#i had to really ask the workers to stop smoking because my allergies are making my smoke reactions way more severe

[tiddiesoutwhenthetisout]

me: i'm quitting my music career fr this time

someone: hey so, big stage, and we want you on this--

me: say no more give me the details here are my dealbreakers and i won't be available until my allergies pass because i'm rawdogging them

[midasinc]

modern era courfius hcs:

for @a-rose-remembered, bae asf

-courfeyrac likes marius from the start. he has it BAD and it absolutely wrecks him when marius starts talking about this girl that he is deadset on being in love with, but courfeyrac is a good friend even when it hurts and helps marius to find and date this girl. he's happy that marius is happy, but it sucks to see him happy with somebody that isnt himself

-marius gets capital d Dumped because cosette realizes that oh my god she just isn't into guys. marius is sweet and she likes him as a friend but being with a man isnt what she wants and he is SO heartbroken and cries to courfeyrac. courfeyrac doesn't use this as an opening because once again, he's a good friend, and chooses to comfort marius and help him move on. it takes a few months for him to totally recover before he starts thinking that courfeyrac is a really good friend and also has very soft, curly hair and very pretty eyes and oh wait-

-bicon marius pontmercy confirmed

-anyway, they both really love halloween and do matching costumes every year. they always pick a new theme and never repeat a costume. joly and bossuet do the same thing, however, and the two pairs are weirdly competitive about it. one year, all four of them show up in matching sexy-zombie-french-revolution-bourgeoisie and it starts a legitimate fight that takes two months for joly and courfeyrac to fully forgive each other. the next year, feuilly and bahorel show up to the party as "joly and courfeyrac fighting in sexy-zombie-french-revolution-bourgeoisie" and neither courf or joly find it funny at all

-marius is trans and just saved up enough to get top surgery last year. courfeyrac was sosososo supportive and helped him out a lot after the actually surgery by lifting things for him and washing his hair and making sure he was comfy all the time and taking his meds and everything. courfeyrac was a very good bf when it really mattered to marius and that made him very very happy

-courfeyrac was also really helpful when it came to unlearning lots of things. marius's household had really old fashioned viewpoints and those fell onto him as well, but after meeting les amis and seeing different kinds of people and listening to their arguments (more listening than talking after the iconic Marius Gets Owned By Combeferre Incident) helped him realize that he had a lot of internal bias and he wanted to be a good person. courfeyrac explains to him when things are particularly harmful to another person or group when he just genuinely doesn't understand why what he said was bad and i also hc marius to be autistic so he appreciates that courfeyrac tells him straight up without being condescending or talking down to him like he's a baby

-courf has so many food allergies. so many. he's lactose intolerant and marius gets so stressed out when he comes home to see courfeyrac eating ice cream straight from the carton because "nnnnooooooooooooo you can't eat that!" but he's still nice enough to bring him pepto-bismol and his lactaid pills when courfeyrac gets a stummy ache

-marius can't stand pickles and a lot of other foods. he's not purposely picky but so many textures of food make him gag and he just can't do it. marius doesn't really like eating out for this very reason because he doesn't want to be in a situation where he just can't stomach something he didn't ask for. courfeyrac notices this when they do go out, though, and he wants marius to eat enough so if an order comes and it has something that marius can't do, he'll go up to ask the worker about it because marius is too anxious to. either that or he'll eat the pickle! courfeyrac loves pickles and he eats them all the time

-THE FISH!!!!! they have fish. courfeyrac has owned a fish every year of his life and he won't stop now. marius moved in and at first he didn't really notice or care about the fish but now he cares just as much as courfeyrac. they both fret the fuck over this little fish in its tank and are horrified of the thought of accidentally killing it. they both have a part-time job of worrying about this fish. its tank is very cute, though. jehan bought them LED lights for the tank and it's very well stocked and decorated for the lil guy

-marius had to have physical affection grow on him and it took a while, but the best way for courfeyrac to work with this was to always ask first and never be surprising. if he wanted to hold marius's hand he'd ask. if he wanted to hug him from behind he'd ask. even after marius becomes desensitized to touch with courfeyrac, courfeyrac still asks for permission every time he wants to do something

-courfeyrac is an attorney (he actually works at the same firm as enj) and marius has a job at a natural history museum. usually once a week, courfeyrac will come over during his lunch break to pick up his bf and they eat at the museum's cafe because marius already has an order he likes to get and courfeyrac is just happy to be there and see his bf

-marius also works in the back part of the museum, cataloguing new items and such and he fucking loves his job. evenings are always very eventful bc he can just infodump about this and that history-related topic while courfeyrac makes dinner

-courfeyrac gets insecure about his looks really easily. he doesn't mean to, but it happens. a lot of people have put so much worth on his looks during his life that he worries that when his looks aren't great, his worth as a person decreases. marius has learned to not be shocked by the occasional meltdown over a breakout or a change in courfeyrac's weight or worst of all- the day courfeyrac found a grey hair. he's not always sure what to say but he can press a kiss to courfeyrac's cheek and reassure him that he still loves him very much and he's still worth very very much as a person if he breaks out on his chin

-marius doesn't smoke weed because it just heightens his anxiety (he's tried it once and will never again), but he doesn't mind courfeyrac smoking. the smoke he isn't a fan of, but courfeyrac usually smokes outside or uses a dab pen so it doesn't bother marius. marius also doesn't mind a high courfeyrac because he gets very sleepy and is very happy and splays himself across the bed

[mithranqueersmusings]

Baby, You’re A Rich Man I

Chapter: 1/28

Rating: U

Summary: Ringo could never understand why that group of three boys made him feel so uncomfortable, or why the way George looked at him sent him into a panic. After a chance encounter Ringo discovers the truth and has no clue what to do with the information.

Tags: AU - Gangsters, Slow Burn, Smut, Eventual Romance, Violence, Angst

Pairings: George Harrison/Ringo Starr, John Lennon/Paul McCartney

AO3 link here / Fic masterlist here

Ringo had been working as a waiter for almost a year now, but that had never been his plan, he wanted to work long enough to afford a proper drum kit so he could really start his music career but when he finally met this goal a couple of months ago he realised he couldn't quit and focus solely on drumming or else he couldn't afford to live; working took up so much of his time he was often too exhausted to even practice by the time he got home, and so he felt trapped with no real end in sight. He didn't mind his job, it was a family run business with a small staff which meant he could get really friendly with everyone and he was never short on hours. All sorts of people visited the place at all times of the day and Ringo had gotten to know many of the regulars quite well, out of all the jobs he could've had he was happy he was at least stuck with this one. It was just after the lunch rush and Ringo was going around cleaning the tables as the building emptied more and more, only a couple of loners sitting by the windows finishing their coffee. Then, the bell rang and Ringo turned to see who was coming in to order and he was met with three familiar faces; Ringo had seen this group of boys quite a few times recently but they weren't like the rest of the regulars, they didn't speak to the staff much and always seemed to hush their conversation anytime they were approached. They were young, probably around Ringo's age, and were always in matching black suits and they were always together. The three of them took a booth in the corner, as far away from anyone else as they could get, and were laughing continuously. Ringo had an uneasy feeling about them as he wasn't even sure what their names were and he couldn't help feeling that there was more to them than met the eye. Nonetheless he approached their table to take their order and just as Ringo predicted they stopped their conversation almost immediately as though they didn't want anyone overhearing them.

"What'll be lads?" Ringo asked, putting on a friendly face despite his underlying discomfort. The boys didn't look particularly menacing, one of them had a very soft and friendly face, but Ringo couldn't rid himself of his gut feeling that there was something fishy about them.

"Soup, please." The one closest to Ringo spoke, the one with the soft face, with a small smile as he handed his menu back.

"What soup would you like? We've got quite a few." Ringo chuckled awkwardly.

"Any old will do." Another spoke now, he was the one Ringo felt most uncomfortable about due to his piercing eyes and very serious expression. Ringo collected his menu too and looked over to the third boy who appeared to be very engrossed in his menu as he furrowed his brow and pouted his lips slightly.

"I think I'll have..." He began and Ringo could see he was squinting at the words as though he needed glasses "The soup!" He finally said which warranted a chuckle from the other two.

"Three soups it is then." Ringo smiled and collected the final menu, as he turned away to walk to the kitchen he let out a sigh of relief, there was just something about them that made him so tense.

He returned to the table a few minutes later with their order and as he approached he could see one of them, the intense one as Ringo had nicknamed him, glaring at him the entire time which did wonders for Ringo's anxiety.

"Here you are." Ringo tried his best to put on his customer service voice "Let me know if I can get you anything else."

The soft one smiled at Ringo politely and the seemingly blind one thanked him, the other remaining silent until he turned to walk away "What's your name?" He asked, startling Ringo who stiffened before turning around with a fake smile.

"It's Ringo." He said, tapping his name badge which he was very proud of - his previous jobs had insisted on calling him Richard, which he hated with a passion.

The boy scoffed "How'd you end up with a name like that?" He wasn't being rude, brash would have been a better word, and the way the other two boys almost took no notice made Ringo think this was merely the boy's way of making conversation.

"Well, my name's actually Richard but my friends gave me the nickname on account of all the rings I wear. Not right now o'course, can't wear them at work." Ringo forced another smile as he displayed his bare hands with a wiggle of his fingers which made the soft boy chuckle.

"I see." Was all the boy said in return as he turned his attention to his soup, showing no sign of wanting to continue the rather odd conversation.

Ringo stood there for a beat, unsure as to whether he should walk away or not as there was something compelling him to stand his ground. "What's yours?" Ringo asked finally, fiddling with his tray.

The boy looked up with a devilish grin, exposing a very sharp canine tooth which Ringo was strangely fascinated by. "George." He replied, his voice seemed softer than before "This is Paul, and that's John." He gestured lazily with his spoon as the others gave him a little smile and a nod.

Ringo responded with a smile, a genuine one this time, and backed away to serve another customer. The group of boys stayed for quite a while after finishing their food and Ringo kept gazing over to them to see what they were doing and oftentimes he'd find one of them looking back at him, usually George, but they never called him over to order anything else, they just sat laughing and smoking. When Ringo went out for his lunch break they were still sat there and he gave them a sneaky glance through the window as he walked past to see them collecting their things. He often went home for lunch as he only lived a couple streets away and the weather was never really nice enough to sit outside for an hour. Besides, it was a perfect time for him to get some drum practice in while he still could, he was finishing late tonight and he swore to himself that he'd never play after 9 because the last thing he needed was getting kicked out for pissing off the neighbours.

When he returned to work after his break his colleague called him over "Oi, Ringo. Those shifty lads left this tip for you. I considered knicking it but they were proper intense about me giving it to you and I don't need that bad karma." He joked, handing Ringo a £20 note to his surprise.

"20 quid? All I did was give them bloody soup." Ringo chuckled, taking the money happily and stuffing it deep into his pocket "God knows what those guys do for work."

"Fuck knows is more like it. They give me the creeps, but if they're dishing out tips like that I'll do a sodding handstand for them if they asked." He joked again, pushing past Ringo to continue serving customers.

Ringo felt very pleased with himself even though he knew that he shouldn't really, after all he had only asked their names. Part of him felt even more uneasy about the group but was hoping they might pay another visit if they were going to continue to be that generous; he was certain he'd never heard about them tipping so much before but then again he'd never served them and he wondered what all this was about.

Almost a week had passed before Ringo saw those boys again and he had begun to forget about them, he figured they had moved on to another place and he could forget about getting an extra £20 every week, which he didn't desperately need but it certainly wouldn't go unappreciated. It was 9pm on a Saturday when they returned, Ringo was pretty exhausted after working another 12 hour shift and was watching the clock desperately for it to strike 10. He was in the back chatting with one of the chefs when his co-worker walked in with a cheeky smile.

"Those lads are back." He said looking directly at Ringo "Best hurry up before I take that juicy tip from you."

"Ha ha." Ringo said sarcastically as he headed back into the restaurant, scanning the room until he saw them again sat in the same booth in the same black suits.

Ringo walked over with a smile yet again, he wondered if he could possibly get any more money out of them if he really pushed the boat out "Alright lads, what can I get for you?"

They were all silent for a few moments, Paul and John looking at the menu intensely while George just looked at Ringo which suddenly reminded him why he had been so wary of them in the first place.

"What would you recommend?" George asked, his eyes were so dark that Ringo struggled to read any emotion in them at all.

"Um..." He was at a loss for words to begin with, the other two didn't even seem to take notice of their friend "Personally I can't eat a lot of the stuff of the menu, but everyone seems to love the pizza." He forced another smile, gripping on to his pen and notepad tightly.

"Can't eat? Is it that bad?" George snickered, his gaze unwavering.

"Oh no, I-I've got a lot of allergies you see." He chuckled nervously "You probably have a better idea how good the food is than I do."

"Alright then, we'll get a pizza between us them won't we lads?" George's grin returned as the other two looked up, seemingly unbothered and unfocused, nodding without saying a word. "Do you do beer?" George asked, turning his attention back to Ringo, who nodded "Fab, we'll take three largers then."

Ringo collected their menus silently, unable to meet George's gaze who continued to look at him until he disappeared into the kitchen. Ringo's colleague gave him a nudge as he passed him but he felt too out of it to respond, what was it about them that was so unsettling? No, it wasn't them, it was just George; had the other two been alone Ringo was sure he'd feel perfectly natural about them but George's intense demeanour and monotone voice just put Ringo on edge in a way he'd never felt before. He returned to their table with their drinks and he was shaking somewhat as he put the glasses down.

"You alright?" Paul asked, looking up at Ringo through his dark eyelashes "Your shaking."

Paul was the complete opposite of George, soft everywhere the other was sharp, and he put Ringo at ease in the same inexplicable way that George unsettled him. "I'm fine." Ringo croaked out "Been a long shift, is all."

"When do you get off?" George asked, taking a sip from the glass and Ringo's eyes honed in on how his slim fingers worked around the beer.

"At 10, so not long now." He chuckled weakly, gripping onto his tray as though it could somehow deflect George's effect on him "I'll be right back with your pizza."

When he returned to the table the boys were whispering amongst themselves, leaning in closely but returning to normal as soon as Ringo walked within earshot. He put the pizza down on the table with his signature smile and laid the cutlery on the table.

"Enjoy." He looked anywhere but at George who was staring at him once again, and he walked away as calmly as he could manage as he hurried into the back room again to collect himself.

He only had 20 minutes left of his shift and he spent the majority of it cleaning tables on the other side of the room to the boys, he ensured to never even glance over at their table as he was sure if he caught George glaring back at him it would only intensify his panic. The clock struck 10 finally, this final hour had felt like an eternity, and Ringo hurried towards the back room so he could get out of here as fast he could but as he turned the corner a voice called out.

"Ringo!" Paul was calling, lifting his arm up in the air.

Ringo walked over filled with exhaustion but still managed to paint his face with a smile "Everything alright, lads?" He asked, clutching his hands together behind him.

"No problems to report." John beamed.

"Just wanted to make sure you got your tip. People can be a little sneaky sometimes." Paul chuckled lightly, but it was George who was reaching into his wallet to take out another £20 note which perked Ringo up immediately.

"Did you get the previous one? The lad seemed a bit shifty, I was certain he was gonna pocket it." George held the note towards Ringo and pressed it into his hand with another grin.

"Oh! No, he did give it to me, I was meant to thank you but I completely forgot, sorry about that." The feeling of shyness enveloped Ringo entirely as he placed the note into his pocket.

"Don't be silly, you don't need to thank us. Wouldn't give it to you if you didn't deserve it." George's tone was serious as ever and all Ringo could manage in response was a weak smile, he worried that if he spoke his voice would crack.

"Don't let us keep you, your shift's over now isn't it?" Paul asked as he pulled his coat on.

"Yeah, I best be getting home before I pass out." Ringo looked down at the ground as he spoke "Thanks again for the generous tip, really appreciate it." He didn't leave much time for a response as he rushed into the back to take off his apron and finally be released.

By the time he'd signed out and walked back into the restaurant the boys were gone and Ringo let out a heavy sigh of relief as he walked out into the cold night. He shoved his hands in his pocket for warmth, feeling the money lying there which he toyed with as he walked. He felt exhausted but his brain was running a mile a minute, filled with questions about who this odd group was and why they had taken a shine to him; most of all he thought about George, about how he was the most mysterious of the three and the most intriguing yet also the most unnerving. Was it some kind of strange joke between them, perhaps? Ringo didn't know as he turned the corner into the dark alleyway which led him home. He never liked walking his way late at night, he always heard stories about people being mugged or attacked in the dark, but he was far too tired to take the long way around and he always figured that those things would just never happen to him, as everyone always thought until it did. He let out a yawn as he trudged down the alley, his heavy feet echoing loudly as he could barely keep his head up. Just as his thoughts started to creep back into his mind, thoughts of George's dark eyes and slim hands, he felt a sudden tight grip on his arm and something sharp poking into his back. Ringo felt almost too tired to panic, he figured his good luck had to run out sooner or later.

[olivenight17]

HI! I see you write for One Punch Man. Could I please request an anniversary date with Tatsumaki? If you don't write for her, maybe Fubuki? Thank you!

Anon, let me say, I’m so sorry I made you wait for as long as I did. I had the plot all decked out, I knew how I wanted to do this aNd YeT, it took me like three months anyways. Because I felt bad, you also now get to flat out have Tatsumaki propose to you too. I hope this was to your liking, I did my best to keep it gender neutral just in case. Enjoy!

——————————————————————————————-

Tatsumaki x Reader “A Perfect Night”

Tap, tap, tap

“Tatsu! Right on time,” You giggled as you opened the door. Your mint green girlfriend merely huffed and looked the other way.

“Of course I am, I’m not about to be late to our anniversary.” She stated cooly, but you could see the hint of a blush on her face. “And I thought I told you to stop calling me that!”

You couldn’t help but giggle at her flustered state. “It’s not my fault that it’s a cute nickname,” You sung and grabbed her hand. The action caused her to look back at you and her face softened.

Tatsumaki was never sure how you were able to do it, but even if she was in the most foul mood, as long as you grabbed her hand or kissed her cheek all of her anger would melt away. A small smile broke out on her face as she slipped a stray hair out of your face. “It’s only cute when it comes out of your mouth. Now come on, can’t be late for our dinner reservation.” The woman led you over to a limousine and you felt your jaw drop to the floor.

“Wait a second, we’re going in that? How much did that cost,” You exclaimed. The car was sleek and black, there wasn’t even a speck of dust on it.

A smug expression settled on your girlfriend’s face as she helped the both of you into the backseat. “(Y/N), I am the number two hero, that comes with a very pretty salary.” She stated before instructing the chauffeur to start driving, a pleased smile on her face.

However, her pleased mood didn’t last long.

The car started rolling before stopping abruptly, the engine coughing and spluttering. Quirking an eyebrow, she got out of the limo with the chauffeur to check it but it billowed out smoke. She was astonished. “What? No, this has to be perfect, dumb car!” She growled, summoning a rock and tossing it at one of the tires. “It’s fine, I can make this work… Call a tow truck, have them take it to the shop,” Tatsumaki ordered.

Once satisfied with her workers agreement she opened the door on your side. You let out a concerned chuckle. “Everything alright up at the front?” You asked to which your girlfriend shook her head.

“Well, no. The stupid engine broke down. But I’ve got a better idea anyway. Take my hand.” She tells you, waiting expectantly.

You take it with an excited grin and just like that you see a familiar green outlining your bodies and lifting you both in the air. Tatsumaki let out a small chuckle seeing the stars in your eyes. “I told you I had a better idea,” She smirks.

“Way better! This is awesome,” You laughed, watching the people on the ground grow smaller. “You know I wouldn’t mind one bit if this was our regular mode of transportation.”

The green haired woman rolls her eyes. “Keep dreaming, dummy. I’m not always going to abuse my powers like this for you.” You merely shrugged at her words, looking all around as you flew through the city.

It wasn’t long before you reached the restaurant and got yourselves settled. After ordering food, you went on a ramble about your day while Tatsumaki listened. Though she’d never fully admit it, she liked hearing you ramble like this. It was endearing that you felt comfortable sharing so much about your day with her. It was also relaxing, your voice always sounded so pleasant, and your sometimes ridiculous phrasing always had her snorting with laughter.

Just as you were getting to the middle of your story, the waiter came back with your food. Just as she was about to dig in, she noticed the faded smile on your face and she paused. “What’s wrong?” She asked and you shrugged.

“It’s nothing, they just put tomatoes on my food when I asked for none cause of my allergy…” You trailed off. Tatsumaki frowned and stood up in response, lifting up your plate of food.

“Then, I’ll be right back.” Before you could stop her, she had already disappeared into the kitchen. Damn it, this night was supposed to be perfect and yet here were these moronic chefs trying to kill her date! She smacked the plate on an empty spot on the counter and cast her stormy gaze out to the workers. “I don’t know which one of you idiots thought this was a good idea but you’re going to remake it immediately without a single tomato on it, do you hear me?” She shouted, bowls and ingredients whirling around the kitchen in her anger.

They all nodded, terrified of what she would do otherwise, and she huffed before slamming her way out of the kitchen and back to her seat.

Your embarrassed expression was waiting for her when she got back. You tugged on her sleeve, feeling the tips of your ears burn. “You didn’t have to make a scene! I could have just had the waiter take it back…” You whispered, ducking your head from any stares.

Tatsumaki scoffed in response. “No, that was completely unacceptable. You told them no tomatoes because of your allergy and they were idiotic enough to do it anyway. That cannot and will not be tolerated.” You merely whined and tried to swallow down your embarrassment.

The waiter came back, your dish with no tomatoes and the green haired woman smiled. Good, everything could go back to being perfect.

The dinner continued, with excellent food, before you both split the check as you wouldn’t let Tatsumaki pay for so much. Then you left, getting your dessert at a nearby sweets shop where you both got candy apples and took a stroll around a nearby park. Tatsumaki couldn’t help but smile. There were some bumps in the road but they still got to where she wanted to be. You caught her smile and took her hand. “What are you smiling about?” You inquired with a grin of your own.

Your girlfriend looked back up at you. “Not much, this was just a good night. But, I was hoping to make it better if I could ask you something?” She now avoided your gaze, feeling her face start to redden.

Curious, you nodded. But just as she was about to speak, her phone rang.

Tatsumaki growled as she fished out her phone. “Give me a second, it’s work.” She sighed, stepping away from you before answering the phone. “What do you want? I requested this night off for a reason!” She practically snarled.

“I’m aware, but there’s a villain in your area, and it needs to be-”

“Get someone else on it, there are loads of other heroes out that are, you know, on the job!”

“Tatsumaki, please this is very important.”

“I don’t care. Respect that this is the one time I’ve requested to be off duty,” She seethed. However, before she could hear another response, she was cut off by a scream.

Specifically, your scream.

Her eyes darted to where you were, on the ground having barely missed a boulder being thrown your way by a monstrous sized rat. She hung up the phone and stood in front of you protectively. “Get going, you rodent!” Tatsumaki antagonized, but the rat monster laughed, deep and mocking.

“I will not allow some little girl to tell me what to do.” He bellowed. The hero’s eye twitched.

She was only 90% pissed before, but that comment drove her all the way to 100.

She used her ESP to launch the boulder he had previously tossed at you straight into his stomach, sending him flying. She followed quickly after, pelting him with whatever she could find. When there was nothing round, she picked up a street sign and rooted it through his leg back into the ground. “First things first, I am not a little girl.�� She bashed his head with another rock. “Second of all, you are ruining the night I had planned. I have been waiting to ask (Y/N) to marry me for a year, and yet you turn up and destroyed it all! You absolute bastard, die!” She screamed, unearthing anything she could to break the monster apart.

By the time her rage fell apart, the rat was nothing more than mangled muscle and blood. She huffed before floating her way back to you, checking you over for any injuries. When you turned up with nothing, she sighed and laid her head on you. Confused, you looked down. “Tatsu, are you okay?” You asked, even more concerned when you felt a wetness on your clothes.

“No, I’m not. This night was supposed to be perfect, but it all got ruined. Was it too much to ask for one even nice night? This was horrible…” Her arms wrapped around you tighter and you felt sadness stab at your heart as you returned the hug.

“Hon, I know you wanted tonight to be perfect. But it really wasn’t that bad. So what, the limo broke down, or food troubles, or a villain appearing. Either way, I got to spend time with you, I got to see you smile and that’s all that really matters. This was still a great anniversary to me.” You reply, gently rubbing her back.

She didn’t say anything for a moment before she pulled back and wiped at her eyes. “I don’t know how, but you always know what to say to make me feel better. Ugh, I don’t even deserve to ask you to marry me,” She breathed out. Then she took a pause, realizing what she said and proceeded to hide her face in her hands. “No, this wasn’t even supposed to come out like this! Damn it!” The green haired woman continued cursing herself before you grabbed her hands and pulled them from her face.

“You, you were going to ask me to marry you?” You stammered, trying to process it, a grin stretched out across your face when you saw her nod.

“Look I get it, I’m not ideal-”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“I said yes, Tatsu. I will absolutely marry you!” You beamed, getting even more excited when she slipped the ring she had bought you onto your finger. The rest of the night was spent with you being as gushy as could be and Tatsumaki waving you off with a blush on her cheeks.

Maybe the night was perfect after all.

[heartofsnark]

Black Market Wonderland (Chapter One): Down The Rabbit Hole

Notes:  This has been a long time coming, I never shut up about my oc and this idea. But, I’m finally posting this damn thing. This is gonna be pretty episodic and not have a lot of overarching plots, I’m gonna be stealing canon stories and adding my own spin to them as well as adding my own stories. It’s a shitshow and I hope you’ll come along for the ride.  

Special thanks to @catoinette, @otomemonogatari , @d-om , @enchantedbythebidders , @voltage-fanfictions , and @piplup235  for not only reading through and giving me feedback but also being the incentive I needed to actually write and post this. Without you all, this would still be rotting on my computer. 

 Summary:  Almost a year ago Tsuneko managed to destroy her entire life and she’s been stuck ever since. She works as a maid at the Tres Spades in Tokyo; it’s not her dream job, but it pays the bills and puts a roof over her head. Her days are spent peacefully enough cleaning hotel rooms, that is until she stumbles into Wonderland and discovers the secrets lurking within the hotel. Will this turning point be exactly what she needed or a tragedy in the making?

Word Count: 10196

Warnings:  Some blood and violence, people being bought and sold (it’s kbtbb my dudes)

The colors of the sky outside her window are just beginning to shift, soft pinks and purple coming in as the sun starts to set. Tsuneko lets out a sigh and checks her phone again, still no response from Shinobu. While not surprising, disappointment settle in her chest. It’s stupid to be upset, she shouldn’t be so emotional. She scolds herself, setting her phone down a little harder than necessary. Her desk chair creaks as she leans back and lets out another heavy sigh.

Kiyohito is curled up on her bed in a position that doesn’t look comfortable. The dark sable ferret is in a dead sleep with his tongue peeking out, any hope of him being a distraction are dashed. It’s her day off from work and she’s desperate to keep herself preoccupied. Her thoughts wandering is always a danger when she has down time, more dangerous when she’s left to ruminate on the shit show that is her life at the moment.

It’s been almost a year since her life officially went to shit and she started working at the Tres Spades hotel. It’s a glitzy place, the first legal casino in Japan. She’s a maid, spending all of her days cleaning up after people richer and more important than her. And that’s the highlight of her days, besides Kiyo, because otherwise she’s in her apartment just trying to distract herself.

The job itself is fine, given her situation, she’s damn lucky to have it. Good pay, plenty of hours, employee housing, her coworkers are mostly nice, and she even has lots of chances for overtime. But, she can’t say this is what she wanted her life to be. Being a maid isn’t exactly what she dreamed of for herself. Disappointment seems to be the theme of the day and her life.

She’s done her best to be a busy bee throughout the day; her dorm is cleaned, she’s baked, done her laundry, played with Kiyo until he passed out, messed with every entertaining app on her phone, watched any video on Youtube that caught her interest, and messaged Shinobu. Maybe she could try getting in contact with Runa? Not that she thinks it will do her a lot of good, but even getting told to fuck off is more fun than staring out the window.  

Tsuneko stands up from her chair, stretching her joints as she meanders into her kitchenette area. The dorms are nice, like one bedroom apartments essentially. Given how much she likes baking and cooking, a bigger kitchen area would do her some good, but beggars can’t be choosers. She grabs one of the cookies she baked and crams it into her mouth as she begins looking through her fridge. The sweet vanilla calms her nerves, if only marginally. But, she knows what will relax her most.

She groans, she’s out of booze. Of course. Her rum supply ran out last week and she downed her last bit of vodka yesterday. Looks like she’s gotta put on real clothes and stock up. A walk through the city might be nice to clear her mind anyway.

Her work ringtone echoes through the room just as she’s tucked Kiyo into his cage. She scrambles over to desk, stumbling over her own feet to do so.

“Tomori speaking,” she answers, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder so she can pick out a change of clothes.

“Yes, this is Kenzaki, I’m sorry to bother you on your day off. But, we’re short staffed for this evening, between the I.V.C and some people calling off sick. Is there anyway you could come in? You’d be given over time pay, of course.”

“I can be there shortly.” She throws on a tee and shorts, sliding on her shoes.

“Please report to Matsuda when you come in, she’ll give you a work schedule.” She rolls her eyes at the mention of Erika, the head maid has always had an issue with her, what that issue is remains a mystery. There’s still a huge pile of cookies on the counter, her coworkers might appreciate a snack, especially with such a busy day. And eating all of the cookies herself is kind of sad, something she’s done before, but still sad.

She says her goodbyes to Kenzaki as she starts packing the treats away into tupperware, stuffing one more in her mouth. Tsuneko picks out a sticky note, jotting down what’s in them in case of any allergies or dietary issues. Content, she grabs them and heads out the door, double checking her dorm is locked before she leaves.

Working during the I.V.C is like a double edged sword. On one hand, she’s extremely busy which she likes. She loves being able to bustle around and always having something to do. The International V.I.P Convention is a huge ordeal for the Tres Spades, a giant party held at seemingly random intervals where the rich and famous gather to stroke each other’s egos. Tsuneko has the lowest seniority of the maids, so she doesn’t have to deal with the V.I.P’s directly. But, it stretches the entire hotel staff thinner and the worse part is dealing with the V.I.P’s in passing. It may seem minor, but those kind of people seem to take even the smallest opportunity to be a pain in her ass. The last time she worked some man in a suit worth more money than she’s ever seen flagged her down to ask a question, then mocked her for her dialect, acting like she was stupid. And that was after some snooty woman grabbed her in the lobby to scream about the toilet paper in her suite. Looking back, that might have been the only time Erika was nice to her.

The evening air is cool on her skin as she leaves the dormitories, the Tres Spades looming just a short walk away. It stands out even in Tokyo among all the other huge buildings. She remembers seeing it when she first visited Tokyo, thinking how over the top it was with its giant impractical spade shaped cut out. Her feelings haven’t really changed, it’s just more relevant to her life now, fortunately or unfortunately depending on the day.

Her nose wrinkles, the acrid stink of smoke hitting her nose as she nears the back entrance. An older schlubby man is lighting a cigarette near the dumpsters. There are stomped out cigarette butts around his feet; has he been out here chain smoking all day? The stench of smoke seems to drift off of him in waves, like the man sweats nicotine. Who even is he? He’s definitely not a worker and guests at the hotel generally don’t come by the back entrance. And, as judgemental a thought as it may be, he doesn’t look like the kind of person who’d stay at the Tres Spades.

He starts to look up from his cigarette and Tsuneko ducks her head down to make a beeline for the door, just avoiding eye contact with the stranger. If he caught her staring, he’s kind enough not to say anything as she darts through the door.

She drops the cookies off in a thankfully empty staff room, she doesn’t wanna deal with any hassles or questions. She’ll just have to pick up her tupperware at the end of her shift, hopefully no one tries to take it, the cute Pokemon designs makes it a favorite of hers. .

The employee locker room is just as empty, so no one will question why the stink of cigarette smoke is now clinging to her clothes. She’s never been so happy to change into her uniform. Just a touch of perfume for extra measure then she ties her hair up in the neatest ponytail she can manage. She makes sure she has everything she needs for the work day on her, before taking a deep breath and venturing into the hotel lobby.

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the lobby is packed tight with people. Tailored suits and slinky gowns as far as the eye can see. The V.I.P’s bustle around and chatter, their words all blending into a cacophony of unintelligible noise. A select few members of the press are allowed in to snap photos and get quotes about the event. The party should be getting ready to move down to the ballroom, so with any luck this should be her only encounter with the V.I.P’s. Erika should be around here somewhere, given her seniority, plus she never misses an opportunity to kiss ass.

Tsuneko searches through the crowd for the familiar head of maroon hair. She carefully moves around people, muttering ‘excuse me’s as she goes, not letting her customer service smile and tone falter. Where the hell is Erika? She always seems to pop up when Tsuneko messes up, it figures, she’s nowhere to be found when she’s actually wanted.

Something warm and solid slams into her side, she’s knocked to the ground with a thud. A man looms over her with a scowl, she can feel the contempt emanating off of him. He’d be attractive, if he didn’t look like such an asshole. He’s tall, especially from her current vantage point, with layered oak brown hair and hazel eyes. Silence falls over the lobby, like the world’s been stopped. Everyone’s eyes focus  on them, expressions of abject horror. Hushed whispers start to fill the eerie quiet, something about ‘the king’, but she can’t make out anything more. This guy is important; she’d have to be deaf, dumb, and blind not to realize that. Thankfully, she’s only one of the three.

“I’m so sorry, sir,” she apologizes, customer service smile in place as she get back up to her feet. This doesn’t seem to appease him, he glares  at her like she’s garbage. Which while not inaccurate, is still rude.

“Get out of my way,” he demands with a sneer and brushes off the front of his suit, like he’s come into contact with something vile. Tsuneko takes a tentative step to the side and the man storms past her up the stairs. What a bitch. This is why she hates rich people.

A few people stare at the man’s retreating back, but once he’s out of sight, it’s like the whole thing never happened. The world starts spinning again and the lobby returns to its former state. She shakes her head, it’s not worth another thought, she doubts she’ll ever see him again.

“Are you okay?” A familiar kind voice asks, it’s Chisato, another maid at the hotel. She’s always been nice to Tsuneko and is among her favorite coworkers.

“I’m fine, that guy was just a dick.” Tsuneko says with a shrug, the crowd is loud enough she can get away with talking shit.

”Uh,” Chisato sucks in a deep breath, brown eyes soft with worry, “do you know who that was?”

“Should I?” Tsuneko doesn’t really pay attention to celebrities or the elite types, it’s all nonsense to her.

“Just what were you thinking making an idiot out of yourself!?” Erika’s harpy screech rises above every noise in the lobby. Her hands are on her hips and her glare is trained on Tsuneko.

“What were you thinking?” The twins, Rina and Kana, chime in from behind Erika with similar expressions, contributing nothing to the conversation.

“It was an accident,” she answers honestly, she was so focused on finding Erika she forgot to keep an eye out for where she was going. These things happen, all she can do is apologize and move on.

“It was your fault, you should pay attention to where you’re going!”

”I apologized, unless you have a time machine, there’s not much else I can do.”

”You have no business even being around V.I.P’s, especially if you’re gonna get in their way!”

”Oh, cause I’m sure your banshee screeches just make them feel oh so special.” Tsuneko and Erika glare at each other, she may be the head maid, but Tsuneko has never been one to bite her tongue.

“Go drop off all the special boxes in the basement storage room for the guests staying for the spa package, everyone else is too busy.” Her sharp gaze drifts over to Chisato at the last part, making it clear she shouldn’t offer any help. The task isn’t particularly difficult, just tedious and will take the rest of the day.

“Of course,” Tsuneko forces a bright smile and makes her voice sugary sweet, “maybe we should offer them some complementary ear plugs, as well.”

She scurries off before Erika can say another word, the head maid can screech into the void for all she cares,  she got her work for the evening and that’s all that matters. It’s a couple flights of stairs to make it to the basement, so the elevator is best, whoever decided maids should wear heels is an asshole.

“I can’t take it anymore! It’s over, you cheater!” A woman screams as Tsuneko rounds the corner. A couple is standing outside the elevator, the woman throws a small mask at a man in a tacky red suit and storms off past Tsuneko.

The mask bounces off his face and onto the ground, it’s  small and silver with intricate details. Judging by the man’s suit and the woman’s gown, they’re here for the I.V.C, which she doesn’t recall being masquerade theme. The man picks up the mask and tucks it into his jacket with a heavy sigh.

“Now I don’t have a date,” he murmurs then looks up, his gaze meeting Tsuneko’s.

“Excuse me, sir, I needed the elevator.” She points over his shoulder.

“You just saw the whole thing, didn’t you?”

“Ah, uh, yes. Sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to intrude. I’ll just take the stairs actually.” She turns around, content to evade the awkward situation, then a hand wraps around her wrist and tugs her back. He’s  pulling her towards the elevator, she instinctively tries to get out of his grip, but he’s stronger than her.

“Aw, c’mon, no reason to run away. I’ll explain everything when we get there.” He continues pulling her away, he doesn’t seem to notice or care about her trying to evade him. A part of her wants to deck him, but that will get her fired in a heartbeat.

‘Sir, leave me alone.” She keep her tone even and stern, hoping something will make it through his thick skull. One more strong pull and he yanks her right into the elevator, making her yelp. She’s met with the sight of broad back, blocking the elevator doors and button panel. He jabs a button, the doors slide close, what the hell is this guy’s problem?

“Whew, I’m lucky I found another date. There’s no way I could go to the party without a beautiful woman on my arm.” He turns to face her, entirely too close, with a smile that would be charming in another situation. He’s trying to take her to the I.V.C, the ballroom is on the basement level, so that’s not that big of a deal. She just needs to get away from him once the elevator stops.

“Sir, I am not your date, I suggest you find someone else to accompany you.” She maintains her cool, taking a step back  as the weirdo inches closer. He’s acting like a desperate romantic, though he seems a little old for that kind of thing.

“What are you talking about? I was so lucky to meet a pretty girl like you.” Her back hits the wall of the elevator, he’s closed in on her completely. His hand cups her face, his breath fansn across her skin. Her cheeks feel warm, whether from anger or embarrassment she’s not sure. He’s not unattractive, an older man with shoulder length light maple brown hair. But, regardless of looks, he’s being completely inappropriate.

“Sir, I’m working, I don’t have time for this nonsense.” Her words don’t seem to have any impact, caramel brown eyes  busy taking in every detail of her face.

“Yeah, you’re just my type. This is fate.”

”I’d would hope fate wouldn’t be so cruel to me, sir.”

The elevator comes to a stop and the doors open behind him with a ding.

“Let’s go, princess!” His hand is back around her wrist and he pulls her out before she has a chance to fight. She tries to step back and pull, or twist her wrist out of his grip, but she can’t manage. Punching him still might get her fired, but they can’t expect her to just let a guest do whatever he wants. Why the hell is he so strong?!

“Let go of me, now!”   

The noise of the ballroom drowns out her demand. She’s never been in the ballroom. She’s definitely never been in the midst of the I.V.C like this. The carpeting is a plush red, the walls have gold etchings, and white marble pillars are throughout the room. Everyone is dressed beautifully, perfectly tailored suits and designer gowns. They talk and sip from champagne flutes as they all bustle around. Spread of gourmet food are laid out, servers intermingle with the crowd, never letting a glass go empty for too long. An aquarium at the back of the room catches her eye, colorful fish swimming through crystal clear water, a dolphin passes through. The hotel owns a dolphin? She would have liked to know that. If the whole ordeal wasn’t a pretentious rich nightmare, she’d be into it. If only for the booze, food, and dolphin.

“Micchy!” A woman yells out and Tsuneko nearly slams into Stranger Danger’s back when he stops.. He lets go of her wrist and goes off towards the woman. All of this hullabaloo just to run off,  he seems more like a hormone driven teenager than a grown man.

“Hey, do you have any champagne?” A voice asks just by her ear, their breath tickles and makes Tsuneko jolt. Her face feels hot as she turns to find the source; a man around her age with strawberry blonde hair and amber eyes. She’s clearly wearing a maid uniform, not a server’s.

“I do not.”

“You do work here, right? You’re looking around like Alice at the Mad Hatter’s tea party.” His smile doesn’t reach his eyes, he’s cute, but something is off about him.

“I’m going to level with you, sir. I’m not suppose to be here right now, sorry.”

“That’s fine, hope you make it out of Wonderland, Alice.” His fake smile turns into a genuine smirk right as he leaves. Yeah, he’s definitely off. Still, cute though. She decides to shake it off and starts on her way out of the ballroom. It’s gonna take her forever to deliver those packages at this rate.

A sweaty hand grabs her wrist, bringing her to a halt, what the fuck now? The world is truly testing her today. It’s a stocky man in a garish green suit, he leers and looks her up and down, her stomach churns.

“Mhmm, I love girls like you. You wanna come with me to give me some special room service? I’ll make sure to tip you for the extra work."

“Gross.”

“What was that?”

“This is a hotel, not a brothel, sir." She’s able to break away from him much easier and starts towards the door again, he’s not deterred.

“You’re pretty lucky you met me. My net worth is 500 million,” he tells her, reaching out to touch her, she dodges him.

“Not enough for my dignity, sir." Her blood boils, at least Stranger Danger had the decency not to treat her like a prostitute. Does he really think her and the rest of the girls here are so beneath him and desperate for cash?Her hands clench into tight fists, she’s not allowed to punch guests. An unfortunate fact at the moment.

“C'mon, everyone has a price.” His hand presses against her hips, fuck this guy. She spins to face him, she needs to stop this, if she doesn't he's just going to hound every other female employee, until he finds someone he can bully into it. She’s not letting that happen.

“Look here, sir! I don't have the time, energy, or desire to deal with you disrespecting me and the hotel. I assure you, there’s not enough money in the world to convince anyone here to touch your pathetic excuse for a dick. Now, get your disgusting grubby hands off of me!” The color drains from the man’s face, when did the ballroom get so quiet? Just a few whispers, it’s like when she bumped into-

“This party is getting trashy,” a deep and sadly familiar voice rings out over her shoulder, making her jump. The asshole from the lobby was behind her, a group of women cling to and hover around him. They glare at Tsuneko, but asshole is glaring at the pervert. The look he gave her in the lobby seems downright kind in comparison.

“Uh, I'm so sorry Mr. Ichinomiya,” the pervert apologizes and runs off. Ichinomiya, that sounds familiar, but she can't place it. She rattles her brain for a moment, but she can’t seem to find it. The headache she has coming on isn’t helping. His eyes find hers, now that the pervert’s gone, the contempt has waned. It feels more like he’s looking at a fly under a microscope, like he’s trying to dissect and understand her.

“You again.”

“You again,” she mimics without thinking, her patience with the day is gone. His expression grows angrier, same for his groupies. She bites her lip to hold back laughter, normally she’d be more polite, but she just called a guest’s dick pathetic, so she might as well mock Ichinomiya, whoever he is.

“Get out of my way.” This seems to be his favorite phrase.

”Happily.”

“I hate when people don't know there place,” one of the women says as they move past Tsuneko. She forces a smile, but rolls her eyes once they’re gone and starts another attempt to leave this god forsaken party.

Her shoulder knocks into someone, making them both stumble.

“I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assures her before going on about his business, as small as the exchange is, a friendly normal person feels like a breath of fresh air. Something on the ground catches her eye, a small good luck talisman. The cloth it’s in is a bit worn, black with small white rabbits. He must have dropped it when she bumped into him.

She tucks the charm into her pocket and finds his back in the crowd, she jogs after him. Calling after him does nothing, he either doesn’t hear her or doesn’t realize he’s who she means by ‘Sir’. His long legs take him further away quicker than her stubbier ones and she sees him go out door towards the back of the room. She manages to get through the door a few moments after.

The hall that greets her is absolutely empty, her heart sinks, he’s nowhere to be seen. Doors line the hallway, did he go into one of those rooms? She’d hate it if she wasn’t able to get it back to him. It’s clear he’s had it for a while, it must mean a lot to him. If push comes to shove, she may just have to put it in lost and found, but then there’s no way of knowing if he gets it back. She walks down the hallway, the dead silence is eerie after being surrounded by so much noise.

A few moments pass and she hears soft murmurs, they seem louder in the quiet hallway. There’s a door ajar, maybe that’s where he is, there’s a bounce in her step as she nears it. She peeks into the room; gunmetal glints in the low-light of the room. Suitcases filled with cash and guns are strewn across a table. Men in suits are standing around, speaking in a language she doesn’t understand. This is illegal, this is definitely illegal.  Her breath catches in her throat, she’s seriously watching an arms deal right now.

The world goes out from under her feet and she’s spun around, her back slams against the wall. She’s at least a foot off of the ground, large hands pin her in place and sharp blue gray eyes glare at her. Her heart hammers in her chest, like it’s trying to escape her rib cage.

“What are you doing here?” His voice is harsh and demanding. A part of her wants to fight, but if he’s involved with what she just saw…. There’s no guarantee he’s not armed. She’s not keen on being murdered.

“I got lost looking for someone, sorry sir.” She doesn’t let her voice break and maintains eye contact. Showing her fear won’t help anything.  He lets go of her and she falls to the ground, not too gracefully.

“You have five seconds to get out of here and forget everything you saw. Otherwise, you’ll be wiped off the face of the earth.”

“Understood.” She walks away, ignoring the impulse to run. Muscle memory leads her through the floor, the storage room shouldn’t be far away.

She steps inside, closing the heavy door behind her before she sits down on the floor. Her breath is shaky and she clutches her head in her hands, nails digging into the skin of her temples. What the hell is she suppose to do now?

She’s been threatened and there’s apparently gun deals going on in the hotel. People are getting hurt, there’s no way they aren’t if guns are involved. She can’t be certain how serious that man was about killing her. But, she doesn’t wanna test it and he didn’t seem like the kind of person to speak lightly.

Reporting it isn’t really an option; she has no evidence and there’s the whole being killed thing. Even if she is believed, if the hotel gets shut down, her and all her coworkers would be left without a job or home. Is the hotel even aware of this? Does Kenzaki or the owner know what’s going on here? Who even owns the hotel again? Some sort of CEO who’s head of a conglomerate group. What was it called again? Ugh, she can’t think straight.

She jolts to her feet, she needs to focus and get her shit together. Freaking out isn’t going to help anything. She needs to deliver those packages and go on with her work day, then she’ll drop the charm off in the lost and found. Work now, panic attacks later.

Tsuneko starts stacking up packages in her arms, her movements frantic and she nearly drops a few.. Her brain is a scrambled mess, she needs a dolly, she should have brought one over before stacking them in her arms. She’ll just carry the packages to the dolley, wherever the damn thing is. She can’t even see over the pile of boxes, she tries to look around them as she moves.

Something slams into her and knocks her back, the packages fall to the ground. A heavy thud rings out through the room, the sound of shattering follows. Her ass hurts and she can already feel the bruises forming. She’s spent the majority of this day on her ass.

“Fucking hell!” There are two men, they’re frenetic as they try to pry the lid off of a crate that’s fallen. She doesn’t recognize them, they’re not in any sort of Tres Spades uniform. Maybe they’re just here to move stuff?

The lid hits the floor with a clatter and she peeks inside, it’s filled with shards of what looks like broken glass. She can tell how high quality whatever the original object was from the quality of the material. It’s pristine and the light it catches reflects back iridescent.

“The statue's been smashed to pieces!” One of the men yells, his face turning red with rage.

“I’m sorry,” she struggles to keep her tone even, “I’ll talk to the manager, we’ll get it figured out.”

This entire day has been a mess, but if the worse thing to come out of it is having her pay docked for a decoration, she’ll be okay. It may be high quality, but she doubts a statue is worth too much. It’s just nice glass.

“This was the showcase piece for the auction! How are you going to pay for it!?”

“Look, I’m sorry,” she says again, but what do they mean by an auction? The men glare at her and creep closer, she takes a step back as chills run up her spine.

“You think an apology is going to cut it? You owe us?”

One of the men makes a grab at her and she throws a punch. Her fist connects with his nose in a spray of blood. The man staggers back and she makes a run for the door. His cohort gets in the way and pushes her back, knocking her flat on her ass.

“You really think you’re gonna get out of here that easy,” he taunts, standing over her.

The crate brushes against her as she scrambles away, she grabs a large shard of glass from it and buries it deep into the man’s thigh. He screams out and a gush of blood spurts out as she twists the shard out of his flesh. She clambers back up on her feet and makes another run for the door.

A weight slams into her back, her face smashes into the ground, her scream muffled. He presses his knee down on her back, his nails dig into the cuts on her hand as he rips the glass out of her grasp. One hand keeps her wrist pinned behind her, the other searches her pockets. She writhes and twists, trying to get out from under him, but it does nothing. He tugs her phone from her pocket and throws it across the room.

“I got an idea of how we can make our money back,” the other man says.

Wheels roll across the floor, stopping in front of her. She can’t wrench her neck up enough to see anything else. The man yanks her up on her feet and her heart sinks. A large golden bird cage glimmers on top of a dolly. Her throat tightens and her stomach churns.

“Do you just have this shit on stand by!?”

“Shut up.” The man in front of her opens the cage door, the other pushes her forward. She jerks back;  kicks and stomps at the man’s feet. He digs his fingers into her hand again, pain jolts through her and her scream reverberate through the room. Taking advantage, he shoves her forward into the cage. Her hand sting as she catches herself, her head nearly smacking into the bars. They lock the door behind her, tears sting at the back of her eyes.

“She’s a little damaged, but she should still be worth something.” The men share a laugh at her expense, they can’t be serious. They can’t sell her, that’s ridiculous. She can’t get a deep enough breath, her lungs burn. She can hear the pounding of her heart, feel the thump of it against her ribs.

They roll her out of the room, slowly taking her through the halls of the hotel. It’s mostly empty at first, but slowly more people start to appear, moving random things. From art to what looks like a baby leopard, it’s a mishmash of things being carried through the halls. But, no one seems to care about her. It’s like this is just a normal everyday occurrence. She shakes the bars of the cage, they don’t budge at all, she yells out for help. Nothing. No one bats an eye.

“Hey, where’s the final item?!” A young man yells from beside a pair of double doors, inside it seems to be a backstage area. Her kidnappers start explaining that there’s been a change in item.

She pries a bobby pin out of her hair, it’s mostly lose already, her ponytail coming undone in the entire struggle. Taking advantage of  her kidnappers distraction, she snaps the pin into two pieces and starts trying to pick at the lock. Her hand stings with every movement and she can’t clearly see the lock, but she’s desperate. If she can get it undone, she can make a break for it.

“What the hell-” His words are drowned out by Tsuneko’s howls of pain, his blunt nails dig into her open cuts pressing into tender skin and making more blood flow. The two broken pieces fall to the ground, he lets go after what feels like hours and she yanks her hand back, holding it close to her as she presses against the other side of the cage.

Her eyes sting, a few tears stream down her face. The men only laugh at her pain, she focuses on their injuries, the man’s broken nose and the steadily bleeding wound on the others thigh. It’s a small comfort to know at the very least, she gave as good as she got.

She’s rolled through the double door and her suspicions are confirmed, it’s definitely backstage of this auction, she presumes. As pointless as it is, a part of her is still hoping that’s a joke. It seems so unbelievable, like something out of a horror movie or a nightmare. She’s tries to steady her breathing, to calm down even a little bit. But, it’s all in vain. Her heart beat is frantic,  she struggles to breath, her throat feels tight, and she struggles to keep more tears from falling.

The backstage is a bustle of activity as she’s taken to just beside the stage, still concealed from the audience, but she can look out and see what’s taking place. It’s a huge crowd of people,  they watch the stage with rapt attention, faces concealed by masquerade masks. A man on stage talks and moves dramatically, dressed in what appears to be a mad hatter costume. His face painted a stark white and his eyes an unnaturally electric shade of blue.

A small clang catches her attention, she looks up and one of the men attaches a hanging chain to the top of the cage. Someone starts pulling somewhere and the chain starts to lift the cage off the dolly. Tsuneko yelps, if she’s suspended, her chances of escape become slimmer. It ascends higher and higher, until she knows that even if she could manage to shake the bars lose or bust the cage open, she’d fall and break something or bust her head open. The latter doesn’t seem like a bad option at the moment, at least it might kill her.

Slowly her cage is pulled to the side, taking her to center stage. Bright lights and eyes all trained on her. She’s really being auctioned off, someone is going to buy her.

“I present to you, our showcase item of the evening! A healthy young Japanese woman. Yes, that’s you!” The hatter gestures towards her with a flourish and bile rises in the back of her throat.

“Yeah, I caught that,” she screams back at him, kicking the cage. The bars still don’t budge, the gilded cage is firm and shows no sign of busting open.

“I’ll start the bidding at one million!”

Even if she managed to escape the cage and managed not to hurt herself in the fall, she’s surrounded by the crowd. There’s no way she can avoid being grabbed.

“Keep her as your slave, keep her as a toy! Do whatever you please with her, it’s truly up to you!” The hatter continues, not caring about her distress. She kicks and shakes the bars, at this point more an explosion of anger than a genuine attempt to escape, she screams in frustration. Tears prick at the back of her eyes and she doesn’t care enough to stop them anymore.

In the front row of the audience is a stocky man in a garish green suit, the masquerade mask does nothing to hide the pervert from the I.V.C. He grins and bids on her.  She looks behind her and sees a screen just above her cage, a number on it rising more and more. More money than she’s ever seen. Her stomach churns and she kicks the cage again, no budging. The most she can do is make the cage sway back and forth, nothing shows any signs of breaking.

“She is a feisty one, all the more fun to break her,” the auctioneer taunts, all his actions colored with the flamboyance of a true showman.

“If I could reach you, I’d wring your fucking neck,” she screams, her throat raw from the force of it.

“Going once, going twice, sold to seat one hundred for twenty-million!” The hatter says as a bell dings, the number on the screen behind her has stopped. She can’t make out what seats are what numbers past the first couple rows. It’s not the pervert, he’s seat number five. But that doesn’t mean it’s anyone better.

The hatter closes out the auction; the lights die down and the curtains close. Tsuneko sits and pulls her knees to her chest, her cage lowers down. It’s settles back down on the stage with a small sound, it makes her feel just a tiny bit better, slightly less helpless than she was before. Someone is still staring at her, she can feel it, even while she’s curled up against herself. Peeking up, it’s the hatter. His harlequin style hatter costume is slightly unnerving, his unnaturally blue eyes are trained on her, his expressions seemingly curious. There’s something child like to it. Someone yells out and he jolts, like being woken up from a trance and goes scurrying off.

Her owner, her stomach churns at the the word, should be coming to collect her. Maybe, this will be a chance to escape. She’s not in the best state to fight, but maybe, just maybe, she’ll be able to take them down. She kicks again, a dull ache pulsing in her toes. She wipes away at tears, holding back sobs.

 Footsteps echo out, growing closer and closer. Two men make their way to her cage, the small silver masks do nothing to hide their identities. At this point she has to wonder if they truly serve a purpose beyond aesthetic. She can tell right away it’s Stranger Danger in his bright red suit and the cute but off guy from the party. If it was just the latter, she’d be able to take him. He doesn’t seem particularly strong, shorter and thinner than Stranger Danger.  But, she knows that the taller of the two was able to drag her around like a rag doll.

“This way.” Stranger Danger unlocks the cage door. She gives them wary glares  as she stands on shaky legs and steps out of the cage. Tsuneko hides her injured hand in her pocket, not wanting to give them an easy target if they decide to hurt her.

The men stay quiet as they lead her to an elevator, the only one that goes to the penthouse. Sure enough, once they’ve stepped inside Stranger Danger pulls the penthouse elevator key from his pocket. The doors close and the carriage lurches into movement. She knew they were V.I.P’s, but not very many people have access to the penthouse. Sakiko has mentioned some people who stay their. An artist, who’s name escapes her, and the owner of the hotel. Who the hell owns this hotel again? She’s trying to rack her brain for that name again, Ishi, something? Her brain is fuzzy from everything going on. But, if she’s being taken to the penthouse, surely the owner is aware of what’s going on. It would be hard to hide the auctions, especially at that scale, from the person who owns the damn place.

It’s a silent tense elevator ride, Tsuneko racking her brain for an escape strategy. She already knows she can’t fight Stranger Danger, but maybe she could make a run for it when the elevator opens, go for the stairs. But, if the owner is involved, she wouldn’t get far. She doesn’t exactly have anywhere to go other than the employee dorms. Waiting for a better chance might be the best idea.

The elevator dings and stops, doors sliding open. She’s never seen the penthouse suites before. They step into the hallway, red carpeting and doors along the walls. A huge pair of double doors standing out among them. The only employee she knows of that has access here is Kenzaki, even Erika isn’t allowed in the penthouse.

The pair push open the double doors and Tsuneko follows, it’s a lounge. Lavish, with plush chairs and couches. A large set of of red carpeted stairs lead up to another level, a large window covers almost the entire expanse of a wall, showing a view of the Tokyo Bay. There’s an extravagant high tech television mounted on one of the walls. Two men are in the center of the lounge; both of which she recognizes.  And there appears to be man passed out on one of the couches, he could be dead, she can’t be sure. The man who threatened to wipe her off the face of the earth and the asshole from the lobby, Ichinomiya, are in the center.

Ichinomiya. He’s the owner of the hotel. It hits her as hard as she hit the floor earlier. She sassed her boss. Prior to this auction nonsense, she’d be panicking, but the fear of upsetting her boss pales in comparison to the terror of being sold. 

“We’ve brought her,” the cute but off guy announces, he doesn’t seem to have a care in the world. She’d like to punch him.

Ichinomiya sits on the red couch at the center of the lounge, crossing his legs as he looks her over. Him and the man who pinned her to the wall have intense stares, but she meets their gaze with the same ferocity. She’s not backing down. 

“We bought you,” Ichinomiya states.

“I noticed.” Her response seems to amuse him, a smirk plays on his lips. She’s just happy her voice didn’t crack.

“So, we ended up catching you after all,” the tall man who pinned her comments, his dark hair is slicked back and his eyes are sharp. Even without him having her against a wall, he’s kind of intimidating, or perhaps it’s just the situation making him seem that way.

“You know this woman, Soryu?” Ichinomiya asks.

“You could say that.”

“He threatened to kill me.”

“Yeah, sounds like Sor,” Stranger Danger says with a laugh, pulling off his mask and adjusting his fedora. Cute but off guy pulls off his mask as well, both completely nonchalant..

“Look, you can’t actually buy me, this is stupid,” she decides to keep talking, maybe the more she talks the more it will all make sense and she’ll be able to get out of this.

“Anything and everything’s for sale at the auctions. If there’s someone out there to buy it, you can sell it. There are no rules,” Stranger Danger boasts, no one here seems to care about the abject horror she’s been through.

“Yep, you can get stolen art, secret information about politicians, even hire a hitman,” Cute but off guy adds.

“This is actually the first time a person’s ever been auctioned off, though,” Stranger Danger’s eyes seem to soften a bit as he looks over at her, a shred of empathy seeming to make its way through.

“You must have done something pretty bad, huh?” Followed by the apathetic question of cute but off guy.

“I accidentally broke some statue, that was apparently expensive, or whatever.”

“The statue of Venus. If it’s worth anything, it’s here,” Ichinomiya states with confidence.

“You’re reckless as always. This woman isn’t worth anything,” Soryu tells him.

“I agree, let me go home.”

“But, it’ll be fun thinking up ways to use her.” Cute but off guy is smirking, he’s a shit head it seems.

“No, it will not.”

“Who gave you permission to speak? Don’t open your mouth unless I say so,” Ichinomiya demands; she bites her lip and keeps her glare. She wants to strangle him, she wants to actually murder her boss. This fuckwit puts her through hell and doesn’t even wanna let her talk.

“If you got a problem with it, would you rather go back to number five?” Soryu asks with a smirk, at least none of them seem keen on violating her in that way, but she just glares at him. She needs to stay calm, as difficult as that is.

“C’mon now, Boss…Sor. You should be nice to girls,” Stranger Danger talks again, he’s calling Ichinomiya boss, too. He’s really the one she needs to get convince to let her go.

“Listen,” she starts, no one stops her, “there no reason to keep me. My existence does not benefit any of you in any way, shape, or form.”

“You’re just trying to lower your value,” cute but off dude chimes in, he’s getting less cute and more gremliny with every annoying word.

“Besides, a cute girl has plenty of benefits.” Any brownie points Stranger Danger earned have vanished, his comment and wink makes her grimace.

“I sincerely hope you aren’t desperate enough to waste twenty-million on getting your dick wet.” She levels a glare at him.

“Looks like she already has you figured out, Baba,” Gremlin, as he’s now being dubbed, says through a laugh.

“You wound me, princess.” Stranger Danger, Baba apparently, responds with a dramatic sorrowful expression.

“You know about the auctions,” Soryu takes back control of the conversation, “we can’t have you running off and telling someone.”

“No worries, I haven’t suffered recent brain damage.” Though her face feels significantly bruised after being slammed against the floor, Soryu raises an eyebrow at her, “Worst case scenario, you kill me and best case scenario I end up unemployed and homeless. I have no proof, police wouldn’t believe me and you’d kill me for talking. Even if they did, if the owner of the hotel goes to jail then the hotel goes under and I’m out of my job and housing. I’m not stupid enough to bite the hand that feeds me.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Ichinomiya smirks “you didn’t seem too friendly earlier.”

“To be fair, I didn’t know who you were, so,” his glare harshens, but she’s not done talking, “look, I don’t even have a phone to call the police. I’ll sign an NDA, confidentiality agreement or whatever, I’ll give you the legal right to screw me over if I even think about telling people about the auctions. There’s no reason to keep me, I’m not worth twenty-million, I assure you.”

Soryu looks to Ichinomiya, he almost seems to be on board with her idea. Maybe he’s not that awful, if he supports getting her out of here.

“Boring!” Gremlin complains, she could wring his fucking neck, but she keeps her eyes focused on Ichinomiya. He makes the decisions here, that’s painfully clear.

“No,” Ichinomiya says as he gets up from the couch, “I determine your worth.”

“What!?” Her voice breaks more than she’d like it to, indignancy ruining her composure.

“We bought you, you belong to us. End of story. You’ll be staying in Soryu’s suite for the night, he’ll assure you don’t go running off.” He’s still smirking, despite the fact that Soryu looks absolutely pained. Ichinomiya leaves up the twisted staircase, pulling out his phone as he does so.

“Man, Soryu gets to play with Koro first, not fair,” Gremlin pretends to whine, but he’s smirking; who the fuck is Koro?

“Time for introductions,” Baba winks at her, “what’s your name princess?”

“.…Tomori Tsuneko,” she murmurs, she feels completed defeated, there has to be a way out of this mess.

“Pretty name for a pretty girl. I’m Baba Mitsunari. I’m a thief, 35, single and ready to mingle. You can call me Micchan, Micchy, whatever you want.”

“Baba it is.”

“Pfftt, rejected. I’m Kisaki Ota, people call me the angelic artist,” Gremlin introduces himself.

“You already know Boss, so it’s Sor and Mamo’s turn,” Baba says, looking at the far less enthusiastic men.

“Kishi Mamoru,” The apparently not dead guy finally sits up and lights a cigarette.

“He’s a cop or unemployed, who knows?” Baba grins, “And the tall quiet guy is Oh Soryu, leader of the Ice Dragons.” Soryu looks so pained, you’d think he was the one who was just bought.

“Ice Dragons…?”

“Mafia,” Kisaki explains, like it’s the most normal thing in the world.

“Enough of this,” Oh says curtly, “follow me, since I’m stuck babysitting you.” He strides out of the lounge without giving her another look.

“Sor’s kinda shy. You better go after him before he locks the door on you,” Baba tells her and she scurries off after Oh, who leads her down the halls towards one of the suites. She has to speed walk to keep up with his pace.

He’s stiff and rude, but if she’s being entirely honest, he’s pretty low of her current shit list. At the very least, he seems just as keen on getting her out of here as she is. His biggest concern seems to be keeping the auctions secret; she already told them she wouldn’t blab, but she gets the feeling if she steps out of line he wouldn’t hesitate to kill her. And the fact he still seems like one of the lesser evils here despite that, really says something.

She’s follows him into his suite, it’s easily five times the size of her dorm. They step into the living room, more than likely where she’ll be sleeping. The couch looks comfy, she’ll manage for the night. Oh starts pulling off his jacket, then unbuttoning his shirt. She catches a glimpse of bare muscles before she turns around, offering him something resembling privacy. It might seem naive, but she doesn’t think he gonna try anything, he seems pained by her presence let alone trying to touch her. Footsteps ring out, Oh walking past her shirtless. He’s in really good shape.

“Don’t get any weird ideas.” He steps into another room, a moment passes and then running water. Sounds like a shower, couldn’t he have started stripping down in the bathroom? She doesn’t really understand the point of the peepshow, she decides not to ponder on it too long and instead lets out a heavy breath.

She slumps onto the couch, exhaustion settling in to take the place of her anxiety. Running away isn’t an option, despite how tempting it is, the Ichinomiya Group has the power and money to find her anywhere. She’s not sure how far reaching the mafia is and she doesn’t want to find out. Even so, she has no intention of giving up. She’s got to convince Ichinomiya to let her leave. Though, clearly it isn’t happening tonight.

Tsuneko looks at her hand, surveying the damage done by the glass. It’s starting to throb and ache more. The largest mark is a nasty gash across her palm, then smaller cuts around her fingers. It hurts more when she bends or flexes them, but the slash across her palm is more concerning. She doesn’t think it needs stitches, but she isn’t a doctor, so who knows.

Something glints and catches her eye, from under the chair. She leans over to get a closer peek and her blood runs cold, it’s a gun. It’s not shocking, he was the one who threatened her after she saw the gun deal. But, she still can’t help being afraid. The potential of him killing her seems even more viable.

The water stops, doesn’t seem like a long shower, a minute or two tops. She tucks her hand back in her pocket and presses her back closer against the couch as the bathroom door opens. His hair is no longer slicked back, soft around his face, but it doesn’t look wet.

“You didn’t try to run away.” He was just testing her.

“I’m not stupid.” She can’t help the vitriol in her tone.

“That remains to be seen,” that earns him a glare, “As long as you keep behaving, I won’t do anything bad to you.”

“Got it.”

He walks around the couch to stand in front of her, she presses further into the back of the couch, he’s in her space. Oh cages her in, arms on each side of her head and hands on the top of the couch, he leans in until they’re almost nose to nose. She bites her lip and meets his glare, her face feels hot.

“I have no idea what Eisuke’s thinking, but let's make this clear. You better not tell anyone what you saw today. No matter what. Telling anyone else is the same as signing your own death warrant. Yours, your friend’s, and your family’s.”

“Got it.”

“You can use the living room and bathroom, just don’t come near my bedroom,” he tells her as he pulls away, gathering his discarded shirt and jacket.

”Understood. What about work? If I’m not there tomorrow people will get suspicious.” She’s not sure if they actually would, if any of them would care enough to notice, but any excuse to leave in the morning sounds good.

“You work as a maid here, right?”

“Yes.”

“As long as you remember to keep your mouth shut and don’t go running off, it’ll be fine. Understood?”

She nods as Oh leaves into another room, she assumes the bedroom. Tsuneko pulls off her shoes, her feet ache just a bit. He told her she could use the bathroom and a shower sounds nice, but she doesn’t have anything to change into. Plus showering in an unfamiliar place doesn’t sound too pleasant. There’s a shower in the employee locker room, she’ll wait til morning.

She curls up on the couch, carefully finding a position that won’t hurt her hand. A yawn escapes her, she needs to think of ways to get out of this, but she’s too exhausted to think straight. The whole ordeal has drained every last bit of energy she has. She closes her eyes and slowly drifts off to sleep.

[readyourimgaines]

Hi! Saw your post and I would love to request some Aralas, there isn't enough of it! Anything modern AU would be awesome, but I haven't been able to let go of the idea of camper Aragorn and forest/park ranger Legolas ever since it popped into my head. Thanks for your time and work, regardless of what you end up writing for anyone!

This isn’t very long so I might do a part two. I’ll see what else I think of. Thank you for the request, friend! -Freddie 

Legolas sighed as his radio went off. Another camper in a restricted area of the camp ground. Yes it was a state park, but also, those areas were closed off because they were dangerous.

With annoyance heavy in his chest, Legolas made his way over to the restricted area. He had, at some point, been chosen as the one to go and clear campers out of the areas they weren’t supposed to be in. One of his coworkers told him it was because he was the lightest on his feet of any of the workers. If anyone was least likely to find an improperly capped mine or something by falling into it, it was Legolas. 

Legolas followed the tracks of who (going by the weight) he assumed was man. The last thing he expected was to find a man collecting flowers from a patch under a tree. He was usually chasing little kids trying to follow a squirrel or rabbit out of the area. Every once in a while it was lost hiker.

“Excuse me, sir? You’re not allowed over here. There’s been reports of landslides recently so this area is closed off until it’s deemed safe,” Legolas explained. 

The man with dark wavy, shoulder length hair turned to Legolas and the blond was shocked with how attractive he was. His eyes were a combination of teal and silver that he’d never seen before. The man’s chin had light stumble and his skin was lightly sun tanned. 

“I know. This is just the best place to find this kind of flower. I almost have enough and then I’ll get out of your hair. I’ve been gathering herbs and roots from this area for years. You don’t need to worry about me.” The main tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. “I told the man at the gate who I was. He must have forgotten.” 

“And who are you?” Legolas often got annoyed with these “hippies”. At least this one wasn’t smoking weed back there like the last one was. 

“Aragorn. I’m a holistic healer. Rather than ordering the herbs I use, I find them locally. People with colds, fevers, infected wounds, and so on come to me. There are many more skilled than I, but you have to drive for a couple of days to get to the closest one better than me.” 

“You heal people with plants?” The park ranger raised an eyebrow. 

Aragorn stood, holding the collect of flowers in his hand. “What’s your name?”

“Legolas.” 

“I’ll tell you all about my occupation if you let me buy you a drink after your shift. A friend of mine showed me a pretty fun inn not too far from here.” 

“Your friend owns an inn? I knew there were still pubs, but inns are pretty rare.” 

“They’re trying to keep it older fashioned to keep traditions. The building was built almost 150 years ago. Other strengthening the building and cleaning some things up, it hasn’t been remodeled. Trust me, it’s a site to see.” 

“Alright. I’ll see your friend’s inn.” Legolas smirked a little. “I get off at five.” 

“I’ll pick you up then.” Aragorn smiled.

*****

“So you’re from the area?” Legolas asked Aragorn. They were sitting in a booth at the Prancing Pony, each of them with an ale. 

“I live in the area,” Aragorn corrected. “I’m actually from a number of states over. I always like this area better. The people are kinder, business is better. Some of my family moved east so it’s closer to them as well.” 

“I see. I’m not from here either. I came here for college- Forestry major- and fell in love with the area.” 

“How much do you know about the woods in the area. Being a park ranger, you’ve got to know quite a lot about the plants and things.” 

“Not really… I mean, if you want to know what trees are good for climbing, I can make you list. Other than identifying poison ivy, and a couple different kinds of berries, I’m lost.” 

“I’ll have to show you some of the herbs that grow in the area, these. Athelas grows heavily around here. It’s great for slowing down an infection so you can safely find the cause of it.” 

“Kingsfoil?” 

“As the locals call it, yes.” Aragorn took a sip of his ale. 

“So what else do you do in your job?” Legolas asked. “Other than risk your life in dangerous, closed of locations, of course.” 

“Well, there’s a lot of doing that,” Aragorn nodded and got a laugh from the blond. “Instead of treating illnesses and such with antibiotics, I simply use the medicinal properties of plants. Teas, compresses, soaks, politics. There are countless things you can do with plants. And yes, you can treat anxiety with more than lavender oil.” 

“What sorts of things have you treated?” 

“Colds and flus, mostly. Once in a while someone comes in with constant migraines or women have lady troubles and wanting an easier time of it. Sometimes some pulled a muscle or they aren’t getting enough iron. Nothing drastic or fancy. There are times when I have to send someone to a usual doctor because I can’t remove appendixes.” 

“That sounds more exciting than my job.” 

“Oh? What do you do most days?” 

“Walk around putting tickets on cars that don’t have a pass, telling people to stop leaving their burnt out cigarettes on the ground. I spend a lot of time chasing people out of restricted areas. Most of the time it’s a stray kid, some idiot smoking drugs. On time some got stuck in a tree and screamed for help. It’s never ended in me getting a drink with the person, though.” 

“I’m glad I could change up your routine then.”

“Where’s your office? Or what’s it called?” Legolas wondered. “I might stop by and see what you can do the next time my allergies kick up.” 

“A park ranger with allergies? That’s just cruel. It’s 819 Red Jacket Drive. I’ve got a number of things to treat allergies with. Don’t worry. I’ll even give you discount.” 

“Is that allowed?” Legolas chuckled. 

“Well, I own the business, rent the building, and write the rent off on my taxes. I’d say it’s allowed. I give my friends and family discounts. Same as any other business does.”

“You’re a generous and caring person,” Legolas nodded. “Teach me what these herbs look like and I’ll collect them for you when I’ve got nothing better to do.” 

“I’ll even pay you for what you bring me.” Aragorn suggested. “Before long I might be able to hire you as my assistant.” 

“I don’t know about that.” Legolas leaned forward slightly over the table. “I you hired me as your assistant, I don’t know how your patients would feel about you maybe dating your assistant.” 

“I’m the only chance in town that the anti-vaxers moms have. I’m not all kinds of worried about losing business over having a boyfriend.” Aragorn grinned. “I’m sure we can figure something out.”

[lorainelaneyblog]

This is God, and this is a brief conversation which took place when Loraine Laney was at the shelter, Cornerstone Women’s Shelter, at Metcalfe and O’Connor.

‘This is [ ] calling, from Cornerstone Women’s Shelter,’ said a woman.

‘Hello,’ said a male supervisor.

‘I want to report some goings on here, please,’ she said.

‘Oh? What is it?’ he said. ‘Something serious? It sounds serious.’

‘I think it is,’ she said.

‘What is it then, please?’

‘There is a conspiracy against one of the women.’

‘Oh, I see,’ and, honestly, Loraine, he almost laughed. But he said, ‘Oh, okay, now that doesn’t sound good.’

‘It’s true,’ said she. 

‘Well, explain, please.’

‘I didn’t think you’d want to hear,’ she said.

‘Oh, I do,’ he said. ‘And I may have to go to a higher up with it, so I’m starting to record the conversation.’

At this, she balked a little. She said, ‘I don’t want to be implicated,’ mistaking her expression, really meaning she didn’t want to be caught ratting someone out.

‘I understand. Do you want to stop here? I know who you are still, because you said your name. It doesn’t mean it will be used though.’

‘Oh, okay,’ she said.

‘Yes, then? I’m pressing record.’

‘Yes, then,’ said she.

He presses record, and then asks, quite formally, ‘Was there something you wanted to say or report, Mrs. [ ]?’

‘Yes, I work for the Salvation Army, and I have noticed women, employed women gossiping, gossiping, about a certain woman, who is a prostitute, they never fail to mention, with her, though it is known, in shelters, because of mental health, that many women are prostitutes.’ She paused.

‘Go on.’

‘They talk about how many condoms she takes,’ she said. ‘They talk about how often she goes out, they talk about her drug use and drinking, they talk about--and everyone--well, not everyone, but many women who use, end up in, shelters, use drugs. In fact, and I’m not too proud of myself, but I’m older, and I was a stickler for the rules, in fact I bent the rules, exonerating her, expelling her, I mean, for three hours, for a single beer can, which she, following the rules, turned in to me.’

‘Oh, that’s honest,’ he said.

‘And further, wait, there’s more,’ she continued. ‘They throw people’s blankets away into the laundry when they have been away past curfew, and sometimes they decide to place them in the kitchen, and give away their bed to someone else, and other times, they decide not to, and then, either way, they laugh about the inconvenience to the woman.’

‘Oh, oh my,’ he said. ‘They would never do such a thing in a men’s shelter.’

‘Oh, really?’ she said. ‘I thought it was policy, or something, how should I know, old woman, what’s right? Right? And they did this to her, and then they really laughed because guess what?’

‘What?’

‘Someone, one of the miserly staff members had noticed that she had carefully gone, down to the laundry, and rewashed all of her issued blankets. Nobody does that, and I mean nobody, I mean maybe she has allergies or something. And, further,’ she continued, ‘they noticed that she had been using a nice, puffy, sweater, instead of the issued pillow, which are very dusty, I will have you know, so maybe it was allergies, inside the pillow case, and they laughed because they stole it. Funny.’

‘Oh, my God,’ he said. 

And she said, ‘I know you think I’m just a funny, old, woman, silly, and stupid, probably, but these things really struck me. And I would, further, like to say, that I was ashamed by my own behaviour, and decided to do something to make it right. I didn’t like her face. She has an annoying face. She looks like a boy, and she’s extremely sexual.’

‘That’s very honest, and I thank you for that.’

‘But wait, there’s more.’

‘Some of the women will walk around naked or half naked,’ she said. ‘I don’t know why, but she was one. Naked. Buck naked.’

‘Maybe that not right, though,’ he said. ‘The men do that a little. They say it’s because they don’t want to bring a towel into the dirty bathroom. Is that right?’

‘Well, that could be right,’ she said. ‘There was a European girl here at the same time, doing that, as well as a black woman, but they hunted her one night, and then laughed about it. We are not supposed to enter their rooms without permission, but the woman reported to others that she followed her in there to rail upon her over her nudity.’

‘She unlocked the door?’ he asked.

‘She did. She said she did. And they steal too. Food. And I know she does this, that particular staff member, because I’ve seen it. I have.’

‘Ohh,’ he said. 

‘So what do you think?’ she asked. ‘Do we take this higher?’

‘Ohh. Yess. We must,’ he says.

And this is what happens next. He thanks her profusely, and asks if he may name her in the report.

‘Written?’ she says.

‘Yes, I have to write it up.’

‘Can I just say one more thing?’

‘Yes.’

‘They also bragged about something else. This was some weeks later. They bragged about calling the paramedics and the police on her.’

‘For what?!’ he said.

‘Well,’ she said. ‘This is what struck me about that.’

‘What’s that?’ he said.

‘Nothing,’ she said.

‘Oh. Well, not something?’

‘Well, this is why they were bragging,’ she explained. ‘About six women claimed to be involved in harassing her, when she was sick.’

‘Oh, she was sick?’ he asked.

‘She was,’ she said. ‘She said that she was too sick to move rooms, at the moment. She never refused to do it, apparently, but, for the moment, she was too sick. And they called the paramedics. And, this you will not believe, but one of the older members of the staff, assaulted her, and bragged about it.’

‘What the hell? How?’

‘Well, it wasn’t officially--’ she said.

‘Officially?’

‘It wasn’t officially an assault, she said,’ the woman explained.

‘Oh,’ he said, laughing ruefully. ‘How unofficial was it?’

‘She shoved a piece of furniture in a very small room, quite hard, she bragged, and she’s not a small woman,’ the woman explained.

‘Well,’ he clarified, ‘she’s very tall?’

‘At the risk of giving her away,’ she confirmed, ‘she’s VERY tall.’

‘Oh, I see. Is she a social worker?’

‘I’m just going to say it,’ she said. 'She’s the accountant.’

‘Okay, so this will seem small potatoes,’ he says. 'but do you wonder why the accountant was in a room? It seems diametrically opposed to her role there.’

‘Well, this is exactly what I thought. And they further bragged that they had used her name, her first name, “continuously.”’

‘Oh, I see.’

‘I wonder, at this juncture, if I’m getting through to you.’

And she wasn’t, Loraine. She wasn’t, fully. But, he still had to make a report, and file, with it, the recording. No, he didn’t fuck up the recording, he just wasn’t that smart, Loraine, and you could hear that in his syntax, couldn’t you? I know you could, because you said it, to me, God.

‘Yes, that’s what I thought, God.’

Why? says God.

‘I don’t know.’

Okay, well, try. Look back. You thought, you’re thinking, even to go to--’ says God.

‘Right.’

Say that.

‘To go to the question of why the accountant was in a woman’s room, in front of the informant, God. Was she hurt--’

--would have been the obvious question,’ finishes God. ‘But you’re not smart and you thought of the other one too, but you wouldn’t have wanted to, wanted to, at least, say it in front of the informant, right?’

‘Exactly, God.’

Okay, so, and other things?

‘The feigned, or even real, surprise.’

What do you think it was?

‘Feigned.’

Why?

‘They must do the same shit to men.’

Right. Right, Loraine. Exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly, that,’ says God.  ‘Like cops, social workers, front line social workers, especially, though others do it too, others, you don’t know, no, not them, others, that you know, and don’t know, do it too. No, not him. Excellent people, all, Loraine. All three, that is.

‘Oh, cool,’ says Loraine Laney.

She knows three cool people, in the world, four, says God. And they aren’t close, at least now. They’re not, Nelly. Loraine Laney, your precious, she will be, to you, wife, is alone in the world, though people, her [ ], especially, still find a multitude of ways to screw her, and this was one of those people. She. ha-ted. Loraine, from the minute, the second she walked into the office, and, it is true, Loraine, and she will get a little, quite, famous, from this, because that is her, her legit pho-to-graph. on. the. web. site., on the fucking, God speaking, Cornerstone website, because Nelly, she broke, bent, actually, the pins, the pins, Nelly, on a nightlight. And you know they are steel, says God. 

‘Oh, right. I failed to see the implications of bent,’ says Nelly.

Loraine, Laney, showed the night light to the police when they next came, to move Loraine to another bedroom, one day before she was scheduled to sign a lease on her new apartment, on that day, they turned off the hot water. And nothing. was. done. Nothing, Loraine. They were sort of nice, but they didn’t do any police work, Loraine, which is what, de. fac-to, the police, the po-lice, Loraine, says God, are. for., says God.

Further, God says, they, and Loraine Laney doesn’t know this, reported her to The Royal for saying she was sick when she wasn’t, when. she. wasn’t. And this is how THAT conversation went, Lo-raine.

‘Oh, I see,’ said the nurse. ‘That has been a problem with her.’

That, says God, she is NOT allowed to say, NOT. NOT. NOT. NOT. NOT. NOT. NOT. NOT. NOT., ALLOWED. TO. SAY. ~ GOD

They will say anything about Loraine, any. fucking. bullshit, which comes to their stupid, imbecilic minds, they will say, and cops do it too, Loraine, to poor people, to drug addicts, to stupid people, to weak people, to immigrants, to women, to anyone who might become victimized by the statement itself, they LOVE what they do to people, and that is unequivocal. ~ God

I would like to say, God, Loraine, briefly, and I realize I said this would be brief and then it wasn’t, but I didn’t think you felt like writing, since you smoked crack all day, but you are, because you are mostly, almost always, completely, completely, completely, obedient to me. Completely. So thank you. And, don’t say, she is humble, humbled by my gratitude, and even worried that she is not obedient enough, Loraine Laney, my new messiah, you’re welcome, say nothing, don’t laugh, don’t. even. laugh. So we go on.

I would like to say the following that that nurse can be described, yes, she knows, and that is why, despite her failings, kidding, yes, she knows they are doing it, but she likes you, and that’s it. She does nothing, but she is nice to you, yay her, and remembers your name, yay. 

That nurse, God is continuing, can be described in the following way, I will. describe. her., Loraine. And this is what it is, she is white, she is stupid, and she is a pain in the ass for all concerned, even, ostensibly, evils, who love, as you know the word, pesadas, they love them, Loraine, they eat. that. shit. up., says God.

And this is what I would say about her. She’s such an idiot that everybody stays out of her way, yes, they do. And she’s a psycho bitch from hell, and yes, she knows you. She worked on that ward, and she still works there now, there’s almost no patients, the rooms are only half full, but she still works, many have quit, and she’s frightened of losing her job, which everybody knows, but what everybody doesn’t know is that she smokes crack, Loraine, and she is, one of the stand out detractors of drug addicts, Loraine. 

(to be continued)

[rezilient-m3]

So, this past weekend I had my first scheduled, court ordered visit with my daughters. The last time I've seen them was Feb 2019 and last time I spoke to them was April 10th. I can say, though, that they seemed to have a genuinely good time here and didn't want to leave. That made me super happy. Plus, Alex came home for the weekend and they all got along too. I was worried a bit. But, all of us together worked. Our son loved having them here and to play with. I loved it.

This post is about what I've been through with James about the whole situation. It was impossible. I'll go back to Friday morning. He called me at 7am, so I knew right away he was drinking. That was a piss off. The court order was to meet in another city at 5pm Friday and take them back Sunday at 5pm. I knew it wasn't going to happen if it was up to him. I stayed on the phone for 3 hrs with him. I didn't want to lose the chance of not getting my visit, so I thought somehow, staying on the phone with him would help that? Idk whatever. It was 3 hrs of bitching about his gf. She kicked him out again, threatened to call the cops and blah, blah, blah. It was also him blaming me for EVERYTHING. Like, why did I leave him for Alex, or why did I "grow up" for Alex and not him, or why am I living in a house that's not mine? It was all senseless BS. But I didn't argue; I held my tongue. He tried to ask me to wait until the next morning to get my girls, then I can have them until Mon or Tues. I said no, it was my time with them and nobody was going to stop me.

He ended up going to his step dads, left me on the phone for a minute and I finally hung up. Now, I immediately contact my lawyer. Then, I called the family services they have on that reserve. On call worker told me she couldn't help because it was a court order not from anyone involving them, so it's out of her jurisdiction and said maybe try the cops. I call them. Talked to an officer and explained my situation. Girl's were at their house, with the gf, her kids and possibly other people drinking and their dad was at his dads. He said he couldn't just go in there and remove my kids because my order isn't "police enforced." But he offered to escort me to the house at about 430, just to "keep the peace". Whatever, that was fine. He called me back half hour later and said he was going to go check at the house, just to be sure everyone was okay. That was great I said.

I waiting over an hour and a half for that call back. I was worried. But here's what happened: they were found alone. There was 3 of our daughters, 2 of the gf's, one was the 7 month old baby they just had. So, my oldest is 9 (10 in 2 weeks) and her daughter is 10. Still not old enough to be old enough to watch a small baby. So cop said he was contacting family services to report everything. Apparently the gf got ahold of her ex MIL to go get the kids, so that's where I had to go get them. I showed up there at 3 ish.

I was so happy to finally see them.! But when they walked out that door I noticed how infested they were with lice... like caked.! The two youngest had it so bad they had their scalps covered in scabs. I was so mad. But I didn't say anything. The two youngest were also in winter boots lol. We were all happy anyways. When we pulled into my town I took them straight to the pharmacy to go ask what the pharmacist would recommend to help their scalp. She said, at first glance, it looked like it was from lice. I said, yes there's a lot. So, I bought 5 boxes (not cheap) and a fine comb. I was ready to spend hours in their hair. And that's exactly what i did, that night until 1am, and again all next morning Saturday until like 7 that evening. I can say they're not fully cleaned out but holee, there was a big difference in how their scalps looked and felt. My poor girls. Their fucken dad's excuse was allergies; they were allergic to shampoo. Bull fucking shit.

Anywhoo, next day is Sunday, the day they're supposed to go home. I contacted family services again and see what they planned on doing. She didn't really have a clue, but said she was going to forward all her notes to the office Monday and it was all up to her supervisor. But I told her I didn't feel comfortable about taking them back to that house. She understood. She advised me that I should keep them with me. She's also informed me that their dad and this girl have had multiple calls prior to this weekend. They already have "a huge file" (her words) on them already. Wow. I had no idea. So, after all the consideration, I decided to keep them.

Before I go on, I should throw in here that I had a spare cell phone I gave to my oldest. She wanted to talk to her half sister through Snapchat, so I let her. Those girls were still where I picked up mine. Noted. Anywhoo, I signed into Facebook with the account I had made them so their dad could facetime me for the calls he was (and still supposed) to give me 3x a week. I signed into it so she can talk to him if they missed him. Good idea? I'd like to think so. I'm not a horrible, vindictive person. My girl's honestly need him too. Then, I added my side of the family, her aunties and some of their cousins. Then, she found her family, including James' mom, her grandma. She had no idea they were coming, so she found out what had all happened that Friday. She was not happy. I heard her say to my girl that she was going to try get them to her. So, that Sunday, I did think of her. I would have took them to her if she was willing. But when I searched for her name on FB, I couldn't find her. She must have blocked me lol. Whatever. So, I thought if family services wanted me to take them to her on Monday, I'd gladly take them. I thought. I even mentioned this in one of the three long emails I've written to my lawyer. I had to explain every detail of why I decided to keep them with me, instead of following an order. Scariest decision I had to make because breaking a court order is serious. Like, the possibility of my stuff just getting thrown out. I'm still a little scared of that. But I thought that an opinion of a professional of advising me to keep them for their wellbeing would trump anything else, right? I hope.

So, it's still Sunday. Kids got put to bed at 1030, cuz Alex had to wake up at 5 am to get to work and I had to wake up and start calling everywhere important. I went out for my last smoke for the night and all of a sudden cops show up. Ask me some questions, I told them everything. They said grandma was down the street to pick them up and they were just here to keep the peace. I told them I didn't want them to go back to their dad. They said dad claims the same thing, that he's concerned for their safety. What a goof. I was pissed. And emotional, all of this caught me off guard, I started to cry. Especially that this fucken woman could have handled this better. She could have had the decency to talk to me her damn self instead of showing up at 11pm at night with the cops. What a bitch. She claimed she didn't know my number. I said, "James did, or she could have found me on fb, OR she could have told my daughter she needed to speak with me." What. A. Bitch. Cops actually said I can say no and keep them but I'd be breaking my order. It didn't matter if James has broken order after order, the one time I did it, and with every good reason, I was the one getting in shit. But I agreed to.

I woke them up, after I pulled myself together. Helped them get ready and pack clothes to go with their grandma. I cried after they were gone. Like ugly cried. For a long time. I'm so grateful my bf was with me through all of that. It would have been harder if he wasn't.

All day Monday I didn't hear anything. It was the hardest day to deal with because I just felt so discouraged and so scared that I fucked everything up. I'm still scared. But this morning (Tues) I finally got ahold of the supervisor at family services. She said she was still waiting for the police report because she couldn't make a final decision without it. Okay then. But I sent her before and after pictures of my kids hair, and told them a lot of relevant things that would help make their decision. As for the calls and files beforehand for James and his gf that were made, I asked if there was any way my lawyer can see them to help my case, she told me he can contact their lawyer for access. So, I've informed my lawyer and that email he replied to ASAP lol. Jerk. But he's contacting them and will let me know what he finds. Court is the 9th.

That is all that has happened in the last 5 days. A lot of highs and too many lows. I'm so glad my girls know where I live, they've seen their room and all the things I've been doing for them. They had fun, when we weren't in the bathroom, but even then, I got to have one on one with each of them. They know I love them and I'm trying to get them to be here permanently. They didn't even want to leave. That's what made me happy.

So, now, it's the waiting game. To see what happens with their case with family services and our court. I'm fighting for them until they're here. They deserve stability and I'm so happy I've grown enough to give them that. I can't wait to start my life with all of us here. They deserve better.

Until next time. ✌

Pray for me. 🙌