#night crosser

[thorniest-rose]

Mafia boss Eddie who’s interrogating/torturing someone and they’re interrupted by Steve. It should make him less intimidating, but it’s somehow creepier, how quickly Eddie switches to doting on Steve being so sickly sweet and whispering soft things to each other. Steve leaves and all the energy shifts in the room, Eddie sauntering closer to the man reaching behind his back. The man protests and begs, but Eddie tells him that his Stevie just said he misses him and he should just kill the man so they can spend the rest of the night together, and he can’t deny his baby

oh my godddd just thinking now of a situation where Eddie is actually the manic and incredibly cruel and violent henchmen for a mafia boss instead, where he channels all his chaos and sadism into torturing and killing rivals / double-crossers / anyone who pisses off the boss. And he has a special room where he does it, and gets to spend hours doing it and using all his special toys, including knives and guns, and has torture devices he's made himself. And it's all SO much fun for him, seeing these men scream and cry and piss themselves and beg for it to stop, but Eddie never does.

And Eddie's going to town on one of these guys one night, and is about to cut his arm off, when Steve (the mob boss's beautiful son) walks in, all pouty and annoyed that Eddie's taking so long, and he's like, "honey, just kill him already so you can come to bed, I'm so lonely without you," barely even looking at the poor man crumpled in a bloodied heap on the floor. Eddie's immediately doting and sweet, like, "sweetheart I'm gonna be there soon, you know Daddy has to work" and Steve sighs and tucks a long piece of Eddie's hair behind his ear and says, "fine, I'll give you 30 more minutes to play but then you're going to kill him and come upstairs" and Eddie's like, "anything for you, angel baby."

They share the sweetest kiss, but then the man, desperate, tries to grab onto Steve's foot, begs him to intervene, to help, but Steve just shakes him off, cute nose crinkling as he says, "ew" and Eddie's so enraged at him putting his bleeding fingers all over his baby's ankle, he immediately stomps on his hand and breaks all his fingers, not letting up even when the man howls in pain. Eddie then gets a clean cloth and gets on his knees and wipes all the blood away from Steve's skin, bending his head down to place a small kiss there. Steve hums and curls his fingers into Eddie's hair and says, "30 minutes, baby, that's it" then leaves them to it. And Eddie turns back to the man and says, "oh you're gonna pay now for thinking you can put your hands on what's mine."

The man's in pieces by the time Eddie kills him ❤️

[glbettwrites]

An Asphalt Odyssey: RETROSEER by G.L. Bett - ON HIATUS

↪ genre(s): new adult; soft apocalypse; supernatural; horror elements; romance

↪ pov: third person, past tense, dual POV

↪ status: outlining; hiatus

↪ type: standalone novel in an interconnected series

↪ themes: 90s roadtrip vibes; forced proximity; mutual pining; messy and complicated characters & relationships; on the run; survival; mundane and supernatural threats; cults; revenge, outcasts; criminals; freedom; trust issues; redemption and forgiveness; self-acceptance; broken homes; childhood abuse; addiction; more TBA

↪ hook: When retroseer Jamie breaks Lane out of jail to protect his lycanthropic secret, he knows there’s more to it than 'supernatural solidarity'. On the run together, they track the cure for his affliction: his sire. But Jamie's own motives come from a vendetta that dates back a decade—before she even crossed into this dimension.

↪ the plot:

One of the supernatural 'crossers' displaced to this world during an epochal collision of alternate realities, 22-year-old Jamie Sykes has spent half her life pretending to be another version of herself. Not even her adoptive father, Sheriff Sykes, knows the truth—that she is not the same Jamie who was born to this world.

Obsessed with hunting down the lycanthrope who butchered her parents, Jamie uses her abilities as a retroseer to experience visions of the past, tracking a lead to the site of a recent attack. There, she finally confirms that the beast was, like her, brought into this world during The Clash.

But she also discovers the identity of one of its victims—her old classmate, the youngest son of the notorious Hackett family. A family of lowlife criminals.

In the three years since his first transformation, Lane Hackett has learned three things:

Getting bottled in the neck isn't actually the most painful thing you can experience.

Never lie about fixing the barn door—that shit breaks easy when you're a feral monster.

It doesn't matter how powerful and bloodthirsty you become each month; you're always going to be terrified of your mother.

Outside of the Hacketts, no one in the small town of Wells, Arizona, knows Lane's secret. Or so he thinks.

But following a badly botched robbery, the Hackett siblings end up at the gas station where Jamie Sykes is working the night shift. Panicked and covered in blood, when the cops pull up, everyone scatters. Lane, ever the scapegoat, gets left behind.

He's thrown in a cell, and the countdown starts.

Only Jamie knows what Lane will soon turn into, the danger he'll pose to her father and all his people. So when she breaks him out with a gun and no plan, she tells herself it's to protect them.

On the run, Jamie and Lane have common goals keeping them together (despite their bickering): evade arrest, and hunt down the lycanthrope—for Jamie, her vengeance; for Lane, his cure.

It's a long road, and soon cops will be the least dangerous thing on their tail. To keep their eyes on the prize, all they have to do is clamp down on any unnecessary emotional complications.

Both of them are pros, in that regard. Or so they like to think.

Tag list (+/-): @quill-main, @at-thezenith

[respectthepetty]

In defense of a line crosser

In episode six of Hidden Agenda, Joke crossed several lines. Kot told him he was being too demanding, Wave told him he was being rude, and Zo told him he was being aggressive.

But in Joke's defense, Joke isn't merely crossing lines; he is trying to break through the barriers Zo continues to enclose himself in.

Because although Zo will toe the line, he never fully crosses it, so Joke has to get inside somehow, so he can be with Zo.

For example, when Zo is witnessing the couple walking in the rain, he clearly has his walls up with a hard barrier between him and love.

Yet when Joke shows up as Zo is trying to leave without him, Joke has to enter Zo's space in order to be inside with Zo. Even when Joke provides shelter and safety, Zo is reluctant.

Even with his friends, Zo never fully puts down his defenses.

Unlike Nita's situation where the barriers and boundaries are absolutely necessary,

Zo is constantly on the edge of his own barriers, only to back off without warning,

Which requires Joke to close the distance.

And most of the time, Zo, who cozies up to the line, makes little fuss when Joke crosses it.

Yet when Joke crosses the line between the two colored panels later in front of others,

Zo exits the space quickly leaving Joke to figure out why his behavior was acceptable before but not now.

And this is the core of Joke's line crossing - the lines keep moving according to Zo's feelings.

Zo even tells Joke something to this effect when he lectures Joke about his behavior, in front of others.

Because Zo tells Joke that he needs to respect boundaries, but it's difficult to do so when Zo isn't clear about those boundaries.

When Zo is upset, the barriers emerge

but the moment Joke concedes, they are in Zo's barriers together.

If Zo initiates an action, the camera doesn't stay still.

It pans between the two, so no definite barriers exist.

But the moment Joke asks Zo to stay and to clarify his feelings for Joke, the camera stops moving, and the barriers become clear.

So, once again, Joke has to be the one to cross them in order to get some sense of resolution from Zo before Zo exits the space.

And this is a huge problem.

Zo will kiss Joke, then avoid him. Zo will say he is fine, but run away in the middle of the night. Zo will tell Joke to be himself, but not in front of others. Zo will get close to the line, but won't commit to crossing it. Joke has to interpret everything Zo does.

Because history has proven that Zo's boundaries can be moved with a little nudge.

Joke didn't win enough games to achieve the prize of Zo opening his heart to him, yet in the end, Zo wore the "Game Over Lover" shirt to bed indicating Zo was trying on the idea of it.

So even though the boys are sticking to their respective color-coded drinks,

It seems like next week Joke will push his way past Zo's defenses once again

allowing Zo to finally cross a line or two.

Because if Zo keeps putting barriers between himself and the outside world, while Joke keeps crossing all the lines, someone is going to end up hurt.

[high-priestess-house]

𝕳𝖊𝖐𝖆𝖙𝖊

Hecate, a multifaceted Greek goddess, is associated with magic, witchcraft, the moon, and the night, and is often depicted as a triple-formed deity symbolizing the Maiden, Mother, and Crone. 

Child of Perses and Asteria, she was the only Titan to retain her control under Zeus’ reign. Hecate’s powers transcended the boundaries of the sky, the earth, the seas, and the underworld. Although there are few myths about the goddess Hecate, her tales reveal a lot about her spheres of influence.

During the Roman era, many of her attributes fell in the realm of the underworld. Yet, she also controlled elements that placed her firmly in the light. The goddess possessed extensive powers, which were later assimilated by other deities. Hecate could bestow wealth and blessings on her worshippers, yet she could also withhold these gifts if she were not adequately worshipped.

Hecate’s scope of divine duties was extensive in Ancient Greek religion. She was most notably the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, light, ghosts, necromancy, and the moon. Further, she was the goddess and protector of the oikos, and entranceways.

In her form as a triple-goddess, Hecate was strongly associated with the crossroads. She was portrayed as a liminal goddess who can cross from the underworld to the physical world with ease. Her liminality stemmed from her parentage and mythology, where she was able to move between her position as a Titan and a goddess. This liminality is attested to by her epithets and cult titles such as: Enodia (on the way), Trodia (frequenter of the crossroads) and Propylaia (of the gates).

Hekate is essentially a liminal figure. She is a crosser of boundaries and is repeatedly associated with “between” states. Hekate crossed the Titan and Olympian regimes, the realms between the mortal and divine, and the living and the dead. Her liminality is seen in her iconography, many epithets, and places of worship such as borders, crossroads, city walls, and doorways.

Hekate has few myths. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter is perhaps her most well-known literary appearance. In the hymn, Hekate and the sun god Helios heard Persephone’s cries when Hades abducted her. When Hades returned Persephone to her mother Demeter, Hekate embraced her and became Persephone’s attendant. Carrying her twin torches, Hekate guides Persephone in her journey to and from the Underworld. Hekate was an important goddess of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Hekate is said to hold the keys to the gates of the Underworld.

We see Hekate’s association with witchcraft in the famous stories of the enchantresses Circe, who is sometimes said to be Hekate’s daughter, and Medea, who is Circe’s niece and identifies herself as Hekate’s priestess. Both of them demonstrate significant knowledge of herbal and poison magic.

Hekate is repeatedly associated with herbal and poison magic. In Ovid’s telling of the story of Arachne, the goddess Minerva uses “extract of herbs of Hecate” to transform Arachne into a spider.

Plato wrote, “Thessalian women were very skilful in sorcery and poisoning. They stood in close relation to the night-goddess Hekate; hence people ascribed to them the power to draw the moon from the heavens.”

Given Hekate’s chthonic power and her role as a leader of the restless dead, her magic includes necromancy. Attitudes about witchcraft and necromancy were conflicting, but the ancient Greeks and Romans sought knowledge from the dead and called on them for assistance. They slept on tombs, wore the deceased’s clothes, addressed curse tablets to ghosts, created effigies, and attempted to reanimate corpses.

Accounts of necromancy in Greek myths appear in the stories of Circe and Medea, in the witchcraft of Horace’s anti-muse Canidia, those of the Thessalian witch, Erichto, and others. The association of Hekate with witchcraft and necromancy continued for centuries and remains with us today.

Hekate. Her name awakens the soul of a witch. This unfoldment occurs as we learn to listen to the voice of the goddess. Hekate is a complex goddess with a long history. She is the Goddess of Witchcraft, a guide along the path, and the universal Keeper of the Keys. There is much to learn about Hekate from the written records, but for a witch to truly know Hekate, we need to experience her. This is our awakening to what has always been within us. She is Psychopomp, The Guide who leads us back to our soul. And she is a face of The Great Mother, creatrix and destroyer of all.

Unlike other goddesses, Hecate is a goddess that dwells on the very edges of reality. She might be dubbed the goddess of witchcraft, but she holds dominion over the more critical aspects of life. One that questions the morality of evil.

The three bodies of Hecate all sum up the surreal form that gives the goddess of magic her charm. She acts as the veil between bad and good, enchantment and sorcery, evil and lawful.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

The murder of Laken Riley took center stage during Thursday night's State of The Union. Riley was a 22-year-old student who was killed last month at the University of Georgia. The suspect in her murder is a Venezuelan migrant whom officials say was illegally in the U.S.

During the Republican rebuttal, Riley's murder was brought up by Alabama Sen. Katie Britt. "She was brutally murdered by one of the millions of illegal border crossers President Biden chose to release into our homeland. Y'all ... as a mom, I can't quit thinking about this. I mean, this could have been my daughter. This could have been yours."

The claim that immigration brings on a crime wave can be traced back to the first immigrants who arrived in the U.S. Ever since the 1980s and '90s, this false narrative saw a resurgence.

During the current presidential campaign, the vitriol has been intense. Just in the last few months, former president Donald Trump has spoken of immigrants as criminals and mentally ill people who are "poisoning the blood of our country". Florida Gov. (and former presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis suggested migrants crossing the border be shot.

However, research indicates that immigrants commit less crimes than U.S.-born people.

Much of the available data focuses on incarceration rates because that's where immigration status is recorded.

Some of the most extensive research comes from Stanford University. Economist Ran Abramitzky found that since the 1960s, immigrants are 60% less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born people.

There is also state level research, that shows similar results: researchers at the CATO Institute, a Libertarian think tank, looked into Texas in 2019. They found that undocumented immigrants were 37.1% less likely to be convicted of a crime.

Beyond incarceration rates, research also shows that there is no correlation between undocumented people and a rise in crime. Recent investigations by The New York Times and The Marshall Project found that between 2007 and 2016, there was no link between undocumented immigrants and a rise in violent or property crime in those communities.

The reason for this gap in criminal behavior might have to do with stability and achievement. The Stanford study concludes that first-generation male immigrants traditionally do better than U.S-.born men who didn't finish high school, which is the group most likely to be incarcerated in the U.S.

The study also suggests that there's a real fear of getting in trouble and being deported within immigrant communities. Far from engaging in criminal activities, immigrants mostly don't want to rock the boat.

But the idea that immigrants bring crime remains widespread.

A few months ago, NPR reported on a migrant shelter functioning in Staten Island, N.Y. Anthony Pagano, the owner of a flower shop located close to the shelter, told NPR he was against it being located in his community.

"How do you put migrants across from an elementary school? An all-girl high school, and another public elementary school," he asked. "You don't know who they are. Criminals. You see all the crimes that are being committed by migrants."

New York City Police data shows there was no rise in murder, rapes or robberies in the area.

[headstoned]

Hey could you write a dick knubbler x reader smut please! There are none but I totally understand if you arnt comfortable doing it! 🫶

A/N: Omg Dick Knubbler more like Dick Nibbler. you asked so kindly the least I could do is try. (I put my fic on pause for this.) Also this is probably so fucking shit I'm so sorry, Dick is such an amazing character I love that he works with Murderface so closely,, but there's not shit about him anywhere 💔.

Smut warning, no title.

Dick, he was eccentric. He loved Dethklok, and it sometimes disturbed you how worked he'd get about being their producer. He'd talk about it more than anything else. You felt as if he only called you to ramble on about his job while you had a shitty gas station job and had to deal with senseless rednecks every other minute. You barely got the time to talk about you. But, props to Dick, whenever you did get the chance, he was all ears and caring. You haven't seen him in the longest time as Dethklok was taking centuries to produce an album. Their manager sent them on vacation for a break, which also gave Dick a break. You got a random call at the beginning of the week, warning you of his later visit at your "humble abode" and now you were waiting like a dog at your door.

Well, it wasn't like you guys were any more than friends... You were only flirty with each other, but that came naturally for Dick. Sometimes, though, you would catch yourself melting after hearing the pet-name "babe" roll off his tongue midsentence. And maybe you'd think about it that night and your hands would wander...

KNOCK KNOCK... KOCK

You jumped violently at the sudden burst of sound and a shock of excitement washed over you. He's here! You couldn't jerk the door open faster. "Hi!" You said with a big smile. "Hey there, babe." He laughed. You noticed his mechanical eyes looking you up and down, a single rose in his hand. You looked confusedly at it and it came closer. "A little something for you from the Mordhous garden!" He grinned goofily and held it out to you closer. You took it in silence and let him in. You stared at its lovely redness as the door shut behind him. A rose? For me?

It wasn't rare for him to do these types of things. He'd take you to fancy restaurants and buy you expensive chocolate and forcibly take you on shopping sprees to "get rid of some money" as if he had too much. But a rose? That was the line crosser. He only gave roses to his dates...

You glanced back at him removing his suit jacket and his shoes and cleared your throat.

"It's nice to see you again during this shit week."

"Shit week?" He repeated, turning to face you. An eyebrow raised. You scoffed. "Yeah. And the worst day was this one. I had crackheads yelling at me."

"I don't know why you keep turning down being my assistant, you know we'd see each other everyday!" He shrugged and hung his jacket up. You rolled your eyes. "I don't. Charles does." You sighed. "Oh yeah..." He looked around for a second. "You've changed the place." He stated. You have. That's how long he's been gone. Long enough for you to rearrange shit. "Yeah."

He sighed dramatically. "Let me see the bedroom." He put his hand out. You giggled and took it, leading him to your bedroom. In there, only your bed had moved, but it didn't matter as that's where you two would hang out anyway.

As soon as you closed the door it was like the air changed. His gentle hold on your hand roughened and you were being pushed against the door.

"I've been thinking about you recently. I could really, uh, make you feel good if you'd like, baby. It could really help you relieve some stress."

Your brain fogged. He really must be sex deprived. But you agreed anyway. This wasn't like his silly sex innuendos. This was blunt.

"I've been thinking about you, too, recently."

Your mind swarmed with bee-like thoughts. What was going on? Was this really happening?

... no.

Yes. It was.

Recently. Yeah let's go with that.

You gave him a shy smile and a smirk appeared on his face. He leaned in closer and brushed his lips against your neck. "Y'see, I've been looking for a... serious relationship." He said against your skin and your knees almost gave out. A shakey breath escaped your lips, desperate for attention. "And I think I'm finally looking in the right spot."

He picked you up and you wrapped yor legs around his waist, holding onto his shoulders. A slight blush on your face. And a soft smile. "I didn't come over here for a cute little visit, by the way." He sat you down on the bed, the lights within his artificial eyes turning from green to red. You looked up at him, elbows propping you up. This was all really happening. It was like some goofy smut book.

"Oh yeah?" You asked playfully as he unbuttoned his shirt. Finally, you've accepted this feverdream of a night as reality. "I've came to make you mine."

°•♡

It was like that. Your fingers were caught in his blonde locks and your legs wrapped tightly around his waist. Your lips danced against each other lovingly. "Oh God..." You gasped as he slipped into you with a leisurely pace. His head fell into the crook of your neck, his breathing whimperish. After kissing him for so long you could safely guess he had a few things to drink before coming over here. You addressed it, but he shook it off saying it was for his confidence.

God, you hoped so.

His cock slipped in and out of you slowly and painfully. Your moans were only sighs and heavy breaths as you ran your hands up and down his back. "You feel so good..." He finally gave in and quickened his pace, ending your slow torture. But it was short lived when you wanted it even faster and he completely pulled out.

"Turn over, babe..." He panted, holding himself in his hand as he sat back. You did as he said, as fast as you could. Your ass was stuck up for him and your face buried in the pillows to hide your heavy pants. You felt him caress your ass and run his rip along your slit. "Dick, please..." You begged, pushing back against him in vain. "That begging, shit, (y/n)." He sighed, but still continued to tease you. "Oh fuck, I need you so bad, please!" You would do anything at this point to feel him inside you again, and he got it.

He pushed into you once again, but this time it was fast and hard. You gripped onto the sheets as he repeated this action over and over again, each time harder than the first. You heard his grunts and moans from behind you and a knot tightened in your stomach. Already? You thought, but any other thought was pushed away by your sudden orgasm. You bit down on the pillow, walls clenching his cock as he sloppily pounded into you. You bathed in the post-release nirvana as you rode out your high.

His hands were gripped tightly onto your hips, surely leaving bruises, but you didn't care. You legs trembled, but he still used you until he came all over your back. There was a moment of just breathing between the two of you. And then you breathed out, "I think I love you."

It was whiney and desperate sounding. But he was only focused on your sweet body, his cum coating it.

"I know I love you."

[lackablazeical]

Addams! AU Snippet 6: 'Freakshow'

FULL CREDIT TO WRITER NewFallenLeaves ON A03!!!!!! SHE MAKES KILLER ANGST AND FLUFF ALIKE, CHECK OUT ALL HER WORKS!!!! NOW!!!!! IF YOU LOVE OR CARE ABOUT ANYTHING, DO IT. NOW. BEFORE I GET U /J

As usual, art to add on! It was a 1 layer challenge I gave up on partway thru, mostly just cus I wanted to be done with it, lol! Greyscale is always so fun, tho!

Full snippet below the cut! ⬇️⬇️⬇️

---

“Hold still, you little scumsucker.” As the burly human patted Mikey down, he came up quickly with two small daggers tucked into Mikey’s belt, as well as the ones hidden in the holster at the small of his back. “Shit, kid, how many more knives have you got, huh? Cough ‘em up.”

“Well,” said Mikey, “There’s the whole family with Mr. Stabby, and Miss Gashy, and the Puncture Brothers, and Auntie Slicer, and–”

The pile of small blades was already over half-a-dozen strong, and the man still managed to find three more.

“Oh, no!” Mikey wailed as the last one hit the table. He twisted against the tight ropes that bound his wrists behind his back, “You’re going to take all of them?”

“We know who sent you, we’re not taking any chances.” Finally satisfied, the man hauled Mikey none-too-gently by the elbow and dragged him out of the covered wooden cart that served as the freak show’s ‘office.’

The small encampment was reminiscent of a traveling gypsy convoy, with colorfully painted covered wagons. Some were cages for “FEARSOME GRUESOME MUST-SEE MUTANTS” with bold-lettered signs and warnings to stay back. Others were smaller, with striped awnings and shelves of cheap merchandise or galleries of rigged carnival games, with “STEP RIGHT UP AND TAKE A CHANCE” invitations for any fool willing to throw away hard-earned coin.

The heavy-set human dragged Mikey toward one of the larger cage carts. “Gonna put you someplace where you’re too worried about stayin’ alive to think about running off or causin’ trouble.”

He stopped in front of the enclosure. It looked as sparse and uncomfortable as any of the other terrible accommodations in the traveling freakshow. Unadorned iron bars, no straw or hay strewn for the mutant held within. The guard shoved Mikey through and slammed the cell door behind him.

Mikey tumbled onto the grated metal floor, lying prone while he waited for the man’s footsteps to fade. As soon as everything was silent, he flipped upright. From the corner of the cage came a low, throaty growling, and the occupant of the cell rose to his feet.

Even hunched, the alligator mutant was massive. Four times Mikey’s size. Larger than Raph, even, and little else save teeth and muscle.

“Don’t be…alarmed.” Every word the alligator spoke was slow and deliberate. “I…won’t harm you.”

“I know!” said Mikey. “I made Donnie do research on everything before I came.”

“You…know?”

“Woulda been pretty stupid for me to run in here without knowing everything about this lame-o sideshow. Besides, getting details is easy. It was supposed to add to Mama’s Spectacle Spectacular, after all. She bought it. And it woulda been such a cool thing, too! Everybody loves her circus, she has all the nicest hotel rooms for her performers, and you get to eat at the buffet, and the bar is open all night, and–”

“You…don’t seem…concerned,” said the alligator. “Were you…not poached…like the rest of us?”

“Ha! Nobody could poach me if they tried. Know how much Donnie has to add to his tranq formula to knock me out? Betcha don’t, because it’s a lot. I have resistance.” With a quick roll of his hips and shoulders, Mikey twisted his bound hands from behind his back and hopped over them like a backward jump rope. “Boy, am I glad they put me in here, you’re my first choice, anyway.”

“For…what?”

“For helping, of course! These humans turned out to be a bunch of dirty, no-good, double-crosser, deal-breaker cheaters, and they took Mama’s money and tried to cut and run. So now Mama wants me to burn the whole thing to the ground! Isn’t that great?! Anyway, are you good with pulverizing all the stuff? Because Raph didn’t wanna come, he was busy watching the Mrs. Cuddles’ Puppets-in-Peril Halloween Specials marathon. So if you could go ahead and do all the smashing, that would be awesome.”

“…smashing?”

Instead of replying, Mikey stuck out his tongue as he reached for a spot on the back of his neck, just below the rim of his shell. He withdrew a short, narrow length of sharpened metal, and proceeded to cut through the ropes.

“You managed…to sneak in a weapon,” the alligator marveled.

“Pffft,” said Mikey. “He only took my knives. This is my shiv.”

With his hands free, Mikey took a moment to stretch like a dancer before a routine. Then he promptly flopped down into a sitting position, legs crisscrossed. He set the shiv down on the floor of the cage and began pulling random assorted items out from non-existent pockets in his clothing and lining them up. “I still got lots of good stuff, see? This is my bolo, and this is my garrote, and this is my ice pick, and this is my can opener, and this is my bookend, and this is my cherry pitter, and this is my…”

The alligator watched as Mikey continued unabated. He blinked slowly at each new addition to the stockpile, his face becoming more and more skeptical as the items became less and less…perilous. When Mikey placed a penny down, he finally spoke.

“What…exactly…do you intend to accomplish…with a coin?”

“Ooooo, goody, I’m glad you noticed, I like this one.” Mikey flipped the penny with his thumb and caught it between his fingers. When he held it up to the light, the sharpened edge all around its circumference gleamed. “We’ll use it first!”

He tugged loose a lacing from the knee of his pants and looped it around the penny. Then he stood, approached the bars of the cage, took a deep breath…and began shrieking.

“HELP HELP MISTER JAILER GUY, I’M SCARED I DON’T WANNA GET EATEN BY AN ALLIGATOR!” Mikey twisted and rammed his shell against the bars to make even more noise. The camp echoed with resounding, repeated clang-clang-clang. “LEMME OUT LEMME OUT LEMME OUT OH PLEASE OH PLEASE!”

Several of the freakshow guards were on ‘patrol,’ roaming the perimeter of the camp. One who was nearby didn’t exactly come running, but he did seem annoyed and stepped quickly in the direction of the cage. “Shut up, kid. The more you screech the faster that freaking monster’s gonna chomp on you, just to get the goddamn noise to sto–”

The guard’s yells pitched up into a howl as a razor-edged penny, launched like a slingshot, lodged in his eye.

“What’s wrong?! What’s wrong?!” a fellow guard hurried up to assist him.

Mikey grinned as he picked up another weapon from his cache, aimed it between the bars, and punched a button.

Two metal barbs pierced the second man’s chest and an electrical current lit up his entire frame with sparks. He collapsed to the ground, convulsing.

“That’s my taser,” Mikey said. He reached through the bars and fished a keyring out of the guard’s pocket and quickly released the lock. He jumped onto the cage door and rode it as it swung open, dropping the taser in the dirt beside the unfortunate human, current still running.

“Come on, mister—ah–” Mikey craned his neck to look at the advertisement emblazoned across the top of the cage, “--Lethal Leatherhead! Smashy-smash, while I torch everything!”

Tentatively, Leatherhead stepped out of his enclosure. “You wish…to burn everything? With what…?”

But Mikey had already withdrawn a liquid-filled bottle from some hidden pocket in his coat. He drew a long, silken scarf from his glove by sleight of hand, flicked it to catch the flame on the tail of his mask, and then stuffed the burning wick into the neck of the bottle. “Molotov cocktail!”

He flung the bottle through the window of the largest wagon. The resulting explosion blew out the remaining glass, and Mikey dashed forward to intercept as guards raced to escape the inferno.

“What the hell is going o–”

“Machete!”

The man who had unluckily blundered closest to him gurgled, the handle blooming from his throat.

“Clothespins!”

Another guard screeched and flailed as two small wooden clips were driven into his eyes.

“Lanyard!”

Strangled gagging.

“Teacup!”

Wailing.

Leatherhead watched from the open door of his enclosure as Mikey continued his spree, shrieking the name of every item he produced and laughing maniacally as he dashed from one victim to the next.

A rhinoceros mutant in the cage next to his leaned towards the bars. “Friend of yours?”

“If it will convince him…to not jam a small kitchen tool down my throat…” Leatherhead ripped apart the hinges on the rhino mutant’s cage, “...then I will readily be his friend.”

The screech of “Rice paddle!” and a subsequent choking sound echoed across the grounds. Both mutants cringed.

“...rice paddle. Sure.” The rhino tagged along after Leatherhead as he moved to next cage. As that door bashed open, a warthog mutant jumped free and clasped hands with the rhino. They jostled briefly before turning to flee into the night. “Good luck with your crazy friend.”

“Bottlecap!” Mikey cackled from somewhere across the camp. “Stapler!”

Wet, squelching thumps and more screams.

A gangly mutant with mantis-like arms lounged near the door of his enclosure, watching Leatherhead expectantly. “That kiddo yous got over there has the right idea, I say,” he drawled.

Leatherhead nodded. “Fist,” he said. And punched the cage.

[hoshipills]

Double-crosser- Part 2

To the beginning

" I wish we never met."

Pairing: Mafialeader!mingyu x Fem!reader

Warnings: Mentions of sex but no smut, weapons, deaths, mentions of food, let me know if more.

Genre: mafia, angst, tiny bit of fluff.

Word count: 2.1k

Synopsis:The sudden news of information leak of a secret mission leaves all the members of mafia perplexed. They closed their eyes and the next second, their leader was arrested. Someone betrayed and the taste of betrayal wasn't sweet.

Masterlist

|Previous| |next|

" Done. What do we do now?" Minghao's voice from the other side of the phone was clear.

" Kill him."

Mingyu said through the phone before ending the call. He walked down the Ally, his face covered with a mask and a cap. His eyes looked at the night sky.

Today wasn't the day with the bright moon and stars, it was pitch dark.

He slowed down his pace as he heard some other footsteps. He kept his hand on the gun in his pocket before turning around.

His figure soon collided with someone. The someone fell on the floor. His grip on the gun tightened. He was about to pull it out but stopped as he saw who the person was.

It was a girl.

And there was a man behind, following her.

The guy stopped on his tracks as he saw Mingyu. His eyes switched between the girl on the floor and Mingyu few times. The girl opened her eyes and got up.

She hid behind Mingyu, holding his shirt. The guy walked two steps backward before running away, disappearing into the dark.

" He's gone.", Mingyu said.

He turned toward her but she moved a little away from him. Mingyu frowned, doubting why she did that.

Then he got it. People are obviously going to be afraid if they see a stranger who is dressed in all black.

" I'm no harm." , He said only to realize he sounded more serious than he intended.

The girl looked to see the guy following her was gone. She averted her gaze towards the buff man infront of her and bowed a little.

" Thank you. ", She said quietly. " I have to go. ", She tried to force a smile but failed immediately.

" You'll go alone after this?", He questioned. She nodded her head. " I have no option."

" Should I walk you home?", He asked. Her eyebrows knitted together as she spoke, " Why should I trust you?"

" If I were to do anything, I would've done it by now.", he said.

She turned her body away from him and started walking.

" Fine." , She said through her steps as Mingyu started to jog a little to catch up with her.

" Why were you walking alone at this time?", Mingyu asked her. " I didn't eat anything from the morning, so I wanted to get something to eat but I guess not anymore.", She said , her voice had a tint of sadness. Mingyu hand twitched. He had a sudden urge to get her something.

His eyes caught hold of the convience store in a distance. " We'll go get it. ", He didn't even wait for her reply as held her hand, jogging towards the store. He stopped in front of the store.

" Get something, I'll wait outside.", He said and folded his hands, flexing his biceps. She stole a glance of his biceps before nodding her head and going inside.

He patiently waited for her as she went in and got a triangular tuna kimbap and a strawberry sandwich.

" That's enough?" , He seemed confused, " I thought you said you didn't eat anything the whole day."

" This is more than enough.", She said and started walking. Mingyu walked beside her, making sure to keep a safe distance between them.

The whole walk was quiet, not that Mingyu or her minded, rather it was peaceful.

"You can go. ", She suddenly said as she stopped her walk. " I can accompany you to your house though." , He said. " No, it's completely fine. The roads from here aren't isolated. ", She said.

"but-"

"I stand by my words." , She said as he nodded, giving up. " Thank you." She smiled then, genuinely.

Mingyu stood there till he saw her go into the streets and walked away.

--

Mingyu entered the convience store and looked around, trying to find the ice cream section. There he saw it. He made his way towards it but was suprised to see the same girl from the day before. " What are you doing here ?". He asked with a frown. He was suspicious of her.

Meeting the same girl for two days could be a coincidence or a planned encounter.

She looked at him, " I'm sorry, who are you?", She questioned. " The guy from yesterday. Don't act like you don't recognise me."

" I don't? Yesterday, you were wearing a mask, now you are not.", She said, not even looking at him. Mingyu lifted his head. That makes sense.

He suddenly smiled. He gazed at the ice cream she was looking at. Her eyes wandered all over the freezer. She seemed to have a hard time deciding what to get. Mingyu picked two ice creams and went away.

He came back after a while and gave her one of the ice cream. " I paid for it." she hesitated but took it after some time.

" I'm Kim Mingyu."

" I'm L/n Y/n. ", She said with a soft smile.

" I think I heard your name somewhere.", There was pause. Y/n opened her ice cream and began to eat it.

" Oh, In the news! Kim Mingyu, like the mafia leader.", She said with a chuckle.

" I'm the mafia leader."

Her ears perked up. She widened her eyes. " It's not something to joke about." , She tried to play it off.

" I'm not joking." , He said casually.

Y/n puzzled on her feet and tried to avoid his gaze.

She made a poor attempt to escape but Mingyu held her wrist to stop her.

" I'm really no harm.", He said.

" Very believable.", She said sarcastically before turning to him.

" Leave my hand. "

" if I do , you'll leave."

Y/n sighed , trying her best to not look annoyed. " That's the point, how can I be near you after knowing that...", She shushed her voice, " you are a mafia leader."

Mingyu left her hand. She made her way out as soon as possible.

--

Mingyu entered the godown. " I asked you to check about Y/n, did you?", He asked chan, who was busy sorting the documents.

He hummed before pointing towards the file near the table. Mingyu got hold of it and opened it.

" She is a orphan, so there isn't much information updated on her. She grew up in Jeonji orphanage and worked hard to be a employee in Hyunsuk group of companies."

Chan said while his eyes still on the documents and hands rummaging through them. Mingyu sat on the chair.

"Still be careful, Hyung. She could be anyone.", Mingyu hummed and thanked him for the information.

--

Mingyu made his way to the convience store, hoping to see Y/n. He guessed she would be here, around the same time from yesterday. He was absolutely right. He spotted her across the Ramen section. "Hey there.", He said, waving his hand. Y/n caught the sight of him and made her eyes as big as plates.

She took out the shin ramen and went to pay for it. Mingyu followed her.He saw her get it and sit on the table nearby. He sat in front of her. Y/n sighed as she began to microwave the Ramen after filling it with water. " Do you usually go around telling people that you are a mafia?"

--

Mingyu shifted his position on the floor, getting a little uncomfortable with the memories. He shouldn't have trusted her. He regrets it.

Everything must have been planned then. Their first meeting to their dates. All the love he thought he saw in her eyes was fake. He scoffed.

She would have thrived well in the acting industry if she didn't choose to become a agent.

He believed her, completely.

His heart felt a sting when he thought about the past.

The eyes she used to give him, the smile she used to flash him, every fucking thing seemed too real to be fake.

His head was again consumed with the memories.

The way he opened his eyes to look at her after they slept together for the first time. The first thing she said was, " I am still tired."

He got up to make some coffee and gave it to her while she was still on bed. " I am good at coffee, this is my best one yet." She drank it and laughed, " Mingyu, your best coffee doesn't have sugar." He rushed to get some sugar and add it immediately.

" Here you go.", He handed her the cup again. She drank it and flashed him a smile, that was a little different. The smile felt so genuine, so comforting, that he wanted to see it forever.

The day they went to meet all his members, about 2 months before Y/n showed her true colours, the members were sure she was the one for him.

They told her stories about him dreaming about her in his office when he was supposed to take care of the crimes done. The members and Y/n got along too well.

Mingyu wondered for a moment, how she managed to manipulate 13 members to believe she was not a threat.

Could be the wide smile she wore everytime or could be the kind nature she had. Or could be that they all were dumb.

Though, Mingyu couldn't understand how she got to know information when he never mingle work or mafia in their relationship, especially about the recent mission she ruined. He wasn't even aware that she often looked into his work and got herself updated about it.

She was so good at it. He couldn't help but admit that she was a good agent. One reason he didn't expect his girlfriend to be a spy is because he didn't think ICS would go to the extent of getting involved in his love life to destroy him.

Honestly speaking, the missions they ruined weren't a big of a deal for them. Maybe, the recent one was. But if they weren't arrested, they could've found a different way to make it up to it.

The big deal was the betrayal. Everyone were aware of it. Probably even Y/n was.

It amazed Mingyu how love could change into hatred in few seconds. Until a day before, he would've done anything for her. Now, he would do anything to point a gun towards and kill her with his own hands.

He wanted to persuade himself that it was her fault for being so good at pretending that he imagined a whole damn life with her.

But he couldn't. He just can't.

All he could do was make up scenarios, that would've possibly happened. What would've happened if he didn't meet her?

Maybe things would have been better if he didn't trust her. He should have just never went to the convience store again to see her. He should have stayed in the godown, deciding to forget about her. If that really happened, Him and his members would've been on the spot, dealing with the mission they planned. Ninty nine percent it would've been successful and they would've held a party cause of the achievement.

None of them happened. And the reason? Him. Thats what he believed.

The more he got lost in his thoughts, the worse he felt. On top of all this, one feeling lingered in his heart, it's been killing him since the moment he stepped in the black room prison.

He let his father down.

He still remembers the time he overheard a meeting of his father's. The one he wished he never eavesdropped. The one where his father announced that Mingyu would take after him sooner or later.

Everyone in the room opposed, stating that Mingyu wasn't the right fit. They said he was too fragile and easily trusted people. However his father was too reluctant and convinced everyone that Mingyu shall take after him.

He was about 15 then, too young to involve in this dipshit. To be fair, moments before the meeting was the first time Mingyu got to know about this gang his father led.

His father did a good job hiding this away from his beloved son when he was young.

His father never told Mingyu but he had high expectations on Mingyu. He didn't tell Mingyu because he didn't want to pressure him. But Mingyu just kind of sensed it. That his father wanted to see him doing the best he can.

So he tried.

That was the reason Mingyu was serious in his job everytime.

Growing up, he developed a pressure by himself, that he has to be better than anyone. Just so he could prove that he was indeed the right choice.

Possibly the reason why he fell for Y/n. She took off the pressure he had. He didn't want to be perfect when he saw her. He didn't want to be the leader. He wanted to be him. He wanted to be Mingyu.

He shook his head. You should stop thinking about it. He told himself.

You should stop thinking about her.

He told himself, yet he found himself thinking about it.

Maybe the past members were right, he shouldn't have become the leader.

Taglist:@calssunflower

[iridescentinkangel]

StH: Minthe the Rabbit

Did I make her last year & never posted her? Yes. Because I didn't wanna post a character reff without giving you all her bio. But, I started not caring about that on my DA & posted her either way. I did do her bio just a couple days ago anyway. But I will try to show more on here as far as character refs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minthe the Rabbit Age: 23 Gender: Female DOB: Dec. 4th Species: Rabbit Occupation: Artist, Volunteers & helps others from time to time

Personality:

Sweet, kind, creative, forgiving, sympathetic, hardworking, courageous, generous, mindful, fun loving, & helpful.

Likes: 

Cute plushies, ice cream(mint chip is her fav), baking, art, crafting, fantasy stories, video games, rock/metal music, snowy days, beach trips, visual novels, & gardening. Dislikes:

Liars, manipulators, double crossers, rude/entitled people, spiders, thunder storms, walking at night. Hobbies/Talents: Baking, cooking, crafting, painting, drawing, gaming, yoga, wood work, basic repair skills, hand to hand combat, gardening. 

Facts & Bio:

Eldest daughter of Vanilla & Miso(Vanilla’s late husband).

Older sister of Cream.

Chocola is her chao buddy.

Lives in a small home on the outskirts of a small town all located in Green Hill Zone.

Joined the resistance when Sonic disappeared. She wanted to protect her family like her father once did when she was a child. Her mother was against it at first, but knew she couldn’t keep her daughter from doing what she thought was right. 

Minthe knew this was gonna be hard for her mom, since they lost her father during a botched mission when his old team was still operational. Since that happened, they’ve disbanded. But she reassured her mother that she wouldn’t let herself end up like that. Promising to stay safe during her time there. 

Months after defeating Eggman during their final battle at his old base, she comes back to it to look for scrap to use & things to possibly sell. Any parts that could be used to fix household appliances & such. That’s when she came upon a rather surprising sight. Infinite! He was out cold. Laying up against some rubble & looking rather banged up from her last encounter with him. She had thought he perished after the Phantom Ruby was destroyed. But here he was. Somehow still alive after this long. She considered leaving him there, but she just didn’t have the heart to do that. So, she brought him back to her home. 

She had laid him on her couch at the time. Looking in her bathroom cabinet for the first aid kit she had around. When she heard some commotion in her living room. When she got back in, he was awake, & rather shocked by the new environment he was somehow in. As she approached him, he looked surprised to see her. Thought she captured him. But she explained to him what happened in the final fight. At first he didn’t believe her. But when he looked over at a mirror she had hanging up, he saw how he looked. She truly wasn’t lying. But what surprised him more, was that she was patching him up. Being careful not to cause him any pain. He wasn’t used to this kind nature from her. For him…..it felt nice.

With nowhere else to go, Infinite became her new roommate. 

Minthe does a lot of volunteering & favors for others around Sunflower Cove(towns name she lives near). That & her crafts is how she keeps a steady income going.

Cream & Cheese often come over to visit. Even spending the night.

Whenever her mother needs help around her place, Minthe will come over & offer her service. It’s normal for her to fix appliances & such for her mother.

Cream will normally go to Minthe when she wants to hear stories about their dad. Sense he passed before she was born, she relies on Minthe to give her an idea of what kind of a person was like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[reading-writing-revolution]

Consider that Florida’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives has voted to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work eight-hour days during the school year. Or that the Republican governor of Arkansas has signed a bill that relieves the state of having to certify that teenage workers aged 14 and 15 may work. Or that Ohio’s Republican-controlled legislature may soon pass a law allowing 14- and 15-year-olds to work as late as 9 p.m. on school nights. Or that Republican legislators in Wisconsin are pushing to allow 14-to-17-year-olds to serve alcohol in bars and restaurants. Consider also that all of these changes are written with teenage migrants very much in mind: Almost 40 percent of recent border-crossers have been under 18, a fivefold increase since the late aughts.

The GOP’s True Priority - The Atlantic

These laws aren't there so your children, white children, can work. It’s so they can employ all these brown kids in shitty jobs that will never get them anywhere.

[the-trash-eating-llama]

Dear diary,

It’s me, David, and I think it’s about time I told you a story.

Two lands, divided by one river.

The land of the east was prosperous, ruled by farmers who each owned land, tending their plots and helping neighbours during the colder months. But the lands didn’t care for these farmers, as every nine years a beast of bone and cloth would reign havoc across each acre of the east. It would tear open their houses, steal their food and uproot their farms, leaving the lands just as barren as they were before the farmers arrived.

So, they would rebuild, they would replant their futures, they would enjoy their harvests, and be harvested themselves by the malevolent force they couldn’t stop.

It was a simple life in the east, but a degrading one for those who could not bear the suffering of never seeing a full decade of harvest. And for those people, they could only find refuge from their dread by leaving their families, their belongings, and their lives to cross the river.

By all accounts, the river was not more than six feet wide, flowing gently down the side of the ground. Too wide to jump safely, but unassuming in nature.

That was where the accounts diverged.

Some would claim that a troll had built a bridge, but wouldn’t let you cross if it found you smelly. Some sighted a massive cloud that hung over the water at all times, waiting to strike any poor soul who dared cross it. Others told stories of seeing a creature made purely of rock climbing out of the river and attacking would-be crossers if they dared look at the golem.

So now, diary, what if I told you that I’m from that land?

It may strike you as odd, having only seen the prosperous avenues of concrete that dominate the skies of the west, but it’s true.

I crossed the river.

By the time I had grown up, I had become tired of feasting on fields of what could have been, so I left.

I wrote a note telling my family I was done, and left in the night, which in hindsight was my smartest move that day, because it took until day to reach the river alone.

Having no supplies and only the clothes on my back was, I admit, not my best choice, but if I hadn’t been so irrational, I may have missed my fate.

“Hey, lass, what are you doin’ so close to ðe river at ðis time of night?” A voice rang out in the cold silence of the morning.

I whirled around, and there she was. If this was the troll or golem, whomever described her as such was not more than the vilest slanderer.

No, the voice came from a woman, average height, stocky, flowing dark brown hair, and the skin of a setting sun. Her clothes were not much different from mine, overalls, a grey shirt, the only difference really was that she wasn’t wearing shoes.

It was the woman of the river, she was jogging straight towards me.

“Pardon me,” I said, blown away by her beauty. “Do you know how to cross the river?”

She looked at me with a haggard grin, like she was hoping I’d say something different.

“I suppose I would, why? You lookin’ to cross?” She shouted, slowly closing the distance, until we were only five feet apart.

“Yes! Could you show me how?” I asked. It was time, it was finally time! I would be across, and a whole world would be open to me!

“What for?”

That took me by surprise.

“What? Why wouldn’t I? The lands of the east are raided every decade! We can never truly grow! Back there, everyday has been prechewed by those before I was born. I’m tired of living a recycled life!” I yelled, at the edge of madness.

How could she not see it? My pain, my shortcomings, all of it was because of those lands and that damned beast!

“And what of your passions?” She asked, simply.

“What of them? I like to write, but there is nothing to write about when your experiences have already been perfectly articulated by those before you. And my garden? No different than the fifteen acres of people who live the exact same life. I’ve had enough, I want passage.”

“So, you wish to leave your lands of safety… for some fresh air?” She asked, half amused, and half understanding. All it came across as was belittling.

“You wouldn’t understand!” I shouted in desperation.

“Wouldn’t I? I have travelled this river my entire existence, walking, running, sprinting, crawling. This river never ends, you can trust me. I have only ever travelled in this direction, constantly chasing the idea of a bridge across, and what do I get? Thirty of your people each day asking the same inane question!” She shouted, then sitting down to sulk. Whether her cry was to me or not was left unclear, but I didn’t care.

“I could take you with me.”

She jumped up, surprised by my assertion.

“You…I… no one has ever offered.” She mumbled, staring at me like I would disappear if she blinked, like she’d wake up from a dream.

“Would you want me to?” I asked softly, holding out my hand.

“I…I…” She stuttered, trying to understand the prospect.

I kept eye contact, “You don’t have to, but I think a change of pace is what we both want.”

She slowly reached out, then grabbed my hand, like a scared animal. Her skin was soft, like silk, not made to endure. She needed to cross just as much as I did, but our worlds couldn’t be more different.

Both our worlds melted away, they were nothing more than spent breath to us now, as we both looked on, hand in hand, and ran, jumped, and landed.

Wherever we landed, we were to land together, and we did.

So, diary, how’d you like my story?

My children still don’t believe it, they think that the land of the east isn’t any more real than fairies and dragons.

Strange how the past can distort itself in the minds of its children, I hope mine still got the message.

But every journal must end, as you know very well, diary, for this is your last page.

We have known each other for long enough, but your pages still hold enough memories to fill a library.

I hope I’m as helpful as you were to me.

Good night, diary.

Sincerely,

David.

[circusgoth-dotcom]

Sticky Fingers

Ship: The Joker x Hannibal Flood, Bruce Wayne x Hannibal Flood

Word Count: 1215

Summary: During a celebration of things gone well for the criminal couple, Hannibal discovers a double-crosser and has a conversation with the local vigilante. CWs for alcohol mentions, violence, gun usage, implied plans of experimentation on humans.

Tag List: @knightfallships @canongf @futurewife @rexscanonwife

It had been a successful night for Gotham’s high-ranking criminal couple, executing another step in a grander plan, another plan to attempt to take over Gotham once and for all. Sure, it might go just like all the other plans, but if it got the attention of Batman and it was fun, who really cared? The Joker, Hannibal, and their goons were all celebrating with a big party back at the hideout, boozing and setting off party favours. Hannibal would’ve loved to indulge in the festivities all night, and he would’ve if he hadn’t caught one of the new henchmen sneaking away.

“I’m sorry, Mr. J, but you’ll have to excuse me…” Hannibal spoke as he watched him from a distance, finishing his current glass of champagne.

“Oh?? Retiring so early in the evening, my love? Have you got a headache?? Because I know an excellent cure…” Joker purred, a loose arm slung around his husband’s waist as he brought his lips to their neck.

“Not retiring, no.” He placed a hand on his partner’s chest, keeping his attention. “I just have something I need to check up on, alright?”

“Well, at least be quick about it. Schmoozing with these fools without you on my arm can be so tedious…” He kissed their temple and let them go, allowing them to weave through the crowd and out of the derelict ballroom/conference room of Joker’s elaborate hideout. Luckily, the goon was not far off, and Hannibal silently trailed him from behind… all the way up a set of stairs and to a door, behind which he knew Joker was keeping information regarding his current plans. Suspicion rose in Hannibal as he watched the goon pick the lock and let himself in, pausing just long enough to give him a false sense of security before entering the room himself.

“It’s rude to search a man’s personal records without permission, you know,” Hannibal announced as he closed the door and flicked on the lights. The henchman jumped, whipping around with a bag in one hand and a folder in the other. Hannibal clucked his tongue disapprovingly. “Ah, and the boss would appreciate such sticky fingers, if they weren’t currently being used against him.”

The goon opened his mouth to defend himself, but before a single sound could escape his body, Hannibal had drawn his gun and fired twice, hitting the man’s chest and shoulder. They casually placed the gun back in the waistband of their pants and approached his slumped-over body, hunkering down to examine what exactly he had managed to pocket before he was interrupted.

“Too bad I missed your heart by about two inches, but I’m sure it can be arranged to speed up the dying process soon. You just get cosy there on the floor, seething over your wounds, while I clean up this mess.”

“And Joker’s always said you were a good shot…” The goon spat. Hannibal raised an eyebrow.

“You really think I did what I did without purpose? You truly are as dumb as you look right now. It’s up to J to decide what he wants done with you…” They cracked a grin. “I’m just the lapdog. So why’d you try and steal from us, anyway?”

He opened his mouth again but Hannibal cut him off. “Uh-tut-tut-tut, rhetorical question, I don’t actually care.” They hummed as they put things back in their initial places, taking note of what exactly was being taken. All of the files they had gathered on people important to their plans.

“Thought you might get some personal gain from these?” They shook one of the folders in the goon’s face, then straightened up, listening closely. “Now what the Hell could that be…?”

Before he could finish his thought, someone had crashed through the nearby window and sent him toppling to the floor. Luckily, the familiar form had shielded him from the brunt of the flying glass.

“Ah, Batsy, how nice of you to drop in. Odd of you to waltz straight into the lion’s den, though, don’t you think?”

Batman didn’t quip back, as per usual, instead climbing off of Hannibal and turning to the goon. He briefly bent down to retrieve something off of the man, pocketing it in his utility belt before turning to Hannibal and finally speaking. “You know I never do anything without thinking it through first, Hannibal.”

He scoffed as he rose from the floor, brushing himself off. “As if.”

“Besides, the lion doesn’t need to know.”

Hannibal placed a hand on the doorknob, placing a hand on his chin. “Why shouldn’t I tell him we have an unexpected guest? The party’s only just begun, after all.”

“Because I’m sure he wouldn’t exactly be happy that I’ve had a wire on him since the beginning of your latest scheme.”

Hannibal considered this and decided he didn’t want to spoil the mood, stepping away from the door. “Fine, I’ll bite. What do you want?”

“To leave a message, and a path, for you. Not only will your plan fail, but it has a high potential to backfire on you completely. Just because their minds are aligned with his now doesn’t mean they’re going to stay that way when you start experimenting on them.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure Joker doesn’t see it, being who he is, but think about it. You haven’t seen the side effects. A mind-controlling, madness-inducing cocktail given to already unstable people doesn’t exactly equal peace and total obedience, as far as you know currently.”

There was a pause between them, the goon softly groaning and still bleeding in the background. He shoved his hands in his pockets.

“So what? You want me to sabotage the plans?”

“Knowing this could end with you both torn limb-from-limb by a horde of your own creation? I think you should at least consider how you’re going to get away with this.”

Hannibal smiled, then. “Ah, but that’s the thing, isn’t it? I know you won’t let us. I know the caped crusader is always going to save us from our own fuck-ups because you can’t leave things like this alone.”

Another pause. In this silence, Hannibal could see truth in the eyes behind the cowl.

“What if someday, I can’t?”

Hannibal sighed heavily, approaching his friend, lover, and nemesis, cradling his face in their hands. “Batsy, Batsy, Batsy… that’s a conversation for when you take the mask off.” They answered softly, centimetres away from kissing him. But the vigilante didn’t close the gap. He merely guided Hannibal’s hands away and turned to the broken window.

“Mine or yours?”

“Pardon?”

He looked down at the goon.

“Ah. Yes, take him if you want him.”

Batman nodded and heaved the man into his arms, giving Hannibal a final glance before exiting the way he came in. Hannibal didn’t stop to watch him go, simply finishing with reorganizing the room and returning to the party.

“I told you to be quick!” Joker spoke exasperatedly as they came back to his side.

“I’m sorry, J.” They kissed his lips. “It’s a big place.” They kissed him again. “Had to kill a rat.”

“Mmh, I see,” Joker hummed, stroking the back of their head as he growled against their lips. “More champagne?~”

“Only if you’re buying.~”

[glbettwrites]

Future short story ideas for RETROSEER:

Jamie in her old dimension before The Clash, the night her parents were killed by the lycan Ofelia.

Jamie during/shortly after The Clash, adjusting to life as a secret Crosser. (Title: An Asphalt Odyssey: Crossroads).

Lane and the other Hackett siblings' childhoods, including the events that got Lane sent to juvie (more than once).

Lane three years ago, the night he was bit by Ofelia, and the subsequent adjusting to life as a 'werewolf'.

[journeyneverends]

September 1, 2024

Velika Kladuska to Zagreb

Dear Little Mosey:

I was involved in a border skirmish.

It was early when I left the small hotel in the Bosnian town of Velika Kladusa. I’d slept good and cleaned and oiled my chain the night before.

I had a good days riding ahead and wanted to see if I could make Zagreb about 70 miles away. I still wasn’t in the best shape yet. Besides having 20 extra pounds of body weight I have about 30 pounds of gear on my bike. There were a fair number of hills.

I made my way to the border about five miles north to cross back into Croatia.

There was a very long line of cars. I bypassed most and was waved ahead. A customs man inspected and stamped my passport. As I road into Croatia three dogs, that were sleepy pet types that hung out with the guards, starting giving chase. The guards and the border crossers looked on with great excitement but nobody could do anything.

But the faster I went the more interested they became in biting me. I started going faster and lost all but a knee high black one. He seemed to be winning the chase and bite contest.

In order to escape I took it to the next level. That’s when he decided to dart in front of me. My front wheel went over him and we both went down.

I got up to see if the dog was ok and saw him about half way back to the border crossing going like a rocket. I wasn’t mad at him as he had just been doing his part in keeping the border safe.

All the guards and border crossers had gotten a very exciting show. I’m sure the dogs enjoyed it except for the black one.

Luckily I was ok with the exception of a skinned elbow and ankle and slightly tweaked handlebars.

I’m not sure why these dogs didn’t like bike riders. Maybe it was a special dog contest.

I don’t want to give Croatian border dogs a bad name because all the others I had passed were very friendly just like the people. Besides now i was warmed up for the day.

I went through beautiful forest and the air was cooler.

Even though much of this area had been ruined by war people still like to be reminded of war machines. I’m not sure why this is.

I don’t seem to be any different.

I’ll try to send pictures of things I’ve seen in the big city soon.

Love you little buddy.

PS

I road through towns with interesting names today here are some of them

Mala Kladuska, Topusko, Pokupsko, Kavarsko, and my favorite Most Pokupsko.

[dyns33]

On the road

So it's weird and nobody will read I think, but after playing Road 96 I needed to write something about Jarod. I love Jarod.

It's not really romantic, just two people caring for each others, Y/N being an adult still.

The taxi driver looked at her strangely as soon as she was seated with her friends.

One could have thought he was a pervert, but Y/N found it strange that he was staring at her, when she didn't consider herself the most beautiful in their group. Maybe she had done something, or he didn't like her face.

This made the others laugh, who had also noticed his strange behavior.

They were probably the few people to travel the roads of Petria without being crossers. Only young adults who wanted to take a vacation and had decided to take a hitchhiking trip during the summer.

There wasn't much interesting to see in the country, but the journey was more important than the destination, allowing for encounters as good as bad.

It had been two days since any car stopped, so they had called the Happy Taxi company.

Y/N wondered if the driver would be a good or bad encounter.

"Lola…" he mumbled, gripping the steering wheel, his gaze still on her.

"Excuse me, sir ?"

"… No, nothing. Where do you want me to drop you off ?"

Good question. With her friends, they quickly looked at their map and chose a motel an hour away, where they could spend the night. If they were unlucky with cars the next day, there would be the possibility of taking the bus.

The beginning of the journey was quite silent.

The driver, Jarod Thompson according to the plate she could see, was listening to classical music. He had stopped looking at her as soon as he had started, now focused on the road, and making absolutely no attempt to make conversation with his passengers.

Y/N didn't talk too much either, preferring to watch the landscape go by. For a few moments, she even fell asleep, her head against the window, exhausted by the journey she had made on foot.

Her friends' laughter woke her up, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes were the dinosaur magazines. There were loads of them, plus little figurines scattered around the car. The cabbie must have been a fan.

As soon as she picked one up to read, his attention was back on her.

"You like dinosaurs ?" he asked in his slow voice.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess. I had my period when I was younger, I would beg my parents to buy me all the books on the subject, and we even went to a park where there were huge plastic ones."

"Dinopark."

"Yeah ! It was great ! I wanted to ride on their backs like horses. My mother said it was not the same at all, and yet some were herbivores. My favorite was the diplodocus, even though I kept calling it 'dipo'."

"Ah ! Dipo ! Ah !"

Jarod's laugh was even scarier than his drawling voice, and yet Y/N couldn't help but smile unlike her friends, because she felt like it had been a long time since he had laughed like that.

It was a little sad if what she had just said was the funniest thing he had heard in a long time.

"I really like dipos myself. And stegosauruses."

"I like T-rexes personally."

Clearly, the cabbie didn't want to talk to more than one person, glaring at her friend as if she had just insulted him.

"That's not very original." Y/N said to try to lighten the mood, without much success.

"Hmm."

Silence returned to the taxi, until they arrived at the motel. There, Jarod mumbled a 'goodbye', counting their money, giving back the change and leaving at full speed.

Her friends started laughing again when they saw that he had miscounted, giving back way too much. Almost a third of the price. Or maybe he had offered the ride to one of them.

"I wonder which one."

"Stop it. It was nice of you to give us a discount."

"Yeah yeah, your great friend 'Dipo' is cool. Maybe we can each get a room with these savings."

If they wanted to have enough to finish their trip, it was not possible to take more than two rooms.

Inseparable like sisters, her friends took the largest room with the big bed, and Y/N found herself alone in the small room at the end of the building.

It was quite nice to be alone, able to take a hot shower and enjoy a real bed. Sleeping under the stars had a charming side, but Y/N didn't spit on modern comforts.

Her moment of peace was interrupted when someone knocked on the door. Cautiously, she left the chain to open, discovering a young man, obviously a crosser, who asked her if she needed anything as if he worked here.

With a slightly forced smile, she thanked him by saying that everything was fine, reassured to see that he didn't insist.

She could have thought back to this exchange when she wanted a soda and a cereal bar about two hour later. But there was no reason for him to still be there, and the machine was only a few meters from her room, there was no risk.

The knife in his hand didn't match his speech, that Y/N shouldn't be afraid, he wasn't going to hurt her, approaching her after cornering her in the dead end.

If she screamed, maybe the manager or a customer would come help her. But if they were too slow, if they didn't react, then things could get dirty.

"Please… I can give you money, but let me go…"

"It's okay." he repeated, and in his eyes she could see that he had a problem, that he must not understand the gravity of the situation. "I just want to talk to you."

"The young lady politely asked you to leave her."

Y/N and her attacker jumped as they turned to Jarod.

No one had noticed until he spoke in his slow voice. Very calm, he stood by the crosser, not caring at all about his knife. When the man stammered, still affirming that everything was fine, the cabbie took out a revolver, which he pointed at his head.

"Go away. Now !" he shouted, suddenly becoming very aggressive.

"Wait ! No, please !"

"Go ! I'm only leaving you so I don't splash her with your brain ! Go !"

Even though he had more or less promised not to kill him, Jarod's gun followed the crosser until he had disappeared into the night, along the road. Bad idea, because he could quickly be caught by a taxi.

Putting his gun away, he first took a deep breath, before looking at Y/N.

"Are you okay ?"

"Yes… Thank you."

"It's nothing. I… I'm glad you're okay. I wouldn't have wanted anything to happen again."

"Again ?"

"… You remind me of my daughter."

During the ride to the motel, in addition to the plants and the plastic dinosaurs, Y/N had noticed the photo of a young girl. There might have been a resemblance, in the eyes or the smile maybe, but you couldn't say that they were twins, far from it.

Without knowing why, she felt that it was a sensitive subject, something painful. So she swallowed her questions, not asking where she was, what her name was, what had happened to her. Lola, probably. Lola, who would forever be sixteen.

"She liked dinosaurs too." was the only thing she said with a sad smile.

Jarod stared at her, his mouth forming a big line as his eyes became moist. He simply nodded.

Without saying anything, they returned to the room, where he stayed outside. He only wanted to make sure that nothing would happen to her until she was back in safety.

"You'll have to… You'll have to be careful on the road. Don't hesitate to call Happy Taxis if necessary. I… Here's a lucky charm."

Y/N couldn't help but smile when she saw the little green diplodocus he offered her. She took it delicately like a treasure, admiring it before thanking Jarod.

He grunted in response, wishing her a good night before returning to his cab.

Soon it would be the end of summer, with the September elections, which were likely to be violent. Y/N would go home avoiding other problems, knowing that if one day she needed a ride, she would know who to call.

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Pope Francis told CBS in an interview airing Monday night that the solution to record numbers of undocumented immigrants arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border was "to open the doors to migration."

WHY IT MATTERS: President Biden has in response to the migrant crisis this year taken a tougher stance on the border, which Axios' Stef Kight notes has become one of Democrats' most vulnerable issues in the 2024 election cycle.

• The president told Univision last month that he was exploring whether he had the power to shut down the border without congressional authorization and that he planned to limit crossings.

DRIVING THE NEWS: CBS' Norah O'Donnell noted during their hour-long interview in Vatican City that this had been the discussion in the U.S. as large numbers of mothers and children fleeing violence walked "thousands of miles" to the border with their families for a better life.

• The pope replied that migration was the solution.

• "For an immigration policy to be good, it must have four things: for the migrant to be received, assisted, promoted and integrated. This is what is most important, to integrate them into the new life," he said.

• Representatives for the Biden administration did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

ZOOM IN: The pope also called Texas officials' attempts to shut down a Catholic charity that offers undocumented immigrants humanitarian assistance at the state's border with Mexico "sheer madness."

• "Unfortunately, we have gotten to a point of no return. It's sad, but that's what it is," the pontiff said. "Climate change at this moment is a road to death."

• He said he blamed wealthy countries in "great measure" for the situation because of their economic strength and for having energy policies focused on fossil fuels. "They are the countries that can make the most difference," he said.

• When asked what he thought of climate change deniers, Francis responded: "There are foolish people, and even if you show them the statistics, still the fool will not believe."

• He said generally this was either "because they don't understand the situation or out of a vested interest," but "climate change is real. The warming of the Earth has already increased by 2°. That is a lot."

OF NOTE: During the interview, O'Donnell said she understood that Francis was against the Catholic Church having women as priests, but that he was studying the notion of women as deacons and asked if he's open to this.

• "If it is deacons with Holy Orders, no," he replied. "But women have always had ... the function of deaconesses without being deacons. Women are of great service as women, not as ministers ... within the Holy Orders."

GO DEEPER: Biden takes another step to fast-track asylum process for border crossers