The year is 2069.

The human race has lost morals

And with that comes choices. Especially in Kawali.

You could join the Gay Meme Protection Squad, or GMPS, run by someone known as Edge. Edge takes care of everyone. Committed to a life of hugs, not drugs.

And then there's the Trash Cult. They lurk in the slums of Kawali, doing whatever is necessary to survive. That includes breaking laws.

And you may wonder, why do they need to break laws?

Homophobia has increased in 2069, to the point where you may very well be shot dead for being relatively queer. They risk their lives going out on the streets every day.

Well, they did.

Until their leader, Ash, had a plan.

A plan to develop a reputation as the baddest bitches in Kawali. They had no hesitation. Rob those who hurt the LGBTQ+ community. Slit the throats of gay executioners.

Law is a complicated topic. Police still exist and function, but not in the way they should be. They're not permitted to arrest gay executioners, or anyone who intends to hurt gay executioners. It's an incredibly fucked up system. Authorities pick and choose who they rescue and who they watch die.

That's why Briar Angelle quit the force.

She was a detective for KPD, but soon after the system started, she resigned and joined the Trash Cult.

But she still keeps her gun in her pocket.

Ash's POV

I was walking down the street, trying to get back to the Trash Cult hideout. Yeah, we have one of those. It's gloomy and dark and blah blah blah, all that emo shit. We are emo shit. Come to think of it, I do always blast MCR—

"Hey!" A voice interrupted my thoughts. I pulled a dagger out of my boot and turned to see who it was. Executioners are getting even more blunt now.

"Don't fucking move!" I shouted, turning. It was a female, seemingly around my age. Brown hair, bleached at the tips and dark brown chocolatey eyes-

"Who are you?" I asked, lowering my weapon. Executioners were usually around thirty, if not older.

"Edge Prince, I don't want trouble!" She replied, throwing her hands in the air.

"Put your hands down, I'm not gonna kill you," I muttered. "Wait... Edge? As in the leader of the Gay Meme Protection squad? As in the one with the story-"

"Yeah, yeah, the Edge who stopped you-know-who jumping off the edge of the you-know-what before you-know-when," She snapped. "I'm here to talk to you about your... gang..."

"The Trash Cult?" I asked. Oh shit. She put a bomb in our hideout, didn't she? "Look, if you're trying to kill someone-"

"Kill? Never!" She said in shock and what was almost disgust. "I was wondering if we could... be... um... allies?"

"Allies?" I repeated.

"Allies, noun. Two groups combined or united with another for-"

"I know what allies are!" I snapped, immediately regretting it, seeing how she flinched so hard her beanie almost fell off.

"-mutual benefit..." She mumbled.

"Benifit?" I asked. "What are we getting from this?"

"Protection from executioners-"

"Got that." I replied. "We protect ourselves with actual weapons, not hugs and kisses, thanks."

"Ouch, but fine. Food?" She offered. "We've got really great cooks."

I thought about it. We'd been stealing ramen and chips for the past year to survive. Fresh food and hot meals tempted me.

"Tempting, I'll admit. But no." I responded. I knew that we'd end up going soft if we joined them. We can't go soft. Not now. "Any other offers?"

"...We have butterflies..."

"How is that supposed to persuade me?" I asked.

"I dunno. Some people like butterflies." She shrugged.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Look, I'd love to help you. That's a lie but it's the polite thing to say. But I can't afford to not be taken seriously. The Trash Cult is only alive because we're dangerous. We have access to guns, knives, poisons, ropes, drugs. All the shit you pacifists are against."

"We just don't want to stoop to his level!" She shouted.

I pulled her close, covering her mouth. I rolled with her into a dark alley, so close to the Trash Cult hideout entrance.

"Shh..." I whisper.

A man in a uniform passes by with a machine gun and too much ammo. He glances in the alley, suspicious of something. But he leaves.

Once we're in the clear, I let Edge go.

"Great job, you almost got us killed because of your pterodactyl screeching." I whispered.

She hesitated a bit to put distance between us. In fact, she just... looked up at me for a moment.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." I said sarcastically.

"W-What?" She asked. "Sorry... it's just... your eyes..."

"Is it the scar?" I asked.

"No... they're... such a pretty shade of blue..." She mumbled. "Sorry what were we talking about?"

"Personal space, sweetheart." I joked, pushing her away a bit. "Anyways, him?"

"Yeah, you know. The Anax." Edge replied.

Oh. That asshole.

See, The Anax is like our fucked-in-the-head dictator.  He was elected as president and came up with a whole new form of government that almost made the United States perfect.

Until June 23rd, 2060.

No one remembers what happened on June 23rd, 2060.

All we know is that we fell asleep on the borderline of success and woke up in dystopia.

And somehow The Anax gained a god complex within a 24-hour period, because he made so many shit laws. And then we became... this.

We've been like this for nine fucking years. I ran away from home about a year into this. I couldn't put up with the tensions, trying to find out why we're like this, why The Anax existed like a douche. Too many questions no one knew the answer to.

"Right, yeah, him." I muttered in response. "Trust me, you could commit mass homicide and still wouldn't be at his level."

She laughed. "You know, we're not pacifists."

"Oh?" I asked, faking surprise.

"We're open to killing for self-defense, or, in some cases, to right what's been wronged." She said. "If you know what I mean..."

I paused. "I don't know if you're suggesting something really kinky or-"

"No!" She laughed, playfully hitting my arm.

"I was talking about... killing The Anax..." She whispered. "Think about it. We wouldn't be under his rules or systems anymore. If he dies, first to the throne gets it, remember? As long as you're not a minor, it's fair game. I assume you're, what, nineteen?"

"Yeah..." I mumbled.

That's... even more tempting than the food. Our names would be revered forever. We'd be in history books once we fix the education system.

But... what if Edge takes all the credit? What if Edge takes the throne? I mean, I'm sure she's not selfish enough to do that, but I can't take risks. There's no telling if someone in the GMPS is selfish enough to do that.

"Sorry, no deal." I said gruffly. "If you're done making dumb offers, I have a cult to talk to. Goodbye."

She sighed. "Ash-"

"Good. Fucking. Bye" I restated, walking away.

Once she left, I opened up the dumpster, making sure it was the right one this time. Last week I ended up jumping into an actual dumpster.

I made sure it was clear, them jumped it. See, the entrance to the Trash Cult hideout is clever. You jump into a dumpster that's not really a dumpster-- it's a slide. It swirls almost a half mile underground, where it's basically a slightly run-down motel. Everyone gets a room, couples share rooms. There's a lounge room and kitchen shared by everyone. To go back up, there's an elevator that goes up to a different dumpster.

Amd the "lobby" is where meetings are held and everyone comes to hang out.

That's where everyone was waiting.

Briar, being someone who ranked a little higher up, was waiting by the slide as I came out.

"What took so long?" She whisper-shouted.

"Edge from GMPS was trying to make some offers. And maybe gay panic," I whispered.

"Alright guys," I said to the crowd. "I called this meeting originally for some other purpose, but I've changed that. We have a main objective the moment...

"We're gonna kill The Anax."

Gasps and chatter spread the room like wildfire.

"Are you out of your goddamn mind?" Briar asked.

"Probably, why?" I replied.

She sighed, shouting to get the attention of the room. "HEY! WHEN ASH WANTS Y'ALL TO GOSSIP AS LOUD AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE, SHE'LL FUCKIN' SAY IT. UNTIL THEN, SHUT THE HELL UP."

Everyone went quiet after that.

"As I was saying, we're gonna kill The Anax. The Gay Meme Protections squad is after him, too. We gotta beat them to the kill." I explained. "Now, I need a group to band together and get a blueprint of The Anax's house...mansion... castle... dictator creator, whatever you wanna call it. Scope out the place, make blueprints with every exit, entrance, guard, and executioner labeled. If they have a route, mark it. Volunteers, say I."

"I," Shelby said.

"I," shouted Kixcey from the back of the room.

"I," said Delaney, who was closer to the front.

"Fuck it," muttered Firefly. "I,"

"Shelby, Kixcey, Delaney, and Firefly," Ash said. "Need anyone else?"

"I think we're good," Kixcey replied.

"Good. Get the blueprints by Thursday," I replied. I checked my phone. Today's Tuesday. They'll be fine.

I made a mental note to keep an eye on Kixcey. They've been asking a lot of questions recently. You know, the whole "What happens if I leave?" and that shit.

The group left through the elevator.

"Meeting dismissed," I grumbled. Some people went back to their rooms, others went to the kitchen for dinner.

"So, I dunno if I heard you right earlier," Briar said in a mocking tone, "but I think you said something about gay panic?"

"Yeah," I admitted.

"Do you have a cRuUuUsH on Edge?" She asked.

"No." I lied.

"IMAGINE HAVING A CRUSH ON AN ENEMY GANG LEADER," Briar shouted tauntingly, because she knew everyone else was in a different room and couldn't hear. "COULD NOT RELATE."

I elbowed her in the ribs. "Imagine finding out your partner was cheating on you over TikTok." I said tauntingly, knowing that actually happened to her. "Could not be me."

She looked pissed in a joking way. "Changing the subject here, what did Edge Prince want from you?"

"She wanted us to band together or something nice," I scoffed. "It was tempting, honestly. She offered fresh meals."

"Really?" Briar asked in disbelief.

"And butterflies, as if that would change anything." I scoffed again.

"BUTTERFLIES?!?" Briar repeated. "I love butterflies! Why didn't you take the deal?"

"Because we have dignity." I replied. "We worked our asses off to be taken seriously and I'm not watching it all go down the drain because of some cute girl. Edge Prince. What kind of name is that? She's not a prince, she's a princess!"

"So you do like her," Briar stated as if it were a fact.

"When hell freezes over," I replied.

"You're turning red," Briar laughed.

"Am not!" I shouted, covering my face.

Briar laughed. "Can you look up tsundere on your phone and go to images?"

"Why?" I asked, doing it anyways.

"Trust me," She said. "Click on the first image you see and look at it."

I clicked on the image. It was a picture of Osana Najimi from Yandere Simulator.

I stared at it. "What about her?"

"Damn, it must be like looking in an orange mirror for you." Briar smirked. "I'm gonna go get some ramen."

She walked off, and it took me three seconds to realize what she meant.

You're not funny, I texted her.

you're not straight, she replied.

Thank Satan for that, I sent.

Briar's a... weird person. She signed up to be a detective for the police department when she turned eighteen. The KPD was running low on police and detectives, so they were kind of accepting almost anyone with an IQ over 100 and an able body. But soon, the police department became fucked up. She hadn't even been in it for a year when she had to resign due to homophobic arrests and straight biases. I guess her solution to the trauma was to join a cult because here she is now. She always carries her bi flag in her pocket as defiance to the law. Briar typically volunteers as live bait to lure executioners and kill them. She tends to be useful...

Until she turns around and writes fanfiction about me and Edge, which I bet she's doing right now.

Okay. Just ignore her. Forget Briar's comments or fanfiction. She ships anything relatively queer. Forget Edge.

Edge... but who could forget someone so beautiful...

I... wait... no, not beautiful! I mean, she is beautiful... just... pretend I didn't think that with a lovestruck look on my face. Great, it's getting awkward even just when I'm thinking.

Lemme just... get something to eat for now. Chips now, murder and potential love interest later.

~

omfg i am so sorry for the bad writing it gets better later i promise

*ahem*

Hey guys!

That's the first chapter of this book. Huge thank you to AshTrash669 and Edgy_Space_Prince for allowing me to make this! (go follow them rn this is a threat) Join the Trash Cult today if you haven't already. Next chapter is gonna be in Edge's POV, so there's that. If you wanna help in the process of writing this story, my discord is
https://discord.gg/BAvCHy

(If you can't click on the link, screenshot and insert it in Google Image Search)

Thanks for reading this!

Oh wait I forgot to put character designs

Here they are: