#it's only a gambling problem if you're losing

[spencerslover-blog]

welcome to vegas, baby. give me the money, give me diamonds, give me rubies, baby.

[straylightdream]

collateral damage

part one: you’ll never leave me

feat: artist!hwang hyunjin x f.reader

↳ “He was left out in a sea of debit drowning. His only chance at surviving was marrying you. ”

arranged marriage au

warnings: mentions violence and death, gambling and drinking, dealing with past heartbreak and angst, unprotected sex, oral (both receiving) body worship, mentions of pregnancy. More warning to come in each chapters.

an: this is a part of my arranged marriage series I’m working on. I’m going to post this in short chapters and then when it’s finish post it all together.

series masterlist

𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰. Please fill out this form.

𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐬.

A young talented artist with the world at his fingertips, had one major flaw. He loves to gamble. That wouldn’t be an issue if he kept winning, the real problem is he kept losing. Each loss pushes him further and further underwater. He was left out in a sea of debit drowning.

A rough night at a poker game left him tied to an overpriced Italian leather chair fearing this was the end of the line for him. With a blackeye and a busted lip, he was waiting for the end to come. The door to the dark office opens and the one man he feared most walks into the room with a bodyguard on each side.

“Hwang Hyunjin, why do we keep meeting like this?” The man dressed in an extremely expensive black Dior suit walks in front of him.

Hyunjin winces looking up at him slowly. The man had a wicked grin playing across his lips. Hyunjin’s eyes travel to the gun the man holds in his hand. He doesn’t respond, he just stares at him. He knew whatever happened to him was his own fault. He was the one who couldn’t stop gambling. He would be his own undoing.

“Answer him,” one of the guards shouted, kicking Hyunjin's already broken rib. Hyunjin gasps in pain, closing his eyes trying to stay with it. The beating he took before being tied up was already taking a toll on him.

“I don’t know Sir,” he finally says, groaning in pain.

“Hyunjin, you're such a promising artist, with such a nasty habit for losing money,” the man in the suit walks towards him. “You know how much money you owe me right?” he crouches down so he’s eye level with Hyunjin.

“A lot Sir,” he groans.

The man reaches forward, grabbing Hyunjin’s jaw tightly. “You have no way to pay me back,” he growls. The look on the man’s face let Hyunjin know death was closer than he expected.

“I’ll figure it out sir,” Hyunjin had been trying to figure out for a while how to crawl his way out of debt. Every option he could think of still left him drastically short on money.

“I’m feeling overly generous today. I have a one way ticket out, you either take it or you have twenty-fours to figure out how you’re gonna pay me,” he lifts Hyunjin’s chin so he’s looking at him. “Every single god damn penny you owe me.”

“What is it sir?” No matter what it was he knew he had to take it, because there's no way he could get all the money he owed him in twenty-four hours. He’s as good as dead if he doesn’t take the offer.

“Marry my daughter, and all is forgiven,” he releases Hyunjin's jaw before gently smacking his cheek lightly.

Hyunjin’s eyes grow wide as he tries to process what he was just offered. He didn’t even know the man in front of him had a family let alone a daughter.

“How old is she?” he asks without really thinking of anything else.

“She’s your age,” he lets out a laugh.

“When will I marry her?” It didn’t matter who she was. He had no choice but to marry her. His life was hanging on the line.

“Is that a yes Hwang Hyunjin,” he walks away from him and takes a seat at his expensive oak desk. “If you’re wise you’ll marry her.”

“Yeah, I’ll marry her,” he had never even seen her, but she’s his only chance of surviving.

-

Laying in bed you’re awoken at four in the morning to your fathers phone call. Frantically you answer the phone worried something is wrong. Your father simply tells you to open the front door. Walking through your house in a robe wrapped tightly around your body you open the door to find your father and two of his guards standing on the other side.

For the longest time your father went out of his way to protect you from the evils of his job, but as you got older you saw what his job was truly like. You always tried to distance yourself from him, and had even tried to run away once but you were quickly found less then a week later.

“Hello darling,” your father says casually.

“Dad, what’s going on?” you say completely confused.

“I’ve brought you something,” one of his guards Minhyuk pulls a man with dark hair that reaches his shoulder in front of him. The boy immediately winces in pain, grabbing his side.

“What?”

“Darling, say hello to Hwang Hyunjin, your soon to be husband,” your father says as Minhyuk pushes the boy towards you. He can barely stand on his feet and you catch him before he falls.

“What the hell are you talking about?” you hold the boy up as you look at your father completely confused about what he is even talking about.

“He has a large debit to pay me, and that can only be paid by marrying you,” your father says too casually. As if forcing you into an arranged marriage is completely normal. “If you don’t want to marry him it’s fine. Tae will take care of him.”

Your heart sinks knowing exactly what will happen if you tell your father no. You literally hold this man’s life you’ve never met before in your hands. If you say no, Hyunjin most likely won’t even see the sun come up.

“Why?” you can’t help the tears that are threatening to fall as you stare at a man who has been clearly beaten by one of your father’s men.

“You’ll never leave me again, if you have him with you.” The older you get the tighter the grip your father fights to hold on your life. He tries to be in control in any possible way he can. You can’t do anything without him having a say. Your father made sure that when you opened your flower shop he had full control over the building, and clearly this is his way of having control of your romantic life.

“I’ll marry him,” you look at the beautiful man and see a guilt ridden expression on his face. Hyunjin is nothing more than a pawn in your father's game that is your life.

“I’ll have Yeji plan your wedding this week. Expect an extravagant wedding in two weeks. Oh and Hyunjin, and my darling daughter if you try anything funny to try to get out of this. Just know Hyunjin, I have no problem permanently removing you from this or any situation ever.”

Minhyuk pulls the door shut and you’re left standing there holding up a boy you’ve never met before. He steps away from you and stumbles over to the couch. You rush over to him, dropping to your knees trying to examine the damage your father left behind.

“I’m so sorry,” you say as you start to cry.

“Why are you sorry?” he groans, reaching up to brush away the dried blood from his lip.

“He’s just using you to make sure I can’t leave again,” reaching you to rest your hand on his cheek. You finally take a good look at him and realize how handsome he is.

“We’ll figure this out. I guess we’re a team now,” Hyunjin sighs. He reaches up resting hand on yours.

-

You realize your apartment isn’t really set up to have a second person living in it. You live in a one bedroom apartment with nowhere to put a second bed.

“My place only has one room,” you look into his warm eyes.

“That’s fine I can sleep on the couch,” he groans holding his side.

“I should probably clean up your cut,” you stand up holding your hand out. You don’t even know this man that is supposed to be your husband, but all you know is you want to help him.

Rushing off to your bathroom you pull out a first aid kit. You pause for a moment and look into the mirror at the site of your tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes. You knew your father went out of his way to control your life but you never thought he would arrange for you to marry a man you’ve never met. You couldn’t help but suddenly feel completely trapped by your father and he was making Hyunjin a pawn in his game.

Regarding taglist:

If you aren’t interacting with my writing outside of liking the new post I’m gonna have to remove your name from the taglist. You will also be removed if I try to tag you and your blog is listed as "invisible". If you've changed your URL and didn't let me know I will also be removing your name. I’m sorry for the inconvenience but my interactions outside or likes feels like it’s nonexistent right now. All of my taglist are still open though. If you request to be added to one via this form, I kindly ask for interactions in the form and feedback and reblogs. To be quite honest, those really encourage my writing.

[dawndelion-winery]

Fortune's Blessing

Meeting the God of Luck! Reader

Ft. Capitano(pt.2), Diluc, Dottore(pt.2), Pantalone(pt.2), Zhongli

Part 1

Capitano:

Fortune favours the bold

Or so he's heard, which is why he's once again at your altar, flowers in hand, along with his usual offerings

He takes more time in getting to his requests with each visit ever since you've started entertaining him in person

Terrible, really, the way he stalls, smoothly transitioning between topics the moment he sees you begin to lose interest

He knows there's only so long s mere mortal could hold your attention

Still he tries, adamant to make it work, to leave an impact on you, even if only a fraction of the impact you've had on him

Perhaps it really was time to be bold - what he planned to do would toe the line between courage and foolishness

"What is it you wish me to bless this time, Captain?" You murmur, tilting his chin to have him look at you as he knelt at your feet. He rose, kissing the back of your hand in reverence. Had you been anything but a god, you would have surely melted stthe intensity of his gaze, so steadfast and sure as he looked at you like there was nothing else in the world.

"It is a more...personal endeavour this time, Fortune." You raised an eyebrow at the captain prompting him to continue.

Diluc:

He's never considered himself particularly lucky or unlucky

Nor does he consider himself a devout believer of any god

Like yeah sure, gods exist, good for them, not his problem

Y'all failed him and let his dad die

So his first offering had been more of a formality since you were a friend of their archon and chose to visit their fair land of Mond

It just do happened his wine was the finest you'd tasted, and he found himself in much good fortune over the next few days

It felt odd to him, suddenly having this much good fortune after turning into a recluse

Greater still was his shock when you sat comfortably in his living room when he arrived home

"You are young lord Ragnvindr, yes?" you asked gleefully. "Your offering was received with much gratitude, and I am most regretful to inform you that it has run out."

He blinked a few times as you smiled at him expectantly. "You're...Fortune..." You nodded enthusiastically. "And you...you're asking for more wine?" His question sounded clipped, as though he were weighing the consequences of acquainting himself with yet another alcoholic god.

"Indeed, I took the liberty of installing a small shrine by your cellar for your convenience."

Your words left Diluc sighing, yet he couldn't help the small smile tugging at his lips as you left.

Dottore:

Attention whore.

You thought you were dealing with a genius mad scientist?

Well, technically yes, BUT he is also an attention whore

Why did you not shower him with praise when he showed you the experiments he had used your luck for?

He takes it as your cue to him that he hasn't impressed you sufficiently

Which does make him grumpier

And he's not professional enough to hide it

"Take a look at this, Fortune."

You nodded in response, gingerly lifting the small device from his hands and raising it to the light to observe it. Your face remained impassive since you didn't really understand just what you were looking at, but of course, to Dottore, he'd expect a god to know these things.

"Well?" Dottore tapped his foot impatiently, his gleeful smile fading, slowly replaced by a frustrated scowl when all you comment is that "it's nice". Only nice?

The little office chair he pulled out for you is now carting you off around the lab to look at larger scale projects at speeds it was certainly not designed for.

Pantalone:

It's an investment, as you should know

Except luck is always a gamble, and who's to say his competitors don't worship you as well?

He finds out the hard way that his competitors were, in fact petty enough to come together and pool their offerings to one up his offerings

He does call for a business meeting with you over dinner

Enjoy it? Lovely, he certainly hopes you do

Gives you an ultimatum, in a way, because at the end of the day, he's got more to offer you long term

"Forsake them, Fortune. Whatever it is you want from me, it's yours. Is that not tempting enough of an offer to you?"

He's batting his eyes at you, plastering a pleading expression on his face, but you can tell it's an act. You know full well he'd cope just fine even if you declined, that this was just the most direct way out for him. Yet you found yourself caving for the sly, coy grin that tugged at his lips. So against your better judgement you agree. For a second, you note how serpentine his victorious smirk looks, and he seems to believe he has you trapped in his coils. No matter. It amused you for the time being; and you would continue to humour him for as long as he intrigued you.

Zhongli:

It's been a while since he's met another god who wasn't one of the seven

Heck, it's been ages since he'd even seen the seven, each of them preoccupied with their own affairs

So he's more than obliged to show you around, to accompany you when you visit Liyue

He has no need for luck, just as you have no need for material wealth

It's an odd sort of comfort, not being exalted, and it feels like two ordinary old friends walking along the harbour together

The two of you definitely jokingly exchange gifts as "offerings" and tease each other about your respective abilities

"Do you recall our contract?" Zhongli mused as he fidgeted with a single mora, rolling it between his fingers.

"Which? When you were only known as Morax? Or when you first were revered as Rex Lapis?"

"From our first farewell." You nodded, thinking back to that moment, back when Zhongli had kept his hair more unkempt, and worn the most fitted of shirts, flaunting the geo lines that adorned his arms. Back then, he'd lost Guizhong not long ago, and it was beginning to get lonely as more and more of his friends succumbed to erosion. So he'd proposed a contract, that no matter what, as long as he remained in Liyue, you'd one day return.

"Well, I did return," you hummed. "That you did," he agreed. "And I'd like to propose the same contract when you depart again. Something to look forward whole you're away."

Taglist:@myluvkeiji @aqui-soba @favonius-captain @tiredsleep @raincxtter @gensimping-for-all @irethepotato @almond-adeptus @mx-kamisato @chaosinanutshell @heizours @haliyamori @callmemeelah @sadlonelybagel @plinkuro @thevictoriousmoon @mastering-procrastinating @cxlrose @astrequa @eowinthetraveler @ajaxstar @boundedbyfate @the-lost-anime-dad @moonbyunniee @greyrain23 @heavenlyfloof

Commissioned by @monstersealclubber

[madelynraemunson]

CALL OUT MY NAME ♛

(Book #2 of the Hellfire Gentlemen's Club Series)

CEO!bachelor!steve × fem!college grad!reader

MODERN AU • 18+ | BOOK #1 (e.m.)

slight age gap (Steve is 31, reader is 23); reader goes by the nickname "Sweets"

CW: slight age gap relationship, drinking, smoking, gambling, physical altercations, manipulation, abuse (DV, emotional, financial, mental), profanities, eventual smut

*loosely inspired by sara cate’s salacious players club*

Summary: 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐆𝐀𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐄. Steve Harrington has the WORST luck with the ladies. His high school sweetheart left him for another dude, his former fuck buddy is dating his roommate, and his dream girl is a lesbian. King Steve is losing hope. That is until he meets you — a newly graduated university student from Seattle — when your paths cross on a fateful night in Sin City. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas... that is until your risky business trickles over to Hawkins, Indiana, a town your best friend knows of a little too well.

theme song: call out my name by the weeknd

tag list is open 💌✨

Chapter 001: PROLOGUE

word count: 1.7k words

♛

Winter 2024

“WATCH OUT INDIANAPOLIS — you're about to get... absolutely SOAKED!”

The booming voice of a man in Steve’s bedroom stirs him awake.

Letting out a ferocious yawn, The King rubs his eyes free of the annoying crust in the corner of his sockets, flopping around one more time before doing his routine stretch.

“Google,” Steve commands. “Turn off the TV.”

The TV immediately switches off. It’s nothing personal to meteorologist Marcus Bailey, but if Steve ever needed an accurate forecast of Indianapolis, all he would have to do is look outside his penthouse window. And that, after brushing his teeth, is just what he does.

"G'morning Indy,” he sighs happily on his balcony before going back inside.

Steve then makes his way over to the kitchen to fix himself some breakfast.

“Google,” he calls out again. “Open the curtains, please.”

Google replies:

“Opening curtains. Good morning — Steve.”

"Google, what's my schedule looking like today?" "Google, text Dustin." “Google, what is the weather looking like in Nevada?” “Google, turn on my shower tunes.”

The best thing about not living with Eddie Munson anymore, is that Steve can shamelessly sing Amy Winehouse in the shower without being hounded about it.

“We only saaaid GOODBYE, with WORDS!” Steve sings, confidently off-key. “I died a hundred times! You go back to her, and I goooo baaack toooo…”

"Scanning fingerprint...”

an automated voice announces at the entrance of Steve's walk-in closet.

Swish...

The door slides open. Sauntering his way inside, Steve ventures for some slick black athleisure down to the shoes, his usual musky cologne, and some matching sunglasses (despite the gloomy forecast prediction).

Black. 🎶

Steve Harrington is ready for the day.

---

"Google, make reservations for 3 people at Tony's Steakhouse at 7pm please."

All Steve had left to do for the day now was grocery shop. Which was always a hassle. Because sometimes, the store doesn't have the specific brand he's looking for so the shopper has to opt for an alternate version. Or sometimes, the shopper assigned to him that day chooses produce that is nearing its expiration date making every fruit in his bag a mushy mess. It doesn't happen too often, but it sure feels inconvenient as hell when it does. There are worse problems in life though, so Steve really can't complain.

*Ring, ring. Ring, ring*

The very distinct and custom ringtone has Steve bolting across the room to answer the call. One of his best friends was on the other line.

"Yello?" he says into the phone.

"Hey, it's Shy Girl," comes a voice. "Eddie and I are pulling in."

"Pull off to the side. Valet's got it. I'll send you guys up."

A bottle of cabernet sauvignon a la Steve awaits the pair when they make their way over. Consider it a Tony's pre-game.

"GameWorld stock is up 4% today,” Steve's buddy, and owner of Hellfire Gentlemen's Club Eddie Munson announces as the two clink glasses. "I don’t have much faith in it though, figure I’ll get my pie slices from actual grocery stores. Like Meijer.”

“Everyone's always gonna need groceries,” Steve points out. "Definitely. Just don't day trade. Not now."

"Ooh, you hear that, Eds?" Shy Girl nudges him. "You gotta be careful where you put your money."

"I gotta be careful with my money, period," Eddie smirks. "You're a danger to my pockets, angel."

"Oh but you love me," she says.

"Yeah," Eddie gives in, grabbing his lover's dainty digits, trailing his fingers across hers, and rubbing the glistening rock that took up most of her left hand on the distal side. "I sure do."

"I'm just... so proud of us," Steve sappily reflects. "So much has happened over the past two years and we've all come so far."

"Yeah," Shy Girl agrees. "And it's about fucking time we celebrate."

"I agree," Eddie chimes in, raising his glass once again. "This weekend trip is going to be... one for the books."

"Viva Las Vegas," Steve toasts. "Cheers."

"Viva Las Vegas!"

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

Black and red.

They're the two colors that occupy your closet the most. But of course, after graduating from Washington State University (or Wazzu, for short), you expected nothing less.

You could do with some more sequins though, you think to yourself as you pack your bags.

"What do you think of this, Sweets?"

Peering over your shoulder, you see that your best friend, Elle has started festivities early, managing to hold two glasses of champagne in one hand, and six-inch stilletoes in the other.

"Can't take the party out of the girl, that's for damn sure," you respond.

When you left Seattle to attend WSU Pullman, Elle was your only friend in business class. Mainly because the class was predominantly for dudes, but eventually you found out that you two have a lot in common.

Elle is everything you would want in an older sister figure: she is both book smart and wise, she is sexy, and she eats men for breakfast. And, now that she's about to celebrate the launching of her lingerie business (along with her Dirty 30s Era), and you're about to enter your new-grad era, you two are hitting up Las Vegas to go ham together one last time.

It's all so bittersweet. You owe everything to the Warrens, having taken you in when you were a lost undergrad. It also sucked quite a bit not having a support system after graduating high school. You and Elle were all each other has. Which makes this inevitable separation so much more painful.

"Are you sure you're okay with Vegas by the way?" you question. "I know since the split, being surrounded by gorgeous girls 24/7 can kinda be triggering.”

"Don't worry about it, love," she shakes it off. "The past is in the past. This is a new era of me."

Cheers to that. Clinking your airport-pregame champagne glasses with one another, you raise a toast to yourselves, celebrating how far the two of you have come over the past four years.

"To friendship."

"To friendship."

"To being elegant and educated."

"To elegance and education."

"And to being girl-bosses for the rest of our lives."

You giggle as you raise your glass of champagne even higher.

"To being girl-bosses for the rest of our lives," you two take a sip at the same time. "And no matter how near and no matter how far, we're always gonna be besties."

"I love you, Sweets."

"I love you too, Isabelle."

divider from @plum98

🏷️ taglist: @potatobeanpie @xblueriddlex @angietherose @winchester-angel @aactuaaltraash @hugdealer @hazydespair @frostandflamesfanfic @mediocredreams @bl0ssomanddie @corkadymu @eddiesguitarskills @mrsjellymunson @cadence73 @m-chmcl-rmnc @n-slayaaaaa @corrodedcoffincumslut @kennedy-brooke okay i think i tagged everybody

10/23/2024 -- @micheledawn1975 @maisiepotatobeans @1deverland just updating the tag list :))

[powdermelonkeg]

Something websites (*cough* Tumblr *cough*) need to learn is that what retains an audience isn't an abundance of new bells and whistles to play with, it's a coherent experience overall.

When someone joins a website, you don't need to grab their attention and hold it. They're already testing the waters. They've agreed to sign up. You've won on that front, and they're there for something specific you already have that they're hoping works well.

What drives them away is frustration.

Frustration, frustration, frustration.

Learning curves are going to be a part of any new website experience; they're something the user comes to terms with, in their own time. But broken or bad features are going to make them jump sites.

On top of that, constantly adding new features makes them feel like all the hard work they've put in to learning what you have isn't worth it; your website looks unstable and your staff looks incompetent, because it gives the impression that you don't know what you're doing.

You are floundering. It makes your new users nervous. It makes your old users hesitate to bring anyone else on board. And why should they? Why should they put effort into it if you're going to throw that effort away next Tuesday? Why get used to a UI that you're not going to bother to keep? Why customize anything if you're going to whittle that customization away?

Between that and the broken, unattended features of this site—the tag organization failing, the inability to look up posts word-for-word, the video player either refusing to play or yanking you to the top of the dashboard, images taking forever to load, advertisements blaring at full volume when you scroll past, you have your problem.

You have the reason why your numbers are failing.

It's not that you're not interesting enough.

It's not that you're too difficult to understand.

It's that you aren't improving what you have, yet you keep adding more half-broken things and unwanted copycat features to the pile.

It's that you're losing your identity in pursuit of a hypothetical perfect customer.

It's that you are actively telling your user base that you prefer those hypothetical customers over them. And your user base, your real people who make you happen, are smart enough to know where your priorities lie.

The bulk of this post talks about Tumblr, but other sites have gone the same way. Twitter is dead and its corpse is decaying in the street. Reddit has sabotaged any trust its users had in its management. If you'd like a really old example—I used to use Fanfiction Net. It's not the most intuitive website in the world, but it was the first one I called home.

I used it to host my works. The adware now on it makes it a hassle to navigate. The bots make comment sections and private messages a dread rather than a joy. So I moved on.

I also used to use it to collaborate on stories with my now-roommate. The message limit was 300 a day. When you're writing dialogue between characters, that's nothing.

So I moved on. We started messaging on Facebook. It was better, it didn't have a limit. But then I learned Discord existed, and I could edit messages, make dedicated channels, etc. So I moved on from Facebook to Discord. And Discord had a steep learning curve, especially if you're trying to make your own server rather than contribute to one. But, most importantly, the payoff was worth it.

If Discord changed its layout every other month while I was learning it, and broke how its reactions worked, and kept shifting what it meant to create a channel? If it opted me into servers I didn't sign up for, in hopes of engagement? If its text never formatted correctly, or its search function only went back a day or two?

I would have gone right back to Facebook. Even if it's a more basic experience, basic is always preferable to unstable.

Figure out what you want, websites.

Slow growth, or a gamble?

You're paying for your magic slot machine in users.

[shadowed-yet-vibrant]

Today, our firm hosted a CLE about mental health and substance abuse in the legal profession. It was a well-done presentation, trying to fit the breadth of a decades-long systemic issue into a neat PowerPoint while keeping it at only one hour long (not .1 more or .1 less).

It feels like a pointless uphill battle. You're asked to make 2100 billed hours per year (or more). As a junior associate you need to achieve perfection - but you don't even know where the standard is, not yet, you're too new and you're trying your best. You're asked to attend non-billable CLEs and networking events and participate in bar associations and look ahead to business development and go out with your colleagues and socialize with clients in non-billable events and. and. and. You know who at the firm is an alcoholic - maybe you are too. You laugh at jokes about online gambling - you know the partner who gambled away his last paycheck, and he's laughing. You know who's filing for their third divorce. Who's about to lose the kids. Who missed their son's state-level championship game because they had a call with a prospective client (he won't forget, he'll never forget).

But they ask you to take care of your mental health (but you're chastised if you don't respond to the 1am email from the partner within 10 minutes). But they ask you to take care of your physical health (but there's a beer fridge in the break room). But they ask you to practice well-being (but they expect you on-call 24/7). But they tell you to get enough sleep (but the junior associate got less than an hour because of the partner's poor planning). But you need to look out for signs of mental health concerns in your peers (but you're also thinking about dying).

I could write a novel on this. Many attorneys have written similar ramblings, articles, studies, surveys, so I don't really need to. It's a problem. But there's been no real attempts at change. Sure, yes, there's awareness. But billable demands keep rising. So do standards in not just federal court, but state court. But you're at a firm that pays so well you'll endure whatever demands they put on you because that's just too damn good to lose. But you feel like shit every day. But- hey, well, the partner has been doing this for 45 years now. Why can't you?

[imtotallynotthere]

Random thought that won't leave me alone:

Has anyone ever thought of a crossover between Transformers (Bayverse or Tfp) and SCP Foundation? Granted, Bayverse would make the most sense.

The absolute chaos that would unfold would be amazing.

The autobots end up figuring out there is a LOT more to Earth than just the known animals and humans. Reality benders do exist. Behind those doors is torture, death, and a bit of wholesomeness mixed in.

God exists? Yeah, in a way. Stay away from the Scarlet King and stop thinking about him before he gets even closer to tearing through reality.

No, you don't recognize the bodies in the water. Optimus, tell Lennox he doesn't and take him away before you lose him.

Imagine their reactions when they get closer to Earth and see a giant creature in space only to find out later that it's called a lobster. President, what do you mean keep quiet about it?!

I have a feeling finding out about the Foundation would be an accident. Maybe an SCP got loose? Maybe they saw a reality bender bend reality? Who knows?

They would definitely be sworn to silence though and I'm sure they wouldn't have too much of a problem once they realize how disastrous it would be if word got out about them and the Foundation. Yeah, some might think they people deserve to know of the danger, but the cons outweigh the pros.

Now, whether the SCP Foundation supports the autobots during the hunting of them under the government's nose would be a gamble. However, I doubt they would really intervene.

They would probably feel a bit intimidated that their lovely hood is truthfully one decision away from being locked up. One misstep and it's into a cell or some other reinforced area.

Deceptions want to use some of those SCPs? Good luck finding a site. They want site-19? Oh boy.

You wanna hunt them down? Okay, give us some of the parts you get. Make us some good guns out of it while you're at it.

It's an idea to think of. Anyways, till next time people of Tumblr!

It would be a sort of small alliance.

[danieyells]

"Lulu~!" Taiga called out cheerily as the doors to the VIP room were pulled closed behind him. Romeo glared up over the corner of one of his security laptops at the sudden intrusion, but he couldn't truly be angry at his underlings for letting Taiga in without question. No matter their factions, Taiga was Captain at the end of the day and they all listened to him. Except Romeo, of course.

"What is it now." He returned his eyes to the Eyes In The Sky on his screen, carefully monitoring the cameras for any foul play. Despite that he was paying close attention to everything happening, somehow what Taiga said next was a surprise.

"Ran out of cash again!" The boss laughed, throwing himself carelessly onto the couch nearest Romeo, as he snapped his head towards him with fury in his eyes. Taiga only grinned in response. "Gimme some more money and I'll pay you back, eeeh, before tomorrow morning!"

"Are you serious, you BTH!?" How Taiga's luck worked never really crossed Romeo's mind--he assumed it was part of his stigma or his pact--but he knew he was being honest about getting the money back to him eventually as Taiga always wound up with more than enough. It didn't make his frivolity regarding wealth any less annoying however. "How did you lose all of it!?"

"Gyahaha! If you keep yelling like that, your pretty voice's gonna get all raspy, Lulu!" As if paranoid, Romeo reached for the drink on the table. "You've been watching the cameras, you shouldn't have to ask me how I lost. That's just how gambling is. You win some you lose some."

"Why should I give you more money if you're just going to lose it all!?"

"Because you know I'll make it all back." He wasn't wrong. He always paid back what he owed, usually with interest Romeo hadn't even asked for. Taiga put his arms behind his head and made himself comfortable, watching Romeo try and bring some semblance of calm to himself before he started getting wrinkles. "You know I don't lose in the long run."

"And what happens when you don't." Romeo sounded tired. He returned his attention to the cameras, not wanting to be distracted. "What happens when someday you lose it all and I'm not there to give you more?"

Taiga rolled over, resting his cheek on his hand. His eyes never left Romeo's face. "All you've gotta do to make money in this world is get your hands a little dirty."

His sharp grin widened as Romeo cringed. "I'd prefer not to have to get dirty at all."

Taiga reached a hand out towards Romeo's scrunched brow, to which Romeo leaned far out of his reach, judging his filthy hand. "That's what you've got me for, Lulu." He took his hand back and smiled at him. It was almost gentle, as sweet a smile as someone as vicious as Taiga could manage.

"I'm here so your pretty hands can stay pretty and clean." Taiga crossed his arms under his chin, resting them on the armrest. "I made you a casino so people would hand you everything they've got for a chance at fortune, and so you could see people who judged you feel just as bad as you did when you lost everything. You've got me so you'll never lose everything again, not for long."

". . .and why do you do all of that?" Why do all of that for someone he fights and terrorizes and hurts and hasn't gotten along with for months, if not a year? Why do all of this, saying it's for him, then give him more problems? Taiga's sweet smile turned toothy again. It was still a little sweet even with the row of fangs in his mouth.

"I do all this so someday I come home--to my own place, not to this place--" Taiga scooched closer to Romeo, draping his arms over the arm of the couch to loll comfortably. Romeo glanced at him to make sure he wouldn't try and touch him again before returning his gaze to the EITS. "I come home, a mess of blood and shreds of someone else's life. And you look up and tell me to stop tracking blood on your floor."

Romeo blinked and looked back at his grinning captain. ". . .why am I there?"

"And I drop a stack of cash in front of you and you stop being mad for long enough to say 'good job, BTH. Your dinner's in the kitchen BTW.'"

"This little story of yours sounds one trip to Mortkranken away from me being KU."

". . .'Knocked up?'" Taiga cackled after giving the acronym a thought. "Gyahaha! I mean if that's all it takes to get you to sleep with me, we could go to Mortkranken right now and take the rest of the week off!"

"It's Sunday."

"It'll be a long week." Taiga rolled over again, and Romeo snapped at him for putting his shoes on the couch. He was ignored, as always. "You wouldn't be the one cooking, by the way. You pay people to cook and clean. With the money I give you."

"And the Institute?"

"Eh. Jin calls me if he needs something or someone dead. Sometimes I still help out because anomalies taste better than just about anything else I can eat."

"And what's the timeline for this little prediction of yours? If that WNP is in charge it must be a ways off."

"Not sure yet. Just making my plans for the future." The ideal future. One he won't want to abandon. It won't be this one, he's pretty sure. But it's nice to think about.

"And what exactly am I doing in this future?"

"Whatever you want, Lulu!"

"And you think I want to spend the rest of my life with you!?"

"I think you'll want the sure thing. And you and I both know I can be the sure thing. And I don't think anyone else will be able to afford," Taiga rubs his fingers together to emphasize the monetary meaning, "to give you the life you want without asking for anything in return."

Romeo watched Taiga silently, trying to banish a blush from his face. Taiga watched the EITS, occasionally criticizing the choices of customers, the behavior of dealers, and the casino overall, insisting Romeo make changes he knew he wasn't listening to.

The distant thought of returning to a carefree and wealthy life like in his youth, the only payment he had to make being that he would see Taiga every day, didn't sound bad at all. The only bad part(aside from that he would ultimately be relying on Taiga of course) was that it sounded like Taiga imagined him staying home all day.

He didn't particularly want to work hard--he would happily lean into the brand influencer lifestyle, or perhaps become a socialite and do nothing but attend parties and events(the thought of attending an Institute event and matching fake smiles with Jin for photos crossed his mind making his eye twitch--perhaps not that)--but he couldn't imagine himself not getting restless after a while.

Perhaps he would find a creative outlet--get into fashion design maybe--or. . . .

He imagined himself doing what he does now. An unassuming front business hiding illegal activities. Perhaps he wouldn't have to handle the more sensitive things himself, in such an ideal world--Taiga would give him trustworthy people who would dirty their hands at his command--but the ones with debts would grovel at his feet and be at his mercy nonetheless.

The thought of losing everything again crashed the rising high of this shared daydream.

". . .There are no sure things." He finally sighed, trying to get a grip on what he'd missed on the cameras while zoned out. "Least of all with money. And gambling."

"Yeah, yeah." Taiga agreed, of course. Anyone in their line of work would have to know how fragile wealth and power were. "But do you really think I won't be able to make back what I'm asking for? C'mon, help your boss out~!"

"You already lost everything I gave you!" Taiga laughed and admitted that was true. Nonetheless, Romeo pulled his wallet out of his pocket and fetched a decent amount of yen to offer to him. "Your interest is double the total. Per day!"

"I'll give you triple by tomorrow afternoon!" Taiga cheered, hopping up and snatching Romeo's whole wallet and heading out the doors before he could do more than aim his rifle at him in protest. "Thanks, Lulu~!"

"YOU BTH, GET BACK HERE--!" Romeo yelled after him, slamming a fist into the table and starting to rise. He grit his teeth, hearing Taiga laugh through the slammed VIP room doors, but didn't want to abandon the cameras in case there was more trouble than Taiga out there. Tucking the intended loan away in his pocket, he watched Taiga exchange a large amount of his money for chips and make his way to a table and put a stack down and play. He cursed his name and resumed security, occasionally glancing at wherever he caught Taiga's red head, counting the chips as they increased with every win.

By the time it was time for him to take a break(watching screens all day would do terrible things to his eyes, for one thing) and a certain 'BB' had arrived to keep an eye on the cameras for him, Taiga had made enough to pay him back. His luck was the only somewhat reliable part of him.

He kept playing anyway, perhaps set on that triple repayment. Taiga didn't think of money as strictly as Romeo did--he made it, he threw it away, if he lost it the biggest problem was hearing Romeo complain, not having no money. Romeo envied that lackadaisical mindset. Once upon a time he felt similarly--money was something to be spent, and he would always have it.

Taiga had no problem getting money one way or another, even if Romeo wasn't fond of his methods.

If not for Darkwick he'd likely never have to borrow a cent from Romeo.

Taiga's little fantasy crossed his mind again, the idea that he was the closest to a 'sure thing' Romeo could safely get. Of a life as cushy and privileged as he could want, his only payment that he would have to deal with Taiga for the rest of Taiga's life(because he most certainly would outlive that buffoon.) Essentially the sugar baby of a yakuza.

Well, sugars didn't usually live with and care for the houses of their benefactors.

He'd jokingly called the imaginary future version of himself a housewife, but that was the closest thing he could imagine between them in such a scenario.

That Taiga would be his Blundering Thoughtless Husband.

He slammed his hand in frustration against the bar, cursing Taiga's name and finishing his drink before demanding the laughing Rui make him another.

"It really is good to hear about you guys spending time together again, though!" Rui chimed, sliding Romeo his spritz. He hadn't told him the whole story though, just that Taiga had taken his wallet but he had enough to pay. "It's like all's right in the world when you two are together, y'know? You were together when we all got here, so it doesn't feel right having you apart!"

Somehow that only made him feel more embarrassed. Him being with Taiga being right.

It had always felt right.

Taiga had also proved right about his gambling, passing Romeo his wallet and several stacks of ¥10,000 notes when the vice captain returned to Sinostra a little tipsy, before making his way to the depths of the ship where his own room was, complaining to one of his guards about being hungry again.

Romeo counted it once he'd returned to his own room. Exactly what had been in his wallet times three.

A shower and a lengthy bedtime beauty routine later, and Romeo lied in bed, drifting off after a long day.

He hated it when Taiga was right.

But he hoped Taiga might be somewhat right about a better future.

[vylithscat]

coming to meet your parents - obey me! hcs

trying to be a little more consistent with posts, so here's a couple thoughts that came to mind when discussing families with a friend! {also, don't mind any format changes, trying new things!}

prompt: you've got a visit with your parents coming up, but you're not sure who'd be a good choose to bring.. genre: general, you/your pronouns, gn!mc pairings: bros + dateables (minus luke)

You were visiting home soon, very soon actually, and your family wanted to meet these new brothers. After you said that you met them on an exchange program, they were all very sweet towards you.. And who knows what else you spurted out when rambling on and on about them. Your parents always gave you weird looks when you talked about how good they were, and you never realized when you talked about it until they cut in, “Are you sure they’re everything you say they are?”

With a pounding headache creeping up at the thought of all seven of them coming up with you and causing chaos in your parents home, you snapped your pencil lead and cursed under your breath before looking through your bag for your sharpener, only for a familiar hand to appear beside you with one in his palm.

“How’s my favorite student doing?”

“Oh, haha,” You dryly responded, your nose scrunching up at Solomon as you took his sharpener, “You only said that because I snapped my pencil, huh?”

“You were also staring rather intensely at your paper beforehand.” You let out a sigh and began explaining your situation to him, his face beamed and you couldn’t help but worry at the look of pure joy on his face as the two of you approached..

Lucifer

He didn’t like the idea when it came from Solomon

But then he saw your pleading eyes,, He can’t say no to you,,

When going up, he goes by Lucien around family

He doesn’t need to act any different really, but he doesn't exactly go with the flow, so..

But for the most part, you’re fine sending yourself up with Lucifer!

Don’t stumble over his name though, he might correct you incorrectly

Your parents will most likely enjoy your time with him

Well spoken, good manners, and looks put together when he first steps in the house

I mean, have you seen his outfit in the human world? C’mon..

Bring him along for some tea, lunch, really anything involving food and drink and a quick chat, he shouldn’t be a problem

Just be sure somebody will be able to check on his brothers while you’re gone

Mammon

He doesn’t like being called Mason

But if it’s you, he might give it a chance..

Don’t go out somewhere, he’ll somehow end up blowing his money and setting a bad first impression

Leave any money at home, seriously..

Away from gambling, he’s a great time!

Good humor, really chipper and generally a good man

Just don't let ANY bets get on the table no matter what, please..

Keep your time busy with eating and chatting

Follow it up by some board games or card games if you’re up for it

You could be up late at night, fucking around, and your parents would get a nice impression

As long as you keep bribes and bets out of the photo, you’re fine

Leviathan

Unlike everyone else, he didn’t need to go by anyone else, so slipping up wasn’t a worry!

But getting him to even come with you?.. Good luck

He’ll be practically begging you to think it over, invite someone else

Literally anything to get out of it.. He loves you, but not other normies

He’ll be beyond nervous meeting your parents

You don’t have much to worry about unless somebody brings up anime or TSL

Really quiet, nervous shuffles while you eat

Find a way to include games into the bonding, one that he could pick up as easily as any other game

Although he might get a little ramble-y in his explanations, it shows he’s very passionate!

Your parents most likely will find him sweet, a bit on the quiet side though

And, praise him afterwards.. That was a lot for his shut-in otaku self..

Satan

If you call him ‘Sully,’ even for a joke, he’s gonna lose it. So, Samuel it is! (please..)

He’s well spoken and usually doesn’t cause problems, unless he’s pissed, so really do anything

Best bet would most likely be a café, cat themed, maybe with books and actual cats

He’ll be in absolute BLISS

But save it for the end, especially if your parents like cats too, just to end it off on a high note

Will be fine with giving book recommendations to your parents

He can do most other things though, that’s just your best bet

Parents want to have a chat over some coffee? Sure, about what?

A dinner? Fine by him, he’ll try anything

As long as they don’t get under his skin too much, he won’t have a problem

And your parents didn’t have a problem either, they find him knowledgeable and friendly

And if they saw him with cats, they believe he’s more gentle when alone with you, so they're happy

Asmodeus

He finds his human name of Atlas to be very alluring

So he doesn’t mind, but you need to make it up to him

Fuck, good luck with him though..

He’s really bad at holding his tongue about you and anyone who’s attractive to him

Not to mention he’s an influencer, so he may care about photos before touching any food

And you can’t really take away an influencer’s phone..

But, if your mom enjoys makeup and nails, they’ll get along fine

And if you’re dad’s open minded, they’ll get along fine

It all depends on what your parents are like, really

For the most part it can go super well, or super bad!

Not saying to not to pick him, just,, know it’s a dice roll

Beelzebub

He didn’t understand the whole human name thing,,

Beel isn’t a bad name is it? Regardless he’ll go along with the Bryan thing

There’s no way your parents can hate this gentle giant

I imagine he looks terrifying but then he starts talking and you can’t feel anything but safe

Just be careful on the food wait and how much he eats, or he might get bad looks from your parents

But for the most part he’s a safe choice!

Big ol’ sweetheart, you can’t go wrong if you’re careful

If you’re ever nervous about how he might react to waiting, bring a few snacks

Just explain he’s a sports guy and maybe they’ll look past the absolute speed at which he eats

Overall, your parents will probably feel good about Beel

Just,, warn them if he’s coming, so they can cook some extras or cancel the outing plans,, please.

Belphegor

He was half asleep when you explained meeting your parents and the whole him being called Beau for the day..

He shrugged, “Okay.” Slept again.

When he realized how soon it was coming up..

He didn’t get enough sleep for him to stay awake really

Best to go to some sort of observatory with stars so he can point out anything he knows, either directly or indirectly to your parents

He is practically falling asleep on you though, so good luck

When he is asleep, just explain he’s been working hard and must’ve exhausted himself

Parents will be concerned, but understanding (hopefully)

When he is awake though, let him enjoy the stars and the silence

You may need a few more visits for your parents to form a proper opinion, though..

Diavolo

A chance to go to the human world and avoid his work!?

Sign him UP!.. Oh, a new name? Damien? Okay!

He’s gonna accidentally introduce himself of Diavolo, no matter what

Your parents are,, confused to say the least

I mean, you’re with a man who owns a HOTEL? Definitely hit high, kiddo..

Good news, you don’t have to worry about stumbling over things!

Bad news, Diavolo wants to experience so many new things in the human world that it may slip he wishes he had it back home

Even simple things, like certain fair foods,, like hot dogs.

It confuses your parents beyond belief but you can play it off that he was sheltered (I mean, he was..)

Overall, they have a fun time! Taking him to an amusement park was a great idea

They saw a great man who was willing to experience new things, aside from thrill rides..

Bring the man back, he really wants to experience that again :(

Barbatos

His duties should take priority, but Diavolo gave him permission to go for the day

With a cleared schedule and a carefully picked out outfit,, fuck does he make a good impression

But, he’s stiff and really wants to help out, especially with things like teas

To a point your parents are furrowing their brows at you

And you aren’t about to force Barbatos to not be a butler, it’s in his nature by now

Once he does sit, he doesn’t answer much about him

But he always smiles when he responses, is quick to refill drinks and checks on you often if you seemed stressed or tired

It’s a great impression, showing he deeply cares for you

And that he comes off as hardworking or at least caring for others

So, you really can’t lose unless your parents have problems with not knowing everything at once

Just,, know if you fall asleep at all, he may lightly tease you with your parents

Simeon

Seriously, how can you fail with bringing him?

When he found out from Solomon you needed a plus-one, he offers to join you if nobody else can

Accept on the spot or later, he’ll manage to bring something for your parents

Usually some food, like his sandwiches, or something Luke made with proper praise of the boy

Your parents do accidentally assume that Luke’s your son though..

Consider dismissing that before Simeon starts joking at having kids

Aside from the first-first impression, he’s overall very sweet

He can talk about anything for a good amount of time, and always has honeyed words about you

If your parents manage to bring up TSL, slip in that he wrote it

It’s good praise, albeit a bit embarrassing for Simeon

But if your parents enjoy the series, meeting the author would be nice!

They feel blessed to have him in your life,,

(Regardless if they know he’s an author or not)

Solomon

Yeah, this was his idea, but after all the trial and error..

You invited him instead of the demons, for your own sanity

His title carries some weight, so there’s no doubt he’s known by your parents

But you assure them he’s not as bad as the rumors say

Get used to him intentionally trying to embarrass your ass, because he will do it ALL the time

If you’ve told your parents about your training, he’ll non-stop praise you and your skills

If not, he’ll praise your general learning skill and how you’re a great listener

In any sense, you’ll be very embarrassed by the end

Your parents will give you many smiles and laughs about it too

He does say some stuff weird, and dances around personal questions, but that's about it

He’s not a bad choice at all, just a little odd for a human

Your parents will get a good impression of him and (hopefully) change their views about him

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Double Hostage Situation - The Ultimate Uno-Reverse

Warnings: threat of death, violence, morally gray anti-hero, blood

Summary: Shadow is a morally gray hero who was ambushing Sebastian's base with Thomas, her human companion. Until it all went wrong, and Thomas found himself being used as a hostage. But unfortunately for the enemy... Sebastian wasn't the only one with leverage.

"Enough! Surrender to me at once or I'll kill your human pet!" Sebastian roared threateningly. Thomas could feel the cold metal of the gun pressed to his temple.

   "Too bad you're not the only one with something the opposing party wants." Shadow suddenly appeared, dragging a young man along with her as she stepped out into the open. She had a firm hand gripping the back of the collar of his shirt, and the other hand held a dagger, which was pressed to his neck.

   Thomas could see the young man was trembling in fear, looking desperately at Sebastian with wide, pleading eyes and muted panic written on his face.

   "Jonas..." Sebastion whispered under his breath, his voice hitching.

   Thomas tried to meet Shadow's gaze and gauge her intention, but she was zeroed in on Sebastian like a hawk fixated on its prey, and didn't even glance at him.

   "As you can see, we have a bit of a problem now..." She said flatly. "If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is your only son? The resemblance is quite clear." ((("Either both of us win, one of us does, or we both lose all. Quite an intriguing game, don't you think?"))) Her lips twitched upwards into a self-satisfied smirk as a tense standoff ensued between her and Sebastion. "A life for a life seems like a fair trade, is it not?"

   "If I play your hostage game... you'll release Jonas first, right?" Sebastion said, and Thomas could see him struggling to keep his voice from wavering and maintain his composure.

   Shadow let out a single mirthless laugh, shaking her head in amusement. "I think you might have misread the situation... you are not negotiating with me here. I make the offer, you take it or leave it. Period. My way or the high way." She tightened her grip on Jonas, and Thomas could see him fighting back a wince. Shadow jerked her head meaningfully towards Thomas. "You let that kid go first, and in return your son lives to see another bright and wonderful day."

   "How do I know you won't just kill him anyway once I release your human companion?" Sebastian asked, voice laced with suspicion.

   Shadow's eyes danced with cruel delight. "That's the fun part... You don't. And you know me well enough by now to know that I am far from being worthy of trust. But you also know I don't usually say things I don't mean. Which means that I will absolutely follow through with my threat if you give me a reason to." She shrugged nonchalantly. "At least by making the trade, your son has an increased chance of survival."

   "You--You're bluffing!" Sebastian sputtered in disbelief.

   "Am I?" Shadow pressed the blade deeper into Jonas's neck, and Thomas could see him visibly flinch as a thin stream of blood trickled down his throat. "Is that a gamble you're willing to bet his life on?"

   "Okay! Okay... wait, just don't hurt him. I need a second to think." Sebastian scrambled for words.

   "You have ten of those seconds. But I won't let you stall for any more time than that." Shadow's eyes glittered coldly, and Thomas couldn't help a fearful shiver. He'd never seen this side of her before. The cold, calculating monster that had been described to him before by various sources. She'd always been strong and fierce, but he never actually thought she'd go this far. He'd tried hard to believe that she was better than that, seeing as she was on the hero team.

   But in her face, in every taut muscle of her body... he knew in an instant that she'd do it. She'd really kill Jonas on the spot if it came to it. And that terrified him more than anything.

   The tension in the room was palpable as the seconds ticked by, each one agonizingly long.

   "Time's up. Make a choice. Choose wisely."

Sebastian looked torn, his face twisted into a mask of anguish as he met Jonas's frightened gaze, and Thomas could sense his resolve faltering, until he finally caved.

"All right, all right! You win..." Sebastian's voice cracked helplessly, and Thomas felt the metal barrel that had been pressed against his temple vanish, and heard the sound of the gun being holstered. He stumbled forward a step in surprise when Sebastian suddenly let go of him, and he turned to see his hands raised placatingly, fatherly desperation in his expression.

"Kid, walk over to me." Shadow's harsh voice snapped him back to the present, and he turned to see her gaze still locked firmly on Sebastian. Thomas quickly did as she instructed, hastily crossing the space to stand behind her, although he still kept his distance, unnerved by her vicious ferocity.

"There, I gave you the human back. Can you please release my son now?" Sebastian's words were strained and urgent, and Thomas could tell he was still trying to hang on to any last shred of dignity or power he had, searching for any sense of reason in his enemy.

Shadow slowly tilted her head from side to side, as if contemplating her options.

"First, I want you to beg me to spare him," she hissed at last, voice laced with venom.

Sebastian looked surprised, before his face fell and filled with dread.

"Please, I'll do anything you want -- just let him go--" Any trace of his usual malice as the leader of the Jackals had evaporated, and now he had been reduced to nothing but a frantic father.

Thomas held his breath and glanced nervously at Shadow, silently willing her to let Jonas go. He didn't think he could stomach it if his supposed ally broke the promise of no-killing simply to murder an innocent young man caught in the crossfire just to spite Sebastian. Kill the son in front of his father.

"Shadow..." Thomas whispered her name on a breath, his voice barely audible. It could be the absolute wrong move, but some part of him hoped he could break through her hatred and bitterness and convince her to spare Jonas.

Shadow didn't even glance his way, but he noticed her stiffen, as though she'd heard him.

"Please don't do this..."

Shadow still didn't directly react to Thomas, but he could feel her silent acknowledgment.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Shadow let the blade drop from Jonas's neck with an annoyed huff, and roughly shoved him forward. Jonas stumbled but quickly found his balance again, running over to throw his arms around Sebastian with a choked, terrified sob.

Sebastian caught him in his arms, and the relief was plain as day in his expression.

"You have ten seconds to run," Shadow growled low in her throat. Sebastian wasted no time making a beeline for the nearest exit, tugging Jonas into a dead sprint after him, and they soon disappeared through a doorway. Shadow's hands flexed at her sides as she watched them go, as though it physically pained her to spare the enemy.

Thomas let out an audible sigh of relief, sensing that the worst of it was over. He looked over at Shadow as she sharply turned around.

"Come on, kid... let's get back to headquarters," she hissed through gritted teeth, as though it pained her to even say it. Thomas quietly followed her out, not wanting to risk angering the furious white-winged bird-woman by speaking. The entire trip back was made in complete silence, and the whole way Thomas could feel Shadow's quiet wrath seething in the air around her.

It was only when they were about to enter the front doors of their base that Thomas finally mustered the courage to speak.

"W-Were you really going to kill him back there?" He squeaked nervously.

Shadow paused in her step, turning to meet his eyes. He could read the weariness in them, but also saw slight pity and sympathy, which confused him.

"Do you want me to tell you what I think you want to hear? Or do you want the truth?"

"The truth. I want the truth."

"Very well. In short, the answer is yes. I would have killed Jonas in any other circumstance, even if Sebastian wasn't holding you hostage. Just to make the man suffer."

Thomas felt like he'd been hit by a truck, and he couldn't help wincing in shock and surprise. But Shadow didn't seem to care.

"That's the truth, kid, even if you don't like it. Everyone calls me a monster... you should believe them. I'm a cold killer, it's in my nature... and I'm not going to change. I'll never change. Sorry if it's not the answer you were hoping for..."

Thomas averted his gaze, head pounding. "...Then why did you let him go?" he breathed.

Shadow paused for another long minute, and for a second he wondered if he'd crossed the line--

"...Because of you," Shadow finally answered, her voice low and quiet. She didn't elaborate, leaving Thomas to wonder what she could possibly mean by that.

Masterlist

@lumpofsand

@isikedmyself878

@scoundrelwithboba

[avasassisstant01]

All the possibilities

Janine Teagues x Gender Neutral Reader

Summary: After 3 years, you finally confess your feelings for Janine to her. Of course, its not without some misunderstandings. Wordcount: 6.1k

Angst with happy ending

Warnings: None really

Shoutout and idea credit to: @lilfartbox1 for being the only reason this has come to be what it became. Thank you.

The chatter of your 4th graders working on an art project filled your classroom while you sat with your headphones on, trying to grade their most recent maths papers. Your favourite songs played, loud enough to help you stay focused but not loud enough to miss something happening between your students. 

It wasn't the conventional approach to quiet time, but your kids (although they tried) were terrible at keeping quiet and letting you focus. You had to make some kind of plan.

You looked up at the kids every few seconds to make sure there was still order.

Content with what you saw, you looked at your desk, sticking a sticker onto one of your most struggling maths student's test, a calculator with the words 'proud of you' on its screen. You smiled, proud that he was finally making some progress with his long multiplication.

A knock came at your door. Your heart jumped and you threw your headphones off out of instinct. Although you took pride in your headphone analogy, if one of the older teachers saw you, like Barbara; you'd be horrified. You had worked hard for the past 3 years to prove yourself to all the teachers at Abbott, especially Mrs. Howard. You'd hate to lose that respect so soon into the 3rd year.

You fiddled with your messy desk, then you turned while you fixed your clothing, planting a fake smile on towards whoever was there. You stood up, grateful that your door was closed at the kids request.

"Kids, keep working quietly, I'll be right back."

"Ummm…" Came Bella, your most paranoid student's voice from the front group, closest to your desk. You were almost certain she was going to ask for some form of protection against her other classmates when things inevitably got out of hand. 

Another knock came simultaneously. 

You turned your attention to the door for a split moment, then back to Bella.

"Coming," you said to the either very eager or very angry person on the other side. 

Your brain worked to find a solution to your Bella problem quite quickly, "Courtney, you're in charge of keeping Bella safe if I'm not back in ten minutes." 

"Sure, teacher L/n!" Courtney said with her charming yet never all that reassuring smile.You were surprised that she hadn’t at least asked for 5 dollars in exchange for her work; she always did. 

Now questioning if your impulsive request was worth the possible aftermath, you stopped once again to think. Courtney was, in the kindest way possible, a major gamble. And with her track record with Janine for the first part of the year before, you weren't sure if you were willing to risk it. 

Yet another impatient round of thuds came through to your side.  

Whispers came from across the maze of desks. The kids were basically challenging you to leave them to create chaos by themselves.

With no time to think, you sighed- Courtney was your best bet for Bella and the rest of the group was gonna have to protect themselves.

"I'll be right back. Just please. Don't break anything, or anyone." You said, far too desperately considering the authority you had compared to the kids.

Getting a patchy, "Yes, Teacher L/n!" from some of them, you looked at a few of your more mischievous kids, pointing at all of them so they knew not to try anything.

Opening the door, a more filled "Yes, Teacher Y/n." came from your class, satisfying you more than before. A sigh left your system when no loud crashes came from the room seconds after your departure.

"Y/n!" Your best friend said in a winded manner as you got out of your room.

Janine Teagues, in all her glory, smiled widely at you. Realising that it was just Janine and not Barbara brought a smile to your face, until you realised that it was… well, Janine. 

Now your mind raced even more. 

How did you look? Were you smiling too widely? Were you taking too long to answer her?

"Hey, Janine!" You decided to say. You looked at her outfit, one of her warmer dresses, in an orange colour. You couldn't help but love it on her. 

"Wow. You look…" Your eyes scoped her entire body out, all 4 or something feet of it. As you hit just above her head, the dreaded mic and camera appeared just behind her, stopping you from pursuing any further words. 

Appropriate words shuffled through your head, now. You didn't want the camera crew -or whoever watched the footage- to get any ideas. 

Janine frowned slightly "Is the dress really that bad? I really tried hard this time." 

Your heart melted at that, and somehow the cameras weren't so important. 

"No, you look amazing. I mean the dress- The dress looks amazing." 

Your preferred ‘Janine’ expression returned to her face and you avoided any eye contact with the camera. 

Usually you were all for the camera's, having the same excitement for your job experiences as a possibly slightly more chilled version of Jacob. However, Moments like these were the times you couldn't stand them. You couldn't hide your emotions very well to begin with, and they only made it harder. 

Janine must have been in her own world too, because she didn't point out your weird behaviour.

"What do ya need?" You continued, fearing that your gawking was taking up precious minutes of your surprisingly still quiet class. 

"Melissa told me to round up everyone who ordered valentine's decorations from her decorations guy." 

Oh. 

Your head finally found its balance, and you nearly laughed at how disconnected you'd been for the past few days. You almost forgot that Valentine's day was only a month away. 

Embarrassed from the exchange; you nodded, shook the nerves off and continued following Janine to the teachers lounge. 

Janine rambled on your short trip there, something about what her kids were making you presumed. She was in her true element, talking about her kids. 

You, having gotten a lot of the students that she had taught in her and your first year at Abbott this year, could see the impact she had on the kids. It was always good. 

"That's really nice, Janine." You said softly as you arrived at the door.

“Stop encouraging her, Y/n.” you laughed at Ava’s words, looking into the box Janine had somehow gotten while you were in your daze. 

You handed Ava her sugar as you kept looking into Janine’s box. It had basic craft supplies for kids in it, just mostly in red, pink and white. 

Too self conscious to admit your absence of mind, you tried to make out what she’d been talking about. 

“Ava stop. I’m sure the, uh,” your pause and lack of ability to finish the sentence made Ava scoff and leave the room, taking the camera’s with her. 

“Janine, I’m sorry,” you said, ready to admit that you were clueless, “can you tell me everything you just tried to say again. I’ll pay attention this time, I swear.” 

She gave you a concerned but sympathetic smile and continued to tell you about the Valentines that she was going to help her kids make, while you waited for most of the teachers to fade out of the room so you could retrieve your box of things. 

You listened as she somehow changed the conversation to her valentines plans. 

“Do you have any plans?” she asked. 

“Actually I-” 

“-Y/n. Jacob and I have been debating on what you and your class are making.” came Melissa’s voice, prompting you to look up at her and consequently at Jacob who was holding a very large box and inspecting it. 

As if on cue, Ava and her camera crew came back in. You looked at Jacob who looked mortified, and then at the camera that stood in the opposite direction. 

“Look guys, whatever’s in there was the kids' idea. I had no control over it. I let them write the supplies list. Is that not what they wrote down?”

“Oh, they wrote down supplies alright,” Jacob stared blankly into the box.

“Supplies for a homicide,” Melissa added. You looked at her, concerned at how she knew that. 

“How do you-” you started.

“-Don’t ask.” 

Taking the box from Jacob, you looked inside it once, then shut it out of fear that the camera’s would catch what was inside. 

“I’ll throw this out and go shopping tonight.” you decided. 

Spending your own money on supplies was well worth avoiding getting fired for child endangerment. 

You put the box to the side, while Jacob continued to talk about how scary your 4th graders were. 

He was still getting used to the 6th graders that had come in this year, previously your first group of 4th graders at Abbott. For months he had been insistent that your class was cursed somehow. 

You didn’t actually entertain the idea, really. But you enjoyed teaming up with the 6th graders to make his conspiracy more believable. 

As he went on his rant, Janine sat next to you. 

“Huge bummer that you have to go shopping tonight.” 

“Oh it's fine. I was going to go anyway. I had some things to collect for something special.” 

“Ooh,” she nudged you, “Something special. Does that include someone special?” She pried more and you couldn't help but smile at her oblivious statement. 

You were planning something big alright. Something big for her Valentine’s day. After 3 years of pining, you finally felt prepared enough to admit your feelings to Janine soon. Although, technically you weren't very subtle. 

You’d been planning since new years day, 

“It might.” As soon as you said this, you covered Janine's mouth with your hand, preventing a squeal from leaving her lips. 

“Shhh, okay. I don’t want everyone to know.” 

You could barely keep yourself together as she tried to calm herself down. Watching her in her excitable moments was like watching a child. It was fun.

Once you were sure that she was calm, you removed your hand. 

“Who is it, then?” 

“I can't tell you, “ 

"Do I know them?" 

You smiled, "Yeah, you know her." 

She gasped, racking her brain for all the women you both mutually knew.

"Aw, okay. Gave me a clue!" 

"Okay," you said. You decided to just let her figure it out, even if it ruined your surprise. You looked around the room to see who was still around. Surprisingly, you were the last two in there.(besides the filming crew.)

“She’s sweet. And she’s short.” 

“Oh, like me.” she breathed out, not in a knowing way, just acknowledging the similarities. 

“Yeah,” you looked at her, and realised how close you were to each other, “Like you.” 

“She’s the most exciting person to be around. I see her all the time. She makes me laugh, and sometimes when I’m alone, the thought of her makes me cry.” 

“Why?” she gasped. 

“She’s always with someone else. Like, always. She’s only been single for a few months now.”

Janine fell silent, and you were almost certain she’d figured you out. You stared into her eyes and waited. Waited for something to happen. 

“What does she do?” 

Leaning into her direction you whispered, “She’s a teacher.” 

Right before your bodies could make contact with each other, you stood from your chair to reach for something on the table behind her. Your bodies grazed against one another. The skin that touched hers tingling. 

Returning back to your seat, she stood. Giving you a sheepish smile, she walked out of the room slowly. Not saying a word. 

Doing the same, you smiled, happy that you’d just told her how you felt. 

When one of the producers asked you to answer a few questions outside, you weren’t even annoyed. 

“What just happened?” they asked. 

Looking straight at the camera for the first intentional time that day, you smiled. You were still stunned. 

“I think I just told Janine I like her.” you answered confidently. 

Five minutes later, across the building by the second grade classroom, Janine stood. 

Tears threatened to fall at the news you’d just given her. 

“What just happened?” someone behind a camera asked.

Janine looked down, embarrassed at her behaviour. 

“I think Y/n is in love with another woman.” she barely got the words out. A punch to the gut is what that sentence felt like. 

She tried to smile, the tears still freefalling even though she violently wiped them away promptly. 

“It's okay. I’m okay,” she lied, “I’m happy for them. I really am.” 

The surrounding people didn’t  believe her for even a second. They all just felt quite sorry for the woman. 

She cleared her throat, straightening up a bit at the pitied looks. 

“They deserve to be happy.” 

They all stood there not moving as even the cameraman decided to stop recording. Janine was the one person who was always open to talk to them. It made their jobs really easy. He didn’t want her saddest moment completely on tape. He’d probably cut and delete the whole ordeal later on in the day. 

Instead of continuing, he let her get back to class.

ONE MONTH LATER

Valentine’s day at Abbott started out slow. Most of the kids still at home or on their way to school. It was an hour or 2 before the school day started, and you’d been working tirelessly for days, trying to make your big day perfect. 

After your conversation with Janine on that January morning, things had been awkward between the two of you. You were still close and all, but there was some distance that never previously exhibited lingering around the two of you. 

You chopped it up to not knowing where your friendship stood now that you’d basically confessed your love for her on that day. 

Of course, confronting this issue was harder than it looked. The two of you skirted around the matter easily. 

But, after weeks of avoiding it, your day was finally here. You’d successfully planned everything out as much as you could and you were determined to make sure that Janine and yourself could be closer after it was all well and done.

Nonetheless, that hadn’t happened just yet.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Janine.” you said it to her as you passed her classroom. Seeing Jacob behind her you corrected yourself, “Oh and you too Jacob.” 

They politely responded, wishing you the same before you left to tend to your plans. 

“I know that Janine and I have been a bit distant lately,” you said to the camera that followed you, “but I think today might change things.” 

In a silly way, you said it out loud so that the crew could assure you that you were right. They didn’t, obviously. But they did go in a separate direction soon after so you took it as a win. 

Clearly they were just leaving you to get ready. Everything was going to be perfectly fine.

Janine walked into the teacher’s lounge in her usually happy mood, holding the random valentine that she found in her mailbox only minutes after Jacob left her classroom. She was excited for the day, although it hadn’t been the most romantic month since your silent rejection only weeks prior. 

“Hello everyone!” She said cheerfully as she told her faculty of teachers about the valentine, hoping that somebody would confess to having been the alleged ‘secret admirer’.

Even with her heart still recovering from getting her hopes up about you having a crush on her, she still looked around hoping to see your face light up and silently expose yourself as the above mentioned. Her head and heart rarely ever had the same idea, so no matter how she tried to ration with her valid feelings of rejection. Her heart still refused to accept the facts. 

She deflated only momentarily after seeing that you weren’t in the room like usual. 

“Where’s Y/n?” she asked anybody who was possibly still listening. 

“Somewhere preparing a date, I believe.” Gregory said out into the open. He wasn’t aware of your plan in any way, but being that the two of you (Plus Mr. Johnson) were the more punctual staff members, word travelled around over the past week. 

He was merely stating a fact that he knew. 

Janine on the other hand took this as a taunting act of further humiliation in general.(Not because it was Gregory.)

She was still holding out hope for you even after you’d clearly shown that you weren’t interested. 

She let the conversation go on in its natural state. Swiftly moving out of the room, where immediately she had a camera in her face. 

Janine, being someone who enjoyed being around the camera and finding talking to the crew to be quite therapeutic, stood in her usual spot and looked into the main lens. 

“What are your plans for Valentine’s day?” Rob, the man behind the camera, asked her. She’d found out his name in the first few weeks of filming.

“My Valentine's day plans? Well, Mo,” she paused to emphasise Maurice’s name, “is coming by after school with a surprise gift.” She continued. 

She tried her best to put on her regular smile as she talked about him but truly she was a bit uninterested. 

You’d been her first and only really intense crush for years now, and those facts still stood. Although she liked Mo, she felt bad that he wasn’t even a second option. 

There was no denying the chemistry that her and Gregory possessed. It was nothing compared to yours, but it was still better than Mo. 

Unfortunately, the stars didn’t seem to want to align with any of Janine’s love interests. Gregory was with Amber and judging from the lego bouquet, he was really in love with her too. She couldn’t interject with that. 

Besides, Mo seemed like a nice guy, with good intentions. Janine couldn’t not give him a chance. No matter how seemingly incompatible they were. No matter how little Mo knew about her, or what she liked. 

So she went the rest of the day not seeing you, wishing that she’d responded with more in the morning when you passed by her door. Wishing that she’d at least gotten you something, even if you wouldn’t take it as a romantic gesture. 

She smiled as widely as she realistically could when Mo gave her the Telfar bag, wishing that she could at least trade it in for Amber’s lego set. 

As the day concluded, and Janine greeted Gregory and Amber goodbye, she couldn’t help but be disappointed at the way that the day had gone.

“Janine, wait!” you yelled as you turned the corner after seeing her leaving with someone. 

She paused, hearing you so determined to stop her, and for a moment it felt like the day's events were going to change. 

“Yes?” she said almost immediately. 

You got to her, breathless from doing all the work for your surprise while teaching your class. 

As you caught your breath, you looked at the situation you’d landed yourself in. Janine was with Mo, Gregory’s friend. She was holding the most Un-Janine-like bag that must have been a recent gift because you hadn’t seen it before. 

“I-uh,” you started. 

“I was just going to say, happy Valentine’s Day.” you refrained from handing her your gift. 

“Um, okay,” Janine said disappointed once again, “Happy Valentine’s day, Y/n.” 

You hummed some type of response, letting her go and enjoy her night.

Avoiding anyone left in the building, you went to the empty class/storage room that you had spent the whole day setting up in. You took everything down slowly, careful not to be too rough with anything and accidentally break them. 

After packing everything, you walked to your classroom and packed up there, then slowly made your way down the hall of the building. 

When you reached Janine’s classroom, you froze, unwilling to move. 

You took out the box that you’d been too afraid to take out just shy of 2 hours before. 

It held a jewellery set that you thought would finely match her style and her taste. It didn’t come very cheap but you felt like the price didn’t matter if it was for Janine.

Regretting not giving it to her then, you turned and entered her classroom, placing it discreetly on her desk so as not to stir the wandering eyes of the 2nd graders she taught on Monday morning.

After setting it down, you left. Deciding to just call it an early evening and go home.

The halls felt abnormally cold as you left, the warmth that usually encompassed your body no longer existing. It left you frozen both physically and mentally. 

You were frozen on one thought and one thought only; had you made a mistake telling Janine what you told her all those weeks ago? Was she mad at you for liking her? 

Lastly: was your friendship even salvageable?

After Pecsa

“Janine!” you yelled out as you hugged yourself to keep yourself warm as you waited on her doorstep, shivering as you waited for some type of response. 

You’d been struggling to keep warm since days before Valentine’s day, where - although you didn’t know it yet- you had caught some type of flu from one of your kids. 

Besides the occasional visit to pick up some work to do at home, you hadn’t been to Abbott since then. You’d missed Pecsa weekend and you had the most ridiculous doctor's consultation fee to pay in only a few weeks. 

You’d been quite miserable, and all the previous events before you got sick weighed heavy on your mind now that you had barely anything to do but lay in bed. 

You spent hours deconstructing what happened between you and Janine. Looking at every possible angle of how everything went so wrong so quickly. 

The two of you barely spoke about anything besides Janine checking up on you every few hours to make sure you were okay at home. 

Luckily for you, even when she was upset Janine was still your best friend and she cared dearly for you. 

You hoped she felt the same about you. That she thought you still cared. You hoped that she saw your gift on her table on the day after Valentine’s day and realised that it was you, and that you loved her. 

You spent even more time contemplating texting Janine back and telling her that you were the secret gift giver. Just to reassure her of whatever it was that the two of you were was still actively being pursued. You settled on not doing so. It would look too desperate. You thought better than to look desperate. 

However, it was wishful thinking to assume that Janine didn’t see you as desperate now. You were in your very much “home clothes”, having spent the day resting once again. You looked rather unwell for someone who’d been on meds for so long, and you stood at her house, banging on the door for her to open it on a Friday night out of nowhere. 

“Janine!” you said again, making a less noisy attempt at knocking on the door. By the third round of knocking, the door opened, and she stood in complete shock at the figure that you knew looked a complete mess. 

“Y/n I-I,” she stumbled through her words, stopping herself mid-sentence to wave you inside her home. 

You graciously accepted the invitation, walking in before she closed the door. Her house was warm and welcoming, the smell of autumn spices filling your nose and soothing your churning stomach almost instantly. 

It felt good to smell her house again after so long. It had been nearly a month since you were there for your weekly Friday-Sleepover, where you’d stay for the night and help each other set up for the following week of school, while having much needed fun together. 

Though you could blame your illness for the abrupt stop in this almost instinctive routine, there was no denying that it had already become inconsistent weeks before you got sick. 

You’d had a few sleepovers after your ‘confession’ but they were always so much more awkward than the two of you had ever been around each other. 

Standing in this house again- it felt like months since you’d comfortably been there. 

“You’re shivering. Here, wear this.” Janine handed you a blanket to wrap around yourself as she inspected you. She led you to her couch, where you remember nursing her back to health when she got food poisoning.

“Hi,” you said, and chuckled as casually as possible, looking straight ahead while you saw her in your peripheral view, trying to get comfortable. 

You could feel her looking at you directly, her expression of concern not being something you could ignore. 

“Hey.” 

Silence surrounded the little space between the two of you. You- trying to get warmer- and Janine- trying to think of what she could give you to make you feel somewhat better. 

She figured tea was the best she could do, so she got up and went to her kitchen, cutting her usually distracted way of making tea short to get it to you as quickly as possible. 

By the time she’d gotten back, you were already starting to drift off to sleep on her couch, clearly feeling warmer from the blanket. 

Opting to let you rest, she put the tea next to you in case you woke up, and got you another blanket to cover you again. Your straight sitting position looked strange, but not wanting to ruin the moment of peace, she left you that way. 

The week had been all but calm for her, and her mind had been all over the place,from having to check up on you constantly to make sure you were resting and not taking cold and risky trips, much like now. 

Simultaneously, her kiss with Gregory at Pecsa had been all but what she expected. 

Feelings that she was so sure of only days before got completely jumbled up once again and her emotions couldn’t keep up. Her life was feeling a lot more like an all white 1000 piece puzzle, where trying to put any two pieces together and not matching them up perfectly was becoming more and more frustrating. 

Her and Gregory agreed that what happened wasn’t a big deal, and they unspokenly agreed to not speak about it. Regret laced most of her decision to do this as she thought of her love for you, the love that only grew after so long apart. 

She called Mo that same weekend and broke it off with him, mostly because she couldn’t continue to lead him on like she had been. That was probably the least complicated thing she realised about her love life over the week. 

Everything else wasn’t so easy. 

She left you on her couch to get some rest, slightly relieved to know that she didn’t have to worry about you without taking a few steps and peaking to see if you were okay, now. 

She’d previously been watching a show, so she decided to just go into her bedroom and find something to occupy herself instead. 

As quickly as she entered her room, her eyes landed on the gift that she’d avoided since the day after Valentine’s. She found it safely but secretly hidden on her desk and had assumed that one of her students accidentally left it on their desks and Mr Johnson had put it on her desk for safe-keeping. 

She had brought it into the teachers lounge the next day when none of her students claimed it, and asked the man directly. 

“I for one have never seen that before, but it's definitely for you.” he smiled not so convincingly and Janine questioned his words, only to turn the gift bag around to see her name plastered on the other side, not easy to miss. 

She took it home that day, but had refused to open it until the week before Pecsa. 

There, she found a set that consisted of a beautiful set of gold jewellery; a bracelet that fit perfectly into her growing set of bracelets, some earrings, and most importantly- a necklace with her name carefully engraved in it. The font was of a familiar handwriting, one that Janine was sure was yours, but considering how things were, she immediately put it all back and pretended she didn’t get anything. She didn’t want to be wrong about the identity of the gift giver and felt like she was becoming too attached to her broken heart, masking her hurt by associating everything around her with you. 

When Jacob asked her what she got the next day, she made up some lie about some really nice chocolates that she had as a treat the night before. When he didn’t ask any further questions, she went on, and tried to erase every other memory of Valentine's Day. 

Her date with Maurice went quite terribly after the Telfar bag incident, and Janine could already feel herself getting over the ingenuine talking stage with him. She kept nothing but what she thought was your gift, even giving away the Telfar bag. 

Now ,she went and opened the gift again, looking more deeply into the jewellery. After inspecting every piece, she would put it on, happy to accessorise even in the late evening.  

When it came to analysing the bracelet, she took a really long run through of it. As much as the doubt crept in, she couldn’t deny that she couldn’t convince herself that anyone but you could have thought of it. 

She slowly moved her hair away and put it on, going to her mirror to see her reflection. She was in awe at how good it felt to wear the gift. She couldn’t help but smile, not sure if it was even because of the necklace- or if it was the idea of you giving it to her. 

As she sat on that thought, there was no denying it, she was in love. 

Additionally, something about being in love with a good person made it all so surreal. 

“Janine.” you whispered when you woke up from the unintentional slumber. 

“Hey, sleepyhead.” her voice came from behind you. 

You smiled, feeling a lot less tense than when you had arrived. You weren’t as cold either. You looked at her as she came to the couch, with a cup in her hand. 

“I made you some tea when you got here but it got cold when you fell asleep, so I- I made you another one.” 

You graciously took it, and scooted to the left to give her space to sit next to you. She did just that, sitting in a position that faced you, before placing her hand on your head. Satisfied at the temperature she must have felt, she placed her hand down, and let it fall to sit behind you. 

You turned to face her; the steam from the mug coming up to your face, making it more moist than it was. 

You took her presence in more intentionally now, taking note of the dress she chose to wear, and which side she chose to part her hair today. 

As you let your eyes roam, they landed on her neck; more specifically the accessory she wore. 

Your lips parted in a surprised question that never came to be verbalised. 

Janine watched you make this discovery, and she too searched for words to answer the many questions that roamed in her mind all day. 

“I’m glad you finally got my gift.” you decided to say, and the sigh that left Janine brought an even wider smile to your face. 

“I thought it was you,” she started, fiddling with what you now saw was the bracelet you bought her. Looking closely now, you realised that she was wearing the entire set. 

“You don’t have to wear them all at once, you know.” you kind of laughed, finding yourself quite amusing in your still drowsy state. 

“I know. I was just testing them all out for the first time. I’ve been avoiding them since I found them after…” 

“After Valentine’s Day.” you pushed. You were a lot more casual about it, only slightly starting to feel comfortable talking to Janine about the entire beginning of the year’s events. She seemed to confirm your words, avoiding your gaze for a while. 

“Y/n, I need to tell you something,” She said, waiting for your go-ahead. You nodded, prompting her to continue. 

“Gregory and I kissed at Pecsa Weekend.” 

Your heart shattered at the words. Were you shocked? No. You saw the chemistry between the two just as much as the next person, but you’d hoped that you still had a chance. You were certain that what you had with her was so much more special. 

“Oh,” you let out a breath. 

“I’m happy for you?” you begged the question to yourself though you said it out loud. Were you really happy for her? Who knew.

You took the last sip of your tea, having been sipping it slowly for the past 10 minutes that you’d been sitting there with Janine. 

You attempted to get up, wanting desperately to remove yourself from her line of vision, so you could kick yourself in the back and scream. You’d waited too long now. 

She stopped you, “ Y/n. It was a mistake. I was so confused.” 

You sat back down, although nothing indicated that this was going to be a conversation that turned out to be in your favour. 

“After Valentine’s, I was sure you’d probably had a great day with your crush after hearing everyone talk about what you had planned for her.

I was in such denial of my true feelings about it all. Gregory seemed like the least heartbreaking potential and after the weekend we’d both had, it kind of just happened.It didn’t mean anything” 

She took the mug from you, putting it on her table and taking your hands. You let her- not sure what to do at that point. 

Only after about a minute did her words set in. 

“Janine, I set up a valentine’s surprise for you.” 

“What?” 

“It was for you, Janine. You’ve been the one I’ve had a crush on this whole time. There was never anyone else.” 

She let go of your hands slowly, clasping hers together to let herself think. Time passed and not a word came out of the both of you. 

“Huh,” she let out, “ well, now I feel really dumb.” 

“You’re not dumb.” you took her hands back in your, looking into the brown eyes that entranced you for 3 cycles around the sun. 

“Gosh, I’m so sorry Y/n. I got so caught up trying to avoid your rejection, I didn't stop to think about you. You must have felt awful that day.” 

“Kinda,” you said, trying to protect her from feeling too bad.

“I’m sorry.” she repeated. 

“Don’t apologise,” you started, “I don’t know what's going to happen but don’t apologise.

I get it, complicated feelings were on the rise.” 

All she did was nod at that, looking at you with such an intense feeling of guilt, it scared you. 

“Come here.” you said to her, taking her into your embrace.

The two of you melted into each other and Janine let out a few tears as you weren’t turned to see her. She laid her head on your shoulder- wanting not to put too much weight on your still weak body but also not being able to help herself. 

You didn’t notice the extra weight of her head weighing on you, your only concern being that she stopped feeling guilty. 

“I love you, Janine.” you whispered, tracing circles on her back to soothe her sorrow away. 

“You’re the only one I want and need in this world, and I love you.” 

Waiting for a response was excruciating. Regrets poked through as you anticipated the inevitable. That the kiss between her and Gregory did mean something after all. 

Your long days of longing would be over if she didn’t mean what you thought she did, and she really didn;t feel the same way. 

“I-” you waited for the punch to hit, your eyes shut in anticipation. 

“I love you too. More than you could imagine.” 

And with those closing words, Janine lifted her head, wiped her tears away, and led you into the most worth-the-wait kiss you’d ever experienced. 

Authors Note: My first Abbott Elementary Fic! I must say I'm fairly proud of what I ended up with considering the hectic writer's block I've been experiencing this month. Also my first Gender Neutral reader so if there are any mistakes in that regard, please bare with me. Still getting used to that. I really hope you enjoyed!

[rockstaryuta]

ASTEROID BLUES is a cowboy-bebop inspired, x afab! reader fic series that revolves around the futuristic misadventures of easygoing bounty hunter, ln yn.

──── ✈︎ asteroid blues ...

info. wanted posters are not full plot synopsis. for individual fic information, please click on the 'here' underneath each section. sfw fics will be posted on 00127AM, while all nsfw works will be posted on ROCKSTARYUTA.

soundtrack. tank! seatbelts young jesus logic kimidakenotenshi soul scream interlude: past to present nct u

living bounty to bounty, who's your first target?

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE ──── ✈︎ sfw johnny suh ⌖ space cowboy ― fellow bounty hunter wanted for his ... unorthodox methods. the only problem? he's hunting you too. SESSION I. black dog serenade kim jungwoo ⌖ high roller ― wanted for a number of debts owed to some of the galaxy's most powerful syndicates. try not to get too distracted by that charm of his, or else you'll find yourself toeing the line between professional and personal. SESSION II. gateway shuffle huang guanheng ⌖ bartender ― wanted for the commodification and underground auction of information. secrets traded for a drink. watch your words and your glass. SESSION III. easy come, easy go lee donghyuck ⌖ con artist ― wanted for fraud, embezzlement, and that silver tongue of his that seems to constantly get him into trouble. or save him from it. whatever you do, just don't manage to become his next mark. SESSION IV. see you space cowgirl, someday, somewhere! liu yangyang ⌖ pilot ― wanted for illegal gambling and racing. in his world, the most important thing is staying one step ahead--so don't fall behind. SESSION V. boogie woogie feng shui zhong chenle ⌖ heir ― wanted for his outrageously large fortune tied to his namesake. he's playing a dangerous game in the galaxy's elite circles, so tread carefully, lest you become entangled with his high-stakes world. SESSION VI. honky tonk woman oh sion ⌖ journalist ― wanted for learning something he shouldn't have, wrong place, wrong time. whatever you do, don't underestimate him. after all, you know what they say, the pen is mightier than the sword. SESSION VII. stray dog strut maeda riku ⌖ thief ― wanted for his most audacious heist yet. a heist that involved stealing from the wrong person this time around. a person who wants the phantoms thief's head on a platter. be vigilant, or you might miss him before you even know he's there. SESSION VIII. see you space samurai click here if you have any further information about these fugitives

BOUNTY WORTH ₩2,500,000

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE ──── ✈︎ ®️ nsfw moon taeil ⌖ ceo ― wanted for the enterprise he has built from the ground-up. it's a shame that the only way to get to him is to become his personal assistant. SESSION IX. you're gonna carry that weight lee taeyong ⌖ hacker ― wanted for the infiltration and theft of millions of megabytes from the 119 conglomerate. he probably knows where you are before you do. ever heard of a digital footprint? SESSION X. cowboy funk nakamoto yuta ⌖ hit man ― wanted for the assassination of the galaxy's most prominent politician. watch your back. in his line of work, you rarely see him until it's too late. SESSION XI. hard luck woman qian kun ⌖ igp officer ― wanted for arresting the son of one of the most notorious cartels in the galaxy. he's not very willing to roll over and be captured, certainly not when he's trying to arrest you. SESSION XII. waltz for venus kim doyoung ⌖ doctor ― wanted for preforming back room operations and illegal modifications. his medical expertise is only second to his ethical ambiguity. try not to lose a limb. SESSION XIII. ganymede elegy xiao dejun ⌖ entertainer ― wanted for his most recent scandal involving a heated affair with the igp chief's wife. one that was destined to end poorly from the start. the world is his stage, avoid getting caught in the spotlight. SESSION XIV. pierrot la fou mark lee ⌖ collector ― wanted for the prized artifact that lies deep within his vault. seems like your employer is willing to do anything to get their hands on it, including sending you to charm your way into stealing it. SESSION XV. brain scratch lee jeno ⌖ informant ― wanted for the dissemination of information regarding neo zone tech. hailed as a whistleblower, he's wanted galaxy-wide. just don't believe everything he says, or you might just find yourself amidst one of his rumors. SESSION XVI. sympathy for the devil click here if you have any further information about these fugitives

taglist. @evilsailorsenshi @222brainrot @firstdonutllamafarm @yangasm @sunflowerbebe07 @scinclaitnoir @hyuka-bby thank you for supporting me! ♡ ⤷ for those who are / are not on my general taglist : please let me know if you would like to be included on any of these fics taglist!

──── ✈ see you space cowboy ...

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

The problems I have with HP's world building and the Wizarding World as a whole can be summed up perfectly with Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. Sounds like a appropriately whimsical treat for a secret magical society. But, they beans flavoured like bodily fluids. We know there's ear wax and vomit flavoured beans, but I bet there are... other flavours.

And the question is, why? Why do that? Why sell something to children where there's a chance they might end up eating a bean that tastes and smells exactly like human shit.

Like, obviously, Rowling wrote it as a funny bit in a children's book that I doubt she expected people to dissect and nitpick over twenty years after she wrote it. But, in-universe, it shows that wizards just lack basic common sense. it's a wonder they made it to the 21st century without going extinct.

As weird as it sounds, I actually find the wizarding world fascinating in that it makes an eerie amount of sense: it's just not what JKR nor anyone else thinks it is/what it's supposed to be.

There's a larger post to be made but to me the wizarding world reeks of an extremely isolated and inbred society, complacent in their use of a technology they no longer understand and slowly forgetting aspects of that technology including the underlying fundamentals, neighbors to very different societies they feel threatened by for all they won't admit as much, and a society that has roots in western traditions but missed out on much of the Enlightenment/Post Enlightenment British history.

So, we see a world that's like Britain but... not...

The professors are there to teach, not go provide emotional guidance or emotional intervention of any kind with the students (read anti-bullying measures). There doesn't seem to be a child welfare or any kind of welfare system in place (orphans get a stipend to attend Hogwarts, but we see no mention of a wizarding orphanage/foster care system or money allotted to those like Ron Weasley who are poor but not Muggleborn). There are two historians ever mentioned and from what we see of Hogwarts a History it is not a modern western historical approach that's covered there. Everyone's extremely closely related and there are no actual positions beyond those a) made for yourself through entrepreneurship b) the ever bloated Ministry. They have no understanding of Muggles at all and those who claim to or wish to tend to be... grossly offensive is the only word I can think of.

It's a great satirical world of a decaying society and, most important, not quite one we'd be familiar with.

But this has nothing to do with your actual question (well, it does, but it's tangential).

To get back to the damned beans, from what we see, the wizarding world loves practical jokes and slapstick humor. Given they're wizards, serious injuries seem relatively easy to repair. If you start vomiting slugs all day, there's a potion for that. If you lose your bones, there's a potion for that. Blow off your hands, there's probably a potion for that.

What that means is that physical injuries in the wizarding world tend not to really matter. Unless you're using dark curses (see Bill's torn up face in HBP), you can probably get whatever it is fixed quickly. Which means that wizards find slapstick style practical jokes very funny.

Which gets us back to the candy.

The beans aren't alone, there are also the acid pops that actually burn through your tongue, blood pops that taste like blood, chocolate frogs which will jump away from you, ice mice that do... something I forget, but point being that we see wizards get very excited about the prospect of not only magic in their candies but some element of danger/just awfulness with it.

That's the exciting gamble of the beans. Sure, you might end up with a nice flavor, you might, but then you could end up with vomit or diarrhea flavored. When the latter happens, you can make a big show to your friends, "OH NO, I GOT THE VOMIT BEAN! OH HELLS, I GOT THE VOMIT BEAN! THIS IS THE WORST! I GOT THE VOMIT BEAN!" and everyone laughs at and with you over your terrible rotten luck over getting the vomit bean while Jimmy over there got strawberry.

It's kind of like a demented version of playing one of the first few editions of Mario Party: someone's going to be fucked over, that's just how the game goes, the delightful enjoyment of it is seeing who the loser is and lording it over them when you steal all their stars they eat the vomit bean.

Basically, you're kind of right about Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean. They exist because it's funny, I just think the wizards find it funny too.

[animeyanderelover]

Stoic, quiet, calm, and aloof in general s/o with Kaede Manyuda, Claude Faustus, and Giyū Tomioka. Not to mention they don't like being around people and often sigh a lot. What are their reactions?

Holidays are almost up for me so you can expect slower updates from me from now on. Wish me good luck with another few months of studying🫠 .

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, stalking, manipulation, overprotective behavior, control, abduction

Hard to approach with that sigh

Claude Faustus

🕷️ You'd have never caught his attention if it wouldn't have been for the quite extraordinary aura of your soul. Your cold and distancing personality can't hide what a rarity your soul really is to Claude and he craves a taste of it. Honestly, he doesn't really care about your reserved personality. His current master is childish, bratty and loud so he enjoys that you're the complete opposite and have a more mature feeling on you. Claude does enjoy a bit of a hard play so it's somewhat entertaining to approach you and try to gain your attention. He stalks his darling when he has the time, it's helpful to know where they live since he figures out that they're more on a anti-social side. Considering their aloof personality it's likely that they don't have a large circle of friends anyways and Claude starts liking that a lot. He has started feeling weirdly possessive over you and since you don't like being around people a lot, he doesn't have to feel bothered. He has you basically for himself.

🕷️ When he realizes that you are his mate, the plan changes a bit. All of his attention is suddenly poured into courting and charming you. He can allow himself to consume your time since you don't spend much of it with others anyways. There's even a great sense of pride when you want him to spend time with you since you only grant few people that privilege. Whilst Claude still likes your maturity, he also wants to get more reactions out of you and tries to elicit it out of you. He gets definitely frustrated if he can't break through your shell though since he wants to be the only person you show your emotions to. He might take longer to completely abduct his darling though if they still become his partner. He has less reason to fall victim to jealousy since you prefer being alone with him anyways which satiates his possessive instincts enough to calm him a bit down. Abduction is bound to happen at one point though, the demon can't help himself in that aspect.

Manyuda Kaede

💴 If we're talking about Kaede in the student council, he enjoys the more mature and calm personality of his darling too. Especially in gambling your naturally stoic and calm nature might be from huge advantage since you never rash things, analyze and are hard to read since you rarely make the mistake of exposing your emotions. He might have from time to time a problem with your dislike to be under too many people. He certainly enjoys it when he wants some leisure time with you but he thinks it's also important to be able to be in a crowd of people, especially if it's an important event. So that's one expectation he has on his s/o, although he won't force them to be permanently under people, doesn't even want that either. Your habit to sigh often is something he chides you for too since people could misunderstand. The reputation of his darling is important to him after all, he doesn't want other people in power positions think that you're impolite or bored.

💴 After he loses against the Jabami girl, Manyuda cools down his previous expectations he had on you. There is even a certain time where he avoids you out of shame since he lost, is even a bit scared that you might look down on him. He manages to approach you again after the gamble with Itsuki and Yumeko that repaired his damaged pride enough for him to go on. He's still insecure from time to time so a sigh in the wrong moment or a calm yet sharp statement from you might hit a nerve in him which crumbles his composure for a bit. Manyuda lets you after away with more things since he has learned to accept the smaller flaws about you more. Although sometimes he can't help himself, his controlling streak still somewhere inside of him. Differently from before, he introduces you to Itsuki who has always wanted to meet you and even lets Yumeko meet you, cautiously that is since he still doesn't trust her fully. He interferes the moment Yumeko wants to gamble against you though.

Tomioka Giyu

🌊 Giyu isn't someone who easily shows his emotions either and he isn't the most social person either so he sees a lot of himself in his darling. That's why he never really tries to force them into going out to socialize more, he knows they'll do it when they know that it is necessary. You're very silent and keep most of the time a stoic mask but Giyu is perceptive and notices the smaller gestures you give him to show him your affection and he won't push you to show your love to him in more expressive ways, although he won't complain if you do. He's just silently happy that you are his s/o in the first place since he won't deny that he sort of struggled at first when he started loving you, mainly because he knew that you were the type that was hard to approach. The main love language between his darling and him are most likely acts of service, gift-giving and some quality time where both of you just enjoy having each other's presence next to you. You aren't that verbal but you don't need to be for Giyu to see that you care for him.

🌊 Something he might have struggled with especially during your fresher time of being a pair is your habit to sigh a lot. Giyu tends to feel insecure about himself which sometimes enhances in the relationship since he's worried that he isn't a good partner. So back then he often thought that he did something that annoyed you due to your constant sighing. He never told you though and instead swallowed everything back until he eventually noticed that you do it around everyone and finally understood that it's just a habit of yours. Giyu is a tad bit more protective about you since he knows that you're most likely the type to rarely tell others about your own problems too so whilst he doesn't want to be a pushover, he can't help but be concerned when he notices that something is bothering you. He also steps in when someone wants to force you into a situation that would make you uncomfortable. If you meet the other Hashira, he also stands protectively next to you since he understands that some of them can be quite overwhelming.

[into-crazy]

More to the Madness Pt. 13

Ledger!Joker x Female Reader series

Summary: Joker is arrested and thrown in a holding cell at the MCU. You carry out your own mission to be there for when he breaks out.

Warnings- Mature language, violence, crime, mentions of murder, incorporated elements from TDK, ages 18+

You can find the other parts RIGHT HERE and through the "More to the Madness" tag lovelies💞💞

It's only been a few hours since Joker's been captured and taken to the Major Crimes Unit. He had surrendered easily without so much as a fight. Jim Gordon, who was presumed to he dead, was the one responsible for arresting him. Out of all the possible scenarios that could have turned out, it went the way it was anticipated. J wanted to get caught.

He had to get inside and retrieve Lau, who's locked up in there good and tight. Joker had made a deal with the Mob that he'd get them Lau, since he is the one that knows where all of their money is being kept. The only way to do that was to get inside the MCU, where Lau was held and protected at.

You figure J's currently working on his plan of escape, and he has until a certain time. As of right now, both Harvey Dent and his "squeeze" Rachel Dawes are tied up at two separate locations. They are in rooms filled with oil drums that are rigged to explode through a timer. Joker has to take the attention away from him so he can easily escape with Lau. That was his getaway plan, but also a twisted game to play on Batman. And now, you have to do your part and be there when J breaks out.

The clock's ticking. There's no room for any breaks or errors. You are moving as quickly and accurately as you can with the limited amount of time that you have.

There are a handful of police officers and detectives over at the MCU that could easily be bribed. With a solid arrangement, they'll do just about anything for a large sum of money. Luckily, J's goons already had a customer lined up for you. Derek Turner, a police officer on the verge of losing his house due to gambling debts. Turner was desperate so he immediately took the bait.

It's late into the night, and you are on your way to meet up with Turner now. You're on your own for this one, but that's not going to be a problem. Slung over your shoulder is a medium sized duffel bag- filled with fifty thousand dollars in cash. The agreement is set for officer Turner to arrest you and bring you into the building, in addition to prividing you with explicit details about the situation of Joker's lockup. At least.. that is how the officer thought it was going to go down. The real plan is you're going to knock him unconscious and hijack his police cruiser. Then you're going to use it to discreetly pick up J and Lau at the station. The police scanner will also serve as a useful tool in signaling when you should move.

Deep in between the alley of two apartment buildings is where you're set to meet. When you arrive at the location, you carefully enter the alleyway. Trying not to be heard or seen just yet. First, you have to find a spot where you can set up your device that would distract officer Turner.

As you come up on a corner, you stealthily peek around it to see if you can spot him. Sure enough, you find him waiting. A few yards away, perched on the hood of his cruiser while smoking a cigarette. You retract from the junction and look for a place to set your gadget. There's a large dumpster bin against the wall close to the edge of that corner. Figuring that's a suitable spot, you pull out the device from the duffle bag, which is a little plastic kitchen timer. It may not seen like much, but it'll ring loud enough to grab the officer's attention in case you need it to. You crouch down slightly by the bin, turn the dial to eight minutes, and set it on the lid of the dumpster. If you can't find an opening of your own to knock him unconscious within that timespan, then this timer will give you that chance.

You take a deep breath, then turn the corner. Walking with heavy steps to get his attention. He notices your arrival and flicks the cig onto the dirty floor.

"It's about time!" Turner huffs in annoyance. "You're alone, right?"

You walk near him and stop when you're a couple meters from him. "Mhm, just me."

He waves his hands at your attire. "You are not what I was expecting to show up. It's a bit much. But whatever, fuck it. You got the money?"

"Right here." You pat the duffle bag before slinging it from your shoulder and tossing it in his direction.

He catches it, opening it up to confirm that there's cash inside. Rummaging through the stacks of bills. "It all here?"

"It's all there," you affirm. "Now are you all set for your end?"

The officer sucks air through his teeth. "Yeah.. about that. You see, the stakes are really high right now. So I'm gonna need a little more than this before I go through with it."

His demand for more money makes you scoff. This man is obviously very greedy.. and stupid. You roll your eyes at him. "The deal was fifty. You can't alter it."

Turner's eyes scan your body and he sucks his tongue before speaking. "Another fifty. Or I'll walk, sweetheart."

What an asshole. It takes everything in you to hold back from launching your throwing knives at his smug fucking face. Instead, you pretend to ponder on his ridiculous demand. "Look, I don't have time for this. Now you can either accept what we agreed upon and carry out your end, or you can walk away and lose your house. So what's is going to be?"

Turner scoffs at you, "it's like that, huh? Well how about I just shoot you and take the money anyway?"

Oh, he threatened you. You ball your fists and glare angrily at him. He had to threaten you. If he wants to play this game with you, then fine. You smirk at him, "alright sure, you can go ahead and do that. But you should probably consider your family, officer Turner. You'd have to worry about some of the Joker's other- not so nice- henchmen paying them a visit. And believe me when I tell you that you wouldn't want that to happen. So yeah, it's like that."

"Fucking bitch! What are yo-" He spits sharply at you before being cut off.

"2450 Acadia Street, right?" You state apathetically.

His eyes widen, and he nearly croaks at the abrupt mention of his home address.

It's true that you and a select few of J's crew knew personal details about this officer. But it wouldn't be your call to actually bring any kind of harm to this man's family. You only want him to think that. The thing is, you have to find a way to get this cop to let his guard down. Because he's been on high alert since you've got here. Keeping his hand in close reach of his firearm in case he feels the need to use it. So like it or not, you need to be patient and wait for the opportunity to make your move. No matter how badly you want to just get it over with right now, you don't want to give him a reason to start shooting at you first.

After thinking it through to himself, Turner sighs. "Shit. Alright then.. alright. I'll do it."

"Hm, smart choice." You couldn't help but think you sounded like J in that moment. He must be rubbing off on you. "Well then, everything good to go?"

He quickly zips up the duffle bag and throws it over his shoulder. "All set."

"Good. Hide the bag and let's move."

You make your way over as he pops the truck of the police cruiser, watching him stash the money in a hidden spot. He tells you that you'll need to remove all of your weapons before he takes you in. You nod in agreement and begin withdrawing your weapons. The entire time, you're thinking about how the timer should be going off soon. You toss both of your throwing knives into the truck and go for your gun.

At that moment, the timer finally goes off in the distance. The noise is loud as is rattles against the dumpster lid, the ringing echoing throughout the alley. It instantly catches the officer's attention and he turns his head to look in that direction.

He's distracted, now's your chance!

Flipping your gun over, you pistol whip the officer. Effectively knocking him out.

"Crooked cops." You mutter to yourself, recollecting your knives and placing them back in their slots.

After making sure the officer was going to be out for a while, you take his handcuffs and cuff his hands together. You drag his unconscious body towards the building, placing him against the wall. He was never going to get any of the money, you figured he'd probably blow through it gambling again anyways. You then hurriedly make it back to the police cruiser. Slamming the trunk before getting into the car and driving away.

~~

It's been almost an hour since you've sat here waiting. You are sitting in the police cruiser, parked about two blocks away from the MCU. So far, you've just been listening to the police scanner. Waiting for the signal to start moving. The longer you sit here, the more you think about how much farther you should've parked from the establishment. You worry that you might be too close to it. There's cops surrounding that place. You were smart enough to hide in a parking garage rather than parking on the street in plain sight. But still, you would very much like not getting caught.

Finally, you hear sirens going off in the distance. It sounds like a lot of them, too. You turn up the volume on the scanner and listen closely. Someone starts talking through the channel, you can easily make out that it's Jim Gordon's voice.

"All available units, converge at 250 52nd Street!"

That's your signal to move. Quickly, you turn on the car and exit the garage.

As you get closer to the MCU, you notice that there are no cops outside. Not in front of the building at least. There aren't any other police cruisers either, good thing you snagged this one. Most of the officers must have left with Gordon. Which works out wonderfully in your favor. You park directly across the street, then you duck your head and wait. If Joker is successful, then you know exactly what's going to come next.

Sure enough, a few moments later.. BOOM!

A massive explosion goes off inside the structure, bursting through all of the windows. You look up to see smoke and dust coming out from the broken windows.

"Oh shit!" You exclaim to yourself.

J did that. He really did that.

You pull the car up right in front of the building. That way, it's easier for J to see you when he comes out. If he does. You nervously tap your fingers on the steering wheel. That was a big explosion, you hope that J didn't get hurt by it. There is no movement that you can see inside. Your fingers continue tapping.

He is fine. He's smart and found cover.

A moment goes by, and there is still nothing. Meanwhile you are scanning all of your surroundings. You are making sure you're not spotted, and searching for any sign or sight of J. Then, you see a movement at the entrance of the building and let out a sigh of relief.

J emerges from the destruction. It's hot seeing him stide away from aftermath of the damage he's caused. He's got his usual attire on, though his trench coat is slung over his arm. His hair's wilder than usual and half of his greasepaint had come off. He also has a dusty police hat on his head which you find rather amusing. You were so focused on J, that you didn't even notice the other man with him. It's Lau, walking defeatedly with his hands cuffed behind his back.

You honk the horn and roll the window down to get J's attention. His eyes shoot towards your direction and a smile stretches across his face. He's got this look in his eyes which you would describe as proud. Of you or himself, that you are unsure. But something inside of you tells you that it's meant for you. So you grin back and wave him over. He harshly nudges Lau in your direction. The Chinese man looks beyond terrified, stumbling all the way over to the vehicle.

"Hey good looking, you need a ride?" You ask in a flirtatious manner.

J licks at his scars. "As a matter a fact, I do. Me and the squealer here." He pats Lau on the back, who visibly tenses at the touch.

You motion towards the backseat. "Well hop in. I'll give you a lift."

"My, what a doll."

J opens the backseat door and shoves Lau inside. He then takes the hat from his head, and carelessly flings it towards the building. A final touch to the devastation he's just caused. Much like how an artist adds the finishing touch to their creation. In this case, J is the artist and the shattered structure is one of his masterpieces. Talented is he in the craft of total chaos and destruction.

It's something you shouldn't admire about him, yet you do. You admire all of it.

"Scoot." He shoos Lau over to the otherside so he can get in. The man slides across the seat reluctantly, his eyes going wide as he watches J. He's clearly dreading the thought of being trapped in such a tight space with this dangerous man. J tosses the coat onto the middle seat and climbs inside. Once the door is shut, he signals for you to go. You throw the car in drive and floor it out of the area.

Joker sat in the back, listening attentively to the police scanner for an update on the Harvey Dent and Rachel Dawes situation. Once he heard that Dent was the only one to make it out alive, he cackled in triumph. If that was the outcome, then things went precisely how he'd expected. He knew that Batman was going to go after Rachel. But J still has big plans for Dent. So he had intentionally switched their locations when he told Batman where to find them. The vigilante never stand a chance against the Joker's cruel game.

You peek at him through the rear view mirror. "Went as you wanted, J?"

"Went as expected." He states rather plainly. "That Batman's got a good right hook."

"He hit you?" The question came out of your lips quick and concerned. However, J just laughs it off as nothing.

"Sure did." He stretches his limbs to the best of his ability in the space he's in. "Now, I've been cooped up in that place for a while. How about I tell ya all the juicy details later?"

"Sounds good." You reply smoothly.

A satisfied hum leaves his lips. "Great. So let's get this party going, huh. I want ya to drive this car like ya stole it. Because you did."

You give a jaunty nod in response. "Yes sir."

A surge of adrenaline rushes through your body as you pick up a higher speed. You even turn the siren on to let all the other drivers know to stay out of your way. Because you were definitely blowing past stop lights and swerving around cars. J seemed to be enjoying himself, while Lau sat back there looking scared for his life.

The smell of the explosion was heavy on them both. Smoke and gunpowder. It began to permeate the inside of the car. J has you roll both of the back windows down to air it out. But of course, being the unpredictable man that he is, J stuck his entire upper half out of the window! Initially it startled you, because he just did it without a warning.

You view him through the side mirror. Watching his hair blowing wildly in the wind, the way he licks at his lips and how his bare forearm tenses as he grips onto the car. Now that's the look of a guy who'd just escaped police custody. Damn does he makes it look so good. J shakes his head around like a dog, and in that moment you have to force yourself to focus on the road before you end up crashing the car. That'd be a real mood killer.

End of Part 13.

[ansbobcar]

EP 3. Blackmail? I didn't do that to him!

WORD COUNT. 3476

Link to overview

_ _ _

Ask any girl regarding their confessions on their current prefect, and it is guaranteed that Rayne Ames will shut it down.

ANONYMOUS #1: I thought he had a soft side but there’s absolutely nothing in there! He literally ignored my invitations to hang out.

ANONYMOUS #2: He embodies the qualities of an Adler to a T. Maybe that’s the problem, he can’t see a girl or woman the same way he sees magic.

ANONYMOUS #9: HE BROKE MY HEART!! I CAN NEVER LOVE AGAIN!!!

So why would it be any different with Darren Randel?

"I couldn't give a shit about you," he truthfully told her the morning after her slip up. "I'm just following the old geezer's words if that’s where the feelings came from."

‘How is he worse at being a jerk than me?’ His comment ruffled her as she let go of the shy buck, Bunnelton the XII, from suffering through her embarrassment.

“Look, I couldn’t give a shit about the old man’s orders!” She managed to string with no stutter but her face was losing it because of how his eyes simply assessed her like she was a poo pellet. “I wasn’t even trying to flirt with you yet!”

‘What is up with her?’ Every other girl would have just accepted and backed away. “What do you mean ‘yet’?” He scoffed incredulously. “What? You think enough effort will do anything?”

"I can cook!" she protested terribly. So did others, she wasn't special in this regard. “As I explained yesterday, it’ll be a win-win-win situation for all 3 parties right here!” 

“I barely even know you.”

“Then we can start out as friends!” She cut him off from replying.

"Let me try confessing 3 times, if you reject all 3 times I'll stop trying to bother you like this," she tried to plead. She needed time which wasn't likely if the Summer was coming up. She'd be busy with internships by then. There must be something he... a bulb lit up in her head as she gambled her chances on it.

"Agree or I'll tell the whole world you're secretly keeping 10 ra"—instantly he slapped his hand over her mouth—"bbits in the school's forest and I'll personally make coney dogs out of them," she mirrored his eyes which scrutinised her muffled words.

"Coney dog?"

"It's basically a hot dog," she dead-panned. "With extra stuff on top."

'She's... going to make them into sausages?' Scepticism slowly traced his face as each rabbit transformed into a large tube of reddish meat in his mind. 'Not Bunbun, Bunnifer, Bunaldo, Bunnelby, Bunnelton the XII, Buns, Bunster, Bunnykins and Bunno!’ His face paled to stone at the thought. He had to secretly ask permission from the principal to make it work since there were complaints in the dormitories smelling like shit a few months back.

The food offer was tempting since she could handle things while he was gone and Max could continue doing his own things too. It's been a while since he's had a fulfilling meal as well, glancing at the content figures of the bunnies hopping around.

"Fine. Only 3 times."

"Cool," she chirped, her shoulders slouched before she dropped herself back on the floor. “Another chance is nice…”

“But don’t butt into my business,” he added. “We aren’t friends yet.” 

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Something with vegetables."

The day continued as normal with the troublesome girl being busy with catch up classes to get asked out for duels and taking care of the rabbits again, so he knocked on the Adler Dorm’s Kitchen and saw her already prepping the ingredients. Chopping up the vegetables with ease. “Do you like tomatoes?”

“As long as they’re vegetables.”

“Alright,” continuing to cut through the ingredients as the water was simmering to a boil.

Although it might’ve not been as clear, there was a child-like wonder in his eyes as she gave him a sip of the soup to taste.

“How is it?”

“Like nothing.”

“Pass the salt and sugar, please.” He did as told as it was clearly labelled and she dumped what he could only assume to be an estimate as she picked up some more herbs, spices and… lemongrass(?) to chuck into the soup.

“Here,” she held up a small sauce tray to him. He took it.

“It’s more sour now… and spicier.”

“You want more or…”

“It’s fine.”

“Okay.”

“Rice?” He nodded his head as she turned off the heat on the stovetop and removed her apron to wear her robe before taking out some bowls with pre-added rice and scooped up the still hot soup into it.

“I like seafood so I put some shrimp, cut up squid and such in there alongside the vegetables. Hope it’s nice. Also this isn’t how it’s usually eaten but it’s easier to eat this way,” she explained.

He took a sip and as if he was filled with deja-vu, he felt… like he could see her again. 

An unfamiliar yet strong aroma wafted through the air, causing him to reach the kitchen with a slight spark in his eyes. “What did you make today?” He asked, excited for her next attempt at a recipe as he climbed onto the chair with his small limbs.

“It’s a bit spicier than mummy intended,” she chuckled as she brought the pot to the table with her mittens. Their father slowly brought his slightly shrieky baby brother over to his raised chair as she collected everyone’s bowls and cutlery. “But that’s why I made sure to put water here!”

“Will Finn be able to try it?”

She smiled at his words. “It’s a lot of salt for him to eat fully, so we’ll only let him have a taste.”

“Alright, thank you for the meal,” before he scooped up a spoonful of the soup his mother had given him. “AH!” He burned his mouth as he swallowed it.

“Rayne!”

“Remember to let it cool down a bit!” The auburn haired girl reminded him, taking him back to the current moment.

To which he chuckled, hiding back a smile. How does a soup made by a random girl he wasn’t friends with made him be reminded of a peaceful time he hasn’t had in a while?

“It’s a lot less spicy than I remembered,” he reminisced, following her advice as he scooped up some rice with the soup and blew onto it before taking another gulp of it. ‘Yeah. She would’ve refined it if…’

She lit up at his words, “Oh! You’ve tried Tomyum before?” Completely superseding her shocked reaction. ‘Rayne can chuckle?’

“When my mother was still around…”

“I see,” and thus they ate in silence. To Rayne, the meal was rather hearty, finishing the entire pot through sheer nostalgia much to the girl’s confusion.

“H-how old are you again?” She asked, not wanting to immediately call him a child.

“16.”

“I meant your birthday.”

“March 3rd.”

She paled. ‘A guy taller than me, younger than me?’ Her eyes widened like saucers. ‘And an orphan?’

“What about you?”

“February 18th.”

“... you’re older than me.”

“O-kay…”

She went to clean the dishes instead and he quietly helped out too. ‘He isn’t leaving me any time soon is he?’ Resigning herself to her fate. ‘I’m gonna die before I can properly ask this guy out aren’t I?’ As she handed over the last bowl for him to wipe clean followed by turning off the tap.

“I have a question,” he began slowly. “‘Impart Zero’, is that a dispelling type of spell?”

‘This is outta nowhere!’ She nodded as she quickly stashed away her items in her robe. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, usually someone chants a single word when casting their basic spell.” Atleast, that’s how he understood the concept of personal magic.

“There is no basic spell for Impart,” she sighed much to his puzzling look. “Because it’s meaningless on its own.”

While magic like Partisan functioned by summoning large blades at varying magnitudes of force and size through, something like her magic had no tangible form to counter the blades summoned. She pointed out.

“That’s true, you never summon something when you chant it.”

“Impart Zero simply reduces the magnitude of what I find unfair to nothing. In magic contexts: Yes it’s like ‘Dispel’ just better and more effective,” she searched for her keys and rayne felt like he had hit a road block. “It’s the easiest spell for me to do because it doesn’t require me to think about anything except the target. Usually focusing on their magic is the easiest.”

‘Perhaps that’s how she caused trouble with a singular spell.’

It’s subjective but at the end of the day, a mindset of inferiority and entitlement stems from it.

“Have you ever explained it that way to anyone?”

“Nah. Why would I?” She grinned manically. “The thought of someone being able to dispel any magic thrown their way sounds more menacing right?” Her eyes then seemed to become more aloof in a heartbeat as she kicked a stray pebble up the stairs. “I’d rather be a no-name nobody than be saddled with so many burdens because I’m useful to others.”

With a less bright smile, she waved him off. “See you tomorrow then, I’ll make something light.”

“See you.”

_ _ _

"Morning Rayne," Max beamed as he scooted over for his roommate to sit down. He looked around to find no silhouette of the transfer student or her chipper steps. "She's not here?" Odd.

"She's not," he curtly replied, placing down a packed lunch wrapped in a bright orange cloth, which piqued his friend's interest.

"Did you make breakfast today?"

"No, she did."

"She must've left rather early then." He just hummed at his words, watching as the rabbit loving boy opened the lid. A beautifully presented slices of bread alongside cleanly cut avocado and an omelette. Alongside a note attached at the side.

"I've got something urgent to take care of, I'll be back soon," he read aloud. It had an exclamation mark too. How chipper. The teachers seemed aware of her absence when they took attendance. Classes seemed a little more like last year, quiet and possibly boring without the girl’s interjections.

Thankfully, he was called over by the vice principal for a quick meeting with the other prefects. There was a wolf roaming last night on the 2nd year floors and it hadn’t been found yet.

“So a lycanthrope?” Abel Walker, the Lang Prefect suggested. A logical conclusion. “There haven’t been many sightings on campus since a few years back. So it’s probably a curse.”

“What do you even want us to do?”

“If the wolf is in deed a lycanthrope,” the vice principal gestured; “Find the student, and make the necessary arrangements.”

‘How crass,’ Rayne told himself as the meeting ended.

_ _ _

It’s been 2 weeks since she transferred. 2 weeks didn’t mean her previous schedule, inner workings and attentiveness had disappeared and adapted. She never slept during lessons, was always up and done with a run by the time she met the rabbit caretaker, and paired with the additional classes she had for advanced magic spells class and their other assignments, it was unnerving that she was so sprightly. Radiating that perfect student energy (even though she was anything but a perfect student) without cracking under the pressure of being behind in at least 5 subjects.

Their arrival into the classroom was met with some odd glances and murmurs but nothing out of the ordinary since her arrival.

“For today’s lesson we will be joining Professor Lucci’s class and conducting an exercise together,” their teacher summarised today’s exercise as a door appeared to her left. She gestured to pass through it without any reluctance and setbacks her pupils. They were surrounded by gigantic hedges with roughly 40 students and 2 members of staff in the vicinity but the robe they were wearing was of a different colour. 

“Are they in the smarter class?”

“No. They’re just from the Lang dorm.”

“Today’s exercise is simple, the goal is to ‘Get out of the maze’,” the blonde man explained, showing an image of the exit. “Use what you have learned to escape and you may earn yourselves a silver coin or two.”

The others seemed to shift at this statement followed by a sense of belief. ‘That’s it?’ Something was amiss as they added on a few more details.

“Since you are in the advance class though, I’m sure 30 minutes is plenty of time to get out of the maze but you will have 40 minutes in total still, you may begin… now.”

Before she could even face her only friend, he surfed off and up with a single spell leaving her with the rest like sitting ducks.

‘THIS IS WHAT I GET AFTER MAKING HIM SOUP?’

The audacity that Rayne Ames had to abandon her in the centre of this goddamn corn maze! She looked around as students began to form small groups or walk straight ahead with their wands in hand. She didn’t even know any of these people! All of her assignments had either been alone or with that fucking half-piss hair, so she never fucking knew anyone as she watched her dorm’s students throw ideas and concerns at each other.

‘Focus!’ She tried to snap herself out of spiralling into a deepening loss of place. She had to complete the exercise. Technically, raising her palm at a hedge, she could bulldoze herself out with that lethal spell right away and dash straight out but the only issue would be the the blonde teacher’s statement which riled up everyone. 

‘You may earn yourselves a silver coin or two…’

To earn implies a challenge to be completed, she stretched herself first. Then the silver coins are rewards that people want? That would make the most sense from what she had gathered. 

“Venetris!” A student chanted to evaluate the terrain across the hedge directly. Nothing, it was pure grass and branches. “Let’s move, guys!”

It is a simple spell after all, allowing everyone to see through a certain portion of wherever it is aimed towards. The advanced version which has an effect on a much greater distance is Vitriniae at the expense of only being seen by the caster since it’s a self using spell.

“Repeat after me, Ms Randel,” her advanced spells teacher began once more, aiming her own wand towards the wooden box just days ago. “Vee-tree-nee-ae,” she uttered the syllables slowly before repeating it as a spell. “Vitriniae.”

“Vinitriae.” Unable to see through the box herself, she realised her mess up. “It was supposed to be Vitriniae!” The common problem with this spell amongst students in particular is the pronunciation since it’s similar to Venetris which requires less magic to use.

“From the top Miss Randel.”

She took a deep breath as she channelled her magic power towards her eyes. “Vin… Vitriniae,” she calmly uttered, now able to see through and evaluate the terrain for possible challenges. And unlike everyone else, who seemed adamant in avoiding these areas as possible traps and loss of time, the brunette crashed straight into one head on. Or rather three. One-time. Consecutive. Pressure Sensitive. Booby Trap. Spells.

‘Why does he get to fly?’ She huffed to herself, as she noticed a group of Adler students clumped together at a corner. With another spell, it revealed a magical creature, a Riddle Sphinx infront of a pale-haired student who seemed to be shaking in their shoes with each riddle answered correctly.

“30 white horses on a red hill,” it began its last riddle. “First, they champ, then they stamp, then they stand still.” A sense of loss pervaded the air. He didn’t know what was supposed to be answered, maybe if they had Orca students it would’ve been easier. Was it asking him what that correlated to?

“5 more seconds.”

“A ranch?” The student stammered out.

“Wrong.”

Ready to take out his wand, he would try to pull off a smoke spell to let the others pass on without him. A Riddle Sphinx only focused on a singular riddle compared to its other counterparts. Aorio Morris was going to lose this test, he gulped as the golden sand being roared.

“Teeth.” another girl with reddish brown hair jumped in and slumbered the being with a simple yet forceful kick. “Move along now, people,” she ordered as the others continued their plan before she hopped off in another direction. 

“Perceptive,” the blonde professor murmured to himself through the magic mirror. “Has she earned any coins yet?” As a new transfer student, her magical progress since her initial arrival has been nothing short of exponential. 

“No.”

“That’s surprising.” She’ll get them soon.

_ _ _

After defeating over 10 opponents, and only receiving about 4 silver coins from, she continued to search for more, finding the coins to be shaped oddly. Like a flattened cone. A bit of a coin… even though it was considered a coin? She’d have to ask later about it’s value.

Hidden with an invisibility spell in the distance was none other than the boy she had knocked out weeks ago. Gritting his teeth, he patiently watched for an opening. ‘I’ve done my research and practice into this spell.’ She was a one liner after all. There’s no way she could be stronger than him, watching as she walked herself into another obstacle. ‘I’ll utilise Burst in tandem with Nalcos to throw her off guard,’ readying his wand as a different creature towered over her. An iron golem. A man-made being created to help in magic training exercises. There were roughly 3 types of golems: heavy defence, speed, and magical power. The one with bulky arms screeched harshly towards them, cranking it’s arms as he glued her feet to the floor. ‘Focus on it and then you can admit your inferiority!’ However, these too would be quelled with her magic by thin air.

Wirth found her frustrating after destroying his worth and reputation. “You think I want to use my magic on you?” Evading his mud, she led his attacks towards the obstacle, each reaching a new level of power than the last and voila! Collapsing to bits, 2 silver coins spawned. Taking a huge side step, to pick them up, she walked over towards the vengeful student. “Here, you can have one. You guys seem particularly fond of these things. I’ll take the other one.”

‘What in the…’

“Why did you even transfer here?!” A sense of inferiority bubbled in him. “I don’t get it,” he clenched his fists. Why would she give it away so easily? Did she not want to become a Divine Visionary like Margaret Macaron from Orca?

“Partial credit is partial credit,” she hummed, ignoring his question. “If you want to do a duel or something again just find me around!” sprinting off into the distance, leaving him baffled by her existence once again.

_ _ _

Barely 5 minutes were left on the clock and she was still inside. The only one left inside. Was she trying to fail the exercise? For Rayne Ames who had already completed it with ease, earning himself an additional 2 coins, he couldn’t fathom her sluggish pace. Even the weakest students had passed the finish line. He walked towards the teachers who had a rafflesia mirror to see the progress within the maze.

She was against a different obstacle this time, one completely immune to magic spells. She should’ve spent her time to run for the exit instead of tying up the man-made ram. What a waste. ‘Neutralising a deadervant doesn’t produce coins, that’s a different exercise.’ Perhaps, Darren Randel’s weakness was her ambitious conviction in pursuit of challenge.

But her next actions felt… comical. After looking at each side, she held her palm wide open, pooling a large magnitude of magical energy. She chanted a lethal spell that would be taught the following year, “Eradica Maxima.” Bulldozing the garden the blonde professor had shaped. Rather overkill, as the gingerhead’s heels dug themselves to a halt from bumping into everyone at the finish line. instantly the buzzer went off. Her robe abandoned in the decimated grounds.

A short lived round of applause erupted for her performance. She bowed before pivoting into a sprint back to the maze remains and returned at a slightly slower pace than before. 

‘What did I just witness?’

The teachers then debriefed everyone regarding the class, showcasing a magical chalkboard of their times. Rayne Ames ranked first; Darren Randel ranked last.

“You know, you can collect a demerit if you continue to reach the time limit of the exercise,” another voice told her. It was Max Land.

“6 demerits means expulsion and we have our midterms coming up!”

_ _ _ _ _

I'm realising Darren's Explanation of her magic sounds like it's Billie's Unfair Negating Ability from Undead Unluck. Of course, keep in mind that it's Darren and Undead Unluck has some crazy power system that focuses on beliefs (manifestation shits). Sorry for the spoilsies randos who are getting into UU.