#because 1) i highly doubt your going to see one of those fuckers in your lifetime buddy

[concreteangel92]

Thou Shalt Not Kill - Chapter 1

AU Noah Sebastian X female reader

MDNI

Summary: Reader is a detective and is assigned to a murder case which she soon connects with previous killings and figures out the religious affiliation, proving there is a new serial killer within the city. The reader soon becomes obsessed with the killers mind and methods and won’t rest until she figures out who the killer is. All while she gets used to working with her new partner on the case, detective Noah Davis.

Warnings: DESCRIPTIVE writing of graphic murders and killings, blood, gore, serial killer, violence, use of religion. I’m pretty certain that’s it for this chapter but please let me know if I’ve missed anything!

I will say this now, this story won’t be for everyone!! I’m comfortable writing/reading about this as I’ve always loved serial killer documentaries, murder mystery novels, etc but I’m not responsible for you reading this if you think you might get triggered or upset!! You have been warned now, I don’t want to get any shitty messages because you haven’t listened.

I have taken huge inspiration from AHS: Hotel which for those of you who know it, will definitely catch on haha but for this whole story, I’m taking inspiration from many different characters and stories! I do not claim to be an expert on detectives/the police btw haha so if it’s not completely accurate then I do apologise!

I’m very excited to start this, it will be fairly longish, definitely no smut at the moment but be patient, it will come haha 🤣

And again, if you would like to be added to the tag list then let me know!! I’ve added everyone who asked, who reblogged and some who liked the original post if I recognised your user names but I’ve probably missed so many out so let me know!

Tags: @reyadawn @thefallennightmare @hayleylatour @calleyx13 @english-fucker @malerieee @lilhobgobbler @glccmreid @badomensls @madomens @loeytuan98 @rosebushjhj @livingdeceasedgirl @lilrubles @samanthasgone @blackveilomens @hellayeahsworld @lookwhatitcost @thatchickwiththecamera

Ima1986

darling-millicent-aubrey

Ithoughtbynowidfeelbetter

softvgold

iluvmewwwww75

Ok so I believe you guys asked to be tagged but for some reason it won’t let me and keeps saying blogs couldn’t be found? I’m not sure why but I’ll try and fix that!

MASTERLIST

You walked fast down the dimly lit corridor in the seedy hotel in downtown LA, the place had a damp, musty smell and you knew if these walls could talk, they’d no doubt scream.

You’d been called to a particularly gruesome crime scene, you hadn’t had much else to go on but you knew your sergeant wouldn’t have called you if it was a ‘straight forward’ homicide.

Seeing some of your colleagues up head, you pulled on a pair of blue surgical gloves and walked into the hotel room.

The sight that faced you wasn’t one for the faint of heart. A couple that had been engaging in sex were now impaled together by what appeared to be a long metal rod. Both sets of hands had been nailed to the headboard and from the looks of it, they were still joined in the middle.

“The scene has already been documented detective”

“Not by me it hasn’t”

You ignored the officer and continued to survey the area. Two driving licenses were on the bedside table with two set of wedding rings next to them, you took note of the victims names and saw the marks where the rings would normally sit on their fingers confirming that they belonged to the deceased.

“They were married but not to each other. They were having an affair”

The officer from before spoke up next to you.

“Jealous ex?”

You glanced back to the couple on the bed.

“No. This isn’t jealousy or a crime of passion. This is something else, I highly doubt it was an upset partner”

You walked over to get a closer look, the woman who was nailed by her hands was slumped forward, body only being held up by the pole that was embedded low into the headboard and running through the man’s chest, blood had run down her body and into his, but what you noticed immediately was that there was more blood that had congealed around her groin and his.

You glanced around the room again and noticed a glue bottle sticking out from under the bed on the floor, picking up confirmed what you already knew.

“They were glued together”

You turned to the officer and handed him the glue to be put in an evidence bag.

“Have the forensic team been in?”

“Yes detective”

“Please have a case file sent to my desk immediately, start cleaning up in here and get someone to inform the families.”

You pulled the gloves off your hands and wrapped them up as you walked out of the room, heading back to the station.

•••••••

You walked into your office with a cup of coffee in hand, knowing it was going to be needed for the long evening.

You’d phoned ahead and asked for a few other files to be brought to you, something very eerily similar about some cases you’d read recently.

You picked up the first folder and flicked straight to the crime scene photos. Once again, these were not for the faint of heart, you felt your throat go slightly dry at the scene before you.

The photos showed a woman in her mid twenties strapped to the bedposts of her bed spread out wide, wrists red and cut from trying to get lose from the metal cuffs, her mouth had been sewn shut, her genitals and thighs covered in blood where the autopsy had concluded that she’d been assaulted by foreign objects repeatedly, ripping her apart from the inside. The bed was soaked dark red and written on the wall behind the bed in her own blood were the words ‘a lair is always willing to take the oath’

Her name was Nina Platt, she had been involved in a court case a year ago accusing her ex of raping her, he had been convicted and later took his own life in prison. Only later had his innocence been proven too late. Nina had been under further investigation when her body was discovered in her apartment.

You took a breath and put the photos down, needing a second before opening the next folder.

Oliver Wicks. 19 years old, body found in an ally way, hands cut off and never recovered, his body surrounded by stolen wallets and phones. This young boy had a criminal history of petty theft, in and out of juvie for years.

And the last folder showed an older couple in mid fifties, throats slashed, both clutching bibles with some of the pages shoved into their mouths. They had both been members of their local church, records showed that wasn’t always the case for them however, both had been well known on the drug and party scene before finding god later in life. Their bodies were discovered on a Sunday night after they failed to show for the Sunday service.

You took a sip of your coffee, wishing it was something stronger, before taking one photo from each crime scene and putting it up on your board. Taking a step back you looked over them.

You had no doubt that they were all connected somehow, they all showed similar qualities, they were a show, a display, for what, you weren’t certain yet but you were determined to find out.

Your train of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“Come in”

The door opened to reveal sergeant Matthews walking in.

“Detective Y/L/N”

“Sir”

You nodded in his direction and looked back over the board.

“Fuck…what a gruesome display. And you believe these are all connected?”

“I do sir, I think we have a serial killer on our hands. I just haven’t figured out the motive yet. None of these people have any connection to each other, all different crimes but somehow the same”

Sergeant Matthews ran his hand over his chin as he took it all in.

“This person must think that they are god”

Something in your mind sparked up.

“Say that again!”

“This person must think they’re god?”

Your mind was going into overdrive, something on the tip of tongue, what was it? What was it?

“God? God!”

Then it hit you and you quickly ran back to your laptop and started typing.

“Detective would you mind filling me in on what’s going on in that head of yours?”

Your eyes went wide as you’d found what you were looking for, you walked back over to the board and pointed first at the photo of the young boy.

“Thou shalt not steal”

You pointed at the older couple.

“Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy”

Then at the young girl’s photo.

“Thou shalt not bare false witness”

And finally at the couple from this morning.

“Thou shalt not commit adultery”

Your sergeant turned to you.

“The 10 commandments”

You nodded, you felt almost breathless at your discovery, there was a new serial killer in town alright and he’d been killing for the last couple months right under your noses.

•••••••••

Once word had got out, the newspapers had dubbed him ‘The 10 Commandments Killer’. The press was having a field day, it was on every channel and on the front page of every paper. A serial killer loose in the city, it was a frightening prospect.

All the previous cases had been transferred onto you, this was now fully your case and you had every intention to catch the killer as soon as possible before he struck again, there was still 6 commandments left after all.

You were once again stood in front of your pin board in your office, it was now filled with more crime scene photos, newspaper articles and all photos of any evidence that had been obtained. You were trying to figure out the killers mind, see what the connections between these people are or were they completely random? That thought was even more terrifying.

A knock at the door pulled you back into the room.

“Yeah?”

“Detective”

Your sergeant was once again in your doorway.

“I have assigned you a new partner to help with this case. I feel this is too much for one detective alone, especially given its nature.”

You nodded in understanding, no one should take on a case this big alone.

“Who am I working with?”

“Detective Noah Davis. New to station within the last month but had an excellent recommendation from his old station in Richmond, Virginia from where’s he’s transferred, highly experienced and he should be an asset to this investigation. I’ve brought him here to meet you”

Sergeant Matthews opened the door wider to reveal an extremely tall, broad but handsome man, his dark brown eyes meeting yours with an intense gaze.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you detective Y/L/N”

Chapter 2

[tt-squid]

''''''''''anglerfish are one of the most dangerous ocean creatures!!!''''''''''

an 'anglerfish' could be anything in the order Lophiiformes. you need to be more specific.

and while your probably meaning something like this?

you also need to keep in mind that an 'anglerfish' can also be this:

-_-

[shyrose57]

Brothers anon and I actually was skipping through the official City of Mizu episode and realized I missed Skeppy as a idol. So if you follow Skeppy you get to learn about different kinds of gems and what they can be used for, get trained on proper safety when mining, what to look for and avoid when mining, and they also get to go on supply runs that specifically require mining, though not many people follow Skeppy because mining is dangerous. Also I missed Charles personality a good bit so ima change it to where he's still quite, reserved and anxious, but is adventurous, curious, dedicated to his interests, and when given the chance or talking about his interests he gets very excited and talks a lot. Like a excited puppy. 

1: People can get kicked out of a idol following for many reasons, like disrespecting the idol and their peers, claiming some of the history their learning is fake, attacking anyone in the city (like stabbing, they just get chastised for fist fights), and breaking multiple rules of the city. And some people don't choose a idol, though its highly unlikely as those who don't know what idol to pick tend to pick Tommy or Tubbo. Those who choose not to choose a idol, tend to only work in farming, as its a easy job to learn. Its for these people that the idol-less council member was added, the council member also represent other cities and kingdoms that do still acknowledge and trade with Mizu. Most houses are actually built out of the side, like how we saw the idol rooms in the official episode, and their kind of scattered about, theres some halls filled with homes, but some halls have no homes. The halls with the homes tend to be the biggest/widest halls of the city, as to allow for room for the families living there, and also because theres sometimes stores in this area. Some halls also have multiple levels to allow for more room, these specific halls are referred to as Residential Complex, and only house homes in their multiple levels. While halls that hold only a few homes arent called anything special. Because outside affairs are very complex, most kingdoms and cities ignore Mizu, treating them with disgust and some times, people who have done supply runs that go into cities have reported having higher prices on what they want to buy, and disrespect from all citizens and police. But some kingdoms and cities respect them and trade with them without any tricks. The councils main agurement in this situation is that, the nice city is very far away, a weeks travel, but the mean city is close, only a 2 day walk away. They agure about what to do and what city to travel too for all supply runs. And another agurement that the council often has is what to do with visitors, they had visitors in the past that had destroyed and stole items in Mizu while causing disruptions, but some also brought their own culture and items and happily exchanged said culture and items. So their conflicted on if visitors should be welcomed or turned away. 

3: He went through what Ranbob did, being held to high standards that he just couldn't meet. But unlike Ranbob, he spoke up about his problems and managed to get held to lesser standards and allowed time to recover. When he moved out he originally lived on his own in a forest, and because he was vulnerable to monsters he didn't know how to handle, he had to make many fast paced despite when cornered by monsters or when trying to save crops or his house. And since he was also the oldest child of a 6 child family, he had to constantly look after his siblings, giving him his father-like attitude and knowing how to help people in basically almost any situation. His siblings are (current ages) Nick-17, calm, information nerd, introverted and Benjamins favorite brother. Rock-10, a tiny gremlin that loved to mess with people, he often broke bones or broke items when playing due to his rough play style and broke rules, Benjamin was the only one who could calm him. Ion-16, a teen that is very adventurous and always wandering off, she always talked about traveling the world, the hardest one for Benjamin to keep track of. Stellar-13, in love with space, but other than that is a normal child, but she also has a fascination with monsters like enderman, often wondering where they come from, Benjamin doesnt have any strong opinions on her.  And finally, Juka-15, they are very invested in redstone, often experimenting on it and trying to make different things with it, often the stuff they make blows up, Benjamin admires Juka's persistence and love for redstone but also wishes they'd stop blowing up the damn kitchen. 

8: Totems do exist, their just so rare its not believed Techno managed to have and use one. So that part of the story got lost and left out over time. Pandoras vault has fallen, mostly because of a break out by Dream that destroyed most of it, and because it had fallen into disrepair. And they do have such advanced technology to make such a prison now, but they doubted the SMP had such technology and availability to do it in their time. And there is also a great lack of evidence (expect for the actual building, but even then people agure it was used for something else) supporting the existence of Pandoras Vault. 

Ran and Ranbob used to feel confused and hurt, not understanding why the world hated their home and why the world was so mean to them. Over time they learned why they where shunned, but still didn't completely understand. Eventually they grew used to it, and learned to avoid saying where they lived, unless they wanted to partake in a fight. They very very rarely say that they came from Mizu, as they had learned long ago from both classes and personal experience. But a few times it was revealed they lived in Mizu, they had to just endure it and move along, even though Ran really wanted to punch a fucker. They became friends when Charles went to him during the trip to the flower field, asking to join in on a game he was playing. Its a miracle the two didn't get a heart attack tbh.

10: He was not! Ranbob was too weak for Dream to access all of his powers. And Dreams constant hold of control and withholding food and all the essentials from him, made him even weaker. No one is aware of it, not even Ranbob. A mix of pissed, a weird sort of pride, and determination. The pride and determination is there because knowing Dream thinks that way of them, confirms that they're enough of a threat that Dream actually acknowledges them. And helps them believe that they could truly beat Dream if they tried. Though it also means Dream will try his damned best to kill them. 

13: Yeah he comes out on top, he still has some advantages over the others even without tatics, like his speed and he knows how to sneak around and use the area to his advantage pretty well. 

14: He seemed more finicky, more nervous and anxious. Constantly trying to seperate himself from the group when he tends to stay very close by. And more on edge/quick to snap at others.

 Ayy! Starting off with Skeppy and Charles, what a wonderful way to begin. How did Skeppy’s few followers mine? Were there mines under the sea floor? Did they travel out of Mizu to go find mines in the earth? 

1: Hm, interesting. The idol-less leader seems to have quite a bit on their shoulders, if they deal with all outside affairs. Were they specifically selected to learn their position? Since you said most of them farm, but all those politics and stuff seem kind of different from it. Does Ranbob remember any of the nice cities? Did either boy ever meet a former visitor that recognized them from back then?

3: Benjamin’s family sounds really cool. Does the gang ever get to meet them? If so, how do they get along with them?

8: Huh. Well, how about Woodland Mansions? What happened to those, to make totems so rare? So Pandora still stands today? Cool. Does the gang ever come across it? Where would it be located-or well, what areas would be around it? Is it used for anything else nowadays?

And that sucks. If this happens while the brothers are at odds with each other, do they still help each other out with it, since they’re being mocked about their home, or do they just ignore it, and such. How do their respective groups feel both about them being from Mizu, and how they’re treated for it, both before and after the two hauntings started to merge? Did it effect how they thought of them in anyway?

And that sounds cute. What game was it, and who won? 

10: Hmm. Was Dream aware he was causing Ranbob to become weaker, or was he that out of touch with human needs? Also, I think I remember way back then, you mentioned this part of Dream was the evil bits that survived his death.

What do you think would happen if they somehow managed to end up seeing the good parts, maybe with a similar artifact that Ranbob found in your supposed fluff?

13: Nice.

14: Oh, no. That’s not good.

[connorandersons-blog]

Let’s Give them Something to Talk About

Rating: Explicit Word count: 7039   Ship: RK1000 (Connor/Markus) Chapter: 1/5

Summary: The Jericho team plus Connor need to think up a way to distract the public from the fact that North punched a very important human. What better way than the Deviant Leader dating the Deviant Hunter?

Thank you to @gavincantreedthis for beta reading this!

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

Markus paced back and forth, rubbing his hands against his forearms. Connor couldn't blame him, he was stressed too. North had punched a very important man (rightly so, but still) and now public opinion was going down. 

The thing was, everyone still thought Markus and North were together. So, they had to find a way to draw attention away from North and the possibility that Markus condoned it because of their supposed dating. 

There were a few options, but none seemed to be dramatic enough. Since androids could now legally marry, the population had been asking when Markus was going to propose to North. 

Connor hated it. It was putting pressure on Markus where there shouldn't be. He shouldn't have to worry about breaking the news to the public now and have it backfire. Or have people assume it was because of the punch. 

Then the door slammed open and North, Josh, and Simon came in. North was stomping her way in while Simon and Josh moved much more silently. 

"Those fuckers are saying I punched him ‘cause he was flirting with you! Ugh!" North said, throwing her hands into the air. "I may have kissed you that one time but like, ew! I literally have a girlfriend now." 

Right, Connor had introduced Tina and North together after he overhead Tina commenting about how amazing North was one too many times. 

They hit it off incredibly well and it didn't take long for the two to kiss and get together. Connor felt like a proud parent whenever the two were around each other. 

"I know, we need a distraction. Something to make them forget about that. Just coming out with the full story won't do any good," Markus sighed, finally sitting down next to Connor. 

It had taken Connor awhile, but he now felt comfortable enough to place a soothing hand on Markus's back.

Markus was the type to seek out physical contact while Connor generally shied away. It wasn't like he had the best history with being touched. After all, it was generally someone punching him or Hank's rare hugs. 

He did his best to at least pat people on the shoulder, but even then it was a bit awkward. The only two people he felt even remotely comfortable touching without explicit permission was Hank and Markus. 

Markus sighed and leaned into the touch, smiling slightly at Connor. It's hard not to smile back when someone like Markus is smiling at you. 

"You two could say you're dating," Simon said, making Connor practically jump out of his synthetic skin. 

He pulled his hand back like he had been shocked (which is entirely possible actually) and sat up straight. 

North made a small sound, nodding her head. "That's not drastic enough, but I think this could work." 

"North," Markus said, squinting at her. She waved him off, still clearly thinking. 

"You need to get married." 

"What?!" Connor and Markus said this at the same time. 

It made North snort and glance at the other two. "It makes sense. You announce that you're engaged to Connor, and explain that we split up right after the revolution. People will eat this up. Deviant Hunter fell for the Deviant Leader himself." 

Connor hated to admit it, but this might actually work. He was sure he could make it believable but this would end three ways. 

The first was that they staged a breakup before or after they actually got married. The second was they let it slowly die out until no one even cares anymore. And the last was that they actually stayed married. He highly doubted the last would happen, but statistically speaking, there's always a chance for unlikely events to take place. 

"I don't want to do that to Connor, it's unfair. If it just affects me that would be fine, but I don't need to drag anyone into this," Markus said, shaking his head. 

That was sweet, but Connor would do anything to help them. He fucking stormed the Cyberlife tower single-handedly for crying out loud! "I'm in if you are." 

Markus snapped his head around to stare at Connor, who could only shrug. "No, we can think of something else." 

"If it's me that's the problem, then I'm sure Simon wouldn't mind," Connor said, trying to play it off as chill. Admittedly it did hurt somewhat. He didn't have feelings for Markus in that way but he wasn't opposed to the idea either. 

Was Connor really that unlovable? 

It must have shown on his face because Markus was quick to put his hand on Connor's knee. "It's not that. I don't want to make you uncomfortable and lose you as a friend." 

"You won't lose me. From my calculations, it'll only take over a month until this dies down. We announce our engagement and jump right to a wedding if you really want to distract people." Though, the whole world was focused on them and everything they did. 

"It's not a bad idea, Markus. If you're both willing then I don't see the problem." Josh finally spoke up. 

That seemed to do it for Markus as he nodded. "Alright, but he can't just rush into this. We have to plan this out in a way that feels natural and not like a purposeful distraction." 

"Yeah. Maybe let the news 'catch' the two of you on a date, holding hands. Make it look like you're hiding it," North suggested. 

Hold hands, Connor could do that. Maybe even a small kiss on the cheek, nothing too crazy. 

"Then maybe they can catch you making out. Oh! Maybe against a wall. Not sure who'd be the top but you guys can figure that out." North said, flapping her hand like it was no big deal. 

In reality, it was a really big fucking deal. But he didn't have to think about it too much right now. It wasn't like they were going to be caught doing that anytime soon. 

Markus's eyes went wide and he started rubbing his forearms again. A nervous tic, Connor noted, but didn't think too hard on it. He was nervous too, so it didn't mean anything. "Are you sure? Maybe they can just catch us on a few dates then we announce our engagement." 

North quickly shook her head. "No, you have to work up to it. Small dates first, make the media think they are catching something secret. Then start getting bolder. If someone full-on interrupts you then you can try to play it off or convince them not to tell anyone." 

"When the media really starts pushing and asking we wait just a bit longer before you two do your little engagement. You don't have to actually purpose out in public, but I can get you into a talk show to do it if you want." Josh said. 

Once again Connor hated how much sense it made. "We'll have to come up with the backstory. The fewer lies involved the better for believability. We can discuss who will do what later. It would be better if all of you knew the backstory too as you probably would have been there for most of it."

He still had his job as a detective but he was often working as Markus's bodyguard (even though he didn't want one) when cases were slow and he wasn't fully needed. 

"Alright, so North and I broke up after the revolution. You and I slowly got closer and closer." Markus says, glancing at Connor. "Oh, maybe we got together after that one conference." 

That made sense. Connor had been working as the bodyguard but a man still managed to get a shot at Markus. He thankfully didn't hit anything important but Connor couldn't stop blaming himself for weeks. It was totally reasonable that that's when they would have gotten together.  

"Alright, sounds good to me. How about how we told the others and PDA in front of them?" Connor asked, making mental notes. He didn't want to screw this up, it was too important. 

Markus thought for a second, eyes glazing over just slightly. "North would have caught us kissing. I probably would have been worried about hurting her feelings, but-" he easily got cut off. 

"But I don't give a shit as long as you're happy. Of course, I wouldn't tell anyone without your permission but you'd probably tell Simon and Josh that day." North shrugged. 

Oh, he'd need to inform Hank on the situation. Hank would be the first person he'd tell, and probably the only one if they were keeping it secret. "I'll let the Lieutenant know." 

Josh nodded along before speaking. "We can feed the media anonymous tips saying something like Markus is on a date but we don't know with who. Just enough that it gets them out there and looking." 

Alright, he could do this. North wouldn't get in trouble and the public opinion would go back up. Who didn't love a good secret romance? Well, a fake secret romance but no one else had to know about that. 

"We should start tonight. I can get you guys a reservation at that new restaurant, apparently, it's great for androids." Simon said. 

Tonight?! He thought he'd have more time to prepare. It wasn't like he's dated anyone before so he wanted to do some research. He didn't care if it was completely fake, he still wanted Markus to have a good time and not feel too awkward. 

Now, he was being told he only had until dinner time and he was kind of freaking out. He'd have to pick out a good outfit and maybe change his hair. 

Ok, maybe he was taking this a bit too far, but he wanted to be a good fake boyfriend. Markus deserved someone sweet and kind who loved him. Fake it till you make it right?

No, no that's not right. He was not making it anywhere. This would all die down and everyone would forget about the whole thing. They'd have their little 'break-up' and then they'd go back to just being friends. 

"Alright, Connor do you want to get ready and meet me back here? We can talk over boundaries before our… date." Markus said, flushing a slight blue. Connor was instantly so glad androids could blush after deviation. 

Markus was too cute for his own good. It's no wonder they won the revolution peacefully with Markus's charisma. Not to say that was the only thing, but it definitely helped. 

Fuck, now he was just staring at Markus. In a purely platonic way, of course, Markus was attractive, anyone could see that. "Right, I'll see you soon then." 

Markus gave a slight nod and smile before Connor stood up. North gave him a thumbs-up, and Josh and Simon tried to give him encouraging smiles. 

The ride back to Hank's was incredibly slow but that did give him time to do some research. He looked up tips to be a good boyfriend, what type of clothes to wear on a date, and small talk ideas. It wasn't much, but it was definitely a start. 

He no longer felt the need to knock on the door, so he just walked right in. At least he wasn't going through windows anymore, which Hank loved to bring up every chance he got. 

Sumo slowly got up to greet him, and Connor took that chance to compose his thoughts. He had no doubt that Hank would go along with this, but that didn't mean he wouldn't tease him relentlessly. 

"Didn't think you'd be back till later," Hank said, sitting on the couch and reading a book. It was one of his older ones that Hank had suggested (well, more demanded) he read after the revolution. 

Right, he could do this. "I've got a date tonight." Fuck. 

Hank's head instantly whipped around and the book almost fell from his hands. Ok, that was a little bit of a dramatic reaction, it wasn't like he was undateable. 

He just never found anyone he really wanted to be with, and no one ever fully understood him, android or otherwise. 

A few androids feared him while others put him so high on a pedestal that it was odd to even talk to them. The only androids he felt truly comfortable around were the leaders of Jericho. Because of that and his part, most people thought of him as a leader as well. 

"Alright, come sit. I need to hear everything and need to know if I need to kill someone." Hank said, putting his book down. 

The image of Hank threatening Markus was amusing but he had no doubt that he wouldn't do it. 

He did as Hank said and slowly sat down next to him. "Ok, well it's not exactly a date, but it is." 

Hank stared at him for a few seconds before waving him on to continue. 

"So you remember North punched that guy?" He asked and Hank gave him the 'bitch please' look that made him snort. "Well, we decided that there needs to be a distraction and they decided Markus and I would 'date' and get 'engaged'."

Hank sat there for a few seconds before facepalming. "Of course. Fuck, that might actually work though. So you have a fake date with Markus tonight?" 

Connor nodded and fiddled with his coin. "I do. I'm to get ready and meet him back at New Jericho so we can talk about boundaries." 

"Well, at least that's good. Just don't go falling in love or anything," Hank said, patting his shoulder. 

Connor huffed and rolled his eyes. "I won't, don't worry. We're just doing this to help out North and then we can break up or just let it die out." 

Hank sighed and shook his head. "Sure you won't. Alright, you better go get ready then for your date." 

"It's not actually a date, but I do need to get ready. If anyone asks, Markus and I got together after the conference where Markus was shot," Connor said, standing up. 

Hank gave him a hum and waved him off. Connor grinned in return and went to his room, closing the door behind him. 

He went through his closet, pulling out outfits and trying them on before huffing and pulling it all off. Nothing felt right for this. Markus had seen him in almost every form of dressing, from his work clothes to his pajamas. How could he make a bold impression? 

Oh, this might do. He pulled out a pair of men's black skirt pants, black lita high heel, and a men's solid black lace cut out patchwork button-up shirt. 

He put it all on and stepped in front of the mirror. He had to admit, he looked good, but something was still missing. 

He grinned at himself before running over to his desk and pulling out the eyeliner Hank got him after he expressed interest in it. He hadn't worn it out before, but he very much enjoyed putting it on. 

Once he was done he ran a hand through his hair, making it go back to its natural curly state. 

There, now he was ready. If nothing else then he looked good and everyone would be shocked. He loved experimenting with clothing and found that he loved dressing in all ways. 

Sometimes he'd dress more feminine, while others he tried to be more androgynous or masculine. He normally didn't dress too femininely when leaving the house, so only Hank really got to see him wear a skirt. 

He thought this look was more androgynous and he really hoped Markus was ok with this. He honestly didn't know why he liked dressing in different ways, but part of him was scared Markus would find it odd. Though, Markus is one of the most open-minded men he knew. 

Alright, he could do this. Just a fun night out with Markus. Maybe a little hand-holding and possibly even a kiss on the cheek. He had nothing to be nervous about, it wasn’t like it was real. 

He looked in the mirror one more time before leaving the room. In all, getting ready had taken an hour, which wasn't too odd for him. He preferred looking well dressed no matter what he was doing. 

He walked over to Hank and did a small twirl, showing off his outfit. "What do you think? Is it too much?" 

Hank's eyes went wide and he gave him a slight nod. "Not bad son. The makeup was a good choice. Markus is not gonna know what to do with himself when he sees you." 

Connor flushed blue but didn't hold back the grin. Hank may tease him but he was also incredibly encouraging and supported almost everything he did. (He did not support Connor licking evidence but whatever)

"Thank you! Alright, I should probably get going. I'll be back tonight but don't feel the need to wait up for me." Connor said, giving a few scratches to Sumo before going to the door. 

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun on your fake date kid," Hank said, giving him a thumbs-up before going back to reading. 

He did a bit more research on his way back to New Jericho and now felt confident enough to actually go on this date. If it was actually real, that is. 

He got a few stares on his way to where Markus stayed at New Jericho, but he took it in stride. He knew he looked good, so it didn't matter if other people thought he was weird. 

Markus's door was already slightly open (he'd have to go over safety protocols again) so he gave a slight knock before walking in. 

Markus was sitting on his couch looking just as stunning as always. He had his long jacket on with the black suit underneath. 

When Connor walked in his head snapped up and his mouth hung open just slightly. "Connor! Oh, wow you look… you look really good. Are you wearing makeup?" 

Connor shifted from foot to foot, nodding. "I am. I can change if my outfit isn't appropriate." He really didn't want to, but he would if need be. 

Markus quickly stood, shaking his head. "No! No, you're fine. I was just surprised is all. You look stunning." 

Connor blushed and his eyes darted around the room, trying to find something other than Markus to stare at. "Thank you. You look good too." 

There was a long awkward silence before Markus cleared his throat. "Right, we should talk about boundaries. I know we are doing this for North, but I don't want you to do anything you're uncomfortable with." 

Markus slowly sat back down and patted the cushion beside him. Connor gladly sat, turning to face Markus. "I'll let you know if I am, but that goes for you too."

Markus grinned at him before staring down at his lap. "So I guess we should get the big one out of the way. How do you feel about kissing?" 

Connor's heart skipped a beat and he wished he had pockets so he could have had his coin with him. "I've never actually been kissed before, but I'm a quick learner." He hated admitting it like that. 

Sure he was interested in kissing people but work and helping his people always came first. 

It seemed Markus was beyond shocked because he just sat that silently for what felt like hours. "We don't… your first should be with someone you care about. I don't want to take that away from you." 

Oh, so that's what he was worried about. Could this man get any more perfect? "I don't mind, but I just didn't want to kiss you and it be horrible. I've tried to look it up but most say that practice with an actual living being is the key to success."

Plus it wasn't like he had anyone to practice on beforehand. There was no way in hell he was kissing Hank and he didn't really care about it too much anyway. It was just lips touching, he didn't see the significance to it. 

"Oh, well… do you want to? Like, can I? I don't want your first to just be out in public, I think it would be better to do it here. Or I can get Simon, Josh, or North for your first. I'm sure they'd all be willing." Markus said, looking between Connor and the couch. 

Connor huffed and reached over, pulling Markus to him and softly pressing their lips together. 

Markus didn't instantly pull away, instead, he brought a hand up to cup Connor's cheek. 

But then Connor pulled back, his heart beating a bit too quickly for his liking. For a first kiss, it wasn't the worst, but it wasn't the best either. 

His lips tingled slightly and he couldn't help but lick them. Markus's lips were soft but that was to be expected, they were made to be so after all. There was still something so… shocking about it but he couldn't place why. 

"Connor," Markus sighed out, still gently holding his head. Connor leaned into it and stared at Markus. "I, um, wow. Hopefully, that was good?" 

He nodded and grinned. "It was. So, kissing is alright with me if you're fine with it too." It was a nice feeling, and he'd actually like to do it again, but there was no one around that they'd have to fool. So he pulled back completely and Markus brought his hand back to his lap. 

"It's definitely fine with me. How do you feel about PDA? We'll have to do some but I won't do it too much if it makes you uncomfortable," Markus said. Honestly, Markus would make an exceptional boyfriend if this was real. 

"I'm fine with it as far as I know. I'll let you know if it does make me uncomfortable or I don't like something." He's only ever had platonic PDA but even then it was incredibly limited. 

Markus made a small pained sound. "Once this is over, are you still ok with PDA? If you don't want to be touched normally I won't, but if you do then you don't have to ask. You can just hold my hand or anything you want." 

Oh, that was an incredible offer. He had had the want to hold hands or ask for a hug but he always pulled back. He didn't know what was appropriate or wanted. "Thank you… can I hold your hand right now?" 

He offered his hand and Markus instantly took it, giving it a slight squeeze. Markus's hands were warmer than Connor's and slightly bigger too. They were incredibly soft but he also had a few calluses from painting and playing the piano. 

Part of him wanted to deactivate his skin so he could feel even more, but he decided against it. Holding hands was one thing, possibly interfacing while doing so was another. It was a bit too intimate for his liking. 

"Is this ok?" Markus asked, lacing their fingers together. Connor quickly nodded and lets out a soft sigh. 

This was definitely ok. It felt more grounding then he expected it to. "Yeah, it is." 

They sat there for a bit, Connor looking between Markus's face and their hands. 

"Oh, I do think this is important to say," Markus broke the silence. "When we do get-have to make out, it's totally fine if your body reacts a certain way. It's not odd and I'll do my best not to make it awkward if it does happen." 

Oh. Huh, it's a good thing Markus thought of that. He'd probably react and then everything would be awkward. It's good he got this out of the way now. "The same goes for you too. You don't need to feel embarrassed if it happens." 

Markus gave a slight nod. "Thank you. I am serious when I say that if anything, anything makes you uncomfortable you let me know. I won't hold it against you and you won't upset me at all." 

"Again, the same goes for you too. I'm planning on being the best fake boyfriend you've ever had." He said this with a wink. 

It got Markus to snort and shake his head fondly. "I'm sure you'd make an amazing boyfriend, and you'll make a great fake one too." 

Connor grinned and gave his hand a slight squeeze. This was going to be his easiest mission ever by the looks of it. Plus he'd get practice in dating so when he actually dates someone he won't be completely new too. It's a win-win situation. 

"Alright, if there's nothing else then we should get going to the restaurant. Josh said he sent a message to a news station. We need to be somewhat subtle, but only enough that they don't outright approach us." Markus said, moving his fingers around, making Connor giggle slightly. 

He wondered what his hands felt like. He probably had a few calluses himself from holding a gun. Were his hands as soft as Markus's? Did he actually like holding his hand? Was he making this weird by staring at their hands? He hadn't held hands before so he didn't know what was normal for it or not. 

"Connor?" Oh, right, he still hadn't replied yet. He blinked rapidly then looked up at Markus. 

"Alright, sounds good to me. Do you want to get a cab? I doubt you wanna ride my motorcycle." Connor said, standing up and using their connected hands to pull Markus up with him. 

He'd only gotten the motorcycle recently, but he absolutely adored it. He loved the feeling of the air on his skin, and taking turns a bit too fast. It was beyond exhilarating. 

"Actually, I'd love to if you'd be willing. I haven't ridden on one and I've wanted to since you got one." Markus replied, pulling Connor out and to the elevator. 

Connor swung their arms just slightly, smiling as he did. "Yes! I'd let you drive but I think it's best if you don't have to worry about that for your first time." 

Markus gave a nod and when they got to the parking deck, put the offered helmet on. Connor may drive a bit roughly but he always made sure he was safe.

Connor climbed on first and made sure Markus was steady as he got on behind him. "Alright, you're going to want to hold onto me at first. Once you're used to it you can just hang on slightly, but for now, don't be afraid to squeeze me." 

Funny enough Gavin was the one that made him truly interested in getting a motorcycle. Plus when he got one Gavin actually offered to show him how to drive it. That seemed to be their bonding moment and now they actually got along somewhat. 

Markus leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Connor, but didn't squeeze too hard. At least not until Connor started the motorcycle and revved it. Ok, so he may be showing off, but he was just proud of his bike. 

Markus clung to him as he drove, but other than that he didn't seem scared at all. From his breathless laughter, he seemed to be enjoying it quite a lot. 

Connor took them the long way and down streets, he knew he could get away with going a bit over the speed limit. He didn't want to push it too far, but he couldn't help it, this was just too fun. 

He parked the bike and got off, offering his hand to Markus who gladly took it. He seemed a bit uneasy on his feet but otherwise fine. 

Connor pulled his helmet off, running a hand through his hair to try to tame it somewhat. Markus was lucky he didn't have enough hair for a helmet to mess up. 

Once the helmets were off, Markus offered his hand to Connor who gladly took it. Then they walked into the restaurant and up to the hostess. 

"Welcome to La Récolte, do you have a reservation?" She asked before looking up. Her eyes went wide at the sight of Markus but she soon looked over at Connor and her jaw dropped. Quickly, she pulled herself together. 

"Table for two, for Markus Manfred and Connor Anderson," Markus said, leaning closer to Connor. 

 She tapped a few things into the computer before nodding. "Of course, Mr. Manfred, please come with me." 

 The two followed after her, not letting go of the other's hand even when they had to walk single-file. 

They sat down near the back so they wouldn't draw too much attention, but they still had a good view from the windows. 

Markus pulled out his chair for him without hesitation before sitting down across from him. 

"Can I start you off with a bottle of wine? We currently have a Meiomi Pinot Noir from California that I would suggest," she said while placing a menu in front of each of them. 

Connor didn’t want to let Markus go, but he did to look at the menu. "If it's alright with Markus," he said, looking up and locking eyes. 

Markus kept his eyes on him while he nodded. "That sounds amazing, we'll take a bottle of that. Feel free to bring out whatever appetizers goes best with it." 

The woman nodded before leaving almost silently. The two stayed still before Connor broke it by looking back down at the menu. 

"So, um what’s the best thing that has happened to you this month?" He couldn't stop himself from cringing at his own words. 

Markus snorted and leaned forward, batting his eyes. "Oh, definitely this. I've been wanting to finally take you on a real date since we got together." 

Connor had to hold back his laughter as he leaned in too. "You're too sweet. I'm glad we waited though, I was a bit nervous about possibly having too much attention on us." 

Markus reached out and gently brushed a curl out of Connor's face. Connor went completely still and his eyes widened slightly. 

Markus was staring at him so intensely that it made him want to squirm in his seat, but he kept still. "You have beautiful eyes." 

Connor's breath caught and he had to break eye contact. He knew it was fake but he didn't get complimented all that much. He'd get told he did a good job or that he was one of the best detectives, but this was different. It made his whole face flush and he bit his lip. "Thank you." 

Markus slowly pulled his hand back, but Connor missed the flashes of emotion that went across Markus's face. "Of course." 

He always thought Markus's eyes were beautiful but he never brought it up. He knew some of Markus's story and he knew he had to replace a few biocompents. It was probably traumatic so he avoided it altogether. 

"What do you like to do in your free time?" Connor blurted out when the silence got to be too much. 

Markus leaned back in his chair with a small grin. "You looked up conversation starters too, didn't you?"

Connor sighed out and nodded. "I did. I didn't want this to be awkward since this isn't re-uh since it's our first date out in public." He's glad he caught himself, but that was a little too close for his liking. 

"Don't worry, I did the same. As for your questions, you already know baby. If you aren't at work then you're with me." Markus said with a small shrug. 

Connor made a small sound before he could stop himself. But it seemed Markus took that the wrong way as he instantly lowered his voice so only Connor could hear. "I'm sorry, is that too far?"

Connor quickly shook his head. "No, no it's fine. I just wasn't expecting it. As I said, I've never actually done this before."

 Markus sighed in relief and reached out to hold Connor's hand again. Just then a waitress comes over with the wine and appetizers which was a shrimp cocktail. 

The waitress poured their wine out before smiling at them slightly. "Do you know what you would like for the entree?"

Oh, he hadn't actually been reading the menu when he was looking at it. 

"We'll both have the Filet De Boeuf with Potatoes Au Gratin," Markus said, easily pronouncing each word perfectly. The waitress nodded, and when Markus didn’t add on, silently left. 

The two kept their hands intertwined on the table while using the other hand to sip at the wine and eat. It's definitely some of the best food he'd ever had. 

He moaned softly before slapping his hand over his mouth. "I'm so sorry. My processors are much more sensitive on my tongue and it just tastes really good." Wow, he was fucking up a date that wasn't even real! 

"It's fine! I'm glad you're enjoying the meal. I wouldn't be a good boyfriend if I let you eat something disgusting." Markus said, taking a slow sip of his wine. 

Connor couldn't help but notice a few people glancing their way. It was almost definitely Markus. It would be like the Queen of Britain going into a restaurant, everyone would notice at some point. He was just too recognizable. 

Connor did notice someone bringing out their phone and he quickly snatched his hand back and put it under the table. They were being a bit too obvious with the hand holding. 

Markus frowned but quickly looked around and saw what Connor did. Right, they weren't here just to have fun. They both had a mission to accomplish. 

The two went about their dinner and thankfully avoided any more awkward silences and bad conversation starters. 

They already had so much to talk about and even if there was a lull in the conversation it never put Connor on edge. 

It was also quite fun to fake flirt with Markus in the silliest ways. They'd make jokes that others wouldn't understand and then use those to throw in some flirting. 

The entrees were just as good as the appetizers and before they knew it they had finished their meal. They both decided to skip dessert and Markus paid for the meal. Connor had tried. but Markus had reached out first when it was offered. 

The two left the restaurant full and happy, smiling wider than they had in awhile. 

Connor felt something odd and discreetly looked around before finding what made his skin itch. They were being followed. Probably by a journalist, so that was good. This is what they wanted. 

Connor laced his fingers through Markus's and walked closer to him to whisper in his ear. "We're being followed. Don't do anything too dramatic." 

Markus gave a slight nod and turned his head to grin at Connor but also to look to where someone was indeed following them. 

The two kept walking to Connor's bike and Connor offered the helmet again. "I'll drop you back off at New Jericho?" 

Markus nodded and easily slid into the bike behind Connor, wrapping his arms around him again. This time one held him by his lower stomach and the other crept up to his chest. Markus rested his head on Connor's shoulder and gave him a slight squeeze. "It's too bad you can't stay the night. I was hoping to spend more time with you." 

Connor shivered slightly and subconsciously leaned back into Markus's warm embrace. He didn't know if the reporter could hear them, but even if he couldn't, whoever it was would probably be able to guess what was said. "I've got work tomorrow, you know that. I'll make sure to get some more free time soon." 

Markus sighed and Connor arched his back just slightly. Probably not enough to be noticeable by Markus, but that didn't mean it wasn't slightly embarrassing. He knew Markus said he shouldn't be embarrassed but it was hard not to be. 

He probably just reacted so easily because this was all new. If this wasn't then he'd probably be more cool and collected. 

"That's alright, as long as you give me a goodnight kiss." Markus chuckled and Connor started the engine. 

"I make no promises," Connor said before pulling out and getting into the street. There was plenty there to work with and he had no doubts that it would be all over the place by the morning. 

As promised he did drop Markus off at New Jericho but both seemed to be stalling a bit. Connor stayed on the bike, but Markus had gotten off and handed his helmet to Connor. 

"I really had a fun time tonight. We should spend more time together, just me and you." Markus says, rocking back and forth on his heels. 

Connor runs a hand through his fluffy hair with a chuckle. "Well, we're definitely going to be doing that more often now." 

 "Yeah, but real. As friends, you know? You're one of my closest friends but I sometimes feel like you keep part of yourself hidden around us, and me." Markus says, looking between Connor and the ground. 

Connor couldn't help but pause. "I… I sometimes feel like I don't know who I really am. I know what I was meant to be, but I'm not sure what that makes me now."

It was hard to get that out but when he did it felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He didn't know who he really was, but maybe that was normal. 

"You can be anything and anyone you want to be. The only requirement is that it makes you happy. If being a detective makes you happy, then do it. If not? Well, maybe you should find something that does?" Markus suggested, reaching out to take his hand again. 

"How do I know when I'm happy? There's just so many emotions and I can't always tell the difference. I know I feel something when I complete a case but what if that's just my programming? What if I'm more machine than alive?" He said, breath coming out in short puffs.

Then Markus pulled him into a hug, and, honestly, it was a bit awkward because of the bike. That didn't stop it from being one of the best hugs he's ever received. 

Markus hugged him like his life depended on it. It was like if he let go then they'd both drown, and Markus would never let that happen. He'd stay here forever if that's what Connor needed. 

"Connor, you can't get rid of your programming. It is part of you and that's ok. You don't have to embrace every part of it, but maybe there are small pieces you still like. Just because we are machines doesn't mean we can't also be alive." Markus said, slowly rubbing his back. 

Connor shook slightly in his hold. Markus was amazing and literally led a revolution, but that didn't make what he said exceptional. What got to him was that he knew Markus cared about him as a friend and he really meant it. He wasn't just saying it to make him happy, he was saying it because it was true. 

After a few minutes, Connor slowly pulled back slightly, no longer shaking. "Thank you, and I'm sorry I ruined our fake date with this." He said, trying to laugh it off. 

Markus took his face in his hands and looked at him dead on. "You didn't ruin anything, Connor. I'm so glad you opened up, and I'm always here for you. If anything you made the night even better." 

It was hard to argue with that when Markus was staring him down like he did while leading the revolution. It was so intense that it sent a small shock down his spine. "I… thank you." 

Markus smiled and gently brushed his thumb against Connor's cheekbones. It was so tender that it almost hurt and Connor didn't know why. 

Why it hurt and why Markus was holding him like he was the most precious thing on Earth. 

Why did this make his heart flutter and his stomach twist? He didn't even have a stomach! It frustrated him because he didn't know the cause. He didn't know why he wanted to run away but also get closer at the same time. 

Then Markus brushed his thumb against Connor's lip and he jumped slightly. "Sorry, you still owe me a goodnight kiss." 

"Markus!" Connor laughed, gently pushing at the other's chest. 

Markus grinned back and moved his hands down to rest on Connor's shoulders. "Alright, how about on the cheek then? Come on, you know you want to." Markus said, turning his head. 

Connor rolled his eyes but leaned in. Before his lips could touch Markus's cheek he had turned his head so his lips landed partly on his lips. 

"Markus!" Connor shouted again, not holding back his laugh. If anyone was looking out then they'd probably think this was real. Not that it wasn't, but it wasn't the way they'd think it was. 

"Sorry, it was just too easy. Everyone needs a little bit of Connor every now and then. I'm just lucky that you're comfortable enough to," Markus said, smirking at him. 

Connor flushed and broke eye contact, accidentally looking down to Markus's lips before snapping back up. "Yeah, yeah. I really should be getting home though. Hank won't go to sleep until I'm home safe no matter how much I try to tell him I'll be fine." 

He adored Hank but the man could be a little overprotective. He knew why and it was heartwarming but also sad. He really wished he'd gotten to meet Cole. 

Markus sighed and stepped back, arms falling to his sides. "Alright. I'll let you know when the next date is, alright? Please drive safe."

"You know I always do," he said with a wink before pulling his helmet on. 

Markus steps back and Connor revves the engine before glancing at Markus. 

"Goodnight babe," Markus called out with a wide grin. Connor snorts but he can't stop thinking about that grin for the rest of the night. 

[asifetch7]

Nameless - Chapter 1: Welcome to club ‘Downtown’.

Genre: Mafia AU, gang AU, BTS

Pairings: Yoongi x Reader, BTS x Reader, BTS x BTS

Warnings: Cursing. Gang violence. Gun violence. Kidnapping. Angst. Future fluff. Future smut. Referenced suicide attempt.

—— Summery

Marco Polo is an Italian Korean gang that traveled through Asia and eventually settled in South-Korea. It is known for its multiple locations around the world with the three main ones in Sicily, Tokyo and now Seoul. Their name is of course inspired by Marco Polo, but also the radioactive chemical Polonium.

Their members are poisonous, according to Yoongi at least. Poisonous little fuckers who always appear when you least expect it. Marco Polo and Bangtan have been at each other's throat ever since the Italian gang decided to stay in Seoul. After the last gang war ended in a truce he thought he’d seen the last of them but as Yoongi steps into club Downtown he will come to find out that that can’t be further from the truth.

—— 

previous//one//next

“I just don’t understand why I need to be present for this meeting Namjoon.” Yoongi sighed as he looked from the window to his adviser on his left. He really wasn’t looking forward to discussing a new contract with one of his dealers. “It’s necessary for them to see that you’re not just working behind the scènes Yoongi. You haven’t shown your face in quite awhile. If you keep doing that some people will start to doubt your leadership,” Namjoon calmly explained.

Jimin huffed. “Which idiots are stupid enough to doubt him?” He asked while fixing the knife in his thigh holster. “The Carters, Youngs, Lees and Polos.” Taehyung summed up from the driver's seat. Jimin turned sideways to hit him on the shoulder. “We don’t talk about the Polos. Plus, we have a truce so why would they even bother?” “Don’t play dumb, Jiminie, a truce doesn’t mean shit if the other party looks weak,” Taeyhung stated.

Yoongi closed his eyes. “Can we not talk about the Polos for one night, please?” He asked as they pulled up to club ‘Downtown’. The guys grew silent. He took that as a yes and opened his door.

Jimin groaned as he stepped out of the car. “Eugh, these heels are going to give me ingrown toenails.” He put his right hand on Yoongi’s shoulder to keep himself from falling over while he tried to adjust his shoes. “Should’ve chosen a different pair then doll face,” Yoongi teased. The look Jimin gave him was anything but pleased. “These were the only ones that go with this outfit that YOU gave me, mister. So if I want to complain about the fact that the only pair that matched is too small, than you better prepare yourself for an earful.”

Grinning fondly at the assassin’s behavior Namjoon grabbed a bag from the trunk of the car and started walking away.

The group made their way to the cashier who stood right outside the doors of the club. “Name”, he asked without looking up.

“Agust D.”

That made the head of the boy shoot up immediately. Yoongi reveled in the way only a few letters could make people surrender to him. “King D, sir, my apologies.” The boy bowed a full 90 degrees and quickly signaled for the guards to open the doors.

They walked into the establishment and were immediately welcomed by a hostess dressed in a formal uniform. “Welcome to ‘Downtown’ King D, how can I help you and your party tonight?” She asked after bowing her head.

When she looked up her eyes dragged over Jimin’s form. He could almost hear the judgemental thoughts moving around inside her head and it really made him want to roll his eyes. Sadly, he had a reputation to maintain and they were here for business, not for petty fights.

“I have someone waiting for me at my usual booth.” Yoongi’s gruff voice snapped her attention back to him. She bowed again and started to lead the way. “Follow me then, please.”

“King D, welcome!” The dealer said loudly as he stood from the couch to move to one of the stools. Yoongi looked at him and already wanted to turn back around to go home. He really wasn’t looking forward to this.

“Thank you, Jung right?” He asked as he sat himself down with Jimin glued to his site. Jaehyun stuttered as his eyes landed on Jimin. “Yea-yes, Jung Jaehyun sir, from NCT.”

Namjoon joined Yoongi’s other side and laid the bag under the table. “I heard you wanted to discuss some adjustments for your contract with us?” “Yes, I have a ton of ideas and Taeyong said if I wanted them to happen I needed to talk to you.” Yoongi hummed and nodded towards Taehyung to close the curtains.

Always best to watch out for eavesdroppers.

-

“This here is your locker and you can find your clothing on the rack over there.” The manager of ‘Downtown’ pointed towards a neatly organized set of shelves at the left side of the room. “Your shift starts in thirty minutes so you should have enough time to choose a costume and get changed.”

You thanked him for the quick tour of the place and made your way to the clothes. “Oh, Yugyeom-nim-” “You can just call me Yugyeom, Ruby.” “Yugyeom ssi, is there a theme I should follow?”

The manager glanced around the room in thought and then looked you in the eyes. “I want them to cum in their pants the second they lay their eyes on you,” he deadpanned. You laughed, shaking your head and waved him away.

He moved to open the door, “Make me proud tonight Ruby.” With that he left the room.

You sighed as you grabbed a few items and went into one of the changing rooms. The small room had mirrors on all three walls which made it easy to get a full view of your body. After struggling with the thigh high socks and screwing up your make-up three times, you finally looked at yourself. Damn, if this doesn’t do the job then I might as well go home.

You had chosen to go with an innocent, white angel look and it wasn’t even half bad. The lingerie fitted you perfectly and the heels, even though highly uncomfortable, really pushed the picture of purity you were looking for.

Looking at the clock you saw that you only had five minutes left. You grabbed a pill from your make-up bag and put it in the small pocket of your robe. With one final glance in the mirror you let your mind fall into your character and walked out of the room.

The red ruby on your neck seemed to shine as it reflected the lights from the stage. Your red lips moved into a charming smile when you spotted your target sitting in a private booth.

Let’s get this mission accomplished.

-

Resisting the urge to yawn Jimin forced himself to look around. He couldn’t see much because of the curtains but he could still make out the bar. Yes, that’s exactly what he needed to get through this dull meeting.

Alcohol.

He tapped Yoongi on the shoulder and leaned towards his ear. “Hey, I’m going to get a drink, do you want anything?” Yoongi kissed him on the cheek. “You know what I want dollface.”

Nodding, Jimin got out of the booth and walked to the bar where you were standing with Jackson.

“Ruby, I’m serious. Just one date, please?” Jackson pouted at you. Laughing softly you shook your head at him. “The answer always has been and will forever be no Jackson.”

“Pretty, pretty, pretty please?” He whined. “Why would you even want to go on a date with me? You’ve got like half of the female population after your ass,” you said as you pointed towards some girls ogling at him from the end of the bar. He looked at you with puppy eyes.

“But you’re the only one I want to actually capture it. I mean look at you,” his demeanor changed as his eyes roamed over your body from head to toe. “Who wouldn’t want you chasing their behind?”

You grabbed your tray from the counter to hit him with, only to be interrupted by a giggle from your right.

“I mean he’s kind of right. You look gorgeous.” A voice said as you turned around.

Wow.

The guy in front of you could only be described as an ethereal being. He looked like one of those Greek gods from the paintings that your teacher always wanted you to analyze. A Korean Greek god? Maybe even a goddess considering the way he was dressed.

“Thank you but I look rather bland in comparison to you.” You nodded towards his dress and he smiled brightly. “It looks really pretty on you and does amazing things for your thighs.” You emphasized. He looked down and flexed his muscle making you both giggle.

“Yes, yes, you’re both extremely hot but Rubyyyy,” Jackson continued to whine, “you still haven’t answered my question.” Rolling your eyes you turned back around. “No Jackson. There ya have it. A simple, direct no.” He began pouting again.

“How many more times are you going to ask me out?” You asked as you put the tray back on the counter. “As many times as it takes for you to say yes.” He smiled sweetly. “Eugh, I’m done with you. Serve some drinks so I can do my job.” “I thought your job was to shake what your momma gave ya and make it rain.” You glared at him but before you could do any serious damage to his body a hand got placed on the counter.

“I’d actually like to order a few drinks for table P3.” You looked at Jimin from the corner of your eye and thanked him silently with a smile. “Sure thing hotstuff, which beverages do you desire?” Scoffing at the nickname Jimin ordered a few drinks. He winked at you before he walked away, swaying to the beat of the music.

“Now THAT is an ass worth chasing Jackson.” You smirked teasingly. He watched your eyes follow Jimin to his booth. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you, no one can touch the gem of Bangtan.” Your head snapped to him and he laughed at your expression. “Come again? Bangtan is sitting there?” He nodded his head. “I think even King D is present, something about making appearances.”

This mission just got a whole lot more complicated.

“Take this to them will ya?” Jackson asked as he placed the ordered drinks on your tray. You took a few deep breaths to steady yourself before grabbing the tray and walking towards what could be your final job.

-

“... and that’s why I think either the dosage needs to become higher or the price needs to go lower.” Yoongi just catched the end of Jaehyun’s speech. Maybe he should’ve payed more attention to it but it didn’t matter anyway, the things he was asking for were just ridiculous.

“Listen, Jung, I respect you coming here and actually asking for those kind of changes in person.” The dealer’s face lit up and he saw that his chest puffed out a little in pride. “However,” Yoongi looked him in the eyes and saw Jaehyun’s posture crumble from his cold stare, “upping the dosages of my drugs? Lowering the prices? You’ve got to have some serious balls to even think of such absurd ideas.”

He was really regretting coming here and wasting a perfectly good evening on this bullshit.

So when he saw Taehyung opening the curtains he kind of hoped someone had called him in for an emergency. Sadly, that wasn’t the truth. “Boss, your drinks are here.” He signaled to let them in. A squeal was heard from beside him and he looked at Jimin with confusion written all over his face. He knew he loved alcohol but was it truly worth all that noise?

“Ruby!” He half-shouted in his excitement. You looked up at the call of your name and smiled at Jimin when you saw him making grabby hands for the Raspberry Cosmopolitan in your hand. He thanked you when you handed the sweet drink to him. “Your an actual angel, darling.” He said gratefully after taking a generous sip.

“I’ve got a Gin Negroni,” Namjoon put his hand up and you placed the drink in front of him, “and a Black Russian.” You glanced at Yoongi and saw him roam his eyes over your body. After placing the drink on the table you stood back up. You could still feel his eyes on you as you turned to walk away.

“What? No drink for me sweet cheeks?” Jaehyun asked as he pulled at the strings of your robe, making it fall open. You heard a barely contained scuff from Jimin. “I’m sorry baby but this was all that was ordered,” you said with a sugary sweet voice. He pouted at you.

“Could you at least keep me some company then? Cause I’m still quite thirsty and you look like a fine, tall glass of water.”

Oh honey, no.

You tried not to feel disgusted with yourself as you forced a giggle out of your mouth. “Well, if you insist.”

Yoongi watched as you put down your tray and sat sideways on the dealer’s lap who looked like a kid on Christmas morning. You laid your left arm around his shoulders and started tracing figures on his chest with your right hand.

“What’s your name pretty?” Jaehyun asked breathlessly as you moved around trying to find a comfortable spot in his lap, putting pressure on his groin. “They call me Ruby,” you purred in his ear, “what do you go by, hmm, daddy?” He tightened his hold on your thigh and smirked. “It’s Jung Jaehyun, baby, but you can call me anything you want in that outfit of yours.”

What about an extremely repulsive asshole?

Instead of voicing your thoughts you just giggled again and fluttered your eyelashes at him. “I think I’ll keep calling you daddy then.” You moved to straddle his lap but were interrupted by a cough.

“Jung, do you want to keep talking or are you gonna keep wasting my time?” Yoongi said, grabbing his drink and sipping it slowly. Jimin was already done with his Cosmopolitan and just started eyeing the flower design on your lingerie. Namjoon was on his phone, probably looking for other meetings or events where he needed to be present. Taehyung still stood outside the curtains, hands behind his back.

Yoongi had other ideas for where he could place them but he was still sitting on this stupid couch, talking to someone who clearly wasn’t interested in selling his ideas anymore.

God, what a fucking merry dance.

His annoyed tone seemed to grab Jaehyun’s attention though and the dealer quickly pulled your arm from his neck, shooting you an apologetic look. “I’m sorry baby but I’ve gotta do some business.” Yoongi rolled his eyes. This guy really thought he was a big deal, didn’t he?

“Really?” You asked with pouting lips. Jaehyun nodded and padded your ass to get you off his lap. You stood up and slipped your hands in your robe. “Let me give you one of my goodbye kisses then, daddy.” He grinned and pulled you back by your wrist. “I would gladly receive one of those angel.” You giggled and grabbed his face in your hands.

You started with little kisses on his throat, slipping the pill out of your left hand and right into your mouth. Then you kissed him passionately and invaded his mouth with your tongue when he groaned.

The pill on your tongue was easily delivered in the back of the target’s throat. You prolonged the kiss to keep him distracted before finally pulling away. It all happened in a matter of seconds. Jaehyun swallowed when your lips moved from his. You smiled sweetly at him and stood up from his lap, gathering the empty glasses on your tray.

Yoongi catched your eye and you saw the lust floating around behind them. You turned your back to him and walked towards the curtains, giving your target one last sultry glance. He was still watching you with rapt attention. Taehyung opened the curtains for you and you laughed softly as you stept out of their booth.

Enjoy the ride, boys.

-

“So, where were we gentleman?” Jaehyun asked as he not-so-subtly tried to rearrange his pants. “I was about to send you home with a broken finger, rib or toe. Your choice.” Yoongi said as he sipped the last of his Black Russian, not looking bothered by his statement at all.

The dealer on the other hand choked on air and dropped to his knees immediately. “I’m so sorry if I offended you sir. Please accept my deepest apologies. I was a fool to ask for such idiotic changes.” He rushed to say while bowing with his head on the ground. A laugh escaped Yoongi as he stood up, only to crouch down in front of the guy. “You see Jung, the changes aren’t really the issue here. Sure, it was still stupid to even ask but I won’t let Jimin  dismantle your bones for that.”

He looked back at the mentioned assassin and was met with a wicked smile.

“The problem is the fact that you let a woman interrupt your business deal like that. I don’t think Taeyong will be very happy with that when he finds out. You also disregarded my warning when I asked you to stop wasting my time.” He stood back up with a groan. “Instead of sending her away, like I expected you to do, you gave her a ‘goodbye kiss’. Quite a show if I may add, but that doesn’t change the fact that you did it in front of me. In front of my crew. A crew that has better things to do than watch you french an escort.”

“Hey, don’t call Ruby an escort,” Jimin complained softly from behind him. “She’s really sweet.” Yoongi turned around and gave him an unimpressed look. “You really want to argue about that right now dollface?” Jimin huffed and crossed his arms but said nothing. “Thought so.”

“Euhm, boss?” Namjoon asked, concern clear in his voice. “What?” Yoongi said as he turned back around to the dealer still on the floor. “Oh, that’s not good.”

Jaehyun lay sprawled out in a small puddle of blood and… Is that foam? Yoongi took a step closer to see where the substance was coming from. He didn’t find any marks on the body but when the dealer started choking his attention went to his mouth and that’s when he saw it.

A mixture of blood, spit and foam was slowly making its way onto the ground. “Any idea why this is happening Namjoon?” He asked while stepping back to join Jimin who was now standing near the curtains. “No, he just started bleeding from his mouth I guess.” “You guess? Are you serious?” Namjoon glared at him. “He had his head on the ground the entire time, what do you expect from me? Being able to look through his skull to see what’s happening?”

“Taehyung, get in here,” Yoongi called. The captain quickly made his way inside. His eyes looked around the room before landing on the dying man in front of him. “Planned, accident or not involved?” Was the only thing he asked as he looked at Yoongi. “Not involved so the only option is that escort Ruby. Shutdown the whole club. I don’t want anyone going in or out until we have her in our possession.”

Taehyung nodded and went back outside while conversing with someone through his earpiece.

Yoongi let out a heavy sigh. “This night just keeps on being really fucking annoying.” Jimin looked at him with sympathetic eyes. “It will be alright baby. We’ll be in bed before you know it.” “I hope you’re ready to say goodbye to your sweet Ruby.” He said. “Honestly if she did it I don’t even hold it against her,” Jimin shrugged. “That guy was just disrespectful and nasty.” He stuck his tongue out making Yoongi laugh.

“True, but I don’t like the fact that she did it so close to us. What if she plans to do something to one of us in the future? I’d rather not die while foaming from the mouth.” He grabbed Jimin’s hand and made his way out of the booth. Namjoon took the bag out from under the table and followed after them.

They all halted their steps when Taehyung’s voice made itself present in their ears.

“Got her.”

This night was far from over.

-

Exiting the booth you focused on maintaining a normal walking pace. You placed the tray with empty glasses on the counter and waved your hand at Jackson. “Hey, I’m going to reapply my makeup for a second.” He nodded at you. “Sure thing.”

After slamming the door of the dressing room behind you and leaning against it, you finally felt like you could breathe.

Okay, y/n, calm down.

You took a deep breath and started to change into your black outfit. It was still classy enough to not stand out in the club crowd but since it was completely black you could easily disappear in the dead of night.

Looking around the room you spotted an empty trashcan. You grabbed your angel outfit and threw it in there with the content of one of the many perfume bottles on the dresser. Lighting up a few matches you tossed them in one by one, watching as the fire consumed the white lace.

Bye-bye, sweet angel.

When you opened the door you were met with chaos. Turns out that little drug Lisa sold you worked faster than you thought. You quickly made your way towards the emergency exit, vanishing from sight between panicked clubgoers. With one foot outside of the door your mind already started celebrating pulling off another mission unnoticed.

Since your mind was elsewhere occupied, it didn’t give out alarm signals for the figure watching you from the shadows.

You were just a few meters away from the club when you were harshly pulled into an alley. Out of reflex your legs instantly kicked out at whoever was trying to get you off of the street. You heard a groan coming from your attacker and tried to turn around but the hold they had on you was too tight.

Suddenly you felt an enormous pain in your stomach which made you double over. “Motherfucker.” You coughed as you tried to regain balance. Your attacker didn’t give you a chance though as they punched your jaw hard, making your vision go black. The last thing you heard was a low, honeyed voice.

“Got her.”

...

When you woke up all you could see was…

Nothing.

You couldn’t see shit. Everything was dark. Black. Unlit. You tried moving your hands but were met with resistance. The same happened when you struggled to separate your feet. Wiggling your body was all you could do so you tried to move around a bit.

Out of nowhere you were swerved to the right. The sudden movement made your body hurl itself against the side of something hard.

Great, they threw me in the trunk.

So wiggling like a fish was of no use and trying to figure out where you were, was also useless since you didn’t know how long you were out for. What you did know, was that you were attacked in an alley back at Downtown, got knocked out and thrown in the trunk of a car driven by some lunatic.

Seriously, who swerves this fucking much?

As you closed your eyes again, you could only hope that your kidnappers would soon arrive at their location.

-

“Tell me why we let Joonie drive again?” Jimin asked as he fell on Yoongi for the tenth time. “Because while Tae was busy putting Ruby in the trunk and you and I were talking to Jackson, he decided to get in the driver’s seat,” Yoongi said. “Like the genius he is,” he added, sarcasm filling every word.

“Oh shut up,” Namjoon hissed, “it’s not that bad.” Taehyung laughed loudly. “You almost make me pity the poor woman. I hope for her that she’s still knocked out.”

Jimin squeezed Yoongi’s hand, making him look his way. “Do you really think she did it?” He asked seriously. “Afraid so, love. You saw the footage. I don’t know how she did it, but I think we’ll find out tonight.” Jimin nodded and started drawing patterns on his hand.

“I’m sorry, dollface. I thought this would be a calm night.” Yoongi said as he kissed Jimin’s cheek. “It’s okay, we can go back to the club another time. Let’s just say you owe me a peaceful night.” He shrugged. Yoongi smirked at him. “I don’t think any night with you would be described as peaceful.”

Jimin giggled and pulled his face towards him to place a sweet peck on his lips. It turned into a passionate kiss quickly, making both of them smile.

“I’d hate to interrupt you two, but we’ve got a woman to interrogate.” Namjoon said as he drove into the garage of the gang’s mansion.

“Let’s get this night over with boys.”

-

The second time you opened your eyes the light situation hadn’t changed. Your limbs were still tied together but this time you weren’t rolling around in the back of a car. This time you were sitting up on an uncomfortable, solid chair.

Your ears picked up a few voices speaking in Korean, voices that you recognized.

“If she doesn’t wake up in the next minute I’m emptying this bottle over her head.”

“Agust, no, what did that champagne ever do to you?”

“We’ve got enough of these in our stock, dollface, I will just grab another one for you.”

Bangtan. Your kidnappers were Bangtan.

You can work with that y/n.

You coughed and the voices immediately stopped talking.

Yoongi turned around with the champagne bottle still in his hand. The girl, Ruby, was tied to a chair in front of him. He couldn’t see her eyes because of the blindfold, but her head was aimed straight towards him.

“Did y’all disappear or something? Thought I was about to be showered with expensive champagne.”

“Do you know who you’re talking to Ruby?” He asked, trying to keep his tone cold and low.

She tilted her head. “Not really. Don’t know if you’ve noticed but my eyesight is kind of blocked at the moment.”

Jimin giggled softly and quickly covered his mouth when Yoongi glared at him. “Sorry, sorry,” he whispered with a smile.

Yoongi signaled to Taehyung to remove the blindfold. He yanked it off her head and threw it to the side before standing next to her chair. Her eyes went to him first and then focused on the couple in front of her.

He saw her eyes widen as they found Jimin’s. “Oh, hi, I remember you cutie.” She smiled at him and Jimin…

Jimin blushed. He fucking blushed from a nickname of one of their captives.

“That must make you, euhmm, King D?” She asked him.

He looked at her again. “Yes.”

She laughed, making Yoongi even more confused than he already was.

“King D. What does that stand for, King Dickface? King Dipshit? King Deficiente?” She completely cracked up at this point.

Yoongi grabbed her jaw and squeezed it tightly until she stopped laughing. “What’s about to happen to you is not very funny, Ruby, so I’d try to keep my mouth shut if I were you,” he said. Ruby yanked her head out of his grip and looked at him. “Fine, I won’t laugh but let me just say that you should really change your name.”

“I don’t think I will, seeing as it’s feared all around the world,” he stated. There was a tiny bit of pride noticeable in his voice. He worked hard to get to the point where just his name made people crumble. Yoongi often wondered if the sacrifices he made were all worth it but those thoughts would only lead him on a path of doubts he’d rather not walk. Usually he got sidetracked by alcohol or sex before he could get stuck in the vicious circle of what if’s.

“Feared by the entire world? Was that really what you wanted to be when you were a child?” She asked him with a sudden note of seriousness in her tone. He looked away as he thought about it. “If I wanted to talk about my childhood I would’ve snatched a therapist and not an escort.”

Ruby scoffed at that. “Escort? If you wanted to have sex you could’ve just asked.”

“Yeah? Like how that dead guy asked for a goodbye kiss? I don’t think he knew how literal you would take it,” Yoongi said.

He watched her patiently, waiting for a reaction that would show she was guilty and indeed killed Jung Jaehyun.

For awhile she just looked at him. Studying him as he studied her.

“He asked for a goodbye kiss and I gave him one,” she eventually said. “I don’t understand what that has to do with you kidnapping me and since it’s getting quite late I would like to know what you want from me.”

“Let’s start with your name,” Yoongi said. This could become interesting, he thought as he sat down besides Jimin on the couch opposite of the girl.

“Ruby.”

“No, I don’t believe that’s your name. Well, it’s your stage name or whatever it is called that you escorts use. I want to know your real name.”

“Ruby,” she answered again.

“It’s gonna be like that, huh?” Yoongi asked. The girl stayed still and blinked at him with uninterested eyes, clearly not anticipating his next move. He nodded his head towards Taehyung, who slowly took out his gun and pointed it at her head.  She turned her head towards Taehyung and winked at him.

“Colt Python, lovely choice.”

Taehyung stayed silent and just stared at her.

“No? Nothing? You don’t really talk much. A bit rude to ignore the person you punched in the gut but you do you, I guess.” She shrugged and turned her head back to Yoongi.

Jimin was still watching her from the couch, listening to the conversation. He saved all the information she gave away in his head. So far he didn’t have much but she had to be part of some type of gang. She knew who they were, had obvious knowledge of weapons and was definitely trained in some type of martial arts if the way Taehyung had been limping was anything to go by.

“So, King Douche, I don’t think I’m here to have a cup of tea with you and discuss this weeks latest gossip. Could you get on with it and tell me how I offended the man who is feared around the world?” She asked with her words full of sarcasm.

Yoongi decided to take another route. Just being in their presence didn’t seem to be effective but threatening one's life always did the trick.

"I could kill you right now, you know? So I'd watch that pretty mouth of yours sweetheart."

"Kay? The ability to kill me is nothing impressive and it's also not the best threat, you wanna know why, handsome?"

She fluttered her eyelashes at him and tilted her head slightly to the right, becoming the perfect picture of innocence. God, the things Yoongi could do to destroy that he thought as he scoffed loudly.

"Yes, I would love to know how this does not look like a threat to you," he said, smiling to himself as Taehyung placed the barrel of his gun against her temple.

"It's cause my neighbors could kill me if they wanted to, the cute bartender from Downtown could too, hell even I could kill myself. Believe it or not I tried to, but as you can see my attempts have been rather futile."

She stared him right in the eyes and Yoongi felt himself get lost in those green pools of every emotion but the one he expected. He saw no fear, distress, surprise or even anger. Not even disgust. No, it was hard to get an idea of what was going on behind the windows to her soul. Did she even have one? Because having a soul meant having a mind, a mind that's supposed to be able to think rationally. A mind that's supposed to be giving signals to her body that she is in danger right now.

Still, all he saw was mischief, courage, calmness, even boredom. Boredom of all things. The girl had a fucking gun to her head, was tied down to a chair with nowhere to go and she had the audacity to look bored.

She took him out of his thoughts when he started seeing her mouth move again, tongue rolling around to create syllables to words no one had ever dared to speak to him.

"Killing doesn't make you powerful because anyone can do it. Even a little kid could take a knife in their hands and push it somewhere in to your body. It's the ones that survive that knife you need to watch out for. As the brilliant Kelly Clarkson once said: 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger'."

"I don't think you got the point though, sweetheart. All the power in this room right now belongs to me. I-"

"No, it doesn't and no, I most certainly did get the point. I know that you call the shots here but that's exactly it. After you let blondie over here shoot me, I go on my merry way to meet dear old Luci. So my mind won't be here anymore but I still hold the power over your next decision."

Taehyung scoffed when he heard the nickname and flicked his hair, this only provoked a giggle out of the girl. He was getting annoyed, no scratch that, he was annoyed and was starting to get angry. He brought his finger closer to the trigger. God, did he want her to stop talking and smiling like she wasn't about to be bleeding out on this floor.

Yoongi on the other hand only got more intrigued. The way the girl spoke freely to him was new and unfamiliar. Only his inner circle could talk to him like that and even then he usually got irritated by it. This girl right here, who still hadn't told him her fucking name, was a mystery to him and Yoongi didn't like mysteries. He wasn't here to play clues but still he sat there, on his velvet seat, trying to figure out the impeccable woman in front of him.

"Why do you think you have any power over any decision I make, huh?" He wasn't any closer to getting information from her and it started to get at him. The night had been tiring enough and his patience was running extremely thin at this point.

"Cause when I'm here, bleeding out on this floor, you're going to have to decide what to do with my body. Within the first hour you will need to think about it. Even if you don't acknowledge it with words and just a head nod to Jung Hoseok over there. It's still gonna be me you're thinking about."

As her little speech came to an end everyone gaped at her. Then she suddenly felt a gust of wind in front of her. She started breathing through her nose as soon as she felt fingers tightening around her throat.

"Tell me how you know that name," Yoongi demanded in a cold and deadly voice that usually had everyone scrambling to their knees to do everything he pleases. But not the girl in front of him, no, she looked him straight in the eye and smirked.

"Marco Polo, bitch."

[yakumtsaki]

Welcome, dear readers, to Part 2 out of 3 of the Union Comeback Season Premiere Episode (title under construction, part 1 here). Right off the bat, let me just admit what everyone is thinking, yes, mass-deleting default replacements was clearly a huge mistake. Looking good in the heart boxers, boys, especially Jojo! Very on brand and not at all ridiculous. On a lesser but equally annoying note, our windows have suddenly turned red while the exterior AND interior of the house are purple. Dark days ahead..

..but not for Goro, who has returned home since running away and is immediately being kicked out again. Good to see you Goro, now pack up your shit, D’vorah won the cat heir position so it’s time for you to move to Melody and Daniel’s farm.

-Well I’m a cat so I don’t have any possessions to pack.

Thank you for providing an example of why you lost the cat heirship via this painfully boring reaction to the news of your defeat.

-No, he’s right, we cats don’t have any possessions to pack.

Omg D’vorah shut up. How on earth you boring flops are Alegra/Ronroneo’s grandchildren AND Sophie’s children I’ll never understand. I’m this close to making Maxx the cat heir and he’s not even a cat.

-Correct, I’m a dog.

Worst group of pets e v e r. 

Oh look who autonomously woohooed for the first time in a century, I guess those base game heart boxers were simply too hot to resist. If one of you gets knocked up a week away from elderhood I’m gonna have a meltdown the likes of which the world has never seen.

-For the love of God, can we get some privacy here?

I’d love nothing more than to give you two bozos eternal privacy by never looking at either of you again, but the headmaster is here for Wulf so put some clothes on-

-WHAT THE FUCK. Why do we keep getting new headmasters instead of the ones we’ve already terrorized into submission?? Now we have to ‘show BJ a good time’ and ‘maybe we could give BJ a tour’, I’d honestly rather give BJ a bj and get this shit over with, I’m tired of threatening headmasters with murder. Hopefully it doesn’t come to sexual favors but if it does, Wyatt, you’re up. 

-Pourquoi moi???

Pourquoi toi still haven’t gotten promoted and toi sleep 22 hours a day, it’s high time toi pulled your weight around here. 

Good, that’s the spirit.

-Bonjour, monsieur Headmastér! I wòuld introdûce yoù to Wûlf but hé is très busý with unpàid çhild labόr.

-Haha, what a hilarious joke, Mr. Union!

-Alright Cinderello, after you’re done cleaning the flooding shower you’re going to need to jump out the second floor window and go study in the crypt, so the headmaster doesn’t see you and ask you any uncomfortable questions about whether I acknowledge you as my son. I have to go help your father charm our guest by giving my trademarked speech on how I never got impregnated by aliens and what a blow it was to humanity’s future. 

-Ok Mr. Jojo!

-For the last time Wulf, it’s not ‘Mr. Jojo’, it’s ‘Mr. Union’. God.

-Ah hello there Headmaster BJ, apologies for my lateness, I was tucking little Wulf in bed because I definitely acknowledge him as my son. As I do all 3 of my children and not just Cyneswith. Ask anyone! But not Wulf or whatshername.. I want to say Shenar? Anyway, now that that’s been cleared up, what are we talking about here? The fact I never got impregnated by aliens and what a terrible blow it was to humanity’s future? I assumed as much.

-Haha aliens?! Well you are just a family of crack ups, does your son share this amazing sense of humor?

-Oh yes yes he definitely does, and he is definitely OUR son, that’s exactly how I view him as well, not solely as Wyatt’s offspring just because he appears to not have a drop of my DNA. I mean who even cares about that? Not me, that’s for certain. Yes, Wulf was just telling me the funniest joke while I was reading Cinderella to him before I put him to bed-

-Man, it’s so hard to concentrate on math with a broken leg from jumping out the window and Grandpa’s disembodied head floating around.

Grandpa’s disembodied head?? 

OH FUCK KOMEI

-What?

Nothing! Looking good! The decision to delete default replacements didn’t affect you in any way!

-Thank god, have you seen Vic with that base game hair? Talk about scary. 

Yes, talk about scary indeed. Do you happen to know if the matchmaker performs the occasional exorcism?

-No idea.

Well she hates me anyway so that was solution was dead in the water. I have to go back to the headmaster fuckery now, but I want you to know I’m really sorry for what Salome did to you. 

-Sό, monsieur Headmastér, the όnly tràck reçord which est bettér than the όne we havé with bébés wόrking, est the oné we havé with our animàls rûnning awaý!

-Oh my.

-He’s joking, he’s joking Headmaster BJ, we’re both excellent pet owners and excellent parents, if you’ll excuse me the phone is ringing-

-Cyneswith darling! An adult bartender is calling for you and he has the Komei face! You might be 14 but he’s clearly future husband material!

-Be right there, daddy!

-Alright, I think I’ve seen enough here.

No you haven’t! Wyatt, take off your robe!

-No need, I’ve made up my mind..

-..you’re obviously a perfect match for our school! 

What the hell? How? Even by our standards we legit didn’t do shit.

-Headmaster Jitmakusol left a very distraught letter regarding your family before he was institutionalized, the gist of it being it is pointless to try and keep you people out of the school, and his successor should simply ‘roll with it’. 

Well ok then! Pleasure doing business with you, BJ.

-The pleasure was all mine, please don’t ever contact me again.

We’ll make sure to be in touch.

In the meantime, Komei has recovered his body!

-Why me? WHY ALWAYS ME? CYNESWITH IS RIGHT THERE

-Sorry honey, we play poker for it every night and Victor won dibs on Cyneswith.

-That’s right, the first one to scare everyone gets ghost-bingo!

Are you fuckers playing ghost-poker or ghost-bingo?

-It’s a hybrid, we have a lot of time on our hands, being dead and all, so we developed an overcomplicated gambling system for our scares. 

Yea ok congrats Victor, now can you fuck off before you actually do kill one of the kids?? They have 10/10/9 energy, they literally never sleep.

-No can do, if you actually kill someone you get Yahtzee!

How many fucking games are involved in this bullshit?

-We told you, we have a lot of time on our hands. SUCK IT VICTOR, I WIN FOR THE NIGHT

Win for the night? Who cares about that, you have Wyatt cornered, go for the Yahtzee!

-Oh, but you said our games were bullshit!

That’s before I realized Wyatt was awake for his allotted 2 hours per day non-sleeping time. Wyatt istfg bro, are you half French-Arab and half panda?

-Pandàs eàt for 14 hourès idiόt, ne pas slèèp.

Well look who knows a suspicious amount about pandas now! Almost like he’s descended from them.

Oh good, everyone’s favorite couple simultaneously has the day off. How about I take you two out for a nice date at Londoste since you’re about 55 years old?

-How about hard pass on that architectural monstrosity of a restaurant and we hang out for 6 hours in our front yard instead?

-Oui, oui! Très blanc garbagè of us!

Well at least we’re not forgetting our roots. 

Alright then, we’ve crossed into white trash territory unironically with the yard pda and we’re also freezing to death, how about we take this inside?

-Non!

-Yes, non indeed! I love how frozen your hands are, dear, it’s like you’re a real corpse!

Oh my G-

-Catch me, Creature!

-Je t'aime, dr. Frankènstèin! 

Ok, new suggestion, how about instead of going inside we visit a nice church?

-How abοùt you lôôk awày, pervertir!

Bold words from someone doing Frankenstein roleplay, and I’D LOVE TO, but the kids are at school and the animals are sleeping, so there’s no looking away from whatever the fuck this is. 

Oh thank god, Cyneswith is back from school and ready to cockblock her parents as always. First time I’m genuinely happy to see you, Cyn.

-Straight A’s again! Ah, we may only have one child but she is THE BEST. Wyatt dear, come here to congratulate Cyneswith and further inflate her ego. Wyatt?

-Why is he ignoring my straight A’s, daddy?! 

-Ugh, he’s probably jealous since everyone is jealous of you, darling. Pay him no mind, let’s go inside so I can give you the diamond tiara I got you for your birthday.

-But my birthday is in four months, what will you get me then?

-A throne to go with it and anything you want from Sihara’s and the other one’s rooms?

-They have no rooms, remember? They both sleep in the crypt.

-Right, well how about I act like I got them presents, give them to you and make them watch as you unwrap them?

-Aw daddy💗

-Je ne pas fèèl bien..

Yes, you’re dying, so it’d be some real Frankenstein shit if you did feel bien.

Is this Komei-clone bartender serious, first he calls while the headmaster is over, now he calls while we’re dying, FEEL THE FUCKING ROOM PAL

..and there we go. RIP Wyatt, it’s been sorta ok having you in the fami-

-WTF HOW ARE YOU ALIVE

-HA. I lièd, I AM hàlf pandà and mon beàr gènes protéct moi! 

GODDAMMIT I KNEW IT. Is that why the one child you gave birth to is your exact clone?

-Oui! Wulf est 1/4 pandà, et toi wènt et namèd him WULF. 

Well, to be fair, not a lot of famous pandas I could have named him after even if I knew. 

-Toi çould hàve namèd him Pandà!

Oh man, Panda Union does have a nice ring to it, especially next to the other names.. ~Shajar~, ~Cyneswith~ and PANDA. Thanks a lot for depriving me of the opportunity by withholding your genetic info.

-Je think Wulf est ontό it.. 

Onto the fact he’s 1/4 panda? I highly doubt that.

Yea nevermind, he knows. 

Oh great, Shajar has brought yet another uggo with a culturally appropriative hairstyle home from school. 

-That’s what you get for letting her out of the crypt.

Give it a rest, Jojo, we’ve had enough of your incredible parenting to last us 10 lifetimes at this point. 

-And then it goes: I send the thunder from the sky, I send the fire raining down, I send a hail of burning ice, on every field, on every town! I send the locusts on a wind, such as the world has never seen, on every leaf, on every stalk, until there's nothing left of green! I send my scourge, I send my sword, THUS SAITH THE LORD🎵

-Great, thank you, Shajar, for singing the entirety of the ‘10 Plagues’ song from The Prince of Egypt 27 times. I’m really sorry but I have to go home now-

-It-was-nice-to-meet-you noogie!

..Shajar, please, PLEASE see a doctor. 

-My sister Shajar may be super popular, spoiled and beloved-

WHAT LMAO

-but I have the friendship of animals and that’s all that matters!

Yea, Cyn, no offense, but it feels like you’re trying to cultivate an underdog Disney princess persona for yourself that is the exact opposite of actual family dynamics around here.

-What makes you say that?

Your tiara and throne vs Shajar sleeping in the crypt come to mind.

-So to be an underdog you need to be a loser?

I mean narrative-wise kinda, yea. 

-Message received. 

No, no that wasn’t a message-

-Yes it was and I got you, loud and clear.

Oh god.

-WHAT? YOU’RE REJECTING ME BECAUSE I’M TOO PRETTY? MY HEART IS BROKEN! I DON’T THINK I’LL EVER GET OVER THIS

-Uh, who are you again? Shajar invited me over, ordered a pizza and has been hiding in the bushes for 1 hour waiting to noogie the delivery guy. 

-I CAN’T BELIEVE WHAT I’M HEARING! I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SING ABOUT THIS IN AN ENCHANTED FOREST FOR ABOUT 3 AND A HALF MINUTES

Jfc, where are the ghosts when you need them. 

-Mommy has dibs on you tonight, Jojo! 

-Mom please no! Your hair is so damn hideous! Just stay in your urn until the default replacement has been put back!

-Ah excellent, I have upgraded my robotic abilities up to cleanbot level! 

That actually is excellent, I really want us to fire Kaylynn. 

-Cleanbots don’t change cat litter. 

..UGH then why even bother, Jojo? The cat shit is 90% of our problems, make something that fixes that or stop wasting airtime with your nonsense. Istg some people. 

-Alright sis, how about we go out again tonight and ~play the field~? If I get rejected by a couple more mean boys I can earn my underdog princess badge!

-You are so stupid, Cyneswith, if you want to earn your underdog badge all you need to do is board a doomed ship, Titanic style, and then give the floating door to someone you’ve known for a couple of days while you selflessly and pointlessly drown in the freezing ocean despite the fact you could take turns sharing the door.

-But then I would be dead.

-I know right? Everybody wins. Let’s go get you some tickets.

Yea, let’s not, but let’s get out of here because the ghosts are out of fucking control and you two aren’t sleeping anytime soon.

-Shaj-and-Cyn-in-da-club noogie!

Shajar FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, ENOUGH. 

OMG IT’S SOPHIE MIGUEL. SOPHIE MIGUEL IN THE HOUSE

-Whaddup dildos, ‘tis I, Sophie fucking Miguel, the meanest townie teen there is. I’ve only taken 4 steps into this place and I can already tell I’m surrounded by a bunch of beta turbocucks. 

SHAJAR GO TALK TO HER!!!!!

-HEY BITCH, I’M NOT A BETA TURBOCUCK, I’M ALPHA AS FUCK. I’M NAMED AFTER SHAJAR AL-DURR! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO THAT IS?

SHAJ WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, WHAT IS THIS APPROACH

-Of course I do, the first Mamluk Sultana of Egypt. Nice. 

OMG THAT SHIT WORKED. LAND THE PLANE SHAJ

-Ohhhhhhhh😍 Do you want to talk some more?? Do you like the 10 Plagues song from the Prince of Egypt???

-Nop, as suddenly as I came into your life, I’m dramatically getting the fuck out for no discernible reason, cause that’s just how I roll. Gone with the wind, baby! I’m like an outdoor cat. You’ll never see me again.

-Oh but I will..

YES YOU WILL SHAJ. I’m so on board this particular Titanicesque crackship that it’s un.real. I mean Sophie Miguel literally came into this place, talked to Shajar for less than one minute and then left the bar entirely, in turn leaving us dick in hand. What.an.icon.

In the meantime Cyneswith.. did this. Game-changing night for everyone!

[the-desolated-quill]

BBC’s The War Of The Worlds blog - Episode 3

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

You know, people often ask me why I get so angry when I’m reviewing BBC shows. I mean yes I give Disney and Marvel a hard time too, but they don’t get nearly as much bile and venom as I give the BBC. Well that’s because, unlike Disney and Marvel, BBC shows are funded by the British taxpayer through our TV licence fees. I’m effectively paying for them to make this crap. That’s what pisses me off more than anything.

Yes we mercifully come to the end of this... this. Episode 1 was a slow, plodding and utterly tedious affair that was about as exciting as an Amish bachelor party. Episode 2 was even worse thanks to its poor narrative structure, terrible characterisation and less than subtle allegories. Now Harness has come to hammer the final nail in the coffin with Episode 3. Is it bad?

...

You’re right, that’s a stupid question. A more apt question would be how bad is it. Very, very bad is the answer. Very, very bad indeed.

Lets start with the obvious problem. The non-linear narrative introduced in the previous episode. The stupid early reveal that the Martians ultimately lose and that Amy survives completely destroyed any and all tension and suspense thanks to Peter Harness desperately trying to outwit the audience instead of just telling a story. Now, bizarrely, he tries to reintroduce tension by having the characters umming and arghing about what killed the Martians off and whether this could help stop the Earth from terraforming. One teeny, tiny problem with this though. The audience already know! Even those that never read the original book know how it ended! And even if you didn’t, the episode drops enough hints like great fucking boulders. The prevalence of typhoid throughout the episode and its correlation with the Martians stumbling around like a drunken prom date isn’t exactly hard to miss. Harness’ writing is still as unsubtle as ever. But worse still, he completely undermines and misses the point of the ending to War Of The Worlds.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people (mostly Americans) criticise the end of the original book for being a deus ex machina. I mean the Martians get killed off by the common cold. How stupid, right? Except it’s not because those people (mostly Americans) are looking at it the wrong way. Your main takeaway shouldn’t be that the Martians were easily killed off by bacteria. Rather that we failed to stop them. The reason humanity prevails in the end is more down to luck than anything else. The narrator even attributes this to being an act of God. But here’s the thing. We didn’t stand a chance against the Martians. We didn’t beat them. They lost because they just happened to catch a cold. Now it’s not hard to imagine a society as scientifically advanced as their’s to be able to find some kind of cure or vaccine for it. And if and when they do, what then? We’d be fucked, wouldn’t we? Should the Martians ever return to finish what they started, the human race would be well and truly doomed. It’s not a deus ex machina. It’s a dire warning of what’s to come. A brief respite before the inevitable. That’s what makes the ending so effective.

The BBC series however completely misunderstands this, changing the story so that Ogilvy (an astronomer, don’t forget) somehow manages to weaponize typhoid in order to kill the red weed, which is presented as some kind of victory, when in reality it’s quite an insulting deviation from the source material. If only the Commonwealth could shake off the remnants of British colonialism as easily as these guys dealt with the red weed. Not to mention it just makes the Martians look really stupid. So they come to Earth, drink our blood, keel over and then... what, they just give up? Are they just waiting for humanity to die by itself? What happens when Mars HQ realises the red weed hasn’t worked? What then? Are they just going to shrug it off? It doesn’t make any sense.

Which brings us to the Martians themselves. The picture above comes from the Jeff Wayne musical version and is without a doubt the most accurate depiction of the Martians from the book. Most of the other adaptations have wildly different interpretations, which isn’t a problem in and of itself provided it works within the context of that particular narrative. However the reason I bring up the original design is so I can talk about what H.G. Wells intended when he came up with them. See, while the Martians are highly intelligent, they’re also presented as being quite vestigial. They’re sluggish thanks to Earth’s heavier gravity, rendered practically deaf thanks to Earth’s dense atmosphere and apparently have no organs with which to digest their food, hence their need to inject human blood directly into themselves for sustenance. The Martians represent what humanity could become as we become more and more reliant on technology. The Industrial Revolution brought about a lot of societal fears and concerns at the time, and the Martians are those fears manifested. Heartless creatures reduced to being simple brains, unable to properly interact with the world around them.

The BBC series goes a very different route. Instead of the giant brains, we instead get giant brown crabs, which, again, isn’t necessarily a problem provided it works in context. And that’s the problem. It doesn’t. The original Wells design told us what we needed to know about their biology, their motivations and their society. What do we learn about the BBC Martians? They’re big, generic monsters that look like rejects from Stranger Things. They don’t even inject blood into themselves. They feed off of us directly, leechlike. They’re more like animals. Not the vast, cold, unsympathetic intellects they were described to be. At no point do you buy that these creatures would be capable of building the Tripods or colonising the Earth. They just exist for some cheap jump scares and horror movie cliches.

What’s worse is that by changing the Martians’ design so drastically, any subtextual allegory gets chucked in the bin. The Martians from the book are meant to represent the British Empire at the height of its power. Merciless tyrants stomping all over the lives and cultures of the so called ‘lesser races,’ changing the environment to suit them rather than adapting to the existing environment. It’s Darwinism crossed with arrogance. And yet, ironically, the oppressors (the Martians) are technically inferior to the natives (the humans) as they are incapable of surviving without the aid of technology. The BBC series is unable to make this allegory, so Harness has to resort to straight up telling the audience the allegory. In by far the clunkiest scene in the entire series, we see George argue with his brother about how the Martians are no different from the Brits in their colonial ways. Not only does this break the ‘show, don’t tell’ rule and stands as a perfect example of bad storytelling, Harness doesn’t even bother to do anything with this other than just making the comparison. It’s been previously established that Amy was born and raised in India. You’d think she’d have something to say about all this, but nope. At the end, she wistfully describes India to her son in the most patronising and insulting way possible. It’s really quite disgusting. I mean H.G. Wells was quite patronising towards the Tasmanians in the book, but in his defence, he was a privileged white man from the 1800s. What’s Peter Harness’ excuse?! Ostensibly he pays lip service to the idea that the Martians are no different from the Brits, but he doesn’t want to really explore it or get us to actually think about it. Probably because it’s all a bit too complicated to get into, but if he’s not confident about exploring such topics, why the fuck is he adapting War Of The Worlds in the first bloody place?! Write something else!

In fact I think this is the root of all the problems with this adaptation. Harness clearly isn’t capable of exploring the complex themes of the source material, so instead he either introduces irrelevant social issues that aren’t nearly as complicated (women’s rights, empires are bad and so on) as a token show of progressiveness, or he goes as far as to uncomplicate themes and ideas to an almost offensive degree. In the book, the narrator is trapped in a church with a priest who is going through a major existential crisis and risks giving away their hiding spot to the Martians, who are busy terraforming the planet. So he resorts to knocking the priest unconscious and watching as the Martians drag his body away. In the BBC series, we see the old woman and the kid get killed off for no reason other than shock value and the characters have nothing to do with their demise, so they’re morally in the clear. The priest meanwhile doesn’t even appear in the scene, instead being relegated to the shitty flash forwards where his faith remains very much intact and even protests against the idea that it’s humanity’s illness that stopped the Martians rather than an act of God (brief side note, would Ogilvy really be this open about not believing in God? At the time of the book’s publication, the scene with the priest losing faith was considered extremely controversial, so this just seems utterly wrong). Plus there’s no tension in wondering what the Martians are doing and whether they’re going to find the characters. In fact there’s no tension whatsoever because we know the Martians have fallen ill and the characters are just hanging around, waiting for the fuckers to die. I cannot stress enough how atrociously awful the writing is in this show. We know the Martians are dying and the episode is about the characters waiting for them to die.

Jesus fucking Christ!

The Artilleryman from the previous episode was the same. In the book he was a deluded crackpot who willingly bought into imperialist dogma, believing that humanity could rebuild underground and eventually rise up and defeat the Martians. In the BBC series, he was a scared, innocent little waif being forced to fight in a war he wants no part of. It’s an incredibly shallow and uninteresting reinterpretation of the source material.

But the worst, the absolute worst, is what Harness does with George.

To be clear, no I’m not upset he gets killed off. I’ve made my views on him quite clear. He cheated on his wife because she was infertile and ran off to make whoopie with some redhead. The bastard deserves everything he gets, frankly. Plus I’ve had enough of Rafe Spall’s gormless acting to last a lifetime, thank you. What I am upset by is the way he gets killed off.

One of the most interesting parts of the original book is the fact that there are no heroes in War Of The Worlds. The Artilleryman is a young, impressionable, nationalist fool, the Priest descends into a pit of nihilistic despair, and the narrator survives only by his cowardice. He even goes as far as to attempt suicide, throwing himself in front of the unbeknownst to him dead Tripod because he cannot bear the idea of living in a world like this. It’s extremely dark and very cynical. The BBC series goes a very different route. We see George slowly become delirious as a result of the typhoid infection he got by drinking the poisoned cup of water in the previous episode (so all that stuff about the Martian terraforming was a load of bollocks) before, realising that he is becoming a burden to Amy, deciding to make the supreme sacrifice and facing the lone Martian alone while she makes a run for it. Not only does this open up a major plot hole - who the fuck was Amy expecting to arrive from the North if George is dead? They try to dismiss this as memory suppression, but I’m pretty sure that doesn’t apply to losing a loved one to a fucking alien - it also completely stands at odds with the themes of the book. When facing annihilation at the hands of a higher power, the arrogant Brits, who previously lived a life of privilege on the backs of millions of subjugated, reveal themselves for who they truly are at their core. The BBC series says yeah, we were a bunch of racist tosspots with delusions of grandeur, but we weren’t all bad. The main takeaway I got from this despicable, badly written series was a three hour pity party about how all those selfish POCs don’t consider the feelings of white people and asking why can’t we all just get along.

Peter Harness’ bastardisation of War Of The Worlds is without a doubt one of the worst adaptations I’ve ever seen. In fact it’s quite possibly one of the worst TV shows I’ve ever seen, period. It’s not just the sheer disregard for the source material that upsets me. It’s also the absolute amateurish nature of the whole fucking thing. This series fails in some of the most basic ways. His writing is truly terrible, somehow getting steadily worse and worse with each episode. It’s not just upsetting to see someone get the fundamental elements of storytelling so spectacularly wrong, it honestly makes me sick to my fucking stomach. Peter Harness, please, for your own sake and my sanity, stop fucking writing. You’re clearly not good at it and I don’t want to see my money go to someone who obviously hasn’t the faintest fucking idea what they’re doing. Enough is enough.

So it would seem that Jeff Wayne’s musical version remains the best adaptation of War Of The Worlds. In fact can we just have a movie adaptation of that please?

[mlmdarkfiction]

Oh, Where Have You Been, Billy Boy?

A multichapter fic of Billy Lenz X Transman!Reader

Story Description:

You've taken the newly vacant position as head nurse of The Ontario Criminal Institute, a hospital to take care of and study the criminally mentally ill. One of the patience under your care happens to be the infamous Billy Lenz, a man who was caught one year after highhandedly destroying an entire sorority brutally. All you want is to give Billy, and the other patients at the Institute, the help and care they seem to have been seriously lacking under the direction of the last head nurse.

Chapter 1 Description;

TWs: none for this chapter

You experience your first day of training at the Institute and have your first interaction with the infamous Billy Lenz. 

Taglist: @datenightfright

Read Below:

There’s lots of reasons to be excited for starting your new job. It pays better, it has better benefits, and most importantly is closer to your home. Really, there’s only one major downfall about your new job, the patients. You’re going from being an Extensive Care nurse to a nurse in a facility holding the criminally insane. Before you rarely had any conscious patients to deal with, but now you’d be thrusted into a world of not only awake, but highly dangerous patients.

The thing is, you feel a lot of sympathy for these individuals. After all, criminals or not, they’re sick. And sick people need care. That was the main thing that drove you to take the job, not the extra pay or the benefits, that’s all nice of course, but more than anything you wanted to help people.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

Sergei, your boyfriend of the last five years, hovers nervously behind you as you dress in your scrubs, ready for the first actual day on the job. He’s been against your decision to go work at the Ontario Criminal Institute since the very beginning, you’d thought he’d gotten more used to the idea, but obviously not.

“It will be fine, Serg.” While you appreciate his concern, he as always, comes off a bit too strong. You wish he would understand that you’re not only capable of taking care of yourself, but capable of making your own complex decisions as well. “Besides, today is just to get the feel of things. Mrs.Macaty will be there the whole time to show me the ropes.”

You’ve not yet met Mrs.Macaty in person. What you know of her mostly comes from the phone calls you had over the phone, and what the head of staff at the institute had told you during your initial job interview. Mrs.Macaty was the head nurse for the institute, and had worked there for many years before finally deciding a few months ago to put in her retirement. Before she left the Institute for good she promised to show you what will be expected of you.

“I love you,” You press your lips to Sergei’s stumbled cheek as you make your way to grab your car keys. “You really need to shave.” With that you’re out the door.

-

The drive to work is about as nice as you’d expected. Most of the trip was regular early morning commute and traffic, but about half way the scenery changes. You go up through the mountains for twenty minutes before you catch sight of the Institution.

It’s a huge intimidating building. But it doesn’t scare you nearly as bad as it had during the time of your first interview. Still, even as your observe the heavily secure building, you find yourself doubting if you can really ever get used to working in such a gloomy place. You catch the humor in it. No, you’re not afraid (at least not outside the healthy realm) of your new job, that’s easy to adjust to, no the thing you’re having trouble coping with is the gloomyness of the facility.

It’s laughable. You muse to yourself about all of this as you park in the visitors entrance, and walk your way to the first set of doors accompanied by a matching set of metal detectors.  Although it’s unlikely any of the patients actually have visitors coming to see them, it’s nice of the hospital to even allow visitation.

“There you are,” Speaks a little old woman, shrunken with age, her hair in a high bun, and what you can only manage to describe as a friendly scowl taking her face. “You’ve last the first test.” The guard to her right hands you back your car keys, but not before telling you to place them in your locker.

“Don’t worry, I’ll show the boy the ropes.”

“So you’re Mrs.Macaty I’m assuming?” On your face is your best professional smile as you extend your hand out to her, but it seems she has no desire to shake your hand in turn. In fact she stairs at it for several silent awkward moments until you allow your hand to fall back to your side. The awkward silence makes you uncomfortable but thankfully after only another moment of her scruntinizing stare she clears he throat and finally leads you away from the main visitors entrance.

“This here’s the locker room. You can dress here in the morning if you don’t wanna wear your scrubs to work. There’s also lockers. You’ll be gettin’ one of your own today, all personal items, and sharp things like your keys go in there.”

It’s a decently sized space, the lockers lining the walls in a way that reminds you more of a high school locker room than anything else. With what little you can make out of coats and uncomfortable looking shoes left behind, you would guess the majority of your new coworkers would appear to be women. There’s nothing wrong with that of course, in fact it’s quite common in the nursing field, you had just hoped given the circumstance there may be some more male nurses than you are used to. It’s always a bit isolated to be one of the very few male nurses in a hospital.

“Now, before we get started, do you have any questions?”

“Oh- Um,  no ma’am.”

“Good, come on then.”

Mrs.Macaty shows you the ropes. You watch as she gathers medication for the patience on her part of the ward, and follow behind her as she gives them to the patients.

“Use a tongue depressor to make sure they took them, and be carefully, some of the nasty fuckers spit.”

The way she treats patients makes you upset, but you do your best to cope with it, all smiles and nodding, just wanting to get through the day. You try to give her the benefit of the doubt. You try to imagine how taxing it must be for he to have done this everyday for so many years.

She leads you to a door and then stops. “This man, this man will be the bane of your very existence as you work here.”

“Isn’t that a bit of an…”

A bit of an exaggeration is what you were going to ask her, but you trailed off as you see the patient name displayed on the door.

Billy Lenz.

The first patient whose name you actually recognize. You knew about the case, at least a little bit, about the sorority girls he’d murdered a year before he was caught, about the phone calls he made to his victims, how he was eventually caught because of the calls.

You remembered that case. You remembered it because you were in college yourself at the time, far away from the sorority, but at the time it had reminded you of an incident from when you were in high school. At the time you had felt such sympathy for his victims, and a deep fear that you could have easily been a victim as well. It was an overreaction by far. The calls you’d gotten in your senior year of high school on the family phone were nothing like the nasty calls those poor girls had gotten, it was just repeated calls of nothing but deep uncomfortable breathing.

Mrs.Macatay knocks on the door first, opening the sliding compartment to speak.

“Are you decent Billy?”

There’s no response,

“He hardly talks,” She tells you beginning to unlock the door. “Well he talks, but he never says anything worth listening to.”

You nod, mouth feeling like it’s filled with cotton, still caught up in your fears of a possible high school stalker. When the door is open, when you see Billy, a pathetic looking man, thin, and glaring at both you and Mrs.Macatay from beneath the locks of matted hair that covered his face.

Pity. You feel pity for the man. It’s obvious from his appearance alone that he’s not been getting the basic care he deserves, the basic care the facility is supposed to guarantee it’s patients.

When Mrs.Macatay approaches, paper cup full of pills in hand, Billy reacts violently. He hisses at her, dropping from his bed, and backing up against the wall.

It’s obvious to see he doesn’t like her. He’s trembling, and it’s that feeling again, that pity that entices you to act.

“Mrs.Macatay, would you mind if I gave Billy his medicine?”

Both parties stop, their attention on you.

“I watched you give the other patients their meds, and this will be my job from here on out, right?”

She eyes Billy warily, but nods backing up as she makes her way toward you. That’s another thing about this job, to never turn your back to the patients, lest you open yourself up for a possible attack.

“Billy,” Mrs.Macatay speaks the way your teachers regarded problem students, aggressive and authoritative. “This is ____, he’s going to be your new nurse.”  

“Hi Billy, it’s nice to meet you.”

He’s curious as you approach, his head is tilted, and although he stays scurried towards the back of the room and continues to tremble he doesn’t hiss at you, or lash out.

“Can you take your meds for me Billy?” You offer the paper cup to him, shocked by how quickly he snatches it from you. Despite his speed it gave you time to see his hands, nails bitten into bloody quicks, scratches on his arms and wrist. He wasn’t being taken care of at all.

Anger rises quickly in your throat, and you force it down. It would be different, with you in charge, you’d make sure the patients were all taken care of properly. That they got the help and care they desperately needed.

Billy takes the pills dry, or at least seems to. You’re relieved he’s behaving, after the way Mrs.Macatay had acted.

“Can I check your mouth Billy, to make sure you’ve taken them all?”

He hesitates, but nods moving closer to you. You barely catch it, the tail end of a murmured whisper hushed out by the scuffling of his clothes.

“ -pretty little mouth- “

Billy opens his mouth and even lifts his tongue for you. There’s no need to use the tongue depressor much to your relief.  Any reason to not get close to a patient’s mouth is acceptable in your book. The last thing you needed on your first day of work is to come home with stitches and a bite mark. You’re sure Sergei would just be thrilled with you, and your new job if that happened.

“Thank you Billy.”

You back up slowly, making your way to join Mrs.Macatay by the door. “We’ll be back later today okay?”

“Was...Was Billy a good boy?”

He catches you off guard with the question. You almost stop in your tracks. He seems lucid enough, at least right now, and the meds will help keep him that way. It just surprises you to hear him speak in third person like that.

There’s a click of disapproval, or maybe disgust, from Mrs.Macatay behind you, and you fight the urge to frown at her behavior.

But you don’t. You don’t frown, you don’t stop moving. You show no reaction to the sudden questioning or to Mrs.Macatay’s unprofessoinal behavior. Your caretakers smile remains on your face as you respond.

“Yes Billy, you were a very good boy today. Thank you for being good for me and taking your medications.”

The door to Billy’s room closes, and you let out a long held breath. Professionalism drops, along with your forced caring smile. That was stressful.

Mrs.Macatay and yourself are only just beginning to walk a way, pushing the medicine cart along with you, when you hear Billy again.

“ Bye, bye, pretty nursie… ”

And looking back you see him. Billy is looking at you through the metal sliding compartment Mrs.Macatay had left open, one green eye visible to stare at your retreating forms.

[echoise]

this fucker. this fucker. kept expanding. Keeps expanding? idk. be free, fic, i want you out of my drafts

you never realized you had a choice. (steelstep, direct continuation of this) 1,583 words

“Why are you helping me?“

You’ve moved to his kitchen. You sit at his table and Spoon has settled at your feet on the floor, his warm form grounding you and offering just the reassurance you need. Steel leans against the counter a few feet way, posture relaxed but you know he’s ready to pounce at a moment’s notice. He always was.

He’s quiet for long enough that you’ve opened your mouth to say something else by the time he answers. “You know why.“

“I really don’t.“ You glance at him, lifting the steaming cup of coffee to your lips. You noted with a twinge of painful nostalgia that it’s the one you gave him that one Christmas - the one from your own merchandise line, a black and teal one that says ‘#1 SIDESTEP FAN‘. You had glued one of those small figurines of a hand flipping the bird to the bottom and covered it with the sweetest candy you could find, the kind you knew just the sight of would disgust him. It was hilarious at the time. Well, it probably still would be. Would have been, two weeks ago.

You’re not sure how to feel about him having kept it.

He frowns. “You were in my mind. I felt you.“

You sigh. “We’ve talked about this. It doesn’t work like that.“ The coffee is too hot, but you drink it anyway. “Just because I looked into your head then doesn’t mean I know everything about you.“ You set the mug down and stare into the black depths. “I don’t know your reasons for doing things. Which I why I asked.“

He’s quiet again. You force yourself to keep your gaze on the mug and your mind in check. You still remember the way his felt, and you’re not sure you’re prepared to experience that again.

“I suppose I...“ He trails off. His eyes are just about burning holes into your skin. “I want to understand.“

You look up. “Understand what?“

“You.“

You purse your lips. “What’s there for you to understand? You don’t even know the whole story.“

“So tell me.“

The way he says it throws you for a loop and immediatly after, into hysterics. Your laugh startles Spoon awake and he barks, confused. You push back from the table to hard you nearly spill the coffee still in your mug. The sound leaving you is harsh and bitter, not at all what laughter should be.

Finally you calm down, wiping tears from your eyes. “This one I really can’t.“

His silence offers you a chance to pick your mug up again and sip the coffee. Just as you do, he decides to speak.

“You’re Sidestep. The new one.“

You choke and sputter, the hot liquid burning as you inhale it. Spoon whines and jumps up to lean his front paws on your thigh, trying to lick your face. Desperate to help. You wish you had the presence of mind to tell him he’s not, but you appreciate it. To your relief, Steel orders him off of you, and he obeys - though reluctantly.

By the time you start getting your coughing under control, Steel has poured you a glass of water and set it on the table before you. He hesitates a moment before laying a hand on your shoulder, gentle, but steady. Easy for you to push away, if you want to. You do.

“Wild theory you got there,“ you manage to croak as you go for the glass. A quick look up - and a brief brush towards his mind - as he sits down opposite you tell you that your cover is blown. No wonder, after such an obvious guilty reaction. And you’re supposed to be a trained spy.

You drink the whole glass, your chest burning. When you set it back down, your calmness surprises even yourself. “If that’s what you believe, why haven’t you arrested me yet?“

“Because it doesn’t make sense.“ You want to hit him for his tone. So sure, so resolute. The same one that always drove you crazy - still does. Like he’s always right, like he knows everything there is to know. You want to yell at him, tell him that he’s neither this time around. “You’re too smart. Something had to be up.“

You raise a brow. “Like what? Brainwashing? Blackmail?“ You’re not sure if you should be amused or insulted. Part of you is flustered. Since when did Steel, of all people, start thinking that highly of you?

You run your finger along the rim of the glass, pushing down on the emotions begininng to churn in your stomach. The anger, the frustration, the grudge - his tone threatens to dredge them up. Spoon returns to you, whining as he nudges your knee. You smile down at him and idly reach to scratch behind his ears.

“Maybe.“ He leans back, rapping his fingers on the table, intently watching you pet his dog. “Call it wanting to give you the benefit of the doubt.“

You snort. “I’m sorry-- Excuse me-- You? The benefit of the doubt?“

“All I’m saying is, it didn’t add up.“ There’s that look again - the one that hits you right in the gut, the one you don’t know what to do with. Was he always this much of an enigma? Or did you just not care before?

“You said ‘didn’t’ that time.“ You will your nervousness not to show, but can’t help being tense. You know he can see it.

"Maybe it does now.”

The volcano inside you stirs again. The way he speaks, all matter-of-fact, how he’s digging into you and your things like he knows anything.

“So you think you know me?“ You raise your voice without meaning to. “That you know what this is about?“

“I want to.“

His honesty is disarming, and you feel like he’s slapped you in the face. You stare at him, speechless, and feel him beckoning to you again - inviting you into his mind. To prove his intentions, to convince you of whatever his agenda here is. You almost do, but pull back at the last second. You’re not ready. You can’t get swallowed again. You catch a twinge of disappointment from him before he puts his own walls back up, closing the door.

You find yourself sighing in relief.

Neither of you speaks for a minute. You just look at each other and you’re reminded of the outlandishness of the situation. You, a fugitive twice over, having coffee with one of the biggest shots in the entire city, in his kitchen. Petting his dog. You nearly burst out laughing again.

He’s the one to break the silence.

“Help me understand.“

“Why?” Spoon settles back at your feet and you move your hands to grab the coffee cup again. It’s cold now. “Because suddenly you care?” You narrow you eyes at him. “Because of Ortega?“

He doesn’t take the bait. It would be easier if he did. You hate how calm he is about this - you want him to hate you. To be angry at you. To punish you. Anything but this understanding and-- pity. But he won’t. He doesn’t even twitch at the accusation. “Because you don’t want to do this.“

The coldness of the coffee cup travels from your fingers to your gut. You try to ignore it and scoff. “Like you know what I want.“

“I’ve fought you.“

The anger inside you surges again. You remember the scene vividly: Argent unconscious at your feet, laid out and ready for a finishing blow. Ortega weakly crawling towards you. The way you felt then, victorious and... empty. So empty. Who knew winning would taste so sour?

Then the impact that had sent you flying several feet, your HUD glowing red. The crack of your armor plates and the alarms in you ear when you hit the ground. Barely having time to get air into your empty lungs before being picked up again.

Your helmet cracking open and the beatdown stopping.

“And beat me to the ground, yes, what of it?“ Your spit the words out without meaning to. Shit, you’re losing any composure you had left.

He regards you for a moment. His eyes are unreadable and his mind closed to you again, but you can tell he’s considering his words carefully. “You fight like someone who thinks it’s their only option.“

You stare at him for a second. “It is the only option.“

His eyes are unblinking and again you’re reminded of the worst times in your life - the drab, clinical surroundings, the tooth-splitting hum of telepathic jammers. The men and women in white jackets looking at you and seeing a wonder of science, to dissect and study. It makes you want to squirm in fear and digust, but you suppress the urge. You don’t need those thoughts. You’re not there anymore. Steel is not your enemy... anymore.

He leans back in his chair. “It’s not. You know that.“

You try to scoff, but the sound falls flat. What comes out is a weak huff. Your eyes sting and you bury your face in your hands, elbows on the table. You don’t-- you can’t--

A warm hand appears on your shoulder. You glance through your fingers and see Chen kneel beside your chair, one hand on your shoulder and looking up at you. Nonthreatening. Deferential.

“Let me help.“

A choked sob is the only answer you’re able to give.

[trickstersantana]

[Para] Bastard

Who: Santana, Hunter @classicallyclarington​ Daisy and Iscariot Location:  Undique Stadium Time: 03 October 2018 like the mean girls day Summary: Santana and Hunter fucking train to beat all of you in the tournament get ready fuckers. Also they talk about being each others Socius Pactum and the collars and shit Triggers/Notes: Violence,

Santana sended Hunter a text while preparing herself "Undique. Now." They had to talk about so many things. But more important, they had to train. She booked a room and waited creating some illusions of a more fancy place than the gym, the interior of a mansion.  Some cute butterflies, some cool fire, whatever to kill time.

As soon as Hunter had moved to text Santana, there was already a message there. He groaned and clapped his hands over his eyes before just getting into his clothes and hurrying off to the Stadium. So this was his life now. Jesus Christ. He did a double take as he entered the room, looking around at the mansion interior. He'd been in a lot of mansions, he had to wonder if he'd known that place before he looked over to her. "So."

Santana claps for effect to dispel the illusion, like it was one of those lamps who reacted to sound. "So." She said. "Alright, so, we are one of those social pacts shit." She says. "You know I'm one of the strongest person here. You got lucky." She says, taking her SP necklace and waving it around. "Now, Clarence, tell me, what reasons do I have to make the efford to keep you save and fight for you?"

Hunter's hands went to his hips as he stared Santana down. She wasn't wrong. He did get lucky on the basis of pure raw power. And personality wise, the two of them together weren't exactly a force to be reckoned with. He raised an eyebrow and chuckled, nodding. So they were getting right into this. "I have an awful amount of money. If you were to save and fight for me, that would certainly work out in your interest. But I should ask you the same question."

Santana smiled and nodded. She liked money. "Well well, in general, if you being alive makes my life better, I'll keep you alive. If it makes it worse, you can summon me that I would just help your enemy. But money sounds alrigth. For now." She summoned Daisy, the fluffy cow to her side. "You want me alive so I keep you alive, simple as that. If I found an enemy stronger than me, I highly doubt you can beat them either. But I can call you on the phone, you get me out of there, and I live to save your ass in danger one day more. Or..." She says preparing some blue fire illusions in her hand to show him she wants to train now. "Do you really can figth? Show me if you are able, Clarence.”

Very well, then. Hunter hummed, almost smirking, and his eyes settled into a squint as he noticed the blue flames in her palm. He summoned Iscariot to his side, and she was exasperated for several moments, but adjusted into the situation quickly enough, lunging forward. He stood back as his magic circle twirled around his wrist, before mumbling an incantation to surround Santana in a swirling, spitting wall of flame.

@Hunter: 1d6= (2) = 2

@Santana:1d7+2 = (2)+2 = 4

Santana dodges the fire and makes an illusion of the fire Hunter used to appear as it's burning him. It doesn't matter it doesn't burn if the blinding light of the flames are in his face, not letting him see. "Daisy, Charge!" She commanded her familiar to run against Hunterr, and illusioned several weapons around her. A battle bovine as fast as a bull and double the adorable. "We have to choose a word to summon each other too, jerk!"

@Santana:  2d7= (2+6) = 8

@Hunter:  1d5 + 1= (5)+1 = 6

Hunter had to get used to the illusions. They were unsettling to say the least. But he wasn't going to let that stop him now. As little as he liked to admit it, he had something to prove. As he heard Daisy charging his way, he stayed for a moment, positioning himself, and then dove out of the way. "Carrie, go!" He called, and she let out a blindingly loud screech, like a hiss, to shock Daisy, hellfire swirling around her.

Santana could see like Daisy didn't charge as fast for the defense of the cat. "Santanaaaaa" the cow called, and only Santana and the cat could hear it. "It is so small." The cow still tackle Hunter, and her illusion was still on. "By they way, asshole, just a warning. You are going to the sit in against the magic racist collars. You can go walking, or I summon your ass there, but you are going to be there." She says preparing her next attack. "Daisy, do one of those...things horses do! You know kick him!" She says while making the illusion of spiky things in, you know, the lower part of the cows leg. Santana doesn't care about those terms.

@Santana:  1d7+3 = (4)+3 = 7

@Hunter:  1d12= (2) = 2

Hunter stared the cow down. He summoned a lasso of fire, twirling it around the air before tossing it to land around Daisy's neck. However, he got easily distracted by reminders about the situation with the collars and missed, only grazing Daisy's side. The kick hit him right on target, and man was that not a fun one, "Jesus Christ, I'll be there, dickbag."

@Santana :  1d7+2= (2)+2 = 4

Santana tells Daisy to come back. "Alright, you did your thing, emergency food" She complains fearing she actually called the damn animal by her name before. By its name, I mean. She smiled her bitchy smile hearing the news, and keeping the fire illusion up. "I hope you bring a nice banner, douchebag."

@Hunter:  1d12= (10) = 10

Hunter rolls his eyes as Daisy retreats, jumping up to his feet and summoning a towering wave of fire to rush in behind Santana and crash over her. He imagined it would have taken her by surprise had it not been for the distinct, the deafening sounds of a surging ocean. "I'd rather focus my energy on getting Kitty to call the whole thing off, knave."

@Santana: 1d7+2 = (7)+2 = 9

Santana sees her illusion get broken and feels herself get a little burned. "Auch auch." She complained. Well, he wasn't THAT weak as she though. He did some little damage. She complains while sending an illusion of spears coming from the ground. "Why didn't you do that before they approved the law, inept?"

@Hunter :  1d14 = (14) = 14

Hunter watched the spears rising from the ground and moved around the floor carefully before pulling up bunches of inflamed "spears" - really just flames made to look like the same shape as the illusion Santana had conjured - in his fists and launching them at her head, "I tried, dumbass. She was obviously unhappy with me, I'm trying new angles."

@Santana :  1d7+2 = (4)+2 = 6

Santana didn't fucking expect the fire spears. Fuck, they hurt. "Damn you! Were you holding back before?" She asks, confused at the sudden change on Hunter's attacks. She barely escaped the spears, but that has as much strenght as an attack from way stronger people. "Oh, what did you tried, copycat?"

@Hunter :  2d14 = (11+14) = 25

Hunter chuckled as he finally felt like he was getting some momentum in the arena. When she asked if he was holding back before, he knew the answer was pretty much yes, but he couldn't exactly say it was because his fear of her as a duel partner was what was fueling that. So he just held on to the power. It was nice. He ducked down as Santana became distracted with the effectiveness of the attack and pressed his palms to the ground, letting the power of his draconic lineage surge through him before he sent a massive fiery projectile in the shape of a dragon's head, fierce and spitting, roaring fire. It was magnificent, if he did say so himself. "I tried being nice, and now I'm gonna try to be big brother. Sometimes bloodlines don't react until they get yelled at by the people they're supposed to impress, empress."

Santana felts once again, that small moment of 'Oh shit, you understimted your oponent again and it comes to beat you in the ass, when will you learn.' She tries to run away from the huge fire dragon, but it's useless. It hit her full force. "Joder! Fuck!! Hunter what the hell!" She says still burning and all hurting. She locked her gaze with him. She has to do her special move too. She wasn't going down without a fight. Hunter would see the true dragon, he would feel his own fire coming back to him, turned into a real black dragon, and his presence would feel as real as any.

@Santana :  1d20+2 = (12)+2 = 14

Hunter didn’t feel the fear he imagined he would’ve normally as he saw his own dragon charging back at him. The empowerment was working well, but it didn’t stop him from getting knocked back on his ass halfway across the room. He groaned in pain from the attack, “Jesus Christ, you - bastard” he chuckled painfully, rolling over on his side.

Santana turns the whole scenary into a cave full of gold, treasure, and a river of lava. A place fitting for a dragon. Hunter can hear the sound of coins clashing to each other, can smell the metal, the smoke, the fire. He can feel the heat. Every detail is in place. She liked to show off her power. "Uhm, I like bastard, should that be how we call each other?" She asks, and makes Hunter see another Santana appearing next to him, pushing him to the lava.

@Santana :  1d7+2 = (6)+2 = 8

Hunter looked around at the cave scene, in awe. He wasn’t sure if now was the right time to say exactly, but Santana’s powers really were incredible. He gazed around wearily as he came face to face with the crackling heat of the river of lava. “Uh, yeah - bastard’s good, I like th - woah!” He gasped as he went in, defeated.

Santana stopped her own perfect illusion and giggledsnored. "He he." She offered her hand to help him get up. "Then I think we have a deal, Clarence"

Hunter groaned in relief as the illusion dissolved. He took her hand and got on his feet, shaking her hand once, “Good, then.”

[nitewrighter]

Could you do the next chapter of robot fuckers

Of course I will! *clenches fist* For the robot fuckers…

Previous Omnic!Genji Posts: 1, 2, 3, 4

—

4AN70 was strapped down to the same upright platform they had reconstructed Genji on, this time, however, there was much more containment hardware in place, at McCree’s suggestion and Jack’s insistance. 4AN70 was still powered down, no light coming from his eyes as Mercy probed at the back of his neck with various tools. Finally seeming satisfied, she leaned back from 4AN70, rolled her neck and pushed her goggles up to her forehead and pushed the lamp she was using out of the way. “That should do it,” she said, “So long as that chip’s in place he’ll have full mental capacity but no motor functions from the neck down. Are you sure this isn’t too… extreme?”

Genji gave a glance to the restraints keeping 4AN70 strapped to the platform. “In all honesty, I highly doubt this,” he gave the clamps around 4AN70’s wrist a rap with his knuckles, “Would contain him. That chip is the only way to assure the safety of you and your associates.”

“And you,” said Mercy.

Genji paused for a moment. “Thank you for your concern,” he said. He looked back at 4AN70, “And it’s removable, as you said?”

“About as removable as it is applicable,” said Mercy, “His motor functions are there, he just can’t access them. It’s sort of like—Have you ever seen ‘Young Frankenstein?’”

Genji just tilted his head at her slightly

“There’s this scene where–” Mercy cut herself off and waved her hand at herself dismissively, “Never mind. The point is, he can’t move until I remove it.”

 “All right. You may initiate the reboot,” said Genji.

“Are you sure about this?” asked Mercy.

“You ask me that often,” said Genji.

“Oh–I–Does it bother you?” said Mercy.

“No,” said Genji, “It’s interesting though. Humans, I have noticed, tend to go back and question their own decisions frequently. Our interactions must be optimizing my infiltration capabilities for you to expect the same of me.”

“Well… for most humans this would be a very emotionally and mentally trying experience,” said Mercy, giving a glance back to 4AN70, “You’re facing the one who destroyed you. You were made in the same series, granted with differences in your capabilities, but in a sense you’re cut from the same cloth. Most people would… need some time, to try and figure out what to say to someone like that.”

“For someone so aware of my capabilities as an assassin unit, I must say you are very protective,” said Genji.

“Well–I mean–that’s…” Mercy reddened and cleared her throat, “You–you represent an entirely new set of possibilities in regards to–to–the capabilities of crisis-era technology and to me, as–as a roboticist that represents–that is—”

“…your core temperature is rising,” said Genji, “Are you distressed?”

“You know what? I’m just going to reboot him and leave you two… to… to.. to it,” said Mercy, glancing down at her tablet and hitting a few keys as she turned around and began quickly walking away. With those few key taps a robotic arm came down from the ceiling and jammed itself into 4AN70′s neck. 4AN70 jolted to life as Mercy stepped through the door. McCree was waiting outside the room, watching both Genji and Hanzo through the one-way mirror window of the room. 4AN70’s eyes sparked to life as she took her spot next to him.

“Don’t think I didn’t see that,” said McCree.

“Didn’t see what?” said Mercy.

“You went beet red in there,” said McCree, “No wonder you got so pissy back at the omni–”

“McCree,” Mercy said his name in warning.

McCree clicked his tongue. “Just sayin’,” he said with a slight shrug. Mercy glanced down at the speaker feed for the lab, then reached forward and flipped it off.

“The hell are you doing?” said McCree.

“Believe me–what they’re saying? We don’t want to hear,” said Mercy.

“The hell we don’t,” said McCree, flipping the sound feed back on. Instantly both of them covered their ears as the speakers were practically blown out by binary beeping screeches. It sounded like an unholy combination of dialup, mic feedback, and some less unpleasant chirruping noises that just made the groans and screeches all the more grating. Mercy took one hand off of her ears to flip the sound feed off again.

“Right…” McCree said, bringing his hands down from his ears with some relief, “…Omnium-made.”

“What they’re saying to each other over the course of seconds could take hours, days maybe, to communicate with most human languages,” said Mercy. 

“…What do you think they’re saying to each other?”

“Doubtless 4AN70 is questioning after his own state, why he’s here, why he’s not destroyed, and why he can’t move–Genji hopefully is calming him down.”

“All right,” said McCree, “Then what?”

“With luck he might be able to redirect 4AN70’s core directives to the adaptations his own programming has taken on,” said Mercy, “But on the other hand 4AN70 perceives Genji’s behavioral adaptations as a corruption or degradation of his core programming so…” she sighed, “All we can do is wait and see.”

“You really trust him, don’t you?” said McCree.

Mercy glanced over at McCree.

“Genji,” said McCree, “You trust him.”

“I swear if you bring up ‘imprinting’ again–” Mercy started.

“But do you?” said McCree.

Mercy huffed. “He saved my life. I think it’s two–maybe three times now he’s saved my life.”

“One of the prime directives or whatever it’s called of an AI is to survive though, ain’t it?” said McCree, “Maybe all those years ago he spared you because you weren’t a threat, and he’s keeping you alive now because you’re spearheading this whole initiative and if anything happens to you he gets shut right down.”

“More than spared. Saved. He carried me to where Swiss forces would find me,” said Mercy, “He actively ensured my survival as much as he could in line with that directive to survive. As far as his protection of me now goes…” she trailed off, “I don’t know. As an AI, he wants to learn. As someone who has studied omnics and the omniums all my life, I want to learn. I think… I think we just meet in the middle, is all.”

“‘Meet in the middle,’” McCree repeated after her before glancing back to the two Omnics through the glass, “Well lets hope 4AN-whatever he’s called is willing to meet in the middle, too. What if he convinces Genji to come back to the ‘kill all humans’ fold?”

“That won’t happen,” said Mercy, putting her palm against the glass.

“And you’re so sure of that because…?” McCree gestured.

“Because he knows he can be more,” said Mercy.

[mandivsman-blog]

So, I came to the end of a situationship about a month ago with a man I realized I didn’t know at all. We were seeing each other for about 3 months and I would consider it long distance. Now, he did the classic “love bomb” (telling me he loved me right away, selling me all type of extravagant dreams, calling and leaving messages multiple times a day) a love avoidant technique and towards the end I found out he was deeply troubled, didn’t think he was, and was probably not going to change. He actually turned me OFF at first. I found him clingy but was simultaneously intrigued because I thought he was successful, well traveled, and thought we were looking for the same things word for word. Now, I’m not excusing my part in this. He was not my usual type and at the first sign of trouble I should have left. He was 40 years old, hundreds of sexual partners, never lived with someone, moved all over the country, single for multiple years, never had a long term relationship (2+), never stayed in one place for very long, had no sense of normalcy or routine, was very emotional but lacked empathy for others, and I got a sense he thought people were disposable. And, through all of those things, he was still just being who he was. Not good, not bad. Just him.

Why did I hang around? Well, what is the #1 thing that makes us attracted to another person?

Whether THEY’RE attracted to US. Yes, that’s right, if they like you, that’s half the attraction right there. He was a Casanova right away. Spoke beautifully, like a poem. He supposedly noticed and loved things in about me that I love about myself. He was externally successful, intellegent, funny, clever. We connected deeply on a sexual level as well. It was easy to open up about things I wanted and rarely shared. We had similar goals about the future.

See, it’s easy for a man to give me attention. I glamour/alternative model, sex positive, and extremely open but they don’t know me. They don’t know my past or my fears. Men tell me things all day, everyday. It’s easy for me to simply overlook because it’s the same words over and over. A man can look 10/10, be wealthy and fit and I will feel no sense of attraction. I have to hear the right words.

Words are meaningful but they lose their value if the actions aren’t parallel. This is where it sticky because the words vs. actions is a perception and thus subjective. One person may feel like their words match their actions perfectly yet the other person feels like they are doing they exact opposite. Is there really any objective truth?

Patterns. If it weren’t for recognizing patterns in science we wouldn’t have centuries of information that’s saved millions of lives and responsible for almost every innovation we have. There’s truth in patterns. He told me multiple stories and I noticed patterns. But, what is the truth? Was it my history of being scared of men and not trusting him that made me notice these patterns? Did they matter? And who should I ask for answers?

I choose not to be in a relationship for a long time. I was in a multiple year, live-in, serious relationship for most of my twenties with the only person I ever loved. The split was, in laymen’s terms, because I didn’t want to move forward and take our relationship seriously enough. This still haunts me some days, some days I think it was a blessing. I felt like a kid most of that relationship but I still remember how freeing and how fufilling full trust and endless love and affection was.

He loves me. He would never hurt me. He cares if I have a headache or a bad day. He makes me a priority. He wants to make me happy. He protects me.

And, In turn, I did the same plus more.

That relationship had been outgrown, unfortunately, and there was nothing him or I could do to stop it. He was air headed and light. Surface level. I am intense, quirky, horny, intense, highly-intelligent, inquisitive, complex. I take up space. I crave learning, doing, seeing, questioning. He liked watching TV.

After our split, I had a rough several years. I needed time to heal and figure things out. This time was the first time I truly spent time alone instead of jumping back in a relationship or dating. This is the best thing that I have ever done.

When a person goes from relationship to relationship, fuck to fuck, person to person, they just wind up mirroring their current partners personality instead of cultivating their own. Chamaeleon like. You need consist, heart wrenching, gut churning time alone. A person needs time to let their heartbreak, disappointed heal to change the essence of their character. This is growth. Jumping from one person to another is a distraction. It chips away. Now, I’m not talking about taking interest in your partners interests. I actually love that part of relationships because I love learning from my partners. I’m talking about melding your life with theirs and basically becoming your partner. 

Anyway, I kept on trying to break it off with this person. He was saying beautiful words but I could never feel comfortable with him. He was had no schedule and his stories didn’t match up. I would bring up inconsistencies but he would shrug them off.

Doubt began to built.

When we began seeing each other he did tell me there was some overlapping but about a month in I decided I didn’t want to see someone with that kind of baggage and tried to break it off. He told me, “I have no one else.” Now, it was just “I have no one else.” It was paragraph after paragraph. Phone call after phone call cementing the fact that there was no one else and he wanted me, was pursuing me, and saw a future with me.

But, that wasn’t the case.

He was still boo loving and fucking that girl. I asked him again and he finally told me the truth. A 24 year old girl (he’s 40), with severe co-dependent issues. He told me her current boyfriend (they’re in an open relationship)was older than him and basically controlled her whole life and didn’t treat her well. I felt for that, no one deserves that but hearing that he was OK with entering the life of that person who was extremely sick, and fucking her changed the way I looked at him. If he wanted to help her without the benefit of sex, that would be one thing. I was devastated. I couldn’t understand how someone could tell me the things he had said to me and blantantly lie to me.

Still I tried to make things work because I felt like we could have a great future together...and I just couldn’t fucking let that go...

He told me he would break it off. I asked “in person?” And he said “My therapist and I will decide.” This puzzled me and hurt me. After this situation caused so much drama between us, why add more strife? Remember how he thought she deserved a break up person when I tell you how he disrespectfully ended things with me...

And, I just want to add, if things hadn’t moved lightening fast between us, I would not have felt this way. I’ve been through similar situations with men I’ve cared for and have never been in as much pain as that betrayal made me feel. When clearing out my phone of anything regarding him, I deleted over 20 voicemails from him.

He told me “I don’t want to lose you. I’ve never met anybody like you and I’m scared I won’t again.”

Sounds like bullshit, I know, but everybody secretly wants to hear that from their partner. It felt so good. It felt like I found a friend and lover who had plenty of experience but out of all those women he picked me. We all want to believe that. We all play the fool sometimes.

Anyway, I was in rare form. Since the quarantine I had stopped taking my ADHD med bc of insurance issues which I really need for multiple things including mood, and focus, my mental health was declining, I was drinking a lot, I had little direction, and here this man comes along to swipe me off my feet. He had some extravagant baggage which, when I first heard, I was like “this is not my guy but fun for now”, but I grew to want to walk with him through his problems, grow with him, and nurture him. That’s who i am. The problem was, I couldn’t trust or forgive him. So, he wasn’t doing the actions needed to help restore trust. The second he hurt me and I started reacting, I could feel him start pulling away. He had multiple, heavy things going on and whether he wanted to build trust but couldn’t bc he was busy or he didn’t care to, I will never know.

I also was trying to connect with my absent father at the time which did not go well. I should have known better. Every time my father tries to reconnect with me, my life and psych gets flipped on it’s head because, he’s still the same man who abandoned my mother and I when I was a child. See, it would be different if he had done therapy or actually attempted to be a better human but he hasn’t. He just shows up periodically and says “forgive me.” And I’m not, “no, you selfish mother fucker, show me you’ve changed.” He can’t. He’s 50 years old and is who he is. He disturbs my life subconsciously and consciously. He is to me. I was having a this battle with my father and trying to make things work with my love interest...

But I couldn’t stop being angry with him. I couldn’t stop feeling stupid for trying to believe what he was trying me. I kept trying to break off the relationship like once a week. At the time, I really didn’t want to be with him. I felt disgusted with his character but breaking down the root of that action, I just wanted to manipulate him into comforting me.

How pathetic is that?

Such a hard pill to swallow for me. I didn’t have the tools to regulate my emotions and communicate what I needed. I didn’t have the balls to firmly let go of the relationship. I was miserable running in circles.

Now, this was the absolute wrong thing to do and definitely is emotional blackmail. I hated that I was doing it. It hurt me and weighed me down. The person I cared for was walking on eggshells. I was hurting the person I cared for and he was also hurting me.

When I would drink, I would have meltdowns. They weren’t funny or cute. They were hurtful and designed to cause pain. If we’re talking in self-help terms..every time I would feel triggered, my “pain body” or “shadow” would be stimulated and their main function is the cause damage and posing as a faux coping mechanism.

Painbody-“It is an accumulation of painful life experience that was not fully faced and accepted in the moment it arose. It leaves behind an energy form of emotional pain. It comes together with other energy forms from other instances, and so after some years you have a “painbody,” an energy entity consisting of old emotion.”

I remember painbody being described in Eckort Tolle’s “The Power of Now” as “A lizard eating it’s own tail.” A pain that causes you to hurt people and that also hurts you to hurt people. I hadn’t been triggered like this is years. My mind forgot how to protect itself in a healthy way. I was just doing the best I could.

I met his parents and brother in Denver. This meant a lot to me because, for me, I would never introduce my mother to someone I wasn’t sure about. To me, that’s unfair to my mother to constantly bring man after man over for him to meet.

At this point, communication is declining, he’s trying to do the books for several businesses, meet up with friends, travel, and work...yet is trying to build a connection with me? It wasn’t the right time. I needed to feel like the person who supposedly “loved” me actually cared about integrating me into their life. We had nothing planned to see each other, he always made plans last minute. This was another big reason I couldn’t feel comfortable with him. He expected me to be completely on his schedule. Every time he would tell me, 5-7 ahead of the time he was free and I’d have to completely change my schedule for him. I would have to change plans with friends, family. I’d have to move shifts around at work and lose money. Also, he used to call me in the middle of the night and I would wake up and answer. During his all night shifts sometimes he would sometimes call me multiple times. I was so discombobulated. I was trying to be there for him. I wanted to be with him.

Last time I saw him I flew to Seattle. It was going fine until i asked whether he was still talking to that young girl. He said he had. He also acted like she had a family emergency and I was some monster for being upset about him talking to her. At that moment, I knew it wasn’t over between them. He was also showing me something on his phone and I held it a little closer to my face and he snatched the phone out of my hand. Both situations he convinced me I was wrong and should believe him despite his sneaky, withdrawn behavior. I had so much anxiety. I drank the rest of the weekend to try and calm down which had the opposite affect.

After I came home, We barely spoke. I tried to break it off with him twice. He send me a picture of him crying. I was sick. I couldn’t feel better. It had been so long since a man made me feel so small, so insignificant. Everything he said and did contradicted each other. What was the truth?

I began to not tell me friends anything because I was so embarrassed that I still stuck around. I don’t know why but I believed he was good. I believe he cared for me. I believed we could make it.

I went to a therapy appointment and laid everything out in a brutal 2 hour session. I was transparent because I knew I couldn’t figure this out without complete honesty. I called him crying, telling him I missed him and wanted to make this work. At this point, he seemed nonchalant. I think he probably was already seeing the girl again at this point bc he was completely different. That week he was working and barely spoke to me. He answered me hours later. He cared nothing for me. He was tired of my reactions and thought he was absent of responsibility for my behavior.

This made me feel desperate. Desperate for an answer, desperate for a reason. Desperate for the truth. I felt the pull of abandonment on my chest. I called him, he wouldn’t answer. I called again, he wouldn’t answer. This bothered him. When I would speak to him he would act annoyed with me like I was bothering him. Remember though, this man would call me 5-7 times a day, leave multiple messages, send pictures and videos all day long, and a week before this, send a picture of his ass crying. I have NEVER had such a piece of emotional manipulation sent to me IN MY LIFE. And just like that, he snatched all that back. It meant nothing.

I reached out one more time. I spilled my heart out. I said we could start over again. I had meant what I said. He sounded reluctant the whole time but eventually agreed. I promised that I was working daily on forgiving him and working to feel safe in my own body as to not project on him. It didn’t feel right. After this conversation I felt uneasy. I really thought “this is my person and I’m gonna have cute little, smart babies with him”, but at this point he made it seem like it was a competition. I knew there was other women, possibly multiple, I would knew I would never be happy not being the queen. I wouldn’t be able to respect him or look up to him. I knew he had no sense of loyalty and yet I still wanted to make it work. Him not having loyalty perplexed me because his parents are good people his and been together for years and years.

My phone rings at 2:30, I thought he was attempting to make more contact with me (bc that was one of the things I had said would make me feel comfortable) but he sounded weird. I asked “Why did you call me?” And, I don’t really remember what he said but, it was along the lines of “this is the way it is and I don’t wanna deal with it. This is not for me.” He broke things off with me. Then, to add insult to injury, he added “The man you end up with is going to be the happiest man in the world.” Man, stfu. If you’re a man and you’re reading this, never fucking do that. It’s just so shitty and pretentious. This is a pattern of his. He did it to someone else with me. But he felt the other woman deserved in person and I deserved a 2 minute fuck you phone call at 2:30 am. That being said, my guess is he tried to break it off with her but a. It was never completely broke off bc he’s not capable of making a firm decision and B. She’s young and naive so it’s easier not to be held accountable and she’ll be less likely to enforce her needs c. She’ll let him fuck who he wants bc she’s nonmonagomous. D. It’s a trauma bond. E. They lived in the same state. It was just so fucking obvious and I tried to force myself to ignore it.

Anyway, I said goodbye.....and went right the fuck back to sleep. I am not kidding when I say, the weight had been lifted right then and there. Sure, I was mad I was disrespected, lied to, and maltreated but the limbo and that weird feeling in my tummy was torturing me. I spent a week boohooing. I liked him, I missed him but, all in all it wasn’t that deep. I didn’t love him, I was ATTACHED to him. I wouldn’t have been attached to him if he didn’t sell me a dream.

I had screenshots of some of grandiose things he’s said to me and honestly, I just had to laugh. Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe what people are capable of.

But, I’m giving myself a break. Since quarantine I’ve been through some changes. After the quarantine started, my yoga studio closed which I went to 5 days a week. I was also meditating at least 5 days a week.I feel like I was really happy and grounded. The difference between my psych then and now is profound. When I lost my job I couldn’t afford my ADHD med this summer so I had to abruptly stop it (Stratera) which definitely left me kind of out of sorts. I wasn’t working, I was alone, I was worried about money, I moved, my (absent) father was trying to come back into my life all while trying to take care of anyone and everyone I could because that’s just what I do. Also, I have a pattern of Rocky starts in relationships. I try to be who I am from the beginning, work things out, and then have a great rest of the relationship without waiting until 2 years in for you to find out that I’m awful. I’ve had good and bads experiences with this. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I was stupid. I can’t even say I wont act stupid in another relationship again. I probably will because sometimes I suck and that’s okay.

To be continued and edited...

[ancientcalamity]

『                     193 out of 200 followers...                          Pfft, close enough! Hello, everyone!     Thank you all for following me. I'm grateful and... it's been many     years since I last made a Follow Forever or anything like this;     been years since I've trusted people enough to really bother,      so it was hard for me to do. There's going to be that bias list below,     the different people I know/have come to know/am in the process     of getting to know and that have changed me for the better I guess     you could say? So, to all of you, even if you aren't on the list, 

                                    thank you.

I’d like to put a warning here that it gets pretty personal below the cut, so for a tl;dr of the names, they are as follows: 

@guidcnce

@blessedbisha

@divineveena

@hafuriyuki

@calamitouscyan

and last but not least, @shinxki. 

Not only are they extremely skilled as writers, they’re extremely wonderful people altogether. 

Now...

                      If ya continue to read, it’s yer choice now.                                            It’s long.     』

As a child to early teen, I'd gone through multiple different types of abuse ranging from sexual to mental and while I'm not a coo-coo person going out to murder random people (lol) or anything like that, I do have mental illnesses and I've had physical disorder(s?) that I'm still going through/getting past thanks to my history. 

           Each day, I feel horrible waking, honestly.

Don't feel worth it. I'm obnoxious. I'm pushy. I'm clingy. I'm a creep. Still getting to know myself as a person. Still getting to understand emotions again. Still getting to being normal in some way. Still trying to get to the point of not blaming myself for any and everything bad that happens to me or my loved ones.

Those sorta things and of course the other usual stuff besides depression.

Anxiety.

Mild schizophrenia.

Extremely mild dissociative disorder.

aaaaand lastly paranoia.

I don’t think I’m too ‘out there’ with my mental issues and I think I’m sane enough to handle myself out in the world so yeah. My eating disorder isn’t here any longer but I do forget to eat by accident (woops!) so my anemia decides to go 

and so, I, in return, go

“-dies-”

I came to the Noragami roleplaying fandom on October 22nd, 2016, but I wasn’t really... out there and not known to much of anyone. I didn’t post for long periods of time, too, and I just sorta accepted it cuz ya know? I was new. I met a few blogs here and there but low and behold that didn’t work out but I’m pretty used to having shit go down the drain for me. It wasn’t odd or anything for me and for a bit I’d though about deleting, remaking, and going to another fandom. 

Fast-forward to late November-beginning December and I get a follow back by @guidcnce. “Whoa! Cool! A Kazuma! Holy shit a Noragami blog is following me!” I said, getting overly excited as I ate my Oreos that day-- “Lemme check out their blog!” 

Lil’ ol’ me goes to see the blog, I’m happy, excited-- and my eyes fall on @calamitouscyan, @divineveena, and @hafuriyuki.

“....Shit.”

“Okay, so 1.) There’s another Yato and holy fuck, his blog is great, 2.) There’s a BISHAMON ( @divineveena ) but she talks to @calamitouscyan too (fuck me sideways) and 3.) A YUKINE! ( @hafuriyuki ) YAAAA- fuck he tALKS TO @calamitouscyan too?!?!? HOW FUCKING FAMOUS IS THIS DUDE?? Shit, they must’ve been here for such a long time, shit shit shit shit shit--” 

Insert panicking and anxiety filled Cel here! -pops party streamers- WOOOOOOO! Yer not good enough!! Fuck yeah! You got people that’ve not only been here WAY longer than you but your blog LOOKS LIKE TRASH AND SO DO YOUR ICONS! NICE!

Yooooooooooou suuuuuuuck!

I suck it up, keep my emotions to myself and wing it with @guidcnce; I got new followers, I meet with OCs and canon rpers, I talk and plot with people, things goin’ great! Kazuma’s bitch ass is being one of the nicest people I’ve met and holy fuck if it wasn’t for them being so nice/lenient with me I wouldn’t-- WAIT. THAT’S NOT IT!

DID YOU KNOW MY YATO IS NOT A /NORMAL/ YATO??? NO?

...

why the fuck are you reading this then?

Go read my About and Rules, you fucker I swear to GOD I WILL FUCKING END YOUR LI- 

....

..........

...moving on.

Kazuma had the NERVE to not ONLY reply to my starter with them in canon (well written canon might I add if you don’t follow them you might wanna do so cuz ya know they’re great and stuff and mhm good shit-- A-ANYWAYS-), but also responded to my character AS IF THEY WERE IN THE SAME VERSE AND WORLD AND SPEAKIN’ NORMALLY-- I just...

I WAS EMOTIONAL OKAY???? I STILL AM. 

I STILL AM DAMN YOU. 

...They didn’t just treat me right when we met and talked in private but they did so in rp and... I think because of them I started to open up more. Finally, I got in gear with my blog and icons and every thing in general for Tumblr. I made a brand new follow post and I was excited and--

....why are @divineveena, @calamitouscyan, and @hafuriyuki following me??? ........no. 

no.

no.

NO.

NONONONONONONONONONO-- 

I’M NOT READY FOR THIS WHAT IF THEY THINK I’M SHIT WHAT IF THEY MOCK ME WHAT IF THEY TALK ABOUT ME THEY SEEM LIKE FRIENDS I’M NEW WHAT IF-

aaaaand here goes panicking Cel x2.

These people are following me, reblogging from me, SENDING ME ASKS--

I get invited to a group of other people and... I’m afraid. Skeptical and looking back at it, I still am sometimes but... that’s something for another day. 

@calamitouscyan, @divineveena, and @shinxki are the main others there and it feels like going to a party in the Office and you know how everything is awkward? Yeah that. 

There are a few others that I’m sad to say are no longer there but... I don’t hate anyone. Was raised differently than that. 

A month goes by and I feel better to talk to others, a few events have happened, and it looks like I have a brand new roleplay partner! Not only did @calamitouscyan and @shinxki include me in something I never thought I’d do- having an OC shinki, a LIVING-- ...dead? ... breathing? ... 

fuck it, whatever-- AN OC SHINKI THAT WE LITERALLY FIGHT TOGETHER, but they were supportive during the whole time. @hafuriyuki joined us soon and both of the shinki got along and just...

Everyone was together. An actual family and a group. @calamitouscyan turned out to be another ‘self’ (DICEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE) ((don’t ask, they’ll get it)) in not just rp but /outside/ it too because of our cultural similarities and it moved to the point I showed a game I was playing and they joined. THEY JOINED AND WE DANCE TOGETHER IN GAME!

I’M NOT KIDDING, LOOK!

I have a friend to play with! 

Outside of the game, @divineveena ruins my FUCKING life because we managed to make a relationship for Older!Yato and Bishamon, you wouldn’t be able to tell that they tried to kill each other at one point. 

A BrOTP to such a point-- ugh it’s been years.

YEARS.

Trusting people has not been something I do and after YEARS of agony she managed to be my literal best friend and it makes me want to cry.

FUCK WE CAME UP WITH STUPID AS FUCK ‘CRINGE’ MEME ICONS. SHE HAS ONE OF BISHAMON. HERE’S YATO.

It’s AMAZING.

The amount of memes we make it fuckin’ stupid. I love it.

and now there’s another Bishamon- not giving me two of the same type of person but a Bishamon who’s tragic and heartbroken and has problems @divineveena but another who’s ALSO tragic but also healing and softer. @blessedbisha

She has tried her fucking hardest to bring up spirits and cheer up others and just do what she can for each of us- she’s like a mom. I’m Satan of the fandom so someone has to even out my evil deeds- 

SERIOUSLY, though, when things are down and horrible, they keep moving. 

It’s encouraging. 

Both of them. 

They both try so hard for everyone, even in the worst times. 

Even though I know @divineveena more, I highly doubt @blessedbisha is less caring and both of them fuck up my life as Bishamons because...

ya know.

Bishamon likes beating me up and                       ruining my day SO YEAH.

....then there’s @shinxki.

I believe I met her around two or three months ago, after meeting the other Yato and Bishamon. 

.......

...............

-deep breath-

When I ‘like’ a friend or someone it’s not /that/ type of crush. Not lovey dovey so don’t go cringing away from this post just yet. 

                It’s like...  earlier I said I get clingy; I’ve been abandoned before, multiple times, whether it be for my sexual orientation, my race, my gender issues, my mental issues, my bluntness, or whatever the fuck else people have blown up on me and told me before they left, I’ve been dropped and left. Even recently, when I first started this blog, someone did it within a week because I left to give them space after we had a disagreement. It’s still affecting me, even now. I don’t...

I don’t do well with people hiding things or forgetting me or leaving me behind. I have the phobia about being forgotten or abandoned. It’s full blown and it isn’t pretty. I hate it, but when there’s someone who puts effort into me or something I like and at the same time they talk to me about their issues and don’t hide those things from me and trust me and want to actually bother with me and put up with me and it’s just

-rambling- 

IT’S LIKE

“THIS IS MY FRIEND. THIS IS /THAT/ FRIEND. THIS IS THE MAJOR FRIEND. LOOK AT THEM. LOOK. DO YOU SEE THEM? THIS IS THE BAE OKAY LOOK.”

I guess what I’m saying is she’s close. She means a lot and I’m grateful that she

-puts up with me -likes me as a friend -is my shinki -is my ship-friend -is honest with me -is blunt -goes off on me -snaps at me -gets mad at me -doesn’t put me on a pedestal -doesn’t hide things from me

the list goes on but I guess you get the point.

......When I was either 11 or 12 or somewhere near that age, I made a promise to myself, not a nice one and the date of that promise is coming but/and for the first time in a long while, and I mean years again, I don’t know what to think about it and I’m not sure if things will end up going to that point. 

To be fair, the only thing I really want now is a job and to go to school. I have a great mom and I actually have friends so... that’s all I want and... 

...I think I’d be okay if I had that. 

Maybe a therapist and/or a counselor again, too (lmao)...

but... I have these guys to thank for helping me get as far as I have. My life only seems like it’s a downward spiral but they all make me so happy and I owe a lot to them. I’m brash, harsh, blunt, depressed, anxious, and all around a not very pleasant person to be around and all of them try for me and each other. ...They all put themselves down or they’re unhappy in some way and it hurts, because they mean so much more than that and I don’t know what else to do for them. 

I’m a person behind a computer screen so...  -shrugs- 

A ‘thank you’ isn’t really enough. Not a simple one, anyways. 

You each mean a lot to not only me but others and I want you and other people to know that. I’m not dead yet, so ya have to be doin’ something correct, right? 

...

I’mma stop rambling and leave this here for you all, alright?

                              𝑚𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑒.

                                                                  - 𝖈𝖊𝖑.

[damonstrife]

Everything my brother says to me is to assert dominance. He constantly attacks my character and I have never asked for his opinion. I’m currently at my dad’s house after being hospitalized in Maine. This was the only time I have been invited home after seven years of couch surfing and sleeping on sidewalks. I’ve had 20+ jobs and I’ve been homeless in seven states. I have done everything that you would expect a homeless person to do, get a job. And every time some fat sous chef wants to talk shit to me. So I walk out. Obviously I’m unhappy. Maybe I should write a book but I’m writing this for now. I’m not getting a job until I milk my parents for as much as I can. I have shit to do and I don’t need my older brother reminding me that I need my driver’s license. He’s not reminding me of anything, he’s just implying I’m lazy. And then he wants to tell me he doesn’t like Jordan Peterson and that he’s a psycho and that he was hoping I was above him, implying I and someone I highly respect are both psycho.

Landon texts me just to call me a lazy psycho. And then when I tell him to fuck off, I’m the aggressor. He’s a psychopath and my worst enemy and could be THE reason I'm homeless. He blames my parents and me for my failure thus proving to himself that even as an adult he’s superior intellectually to his dumb little brother (except I’m not a two year old anymore and he isn’t a genius 7 year old)

He sabotages me saying I’m lazy and fucked in my head because our parents didn’t love me, dividing the family, making him the older brother of a demented-alcoholic-homeless person and the favorite son of his demented parents, who if neglected me, neglected him as well, so why does he want their love? It’s not that he wants their love, but it’s that he wants to believe that if they were to love any of their children, which they don’t, they would love him the most, because he’s the most superior, which he’s not. Superior in what aspect? Any. It doesn’t matter. Just superior, like a fucking animal and it’s disgusting. He is a psychopath who has no respect for what I’ve been through and he says he wants me to succeed but I highly, highly doubt that. He claims that my mother has given me thousands of dollars and that I blew it and that I could have come home years ago, neither are true. Those are two utterly false statements.

Landon Smith is a sadistic psychopath, my worst enemy.

I would take responsibility for not being able to hold a job and for caving in and seriously being an alcoholic, that’s true, but I don’t blame myself for drinking so much and I’m proud of myself for walking out of 20 restaurants in 7 years. Is it so wrong to suggest that only 1/25 restaurants deserve to exist? No. Good restaurants are rare and if you’re white and don’t have family support, good luck. Even if a restaurant is decent, it’s still hard to believe that a 26 year old white male is truly and unjustifiably homeless. I have to explain to people why I have been homeless for seven years and can’t hold a job and it’s nearly impossible. I hate to use my older brother as a scapegoat, but if it’s the real reason, then by all means, he deserves public humiliation as I have been suffering all these years and have been hospitalized twice, I have seen things that I don’t need to repeat here and I am not proud of that. I did not choose to be homeless. My family has been sabotaging me for years and no one believes me. That’s why I’m not taking responsibility for not holding a job. My parents would send me $50-$150 which is nothing but beer money thanks to their virtue signaling. They try to tell me that my e-mails to them are proof of my hostility and arrogance but in reality my e-mails are proof that they’re abusive and don’t take anything I say seriously and I would love to publish a book of my e-mails between me and my family since I graduated high school. Stupid mother fuckers deserve a lot worse than public humiliation. 

Why would my family disown me? Good question.

Simply because of my defects and failure to meet society’s standards financially and sociably but I have had these problems since I was a child and so that much is their fault and they can’t take responsibility for that so they kicked me out when I was 19 and I have been on my own, expected to do all these things that my parents never did for me as a child, but with no money and no transportation.

How is being broke and without transportation any different than being a child? Let’s get some facts straight. I’m an alcoholic. I’m white. I’m homeless. I don’t receive family support. I have never done anything to not receive family support. My family can afford to support me. So why don’t they? These are the questions people ask themselves even if they don’t realize it. The truth is difficult to bear. I’m a decent person. My parents are lazy as fuck. They disowned me as soon as they legally could and I’ve been fucked ever since.

You wanna know how I felt? Let’s give you an alcohol overdose and let you wake up on a sidewalk with empty pockets. Someone gives you $50. Now you’re stuck somewhere in Manhattan with no ID, never had an ID in NY state before, let’s see how easy it is for you to get your shit together and get a job.

Being homeless when you’re in the middle of Manhattan does not mean that you need to go to a shelter. You need your family. Common fucking sense. What the hell is the point of culture and tradition if you’re trying to build your son’s character by throwing them into the streets? Times have changed, folks. This country isn’t white anymore.

I was neglected as a child and sabotaged as a young adult because they can’t take responsibility for screwing me over, it has to be my fault. Some of it is. I agree. I wish I could push through and not drink or smoke weed as much but even if I accomplish that, my family will still hate me and at this point if I succeed it’s only going to further my own cause and not theirs. My family literally wants me to fail, to this day.

To that I say cheers, let’s go to the store and buy beer.

It’s time to celebrate our independence from my wretched family, except I’m still stuck at my dad’s and although he wants to blame me for getting his dog sick when he’s the one that humanizes it and feeds it human food it’s not so bad here.

My defects can be cured through exercise and maintenance and rhinoplasty and plastic surgery. I just need some TLC, but my family just thinks I’m lazy, when they’re the lazy ones, and it has effected me my entire life and my entire adulthood. Now is not the time to take responsibility and get a job. What the fuck does that even mean? If I suddenly say “Everything is my fault” there isn’t going to be some magic dragon to take me to Paris or Tokyo. No, now is the time to confront the true perpetrators and take from them what I deserve. That is family support. That is Western Culture.

[oneyoungexcuse]

I was going now to say just odds, but then some even questions seem fun too. So ALL. If you have time of course. 150 is a lot. But it would be nice to get to know Ellie. 24. London. Rubbish gay human being ... a bit better. 🍻

I love the fact that you put 🍻 love a good pint so you must know a little about me but here you go keen bean 😊 Please if you wanna talk go right ahead!

1. Who was the last person you held hands with? Someone who had to attend to the animals of London 
2. Are you outgoing or shy? A bit of both but mostly outgoing 
3. Who are you looking forward to seeing?Not sure really. A few peeps :) 
4. Are you easy to get along with? Sometimes I can be a right difficult fucker 
5. If you were drunk would the person you like take care of you? Probably but I haven’t got drunk like that for a very long while so they wouldn’t have to. 
6. What kind of people are you attracted to? Honestly I don’t think I actually know now but as long as you’re kind, funny, not a Tory and drink. We’re good 
7. Do you think you’ll be in a relationship two months from now? I highly doubt it. 
8. Who from the opposite gender is on your mind? Erm …probably my dad because he called me last night 
9. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Depends with who but no not really anymore. I love sex.
10. Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with? My Counsellor and her dog she looks after 
11. What does the most recent text that you sent say? “Well you gave me an open door” 
12. What are your 5 favorite songs right now? 1.) Get it together- Drake 2.) Deeper- MNEK 3.) Anyone Else - Pvris 4.) Bedroom Floor- Liam Payne (don’t judge me) 5.) Burning- Sam Smith but also his whole album which is absolutely sublime 
13. Do you like it when people play with your hair? I love it. But you have to do it properly. 
14. Do you believe in luck and miracles? Not anymore 
15. What good thing happened this summer? I had the best birthday ever 
16. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Yes…
17. Do you think there is life on other planets? There must be 
18. Do you still talk to your first crush? Yeah I see them around and about
19. Do you like bubble baths?I’m actually not allowed them because of my skin but I miss them terribly 
20. Do you like your neighbors?They’re very sweet except when my older neighbour catches squirrels or smokes too much it goes into my room 
21. What are you bad habits? I tend to ruin things, I bite my nails, bite my lip constantly, swear too much, say stupid shit when I’m drunk 
22. Where would you like to travel? Asia, Canada, America, Caribbean, Mexico again. 
23. Do you have trust issues?I especially do now after this weekend. I can’t believe it. I think it’s better if I don’t for a while. 
24. Favorite part of your daily routine? Going back to bed. 
25. What part of your body are you most uncomfortable with? My stomach, fingers, hips and teeth. 
26. What do you do when you wake up? “Erugh why is it not the weekend!” Then put some music on, feed my cat and get ready for work. 
27. Do you wish your skin was lighter or darker? I wish it was clearer! No either. 
28. Who are you most comfortable around? Friends and people who are close to me. 
29. Have any of your ex’s told you they regret breaking up? Nope
30. Do you ever want to get married? Maybe.
31. If your hair long enough for a pony tail?God no and thank goodness I can’t do that shit anymore.
32. Which celebrities would you have a threesome with? Lynn Gunn Alycia Debham Carey Kristen Stewart 
33. Spell your name with your chin.Wokie ….OMG chewbacca?!?! Are you kidding me ! 
34. Do you play sports? What sports?I play rugby and run. I should get back into swimming though 
35. Would you rather live without TV or music? Live without TV 
36. Have you ever liked someone and never told them?Yepppppp. She will never know because it’s soooo embarrassing. 
37. What do you say during awkward silences? “So…how about those dolphins?!” (Watch ‘The birdcage’ 
38. Describe your dream girl/guy?I don’t know anymore really. Just someone who wants me.
39. What are your favorite stores to shop in? Vans, TK Maxx, urban Outfitters 
40. What do you want to do after high school? Lol that was years ago but something better than what I’m doing now 
41. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance? Depends but most people yes. 
42. If your being extremely quiet what does it mean? I’m sad, tired or so angry that I’m scared if I say anything I’ll seriously regret it. 
43. Do you smile at strangers? Occasionally yeah 
44. Trip to outer space or bottom of the ocean? Even though I would hate going in a rocket, Outer space
45. What makes you get out of bed in the morning? That I have to go to work…otherwise I wouldn’t. 
46. What are you paranoid about? What people really think of me and just always not being in the know sort of thing 
47. Have you ever been high? Indeed. 
48. Have you ever been drunk? Me? Drunk? Never ;) 
49. Have you done anything recently that you hope nobody finds out about? Jesus Christ yeah 
50. What was the colour of the last hoodie you wore? Black and grey 
51. Ever wished you were someone else? Everyday. 
52. One thing you wish you could change about yourself? I wish I would stop overthinking, over analysing and not have such bad anxiety? …so pretty much everything 
53. Favourite makeup brand?…I actually couldn’t name you one 
54. Favourite store? Pets at Home 
55. Favourite blog? 
56. Favourite colour? Blue, Maroon or Purple

58. Last thing you ate?Chocolate orange biscuit 
59. First thing you ate this morning? …chocolate orange biscuit 
60. Ever won a competition? For what?I won 2 swimming races, front crawl and back
61. Been suspended/expelled? For what?Nope…nearly for stealing a dinner ladies walker talkie and bunking maths 
62. Been arrested? For what? Nope but again nearly for underage drinking and jay walking 
63. Ever been in love? Yes…So how about those dolphins 
64. Tell us the story of your first kiss?It was a dare and it was in Greenwich Park and it was terrible hahaha 
65. Are you hungry right now? Not really feel a little sick 
66. Do you like your tumblr friends more than your real friends? I haven’t met enough Tumblr friends to make that judgement I’m afraid 
67. Facebook or Twitter? Facebook 
68. Twitter or Tumblr? Tumblr. 
69. Are you watching tv right now? My work colleges are 
70. Names of your bestfriends? Pebbles, Bryn, Gabby 
71. Craving something? What? Sleep. Cuddles. Sex. Lying in bed all day with cold pillows watching a shit loads of netflix , cup of tea, a roast, long make out session, tattoos. All that jazz. 
72. What colour are your towels? Blue 
72. How many pillows do you sleep with?2
73. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?…yes. My bear and lion. Don’t judge me. 
74. How many stuffed animals do you think you have? Only 3 at mums 
75. Favourite animal? Lion 🦁 
76. What colour is your underwear?Star Wars Print …geek I know 
77. Chocolate or Vanilla? Vanilla 
78. Favourite ice cream flavour? Bubblegum, Caramel chew chew Ben and Jerry’s or baked Alaska 
79. What colour shirt are you wearing?My work uniform which I hate 
80. What colour pants? …haven’t we discussed this…Star Wars 
81. Favourite tv show? That’s too difficult! But I’ll name a few parks and recreation, the walking dead, stranger things, sense 8 and crap like goggle box 
82. Favourite movie? Are you serious that’s too hard again I’ll name a few. Moonlight, city of god, little miss sunshine, a load of Disney films, the bird cage and some Tarantino 
83. Mean Girls or Mean Girls 2?Means girls 
84. Mean Girls or 21 Jump Street?Mean girls cmon 
85. Favourite character from Mean Girls?Damien 
86. Favourite character from Finding Nemo? I like the singing school teacher sting ray quite a bit otherwise the little octopus that says “he touched the butt!” 
87. First person you talked to today? I can’t remember someone fromWork probably 
88. Last person you talked to today? It’s not over yet but probably just the cat, I’m a lone wolf this week. 
89. Name a person you hate? Donald trump. 
90. Name a person you love? Does Lynn Gunn count? Or does it have to real people because I have too many 
91. Is there anyone you want to punch in the face right now? Someone from work or Donald trump 
92. In a fight with someone? Not so much as a fight but we aren’t talking because I’m not ready yet 
93. How many sweatpants do you have? Not enough! Only 2 
94. How many sweaters/hoodies do you have? Like 11? 
95. Last movie you watched? The Hunger Games 
96. Favourite actress? The girl from 12 Years a slave those nameI have forgotten but she is unreal. 
97. Favourite actor? Not sure actually. 
98. Do you tan a lot?Easily but not a lot 
99. Have any pets?1 my poor old sick cat 
100. How are you feeling? Tired, a little sick, a bit blergh and want to get this week over with. 
101. Do you type fast? Too fast I make so many mistakes 
102. Do you regret anything from your past? We’d be here all fucking day if I went through all of that 
103. Can you spell well? Nope I’m terrible 
104. Do you miss anyone from your past?So so much
105. Ever been to a bonfire party? Yeah but not for a while 
106. Ever broken someone’s heart?I hope not but they were upset. It’s usually me though so it’s fine 
107. Have you ever been on a horse? Indeed but not since I was little 
108. What should you be doing? Sleeping or replying to text messages 
109. Is something irritating you right now? Work, lack of sleep, some people, lack of other things that I’m craving and life in general but all gravy :3 
110. Have you ever liked someone so much it hurt? So how about those dolphins?!
111. Do you have trust issues? We been through this haven’t we? 
112. Who was the last person you cried in front of? My cousin, she unloaded a hell of stuff on me and it upset me 
113. What was your childhood nickname?El
114. Have you ever been out of your province/state? My borough in London yes 
115. Do you play the Wii? Not really I don’t own one :( 
116. Are you listening to music right now?Yes, I’m listening to Pvris 
117. Do you like chicken noodle soup?I haven’t tried it to be honest. 
118. Do you like Chinese food?I love a dirty Chinese 
119. Favourite book? To kill a mockingbird or potter 
120. Are you afraid of the dark?When walking home yeah 
121. Are you mean?Not really but I can be …I straight away regret it though 
122. Is cheating ever okay? Depends on if that person has been hurt so badly to do so 
123. Can you keep white shoes clean? Never. Carnival killed my other ones but it was worth it 
124. Do you believe in love at first sight? No
125. Do you believe in true love? …yeah I suppose 
126. Are you currently bored?A bit more entertained now I’m doing this 
127. What makes you happy? Some certain people, cosy beds, good food, going out to have drinks, music, walks in parks, concerts, being in a mosh pit, when people call me babe , museums, rugby, spontaneous days, lazy days, board games, Christmas, hand holding, hair playing, animals, sex, wearing a good outfit, photography and cooking for people. 
128. Would you change your name? No I quite like Ellie 
129. What your zodiac sign? Leo 🦁
130. Do you like subway?It’s alright but prefer a proper good maccies 
131. Your bestfriend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? Wait …aren’t you gay? I’m gay? We’re gay…no! 
132. Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? My counsellor …we’ve been through this!! 
133. Favourite lyrics right now?

Cause I could touch a hundred thousand soulsBut none of them would ever feel like homeAnd no matter how far and wide I roamYou are the only one that I’ll ever know- PVRIS ‘Anyone Else’ 
134. Can you count to one million? If I get really bored with my life I’llLet you know 
135. Dumbest lie you ever told? First time I got drunk I said I got food poisoning hahahaha 
136. Do you sleep with your doors open or closed?Closed 
137. How tall are you? 5’7 
138. Curly or Straight hair?Don’t care
139. Brunette or Blonde?Don’t care 
140. Summer or Winter?Summer 
141. Night or Day?Day 
142. Favourite month?December 
143. Are you a vegetarian?Nope but I am eating wayyyyy less meat than what I use to 
144. Dark, milk or white chocolate?Shit …i love milk but white chocolate is buff 
145. Tea or Coffee?Tea
146. Was today a good day?It’s not over yet but I have got rugby later which I’m sort of looking forward to but it’s cold …
147. Mars or Snickers? Mars 
148. What’s your favourite quote? “Growing old is compulsory. Growing up is optional” 
149. Do you believe in ghosts? I don’t think 
150. Get the closest book next to you, open it to page 42, what’s the first line on that page? “Later, at night, she would say a prayer for the tainted soul of Senor Barcelona, who had a good heart but who’s brains had rotten away due to excessive reading” - The Shadow of the wind