#this is literal shit but i have been working on it for days

[tumblehcendrum]

I OBJECT.

I talk socialism and all that shit, but if we live together, this man will not be washing any dishes.

Because I am buying a dishwasher the second I get in.

It sanitizes dishes to a level literally inaccessible for a human on a biological level (you can only wash your way through a first degree burn for so long) and it does so while using so little water that even your power bills will be lower overall because that's how much less water you need to heat up. And you can easily find a way to have one in your house for a buck per day of the year or less, meaning if in that year it saves you twenty minutes a day you'll have paid under three bucks for every hour it saved you - and I like to think the socialist circles will value an hour of work at a lot more than three bucks. And this without considering that for sharing the dishwashing workload to have ever been brought up it means there's multiple people to split the expense between - and that, again, it saves water and power, so it eventually repays itself anyway.

"But then it just moves to pre-rinsing the dishes-" no it doesn't because you don't have to prerinse your dishes stop doing that just plonk the largest food blobs in the bin the dishwasher already does a pre-wash cycle for you. If it's ever not enough just put some detergent in that little pocket next to the sealed one (or if you don't have it on the door itself) and hey presto.

Really, I cannot overstress how little sense it makes to not have a dishwasher in any situation that isn't "I'm one such expense away from the sidewalk" or "I'm moving within three months and don't want/need a dishwasher there".

Dishwashers. Wohoo!

[will80sbyers]

Mileven is endgame, proof (let's see if you dare to respond):

1- Mike was scared of losing Eleven, that's why he made that face at the end of s3, he is so in love he cant even handle it!

2- Mike tried to help el when she got bullied and went looking for her, until you know who decided to make that moment about him. When El hit Angela, he was in shock, but the next day he tried to apologize empatizing with her and forgave he for lying inmediatly

I do think Mike likes Will, but he is in love with Eleven and that is a fact

Be honest are you a Byler pretending to be a mileven?

Because even for a mlvn there's no coherent train of thought here in any way so I hope it's someone saying random shit lol it's actually a trainwreck of "logic" from start to finish to the point that it's funny

Baby, if Mike "likes Will" then byler is endgame 100% because writers don't write bisexual characters or make a character like another if they don't intend to do anything with it, if you think in any capacity that Mike is bisexual then mileven is done lol

1) You're right, Mike is scared of losing El from his life, that's why he's still clinging to her even if the relationship is not good for them anymore... and I don't think he has realized his feelings for Will consciously yet, he's still trying to repress them, in the season 3 finale the reason he makes that face after the kiss is because he's shocked and they wanted to replicate the kiss in the IT saga between Bill and Beverly, note that they have also made a OBVIOUS parallel between byler and benverly...which will both be endgame 🌈❤️🤗

If you were talking about this shot right here

this is because he also has feelings for Will and it's directly connected to Will because that's his house and we had another shot before of Mike looking at the cars go away so they didn't need to repeat a shot of Mike like that, it wouldn't make sense if it was for Eleven, it's pretty obvious Byler is being constructed and mileven is being destroyed and it's been a few seasons of this...

They even made him find her choice of breakfast weird for literally no reason at all except focusing on how much they aren't really that much compatible as a couple

+ not liking her milkshake, not liking skating, not liking the pizza with pineapple, dressing up in a completely different style only because he feels so insecure with her that he feels like he needs to pretend to be cooler than who he really is and being with her makes him feel like he has to be in the "boyfriend role" instead of being just Mike... like El feels like she had to lie for months about her whole life just because she felt like Mike wouldn't love her if she wasn't normal enough... They don't understand each other fundamentally anymore and it's okay, you grow and you change and relationships stop working sometimes!

2) At rink o mania MIKE is the one that starts their argument taking away the focus from finding Eleven... just because he's pissed that Will wasn't acting happy that he was there being a 3rd wheel for their date... And Will clocked that and asked him to explain himself lmfao

Mike doesn't know what true love is yet... exactly like Laurie from Little Women didn't know shit about true love and was idealizing Jo

Mike is doing the same to El because he's a 14yo kid... He'll understand as he grows up 😚

[cjlouwho]

I Like the Taste of Vanilla

NOW COMPLETE! Start from the beginning on ao3, read today's post here or there.

Day 5: This Seems Dramatic

When Tommy stepped out of the bathroom and into the king suite he and Buck were staying at in Vegas, he did not expect to see Buck standing in front of the window with nothing but a pair of boxer briefs on.

“Now that's a view,” Tommy said with a smirk as he walked over to Buck.

Buck turned to him with a smile. “I was starting to get changed for dinner,” he said, his hands going to Tommy's shirt to play with the buttons, “then I had a different idea.”

Tommy's eyebrows perked up. “Mm. What's that?”

“Well, I was looking at the view of the strip and I- I, well, I wondered if you'd, um, you'd-”

“Evan?” Tommy could sense his nerves. “Questions are good, remember?”

Playfully, Buck rolled his eyes. “I was wondering if you'd like to fuck me... in front of the window.”

Tommy's eyes darkened at the thought. He pulled Buck in for a kiss. “I'd love that.”

It didn't take long for his clothes to be tossed across the room. Soon enough they were both standing in front of the giant window, looking over the city as Tommy worked three fingers in and out of Buck's hole.

“Did you have me fly us all the way to Vegas to fuck you in front of a window?” Tommy asked, kissing along Buck's neck. “Because no offense, but this seems dramatic.”

Buck laughed breathlessly. “That was, oh shit, actually not the plan at all,” he replied. “But, uh, i- it's a pretty good idea isn't it?”

Tommy slid his free arm around Buck's waist, wrapping his hand around Buck's cock and stroking him with a firm grip. “A great idea, Baby.”

Soon enough, Tommy was lining himself up with Buck, and slowly beginning to push inside. As Buck moaned, body pressed against the glass, Tommy noticed a woman on the street. So far down she didn't look much larger than a Barbie doll. She had a phone in her hand, pointing up toward the hotel.

Tommy froze.

“Wh- What's the matter?” Buck asked.

“What? Oh, nothing.” Tommy sunk in a little further, but he couldn't take his eyes off the woman, who was still there and still had her phone pointing at the hotel. Tommy stopped again.

“Tommy?” Buck pushed away from the wall slightly, enough to turn and look at Tommy. “Something's wrong.”

Tommy sighed. “I just... What if someone videos us and posts it online, and then someone we know sees it or it goes viral or something?”

He was surprised when, instead of looking confused, Buck just smiled back at him. “Actually, when I went downstairs to talk to the concierge earlier we got to talking about the building and he informed me that they had so many problems with people fucking against the windows that they tinted them all. It's actually impossible for anyone to see in.”

Tommy paused for a moment before resting his head against Buck's shoulder with a laugh. “Oh God. That's when you got the idea, isn't it?”

“Yup.”

“So no one can see us?”

“No one can see us.”

Tommy took a steadying breath, then straightened back up and took hold of Buck's hips. “Back to fucking, then?”

Buck nodded, sticking out his ass for effect. “Back to fucking.”

They started slow, but soon enough Tommy was pounding into Buck as Buck's body pressed hard against the glass.

Usually by this point, Buck was a whimpering, sobbing mess. But for some reason, he just got quieter and quieter the faster Tommy went.

So Tommy stopped. “What's wrong?” he asked, breathing heavily against Buck's neck.

“Nothing.”

“You sound like me now.” Tommy ran a hand through Buck's curls. “What's wrong?”

“Well, I- I know the window is double paned...”

“But?”

“But I just keep thinking wh- what if you fuck me so hard that the glass shatters and I fall out the window. I'd literally be fucked to death.”

Most people would laugh at the thought. But Tommy's been a firefighter for so long that there's quite literally no scenario he hasn't seen. Bringing a hand to Buck's stomach, he stepped them both away from the window. “I don't want to fuck you to death.”

“I don't want to be fucked to death.”

Tommy thought for a moment. “How about I grab the extra blankets from the closet, get some pillows? We can lay on the floor in front of the window and fuck like that?”

Slowly, Buck maneuvered himself so Tommy slipped out of him. He turned around. “Tommy?”

“Yeah?”

“How about we have regular, missionary style sex in the king size bed that we're paying for?”

Regardless of the fact he was just deep inside his boyfriend, Tommy was positive he'd never been so turned on in his life. “Are you sure? That's what we do at home most of the time.”

Buck smiled. “If I remember correctly, we do it most of the time because it has us both coming so hard we nearly black out.” He moved closer to Tommy, wrapping his arms around his waist and whispering in his ear. “I'll even flip us over at the end and ride you until my thighs burn.”

Tommy was wrong before. This was the most turned on he'd ever been in his life. With a groan, he pressed a kiss against Buck's lips and began to lead him backwards toward the bed. “I'll rub Bengay on your thighs after so they don't bother you tonight,” Tommy said, giving Buck a gentle push onto the bed.

Buck moaned, his cock hard and spurting precum just below his navel. “Fuck, Tommy, that's so hot.”

Tommy climbed onto the bed over Buck, gently lowering his weight over the man. “And after that,” Tommy continued, kissing his way down Buck's body, “I'll order us room service, whatever you want, and we'll eat it in bed.”

“I- In the robes the- the hotel provided?” Buck asked, body shivering with arousal.

“Mhm. And we'll watch that documentary you've been talking to me about for weeks.”

“Shit,” Buck whined, planting his feet on the bed so he could spread his legs wider, “You've gotta fuck me now, Tommy. I'm already close.”

Nearly halfway to his own orgasm already, Tommy wasted no time lining up and pushing in to Buck. He fucked into him slowly, carefully, as he watched Buck's mouth drop open and listened to the little, uh, uh, uh's, that escaped with each thrust.

Tommy nudged his nose against Buck's cheek to get his attention. “Evan?”

“Mm.” Buck opened his eyes, hands moving down to Tommy's ass for a squeeze. “Yeah?”

“I love us.”

Buck brought a hand to Tommy's neck, pulling him down for a sloppy kiss filled with teeth, and tongue, and all the emotion his heart could hold. “I love us, too.”

[allthingsfangirl101]

All I Want – Glen Powell

I hid behind my camera as the actors went through their scenes. I couldn't ignore the smile that spread across my face as Glen's character ran into the airport.

"Rick?"

I made sure to angle the camera behind Glen, right over his shoulder so we got a clear shot up of Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs.

"Hey," Taye hesitated. "Did I forget something?"

"Yeah," Glen responded, sounding like he was out of breath from running. "That you're a bastard." Glen paused as the extras in the airport mumbled things under their breaths. "I don't wanna be like you. I'm not gonna be. I don't want the promotion. I quit."

"Okay," Taye said with little to no emotion.

"Kirsten? Don't marry him."

I bit my lip to keep from laughing as the extra walked up next to Glen and laughed, "Do it, honey. Go with the young guy."

"Oh, no," Glen started to stutter. "No, no. I mean, she's a very handsome woman. Just -- Not what's going on here."

"Charlie," Taye said, still with barely any emotion. "You're fired as fuck."

"I literally just quit," Glen shrugged. "Kirsten, I know you don't know me, but I know you, because all Harper does is talk about you. And even when she's complaining about you, she's really complimenting you. I know how hard you work and what a badass you are, and I know you don't put up with any shit. So, don't put up with his. I don't know what you think you're getting out of this, but you deserve better. You are better."

I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from laughing as he lifted his hands and laughed. "Gave myself goosebumps."

"He's crazy," Taye recited. "You realize that? Hmm?"

Lucy paused before slowly turning toward Taye. She thought about it before asking, "What's my favorite food?"

"Your favorite -- It's steak tartare."

"It's green curry, you douche-tard!" Glen yelled up at them. "She likes it medium-spicy from Thai Leaf on Broadway."

"What's my favorite place?" Lucy asked.

"Kiki, I ca - -" he stuttered. He cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact. "This is ridiculous. Why are we --? Kirsten. Your name is Kirsten."

"Squam Lake, New Hampshire, you douche-tard." I smiled when Glen did an excited fist bump. "Charlie, I know you're no longer his assistant, but could you please strike "wedding" from his calendar?"

"Absolutely," Glen said proudly.

"Are you being serious?" Taye asked as she dropped her plane ticket and walked away. "No. Kiki's short for Kirsten," he said as he followed her."

I moved the camera to catch Glen's facial expression. He's supposed to stop and think about how he left things with Zoey's character, Harper. As he looked down, Claire yelled, "Cut! Perfect guys. Let's check the lights, switch the camera positions, and go again."

I turned off the camera, took it off my shoulder, and stretched my back. I handed the camera to my assistant and continued stretching out my shoulders.

"You almost made me break."

I looked over my shoulder to see Glen walking over to me with a playful glare on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I shrugged.

"Your little giggles," he said, pointing at me.

"I never giggled," I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "I held it in."

"True," he nodded, "but your little smirks and smiles made it incredibly hard to remain serious."

"Well, then that means you need to do better at your job," I smirked. Glen laughed as I walked away. I forced my heart rate to slow back down as he jogged to catch up to me.

"We still on for lunch?" Glen asked as he started walking in sync with me.

"Of course," I shrugged, trying to get the butterflies in my stomach to calm down.

His simple question shouldn't have such a big impact on me. Especially considering the fact that we've been going to lunch almost every day during filming. We started about a month in. I was walking on set with the lunch I just bought when Glen bumped into me, spilling my lunch all over my shirt.

Glen freaked out and immediately took me to the costume trailer. He influenced the ladies to get me a shirt and then offered to buy me a new lunch. We spent the entire lunch break, eating in a small café down the street from the set and talking about anything we could think of.

The next day, I was swapping the batteries in my camera at the start of lunch when Glen walked up to me. I turned around to see him smiling and offering me a sandwich from the same café. Without thinking about it or meaning to, we ended up eating lunch together every day.

Throughout lunch, we talked about the movie's ending. I already have another job lined up, and Glen has a few 'feelers' out.

"I can't believe it's been four months," Glen chuckled as he finished his chips.

"I know," I smiled softly. "It's gone by so fast."

"Are you still working for Netflix?" He asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "They've got my next project lined up. Some teenage angst romance movie."

Glen laughed when I made a face. "It won't be that bad," he tried to shrug. "I mean, you've spent months filming me flirt with Joan and Zoey."

"That's different," I sighed. "Filming teens just feels. . . wrong."

Glen smiled while reaching over and grabbing my hand. "Keep in mind, they're usually adults playing teenagers. And if any of them give you a problem, just call me."

My heart sank. I've grown accustomed to seeing him, teasing him, eating with him every day. The idea of not seeing him every day killed me.

Little did I know that Glen felt the same.

* * * * *

We had three scenes left. We filmed the big ending first. On the last day of filming, we were focusing on the scenes leading up to the end. My heart was in my throat the entire time I filmed their final scene.

I followed behind Zoey, waiting for her to notice Glen waiting outside the office.

"If I spend too much time on Gilda in the beginning, people will know that she's gonna die. Let her death be a twist. Hold off until after Harry wins his first med. . ."

Zoey stopped midsentence when she noticed Glen outside. Glen turned around and instantly had the perfect expression on his face. Zoey stopped recording herself and opened the door. One of the camera assistants snuck behind her and held the door open for me as I followed her outside.

He came off slightly nervous as she walked up to him and stood across from him. My camera was directly behind Zoey, and all its focus was on Glen. All of my focus was on Glen.

"Hi," Zoey recited.

"Hi," Glen responded.

Zoey looked to the side before turning back to Glen and asking him, "So, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, Kirsten told me to meet her. What are you doing here?"

"Oh my.  . ." Zoey laughed as they acted to figure it out.

"She Cyrano'd us," Glen caught on.

"Yes, she. . ."

"I Googled it," Glen said. "So, I know what it means now."

Zoey sighed as she put the box she was holding and her bags down before turning back to Glen. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"I don't work here anymore. I quit working for Rick. Starting over. At 28. Actually, I'm a temp, which is technically lower on the totem pole than an assistant, which is kind of a kick in the nuts. But it's, um, kind of cool. I get to see a bunch of different jobs. Find out what I actually like." Glen paused before adding the monologue I knew would make girls 15-35 swoon over him. "I like you. So, so much. You're not hard to get at all. You're hard to earn. It's so much better."

"You displayed a total lack of character when it mattered."

"I know."

"Charlie," Zoey continued, "you have the romantic and sexual personality of a seventh-grader."

"Seventh?" Glen asked, immediately lifting the mood. "I feel like it'd be at least high school."

"You wear suits to sports games."

"What?" Glen paused, acting like he was confused but slowly caught on. "You're a know-it-all."

"You are unbelievably bad at beer pong."

"You're a sore winner. And you use too many exclamation points."

As they continued to banter, I could feel myself falling harder and harder for this man. And it wasn't because of his character. It was because he was just like this in real life. I should know. We banter all the time.

But our banter doesn't end the way theirs does.

"And yet. . ." Zoey didn't finish.

Glen grabbed her hand and slightly pulled her toward him. He leaned down and kissed her. I watched, my heart breaking as Zoey wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back. The assistant gently tapped my elbow, reminding me that I was supposed to lift the camera above them, tilting it up to see New York.

"And cut!" Claire yelled. I looked over to see Glen and Zoey pull apart. Glen looked at me, but I quickly looked away.

I handed the camera to my assistant and grabbed a water bottle at the snack table. I let out a shaky breath as I opened the bottle and drank.

"So," Glen elongated as he walked up to me, "on a scale of 1 to bleehh, how cringy was I in that scene?"

"You were great," I said without turning around. "You're always great."

"Are you okay?" He grabbed my elbow and turned me toward him.

"I'm fine," I shrugged.

"Are you sure?" He asked, looking at me in a way that made me melt.

I could tell him that I wasn't fine. I could tell him that I didn't want the movie to end. I could tell him that I was terrified that we'd never see each other again. I could tell him that the thought of not working together made me want the ground to open up and swallow me up.

"Of course," I said, my voice dropping. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know," he stuttered. "I just feel like the last couple of days, you've been. . . off."

"Off?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," he said quickly. "I just meant that you've been in your head more than usual."

"I'm fine," I answered quickly. "I always get a little 'in my head' when I'm wrapping up a movie. It's hard to say goodbye to everyone. It's the worst part of working on movies. You get incredibly close to someone and then you never see them again."

We suddenly fell into silence as we stared at each other. I should tell him how much I'm going to miss him. It was on the tip of my tongue, but something stopped me. I'm not sure why I couldn't spit it out.

Glen opened his mouth to say something, but he was called to set. He sent me an apologetic look, and quickly kissed my cheek, before walking away. As he walked away, an answer to my earlier question popped into my head.

I couldn't tell him how much I was going to miss him because of one simple fact; I'm just a camera woman and he's a famous actor.

* * * * *

After filming the last scene, we still had a few scenes to film. Throughout filming, I noticed Glen acting weird. It felt like he was avoiding me. I went over and over our last interaction, trying to figure out if I said something that made him uncomfortable.

I stood behind the bar, my camera focused on Zoey. She typed for a little before stopping and slowly smiling.

"I finished," she mumbled. "I finished. The whole article. I finished it! From beginning to end."

I smiled softly as she grabbed chips, stood up, and spun around. She stopped when the waiter walked over with two plates of food.

"I finished it. I finished the whole thing," she repeated. "You, sir, are a hero and scholar, and are about to receive the greatest tip in the history of the service industry."

She turned around and started shuffling through her bag. "Okay. Technically, I don't have my wallet on me. Tomorrow. . ."

"Leave this place and never return," the waiter cut her off.

As the waiter walked away, Zoey smiled. She put her hands to her head and whispered, "I did it."

"And that's a cut for Zoey!" Claire yelled. "Let's switch sets and film Glen's last scene. Y/N, you ready?"

I looked over at her and saw Glen over her shoulder. "Of course," I said, trying to sound normal.

"The battery good?" She asked.

"All good."

"Great!" She said, clapping her hands together. "Let's wrap this up."

I made eye contact with Glen again but quickly looked away. I hated this. I hated this feeling in my stomach. I hated this awkward, confusing tension between us.

After lunch, the set was now ready for one of Glen's last scenes. We had to reschedule due to some issues with Pete's comedy schedule. When I walked onto set, Glen was already in position. We made eye contact again and I instantly broke it.

"Alright," Claire said, "Glen's in position. Y/N's in position."

My face burned when Glen looked at me and smiled. I looked away and focused on the camera.

"Action!"

I filmed him scrolling on his computer for a few seconds before Taye knocked on the door. Glen stood up and I followed him down the makeshift hallway. I stepped behind him as he answered the door.

"Cut!"

I looked over at Claire confused. "Stanley," she sighed to the other camera operator who was behind Taye, his camera focused on Glen. "Your angle is wrong. Can we switch the two of you?"

"Switch?" I stuttered.

"Yeah," Claire shrugged. "You do better with angles. Plus, you and Glen are closer in height so it's not as slanted."

"Oh," I said, clearing my throat. "Sure."

I took my camera off my shoulder and blushed when Glen moved aside. Stanley and I switched positions. I was now behind Taye and focused on Glen.

"Perfect," Claire smiled. "And action."

"Hey," Taye said, slightly awkwardly.

"What do you want?" Glen asked harshly.

"You live here? It's disgusting." Taye scowled. Glen scoffed as he started to close the door. Taye quickly stopped him. "Hold up. Hold up, hold up. I'm sorry. I just. . . I, uhh. . . I need some information on, um, my wife. My ex-wife."

"Like what?"

"Uhh. . ." Taye hesitated as he opened a small notepad and looked through it. "I got some written down here. Uh, assorted favorites, as in, uh, favorite foods, flowers, clothing. . ."

"Are you serious?" Glen scoffed.

"Look," Taye sighed, "I realize I should know this. But you used to do all this stuff for me. I want her back."

Glen hesitated, slowly sighing. "I have an old Kiki file. I'll send it over to you."

Taye let out the breath he was holding. He did a small fist pump as he recited, "Thank you. Thank you."

"Yeah," Glen sighed.

"Thank you," Taye said again. "I really appreciate this."

I stepped aside as Pete walked up.

"Rick," he said loudly, making Taye jump. Pete turned to Glen and asked, "You still work for this guy?"

"Nope," Glen chuckled.

I held my breath as Pete threw his cup of iced coffee on Taye. He walked by him, stopping in the doorway as he said, "It's soy. Nice seeing you, Rick."

Pete did a small salute before leaving. Glen started to follow him.

"Bye, Rick," he said as he slammed the door.

"Perfect! Much better. Thank you, Y/N."

I nodded as I took my camera off my shoulder. My assistant took the camera and noticed my shirt.

"Do you want me to. . ."

"I'm fine, Wes." I cut him off. I looked up to see Glen walking out of the apartment.

"Did Pete get you?" Glen asked, instantly scanning my shirt. "I told him to be careful."

"I'm fine," I brushed off. I wrapped my arms around myself and looked away.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen," Claire smiled, "that is a wrap on Set It Up!"

Everyone started to applaud. Without looking at Glen, I turned and started walking off set.

"Y/N!" Kelley, the makeup girl, ran to catch up to me. "You coming to the bar tonight? Apparently, Claire rented it out for the wrap-up party."

Just then, Glen walked by. Of course.

"Oh," I said slowly. "I. . . I don't know. I'm kinda tired."

"Come on, Y/N," she whined. She turned around and smirked. "Oh, Glen!"

"Kelley," I said through my teeth. "Don't. . ."

"What's up?" Glen asked as he walked over to us.

"Y/N's trying to wimp out on us," she said, her whole voice dripping with tattle-tale venom.

"I am not," I said quickly.

"Yes, she is," she corrected. "Anyway, I can't get her to come. But maybe you can. Convince her."

"Kelley," I said through my teeth.

"You're really not coming?" He asked me. He looked over at me, the look of hope in his eyes causing my heart to do several flips.

"I'm not sure," I stuttered.

"Well," he smiled, "I hope you do."

I couldn't help but hold my breath as I waited for him to leave. Once he did, Kelley elbowed me in the ribs.

"Ow!" I gasped.

"Okay," she said, turning toward me and crossing her arms over her chest. "What's with you? You two are usually constantly bantering and teasing each other. This last week, you've been weird. Spill."

"I don't know," I said honestly. "I wish I knew."

* * * * *

After spending hours putting together different outfits, I finally walked into the bar.

"Damn, girl!" Kelley giggled when she saw me. I blushed as she ran over to me and made me spin around. "You. Look. Gorgeous!"

"Thanks," I said pushing her away. Something over my shoulder caught her eye.

"And I'm not the only one who noticed," she said in a sing-songy voice. I looked over my shoulder to see Glen across the room, smiling at me. I sent him a smile before turning away. I grabbed Kelley's hand and led her to the bar.

"If I'm going to get through this," I said under my breath, "I'm gonna need a stiff drink. Very stiff."

About an hour later and after a few drinks, Kelley and I were leaning against the bar.

"I just don't get it," she sighed.

"Get what?"

"You and Glen."

"There's nothing to get," I scoffed. "I'm just me. A nobody who spends her life filming other people instead of doing anything with her life."

"So?" Kelley shrugged.

"So," I elongated. "He's Glen Powell, Hollywood's Heartthrob. Why would he want to be with me? I'm not anyone special."

"Maybe to him," she said slowly, "you're more than just a nobody. Maybe to him, you are special."

"Yeah, right."

"Come on, Y/N," Kelley sighed. "You have been crazy about him since we started filming. Why don't you think he might be crazy about you too?"

"Do I need to spell it out?" I asked bitterly. "I'm a nobody. Glen could do a whole lot better. But, who cares? The movie is over. He'll get another job and so will I. We won't see each other every day. He'll find another girl to make her fall head over heels in love with him while I suffer in my lonely silence."

"You might want to. . ." She said, pointing behind me.

"Glen," I gasped when I turned around and there he was. "What are you. . . How much of that did you hear?"

"Enough," he shrugged with his heart-stopping smile. Kelley gave me a not-so-subtle push toward Glen as she walked away. Her push made me bump into him, causing him to catch me.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I'm fine," I said, stepping back. "Look, about what I said. . ."

"It's okay."

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It's not. I know we. . ."

"I like you." I held my breath as Glen paused. "So, so much."

"You what? You sure you're not just reciting yours and Zoey's final scene."

"I'm not rehearsing anything. I want to be around you every second of every minute of every day," he said, taking a step closer to me. "I want to take you on dates and spend my money on you until I have no more money left to spend on you. I want to hold your hand, hold you, until I lose the ability to feel. I want to kiss you until my lips are numb. I want to be the first thing you think about every morning you wake up and the last thing you think about every night before you go to sleep. I want to love everything you have grown to hate about yourself. But mostly, I just want you, Y/N."

He pulled me into his chest, leaned down, and pressed his lips to mine. My heart felt like it was jumping into my throat as I slowly started to kiss him back. Our lips moved in sync as he pulled me closer. We broke apart when neither one of us could breathe.

"See?" He whispered. "All I want is you."

[wardingshout]

Since I didn't draw anything for like half of 2024 I did an updated colour wheel instead! featuring only the newest of stuff I could find that fit.

I have also compiled a dump of many thoughts I want out of my head, like a little text post dump I guess. the tldr I guess I will just make "thank you".

Putting the most important thing first here which is. Every single time I catch myself thinking "no I need to draw smth other than alttp" a couple of very specific tags and messages pop into my head and I get so fired up to draw more alttp !!! the power I feel from that!!!!!

IIIIII feel like there used to be a way to do linebreaks but I can't remember how so my new text bit divider is random crap I can find lying around in my files

Ok here goes me being dramatic about something that only matters to me but feels so very important to get out for the sake of others too. I guess the gist of it is that tumblr is a rly important place to me and I'm so endlessly grateful for people always being so nice. at the end of the day I don't think I really care about much else in life than drawing and getting to share it with others makes it a much less lonely experience for me. I mostly just for myself, but I'm so grateful for the extra joy associated with posting it online too.

I feel a bit bad I can never seem to give back the kind of nice energy you guys give me. despite how much joy this place brings me, I'm just a naturally anxious person and I often chicken out of doing things myself. I'm so endlessly happy that people still bear with me or at least stick around to look at my art.

thanks to people's kindness I often find myself breaking out of the anxiety and getting a lot closer to initiating stuff myself, but I always get run over by some kind of irl issue instead, usually mental, but recently also physical health. I had so much fun on here this summer especially and I was so certain that this was the time I would make it last only for irl stuff to yet again show up and knock me out completely. every time that happens I feel like I have to rebuild whatever social bravery I had aquired from the beginning again and at this rate I won't ever get anywhere.

after weeks of very few work days, I feel like I'm finally rebuilding the courage to post and the concentration to manage drawing at all. it's not a lot of progress but I can feel it growing. from tomorrow it's back to full time work with no other breaks in sight and I'm scared my groove will be cut short already... I like my job but I've acknowledged I just can't thrive with full time work. I can bear it fine though, but it doesn't leave energy for much else in life.

I think the point here is. I know it's just social media but I've had so many good experiences on here and they're really precious to me. I hope one day I can be well enough to be that kind of influence for others too. my activity with art and presence online has become surprisingly reflective of how well or bad I'm doing irl, so I never I never want to give up on become a more present person.

the most important thing is art though, so finding the courage to get back to posting even if it's all I do, makes me happy too. thank you so much to everyone else who posts are too. I'm endlessly excited about all the cool things I get to experience and see online, thank you!

it is absolutely absurd how many drafts I have of just very frustrated moments where literally all I type is "if I have to be sick one more time I will lose my absolute mind holy shit" and having just been sick again? really feeling that !!!! it's also like. frustrating to feel you're making progress mentally and then you constantly get knocked into bed by phsyical health instead like come on I'm finally learning how to get Out of that place... and then every time you get sick, routunes have to be rebuild all over after, it suuuuucks....

I finally got a PC which has been absolutely life saving, However. I am still drawing on tegaki only... I'm so excited I can get back to bigger works on csp but I've gotten so used to seeing only my tegaki stuff, I'm scared of how much I'll suddenly hate my art when I see it differently again... hating your own art is probably a feeling that will never disappear but even so. I think I'm at a pretty content place right now and I'm worried about shaking it up. I can't let something like that knock me down when I'm only finally getting back to drawing regularly again... I already copied over the palette for some comfort so hopefully I can find a brush that feels similar too! at least I'm super excited about getting to pick some more colours !

and a very belated tag game thing !! I completely lost the original post by now but it was from @lele5429 and I've had it in my drafts this whole time, so better late than never to fill it out!

Last song: Alt Hvad Jeg Vil by Von Quar

Fav colours: warm yellows or light oranges!

Last book: switching between Assassin's Quest and Our Wives Under The Sea!

Last movie: The Princess Bride I think?? it was long ago so I feel like I'm forgetting something else though...

Last tv show: my roomie and I binged Twin Peaks season 3 as well as most of True Detective over christmas break we went Ham

Sweet/spicy/savoury: sweet !!

Relationship status: not interested

Last thing I googled: "nosferatu rats"... I see.....

Current obsession: alttp auish shenanigans... this one has not changed since I first drafted my response to this... on one hand I feel like I'm just filling out the gaps between games, but on the other it's getting very close to full au stuff... I always wanted to draw comics but had no ideas and for the first time in my life I'm drowning in ideas and fully held back by fear and skills haha

Looking forward to: actually surprisingly nothing at all? I'm looking forward to whatever good times I can create for myself I guess. the last few things I was looking forward to didn't go so well, so maybe it's nice to have nothing but the most normal and boring daily life ahead haha

[wyvernspirit]

So after watching all of Jentry Chau Vs The Underworld in the past 2 days I've quite a bit to say

This show needed to be two seasons long, I feel half my critiques would probably not exist if it got the runtime it deserved

Kit had the most interesting character arc and was done the most dirty of everyone by the lack of runtime later in the season and also the characters around him??? Can everyone stop treating Kit like shit for two seconds please??

I at multiple points went "God this feels like arcane levels of Greek tragedy" so it has that going for it

If it has ended as a season 1 on episode 9 (I think? The episode where she's out on the field and Cheng revived his daughter then the portals are opened) it could have been a really solid set up for a season 2, but unfortunately the next final episodes feel incredibly jam-packed and rushed with no room to breathe

The music and fight scenes were arguably the best part of the show, there was some really interesting "camera" work too

I didn't like how Michael basically played with 3 girls feelings for the whole show, particularly sorry to girl from the last episode who doesn't even get a name as far as I can tell

(also the way he went "and Kit did you love him too??" as some kind of snap back to Jentry like HE DIDNT LITERALLY JUST DIE MICHAEL CAN YOU STFU FOR TWO SECONDS NOT THE TIME)

Michael kinda just sucked? Like I wanted to like him but he's very meh to me and I'm sorry but the reveal of him actually being really bad at the flute just, threw me off completely especially because instruments are expensive!! He didn't buy it on a whim, the whole thing is he's supposed to have this deep passion for music but like it's not really reflected at all?? There's not even any conversations between him and Jentry about music outside band tryouts

And him having powers I guess could have been set up for a season 2 but we end this season really conclusively? All the plot threads and character arcs wrapped up. Like if anything I could see a spin off with him maybe but- like I don't want one, I just could see that happening

Actually to go back a paragraph for a second, that's something the show does a few times where it drops these very sudden interests of the characters and pretends they had them all along?? Like Jentry and baton twirling, like come on wouldn't it have made more sense if she got sought out by the school dance team or something?? Or just have her main spirit fighting weapon be a baton!! Show her having genuine interest in that aspect of spirit fighting and then have it reflect later in school? Like why did these girls see a video of Jentry dancing and go "Hey she could probably baton twirl!" that makes no sense!

The animation was really great! More than that even, I love the art style and art direction this show has, it really gave me some major inspiration! I want to draw some fanart really badly!!

Okay this a major IN MY OPINION, low-key I think the show might have been more interesting if it was just set in Seoul for the whole time, I preferred Jentrys friends there, I much preferred the environments and the colours the art direction had in the setting of Seoul

I didn't really care for Texas in the show and It made the feelings of her later questioning if she should return or not be hollow to me the viewer, because I was like OF COURSE SHE SHOULD

Stella is a character I have complicated feelings on! I really did not care for the minuet of Michael's introduction at school her getting weighed down as just "the girlfriend" character and how Jentry wasn't allowed form a meaningful connection to her until after Michael and her broke up, hell Stella basically gets forgotten by the plot until the last 4ish episodes, and IN THOSE she's a REALLY fun and strong character! I love how she started learning seals and was such a a big part of them winning that final fight at the school, which frankly I don't think she gets enough credit for

And while I find her blushing at Jentrys other friend cute it just makes me sigh because now I realize the show totally could have just done a "Fuck the boys" Jentry x Stella ship and I would have been totally down

Actually low-key I think my ideal is Kit and their Girlfriend Jentry and Jentrys Girlfriend Stella ((and I guess maybe Stella's boyfriend Michael if he got written better, but meh don't expect me to include him in the polycule if I ever write Fics/draw art for this show))

Also speaking of Kit god I would love them to be genderfluid or I guess it to be acknowledged? As queer and not just, because their a skin walker. Like you can read them that way because of them being a skin walker demon but like if it was acknowledged in the show after making Jentry's skin he experimented a little with how he looked as Kit and his sense of fashion and style!!

Idk I would have loved it, I have some strong feelings on how this show had hints of queerness but never actually acknowledged that queerness besides I guess Jentrys fake parents being like "So do you have a boyfriend?? ..or a girlfriend??" Which I mean, I guess, diversity win the cat spirits pretending to be your dead parents don't care if your gay!

I was very invested in the mysteries of the Chau family for the whole run I just wish that they had time to breathe, we went from one revelation to the next and each one hit just that little bit less because there was no down time given between them.

Okay overall though, it's going to be rotating in my mind like a microwave for the next two weeks I can tell

I don't know if it's strong enough to stick around as a major fixation but maybe a minor one where I occasionally get drawn back over the characters who had so much potential to me

I'd say a solid like 8/10

Yeah I know I just did all that whining and complaining

But I did genuinely enjoy most of the viewing experience and the ideas behind it

It was good, I think other people should give it a try, it deserves a lot more love and attention for sure

[auroras-void]

*I'm* one of those feminine women who's attracted to this sorta blue collar work.

Have recently been seriously considering making a 180 from CS to working to become a General Contractor. I'm good at desk work, sometimes very good, but the thing is, long term any variation of it just makes me miserable in a way that working with my hands just doesn't. I fucking love working all day on my family's project house.

But the main thing that's stopping me from stepping on up from there and turning it into a career is sexism.

Like CS has it's own problems with it, and there's some crazy shit there, but it's at least getting better. But like, with construction, I haven't even needed to so much as dip my toes in to experience it. 80% men sucks ass, but it's a hell of a lot better than 95%.

My family has a couple of contractors they work with, most of them are friends, but I still see it right away. Like, I'm by no means an expert, I only really know what my dad taught me and what I've taught myself. But I've had them immediately assume I have no experience and try to teach me like I've never held a saw in my life before despite knowing who I am, or I had an electrician ask about the existing wiring and he instantly assumed that my brother knows more than me*.

And those are just these small little things but they piss me off so fucking much, and I can tell how indicative they are of so much more. It's like people see a woman and their eyes just glaze over me. Which on the one hand is very gender affirming but in the other makes my blood fucking boil.

So like if it's that bad just from the briefest of encounters. Being fully immersed in that kinda culture regularly, experiencing the *real* shit out there there, that just sounds like fucking hell.

Particularly given that I'm trans. I would sooner die than tone down my feminity for someone else. And I can pass stealth, even on a worksite, but I *know* there's still gonna be fuckers out there who will just see me as a man who needs to be bullied into conformity, or who think that working in construction somehow invalidates my transition. And, just I swear to god I'ma fucking murder someone if I have to work in that environment.

So... like ... ig... rotting at a desk it is then.

Like, I think I might still take some classes for my own sake and chip away at it. But I don't think I'm going to be looking at any apprenticeships or anything.. I'm.. not ready for that yet...

---

** (I literally got into this shit and got good at it *after* I transitioned ffs, I didn't enjoy it until I realized I could do it for it's own sake, until I didn't feel pressured into liking it to "toughen up" or "act more manly". I am a woman above all else, and no one has the power to overrule me on that.)

*(he's fucking clueless here, he's a poli sci dude who shows up maybe once a month in a fuckin dress shirt, he's your guy for election coverage and statistics, not construction. Meanwhile, I'm literally wearing my toolbelt and a roofing helmet with knee pads and my work outfit. I was literally the person who *did* the little bit of functional wiring repairs in that house).

There was a time when women did these jobs.

Some of them really liked the work and were keen to continue doing it. But society basically told them to collectively "get back in the kitchen" when the men returned home from war.

The tradition of conditioning women, from birth, to have a distaste for these jobs continued. Young girls are discouraged from even taking an interest in the toys representing these occupations. God forbid they put Barbie in the firetruck.

The truth is, most men do not want women doing these jobs. They complain about how dangerous this work is and use that as a metaphorical bludgeon in debates about equality. But when women actually try to be firefighters and combat infantry, they are told they *can't* do these jobs. They are inferior. Those who are hired have to work twice as hard to get half the respect. They are inundated with sexism and misogyny. And many end up quitting, not because they aren't qualified or they don't like the work, but because their male coworkers make the jobs intolerable.

And instead of fighting to make these occupations safer and valued properly, these men just complain that feminists don't know how hard it is and how they don't understand what it's like to risk their lives for no money or benefits. And then rich assholes like Elon stoke these flames because he doesn't want these men to realize this is a class struggle rather than a culture war. And that feminists and "woke activists" would actually be wonderful allies in helping them get better conditions.

Lastly, there are feminists talking about this. There are plenty of non-men interested in these jobs. But I doubt Elon keeps up with very much feminist discourse other than what he invents in his imagination.

Beyond that, feminists can't seem to prioritize stuff like this in the mainstream because they are too busy trying to regain control of their uteruses.

Did I miss anything?

Oh yeah, fuck Elon and fuck "End Wokeness".

[apollos-boyfriend]

i think a reason i like the cmercenary confrontation so much is because cpurpled is right in every way. and it just really highlights what’s simultaneously one of my favorite things about him and one of the most infuriating ones—he’s an over-confident arrogant asshole who flies too close to the sun. but also. he’s an over-confident arrogant asshole who can genuinely back up his claims

punz tries to belittle him by saying there’s no way purpled could hurt them, but it doesn’t phase him. purpled’s confident that he could beat punz in a fight, and he’s likely right—punz was a good fighter, sure, but purpled easily outskilled him in agility

punz tries to pull the dream card—obviously, he’s the most feared person on the server—but it doesn’t work. purpled only insults dream, calling him a coward for not being there himself, to which punz can only utter out a weak retort

punz tries to get the upper hand by saying they’ve been investigating quackity, but all they have to show for it is the “reveal” that slime is quackity’s biggest weakness. yeah, no shit, purpled found that out literally on day 1

punz insists purpled needs their help, but purpled continuously insists he doesn’t need anyone’s input. and he’s likely right. his original plan seems to have been killing slime in front of quackity again, which would’ve accomplished everything he wanted—to make quackity hurt the way he hurt when he lost his UFO. he emphasizes he could physically kill quackity at any point (not a flex, honestly, a fruit fly could), but it’s not what he wants, truly. and i do think he could’ve done it. if dream and punz didn’t get involved, didn’t create this whole scheme to “brainwash” slime, purpled could’ve easily found another way to trap quackity and kill slime in front of him once more

but!!!! despite it all. purpled needs to prove his superiority. he needs to be in control, and above all else, needs to be a dramatic little bitch. so he goes along with it anyways, even though he knows he doesn’t need to. because he can’t help himself. because what is an icarus that doesn’t turn towards the sun.

[severalowls]

Look I'm extremely pro-luigi but some of the posts about how he's "the wrong guy" are fully nuts conspiracy shit.

"It was a different jacket" yes, the surveillance picture where you can see his face is from the night before, when he checked in to a hotel. Having a backup jacket and backpack to ditch (which he did, in central park) is like the most basic thing you can do to evade identification.

"He looks different" People look different from different angles and especially different lenses. This is basic shit yet its still the basis for shit like "Avril Lavigne was replaced by a lookalike" stuff

"He said police planted evidence" yes, but please don't just read headlines. The planted evidence was 1. Large amounts of cash, which would potentially increase the severity of the crime 2. A 'sophisticated' backpack, which is just completely nonsense it was probably just expensive. They're using both of these things to inflate a case of him being some kind of professional assassin or danger to society. This is the part that he is denying. Because it's bullshit, it's inflated, and its extremely deniable. But...

"Why was he carrying a manifesto and the gun and all that other stuff, why not dump it" now I'm not Luigi any more than the next poster, but when you escape from a high profile assassination in a major city, and are on an intercity bus which by some miracle, has not been stopped by the police for like 3 days your paranoia is through the roof. It doesn't calm down, it just gets worse as the improbability increases. I imagine the mental space to be similar to my great grandfather's friends, who escaped a prisoner of war camp in fascist italy, and those few weeks on the run left them on edge, moments from being caught, for the rest of their lives. Compare his remarkable calmness "in the moment" vs descriptions of him visibly shaking when approached by the cops.

So the gun is either 'security' or, my initial assumption was that he was heading to another city to do another one but that is likely the narrative the prosecution will try to construct.

The manifesto is also security. He was up against the nypd, who recently shot about 4 bystanders over a subway fare. If he was gunned down, he needed to be able to communicate his motivations weren't just (as I've seen some clown on here say) "wanted to kill somebody"

"The manifesto is terrible" yeah its pretty weak, its not impossible that it's fabricated but its also possible it's of the "written on his phone while on the run" variety, see above point.

"Why was he in a McDonald's" he had been on the run for days, the places that greyhound buses stop are irregular and also stupid. He didn't come out of hiding and pop down the road for a big mac. As noted above, he may not have planned not to be caught, and have overestimated the nypd.

"He's innocent until proven guilty" yeah thats how the US justice system works. He's innocent of the crime, particularly of terrorism. Does this mean that physically literally he didn't cause bullets to enter a CEO who subsequently died of bullet wounds? No, honestly, he almost certainly did that. It remains to be seen whether, legally, this makes him either a murderer and/or a terrorist. People who demonstrably shot bullets into a person who then died are acquitted on a regular basis, though most of them are cops.

[luv-beam]

YUMI HI MY THOUGHTS WHILE READING R BELOW THE CUT AHHHH:

• i love the life you've given to ur cast already and im only at jeonghans intro!! like the new girl, yuju, eunbi, san—very very nice!! adds such a good dimension

• omg wait i love the name luna!!! PLS WAIT THE LUNATIC THING DKFNKDNF i told my mom once i liked the name luna for like a future daughter and she was like "short for lunatic?" 😭💀 like yeah sure thanks mom

• ugggh love ur worldbuilding so far w their company/organization names, and how people call them different things in different contexts like officially vs by word of mouth!!! it's very immersive in this way heh :'))) (also the crescent company is so catchy)

• RAHH OMG WAIT THE POLITCS TALK IS STARTING I SHOULD TAKE NOTES OR SUMN, not just for keeping track of plot like who pres. lee is vs major gen wi, but also cuz i suck at this kind of stuff and would love to learn how to bring more political intrigue into my writing as well

• UR DESCRIPTION OF YUNHO STOP.... WHAT IF I WAD CLAWING AT THE WALLS I LOVE HIS DUALITY SKFNDKFNFN wiping off blood that is not his own vs his full and bright laugh 😭 im gonna sob

• loved the buildup of tension of will they wont they until it actually happened skfndkfn and luna sneaking into the safe and carrying out yeo's orders—i love this gradual unfolding of info !!! omg also kinda realized that yunho and his guys arent officially apart of ateez..? so they're their own kind of org maybe?

• HELLO WAIT WHAT UH OH ^

• OKAY WAIT NO I SEE THAT YUNHOS JUST THE CONSIGLIERE THAT MAKES MUCH MORE SENSE HAHA love that its chapter one and our mc already has to gamble w her life 😭😭 hmmm but some of her motivations have been revealed...

• i would also feel betrayed by yeo in this situation tbh lol

• WHO IS UR FATHER LUNA (゜゜)

• lowkey reading the "we would have killed u last night i we really wanted to" makes me think of them like "playing w their food/prey"... ofc since this is only chapter one, their relationships will develop but im still sus hmmm also the mentions of rv spies and the mx pharma oooooo

• YOU'RE FIRED IM CRYING SKFNKDMFKF

• OMG WAIT THIS LINE IS FIRE ^

• hmmm i def see jihoons point abt how passing a little trust test doesnt get u working for the boss on ur first day. like this promotion's some nepotism shit in real life but in luna's case i feel like its more like keeping her close so they can watch her

• THE SKETCHED GUN AND PARK SEONGHWAS HAND AHHHHH I LOVE THIS DETAIL and the interaction w yunho heh ;)))))))

overall, very excited to see where the rest of ur genius takes us!!! i have a feeling its gonna be a really bumpy ride... but knowing that its literally gonna be like 200k, ofc its gonna be a bumpy ride 😭 LOVE THE INTERACTIONS SO FAR AND THE CHARACTER INTROS!! the foundations for this story that you have established so far are so strong, like i have so much appreciation for this yumi!!! thank u for ur hard work!! <3

The Leaders | Chapter I

"this is the underworld that no one escapes from."

masterlist

ot8!ateez x f!reader, mafia au

chapter warnings: mentions of violence, gangs, drinking, shooting, near-death experience, illegal businesses, seonghwa and yunho are major assholes in this chap, san and yeosang have warmed up, mention of killing, etc

chapter wc: 9.8k

chapter synopsis: it is the year 1970 in eden when an attack on the crescent bar prompts you, the bookkeeper, to carry out yeosang’s order and flee with the contents of the safe. however, you are unlucky to have discovered an unknown, suspicious package that sentences you to an early death. left with no choice, you reveal secrets about the underworld to the crescents and their underboss that even they are not aware of. will this gamble prove to be fruitful?

It was very easy to get lost in the liveliness of the Crescent Bar. Despite being stationed away from the heart of it all, you often found yourself distracted by the chatter of a couple who would occasionally pop in for a drink, the hushed whispers of a group of men who would be looking over their shoulders every few minutes, the hearty laughter that would suddenly fill the hall and spread warmth in its wake, or simply, a lone traveller who would be swaying to the light music that you were actually sick of hearing but didn’t have the heart to complain about. 

It was now second nature to jot in an observation or record transactions on an hourly basis, just like it was natural for you to take over the cashier’s place so the poor girl could take a break and move around. You no longer felt your hair rise every time you overheard a piece of information that you knew Yeosang or San would like to hear, nor did you feel your pores opening to release sweat every time they glanced your way– just like San did now, just having entered the bar and sent his trademark flirty smile in your direction.

“Restock champagne on table two, right away!” 

“On the way!” You shouted instead of the new girl who was currently finding it hard to multitask. You didn’t have to worry about a thing– Yuju, the head of staff, noticed everything as if she had eyes in every corner of the bar. She would make sure to let the girl know that she was doing well with an encouraging pat to her back.

“They’re going to empty our inventory tonight,” Eunbi shared a grin with you. “We’re going to have to check the stock again.” 

“I’ll take that– ask Jeonghan to wake the hell up and make sure we don’t run out,” you requested, sliding over to the cash register and typing in the latest entry, marking it with today’s date of 3rd April, 1970. Eunbi urged the waiters to speed up before rushing to the empty table at the left corner of the bar where Jeonghan was resting. She delivered the message with a smack and Jeonghan, who was never really asleep but just had a knack for pretending that he found the loud and bustling atmosphere of the bar relaxing, groggily walked across the hall to the door that led downstairs to check stock- or to get an actual nap. You would find that out later.

“Luna,” San greeted you with your nickname and you nodded in greeting– the nickname stuck with you after Jeonghan once called you Luna. Everyone started calling you by that name afterwards but only a handful knew it was short for lunatic and you intended to keep it that way. 

You had no desire to use your real name anyway.

“Busy night?” San slid on the stool not far from you, Eunbi passing him a sweet smile before she started to pour Black Shadow for him- a staple of the Crescent Bar as the only supplier of the famous and well-loved Utopian wine in all of Eden. San swirled the red wine in his glass casually before downing it in one gulp and Eunbi refilled it before passing the bottle to you, going to attend to more pressing matters than one of the owners casually lounging to chat.

“Kind of,,” you turned to grab yourself a glass and San poured the wine for you. The clinking of your glasses echoed even in your loud surroundings and you took a sip, taking in his appearance- you assumed he must be returning from business since he was wearing a formal black suit, though he ditched his coat at the entrance. The white sleeves were rolled up, revealing his sturdy forearms with a thick silver watch on his left wrist and a silver band on his index finger- one you had never seen him without. 

Your eyes travelled up to his face- tendrils of slick hair falling on his forehead. Choi San was one of the most attractive men you had ever seen, and hardly anyone could deny that. 

The problem was that perhaps, he really did not realise how painfully attractive he was. The man was far too humble for his own good, despite being one of the most dangerous and powerful men in Eden.

“Heard something interesting of late?” He inquired routinely. It was always a bit more casual with him as compared to Yeosang. Yeosang was the boss around here, yes, but San was the one who kept things under control. The pair of them worked together very harmoniously and you admired that, even though you had qualms about whatever they were doing- whatever you thought they were doing. Almost two years here and you still had no idea just what it was that their gang did. 

Gang, you called them though they preferred ‘organisation’. The cops preferred ‘criminal organisation’ but you supposed it was just semantics at this point. Their name was Ateez- you never heard that term directly from any of their mouths, but even a child recognised that name and knew to avoid them- or avoid trouble with them. 

But officially, they were the Crescent Company, owner of the Crescent Bar and other businesses in Eden.

“Just politics,” you finished the rest of your drink, adjusting the lone pearl ring on your right hand. “Everyone’s a little antsy with what happened at the protest. They think it’s Assemblyman General Wi’s gang.”

“General Wi would never interfere like that, though,” San scoffed in amusement- perhaps he genuinely found the idea of a man like Major General Wi resorting to dirty means hilarious. “He’s far too smart for that.”

“He is,” you had to agree. “But who else to blame? Only someone from the military would dislike people protesting against martial law. There’s only one candidate for presidency who’s got influence in the army. They think General Wi’s success in the elections would mean the army would control the state.”

“Isn’t the army somewhat controlling the state already, though?” San pondered. “President Lee has ties with the army too.”

You may have gotten used to interacting with the most feared gang in Eden, but the mention of President Lee still made you shiver involuntarily. San had noticed it one too many times and though he hadn’t asked for an explanation, you were sure you would lack the words to describe this sentiment anyway. “President Lee… cannot be controlled by the army, or anyone for that matter. General Wi may be smart but he’s still easily influenced when met with someone of a higher status- that’s what I heard,” you added the last bit hoping it wouldn’t sound like a personal opinion. 

San raised a brow at your comment- you often tried (and failed) to mask your personal opinions under the guise of news but whenever you shared something, he made sure to listen- and listen beneath what your words tried to cover up. He often found your opinions and predictions regarding politics holding some weight and he wasn’t quite sure if you were subconsciously very observant or purposely pretending to be unaware. He once asked you how you knew so much but when you didn’t discuss any information with him for a few weeks, he took the hint. You only reported officially to Yeosang and he could bet you found it easier to talk to him about these things because he wasn’t one to probe.

“Keep me updated,” San said and you nodded. “Yeosang must be inside?”

“He’s actually in Room no. 1- he has visitors.”

“Visitors?” San frowned. “Who?”

“Lieutenant Jeong and co.,” you said and San shook his head at the way you so formally addressed the man. He had told you before that no one ever referred to him as the ‘lieutenant’ but you didn’t know how else to refer to him. “I was in the office earlier so they decided to take the room.”

“That’s okay, I’ll pop in there,” he grabbed a handful of nuts from the counter before walking to the backside of the bar, disappearing in the shadows as he reached the VIP area. You took a deep breath, your mind once again wandering to the ‘guest’. 

Lieutenant Jeong Yunho was not a guest here at all. He belonged here. If you thought Choi San was intimidating, you were wrong. You still recalled the first time you saw him right outside the bar, all roughed up, wiping the blood off his face with his sleeve but not a single scratch on him while a group of men around him writhed on the floor, clutching their mangled limbs. He met your eyes and your heart sank in the worst way possible- worse than the moment you were disowned by your own father. It was simply fear, and you hated feeling fear. You made up your mind to avoid him from then on but there was only so much you could do when you worked at the place he owned. 

Oftentimes he came into the bar in the late hours of the night after wrapping up things in the main office and sat right where San had been sitting earlier in front of you, drinking the strongest wine available in silence- perhaps to sort his thoughts out. He didn’t mind you sitting near him and doing your paperwork, and you didn’t make him feel uncomfortable unlike the others who could not stop stealing glances at him- it wasn’t that you didn’t want to, but you simply could not. You didn’t want him to find out what kind of an effect he had on you.

Especially when he had the warmest laughter and his entire demeanour shifted around his comrades. It intrigued you because he felt like two different persons in one vessel. That was the only time you would allow yourself to steal glances at him- when he was distracted enough. Otherwise you didn’t dare look at him in fear that he might find something about you that you had been struggling to hide all your life.

Eunbi came back after serving a group of guests, whispering, “This one table- they were awfully quiet when I went to serve them. I don’t know if it’s because they’ve got some gossip they don’t want anyone to hear or if they’re going to try something stupid.”

You looked at her- Eunbi’s instincts were usually spot-on. “Which table?”

“Over there,” she glanced at the corner and sure enough, the group of four was already looking in your direction. You pretended to be unaffected, asking her to take over the register. While casually strolling towards the door that led to the basement at the other end of the hall, you passed their table, noticing how they resumed talking only after you were out of earshot. 

Something was up. You went downstairs to see Jeonghan napping on the couch.

“Oi,” you poked his thigh and he stirred, opening an eye. You knew he wasn’t really asleep- he wasn’t one to let his guard down, but you supposed he could have his moments of peace. “Stock?”

“Enough for tonight but I’ll place an order for tomorrow before we leave,” he said. “What’s up?”

“There’s a group at table seven. Four young men, armed with guns, awfully quiet and jumpy. Care to take a look?”

“They could have just lost a bet. They might be collecting the remnants of their pride- you tend to do that in silence,” Jeonghan mused.

“Yeah, well, I’d rather you make sure,” you said. “Lieutenant Jeong is here. They’d be stupid to try anything- anything at all, even if it’s just throwing a tantrum.”

“Ah,” Jeonghan got up and smoothened his long dark hair. “I suppose I’ll ask them if they require a better drink to down their shame.”

“Whatever,” you sniggered before going back to your position upstairs. You watched Jeonghan don his jacket as he entered the floor and he looked around, meeting eyes with the group and you both noticed two things-

That their hands went to their hip where the weapons rested, and that they exchanged quick glances with each other. Jeonghan looked at you and you shook your head, urging him to skip the plan and alert the others- it might be an attempt at robbery or worse, but they were so stupid to do that, especially tonight. 

“You’ve restocked their drinks?” You asked Eunbi.

“They just ordered another, Soojin is going to refill their drinks-”

“The new girl?” You shook your head, “She’s been jumpy all night. Stop her, right now. They’re armed, they might do something stupid-”

Before you could finish the sentence or Eunbi could carry out your order, the loud shatter of glass made you both flinch and hold on to each other as you ducked, splinters raining down on you and making you both hiss in pain when some of them met your skin. You tucked Eunbi closer before you raised your head over the counter to assess the situation-

Chaos was the word. Eunbi had been right to be suspicious- the men were now pointing guns at whoever dared to move and another gunshot sounded followed by a guttural yell of the waiter whose arm took the blow. You met eyes with Soojin who stood frozen in the middle of the room and you motioned for her to stay that way.

“No one move!” One of the men shouted, wide eyes relaying the threat. “I’ll shoot you if you move!”

“I’m going to take the register and go to the office,” you whispered to Eunbi who shook her head furiously.

“It’s too dangerous- they’ll shoot you,” Eunbi held your arms in panic but you pried her hands away, squeezing them assuringly.

“I’ll be fine- they won’t spot me. I have to hurry,” you told her and before she could insist, you started crawling away from her, keeping close to the wall and moving towards the backside of the bar, avoiding the shards of glass as best as you could. You had orders to follow- orders Yeosang trusted you would follow at a time like this. You could not disappoint him now after everything he had done for you.

The office was the nearest room from where you sat crouched and if you made a dash for it, you could probably go unnoticed- if the instigators didn’t catch movement from the corner of their eyes. They were too busy forcing the customers to line up against the walls so you could take this chance-

Without thinking any further, you gathered the material of your skirt and thanked the lord that you wore boots instead of your usual heels today as you took a few large steps to disappear into the shadows, now successfully out of their vision. You silently unlocked the door and entered the empty office, taking a deep breath once inside, the adrenaline rush making your head spin. After stealing just a few seconds to calm down, you opened the drawers to make sure nothing of importance was there and then you bent down to access the locker under the desk-

The locker of which you had the key to all this time, but never once checked the contents of. You remembered when Yeosang promoted you from cashier to bookkeeper and told you that not all their transactions were legal- you just had to keep a record and stay shut about it. That, you could do. You kept the key on you at all times, and you took it out from the inside of your skirt’s waistband, unlocking the safe and gathering the two registers and a small packet wrapped way too much to figure out what it held inside. You held the things close to your chest as you made your way out, peeking first to see if the commotion had moved away from your eyeshot. 

You took a turn to the narrow space at your right that led to the back exit, but that was not your destination- the room at the end of that corridor had a passageway that led to another exit in the alley. You slowed down at the sound of footsteps and you wondered if they were coming from right behind you-

Before you knew it, you were being pulled inside the room with a twirl that ended up with your back slamming against the wall, a gasp producing from your lips and freezing midway when you realised just who had pinned you against the wall-

Lieutenant Jeong. And he did not look pleased. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Carrying out orders,” you breathed, realising just how tall and broad he was now that he was in front of you, bending to reach your height. You clutched the registers tighter reflexively, your left wrist still in his strong grip. “I’ve been instructed to flee with the contents of the safe in case of an attack.”

“By who?”

“Kang Yeosang,” you said, though you figured he already knew the answer. “I have the key.”

The man scanned you slowly as if that would give him all the answers to the questions he wasn’t asking. He knew you were the bookkeeper, but did he not know that Yeosang trusted you enough with this?

The sound of a few rushed footsteps caused him to let go of your wrists and you rubbed the skin there. It was Yuju accompanied by the manager, Mingyu, and they told Yunho that there were more men outside now.

“Did you figure out who’s behind the attack?” Yunho asked.

“Probably Chan’s gang,” Mingyu huffed, looking at you and relaxing when he saw that you were safe. “I’m going back to get the rest of the employees.”

“I’ll stay here and make sure they get out safely,” Yuju nodded, noticing the items you were clutching. “Luna- go. We’ll call you when things settle down.”

You looked at Yunho- though you didn’t need his permission, you knew that he could very well ruin things for you. He didn’t trust you- he had no reason to. He told you to wait and disappeared out of the room and Yuju widened her eyes in confusion.

“I mean… I can understand,” you shrugged. “Is everyone okay back there?”

“I don’t think they knew that Yunho and his lackeys were here,” Yuju folded her arms, hugging herself. “They’re going to regret it. Whoever it is… they’ll make him regret ever coming up with this plan.”

“Even if it was just San and Yeosang, they couldn’t have won,” you said and Yuju agreed. “They both go a little crazy too.”

“But Yunho-” she shivered. “He’s something else.”

Your lips twitched in amusement despite the gravity of the situation and moments later, Johnny- Yunho’s assistant- appeared, looking battered.

“I thought it was a gunfight- why does it look like you were in a catfight?” Yuju commented, slumping down on one of the chairs and Johnny shot her an annoyed look. 

“One, I didn’t have a gun on me. Two- they touched my hair!” Johnny huffed and you looked at the man in disbelief, all the impression you had of him going down the drain. Yuju was familiar with Johnny so she didn’t seem very surprised at his childish outburst. “Anyone who messes with my face will get worse in return.”

“Understandable,” you muttered. “Can I go now?”

“Oh, you’re staying here,” Johnny urged you to take a seat. “You’re not going anywhere- Yunho’s orders.”

“Wow, okay,” you sank down on the chair. “And you don’t have a gun? If someone comes here and tries to take these away from me?”

“They’ll have to get past me, you don’t need to worry,” he grinned. “You can relax.”

You could, but you were far too nervous to. You didn’t realise how badly you were rocking your legs until Eunbi entered and you groaned in relief to see she was unscathed. “They almost shot me. I can never get used to this.”

“You will get used to it, one day,” you told her, holding her hands and Eunbi squeezed it with an anxious smile, wondering if that was why you seemed mostly unaffected.

The rest of the employees came one by one in a matter of a few minutes, recovering from the initial shock though it quickly wore off since all of you had experienced something like this at least once- and working in a bar owned by a gang, it was bound to happen anyway. Everyone knew better than to call them a ‘gang’ to their face, though- they had spent years to make their business and organisation legal. 

Somewhat legal, you would argue as their bookkeeper who knew that wine wasn’t the only thing being consumed here. Your hand that was clutching the packet in its grip itched in answer and you looked at it in suspicion.

The few new employees like Soojin were definitely in shock and Yuju did her best to calm them down. Johnny was kind enough to crack jokes to lighten the mood and you were glad to see it was working. Some people really were here to make a living and you were sure you were going to lose a few employees after this incident.

The door opened and Yeosang entered, looking unharmed, almost unfazed. He talked with Yuju first in hushed voices- probably something about the damage they would have to deal with. When he spotted you, he smiled and called you over. You got up and followed him outside to the corridor.

“Glad to see someone followed their orders,” he commented.

“I would have gone to that building you’ve told me about but…”

“Yunho stopped you, I know.” He was going in the direction of Room no.1 where he had previously been in with Yunho but when you entered, you found not only San but Park Seonghwa as well, looking as posh as ever. 

The underboss of Crescent Company, he was the one person in all of the gang that you truly had respect for- it didn’t matter that Park Seonghwa was a criminal. You had once seen him help a lost child find his mother, and another time seen him carry a cat with a broken leg in his arms, and that had changed everything. Not only you but the whole town was aware that Park Seonghwa was a man that possessed a functioning heart unlike most of the gangsters here.

However, you were soon going to find how wrong you had been.

“Miss Jeon, please, make yourself comfortable,” Seonghwa’s calm voice sounded and you looked at Yeosang instinctively- what was happening? He only smiled though it didn’t quite meet his eyes, pouring you a drink which you downed- you needed it now more than ever.

“I’m glad to see you’re alright,” Seonghwa said. “You have the contents of the locker?” 

“Right here,” you placed them on the desk and Yunho shifted in discomfort.

“Thank you for keeping them safe,” the underboss took a deep breath. “I understand that you’ve been working here as the bookkeeper for a considerable amount of time now?”

“About a year, yes,” you straightened, suddenly aware of the tension in the room- even San appeared to be squirming, playing with the ends of his sleeves- you’d never seen him fidget like this. “What is this about, if I may ask?”

“And you… do you have some family? Someone you’ve been caring for?”

“Not in Eden, no,” you confirmed.

“Do you have any idea of what these items are?”

“That’s my registers,” you nudged the thick books. “I’ve recorded every transaction here, legal or not. And this…” you held the package in your hand. “I’m afraid I do not know, but if I have to assume… probably the drugs we slip to our VIPs here.”

Seonghwa met eyes with Yeosang who sighed. “I told you. She does not know, but she can be trusted.”

“We have a policy, Yeosang. I know we trust our employees, but the trust can only go so far.”

“If you could tell me what this is about,” you gritted your teeth, knowing fully well where this was going. “Maybe you should just talk to me, Mr. Park.”

“Well, here’s the thing,” he turned his attention to you, fixing his coat. “We cannot let you go since you’ve seen that,” he pointed at the package and you realised that it was not the drug that you were aware of.  

But if not that, then what was it? You shook it slightly and felt the rustling of something powdery. It had to be a drug.

“And?” You countered. “I was assigned by one of you to take this and flee in case of an attack. I’ve simply followed orders.”

Seonghwa’s brow rose subconsciously and he shared a look with Yunho who looked amused- amused? You knew that people didn’t usually talk back to those in power, but you had once been there. They didn’t know that you once had power- some semblance of it, at least. 

“I’ll be forward with you- we are not allowed to share that with anyone outside our circle, and anyone who does see that is subject to execution.”

You looked at Yeosang in disbelief- he knew that, yet he had still assigned you to carry out this job for him. He could have asked anyone, but he chose you, even when he knew Kihyun had recommended you. Kihyun, the leader of the longest standing gang here and Ateez’s partner. He knew how desperate you were for some stability in your life, yet he chose you.

“I chose you because I trusted you,” Yeosang offered, not meeting your eyes lest he saw how betrayed you felt. It didn’t matter anymore, though. 

“You can’t kill me,” you told Yeosang. “You know who recommended me.”

“I’m sure they will understand,” Seonghwa answered in his stead.

“No, actually,” you tossed the packet on the table and folded your arms, liquid courage making its way up unfiltered as you met Yunho’s eyes- the one thing that you hid from him- from all of them. “I’m sure I’ll be much more useful alive.”

Yunho scoffed loudly, not quite believing the shift in your demeanour and the calculation in your voice, but Seonghwa leaned forward as if to question the sheer audacity that you displayed, and if you knew any better, you would have backed down and accepted your predetermined faith, but-

You still had unfinished business. You still had to take down the men of Eden who possessed power yet wielded it against their homeland. You still had to get back at your father for disowning you. You were far from your goal and you simply couldn’t stop here. 

“Miss Jeon… how on earth could you be more useful alive to us?”

You mirrored Seonghwa’s posture, leaning forward as well and though the wide table separated the two of you, you could very well have been inches away considering how fixated your gazes were. “I know things about the people in power that even your angels do not know of, Mr. Park. I know how their minds work, I know their dirty little secrets. I know what to avoid when dealing with them. I could help you shake Eden’s current establishment- you should not kill me.”

A silence spread in the room as they processed your words and assessed your statement- was this a leap of faith or an act of stupidity? Whatever it was, it seemed to be enough. Seonghwa looked at Yunho again who seemed just as surprised as the rest.

“We could strike a deal,” you offered, relaxing back. While you knew that they could kill you right away and move on with their night, you decided that if you were really going to get killed, you could try something.

It wasn’t a bluff, no. You meant each word you said, but it was a gamble on your life. 

“Luna,” Yeosang’s low voice prompted you to turn to him and adhere to his warning but you were still cross with him.

“What deal would that be?” Yunho finally spoke- you supposed that as consigliere to his boss, he handled these matters. “What information do you possess that is worth more than your life?”

“If I give it away right now, you won’t have any reason to keep me alive, would you?” You countered and San huffed in appreciation, making Yunho shoot daggers at him.

“What? She’s smart,” he pouted and you smiled inwardly, glad that he was still the same old San.

“You will have to give us something, darling,” Seonghwa straightened his gun on the table and though the action was casual, it felt like a mockery of how your life was literally in his- in their hands. 

You leaned back to think- you had to play your cards right here, and very carefully. One wrong move and you’d be gone. What was it that you could reveal right now that would make them consider that you were a force to be reckoned with, and would also make them join hands with you? Could you make this mafia gang bend to your will, or were you asking for too much?

You looked around the room, meeting eyes with each one of them, calculating every possible move from here. Most of the information you had was something you couldn’t simply claim to know without blowing your real identity. If they started looking into your background properly this time, they would find out that your surname was borrowed and there was no record of you being here in Eden before 1966- that was four years ago. You came back from Wonderland in ‘66, having spent a few years there looking after your sick aunt and recovering from the shame and anger of being disowned by your father. You couldn’t tell them who your father was- it was far too early for that. 

And since you couldn’t have them finding who your father was, you couldn’t let them know anything related to the pharmaceutical business your father owned, or his connections with the politicians- could you give them some information about a politician? President Lee, perhaps? But you weren’t sure how dangerous he was, maybe someone else-

Your eyes fell on an antique porcelain vase in the corner that looked awfully familiar. Your frown deepened as you tried to recall where you had seen it, and when it clicked, you realised you had your answer.

“You got that vase from Assemblyman Major General Wi, is that right?”

The four of them turned to look at the object you were pointing at. Yeosang confirmed that you were right. You couldn’t help but have your lips curl in a smirk. “You might want to return it. You don’t want to have an object that was used for money-laundering… unless you’re involved.”

Yeosang blinked in confusion, looking at the older two who seemed to be concealing any hints of emotions. San, however, looked just as confused as Yeosang. “How do you know that?”

“That’s not the point,” you told him. “The point is that General Wi’s artefact gallery is just a cover for his money-laundering business. Not a good look for a presidential candidate, is it?”

Seonghwa nodded, perhaps connecting some dots in his head and coming to the conclusion that you may be right. “I’m impressed, Miss Jeon. I will verify this information but I have a feeling that you’re speaking the truth.”

You nodded and Yeosang finally laughed in disbelief. “Who are you really, Luna?”

“Your bookkeeper who’s asking that you take consideration of my loyalty and make a deal,” you said and when Yeosang nodded, you continued. “I… I, too, have unfinished business. You know I was desperate to have stability when I first got a job here- it wasn’t always like this. I will give you all the information that you need as long as you protect me as your source. As long as you keep me safe, because you and I,” you turned to Seonghwa. “We have the same goals.”

“And what might that be?”

“Power and protection,” you said, sure that you were right about the first part but when Seonghwa’s brows twitched, you realised that the shot in the dark with ‘protection’ wasn’t fruitless. “We’ve all got something or someone to protect. I’m protecting myself. You’re protecting your people.”

“You’re very talkative… Luna,” Yunho commented and your heart fluttered at the way he called your name- only the nickname, yet you were wavering. You mentally scolded yourself. “This could be the only information you possess. Not enough.”

“Oh, please,” you countered. “You know I have more- I can’t be running on sheer confidence here. But don’t think for one second that you can torture that information out of me,” you said and when Yunho smiled guiltily, you somehow found yourself smiling back despite the fact that your life was on the line. “Protect me and I’ll make sure your boss overthrows the current establishment and becomes the most powerful man in Eden.”

“Protect you from who?” Yunho asked and you gulped involuntarily, recalling the darkness and emptiness in the eyes of the person the whole nation admired. 

“I can’t say yet, just… keep me in the shadows, for now. Please.”

Yunho looked at Seonghwa- you couldn’t be making this up. Yeosang asked you to go home and that they would give you an answer soon. When you left the room, Yeosang sat down next to San.

“You’re thinking what I’m thinking?”

“She’s not lying, yes,” San confirmed and Yeosang nodded. “She’s only ever worked, right? We’ve been seeing her for a year now. Work and home is all she does, isn’t that so?”

“Yes. I kept an eye on her for a few months before I assigned her with bookkeeping duties- she has no family here. Just a few acquaintances- Kihyun of MX Pharmaceuticals, which I thought was odd, but they were a gang before they became a pharmaceutical company, so maybe she encountered them at some point. They literally know everyone.” 

“And her roommate just so happens to be Wendy.”

“I dismissed it as a coincidence. She couldn’t be one of the RV spies, could she?”

“Nope. They’re far too meticulous.”

“You assigned bookkeeping to a person who was acquainted with both Kihyun and Wendy?” Yunho raised his brows in disbelief. “That’s too big a coincidence, guys.”

“Wendy is under a disguise, Luna probably doesn’t know what she actually does,” Yeosang said. “Besides… I trust her. I really believe it wasn’t necessary to just kill her like that. It’s not like she knows what’s inside this,” Yeosang poked the packet with his finger.

“I don’t think Chan’s gang got a whiff of our drug dealing,” Seonghwa sighed, running a hand through his lengthy locks. “They must have attacked just to get us riled up. They wish to tarnish our reputation because General Wi is choosing sides.”

“We really need to check if the thing about the artefacts gallery is true,” Yunho said. “If it is, we have to tread carefully. Hongjoong will be pissed to learn what happened tonight.”

“I’ll take care of him,” Seonghwa got up. “This girl… Luna?”

“That’s what everyone calls her here,” Yeosang said and Seonghwa nodded slowly.

“She’s something. I’ll verify her information- it’s probably true. Tell her we’ve got a new job for her.”

When you bluffed your way out of your death- though you hadn’t really lied, you did hold information that could ruin Eden- you didn’t expect that you’d find yourself with a new job in the main office of the Crescent Company. You paused in the middle of recording the last entries of the day and your job, only to catch Yeosang watching you with interest. 

You folded your arms, staring back and pulling your lower lip between your teeth in contemplation. 

“Are you sure this isn’t just a trap to kill me? You could just shoot me and get on with your day, why go through all these lengths?”

Yeosang’s rich laughter boomed in the office room and you sent a tired glare in his direction before going back to checking the receipts of the new stock. 

“We would have killed you last night if we really wanted to.”

The nonchalance with which he said that sent a bitter taste down your throat, reminding you of familiar words you had heard a few years ago, but you knew that this situation was different- you had to believe that they were different. Otherwise, there was no hope left for Eden. 

“I’m still mad that you signed me up for death with this job, by the way. That was a low blow.”

“You are our first bookkeeper,” Yeosang said in response. “We just didn’t know what to do… does that sound like a good excuse?”

“Hardly,” you muttered. “I thought we were… acquaintances, if not friends. I respected you, Yeosang.”

Yeosang put a hand on his chest. “Respected? Do you hate me now?”

“I can’t really hate you when you’re… you,” you shut the register, looking at him. 

You had spent long hours with Yeosang in this very office. Somehow, with him, it had always been naturally comfortable and he once admitted that he thought it was odd how you both could be in the same room, busy with your own work yet feeling right at home. Though you barely ever had a heart-to-heart with the man, the impression that he was a scary gangster had vanished long ago. He was scary when he had to be, but he just felt more human than his partners.

“What does that mean?”

“I’m just a little hurt that you delivered me on a platter to your underboss for him to do whatever he wanted with me. Try to understand,” you explained. “And I still respect you, don’t worry.”

“He wouldn’t have killed you. I would have stopped him,” Yeosang insisted.

“You were more nervous than me,” you scoffed. 

“I was nervous for you, that you were going to make a mistake and he would really have to kill you,” Yeosang admitted and you blinked in surprise. “But you did just fine on your own. Are you not going to tell me who you really are?”

“I can’t tell you that yet,” you told him. “I trust you just enough to gamble with my life, but I’ll reveal things only when I’m sure the information would be in safe hands. You have to trust me a little too. It’s not like I can betray you- where would I even go? You’re all going to kill me if I make a mistake anyway.”

Yeosang nodded- you had a point. “Have you got nothing to lose?”

“I’ve already lost everything that I had,” you shook your head. “I’ve only got my life now.”

“I have a feeling you’ll do well in the main office,” Yeosang clapped his hands once in conclusion. “Since you’re already aware that we’re doing both legal and illegal dealings, you can do bookkeeping there. I have to warn you though- if information ever leaks, they will kill you without hesitation.”

“Geez, thanks,” you winced. “Tell me something new.”

“I don’t know where you got the guts to talk back to me,” Yeosang laughed, shaking his head once. “But keep this up and you won’t last long.”

“Why?” You leaned forward on the table in challenge. “Are you and San the only ones who can converse like normal humans?”

“We’re always just a little tipsy,” Yeosang said cheekily and you realised he was right. “You shouldn’t see me when I’m sober.”

You pursed your lips, realising that he was right- if he was anything like the rest of his gang, he had to be drunk all this time if he could tolerate you, a mere employee, talking like you were on his level. 

“Snob,” you muttered and got up to put these registers with the rest of the piles, ignoring Yeosang’s snickers. “Alright, my work here is done.”

“You’re fired,” Yeosang announced with a grin. “I’ve wanted to say that to you for so long.”

“You’re hopeless! I’ve been promoted, not fired,” you corrected.

“Whatever,” Yeosang got up, checking the time on his wristwatch. “San will be here in a few minutes- he’ll accompany you to the main office. You can say your farewells but you’ll be here often. It’s not a goodbye.”

“Okay,” you stood awkwardly for a moment, looking around- the beige walls with paint peeling in the corner, the dark shelves and furniture, the gramophone in one corner that you never played because you could always hear music from outside.  

“I’ll miss this,” you took a deep breath, nodding as you memorised and soaked in the feeling of this room.

“You’ll be back,” he assured, giving you a moment. “Now off you go.”

Sticking your tongue out at him, very out-of-character for you and taking him by surprise, you exited the office. You could hear what his response would have been- ‘just because we decided to keep you alive doesn’t mean that you can act out!’ but it was exactly that. If you had their protection, you would act out- just not to them. 

To the people who wore the cloaks of saints over their demonic hearts and ruled over Eden.

“Luna!,” Eunbi spread her arms as soon as she spotted you and you gladly let her hug you. “I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“I’m hearing I’ll be here often, so you won’t have to worry too much,” you poked her ribs, making her squirm as she laughed. “Just stay safe. And no matter what, do not become their bookkeeper.”

Eunbi frowned at that but before she could ask you more, the bell over the front door chimed and you knew it was San the way the bar suddenly fell quiet. You let go of Eunbi and patted her cheek before meeting eyes with San who waved at you.

Waved. You were a little pleased to see that the new arrangement was as awkward for him as it was for you. Eunbi echoed that out loud with a ‘did he just…?’ and you told her to get back to the counter.

“Hi,” San stifled a smile. “Good to see you’re still in one piece.”

“No thanks to you,” you countered. “Shall we?”

“I’m just going to let Yeosang know that I’m here,” San said, finally chuckling. “Look, if it helps, Seonghwa wasn’t really going to kill you.”

“I keep hearing that, but it just feels like you’re trying to convince yourselves instead of me,” you shook your head. “It doesn’t matter. I'll say my farewell to Yuju.”

You agreed to meet outside in five minutes and you went to find Yuju, who told you to stay safe. Jeonghan looked more worried than Yuju- he had overheard some of their conversation last night about them getting rid of you but you assured him it was alright now.  You just found out something you shouldn’t have so they were just being cautious. Though he didn’t look convinced, he let you go with an affectionate pat to your shoulder and a joke about how no one is going to let him nap in peace anymore.

Before you went outside, you took a look in the mirror and adjusted your black slacks and the rounded collar of your cream blouse before wearing your black coat over it. San was already waiting for you in his car- a black ‘67 Bentley- and you got in the backseat, your heart beating in anticipation.

“It’s not a long drive from here,” San said, “But I thought as an apology, I’d give you a ride.”

“I’ve been in better cars, but I appreciate the sentiment,” you said and San deadpan stared at you. You squirmed, realising an explanation would entail revealing details from your background. “I mean… the condition could definitely improve.”

“Yeah, it’s been through a lot, you’re right, “ San let out a chuckle before glancing at you. “You’re not going to tell me where exactly you’ve been in better cars? Because as far as I know, you were struggling to make a living when you first got a job here.”

“That was because I moved back from Wonderland after a long time,” you fiddled with your pearl ring. “Anyone would struggle.”

“And how do you really know Kihyun?”

Kihyun- he was almost like a brother to you. As a child, you had often seen him go in and out of your house because of some business dealings with your father. Though your father kept you hidden for the most part, having homeschooled you and pretending that you were his niece instead of daughter, Kihyun knew. He was far too smart to be deceived by a simple lie, and your brother had made it painfully obvious that he hated you for a reason. And when everything went wrong, Kihyun was there as a shield. 

He had offered you a place in his company too, but you could not possibly involve Kihyun into your plans for the demise of your enemies. You respected him far too much to drag him into your mess.

“He’s just a connection- we have a few mutual acquaintances.”

“And who might they be?” San asked but you shook your head.

“I can’t reveal their identities… yet,” you said and when he narrowed his eyes, you stifled a smile. “Is there something I should know before we reach the office?”

“Well,” San exhaled, thinking. “It’s going to be quite different from the bar- more professional and tense. I’m sure the secretaries you’ll work with will warm up to you eventually but they might come off as unwelcoming or prickly at first.”

“We’ll see,” you said. “And… will I be interacting with… one of you often?”

“Why?” San questioned, a playful smile gracing his lips. “Is there someone you’d like to interact with?”

“That’s not what I mean-” you started but the car came to a halt and with a dirty look thrown in San’s direction, you got out of the car and craned your neck to look at the double-story building that was the main office for Crescent Company.

It wasn’t anything much, and you knew that that was intentional. Just like all the other office buildings in this somewhat posh area of the town, it had a chestnut brick wall with a new moon that made up for the ‘c’ in crescent. The guard situated at the front door bowed to San as you entered. The employees inside acknowledged San’s presence, halting what they were doing and only resuming once San nodded. There were a handful of them- a receptionist and a few workers coming in and out of the unlabelled rooms. You supposed everyone was assigned a task and had respective offices.

“This is us,” San announced, motioning at the somewhat lifeless interior. “Nothing much, and we would like to keep it that way. You’ll be working upstairs with Jihoon and Eunha- they are our boss’ secretary.”

“Mr. Park’s?” You questioned as you followed him at the end of the hall towards the stairs.

“And Hongjoong’s,” San said and you paused in the middle of ascending the stairs.

“I’m going to work for Kim Hongjoong?”

“Relax,” San snickered. “He’s always holed up in his office if he’s not in the field, and Jihoon does the assistant work. You won’t encounter him too much.”

“That’s not the point,” you muttered. You reached the upper story to see three rooms across the spacious hall which was set up as an office itself. There were two people working in that space, sitting in front of the windows where there were three desks in a row. It didn’t look out of place since their workspaces were spread across the entirety of the hall. The empty desk looked a bit odd, though, and you reckoned it had been set for you which meant they must have moved things around a bit.

“I’ll leave you to get acquainted with them,” San said. “There won’t be much to do for a few days until they think you can handle the work.”

When Jihoon’s burning gaze met yours indicating his annoyance- already?- you gulped. Perhaps, you should have stuck to the bar or denied their offer. Jihoon was quick to change his expressions as he rose from his seat.

“Mr. Choi,” Jihoon greeted and Eunha looked a bit surprised as if she hadn’t heard you two come. She followed with her own greeting, tucking her short pink hair behind her ear in what looked like a nervous habit.

“This is… Jeon y/n- the new secretary. I hope you’ll train her well. She’s already familiar with bookkeeping so I don’t think she’ll have to learn much.”

“No worries, we’ll handle it,” Jihoon said. “Nice to meet you, Miss Jeon.”

“Nice to meet you too. You can just call me Luna- everyone does.”

“That’s a pretty name,” Eunha shook hands with you. “This is your desk, and I’ll give you a walkthrough before Jihoon takes you around the office, is that okay?”

“Sure,” you nodded, feeling hopeful. You turned to San. “I think I got it from here.”

“Very well,” San nodded. “Take care of her- she’s got potential.”

Jihoon only smiled in response and as soon as San was out of sight, he slumped down on his desk and went back to typing. You turned to Eunha who only smiled awkwardly, muttering ‘he’s a bit cranky at times’ and you shrugged. You could deal with cranky.

Eunha told you about your duties- bookkeeping since you had experience, typing a report each night that Mr. Park or Mr. Jeong would be signing, and any other miscellaneous tasks that Eunha and Jihoon couldn’t cover in their shift hours. Once she was done briefing, she handed you over to Jihoon who made a display of grunting in annoyance before he guided you downstairs to the last room which was essentially a storage.

“You must know that not all the business under the Crescent Company is legal,” he said and you nodded. “Where would you keep the record of illegal transactions?”

“Definitely not here?” 

“Here,” he corrected, “but concealed while still being right in front of your eyes. In the case of a raid by the detectives because a certain inspector has been on our case for a while, they will take everything in here, right? The illegal transactions are kept in a safe behind that painting,” he pointed towards the mediocre painting of cherry trees in the darkest corner of the room. 

“And the key?”

“A code, this time,” he said. “I’m still hesitant about sharing it with you but Mr. Choi said you could be trusted.”

“I’ve handled such matters before, yes,” you told him, understanding why he was sceptical about you. “There’s a reason I’m here.”

“That is definitely not the reason why you’re here,” Jihoon scoffed loudly. “Just because you passed a little trust test does not mean you get a position as the boss’s secretary. Eunha and I have worked under them since the beginning- that’s a plausible reason. They trust us.”

Though you wanted to argue with the man, you decided that you would be better off being civil towards him if you had to tolerate him to keep your job. 

“Who else knows the key?”

“Apart from the boss, underboss and consigliere… only Eunha and I. So if information leaks, if the location of the safe leaks-”

“I’ll be the obvious suspect, of course,” you nodded and Jihoon considered you for a moment before acknowledging your answer. 

“Our schedules are going to change now, so there is always at least one person out of the three of us in the office at all times, though the three of us must always be present in the 12 to 2pm slot. In case of an emergency, you are expected- obliged to get down here and escape with the contents of this safe, is that clear?”

“Clear as day,” you confirmed.

“1024 is the code,” Jihoon said and you nodded, memorising it. “Now, let me show you where we keep the official records.”

You took note of every little thing Jihoon had to tell you. Eunha observed how you worked for the rest of the evening and made you acquainted with the methods that you were to use. You were familiar with the work- you had already been in charge of tracking expenses, monitoring budget and keeping a record of all the financial transactions in the Crescent Bar. Eunha was going to take care of tax payments and returns while Jihoon was going to supervise. 

It was a manageable workload so you were pleased with your current position- you just hoped the two would warm up to you soon. You did not expect them to get along with you, you just prayed they would remain civil and not stir any trouble.

Your schedule was going to change from the next day and your shift was from 6pm to midnight- or more, if the need be- and you would also have to be present in the 12 to 2 pm slot. Since you were going to be the one who would lock up the office, you received a set of keys which included one for the storage, one for the main door, and one for Jeong Yunho’s office- in case he or Park Seonghwa weren’t present- to lock away those documents. You were to place them in the cupboard in Mr. Jeong’s room.

While you were in the office today, you didn’t encounter any of your bosses. You figured their absence wasn’t unusual since no one was talking about them. Eunha helped you prepare the report that you were to hand over tonight in her stead if anyone did visit the office because she had a work appointment and needed to be there. She told you to make sure that all the locks are in place before you leave for home.

While you waited for the clock to strike midnight- which was about twenty minutes from now- you busied yourself with scratching your pencil at a piece of paper that was going to be discarded anyway. One thing that calmed you like nothing else was the feeling of the pencil’s lead rubbing against the grains of the paper and leaving a mark for you to play with. With a very specific picture in your mind, you continued to draw straight lines, sharp curves and edges, adding the elements of threat and danger where needed, but preserving the softness of it all-

“What are you doing here?”

You looked up to find not the person you were hoping to see but the person you wanted to avoid the most.

Jeong Yunho.

Lieutenant Jeong Yunho, all dressed up in a black suit with engraved silver buttons, the black tie loose on his neck, his hands hidden in the pockets of his pants. Your eyes travelled up to his parted lips, to the muscles of his jaw flexing and unflexing, to his dark gaze trained not on you but lower- what was he looking at-

You subconsciously put a hand over your incomplete sketch and got up in greeting. “Lieutenant Jeong. I have the report- Eunha had a work engagement.” 

“I see,” he nodded slowly as if still coming to terms that you were to work here now. You could return the sentiment- it was a strange feeling to see him here. You had acknowledged each other’s presence in silence and at rare times, shared a drink (you didn’t often drink at the bar). But standing across each other in this formal setting… 

“Well?”

You broke out of your trance, feeling heat creep up your neck. Perhaps, you were waiting for him to call you to his office. Had you expected him to do that because Yeosang had done the same once? He had been so nonchalant about everything but right now, you felt overwhelmed. You fumbled with the folders until you dug out the report, cursing yourself internally because why didn’t you place it right on the top? 

You extended your hand and he drew closer to grab the document from you, reminding you once again of how tall he was. You gulped- there was no way to explain what you were feeling except a crushing sense of intimidation that made you feel so very small. It had been about a year, yet whenever you were in his presence, your mind took you back to memory lane- 

Specifically the lane near the bar where he ended his enemies and found you watching. Neither of you ever addressed why you had been there or why he had done all of that mercilessly.

“Looks fine,” he said, turning the few pages and skimming through them. “You can leave now- it’s almost closing time. I’ll lock the doors behind me”

“Alright…” were you two the only ones inside the building? “Goodnight, Lieutenant.”

“You don’t have to call me lieutenant, you know,” he said and you met his eyes again, finding the ends of his lips slightly curled in a… smile? Or was that a smirk? 

“How would you have me address you then?”

Somehow, it oddly reminded you of a similar conversation you had with Yeosang, except you had been calling him ‘sir’ and he couldn’t stop snorting everytime you called him that. He let it be for the entire day until he told you to just call him Yeosang- calling him sir in an informal environment only earned him odd looks. You argued that apart from the selected few employees, literally everyone called him ‘sir’ or a variation of it, but he insisted that you already sounded like something was stuck up your [redacted] and he didn’t want to add on to that.

That was the only time he saw your composure break. The rest was history.

The consigliere shrugged, giving you yet another glimpse of the person he was. He didn’t like to be called lieutenant, even though this was a formal environment.

“Mr. Jeong then, since everyone calls you that,” you concluded. 

“And do you still go by Luna?”

“I… do.”

He nodded once, his gaze falling at the paper you were hiding from him. You kept your hand placed over it and he turned, disappearing into his office. You didn’t miss the frustrated grunt that escaped his mouth as he shut the door.

Your shoulders relaxed and you picked the paper- he had definitely seen and recognised the gun that you had just seen last night on the table, and he probably recognised the hand that held it as well- the long, slender fingers that radiated delicacy despite being roughed up. 

The hand of the underboss of Crescent Company. Someone you had wished to meet before the night ended.

-> apply for the taglist here! (check your privacy setting if the tags don't work)

taglist pt 1:

@lorensonebraincell @sungbeam @waywardstaytiny @lluvia1415 @woohwababes @jjaemasung @fruithoughts @fancypeacepersona @propinquitypsithurism @kyomiingi @ateezswonderland @janetsarttrove @thenopekid @justconniez @daniela-f-uwu @hwasbestlover @vcutparis @missbangtangirl @zaynsfl4m3s @beabatiny @slowitdownmakeitb0uncy @alliethequeen @lavishloving @haowonbins @franbowesax @klllerwaifu @katerade23 @selfishw4ltz @paramedicnerd004 @atzlordz @curse-of-art @meowmeeps @intowxnderland @faeriehwa @staytiny-yaps @ishz @dumplingsyum @bunnychui @kandy108 @chanst1ddies @softsanglix @yongility @sang-09 @sweetinsaniiity @a-teez-4-exo @omgsuperstarg @saintriots @bihwabi

[sogoodtoheritsvicious]

if life is a movie, then you’re the best part

summary: small glimpses into your relationship with louis

vicious speaks: this is my first fic for louis and my first smau ever!! if it’s not good, please take it easy on me. feedback is appreciated as long as it isn’t unkind. hope you enjoy💗

liked by yourbff, louist91, taylorswift and 50,234 others

yourusername he’s so obsessed with me and, boy, i understand

view all comments

yourbff as he should be

liked by yourusername and louist91

taylorswift relationship goals

↳ yourusername learned from the best 🫶🏼

↳ username1 this friendship still takes me out

↳ yourusername you and me both 😭

louist91 of course i am, have you fucking seen yourself?

↳ yourusername flattery will get you everywhere 💋

username2 we all know she’s just using him

↳ username3 using him for WHAT? she’s a successful business owner, she doesn’t need his money. you’re just bitter cause you realize you never had a chance.

liked by louist91, yourbff

username4 if he doesn’t worship me like this, i don’t want him.

↳ yourusername exactly, you deserve so much more than the bare minimum 🫶🏼

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

louist91 has added to their stories

replies:

yourusername best way to spend the day 🤎

↳ louist91 come back to bed, love, i miss you

↳ yourusername i’m literally in the kitchen? 😭

yourbff so glad you got her to relax, she’s been working in the studio nonstop!!

↳ louist91 it was hard to convince her but i won in the end

username1 ohhh to spend the day in bed with louis tomlinson

username you don’t have to throw this fake bs in our face

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

liked by louist91, yoursibling and 78,385 others

yourusername we get fancy sometimes

view all comments

yoursibling what did you do to get him to wear something other than a t-shirt, omg?

↳ yourusername i am not at liberty to say…🤭

↳ username1 she has no class 🙄

↳ username2 it’s a joke? if you don’t like her, unfollow

liked by yourusername

louist91 the only person i’d dress up for x

↳ yourusername i love you 🥹💘

username3 we don’t thank her enough for providing us with boyfriend louis content

liked by yourusername

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

yourusername added to their stories

replies:

louist91 always, darling 🏆

↳ yourusername 💞💞💞

username1 the hand placement…😵‍💫

username2 you lucky bitch 😍

↳ yourusername 😉

yourbff you’ve won in the romance department

↳ yourusername i really did 😭

username3 i want this pic tattooed on my forehead

↳ yourusername REAL

username4 posting this picture is so inappropriate

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

liked by yourusername, louist91 yourfriend and 16,004 others

yourbff they make me both believe in love and feel incredibly lonely

tagged yourusername, louist91

view all comments

yourusername omg i had no idea you took this 😭

↳ yourbff you were too busy getting the princess treatment 👸🏻

louist91 i’m telling you, let me set you up with one of my mates

↳ yourbff i might have to take you up on that, dude, shit’s getting bad out here for us singles 😫

↳ username1 louis having such a good relationship with yourusername’s best friend is such a green flag

liked by yourbff and yourusername

username2 wow management even got her best friend in on this con

↳ yourbff sure grandma let’s get you to bed

liked louist91, yourusername and others

↳ username3 LMFAOO QUEEN

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

liked by yourbff, louist91, yoursibling and 348,783 others

yourusername vacation mode 🔛

tagged louist91

view all comments

yourbff day 1 and it’s already so much fun ☀️

↳ yourusername so glad you’re here 🥹🫶🏼

yoursibling thanks for letting us normies tag along

↳ yourusername lmao, shut up

louist91 ☀️🌊🧡

username1 enjoy your break, you guys deserve it!!

↳ yourusername thank you, lovely <3

username2 a vacation from what, you don’t even do anything

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

louist91 added to their stories

replies:

yoursibling thank you for always putting that smile on her face 🤎

↳ louist91 it’s my honor

yourusername the best surprise 🥰

↳ louist91 more where that came from 🫡♥️

username1 omg she’s so gorgeous

↳ louist91 lou read this to me and i stole his phone to say thank you 🥹 you’re gorgeous as well 💗 - y/n

username2 what does she even need a break from? she just leeches off of you

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

───────── ❤︎ ─────────

liked by louist91, yourbff, yoursibling and 128,474 others

yourusername my job…it’s just louis’ girlfriend.

view all comments

yourbff and what a great job you do at louis’ girlfriend!

louist91 lmao, i fucking love you 🖤

↳ yourusername love you so much 🤍

username1 she had the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever and she did 😭

username2 ended those miserable bitches

liked by yourusername, louist91, yourbff and others

liked by yourusername, yourbff, and 1m others

louist91 the most wonderful thing i decided to do was to share my life and heart with you. you’ve delt with some shit since we’ve been together and you’ve handle it all with such grace. i’ve never met someone as kind, beautiful and down to earth as you. you make me a better person and i can’t wait to spend forever with you 🩵

tagged: yourusername

comments on this post have been limited

yourusername i love you so much, i can’t wait to continue building a life with you 🤍

niallhoran congratulations 🍾

yourbff: you two absolutely deserve each other. i couldn’t be happier for you 🥹

↳ yourusername i love you, maid of honor 🫶🏼

↳ louist91 thank you for helping me plan everything!

zayn congrats bro!

yoursibling welcome to the family ♥️

↳ louist91 thank you for trusting me with her heart

harrystyles ❤️

taylorswift i can’t wait to sing at the wedding 🩷

[septimusmoonlight]

You doing ok?

hi

[lemongogo]

college … wasted on the youth (me)

[musette22]

I guess now people will stop accusing Sebastian that he played T****p because he loves him so much. But, on the other hand, knowing people...

I'm sorry, what? I know I shouldn't be surprised but... You're seriously telling me that there are people out there who thought he loves trump? We're talking about Sebastian, who is an immigrant, who is very vocal about his love for strong women and his support of women in general, who regularly works with charities, stands for equal rights and has literally said before that he thinks Trump is shit, and who, let's not forget, is an ACTOR who is playing a part in a MOVIE, which is very clearly critical of trump and everything he stands for? I mean??? What is wrong with people. The man is just doing his job, honestly. Also this is exactly the kind of thing he talks about when he mentions entitled "fans" who think they know him and can demand things of him smh

[mushroomjar]

I don't like the way you guys talk about Palestinians asking for donations. I don't like it.

I had to see someone make MULTIPLE posts bitching and moaning about how people need to stop sending them asks asking for them to reblog their donation posts, that they'd just be blocking them from now on, and that they didn't care if they were vetted because they still found the act of sending asks to get reblogs on their donation links suspicious, even if they were in a dire situation. They even went as far as to say that they got an ask, deleted it, and then they got another ask from the same person, and accused the person of sending another ask to purposefully "get under their skin"

I don't know man, have you considered that being a victim of ongoing genocide will make you ask for help in whatever way you can? And sometimes that involves sending random blogs asks to see if they can donate or at the very least share your donation links? A Palestinian reaches out to you multiple times because they need help and your response is to whine about getting donation links in your inbox? I wish I had your problems

Also the thing about "getting the exact same ask from the exact same blog multiple times"... uh, duh? First of all, they're probably reaching out to dozens of blogs daily, do you think they're gonna type up a new paragraph for each blog they reach out to? Second of all, maybe they reached out to you multiple times because a. They really really really need the help and b. What, do you think they're gonna see your URL/blog and be like "oh! I already reached out to this blog, I'm not gonna send them another ask"? Or do you think they'll be like "this person has been reblogging other people's donation posts, maybe they'll reblog mine too"?

Like I understand being suspicious about getting sent donation links to your inbox, but literally all you have to do is check if the blog's been vetted by other bloggers? It's as easy as searching for their URL on tumblr sometimes, it literally takes less than a minute or two. And that's what bothers you? That's what you're complaining about? Find a real problem!!!

[plutonious]

she's actually so swag. I also found out I'm a BIG fan of her color pallet. irida ily