#tw: russian roulette

[rainbow-journalist]

So I was playing this game on the school computer called Buckshot Roulette, and I ended up putting the protagonist's name as Makoto.

Generally, I usually put my virtual name or my real name, because I think it's cool for characters to say my name, but there are times when I put the name of My Main OC, or my faves. I put Makoto's name because he still won't leave my head, just like Rain code continues to be my current obsession until now. XD

I ended up making a drawing and a small edit of Makoto of how frustrated he must have been.

Tw: 🎭⚠️ + spoilers + Pink blood!

So, he was shot several times in the face, as you can see, and was revived several times, and it was quite frustrating when there was only one bullet left to win.

What a stressful game, I almost won against the Dealer, he only needed one bullet, ONE BULLET FOR HIM TO DIE. Makoto lost and had to come back again, this must probably be hell or a nightmare, as a punishment for the sins he committed in the name of Kanai Ward.

( To be honest, I don't know if I'll play again and be able to beat the Dealer. )

He looks quite hurt and angry, don't worry guys, his wife will take care of him.

Please take care of him, he needs a bath, new clothes, medicine and to sleep in a warm bed. @radomu-tan

Sorry to do this. 😅

[sandfordsmostwanted]

My interpretation of the gunshot at the end of Endeavour s9 e3 Exeunt

tw: suicide/issues of suicide

So people are getting confused about what the gunshot was all about at the end of the episode. Morse is clearly very low at this point - he's lost the love of his life, his mentor, all his friends, his case - he's on the edge. But based on what he's said about his home life, he's been here before; he planned to kill himself at fifteen, making a list of ways to do it that would hurt the least amount of people. This list managed to talk him out of it, because he realised how clever he was and how much he was wasting his brain by not living. Having watched it a second time, I noticed Morse only puts one bullet in the gun and then spins the barrel. This time, he doesn't live because he talks himself out of suicide, he lives by chance. It's Russian Roulette, and the round he fired was empty.

Not his day to die, so he keeps living, getting steadily more buried under the burden of other people's secrets.

[a-whispering-echo]

do you think the bad guys play russian roulette with each other?

in my mind, with how weapons in the undertale universe work, a bullet might not KILL instantly, like it would for a human, but would shave off HP right?

So, with all the LV in that group, theyd all have enough HP to take a hit right? and for the more fanon versions of LV giving you bloodlust and frenzies and spike, do ya think its actually HELP? that the adrenaline of doing it would actually burn them out quicker?

I feel like Killer and Dust would 100% play it together, i think Cross could very easily be manipulated into doing it. i think Horror would think theyre all fucking idiots to put a gun to their damn skulls, and would tell them to shove the damn gun where the sun dont shine everything they ask him. i think Nightmare would just sigh in disappointment.

imagine the one who get the bullet going all loopy, as they bleed and drop like a sack of potatoes. imagine the others laughing at them, doing things with their half conscious body - maybe in a poly situation, licking up the blood and mana that leaks from the wound in joy and bloodlust. imagine them mocking and cackling, and making them look like a fucking idiot until Horror takes the poor victim to bed with a healing item.

imagine them doing it all again the next day.

[ghost-whump]

Roulette

CW: guns, russian roulette-type game, kidnapping (implied), (let me know if I missed anything!)

Shink.

Into the chamber.

Whirrr.

Spinning around.

…Click.

Into place.

“How many rounds do you think it’ll take?” Whumper smiles, “Till you die, that is. You’ll become concussed rather quickly.”

Whumpee kept their head down. They watched Whumper load each blank in one by one, torturously gentle with each cartridge. “I don’t— I don’t know.”

“Maybe just the first one, if I fire too close. Depending on the distance, it could be a few shots before you even pass out.” Whumper spun the chamber again, absentmindedly fiddling with the revolvers hammer. They spoke casually, as if discussing the weather.

Perched on the table with their legs crossed, Whumper picked up another box of bullets, flipping it over to read the back. “Blanks are really interesting bullets, you know? A lot of people think they’re harmless because they’re not real bullets, but no one knows how dangerous they actually are!”

Whumpee trembled, their handcuffs making a horrible rattling sound from behind their back.

“Sorry, I totally got off track! Anyway, you’ll go deaf nearly immediately,” Whumper continued, putting the box back down, “I wouldn’t expect your hearing to heal. For argument’s sake, obviously. You won’t have the chance, after all.”

They stood, casually stretching their arms above their head. The gun was tossed carelessly from hand to hand, then positioned steadily — point blank at Whumpee’s temple.

Pulling the hammer back, “So, I’m guessing three shots — how about you?”

General Tag: @morning-star-whump

[catchthewolf]

i drew childe as that one scene in squid game season 2. waffled a bit on it over how in character it would be then said fuck it I like drawing childe and here we are lmao

[daffodilq]

Roulette

There are days it consumes every fiber of my being

Then others it’s just a passing thought

But I think of it more often than not

It’s like playing Russian Roulette by myself

I can feel the cool metal end of the revolver

Pressed firmly under my chin

I can imagine the explosion being the last thing to meet my ears

It’s like every day is a blank clicking by

A sick relief

But my bad days

Those are like blank number five

All the anxiety and fear

Overwhelming my mind and soul

The shame enveloping my body

As I anticipate the final shot

The guilt encasing my heart

As I yearn for it

For all the emotion I cannot deal with

To just end

But then the next day comes

And I’m back to blank four

Just on the cusp of a bad day

But just enough away that life isn’t so miserable

It’s manageable

I thrive on blank four

I live for blank four

And as much as I sometimes want the shot

I hope I never make it there

- h.f.

[xxswagcorexx]

love reading swagdoons fics because it literally goes from "CAN'T STAND HIS FAKE ASS!!!" *one year later* "me and the love of my life"

[serickswrites]

John Mclane

Warnings: captivity, torture, restraints, forced to watch, gun, gunfire

Team Leader couldn't believe they had failed their team so significantly. Couldn't believe they had let Whumper get the drop on them all as they had fallen for the trap. Couldn't believe they now had to watch Whumper hurt their team. There was nothing Team Leader could do.

Whumper walked between Teammate One and Two, waving a gun in the air as they spoke. "I could just shoot them, make you watch as they bleed out."

"NO!" Team Leader strained against the rope that kept them in the chair.

Whumper chuckled as the stopped next to Smallest Teammate. "So sensitive." They carded their fingers through Smallest Teammate's hair. Smallest Teammate's eyes were wide with terror.

"Please, I--" Smallest Teammate began, but their words were cut off as Whumper shoved a gun in their mouth.

"WHUMPER STOP!" Team Leader roared.

Whumper smirked. "I will, this is getting kind of boring. Shall I just shoot them all and be done?"

"Please," Team Leader begged, "I can make it interesting. Please."

"The only thing that interests me, Team Leader is watching you suffer." Whumper moved to circle Teammate Two once more. "Perhaps there is a way to make it fun for all of us." They spun around and stared at Team Leader. "Shall we play a game?"

"Yes, please, just don't hurt them."

Whumper opened the cartridge of the revolver. They removed four of the six bullets. As they spun the cartridge, they smiled, "Let's play a little Russian Roulette. But with higher stakes. Two bullets instead of one."

"Whumper, please--"

"Team Leader, I'm giving you a chance to save your team. Two of you will walk away. Maybe even three if you play your cards right."

"Whumper, I can't let you--"

Whumper silenced Team Leader as they pointed the gun at Teammate One's head. "I could just end it now. Don't you want a chance for them to live?"

"Yes, yes, please. Whumper, just shoot me." Team Leader ignored the horrified looks on their team's faces. If Whumper wanted someone to die, it was better that they die.

Whumper frowned. "There's no fun in that. You'll get a turn in between each team member, Team Leader. Don't worry." And before Team Leader could protest, Whumper pulled the trigger. It clicked empty. Teammate One sagged with relief.

Team Leader sighed. Teammate One was safe and would make it out of here. Whumper walked over to Team Leader and shoved the gun to Team Leader's temple. "Your turn, though it would be a shame if you died before the rest of the players."

Team Leader closed their eyes, making their peace with the universe should it be their time to die. But the gun clicked empty.

Whumper laughed. "Good, I want you to stick around to the end."

Teammate Two looked up at Whumper rather than at Team Leader when Whumper put the gun beneath their jaw. "I will fucking end you," they spat in Whumper's face.

"If the odds are in your favor," Whumper said as they pulled the trigger. The gun clicked empty once more. "You are lucky, Teammate Two."

Whumper walked towards Team Leader once more as they took aim. "Let's see if lady luck smiles on you, Team Leader." They squeezed the trigger. The gun clicked empty one final time. "Two bullets in a row left. Oh Smallest Teammate you are the winner of tonight's game!"

Team Leader's mouth went dry as they realized that the next shot would surely kill whoever Whumper took aim at. "Whumper, wait! Please! I want another turn. Please, give me another turn!"

Whumper stopped as they carded their fingers through Smallest Teammate's hair once more. They pressed the gun to Smallest Teamate's temple. "Why would I let you cheat like that?"

"Because I'll suffer. You want to see me suffer! You don't have to shoot me in the head. You can shoot me somewhere else. Watch me bleed to death."

Whumper considered for a moment. Team Leader's heart froze in their chest as Whumper shook their head. "Why do that when I can watch you suffer over the loss of you beloved teammate? Then I can shoot you so you bleed out slowly."

"Whumper, please. Please. Shoot me." Team Leader blinked back tears as they tried desperately to convince Whumper to kill them.

"All in good time." And they pulled the trigger once more.

[dysfunctionalcreature]

Kepcobi is a ship that to me very much ranges from, Power Imbalance (hot), to, Power Imbalance (oh no) and, hear me out, I think the songs that best represent this range are, Bark Like A God by Sloppy Jane:

and, Russian Roulette by Rihanna:

[rom-e-o]

Sometimes I get crazy, risky ideas that are toxically satisfying but are way too insane for our favorite men to do. And that's where the silver-lining to having a creep like Bryant that you love to hate comes in handy again.

Imagine after Orin assaults and hurts Bess and Bryant tracks him down, he, essentially, abducts Orin and takes him to a dingy, seedy, sketchy dump of a flat somewhere in London. It's just the two of them and... a revolver.

"Ever played Russian Roulette, Mr. Spiegler?" Bryant asks. "I've partaken a time or two in my life. I can tell you there's no other rush like it. Always wanted to play it competitively, but have never had the chance. Until now."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'll admit I'm a little disappointed by your confusion--I thought you were a smarter, more intuitive man than that, Mr. Spiegler. Very well, let me spell it out for you. It's quite simple: One bullet in one chamber, which one unknown. Two men taking turns." Bryant picks up the revolver, puts the barrel to the roof of his mouth and pulls the trigger. Click. Nothing.

Orin stares in indignant horror.

Bryant continues. "The men continue until one of them discovers the bullet."

"You're insane!"

"I am. It's nice to meet someone who understands that that's what I truly am, not all those psychology terms and diagnoses they've tried to label me with for years. There is no disorder or faulty wiring or misfiring synapses in my brain that counseling and medication can fix. I am, and have always been, simply, incurably insane."

"Let me go!"

"Ah, I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Spiegler. No,see, you must earn your way out of here,my good man."

"Earn?"

"Yes, earn. It's quite simple really: You win, you walk out of here a free, unharmed man and can go about your business as you see fit. If I win-"

"They'll be pulling my body out of the Thames?"

Bryant grins maniacally. "Now you're getting it." He places the gun in the center of the table. "One chamber down, five to go." He gives Orin a significant look. "Or, less. God only knows."

~Can you guess the twist?~

I've had to let this spin in my head for a few days because DANGGG.

Listen, it's the toxically satisfying ideas that make for the juiciest drama and scenarios, and this is no exception. OKAY, first of all ... it was easy to visualize this scenario. I mean, you described it perfectly, but it's also not a vast leap of faith to fathom that Bryant would act as batshit crazy as he does here.

Orin deserves it, 1000%. For all he's done, he deserves a taste of his own medicine. But the REASONS for Bryant doing it are far from righteous or any form of vigilante justice. Nah - he's just possessive as hell. Frankly, these two are cut from the same cloth, which make the ideal of such a situation between them very interesting. Normally, they'd ben on even ground. Now, here, there is an imbalance in power. Literally and figuratively. Hmm ... the twist. First instinct? He filled all the chambers, or pre-counted them so that the next shot just kills Orin, easily. Basically rigging the game. OR, knowing what I know about Bryant, it's also entertaining to think that all the chambers are empty. So he can still fuck with Orin mentally, but also know that he's perfectly safe each round, allowing him to act pompous and all-powerful without any risk? Bryant seems like he has too much of an ego to take himself out over someone like Orin, haha.

He gets the rush of the game by seeing his prey squirm, and gets to feel superior and empowered the entire time?

Then, the game ends, and Bryant (if he really wants his dead) can just pop Orin between the eyes after the mental torture.

[huginsmemory]

Plot Foils: On Ace, Robin, Marineford and Enies Lobby

Thought I'd put together a short lil meta on how Ace and Robin in the arcs of Marineford and Enies Lobby mirror each other within the plot, and what that thematically implies since I can't stop thinking about it and since any tradgedies immediately trigger my trap card of Write Meta Frantically. Also, note that there are spoilers for up to the time skip.

First, I'll start with the similarities between both Ace and Robin, and the arcs of Enies Lobby and Marineford, which can be laid out on the flow chart chart below, which I'll go into detail below, before digging into the themantic implications:

Parent figure involved with poneglyphs

mass violence by government in response to threat

survival of the character but widespread demonization of them

struggle with survivors guilt and suicidal inclinations

Acceptance into a found family, and who they are no matter their demonization

testing of the acceptance by capture of the World Government

resounding yes and declaration of War against the World Government by found family

do you want to live?

rescue/failure

1 and 2: Parent Figure and Mass Violence

Both Ace and Robin are survivors of violence from the government at a young age; Robin with the genocide of Ohara, and Ace with the hunting down and killing of babies in Baterilla after the execution of Gol D Roger. This violence by the world government is a response to both their parents being involved with poneglyphs, which threatens the power of the government (I also understand that Gol D Roger in his status of King of the Pirates was it's own impetus... but that's also intertwined with the poneglyphs in a way). Interestingly, both the parent figures desperately try to protect their children through denying or hiding the children away from the government as a form of protective love.

3 and 4: demonization, survivors guilt and suicidal inclinations

For both of them, their parents (or people's) demonization is transferred to their own lives. Robin quite literally becoming called a demon child and scorned by the world, while Ace is more round-about-ly called a demon child when talked about theoretically. Actually, even Dadan, who does love him, at one point calls him the devil's spawn (or some other variation, I can't remember exactly). As a result of the violence occurred by the government they both carry the feelings of survivor's guilt; and with their demonization, this guilt over being mere alive is compounded as the world repeatedly tells them that they should not exist. As a result, they both struggle with their own existence and suicidal ideology, unsure of what the world really tells them is true especially as both their parents are dead and cannot validate their existence. Also, as they are demonized, they are isolated from society, and other forms of love and acceptence from adults which could reassure them against such internalization of their demonization aren't really forthcoming. Although Ace has Luffy and Sabo for a good chunk of his childhood, and so is not entirely alone and rejected by everyone, he still clearly struggles with being alive and being accepted by others, especially adults and parental figures; this evidenced through his anger issues and his talk with Garp in which he asks if he should have been born (gonna fucking strangle Garp for being like 'Well I don't know' to a fucking KID who is asking if he should be alive or not). Robin on the other hand, is clearly alone and acutely lonely the majority of her life as she has to continue to be on the run, as she has a bounty placed on her head, and even kind people cannot accept her for long without the threat of the law.

ID: Ace asking Garp as a kid "would it have been better if I was never born?"

5: Acceptance

For both of them, their internalized suicidal thoughts and doubts becomes suppressed when they become incorporated into a family that accepts them wholeheartedly, breaking the stigma of their demonization. To Robin, this occurs when she begins to sail with the Strawhats who accepts her pretty quickly, not caring about her being a 'demon' in the eyes of the general populace and forgiving her for her previous transgressions against them; accepting her for who she truly is for the first time in her life since her very early childhood. Luffy, of course, I would bet sees the similarities between her and Ace; something that we the audience during the first read/watch though are oblivious too, but contextualized later make immense sense for why he has such strong feelings about Robin and suicidal characters. But I digress. For Ace this becomes suppressed when he is accepted into the family of Whitebeard; who is the first adult to not care about who his father is and still accepts him whole heartedly, to the point of seeing him as his own son. Again, Whitebeard and his family, like with the Strawhats and Robin, forgive Ace for his attempts of violence against them. This acceptence of them even spite their demonization, even in spite of them previously attempting to hurt or actually physically hurting the crew, allows them to begin to undo their internalized suicidal ideologies.

6, 7 and 8: capture, declaration of war and confessions

This acceptance by their found families ends up being tested as the World Government gets involved; for Robin in the Enies Lobby arc and with Ace, the Marineford arc as they are both captured as a result of them caring about their found families. For Ace, it is guilt over not recognizing Teach's dangerousness who was in his division, and the need to avenge his brother; for Robin, it is to ensure the survival of the Strawhats. As they are captured, the acceptance and love of their found family, in the face of both their demonization fully explained and having to fight against the World Government, is put to question; will their family declare war against the World Government and risk death to save them? The answer both times is a resounding yes. Yes, their found families love and care about them, those who have been told time and again by the majority of the world to be better off dead or never born at all are worth so much to their families that their families are willing to put their lives on the line to save them; in an ultimate display of acceptance and love. Both Ace and Robin initially refuse the attempt to save them, desperate for those they love to not get hurt, especially as they partially believe that they don't deserve to live, let alone be worth dying for. However, under the insistence of their found family who wants to save them, they both confess and cry out in desperation that they want to live, even after everything, even after questioning their own validity in being alive. However, here is when things begin to change in their parallels; compared to Robin's cry in Enies Lobby, Ace's cry is a lot more bitter, coming from the fact that Ace is already seeing those he cares about die before him to save him, such as Oars Jr. . Meanwhile in Enies Lobby, when Robin is asked if she wants to live, she has not already seen one of her crewmates die before her.

ID: first image of Robin crying as she declares she wants to live, second of Ace with his head bowed and crying saying 'why do I suddenly... Want... To live?!!!"

9: Rescue/failure and thematic implications

From here, it diverges further. Robin is saved in the end in Enies Lobby; there is no devastating death, and the Strawhats survive facing and declaring war against the World Government relatively without any negatives. Robin is told she is allowed to live, that she is allowed to want to live, and lives. The narrative of Enies Lobby showcases that the government will respond to potential threats to its power by mass violence excused through demonization of people or people groups; this dehumanization causes those who survive the initial violence to struggle with their mental health and the understanding of the value of their own life, as their life devalued by the world. In response to that, Oda displays and reminds the audience that no matter your perceived demonization, there will always be people who will accept you and love you for who you are and are willing to stand along side and fight for you to be recognized; no person is born illegal or wrong, that you are allowed to not only want to live but also to live, no matter what the world might say. This is directly implied with how Jaguar D. Saul tells Robin there will eventually in the future be someone that accepts and cares about her.

Building off of Enies Lobby, the same premise of the government enacting violence and the issue of demonization and mental health arises, as Ace is shackled to the scaffold and his parentage is revealed. However, unlike Robin, Ace is not that lucky; although he escapes the scaffold, it is his own inability to stand down that kills him in the end (something framed as heroic by the narrative which--yeah no sorry I don't think it's 'heroic'). He is told, right before his death, that he is accepted, he is loved, and that he is allowed to want to and to live no matter his heritage, by those who love him--but then he dies anyways, thanking everyone for accepting him. Marineford shows that, even if there are people who will accept you and love you, sometimes that doesn't stop the world from hating you to the point it kills you. It is realistic in that; if you are going to engage with these themes and topics, then you can't shy away from realistic depictions of what these systems actually does to people. Marineford and the death of Ace is built off of Enies Lobby and Robins rescue; Oda needed to show that yes, you can be loved and saved, before he was able to show--in a good way--that sometimes even the love of others isn't enough to shield you from a world that hates you. In the end, Ace was always meant to be set up to die, both as a narrative tool to display the violence of the authority of the government, in parallel to Robin being rescued in Enies Lobby, and as an impetus for Luffy to grow as a character.

To summarize:

Ace and Robin, through their false demonization by the World Government used as an excuse for mass violence, internalize this message and question the validity of their existence. This suicidal questioning is assauged by their acceptence into a found family which validates their existence. However, their capture by the World government reiterates their previous questioning, and bares their demonization to their families in a test of their acceptence. This causes a subsequent declaration of war by their families, who affirm their love and acceptence for the characters as they try to rescue them. Their arcs both deal with the demonization of people or people groups who threaten the power of the government, which is used as an excuse to eradicate these 'threats' to the government by mass murder, genocide and martyrdom. In exploring these systems, Oda touches on how people who are subject to such demonization often struggle with suicidal tendencies as they are told they should not exist, while also emphasizing that even through their demonization, these people (or people groups) will always find others who will love them for who they are, past the accusations and demonizations; no human is born illegal. As Robin in Enies Lobby is saved, this emphasizes that those who are demonized by the government will always eventually find people who will accept and love them no matter their demonization. Built off the back of this premise, Oda revisits this in the Marineford arc, but with a more somber cast, as this time Ace is not saved but dies, even after everything. In revisiting it with a different ending, Oda recognizes that sometimes, even being accepted and loved by people isn't enough to shield you from the harm of the government. (I mean also it had narrative implications of raising the stakes and giving luffy an impetus to get stronger but nevertheless...)

Application

The thing is, this is a tactic of demonization and dehumanization as a excuse for violence is one that has been used over and over again by governments and society all over our world. It's being used right now to excuse the genocide going on in Palestine. It has been/currently is being used against queer and trans folk, against POC, against Indigenous people, against unhoused people, against people with disabilities, against addicts. It's not something that's not applicable. It's highly applicable. By deliberately showcasing it, Oda validates those who are in minorities that have suffered under such systems of violence, often to the point of suicidal actions; he says instead it's ok, you are not who they tell you you are, you will find people who will accept you for who you are, you deserve to live.

But he also, in showcasing it, asks, what stereotypes and propaganda have you accepted? After all, being part of one minority doesn't mean you aren't able to be an oppressor. Are you standing there cheering when they enact violence? Or are you going to think beyond what you've been told and help them?

[just-whump-and-suffering]

Goritekini Arienai Ep 10

[flowersnax]

then i close my eyes

gamble with my life

trying not to smile

maybe this time i won't be alright

[ashintheairlikesnow]

The Winners

The Motherfucking Gallaghers Masterlist

For @amonthofwhump Day 8: John Mclane | Held Hostage | Russian Roulette | Forced to Watch | Comfort: Rescue

CW: Murder most foul, very brief gore, captivity, whumper POV, sadistic whumper, referenced shock collar and noncon (brief)

As always, Jax Gallagher belongs to @comfy-whumpee and is used with their permission and input

-

When Isaac Marcoset holds out his hand, his steward is already stepping forward to give him the gun. 

He smiles, closing his fingers around the familiar grip, custom-built for larger hands, his fingers weighed down with rings. It feels like simply an extension of his limb. The family heirloom has been with the Marcosets since the 19th century, handed down from father to son as each took over as the head of the family business.

It’s a beautiful gun.

“Everything is ready?” He asks, already knowing the answer. The question isn’t for the steward’s benefit, or for his own - it’s for the benefit of the three unlucky men sitting at the table. 

Their eyes are on him, and Isaac is truly in his element in moments like this - he is the power and force in the room. It’s his whim they’ll all be subjected to, and not all of them will survive. None of them deserve to, granted, but Isaac enjoys the occasional extension of mercy. It makes his cruelties stand out all the more. 

“Yes, Master Isaac,” His steward replies, quietly unobtrusive. He was brought in as a young man and has been with the family for nearly two decades, a creature of perfect loyalty for the family that owns him. 

Unlike the man his niece insists on keeping, who Isaac has more or less been forced to keep track of while Savvie is out of town yet again on a tour.

That irritating creature doesn’t get a seat at the table, and Isaac doesn’t like the way he seems capable of befriending all the staff of the house so quickly. He’s keeping Jax close this time around, even if the man is nearly unbearably annoying.

Jax, the slave his niece lost and he recaptured for her and who she is definitely fucking now - disgusting, but Savvie has always been headstrong and stubborn. She denies it, of course, but the loathsome man himself has been perfectly happy to elaborate unnecessarily and in the crudest of terms as to what is going on at Savvie’s home at least three nights a week these days. If he says the words ‘sex slave’ one more time, Isaac’s going to duct tape his mouth shut and leave him in the stables until Savvie comes back.

In any case, his niece’s erstwhile kidnapped lover has been given a place against the wall and told not to move a muscle or say a fucking word unless he wants his arm broken again. He isn’t here because he deserves to be, but because he is a living example to the other men of what the Marcoset family can do to those who displease them. 

He’s a walking example of a fate worse than death. 

Based on the flat, empty look on his face, he’s well aware of it, too.

Isaac was in a foul mood earlier, and the asshole Englishman has plenty of bruises now to prove it, although he’s calmer now. Nothing soothes a bad day better than punching Jax in the stomach just to see him double over in pain. Savvie’s irritating attachment to the man is the only reason he’s even allowed to live after all the trouble he’s caused. Isaac kills runaways who aren’t useful, and he assumes Jax must have at least three brain cells working, since he seems to know that Savvie is the only reason Isaac didn’t simply leave his body in his father’s apartment to be found shortly before he murdered the father, too.

No, it was Savvie's insistence that Jax be brought back to her, and the father be left alive.

But... Savvie isn’t here for him to simper at and hide behind, not now. He's utterly at Isaac's mercy, and he's smart enough to know Isaac has very, very little mercy at all. 

“Good man,” Isaac murmurs to the steward, tipping the gun this way and that, giving it some thought. This, too, is for the benefit of the three men at the table, who look increasingly uneasy with every passing moment. 

At least they aren’t stupid enough to start yelling or begging again. He’d just kill all of them if they gave him another headache.

The steward steps back and folds his hands behind his back, standing next to the place Jax has been told to remain. Isaac doesn’t see the way that the steward briefly touches Jax’s shoulder, a sign of sympathy and solidarity - if he had seen it, he’d have beaten the steward within an inch of his life, too. He doesn’t see the way Jax manages a slight, faint half-smile in return before carefully shifting away.

Isaac, instead, is busy gesturing using the gun. “You see that man, gentleman? The one right there next to my steward?”

He watches each of them look at the underfed, overdressed man against the wall, who stares without expression back at them from beneath carefully styled auburn hair. Isaac smiles as their eyes catch on the shock collar tightly locked around his neck, scratchy nylon above the crew neck of his luxurious cashmere sweater.

They look back to Isaac. One of them nods. 

Isaac addresses that one directly. “He’s Marcoset property, bought as a gift for my lovely niece. Then… he ran away from her. He dared. He had his daddy call the cops and he tried to put my niece in prison.”

The second man - the one in the middle - clears his throat and then hesitantly asks, “He… did put her in prison, though, right?”

Behind him, there’s a noise. Isaac glances back, but Jax’s face is exactly the same, no sign of a smile or the huff of laughter Isaac thinks he heard. He turns back to the men. “Yes,” He acknowledges. “She did go to prison. For quite some time. But then… she was released.” He checks the chamber of the gun, idly. One bullet, six spaces. 

Isaac spins the chamber and smiles at the satisfying clicking sound it makes. Honestly, this is his favorite gun, even if it isn’t the one he uses most often. Although this pistol has killed a lot of people since his grandfather first bought it.

He clears his throat. “Once she was out, I recovered him for her. Brought him back to where he belongs. Brought him back to my niece’s loving embrace.” He pauses, but Jax has no quippy little reply for this. No, he seems to be smart enough to know this isn’t the time to push his luck. “No one runs away from the Marcosets. No one. He tried - he was gone for years - and we still tracked him down and brought him back. He won’t run again. Will you, Jax?”

Jax doesn’t answer. Refuses to play along with Isaac's game.

Isaac will make sure he regrets that later. 

Savvie never minds a few new bruises, as long as her little slave can still do whatever she wants, whenever she wants him to do it. As long as he’s still able to obey, and fuck her, and tell her she’s pretty. As long as she can still tell herself he loves her. His niece is not stupid - well, in some ways she is... but she is primarily delusional.

Isaac knows better than to poke holes in that delusion.

Besides, the idiot creature makes her happy. 

He moves on. “Now, each of the three of you is a known associate of someone who ran away from a Marcoset,” Isaac continues, as if Jax had played his part. “Each of you provided that runaway with invaluable assistance. Each of you was exposed by said runaway once we recovered them. Three men sit at this table. Two will leave here alive, with my simple suggestion that you not aid a runaway from Marcoset family properties again.”

Isaac would tower over everyone else even if all of them were standing - he’s tall, and more than that, he has the Marcoset build of muscle trending towards bulk. He owns every room he walks into, impossible to ignore.

“Let’s play, shall we?"

With the gun loosely held in one hand, he walks slowly behind the first man. The lights catch the clammy sweat on the man’s face, making his dark blond hair brown around all the edges where it’s damp. His breathing is an audible rasp as he gasps in and out. 

“Oh god,” The man whispers. “Oh god, oh god, oh god… Please, pl-please, please no… oh god-”

Isaac smiles. “You gave a safe place to sleep for someone who ran from my oldest son Brayden,” Isaac rumbles, enjoying the man’s clear terror. “We brought her back to him, and he has ensured she will not run again. Frankly, she’s lucky we only cut the tendon on one leg.”

Against the wall, his steward remains expressionless. Jax glares up at the ceiling, hands behind his back. Isaac is sure he has them closed into fists, and wonders how often the man dreams about hitting him. Isaac glances over, smiling slightly at the sight. 

He raises the gun and presses the barrel against the back of the first man’s head, listening to his soft whimper. “Please,” The man whispers one more time. Tears stand in his red-rimmed eyes. The chair creaks.  “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t kn-know, she l-l-lied to me-” The man’s voice trembles with his fear, and Isaac sighs, as if disappointed in it. “I-I didn’t know!”

“Yes, you did,” He says simply, and pulls the trigger.

Click.

The man flinches with a cry, then exhales in a rush when he realizes he’s still alive, and starts weeping openly right there at the table. Isaac catches himself licking his lips, and moves on to the next man before anyone else might notice. 

“You will live. Don’t fuck with the Marcosets again.”

The next one starts begging before he even touches him with the cool metal, jerking forward as if he could escape even though he can’t stand. “Wait, wait, please, please, I didn’t-... I didn’t mean to help anyone! I just, I thought, I thought h-h-he was homeless, is all, I thought-... wait, wait, you don’t have to-... I can pay you, I can… I can pay you-! I have money!”

“I have more money than I could ever use, and spend more on clothes in a month than you could ever have to give me,” Isaac says amiably.

He pulls the trigger.

He’s actually vaguely surprised at the deafening noise and flash when the gun goes off. The man jerks forward, dead before he even knows he’s been shot, blood and bone and brain matter spraying. A few drops hit Jax on the face and he flinches violently. 

Isaac sighs, shaking his head, disappointed. 

The dead man’s leg jerks once, twice, three times, and goes still. 

“Well, that’s no fun,” Isaac murmurs. “Ruins all the tension of the game if the second guy gets the bullet, doesn’t it?” He looks over at the third man’s wild eyes ringed in white. He looks like he can’t decide whether to be frightened or relieved, knowing that the bullet won’t be meant for him. “I was really hoping to get a second round in before it got to one of you. Oh, well. I suppose he’s the loser, and you two men are the winners. Congratulations.”

The first man blinks, as if coming out of a daze, and slowly looks up, shoulders still shaking. “What…?”

“I said, congratulations. You two have an exciting opportunity not to fuck with my family ever again. Thank me for it, or we'll play again."

The third man’s lips are trembling as he manages a weak, “Th-thank y-y-y-you… it, it won’t h-happen again.”

The first man nods frantically. “Yes, it, it won’t happen-... thank you-!”

“Good.” Isaac walks away, crossing the room and stopping by his steward. The first man starts weeping again behind him. 

His steward is unmoved by the carnage - it’s not new to him, after all. But Isaac notes with pleasure that Jax’s face is white and he’s staring at the blood slowly spreading on the table around the dead man’s head, the bits of gray matter mixed in. The man's breathing sounds shallow and fast. 

Isaac leans in. “You two can handle cleaning up this mess?”

“Yes, Master Isaac,” His steward says quietly. “We will have this dealt with within the hour and the two living men will be removed from your property.”

“Good man.” He pauses, then snaps his fingers right in front of Jax’s face. He catches the man’s suppressed flinch as his eyes snap up to Isaac’s. He does so love the way Jax looks when fear overrides his usual anger. “You. Savvie’s little toy. Dinner is in two hours, and your presence is expected. You will be showered and dressed for it by then. Is that understood?”

Jax inhales through his nose. His mouth moves into a smirk, even though his eyes don’t reflect it. He says, in a low voice, “Wouldn’t miss family dinnertime for the world, Uncle Isaac.”

Isaac’s lip curls, hand twitching with the urge to choke the man to death right here and now, but… that would be losing his temper. He won’t do that now, not in front of the two men he very much wants to think of him as a terrifying man in total control. Instead, he just leaves them there, and he hopes Jax understands the message for what it is.

One man died today, just for helping someone get away.

If it weren’t for Savvie being stupidly head-over-heels for the idiot and insisting on not doing anything that might make him hate her - as if he didn’t already… well.

If it weren’t for Savvie's inexplicable obsession with Jax, Jax’s father would have been one of the men at the table, instead.

He still could be. 

-

[thewomanwholaughed]

Songs I associate with Joker

Please see tags before clicking any links, those with a * mean triggers are involved in the video clips!

This is America - Childish Gambino *

Serotonin Killer - TIMMS *

Que Sera, Sera - Doris Day

No one knows my name - Nate Leath & Sarah Jarosz

Only you - The Platters

Coconut - Harry Nilsson

Applause - Lady Gaga *

Mercy - Jacob Banks

That's entertainment - Judy Garland

Carmen, ACT II: Votre toast, je peux vous le rendre - Bizet

The Finger Of Suspicion - Dickie Valentine & The Stargazers

Razzle Dazzle - Chicago (Musical version)

I can't Decide - Scissor Sisters

Joke's on you - Charlotte Lawrence *

Mein Herr - Cabaret (Musical version)

Circus - Britney Spears *

Tagged by || @sanguine-salvation & @ratwhsprs tyyy~ Tagging || @the-cobblepot-colony @clawsextended @frostise @cinnamunspice (For the Al'Ghul!), @peranarkia, @masquenoire and anyone else who wants to steal this please do!!!

[missfortuneisblue]

Miss Fortune a.k.a. Allison “Alice” Morrigan: [28] Born into a traveling circus and carnival, Alice was the life of her beloved parents, who were aerobatic performers who often did amazing feats on the tightrope suspended above the audience. The famous duo, “Lewy & Suzy” (Lewis and Susan Morrigan) an Irish and Japanese couple, husband and wife respectively. At the age of ten, tragedy struck in Alice’s life when her parents were brutally murdered by an “unsatisfied” patron after a show. She was the first to find their bodies on the floor in their trailer. After that, her life was a spiral downhill.

Even after improving on her knife throwing, sword swallowing, and acrobatics, and showing her excellent grades from her online courses, the ringleader and the circus management forced her to become one of the clowns in fear that she might become a hazard to others. And despite her attempts to prove that she wouldn’t be a problem, she ended up proving their point when she was on the tightrope wire trying a new act when she saw her parents performing in front of her, causing her to go into shock and falling backwards. Thankfully there was a net placed to catch her. She permanently became a clown afterwards.

Taking on the stage name “Mad Alice” for her clown persona at age 16, Alice became one of the most beloved characters at the circus due to her expressive and wild personality. All the young children would come up to her to get a hug or autograph, telling her she reminded them of Alice from “Alice in Wonderland”. The rest of the clowns absolutely despised the attention Alice was receiving, despite her being the one that brings more and more people every show. It also didn’t help that her mental state was becoming more deteriorated after being diagnosed with schizophrenia, pseudobulbar affect (PBA), PTSD, Anosognosia, and Atypical depression.

At 17, Alice started sneaking into the lion and tiger cages to feed them their daily meals, slowly befriending them. Every day, Alice would speak to them as if they are having a conversation—and they were, in her head. The lions and tigers would tell her about all of the abuse they endured during their time in captivity, and how much they wish to rip into the animal tamers’ guts to show them a lesson.

During aftershows, Alice would display creepy behavior such as staring and smiling at others for a long period of time, random fits of laughter, walking into the kitchen to steal a knife, talking to herself, and spontaneously bursting into dance whenever hearing music. But one of the clowns, a 40 year old woman named Ruby, who lost her son in a car accident, always looked after Alice and had her best interests in heart. She doted on Alice as if she was her own baby girl, ever since the troubled girl was little. Ruby was the reality anchor Alice needed and the grandmother she never had.

Before one of the grand shows, Ruby took Alice to a tattoo parlor to grant the girl her wish: blue roses on her shoulders and left ribs in memory of her mother’s affectionate nickname given to Alice, “my little blue rose”.

By the age of 28, Alice was a fully grown psychopath under the guise of being the overworked star of the circus, dedicated to her craft and career as a clown. She is now more dangerous than before, almost killing her co-workers by throwing knives near their heads, leaving disturbing gifts in their trailers (after somehow breaking in), would create crazy and nightmarish paintings and drawings, would be found singing grimly lullabies and songs, spend hours listening to her mother’s music box that was an anniversary gift from her father, and most concerning of all, using razors and knives to cut herself and watch blood drip down her skin, reveling in the pleasure from the pain.

After a night show spoiled by a scheming Joker dressed in the former ringleader’s uniform, Alice was used as a hostage by the laughing clown and dragged down into a secret escape latch. She didn’t realize she was a hostage after they entered the sewers and struck up a conversation. Joker led her to another one of his hidden hideouts, an abandoned novelty factory. After a bit of more talking, Joker decided to make Alice his new henchwoman and gave her variety of outfits and gadgets to choose. After some “fooling around”—and learning more things about Alice that Joker wasn’t ready for—he had her join his goons. He gave her a variety of outfits to choose from, and she settled on what is now her iconic look.

Theme song: “It’s Bad Luck, Babe!”

Playlist :)