#we have to get someone in to fix the toilet because it's been leaking for years and nobody will fucking do anything about it

[david-watts]

I'm the only goddamn person in this fucking house that knows what to do and nobody will fucking listen to me

[lukaslosteyelashes]

Some thoughts on the trailers of Miraculous London

We don't have much time left until Miraculous World: London - At the Edge of Time premiere so I decided to write out everything about it that's in my mind so maybe that “some thoughts” is gonna be a little bit longer.

Anyways, here it comes!

First I’d like to start it from the middle and talk about the guy with the clock on their forehead

This is the person that concerns me the most.

At first glance, this person clearly has a power that associates with time. They have a giant clock on their forehead and pretty much all over their costume and might be able to jump in time as well.

Now let's take a look at this shot:

Look at their left hand. It looks like they're holding something, something thin, it looks like it's either a tablet or a notebook. It also seems like they have a pen or something similar in their right hand.

Could it be that it's the same notebook where it's written in that Ladybug = Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

It's a mystery how long they have been lurking in the dark in the Agreste mansion's basement to gain what they needed. Did they just arrive, been there during the whole fight? Or maybe they've been here much longer than we could imagine. It seems this might be the moment when this person learns who's Paris's beloved heroine, they write it down then disappear to deliver the notebook into Lila's lair.

But where's Lila? She just leaves Nooro and the Butterfly Miraculous behind like that while someone breaks in her place to deliver crucial information. Is she in the toilet or something? She'll receive the notebook eventually but this whole setup looks very suspicious. It really looks like that stand got placed precisely there so that Clock Head (I will call them that from now on) could neatly place the notebook on it. And what are those boxes?

Now let's speculate where they might have gotten their powers.

The Rabbit Miraculous

This was the initial thought when there wasn't any trailer just leaks, after all the Rabbit Miraculous is able to give its users the ability to travel through different times. But after seeing how this dude uses their powers, that is they don't use the Burrow to travel in time, it got debunked right away, so there's no point in speculating over this anymore.

But we know that the two Bunnyx that we encountered so far possess three Rabbit Miraculous. One is used by mini Bunnyx, the other one is used by adult Bunnyx and the third one is the Kubdel family heirloom watch Alix got for her birthday. Now, it's possible that future Alix still uses the heirloom if they haven't fixed hers that was damaged by future Chat Noir. But either way, there are three Rabbit Miraculous that we saw and now there's someone who could use the third one: Marinette to become Chronobug. If she uses the third one that doesn't have an owner that we know about then neither present nor future Alix have to give up theirs for this.

And I'd like to use this point to speculate on where Marinette got her Ladybug Miraculous from.

The first thought was, she got it from her future self which seems eligible but after looking at the trailers for the 63637x time I have another theory on that.

Look at this scene from the French trailer:

This doesn't seem to fit in with everything that's happening. Why would Marinette put away her Miraculous? And why put it in a drawer? She's the Guardian, wouldn't it be more logical for her to put in the Miracle Box?

Unless, it's not present Marinette but her from the past. This whole scene looks pretty much alike with what happened in "Origins" when she first hesitated to use the Ladybug Miraculous because she didn't trust herself enough to become a superhero. Present Marinette using this particular part of her past to get a Miraculous seems valid since she didn't use it for a little while here and if she takes it, it will feel like it's just gone for a moment anyways.

So, she hops in with Bunnyx's help, takes her Miraculous then gets the third Rabbit Miraculous as well and then she can become Chronobug to save the World.

Akumatization

Clock Head's power coming from an Akuma seems more likely to be the case. Anyway, I'd like to use this opportunity to draw attention to this conversation between the Kwamis and Gabriel in "Destruction":

Gabriel to Orikko: You! You can grant me any power I want. You'll give me power to travel through time!

Orikko: No you're mistaken. Time travel is Fluff's power and I can't grant a power that already belongs to another Kwami.

Gabriel: Are you trying to deceive me?

Orikko: By all means, read the Grimoire again.

Sass: Each Kwami represents a concept and each concept can only exist once in the Universe.

...

It was a very interesting conversation. Orikko can't give the power of time travel to anyone because it already exists, if I understand correctly. But what about Nooroo? Timetagger is an Akumatized villain from the future who's able to travel through time. So it looks like, while Orikko is unable to grant powers that belong to other Kwamis Nooroo's ability can give those powers, or at least it's the case with time travel.

But what about what Sass said? "Each Kwami represents a concept and each concept can only exist once in the Universe." If each concept can only exist once wouldn't that mean the Akumatization also shouldn't be able to give the power of time travel since it belongs to another Kwami? Nooroo's and Orikko's abilities are clearly very different, but that doesn't mean that different rules should apply to them in the same Universe. Maybe I just missed something if that's the case, please inform me.

Anyhow, the Butterfly Miraculous's power gives very unique abilities to the Akumatized people and that might be the reason why it can also grant powers that already exist, because they're slightly different from each other.

But if that's the case why haven't we seen Gabriel use this; not giving the ability to travel through time with Orikko's power but using Nooroo's to give a different but still essentially the same ability to either to himself or to someone else? Or...wait...hmm...

We already witnessed episodes where someone from the future comes to either mess up things or to fix it, but we haven't seen someone from the past stirring up the present. I'm not necessarily saying that Gabriel has it in him to come up with such a plan and it wouldn't even make sense that Clock Head puts the notebook with the information into the lair of the next holder of the Butterfly Miraculous if they'd be Monarch's minion.

But what if the reason why Gabriel set Lila aside was because he looked into the future with a power given by an Akuma to either him or to someone else and discovered that the future Hawkmoth Timetagger mentioned is her. Or even better, what if Gabriel and future Lila are actually working together? That the whole sacrifice he made was actually just part of their plan alongside bringing Gabriel back eventually? Or past Gabriel and future Lila are competing with each other to see who's the better Hawkmoth? Okay, these scenarios are just products of my tired brain, let's move on.

Anyways, my final conclusion with Clock Head reverts back to the future (lol).

The above setup in Lila's lair is oddly specific as I mentioned before, as if she waited for the notebook to appear right there. I'm starting to doubt that Timetagger is the only Akumatized villain that was sent from the future. Why? Lila found out Hawkmoth's identity in a way that's unknown to us. It could be just a coincidence but for a show that makes a huge deal out of secret identities, the fact that she just knew somehow feels a little odd. I think the reason she was able to discover it is because her future self is occasionally sending minions to her. Timetagger was the first, as we know, she might have had a test run with him and slowly put together a plan to gain the Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses; and Clock Head too, is someone sent by future Lila and they're the part of the ultimate plan.

But who could they be?

I wouldn't dare to speculate on the gender of the character based on their figure since we all saw instances in Miraculous when that wasn't so obvious (I'm specifically talking about the New York special here) but i just want to put these three images beside each other.

Chat Noir and Aspik have slim enough frame like Clock Head has, and of course let's not forget about the similarities on Aspik's and Clock Head's masks. Also look at them legs on Chat Noir and Aspik and now look at them legs on Clock Head:

I've read some other theories before that also came to the conclusion that this is Baldrien, I mean Adrien and I can't really think of anyone else either. At the back of my mind there's still Lila as well tho and I will write about her more below.

We all know that Adrien was in London in his white room during the fight between Bug Noir and Monarch so there's no way he could be there at the end to write down Ladybug's identity into the notebook. Except, if it's future Adrien. He's actually a very easy target to Akumatization especially if the Butterfly Miraculous holder is aware of the fact that he's a Senti-being and targeted his Amok, the twin rings specifically. And he showed us multiple times how emotionally unstable he can be. Also, future Chat Noir damaging future Bunnyx's Miraculous was really just an accident? Plus, seeing an Akumatized Adrien could be a good trigger on why Marinette will never want to reveal the full truth to him. This is the only way I can also explain these two shots:

It looks like these scenes are in the London lab where Adrien and Kagami were held captives and no one really knows about that place and what went down there. So if Clock Head is Adrien from the future he could very well hide there since he knows about that location.

Either way, whoever are they, one thing I'm certain about is that this person will be the endgame, that after Chronobug defeats them at the right time and use her Lucky Charm that will mark the end of the special, since it was them in the first place who discovered Ladybug's identity.

Now let's see the other unknown dude.

I saw others call them Ghost Guy so I'll also call them that.

When I first read the synopsis I was very sceptical about the someone has stolen the Ladybug Miraculous while Marinette was asleep part. She's very wary especially after what happened with Felix. But now seeing that the person who steals the Miraculouses is having ghost-like abilities, I'm more convinced.

Ghost Guy probably read the notes the other dude left at Lila's lair, went to Marinette's room, stole all Miraculous, not just the Cat and Ladybug one then visited her lair again to deliver them and from the looks of it they also put them into those boxes that probably got prepared for that purpose.

I also have a feeling that the glowing blue light on their hands indicates when they're able to touch something even when they're transparent.

I saw some theories on who this person might be. I've read it's either Adrien or Lila, maybe Felix. I tried to make something out of the symbol that's on their chest, hopefully it has some connection to who could this be, however it doesn't ring any bell to me. If someone has any idea about this don't hesitate to share it.

For me Lila seems to be the most logical possibility. The only evidence I have that it's her is the sheer fact that this person is standing in Lila's lair right after they deliver the Miraculouses and put them in those carefully positioned boxes, near the notebook where their accomplice, who's supposedly from the future, wrote down who's Ladybug. Not a solid evidence with a bunch of holes; both of them could be working for her for all we know.

What about with the wish then?

The end of the synopsis said this: All that remains is to hope for one thing: that Ladybug succeeds in defeating her opponent, otherwise it will be the end of Ladybug for good.

Now this could be just a figure of speech to indicate that everything will be wiped out but why only mention Ladybug when the whole World is in danger? My theory is that based on that snip of the synopsis that the wish was for Ladybug to never exist. And that makes perfect sense if the one who will make the wish is Ghost Lila, since she despises Marinette and Ladybug to the core.

A little bit more about Lila

She was there at the Agreste Mansion when the battle happened between Bug Noir and Monarch.

I assume she was there to collect the Butterfly Miraculous which seems rather suspicious, like how did she know it will be lost in the rubble? Her future self told her? Anyway, the brooch probably was her top priority and didn't have time to look around or to sneak a peek when Bug Noir de-trasnformed. Not to mention she wasn't the only one who was there, Clock Head had to be there around the same time as her.

But here is the thing: when Clock Head brings the notebook to her lair, Nooroo with the Butterfly Miraculous and the whole set up was already there. Assuming that Lila has some help from the future, she can put those boxes and the stand beforehand, but she had to bring back Nooroo in record time. And I have two more theories regarding this.

The 1st one:

The lair that we see in the trailers is actually future Lila's place. Future Lila sent Clock Head (Adrien?) back in time to gain the information about Ladybug then they delivered the notebook to the future, then future Lila went as Ghost Guy to collect the Miraculouses from present Marinette and then made a wish. I have one problem with this theory: it completely removes present Lila from the picture; also what the lair looks like is the same as we saw before in the present.

The 2nd one:

I know that above I already kind of established the Clock Head is Adrien theory but I'd like to back down from that here and say it's actually Lila from the future. Future Lila went back in time to find out who's Ladybug, while present Lila collected the Butterfly Miraculous. In present Lila's lair she already set up the stand and the boxes because she got informations from her future self about a plan where she can get the Miraculouses from the Guardian. Present Lila went back to her lair in record time with the brooch, then future Lila brought the notebook which present Lila read. Present Lila then became Ghost Guy, went to Marinette's room fetched the Miraculouses then went back to her lair and after she carefully placed the Miraculouses, she made a wish with the Cat and Ladybug ones. My problem with this scenario is, it completely neglects Adrien, since here present and future Lila work together as the Clock Head and Ghost Guy. And why would she go to the London lab?

My last question remains, why are there only three boxes displayed on the desk? There are 15 Miraculous that got modified into rings. Maybe Ghost Guy put there those that they need and put away the ones that they think are useless. Or those are not even Miraculouses? We can't see them clearly in the picture after all.

And lastly, I'd like to talk about this scene from the season 5 finale

This scene was put at the very end of the last episode of season 5, after the pool scene, but we don't really know when it happened.

If the scenes are in chronological order then what happened there has nothing to do with the happenings in the London special since the London special is before the pool scene. And that seems more reasonable to me, since when she talks with Mr. Damocles via laptop it looks like he just moved from somewhere or to somewhere which requires some time to do; and from the moment he left his job to Monarch's attack I don't think that much time has passed for him to make so much progress in moving. And let's not forget that he's The Owl, he probably helped people after Monarch's defeat to get back on their feet and didn't have much time to talk about school with anyone for a while.

In any case, whether this scene is right after she gained the Butterfly Miraculous or after the pool one, I think it's one of her visitors from the future. Or maybe Gabriel from the past.

And this concludes my speculations. What do you think of all this?

[nkirukaj]

Fawning for You (5)

Pairing: Alastor x Voe (Fem!OC)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: Angst (& Humor!)

Word Count: 2.7K

5. Anti-Hero

Alastor plops down at the bar and rubs his forehead “Give me a glass of Cyanide Husker,”

Husk looks around in slight panic “Uh sorry Boss but there’s no more,”

Alastor turns menacingly toward the cat “What do you mean?”

“We’re all out,”

“How is that possible?”

“Someone else drank it, Boss,”

“Who exactly?”

Husk doesn’t want to give her up, but he knows what happens if he gets Alastor mad “Voe,”

Alastor squeezes and breaks the glass that he’s holding, letting the shards pierce his skin and his blood leak onto the counter. This doe would be the death of him. Well, the second death of him.

“Is there something you wanna talk about Boss?” Husk questioned as he cleaned up the blood pool

Alastor ignored the blood continuing to drip from his hand and stood up, fixing his coat. “Not at all Husker, not at all,” he simply walks away letting the blood drip all over the floor

Alastor wasn’t sure how to feel at this moment. The only emotion that he could recognize was anger, but there was something in there that he had never felt before, and it was something hard to describe. She had always been able to get him to feel new things, something like anger, but feeling like he may yearn for her presence sometime down the line. He dreaded the thought and the feeling while cursing her for making him feel things he wasn’t aware that he could. And damn it, she drank his drink!

Voe met the cannibals at the theater bright and early. In fact, she had gotten there before them because she was so excited to start working. With Charlie and Lucifer’s donations, she had been able to buy a suitable abandoned building that wasn’t in awful shape. Of course, it could still use some love, but that’s what she was here for!

“So what’s the job boss lady?” Rosie asked her once she let them in

Voe clutches her clipboard against her chest “Today we’re just going through the building and seeing what needs to be fixed. That way I can know all the issues beforehand and order supplies and such all at the same time. Okay? Okay!”

She had known that this would be a lot of work, but she wasn’t prepared for how much walking she had to do. In hindsight, she probably shouldn’t have worn Mary Jane heels, but she’d needed the confidence boost. Apparently, the original carpets were ripped and stained in about 10 different places, the seats were red and busted apart, backstage was dusty and the pulley system was jammed, the bathrooms were disgusting, with broken toilet seats and hair-jammed sinks. And saving the best for last there was no stage. Where the stage was supposed to be was a giant hole. 

Voe writes this all down on her clipboard, scrunching her brow in focus and concentration when Rosie approaches her. 

“Wow Miss Boss lady, I’ve never seen you like this before,”

She looks up slightly startled “Oh, well yeah I’ve never been this busy,”

“So when you’ve got something to do, you spend less time doing wrong?”

Voe blushes slightly “Yeah, I guess so. Something about knowing where this is going, what it will be, and what it will do, just fills me with a sense of purpose. It means so much to me,”

Rosie smiles “Enough purpose to stay out of trouble?”

Voe nods “Yeah, just enough,”

“Good! We don’t need you doing any more’Spy work’ for anybody else,”

Voe blushes again “I’m past that. I…think I’m becoming someone else,”

“Glad to hear it! I also hear that you’re interested in becoming an Overlord?”

“How did you hear that?”

Rosie shrugs “People talk. Now for some advice, in my particular situation, you have to be trustworthy. You have to get sinners to trust you and you have to take their trust and cradle it like it’s a baby. So that might be a bit of a long road for you unless you want to be a different type of Overlord,”

Voe shakes her head “No, I want to be trustworthy,”

Rosie nods in approval “Good. Then it’s going to take a lot of back-breaking work on your part, but,” She leans down “I think you can do it,”

“Me too,”

Rosie stands back up straight nodding once more “And that’s where it starts,”

___________________________________

“Stop guys I don’t do that stuff anymore. I’m on the up and up now,” Voe tells the live as she lines her almond-shaped eyes.

you don’t have to lie girlfriend

buuuulllll shit!

mmhmm 😂

They were once again referring to the shady deeds she had done on behalf of the Vees. Voe wished that people would stop bringing those up, she felt awful every time someone referenced it, especially Alastor. But she also understood that she made her choices and she can’t undo them. That’s all she would be known as, at least until this theater was complete. And you know what? She should feel awful, it was an awful thing to do and her feeling shitty about it was a sign of her growth as a person. But nobody likes to feel shitty.

“Can we please talk about something else? You guys asked me to show you how I do my makeup and now y’all aren’t even paying attention! If you keep this up you won’t get to see how I do my goddess highlight because I will turn the live right off!”

like you did a bit ago?? 😭

ran like a COWARD

“Yup one thing about me is, Imma leave. And that’s on period!” she swipes her hand across her throat

you should talk about the radio demon

yeA!!

TELL US MORE ABOUT ALASTOR

“No, I’m not going to do that. He asked me not to talk about him anymore,”

SINCE WHEN HAS THAT STOPPED YOU BEFORE LMAOOOO

TBH tho 😭😭😭😭😭

“I know, but it’s stopping me now. I will be respecting his wishes,”

boring

booo

be the MESSY BITCH YOU WEERE MEANT TO BE

The viewer count on her live drops dramatically, hitting Voe like s semi-truck, however, she does not react facially, only saying “Welp, guess they don’t want to see the highlight then. Nobody wants to see the way I make myself look ethereal? You guys left know that I’m not a gossip influencer right?”

yeah we know

i’m here for the makeup

do you boo boo

you still wanna be an overlord ?

“Yes I do! Thank you! I question I can answer!”

then don’t let em see you sweat babes!

________________________________________

Morning breakfast was cooked by Alastor of course, and due to her live, she came down after everyone else had been served. When she approached the kitchen Alastor’s eye began twitching again.

“Hmm,”

“Good morning,” she told him

Alastor emits a low level of static. Good morning? What the fuck was that supposed to mean. She was playing with him, she had to be.

“I can serve myself if you like,” she says

“Of course! Help yourself, just like you did to my drink!”

She tilts her head and raises an eyebrow “Hmm?”

Alastor squints “My drink, dear. Cyanide? Ring any bells?”

Her eyes widen “Oh! Husk gave me that cuz I felt crappy. I didn’t know it was yours until after I finished it. I’m sorry,”

His eye twitches further as he moves out of the way to let her get food. He stares down at her as she does. Did she think they were just going to move past everything she had done? A few polite words and all was bliss. Absolutely not, not if Alastor had any say in it. And he did.

She was the first to raise her hand during Charlie’s activity this morning, which was just to tell everyone what their plans were for the day and how they felt about them

“I’m going to head over to the theater and check everything to make sure I make the proper alterations so it can be to my liking. I am so excited If I’m being honest, I can’t believe this is really happening!” she lets out an excited bleat and flaps her hands

“I’m excited for you. Thank you Voe! That was lovely!”

“Also I’ve already told your dad, but thank you for your donation as well!”

“No problem Voe! I love this new you!”

Voe blushes very cutely “Me too,” and sits down

Did she think this cutesy act would make everyone forget the kind of person she was? She was a ferocious and deadly woman! To bodies…and hearts. Alastor shook his head, slipping out 

“Hmm so ecstatic, you’d think you were headed to the Vees,”

Everyone stares at him and Voe’s blush grows darker and she slumps into her seat

“Alastor…” Charlie says 

Vaggie shakes her head “Unnecessary,”

“What? I just made an observation,”

“We all know about her past actions, but reminding her of them constantly is helpful to exactly no one,” Vaggie “She can’t grow if we don’t let her,”

Voe smiles softly “Thanks Vaggie,”

Vaggie gives her a thumbs-up and a smile. 

“Hey!”

Alastor turns around, seeming curious “Hmm?”

Voe approaches him, a storm in her eyes “Why would you embarrass me like that?” He looks down at her “I don’t know, why would you embarrass me on a much larger scale?”

She turns her head down and closes her eyes “I’m not like that anymore,” she looks back up “Everyone seems to believe in me but you!”

“Because none of them have felt the damage of your deeds firsthand, now have they?”

She puts her hand on her forehead “Ugh I know!”

“But do you know my dear? I’ve felt your damage twice now, all in the name of your own interests,”

“Look, I am sorry, I am so sorry for hurting you. I’ve told you so many times. I don’t know what you want me to do now! You won’t talk to me! What do you want? Alastor leans down and picks up his cane “I want everyone to simply know what you are. You have them fooled, but not me. Remember, I know you. You’re a fiery, uncontrollable, ball of destruction, uncaring of who you hit with your passion,” Voe was unsure if she was being complimented or insulted. “If anything, I’m helping them to not get burned,”

She flattens her brows “Oh how altruistic,”

He places his cane back on the ground, standing straight up “Indeed,”

“Look, Alastor, like I said, I can’t know what you want if you don’t talk to me. Does embarrassing me make you feel better?”

No.

“Indeed it does,”

She sighs “Okay, whatever makes you happy, Alastor,” she says as though she is not mad, but simply disappointed

Well, that hadn’t gone the way he wanted it to, what was wrong with her? Where was the fight he had grown so accustomed to? Did she not care about this at all anymore? When looking up, he noticed another sinner, a siren, staring after Voe. Alastor merely squints his eyes and dissipates in deep-seated fury.

Voe hauled herself back to the theater. She knew that she had just been there with the cannibals, but something called her there. Another thing that she wanted for this place was an office for herself, so she wouldn’t have to stay at the hotel all day. Normally she would have loved to stay at home and work there, but it had gotten difficult to be around Alastor when he insisted on punishing her for something she’d thought he’d already forgiven her for.

She sets up her camera and her laptop and hits record.

“Welcome to my newest project. Theater saves souls and if it doesn’t save yours, then you’re doing it wrong,” 

The comments were not kind. 

that shit DUSTY

dirty af

she finna get tentanus 

But some were actually good ideas.

throw another party in the theater!

yea but clean that shit up first

Parties were kind of her thing. She liked the comment and put her phone away. She sat in a not-broken chair simply going through the list on her clipboard and ordering all the things she had written down the day before. Despite all the dust and dirt everywhere, she felt like she was in the right place. Though she knew that in a few she would start to feel all the bacteria on the ground and in the air. Each order she made felt closer and closer to this dream. She sneezed and dust flew off the seat, yes she was gonna need a shower after this.

___________________________________

“How ya feeling?” Angel asked, slipping into her room

Voe pulls up her pajama pants “Clean after being in the dust-infested theater, why what’s up?”

Angel smiles “That’s not what I was talking about,”

“What were you talking about?”

‘The thing Smiles said?”

Voe seems confused for a moment before she remembers what Angel was talking about “Oh! That! Yeah well,” she shrugs

“How’d’ya feel about it?”

“I feel like if he needs to insult and embarrass me to make himself feel better then he’s pathetic,”

Angel gives her a high-five “That’s what I’m talking about. Forget Alastor, he’s old news,” 

Voe lays back on her bed “I feel like I’m just working, is that bad?”

“No, but maybe you take some time to do non-work stuff?”

She sits back up “Like?”

Angel gives her a big grin

“What?” she scrunches her brows

“Fucking,”

She rolls her eyes and pushes him away “Oh gosh Angel,”

“I’m serious, when’s the last time you’ve had a good fucking?”

She stops and thinks “With the Vees,”

Angel is perplexed “Really? Shit! Is it cobwebs down there?”

Voe blushes “What? No!”

“Well, it will be if you don’t use it. Damn Alastor was careless,”

“That’s not fair. He doesn’t have a strong libido,”

“But he knows that you do, he don’t gotta dick you down to get you off,”

Voe squints in thought, Angel did have a point.

“Don’t make excuses for him! You deserve better,”

She stands up “Yeah, I do!”

“So go get it!

Voe glances over her shoulder at Angel with seductive eyes “I will,”

“I did a 360, now I’m back on my bullshit!” She said to her live She modeled her pink low cut back out mini dress and her hot pink pumps. “I’m going on a date, and I’m going to get fucked”

you mean fucked up??

“Nope!” she grins at the camera cackling. 

And she did, day after day, she was at the theater, and night after night she was in a mini dress and heels that ended up on the floor of someone’s apartment. Every morning when she did her yoga, she made sure that her split was on point so she could be ready for anything. Keeping herself and her day full worked wonders, but she still preferred spending time at the theater. So after weeks of having a new date every night, she decides to just relax inside her new project, waiting for the materials to arrive. She flexed and pointed her foot inside of her baby pink wedges as she waited. She ate her lunch out in the lobby so she wouldn’t miss the delivery or the cannibals helping them set up. Honestly, just sitting there was enough to entertain her, she thoroughly enjoyed this entire process. There was a knock on the door, which she was expecting, but who was behind it was not.

“Hello,” it was a male siren with grayish-blue skin and frosty white hair. Yellow eyes, and a pointy tail. 

Voe tilts her head “Yes?”

“I’m Casper and I live at the Hotel with you. I’ve been watching you for a bit,”

She squints “What an odd thing to say,”

He scratches the back of his neck “Yeah sorry, but I just wanted to offer my services working on the theater. I could be like your assistant or something if you’d like,” 

“Why?” she raises a brow

“I really love theater, even when I was alive,” he gives a shy grin

“And what do you want in return?” She crosses her arms

He looks around “Honestly?” she nods “I just want to be around you. I’m kind of a super fan. I just want to breathe your air,” he chuckles nervously

She squints skeptically, saying nothing before he speaks again.

“I’ll even give you my soul,”

Voe’s eyes widen in disbelief “Really? Just like that?”

He nods “Yes,”

She stares up at him through her lashes “Okay then Casper, give me your soul,”

[clatterbane]

That was fun. I woke up to what in context I was guessing were likely plumber noises. (Yep!)

Can't actually find when I posted about it the first time our persistent drain problem (which is down to the building plumbing 🙄) really needed professional intervention. But yeah, the main sewage drain has kept getting blocked up through nothing we can control, and it was pretty bad again when I went to bed.

(Weird backflow keeps blocking things up where our plumbing meets the main line. It's apparently at a terrible angle or something. We are also on the bottom floor, just to make it better.)

After working on it pretty much the whole time I was gone last night (not least with a bunch of drain cleaner, after going out yesterday evening to get more before the store closed). No luck, and we were hoping it would unblock overnight like it's done before.

No such luck. He came out this morning, and accidentally left one of the toilets running after flushing it again. (I think that needs a valve replacement or something, because it keeps sticking open and needing the flusher jiggled.) He can't really hear it when it is running, though the noise drives me crazy. Anyway, then he came back a little bit later to find nasty water starting to spill out into the hall. 😱

For context, this is indeed a basic Swedish standard wet room setup we're talking about, with a slightly sloping floor leading toward a big floor drain that the bathtub empties into and a lip at the threshold.

Every previously dry towel in the house is heaped in the tub now. He has actually gone to IKEA to buy more, because Out Of Towels Error. Those sodden filthy ones will also need to be hauled to the basement laundry room whenever we can book a time. 😩

That's how we get Sewage Lake going whenever that drain backs up. It just comes up that floor drain under the tub.

Similar deal in the current wreck of a small bathroom, though it doesn't have a floor drain which is why there is still some standing water after the plumber came. Otherwise a wet room setup, and (thankfully cleaner) water managed to start overflowing the sill because that was the stuck-running toilet culprit.

At any rate, he saw that little flood and was going "oh shit, we really need a plumber STAT!" when apparently some essentially condo association staff person came a'knockin' to see if we had a leak. Because someone had already reported water dripping in the laundry room right under us.

So yeah, at least this time they did arrange to get a plumber in stat! Dude apparently had to pump the horrible water out into an outdoor drain, and no wonder they were here so long.

The blockage did get successfully rooted out, and Mr. C already cleaned the big bathroom floor out with bleach so it's vaguely usable. The small one still has a bit of standing water for the moment, because Out Of Towels Error. I may have to thoroughly clean them both myself before my actual OCD feels relatively OK with not treating them like particularly nasty public restrooms in my own house.

With the disgusting flood actually breaching containment and leaking through outside our apartment, hopefully this will make them more inclined to fix that plumbing junction which is causing the issue. Can't say I'm holding my breath, though. 🤨 This has to be a long-term thing already, and I would be amazed if previous owners hadn't kept having the exact same issue. And possibly getting nasty floor water dripping down to the laundry room, which frankly may have been considered lower priority since it isn't somebody else's apartment under there.

[therosevest]

sorry it’s just. now i’m home and about to break down because i walk in and it’s the same as it ever was. the doors are all literally broken because my dad claims that my mom broke them purposefully (weather issues) and refuses to get them fixed and she does not have the money to. that’s been broken since before i last visited. our toilet still can’t run normally without leaking into the basement because my dad refuses to fix it/get it fixed and just gets angry and says we shouldn’t waste the water. that’s been an issue all year. the house smells because it hasn’t been truly deep cleaned in years. and because of my fathers health issues that he refused to get treated even though it has affected all of us in literally like having furniture to sit on. and he refuses to stop drinking which just exacerbates it. and i’m coming into this wanting to cry already because the girl that i’m idiotically falling in love with has a boyfriend that she’s just. not going to leave. why would she. she’s um. Straight (shrek voice she can’t even say slay). and i hate that i can’t just let go of the situation and keep letting myself get my hopes up that this is going to resolve in a way that i want. and i’m just coming back into this stagnant place that i wish i could relax in and at least get comfort from with my family but it’s just making me sad. and i want to go home. and i hate people that have a person that feels like home to them i hate people that have someone to miss i hate them i hate their happiness i hate their ease i hate their intimacy i hate their love. and i’m sad that i hate that but i do

[misanthropemom]

So back on the 29th of August, approximately 5 weeks ago or more, my landlord decided to "upgrade" our plumbing fixtures. What we got was, yay, a not leaking shower, easily the most ridiculously ugly and pointless kitchen faucet I have ever been misfortunate enough to encounter, and a toilet that appears to have been cranked up to jet level. The handle is almost impossible for me to push and I need to hold it for a count of three to successfully empty the bowl. Today I made my third call asking for someone to come out and fix my toilet. It worked fine, and now it does not, therefore it is broken. Seriously, it sounds like it's full of angry bees. My theory is that they wanted it to be super powerful to blast the broken sewer line clear. Because actually fixing the problem, the broken main sewer line, would be expensive. And heaven for fend they make a big outlay all at once that will result in not having to call a plumber at least every two months. I suspect that their former plumber fired them because we got a new team this time. Or they just were honest and said no you need to fix your shit. I am not happy about my toilet giving me carpal tunnel syndrome.

And I am not joking when I say the faucet is stupid and ugly. It looks almost exactly like a restaurant dishwashers faucet, and I suspect they're hoping to get pretentious people that think they're chefs, but the faucet does not go with the kitchen at all, and no chef would ever live here because the stove is electric.

Oh and there's ants all over my toilet too. And the tub closing does not work.

[itstremmy]

It's been a while but thought maybe regular blog entries might be a fun thing. I've been using this tumblr literally for years, and before this one in particular I had another that worked in the exact same way: gifs to show off my mood, thoughts and vibes. Sometimes I'd write a little blurb. I still have access to that original tumblr, though I wish there was a way to merge them altogether as one.

Anyway, back to writing and keeping an active blog. Maybe it's cause I thought since no one would read this that I never really considered putting much effort into my "journal" like summaries of my days and experiences, and yet at the same time I felt like if someone were reading this that I'd be too self-conscious to be honest and say what really happened or how I actually felt.

I think I'm passed that now. And today for whatever reason I felt like writing about the feelings I've had about my family back in Vegas. My mom, dad, and little brother are there, though, my father is close to passing away with terminal liver cancer. He was diagnosed and given months to live back in May of 2021... but he's yet to fall into that sweet sweet deep sleep, so I guess, yay? But for whatever reason I feel like I've been in a constant state of waiting ever since I found out he was soon going to die.

I've visited twice since the diagnosis and each time he's progressively looked worse. His already thinning hair turning fully grey, his body becoming what appears like a sack of skin hardly held together with thin bones that surprisingly are still carrying his weight. He doesn't walk much and when he does there's a constant threat that his knees will buckle, causing him to fall and possibly injure himself. Which makes it difficult for my mom to be away from him for too long as he'll try to make it to the restroom on his own --- the long trek of what might simply be 5 feet from his bed to the toilet. Even that short distance is enough to seem like one that might be his last.

One time while I was there my mom was talking to me in my brother's room, a good half of the house's distance away from my dad, and in the middle of our conversation we heard shouting. He had fallen. We rushed over. Despite him being very frail and light in weight it still was quite tough to pick up another adult human being. He held onto me, I got him back onto the bed without too much strain, but that moment it just felt as if he was hanging onto life by a thread.

He felt ashamed and the last memories of my dad being a strong-working painter who would take me on Saturdays to aide him on side-jobs to put up drywall, fix someone's plumbing, get on a roof and patch up some leak, those memories... slowly began to feel further and further away as I looked into his eyes and saw that particular man fade away.

I think because of this prolonged state of hism just refusing to die, I feel like I'm in some kind of limbo. That I feel despite the fact that I'll undoubtedly be taken over with sadness when the news comes my way that he passed away, that I know I'll be better for it. That my family will be better off without him, without the need to be at his beck and call. I feel for my mom since she's got no one around to help her and I'm so far away. And yet... there are times when I wish I could just escape to the support of my mother, when I'm feeling unsure, when I'm scared of the unpredictability of life, when I need help figuring out what to do. But because she's been so preoccupied for so long with her own health, my dad's diagnosis, and my brother's never-ending situation, I feel like I don't have the resource of a mom to drawn upon.

Hopefully once my dad says his goodbyes I too can move forward and see my family more often, that my mom will text more often, will send more photos and be more involved in my life. Maybe my brother won't feel as much pressure from the situation around my dad that he'll feel freer and want to talk and play games with me once again.

I don't know why I felt like writing this but on somedays I'll just be vacuuming or cleaning the apartment when I think about how they're doing, and I just wonder when things might return to some sort of normal again.

[ackerpreach]

This ending .... I can name 500 reasons and I will name them right now, because I don’t think I’m the only one who is upset with how things turned out. (Also, A positive message for all of you at the end)

MAJOR LEAKS SPOILERS/ READ WITH CAUTION

Update: after reading more theories from fellow RM bloggers, and sleeping over it one day, this entire chapter might be an april fools... Don't fully lose hope yet beautiful people. It's me just giving a review on a possible fake April fools chapter

After following this franchise since 2013, so nearly a DECADE. this ending is a pure disserve to the entire fandom. I feel like Yams has rushed it just for the sake of being done with the entire manga. So many things are left open, characters and their developemt are reverted back all the way to chapter 1 or are left even worse than that...

Mikasa’s worthless character development/ Aaronmika’s horrible toxic codependent relationship 

Oh honey... Let’s start with how horrible Isayama has treated her. We were all rooting for her, because we all felt like she was so misunderstood. She had a horrible childhood and imprinted on a guy who treated her like trash 99 percent of the story. And then, slowly but surely, she starts to realize she has to stop obsessing over him in the uprising arc with the help of a real man who treats her like a queen, more importantly, he treats her like a real human being. This man sees her for her abilities and that she has the power to be self dependent. She learned parts of herself, that she was able to work together with him like no one else could.  She learned parts of herself she was unable to do so if she kept obsessing about Aaron. All this love, care, mutual understanding and RESPECT these two shared. 

but...NAH FUCK THAT, right Yams?? Throw all this development away, all this bonding. Let’s make the main female lead even more yandere than she already was in the first season. Let her make out with his decapacitated head (like dude, this is also pure disrespect to Aaron’s dead body btw) and let her obsess even more about the guy who has treated her no better than a piece of toilet cloth 99 percent of the time. The guy who was never really appreciative in front of her for saving his ass billions of times, who always pushed her away, who yells at her and snaps at her whenever he can instead of reasoning and talking calmly with her in mature way. (EVEN PARODY YOUTUBE CHANNELS WHO DONT SHIP ANYTHING MAKE IT A TROPE WHERE AARON TELLS MIKASA HE HATES HER GUTS WHENEVER HE CAN) 

Then after all that, suddenly Yams tries to last minute persuade us Aaron’s always been head over heels for her???  He should have build their relationship better which he hasn’t even tried to do so... He must be thinking his fans are stupid for eating this from his hands.    

Like seriously??? What is this??? 

Isayama is just fully contradicting himself. It’s like someone tipped him off with a buttload of money for him to write Aaron like this to satisfy shipping needs and to cash in those extra money’s from it. Even if he tried to cater to Erem*ika, this is not how you write a loving and caring couple which people will root for. 

This next two panels just freaking infuriates me to the core of my soul. I can’t even describe how dissapointed I am with Mikasa. 

Why is she clutching that head so obsessively like that?  Why is she walking and turning her back away from her comrades? After everything they have done for her, after all they’ve been through?! After everything Armin has done? Standing up for Mikasa, beating up Aaron for hurting her. I feel like even Jean, Connie and Sasha have cared more for her in a healthy way.  Sure, Aaron cares for her romantically too apparently (What a twist Yams :)), but has he aided her to becoming a mentally healthier individual? Has he aided in her mental stability? The answer is a big fat NO!  All I see between these two after today’s raw Chapter’s are too Yandere obsessed individuals who have no clue on how to maintain a healthy relationship. 

Love should only go as far as the heart can endure and it seems like her character is not willing to be aware of that. Even Armin was able to let go of Aaron in those latest panels. Why does her entire character resolve around this guy??? I really do not understand. Her Ackerbond and her age is not an excuse for her to throw her life away like this. 

Shonen’s disgusting portrayal of women 

I’ve seen this countless of times in the many years I’ve watched anime. SasuS*ku from Naruto, Ichih*me from Bleach, Shinji and that oranged hair girl from Neon Evangelion.. Why do these women get decreased to simpletons with one single goal? And that is to obsess over a bland male lead who either treats them like trash or doesn’t notice them up until the last last chapter (LITERALLY WHAT YAMS HAS DONE). Some go even as far as the male leading wanting the kill the female love interest and yet the female lead is still in love with them???. It’s disgusting for him to write the MAIN female character this way. 

It’s dissapointing we believed in Isayama doing Mikasa’s character right. That she’s finally being able to let go of her codependency and to live for herself maybe live in Hizuru and find more about her roots???, but every single time she shows some improvement, it’s burried deep in the ground again by the Author. It almost seems like a lowkey kink of some of the male Mangaka’s to write about a girl obsessing over them no matter what. I see this so many times to the point that I truly stand behind it that some of them might have this fantasy. 

I wished he didn’t portray her last panels like this. Everyone else is living their lives while Mikasa is still grieving about him. I’m not saying she’s not allowed to grieve and everyone takes it at their own pace, but cmon... Show her living her life too. This is too much. Her being next to his grave and grieving him as her last panels just shoves it in our faces that YET AGAIN, BEING OBSESSED WITH AARON IS ALL HER CHARACTER STANDS FOR. 

I truly despise how Isayama handles her grieving, kissing his decapacitated head, carrying it around like some handbag, and her last panels being thissss.

The world leaving Paradis alone miraciously after all that??? 

It’s so weird and out of place with so many political feuds and disagreements between the world and Paradis, the entire Rumbling happening and we can see Mikasa just chilling outside in Paradis with no one bothering them. You can see the rings of the walls in the picture below.  I don’t know the exact reason behind as the manga is still in Korean, but from what I see, the story went the route of: throwing a happy ending without enough proper reason and  it was all fixed just like that in a snap! It doesn’t fit the entire narrative of attack on titan for things to be so peacful out of nowhere. When it comes to the narrative, how things work in that world, how hard it is to achieve peace, everything made somewhat sense up until chapter 138. 139 seems so so out of place...  It’s like I’m reading a chapter from a totally different manga. 

Aaron Yoghurt got defeated so easily/ Aaron’s character assassination

The build up on the first part of the rumbling was great, those kids carrying coins. You could feel humanity’s fear and Aaron’s hatred in those pages. As if he truly had a goal and he has turned away completely from his comrades and his closest friends with no return. The world seemed truly doomed, but he  got defeated just like that. He was in the nape all this time (because screw the warhammer power of hiding yourself elsewhere in his ginormous titan body). There is no master plan as we all expected, and in the end he just acts all yandere in the paths with Armin and that’s it... They massacared his entire character as well. Many fan theories created a better ending with his character. Him being reincarnated as Historia’s baby would be so much better. For him to still keep on seeking and to strive for power. It has always been his motive. It’s his personality from the start until chapter 138. Even if things are okay, to keep on going and to seek that adventure, but then.. He’s so weak and directionless suddenly.. It’s so weird... This is not Aaron at all???

Using Aaron for him this entire post, because I don’t want others to invade our tags... :)))

Historia’s baby 

The only panel we got from Historia’s child was this. Just a normal kid, normal life... Why did Isayama put so much effort in highlighting Historia’s pregnancy if it was nothing too spectacular anyway? It seemed he had major plans for this kid and for their development too??? It’s again, big plans, big developments, big relationship dynamic, but all  got thrown out of the window... 

Don’t read the next sentence if you are a minor :’) 

It’s like almost ejaculating, but stopping right before it and repeating that every single Arc.

My energy when writing about this chapter is the same as Nostalgia Critic and his hatred for atla the live action

In Conclusion...

I know us fans should not be deciding on how this story should end, because this is Isayama’s story after all, but I truly wished for him to wrap up things much more rounded. There are so many unanswered questions... Again, I think for the sake of being done with this manga, he rushed all of it. He’s become a millionaire from this story and now his pockets are jammed full, I guess he doesn’t need to put in any effort anymore, right? Perhaps a controversial opinion, but I really wished he cared for his fans a little bit more with this last chapter by giving some answers that make sense at least. It’s his fans who gave him this platform and the opportunity to tell his story and for him to at least give in a bit of effort especially in the last chapter is the least he can do. Rivamika being canon or not, he truly rushed it without thinking much about the entire story line. He expanded it so much, he didn’t know how to bind it all together.

Even after all this, I’ll still ship them in the headcanon type of way. I do give credit to Isayama for giving us a template for such a beautiful dynamic between Levi and Mikasa. He decides to waste it, but that doesn’t mean we have to.  I want to thank all the people with amazing writing skills, the ones who give us beautiful art like @carmenlee @phit chan @vialesana​ and many more. I want to remind all of you that we can create something beautiful of our own and we don’t neccesarily need canon lore for that. The art I’ve seen, the fanfictions I’ve read have touched me deeper than Isayama ever could at times.The Mikasa in our mind is appreciate of Levi, is mature, classy and has a strong will for herself. They spend their remaining days together peacefully. Keep writing, keep drawing, stay creative. 

I love you all so so much, I’ve only been publicly active since March, but thank you Rivamika fandom for giving me so much joy as a lurker these past 7 years <3

[joe-england]

The Anti-Muse.

That's what I call it.  It comes in various forms, whatever takes me away from my work.  Negative feelings, obsessive-compulsive distractions, or just mundane obligations.

You ever have one of those Summers when everything needs to be fixed?  The stove exploded, we had to sell a car, we're babysitting dogs, the deck needs painting, the gutters had to be repaired, the garage has to be emptied, and the backyard....

We have a pool.  And a spa.  Which makes it sound like we're rich or something, but we're not.  So when a huge branch fell on the pool cover during a winter storm and tore it all up, it was a headache.  But then we have to OPEN the pool when the weather turns, because otherwise the whole thing goes to Hell, and it's a chore.  Then it springs a leak that lowers the water level by several feet, which is a problem.  So then we have to order a water truck after getting someone to repair the lining, which is going to have to be entirely replaced next year, which is a bother.  Then the motor dies, so the algae grows, and we have to get a replacement, which is a nuisance.  Then the computer which controls the motor has to be replaced, which is a twist of the knife.  Then the water level stays low and I gotta fill it intermittently with a hose, which is a hassle.  Then I accidentally leave the hose on for too long at a stretch and our well gets drained so we have to avoid flushing the toilets for half a week, which is nasty.  Also, the spa somehow sprung a leak too and will also need to be repaired, which is a joke.  And we still haven't fixed the pool cover, because the pool company changed management and the people who work there got terrible, terrible illnesses, which is honestly tragic.  So now I'm struggling to talk with the pool cover company directly, but of course the thing is so old that no one can figure out when it was ordered and they won't return my messages and it'll be at LEAST another month before we can close this damn water hole for the winter, which is daunting.  And then the bills start coming, and that's some brutal money on top of NY State taxes.

I don't even LIKE having a pool.  I haven't set foot in it this whole year, but I have to go out and rescue bugs and animals that fall into it constantly.  I can flick the spiders and ants and beetles back onto the grass, but salamanders and frogs need to be relocated, so I gotta trudge through the backwoods all the way to a stream to deposit them in a better place, which is awkward since a big damn tree fell on the forest path and I gotta brave the tick-infested marsh to get around it.  Yeah, we need to take care of that tree, too.  Add it to the list.

Woof.

Hey, don't mind me.  I just feel awful about not giving you more content so I'm waving my arms in the air a little, but I'm hyping myself up to start the new comic before the year ends.  It still seems kind of impossible, but interim projects are helping me feel capable again.  Actually, I already started a comic, but I'm not sure you would approve.  It's fan art, which is something I really never do.  I hope it's alright with you, I'll show it off when it's closer to done.

I've also been writing the last footnotes of the Omnibus (believe it or not), and I've got a particular passion project for the Halloween season, which I hope you'll enjoy.  See, I'm working!  I'm not always posting, but I'm working!  On one thing or another!  You'll see the fruits of my labor soon.  If I can just beat the Anti-Muse.

That said, today is a heavy day for a lot of us for far more significant reasons than anything I listed above.  I can gripe about housework and art and distractions, but this is the anniversary of something that still affects many people very deeply.  If that's you, then I send my best wishes.

As usual, I'll provide a few links if you have the inclination and means to help make things a little better for someone, somewhere.

Thanks for listening.

Everytown for Gun Safety

Top-Rated Charities for Ukraine

The Trevor Project

National Abortion Funds

- Joe

[beccascribbles]

after their defeat against karasuno, aoba johsai deal with the repercussion of their loss, ft y/n as a manager.

warnings - swearing

word count - 3.0k

a/n - to be honest, i wrote this for my own selfish indulgence because i honestly have so much love and respect for this team. i hope you enjoy it!

The final whistle blew. You felt numb as you looked at the scoreboard again, the final set count at 2-1 for Karasuno. Shock was evident on each member of Aoba Johsai’s face. Oikawa was frozen, his arms outstretched to dig the ball. It was the most still you’d ever seen them. You felt a strangled cry rise in your throat, and hurriedly swallowed it down. You could not break, not now. Across the court, your eyes met Iwaizumi. You knew what you had to do, be the manager, offer them the support they so desperately needed.

So, at the side of the court, you began to clap for your team. “That was a really good game. You’ll get your revenge next year.”

The words provided little comfort to you and your fellow third years, your shared dream of finally making it to nationals shattering before your eyes. At the very least, the first and second years were able to pull themselves back together, beginning to move to their end of the court to thank Karasuno for the game. Spurred into action by their kouhais, the third years, Oikawa excluded, made their way over to the rest of the team. He stood still, looking over at the other side of the court. Your gaze followed his, falling on the younger setter that Oikawa had so desperately wanted to beat. You weren’t sure what was said between them, but, when Oikawa spun back around, you could see the determination in his eyes.

“No matter what I say, the results are what they are,” said Coach Irihata, the players arranged in a loose semi-circle around him. You stood near the third years, a hand resting on Oikawa’s shoulder as you gave him the physical support he desperately craved. It was clear he was close to breaking, trying to hold his emotions in to be the supportive and collected captain the team deserved in that moment. He shot you a thankful smile. “The bitterness cannot be watered down either. You probably have plays that you will keep regretting. But still, first and foremost, let me say this: you all fought well.”

At those words, Watari and Kindaichi burst into tears, probably replaying the crucial moments within the game where they could have performed better. Meanwhile, you watched as Hanamaki’s and Matsukawa’s faces crumpled, quiet tears beginning to roll down their cheeks. You glanced over at Iwaizumi. He was tense, fists clenched at his sides. His face was fixed in an angry expression. You realised, with a bite of bitter disappointment, that he was blaming himself for the loss. Concerned, you reached out to comfort him, abandoning Oikawa to silently wrap your arms around Iwaizumi’s waist. He remained stiff in your hold, arms hanging at his side.

Oikawa cleared his throat. “Let’s go greet everyone in the stands.”

Iwaizumi marched off, easily breaking out of your hold. You watched him walk over, heard the sob of frustration he let out and stared as he stood frozen in place. You met Oikawa’s face, the worry you felt mirrored in his eyes. He marched over to his friend, giving him a hard slap on the back as he walked past. This jolted Iwaizumi from his thoughts and he stared after Oikawa. Hanamaki followed Oikawa’s example, giving him a firm slap on the back. Matsukawa came next, giving Iwaizumi’s back a brief pat as he walked past. No words were needed. Seeming to snap out of it momentarily, he wiped his tear-streaked face with his shirt before joining the line.

As they thanked everyone for watching, standing in silence to the claps of the spectators, you began to pack away the bags, gathering everyone’s things together in preparation for a quick exit.

And, together, you left the gym in silence. 

After making your way down the hallway for a little bit, a figure came sprinting towards you, tears leaking from his face. You recognised him. Yuda, one of the third years who hadn’t made the starting line-up. “You guys were awesome! You were so strong! You guys basically won! You won!”

“Yuda...” you sighed, stepping forward to calm him down. Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind by Sawauchi and Shido, who yanked him backwards. 

“Yuda! What are you talking about?”

“Calm down!”

“I agree,” you said. “You need to get a grip of yourself.”

He burst forward, dodging past you to grab at Iwaizumi, who had come to a stop behind you. He grabbed him by the hair, beginning to shake him back and forth as he let out a strangled cry of ‘Hajime’.

Oikawa, Hanamaki and Matsukawa watched the scene unfold before them.

“Man... seeing Yudacchi seriously calms me down,” observed Oikawa, as he watched his childhood best friend get shaken furiously. You supposed it was meant to be a form of comfort, but it didn’t seem to be that effective. From what you could see of Iwaizumi’s face, it was twisted in a scowl.

“Yeah...” agreed Hanamaki.

Having seen enough of your friend being shaken from side to side, you interfered, carefully extracting Yuda’s hands from Iwaizumi’s hair. “Please calm down, Yuda. Some of us have played a game and are looking to enjoy some good food, not be shaken by you as you cry... as much as your concern is appreciated.”

And, if breaking up that interaction wasn’t enough, you had tasked yourself with putting Kindaichi’s mind at ease. His composure had lasted for only a couple more minutes before he was blubbering, snot running from his nose. The plastic bag you held out to him was full to the brim with used tissues...and it didn’t look like he was going to be stopping anytime soon.

“Look, Kindaichi, it wasn’t your fault,” you said, wrapping your arms around him so he could sob against you. “You are in a team. And here, we fail and win together.”

“I know,” he hiccuped. You pulled away to look at him. His voice was thick with emotion but he seemed to have calmed down slightly, tears now under control.

“Okay?” you asked, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“Okay.”

The sound of something colliding with the floor caused you to spin on your heels to head immediately in that direction. The majority of the team were already waiting to board the bus and you had been sent to round up the stragglers. As you turned the corner, you were greeted with a familiar head of blonde hair kicking repeatedly at a bin. With some relief, you noted it was empty. You weren’t particularly looking forward to the idea of scooping up someone else’s rubbish.

“Kyoutani,” you called softly, beginning to walk over to him. You could feel the anger and frustration rolling off him. He turned to look at you, a scowl on his face. Slowly, like you would with a scared animal, you held out your hand. “We’re leaving now. Let’s go to the bus together.”

He looked at your hand, at the gentle smile on your face. Turning away, he gave the bin one more violent kick that sent it careening down the corridor in the opposite direction that you would be going in. Gruffly, he said, “I’m not picking it up.”

“Okay. Are you going to come to the bus with me?”

Letting out a huff, he nodded in assent. That was all the confirmation you needed to finally grab his wrist and drag him down the corridor with you. You bit back the lecture you wanted to give him on damaging other people’s property, deciding to speak to him about his behaviour the next time the opportunity arose. It would hardly do him any good to be scolded at this moment.

“Thank you very much for the food,” you said, bowing slightly as a bowl of ramen was placed in front of you. You had just finished the rounds, making sure everyone had got their food before returning to your seat at the counter next to Hanamaki. Managing this team was so exhausting sometimes, and you deserved this. Eagerly, you began to tuck in, only vaguely aware of what was happening around you.

A shout caused you to snap to attention, eyes falling on Oikawa, who was leaning over Hanamaki. “Shut up! I need to eat right now!”

Food was flying from his mouth. Subconsciously, you leaned out of the spit zone, grabbing a pile of napkins before you rose from your seat. Wordlessly, you handed Hanamaki a few so he could attempt to clean the food sticking to his face, pointing him in the direction of the toilet in case he needed a more thorough cleaning or the assistance of a mirror. Then, you fixed your attention on Oikawa. You slapped him around the back of the head, causing his hand to shoot up to clutch the sore area.

“y/n-chan!” he whined. “That hurt.”

“Seriously, Tooru, how old are you?” you snapped. “Two? Is this really how you behave while eating out? I don’t care if you’ve just lost to Kageyama. This whole team lost and you don’t seem them acting in such a childish manner.”

You decided to ignore the fact that Kindaichi was currently crying into his food as he apologised to Matsukawa for something that had happened in the game. Oikawa looked down, avoiding your gaze. He pouted. “That still hurt.”

“Good.”

“I think you should kiss it better,” he suggested, brown eyes finally flicking up to meet yours.

“Hajime!” you called. Iwaizumi looked over at the two of you, clearly wondering what Oikawa had done as the boy was currently flapping around nervously.

“No, Iwa-chan, don’t worry,” he cried, shooting you a glare in the process. “y/n was just being funny.”

“Sure,” you shrugged. Turning around, you shot Iwaizumi a thumbs up. “It’s all been taken care of.”

The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow over the sky. You embraced the team one by one, giving Kindaichi an extra squeeze before letting go and joining the third years.

“Shit!” spat Oikawa as he walked past. “Shit!”

You raised your eyebrows, cocking your head slightly as you watched him. You figured it was about time he properly exploded, considering his weak attempts to hold it together in front of the younger members of the team.

“That’s his 53rd ‘shit’ today,” observed Matsukawa in what could only be described as an emotionless tone.

“You’re still counting?” you exclaimed, smiling teasingly at Oikawa as his head turned slightly to glance over at the pair of you. “I stopped after the 23rd one. It was getting bothersome recording each one.”

“At least he’s not constipated.”

“He’s definitely a shitty guy, though.”

“Well, shit, I’m pissed off!” exploded Oikawa, whirling to face you.

“54th,” you muttered loud enough for him to hear. He shot you a glare with no real malice, which surprised you considering how frustrated he was right now, before continuing as if you hadn’t interrupted.

“We definitely had a team that could’ve made it to nationals this time.” He wasn’t wrong there. Over the course of the three years, you'd watched them train, offered them support when they had fallen at the last hurdle each time. Confidently, you could say that this team was worthy of a spot at nationals.

In a dry tone, Hanamaki commented, “Well, even if we made it, we might’ve gotten our asses kicked right when we got there.”

Oikawa looked at him for a moment, incredulous. You couldn’t quite stop the snicker that escaped your lips as Oikawa said with utter confidence, “No way!” and continued to berate Hanamaki on his negative outlook.

“To be honest, if you couldn’t beat Shiratorizawa, Takahiro has a point,” you stated. Then, Oikawa whirled on you. His words were so quick you could barely distinguish one from the other. You winced at the hurt look on his face. “I admit that might’ve been too soon.”

Silence settled over the group after that, you moving forward to walk beside Iwaizumi. Concern had you furrowing your brows slightly. It was clear to anyone who could see his face that the young man was angry. Trying to interject some cheer in your voice, you clapped him on the back, “Come on, Hajime. Brighten up! Your forehead wrinkles are way too intense. Do you want to ruin that smooth skin of yours?”

“I know, damn it!” he snapped, refusing to look over at you. “Can you just leave me alone, y/n? Please? I don’t want to piss you off or hurt you because I’m too angry at myself to think straight.”

“But...”

“Just stop.” He moved away from you, returning to his previous state of intense anger. You looked over at Oikawa, the only other person you thought may be able to pull him from his current state. Oikawa nodded at you before beginning to speak in a calm voice.

“Sawamura-kun’s receives, Baldy’s follows, Goatee’s spikes, Watacchi’s receives, Mad Dog-chan’s follows, Tobio’s direct attacks, and Kindaichi’s blocks... Everyone was giving 120% back there. But, in the end, Karasuno was just slightly above us! Just a little bit! But most of all, Iwa-chan, you should praise yourself for hitting that set with absolutely perfect timing.”

You felt yourself growing emotional. Shit. He wasn’t even speaking to you but you were close to sobbing like a baby. You brought your top up to wipe at your wet eyes, blinking furiously to stop the tears from breaking free completely. In support, Matsukawa wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into him. You leaned into his touch, grateful to your friend for providing you with the support you needed in that moment.

The words had the opposite effect on Iwaizumi. If it was even possible, he looked even more furious than before. “This all pisses me off even more because both the toss and my timing were absolutely perfect!”

Oh, brilliant. Now Oikawa was getting heated, his cheeks flushed with colour. “Damn straight! But you should yell at me more for not being able to get that last ball even though I reacted to it! I’m way more pissed off!”

With a growl that was almost feral, Iwaizumi picked Oikawa up off the ground and threw him. He landed a couple of metres away, looking mildly disgruntled but not hurt.

“I would love to know why this turned into a competition,” you said, crossing your arms and shooting a glare at Oikawa. After all, it was him who had gotten fuelled by Iwaizumi’s anger. Although, you had to admit, it had diffused the tension by a fair bit.

“Nice spin.”

“Good form, Hajime. But, I think I’ve seen you throw him further.”

“Can’t say this was your best work.”

“Anyway,” said Matsukawa, putting a stop to the teasing as you all followed his gaze, which was focused on the school building, “weren’t we heading home?”

Needless to say, the third tears found themselves back on the volleyball court, this time with you joining in with the game. You weren’t the most talented player considering you were only the manager, but it made sense for the third years to play one last game together before parting ways. You were panting. A little game. That was what you thought. But, a little game had turned into one that dragged on for over an hour.

“Holy shit!” you yelped, narrowly missing being hit by a serve that Oikawa had sent over. It slammed off the ground next to you, hitting the wall behind you before rolling back to gently hit the backs of your legs.

“Oikawa, stop spiking for real!” yelled Matsukawa, clearly agitated. It had been bad enough when he had been on the receiving end. Iwaizumi clearly shared the same sentiment.

“Seriously, Shittykawa, are you trying to kill us?” he questioned, glancing over at you to assess your physical condition.

“All I know is that was one spike serve too many for me,” you said, holding your hands up in defeat as you walked off the court. While they continued to play, you picked up the stray balls, packing them away. When that was finished, you simply collapsed onto the floor to enjoy watching your friends play together like this for what was probably the last time.

“We should probably start cleaning up soon before someone comes to check why the lights are on.”

This spurred you all into action, with you running to grab the mops while they began to take down the net. When you rejoined them, moving to give Yuda a mop, Oikawa began to speak. “Guys, do you have a second?”

Everyone turned to look at him. Hanamaki seemed to catch onto the direction the conversation was taking, reaching out a hand as if that would stop the words from coming out of Oikawa’s mouth. “Hey. Don’t do it! We’re trying to end this on a good note! Let’s just let everything end peacefully!”

“Shut up!” cried Oikawa, his voice thick. The tears began to pour down his face before he could stop them. “Thank you for the last three years!”

You stood in silence as he let out a whimper, the tears rolling down his cheeks. It honestly broke your heart to see him like this. He’d worked so hard with one goal in mind - to make it to nationals and prove you didn’t have to be a prodigy to succeed. The mop you were holding clattered to the floor with a bang as you sprinted towards him, throwing your hands around his neck as you pulled him into you. His hands wrapped around your waist, holding you closer as he shook. You were fairly certain you were shaking too, the tears rolling freely down your own cheeks.

“Damn it,” sobbed Hanamaki, his cries joining those of his already weeping teammates. “I told you...”

Iwaizumi was the first to join your hug, one arm going around Oikawa’s shoulder as his other wrapped around your waist. His head came to rest against yours, his tears mingling with your own as they fell. Matsukawa and Hanamaki were the next to follow, arms wrapping around your shaking forms. The other third years came last, forming a ring around your group, with you and Oikawa at the centre.

It was hard to believe that it was finally over. The last three years with this team were over, soon to become memories that you would look back on fondly and with love.

In truth, you couldn’t have asked for a better high school experience.

[notsafevorework]

i wish i bitch WOULD ask me "what if YOU were aborted?" i fucking should have been.

No, like seriously. my mom dated my dad to piss off her parents. she was on birth control and was right out of high school getting ready to start college, but then she got pregnant.

my mom had dreams, she didnt like my dad. she didnt want a kid and her birth control failed and she decided she wanted to abort, but my dad convinced her to have me. told her hed change and get a job and wed be a happy family. and then my moms family found out about the abortion and forced her to have me and told my mother if she didnt she would go to hell and theyd never speak to her again.

when i was born my father had to be convinced to go into the delivery room. my mother was told by our families paster that because her and my father werent married i was doomed to hell and that i needed to be put up for adoption to hide my families shame, but for some fucking reason my mom decided to keep me and a year later that paster was fired after he was found with his secretary bent over in his office while his wife was home with cancer.

now the thing is, i dont give a fuck. my childhood was awful. i was raised by two children who hated each other and both had dreams they were excited about and worked for and had to give up. i spent nights alone in front of Roseanne wishing they were my parents. poor as shit but cared. i started taking care of myself at 4. navigated around a house where water leaked into the air vents and flooded the house when it rained. taught myself ways to put myself to sleep and read myself bedtime stories like i was my parents as my mom slept in the bathtub of vomit water clutching a bottle. duct taped and toilet papered injuries that very much required a hospital visit but my parents were too busy or fucked up to care.

when i turned 18 both my parents within a week and without speaking to one another before it told me they were sorry they always hated me, but they said it in a way where everything should have been fixed. like we could be a happy family now that i knew they never loved me.

and shortly after my dad sent me "im sorry i always hated you, i just couldnt look at you without seeing your mother" he sent me "ya know im glad i talked your mom out of that abortion. you turned out to be a great kid" and that was the night of my third game over attempt.

so yeah, i would have loved to have been aborted. i didnt ask to be here. i didnt ask to ruin the lives of all the people i did. and i should never have been forced to live like that or raise myself so someone could feel warm and fuzzy inside or whatever the fuck they make people have kids for. ive been here for over 20 years and ive done nothing. and im not posting this as some sympothy to get a 14yo ive never met to reply "youre important to me :)" ive literally done nothing. im no longer in danger of hurting myself after all these years, but i can honestly say i really did wish i had just been aborted.

[pixieungerstories]

Quarentine - 1

They always say ‘buy the worst house on the best block that you can afford’ and god knows this place was a total shit hole.  1200 square feet on an overgrown lot surrounded by McMansions.  Hell, I paid less for the place that the land was worth.  I’m amazed someone hadn’t bulldozed the place years ago.

To make a long story short, I did not look a gift house horse in the mouth.

I mean, it wasn’t a total write off.  None of the windows were smashed.  There were mature fruit trees in the backyard.  If you ignored the weeds and rotting fruit, there was a lot of potential.  The plumbing was lead pipes and the electrical was knob and tube, but I know people and I could trade favours to get that replaced.  The foundations were good and the roof barely leaked.

I spent the summer camping in a tent in the back yard and slowly getting the place winterized enough that I could move it.

It was still a creepy ass house when I did.  It had a boiler.  I had no idea how to deal with that, but I was learning.  And I learned how to ignore the whistles, hissing and banging sounds that went with having a boiler.  The old rads were cast iron with pretty little details in the corners.

There were holes in the plaster, but I just ignored them.  It wasn’t worth fixing when I was going to gut the place and put up drywall eventually.  It just made it easier to get at the plumbing.

I started just living in the kitchen and ignoring the rest of the house.  I had disconnected the rest of the electrical and plumbing and was using that as a home base while I renovated outwards from there.

There is nothing quite as creepy as sleeping in a sleeping bag on what were probably asbestos tiles in an old house that makes the weird noises that old houses make.  I kept reminding myself that they only seemed louder than normal because the place was empty and there was nothing to muffle the sound.  The shrieking had to be the upstairs window that didn’t quite shut properly.

I had the feeling that something was watching me and prayed to god it wasn’t rats.

I was in this for the long haul.  Get up, shower at the gym, go to work, come home, renovate until it gets dark, shower at the gym, camp out in the kitchen.  Not exciting, but satisfying.  Let’s face it, this was the only way I was ever going to be able to afford a house.

When the work from home order came, I had to actually get a phone line installed so I could have internet access.  Me, my laptop and a kitchen table I rescued from the curbside a while back.

The creepy feeling was worse.  I told myself it had to be the isolation kicking in.  I skyped with my best friends at night to make up for it.  The power was still a bit dodgy and kept going out, but that’s what laptop batteries and cell phones are for, right?

I was sure the cough was from the dust.

The guy delivering groceries left them on the sidewalk instead of the porch.  It was fine.  I understood completely.  I hadn’t done much work on the outside of the building at all. 

I realized I was sneezing a bit when I started having to use toilet paper as kleenex.

I was fine.  I was young and healthy.  I didn’t have any sick days at work so I was determined to just push through.

I tried to get more rest.

I dreamed about something laying a cool hand on my forehead.

The grocery store was out of thermometers.

I mean, did it really matter if I had a fever?  I wasn’t leaving the house to share with anyone.

My cough got worse overnight.  I was vaguely aware of someone lifting me up and holding a cup of cool water to my lips.  I was so fucking thirsty. 

“You shouldn’t be here,” I mumbled.  “I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I won’t,” a rumbling voice assured me.

I didn’t remember making soup, but I jolted into awareness sitting at the table with a steaming bowl in front of me.  Chicken noodle out of a can.  It’s not that hard to make.  I’m sure I could add water and heat in my sleep.  Apparently, I just did.

I was so cold that night.  I don’t know where the extra blankets came from, but they were there in the morning.

I don’t know how I ordered a bed while I was sick, but it was there and on my credit card.  So was the mattress and sheets.  It must have been the fever talking when I ordered them.  I would not have picked out anything that old fashioned looking.

How did I get all this stuff up to the second floor bedroom?  I’m sure I don’t remember stripping the paint off the closet doors.   I must be losing my mind.  I slept, I ate, I stopped logging in at work.  I just needed to concentrate on getting better.

By the time I was able to stay awake for more than an hour at a time, the city was shut down.  I was confined to my house whether I liked it or not.  I was suddenly glad my fever addled brain had ordered a bed while I still could.  

The watched feeling was worse.  I ordered some rat traps with my groceries.  I didn’t catch anything.  They didn’t take the bait.  I swear I heard snickering when I checked them in the morning.  That was a new sound for the boiler to make.

“I am losing my mind,” I repeated to myself.  Then blushed when I realized I had said it aloud.  “And yes, I also talk to myself,” I added for good measure.  “At least it is some sound,” I muttered.  “I should turn on some music or something.”

Work was officially shut down but I still had the dumpster outback.  I spend my awake time cleaning out the other rooms.  The advantage of living in a construction zore was all the dust masks.  When I needed to actually go out, that might help.  In the meantime, I carefully sorted through the things the previous owners had left behind.  Some of it was just trash, but there were some old photographs, lost buttons, even a single antique earring.

“No chance of finding a pair, I bet.  Still this could be made over into a necklace or something.”  Shit.  I was talking to myself again, wasn’t I?

I still got tired easily.  I dreamed about my mom stroking my hair as I slept.

The footprints I couldn’t explain away.

I had taken down a section of wall and spent the day carrying out the chunks of plaster before microwaving a pizza pop and tucking in early.  In the morning there were footprints in the dust.  They weren’t mine.  They were huge and it was hard to believe they were human.  Weird long toes, with the claw tips a little in front were not what I was expecting.

That was the first time I had wanted to leave the house.

I grabbed my stuff and made it to the front yard before I was spotted by a passing patrol car and ordered back inside.  I had no idea how to explain that I thought there was some sort of monster living in my house.  I was shaking as I went back inside.

“Hello?”  I called from the doorway, ready to run.  I had no idea where I could even run to.  “Um…  Is anyone there?”  I don’t know what I was expecting.  “Hi?  Um ….  I bought the house, I didn’t know there was any … thing living here.  I have been trying to fix it up.”

“I know.”

Fuck.  The scratchy, rasping bass voice was not what I was expecting.  “I … uh…  I can go back to camping in the yard,” I suggested.

“No.”

I waited to hear if he (?) was going to say anything else.

Apparently not.

“Uh … no I can’t stay here?  Or no, you don’t even want me camping in the backyard?”

“If I didn’t want you here, I would have had many opportunities to get rid of you.”

Shit.  That wasn’t ominous or threatening at all.

With a low chuckle the voice asked, “Did you mean to say that out loud?”

I froze and tried to remember what I had said.  Oh.  “No, that was an accident.  I’m not used to having anyone around to hear me.”

“I always hear you.”

I closed the door and went out to sit in the garden for a moment to think about that.  I ended up pacing, swearing and wishing for a cigarette.  I hadn’t smoked in years.    The sun started to go down and the bugs came out.  I was being eaten alive outside.  Going inside was scary but he was right.  He had lots of time to …

I flung open the door.  “Did you order furniture on my credit card?”  I demanded.

The laughter that rang out was a whole other level of creepy.  I shivered and thought about going back outside.  The door pulled itself closed behind me.  I spun to look at it and didn’t see anything.  I could hear something breathing. I turned again.  Nothing.

“If we are both going to live here, can we at least agree on some ground rules?”

“Like what?” was almost purred in my ear.  Looking around wildly, I still couldn’t see anything.

I was shaking now.  “Is there a way for you to be less scary so I don’t have a heart attack?” I squeaked.

There was nothing but silence.  Still my sense of the presence suggested it was gone.

I didn’t sleep that night.  I would just start to nod off then jerk myself awake and look wildly around the room.  I never saw anything.

Six am, my alarm went off and I could smell coffee.

All the dust had been swept up.

“Hello?” I whispered.

Nothing.  I had coffee and cereal and tried not to think about my surprise roommate.  I was so tired, I passed out at my computer in the kitchen at some point that morning, only to wake in bed upstairs in the afternoon.  “I don’t want you to touch me while I’m sleeping,” I mumbled, painfully aware that there was dick all I could do to stop it.

“Alright,” the voice said, coming from somewhere in the direction of the closet.  “But don’t fall asleep at the table then.”

I breathed a faint sigh of relief.  I wasn’t expecting the next part.

“You need to eat something now.  You are still recovering.”

There was a can of soup heating on the stove.  My breakfast dishes were gone.  I found them clean and dry in the cupboard.  “Thank you,” I whispered.  He didn’t reply.  As I ate lunch, I was psyching myself into going upstairs to look in the closet.  The door had been painted shut when I got the house, but at some point had been stripped down to the bare wood.

I hadn’t worked up the nerve by the time I was done eating.  Or washing and drying the dishes.  I found myself at the bottom of the stairs staring up at the second floor.  Did I really want to see what was in that closet?

No.

But it would be better to look during the light of day.

Eventually, I made it up there.  I put my hand on the knob and tried to turn it.  It didn’t budge.

“You want rules?” the voice growled behind me.  I spun, there was nothing there.  “Do not open that door.  Do not come into my space.”

I went from trembling from nerves to bolting down the stairs in an instant.  I nearly tripped, but felt something - him? - catch me and set me on my feet.

“Careful,” he purred.

I spent the rest of the day in the garden again.  I was still out there when the sun went down and the back light turned on.  Then the kitchen light and for a moment I could see something outlined against the antique curtains I hadn’t replaced in the kitchen.  I tried to remind myself that he wasn’t necessarily that big.  He might just be closer to the light and casting a bigger shadow.

I didn’t believe it, but I tried.

I crept back into the house like a scared child who wasn’t sure how angry their parents were going to be after they had done something wrong.  I turned on all the lights on the main floor and stayed in the kitchen away from the stairs.

“Planning on staying up all night?”

I jumped.  “How are you always behind me?”

“I live in the shadows.  Go to bed.”

“Um…  I was thinking, that should be your room, really.  Your closet.  You picked out the bed.  I can just camp down -”

“No.  Go to bed.”

“Do you really think I’m going to be able to sleep in a room with a closet that must not be opened?  I have read Blue Beard, you know.”

“So have I.  The wife gets the house and lives happily ever after.”

“The last wife does,” I pointed out.  “The first dozen or so didn’t.”

He chuckled at that.  “We made a deal, remember?”

“Are you teasing me?  What deal?”

“I don’t touch you in your sleep.  You don’t sleep in the kitchen anymore.”

“How big are you?”

The lights flickered and went off.

“Do you want to see me?”  he purred, so close that I could feel his breath on my neck.

“Not in the dark,” I squeaked.

“Go to bed.”  

The light snapped back on, leaving me blinking.

I spent the night sitting on the bed with my back pressed against the headboard trying to see the whole room at one.  Eventually, I fell asleep.

My alarm did not go off at six.  It had been turned off.  The coffee was ready but not turned on when I went down stairs.  The air smelled faintly of solder.  There was a post-it stuck to the coffee maker.  Fine copperplate handwriting told me:

I have replaced the plumbing

I stared at it dumbly.  I had replaced the plumbing to the kitchen sink and the downstairs powder room and had been washing out of the sink since I had been forced to stay home.  The only other plumbing was down to the washing machine in the cellar and the upstairs bathroom.  I pushed the button on the coffee maker and slowly crept upstairs.

Sure enough the stack of copper pipe waiting in the other bedroom was gone. 

Well, not gone.  I could see it installed through the holes in the walls.  I turned on the tap to the sink and sure enough, I had water.  I now had an upstairs, working bathroom with a clawfoot tub.

And no walls.

“I don’t like the idea of you watching me bathe,” I called out.  Then I felt like an idiot because if whatever it was had voyeur tendencies, it could have been watching me for months.  I tried all the taps and the toilet.  Everything worked.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, unsure if I was talking to myself.

“You’re welcome.”  It was the least creepy, most normal thing I had heard from him.

----

When I got back downstairs, there still wasn’t coffee but there was a new note:

Humans who do not sleep start to hallucinate

I crumbled it up, threw it across the room and jabbed the on switch on the coffee maker.  Nothing happened.  I growled as I plugged it in.  The power went out.

“Oh come on!  Withholding coffee is cruel and unusual punishment!”

“Sleep.”  It sounded like the whole house had murmured that last bit.

I wish I could say I handled it gracefully, but I didn’t.  I stomped back up to the bedroom like a petulant child.

I woke to bright sunlight streaming in through the window.  The house was quiet and it felt empty for the first time in days.  I had a bath and washed my hair and I felt better than I had in days too.  Clean and dry and dressed, I bounced into the kitchen to try and turn on the coffee again only to see my laptop snap shut.

It was with a lot of trepidation that I opened it.  I was expecting a ridiculous online purchase which is why I stared dumbly at the screen unable to process what I was seeing.

It was a CGI woman with her hands tied to something over her head being railed by a monster who was fingering her clit with one hand and fondling her breasts with the other while her belly distended in rhythm with his thrusts.

“Ugh!  Dude!  You can NOT watch porn on my laptop!” I shrieked as I frantically tried to close the window.

“Would you rather I watch you?” he asked calmly from somewhere to the left of me.

I breathed out a shaky breath.  “OK.  Let’s talk about private browser windows and how not to get a computer virus.”

When I got to the end of my tentative explanation, I asked, “Do you need … some alone time?”

There was another house shaking howling laugh.

“Is that a yes or a no?”

“You need to eat.”

That brought up a whole other issue.  “Do you?  Eat I mean.  Do you eat?  What do you eat?”

“Don’t worry about me.  I am not going to eat you.  Unless you ask nicely.”

I blushed even further but got out a pan and a skillet meal from the fridge.

I spend the rest of the afternoon weeding the garden.  I came in when it got dark, heated up my leftovers from lunch and tried to figure out what to do with myself.  The nap had meant that I wasn’t tired for the first time in days.

I wondered what he would do if I watched a movie.  I hunted through the cupboards and found a bag of microwave popcorn from before the virus started.  Right! I thought.  Bowl of popcorn, a movie, skype with a few friends.  Pretend none of this was happening.

I wasn’t surprised when the lights went out.  That was just a thing now.  My computer was still illuminating a bubble around me and B99 was still hilarious.

I wasn’t expecting the bed to dip next to me.  That once again raised the question of how to deal with him around others.  I hit the mute button.  “What are you doing?” I asked icily.

“Not touching you.  What are you eating?”

“Human food.”

“Hmmm.”

I unmuted my computer to answer Penny’s question about how stir crazy I was going.

“12/10 on the looney toons scale,” I offered.

She just laughed.

All of the popcorn was gone.

“Ah hell.”

“What’s wrong?” Penny asked.

“All my popcorn is gone,” I grumbled.  I didn’t add that I had more than half a bowl left a moment ago.  Not eating me, I reminded myself.

“That sucks.  Need to pause and get more?”

“I don’t have anymore.”

She just laughed, “But do you still have toilet paper and hand sanitizer?”

I chuckled, “Toilet paper, at least.”

“I should go.  It’s getting late,” she said with a yawn.

“Yeah.  Good night.”  After Penny signed off, I just let Netflix autoplay the next episode.

“Do you need to sleep?” The whisper seemed to come from the direction of the closet but the bed was still dipped under his weight on my other side.

My heart leapt to my throat.  “How many of you are there?”

“Just me,” he purred too close to my ear.  I flung myself away from him and toppled out of bed.  Two hands caught me.

Two other hands caught my laptop.

I stared as it was placed back on the bed a little way in front of me.  The hands on my arms were cool and smooth.  “What are you?”

“I am me.  I have not asked your name.  You will not ask mine.”

“My name is on the mail.  And my credit card.  You know my name,”  I pointed out keeping my eyes locked on the screen, fighting the urge to look around.

“Nonetheless.”

This wasn’t going to work, but I had to try.  “I would like to be alone now.”

The bed shifted as the weight was removed from the side.  The black shadows that could be fingers moved from my computer.  The voice said, “Good night” from the direction of the closet.  

I sat frozen.  “In the morning, I’m moving the bed to another room.”

“Why?”

“Because the closet is yours and it’s scary being here with you,” I admitted.

“I have never done anything to harm you.”

“You scare the shit out of me multiple times a day.”

There was a long pause before he replied, “And yet you haven’t left.”

“The city is on lock down.  I can’t leave.”

“Hmm.”  

I jumped as my laptop snapped shut.  I fumbled in the dark trying to find it on my bed, “What are you doing?” I demanded.

“Taking this downstairs.  I will not bother you tonight.”

“What-” I started to say, then snapped my mouth shut as the realization that this may be his ‘alone time’.

This time the “Good night,” came from the bedroom door.

In the morning the only thing in my browsing history was netflix.  This was less comforting since I had shown him how to clear the cache.  I told myself at least the keyboard wasn’t sticky.

[handsome-john]

Community Gardens

Guess who’s finally dragged themselves out of writer’s block hell and is using this energy to fix the terrible lack of Hanahaki fics in this fandom! Check reblogs for ao3 link if you prefer reading that way

Relationships: Rhack, with some Timoxxi in the back ground

Words: 3621

Warnings: Blood, vomit, strong language, and sexual humor 

Summary:  It was a rose, complete with a thorny stem. It was soft, delicate, beautiful, and drenched in blood.

Handsome Jack did not fall in love. Sure he slept around, maybe had a few candle lit dates, once even playfully kissed a co-worker on the cheek while a little tipsy. But he did not fall in love. 

  Sure Jack fell in love plenty of times. Even married twice and almost got married a third time before Nisha had the common sense to walk out the door. But Jack died long ago, in a godforsaken vault on that godforsaken moon. 

  All that was left was Handsome Jack. Powerful, rich, and sexy CEO of Hyperion. Who did not fall in love with anyone! No one at all. 

  Handsome Jack told himself that every night. But that did not stop the soreness in his throat or the tightness in his lungs. It didn’t stop the constant flow of rose petals he coughed up each night.

  Handsome Jack did not fall in love. He plunged head first into it, just like Jack plunged into that vault all those years ago. And just like that vault, the only thing Jack would gain from love is disappointment and permanent scars. 

  He didn’t realize he’d been zoned out for the past half-hour until the hot piece of ass Jack called his PA snapped him out of it.   “Your coffee, sir.” Rhys said, handing him a mug with Jack’s face on it. “I made it as sweet as you, sir.” 

  The coffee was black, just how Jack liked it. He gave him a smile that was all teeth. “You’re lucky I’m too lazy to find another personal assistant as good as you, pumpkin. Anyone else would be getting an up close and personal look at my airlock for that kind of sass.”

  “I know sir,” Rhys said with the tone of someone who knew exactly how important they were, and the smirk to match. 

  Do you really? Jack wanted to ask. Do you have any idea how important you are to me?

  Rhys made Jack feel vulnerable, and he had the charm and personality to make Jack not even mind. He had Handsome freakin’ Jack wrapped around his little cybernetic finger and there was nothing Jack could do about it. 

  Well there was one thing. But Handsome Jack didn’t do that. Even if he wanted to. 

  He was snapped out of his thoughts once again by another coughing fit. His throat had been killing him all morning. It’s the worst it’s ever been and the strangest part was that there hadn’t even been any petals yet. Sure he was grateful, wouldn’t want to spit bloody sunflower petals all over Rhys’s stupid asymmetrical shirt, but it was odd. 

  “Are you alright sir?” Rhys said with concern so genuine it made Jack’s stomach twist into a knot. 

  “I’m freakin’ fine-” He wheezed, sounding like a dying dog. He gripped his desk for support, coughing his throat raw. 

  “I’ll go get some cough medicine!” Jack didn’t want to be alone at the moment, but he’d rather Rhys not see what happened next. 

  Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, definitely seeping under his mask and splattering across the desk. The burning in his throat made his eyes water, like he ate a cup full of razor blades. No scratch that, a cup full of razor blades would be preferable to this.

  He jolted forward, retching when he felt something tickling the back of his tongue. It was soft, like a tissue. It was also very good at hitting every single one of his gag triggers. 

  He knelt over his trash can and shoved two fingers into his mouth. He was desperate to get whatever the fuck that was out of him. 

  The pain intensified tenfold as he tugged. Black spots danced in his vision. God he was pathetic.

  Finally there was a soft snap and Jack threw the wet thing onto the floor with a soft splat. He grabbed the bin and hacked up petals and whatever he ate for breakfast. With his stomach emptied, Jack laid down on the floor, the cool tile nice against his burning face, and examined whatever the hell he just coughed up. 

  It was a rose, complete with a thorny stem. It was soft, delicate, beautiful, and drenched in blood. 

  Of course it was a fucking rose. 

  The door opened with a whoosh, alerting Jack that Rhys was back. He quickly threw away the rose and whipped his face. Hopefully Rhys wouldn’t notice all the blood on his desk, or floor, or in the garbage can, or leaking out the side of his mask, or…

  Okay so he was screwed.

  “What the hell happened!? Jack! Jack, do I need to call anyone!?” Rhys knelt by his side, gently shaking the man on the floor.

  “I’m fucking fine kiddo.” He grimaced, his body screaming at him to shut the hell up. He tried to sit up, but a firm hand on his chest stopped him. 

  “You should lay down. Rest your head. What happened? Is there a doctor I can call?” 

  “No!” Jack growled. He hated doctor’s. Last time he went to a doctor for anything more than a shot or a regular check up was when he was getting a mask grafted to his face. He hated their pitying looks and how they treated him like glass. He could never trust a doctor. 

  But he trusted Rhys. Rhys had only worked for Jack a little over five years. But in those five years Rhys had gotten closer to him than anyone else. Jack trusted Rhys enough to open up about his daughter, his sweet Angel that was off with another pair of sirens learning to use her Phaseshift powers. 

  Could he trust Rhys with this? It wasn’t like he had much of a choice because the more he thought about Rhys, the itchier his throat felt, until he was sputtering out sunflower petals. 

  Rhys’s expression was hard to read. A mix of horror, realization, and sympathy. “Oh… Oh no.” 

  Oh no was a pretty good way to describe hanahaki. It wasn’t contagious, but it was extremely easy to catch. There was no cure, at least no cure that was worth it, but with advances in modern medicine it wasn’t deadly. 

  There were three levels of severity. Tier one which was common in kids with schoolyard crushes that would really go anywhere. It usually only involved petals. Tier two is what you had to worry about, coming from the kind of crushes you could actually see yourself marrying. Sore throats, difficulty breathing, and small flowers.

  Tier three was the worst kind. While the flowers and vines themselves won’t kill you, suffocation and blood loss will. There were medicines that could get rid of the stems, and small surgeries to help the lungs, but completely removing the flowers could be extremely detrimental to both your physical and mental health. 

  Tier three hanahaki came from deep love that was surly unrequited. But that’s just what the ECHOnet told him. And what did the ECHOnet know. Handsome Jack did not fall in love.

  Sure his doppelgänger fell in love, but Tim wasn’t Jack, even though Jack was paying him to be. Tim was actually where he learned about hanahaki. It happened after they met Moxxi on Concordia. 

***

“Does anyone have a bottle of bubbly I can smash against this thing?” Jack asked as they prepared to launch the Meriff’s statue-head into Pandora’s asshole. “Ah nevermind. Go ahead and fire!” 

  Nisha cackled as she slammed her hand onto the launch button. The remix played as it zoomed off. 

  Jack glanced around, noticing one of his vault hunter’s missing. “Say have any of you seen Timmy around? He was supposed to be here for this!?” 

  “Lost track of him after we spoke to Moxxi.” Wilhelm said, which was probably one of the longer sentences he’s said yet. 

  “I think I saw him run to the bathroom. Probably to deal with a ‘little problem’ of it,” Nisha said with an exaggerated wink. 

  “He’s going to have bigger problems in a minute.” 

  Jack made his way over to the bathrooms, fully ready to chew Timothy out. “Tim! You better not be Jacking-off in here!” 

  He heard Tim groan in pain and ran over to his stall. He found the doppelgänger kneeled by the toilet, face first in it. Jack let out a low whistle, feeling a twinge of sympathy.

  “Moxxi rope you into having one too many drinks?” He paused, noticing a trial of magnolia petals. 

  Tim looked at Jack and coughed, spraying petals across the floor. 

  It wasn’t hard to figure out it was hanahaki. Looking up “coughing up flowers” really only has one result, not including weird fetish porn. 

  “It better not be Moxxi.” Jack said, threat emanating from his voice.

  Tim had a bashful look on his face that Jack would never be caught dead with. “She’s just so pretty. And smart! She’s a mechanic and she looks cute even witho-” he whimpered as more petals filled his mouth.

  It only seemed to be a tier two case, still it would be annoying if Tim was kept from work just because of some flower petals. Though it would also be annoying to watch his ex and his doppelgänger get all mushy and gross together. 

  Somehow the tiny little piece of him that felt bad for the doppelgänger won out. 

  “Okay fine. Go for it.”

  “Huh?”

  “You’ve got my charm and good looks. You can win her back no problem.” 

  Tim smiled, wiping the drool and petals off his face. “Thank you sir! I won’t disappoint you sir!” 

  That night Tim fell in love. But Jack was not Tim. Handsome Jack did not love. 

***

After Jack refused to see a doctor, Rhys decided to assign himself the role of caretaker, starting with getting Jack home. Handsome Jack wasn’t sure why Rhys insisted on supporting him as they made their way up to Jack’s penthouse. It wasn’t like his legs were broken. 

  Rhys laid Jack onto the couch. “Stay here and rest. I’ll make tea, it'll help with your throat.” 

  “Fine fine.” Jack wasn’t even sure if he had tea. He was more of a coffee man. 

  He didn’t usually bring people up to his penthouse for social calls, if you could call whatever this is a social call. Actually he never let anyone in here that he wasn’t planning on fucking or killing. The more he thought about it, the more likely he would probably end up doing one of those things to Rhys. 

  Rhys returned, handing him a teacup. “This will taste bitter, but it helps with the sore throats and the thorns.” He smiled at him. A soft smile that made Jack feel weirdly vulnerable, like Rhys could see right through him and still wanted him.

  Jack shuttered, his throat burning when he thought of Rhys. It was coincidence of course, Jack was not in love with Rhys. 

  He took a slow sip of the tea and forced back a gag. “God you weren’t kidding when you said bitter!” 

  Rhys winced. “Normally people add a bit of honey to help with the taste, but I couldn’t find any and I was in a hurry.” 

  Jack stared at the swirling grey-green liquid and decided a bad taste was better than a sore throat. 

  “How do you know so much about this shit anyway?” 

  Rhys sat down and rubbed the back of his neck. “I had a friend that had a chronic case of it. I learned a lot helping them out.” 

  “Oh… How long did your friend have it?” 

  “Five years.”

  “Damn. How does someone live that way.”

  Rhys shrugged. “You get used to it. Eventually taking pain meds and hiding flower petals in your shirt becomes as normal as waking up every morning and going to work. You adapt.” 

  Jack wasn’t sure what to say, which was probably a good thing since it was killing him to hold a conversation this long. Rhys stood up, signifying that this conversation was probably over anyway. 

  “I’ll make dinner. Something soft. Do you have ice cream? I guess obviously you probably do. I’m going to walk away now.” 

  Jack pretended he wasn’t staring right at Rhys’s ass as he left. Rhys always seemed confident at work, when he was making phone calls and chewing someone out for Jack. But the few times Jack had caught Rhys outside of work he was a whole different person. Jack could certainly understand putting on a mask.

  Speaking of masks, god his was itchy. He trusted Rhys, but he didn’t want to take his mask off around him. Rhys would be disgusted, probably be asked to be transferred to a different part of Helios. Jack would probably have to kill Rhys in case he tried to use his secret against him. 

     No, the reasonable side of Jack protested. Rhys never once tried to manipulate Jack. Sure sometimes he would hackle Jack about a raise, but he never once used Angel against him, or slipped a little alcohol in his drink so he’d be more agreeable. Hell the kid hasn’t even tried to get in bed with Jack. And at this point, shooting your shot with the Handsome Jack, might as well be in the job description. 

  Jack wheezed as he coughed up hyacinth petals into his now empty glass. Why hadn’t Rhys ever made a move on him? It wasn’t like Rhys was afraid of Jack. Is it possible Rhys just doesn’t see Jack that way?

  No that’s impossible, Jack’s vanity said. Everyone in the ship, no matter the sexuality, wanted a piece of Jack. And Rhys’s feelings didn’t matter either way, because Handsome Jack did not fall in love. 

  Rhys, the pure angel, returned with a bucket and a tub of chocolate ice cream just in time to catch the hyacinths Jack puked up. 

***

“You know this would be easier if you took off your mask,” Rhys said softly. 

  “You’ve said.” Jack growled, plucking petals out of his drink. Jack didn’t remember when Rhys dragged him over to his bed but that’s where he’s been the past couple of days.  

  “I just want to help you. I promise I won’t tell a soul. It just can’t be good for you to wear it this long.” 

  Rhys had been up in Jack’s penthouse for a week. Jack refused to see a doctor and his condition was slowly getting worse. Rhys did what he could, but what Jack really needed was a doctor or to confess his feelings. 

  It hurt watching his boss and friend, at least Rhys hoped they were friends, in so much pain. For many reasons. His most selfish reason was that he was sure that whoever Jack loved, it definitely wasn’t him. 

  Jack gave him a cold look that made Rhys’s stomach twist for many reasons. 

  “Fine I understand. I’m going to go make dinner.” Rhys got up and made his way over to the bathroom instead. He kneeled over the toilet, jacarandas spilling out of his mouth. At least they aren’t roses, he thought bitterly. 

  Jack insisted that he could eat solid foods just fine, but Rhys knew from experience that probably wouldn’t be a good idea without proper medication. 

  Proper medication that Rhys hadn’t had access to in a week because he’s been at his boss's beck and call ever since he watched Jack hack up three bloody roses on the floor. 

  His condition was getting worse, he could feel it. He’s had to step out more and more to deal with his problem. And just being around Jack in itself made his condition worse enough. 

  It was only a matter of time before it slipped out and Jack threw him out. God if only he could just get over his stupid crush. 

  Rhys was careful not to get kalmias in the smoothie he was making. He’d have to go shopping soon too, they were running out of supplies. Though Jack probably got everything delivered. 

  Jack glared at the cup in Rhys’s hand. He was tired of eating out of a straw. But at least Rhys seemed to know what he was doing. 

  He was running out of time and he knew it. It was only a matter of time before he suffocated on petals, or the roses and sunflowers fucked up his throat beyond repair, or worst of all, he accidentally confesses his feelings and scares Rhys off. 

  Why was Rhys staying with him anyway? It wasn’t like Jack asked him too, and Rhys wasn’t getting paid for any of this. Is it possible Rhys could like him back?

  Jack immediately regretted letting himself go down that train of thought. He could feel a sunflower pushing his way up his throat. Sunflowers were the worst. Sure less thorns, but god were they huge and seemed to come up the most. 

  Rhys frowned sympathetically, reaching out to massage his throat. Normally Jack would murder someone for getting so handsy, but he wasn’t in any position to snap at him. Besides it was helping. Has been helping for the past few days.  

  “Jack! Please let me remove your mask.” Rhys said, trying to be soft. This felt big and it would certainly help if there wasn’t a mask in the way. 

  Jack glared, trying to push Rhys away against his better judgement. In his defense he was loopy from oxygen deprivation. 

  Rhys sighed, future him could deal with the consequences of reaching out and undoing the latches and throwing the mask onto the floor. Rhys tried not to let his gaze dwell on the deep scar running down Jack’s face. He focused on soothing Jack and keeping him calm. He could feel his own throat tightening with petals. 

  Slowly he helped Jack up, bringing him down the hall to the bathroom. Petals were already seeping from Jack’s scarred lips. 

  Jack could feel the sunflower’s head hit the back of his mouth, making him gag. Rhys brought him into a kneeling position over the bowl. Jack shoved his hand into his mouth, trying to yank it out, also against any logic. 

  Rhys winced as he pulled out a sunflower the size of his head. It would be beautiful if it weren’t covered in blood.  

  “Remember to breathe through your nose. Doesn’t try and force anything out. Just relax your throat and let it all fall out.” Rhys kept his voice calm, an emotion he absolutely did not feel. He grabbed his stomach, suddenly going into a coughing fit. Shit not right now. 

  Jack wasn’t sure what he felt as he watched Rhys spit out kalmias. Well he didn’t know what he felt besides pain and envy. 

  “Shit!” Rhys said, once he got it out of his system. “I’m sorry!” 

  Jack grabbed the front of Rhys’s shirt and pulled him in, locking their lips together. Rhys froze, his brain lagging behind everything else. Was Jack kissing him or was he finally dying and his brain was making him happy before he goes. 

  Jack wasn’t thinking at all. It wasn’t a kiss out of love, Handsome Jack did not love.

  Okay fuck it, Jack was stupidly in love. Stupid, stupid, stupid feelings! Rhys already loved someone else and was probably going to run off as soon as Jack let go. 

  So just never let go, Jack’s possessive side said. Jack hugged Rhys tighter, kissing him harder.

  So this was real. Rhys melted, having trouble keeping up with the kiss. Tears spilled down his cheeks, he wasn’t sure if they were his or Jack’s. He felt his lungs twist and he shoved Jack back.

  Five years of roots were coming up all at once. Rhys braced himself, grabbing Jack’s hand hard enough to hurt.

  Jack was about to say something but was interrupted by a sudden lurch as his own roots forced their way out. They weren’t as deep, but it still hurt like a bitch. 

  After several minutes of hacking up repressed feelings, they both collapsed on the floor. 

  “So…” Rhys said, cringing at how his voice sounded. “How’d you get that scar?” 

  “I don’t want to talk about it,” Jack said, voice squally scratchy. “I don’t want to talk at all.” Jack cupped Rhys’s cheek and pulled him into a kiss, and Rhys happily let him. 

  Maybe Handsome Jack could love, just this once. 

***

“There you two are! I’ve been trying to contact you for days!” Timothy said, glaring at his boss. “You can’t just say you need me to take charge of Helio’s for a while and then not give me any information! And where have you been!?” He points at Rhys. “You’re supposed to fill me in on what’s going on. I’ve been winging it for a week!”

  Rhys gave him a nervous smile, taking Jack’s hand. The action didn’t go unnoticed by Tim who was starting to deflate. 

  “I told you I was sick.” Jack said. “Rhys was taking care of me.”

  “Whatever. Just don’t complain to me about all the work you have left over. And don’t forget to pay me.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I’ll ECHO you later. Don’t you have a girlfriend to run home too?” Jack really just wanted some alone time. Well alone with Rhys time. 

  “Fiancée.” Tim corrected. Jack could tell his dopplegӓnger was blushing slightly under his identical mask. “I’ll see myself out. Congrats on finally getting together.” 

  “Finally?” Rhys asked, but Tim had already skipped out. 

  “Don’t mind him.” Jack said, kissing his cheek in an oddly gentle way. “We have work to catch up on.”

  Rhys smiled, pulling Jack into a kiss. “I’ll get your coffee then, sir.”

  Jack shamelessly stared at Rhys’s ass as he walked off. Yeah this could work out. 

[prorevenge]

Mock my mother’s death? I bankrupt you.

So this could be a very, very long story. I’ll try to summarize where and when I can.

My now ex-wife Kate and I moved to an apartment in 2010. The house as a whole a renovated town house split between two sides with two apartments on the bottom and two apartments upstairs. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the apartment as it was a much older building that I had ever lived in but I quickly adjusted to the wood creaking throughout the night. On the initial walkthrough we noticed that the only problem was that there was a dip in the bathroom ceiling. The landlord, Jay, promised he would get fixed ASAP.

One year to the day when we moved in there was a loud crash at 4AM. The bathroom ceiling had collapsed and there was tiling and wood all over over the floor and in the bathtub. Now Kate was typically the aggressive one, while I was more passive and laid back, and she kept calling Jay throughout the day. When she got in touch with him at around 9PM she explained what happened and insisted that it be fixed immediately. He rebuffed with him yelling that his girlfriend was a lawyer and he didn’t need to do anything. Now this is where I got mad. I went outside and called him myself. I feigned a relaxed demeanor and at first he began trying to talk to me as a “bro” and kept saying “Dude, I’m gonna get someone out there but it’s gonna take a few weeks..” When he couldn’t sway me that way he began yelling about his girlfriend and her knowing the law. What he was unaware of was that I had read the tenant laws in my state and so as he tried to lie I waited until he was finished and I recited the law stating that, if an apartment was considered uninhabitable then the landlord needed to pay for the tenant to stay in a place until it was resolved. He tried to say that our upstairs neighbor Phil was the super but he wasn’t sure if he could get down there that night. He put me on hold, then came back a few minutes later and said that Phil and his girlfriend were out of state. I rang Phils doorbell and asked, with the Jay on speakerphone, if he was assigned as the super. He laughed and said “No.” Dejected, he said he would have people out there the next day (previously he said they were busy for at least three weeks). There’s more to this incident but it lead to two conclusions:

If you’re going to lie then there has to be a consistency in your lie AND make sure that the people you lie to DON’T communicate with each other.

This is where a feud started between me and my Kate versus him and his mother (she was the original landlord and gave the house to him so he could begin to profit.)

So forward to a year later. Jay stopped coming to the house and his mom began doing the pick-ups. Around this time my ex- and I had been laid off and we were working with social security for food, health, and housing insurance. We were approved for all three in April but we would not get the check until May. When our typical check wasn’t in the landlord’s mailbox he immediately gave a summons saying that he was taking us to court for eviction. The day we went to court he had no lawyer and, going before the judge, here’s the summation:

Judge: Does the defense have a means to pay within 90 days of non-payment? Us: Yes judge (hands over paperwork showing that he will be paid for April and May) Judge: I see no problem. They are breaking no laws. Why are we here? Jay: Well your honor, they have been bullying- Judge: I don’t care, unless they are breaking a law then this case is dismissed.

Suffice it to say Jay and his mother’s were NOT happy. Around this time in my life things were tumultuous. My mother, who had been battling lung cancer succumbed to it in June . This happened at roughly the same time his mom came knocking looking for payment. I explained that I would leave it in the mailbox when we got back from the funeral home and to please just respect my right to mourn. She took her fingers and began rubbing them together, pretending to play the smallest violin.

I will never forget what she said next “Oooh, my mommy just died. Woe is me. She probably had it coming. I don’t care if your entire family is dead. I want my money.” She smiled smugly, proud with what she had just said. I saw red and my heart jumped into my throat. I went, grabbed the check, and handed it to her in absolute shock that anyone would say something so...fucked up? She had finally managed to push a button that very few people I’ve known throughout my life have seen. I went into rage mode but not in the way you would expect.

THE REVENGE: We were always told that if a health inspector came by to not open the door. I waited until Aug. since that was when the lease was going to run out and we knew they would not extend a renewal. I walked up the block to town hall to ask for a health inspection of our property. It was scheduled for several days later. Now it’s important to know several things:

I was friends with all of the tenants. Phil had moved out with his fiancé but the new tenant was Dani upstairs in our side. Tom and Hana on the other side of the downstairs floor had moved out and Jay was still looking for new tenants. The only one who wanted to stay out of this was Rose on the upper right apartment.

I had gotten a key so I could let the inspector in Dani’s apartment and I knew that I could use the back staircase on the right side to let him in on Tom’s, now vacant apartment.

I also knew that Dani was moving out in September along with Kate and myself.

The inspector came and it was glorious. He checked the exterior of the house first noting that wires were exposed, there was an old empty dryer along with other odd clutter in the backyard. I bought him inside the shared entrance and, as I was counting on, he noticed that the last inspected dated back to 1994; 18 years. This meant that for each year he did not have an inspection there would be appropriate fines. For our apartment we had black mold growing in our bathroom and the bubble in the ceiling had begun to grow to problematic proportions. Upstairs, Dani’s apartment was suffering from leaks in the ceiling and it looked like her bathroom ceiling was also on the brink of collapsing. We then went to the basement. The boiler was on the verge of exploding, there was flammable items along with gasoline and a pack of matches sitting right beside it. Two things that I did not know was 1. The fire door that separated the two sides did not close all of the way rendering it moot and, on the right basement side there was a toilet. A toilet that had blown up. It had coated the surrounding walls and the leakage prevented us going up to the floor via the right side. The entire time the inspector was photographing and writing constantly.

We stepped outside and he said he needed to come back. When I asked why he said he had run out of space to write down all of the infractions (he had filled the front and had written an entire page on the back portion). I kindly and coyly asked “Well, how much will it cost right now?” He scratched his head and said “Around 20-30k from what I can see but it’s probably going to be higher as this house was never licensed to be split into apartments.” I thanked him and he was going to come back with the county inspector.

So we moved out and but I got the rundown from Rose. Because he was the current owner he owed all current fines and no one new could not move into the empty apartments until everything was up to code. Because three out of four were vacant he was losing 4,500 in potential rent. He handed the property back to his mother and had to claim for bankruptcy. Now here’s the other thing. Every time an old tenant left and a new one was coming in an inspection was supposed to be done. Now that all of the financial burden fell on her they looked into the records and was she was fined for each time she had broken that rule 750/per. By the end of the year Rose had moved out so the place was hemorrhaging money. I sat back, proud of what I had done, and left it be.

Haha, no, fuck that. I wasn’t close to done yet.

I felt like I had destroyed Jay but my real target had always been his mom. I learned that she had about eight properties throughout three towns in my county. I went to each one, spoke to the tenants, and said I was a concerned tenant from another property and asked if they had any problems with their apartments. EVERY person I asked described the apartment in very poor to intolerable levels and that the mom was effectively a slumlord. She would ignore problems unless someone turned to litigations, she was threatened that they would summon the inspector, or, more often than not, the people would move out, she’d refuse their deposit, and sink those into repairs. People rarely fought back because she knew that the occupants were of upper, lower class minorities. So, being the concerned person I was, I want to the inspector of the other two towns and asked for an inspection to be done with at least one, if not more, would be awaiting the inspector when they came. Turns out that she faced pretty much the same infractions on every apartment she owned. It turned out she actually had 12 apartments but I initially only knew about the ones that fell within my county. The remaining properties in the next county over were given a heads up for a surprise inspection. From what I can tell Jays mom had been in the landlord business for about 35-40 years. That collapsed quickly.

Since we moved literally one block down the road from our old one I got to see Jay lose his primary source of income and have to claim bankruptcy BUT also saw that his mother was also trying desperately to find a buyer for all of the apartments so she could pay off the fines. I learned two years later that she too had to file for bankruptcy. Jay and his mother camped out in front of our next apartment two days in Oct. of 13 before she filed for bankruptcy (I’m guessing to scream at me and/or Kate) so I called the cops and said that there were strange people standing in a no parking zone and they kept looking up at the second floor. A cruiser swung by and told them to leave.

I know I should have used the two months I spent monitoring everything to find a new job but this was the one and only time I wanted to cripple a person where they hurt the most; their wallets. I think I got my point across. None of this would’ve happened if you had just fucking fixed the ceiling before it collapsed Jay!

Th;dr: Had a couple of slumlords, they pushed me to a place where I snapped, and so I went a bit crazy and bankrupted the slumlord AND his slumlord mother as well.

(source) story by (/u/Theliterside)

[good-rwbyaus]

honorable-asshole asked:

Au where Whitley has actually been running the bank accounts since he was young and keeping the group financially viable

#Rising Snow AU   - [ first ]  [ next ]- mod lilac

7. Red

The Schnee Dust Company was hemorrhaging money. He would’ve thought it absurd a couple days ago - couldn’t believe the profit margin graphs he saw at first demonstrating worsening debt every year. It was to the point where the company may very well collapse in just a few scant years if the trend continued.

His first thoughts were that the graphs must be all lies. How could the SDC be on the verge of going bankrupt? The Schnee Dust Company was practically a household name - because there was no one else people can turn to for their Dust needs. A monopoly in every sense of the word. They were successful both at home and abroad with branches everywhere, even in Vacuo where the populace outright hated them. Why were they losing money? 

Was this why Father meticulously scoured everything involving the budget? 

He tapped his finger against the table, the milkshake Klein had provided having turned soupy a long time ago. Those fingers moved to massage his temples, eyebags from lost sleep causing his vision to blur. He gritted his teeth and punched the table with a loud bang. 

Why was his father going off taking vacation when there was a very real chance his company was going to keel over and die?!

Why were they still having extravagant monthly banquets, costing millions of Lien when they were on the brink?

How could things have gotten to this point?

Wait, why don’t people know about this? 

Something like the Schnee Dust Company about to go under was big news.

He looked into the glowing computer monitor, gritting his teeth - knowing he’s probably not going to like what he’s going to find. 

____________________________  

8. Trust

“Klein. Is father reachable right now?” said a pale Whitley, breath smelling acrid from the dry retching he did earlier in the bathroom earlier.

“I’m sorry, young master,” Klein replied apologetically, “your father has always been out of contact when he’s on vacation.”

Damn it. He knew that, but he had hoped... It was a stupid hope. Even back when his sisters were around - even when his eldest sister got badly injured from training, his father had never left a method of contact during his vacation. What made him think that would change? He felt like he was going to explode from what he learned.

He needed to talk to someone. This was a problem too big for him to handle, but the only one who he can talk to...

He stared at Klein whose eyes changed to a bright blue, staring him with...concern. Something he’s never seen in his father’s eyes.

“Young master, are you feeling okay?” 

Even the man’s words of care, said frequently, were never said by his father even once. It...was honestly something he’s always taken for granted. Until now.

“Klein, I need to talk to someone.”

“If you nee-”

“You can’t let father know about what I’m about to tell you,” he cut Klein off, staring at him straight in the eyes.

Without skipping a beat, Klein replied, “Young master, so long as you say so, I will not relay a single word to your father without your permission.” 

“...There was never a test, was there?” he let it out there.

The butler hesitated for a moment before nodding his head.

Whitley took a deep breath.

____________________________

9. Downhill

“This company is a landmine with the amount of debt that’s been accumulating,” Whitley pinched the bridge of his nose, “And when it explodes, it’s not going to just affect our family. It’ll affect all of Atlas, maybe beyond that.”

“Tens of thousands of people are going to die when this company folds over. And I can’t figure out how to stop it.”

Whitley agitatedly stalked back and forth as he clenched his fists back and forth, his only audience of Klein quietly but attentively listening.

“And Father’s content on just ignoring the prob- No. He doesn’t care. He’s cooked the books enough to make it look like we’re only barely in the red - enough to demand subsidies from the government to help prop us up instead of causing the state of emergency that would happen if we were to reveal how badly in the red we are now.”

He stomped his foot.

“But that solution is not sustainable. We’re just pouring water into a sieve, and I cannot solve this problem. The only one who can solve it is intent on just getting what jollies he can from the company and leaving.”

He never thought he would say that about his father, but the evidence he perused through several days of scouring didn’t lie. His father, from the very start, only cared about making sure he had all the power but didn’t care about anything else beyond his fancy dinners, expensive vacations, and his appearance. 

Cautiously, Klein made his opinion known.

“Young master, have you ever thought...that this problem may not necessarily require you in particular to solve it? You could always repo-”

He shook his head vehemently at Klein’s suggestion.

“And then what? The Kingdom of Atlas has always been merciless to those that disturb its order - the Schnee’s are only tolerated because we have both the power and the resources to both help and contend with them,” he gritted his teeth, wiping away a dampness in his eyes with a sleeve.

Klein opened his mouth to say something, but he could only cut him off.

“Don’t argue with me on this point. You haven’t attended those high-class dinners. They’re all snakes maneuvering to get the biggest piece of the pie. If we report the SDC’s situation to the government, all those snakes - the government, the biggest of all - will just slice the SDC into bite-sized pieces under the guise of management, and we’ll be left with nothing.”

“Father will probably go to jail. Weiss will likely be asked to leave her school in disgrace. Maybe Winter will be left unscathed, but that’s only because Ironwood admires her skills; she won’t be able to protect us. Mother might even have to join Father in prison, even though all she’s been doing is drinking her days away and doesn’t care about anything anymore.”

He couldn’t help the bitterness in his voice at the last bit. Yeah, she’s a horrible mother, but she’s his mother. 

“Even if father is content to let this company go to ruin, I won’t let it. I can’t. Even if I have to fix every stupid problem from gross corruption to a leaking toilet myself, I will not let our only shield against the world break in my hands.”

“..But I just don’t know where to start,” Whitley finished bitterly, “Or who to trust. I’m smart enough to know when a problem’s too big for me to handle. I’m good at numbers. I’m good at reading people. But I’m not nearly experienced enough to fix the problems that need fixing all by myself. ” 

“I feel like we’re going to capsize and drown, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.” 

[ next ]

[five-miles-over]

Heyyyy I saw you take requests for Willie, I'm so happy!!! we really lack fics with him. Could you please write an imagine (or HC ) about Willie needing comfort, he feels lonely, perhaps rejected and judged by most people around him and reader comfort him pretty please? can be pure fluff or end nsfw. Thank you so much and I really love your writing <3

Hi, @darknessisafriend ! Thank you so much for your request and your compliments (and thank you for your patience as well). I’m starting to enjoy writing for Willie, and I’d love to do it more often. Hope you like this fic, my friend :)

The Light Blinking at the End of the Tunnel

Pairing: Willie Gutierrez x Reader

Warnings: swearing, mentions of violence, references to the film The Yards.

"I suppose you want to ask me why I killed him,"

You lowered your eyes while Willie took a large bite of a pizza slice, chewing slowly and glaring. Almost as if he dared you to say something back to him, knowing fully well that you weren't expecting him to get so defensive all of a sudden. The surprise was clear in your body language - the shortness of your breath, the partition of your lips, and the way your eyebrows curved - that you'd never even thought about how dangerous his past could possibly be.

———————————————————————————————————

Ever since the blackout a few months ago, when you'd accidentally knocked on Willie's door to borrow some candles, he had become your closest confidante, possibly your only ally in your new neighborhood situated the shady heart of the Bronx.

The two of you bumped into each other again in the hallway another morning after that fateful night. That time, you exchanged phone numbers and promised again to hang out sometime. At the time, you told yourself that he was just saying those things to be nice to you, that he couldn't really be serious about spending more time with you.

Much to your surprise, Willie showed up at your door the next Friday with a bottle of your favorite liquor - the one he saw you drinking when he came over to your place during the blackout - and a pack of beer for himself. From the scent of his breath, you could already tell that he'd already had a drink or two before coming over, but who cared? You had to give him points for the liquid courage.

After to let him inside, you and Willie spent the entire night talking, ranting about your horrible jobs, and laughing at the world. And soon enough, it became a tradition for you to spend Friday nights together. Even thought Willie eventually gained the zeal to go clubbing and try new places with strangers around town, you both had an implicit agreement to keep Friday nights reserved for each other.

And so today, like any other Friday night, you came over to his place carrying a box of pizza and some garlic bread with dipping sauces. That was always the arrangement between the two of you. Since you didn't have much to spend, one of you would always bring the food while the other brought the alcohol. It didn't matter who was hosting.

"Come on in." He joyfully opened the door, saying your name as if it were one of his favorite words or the way that a game show host would announce the winner. Willie hugged you tight, trying not to damage the food, humming contentedly. "Rough week?"

You nodded, entering his apartment. You had just begun telling him about your dreary week at the office when someone knocked at Willie's door. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." He quickly told you before answering.

From the corner of your eye, you could see Willie and a man of almost equal height talking about something important. The smile that greeted you disappeared faster than the man could state the words 'New York Police Department', and Willie's eyebrows seemed to furrow with each word the man said after that.The man continued to inform Willie of something in a hushed tone, and curtly left when he was done.

"Who was that?" You asked absent-mindedly, turning to face Willie after he closed the door.

"No one. Could you maybe keep the fries on the table over there?"

You raised you eyebrow, wondering if he might've been referring to the garlic bread instead. "Willie…I didn't order any fries."

"Well maybe you should have!" Willie yelled.

Startled by his sudden raise in voice, you swallowed and went back to unboxing the food. "If you want fries, I'll go over to the place in Erben Avenue."

"No, it's too late. Just…forget this fucking thing ever happened."

Not wanting to push the matter any further, you put the food out as normal and began to help yourself. And Willie brought out the liquor he'd promised to get for the both of you. As the sun began to set, you tried to make small talk with him, asking about his week and whether his bathroom sink finally stopped leaking.

He answered you with short,  almost one-word answers. You didn't have to be a psychic to realize that he was still thinking about what happened earlier with the man. Normally, you would've tried your best to brush the whole thing off, but it was alarming to see your typically-enthusiastic, extroverted friend talk in short sentences. It had gone so far that Willie was barely looking you in the eye, almost as if he were speaking to the pizza instead of you.

"Okay, I'm going to ask you again. Who the hell was that guy?" You inquired with a hint of exasperation, "Because he seemed to take your tongue with him."

"You saw his uniform." He snapped back. "He was a policeman."

"What was he doing here?"

"That's none of your business. It's my apartment, and I can have whomever the fuck I want."

"Right." You sarcastically retorted, "Because it's your apartment, you just decided to invite a policeman over."

With a scoff, Willie took a large bite of pizza. "It's my parole officer." He muttered begrudgingly through a mouthful of dough and sauce. "That's not a damn policeman."

"You have a parole officer…" You did your best not to gasp loudly. Having a parole officer usually meant that a someone had a criminal record, possibly a heavy one.

"Yeah. Did some time years ago." Willie tried to remain casual as he confessed to you.

"What did you do…if I may ask?"

"Murder." He bit into his slice again, taking his time chewing and swallowing before speaking. "I suppose you want to ask me why I killed him,"

It was definitely tempting to try and get more information out of him. Whom did he kill? Was it family, was it a friend, was it a stranger? Could it be…could it be a former neighbor, one who lived in the place you live now?

Instead, you took a cue from his downcast, green eyes and his unprecedented silence. With a deep breath, you quietly responded to his statement. "No…I actually don't want to know why."

Taking it as a sign you  were pretty much done with him, Willie finished his pizza slice and stood up to open the door for you. When you asked him what he was doing, he told you that nobody like you should be in the same room as a murderer. That you were a decent person with a bright future ahead of you, deserving of much better than a convict for company.

You stood your ground and protested, saying that you weren't going to leave. Willie continued to persuade you to leave, saying that leaving him would be the best thing for you. And you still refused.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He punched the crumbling wall and cursed your name while a little blood trickled from his knuckles. "I just fucking told you that I'm a murderer…and you still can't take a fucking hint?!"

"Because you're my friend!" Slamming Willie's door, it was your turn to yell now. "You're my friend…"

He blinked in disbelief at your declaration, completely taken aback by this turn of events. "You see?!" Willie repeated, addressing your name. "You see your problem?! You see too much good. You fucking still see good, and that's why you've got to go. You've got to go before you get hurt."

"Willie…"

Telling you to shut up, Willie turned away from you. With his back facing the door, he ran a hand through his thick, jet-black hair and muttered under his breath that he killed a rail yard master with a pocketknife and his girlfriend with brute force. The second case was a complete accident, but it left him completely alone.

"After she died, her stepfather - my boss - cut me off." His eyes began to sting with tears as he slumped onto the couch. "None of his guys offered to bail me out or vouch for me…I got out on parole after five years because I was good. I was good to the guards and all, not causing trouble or shit like the others. But…nobody 'xcept for my high school friend offered to get in touch with me or talk to me. I was pretty much alone, and thrown out here."

You gently placed a hand on his shoulder, sitting carefully near him. "Thanks for sharing with me, Willie," you whispered. "I…it really means a lot to me."

"I could hurt you too."

"Yeah…but you haven't." And it was the truth. Since you'd met him, Willie had been nothing but warm and loyal to you. Outside of your usual Friday night hang-outs,  he always said 'hi' whenever you passed by in the hallway, he offered to plunge your toilet when there was water trouble, and even taught you to haggle with the electricians when they tried to charge you too much to fix a bad outlet. He was like your 'knight in shining armor', always trying to help you and expecting nothing in return.

Sometimes, you even thought about asking him out on a date, maybe to see if something more could happen between the two of you. The only reason you hesitated for months to make a move was because of how good-looking and charming he seemed. There was no way that a guy like him could be available. None of the cute guys usually were.

"There's good in you, Willie. I've seen it for myself," You confided, rubbing circles on his back. "You told me yourself that it was good behavior that got you out of prison after five years. And I'm sure lots of others will see how good you are on the inside, just like I do."

"You don't have to be nice to me." He sniffed, giving you a tired glance.

"No, I don't,"You admitted. "But I want to be nice to you. Because you're nice to me." Closing your eyes, you wrapped your arms around Willie and inhaled the scent of fabric softener from his shirt. In return, he held your arms and accepted your hug.

"You're seriously the best thing in this goddamn place." Willie muttered with a sigh.

"You too, Willie." The two of you remained silent before he offered to let you spend the night, and maybe watch a movie after dinner was over.

"Fine," you agreed, promising to leave early so as not to give him trouble in the morning.

The truth was, after seeing how calm and accepting you were about his past, Willie wouldn't have minded you staying over until noon the next day...maybe even inviting you to have dinner with him again, somewhere nicer where the two of you could treat yourselves.

But all that was a bit far ahead. Right now, all Willie wanted was to enjoy the fact that there really was a light blinking at the end of the long, dark tunnel…and that he could see it sitting next to him on the couch.