#they borrowed money from me for a down payment

[trivia-yandere]

payment plan

your husband and you find yourself bankrupt and dead broke thanks to his gambling problem. his younger brother - successful businessman kim seokjin - offers a helping hand free of charge. unbeknownst to his brother, you would be the one paying seokjin for his charity. @momnomnom @darkuni63 @sweetempathprunetree @minshookie29

valentine’s day masterlist | part 2

word count: 5.509

warning: non-con/coercion, cmnf, smut, dub-con, degradation/humiliation, dominant jin, submissive reader, collaring, affair, unsolicited touching, impregnation kink, thigh riding, oral sex/deep throat, dirty talk, kissing, creampie,

“Your collar…” Jin murmurs, his eyes staring at the pink collar he has given you. It has diamonds wrapped around and in the middle, is a gold shaped heart. “...is so cute.”

“Thank you, sir.” you murmur, your thighs clenching together nervously underneath Jin’s intense gaze.

“Isn’t it sad that your husband is away?” Jin scoffs, a wicked smirk forming onto his lips - rosy and plump.

Kim Seokjin, tall with a slender build. Dark hair and even darker eyes. He’s beautiful - utterly gorgeous. His beauty is often compared to that of a God; ethereal. He carried himself as such, strutting into any room and completely holding the attention from everyone occupying it.

Kim Seokjin, wealthy - one of the richest men in the nation. He owned several businesses that thrived; all of which funded his life. He had enough generational wealth that his great-great grandchildren wouldn’t have to work - and he’d often boast about that fact. Kim Industries were one of the most well known and luxurious industries to be a part of - employees were even looked at as better off just for being apart of the business. 

Kim Seokjin, your brother-in-law. The very man who stood besides your husband, his elder brother, while you and he were wed. He gave a speech about the love you and your husband had was that of true love and raised his glass to give you a celebratory toast - “to my sister-in-law, Y/N. Welcome to the family.” 

Kim Seokjin, your brother-in-law, and the same man you are having an affair with. 

“It is sad, sir.”

Jin tilts his head a bit. “Then why don’t you look it?” he questions. “Maybe you’re happy to be with me instead of your good for nothing husband?”

You swallow at Jin’s harsh words, appearing physically ill at them. Jin doesn’t care, however, and openly berates his brother around you at any given moment.

It was 5 months prior when your husband came to you and confessed that he was completely broke - that you and he had not a dollar to your names. It came as a shock. No, your husband was not as wealthy as Jin - but he was nowhere near broke. Their father had helped start up a business before allowing them out in the world. While Jin branched out and became a big name in multiple industries, your husband was smaller. However, the Kim name had benefits. 

“How are we broke?” you asked with wide eyes, not believing your ears. “We have a few  hundred thousands saved up for a rainy day.”

Your husband had confided in you that the money was gone - everything that was saved has since been wiped away. 

The home you and he bought had to be sold, along with the cars. You were homeless, and the only way your husband was willing to turn was his younger brother.

Seokjin had welcomed you two with open arms and gave his brother a job at one of the many businesses he owned - it was an ego killer. Your husband was the older brother, but yet, the younger one was more successful and thriving. You and your husband moved into Seokjin’s home (even if he did have enough money to lend you a vacation home) and allowed you to borrow his cars whenever needed.

The hours your husband worked were always long, working from sun up to sun down. He came home exhausted and didn’t want to do anything but rest - and you understood. You contemplated asking Jin if there were any available openings in his business for you to work, but your husband shot you down. “I’m the man, Y/N. I have to be the one providing for you.”

As much as you appreciated the efforts your husband set in place, you wanted nothing more than to tell him the truth - that you trusting him got you nowhere. You were homeless, staying in a (large mansion, yes) with his brother, becoming a complete burden on him. 

Your feelings were never stated aloud, but it showed in your actions. You loved your husband to death truly, but you didn’t want to be around him. You soon got your own room in the mansion and to keep yourself busy, decided to take on chores. You cleaned from top to bottom and cooked constantly. As much as you were annoyed with your husband, you always assured he had three meals a day that you cooked personally.

“I am happy to be with you.” you murmur to Jin, understanding that it’s what he wants to hear. Despite being highly successful and wealthy, hearing that he was better than his elder brother brought satisfaction over Kim Seokjin.

“I know you are.” Jin brings a hand up to touch your cheek softly. “Isn’t this why you allow me to do whatever I want to you? Because my good for nothing brother puts his lovely wife…” Jin trails his hand down to your collared neck. “...in the hands of another man.”

You swallow the lump in your throat nervously. 

“Nothing in this world is free, Y/N-ah.” you recall Jin speaking those very words to you for the first time. You had just gotten out of the shower, strolling into your bedroom in nothing but a robe to find the man on your bed. He sits poshly, waiting for you. “I give my brother a job, a place to stay and in return…” Jin trailed off, having since pushed himself from your bed to come to you and without a warning, hands dipped between your robe.

Jin never forgot to remind you that you lived in his home - that you husband (though his  brother) worked right under him and if he truly desired, could fire him at any given moment just because. 

Maybe that’s why you never told Jin no - that you allowed him to touch you. In the beginning, it was only that; touching. He would come up behind you while you washed the dishes and press himself firmly against you, his hands gripping your waist before they rub up your sides - but then he’d leave you be. 

But of course, with you never stopping him - it escalated. Jin was no longer satisfied with just touching you because what was the fun in that? Your husband's work load became longer until he had no days off - and he never went against it. That only meant that you were alone with Jin more often. 

“You keep clenching your legs together.” Jin notes. “Are you rubbing them together because you want some type of friction?” he then shakes his head with a scoff. “Just like a whore would.”

Jin turns away from you and ventures into the bedroom - his bedroom. You swallow, now remembering that you and he were just in the hallway of the large mansion. “Come.”

And you do, following him into his bedroom. You never been inside his room before - he always came to yours. But it’s large and as luxurious as the rest of his home. His bed is large - possibly a California king - and it sits right in the middle of the room and behind it is a large window that takes up nearly the whole wall. It’s snowing, the trees outside are covered in beautiful white snow and the amount of it covers the ground completely. You are in awe at the view that Seokin has just outside his window that has such beautiful natural light that there wasn’t any need for one inside the room to be on.

Your eyes scan over the rest of the room and it’s then you notice just how it’s covered in mirrors - even on the ceiling. You wonder if this is a room Seokjin sleeps in, or just takes whatever flings he has.  

“Come.” Jin repeats, venturing towards the left of his room to a cushioned seat - it’s gray and matches his bed perfectly. He takes a seat, eyebrows lifting for you to come to him. “I’m glad you wore the lingerie I bought for you. Pink is so cute on your skin.”

Jin’s complement causes your body to flush with heat. You could never grow accustomed to it - maybe it’s the way he speaks. He’s always so smooth and his words come out so natural.

“Sit.” Jin commands and you venture over to him. His eyes lower to your crotch, satisfied with himself that he got crotchless lingerie for you to wear. As much as he enjoyed your naked figure, there was something about the pink hue against your skin that he loves to stare at.

“On my thigh.” Jin commands once more and you know where he’s getting at. You swallow once more, seating yourself on his clothed thigh.

Jin loved when you were naked - or nearly - and he was fully clothed. There was something about getting you out of your clothes that drove him crazy, even if he was able to mask it perfectly - and you never fought him about it, either. You were the perfect submissive woman he needed - and the fact that you weren’t his woman made it better.

“Don’t just sit there shy, Y/N.” Jin speaks. He widens his legs, manspreading to get comfortable on the chair. “Go ahead and rub yourself on my thigh. It has to feel better than squeezing your legs together.”

You don’t fight Jin - you never do. Your hips begin to buckle. You never liked when Jin’s eyes were on you - they were so dark and voyeuristic; always watching you whenever he saw fit. However, there’s nothing you could ever say to him about it - he made sure to remind you just who signs your husbands paychecks.

Every Time you do this with Jin - cheat on your husband with his brother - it always ends with you regretting it. But, in the moment, you don’t allow yourself to ever deny him - you tell yourself because your life depends on him, but there was another side of you. The reality of it all that you were enjoying this - secretly enjoying the affair and how scandalous it was. You enjoyed the way Jin would touch you, sometimes even sneaking touches when his brother was around.

“You’re so wet, Y/N. You’re ruining my suit pants. It’s expensive - far more than anything your husband can afford.”

You think Jin enjoys talking down to his brother but cannot understand why. Your husband never does, you note, and when they’re around one another they appear to be close; often laughing and sharing stories of their childhood.

Jin places a hand on your thigh to squeeze it. “Go faster.”

You do as you’re told, a low groan releasing from your lips. You bite your lips to hold back another, but Jin slaps your thigh. “Stop hiding your moans. I want to hear you.” 

You moan a little louder, the friction against your clit feeling just right. You begin to rock your hips in circles, whining at how good it truly felt - and how pathetic you were for allowing this to happen.  

Jin’s eyes darken and he licks his plump lips. There was nothing like a woman - someone like you exactly - grinding against his thigh and chasing her own orgasm. You were considered off-limits - not only a married woman, but a woman who is married to his brother. You were like a forbidden fruit, something so tempting but he shouldn’t have; out of his reach.

But, you weren’t that. Nothing was out of Kim Seokjin’s reach - not even you. You wore the collar that he gave you willingly, along with the lingerie and now, your pussy is drenched and staining his suit pants. “Go ahead and cum for me, Y/N. I know you want to.” Jin says, squeezing your thigh even harder in encouragement. 

Your pussy is so warm and wet; it drenches through Jin’s suit pants and he can feel just how excited you are on his own thigh. 

Jin loves to watch you - loves to watch you come undone just for him. You grind against his thigh harder, whimpering freely as your eyes begin to roll in the back of your head.

Jin slides two fingers beneath your grinding pussy to have a feel of your wet clit and it takes everything in him to not groan at the juices that coat his fingers. “How slutty.” Jin’s voice is raspy as he responds to you.

Your body shudders with goosebumps with how deep Seokjin’s voice becomes. You’re now grinding against Jin’s fingers and you cum almost instantly, a shrill cry releasing from your throat.

Jin places his fingers into his mouth and hums. “How sweet you are, Y/N, cumming all over the place.” he pops his fingers from his mouth. “I let you cum, Y/N. I want you to do the same.”

“Yes, sir-”

Jin is already pushing you off of him and forcing you to your knees. Your eyes open instantly when your knees hit the cold floor, but you don’t protest. 

Jin shakes his head while a smirk forms onto his lips. “You’re so obedient, Y/N. You do everything I tell you to do without question.” he then places a hand against your cheek. “Isn’t that right?”

You nod your head. “That’s right, sir.” you respond. 

Jin hums, his eyes zoning in on your face. His thumb traces your lips softly for a bit, and you’re confused as to what he’s doing and what the hold up was. “I was thinking about giving your husband a raise. He’s been doing such a good job lately.”

There’s malice in Jin’s tone as he speaks; spite. He scoffs a bit after he says it and you swallow at what he’s about to say next in anticipation. “Depends on how well you treat me, Y/N.”

And there it was - you’ve known as much. Jin wasn’t doing anything out of the pure kindness of his heart; he was sleeping with his brother's wife after all. This was nothing but a game to him - whatever issues he had with his brother, you’d never know. 

There’s nothing for you to say in response to Jin. You only nod your head, your hands tangling with his suit pants to take him out. Jin watches you with fierce eyes, never leaving you once. 

Your hands are trembling under his gaze, but this isn’t something that you need to mess up.

It’s sad - and you cannot be upset with anyone but yourself. You’ve allowed Jin to grow comfortable with disrespecting your marriage - you allowed him to talk down about your husband to the point that he does it constantly, even in moments such as this. There’s a part of you that hates yourself for allowing yourself to be used by this man.

But then the other part of you is attempting to give yourself grace. The other side of you wanted to blame your husband for losing everything in the marriage; so much so that you felt like you needed to do this with Jin so the man wouldn’t grow spiteful - so you could remain in his home while your husband continued to work in his brother's company. 

Jin notices your internal dialogue as you begin to remove his cock from his underwear, but he doesn’t bring himself to care much. After all, he never heard a no from you - you gave him what he wanted without a fight.  

Jin was no monster - but you weren’t a saint either. You moaned for him loudly when he was inside of you. You begged for more when you were drunk off of pure pleasure. Your fingernails scarred his back and your juices would stain his clothing.

You wanted this just as badly as Jin did - you were just a married woman who, at the end of it all, had to look herself in the mirror. He didn’t have a wife he had to look at after fucking you - and he could care less about looking his brother in the face.

“You’re doing this for your husband.” Jin says to you, your hand wrapped firmly around his erect cock. His plump lips offer you a smile - that looks more like a smudged smirk - but all he wants to do is make you more comfortable. 

Your lips wrap around Jin’s tip, tongue swirling as if it was a lollipop. There’s pre-cum on it, your tastebuds swallowing the salty substance. 

‘You’re doing this for your husband’ Jin’s words ring through your ears as you do, your hands pumping the shaft of his cock. You couldn’t be so sure you were doing this for him anymore - as selfish as it sounds.

 Losing everything in a blink of an eye has you constantly fearing going through it once more and the selfish side of you was enjoying the attention you weren’t getting from your husband, but from his brother. You were enjoying the expensive gifts that he’d give and the random money he would wire into your account - even if it did eat away at you to accept them.

You continued to suck harder, taking Jin deeper into your mouth. He winces, his hands clenching slightly. Licking his lips, Jin tilts his head at you. “There’s my Y/N.” he moans, hooded eyes watching how purely whorish you appeared taking him fully. “There’s my girl coming out.”

His Y/N - Jin told you time and time again that a part of you - the side that accepted the affair - would come out. This was the side that would moan freely, would hug him closer and the side that would beg for more. This was his Y/N - the Y/N that was determined to make him cum by any means necessary; that would fuck him like her life depended on it (and of course it did).

Your eyes glance up at him and for a moment Jin is stuck. His cheeks flush at you - and it wasn’t something he needed you noticing; he had to have the ultimate control at all times.

The solution? Forcing your head down, taking him even deeper. Your nose hits the cleanly groom patch of hair on his pelvis, his cock hitting the back of your throat. You gag - but it only edges on Jin further. 

“Don’t do it for your husband, Y/N. Do it for yourself.” Jin says, his head firmly on the back of your head to keep you in place. “Maybe that would make you act a little better.”

Your tongue lays flat as you suck, your head managing to lean back so only the tip is in your mouth, and quickly before Jin could react, you take him back into your throat, sucking with all your might.

Jin hisses, his toes curling inside his dress shoes. The noises that echo off of his room are filthy - his moans mixed with your slurping and gagging.

“How selfish my Y/N truly is. You like having a cock in your throat as long as the cock is providing for you, huh?” Jin squeezes his hand into your hair to keep you firmly in place, panting at just how good you were taking him. “I guess I’ll have to spoil you after this, huh? Not like your husband could.”

Your eyes begin to water, but you refuse to stop your sucking. Jin’s hips are moving a bit, and he’s cursing low to himself. He wants to tear his eyes away from you - but he’s mesmerized. There’s drool running down your chin and your eyes are watery and to him you look absolutely beautiful -  how could he not want to wire you thousands of dollars after this?

You pop off of Jin’s cock with a loud ‘pop’ing sound, saliva connecting your lips to his cock. Your hands immediately wrap around his length to jerk him vigorously, your tongue twirling on the tip for him to cum.

“Oh, fuck.” Jin groans, right as your eyes and his connect. You were jerking his cock with need - as if you were the one that was cumming. He begins to whimper, his thighs trembling. The familiar bubbling in his abdomen is returning - like it did time and time again when he was with you. “So good for me, baby.”

Jin’s praises shouldn’t be getting to you, but they do. They always do. He could be demanding while you and he were intimate, as well as degrading. However, there were times in which he did speak to you nicely; complimenting you at how good you were to and for him. He’d often call you beautiful and assured that you would always be taken care of regardless of the situation you were in - in the end of it all, you took it as nothing but pillow talk. 

However, you were now in the moment just as Seokjin was and you were determined to make the man cum. You bring the tip of his cock back into your mouth and you continue to suck, your palm jerking him to cum. Doing this, Jin begins to pant, his speech cut off. His head hangs back and his eyes are rolling with pleasure - such a beautiful sight, you think. Even when convulsing in pleasure did Kim Seokjin look beautiful.

Jin groans -  a groan that comes from deep in his throat. He wants to praise you and tell you just how good you’re doing; but maybe that was the side of him that likes you. That, of course, he can’t. He’s unable to form any words and all he can focus on is the pleasure that runs through his body entirely. It was as if his brain was shutting down and fuck did it feel amazing.

Jin’s thighs are quivering and he’s cumming, his breathing coming out in hushed stutters. He cums so much, thick white robes painting the inside of your mouth. It’s so much that it surprises you that it begins to seep out of your mouth, but you assure yourself to swallow as much as you could.

You release Jin’s cock and heave, the air hitting your throat refreshing. You’re sure you looked a mess; tear stained cheeks, blurry and red eyes and drool (and cum) mixed on your lips. But you don’t dwell on the fact - it wasn’t anything Seokjin wasn’t accustomed to seeing already.

It takes a few moments for Jin to compose himself. His eyes are closed and his thighs gently tremble until they stop completely. His mind is flooding with just what he has gotten himself into with you - an act he does each time you manage to make him cum.

“Sir?”

Jin snaps his eyes open and looks at you. You’re on your knees - where you belonged - and looked at him with a tilted head.

Jin leans forward, licking his plump lips. “You’re so obedient.” he murmurs to you, the Jin you knew coming back like a full circle. “The collar suits you.”

You yelp when Jin snatches said collar and yanks it harshly. His lips meet yours in a rushed kiss - an action he’s never done. You and Seokjin don’t kiss; it’s an act far too intimate for two people having an affair. He never initiated it before, and neither have you. Yet, kissing Jin felt right and there's electricity running through your veins. His lips are warm and soft to the touch and though you never initiated a kiss with the man before, you don’t find yourself pushing away from it.

Jin is amused (and satisfied) when you softly protest when he pushes you away from him. “You look like a kick puppy, Y/N. When was the last time you kissed your husband?”

Jin snickers when you glance away - you did because even you didn’t know. Jin kept his hours long (intentionally, now you know) and there was never any time for you and him to ever be alone. And even though you loved your husband for wanting to be better and get out of the financial bind he put the two of you in, there's a sinister side to you that still despises him for putting you in that situation to begin with.

“Come.”

Jin yanks at your collar and has you standing to your feet along with him. He pushes you towards his bed and you fall back with a low yelp. 

“Open your legs.” Jin demands and instantly, you comply. “Good girl.” he murmurs.

Between your legs was Jin’s favorite place to be - being inside you or his tongue buried in your pussy. Your pussy is always wet for him; warm and inviting. You gave it up to him so willingly and each time he took it with gratitude. 

Jin couldn’t get enough of you - and it had to be a deeper reason. You weren’t his woman to have, but he took you selfishly. He buries his tongue deep against your clit, not taking another second away. He laps against your pussy eagerly, eyes glancing up to see your shocked (yet satisfied) face - brows knitted and mouth agape as a moan draws out.

Jin’s hands place themselves on your outer thigh, allowing you to slightly cage him in between them - because that could never stop him from having his taste of you. He has no choice but to bury his face deeper into your pussy, suckling even harder against your swollen clit.

“F-Feels so good, sir.” you wail and Jin knows this. His eyes never leave your face as his tongue continues to lap. “G-Gonna cum already.”

Jin snickers - you were always so quick to cum when he had you like this. Like the perfect little whore you were, he thinks. He knows his brother could never please you the same way he does - you always walked around so uptight and shy. Your legs clenched together for whatever friction because his brother was far too busy to pleasure you.

 Now, you had that glow to you. Jin assured that you’d cum each and every time you and him were together - just like now.

Jin slams your legs open, pinning them against your shoulder. The position is as lewd as his actions, but that doesn’t stop him. He devours your pussy entirely, tongue ravishing your clit so loudly that his suckling is dancing off of the walls.

“S-Sir, slow down-”

Jin didn’t want to hear anything you were about to say. You didn’t tell him what to do - he was Kim Seokjin. If he wanted to lick your clit until you were squirting against him he would - because he was Kim Seokjin. 

Jin’s hands hold your thighs apart even tighter to assure you have no way to escape him, his tongue sliding against your clit entirely and entering in and out of you. Your eyes snap shut, squeezing so tightly. You were being swallowed up by the black hole of pleasure. There’s whimpering coming from you as well as the familiar moisture at the corner of your eyes. 

Jin shoves you away hastily. “I’m going to fuck a baby into you, Y/N.” Jin says suddenly - an act that is just as shocking as him kissing you.

You don’t get time to protest before Jin is flipping you onto your stomach and forcing your ass into the air. He’s behind you, positioning himself at your entrance.

Jin enters you without hesitation, needing no time to prep you because of how wet you are. He starts off rough, cock so deep that it brings back the familiar black hole of pleasure. 

Jin is brutal as he fucks you - but he was a man on a mission. He’s clouded by his own lust and selfish desire that he doesn’t hold back any of his own thoughts. 

“You’d want that, wouldn’t you?” Jin asks harshly, pulling both of your hands behind your back to hoist you up. “For me to fuck a baby into you?”

“Y-Yes, sir!” you wail, far too gone in pleasure that you don’t completely take in what Jin is saying. 

“You’re so drunk off of dick that you’ll say anything. There’s my Y/N.” Jin cracks his hips deeper and deeper into you, hitting your sweet spot with each thrust. Your juices are leaking down your thigh and staining his bedsheets, but he would never care. “I’m going to get you pregnant and watch my pathetic brother raise the child as his.” he laughs gleefully, his plan completely insane. 

You’re pushed away from Jin and you fall completely against the mattress. Jin hikes a leg up so he can go deeper into you.

“But don’t worry, Y/N. I’ll make sure our child has the best of the best.” Jin groans, eyes focused on the way your ass bounces against him. “And when they’re of age, I’ll tell them the truth. That the pathetic father they thought they had was not really their father.” Jin leans down, both hands firmly against the mattress for support. “And they’ll inherit millions from me. It’s better than having nothing like my pathetic brother.”

“Feels so good!” you moan into the mattress and all Jin could do is laugh - because you were far too gone to notice anything he was saying; and just how real his plans for you are.

“Yeah?” Jin manages to flip you again and now on your back, he allows you to wrap your legs around him. “So good for me, Y/N. Such an obedient little whore.”

Jin connects his lips to yours again and instantly, you wrap your arms around him. You were determined not to let him go this time - and he allowed it. Kissing you felt right; even when it was wrong. Not only because you weren’t his woman (because he was well aware of such and didn’t give a fuck) but because it was a sign of affection.

“Want you to fuck me all night.” you plead against his lips, holding him so close that you coild feel his own heartbeat. 

So dick drink, Jin thinks, but he doesn’t respond. He’s unable to, far too focused on giving you exactly what you want. 

Jin ponders how his brother wasn’t fighting him to have more time off of work. Your pussy is amazing - carved from the Gods. You’re gripping him so tight with a pussy that’s so wet that if he was in his brothers position, he wouldn’t be at work now - no, he’d be fucking you into the mattress.

But Jin wasn’t your husband and he was doing exactly what he should be doing to you.

“Squeezing me so tight, Y/N. Gonna cum already?” Jin taunts, but even he was ready to cum inside of you.

 The thought of getting you pregnant is stuck deep in Jin’s mind; watching you grow heavy and round with his seed. He would have a deep bond with the child, assuring that he would be loved far more than his brother would be with the child. He would be impressed with how large your breast would be as you grew with his child and how beautiful you’d look pregnant.

“Shit,” Jin’s forehead presses against yours. He plunges his cock inside of you with need now - the need to impregnate immediately - and to do this as many times as it takes for you to conceive.

Warmth floods deep inside of you just as you’re reaching your high. You squeeze Jin, hugging him closer to your exhausted and convulsing body and never wanting to let the man go.

You and Jin fucked for hours in various positions you’ve never been in. You had awoken suddenly, body exhausted in a bedroom that didn’t belong to you. Jin wasn’t there, you noticed, and that was your cue to take your leave.

Doing the walk of shame back to your bedroom was something you’d have to look yourself in the mirror about later. Your body was aching and all you truly wanted to do was have a soothing bath and then go right back to sleep.

You opened the door to your bedroom and stopped in your tracks. Your eyes scanned the room entirely.

Balloons littered the ceiling entirely - all red, white and pink. Your bed - king-sized that sat in the middle of the room, sat rose petals shaped neatly into a large heart. In the middle of it sat a small envelope, but that was the least of your concerns. 

Flower bouquets are surrounding your bed - all roses of different colors - and there’s dozens of gift bags waiting to be opened.

You enter your bedroom and close your door behind you. You ponder did your husband do all of this for you - and if he did, just how did he manage to do so without wondering where you were at the entire time?

Your heart sinks at the thought of your husband doing this for you and you were cheating on him with his brother.

You grasp the small envelope on your bed and open it. It’s a card - something simple written inside of it but it causes your heart to swell with realization.

My Y/N.

Happy Valentine’s Day

-Seokjin

part 2 | teaser to part 2

[coffeeman777]

This is for all of my follwers/mutuals who are Christians:

I want to preface this by saying that what I'm about to share with you is only to ask you for prayer. I don't want favors, and I'm not looking for a handout. We need God to open a door for us, and so I beg you, please pray for us.

We moved to Florida coming on three years ago. We came here primarily because we believed God was leading us here. In various ways, we believed God confirmed His will for us, and so I left a great job and we sold a great house to move here. We have been opposed in every way imaginable since.

Days after moving down, Lisa and I were in a terrible car accident that we only walked away from by God's grace. We were rear-ended by an Edible Arrangements delivery truck on the highway, and Lisa sustained significant injuries that are still causing us major problems. The franchise owner was operating their delivery vehicle without insurance, and I've learned since that they shut down their Edible Arrangements franchise and took off, leaving us holding the bag.

I've been in armed security since I got out of the Marines, and in New Hampshire, that was enough to take care of myself and my family. But it isn't in Florida. The pay for most armed security gigs here is super low, and I haven't been able to find work comparable to what I had in New Hampshire. So I tried to change courses.

I earned my personal trainer certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, but couldn't make it as a trainer. I made the attempt to go back to college and get a degree and certification as a paramedic, but after months of jumping through hoops, that fell through. I went back to New Hampshire by myself and spent six months away from my family to try to earn enough money working both my old job and a second job, but that plan didn't work because hours were limited with both gigs, and each job wanted me to work overlapping hours; I couldn't make the schedules line up.

My incredibly generous parents-in-law offered to pay our bills so that I could come back to Florida and try a new plan. I went to a CDL training course to get into trucking. After the very long and very expensive process, I finally got my CDL-A. While I was working on that, a random disagreement between my health insurance company and the medical supplier that issued me my cpap (I have sleep apnea) resulted in the supplier demanding that I give them the machine back. It took from middle February to early June for me to get another cpap. The end result is that, as of today, I have just under two months of cpap usage data. I discovered only after getting my CDL that no trucking company will hire me with less than 90 days of cpap usage data.

I've been pre-hired and subsequently turned away from three different trucking companies since I got my CDL over the cpap nonsense (one of which told me that what I had for cpap usage was fine, only to tell me on the first day of orientation that it actually wasn't fine, and they had to let me go). It's going to be another month before I can get started with any trucking company, and I'm concerned that I'll have to go to refresher training, which will only increase the months of time I'll have to spend as a trainee with whatever company hires me, which means it will be a long time before I make enough money to survive.

My in-laws can't continue paying our bills, and although I've had a half dozen low paying jobs in this time just to be bringing in something, now I'm struggling to get anything. I've applied to more jobs than I can remember, and I can't get any traction. Not even Domino's will call me back. Our backs are up against a wall.

My first payment for the money I borrowed to pay for CDL school was due almost a month ago, and I haven't been able to pay it (I had to get financing because my GI Bill expired and the VA ignored my request for an extension). Rent is almost 2k a month. We can't afford groceries (we've been living off of food pantries).

I don't know what to do. I've been crying out to God for an open door, but so far nothing has happened. My in-laws are just about tapped out, and in my mind, the only thing worse than wrecking my own family financially is dragging them down with me.

Please pray for us. Please pray for God to give us an open door, or some understanding of what to do next. I know God didn't bring us here to let us die. God is good, and God keeps His promises. God is perfect, and righteous, and just in all His ways. God has promised that He will turn about all things for the good of them that love Him. I know God has not abandoned us, and that when the time is right, God will make a way.

I say again, I am not looking for favors or begging for money. I know all of us are really going through it right now. All I want from you is prayer. Please pray intensely for us.

Thanks, I love you all.

[xostarr]

✧ FEATURING: Taiju x fem! reader

✧ WARNINGS: smut drabbles, kidnapping, suggestive

✧ PROMPT: "size" (from this prompt list)

Maybe you should have been scared. After all, Taiju was not known to be kind or gentle. He was a threat, he was monstrous, but that was exactly what had you blushing.

He was just so unbelievably large.

"Sir, I-I don't have anything to give you."

Taiju leaned in close, stretching across your frame and placing an arm on the back of your chair. He was trying to intimidate you, but it wasn't working, not how he had intended for it to. You were shaking in your seat, but not out of fear.

"You have nothing to give me? Not even a cent of what you owe me?"

You shook your head. You should have known better than to borrow money from the Black Dragons, but now it was too late. Today was the deadline to pay them back and you didn't have anything.

You looked Taiju in the eye. He was angry, certainly. He didn't even try to hide it. His eyebrows were tense and his mouth was downturned. The anger showed on his face, but as your eyes traveled down his body you noticed something else.

Slowly you started spreading your legs, letting your tight skirt rise up your thighs as you did. Your eyes looked back at Taiju's, but he wasn't looking at your face anymore. He was looking down.

"I don't have any of the money I owe you, sir, but there are other ways I could help you... if you're interested."

Your hands worked their way down your thighs, pulling your skirt up even higher. Your panties were soaked. Just the thought of one of Taiju's large hands reaching down to touch you, to slide a finger inside, to fuck you.... god it was weighing on your mind more than anything, and after spitting the bulge in his pants you knew he wanted it too. This was how you could pay him back.

For a moment he was silent and you thought you were screwed. You'd offended him. He was only going to ask more of you now, he was going to hurt you or your family, or worse, he may just kill you for this. But then you saw it - a smile slowly crawling across his face.

He laughed, his voice loud and deep, echoing across the warehouse.

"You are offering me something you can't handle, you realize that don't you?" Taiju leaned in even closer, you could feel his breath on your ear as he spoke, "But if it is all you have, I will take my first payment now."

2024 © all works belong to xostarr. do not repost my work anywhere else.

[treason-and-plot]

“What?” says Roy. He shakes his head in an effort to wake up his brain, which seems to be suffering from momentary paralysis. He is on the one hand delighted that Michael is in deep shit, but he is also dismayed that Anya is so upset. It hurts his heart to hear her cry. But his dismay is exacerbated by the fact that she had such a strong reaction to the revelation- she’s acting as if her father had been caught having an affair. Which obviously isn’t the case.

“How did your mother find out?” he asks Anya, deciding to reserve sharing any of his personal thoughts about Michael’s indiscretions, at least for the moment. Anya puts the phone down to blow her nose. She takes a few deep breaths. When she speaks again her voice is a little less wobbly.

“The bank rang her about an unusual transaction on their joint credit card and she asked them to email her a statement. Dad looks after all the bills including the payment of their credit card and normally she never gets to see any bills or statements. The unusual transaction just turned out to be my sister borrowing the card to buy §300 worth of Simmora makeup, but Mum went through the rest of the transactions and she noticed that every week there was a charge of §200 billed to a company called-“

“Active Advisory Pty Ltd,” Roy’s brain whispers to itself.

“Active Advisory Pty Ltd,” Anya says. “Which sounds like a financial services company or something, right? Which Mum thought was really bizarre. So she did some investigating and found out it’s actually the company name of the owners of a strip club called The Pink Pony. So Mum confronted Dad about it and he admitted he’s been going there every week for the past year! And spending §200 on private sessions!”

“Well, shit,” says Roy. “That’s…that’s a lot of visits.”

“Mum’s devastated!” says Anya. “I am too! I can’t believe Dad would cheat on Mum like that! It’s just made me question everything I thought was real.”

“Technically, is it really cheating, though?” says Roy.

“How can you say that!” gasps Anya. “Of course it’s cheating!”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, I’m just trying to wrap my head around everything,” says Roy quickly. “And hey, what about your sister stealing the card to spend §300 on makeup? That’s terrible!”

“Roy, I don’t think you understand. My parents are probably on the verge of divorce over this! My mother hasn’t stopped crying since my Dad confessed and she’s talking about going to stay with her sister in Barnacle Bay! The last thing they’re concerned about is Eva blowing money on make up!”

“Well, maybe they should be at least a little bit concerned,” says Roy. “Just saying. But, ah, okay, obviously the other stuff is a bit more concerning. Particularly the amount of money he’s been spending-“

“The money isn’t the issue here, Roy!” says Anya. “You just don’t seem to be getting it! My Dad has been visiting prostitutes! Sex workers! I can barely think of a worse betrayal! P….poor Mum….” 

 She starts sobbing again.

[slayfics]

Illumi comes with a warning.

900 words

Warnings: mentions of death

You sat in your room, a gentle breeze swept through bringing the fresh air in with it. It was peaceful, you mindlessly scrolled on your phone enjoying the fleeting relaxation that is so hard to come by nowadays.

Giggling at a silly video, another breeze came through, strong enough to blow your curtains this time. The rustling caught your attention, and your eyes diverted from your screen to your curtains to watch them stir. The breeze continued and with it, your curtains flowed, however, the shadow of a figure behind your curtains became visible.

You screamed at the intrusion, curtains settling down revealing the man behind the curtains. Long black hair flowing he stated, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"Illumi?!" You exclaimed confused, unsure why the assassin had appeared in your room.

"Quick, we have to go," he said shortly.

"Hu? What do you mean?" You asked, but without answering he grabbed you, moving you both a great distance from your house in a matter of seconds. Once satisfied by the distance Illumi hid with you behind a building.

"What the hell is going on?!" You asked again, irritated at the hasty removal from your peaceful room.

"Keep your voice down," Illumi instructed before explaining, "Someone has hired my father to kill you."

"WHAT!?" You yelled.

Illumi covered your mouth, "I said keep your voice down," he instructed once more. "You have to be quiet. Do you understand?"

You nodded slowly eyes wide at the information Illumi had just explained. If this was true, and someone had hired Silva to assassinate you, you were on borrowed time.

"Illumi, that doesn't make any sense. Who would pay that price to kill me?" You asked.

"I cannot tell you that," he answered.

"I just don't get it... I don't think I've pissed off anyone that much," you wondered. Before you could dispute the point any further you heard a deafening sound, something that you could only imagine was a devastating explosion.

You peered around the side of the building; the sight made your blood run cold. Your place was destroyed, only rumble where it used to be. However, the surrounding buildings and monuments were untouched.

Illumi quickly snatched you back behind the building, "Do you want to die!?" He scolded.

"Of course not! But if your father is after me, I'm as good as dead already!" You spat back, fear gripping you at accepting you were in the last moments of your life.

"No. Not if you're quiet and listen to me," Illumi stated.

You looked up at him, your mouth agape unsure if you understood him correctly, "You... you're going to help me?" It didn't make any sense to you that Illumi would go against his family business.

"My father was hired to kill you, not me," he explained. "All I have to do is kill who hired my father, then you'll be safe. My father won't have a reason to kill you if he's not collecting money for it."

"Oh. So, you- want me to pay you then? To assassinate whoever hired Silva to kill me," You clarified. Understanding now Illumi must have been coming to you for a guaranteed job.

Illumi started at you blankly, "No. I would never illicit a job that way."

Your expression mirrored the same bewildered expression Illumi had. You couldn't believe he was offering to kill someone for you without payment and for the purpose of saving your life. Your adventures had brought you two to cross paths several times, but you didn't realize how much your company had grown on him.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"Save your gratitude for after I pull this off," he said.

"Ok, so what is the plan?" You asked.

"While I hunt down and kill who hired my father, I have to keep you somewhere my father won't find easily," Illumi explained. "I think that will best be achieved if I'm able to manipulate you freely," Illumi said, holding up pins between his fingers.

You started at the pins settled between his fingers, hesitant to answer. His plan was to keep you hidden and undetectable. It makes sense that to do that he would want full control over you. Under his control, you would follow his lead without any questions or communication needed.

Yet, the thought crossed your mind of if Illumi was telling the truth. Is it possible this was a big ruse for Illumi to manipulate you easily, and without a fight? What if, Illumi was actually the Zoldyck hired to kill you, and this was his way of doing it gently?

"Hm? Don't you trust me?" he asked.

Truthfully no, no you didn't trust him. You weren't so naive to blindly believe an assassin. Yet, what was the other option?

If this was the truth and you denied Illumi's help, Silva would kill you. If this was a lie and Illumi's way of killing you softly, and you fought back, Illumi would kill you. Any way you looked at it, you only had one slim chance of survival. To hope that Illumi was being honest.

"Yes, yes I trust you." You whispered looking back up at Illumi.

"Good, this will only sting for a second," he promised, swiftly piercing you with his Nen needles.

sinners: @unofficialsapphire @illumiiiz @hyperiondickrider

[galaxygolfergirl]

Watcher's Expenses

I didn't major in accounting: I took three classes and it grinded my brain to a fine powder. However, after graduating with a business admin degree, being a former eager fan of their videos, and from a cursory glance over their socials, there's a lot to consider in their spending behavior that really could start racking up costs. Some of these things we've already noticed, but there are other things I'd like to highlight, and I'll try to break it down into the different categories of accounting expenses (if I get something wrong, let me know. I was more concentrated in marketing 🤷‍♀️). I'm not going to hypothesize numbers either, as that would take out more time than I'm willing to afford-- you can assume how much everything costs. Anyways, here's my attempt at being a layman forensic accountant:

Note: All of this is assuming they're operating above board and not engaging in any illegal practices such as money laundering, tax evasion, not paying rent, etc.

Operating Expenses

Payroll: 25+ staff salaries and insurance

Overhead Expenses

CEO/founder salaries

Office space leasing or rent (In L.A, one of the most expensive cities in the US)

Utilities (water, electricity, heating, sanitation, etc.)

Insurance

Advertising Costs

Telephone & Internet service

Cloud Storage or mainframe

Office equipment (furniture, computers, printers, etc.)

Office supplies (paper, pens, printer ink, etc.)

Marketing costs (Social media marketing on Instagram, Youtube, SEO for search engines, Twitter, etc. Designing merchandise and posters, art, etc. )

Human Resources (not sure how equipped they are)

Accounting fees

Property taxes

Legal fees

Licensing fees

Website maintenance (For Watchertv.com, Watcherstuff.com, & Watcherentertainment.com)

Expenses regarding merchandising (whoever they contract or outsource for that)

Inventory costs

Potentially maintenance of company vehicles

Subsequent gas mileage for road trips

Depreciation (pertains to tangible assets like buildings and equipment)

Amortization (intangible assets such as patents and trademarks)

Overhead Travel and Entertainment Costs (I think one of the biggest culprits, evident in their videos and posts)

The travel expenses (flights, train trips, rental cars, etc. For main team and scouts)

Hotel expenses for 7-8 people at least, or potentially more

Breakfasts, lunches and dinners with the crew (whether that's fully on their dime or not, I don't know; Ryan stated they like to cover that for the most part)

Recreational activities (vacation destinations, amusement parks, sporting activities etc.)

The location fees

Extraneous Overhead costs (not sure exactly where these fall under, but another culprit, evident in videos and posts)

Paying for guest appearances

Expensive filming & recording equipment (Cameras, sound equipment, editing software subscriptions, etc.)

The overelaborate sets for Ghost files, Mystery Files, Puppet History, Podcasts etc. (Set dressing: Vintage memorabilia, antiquated tech, vintage furniture, props, etc.)

Kitchen & Cooking supplies/equipment

Office food supply; expensive food and drink purchases for videos

Novelty items or miscellaneous purchases (ex. Ghost hunting equipment, outfits, toys, etc.)

Non-Operating Expenses

These are those expenses that cannot be linked back to operating revenue. One of the most common examples of non-operating expenses is interest expense. This is because while interest is the cost of borrowing money from a creditor or a bank, they are not generating any operating income. This makes interest payments a part of non-operating expenses.

Financial Expenses

Potential loan payments, borrowing from creditors or lenders, bank loans, etc.

Variable Expenses

Hiring a large amount of freelancers, overtime expenditure, commissions, etc.

PR consultations (Not sure if they had this before the scandal)

Extraordinary Expenses

Expenses incurred outside your company’s regular business activities and during a large one-time event or transactions. For example, selling land, disposal of a significant asset, laying off of your employees, unexpected machine repairing or replacement, etc.

Accrued Expenses

When your business has incurred an expense but not yet paid for it.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(If there's anything else I'm missing, please feel free to add or correct things)

To a novice or a young entrepreneur, this can be very intimidating if you don't have the education or the support to manage it properly. I know it intimidates the hell out of me and I'm still having to fill in the gaps (again, if I've mislabeled or gotten anything wrong here, please let me know). For the artistic or creative entrepreneur, it can be even harder to reconcile the extent of your creative passions with your ability to operate and scale your business at a sustainable rate. That can lead to irresponsible, selfish, and impulsive decisions that could irreparably harm your brand, which is a whole other beast of its own.

My guess at this point is that their overhead and operation expenses are woefully mismanaged; they've made way too many extraneous purchases, and that they had too much confidence in their audience of formerly 2.93 million to make up for the expenses they failed to cover.

It almost seems as if their internal logic was, "If we make more money, we can keep living the expensive lifestyle that we want and make whatever we want without anyone telling us we can't, and we want to do it NOW, sooner rather than later because we don't want wait and compromise our vision." But as you can see, the reality of fulfilling those ambitions is already compromised by the responsibility of running a business.

And I wrote this in another post here, but I'll state it again: Running a business means you need to be educated on how a business can successfully and efficiently operate. Accounting, marketing, social media marketing, public relations, production, etc; these resources and internet of things is available and at your disposal. If they had invested more time in educating themselves on those aspects and not made this decision based on artistic passion (and/or greed), they would have not gotten the response they got.

Being a graphic designer, I know the creative/passionate side of things but I also got a degree/got educated in business because I wanted to understand how to start a company and run it successfully. If they’re having trouble handling the responsibility of doing that, managing production costs, managing overhead expenses, and especially with compensating their 25+ employees, then they should hire professionals that are sympathetic to their creative interests, but have the education and experience to reign in bad decisions like these.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my TedTalk. What a shitshow this has been.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not wanting to babysit my nephews?

Before you judge me based on that, I know how bad it sounds - there is a lot of context behind it.

So, I'm 17 and in my last year of high school. My older sister, Hum, 23 and has two kids, both under the age of three. I have a younger sister too, CJ, who is 16.

(The father of Hum's kids is an asshole, which is why he is not mentioned. His family is the same.)

A few months back, around early November, Hum asked CJ to stay with her kids in the car while she went shopping for food (CJ has a boyfriend that lives semi-nearby that she usually stays with on weekends). Now I know that it sounds reasonable, but CJ later told me and our parents that Hum had borrowed money from her (100+) and is yet to pay her back.

Hum does not have a job, and gets money from the government to keep her and the boys healthy and happy (roughly 1100 per fortnight, with a varying payment each week). She often complains about being out of food or not having enough money to buy things that she needs, which I understand but whenever I stay with her she always has a cupboard and fridge full of food.

CJ said no, because she wanted to stay at her boyfriend's house and because it's common for Hum to take a long time to shop and get things that she doesn't actually need. This caused Hum to essentially blow up at her, calling her a slut and saying that CJ only ever comes around anymore when she gets something out of it (which is a lie. CJ has spent probably the most time with Hum and the boys just because she wanted to).

Now, my parents and Hum have always had a rocky relationship from when I was younger, enough so that Hum stopped living at home at roughly CJ's age. They've mended it in the past few years, but Hum does still occasionally argue with them or text them hurtful things.

When CJ told our parents about what Hum said to her, they confronted her about it. It eventually got into the family group chat, where I tried to calm the situation down by defending CJ (Hum proceeded to tell me to "get a dick") and stopped when our father told us to just go to sleep and stop interacting with Hum.

The next day she blocked all of us on everything, and the next time we heard from her again was around Christmas. We have a yearly lunch at my Gran's house, and we weren't sure if Hum was going to attend. She eventually did, and it was fairly civil.

She never formally apologised, as far as I know, but we're all on generally good terms now. During the school holidays just passed, Hum asked me on multiple occasions to come to her house and help take care of her kids for the night.

I used to do it often before the big fight, so the request wasn't unusual, but I still felt weird being around her due to what happened. Hum's told me about what happened at home when I was younger, but she also has a habit of blowing things out of proportion or lying/telling an exaggerated her side of events.

The most recent was a week or so ago, when Hum showed up at my house to take me to hers. I was not aware of this beforehand and tried to say no a few times before caving and going with her. Legally, she has to have a night away from the kids for her mental health, so it feels really bad to deny her that, even though I had holiday homework to catch up on that I intended to do.

Even though I have stayed with Hum for a lot of nights, I feel horrible about myself when I say no to her since I know that that's just how she is. I know that she's getting help for her BPD and trying to be better, but it's just uncomfortable for me to be around her sometimes.

And I love my nephews, but I am not mentally equipped to help take care of them very often. I suspect I have autism, and find it difficult to take care of myself sometimes, especially when I get frustrated (which is inevitable when taking care of a toddler and an almost-toddler). And I was very stressed at the time due to the upcoming school year, so my fuse was a lot shorter than usual.

What are these acronyms?

[outsidersheadcanons]

Do you think Darry was at that stage of his life where he was like "God, get me out of here!"

He was close to Darrel. The man was his favorite person in the whole world. But Darry was 19-20ish he was fresh out of high school for a while and needed to save money for College. He was so close to moving out, he had the down payment for an apartment and everything. Darry wanted to be his own man away from his Dad's name and face. He wanted to have his own identity---at collage. Where people would call his name to talk to him, not mistake him for his Dad or talk about his Dad.

He loved his mother but he was getting annoyed with her pestering him about doing all the hard labor chores, like cleaning the gutters, chopping the wood, tilling the garden in the back. All the chores Darrel couldn't do cause he was working. He also didn't like that she poked her nose into his love life, "What happened to that girl you brought over last week?" Like every girl he laid eyes on he was going to marry or something. He loved his mom, but the coddling at his age was aggravating.

He loved his brothers, but they were getting on his last nerves too. Sodapop just learned how to drive and kept bugging him to borrow his car--"For the last time, no!" Darry found himself saying every time Sodapop was in his vision and opened his mouth. And Ponyboy? Well, the kid was stressed out because he had been bumped up a grade and always went to him for homework help and Darry didn't want to be bothered with that. He wasn't a parent. "Darry, how do I find the value of a fraction?" "Work it out, Pone. I showed you a million times last night."

Darry just wanted his freedom, not to be some slave or second parent around the house.

yes I do think so. Don’t get me wrong this guy loves his family, but he really wanted some space and independence 😭

[kudouusagi]

Buddy Daddies Drama CD Vol 1 – When one door closes, another door opens

*Gun sounds*

*Large explosion*

Video Game: MISSION FAILED!

Rei: Gah...? I lost?

Rei: *Sighs* Right now I'm so... bored...

*Stomach rumbling*

*Presses button on phone*

Concierge: Good Morning, Suwa-sama!

Rei: I'm making an order. Mild beef curry, a steak, a cola...

Concierge: Thank you so much for doing business with our hotel. However we need to discuss your payment with you...

*********************

Rei: I can't use it?

Concierge: That's right. This card has been suspended. Do you have another form of payment

that you could use?

Rei: Ugh...

*********************

Concierge: Wait!

*Rei running*

*Car honks*

Driver: Hey you! Watch where you're going!!

Rei: This is bad... The family card has been cut off... so I don't have money!

*********************

Kazuki: I'm gonna score big! RED!

Crowd: Ohh!

Girl 1: Wow! You’re betting it all?

Girl 2: Kazu-kun, you're so brave!

*Chugs drink*

Kazuki: Ahhh! I’m on a roll today! I'm gonna win this one and be rich!

*Ball rolling to a stop*

Kazuki: AAAHHHHHHH!!!!

*********************

*Kazuki shivering*

Girl 1: Come again, okay?

*Kazuki sneezes and drinks more*

Kazuki: Ugh... Ah... My life is over...

Kyuutarou: Don't just decide that on your own.

Kazuki: Kyuu-chan!

Kyuutarou: Kazuki. Come to Yadorigi.

*********************

Kyuutarou: Can you even work a proper job after all this time? The only kind of work for you is dirty work. Isn't that right?

Kazuki: Yeah... that's right...

Kyuutarou: You keep failing your jobs and I haven't been able to contact you. Is this really the time to be drowning yourself in alcohol?

Kazuki: I'm sorry...

Kyuutarou: How many years do you think it's been since that accident? Can you face Karin-chan like this? 

Kazuki: Ah...

Kyuutarou: This is your last chance.

Kazuki: Last?

Kyuutarou: If you mess up this job... I'll kill you.

Kazuki: Wait...! Anything but that!

Kyuutarou: Then make sure this job is a success.

*Paper crinkling*

Kazuki: Huh? Who's this...?

Kyuutarou: Suwa Rei. The son of our organization’s leader, also known as the "murder machine"

***************

*Convenience store bell ringing*

Cashier: Welco-...me...

Rei: *Grumbling*

Cashier: Eh? That guy's kinda creepy! His hair and beard are both unkempt and he’s stumbling around.... He seems like he'd be able to kill someone...

Rei: Umm...

Cashier: Y-yes? How can I help you?

Rei: How much is this?

Cashier: A teriyaki dog? It's 150 yen.

Rei. Mmm... *counts coins* 39 yen...

Cashier: Ah... Not enough, huh...?

Rei: *Sighs*

Cashier: Sir... Is something wrong?

Rei: Coat...

Cashier: Huh?!

Rei: Nevermind...

*Rei walks out while groaning*

Young Girl Cashier: Ah... Thank... you... What was with that guy?

***************

Rei: I’m an assassin. I can't bother civilians.

Thug: Aniki!

Aniki: Yeah? How'd it go?

Thug: I got the ransom! Here it is!

Aniki: Great job! Let's see it~

*Rei grabs bag*

Aniki: Huh?

Thug: Who are you!?

Rei: I'm borrowing this!

Thug: Huh!? Hey, give that back!

Aniki: Hey! Come on! Stop!

Thug: We’ve lost him!

Aniki: That thief! I'm gonna find him even if I have to turn this whole town upside down! Go find him!

Thug: Okay!

Rei: How annoying...

*Gun clicks*

Rei: Should I kill them...?

Kazuki: Hold on!

Rei: Who’re you?!

Kazuki: I found you, murder machine, Suwa Rei. My name is Kurusu Kazuk- Woah, woah, woah! Where are you going!?

*Running and panting*

Kazuki: Hey! Wait!

*More running and panting*

Kazuki: Fuck.

Kazuki: He’s so fast! I guess it's to be expected from an elite of the Suwa family? Fuck... I can't keep up...

Even though I'm confident in my running ability... all that drinking’s messed with me. Useless assassins will be gotten rid of... If he gets away now... then I'll...!

*Stops running and catches breath*

Kazuki: Maybe that's for the best. I’m a useless drunkard. There’s no one to mourn for me. That's just what I deserve. I'm finally... going to hell...

*can clinking*

Kazuki: Hm? Over there?

*Mechanical door opens*

Kazuki: Come out! Suwa Rei!

*Fist fight*

Kuzuki: Fuck.

*Gun clicks*

Rei: You know my name. You must be in the same line of work.

Kazuki: Wait! You don't understand!

Rei: You must protect yourself again-Hrk! (Idiom: 降り懸かる火の粉は払わねばならぬ Meaning: You must protect yourself against any possible dangers. Literally: you have to brush off any sparks that land on you)

Kazuki: Huh? What? He suddenly fainted?

*Stomach grumbling*

Rei: I’m... hungry...

Kazuki: Huh?!

*****************

*Rei groaning*

Kazuki: Oh! You’re up? Hold on, it's almost done.

Rei: Where...?

Kazuki: My place.

Rei: It’s dirty.

Kazuki: That's all you have to say to the guy who saved your life? I've had a lot going on so I haven't had time to clean.

Kazuki: Here~! Eat.

Rei: Food?

Kazuki: You're malnourished, aren't you?

Rei: Are you sure?

Kazuki: Don’t spill it.

*Slurping sounds*

Kazuki: How is it?

Rei: Udon.

Kazuki: You can tell just by looking at it! How does it taste?

Rei: Like soy sauce?

Kazuki: Because it’s udon! I'm asking if it tastes good?

Rei: It’s normal.

Kazuki: What the hell are you?! At times like this it's only polite to tell someone “It's so delicious!” as thanks even if it's just flattery!

Rei: Hmm!

Kazuki: Huh? Damn, man... Your file said you don't understand polite society and have zero life skills, but you're really like a robot! So... you ran away from home?

Rei: Yeah...

Kazuki: And you're already broke? The money in that bag... it's the ransom from the kidnapping case that’s all over the news, isn't it?

Rei: Probably.

Kazuki: Did you do a kidnapping?

Rei: I borrowed it.

Kazuki: Borrowed it?

Rei: From the kidnappers.

Kazuki: You liar! You stole it!

Rei: I didn’t have any money.

Kazuki: Ugh... Why in the world did you target such troublesome people?

Rei: I can't bother civilians.

Kazuki: You're strangely conscientious.

*Rei continues eating*

Rei: Done.

Kazuki: Osomatsusama (Set phrase to thank someone after they eat your cooking that means sorry for the crude food)

Rei: Kurusu... umm...?

Kazuki: It's Kazuki.

Rei: Kazuki.... Why didn’t you kill me?

Kazuki: Oh, don't get the wrong idea. My job was to protect you.

Rei: Protect?

Kazuki: There's a certain order to this town. Having a lone wolf like you running around wild is a problem. But you’re quite skilled, aren't you. There’s plenty of troubles you can deal with around here. If you work for Kyuu-chan, this town'’s boss, I'm sure you'll make good money.

Rei: Money...

Kazuki: Did you really think you could run away from home and become a normal person? The only kind of work for us is dirty work. Isn't that right? Do you want to slowly die from malnutrition or do you want to play with the cards you’ve been dealt?

Rei: Umm...

Kazuki: Hm? What is it?

Rei: Get me in contact with that boss.

Kazuki: Oh! Okay.

Rei: Thanks.

Kazuki: Huh? Nah I just did my job. You don't need to thank me for anything!

Rei: Mm.

Kazuki: Mmm... What?... It’s not like I’m happy that you thanked me or anythi-

Rei: Move!

*Rei shoves Kazuki to the ground*

Kazuki: Ah! Hey! What’re you do—?!

*Bullets and yelling from thugs*

Thug: We know you're in there!!

Kazuki: Gah! you idiot! Stop! Hey! My place will-!!

Rei: It’s fine. Leave it to me.

Kazuki: Rei?!

Rei: I’ll take responsibility for this. 

*Thugs yelling and shooting*

Kazuki: Wah! Wah! Hey! Wah! Stop! Wah! Not- Not my place!!!!!!!!!

**********************

Kyuutarou: Welcome.

Kazuki: Ah... Hey, Kyuu-chan... I took care of those two jobs.

Kyuutarou: I’m relieved to hear you're actually able to do your job now. Now you just need to improve your skills.

Kazuki: I'm only second rate anyway. I'm nothing like the elite Rei. But he’s amazing, isn’t he? It hasn’t even been a month yet and how many jobs has he done?

Kyuutarou: 30 jobs.

Kazuki: Seriously? We're going to go out of business! He’s probably earned a lot already. Ah, but when I saw him here the other day, his beard and hair were still as much of a mess as ever. Is he even living decently?

Kyuutarou: I found a place for him to stay.

Kazuki: Huh? Kyuu-chan, do you also work in real estate?

Kyuutarou: Well, I have connections. Should I refer you too, Kazuki? You haven’t found a new place yet, have you?

Kazuki: Ahh... well I’ve been busy with work... Even though my last place ended up riddled with holes I really liked it.... *Sighs* Why did it end up like that? Ahhh... This sucks...

Kyuutarou: Oh, right. I have a request for you. Rei is perfect at his job but he never leaves his house so I never see him. So I'm sorry but could you take the information for his next job to him?

Kazuki: Yeah, sure... I was just wanting to complain to him about my wrecking house anyway.

*Kazuki walking away*

Kazuki: Bye! Tell me if you get another job for me!

Kyuutarou: Yeah!

*Door opens and closes*

Kyuutarou: Well... I hope it goes well...

*********************

*Elevator dings*

Kazuki: Wooooow... How good of an apartment does he live in? Is this normal for a son of the Suwa Family? He must be raking it in. Damn it!

*Doorbell rings*

Rei: Yes?

Kazuki: Umm... Kyuu-chan has a job for you so he asked me to bring you the information.

Rei: Ah...

*Kazuki opens the door*

Kazuki: Pardon me... Gwah! Hnk! It reeks! So bad! Hnrk! Eh? This place is so dirty! Eh!? Dirty! Dirty!It’s bad... It's so bad!

Rei: Huh?

Kazuki: Don't just say "Huh?" What is this on the floor?!

Rei: Pizza.

Kazuki: The leftovers of one, right?! And that green stuff isn't basil, is it?! There's something awful growing out of it, isn't there? Aghh! And this delivery sushi is all dried out! Wah! And there’s a cup noodle with the soup left in it! Throw it out! Throw it out! Now what about the kitchen...? AHHHHHHHH! THE SINK! THE SINK IS FULL OF A STRANGE COLORED LIQUID!!! HEY, REI!! DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PLACE!!!

Rei: Maybe I'll hire a maid?

Kazuki: Wait, wait, wait, wait! Have you forgotten what you do for work? Your place is full stuff like sensitive

documents and weapons! It would be bad if you let a normal person in here!

*Rei’s starts playing video game*

Rei: Oh well then.

Kazuki: Huh? Stop escaping from reality! *Sighs exasperatedly* Fuck, okay then! I’ll help you clean this place up!!

Rei: Thanks.

Kazuki: You're helping too, you shut in! And I'm going to tame that wild hair of yours too so be prepared for that!

Rei: *sighs in frustration*

**************************

*Boiling*

Kazuki: Hm... *slurp* Mmm! Perfect! Okay! 

*Turns off stove*

Kakuzi: Hey, Rei! Food's ready!

Rei: There’s so many plates.

Kazuki: Complaining about strange things as always but oh well. Here you go. Go ahead and eat your fill! Since the money for this came out of your wallet anyway.

*Rei starts eating*

Kazuki: He can't even say Itadakimasu, huh?

Kazuki: So? How does it taste?

Rei: The curry... is a little spicy.

Kazuki: I thought you'd say that! But whatever.

Kazuki: If you're eating it so fast, then I guess it was worth making it. It felt nice to cook in such a large kitchen again anyway. Ahh... I want a kitchen as big as this in my new place. It would be impossible with my pay though...

Rei: You don’t have a place to live?

Kazuki: Because someone completely destroyed it!

Rei: Mmm...

Kazuki: Huh? Ohh! Are you feeling guilty?

Rei: Want to stay here?

Kazuki: Huh?

Rei: I have extra room.

Kazuki: You... wow...! You just want to use me as your housekeeper, don't you?

Rei: Yeah.

Kazuki: HE JUST ADMITTED IT!!! JUST HOW SHAMELESS ARE YOU?! Ah, but... hmm I guess that might not be so bad actually?

Kazuki: I'm good at housework and Rei is amazing at his job.... so we can cover for each other's weaknesses...

Rei: We're playing with the cards we've been dealt.

Kazuki: That’s not what I mean!

Rei: Oh?

Kazuki: Fine! Then I guess I’ll be staying with you for a little while.

Rei: Mm.

Kazuki: Thanks, shut in.

Rei: Thanks, freeloader.

[canonicallyobserving911]

So... the narratives from season 6?

I literally have so many questions about the NARRATIVES for season 7 because it really doesn't seem like there are any.

There were so many things that happened in season 6 but MOST OF THEM AREN'T being discussed. Granted, Henren didn't get the 9 month old baby they were considering adopting in 6x18 and Bathena went on their cruise but what is going on with Madney's, Buck's and Eddie’s storylines?

Here's what I mean...

Madney

In 6x15 they owed the IRS money (like 14K IIRC) but in Season 7 they're having a big lavish wedding in 7x6 but the question is who's funding it (the Buckley parents)? In 6x9 they had to borrow the money for their down payment from the Buckley parents and in 7x1 Chimney spent money he got from somewhere on a hot tub. The math ain't mathing for them especially when Hen said in 6x16 that Chimney used some of Jee-Yun's college fund to buy Maddie's engagement ring. Where are they getting all this money when they were borrowing money in season 6 to buy the murder house?

Buck

I won't even go into his 1,000 storylines from season 6 because I've done it multiple times (linked here) but seriously, is the only one they're going to focus on from 6x2 is when he was trying to find happiness? What about 6x7 when he touched the cursed bracelet? What about the sperm donation because it was connected to the "Cursed" theme? He literally went to donate like 5 times and he had to run the last time after his Jeep broke down. What about his desire to be captain? What about the fact that he DIED?! What about the Buckley parents thinking his decision to be a sperm donor was idiotic? The actress who played Natalia didn't come back but what about that BS line he said in 6x15 that she "Sees him"? (Is it petty that I still want Eddie to remind him of that?) What about his desire to want a family of his own? He never said what he wanted at any time but it's a new season and the audience still doesn't know or have any answers. The point is Buck had all these stop and start storylines that didn't have any resolution and now it's like none of them happened.

Eddie

I absolutely love Eddie because he's my favorite but reminder, he only had one storyline (that was solely about him) last season and it ended up being once again about his dating life. He was looking for the "magic" and "chemistry " but is the audience supposed to believe he found that with Marisol (she doesn't have a last name and he didn't know she was a nun)? They were both acting like giggling high schoolers at the end of 6x18 but in 7x5 they moved in with each other? He didn't do that with Ana which shows they STILL AREN'T GIVING EDDIE’S STORYLINES THE ATTENTION THEY DESERVE. Furthermore, in 6x15, Eddie told Buck dating someone he rescued from a call never works but did his statement only apply to Buck and not him? Reminder, he met Marisol on a call so WTF? Additionally, the whole Marisol moving in thing was just.. I don't even have words for it because it was OOC for Eddie. Another reminder, he sacrificed everything when they left El Paso and moved to L.A. and he didn't even let Shannon see Chris for months after he called her to interview at Durand because he didn't trust her (his words in 2x10). So... is the audience who've been watching from the beginning supposed to believe Eddie would just ask some woman to move in while Chris is out of town? I call BS because that is so far from the established narrative for him it's asinine.

Buddie

So is the couch metaphor/theory dead now? It was the last thing Buck said to Natalia in 6x18. 🙄 There are 5 unresolved items from season 6 (linked here) that Buck and Eddie have yet to discuss so there's that.

IMO, it seems like season 6 could be completely erased and it wouldn't be missed. Maybe it's just me but the narrative for this season seems to be all over the place and it's like they're pulling things together to make it work when seasons 1-3 were more cohesive. I know it's a shortened season but they started working on it at the end of 2023 after the str*kes ended and the mains went back in January, so what gives?

If things continue like they have been in the second half of season 7, then I think my Buddie Crack Theory has more merit to it and if it's validated, I'll elaborate on it.

[midnightluck]

i am BEGGING you for those aventurine essays he is legit my fav star rail character

WELCOME TO MY NEW FAVORITE PIT IT'S BEAUTIFUL HERE.

Current essays (full of spoilers) I have already written out:

Why Aventurine is Preservation path and why he doesn't lose (see below)

An analysis of Ratio and Aventurine's interactions on Penacony

An analysis of Aventurine's planning and execution of said plan for 2.1

Why Avigen are Rom-coded and how Aventurine uses his own culture to hurt himself

Aventurine and the Masked Fools

Essays I have not written but intend to:

The incredible level of self-loathing it takes to call yourself a luck build when you only ever gamble against yourself and the inability to trust that it creates

The difference between stage magic and flourishwork and an analysis of the techniques and props he uses, including why he prefers roulette to cards

Presentation!!! The way he dresses and moves and uses his reputation as a weapon

Topaz and Aventurine's friendship and why they would never call each other friends

Literally anything people wanna know about him

That said, let's get started on why, exactly, Aventurine could never be anything but Preservation. SPOILERS!!!!

OKAY so let's discuss

I would like to begin by reminding you that Qlipoth is a Aeon of "patient, sacrificial, and protective actions", and I don't think I need to go into why Aventurine is the first two BUT I'M GONNA.

Patient--yes, duh. The amount of time it takes to set up stuff behind the scenes before you can even announce a performance--we've seen this from him already. He called Topaz directly after we left Belobog for her help specifically, which we can now assume was him asking to borrow her stone. This means that he had his plan already developed months in advance, and this is confirmed by him sighing over how long it took him to book this specific room in the hotel. Aventurine is patient in that most deadly of ways, the focused strategist mixed with the cunning tactician. He gets impatient, we've seen, but in that anticipatory way that comes from the fizzle of excitement in your veins before a performance, the jitters that aren't quite stage fright but aren't quite excitement, when your blood feels carbonated and your stomach flips because you know it's all in place, you know you've got this, but what if, what if-- and even in the face of that, he's patient.

Sacrificial let's take in two ways. Does he sacrifice? Yes, this man refuses to stop, refuses to accept peace, refuses to settle. He's giving up his own happiness because he knows that happiness isn't for the likes of him and he knows this so deeply he's never even bothered to want it. Aventurine isn't happy, he's unsettled in the most literal way, and he's unbothered by it because he isn't chasing a dream. He's not working toward an ambition, he's not after a goal; he's just living because he isn't dead yet, because he refuses to give up and lay down. He is the embodiment of "because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me," and is, in other words, #relatable to millenials haha.

He's also sacrificial. As a child of ritual, of expectation, and of the embodiment of hope, Kakavasha was born to be the hope of his people and he never got a say in it. He now carries their entire weight and culture on his shoulders because he's the only Avigen on the universal stage, and it hurts more because he barely even had time to truly learn what that culture was before it was taken from him. He probably considers his continued life as penance, as sacrifice, as the payment for his luck which didn't even help anyone he loved anyway.

And then we get to the hard one because people define protective in a very, uh, selfless context mostly? But it's not, or not only that. Aventurine is very protective; he's protective of his past, of his secrets, of his plans, of that which is his. (Sidenote here: money isn't his. Money is a resource, easily gotten, easily spent; gold and jewels and even status are ephemeral. We see this in that fucking bit of dialogue I LOVE ("I can, and it will be flawless" YAS KING IT SURE THE FUCK WILL!!!!), that he doesn't care for the treasure or the mystery, that he's after the role, the action, the thrill of being right, of wagering his life on the bet that he's right and that it's not death that awaits him.

So that's why he's Preservation, is because he could never be anything else. He's not driven, so it can't be Hunt, and he's not careless and instinctive, so no Elation (ask me about his relationship with Masked Fools sometime, I have THOUGHTS). He doesn't seek pain or to sacrifice for others and his wrath is very focused, so no Destruction, and he's not Abundance by any means, and Harmony is out because that's cooperative and unifying and he can't trust. Remeberance is restraint and he doesn't have that, and Nihility is for those who have given up on something, and Aven hasn't, he can't let his past go like Welt has, and all that leaves is Erudition. It suits him but it's offensive, and he isn't, is he, he's so internally focused on playing his little games against himself that he doesn't seek out multiple targets, and also he's not coldly detached; he's powered by self-loathing and that doesn't jive with Erudition, which is reliant on chosen loyalty and seeking.

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: self-loathing is not self-destructive. Self-esteem and self-worth are not the same thing, and you can hate yourself just fine while still seeing value in what you do. Speaking of which, let's examine that thing he do, which is just straight up setting up giant convoluted plans in order to specifically bet his life on things. HERE'S WHY.

If you bet money and you lose, then you lose, and Aventurine doesn't lose. Aventurine goes for the high stakes, high risk shit because of the risk, because of the stakes. He's chasing death in an abstracted kind of way; he doesn't want to die, but he doesn't value his life and there's not much worth living for anyway. He's also, as previously stated, the only embodiment of his culture, so he can't lose without it reflecting on...everyone, even if they're all dead. The only respectable way he can die as an Avigen is to die in a gamble.

So any gamble with his life on the line is win-win, and god isn't that adrenaline rush of standing on the ledge and jumping good, doesn't that make his pulse pound and his lungs stutter and his fingers shake, in a way that he can feel, physically, that he can know is him, is only him, alive, reliant on his own power, his own fate, his own skill, and on his luck--

Because that's the thing, isn't it, is Aventurine is lucky, but not in the way Kakavasha was. As a kid, he relied on his luck; after it betrayed him (by leaving him the only one left), he doesn't rely on it anymore. He uses it. He puts in time and patience and skill, and he stacks the deck and sets the dice and gambles that he is smart enough to have anticipated it. He's betting that he's prepared enough to weather the uncertainty. Aventurine isn't playing against us, or Ratio, or Penacony; the only one he's ever really betting against is himself.

[mistyhollowcottage]

Saving Money as a Homemaker 🧺

I’ve posted before that we’re anxiously awaiting and preparing for our second baby and with that we’re focusing heavily on saving money! We have high hopes of buying first cars, paying for college, etc etc for both of our girls and despite the fact one is 18 months old and the other is still in utero, we know that the saving and preparing starts now. I do not bring in an income in our home but I do help manage the money my husband brings in and I work hard at making every dollar go as far as possible, so here are some things that make our money go further:

1. Eating at home - everyone gives this advice and it’s because it’s 100% true. You are literally throwing away money eating out and more and more the food that you buy at restaurants isn’t even that good. An easy way to make the switch is by making crockpot meals. Many are “dump and go” meals that require no skill and 9/10 you’ll even have leftovers for lunch the next day. Plus a crock pot is like $20-25 and they last forever.

2. Pay off existing debt - I’m not talking just your monthly minimums. If you have an extra $100 without a job in your monthly budget, it should go towards debt. Any extra you pay on your principal now is money you don’t have to pay in interest later. If you need more motivation for paying off your debt early, pull up a debt calculator and see how much in interest you’ll be paying before it’s all said and done. I promise you’ll get motivated real quick.

3. Create a budget!!! - if you are just floating through life, spending money willy nilly, I promise you don’t even realize how much money you’re just throwing away every month. I remember after I graduated from college and met my husband, we sat down to look at my finances together and I was legitimately embarrassed to see how much money I spent just getting coffee. I was spending a car payments worth on coffee every month and I literally was a barista. I could make that ish at home!! side note - "fun money" is a category you should have in your budget. You are bound to stumble if you aren't ever allowed to spend any money on yourself.

4. Determine what’s worth investing in and what’s not - for us this is list is pretty short. We invest in food and “clean” products. We eat and feel good on a high protein diet so we prioritize meat within our budget. Yes, there are plenty of cheaper plant protein sources, but that is not how we choose to fuel our bodies and it’s not how we feel best. But, more than just choosing to prioritize this financially, we prioritize the time it takes for my husband to go hunting to help save money on this as well. As far as “clean” products, I’m talking fragrance/toxin free shampoos, conditioners, cleaning supplies, etc. We’ll shop sales if one becomes available but we will not skimp with a $1 bottle of shampoo that will irritate my husbands skin or leave me with a migraine. This list will and should look different for every family but if you have your priorities clearly laid out there’s no room for convincing yourself that something not on this list is worth spending extra money on.

5. If you can make it at home, you should make it at home - cleaning products, food, gifts, home decor, all of it.

6. Thrift! But not as a hobby - I love thrifting and there’s a heck of a thrill in finding a beautiful ceramic mug or stumbling upon a cute sweater, but you’re not saving money like that. You should thrift for the things you need first and make sure to have a clear idea of what you’re looking for before going in. The thrift store should ideally be your first stop when looking to buy, but if you can’t find it after a bit of time looking, you’re not less than for having to buy new.

7. Borrow borrow borrow - sure, it’s kinda annoying to borrow other peoples stuff, but there’s really no reason to buy something you only need once or twice.

8. Learn to sew- I’ve had so many pieces of clothing rip at a seam and if I didn’t know how to stitch that back together, I’d have to throw it away and probably replace it (I’m looking you pockets on jackets). Instead, a five minute YouTube video has saved me, idk, probably at least $100.

9. Order your groceries online - this is probably very dependent on which grocers you have close to you, but ours still has online coupons and sales and it is an excellent way to make sure that you're sticking to your list. Plus, it's a godsend with little kids.

10. Finally, identify yours and your spouse's strengths and weaknesses - by this I mean, can you not help yourself from buying something if you go "just to look around" at your favorite shop? Does your husband add 47 unnecessary items to the grocery order anytime it's his turn to do the shopping? Whatever your individual money spending weakness are, identify those and help keep each other accountable or hand off the things that the other excels in so the temptation is just never there.

Happy money saving!

[walkswithmyfather]

Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT). “Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

“When Others Fail Us” By In Touch Ministries:

“Because God forgives us, we should forgive others.”

“You’re in a difficult situation, and one by one, friends have fallen away. Now the pain is worse because you’re suffering alone. Why were you deserted? It’s possible friends left because they felt inadequate or couldn’t stand to watch you suffer. Or perhaps some had their own best interests in mind and feared being associated with your situation and potentially falling into similar trouble.

You might wonder how to respond to them. There is only one appropriate biblical response: forgiveness. As forgiven people, we never have the right to withhold pardon from others. (Remember, however, that forgiving does not require you to remain in an abusive situation.

The apostle Paul is a good example for us to follow. After being alone during his Roman imprisonment, he wrote: “May it not be counted against them” (2 Timothy 4:16). Perhaps Paul remembered that Stephen, while being stoned, cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” (Acts 7:60). But it is probable that Paul had an even greater act of forgiveness in mind: Christ’s death and His attitude toward the crucifiers. Jesus prayed, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)

Because God unreservedly forgives us—and all who turn to Him—of sin, we too should be willing to extend forgiveness.”

[Photo thanks to Elianna Gill at Unsplash]

[charcoalgrayswriting]

A Tigers Marks

Part of Falling asleep peacefully in the hands of a god

Read on AO3 HERE!

Words: 4219

Summary: Konig is obsessed with Horangi, who wants nothing to do with another god.

Or Horangi's unintentional seduction of Eldritch!Konig

Warning: Kinda non-con

Running from a god was not an easy task. Horangi would know, he had been running since before he joined the service.

It had started out small, gambling to gain enough money to help pay for his Oe-halmeoni’s medical bills. Then, when she succumbed to the cancer despite the chemo, gambling became a refuge.

It was there he first met the minor trickster diety, who had been going by the name Dae.

“I know someone who can help you get some higher wins,” one of his friends had told him, a smirk playing on her face. Maybe she had been in on it, maybe not. He would likely never know.

“Oh? And where might I find this friend of yours?” He had drunk too much that night, and didn’t ask any intelligent questions. He only had the thought of winning big in his mind.

And when she introduced him to Dae, they made a deal. This was his first introduction to the gods and deities that walked the planet with him, and he did not appreciate it.

“I can help you win big! I just need a down payment, nothing too substantial, and then you can borrow whatever money you need from me to just keep playing!”

Even as drunk as he was, he knew that this was too good to be true, and squinted distrustfully at the god in front of him.

“Ah, judging by your face, you don’t believe me. Well, as long as you pay me back whatever you took, you can continue to take. Deal?” the god extended his hand, and he shook it, thinking it was a trick of the light when the gods eyes flashed toxic green for a second.

What followed after the deal was a series of big money wins, and then big money losses, that just kept coming. Occasionally he would win something small, but not nearly enough to heave himself out of the hole he was digging.

“Please, Dae, just give me one more month and I’ll have your money.”

“Ha! You said that last month, and the month before that! Why should I believe you this time.” the god smiled down cruelly at him.

“This time I’m gonna win big! Then I’ll be able to pay you back.”

“I don’t believe you.” and with a wave of the gods hand, he felt himself fall unconscious, too quickly to even be confused.

When he woke up, he was naked chained to a table on his stomach in the middle of a cold damp room. Trying to get out of his shackles proved to be useless, and only succeeded in rubbing his wrists and ankles raw.

“You poor pathetic little worm.” taunted Dae, appearing behind him with a quiet poof. “You still haven’t figured out what’s going on, have you?”

The god dragged a finger down his spine, “Let me go!” he shouted, trying to shake Dae off of him, goosebumps forming on his skin at the gods unnaturally cold finger.

“No, little worm, I don’t think I will. You see, you’ve pissed off some important people who want their money back.” the god fisted a hand in his hair and yanked his face up to look at him.

The gods face was melting away, revealing part of his true form. Toxic green eyes covered every surface of the monster before him, overlapping and blinking in random intervals.

He screamed and tried to jerk away, the gods fist in his hair holding him still.

When it laughed, its mouth appeared and split right between the eyeballs oozing black sludge, revealing a row of sharp black teeth. That laugh was not human, and it set off the animalistic part of his brain that screamed at him to run.

“So, luckily for you, I bargained on your behalf. For every million won you of your debt, I will take one strip of your flesh.” It returned its hand to his back, and he could feel the slimy moistness of the eyeballs on his skin.

Gagging, he begged, “Wait, but that’s so much! I won’t survive, what are you? You freak!”

It just laughed again, slamming his head down onto the hard wooden table. “That would be thirty-five strips of skin, and one extra for change.” it leaned in close enough that he could feel its cold breath against his ear.

“I will greatly enjoy this. You, not so much.”

Then, the pain began, and he did not stop screaming until his voice gave out, and then he screamed some more.

--------------------------------------------------

Horangi couldn’t remember everything that the god did to him. All that he knew was that night, the god took more from him than thirty-six strips of his skin.

After he woke up in his shitty one room apartment, he saw the long scars down his shoulders and back. Stripes, like a tiger that wrapped around to his front.

The gods last scar had been given to his mouth, two long lines running down his cheeks, following the curve of his cheekbones. They had been so deep and so wide he nearly tore through them when he opened his mouth to scream.

He had sobbed on his mattress that night, staring at what he could see of his scars, knowing his life was over.

The next day, he bought a large pack of black medical masks and enlisted in the South Korean military, desperate to escape from his life. In between the cruel torture, Dae had explained what it was, and how anyone else like it would be able to tell when they saw his scars, that he belonged to it.

It was then he acquired his new name, Horangi. Tiger. Dae was probably laughing at him from somewhere when his comrades gave him his callsign.

He made it through the military, and proved himself to be good enough to be accepted into KorTac as a contractor. It was there that he met his second god.

This time however, he was smart enough to run. Straight back into the hallway he had just come from, much to the amusement and confusion of his friends, who had laughed at him. No matter how much they pushed and proded, Horangi never revealed the god to them. Not out of loyalty, but fear.

Every time he saw Konig, Horangi turned around and went the other direction. His friends got a kick out of it, seeing how close they could get Horangi to Konig before he noticed and ran away.

So far, the closest was half a meter, when Konig snuck up behind Horagni to inform him they had a mission together. That was when he scrambled up the closest person to him and hid in the unfinished ceiling for two hours.

How was someone with Konig’s bulk so quiet?

“Horangi,” the quiet accented voice of Konig greeted from behind him.

Before he could make a break for it, his friend, the traitor, grabbed onto his arm and spun him around to face Konig. He held out a manila folder.

“We have a mission together, debrief in four hours.” Horangi took the folder, miraculously not letting his hand shake. He nodded to the large form of the god, then grabbed his friend, scrambling up his body.

Unable to do anything but stand there stunned, his friend was his unwilling accomplice into the ceiling, which was untiled and the perfect hiding spot.

For some reason, Horangi got the sense that Konig was laughing at him. It was no mater, he would force himself through the mission and then everything would go back to the way it was.

The mission was not going well. They had gotten the intel they needed, the flash-drive secured in one of Konig’s pockets. But now they were pinned and taking heavy enemy fire with no exfil on the way.

Back to back with Konig, Horangi felt more anxiety about the god at his back than the bullets ricocheting off their temporary hiding spot behind a big green dumpster.

“Go,” Konig whispered, “I’ll cover you.” Horangi nodded, spotting another building to hide in that would give them more cover, though he didn’t quite belive Konig would keep him alive, he had no other choice. With Konig laying down covering fire, he got up and sprinted, hearing his blood pumping in his ears.

As he dove behind the door to the building, a bullet got him, straight over the top of his body armor, right under his clavicle.

With a shout, he falls to the ground, grunting as he twists so his back hits the dusty ground first. For a second he just lays there, panting. Then, remembering his mission partner, he struggled up, panting with exertion.

He got into position to shoot through the shattered window, and began firing back, letting Konig sprint towards him. Luckily, the god was not shot. At least one of them would make it out of this. Blood trickled from Horangi’s wound, warming its way down his front where the bullet exited.

Exhausted, Horangi flopped back on the ground as Konig rounded the doorway, wheezing as his lung filled with his blood.

“Horangi,” Konig panted, puling his head into the gods lap as he crouched away from the window. “Where are you hit?”

Horangi coughed, feeling a trickle of blood forced up into his mouth as he gestured with an arm to the stinging wound where the bullet exited.

“Okay, okay, just hang in there. Just, uh, pressure, yes wounds need pressure.” He placed Horangi’s hand against his own wound, pressing down on it, causing Horangi to cry out.

“I know, I’m sorry.” he whispered, spraying bullets out the window to keep the terrorists off of them while he figured out how to help the injured man in his lap.

With fluttering eyes, Horangi looked up at the god, face obscured by a mask, similar to him. In the dim light, dust kicked up from the bullets, he looked like the god Horangi knew him to be.

Then Horangi coughed, a wet hacking sound that would have sprayed blood all over the both of them, were it not for his mask in the way. The blood seeped into the camouflage fabric, and Konig winced, slinging his gun over his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I need to remove your mask.” he reached his large hand towards it, and Horangi tried to jerk away, which caused more blood to seep from his wound. But he was held in place by the firm but gentle hand Konig kept over the hole in his chest.

“No no, it, will stop you from breathing if I don’t remove it.” he hooked a large finger through the ear hole and peeled it off Horangi’s face, apologizing again at the low distressed whine Horangi made upon its complete removal. It was made worse by the pain he could taste, usually a delight, but from Horangi it was like eating a sour lemon.

He didn’t look down as he pulled out a handgun and fired off some more shots, hitting two of their pursuers.

When he glanced down at Horangi to check on him, Konig felt the very fabric of the universe shake at his rage as his eyes caught along the horrible branding on Horangi’s gorgeous face. He flinched, and Konig drew his rage back in, no need to scare Horangi. Those scars along his cheeks, deep and gruesome were the reason he ran from Konig.

He would smite whatever miserable worm did this to Horangi. They had hurt him, but, he realized, had also driven Horangi into the military. Without the moronic god that hurt him, Konig would not have known him.

In a low voice he whispered to Horangi, “I would curse whatever pathetic little creature did this to you, if I were not so thankful that they led you to me.”

Horangi laughed, low and cruel as he watched Konig wrap a hand in his shadows, batting Horangi’s now weak hand out of his way to heal the wound. Then he fainted, as Konig pressed his shadow wrapped hand to the wound, his beautiful dark eyes rolling back into his head.

Then Konig revealed a part of his true form to those that hunted them and left them as no more than bloody smears on the floor.

When they made it to the extraction point, he dropped Horangi in the care of another god he knew, who would look after his tiger until he was back. Konig had to keep him safe, after all.

It was not hard to find the minor trickster who hurt Horangi. Trapping it in a cage of shadows was somehow even easier, and when Konig appeared to it, the useless thing tried to beg for its life.

“Please, My Lor–” whatever it was about to say was cut off as Konig smote it from existence with barely a fraction of his power. Using that same small fraction of himself, he fixed the gap in the universe that needed the trickster god. This one, however, would not hurt Konig’s lovely tiger.

He had thought Horangi got his name from how he moved, silent and purposeful. Now though, he wondered if there was another reason behind the name.

When he returned to the base, he found Horangi would still not go near him, but allowed him the pleasure of them being in the same room together. He truly was like a cat, slowly approaching while doing a poor job of pretending he wasn’t truly interested.

His adorable kitten.

Konig was ashamed to admit that after six months of allowing Horangi to slide closer and closer to him, he was feeling impatient. Of course he would continue to wait, but the longer his adorable tiger made him wait, the more time he had to plan.

Finally, his kliner tiger gathered his courage.

“Konig,” Horangi’s voice was quiet and unsure as he approached the god on nearly silent feet. They were alone in the compound kitchen, for though he did not need to eat, Konig found joy in consuming human food.

“Ah, Horangi, Hallo,” he greeted, turning around to the man, who wore a simple long sleeve olive green shirt and black sweatpants with his iconic mask, sans glasses.

“I, uh, you saved me, a while back.” he tilted his head to the side, staring up at the god, unsure.

“That I did.” he agreed amicably, leaning against the cool counter.

“What, what do you want in, re-return?” he forced the words out, scrunching his face as he asked, like the words tasted bad.

His little ones fear had never tasted so good! A noise of excitement left him, shaking the air around him and though Horangi was unable to hear it, he obviously sensed it, for he took a nervous step away from the god.

Seeing this, Konig took a deep breath, reigning in his excitement with much difficulty. “Come with me, we will discuss in my room.”

Deciding to press his luck, he allowed Horangi to step in front of him, placing a hand along his lower back to guide his lovely towards his room. Konig felt Horangi stiffen, and, admittedly used some of his magic to soothe some of the scars he could sense there. Unconsciously, Horangi melted into his touch as the ache in his body was soothed.

Once the door to his room was closed and the two were inside, he grabbed Horangi’s hand and took them to one of his pocket dimensions. A land he had created for the entire purpose of wooing Horangi.

Of course, the second they landed on the ‘floor’ covered in a plush green carpet, Horangi flinched away. Konig let him go, it was understandable that his tiger was so nervous, considering the last god he had met.

Cooing, he had to resist the urge to snuggle Horangi up to him. He had to be patient.

“Would you like to sit?” Konig gestured towards the large plush bed he had never used, he was a god – he did not need sleep, carefully herding Horangi towards it.

Horangi did not respond verbally, just a shallow nod of his head, as he allowed Konig to sit him on the bed, and then join him on it. Despite what he may wish, Konig kept a respectable distance away.

“What would you like in response to my… life… debt?” Horangi asked hesitantly, understanding the loaded question for what it was. Konig could tell Horangi he wanted the moon, and Horangi would be bound to get it.

But luckily for his cute little tiger, Konig did not want the moon.

“I want you to give yourself to me, completely.” At Horangi’s adorably confused look, Konig clarified.

“Mind,” a tentacle made its way out from under his hood, sliding across the small space that Horangi left exposed on his face. “and Body,” the tentacle dipped lower, sliding along his neck underneath Horangi’s shirt.

He watched Horangi lean into the gentle touch, knowing that if he declined, Konig would allow it. What the god was really banking on Horangi’s fear of his disapproval to get him to say yes. Konig was not a kind god, he was selfish and fiercely possessive of what he thought was his.

But maybe he could learn to be kind to Horangi. Just his Horangi.

“Oh,” Horangi’s little breathless exclamation left him as the tentacle trailed over the wound Konig had healed, sending sparks of pleasure through it.

“If you let me, I would soothe your scars,” Konig slid forwards winding the tentacle down Horangi’s arm, “Feed you,” he was close enough to brush his fingers across Horangi’s clothed stomach, “Pleasure you,” his hand seductively traced lower, though not venturing further than the tie of Horangi’s sweats.

As Horangi leaned into the touch Konig shifted backwards, retracting his touch so quickly that Horangi had to use a hand to catch himself to keep from falling on his face.

“Do you agree?” Konig crooned, tasting Horangi’s apprehension and resignation, and he knew he had won.

“I agree,” he choked out, much like he was headed towards the gallows.

The god waisted no time in pouncing on Horangi, quicker than he could comprehend, Konig had flattened him against the bed. As he looked up at the god straddling his hips, still in human form, Horangi felt himself begin to shake, muscles tensing.

“Oh little tiger,” the god stripped off his gloves, trailing his hands down Horangi’s clothed arms slowly and lightly. “Nothing you do not wish to happen will happen.” Konigs large hands encircled Horangi’s wrists as tentacles unfurled from under his hood.

“I– uh,” Horangi was cut off with a gasp as Konig ground down against his cock, reveling in the way his little tiger threw his head back, exposing his vulnerable neck. The large hands stayed firm around his wrists, keeping his arms trapped at his sides.

“Do you want this?” the black tentacles began sliding under Horangi’s shirt, teasing up his sides, feeling the raised skin of his scars and soothing it as they ascended.

“Ye– yes.” Horangi gasped as another one of Konig’s tentacles removed his mask, baring his beautiful face to the god. Attempting to hide his scarred face, Horangi turned his head to the side, but one of Konig’s tentacles held him in place, keeping him still.

“Why do you try to hide from me?” the god murmured in a faux hurt voice, using his tentacles to slowly rip through Horangi’s shirt, exposing more of his gorgeous body to him.

Tossing the shirt over the side of the bed, Konig kept a firm grip on Horangi’s hands as he explored his chest, teasing Horangi’s nipples with his tentacles.

Gasping, Horangi let out a moan, trying to smother it as Konig played with his body. He looked up to see the god staring down at him, gauging all of his reactions, and he shuddered. But not from fear, from arousal. Perfect.

Konig’s world shook with his excitement, and Horangi tensed again, before he was distracted.

His cock, which had laid neglected since Konig stopped grinding against him, began to stir, which the god evidently felt pressing against his ass from where he sat on Horangi.

“Getting excited little tiger?” the god began rocking against him, and Horangi was unable to conceal his loud moan. It had been ages since he had sex, had to sustain on jacking off in his bunk or in the shower.

“Please,” he whispered, and faster than he could blink, Horangi’s sweats and underwear vanished, leaving him bare underneath his god. Somehow, even more tentacles curled around his thighs, spreading them for Konig.

The god dismounted Horangi’s hips, and he watched as Konig slowly lowered his hooded head towards Horangi’s cock.

Within a blink, the hood had disappeared, and Horangi was treated to Konig’s human face. It was a nice face, proportional to the rest of him, with tentacles sprouting from the back of his head.

For some fucked up reason, it made Horangi’s cock even harder.

Konig, of course, noticed this, and smiled. Privately, Horangi thought it was a nice smile. Then the god lowered his head to Horangi’s cock and opened his mouth to reveal an abnormally long tongue.

Before Horangi could react, Konig dragged the muscle up the underside of Horangi’s cock. Moaning again, Horangi arched his back off the bed as the wet muscle teased the slit of his cock, his hands fisted in the expensive sheets.

When Konig enveloped his cock in the wet suction of his mouth, Horangi forgot how to breathe. It took an embarrassingly short time for the god to make him cum, only bobbing his head twice.

In the end, he didn’t come with a shout, it was with a whimper, as his cock gave a pulse and spilled his cum down the gods throat. Swallowing, Konig pulled off his cock with a self-satisfied smile, shuffling up on the bed.

“How long has it been, little one?” one of the gods smaller tentacles was massaging the opening to Horangi’s ass, and he knew what was coming next.

“Since,” he gasped as Konig’s tentacle breached his asshole, eyes fluttering shut in pleasure. “Since my scars.”

“My poor little kitten,” Konig began slowly, torturously slowly, fucking his ass with the tentacle, slowly stretching him out.

“Yes,” he gasped as Konig found his prostate, Horangi’s eyes scrunching closed as his back bowed off the bed, sparks exploding behind his eyelids.

The god pushed a second, thicker tentacle inside of Horangi, and he let out a pathetic little mewl at the intrusion. They began stretching him in tandem, and all he could do was lay there and take it.

Soon, he was coming again as they abused his prostate.

“I think you’re ready now,” Konig told him, pulling both of his tentacles out and blinking his clothes away, revealing his huge leaking cock that Horangi scarcely believed would fit inside of him.

“Do not worry, I will make it good for you.” Konig muttered as he pushed in, and Horangi’s vision whited out as he writhed in the gods strong grip. If the two tentacles had been any smaller, Konig would probably have torn him open.

Konig kept pushing in, filling Horangi until it felt like he was being split open. Then, the gods hips met his ass, completely flush together. He paused, allowing Horangi the opportunity to adjust to his inhuman size.

Slowly, he shifted back, before slamming his hips forward. With a choked gasp, Horangi ground down in tandem with the god. The wet slapping of skin on skin was obscene as he came for the third time, triggered Konig’s orgasm.

Horangi’s cock squirted a pittance of cum, too worn out from before. But Konig buried his cock deep and came in a long thick stream. Panting, Horangi smiled up at the god.

“Mm, enjoyed that did you?” Konig looked down at his sleepy tiger, admiring the way his eyes fluttered closed, scrunching as he slowly pulled out. Because he never had been good at denying himself, Konig gazed at Horangi’s sloppy entrance, watching as some of his cum spilled out onto the luxurious sheets, memorizing it for later.

“Yeah, yeah that was good.” the human spoke, his voice hoarse as he snuggled into the fabric, specifically chosen to please him. With a thought, Konig had cleaned the mess of Horangi’s cup off of their chests, but left his, which still dribbled out.

“Just good? I’ll have to do better next time.” Smirking, Konig let go of Horangi’s wrists and climbed up to lay beside him.

“Next time?” Horangi looked up at Konig as he manipulated his tigers body on top of his, pressed stomach to stomach.

“Of course, I have to take care of you, after all.” Running his hands over Horangi’s back, Konig cataloged the scars, massaging them with his hands and his tentacles, easing their pain.

When his little human made a pleased noise as he felt the pain of his wounds disappear, Konig smiled again.

“Sleep Horangi, we can talk later.” and the god, selfishly, latched himself onto Horangi’s mind, pulling it away from his body and soothing it to pull his tiger into a peaceful sleep until Konig was certain he had been rested enough.

Banner by @cafekitsune

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Cool questions!

1: What's Chris/Thara & Jake/meredith wedding songs?

2: Dark question (feel free to skip) have the starburst duo ever been kidnapped? Like from school or maybe from their place?

3: Has somebody ever try to get revenge on the duo?Maybe a family member of a goon they stop tries to get revenge?

4: Let's say the duo filled their months with any drink of their choosing & the goal is to make the other spit it out, what would they do to each other & who spits it out first?

5: What's the super twins like with starknights/titans of tomorrow? Or maybe just Jake & mar'i?

Hmmmm....Lemme see what I can come up with @pin-crusher2000 ;-)

1) Chris/Thara: "Can I Have This Dance?" by Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudges; they’d have a waltz on the dance floor to that song

Jake/Meredith: "Hold Me” by Fleetwood Mac; The newlyweds can through on a performance with Meredith and Jake on guitar and drums respectively playing along to it

2) I would say it was primarily Jake who got abducted from his school during recess and then held up for ransom money by some mafia goons. In particular, since Jake is connected to billionaire Bruce Wayne via being the son of the adopted Richard Grayson-Wayne, the hostage takers demanded a payment up to $2 billion if Bruce and Dick are to see Jake unharmed. Thankfully for the Bats and Jake’s loved ones, these crooks weren’t particularly too technologically savvy so it’s was real easy for Cyborg to take down their locations via their internet signals and within the two hour mark after they post up their demands, Robin!Tim, Chris and Mar’i all came to Jake’s rescue, utterly curb-stomping the crooks. Still Jake was deeply embarrassed by this situation and vows to be extra careful next he ventures out of the school boundaries during recess.

3) Hmmm….I can probably see some of the street gang punk friends of Kryptonian Phantom Zone Prisoner and enemy of the House of Zod , Vla-Bol, all assemble around their ringleader after he tells them of his recent defeat at the hands of Chris. This Gang of Four can then sneak into General Zod’s base of Fort Rozz, hijack some of those Zone crossing pods many of the Fort’s residents including Chris long ago use to travel to Earth, and invade the planet themselves, going a mini rampage in Hamilton County to get Chris’ attention and start up a massive brawl, Chris trying desperately to lead said brawl away from the town and into areas worldwide where no one else can get hurt. It was a tough battle with him on the ropes many times but Jake’s, Penny Troy’s and the rest of the StarKnights’ timely arrival helped turned the tide long enough for Chris to borrow his Dad Clark’s Phantom Projector and send these Kryptonian street punks back to the Zone where they came.

4) I can see Chris mainly going for Jake’s ticklish spots while Jake would try making Chris laugh as hard as he can with some intentional slapstick and doing a small stand up routine filled with puns and other jokes his Uncle Gar taught him. It’s not even a real contest; Chris gets Jake to squirt out his grape soda not just out of mouth but also his nose.

5) Hmm….Okay so at least in this version or at least for a possible version that satisfies both Kid!Jon fans and fans of those two; I’d have them being raised by Mon El, Clark’s Daxamite de facto brother, after having to rescue them from the tyrannical clutches of Mongul during a mission at WarWorld.

As for their bond with the StarKnights and the Tomorrow Titans, I can see Osul being close with Chris, almost brotherly bond between them while also having something of a kinship with Robbie Long, something one can see being mirroring the bond Clark and Diana have. As for Otho, She’s no doubt part of a lot of friend group formed by Mar’i, Lian and Irey, an honorary member of that little Tenacious Trio and their shenanigans.

One thing is perfectly clear though; Besides Mon El, Osul and Otha are both very close to Chris and Jon as per usual.

[archoniluthradanar]

The test of a vampire : a Beauty and the Beast re-telling Part One

Please read chapters in order. It won't be a super long fic. Beauty and the Beast is a finite story after all.

The test of a vampire : A Beauty and the Beast re-telling

A farmer takes a rose from a garden, only to have the garden's owner catch him. He demands payment in the form of the farmer's daughter working at the castle. The daughter, Caterina, thinks she will not be there long, but in time, she may find she doesn't want to leave. What she doesn't know is the man acting as her employer is vampire. In fact, every resident at the castle is a vampire. Her employer has another secret, one she may be central to.

Marcus dei Volturi x female OC

Chapter One

The Debt

oooooooooooooooooooo

Mario Cassiani was a modest man, a simple man. He owned a small farm outside Volterra's village where he grew vegetables that he would later bring to the village farmer's market to sell. His wife of 37 years had passed after a long illness, but he had his beloved daughter Caterina, who had just turned twenty years of age to keep him company. She was not only beautiful, but was also a great reader. He feared for her that some ignorant man would ask for her hand, and her intelligence would go to waste. Mario knew it was more difficult for women to get educations. Wives and mothers, that was the goal for most woman in the city.

Today was Saturday, and after kissing Caterina goodbye, Mario headed to the market, his old van filled with his produce. He hoped to get a good price for all his goods so that he could use a bit of the money to buy Caterina a gift. She was a kind-hearted young woman who asked for nothing of her father. She had taken care of him since the death of her mother, keeping their cottage clean and their meals cooked. As long as she was able to borrow books from the local library, she was happy.

As dusk approached, Mario was pleased to see his entire stock of vegetables sold. Before leaving, he checked the used book seller's stall to see if he could find something for Caterina. After browsing for a few minutes, he found a travel book of places to visit around the world. If she was not able to travel herself, perhaps she would enjoy reading about the places, and dream of making that desire a reality.

On the drive home, he saw the old Palazzo dei Priori to his right, the tower's fading shadow looming over the piazza below. He passed the old stone wall that extended the length of the castle grounds, and saw a hole. Through the hole, the branch of a bush had pushed through. On the branch grew a beautiful red rose. Mario knew Caterina would love the bloom, so he stopped the van and went to the wall. Surely the owners would not mind if a rose not visible from inside was cut. Mario did just that, pulling a small pocket knife from his pants and cut the rose as far up the branch as possible. Smiling, he walked back to the van, when he felt a breeze fluff his hair.

Standing in front of Mario was a tall man with long dark hair and dark eyes that glared down at him.

"Who said you could take my roses?" he demanded. "I saw you from my room up there." He looked up at the castle, where a window was built into the old stone wall of this wing of the castle.

Mario was afraid, but he tried to reason with the tall stranger. "I did not take your roses, sir. There was just this one sticking out from the yard through that hole. I didn't think anyone would mind. I only wanted to take it home to my daughter, Caterina."

"My roses are very important to me. No one may cut them without my express permission. You will have to pay a penalty for this crime."

Mario's hand began to shake. He offered the rose to the man, apologizing profusely. "I'm sorry. Please, I will pay you for the rose, if you wish."

The tall man gazed at Mario, his eyes oddly lightening, but now appearing red. It must be the fading sunset causing the change in colour. Mario waited until finally the man spoke. "You say you have a daughter. How old is she?"

"My Caterina is just twenty years, sir."

"Very well. Bring her here tomorrow evening. Park at the back near the wrought iron gate. She will work off your debt to me, here at the castle. You may take her home when I say she may leave."

Mario was afraid for his daughter. Being that she was beautiful, he feared what this man might try to do to her if he found her desirable. And how long would she be required to stay here. "Let me pay for the rose, or let me work for you, sir. I will gladly toil in your garden or clean the castle. Please do not ask for my Caterina."

"It is decided. Bring her here tomorrow at dusk, or pay the penalty with your life. Go now, and spend time with your daughter while you can." As an after thought, he added, "You may give her the rose."

Mario bent his head to the man. When he had raised his head, he saw the man had left without a sound.

Getting into his van, he held in the tears he felt threatening his vision. It wouldn't do for him to have an accident while driving home. Reaching up, he rubbed his eyes with one hand, clearing them so he could see. "My poor Caterina. What will become of you because of your father's unthinking actions?"

Once he reached his home, he went inside, and was greeted by his daughter.

"Hello, papa. Welcome home. I have your supper waiting." After giving her father a hug, Caterina fluttered around the kitchen, preparing their plates.

Mario handed Caterina the red rose, trying to smile. "This is for you, my dear. Oh, and this too." He handed her the book, wishing he had been satisfied with that.

"You must have done well at the market, papa." She looked at the cover of the book, and grinned. "A travel book. Oh, I love it. And the flower is so beautiful. Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek, then set about getting his meal on a plate, setting it on the kitchen table.

After washing his hands at the kitchen sink, he sat at the table and looked down at the plate of food. How was he going to tell his only child that she was going to have to leave her home tomorrow to work for some strange man in the village, at the castle of all places.

"Caterina, I need to tell you that the man who owned this rose caught me taking it, and now demands payment."

His daughter sat at the table, her own plate in front of her. "Papa, what do you mean you owe him payment. For a mere flower?"

"It seems he is very protective of his garden. I never should have taken it. And now he wants you to work off the debt he has in mind. You will stay at the castle and do as the residents say until such time they allow you to return home to me."

"Papa, I'm frightened. Why is this asked of me?"

"Child, I offered my services, but was refused. I even offered to pay for the rose, but was told no. I don't know what else to do." He took her hand in his. "I'm sure they will treat you well. They would not risk me going to the police if any harm were to come to you."

Caterina bowed her head, holding back the tears that wanted to flow down her cheeks. She held her father's hand with both hers. Trying to appear brave, she said, "I will do as you say, papa. I promise to make you proud, and don't worry. I won't allow anyone to hurt me." She gave him a wink and sniffled a smile.

Mario kissed her hands, grateful he had such a wonderful daughter. Forcing themselves to forget about tomorrow, they ate and talked about their day, the amount of money Mario had earned at the market, and why he chose the book he had bought for her.

The next morning, Caterina had packed a bag of clothing, unsure as to the length of her imposed stay. She imagined she could wash things out if she was there longer than she expected. The price of a rose in exchange for her labour could not be that long of a time. She had a smaller bag for her toiletries and her new book. She left the house, and headed to the driveway, her father already waiting for her in the van.

Mario was surprised Caterina was not crying. How brave his child was in the face of the unknown. "Are you all right, dearest?"

"Yes, papa. I will look at it as an adventure. I have never been out of Volterra, but...well, this is different at least." She sat looking straight ahead. She feared if she looked at her father, she would break down. "I'll be home before you know it."

The drive to the village didn't take very long, and he did as he had been instructed, parking at the back gate. A very tall man dressed in black was obviously waiting for them at the gate. When he saw Mario park the van, he opened the gate and waited for Caterina to exit the van while Mario gathered her bags. He handed them to the tall silent man when he held out his hands for them, easily carrying them as if they weighed nothing.

Caterina hugged her father one last time, kissing his cheek. "I will be all right, papa. Perhaps they'll let me call you." She stepped back, determined not to cry, and turned to the tall man. "I'm ready now," she said to him, following him through the castle's back doors. She gave her father one last look, blowing him a kiss, then went inside.

A/N : I love the story of Beauty and the Beast, and thought what it might be like if Marcus was the Beast, being a vampire, who meets a sweet loving young woman who would come to change his heart.