the glass bottles breaking apart. seonghwa’s fist landed in the mirror, crushing the glass between his knuckles. he yelled in anger, cursing himself and anyone else he could blame for you leaving him. 
the bed frame broke as he pulled the footboard off, throwing it onto the floor. the curtains were ripped off their rods and the sunlight poured in more harshly. there was not an item left in his house that didn’t seem to be broken. clothes and bedsheets were torn to shards and the fruit basket laying on his dining table was now nothing more than skin and juice painting his floor in vibrant stains. 
all that remained in the end, was the broken angel laying amidst the mess. his knees pulled to his chest as he put his head down. tears escaped his waterline and fell down his red cheeks. broken sobs erupted from his chest as he shook on the floor, his sleeve and shirt torn from the seams. enochian glyphs tattooed onto his arm glowed a dark silvery hue, beating light at the same rhythm of his heart. blood stained his knuckles from punching everything that was in his way. 
his snot ran down to his mouth and he disgustingly wiped it off with his sleeve, looking up at the broken mirror that had somehow made its way to the floor without breaking more. 
seonghwa looked at his reflection, a rift formed in the center of the mirror that divided his face into three. he huffed as he saw the various forms of himself. 
the top piece showing his angelic form. he had four eyes instead of two and long hair. his eyes were entirely white and his skin was perfect. then he saw the side of himself that scared humans. the ugly creature responsible for corrupting humanity. charred skin and black horns, there were black wings behind him instead of the white ones. 
then lastly, the part of him that was a fake: a lie. his human form had dark raven hair that cascaded down to his eyes. his eyes shone a warm brown and his skin was as tan as the juiciest of olives. a diamond etched onto his canine tooth and not an ounce of celestial life found within him. 
he wished he was a human. if he was a human, there would be reasoning for all the things he’d do and if he didn’t have an easy life, there would be an easy means to end it as well. being an angel was difficult, being the devil was difficult and he wanted to be neither. there was slight irony in the fact that he wished to become exactly what he hated the most. 
seonghwa sniffled, hating how his life had amounted to something so embarrassing. he wiped his eyes away with the back of his sleeve, standing up in his large apartment. glass crunched under the males' feet. it crushed and broke into smaller pieces under his weight, useless in holding its own. 
he walked to the kitchen, grabbing one of the couple of wine glasses that weren’t shattered during his brawl with the house items. then, he walked straight to his giant wine cellar behind the cabinet; the one place that wasn’t absolutely debauched by him. 
he picked his oldest wine; the best one. he poured in half a glass, swirling it around the glass before walking back to his now dented stainless steel fridge and pulling out some ice. he cringed as he realized that he would now be throwing ice second to the wine and he wouldn’t get that wonderful crackling noise that humans (and him) enjoyed. 
nonetheless, he threw in the ice, swishing it around and cooling it before gulping it down all in one breath. he didn’t feel anything. 
so he grabbed the whole bottle and put it up to his mouth, drinking all of it down within seconds. this cycle continued until he had downed a total of four bottles of wine alone and more. seonghwa trudged around the wrecked apartment with his fifth bottle of whiskey. he was beginning to hallucinate and if he was human, he could’ve sworn he’d seen god himself. 
but since seonghwa was not human and he had already seen god, he saw other people instead. first, he thought he saw hongjoong standing in the broken mirror looking back at him. he smiled at him, showing off the cutest grin. seonghwa stared in shock, horrified that his old lover seemed to be standing right in front of him. 
however, when seonghwa looked down at hongjoong’s feet and then looked back up. his lover was up in flames. there were tears running down his face as he heard hongjoong’s screams from that night thirty-two years ago. he heard his cries as his body lit up on fire, his skin turning black as coal as the flames vitiated his body. seonghwa stepped back in shock, almost falling back onto the shards. 
fury enveloped his body as he grabbed the bottle of whiskey and violently lurched the bottle into the mirror, crushing it completely until it was nothing but tiny bits of glass on the floor. 
the celestial's breathing labored. his heart beat faster and faster until it felt like it was coming out of his chest. beads of sweat ran down seonghwa’s temple, making their way past his cheekbones as he tried to calm himself down. this was no way for an angel to leave, even if it was former. 
the hallucinations didn’t seem to stop there. in the reflective window’s of his apartment, he saw visions of you. you holding someone else's hands, you kissing someone else's lips, your eyes rolling back for someone else but these visions all got worse. the next was of a light being shone on your face as you stared back in shock, the next was a vision of you covered in blood and the next was of you in a casket. 
seonghwa swallowed, trying not to cause further damage to his apartment but as the visions slowly got worse, he slowly found himself projecting through the glass wall. it shattered into pieces easily and suddenly, he was in the air. the night was falling and stars began to appear in the sky. the lights of the skyscrapers in new york kept the night young for anyone as old as seonghwa. 
he flew over the buildings, searching and searching. he had to find you. 
-
leaving the apartment like this was one of the scariest things you’d done. you’d turned your face on the man you had loved and it felt like cutting into your heart with a searing hot knife. but you couldn’t ignore the fact that he was someone that humanity blamed for each and every negative thing. he was that from which even the worst of evils could not escape. 
so how could you ? 
you knew running off like this would not set him off your tracks but you needed air; you needed to breathe. you felt suffocated in that apartment of his and all the lies and truths it held. 
you headed to a bodega first, meeting with the well-known storeowner who let you off with a free pulparindo and 10 dollars that you promised to pay back by tomorrow. valeria was a generous woman. 
you walked down hunters point pier, heading to buy a ticket and you were lucky you had found one this late. paying the fare, you headed down to the ferry, deciding you’d get off at whatever stop seemed as little shady as possible. new york was unpredictable at these hours. 
but the idea that this ferry could be unpredictable never occurred to you. you didn’t think about the pink-haired man with a dimpled smirk and the brown-haired man with the irritated look on his face. you didn’t think much when they sat right in front of you but you had a lot to say when the man with pink hair flashed an alien-looking blade under his leather jacket. 
it was similar to the blade seonghwa held; the short silvery dagger with the ivory handle. your eyes widened as you turned to look at the cameras and saw that all of them were shattered and there was not a single soul on this ferry except the three of you and maybe the man who was operating this ferry. 
“hello, y/n. it’s finally nice to see the one who’s got my dear brother wrapped around her fingers.” the pink-haired male smirked at you, offering his hand for you to shake. “i’m alastair, or san if you prefer a more… human name.” you didn’t bother shaking his pale hand, keeping your fingers glued to your seat instead. 
his smirk dissipated as you refused to shake his hand. he pulled it back quickly as the male next to him chuckled a bit. the brunette didn’t offer his hand, instead, he manspread on the seat, his elbows gluing to each knee as his knuckles locked. 
“i’m ezekiel, or jongho. i go by both.” he smelled intoxicating and the smell that wafted off of him was even more superior. it made you want to faint and seemingly enough, you felt a little fuzzy. 
“when is the next stop?” you asked out loud as the ferry ride was beginning to feel longer than it should have been. you barely saw the way san smirked, his lips spreading over a pair of straight white teeth and two dimples showing on the sides of his handsome face. 
your vision got fuzzier, it got darker and darker as your lids felt heavier and heavier until you saw nothing at all. your body fell forward and off the grimy steel seat in a fit of unconsciousness and all you remember was a cheshire smirk and the strength of two arms holding you against a leather-clad chest. 
“next stop is heaven, my dove.” 
-
“don’t you think we went a little far, sannie?” jongho said, while using their human names. san clicked his tongue, shaking his head ‘no’. 
“remember the time seonghwa told on us for falling in love with humans and father eradicated both of them as punishment ?” san reminded him. jongho nodded, but still arguing in his elder brothers defense. 
“but brother was a narcissistic asshole back then. he literally abstained from anything and everything the first 3,000 years of his creation. it wasn’t until his banishme-“ 
san interrupted his younger brother again. “shh, we all know he went coo-coo for coco puffs after he kicked the bucket. murder, burning innocent villages and shaming people … pretty crazy, right ?” san argued.
“but still.” jongho protested. “you know our elder brother has had it rough for the last 5,000 years. i don’t think he deserves more.” jongho trailed off. 
at this point, the brothers quarrel had maddened san. soon enough, he was reaching over to grab the collar of jongho’s jacket, pulling him up. 
“shut your mouth, ezekiel.” san snapped. “father promised to turn me back into an angel if i brought our elder brother back to heaven. he doesn’t care if i do it honestly or deceive samael. father just needs our elder brother back in heaven.” san articulated. 
jongho let out a sigh, knowing there wasn’t much he could do against his demon brother. there was little that could be done for you as well. you lay in the back of his black jeep, being driven to a barren land where they could open a gateway to the celestial world and force your alive body through it. you wouldn’t be completely dead yet. 
as they approached a field covered in nothing but trees, jongho parked his jeep under a tree, getting out as san did the same. jongho opened the door to your side first, pulling your limp body out of the back. you weren’t tied up or even gagged; you couldn’t outrun a demon or an angel anyway. 
“she’s awfully pretty.” san snided. jongho nodded. “she looks a bit like his last lover. he seems to have a type.” 
“it’s not the looks that are the same, jongho. it’s the soul. use your horns, idiot.” san snarked. jongho rolled his eyes, terribly close to punching his demon brother a new one. he listened nonetheless, horns beginning to glow a stark white in the darkness of the field. 
jongho’s eyes opened and they were the same texture as his horns, glowing white and capable of scaring anyone who crossed his path. he stared at the weaving of your soul, pulling your body close to him to inspect the patterns that souls were made of. 
it was true. you were a reincarnation. jongho wasn’t quite sure why you had attached yourself to seonghwa again but he appreciated that at least someone was there for his elder brother. 
he thought of the man whose soul he had previously taken. a man named hongjoong who had the exact same soul. jongho remembered taking him to heaven during an explosion, pulling his life out of his body into the astral plane, and carrying it to a whole other existence. 
hongjoong was a beautiful man. he had the purest of souls and the brightest of smiles. his hair turned silver and his eyes turned blue. he was clothed in a stark white shirt and white pants, floating to heaven through the clouds as jongho guided him. 
but he was hesitant to leave. the soul stared back at the crying angel that clung to his burning body through the fire. he didn’t let go even once. hongjoong had second thoughts, telling himself he’d return to his lover one day or another. jongho smiled. 
souls rarely kept their promises, but hongjoong was special. jongho wished he could have left you with seonghwa and not helped his crazy fire-haired brother but now that he had fallen into his dark scheme, he couldn’t get out. 
an ordinary angel like him had nothing on a high-ranked demon like san. especially when he possessed the conscious of you. if san was even slightly provoked, he’d destroy your consciousness immediately, sending you into a world full of darkness and your physical body lying in a coma. 
so jongho did nothing as san looked up to the sky, holding his arms out as he prayed. 
“father,” he called out to the stars. “take this offering i’ve brought you. i know it’s quite the request to pluck a soul off the earth before it’s time, however, by committing this act, i ensure you the presence of your son.” 
lightening struck not even a second later. jongho didn’t flinch, neither did san. they stood together as the thunder roared in the sky. purple clouds overlapping each other and the thunder roaring loud enough to cause tremors in the mountains nearby. 
‘how does this ensure samael’s return to heaven?’  a voice came. 
“father, he cares for this human. samael has found love.” san yelled back. 
rain began to patter down on the ground, collecting in small dew drops on large plants. san smiled, he knew the rain would be a good sign if it didn’t get any heavier than now. san had no intentions of killing you but if he had to do it to get what he wanted, he could do anything. 
“samael will find his way to heaven on his own when she’s gone.” san said. jongho had enough. he stared at your limping body that san carried up to the sky. he held you like a trophy; it disgusted the angel. 
demons were filthy animals. 
“father-“ jongho intervened, “i beg your pardon, father but i must make a suggestion.” he started. san cut him off, throwing daggers at his brother with his eyes. 
“father, you want samael back. you mustn’t use the human, please. you know he won’t come back this way.” jongho begged. he begged for his brothers happiness, hoping it’d make a difference this time. 
san set you aside, kicking his brother center in the chest. the kick left jongho gasping for hair and slapping a hand on his chest. the impact sent jongho several meters away landing against a rock. he coughed up dust, groaning in pain at the kick. the rock imprinted angel wings and a humanoid figure; evidence of angels. 
“fuck-“ the brown haired celestial cursed. 
“you are not gonna get in my way!” san yelled. jongho growled back, pulling back a silver blade with an ivory handle. it was something all angels seemed to have. 
he grabbed the blade and pointed the end of it to his brother. 
“put her down, alastair.” jongho commanded. jongho should have known better than to order a demon. they barely listened to the king of hell, why would san listen to a measly angel ? 
“i’m not going to hurt her.” san growled back. he set you up against a rock, all while maintaining eye contact with jongho. 
“i don’t trust you.” jongho argued. san raised an eyebrow before rolling his eyes. “i don’t care about killing the human. all i know is that she’s key to bringing samael back to the silver city.” san yelled from across the field. 
jongho pursed his lip, thinking about what was gonna be made of your body if you entered the silver city while being alive. 
“what’s the worst that could happen?” san giggled, he threw his hands up with a coy smile playing at his lips. jongho rolled his eyes, “she can fucking disentigrate. our elder brother has gained his wings back so if he manages to get to us, we’re both dead.” jongho explained. 
“she won’t die. she’s the other half of eve’s soul, remember ?” san chided. there was truth to san’s words. you wouldn’t die so easy since you’d been in heaven before. 
many, many times before. 
“fine.” jongho complied. 
-
seonghwa crashed into a building when he lost your presence. he could no longer smell you. he could no longer feel you. how could he ? both of his brothers had carried you to heaven. your physical body laying in the back of their black jeep. 
you didn’t open your eyes until you felt the suffocating pressure of space squeezing around you. when you opened your eyes, they were faced with colorful galaxies all around. the stars that you could only imagine were now so close, you could almost touch them. 
but then you remembered that you couldn’t breathe and that you were in space and that you couldn’t feel your own body. at your panic, two arms wrapped around your waist, pulling you into whoever it was behind you. 
you tried to speak but no sound came out. you forgot sound didn’t travel in space. you looked behind you, coming face to face with the brown haired man you met in the ferry. your eyes went wide as you tried to push him away but you realized that when he let go, you suddenly found yourself falling out of control, floating somewhere that you couldn’t fathom. 
your arms flailed around and tears gathered in your eyes and suddenly, the man from before had four glowing white eyes, two sets of wings and he was so..so much bigger than you had previously seen. you fell into a trance as you made eye contact with the entity. he flew towards you, grabbing your wrist and pulling you into his chest once more and this time you didn’t try to set yourself free. 
‘you’re pretty.’ he told you. you gasped in horror as you realized you could hear him. 
‘sound doesn’t travel in space.’ you thought to yourself. you looked into his eyes with deep horror at what the hell he could have been. he had a warm smile on his lips as he tried to ease you into his appearance but it didn’t seem to work. 
‘you’re right. it doesn’t, which is why i’m speaking to you telepathically.’ he thought out to you. 
you nodded, thoughtless but thoughtful at the same time. ‘there’s not much to worry about here, y/n… other than the fact that you’re alive and still going to heaven.’ 
your eyes bulged out of your head at his words, shocked. you shook your head frantically, looking into his titanium eyes. 
‘don’t worry. it’s temporary. i honestly didn’t really agree with this plan but my brother, alastair has your consciousness. if he loses that then.. you’re as good as dead, sweetheart.’ he continued. 
‘where’s seonghwa ?’ you asked the angel. jongho’s smile beamed, showing off his pink gums. you thought it was cute. 
‘thank you. i do believe i’m the cutest one in heaven.’ he joked, poking a finger into the dimple on his cheek. your cheeks reddened as you realized he could actually hear your thoughts and currently no idea of yours would be private to him. 
‘and your boyfriends on earth. he’s looking for you, y/n.’ he explained with a grim smile that seemed to upset him more than anything. you looked down at yours and his feet, watching as the earth had become nothing but a dot and the sun a miniscule star. 
‘will i get to go back to earth?’ you wondered to him. he nodded, pulling you closer to him as the gates of the silver city approached. you pressed further into him, unable to handle the sheer brightness coming from the gates. clouds passed by you as jongho’s wings flapped. they flew faster and faster as you two made your way past the gates. clouds encased the ground and you honestly weren’t even sure if there was a ground. 
but jongho set you down slowly and your feet touch titanium white marble. the stone was shined to a point of reflection and you realized that you were dressed in nothing but a clean white tunic that went just below your knees. you wore white fluffy slippers and your hair was pulled back in a clip.
simple but it was enticing enough for your lover. if he’d seen you in heavens clothes, he would’ve gone mad.
‘is this heaven?’ you thought, but this time you heard a voice from your ears. no longer was jongho speaking to you telepathically. “yes, it is.” he smiled. your eyes went wide. large white stone pillars stood everywhere and celestials walked amongst you. they nodded their heads at you, smiling at the entry of a human.
demons walked amongst you as well. their wings were black and bat-like and they were black leather compared to the taller statures of the angels walking around. they were the size of avatars with wing spans that reached almost forty-feet. some angels had more than one set of wings. you watched as they all came in different sizes but none of them resembled an average human. 
they wore white bodices and a majority of them had blonde hair with white glowing eyes. amongst some of the crowd, you could spot some brunettes, gingers and angels with crazy hair colors like hot-pink. 
hot pink hair reminded you, “where’s san?” you asked jongho. jongho pointed up far towards a building. it was made of white, reflective glass and was jointed together with white stone. it was the tallest of buildings in heaven and you wondered what was there. 
“what is he doing there?” you asked jongho, looking up at him in wonder. he smiled warmly back at you, holding your tiny hand in his as he led you down the polished white streets of the silver city. 
“he’s meeting with god.” he responded to you. the mention of the god almighty sent a shiver down your back. your eyebrows rose and your eyes widened as you realized that you might even get to meet him on this endeavor and he would either smite you and send you to hell or you’d get to stay in the silver city or mayb-
“you’re not dead, y/n.” jongho reminded you. a crease formed between your brows. “what does that even mean if i’m literally in heaven?” you asked him with a pout. 
“it means that you’re alive. your current body is on earth. it’s not dead but let’s just say… you’re in a coma. you won’t wake until we return you to earth.” jongho articulated. you nodded, rubbing your arm nervously and wondering how the fuck you even ended up in this situation. 
“why did you and san bring me here anyway?” you asked him. he looked down, putting his hands in his pocket as he crouched down further to you, like he was trying to avoid the other angels from hearing this bit of information. 
“you see, father wants samael back.” he explained. you nodded for him to continue, listening to him with intent. “do you think someone that has all the power in the world would be egotistic?” he asked you. 
you thought of the question for a few seconds before articulating an answer. “yeah, of course. if you’re referring to god and god, please don’t smite me for saying this but if i had control over every single element in the entire universe and had countless humans worshipping me and countless angels and demons working for me… yeah, i’d be pretty fuckin’ full of myself.” 
jongho laughed at your explanation. “it’s true. he can be pretty full of himself. sorry, dad but you know it’s true.” jongho muttered. 
“anyway, father is too full of himself to return samael- sorry, seonghwa- his powers. it’s been difficult without him in heaven to keep control of all the angels and it’s even worse when you’ve got demons that keep making deals with humans. then, he went on a killing spree for 32 years an-” 
“what?! a what spree?!” you asked and a bit too loudly for jongho as he cringed inward and other angels stared to look at you two. “a killing spree. did he not mention it to you?” he asked. 
you shook your head no, eyes wide and eyebrows raised to the sky as you realized your boyfriend was also probably an infamous killer. the information took a few minutes to settle in but after realizing that since he was the big bad devil after all, it would make sense if he had murdered people. 
“continue.” you told jongho. he nodded, “anyway, there’s that and also, father blames him for human failures.” 
“what are human failures?” you asked him. he sighed and flubbered his lips as he continued to explain. “human failures are the children of eve. imagine them as bad eggs… or apples? but basically, when our brother was first kicked from heaven, eve felt guilty. she was the first human and she was created with a slight flaw: a lack of self importance.” 
“most humans these days are full of themselves, but eve? eve believed each problem in heaven was her fault. she took it upon herself to face punishment after brother was banished. she asked michael, or yeosang, to tear her soul in half.” 
“what would that do?” you asked him. 
“she thought that by tearing her soul, she’d be getting rid of the bad part but the whole thing backfired. instead of getting rid of her flaws, she lost half of her soul forever.” he said grimly, but a slight smile twitched at his lips regardless. “her and adam ended up conceiving human failures. cain and abel were one of them. cain killed abel over the idea that father favoured abel’s sacrifice more than cain’s. cain was a failure who’s jealousy got to him.” 
jongho could visibly see the gears grinding in your head and it made a part of him giggle. “so.. all humans that show emotion were failures?” you asked. jongho nodded. “pretty much. i know it may seem odd to you since todays earth has normalized all forms of emotions but back then, humans were created for the sole purpose of worshipping god and creating a world. they weren’t supposed to have emotions.” he explained. 
“do you agree with what yeosang did?” you asked him. he looked up at the blue sky, “i mean, i agree with having emotions but yeosangs actions worsened consequences for seonghwa. it angered father more than when seonghwa told him that he’ll corrupt every human on earth.” 
“father believes seonghwa is responsible for the all the corrupt humans that were born till this day. when in reality, the only corrupt ones that he is responsible for is the ones he took upon himself personally.” 
“oh.” you said, flatly. “well, i thought god knew everything.”
“he does. he’s just been… he’s gotten a little old.” jongho continued. “father hasn’t been doing well for quite some time now. he’s been making mistakes and there’s someone that needs to take charge after him.” 
“is that why you need seonghwa?” you asked. jongho didn’t answer right away. he let you ponder for a few minutes before articulating an answer that seemed to satisfy you enough. 
“i don’t believe he’s going to do the job, or is even fit enough. he’s got temperament issues and he’s too busy with himself. he has the power but i know my brother doesn’t care about being worshipped and in the modern world, religion is just a concept to get some humans to fall into a line. that, or it’s something for humans to hold onto when they’re desperate.” jongho explained. 
you nodded, knowing you had no option but to face whatever would come to you. so far, you didn’t fear for your life too much. jongho was nice enough and you believed that seonghwa wouldn’t let you get hurt. 
but the thought of seonghwa raised feelings of guilt in you. it made you think of his painful screaming as you heard glass shatter the second you slammed the door to his penthouse. but he had lied to you. there was no excuse for that. 
“it’s not an easy thing to tell, y/n.” jongho chimed. you stared up at him in thought but he looked at you with his crinkling eyes and beaming grin. his gums showed once again and the sight of his contagious smile made you smile too. 
the thought of seonghwa went to the back of your head for now but nothing could stop you from worrying about him. 
you hoped that you’d get to see him one more time before anything happens. 
-
“i need to know where she is.” seonghwa said calmly, but in his hand there was a blue flaming sword. his demeanor was as cold as his tone and the angel in front of him also seemed to be in bad position. 
the blonde, freckled boy begged for mercy. his nose bled golden and he had more than enough dislocated body parts. 
“cut the bullshit, cassiel.” seonghwa spat. he grabbed the angel by his hair, holding his head up so they could meet eyes. “you know every single thing that goes on in heaven. you’ve been a nosy bastard since the beginning of time and now you suddenly don’t know shit?” seonghwa barked. 
the edge of the blade pressed against the angels pale neck. his eyes red from the incessant crying that was beginniing to get on seonghwa’s nervous. 
“i don’t know anything, brother. i swear.” he begged, his childish voice turning whiny as he begged seonghwa to give him his life. “you are so pathetic, cassiel. crying like a measly nephilim without wings. i don’t understand how father gave you such an important position in heaven.” seonghwa’s words cut deep into the angel just like the blade that was slowly digging into his neck.
“i say you start talking. begging won’t get you anywhere.” seonghwa commanded. cassiel cried further. his head hung low and tears fell past his cheeks. his arms had become sore by being hung up so far against the wall. 
“i only know one thing.” he trailed off. his voice was weak and will almost destroyed by his elder brother. seonghwa’s ears perked up. he felt a hope rise in his stomach as cassiel continued to speak. 
“i’m not sure if you know this, brother. it isn’t about the human but i think it may help you.” cassiel blurted out. 
“talk.” 
“father’s been trying to get you to return to heaven for years now. he… he misses you..” cassiel trailed off. he could no longer look his brother in the eye. seonghwa scowled in his disgust, his lips twisting in sheer anger. 
“i believe father appointed alastair to aide him in helping you return to heaven and by doing that, they took the human. i believe she is in heaven. my connection with heaven is stronger and my aura tells me eve has arrived back to heaven.” 
“eve has been dead for years, what do you mean she’s back?” 
cassiels eyes widened. he looked at his brother with shock. he slowly tried to balance on his feet and look back up. 
“you don’t know, do you?” cassiel asked. seonghwa raised his brow, wondering what the fuck was going on. 
“the human is half of eve’s soul. she’s been following you since five millenia.” cassiel whispered. 
fire filled seonghwa’s head at the revelation. he didn’t believe it but a fury encased his person. 
“didn’t realize you were a liar along with being nosy.” seonghwa vocalized. cassiel sighed. 
“i don’t care if you take me seriously or not. i don’t care if you kill me at this point. it’s the truth. eve tore her soul in half in order for you to be accompanied by a celestial when you were on earth. eve was the closest to a celestial that a human could have been. she was created for you before she was created for adam.” 
seonghwa rolled his eyes. “just shut the fuck up.” he barked at the angel.  it didn’t seem like cassiel gave much of a fuck about his brothers demand though because he continued to harangue his elder brother. 
“heaven hasn’t been the same without you. father made life on earth for you difficult so you could beg him to return you to the silver city.” cassiels voice was slowly growing louder and louder, his anger being injected into each word as he went on. 
“if you think life was hard for you on earth, imagine when he eradicated jericho for asking for a new tunic. or when he demoted alastair for speaking out for you. or when he told ezekiel that he was his worst son after you.” cassiel spat out the name of each angel at seonghwa’s feet. 
it burned his heart to say all this. 
seonghwa inhaled through his nose, trying to fight the urge to yell and scream at his little brother but he knew if he did, that would be him being selfish. 
“i’ll come and untie you after i go meet with michael.” 
-
“michael?” seonghwa yelled throughout the corridor of the large building. it was still under construction and there was nothing lying around but open structures and debris. 
seonghwa moved further down the hallway, hoping he’d come in contact with the blonde angel. he kicked the debris out of his way, clearing a path for himself. 
in a way, it was fitting. a clean path for a man as grand as him was deserved, even if he had fell from his crown. 
seonghwa raced around the building, growing tired of looking like an idiot. yeosang had asked to meet here and now he was nowhere to be found. 
“michael ?!” seonghwa yelled. his voice echoed right back to him, louder than he’d expect it to be. seonghwa’s hair stood up as he felt a presence behind him. 
his back straightened up as he felt the tip of a sword behind him. it was ice cold. just how seonghwa’s sword was beyond hot with blue flames, yeosangs was ice cold to the touch. enough to cause frostbite with the slightest touch to a human and freeze over seas. 
“you called, elder brother.” yeosang spoke. his voice was deeper than seonghwa’s and silky like blended cream. 
“i find it funny that you address me with such respect whilst holding a sword to the back of my neck. shows what kind of person you are.” seonghwa quipped. 
a tight lipped smirk graced yeosangs lips as he settled the blade down. 
“i’ve become a bit like you since you left heaven.” yeosang deadpanned. his sword was tucked away and so was his cautiousness. 
he stepped further to press his hands to seonghwa’s shoulder blades. his delicate, veiny fingers touched the skin of seonghwa’s shoulders. they trailed down to his back like they were destined to go there. 
the blonde celestial touched the jagged skin that had never seemed to heal in the last five millennia. as yeosang caressed the scars, seonghwa flinched. 
it was the first time they’d been touched by someone else and it was ironic that it was the person responsible for them. 
“what are you doing ?” seonghwa questioned. his tone was threatening but his body wasn’t. it’s like his soul yearned for someone to acknowledge the pain he had endured. the pain of being stripped of your title, your crown, your abilities and be thrown into a barren land where you had nothing. 
a tear fell past yeosangs blue eyes. it was stark white and had a glittery look to it. it stained the celestials tunic and fell down to the ground, burning through the concrete. 
yeosang felt the pain as he placed his hands on the scars. he took in all the pain for himself, sharing what his brother had been going through all by himself. 
“samael.” yeosang cried. his voice shaky and guilt-filled. 
his sobs became more intense and slowly seonghwa’s own body filled with dread. he had never been able to see michael, uriel, alastair or ezekiel cry. they were his brothers and their tears had been like weights on his body. 
“i’m so sorry.” yeosang cried out. his voice was loud as he pressed his forehead against the back of seonghwa’s neck. seonghwa stiffened as he felt his brothers hot tears. 
“i’m so sorry, brother.” the blonde babbled. his hands folded over seonghwa’s shoulders, squeezing them as he wailed out loud. 
angels never cried, but when they did, the whole world burned down to their feet. that’s how seonghwa felt. he felt like burning down to his brothers feet. 
seonghwa placed a hand over his brothers, quietly consoling him. he didn’t have the words to reduce yeosangs tears. 
“i’m responsible. i’m responsible for everything you went through. i made it worse. i’m s-so so sorry.” yeosang rambled. 
“is it true what you did ?” seonghwa asked him. the thought of yeosang’s doing with eve. had yeosang really listened to the command of a human even if it had been against their fathers will ? 
“did you tear eve’s soul in half, brother ? are you the reason that father believes i corrupted humanity ?” seonghwa repeated. yeosang sobbed harder. he could barely speak, just wetting the back of his brothers shirt. 
seonghwa felt yeosang nod his head. the raven haired man sighed in defeat. he wasn’t sure what to say. he wasn’t sure if he should be angry or if he should forgive his brother. 
nothing could compensate what yeosang did but no fire burned for yeosang in seonghwa’s body. 
“i-i did what she asked m-me to do.” yeosang sobbed. his broken cries barely heard from the tears he had been choking. 
“where is the other half ?” seonghwa asked. his demeanor was terrifyingly calm and it scared yeosang just a bit. there was no telling what seonghwa might do. 
yeosangs sobs lightened at the mention of the lost soul. he pulled away from his brother, stepping around to face him instead. yeosang couldn’t meet his eyes, too ashamed to admit what he’d done. 
“the human.” yeosang muttered. 
seonghwa pursed his lips, annoyed with the ambiguous answer. “which human ? there’s 7 billion of them.” 
“your human… y/n.” yeosang trailed off. “she’s the other half of eve’s soul. the one who’s accompanied you since the beginning of your time on earth.” yeosang informed. 
seonghwa swallowed, taking in the information. his head and eyes burned and he could barely process in this information. he was scared he might vomit. 
“you’re saying that she’s the closest human to a celestial?” seonghwa asked. yeosang sighed and nodded, not having the strength to deny, fight or lie to his brother. 
“and is it true that dad blames me for the failed race of humans ? the bad apples ?” seonghwa asked once more. 
yeosangs response was the same as the first question. his eyes were glued to his shoes and the stupid sage green pebble near his foot had become an easy source of entertainment. 
“and you’re the one responsible correct ? and you hid this from father ?!” seonghwa yelled. his voice was raising in volume and slowly getting angrier. 
yeosang cowered in front of seonghwa’s taller stature. leaning back as seonghwa got closer to him. 
“and you allowed me to take the punishment of your mistake ?” the raven haired man’s voice was icy cold and emotionless. he was beyond angry now. the calm demeanor from earlier had began to dissipate. 
“i did, brother.” yeosang replied quietly. 
seonghwa’s veins glowed white. all of him glowed: his eyes, the enochian glyphs on his arms and the horns had rarely showed. 
“you dare cry for mercy in front of me, michael ?” seonghwa snarled. 
“brother-“ 
“save it.” seonghwa snapped. 
“you are nothing to me.” seonghwa spat, his voice icier than michaels blade. “you allowed me to suffer. you allowed hongjoong to die. you allowed me to suffer !” he yelled. 
yeosang turned away, unable to articulate any response. he shut his eyes, tears slowly turning red. they mixed together with the white and formed an ugly pink myriad of streaming tears. 
the blonde fell to his knees. he tipped his head down, admitting defeat in front of his brother. he placed his hand behind his back, crossing them together. 
“kill me, please.” yeosang begged. his voice no longer shaky but confident and sure. he wanted to die. there was no reason for him to live, especially when the truth of his endeavors hit seonghwa. 
seonghwa looked down at his brother. he inhaled through his nose, trying to restore sense in his brain. it was difficult, though. 
seonghwa could barely stop himself when his own flaming sword found its way under yeosangs chin. the tip of the sword forced yeosang to stare back up at seonghwa. 
“i like that you’re begging for forgiveness, you piece of heavenly scum.” seonghwa spat. 
they looked into each other’s eyes. he was ready for death. the one blade that could eradicate an archangel was in seonghwa’s hands and if he decided to use it, michael would never be found again. 
the balance of heaven would be thrown off even further and even god himself couldn’t bring him back. 
“i don’t deserve to live.” yeosang whispered. his tears were now blood red, darkening as they continued to run down his cheeks. 
“i’m the reason your life was worsened.” he continued.  “it’s better if i die now.” he admit. yeosang’s words cut deep into seonghwa’s heart but seonghwa couldn’t bring himself to care. he didn’t want to, far too muddled in rage and revenge. 
“michael, you realize that i’d be ending your life, correct ?” seonghwa asked him. yeosang nodded, “i’m aware. that’s why i’m asking.” he whispered. seonghwa’s soul twitched. it was like a piece of him didn’t want to fully go through with this. 
“i suggest you speak your last words then, my brother.” seonghwa commanded. 
yeosang looked up at seonghwa. his eyes were darkened. they were no longer the soft baby blue like they usually were. they were dark as the southern ocean. they were icy and violent like the storms that overthrew even the largest of ships. 
he was turbulent. 
“father always loved you. there was never a moment that we didn’t feel your absence. there was never a moment where we never shed tears for you. we know every step of your journey on earth-” 
“stop lying.” seonghwa snarled. “he does not love me. he only loved me while i was his slave. i can’t believe you choose to lie even at the brink of death.” seonghwa articulated. 
“i hope the empty enjoys feasting on your grace.” 
with that, the blade of the sword cut into yeosang’s neck. it burned his skin, the blue flames encasing his body as he began to turn blue. yeosang choked on his own blood, eyes rolling back until they saw the empty just a distance away. 
but as yeosang began to burn and seonghwa watched with tears in his eyes, a voice came from above. 
it boomed with great power and seonghwa seized. his body thrown into the air as he levitated towards the sky. seonghwa’s eyes turned colorless as they always did when celestial abilities showed in him. the clothes of earth burned off of him, heavens tunic replacing him instead to protect his modesty. 
seonghwa’s lips fell apart. a white glow making it’s way down his lungs. his essence was being returned to him. he felt better than when he touched his sword. he felt his bones crunching as they broke and molded back together again. he grew in size, skin stretching and suddenly, the angel groaned in pain. he screamed as he grew to his full size. 
any normal human would have passed out at the sight but yeosang watched it all, gripping his bleeding throat and trying to scream past the turbulent winds. the lightening bolted across the sky, painting it purple. the thunder roared above the angels screaming. the ground shook and dust fell from the structure they were in. 
yeosang felt the heat still burning his throat but his hand was ice cold. he reached into his esophagus and swatted the flames away, the gash in his neck closing up within seconds. 
his hands were covered with golden and scarlet blood, dripping all over the ground. 
he watched with red, tearful eyes as his brother returned to his celestial form. his bones grew and tore past his human skin. the structure of three sets of wings sprouted from his back. 
yeosang’s eyes widened. samael only had two wings, and now he had been blessed with a set of three. seonghwa’s black raven hair slowly turned a dark silver, it grew down to his shoulders. another pair of eyes grew under the ones he already had; they didn’t open. 
seonghwa grew three times his size. he was giant and towering around 18 feet. he was much larger than yeosang’s angel form. his largest wing span reached around 60 feet and yeosang was thankful that the building was more than spacious. if not, the structure of his wings alone was enough to tear down the building. 
seonghwa fell from the height he had been levitated to. the building shook and nearly collapsed at his weight. as the dust cleared and the storm outside died down, yeosang moved closer. 
his throat had closed up but the blood still tainted his bodice. there was evidence of his injury from the small scar that showed up on his healed neck. the blonde angel waved his hand, trying to clear the dust away. 
he coughed as he manouvered closer to his unconscious elder brother. yeosang was slightly scared; he was unsure of his fathers motives. there would not be an empty reason to return samael his full celestial body. 
as he was just about to voice his concerns, the voice from earlier spoke again. 
“i command you both to return to heaven.” 
yeosang froze. his eyes whitened as he looked upon his fathers word. he left his brother, not bothering to further check on him. it wasn’t like he’d need it anyway. seonghwa’s eyes darted open not even a second after his fathers command, all four of them. 
his full fledged wings tore past the thick flooring, not even bothering to avoid the floors like yeosang had. however, seonghwa was much faster. his wings provided more speed and yeosang scowled as he struggled to match up with his brother despite getting a headstart. 
but they flew past the atmosphere together, darting past the solar system and making it out of neptunes orbit within the speed of light. they flushed past the galaxies and they seemed  to be all but a blur of rainbow lights in the black space of nothing. 
seonghwa’s eyes painted a white glow as he flew with swiftness, leaving his younger brother in his flank. they approached the gates of the silver city at record speed, not even bothering to pause at the angels that all watched them in confusion. 
many barely recognized seonghwa, but the angels that remembered him felt his heavy presence. their mouths fell open as they stared at the fleeting white figure that headed straight for where the universes creator resided. screams of surprise and terror erupted amongst the crowd. souls drifted from the angel they were accompanied by and flew across the sky, trying to catch whiff of the forgotten angel. 
“samael? samael, is that you?” an angel yelled. he seemed to be the only one capable of matching his speed. after all, raphael was the only one gifted with more than 2 sets of wings. 
seonghwa looked to his left, looking at raphael in the eyes but not bothering to stop for him. currently, he only had one mission: you and god, himself. 
seonghwa didn’t bother stopping in front of the entrance of the building. instead, he flew right past the barrier of glass from the dome like roof. shards struck the skin of the angels that were inside. they all stared in horror as they saw seonghwa. his body was much larger than they had remembered. 
“where is he?!” seonghwa’s voice roared above the hoard of angels gathered in the titanium white building. 
no angel had the nerve to answer him. none of them opened their mouths but the tiny human who stood amongst the crowd, hand in hand with an angel that resembled a teddy bear. 
“seonghwa..” you whispered. at the slightest prospect of your voice, seonghwa turned to you. you couldn’t tell if he was even focused on you; his eyes had no pupil or iris. 
he tilted his head in confusion, staring at your tiny body who was still huddled by giant angels and demons. 
“y/n?” he asked. you slipped your hand from jongho’s, running past the angels and finding your way back to your lover. he held you in his hand, caressing your face with the tip of his finger as a tear slipped past both your eyes. it hit the ground at the same time and you were almost washed away by the giant tear drop. 
“i thought you were gone.” seonghwa cried. you shook your head, lips jutting out in a pout. “i was brought here by san and jongho.” you told him. you pointed at the two celestials that stood amongst the crowd. jongho looked up at his brother with slight anticipation, unsure if he should intefere with you and your lover. 
san stood right next to jongho. his hair was no longer pink and he no longer wore the leather skins that hell had provided him with. his wings were no longer bat-like and he too, had gained the cloths of heaven. san’s hair was blonde but dirty at the roots.
you pressed yourself closer to seonghwa as san rolled his eyes at you. 
seonghwa searched for the angels in the crowd, smiling slightly as he saw jongho but scowling as he spotted san again. your lovers lips pursed together. he took a step forward, meeting jongho’s eyes. jongho was a few feet shorter than seonghwa, but matched heights with san and yeosang. he stared up at his brother and gulped, unsure of what he may do. 
“where is father?” seonghwa asked. 
jongho’s eyes widened, eyebrows pulled together as he led seonghwa and you down a large hallway. the angels didn’t bother following you, only san and you spotted yeosang flying at the height of the building. 
he followed as well, shuffling into a grand room that was probably larger than your entire neighborhood combined. a grand set of stairs led up to a throne but you couldn’t see anything. you didn’t notice the angels around you going into a trance as they all fell to one knee. you watched in shock as seonghwa’s fist nearly crushed you as it fell past his shoulder. you slowly turned, staring in shock as all the angels around you had taken the same position. 
you knew what was happening. you could feel it. you could feel him. 
without another word, you assumed the same position your lover was in. you wouldn’t dare show your eyes to god himself. it didn’t matter if you had believed in him before or not, at this moment, you fell to your knees. 
“father.” seonghwa spoke. he looked up, position still on one knee and both fists kissing the floor. although, seonghwa had assumed a position of surrender, his tone and eyes were anything but. you could see anger and resentment in the silver-haired angels eyes. 
a voice spoke from above and you shook with goosebumps, each of your hairs standing. you felt your ears pop and a steady wet stream could be felt falling past your earlobes. 
“samael.” the voice spoke. “it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” the voice questioned. 
seonghwa looked to the side, slowly standing up. you couldn’t see what he was looking at but his eyes slowly returned to the empty throne in front of you all. you figured that a human like you must’ve been the only one incapable of seeing god and for some reason, you were okay with that. 
“why did you bring me back, father?” seonghwa asked. it didn’t seem like your lover was here to play games; they’d been wicked enough to him. 
“i just wanted to see my son.” he spoke back. 
“i’m not your damn son. i stopped being your son five thousand years ago.” seonghwa snarled. his voice held venom in it and it was louder than that of his father. 
“insolent child.” the voice muttered back
a laugh erupted from seonghwa’s chest. it resonated from deep within, echoing in the large hall. he laughed so hard that tears began to crowd at the corner of his eyes. seonghwa hugged his stomach as cowered in front of the throne.
seonghwa laughed so hard that his laughter began to morph into loud, painful sobs. he reminded you of the joker for just a moment. the tears fell down mercilessly, laughing so hard that he was practically sobbing. the other angels watched in shock, including you as you realized how insane your lover looked. 
the cried were high-pitched, accompanied with painful sobs. you felt his pain resonating from his chest. 
seonghwa slowly looked up, not bothering to wipe his tears away from his face. they fell down next to you in small puddles, drenching the edge of your fluffy white slippers. 
“you ruin my life and now call me insolent?” seonghwa asks between his tears. “and your son, michael, tells me that you love me. what a liar he turned out to be, huh?” 
“don’t blame michael for your shortcomings, samael.” his father told him. 
you watched the conversation flow, looking back and forth as they exchanged some kind of word that resulted in seonghwa crying harder than he was before. 
“you used to love me!” he screamed. “i was your favorite ! and you gave me up for those humans. you loved them more than you loved me, father!” seonghwa screamed. 
his voice was so loud that the building shook and the glass surrounding the hall cracked. your ears bled red but you didn’t care. you didn’t care about blood when the love of your life was losing his mind in front of you.
you felt guilt rise within you, thinking of all the things you said to him while you were on earth. you thought of the trashed apartment and how you caused that. there was nothing more that you could regret than walking out on him. 
“you resisted my word!” god shouted. 
“and you disregarded mine!” seonghwa bellowed. 
hot, angry tears poured past his waterline and you cringed after realizing how red it was. you bet it burned. 
“i listened to every single one of your commands like it was my own, son. i took your word most seriously amongst all the angels in heaven, even michael.” the entity reasoned. 
seonghwa gripped his head, sobbing and crying like a mad man. “but what did you have to show for it in the end? all you did was continue to hurt me. i was happy with hongjoong.” 
seonghwa’s voice was filled with pain. it had begun to sound sore and tired, a hoarseness encasing it. 
“you were needed in heaven.” 
“so you made me suffer for another three decades ?” you could hear the disbelief in his voice. “i thought you were god. the all-knowing and shit ! could you not have just asked? or was your ego too fucking big?!” the raven haired celestial shouted. 
“did your ego eat you up so much that you killed all my happiness on earth so i could beg you to bring me back?” he whispered. 
you gulped, unsure if this must insolence was even allowed between god and his sons. 
no response came from the throne. silence spread out like thick butter on cold toast and it was enough to cut through. 
“i just wanted my son back.” the voice said quietly. you could sense the shame and guilt laced in his voice. it was terrifying to you. how could fear lie in the voice of the entity that knew all? 
“you didn’t want your son back. you wanted an heir back.” seonghwa snapped. 
“was michael and raphael not enough for the job ? you even had azrael at your command. why did you need me so bad, dad?!” seonghwa asked. his voice laced with sadness and longing. 
“just tell me once without making it seem like you hate me.” his whispered. 
no answer came for the longest of time. you felt the tension and you felt so out of place.
but since no response came, seonghwa continued to speak. 
“i doubt you were unaware of yeosang’s deed with eve. you were at your prime when adam and eve were created. were you really that blind that you thought i was truly responsible for corrupting every human?” he asked. 
no response even now. 
“you punished me for what, huh? because you enjoyed it? i bet you loved killing hon-” 
“i regretted what i did.” he spoke. your eyes widened and so did the eyes of the four angels surrounding you. their eyebrows rose and even yeosang descended from where he had been flying. he came and stood at your side, a safe distance between you and him. 
the silence was shattered by the painful voice of the cosmic being surrounding you. 
“i wish i never banished you, my samael. i wish i wasn’t so blind in my desire to create humanity. i just wanted you to return.” you heard the pain in his voice and you felt your own tears slip down your cheeks. 
you felt so out of place in this conflict between a son and his father. you wanted out so bad but not an inch of you dared to move. 
seonghwa stepped forward, standing to his full height with his shoulders back. it seemed like he had no tears left to cry. “you just wanted me to return? because you missed me?” seonghwa asked. 
he could see his father look down at the floor in guilt and god forbid, shame. you couldn’t decipher it, though. you were unable to see him. god sighed in defeat, admitting that all he had done in the last five thousand years was needlessly punish his other sons for the absence of his oldest. he had caused hell in heaven just for wanting seonghwa back. 
he caused seonghwa pain to get him back. 
it was a twisted way of loving someone and you hoped that you would never do the same to him. it was manipulative and hurtful. the events were all so ironic. the good men had done the dirtiest of deeds and the devil himself had god at his feet. 
“send me back.” seonghwa whispered. you heard a thunderclap, flinching at the harsh sound. “i don’t accept your apology and i certainly don’t accept your reasoning, father.” seonghwa stated. 
black clouds surrounded the glass dome, painting heaven in darkness. 
“son, please.” 
“i don’t wish to remember my endeavors as an angel. i don’t wish to have wings or any memory of my celestial life.” he spoke. the three other angels surrounding you shook in shock. they came to seonghwa’s side immediately. they cried and sobbed at his feet. 
“brother, you can’t do this!” jongho begged. he held onto his seonghwa’s hand, gripping it tightly. san held his other hand, “brother, please. we did so much to have you back. please we can’t lose you again.” 
the younger ones begged. they cried as seonghwa continued to speak. 
“i want to return to earth with y/n as a human. i don’t wish to have any powers. i want to return to my life as a complete human. i don’t wanna believe in you or your other sons.” seonghwa asked. 
rain poured against the glass and it hit so hard, you were scared the building might collapse with the weight of the water alone. 
“son, please stay.” the voice thundered from above, but seonghwa’s voice was cold and monotone. 
“if you truly love me, you’ll let me go.” he stated. 
no response came from god himself. instead, yeosang, accompanied by yunho voiced their thoughts in the hall like it was a final decision. 
“i agree with samael’s decision.” uriel voiced. 
“i believe he is right.” yeosang cried. he tried to speak past the pain in his throat and the tears he had been choking on. his veiny fist was curled at its side, gripping so hard that you bet crescents formed on the inside. you took witness of the angels that stood outside of the building. their wings flapped as tears ran down their cheeks. the rain was nothing compared to the amount of crying being done outside by every single angel. 
they mourned at the voice of their eldest brother. they cried as they heard his wishes. they knew they’d never see him in his full glory again. they knew he’d never remember them again. 
but they agreed with him. they believed in him like they wish they would have done five thousand years ago. raphael and uriel believed that had they done this years back, they wouldn’t have to see this tragic day in heaven. 
seonghwa stood coldly in front of the empty throne, eyes half opened and half closed. they were sore and red from all the crying he had done within the last few days. 
the angels awaited their fathers decision. they hoped their brother got what he wanted but they also wished that samael would be thrown back to his crown. he wished he’d come back to the throne that he was destined for, but they doubted it would ever take place in front of their eyes. 
“as you wish.” he declared. 
eruptions of tears and screams of both sadness and joy took place amongst you. jongho and san fell to their knees, holding onto their brothers hand as they sobbed loudly. yeosang stood, looking down as he also cried. tears fell down quietly in front of him and a part of you wanted to console him. 
seonghwa said nothing. not even a smile graced his lips. 
he grabbed your hand and pulled you into his chest, holding you tightly as he flew out of the room. the tall throne room was no match for the speed he showed off. seonghwa held you close as the gates of heaven approached quickly. they opened automatically in his presence and soon enough, you were making the same descent that you’d made a few days prior. 
the rainbow galaxies flew past you and your hair whipped you in the face. you traveled at the speed of sound itself and you believed that if you were in your physical form, you would’ve torn apart instantly. 
seonghwa said nothing as he slowly entered pluto’s orbit. he said nothing as he flew past neptune, then uranus, then jupiter and alas, the earth. he stood in front of it and watched. 
you did the same, staring at the burning, bright sun that exuded a heat that you couldn’t control and neither could he. you believed he’d lose his powers soon. that they’d slowly wash away just like these crazy days that you had faced. they had come and shocked you and left like they’d done nothing. 
he stopped in front of the earth, letting you look at it in it’s full glory. the same earth that god had taken six days to create. he held you bridal style, allowing you to just relax before you returned to your human lives. 
sighing as you stared back at his large form, you placed a hand on his cheek. seonghwa melted into your touch, pressing his forehead against yours. your fingers tangled in his long, silver hair. the moment was the most intimate that you’d ever had. it caused more heart palpitations than when he had you naked on your stomach. 
the moment slowly ended and soon, he was making a descent back to earth. the atmosphere set fire to you both. his flesh burned, the small of charred flesh entering your nostril and for some odd reason, you enjoyed it. your own skin burned as well. 
the atmosphere of the earth so blinding that you saw nothing but seonghwa. he smiled at you as fire encased his body. the orange and red flames licked his cheek, painting scars all over his skin. you smiled at him. what a beautiful death this could be. 
the white clouds and the speed you were travelling at slowly blinded you even from your lover. all you saw was white and even his touch had slowly evaporated. the skin to skin contact long gone and now you were alone in the burning atmosphere. fire licked your body and burned the clothes of heaven away from you. if your mind was right, you might have been in hell. 
-
you were woken up by a crash in the distance, shooting up from the white king-sized bed in your room. you gasped as you felt hot, like you were on fire but when you looked around frantically, the ac was running full speed and the fan was on as well. 
seonghwa groaned next to you, his black hair messy and tangled from the night before. 
“why are you awake?” he said, half asleep. 
you swallowed, touching your chest as you felt the burning sensation still. it took a few minutes to answer your husband, cracking your neck and back before resting your back against the headboard. 
“i’m not sure. just had a really bad dream.” you whispered. 
seonghwa moved closer to you, placing his head in your lap. “dream about ?” he asked. subconciously, your fingers ran to his dark locks, caressing and scratching at his scalp. 
“i’m not sure. it was like… you were samael. you know, the devil before he fell from heaven? and i was in heaven with you and then we both fell to earth and the atmosphere… burned us out.. and then i woke up.” you explained to him. 
“it all felt so real. i still feel burning hot from when i thought i was going past the atmosphere with you.” 
seonghwa sighed, pulling himself closer into your lap. he let out small sighs of content as your fingers continued to work their magic. “you need to stop watching lucifer before bed, y/n.” he told you. 
you nodded, a small smile on your lips. 
the blanket slipped down seonghwa’s shoulders. it pooled around his waist and uncovered the six separate scars that were on his back. your fingers traced over them as they always had. you leaned forward to kiss them slowly and pulled back to kiss seonghwa’s forehead fondly. 
“i really should stop watching lucifer before bed.” 
Tumblr media
tagging : @bunnybubkook @enivivs @rielleluvs @ateezbabysitters @chittaphonstar @luvaffaire @h5yuck @pseudosoobin @woosluv @hwasrie @nerosthetic @nateezfics @whatudowhennooneseesyou @yeodoodle @nerosthetic @aesmstar @lolalee24 @haatohwa @hohohugs @aria1ia @yunhoflrtz @evergreenvertigo @mirror-juliet @hwasatiny @certainuncertainty11 @hwaist @fallinforwoo @cyjsfairy @pirateprincessblog @deobitiny-blog @jess-1404 @dilfjohnny @hijirikaww @monmarguerite @seuomo @0809wrld @linn1912 @naiify @reeateez @jwy-wife-blog @rikiflowers @a1sh1teruu @cooljunj @vanishingboots @yedammi @holybxba @yourirlvampiregf @eastleighsblog @hwacatboy @mypreciouskhj @honeyedtalisman @kitty4hwa @iveivory @sansmilkbread @soowonder @hoohoohope @malewife-supremacy @jellymoonbear @simeonswhore​ @joontied @marievllr-abg​ @teezers99 @rdiamond2727 @perfectlysane24 @ficscafe​ @underworldnet​ @kflixnet​
509 notes · View notes
sleepyfan-blog · 22 hours
Text
Feeding Time
Author’s Note: This is the next in the Baby Primarchs being raised by Big E series. First. Previous.
Warnings:  dehumanization of primarchs, dehumanization of infants, neglectful parent, baby barf, please ask me to tag additional things
Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel
Summary: The Emperor feeds some of his infant generals.
Neoth held One in the crook of one arm, making sure that his head was well supported as he held the bottle of skin-temperature warm (not hot, not cold, not cool, as he had learned through trial and error) and ensured that his first primarch could latch on firmly to the nipple of the bottle in order to feed. The little one drank swiftly, making tiny suckling noises that Neoth refused to acknowledge as anything other than One successfully feeding. He was making sure to be very quiet, as the rest of his twenty-one infant generals were peacefully sleeping. He hadn't known, when he had ordered for each of them to be decanted - that each of the little ones would have a different sleeping and feeding schedule.
But they did. One preferred to be fed at least once every couple of hours - and if he was not fed precisely on time he would use all three of his lungs and wail at the top of his lungs, while waving tiny fists in the air and kicking at the sides of his cradle. And when One started to cry, he set off all of the others, no matter how deeply sleeping or content they had been before One had begun to cry. One also occasionally hissed and growled when startled... Although that was likely due to the feline DNA that he had inserted into One's DNA structure. 
One was currently purring as he suckled the bottle, his eyes squinted closed in contentment. Neoth made sure that the bottle had exactly the amount of formula that One fed on without causing him to spit up, after having drunk more than his small stomach could handle, as One would suckle until his bottle was dry, no matter how full his stomach got, which Six, Nine and Eighteen were also prone on doing. Twelve cried whenever one of its' siblings cried for any reason, which was frustrating in its' own way. 
One released the bottle's nipple with a tiny sigh and yawn, stretching a little and resting his head on Neoth's chest. Something treacherously soft and warm was beating beneath his breast. Neoth ruthlessly squashed the feeling as he set One down in hi-it's bassinet. He lightly brushed the light blonde hair out of One's face, as he murmured a quiet "Good boy."
One curled into his touch as the infant primarch shoved its' thumb into its' mouth and starting to suck, dark eyes once again closing for a nap.
Which was good, as it was time to feed Twenty-A and Twenty-O, who refused to be separated from one another, even to feed or be bathed (and... Bathing was on the list of things that needed to be done, but feeding the primarchs so that they would grow out of such a helpless and needy stage was paramount). This clinginess was understandable, as the two of them had been incubated in the same pod, though they would be weaned from one another's presence. His generals needed to be independent enough to work solo, or alongside just the forces he sent alongside them.
Neoth floated the two of them out of their bassinet and into his arms with a flicker of warp-craft. He stilled when Fifteen shifted from in its' sleep. Fifteen was by far the most deeply connected to the warp of all of Neoth's Primarchs - which had been by design, but Fifteen was also very closely attuned to Neoth's own use of the Warp - and often awoke, sable eyes staring up at him at any moderate or higher working of the warp he did in the infant primarch's presence. Fifteen once again settled in its' crib, snuggling into the heating pad with a contented sigh.
Twenty-A began to gum Neoth's shirt, seeking a nipple, Twenty-O just stared up at him, teal eyes barely blinking. 
The Emperor of Mankind silently sighed, carefully floating two bottles of formula in front of each of the twins' faces. Twenty-A took a moment to unlatch from Neoth's shirt to begin drinking its' bottle, periodically stopping to gurgle at Twenty-O, who gurgled back, or waved a hand at Twenty-A at each vocalization. The twins were slower eaters than most of their siblings - which could be frustrating when more of the primarchs were awake and wailing for their own meals. Three, Twelve and Nineteen also ate slowly, though they'd already eaten in the previous hour to this, before One had eaten.
... But trying to rush the twins through their meal only caused them to burp and throw up everything they'd eaten all over his shirt, pants, shoes, or the room in a sticky mess before caterwauling until they were fed in the way that they liked best. 
An hour later, and the twins finally finished the last of their feedings, and tried to snuggle into his chest to sleep. Neoth, having a great many things to do, not the least of which currently included feeding the rest of their siblings, swiftly set the pair down (as if he let Twenty-A and Twenty-O fall asleep in his arms, they would not stop crying when they were put down, no matter what Neoth tried, short of picking up the fussing infants again).
Seventeen began to whimper, just as Neoth finished tucking the twins into their shared crib. Suppressing a sigh of irritation, Neoth picked the little primarch up, rocking him back and forth. Seventeen had already been fed recently, and its' diaper did not need to be changed... So why was the little one fussing? As expected, a handful of moments after it was picked up, Seventeen settled down in, dark brown eyes closing, tiny hands grasping onto his shirt. Neoth sighed, clicking his tongue a little as he gently removed the tiny hands from his shirt, setting Seventeen down again "I can't hold you, I have to feed five more of your brothers, Seventeen." Seventeen snuffled a little, dark eyes filling with tears. Neoth sighed and tucked one of the stuffed animal shaped toys that held his scent and had a warm core next to Seventeen, who curled around the toy and fell into a deeper sleep.
He... Really needed to come up with names for them. Preferably before they started to form long-term memories. Their names were something that he'd been pondering on and off since their creation had been relatively certain, but he had yet to settle on a name for any one of them, much less a name for all of them. 
Fourteen was awake, and started to sniffle, shifting unhappily in its' crib. Neoth swiftly made his way over to where the white-haired primarch was laying, so it didn't start squalling and wake up more of its' siblings. He pitched his voice low and soothing, one hand rubbing Fourteen's back, the other holding it close to his chest "Easy, easy Fourteen. You're safe... Shhh, shhh... Calm down. Are you hungry?" He murmured, floating another bottle of formula in front of Fourteen's face.
The tiny primarch stared at the bottle before opening its' mouth and latching on, sucking hard. Fourteen was prone to tears and fussing, but it ate quickly - too quickly, if Neoth didn't shift the angle of the formula to make sure that Fourteen didn't suck in air, or drink too quickly and give its' tiny belly cramps. Four, Eight and Sixteen also ate very quickly as well - though Fourteen was the one who ate the fastest, and fussed the most when its' stomach was upset from foo much formular too quickly, or air being swallowed alongside the formula as well. 
Neoth put a small towel on his shoulder, before raising Fourteen up to that shoulder, patting it's back after Fourteen finished eating. Despite his best efforts, Fourteen usually did needed to be burped at least a little after being fed, and was one of the messiest eaters of all of his primarchs. At least at this life stage. Neoth shuddered internally at the little gargling sound that Fourteen made before it spat up a mix of air and formula onto the towel, which absorbed the sticky substance without dirtying his shirt.
It took ten minutes, after Fourteen had been fed, for Neoth to be certain that Fourteen wouldn't unexpectedly vomit in his crib, necessitating cleaning of the bedding, lest fourteen lay in the substance until it dried - which stank. Once the burping period was over, he set Fourteen down next to its' warm-cored plush toy before walking over to where Thirteen was curled on its' side.
Thirteen was awake, blue eyes staring up at him as he approached, straw-blond, curly hair sticking out every-which direction on its' head. Thirteen rarely cried, or vocalized much at all, unless interacting directly with one or more of its' fellow primarchs, or with one of the Custodes who fed it and its' siblings when Neoth was attending to other duties. Thirteen ate at a medium pace and rarely needed to be burped. It was one of the lower-maintenance of his primarchs, which was a breath of relief. A pity that of its' siblings, only Five, Seven and Ten were equally agreeable and quiet. It drank its' ration of formula without fuss or complaint, nor did it fuss when he set it down again. 
Neoth went over the feeding schedule in his head, frowning as Two began to fuss. Both Two and Eleven were the ones who were adapting most poorly to being outside of the incubation chambers. They weren't putting on weight like the others, and though they would cry given certain stimuli, they weren't as active as the others, either. Something seemed to be wrong with the both of them, and their medical teams were diligently researching possible causes, as well as putting  both infant primarchs through a series of medical tests, trying to determine the cause. He sighed as he picked up two, rocking it back and forth until it settled down again. 
His vox communicator chimed, and Neoth suppressed a frustrated growl. He was not to be disturbed while feeding the Primarchs unless something urgent came up. "Delaxius, finish feeding the Primarchs. Something has come up." The Emperor of Mankind ordered one of the Custodians guarding the primarchs' room. 
"As you command, my lord." Delaxius responded immediately, entering the room. 
Neoth swiftly exited the room, swiftly returning to court, unaware of the spit-up towel on one of his shoulders until hours later, when one of the High Lords of Terra tactfully asked him as to why he was wearing such a thing.
Fuck!
14 notes · View notes
henrysglock · 10 months
Text
What is it with the Duffers and Numbers
Because I'm me and I can't rest until I've parsed out number shit with dates in Stranger Things...I decided to use OEIS to see if there was an kind of pattern in important dates. Our important dates being: 1959 -- Creel Murders 1971 -- Willel Birth Year 1979 -- HNL Massacre 1983 -- Mothergate 1985 -- Keygate 1986 -- The Rifts
From here, I decided to find duration differences between events. March 1959 -> (?) 1971 = 12 ≤ x ≤ 13 years (?) 1971 -> Sept. 1979 = 8 ≤ x ≤ 9 years Sept. 1979 -> Nov. 1983 = 4 < x < 5 years Nov. 1983 -> July 1985 = 1 < x < 2 years July 1985 -> March 1986 = 0 < x < 1 year
This is where OEIS came in handy.
If we round down, we get 0, 1, 4, 8, 12.
This sequence includes all relevant ages for El and the Creels:
Tumblr media
Henry and Alice are 12 and 15 respectively when the Creel murders happen. Henry's Virginia is 36. Henry's Victor is 40.
Edward and Virginia, are also presumably 12 and 15 when their Creel murders happen. Edward's Victor is listed as being 35. Edward's Alice has no age listed.
Born in 1947, Henward were 24 when El was born.
El and Henward are 8 and 32 respectively when the first gate opens.
El and Henward are 12 and 36 respectively when Mothergate opens.
El is 15 or close to it when Vecward, now 39, opens the Rifts.
The Mindflayer, while not being a gate-opening event, occurred in '84, which also appears in the sequence.
That's really freaky on its own.
However, If we round up, we get: 1, 2, 5, 9, 13. This sequence is known as the Euler Path:
Tumblr media
What makes this so interesting is a) it's a well known pattern (if you're a math nerd you've heard of it before. Suzie would absolutely know this pattern), and b) it has Implications™
Essentially, the Euler Path/Circuit is the longest single, non-overlapping path between two points.
Tumblr media
Being a biology nerd myself, my favorite Stranger Things science connection is this:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The Eulerian path is routinely used, nowadays, to reconstruct genomic sequences for ancestry tracking/taxonomic tracking. It's essentially a highly-accurate, DNA-based version of what Dustin did with D'art in ST2. It's an algorithmic puzzle-solving strategy.
The most relevant connection is actually tied to the definition of a Eulerian Path/Cycle, and that is:
Timelines, The Missing Creel Door, the 5-Room Puzzle.
As we've seen in Em's post here, the very structure of the Creel house changes in the show:
Tumblr media
A founding puzzle related to the Euler Paths theory is the 5-Room Puzzle.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Now, our house has six rooms, including the foyer/hallways, which makes it slightly different from the 5-Room Puzzle. I was able to find a variety of solutions to each, and there was one pattern that emerged:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
They're almost the same, but based on the odd-evenness of the door assignments...they're distinctly different. Each path variation in Edward's house begins in the chess room. Each path variation in Henry's house begins in Victor's study. Both end in this odd, unseen console/kitchen area.
They start differently, separated by a wall. Edward's house has the doorway between those starting rooms, Henry's does not. It doesn't matter. They both end up in the same room.
I'm working on finalizing a look at the loops and cycles version of these paths, and I'm fairly sure there's a pattern in there too, but I have to nail down a couple of other details before I go posting them.
62 notes · View notes
renmackree · 2 months
Note
🔥 Werewolves
Ask me my unpopular opinion about stuff
Alright, we're breaking it down and I don't know if it's unpopular opinions, but BOY IT'S OPINIONS.
note, this will be long so I'm sorry in advanced. Also note, this is mostly Teen Wolf Lore specific because I'm ME.
Werewolves in their shifted form are red/green colorblind.
Wolves in general can’t distinguish red from green due to color receptors. Humans have three color receptors in their eyes: blue, green and yellow; wolves have two color receptors: blue and yellow, making them red-green color blind. A wolf’s eye structure allows them to distinguish more shades of gray than humans which provides good peripheral and night vision. Meaning they can see well in low light conditions and have a wilder field of view. The structure of a wolf’s eye and ability to intake information supports the theory of werewolves having “speedy reflexes”. So let’s use that in the context of humans changing into a werewolf, that would reduce the amount of colors they could see when in wolf form due to the new limit of color receptors. Trade off, they can see in the dark and be super human with their identifications. In certain movies or shows, black and white is used when looking through the werewolf’s eyes, so this supports the theory that wolves in media are thought to be red/green color blind when using that lens.
Werewolves age at a slower rate - specifically every 7 human years they age 1 - and stop aging around 55
Dog jokes aside, your body goes through cell regeneration every 7-10 years. When you’re injured or sick, your cells are damaged. Your cells also die all the time, a natural process called apoptosis. Your body needs to replace damaged or dead cells with new, healthy ones. To create these new cells, the existing healthy cells in your body go through cell division, or mitosis. During mitosis, a cell splits into 2 cells, each with an identical set of chromosomes. These new healthy cells can then be used to help you heal. Werewolves have been shown to not "remove" issues, rather have it so slow that it no longer affects the person. Teen Wolf had Scott's Asthma return and Erica's seizures when their powers were 'paused'. This would be the same for the cell regeneration. your body is "completely new" in 7 years, so a werewolf would be at a slower rate. A 1:7 rate which just Happens to be dog years as well. Werewolves will start this process around puberty in my meta, because teenage years are when your body fully really gets that understanding of what it should be, so there. As for 55, the body starts to seriously lose grip of its DNA after 55 years, and the decay starts to kick in at that time. Werewolves wouldn't have that issue, their DNA would constantly heal and therefore would keep them at the same age for that specific point. Now if their powers were removed, this might kick start the aging back again and they might see some issues, but so long as they maintain this same healing process, they would essentially be 55 for the rest of their life both from a DNA perspective and from a visual view.
Werewolves are the superior supernatural creature in modern media
I will not be explaining further, thank you.
12 notes · View notes
dawnagustd · 2 years
Text
fresh out of hell || jjk (teaser)
Tumblr media Tumblr media
↠ title: Fresh Out Of Hell ↠ pairing: monster/inmate!jungkook x warden!reader ↠ genre: angst | dark fantasy | death race au | dystopian au | horror | supernatural | smut ↠ summary: The Terminal Island Penitentiary houses the world’s most dangerous convicted inmates—some human, others not so human. Regardless of their DNA, the warden does not lay her head down at night until she is confident every one of them has used their “skills” to earn her some more money in her pocket.
With bored viewers on her ass about releasing new material, she feels the best way to satisfy their thirst for bloodshed is something old. The oldest prisoner she owns. ↠ rating: R and only intended for mature audiences ↠ teaser word count: 0.2k ↠ teaser warnings: language | uhh this takes place in a prison | an unedited mess by yours truly, please forgive me lol | tentacles(well, one tentacle) | i think that’s it
Tumblr media
author’s note: So, I totally forgot about posting this and this is last minute. The release date is postponed. Special thanks to @jamaisjoons for making this beautiful banner and hosting this awesome collab.
* To join the taglist, please fill out this form. (no emails will be collected)
mail box | my masterlist | happy hentaiween masterlist
Tumblr media
“I have lots of strings…”
One of the guards behind you grasps your attention with his scoff. A look over your shoulder reveals no explanation for his abrupt response, so you pay it no mind, and neither does the creature pressed against the other side of the cell door as it finishes its sentence.
“But baby, I am no puppet.”
Something black slithers out of the tiny slit located in the center of the steel structure. It travels far enough to cause alarm in your trusted security, but you know there’s no breaking the strength of steel and magic combined.
You raise your hand, and your men are at ease.
Your eyes focus on whatever sort of extension it is crawling out of the dark hole the monster is confined in. The grimace plastered on your face grows when it travels within your space, smearing your cheek with whatever oozes from its exterior.
The folder is snatched and disappears with a swift motion, sending your hair flying in every way possible.
Seconds turn into minutes as the three of you wait outside of the cell for the shredded paper to be spat in your faces. However, that moment never arrives.
“Let’s say I decide to play your game, boss lady.”
You’re certain the entire block heard the sigh that floated into the air. You give each guard the same look, assuring them that they won’t need to assist you in gaining the monster’s participation in your latest project.
“Let us,” is your response.
You can’t see what’s hidden in the abyss, but you can hear just how sinister its intentions are by the evil that seeps through the amusement in its voice.
“Would you play mine?”
Tumblr media
234 notes · View notes
alectology-archive · 1 year
Note
hey so i was wondering why you like annihilation so much? it is visually breathtaking but are there any other reasons?
-🦁
So the thing about annihilation is that I enjoyed the movie and the book in very different ways but I firmly believe that they’re intrinsically linked to one another. I’m a very visual reader and also had the movie’s imagery to fall back on so I really enjoyed the book when I picked it up - and while I’d say the book experience is the more complete of the two, I’d also really recommend the movie because it’s gorgeous and kind of brings out the best out of the book (even if it deletes some of the other good stuff, but I’m not entirely certain all of the book elements are easily adaptable to a visual medium). Annihilation the book poses questions like What If There Was A Haunted Tower But It Was Upside Down (spatial horror) and What if There Was A Haunted Tower And Its Internal Structure Resembled Human DNA (DNA transcription failing to produce a perfect replica… like a cancer!) and What If Alien Biology Could Copy You But Only Do It Wrong and What If It Was Intelligent Enough To Copy Your Language But That Came Out Wrong Too. Annihilation is like if a book was about artificial intelligence but didn’t actually featured any ai in it. It’s like if a book was about cancers and parasites and scary holes. These are very natural phenomena but they can be threatening because of the circumstances in which we face them and more specifically because of our biased perception of the world around us. It’s also a metaphor for environmental damage and flipping the power dynamic between humans and their environment, turning the desire to subjugate back on humans. What if the environment hurt you instead? What if it killed members of your species off and experienced no remorse instead? What if it changed humans irreparably and used them as fodder to continue evolving? Fascinating stuff! I have to admit that I hated the hypnosis subplot in the book and that I’m very glad the movie did away with it.
The simpler answer is that ecological horror, body horror and doppelgangers are my favourite kind of horror sub-genres/elements and annihilation basically features all of them. I don’t think it’s necessarily the best example of doppegangers in media theme-wise (see: us 2019, fight club, solaris by stanislaw lem) or body horror, but I love it anyway. It’s the kind of horror that’s representative of the genre’s potential to be visually breathtaking while it’s simultaneously stimulating your fear response (see also: midsommar, hannibal) - it makes for a very seductive combination especially because looking away is usually the natural fear response that horror media evokes in its audiences. Baby horror fans might have fun with it if they want to edge into the genre gradually since it also has undertones of fantasy and sci fi going for it (and especially so if they’re squeamish about blood and gore).
this is also the obligatory reminder that if you liked annihilation you should check out i am in eskew, solaris, undercover + tlt (by tamsyn muir).
62 notes · View notes
randomnameless · 8 months
Note
"Like, Miss “I already sent my troops to conquer your lands even if you are not the one harbouring the evil lizard lady I’m trying to get rid off” would really stop her war of conquest if the evil lizard lady dies?" You could say Clout's reasoning smacks of naivete.
Clout? Reasoning?
lol
Imo, in GW, Clout is playing on levels after levels of PR (like an onion!), and this "let's kill Rhea so the war will stop" is imo a PR excuse to justify invading Faerghus and getting Rhea out of the board.
Now, why the hateboner for Rhea herself, your guess is as good as mine (at least Supreme Leader has her "negative views based on Rhea's race", but I don't know it that's any better...).
(ramblings about Claude/Clout under the cut)
Claude isn't stupid (uh...) and knows Fodlan created the locket and the Officers Academy to fight back invasions of Almyra, and yet he seems to really believe (in FE16 at least) that Rhea is the reason why Fodlan apparently doesn't like foreigners, before discovering water is wet.
Worst reading, but one I can get behind, is Claude doesn't understand and resents the fact that Rhea, who is not a head of state, is listened to and loved by the randoms in Fodlan, she can influence them (only when they want to be infuenced though!) and the CoS, as an institution, is part of Fodlan's history and DNA/backbone.
If Claude wants to shatter everything to bring a "new age" where Fodlan will welcome with open arms their very friendly Almyran neighbours, Rhea has to be "shattered" too.
Take VW's ending :
Country, faith, history... All that had once formed the order of the world was wiped clean. The heroes whose very hands saved Fódlan from a dark fate commenced with the building of a new society. The leaders of this new, unified Fódlan began their walk down a seemingly endless path—one towards a world that would cherish differences in race and belief, one where all life would be valued equally. Those leaders clung to the hope that their path would not end with Fódlan, that it would someday span the seas to Dagda, and beyond the Throat to Almyra...
You get rid of the old and existing society/structure, to build a new one, based on lofty ideals, sure, and yet, again, how can you cherish differences in beliefs in you wipe Fodlan's faith, aka the thing people believed in? What about their history and individualities/differences ? It's wiped clean too?
A bit like Tru Piss's mistranslated ending where people thought it will erase retroactively Faerghus from history books, are we supposed to understand , from this ending, that Claude will erase Adrestia, Faerghus and Leicester from memory?
And the ominous last paragraph, what does it mean, they hope to export their path of "wiping clean" the world of "country, faith, history" too?
If we take this reading, Rhea and the CoS are inherent parts of Fodlan's identity and History. If Claude wants a blank chessboard to play "melting pot" with and ultimately add it to his future pot including Almyra, Dagda and whoever else, Rhea and the CoS, but also, the different states from Fodlan, had to disappear. Supreme Leader helped him with the "get rid of 3 states" and arguably with Rhea's death, so in a way, Claude reaps what Supreme Leader started.
But not to MAGA, to create a new land encompassing everyone (whether they want it or not!) and being one of its heads.
This is, imo, the darkest take/reading on Claude's situation and plans, but bear in mind yellow units in FE Jugdral (the game tool inspiration from Jugdral per the devs!) are antagonists, add to that Nopes and even FE16's Claude who, albeit not on the level of Supreme Leader, keeps his plans to himself - and always mentions tearing down the "walls" that separate Fodlan from the outside world, without ever mentionning the fact those walls were built for some reason.
It's not important anyways, and if you think otherwise, it's because you were led to think otherwise, we should all be friends.
Sure, interacting with outsiders doesn't contradicts Seiros's tenets, but in the end, what is Claude saying?
If I can realize my dream, Fódlan will be reborn. The old age will end and we'll welcome a new dawn.
The current Fodlan, that is supposed to follow Seiros's tenets will... end? Seiros' tenets says something, but they still need to be ignored to build a new world that will promote the same thing those tenets preached.
Hm.
The issue, imo, isn't about what is being preached, but with the "Seiros tenets" in themselves.
23 notes · View notes