#Because I really want to make these for people to buy

[sirfrogsworth]

Canada: The Crudest Crude Oil

So, Canada has some shitty oil.

I don't know what Canada oil ate, but it might need a juice cleanse or something.

Trump is putting a 10% tariff on this shit.

This is called heavy sour crude oil. Because not all crude oil is the same. It can be light. It can be sweet. It can be heavy. It can be sour. Light and sweet is the easiest to refine. Heavy and sour (the Canada poop) is the most difficult.

But the US specializes in refining the shittiest crude. That's why we import so much from Canada. We have developed the best technologies to turn this shitty tar sand oil into something useful. We buy it cheap from Canada, make it useful (gas, kerosene, plastics, asphalt, etc), and then resell it.

This ends up being about a $700 billion business that generates about $175 billion in tax revenue.

To make things more interesting, the US has a lot of its own oil. Which is why Trump loves to say "drill, baby, drill." But our oil is light and sweet. It's the good stuff. Easy to refine.

That's good... right?

Not so fast!

Since no other countries are very good at processing the shit oil, we send our good stuff to Europe. They can easily refine it and we make a lot of money selling it to them.

Here's the rub...

The US isn't really set up to refine the good shit. Most of our refinery infrastructure is meant to process the Canada poop. So even though we technically have plenty of our own oil, we don't really have a lot of places to process it.

So I guess we would have to send it to Europe and buy it back.

Or we would have to build new refineries.

Or we would have to get shit oil from other places.

And those places?

Russia and Venezuela.

I have no idea if Trump understands any of this. Or if he thinks all oil is the same. But I feel like fucking with a $700 billion industry is bad for the economy.

I really don't understand why this is happening. I don't know if Trump is going rogue and doing this on his own. Or if Putin set this up so we will buy oil from Russia. Or if there is some other special interest group that wants to torpedo our refinery economy.

None of this makes a lot of sense to me and I don't see many people talking about this aspect of the tariff problem. I don't think oil quality is well known to the general public and maybe Trump's puppeteers are counting on that ignorance to do some sinister shit.

In any case, I imagine gas prices are going up. I'm sure the MAGA crowd, famous for being angry at gas prices, will finally see the light and turn on Trump.

I'm just kidding.

They will find some way to say it is a good thing and keep kicking themselves in the nuts.

[karanseraph]

I'm not super educated in economics, so fact check me, but even at my level of education, I'm pretty sure government and business are NOT EVEN SUPPOSED TO function the same economically.

For example in business (and there are some differences for publicly traded entities with shareholders) the general idea is to get out profit. One wants to operate the business for payments, subtract costs and expenses and get a profit out to use for other stuff. If there are employees who aren't themselves operating as a co-op or invested in the company, then they need adequate wages to go spend outside for personal needs

Government doesn't need profit. The government money is public monies belonging collectively to We The People, right? It shouldn't try to be a success, or profit. Those funds kinda exist to keep paying out toward the collective good for social safety nets or shared infrastructure or community services.

Also if systems like public transit or postal services or public school operate at a deficit or don't make profit, that's fine. That's part of the common good services we're collectively paying for with taxes. We buy those services because they help us all function together. We pay that cost for the good.

But in a business, they usually look to at least break even if not profit.

It's not helpful to take a businesss view and mindset to operate government. It just works differently. They'll say something is inefficient (and sometimes it objectively may be) even when really they mean doesn't fit a profitable pattern. Or, they'll complain that a postal serice or transit is too costly and unprofitable so we shouldn't have it. Or, they'll say "But who pays for this?" And " I don't want MY taxes to pay for that!"

But that's just not how taxes function. There are common good or even sometimes foreign aid programs (that foreign aid can even be in our self interest to have allies or less refugee migrations or better health globally) and the taxes get collected and go into the public/common/collective funds and goes out the figurative door to spend on our common interests.

And there's fidly bits like budgeting in advance or maybe war bonds during a war or stuff I'm not educated about. The order of appropriations? But, basically, it ceases being one person's money/taxes and becomes public funds.

And it doesn't operate like a business.

And there's not supposed to be like one guy deciding how and when to spend The People's money, because we don't have kings and we have representatives.

Btw, privatization is stealing from *you.* You are the public in "publicly owned." Oligarchs are coming in to take the things we all share ownership of as Americans, like Medicare, Social Security, National Parks, PBS and scrapping them for parts they find profitable.

The right is planning to rob us and quite literally want us to thank them for the privilege by calling it "government efficiency."

[hotchnersangel]

BUT SHE’S LOOKING AT YOU.

Aaron Hotchner.

cw: It girl!reader x aaron, you’re just so hot everyone wants u tbh, alcohol, men.

-------------

You are aware that you were attractive, you never had any struggle getting attention from the public, not growing up, not in college and certainly not now. It was rare, apparently, to have both intelligence and beauty but you didn't believe it defined you and your capabilities. Though, it shocked people when you told them your job. They assumed you modelled or were a social media influencer or something of sorts, some guy even told you that your beauty was being wasted on working for the FBI. Yeah, saving people's lives is realllyyy unattractive.

The team was out in a celebratory drink for finishing a rough case, even Aaron had joined the team this time. He didn't often come out but he liked it when he did, he liked spending time with the team, with you, outside of working hours. Though, he disliked having to watch men goggle their eyes at you.

Rossi ordered drinks and a bar tender brought an extra one over.

"Sorry, I didn't order that." Rossi exclaimed and gestured to the drink in the bartenders hand.

"Oh, it was sent by the man at the bar for you." She eclaimed looking at you, you widened your eye and looked to the bar, seeing a man wink at you.

"Lovely..." you said sheepishly and pushed it away, back to her. "Am I okay to send it back?"

The bartender smiles and nods at you, as you watch her walk away and you look back to the team embarasssed.

"Hey pretty lady's on the radar." Morgan exclaimed and you shoot him a look, shifting in your seat and looking at Aaron who was already watching you.

"You act like it's not always like this," Emily shrugs and sips her drink as you protest, "honey, I don't blame them, I'd buy you a drink if you so much as breathed in my direction."

You laugh at her dramatic comment and shook your head. "I appreciate the praise but really I'm not interested."

"By him or by anyone because in the time we've known you, you've been hit on by all of us combined and tripled." JJ laughs and sips her drink, genuinely curious.

"You're dramatic," you say softly, "but, it doesn't mean that I don't want a relationship just... I don't like the men that hit on me I guess." You shrug, looking at Aaron.

"Some of the men are absolutely delicious sweetie, you can't deny that." Garcia argues excitedly.

Morgan seems to catch on. "Oh, oh."

"What?" you ask him curiously.

"Pretty lady over here has a crush." He smirks and the others gasp with excitement at the gossip.

"I'm getting another drink." You stand up and go to the bar, Aaron getting out to follow you. You both head to the bar and order your drinks, Aaron paying.

"You didn't have to pay," you smile at him, ignoring the glances being thrown in your direction from well... everywhere.

"No but I wanted to." He shrugs and looks at you as your drinks are getting prepared. "You look beautiful by the way."

You blush and look down them back up at him, grinning widely. "Thank you. So do you."

You thank the bartender but make no move to leave the bar to return to the table just yet, looking back at Aaron. "You're different with me, why?"

"What do you mean?" You smile as you look at him, you knew what he meant.

"You know what I mean. You don’t seem to be sending the drink I bought you back.” He smirks slightly and you laugh, looking into his eyes.

��I feel safe with you.” You shrug and sip your drink. “Plus, you’re double the man these are.”

He raises a brow at you. “How so?”

You sigh and look at him. “A girl wants to be considered more than ‘hot’, to be called more than ‘sexy’ in her lifetime.” You shrug and look up at him.

“While I appreciate the sentiment, you make me feel beautiful.” You say softly looking at him, tilting your head as you admire his face.

He smiles at you, a genuine smile as he places his hand on your lower back, guiding you back to the table. Sitting opposite you once more. You join in a conversation with Emily, Garcia, Spencer and JJ.

Aaron on the other hand id being smirked at by Morgan and Rossi. “Don’t.”

“Oh- we don’t have to say anything.” Rossi smirks, with a knowing look as he raises his glass to Aaron.

“You’re in the big L Hotch,” Morgan chuckles, shaking his head.

“Everybody watches her… she is probably the most wanted woman here tonight. I have no chance.” Hotch shakes his head.

“Everybody may be watching her, but she’s looking at you.”

——————

[thoughtsforsoob]

sugar daddy!hongjoong

he’s so shy when he first meets you in person. He’d been talking to you over text and phone calls for another a month now and it was time for you two to meet. The reason it took so long for you two to finally meet face to face was because 1. He was super busy with ateez and 2. He was nervous as hell! Hongjoong is really shy when it comes to people he finds attractive and that so happens to be you!

When he meets you, he’s the perfect gentleman. Shy but chivalrous nonetheless. He opens doors for you, pulls the chair out and pushes it back in, etc…

Let me also say…once you start figuring out the money side of things, you’ll see how truly down bad he is. If he offers one number, and you suggest something higher, he won’t fight back. He just wants you to be happy and taken care of. Also, do NAWT tell him about anything ever. Don’t tell him if you’re going to the grocery store because BOOM $500 shows up in your bank account.

“Hongjoong…my dear…I don’t need $500 to buy bananas and juice.”

“Well then just keep the rest 😊 you deserve it for being so sweet.”

Don’t let him find out you’re paying for school or textbooks. He will make sure you give him access to the payment system so he can pay for you. He doesn’t want you to see the price of books or materials (but you have to) because you shouldn’t have to worry about money.

He NEVER forces anything sexual. In fact, it’s never mentioned in any way. No verbal mention, no contractual mention, etc. he wants you to have sec with him only if you feel inclined to do so.

Overall…10728291/10 sugar daddy 💕

[arbitrarykiwi]

I crave more thangyu x reader before/ no game! au your fic is 😫😩😫😖😖😫😩😩😣 *SCREAMS*

What's Better Than One Boyfriend?! TWO Boyfriends!!!: II

OH WHAT A DELICIOUS MEAL YOU BOTH REQUESTED!! Omg I got so much love on the original two boyfriends post!! And I’m so happy I did because these are so fun to write. I was sitting here kicking my feet writing this fr. I combined two requests for this one, I hope yall don’t mind🙏 as always thank you for requesting, I hope you enjoy!! ORDER UPPP🗣️🗣️

Warnings: 18+ , drug usage , closed polyamory , swearing , some smutty parts / mentions of sex near the end , cum play , spit , probably ooc Thanos and Nam-Gyu, read at your own risk

You can find my other thangyu Two Boyfriends request here

You knew that agreeing to this relationship you’d have to please two people, give attention to two people, and you were well away of their chaotic personalities. But you did not expect that really at no point in your life are you alone now. Sure, if you’d ask nicely to have some time alone- they’d pout and give it to you- otherwise, if it wasn’t both of them with you; one of them was.

Thanos was like a ticking time bomb that could go off at any minute, he was always hyper and ready to run off with you and take you on various adventures. He was for sure an ass man, his hand always on your ass when you’re walking or bending over. He’s slapping your ass playfully as you three all head somewhere to eat lunch. When he’s walking with you his hand is 100% in one of your back pockets. He’s shitty with gifts, never really knowing what to get. He normally leaves the gift buying to Nam-Gyu. But, with his rap career picking up, he is always giving his dark haired counterpart money and telling him to buy something he thinks you’d like. And to also make up for his poor gift giving skills he often takes you shopping! Taking you wherever you like and telling you to buy whatever you pick up. He likes to say he’s not as touchy as Nam-Gyu, not as needy, but he always has to be touching you if he’s near you. Hand on your waist, thighs touching when your two sit together- just some sort of contact.

Nam-Gyu is the tamer of the two of them, balancing out the erratic nature that Thanos seems to bring to the table. Don’t get it twisted though, Nam-gyu can be just as chaotic. He’s walking into your apartment randomly and sneaking into your bed while you’re asleep because. Vary rarely do you three sleep apart, so the one night you all had work late- Nam-Gyu is texting Thanos to meet him at your apartment so they can use the key they have to enter and get to exactly where they belong- curled up next to you or on you. Nam-gyu is the one that is down for a nap whenever. You just want to stay the whole day in bed? Bet he’s getting up to close the curtains and return back in bed with you, almost immediately going back to sleep next to you. He remembers little things you said you wanted to buy but didn’t, leaving small gifts on your bed, hiding a package he got for weeks before he shows you it’s a hard to get item that you wanted and talked yourself out of because it was so expensive. And like the most perfect opposites they are Nam-Gyu is a huge tits guy. He’s laying on them, holding them, his mouth is sometimes just on your pert nipple for over an hour just because it relaxes him. When you’re walking somewhere with him- probably on the way to meet Thanos at some restaurant he found recently that he wanted to try- his hand is holding yours, fingers interlocked and pulled into his jacket pocket.

They just genuinely enjoy being around you. They swear you’re a drug yourself- claiming they get withdrawals without you nearby. Even if you wanted to go to the bathroom, just wanting to take a warm shower by yourself to relax- Thanos is on the counter of the bathroom sink, legs kicking back and forth aimlessly while Nam-gyu is sitting on the toilet lid. They’re passing a blunt back and forth, hot boxing the bathroom and making it more foggy than it already was by the hot water of your shower.

They always complain it’s too hot but never leave the bathroom. And as you turn the water off and rip open the shower curtain they’re both standing up quickly, Nam-gyu is wrapping you up in a towel and Thanos is holding a blunt to your lips. You glare at them, trying your best to seem annoyed but you can’t when they’re hazily smiling down at you with hooded eyes that are tinged red- and so your mouth begins to curl up in a smile to match theirs as you inhale the smoke.

They frequently fight for your attention. Nam-gyu more so compared to Thanos; but they both still need their precious baby’s attention! Thanos isn’t a stranger to pouting to try and get his way.

There was one time that you begged Thanos to let you finally dye his hair. The purple spray he used for the look damn near every day had stained nearly every pair of sheets you had with how easy it would come off with the slightest bit of friction. When all three of you were fucking?! Forget it- you would all come out stained purple. When he finally agrees you got him sat in front of you while you sit on the living room couch. You had to put on a show of his choice to keep him still enough to let you work your magic. Your hands work diligently against the bleached strands of hair, applying the vibrant purple dye over the entirety of his head.

The whole process was taking forever. It was a lot of steps!! And Nam-Gyu was getting fed up that Thanos seemed to have all your attention. Thanos himself didn’t have your attention captured- it was the bright purple dye that you had to apply with precision, less you stain him, you, or the furniture purple more permanently than his spray color he used to use- but Nam-gyu doesn’t notice the difference. All he sees is you’re not paying attention to him. He’s leaning down on the couch, slipping under your arms that work against Thanos’ hair to lay his head on your lap, looking up at you with a scowl. He’s trying hard to seem angry but all you can think about when you look down is a sad cat who just wants to be pet.

“What?” You ask between giggles as you look down at Nam-gyu. “It’s been hours…” he whines, “haven’t touched me at all.” He finishes, a glare still on his face. “‘M sorry baby..” you laugh again, only making him pout more but you couldn’t help it! He was just so cute. “I’m almost done! You were also the one complaining the most about being purple after we all fuck soooo- ‘m really doing this for you“ you draw out teasingly, “‘m almost done.” You say, leaning down and lifting your leg to raise his head- allowing you to place a quick kiss on your lips. You pull away and the kiss seems to make him relax a bit but there’s a look of deep thought on his face.

You quirk your eyebrow up at Nam-Gyu questioningly, your hands paused above Thanos’ head. “What if I want purple hair.” He mumbles, it’s quiet but it has both you and Thanos shocked. Thanos is spinning around to look at Nam-gyu, an accusatory eyebrow raised. “You’re jus’ being needy. You don’t want purple hair, just want ‘er to touch you.” He teases, poking Nam-gyu’s cheek with a laugh. Nam-gyu is swatting Thanos’ hand away and huffing. “No…” he grumbles, very obviously lying. He’s sitting up from your lap, “Was just thinking we could all match….i dunno, put a couple purple streaks in my hair and yours.” Nam-gyu says pointing to you.

And that’s how you ended up with purple streaks in your hair and Nam-gyu ended up with the underside of his hair purple. It was honestly adorable, all three of you matching. You took many photos of the three of you showing off your new style, you have a whole album dedicated to the three of you and your matching colored hair As time goes on you all keep it, eventually swapping colors- of course with Thanos choosing the color since he had the majority of his hair colored- it’s all about compromises!

They also take turns paying for your nails. They both seem to have their own kink for seeing your nails wrapped around their cocks or raking down their chests; and when they realized you went every two weeks like clockwork to get a cute new design, they begin taking turn handing you wads of cash to get your nails done. Who ever was paying would be the one to pick out the design. Thanos more often than not picked vibrant colors. Purples, greens, yellows- he even had you get them painted to match the pattern of his nails once. He loves French tip designs- something about them drives him crazy. He’s asks you to get crystals added or even a ‘T’ charm. Nam-Gyu usually picks dark colors. He loves seeing your nails all black with a deep blood red ombré or maybe deep blue set chrome details- of course like Thanos, he’s asking you to get his initial hidden somewhere on the design.

On weeks they’re feeling generous, they’re putting their heads together to find an extravagant design they both want to see wrapped around them. It’s one that has many add-ons, each nail a different design, different colored crystals littler the inspiration picture like a regal vault full of gems. And of course it costs more but they don’t care! When you finally leave the nail place and send them a picture of the nails they chose, not so innocently posed as if you had something cylindrical in your hand- they’re spamming your phone begging you to come back to your apartment so they could see your nails in person (and see them wrapped around their cocks).

In the relationship, surprisingly Nam-Gyu is the cook. He even ties back his hair and wears an apron. Oddly enough he seems to be able to make whatever you and Thanos want. You could simply be lounging on the couch with them, limbs entangled as you mumble about a specific craving you had- next thing you know Nam-gyu is crawling on the couch and heading to the kitchen. You can hear him rummaging, opening and closing the cupboards, beginning to call out various ingredients. Thanos-who knows his roll in the situation begins to type out a list on his phone, adjusting you off his arm and positioning you on his chest. His arms are wrapped around your back allowing you to feel the minuscule movements of his arms as he types.

When Nam-Gyu is done, he’s returning to the couch. Thanos is begrudgingly pulling himself off the couch, lifting you up a bit as he gets up, setting you in Nam-gyu’s lap. He grabs the back of your head pulling you to him and placing a quick kiss on your forehead before pulling back. “I’ll be back soon, the list isn’t too bad this time.” He chuckles as he grabs his keys off the hook by the door.

Nam-Gyu smiles when the door closes, pulling your back into him and beginning to place kisses all around your face in neck. It tickles, the rapid light touches has you giggling and squirming in his lap. As much as he loves the relationship you three have- he cherishes the moments he gets alone with you and has your attention all on him.

Thanos is off to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients that Nam-gyu requested. However, despite how many times he’s done this, and even him saying the list was easy before he left- he’s still texting Nam-gyu pictures of the items in rapid succession to make sure he’s getting the right item. It’s adorable really.

And as always, the meal is fucking phenomenal. You’d say it’s 5 star Michelin worthy but you’re sure that even the most expensive meal at the most luxurious restaurant could never compare to the full, warm flavor of the home cooked meals that Nam-Gyu makes. Anything he makes is wayyy better than any top chef- you know it and you always tell him. The sleeves off his shirt are rolled up to his elbows, showing off his tattooed arms as he cooks. You’re happily hugging him from behind, standing on your tippy toes to hook your chin over his shoulder and watch him cook. You place a kiss on his neck right below his ear. “It’s not gonna be good if you keep distracting me pretty.” Nam-Gyu would hum out, pausing to turn more towards you and pull you into his side, turning his head and leaning down to place a kiss on your lips. He pats your ass a couple times and gently pushes you over to Thanos. “Help him break down the weed, I gotta focus on dinner.” The dark haired male says with a chuckle.

You’re pouting and walking over to Thanos who sits on the counter opposite the stove. He’s wearing a pair of shorts and has no shirt on, allowing you to see all his tattoos. You look up at him with a frown, “He doesn’t like me…” you playfully whine, it causes the both of them to laugh. “Mhm sure…he’s in an apron cooking for you because he hates you so bad.” Thanos teases, reaching up to cup your face in his hands, squishing your cheeks together. “You’re jus’ oh so needy, Señorita. There’s no satiating you- ever.” He laughs, leaning down to capture your lips in a kiss. You hum against his lips, standing up taller to press your lips against his harder. As he pulls away he tilts his head towards the rolling tray and the bag of weed that sits on the counter to his left, “Break it down f’me, sweetheart? I gotta break down the cigar.” He says in a sickly sweet tone, one that you simply cannot say no to. So you nod and he smiles, packing one more quick kiss on your lips before releasing your face.

Another bonus to add to the list of bonuses you get when dating the two of them- is they’re literally the best people to rant to. They’re both effortlessly sassy. They both think you could do no wrong- allowing you to bitch and complain about the littlest things involving work issues, friend drama, or even something as niche as a weird fixation you found on an internet deep dive.

You were lying on your back on the bed, your head at the foot end, one hand folded lackadaisically behind your head and the other holding the blunt to your mouth. When you exhale your hit you’re ranting on about a co-worker who pissed you off at work, how you have to do extra work because the others don’t do your fair share, even telling them about the workplace romances that bloom in the office. They’re sat on the edge of the bed, nodding along to your words, looking down at you- one of them on either side of you- and passing the blunt between each other and then back down to you with ‘mhm’’s and ‘ohhh’s coming out of their mouths.

“So yeah, she comes into my cubicle and looks at the picture I have of you two on my desk- you know the one from new years last year where you guys are on my sides kissing my cheek.” You ramble, interjecting to describe the picture to make sure they know exactly what one you’re talking about. “Oh yeah I remember that, you looked so good in that dress.” Thanos says, free hand running gently over stomach under your shirt. “It’s a good fuckin’ picture. How cute that you have it in your cubicle.” Nam-gyu adds.

“Mhm.” You nod, “so anyway she asks about it and I say ‘oh it’s me and my boyfriends’” You say repeating what you told your co-worker. They both smile when they hear you say it, waiting for you to continue. “And this bitch gives me the nastiest look and says ‘as in both of them? that’s disgusting’” you say angrily mocking her nasally voice and rolling your eyes.

“What a fuckin’ bitch!” Thanos says with conviction, “She’s prolly’ mad she can’t even get one man to stay with her let alone two.” Thanos scoffs, passing the blunt down to you. “Yeah…ain’t she the cunt that you said fucked the entirety of the IT department? Don’t mind that bitch. The fuck does she know. ” Nam-gyu muses, recalling other stories about this co-worker you told him in the past. He’s rolling his eyes at the thought of that cunt saying anything like that to you.

To add to the ways they contrast each other, while Thanos is all for PDA, Nam-Gyu isn’t. Thanos has no problem with slapping your ass in public or gripping your face to pull you into a messy kiss on the subway- he’s addicted to you, when he needs a fix he’s going to get it. Nam-gyu, although not big on PDA, he makes it known he’s with you- hand in yours, small kisses to your temple or quick kisses to your lips. The difference between the two of them gives you the best of both worlds truly.

And while Nam-Gyu posts you all over his social media- tweeting about you, he adds photos of you with songs attached to his instagram or his Snapchat, posting various photos of the three of you or just you to his instagram to boast about you to his followers, Thanos doesn’t. It’s not that Thanos doesn’t post you- he does! Just not to the extent Nam-Gyu does. Maybe it’s a photo of you and Nam-Gyu across the table from him at a fancy restaurant in the middle of a photo slideshow or a few Snapchat videos of him waking you up, finding your sleepy mumbles adorable. When the rap career kicked off he gained a lot of followers and he’s painfully aware of the crowd he attracts- he doesn’t like the prying eyes of sleazy men in the comment section of the photos he does post of you.

Sometimes sleeping in the same bed with them is miserable. You love them, you really do, and most nights you three are tangled in a cozy pile of limbs that lulls you into the deepest, most blissful sleep ever. But let’s be honest, you’re dating two men who love various substances- and with that comes the occasional night of restless sleep. They both will twitch, jerking against you and pulling you out of your sleep. Thanos snores and Nam-gyu drools- sometimes you find it cute, endearing even, but other nights it only makes you toss and turn more. Thanos has a tendency to run hot, becoming a human furnace that causes you to wake up and throw the covers off you. Nam-gyu runs cold, some nights you have to put a blanket over your body between the two of you to stop your shivering, wanting to hold him but genuinely not being able to sleep when his body that feels as if it’s made out of ice is engulfing you.

As much as they know you, you know them better. One of your favorite things is stopping by the gas station before you return home after a long day of work to get them a little gift. You lazily, but politely- it is 2am after all, anyone working that hour deserves some grace- ask the man at the counter for a pack of camels and a sour watermelon vape. You giggle at the strange look he gives you but you thank him, pay him and head home.

When you come home and enter your room you wish you had your phone out to take a picture. Nam-gyu is lying on top of Thanos, head on his chest. Thanos has his arms around Nam-Gyu slowly scrolling on his phone. They’re both just in a pair of boxers- making the view all the more enticing. You smile widely, “hey my loves!” You laugh, kicking off your shoes excitedly. Nam-Gyu is rising off of Thanos with a yawn and looking back at you.

“Hey, pretty girl.”

“Oh hell yeah! You’re back!”

You nod and begin to take off your coat. “You’re home later than normal. Where’d you go after work?” Nam-Gyu asks as he’s pulling off of Thanos to sit next to him, rubbing his tired eyes and resting his back against the headboard. You raise a suspicious eyebrow- Nam-Gyu was always so on top of your schedule, your itinerary of day to day life burned into his internal clock; he knew if you strayed from the normal.

“You caught me!” You say teasingly, “I made a lil detour on my way home” you finish, reaching into your purse and grabbing what you got for them. You toss the vape and the cigarettes on the bed, following in the footsteps of the packaged nicotine you jump onto the bed. “Ohhhhhhh!!! You’re the best!!” Thanos yells, immediately beginning to open the box. “God you’re a fuckin’ angel” Nam-gyu says, his words muffled as he uses his teeth to tear the plastic off the carton of cigarettes. They’re both squeezing you between them, covering your face in excited kisses.

They have albums upon albums of photos and videos of you on their phones. It’s images on you sleeping on their chests, candid pictures of you waking up tiredly-your hair a disaster and the camera clicks right as you rub the sleep out of your eyes. They have those silly .5x zoom pictures of you from above- Nam-gyu honestly loves taking them when you and Thanos are holding plates of whatever he cooked, looking up at the camera as he points his phone downwards. He always post the images on his instagram, it becoming a little ‘thing’ for him to show off his new dishes that he cooks.

They also have an insane amount of filthy photos of you. They botch can’t help the thrill they get when they record you in the most desperate and debauched situations- only for their eyes to see. Both of them have albums dedicated to your nudes and the photos / videos they take of you. Admittedly, they have the most photos of your cunt raw and messy from the both of them cumming in you.

If you asked both of them, they’d tell you it’s their favorite place to cum, without question. Nothing can ever compare to the feeling of your tight walls sucking them in as they cum balls deep inside you. Even better if you’re taking both of them at the same time!! Good GOD the amount of storage the videos they take of you taking the both of them deep into your tight pussy is actually insane. It’s not every time they do it, it would destroy you if it happened every single time the three of you fucked, but every so often when they both fuck you, their cocks rubbing against each other while they fuck into your sloppy cunt, they’re most likely recording it to look back at later.

If not cumming in your cunt- their favorite place to cum will differ. Thanos loves to cum on your ass or on your face- something about painting your skin with his white cum drives him insane. He loves blowing his load on your ass then rocking his cock in the valley of your ass as the rest of his spend costs your back. His hands are on the globes of your ass, squeezing and smearing his cum all over you.

Just like Thanos, Nam-Gyu is fucking messy. His next favorite place to cum is in your mouth. But he doesn’t want you to swallow it. Sure, he loves watching you stick your pretty pink tongue out to show him the pool of white before you swallow it like it’s honey, but what drives him crazy- straight up feral- is when you take your tits in your hands and push them together, opening your mouth to spit a filthy mix of his cum and your spit onto the swell of your breasts, your hands and those fucking perfect manicured nails squeezing your skin and spreading the mixture on your skin.

And like the perfect girlfriend you are- you match their freak perfectly. Learning and compiling every little thing that makes them tick to get the most reaction out of them in bed.

With the two of them, you’re never alone, you’re always entertained, and you’re oh so spoiled!! Two boyfriends are so much better than one!

I LOVE getting to write about my Thangyu x reader thinks!! It’s so fun >:) thank you for the request!!! As always, much love - <3 kiwi !

For the next few requests (in order of when I received them) we have: thangyu x thick!reader smut , Nam-gyu x naïve!reader smut , Nam-gyu x reader angst into fluff , and Myun-Gi x Reader x Thanos smut

If you’ve requested something and don’t see it yet on the ‘next up’, don’t worry! I’m moving through them and as I post the next requests will be added! I have the next couple days of work so I’m moving through them slowly but surely!

Requests are still open just be aware that it may take me a bit to get to them <3

[alarajrogers]

Commiserate with them. He's a liar, but the news media did their best to hide it, because if it bleeds it leads and they knew Trump would cause so much chaos and suffering, it'd be great for the news. It's not like the old days when reputable journalists ran the news; nowadays it's all giant billionnaire corporations, and all they care about is money, and screwing over little guys like us to make a buck. Honestly, you wanna know what's really going on, read foreign news media like the Guardian and stuff like that; they have laws that kept the billionnaires from buying all the news media over there, so they're still telling the truth at least some of the time. You're from Venezuela? Great! I'll bet you Mexican news sources are willing to tell you the truth about our leaders, though they'll lie to protect their own. As a native Spanish speaker, you have access to a world of news media I can't read. It's ok if you don't trust Venezuelan media, there's the entire continent of South America, plus Spain itself, and you can read any of it you want. It's all on line, just google it in Spanish. I'm so sorry this is happening to you. In today's world you can't blindly trust anyone; you have to do your own research, but there's so many crackpots and conspiracy theorists out there who are just making shit up to make a buck. I mean, did you know his ex-wife -- the dead one, the one he buried on his golf course -- wrote a memoir where he beat and raped her because she gave him a referral to a doctor for a hair implant and the doctor messed it up? I mean, she said afterward, no, she didn't mean to imply that he treated her badly... but she put it in there in black and white. I think she was scared of him. I mean, she ended up dead and he wouldn't allow an autopsy, and she got buried on his golf course. I'm from New York; we've been seeing this guy's shenanigans since the 80's, so I know, I wouldn't put anything past him. You know he was a really good friend of Jeffrey Epstein, right? Who died in prison the last time he was president? Yeah, obviously there's no proof of anything, but you gotta wonder. Anyway, you take care of yourself. It's a damn shame politicians get away with lying like that. I know we always joke that politicians lie, but this guy. Wow.

This kind of thing. You don't blame them for being taken in. You blame Trump for being a liar and the news media for collaborating. You don't mention Democrats and Republicans, you talk about "politicians", because on both sides of the aisle most people agree, politicians suck. You talk about billionnaires propping him up because they want to steal our money to make themselves richer. You express sympathy for them. Maybe, depending on your audience, drop some of the salacious conspiracy-like hints about Trump's behavior.

Meet them where they are, and offer them friendship and sympathy. You're a lot more likely to get them on our side that way.

[stollengoods]

Let’s Get Wild

REQ. Tha-gyu x Reader Smut~

Warnings: Cursing, drug use, and threesome/lots a smut (like someone needs to take my phone away from me cuz this was filthy bitch haha)

Summary: Your dumbass friends take Viagra.

————

Most people would think a single woman renting out a home with two men as your roomates would be a cause for concern. Especially if those same roomates, did all kinds of random substances on the daily but to you they were harmless goofballs; they could be dumb and annoying at times but harmless non-the-less.

You guys met at the club, Nam-gyu worked there as a manager, Thanos was a famous rapper so he was there almost every weekend, and you used to work there as a dancer until you finished college and went on to become a nurse.

You’re shift usually ends at 11 PM and you would get home around 11:30 - 11:45 PM. Most of the time you would get home before the boys because the club didn’t close until 2 AM, but sometimes your job would ask you to stay for a few more hours and you would for the extra pay.

Tonight was one of those nights, you texted the boys in the the group chat not to worry if they didn’t see you at the house because you probably weren’t going to be home until later.

On the way home they decided to stop at McDonalds and buy dinner for everyone. They wanted to surprise you and also knew that you most likely weren’t eating enough as you should for how hard you work.

When they got home, they set the food and drinks on the table. They didn’t know exactly how long you would be, but typically when your boss asked you to stay an extra few hours you got home no later than 3 AM.

They went into the fenced off backyard to smoke some weed before coming inside. They both sat down at the table engulfing their food in minutes.

Thanos burped, leaning back in his chair, “Alright, what do you got for us tonight ?”

Nam-gyu smirked pulling out an orange prescription bottle from his coat pocket.

“I pickpocketed this old fucker.” He said, shaking the bottle and listened to the sound of rattling pills.

Thanos made a face, “Why an old guy ? He’s probably got heart issues and shit. No way he’s taking anything fun.”

Nam-gyu shook his head, the corner of his eyes red due to the marijana they smoked earlier. “No dude, I specifically picked him because he was dressed like a rockstar and plus you should’ve seen all the woman he was picking up, that dude was a chick magnet ! Whatever he’s on I want.” Nam-gyu pointed his thumb to himself at the last statement before opening the pill bottle and shaking one out onto his hand.

“What even is it ?” Thanos asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity now.

Nam-gyu handed Thanos the bottle, “That’s the thing, the labels kind of worn out, so I can’t really tell.”

Thanos inspected the bottle label closely but ultimately shook his head, “Yeah I can’t make it out either.”

He fished a pill out of the bottle and pinched it between his fingers looking at the front and back of the pill. “It doesn’t look familiar.”

Nam-gyu bit his lip in excitement, “I know, im telling you dude I’ve got a good feeling about this one.”

Thanos smiled, “Alright, down the hatch it goes.” He slipped the pill into his mouth, Nam-gyu following suit as they both swallowed it in sync.

————

“Dude, it’s been almost an hour and all I feel is a headache and my heart beating like crazy.”

Nam-gyu sighed, “Yeah, I know, this fucking blows.”

The sound of the door lock turning made them look back to see you stumbling into the house, closing the door behind you and sliding down it onto the floor.

“Hey there’s are Meredith Grey, how was work today ?” Nam-gyu called out to you.

Him and Thanos sat on the couch, watching a movie, with their heads turned to peer at you.

You could barely keep your eyes open, “Fucking exhausting.”

“Well we got you some food on the table, if you’re hungry.”

You perked up at the sound of food, you made yourself stand and walk over to the table. “Aww, thank you guys, this is a really sweet gesture.”

“Oh yeah, no problem, we know the long hard hours you work and wanna make sure you get the energy you need.”

You smiled at them, before grabbing your food and putting it in the microve. Once done, you sat down at the table and began munching down on your hot McSpicy with fries and washing it down with a coke.

You tilted your head, noticing the orange bottle of pills on the table in front of you for the first time. You picked it up and looked at the label, noticing that it wasn’t either of their names.

You rolled your eyes as you realized Nam-gyu must have stolen it from someone at the club. Curious though, you tried to look for the name of the drug but the label was too tattered to read it.

Thanos got up from the couch and joined you at the table, “Oh yeah, maybe you can help us out and tell us what this is.”

You huffed, “Please tell me you guys didn’t take one already, without knowing exactly what was going into your body ?”

“Eh, I wouldn’t worry too much y/n.” Thanos shrugged, “We took it an hour ago and still feel nothing except for our hearts racing but that could just be the weed we smoked earlier.”

You closed yours eyes at the mention of weed, “You mixed it with another substance ?”

“Yeah, but it’s just weed.” Thanos defended, “That’s not harmful, it’s like drinking alcohol.”

You smacked your hand in the middle of your face at his ignorance. “Thanos, mixing prescription drugs with alcohol can be lethal.”

“We only smoked weed, I was just comparing it to alcohol.”

You pinched the bridge of your nose, “No, Thanos, I get that I was just saying-“ you sighed, “You know what nevermind, let me see if I can figure out what this is before I give myself a heart attack.”

You popped open the bottle and shook one out onto the palm of your hand. The pill looked fairly familiar and it wasn’t until you looked very closely at it to read the writing that you let out a laugh.

“What ?” Thanos asked, “What is it ?”

You closed your eyes, shaking your head with a big smile on your lips. “Hey Nam-gyu ?” You called out to him.

His head turned around, “Yeah, what’s up ?”

“Come here please.” You motioned him with your finger.

He raised his eyebrows and got up walking around the couch, your eyes along with Thanos’s were instantly drawn to the prominent hard on showing through his grey sweats. Nam-gyu sat down across from you completely oblivious to his situation.

“Who’d you get this from ?”

His eyes went to the blue pill in your hand, “Some older guy at the club tonight. I thought since woman were practically throwing themselves at him, he would have something that we would want, but turns out it was nothing. This shit is ass.” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair.

The smile on your face grew even more, “Well typically Viagra only works if you’re sexually aroused.”

Nam-gyu’s eyes squinted in confusion not completely catching on yet, “Viagra ?”

Thanos froze for a second and then looked down, “Fuck.”

Nam-gyu’s head snapped to him, following his gaze and he chuckled, “Dude why are you-“ He blinked his eyes a couple times before looking down at his own erection.

You bit your lip to keep from laughing, “Yeah… so you guys took Viagra-“ You checked the pill again, “-And at the highest dose as well, wow.”

“Shit.” Nam-gyu commented, looking anywhere but at you.

“Good news is, since you only mixed it with weed there shouldn’t be too many side effects besides Tachycardia. Plus weed can increase the amount of Viagra in your system, making it last longer and amplifying its effects.”

They both looked at each other with worry and confusion. “What’s Tachycardia ?” Nam-gyu asked, looking back at you.

“It’s just means a faster than normal heartbeat.” You explained.

“Shit.” Thanos cursed under his breathe, “Y/n you gotta help us.”

You laughed, getting up from your seat and throwing your trash away. “Yeah not gonna happen, you two can suck each other off, I’m going to go sleep.”

You went to your room and shut the door, quickly switching into comfortable pj’s and snuggling under your covers.

A few hours later you awoke to someone shaking you lightly and whispering your name. You barely peeled your eyes open enough to make out the color of Thanos’s purple hair.

“Thanos…” You groaned, “What the fuck do you want ?”

“Y/n, you gotta help us.” His voice sounded panicky.

You whined, stretching your limbs, “Huh ? What are you saying ?”

“The Viagra we took earlier, remember ?”

You let out a soft laugh recalling the event suddenly, “What about it ?”

“It’s been two and half hours and we’re still hard as rocks.”

“Alright TMI.” You rolled over onto your side, your back facing him.

“Y/n-“ He pulled your arm down having your back lay against the mattress. “I’m not playing around, we both tried jacking off and came but nothing changed, we’re still hard and it’s starting to become painful.”

“Okay, I still don’t know what you expect me to-“

Thanos cut you off, attaching his lips to yours. This wasn’t the first time you two have kissed, sometimes when you would drink with them, you guys would get really steamy. Not just with Thanos but Nam-gyu too.

You moaned into the kiss, your fingers lazily running through his hair. He rolled himself on top of you, making you instantly feel his hard on pressed against your leg. You felt yourself clench at the thought of him inside of you.

You felt the bed dip next to you and looked over while Thanos kissed along your neck. It was Nam-gyu, he was feeling himself over his sweats as he watched you and Thanos play with each other.

When Thanos pulled away to remove his clothing, you crawled over to Nam-gyu. He leaned back onto his elbows as you made your way on top of him. You could hear his breathing pick up, as your face inched closer to his. You attached your lips to his and he moaned into the kiss as he tried pulling you more into him.

That’s the thing you loved about getting intimate with Nam-gyu, he was so needy.

One of his legs was trapped between your thighs and Nam-gyu bucked his hips up & down, humping your leg. He broke away from the kiss, releasing such loud sensual whines of desperation.

You began kissing his neck and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, hands clutching your hips to pull you even closer to him.

“Y/n.” You heard a deep voice call next to you.

You looked over to an exposed Thanos laying on the bed stroking himself, “Suck me off.” He commanded.

And this is what you loved about being intimate with Thanos, he was very dominating.

You licked your lips, nodding your head and crawling over between his legs. You grabbed the base of his cock and saw as his eyes glaze over with lust watching you. You licked a strip from where your hand was to his tip and felt him shiver beneath you before taking him into your mouth.

His hand tangled in your hair as you started to bob your head on him. You gagged around him when he shoved you down on his dick more, loving the sounds of you struggling to take him all in.

He released your head and you came up for air, a string of saliva being the only thing connecting you two at the moment. You wiped your mouth and Thanos sat up, swiftly unbuttoning your top.

You gasped at the cold air hitting your exposed skin, your nipples rock hard from it.

Thanos attached his mouth to one while his hand messaged the other. Your hand went to his hair lightly pulling on it. You felt vibrations against your skin as you heard him moan and noticed Nam-gyu, now fully naked as well, behind him. His arm was reached around Thanos’s waist, stroking his dick.

Thanos stopped what he was doing to you and turned around to focus on Nam-gyu. Attaching their lips as he fondled with his balls. Nam-gyu’s nails dragged down Thanos’s chest and he hissed into the kiss.

Thanos then detached his lips to spit in his hand. He reached down stroking Nam-guy’s leaking cock and watched as his mouth hung open, releasing such pretty moans for him as he looked at him through half lided eyes.

“God such a needy fucking slut for me, huh ?”

He whined, nodding his head as his hands hung onto his shoulders for support as he came undone; his cum spilling onto Thanos’s cock and lower abdomen.

Thanos grabbed him by the neck, his face only a few centimeters from his. “You better clean this shit up.”

“Y-yes sir.” Nam-gyu squeaked out.

Thanos released him, throwing him against the mattress. You watched as Thanos layed down and Nam-gyu quickly got up and crawled on all fours licking the cum from around his stomach.

You bit your lip at the sight, Nam-gyu was usually a shit talker who acted like he was a tough domineer but when it came to sex he was the complete opposite. Such a submissive, needy partner.

Nam-gyu was about to lick the cum off of Thanos’s dick but he stopped him. “Y/n-“ He used two fingers to motion you over and you listened crawling over to replace Nam-guy’s position next to him.

“Yes ?” You asked.

He rested his hands behind his head, “I want you to ride me.” You broke eye contact to look over at his cock that was decorated in Nam-gyu’s cum.

“Now.” He growled.

You swallowed, removing your shorts/underwear and positioning yourself on top of him. You grabbed his dick to line up with your entrance and felt the sticky substance coat your fingers. Nam-gyu’s cum mixed with your arousel made it very easy for you to sink yourself down onto him.

“That’s a good girl.” He moaned, placing his hands on your hips helping you bounce on his cock.

Your pace quickened when he slapped your ass with one of his hands and you moaned out his name. You felt him twitch inside of you and knew he was close. He pulled you into his chest and swiftly rolled you over so he was now ontop of you.

You didn’t have time to think as he thrusted himself into you, deeper and quicker this time. Your mouth hung open, moans falling out of it one after the other.

“Gonna cum.” Thanos grunted.

“P-please.” You begged, feeling yourself too close to the edge as well.

“Please what kitten ?” Asked, “You want me to cum in this tight pussy of yours, hmm ?”

You clenched around him in response and he groaned. “I need to hear you say kitten.”

Your nails marked up his back as you tried to form words, “P-p-please c-cum in me…”

He caressed his thumb on your cheek, “Such a good girl for me.” He said with a smile, “How could I say no ?”

His hand then went to your throat as he did three last hard thrust into you before spilling his warm cum into you. You came at the feeling of his cum filling you like a pastry and spilling out of you when he pulled out.

You never worried about either one them getting you pregnant because of all the drugs they took. Thanos layed beside you, instantly wrapping his arm around your waist with his head in the nap of your neck. It only took a few seconds for him to start snoring softly into your ear and you giggled a bit.

Nam-gyu who was fast asleep after Thanos had jerked him off; unconsciously rolled over pressing his chest against his back and you smiled at how cute they looked while sleeping. It didn’t take long for you to follow suit.

————

In the morning, it was your day off so you didn’t care too much that you slept in. The clock read 12:34 PM and you groaned as you stretched your limbs. You felt your ass damp and looked beneath the sheets suddenly remembering the events that took place last night.

You looked over and noticed the boys were no longer in your bed. You yawned, walking over to your bathroom and took a shower. Once done you threw on your clothes for the day and walked out your room into the kitchen. It smelled of eggs, bacon, hashbrowns making your mouth water.

“Well look who finally decided to wake up.” Nam-gyu snarked and you stuck out your tongue at him taking the chair across from him at the table.

Thanos scrapped the eggs out of the pan onto Nam-gyu’s plate that was full of food already. He pointed his spatula at you, “How many eggs you want ?”

“Two.” You said holding up two fingers as well.

Nam-gyu took a bite of his food and then stood up, “Mmm, before I eat I’m going to throw your sheets in the washer real quick.”

You nodded your head, “Thank you.” You called after him.

It wasn’t long before Nam-gyu returned and Thanos had made you and him a plate of food. Thanos sat in the chair next to Nam-gyu and everyone chomped down on their food.

“Do you need money for a plan B ?” Thanos asked, with an eyebrow raised.

You shook your head with a chuckle, “No. I’d be lucky enough if either of your guys’s sperm lasted two days in me.”

Nam-gyu looked at you confused, “What do you mean ?”

“You guys are so hopped up on drugs that your sperm cells aren’t the best. Even if they got me pregnant, I’d most likely have a miscarriage after a couple of weeks and not even know it.”

Nam-gyu’s eyes looked concerned, “Damn… that’s-uh kind of depressing.”

You shrugged your shoulders, “It’s not like you’re starting a family anytime soon and when you want to just slow down on the narcotics, yeah ?” He nodded his head going back to eating his food.

Once finished you set your dishes in the washer and thanked Thanos for the delicious food he prepared. You told them that you were going to go get your nails done and to not wait up for you. Thanos stopped you at the door handing you a wad of cash.

“What’s this ?” You asked.

“Money for your nails.”

You tried giving him the money back, “I’ve got it, you don’t have to-“

He shook his head, “I insist.”

“Really Thanos I don’t-“

He smirked, “Let me spoil you.”

You smiled, rolling your eyes at him, “Thank you.” You pressed a kiss to his cheek and walked out the door as he shut and locked it behind you.

[stinkysam]

Choi Subong “Thanos” - Golden child.

Warning : this is not an x reader cuz they’re brothers. Drugs, death, violence, lots of scenes retranscriptions, really long (11k3 words)

Genre : fluff

Synopsis : “You’re Thanos’ little brother and you decide to join the games to help him pay his debts.” - anon

Reader : male (you/yours)

A/N : bold is in English

You were the second and last child, the favorite. The one that succeeded in everything he tried and never brought troubles home.

Unlike Subong who had bullied some of his classmates before leaving school at a young age to focus on his rap career, had some moderate success and then failed, you were still in school, mixing studies and work in a tight schedule.

That didn’t stop your dad from giving you a hard time at certain moments, though it was your older brother who took most of it during your childhood. 

When Subong left the house, your father badmouthed him for it, saying he didn’t care about the family or taking care of your parents, but when you did you almost got praised.

“Ah, my successful son.” You received a pat on the head, a bit too strongly for your liking.

Your mother on the other hand had congratulated you the same way she did with your brother. Buying and cooking you food for your own place to fill the fridge.

You knew she worried about him, and you did too.

Despite these differences as you grew up, Subong always saw you as his baby brother that he needed to take care of.

In his own way though. 

But you felt more like it was the opposite since the day you began to understand how your family worked. You didn’t mind though, you loved him and his antics, actively hanging out with him once school was over, from elementary school till you got into university. 

You didn’t care if you had to solve his problems, you knew he’d do the same thing if you got into trouble. Which you tried to hide a lot of times because you knew he would beat up anyone bothering you. And you didn’t want him to go to jail because of you.

So when a weird man approached you on a Sunday at 10am for a game of ddakji with money for the winner, you wondered if he was some kind of gambler trying to get his fix.

You weren’t particularly looking for money, but 100 000 per victory was still appetizing and you thought about your brother.

He sometimes asked you for money and even though it was always small amounts he never refused when you gave him extra cash. He never told you he had debts yet you easily guessed it despite not knowing how much he owed exactly.

You accepted to play. You could give what you earned in that small game to give it to him.

Rubbing your stinging cheek you took the money the man gave you, counting it before folding it and pushing it in your pocket.

He handed you a small card, telling you you could win more by playing a few more games.

It smelled fishy but you still took it, wondering how much you could make and if it’ll be enough to help your brother.

As you walked away, you immediately called him.

“Rise and shine ! I got something for you.” You said a sing-song tone as soon as he picked up after the third try.

“Huh ?” His voice was rough, you knew you had woken him up, it made you laugh.

“400 000 won. What do you say ?”

“Huh ?” He repeated. “Mh, I don’t need money…” He said uncharacteristically quiet, you scoffed.

“Yeah, right. You’re at your place I suppose ?”

“…Yeah.”

“Coming.” And with that you hung up.

-

You woke up at the same time as everyone, quickly emerging, looking around and at all the people surrounding you.

From above, you spotted on the ground someone with purple hair walking around amongst the others. You tried to get a better look when suddenly a big door of the lobby opened, pink masked men coming in with guns.

A man with a square on his mask welcomed you all, explaining what you were going to do for the next following days. Then questions came. Why the kidnapping ? The masks ? Why all those secrets ?

As the square responded, talking about security of the staff, a girl commented on her clothes, finding them ugly, preferring to wear the pink suit the armed guys were wearing.

That’s when the man with purple hair you saw earlier spoke, talking about his limited edition shoes. You recognized the voice instantly.

“Subong ?” You said to yourself, not believing your ears and eyes.

Another man intervened, asking about his phone, needing to monitor the crypto market at all times.

You supposed the square no longer had patience, showing and giving the names of everyone that had asked questions. Your brother appeared on the screen above the pink man. There were no doubts anymore. He’s here.

Fuck.

The square continued talking, speaking about second chances while the screen continued to display everyone in the room playing ddakji. You weren’t listening, hurrying out of bed and climbing down to find your brother.

You quickly stopped though as the lights dimmed down and a giant piggy made of glass came down from the ceiling.

“How much is the prize money ?” A curly haired man asked.

“The prize money for the games is 45.6 billion won in total.” The square replied as you almost fell from the ladder in shock. 

Regaining your composure, you slowly began searching for your brother again as more questions and answers were given, and apparently you weren’t the only one searching for someone. Just as some old woman found that curly haired man, you saw Thanos’ purple hair.

“Bro ! Subong !” You whispers yelled, making your way toward him.

Subong’s head shot up, looking around for whoever had called him. His eyes widened when he saw you approaching. What ?!

“What the fuck are you doing here ?” He asked a bit too bluntly, making you grimace at him.

“I came here to get you money. You’re not supposed to be here as well.” You sighed, putting your hands in your pockets. “If I knew you’d be here too, I wouldn’t have called them.”

“You should’ve told me, man ! No secrets between us, remember ?”

“Like your big debts you hide from mom, dad and me ? Wasn’t it 1.19 billion ?”

“How do you know ?” He asked, genuinely surprised. He thought he had hidden it well. “Ah, they said it when they showed me. Did I look cool ?”

“No.” You said, too seriously, making him huff. “And no, I knew before that.”

“Huh ?”

“I’m smart, you’re dumb, remember ? I smelled your debts from kilometers away.” You said with a proud smile, dusting off your chest.

“Ah, that bastard.” He said under his breath, glaring at you. “Is that the way of treating your older brother ? Mh ?” He pushed your shoulder, making you smile.

“Sorry. But seriously, why didn’t you tell me you met that sketchy guy when I told you how I got the 400 000 won ?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you’d call them ?”

You stared at him and gave him a sigh.

“Alright. You got a point.” 

“No more secrets, okay ? You know everything anyway.” He said, showing you his pinky. “Promise ?”

You looked at his hand and groaned.

“You have my word but no pinky promises. It’s fucking cringe at your big age.”

He put one hand on his heart, acting hurt, his other one still waiting for yours.

“Do it.”

“No.”

“Come on ! Do it !” He loudly said, losing patience and attracting attention, making you give in.

“…Alright.” You sighed, one hand on your face in embarrassment as you locked pinkies with your other one, thumb touching his. “Promise.”

“Good.” He said, rubbing your hair quickly. Before hugging you. “Ah, I’m so happy you’re here. We’re gonna make so much money, my little guy !”

-

You gave each other a thumbs up as you signed the consent form to play the games and walked back behind the lines, waiting for everyone to be done.

That’s when a young man approached you two, 124 written on his sweatshirt. 

“Thanos. Do you remember me ?” He asked, a bit awkwardly.

“No.” Subong replied. You tried not to smile at his bluntness. “Who are you ?”

“I’m Namgyu, from club Pentagon, we met a few times, don’t you remember ?”

“No.” He said again, shaking his head after thinking quickly. “What do you want ?”

You barely listened to Namgyu’s answer, focusing on trying to find the highest number on people’s sweatshirts.

“Oh, there’s MG Coin.” Namgyu said, pointing to the front. Subong suddenly stood up, walking toward where 124 was showing. 

You saw them talk with another guy, 333 on his clothes, their discussion grew more heated and you grimaced as Subong grabbed him, about to punch the man, but Namgyu stopped him.

Your brother walked away only to go back toward 333, probably menacing him before sitting next to you once more.

“You lost money because of him ?” You asked, trying to understand what happened.

“500 million won. That fucking bastard.”

You stared at him, dumbfounded. You said nothing though a hundred things rushed to your mind. Why the fuck would he spend that much on it ? Was it the money he won by rapping ? Does he even know how crypto works ? Why did he trust some random guy on the World Wide Web ? Was he… truly dumb ?

You sighed, massaging your forehead.

Soon, everyone had signed the consent form and the square told you to follow them for the first game.

You patted your brother’s back as you stood up.

As you formed a line, Subong behind you and Namgyu behind him, you tried to find where you were by looking for windows.

But there were none. Long corridors with unnatural lights, stairs in every direction, no views to the outside. You could still be in Korea or on some random island in the middle of the sea. Or maybe even underground in another country.

Your photo was taken and as you walked away you looked at your brother. Someone had recognized him, a fan, asking for a photo with him. Soon more people came asking for a photo, squeezing in the shot to be with him in the picture. You smiled, amused and laughed when the square said it was not allowed.

You walked away, still chuckling as your brother told him to get in the shot as well.

You continued going up and down the multiple stairs, seeing the other lines taking a different path than yours. You wondered if you’d all end up in the same place.

Suddenly Subong pushed you, rushing past the people in front of you. You wondered what was going on until you saw the lady who spoke about how ugly the green tracksuit is.

“Ah, who does he think he is ? Casanova or some shit ?” You sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose.

Next time you saw him, it was on a big empty field, with what seemed like all the other persons from the lobby. You wanted to approach him but as soon as you heard him talk to that girl you walked away.

“Fuck. So cringe.” You huffed, slapping lightly your face to recover from that sight. Sadly you weren’t far enough as you heard him rap for her. You tried not to laugh, your eyes watering in embarrassment. “Surely he’s adopted.”

The doors closed as they announced the name of the first game, Green light, red light. Seems easy. You liked playing that game with your brother as you were a kid, though he always added new rules so you’d lose.

Then a man rushed to the front, 456, the highest number you’ve seen on someone. He yelled for everyone to listen to him, that losing meant dying. 

No one seemed to believe him, even arguing back and saying it was ridiculous.

So 456 continued, saying the doll had motion detectors in her eyes. You knew this whole situation was weird, but didn’t expect the other people here to be weird as well.

But still no one believed him. Even as the first few rounds started, everyone was moving and freezing in time as he stayed still, yelling to stay relaxed.

It was going so well until that girl your brother was flirting with moved, scared of the bee on her neck.

“Crap, I just moved.” She said, before getting shot in the head and falling to the ground. Your breath was caught in your throat as you almost jumped at the sound of a gunshot. Your brother was frozen, though you couldn’t see his face, you knew it was covered in her blood.

“Fuck- what the fuck ?” You whispered, staring at her body while yours began to shake.

“Nobody moves !” 456 screamed. Could he just shut up ? “You must not move !”

“Player 196 eliminated.”

Then a woman looked at 196 before screaming in horror and getting shot as well. More people moved in shock, screaming, rushing to the back, pushing people which made them move as well.

Through all the noise, you could barely hear 456 screaming, but you knew he was still telling you to stay frozen, to not move and wait or you’ll die.

“Let me repeat. You can move forward while the tagger shouts ‘Green light, red light’. If your movements are detected afterwards, you will be eliminated.”

No one dared to move when the doll turned and sang again, too afraid to die. As she did it once more, you saw your brother move, quickly getting something from around his neck.

“You will also die if you don’t make it there in time !” 456 yelled, urging you to move as soon as you could. “That doll is a motion detector ! But it can’t detect motion that’s not visible to it ! Go behind someone bigger than you, like you’re doing Follow the Leader !”

2 minutes 19 were remaining, and you were close to the middle of the field. Time is short but if you hurry up you could make it.

Everyone moved when the doll turned around, already forming lines as they hid behind each other. But her song got faster and faster, never leaving you enough time to properly run.

That’s when you saw your brother push three people before him, sending them to their deaths. Fuuuck. He had his fucking pills with him and took one of them.

He was also the first one to move again as the doll faced the wall, skipping, jumping, heel kicking.

You tried calling for him, telling him to hide behind someone. He was in plain sight, easily seen by the killer doll. But he was too out of it, the only one in the field taking pleasure playing.

Only a few meters remained, Subong crossed before you, dancing in joy as you finally reached the finish line too, out of breath. You were ready to let yourself fall to the ground to rest when he grabbed you, making you celebrate with him, but you just pulled away, throwing up. You had seen enough blood and deaths for a lifetime.

Everyone looked up when the sky closed. Pink guards coming in to bring you back to the lobby. Not a word was uttered on the way.

Subong tried to get you to talk, but you ignored him. You felt like if you spoke you’d cry or throw up again.

You all sat as one united group in the lobby, still silent.

You brother was sniffing and fidgeting. Namgyu asked him if he was alright.

“Don’t worry.” Subong replied.

“What ?”

“I’m okay.”

You were shaking, anxiously swaying when the lights were turned on, the square and a few triangles entering the lobby. Everyone moved away, trying to hide behind the beds to not get shot. Subong barely moved while you hid behind him and Namgyu.

The square congratulated you for making it through the first game, and announced how many people were remaining.

Scared, the old woman you previously saw with the curly haired man moved forward, begging to spare hers and her son’s life, promising she’ll find a way to repay her son’s debts. People followed, begging on their knees as well. You were still watching from behind Thanos.

“We are not trying to harm you. We are presenting you with an opportunity.” Said the square.

“Close three of the consent form !” A man yelled as everyone went silent, looking at him. “‘The games may be terminated upon a majority vote.’” It was 456. “Correct ?”

“That is correct.”

“Then let us take a vote right now.”

The square agreed, talking about respecting the right of freedom of choice. Everyone signed in relief, and you did too, relaxing slightly.

“But first, let me announce the prize amount that’s been accumulated.” He added, before clicking on a remote, and the glass piggy appeared again. Before you could wonder what was happening, money fell into it in large quantities, gaining everyone’s interest, slowly coming out of their hiding spot. 

Subong and Namgyu moved, getting closer from the center to get a better view as you remained on the floor, too stunned to move.

“The number of players eliminated in the first game is 91. Therefore, a total of 9.1 billion won has been accumulated.” The square announced. “If you quit the games now, the 365 of you can equally divide the 9.1 billion won and leave with your share.”

“How much is that ?” Someone asked.

“Each person’s share would be 24,931,500 won.”

Which meant 49,863,000 with you and your brother.

“Twenty million ? You said 45.6 billion !” Yelled Subong.

“The rule is that a hundred million won will be accumulated for each eliminated player. If you choose to play the next game and more players get eliminated, the prize amount will increase accordingly.” The square replied.

Your mind was racing, barely listening as more questions were asked. The square’s answers seemed to please everyone as they all began to whisper among themselves.

If you and Subong survive, it’ll be 45.5 billion won in total, so 22.75 billion each. Fuck. Could you stand more games ? There was this guy, Namgyu, that could help but could you really trust him ?

“Now, let’s begin the vote.” Said the square as some circles entered to place a machine with two buttons before him, an O and X lighting up on the floor. “If you wish to continue the games, press the O button. If you wish to end them, press the X button.”

456 voted first, not even hesitating as he chose X before walking to the X side of the lobby.

454 chose O and did the same, standing on the other side of the room.

Slowly, 54 people had voted. There was no real big majority, though it seemed like more people voted X. Then the Os were winning, 92 people against 87. Your brother rushed to the machine, pushing the O button without hesitation. 93.

You sighed.

Fuck. You’d have to vote O too.

456 suddenly intervened, telling people to come to their senses. Why did so many want to keep playing after knowing how the games were ?

100 argued back, asking who he was and why he kept egging everyone on.

“You scared us by saying they’d shoot us before the game even began !”

254 spoke too, saying she almost died because 456 made her so nervous.

That’s when 226 asked the real question. How did 455 know they were going to shoot those who moved ? Was he one of them ?

456 stayed silent as they continued to argue back, chaos erupting as both sides yelled at each other.

“I have played these games before !” 456 finally yelled, shutting up everyone. “I have done this before ! I knew about the first game because I had played it before ! I played the games here three years ago. And everyone who was with me… died here !”

This stunned everyone. But not for long. He already came here ? How did he survive alone ? Was he the only winner ?

“I was the final winner.” He added, quietly. “If we continue the games, every single person here, just like all the people back then, will die in the end.”

100 scoffed, not believing him. What was he doing here if he already won 45.6 billion won ?

More people voiced their disbelief as you saw your brother approach 456 confidently.

“If you really won, it actually works better for us.” He pointed at him. “You can give us some tips on how to beat these games.”

“That’s right ! We have a previous winner with us, so what do we have to worry about ?” 100 added. “Come on, let’s do this !”

“Come on !” Your brother yelled, as other Os agreed, encouraging the others to vote O as well.

You saw 456 walk toward those who hadn’t voted yet, begging them to vote X to stop the deaths. As he was talking a triangle had approached him, planting his gun on his back.

“From here on, we will not tolerate actions that disrupt the voting process.” Said the square. “Now let’s resume the vote. Player 228.”

And so the vote continued. Slowly the X returned the situation, voting in mass while you stood next to your brother with an O on your chest. You heard him sigh, annoyed with how this was going.

331 people had voted, the Xs were winning. Then the Os, then the Xs again and so on.

As only a couple persons were left, each side cheered when a vote their way was made.

“Player 001.” Called the square.

“Everyone, say O !” Your brother yelled, raising his fist in the air and quickly each side did the same thing. Yelling what to vote. 001 could change everything, getting you out or keeping you in. His vote was crucial.

Silence fell as he stood in front of the buttons, visibly hesitating before choosing O. 

Everyone cheered, Thanos was jumping in joy, his hand on your shoulder to reach higher before bumping his chest against Namgyu’s.

After the vote and when everyone had calmed down, the pink men came back, putting you all in lines to give you food. Fried egg and rice with a bottle of water.

You were eating calmly with your brother and Namgyu. They talked first about the prize money and slowly the discussion drifted toward the YouTuber that had scammed them. If they get his money as well, it would make a really great sum.

Namgyu left first, rubbing his hands, Thanos followed quickly, leaving you his rice to finish. Though you didn’t feel too hungry after what happened, you still took it, watching where they were going.

Toward the YouTuber, obviously.

It didn’t take long for them to throw hands, 333 throwing himself on your brother, both landing on the floor as Namgyu tried to help.

Subong got back up and began punching the poor man.

“Son of a bitch.” He cursed, 333 was on the floor as he began to kick him. “I lost all the money because of you, fucker. You piece of shit.” 

Fuck. You quickly finished your rice and stood up, wanting to stop him before he could beat him up too much.

“Boys, what are you doing in the middle of mealtime ?” 001 intervened, slowly making his way toward Subong, Namgyu and 333. “No fights during mealtime. There are elders present. Mind your manners. And two against one… aren’t you embarrassed ?” 

Your brother stopped, looking at him before approaching him, confidently closing the distance.

“You’re lecturing me when you ended up in this shithole too ? Dude, stop running your mouth and take care of your own damn kids.”

“What did you say ?”

“I said save the lecture for your own damn kids.”

Then 001 grabbed him by the throat, making you jump and hurry toward them with Namgyu. The man kicked you two without breaking a sweat, sending you to the floor before letting go of your brother.

Knowing him, he was seeing himself as the strongest here, so he wasn’t going to back down from this fight. As he approached 001, he got punched in the stomach, bending down in pain and trying to catch his breath.

“Wait-” He said, trying to put a hand on the man who grabbed his arm which cracked loudly, and sent him on the floor before kicking his face and shoulder, making him lay on his back.

001 was above him, strangling him and ready to punch him again as you stood up with difficulty, limping toward them.

“I’m sorry.” Subong said, struggling to speak.

“Please let go of him, we’re sorry !” You said, bowing completely, desperately trying to help your brother not get killed here. You could not take that man in a fight. “Please, sir !”

“Please… let me go…” Subong’s face was red, voice strained, hands by 001’s wrist.

Slowly, 001 pulled away as your brother coughed, finally getting some air. You rushed to his side, helping him up.

People were clapping, applauding the man for stopping the fight. He nodded slightly before walking back to the group he was with.

You sat with Subong in a corner, Namgyu joining you rapidly, limping as well. You stayed together till it was time to go to bed.

But despite his loss, your brother still looked confident, he was not going to be put down so easily. If he wasn’t the strongest, he was the second strongest. You sighed, exasperated and placed your hand on his head. If you could just give him some of your brain cells… Just a bit…

“What ? What is it ?” He asked, looking at you.

“No, nothing. Keep yapping, I’m going to bed.”

“I’m not yapping. Hey ! Come back here !” He sighed as you ignored him, climbing to your bed. “That asshole…”

-

You woke up to the sound of classical music, and soon a voice in the speakers spoke, announcing the start of the second game as armed pink men came in. You began to climb down, and as you reached the floor you looked at your wrist. Your watch was gone.

“What time is it ?” You asked.

“Too early.” Your brother responded still on his bed, opening his cross and taking a yellow pill.

“My god.” You said, watching him annoyed. You knew you couldn’t stop him even if you tried. “It’s always too early for you.” You added, before walking away.

He just tsked, swallowing the pill. 

From above, Namgyu knocked on the bed frame, gaining his attention, asking what he was taking.

“You don’t need to know. It’s time to play the game.” Subong replied, standing up and following you.

You arrived in a big room, two giant colored circles on the ground. They looked like rainbows. Purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red.

The voice told you to divide into teams of 6 by the end of the 10 minutes. Quickly people began to look for partners.

Your brother wrapped an arm around you and patted Namgyu’s back.

“Three !” He announced proudly.

“Yeah, three missing.” You added.

“[Name] ! Namsu !”

“Namgyu.” Namgyu corrected.

“Excuse me, can I team up with you ?” A voice spoke from behind. As you turned around you recognized the man. He was the fanboy who wanted a photo with Thanos yesterday.

You nodded, eager to find the missing team members.

“Of course !” Your brother added, hitting the man’s shoulder.

“Thank you so much !” The fanboy quickly bowed.

“What’s your name ?” Namgyu asked.

“Gyeongsu.”

“[Name].” You said, pointing to yourself, then pointed to Namgyu. “Namgyu.” And then to your brother. “Him.”

“‘Him ?’ I’m fucking Thanos the great ! The legend !” 

“Yeah, yeah, we’re aware.” You said, nodding, making him glare at you. You could be really annoying sometimes.

“So… 2 more people, right ?” Namgyu pointed out, looking around for two more people.

That’s when Subong left without a warning, making the team follow him. Something had caught his eyes.

A girl.

Obviously. 

“Not again…” You whispered. “One of us really must be adopted.”

“Señorita, excuse me ?”

“Oh my god.” You hid behind Gyeongsu, too ashamed of your brother.

The girl turned around, staring.

“Let’s play the game together.” Thanos said, crossing his arms with a smirk.

The woman looked at all of you before answering, unsure.

“Well, why should I ?”

“Don’t you know who he is ?” Gyeongsu asked. “He’s Thanos, the rapper.” As he said that your brother posed, you just wanted to walk away and find another team. “I’m gonna kill half of humanity with my raps.” Gyeongsu rapped, imitating him.

You felt sick. Why were you with them ?

“Hang on, a girl ? We don’t know what the game is.” Namgyu finally said as she tried not to laugh.

“I, Thanos the great, will protect you.” Your brother said, ignoring him.

“Right, Thanos...” The girl said, looking away, seemingly thinking. “So you have all the Infinity Stones ?”

“Of course.” He showed his nails proudly. “I’m gonna destroy anyone who gets in my way !” And took a step closer. “Just stick with me, and you’ll be safe. Okay ?”

“But I already asked someone to join me.”

“No problem.” He replied, rolling his R. “Who is it ?”

The woman looked at all of you before taking a step to the side, showing a smaller man. 125 written on his sweatshirt. He had voted X.

Namgyu sighed as you poked your head from behind Gyeongsu to look at him.

“What’s your name ?” Thanos asked.

“…It’s Minsu.” 125 replied.

“He looks like a freaking dork.” Namgyu argued but Subong ignored him.

“What’s up ? Nice to meet you, my brother.” He said, walking closer to him. “Welcome to the Thanos world.” He grabbed his hand and wrapped an arm around him. Continuing as he pulled away. “You’re cute. Come on.”

You looked at the timer, 1 minute 58 seconds remaining. You sighed, glad you found everyone you needed under the time limit. You used it to present yourselves to Minsu.

When the time was over, everyone sat by groups in the colored circles. Namgyu stared at Minsu while your brother swayed side to side, fidgeting excitedly.

The voice over the PA system announced the rules of the game. Presenting each mini game.

“Number one, ddakji. Number two, flying stone. Number three, gonggi. Number four, spinning top. Number five, jegi. Number six, cham cham cham. Your goal is to win all the mini-games and cross the finish line in 6 minutes.

“You guys pick.” Your brother said, not caring at all about what he’ll have to do. You elbowed him and he just looked at you, confused.

The first two teams were ready to start, everyone anxiously staring at them while continuing to pick what mini-game they could do.

“Let the game begin.” The voice said.

“Let’s get it ! Whooo !” Your brother yelled, hyped for it. 

The square shot in the air, and the timer began to run.

Everyone watched the two teams play, failing certain mini games repeatedly. And eventually, the 12 of them got shot. Making most of you jump.

Fuck. Could you really make it ?

Namgyu quickly turned to your brother who was in his own world, wiggling and shaking his head. You were breathing heavily, lost in your thoughts.

“I don’t know what the fuck are you talking about.” Subong said a bit loudly, bringing you back to earth.

“If I get nervous and lose the game, we’ll all die. My hands are shaking like crazy.” Namgyu said, showing his hands. He was shaking more than you.

“Namsu.” Your brother started, only to be cut off.

“It’s Namgyu.”

“Right, Namgyu.” He took his cross in his hand. “Do you know what that is ?”

“Ecstasy ? Ketamine ?” Namgyu whispered.

“It’s a new kind. It’s fucking crazy, man. You can’t handle it.”

“Hey.” Namgyu rolled his sleeve, showing a scar on his left arm. “I did all kinds of stuff when I was working at the club. I even bought you some when you came to the club.”

Subong looked around, and opened his cross discreetly, giving him one pill.

“You junkie.” 

Namgyu quickly took it, chewing it before swallowing. You simply hoped they wouldn't get too high and fail the games. Praying to any gods to help you.

“What ?” Namgyu asked Minsu who was staring at him, Subong back in his imaginary world.

“Uh, nothing.” Minsu replied awkwardly.

“What’s your name again ?”

“It’s Minsu.”

“Minsu, what’s the famous quote by Admiral Yi Sun Sin ?”

But Minsu didn’t answer. Confused by the question at a time like this.

“‘Those seeking life shall croak. Those seeking death shall live’. So don’t be scared. Just tell yourself that you don’t care if you die. Then we’ll survive, win the money, and get the fuck out.”

“Hey, mind your own business.” Finally said Semi. Gyeongsu looking at the two.

“Me ?” Namgyu asked.

“Yes, you. Mr. Shaky Hands.”

“What’s with the attitude ? We shouldn’t have picked a girl. She’s got an attitude.”

“You’re a prick. You had to pop a pill for your nerves.”

“Fucking bitch.”

“Ah, calm down you two.” You finally said, trying to lower the growing tension among the group. 

Then the doors opened. By instinct you leaned to the side to hide behind your brother who put a hand on your knee.

“Don’t worry. I got you.” He said, confidently, trying to reassure you. But with so many guns in the room, it didn’t work.

You watched in silence as the circles got in with big boxes, putting the dead inside. A triangle approached one of them, requested to open it before shooting the person inside twice.

You leaned even closer to your brother, jumping at the gunshots, trying to make yourself as small as possible.

“It’ll be our turn soon.” Subong said.

“Shut up.” You whispered. Your forehead against his back. You really wanted to go home.

Then it was the turn to two other groups. Nervously walking toward each mini game, as everyone looked anxiously at them. You all cheered each time the team of the old woman aced a game, tension growing. They had time, they could make it, right ?

Slowly people stood up to cheer for her team, encouraging them, only staying silent to let them play and focus.

You gasped when 120 slapped 044, staring shocked. But everyone cheered again as she succeeded, counting with them the steps to the next game then turning silent.

120 asked everyone to look away, so you all showed her your back, counting the number of kicks. Then cheering.

“One, two ! One, two ! One, two !” You screamed with the team, taking one step after the other toward the finish line. In the end both teams succeeded which shifted the whole mood.

Each passing team was encouraged, the tension was still here but the weight of death wasn’t as heavy as before.

As you were on the starting line and the guards tied your feet together, you tried to ignore them and relax. No timer, no guns, it was just you and your team having fun. You breathed deeply, wrapping your arm around your brother’s shoulders who was completely hyped for it. You tried to imitate him, confidence could get you far after all.

Gyeongsu was first with ddakji, rapidly succeeding after a few failed attempts. Then it was 380’s turn with flying stones. Namgyu was so nervous his knees kept violently shaking, even when cheering. You wondered if he was gonna piss himself.

Minsu’s turn was up with gonggi, while Subong was just vibing while Namgyu was making noises each time the plastic stones were in the air. You swore to kill him if he made Minsu fail a second time.

Then it was his turn, knees still shaking for the spinning top. And he failed twice. 380 got so close to punching him, grabbing him by his sweatshirt and cursing at him. Subong was dancing, throwing his arms in the air a little too close to Namgyu who had to push him away slightly before trying once more, finally succeeding.

It was now your brother’s turn with jegi, which he easily won, kicking 5 times the fluffy ball.

Came your turn. You stared at the circle, facing him, ready for cham cham cham. Your heart was pounding. You tried to go fast, not much time remaining.

Subong was patting your back, either encouraging you or simply vibing to the music in his head.

You didn’t let the losses shake you, breathing loudly, shaking but rapidly starting over until you succeeded, then the circle looked in the same direction you pointed 5 times. You had won.

You cheered, throwing your hands in the air, and you understood why Namgyu’s knees were shaking like that.

Then the team quickly moved forward, crossing the finish line in time and celebrating your victory.

You were fucking alive ! It was hysterical.

You continued shaking, adrenaline rushing through your blood as they unchained your feet, letting you go back to the lobby group by group.

“I told you we’d win !” Subong said, hand squeezing the back of your neck.

You then waited by your brother’s bed for the rest of the groups to come back.

You exhaled slowly, trying to calm yourself, but your brother kept talking about the games, making you relive the emotions.

“I know, I know, I was there, will you stop it ?” You replied, voice shaky with excitement.

“Why ? We did it !” He laughed. “ And a lot of people are gonna die in groups of 6, so we’re gonna get tons of money !” He added with a confident smile.

“Ah, why did you have to remind me that people die ! Seriously !” You groaned, throwing your head back and climbing on the above bed so he wouldn’t talk to you anymore.

More time passed, and more people came back.

Namgyu sighed, upset that so many “animals” had survived. He turned to Minsu, asking him how many he thought remained.

“Sorry ?” Minsu asked.

“How many roaches do you think we have left in here ?”

Minsu looked around, thinking before answering.

“About 200.”

“200 ?” You said quietly, no longer listening. That’s a lot. Why was there only one survivor in the previous games ? Were the games harder ? Or are they gonna become harder now ?

Shortly after, 6 more people came in, 455’s team. And soon, the square with his triangles entered the lobby, congratulating you all for making it through the second game.

You all looked up at the glass piggy as money continued stacking up inside. And as it accumulated, the square announced the number of people who were eliminated, the amount of people remaining and prize money total and the one to share if the majority decided to leave.

Ah, still not enough for your brother’s debts…

You were not the only one disappointed. It was still nowhere near 100 million won. People argued back, insinuating that the pink men counted the dead wrongly, asking to do it again.

“I completely understand your disappointment.” The square replied. “However we always keep the door open for you to pursue new opportunities. You will now take a vote to decide whether to continue the games or not.”

As he said that, the door opened again, the voting machine being pushed in and placed before him.

You thought it was smart of them, making people want to continue by showing how little they earned right before the vote. You wondered if the result was gonna be as tight as the first one.

It started by 001, changing his previous vote to X. You were a bit taken aback, he is the strongest in a fight and is in the team with the previous winner. What is he scared of ?

As the vote continued, your brother patted your back.

“You’re gonna vote O, right lil guy ?” He asked, looking at the numbers growing on each side.

“Of course, we’re gonna win these games.” You said puffing out your chest, smiling. Namgyu turned toward Minsu, telling him to not betray them.

“What ?” Minsu asked, confused.

“That.” Namgyu grabbed the X patch on Minsu’s chest. “We all agreed to play one more game, right ?”

“Yeah.” Minsu replied quietly. It’s clear he didn’t want to.

Once again there was no real big majority, each side always winning my one or two votes. Came your turn, O, then Namgyu and Minsu, both voting O as well.

You were winning by three votes, when suddenly 001 yelled to stop, and to come back to your senses.

Like the first vote, people argued back and forth about dying and having a second chance at life if they survive. And quickly all the Os with you and your brother were screaming “one more game” under the disappointed look of the Xs.

As time went on, an actual big majority happened, 23 votes separating the two sides. You were the winners.

The square announced the result of the vote, adding that the next game will happen tomorrow and the left.

Time went by and pink men came back to give you food, making you wait in line. You thanked them and walked away, following your brother and sitting next to him.

Everyone in the group gathered near, some more quiet than the others, not interested in participating in the discussion. You didn’t speak either.

The adrenaline had worn off and you just felt utterly tired and too hungry to be satisfied with what you got. Thanos noticed you chewing too much for the bites you took and knowing your eating habits, he gave you a third of his soboro bread to help fill your stomach.

You continued eating slowly, trying to trick your own body into thinking you were eating enough before the guards escorted everyone to the bathroom.

As you came out of the stall, your brother along with Namgyu and Gyeongsu were by the crypto YouTuber’s side. Probably annoying him. You approached, listening to their discussion which seemed a little bit too calm compared to their other altercations.

“You’re my slave until you pay me back.” You heard your brother say. “My slave.”

Ah, they’re still after him…

“So you have to keep playing the games until the end. And who knows ? You might win the entire prize alone.” Subong continued before beginning to rap. “Then I will get my money back, and you will get your happiness back.”

“If I win the prize money alone, that’d mean you’re dead.” Replied 333 as Subong thought about his words. “Why would I pay you back if you were dead ?”

True. You nodded slightly.

“How do you even remember your lyrics ?” 333 continued. “Oh, right. You forgot the lyrics in the show’s finale.”

Ouch.

“You son of a bitch. You have a death wish ?” Your brother grabbed him by the throat, pushing him near the entrance.

“Alright Subong, that’s enough.” You said, pulling him away from 333. You glared at Namgyu who was about to put a hand on your shoulder to stop you. You were not going to let him enable your brother.

Subong was about to go back toward the YouTuber when suddenly 390, 001 and 388 entered. 

He stared at them then at 333 before looking at you. You shook your head ‘no’ as you looked back at him and at 001. You weren’t sure 001 would be as kind as earlier and let him go again if he picked a fight with him.

“I’m watching you.” Subong finally said, pointing at 333 before walking away. You bowed your head slightly as you passed the three men, quietly apologizing for the trouble.

“If you kill him he’ll never pay what he owes you.” You said, walking next to him back to the lobby. He just hummed, still upset he couldn’t finish him.

“Next time it’s on sight though.” Added Namgyu.

“Didn’t you hear what I just said ?” You asked, turning to look at him. He simply rolled his eyes, ignoring you.

As you entered the lobby, a quiet music was playing, announcing that soon the lights will be off for nighttime.

You told your brother to calm down and sleep and he rubbed your hair.

“Good… night.” He said, posing.

“Ehh, so embarrassing.” You tsked walking away and climbing the ladder to your bed.

“[Name] ! Stop being a brat !” He yelled, pointing at you and you laughed, flipping him off.

Acting shocked by your gesture, he quickly grabbed the ladder and began to climb as well.

You hurried up, not wanting him to catch you, and hid under the sheet. That didn’t stop him from arriving at your level.

“Yo, lil bro.” He said, shaking you. “You really think you can tell me to fuck off ? Huh ?”

Your hand slid out from under the covers, flipping him off once again, more discreetly. He still saw it though, grabbing your hand and squeezing it shut tightly. It was starting to hurt.

“Alright, alright !” You quickly said as you came out from under the covers, trying to pull your hand away from his grip. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I won’t flip you off ever again !” You added, hissing.

He took your second hand, squeezing it as well, making you grimace though you were still smiling.

“Are you sure ?” He asked, leaning closer, your fingers cracking.

“Yesss. I promise. Pinky promise even. Ahhh, let go please !”

He let go of your hands, smiling before rubbing your hair once more.

“Good.” He showed you his right hand, wiggling his pinky. You sighed and groaned with a chuckle, accepting your fate as you made another pinky promise. “Flip me off once more…” He warned.

“And I eat dirt. I know. But if I do…” You wiggled your eyebrows, leaning closer. “I’ll tell mom.” You whispered.

“Ah ! You bastard !” Thanos hit your shoulder as you laughed. “Mom can’t always protect you.”

“Yeah but I’m the favorite, remember ?” You replied, posing cutely. “She’ll be so sad to hear you kicked me, your own poor little brother. The family’s little meow meow.” You pouted, making a sad face.

He sighed, a hand in his hair. 

“Fuck off.” He finally said, giving up and climbing down as you chuckled.

“Good… night.” You said, imitating him.

You heard him laugh before replying.

“Hey, sleep with one eye open tonight.”

-

You woke up once more to the sound of classical music, the PA system telling you to get out of bed quickly before the start of the third game. Ah, you could’ve used some more sleep. Whatever.

You stretched and climbed down, seeing your brother share a pill with Namgyu. You sighed, ignoring them and walked amongst the others, waking your legs.

In the long and narrow corridors, Subong and Namgyu were already hyped, joking together. Whatever deadly game was coming, they didn’t care. 

You entered a big room with lots of colored doors, with some kind of round platform in the middle. As you got in, the name of the game got announced.

“Woah, we’ll be mingling together !” Said Subong excitedly looking at the group. “Doesn’t that sound like so much fun ?”

Only Namgyu seemed happy about it, jumping forward instead of walking.

The voice told the rules, repeating itself once more so everyone had heard and understood.

Soon the game started, the platform turning on itself with a song playing on the speakers. Round and Round.

You tried to relax, ready for the voice to announce the number while your brother was shaking his arm in the air, enjoying himself.

The song and the platform stopped suddenly, almost making you fall over.

“Ten.”

You quickly looked at your group, a 30 seconds timer playing. You grabbed the person behind your back as your brother, Namgyu and Semi did the same while taking Minsu and Gyeongsu with you, holding onto each other as you rushed inside a small room.

You looked through the small hole in the door, watching as the remaining people were shot, before being placed inside boxes. The doors unlocked themselves, allowing you to walk out.

You went back on the platform, staring at the puddles of blood splattered on the floor. Your stomach doing a flip.

The song started over, Namgyu and Subong locking arms and dancing.

“Five.”

You stared at your group. You were 6. You saw your brother look at Minsu and Gyeongsu, hesitating before stopping and only looking at him.

“Please…” Gyeongsu said, scared.

“Gyeongsu, you’re out !” Subong finally said, kicking him in the stomach. “Let’s go ! Whooo !” He rushed away, grabbing your arm as you looked at Gyeongsu, shocked. 380 grabbed Minsu who was also standing still.

“Wait- Gyeongsu !” Minsu yelled, wanting to help him as he was pulled away and into another small room, door locking behind him.

“Namgyu, what happened to Gyeongsu ?” Minsu asked as you stared at your brother, unable to wrap your head around what happened.

“Minsu, you fucker.” Namgyu replied, hitting his chest. “Talk to me like I’m your friend again, and I’ll leave you out there next time.”

“Wait !” Subong raised his arms, gaining the attention of everyone. “Where did you leave my boy Gyeongsu ?

You looked at him, utterly confused, as you were about to reply, gunshots and screaming were heard. He brought his hands to his head as he tried to remember what happened.

He suddenly pushed Namgyu to the side, looking through the hole.

“Fuck ! Gyeongsu !” He yelled, horrified.

You stared at him like he had grown a second head.

The doors were unlocked after a couple minutes and you slowly walked out, more blood on the floor, it was hard to not walk on it.

Minsu was distraught by it as well, looking at a puddle by his feet.

“Hey Minsu ! Come on, my boy, come on !” Your brother called him, waving at him to join the group.

It was time for another round, now there were less people on the platform as it began to turn once more.

“Three.”

Subong turned to look at you to grab you and Namgyu but you had disappeared.

With the way he was acting, you couldn’t lie and say you weren’t afraid of what he could do. Not wanting the same fate as Gyeongsu, you left to find two players to go with you.

You were holding one by the hand, frantically looking for one more person. That’s when you saw Semi alone. You grabbed her as well and rushed to a room, closing the door behind you.

Shaking, you tried to calm down, heart pounding. Semi stared at you. The sound of gunshots echoed again and then the voice over the speaker announced the players that had died as circles were putting them in boxes.

The doors reopened and you walked out, fidgeting with your fingers. When is this going to end ? You and 380 noticed Minsu, who stared at her with a relieved expression.

As you went to the platform again, you tried to blend with the other players so your brother wouldn’t find you. Which didn’t work.

“Where did you wander off to ? I thought you died !” He said, frowning, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

The platform began moving again but after a few seconds only it stopped.

“Six.”

You knew you couldn’t find 5 people in only 30 seconds, so you stayed with them to find 2 more, before rushing inside yet another small room.

As the doors unlocked after some time, you walked out, almost slipping on a puddle of blood. You felt sick and didn’t know if you could keep trusting your own brother.

“Now, the final round.” The woman on the PA system said.

“Fucking finally.” You whispered as you bent down, hands on your knees, tired of it.

The platform began to move, one last time, Round and Round still playing. 

“Two.”

Subong’s head was shaking, cartoonishly looking at you, Namgyu and Minsu. You rolled your eyes and grabbed Minsu, rushing away, closing the door behind you two.

You should’ve known this would happen.

When you were finally allowed to walk out and into the corridors, you didn’t wait for Subong. You were one of the firsts entering the lobby before climbing to your bed. You sighed, at least you made it out alive.

You saw your brother arrive with Namgyu, rushing to Minsu’s side, hugging him energetically. You rolled your eyes, falling backward on your bed, closing your eyes.

Barely a minute after, you heard someone climb your ladder.

“Hey bro. Why did you leave like that ?” Subong asked. “You even wandered off in the middle of the game !”

You ignored him, turning to face the other side.

“Ah, don’t be like that. I knew you’d survive.”

“Go away. I’m voting X.”

“Oh come on, don’t do that.” He whined, a hand on your shoulder, shaking you slightly.

“Picking that guy over your own fucking brother ? No, no, I understand.” You scoffed, refusing to look at him.

“Heyy, you picked Minsu first.” He said. You could hear his smile in his voice. He was still not taking this seriously.

“Your ass was not about to pick me, don’t fucking lie.”

“I was !”

“Is that what you told Minsu too when you got back here ? My boy, I thought I was with you but turns out it was this bastard.” You said, imitating his voice.

“I’m serious ! I was really gonna pick you !”

“Right. Go away, please.”

You heard him sigh, probably running a hand through his hair. Why were you so stingy about it, you survived.

“You’re gonna tell mom ?” He asked, trying to make you laugh. But you said nothing instead, ignoring him again.

He huffed, patting your shoulder before climbing down and going back to Namgyu and Minsu.

You stayed like this for a moment, trying to calm your nerves until the square and his triangles came in. He congratulated you all once more, announcing the results of the third game.

356 million won were accumulated in that glass piggy.

“The vote will once again be conducted in reverse order of your player numbers.” The square said, the voting machine now installed. “Player 456, please cast your vote.”

As the vote went on, you watched as Semi picked X. You looked to the side where your brother was. He was looking at her, making a ‘watching you’ sign with his hands. You smiled before wondering if you could really pick X as well. Subong’s money plus yours would equal 712 million won. Still not enough for his debts, even if you add player 333’s gain.

And as much as you were mad at your brother, you came here to help, not abandon him.

God this was giving you a headache.

The vote continued, your brother skipping to the buttons, kissing the O before turning around to scream while making a circle with his arms.

“Circle ! Let’s go !”

You sighed. You just wanted to go home.

Then it was Minsu’s turn to vote, choosing X. That surprised you.

Namgyu’s turn came right after him, and with no surprises he chose O again.

You did the same, though you had hesitated a few seconds before the buttons. Fuck it, we ball, eh ?

“I knew you’d do the right thing.” Subong whispered to you as you passed next to him to climb to your bed. But you didn’t say anything.

The scores were tight, no side truly getting ahead of the other.

Then the Os were winning again, 50 against 49.

Only 001 remained. His vote barely mattered. It’ll either make a tie or reinforce the Os.

It ended in a tie. Which means the vote will happen again.

Ah, you really didn’t wanna do it. You stayed on your bed until the circles came back with food. You climbed down, and waited in line for a bottle of coke and gimbap rolled up in tin foil.

Subong stopped before you, but you continued walking, passing next to him.

He rushed after you, handing you half of his gimbap.

“Don’t want it.” You said, not looking at him.

“Come on, I know you’re hungry. Take it. I’m sorry.”

“Give it to your new brother.” You replied before climbing to your bed.

As you were eating and drinking calmly on your own, the Xs called the Os to change their vote, saying they’d invite him for some beef and noodles.

Oh, how you wanted to change your vote. Beef and noodles…

The Xs didn’t take this kindly, arguing back until both sides were at each other's throat though they never crossed the red and blue lines separating them.

Slowly the chaos died down, and people were led to the bathroom. You decided to go as well, since you saw both Subong and 333 walk out. Seeing how it went last time, you knew it would end the same way. And if you or 001 wasn’t here to stop Subong, it could end really badly.

“Ah, that bastard.”

You were waiting by the exit door, watching, ready to leave once your brother and Namgyu were done talking to Minsu hiding in the stall. 333 was doing his thing. Everything was well.

But things escalated quickly, the YouTuber interrupted them to protect Minsu’s vote.

They faced and threatened each other, gathering Os and Xs behind themselves. Soon, Minsu rushed out of the stall, hiding behind others Xs.

You stayed by the door, not wanting to have anything to do with it, especially at this scale. You could handle your brother fighting but not a handful of men.

Then, of course, a fight erupted, 333 throwing himself at your brother who quickly sent him to the floor before punching him. Amidst the chaos, you moved closer to them, ready to pull Subong away.

As they strangled each other, you saw 333 take something out of his pocket and quickly you grabbed Subong, pulling him from behind. But that bastard was strong, resisting.

You let go of him before putting all your strength into one more pull, 333 stabbing the air as you and Subong fell on your back, your brother landing on you.

Before he could ask you why you did that, 333 threw himself on him once more, successfully stabbing his left arm and his right hand. 

Luckily, your brother was stronger, pushing him off and standing up quickly again, kicking him in the head and stomach.

You stood up as well and pulled your brother with you, walking out of the bathroom. He argued back, wanting to continue the fight and kill him. 

You refused to let go of him, both pulling in different directions. You accidentally let go of him and he hurried back to the bathroom until you grabbed him by his hair. He let out a scream of pain before doing the same to you with his unharmed hand. Both holding a fist full of hair.

“Come on, stop it !” You yelled, grunting, trying to move your head toward his hand so it wouldn’t hurt you too much.

“You fucking stop it ! Why are you against me ?!”

“Because you’re being fucking dumb !” You winced. “You want to make mom proud !? Don’t fucking kill anyone, that’ll- That’ll fucking help !”

“Let go of me !”

“Not before you calm down !” You pulled his hair harder. “I’m not fucking stopping until you go back to the lobby !”

“Ah ! Fucking bastard !” He yelled, hissing, before finally letting go of you. “Okay I did it, let go of me ! It fucking hurts ! Come on, bro !”

You waited a few seconds before finally pulling away, he rubbed his head, soothing where it was hurting as you did the same. Fuck, maybe you should shave your head so it wouldn’t happen again.

“You.” He pointed at you, approaching. “Why the fuck did you stop me ? Mh ? You should have my back at all times !”

“I fucking do !” You sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose. “I told you. Do you think mom would be happy to hear how you egged Minsu to vote O, or how you harassed that crypto bastard, nearly killing him ? Or how you pushed those three people to their death during Green light, red light ! I haven’t forgotten ! Or Gyeongsu !”

“Alright, I get it ! Shut up !” He put his hands on his forehead, frowning. He barely remembered what he did. Did he really push three people ? Was it him who killed Gyeongsu ?

“I know you don’t care about dad, I don’t either, but if you go back there and kill that bastard, everything he said about you would turn out true.”

“I said I get it ! Shut your fucking mouth !”

You stared at each other in silence, regaining your calm slowly.

“It fucking scared me, dude.” You started. “That shit you take- After Gyeongsu I thought you’d get me killed as well. That’s why I took Minsu with me when you hesitated.”

“Okay ! I know, I’m sorry !”

You huffed. God, you wanted to punch him.

“Do I have to drag your ass back to the lobby or are you gonna walk with me ?”

“Guys !” You heard coming from behind you two. “Oh my god, guys, you’re here !” Namgyu. You sighed, rolling your eyes. “I got MG Coin’s fork !” He said, rushing to your side, showing it off.

Subong took it quickly, looking at the tines.

“It got my fucking blood on it !”

“Thanos.” You glared at him, warning him. He stared at you, surprised to hear you call him by his stage name. 

He gave the fork back to Namgyu with an annoyed sigh, making his way down the long corridors.

“Let’s go.” He said, waving at you two to follow him.

Crossing your arms you walked behind him until you reached the lobby’s door.

As Namgyu entered, he yelled that the Xs had attacked you three, nearly killing your brother and successfully killing more people.

Both sides slowly approached as Namgyu continued to lie about what actually happened. You walked away from them, going to your bed as you looked at Subong, giving him a ‘watching you’ sign with your hand before climbing up the ladder.

Soon after, the rest of the people in the bathroom arrived, the Xs quickly argued back, defending themselves and trying to spread the truth but the Os refused to believe them. 

The old man, 100, stopped them, asking which side had lost more men, stunning everyone into silence. That’s right, which side ?

Quickly the Xs and Os gathered to count themselves. You stayed on your bed, not really caring if your side had lost more. You knew the result would influence directly on the result of the vote tomorrow, but you didn’t care anymore. You just wanted to go home with your pain in the ass brother.

Your back against the wall, you were already dozing off when the voice over the speakers spoke, telling you to return to bed for nighttime, the lights turning off in 30 minutes.

Slowly the two big groups separated themselves into smaller ones as they rejoined their bed. Continuing talking until the last few minutes of light.

You were practically asleep when you felt your bed shake, someone climbing up the ladder. You groaned, already guessing who it was.

“[Name].” Subong said, shaking you. “You have to get down.”

“No.” You replied quietly, tired.

“They are planning to attack the other side, Namsu and some others have forks but so does the Xs. You can’t stay in the open.”

You sighed, sitting up.

“Huh ?”

“Come with me. We have to hide.”

“You’re not gonna participate in the fight ? Really ? Not even to try and kill crypto man ?”

He shook his head ‘no’ though it was evident he wanted to take part in it.

“Gotta protect my little brother.” He replied, pinching your cheek.

You slapped his hand away, groaning.

“Stop that, I’m not a baby.” You said, but he ignored you, climbing down.

“Come, quickly.”

You groaned, following him. Why did they want to kill each other like that when the games were already doing it ?

“10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1…” The voice over the speaker counted.

As you reached the floor, the lights were out. Subong grabbed your arm, pulling you with him, quietly searching for a hiding spot.

“Under the beds, on the floor.” You whispered as you went down, crawling.

He followed you, lying on his stomach next to you as you tried to see what was going on.

You heard a scream from the X side, then rushed footsteps and more screaming. The lights began flickering as chaos quickly followed, everyone fighting. Punching, kicking, stabbing. Killing.

“Don’t make a sound.” Your brother whispered, his hand on your back.

After what could be 5 minutes, the lights were back on again as a group of triangles with a square entered, shooting in the air to stop the fight. 

They walked in, aiming at everyone standing up, making sure they stayed still before scanning the dead.

Your eyes widened when you saw 456 grab a triangle and steal his gun, killing the pink man, followed by more people doing so.

You and Thanos looked at each other, confused.

“What the fuck ?” He said and you shushed him rapidly.

You watched from under the bed as the triangles retreated, leaving behind them the square. An X tried to kill the Os remaining with his gun, but 456 stopped him, before yelling, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Everyone ! Don’t be scared ! Gather round, please !”

Subong shook his head, silently telling you to not move and stay hidden.

“It’s okay to come out !” Another man yelled.

“We’re not trying to hurt you !” 456 continued. Then you heard gunshots again.

It was 120 shooting the cameras.

Soon, everyone except you two was standing up, out of their hiding spot as they gathered guns and ammo in the middle of the room.

“Everyone.” 456 started again. “We will now head up to the masked men’s headquarters. We’ll capture the ones who captured us, put an end to this game, and make them pay !”

You watched as each member of his team was holding a gun.

“Anyone who knows how to use a gun and wishes to join us, please step forward. You tried to make yourself smaller, fearing to be seen even though you were still hiding.

“Hey. I know you’re scared.” Began 390. “I’m scared too. But this may be our last chance to make it out of this place alive. Fight with us so we can go home together. All together.”

“I’ll fight with you.” Said a man, quickly followed by others.

You grabbed Subong’s sweatshirt. Though he didn’t know how to use a gun, except in video games, you believed him dumb enough to try and go with them.

“I’m not gonna go.” He whispered.

“Are you sure ?”

“I’m not dumb.”

“Are you sure ?” You repeated again, smiling. He tsked, pushing your hand away.

“Ah, they left.”

You looked toward the front, no longer seeing 456 and his team. You sighed, relieved.

Now what ?

[always1star]

the time we were together

toxic!sukuna x fem!reader (although can be read as gn?)

tags: angst, college au, cursing, arguments, use of y/n, alludes to sex (but nothing explicit, i dont write smut), cheating, yearning, closure, happiest ending i could make tbh, no part 2 im sorry

a/n: i didn't mean to write this but for some reason it just happened so enjoy my first fic lol. also this is NOT PROOFREAD

WC: 2.7k

You and Sukuna have been going out for some time now, maybe about five months. You met him at some random frat party. You had just been broken up with by your boyfriend of two years, and so you went to a party and took anything and everything anyone gave you. You were feeling super sick and all you really wanted was solace. After a while of sulking in the corner of this random disgusting frat house, you decided it was time to go home, as at this point you were high and drunk completely out of your mind. You gathered your things and attempted to stumble your way to some kind of exit. On your way out, you accidentally ran into this huge hunk of a man with bold tattoos. You started sobbing when he caught you, tears staining and fists clenching his shirt. He was absolutely bewildered and as people had begun to stare, he grudgingly took you home. After that night, you kept running into this random man you sobbed to on campus, and the rest was history. 

Although you and Sukuna have been going relatively steady for a while, you had hit a point in your relationship in which all you did was argue. And it is generally understood that after the honeymoon stage everyone often disputes with their partners, but Sukuna was terribly vicious. He often brought up how insecure you were, how it was your fault you were raised the way you were, how easily he could replace you. To say the least, Sukuna was an ass. He damaged your core like no one else could and it desperately hurt you to be with him. Still, you stayed by his side because you loved him, and hoped he felt the same way. You hoped because he would hold you as you cried, kissing away your tears, and whispering how sorry he was. You always forgave him, even if he did it time and time again. 

During the first stages of your relationship, Sukuna welcomed your presence. You two hung out often, and although not ordinary dates (he often took you to race on his motorcycle or would take you to sketchy parties), you had fun and were happy because he was there with you. Sukuna never was really into speaking reassuring or affirming words, but instead showed his affection with his actions. His hands would always be roaming your body, and you liked feeling the warmth of another person. He did things without you asking, like buying something you mentioned you liked or holding you even when you swore you were ok. While you smiled brightly and thanked him, he would just grumble “it’s whatever.” You would always laugh and giggle with him, and even though he never really laughed back himself, he entertained it. Sometimes you would catch him staring, and there was a look in his eyes that you couldn’t quite name. There was no doubt that he held a sentiment of adoration for you, maybe he even loved you. But now? His eyes only seemed to hold disappointment, anger, and annoyance. 

You had known from the second you met him that it would not be easy to be with him. He’s got a difficult, harsh, and cruel demeanor. You had hoped that maybe he wasn’t really like that, and that maybe he just had this bad-boy delinquent front to cover his vulnerabilities. Well, you were right, to say the least. But is the Ryomen Sukuna really going to be vulnerable around you, some random girl he met a few months ago that he just likes to use as a bed warmer? Hell no. You meant absolutely nothing to him and he couldn’t seem to get that message through your head. All this time, you thought that maybe he was just being difficult but that didn’t change the fact that he still maybe held a passion for you. 

One night, a particularly bad argument came up. It started as something that was completely meaningless. Him coming home a little late, you telling him you were too busy to cook dinner and that tonight you guys should just go get takeout, him mumbling that he was too tired to go out and that it’s nothing you can’t do on your own because you were a big girl and could handle these things. You apologized but said you, too, were too tired, and therefore did not want to cook. Sukuna’s temper just kind of blew up. “Are you fucking kidding me? You can’t even do this one little thing? You aren’t fucking helpless, Y/N. I’ve spent all day studying and working for you, and how dare you still expect more shit from me? Haven’t I given you fucking enough?” He threw his hands up in irritance, shouting at you, the previous exhaustion in his voice seemingly gone. “I’m sorry, I was just busy tod-” you tried to reason, but he quickly interrupted. “Busy? You were fucking busy? How the hell do you think I feel, huh?” He was walking towards you, and you were being backed into the kitchen counter. “Are you useless? No! You can’t even do small shit like this. How unloveable can you possibly be?” He continued to ramble and yell into your face, but you stopped listening. You rapidly tried to blink your tears away and to calm your shaky hands. Did he really just say that? You’re unloveable?

Eventually, Sukuna left the apartment with nothing but his coat and his car keys, mumbling something about how this is fucking unbelieveable under his breath as he slammed the front door shut. Your ears were ringing due to the newfound silence, the only thing being heard was your staggered breathing. 

A couple of days later, Sukuna still had not returned to your apartment. You assumed he had gone back to his. Neither of you had spoken a word to each other in two days, and you were becoming restless. You had to apologize to him, whether you were at fault or not. You texted him you were on your way as you started your car. You noted that as you were on your way, he never replied to your message. You approached his front door and rummaged through your purse to find the spare key to his apartment. As you unlocked the door, you took a deep breath in and recited your apology in your head. 

When you opened the door, the apartment was relatively cleaner than it usually was, save for the clothes littering the floor. Your brows furrowed as you noted a pink camisole and bra on the floor. Those definitely weren’t yours. Your heart was rapidly thumping, the sound filling your ears. You felt like you couldn’t breathe, and stormed off to find Sukuna.

You burst through his bedroom door to see a naked Sukuna and some girl you’ve never seen before. You watched as her eyes widened and as she scrambled to find some way to cover herself. She ran out the door past you. You were still standing in the doorway, frozen in shock. You held your mouth slightly agape, unsure of what to say or do next. Unperturbed, Sukuna sighed as got up from the bed to find his shorts somewhere on the floor. He ran his hand through his sweaty, almost drenched hair. Wasn’t he being way too casual about this? You found the strength in yourself to speak up. “How could you do this to me?” you weakly spoke, sounding as fragile as your now shattered heart. Sukuna put on his shorts and looked at you without shame, an agitated look painting his face. “I don’t owe you an explanation.” He continued to find his shirt. “What? We’re dating Sukuna. You can’t just-” you stammered, and he stopped you right there. “I’m not your boyfriend and you’re not my girlfriend,” he articulated every word like it was the most obvious thing ever. Your heart dropped. “And clearly, you didn’t think that. I liked what we had, Y/N. But if you’re going to be all possessive like this, then we should end things.” What was he saying? “What? Suku-” He deeply sighed and his voice began to rise. “Get out! Don’t make me say it again.”

Ryomen Sukuna had broken your heart. Really, he stole it from your chest and smiled at you as he crushed it in his hands. The next week after the “break up” for you was absolutely terrible. You skipped all of your classes, meals, and sleep. You just wallowed in bed, wondering what could possibly make you so unloveable. To think that he never really loved you – wait, did he really never love you at all? You recalled that you never said I love you. Those three words held a heavy weight, but you were thinking about how you didn’t need to say it to prove your devotion to him. It kinda made sense now. You should have never assumed your place in a man’s heart who didn’t have room for anyone, let alone you.

--------------------------------

Five months later…

Sukuna found it nice to be freely sleeping around again, finding himself at parties, clubs, bars, always having a girl on his side. Sukuna always woke up next to a new girl every morning (girls he never remembers the names of), quickly kicking her out so he didn’t have to deal with whatever she thought was between them. He would go on late night rides with his friends (that you never really liked) and would come home to drink a cold beer wearing only his boxers. Life was good to him.

But as Sukuna came home one night after a thrilling night out, he thought it just wasn’t as fun as it used to be. He plopped down on the couch and cracked open a beer and turned on his TV. Still, he felt something was missing. Maybe he missed the thrill of making it home and spewing lies to the girl in his bed. Maybe he missed the heated arguments and sorry's just to repeat the cycle. . Maybe he missed coming home to a home-cooked meal. Maybe he missed the warmth of another person. Maybe he missed hearing a certain voice. Maybe he missed waking up to a familiar face. Maybe, he missed you. Wait, what? That’s not true. He shook the thought away, thinking that he just missed having authority over someone. 

He was obviously lying to himself. Sukuna wondered what could fill this odd feeling in his heart. It was evident that the sex, drugs, and alcohol was no longer doing its part for him. He stopped going out and now spent his time in silence and solitude. He began to think about you, and he wondered what you were doing. He wondered how you would react if you saw him again. He wondered what you did after you lost contact with him. He wondered what you looked like now, if you were just as beautiful.

He needed to find you, whether it was for the closure for his flaming conscience or that needed to know if you still felt the same in his arms, he didn’t know. What was he feeling bad for now? Sukuna was never one to have genuine apologies or have feelings of guilt in shame. What was it about you that made him feel this way? Sukuna wanted – no, needed to put a label on this aching feeling, and then throw it out. 

It was a new semester, and Sukuna hadn’t seen you around campus. He realized that he still really wanted to see you, but he knew you wouldn’t react well. He didn’t care too much though, he just wanted to fix whatever was wrong with him. 

One day, Sukuna saw you on campus in the courtyard that was in front of one of your major’s buildings. You looked the happiest he had ever seen you. A smile was plastered on your face as you laughed with some friends. The same smile that he struck off your face. Sukuna used to think he liked your crying face more than anything, he thought your stupid smile was childish, but now he thought you looked so beautiful smiling. He silently watched you, something holding him back from approaching you.

Sukuna often spotted you in front of your building, and he longed to talk to you again. If he was watching you so often, of course you were going to see him too. One day, you spotted him. He tried to play it off by clearing his throat and looking away, but when he looked at you again, you smiled. You… smiled? Even after all the humiliation and suffering he put you through, you smiled at him. You seemed to wave off to your friends and began to speed walk to him. He panicked a little.

“It’s nice to see you again! I hope you’re doing well,” you greeted and waved to him. It hurt him to see that you were still kind and genuine even after all that he did to you. “Hi, um… it’s nice to see you too… How are you doing?” he awkwardly replied. Sukuna was always one to hold pride and confidence, but upon seeing you he seemed to lose all of it. “I’m really good! This semester is kind of kicking my ass but I’m still trying to stay positive, haha,” you beamed. He nodded once as a reply and a silence enveloped the both of you. He stared at you, and you really did look happy. He sighed and spoke up, “Y/N, I never really got the chance to say sorry. I know that I have done so much wrong to you, but please, can you forgive me? I feel like what I did to you is burning a hole through my heart, and I just can’t bear to think that I could do that to someone as pure as you,” Sukuna began to beg. It was odd to see a guy who never bent down to anyone, who put himself on a pedestal ranging miles higher than anyone else, beg. 

You thought for a second, taking in the unfamiliar sorrow gracing his strong features. You eventually spoke, “Sukuna, I loved you, did you know that?” His eyes slightly widened and he nodded slowly. You continued, “The whole time I was with you, I wasn’t sure if you loved me too. It hurts to be around you.” He nodded again, breaking eye contact to stare at his shoes. “I can’t quite forgive you for what you did to me, but I want you to know that if you find your happiness, then I will always be cheering you on for it. Don’t mess up next time.” Although your words held the heaviness of your feelings, you still smiled at him. Sukuna felt a throbbing in his chest. God, what did he do to you? What had he done? He desperately wanted to say, “my happiness is with you” but he felt that he didn’t have the right to. Sukuna felt tears in his eyes, all an unfamiliar feeling to him. He nodded once again to you, whispering a thank you. Not because you were offering your understanding, but because he wanted to thank you for being there for him, even when he couldn’t be there for you. Sukuna went off apologizing once again, clenching his fists to resist reaching out and hugging you. And, as if you read his mind, you quickly pulled him into your embrace. The two of you held each other, tearing brimming your eyes. The feeling of closure the two of you longed for was gained, and for a second all the resentment and pain was let go of, all that was left was love and understanding for each other. 

Sukuna watched you from afar sometimes. He had been hearing around that you were in a relationship… good for you. He hoped that whoever that weird tall white guy haired guy you were dating was, was treating you with all the love and respect that you deserve, all the love and respect that he couldn’t give you. And as he watched you laugh with some guy that wasn’t him, smiling ear to ear, he realized that happiness looked so good on you. To pay his repentance and to pay his final act of love to you, he gave a small somber smile at your radiating face for the last time, and turned around and walked away, now truly realizing the weight of his mistakes.

[vicsstufff]

CHAPTER TWO — SWEET trash TALK

warnings: my girl camila gets in problems, language, fighting (?), disturbing behavior, protective p (?), shortt.

BTS masterlist

pairing: hopkins!p.bueckers x exchange student!oc

taglist: @rebecca-woso , @unadulteratedcyclepaper , @authentic-girl03 , @starlighttsv , @avvwritesstufff

authors note: seconddd chapterrr, i have been so lazy to write omg like its baddd. i also had a minor surgery on friday but im recovering now and i wont go to school for a hole week! enjoy! comment if u wanna be added to the taglist!

ONE WEEK BEFORE SCHOOL.

“how about you go and get tickets for the upcoming game? high school season starts very soon.” michel reached for his wallet and grabbed some money inside it and handed it to camila. michel loved basketball, he did it for some time and even planned on doing it in college but his plans got interrupted once he moved to washington. adrianna didn’t share the same passion as michel did, but she did enjoy it watching it and supporting teams, it remembered her the last year of high school, when he was a cheerleader for the american football team, she even showed camila some tricks! life’s had been too good to be true, she tried the so famous milkshakes ‘p’ told her about, she went camping in the near by woods and saw a girl that looked oddly similar to what ‘p’ described herself. from afar she looked very animated and cheerful, everyone had a smile drawn on their face near her and it even made camila creep a smile while she focused on her.

camila reached for the money and started to mentally count the money and after placed it on the back of her pockets, “the leftover money, you can spend it on anything you want.” michel softly spoked with a assuring smile and camila gave a small nod making her way out the house door.

the afternoon chilly air filled up camila’s nostrils quickly while closing the door behind her, her nose become a softly pink that made her fingers grip into her hoodie, almost sprinting to the closest store near a school that sold tickets.

she entered the store when she suddenly bumped into someone, she closed her eyes waiting for another impact to happen, when she heard a loud groan coming from the person she bumped with. she slowly opened her eyes to see.

a dark haired girl glared down at her light pink shirt, dripping from the chocolate milkshake that had fallen upon her because of the sudden crash, “oh.my.god..look what you have done! dumb bitch!” the taller girl shouted not before launching her—now empty— milkshake away from her, “can’t you see were you’re going!?” she barked at camila, the curly haired girl took a deep breath before speaking to defend herself, “you were right in front of the door!” camila snapped back at her. the fuming woman gave her an acknowledgment look, looking closely at her face and the clothe she wore, when her eyes stopped at her hair, her nose wrinkled, a sign of disgust. camila did made a mental note about how curly haired people were kinda extinct in this area, but it looked like this girl had never seen a curly person never in her life and she observed camila like if she was a disgusting bug that landed in her milkshake. “jesus, rose. let’s go, you can later buy a new one.” a girl behind her grabbed this called rose by her wrist and dragged her out the store.

camila felt rotten inside when rose give her hair a nasty glaze, she didn’t really define it this morning and forgot to put on her bonnet on before going to sleep, it wasn’t that terrible, but rose made it feel like if her hair had gained consciousness and insulted her in every way possible.

“looking for tickets?” a voice took her out of her state of mind, it was coming from the register. “yeah, um. sorry for the inconvenience.” camila added quickly, gathering herself into walking to the register, taking out the money from her pocket. “no worries, rose is a regular problem around here.” the guy explained, taking something behind the counter. “i recommend you to stay out of her way, even if you go to the same school.” he stated, camila’s eyes widen with the response he gave to her. “how do you know where school i’m going to?” she inquired, a stranger knew about her transfer to a new school, did he also know where was she born? “rumors fly fast. brazilian?” he added, handing her the tickets. “um, yes.” camila snatched the tickets from the strangers hands and stumbled with counting the money almost launching it towards the register.

she made her way out of the store, it was now clearly dark, the parking lot was now lonely and the kids that were near the park had gone to the safety of their homes. a wet, tangy nose sniffed her hand rapidly, she looked down surprised to see a small golden retriever, once the dog noticed they got finally someone’s attention, their tail wiggled with emotion and started letting out small barks.

“oh, hello buddy.” camila reached down to pet the small creature, the pure night brought with it a gentle breeze, but strong enough to make camila shiver under her hoodie, the puppy didn’t escape the cold air, making it also start to shiver, that camila did notice.

she knew monica needed a little company and michel has been dying to adopt a golden retriever—it reminded him of his dog back in canada— camila gently grabbed the dog, scooping it around her arms as if it was going to protect the cold dog.

she took a moment to analyze the pup under her protection, when a sharp pain appeared on the bridge of her nose, a gushy feeling making its way down her nostril, landing on the soft fur of the body she was holding dearly. the dog sniffed the gently the blood disturbing his back. “shit— uh” camila gasped under her shaky breath, looking behind her, into the store, the guy was still looking at her, almost wanting to burn holes into her clothes, this made camila shiver even more. going back into that store was not a good idea.

her phone started vibrating in her pocket, she struggled to keep the dog safe in her arms while taking her phone out, the word ‘p 💗’ decorated the screen brightly.

“yoo, i just saw rose fucking nepobaby and she was fuming!” p exclaimed happily, “i wonder who got her like that.” camila bite down her lip starting to walk towards her house. “it was—um, me.. actually..” camila mumbled, just high enough for p to hear her. “no way..” p gasped, in the background you could hear rumbling across whatever room she was destroying. “let’s leave that conversation for another time..” camila said low, embarrassed.

she was barely new to the town and she was already causing problems, adrianna warned her, yet she didn’t listen. “did you lose something?” she added quickly not wanting the conversation to die. “my uniform! i swear i left it beside my backpack.” p let out a loud sigh. “okay, um, about rose.. why call her a nepobaby?” camila questioned sniffing her nose trying to prevent anymore blood flowing from her nose. “she sucks at basketball, she is only in the team because her daddy is rich!” p exclaimed, pumping herself into laying on her bed, exhausted from looking everywhere, “are you catching a cold? wait— did rose do something to you?” p quickly insinuated hearing the constant sniff from across the line. “just some bloody nose. i’m okay.” camila explained.

her footsteps becoming quicker and unstable, her throat was attacked by the feeling of being burned, she could taste the metallic blood in her mouth, the golden retriever dedicated itself to lick the dry milkshake that stained camila’s hoodie.

“not to worry you, but you and rose are going to the same school.” p laughed before quickly shouting down the giggle threatening to come out of her lips, “that just made my night worse, maybe my whole school year too.” camila groaned putting down the puppy and started fidgeting with her keys. once she entered the house, silence adorned the warm walls, monica came sprinting towards her, amused by the sudden view of new company.

“don’t worry love, if she does something to you, she will pay, trust.” p whispered, a lovely smile creeping its way into her lips, “not only on the court.” camila attacked quickly, marching her way up her bedroom.

“if she has soo much money, why doesn’t she go to a private school?” camila whined into her pillow, “she did, but! her father changed schools because of her bad grades.” p explained, gathering herself up, determined to find her uniform.

“she is going to eat me alive..” camila whimpered

“im supposed to do that.” p let out, not thinking twice about the weight of her words.

“paige! what the fuck!” camila let out a high chuckle laying her back on the bed looking tensely at her ceiling. “want to go for milkshakes before first day of school?” p hinted, “sounds like a plan.”

[flwrkid14]

I was reading the two posts about Tim's Christmas list, and just thought of the Bat Family noticing how happy Tim is.

Maybe Damian sees the new brushes and asks why Tim has Stephanie's things?

"Oh no, those aren't her's. They're mine. Danny got them for me cause they were on my list. I've needed a new set for a few years, but I only remember when I'm on a mission and needs to use them. Isn't he so sweet? And he got me really good quality ones, too!"

Or Jason mocking Tim for finally getting new hoodies. And instead of huffing or quipping back, Tim just brightens. Smiling in a way Jason's never seen.

"Danny got them for me! They're so soft. There's some of my favorite gifts from him! It's honestly nice to have new clothes that aren't formal. I'm so happy he read my list." And kinda just bounces away.

Maybe Bruce asking if Tim finally got new cups for his office?

"Danny's so sweet, isn't he? He found my list for Christmas and decided to get me a few mugs and thermoses. It's great I don't have to worry about accidentally cutting my mouth open again." 😊

Or Stephanie (who was injured on patrol and Tim's Nest, with apartment on top, was the closest place she could get to.) commenting on the fact that Tim has a lot of blankets, pillows, and plushies.

"Danny got them for me for Christmas I love how soft and warm everything is. He even found a plushie of a sleeping ghost! It's weighted, has a heating feature, and is made of glow in the dark fabric. Matter of fact, almost all the plushies and blankets he got me were weighted! Just like I had written on my list. They make me feel so loved. After all, he wants me to feel warm and safe, what's more considerate than that?"

Cass looks for Tim, knowing he's staying in the manor overnight because of a gala the next day. She hears music coming from the bathroom, but the light isn't on. So she goes in to turn it off, just in case Tim accidentally left it on. Only to see that there is a light on. A music box made to look like a record player spinning a vinyl, projecting blue light to look like you were underwater. Tim was in the bathtub, with the music box on the rim.

After the kerfuffle of them realizing Cass walked in on Tim taking a bath, and Tim getting dressed quickly, Cassandra asks him where he got it? It's cute and sounds really nice.

"Oh, it's a gift from Danny. He gave me it for Christmas. He knows I like cute things like that. And it's nice to listen to. He even got me this cat eared fluffy hairband for when I do my skincare or makeup! So cute, right?" 🥰

And slowly, all of them realize they never got Tim what he wanted. They try to justify it by saying he put tech on the list, but they look back through past lists and realize Tim changed his list because no one ever got him what he put on the list.

omg, I love your take on my posts! Your writing is so good! And you're absolutely right—the batfamily realizing their oversight and coming to terms with is such an interesting angle to explore! I like the way you went about it, especially all the times Tim kept mentioning the items were from his list!!

That said, I also wanted to address something that a lot of people were frustrated about when reading my original post.. many were upset with the family for not reading Tim’s list, wondering if they lost it or ignored it on purpose. I realize I didn’t provide enough context on my post for how the list actually functions!

The christmas lists in the batfamily aren’t necessarily meant to be followed to the letter—they’re more of a reference in case someone doesn’t know what to get. For example, Damian’s interests are pretty well known (art supplies, things for his animals, weapons), so most of the family can buy him something without needing to check his list. But for someone like Alfred or Bruce, where their preferences might be harder to pin down, the list serves as a guide.

With Tim, the family assumes they already know what he likes. They don’t think they need to check his list because, in their minds, they already understand him. So they keep giving him things they know he uses—cameras, electronics, hard drives—without realizing he already has more than enough. It’s not necessarily neglectful; it’s just a blind spot.

Danny, on the other hand, actually looks at the list. Not only because he wants to get Tim the best gifts possible, but because he lives with him. He sees what Tim already has in abundance and what he’s been meaning to get for himself but keeps putting off. That’s why his gifts are so thoughtful—he pays attention in a way the others don’t.

I hope this explanation helps clarify things for those who were confused or frustrated!!

[sillylilsquid]

Real life Romance book pt. 3/?

✨alternate universe Hyun Ju x reader ✨summary: in which you meet Hyun Ju at your work, and quickly become friends. you've never dated a woman, but something about Hyun Ju was different. She made you feel a fire in your chest, and though you didn't understand it you were ready to try.  ✨trigger warnings: afab reader, eventually: mentions of bullying, transphobia, sexual content, 18+ only minors DNI ✨1.8k words

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.✭・.・✫

In the morning you texted Hyun Ju, telling her that you had an opening shift at the bookstore and asked her to meet you there at 4pm. She was quick to respond telling you she won’t be a minute late. In fact, she came 30 minutes early. You sat behind the counter, counting some inventory when the bell rang. “Welcome in!” you called out, yet your eyes stayed glued to your task. You whispered to yourself as you counted and when you heard someone clear their throat you jumped. “Oh! I’m sorry, I hope you weren’t waiting too–” cutting yourself off when you saw Hyun Ju. She had a slight smirk plastered on her face as she slid a book across the counter. “I’d like to buy this.” she stated simply. She spoke so casually which made your cheeks burn, because how was she always so calm when you were such a mess? Your fingertips brushed hers when you reached to grab the book. It was the same one you’ve been reading for book club. Your face lit up, “This one’s really good, I’m only chapter six but you’re going to love it!” She replied with, “I was hoping if I bought this I could keep coming to book club with you.” you nodded quickly, knowing you looked silly but you wanted her to know she was more than welcome to continue attending.

“I know I’m here early, I just didn’t want to wait until 4…I won’t bother you, just let me know when you’ve clocked out.” Hyun Ju said, grabbing back the book and heading to the small sitting area the store had. You watched as she sat down, seemingly way too tall for the tiny chairs but it made her appear even more adorable. You tried your hardest to concentrate on your work but every so often your eyes would wander to her. She kept her promise and sat there silently reading her book to make sure she didn’t distract you from your work, but little did she know that was somehow even more distracting than her talking to you. The way she tucked her hair behind her, the way she would gently bit her lip and furrow her brows–it drove you insane. 

Once the clock hit 4pm you clocked out, grabbed your bag and headed towards Hyun Ju. She didn’t notice you there at first and you didn’t want to interrupt her reading so you just stood next to her, watching for a couple of minutes. If anyone else looked over at you two they would think you were some sort of stalker. Slowly you reached your hand out and placed it on her shoulder. She tensed, turning her head quickly and when she realized it was only you she relaxed. “Let’s go,” you spoke offering her your hand. Hyun Ju placed her hand in yours as the two of you walked out of the bookstore. “What do you have planned?” she asked, and you shrugged, not wanting to ruin the surprise. You walked her across the street to the coffee shop and ordered you each a drink, before pulling her back outside. You walked with purpose, but even your fast pace wasn’t enough to keep up with her much longer strides. “Your legs are too long! I can’t keep up.” you teased her, playfully bumping into her side. You noticed how she slowed down her pace and tried taking smaller steps for you. The simple act made you smile.

As you two arrived at the park nearby you picked a quiet spot away from the crowd of people and reached into your backpack. You pulled out a blanket laying it on the ground, motioning for her to sit. Once she was comfy you sat down next to her, closer than you ever had. Your shoulder was flush with her arm and your thighs touched. Hyun Ju looked down at you, eyes searching your face. “You look nice today.” she commented, slowly reaching up to move a stray piece of hair out of your eyes. You closed your eyes briefly at the gesture. “So do you,” you returned the compliment. After a moment of silence you laid back, staring up at the clouds. “Last night, at the restaurant you asked questions all about me, now it’s my turn. I wanna know more about you.” your eyes stayed trained on the clouds passing by and you felt her lay down next to you. Her hands rested on her stomach and she let out a soft sigh. “Okay…but you have to promise just to listen. No questions, no comments. Please.” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. A confused look came across your features and you turned your head to face her, she stayed staring at the sky, her face expressionless. You went to ask why, before realizing that’s exactly what Hyun Ju didn’t want you to do. Turning back towards the sky you said, “I promise, Hyun Ju.”

The two of you sat in silence for a few minutes and your heart pounded with anticipation to hear more about the beautiful woman’s life before you met her. She knew she needed to tell you, she had to be honest with you. When she began to speak, you froze wanting to soak in everything she had to say. “I was in the special forces, worked my way up to sergeant.” you sat there in shock at what she said, but you stayed quiet. “I was discharged, a little over a year ago,” her voice wavered and you turned back towards her. Her eyes were glassy and you wanted to comfort her but decided to wait until she was done speaking. “I’m trans, y/n.” she admitted, a single tear falling down her cheek. “My family, my friends, my job… I lost everything. And I completely understand if I lose you too–it’s a lot to handle, and I don’t expect you to deal with that.” 

You were not expecting to hear what she just admitted to you. It made sense; her tall, muscular frame, deeper voice it all made sense now. Hyun Ju turned her head to the side and finally met your eyes. “Can I speak now?” you asked, your voice holding a playful tone in hopes to break the uncomfortable feeling in the air. “Yes, please.” she laughed, nodding. You hesitated, but reached out and wiped away her tears with the cuff of your sweatshirt. “You’re not gonna lose me that easily,” you teased. “I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with all that–I can’t even begin to imagine how you felt during that. Just know that I don’t care who you are, to me you’re just Hyun Ju. The girl from the bookstore who was embarrassed to admit she wanted to read romance books.” she let out a laugh at that, her tears starting to dry up. “It doesn’t change how I feel about you.” you admitted, your hand still cupping her face.

Hyun Ju let out a deep breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding in. The tension eased out of all her muscles and her heart swelled, for once she felt at peace. Very few people accepted her once they found out about her surgeries, and to know you did made her feel so special. Her eyes drifted down to your lips then back up to your eyes which were glued to hers. A smile spread across her face as she leaned in just enough that your noses pressed together. Then she kissed you. Just a small, simple kiss that didn’t last more than a few seconds. Your body felt a burn from the desire that had been building up the past two days. You knew your cheeks were bright red with a blush. Hyun Ju laid back, looking up at the sky again and you two just sat there; in a comfortable silence. Your hand had reached over, grabbing hers off her stomach and lacing it with yours.. The nerves you had about being attracted to a woman, wanting to kiss a woman, they all faded away. You both laid there in blissful peace.

An hour passed when Hyun Ju slowly sat up. She stretched which revealed the bottom of her stomach as her sweater raised ever so slightly. You felt yourself practically drooling. You sat up and sipped your coffee, not wanting your time with her to end. “Just wait until my friends at bookclub hear about that kiss.” you said giggling. She raised her eyebrows as if to tell you to continue. “They insisted that inviting you to bookclub was a date, I kept telling them no! But they didn’t believe me…wait until they hear about this.” Hyun Ju laughed along with you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. You hadn’t realized you were shivering from the change in temperature. The sky had long ago become gray as if it was going to storm, but you were glad it hadn’t. “We should head out before we get stuck in more rain.” Hyun ju said and you nodded. She helped you fold your blanket and tuck it back into your backpack, and on the walk to the car she kept her arm hung loosely around your waist. Her fingers brushed against your hip bone, the feeling making your stomach grow tight. Once in the car she drove you back to your apartment, the ride was over way too fast. You weren’t done with her, a new found confidence rolled over you. “Do you want to come inside?” you asked, looking up at her with innocent eyes. Hyun Ju hesitated then nodded, turning the car off. You two entered the apartment building and climbed the stairs to your second floor apartment. 

Digging in your backpack for your keys you felt how close she was standing to you. Your back was flush against her chest, making you fumble as you tried to grab the key you needed to unlock the door. “It’s really small, and kinda messy.” you admitted as you turned the lock, stuffing your keys back in your bag. Hyun Ju reached around you, turning the handle and pushing the door open. As you two stepped in, she pushed the door closed and before you could say anything she pounced. You were trapped against the wall by her larger frame as she captured your lips in hers. The kiss was more feverish, more passionate than before. Your bag made thud as it hit the floor as you brought your hands up to grasp onto her muscular arms. Her hands held your face gently compared to how she kissed you. After a moment you two broke apart to catch your breath. She took a small step back, fixed her hair and stared down at you–smirking as she saw the effect it had on you. You stayed leaning against the wall, chest heaving as you tried to calm yourself down. Before you could say anything she was on you once more, kissing you like she would never get to again.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.✭・.・✫

✨a/n: i literally cannot stop writing for hyun ju. she makes me feral oml.

[britcision]

Tbh I think the wildest thing about Trump is that he literally doesn’t understand soft power

And possibly cannot even perceive it

He’s going around bitching about trade deficits and defence spending…

But a trade deficit means that the country with the deficit is buying more of your stuff than you are buying of theirs

It’s a good thing for your market, especially if you want independence and to get money from people buying your stuff - it’s not people not paying for things, it’s people buying your products and you not buying theirs in return

You’re “trading” products for money. You still get the money. And you can do things like influence the market and sell shitty dvd players that break after a year so that people need to buy Even More dvd players from you, because they aren’t making their own and are used to buying yours

(Note: in this example, “you” are the party with a trade SURPLUS. That means someone else has a deficit in their trade with you

Being the person with the deficit is also not a bad thing, so long as you’re actively trading; it means rather than creating your own industries that may not do as well as another country’s for immutable reasons like being able to mine for specific minerals, you can buy a good product and skip all the construction costs and focus on the things you can do better

The general rule of trade is that if you keep trading, everyone wins)

But Trump is essentially saying that he wants to stop other countries from buying American goods; he wants our imports (us buying your stuff) to match our exports (you buying our stuff)

So

You get less money, because either you’re buying more of our stuff (our exports rise to match imports), or you can’t sell us anything (we lower imports to match exports)

And he wants to do this with tariffs, which mean it becomes more expensive for American retailers to import international goods - because they pay tariffs to the American government, and the exporter does not pay those

(So you can’t afford imports)

So the only way to do what he wants… is to stop buying American goods

This will do good things for the American economy I pinky swear 🙄

The defence spending thing is actually even worse, which is fucking wild to me

The main reason that America is a military world power is that you waste all that money on an army you’re not really using to anything but go around showing off and declaring how big your army is

Other countries spend less on defence because we’re spending on things like infrastructure and improving the well-fare of our citizens

So we don’t have a big strong army that can fight your army, because we don’t need one, but we do need things like food for children and healthcare

But Trump is demanding that everyone else make themselves a big strong army

Because the US being able to essentially run a protection racket and ever so casually say “oh gee Russia looks so big and strong. Let us put a military base in your country so we can keep you safe… oh, and I guess maybe some beneficial trade deals while we’re there 😉😉 keeping you safe 😉😉” is… America being exploited?

And listen, Trump doesn’t do subtle. He’d probably just blatantly say “do what we want or we will invade”, and start a war

But because he can’t do that, he seems convinced that there is no value in America spending more on defence, and insists that the very same people he is antagonizing and threatening the sovereignty of should be expanding their own military power

Frankly, they’d probably start spending a little more on defence anyway

Nothing he’s doing will increase American influence on the world stage, because he’s actively forcing the rest of the world to start acting like America has already left

“Stop buying our exports. Build your own army.”

And as a Canadian? I do think it’s about time we were a little less economically dependent on the US - because it gives them too much power

They’re our closest and most convenient trade partner, but not the only game in town

[acti-veg]

One of the most important ways of thinking in the fat liberation movement is that food isn't moral. By affirming that, fat people break out of the idea that their choices of food are to blame or to praise, and can simply exist and eat freely without judgment or guilt. Fatphobia is so intrinsically connected with too many issues that make fat people's lives difficult, so I had a question on my mind that's hard to ignore - since the animal liberation movement states that food does instead have moral value, what do you do with this collision of ideas in two different liberation movements?

There is no easy way to reconcile this, but I think that’s because the idea that food is entirely amoral is just fundamentally flawed. We have to eat, and there is nothing intrinsically more or less moral about choosing to eat healthy or unhealthy foods. The only person who is impacted by that is you. We all have a right to bodily autonomy, that only becomes a problem when your bodily autonomy takes away someone else's - farmed animals, for example.

The idea that anything you buy (so long as you're eating it) is inherently amoral is so ludicrous that I don't even think I need to spell out what absurdities that logic would lead us to. The idea that food, alone among all our consumer purchases is completely devoid of any ethical responsibility is self-serving nonsense that directly plays into corporate propaganda. There is absolutely no reason why food, alone among all sensory pleasures, should not be subject to moral judgements.

Essentially, what you eat is your business, who you eat is everyone's business. My freedom to eat whatever I want is real, but that doesn't extend to taking away the rights and lives of other beings for me to exercise that right. I understand that this is a really useful and impactful way for people to reframe their thinking around food, but there is just no way to logically argue that food does not have a moral dimension. I think the focus for should be that personal health is amoral, not that food is amoral.

The act of eating healthy or unhealthy food and the impact that has on our own bodies and health is amoral - it is no one's business but our own. However, the choices we make about what we eat, about its environmental impact and impact on other beings, absolutely should be subject to moral decision-making. If it isn't, then we can justify eating literally anything, regardless of the amount of harm it causes.

[ngage2003]

I would be absolutely thrilled to hear your highschool Jaylex headcanons

SMILES. Ok.

⟦content warning: unhealthy relationships, abusive childhoods, generally two traumatized people behaving badly and like real people, headcanons and some analysis.⟧

As mentioned in this post, I think Alex and Jay are to some extent codependent, with bad habits developed between the both of them due to growing up in the south and being not typical/"weirdos".

I think this based off of just how easily they fell into an unhealthy dynamic in Season 2 of Marble Hornets where I believe Alex plays to what he knows about Jay to manipulate him. (Using his curiosity against him and leading him in circles.)

Jay isn't innocent either though! Really, both these characters are defined by their selfishness, which get exacerbated by the Operator. Alex has a need for control and power, and Jay has a deadly curiosity and passivity/apathy to others in the face of it.

I think Alex's need for control and power comes from his toxic relationship to masculinity, (talked about a bit here,) and a desire to fit in despite being unable to, exacerbated by his home life. I think its very likely his father instilled these beliefs in him by himself being someone who upheld toxic masculinity and make fun of perceived femininity in his son, a sort of abusive "tough love" approach that left Alex hurt and angry and hating himself and his dad.

I think strangely the reason Alex and Jay first connected is because Jay's closed off nature, apathy and his autistic tendencies left him appearing to just not care about masculinity and fitting in, despite being male, a fact which pissed Alex off to no end because it sort of broke his brain. ("Men are naturally good at being masculine and in control and powerful, and I'm not so I am a failure" is a belief instilled in him by his dad, but here is Jay, this apathy filled fly on the wall.)

I think they originally became friends because Alex wanted someone to punch at metaphorically and push around, and Jay easily complied to that, fascinated by Alex's attention on him and his general bristly demeanor which was so opposite to his gilded cage life. (For more on that check out my nepo baby jay post)

I think as time progressed, Alex's anger towards Jay gradually faded a bit, but he always held some sort of residual resentment for how unbothered he seemed with fully conforming to masculinity. Jay to him is as much of a symbol as he is a person, a tick that stubbornly persists in the flesh and ruins Alex's attempts to make sense of things.

That is not to say Jay is feminine necessarily or actively avoiding masculinity, but he is just apathetic and not too preoccupied with being masculine. Along with this, I think he is caring to Alex, especially in highschool, a fact which upsets and confuses the other because "men don't act like that to each other."

I can so clearly see Alex in highschool getting in fights, and then Jay helping patch him up, or buying him something in an attempt to make him feel better because that is just the behavior he has been taught, and Alex briefly thinks about driving his knuckles into Jay's stupid face as he applies an antibiotic to his split knuckles.

I think Jay understands that the grass is not greener for Alex to some extent, but Alex envies him so hard sometimes.

The furniture in Jay's house gets replaced every few months, there is nothing concrete to hold onto and savor there besides this toxic pristine smell of freshness. Meanwhile everything in Alex's house is the same as when he was a young kid, with all the residue of bad memories that come with that, molding under seat cushions and catching in the dusty corners of rooms.

Alex's home is painfully lived in, and Jay's is painfully empty.

I don't think they're ever together romantically, but I think Jay has a brief crush on Alex in highschool because Alex is kind of the only concrete thing in his life. Alex has a crush on him (that he denies) in turn because Jay is the only good thing in his.

They make out on Alex's couch when his parents aren't home, desecrating over a decade of memories with a needy, unsure passion only really held by teenagers and infidels.

Alex is so shocked with himself afterward that he stays in bed all weekend and refuses to ever sit on the couch again, like the memory of what happened there will somehow rub off on him. (Like it will tempt him.)

I don't think Jay ever mentions it again, seeing as Alex ignored him all that weekend, (despite him trying to call because he really wanted to ask Alex about all that, and maybe invite him over to make out again.) But if Alex doesn't want to talk about it, they won't. If he wants Jay to pretend it never happened, he will. Alex leads them after all, and Jay will always follow in his footsteps, always eager to be at his side, no matter how much or little Alex Kralie is left.

I think it is worth noting that, despite coming from different backgrounds, Jay and Alex both go down at the hands of the Operator. Tim and Alex practically come from the same story but they come out the other side as two opposites, while Jay and Alex they both die in the same building.

I think there is some meaning there, with how Alex and Jay are so entangled.

Alex can't kill him for so long, and Jay keeps looking for him always.

I don't know, I think about them a lot.

[wisteria-lodge]

Wait the wiki is bad? I use it all the time 😭 I thought the whole point is it's community-run so people should be able to fix any mistakes (and since it's a huge community that's been running for very long it seems quite robust and strict on verifying information) I do get that it has info from the videogames which most people don't regard as canon, though. But when it does it tends to note it as such, and they still consider the books/movies a higher "plane" of canon.

I love reading the wiki, but I do have to do a lot of follow up and sifting if I'm using it as reference. In tends to throw in the video games, JKR interviews, *actor* interviews, and Pottermore content, and sometimes it's organized and clearly marked, but a lot of times it isn't... and that has definitely slipped up my co-writer (whose knowledge of HP isn't as crazy as mine) a few times. Unless you already have a really solid grasp on everything, it's easy to get confused. Like here's someone who wrote into me, asking about a sentence in the Narcissa page that was 1) Poorly written 2) wrong.

The other problem with the wiki is that since it's community run, every page tends to be written by fans of that particular character. This is especially obvious with the villains. Like read through the Lucius Malfoy, or Severus Snape pages. There is so much there that's bending over backwards to give them a positive edit. There's a lot about Lucius' elegant dueling style (no source) and his skill with potions. Like the actual detail is 'Lucius Malfoy mentions having a potion collection in Book 2.' I don't want that extrapolated into 'Lucius Malfoy was a model student who got into the Slug Club because of his skill with potions.' Like let me write my own headcanons! It starts speculating that Lucius got Voldemort monologing on purpose in the graveyard to buy time for Harry!

Snape's page says that one of his skills is writing poetry. He wrote a rhyming logic puzzle in book one, which I would say is not the same thing. It also says he communicates with floriography, which is a reference to a fan theory about how the plants he lists in Book 1 are a coded message about Lily. Like *I* know that. But then the wiki just cites Book 1. That's not in Book 1.

This is actually so common that co-writer @niche-pastiche and I have an in-joke when we attribute any flattering/creative interpretation to Tom Saunders, Wasp Scientist.

Tom Saunders is a New Zealand biologist who named a species of wasp after Lucius Malfoy because:

"People see wasps as villains, as the 'bad guys.' But the truth is that the vast majority of wasp species are either neutral or beneficial, from a human standpoint. Just as Lucius Malfoy is pardoned after separating from Voldemort's allies, I'm asking people to pardon wasps in order to restore their reputation as interesting, important creatures."

Like I get that you like wasps, and Lucius Malfoy, I do too. But that's not info that's in the books.

(It is Pottermore stuff, but I honestly count Pottermore as tertiary canon at *best.* Like every once in a while it'll be a cool detail, but JKR is *not good* at worldbuilding, so most of the time, instead of explaining things... it just makes everything more confusing. And I think that all of this has the end result of accidentally gatekeeping newcomers who want to engage with the material. Like the person who sent that ask.)