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#and then conveniently cons her parents into letting her keep it
musicalchaos07 · 2 months
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SORRY I AM THINKING ABOUT NANCY SAYING COPY/PASTE FOR HER AND JONATHAN'S DAUGHTER AGAIN AND IIIII
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wisteriainslumber · 6 months
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leoidevil friendship headcanons
two posts so soon?? no wayyy everyone seems to love their dynamic in penned in ink (deserved, i love them) so i decided to give you some fun, general hcs about the mean girls of all
warnings: swearing? i think thats it. wow, go me
they share a steady HBIC rotation
they respect each other so much but it will never look like it (bc seven forbid they show love and compassion and care in clown school, right?)
insults in this group = love. the more unhinged, the more it means they care for each other
aka if you try to break them up bc they look like they're going to throw hands they'll flip the narrative as if you are the crazy one for thinking they're genuinely fighting
do you see why these three are always split up in events now?
leovil are constantly using honey, dear, and sweetie in their arguments (derogatory)
once, when particularly annoyed, idia called them mom and dad bc 1. they remind him of his parents and 2. he hoped it would be weird enough to change the topic but no, leovil are running with it
there's made up lore about how idia was adopted. the story changes every time. so far, idias been a double orphan, picked up at a dumpster, cloned, picked up from the lost and found, and at some point he was biologically related to that fire lizard from frozen 2
leona regularly gifts idia super expensive jewelry. he receives a bunch of them and believes idia would have something better to do with them than he can (idia uses them for cosplay and hands some off to ortho because he likes the way it shines)
and the gifts progressively get very specific to idias interests but the chances of the court giving the second prince a custom headset (conveniently aligned with idias interests) seems relatively low
vil vehemently refuses the charity but will not say no to exclusive afterglow savanna garments (she wants to feel special and leona isn't thaaat opposed to it)
whenever someone offhandedly mentions that they got their eyes on something, its a race to see who can get it first
and bc vil is a sentimental one, his room is FILLED with trinkets and photos of his outings
leovil is always caught up on idias current obsessions, with leona knowing the key plot points and vil only knowing the names and faces
idia would not stfu abt this con and leovil didn't have time to pretend like it was annoying bc they do NOT KNOW who to go as (presumably idia just wanted to talk or maybe get one of them to go to the con for him but the girls were not having that)
like these two binged Idia's 'show of the month' and were having so much trouble figuring out who his favourite characters were, but ultimately settled for the main character and her friends
idia LOVEDD the surprise even though he has like, no clue who tf they were cosplaying (turns out leovil remembered the title completely wrong)
leovil were hella committed to keeping up their character while idia was too busy running around like an excited puppy
vil always carried around a bunch of tampons for his classmates but has a seperate pouch for leona & idia (bc they have nice patterned packaging. that's it)
leona's homescreen is a photo of them wearing mouse-ear shades. they all look so cool (leona has not revealed the lockscreen to anyone)
vil always lends his products to his friends because besties share everything (he even has specific formulas he's custom made for them! vil's never ever EVER gonna give them away tho bc then he wont have an excuse for an impromptu skincare session LMAOO)
leona's the designated everything holder bc idias backpack is always filled with random junk and his posture is terrible and he's the only one who can apparently 'treat vil's purse with respect' (he complains about it though)
even if they weren't important, i feel like if they got group kidnapped, they'd bully the kidnapper so hard that they'd be let go unharmed and the kidnapper would be in tears
leona has ALLLL the tea and it takes a swipe from idia to verify the facts. with rumours, vil can pinpoint exactly who is being talked about, down the the dorm, year, and class number
idia sits in between the custody battle for epel and jack DAILY. but the silly thing is whenever idia chimes in with a perfectly reasonable idea (like say, flip a coin), leovil suddenly get along again just to say it's a dumb idea (its not)
idia and leona have sibling solidarity and bc vil is an only child they exercise their sibling rights just to tell vil complete lies (aka, anything vil does, like sneezing, will receive a comment like 'if you sneeze more than 4 times a day, it means you're awakening a ghost')
and they're committed to the bit. idia will absolutely forge research articles and leona will claim his fifth-cousin-twice-removed had mysteriously gone missing because of it
when vil's feeling down they do not gas the queen up (she already knows it, hun). they let vil raid their closets to pick out their outfits for a photoshoot
when vil's not in the mood for THAT then its a code red. leoide will dress themselves up so good that vil feels underdressed so now he HASSS to go on their impromptu outing. peer pressure wins again
the gossip sessions over shaved ice or any kind of dessert go CRAZY in this trio, like they're so loud bc the tea is outrageous and you want to be mad but at the same time, go on, i gotta hear more
idias ideal hangout is a self-care day. they'll all wear facemasks and idia will do everyone's nails and they all gossip
sometimes idia will come up with a theory, like that sam is from another world, and vil will say it's bogus but ends up feeding more evidence for the theory
once vil beat idia in a video game (that idia was a pro at, mind you) on the first try and idia declared their friendship over
vil and idia are video game buddies but not past the AMs bc vil has a bed time (leona's still salty about the cats & videogames comparison so he only watches)
vil and idia fight over custody of ortho all the time but leona just uses the distraction to get ortho to leak all the juicy secrets
other than that vil and ortho are doing evil potion making aka finding creative ways go sneak veggies in leoides food
the trio never have any real drama so they always end up 'fighting' each other over the stupidest shit. like the way they tie their shoes, the typo they just made, or how loud they breathe
whenever one of them is seriously down, it's always a bad-cop/good-cop situation bc getting too serious makes these emotionally stunted losers feel icky
they do talk about their feelings though, but it never turns into a pity party
idia LOOOVES being dramatic tho and will set the stage for his sob story only for it to be that the cashier didn't wish him a good day
vil will use idia's lingo for the shock factor and pretends it never happened after and leona will pretend like he didn't like that his time got wasted but will reassure him. and by reassure i mean he stands w idia in line and says 'have a good day' to the cashiers so they'll say 'you too'
and no idc what u say, idia will chat shit about everyones crushes but will do one of two things: A. be besties w them if his friends end up dating and B. have a crush on the BAREEE MINIMUM
okay i joke a lot but leoidevil all keep each other in check and strive to uplift & become the best version of themselves
its three different flavours of self-hatred all communicating with each other
and they will still preach self-love (leona bc he thinks they deserve better, idia bc he gave up but that doesnt mean his loved ones have to, and vil bc he believes you will never be at a satisfactory point in ur life if you dont make amends with yourself)
btw they have a very elaborate plan to go to therapy together and a back up plan if they happen to end up at the ward instead
friendship bracelets but its the admission wrist bands
all in all, the whole school is afraid of this power trio but they're just super weird together
12/10 leovil still have pictures of idia's phantom bride wedding day
if there's other groupings or ships you want me to do hcs for, send me an ask! i love exploring character dynamics smmm this will definitely be a new series of mine
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hologramcowboy · 2 years
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Why are people so insistent that because Jensen and Danneel are still married and she’s wormed her way into business with him that means they’re so in love? (This ended up being so long, I’m so sorry! I always send you the longest deep dives 😅).
Their relationship was never about love. They were two people partied together and cheated on their partners with each other. When their partners broke up with them, Danneel clung onto Jensen and he let her because he had nothing else going on. Very much a situationship. One person treats it like a real relationship (Danneel), the other as a regularly occurring, no strings attached hook up (Jensen). Then he suddenly was at the age where all of his friends were getting married and the studio was probably on his back about having a partner for his image because 1. Bachelorhood isn’t a good look once you hit a certain age and 2. The gay rumors. Conveniently, he was hooking up with a girl employed by the same network. Her career looked promising at the time, so Jensen gets a little nudge from higher ups to make it official. Danneel gets the press and status she needs to keep her career on the same upwards trajectory, Jensen keeps his wholesome guy from Texas image he had at the time, and they get to be the replacement network power couple after Sophia Bush and Chad Michael Murray didn’t work out. That’s why the timeline of their relationship is so sketchy, because it was all manufactured. One moment Jensen was recently single, the next he was claiming that he had been dating an “up and coming actress for a few years” (his actual words, I’ll try and find the interview) and why there are no pictures from their relationship prior to going public. Because there was no relationship.
I don’t think the relationship was meant to last beyond a couple of years of dating. The idea probably was they would stay together long enough to get Danneel her clout and cement Jensen’s reputation as a good man who doesn’t use women. But she’s a schemer, there’s no way she was letting him go. And this is where my point about everyone around Jensen getting married comes in. I think seeing everyone around him getting married made him feel as though he was getting old, and needed to get married too. Jared, who is four years younger than him, getting married really sealed the deal panic wise. Danneel preyed on that and got her ring. Then, she stirred up the gay rumors so that Jensen would feel even more pressure to get married. If he had broken off the engagement, tabloids would have taken that as proof that he was gay. It also served the purpose of making sure that people knew not only who she was, but who she was going to be- Mrs. Ackles. Then a short engagement to lessen the chances of Jensen getting cold feet. Jensen still got cold feet, and she was prepared for that so she made sure there would be people around to talk him off the ledge and down the aisle. The wedding pictures say it all, like most pictures of the two of them do. Her smug face, his parents pinched expressions and Jensen’s eyes looking super distant (nothing says true love like having to be high to get though your own wedding).
From the moment the marriage certificate was signed, the (failing to this day) long con of Mr. and Mrs. Ackles, Hollywood power couple, began. No honeymoon for the “stars”, but straight to Upfronts to parade around her new husband and promote herself and her new show. Friends with Benefits was supposed to launch her to stardom. She wanted to be the next Jennifer Aniston, and Jensen was going to be her Brad Pitt. This was also around the time that she was heavily campaigning to replace Megan Fox in Transformers. Friends With Benefits was a total failure, and NBC knew that was going to happen before it even aired. They moved it from being a mid-season replacement for the 2010-11 season to a summertime premiere, a death sentence for any TV show. They didn’t even air the season finale, it was first made available when the show was put on iTunes and Netflix in 2018. Her other two projects released that year were a small role in Mardi Gras: Spring Break (best described as a trashy/dirty movie made for teenage boys to watch when their mothers aren’t looking) and reprising her role as Kumar’s girlfriend in the final Harold & Kumar movie. After that she had small roles in two other cancelled after one season sitcoms (in 3/20 episodes of Retired at 35 and 2/13 episodes of How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life). She would then pretend she was retiring from acting to become a mother, yet shortly after JJ was born filmed Baby Boot Camp, a Hallmark movie. Motherhood was a cover up for her failed career, and a way to keep Jensen in her clutches.
From 2010 to 2013 while Danneel tried to make it big, Jensen and Danneel are pretty public. He brings her as a plus one to events, there are paparazzi pics of them out and about fairly regularly, they live in LA with the rest of the stars. When they move to Austin in 2014 however, Danneel basically disappears. No more paid paparazzi, Jensen slowly starts bringing her to less events, and no career to give her visibility. Divorce rumors start to circulate (or rather recirculate. No one has believed in this relationship since the moment it went public). Then Danneel makes her Instagram public and verified. I specify public and verified because she was on Instagram for a while before her “first” post in August of 2015. She deleted a bunch of pictures, got verified and the era of being Jensen Ackles’s wife and mother of his children began. It’s not enough though. And from then on it’s a cycle of trying to gain attention. She’s constantly caught by fans trying to pass off Jensen content as current on Instagram. She tries several times to brand herself as an activist and get into liberal circles. She collabs with a jewelry line with little success. Her recent foray back into modeling. She gets zero attention outside of the fandom, and while she used to mock Gen for being a mommy blogger clearly wanted to be one as well, trying and failing a few times to make it as an influencer. Even with Jensen’s name she can’t make it- whether it’s internet fame or acting. The only time she’s active in the public eye is when she’s trying to prove her marriage. Divorce rumors- next thing you know she’s pregnant with twins. Divorce rumors again- Hilarie gets her a gig with a few other OTH stars in a hallmark Christmas movie. This backfired because no one recognized Danneel as Rachel after all the surgery. Divorce rumors again- guest spot on Supernatural and a family brewery that very conveniently doesn’t include Jensen’s side of the family. More divorce rumors- now they have a production company! She continues to accompany Jensen to less and less events until she’s absent from all of them. You may have noticed that once Gen didn’t need to pretend to be her friend to play up the image of “J2 are so close and their wives are too!” Danneel stopped being seen with her at events in Austin, in fact she stopped going to events entirely. Clearly Jensen wasn’t her only meal ticket.
And now we’re in the current marriage flop era. Post Supernatural has not been good to them. They’ve both admitted their marriage only works when they don’t really see each other and only talk on weekends and now that he’s not in Vancouver 9 months of the year they can’t hide behind that anymore. Cringey anniversary video trying to brand themselves as a humorous couple. No one does that unless they have something to prove. Danneel all but abandoning her social media after years of attention seeking, and after using lockdown to heavily promote the Ackles as a nuclear family unit. Never visited Jensen when travel restrictions were lifted while he was filming The Boys. Only family photos we’ve seen haven been taken outside of the home in public spaces (WB tour, NOLA boutique picture, Disney) and the only public proof of them cohabiting comes from them spending Christmas as a family in Colorado, and Jensen staying in the house they were renting in NOLA for a few days while the prequel pilot was being filmed. We know it was only for a few days because he was away filming for Big Sky at the time. She’s rarely seen with Jensen, and if they’re together they’re noticeably very drunk (FBBC Christmas party, Mardi Gras) or so visibly upset that even the most blind sheep fans notice (Upfronts). They can’t even pretend to be happy for the cameras anymore. What about any of this reads as a happy marriage to people? I have more to say, but this is already way too long so maybe another time lol.
Anon, I love you! 💖 You had the patience to explain everything in great detail. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this beautiful post, I enjoyed reading each paragraph and I hope you will share the rest as well!
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"What about any of this reads as a happy marriage to people?" Indeed. Normal people acknowledge something is off about these two, especially those who are outside of fandom but I guess stans would rather empower their cult worship than face the truth.
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ecargmura · 11 months
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Opus Colors Episode 7 Review: The Harsh Art World
After Episode 4 robbed us of Iori content, the writers make up for it by giving him focus in this week’s episode. He and his Grader Takumi take the center stage by diving deeper into the pros and cons of the Perception Art world. While it does seem like smiles and rainbows, it’s not. I like that, honestly. The world of art, whether it’s visual, fine, performance, or even liberal, will always be a harsh industry. I know all too well—look at me trying to find a place in the writing world with blogging and original writing.
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How was Iori as a character overall? He’s quite something, honestly. He’s smug and such, but he has all the reasons to be smug and confident. He’s an artist and he’s GOOD. Goodness, his Perception Art was AMAZING! I can see why everyone keeps hyping him up. He definitely lives up to his expectations. It’s also revealed that his inspiration of Perception Art came from Kazuya’s parents, which he saw them do their art as a kid. He was even at their funeral where he saw the mourning Kazuya as a kid. Huh, I wonder if that’s going to be a plot point in the future.
While I always liked the artsy, glamorous side of the Perception Art world, I also liked seeing the serious, critical side of it. However, I did think that the “serious” part of when the staff members criticized Iori’s exhibition due to a child being injured was going a bit over the top. Yeah, the kid almost got injured, but Iori shouldn’t have been the one to be blamed on. When he opened up his studio for kids’ safety, he got criticized again. Sheesh, nobody’s ever happy here. Let him have some fun!
Takumi was a bit one-note in the beginning with his obsession tendencies towards Iori. He has strong yandere vibes. He’s growly whenever some guy approaches Iori. Relax, no one’s going to steal your man. While Iori doesn’t seem to fully reciprocate his feelings, he keeps him around because of convenience. It’s revealed that the Yura family is super rich; they’re known in the art industry as connoisseurs of sorts. Takumi even invests his own personal money into sponsoring Iori as his own personal artist. That’s some obsession right there.
This episode is also REALLY big on the Kazukyo ship. Like, the first part of the episode was just them going on a “date” to see Iori’s exhibit and then he got jealous that Kazuya spent time with Iori. He’s folding for Kazuya soon. I can feel it.
There is a big reveal in this episode: Iori is NOT the Scribbler! I knew it! He was just a red herring! I’m still on the boat of Kyo being the Scribbler and it’s heavily hinted towards the end! Kazuya tells Kyo about his search for the Scribbler and Kyo’s only response was gaping. He’s the one! He’s it!
I wonder where’s the story going from here? There’s five episode left. What’s going to happen now that Iori is not the Scribbler? How will Kyo reveal that he is the Scribbler and how will Kazuya respond? I just hope there won’t be angst.
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ratmonky · 3 years
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Curse of Innocence
A gift to my best friend for an eternity, @anti-interesting​
Word Count: 18.2K
Warnings: dub-con, gaslighting, manipulation, dacryphilia, voyeurism, cuckolding, bullying, obsession, alcohol
AO3 Link
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“Ya heard?”
“Heard what?” Geto asked with a sigh, exhaling his smoke along the way and watching Gojo munch on an anpan. That guy was eating too many sweets nowadays, he was going to gain weight.
“Apparently, there’s gonna be someone transferring here next semester.” Gojo took another bite from his snack and chewed slowly, savoring the taste. “Shoko said it’s gonna be a girl.”
“So what?” Geto raised a brow. It would be good for Shoko, there weren’t many girls on the campus, it would definitely mean that they could slip away from doing all the cleaning in the dorms as well.
“I call dibs.” A sinister smile was on his face.
Geto paused for a moment to stare at his friend and snorted. “You’re such a lout.” He pretended to wipe an imaginary tear from his eye. “She’s probably like Shoko, don’t get your hopes up.”
“Nooo, I heard she’s a pipsqueak. Preciously charming and weak, at least according to Nanami who met her when she was visiting.” Gojo’s smile widened, eyes sparkling with dark intent. “Well, it doesn’t matter, since you’re not interested, it means I didn’t even need to call dibs, huh?”
Silence.
It had been a while since the last girl had dropped out. They were already going to become third years soon and it was boring here. Shoko wasn’t dumb enough to fall for their tricks or be a part of them and there weren’t any other girls around.
This new girl could change it. She could be the new entertainment.
“Hey,” Geto started, he was trying really hard to not let his lips curl up into a smile but he was failing. Gojo noticed it, eyes squinting and waiting for what his friend had to say. “Wanna go halfsies instead?”
~~~
The campus looked larger and more elegant than your previous sorcerer academy, you were impressed if not relieved. Although there were too many buildings and it was covered by trees, you hoped you could feel at home once you settled.
“So, what do you think?” Shoko suddenly asked.
You were hurrying after her with your bags and luggage. You nodded and when you realized she couldn’t see you since she was walking ahead, you spoke. “I think here is where I belong! It’s quite large and quiet, I love it!”
“I’m glad you think so, it’s large but it’s easy to get lost so make sure to not wander off alone.” She turned to look at you and flashed a smile. “Let’s move on to the dormitory.”
Finally, you were in front of a huge compound-like traditional house.
“This is the dormitory. Both girls and boys use it. Well, we have separate wards and bathrooms but we all stay in this building, it’s our duty to keep it clean and stock up the necessities with the allowance the academy gives us.”
Your mouth opened in admiration, the place was huge. Bigger than your parents’ house. Double… no triple the size of their house.
Shoko opened the door and invited you in. The entrance was small, you took off your shoes.
“Leave your bags here, I’ll first show you the left-wing of the building.”
Nodding, you followed Shoko towards the common room and the kitchen.
“We all hang out here mostly, the guys usually rent movies on Saturdays so they do movie nights here. The kitchen always needs to be clean. Do not leave any dishes out to do them later, wash them right away or put them in the machine. Then there’s this coffee machine-” Her shoulders slouched and she sighed as she showed you the broken handle by pointing a finger at it. “It’s broken but don’t throw it out. We use the oven mittens to grab the decanter. If you want coffee in the morning, come by at seven sharp because Nanami often gets over himself and drinks the whole thing.”
“It’s fine,” you said, putting a hand on your hip. “I like instant coffee better, it’s more convenient and easier to make when I want more. You don’t need to make extra coffee for me or anything. I even brought some with me.”
Shoko raised her brows and smiled at your feigned solace. It was easy to tell, acting confident when your hands were shaking from trying to keep up the facade. “Make sure to hide your coffee then, we share the place with two greedy guys and another caffeine addict like me. But again, I wouldn’t mind sharing my coffee with you, it’s practically nothing too important so don’t hesitate to take some.”
The two of you continued chatting before finally, Shoko took you towards the library and the study rooms after passing the dining hall.
“We have a bigger library but this is for when we need to study here. The books are all about curses, sorcery, and the history of sorcerers.” Shoko said, leaning against the door frame and watching you admire the books she knew no other library had.
Your eyes landed on a hardcover book and you gasped in excitement. “I can’t believe this! You guys have a copy of Sukuna’s Impact on the Japanese History?”
Shoko smiled smugly, “It’s the original.”
“Ahh, you’re so lucky.” You put the book back and smiled at her. “My previous academies only taught us about clans and curses, this is like on another level for me. I’m so happy I transferred here. It’s nice to finally become a student in one of only two of the best jujutsu schools.”
“You know…” Shoko pointed at the book you put back, “You can take it.”
“Can I?” You beamed, your cheeks flushing.
“Well, it’s here so the students can read it. You can take and read any book you like as long as you’re going to return them.”
You gently pulled the book out from the shelf and held it against your chest with both arms wrapped around it. “I’m gonna read this tonight.”
“Knock yourself up,” she chuckled, the boyish and geeky side of you was already showing through.
While you were lost in your thoughts, planning how you were going to read about that one curse anatomy book you saw after this one, Shoko’s voice filled your ears. “At the end of this hall is the laundry room. There’s an equipment room and a large pantry.” She snapped her fingers as if to remember something, “Ah yes, cleaning supplies are also in the laundry room. Nanami will show you those on Sunday, we all clean the whole building weekly.”
You nodded slowly, processing all this information.
“Now, it’s time I show you to your room…” Shoko walked past you and back to the common room and then to the entrance once again.
Quickly, grabbing your bags, you followed her to the right side of the building. This side was broader. She slid open the door and continued walking in a straight line. “Here’s the boys’ dorm.” Her eyes landed on the stairs leading upstairs. “Ours is upstairs. It’s divided poorly, I know.”
You sighed and she chuckled. Climbing the stairs was hard when you had so many bags with you.
Shoko slid open the door and ignored a couple of doors until she reached the one that had her name on it, “This is my room, yours is next to mine.” She pointed at the door next to hers before fishing out a pair of keys from her pocket. “There you go.”
You took the keys after putting down one of your bags. “Why are there so many?”
“It’s for the entire campus. One for the library, our rooms, the building’s door, and many more that you’ll figure out on Monday.”
“Okay.” You looked around and saw that there was another door at the end of the hall.
“Behind that is the girls’ bathroom. Leave that sliding door open after you’ve taken a shower otherwise it gets really foggy on the other side of the hall.” Shoko put her hand on her hips and rested her weight on one leg. “That’s it. You can get settled now. I’ll call you out for dinner.”
You bowed down slightly, “Thank you for showing me around. I hope we get along well, Ieiri.”
“Ah, you’re being too formal! Please call me Shoko.” Shoko grinned but bowed her head out of habit. “Let’s get along well, (name).”
Smiling, you repeated her name quietly. Perhaps the two of you could be really close friends even though you were going to be here for a year.
“One last thing,” Shoko said, just as you had unlocked the door to your room. “It’s a piece of advice from me.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t let the boys see you as weak. They’ll tease you for it.” She looked serious, her friendly smile and big, wide eyes were gone, replaced by a frown and half-lidded look.
“I can handle a little bit of teasing!” You were grinning, putting on the facade again. “Besides if you don’t get teased for being weak, how will you get determined to improve yourself, haha, right?”
Shoko didn’t answer.
Your smile slowly faded.
“Just… be careful.” She turned around on her heels. “Nanami’s fine, though. At least I think so.”
That was the last thing she said before walking away from you and sliding the door to the hall closed, leaving you confused.
Dumbfounded, you walked inside your own room, hoping that you could get the most out of your senior year here in Tokyo Jujutsu High. Unaware of the things to come.
~~~
As soon as Shoko put a foot down on the main floor, she heard the chatter coming from the common room.
She exited the dormitory and slid the door closed behind her. When she arrived at the common room, she found Geto giving Nanami a pack of cigarettes.
“Yo, Shoko!” Gojo waved at her from the couch he was sitting on. “Did the girl settle in yet? What does she look like? Does she have big boo-”
Geto slammed his fist on top of Gojo’s head. “Ah, Shoko, your brand of cigarettes was sold out, I bought the same brand as mine.” Retrieving his hand from the dumb one’s head, he reached inside the plastic bag and pulled out the pack to hold it towards her.
Shoko’s eyes were on Nanami as she walked closer to Geto and snatched her pack. “Thanks.”
Nanami hid his in the hidden pocket of his school jacket before speaking. “I didn’t know you were here, Ieiri.”
“You started smoking a little too early, Nanami,” Shoko squinted her eyes in irritation. “And you, why are you buying cigarettes for him? Shouldn’t you be an example of a great senior year jujutsu student?” She was pointing at Geto who shrugged his shoulders with a grin.
“What? Are ya gonna rat on us?” Gojo grinned as well and got up from the couch to pat Nanami on the back. “Besides, Nanami’s a responsible adult now, he bought it himself!”
Nanami nodded reluctantly to confirm.
“He turned eighteen barely a week ago.” Shoko rolled her eyes and her eyes landed on Geto holding his pack of cigarettes out to her. She stared at him with a raised eyebrow.
“Here.”
“Why?”
“So you won’t tell anyone.” Geto was smirking. “Also a gift before you leave for your training.”
“That’s a cheap bribe.” Shoko took the pack with an eerie smile.
“She took it anyway,” Nanami scoffed softly.
“They’re scary~” Gojo leaned towards Nanami. “Smokers are easy to bribe with more of those killer sticks.”
“What’s for dinner?” Nanami then asked, ignoring the idiot.
“Since I’m on kitchen duty tonight, I was thinking curry and rice, since it’ll be five of us from now on so we can’t eat takeout all the time.” Shoko put the cigarette packs in her coat pockets and walked towards the kitchen. “It’d be nicer if one of you helped me cook too.”
Both Geto and Gojo put a hand on Nanami’s back to push him forward.
When Shoko glanced over her shoulder, it looked like Nanami was silently following her to the kitchen to help her. “Thanks, Nanami, I appreciate it.”
While the second year was glowering at the other two seniors for sacrificing him, Geto took out another pack of cigarettes he had hidden in his pants’ pocket.
“I’m gonna go out for a smoke,” he said, informing his friend.
Without saying anything, Gojo followed him out. They walked down a path leading to Geto’s secret smoking spot.
“We didn’t get any first years this semester,” Gojo pouted. “I was looking forward to it.”
“You just want them to idolize you,” Geto tore the packaging of the cigarettes open and pulled one out, putting it between his lips.
“I just wanna have younger people cheer for me! I miss being told how great I am!” Gojo pouted, acting cutesy. “Nobody praises me anymore.”
Geto lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply, “We’re not children anymore, that’s why.”
“It motivates me when someone tells me I’m strong~” He leaned his back against a tree and looked at his friend over his sunglasses. “I bet, the new girl will be all over me.”
“Maybe she will,” he answered, exhaling the smoke with a smirk. “Shall we do the friendly and stoic guy gimmick again or try something else?”
“Nuh-uh! Overly friendly classmates! That always works!” Gojo laughed to himself and paused. “I just got shivers thinking about it.” Wrapping his arms around himself, Gojo trembled. “Ahh, I hope she’s the errand girl type.”
“Why?”
“Those are easier to trick.”
Geto hummed before nodding languidly. “You’re right. They are also considerably obedient, they’d do anything to not upset anyone.”
“A people pleaser like that girl who dropped out! They are pretty adorable,” Gojo chuckled. “Ahh, what was her name again?”
Shrugging, Geto took a whiff of his cigarette before giving a blatant reply. “Who knows.”
~~~
When there was a knock on your door, you were already done packing and were reading the book you had borrowed from the library.
Closing the book and putting a small divider on the page you were reading, you walked up to the door.
Although you were expecting Shoko to be on the other side when you opened the door, there was a blonde guy standing in the hall.
“Hii,” you chirped. “I think we met before!” It took you a small pause to remember his name. “Nanamin… right?”
“Nanami,” he corrected, looking anywhere but at your face to avoid making eye contact. “Dinner’s ready.”
“Sorry… Thanks for letting me know.”
As he was getting ready to turn around and leave you walked out of your room, closing the door behind you to tail after him.
Not really the type to enjoy small talk, Nanami felt obliged to say something when the two of you reached the stairs. “It’s curry and rice.”
“Hmm?”
“The food. It’s dinner and rice.”
“Ahh, it had been a while since I last ate curry. Did you cook it?”
“I only helped Ieiri to make rice.”
“That’s still cooking,” you giggled and offered him a pat on the back. “Next time I need someone to cook rice, I know who to call.”
Nanami chuckled at that.
You were also grinning like an idiot, stupidly happy for no reason other than managing to make him chuckle.
Inside the dining hall, Shoko was already seated, Nanami quickly sat on an empty chair.
“Nice dress,” Shoko commented when she saw you bouncing on your heels, unsure of where to sit. Twirling around to show off your dress, you thanked her with a smile. Soon after she pointed at a seat next to hers, “You can sit here.”
“How many are we?” you asked, noticing how there were only two more plates placed down on the table.
Before Shoko could answer, two guys entered the dining hall, laughing merrily.
You turned around and stared at the guy with raven black hair, it was half tied up, his hair was long and silky, dark eyes blinked before they landed on you. His lips curled up to a smile.
The guy beside him was grinning from ear to ear. “You must be the new girl!” Either the guy was a loud fellow or he was very nervous talking to you because his voice got only louder each time he opened his mouth to speak. “Ugh, it’s very nice to meet you, hope we get along well.” He rubbed his neck nervously, “I’m Satoru Gojo!!” His tone changed into something a lot softer and his cheeks flushed pink. It was even more noticeable when he reached in for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you, Gojo,” you replied and took his hand. “I’m (name).”
“You have such a nice name, perfectly fitted for a girl like you,” he smiled. And with that, he blushed even harder.
“Thank you,” you chuckled, your cheeks also blushing a little because of the intensity of his stare.
Gojo then encouraged another man who looked a similar age to you to introduce himself as well but the guy didn’t. He stared at you instead. His dark eyes wandered on your face for a moment too long before he clicked his tongue with a smile. And while you were staring back at him, you noticed something. He was magnetic almost, pulling you towards himself.
He reached in to shake your hand, “Suguru Geto.”
“(n-name).” Sharply gasping, your cheeks flushed and your heart started throbbing hastily in your chest but you tried to look indifferent. “N-nice to meet you two.”
He and the other guy exchanged a knowing look with each other when you stuttered.
~~~
“Argh! I thought we were both going for the friendly and shy guy!” Gojo rubbed his nose bridge while cringing. “You made me look sooo stupid. I told you to stop with the stoic guy thing!”
Geto was indifferent as he flipped a page of his book. “Well, she fell for it anyway.”
“You’re trying to steal her, right?” Gojo started pacing around the room. “I should’ve known! Ahh, you’re so scary, I hate you.”
“That’s not it.” Geto closed his book with a sigh, keeping a finger between the pages to not lose which page he was reading. “She’ll trust me and come to me if things get out of hand instead of going directly to someone else. We have to think ahead or it’ll end up like the others.”
“Still, you could’ve told me something before I embarrassed myself! Nanami and Shoko were holding in their laughs ya know!”
“You always make a fool of yourself so what’s the difference?”
Gojo visibly tensed, Geto had managed to get on his nerves.
“I apologize,” Geto said to avoid conflict. “Since I upset you, I’ll let you take the first step.”
With that his friend pushed his sunglasses up to his hair, smiling foolishly. “That’s very generous of ya.”
Geto realized he may have made a mistake to let Gojo take the lead. His friend enjoyed watching more than being a part of it.
~~~
The next day, your uniform came.
“It’s cute,” Shoko said, looking up from the magazine she was reading.
“Really? I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have a gakuen-like uniform. Does it suit me?” You frowned as you struck poses in front of the mirror.
“What’s important is if you can move in it. You’re going to wear that while fighting curses.” She sat up on your bed to get a better look at your uniform.
“You’re right…” You smoothed the fabric of your skirt and decided that it was perfect. “I think I like it.” Turning around to face Shoko, you smiled. “It’s so unfortunate that you’re going away to train as soon as I start though…”
“I’m not exactly the fighter type, I’m trying to become an autopsy technician after I get my degree.” Shoko mirrored your smile. “So you better be careful on your missions or I might be the one to dissect you.”
“I could never look at a dead body yet you’re willing to do that as a job?” You got goosebumps on your skin, “You must be very strong!”
“Mentally? Yes. Physically? Not at all.”
“By the way… why do you wanna become a jujutsu sorcerer?” As simple as the question was, it differed from person to person. Nobody wanted to become a jujutsu sorcerer for the fun of it.
Taken aback, it took her a long moment before she answered. “Money, not being sure what to do with the power to see curses, not having a future as a normal civilian. I don’t know, could be all of them at once.” She noticed your smile widening as if you were fascinated by her choice of path for the future. “What about you?”
Your answer was quick, you said it with your whole chest, eyes twinkling with determination. “To protect people from curses and collect all of Sukuna’s fingers.”
“Woah, talk about being selfless,” Shoko joked but you didn’t laugh. “While I’m away, you should hang out with Nanami and avoid conflict. Heated arguments can make all the hell break lose.”
You nodded in response.
“You don’t like to be seen as selfless, huh?” She didn’t want to leave for the internship tomorrow like this. It was clear you were upset. “Is there a special reason for you to hate it?”
You fidgeted with your fingers, confident and cheerful girl facade wavering yet again. “It makes people think that I’m weak. That I wanna become a sorcerer to feel better about myself when I actually wanna do something good with the power I was gifted.”
Ahh, the type who wanted to leave an impact. Rather, desperate to have some sort of validation.
At that moment, Shoko pitied you. “You care what people think about you, don’t you?”
“I… do.” Shoulders slouched and with those fidgeting fingers, you looked anything but confident.
“What others may think of you doesn’t truly define you. It’s hard to accept but not everyone will like you. It’s impossible to be loved by everyone, so you should worry about getting your degree along with your sorcery license.”
She was trying to encourage you but it felt more like a talk some adult would give to a kid that wouldn’t stop crying.
“Y-yeah, I’ll do that.”
Shoko got up from your bed and ruffled your hair, “You have my number and email address. You can contact me whenever you wanna.”
With the mood lightening, you were able to fix your posture and nod rapidly. “Same goes for you too!”
~~~
Monday started with you and the others seeing Shoko off from the bus station. The four of you took the bus that came after hers.
“This bus goes all the way to the stop by the campus and down to here.” Nanami handed you a card. “Ieiri told me to give this to you. It’s a transportation card. Works with everything.”
You took the card and thanked him as you put it in. “Tokyo is a bigger city than I thought.”
“Let’s see,” Gojo turned around his seat to stare at you and Nanami. He clasped his chin between his thumb and knuckle, thinking carefully. “There were two different curses reported around here. We should split up and meet back up in the dormitory when we’re done.”
“Wait,” you said, chuckling nervously. “We’re gonna deal with curses by ourselves? Without a supervisor?”
Three of them stared at you in the same confusion you were looking at them.
“We learn on the field after the first year,” Geto explained. “Most of the schedule for us is exorcising curses. We don’t have classes on campus nowadays either. Our teacher is abroad.”
“B-but isn’t it dangerous to exorcise curses without a teacher or a professional sorcerer around?”
“Was that how it worked back in your previous schools?” Nanami was trying to be understanding, you clearly weren’t confident in your abilities or needed supervision.
“Y-yeah. I-I mean curses can be really dangerous and we’re still not professionals.”
“You’re overthinking it!” Gojo said, looking at you over his sunglasses. “We can go together, you and me. I’m the strongest so you don’t need to worry about anything.”
Geto sighed, glancing over his shoulder to look at Nanami. “You’re okay with being paired up with me?”
Nanami shrugged.
“Great!” Gojo pressed the stop button attached to the pole. “(name), come on! This is our stop.”
Nanami got up from his seat to let you follow after Gojo towards the bus door.
“It’s only my first day…” You hesitated.
“You’ll do fine,” Geto encouraged, “Satoru will help you out.”
You blushed faintly and bowed your head in acknowledgment as the vehicle rolled to a stop.
“Satoru, don’t force her too much on her first day.” Geto was smirking when the doors opened.
“Sure sure. I won’t.” Gojo waved at him lazily and got off the bus with you. He turned around, stretching his arms over his head before talking. “Do you use cursed tools to exorcise curses?”
“Sometimes-”
Without letting you finish your words, Gojo pulled out a dagger from the inner pocket of his jacket. “You’ll need this then. Curses here in Tokyo are intelligent.”
Grabbing the dagger from him, you nodded sluggishly. “O-okay.”
Once you put the dagger in your utility belt, he draped his arm over your shoulder and started walking, leading you towards an alleyway. “Now, tell me all about yourself! I need to know everything.” He was pressing you to his side, his hand on your shoulder slowly slid down to your waist.
“Um, Gojo… this is a little t-too close,” you mumbled shyly.
Gojo leaned down, his face got awfully close to yours. He managed to bite down the urge to grin. “Sorry, what’s that? I didn’t hear what you said.”
You were completely silent, blushing in embarrassment and looking away. “N-nothing.”
“Hmm.” His fingers pressed on your hip, caressing your skin over the fabric of your skirt softly. “How have you been liking Tokyo and our college so far?” he asked, leading you down another street.
“It’s been barely three days… but I can say that it’s different from where I come from.” That was all you had to say as you tried to not give much thought to his hand on your hip. You dipped your head in a nod when he gestured towards another alleyway.
“You’ll love it here! Shoko said she liked you already and I can tell we’re gonna be really close too!” he laughed, his smile was contagious. You couldn’t help but smile despite being uncomfortable. “Maybe you’ll even befriend Suguru in the future!”
“I-is it hard to befriend him?” Oh, so innocent.
“Definitely,” Gojo let out a dramatic sigh. “He doesn’t trust people that easily but I hope you’ll be able to see him smile one day. It’s a sight ya don’t see often.”
“How could I befriend him?” you politely asked.
“By befriending me!” he replied, his thumb drawing circles over your clothes. “It took me two whole years to gain his respect ya know. I can help speed up the progress by telling ya all about him.”
To move away from his hand without saying anything that might make you seem like such a prude, you pressed yourself flush against his side but it only made everything worse. His hand slid further down your hips, smoothing the fabric of your skirt and-
“Don’t!” you suddenly said, pushing him away from yourself.
Gojo looked dumbfounded and confused as to why you were upset. “What happened?”
“It’s just…” The expression on his face made you feel guilty. He clearly had no ulterior intentions or anything. You were overreacting. You had to be overreacting.
“Ahh.” He softly slapped a hand on his forehead, “Sorry, I must’ve been too friendly. I’m the type to be comfortable around friends pretty easily. Shoko told me to be careful but I clearly failed, so sorry again if I made you uncomfortable,” he said, catching you off guard.
Your heart shattered into a million pieces. Now, you were going to be known as some prude who thought everyone who came close to you was after you.
“N-no, I was the one overreacting. I-it was just too overwhelming for me I guess, I don’t know. Please don’t blame yourself!”
“Don’t worry about it,” Gojo said, smiling brokenly. “I’m used to it.”
You had messed up already. It was only your first day but you had already managed to make the cheerful guy somber.
“The curse is in that abandoned building,” he pointed towards a two-floored apartment building, changing the subject. “Let’s exorcise it and return back to the campus.”
It was silent between you up until you arrived at the building and entered it.
“I’ll check upstairs so you should check here.” Gojo’s tone was colder than ice, it lacked the usual chipper you had grown used to in such a short time. “Just call out my name if you need help.”
“Yessir!” you chirped, trying to ease the mood. To add to the goofiness, you saluted but Gojo didn’t do anything more than stare at you blankly. Somehow, it made you feel even worse. Now, you were both embarrassed and guilty.
Quietly, Gojo climbed up the stairs, leaving you alone.
Ugh! This was the worst. What Shoko had said before had scared you and put you on the edge around the guys. You had to be out of your mind to ruin your relationships with your classmates over a possible prank Shoko had pulled on you.
“Help-”
You jolted, listening carefully.
It was quiet again.
Maybe it was your imagination.
“Help!”
This time it was loud and clear, you walked further inside the building and listened again. “Hello?”
“Over here.”
The voice was coming from upstairs.
“Gojo! Are you hearing this?!”
No response.
A sudden rush of panic took over your senses.
Was Gojo hurt?
Unconscious?
Was he ignoring you?
Was it all of the above?
Without any hesitation, you climbed up the stairs and walked along the long hallway until you reached a dead end.
A low growl filled your ears and cold shivers went down your spine. You could feel the presence of something evil behind you, something with a ton of cursed energy. Definitely not a low-grade curse, maybe a grade one but nothing lower than that.
Turning around was a simple task, you could have done it solely by thinking about doing it but your legs wouldn’t budge. Your hand that was clutching on your belt to pull out the cursed tool Gojo had given you was shaking violently, nevertheless how you had exorcised some other curses in the past, this was the first time you were facing one alone, without anyone watching over you.
The cursed energy coming from the creature filled all of your senses and wrecked your nerves. It was as if you were drowning after being stung by a jellyfish, the shock was making you unable to move and although you were about to die, you couldn’t do anything about it.
What a way to go!
Dying on your first day on the field after embarrassing yourself in front of a classmate who clearly was defeated by this curse, otherwise, where could he be?
A sharp breath left your lips when the curse abruptly pulled you into its skin, absorbing you into its flesh and many hands it had started groping you.
The hands were going under your skirt, caressing your inner thighs, fondling your tits as you sank deeper into its flesh without fighting back. Then there was the wetness, warm, slick muscle wrapped around your throat before moving up towards your face. It was a tongue you realized. The wet muscle forced itself between your lips and pried your jaw open to snake itself down your throat.
Tears started streaming down your face right away. Multiple hands kneaded the soft flesh of your thighs and tits roughly as the tongue started swirling around in your mouth. Foreign feelings of all of the hands and a wet muscle grazing the back of your throat were too overwhelming, your head got lightweight, eyes rolling up. You were about to lose consciousness, it had to be the curse’s doing.
“Ah, you’ve found the curse.” Gojo’s voice was the last thing you heard before your vision went dark.
Gojo on the other hand was smirking, secretly glad that you weren’t able to see his cock swelling up under his pants as he was watching you get violated by the curse. Your body was still reacting to its tongue moving inside your mouth, eyelashes fluttering, and legs desperately trying to press together from involuntary pleasure.
It was quite a sight to see. Having your legs spread open by many hands of the curse that was ignoring him wasn’t something he had been exactly planning to see today but he was grateful nonetheless.
The hands that were spreading your legs moved further up towards your inner thighs, hiking your skirt up completely before another hand helplessly tried to tore your panties off of you.
Now, it was going a little too far.
“Over the clothes is fine but trying to touch her bare skin… you’re getting ahead of yourself, you shrimp.” Gojo rolled his eyes, curses could be excessively selfish, thinking that they own everything.
With a flick of his finger, he exorcised the curse in an instant. Its body exploded into a million different pieces and your body, released from its groping hands fell on the ground in a silent thud.
The next thing that echoed in the empty building was the sound of a belt unbuckling and a zipper being undone.
~~~
You jolted awake, eyes wet with tears and body trembling.  
“Hey,” Gojo’s voice above you was worried yet calming. “It’s just a nightmare, I’m here. You’re safe.”
You were being torn apart, emotions a wreck that couldn’t be fixed. Memories of what had happened washed over you frantically, leaving you breathless. Your arms quickly reached for the only person in front of you, begging for his closeness to feel comfort.
Gojo’s reaction was a bit delayed, but he carefully wrapped his arms around you and almost immediately you started sobbing pathetically.
The curse was gone, you couldn’t feel its presence. He must have exorcised it to save you. All you ever did today was to cause trouble for him.
“Sorry,” you said quietly, in between sobs.
“Hey, there’s nothing for you to apologize for,” Gojo’s voice was soft like honey, his sunglasses were pushed up to his hair and he was holding you in his lap. “Are you alright? Have you calmed down a bit?”
You frowned, tears gushing out from your eyes again. “I-I was so scared.”
“Anyone would be.” With your head pressed on his chest, you could hear his chest rumbling as he spoke. “You’re safe now.”
You sobbed as you remembered what had happened once again.
“What happened?” he asked, lulling you into a false sense of comfort, pulling you closer towards the trap.
You told him your story, slowly, a little at a time with small breaks of you crying.
You were raised in the hopes of becoming the head of your clan, forced to act tough, and were taught to be caring and loving yet you had never received any real love or care from anyone. You were in no way treated fairly by anyone.
So you had assumed the role of the caretaker of others with a facade of a motherly figure. You helped others and hoped to get happiness in return but in no way it was as easy as you had hoped. People were only loving to you when you were doing something for them in return and that was how you noticed you could be loved. By being useful to others. And eventually the habit of taking care of others to feel validated developed inside you. However that also became a problem, you were now being seen as weak, someone who could never lead others. Then you were sent to many different jujutsu colleges in the hopes that you could become somewhat more courageous and leader-like.
But that never happened, you couldn’t change what you were or what others would think of you no matter what. You felt lost for many years.
Later after being told that the Tokyo Jujutsu High could be the one to fix you, you had transferred here overnight.
You had thought moving to Tokyo was going to be like any other place but as soon as you arrived at the campus and met the others, you felt the warm feeling of a home. You realized you belonged here.
People here treated you like a person. Like you were a part of whatever they had going on here without judging you for being weak like any other people you had met so far would.
For a while, he was oddly quiet. He listened to your sobbing and sharp inhales until they calmed down.
“Well,” Gojo pressed his cheek on top of your head, arms tightening around you and legs moving to bring you closer on his lap.  “What can I do to ease your pain?”
You pressed a hand on your cheek to wipe your tears to save yourself from the stickiness but most of it was dried snot, or at least that was what you thought it was. “Right now, I just wanna go home. I feel so dirty…”
“Yeah,” he spoke into your hair, taking a long whiff. “Smells like you need a shower.”
The reason why you were crying past forgotten, a laugh escaped you and you smacked your hand on his chest playfully. “Hey!”
“Whaaaat? You stink!” Gojo used his thumb and forefinger to press his nostrils together as he grimaced.
Pausing, you looked up to him through your lashes, suddenly self-conscious. “D-do I?”
Gojo’s arms around you were kind of pressing you down onto his crotch and his flip phone was poking your ass but you tried to ignore it, you didn’t want to cause another misunderstanding as he leaned forward towards you. “Let me check again.”
He pressed his nose into your hair but you didn’t hear him inhaling. When you turned to look at him, he buried his face into the crook of your neck. Face completely blushed, your eyes widened and your heart skipped a beat.
After a long sniff, his hand on your back reached further around to wrap tighter around your shoulders to press you flush against his body. “I take it back, ya smell nice.” He spoke into your skin, lips brushing against your neck and the hot breath of his mouth making goosebumps prickle your skin.
You let out a breathy laugh to cover your nervousness. “T-thanks!”
He smiled against your skin before pulling himself back. “But I’d say ya still need a shower. You smell exactly like a booger.”
“You! You were just-!” You pushed him away as you blushed furiously, flustered by all of his teasings. “You’re soo mean!”
“Hehe, I’m mean? I saved your life, ya know!”
That was true. The unpleasant memories flashed in front of your eyes once again but this time, Gojo was ready to help you get up to your feet and exit the building to go back home while holding his hand.
“There’s this ramen place down this street, let’s eat lunch before we return, whaddya say?” His glee had returned, his smile was more gorgeous than you had realized.
“O-okay!” You let him intertwine your fingers together but blushed harder as a result.
~~~
“Ah, the others are still out…” you said as soon as you stepped inside the dormitory. Their shoes weren’t by the entrance.
“We have the whole place to ourselves, isn’t it great?” Gojo kicked off his shoes to walk further inside. “We can watch this one movie I rented out last week… ah... I forgot to return it… Anyway! We can still watch it! The movie’s about-”
“I think I’m gonna take a shower first,” you shyly interrupted. “But we can still watch it after I’m done!”
He nervously rubbed the back of his neck, “I see, you should be quick then. Once Suguru and Nanami come back, we won’t be able to do anything.”
You nodded, hurrying up to the girls’ dorm, grabbing clothes and your towel to head towards the showers but then you saw the large sign with big red letters just as you were about to enter.
Although you were already bummed out about not finding your body towel and only had your hair towel with you, the sign made your day worse.
Walking downstairs, you found the person you were looking for in the kitchen.
“Um, Gojo?”
The guy mentioned closed the cabinet he was checking and his lips curled up into a smile but it disappeared as soon as he turned to face you. “Yeah?”
“It says that the water pipes are damaged upstairs…” Hugging your clothes and towel tighter on your chest, you raised your eyebrows to ask him something he had planned for you to ask. “Where am I supposed to shower?”
Gojo hummed in thought. “Well, you can use our bathroom. I can stay on the lookout for you so Suguru or Nanami won’t walk in on you.”
You looked hesitant but you had learned to trust Gojo. He had made sure of that.
“O-okay.”
“Leave your dirty clothes in the basket by the door, I'll wash them for you.” He walked around the counter to put an arm around you, walking you towards the boys’ bathroom.
“I can do it,” you said softly.
“I’m gonna wash my stuff anyway so I can do it for ya!” he insisted, easily having had figured out that you couldn’t say no to people.
Nodding reluctantly, you spoke after clearing your throat. “Can you please make sure nobody comes in? I-I would feel safe if I knew you told them to not come in.”
“Of course!! I’ll call Suguru right away!” Gojo offered you a polite smile. You stood in front of the bathroom door, he pushed you inside. “So it’s the exact same as the upstairs but the only difference is that you should wear one of those slippers while showering.” He grabbed a large pair of slippers for you, putting them in front of you as you were taking your socks off. “Do not, and I mean this, do not walk barefoot here. We don’t clean the floors, we should but we won’t.”
“That’s kinda icky…”
“You can clean it if you wanna but we won’t.”
“It should be your job to clean your own dorm.” You put on the slippers with a sigh.
“Take your clothes off and take your shower before they return or I’ll bring them in here.”
“What!?”
“You heard me.”
Of course, you heard him. You were blushing furiously.
Gojo giggled and walked over to you. “You can’t bathe in your clothes, can you?” He pulled you out of the shower area. “Come on!”
“I-I will! You have to get out first!”
He stared at you with deadpan eyes, almost in disbelief. “I thought you wanted me in here so nobody would come in?”
When you blushed harder, his facade fell and he snorted before long he was laughing merrily.
“You’re so easy to tease!”
Covering your face in embarrassment, you told him to leave politely.
“I will I will!” He ruffled your hair, leaning down to whisper in your ear. “I’ll be back to collect your laundry so don’t freak out about that, right?”
“R-right.”
“So adorable…” He patted on your head one last time before leaving.
As soon as he left, you took your uniform off, folding them neatly to put them in the small laundry basket. Since after this separation you only needed your towel, you left your clean clothes next to the basket, folding them as well.
Sluggishly, you unhooked your bra and slipped out of your panties, placing them in between your clean clothes. There was no way you were going to let Gojo wash your underwear, that was too… too-
You were blushing and had to internally shake your head to clear your thoughts. Once naked, you wrapped your hair towel around your body, it was a lot shorter than you thought, not the actual towel you planned on using to cover your body. Ugh, whatever. You were going to get out of the showers and put on your clothes anyway. It didn’t matter what length of towel you had.
After taking a deep breath you walked into the bath area to take a shower.
~~~
Gojo had all of your clothes in the laundry basket and was walking towards the laundry room when Geto entered the dormitory with Nanami.
“Yo Suguru!” he chirped, “Don’t enter the bath, she’s in there taking a shower.”
Geto snorted, covering his mouth with a hand, “It really worked huh?”
They were all standing in the common room as Gojo nodded rapidly. “It’s all thanks to Nanami, his handwriting is soooo professional. I bet she thought it was from some janitor or something. She didn’t even question how Shoko was able to shower just this morning.”
While Geto and Gojo were snickering, Nanami was staring down at his feet. “Can you keep me out of this one?”
“Eh?” Gojo deadpanned. “Getting cold feet already? You promised you’d join in?! This is a once in a lifetime chance, Nanami~”
“Don’t force him,” Geto said, still a smile plastered on his face. “I think he’ll get around anyway.”
Gojo’s grin returned on his face, “True true! She’s sooo adorable and easy to handle. It’s like she was made for us.”
Nanami shook his head, trying to look serious but failing miserably.
“It’s no worries, Nanami,” Geto informed, placing an ensuring hand on his shoulder. “You’ll always have an open place.”
“Yeah, women have three holes ya kn-OW!” Gojo’s words were cut short by Geto flicking a finger on his nose.
“What do you have there?” Changing the subject way too quickly, Geto pointed at the laundry basket.
Gojo rubbed the tip of his nose and pouted. “Her clothes.”
“All of them?”
“Ya.”
“Did you use six eyes to spy on her?”
“Nooo~” Gojo tried to hide his smile and lie but failed to keep his face neutral.
“Bastard.” Clicking his tongue, Geto rolled his eyes. “How did the exorcism go?”
“Well, it went well,” Gojo sighed.
“You said well twice,” Geto pointed out, “Tell me what happened.”
“It was nice,” he said, shrugging. “I don’t know what else to say.” He tried to avoid Geto’s gaze on him. “Got to see her getting ravished by some curse and all…”
Geto grimaced and went quiet. The sound of the show playing on the television in the common room wasn’t loud enough to fill the silence that Gojo had created.
Nanami was blushing but he couldn’t leave as Geto still had his hand on his shoulder, keeping him there.
“I shouldn’t have let you take the lead, you always go overboard on the first day.” Geto was angry at himself.
“Take this as a token of my condolences.” Gojo held your bra up towards his friend.
“He wants the panties for himself.” Geto leaned towards Nanami to complain, “He thinks he’s so smart but I want the panties.”
Gojo shook his head dramatically, “It’s for Nanami. He should take the panties since we made him go through all that trouble. It’s also like an honor to receive the panties, right?”
Nanami refused to look them in the eye.
“He’s acting like the good guy now,” Geto snickered. “We’re not doing anything wrong, Nanami. (name) is in good hands, we wouldn’t do anything to hurt her.” At least physically.
Geto’s voice was calming and soft like cotton, giving the second year a sense of comfort.
“Yeah man, trust your upperclassmen a little!” Gojo laughed merrily, holding out the pink panties towards Nanami. “We’re only trying to teach you!”
Taking the panties from his grasp with shaky hands, Nanami nodded. “Yeah…”
Geto patted him on the back, “Now, where exactly are her weak points?”
Nanami jolted, blushed faintly because of how he has used his ability before. He opened his mouth to say it.
The other two listened attentively.
~~~
Don’t freak out.
Don’t freak out.
With a hair towel barely covering your modesty and on the verge of tears, you were trying to talk yourself into running out of the bath and upstairs. If you run, nobody would see you.
Why had Gojo taken all of your clothes?
Ugh! You shouldn’t have put them there, he probably took them thinking that they were also dirty but deep down you knew you were clumsy enough to end up in this situation anyway.
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
You could run.
Just run upstairs.
Yeah, that was all you needed to do.
You stepped out of the bathroom and instantly heard footsteps. Like an idiot, instead of going back inside the showers, you lurched forward, trying the first door you stumbled upon and successfully opening it to enter the room to hide.
Pressing your ear to the door, you listened to the footsteps, they didn’t come close to this room but you heard a door being opened and closed shut.
Letting out a breath you didn’t know you were holding, you pressed your forehead on the door. You were going to wait a little more before bolting out of this room to run upstairs.
“Can I help you?”
You jerked so suddenly that you managed to hit your head on the door. When you turned around, you found Geto watching you intently from his bed.
Your cheeks flushed, unable to say anything other than gibberish you started stuttering.
He got up from his bed, putting the book he was reading aside and heading straight towards his wardrobe.
“I’m sorry it’s Gojo, he took all of my clothes and-”
“Here.” Geto held out a shirt and sweatpants towards you, cutting your sentence short. “You can wear these and leave.”
You stared at the clothes he was holding out to you, eyes wide and cheeks burning up. Pressing the towel harder on your body, you tried covering yourself as much as you could.
Meekly taking the clothes from him, you bowed your head to show appreciation. There was a moment of silence between the two of you before he walked away and turned around to give you privacy.
You stood still, indecisive, before finally dropping the towel on the floor to put on the clothes he gave you.
Although they were quite large on you, in the end, you weren’t naked anymore.
“T-thank you.” Your voice was soft and full of admiration as you picked your towel up from the floor. He was so kind and respectful.
He waved a hand in lieu of speaking, telling you goodbye.
Not needing to be told twice, you left his room. Geto hoped that you hadn’t noticed him snapping a picture of you with his slide phone but even if you did, he knew you wouldn’t be able to say anything against it.
~~~
Later that day, Gojo apologized to you multiple times, telling you how he was so lost in his thoughts and took all of your clothes with him.
“Here they are though! Washed and dried!” He held the small laundry basket to you. Your clothes were indeed clean but they were… messy. They hadn’t been folded neatly so you had to iron them later. Despite that you thanked him.
Back in your room, you noticed that your underwear was missing from the pile of clothes in the laundry basket. All of them. Your clean and dirty ones.
Quickly, you walked downstairs, past the common room where all the guys were watching television, and into the laundry room. Perhaps Gojo hadn’t washed them out of embarrassment. If it was you, you wouldn’t! At least if it was his underwear you were going to wash.
Checking the large basket and the washing machine multiple times, you couldn’t find them. When you opened the tumble dryer, they weren’t in it either.
You walked back to the common room, feet dragging and meek. Standing beside the large couch, you pretended to be checking the movie they were watching but actually, you were trying to muster up the courage to ask Gojo if he had seen your underwear.
Nanami glanced in your direction through his long fringe, although his cheeks were flushed pink, you couldn’t see it in the dim light. “Gojo,” he said, alerting the white-haired guy of your presence.
You wondered if it was obvious it was him that you wanted to talk to.
Gojo stared at Nanami and when the blonde pointed in your direction with a nod, he whipped his head around to meet your gaze.
“(name)!” he chirped, patting on the empty spot on the couch between him and Geto. “The movie has just started, come join us!”
With everyone looking at you now, you felt obliged to sit down.
Once you were seated, Gojo narrowed his eyes at Geto and put his arm around you. You flinched but didn’t have the courage to push him away, you ended up unwillingly accepting his warmth.
To Geto, what he did was an insult. It felt like it.
If he didn’t hurry and caught up with him, Gojo would have the upper hand.
“Are you okay?” Geto asked, scooted closer to you on the couch, using the question as an excuse to close the distance between the two of you. “I heard what happened, it must've been scary.”
You offered him a kind smile. “It was a terrifying experience but I’m fine… thanks to Gojo.”
Geto tried hard not to let his lips curl down to a frown but with the way Gojo was smirking at him to taunt him, it was difficult. “Yeah but don’t trust him too much,” he said, glowering at Gojo. “He can be such an airhead at times. He took all of your clothes today, didn’t he?”
That made you shift on your seat uncomfortably. You also remembered the reason why you had come here but you didn’t want to be accusatory about it. In simple words, you were just too scared to confront him. “He already apologized.”
Gojo’s face contorted into something vile as Geto feigned worry.
“You shouldn’t let him go off that easily. He will never learn from his mistakes if his actions don’t have consequences.”
“It was a small mistake, I’m not mad or anything…” Subconsciously you were leaning away from Gojo.
“Whatever you say,” Geto snickered.
Nanami sank deeper into the cushions of the couch in discomfort while you were completely unaware of the tension between the two guys.
~~~
“What are you trying to do?” Gojo groaned in anger. “We’re all in this together so what’s with trying to make me look bad? I told you that overly friendly guy thing would be the best choice, you can’t blame me for-”
“I wanted to see your reaction,” Geto replied, interrupting him. “It was a joke.”
“It wasn’t funny.” Gojo glared at him over his sunglasses. “I’m going to win her over, is that why you’re acting so childish about it?”
“You’re the one who’s childish,” Geto snapped, sitting up on his bed. “You’re trying to turn this into a competition. Again .”
“It’s more fun that way.”
Silence.
It was a long moment after Geto spoke. “If we’re going to turn this into a competition, then it should be fair to all of us.”
Finally calmed down, Gojo hummed in agreement. “How though?”
A smile spread across Geto’s face before he gave his friend a response.
~~~
“Rock paper scissors!”
Nanami won by picking paper. The other two groaned and complained as they were all walking back to the common room to meet up with you. The game was played in secret.
“Today, you’ll work with Nanami, he’s a pro at using cursed tools.” It wasn’t a lie but it wasn’t anything they had planned either.
Your day with the blonde went uneventful, you actually managed to learn some tricks about cursed tools.
~~~
You returned Geto his clothes.
The neatly folded clothes on top of his bed were inviting.
He reached for them. The clothes hadn’t been washed but it was as he wanted. He had assured you he would wash them himself.
Turning the sweatpants inside out, he brought the crotch area up to his face and inhaled deeply. His eyelashes fluttered at the pleasant smell that filled his lungs. So this was how you smelled. Your scent was faint but since you had worn it without any underwear, it had managed to stick onto the fabric, much to Geto’s joy.  
He couldn’t help but take another whiff as he pulled his pants down.
~~~
“Rock paper scissors!”
Geto won.
“Like this?” you asked worriedly, holding your arm out in an exorcism position. The flyhead in front of you was in a small cage, helpless and ready for you to exorcise it.
“No, you have to angle your hips right.” Geto placed his hands on your waist, getting awfully close and invading your space. “You have to keep your eyes on the curse at all times, no matter how much it might spur it on, you can wear sunglasses so it won’t notice your stare but not losing the sight of the enemy is important.” He pressed himself against you but you were listening to his soft voice, explaining how you could get better at this. “Try it.”
You nodded, aiming your cursed energy towards the flyhead.
The creature squealed and exploded into nothing.
Thrilled by your success, you turned your head around with an excited smile plastered on your face. “Did you see that?”
Geto offered you a kind smile, enough to reassure you that you did more than well. “You’re a natural.” He gave you a pat on the head, “Good job.” He then used his fingers to endearingly comb through your hair.
You leaned into his touch, ignoring how close he had gotten.
That made him smile, it wouldn’t be long until you were ready.
~~~
“Rock paper scissors!”
Geto won again, then Gojo, then Nanami, then Gojo again and it went on.
Easy get corrupted but still able to be as meekly cheerful as the first day, you were enough to charm all of them.
One of them a little more than the other two. Enough to make him care about you.
“I’m out.”
Both Gojo and Geto stared at Nanami with wide eyes.
“This eaaarly?” The white-haired one whined, stretching the word out. He was buzzed out of his mind. Cheap beer like this hit him faster than the better quality ones.
“You sure?” This time Geto wasn’t going to say anything to convince him not to drop out of the competition. Nanami leaving meant there would be a higher chance for him to corrupt you for the day.
The blonde in question nodded.
“You’re gonna miss ooooout her cuuutee fidgeting when you touch her waist!” Gojo was giggling, remembering how sensitive you were.
Geto chuckled, a smile appearing on his face. “The way she gets teary when you push her a little too much is the cutest.”
“Nooo, the way she starts stuttering when you act friendly is cute, her face as if she’s ready to cry is sexy. Her brows furrow and she looks at you like she’s begging for you to stop but-”
“She’s too pathetic to speak up!” The duo said it in unison and started laughing while high-fiving each other for their similar thinking.
Nanami took a sip from his beer and ignored them. This was for the best. He was going to continue ignoring it.
Ignorance was bliss.
~~~
“We’re out of necessities,” Nanami informed everyone in the common room.
Gojo tore his eyes away from the television and hung off the back of the coach to look at Nanami. “Already?”
“I can go and buy them if you gave me a list?” You were quick to pipe up.
Geto put his hand on top of your head and ruffled your hair, “You can’t carry all that, we’ll do it.”
“Well, why don’t I go with one of you?” There it was, the meek tone. Something was going on.
“Why? Do you need something specific?” Gojo sat back on the couch, returning his attention to the Saturday morning comedy sketches.
“Y-yeah.” Fidgeting with your fingers you looked down at your lap.
“You can put whatever you need into the list and we’ll buy it,” Geto answered but his true intention was to see how flustered you could get over a simple task being done for you. He could or rather anyone could easily guess what this was all about. They had been living with Shoko for over three years now, who unlike you wasn’t shy about anything.
Nanami who had been pouring out coffee for himself noticed how your shoulders slackened in defeat. Although he had promised to stay out of their game, he spoke without thinking. “We can go together.”
As soon as he said that both Gojo and Geto glowered at him from the corner of their eyes.
You whipped your head around with an innocent smile, “That’s so kind of you! Thank you, Nanami!”
“We can all go,” Geto replied.
“It’d be too crowded.” You got up from the couch to walk over where Nanami was standing to talk about if you should get ready now or later.
An imaginary lightbulb lit up over Gojo’s head. “Let’s decide who’s gonna go by rock paper scissors.”
“Nanami just said he’d go with me-”
“He wants to avoid his cleaning duty. We’re supposed to do the cleaning today since Shoko is coming back tomorrow.” Geto backed Gojo up instantaneously. So sly.
Three of them held their fists up from where they were and almost as if they’d done it a million times, they chose their gesture without even saying anything.
You looked at each gesture and your eyes landed on the winner.
“Write what you two personally need on a list, I’ll go grab my wallet.” Geto got up from the couch and beckoned you to follow him.
The two of you took the bus to the store and split up with separate baskets to do the shopping. You finished quick, put enough sanitary pads that would last you until the next month into the basket, and hid them under a bunch of other things so Geto wouldn��t see it.
You found Geto by the cleaning aisle.
“Done?” he asked, noticing your full basket.
“Yeah.”
“That was quick.” Geto grinned, “I have a couple of things left, after that, I’m done as well.”
“Can we go to the new cafe that opened down the street?” you asked cutely as you followed him to the next aisle in the grocery store.
He nodded in response without looking at you.
As he turned into the next aisle, which happened to be where the hygiene products were, you continued following him. He walked past the toothbrushes, shampoos, and colognes.
You proceeded to follow him until he abruptly stopped.
He put his basket down and inspected the products on the shelves.
Blood rushed to your cheeks when you saw what he was planning to buy. “Ah.” It was a noise you made out of surprise, nothing more. You were completely flushed, dizzy from embarrassment as Geto stared down at you with a packet in his hand.
Extra thin for ultra pleasure.
XL.
Prelubed.
“You okay?” he asked, dropping the packet into his basket.
He was a guy, yeah, he was a man. This was normal. Yeah, he had a-
Your brain wasn’t working.
You shook your head without meaning to. “I-I forgot to buy something.” Not letting him say anything else, you rushed out of the aisle, omitting the way he was grinning.
After the two of you paid for the stuff, you started walking to the cafe together. You were lucky to have Geto by your side since he carried more bags than you ever could. He wouldn’t let you carry anything either so you ended up carrying the toilet papers.
Holding the door open for him, you walked inside the cafe. The employees behind the counter greeted you, smiling brightly.
“I’ll take normal coffee, black, no sugar or milk.” With that, he quietly walked to the furthest end of the shop by the large windows. Apparently, you were the one who was going to order.
You walked up to the employee who was waiting for you to order, you decided to try out their signature drink and ordered filter coffee for Geto. After getting your drinks on a tray, you made your way down to the table he sat, placing the tray carefully down.
Plopping down on the chair, you let out an exaggerated sigh, “I’m exhausted.”
“You didn’t do any of the heavy lifting, so you don’t get to complain,” he replied, taking his coffee from the tray.
You pouted your lips as you reached for your own drink. It got quiet as he looked out of the window, taking small sips of his coffee and enjoying the view. You on the other hand were fidgety. Mind still going back to recall what he had bought.
Well, he was handsome and charming. Geto clearly had a girlfriend. But… you hadn’t seen him with any other girl. What if it was Shoko?
Then it hit you. Shoko’s words she told you when you first arrived at the campus. It all started to make sense, she was trying to scare you so you wouldn’t make a move on his boyfriend.
You were curious.
Curiosity killed the cat.
“I-I didn’t know you had a girlfriend,” you said, trying to hide your blushing cheeks behind the straw of your drink.
“What?” he chuckled and put his drink back on the tray.
Dumbfounded by his response you stuttered. “Your g-girlfriend.”
“My what?” He had heard you right but he needed to see you get flustered but when you stayed quiet he continued. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“I-I’m only asking because you bought-” your voice became faint, “ -that… ”
“The condoms?” This time he leaned forward on the table, raising a brow at you. “Do I need to have a girlfriend to buy condoms?”
“Keep your voice down,” you hushed him, your brain was turning into mush from shame and embarrassment, you couldn’t even think straight. “Please.”
“Huh? Why? We’re the only ones here.” He tilted his head to try meeting your eyes but you wouldn’t look at him. “Besides, why are you so why about this? Didn’t you and your boyfriend go out to buy one of these at some point?”
A silent thud made you look down at the table. There it was, in broad daylight, anyone could see it.
You were going to faint.
“Hmm?” Geto was waiting for an answer.
“No,” you said, head spinning from embarrassment, you had never felt like this before. You needed to go home. It was too overwhelming. There was this other thing bubbling in your stomach, your face was getting heated and your nails were digging into your palms.
That was anger. Rage.
“I don’t believe you. Haven’t your boyfriends ever-”
“I never had one.” For the first time in your whole life, you raised your voice.  
“Never?” Geto was more shocked at the revelation, not too surprised at your change of demeanor.  “That’s a shame.” Awe tingled in his soft voice.
You didn’t say anything.
Geto sighed, relenting quietly but his grin didn’t falter. “Okay,” he said, taking the condom packet from the table and putting it back in his pocket. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
“It doesn’t sound genuine,” you spoke firmly. "Besides, you were the one to tell me not to forgive tactlessness. Isn’t it ironic?” Your tone had changed, you were speaking through your teeth, anger had taken over you.
Oh, this feisty side of you… he wanted to see how it would break.
“You think so?” A thoughtful yet mocking humming noise left him. “Aren’t you the one overreacting? All I did was to show you something I bought. You were the one asking about it. Shouldn’t it be me who should be upset with you?”
Silence.
“If you want to believe it’s my fault, I’ll let you think that way but don’t go blaming others for corrupting your virtue like a prude. It’s annoying and harmful. If you said those words to Satoru, he’d be devastated. So, be a good girl and grow up.”
Your chest tightened, no matter how much you inhaled no air was reaching your lungs. The panic had started settling in but it was all internal. You had put the facade back on, desperately trying to hold back your tears.
What he said was true. That was why it hurt so much.
“Ah, let’s head back,” he said, getting up from his seat. “It’s getting late.”
You nodded languidly, leaving your still full drink on the tray and shuffling after Geto with glossy eyes.
The guilt you felt was sublime, no words would be enough to describe it.
~~~
“She’s never had a boyfriend?” Gojo was baffled by the fact. “Does that-”
“Most likely,” Geto answered without needing to hear his question.
The two of them exchanged a competitive look with each other before they balled their good hands in fists.
“Rock paper scissors!”
~~~
There was a knock on your door. You pulled the sheets over your head instead of answering it. You hadn’t joined the boys for dinner, there was no way you could look them in the eye after what had happened today.
“We’re going to have drinks in Nanami’s room.” It was Geto. “I want you to join us.”
You pressed your face harder on the pillow.
“(name)?”
Maybe it was better if you answered the door before he burst into your room, which was unlikely since it was Geto. Gojo would have but Geto… no.
You walked to the door and falteringly opened it.
On the other side, Geto had a hand on your door frame, leaning forward.
Your eyes met but you immediately averted your gaze in shame. An apology was the first thing you needed to do. “I’m sorry.”
He scoffed, “Why are you apologizing?”
“For saying all those mean things.”
Geto leaned further down and used his free hand to pat on your head, ruffling your hair. “Don’t overthink it. I shouldn’t have teased you that much.”
The feeling of his warm, calloused hand on your head was reassuring, it made you regret saying those words to him even more. He had been nothing but kind to you.
“I’m so sorry, I must be so annoying and weak.” You lifted your head to look at him, eyes glossy and cheeks tinted. Your lower lip was trembling as your eyes were acutely watching him, waiting for a response.
Unable to resist your face in despair, Geto smiled. His hand cupped your cheek, caressing it softly with his thumb. “Don’t apologize. You’re a girl who’s desperately working hard to improve herself. There’s no way I could ever dislike you.”
“You’re not upset?”
“Why would I be?” His hand slid down along your jaw stopping when his thumb was hovering over the corner of your lip. He ran his thumb on your lip. “You’re such a sweet girl, it’s impossible staying mad at you. You’re adorable.”
Petrified, you stared into his eyes. The half-lidded eyes were hazy with an emotion you had never seen on anyone before. He was leaning closer towards your face all the while your heart was hammering inside your ribcage.
He was going to kiss you.
Instinctively, you closed your eyes, puckering your lips.
Geto watched your eyelashes flutter and cheeks flush with dark amusement before retrieving his hand from your face.
“Shall we go?”
His question made you open your eyes and instantly your cheeks flushed harder. Ahh, how embarrassing! You really thought he was going to kiss you.
You walked out of your room and closed the door to follow Geto downstairs to Nanami’s room.
Gojo’s chipper voice filled the empty hallway before you arrived in front of the room. Geto opened the door for you, gesturing you to walk inside first.
Nanami’s room was cleaner than yours, it was neatly organized and decorated but it reeked of cigarette smoke.
“Ahh, (name)! You came!!” Gojo quickly waved at you and patted on the bed for you to take the space next to him. “Come sit with me!”
Nanami glanced at you over his shoulder but didn’t do much other than bow his head slightly to greet you as he was smoking.
Decidedly, you took a step to join Gojo but a hand on your shoulder stopped you.
Geto led you to where Nanami was smoking and instructed you to sit down beside him on the floor. “Do you smoke?”
“Um… No.”
“Let’s not make her smoke,” Nanami suddenly said when he noticed Geto was bringing his own cigarette pack out.
“He’s right! She’ll reek of cigarettes!” Gojo was practically yelling, from the way his cheeks were tinted bright red, you could tell that he had been drinking. He was slurring most of his words.
“It was merely a question,” Geto sighed, putting a cigarette between his lips to light it.
Nanami pointed at the large plastic bag in the middle of the floor and spoke to you. “These are for everyone, you can take one if you want.”
With his remark, you crawled towards the middle and checked inside the bag. There was beer and a large bottle of wine along with a bunch of cigarette packs in it. “A-are we allowed to drink these on campus?”
“What? You’re gonna rat on us?” Gojo barked out a laugh.
“No,” you mumbled and reached for the wine bottle. “C-can I have this?”
“The whole thing?” Geto raised a brow, “Didn’t you learn to share?”
“Not the entire bottle, I just wanna try it.” You were too meek again, they had all figured you out enough to know what that meant.
“Don’t tell me…” Gojo was pointing a finger at you and grinning. “You’ve never tried alcohol before?”
“I never had the chance.”
You were just getting better the more they learned about you.
Nanami stubbed out the remaining of his cigarette. “Try not to drink too much on your first time.”
Geto glared at Nanami, the wine was there for you specifically. Higher the percentage, the bigger the chances of you letting your guard down.
When you made a move to put the bottle back in the bag to get a can of beer instead, Geto encouraged you to drink it. “We’ll all drink some from the bottle, don’t worry about drinking too much. We’re here with you to prevent that.”
Lies, lies, lies.
The way your eyes sparkled with appreciation when you looked at him as you were unaware of his intentions, was all too innocent. Pure as snow.
You opened the bottle and took a sip, grimacing right after. All of them laughed, making jokes about their first times and chatting about all of the other things until there was a lull in the conversation.
The silence was often filled by Gojo’s horrendous singing or your tipsy giggling, trying to tell a story and being unable to finish it because of how hard you were laughing in between each word.
“So,” Geto started, taking a long drag of his cigarette. “Satoru, when did you have your first kiss?” he asked as if he didn’t know every detail.
Gojo hummed in thought, pretending to try to remember. “I don’t know, maybe when I was twelve or fourteen.” There was a pause before he asked the same question to his friend, almost sheepishly. “When did you have yours, Suguru?”
“I was also fourteen if I remember it right.” Geto put his cigarette down on the ashtray to take a sip from his beer. “Nanami-”
“No.” Nanami didn’t pay attention to any of you and lit up another cigarette.
“Okay.” Geto rolled his eyes before they landed on you. “(name), what about you?”
“That’s… a secret.” You pressed your forefinger against your lips, shushing with a giggle.
“We’re all friends here,” Geto replied, biting back a laugh. “Friends don’t keep secrets from each other, right?”
His words made you look up to the ceiling to think for a long moment. Deciding that he was right, you bobbed your head. “Yes.”
“Yes to what?” Gojo chuckled, he was hanging off upside-down from the bed, pouting while you were thinking and thinking and thinking.
“I’ve never kissed anyone before~” you stretched the word out, barely managing to keep your eyes open. The bottle of wine in your hand was half empty. It wasn’t really a surprise but hearing you say it out loud when you were too shy to speak up your mind was purely erotic.
“Never ever?” Gojo was trying to drink his own beer upside-down.
You shook your head but then started nodding. “Ahh, sooo confusing! I really didn’t have my first kiss. Like ever.”
“That’s a lie, it must be! You’re very friendly.” Gojo sighed his next words, “All the boys must love you.”
Starting to fidgeting with fingers on your lap you shook your head to deny. “I’m not popular amongst boys. Not popular at all with anyone since I’m not that extrovert or pretty.”
“Perhaps you haven’t noticed the attention,” Geto went on to say. “You’re prettier than you think.”
Cheeks flushing, you lifted your gaze to meet his. “You’re just saying that.”
“Have I ever lied to you?” Geto chuckled, “As adorable you are, you’re also the nicest girl I’ve ever met.”
You beamed at him, eyes twinkling like stars. “Y-You really think so?”
“Yes, you’re soo cute!” Gojo joined, crawling towards you. “You’re gorgeous!”
“Aside from your stunning looks, you’re quite talented. Your cursed technique has a promising future and you’re able to learn quickly to improve yourself.” Geto put a hand on his face, covering the lower half of his face. “Hardworking and determined to become a special grade sorcerer, it’s inspiring if not admirable.”
Being bombarded with compliments made you feel like you were on the clouds. The validation you didn’t get from your own family past forgotten, you got lost in the sweetness of their words.
It all made you feel special.
“I’m so happy I came here, it feels like I belong here with you guys. I feel at home.” You started fiddling with the sticker on the wine bottle. “I’m very lucky to have you guys as my friends.”
Gojo pouted his lips and jumped towards you with his arms open. He wrapped them around you, rocking side to side. “You’re soooo adorable! How are you soo cute? I wanna eat you up, you’re like the cutest thing ever! Argh, what did I do to ever deserve you?”
Caught off guard, you hesitantly wrapped your arms around him. “I should be the one saying that.”
Pulling himself back, Gojo turned to Geto, “We should kiss her! Her first kiss should be with people who treasure her deeply. It’s such a sweet thing and as friends, it’s our duty to make that happen!”
“R-really?” Despite what he was saying was outrageous, you were giggling, eyes on him. Looking at him like he meant the world to you.
Innocence being corrupted. Poetic.
“She wouldn’t be comfortable doing that sort of stuff, Satoru. (name) is timid, don’t tease her.”
“I’m not teasing her!” Gojo looked down at you between his arms and blushed bright red, “I mean, I’d kiss her, wouldn’t ya?”
Nanami rolled his eyes, he had heard them rehearse this a million times and it still managed to make him feel the secondhand embarrassment and additionally physically make him grimace.
Nonetheless, it seemed to work for you. Time stopped moving for you, cheeks flushed and mouth agape, your eyes were on Geto, eagerly waiting for his answer.
Stubbing out his cigarette, he averted his gaze. “I would.”
“Nanami,” Gojo called next. “Would you kiss her?”
Nanami stared at the white-haired idiot, he had to be kidding. It was clear as day that they were trying to drag him back into the game.
“Nanami has the most experience between all of us,” Geto lied, now unable to hide his smirk. “You should kiss him, (name).”
This time, you were blushing faintly, eyes blinking slowly with a charming smile on your face. All of those were directed at Nanami and the longing look on your face was enough to make his breath hitch.
“Ah, he’s blushing!” Gojo pointed out with a laugh. “This might be the first time I’m seeing him blush!”
Of course, he would blush from seeing you the way they described you for the first time. Oh, so timid and innocent, begging to be ravished.
“Who do ya want your first kiss to be with, (name)?” Gojo asked softly, his voice coaxing you into safety. They were all your friends, they wanted to help you. They loved you. You knew that, right?
“I don’t know.” Your speech was slurred, the alcohol was starting to hit you harder now.
Gojo squeezed your cheeks together until your lips puckered and turned your face for Nanami to see. “She has such kissable lips, don’t ya think?”
Nanami was trying his best to hold his composure, not wanting to let himself lose control.
“If you don’t kiss her, I most certainly will take her first kiss.” Gojo pressed his lips on your temple, giving you a chaste kiss before moving to whisper in your ear. “I love you so much, so pretty and gullible. So adorable. I don’t wanna share you with anyone else.”
You tilted your head in delight at his words, letting his lips brush against your neck.
How easy to please!
Gojo smiled into your skin, pressing another kiss on your neck.
A cute noise left your lips.
Nanami twitched at the noise and Geto noticed it.
“You should take over before he eats her up,” he said with an amused grin.
Nanami shook his head but he was still unable to tear his eyes away from Gojo planting kisses on your neck and you squirming in pleasure in his arms.
He put an arm around your waist, pulling you a lot closer. You pulled your leg up on his leg to turn your torso towards him.
“What should we do, hmm?” he murmured, his eyes hazy behind his sunglasses. “Nanami doesn’t wanna kiss you but I do…”
Nanami couldn’t bring himself to look away from you. He wanted to jump on you, taking you right here and now as the two idiots watched in awe. Quickly he suppressed the fantasy with his own free will.
Gojo leaned down and you closed your eyes shut, puckering your lips to patiently wait for the kiss.
Nothing mattered anymore.
He put one hand on your waist, the other cupping your cheek as his lips pressed against yours. Your heart was beating rapidly, enough to make you conscious of everything your body was going through. The hand on your waist was hot against your skin and the lips pressing against yours… let heavenly.
You thought that was it. A simple kiss. You didn’t know you could kiss someone more than just pressing your lips against each other but Gojo took it further.
His lips moved harsh against yours, biting and sucking your bottom lip. His hand on your cheek slid to the back of your head and he grabbed a chunk of your hair. Once you opened your mouth to protest, he snaked his tongue inside.
You clutched on his shirt, tears dwelling in your eyes as you involuntarily tasted the bitter taste of beer on his tongue.
The hand on your waist moved to press on the small of your back to pull you in his lap. You moaned into the kiss, arching your back. He knew that was your weak spot, Nanami had told him. He also knew that your inner thigh-
You shrieked when another hand went to your inner thighs.
Breaking the kiss, you looked at Geto in surprise. He took the opportunity to use his free hand to pull you back by your hair and press his lips on yours.
Gojo made a small noise to protest but then turned the situation to his own advantage. His hands went to your waist, then up, up, and up until his thumbs reached to the swell of your breasts.
You opened your mouth in panic but it only helped Geto to force his tongue down your throat. The slick muscle twirled around your own tongue and you started to get dizzy from the taste of tobacco coming from him.
Gojo cupped your tits over your pajama top before starting to knead the supple flesh, you moved your hips subconsciously. Geto put a hand on your hip to move your hips, grinding you on Gojo’s knee. “That’s erotic, (name). I thought you never had a boyfriend before… You’re seducing us, aren’t you?”
Your cheeks flushed but you couldn’t give him an answer as Geto was busy ravishing your mouth with his tongue to savor your taste.
Finally, Geto pulled himself back, a small strand of saliva connecting your lips together broke apart as he smiled looking at your bruised lips.
Like Gojo had said, Geto’s smile was beautiful. A sight to relish. You were grateful to be the reason for his gorgeous smile.
“She’s definitely seducing us. Look at her.” Geto cocked his head to the side, staring down at you with a mocking expression on his face.
“I’m not…”
“You are,” Gojo joined, teasing you was too fun. “You were humping my leg ya know.”
“T-that was Geto-”
“Don’t lie.” Geto’s hand on your hips slid down between your legs and you slouched forward. You let out a moan when he pressed his fingers on your slit over the pajama pants as if he knew exactly where it was. You felt the wetness soaking your pants and leaving an icky feeling. You were about to ask him why he did that but he spoke, saying things that were so not true. “Only little sluts get this wet enough to soak their pants entirely.”
Gojo gasped dramatically. “You’re such a liar! I thought you were an innocent little girl.”
“I’m not…”
“So you’re not an innocent little girl?” Geto moved his fingers side to side, toying with your clothed clit as he pressed himself against you.
“Noo… I didn’t mean it that way…” Legs already shaking, only later you felt something firm and thick pressing on the cleft of your ass.
“You’re moving your hips, begging for it. I’m seeing it with my own two eyes! Having your first kiss must’ve made ya into a slut… You want it, don’t ya?”
You were blushing faintly, eyes blinking slowly while you looked up at Gojo. This was exactly what you wanted. Right? You had to be hoping for it if you were moving your hips like Gojo said. You had become a slut from having your first kiss.
“You cryin’?” Gojo was smirking.
“No?” Confused as to why he asked it, a purposeful grind of Geto’s hips on your ass made your mouth gape open. He was mimicking the movement of fucking you.
“So you like Suguru?”
Of course, he was such a gentleman… most of the time. He was kind and helpful. He always helped you train and looked out for you, giving you the best advice. You trusted him with your life.
“Hmm?” Gojo wasn’t about to repeat himself.
“I like him.”
Geto smirked and gestured with his head for Gojo to move away. With a sigh, the latter crawled away from you as Geto lifted you by your armpits to turn you to face him on his lap.
Your eyes were clouded with lust and your mind slurred with alcohol.
“You’re my little pipsqueak,” he said, caressing your cheek.
A nod.
“I’m going to take your innocence.”
Another nod.
Grinning, he grabbed the hem of your pajama top, lifting it up to your breasts and over your head. You lifted your arms above to help him get rid of the shirt. Since you hadn’t been wearing a bra, your tits bounced free.
Three pairs of eyes were on your bare chest, it made you blush and you covered yourself.
“We’re friends,” Geto assured, grabbing your wrist. “Friends don’t keep secrets from each other, remember?”
You let him pull your arms away from your chest and with a gorgeous smile, Geto placed his hands on your tits, rolling one nipple between his knuckles. He leaned forward to take your other tit in his mouth, causing you to moan audibly.
Gojo wasn’t shy to pull his pants down unlike Nanami who was still desperately trying to act like he was better than them. He wouldn’t stoop low like them. He wouldn’t. He knew he wouldn’t. But then why was he palming himself through his pants?
“Geto…”
“Suguru,” he told you, planting warm kisses on your chest.
“Suguru,” you repeated, gasping as he gently laid you down on the tatami floor.
Stunned, Nanami was unable to say anything as his upperclassman climbed on top of you on the floor of his room. He had told them to do whatever they were going to do anywhere but here. He had told them and Gojo-
“Yo, Nanami,” the guy in question spoke. “Wanna take her oral virginity?”
“What are you talking about?” This was all too much, he didn’t know anything about this.
“Ah, Geto’s taking her virginity cause I lost and he told me to decide whether to let you take her ass virginity or not but I’m feeling greedy, ya take her mouth.”
“I’m… I’m not a part of this!” Nanami’s voice was suppressed by your moan when Geto pinched your nipple. His cheeks tinted pink and he pulled his shirt down to cover his growing bulge.
“You are,” Gojo said, unashamedly spitting in his hand and wrapping it around the base of his cock while his eyes were on you. “I’ve seen ya jerk it off to her. With my own six eyes.”
Although the older one wasn’t looking at him, the mocking tone slapped Nanami in the face. At that moment he felt exposed. Gojo knew. He knew.
He knew how behind closed doors he had your panties scrunched in his hand, inhaling them deeply and jerking off to the picture Geto had emailed him. The low-quality photo had given him such good quality fantasies about you. But he wouldn’t act on them, he wasn’t like them.
He wasn’t-
“Suguru, wait,” you whined when he grabbed the waistband of your pajama pants.
“Nope, not waiting~” He pulled them down, and despite your protests, you lifted your hips to help him. Hooking his fingers into your panties, he peeled them down your legs agonizingly slowly.
(Without you seeing, he tossed them towards his friend who gratefully took them and wrapped them around his cock for extra friction.)
Immediately, you pressed your thighs together to cover your bare pussy. “I-I changed my mind.” Your cheeks were burning and your head was starting to spin. It was all happening too fast for your mind to catch up. “It’s so embarrassing.”
“I told you, we are all friends. Don’t you have any guy friends? This kind of stuff is normal between friends.” Geto’s calming tone was back, lulling you back into safety, telling you that it was all fine. “I’m going to be your first so that you’ll know exactly what to do next time.” There was a long pause and he pretended to frown, feigning being hurt. “I can stop if you want me to.”
Not wanting to disappoint him and fail this ritual of friendship, you shook your head. “N-no. I-I want this.”
Geto spread your legs and grabbed you by your ankles to pull you flush against his hips. “I want you too, pipsqueak.” A hand moved to palm himself through his pants, your eyes followed, watching him grab his bulge to show you how big he actually was.
Flustered, you averted your gaze but came face to face with something even more explicitly naughty.
Gojo’s pants were down to his thighs, enough to expose his cock. You saw his hand moving rapidly up and down on his cock with your panties around it, as he noticed your stare he quickened his hand.
“You shouldn’t look at some other guy when you’re doing it with me.” Geto put a hand on your cheek to turn your head to face him. Although you wanted to keep your eyes focused on his face, your gaze dropped onto his cock released from his pants.
Before you could get flustered over it, Geto cupped your pussy using a hand. His thumb grazed over your sensitive numb and two of his digits slid easily inside. You let out a sharp gasp, toes curling.
Ahh, this was why virgins were the best, awfully sensitive and obedient. The way they didn’t know what was being done to them was the best. Shy girls were the best. Geto loved fucking timid girls who trusted him with their whole life. Corrupting them, making them believe he loved them, and taking their innocence. You were his dark fantasy come alive as if you were made for him and him only.
However, Geto wasn’t that selfish. He could share. Sometimes.
“You’re soaking wet.”
“Don’t say that…”
“Why not?” Smiling he slid his fingers out of you and held them up to your face. Clear fluid was covering them from tip to base. He separated the digits and small strands of the fluids connecting his fingers thinned before splitting apart. “It’s the truth.” He opened his mouth, taking the digits in his mouth to lick your juices as you watched in shock. A low hum emerged from him as he contentedly licked his lips. “You taste sweeter than any candy.”
“Stooop,” you were giggling now, too flustered from his mellow words.
Even though he would love to tease you for hours and take all of your firsts for himself, Geto had to move on. He could hear Gojo grumbling under his breath aside from him jerking off. Also, there was the blonde one.
Geto glanced over his shoulder to steal a quick look at what Nanami was doing.
The second-year was watching intently. Waiting for his turn.
That made Geto chuckle and he turned to you, giving you all of his attention once again. He wrapped a hand around the base of his cock, giving it a simple pump. Though he wanted to stop at that thanks to his spit and the remaining of your juices on his hand, it helped his hand move smoothly, making him want to jerk himself until he came.
He quickly snapped out of it, positioning himself between your legs and dragging the tip of his cock along your folds before tapping lightly.
You murmured something.
“Hmm?”
“T-the condom,” you reminded shyly.
“It’s your first time, right?” he asked, almost too impatiently.
“Y-yes.”
“You’re completely safe on your first time.”
With that he shoved his entire length inside your virgin cunt, tearing your hymen. Both of you moaned for different reasons.
He slumped forward as your virgin walls pulsated around his cock, stretching around his girth and taking the shape of him.
“It hurts,” you mewled, grabbing onto his bicep. “Suguru, it hurts.” Tears welled up in your eyes and seeing that made Geto grow bigger inside of you. He tentatively pulled his hips back and pushed himself up from the floor to look at between your bodies.
His eyes were on the small amount of blood on his cock and dripping from your hole, staining the floor under you.
A sickeningly excited smile spread across his face and he slammed his hips into yours, making you cry out in pain. He planted both of his hands on the floor, each side of your head to gain more control over his pace, and started fucking you frantically.
Gojo let out a breathy laugh and tried matching his pace o his friend’s pace of fucking you. He wasn’t going to last long but Geto seemed like he was going to last longer.
Your hands went to his shoulders, pulling him closer rather than pushing him. He knew you needed the closure. This was something lovers did with each other and Geto wanted to teach you all of it. Definitely not because fucking timid and innocent girls was his fetish.
His thrusts were like an animal in heat, desperately and frenziedly hammering into your pussy. Each time his balls slapped against your ass you let out a shaky moan, the pain now a faint memory.
Your narrow entrance and virgin walls clamping on his cock were heavenly. Every time he moved, your pussy throbbed, clenching around him and you let out those adorable moans he was desperate to hear. He couldn’t stop moving his hips, it was impossible.
“Am I doing good?” you asked, gasping sharply between each word.
Innocent, so innocent.
Geto completely lost himself.
He grabbed the back of your knee and pushed both legs until he could mount you entirely.
In this position he was going so deep, it made your eyelashes flutter and you lost your vision for a moment.
His cock continued stroking your gummy insides while he thrust in your cunt with a vigorous pace but he couldn’t last long because of your virgin walls squeezing around him like you were trying to milk him dry.
He managed to steal a few more thrusts before his cock started twitching inside you. Geto pushed himself balls deep inside you and the tip of his cock kissed your cervix, making your toes curl as his cock spurted thick ropes of cum inside your womb, filling your tummy.
You could feel his seed fill your womb and overflow, as well as the slight twitch of his balls on your skin. It made you bite your lip, your face was wet with tears and possibly snot. However, it didn’t stop Geto from leaning down to kiss you while he continued fucking his cum into you.
Once he broke the kiss, you got to get a good look at his handsome face. His hair was a mess, his bun had mostly come undone and small strands were sticking to his forehead from sweat.
Before the two of you could enjoy the afterglow or catch your breaths, you heard Gojo clear his throat.
Suddenly, shame overflowed all of your senses. Geto on the other hand was unphased, he pulled out of you to watch his cum ooze out from your pussy with amusement. He then whipped his head around to glare at Gojo. “Can’t you stop breathing so hard and moaning when you’re jerking off? I don’t wanna hear any of that when I’m fucking.”
The breaking of the character was fine. You were still lost in your own thoughts and unable to comprehend anything other than how you had lost your virginity to some ‘bad boy’ who was only kind to you. You laid on the floor, exhausted and stuck in your mind.
Gojo laughed, “Nanami, you’re seeing this? I told you he gets sooo mad when you do it, heheh”
“You’re speaking too bravely for someone who has his dick out.” Geto sat on the tatami floor, furrowing his eyebrows.
“What? Ya gonna suck it?”
“I will kill you,” he hissed.
The two were arguing with each other when Nanami got up from where he was sitting and walked over to you.
“Ah.” Gojo was smirking, staring at the tent on the blonde one’s pants. “He’s going at it.”
Geto hummed approvingly.
Nanami crouched next to your head, staring at your bare chest up close. You were gorgeous, your skin looked so soft and your face stained with tears…
He had been trying and trying and trying to hold back but you were too stunning. Seeing you from their perspectives had enchanted him, arousing him to the point of being unable to think clearly.
“Nanami?”
Your eyes were clouded with lust and he could see his own reflection in them. Right now, you needed him and he was more than willing to provide.
Nanami placed a hand on your cheek and caressed the soft skin before leaning in for a kiss. You didn’t refuse, accepting his lips pressing against yours. You tried moving them like Geto had done with you but Nanami’s kiss… It was more gentle yet more possessive. He pushed his tongue inside to twirl your tongues together, to make sure you remembered his taste for a lifetime as he desperately tried savoring yours.
Placing one hand on your tit to knead the soft flesh, he used his other hand to pull down his pants, releasing his aching cock free. As soon as his cock was out, he grabbed your hand and guided it to his exposed cock.
Your eyes widened and you pulled your hand back, breaking the kiss.
“Nanami, you can’t-”
“You are friends, right?” Gojo interrupted, appearing behind Nanami.
It was quiet for a moment before you nodded ever so hesitantly and looked at Nanami, attempting to avoid looking at his cock hovering over your face.
“Nanami wants you to be his first.” Gojo grinned down at you, pushing his sunglasses up to his hair.
“F-first? His-”
Nanami flushed bright red at the revelation and you found yourself blushing as well.
“You should help him out like Suguru did to you! That’s what friends are for!” Gojo’s encouraging words and the power of friendship talk were too much, Nanami almost went limp until Gojo grabbed your hand and guided it back to Nanami’s cock. “Here, I’ll help you.”
Both of you flinched at the intimate skin contact.
Gojo assisted your hand to wrap around the base and slide it up slowly towards the tip glistening with precum. You didn’t need to use your spit to get him nice and slick as his own precum was more than enough. Your classmate made you pull the thin skin towards the tip down to expose the pink tip of the blonde one’s cock whose shoulders tensed in response. “He seems to be sensitive around the tip. You should use your mouth and tease the tip, (name)! On second thought, he would love it if you let him use your mouth!”
All you did was to open your mouth to approve.
Oh, so obedient.
Nanami on the other hand was being torn apart.
He was better than this. He was a good person. He wouldn’t be the type of person to take advantage of some dumb girl to indulge in his own fantasies and-
“Here, lemme help, Nanami.”
Putting his hands on the younger one’s hips, Gojo pushed Nanami forward into your mouth. Your teeth barely grazed against the tip and he moaned at the sensation of your warm mouth. He couldn’t even get angry at Gojo.
Geto sat on the other side of you and instructed you to move closer to Nanami so you could take him in your mouth completely. He placed a hand on the back of your head and helped you bob your head, giving you praises.
Gojo didn’t need to move Nanami’s hips anymore, the blonde one was too lost in pleasure to hesitate or think about his nonexistent pride.
With you being on your hands and knees as you were giving Nanami a blowjob, Geto gave Gojo a thumb up, telling him everything was good to go.
Finally, getting his turn, Gojo slowly crawled behind you like a predator about to bounce on its unaware prey. He spat in his palm and started jerking himself off to get hard again, he had lost count of how many times he had come when Geto was devouring your cunt but he could go on until the morning.
“Arch your back, pipsqueak.”
Complying Geto’s words, you lifted your ass up in the air.
“Now, Gojo’s going to do something really naughty. Be careful not to bite Nanami.”
You made a noise in protest but Nanami silenced you with a sudden thrust of his hips. The tip of his cock grazed the back of your throat, making you gag. Which worked in his favor because now he could shove his cock further down your throat thanks to your tongue laying flat and jaw unclenched.
Gojo put a hand on your ass cheek and spread it, groping the soft flesh before drooling over your hole.
A wave of panic washed over you and you moved your hips to get away. Gojo had you exactly where he wanted though, he pushed two digits inside and stretched them slowly in a scissoring motion. He was breathing heavily while rubbing his cock at the display of you getting skullfucked and ass being played with by him.  
You started squirming, letting out panicked noises that were being muffled by Nanami’s cock in your mouth. The blonde was going insane by your throat clenching around him. His hips slammed into your face, shoving his cock down and down and down until your nose met the blonde hair on the base.
A cough, a gag, and suddenly your face was turning blue. Nanami had a sick expression on his face and the other two were too busy to notice your current problem of not being able to breathe.
“Satoru, stop making gross noises.”
“I can’t help it, she’s so erotic.” He gasped, incapable of holding another second back. He pressed the tip of his cock on your entrance and slowly pushed it inside.
Nanami grabbed a chunk of your hair and started fucking your face. He couldn’t stop thrusting inside your mouth and ravishing you. Making you his own cockslut.
Gojo was still trying to push himself inside you but you were just so tight.
“Shouldn’t you prepare her a little more?” Geto hid a laugh behind his hand.
“I like it tight,” Gojo replied, placing his hands on your hips to pull you towards himself as he was pushing into you.
Not letting you rest, Gojo pulled his hips back, only to suddenly slam into you until almost his entire length was inside. Gojo’s fun was cut short though, as Nanami was choking you with his cock, your walls clenched around Gojo’s cock enough to make him cum instantly.
Geto still hadn’t noticed your face turning blue and had thought his friend just couldn’t hold back anymore. He burst into laughter, making fun of him
The vibrations coming from your throat while you were trying to scream were too much for Nanami to handle. His cock twitched inside your throat moments before he came down your throat. He pulled out and rested his cock on your lips as the tip was still spurting his creamy seed.
He held you in place by your hair as your mouth opened and you tried spitting out his cum. Brows furrowing in pain and anger you glared up at him through your lashes that also happened to be covered in cum. Closing one eye, you continued glaring at him.
“Ahh, you look great covered in cum,” he said, wiping his cum away from your lips using his thumb and pressing a long kiss on your swollen lips. “Sorry, I got over myself.”
After his apology, your mood changed instantly. “Did it feel good?”
“It felt amazing!” Gojo answered instead of Nanami, “This guy probably felt good too, I saw his legs shaking in pleasure. You’re such a good girl, (name)!”
“She’s talented and lovely too.” Geto used your own pajama top to wipe your face. “Just my type.” He patted on your head, pressing a chaste kiss on your hair.
Now, you were blushing. “T-thank you.” You sat on the floor in the middle of all of them. Realizing that you were the only bare-naked person in the room made you cover yourself. “Um… Can I get a blanket or something?”
Nanami did as you politely asked while the other two started plotting their next move.
It was too easy to please you. Easier than to trick you.
Nanami joining them would make everything go butter smooth, this ‘friends don’t have boundaries with each other’ play could go on until you graduated. Geto was smirking at Gojo as he lit a cigarette, their senior year was going to be as boring as he thought it was going to be.
~~~
When Shoko returned to the campus three weeks after leaving, she wasn’t expecting you to be there.
But there you were in the secret smoking spot, sitting on Geto’s lap and trying to smoke a cigarette while Gojo laughed at your coughing. Nanami was smoking quietly but a gentle expression was on his face as he watched you try taking a drag from the cigarette again.
Perhaps, you were dumber than she gave you credit for. She wasn’t the one to judge though, she lit a cigarette and walked towards the group to join them teasing you.
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twilightdruig · 3 years
Text
help?
pairing : george weasley x fem!reader
summary : “hi i’m your neighbor and while i know we’ve never spoken but you’re a single parent of two and my sister recently died leaving me to raise her infant and i have no idea what i’m doing, help?” au
warnings : swearing , mentions of character deaths , fluff , au where george lives alone with his two children in a cottage near the burrow , au where fred and cedric live.
words : 2.6k
a/n : this is my first fic so it’s probably gonna be shit (as you can probably tell i’m not good with titles either) but yeah hope you enjoy :> and i might do a little part 2 on this soon
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holly l/n was loved by multiple. a sweet hufflepuff student who was favored by all the teachers and students. her sister, y/n was a scary and intimidating gryffindor who hung out in the library.
ever since the battle of hogwarts death eaters have been imprisoned in azkaban. but, that didn’t mean all harm was gone.
now here y/n l/n was, standing in the heat of the summer, her nephew connor l/n mourning the death of a family member.
the service was beautiful. a few hogwarts students came including luna lovegood and neville longbottom and professor sprout and professor flitwick decided to pay their respects. headmistress mcgonagall sent her condolences through a letter as well.
conner wasn’t old enough to go to hogwarts yet. there was no one else for holly to leave connor with. her husband, ronan died during the war, all connor’s grandparents died and the only appointed godparents were holly’s best friend cedric diggory and her sister y/n.
cedric diggory was now teaching first year flying at hogwarts and is married to cho chang.
y/n was currently doing nothing with her life. she wanted to live alone in a cottage, reading, stitching, picking apples and getting drunk on fruity cocktails. but now? she had to take care of her sister’s spoiled son.
y/n hated children more than she hated the people in her own hogwarts house. more so, she didn’t know how to take care of them.
she had to enroll her nephew in hogwarts, teach him basic life skills and other stuff like that. there goes her life goal on being that cool stoner aunt that hates love and children.
“shit, connor!” y/n exclaimed as her 3 year old nephew accidentally ate a ton tongue toffee made by the joke shop in diagon alley owned by the weasleys.
“sorry aunty y/n”
she was never close to the weasleys. all of them, stereotypical gryffindors, loud and chaotic and always the main characters.
the only thing she knew about them is that one of the twins live next to her. y/n didn’t know how to shrink his tongue and thought it was quite the convenience that he lives next door. he was a single dad with two daughters, maybe he could help her control her nephew and technically her adopted son, now.
she sighed. “put on your coat, we’re visiting our neighbors, ok con?” the little boy nodded in response
went the small cottage came into view, there were two little girls picking flowers on the front yard and a tall red-headed man on the porch watching them.
“hey! weasley!” she yelled with a small smile as she approached the small gate.
“l/n? what are you doing here?” george asked
y/n gestured to her nephew who was holding his now 3 foot long tongue. “he accidentally ate one of your products and i’m not entirely sure how to fix it”
“right, right” he laughed “come on, connor right? i’ll reverse that”
y/n felt a tug at her oversized cardigan. she looked down to see two identical ginger twins.
“hi there!” one smiled.
“hello!” y/n tried to sound as nice as possible. looking back at her teenage years she remembered laughing at kids who fell of their brooms their brooms when she’d watch first year flying. she remembered laughing at seamus finnigan when something blew up in his face. or when she’d laugh at any kid accidentally getting hurt.
“these are for you! they’re pretty just like you” the other twin exclaimed.
“i’m charlotte and she’s billie” charlotte giggled.
“how do u know our daddy?” billie asked
“oh! um, we went to school together and i live just next door” y/n replied
“do you know our uncle freddie?”
“i know all your uncles and your aunt ginny, aunt hermione and uncle harry. they were all famous when we were in school”
“wow!” they both exclaimed
george and connor came back out. “look aunty y/n! my tongue’s normal again!”
“aunty?” george questioned. “holly. she died quite recently.”
“oh! i’m so sorry. i heard about her. yeah. i believe mum sent some flowers for the service”
“yeah we received them”
“i’ll see you around?” george inquired
“yeah, yeah. and i might need some parenting advice? you knew how i was back at hogwarts”
“i am flattered, dear l/n”
“oh hush. and they get along.” she pointed to the three children running around.
“they do. and yes, i would love to help you tame that little rascal” george laughed.
“thank you, george. really.”
“i’m just next door, yeah?”
“yeah” y/n smiled “come on, connor. we’re going home. but we’ll definitely be seeing these lovely ladies soon.”
“bye pretty lady!” y/n heard two young voices call after her
“daddy, who was she?”
“is she gonna be our new mommy?”
george and y/n had been hanging out for the past weeks. he had given her advice on taking care of connor and how to deal with children. they also spent time talking about family and their time back at hogwarts. she was told about the attack of death eaters at one of his brothers’ wedding and how his daughters were named after his brothers bill and charlie.
a knock at y/n’s door interrupted her reading.
“oi, l/n!” she heard a familiar voice on the other side of the door.
“weasley” she muttered.
connor recognized george’s voice and the twins’ giggles, he decided he would take matters into his own little hands. connor knew how stubborn his aunt was at the young age of seven.
“hi billie! hi charlotte! hi uncle george!” the little boy squealed.
“hey there, con!” george ruffled his hair while billie and charlotte ran over to y/n.
connor and the twins were two years apart. connor was going to hogwarts the next year. no doubt would he be trouble to professor mcgonagall but everyone knew they were always her favorites.
“aunty y/n! uncle george brought cookies!” connor yelled excitedly. y/n was never the type to bake or cook. she did try to but it always ended in almost burning the house down. she usually fed connor fruits or store bought food.
“you didn’t have to” y/n responded while taking the plastic box.
“oh yes i did” he teased “i heard you’ve been starving this poor little fellow”
“daddy didn’t bake those cookies” charlotte stated “grandma did” billie continued
“oh” she smirked at george then turned to the twins “tell your grandma i say thanks!”
“uncle george! i wanna show you something outside! the twins can come too!”
“connor, what are you gonna show them?” y/n grumbled.
“your paintings! they’re amazing” her nephew jumped.
“paintings, eh?” george smiled “okay, let’s go, champ. see those paintings of your aunt.” the two scurried outside, two redheaded girls following after.
y/n groaned and fell back into the couch, finishing her book.
it’s been a few days since george and the twins came with cooking to y/n and connor’s cottage. she wanted to throw connor a little surprise birthday party.
connor has loved the twins and george so much, he thinks of them as blood relatives. y/n decided to call up cedric and cho to look after connor while she’d do some errands.
the two arrived exactly on time as y/n was preparing to go out. she had on a simple cardigan and loose denim pants.
“ced! cho! hi, how are you guys?” y/n greeted as she saw her old friends apparate into the cottage.
“hi y/n!” cho greeted “hey nerd” cedric snickered.
she sent cedric a small glare before connor jumped at the two.
“uncle ceddy! aunty cho! you’re here” he shouted.
“yeah buddy! your aunt’s gonna run some errands and visit your uncle georgie?” cedric winked at y/n. she had been owling cedric about george and how he’s been helping her with connor.
“are you going out with uncle george?” connor asked, eyes twinkling.
“i don’t know, actually. i might check him out next door.”
“george weasley?” cho teased.
“yes, cho,” y/n rolled her eyes “but on that note, i have to go”
“bye, connor! behave okay?” she crouched down and squished his cheeks.
“bye, ced! cho!” her voice faded when she dashed out the door.
y/n passed george’s cottage to see if he actually might want to come with her and do errands.
she was standing outside the small gate, hesitating. ‘maybe he was busy’ ‘he wouldn’t want to do errands with me’ ‘maybe he would if i told him it was for connor’s birthday’ she thought. y/n didn’t know why she was overthinking her choices. the first time she was standing right outside the gate she bursted in and demanded george to fix whatever happened to her nephew. now, she was nervous. her palms were sweaty and clammy.
she pushed herself in and walked to the front porch. she knocked a few times and was met with a head of messy brown hair.
“hermione?!” she squealed
“y/n!” hermione jumped to hug her old friend.
there were overlapping voices in the background and when they pulled away she was met with multiple mops of ginger hair, a head of blonde hair and another with black hair behind hermione.
“l/n?” ginny weasley asked, quite shocked what she would be doing outside george’s door.
“oh! did i interrupt something? i am so sorry!” she said feeling a bit nervous.
“oh! you must be the dearest y/n george keeps talking about!” an old woman she thought was mrs. weasley approached her from behind her children.
“hi there!” y/n said feeling a little embarrassed she might’ve barged in on a family reunion.
“ah! l/n? i have heard of your family! muggle-borns right?” arthur weasley joined his wife.
“uh, yeah!” she pursed her lips “i am so so sorry i interrupted! i should go. tell george i’ll swing by next time”
“oh it’s absolutely alright, dear” molly reassured her.
“george! there’s a really pretty girl! get your arse out here!” fred yelled to george who was probably inside the house.
“is she here?” charlotte and billie ran to the door.
“hi girls! tell you dad i was here yeah? say i’ll come by next time” most of the weasleys came back in. she took it as her time to go on with her day.
“oi! y/n! wait up” the voice she recognized as george’s called after her.
“george, hey”
“where’r you off to?” george pointed to the small bag that was swung over her shoulder.
“errands. connor’s birthday is coming up so i thought i’d prepare something for him. first birthday without his mum, you know”
“his birthday’s coming up?” george looked as excited as a child on christmas morning.
“yeah. why?” she smiled
“you’re talking to one of the best party planners there is. you also did talk to another one of them… i think”
“fred?”
“oh yeah”
“i wanted to ask if you wanted to come but seeing as to your family is in your house… i’m gonna take a wild guess and say you aren’t available right now” she giggled.
“maybe if you went another day” he said sympathetically. george really wanted to go and prepare connor’s party with her. he treated him like his own and boy did he remind him of how fun it was to be a kid. he loved his aunt so much it was adorable.
“george. seriously, it’s okay. spend time with your family” she laughed.
“yeah, yeah. i’ll see you when you get back” he waved.
connor’s small birthday gathering was in full swing. y/n became acquainted with george’s siblings. bill, charlie, percy (whom she was actually friends with back in hogwarts), fred, ron and ginny. hermione was a very good friend of hers and so was harry. she recognized fleur from that day in the cottage as beauxbatons triwizard champion.
connor had quite a bunch of guests for his birthday. cedric, cho, luna, neville, fred, percy, ron, harry, hermione, bill and fleur and their little victorie. of course, billie and charlotte helped george and y/n fix up the party. mr. and mrs. weasley sent a small cake for connor when they heard about y/n not knowing asingle thing about cooking.
fred offered to take care of the twins and connor while george and y/n ran off somewhere. the two found themselves near a small creek. y/n explained how the cottage was where she’d go off exploring and the only person who knew was holly. she was overjoyed when her sister got the cottage she used as a hideaway.
george was surprised when there were lights and blankets and everything. the soft sounds of running water was calming.
the two were pretty intoxicated when they sat down; stumbled onto the picnic blanket. y/n was sober enough to not spill her deepest darkest secrets. george on the other hand…
“have i ever told you how pretty you are?” george mumbled next to her. y/n only snickered and blushed.
“um, can i hold your hand?” he continued, taking a look at the girl next to him.
“sure” she winked.
“you know” he started again “i actually fancied you a bit back in school”
“yeah?” she rolled over to her side “i wonder… what did you like about me?”
“i don’t even know. my heart just felt so full with you. still does, right now, holding your hand, under the stars by a stream.” he had this glint in his eye when he looks at her.
“hey,” she brushed some hair out of his face “these past few months have been great. and you’re a huge help with connor. you know i’ll always be there for you, right?”
“yeah darling,” he yawned “yeah”
“wait, george!” she sat up “no. don’t fall asleep!”
“fuck” she groaned before falling back down on the blanket.
“i think i love you” she whispered.
morning rolled around and they were still lying somewhere in the forest behind the cottage. some childish chatter and laughs were heard from where they were still sleeping soundly.
until, a red ant bit y/n and george’s intertwined hands. “ah shit!” y/n woke up from the bite. her yell also woke up the sleeping man next to her “what?! what happened?” he jumped.
“oh. did i wake you up?” she asked.
“no. it’s honestly no worries” he said “but i do have a killer headache”
“an ant bit me” she muttered, wanting to scratch it.
“hey, no don’t scratch! i’ve had a lot if experience with insect bites” he explained “want me to kiss it better?” he teased.
“oh, ha-ha” she rolled her eyes but blushed.
“we should probably head back” he checked his watch while standing up.
“ah! there the lovebirds are!” fred exclaimed.
everyone was cleaning up from last night. there were children running around while chasing balloons and each other.
“yeah,” george started “we, um, fell asleep”
“sure ya did” this time ron teased the two.
“i’m gonna clean up here,” y/n offered “you guys should go home. you know, get some rest”
cedric gasped “y/n l/n! are you kicking us out?” he said in mock offense.
“technically, yeah. i doubt connor got any sleep”
“maybe we should,” fleur said with her accent “victorie was very excited for the party she is very worn out”
george snuck behind y/n “i think i love you too” he muttered under his breath. he wasn’t sure if she heard it. she did.
“i’ll see you later, y/n!” he yelled “come on, princesses, we’re going home. we’ll see connor and y/n later”
connor and the twins hugged while y/n said thank you’s to all the guests.
maybe it wasn’t such a bad decision to ask for help.
232 notes · View notes
lemonjoonah · 4 years
Text
Blood Bounty - Part 3 (M) - Finale
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Pairings: Yoongi x Reader, Taehyung x Reader, ft. Seokjin x Namjoon Word Count: 15.5K Rating: M Genre: Historical fantasy AU, Vampire AU, Thriller, Drama, Smut Warnings (CONTAINS SPOILERS): Dub-con (consent is freely given but the context is dubious), non-con vampire feeding, non-con kiss, unprotected sex, light bondage, oral sex (f. rec.), cum eating, pain during intercourse (don’t be like the OC here in the beginning and try to conceal it, you should tell your partner if something hurts), somewhat antiquated thoughts on virginity, virgin reader (it’s a flashback and there’s a small amount of blood...), death of major and minor characters, drugging (with vampire blood), murder, violence, blood, gore, sexism, blood slavery, kidnapping, captivity, forced marriage, manipulation, gaslighting, once again it’s some pretty dark shit, consider yourself warned.     
| Series Masterlist |
Summary: He’s taken everything from you, your blood, your memories, your life, and after months spent as Taehyung’s own personal feast, you eagerly take your chance to flee. Unfortunately your escape doesn’t go as well as you had hoped, as you are soon caught by another blood thirsty beast. The vampire Yoongi claims to know you, and that he wishes to return you home. But when you can only remember the pain caused by his kind, you find it difficult to trust him, since he too could just be another monster waiting to feed.
A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who stuck with me through this mini-series. I truly hope you enjoy the end of this tale (and the hints to another separate series in the works 😉).
...
Your new stead is surprisingly responsive to your commands, possibly desiring to get as far away from the predators as you. Taking you down the road to the kingdom at a startling pace, causing several branches to whip painfully in your direction. When a stinging blow inevitably lands on your brow, enough to draw a spot of blood, you pull back on the speed of your mount. You are not so far now that you worry about making it back before nightfall.   
The route home becomes more populated the closer you get. For the first time in years you are among people like you again. Those who see you as just another person passing by, not a temping entree, nor a traveller to rob. Some even nod to you as they cross your path, you respond in kind, but keep your face hidden beneath the hood of your cloak.
Your first few paces inside the town comes as quite a shock. The notable gathering spots are even more vacant than they were during your nighttime strolls. With the stalls of the market bare, and so many businesses closed,  the only well occupied space appears to be the mounted boards on the end of every other street. You stop at one littered with official orders for curfews, new regulations, and missing souls. The most notable of all to you is the obituary detailing your brothers passing. 
You swallow back your grief, and proceed to examine the document claiming that he had died of a devastating injury and no more. It seems your parents will still not admit to any weakness that might carry in the family's blood. But with each stamped flyer, there’s been an addition made, one that was obviously not approved by the crown. 
‘The crown prince is dead, and our princess lost. If we let them rule any longer we will be next!’
You are stunned by the note, fearing how bad the circumstances must have become in your absence. Backing away from the board you prod your stead onward and in the direction of the public stables. Hoping to find the mount it’s own new home, while you return to yours.
“Three pence for a night,” The master grunts, looking up from his work as you dismount near the entrance to the paddock. 
“I have no coin, but-”
“No coin, no stall. Don’t waste my time and move along.” He interrupts before returning to shovelling the pungent manure.
You wrinkle your nose at the odour and persist in your efforts. “I was going to offer for you to take ownership of him instead. I have no use for him now.”
“Keep him? Tell me, how did you come to own this stead? Is it truly yours? ” He leers down, placing you beneath his scrutinous glare. “People don’t just give up a worthy horse. How can I know that there is not someone out there who will come looking for it and will blame me for their loss?”
“I can assure you the last owner will not come to retrieve him. Now do you want the horse or should I go find another who is willing to take my offer? Maybe that nice family there.” You point to a couple making their way into a nearby building. 
Your bluff calls his, leading the man to grimace and huff, “Fine. I will take it, now be gone with you.”
With the horse now tended to, you start to walk away, passing the entrance to the tavern, the door the mentioned pair just walked into. It’s hard not to take note of its current occupancy, for it is packed with people, all shouting and trying to have their say. With the entryway cracked open an inch you are able to catch several snippets of the debate.
“We can’t wait any longer. They are changing the narrative as we speak! Now stating they hold out hope for the princess’s return.”
“And what if she does?” A familiar man stands in argument. “Would you have us send the kingdom into turmoil when hope still exists? I would not be as I stand before you today without the surgeon she sent to us. A blacksmith cannot work without a hand. My wife and I would have been out on the street before long.” 
“Can you not see what they are doing for what it is?” The first speaks again to counter his point. “It’s a convenient ploy! With an heir lost, only the promise of another, with more favour than them will quell our anger. If she was still alive they would have found her by now.” He pauses to pat the smith on the shoulder. “I mourn her loss too my good friend, but we can’t wait for a small sliver of hope when we continue to live the way we do. Taxed within an inch of our livelihoods, while the list of missing continues to grow and those who are in charge hide behind their walls, keeping secrets that affect us all. If she returns we can offer her a good standing among us. But their rule must end.”
You edge closer and closer to the door trying to get a better view of the meeting in progress, when a throat clears and grunts, “Run along lad...” Nearly jumping from the fright you turn around to find the stable master having come up from behind. Bowing your head you comply, thankful that he had not realized the gravity of what you overheard. 
What had truly happened in the time you were gone? This isn’t just contempt but a full blown revolution building. Your people think you dead, and understandably so, but if they see that you are alive and well, maybe a better path can be found than one that will surely end in blood.
When considering your options you know there will be no way in through the front gates, your parents have always kept them heavily guarded, and no one will believe you are the child of the king and queen dressed as you are now. Rather than stir up trouble, you proceed to your fastest route in, the trap door hidden on the perimeter. 
In your absence it appears to have remained unused. The roots of the hedge have grown over, needing to be tugged out of place until the hinges and wood are freed from their grasp. You drop down into the passage, closing the hatch behind. With no light, nor lantern you are left to navigate the abandoned hall in the dark. The palm of your hand brushes against the damp stone wall, crossing cobwebs and critters on it’s trek to lead you to the portrait door. You try your best not to think of the time spent in this place, and the company you are now left without, but the sound of your steps resonates around you. Tricking your ear into thinking it a whisper of the past, as if his promises still remain locked away down here, echoing off the bedrock for you to claim.  
You are grateful when you finally reach the castle's interior, although for the time of day even the palace appears deserted and cold, you slip about the halls feeling like a stranger in your own home. Hoping to return to your old bedroom before you find anyone else, so you can at least reclaim another part of what you once were. But when you find the door and step inside someone is already there, crying at the foot of your bed. It’s too late to back away for they look up, just as startled as you. It’s your former lady’s maid who steps back from shock at your appearance, followed by a baffled stare when she catches a glimpse of your face.
“My word...” She gasps as tears continue to roll down her cheeks, “I never thought I’d see you again. He brought you back, I can’t believe he brought you back.” She runs forward wrapping her arms around you, a blubbering speech follows. “I’m so sorry, your b-brother... he’s gone. After everything that happened, everything you did, he’s still gone. An-and the threats to the crown, ever since his death everyone has been in an uproar. I haven’t dared to leave the grounds out of fear that someone will know I work here.” “It’ll be okay. We will figure this out.” You attempt to calm the maid you can only remember fragments of. She must have thought you had run off with Yoongi that night, but now is not the time to correct her with actual horrors you endured. 
“Having you back now will surely pull the king and queen from their stupor. They have been pleading and praying for your return.” She looks down at your clothes with apprehension. “Court is in session right now. They are locked away until a matter is settled, but we can ready you to meet with them once they are finished.” You nod prompting her to seek out your wardrobe. “I’ve been keeping them well looked after in case of your return.” She pulls out a dark dress, a sign of mourning for your brother. “I believe this will still fit. You don’t look to have changed much.” 
As she laces you in you can feel the garment tug on your ribs and chest. Maybe a little too small, but it will have to do for the time being. Once finished she escorts you to the dining room, while you continue to marvel at the empty halls. “Where is everyone?”
“Much has changed... your parents' fears have grown in the time you’ve been gone. They feel they can trust far fewer than they have before, and so, many of the staff were let go. If anyone ever even asked about you they too were sent away.” She stops at the set of double doors and urges you inside. “If you remain here and I will go and have the King and Queen informed as soon as the proceedings let out.” 
“Wait, don’t leave...” You were going to ask her more questions to address the gaps in your past, hoping you might stir more than a few moments you have of her and your life here, but she has already closed the door and departed. 
You are left in the dining hall, waiting only with the excessive spread of your parents forthcoming dinner. The feel of the room compared to the passage below is unfamiliar, unlike the dark narrow tunnel this place is void of memory and the feelings that come with it. You pray that such a disconnect will not last long. 
Mounted up on the back wall you find your family’s portrait. Staring at it at the faces and details, you remain so until slivers of the painting's creation surfaces in your mind. You hated that gown, for its rigid seams and heavy fabric took quite a toll as you stood there for hours behind your brother. He was seated due to his condition but you were told to stand and remain still, while the prince takes the forefront of the picture.
It had been made not long before you disappeared from the kingdom. You can recall dwelling on how little blood you had left, while the painter took your likeness. Your parents look so happy in the portrait, thinking their son to be healing and ready to take on the throne, while you spent the whole time daydreaming of Yoongi’s return.
Your anger spikes as you think of him now, it is beyond doubt that he has noticed your absence. You will have to warn your parents and their guard of his possible travel to the kingdom to claim you for his clan. The secret passage will have to be sealed, taking with it your hopes to ever leave again.
Grabbing one of the many decanters and with a shaking hand pour yourself a goblet of wine. Seeking to soothe your trepidation of meeting your parents, you sip on the bitter drink while picking at the food of the central spread.
The hours pass while you take your fill, until finally, when the sky has long been dark your mother hurries first. Looking exactly the same as she once did in your memories, frantic and worried. “Thank heavens you are back. You are safe, we are safe.” She looks down at you, her face unchanged with time, and the skin of the arms which clutch you... you stare at them for a moment, perfect and untouched, but you remember... you recall deep gashes and blood, so much blood pouring down your fingers. Disturbed by the thought you shake yourself from your horrific vision and smile back at her. Expecting her to launch into a flurry of questions but to your surprise, both her and your father pose no queries. 
“We knew he would find you again,” your mother cries with happiness. “We knew he would bring you back. The people, they will be so thrilled to hear of your return. The threats, the violence it will all be over soon.”
“You knew him? You asked him to find me?” The facts of her statement confuse you greatly, had they been privy to information your maid had not? For if she thought you were with him... what did your parents believe?
“My dear, are you well? Of course we did.” Your gaze once again focuses on the flesh of her forearms, as if entranced to the spot, while she brushes at your unkempt hair. Upon following your sight she pulls at the shawl of her dress in an awkward fashion, covering the length of her exposed skin. “Think not of what happened at our parting. All is well.” A painted grin plasters your mother's face. “We made all the changes necessary, you my darling, are to be next in line, not your children, but you. Your father had to work so hard to gain the approval of his lords, they thought it pointless to change the law in your absence, but here you are! Once your consort holds up the rest of his bargain your father will sign and you will be heir to the throne.”
This is all too much, you trying to keep hold of all the information while more is poured on to you. Unable to focus on anything other than their knowledge of Yoongi. Did they really meet him and make the request of him to bring you home? But to what bargain are they referring? “He did but I fear his clan has plans to remove me once again. We have to guard the old passage too, it’s already been nightfall for some time and I fear he won’t be far behind.”
“My poor girl... are you sure you are not ill?” Your mother’s head tilts in confusion. “He is already here, he has been for some time... you fled from his estate when he was just about to send for your return.”
You step away from your parents as fear tightens and grips your chest. “No, you can not mean. Not him, please not him-”
But your greatest nightmare returns to join you, with Taehyung waltzing through the double doors as if your parents castle is his own. “Princess, so good of you to join us. You shouldn’t have run off like that, you had your parents worried.” He approaches, inciting you to back into a wall in an attempt to keep your distance. Your parents don’t react with shock or fear at his sudden advancement on you, surely it is just a dream or vision then? One you are bound to wake up from soon. “But I knew you couldn’t run from me... only towards. Isn’t that right my sweet princess?” Though when his breath comes to find your ear you know him to be real. “I would have gone to find you myself, and take you back sooner, but your parents have been a rather large thorn in my side. Refusing to let me go until I-”
“And what of the other part of our bargain?” Your father calls from behind Taehyung, who grimaces and rolls his eyes at the interruption.
“They will be here shortly. My kin are acting on my behalf tonight, for I could wait no longer when I heard news of her arrival.”
“You have short changed us before,” the king admonishes. “I will not sign until I am certain the problem is dealt with.”
Taehyung turns from you entirely, the accusation leading him to snap back in anger. “That was your own doing, not mine, human. I gave you what you asked and you chose to squander it.” 
With Taehyung now focused on your father, you are ready to run, to seek anything you might use against him, but your mother catches you before you can take two steps. 
Shouting and jeering can be heard from just outside of the room, along with the heavy footfalls of several men, far too loud for what should be expected of the staff and guard. The procession outside bursts into the dinning hall. Your father’s lip curls ever so slightly as several men are pushed to their knees in front of him, muzzled and chained by the vampiric clan that restrains them. 
Taehyung introduces them with a proud and theatrical air, as he takes a seat at the head of the table.  “As you requested my liege, the leaders of the now failed rebellion.” 
You recognize many of them from the tavern earlier, even the blacksmith whose hand Yoongi saved long ago. Your father after taking stock, waves them away, ordering them to be held out of his sight, until a public execution can be arranged. 
You open your mouth to argue and condemn such brutal tactics when you are pushed down in the chair beside the monstrous vampire by your own mother. “You will sit still, be quiet, and do your duty for the family.” Despite her insistence your nails claw at her hold trying to free yourself from his side. As blood breaches her skin, so too does the memory of your first meeting with the vampire lord.
...
-Five years ago-
You look through the streets for hours hoping to catch even a glimpse or a whisper of Yoongi. Asking several people who pass you by, but no one knows of his whereabouts, nor has seen the distinguished surgeon in months. 
With the sun ready to rise, you retire from town for the night. Stripping from the simple dress, you toss it to the side and return to bed for the hour you have left to sleep. When forced awake by duty, your day ultimately passes with you a hollow shell. Barely able to keep your eyes open from lack of rest, with a gnawing disappointment taking root in your stomach, distracting you from much else. You tell your maid of your plans to venture out again to find him, but she looks concerned by the prospect. 
“You can hardly stand! What if, as a result of your current state, you cannot find him tonight? Your brother needs this and if you should fail... maybe we should tell the king and queen and let them put out a search for him?” 
“No, I must do this on my own. He would not want them to be aware of his kind.” You go to take the plain gown but your maid grabs it first. 
“I understand that you feel you must go. But please take an hour or two to sleep before you journey out. You look dead on your feet.” She does not relent, prodding and scolding until you are between the covers of your bed. “I will wake you once the castle is quiet enough for you to leave without being spotted.”
Nodding in agreement you submit to the coma of slumber rather quickly while she sits in the seat across from your bed. You wake hours later not by the hand of your staff, but from the hammering of rain pelting at your window.
You rise and call out, confused as to why she did not wake you earlier, but no answer responds. Lighting the candle on your bedside you find the chair empty of both her and the dress. You jump from your bed, in only your dressing gown and slippers reach for the door. When she bursts through it first, wearing the dress you intended to wear on the street. 
“Where were you? Why didn’t you-” 
“Princess, I found him!” Your lady’s maid exclaims happily, despite being absolutely drenched from the weather outside. “I went in your place so you could have more time to rest, and I found your friend, or I should say he found me.”
“You found him?” You breathe a sigh of relief, your brother is now safe and your plans with Yoongi can come to fruition. “Where is he now?”
“He’s with the king and queen.”
“My parents?”
“He wished to see them, mentioned something about desiring their permission. He’s already healed your brother, your mother and father couldn’t believe it.”  She grabs hold of your hand and pulls you from the room, not caring that you don only your bed attire. “Come! They are waiting for you.”
Still half asleep and only semi-coherent you allow yourself to be ushered along to your father’s den. There he sits behind a desk quill pen in hand, your mother hanging over his shoulder, and settled across from them both is... someone who is not your vampire, someone who is not Yoongi. 
The stranger smiles, showing off his sharp teeth as he gets up from his seat to deliver a sweeping bow. “Lord Kim Taehyung, at your service princess.”
You take a step back upon hearing the name that Yoongi warned you of so many times. “W-why are you here?” With concern immediately drifting to your lost vampire, for if his enemy has found you what could have befallen him.
Your mother scolds your response, “This man has offered his assistance, to aid in your brother's care, you will show him your respect.”
“It’s no matter,” Taehyung shakes his head at your mother. “Though I must ask, why do you look so scared princess? Your maid was looking for one of my kind, were you not seeking my help?”
“Is this true?” Your mother interjects, glaring at you. “You knew of people like him, those who could help your brother and you told us nothing?”
“I was looking for another,” you attempt to explain. “One who had been helping us in the past without your knowledge, he forbade me from revealing his kind to you.” 
“What did this other tell you of me?” The lord smiles. “I should like to set my story straight, because you, princess, looked ready to flee the moment you heard my name.”
“What is it that you want?” You ask again. If he refuses to answer your question why should you obey his own. “I thought your kind did not wish to reveal their existence to humans.”
“When the situation is as important as this, exceptions can be made.” The vampire justifies, a crooked grin refusing to leave his mouth. “I am only here to offer my services to your family.”
“We already have the services of another. He was doing so for years before you came here, he will help my brother should he need it in the future.”
“Then where is he now?” Taehyung asks the dreaded question which stabs at your heart.
“He will be back...” You retort, hoping it to be the honest truth. “We do not require your help.” 
Your father silences you with the stern call of your name and the hammer of his fist on his desk, before he too jumps into the argument. “I will overlook the concealment of your past acquaintances, along with the fact that you gave your brother treatment without our knowledge and consent. But I will not have you demean this man who just saved his life.”
“He is not a man!” You shout back at your king and father. “He is a monster. I have been told of his misdeeds, of his ethics. We can not trust him-”
“We have no choice! Without an heir the whole kingdom will become a place of ruin, an unclear line of descent will lead to chaos.”
“Then we wait. We wait for the one I can trust. He will be back soon, I know it.” Certain at least in this instance you know better than your parents, you plead for them both to listen.
“This is not a discussion.” Your father clarifies while the vampire takes out a bag, pulling from it two large corked bottles filled with a fluid far thicker than wine. “We called you here merely to inform you that we have accepted his services.” 
“This should be enough to keep him healthy for a long span of human life. It will heal most ailments, and injuries, and when enough is consumed will even slow the course of ageing.” You watch as the vampire's attention falls on your mother during his explanation, his lip curls even further when her eyes brighten in interest over the properties of the cure. 
You go to her, grabbing her arms so that she will focus on you alone, trying to convince her of the vampire's true nature. “This is a trick it must be. You can’t accept this, he will bring only ruin.”
“All that remains is the payment.” The Lord Taehyung adds, ignoring your plight.
Your gaze snaps back to him, when you hear of his charge. “What payment? What did you ask of them?”
“The cost for such a bounty of blood requires an equal sacrifice on your family's part.” The vampire beams with delight. “The blood needed for his life, in exchange for the blood of yours.” 
Your stomach drops when you see your father dip his head in confirmation. They already knew the cost and still they bartered you off without much thought. Your hands continue to grip your mother’s arm. “Please... please listen to me. It doesn’t have to be like this. There’s another way, there has to be.”
“There is no other way.” She responds, her tone cold enough to match her words. “It is time you stop living in your dreams dear girl, those books you cling to, those maps you draw, they will bring us nothing in the end. You have scorned numerous suitors in the past few months alone, leaving your father and I at wits’ end trying to secure a noble future for you. If you will not have that duty, you will take this. Better to have your hands stained with blood than ink if it will at least save our prince.” 
As she starts to push you towards your new fate, your fingers dig into the soft flesh of her arm, desperate to try and keep hold of your past life. Taehyung takes you by the waist and pulls you towards him leaving long lacerations down your mother’s skin as you continue to sob and beg for her to stop this. The thumb of your captor crosses your lips, bringing with it a metallic taste to your tongue. There’s a hushed order whispered in your ear to be quiet and complacent, and you do just that. Relaxing into Taehyung's arms while he carries you out and into a waiting carriage in the dark and drenched courtyard. 
Once out from the castle walls his slick smile falls. He may have taken your ability to speak, but not your tears will to flow. Pulling out a kerchief, he cleans your hands of your mother's blood. After removing every spot he lifts the fabric to his nose, and winces at the smell. “It is still amazing to me that one like yourself could be born of such soiled stock.” He then tosses the cloth out the window of the carriage. “That’s better.” His hand lifts up to the stream that continues down your cheeks. “Do not weep my princess. They may not see the same value in you that I do, but I promise we will prove it to them soon.”    
Angered by his declaration, you look away to the door, not wanting to give Yoongi’s adversary the satisfaction of your gaze. You knew you always weighed less in your parents mind. For you were second in their hearts even before your brother was conceived, second to the mere hope of a son. Swaying their love even a fraction in your favour was and is an impossible feat, a battle you could never win. 
“I know you wished to leave them, my kin intercepted a letter addressed to a royal who was willing to abscond with a vampire.” You look back at him with eager eyes. A letter? Yoongi must have sent word and this lord stopped it from reaching you. “I see that I have your attention now do I?” Taehyung scoffs and sits back in the carriage clearly enjoying your regard. “I knew of a woman much like you before I became what I am. I once travelled the land with a troupe. Entertaining both the nobles and the masses, while dressed in simple white garments, with only a tapestry as a backdrop, and the floor as our stage. It was invigorating, the life that came from holding the eye of the courts, and one lady... one princess in particular.”
Taehyung pauses to look back at your castle before continuing his tale. You can do nothing but sit there and listen, his blood and previous demands continuing to hold you in his custody. 
“She too was not content with the possible suitors before her, they could not offer her the multitude of lives she wished to live, but through narratives and plays I fulfilled that need. We could become whatever she or I wished ourselves to be. I was sure to see her as often as I could, but when her parents learned of our tryst, my group was banished, and she, to the bed of a neighbouring prince.” The vampire sighs as the story takes a darker turn. “I promised I would return to her when I could offer her a better home, but my cast and I, we ran afoul of a beast one night. When another caught the scent of our tragedy and found only me hanging by a thread, he took pity and made me one of them. I was so fearful to return to her at first, it took me several years to work up the courage and restraint before I could send her a letter begging to call on her again.” 
Now engrossed in the tale and the comparison of his story to yours. You stop an attempt to fight his will, too curious of the outcome.
“She agreed to meet, stealing away from the castle at night to find me at a nearby inn. It was my intent to flee with her that evening, to give her not only all the lives she had desired, but an endless supply of existence. What I did not expect was for her to deny my proposal. In the time I had gone she bore the prince a child, and no longer desired to part with her new role. I was not willing to accept her answer... lost in the heat of my anger and hunger for her, I took the princess with me. Draining her of life, I added her blood to mine.”
You stiffen in your seat wondering if this too will be your end, recalling a cautionary tale your mother used to tell you. The story of a noble lady, who was bled dry by the parasitic and sinful world outside. You thought back then it was her way to scare you into not leaving the protection of the castle walls, never did you consider it to be real, nor that she would be the one to give you to the monster of the fable.
“The smell and taste, I have not had anything quite like her since... until this night, when I caught wind of your own scent upon your maid's dress. I was already on my way to see you, but she made it so much easier, for she spoke on my behalf to gain my entrance. Such a sweet girl, and so very much in love with your brother isn’t she? A shame that she will likely feel the same pain as I once did, a love that crosses classes only to end in death.” 
Seething with rage at his confession, you wish to fight back and escape from his carriage but your own body will still not comply. You knew it, you knew he never intended to save your brother, he only wanted a bargain that would play in his favour. There is still a catch that remains unseen by you and your family, one that will result in the prince’s demise.
“They’ve hitched their kingdom to a dying horse, keeping it alive by selling off their only hope.” His finger follows the path of a tear down your jaw and falling to your collar. “I can promise you I will have far more roles and lives for you to play, more than you ever would have had with them. And you, you who have so much to give in return.” He opens his mouth, his breathing heavy as he leans towards your throat. “It's been so long since I’ve had someone of your calibre... I plan to savour you for far longer than the last.” Pushing you down, until you lie on the seat of the carriage, his teeth latch on, piercing the skin of your neck.     
...
You drop your mother’s arms, leaning back upon remembering the part she had to play in giving you away. “You forced me into his custody? You are the reason I was made to endure his torture.” 
“We had no choice. Your brother, he was dying.”
“And where is he now?” You shout back at them, all decorum vanished from the room. “You were given the cure, so why is my brother still dead?”
With that Taehyung smiles bringing light to the answer. “It would seem the temptation was too great for their own vanity. Even your lovely parting gift to her, erased by my remedy.”
The marks that should be on your mother's arms from your own assault, the ageing that should have become apparent since your last moment with them, none of it is there. All wiped away by the blood that would have given your brother a longer span of life. “You-you used it didn’t you... I should have known. It’s always been about appearances with you. Playing the strong hand to keep both me and your people in line. And when you ran out... you asked for more didn’t you?”
“He said he would keep our prince alive!” Your mother replies shaking from the accusation, but not denying it.
“I told you that what I gave you would be enough. It is not my fault that you chose to waste it.” Taehyung counters with a wicked grin, pleased by their faults and presumptions. “They let your brother die, not I.” 
“Then why return now? Why come if you already received what you wanted out of the deal?” You question fearing his answer, for what more could he want.
“I promised I would one day make them see the value in you.” Taehyung explains. “And there is always another bargain to be made.”
“With your brother dead and you gone we needed an heir.” Your father sets out his quill and ink on the table along with a rolled document he’s been clinging to. “It is as we feared what might happen. Our rivals at court have been stoking the fires of our people, without any official descendant they grow discontent and worried about the security of the country's future, we need you back.”
“Though you still belong to me as per the first agreement,” Taehyung interjects. “So you will return, the law will be changed, and you will become the next in line instead of any child you might have produced. With me by your side, living as husband and wife, the future rulers of this kingdom.
“I won’t allow this.” You shake your head aghast by the thought of such a deal. “First you give him me, and now your people?”
“Those people are currently rallied against us, they would see the end of us if they could. You witnessed the proof.” The king gestures to the floor where the captured were held just a moment ago. “We need assistance in controlling them.” 
“Because you’ve given them nothing to stand behind! Instead your first instinct is to feed them to a beast. Why do you still trust this monster? He will double cross you, my brother, your son is already dead, don’t let him take any more!”
There’s a knock on the door with the return of Taehyung’s vampire kin having stowed away the prisoners. He bids them to enter, while your father looks on somewhat ruffled by the impermanence of the lord’s comfort in his own home. “My part of the deal has already been given, they cannot back out now. Unless they would like those rebels to return to their people?” 
The king shakes his head. Dipping the feathered pen he signs the parchment, and hands it off to the vampire lord. 
“Thank you for your cooperation my liege...” Taehyung bows his head as he takes the paper, passing it off to one of his clan, before returning his unwanted attention to you again. “Your parents will live out the remainder of their lives as king and queen. As long as I can assure that their people will not revolt while they live. The throne will pass to us, and your people to mine.” He tilts up your chin, his thumb crossing over the small scratch on your forehead from your travels. Dipping his finger in your goblet of wine he touches the cut again. The familiar itch of healing skin crosses the surface of your brow. Your stomach turns with the knowledge of what you unintentionally consumed. “It’s a shame for them though...They won’t live long enough to see the benefits of my work here.” With the brush of his hand he gives the order to his clan, “Kill them.”
Your parents both stand in alarm, attempting to reason with the monster before you. “No, you swore-” 
“That I would keep you safe from your people, not that you are protected from myself or my kind.” He addresses his fellow vampires once again, “If you insist on feeding on them do not do it here. I find their smell distasteful and I would rather not lose my appetite.” 
His progenies take hold of your parents, dragging them away. They scream for their guards, but when no one comes to their rescue they call for you next. Pleading with you so that you might speak up on their behalf, with all dignity lost while they come to face their own mortality. You remain silent, any words frozen inside out of fear and hate. Your last duty to them would be what they always asked of you, to be quiet and still, until their screaming comes to an abrupt halt as they meet their end.
Now alone Taehyung rises from his chair and lifts you up onto the dining table, locking you in with his arms on either side. “I told you I could give you so much more than them, didn’t I promise you that? Do you remember?”
“I never said I wanted it from you.” Your furry has reached a new level, overwhelmed with contempt towards Taehyung, your parents, and yourself for not remembering sooner. “You believe their deaths will give you the kingdom? You forget that you had them sign it off to me. I will never consent to marrying you, and we both know your blood will not force me into such a binding contract. It's why you had to make deals with my parents is it not? Compulsion will not work when it comes to such bonds in ink, and you have nothing left to play in order to sway me.”
“Such a smart girl,” Taehyung coos, while brushing the side of your face. “However, it is not I who has forgotten but you, for I have already won that battle too. Here...” He takes a swig of the wine, and firmly grasps the back of your neck. Pushing more of the drink between your lips with his, Taehyung forces you to choke it back and drown in your own past. “Let me help you remember, my princess... my bride...” 
...
- 4 years ago -
You open your eyes, to be greeted by unfamiliar surroundings. A soft bed beneath you, lying between warmed sheets with a handsome yet concerned looking man sitting at your side. 
“Thank heavens you’re awake. You took quite a fall.”
You lift a hand to your head trying to dull a sharp ache in your temple. The man leans in closer without hesitation, an action which surely indicates a close tie with you, but you have no memory of him. His hands are cool yet you welcome them on the side of your face, for they diminish the pain. “I don’t remember-”
“It’s okay my princess. I'm glad you are saved from the trauma of reliving that event.” He comforts you with a boxy smile, that doesn’t quite reach the sadness of his eyes.
“No, not just that, I mean I don’t remember... I don’t remember you, where I am, nor why I am here.” You strain to recall your most recent past, everything seems so long ago. There are glimpses and fragments of moments and people which you manage to pull forth, your parents and their rule, your brother and his suffering, your castle and it’s cold walls that once surrounded you. The loneliness of your past brings a tear to your eye for it is all you can recall. Everything about this man before you seems to have vanished from your mind. 
“No, no, no, don’t cry.” His expression falls, as his hand shifts to wipe beneath your eyes, he swallows his shaking breath in clear distress over your loss. “I promised that I would look after you, that I would treat you well. Your parents, what will I tell them? They will rightfully blame me for letting you get hurt like this.”
The fear and sadness strewn across his handsome face is more than you can bear. You reach out a hand to his to comfort him back. “Could you remind me of your name sir?”
“Taehyung, and please don’t be so formal. There’s no need with me.”
“Then our relationship to each other...”
He takes your hand, tracing your fingers with his, before planting a kiss on your fourth digit. “We have been promised to one another. Your parents agreed to let you leave your own kingdom to be with me.”  
“Oh god, I’m so sorry... I don’t remember, I don’t remember anything. I can’t-”
“It’s okay my princess. It’s not your fault, but mine. You were hurt under my care. I’ll help you to rebuild what we have. We’ll start from the beginning, if we have to. I just can’t endure the thought of losing you entirely. Please just tell me what you need, whatever I can do, it will be done. I will help you to fall for me over and over, if it means I can continue to be with you.”
...
Taehyung spends the nights alongside you tending to your every desire, reciting poetry and plays to keep you entertained while you remain on bed rest for your injury. You feel bound by his kindness, and so guilty for not being able to recall your own past together.
During the day he is forced away from your side. He has a demanding role filled with travel and responsibilities, your only hope is that when he deems you well enough, you will spend that time together too. That you will be able fulfill this building desire within, to go out and journey for his role together.  
But the weeks pass with no change in your situation.
Until one night when it all becomes too much to conceal. When left by his caretakers to bathe, you dissolve into sorrow over the fact that your loss of memory is holding you back. Your wedding to him was to be days from now, but he has called it off until you can recover what you lost. Your wracking sobs echo through the empty room as you commiserate alone. Questioning what you could possibly do to dispel this suffering. 
You did not expect the sound to summon Taehyung, who comes bursting in without thought to your current state of dress. “Princess I-I...” He stops in his tracks and turns on his heel, shielding his eyes from your nude form. “Forgive me, I was not made aware that you were bathing.” 
You press yourself to the side of the tub. Shy at first but when you find him more so, you beckon him over, just as he is about to reach for the door. “No wait, don’t leave. If you go I fear I will only feel more guilt over our situation.” 
“Guilt? To what shame are you referring? Have I not made you comfortable here? Do you not have everything you need?” Taehyung abides by your call, joining you beside the tub, and swallowing as he glimpses you in the water.
“I do, and that is the issue. I remember nothing other than your care and kindness. You have given me everything you can, and I have nothing to grant you in return.”
“That’s not true-”
You press a damp finger to his lips, urging him to let you finish. “Despite not having a memory of our past, there is this need inside me... it’s difficult to express, but it calls out for someone like you. I do not wish to continue this cautionary stance, waiting and hoping for something that might not return. I do not want to hold us back. I think we should still marry, for I cannot see my life in any other way.”
Taehyung gives you a small smile along with a kiss to your hand which still lingers near his mouth. While his own reaches into the tub, his fingers twirling in the water just above your leg. “There is still much you don’t know about me.”
“Then I will learn it as it comes. Please, I long to move past this. I cannot and will not remain in this present, with you restraining yourself because of me. I truly believe that moving forward with the original plan is the best course of action.” 
“If that is what you desire,” He the tips of his fingers submerge further until they draw against your thigh. “I will resume the plans between you and I.”
...
The ceremony is modest, with only you and Taehyung reciting your vows under the night sky. After signing a document to confirm your ties, he whisks you off to the bedroom to consummate the new promise between you. 
The strength of the man before you comes as quite a shock as he rips the laces of your gown in his eager hunt to find the flesh beneath, until your best dress soon lays in tatters on the floor. His hunger for you appears to reach a new level, with his mouth nipping and devouring every inch he has exposed. Your situation has held you both back for so long, but at least now you will both get to revel in the path forward together. 
Once bare he flips you on to your stomach and disrobes himself. His taut legs come to straddle your hips, while his hands run up your back and down your arms. Taking your wrists he pins them over top of your head. “Just a precaution my princess,” He chuckles your ear as his leather belt wraps around. Tightening them together before the strap loops the headboard and is once again threaded through the buckle, wittingly securing you to the bed. “For if I am worried over the possibility of you fleeing, I might lose myself, and consume too much of you.”
“I have no plans to run.” You muse, giggling at his passion.“But I will concede to your bondage if it satisfies you.” 
“I was hoping you would agree.”  He teases his index along your slit, drenching your sensitive skin, and preparing you for his swollen cock. You raise your hips eagerly towards him and he takes the hint. Laying down over top of you he guides himself in with one hand while the other loops your waist. 
You gasp from the stretch before gritting your teeth trying to hide the brief moment of pain. Taehyung swears as his forehead comes to rest on your shoulder, his breath shaking as much as yours while he inhales deeply. A growl echoes in his throat which he promptly clears. “Princess, am I... am I your first?” There’s a hint of surprise in his voice, but you can not understand why that would be so.
“If I was promised to you... I can not see why I would have laid with another.” You answer somewhat hurt by the notion that he thinks you would have been unfaithful in the past. Your memories might be limited, but you can not believe that would be the kind of person you are, to be unfaithful to one so kind would make you a monster.
“Yes, of course.” He sighs, “I just, I had not...” He empties his throat again. Hugging you tightly as he pushes his cock in further. “My dear princess, so good to trust me with such a gift.”
You exhale with a confirmation. “I am all yours.” 
With Taehyung resting deep inside he pauses for another moment. His fingers trapped between you and the bed shift down to your mound where they press and cause you to buck back onto him. “Forget the pain for now...” He whispers in your ear while the deep circles he rubs shift you from discomfort to pleasure. Your twitching responses beguile him as you clench down on his shaft. The growl in his voice returns and grows deeper, he thrusts along with you. A need inside your start to build, your breathing stutters while he continues on. “...And come for me.”  Your nerves reach their peak at his words, holding you in place until the tension inside you finally releases and the warm waves run from head to toe. 
As you ride out your climax Taehyung pushes forward with his own. His cock continues to swell, demanding more of you, until he comes to his end and collapses twitching with content. With a groan he wraps his arms around you and nuzzles your back, while you remain trapped beneath him.
You tug on his belt wanting to touch him and hold him as he does to you. But even once he has come himself, he does not appear to be fully parted from his lustful needs. He shifts down so that his face can be found between your thighs. Your cheeks burn with embarrassment as you inquire for him. “Taehyung, please-”
“Don’t fret my princess, I just- I just want to- there was some blood drawn in my haste to have you, I would like to kiss it better.” He chuckles before his tongue comes to find your folds. The beastly sounds from him become far greater than before as he laps at the spot. Your hesitation is cast aside as you soon delve into pleasure once again. 
His fingers clamp down on your legs as he feeds from your cunt with an even stronger resolve. “I must- I must have more.” He begs of you.        
“I am yours to take.” You respond, eager to indulge more from his affectionate appetite.
But as soon as your permission is granted an unimaginable pain pierces the skin and muscle of your thigh. His mouth latches onto the source of such misery, and draws on the wound taking deep drafts. “Taehyung?” You cry out in confusion, pulling the bonds he left you in. 
Your lord and husband suspends the act. Rising up to release you from the headboard, he takes your restraints in his hand. Flipping you back over and pinning you back down beneath him. You find your groom smiling while his mouth drips with blood. He chuckles lightly at your horror, taking in your fear. “Did you have a change of heart my princess? I’m sorry to have brought such a swift end to our happy scene, but tomorrow we may start over... once I’ve had my fill.”
...
After the first Taehyung proceeds to push upon you several moments wrought in passion and pain. The concealment of his identity to become your love, and of course the times when he chose purely to torture you as your captor.   
You come to understand that your past with Taehyung is a series of tales, with him portraying the villain, or the hero. Going from captor, to suitor, to husband, only to break you by becoming your captor once again. He’s crippled you countless times, in so many different ways, choosing whichever act suits him in the moment, gorging himself off your emotional defeat the same way he feeds your blood, in the most painful way possible. 
“A small sample of our time together, but you see princess, you are already bound to me in matrimony. I have what I need for my clan. My followers will have access to any house, any dwelling on our kingdom’s land once I give them my consent to enter.”
“Y-you have no right to do that!” You stutter, trying to push down the past to focus on the present. 
“Oh but I do as your husband, as the new king I now have partial claim. My men will be able to feed within the safety of your peoples homes. Hunting them in their beds will be far easier than being restricted to the streets.”
“They are not cattle for you to feed upon!”
“How is that any different than your family's rule?” Taehyung scoffs, looking to the ornate room around you both. “Your parents in their vanity and greed bleed them dry, to the point where they were begging for a change, even if it was the rule of a young man who had barely stepped into adulthood. They will be grateful for the passing of the king and queen, and for the new rule. Remembering the vampires who will now stalk them while they sleep only as a passing nightmare.” 
“That does not make what you are doing any better.” You argue, though you know it to be pointless. 
“Not in your eyes, but my people will at least benefit from the sacrifice of your own. They trust me to do right by them. Can yours say the same about you? Will you bear the pain of your suffering and theirs? All that’s left is for us to choose which story we should play next. Would you like to forget it all again? To have me return to the role of doting lover and husband? Or would you prefer to recall that which has brought you pain? Your parents, your brother, and myself, knowing that soon my people will feast on yours.” 
To remember would be the only chance you have in finding a weakness to him, any attempt to remove him from his position will require your knowledge of what happened in the past and what is happening in the present. Who knows what story he would otherwise weave next, but he will no doubt pull the wool over your eyes if you let him. 
“I will give you until the end of this night to choose, if you don’t I will do so for you. But I am so very ready to return to our routine. These past few weeks have been a torment without you to entertain and fulfil me.” His finger traces an x on your neck, marking the spot he intends to bite. “I will never again allow us to be parted for so long.”  The point of his teeth make contact with your skin, when the door opens and one of his keepers calls for him. “What?!” Taehyung shouts back in frustration. “What could possibly be so important that you must interrupt my dinner?” 
“There is a hunter demanding entrance at the gate.” The vampire informs, looking rather shaken for having displeased his lord. “Says he won’t leave until he sees proof that you received your princess. It seems that he was trying to deliver her when she ran off in the daylight earlier today.”
“So someone did find you... that would explain...” His hands soften on your neck running his fingers over the previously tortured flesh. He then turns to the vampire waiting for his answer. “What is the hunter’s name?”
“Agust, my lord.”
Your head snaps up with your eyes wide. Yoongi is here, and he knew to call himself Agust? That can only mean, the secrets kept from him by his clan, the truth that would break you, it was the knowledge of Taehyung’s presence here.
  “Is this the case my princess? Did this Agust find you and intend to bring you here?” You bite your tongue but he pushes his power over you again. “Tell me the truth of this matter.”
“He did.” You can’t be sure of what Yoongi intends to do once inside, but at least your forced honesty did not betray his cover.
“He has my permission to enter. Bring him to me now, I owe him my gratitude for taking such good care of my princess.” The vampire guard leaves to grant the other access. 
Taehyung traces his teeth with his tongue. Appearing unusually happy despite the fact that his meal was disturbed. “You will remain seated and quiet, while I reward this hunter for his deeds, is that understood princess?” You reluctantly nod, submitting to his compulsion. 
Yoongi, accompanied by four of Taehyung's kin, enters the dinning hall and promptly bows. “My lord.”
“Agust... I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure of speaking before have we?” 
“No my lord, I’ve dealt only with your keepers. But it was my honour to retrieve your princess as requested.” You meet his eye when they flicker in your direction trying to decipher his plan, but are unable to see a way out that could have possessed him to take such a risk.
“Yes, I must thank you for bringing her most of the way. I am surprised that you knew to find me here though, I thought that was kept confidential from the hunters.”
“It was my lord but I learned of your occupation here only recently, such a large group of vampires in a human city does not go unnoticed for long.” 
“Then I commend you, for doing what many of my other hunters could not.” Taehyung smirks at his own kin’s expense. “Tell me who was your maker, from which line do you descend?
“Your caretaker Egan, my lord.” Yoongi offers, his tone flat and even. “Though I don’t know if he would recall me, I am one of many.”
“Egan you say?” Taehyung pauses, with a raised brow and pout, which soon fades into a smile after a moment's hesitation. “He has created a fair few hasn’t he?” He chuckles. “Now you were not able to finish my task to completion, but I will still grant you the reward of becoming a keeper if you can complete just one other challenge.”
“Of course my lord.” Yoongi promises, watching adamantly with his hand twitching at his side. 
“There is someone I need you to find, one who has been haunting me for quite some time. Before my princess met me she fell in love with another of our kind. A vampire who works for Lord Hoseok, and goes by the name Min Yoongi. It took me a year to find the full extent of the boundaries in her memory that relate to him, I needed to empty her of love for that fool, and take it for myself. I was successful in the end of course.” He tips your chin with his finger delighting in the pained expression you bear at the thought. “But I would like to see the end of him, and purge anything that might hope to take her from me.”
“I understand...” Yoongi responds through a clenched jaw. Peeking a concerned glance at you when Taehyung's back turns to him. 
“I think she might be able to help you start your quest. You know where to find this Yoongi, do you not my princess?”
You dip your head, as a tear slips from your cheek and falls to your lap. You bite your tongue in an attempt to hold back your answer but Taehyung presses again with the compulsion of his blood. “You will answer me, out loud.”
“Yes,” you confirm,  your eyes meeting with Yoongi’s again, pleading for him to go now, and escape before you reveal anything else. 
“Do you think it will be an easy task for this vampire Agust to find him?” 
“I do.” You utter with a reply stolen from your lips.
 Taehyung mutters in your ear for his final question. “Is he the one who stands before us now my princess?” Panic instantly seizes you, with every function of your body coming to a halt, wondering how he could have found out. The moment your mouth starts to open, Yoongi launches himself at Taehyung, but his attack is quickly brought to a halt by the vampire lord who draws his own stake. Shoving Yoongi across the room and into the arms of his guard.
“You thought you could fool me after so many of your brethren tried and failed?” The cruel lord chides with a low chuckle. “There have been too many errors on your part, the greatest of which was the name of your false creator.” He approaches his new prisoner dragging the point of the stake along Yoongi’s chest while he is held in place. “A misstep of Egan’s allowed for her to escape, and so I sent the order for him to be disposed of. I knew the deed was done mere hours ago when I watched a progeny of his wither away before my eyes. If you were of his blood you too would have perished.”  Taehyung explains before he paces away twirling the stake between his fingers. “What a wicked curse we must endure is it not? Though it does have its advantages... I wonder how many will I wipe out with your death?” Your heart beats wildly in your chest longing to run forward and prevent such an event. “It will come soon, of that there is no question, but not before I take every ounce of information you hold about Hoseok’s current plans.” 
“You will get nothing from me unless you let her go,” Yoongi growls.
“Let go of my own bride?” The restrained vampire flinches at the comment as Taehyung grins and prods further. “I suppose you didn’t know. You must forgive her for not informing you, she couldn’t recall it herself until a few minutes ago. Regardless, I have no plans to free her, for I believe the closer I am to your beloved the more I will get from you.” Taehyung joins you at your side again.  “What do you think princess? Would you like an admirer for our performance? I’m sure even the steadfast Min Yoongi would bend to my will if he witnesses you in my favourite roles.”
Taehyung’s attention is drawn away from the pair of you when more of his keepers enter the room greeting him with a nod. “Alas the show will have to wait. I have permissions to grant, and a story to feed your staff,” The vampire lord sighs and acquiesces to their needs, grabbing the decanter from which you took a glass. “The rest of your people will come after.”
Taehyung gestures to one of his men. “He will take you to your room, and you will remain there until I return. I look forward to having a more fulfilling reunion between you and I come dawn.” His fingers brush against your cheek one last time before addressing the vampires holding Yoongi. “Keep him locked up along with the revolutionaries for now. I will call upon him later.”
Yoongi continues to lash out as you are both dragged in opposite directions. Barring his fangs at those who hold him, but he is soon subdued with the addition of another clan member and carried out of sight. 
Your own escort doesn’t say a word as he takes you through the empty halls, and staircases with one hand grappling your upper arm. Any attempt to pull it from him is met with a snarl and tighter hold. As you pass the rooms of the hall you wonder where Taehyung has the remaining staff kept and despite the lies forced down their throat you hope they will remain untouched.
The guard opens a door and pushes you in, sending you to the ground before locking it behind. The dimly lit room is unfortunately not your own, consisting only of a bed, washstand, and shuttered windows. Rising from the timber floor you find a stain on your hands and dress originating from the spot on which you landed, a spill, red enough to be the remnants of a vampire's meal. You start heaving at the thought, running to the filled basin desperate to remove the sticky scarlet substance. With hands shaking as they are submerged in water, your entirety follows suit, quaking in fear of what has just transpired and what is left to come. 
Your parents are lost, they dug their own grave, but your fellow citizens, and Yoongi... you have to find him, before he too is lost and your people are reduced to a mere spattering on the floor. 
You pull on the shutters of the window, releasing them to peer out and see if there is any hope to scale out of this one too. The height from the ground might be manageable, but a pair of glowing eyes looking up to you from the garden stops your attempt. The gaze from below continues to watch until you retract and close the space between you again. Taehyung's caretakers and keepers are as eager to keep and feed on you as he is. Visions of past attacks start to flood your mind, making you regret your venture to look out. You tried to escape so many times in your past captivity. Each one with the exception of the last was foiled by his keepers or caretakers, some brought you straight back to your room, while others... others were swiftly intercepted by the lord of the fortress, but only after they landed their first bite.  
Retreating to the corner of the room, you set yourself down at the furthest point from the door and window. Left alone to stare at the crimson puddle, as you wait for Taehyung’s return. There is no question that you have to bear the weight of your memories as painful as they are, you can not afford to forget the past. Not now, not with Yoongi nor your people in jeopardy. You wonder if Taehyung will strike such a deal with you. If you promise to abide by his command without his blood, will that be enough to buy at the very least Yoongi’s safety?
The minutes pass while you consider your options, distracted only when there comes a thump from the shutters. You rise from your spot and move closer to the door. The boards made to conceal the daylight shatter inward with another hit, knocking over the solitary candle and casting you into darkness. The shadowy intruder leaps in, their gleaming eyes holding you in their sights. 
Figuring it to be one of the Taehyung’s progeny’s come for a taste, you draw breath to scream. Until the vampire collides with you, holding you down, and covering your mouth. 
“I told you to stay in the room.” The hushed tones of Yoongi greet you to your immense relief. “Why didn’t you listen to me? Why did you run?” He waits there for a moment, removing his hand only when you finally relax beneath him.
“Yoongi...” You gasp in relief. “I overheard you and Seokjin. When I saw you give into the demands... I-I didn’t know, I didn’t realize-”
There’s a knock interrupting your explanation, the vampiric guard no doubt alarmed by the commotion. You both fall silent, but that does not seem to satisfy the sentry,  who proceeds to unlock the door. Yoongi jumps up ready to meet him with a stake. As the barrier opens, the vampire tries to step inside, making it only far enough in for the wooden weapon to reach his heart. Yoongi grabs the enemies throat in the last moments, committing him to silence until death before tossing the corpse to the side. Treating the newly dead as nothing more than a bothersome distraction. 
Yoongi turns back to you but keeps his distance, a growl rattling in his throat as he takes deep breaths. “I told you before, I would never take you there. I had no wish to abide by the request from my lord. I could not tell Seokjin of my plans to disobey while we remained in his house. I was going to take you as far away as I could after learning the whole truth behind your capture, but your stunt put everything in jeopardy, including yourself.”
You start to sob upon hearing his deception, you should have guessed that with such a reveal from his own clan he would try to deceive them too, like the others he dealt with on your behalf. He closes the gap between you, pulling you in close, allowing your tears to fall on his chest. “How-how did you escape just now? I thought for certain he had us both in his grasp.”
“I kept hold of the tainted blood, and those holding me were in desperate need of a drink. One sip and they were at my mercy instead.” He lips grace the top of your head with a kiss as you cling to him. “We’re going to get you out of here okay? We’ll go down to the passage. I have already released those he captured, if he has a mob on his hands, we might slip out undetected.”
“I can’t leave, not yet-”
“Why, because he compelled you to stay?” Yoongi questions, attempting to dismiss your concern. “I will carry you out if your own volition fails to do so.”
“It is not that alone... he was not lying when he told you I was his-his-” You stall on the word unable to say it yourself. “In those five years, he played with my mind, he made me forget you and desire him instead, a-and I fell for it. It is because of me he now has a claim to every home in the town. This is my error to fix. I will not leave those who dwell here to feed his own.”
“You are not to blame for his actions.” He counters, his own voice cracking in desperation.  “Your remaining here will not change that.”
“I only wish to remain so I can bring an end to him, to kill him.” You promise. “Either way, whether successful or not I will not exist here long.    
“No, I am not letting you near him again. If we must do this then let him be mine to kill.”
“He thinks me in here unarmed and broken to his will,” You open Yoongi’s jacket to find another stake that he must have stolen from Taehyung’s followers. “I will have a better chance. It would be better for you to ensure that his clan has not brought harm to anyone else.”
“And leave you here to face him? If he falls so do his own progenies, which includes most if not all of his keepers. There will be no point in my leaving to dispose of them, if your main goal is to defeat him.”
“If he sees you he will be instantly aware. When he is as strong as you say then even you won’t be able to defeat him without catching him off guard.”
“I am not leaving you alone with him even if you are armed, and that is final.” Yoongi takes his firm stance, while grabbing at the stake in your hand. “I will not lose you again...”      
You look down at the deceased on your floor, fearing the same fate for Yoongi should he remain here with you. Taehyung has proven time and time again that none can fool him for long, not Yoongi, not his clan members, even those who disobeyed him attempting to draw blood from you were cast aside... with Taehyung throwing himself between you and them.  “If you will not leave then... I need you to bite me.”
Yoongi follows your gaze in confusion, “What is it you are plotting your highness?”
“He will no doubt come running if he smells my spilt blood. He has before. If he thinks I am in danger from his own, I will be able to get close with his guard down.” You take the stake back from him while he considers your plan, gripping it in your fist behind your back. “All you have to do is play the threat.”
“Will you not wait for another alternative? My clan could be here in a day to deal with them.”
“He is hungry, and all too confident of victory.” You plead with your vampire. “If we wait-” 
“If we wait he will be more likely to catch on...” Yoongi growls confirming your thoughts, as he begrudgingly bends down to take the cloak of the defeated guard. Tying it around he pulls the hood over his head. “This is unbelievably reckless you know. I should just take you from here this instant.”
“But you won’t.” You reply with a sad smile reaching up to touch his cheek with your hand, and press a kiss to his lips. “You long for an end to this as much as I.”  
With his back to the door he takes you into his arms. When hunched over you Taehyung should not know who he is until it is too late. Yoongi places his mouth ready to sink into your neck. “Are you sure you want to be the one to-”
“I have to.” You cut him off before he can even try to change your mind again.
With a deep sigh his teeth pierce your skin, the blood starts to flood from the wound and Yoongi lets out a low pained groan as he resists the urge to feed. For the more blood that escapes and is left to the air, the sooner that Taehyung will come running to investigate your situation. After a minute passes, you start to feel light headed and grip your weapon tighter. 
“If he doesn't come soon I will have to put a stop to this.”
“He will come,” you gasp. “Just wait.” 
Right on cue there comes a shout from down the hall along with the thunder of footsteps. Your door crashes open to reveal the ferocious monster. 
Yoongi is thrown to the wall, and promptly disregarded in the moment by Taehyung, whose immediate attention is more occupied with you spilling out before him. “She is mine,” he seethes looking ravenous after not feeding on you for weeks. His hunger distracting him from the arm you have tucked behind your back. While pulling you closer to take a taste himself, you draw your own weapon, stabbing him through his heart with the stake. 
He looks down to injury with a sobering disbelief, his words heavy on his lips with a low chuckle as he forces out his final thoughts before his demise. “Well played princess... you had me thinking I was to be your hero again.”
“You were never my hero, only my assailant.” You shove the stake deeper into his chest. “And now my fatality.”
Taehyung gasps and delivers one last cruel smile. “A fitting end, though I can think of one better. Why part here, when you can join me in death.” He launches at your throat ready to strike and bleed you further, when his actions are cut short by another. 
With the stake pulled from the other vampire, Yoongi pierces him through the back, and takes hold from behind preventing Taehyung’s last threat. The vampire lord's eyes go wide showing a brief moment of fear before he finally succumbs to death. Pulling yourself from his clutches you take a deep breath and rejoice in the freedom, though the feeling doesn’t last long. 
Already dizzy from the loss of blood you are in no way prepared for the surge of memories that flood back. With Taehyung dead his physical hold on you diminished, but the pain of his manipulation, the trauma and loss he has inflicted on you hits as a wave, and pulls you under. 
Yoongi is there to heal the wound on your neck, he calls to you repeatedly though his voice along with your vision of him are clouded amongst your thoughts. Your heart pounds and head races as it continues to try and register the influx of everything you lost. 
There’s a soft touch to your temple, as a whisper from him finally makes it through. “Be strong my love, you can conquer this too.”
You can feel yourself being lifted as the room moves around you. Clinging to his coat you utter your wish to leave, unwilling to spend another moment in this castle. Fully slipping as he draws you in closer.
...
When the haze lifts you come to find yourself in another bed. Not one of the castle’s no, it seems Yoongi had observed that request, but the location is still worrisome for it is the same room you had shared with him in Seokjin’s house. You immediately sit up, panicking over your last memory of this place, and fearful of Yoongi’s clan’s intent. 
Your vampire sleeps on a chair beside you, though his head and chest are slumped over on the mattress and his hand encasing yours. Stirring the second your grip leaves his and you attempt to get from the bed. He grabs at your shoulder pushing you back down with ease, “What do you think you are doing? You are in no state to be running off.” 
“Yoongi... why are we here? If Seokjin-”
“This was the only safe place I could think to bring you. You have nothing to fear here now. Seokjin will not do anything, he knows he was in the wrong to suggest such compulsion, and Namjoon has promised retribution on your behalf if he continues such behaviour.” Yoongi briefly smirks at the thought of the pair, though his expression soon darkens as his hand brushes your hair from your face as you relax back into the bed. “I thought- I was worried I lost you back there.”
“I-I couldn’t control it, there was so much that I had lost and most of it difficult to bear again...” You grimace at the pain of it, prompting Yoongi to lean in to kiss your blow and pull a small smile from you again. “I should never have returned. I should have trusted you more, I’m so sorry for putting you in danger like that.”
“It was not your fault. You had every reason to doubt me given your past and what you knew. I can’t imagine what it was like, but...” He looks down avoiding your eyes as he rubs your hands, the words that follow are just as tentative and soft. “If you should- I don’t know if- if you need me to help you discard any memories I will do so. Doesn’t have to be now or ever, but if you ever need me to... don’t feel like you have to carry the weight of it alone.”   
You nod your eyes tearing up with gratitude for his offer. “Thank you, there will be some moments that I- that I will be glad to be rid of.” Yoongi’s warm smile comes with his arms to wrap around you in a tight hug. You wince as your muscles stain to return the affection, feeling as though they have seized from lack of use. “How long have I been under?” 
“The longest two nights of my existence.”
“Two nights?” You exclaim pulling out of the embrace in shock. “What has happened since?  Was anyone else hurt before I-I-”
“No one else, but the castle,” Yoongi sighs looking hesitant to tell you the rest. “The castle was set aflame in an act of defiance. It was sentenced to burn once the staff and resistance had cleared it of everything of value.”
“Good,” you whisper. 
“There is more... Seokjin has been keeping a close eye on the situation.” Yoongi discloses. “But, when word spread that you returned only to vanish again, many believed your appearance to be that of an imposter rather than their former princess. They thought you a tool of the mysterious lord attempting to gain power.”
“And their plans to create a new form of rule?” You ask, the focus of your question leading Yoongi to tilt his head in confusion.
“Going forward without much backlash, but-”
“Then they have every right to think so. I am very different from their lost princess.” You smile to Yoongi’s surprise. “I am a threat to them now, a threat to the future governance they plan to install. Any version of me might sow the seeds of discord in progress if I was to return. If this story of me being a deceiver will help them to rebuild, then let them think it. I will make no plans to return.”
Yoongi nods in understanding, though his expression still holds regret. “I am sorry I was not able to deliver you home as promised.”
“That place was not my home for so long, not since you-”
A loud knock comes from the front door of the small home, reaching you all the way in your upstairs room. Yoongi stiffens in the seat next to you as muffled voices are soon heard too. Your vampire stands going to the door where Seokjin appears a moment later with news. “It’s Lord Hoseok. He’s here, and he wants to see you.”
“Don’t you dare let him in.” Yoongi pushes back. “Not with her here, not now.” 
“I can’t exactly deny him entrance,” Seokjin scoffs. “This is his house-”
“Fine, then I will.” 
Seokjin puts a hand on Yoongi’s chest and prevents him from storming off into a confrontation. “You know you can’t stop him. If he wishes to see her he will, but right now I think his main concern is you. Do not anger him if there is no reason to. See what he wants then come to a judgement.”
The same loud knock you heard below then arrives at your bedroom door, breaking off the disagreement between the two vampires.The guest you know not to require permission, but it seems that he would rather enter on your terms rather than his own. 
“Yoongi?” You call to him, witnessing the dread in his face when he turns to look at you. “I should like to speak to him too.”
Yoongi’s reluctant hand turns the lever, letting his lord inside. Your own vampire stands between the two of you preventing you from getting a good look as the first words are exchanged.   
“My Lord.”
“Tell me it is so, that it is true. Is Taehyung- ” The vampire lord immediately launches into the heart of the matter. The weight of his tone sends shivers to even you. 
“Dead, my lord.” 
“Thank you Yoongi, I am in your debt.” The tension in his voice quickly falls away. 
“It was not I alone who defeated him sir. The credit also goes to the woman who you thought you would contain to your fortress.” Yoongi mutters with malice.
“I app-” His lord steps further in, allowing him to finally catch a glimpse of you. He pauses for a moment as he takes you in, his mouth hangs open and a single word falls in greeting, “Mansin?”
Though the word is foreign to you Yoongi reacts in an instant, returning to your side, he growls and his superior in defiance while positioned in your defence. “She is not-”
Lord Hoseok seems to catch himself and apologises. “A mistake Yoongi, an honest mistake, I see that she is bound to you. You must forgive me,” He whispers while giving a sad smile in penance. “Something in your expression reminded me of someone I once knew.” He politely touches upon his error, but leaves you with no reason for Yoongi’s reception. “I must give my thanks to you as well then, for you saved me the pain of having to kill my own creation.” 
Alarmed by the confession you try to stand but Yoongi’s hand once again comes down to your shoulder. “Then Taehyung was yours? You created that monster?!”
“It was not my intention to have him turn out in such a way.” The vampire lord growls at the censure, causing Yoongi to grow ridged next to you. “I found him as an innocent young man dying, whispering the name of the one he loved, the one he was bound to. I took pity on him, would you not have done the same?” Hoseok raises an eyebrow as he throws his choice back at you. 
You swallow and nod in response. “I suppose I would have.” The swift changes in mood of the vampire lord keep you on guard, intimidating in one moment and considerate in the next. It’s easy to see why Yoongi might be wary of him around you. 
“I chose to banish him from the clan when he killed his former mate, your ancestor, for I could no longer trust him. He sought revenge on both your family and mine, and it is my fault alone. I knew that Yoongi would prefer to keep you as far away as possible, but Taehyung would likely have tracked you down sooner or later. I wanted to make up for that by offering you a safe place at my fortress but I can see that it was misconstrued.” 
“Thankfully your assistance with my residence is no longer required.” You convey, hoping that he has abandoned the notion, since the threat is no longer stalking you.
“Yes... thankfully.” Lord Hoseok reiterates with a weak grin.
“If you are in our debt as you say then I would like to make a request of you.” You ask much to Yoongi’s surprise, resulting in his head snapping in your direction.
“A request?” Hoseok blinks, a grin twitching in his lips. He grabs the chair from the desk, turning it to face you before taking his seat. “What have you to ask of me?”
“My old kingdom, I want to ensure the health of the people. I ask that if your clan goes there to feed they use the tactics that Yoongi has been operating under.” Yoongi finally exhales and relaxes, as you explain your wish, a small smile crosses his lips with what looks to be pride.
“I understand your position, and would agree immediately if there were to be no recourse, but to put such limitations on my clan without any amendments or accommodations to offer in return... many would turn rogue.” Hoseok shakes his head. “No, if I ordered that, we might find ourselves in another situation like before.”
You consider what you have left to give with nothing left from your family to offer, you have only what you may have acquired through matrimonial bonds. “Tell me when a vampire dies, what happens to the ownership of their residences.”
“It will go to whomever they deemed a second who was not created by their own lineage. Yoongi was once my own. I don’t know if Taehyung- ”
“But if they had taken a wife who survived them?” You ask.
“They would be yours...” Yoongi mutters beside you in understanding.
You nod grimacing at the prospect of owning his land. “I want no part of them. But if they will help you to convince your clan to adjust their feedings and continue to help those of my former kingdom they are yours.” You offer to Hoseok. “Every fortress, waypoint and house that belonged to him will all be transferred to your own clan. ”
“Then I accept your terms,” Hoseok nods in agreement. “But where will you go?”
You look to Yoongi to give the answer. Caught off guard he pauses before responding with the simple direction of, “East, we plan to head east.”
  ...
...Two months later...
Yoongi stops the horse and dismounts beside an overgrown field, looking at the land with a deep contented sigh. “This is it.” He lights a lantern for you before treading into the long grass, in search of the foundation of his old home.
He was right, there is little left, but regardless of that fact you help him by clearing the roughage from any remains you can find. Pausing only when he does, while uncovering what seems to be a rotting wooden board laying on the ground. Upon further inspection you find it to shield a substantial cavern below with steps leading into the darkness. 
“If that’s the cellar... Then that must mean.” Yoongi mutters, before taking a few steps away, counting his paces as he goes. Hunching down over a higher patch of ground, he tears away the long weeds, until a stone hearth reveals itself. He takes the rotting wooden board, and breaks it apart into several pieces. Building them up before he sets them alight with the fire of the lantern. 
He lowers himself to sit in front of the burning wood and beckons for your hand, kissing you knuckles, raw from the cold wind of your journey as you take a seat next to him. Despite the lack of walls and roof, you are overwhelmed by Yoongi’s peace as he looks into the fire, feeling that same comfort and warmth within yourself. “I never thought I’d see this place again, but now, it feels right to return. Perhaps-” He meets your eye before expressing the rest of his tentative question. “Perhaps we could stay here for a while?”
“I would like that.” You answer with a nod, prompting him to beam back at you.
While Yoongi moves to lay on the grass relaxing in the light of the flame you pull out the new map you’ve been working on since the start of your journey east. The other still remains, not entirely forgotten, but of little use in this region. The fresh start on parchment comes as a much needed reprieve, the chance to begin again. 
“You are marking this place down for me?” Yoongi asks as you draw with your quill pen. 
“For us,” you correct him.
Looking down at the new point on the map now labelled with your description, he smiles at the sight of the single word you had written. “Have I fulfilled my duty to you then? Should we part ways here?” He jests pushing to rise up until you tug him back down by his long coat.
“You have,” Shaking your head at his joke, you explain your true feelings behind the word. “But if you leave, this place ceases to be so. It only exists as such when I am with you.”
“Then I must stay by your side, or risk breaking another promise?” He continues to tease you, with a twitch to the corner of his lip.
You can’t help but laugh at his attempt to conceal his eagerness. “So it would seem. How long do you think you can keep your vow?” 
“For eternity.” Yoongi whispers, leaning in to kiss you over the setting ink of, ‘Home.’
...
-The End-
...
847 notes · View notes
luverofralts · 2 years
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Arkhelios University
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“You made it.”
Roman watched the man he loved enter the lot, and tried to keep his excitement down at just the sight of him. They had promised Lucy that they would try to stay apart from each other whenever they could, but this meeting was unavoidable. It couldn’t be ignored.
“I’m here to sign the parental consent form for Theo to start swimming lessons,” Abe declared loudly, just in case Lucy just happened to be nearby. She claimed to be too busy to babysit the two of them, but that could have been a lie.
“Swimming lessons?” Roman repeated, looking confused. “No, we agreed on this. You’re here to fix my kitchen faucet. It’s very obviously broken.”
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“That sounds like the setup for a cheap porno film,” Abe laughed. “Besides, no one is going to believe that I know how to fix a sink. I don’t even own a wrench.”
Roman smiled, and descended the steps to grab Abe’s hand.
“I thought a cheap porno film was the mood we were going for,” he said with a grin. “You don’t need to take your pants off to sign a form after all.”
Abe couldn’t ignore that smile. It was the same one that had made his knees weak throughout middle school. A smile that Abe had never seen him give to Adrian, or anyone else. A smile just for Abe.
“I feel like you have a very flimsy grasp on what exactly plumbers do.”
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“Guilty,” Roman replied, wrapping his arms around Abe.
Abe leaned into the embrace, desperate to feel the connection between them hum with energy again. It was beginning to start already. A light tickle ran up his arms and exited through his fingertips. He could feel Roman’s arms twitch against him as he felt the same pulse go through him.
“We should probably take this inside,” Abe stated, looking around the property nervously. “The kids are gone?”
Roman nodded.
“Yeah, your mom has them. I told her I needed an afternoon to myself, which isn’t even a lie. We’re alone.”
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If Roman had placed cameras on the outside of his property, rather than focusing on the fenced in entrances, he might have discovered that he was not alone with Abe. An old nemesis lurked in the trees outside, waiting for both payback, and a large payoff. Alex had harassed Roman and Abe as teens, often teaming up with Kaeileen to unearth secrets that had made the boys’ lives miserable at school.
Now here they were years later, still sneaking around with each other, but this time, there was a much larger population interested in what Alex was selling. Roman was a fairly recent widower, and rumours were already circulating that he was about to be divorced conveniently before his husband died. No one could blame Roman for the deaths of Adrian and his parents, as their deaths had all been ruled as a supernatural accident that was still being investigated by the government. On top of that, Ulyssa’s staff had already sent cease and desist orders for Alex and her blog whenever she even hinted that Roman might be somewhat at fault for the tragedy.
You can’t tell me to take down a post with photographic proof that Roman’s not exactly stricken with grief. He can’t get away with keeping the fancy estate and large bank account while fooling around with Abe. Did he even love Adrian, or was this all a long con to swindle him out of money to spend with Abe?
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Being this close to Roman again felt right to Abe. Like the universe had finally begun to make sense. They’d been apart for several weeks, only seeing each other when it was time to shuffle Theo between households, but the separation had been good for them both. Roman had more control over his appearance, and Abe spent the time actually studying his textbooks. Even though he’d failed at least three semesters in his university career, he was finally about to graduate. He’d be graduating alongside his sister who had started university much later than he had, but Lucy’s life had been far less dramatic than Abe’s, so he tried not to let that fact bother him.
For all the good it did them to stay apart, Roman and Abe had been eagerly planning this reunion since the moment they promised to leave each other alone. The energy that pulled them closer together had been building over the weeks, and it only made sense to them that they should try to release it, despite their promise to Lucy. When they were together every day, Roman got massive headaches, but when they’d been apart for a while, their strange connection blazed through them like a wildfire. Pure uncontrollable, electric fire that was just as addicting as any drug. Obviously Abe was hoping that Lucy could help them end this mangled deal once and for all, but if she took a bit more time to do so, he wasn’t about to complain.
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Gotcha. Let’s see Ulyssa try to protect you from this, Bellamy.
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conarts · 3 years
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hi hello nice to meet u all cant wait to party soon!!!!! i’m sol (they/them, 21+, cst) and im a weekend fairy but i’ll thank u in advance for being patient with me :~) i have some info on garam below the cut but like tl;dr: this is her lol
like this post if you’re down to plot! im way faster on disc but ims are chill 22
song garam, 26, phenomenally subpar at most things, and only good at things that no one will believe she’s good at. welcome to the real world, garam. 
she honestly has the blandest most unexciting upbringing ever. only child with average parents that were neither too loving or too cold and they were also staunchly middle class w/ nothing to write home about... INSANE !!!! even the extended family was wonder bread plain 
(admittedly no one knows her well enough to know whether anything she says about her family or her past or whatever is actually true? but that’s kind of the way she rolls. she’s as unreliable as unreliable narrators get!)
anyway she’s been pretty whimsical and u...unique since she was young. probably all of that bad fanfiction she accidentally stumbled upon in her youth? but she definitely wanted to make a name for herself or like. carpe that diem and shed her boring ass life or something
so she left home abruptly about two years ago after going through all the motions (high school - average! uni - average!) to “find herself”
and “find herself” she did lmao 
tbh she doesn’t ever think things through. like she gets very swept up in things that seem “cool” or “fun” and just DECIDES she will do those cool and fun things. consequences? no thank you. hindsight? NOT EVEN 20/20. 
anyway she spends about a year and a half absolutely fighting for her life (not literally but figuratively) to keep her head afloat. and by this i mean she’s doing a lot of part time jobs but definitely spending more time on random mmorpgs conning people into buying her cool gear for her character etc (not intentionally) (she’s just naturally #charming haha) (ok sorry) than she should be 
some random endeavors she’s attempted and failed since leaving home: pickle business (TERRIBLE, 1/10, literally doesn’t even taste sour), feet pics sorry, et*y shop where you pay for handwritten roasts on nice stationary (actually a pretty popular idea but expenses seemed to outweigh profit)
part time jobs she was also pretty bad at: convenience store clerk (fell asleep, let the store get ransacked while asleep), advertisement mascot (gave all 300 of her advertisements to one person when she had to take a piss), tutor (“sorry i thought this was for english not for math. i don’t even know what a denominator is”)
"but sol is there anything she’s good at?”
great question, sol! garam is actually a talented writer, though she’s definitely never thought to put her talents to any sort of good use (at least not until recently). serendipity leads her to her new gig, which is actually ghost-writing for a popular horror novelist. the kicker is that her writing for this novelist is really only “good” because all of the real world examples of batshit crazy shit happening in her apartment building
so is there anything she’s good at?
no.
no, there isn’t.
wanted plots
one of 1983986489738972873 people that unintentionally got roped into a short-lived relationship with her that actually just ended up being her asking for money to start a stupid business and then ghosting (never intentionally but she is definitely still ghosting, objectively speaking)
banging on ur door at 3am because she came home late and her entire room’s been emptied b/c of whatever ghosts like to play pranks at 10pm. you’re like ‘can i help you’ and she is very honest about the fact that the ghost took the toilet paper too and she has ibs 
sorry she accidentally scammed you on m*plestory but can’t we let bygones be bygones why ARE YOU HOLDING SCISSORS TO HER FAKE DESIGNER PURSE
you actually know how to cook? that’s so cool! do you want to try her homemade pickled daikon? wait why do you look like you’re about to hurl? what was that? call an AMBULANCE? 
couldn’t help but notice you’re reading MIRRORBREAK by hit novelist [redacted]. not to brag but she wrote the best scene in that book- what? what do you mean you don’t believe her? 
classic fake dating plot where she’s like “no im not single! im dating [your name]!” except it’s not very romantic because she really just wanted the couple’s deal on movie theater popcorn AND nachos. you understand, right? it comes with nachos.
maybe someday i’ll come back to this and put together some serious plots too? maybe? someday? stay tuned.
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fixation-issues · 3 years
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Planned Encounter?
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Not entirely confident in this theory tbh, but I think Striker met I.M.P. with the intention of assassinating Stolas and meeting Blitz.
s1e05 revealed Striker was hired by Stella to assassinate Stolas. Therefore Striker already knew about Blitz & Stolas' relationship, plus the grimoire deal, before he and Blitz even interacted. It's also very likely that Striker ran a background check on everyone working at I.M.P.
- BACKGROUND CHECK.
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I'm assuming Striker ran a background check on I.M.P. for these reasons:
1.) Striker chose to work at Millie's family ranch. The former farmhand working at the ranch conveniently died the week before the Harvest Moon Festival, conveniently creating a job opening for Striker.
It's never explained how exactly the farmhand died, but it can be presumed Striker killed them. And Striker did tell Millie that he learned more about her through her parents too.
2.) He knew Blitz was "conning" Stolas. Millie's parents did NOT know Blitz before s1e05, and all Millie told Striker when they shook hands was that they're visiting because her boss is the prince's "boyfriend". Blitz didn’t really deny this either.
Yet the first thing Striker asked Blitz was, "So you conned that ditzy blue-blood into letting you onto the surface?" 
Which sounds a lot like he knows what Blitz & Stolas' real relationship is built off of. But Blitz got flustered explaining his relationship with Stolas, and nobody really noticed the implications imo.
3.) Striker knows Blitz's past (???) When Striker tossed Moxxie and Millie into the basement, he told them "I'd kill ya'll but I feel like there's more leverage with your rodeo clown of a boss if I don't."
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The insult (?) was oddly specific. Blitz’s circus past is repeatedly shown in the show. Although that’s all I’m basing this off tbh.
Anyways, Striker is a professional. It makes sense that he would research his target and who his target is with. But Stella said she wanted STOLAS dead, not Stolas and the imp he's sleeping with. Even in the phone call, Striker said he failed to kill the "target" (not plural), and Stella only yelled about Stolas.
By all means, there was only 1 character on the hit list. Striker didn't have to meet I.M.P. yet he deliberately got very involved with them in s1e05. He could have EASILY just introduced himself and left to do his own thing at the festival, considering that’s what Millie’s family did shortly after being introduced.
I think Striker had 2 objectives at the festival: killing Stolas (the target) and meeting Blitz (the imp who caused royal family drama).
- THE ORIGINAL PLAN.
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The gun case has a lock, but it was left open in a vacant, unlocked room. Angelic light could be seen filtering from under the door. This is also not the room where the assassination attempt takes place. And Striker appears right after Moxxie enters alone.
As if it was planned.
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So I always assumed Striker was going to kill Moxxie if Millie didn’t appear in time, but not anymore. I think he wanted to take Moxxie as hostage after knocking him unconscious. That's why Striker kept trying to suffocate him rather than hurt him more than that. Striker specifically targeted Moxxie because he thought Moxxie was the "weak link" in I.M.P.
But this plan failed. Millie heard the vase crash and intervened. She's also stronger than Moxxie (who forgot he had a gun), so Striker was more violent with her and he didn't seem that bothered about having to break her arm or accidentally throwing her onto a bear trap.
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So now Striker had two hostages. His only explanation for keeping them alive was, again: "I'd kill ya'll but I feel like there's more leverage with your rodeo clown of a boss if I don't."
Striker never says why he wanted M&M as "more leverage" against Blitz. He didn't go to Blitz right after capturing them. Instead he went to go assassinate Stolas. Also Striker didn't bother mentioning M&M when Blitz INTERRUPTED that assassination. So what was Striker going to use M&M as leverage for?
So personal opinion: Striker was surprised when Blitz interrupted the assassination, despite taking "precautions" beforehand. While I believe the pitch & partnership thing was inevitable, I think Striker was planning ask Blitz to join him after killing Stolas. He didn’t think Blitz would interrupt/find out about it.
So the original plan got pushed ahead of schedule. Same gist; pitch and partnership. But if Blitz denied this partnership, Striker was going to use Moxxie [and Millie] as leverage against him. Whether this would be leverage to make him join Striker's vendetta against the aristocracy, or to stay quiet about the whole incident... idk that's up to personal interpretation.
- PITCH & PARTNERSHIP.
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Striker's pitch targeted Blitz's insecurities. The pitch is too informative considering Striker and Blitz only knew each other for one day. Striker was either basing the pitch off past experiences, or from his research on I.M.P.. And not gonna lie, I think it can go either way since Striker and Blitz DID share a lot of similarities in s1e05.
Blitz admitted Striker made an extremely convincing offer because nothing Striker told him is necessarily wrong. Striker was just voicing most of Blitz's insecurities. And before this scene, throughout the whole episode, Striker came off as a really great guy to Blitz. Striker treated him with respect and saw him as an equal. So when this great guy (who Blitz liked enough to offer a job) ended up being Stolas' assassin, it got emotionally complicated.
Blitz didn't shoot Striker because he likes Striker. And Striker liked Blitz. I really don't think Striker was lying about these affections. Despite this, Striker wasn't entirely honest in this moment. He DID pry into Blitz's fears with a probably pre-planned speech (accidental or not). He made Blitz doubt his life choices so far. And this was all coming from one of the few people who showed Blitz respect and romantic interest.
There was also the fight scene. I made a post about it already so I'm just gonna quickly gloss over it: It seemed like Striker held back while fighting against Blitz, and he gave Blitz a chance to switch sides.
While Striker came off as cruel to certain characters, he was consistently nice to Blitz. Striker had leverage, but he wanted Blitz to switch sides willingly. He saw potential, and he outright said its embarrassing Blitz is passing the partnership for IMP (or Moxxie/Stolas idk). But despite Striker wanting Blitz to join him willingly, it doesn’t negate the fact that Striker took precautions in the event Blitz does deny the partnership.
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Blitz is crafty tho. He’s the type to say yes then flip that person off later. He obviously had doubts while hearing Striker’s pitch (considering he didn’t shoot Striker), but the partnership thing was bound to fail in this specific scenario. While Blitz was unaware about M&M, he did know Stolas’s life was on the line (tho i doubt he was in any mortal danger tbh). So basically whatever plan Striker originally had just sorta failed by the end of the episode.
But yeahhh that’s why I think Striker purposely planned to meet Blitz & crew eventually. Ofc these are just my own personal thoughts! Nothing I said is official and it's all just "what-ifs" and theory. I could be wrong lol. And totally cool if people disagree - I wanna clarify that;;;
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mndvx · 3 years
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please enlighten me as to how much this episode sucked 🤭 bc from what i'm reading, it was even worse than last week
Turns out we finally found which episode of Titans is the worst!! (So far, at least.)
I have a feeling that the finale will be the most absolute insane pile of dog shit this show has ever had. And it's had a lot lately!! They really baited us into thinking there was a slight chance of it being good with the first four episode. I'm so mad.
Last week was a filler episode. And it was bad. But they really outdid themselves with this one, it's... yeah it's the worst episode of Titans, so far.
The GCPD is incompetent, that we already knew. So it's not really surprising when Random Nameless Cop #4 ends up being easily bought by Jason/Crane after we saw him have a little feely chat with Barbs about someone he knew dying from the fear induced riots or whatever
but before that, Crane sends all of gotham a little fanvid he made in his garage using footage from episode 1, not in any way shot differently, it's just episode 1 intro fight against Gizmo Guys copy pasted with a few flashing random buzz words, like "thief" "con-man" or whatever and him narrating about how the titans are bad guys and the reason why gotham's water is poisoned and says he put a bounty of 500K on the titans dead or alive. We get a little montage of every main character seeing the vid. With Conner and Komand'r spooning together in the living room d'aww and Gar reading up on Lazarus Pits then having a little DCney Prince moment with the bats in the cave before Kory comes in to tell him about the video.
So with that, what does Dick do? First he tells Barbara he's gonna fix this(tm) then he goes back to the batcave (off screen) and i guess tells the rest of the team (off screen) to get into a parking lot or something?? where they get surrounded by dozens of people and like... Fight four of them before Dick tells them to come back??? Also, at some point during this Dick is like "Me staying here, it's a mistake I should be with you guys" and Kory tells him "No! You got a bounty on your head, it's safer" so why is Gar not staying in the cave with him, he's not invincible either!!
Meanwhile, Donna is taking a taxi to get back to Gotham, because I guess she can't teleport anymore, that must've been some of that Purgatory juice that sent her from Themyscira to that other Wayne Manor to save Bruce (who we hear NOTHING about. I mean good, we're not here for him, but she literally just stopped him from kiling himself in another country and now she's on the way to Gotham all alone... That's weird
Same thing about Tim, we saw him come back from the dead last week, but he's nonexistent in this episode. No one, not a single person all titans included, even speaks about him or even vaguely mentions him being shot or asks if he's okay or anything.
and then that random Lydia amazon shows up saying she's been following Donna "for 10 minutes" which is really weird, because Donna definitely was moving for longer than ten minutes, i mean she was IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, so how the fuck did you show up specifically on that road to Gotham just ten minutes ago, CAN YOU TELEPORT LYDIA??? I guess she can because then she slams Donna down and she wakes up in some random woods she calls "The Training Grounds" like it means something. blablabla this is the B Plot i guess? It's dumb, it's pointless. It's Lydia fighting Donna for way too long, some random shit about Lydia's daughter Angela dying and how she's sad or whatever who cares, then telling Donna she has to rise, she was born to lead people etc etc (can you tell how hard they're trying to make a spin off happen?) before Donna can finally go back to going to Gotham (no she doesn't get reunited with the team.)
Dick and Babs meet in a bar for some reason, random pointless and annoying reminiscing about their past before Dick tells her he's gonna turn himself in as Nightwing, pay bail then vanish from Gotham so the people can supposedly keep faith in the GCPD and not turn against them?? idk, if Nightwing vanished like that right after being caught by them, I wouldn't trust them to protect me but that's just me!
Jason and Crane have a weird and cringey chat (again. they had one before as he prepared his fanvid, talking about... Breakfast?? Jason was annoyed and didn't get the point of it, same) and he goes on this rant about how Jason needs to believe in himself and all that, makes him go "Red Hood!! Say it with me! Red Hood!" for like... what felt like at least a whole minute before he suits back up and goes back to being the murderous little shit he CHOSE to be, Molly calls him and asks him to stop he says no i have to </3 (you don't dumbass)
Dick tells everyone his plan, they all eventually agree because that's totally not gonna go wrong 🙄🙄 so they suit up and go to the GCPD to make a little show of their surrender. The cop that was bought out apparently has a lot of friends bc most of the cops present during the thing start acting up and one of them pushes Komand'r first (geoff johns, i'm in your walls with a knife) which is only so Conner can go "HEY BACK OFF 😠😠" before they then start attacking everyone. You already saw Kom gets shot, so yeah... That happens. Con stopped one bullet and stood there just 🖐🏻😠 while another was shot and hit Komand'r in the stomach or something, the most boring fight scene ensues (gar gets shirtless yay! sorry.) Barbara kills the cop who had his gun drawn on Dick and she's later on arrested by Vee for it, which... what the fuck??
so everyone left after the whole boring fight, separating and hiding. Kory and Kom go to a church where Kory decides to use her powers to try and heal the bullet wound that is KILLING her sister, and Komand'r somehow (unconsciously) absorbs all of Kory's powers, which makes Kory mad and go on a whole thing wondering if this was her plan all along, making Kory care for her so she could betray her or something. Komand'r says it's not the case and asks what will it cost for Kory to trust her etc. (honestly this whole episode is badly written, but 🥺🥺 Kory admitted she cared about Kom). then they have another argument, because Kory wants to return to the Titans and help them, but Komand'r tells her they should leave and go somewhere alone the two of them, and that Kory is a queen and was never meant to be fighting a war that's not hers and they then separate because Kory is not going anywhere. Komand'r then leaves, Kory asks where she's going and Kom tells her she's not "the only one with unfinished business" which... what? So yeah, now Komand'r has Kory's full set of powers and Kory is COMPLETELY depowered. 
And then we have a little montage of the city going to shit and full chaos, with Barbara being arrested for killing that other cop. Donna beats up a soldier who wouldn't let her come in Gotham. Because of course she comes back when everything's gone to shit, how convenient.
Gar is all alone in an empty warehouse type of place, after having been shot with a tranquilizer dart while the whole fight in the GCPD happened, (which was like half a day ago, idk how animal tranquilizer work but that must be strong stuff because he's still a little knocked out from it) he sees a raven that then turns into our beloved little Rachel!!! She tells him she found him because she felt his energy, and they have a quick recap chat where he tells her Jason and Crane turned the city into chaos she doesn't react in any particular way, so i guess she knows Jason is evil? whatever. the good thing about this scene is Rachel using her powers!! (and Ryan Potter's abs)
Then we see Dick and Conner on their own, with Conner insisting they need to go out there and help people but Dick being the dumbfuck he is tells Conner they can't, that they need to stay hidden and not be caught, so going back to Wayne Manor is also out of the question. But CONNER IS INVINCIBLE!!!!! FOR FUCK'S SAKE GRAYSON!!!!
And for our last scenes, Jason and Crane are in Wayne Manor. He makes Jason destroy a painting of Bruce and his parents because of course you have redecorate the place now that it's yours, Jason has quick flashbacks of his conversation with Bruce in Crime Alley in the shitty episode all about Jay and angrily stabs the painting like 20 times?? And Crane actually says "Welcome to Crane Manor", it wasn't just the synopsis being cringe!
ANYWAY. TERRIBLE FUCKING BAD EPISODE.
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wyndlerunner · 3 years
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Hot Take: Kaladin would be a good Bondsmith
I low-key (eh--maybe a little more high-key) think that Dalinar is going to lose the Duel in SA 5 and the backhalf of the series will be dealing with the sh*tshow that follows
But I feel like the ready access to Stormlight through the Stormfather Bondsmith is too convenient of a plot device to just let go completely, especially since that would prevent us from getting to see the later Radiants in equal measure
Given Kaladin’s penchant for gathering strays and forming connections between broken people in order to help them heal, he seems to have good Bondsmith qualifications
Pros of this theory:
Kaladin survives KoW
Kaladin survives in a way that allows him to keep living his life and be present with his parents and brother (as opposed to Ascending to become Honor)
Kaladin could be in a position to actually help darkeyes because he’d essentially be king of Urithiru
Cons of this theory:
I don’t think people can bond multiple Radiant spren, so either Syl would have to be killed or their bond would be broken some other way (apparently there’s a WoB that contradicts this, but it would still be weird for Kaladin to be bonded to both Syl and her father)
Kaladin might be a little hotheaded and stubborn for the position (but tbh, not any more than Dalinar)
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laufire · 3 years
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belajo wip
This WIP was born out of pettiness in large part, ngl. From multiple sources xD. First, the fact that fandom can turn even potentially interesting f/f crackships into convenient shipping borefest, and I wanted to write one and do it in a way I thought was actually satisfying. Then, how much Dean failed in his role as Romantic Hero/pseudo-noir detective when it came to Bela, and how Jo could clearly do better xDD. Probably other sources as well, I never run out of petty reasons.
The premise is that Bela, undercover during a job where she and Jo cross paths, ends up conning her, of course. Jo is MORTIFIED, and FURIOUS, and ASHAMED, and decides she’s going to find out everything about the woman who tricked her and get even somehow!! (and at least at first without help, because her mother CAN’T NEVER KNOW she let herself be fooled so easy smh).
Thus a cat-and-mouse, Batman-and-Catwoman, Sherlock Holmes-and-Irene Adler between the two begins lol. With the no small blessing of zero Dean-related misogyny directed towards Bela, thank goodness.
Jo might want to keep Ellen out of the loop, but I’d LOVE for Bela to meet her. Bela and mommy issues is something that can be so personal. I love having her interact with other characters’ mothers, with whatever excuse I can find.
Jo’s not an idiot, nor someone that would let a first impression completely blind her. By which I mean, she wouldn’t be fooled by Bela’s lies about her parents. RIP to Dean but she’s different.
Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story.
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galvanizedfriend · 4 years
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Fic: Speed Dating
KC Bingo 2020 by @klaroline-events
The prompt is: Losing a Bet
This is fluff inspired by an episode of House. I have no idea how successful this first endeavor into unknown territory was, but @itsnotacrimetoloveyou assured me it’s good and also confirmed that it is, indeed, fluff! Also, thank you for beta’ing this and for laughing at all the jokes! lol
I hope you guys enjoy it! :) Reblogs and comments are very much welcome!
______________________
There is something fundamentally wrong, Caroline thinks, in pitying the white, rich, genetically blessed art gallery owner she lives with. It feels like a waste of empathy. Klaus has the whole world at his feet. Wherever he goes, doors open, red carpets roll out, champagne bottles pop left and right. Which makes his brooding and scowling and antisocial behavior all the more inexplicable.
He isn't always like that, truth be told. When Caroline first moved in, Klaus was out and about all the time. Opening nights, exhibitions, soirées, premieres, parties - you name it. There were weeks when Caroline would barely see him. If he wasn’t at some event, then he was at the gallery, if not at the gallery, then locked up in his studio. As far as she knew, he was pretty much living the dream.
"He's never there," Rebekah said when she pitched the idea of rooming with her brother to Caroline. She used to share an apartment with Elena, but her friend had decided to take the next step with her dumbass of a boyfriend and since it was her name on the lease, Caroline was the one having to find a new place. Her money was short and so were her options. "Nik has this huge apartment all to himself and no one to really watch over it. All the plants I give him die within a week. He could use a roommate, honestly, and you'd be perfect."
"Is he looking for a roommate, though?"
"Not yet. He will be, when I tell him to."
"Rebekah -"
"Just come and see the place, ok? It's worth it."
It made no sense that a guy with his lifestyle and bank account would want to share an apartment with a complete stranger, and Caroline had the very strong feeling the idea never even so much as crossed his mind. Judging by the spirited spat she overheard between the two siblings while she waited outside, it was exactly the case. On her request, Rebekah went in first to talk to him; Caroline would only follow if he agreed to it. She didn't want to see the apartment of someone who wasn't looking for a roommate. She was about to sneak out through the stairs and pretend she'd never been there when Rebekah wrapped a hand around her arm and pulled her into the apartment. Before she could even manifest her exasperation, her snake of a friend walked out and locked the door behind her, leaving the two of them there to stare at one another in complete astonishment.
"I think we've been set up," she said, affecting an awkward smile.
"Rebekah has never learned the meaning boundaries, I'm afraid," he said, not nearly as fiery as he'd sounded a moment before while arguing with his sister.
"Look, this was not my idea, ok? I was just looking for a place, and Rebekah said — You know what, doesn't matter. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
Klaus looked at her — really looked at her — assessing her with such sharpness it stole the wind off her chest. Mikaelsons... they're an intense bunch.
"Since you're here," he said after a moment. "Can I offer you a drink for your trouble?"
He opened a bottle of wine that cost more than Caroline's previous rent and gestured for her to make herself comfortable on the giant leather couch in his living room. He wanted to know what she did for a living, how she knew his sister, why she was on the market for an apartment, what kind of place she had in mind, what her routine was like. It was all obvious questions you'd expect from a prospective roommate, but it never felt as though she was being interviewed. Conversation simply flowed, such an easy back-and-forth she didn't realize what was happening until it was hours later and Rebekah was back with a few shopping bags in her hands and a triumphant smile on her face.
"So, when do you move in?" she asked.
"Whenever she sees fit," Klaus replied, albeit glaring at his sister.
"Wait– what?" Caroline blinked, eyes cutting from one sibling to the other. "What do you mean?"
"A spoiled brat though my sister may be, she does have a point. This apartment could use another soul. If you feel so inclined, you can bring your things whenever it is convenient. The guest bedroom is furnished, but I can put it all in storage if you'd rather have your own set. There's also plenty of room for your personal things in the common areas, you can make it more to your liking. All I ask is that you don't replace the art on the walls. I rather fancy them."
Caroline's mouth moved wordlessly for a long time. "You... I thought you didn't want a roommate."
He shrugged nonchalantly, pouring himself another glass of wine. "I'm known to be rather volatile."
"But I can't — I mean, we didn't even discuss rent and expenses. I'm a med student, I can't afford this place."
"Nonsense. It's mine." Caroline drew the breath in for a righteous protest, and he added, "We can share the bills, if you insist."
And, well. It's not how Caroline likes to do business, way too sudden, with none of the meticulous in-depth analysis she usually applies to absolutely everything, from buying dish sets to choosing a new hairstyle. Moving in with someone she didn’t know at all seemed like way too big a deal for her to simply skip those vital steps. She didn't even compile her pros and cons list. But…
The neighborhood was fantastic, the type where she'd never afford to live in as a student, it was so conveniently close to school, and Elena was pestering the hell out of her to move out so Damon could move in. She'd been to four apartments already: two were incredibly dirty — which told her everything she needed to know about the people living there; another had a single bathroom shared between four people, and the last had a creepy guy across the hall. The floor to ceiling windows alone in Klaus' living room would've sold her the place, and paying next to nothing? It was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The conversation with him had been rather nice, if she was honest, and he was Rebekah's brother, so if anything went crazy, she knew exactly who to call.
For the first so many months, the Klaus-is-never-home story was very true. After a while he started inviting her to tag along to some of his events, which she did in a few occasions, especially after he learned she could not say no to puppy eyes. "These people will bore me to death, love, please, save me." Klaus can be such a dramatic baby. The parties were great and the vernissages fancy as hell, but she didn't complain. Going out with him was fun. They got along well, the booze was always A level and Klaus enjoyed taking his time to explain stuff to her. Living with him, she got to learn more about artistic movements than in all her life before. It's more interesting than she ever gave it credit. Or Klaus made it seem so, anyway. The accent kind of goes a long way.
What Caroline came to learn about him after a few months, however, was that not everything was rainbows and unicorns for Klaus as it seemed at first glance. Nothing threw him off quite like his family. He only ever spoke about Rebekah, the only sibling who lived closed by and stopped for visits, even more so than usual after Caroline moved in. She did overhear him on the phone with Elijah a few times, too. The other three, though, Freya, Finn and Kol, Caroline only knew about through Rebekah.
"Nik doesn't get along with our siblings," Rebekah told her when she asked why he never spoke of the rest of the family. "I don't blame him. I don't know what mother nature was thinking when it gathered us all under the same genetic code, we're far too screwed up to be all in the same Thanksgiving dinner."
That was an understatement, in Caroline's opinion. Whenever Klaus went back to England to visit his parents and the rest of his siblings —- something he avoided like the plague but was apparently forced to do — he came back sullen and with a temper from hell. His sour moods could last for weeks. He'd stay locked up in his bedroom or at the studio for days on end, making Caroline slightly guilty for thinking she was the thing keeping him from circulating around his own place.
"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped at her once when she suggested she could move out if he'd changed his mind. "If you move out, I will hunt you down and drag you back here."
It was perhaps slightly too aggressive an answer to be sweet, but Caroline gathers that was Klaus' way of saying he didn't want her to go.
She stayed and learned how to navigate the storms caused by his occasional family reunions. Let him do his thing, don't ask about his parents, offer him food from time to time. They make do. But it still bothers her to no end. Like right now.
It's been a month since he came back from London, more upset than necessarily angry, and he has barely set foot out of the apartment. He stays in his sweatpants and ink-stained Marc Jacobs shirts all day, wavering between having too much coffee and too much whiskey. He hasn't even been painting, which points to an all-time low.
When she walks out of her room all dressed up, putting on her earrings, he's sitting in front of the television, flipping through channels nonstop. His eyes are so unfocused she doubts he even knows what he's doing, his finger just pressing the button mindlessly.
Caroline checks her wristwatch and sighs. Bonnie is gonna be furious if she's late, but Klaus sitting on his ass like that is a waste of a perfectly fine eligible bachelor.
"What are you doing tonight?" she asks.
"Watching a movie," he says flatly after a moment, the information that he'd been spoken to taking a second to register in his brain.
"You mean porn."
He turns his face to her, eyebrows lazily arched. "If you want specifics. I'd ask you to join me, but people are already talking."
She gives him a look and then bends forward, fixing the straps of her high-heeled sandals. "Don't you get tired?"
"Who gets tired of porn?"
"Of watching porn?" He just shrugs. "Men," she puffs out with an eye roll. "Come out with me tonight. I'm going speed dating."
"That's so very boomer of you. It reeks of despair."
"It's old school, so what?" she counters, checking herself out on the antique floor length mirror. She turns to one side, then the other, tosses her hair back. "Is this cleavage too slutty? I don't want to look too slutty."
"What are you aiming for? Moderately promiscuous?"
She turns to him. "I want to say hot but with class, not I have nicknames for my boobs."
He snorts. "You look stunning, sweetheart," he says, his eyes lingering perhaps a bit too long on her décolletage.
"Thanks," she says, crossing her arms in front of her chest, suddenly self-conscious. "Back to the subject."
He sighs, turning back to the television. "Haven't they invented an app for that?"
"I'm tired of apps. It's cold, photos are almost never consistent with the truth and when you ask for a real-time one, all you get is dick pics."
"I hate to disappoint, but you're fooling yourself if you think men won't lie to your face, too."
"You can't blame me for wanting to stay hopeful that men aren't all as cynical as you. I'd have to give up sex forever if I thought that."
Klaus' lips quirk into a lopsided grin. "Well, I wish you good luck on your endeavor."
"I think you need to meet somebody, too," she insists. "You're turning into a couch potato, Klaus."
"I refute that."
"When was the last time you had a date?"
"I don't do dates."
Caroline rolls her eyes again. She has never seen him with the same girl twice, and very few have actually made it to his apartment. Mostly, he's the one who spends the night, not the other way around. He laughed at her face when she tried to tell him he didn't have to worry about bringing friends over on her account. "That's sweet, love, but I don't bring people over unless I have no other option."
"Why not?"
"Because when they know where I live it's harder to get rid of them. Besides, it's such a bore when they decide not to leave in the morning. Women can be rather spiteful."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You are so full of crap. Typical. Sweet-talk women into sleeping with you and then call them crazy when they expect a minimum of respect in return."
"I respect them fine; I just don't want to have breakfast."
"Because that is such a commitment."
"It's far more than I'm willing to commit, yes."
"We have breakfast all the time. What, am I special?"
He simply smiled, the annoying dimples he uses to lure women into bed cutting into his cheeks.
"Fine," she says, stomping her foot. "Your last one-night stand?"
"Should I be flattered you're keeping such close tabs on my life?"
"See? You're becoming this insufferable creature that I can barely tolerate that answers everything with sarcasm. Soon enough, I'm gonna have to move out and I don't want to because I like this apartment."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Come out with me. This way you get to meet twenty somebodies at once."
"Is that why you're going?"
"Last two dates I had were exclusive two hours of complete disaster I will never get back. At least this way I speed up the process of elimination."
"Over five-minute conversations," he derides.
"Five minutes is more than enough time. If they can't impress me or at the very least make me intrigued, then they're definitely not worth a second date."
"You make it sound oh-so-alluring. Like a meat market."
"Klaus," she says, slowly, planting herself between him and the random Discovery Channel show on the TV. "It's dozens of women literally just waiting to be hit on. Your odds at a happy ending are much better than if stay home and watch porn."
He regards for a beat and then sighs in defeat. "How can I say no when you make me out to be a wanker if I refute your argument?"
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 "You brought a date?!" Bonnie cries out with indignation when Caroline arrives at the bar with Klaus on tow.
She considered giving her friend a heads up that he'd be tagging along, but she knows what Bonnie would say. She has been saying it for a while, any opportunity she gets. Just make a move already, Caroline! Fuck the guy's brains out and get over it or stop talking about Klaus all the goddamn time.
The fact she's brought him out to meet other people should probably tell Bonnie that she does not want to bang her roommate. Not that she wouldn't, because Klaus is obviously, you know... Alluring. Annoying, sure, prone to mood swings, but also witty and smart and refined and incredibly attentive when it comes to her, not to mention the whole exterior package thing. But they live together, she's friends with his sister, and it would be a totally stupid idea to ruin it with casual sex. Caroline sweeps the whole tension under the rug and keeps Klaus firmly on the realm of healthy, platonic friendship. But Bonnie would've found a way to claim otherwise if she'd said he was coming.
"He's not a date," she counters. "He's a dater."
Bonnie gives Klaus a pointed look. "Blink once if you were coerced into being here."
Klaus makes an effort of blinking, and Caroline gapes in protest. "I did not coerce you. Our couch has a permanent imprint of Klaus' ass. He needed to dive back into the pool. I'm just being helpful."
"I'm here for the drinks, mostly," he offers.
"Well, you just ruined these poor men's lives," Bonnie says, bobbing her head towards the line of guys standing around them, waiting for the thing to start.
She hadn't really noticed, but they're all staring at them. Not at her, or at Bonnie, but at Klaus, with looks that go from mildly concerned to openly hostile.
"Tough luck," she says with a light shrug. "Look on the bright side. They're gonna be forced to bring out their A game."
"Ahh," Bonnie says, smiling at last. "I see your plan now. That’s actually smart."
"What the bloody hell are you two babbling about?" Klaus asks.
Caroline cocks him a disbelieved eyebrow. "Seriously? You can't tell?"
"Look around, Klaus," Bonnie says. "All the girls are checking you out."
"Not uncommon," he replies matter-of-factly.
"And the guys are shooting daggers at you," Caroline adds.
He purses his lips. "Also not uncommon."
"Exactly. This is competition."
"It's not a beauty pageant, love."
"Life is a beauty pageant," she retorts solemnly.
"Let's put it this way," Bonnie cuts in. "Little girls who kiss frogs expect them to turn into you."
Klaus puffs out a laugh. "Why, thank you, Bonnie, for the rather flattering image. But I don't think I'm that good looking."
"Now you're just playing dumb, which is not sexy, by the way."
He turns to Caroline, cocking his eyebrows in doubt. "Yes, you are, Klaus." A sly smirk breaks onto his lips, and she realizes he'd just set her up into singing his praise. Before he can follow up with a snarky and probably inappropriate remark, she slaps his arm lightly. "Oh, shut up."
"I bet you'll walk out of here with everyone's phone numbers," Bonnie says.
"Except for ours, of course," Caroline adds.
"Why not yours?" he asks, somewhat offended.
"You already have my number."
"Not in this context."
"Yes, because I already know you and all the nasty little bits of your personality. These women, on the other hand, don't."
"So you're attributing every relationship I've ever had to my looks?"
"I thought you didn't do relationships."
"Not normally."
"Well, not the whole relationship," she muses. "Just the beginning."
"The rest are the dimples," Bonnie remarks with a serious nod.
Klaus shakes his head despondently. "And here I was thinking women aren't as vain as men."
Caroline turns to him, putting her hand out. "Wanna bet? You can't tell anyone you're a trust fund kid who runs an art gallery. You're unemployed. Don't pay attention to everything they say, pretend to be distracted. And lose the accent. One hundred bucks says you walk out of here with at least… Twenty names. And I'm being conservative."
Klaus narrows his eyes at her. "You brought me out here to get laid and now you want me to jeopardize my chances?"
"On the contraire. I'm saying you can make yourself out to be as interested as you really are, and still get laid."
He finally takes her hand on a firm shake. "You're on."
A gong rings and they all turn to see a woman with a bright smile beckoning them all to approach. "Ladies and gentlemen," she starts. "The fun is about to start. Ladies, please, take your seats. There's a table for each of you. When I strike this gong, each man should sit at the first table they've been assigned to. When I strike it again, date's over, move on to the next."
"Wish me good luck, then," Klaus tells her as they turn around to order a drink from the bar before moving to their respective spots.
"You won't need it, buddy."
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 "Hello, sweetheart," Klaus says pleasantly as he slides into the seat across from her.
Caroline lets out a weary exhale. "Hi, number..." she reads the tag on his chest. "26. What do you prefer, a weekend on the mountains or long walks on the beach?"
"Mountain, easy. Too much sand on the beach, it gets in all sorts of awkward places."
Caroline snorts into her martini. "That's actually the best answer I've had to this question so far. Or to any question, really." She raises her glass on a toast. "How's it going?"
He purses his lips. "I've had to answer that question unironically more than once, so I'd say not stellar."
"I'm sorry," she says around a chuckle.
"You don't look sorry."
"Because I'm not, really. It would be unfair for me to suffer alone. Seen anyone you like, at least?"
The smile on his face turns mysterious. "There's one so far."
"Just one?"
"It's hard to speed date when you're pretending to be slow, uninteresting and American, to be honest."
"You could just tell them the truth. That you were dragged here by a friend who took pity on you sitting around, watching porn all day. That would sure scare some of them away. Although some would probably ask what kind of porn."
"What about you?"
"I don't want to know what kind of porn you watch."
He rolls her eyes at her. "I mean, how's your night going?"
"Oh, you know," she shrugs with a lot less enthusiasm than she'd expected to have by this point in the evening. "A couple of contenders, I guess."
"Oh?"
"Still early."
"Forgive me for pointing it out, but you don't seem particularly excited."
She puffs out in frustration. "Every time I tell them I'm a Med student, they ask what kind of doctor I want to be, and when I say oncologist, they start listing every member of their family who's ever died of cancer. What am I supposed to say after a guy tells me his mother died of breast cancer? I'm sorry, would you like to talk about it?" Caroline glares when he erupts into laughter. "Not funny."
"I'm sorry, it's just that sounds like an awfully interesting conversation."
"Why is dating so hard? Am I too picky? Is it wanting a meet-cute too much? To wake up one day and ta-dam, the guy is there, right in front of me."
Something about Klaus' eyes soften just then. "If only it were that easy," he says, an almost wistful tone to his voice that gives Caroline pause.
Before she can dwell on it further, however, the gong sounds and it's time to move on.
"Here I go, then," he says in his American accent.
When her next prospect sits down, she's laughing at Klaus greeting the woman on the next table with a Hey, babe.
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 "Here's to making the 1% 100 dollars poorer," Caroline says, raising her shot in the air before knocking it back.
"Cheers, I suppose," Klaus says dully, sipping from his bourbon.
"Oh, come on!" She bumps her shoulder against his as they sit side by side by the bar. "Don't look so gloomy. That's literally a pile of women in front of you," she says, nodding her head towards the cards sitting on the counter. "How many again?"
"Twenty nine," he grumbles.
"Twenty nine out of 40! That's more phone numbers than most guys will get in a year. Be proud."
"Of my deep cobalt eyes or my sultry lips? Yes, I heard both tonight."
Now it's Caroline's turn to explode into laughter while he just shakes his head helplessly.
"You don't have to be ashamed of your genetics, Klaus," she says. "It's not your fault some women are awkward flirters."
"Tell that to my stepfather." His tone visibly changes as he mentions Mikael, the dark clouds coming back to hover above his head.
Before it can get any worse, Caroline prods on. "So. How many of them are you going to call?"
"None."
"None?!" she gapes. "That's at least a month of guaranteed sex. A month where you won't have to watch porn, you can actually perform porn."
"Alright, you're making me sound like a deranged pervert," he objects. "I do not watch that much porn. That was one time and it is not my fault you lack proper etiquette when walking into someone else's bedroom."
Caroline chuckles. She did walk in without knocking, but, in her defense, it was 3 o'clock. What kind of person watches porn in the middle of the afternoon? She was blushing furiously for weeks before she decided to start teasing him instead as a way to diffuse the guilt. Luckily, he hadn't actually been doing... Anything. Although she did notice the suspicious volume in his pants. It was... Interesting.
"It's nice to make fun of you, though," she says. "That was the closest to a blush I've ever seen on your face."
"Whatever makes you happy, love."
"Seriously, though. Why are you not calling any of them?"
"These women think I'm one step away from being a caveman. It says more about them than it says about me that they're willing to give me their phone numbers."
She scoffs. "Don't be such a snob. They came here to get laid, too. You can't tell me you didn't like any of them."
"Well, there was one. But she didn't slip me her phone number."
Caroline' eyebrows crinkle together. "Really? That's kinda hard to believe."
"I guess your theory was flawed, after all."
"But it has been proved nonetheless. Which reminds me..." She lifts a hand, asking for another round. "I'm gonna drink all your money."
"My whole life has been a lie," Klaus says contemplatively. "I thought I had an enthralling personality, an interesting aura, that my wittiness made me charming, and now I find out I'm nothing but a pretty face."
"To be honest, you're also an endless pit of money." Klaus gives her a side eye, knocking back his drink. Caroline scrunches up her face in mock-pity. "Oh, boo-hoo. It's so hard to be handsome. Why are you so upset about that?"
"It's different when that is all you are. I've been deluding myself."
"Who said that's all you are?" Klaus turns to her with a pointed look. "No, that's not what I said. I said women would want to date you after five minutes because you're pretty, not that pretty is all you are." When he sighs, asking for another drink, still obviously unconvinced, she continues. "Look. My first real boyfriend was a total douchebag. He came across as funny and charming and thoughtful, but it was an act. He saw something he wanted and he knew he had to act a certain way to get it, because even at 17, I liked to think I had standards, even though I clearly didn't."
"Are you saying I'm also manipulative?"
"I'm saying, figuring out who people really are takes time. It takes twice as long if they're trying to impress you. You can take from this that all your relationships have been superficial and physical only, or you can believe that people came for the appeal and stayed for the content."
"Except no one has stayed. My temper seems to have a rather short expiration date, it drives people away. Just ask my brother." He punctuates his sentence with a wan smile, and Caroline understands, at last, that this is all somehow related to his family again.
She suddenly finds herself desperately at loss for what to say. Rebekah would offer something outrageous and mildly offensive that would still hit the nail on the head. Caroline just wanted him to have some fun, but instead she ended up pushing him right back to his bad place.
She considers apologizing, saying it was just teasing and she never really meant it, but what she winds up saying, however, is, "I'm still here, aren't I?"
Klaus looks up at her, a mix of surprise and something else she can't identify flickering through his eyes.
"Is that how you rationalize your relationships?" he asks.
She huffs out a little laugh. "I don't think that highly of myself. I'm a tall, long-legged blonde. That ticks some boxes, but it hardly makes me irresistible."
"I beg to differ, love. You're an exquisite beauty."
Caroline laughs a little, thinking he's obviously saying that just to be nice, but then she catches the look in his eyes, that intensity that always seems to rattle something deep inside of her. There's not a hint of condescension about him.
"I... Well..." she stammers, her cheeks burning hot. "Thank you."
"But that's not all you are. You're also strong, fierce, full of light. Anyone who fails to see what's underneath your stunning exterior is a fool." Caroline freezes under his stare, something almost reverent in the way he says it, a spark lighting up his face for maybe the first time in a month. It sends Caroline's pulse racing. She's suddenly very much aware of how close they are, the air around them simmering with energy, releasing a fresh batch of butterflies in her stomach. The room is a dozen degrees hotter than a second before, and Caroline doesn't know what to do, what not to do, thinks maybe she's had enough to drink already because her sense of reason is getting all fuzzy.
And then Klaus says, "I heard that on PornTube," and the tension eases off of her as the two of them crack up laughing together.
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carriagelamp · 4 years
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Book Review - Summer Summary 2020
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I didn’t get around to doing an individual post for the books I read in June/July/August, so I decided to choose a dozen that I read over the summer... I’d separate the wheat from the chaff for you so to speak. Though like you’re about to find out, that doesn’t necessarily mean they were all good by any means...
Crave
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My girlfriend got this for me to “tide me over until Midnight Sun”. Between you and me, I think she was taking the piss. Anyway, Crave is very... standard fare paranormal YA school romance with the added flare of being written by an adult erotica writer, meaning the rhythm and tone of this novel is fucking bonkers. If you want to read the novel without reading the novel, just take Twilight and the entire Vampire Academy series, shove them in a blend, and force down the sludge you get from that. Normal Average Girl Goes To Secret School In Alaska For Vampire, Werewolves and Dragons. That’s this book. It is so big and so so so bad. I finished it out of spite, please don’t do that to yourself. Unless you are really craving (hurr hurr) some top tier trashy paranormal romance, in which case... no judgment.
The Last Firehawk
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The Last Firehawk is a Scholastic “Branches” series, written for beginning readers (grade 1-3ish, depending on the child’s reading level). It has short stories, big text, and awesome pictures on every page. Guys. I unironically am adoring this series. It’s simple and is introducing children to a number of classic elements in the fantasy quest genre, but it is so charming. Friends Tag and Skyla discover a firehawk egg, and species that is supposed to have disappeared long ago. When Blaze hatches from it, the three are tasked with going out and finding the magical ember stone which was hidden long ago by the firehawks and which could be used to defeat the evil vulture Thorn and his dark magic... I read the first two books to second graders who ate it up and read the next four books because I personally wanted to continue the series. If you have young readers in your life (or just want a fun kid adventure) then please try these they’re the literary equivalent of nibbling on a chocolate chip cookie.
Lupin III: World’s Most Wanted #3
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All the kind people that still follow my tumblr and haven’t tried to murder me because of my Lupin obsession are not going to be surprised by this one. I finally read one of the manga for this series and honestly I’m delighted. Somehow even hornier than the show, but hilariously funny. I felt like I was reading a more adult version of Spy Vs Spy. It’s a bunch of short, individual bits/adventures with lots of visual gags and an artstyle that is really different and delightful.
River of Teeth / Taste of Marrow (American Hippo series)
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I’ve talked about River of Teeth before, but I finally finished the American Hippo duology and need to sing its praise. This is an alternate history series composed of two novellas that explore the question What would have happened if the States had decided to import hippos as livestock...? Anyways, my pitch for you: queer hippo cowboys. That’s all it took for me to read it. You have a gay gunslinger who loves his hippo to death, a nonbinary explosives-expert / poisoner who is the main love interest, a fat con artist who spoils her hippo and is the only voice of reason in this entire series, and a latina mother-to-be who is the scariest assassin in the entire series and is obviously scheming. The four of them are brought together on a job to deal with the Mississippi’s feral hippo problem.
IT’S A QUEER HIPPO COWBOY HEIST NOVEL GUYS I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M STILL TALKING AND YOU HAVEN’T JUST GONE TO READ THIS YET.
Petals to the Metal (The Adventure Zone series)
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The graphic novel adaptation to the McElroy family’s DND podcast The Adventure Zone. Most of you are probably aware of this? It’s a great adaptation, it hits all the important beats, shows off the characters really well, and still gets lots of good gags in even while condensing entire arcs into single book stories. This one is probably my favourite so far just because Petals to the Metal was one of my favourite arcs in the show... but you can also see how the art has improved and the chaos of the race is fun to see drawn out.
If you like The Adventure Zone but haven’t tried the graphic novels yet -- would recommend! If you’ve always wanted to listen to The Adventure Zone but don’t have time for such a long series or struggle to focus on podcasts then pick up the first book of this series (Here There Be Gerblins) and try reading it! It really is an enjoyable adaptation.
Pony to the Rescue (Pony Pals series)
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I continued my April/May theme of reading old-school chapter book series to combat Covid Brain Fry, so I picked up a few Pony Pals books. I read these as a kid and always enjoy them -- there’s just something so appealing to a child about having a horse. It gives your child characters a level of independence and ability to explore that you wouldn’t get otherwise. These books definitely read young, but they were nostalgic to revisit.
Small Spaces
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A really cool middle grade horror novel I picked up. Maybe it’s because I live around a lot of corn fields, but farm/scarecrow themed horror absolutely does it for me. One evening, after seeing a woman try to destroy a strange, old book, eleven year old Ollie doesn’t stop to think, instead stealing the book and running. That’s how she becomes wrapped up in the strange, sinister story of a cursed family and creature called the Smiling Man that seems to live out in the foggy fields. While unsettling, Ollie tries to remind herself that it’s just a story... but this becomes more challenging when her school bus breaks down one day out their own set of fields, and a fog is rolling in...
“Avoid large spaces. Stick to small.”
Snot Girl #1 - #2
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A Canadian graphic novel series by the creator of the Scott Pilgrim series! I love his work so I decided to give Snotgirl a try, even though it’s not generally my genre. I’m glad I did! First book took a while for me to get into, but by the time I hit the second I was really wrapped up in the mystery and character development. Snotgirl is about Lottie, a self-consumed fashion blogger whose biggest struggles are dealing with her allergies, frustration with her fellow-blogger friends, and how entirely her self-esteem is tied to her “beauty” and how people view her. But everything shifts in strange and horrifying ways when Lottie starts taking a new allergy medication, meets a new friend... and then witnesses that girl’s death. Or does she?
Seriously, or does she? I have no idea, I need to read the third book. This book is full of intrigue, complicated relationships, murder (or not?), and a healthy dose of magical realism to keep you guessing. If you like slice-of-life, crime, and abstract reality then this series is world a try. Plus the art is gorgeous.
Summer Wars #1 - #2
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I recently rewatched Summer Wars (still one of my favourite movies) and decided to read the two-book manga adaptation. It was a really neat little adaptation. The creator of the movie gave the writer free range to tweak things to fit better in a manga format, which means some movie elements were allowed to fade into the background, whereas other aspects were fulled into the forefront and fleshed out to a greater degree. It was very cool, it kept the same story but gave you new things to think about which I wasn’t expecting. Reading this as a stand alone works just fine, but honestly if you’ve never watched the movie Summer Wars you should give it a try! It’s a great mix of slice-of-life, sprawling family dynamics that I relate to a little too well, cyber adventures, and fantasy. Super feel good.
This One Summer
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Okay, last graphic novel, I swear. This One Summer was... weird and intense. It’s a coming-of-age Canadian graphic novel that follows a pair of pre-teens who meet up like they do every year at their family’s summer cottages. You see them both in the awkward phases between childhood and growing up to become teenagers, as they’re confronted with things like maturity, friendship, self-esteem, family problems, and sexuality. A beautiful read, but probably the heaviest out of all the books on my list.
Wild Thornberrys Novelization
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I rewatched The Wild Thornberrys movie with my girlfriend earlier this year, and decided I wanted to hunt down the chapter book novelization because I’m kind of a sucker for novelizations. Honestly, this was about what you would expect from the era. 90s/00s novelizations, especially young novelizations, are generally just a transcript of the movie without much thought or effort put into them to make them anything but. That’s what this was. It was fine, and it really let me revisualize the entire movie, but honestly you’re probably better off just rewatching the movie unless you also really deeply love The Wild Thornberrys.
The Willoughbys
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I saw that Netflix had done a funky looking adaptation of The Willoughbys and I decided I needed to read the book first before watching the movie. This was a little bizarre, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Over all, I think it was a net-positive experience. It’s an obvious satire on classic children’s novels, especially the likes of Mary Poppins (real Mary Poppins, not the Disney version) and while a little heavy-handed, it does a Series of Unfortunate Events vibe that redeems it. The story is about a group of horrible children (The Ruthless Willoughbys) who decide they are sick of their parents and would rather become Worth Orphans... and to do that, they’re going to have to dispose of their inconvenient parents, obviously. Conveniently their parents are also sick of having children and decide to do away with them as well. The Willoughbys sets up three (or four?) different subplots that are gradually woven together through a series of schemes and exploits. It’s definitely more ruthless (hurr hurr) than the Netflix version, which tried to make the children more sympathetic, and in some ways I think that’s a definite point in the novel’s favour. I’m not sure I would go out of my way to recommend it, but it was a fun romp if you want something short and off the wall (and a lot more fleshed out than the Netflix version).
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jooniyah · 4 years
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Fool’s Diamonds
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Pairing: Park Jimin x Fem Reader
AU: Thief!Au
Genre: Angst
Warnings: Illness, angsty mentions of poverty, diamond mines, drunk character, character death, vague mentions of non con, suggested human trade, robbery, implied smut, general theme of mistrust and deception.
Word count: 6.39 K
Disclaimer:  This is a work of fiction and I do not condone any of the actions of the characters in this fiction. This is to be treated as pure fantasy, and should not be misconstrued to be demeaning the idols in any way. If any of the above warnings cause you discomfort, kindly refrain from reading.
Author’s note:  This fiction is set in a time when cell phones and social media didn’t exist. Nationalities are purely for fictional purposes, I bear no ill-will towards any nationality, nor am I xenophobic.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
The air was dry and felt like parched paper. You fancied you could break it into pieces just by extending your hand out. A bead of sweat rolled inside your shirt, running down your midriff. Gosh, it was so very hot. Why was it that July felt like Earth was having a fun time roasting all the terrestrial life on a barbecue? A strong cigar smell curled around you, worsening the situation, making you want to retch.
“I’m outta here, Billie,” you shouted, leaving the money on the table. The wet circles left by the beer mugs hadn’t even dried. “Money’s on the table.”
The tattooed girl nodded at you, hollering a hearty “Sure, darlin’. See ya around.”
The heat was reflecting off the road in waves. It wasn’t like you had chosen to stay there. With a drunkard for a father and a ruined mother, you had to stay back and make sure your father didn’t set the house on fire in one of his rages. You spat down, wiping the corner of your mouth. Father. You didn’t even know what real fathers did.
Wait, of course, you did. Real fathers worked to bring bread to the table. They raised their children and tried to get their babies to live better lives. They didn’t collapse by the sewer and roll around in their own puke. It was a challenge every night to find which gutter he had passed out in.
Your mother had worked her ass off to get clothes on your back. Forget college. You had starved on days when your father stole your mom’s daily wages to go and get his brains saturated with alcohol. Did you ever think of killing him? No. Well, maybe. Okay, a lot of times.
But the old woman was strangely attached to him. She went out and dragged him home if you said you couldn’t be bothered to go find him.
“Tis your dad, girl,” she would pant, dragging the wasted scoundrel by his shoulders. “You got only him to call dad, like it or not.”
You would huff and storm out of the room, not interested in getting lectured at. Well, there wasn’t a lot of rooms in your house. There was just a living room, a kitchen, and a bedroom. Your drunk dad would usually snore in the living room. Your mother would join you in the bedroom, where she would lie on an old ratty mattress. It grossed you out to lie on it, just imagine the times it would have seen your parents’ body fluids. Ew. You would lie on a pallet, trying to suppress the anger brewing in your heart.
Every other girl in the town had left, either to college or in search of better jobs. Some had married, just to escape the clutches of the banal town, which was tainted with general unease and distrust. No one was ever able to breathe freely. It was like the whole town was constantly on edge, waiting for something bad to happen.
And when you reached home, the bitter aftertaste of the beer still on your tongue, the cruel hand of fate had struck already.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
“Momma?”
You raced over to her side, trying to get her to breathe. Her lips were a deep blue, the eyes were rolling back into her head.
“Y/N.”
Her breathing was strained as if every draw of her breath peeled a little piece of life away from her.
“Momma?” You repeated dumbly, tears spilling down your cheeks. “Don’t go, please,” the saliva pooling in your mouth made you slur.
“Y/N,” she rasped, struggling to look at you. “Get—”
A spasm made her wince, and you watched helplessly, waiting for her to resume.
“Get outta this…” she swallowed, willing herself to finish her sentence. “… this town. Get out.”
Her eyes scoured the place, trying to see her husband’s form in the bright afternoon light. There he was, fast asleep, not minding in the least about his family or the fact that his wife was looking for him before her last breath.
“I’ll wake him up,” you said, trying to get up.
“No,” her voice was soft. “I been done waiting for him to wake up.”
“Momma,” you whined, voice laden with sorrow.
She shook her head, flashing a watery smile at you. “My baby,” her cold fingers clasped yours. “Get outta this place. Live your life, girl.”
You turned to stare in disgust at the man stretched in the doorway. “But him…”
She cut your words, whispering hoarsely. “No use, girl. He’s good as dead. You gotta go.”
Her beady eyes searched your face, relaxing when you nodded and sobbed.
“I love you, baby.”
Her chest stopped heaving.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
You were wiping hot angry tears off your cheeks, thinking what a waste your father was. He hadn’t even stirred when you shook him awake, screaming at him.
“Momma’s dead!” you had cried, hitting his chest as if it would get his brain hum-started. “You weren’t even sober, you fucking loser!”
When your mother had been around, you had kept a lid on swearing. But the dam broke, unleashing a torrent of suppressed anger spilling out of your heart in waves.
He had grinned dumbly, saying in a slurred voice:
“One less mouth to feed, then.”
You hadn’t meant to, but your fist came into contact with his nose, followed by a sickening crunch.
“You loser,” you shouted, going crazy at the thought of a world without your mother.
He shrugged, lying down on his side, supporting his head with his hand.
“My girl be takin’ care of me, I ain’t got nothin’ to worry about.”
You jumped to your feet, fingers trembling in rage. Your mother had lived and died, trying to support the scoundrel lying before you. But it wasn’t your cross to bear anymore. Your mother had been right, he was of no fucking use. He would simply leech off you and get drunk till his last breath. No, that wasn’t what your mother had wanted. You had to get out of the damned place.
But how? No money. No jewels. Nothing you could pawn off. Your father had already done that and drunk away all the little precious things your mother had ever owned. There was nothing to support you out in the wild, wild world.
You had a job at the local convenience store, but it didn’t pay much. It was your first job since finishing school. You had taken it instead of leaving the town, just to support your poor mother. There wasn’t much respite, but it did provide you bread when your father ran away with your mom’s wages.
You hadn’t saved a lot. But you needed leave the cursed town before it trapped you for life. Your mother had lived and gone to dust, working solely to keep you from dying of starvation. It was time to leave. To begin a new chapter elsewhere, where drunkards didn’t puke all over your foyer.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
“Billie,” you called, moving closer to her. “You got any jobs here?”
The girl pursed her mouth, shaking her head.
“Sorry, girlie. Ain’t got no jobs right now.”
You nodded in understanding. Fair enough. It was a rotten place, with not a lot of opportunities. It was a wonder that Billie kept running the pub after her old man died. It was evident that she wanted to leave the place. But like you, she had been tied to the town because of her sick father.
You were curious why she still hadn’t closed shop and left town for good.
“Billie, didn’t you ever think of leaving this place?”
She lifted a finger to be excused for a moment. She moved to pour out beer for a tall man who was standing at the counter. She pocketed the change, shouting “Enjoy your beer” at his retreating back.
When she returned, she wiped her hand on her apron, thrusting her tongue out carelessly.
“Well, I sure did, but this place ain’t got no other pub. And the money’s good the last couple o’weeks.”
You leaned in, interested.
“Anyone struck diamonds? Give me the juice, girl.”
She laughed, wiping the beer spills on the counter, nodding as she did so.
“Aye, there’s a couple guys who struck it rich. They’re comin’ and leavin’ big fat tips.”
She patted her pocket to emphasize her point. Billie was obviously in need of the money to keep the place running. You grinned, interested to hear more.
“Tell me about them.”
She handed out another mug of beer and pulled a stool to sit near you.
“There’s this guy from Russia, he been scouring for stones since last August. He bought a trench from old Mr. Hadley and started diggin’ two weeks ago. Big diamonds, you see,” she opened her thumb and index winger to show you the size, “Big ones. He been buyin’ drinks for everyone in the mine to celebrate it.”
You whistled. The only thriving business in the town was mining. People came from all parts of the world to try their luck at finding the crystallized carbon rocks. Most of them returned broke, some fell sick from the dusty haze and polluted air. Some even died in vain, succumbing to the hot burning sun.
“And the other one?”
She giggled, letting you in on her little secret. “He asked if I wanna go to Ireland.”
“He’s asking you to marry him?” It wasn’t a surprise. A lot of girls in your town had gone and married potential miners just to escape.
She shook her head, grinning. “We were foolin’ around and he thought I was serious.”
Well, poor man. Billie wasn’t the type to settle down without roaming the Earth to her heart’s content. She was simply chiseled from another rock. She didn’t like being caged.
“Talk of the devil,” she whispered, wiping the counter furiously. “There’s Mr. Russia.”
You turned and eyed the big guy entering the pub, his eyes lighting up when he saw Billie. The people in the pub cheered when he entered, and he raised a big palm to accept the claps, smiling widely.
He strode towards the counter, catching sight of you.
“And who’s this lovely lady?” he asked, smirking in your direction.
“Y/N,” Billie replied, handing him his lager. “She works in the convenience store by the old railroad.”
“Pleasure,” he said, extending his big hand to you. When you shook it, the callousness reminded you of sandpaper.
“You haven’t left town yet?” he asked, sipping his lager casually. “I mean, I thought Billie was the only lass in town.”
You smiled. The curiosity was well-earned. “I’ll leave soon enough,” you replied, keeping the obvious eagerness from spilling into your tone.
“Y/N’s momma died, so she got nothing to stay back for anymore,” Billie said, looking at you with sympathetic eyes. She had been in the same position, and she understood.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, his thick accent bubbling out of his chest.
“It’s okay.” You looked at the time. “Ah, I gotta run, Billie. See ya.” Turning to the man, you dipped your head with a soft “Nice to meet you.”
He nodded chastely, watching your back as you scurried back to work.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
“Y/N!” the man hollered, “customer for you!”
You were at the back, checking the expiration dates and noting which ones to take back home. It was common in your town for salespeople to take items that were a day or two beyond the expiration dates. You stopped what you were doing and rose up to look over the aisle.
It was the Russian man. His face registered recognition, and he raised his hand to wave a small Hi to you.
“Yes,” you said, walking up to him. “How can I help you?”
He told you he was looking for some souvenirs to buy for his daughter back home. You led him to the small section that had girls’ trinkets and stuff like hair slides.
“These are all we have. You could try Miasie’s too. She might have some more accessories.”
He nodded, carding through the fake jewelry items. He whistled in a low voice.
“They look like real diamonds,” he said, pointing to a bracelet studded with stones.
“Zirconia,” you replied, taking the bracelet out of the plastic cover. You had to admit, it really looked authentic. It was a running joke in your town that the fake jewelry outshone the diamonds mined there.
“Maisie has a lot of Zirconia jewels, these are made by locals,” you said, running your finger through the stones. “
People who fared badly at the diamond mining expeditions returned home with Zirconia jewels to save face, to try and convince their people that they had in fact dug a few diamonds out. Hence the market for fake diamonds boomed, and a lot of locals thrived on it.
“I’d rather buy this, at the hands of the beautiful maiden holding it,” he said.
Was he hitting on you?
You nodded crisply, asking if he wanted anything else. He hesitated, looking around. “Is it- is it fine if I ask you out?”
There it was. Gosh. It was an endless game of cat and mouse in that town. For hundreds of young miners, there were only a handful of young girls, so the competition was crazy.
“I guess,” you said, hoping he would just get you a beer and call it a day.
“So, I’ll come and get you at…” he licked his lips. “…where do you live?”
You thought about it, thinking if you should just tell him to come to the store after all. But you got off work at 4, and you didn’t want him to see you carrying expired food back home. You wrote him the address, telling him to reach your home at 6.
He smiled and left, promising to call on you later that evening.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
“You gotta be kidding me,” you hissed when you returned home to see your father conversing with the Russian like old buddies.
The men snapped their heads to follow the sound of your voice, and there you were, holding an armful of stuff from the store.
“Y/N,” the Russian said, getting up to help you carry the items inside.
“Alexei! What are you doing here?” The time certainly wasn’t 6 pm. What the hell was he doing, cozying up to your father?
Your father grinned his sickly fishy smile. “Y/N, don’t raise your voice…”
“Shut the fuck up,” you said, cutting him off. You hated when the loser lectured you. “I wasn’t talking to you.” All the foodstuff in your arms dropped down with loud thuds.
Alexei stooped to pick up the small cartons. “Y/N, let’s not shout,” he was saying, when you swatted his arm away.
“You don’t tell me what I should do, not at my own house.”
He raised his palm in a gesture of peace.
“Why are you here? I told you to come at 6. It’s only 4.30.”
He looked over at your father, catching his lip between his teeth.
“Well, I was free and thought I’d pay you a visit…”
“When I was away at work?” you questioned.
Your father cut in harshly. “I sold you to him.”
His voice was blank, devoid of any emotion. The shocked silence prevailed undisturbed for a good five minutes before you found your voice.
“You what?”
Charging forward, you went flying towards the old man, when Alexei caught hold of your hips, holding you in place.
“It’s not what you think, Y/N,” the big man said, heaving in exertion as you squirmed and cursed out loud.
“Get your hands off me! Get your hands off me!”
He let go, but clasped your wrist instead.
“I just asked if I could take you with me to Russia. He said he didn’t have anyone to support him if you left, so…”
“So? So, you offered money to take me away? Who do you think you are?” Your voice was rising to dangerous limits. “Am I an object you can just buy? Fuck you.”
Your father was sober for like the first time in months, and then he went and sold you off to make money to drink even more?
“And you!” Pointing your finger at the old man, you screeched in anger. “You fucking sold your daughter to get drunk even more? Why didn’t you die instead of mom?”
“Enough, Y/N,” he shouted, getting up and smacking his dry lips. “You be goin’ with the Russian. It’s the least you can do for yer’ old man.”
“Are you listening to yourself?” You screamed, voice breaking and throat going dry from all the screeching.
“Now, now, Y/N, take a breath.” Alexei came nearer, whispering in your ear. “You want to escape this place; I offer you a pass. Why do you resist?”
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Billie widened her eyes in shock.
“Y/N! Are ya fuckin’ outta your mind?”
You shook your head, aware of Alexei watching you from across the pub.
“Far from it.”
She leaned down and lowered her voice.
“Girl, ya know what ya gettin’ yerself into?”
“Yeah, I know. Billie, he’s gonna take me outta this wretched town!”
“At the cost of what, Y/N? He’s married, he’ll probably sell you to another guy or worse he’d put you in a brothel.”
“I know.” You sipped the beer and swallowed the liquid before adding:
“I will be careful, Billie. He got strength, but I got brains.”
She scoffed. “Seems more like them brains evaporated in the heat, based on what nonsense yer talkin’, girl.”
You were touched by her concern. Being the only two girls in the neighborhood, it went without saying that she was like a sister to you. And if the most spirited daredevil of the town was worried about you, there really was a grim storm brewing for you.
“Listen, Billie. I’ll be sharp. I won’t get kicked into a brothel. You know me, girl.”
She considered your determined face, before giving up. “Well, if ya say that ya’ll be alright, it gon’ be alright I guess.” She looked over at Alexei. “When ya leavin’?”
“This afternoon. There’s a train to the capital. A ship’s leaving for his country on Thursday.”
“So, the three days until that…”
“He says we’ll stay and look around the capital until the ship sails.”
She curled her lips at you. “You got balls, girl.”
You grinned, smiling at her as you downed the rest of the beer. Both of you knew that you were never going to see each other again.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
“Want to go to bed?” the man asked, pulling you snug against his side profile.
“Alexei.” Your tone was curt. “Don’t touch me unless I say it’s okay to.”
Bitch. Well, he would break you in soon. He’d have you begging on all fours. Just wait till he got on that ship with you. There was no way he was going to wait longer than that.
“Apologies, I will see you tomorrow then.”
He withdrew to his own hotel room. You had arrived at the capital at 11 am. It was Tuesday. Three more days to go before you sailed to Russia with him. You had demanded a separate room. He had tried to reason with you, but you just wouldn’t hear of it.
Alexei saw you slam the door shut, standing on the verandah. He lit his cigar. Soon, he said to himself. Soon he’d have his dick inside that uptight ass of yours.
Your father had been surprisingly easy to bend. He had just said that he had struck diamonds when the old man folded like a napkin. He had honestly meant to gossip until you returned, but he quickly saw a delicious opportunity right before his eyes.
He had innocently talked about how it would be difficult for the old man if you left town, and soon enough, he had wrapped him around his little finger. He just gave him one of the smallest diamonds, the most unclear of them all, but the man danced like it was Christmas already.
“Take her, yes, by all means,” he had said, rolling the stone around in his palm. “The lass don’t have much savings, it would be damn difficult for me to get ‘er a man. Better you take ‘er. I’m happy.”
Alexei had been quite taken aback. The man really was willing to give up his daughter for a low-quality diamond. But hey, he had no qualms. He was getting the best looking girl he had laid eyes on, and soon enough he would trade you for money, or better yet, another girl.
He blew out the smoke, slowly imagining how your naked body would feel under him. Those pert tits, he could almost see them in his mind. He would make you take back every sharp word you had said to him since the day he bought you. He looked down, exhaling the smoke again. He would have to take care of the tent in his pants by himself. Until Thursday.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
“Jimin-ah,” the girl drawled, draping herself against his warm, shirtless torso. “Stay a bit longer.”
He raked his slim fingers through his mussed hair, clicking his tongue.
“I’m sorry, baby, but I have to go.”
She pouted at him, sticking out her lower lip. “When will you be back?”
He scooped her up, kissing the top of her head.
“Soon. Really soon, baby.”
He slipped his shirt on, shaking his hair free and arranging it again.
“Don’t stay up too long, I’ll be back tomorrow.” He kissed her knuckles, reluctantly letting her hand go.
“I love you, Jimin-ah,” she whined, gazing forlornly at his back.
He grimaced unbeknownst to her. He didn’t love her. And he most certainly wasn’t going to see her again. He rapidly exited the dingy hotel, not caring in the least that the poor woman would wait for him to return. Gosh, the extents a guy had to go to, to get a nice fuck these days.
Jimin didn’t really go to sex workers. It wasn’t his style. No, he was the playboy. He liked the thrill of seducing a woman, making her a gooey mess, making her tremble in anticipation of his touch. He was skilled at those games. But once the initial thrill was over, he didn’t have much to do with the girl. The longest he had been with a girl after sex was 3 days. He shuddered. What a whiny bitch she had been. Ugh.
He was strolling through the streets, scoping out potential targets. He was already hungry. He had to pick a few pockets soon if he wanted to sleep with a full tummy. The street was bustling with people. He eyed each person as he slowly danced through the crowd.
Park Jimin was a slippery thief. He had the agility of a panther stalking its prey. For anyone who looked at him, he would seem like an innocent baby-faced man in his early twenties. The air of childish charm made it very easy for him to fool people. He had to do nothing but stare wistfully at the street from the window of the coffee shop, and boom! He would have a kind-hearted unwitting girl wanting to buy him coffee. So easy.
His hand slipped into the loop of your handbag, and before he knew, you had clasped his wrist tight. Alexei went on walking before you, apparently not seeing the man digging his hand into your handbag. You didn’t say anything, walking on sedately behind Alexei, not budging an inch as Jimin whispered cuss words and tried to wiggle his wrist free.
When Alexei was beyond earshot, you hissed at Jimin angrily.
“What the fuck were you doing?”
He tagged along, unable to believe that he had been caught so easily. The cat burglar, caught in plain daylight by a woman? Was he losing his touch?
Alexei was still walking ahead, inhaling the aroma of fresh roasted coffee beans wafting throughout the pavement. You came to a halt, narrowing your eyes at the gorgeous man who was squirming under your grip.
“I- I was hungry,” He had decided to turn his charm tap on. Maybe you were one of those gullible women who would melt. “I’m sorry, I had no choice.” He hung his head in shame. “I lost my job, there’s no money for food…” His tears flowed easily. A corner of his mind wondered if he should take up acting. He could give those Broadway actors a run for their money.
You let his hand go, watching Alexei’s back warily. Digging into your purse, you pulled out an old currency note. It wasn’t much, but it was all that you had.
“Take this. Get something to eat.”
He accepted it silently. “Thank you, ma’am.” His hunger made him fold. Jimin knew that you could have called the big man to box his ears, and he admired your nerve.
His eyes scanned your persona, and his inner thief sang when he saw the chain and bracelet you were wearing. You were wearing what was worth his entire month’s fun.
“I’d like to repay you. I will return the money as soon as I can.” He watched you, simultaneously keeping an eye on the big man who had stopped to examine something in a roadside shop.
“Don’t worry about it,” you said, touched by the man’s sincerity.
“No, I insist. I’d have become a thief if it weren’t for you.” He smiled inside at the soft expression blooming on your face. Damn, girls were so naïve.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Alexei was knocking on your door impatiently.
‘Y/N? Let me in!”
You feigned a yawn and opened the door just a little bit.
“What is it?”
He tried to pry the door open, but your resistance was surprisingly strong. “It’s Wednesday, remember the carnival I told you about? Come on now.”
You put on the best sick face you could, rasping slowly, “I feel so tired, Alexei. My head hurts. You go on. I’ll come with you in the afternoon.”
He tsked, annoyed at having to leave you behind. But he wasn’t foolish enough to leave you unguarded. He had slipped two enormous wads of cash into the bellboy’s hand as soon as you had arrived at the hotel. The bellboy and the man guarding the door would never let you set foot outside the door. You were as good as trapped.
“Well, okay then. I’ll come to fetch you for lunch.”
When you closed the door behind you, an audible sigh emanated from under the bed. Jimin climbed back into the bed, his naked upper body shining in the morning light. He was only wearing his boxers, and his toned thighs were deliciously on display as he wiggled his toes at you.
“Come on, Y/N,” he purred, voice heavy with lust. “I can’t have enough of you.”
You smiled at him, climbing into his lap like a kitten. His fingers carded through your hair as you watched the gentle rise and fall of his chest. He drew soft patterns on your skin, murmuring affectionate words and sighing happily.
His eyes were on the chain and bracelet you had carelessly left on the bedside table. It was making his palms itch. He had listened to you all night, patting your back gently as you told him all about the dilemma your father had put you in. Part of his brain had been focused on you, but the other had been drooling at the chain glinting on your chest.
“It’s okay baby,” he had cooed, “We’ll get you out of the guy’s clutches.”
You had made passionate love; it had been your first time ever. But that hadn’t stopped you from enjoying it. Billie the encyclopedia had given you lots of inside information, so much that you knew a lot more than playboy Jimin even did. Jimin had no idea he was fucking a virgin, so good was your theoretical knowledge.
“Jiminie,” you said, grazing your nail against his chest.
“Yeah, baby?”
“The ship leaves tomorrow. How can we escape before that?”
“I wish I had money to get you tickets for another ship, baby. But you know I’m penniless.” He held his breath, waiting to see if you would say the words he longed to hear.
“I don’t either, Jiminie.” Well, obviously. Think harder, airhead. “But maybe you can sell the diamonds and get enough money.” There you go, pea brain.
He licked his lips, waiting for you to reach for the jewels on the table. Wow, he was going to live a goddamn rich life. But his face scrunched up when you reached inside your bag instead.
“Baby, whatcha doing?”
You looked up at him innocently, extracting a little tied-up handkerchief from your bag. “Getting you the diamonds.”
His confusion dissolved when he saw you untie the kerchief, revealing a big pebble-sized diamond and a handful of smaller button-sized diamonds. Oh, he’d be damned.
You picked the big one, handing it to him. “Can you try and sell it? It’s of the best quality.”
He licked his dry mouth to life. “So many- so many diamonds?”
You laughed. “Alexei has a lot more. He gave me these to make me agree to go with him to Russia.” Alexei had no idea that you had stolen from his bag, but Jimin didn’t need to know that.
Jimin turned the diamond over in his palm. Fuck, it was the biggest he had ever seen. His mind was working on overdrive.
“Why not give all of them to me, baby? I’ll sell them all and bring the money.”
Like hell you would. You shook your head.
“No, it’s easier to sell one and get going. We can sell the rest as the need arises.”
Tight bitch.
He had to think of a way to purloin the rest of the lot later. For now, he would go with your plans.
“Sounds like a good plan, baby. I’ll get going then.”
You watched him dress himself up in a rush. He was so beautiful, naked or otherwise. So damn beautiful.
Jimin saw your eyes drift to the table. He cursed under his breath. The chain and bracelet would have to wait.
◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Naturally, Jimin knew the best places to go to. He was a thief, and he was buddies with a lot of pawnbrokers.
“Heya there, Jimin!” the man called, smiling his crooked smile at his favorite customer. Jimin brought a lot of stuff to his shop, and he was glad to do business with the innocent cherub.
“Brought a diamond today, Han,” Jimin said, looking around the cold, dark room. No other person was around. Jimin loved the cold ambiance of pawnshops. The metallic smell of old silver and brass made him feel at peace. There were so many interesting things on display. He felt like a child taken to Disney Land.
“Let’s take a look,” Han said, extending his palm.
Jimin looked around at the stuff Han had recently acquired, whistling softly while the man appraised the diamond.
Han looked up from his loupe, eyes wide. “How ever did you get such a good stone, Jimin? This one is easily worth thousands!”
Jimin’s heart lifted. He had been worried that you might have sent him on a wild goose chase. He had doubted if it really was a diamond at first, because you were ready to part with it freely. He smiled at Han.
“A chick I know had it.”
Han winked. “Got rid of her yet?”
Flashing him a conspiratorial smile, Jimin drawled, “Will do soon.”
He turned to Han on his way out. “I’ll bring you some more, hold on to your breath.”
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Jimin was on his way back to your hotel. He had stopped to buy a ticket to Bermuda. He was going to sail away happily. The only thing was, he needed to rob the rest of your diamonds before the end of the day. He would stay up after you slept, and sneak off with them.
He had so much money in his hands, and his robber instinct told him to flee already. But then, those button sized diamonds beckoned, appealing to his greedy heart. Some more money wouldn’t hurt. There had been at least 10 diamonds in there. Not to mention your jewelry. Greed made his feet walk automatically back to you.
When you opened the door, you were dressed up. It was evening already, nightfall was approaching. Maybe you had gone to the carnival after lunch with that Alexei guy. Jimin didn’t really care where you went as long as the diamonds were safe.
“Hey,” you whispered, letting him slip into your room. “Did you sell it?”
He grinned and dangled the thick wads of cash before your eyes. “Uh-huh. See? We’re gonna run away together, baby.”
You clapped your hands in delight, taking the wads from his hands. You counted carefully, looking up at him with a startled “15 thousand?”
Jimin had taken five thousand for himself, but he wasn’t going to tell you. He simply nodded.
You were surprised. Wow. You had thought that the diamond required more polishing. You had only expected a few thousands. But this was so good.
“Jiminie, you were right, will you hold on to these diamonds too?”
You thrust the diamonds bundled in the kerchief into his hand. “I don’t want Alexei to find out at the last minute.”
He had to put so much effort to stop himself from laughing out loud. This was going so deliciously well.
“Sure, give it, I’ll keep it safe.”
He tucked the bundle neatly into his pocket, innocence painted all over his face.
“Hmm…” you embraced him, sighing in contentment. You were going to escape Alexei. The thought made you giddy with happiness. You tied the wads of cash into a scarf, securing it under your pillow.
Jimin watched you, fascinated. Ooh. He could run away with the diamonds and the cash. Midnight would be the best time. It wouldn’t hurt to fuck you a couple times to while the time away.
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“Y/N?”
Jimin had watched you go into the bathroom. But you hadn’t come back yet. Maybe it was the right time to run.
He dug his hand under the pillow, groping blindly to feel the cash. It wasn’t there. Fuck.
He turned to see the light still streaming from under the bathroom door. He had to decide if it was worth the risk to try again. His hand roamed on the bedside table. Thank goodness, the jewels were there. He grinned to himself. Awesome. He had to make a run for it.
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When Alexei opened the door in the morning, there was no sign of you. He stormed into the bathroom, calling out your name. No answer.
He ran down furiously, looking for the bellboy.
“Where is Y/N?” he shouted, bunching up the boy’s collar in rage.
“I don’t know, sir,” the boy said, surprised and caught unawares.
“You little cocksucker,” Alexei screamed, shaking the boy until his joints rattled. “You just cost me my bitch!”
The bellboy remembered the crisp notes you had slipped him at midnight. It was more than Alexei had paid him to keep you inside. You had been the highest bidder, so it was only fair that he let you go.
“I honestly don’t know,” he said, allowing Alexei to box his ears. “I never saw her come down.”
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You were on a cruise ship to Bermuda. It left at 9 am, and you had found the ticket luckily in Jimin’s pocket at midnight. The guy had to learn how to safeguard his stuff. You stifled a giggle. Poor bastard. He was probably shocked when you never returned from the bathroom. You snorted, and an elderly man looked at you in surprise.
At last, you were free. Life was so exciting; you had a whole new chapter waiting to be written. It was going to be a ride, and you were determined to enjoy it thoroughly. You remembered Billie. She would have loved to go with you.
Retiring to your cabin, you picked out a paper and started writing a letter. Detailing your adventures, you finished with the lines:
‘You were right, Billie. I would never have survived out here if it weren’t for brains. I fled and made sure Jimin would be responsible for the stolen diamond and not me. My hands are clean.’
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Alexei found out that a big diamond was missing from his rucksack, and he stormed off to get in touch with the police. They assured him that they would look into all the diamonds pawned over the last couple of days.
He thought you were too naïve to embark on a journey alone. You were probably hiding out in a motel, waiting till the hue and cry died down. He was sure that the investigations into the pawnshops would lead him to you.
Han was sweating profusely when Jimin returned.
“Whatever’s the matter, man?” Jimin asked, raising his eyebrows at the guy.
“Police are sweeping all the pawnshops in the district for that diamond of yours. My cousin runs a shop too, and he just dropped by to share the news.”
Jimin tensed. It would be a tight stretch to pawn the rest of the diamonds to Han. The man was in enough trouble already.
“Okay, I’ll come back after a while then.” He shook the tied-up bundle before Han’s eyes.
“Yeah, you do that. It’s for the better.”
Jimin paused to think. Han might give him away if the police pressed too much. He untied the bundle and extracted a couple diamonds, passing them over to Han.
“Here’s a gift, you keep quiet and you can have them for free.”
Han looked at the stones in his hand wide-eyed, unable to stammer out his thanks. He nodded silently, bending down to examine the stones.
Police sirens were sounding in the distance, growing closer by the second. Jimin’s foot was almost out the door when Han called:
“These ain’t diamonds, they’re Zirconia! They’re worthless!”
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