#she looks like gangsta granny

[iloveillusion]

💙

Queen Camilla  ||  Bruce Oldfield

[kirisenpai]

Rio x Reader : Break In Episode

This is the shittiest thing I have ever written in my entire EXISTENCE. I couldn’t get Rio out of my head. I woke up yesterday morning and just immediately started writing about this encounter in my “notes” app. I know it’s not the best by any means but there’s not a lot of Rio fics out there. Something is better than nothing I guess... :/ Also I don’t like using “Y/N” because i feel like it takes away from the story, we already know it’s us we’re imagining when we read this so..

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You had just finished cleaning up the bathroom after a shower and were grabbing the last of your things before heading out the room. That’s when you heard it. You heard the clicking of heals against hardwood floors. The shuffling and ramming of dresser drawers. Rio was away on business so you knew you had to hold down the fort but god dammit were you completely clueless to where he hid his guns. You guess this was about to be one hell of a cat fight. You breathed in deeply, exhaled slowly, and began to walk silently out into the open living space.

A white woman? Who the hell was she? She was dressed like she worked a normal 9-5 , and her shoes- why the hell would you rob someone in granny heals?

She was standing with her back turned to you comparing keys on a key ring. You knew that was your time to pounce. Seeing her distracted, you silently padded over to her. You quickly reached out and grabbed her hair at the root, and kicked in the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel. “Who are you?” With one hand still pulling her hair you used your other to press at the pressure point in the juncture between her neck and collar bone.

“I- Um, I-“

“Spit it out bitch, I don’t have all day.” You we’re ready to bash her head into the drawers if need be. You had to pick up Marcus from school, Rio’s business was not supposed to intermingle with his personal life. You were pulled from your thoughts by the sound of a small click and jumped back as you realized she’d pulled a knife on you. “I don’t care which whore of the week you are, but I’m here on business!” She said with newfound confidence, puffing out her chest as she did so.

You figured now was the time to channel your inner Rio; since this woman wanted to test your gangsta, now was the time to start acting like one.“Oh ho ho,” you chuckled lowly, “you think a little knife is gonna scare me, sweetheart?” 

The woman looked taken aback, as if she saw him in you. But she didn’t have time to retort as you lunged for her. Both of you were on the ground, hair pulling and face bashing ensued. You let her have it, any pent up aggression, any anxiety, all the adrenaline that had built up during the intrusion had sent your body into maximum overdrive and your hands were trying to mangle any flesh they came onto contact with. She landed a few cuts on you with the knife, a few on your face, a few on your arms, but you kept pushing.

With the woman’s hair still in your hand you ripped yourself from her clutches and stood up. Dragging her behind you to the open window which you assumed was her point of entry. “It’s time for you to leave, miss lady. You’ve overstayed your welcome.” To be honest, you didn’t know what to do with the woman, bash her head against the windowsill? Attempt to push her out? Or stand there and wait? While you contemplated you felt a sting to the back on your thigh. You howled out in pain realizing that the woman had stabbed you deep, all the way to the hilt. Adrenaline coursing through your body once more, you held the woman’s head still as you kicked her face in. You heard a crushing noise as your knee connected with her nose. “Son of a bitch!” She cried out, her hand leaving the knife in your thighs to nurse her newly broken nose. You drew in a big breath and pulled the knife out of your thigh, letting out a low groan as you did so. The woman flared at you as you squatted down to her level. You looked at her with fake sympathy and whispered in her ear,” You might want to go home and ice that you know?”

She glared at you and pushed herself off the ground with one hand, the other still on her nose. You gestured to the window with open hands and bowed,” Thank you, it’s been a lovely visit.” She glared at you, while picking her purse off a nearby chair, “I will be back, but I doubt you’ll be here when I do. I’m sure you’ve overstayed your welcome as well.” And with that the woman crawled through the window, cursing as blood dropped down onto the windowsill.

You sighed and shut the window behind her, staying to watch as she shimmied her way down the fire escape. You turned and looked at the mess you’ve made, blood on the floor, and the picture of Rio and his son that once sat on the dresser was now on the floor in pieces. It must have happened during the scuffle. You glanced up at the clock and you knew you wouldn’t be able to clean all of this up and go pick up Marcus on time. You decided to call Rhea, Marcus’ mother, and let her know that some “business” had popped up and you couldn’t pick up Marcus. She was going to visit family this weekend and was supposed to be leaving for her flight soon, but you hoped she would understand.

Once you had made arrangements for her to pick him up and drop him off back at Rio’s, you set to work. You decided to nurse your wounds first so that the blood would be the last thing you had to clean up. You limped to the bathroom gripping your thigh. You turned the knob on cold and let the shower run while you stripped yourself of your bloodied clothes and folded them into the sink.

You jumped when you stepped into the shower, flinching at the cold water. You closed your eyes letting the water run over you, and when you opened them you couldn’t help but chuckle. It looked like you were on your period with the amount of blood that was going down the drain. You finished wiping the crusted blood away from the shallow cuts on your face and arm and began to inspect the wound on your thigh. You knew the gash was deep and would probably need stitches. It was a good thing you kept medical supplies that you used to on Rio when he would come home after taking care of “business”.

You let out another deep sigh, and shut off the water. You walked over to the the cabinet and pulled out the first aid kit which housed sutures and gauze pads. Pulling out the needed supplies you made your way to the full length mirror and began to bend over so that you were peaking in between your legs. An awkward position that would surely result in a horrible stitch, but it would have to do until Rio came home. Once you finished that up, you saw that the cut on your cheek would need two stitches as well.

After bandaging the different areas you threw on a black cami with matching shorts in order to keep your bandages from rubbing against your clothes. You then proceeded to walked to the hall closet and got out the bleach, mop, broom, and a couple of rags.

With a sigh you began to sweep up the broken glass and mop up the blood that trailed from the dresser in the living room to the adjacent windowsill. Hell, you even cleaned up the intruder’s blood that had spilled on the fire escape. After the living room was clean you hobbled back to the bathroom to bleach the tub and mop the floor. You wanted all evidence of the brawl to be erased before Marcus got home. You packed all the cleaning supplies up and tread back to the closet. Opening the door you ran a hand down your face in frustration, it looks like you’re going to have to play Tetris to figure out where you got the items from.

You pulled the box down and inspected it. Curiosity got the better of you and you shook the box wondering what was inside it. You tried to pry it open like a dumbass, but alas it was locked. That’s when you remembered you saw the woman looking at a ring of keys before. The keys in the drawer in the living room! You made a dash for the keys, finding them folded in a piece of paper in the top right drawer. You shook the keys looking for the smallest one, hoping it would fit the lock box. Once you did you made your way back to the hallway and inserted the keys, smiling when you heard the ‘click’. With wide eyes you saw a gun and a box of bullets. “Oh I got something for your bitch ass next time,” you thought to yourself as you attempted to load the gun. You had never in your entire life held one, you had seen Rio’s when he puts it on the nightstand but he never allowed you to touch it. You quickly put everything back in the closet, save for the gun which you hid under the right side of the couch.

Once finished you drew the living room curtains closed and turned out all the lights. It was 3:27pm and Rhea would be there soon with Marcus. You didn’t want him to see you like this, both you and Rio wanted him to stay completely oblivious to this lifestyle. Hell, you wanted to be oblivious as well, you had never imagined you would be in this kind of situation. You’re still just a college student after all.

You heard three knocks on the door, which meant it was either Rio or Rhea. You took a deep breath before opening the door and smiled big, “Hey big man!” You saw Rhea and Marcus standing there all smiles. You quickly engulfed Marcus in a hug, not giving him any time to inspect your face. You mouthed a quick thank you to Rhea who handed you his backpack. “Marcus, come give me a kiss, say goodbye.” She bent down and kissed him gently on his forehead. Once their embrace ended she looked at you as if she wanted to say something more but she just shook her head,” keep my son safe and out of trouble. I mean that,” she said sternly. You looked at her with determination,” with my life.” And with that she was off.

You brought Marcus into the house and locked the door. “You hungry, kid?” You ask walking towards the kitchen. “What happened to you!” He asked running up behind you noticing the bandage on your thigh. You turned to him with a fake pouty face, “I slipped getting out the shower, that’s why I couldn’t pick you up on time.”

His mouth was wide with awe as he inspected your face, he then pouted too, “Does it hurt? Are you okay?”

You gave him a huge grin, “Of course I’m okay nene! Now, what would you like to eat? Do you have homework?” He slipped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table and placed his chin in his hand just like his father does all the time when he watches you cook. “No homework. Can we have Dino nuggets?” He said that too coolly for your liking.

“Marcus,” you chided,” are you sure you don’t have any homework at all?” You side eyed him as you reached into the freezer to pull out the nuggets. “I mean,” he started,” just math. But that’s not important, there’s no school tomorrow!”

“Sly boy”, you thought as your rolled your eyes. You preheated the oven and then put the nuggets on a baking sheet. “Well, if you do your homework now, you won’t have to do it later, and then you can play all weekend without any worries,” you explained to him. You walked over to his backpack which was sitting on the couch and proceeded to go through it. Once you found his agenda you read over today’s notes from his teacher about how he was a good student and saw that there was a basic worksheet for the students to do. You got out the worksheet and a pencil and sat with him at the table. “We can do it super quick while we wait for the oven to heat up!” “He looked down defeated, but knew there was no winning you over.

You sat and helped him add and subtract with his fingers until the oven beeped. “Here, look for the ones you think you can do on your own, and I’ll be back to help you with the other ones, okay?” He nodded as you got up and put the nuggets in the oven. You then proceeded to make broccoli and Mac n cheese for the both of you while he finished off the easier questions.

While the water was coming to a boil for the pasta you checked on him and his work. You gave him a kiss on the head and praised him for a job well done. After helping with a few more problems you went back to cooking.

When the homework was done and dinner was ate you decided to give him his bath early. “Would you like to have a movie night? I’ll pop us some popcorn!” You asked as you handed him his pajamas. He was elated at the idea and raced to get his clothes on so he could be the first one on the couch. Marcus adored the movie “Where the Wild Things Are,” and loved the different monster plushies that took up most of the space in his small room. He selected the movie from Netflix as you popped the popcorn for the both of them.

“Scooch ya mooch,” you said to him as you sat on the couch. He let out a giggle and gave you room to sit down, but came right back to cuddle up in your lap. You decided to prop your legs up on the other end since he was going to be all up under you. You stroked his head as he munched on some popcorn. His eyes never left the screen, it was as if it was his first time viewing the movie.

He fell asleep that way. And when the movie ended you decided to turn off the tv and enjoy the silence that surrounded you two. You reached for the remote which had fell on the floor, and that’s when you felt the gun that you hard forgotten you had placed under the couch. Adrenaline courses through your body again as you remembered what happened earlier, and that the woman promised she’d be back. You grabbed the remote with shaky hands and fumbled with it for a bit before hitting the power button.

You’re on the cusp of sleep as Marcus’ quiet breathing comforted you like white noise. You forced yourself to stay awake, at least until Rio came home, so you would be able to protect him in case anything happened.

You decided to carry Marcus to his bed and tuck him in, in case the woman did come back. You kissed him on his head and watched him sleep for a bit without a care in the world. You decided to pour yourself a glass of wine and went back to the couch, sitting. Waiting.

Your eyes began to get heavier and heavier. You didn’t know how long you had been sitting there, just basking in the darkness of the quiet room. It was calming, washing away all the intense moments of the day. That was until you saw the door handle jiggle.

You quickly grabbed the gun and stood up. You winced at the pain in your leg but figured it was do or die time, again. Marcus was here and you had to protect him at all costs. You had no idea what that woman wanted or if she had brought friends back. But you knew that if it had to do with Rio, it was never anything good.

With bloodshot eyes and adrenaline pumping through your body you cocked the gun as the intruder opened the door.

“Woah woah woah, hey,” Rio looked surprised at first and then he glanced over to Marcus’s room which was off to the side of the open layout. “Put the gun down,” he said sternly, a frown gracing his features. You sighed and he came and took the gun out of your hand. “I-“ you started but he grabbed you roughly by your arm and all but drug you to the bedroom. He threw the gun on the bed and turned to you, furious. “No guns around my son, are you crazy? Have you lost your mind?”

He spoke harshly, that was, until he saw the bandages and stitches on your face, the moonlight shining on you through the bedroom window to show evidence of the scuffle you had been in earlier. His features softened for a moment as he looked it you, then harmed again as he realized the reality of the situation. He quickly reached behind you and flipped the lights on. You squeezed your eyes shut, having been in the darkness for most of the night.

“What happened to you mama?” He questioned, his voice soft but his features stern and he came to move a lock of hair from your face. You flinched a bit thinking he was going to touch your stitches but quickly accepted the affectionate gesture. You took a deep breath before explaining the situation. “Some lady broke into the house. She was looking for something. We ended up fighting but she had a knife. She cut me up and stabbed me in my leg.”

He was already inspecting your body once you finished your story. He saw the cut on your arm and looked behind to see the bloody gauze that covered your thigh. He looked up at you, his expression one of rage ,” When was this? What did she look like? Was Marcus home? I swear to god if Marcus was home-“ You quickly shushed him and you bent down to his level, wincing as you did so. “It was before I went to pick up Marcus. When I was about to leave I heard her rummaging around in the living room. After she left I called Rhea and had her pick him up for me. I don’t know who she was, some white woman. I guess she thought I was some common whore because she said she would come back when I was gone. Assuming we had a one night stand...Are you cheating on me ‘Christopher’?” You question with a playful tone, trying to diffuse his rage with a small joke.

He gives a small huff and rolls his eyes as he helps you to stand. With a gentle kiss to your forehead he whispers,” No I ain’t cheating on you, mama. You my girl.” You smile and lean into him, accepting his warmth. But the embrace doesn’t last too long and he pulls away and walks over to the bathroom. “We need to change your bandage.” You sighed and walked over to the end of the bed and bent over the mattress, allowing your legs to hang off the side.

When he came back out he couldn’t help but chuckle,” I would love to see you like that under different circumstances.” You let out a huff and rolled your eyes. “Just change the damn bandage.”

He bent down and began to take off the bandage, seeing your wound had reopened. “You did a shit job of stitching yourself up, mama,” he said quietly as he cleaned the wound. You squeezed your eyes shut at the stinging sensation, “oh shut the hell up, it was the best I could do.”

He gave you a quick pat on your ass before undoing the stitches. He had never done this before, you were the one who always patched him up. Now the roles were reversed. But he would try anything for you. Do anything for you. So he tried his best.

Once he was satisfied with his work he replaced the bandage and you sat up. He walked toward you and you leaned into his abdomen. His eyes shifted to the gun that was still on the bed,” Where’d you get it?”

You looked up in confusion, “Hm? Get what?” Then your head turned to follow his gaze. “Oh, it’s yours. I found it in the closet. I didn’t know when you or her would be back,”Your face contorted into a frown, “but I’d be damned if she set foot in this apartment again with Marcus inside of it.”

You began to shake a bit, thinking of all the possibilities of how the night could’ve went if it was her and not Rio who stepped through that door. You closed you eyes as Rio pet your head, soothing you. “I’m here now mama, and I ain’t gonna let nothing happen to both of you. But I gotta go now.”

“Again?!” You wine,” But you just got here.” You give him a pout as you reach for the waste of his pants and pull him close. He grabs your hands from his pants and kisses each of them. He pulls you up and embraces you ,”I gotta take care of business mama. You held it down for me and now Ima hold it down for you. You weren’t tryna be involved in this lifestyle but damn did you try, for me.” He places his fingers under your chin and tips your head up to look at him,” Thank you baby.” He kisses you, deep and passionate. Full of all the love he has for you.

Before you can move to intertwine your arms around his neck he pulls away. He grabs the gun off the bed and looks at it for a second. “I guess you kinda need this now, huh?” He walks over to your side of the bed and holsters the gun on a spot hidden in a gap between the mattress and headboard. He gives you a chaste kiss on the lips before heading to the door. “Get some rest mamas,” he says turning the knob,” I’ll be back soon.” And with that he left, head filled with images of the one woman bold enough to pull some shit like this. She was getting out of line, forgetting her place.. It looks like he would just have to remind her that you don’t fuck with a King and his Queen.

He was so furious he couldn’t see straight. He was blinded by rage. That bitch has the nerve, the audacity, to come into his house and lay hands on his woman? Whatever the fuck she thought this was she had it completely twisted. He called up Mick and his boys and had them meet him at Beth’s house.

He let himself into her house with the spare key he had made and trudged up the stairs to her bedroom. He didn’t give a damn if she heard him coming. Didn’t give a damn if she got scared.

Once he reached her bedroom he flicked on the lights and pulled his gun from the waist of his pants. He shot a bullet into the ceiling.

Beth awoke with a scream. Alert as ever, her eyes darted around the room to see Rio’s boys surrounding the bed, with the main man himself leaning against the door frame. “Goodmorning darlin’,” he said smoothly. “Rio what the fuck are you doing here. It’s too early for this shit.” Beth said with a scowl.

“My girl told me you paid us a little visit today... Why the fuck were you in my house Elizabeth?”

“Your girl? You mean that whore that was in the apartment. I thought she was just a fuck.” Before Beth could speak any further, Rio shot the headboard, the bullet barely missing her head. “You better watch what you say, darlin’,” he said, his voice a low warning, “And yes, my girl.” Rio was livid all over again. Fuck being calm and collected. He motioned for his men to grab Beth, “Come on, let’s have a little talk.”

Beth stuttered and protested as the men grabbed her by her arms and drug her out the bed and down the stairs.

There they stood in the living room. Rio eyeing Beth up and down, admiring your handy work. “Looks like she got you good. I’ll have to give her, her props later.”

He stalked towards Beth and tilted her head from side to side with his gun. He winced as he inspected her face, “ Whew, a broken nose? Damn, you go baby.” He saw the many bruises on Beth’s face and his inner conscious beamed with pride that his girl was able to hold her own. He knew he didn’t pick her for nothing. She was the one who would hold him down, and she proved her worth today.

“Now, tell me why,” he started, as he pulled back shaking the gun in his hand,” I shouldn’t put a couple slugs in you for touching my girl? Damn the breaking and entering.” He eyed Beth up and down again, looking for potential places to shoot.

Beth gaped her mouth open and closed like a fish, looking for the right words to say. “First off, your girl? Rio I’m your girl-“

“You ain’t shit.” He quickly cut her off, stalking towards her. She could feel his breath fanning out over her face as she looked up at him with wide eyes. “You ain’t shit but a business partner. You’re just ‘work’.”

“This,” he said as he motioned the gun from his chest to hers, “ ain’t nothin’ but work darlin’.”

“But Rio I-,” Rio backhanded her with the gun and watched as she stumbled back to the couch behind her, spitting out blood onto the floor. “Shh shh shh, don’t speak darlin’, you’re in deep enough shit already.” He back away from her and ran a hand over his mouth, working his stubble over. He decided to conclude his visit with one final warning. “Never forget your place, and never forget you are replaceable. Just as I taught you, I can always teach her, too. Now stay the fuck away from my girl and never come back to my house again.”

With that he left. He knew he shouldn’t kill her now, but damn did he want to. He motioned for him and his boys to leave the woman to wallow in her thoughts. He felt no pity for her or any feelings she had for him. All he knew was that he needed to get back to his girl.

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It’s complete D O G SHIT but i did it!!! I feel like it got better with all the dialogue at the end but literally this was a dream I had. SO i wanted to retell it exactly like how it happened in my dream. 

@fandom138 @averyraeleigh @enamouravecleslivresetlechocolat @cardio-princess @dopeybubbles @my-life-is-here-soo @stuff4me2do @uhlxis @minniecrybabyxx @india-nicole19

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

Jeremiah: how'd you know that was your granny?

Me; i remember her voice. Jeremiah don't cry

Jeremiah: that's so fucked up how do you say that to someone?

Well... I remember her voice and im sure God made sure that memory was open for me. She got a real rugged voice like her life, I knew it when she said I had to apologize. Its a voice that carries all this pain from all these years. Remember she was real old and wrinkled like crispy crispy fried chicken. And her little old eyes... They were always sad and mad and all mean no nonsense and she couldn't ever hear and i hated yelling at her so she could hear so she had me write it down for her.

But her voice is like her face when she was alive, deep from the heart carrying what the heart feels, that's how. Just carrying all her life dignity and harsh life experiences.

So a little story about my mom and my granny. Denise used to live with my granny in one of them silver bullet type campers but it was real spacious. She used to live there with granny to keep her ass from jail. Granny was the only one that could ring her up by her neck like a chicken and beat that ass.

One time we went to visit in about 1985 and Denise went in there and stabbed her with an ink pen right in the foot. I remember that iodine they used to clean and heal it up with all on her skin. And the bandages.

Denise did it right in front of me cause i went out there and Denise was taking off ber top all "my granny gonna give me a bath" and my granny looked scared.

Mind you id already drank bleach watched my twin brother murdered in front of me abd bypassed death multiple times So i knew by looking in grannys blue eyes she wasn't about to give no one a bath.

So i looked all in the small trailer and told her "there aint no place to take a bath. There aint no tub. What in the sink? You're way too fat to"

"Well fine I'll wash the dishes" took a pan and knocked my granny out cold! I ran to get my dad and I felt i didn't run fast enough by the time i got back my mom was all trying sex shit on my granny who was knocked out. So i went outside and screamed on the top of ny lungs and everyone came running then.

They dumped granny in an old wash tub in the yard. Old silver one y'all rich people use to feed your calves and horses in. And woke her up and i was all satisfied cause I got to wondering "where does she bathe?" Well in the big house of course but they only had a shower there. So i was all "now that's a bath" the rest of the summer i used it for my bathing tub and my swimming pool and we made a mud pit to wrestle my cousin in. Girls against girls and boys against boys my granny said. Till i won all the girls at least twice then she said i could wrestle the boys. With my clothes on of course. Kyle was the only one that could beat me of my cousins. Now he is gangsta thug through and through. Big as Hell and i know I'd be a dumb bitch to start with him but he ain't nothing but a big ole teddy bear to most. Still would not cross him a bit. I beat a few of my uncles, too. But to be fair i was pretty wiggly and we were in some real wet slick mud from my tub overflow and swimming with the girl cousins and the boys splashing during their turn. And a bit of sprinkle instigation from my granny spraying us down to call quits and to hose those beat down so they could go play safe.

So that night i was hiding in my moms old bed with granny in her little house and my uncle all dumb came with my mom, not knowing what was to happen. Well my mom told little old Shane to beat it and my mom was all trying her Sins again and she kept wiggling at the curtain and all so I crept up to the corner and peeked around and Denise said "why is she in here?"

Granny said "well you didn't even know she was missing"

And so Denise punched her right in the eye! So i jumped up and knocked down the blue and green and yellow paisley curtain to separate the bed space, thankfully I jumped and it didn't heat me full on the head and i started screaming full on hoping my uncle was close enough to hear.

He was But he ran in the big house to get my dad and his dad and anyone else.

I was standing on the curtain when Denise stabbed my granny with the blue note pen we were using to talk with. And stabbed my granny right in the ankle space above her foot and under the calf.

Then she came for me so i ducked in that small 5 feet of space that the kitchen covered, yanked that pen out my granny and went towards my mom and she ran for the door, the fat coward. So I stabbed her right in the left shoulder blade like a boss bitch. I was 4 years old.

"Well you little" she spat as she turned with eyes only the Devil himself would be fond of. I was fucking exhausted fighting all day and being in the mud and all and i had been sleeping so i got pissed. I wouldn't done that shit she stayed in the big house like she was supposed to.

So i took that pan granny put in the drawer, a good 9 inch iron skillet only God could made and I started beating the shit outta her. Right on the left side of the face first then she fell all fake and i kept beating her then she started biting my granny!!! Right about then the door flew open and my little uncle that had just been out was there and he said "they're coming" i saw relief on my granny i was all "no i got this, shut the door I don't need the whole house seeing this"

But i seen a pair of old man grandpa hands that been working the prison for 40 years reach in and grab those fat ankles and pull her out and im yelling and beating her the whole time. "Hey! What the Hell are you doing?! I ain't finished! Shit and Fuck! Get back here you dumb bitch ---"

And i looked up in the dark and saw nothing but my grandpa's bright blue eyes twinkling in the low kitchen light "Well finish"

"I... Uh.. Let me get the pan!" I was plum confused "are you sure? I can for sure kill her"

"As you wish" and he gestured toward my mother's body. She was wrestling to wake up and grandpa put his bare foot brave to walk in the desert valley of Arizona square on her back and i told him hold on to the door so he didnt fall and i went wailing on her till my dad came and i looked at my dad with that iron pan in both my hands held low at my hips "but I'm not finished"

Oh grandpa just started laughing so hard he could barely stand i was glad he held that door cause for sure he would fallen. And grandpa said "ah just let her"

"Alright!!!" I started to begin wailing again "oh can i dad?" I was a perfect child, always getting permission from adults to murder. Still do. Still do. Except for here and there in My teenage years. "Oh and someone got to take care of her!" Cause my dad and grandpa were wondering if i was finished cause i was covered in blood. And granny was yelling "no its me! Let her finish!"

So my dad went in and left to get some bandages from the house. Cause she was squirting blood all over. And dripping and her tea towel (hand towel) was soaked nearly full of blood except the corners.

Granny hollering "I'll be fine! Let her finish!"

Y'all see me in this old lady? Genetics baby, i got the good ones.

So i started wailing harder than ever on that old beast. Im only four and that iron skillet was heavy and i been done using my muscles for the day already. But i got fueled for seeing that blood and i kept on the back of her neck till grandpa said "woah what's that pen doing out her back? Did you do your granny too?"

My mouth dropped open "no sir"

"Alright then finish" just like a prison guard he told me.

"Well yes sir where shall i hit?" My granny had been teaching me old fancy words and styles of speaking from "the old South" all day. Kinda testing me. She would say a sentence like "shall I order some tea?" And I had to guess what she asked "oh can you" and I would write "can" and she would say what kinda can? She would show me green bean can and i would shake my head no.

"Well you can hit her in the legs so she can't walk and do this no more"

So i hit her square on her lower ass "the top of the legs! The middle! The ankle, the calve!" I went up and down shouting anatomy I looked up at my granny and she looked tired with her head down so i yelled "oh fuck! Is she alright?!? Dad is my granny--?" And she waved her hand at me my dad was looking up at me, his eyes full of pain, sadness and glistening with humor and admiration. My mouth fell over "are you" and i stumbled towards him and granny waved me off again and i seen she was laughing and she sat up heehawwing all kinds! Then put her head down. Grandpa was shaking the whole door with his laughing nearly shaking it plumb off i was afraid. "Now what were you doing when i was shouting anatomy? Your face was different" i hit that ink pen in further about all i could muscle up seeing everyone was alright.

"Anatomy? Billy where she learned this shit from? I know shall and sir was from her but anatomy?! What? Go on you can hit again"

"Oh Idk i guess Denise"

"Yeah that bitch be hitting me if i don't help her study right. Don't you?" I grabbed her by the back of her bloody head and looked in her face and dropped both her and the pan "oh my God, that's gross. She about to stink"

She was dead.

"Now we gotta do CPR" said my tired dad

"Now you hold on! Now this is MY house! Sabrina you do the CPR" i helped him flip the bitch over "now Billy you stay right there. Sabrina now you jump on her chest! Get to starting!"

"But i don't wanna!!!!"

"Now come on I'll help you. Well hold hands, you know how to take a life dont you? Now you gotta earn your path and make sure you know how to restart one too! Now come on! Don't run!"

Dam I tried not to learn that lesson and dam if it hadn't stuck with me all these years. 4 year old kid me learned some real stuff back then in 1985 but here in 2019 i learned the rest of my path. Sometimes it's alright to let me finish and run off. Now me and Jesse are in a fight because he disagreed with me, i got real mad and some new friends questioned my judgement. But they understood after a nap. And i still ain't friends with Jesse now. Cause it ain't about death with him its the fact he still wants kr to suffer. So I'm glad my granny is back Because she aint that way. My grandpa is here, too And he sure is sorry. He died of cancer. My Granny just cause she was old lonely and had a broken heart. And Jesse better watch the fuck out cause hes the liar, not me. He got me mad. Done sent two people to kill me in Santa Fe and some bitch tonight all talking about hiding on my porch with a gun. I told his bitch ass he better be in a bullet proof vest cause ima shoot his face with it. He got scared m i told him he better start running and jesse was all she's too fat to chase you!! For real. My legs work. Today in 2019.

So now i listened cause my dad yelled but my granny said "let her run!"

But I listened cause my dad always protected me so if it was me I'd want CPR probably

And we had a discussion about it. And grandpa said "you want me and your dad to do it or you want me and you?!"

"Me and you, i guess. If someone's gotta do it better be Me, sir i got it" i grudgingly climbed on my moms fat where my grandpa gave me a tight hug and made my sadness disappate.

I tried to run again "now come here!"

"Awh! I thought I'd get a hug and that would be the end!"

"Is that what your mother do to you?"

I started all crying trying to explain.

"Never Mind ill call the ambulance"

My dad did and my dad said not to jump and put my feet where they should go and i just moved up and down real soft a bit once the ambulance lights turned the corner.

Grandpa said to take granny first although she was hurt a bit and said Denise was going to through coroner and the EMT argued "we are here to save a life"

"Then save her!" He pointed at me, "SHE did this Cause her momma, this one" he pointed at the ground "has been attacking dear old granny all day! Now call the coroner! I would say im sorry! But im not! Now call it up use the phone! Go on and do it!"

"Sir let me remind you you're not the sheriff!"

"then call him!!"

"Im glad I'm not in prison because now I can see why you work there youre scaryyyy"

"Did he make you do it?!?!"

"He stabbed my granny with a pen? No she did!!!!"

Granpa was all "whoa! Now she knows consequences of actions and you're standing here arguing and i got one bleeding to death, a little one all nervous and a dead body! Are you here to save a life or what not?!?!"

"Yes sir. Let me get in there to old granny but move her" finally he looked down "oh she's dead. Im sorry sir"

"Well i ain't!" My grandpa was loud granny laughed.

"Y'all are about as sick in the head as i ever seen" the EMT tried not to laugh

"Well you see a grown woman trying to rape your granny! That was her mom and she got her and i sure aint sorry it's about the 5th time today I had to get onto her about behaving!" Then grandpa's voice got quiet and gentler "now this one!" And he picked me up and carried me "now im going over to the tractor!!" And he put me up high on it and told me he was hiding me and I could run if i wanted, no one would ever catch me.

I didn't. And i was told to tell only what Denise had done to my granny. And i had won at muscle wrestling all day in the mud and i was in there sleep to protect my granny And i did. To the fullest extent of the law.

Unfortunately they sent the fat old bitch to the hospital and got her dumb ass back to life. Unfortunately I didn't beat it into her brains well enough... Cause now 34 years later.... Denise hasn't changed.

We should just put her in the field and ran her over with the tractor for the horses to eat and the dogs.

Its made me wiser to the world around me. Smarter than i can stand, until i want death myself because there's no end to misery.

But I've learned that i can't kill them all. So days that I get the good old dead back relieve a misery that i cannot stand that I see in so many people.

And those life lessons I learned all those years ago at the tender age of four have always stuck with me and have changed the world m from Iraq to Afghanistan to the good old USA. And they will continue to. And even in London.

And that's my promise given to me by the dead that they intend to keep.

So lately I've been thinking about Revelations in the bible. It keeps me happy to think one day (hopefully soon) all the evil will drop dead and all the good ghosts can once again have bodies they can keep. That keeps me healthy and "mentally sane" as they call it.

[too-queer-to-live]

I know pride month is literally almost over but I was inspired by this post to compile a list of songs that Hit Differently when covered by a queer artist/interpreted as explicitly queer:

“Accidentally in Love” by The Counting Crows (yes, the one from Shrek)

“So she said, ‘What’s the problem, baby?’ What's the problem? I don't know, well maybe I'm in love... How much longer will it take to cure this? Just to cure it cause I can't ignore it if it's love”

Cover by Mia Wray

“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri

“Heart beats fast, colors and promises, how to be brave, how can I love when I'm afraid to fall? ... time stands still, beauty in all she is”

“A Whole New World” from Aladdin

“When did you last let your heart decide? ...  A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view; no one to tell us no or where to go or say we're only dreaming”

Cover by princepeterwolf | Violin Cover by The Shirtless Violinist (ft. gay music video)

“Boys” by Charli XCX

“Don't be mad, don't be mad, not like I had a choice, I was busy thinking 'bout boys”

Cover by gay artist Sakima (with modified lyrics) | Cover by Alex Heart

“Can’t Fight This Feeling” by REO Speedwagon

“I can't fight this feeling any longer, and yet I'm still afraid to let it flow, what started out this friendship has grown stronger, I only wish I had the strength to let it show... I can’t fight this feeling anymore, I’ve forgotten what I started fighting for”

Gay Music Video

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” by Elvis Presley (insp)

“Shall I stay? Would it be a sin if I can’t help falling in love with you?”

Cover by The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir | Cover by Pentatonix

“Cut to the Feeling” by Carly Rae Jepsen

“I've been denying how I feel, you've been denying what you want, (you want from me) talk to me baby”

“Delicate” by Taylor Swift

“Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that you're in my head? 'Cause I know that it's delicate”

“Dirty Little Secret” by The All-American Rejects

“When we live such fragile lives, it’s the best way we survive... you are the only one that needs to know; I’ll keep you my dirty little secret; don’t tell anyone or you’ll be just another regret”

“Don’t Matter” by Akon

“Nobody want to see us together, but it don’t matter, no... cause we gonna fight... fight for our right to love”

“For Good” by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel - From Wicked

“I’ve heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason, bringing something we must learn... I do believe I have been changed for the better, and because I knew you... I have been changed for good”

“Girls” by The 1975

“I'm worrying about my brother finding out; what’s the fun in doing what you're told?”

Cover by Daisy Clark

“Grand Theft Autumn / Where Is Your Boy” by Fall Out Boy

“Where is your boy tonight? I hope he is a gentleman, maybe he won't find out what I know: you were the last good thing about this part of town”

Cover by headlesscabbage

“Heaven” by Julia Michaels

“Love's my religion but he was my faith, something so sacred so hard to replace; falling for him was like falling from grace... no need to imagine, ‘cause I know it’s true; they say all good boys go to heaven, but bad boys bring heaven to you”

Cover by Mark Jeffcoat

“Heaven’s Gate” by Fall Out Boy

“In the end if I don't make it on the list, would you sneak me a wristband? Or would you give me... a boost over Heaven's gate? I'm gonna need a boost ‘cause everything else is a substitute for your love”

“If It Kills Me” by Jason Mraz

“Well all I really wanna do is love you, a kind much closer than friends use... This double life I lead isn't healthy for me, in fact it makes me nervous; if I get caught I could be risking it all”

“I’m Yours” by Jason Mraz

“It's our God-forsaken right to be loved... so I won't hesitate no more, no more, it cannot wait”

“Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield

“Jessie's got himself a girl and I want to make her mine... I wanna tell her that I love her but the point is probably moot ”

Cover by queer artist Mary Lambert

“Let it Go” by Demi Lovato - From Frozen

“Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried; don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good girl you always have to be; conceal, don't feel, don't let them know, well, now they know; let it go, let it go, can't hold it back anymore”

“Like Real People Do” by Hozier

“Honey just put your sweet lips on my lips; we should just kiss like real people do”

“Make You Miss Me” by Sam Hunt

“Every boy you ever met was too easy to forget, well, I ain't going out like that”

Cover by Sophia Scott

“Mr. Brightside” by The Killers

“Coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine”

ps: It’s a Bisexual Anthem

“Never Stop” by SafetySuit

“And with this love song to you, it’s not a momentary phase”

“Night Changes” by One Direction

“She's falling, doesn't even know it yet, having no regrets is all that she really wants; we're only getting older baby”

Cover by Georgia Merry

“Perfect” by Ed Sheeran

“We are still kids, but we're so in love, fighting against all odds; I know we'll be alright this time”

Cover by Hannah Trigwell | Cover by Luciana Zogbi | Cover by The Shirtless Violinist ft. Tom Goss | Gay Music Video

“Rainbow” by Kesha

“You'll find a rainbow, rainbow, baby trust me, I know life is scary but just put those colors on, girl, come and play along with me tonight”

“Reflection” (Pop Version) by Christina Aguilera - From Mulan

“You may think you see who I really am, but you’ll never know me; every day it’s as if I play a part... I can fool the world but I cannot fool my heart... Somehow I will show the world what's inside my heart and be loved for who I am; who is that girl I see staring straight back at me? Why is my reflection someone I don’t know? Must I pretend that I’m someone else for all time? When will my reflection show who I am inside?”

“Rude” by MAGIC!

“Don’t you know I’m human too? Why you gotta be so rude? I’m gonna marry her anyway... no matter what you say”

Cover by Kina Grannis | LGBT Cover w/ altered lyrics: “It’s not a phase, can't live without her; love me or hate me we will be gay standing at that altar, or we will run away to a more accepting place”

“She Looks so Perfect” by 5SOS

“Let's get out, cause this deadbeat town's only here just to keep us down... You look so perfect standing there in my American Apparel underwear”

Cover by Against The Current

“Shut Up And Dance” by Walk The Moon

“Oh don't you dare look back, just keep your eyes on me;  I said you're holding back, she said shut up and dance with me; this woman is my destiny”

Instrumental Cover by the Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps | Cover by Natalie Joly

“Single” by The Neighbourhood

“I don't know if we should be alone together, I still got a crush, that's obvious, if nobody's around, what's stopping us?”

Cover by NeLLa

“Something to Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt

“They keep saying we laugh just a little too loud, we stand just a little too close, we stare just a little too long-- maybe they're seeing something we don't, darlin... let’s give ‘em something to talk about, how about love?”

“Take Me to Church” by Hozier (official video features gay couple)

“The only heaven I'll be sent to is when I'm alone with you; I was born sick, but I love it, command me to be well”

Cover by gay artist Jonathon Royse | Cover by Ellie Goulding

“The Only Exception” by Paramore

“Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul that love never lasts, and we've got to find other ways to make it alone but keep a straight face”

“Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

“People fall in love in mysterious ways, maybe just the touch of a hand... maybe we found love right where we are”

“Out and Proud” by Gangsta Gudiya feat. Nikhil D’souza and Ugoeze - w/ altered lyrics: “People fall in love in every which way, whether it’s a woman or man; doesn’t really matter if I’m straight or gay, I don’t want my love to be bad, so honey now please accept me for who I am; let me live life the only way I can”

“This Is What You Came For” by Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna (inspired by this post)

“Everybody’s watching her but she’s looking at you”

“Thnks fr th Mmrs” by Fall Out Boy

“He tastes like you, only sweeter”

“Treat You Better” by Shawn Mendes

“I know I can treat you better than he can” (and, as I used to mishear it, “any guy like you deserves a gentleman”)

Cover by gay artist TheVloggingNook | Lesbian Version w/ altered lyrics: “any gay like you deserves a lesbian”

“Video Games” by Lana del Ray

“They say that the world was built for two, only worth living if somebody is loving you; baby now you do”

Cover by The Young Professionals (the main reason this song made the list)

“You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift

“You say you’re fine- I know you better than that, hey whatcha doing with a girl like that?...  Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find that what you're looking for has been here the whole time”

Gay Music Video Re-Make by The YellowJackets

“You’ll Be In My Heart” by Phil Collins

“Why can't they understand the way we feel? They just don't trust what they can't explain; I know we're different, but deep inside us we're not that different at all... don't listen to them, ‘cause what do they know? We need each other, to have, to hold”

(Feel free to add more!!)

[ciaossu-imagines]

Send me a letter and I'll tell you which OC of mine...s, h, i, t for khr and f, u, c, k for gangsta.?

I see what you did there, anon and I like it! 

KHR

S: can [sleep] just about anywhere, any time

image credit

Any and all of the Arcobaleno can fall asleep anywhere if they’re tired and all of them take naps throughout the day!

H: uses [hyperbole] the most often.

Skull, Colonello, and Ryohei are all bad for this. Skull’s the worst and does it more for drama and attention while Ryohei and Colonello are just prone to being a bit dramatic and outrageous in their speech patterns and hyperbole just happens to slip in there every now and then. The thing is, no matter how exaggerated their statement is, they probably feel it’s justified - yes, they know they haven’t literally been waiting for a thousand years but god dammit, it sure feels like it!

I: is the most [infamous] in-universe

Reborn is pretty famous canonically. There’s a lot of people who know who he is and he has a reputation that’s almost larger than life. Even before he became one of the Arcobaleno, he had the reputation for being the world’s strongest hitman - it’s why he was scoped for the Arcobaleno . Plus, anyone remember the Mafia Land chapter with the giant balloon of him? If that doesn’t speak volumes, I don’t know what does.

T: should not be [trusted]

Does this even need an explanation? It’s just an unspoken rule of thumb to not trust Daemon Spade.

GANGSTA.

F: is the worst at making [friends]

Maybe it’s the fact that people feel awkward talking to someone who’s deaf and communicates largely through sign language. Maybe it’s because he’s a Twilight and a strong one at that. Maybe it’s because he’s a criminal with a bad reputation. Maybe it’s because he’s socially awkward as crap and largely seems disinterested in most people...whatever it is though, Nic doesn’t make friends quickly or easily.

U: is [underestimated] the most often 

Because Theo’s a normal and because he doesn’t look like much, people underestimate him often. Sure, they want him and what he can do but they honestly think they can take him by force. Theo’s an extremely intelligent man though, one with a high pain tolerance and a stubborn streak, and is a trained doctor - he can and will fuck you up, though he’ll normally simply call in help (and he does know the right people to call).

C: is the most [candid]

Granny Joel seems a hard woman but she’s also an honest woman. Her manner of speaking is very frank and she doesn’t hide what she thinks or feels.

K: has the hardest time responding to [kindness]

Chad’s been around for a long time and he knows how things work in Ergastulum. While he can be a kind man himself, he knows that things don’t come without a price and expects no act of kindness to be without conditions. He’ll be wary of someone doing something kind for him, waiting to find out what they want or need from him.

[averymessyxmas]

Chapter 6: Grandma Rudy Arrives (10 Days till Christmas)

Janessa:

 I woke up this morning feeling like a weight had finally been lifted off my shoulders. I never knew Vada still held on to that night, I kind of just put it behind me, and moved on. After Grandma Rudy surprised us. We all caught up with her in the living room, Mama and Daddy set her up a room, and we just all went to sleep, I was in pain from Vada’s slap when I woke up. “Damn it that girl can hit” I got dressed for the day and sat on my bed and called my husband on facetime. “Damn baby what happened” Dylan said seeing my face bruised on one side. I sighed. “Vada” I told him. He shook his head. “Damn, yall still beefing?” He asked. I shook my head. “No actually we made amends last night after she hit me” I told him. He smiled at me. “Your still beautiful, right Chase” Dylan said with Chase climbing all on him. “Yesth” He said with his little lisp not paying me any mind. “So I’m thinking fuck it, I should just come over today” He told me. I felt nervous a little. “I mean, yeah everything has calmed over here so far and daddy is happily in a relationship so he wouldn’t care” I said. I heard a knock at the door before it opened. I jumped but calmed down when I seen it was Grandma Rudy. “You scared me” I told her. She laughed and gave me a cup of something. I tasted it then made a face. “It’s eggnog with henny” She said. I laughed. Grandma Rudy always had to be drinking. “That’s that husband of yours?” She said. I nodded slowly but confused how did she know. “You wear your wedding ring like an idiot, if you trying to hide the fact your married child just take off the got damn ring” She said before sitting next to me. She snatched my iPhone. “Oooh I remember him, hey fine white chocolate you remember me?” She said smirking. I see Dylan nod and laugh through the camera. “Let me see that baby, Hey Grandma Rudy’s baby, he so cute, looking like coffee mixed with crème, a latte baby” She said sipping on her drink. I seen Chase look through the phone smiling. “You have a nice ass family Nessa; your daddy is going to kill you” She laughed before handing me my phone back. “Your grandma and my grandma shirl should meet” He said laughing. Grandma Rudy and I were on facetime with Dylan for an hour before he had to go because Chase was getting fussy and needed to eat. “So you and Vada made up?” She asked. I smiled yeah. “Does she know the rest?” Grandma Rudy said. I put face in my hands. “No, and I’m not telling her, it was in the past Grandma, were fine now” I told her getting up. If Vada found out we dated after she left for 2 years, and that I got pregnant, got an abortion she would be pissed at me even more.

 Nori:

  Ever since, I told Dre. I thought it would be easier for me, and I wouldn’t have to stress about hiding my pregnancy, but shit aint go to good when I told him. I been trying to listen to breathing exercises to calm down when I’m stressed. I heard a knock at my door. “Hold On!” I said. I put on my oversized jacket quickly and zipped it up. “Come in” I said. In walked Janessa. “You scared me Ness” I said. She smiled. “Sorry, How are you?” She asked. I shrugged. “I’m okay, just I’m always tired, he is always moving, I’m hungry. I want cereal at random times, and Doritos dipped in Ranch is like my go too, I just feel by myself” I stressed to her. She sat down on my bed, I sat next to her. She rubbed my stomach a little. “If things get to crazy here, you can come with us in L.A. I will help you” She told me. I smiled. She got off my bed, and opened the door. “I’ll see you downstairs” She told me. I stood up and looked at my mirror, and absurd my baby bump. My iphone started ringing. I noticed the number. I picked up the phone. I could hear him breathing on the phone. “Norielle” He finally said. “Yes”. “I, I want to apologize for blowing up on you, I was caught of guard”. He told me. I felt a tear drop of my cheek. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know how to tell you, I didn’t want to say it through a jail visit where we can’t even touch each other, I really need you right now Dre and you’re in there”. I said through my tears. “Nori, it was still fucked up man, I shouldn’t have questioned you but damn girl you showing, it ain’t like you just found out”. He said. “I was in denial Dre’, I didn’t know how far I was until I went to the doctor, I’m 5months, Im due May 15th.” I told him.  “You know what we are having?” He asked. I smiled. “A boy”. I could hear him getting emotional on the other in of the phone. “I um, damn I’m have a son that’s crazy, and you were going to keep him from me”. I sighed. “Dre, I was not going to do that, I was not trying to leave you nothing My doctor said NO stress, I love you, I want us to have this big happy family but first you focus on getting out and I’ll focus on getting him here”. I told him. “I don’t have much time Nori, I love you and my son man” He hung up. “I was going to give you some drank but I see you can’t drink” I turned around and seen Grandma Rudy standing by my door. I was about to cry. “Please don’t tell Grandma” I stressed to her. She put the drinks down and hugged me. “Stop all that crying girl, I’m not telling nothing. I ain’t no snitch baby, I’m here for you. Now having a baby is a big responsibility. They cry, they shit, they take up all your damn time, you can’t drink cause you got to breast honey it’s a whole damn job, are you ready for this?” She asked me. I shrugged my shoulders. “I don’t know, I just know I love my baby already so much” I told her. “Well your still in school, that’s good, you got family that loves, although my daughter will shit a whole brick when she finds out good lord, but I got you baby” She told me. I nodded and hugged her. “Thank you, Grandma,”. “Baby get dressed, we are going out today”. She told me. I nodded and started to finish getting dressed.

 Narkim:

 I was sitting at the dining room table with Damien and Nylah eating Cereal when Nori and Grandma Rudy came downstairs. “So yall ain’t fucked yet?” I asked looking at Nylah and Damien. Nylah looked at me crazy, Damien smirked. “I mean I have tried” Nylah pushed him. “Boy please” I started laughing. That nigga D was blind asf La-La was feeling him and if he stopped trying to fuck old ladys then he would see how beautiful she was and how she been there for his dumb ass since diaper days but that aint my bizz. “Who fucked what?” Grandma Rudy said. She was lit. “Hey Grandma Rudy you got the juice, that good shit” I said. She winked at me and slid me a cup. “Oh its lit” She held her hand out. “I know you got that green for your granny now” She said. I smiled. “I gotchu G-ma” I told her. Momma walked downstairs looking nice. “Good morning babies” She said smiling. She kissed Grandma Ruby cheek. “Hi mama”. My mama said. Grandma Rudy looked at her suspiciously. “Who been in your draws Rice?” She asked my mama. “Ayye yo Grams nobody wants to hear about who been blowing my mama back out why we eating”. I told her. “Hush up boy how you think all yall got here” She said. My mom was humming around the kitchen, now she boujee, she never eats cereal so we all just stared at her as she made her some all smiley and shit. “Mommy you good?” Nori asked walking in. My mom nodded. “Mmmhm she done met somebody or got her groove back” Grandma Rudy said sipping on her “Special” drink. My mom normally would argue with G-ma but she just waved her off, yeah that’s nasty but somebody done made my mama happy, she aint get home till 2 am after she had been out all day, and Daddy left to go back to his apartment since they announced they divorce, shit was weird as fuck. My iphone started buzzing. It was Mack. I sighed and got up to go outside and take the call. Homie been scaring me since he pulled the strap on me, like made me one to get suited up too, just in case. I ain’t no bitch but I was scared to piss him off. “Yerr” I said. I could hear Mack laughing. “Nigga, don’t yerr me bitch, What happened to what’s up Bossman…anyways I don’t need you to fuck up on my shipment again young blood, I need you at 8pm asap, or I’m pull up on you again and it wont be pleasant, now I been letting you slide cause you my favorite but you missing out on my million dollar deal the other night hurt me, and as of recently I found out that you never got that brick to East Side a few months, but it’s all good just be there tonight get me this money, get me this merch and ill move up your pay and your position” He told me. My heart was racing. “Aight I got you, 8 pm don’t fuck up” I told him. He laughed. “You already know”. He ended the call. I heard the front door open, revealing my Grandma Rudy in her puffer jacket and a scarf drinking her liquor in a coffee cup. “Now I know you aint bout to roll one without your grams” She said. I smiled. “Nah I got you grams”. She nodded. “Nori told me you got yourself a range rover, and a condo in Buckhead”. She said smiling. I nodded. “Yeah, but keep that between us, I been saving at footlocker” I told her. She started laughing. “MJ used to be saving up at Taco Bell, lying ass nigga he was out there selling them drugs and being a want to be gangsta, I had to bail him out of jail so many got damn times, so I know when my grandkids up to no good” She told me. I passed her a blunt I had already rolled. We sat on the porch. “You know your twin is pregnant?” She asked me. I nodded. “Yeah man its tough for her with her baby daddy in jail and shit” I said. “How he get there?” She asked. I sighed. “Um they found a pack of cocaine in his car like a brick” I told her. She looked at me as I looked towards the drive way. “He was dealing too?” She asked me. I shook my head. “Nah, he like a honor student, Um G-ma don’t tell Nori this but I um I l had got scared cause the cops was checking my dorm for narcotics so I got scared, I aint want to go to jail so I noticed his car door was unlocked. I put it in his car”. I confessed to her. She shook her head at me. “That’s a shame, your sister struggling as it is to keep this secret of hers, you going to have to make this right or tell her, I can keep your secret Nari but you need to be a man and own up to this” She told me. I shook my head. “I can’t right now, she so damn fragile since she been pregnant, she would cut me off, or panic or lose the baby and I don’t want to stress her out, she stressed as is because of me”. I said. She passed the blunt to me. “Well it’s your mess baby, you figure it out”. The front door opened again, revealing Vada, Nori and Michael and Janessa, Damien and Nylah. I quickly put the blunt out. “Damn grandma Rudy you drunk and high?”. Vada asked. Grams shrugged. “Im what yall say lit?” She said smiling. Vada held her hand out. “What?” I asked. She smirked. “Pass me it, shit Im stressed I need to smoke” She said. “You got to share” Michael told her. She smiled. “Ofcourse”. “Aye yall mutherfuckas need to chill this my shit, but ima share” I said. They laughed. I lit the blunt and we all passed it around and we all smoked except Nori and Janessa. “So what’s the move?” I asked. “Well we all about to hit up the mall” She said. I nodded, “Yall have fun, I’m bout to go see my girl” I told them. After we smoked, G-ma, Vi and Mike, Damien and Nylah was smacked. They all got in the car with snacks and shit and pulled off. I started getting ready to go see my girl.

 Vada:

When we pulled up to the mall, the first place we all went was the food court. Nori and Janessa and I split up from Michael, he wanted to get gifts from me and didn’t want me to see. Grandma Rudy ran off cause her boyfriend Charles met her up here. Damien and Nylah went their separate ways, so it was just me and my sisters. “The last time we all hung out like this Nori was like 9 or 10, we were babies now were grown that’s crazy, how have you been Nori, I haven’t catched up with you since I got here” I said to her. She went through her phone and slid it to me, it was picture of an ultrasound. “I’m pregnant, I’m 25 weeks, and I’m having a boy. Oh my God that felt so good to get off my chest” She said. I was staring at her and the picture in shock. I saw her and Narkim when they were born, I helped change them and bath them and I’m fucking shook. “Wow, your going to be a mom” I said in a daze still high. She smiled and nodded. “That’s weird to say, just keep this between yall, I will tell everyone else when I’m ready”. She told us. I nodded. “Where’s the father?” I asked. She showed me and Janessa a picture. “Oh girl he is fine, where are you hiding him?” I asked her. “He is in jail” She told me. I looked at her crazy. “Come again?” I asked. “He was wrongly accused, but he will be out soon” She said. I almost smacked her. “Well, I hope everything works out, I don’t want you out here being a baby mama”. I said to her. “I’m getting married, well hopefully Michael proposed earlier this month” I said. Nessa and Nori smiled. “Oh my gosh Vi, I’m so happy for you” Janessa said. “He wants to have time to tell Daddy, you know how he is” I said to them. Janessa nodded. “Don’t we”. I was curious to know why she was single. “You live alone in L.A?” I asked. She slowly shook her head. “I have a life out there, but right now I’m keeping it private” She told me. We sat and talked and ate our food just catching up on sister shit. “Vada? Vada Richards?” I heard a man say. I bought choked on my juice. “Omari?” I said. He held his arms out for a hug. I got up and hugged him. He smelt so got damn good. “Damn girl you are looking fine as hell, how are you?” He asked. “I’m good, how are you?” I asked. He smiled. “I’m good, I’m sorry about that night when you left, I was hurt, I felt so bad I didn’t know how that happened. I never meant to hurt you” He said. I nodded. “It was a decade ago, Im over it”. I said. “I’m actually here with my sisters, you of course remember Janessa, and this is my baby sister Norielle” I told him. He looked at Janessa. “Hey, Ness” He said. I don’t know why but him calling her “Ness” pissed me off. “Well it’s nice seeing you” I said. He pulled out his phone. “Can I get your number maybe we can meet up again?” He said. “Well who is this chocolate drip?” I heard Grandma Ruby say walking hand in hand with her man Charles. “Grandma, you just going to say that with Charles right there?” Nori said. She waved him off. “Old bat is losing his hearing, Right Charles!” She yelled in his ear. He smiled at her. “See, now who are you?” She asked Omari. “Hi, I’m an old boyfriend, Im Omari” He told her. Grandma Ruby dropped her smile and let go of Charles hand. “Oh you that nigga, that broke my Vada’s heart and then….”. “Grandma!” Janessa said cutting her off. Grandma Rudy stopped what she was saying. “You fine boy but you trifling, plus Vada already has a man and he is way sexier than you keep it in the family having ass, come on Charles” She said walking with him, looking at me. “I um well” Omari said. I awkwardly smiled. “We can maybe catch up on drinks but like she said I do have a man”. I told him. He nodded. We exchanged numbers, we hugged again, and he walked away. Michael walked up behind me hugging me from behind. Nori and Janessa looked at me and I glared at them, they could read that I was telling them to be quiet.

Damien:

“So, who is this girl that you are keeping from me?” Nylah said. Laying on my bed with her feet on the wall. “Nobody, just a little bitch I’m fucking” I told her. She laughed a little. “You like her?” She asked. I shrugged. “I mean I like the way I feel around her, but it’s not love” I said honestly. “What is love to you D?” She asked. I shrugged. “I don’t know, like some real vibe type shit, homies and lovers” I said. She started to get up and face me. “Well you love me?” She asked. I looked at her for a while. “Yes, I do” I said. She smiled. “Like a friend, like a sister, like a girlfriend?” She asked. I sighed. “I just love you, I mean I’d beat anybody ass for you, and kill for you, and like die for you type love” I said to her. She looked at me and then looked down, “I love you too”. We looked at each other for a minute, next thing I know we was making out on the bed.

 “I um, I’m sorry La-La” I said to Nylah. She was putting back on her clothes. “Don’t be sorry” She said smiling. I smirked at her, “What are we, what is this?” She asked. I sighed, “Let me think for a minute” I told her. I walked up to her and kissed her. “I got you La and you got me, but if my moms find out we just had sex, you going to Nori’s room” I told her laughing. My phone buzzed, and I see I had a text from Kristen. “I’m outside, back yard.” I read. “I’m be back” I told Nylah. She nodded and grabbed her stuff to take a shower. I ran downstairs and went out the back door. I looked to see if Vada and Michael could see us, but their blinds were closed in the guest house. “Oh you making house visits now Ms. Madison?” I asked folding my arms. She looked at me. “I couldn’t think about our last encounter and I’m sorry for leading you on, can we please just move forward?” She asked. I inhaled deeply and nodded. “Sure whatever” I said. She looked at me shocked. “Really?” She asked. I nodded. “Yeah so you can get gone now” I told her. She stood there. “I um, I missed you” She said smiling at me. “Nah, we not doing this, you good fam you can go fuck the older version of me, and shit” I told her. She started coming on to me, doing that kissing on me shit. I was starting to fall for it. “He said you good!” I heard my grandma Rudy say. We both jumped. “Get your old ass away from my grandson bitch” Grandma Rudy said. She came out there with her henny bottle, and a blunt. Kristen ran off. “Spill it” She said to me sitting at the back-porch table. “I um, Nah you don’t want to hear it” I said to her. She gave me a stern look. “She’s my teacher, we were messing around until I found out she’ dad’s girl”. She started chugging her henny. “I aint drunk enough for this shit” She said getting up. “I aint gon say nothing to you knuckle head ass daddy, lets go inside”. She said to me. I walked upstairs, and I came in my room. “Want to go again?” Nylah said smiling at me. Now I know I got the juice, but damn these females go crazy for D’s D. “Let’s just chill tonight” I told her. She started laughing and nodded.

  MJ:

 I was up fixing a snack in the Kitchen, I couldn’t sleep since Danielle left place. My mom been out late these last 2 nights like she’s some 20-year-old girl what the fuck is going on in here. “Hey baby” My grandma said. “Hey Grandma Rudy”. I said. She was walking all over the place stumbling. She went to the radio set in the corner of the living room and started playing Boys 2 men “Let is Snow”. She started swaying around. “This my shit!” I nodded and laughed. “Alright grandma lets get you to bed” I said. She shook her head. “Can you take me to Charles house?” She asked. I groaned. “Alright let’s take you to your man’s house”. She packed a bag that she called a “Dick Appointment bag”, my grandma be tripping man. We got in my car and started driving, Charles lived just 35minutes away. “Where Dani?” She asked me. “Um with her family” I said. She nodded. “I’m happy yall still together even after you tried to get back with Gia”. She told me. I shook my head. “Let’s not bring that up grandma” I told her. “What? I’m glad you decided to end that break yall had to go back to her” She said. I shrugged. “I think She’s cheating on me Grandma, she been hiding shit staying out all night” I said to her. She looked at me. “That’s cause you think when yall had that break she fucked around on you too, sometimes women just need a man to be there, you got to be there” She told me. We talked a little bit before I dropped her off. I sat in the drive way of Charles house before I thought about what she said. I drove to Douglasville to Dani’s fam’s house to see her and my kids. When I pulled up at the house, I seen her, and some nigga laughing in the window. I was so fucking mad I wanted to drive through that damn house. “Fuck this!” I banged on the door. The door opened revealing my wife. Her smile went to a scared look. “Malcom, what are you doing here, I told you I’d be back tomorrow” She said. I laughed. “You up here with that nigga with my kids Dani!” I yelled. She shook her head. “Malcom please he’s my cousin” She snapped. “Man fuck you” I said. I got in my car and drove to some place familiar. I knocked on the door. “MJ what are you doing here?” Gia asked. “Can I crash here?” I asked. She nodded and let me in.

Characters:

Omari: Now (Lance Gross)

Mack: (Quavo)

[saturnmyg]

GANGSTA INTRO

Min yoongi x Mafia!reader

warnings : violence, drug abuse, cussing 

genre: angst, fluff, romance, drama

word count: 1,624

character profile 

summary: Min yoongi aka Agust D an underground rapper on the come up , finds y/n outside of a club hurt and on the verge on passing out, little did he know saving her would turn his world upside down

AN: hey hey hey! this is my first bts x reader fic i’m kinda excited!!!, english is not my first language so please be nice with the critic! i had my friend matt proof read this so to make sure that i didn’t make any mistakes. this is going to be be multi chaptered, ill try to update once and if i can twice a week so i still have time to write one shots! also this one is more of an introduction but there is a teeny bit of yoongi x reader interaction at the end of this fic. hope you have fun reading this- sora 

@josh-the-smol-bean-dun wanted me to tag them when the chapter comes out so here it is dear!  

 Intro           chapter one 

Sighed y/n walked into the living room,  the evening sun illuminating her friends brown skin who was laying on the couch playing with her phone.

''Wheres your sis' y/n asked the short haired girl

.’'She has a game , supposedly shell be pitching for all nine innings.’’ came a lazy reply. One would think that for twins they would be similar which turned out it wasn't the case all. 

while rukiya had the same face as her sister imara they couldn't be more different Imara was the bubbly, popular one who loved sports and early mornings ,while her sister was more stoic, cynic, a homebody who loved to sleep and watch tv.

 Don't misunderstand rukiya was popular too but it was more that people were drawn to her because of her good looks and ''mysterious'' aura instead of her personality. ‘’By the way akiho sent me a message that said we should be at 9pm at sin city’’ said the girl.

 ‘’Well lets hope there wont be a brawl or she's going to lose her job’’ came a muffled reply from y/n as she was taking off her hoodie.

’’If that happens she's going to kill ya you know''

y/n laughed ‘’ill burn that bridge when i get to it.’’ 

‘’don't you mean cross the bridge when you get to it?’’ rukiya asked confused ‘’i like the sound of burning a bridge better, kinda dramatic don't you think?.’’ y/n said. 

 Rukiya rolled her eyes at that ‘’anyways hyun-jin cant come she has a date night with her girlfriend but if something comes up we can call her’’

 ‘’aight aight’’ said y/n and walked towards the kitchen. Today's mission wasn't really that big or important just a meeting with a low grade gangster who thought he was slick by running his business in the streets that was obviously y/n's territorial.  

As she arrived in the kitchen she immediately took out some vegetables, meat , noodles and started to cook. Thirty minutes later she took out two plates , placed them on the table and called rukiya to come to the table. The tall girl  plopped on the chair not bothered to sit upright and started to shovel in. ‘’your food really is the best’’

 y/n frowned ‘’stop talking with your mouth full you're going to-’’ rukiyas coughing interrupted her , sighed walked over and hit her on the back several times and sat back down ‘’from the way your scarfing down that food someone might think you haven't eaten for days’’ 

Rukiya looked at y/n ‘’you know damn well that akiho  cant cook and hyun-jin has a girlfriend who cooks for her the whole time’’ 

 Y/n raised one eyebrow ‘’and your point is?’’ she asked

 ‘’I'm trying to preserver just in case that day comes’’ rukiya shuddered , to be fair akihos cooking was disastrous how she always managed to mess up a simple recipe was a mystery to y/n 

‘’You do realize that i cook most of the times?’’ 

‘’exactly most of the time which means theres a time where you don’’ rukiya replied. ‘

’Gosh what would y'all do without me’’ she sighed , stood up and started to collect the dishes and walked into the kitchen

 ‘’we'd probably be dead’’ came rukiyas voice from the living room who was still sitting at the table

‘’anyways-’’ she continued ‘’ I'm going to take a shower start getting ready.’’ 

‘’Aight aight heard ya don't use all my shampoo tho its from lush and was expensive as fuck!!’’ Y/n replied as she was putting the dishes into the dishwasher. She walked back into the living room looking for any mess that needed to be cleaned up. The apartment was simple. The walls were painted white , there were a few decorations on the walls , mostly paintings that either y/n or praveena  hyun-jins girlfriend drew. 

Pictures frames were scattered everywhere around the apartment some with people  that were long gone or not involved in her life anymore some with her current friends . A red couch was to be seen on the left side of the living room with a tv and  a small zen table that had a vase full of sunflowers that were withered. 

‘’I need to throw them away-’’ y/n thought as she spotted them. ‘’Maybe ill go by the florist tomorrow when everything goes well tonight.’’ she continued.  She decided that shed throw them away another day as she simply didn't feel like doing it at the moment and walked out of the living room straight to her bedroom. 

Turned on the light, opened the wardrobe and took out a pair of black jeans and a black sweatshirt. ‘’too much black?’’ she asked herself and chuckled remembering how once akiho told her ‘’that you couldn't go wrong with black even if it means you're head to toe dressed in it.’’ She quickly got dressed, took a hairband and pulled her hair into a low ponytail. Brooding over tonights plan she didn't notice the tall girl standing in her doorway 

‘’you kinda remind me of those ninjas or spies from the movies.’’ Y/n jumped

 ‘’Holy mother of fuck, can you stop doing that you're going to give me an heart attack’’ she wheezed her hand on her chest trying to calm herself down. Rukiya chuckled and revealed her pearl white teeth.

 ‘’ I'm called panther for a reason’’ 

‘’ok first stop that cuz you look creepy as fuck right now and secondly i gave you that name when i was drunk as hell but for some reason it stuck with you’’ 

‘’ah yes-’’ rukiya replied , her hand on her chin looking up as if that would help recollect the memories of said night. ‘’That was at the freshmen frat party wasn't it? didn't you-’’ 

‘’we don't talk about that night’’ y/n interrupted and grimaced ‘’just like how barton and Romanov don't talk about Budapest, which i still wanna know what happened  but i digress’’ she continued. 

‘’Anyways i'm ready lets hit the road i want to check out the fuckers before we officially meet’’ rukiya smirked and dangled the car keys. They both put on their shoes and walked out the door. Similar to y/n rukiya was wearing black pants with a dark purple hoodie with a black beanie on top. They arrived at the car , y/n sat into the passengers seat while rukiya walked around the car and sat into the drivers seat.

 ‘’Please for the love of god , just for once drive safely’’ y/n said. 

‘’The hell do you mean i always drive safely’’ rukiya replied while lifting an eyebrow 

‘’uhm no remember how you almost ran over that old lady at a crossroad? Or the time where you almost crashed into the car in front of us? god its like you're playing need for speed or something’’ y/n countered back. 

‘’Aight granny-’’ y/n playfully glared at her ‘’ at least let me pick out the music.’’ ‘’Yeh whatever we have the same music taste so sure go ahead.’’

The sun has already gone down, taking with her the bustling and business of people trying to get to their destination. The sky was painted dark blue, speckled with stars that could faintly be seen because of the city lights. the window rolled down as the summer wind blew into her face. Yn truly loved summer, the time where all types of people came out a night to gather and drink, talk have fun together and just live life. ‘’How ironic’’ she thought and scoffed bitterly. 

Here she was , on her way to something that could lead into a blood bath while people around her wont be knowing whats going on in the shady parts of Seoul. ‘’We've arrived’’ came Rukiya's voice pulling y/n out of her thoughts. 

She unclasped the seat belt , reached to the backseat and fished out a backpack. ‘’We cant take the whole backpack with us so you gotta hide the guns and knives on your body’’ said y/n.

 Rukiya nodded absentmindedly while storing a few pocket knives into her holster around her forearm.

 They got out of the car, locked it and started to walk towards the club. Already from a far you could see people lining up to get inside. ‘’Apparently theres this rap battle going on and a few famous underground rappers are here’’  Rukiya said and lifted her eyebrows looking excitedly at y/n  ‘’we’re here for work’’ she reminded the tall girl . ‘’Honestly i could give a rats ass about work’’  ‘’me too but if they continue to do this bullshit in our district what do you think will that say about our group?’’ Y/n countered. 

‘’Yeh yeh whatever you say boss.’’ 

They arrived at the front door of the club where a big buffy security guard was standing ‘’business again?’’ he asked, his voice being almost drown from the beat that could be heard till outside.

 ‘’As usual’’ y/n replied. He stood aside and opened the door, just as they were passing y/n saw a boy that had striking mint blue hair . 

He was leaning against the wall next to the security guard holding a cigarette , dressed in black skinny jeans a white shirt and gold chains.  As she met his eyes, that seemed to be darker than the night, she saw that he was smirking as if he knew what kind of effect he had on people. She scoffed and rolled her eyes, she couldn't believe it! the nerve he had to be smirking at her like that. Unknowingly to her he continued to stare at her as her figure vanished as she stepped into the the club.

part two tba next week!  

[chilly-territory]

Gangsta: Death of Anosmic Stray Dogs, epilogue

And with this, the novel is over. The original Japanese text was kindly provided by valgerdrgodiforseti. Thanks for reading!

Gangsta: Death of Anosmic Stray Dogs by Kawabata Junichi

Epilogue (pages 221-229)

Trouble remained troublesome to the last, and, like in some kind of a vicious circle, trouble called even more trouble. In other words, the Benriya still had to deal with the two dead bodies. Such was the promise they had made with the Monroe family.

That said, they couldn't possibly haul the corpses with their throat or head dyed in conspicuous red on their backs to their office.

For the time being, Worick sat back on the couch where the nice guy, his suit rearranged to be even more gaudy, slept, and downed what was left in the whiskey bottle. About the time he was finished emptying his shot glass, a single car stopped at the entrance to the garbage dump. It was nighttime and this was a godforsaken back alley. Worick had already guessed from the engine sound that was all too loud in the silence that the car was an old-fashioned sedan.

The city's cleaning crew had arrived.

The old garbage collector got out of the car and, thrusting one hand in his pocket, started on his brazen approach. Worick, having put the glass on the armrest, got up to welcome him with a smile.

"Well, well, Chad-san, working overtime can't be good for your old bones." "You're the last bastard I wanna hear that from. Damn, whose fault d'you think it is?" "Oh, I wouldn't know. At the very least, not mine. Besides, Chad-san, we can't really let you clean up these particular bodies."

They were clamoring a little louder than what your usual expressions of thugs' tough love sounded, so Worick had fully expected this old dog with a perfectly working nose to show up here. He had an ulterior motive for hoping for the inspector's arrival, that being his wanting to push the troublesome chore of reporting what happened on the old man.

Chad shrugged his shoulders.

"Has to do with the Monroe family, right? I was told to give you best regards." "I see. Great timing then. These are the presents to Monroe-san. Can I trouble you to wrap them up in gift wrapping?"

When Worick asked that, Chad put a hand on his hip and made a face of utter annoyance.

"Please, papa." "Shut up, damn brat." 'Please, papa.'

Chad whipped around, to find Nicolas sticking out his tongue, which prompted the good inspector launch his clenched fist at the Twilight. Nicolas nimbly sidestepped it, but hastily put his hands up when he saw Chad taking out a revolver from his breast pocket.

The inspector breathed out a long heavy sigh.

"I've already made arrangements for packing up this parcel. In a few minutes, a cute subordinate of mine with bags under his eyes will arrive." "That's good to hear. Your capable newbies have it rough, as always." "None of them has any balls, I gotta say. In fact, they change so frequently that I've no time to memorize their names." 'That must be your age taking toll though? You should consider retiring asap.'

Chad glared daggers at Nicolas, but made no move to administer a physical rebuke this time. Instead, he opted to survey the two dead bodies, shifting his gaze from one to the other.

"2 presents, I take it?" "Yeah. Since they're gifts to Monroe-san, be sure to wrap them up in something suitably stylish." "Shuddup," Chad spat out. "If you're so concerned about appearances, first do something about those outrageous stripes. He'd look better in the nude than in those."

Finished, Chad returned to his car.

Worick smiled lopsidedly and waved his hand, "True, that."

On the way back, Worick left Nicolas in Theo's clinic and collected the two's belongings, as well as the violets that were put into the flower vase. Nina's expression turned troubled, but she didn't ask anything. Yes, she really was a good smart girl who would become a great woman one day. In exchange for the violets, Worick handed her some eustomas that he had bought on the way. He had a feeling that presenting her flowers sold in the middle of the night could drag her worth down, but Nina took them with a sincere smile on her face.

Next day, Worick got a call from Chad, informing him that the wrapping of two presents had been over and that he was expected to enclose a card and send them to the addressee already. Worick added the two's belongings and enclosed the violets he took from the sickroom, wrapping them as prettily as he could. Miles, who came to fetch the package as the Monroe family's errand boy, threw a suspicious glance at the flowers but didn't dig, only saying, "Good job."

What kind of face Daniel Monroe would make when he learned that the objective of the mafia slayers was but one girl who was already dead, at that? Worick tried to imagine it but gave up with a wry smile for the meaninglessness of it.

To that man, this case was nothing special. The mafia killings had undermined the equilibrium somewhat, but it had already been fixed. And besides, truly wise men knew that hopeless fools did exist.

This city wasn't a place where a couple of dogs could really make a difference, in any case. That fact applied both to the two outsiders and to Worick and Nicolas.

Tags couldn't even count on an individual grave, only a random hole in the ground they would be thrown into carelessly in piles. It was all too likely that those two would share the same fate. That was the way to die they had chosen. Results-wise, the biggest difference their deaths were able to make was to usurp a few dozens of seconds of the news-time, and that was it.

In hindsight, for the Benriya, this whole affair wasn't a big deal.

They just lent their bed to a woman for only slightly longer than usual and then got to know a very strange duo for a very short time. One half of the duo, a man of small stature, hopelessly lacked taste and was prone to forgetting most things. The other half, a youth with a pretty face, was timid and knew freedom, if only the tiniest bit. And that was all.

Worick could recall everything that happened to them to the last detail, but there was no deeper meaning to it. The layout of the furniture at the garbage dump and the value of information was still unchanged.

The air humidity levels got somewhat more tolerable though. A few more days, and the odor of the dogs would disappear.

With the money he had received from Miles as a pay, Worick bought another bundle of flowers. After only a short agonizing while, he picked pink tulips. A bit too childish, perhaps, but he had a feeling that the girl they were meant for would be happier to receive something like that. What's more, the tulips' quiet, docile fragrance was a good fit.

He laid those flowers at a public cemetery, with its murky puddles of still water here and there, just like in the back streets of this city. Closing his eyes, Worick recounted what became of the request, and with this, he was finally freed from this case.

He returned to the office with resolute determination not to move another muscle today.

First, he took a long shower, washing away the smells of blood, perfume, other things that he could no longer tell apart. When he exited the bathroom, the mirror reflected the scars below his neck. They were so thin and pale now that if one didn't know they were there, it was almost impossible to notice them, and in another week they would heal completely, disappearing without a trace.

Worick just finished wiping down his body and changing when the phone rang.

The blond Benriya left the house with quick strides, rolling up his sleeves as he went.

"Geez, we're still dead tired from yesterday's affair, for crying out loud, can't she show a little consideration?" 'Didn't you say no work today?' Next to him, Nicolas, thoroughly wrapped up in bandages, signed in displeasure with rough gestures of his hands. "It's a request from Granny Joel. Can't have smokes prices skyrocket," Worick flashed a troubled smile. 'Not again.' "Yeah, they just don't learn." 'I told you before, just let me loop off their limbs already.’ "Oh c'mon, don't be so eager. It's our valuable source of income, after all. When we're done, let's go grab something yummy to eat." 'I have a better suggestion.' "What is it?" 'Let me handle collecting the pay this time.'

With that, the corners of Nicolas' lips lifted up in a grin as he kicked off the ground powerfully, going on ahead with leaps far faster than the speed Worick could hope to keep up with.

"Ah! Hey, partner! Stealing a march on me again?! That's not cool!" 'You're just too slow. Don't rush it, just catch up whenever.'

Worick scratched his head and broke into a run, chasing Nicolas who looked like a child with his katana bobbing up and down with every jump.

En route, the edge of Worick's vision registered a glimpse of a skinny stray dog sitting in a back alley. The sight revived the picture on the hood of a too stylish car for a second.

Worick's head never forgot anything. He could remember in vivid details the comically exaggerated sneer on the face of the now destroyed dog, as well as the crooked smile its owner flashed in his last moments. When he thought that those images would probably float in his mind's eye every time he saw a stray dog now, he smiled a tiny smile, as if prompted by them.

← to chapter 5

[train-whistles-at-night]

Lmao im a dumbass and accidentally deleted the ask this went to but i still have the answers oH WELL HERE WE GO ANYWAY @anakinkshamer​ Without further ado this is all the asks on that one post, for Hooker Green. (Under a cut to save space and not clog up everyone’s dashboards.)

1. Are they a good liar?

Depends on the lie. White lies? Sure. Big ones, nope. He get’s nervous and shifts around a lot and usually doesn’t make eye contact.

2. Thoughts on tattoos, piercings?

A+++ He has an eyebrow peircing and I think some ear piercings I never draw? Also he thinks tattoos are hella (and tbh a weakness of his lmao) but he doesn’t have any of his own.

3. In which historic era would they like to live?

hfdskhg iDK MY DUDE. He likes now. Idk maybe he’d like to see what the 1920s were like or maybe thats just my general love for the 1920s speaking.

4. Do they like to watch movies? Read books?

He loves watching movies. When he can keep his attention focused or smth he’ll try reading, but he’s not as big on it.

5. How do they act when they are sick?

Lazy afffffffff. He whines for Sunglow to come take care of him 100% of the time when he’s sick.

6. Thoughts on one night stands?

AHAHA Well he’s participated in them, so he’s certainly not against them. He legit just is like, yknow, wear a condom and shit. Don’t be stupid.

7. Are they funny?

Yep, whether he means to be or not he’s p funny sometimes.

8. Are they scared easily?

I wouldn’t think so, no.

9. Are they stubborn?

He can be, depending on the topic. Most times he give tf up and just lets the other person think they’re right, even if he knows he’s right.

10. What would they do if they found out their best friend was cheating on their boyfriend/girlfriend ?

”Dude what the fUCK QUIT THAT SHIT. You know that’s gonna end in hell for all three of you by the end of it if you keep it up.” And generally kinda. Doesn’t let them forget what they’re doing is shitty.

11. Thoughts on abstinence? He’s cool if they want to do it, he didn’t though.

12. What would they do if their best friend told them they were doing drugs?

”Cool, whatever you want. Just either don’t do that hard shit, kay? Or at least keep it from me, I’m good w/ just smoking pot”

13. If they drank a truth serum what would they say? What’s their biggest secret?

”Sometimes it really frustrates me that I never feel romantic love for people, I’d love to be in a relationship, but I can’t give love back the way they’d want.”

14. How would they take if their friend, family member, lover died?

Sob. A lot. A not get over it for a long time. He doesn’t take loss easy.

15. Do they smoke?

Weed? Yep.

Cigarettes? Nope.

16. Do they worry about physical appearance too much?

Nope, not really.

17. Most extreme thing they’ve done?

I mean? One night stands and smoking pot is really as bad as he gets? He’s drove drunk and stuff before when he knew he shouldn’t? Idk he’s not really that bad.

18. How are they under pressure?

P okay I guess??? Idk he could be a lot worse. He gets a little shaky, but he can more or less hold it together if he needs to.

19. How would they react if they saw someone on the street being robbed?

Grab the robber if he could, if he couldn’t, he’d at least tell the police

20. How would they react if one day their best friend or boyfriend/girlfriend woke up and it turns out he/she has amnesia?

Be really sad tbh, but y’know kinda try to help jog their memory if he could.

21.Thoughts on anal sex?

A+ 10/10 in his opinion, but y’know, if ur not down w/ it thats ur deal and he’ll respect that.

22. One thing they would never ever do, under any circumstances?

I answered another one with a different answer, so another one is rape, or just generally take advantage of anyone like that. He couldn’t even force himself to if it’d keep him alive.

23. Do they have any sexual fantasizes?

Yep yep.

24. Most weird place they had sex?

Not His House. Like at a party. Idk it weirds him out to have sex in a place he’s not familiar with.

25. If they can meet anyone on this earth, dead or alive, who would they want to meet?

Maybe his granny. People always talk about her in a good manner, but she died before he was born.

26. Would they rather travel to past or the future?

Future, I’d think.

27. In what movie, book, tv series would they enter if they could?

Harry Potter. Magic is cool af.

28. What would they do if they won the lottery?

He wouldn’t know what the fuck to do w/ the money. Mainly I think he’d help Wenge and his friends and family. Then put the rest in a bank. Bc otherwise I don’t think he’d know what to do with it.

29. Who do they love more, mom or dad?

Momma. Not that he doesn’t love his dad, just his dad was at work more, so he spent more time w/ Momma.

30. If they are on the deserted island and they see a box, what would they like to be in that box?

A way to get home.

31, How do they express their love towards friends and family? (Presents, words, actions?)

Actions when he can. Otherwise, words.

32. Who is the most important person in their life?

Wenge tbh?? Idk he’s just? Been through a lot w/ Wenge.

33. What powers would they like to have?

Healing powers.

34. Do they like to travel?

Nah, he likes being at home.

35. Where do they travel most often?

To mom and dad’s house, or to Wenge’s. Though that’s not really traveling. The biggest traveling he does is to a lake most people don’t visit. He kinda sits by himself for a bit an smokes and thinks n whatnot.

36. How much luggage do they carry?

Just what he knows he’ll need.

37. Favourite transportation?

Walking. Or a car if it’s Long Distance.

38. Do they have a life motto? Or just a quote they really love?

”Take me as I am, or watch me as I go.”

39. Favourite season?

The spot inbetween Fall and Winter when all the good things and parades happen.

40. Favourite holiday?

Thanksgiving. He loves the warmth and family attitude that comes with it.

41. Do they and how do they work out?

Nope. So N/A I guess.

42. Do they sleepwalk?

Nah.

43. What’s their astrology sign? (You can do a test here)

Cancer

44. What’s their temperament? (You can do a test here)

Phlegmatic

45. What’s their personality type? (You can do a test here )

INFP

46. What’s their strongest intelligence? (You can do a test here)

Nature w/ a 4.57

47. Do they know how to ice skate?

I mean, probably not but he wouldn’t find it that hard to learn.

48. Where was their favourite and where their worst vacation?

Fave - To see cousins states away

Worst - A different time they went to see their cousins so much shit went wrong he gets mad thinking about it

49. Do they have a bad sexual experience?

I mean? Yeah, of course. Everyone who has sex does at some point. It just wasn’t major. More like, it just didn’t work or no one had an orgasm or they had a fight or something idk.

50. Do they masturbate?

Yeah, sometimes. Not as often now as he used to.

51. Biggest regret?

Not being able to help more.

52. How do they dress?

Comfy mainly. If looks can be added, cool. But mainly just for comfort.

53. Who was their childhood love?

He didn’t have one.

54. What they wanted to be when they grow up?

I don’t know. Maybe a zoologist.

55. Who in their family do they like the most?

Momma.

56. Did they ever did something in school they were grounded for?

Yeah of course. Probably snuck out.

57. Thoughts on abortion?

To each their own just don’t hurt others for disagreeing.

58. Biggest adventure?

He’s on it fam, being a god father.

59. How they react when someone offends their friend/boyfriend/sibling?

He get’s defensive.

60. How would they react if they found out they were pregnant?

”Well.. This is a.. Predicament. To say the least.”

61. Who would they tell first about the pregnancy?

Sunglow probably?

62. Do they pay with cash or credit card?

Cash, mainly bc he never remembers if he has money on his credit card.

63. Best childhood memory?

Going to a waterpark during summer w/ some cousins.

64. Worst childhood memory?

Idk probably like?? Something that happened at school. People are dicks.

65. Are they scared easily?

I think I said no already.

66. Did they tried weed?

Multiple times fam lmao

67. Did they try more serious drugs?

Nahhh

68. Quirks?

He taps drumbeats on stuff when thinking

Talks to plants

Can recite the alphabet backwards w/ out fucking it up

69. Pet peeves?

Saying “Let there be light” every time any light switch is flipped on.

People who read over your shoulder on public transportation.

Suburban kids who think they are gangstas.

70. Do they have phobia?

Scared of spiders, cockroaches, and things flying in his face

71. Do they have any mania?

Nah I don’t think so.

72. Are they allergic to something?

Nope, not currently.

73. Do they sing in the shower?

I think he hums maybe, but not outright sings and belts a song.

74. What are they most embarrassed about?

His lack of romantic love.

75. Favourite art?

Starry Night probably. It’s makes him feel happy.

76. Who they call when their car breaks in the middle of nowhere?

His dad.

77. With whom did they lose their virginity and where?

His best friend in highschool. In their house, not his. I think he actually id get teary-eyed if not actually crying during/after. Wasn’t bc he was sad, just bc so many thoughts ran through his head at the time and it was all a little overwhelming.

78. How would they react if someone tried to rob them?

Punch the dick in the fucking face.

79. Did they have any family tradition when they were young?

Mhm. Visit cousins and other family every Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

80. Do they cry at weddings?

Depends on the wedding. If it’s someone close like Sunglow or Family, of course. He’s a teary-eye’d mes. But they’re good, happy tears.

81. Who do they like to spend more time with, significant other or friends?

Friends. Doesn’t have a significant other and he doesn’t want one.

82. What’s their theme song? Some Hozier song, but I’m not entirely sure which? Hooker Green just has a very Hozier kind of feel. Perhaps Like Real People Do would be it?

Relationship Questions

1. Did they ever give/received a blowjob? Yep, he’s gave and recieved one. 2. When did they say they love each other? He says platonic ‘i love you’s all the time, but when he kinda? Meant it was to Wenge, when they kind of figured out this was gonna be a regular thing. 3. Favourite memory with a boyfriend/girlfriend? Look okay, Wenge is/was the closest thing he’s gonna have to a boyfriend. Anyway, favorite memory is probably laying around with Wenge, probably after it was very established they were good friends, best friends even, and Hooker Green could’ve called Wenge anytime for his Services and not have to pay, but he still did. They laid together on Hooker Green’s bed and talked for a long, long time before Hooker Green began to get sleepy and passed out in Wenge’s arms. He still remembers it, and thinks fondly on it often. 4. Biggest fight? Hooker Green is usually very non-confrontational, and avoids fights when he can. The worst fight he’s gotten into was when he was younger, someone said in public about how ‘that brown guy deserved it, the little bitch. He should’ve enjoyed it, getting that dick like he did, he’s a whore anyway..” among other things. Hooker Green stood up to him, and when the guy punched him, Hooker Green punched right fucking back. It escalated from them as you can imagine, and while I don’t have all the details worked out, I can assure you that Hooker Green won. 5. Who usually starts the fight? Other people. Like I said Hooker Green is super con-confrontational.

6. What do they mostly fight about? Hooker Green and Wenge specifically? Minor things, it never lasts long.

7. Who is most likely to cool off and forgive first after the fight? Hooker Green. He avoids fights any time he can, and likes making up better than arguing. 8. Who pays the wedding? They’re not in a relationship, I want to make that very clear. Most of these questions are hypothetical. But they would pay together. 9. Where will they have they wedding? And when? It’d be a small backyard wedding. Outside Hooker Green’s home because there’s much more greenery and forest-type of things back there.  After 5 years of being together. 10. What kind of dress will the bride be wearing? Hooker Green would be wearing the dress tbh Tea length illusion cap sleeves lace tulle rustic A-line wedding dress so this one: http://www.luckybridals.com/tea-length-illusion-cap-sleeves-lace-tulle-rustic-a-line-wedding-dress-768.html 11. How old will they be? Uhh Hooker Green would’ve been about 27-28 and Wenge would’ve been about 30-31 12. How will he purpose? At home, after just spending the day together, no sex or nothin it’d probably when they were laying together, he pulls out the box and sits them both up and with nervous mind and shaky hands, pulls out the box and asks quietly if he would marry him hooker green wouldn’t be able to hide his smile if he tried when he hugged him and said yes. 13. How many kids will they have? Does Cotton Candy count? bc 1 then. 14. Who will kids love more? Their kid? Wenge probably? Only a teeny tiny bit more. Other kids, Hooker Green. 15. When did they meet each other’s parents and how? Wenge met Hooker Green’s about 2 and a half years after meeting him Hooker Green met Wenge’s a few months after meeting him 16. How do your character parents get along with his/hers boyfriend/girlfriend? They get along really well on both sides 17. How do your character parents get along with his/hers boyfriend/girlfriend’s parents? Get along a little less, but overall really well too 18. Who cries over movies? Depends on the movie, if it’s enough, both cry. Hooker Green is more likely to cry, though. 19. Who starts the snowball fight? Wenge! He’s a silly dude. 20. Who is friendlier with neighbours? Hooker Green. Wenge is still a little anxious sometimes. 21. Who is more jealous? Also Wenge. He’s a bit nervous of the possibility of Hooker Green leaving him sometimes. 22. Where did they had sex first? Hooker Green’s house. When was the first night they met. 23. Who worries more about wedding plans? Wenge. Hooker Green is positive things would go fine, as long as they had each other. 24. Who would decorate the house? Mostly Wenge. It’s a beautiful forest-y kind of feel when they’re done.

25. Who cooks? Wenge probably. Hooker Green helps, though!

26. Who is more organized? Wenge out of habit. Can’t do what his job was without being organized.

27. Who initiates things in the bedroom? Hooker Green. Wenge was always asked if he would come over so they could go for it.

28. How often do they had sex? *shrugs* Like???? At least 2-3 times a month????????? I Don’t Know.

39. What’s the craziest place they had sex? In the living room. *shrugs* they’re not public-sex type of people.

30. Favourite non sexual activity? Hooker Green’s would be if they laid together an got high, just talking about whatever. Or going out to movies.

31. Who kills spider and all the bugs? Wenge. Hooker Green doesn’t like killing things.

32. Who drinks more? Eh, neither really? Wenge thought about drinking away the problem, but never went through with it.

33. Who steals blanket in the middle of the night? Wenge probably. He Needs to be warm.

34. Who is more romantic? Probably would be Hooker Green but mainly just bc sometimes out of no where he’d bring home flowers for Wenge bc they made him think of him.

35. Who falls asleep first? Hooker Green tbh. Sleepy boy.

36. Who wakes up first? Also Hooker Green. Early to bed, early to rise. He likes watching the sunrise.

37. Who takes care of chores around the house and waters the plants? Hooker Green! He’s really good with plants.

38. Who reads bedtime stories to the kids? They take turns, but Wenge does it more often

39. Who experiments more? In general normal life: Hooker Green Sexually: Wenge By Far.

40. Who is louder? Normal life: Wenge but not by much Sexually: Hooker Green. By no means a ‘screamer’ but he’s vocal and makes his opinions heard by Wenge

41. Who is more of a risktaker? Wenge I guess. Hooker Green would rather stay in a pattern while Wenge is open to the schedule changing. Sometimes. Not really after the Incident.

42. Who is more patient? They’re both patient. But I guess Hooker Green because Wenge gets twitchy and nervous after waiting long enough for something, especially after the Thing.

43. Do they have some kind of rituals? Morning rituals. Hooker Green makes some warm morning drink, it might be coffee. But with a lot of creamer and sugar and a splash of milk. He hates it black. He takes it to the porch in the spring and fall with a jacket or blanket and wakes up with it. Wenge gets up when his body lets him, goes to the bathroom, brushes his teeth and watches morning cartoons with CC or some other show if she’s not awake yet.

44. Who makes all the travel plans, books the tickets and packs the suitcase? Wenge, but mainly because Hooker Green doesn’t like traveling much at all.

45. Where do they go on honeymoon? God I can’t imagine them Going Anywhere. Maybe?? A town or 2 over? Where they’d just get away from stuff for a bit.

46. Who likes to take pictures more? Hooker Green. Most all of ‘em go up on his IG when they come home.

47. When they are going together somewhere, who is driving? Hooker Green, steadier hands.

48. What kind of presents do they buy? Simple stuff. Or food related little gifts. Lil snacks n stuff.

49. First thing they noticed about boyfriend/girlfriend? Their Colors(tm) but also Wenge noticed Hooker Green’s hairstyle and Hooker Green noticed his like, his face in general, but specifically his eyes. They set him easy.

50. Do they lie in the relationship? Nope, first thing they made clear was to not lie, especially if they were uncomfortable.

51. Do their boyfriend/girlfriend turn around after other people on the street? If so, how do they react? Eh? Not really considering they aren’t really dating tbh. An even then it’s usually men they turn at and they actually discuss if he was cute from their glance at him lmao

52. Would they forgive an adultery? No, probably not, depends on the situation.

53. Would they confess an adultery? Noo?? But neither have been married so?????

54. Have they ever fantasized about someone else during sex? Who? Yes, I’m sure they have, but they’re also Not An Actual Couple sooooo? HG was a ‘crush’ he had at the time and Wenge doesn’t really fantasize about anyone else, he keeps his mind occupied on pleasing whom he’s with at the moment.

55. Do they take showers together? Sometimes, yes.

56. Who is their inspiration for love? Not TV Stars. Wenge’s parents are his inspiration. HG’s are probably his own parents lmao

57. Perfect date? Later at night, walk around town holding hands, maybe get something to eat (tbh like pizza or Mcdonalds or smth lmao), and come home and lay together and talk and fall asleep together.

58. How they spend anniversaries? More or less doing that lmao. Less walks around town at night but still def the pizza thing and laying and talking together. They watch movies on their ‘anniversary’

59. Favourite date? Maybe their ‘first’ one. It was just?? Weird and special and nice tbh?? They kissed a lot and tbh planned to have sex but never got around to it lmao. They ended up getting sleepy before they could and just fell asleep together on HG’s bed.

60. In what moment did they realized that they love each other? When they woke up the next morning from that first date and saw the light gently slanting over them from in-between the slats of the blinds and thinking ‘i wouldn’t mind waking up next to this everyday for the rest of my life’

[londontheatre]

More Best of Barmy Britain Anthony Spargo – Credit Jane Hobson

This bit by Claudee aged 10: Last week my Grandpa told me he would take me to see Gangsta Grannie but in return, I would have to help him write a review. This seemed fair so I helped him do it. Then a few days later, he said he had tickets to see Horrible Histories which made me very excited as I love the television programmes and want to read the books. But he said you have to write another review. I didn’t expect this as I’d just done the other one but he muttered something about buses coming along in pairs which I didn’t understand but as he’s quite old, I pretended to and agreed to go to see the show and do the review so here it is:

Horrible Histories was at the Garrick Theatre in Charing Cross Road which is the same theatre that we saw Gangsta Grannie in as this was a matinée which Grandpa says was a show in the afternoon – he said it’s from the French word for morning which doesn’t really make sense as this was in the afternoon! And the strange thing was that I even sat in exactly the same seat as last week but it was a good one and I didn’t have an adult with a big head sitting in front of me so I could see everything on stage.

I was a little surprised that there were only two people in the show but they had lots of costume changes pretending to be different characters from history and they ran around the stage lots. Like Gangsta Granny there were tons of poo and fart jokes – I suppose that’s what adults think children like and as we were all laughing (including the adults), they’re probably right. There were also jokes about fish guts, people being sick and a squashed dormouse which were all very funny. Also, the actors came into the audience and got a girl on stage and put her in the stocks. I wished they’d chosen me but maybe I was too small for them to see and she did get things thrown at her.

As this was about British history, they told us all about the Vikings, Shakespeare, Dick Turpin and cholera. They also had water pistols but I was too far away to get wet which I think was a good thing. All this reviewing stuff is making me tired so Grandpa is going to finish it but before I go I want to say that my favourite bit was when they were talking about cholera in Victorian times and the actress had to drink four glasses of water that came out of a pump but the actor made her laugh and she nearly had to spit it out! The next bit is by Grandpa aged a lot more than 10:

Although I’d never seen the TV programmes or read the books, I was aware of the existence of Horrible Histories and how they educated kids about history in a way they could enjoy. The show itself was subtitled: More Best Of Barmy Britain so apart from those noted by Claudee, there were sketches about Shakespeare, the Puritans and Charles II amongst others. Some of the early sketches were a little puerile but the kids lapped them up. The sketch about Dick Turpin was done a la The Only Way Is Essex which was clever and something anyone who’s seen the programme could relate to. Also, the cholera sketch was well put together although Laura Dalgleish who was billed in the programme as Queenie but played a number of parts, nearly choked on her water when Ashley Bowden (Rex) who also played a number of parts, ad-libbed an ironic joke about finally being on the West End stage but she managed not to spit it all out – although I’m sure the kids would have loved it if she had.

The final sketch was about World War I where Dalgleish in uniform and sporting a moustache played General Haig whilst Bowden was Lord Sugar in an “The Apprentice” spoof. For me this jarred a little with the levity of the rest of the show, talking about millions of men being euphemistically referred to as “lost” – I’m not sure all the kids would have got the horror of it.

Bowden and Dalgleish worked really well together changing costume and wigs at pace, running off and on stage, singing, dancing, rapping and so Claudee informs me “dabbing” (me neither – look it up). They’re an energetic, entertaining couple and seem to have genuine on-stage chemistry.

Horrible Histories is a clever and engaging way to get kids to learn some history without it being rammed down their throats and at just 70 minutes or so in length is a good way to spend an afternoon with the kids and grandkids.

Review by Alan Fitter

This special instalment of Barmy Britain follows the sell-out successes of Barmy Britain – Parts One, Two and Three as well as last years The Best of Barmy Britain and will feature more of the horribly best bits from all past productions plus a brand new scene about Shakespeare. More Best of Barmy Britain opens on 7 August with previews from the 4 August and runs until 2 September. Tickets go on sale via Amazon Tickets pre-sale on the 24 January and will go on general sale on 30 January.

We all want to meet people from history. The trouble is everyone is dead! So it’s time to prepare yourselves for a special production of Horrible Histories featuring MORE of your favourite characters from our barmy past – and a brand new scene with wordy Will! Find out why the Romans were revolting! Could you survive the vicious Vikings? Can evil Elizabeth entertain England? Would you party with the Puritans? Clap along with crazy King Charles! Dare you stand and deliver to dastardly Dick Turpin? Vomit with the vile Victorians and prepare to do battle in the frightful First World War! It’s history with the nasty bits left in!

Birmingham Stage Company presents Horrible Histories – More Best of Barmy Britain! Written by Terry Deary and Neal Foster 4 August – 2 September 2017 Garrick Theatre

http://ift.tt/2wFjb79 LondonTheatre1.com

[jaeame-blog]

Gangsta Granny coming to Leeds | Britain S Got Talent

Celebs are always better when they're crazy. Britain's Got Talent may have only of just started, but already, Simon Cowell, 57, has reportedly got big plans for the final episodes. She cashes her paychecks from singing shows like Britain's Got Talent and The Voice and bounces into the shadows. Britain's Got Talent winner George Sampson is having a hair transplant after his trademark head spinning left him balding.

According to the Mirror, the music mogul wants to extend the use of the golden buzzer. George Sampson's says spinning on his head helped launch his career but also left him balding. Having wowed Britain's Got Talent last year, Newcastle City Hall was the setting this week for The 100 Voices of Gospel.Britain's Got Talent has seen success so far in the eleventh series of the talent competition, so show boss Simon Cowell is looking to ride the momentum to the live shows. A source explained to The Mirror: "The golden buzzer is one of the favourite elements in the audition shows. "The atmosphere when it is pressed is incredible.

Simon Cowell wants to introduce the golden buzzer to the 'Britain's Got Talent' live shows.

[mrpalmersgatewayblog-blog]

New Blog

This is the opportunity for you to post what you have done each lesson.

Remember to make it personal to what you have done, so say I and not We.

e.g. Today I did a role play with my group, and played the old woman. I had to use facial expression, voice and movement to show I was old.

NOT- Today we did a roleplay set in an old peoples home. I worked with Joe and Sam and Steve and the play we created was excellent. I enjoyed playing an old person, it was fun.

The first post tells me what you actually did and mentions some of the drama skills you used in creating your part. Obviously the more detail the better, so:

In my lesson today I had the challenge of playing an old woman. I didn't want to go for a stereotype character, so I decided she would be energetic and enjoy life. I did want to show she was older than me, so I thought about how older people moved and their stance. They tend to place their weight on both feet. I also decided to play around with voice, so the character spoke differently from my own accent. I decided to play her slightly out of breath and with a lower pitch but her tone was light and as I wanted to make her friendly, I made sure her words were just a little bit longer at the end of sentences "Hellooo" with the voice going up, a bit like a question. Physically, I decided to lower my shoulders, as gravity has an effect on older people, and to lift my head a bit. I also thought she might be affected more by the weather, so I kept rubbing my hand together every now and again, to show she was cold. I also made sure I was smiling to show her positivity and friendly outlook. The only time she was miserable, was when her daughter visited her. I then looked down at the ground. I did use direct audience address to tell the audience what I thought of my daughter, who was always bossy and disapproved of everything my character did. e.g. She's at it again. Never happy her. You'd think she'd appreciate life, but no. She's come here to moan again. I was in by 1.30am, don't know what this home was going on about, I'd fell asleep through dinner, so I walked to the Macdonalds, it's open 24 hours and I fancied some nuggets.

I am hoping to make the character appeal to a younger audience, a bit like David Walliams Gangsta Granny. Will update tomorrow, or after next lesson

[chilly-territory]

Gangsta BD4 drama translation

I did a summary of it earlier, and now this is a full script of this drama starring Nina, Nicolas and Doug with a little of Theo. The mp3 of the drama was kindly shared in fuckyeahgangsta's post.

Theo: Yeah, I want to request you to guard her for the duration of this delivery. No, it's just one place. One bodyguard is more than enough. Alright, I'm counting on you then. Nina: The equipment we additionally ordered has been delivered, so I'll put it in the storage room. Theo: Okay. Nina. Nina: Yes? Theo: Once you're done, I want you to do a delivery. For Granny Rose in District 4, her meds ran out. Looks like she will be able to visit us for an examination tomorrow, but I want you to deliver her today's share of painkillers. Nina: Understood. I'll go as soon as I'm finished. Theo: I requested a bodyguard, so take him and go. Nina: A bodyguard? Theo: District 4 is near District 6 where the recent Twilight killings took place. So this is just to be on the safe side. Unfortunately, one of the requested persons is preoccupied with a woman and can't make it, but the other should be more than enough alone. Nina: Ah, understood!

Nina: Upsie. Done! Theo: You're here. Nina: *giggles* Nico! Nic: Ah? Theo: Sorry to call you on such short notice, Benriya. Nic(signs): It's fine. Theo: Worick probably told you already, but to reiterate: I want you to guard her for this delivery. She's my invaluable nurse. If anything happens to her, there'll be hell to pay. Nic(signs): If it's a delivery, I can do by myself though? Nina: Ah, about that... The granny this delivery is for, she's, um... she doesn't handle Twilights very well, so... Theo: District 4 is Corsica's turf. It has a lot of people like Corsica himself, who have a prejudice against Tags. Well, a Tag or not, if a guy with a grim face like yours was her deliveryman, the granny's back pains would get so much worse. Nic(thinks): You're the last guy I wanna hear that from, doc. Nina: *giggles* Theo: Another thing. I want to use the afternoon for dealing with the documents that've been piling up, so don't come back until evening. Nic: *grunts* Nina(thinks): But we've got only one delivery, and it will be over fast. So it means I have his permission to play in the city, right? Hehe! Theo: Well, it's on you now. Nina: Yes, sir! Let's go, Nico!

Nina: It's been a while since I got to go out with you, Nico! Nic(signs): Has it? Nina: Yes, it has. Lately, we had an influx of visitors, so I didn't have time to go out much, and now I'm lucky! Nico, how's your injury from the other day? Nic(signs): Fine. Nina: That's good to hear! But you can't work out just yet, got it? Nic: Ugh... Nina: Nico...? You're already working out, aren't you?! Nic(signs): It's just a workout, it can't hurt. Nina: Yes, it can!!! *bumps into someone* I'm sorry! *more people bump into her* It's so crowded... Nic: *sighs* Nina: Eh, up? N-Nico? Nic: *jumps to the roofs* Nina: *yelps* Th-That surprised me. Don't jump all of a sudden... Nic(signs): It will be much faster if we go by the roofs. Hold on tight. Nina: Eh? Nic: *jumps onto the next roof with Nina screaming a little*

Nina: Please take care of yourself. We will be waiting for you tomorrow. (thinks) Good. The painkillers seem to have soothed her. Nina: Thanks for waiting, Nico. Nic(signs): Done? Nina: Yes! And I'm hungry, so let's have lunch somewhere? You know, there is a shop in District 9 that I heard about from a patient the other day, and I thought it'd be nice to visit it. If you don't mind, of course, Nico... Nico? Nic(signs): Let's go. Nina: Okay! *off they go by the roofs again*

Nina: The weather is so nice today! When we jumped earlier, the sky was so close, and it felt so good! Nic(signs): That so? Doug: Damn them! Going and using the opportunity to push the chores onto me! Nina: Doug-san? Doug: Huh? Nina: It really is you! What are you doing? Why are you holding all those bags? Doug: You're that girl from the clin--- Whoa! Why's Nicolas-san here, too?! Nic: Ah? Nina: He was helping me with a delivery. Doug: Oh, I see. Nina: I want to ask you the same question, Doug-san. Are you shopping? Doug: Something like that. The guys from the Guild said, "Go shopping for us if you have so much free time on your hands," and swamped me with requests... They just don't get what house arrest means, like, no kidding. Nina: Hahahaha. Ah, I know! We're going to have something to eat, would you like to come with us, Doug-san? Doug: Huuh? Why would I? Find someone else. Nina: I... see... Since we were lucky to run into each other, I just thought it would be nice if we could have a meal together... Doug: Well, it's not like I absolutely don't wanna go, it's just, uh... Nina: Just what? Doug: Argh, alright, I get it, I'll go, I'll come with you! Nina: Really?! Yay! Nico is happy to have you along, too! Doug: His face is clearly saying "see if I give a crap” though? Nina: Oh no, nothing of the sort! Well then, let's go!

Doug: You said earlier you were making a delivery, are you always the one handling deliveries? Nina: No, usually, we request Nico-- I mean the Benriya to handle them, but today the circumstances are a little special, so this time's request was only to guard me on the way. Doug: Hoo. That Normal mister's nowhere to be seen today. Nina: Worick-san? Ah, he has another job to take care of, right? Nic: *grunts* Nina: Huh? But the doctor said... Nic(signs): He planned to be done with his today's job before noon though. Nina: Oh. (thinks) Could it be that Theo-sensei was being considerate and arranged for me to play with Nico? Nic: *quizzical grunt* Doug: What? Is something wrong? Nina: Oh no, it's nothing! Ah, it must be that shop! I heard it has super yummy stuff! Can't wait to sample it! Doug: Huh? Wait, as far as I know the joints around here don't allow Twil--

Shop'sOwner: We don't have food to sell to Twilights! Get lost and never come back! RandomTwilight: Fuck you and your stupid joint! Go bankrupt!

Nina: Huh?! That person just now... Nic(signs): He got kicked out, evidently. Nina: Why...? Doug: I hear the joints around here don't allow Twilights. Just something of an unspoken rule though. Nina: No way... Doug: It's nothing unusual. Though I do think it's stupid. Nina: Ah, I am sorry... I didn't know it was that kind of place... Doug: Why are you apologizing? We're used to this and not really bothered by it. Nic: *sighs* *grunts* Nina: *yelps* Nico? Doug: You can just come here with the doc next time. Besides, I'm not a fan of respectable places like that anyway. Like, they're so stiff and stuff... Ah, oh! There's a line of buy&eat shops on the other side. Wanna hit those? Nina: Doug-san... Hehe. You're right.

Nina: Wow... It's like a festival! It's my first time coming here! Doug: And this is why kids are so bothersome. Nic: Hmph. Doug: You snorted! You laughed at me just now! Thinking to yourself that I’m kid-sized, too! Nic: No. Doug: Then stop with that annoying half-smirk! Nina: Ah, you two, this is a street, you know, and you're blocking the way. Come on, Nico, let's go.

Nina: It's really crowded here, would you like to hold hands too, Doug-san? Doug: For the record, I'm 21, so don't treat me like a kid, would ya. Nina: Ah, I didn't mean for it to sound that way. But if the two of us took Nico's hands on both sides, it'd look like he's our dad. Doug: HUH?! No friggin way! I absolutely don't want a father like that! Nic(signs): Spare me a kid like that, either. Nina: Really? Doug: In the first place, since Nicolas-san is so short, at best we’d look like sibl–- ow-ow-ow-ow!!! Ouch, ouch, ouch! Don't stomp on my foot, stop, it'll break! Nina: I don't have siblings, but it must be nice to have some. I wonder how it would feel to have one? Doug: I was an only child, too, so I don't really know either. Although I do have someone who’s like a big brother to me. Nina: Ah, that looks yummy! Doug: Agh, let's just buy it for starters then. Mister, gimme 3 of these! Aw damn, both my hands are occupied with the bags. Nic: *sighs* Doug: What, your treat? How generous! Nina: Spots in the resting area on the other side got vacated just now! Doug: Heh, great.

Nina: Nico, this one is yummy, too. Eh, it's hot, so if you wolf it down like that, you'll... Nic: Hm? Nina: If you're OK, then never mind, I guess. Doug: I'll have that too! *gets burnt* Nina: Hey, you need to let it cool first! Water, water. Doug: Oof, I-I'm amazed you can eat something as hot as this, Nicolas-san. Nic(signs): Is this that hot? Nina: Gosh, it's too late after you got burnt. Doug: Did you learn sign language by yourself from the scratch? Nina: Yes. I started because I wanted to talk to Nico. Doug: Seriously? Isn't it too much trouble though? There's plenty of other means, like writing, no? Nina: Mmn. I wanted to talk with the same words as Nico, so... Although there are many words I haven't learned yet. Doug: I'm an idiot, so for me it's totally impossible. Nina: N-No, that is not so, I assure you! Doug: Whoa, you startled me here. Nina: Sign language may look difficult, but there are only so many frequently used words, and once you've learned the basics, it's easy. For example, you make a chop at your right hand with the back of your left hand like with a kitchen knife, and that means "thank you". Doug: Like this? Nina: Yes! Doug: True, it's easier than I thought... Hey, what are other easy words you frequently use in daily life? Nic: Hmmmm. *thinks* Hm. Nina: Nico! You can't show the middle finger!!! Doug: Haha, that’s easy to underst—- hey wait! It’s not even sign language! Nic(signs): This comes in handy frequently though, like for provoking people.

Doug: Gah, I'm so full! Nina: I rarely get to eat out like this, so it was heaps of fun! Doug: Oh really. Good to hear. Ah? Nina: Ah. Nico, at your feet. Nic: Hm? Nina: It's badly injured. Its front leg, probably? The bleeding seems to have stopped, but the bone may be broken. But why is it so dirty...? (thinks) A Twilight's tags? Its owner's, possibly? But why? Could it be that something happened with its owner...? Doug: If it has tags, the best option is to take it to old man Chad, no? Especially if something happened to its owner. *Nina is unhappy* Doug: Don't make a face like that. Nina: It's just too sad that Twilights are discriminated against just because they're Twilights. I don't deny that there are some scary people among them, but not every Twilight is like that. Yet they're treated like it's their fault that they're Twilights Nic: *grunts* Nina: Ah, sorry for my weird ramblings. Doug: What I'm gonna say may sound cold, but this city won’t change just because you alone are crying for us. But to us, people like you are like gods. Isn’t that enough? Nina: Doug-san... Doug: Besides, you're gonna become a great doctor someday, too, no? Nina: Ah... (thinks) It’d be nice if I could. But I’m sure that I... Doug: What's wrong? Nina: Nothing. Doug-san, I thought so before, but you really are a very kind person. Doug: I-I just say what I think! I don’t try to be nice or anything... Nic: Hehehe. Doug: Don’t laugh! Nina: I'll take this little one to Chad-san. Nic(signs): I'll go with you. My job's not over until you're back at doc Theo's clinic, and if something happens to you, he'll kill me. Nina: Thank you, Nico. Doug: Okay, I'll go back to the Guild, then. They'll tell me off for fooling around on my way back too much if I'm too late. Nina: Okay! Thank you for today! Let's eat together again some time! Doug: Ehh? Well, if I feel like it. Heh!

Nina: We should go, too, Nico. Nic: *grunts* Nina: Ah, right, you know what? Alex-san came the other day to make sweets! She baked cookies, and they were so yummy! I wonder when she'll drop by again? Nic(signs): Who knows. Nina: I want to make them together with her next time. I'm practicing with the recipe she told me, so I want Alex-san to taste-test my cooking. And of course you, Nico, and Worick-san, too! Nic: *grunts* (signs) I'll let them know. Nina: *giggles* Thanks! I've got to work hard to make sure it's yummy then!

Nina: ...and then Doug-san decided not to wait until it cools and burnt his mouth! It looked painful! Theo: I see. Nina: But Nico didn't react at all, just quickly ate it all up. Theo: I see. Nina: All we did was have a meal together, but it was so much fun! I even thought that if I had siblings, it'd probably feel like that. Theo: I don't even what to imagine that. Nina: Doctor? Theo: What is it? Nina: Thank you for today. Theo: What are you talking about? Ah, more importantly, make copies of these papers. Without you, the work just keeps piling up. Nina: *giggles* Yes, sir!

[chilly-territory]

Gangsta: Death of Anosmic Stray Dogs, chapter 1

Thanks to 2 wonderful people, fuckyeahgangsta scanning chapter 1 for me and valgerdrgodiforseti sharing the whole text of the novel with me, this will be continued, yay!

Gangsta: Death of Anosmic Stray Dogs by Kawabata Junichi

Chapter 1 (pages 25-61)

Fondling the woman's ear tenderly with his left hand, he grabbed her breast roughly with his right. The lump of fat easily altered shape, the expected warmth engulfing his fingers. A nip at the side of the woman's neck made her breathe out a tiny moan. Her skin tasted like sweat a little. And also cosmetics. The former taste he didn't mind, but the latter was terribly unsavory. Despite the fact that an ounce of those beauty products must have cost more than caviar. Humid breathing filled the room, leaving droplets of condensated water to form on the pane of the windows. The pricey bed creaked like it was one of its cheap counterparts. Blocking the woman's field of vision with a kiss, he glanced to check the clock. 15 more minutes of this workout should be adequate enough work for the monetary reward he was getting for this. Worick Arcangelo then decided to buy a bottle of the spiciest wine he could possibly find on his way home.

Precisely 15 minutes later, the woman cried out with an animal-like scream. She just wanted an excuse to scream, he was sure. Everyone wanted to scream. But screaming and shouting alone would make one a freak, and if one still wanted to hide their true colors and masquerade as a good citizen, they had no choice but to buy excuses to scream. When he followed this train of thought, for the first time Worick could think of this woman as sweet.

Until the echo of her scream died out, Worick didn't release his grip on the woman's soft skin.

Then he put on his now wrinkled shirt and tied his long ash blond hair in the back. Except the result turned out messy. All because the index finger of the woman, lying on the bed and giggling, kept playing with his hair. He shook off her white hand somewhat roughly - except there was a trick to how much power you could use in order to create the illusion of affection underlying the action and make your partner buy it.

"Such beautiful hair," the woman commented. "If you throw in something extra for my services this month, I'll let you touch it some more," Worick replied. "Unfortunately my husband is coming back today." "Oh."

On the round table of heavy carved wood found by the bed 4 bills with the portrait of a smart-looking man were left, like a bait. Worick grabbed them and thrust them in his pocket.

"Buy me again any time you want, Madame."

Flashing a smile, calculated to leave the woman not completely satisfied, Worick exited the room.

The conglomeration of lustrous red bricks that was the mansion spat out greasy smoke from its roof. Only when he had passed through the gate, leaving its premises entirely, did Worick finally drop the act.

He considered himself a professional when it came to entertaining ladies. Like a skilled gunsmith knew all about a gun just from touching it, Worick could tell women's inner workings. It was an ability acquired through effort rather than a natural gift, but his easy on eyes features that made him attractive to a certain type of women and fine hair could, perhaps, count as talent. Someone once said that having many talents was more dangerous than having none. But then again, being blessed with a few did not inconvenience Worick for the moment.

While Worick's main job was servicing women part-time, tonight he had another job to attend to, as well.

That other job was that of a Benriya, a handyman.

Suddenly, he wondered just what the difference between a gigolo and a handyman was. Both were about providing a temporary satisfaction of a client's desires, after all. If the client wanted to scream, you made them scream, if they wanted to hear you scream, you screamed for them. Both were splendid occupations you could be proud of and were absolutely indispensable in this city. And precisely because these professions were so indispensable that the labor market was saturated with offers, and if you failed to perform, a replacement was found with ease. Even in that respect, both were identical.

Worick suddenly thought of Sophia. Or rather, not as much of the person herself as of her circumstances and how they were similar to those of another woman. Sophia's tragedy, too, was but one of many, saturating this city.

A few steps later that Worick advanced while rubbing his neck, he had already forgotten all about Sophia. It wasn't like he had erased her from his memory completely of course, but her image sank into the deep recesses of his mind, beyond the surface of conscious awareness.

He still had work to do, and it had already been a month since she had been cremated.

*

The sun was just beginning to set.

Worick turned a corner, leaving a tidy, if in appearance only, main street behind and entering a narrow back alley. In this city, the narrower an alley was, the heavier the stink it carried got. It was a bad stench produced from vomit, excreta and other substances vaporizing, but Worick had become accustomed to it, for better or for worse.

A little further down, a rather conspicuous human form could be seen. A person stood leaning his back against the surface of a slightly dirty wall with some sort of graffiti painted on it.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," Worick called out to that lean and muscular Asian.

Nicolas Brown was a man with short black hair and sharp eyes. He preferred the militaristic style of clothing, typically a black top with three-quarter sleeves and cargo pants. Meaning, he wasn't interested in dressing stylishly.

In this city, dominated with black and white, his stature was the same as, or even less than that of a woman, and he stood one head shorter than Worick. A long Japanese sword was strapped to his hip, only emphasizing his short height.

'You stink.' He pinched his nose in displeasure, not even trying to mask his discontent.

Nicolas didn't speak. It wasn't like he couldn't at all, he just did his damnest not to, him lacking the working sense of hearing being the reason. That said, since he could read lips and use sign language, there was no inconvenience between the two.

There was a good reason why the meeting took place in a back alley.

Twilights were the species discriminated against. To a great number of normal humans, they were 'exceptionally strong livestock', and even the legal laws obliged them to wear special tags around their necks. That's why even in everyday life they came to be called 'Tags' or 'Tagged' more often than not.

Sticking to facts only, Twilights were descendants of humans who were users of a drug designed to augment human physical ability in the war that was fought in the past. Due to the effects of said drug, Twilights possessed physical prowess and the 5 senses far better than normal human ones. Nicolas, for one, was very strong and had extremely good eyesight. On the other hand, he had been robbed of hearing. The phenomenon was called 'compensation', a physical anomaly peculiar to their kind and depending on an individual. It was very common for some sort of compensation to be taken in exchange for possessing a particularly superior body.

The reason why their kind, clearly still much stronger than your normal human could ever hope to become, was called something as weak sounding as 'Twilights' was because of their very short life spans. The average lifetime was a little over 30, and to live even that long they had to take a drug called Celebrer daily. Be as it may, said Celebrer itself had potent side effects, becoming part of the reason behind Twilights' short existences. They were creatures born already ailing and unable to live without having to ingest poison. Therefore, in contrast to them, typical unaltered humans were called Normals.

Humans have a tendency to hate any living creature stronger than them and loathe any that’s weaker. And Twilights, to them, fell into both those categories. From the start, Twilights were doomed to be thoroughly hated and just as strongly loathed.

Which was ridiculously stupid, in Worick's sincere opinion. Only, among fools, any smart person would be labeled fool. And nothing was more foolish that crying fool at the top of one's lungs when in the fools' gathering. That was the take and justification that Worick had long since adopted.

Main streets were for Normals to walk on. It would not do for a Twilight to stand around in the middle of them. To avoid unnecessary trouble, bearing the stench of the back alleys was the only choice.

"I smell nice though? I had some expensive perfume rubbed onto me, y'know."

Nicolas' right thumb touched his nose in a rubbing motion, then his index finger drew a circle-like shape in the air. Next, it pointed to Worick.

'And I'm saying it stinks.' "Well, it can't be helped. It's work." 'Wash it out.' "No. Nothing is more embarrassing than taking a shower in a client's house." 'Want me to fold you in two and stick you into the toilet bowl?' "Why bother? I'll be smelling like iron soon enough anyway."

The two walked side by side. Handymen would do anything. Well, almost anything. Delivery, paint jobs, taking out garbage... you name it. They would be the champions of justice if you wanted them to or siding with bad guys if the client so desired. The two last ones listed were practically the same thing, and the one in the middle sometimes paid quite handsomely. In any case, their shirts would often get dirty.

Today's job was on the cheap side.

"Granny Joel sure has it tough though, running a shop in a place like that."

The request the two had undertaken was to get rid of a nuisance. A simple job of packing a lively and uselessly conceited lot into a cask or a wooden box so that they’d stop being a bother. The champions of justice did garbage disposal, too. The size of the aforementioned lively bunch's vocabulary was like 3 words anyway, and all 3 had more or less the same meaning, so trying to establish communication was futile from the get-go. Then again, one couldn't exactly start merrily opening up brand new holes in bodies with bullets before figuring out the bunch's connections and backers. After all, some people would fly into mad rage if something of their own, no matter how trashy that possession happened to be, was broken.

'There's no end to 'em. If I loop off their legs, maybe that'll finally teach 'em to keep their distance.' "You'll get the shop's wall all dirty if you do that. And I wanna try and be nice to the only smokes shop in town. Besides, ending up on Granny's bad side is a horror in and of itself, you realize."

Worick's mind suddenly brought its growing nicotine urge to his attention, probably because he went and uttered the words 'smokes shop'. He flicked the silicon stone of his Zippo lighter, and on the second try a Pall Mall stick lit up.

He had first met Nicolas quite a long time ago. He was 12 at the time, so it was more than 20 years ago already. Worick knew he had changed over time, but he didn't think Nicolas had, not really. He got somewhat taller but still was a shortie, neither his hair style nor the look in his eyes underwent much of a change. The fact that he didn't smoke was also the same as ever. The way he treated Worick became more familiar and informal. In essence, however, he consistently remained an employee.

Worick let the sole of his leather shoe step on the fallen cigarette butt and crush it.

It would be faster if they used a desolate shortcut to the smokes shop. Going straight ahead on the junction of three roads, they reached a landfill with small clearings. The vacant lot of about 10 yards in each of the 4 directions was surrounded by blocks of concrete reaching to an adult's waist. It was the site of some demolished facility, but with no construction plans for the land, it had become a hotbed for illegal garbage dumping, lamps and lighting fixtures with cracked bulbs, moisture absorbing furniture and empty wine casks and barrels now littering the place.

At the entrance to it, Nicolas, who walked first, suddenly stopped in his tracks. Worick stopped as well and mentally checked the holster on his left side.

From around the turn of the path, weaving its way through the dumping ground, a man appeared, walking unsteadily. His quilted down coat showed tears in a few places, with its fluffy filling spilling out. Blood was oozing from his side. His steps were unsure as he collapsed onto a couch found a little ahead of the two's position, listlessly sinking into the cushions.

Worick smiled lopsidedly.

"A drunkard, maybe?" 'If not, then a junkie.'

Of course, that was not quite it. That wound was obviously inflicted as a result of some sort of an assault. The man took quite a hideous beating. Which was nothing unusual. In this city, there was a lot of remains far larger than a cat's for crows to feed on. If you started fussing over them, you'd never see the end of it.

As the Benriya were about to move past and forward, three more young men appeared from beyond the curve of the road. They all wore - seemingly almost against their will at that - uniformed black suits. The newest addition to some Family, picked up a very short while ago, perhaps? That's how they looked at least, based on that fashion style.

The one in the center pointed with his eyes to the man in the quilted down coat, lying on the couch.

"Hey old boys. You this guy's pals?" The youngster asked in a low voice, intentionally throwing his head to the side to show off the tribal tattoo on the side of his neck. To him, that probably passed for intimidation, although in all honesty a stray dog's growl was more intimidating.

"Nope," Worick shook his head. Desperately trying to keep the corners of his mouth from lifting up in a smirk all the while.

"Then get lost already." The thug took his eyes off and away from Worick, apparently forgetting all about him, and started on his approach to the couch.

Fighting the smile threatening to stretch his mouth, Worick whispered to Nicolas next to him, "Nic-chan, have you noticed?"

Nicolas, having read his lips from the side, gave a chuckle, unable to keep a straight face.

'Good thing we haven't missed each other.' "Lucky us, you reap what you sow and maybe this is our reward?" 'It's a small city, is all.'

Worick shrugged. And took half a step forward.

The young thugs turned their heads to him.

He smiled, amiably and disarmingly.

"We're not that guy's pals, but we’re sincerely happy to have run into you. We're your big fans, you see, so how about a handshake?"

A guy with a tribal tattoo on his neck, a guy with cornrows and a Hispanic skinhead with a scar above his left eye. The three's peculiar traits matched the description of the 'damn brats' that Granny Joel had provided to a tee.

"Huh?" Just as the tattooed guy opened his mouth, a thick shoe sole forcibly closed it.

Nicolas didn't feel like waiting anymore.

The youngster's chin was now pointing towards the dark night sky. Falling down backwards, his head landed into a discolored garbage bag with precision. Empty cans tackily clattered, scattering about. Dry sand billowed, dancing in the air and darkening the already dark night sky a shade darker.

Worick covered his mouth with a hand and coughed a couple of times.

"Partner. Getting a jump is not fair, y'know? This is where you're supposed to share." 'There's 3 of 'em. If it ain't divisible by 2, then they're all mine. And you go there, partner.' Smirking, Nicolas pointed to the couch where the man in the down jacket lay collapsed. The look on the dark-haired man’s face was like a dog's that was given a ball to play.

Well, there was no denying that the dude had a trigger-happy battle-crazy streak. He probably felt in his element the most precisely when he fought.

Quickly dropping his center of gravity, Nicolas kicked the ground. By the time one became aware he had vanished, he was already airborne. Skinhead and Cornrows had yet to realize what was happening. Nicolas landed behind them. Twisting around, Skinhead belatedly noticed the pendants swishing across Nicolas' chest, and his breath caught pathetically.

"A Tag?! You gotta be shitting me! Why are we---"

Nicolas didn't bother to read his lips for the continuation. Violently grabbing the man by the neck - thin compared to his arm - he smashed him face first into the ground. The guy's nose broke with a squishy crack. Nicolas' body, riding the momentum, whirled by half a turn, brute force pulling Cornrows by the hair into the motion. The bones in the guy's neck groaned audibly. The force of a throw added to the centrifugal force had him crash into a bookshelf 3 yards away.

"Be careful not to break them beyond fixing though? It'd be a problem if we were demanded to pay off damages."

Worick didn't think Nicolas was looking but said it anyway, if merely going through the motions. Then, at last, he shifted his attention to the man on the couch.

It was a gentle-looking young man not suited to violence. His sweet delicate features would attract many potential buyers, no doubt, and his age looked to be around 20. As to his physique, although it was hard to say for sure due to the oversized quilted down coat he had on, it didn't look like he was built strongly. There was a straight white streak in his bangs on the side, making Worick want to laugh because the guy looked like a kid desperately trying to stretch himself to appear taller.

"Got dragged into something nasty, eh, pampered boy? Lucid enough to tell us your mommy's phone number?"

When Worick called out to him, the young man shielded his body with both arms. Staying buried in the couch as deep as he could, he looked up at Worick with terrified eyes.

"...Who are you?" "One sca~ry fella," Worick smiled. "You sure been through the wringer. Does it hurt?" "I'm...okay."

The youth shifted, sitting down deeper. But even that simple movement looked stiff. Like he sat down into an easy chair with bent legs. Still, surprisingly, the young man's breathing wasn't disarrayed. It seemed like the pause in his earlier utterance only occurred due to him being frightened. His wound probably wasn't as bad as it looked at a glance.

"Mn, attaboy. Now try to stand up, c'mon."

Worrick took him by the lapels and pulled. The youth grimaced slightly.

"Oh? So it does hurt?" "No, it's..."

He lowered his head and covered his face with his right hand. Probably crying. Over a trifle thing like that.

Worick flashed a malicious smile.

"Don't feel down, pampered boy. Oh right, I'll take you to a good place. The place where a cute girl will comfort you tenderly."

Theo's clinic had a great nurse, after all. Looking at it objectively, her being there was a waste of her talents, but the Benriya appreciated the fact since they frequented the place themselves.

Worick purposefully let go of the young man's lapels. The youth fell backwards, the back of his head sinking into the couch.

'Wah!' he groaned lamely, and Worick cackled with laughter.

The guy appeared to be too feeble to make it in this city, but his lack of malice towards strangers earned him some points.

When Worick glanced to check what Nicolas was doing, he found his partner crouching on the ground with his hand in the unconscious thugs' pockets. Worick personally doubted their wallets would be particularly thick, but the thugs should have had enough to provide the Benriya with some pocket money.

"Hey, Nic. I'll leave the mission of saying hello to Granny to you."

Nicolas didn't seem to pay close attention, but it turned out he was able to see what Worick said just fine anyway.

'That's your responsibility.' Nicolas' face spoke volumes of how bothersome he found the task to be, and Worick smiled a nasty little smile.

"That's your punishment for hogging all the fun. And you know, it has to be very boring for Granny to always have to look at the same mug when she needs to air her frustrations to someone." 'What're you gonna do?' "Escort this pampered kid."

Nicolas' eyes narrowed as he took in the youth's appearance. The scowl on his face then deepened.

'So you finally stooped to playing that side of the f---' "No friggin way. Besides, I'm cuter than him."

Worick shrugged his shoulders. Then he mouthed voicelessly, with his lips only, informing Nicolas, '---Just to be on the safe side. Since I've never seen him here before.'

Worick had good memory. So good, in fact, that it was abnormal and had a special name attached as a medical disorder. Be it a customer he passed by in a dark bar or a bystander from the news coverage, everything got saved indiscriminately into the memory cells and kept there neatly and orderly.

And Worick didn't remember ever seeing this particular young man anywhere before.

Generally, there were always good reasons for any and all exceptions like that, and in this city such reasons were always of the annoying kind. If this kid was just an unlucky schmuck randomly picked on by 3 thugs, then it was one thing, but if they hunted him down for a more specific reason, it would be an entirely different story. From where Worick stood, all the Benriya tried to achieve here was doing a favor to the smokes shop's Granny, but from an outsider's perspective, it could very well look like they had acted to specifically help this particular youngster.

Nicolas flashed a ferocious grin.

'You know, I've been feeling that I didn't have enough workout lately.' "Provided it's the kind of workout that will bring us money. Since we're pros, yeah?" 'Any chance to let loose?' "Dunno. Depends on luck, I guess." 'You reap what you sow, eh.’ "Just a small city, is all."

In the small city of Ergastulum, surrounded with walls on all sides, all you needed to do to run into trouble was take a few steps. Whether the fact was fortunate or unfortunate, no one cared.

Why hospitals insisted on using the cross symbol as their emblem was something that Worick often wondered about.

Its shape evoked associations with death. Was it because hospitals were places where people died? If so, then maybe it made some sense.

Whatever the case, Theo's clinic, too, had a cross inscribed into a down-facing pentagon on its signboard. It was a two-storied building snuggled between 2 others and located in District 7, a little north of Granny Joel's smokes shop.

When the door opened, Nina, who was organizing clinical records or something of the sort, lifted her head to look at the callers.

"Worick-san!"

Although being only an 11 year old girl, Nina was already a registered nurse. In contrast to her age, she was a hardworker and also quite skilled. Worick heard she had even had some experience in performing surgeries. What's more, she always approached both her patients and their injuries or diseases with unyielding honesty and integrity, and that side of her Worick had solid trust in.

"Hello, Nina-chan. You're cute as always."

Blush spread across the girl's cheeks from an offhand cheesy compliment like that. Well, Nina really was a cute girl, and Worick honestly did find her adorable. Only, she had yet to learn how to use her own charms. She may have acquired the skills of a real hospital nurse but that didn't mean she had become a grownup.

Nina shifted her gaze to the young man covered with wounds standing behind Worick.

"Um, who would that person be?" "Someone I picked up at a garbage dump. I have yet to hear his name myself." "Johann," the youth replied in a voice barely above whisper.

What, was he nervous even around an 11 year old girl?

"I see. Well, nice to meet ya." "...Yes, nice to meet you, too."

Johann's frightened eyes peeked through the gaps of his streaked hair. Didn't look like he had a very happy childhood. Though that begged a more profound question of whether something like a happy childhood was even possible in Ergastulum.

Seeing those eyes of his made Worick feel a bang of pity, so he instead turned to Nina, asking, "Is the doc in?" "Yes, he is. I will go call him."

Nina rushed into the back rooms with small quick steps of a squirrel or other similar small animal. Just as she put her hand on the doorknob intending to turn it, the door opened.

"Woah!" With a short yelp she planted face first into the white robe on the other side of the door.

Theo.

He was a bespectacled man in his thirties, his hair kept short, and no matter how many times Worick saw him, he always found him to be sickly pale. It unfailingly made Worick itch to tell him to run a thorough medical checkup on himself first, but if it turned out that a prolonged hospital stay was required, it'd be a problem for Worick. Or rather, what mattered was that Theo was Nicolas' physician.

Theo gave Nina, who lost her balance, what looked to be a stern glance but gently steadied her with his hands on her shoulders. By the time Nina's both feet were planted firmly on the dreary floor again, he was already looking at the visitors.

"You just keep bringing them one after another, huh. I'm amazed how you never get bored of it." "Well, sorry about that. I'm just a man with a lot of friends, you see." "I won't tell you to not bring me more work, but I am getting a little tired of that, I'll have you know."

Thrusting his hands into the pockets of his white gown, Theo approached Johann with clattering footsteps.

"Not a face I've seen." "I know right? I thought he might be right up your alley, doc." "Well..." Theo's answer was non-committal.

It probably wasn't that Worick's offhand comment actually hit the bull's eye accidentally but Theo's reaction did stir an uncomfortable feeling. The doctor examined Johann's face with the intense look of someone appraising the authenticity of a painting, touched his neck and checked the youth's both palms.

"His wound can't be that big of a deal," Worick butted in. "That's for me to decide. You, to the bed."

Theo led the youth to the farther one of the two beds lined up at the center of the room, Johann following him with scared steps. Nina stole a glance at the clinic's entranceway - probably checking if Nicolas was with them - before chasing after the doctor and the youth.

For a while, Worick had nothing better to do than stare at the curtains that were slid shut with characteristic rustling. He didn't take a good look at how serious the wound underneath the quilted down coat was.

Worick wanted to light up one of his Pall Malls, but thought better of it. If anything, borrowing the washstand found deeper to the right seemed like a better idea of killing time. Having washed his hands, he moved onto his face. He let Nicolas handle all the fighting this time, yet he still got dirty - with the dust and sand fluttering in the back alleys and the oily stench that always clung to this city no matter where you went.

Next to the washstand, there could be found a stairway leading to the second floor. A look at it made him remember how uncomfortably light Sophia's body felt when he carried her in his arms. Surprisingly, it appeared she had made a deeper impression on him than he had expected.

Worick wiped his face dry with a clean towel.

'It's because of this wound,' he thought as he looked in the mirror. The faint traces of the two wounds her fingers left on his neck still remained. They would disappear very soon, but until they did, he would probably keep recalling the too light weight of her body he had felt then.

Bringing both his hands near his nose, he was about to check if they still stunk, but was interrupted with the roaring of an engine coming to a standstill in front of the clinic. That engine sounded unfamiliar, Worick thought, focusing his gaze on the clinic's door.

Suspecting every single caller might be stupid, but this clinic treated Twilights a little too nicely, and the fact could very well earn it malice and hatred.

"Worick." Theo's voice that came from the other side of the curtain was pushy. "C'mon, it's not a rough customer. Probably."

The sound of a car's door opening then closing could be heard. Only one then.

Some people from the mafia had an eye on Theo's clinic, but their grudge wasn't of the personal sort. It was mainly because of Celebrer - which, to the mafia, was the magic drug for taming Twilights - and Theo sold it too much and too cheap, which made him a nuisance. And if he was an eyesore for an organization, they would come to crush him as an organization. Certainly not send just one person to do it.

"In any case, I can't drop what I'm doing at the moment. You go deal with them." "Aye-aye. Coming."

A handyman would do almost anything. Including being a doctor's reception desk when requested.

Coming closer to the front door, Worick tacked a damp lock clinging to his cheek behind his ear.

He was about 2 yards away from the door when it opened. Standing on the doorstep was a man of petite build.

"Hello, the shitty clinic welcomes you---" Showing the man a smile, Worick carefully surveyed him.

The man seemed a little younger than the Benriya, probably had only just hit his thirties. His gaudy striped suit was paired with camel-colored leather shoes. His taste obviously sucked no matter how you looked at it. The articles themselves though were not cheap.

"Is yours an emergency? Sorry, but you'll have to wait until the doc's finished with the guy that came in before you. Also, if you want a medicine to fix up your taste, you should go to a place with more girls."

The man wasn't fazed in the slightest. Right hand behind his ass and a disinterested expression on his face, he walked up to Worick, his leather shoes making unnecessarily loud tapping sounds against the floor with each step. Behind him, the door closed with a soft click.

Worick stared at the man's forehead, only mere 10 inches away now. With a mundane motion, the man presented his right hand, as if for a handshake, except what was grasped in it was a Colt Woodsman the muzzle of which got pressed right to Worick's chin from beneath. At the same time, Worick drew a Colt Government M1911 from the holster on his left side and pushed it against the left side of the man's chest.

"What do you know, you are in hot haste after all, ain't ya. We're not demons, if your upset belly aches so much, we'll let you use our toilet." "Yeah, you're a lifesaver. I might need to use it to flush a certain shithead." "Now I got a question. The shithead you mentioned, who might it be?" "The wiseass grinning like an idiot even with my gun to his head. What did you do to my kid brother?"

Worick took another long hard look at the man, then let out a small sigh.

Shoulder length wavy hair. Thin brows above light gray eyes. A peculiar manner of speaking that lifted his upper lip baring his protruding canines.

Another unfamiliar face. Just great.

*

The thing Worick had figured for the time being was that no matter which side it hit from, trouble remained troublesome. Also, that men that chose gaudy stripes for their suits lacked taste in more than one sense. And that the tasteless man named Dario was the self-proclaimed big brother of Johann.

"Haha! I'm really sorry, man. I just heard that you took the beat up Johann somewhere, and I thought you must've kidnapped him."

The small man's voice was strangely grating on Worick's ears, the fact being added to the growing list of Worick's discoveries brought by today.

Currently, Worick was being subjected to an inhumane torture.

The torture was in the form of having been thrust into the passenger seat of the man's car and forced to listen to the man's cheerful ramblings while being taken for a drive around Ergastulum where it was impossible to reach any decent speed by definition. As far as tortures went, this one was quite thorough.

Dario's beloved car was such that it made one believe it was a clever invention the sole purpose of which was to deepen the scowl on those who saw it as much as possible. It was probably a Fiat, except it had been stripped of the original model's charm resolutely and completely. All because the area immediately below the windshield sported an eccentric design with a substantial horizontal dent. To Worick, that form brought to mind deep-sea fish locked in the dark of the ocean depths and dying without ever learning what shape meant. The car's paintjob was vivid violet, and on its hood there was drawn maybe a dog, maybe a wolf - in short, some brown animal, and it was sneering.

Left hand on the steering wheel, Dario fumbled with his right to fish out one cigarette from the Garam pack lying on the dashboard and put it into his mouth. He held out the pack to Worick, but Worick gestured to decline the offer and took out one of his Pall Malls instead. Dario nimbly stroke a match with one hand and lit up both cigarettes.

"I'm really sorry about my rudeness earlier, Eric-san." "Let's drop the formalities, we're not that far apart in age anyway. Oh, and it's Worick." "Okay, Worick. My apologies, I'm just really no good with names. I always leave all those troublesome details to Johann to handle."

Dario didn't really look embarrassed in the least as he blew out a puff of smoke. Worick did the same, forcing Dario's sweet smelling smoke back with a puff of his Pall Mall. Two kinds of smoke intermingled in the cramped space of the car and leaked out the windows.

Pointing with the end of his cigarette that smouldered slowly, Dario said, "Well, I did think it was odd. Like, why would a nice guy who could coolly smile even at gunpoint do anything bad to a kind soul like Johann." "Right back at you. Acting all cool like you didn't even know what a gun was."

And this was the real reason why Worick got into the car of this strange man - one, at that, whose tastes were hopelessly far from Worick's own with probably no chance to ever align. Worick had seen men who pretended to be calm at gunpoint. Men who had resigned themselves, men who flew into a fit of mad rage, and even those who, depending on the circumstances, were positively delighted. He'd seen them all. But Dario was none of those types. He simply didn't care about the deep opening of the gun's barrel pushed against his chest just an inch away from his heart. It looked like he ignored the gun's existence altogether with the whole of his body starting with his head.

That brand of crazy was not common. It reminded Worick of his partner's, if only the tiniest bit.

"Heh," Dario smirked intrepidly. "In such a shootout, even if the lead did go flying, the odds of dying were 50/50, right? And when gambling, I've never once lost when I had a 50% chance." "They weren't 50/50 though. We could easily shoot each other dead simultaneously." "Oh, I see. I didn't think of that." The man nodded, as if in admiration.

Worick let out a genuine sigh along with a puff of smoke.

"You love gambling, right? Remember the zero in roulette?" "Wait, roulette has a zero?" "Yeah, the house takes it all. Aka the hellhole." "Oh well, let's not sweat the small stuff. We got to know each other thanks to that. And that means you're in luck." "In luck? How so?" "You helped Johann. Next, I'll help you. And I'll give so much alcohol to drink that you'll drown in it." "Despite being broke with no money?" "I'll make some soon enough."

Back in Theo's clinic, Dario insisted on thanking those involved in saving Johann. His next words, though, were, "Where's the nearest casino?" Having no money to do the proper thanking, he apparently planned to make enough through gambling.

The idea was foolish, to say the least, but then it occurred to Worick that he was the bigger fool of the two precisely because he was sitting next to such a man, and that made him smile to himself lopsidedly. Oh well, going along with this man was a better call than letting him stay in the clinic, in any case.

"Turn right at the next corner." "OK."

Dario turned the steering wheel in accordance with Worick's directions. In a marked contrast to his boisterous way of conducting himself, his driving style was surprisingly careful.

"Stop the car in front of the smokes shop over there." "You run out? Smoke mine as much as you like." "Yours are too sweet for my tastes. Besides, I may not look it, but I'm a pretty careful man. Usually I don't wait until I run out." "Then why are we here? You don't wanna say that small shop is a casino?" "Nope. But you said you wanna treat Johann's savior to something, right?" "Yeah. And I never lie."

The car that must have been history's ugliest Fiat came to a halt in front of the smokes shop.

Worick's thumb pointed outside the car's window.

"Then the person you wanna treat is over there."

At the end of where the thumb was pointing was an extremely sour looking mug of the man who tried his damnest to ignore the ceaseless flood of grumbling and complaints Granny Joel unleashed on him.

*

Dario really didn't lie.

He had no money. Actually, forget money, he didn't even have a wallet.

Worick loaned him the money he got paid earlier for listening to the woman scream, and Dario quadrupled the amount in the blink of an eye.

When Dario set foot in the casino, the first thing he did was watch intently the baccarat table for about 10 minutes. It didn't really look like he was analyzing anything, just chatting with Worick on easy and foolish topics. Then, however, he sat down to play for just 2 games. Out of the blue, he bet the entire sum on the player and doubled it, and in the next game doubled the amount again. With that, he was done.

Having entered a tiny bar in a back alley with only a counter and 2 tables, Worick was given back the 4 bills he had loaned to Dario. He felt like he had been swindled somehow, and that mood floated in the air.

"You really are good at gambling." "Yeah, I never lost. And I obtained all the valuables through gambling." "Impressive. You should've earned more then." "I hate having to tote anything around. Smokes and a gun is all I need." "What a shame. With enough money, you could've bought a car with the prettiest hood ever, y'know?" "Why would I want to buy my own car twice?"

It looked like Dario actually considered that violet monster of his the best car ever made. Tastes and preferences sure differed. Complaining over someone's bad taste in cars wasn't really worth it. All it would earn Worick was exile from the passenger seat of that car forever.

Worick and Dario toasted with their drinks of choice - two different brands of whiskey. Next to them, Nicolas drank his Perrier in a way that looked like he was lapping on it. He boasted such high susceptibility to alcohol that he could even get intoxicated on whiskey bonbons.

Taking a sip of Old Parr on the rocks Worick remembered that he had decided to content himself with only wine tonight. But now that he had started drinking, it couldn't be helped. In the generously illuminated bar, a wine glass would look out of place, anyway.

Dario, who chose something as unbelievable as Bowmore, grimaced after the first mouthful and complained, "Geez, this tastes lousy."

For the first time, his and Worick's tastes coincided, although at the same time Worick was tempted to point out that Dario shouldn’t've ordered it to begin with then.

Their table was loaded with pizza Margherita, mimosa salad, escargots al ajillo, churros for soaking in olive oil and whatnot. Worick wasn't especially hungry, but since he made Nicolas who couldn't drink come along practically against his will, he ordered all of that out of consideration for him. And like the unstoppable march of an elephant, Nicolas was making his way through those plates, slowly but surely.

Dario, meanwhile, pushed the glass with Bowmore aside and ordered a new drink, no less shocking than the previous one - Venizia Mojito. Except he didn't really bother to get a good taste of it either as his fancy got strongly caught with the Japanese sword strapped to Nicolas' hip.

"Hey, hey, it's what's called a samurai sword, right? Hey man, lemme pull it out!"

Between wolfing down pieces of Margherita, Nicolas signed to Worick, 'He's a pain. Get him off me.' "You don't need my help with that, do it yourself." 'I've already worked plenty today.' "What, they were just 3 Normals though?" 'No. The real request was to listen to Granny complain.' "Good job handling it. I feel for ya."

Dario, who was watching the two's exchange, seemed to have shifted the focus of his curiosity from Nicolas' sword to Nicolas himself. His hands moved in brisk chops, copying Nicolas.

"Ain't it inconvenient though?"

If anything, the utter lack of consideration behind the question left Worick awed. Being bluntly asked to his face if he felt the inconvenience of it had to be a rare experience for Nicolas as well.

'Routine.' "Born that way?" 'Yeah.' "Ohh. In that case, it really must feel just natural, I guess."

Nicolas' answers were mechanical and monosyllabic. That aside, the very fact of Dario successfully holding a conversation with Nicolas like it was nothing made Worick purse his lips.

"Hey, you got what he signed just now?" "Of course I got it. Body language is universal, after all. Like any baby would laugh playing peekaboo, right?" "Is that really body language though? Besides, what we use is sign language." "Oh, sign language, huh? Then I don't know it."

Ridiculous as it was, after that Dario really stopped getting what Nicolas tried to convey. Despite that, he kept coming on strong, and Nicolas, frowning in displeasure at the buddy-buddy attitude the man took with him, gave him a cold shoulder, but the man just refused to take the hint.

When both he and the blond Benriya had finished their second glass and Dario's cheeks got dusted faint pink, Worick finally deemed it time to breach the real issue at hand.

"You and that kid, Johann, you're not this city born, right?" "No, not quite from here, no. How did you know?" "Your accent. You can tell an insider from an outsider right away based on that."

Johann barely spoke and even when he did, it was in quiet murmurs, but Dario talked a lot, so much that he was actually hard on the ears.

"Is it okay to ask where you're from then?" "North Gate."

There were 4 adjacent cities bordering Ergastulum on all the 4 cardinal directions, as if surrounding it. Each of them was called a gate city and housed government troops. In order to keep close tabs on Twilights, of course.

As a general rule, Twilights could only live in Ergastulum. Even if they could survive elsewhere for some time, they would still come back to Ergastulum. All because Celebrer, the controversial drug that preserved their very lives, could only be reliably obtained in Ergastulum. Nevertheless, in order to ensure that Twilights wouldn't inadvertently spill out into the outside world, this city was barricaded with the 4 gate cities, one on each side.

In case of emergency, mercenary troops representing each city as well as armed groups corresponding to them were to be assembled, joining forces with the government troops in order to contain the situation. Among said troops there were specialized expert combatants capable of challenging Twilights.

To stop Twilights, you needed to either muster military might of that magnitude or have other Twilights to fight for you. That's how overwhelming Twilights' power was.

Worick cast a glance at the plain unattractive tags hanging around Nicolas' neck.

---In other words, Dario, too, was fully aware of the danger those tags signified. His correctly assuming that Nicolas' hearing defect was congenital was because he knew enough about Twilights to be aware of compensation. And yet, he didn't put up a wall between himself and Nicolas.

The fact made Worick's alcohol taste a little yummier as he smiled a wry smile.

---Hey, hey, wait, can't be getting sidetracked here.

Nicolas' job was slaying bad guys, so it was up to Worick to determine whether suspicious people they came across were good guys or bad guys.

"So, in the end, why did you two come to Ergastulum? For sightseeing? Guest-working? Or maybe fighting a war?" "Mine and Johann's goals ain't the same. I came to keep a promise." "Oh. What promise, pray tell?" "It ain't anything grand. Actually, I don't even remember it all that well myself."

What the hell. Was he trying to dodge the question?

"Then what about Johann?" "He came because he's free." "Free?" "We're stray dogs, you see. We're the ones who decide where our chain ends." Lifting his lip, Dario beamed at the Benriya happily. "We wanted to come, so we came. We don't need any other reason."

It wasn't like Worick trusted this flippant ridiculous man. And yet, he didn't feel inclined to look down on the guy either, the fact being a mystery even to Worick himself. Keeping his guard up, he decided to venture one more question that took him another step away from the safe zone.

"Johann was attacked. Have any idea why?"

He didn't get his hopes up, which was right because Dario looked blank when asked that.

"Oh. That's a mystery to me. Just who and why attacked him?"

Worick studied the man's eyes very carefully but didn't find any signs of him hiding something.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I guess in this city it's weirder to not get attacked when walking the back alleys."

So the question was, why Johann was walking the back alleys in the first place. It was one thing if it was a man like Dario. It was still within reason to assume that he just didn't bother to think before acting. But Johann didn't strike Worick as someone that rash and reckless, at all. For a timid young man like him to set foot into the maze of the city's back streets a damn good reason was needed.

In any case, Worick decided against digging any deeper into it. Taking a sip out of his third glass of Old Parr, he smiled broadly.

"Well, be more careful from now on. If he wants to go somewhere, better just give him a lift in that conspicuous super violet beauty of yours." "Right you are. I'll try to stick by him as much as possible. Thanks, man," Dario grinned toothily.

Grabbing the glass with Bowmore he set aside earlier, he took a gulp from it, "Argh, tastes like shit," he grimaced again.

After that, for a while the two engaged in a chat about his Fiat.

*

That was how the two 2-man teams met.

One could suspect fate at work, but in reality it was merely by chance.

If one was to put it in a nutshell, Ergastulum was a small city, was all.

If it was a little bigger, the story would probably have been different. Or maybe nothing worthy of being called a story would have taken place at all.

Anyway, three days after the outing where the more communicative halves of the 2-man teams drank the night away, a certain piece of news started traveling around Ergastulum, told in a breaking voice intermittent with noise over a blurry distorted video footage.

To this city, it was the mundane and worthless kind of news, but to Worick and Nicolas it wasn't as meaningless.

At the time, the two happened to have a meeting with the boss of a certain huge mafia organization.

← to prologue  to chapter 2 →

[londontheatre]

Gangsta Granny. Gilly Tompkins (Granny) & Ashley Cousins (Ben) in Gangsta Granny. Photo by Mark Douet

When my Grandpa told me we were going to see Gangsta Granny Live On Stage! I was very, very excited. I have read the book loads of times and watched the TV programme which I really enjoyed. Now it was going to be live on stage in a real theatre and I was going to see it! But then he told me that I would have to write a review of the show – something I had never done before so here goes.

When we got to the theatre, there was a red carpet outside and a lot of photographers taking photos of the people going in (although they didn’t take one of me!). This was because it was “Press Night” when celebrities and critics get a chance to see the show – I may not be a celebrity but for a night I was a critic.

There were a lot of very good things about the show (and one bad thing – more of that later). The actress playing Granny (the programme said she was Gilly Tompkins) was much younger than Granny should be but with a funny wig, glasses and make-up she looked just like Granny should. Also, the actress playing The Queen (Louise Bailey) was very young and in her photograph in the programme she had long blonde hair but on stage she looked just like the real Queen (well a little bit!). Ashley Cousins who played Ben was really good and I liked him a lot. Most of the other actors played more than one part which I thought was very clever as you didn’t always know who was playing who.

I also really loved the way the set was changed with lots of boxes and things being pulled forward and back again – it really made everything very exciting as you didn’t know what was coming next. The best bit was the way they made the water out of bits of material being shaken about so the actors didn’t get wet! Also in one part Ben’s Mum and Dad were sitting in the audience which really surprised me – and gave me a bit of a shock. The funniest bits were the fart jokes and all the farting. I didn’t know you could do that in the theatre and I’m so glad they did. Also, Granny has to do naked yoga but she wasn’t really naked!

But Grandpa (that’s my grandpa – there isn’t one in the show as it’s all about a granny) said critics have to be honest and there was something I really didn’t like and that was the weird dancing the characters did when things were changing on the stage – I don’t know why they did it. But maybe they heard me complain during the interval because they didn’t do it in the second half which was a good thing!

Then when the show finished and we had clapped lots and lots, David Walliams who wrote the book came on stage and we clapped some more. He was very nice and he even had his photo taken with a boy from the audience which made me a little jealous.

So apart from the weird dancing, I really liked Gangsta Granny Live On Stage!. They didn’t change much from the book which I think is a good thing and everything was so much fun. I also had a very good seat, a free programme and a free drink (I had a Coke), so maybe when I grow up, I’ll be a theatre critic. I might not have a Gangsta Granny but I do have a Critic Grandpa!

By Claudee Fitter-Howland aged 10 (as dictated to her Grandpa, Alan Fitter aged lots)

It’s Friday night and Ben knows that means only one thing – staying with Granny! There will be cabbage soup, cabbage pie and cabbage cake and Ben knows one thing for sure – it’s going to be sooooooooo boring! But what Ben doesn’t know is that Granny has a secret – and Friday nights are about to get more exciting than he could ever imagine, as he embarks on the adventure of a lifetime with his very own Gangsta Granny!

From the acclaimed producers of HORRIBLE HISTORIES comes the West End premiere of this amazing story by David Walliams, the UK’s best-selling author for children.

Please Note: A £1.25 restoration levy (collected on behalf of the theatre) appears as part of the ticket cost.

GANGSTA GRANNY Garrick Theatre Booking Period: 26 July – 3 September 2017 Running Time: 2 hours 10 minutes with 1 interval

http://ift.tt/2holxo0 LondonTheatre1.com

[jaeame-blog]

Gangsta Granny coming to Leeds | Britain S Got Talent

Britain's Got Talent has seen success so far in the eleventh series of the talent competition, so show boss Simon Cowell is looking to ride the momentum to the live shows. Britain's Got Talent is considering a change to the voting system during the semi-finals. According to the Mirror, the music mogul wants to extend the use of the golden buzzer. But including the golden buzzer will give the judges greater control to send someone through without deliberation.

Britain's Got Talent may have only of just started, but already, Simon Cowell, 57, has reportedly got big plans for the final episodes. George Sampson's says spinning on his head helped launch his career but also left him balding. Simon Cowell wants to introduce the golden buzzer to the 'Britain's Got Talent' live shows.Having wowed Britain's Got Talent last year, Newcastle City Hall was the setting this week for The 100 Voices of Gospel. A source explained to The Mirror: "The golden buzzer is one of the favourite elements in the audition shows. "The atmosphere when it is pressed is incredible.

The Britain's Got Talent champion opened up on Instagram, revealing to his 41.1k followers that the operation was a much-longed procedure for him.