#mobsters inc

[1v31182m5]

[voltagefangirl19]

So I’ve been deep in danmei lately (particularly with Mo Dao Zu Shi and Scum Villain) so when I re-read this substory I went into fangirl mode, you have no idea how happy I was to be called Da Jie by the dragons <3 <3 <3 I love them sooo much <3 (and Soryu’s smile kills me everytime)

Now I totally need more content of the Dragons as MC's family 🥺

Sub-story: Drunk in love: Soryu

[failgirl-coven]

bro i fucking hate snotty ass customers who are like "errrrm excuse mee this is a mens t shirt. whys it with the womens clothes"

like actually fuck off i cannot possibly stress how much this doesnt fucking matter

[calmthefuckdownalright]

I'll Keep You Safe (If The World Must Burn)

Chapter 2 just published!

@random-hooman

I'm going to be spitting these out for a while before I take I think a 2 (maybe closer to 3) week hiatus for my mission trip and then I go back to my school year occupation in which I will probably have my strokes of genius again as I succumb to the boredom of my profession

[hotvintagepoll]

Edward G. Robinson (The Whole Town's Talking, Larceny Inc., The Little Giant, A Slight Case of Murder)—Someone once described him as "A demonic cherub" and I cannot for the life of me remember who it was (they did mention it on TCM though). To this day I cannot stop thinking about that -We're talking about Little Caesar here, is this even a contest? -They way he can rattle off a line like damn. (Go watch the "Suicide Monologue" from Double Indemnity!) -In Larceny Inc. he's working in a luggage store and wraps an annoying customer's purchase in THE most passive-aggressive manner possible -He loved art and even painted!! "I have not collected art. Art collected me. I never found paintings. They found me. I have never even owned a work of art. They owned me." -EGR -In The Little Giant he practices a proposal because he's so nervous and it is the cutest thing I've ever seen -The way he gestures when he speaks, and bounces all around the screen SO. MUCH ENERGY! -In Barbary Coast he wears an earring and has curly hair so -He hated guns. During production of Little Caesar (1931), his eyelids had to be taped open so he wouldn't flinch when he fired his weapon -I happen to like the way he snarls and looks like angry little Tasmanian devil ok -The Whole Town's Talking has him playing a DUAL role as both a ruthless mobster and a milquetoast office clerk, shenanigans ensue -MULTILINGUAL -He looks ridiculous playing polo in The Little Giant and I am HERE for it -Looks SO SCRUNGLY in glasses -I got a yen for unique voice, and his definitely something -He wears a Santa suit in Larceny Inc. -5'4 1/2 (1.64m) I rest my case.

Thelma Ritter (Rear Window, All About Eve)—So little! Barely 5 feet tall! So scrungly! Working class accent and regular person looks constantly surrounded by gorgeous people! Snarky as hell!

This is round 1 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you're confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Edward G. Robinson:

Thelma Ritter:

she wants to kill santa claus so bad for the first half of this clip. "thats fine. thats just dandy. mama wants to..thank santa claus too."

[vintagelasvegas]

Dunes Hotel & Casino '55-'93

Dunes, 1955. Kodachrome photo from Charles Phoenix.

Timeline of the Dunes

’53-54: First announced as Hotel Araby (RJ 11/1/53), then became known as Vegas Plaza, and Hotel Deauville (RJ 1/20/54, 4/23/54). Named the Dunes by the time of groundbreaking, 6/22/54 (RJ).

’55: May 23, original owners Robert Rice, Al Gottesman, Joseph Sullivan, Alexander Barad and Jason Tarsey open the $4 million Dunes Hotel-Casino with 200 rooms on an 85-acre site. John Replogle, designer Robert Dorr Jr., architect and designer. Signs and Sultan figure by YESCO (RJ 5/23/55).

’55: Aug., Dunes leased by Sands partners and reopened in Sep. Subsequent financial difficulties cause the casino to be closed, 1/56.

’56: Bill Miller, Major A. Riddle, and Robert Rice are licensed to reopen the casino in May. In Nov., the license is changed to add M&R Investment Co. as the company that operates the Dunes.

’57: Jan., Minsky’s Follies opens the first topless show at a Strip resort.

’59: Convention Hall addition.

’61: Olympic Wing addition.

’62: Riddle sells 15 percent of the stock to M&R Investment Corp., whose stockholders now include Charles Rich, Sidney Wyman and George Duckworth.

’62: Oct. 21, Tower groundbreaking.

’64: Construction of "Miracle Mile" golf course. Sultan figure moved to golf course in May. In Oct-Nov, the 180-ft sign is installed in Oct., and switched on 11/12/64.

’65: Jun, opening of Dome of the Sea and the 24-story tower. Dunes Golf Course opened.

’69: Continental Connector Corp., a publicly traded company, buys the Dunes in a $59M stock transfer in May. In Dec, the SEC charges that CCC defrauded stockholders in the proxy statement it issued offering to buy the Dunes. CCC settles the SEC complaint in ’76. At this time, bankers E. Parry Thomas and Jerome Mack are principals in M&R and CCC.

’74: In Sep., Gaming Control Board files a complaint against the Dunes for catering and "comping" alleged Kansas City mob chief Nick Civella, one of 11 members of the Black Book, Nevada's List of Excluded Persons. The Dunes ultimately was fined $10,000.

’75: In Feb., Morris Shenker buys an interest in M&R through his IJK Nevada Inc. Later in the year, Dunes owners Shenker and Riddle are asked about allegations that reputed mobster Anthony Spilotro had "set up shop" at the Dunes. Spilotro reportedly was spending up to 14 hours a day in the poker room and appeared to be using it as an office.

’76: In Jun., Shenker sues the Teamsters Union for $140M for backing out of a loan commitment, which was to be used to add another 1,000 rooms. In Oct., Dept of Labor intervenes, saying the loan was prohibited. In ’80, Shenker's breach of contract lawsuit is tossed out of court by U.S. District Judge Roger Foley.

’79: South tower opened in summer. Shenker announces the Dunes will construct a $65M hotel-casino in Atlantic City. FBI affidavits are unsealed claiming that two confidential informants "both advised that the Kansas City organized crime group headed by Nick Civella has a concealed interest fronted by Shenker at the Dunes." Shenker denies the allegations.

’80: In Jan., alleged members of the NY Columbo family are discovered staying for free at the Dunes. Gaming Control Board Chairman Richard Bunker says the "comping" did not violate the law or gaming regulations. Later, four of the group, including Joseph Columbo Jr., are indicted on charges of obtaining money under false pretenses in an airline ticket reimbursement scam. The indictment is dismissed by District Judge Joseph Pavlikowski and in ’84 was reinstated by the NV Supreme Court.

’82: Aug., the $17M Oasis Casino opens, doubling the existing casino space at the resort. Design by Farris Alexander Congdon Architects. New 2-floor casino includes Xanadunes electronic gaming area, and Video-Video arcade space (RJ 8/13/82, 8/20/82).

’82: Dec., Stuart and Clifford Perlman agree to buy the Dunes for $185M. The brothers loan Shenker $4M and $2.9M of that sum is used to pay overdue federal payroll taxes and avoid the seizure of assets by the IRS. Shenker denies the resort is on the verge of bankruptcy. Docs filed with the SEC indicate the property is in default on a number of loans and a number of creditors threaten foreclosure action.

’83: The Perlmans assume management of the Dunes in Apr., and operate it for four months before the sale collapses in Aug.

’83: Oct., a foreclosure sale of the Dunes' golf course and some other property is averted when problems are worked out with the trustees of the Hotel & Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Int’l Union and the trustees of the Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Trust, which are owed $1.5M for non-payment of union benefits.

’83: Dec., a federal jury in Las Vegas decides that Shenker owes $34M to the So. Nevada Culinary and Bartenders Pension Fund for defaulting on loans in ’73-’75 to two of Shenker's land companies, Sierra Charter Corp. and IJK Nevada.

’84: Feb., Shenker files for personal bankruptcy in Missouri to protect his assets from the $34M judgment. The IRS claims that the 78-year-old Shenker owes $66M in unpaid taxes stretching back 20 years. Shenker's bankruptcy filing claimed assets of $82M and liabilities of $197M, the largest debt ever recorded in the St. Louis bankruptcy court.

’84: Mar., Valley Bank of Nevada heads a consortium to lend the Dunes $68.6M as part of a debt restructuring plan.

’84: May, John Anderson buys a controlling interest in the Dunes with his JBA Investments Inc. Anderson signs a $25M note to pay the Perlmans for the $35M they invested in the resort. Shenker's 26 percent interest remains under the control of the bankruptcy court.

’84: Jun., the FBI alleges that Shenker approved $600,000 in kickbacks to alleged Milwaukee crime boss Frank Balistrieri in connection with loans from the Teamsters Union to Allen Glick, who later bought four Las Vegas resorts before being forced out of gaming by Nevada officials. Shenker denies the kickback allegations. No charges are filed.

’85: Feb., Dunes is cited for failing to retrofit the property to meet fire safety standards. About $2.2M is spent on retrofitting during the first half of the year.

’85: May, former Gaming Control Board Chairman Richard Bunker leaves his position as corporate treasurer of Circus Circus Ent. to become president of the Dunes.

’85: Aug., Jack Bona buys out the Dunes' 49 percent interest in its Atlantic City property in a $21M sale. The next day, Bona places the property in a Ch. 11 reorganization in bankruptcy court.

’85: Sept. 27, Dunes defaults on the $68.6M bank loan and Valley Bank moves ahead with the legal steps required for a foreclosure sale Dec. 23.

’85: Oct. 24, Federal marshals begin seizing cash from the Dunes casino cage to pay a $2.7M judgment obtained by trustees of the Culinary and Bartenders unions. They accept a $200,000 check and leave the cash in the cage.

’85: Nov. 1, Marshals return to collect the remaining $17M owed to the unions but are halted by a last-minute restraining order.

’85: Nov. 6, Dunes' operating company. M&R Investment, files for reorganization under Chapter 11.

’87: Masao Nangaku buys the Dunes for $157M.

’92: Nov., Dunes bought by Mirage Inc. for $75M.

’93: Jan. 26, closed. North tower and sign demolished 10/27/93.

‘94: Jul. 20, South tower demolished.

A major source for the timeline is Jane Ann Morrison. Judge Approves Payday for Dunes Employees. Review-Journal, 11/7/85.

Dunes, 1955. This is the original layout of the resort, before the addition of the Convention Hall and Olympic wing. Photo by Ed Screeton. Dunes Hotel Photograph Collection (PH-00281), UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

Late '64. The 180-foot sign has recently been completed. Dome of the Sea restaurant and the hotel tower are nearing completion. Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Photographs, UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

Mar. '85. Photo by Scott Henry, Review-Journal.

[redemptionrehab]

Triple A INC.

Angel, Alastor and Ace! Finally made this look the way I wanted it to!!! It was a pain but so worth it.

All of them have their canon personalities, the Only big difference personality wise is that angel and Husk are in a relationship now and Alastor was the one who pitched the partnership in the first place.

Alastor

Alastor was the first to die, but was the last of the three to build his reputation in Hell. The reason it took him so long to rise to power is a mystery, especially since when he did it was almost overnight. Once he gained the limit of his power he want to the home of Hell's most notorious gambler, however when he won he didn't want the gambling demon's soul, he wanted his partnership. Husk was not hesitant to agree, and not just because he was forced to, infact he was interested in seeing how the partnership went. However, Alastor had no idea he was not aware that Angel would be part of the deal and due to him accidentally tying himself to the Gambler he was unable to break out of the deal.

The only real change in Alastor's design is his color scheme, which matches the original character in zoophobia, and his shoes which were changed back to his boots.

Angel

This spider mobster was the original member, first to gain power down in Hell. He did in '47 and became an official overlord in sep. of '49. Angel takes no nonsense but gives a lot. He met Husk at the gamblers first overlord meeting and they immediately hit it off. Angel proceeded to visit Husk's casino frequently and even aided in advertising it. Angel also took to weapons manufacturing sometime in the mid 60's and quickly became tough competition with Carmila, who eventually had to file for bankruptcy when her sales dropped in the 90's. After Carmila's company tanked and she and her daughters were left on a tight budget, Angel's conscience took over, especially since Carmila was such a roll model to him. He decided to pay for their home and food, with the condition that he gets to visit every now and again. (He likes to gossip with Clara).

Angel's design matches his original with his color scheme changed to match his current one! I really liked his little hat

Ace

Husker, more professionally known as Ace, was the last of the three to enter Hell and the second to gain power. As stated above Alastor was the one who wanted to join him and Husk purposefully lost the game in order to go through with the deal. He couldn't let demons think he kept associating with other overlords via his own will, obviously Angel is obsessed with him and wont leave no matter what, he obviously doesn't like him back. Is what he would say if he was a LIAR. At one point in time, Husk finds a young demoness stranded out on the streets, picking pockets for anything she can get. Husker sees potential in her and takes her back to the Casino to show the others. In the end, the girl bonds with Alastor.

His design is meant to look like a more aged up version of his younger self, a little more scruffy.

[indiemedley]

Ice-E's P'E'ZZA Secret Boss: Greas-E

Time for a new Deltarune secret boss, this time for Ice-E's! The lovely art was done by the splendorous @zootyplex (commission her, her art rocks) and the fabulous @creepa-b0t-inc for the sprite renditions!

Now then, for the boss himself. Greas-E hails from the Corporate World of Ice-E's, run by the head C'E'O. In days long past, Greas-E served as the C'E'O's top enforcer, the one he contacted to get shit done, through violent means if necessary. Greas-E was fiercely loyal to his boss, being a part of the Family Menu in the upper echelon. He new the job came with a lot of risks, a lot of downsides, but he didn't care. He served his duty well.

One day, however, a haphazard Darkner spotted him in the middle of his less than moral activities, word of which did take very little time to spread throughout the Dark World. The C'E'O was certainly not happy to hear this, as he sought to maintain his profits with a proper family friendly image. As much as it killed him, he had to banish Greas-E, remove him from the menu in order to save face. As such, he was banished to the Icy Shelf, and left to be forgotten.

It was here that he came to meet a special someone among the tundra, one who showed him capabilities he never knew he even had. Powers that linked him to a grandiose machinated giant that lay dormant in the ice. He was ready to Supersize, all he needed was the right group of schmucks to help him finish the last minute prep time "That Weird Guy" got him on track for.

As for his Light World origins, his story is slightly more complicated than the average Light World Darkner backstory.

Greas-E was originally the benign pompadour type mascot for an item on the Ice-E's menu, part of the corporate attempt to make more of a cast for Ice-E, so they could market more toys and boost their funds. He was meant to advertise and sell the Super Mega Pizza Burger Triple Patty Greasemaster Deluxe, which was even more unhealthy than it sounds.

Of course, this terrible menu item led to some serious health concerns for the public, inevitably leading to its removal from the menu. However, the franchise had jumped the gun by a significant margin and had already begun construction on a line of animatronic entertainers for the Hometown location. They were intended to be half machine and half organic material from whatever product they were supposed to represent, that way, they could Serv-o Up Smiles!

This was an all around terrible idea.

Greas-E's animatronic was the first one to be put into production, and subsequently the first to be canned. However, they couldn't get rid of it, so, they just shoved it in the back of the freezer at the restaurant alongside the last unsold Super Mega Pizza Burger Triple Patty Greasemaster Deluxe patties.

It was here he was to stay. Here he was to rot. Mold and mildew slowly overtaking the meat on his body, but his hate still remains. His desire to get back on the menu and prove to his boss he can still be useful burns just as bright as it did before. And he'll serve up a 2-for-1 deal on pain along the way.

"What? What? Youse single serving punks tink you got ANYTHING on da Greasemaster? Tink again, Cornball!"

"We all pass our best-by dates, cornball, even the freshest meats expire!"

As for his general deal, Greas-E is a dirtbag sleazeball mafioso. He's a dick to most people, except his boss who he holds in the utmost regard. He speaks with an Italian American accent, much like a stereotypical mobster. He also consistently refers to himself in the third person as Greas-E or the Greasemaster. During his speech, he also sprinkles in a variety of food service references into his speech pattern. After meeting Kris, he tends to refer to them as Cornball or Order Reference Number M040N, or moron.

[ivys-head-is-spinning]

FAVE MONSTERS INC CHARECTER GO

SULLY.

fun fact monsters university was my first movie in theatres and the whole monsters franchise was like my first obsession so I still have all the toys and stuffed animals and stuff.

have you watched the show mobsters at work? ITS SOOOOOO GOOD.

[stessio1019]

Is it me, or is Donald Trump sounding more and more like Roz from Mobster’s Inc.? I swear every time I hear him, it's like, "Biden, why didn't you file your paperwork?"

[1v31182m5]

How do you think randall and sonia interacted in the mobsters inc timeline?

I headcanon they were friends ever since they first met at the party!!

[majormeilani]

mice got some hulu disney+ thingy or whatever and she's letting me use it and i tried to look up monster's inc and i spelled it wrong as "mobsters" and it still came up

[sophiie2000]

A Past Long Forgotten?

Chapter 13

Words ~ 1806

Disclaimer ~ Characters belong to Voltage Inc

Link to Chapter 12 below ⬇️

Two days had passed by. When MC had returned to the mansion she had immediately sought out Yukari to inform her she would be helping her to escape. Yukari had been surprised but also grateful.

Her surprise was even greater when MC told her that when they had broken out, she would be escorting her to meet an individual she believed was Yukari’s brother. The tears she had shed as she had hugged MC made the agent glad she had plucked up the courage to speak to Eisuke. To have determined they were truly siblings.

Truthfully, tonight was outside the scope of the young agents’ mission. As such, she would likely be reprimanded by the EAC. Acting outside the scope of one’s mission in such a way risks their identities being found out. Death awaits those agents who are uncovered.

Yet MC was at peace. She was reuniting two siblings who had sought each other for almost two decades. She had abandoned everything and everyone when she became an agent, and so giving two people what they had long desired after so long, in exchange for the little freedom she had left, well it didn’t seem like such a difficult decision after all.

Wells had left the mansion with a few of the other mobsters. Something to do with another meeting; negotiating some trade deal not relevant to the mission. As a result, the mansion was quiet. It was 7pm, and MC made her way towards the room which Yukari had been kept in the entire time she had been a hostage.

“Yukari, are you ready?” MC spoke quietly to her as she entered.

“Yes!” She smiled at her happily. MC provided Yukari with a change of clothes, all black, so they would be harder to detect in the dark. Once they had changed into them, MC locked the door from the inside. “Wait, why are you locking the door?!” She exclaimed.

“Heh, we aren’t going to be escaping through the mansion, Yukari!” MC chuckled. Hesitantly, she asked,

“T-then how?” Smirking, MC directed a finger towards the window. Yukari looked momentarily surprised, then panicked.

“Don’t worry, I have a habit of climbing out of windows. Ask your brother about it when you see him, he’ll tell you!” MC laughed as she readied a safety rope for Yukari to make her feel safer as she would be abseiling down.

“Are you close with my brother?”

“Something like that. we knew each other a long time ago” MC offered a friendly smile. Yukari smiled in return. “Wells is out right now. So, if we do this quietly, we should escape pretty easily. But you have to trust me and do exactly as I say, ok?”

When Yukari nodded, MC proceeded to tie the rope around her waist, creating a safety harness. Securing the rope in place on the building, she hopped out the window onto the ledge. Clinging into place, she encouraged Yukari to join her.

She timidly stepped out on the ledge. MC secured a second rope from Yukari to her waist. She looked at her inquisitively.

“Just to make you feel safer. Should you slip, I will be able to catch the rope and stop you from falling”

She nodded, and then they began their descent. Yukari imitated each of MCs movements. Placing her hands and feet in the exact same crevices as MC did. Minutes later, they had made it onto the ground. MC suddenly pressed Yukari up flat against the wall. Shushing her with a finger to her lips, they watched as a couple of the guards patrolled around the building.

Once they had rounded the corner, MC untied the rope from both of their waists. Grabbing Yukari’s wrist, she pulled her along as they made a run for it.

They had made it as far as the end of the drive before more guards were in view, patrolling the front gates.

“Wait here” MC whispered before stealthily moving up behind the guards. Whipping the first one on the back of the head with the handle of her gun, she engaged in combat with the second. Finally, having successfully subdued the two guards and ensured no other was present, she waved Yukari over to join her.

“Who are you?!” She asked, immediately having witnessed what had just happened.

“It doesn’t matter who I am. What matters is getting you to your brother.” MC smiled at her. A smile Yukari readily returned. Running further, they managed to reach the main road. There, MC had a car waiting. Motioning to Yukari to hop in, they both clambered into the vehicle and drove away.

Mission: Help Yukari escape accomplished.

Now, it was time to introduce the siblings.

***

Arriving at the Tres Spades at 8:30pm, an hour and 30 minutes after the rescue mission had begun, Yukari eyed the hotel with surprise. Turning to face her, Yukari was even more surprised when MC informed her that not only did her brother live inside the hotel, but he was the owner of said hotel.

The elevator climbed each floor, one by one. MC could sense Yukari twitching from her nervousness. Holding her hand tightly, she sensed Yukari face her in shock before firmly gripping her hand back, her shaking subsiding

The elevator doors opened, and what welcomed the pair were all the guys sat in the lounge, engaged in a game of poker.

All except for Eisuke.

“MC! Are you here to see Eisuke?” Soryu asked.

“MC? Her name is Maisie” Yukari enquired laughing. Of course, she was confused. MC never divulged her real name. She introduced herself as Maisie to Wells and so had given the same name to Yukari.

“Maisie?” The guys all spoke in unison, eyeing her in confusion.

“Yeah here to see Eisuke, if he upstairs?” MC asked, deliberately ignoring their questioning looks.

“Yeah…” Soryu responded, confusion still apparent as his eyes followed MC and the mystery woman who accompanied her.

Nodding to them, she headed upstairs, encouraging Yukari to follow. Once outside his door, MC knocked before opening it up, not waiting for his response.

“MC!” Eisuke jumped up from his seat.

“Why does everyone keep calling you MC, Maisie?” Yukari asked. MC offered her an apologetically understanding smile.

“Because MC is my real name. I am sorry I lied to you.”

“Does it have anything to do with how you fought those guys?”

“You fought some guys?!” Eisuke blurted out, worry marring his features, mixed with surprise.

“Yes, on both accounts. Although, I would hardly call that a fight, compared to some things I have done. Anyway… Yukari, this is Eisuke… Eisuke meet Yukari. I believe you both have a lot to talk about. I will be downstairs.” MC said before leaving the room so they could speak privately.

***

MC had been sitting downstairs with the guys when Ota suggested she join their poker game. They played multiple hands, and soon, the clock struck 11pm. They had been speaking for 2 and half hours. Hardly surprising. They had a lot to catch up on.

Suddenly, the door to Eisuke’s suite opened, and Yukari and Eisuke emerged, walking down the stairs.

“Guys this is Yukari. Yukari meet Soryu, Mamoru, Baba, Ota, Luke, and well, you already know MC, even if by a different name. Guys, Yukari is my sister, the one I have been searching for” Eisuke introduced everyone. After a moment of surprise, Ota exclaimed,

“You found her?”

“MC did…” Eisuke looked at her, a smile in his eyes. She returned his smile, gracing him with one of her own.

“MC you have a lot of explaining to do at this point… first you are Sofia and speaking in a Spanish accent… then you are Maisie, living in New York and found Eisuke’s sister… what is going on?” Soryu asked, a growl of confusion and annoyance mixed into his voice.

“Yea kid, I mean, what is that all about?” Mamoru questioned.

“Yukari said you fought some guys. You were shot and injured a few weeks ago… You can’t keep lying to us now, surely?” Eisuke murmured.

All eyes were now on the agent. She sighed, resigned to her fate. She knew she was dead for talking, but she could tell they were already aware of most of it, just offering her the courtesy to explain herself.

“Ok… I’ll talk. I work for an agency…”

“So… you are a spy?” Ota exclaimed. Nodding, MC continued.

“Yup. When I got kidnapped, the agency I now work for were the people who rescued me. I was so appreciative of them I sought them out, finding the man who rescued me. they were surprised by my skill and immediately wanted to hire me. I met the higher ups in the agency. They liked my talents, among other things, and believed I could go far. So… at 18, I became their youngest recruit… 7 years later, I was promoted, hence I moved to New York”.

“So, when we saw you before with Spencer?” Soryu started…

“I was on a mission”

“And you met Yukari?”

“On a mission… she was a hostage. Truthfully, I began speaking with her because I needed information on her fiancé, to find out how involved in the crimes he was. I am sorry Yukari”

“No, it is ok. You saved me and are helping my fiancé. And you reunited me with my brother. I am grateful”

MC offered her a small smile. Suddenly, Mamoru spoke up,

“You’re a dead woman”

Everyone’s faces turned grim, all eyes on MC.

“Heh, yeah, I guess, although… they have to catch me first” MC smiled and laughed, a laugh so jovial it was out of place in the bleak room, trying to lighten the mood.

“Wait why are you a dead woman?” Yukari asked.

“An agent who gets found out, reveals themselves, or fails their mission, is disposed of. No one knows what happens, but everyone knows you never see them again.” Mamoru stated, eyeing MC cautiously. She offered him a smile.

“Failure is death.” She said quietly, still smiling. “That is what my agency believes anyway”.

“MC…” Eisuke spoke, reaching for her. She gently raised her hands, warding him off.

“It’s ok. I knew this would be the ending that I faced if I diverted from my mission… that is to say, if I told you about each other. If I hung around with you guys long enough, you were always going to figure me out.” She smiled, her eyes finding Eisuke’s. “You always did know me best, after all.”

She had accepted her fate.

She didn’t need anyone’s pity.

She was ok. She had spent the last seven years secluding herself. She would be good at it. She already was good at it, after all.

And if she wasn’t… well, she wouldn’t know for long anyway.

[jerichomere]

MOBSTERS UNUVERSITY IS NOT TEN YEARS OLD. IT IS NOT. IT JUST CAME OUT, SEVERAL YEARS ASFTER MONDRERS INC, THE MOVIE THAT SCARED ME IN KINDERGARTED. 2013 WAS YESTERDAY HELP

[flawedamythyst]

Today's Plotbunny: Farming AU

So, Stede inherits a massive factory-type chicken farm from his dad. Huge and industrial and with just absolutely terrible animal welfare policies, bordering on illegal.

Before Bonnet Senior is even in the ground, Stede is making changes, firing all the old staff and bringing in a gang of oddballs (inc. Buttons the Chicken Whisperer and Lucius the PA Who Is Not Paid Enough To Deal With Chicken Shit Thank You Very Much), halving the number of chickens they keep so they all have space to run around, looking up how to get organic certification, all that. All the local farmers think he's insane and that he's destroying his profit margin one hare-brained scheme at a time.

All the local farmers, except one.

Ed inherited a pig farm from Hornigold along with the rest of his vast criminal empire. The pig farm is a minor part of it all, mostly ignored and not particularly profitable. It serves two real purposes: a) money-laundering and b) disposing of corpses. Because you know...pigs and dead bodies and yeah.

Anyway, that was ten years ago. Ed has been out to the farm maybe twice since then because he's mostly focused on the actual organised crime stuff in the Big City. It's been a long decade though, and he's tired and bored and needs some R&R, so he comes up for a couple of days on a whim.

He meets Stede. Sparks fly. Hearteyes descend. Stede shows Ed what he's doing with his farm and Ed is fascinated, even as he realises just how little he knows about farming. And Stede makes it sound so fascinating! Fang has been managing the pig farm so Ed starts chatting to him, talking about possible changes and getting excited about it in a way he hasn't been for years about any of the Actual Crime.

Ed reluctantly goes back to the Big City after a long weekend that turned into a full week, but he can't stop thinking about Stede. He starts heading out to the farm more and more often to hang out with him, leaving Izzy in charge of the Crime in the Big City. He and Fang make small changes and then, inspired by Stede, bigger ones. Ed gets rid of some of the pigs, who he's never really liked as animals (especially not after watching them chew through numerous mobster henchmen) and replaces them with goats, who he always thought looked fun. He's kinda done with farming animals whose sole purpose is to die, he wants to try something without any death involved, you know? And goat cheese is fucking awesome.

The goats are fun. They may, in fact, be too much fun, but Ed is having the time of his life, running around with Stede after that one bossy nanny who always escapes, laughing and feeling lighter than he has in years. Maybe ever. He's thinking he might try kissing Stede, one day soon.

And then a Badminton turns up at Stede's. Probably Nigel. He tells Stede that he and his brother have bought up a whole load of land in the area and are going to be building a big housing estate, and that Stede's dad had been on the verge of signing a contract to sell his farm to them right before he died. Nigel leans on Stede heavily to sell and when Stede refuses, starts saying things like, "I'm guessing there's lots of chickens in those barns over there. Shame if something happened to them. Do you think it smells like Sunday dinner if a barn full of chickens burns down?"

Stede, furious at the very idea and frightened for his precious chickens, bashes him over the head. He falls, dies. Stede panics and calls the one person he completely trusts, the one who he has an inkling might have dealt with a dead body before.

Ed comes over and stares at Nigel's corpse, then sighs and says, "Guess it's a good thing I didn't get rid of all the pigs yet. No body, no crime, yeah?"

Stede has a little flailing 'oh god I'm a murderer and I'm making you an accessory, Ed! I'm ruining you like I ruin everyone!' moment, Ed steps in and kisses him to calm him down, then says something like, "There's no one I'd rather be an accessory to murder with."

They sneak Nigel's body to the pig shed in the dead of night, then go back to Ed's and make sweet, sweet love.

That's all I've got right now. I'm assuming at some point Chauncey turns up looking for his brother, and Izzy probably loses his shit when Ed announces he's moving to the farm full-time so he can be with Stede, but Ed and Stede overcome all, merge their farms, and create a goats&chickens organic free-range paradise.

I don't know anything about farming though, so it's never getting written.

[youngmasterwisdomperson]

I have spoilery opinions about the second Sanderson Secret Project book

so I guess if you haven’t already filtered tags related to the secret projects do so now

Especially those of my followers who may have only filtered the Cosmere-related tags. Watch out! This book isn’t set in the Cosmere.

Okay so, admitting my biases right off the bat, I think my perspective on this book suffered a little from the twists in it being less fun than I imagined they would be. Based on the first five chapters presented way back when, my theory about our protagonist was that he was going to turn out to be a reviewer for various dimension services or something, and he got all the skills related to sneaking and self-defense from having gone to multiple different dimensions in the past already and picked up the relevant skills along the way. And if he has a history of being a particularly diligent or scathing critic, then it follows that the capitalist hellscape that produced the titular handbook would give him plenty of enemies who might, say, want him dead. And that to me was a fun premise for a protagonist.

However, here’s where the spoilers come in—not too far into the book it’s revealed that the protagonist went to the police academy, and though we later find out he dropped out, I’m still not thrilled about that development. We also later meet his old friend, who is very much a cop, and up until the very end when it’s at least mostly clear that the guy’s a dick, he’s portrayed quite flatteringly as an arbiter of justice and shit, which feels pretty damn close to copaganda to me.

Even considering the fact that it turns out our protagonist was never really a cop and was actually a mobster, which seems contradictory to the early promise made by the protagonist’s instinct that he was definitely not a thief—that is not who he is, we were told—I still feel like not a lot of critical thought was put into this book’s portrayal of crimes and laws and what that says about our society. The jokes at the beginning were pretty funny because it seemed clear that the butt of the joke was the ridiculous things companies and rich people can get away with, and because of that the humor kind of lost its oomph for me midway through when the pretty anti-capitalist satire of the Frugal Wizard’s Handbook became contrasted by casual portrayals of police as being heroes, and criminals as inherently villainous, in a setting where it is made extremely clear that earth laws cannot be said to apply, where not even the laws of physics necessarily apply!

And the girlfriend who it turns out wasn’t fridged (yay?) turned out to be cheating on him having faked her death, which also didn’t fit with the first five chapters’ portrayal of her as a huge nerd for ancient times and the ways humans have always been humans, logical, feeling, multidimensional humans with hopes and dreams. I know we don’t like fridged women as a trope, but at the very least in this case it applied a nice additional emotional stake the protagonist could have had in helping the people of this dimension and treating them with respect and dignity, in defiance of how the Frugal Wizard Inc. people and other dimension salespeople treat them as less real, less substantial, little more than playthings.

The first five chapters left us no clues to suggest that Jen was anything other than a moral paragon who would serve as the protagonist’s internal moral compass, a foundation for his core values despite the inherent cynicism that must come from living in the world implied by the titular handbook. And to be honest, that makes the final reveals a disappointment to me. It makes me feel misled in a way that I’m not used to feeling in Sanderson books—he’s usually really good at foreshadowing the eventual payoffs in a way that makes perfect sense in hindsight and lives up to the promises made in the beginning.

Overall, I think this book has some decent jokes here and there and some alright characters. The world building was fairly interesting, and it was fun seeing the conflict between soft magic and hard science throughout the story, even if we only see tiny glimpses of the magic as a whole. I just can’t escape the feeling of missed opportunities and squandered potential with this premise. The themes were all over the place and the foreshadowing left much to be desired. Still, I read the whole thing in a span of a day, so I can’t say it wasn’t engaging. A thoroughly meh experience. Two and a half out of five stars.