Cult Au - Tumblr Posts

Gold that Bleeds Thorns

Synopsis: You never wanted to use your blood at all on anything or anyone but you had to this time.

Notes: This became somewhat lengthy but I hope you enjoy it! There might be missed typos so sorry for that but I do hope whoever reads this you like it! Hopefully the more I write down these ideas the more I get better at it. Thank you and have a good day or night!

Warnings under the cut!

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Warnings: Hostage situation, cult au, blood, sagau, depictions of bodily fluids and gore/flesh, curse words, suggestive creepy behavior.

Gender-neutral reader for this one

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The room was silent except for quiet breathes and the ever so slightly movements from your acolytes. The tension in the room was so thick you could feel it weighing you down, could even drown in it. All of your followers eyes were solely on your hunched form.

In the dead center of your throne room stood a couple of male figures, eyes filled with bloodlust, looking down at you. Your most loyal subjects wanted to strike down the ones who stood before you, wanted to punish them for even breathing the same air as you but they resisted the urge because you told them to not interfere.

Your hands and feet were bound by cold metal shackles that echoed in the silent room whenever you would shift your body around. Fear was painted on your face, so much so, that your apprehenders could see it with one glace.

Even though you looked afraid on the outside, you were calm on the inside. Being in this position you begun to think to yourself how could these brutes threaten you and your people!? That they could best you? You wanted to laugh at the thought but you kept it in, didn't want to break your facade now would you? Honestly though what gave them the idea that they could go up against their own creator?

While you were pondering this the leader of this small group finally spoke up to break the silence. This tall muscular built of a man was the one who chained you, their leader of the group. His messy dark brown hair swayed ever so gently as his green eyes looked down at you. He kneeled to close the distance between the two of you.

He pulled your chin up to face him, digging his nails into your cheek, making you whince a bit from the sudden pain but it soon went away. He laughed at your form, saying that he couldn't believe such a meekly being could be the "Oh so PoWeRfUl creator." He spat at your face before throwing you back down, the sound of your hitched breath mixed with the metallic ringing filled the room once more. He turned and walked away putting back some distance between the two of you as he faced your followers with a smirk.

"So, which one of you fuckers gonna save their beloved creator hmm?"

His voice commanded the audience's attention, yearned for it even. He loved that he was in control, in the spotlight and that he had the upperhand. He walked to where your most trusted acolytes were while pointing at you.

"The dogs aren't gonna save their master? Y'all really just a bunch of bitches who could care less about them." The leader continued his so called speech in a condescending tone to the reluctant audience. He became feverish with his words that a crazed look took over his features while drool hanged from the corners of his lips as he spat his words to the crowd. It was really undignified look to be honest, you couldn't help but cringe a bit on the inside.

You knew this couldn't go on for much longer, considering how you could feel certain onlookers desperately clinging onto their weapons readily. So you decided you would poke the bear just enough to where you could potentially get hurt.

Now only your most trusted acolytes knew what you could do with your blood but never witnessed it in person. So it was safe to say that they were ready to see firsthand if you chose to use it.

You scoffed at him, shifting your body upright to face him while puffing some hair away from your face.

"You're the leader right?"

That grabs his attention so he turns to you, eagerness in his eyes, to see what you'll do in your pathetic bound state. Seeing that you have his attention now solely on you, you continue with a monotoned voice.

"You have me chained up, hands and feet, unable to run away...yet you still haven't done anything."

"For you to call me weak is honestly laughable. You should really look in a mirror sometime soon".

A smirk tugs at the corners of your mouth, your eyes make direct eye contact with his. Just one more push you told yourself and he will surely lunge at you.

"So....you thought that if you were to threaten the people I love that I would do whatever you say? Bend to your will? Hmm? You really thought I would just let you shackle me? Did you honestly think you had me? Or are you just that stu-"

He didn't let you finish your sentence, before you knew it he came lunging at you.

Grabbing a fistful of your hair which made you yelp in response. You tried your best despite being bound to push this brute's hand off of your tender scalp to no avail. In one quick motion you could feel cold steel against your throat. This exchange made the room feel even more tense, it was suffocating. Looking at the man's eyes you could see a darkness in them waiting to tear you apart.

Your followers were itching for just one word, one faint syllable that would fall from your delicate lips. Just one word is all you have to say for your followers to strike, to be in their arms safe again. However despite everything your word was absolute. Going against it is unfathomable, equal to death, so they watched and waited even if it meant watching you suffer in silence.

The brute started to eye you up and down staring to long on certain parts of your body while licking his lips. He started to yell at you, saliva hitting your face everytime he spat an obscene word at you.

"Fucking whore, want me to mess you up? I'm sure you've already slept with everyone in this room"

He presses the knife a bit more to your throat, it was uncomfortable, you could feel the knife's blade on your vocal cords. The cold steel moving slightly everytime you had to swallow. You turned your gaze to your followers who looked at you in anticipation.

You managed to move your head slightly to your subjects never changing your gaze at them as a smile forms on your face before opening your mouth to say

"When the rose blooms you may strike".

That was it!

That was all they needed to hear from you. Finally there was a change in the air, a readiness, a willingness for bloodshed, to see the brutes eyes become lifeless. Only your most trusted acolytes knew this code, everyone else was confused but intrigued as to what you meant by that, so they kept quiet with berated breath.

However this made the brute more angry and confused as to what you just said. That's when you took his confusion as an opening. With all of your might you kneed him in his crotch which made him immediately hunch down taking the knife with him.

Adrenaline was coursing through you that you didn't notice a small cut formed on your throat until you were surround by your followers. In a flash you were in the arms of Thoma holding you up, checking your wound and undoing the shackles. While the rest guarded you from the 4 men.

Thoma helped you get up onto your throne with his arms softly supporting you. His warmth from his hands on your back lingered long after his hand left. He soft green eyes looked at you with a mix of worry and anger. He softly spoke to you with a calm demeanor

"Your Grace, hows your cut? Please allow me to clean it once you're done."

You smiled at him with a nod making him gleam back at you with softness emanating from him however it was short lived as he went back to anger as he turned to face the 4 men.

Once you were comfortable your eyes trailed downward to the black marbled flooring. Against the dark color was a small pool of golden blood. The small cut on your throat bled a bit which made a slight trail to where you sat. With your hands placed gently on top of each other, nestled in your lap, you drew a circle with your index finger into your other hand. This was a command to yourself, which made that bit of blood follow suit.

The brute looked at you about to lunge back at you with his 3 men follwing behind him but they soon realized it was futile.

The leader looks down at his hands then at his legs, the anger he had before slowly became fear. His hands were in front of him tied to his neck, almost like in a praying position while his legs were folded to make him kneel. He tried to break free from this strange beautiful rope that coiled tightly around him however it wouldn't budge no matter how much he struggled. This gold like rope was tough but looked like liquid at the same time so what could it be he thought to himself.

The beautiful gold like string that glistened under the light that lumanaited from your chandelier above was your gold blood to be exact.

Even though you got a tiny cut, that was enough blood to coil around each of the 4 men tightly. All 4 were now kneeling in a prayer position with panic setting in. The leader started to desperately shout at you in his panicked state.

"So this is the true nature of the creator, a-always knew you were pretending to be kind, what are you gonna do? Make your followers do the dirty work?" His eyes take a quick glance to the ones surrounding you on each side like a shield. It's almost as if he's trying to convince himself it will be ok. You rest your head upon your hand as you lazily look towards him.

Your kind eyes scan him up and down with a gentle smile caressing your lips as you hum a soft yet audible enough for only them to hear "~no".

You point to the gold string that shined beautifully against their skin. Your eyes shifted to around the room to see everyone's expressions then back to the leader. Still with the smile on your face you said just one simple word.

"Watch"

Even though you sounded sweet in your tone, everyone could sense the vemon in the word. Even in your eyes there was a glint of something ugly. That single word is what made the 4 men start trembling, pleading for your mercy. Honestly it was a bit amusing you couldn't help but chuckle a bit which made the men shake even more.

You announced to everyone in the room to leave if you brought your kin or can't handle torture. There was hesitation and hushed whispers from your people.

Torture?

How could such a divine creature utter such a word. However even though some wanted to stay to see what would happen they followed your command. The room only held a few of your followers alongside your trusted ones. You returned your gaze back to the group in front of you still pleading, snot dripping from their noses.

"Enough" your voice commanded, ushering the men to look up at you once more.

With that dark glint still in your eyes you looked up to your beautiful chandelier made of small like star crystals that glistened with a soft light.

"Even though I'm your creator I gave you free will. I've could've been a tyrant and controlled you from the very beginning yet I didn't." You slowly moved your gaze back at them.

"I chose to give you free will because I wanted my creations to live their life as they choose. However I'm starting to learn that some creations don't deserve my mercy at all" You're words were elegant, melodic yet hurt like venom seeping through their veins.

The men cried out in pitiful sobs, 2 of them pressing their faces on your marble floor snot mixed with drool pooled around their faces as they plead for your mercy.

One was still curious as to what you said, he looked younger then the rest, he hesitantly met your eyes before he asked you

"Your Grace...what did you mean by watch? By torture?"

His azure watery eyes were somewhat visible by his blonde locks as he looked at you. You just smiled at that silly question of his as you said "you'll see"

With a snap of your fingers the room became deathly quiet. The 4 men waited for anything; a sting, a cut, your men in waiting to lunge at them in a blink of an eye heck even for the ceiling to come down on them but nothing happened.

At first they thought you were showing them mercy, that you pityed them, they were about to say thank you until one of them broke into a frenzy. It was the young blonde who was the last one to question you.

He started to writhe in pain while his blood currled screams echoed off the walls. The other 3 watched in horror as anxiety wracked their bodies waiting for whatever he was experiencing to take them as well. It wasnt long until the whole room filled with their screams. It was a grotesque way of dying to be frank. You didnt want to watch but you had to see it through. All of the men squirmed on the floor, drool mixed with blood hanging from their mouths almost to a foam, hot tears streaming down their cheeks as their skin bubbled from the inside out. Eventually these bubbles boiling began to burst. It was like watching a pot of hot water boiling. Screams turned into muffled cries which then finally came to a halt. To them it probably felt like an eternity but it was only a good 2 mins until they were nothing more then a pile of fleshy mush.

The room was quiet once more except for the slight sizzling of the 4 men's flesh. The smell was pungent to say the least which didnt help the pit in your stomach from forming. The rest of your followers didn't know what to say or do, heck some didn't even realize they were holding their breath.

You brought yourself to look away and towards the small crowd who looked at you with mixed reactions.

You were at your limit, you couldnt keep this up any longer. The way everything made you sick from the smell, the way they died, the way their faces twisted and contorted made you want to puke.

You had to get the rest of your followers out, so with the little strength you had left, you turned to them once more with a pitiful smile no less. You waved your hand to dismiss everyone except your most loyal subjects. Even though they must've had questions for you they followed suit one by one out of the room. You were afraid though of what they were thinking. You thought to yourself of all the possible things they could be thinking, you were lost in your own thoughts.

(Do they hate me now? Did everyone who left find me disgusting or are terrified of me?)

It was the loud thud from the door closing that made you get out of your head however that just made you realize how exhausted you were.

You finally crumbled into yourself feeling that pit in your stomach now wanting to be released. You could feel the hot bile rising in the back of your throat, the taste slowly creeping towards the fron of your mouth. Covering your mouth as your breathing became short and heavy in response to the sick feeling.

You never wanted to use your blood like this but you knew you had to set an example especially after hearing rumors of some followers wanting to hurt you.

The ones left beside you tried their best to comfort you. Now all that echoed in the room was your muffled cries as you covered your face.This facade you had on the whole time crumbled and you only allowed your trusted acolytes to see you like this.

They knew you were kind, pure and gentle with everything you touched not some fearsome being who brought suffering to others. Even though their comfort was welcomed and appreciated, you still feared that they wouldn't see you the same way anymore after today.

Hii so uhm never done one of these but I ABSOLUTELY love your work, especially the Creator!Reader ones with drunk creator and Diluc being my favorite atm (seriously DILUC PLEASE DROP FOR ME ALREADY I JUST WANT TO SPOIL YOU) anyway 2 questions, what is SAGAU (completely new to Genshin fandom and barely returning to Tumblr so I need a LOT of updating) and can we have more Creator!reader 🥺

YES!! Diluc come home 😭 I have so much to spoil you with!

SAGAU GUIDE

As for SAGAU, it's a pretty broad AU and it's the acronym for Self-Aware Genshin AU. I was pretty confused when I stumbled into it as well.

The basis of SAGAU is generally about a reader getting transmigrated into the world of Genshin.

Moreover, the reader is usually dubbed as the Creator. Whether Reader is truly a high god-like creator or just an average person in our world depends on the writer. Regardless, because we have great knowledge of the world through the game, the characters see Reader as a sort of creator. This is also supported by the fact that we control them when playing.

Some writers like to imply that MC truly is a god and that they just lived on earth to recover, that's why MC was called back to Teyvat.

SAGAU is the umbrella word for several different AUs; here are some of the AUs I'm aware of:

Soft AU - A classic Creator!Reader arriving in Teyvat. The characters care and love you!

Imposter AU - They hunt you down because you wear the same face as their divine creator. You're seen as a heretic and it's sacrilegious. In truth, you're the true creator but you're too confused to understand why your beloved characters are like this!

Reverse Imposter AU - You're an actual imposter in this one. There's a true divine god and they're not very happy with you having a similar face.

Cult AU - Supports the violence in the Imposter AU. Their worship of the creator is cult-like, bordering yandere, so they hunt you down. It makes more sense for our loving characters to be violent this way.

Villain AU - Usually after the imposter AU. Reader turns to either the Fatui, the Abyss, Boss enemies, or goes solo as a villain. They're angry for being hunted down and they finally use their god-powers to fight back.

Consort AU - More romance-based. Your godliness is recognized and they want you to have a consort (this may breach into a Harem AU).

Unnamed - characters are aware that they're in a game and that you play them through a screen.

Flower AU - Teyvat is sensitive to creator reader, and nature yiels to them. Can be called Disney AU or other similar things.

Friendship lvl AU - their likability or ability to recognize you as their god relies on your friendship level with them in-game

Credits to all the writers who started a respective AU; I'm not quite sure who started who but if you'd want acknowledgment just tell me :>

The imposter AU is one of the more popular SAGAU works. Some writers (including myself) like to think that Teyvat has a cruel fake god ruling them, that way I won't need the Cult AU and my beloved characters won't be so wild. The work you just read was Soft AU :)

Other SAGAU terms/ideas that you may need to know are:

Golden blood - reader bleeds gold as a sign of their godliness/other-word identity.

Star-themed - reader may have star-like qualities in their eyes and blood. Used as a replacement from the gold blood au.

Vessels - When we control them while playing, the characters believe you are using them as vessels to see the world.

Acolytes - Basically your worshippers.

Consort - chosen spouse of a ruler.

___

Want to explore SAGAU more? Listing down some of the SAGAU writers I know below ((there's a lot more out there not listed!)) (don't forget to check their dni :> )

@dewdrop-writes @probablynotasquid @ranalatus @chocoenvy @neetra @saryneid @just-a-new-gi-writer @versadies @xiaophilia

___

And finally — so happy you like my work! 🥰 and there'll definitely be more creator!reader. Thank you very much!

Note that I'm actually not aware of the origins of SAGAU and most AUs, I entered the Tumblr genshin fandom pretty late too :> but hope my general knowledge helps!

Gog i want more

brainrot about…

dragon zhongli who adores shinies. oh how he loves them. he’s a dragon, of course he does!

you, back before everyone branded you as the mortal mimic of their god, also loved jewels and necklaces, shinies and the like. back before all hell broke lose and they wanted you as a sacrifice for their god.

when genshin decided to drag you into the world of teyvat, it sort of forgot that you were holding a ten carat diamond necklace you were planning on buying for your mother as a birthday gift. sure, it was expensive, but she likes shinies a lot as well.

yes, you did hang onto it—your backpack helped a lot with that—but you never expected it to come in handy.

zhongli didn’t necessarily want you dead—he was more curious about your existence than anything. really curious, actually. the dragon side of him was like a cat—curious, and willing to do right about anything to find out what the hell it was.

you, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with the geo archon or any damn dragons you might see along the way.

so when he used said dragon form to go find you, he relied much more upon his instincts. animals typically do.

shinies, he realized, he really, really liked in his dragon form.

that’s why he was standing in front of you, tail cautiously creeping towards the necklace you held in your hand, while you cowered against the cliff you accidentally cornered yourself against. stupid mistake, you realized, but far, far too late to change it.

he reaches a claw out, gently hooking it around the silver chain that holds the diamonds together. golden eyes slowly rove over it, slit pupils dialating at the sight of you, slightly trembling, holding it out to him in fear of what will happen otherwise.

mate, his mind says, hyperfocusing on that one thought of you with the shiny and it’s valuable and you’re just giving it to him—

his tail suddenly curls around you, wrapping you in its coils gently, warm against the humid, cool atmosphere liyue experiences in the winter and that you’ve been dealing with recently.

you freeze up, terrified out of your damn mind. is he going to strangle you? he’s a fucking dragon, and not just any dragon at that—he’s morax, an archon, for heaven’s sake. he could so, so easily end your life with a simple squeeze of his muscles.

no. he nudges his head under your chin, arm going around your shoulder with his claws resting gently on your hair. the vibrations from what seems like purring run through your petrified body; they seem to be comforting purrs, like one a cat would do when you’re scared, but they only make you more terrified.

a tear drips onto his scales, but you relax anyway.

what point is there in struggling? he’s just going to—to kill you, anyway. may as well be relaxed and make it an easy death.

“shh, little mate.”

little—mate…? the hell does he mean—

oh. dragons like shinies. you had a shiny. he thinks you gave it to him as a courting gift. so… you’re his mate? now?

“you’re safe with me, mate. you may be human, but… you are mine to protect now.”

his voice is slightly deeper when he’s reptilian, you notice as a kiss is pressed to your head. it’s also comforting.

“i’m not going to hurt you. oh, little one, how many have?”

you sniffle at his words, embarrassingly enough, tucking your face into your elbow to dry the approaching tears from your eyes. no, dammit, now isn’t the time to cry, you’ve already done too much of that. no point in it now.

besides, it’s just a facade.

right?

his tail relaxes slightly around you as his form slowly shifts to that of a half-human, half-dragon one, but it still remains warm and wrapped around your torso. the neck fluff turns to that of a coat, but holds the same consistency, nevertheless.

he hums the nighttime loading screen music, voice more melodic than you would expect it to be, with his arms coming around your figure as his tail moves to be around the two of you, intertwining you in a double-hug. he shifts you to be in his lap as when he sits against the wall, making sure you’re comfortable before he moves again, draping a cape which you assume represents his wings over your back, tucking it in. it’s soft.

“there. better?”

“‘m scared.”

“of what?” he asks gently. “you’re safe now. no more raiden shogun. no more drunk barbatos. no more scary millelith. no more nighttime monsters. I will keep you safe… mate.”

“you…”

“I promise you, there is no need to be scared. I promise you, with every fiber of my being and all of the contracts that I have signed, that you’ll be safe and secure and fed.”

making an oath on his contracts… that’s a pretty big deal for the god of geo himself. he must really mean it then.

even with your body still in fight or flight mode, you come to realize that he’s being a hundred percent truthful.

well, you think, burying your head into his neck fluff, at least that’s one less nation hunting you down now.

hehe

EEEEE YEAH BABY!

I love the shading and the pattern you used for her stocking! And yes OT3 it baby. OT3 it. And yes, I am amazed that you managed to make my big yandere mess into something fluffy. Congratulations. But not to fear my followers that love the all things dark and creepy, when I am free of my scholarly shackles, I shall release more Cult content. 

But I just love all the headcanons you came up with. You’ve got the makings for a great AU and I would love to read the fic when you have the time! This is wonderful art! AND I LOVE IT! GOOD WORK!

Hello, it’s done, and now due to the incessant ramblings of @msbluebell , which she only really got into because of @ezroar who birthed this monster of an AU! I now find myself wanting a yandere!dimileth AU 

In a different direction than what everyone in the discord was saying though

Headcanons for the AU beneath the cut

Keep reading

Yandere Ten Stoneheart cult au x kind reader

CW: yandere themes, possessive and obsessive behavior, kind of suggestive (?).

Imagine an au where you have an issue with the debt. No matter how much you try to make money, you always end up broke. Poor thing, about to get sued by your annoying landlord.

Luckily, IPC noticed your struggle and decided to offer to work for them. You'll get a high payment and be able to pay your bills. All you have to do is to sign a contact and your wish will come true. At first, everything went fine. Untill, you meet with ten stoneheart. Oh, how adorable you are~.

While dating each other, Aventurine and Topaz also fall for you, due to your kindness and caring persona. Since day one, Numby already begins liking you, and later in a few days even becomes attached to you. It warms Jelena's heart so much that's two of you get along so well. Kakavasha feels accepted by you. Just like Topaz, you don't view him as the luck tool, but rather as the person. Every time, when they get injuries, you always stare at them with those adorable concerned eyes. A type of eyes, that's they want you to look only at them. Lately, they've been feeling jealous whenever someone even looks at you. You don't even imagine how much they desire to own you. To hide you somewhere safe and protect you from the cruel world.

Jade is someone you never got along with. Her cunning, sly, and manipulative personality never appealed to you. Yet, Jade has strange feelings towards you. The way you glare at her and coldly reply at her questions, make her attached to you even more. The purple haired women can't stop thinking about you. She wants to know every detail about your life. Your weakness, strength, interest, etc. Jade plans to convince you into making a wish. You can ask her everything you heart desire, but in return, you have to become her personal assistant. Wouldn't it be perfect to put a collar on your pretty neck? Turning you into an obedient pet, who'll do everything for their mistress. She'll assure you that your dependent life will become happy.

Sugilite is intrigued by you as a person. He’s amused how much you want to help people in need. Sugilite hates that you spend so much time with Jelena and Kakavasha. It would be much better if you become his house partner and make meals for him. And as the reward, Sugilite will always spoil you with the delicates. The silver haired guy it's greedy after all, and he'll never want to share what belongs to him.

Obsidian eagers so much to mark you. To bite your bare throat, so everyone knows to whom you'll belong to. The red haired lady would do ANYTHING to have you, even by murdering someone. Every time, when Obsedian think about you, it is usually the two of you bathing in the pomegranate juice. Getting held tight by her, so you'll never escape her grasp. Staying with her for an eternity no matter what!

When you finally realize their unhealthy obsession towards you, you try to end the contact with IPC. You thought you could escape? You poor naive thing. Didn't you read the contact? The one who signs it never escapes from IPC. After all, they'll always turn life into paradise for the miserable people. How can you leave them? If you do, your life will be even worse before joining them. Without IPC, you're not able to survive.

But don't you worry, ten stonehearts will give you another option. Aventurine and Topaz will keep you secure, Jade will make your life richer by depending on her, Sugilite will feed you even more than in your entire life, and Obsidian, well there are secrets that she still keeps for the surprise… Sooner or later, you'll realize that you will be much better under their wings. After all, they'll turn your life into eternal bliss.

I might make it into the series and add other characters, once we'll know more about them. I will write platonic for Opal, though. If you're not shy, you're welcome to give some ideas. However, I will respond slowly since I'm busy.

nephilim (un)

you know where the cred goes 💙

cult au, supernatural au

yandere! ot7 x f! reader

warnings: yandere themes, violent behavior

the mysterious, age old town of ichabod. within it rests a history hidden from its inhabitants, who are forced to remain there out of fear. you simply wish to live in this town with the people you love without facing its wrath for as long as you can. unfortunately for you, there are great powers on your side who are willing to do whatever it takes to get you. whether you come willingly or not. after all, it only takes a little hellfire

——————————————————————————

“Come along now, (Y/N).” Your mother’s grip on your wrist tightened as she all but threw you in front of her. You nearly twisted your ankle on the twigs and tree roots that outlined the forest floor. “We are late enough as it is.” 

You huffed and tore your wrist from your mother’s hand to hike up the long, white dress you wore. “Good. I wish we didn’t have to trek out here in the middle of the night every month. Maybe we’ll miss the gathering entirely.”

She smacked your arm harshly. “Not another word from you, smart mouth.” Your mother dressed similarly, the only difference being that her ivory dress paled considerably compared to yours in the moonlight. “We’ve been attending for years. I highly doubt that such a change would be allowed, much less appreciated.”

You shivered at the thought. No matter how much you resented these meetings, you wouldn’t dare miss a summoning.

You stayed quiet for ten more minutes, taking in the rustling of the forest and focusing your efforts on avoiding sharp rocks underfoot. 

Trees rested on either side of you, lining your path and blocking out any natural light with their twisting, sneaking branches. It took all of your effort to ignore the oppressive silence, broken every so often by the snapping of a trig or the movement of some animal, cloaked by shadows in the dark.

Soon enough, you and your mother reached the clearing.

She pulled you back just as you were about to step into the moonlight, throwing a dark cloak in your face. “Are you mad? Put it on!”

You smiled abashedly and threw the material on. The hood was so long it cast a shadow over the lower half of your face but was wide enough for you to see.

Your mother finished arranging her hood and the two of you stepped into the clearing, joining with the last of the circle of cloaked shadows.

The moon shone brightly without the cover of the forest giving your surroundings an ethereal facade. A wooden stage lay at the very middle of the clearing, upon which stood your small town’s resident royalty.

The Kims. 

They were the ruling force of the town, the husband being the mayor, the wife a successful actress. They both settled down in Ichabod twenty-five years ago with their children. What had once been a town amuck with violence and chaos was transformed into a prosperous, well-functioning borough.

How the Kims managed to transform the area nearly overnight, few knew. They have run your city for nearly three decades. And everyone in it is terrified to cross their path.

Directly behind them stood their seven adopted sons, faces shrouded by hoods and masks. You didn’t know too much about them besides their names and faces; five of them currently attended your school and you made sure to give them a wide berth, being as polite as possible.

Kim Moonsik raised his left arm, twisting his wrist in a full circle. He then pointed his hand at the sky, gently lowering his pinky and middle fingers. “Greetings to the moon from her earthly servants.”

You lifted your forearm with everyone else, copied the gesture, and repeated the phrase quietly with disinterest.

“I thank you all for coming on such short notice.” He continued. “As another month commences, we have the pleasure of standing before you all. The moon has graced us with her everlasting beauty and prosperity rains down upon our small town, just as it has for decades before.”

This is usually the part where you would start drifting off. Kim Moonsik could drove on with his speech about the moon for far too long.

About what felt like an hour but was approximately fifteen minutes later, Mr. Kim trailed off and the forest became so silent, you hushed your thoughts in fear of thinking too loud.

The oppressive feeling in the air returned full force and you shivered underneath the warmth of your cloak as Mr. Kim eyed each and every person attending. He was not able to directly see your face, but you felt like the man was staring into your soul.

“Regrettably,” He said, clasping his hands together, “we are not able to part tonight without the moon’s divine punishment.”

Ah, you thought. There it is.

The reason your heart pounds at every one of these meetings. 

All you wanted to do was be that half-asleep little girl again, clutched in your mother’s arms as she trudged her way here every month. 

“Wylynne has decreed that there are sinners in our midst.” Mr. Kim says it quietly, but the gravity in his words travel.

And with a mighty roar, the pyre behind the wooden stage was lit with orange flames. 

The crowd stood in silence, waiting for the dreadful sound. You quaked in the dirt. Would it be you this time? 

But by the grace of the moon, no. 

The telltale, piercing shriek came from the right side of the crowd. Citizens rushed to get away from the teenager cradled in her parents’ arms. The mother could not let go of her daughter, heavily sobbing as the child clutched her head and continued to scream. Her hood had fallen off and your eyes widened as you recognized her.

Natalia Pierre. The two of you had had some awful confrontation a few months ago. Nevertheless, the resident embers of anger could not stop the overwhelming pity you felt as the Kims’ men ripped her away from her parents.

“Please!” She cried as they forced her to her knees before the mayor. Not that she wasn’t already bent over, riddled with pain. “Knives-the knives won’t stop, please get them out!”

Kim Moonsik lay his hand on her shoulder. “Do not worry, my child. You will soon join Wylynne’s heavenly army. May your failures be a lesson, victories a reward, and may your soul live on with the moon forever.”

“May your soul live on with the moon forever.” You whispered the last phrase with everyone else, ignoring the tear that made its way down your cheek. 

Before Natalia could say another word, her screams were cut short as her body was engulfed in purple fire.

It only took a second. Within minutes, her cloak, dress, bones, and ashes were gone. She hadn’t even scorched the grass. You could almost believe you’d dreamed it if her father wasn’t kneeling next to her writhing mother in the dirt.

Mr. Kim smiled gracefully, a sight that reminded you of the grim reaper with the shadow on his face. “To her heavenly grace, the moon, may she travel. To my fellow citizens of Ichabod, I bid goodnight.”

The orange flame behind the stage was doused. You, your mother, and the crowd bowed your heads as you wished goodnight to the Kims. It was only when the last son had left the clearing did anyone else begin moving.

You clutched your mother’s hand all the way home.

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I want a god!Malleus x disillusioned follower!Silver AU in which Diasomnia is a cult with Malleus as its leader. Having been raised right in the thick of it—with his father as the right-hand man—Silver has never been given reason to doubt this confined, exclusionary world he's been living in... until he finds Lilia trying to escape, that is. And as more and more details of the cult's rituals for its most devout members come to light—including various acts of human sacrifice, cannibalism, and larceny, to name a few—Silver, too, is drawn to the prospect of freedom beyond its walls.

Points to hit:

This discovery comes right before Silver’s eighteenth birthday, when he’ll be invited to partake in such festivities—whether as a full-fledged believer or an example, they’re not picky

Lilia’s motivation for what he gently phrases as “retirement” being that he’s caught on to Malleus’ special interest in his son and doesn’t want to get involved further (he had only been ordered to raise the boy as livestock, not develop feelings for him)

Having eyes and ears everywhere, however, Malleus puts a stop to any rebellion immediately

He summons Silver to his grand, gilded chambers the night before he comes of age to have a little… chat, of sorts

…And then Silver is never seen by the general public again

Now, his days are spent paying worship to his god, who has been so benevolent as to forgive his sins and spare his father’s life in exchange for eternal loyalty

He’s sedated regularly during meals, before which he must always pray and offer his thanks

On occasion, if he’s been a particularly good boy, Malleus will take him out to play, which entails being strung up on an altar and demonstrating to others—including his father—how to properly receive blessings

Overall, just Malleus being the awful puppeteer he’s been revealed to be in canon and fully embracing the pedestal he’s been gifted, forcing those precious to him to play their assigned roles in the family he’s gifted them <3

Hmmmm baby...

It's Dangerous to Go Alone

Dear cultist, I'm sorry I haven't been answering your inquiries, I'll get to it soon.

THE ANSWER: Masterlist

Life is great until your best friend goes missing your senior year of university, leaving little more than an apology and goodbye. Months later, you’re determined to find out what happened to him and discover a situation much more complicated than you would have ever anticipated. as in Kim Hongjoong doesn’t like the word ‘cult.’ He prefers 'sect.' 

.・。.・゜✭ ⧖ ・.・ ⧖ ✫・゜・。.  

pairings: ateez x fem reader, song mingi x fem reader, choi san x fem reader, kim hongjoong x fem reader, others throughout (very slowburn lol) genre: cult au, thriller, mostly angsty situations warnings: for mature audiences, major character death, graphic depictions of violence, drugs & alcohol, heavy religious themes, abusive/toxic relationships, literally none of the ateez members are portrayed as good people, still a WIP -> pls read tags on AO3 for in depth warnings!!! current wc: 193,203 taglist

tumblr masterlist:

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