#cw blackmail

[gabessquishytum]

Chef Hob is catering Morpheus Endless's wedding to Alex Burgess and he's not really happy about it, but Dream is Hob's best friend and even if he won't listen to Hob that the marriage is a bad. idea!! Hob will do his part to make it a happy event. 😬

Dream won't even tell Hob why he has to go through with his parents dumb "arranged" marriage; Dream has never liked Alex Burgess (when they were kids, they never thought Alex was anything but lame; and it's not like Alex became scintillating as he grew up!).

And (in the privacy of an empty room) Hob will admit that he is in love with his best friend and that might have a little (🤏🏽) to do with his absolute aversion to Dream marrying anyone (else). But if he was happy or in love, Hob would be the first to be celebrating for and with his Dream (sad for himself, but so happy for Dream). But Dream is not!

Dream is miserable - he hates to suit he has to wear (if he was getting married to Ho the love of his life, he would be wearing a dress); he hates the venue; he hates all the people that are invited; he hates the decorations & colors; he hates the necessity of marrying Alex.

The only thing Dream got to choose was having Hob cater - Hob is a fantastic man chef. And was an "acceptable" choice for an Endless wedding, at least according to Dream's mother.

Everyone, Hob, everyone, is trying to get him to not go through with this wedding, but they don't know what Dream knows. He doesn't have a choice if he wants to keep the people he loves safe.

Maybe he can steal a moment with Hob before the wedding starts.

Listen. This is incredible. I have so many thoughts about this.

Hob knows that something is up (he's not as dumb as he looks, thanks very much Mrs Endless). There's not a whole lot he can do, sure, but being a chef does mean that he has access to certain dangerous weapons and, of course, poisonous substances. So when Dream does finally get a word with Hob at the very last moment, Hob is holding a steak knife and he's like "okay, okay. you might have to go through with the ceremony, but the reception? the reception is where this whole thing ends." Dream tries to persuade Hob that he can't murder Alex at the wedding reception for like, a billion reasons, but it's time for the wedding and Dream has to admit that he doesn't want to persuade Hob out of the murder plan all that much.

The wedding is awful. Hob knows how much Dream hates everything about it. But it's okay, it'll all be over soon and maybe some day Dream can have another wedding that he actually enjoys (Hob isn't planning that far ahead but he loves Dream SO much okay).

And yeah. It's a huge tragedy. First Alex starts choking on a bit of the wedding cake. People try to save him but it's already too late! How awful! And you wouldn't believe it but Roderick also chokes on a bit of cake too! Sadly he also passes away. It's so sad. And nobody can say that its foul play, because they just choked! And the chef (Hob) even tried the heimlich on Alex - of course it was a shame that he accidently broke his neck, but it is a very violent maneuver! These things happen!

Dream is naturally devastated, especially as he inherits the entire Burgess fortune (and all the fortunes of the people that the Burgesses were blackmailing, including Dream’s own entire family). It's such a burden that Dream donates it all to a Choking Awareness charity. In memory of his dear first husband.

He still can't work out how Hob did it. Maybe Hob will tell him, one day, when all the dust has settled and they've both moved overseas together, to start a new life. But Hob does say that the cake he makes for Dream’s second wedding will be much, much more palatable than the first <3

[sleepyfan-blog]

Sabotage Most Foul

Author’s note: This was written for the July challenge by @au-roulette. Crossposted on AO3 here. This is for the fill Coffee Shop!

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel @whorety-k @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan @i-am-a-dragon34

Word count: 5,762

Warnings: sabotage, blackmail, mentioned medical issues, mentioned self-image issues, nonconsensual sedation, mentioned capital punishment, banishment

Summary: When it’s reported that all of the recaf machines on the fourth deck of Maccrage’s Honor have all stopped working at once, it is suspected that they have been sabotaged. Zalthes, Battle brother of the second company of Ultramarines, has been set to the task of investigating who did it and to bring them before the Primarch and captains for justice.

"Good, you're here Zalthes." Captain Alcaeus stated, gesturing for the younger Ultramarine to come into his office. The second company captain looked bleary-eyed and seemed to be having a small amount of difficulties focusing.

Alarm shot through Zalthes as he stepped in, silently assessing his superior officer "Yes sir..." He did not catch the distinctive earthy scent of the other's morning caf, nor did he see the usual mug he almost always had either in hand or on his desk at the start of his shifts. "The message calling me here was marked urgent?"

"Yes. Twenty minutes ago it was reported that all of the recaf machines on the fourth deck are broken. At the same time. There is concern that this is a deliberate sabotage attempt. All nine of the serfs who work with the recaf machines have been brought into separate meeting rooms and are being monitored. I am charging you with the task of finding out if any of them were responsible for the damage done to the recaf machines and to bring them to justice. If you are unable to do so..." The captain winced a little, shaking his head "Given the mood that our Gene-sire is in, it's likely that he'll have all nine of them publicly servitorized."

Zalthes winced internally at that. Primarch Guilliman tended to avoid using servitorization as a public punishment due to the fears and anxieties that such punishments caused among the mortals who lived and worked upon Maccrage's Honor. But the fact that this was a potential sabotage attempt was deeply concerning. While the recaf machines weren't necessarily critical to the functioning of the ship, the fact that they had done this so brazenly meant that the saboteurs - or whoever had sent the saboteur or saboteurs were preparing to go after more critical pieces of equipment, should their agents be able to successfully evade notice and capture. "Yes sir. Have the on-board saboteur protocols been enacted?" 

They were a series of security protocols that everyone on board was to follow, should a saboteur be found or suspected to have infiltrated aboard the ship. It included but was not limited to heightened security around critical areas of the ship the use of coded phrases when entering and leaving certain areas of the ship, and an increased vigilance when it came to off-duty hours activities of all aboard the affected vessel - and if the vessel was traveling in a fleet, the entire Ultramarine fleet, as it could be assumed that where there was one saboteur there could be more. It was part of the standard training that all of those who worked and lived aboard Ultramarine vessels received once they were assigned to a specific ship. 

"It has. May you find the snake hiding in the grass quickly." Alcaeus answered, dismissing him with a flick of one hand, staring down blearily at the top dataslate on his desk. He had several huge stacks of dataslates neatly stacked on his desk. "I have just transmitted to you which conference rooms that the serfs are being held in. I suggest that you speak to each of them individually before reviewing the evidence that has been collected at the scene and by the cameras, to avoid any bias."

"Yes sir!" Zalthes answered, saluting his captain before turning on his heel and heading off to the nearest conference room. 

~

It did not take Zalthes long to arrive at one of the conference rooms where one of the possible suspects was being held. He nodded politely to the two mortals who had been posted on the outside of the door as guards and called out "Good morning, gentlemen. I have business inside to attend to." As he spoke, he signed the correct entrance gestures, and waited for the two of them to respond in kind.

Both of the guards nodded, signing the correct responses as they answered out loud "Good morning, my lord."

As was correct, the guard on the right pressed the button for the door to open and Zalthes walked into the room to find a half-asleep serf sitting on one of the chairs. They were wearing off-duty garments typical of their ranking and were slumped forwards in the seat that they had taken, arms folded on the table in front of them, face down and resting against their folded arms. Their breathing was light and even, though they'd jerked a little in response to the sound of the door opening, head shifting so that they could peer up at him through their thick and curly dark hair.

It seemed to take the serf several seconds to process that they were almost napping in front of an Ultramarine. Zalthes could tell the exact moment that they'd processed it from the sudden tensing of their body and the near-silent swearing as they hurriedly sat up properly, pushing their hair out of their face "My lord angel! My apologies for being asleep while you entered. I typically work third shift and had been woken up and brought here from my bunk and it's been difficult for me to try and fully awaken while waiting for... I wasn't told why I was brought here, as a matter of fact."

Zalthes hummed in acknowledgement, carefully looking the serf over carefully as he state "I am here to ascertain your whereabouts for the past couple of hours. A small but important issue has come up in the place where you work, and I have been chosen to figure out who is responsible."

"I've been sleeping for the past three hours sir. Before that I spent an hour eating my late-meal ration with my wife and spouse, did some tidying up of our shared room and helped our children with their assigned work, my lord. My wife and spouse can attest to the fact that we were all resting together... Err, do you need earlier than that?" The dark, curly-haired serf asked, blinking tiredly up at him. 

"I will need to speak with your spouses about your whereabouts in order to verify your words." Zalthes answers. But he could detect no hints of deception from the other. Their heartbeat and breathing were steady, their body posture showed their confusion and exhaustion, but no unaccounted for tension or distress. 

"Yes sir. If you want I can call them? They went back to sleep after I was called in, s' far as I know, sir." They offer, equal parts baffled and willing to do whatever was required of them. 

"Do so now." Zalthes orders them.

~

As he had suspected, both of Zm Tay'lish's partners had been able to confirm that zey had been where zey had said that zey had been. Footage from the connecting hallways also proved that Tay'lish had arrived home when zey had said zey had, and had not left until the Auxilla guards had come to fetch them, hours later. 

Zalthes internally marked them as unlikely to be the saboteur, and continued to where the second serf was being held. After speaking with them, he continued to talk with each of the Recaf dispensing serfs, steadily whittling down his list of potential suspects based on their reactions as well as the video evidence of who was where, when. He had narrowed down his initial list of suspects from nine to two - possibly three, as one of the serfs he had spoken to was unusually nervous, despite having a good alibi that he had been nowhere near the recaf machines in the window of time it was most likely that the recaf machines had been sabotaged. It was possible that one, two or all three of them were in on it, which was why he was going to press each of them on their accounting of what they had been doing.

He was going in to speak with the first of his suspects was a serf by the name of Remy. He had oculocutaneous albinism and was strikingly pale as a result of that. "My lord?" He called out as Zalthes entered the room again, looking wan and uncertain.

"I have found some discrepancies between what you said happened, and what actually happened according to both the ships' logs of the area and the internal cameras. You stated that you left the fourth deck recaf station at the end of your shift.This was not entirely correct, as you left ten minutes before the end of your shift, moving at a speed that was very nearly a run through the serf's corridors until you went out of sight of the cameras. Care to explain why you left early and where you were going?" Zalthes asked, staring at the baseline human, waiting for a response.

Remy swallowed and shifted uncertainly in their chair, briefly looking up at him before looking away again "Must I go into specifics?"

"Yes. You are suspected of sabotage. You either tell me what you were doing, or I bring you before the Primarch and you give Him an account of what you were doing then." Zalthes answered bluntly, allowing his eyes to narrow slightly at the mortal, waiting for their response.

Remy visibly wilted at that, hunching in on themself and swallowing. They wrap their arms around their midsection and rock back and forth a little, their heart beating rapidly as the scent of fear and shame stung his nose "I... I had a medical issue come up, just at the end of my shift. In addition to being an albino, I have a really bad intestinal issues that flareup from time to time that require medical treatment to prevent it from getting worse. I felt the flareup start at the end of my shift and had to rush off before I... I made a horrible mess all over the floor over the recaf distribution area's floor." red flooded their pale, nearly translucent cheeks and they ducked their head in shame. "If you doubt my words, I was tended to by Apothecary Listerius. He can corroborate that I was in treatment for over an hour."

Zalthes allowed the stern but neutral expression on his face to soften into something more compassionate, and his voice to gentle "Thank you for telling me the truth. Had you told me this the first time we spoke, you would have been able to leave sooner. I will vox with Apothecary Listerius to corroborate your story."

"Yes sir. I just... Its' difficult for me to speak of this... This condition of mine." Remy explained, calming down, though still unable to look at him directly in the eyes. 

Zalthes voxxed the Brother Apothecary and sent a written recounting of Serf Remy's most recent treatments, making to mark the request as an urgent one. He got an answering ping less than a minute later, and read over the summary of treatment, which included the time and date, as well as an overview of what had been done and how long the treatments took. "Brother Listerius has corroborated your story. Before I allow you to leave, I will ask you again; did you notice anything strange or unusual during your shift? Were any of the machines acting oddly before you left?"

"I... Uhm... Not really? I mean. I did notice that one of the Lord Angels was frequently visiting the recaf station. Like once every half an hour and requested another cup, but I thought that he was merely getting recaf for some of his fellow Lord Angels who may have already used up their allotment of recaf before resupply is in. That happens quite often, actually. He didn't have any specific markings or heraldry as to which of the companies he belonged to, so I assumed that he had been recently promoted from scout to full battle brother. The machines were working as intended before I left." Remy answered, frowning a little in thought. 

"Did this battle brother identify himself?" Zalthes asked, frowning a little at that. 

"I don't know, I usually work in the back, making the pastries and sandwiches that are on offer as well. My... The sight of me can be... Off-putting for many." Remy admits, shame burning their cheeks once again. "Rowan was on ident-check for first-shift."

The Ultramarine nodded "Thank you for your cooperation. I will speak with her about that. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, my lord." Remy sighs, sagging a little in the seat they were in before getting up and leaving.

Zalthes left a moment or two later, asking one of the auxilla to fetch recaf serf Rowan as he went to go speak with his second suspect. 

~

Averich fidgeted a little under Zalthes' scrutiny, but he waited to be directly addressed by the Lord Angel who was observing him. 

Zalthes cleared his throat and stated "You were the one to report that all of the recaf machines on the fourth floor were broken, correct?"

"Yes sir. As far as I know, I was the first one of the three of us who work the middle shift to arrive. None of the serfs who work the first shift were there, which was a little odd, but since Remy's the one who usually works until the close of the first shift, I wasn't terribly surprised. They've got a stomach thing that flares up sometimes that they need to take care of and-" Averich abruptly stopped speaking, shifting a little in his seat "But that's not what you're interested in, right sir? You want to know about the recaf machines. I wish I could tell you more about them, but I... I'm still in training on how to properly use those machines and learning on the different kinds of recaf that can be made, my lord. Twenty minutes before the end of first shift they're supposed to turn the recaf machines off, to allow them time to cool down and reset, since they're usually in use pretty much all the time... Sometimes the machine spirits within them get grumpy if they weren't shut down properly, or if you're off-key when singing the hymn of awakening as they're turned on, sir. It took me about half an hour to figure out that something was wrong with the machines, rather than anything I had done - or not done - in order to get them on and in proper working order. When I realized all of them were broken, I called it in."

"... I see. There are ways to discover whether or not you are newly assigned to working at the recaf station. If I find that you are hiding something or misleading me in any way..." Zalthes hummed, keeping his face a pleasantly neutral expression appearing on his face "Given the fact that there are concerns that this may have been done deliberately, the judging of any act of sabotage on Maccrage's Honor and sentencing is done by the highest ranking officer of the Imperium on the vessel. Which would be the Lord Primarch himself. Is there anything else that you'd like to tell me about your accounting of your actions during the start of your shift? Apart from the damaged recaf machines, did you notice anything out of order, something misplaced, any oddities whatsoever?" The babbling from the serf was a definite sign of anxiety, as was the fidgeting with his hands, but it didn't necessarily indicate that he was guitly of anything. Particularly if it was true that he had been recently assigned to a position where he would have regular contact with astartes and higher-ranked baseline human warriors as well. 

Averich fidgets a little again, a frown of concentration appearing on the serf's face. He closed his eyes, muttering to himself, a very similar recounting of what he had been doing since the moment he had woken up in his assigned cot. "Oh! I had been sent a message by Kai, saying that she was going to be late to shift. She didn't say why. I think I told you that last time? But it's not that I was trying to hide that if I hadn't. I just didn't remember until now, my lord..."

"Did you keep the message on your vox?" Zalthes asked. If he had deleted the message, it would be a relatively simple thing to retrieve the message, if it existed. 

"Yes? It's not like I had a reason to delete it, my lord. Would you like to check for yourself? They took everything out of my pockets when they brought me in here, lord, but one of the guards should have my vox, sir." Averich answers, seemingly earnest. 

"Very well. I will." Zalthes answers "Stay in this room for now. Your story will be checked for veracity as much as can be determined." With that he left the room to acquire the serf's vox. 

Sure enough, there was a message from someone who was at least using Serf Kai's vox stating that they would be late to their shift. Which was interesting, given what Kai had already said... Time to speak with Kai again.

~

Kai was, like the other serfs, nervous. Similar to Averich, they were fidgety. Unlike the others, there were discrepancies in the first story that they had told Zalthes and the video evidence and the eye-witness accounts of when other serfs saw them out and about the ship before and after the time-window where the sabotage had to have happened to the recaf machines. While Zalthes was keenly aware of the fact that eyewitness testimony was unreliable to the point where it was inadmissible as the only evidence for certain kinds of crime within the realm of Ultramar (though eyewitness testimony could and had damned the allegedly guilty in other areas of the Imperium). Zalthes watched as they shifted from side to side a little in their seat. 

Unlike the other serfs, Kai alternated between giving him a little too much eye contact while they had spoken to the first time, interspersed with long periods of no eye contact whatsoever. This particular serf was also hunched over, arms crossed defensively over their chest as Zalthes walked into the room again. He was holding Kai's vox in one hand and walked around the meeting room table that had been between himself and the serf. He did not stop moving until he sat down in the chair next to the serf. He very carefully set down the baseline-sized communicator on the table between himself and the serf. 

As before, his helmet was off, and he wasn't in his armor, but rather a deliberately semi-casual toga that he had changed into in order to seem more approachable and slightly less threatening during the interrogations. "Do you recognize this vox communicator?" He asked, starting off easy, gently.

"Yes sir. It's mine." Kai answered immediately, having glanced at it briefly.

"And, apart from when it was on the charging stand in your room, and when the guards outside the door took everything from your pockets, it's been on your person since you woke up for your shift today, correct?" Zalthes asked, curious as to whether or not the other was going to challenge that statement, or stand by what they had said before.

"That's correct sir." Kai answered, nodding a little. 

"Please state for the record, when your second shifts start." Zalthes encouraged, giving them a little smile of encouragement, and to hopefully get them to relax. 

"Fourteen hundred thirty, sir. We're supposed to arrive a half hour before the recaf station re-opens in order to get any cleaning or last-minute set up completed." Kai answers, again that answer was correct.

"And where were you at fourteen hundred thirty hours today?" Zalthes asked.

"I... was in bed, sir. I slept through my alarms and was just starting to wake up. I realized that I was going to be running late, so I texted Remy and Alexius that I was going to be late. I then shoved a ration bar down my throat and got dressed as fast as I could. It was about fourteen fifty when I reached the re-caf spot and found out that it was closed down, due to the investigation, sir. Or at least, about then, sir. I didn't check my chronometer for the exact time, sir." Kai answered, voice shaking just a little as they look at their vox as they speak.

"Fascinating. You do realize that lying to me, as the lead investigator on this case is a crime in and of itself, correct? And with the damage done to all of the recaf machines, this has been labeled a sabotage case. The Primarch takes a very dim view to saboteurs and traitors. Particularly ones who lie as badly as you do." Zalthes presses, leaning in closer to the mortal, grabbing their chin between his thumb and forefinger "You either tell me the truth, or I bring you before the Lord of Ultramar."

"Wh-What? I-I'm... I'm n-not-" The serf feebly started to lie.

Zalthes clicks his tongue, shaking his head a little as he tightens his grip ever so slightly on the serf's jaw. Not enough to bruise, but enough to catch their attention and to still their lying tongue "Alexius' and Remy's vox communicator were both checked for messages from you during that time period. Neither one of them received anything. A vox message from this communicator was, however, sent to Averich, the trainee, stating that you would be late... Twenty-minutes before you claim to have been awake this morning. We also have video evidence of you leaving the serf quarters fifteen minutes before your alleged wake up time. Again, I ask you for the truth. Tell me what you were doing, truly. There is absolution in confession, even though I am not a Chaplain."

"I... I... What does it matter? I am damned either way!" Kai wails, starting to sob into his hand, tears warm and wet and freely flowing down their face. 

"What do you mean by that?" Zalthes pressed, tasting the beginnings of victory. But he needed a full confession. He needed the why, not just the who. 

"I... Last time we were planetside for... For leave, I got... I got drunk with a bunch of other serfs. we were... We were talking with some of the locals, who were curious about what it was that we do. So we started talking about what it's like to serve the Angels of the imperium. M-Most of what we said was what we were supposed to, but they kept buying us more and more drinks and..." Kai looked guilty and haunted "I apparently said some things that I really shouldn't have. I don't remember saying anything like that but I was... I was approached by a very strikingly handsome, teal-eyed stranger in the morning, while I was stumbling around trying to recover from my hangover. He had recordings of me saying... Less than flattering things about my masters, and pointed out that such things could... Could get me killed or worse if it was spread around. All he said he wanted was passage to the next solar system that Maccrage's Honor was headed to, but he said that he didn't have the credits to pay for passage... He talked me into smuggling him into the serf's' quarters. That was... That was two weeks ago."

Zalthes' grip on Kai tightened, but he very deliberately did not otherwise outwardly react, despite the explosive growl threatening to escape his chest and the many, many things he'd like to say about that. But if he interrupted them, they might lose the temerity to speak, and confess everything that they had done.

Tears continued to flow freely down Kai's cheeks as they took in a deep breath and continued their confession "Apart from teasing my fellow serfs by pretending to be them somehow, and enjoying scaring the shit out of me by appearing suddenly and in unexpected locations, he didn't ask for anything else... Until two days ago. He wanted me to break the recaf machines. To see how the, and I quote Mighty Ultramarines react to not having access to their precious recaf... I didn't... It wasn't like it's that important, or so I told myself... and he threatened to turn in the recordings he had of drunk-me saying shitty things about Lord Angels if I didn't... So I spiked Remy's lunch with something I knew would set off their medical issue on a day that Rowan and Sasha both take off before the ends of their shifts because they've got to pick up their little ones from daycare. I also knew that the newbie was going to be starting the second shift and I hoped that they would assume that he accidentally fucked up the machines, rather than it... Being done... Deliberately..."

"... I see. Can you give me as exact a description of this interloper as you can, as well as where you know him to hang out? I will tell you this, you are in serious trouble. You should have informed your superior officer that someone was attempting to blackmail you, rather than buckling to his pressure. Reporting that and the description of who was pressuring you would have gone a long way in repairing your reputation that drunken foolishness may have undone... But this?" Zalthes shook his head a little. He's not sure what is going to happen to this serf, as the decision was ultimately Lord Guilliman's... But he doubted that they would be afforded much mercy. They'd shown that they could be blackmailed into disobeying safety protocols for in an attempt protect themself... and in so doing, damning themself to far more intense punishment and possible retraining. 

"He... He seems to be some kind of shapeshifter. He first approached me as a taller than average man with tanned skin, bald except for his dark eyebrows, and teal blue eyes. His voice was almost... Hypnotic as he spoke to me, and that still holds true. I... I know that I've badly fucked up and I surrender myself to judgment. He was in the recaf area during the first shift, dressed as an Ultramarine, my lord. I don't know how he got ahold of the armor..." Kai explained, tears still streaming down his face.

Teal eyes. Tall. Tanned skin. Motherless, snake-tongued bastards! "I believe I know who you were approached by, and while you will be punished for this, your obedience to him was not entirely unwarranted, as he too, is a Marine, though not one of Ultramar." Zalthes explained before putting on his helmet and sending a message directly to captain Alcaeus [The person behind the sabotage is likely to be an Alpha Legionnaire, sir. He blackmailed one of the recaf serfs into sabotaging the machines. I have the recaf serf's full confession recorded sir. What do you want me to do do?]

Zalthes kept holding the weeping serf, as the seconds stretched into one minute. Then two. The Ultramarine was starting to get concerned when his vox crackled to life... With the sound of his Gene-sire.

"Bring the serf to my office, Zalthes, along with their recorded confession. I have informed Chief Librarian Tilayious to begin scanning for the serpent trying to nest here. We will flush him out of hiding soon enough. There are only so many places he can hide." Lord Guilliman ordered him.

He snapped to attention on instinct, letting go of the serf, just barely stopping himself from saluting the superior officer who was not in the room and would not be able to see it. It took him a couple of seconds to find his tongue, not used to being directly spoken to by his primarch. It was an incredible honor; despite the unfortunate circumstances this has happened in. "Yes sir. I will be there with both within five minutes sir." With that he stood up smoothly, scooping up the serf and their vox, tucking the device in one of his pockets and tucked the serf over one shoulder, immediately setting off to his Primarch's office at a quick but not visibly hurried looking pace. 

~

It did not take long for Zalthes to arrive at his gene-sire's office with the evidence he had collected and the still-weeping serf in tow. The two Ultramarines who were guarding Father's door looked him over and he gave the correct code phrase - and they did the same - before letting him in. 

"Come in, and set the serf down Zalthes." The Lord of Ultramar instructed him.

"Yes sire." The young Ultramarine answered, promptly if carefully setting down the weeping serf onto their feet...

Only to watch as the serf crumpled on their joints, throwing themself prostrate before the Primarch, sobbing endless apologies for their fuck ups and pleas for mercy. 

Zalthes was silently taken aback at how terrified and morose the serf had become and took a small half-step away from the weeping baseline human, uncertain as to how to respond. He was, however, watching them carefully, should they attempt to suddenly do something foolish - like lunge for a chair and try to harm his gene-sire. Not that they seemed the type (nor would they be able to life the astartes and primarch-sized furniture unless they were heavily strength-augmented) to do so. 

"I did not ask you to speak." Father spoke, voice calm and face showing a devastating amount of disappointment. Zalthes could feel his soul shiver and his hearts quake, and he wasn't the one to have fucked up to the extent to have put such a look on the Lord Primarch's face. 

Zalthes couldn't blame the serf for the terrified-miserable squeak that left them at the expression and tone Lord Guilliman was using. He was pretty sure if his Lord Father looked at him like that, he'd drop dead on the spot in shame. 

The serf immediately ceased their babbling, though they stayed pressing themself belly-down onto the cold, hard metal floor of the ship. 

"Now, Zalthes, give me a report about everything you have found in the course of your investigation." Father ordered him, the expression on his face ever so slightly warmer.

Zalthes snapped to attention and nodded, promptly explaining everything he had found - and how he had sought to reconcile the discrepancies he had found, leading him to getting the confession out of the still-trembling serf before the two of them. "-that was when I informed Captain Alceaus of our stowaway sire." 

"You have done well, Zalthes. I commend you for your diligence and swift action. As for you... How many years have you served aboard this ship, serf... Kai, is it?" Father asked, blue eyes turning icy cold once again as he beheld the baseline mortal.

"Fif-fifteen years sir. I was born on Maccrage's Honor, and was raised in the communal creche. Once I was old enough to start working, they put me to work, m-my lord. This is the only home I've ever known." Kai explained, still trembling all over.

"A pity, then. That you would betray your home due to a moment's foolishness. You will be leaving Maccrage's Honor permanently, once we reach the next port. There will be a black mark on your record as a serf, though you will be allowed to take all of your personal belongings and the wages you have earned. Should you be found within Ultramar space you will be further prosecuted as a traitor and a saboteur. Do you understand?" Primarch Guilliman stated, looking down upon the serf "Until then, you will be held in the brig, as you cannot be trusted to complete your duties without potentially causing harm. If you resist arrest or attempt to escape into the serfs section of the ship, you will be found and killed."

"I... I understand, my lord. I will not resist arrest." The serf agreed miserably.

"Zalthes, take this serf to the brig and have them properly processed as a traitor to Ultramar." The Primarch ordered him.

He saluted his lord father before picking up the serf and twisting their arms behind their back, holding their wrists together in one hand. "Your will be done, my lord." Before he marched them off to holding, having to drag them when they stumbled over their feet. They had started openly weeping as soon as they left the Primarch's office, and started mumbling all sorts of nonsense, but Zalthes tuned them out. After all, they had committed the crimes, even under duress. There were certain things that one did not do, and ship-sabotage was one of them. They had their life because they had been blackmailed by a snake-tongued Astartes, of that Zalthes was fairly sure. 

The mortal did not protest when they were dragged into one of the isolation cells, nor did they protest being strip-searched for anything that could be used to get them out of the cell. Once they were safely behind bars, Zalthes bid a fond farewell to the Brothers on guard duty and headed off to tend to his usual duties, pressing up against a wall as Chief Librarian Tilayious and two terminator-armored veteran brothers dragged in a still-thrashing and cursing teal and silver painted astartes. 

"Let me go! I am performing the duties that my Primarch gave to me, you have no right to detain me!" The hydra howled, still struggling in their grip.

"You had part of our ship sabotaged, you piece of shit. I don't care if that's what your primarch told you to do, that's a fucked up thing to do. If your Primarch wants you back, he can negotiate with ours for your worthless hide. Until then you're going in the brig and you're staying there." The head librarian huffed, the blue fire of warp-craft binding the alpha legionnaire in place. 

"FUCK! YOU!" he spat, not noticing the apothecary silently making his way up behind him as he was jabbed in the jugular with a sedative. His head lolled forwards as it took effect, the fight being forcibly taken out of him. "You'll... pay... for this... All of you."

"Yeah, yeah. Bastard. We'll see about that. Strip his armor and weapons off of him. Alpha Legionnaires are difficult to keep hold of, even stark naked and chained to a wall, which he's going to be." the chief librarian ordered, sighing a little as he eased up on the psychic grip he held on the now sleeping Alpha Legionnaire. 

Zalthes made his way back to his squad lead, telling him that he had completed the task that Captain Alceaus had asked of him, before returning to his normal duties. 

[mallory-x]

Prof Dream dubcon for the wip game? 👉👈

This one was also popular, as @kydrogendragon and @seiya-starsniper wanted to hear about it as well!

It’s appropriate that you asked about it, Gabe, since it’s inspired by this one of your asks! It’s the first scene of the scenario, where history student Hob discovers that his hot professor knows all about his camboy side-gig. I’m calling Dream 'Professor Endels' in this, mainly due to a typo that I liked so I stuck with it 😂

CW age difference, professor/student, blackmail, dubcon and NSFW under the cut.

“Sit,” says Professor Endels, gesturing to the chair opposite. Hob sits, dropping his messenger bag to the floor and folding his hands in his lap. He rubs his thumb over his knuckles, the repetitive action soothing him as he waits for Prof Endels to explain the reason for the meeting. The professor leaves him sitting there for what feels like an age, the silence of the room oppressive as Hob tries not to let his eyes wander over the crammed bookshelves littered with artefacts from across Europe in both time and distance. He starts slightly when Prof Endels speaks.  “I believe you have applied to study for a teaching qualification once you graduate,” he begins. “That’s right, sir.” Most of Hob’s lecturers prefer the students to refer to them by their first names, but although Professor Endels hasn’t specifically said so, Hob struggles to think of him by anything other than a formal title. “I put you down as a referee, since you’re my personal tutor. I hope that’s ok?” Professor Endels finally looks up from his laptop, steely blue eyes stripping Hob’s confidence from him and leaving him bare and vulnerable. He folds his hands neatly on the desk. “You think I can recommend one such as you for a job working with impressionable young minds? After what you’ve done?” His eyebrows are raised, effortlessly expressing his incredulity and disdain for Hob’s ambitions. Hob’s stomach sinks, weighed down by the cold stone of dread and disbelief that’s appeared at Professor Endels’ icy words. His mouth gapes open as he mentally scrabbles for words to refute whatever it is that he’s being accused of. Did he accidentally plagiarise his most recent assignment? Did he get filmed doing that impression of Prof Endels when he got drunk last week? Did Professor Endels find out about… No. No. He can’t have. Hob has been so careful. He knows he was risking everything, but he was desperate and he needed the money… His thoughts are cut off when Professor Endels turns the laptop around to face him, and presses play on the video on screen. He’s turned the volume back up, so Hob can clearly hear the whines and moans the image of him on screen is making as he works a fat dildo into his arse. He was on his hands and knees on the bed, arranged so his face isn’t visible in the footage, but from the twist of his torso it was clear that he’d turned his head to look over his shoulder and read the comments appearing in the chat.  It was unmistakably Hob’s voice reading some of the comments aloud - “Oh you like that, @BigBoy_69? Well since you tipped so nicely, of course you can have a closeup of my slutty little hole.” There’s a rustling noise as Hob moves backwards on the bed towards the webcam—the picture blurs, then refocuses on the dildo sliding lewdly in and out, lube smeared liberally between his arse cheeks. Hob continues reading. “Looks like @Daddy-loves-sluts wants me on my back - and since you’re paying for it, of course I’ll do whatever you want.” The Hob in the video turns over obligingly, face still out of view, but spreading his legs and stroking his cock lazily. “Is this what you wanted, @Daddy-loves-sluts?” His voice hitches as his other hand presses the dildo deeper inside. “Are you going to let me cum for you? Have I been a good boy?” Professor Endels taps the keyboard and the image freezes, leaving Hob red-faced, not knowing where to look. His tutor stares impassively at him while on the screen, pre-cum glistens as it hangs in the air mid-way between the tip of Hob’s cock and his stomach. Hob opens his mouth but his conflicting thoughts jostle for position in his brain and he can’t bring himself to speak.

[maternity-morningstar]

Lucifer, abuse is abuse. Talk to Angel. You dont have to be "fine".

Lucifer: Ya know I think I’ll be fine! I mean, if Alastor took care of them, then I should be—

*receives a text message from an unknown number*

Lucifer: *checked his phone and is horrified*

WARNING: MATURE CONTENT BELOW!

Text message: Hope you had a Merry Sinsmas Luci~

Art by @lucifer-imaginaryfriend & censored by me

Text Message: I have plenty more of these photos and film on standby waiting to be published. However I won’t if you come by the V Tower by yourself for a little meeting ~ seems someone is interested in making a deal with you ~

Text Message: Better come soon ~ Val

[everhaveapie]

Kinda sad I have no one to talk too right while I’m masterbating🥺

[angrelysimpping]

can i request that a pc that is in a romantic relationship with bailey gets kidnaped by some people that bailey pissed off and they send a video to bailey where they are assaulting their s/o (who is still kidnaped) as revenge (if this is not ok to request its completely fine)

DoL Realtionships; GN Bailey (they/them); GN Reader (you/your); noncon; abduction; blackmail

Words: 388

Three days. 

It’s been three days since you went and disappeared. Three days where Bailey’s had people out, scouring the streets looking for you. Three days where they’ve slept even less than normal, days they weren’t able to concentrate on their fucking work. Costs a lot of fuckin’ money for you to disappear for three days for funsies.

At least, that's what they thought. That you were doing this of your own free will. Fucking with them, pulling some poorly thought-out stunt. Why? Fuck if they know. Maybe you were trying to leave them. Bailey’s hold on you was tight, but they never put it past someone to try to cut and run. Even if it was you, someone who always said they’d never leave.

Really, they almost hope that you just bailed. Would be easier, in the long run. Easier than an unmarked package appearing on their desk. Easier than a fucking VHS tape tumbling into their hands. Who even still uses those things?

People like Bailey, that’s who.

They know what they’re about to see as they stare down at the tape, numbing cold spreading from their fingers. They know what’s on the tape. 

But, they have to watch it. They have to know. It’s one of their flaws, really. 

They play the tape.

It’s exactly what they thought it would be. You, striped and bound, face bruised and bloody. Surrounded. Fingers prying into you, fluids on your skin, mouths sucking and biting at your flesh. A masked man savagely thrusting into you from behind, your body lurching with each movement. You don’t even fight it anymore, head lolling and body limp as you’re abused.

A rough hand catches your chin, makes you look into the camera. You try to duck your head, but their thumb digs into your cheek, a tiny whine leaving you that makes Bailey’s stomach turn. You give in, looking at the camera, eyes red and lips swollen.

“Smile, darling! Your caretaker has been tossin’ the whole town lookin’ for ya! Give ‘em a smile.” 

Bailey tries to turn off the video, but they aren’t fast enough.

“B-B-ailey?”

Your voice is rough, ragged. Broken. It makes the hairs on the back of their neck stand on end.

But that doesn’t matter. Not right now. Not when they finally know where you are. 

[seakicker]

absolutely adore seeing posts on instagram from underagies complaining about vox’s professor/student kink. you keep crying about content that you were explicitly told to not interact with while i keep fantasizing about my mean professor vox threatening to refer me for expulsion if i don’t drop to my knees and suck him off right this second

[tarabyte3]

In honor of Luther: The Fallen Sun finally dropping on Netflix today, here is the moodboard for "The Devil Makes Us Sin," a David Robey x Reader fic.

There is a very strong chance that I will prove myself a liar and end up posting this story before "Show Me Weak" is done. Mostly because I've been working on both of them at the same time, and it's giving me so much serotonin. So I want to share it when it's ready.

Instead of song lyrics, I'll be using literature quotes and art motifs for chapter titles.

My inspiration for this fic will be drawn heavily on my love of horror, the dark, the morbid, and the macabre, combined with my love of smut and sensual and passionate romance. Media inspiration for this fic includes Hannibal (2013), Candyman (1992), and Hellraiser (1987). Plus literature like Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, Anaïs Nin, Interview with a Vampire, Frankenstein, and A Picture of Dorian Grey.

So if you enjoy Luther: The Fallen Sun or any of those intrigues you, you'll be in good company.

Below the cut is another moodboard, plus a collage I made just for fun of Tumblr posts that fit the vibe, but in a very hilarious, messed up way. I'll be making a moodboard for each chapter post as well, but they'll likely have to be under the post cuts for being too spicy 😌

AND! A sneak peek at chapter 1!!

CONTENT WARNING: Themes of stalking, blackmail, violence, and murder. NSFW due to an image of lingerie and explicit text. And remember, this is going to be fanfiction about a fictional serial killer that manipulates, stalks, blackmails, and murders people. While it won't be as explicit in my fic, it will exist due to the nature of the character. If any of that bothers you, this is not for you.

[hbhm-nsft]

Cw stalking and blackmail (no one is stalking me this is just fantasy and imagination 🌈)

I still can't stop thinking about someone just. Becoming my dom. And yada yada I made a post about it

But I keep also hearing the neighbors being loud in ways that sounds like cheers and whistles

Now I literally couldn't care less what my neighbors do but a part of my brain said

What if they're cheering trying to get your attention?

What if they can see me?

What if Someone could see me?

Which devolved into if Someone took stalker photos of me and tried to somehow blackmail me into like doing something idk,,, the idea somehow results in them realizing that it's in their best interest to take on a Caretaker role,,,, idk I'm very high ✌

[gabessquishytum]

A Dark Bastard Dream prompt:

Hob financed his first degree with some combination of being a camboy/raunchy onlyfans.

Seriously morally gray Professor Dream finds the pictures/site(s) after Hob (politely Hob thought) turns Dream down for a date/sex.

Dream threatens to expose Hob if he doesn't make himself available to Dream whenever he wants him.

Oh Dream, you bad bad man.

Hob wouldn't have minded being outted as a camboy before, but now he's on the right track! He's making a new life and it's going well! If his camming stuff comes out it could seriously scupper his chances at a career, and he can't let that happen. So... he agrees.

It's not like Dream is unattractive. Hob originally turned him down because he didn't like the idea of the power imbalance between them - well, unfortunately he's ended up in an even worse position. Dream is clever, and cold, and he's quite determined to get absolutely what he wants. Hob is annoyed by how he's still kind of horny about the professor despite everything. He can't seem to get his dick to realise that this is a bad situation.

The sex is so good, so erotically charged. Dream really knows what he's doing and he takes great delight in making Hob cum over and over - 4 or 5 times, until it actually hurts. It's like another piece of power he has over Hob. And he loves to hear Hob says how much he wants Dream’s cock. He'll have Hob begging until he's hoarse and genuinely desperate to get fucked. It's the sweetest kind of torture.

There are other things. Dream wants pictures of his own. He wants Hob to stream for him. Creating more and more content for Dream to store away and use against him. It's a terrible trap, but Hob... doesn't feel as unhappy as he should do? He feels like he should feel dirty and traumatised and used, but. The attention is pleasant. He's getting the best sex of his life. Dream buys him nice things sometimes, and helps him with university stuff. He introduces Hob to contacts, helps him network. Sometimes when he's finally alone, Hob gets off to the thought of Dream using him. Its become an addiction.

And Dream is very pleased with his pet project. He's starting to think that this one might be for the long term...

[sleepyfan-blog]

Ruin

Author’s Note: Deimos part three! I hope you enjoy :D first. Previous

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @kit-williams @bleedingichorhearts @the-pure-angel@whorety-k 

Warnings: threatening, blackmail, Alpha Legion Shenanigans

Summary: Deimos speaks to one of the human representatives during the negotiations. He gets what he wants. 

Deimos had been watching the negotiations between some of the leaders of the most powerful Astartes pods speaking with representatives of the human countries of Terra for the past several days. At the end of each day. Deimos would send coded information as to how things had been going to his handler, and waiting to see if his instructions would change based on the information that he had gathered.

He also spent time pretend-obliviously making one of the human representatives squirm and sweat each time they saw the face or heard the voice of the Blood Angel Sergeant he was pretending to be, as Representative Pearson was part of a least two different human organizations who had successfully captured different Astartes in order to dissect and experiment upon them… And because the sergeant he was pretending to be had recently been captured by one of Pearson’s groups using information that the human had himself given them. 

The Alpha Legion had been content to let their cousins flounder in confusion as to what was happening to some of their legions/chapters. If they weren’t aware enough of the dangers that baseline humanity could be to them, that wasn’t their problem… That had been until one of these groups had captured a hybrid hydra pup, the first Alpha legionnaire born on Ancient Terra to a converted human mate and stolen a week ago.

That was the last mistake any of these groups would make, not that those who were outside of those facilities were aware of the storm that had swallowed most of their resources in righteous fury. All captive astartes were being tended to by Alpha Legion Apothecaries and would be released after the conclusion of these negotiations. Deimos glided gracefully after Representative Pearson, who had finally worked up the courage to ask for a private meeting between himself and the baseline human.

“What is it that you wanted to speak with me about?” Deimos asked, using the lilting tones of the Blood Angel he was pretending to be, amused at the way that the baseline human froze, blinking off the siren-like qualities a moment later.

“You are an imposter. You should leave quietly, or I will escalate the matter to security.” Pearson accused, pointing his finger dramatically at Deimos.

The Alpha Legionnaire almost broke character and started to cackle. If this was the way that Pearson wanted to play things, Deimos was happy to indulge him. “And just why do you think I am an imposter? What proof could you possibly have?”

“Because I received a report earlier this week about a mer matching  your precise description being badly injured and brought to a medical facility for treatment. I have heard of the incredible healing factors you astartes possess, but the injuries that Astartes had suffered could not have healed as fully as you appear to be in such short period of time. Which means you are an imposter and should leave these negotiations.” Pearson explained, radiating smug satisfaction.

Deimos’ couldn’t help the small, fanged grin that appeared on his face as he purred “And?”

“And if you do not leave immediately I will alert security as to you being here under false circumstances and -” The baseline human blustered.

Deimos interrupted Pearson’s rant with a laugh “What makes you think that I have no right to be here? Especially since you were the one to leak the battle brother’s whose face I am borrowing’s location to the butchers and kidnappers who tormented him… Ah, but he is no longer in their grasp. None of the astartes that the little groups you work with are still captive. My brothers have rescued them all. Your little groups of maniacs fear that we astartes will try and take dominance of this world from you. Because of our strength and our abilities. But you're wrong. If we wanted dominion over this world we would have it already and none of the weapons nor all your military might would be enough to stop us.”

“I.. You accuse me of-” Pearson started, huffing up in indignation and distilled terror.

The Alpha legionnaire interrupted the baseline human again as he pulled out a series of pictures proving that Person was knowingly and willingly involved several of the Astartes kidnapping groups, setting them down on the table between them as he spoke “Drop the pretenses. I have more evidence of your crimes and wrongdoing on me, and there are copies in case you attempt to destroy this evidence.” Deimos was one piece of the Hydra. His legion worked in the shadows and gathered information. They knew all and saw all. “Step down from your position now, and publicly resign in front of the press at this event and explain your crimes and your true loyalties… If you refuse I’ll tell the World Eater and Black Templar representatives who you truly work with.”

“... If you do that, those blood-thirsty monster swill try-” The human protested.

“Will kill you for your crimes. Of course. That would be a mercy. Some of the pods represented here would make your death a long and agonizing spectacle. World Eaters and Black Templars both tend to make their kills swift.” Deimos rumbled, cutting off the human yet again and smirking down at him.

“How dare you threaten and attempt to blackmail me like this? Photos like this can be altered to seem incriminating!” Pearson blustered, fear and fury radiating off of him in waves.

“There are ways to check for tampering. Besides, these photos are the least of the proof I have for your crimes. Do as I say, or you will die by the end of this day. This is not a threat but a promise. Besides, you won’t be the only wretched mortal to die for your crimes today if you refuse to step down.” Deimos hummed, pulling out a small laptop, opening the video conference software and calling out “Alpharius, I have the human representative with me.”

“Well done Alpharius.” His captain praised, swimming into frame with two of the other leaders of the organizations being dragged into frame with him. Behind the older Alpha Legionnaire were dozens of gagged and bound hand to foot humans, all members of the kidnapping organizations in the room the captain was in. “You see, we have many of those involved in the kidnappings who still yet live. You have a simple choice, Representative Pearson. Confess your crime sin front of the cameras and our fellow astartes, and submit yourself for judgment…. Or you and all of the humans here will die.”

“I… You… How… How have you done this?” Pearson asks, helpless rage and terror wafting off of him in waves.

“We are Alpharius. We are the Hydra at the heart of everything. No detail is too small to escape our grasp. Our eyes see all, as our ears hear all. If we wanted to control this world, we’d have it already. So,  representative, what is your choice?” The captain purred, smirking.

“I… I’ll…” Pearson swallows, staring at the other humans bound and at the mercy of astartes. He hangs his head and growls out “I’ll do as you’ve demanded of me, you bastards. Damn you all to hell!”

“Been there. Got bored. Came back.” Deimos cooed, smirking. “No time like the present, let’s go. Be seeing you, captain Alpharius.” with that he shut the laptop and placed it in a pouch before scruffing the unhappy human by the collar and dragging him bodily out of the chair, swimming out of the room and over to where the press were gathered. He knew that the other Astartes would be able to hear Pearson’s confession… This was going to be fun.

~

Five minutes later found Pearson standing on his own two feet, Deimos staying just close enough to encourage the human to speak without tipping off the press of just what the human was going to confess to.

“I… have… I have a confession to make. I have been working with a secret group of scientists, doctors and hunters to capture and study Astartes. I am well aware of the fact that these kidnappings have made Human-Astartes relations worse the world over… The organization’s goals were to assess the threat posed by Astartes, as well as to try and figure out the keys to their longevity and high healing factor. To be able to synthesize either of those abilities for humanity to use. We also hoped to be able to take apart Astartes’ technology and reverse engineer it for profit.” Pearson confessed, having hid his hands behind his back, to hide the way they trembled “I have realized now that this was wrong, and am stepping down from my position as representative, and submit myself to the justice system of my home country.”

Deimos had expected that Pearson would try to pull something like that. It was almost cute that he thought he was living past this next hour as a free person, and that he would be allowed to be tried by one of the human legal systems. Already the Alpha legionnaire could hear furious shouting from loyalists, chaos and renegade astartes. He could smell their rapid approach to this conference room, the scent of their fury and determination heavy in the air as they barrelled into the room.

All of them stopped dead, seeing Deimos in the guise of a Blood Angel as he stood directly behind the violently shaking and terrified human. Before any of them could try and demand something he said on external vox “As Pearson has wronged the Astartes more, his request for being tried by humanity is rejected. I will be taking him to where he will be tried and punished for his crimes.”

The assembled humans burst into dozens and dozens of loud statements and noises, each desperately trying to get his or the other astartes attention. Not that Deimos was actively listening to what they were saying, just making sure that they weren’t trying to get close enough to grab Pearson and attempt to get away from him.

He waited a beat before broadcasting his voice to the voxes of his fellow astartes alone, his eyes deliberately flashing teal as he purred “Hydra Dominatus.” Before he scooped up Pearson and swum off at his top speed, cackling to himself as the human in his arms whimpered and shook.

[angelicsentinel]

is zeroKID (amuro / or & kaito) okay? being a nuisance + undercover

thank you so much!!!! your writing is very lovely, hope your boredom goes away soon (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)♡

Totally fine! I’m not used to writing Amuro lol so sorry about that but other than that there’s no issue and I won’t get better without practice! Sorry for the delay, picked up a pinch hit on the ks bang so had to get that finished first.

-

Nuisance

Kaito may have blanched a little bit at seeing the person that almost blew him up on that train when he was wearing someone else’s face at his most recent heist. Still, Kaito narrowed his eyes at him. What was so special about him he had tantei-kun and friends enraptured with such a mediocre magic trick, hmm? He had to find out.

After the heist, he made it a priority to follow Amuro. And he didn’t make it easy. He took a circuitous route everywhere, even to work, and he had a keen sense of when someone else was following him. When Kaito found out exactly just what that man was into, it was almost enough to scare him off from following him around.

Murder, blackmail, extortion…the usual. And worse.

Then again, it was the best lead he’d had in years. He hadn’t thought Snake was the whole of the smuggling ring, but to find out it was a branch of a much larger syndicate, backed by one of the richest conglomerates in Japan, well.

It was concerning, to say the least. A lot of times, Kaito had felt that he was a puddle standing up to a lake. Finding out it was an ocean instead took a little more processing.

Still, his mother didn’t raise a quitter, and Kaito doggedly kept up the surveillance (perhaps even when he shouldn’t—rest in peace his attendance) and was finally rewarded with the fact he met up with the PSB too.

A double agent. But for which side, he wondered. And how did it involve the little detective? He had to find out. He had to know more before he could just leave him in the hands of that madman.

Kaito hadn’t expected to find such a web of intrigue following the threads of those leads, but it wasn’t like he could back out now. He’d invested far too much time in it. It made a gem that could grant someone immortality seem almost benign in comparison, and given they were looking for that too, almost a necessity to infiltrate and set up a new, fully integrated disguise on the periphery of all…this.

Rest in peace his free time after school for the foreseeable future, too.

The first time Amuro (or should he say Furuya? Bourbon? Zero? That man had more names than Kaito did) visited the shop he worked at Kaito lost all his composure. He wasn't ready! Nakamura Kyōko wasn't fully built yet and if he looked into her, he’d know. Stupid stupid Kaito! His face burned with humiliation as he looked at his adversary. That meant all information that was broadcasting from the bug he’d put on that closed server was suspect too. He probably knew all about it. Kaito would have to be very, very careful from now on.

The second time, Kaito was ready. And established. And everything charming. At least until he spilled peach tea all over Bourbon's shirt when he tripped over his own feet and landed face first in those perfect abs, awfully close to something else.

Kaito blanched. This man killed people. "I'm so sorry!" he wailed from Amuro's lap. "Don't kill me!" his mouth said without his permission.

Amuro held up both his hands, laughing gently. "I'm not going to kill you," he said. He pried Kaito off his lap, then took out his handkerchief and dabbed at Kaito's crocodile tears. "Hmm," he said, fingering the sleeve of Kaito's uniform. "This will get sticky. Let's clean up."

He stood, lifting up Kaito and setting him to the side, easy as you please, like Kaito weighed nothing, and pulled them towards the men's restroom. Kaito followed on trembling legs.

Kaito shot a desperate look at Jun, the shift manager, but she just gave him a thumbs up and a meaningful grin.

Amuro glared at the one person in the men's room, who left with a squeak in fear for his life.

Kaito commiserated.

Amuro locked the door, and sweat dripped down Kaito's brow as he looked for exits. The only one was the door they'd come in.

"I'm not going to bite," Amuro said, amused. He paused for a long moment, then said, "hard." He grinned. It was all teeth.

Kaito backed against the far wall, legs trembling. He had several tricks in his padded bra but any of them would give him away. But what if he was already compromised?

Amuro didn't spare him a second glance, taking off his coat and then unbuttoning his shirt, covered in peach tea stains. He took it off, leaving him in a thin, see-through undershirt. He hummed to himself, rinsing out the tea, then put his shirt under the hand dryer. "Well?" he said, back to Kaito. "Aren't you going to talk?"

When Kaito didn't answer, Amuro said, "No? That's a pity." He finished with his shirt, turned around, then slid it back over his shoulders, leaving it unbuttoned. "I'll talk, then. Come here."

Kaito obeyed despite himself, and Amuro took his handkerchief and wet it, dabbing at the tea stains on Kaito's uniform.

After a few minutes, Kaito let himself relax, only for his hopes to be dashed as Amuro said, "You're a real nuisance, KID."

Kaito startled, jerking away, only for Amuro to grip his wrist. "Don't be like that. You're lucky I was around to cover for you when you infiltrated headquarters. Vermouth knows exactly how you operate."

"Which side are you on?" Kaito asked.

Amuro grinned. It was blinding. "My own," he said.

Kaito reached for his flashbangs and Amuro's grip tightened. “I don’t think so.”

“What do you want from me?” Kaito asked.

“Like I said. Just to talk,” Amuro said. “We’re well past the point of pretending, aren’t we?” He leaned down, murmuring in his ear, “You know everything about me.” He lowered his voice even further. “In fact, you know too much.” The vibrations of his deep voice tickled his eardrum. He shivered from the heat of his breath.

Kaito couldn’t help the hitch in his breath. This man just had so much presence. And really, such a broad chest—

The door opened. Amuro wrapped his arm around Kaito’s waist and pulled Kaito tight against him. “Do you mind?” Amuro said in a flat, even voice.

“I’ll, uh, just come back later,” the man said, doing an abrupt turn and leaving.

“Where did I mess up?” Kaito grumbled, ignoring how weak his embrace made him feel.

Amuro reached into his pocket and pulled out the mangled remains of Kaito’s bug he’d placed in police headquarters.

“...Damn it.”

“It was a surprisingly well-done attempt,” Amuro said. “And impressive, seeing how long you managed to keep it hidden.” He trailed his hand down Kaito’s back. “I’m convinced we can help each other.”

“You’ll have to arrest me then. I don’t do blackmail,” Kaito said.

Amuro laughed. “That’s not what I heard.”

“Terms?” Kaito said tersely.

“I feed you information, and you go on some safe infiltrations for me.”

“Oh, is that all?” Kaito asked, more than a little breathless.

“Someone needs to keep an eye on you,” Amuro said, running his fingers back up Kaito’s spine to nestle in the back of his wig.

“No,” Kaito said. “Nope, nuh-uh, no way. I decline.”

Amuro pulled away and shrugged. Shrugged! “Suit yourself. You know where to find me when you change your mind.” He turned around and left.

Not “if”. When. Bastard. Kaito glared at his retreating back and stomped out of the bathroom.

Jun giggled behind her hand and gestured to him. Kaito looked down, confused, and saw that he was disheveled. Blushing furiously, he straightened himself and went back to work, glaring at the door.

That stupid man and his stupid double life and his stupid attitude! Ugh!

….Still kind of cute, though.

[teamgamble]

Well we got that Bagon.  Long story short, we confronted the kid, and got him to give us the Bagon.  Because if he reports us, we can show school staff the footage of him abusing her so we’d BOTH be in trouble.

Redstone the Bagon is in Laz’s care now, as he’s the closest person to a Dragon expert we have.  He says she’s flighty, but hopefully now she’ll be a lot happier.

Mod Isaac

[futilechildhooddream]

I value privacy and feel safer when I have it, yet constantly I open myself up. I over share. I give peopel all my secrets so that way no one can blackmail me. No one has anything to hold over me if it’s all out there, but what do I have to hold on to for myself?

[everhaveapie]

really wishing I was riding a girl’s thigh right now😣

[angrelysimpping]

October Prompts Day 31: Trick-or-Treat

GN Wren (they/them); GN Reader (you/your); attempted sexual assault by a male police officer; mentioned blackmail; implied past noncon; violence 

Words: 886

You nearly scream as the window to your room slides open. Even though you knew Wren said they'd be stopping by to see you, you hadn't expected the smuggler to come climbing in through the window. 

It's almost worse that they're wearing a police uniform. 

"Hey, sweetness, lovely meeting you here."

You roll your eyes, fighting the urge to throw something at the smuggler, lest they fall out the window. 

Wren gives you a rakish smile, seemingly amused by your reaction. Once they properly get into your room, Wren eyes you, blatantly checking out the costume you managed to scrape together. Your face grows warm as their eyes linger, but you don't bother trying to cover yourself. Wren's seen you in less, anyway. 

"Mummy, creative."

"Piss off, it's all I can afford since someone keeps stealing my clothes."

"Aw," Wren coos, "someone still mad about losing their monster hoodie? You knew the rules of the game, sweets, and you weren't complaining then if I do recall correctly."

This time, you do chuck something at Wren, a small, soft teddy bear that you’d bought on a whim. The smuggler catches it with a laugh. 

“Don’t be like that,” Wren says, all but purring as they grin at you, “or I might have to lock you up and we wouldn’t want that, would we?” Their hand drifts down to their belt, hovering over a pair of very real-looking handcuffs. 

A soft knock at your door saves you from having to deal with more of Wren’s shenanigans. 

The night goes surprisingly smooth. That is, after you assure Robin that everything is fine when you walk out of your room with a person dressed as a police officer that they've never seen before. You'd been wary about Wren joining you and Robin in taking the younger orphans trick or treating, but they behave themself. You actually find yourself thankful that the smuggler tagged along, showing your group little shortcuts and pointing out the houses that gave the best candy.

“Evening.”

A chill goes down your spine at the voice. A police officer. An actual police officer. One you’ve had to deal with before. And he’s looking right at you, a small, smug smirk on his face as he heads straight to where you are waiting on the sidewalk for the last of your group to finish up at the house. It’s the last one of the night, too, and you’d almost been lucky enough to not…what? What would this corrupt piece of shit have you do now? No permits were needed to trick or treating, no tulips were being ripped from their beds, and no uppity tourists with missing watches or rings. What could he possibly try to blackmail you with this time?

Not that it mattered, really. You’d still do whatever he demanded of you if it meant keeping the others safe. It’s a fate you’ve resigned yourself to. One he must recognize in the way you fold in on yourself a little but do nothing to get away from him as he picks up his pace.

His hand lands on your shoulder, harder than necessary and making you flinch. “Let’s go somewhere private.” You shudder, the scent of alcohol heavy on his breath.

You don’t hear Robin calling out your name as the officer leads you away from the group. You can barely hear the things he’s going to do to you muttered under his breath as he gets you further and further away from your friends, your heart pounding in your ears. 

You half expect him to bring you to his police car and lay you in the back seat, but he doesn’t. Instead, he shoves you into an alley and presses you against the cold wall.

You screw your eyes shut, bracing yourself for whatever comes next.

The crack of a baton meeting something solid makes your eyes snap back open.

The man lays on the ground, knocked out, a wildly grinning Wren standing over him, twirling a baton between their fingers. “Man, these things pack way more of a punch than I remember.” 

You exhale shakily, grabbing Wren’s attention as they look up from the officer. Their grin drops. “Hey, darlin’, you okay?”

You nod but there’s something in Wren’s voice, the soft look in their eye, that makes your resolve crumble, a few tears striking down your cheeks. You swipe at them hastily, giving Wren a shaky grin. “Yeah…yeah, I’m good.”

Wren studies you for a moment before nodding, “‘Course you are. That’s why we’re going out for drinks.” 

You try to object but Wren’s already got an arm around you, the warmth of their body and familiar scent comforting. Safe. Even though you didn’t fully trust Wren, you found them safe. You find yourself tongue-tied as you fight off a wave of tears. “The others-,” you finally manage to splutter out, “I need to take them b-back, and I don’t have- I can’t-”

“Sent the kiddies back to the orphanage all safe and it’ll be my treat. Besides, Landry owes me. You know Landry, right? Lil’ thief like you should. We’ll take care of ya, don’t you worry your pretty little head, got it?”

Wren gives you a firm squeeze, and you can’t help a watery giggle, agreeing as Wren pulls you along.