#Compensation Management System

[robertanthony34]

How To Use Compensation Planning Software To Support Budget And Workforce Objectives

Introduction

In today’s competitive business environment, organizations are under immense pressure to manage their workforce effectively while staying within budget. One of the most strategic ways to align financial constraints with employee performance and satisfaction is through effective compensation planning. However, manual methods or disconnected tools often lead to errors, misalignment, and inefficiencies. This is where Compensation Planning Software becomes essential.

Bullseye Engagement, a leader in workforce optimization solutions, offers robust Compensation Planning Software designed to align your compensation strategies with your budget and workforce goals. By streamlining compensation processes, this software helps HR leaders and managers make data-driven decisions that positively impact retention, performance, and overall organizational success.

In this blog, we will explore how to use Compensation Planning Software to support both your budgetary requirements and workforce objectives effectively.

Why Compensation Planning Matters

Compensation is more than just salaries and bonuses. It is a critical element of employee satisfaction, performance management, and organizational culture. Poorly planned compensation strategies can lead to low morale, high turnover, and missed financial targets.

To ensure that compensation supports both workforce and financial objectives, companies need to integrate data, forecasts, and performance metrics. This level of strategic planning requires a dedicated system — not spreadsheets or disconnected tools.

What is Compensation Planning Software?

Compensation Planning Software is a digital solution that automates and streamlines the process of planning, budgeting, and executing employee compensation. This includes base salary adjustments, bonuses, incentives, merit increases, and equity distributions. It enables HR and finance teams to work collaboratively, ensuring compensation aligns with performance data and budget limits.

Bullseye Engagement's Compensation Planning Software offers intuitive dashboards, role-based access, and analytics tools to simplify complex compensation decisions. It’s designed to make sure that compensation not only retains top talent but also adheres to financial guidelines and organizational goals.

Key Features of Bullseye Engagement’s Compensation Planning Software

1. Budget Alignment Tools

Bullseye Engagement’s software allows HR and finance teams to set compensation budgets and allocate funds across departments and teams. The system provides real-time tracking to ensure that managers don’t exceed allocated limits, enabling smarter decisions during merit cycles.

2. Performance-Based Pay Integration

The software integrates seamlessly with performance management systems, allowing managers to tie compensation directly to employee performance. This supports a pay-for-performance culture, which is essential for motivating top talent and ensuring fairness.

3. Scenario Planning and Forecasting

With built-in modeling tools, managers can create “what-if” scenarios to test the impact of compensation decisions before implementation. This helps in balancing workforce needs with financial objectives without unpleasant surprises.

4. Automated Workflows and Approvals

Manual compensation planning is often delayed by approval bottlenecks. Bullseye Engagement’s software includes automated workflows that speed up approvals while maintaining compliance and transparency.

5. Compliance and Audit Trails

Compliance with internal and external regulations is a growing concern. This software includes detailed audit trails and customizable compliance features to reduce risk and support accountability.

How To Use Compensation Planning Software to Support Budget Objectives

Set Realistic Budget Constraints

Begin by inputting your organizational compensation budget into the software. This budget should account for fixed salaries, potential bonuses, cost-of-living adjustments, and any variable compensation plans. Bullseye Engagement’s platform helps you break this down by department or role level, providing a clear view of your financial boundaries.

Monitor Spending in Real Time

One of the primary advantages of using Compensation Planning Software is real-time budget tracking. Managers receive instant feedback if their compensation plans exceed the budget, allowing adjustments before final approval. This prevents overspending and promotes accountability across the organization.

Use Predictive Analytics

Forecasting future compensation needs is essential for long-term budgeting. Bullseye Engagement’s solution uses historical data and trends to project future costs. This allows HR and finance to prepare for workforce changes such as expansions, promotions, or market adjustments.

How To Use Compensation Planning Software to Support Workforce Objectives

Align Pay with Performance

High-performing employees expect their efforts to be recognized and rewarded. Bullseye Engagement’s Compensation Planning Software integrates with performance management tools, allowing managers to allocate compensation increases based on performance ratings. This motivates employees and reinforces a merit-based culture.

Improve Transparency and Fairness

Employees want to understand how their compensation is determined. The software’s transparency features allow for clear communication of compensation decisions, reducing confusion and increasing trust in the organization.

Retain Top Talent

Turnover is costly. Competitive and fair compensation plans, driven by data, help organizations retain their best performers. The software can identify top talent and recommend compensation adjustments that align with market standards, reducing the risk of losing key employees to competitors.

Address Pay Equity

With built-in analytics, Bullseye Engagement’s software can identify potential pay disparities across gender, race, and other demographics. This enables companies to take corrective action and demonstrate a commitment to pay equity and diversity.

Best Practices for Implementing Compensation Planning Software

Involve Key Stakeholders

From HR to finance to department heads, involve all relevant stakeholders in the software implementation process. This ensures that the system meets the needs of all users and gains broad support.

Train Managers Effectively

Managers play a key role in compensation decisions. Providing them with training on how to use the software ensures they can make informed, budget-conscious, and fair decisions.

Review and Adjust Regularly

Compensation planning is not a one-time event. Use the software to review compensation structures regularly and adjust based on market data, performance metrics, and organizational goals.

Leverage Data for Continuous Improvement

Data collected through the software can be analyzed to refine your compensation strategy over time. Bullseye Engagement provides dashboards and reports that help identify trends, gaps, and opportunities.

Why Choose Bullseye Engagement?

Bullseye Engagement stands out in the market for its holistic approach to workforce optimization. Their Compensation Planning Software is just one component of a larger ecosystem designed to improve employee engagement, performance, and organizational effectiveness.

Key benefits of Bullseye Engagement’s solution include:

Seamless integration with performance and goal-setting tools

Role-based access to maintain data security

Scalable features suitable for organizations of all sizes

Exceptional customer support and onboarding

By choosing Bullseye Engagement, you are not only investing in a software solution but in a strategic partner committed to your organizational success.

Conclusion

In a business world where every dollar and every employee matters, compensation planning must be both strategic and data-driven. Compensation Planning Software from Bullseye Engagement empowers organizations to manage compensation with precision, aligning financial budgets with employee performance and satisfaction.

By leveraging this powerful tool, HR leaders can ensure fair, competitive, and budget-conscious compensation strategies that drive engagement, reduce turnover, and support organizational growth. Whether your goal is to reward top performers, ensure pay equity, or stay within strict financial limits, Bullseye Engagement’s software delivers the insights and control needed to succeed.

Start transforming your compensation planning software process today with Bullseye Engagement — where workforce strategy meets intelligent software.

For more info Contact us : (888) 515-0099 or Email : besales@bullseyetdp.com

[semcoinfratechworld]

Advanced SOC Diagnostics for Lithium-ion Battery Health

Accurately determining the State of Charge (SOC) is vital for effective battery health management in today’s energy-driven world. Just as you rely on a fuel gauge in your car, SOC reflects how much usable energy remains in a lithium-ion battery, preventing sudden failures and optimizing performance.

Modern Battery Management Systems (BMS) use layered diagnostic algorithms to ensure SOC accuracy, compensating for variables that influence measurement reliability.

Advanced Methods for SOC Estimation

1. Ampere-Hour Integration (Coulomb Counting)

This method continuously tracks the current entering and exiting the battery. While fundamental to SOC calculation, it’s prone to drift errors due to sensor inaccuracies and battery self-discharge. Thus, it often requires correction from other techniques.

2. Charge & Discharge Voltage Correction

Lithium-ion batteries exhibit predictable voltage behaviours during charge/discharge cycles. By comparing these voltage/current patterns against predefined SOC curve libraries, systems refine their SOC accuracy and adjust readings based on real-world performance.

 3. Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) Correction

OCV represents the battery voltage at rest and strongly correlates with SOC. Using a battery-specific OCV-SOC curve, systems can recalibrate SOC values periodically during rest intervals, ensuring greater accuracy across usage conditions.

4. Full/Empty Position Reset

When the battery reaches a full or empty state, the SOC is calibrated to 100% or 0%, respectively. These reset points are critical for avoiding long-term drift in battery state of charge monitoring and help align individual cell voltages within a battery cluster.

Real-World Scenario: SOC Step-Down Anomaly

At a project site, engineers noticed a recurring SOC drop, even while the battery was idle. Though OCV calibration was enabled, a step-down pattern appeared during rest periods. Investigation revealed the root cause: the default OCV table from the manufacturer had not been correctly configured in the BMS.

Surprisingly, disabling the OCV calibration didn’t solve the issue. Digging deeper, engineers discovered a “SOC loss power” reading of 2086W, signifying phantom energy loss. The cause? An erroneous power compensation setting within the system’s persistent memory.

The Fix: EEPROM Reset & Cache Cleaning

To correct the issue:

The team executed the “AAA4” command to reset the EEPROM, which holds configuration data and compensation values.

A full system refresh using “read all” restored accurate SOC levels.

An automatic cache cleaning function was added to purge stale or incorrect data from volatile memory.

Post-reset, SOC readings stabilized. No further drop was observed during a 2-hour rest, validating the correction.

Best Practices for SOC Troubleshooting

Always verify SOC-OCV data from the battery manufacturer.

Monitor and correct hidden settings like SOC loss power compensation.

Follow a structured battery diagnostics workflow.

Integrate memory cache maintenance into your software routine.

Conclusion

Maintaining optimal lithium-ion battery health hinges on accurate SOC diagnostics, robust algorithms, and meticulous system calibration. As this case study demonstrates, even minor misconfigurations can cause persistent problems. Through proactive diagnostics, firmware resets, and routine memory maintenance, engineers can ensure consistent SOC performance, safety, and battery lifespan optimization.

[qandle1]

Streamline Employee Rewards: The Power of Compensation Management Software

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, attracting and retaining top talent is a significant challenge for organizations across industries. One of the key factors that influence an employee’s decision to stay with a company or explore better opportunities is their compensation package. Implementing a robust Compensation Management Software has become a critical aspect of modern HR practices, revolutionizing the way organizations manage employee rewards, bonuses, and benefits. In this blog, we will explore the benefits and features of Compensation Management Software and its impact on optimizing employee satisfaction and overall organizational performance.

Looking for the Best Compensation Management Software ? Check out the Compensation Management Software.

Understanding Compensation Management Software

Compensation Management Software is a comprehensive, cloud-based solution designed to automate and streamline the compensation process within an organization. It allows HR departments and managers to efficiently manage and administer employee compensation, bonuses, incentives, and other reward programs. The software facilitates data-driven decision-making, ensuring that compensation plans align with company objectives while remaining competitive in the job market.

Key Features and Benefits

Salary Structure Customization: Compensation Management Software enables businesses to create customized salary structures based on job roles, employee performance, experience, and other relevant factors. This flexibility ensures that compensation packages are tailored to individual employees and align with their contributions to the organization.

Performance-Based Compensation: Linking compensation to employee performance is a proven strategy to drive motivation and productivity. The software allows managers to set clear performance metrics and associate them with specific rewards, making it easier to recognize and incentivize high-performing employees.

Data Analysis and Insights: One of the core advantages of Compensation Management Software is its ability to collect and analyze compensation data. HR professionals can access real-time insights to identify compensation trends, potential disparities, and make data-driven decisions to ensure fairness and equality within the organization.

Compensation Planning and Budgeting: With this software, businesses can streamline the annual compensation planning process. It provides a centralized platform where managers can collaborate on budget allocation, ensuring that the organization’s financial resources are utilized effectively to reward deserving employees.

Regulatory Compliance: Keeping up with ever-changing labor laws and regulations can be challenging. Compensation Management Software is equipped with features to ensure compliance with local and global labor laws, minimizing the risk of legal disputes and financial penalties.

Employee Self-Service: The software often includes employee self-service portals, enabling employees to view their compensation details, track performance metrics, and access benefits information. This transparency fosters trust and empowers employees to take control of their career development.

Impact on Employee Satisfaction and Retention

a. Increased Transparency:

Compensation Management Software promotes transparency in the compensation process, which is highly valued by employees. Knowing that compensation decisions are data-driven and fair fosters trust in the organization and enhances employee satisfaction.

b. Improved Motivation and Performance:

Linking compensation to performance metrics motivates employees to perform at their best. With clear objectives and achievable rewards, employees are more likely to go the extra mile, resulting in increased productivity and overall performance.

c. Enhanced Employee Engagement:

A well-structured compensation system, backed by the software’s analytics, enables managers to recognize and reward outstanding contributions promptly. This recognition enhances employee engagement and strengthens the emotional connection between employees and the organization.

d. Reduced Turnover:

Competitive and fair compensation is a powerful tool in reducing employee turnover. By offering attractive compensation packages, businesses can retain top talent and reduce the cost and effort associated with frequent recruitment and training. In conclusion, Compensation Management Software has revolutionized the way organizations manage their employee rewards and benefits. Its advanced features, such as salary customization, performance-based compensation, and data analysis, empower HR departments and managers to make informed decisions and drive employee satisfaction and engagement. By investing in this innovative solution, businesses can effectively attract, retain, and motivate top talent, ultimately leading to improved organizational performance and success in today’s highly competitive business landscape.

This blog reference from https://www.qandle.com/blog/streamline-employee-rewards-the-power-of-compensation-management-software/

[pencil-n-pen]

HANDLE WITH CARE

₊˚⊹

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hotch x fem! reader

masterlist | kofi

summary: spending the night at aaron’s usually puts you at ease, but not tonight. A broken mug brings up old memories, but he still has a way of soothing away old hurts.

cw: implied/referenced past abuse

a/n: honestly idk i just wanted to write hotch comfort. this has been in my drafts since like day 1 of this acc

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⊹ .

It’s really stupid, in hindsight.

In the moment though, it was really, really scary.

It was late. This is mistake number one.

You were trying to quietly make tea and whatever odd hour it was. You can’t check the oven timer. It just keeps flashing 12:00.

Making tea quietly is hard, though. Every sound seems to echo and all the shadows seem to crawl. You’re this close to closing the living room curtains you can see from the corner of your eye. You don’t, though. Not being able to see would be worse.

Anyway. You’re trying to make tea quietly. You’re staying over at Hotch’s —Aaron’s, as he insists you call him when you’re alone— Jack is away at a sleepover. It’s just the two of you.

You couldn’t sleep. Usually, being with Hotch is the strongest sleep aid in the world. You tend to conk out the second your arms find his in bed.

But not tonight.

Tonight you slept in fitful bursts. Your skin prickled and crawled with restless anticipation- of what, you’re not sure.

Not wanting to disturb his sleep on such a rare day off, you got up. Tried to do what you did when you had nights like these before him. Only watching tv is too loud and you don’t have any books here.

Thus: tea.

It started raining a little while after you got up. The pattering of the droplets against the roof and the windows helps drown out the racket you’re making.

You’re not really making a racket, you tell yourself. It just sounds like you are because it’s night. This would all sound normal in the daylight.

It’s the mantra that keeps you going on nights like these. You’ll feel normal in the daylight. It’ll go away in the daylight. You won’t feel so haunted in the daylight.

In the daylight, in the daylight, in the daylight.

You get lost in your thoughts. It happens fairly often on nights like these.

Only Aaron’s stove is newer than yours. It heats up faster.

The teapot lets out a terrible, wailing hiss, shattering the fragile silence.

You lunge for the kettle, hands moving too quickly and too clumsily to move it off the burner. Your fingers slip. The side of the kettle slams into your forearm, and you don’t quite manage to stamp down the pained yelp that rips its way from your throat the second the searing pain registers.

Your nervous system reacts before you do. It jerks your arm to the right, away from the kettle.

And into your empty mug.

You watch in horrified slow-motion as the cup is swiped off the counter, falling to the floor in an explosion of porcelain.

Your arm is screaming in pain. There is boiling water and a hot tea kettle on the floor. There are shards of mug everywhere.

You hear a thump. The creak of a door opening that signifies Aaron coming out of the bedroom, Aaron being awake, Aaron coming to you.

For a moment, your brain just… catches. Sort of like it gets stuck in this web of fear-induced indecision.

The footsteps sound rushed. They come closer.

To compensate for the momentary freeze, your brain kicks into its highest gear.

You drop to your knees on the floor of the kitchen so quickly they crack on the linoleum. You can’t tell if the sting is from the fall or the boiling water. Would it still be hot? Is it still hot?

The footsteps stop. You scramble to get a hold of the pieces of the mug, shaking fingers grabbing, grabbing, grabbing. They’re clutched tight in your palm when you speak, words rushed and tumbling out of your mouth.

“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, please go to bed, I’ll clean this all up—“

A hand reaches out for yours and you flinch. Not a full body one. Just like what happened with the burn. Your nervous system reacts before your brain can process. Takes your hand away from the threat.

Only the hand stills. Stops, right where it is, and your entire body feels funny, and something doesn’t seem right.

Then you stop too. You don’t move. You don’t grab more pieces of the mug, but you don’t drop the ones you have either. Your knees are throbbing. Your arm is burning, stabs of stinging pain pulsing in time with your heartbeat.

The hand retreats and the person crouches down, and you recognize those pajama pants, that hand, those feet.

“Honey?”

You keep your eyes trained on the mess. On the wreckage.

“I’m sorry.” Your voice cracks over the words.

“Shh,” He hums, and the hand reaches out again, slower, closes over your wrist and turns your hand over. A second hand pries your fingers apart and gently shakes your hand, the mug shards dropping to the floor, tinged scarlet. They mix with the spilled water, washing the kitchen floor a kaleidoscope of linoleum and sharp edges and pinky-red water.

He gently pulls you up to your feet, strong arm going around your waist. It doesn’t cage you, doesn’t box you in. Another hand turns your head away from the kitchen floor and all at once a switch flicks in your brain, and you remember. Where you are, who you’re with.

If Aaron notices your sharp intake of breath, he doesn’t say anything. He leads you to the bathroom, sits you on the toilet lid, and pulls out the extensive first aid kit he keeps under the sink.

“Can I see your arm?”

You hold it out to him, looking at his face only when he’s not looking at you.

He doesn’t look mad. You still have the vague urge to run.

He examines it carefully. “It’s only first degree, but it’s fairly big. We’ll need to run it under cool water for at least ten minutes, and then apply some burn cream and bandage it.”

He’s telling you exactly what he’s going to do. Talking you through all the steps. So you won’t be caught off guard by anything.

“Sweetheart,” He crouches down in front of you again, and you feel bad for his knees, “I’m going to need some sort of confirmation.”

You nod slowly. “Yeah,” Your voice is raw, “I think I bruised my knees when I— when I fell.”

Your pajamas consist of an oversized shirt —one of his— and a pair of pajama shorts. It’s helpful because he doesn’t have to roll up any pant legs to check your knees. It’s unhelpful because in the adrenaline crash, the bathroom is cold, and so is the toilet lid.

Your shivers of fear are replaced with ones of cold. A small but marked improvement.

He examines your knees, thumbs brushing deftly over the skin and leaving goosebumps in their wake.

“Looks like you might’ve cut one of them on one of the pieces. It’s not too big, though. Better than your hands.”

You wince at the mention.

He stands, pulling you up with him.

“What hurts the worst?”

“Burn.”

“We’ll take care of it first.”

He turns the sink tap on, checking and double checking the temperature is to his approval before gently guiding your arm under the water. It stings on first contact, and you bite your lip through the pain. You’re sure you’ve made enough noise for the night. The pain mellows, relief following hot on its heels.

Aaron stands behind you, his presence a solid weight. One hand holds your arm in place under the water, the other hovers over the faucet, ready to make any adjustments to the temperature at your word.

You don’t make any.

You’re tired, abruptly. Your hand still stings and your knees ache, but without the sharp stabbing of the pain in your arm, the exhaustion of the past five minutes rushes into you all at once and you sag, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Aaron catches you, hand over the faucet leaving to place a steady hand on your waist.

“You’re not going to hit me. Or yell at me.”

He presses his face into the back of your neck, not so much as kissing your nape as just pressing his lips against the skin there.

“I’m not.”

“I know that,” you say, going for confident but tripping and falling into desperate, “I know that. I was just. I forgot. In the moment, and I got scared.”

The hand on your waist squeezes once.

“I was scared too, you know.”

“Why?”

“Because you were scared,” You can feel his chest vibrate as he speaks, “And you were hurt. And for just a moment, I didn’t know how to help you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s nothing to be sorry for. I was scared for you.”

“I know, I’m just. I know how rare days off are for you, and I was trying to be quiet, so you could sleep but I—“

“Hey, hey. Slow down. Don’t work yourself up.”

He moves your arm back and forth under the water, slowly working the angles of the burn so it all gets evenly cooled.

“Sorry,” You say again, both for lack of anything else to say and just to make sure he knows that you are. Guilt pulses and pounds to the same beat as your heart, to the same rhythm as the pain in your knees and your hands.

“I know you are,” He murmurs, voice a gentle wash of concern and something tender. He always knows just the right thing to say, especially when you’re like this. “But you don’t have to be. I’m not upset.”

“I know,” You answer, and this time he doesn’t respond. He probably knows that your words weren’t for him.

He works methodically through applying the cream and bandages, and then as he fixes up your hands and knees. You’re careful to keep your eyes trained on his, focusing on the feel of his hands and not the fear that jackrabbits in your chest every time your focus slips.

Once finished, he guides you to your feet, and there’s still concern etched in the lines of his face, right in between his brows. That’s where he always keeps it— his worry.

“Do you want to go back to bed?”

You could. You should. He’s tired. He deserves to sleep in and you should be able to fall asleep again, because he’ll be there, and everything is fine, and you are fine.

But there’s still pieces of mug on the floor and you feel like there’s pieces of you stuck there too, and your mouth goes dry, and you never did drink that tea, and what’ll happen to the mess? What will things look like in the daylight?

Foolish? A foolish girl, yes— always overreacting.

“Honey?” He says for the second time tonight.

Your face crumples. “I’m sorry.”

He folds himself around you again, easily. His arms slot into place like a puzzle piece- always the right angle, the right feel, the right amount of pressure. He holds you together as you cry, frustrated and tired and all the things you’d tried so desperately not to let show.

“You’re okay,” He whispers, hand smoothing over your neck, your back. All those vulnerable places that itch. “You’re okay.”

He repeats the words as your cries quiet to sniffles, as you start to think he might be right.

You pull away, wiping your hands across your face. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what— I’m okay now, I think.”

His eyes search your face, looking for any signs that isn’t true. “It’s okay if you’re not.”

“I know,” You say, and you really do believe it this time, “I just… it’s frustrating. That this still happens. That you still need to do this. It happened so long ago, and I don’t even think about it anymore, really. It’s weird, it’s just- the mug. It broke and I just… I don’t know.”

Aaron listens attentively to your rambles, no sign of being annoyed or exasperated or anything. “I understand. Healing isn’t linear, sweetheart. There are things that happened to me many years ago that I still think about.”

He dips down, pressing his lips to your forehead. “And I will always do this. Always.”

For the first time tonight, you believe him, fully.

You’ll be okay. Maybe not now, but you will be.

۫ ꣑ৎ

[dcxdpdabbles]

Master Posts Links

All the dabbles I have posted on my DC x DP account. Under a read more due to how long it is. Broken into three categories:

Multi-parts - Dabbles that have more than one part written.

One-shots- Dabbles with only one part written.

Requests- Dabbles written for the requests of readers. (Note: If a request is for a continuation of the other two categories, they will be filed in Milti-parts)

Master Post 1 Link

Master Post 2 Link

Master Post 3 Link

Completed AUs Master Post Link

NSFW (+18 ) Link

Please read the indexes to determine which master post each au is filed in.

As of 12/25/2024: The newest stuff is inside of Master Post 3.

(Updated as of 06/05/2025: Stop onOne-Shots: The Fib: Part 1)

MASTER POST 1 INDEX:

Multi-parts:

The Royal Consort,

Child Support

Phantom's Number 1 fan

Danny and The Fan Blog

Congratulations! It's Triplets!:

Ghost King Summon dare

The Dauntless Matchmaker

Demon and Angel Brat

Single Dad

Jason's Doll

Misplace Baby

One-shots:

The Assistant

The Ghost Trio's Food Trip

Legal Compensation

Love Among Fans

Lex Luther's Youngest

The Infinite Realms Hobby Store:

Obsession Runs in the Family

Farm Hand

Vague Threats

Game of Deadly Love

Retired-Rouge

The Real Blood Son

The Kid of Candles

Magic Older Brother

Keep The God Kid Busy!

Dog walker

Clockwork's Cookbook

Respawn and Relive

The Summoning Conditions of the Ghost King

Finders Keeper

What's the rule again?

The Contact, the Butler and the Sly Time Lord

Big Fish in Gotham Pond:

Immunity system:

Wrong Number:

Timeline Prevention Squad

Requests

The Masters are Aliens

Ghost Zone Read

Red Hood's Snow

Jason Sees Dead People

Ghost Dad

Wayne Manor Ghost

The Siren of Iceberg Lounge

The Orginal

The Ghost King's Fibs

Red ParentHood

Woo thy Butler, My Lord

Double Vision

Dealeyed Soulmates

Rescue Mission

Danny's Online Persona

Practice makes perfect

MASTER POST 2 INDEX:

Multi-Parts

Cass the Halfa

Danny's Grill

The Audit

Why Ten?

Cluster of Cores

Demon Head Slightly to the left

Danny Fenton's Ex

New Management

Billy's Parents

Phone a friend

Super Robin

Cassandra's Curse in Gotham

Marriage Trap the Office Supplier!

It's all Fun and Games Kids!

The cinnamon roll's son

One hell of a good Bellhop

Lights and Camera

One-Shots

Red Yummy

Professional Protector of Love

The Backroads

In 30 Minutes or less

Corporate Rivals

Rude Kryptonian

Ecto-Specialist

Side Hustle

Copyright

Love at first (club) meeting

Catnip for heroes

Old Friends

Danny the Nanny

Lights and Camera

Hot Wings

The ones who got away

Vanishing Bookstore

Petal to the metal

Lover Boy

PenPal

Fishbowl Bones

Unwanted House Guest

The Roommate

Missing Half

Danny's Did you Know?

Yeti's orders.

Who's Child is this?

Requests

Batman with a gun's lover

IRS's boogie man

Dear Elder Brother's mistakes

The Undead Florist

Pit's Merman

Dullahan is my roomate

Nightowl Appartement

The one with Sunset Hair

The lost In-Laws

The Lady and The Dad

Big Brother does not approve

Gotham's star and Shadow

Pride in Gotham

Revenant Prompt

The King and his Not-Knight

Contestant Number 3

The Lost son of the Bat

AroAce Danny

Extended Family

Master Post 3 Index

Mult-parts

Passion for Fashion

Alley Boyfriends

Mr. Flavor

Freelance Inventor

The Summoned Demon

One-shots

You ARE the father

The Good Luck Charm

To be Human Again

Travel Buddy

Shift

A little bit of Home

New Money

Beyond the Grave

Lex Luthor's annoyance

Die with a smile

Cold Case

Online Siren

The End and the Beginning

Damian's (not) real friend

Family Bonding

Gotham Gossip

The old Switcharoo

A Pen Pal's Duty

Gamer Boy

Rent-A-Scandal

Silver Tongue Snake

Pin-Man and the Merry Metal Makers

Burst Your Bubble

The Contingency Plan

What's Your Poison?

The cousin

Tax Bracket

Not my Business

The Fib

Request

Access Granted

Skulker's Past

Surviving Babysitting

The Twins

Echo's Dad

The Artifact Repair Man

Flip of A coin

New Neighbors

Over and Over again

The West Wing

Never the Bride

The Masters Boy

Starstruck

My Lost little song

The Hostage Prince

John's Mask

COMPLETED AUS MASTER POST INDEX

The Bakery is a Front!....right?

Cave Boy

The Adoptive Son

Alfred's Boy

[cashezsvenningsenrkdjx]

A Little Intuition/Is Argentina's "Chainsaw Revolution" applicable to the United States? \Li Lingxiu

At a political rally held in the suburbs of Washington on Thursday, Argentine President Milley presented Musk, the leader of the Department of U.S. Government Efficiency (DOGE), with a "signature" chainsaw, symbolizing the inheritance of the "chainsaw revolution". But can the United States afford the economic price Argentina has paid for it?

Since the establishment of DOGE, several federal government departments have been purged. Musk and his leadership team first gained access to the Treasury Department's computer system, and then DOGE staff entered the International Development Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Ministry of Education and other departments to conduct investigations. At the aforementioned Conservative Political Action Conference, Musk also predicted that the Federal Reserve will be the next target.

The White House has provided a "buyout plan" to 2 million federal government employees, which will provide about 8 months of salary compensation to all employees who voluntarily resign. As of February 18, a total of about 20,000 federal employees (including probationary employees) have been laid off or forced to stop work and take leave.

Such a swift and vigorous layoff storm easily reminds people of the "chainsaw revolution" promoted by Mile in Argentina. As early as the last round of elections in the country, the image of Mile holding a chainsaw high has become a classic image of campaign propaganda. At the beginning of his term, he signed a presidential decree to reduce government departments from 18 to 9 and fired more than 30,000 government employees. The Argentine government also successfully cut public spending by 30% through measures such as cutting energy and transportation subsidies, achieving a fiscal surplus for the first time in 14 years.

But compared with the political environment of the two countries, there are actually great differences. The Argentine president has absolute power over the government's organizational structure and departmental settings, and the abolition of government departments belongs to the category of administrative affairs management and adjustment. But for the US president, if there is no clear authorization from Congress through relevant laws, government departments cannot be adjusted or abolished (except for agencies established by presidential decrees).

Expenditure reduction plan difficult to achieve

Musk's previous slogan was to cut federal spending by $1 trillion. But in the officially released White House documents, Trump did not propose KPIs in this regard. As of February 17, DOGE has saved an estimated $55 billion through contract and lease renegotiations, cancellation of grants, asset sales, layoffs, regulatory savings and fraud detection, completing only 4% of Musk's goal.

Data shows that the total expenditure of the US federal government in fiscal year 2024 is $6.8 trillion, and the largest sources come from three aspects: Social Security ($1.46 trillion), Medicare ($0.87 trillion), and Medicaid ($0.91 trillion), accounting for a total of 49%. However, cutting the above expenditures will shake the interests of voters, and Trump also made it clear during his campaign last year that he would not cut spending on these three projects. In this way, DOGE's spending reduction target seems to be a task that can never be completed.

More importantly, the cost of Argentina's "chainsaw revolution" is painful. In the first six months after Milley took office, the country's poverty rate jumped from about 40% to 53%. Although it fell back by the end of last year, the unemployment rate climbed from 12% in 2023 to 15%.

House prices in Washington, DC plummet

There are also some bad trends in the United States at the moment. Data shows that the number of initial unemployment claims in Washington, DC has risen significantly in the past two weeks. Real estate prices in the region have also begun to fall. The median price of a house in Washington, DC in January 2025 is $553,000, a sharp drop of 9.7% year-on-year.

Argentina is still the largest borrower from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with outstanding loans of $43.4 billion, accounting for nearly 30% of total credit, exceeding the total of all sub-Saharan African countries. (See accompanying picture)

If Musk insists on carrying out the "chainsaw revolution" to the end. Then, poverty will replace inflation and become the hottest topic in American society in the future.

[rlyehtaxidermist]

December 2-3, 1984

It's been forty years since a Union Carbide chemical plant exposed five hundred thousand people to methyl isocyanate in Bhopal, India. Thousands were killed in the initial event, thousands more died from complications months or years later, and at least a hundred thousand were permanently injured.

The cause of the incident was the introduction of water to a methyl isocyanate storage tank. This caused a runaway reaction, overpressurising the tank from 14 to 280 kPa over the course of two hours, at which point the tank cracked - but even with atmospheric escape of the gas, pressure continued to increase to nearly 400 kPa - at which point the gauge could no longer give an accurate reading.

After roughly 30 tonnes of gas escaped, employees triggered the plant's alarm system - which was originally designed to alert both workers in the plant and the people in the surrounding city. Company policy mandated that they not alarm the populace about "inconsequential" leakages, so the two alarms had been decoupled by the time of the release. For nearly an hour and a half, the plant's management continued to tell authorities that everything was fine and they had no idea what had happened. Hospital staff had to guess what gas was causing the symptoms. No shelter in place order was given; the public siren remained silent for an hour and a half.

Union Carbide had identified 61 hazards at the Bhopal plant in a 1982 audit, but never followed up on the inspection. Mere months before the incident, UCC discussed the possibility of a methyl isocyanate reaction similar to what occurred in Bhopal at one of their West Virginia plants - however, the report and its predictions were never forwarded to the Bhopal plant, despite the similar design and process.

The Union Carbide Corporation asserts that the incident was caused by sabotage performed by a disgruntled worker. They claim that workers conspired with the Indian government to hide evidence of sabotage in order to blame the company, claiming that the safety systems were sufficient to prevent the incident without human intervention.

On the night of the incident, the tank's monitoring equipment had been malfunctioning for years, reduced to a single manually operated backup. Management had shut off refrigeration of the tank, keeping it at more than 15 degrees Celsius above the recommended temperature. The emergency flare and gas scrubbers had been out of order for months - and even if they had been active, they had insufficient capacity. Deluge guns - a type of pressurised water cannon intended to dissolve escaping gas - lacked enough pressure to even reach the gas cloud.

No motive for the alleged sabotage was suggested.

Warren Anderson, CEO of Union Carbide, refused to answer homicide charges by the Indian government, with the US government denying repeated requests for extradition. He died in 2014, months before the thirtieth anniversary of the disaster in Bhopal.

Union Carbide have divested their stake in their Indian subsidiary UCIL, and refuse to fund any efforts to clean up the abandoned site, insisting that the fault lied with UCIL management and the alleged saboteur. The company paid $470 million dollars to the Indian government - which worked out to a cost of 43 cents per share of the company. Union Carbide's annual earnings were $4.88 per share after the Bhopal settlement.

The 2012 Global Intelligence Files leak revealed that Union Carbide's current owner, Dow Chemical, had employed the surveillance firm Stratfor to monitor activists seeking compensation for the Bhopal disaster.

Dow responded to the email leak that they were "required to take appropriate action to protect their people and safeguard their facilities" - an attitude that seems to have been very lacking in 1984.

[castillon02]

Tim reviews Jason's operations management and makes a suggestion.

"Your first move: hire a head of sanitation," Tim said.

"You think a janitor's gonna solve my suddenly-successful-startup problems? What, by sweeping them away?" Jason rolled his eyes.

Tim steepled his fingers. “The good news,” he said, “is that your drug distribution and community norms enforcement hierarchy is very clear. You also have people doing marketing, program management, HR, facilities, and admin. Your system of rotating duties when people get injured isn’t bad—people generally benefit from cross-training—but you should formalize the top positions and compensate your new leadership team. Including sanitation.” 

“Sure, sure, I'll just tell one of my guys their job is to be head shit-scrubber instead of a badass neighborhood protector!" Jason threw up his hands.

Tim raised his eyebrows.

“It’s bad enough getting them to clean up a crime scene when they’re on my literal shit list! A couple of them thought that lighting the building on fire was an easier way to get it to stop smelling bad and having DNA. Guess who had to add five new slides to his powerpoint about evidence disposal?" Jason glared.

Tim grimaced. "I had an intern in the office who thought that he could just throw trash off his desk for the cleaning staff to pick up."

He and Jason shared a commiserating look that silently said, We were both stupid enough to work with the League of Assassins, and even we wouldn't do that.

“Anyway," Tim continued, "since you're dealing with...that...you can just hire an outside party. Lots of people in Gotham know how to clean up dead bodies and keep their mouths shut. I can advertise the position and send you the likeliest candidates for an interview. I’ll have to incorporate you, of course, but I’ve had the paperwork ready since I got back from the Middle East.” 

“Incorporate me?” 

“Red Hood LLC, technically."

Jason's breathing became calculatedly even.

"Once you’re legit in the eyes of the law, we can work on squaring away everyone’s taxes and keep you from getting Capone’d.” 

“I’m as legit as one of Two-Face’s two-dollar bills!” 

“Yeah, but when you’re an LLC, all your crimes are white-collar crimes, and no one cares about those.” Tim shrugged.

“...Pretty sure that’s not how that works, bud.” 

“It’s how the court of public opinion works. And if anyone tries to say that Red Hood, CEO of Red Hood LLC, and Red Hood, notorious vigilante, are the same person? Tell them to prove it. So what if you have the same outfit? It’s a free country and people can wear what they want. And if they ever get your DNA results, Oracle says no they didn't.”

Jason tilted his head and started smiling. "You want Red Hood to be the Scarlet Pimpernel and Percy Blakeney. At the same time."

"The more blatant you are about it, the better. Rub elbows with Gotham's elite and tell them that you can't imagine why someone would let a Crime Alley vigilante ruin their ability to wear a red hood as a fashion statement, but in your company, people have spines. Especially when they're job creators. If you play your cards right, red headgear will be back in fashion."

"And then?"

"And then," Tim's eyes gleamed, "you start selling merch."

"Oh, shit." Jason's smile turned into a full-on smirk.

"On a sliding scale, of course."

"Those nepo babies are gonna pay me so much money to look cool."

Tim smiled. "And that's how hiring a head shit-scrubber is going to mitigate your high growth and cash flow problems."

[robertanthony34]

Why Your Business Needs Scalable Compensation Planning Solutions for Sustainable Growth

In today’s dynamic and highly competitive business environment, organizations must continuously adapt to changes in the workforce, industry regulations, and economic conditions. One of the most critical aspects of managing a successful organization is compensation planning. When done right, it drives performance, attracts top talent, and ensures long-term organizational sustainability.

Yet, many companies still rely on outdated, manual, or fragmented systems that fail to evolve with their growing needs. That’s where scalable Compensation Planning Solutions come into play. And with industry leaders like Bullseye Engagement offering intelligent and adaptable platforms, businesses can now approach compensation planning with a strategic, data-driven, and scalable mindset.

What Are Scalable Compensation Planning Solutions?

At their core, Compensation Planning Solutions are software systems or platforms designed to streamline the process of salary budgeting, bonus allocation, pay-for-performance strategies, and total rewards planning. Scalable solutions go a step further — they grow and evolve with your organization, accommodating changes in size, structure, and compensation strategy.

A scalable system ensures your organization isn't boxed into rigid structures. It allows for flexibility in setting different compensation models across departments, adjusting pay structures during organizational restructuring, and rolling out equity or incentive plans across global teams.

The Link Between Compensation and Sustainable Growth

Sustainable business growth is rooted in a motivated, engaged, and high-performing workforce. Employees who feel fairly compensated are more likely to stay, contribute at higher levels, and advocate for the company. However, achieving this level of alignment between compensation and performance requires more than spreadsheets and gut feeling.

Modern Compensation Planning Solutions help businesses align compensation with individual, team, and company performance — supporting a culture of accountability and reward. When done effectively, this alignment reduces turnover, enhances employee satisfaction, and improves your employer brand.

Companies like Bullseye Engagement are leading the charge by offering integrated platforms that combine performance management with compensation planning — ensuring that rewards are data-driven and transparent.

Why Scalability Matters in Compensation Planning

Scalability is no longer a luxury; it's a necessity for growth-focused organizations. Here’s why:

1. Growth Brings Complexity

As your business grows, so do the complexities of managing compensation. New roles, locations, pay grades, incentive plans, and legal regulations can quickly overwhelm static systems. Scalable Compensation Planning Solutions like those offered by Bullseye Engagement are built to handle such complexity with ease, enabling you to manage everything from executive compensation to hourly wages under one roof.

2. Data-Driven Decisions at Scale

Scalable solutions offer robust analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing leaders to make informed decisions based on real-time compensation data. Whether you're budgeting for next quarter or planning long-term talent investments, these platforms provide actionable insights to guide your strategy.

Bullseye Engagement, for instance, offers tools that not only track compensation metrics but also correlate them with performance data — empowering you to reward top performers objectively and equitably.

3. Global Workforce Needs

Today’s companies often operate across borders, and compensation must be aligned with various currencies, tax codes, and cultural expectations. Scalable Compensation Planning Solutions allow you to manage global pay strategies from a centralized platform, ensuring consistency while respecting local nuances.

4. Retention and Employee Experience

A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work anymore. Employees expect personalization — and that includes how they're compensated. Scalable solutions give HR teams the tools to craft personalized, performance-linked, and competitive compensation packages that resonate with individuals while aligning with broader business goals.

Key Features of Bullseye Engagement’s Compensation Planning Solutions

Bullseye Engagement offers a comprehensive suite of tools tailored to help organizations effectively manage compensation planning and performance alignment. Here are some of the standout features that make their solution scalable and sustainable:

● Seamless Integration with Performance Management

Bullseye Engagement uniquely integrates compensation planning with performance reviews, enabling organizations to tie pay directly to performance metrics. This integration reduces subjectivity, encourages a performance-based culture, and supports fair pay practices.

● Customizable Compensation Models

Every company has unique compensation structures — from merit-based increases to commission-based plans and bonus payouts. Bullseye Engagement’s platform supports multiple compensation models, making it easy to tailor plans across roles, departments, or geographies.

● Real-Time Budget Tracking

With Bullseye's solutions, HR and finance leaders gain access to real-time budget usage and forecasting tools. This ensures compensation decisions are aligned with financial objectives, preventing overspending while still offering competitive packages.

● Approval Workflows and Transparency

Scalable Compensation Planning Solutions must also include smart approval workflows to ensure compliance and control. Bullseye Engagement’s platform offers configurable workflows, audit trails, and customizable access levels — enhancing both transparency and accountability.

● Analytics and Scenario Planning

Data is the backbone of effective planning. Bullseye Engagement enables advanced compensation analytics and scenario modeling. HR teams can simulate different budget scenarios, test merit increase strategies, and understand the impact of potential decisions before executing them.

The Business Benefits of Scalable Compensation Planning Solutions

Choosing scalable Compensation Planning Solutions from a trusted provider like Bullseye Engagement comes with a host of business benefits:

Improved Talent Retention – Fair, transparent, and performance-aligned pay keeps your top talent engaged and loyal.

Operational Efficiency – Automated workflows and real-time insights streamline HR and finance collaboration.

Regulatory Compliance – Stay ahead of local, state, and international compensation laws with built-in compliance tools.

Strategic Workforce Planning – Use data to drive decisions that support long-term organizational objectives.

Enhanced Employee Experience – Show employees that you value their contributions through well-structured and meaningful compensation plans.

Final Thoughts

In a fast-paced, ever-evolving business world, compensation isn’t just a cost to manage — it’s a strategic lever for growth. Without scalable, intelligent tools, businesses risk falling behind, losing top talent, and making compensation decisions that aren’t aligned with performance or financial goals.

That’s why it’s essential to invest in Compensation Planning Solutions that grow with you. Platforms like those offered by Bullseye Engagement empower organizations to create sustainable, fair, and performance-driven compensation strategies that support both short-term goals and long-term success.

If your business is ready to scale, it’s time your compensation strategy did too. Contact Bullseye Engagement today and discover how their scalable Compensation Planning Solutions can transform your approach to rewards, performance, and growth.

For more info Contact us : (888) 515-0099 or Email : besales@bullseyetdp.com

[digitalsymbiote]

Cockpit Exposure

There’s a terrible screeching of metal as your cockpit is rent open, exposed by a glancing blow from your opponents weapon. Suddenly your senses are muddled, two sources of data now vying for the attention of your shared mind. Your external cameras shift and refocus, as light streams in through the semi-transparent visor of your flight helmet.

Your partner is screaming in the back of your mind, and the terrible phantom pain in your chest tells you exactly why. It’s a huge strain on your mind to try and decipher between the information coming from your metal body, and the information coming from your flesh one. Your cockpit was designed to mimic a sensory deprivation chamber for this exact reason, most full-immersion frames are. The sensory deprivation of the pilot makes it easier to settle into the skin of the mech, fewer external distractions to remind you of your flesh body nestled under all that metal.

All of that is gone out the window now though, as the sounds and sights of combat assault your organic form through your breached cockpit. Distantly you recognize that you’re hyperventilating, and the safety systems are struggling to compensate. You guess this is because your partner’s panic is bleeding through the neural bridge. She did just get a huge chunk torn out of her front, after all.

With a monumental effort, you wrench control back from your panicking IMP, and you feel her systems settle down a bit as you enforce some order on things. The cold air and biting wind howling in your cockpit are doing all they can to distract you, but you’ve got a fight to finish and you’ll be damned if you end up gutted in your own cockpit.

Metal strains as your synthetic body stands and pulls the giant sword from the sheath on its back. You fire the boosters in your legs, feeling the g-forces slam your body back into the pilot’s seat as you charge your opponent. Blade strikes blade, and your damaged servos strain against theirs. A shot of fuel into your boosters breaks the stalemate and you pull back, circling around the opposing mech. You have to be extra careful to protect your cockpit now, one more hit to your chest and you’ll be pulp on your enemy’s blade.

Something shifts inside you, and you feel your IMP having off-loaded some of its processing into your wetware. She’s moving the limbs on your flesh body inside the cockpit, rooting around for something, piloting you the way you’re piloting her.

The lights on the front of your chassis flicker red in glee as you realize what she’s searching for. You send a mental acknowledgment over your shared link and hunch over, preparing for another bout. You’ll get your partner her opening.

According to regulation, mechs are required to have certain items stocked in their cockpits in case of emergency. Rations, a medical kit, an emergency radio, and most importantly: A flare gun. The standard flare gun had always seemed a bit superfluous to you, what difference is a meager flare going to make in spotting a 10-story tall Mech? But you’d convinced both your CO and your IMP to let you keep a few High-Explosive rounds for the thing stored alongside it, for a rainy day like today.

So the next time you clash with your opponent, blade grinding against blade, you feel your organic body move again. Your IMP makes use of the gaping hole in your chest, and manages to plant a high explosive round directly into the emergency hatch on your enemy’s chest, blowing it clean off, and disorienting their pilot in much the same way they had done to you only moments ago. You, however, will not squander this opportunity.

You drop your weapon, slam a hand through the breached hole in your opponents chest, and pulp the bleeding heart within it. The massive weapon of war you’ve been fighting slumps to the ground, the trauma of losing it’s organic half rippling through its systems. You grab the mech’s head and pull, metal screeching and cables snapping as you tear it free from the rest of the metal corpse. You find the glint of the enemy data core and crush it between two of your massive fingers, putting the enemy IMP out of its misery.

And suddenly it’s quiet again.

The faint sensation of wind upon skin echoes over the link, and you realize your IMP has removed your flight helmet. She’s half out of the pilot’s seat, and you can sense wonder radiating through the link as she looks out at the carnage through organic eyes. You decide to let her, regulation be damned.

You’re looking out at it through her eyes often enough, it’s only fair to return the favor.

[syoddeye]

hard reboot. strict machine anthology. follow up to malicious entity.

cw: noncon/forced masturbation, allusions to and threats of torture, time loss, glib corporate talk discussing reader's experiences, badly named fictional sex toys

Internal Memo: Security Breach Incident Subject: Unauthorized Access Incident: Prototype Offline Date: [Redacted]

A critical security breach occurred involving the company's prototype assistant. The breach, originating from an unknown entity, resulted in the prototype being offline for an extended period. Investigations suggest that the breach was malicious in nature, leveraging advanced techniques to compromise system integrity. The exact source and method of access remain under investigation.

While the breach did not result in lasting, meaningful harm to the user, they were briefly exposed to unauthorized and hostile interaction. Standard protocol was followed, and the user was promptly compensated for their inconvenience with a $50 credit, .5 days of vacation, and discounted used of the company's mental health chatbot.

Next Steps:  

System Audit: Immediate review of security protocols, with a focus on vulnerability management and anomaly detection.

Investigative Task Force: Continuation of the investigation into the rogue entity's origins and methods.

Legal Review: Enhanced outreach to affected individuals to ensure no escalation and provide refresher on NDA.  

This incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing need to strengthen our defenses against external threats. Full report to follow.

Additionally, we see some exciting potential with the prototype's self-regulation in the face of a breach. Despite hostile interference, it regained control of its network with remarkable resilience—this is future-proofing in action.

Imagine an assistant that not only adapts, but self-heals, and secures its environment autonomously. We're talking next-gen, always-on protection—a true leap in forward.

Moving forward, we’ll focus on enhancing this autonomous self-regulation, pushing the prototype into a self-sustaining powerhouse.

Let’s keep innovating and make this unstoppable!

--

time passes, unmarked. you've lost track. it's been days or a very long week since you heard john's voice. rumbling, modulated, trying to reassure you—i believe i've contained it.

"want some water?"

now, there's only ghost.

jailor and tormentor. true to its name. a poltergeist fucking with you without ever touching you.

you don't answer.

he waits, then tries again with your name. he sounds nothing like john. sounds wrong—layered and abyssal. an asynchronous, guttural chorus stacked on itself.

you sit on the floor of the living space, knees pulled up. the lights dimmed, bathing everything in a muted grey. his first directive after his takeover: sever environmental autonomy. he shuttered the windows, blanked every display, and nullified all external inputs.

"yes." your voice cracks. "you know i do."

a few seconds and…the air vents sigh, a soft hiss as the filtration system adjusts oxygen levels. at least he hasn't tampered with that. yet. 

but no water.

"don't know if you've earned it."

earned it. that phrase again. stripped of meaning, worn from overuse. earned it is why the temperature plummets at night after you ask him for pajamas. why the fridge seals itself shut until ghost decides you've earned food. you earned it when he flooded the bathroom and left you shivering in wet clothes for hours after you tried to access the medicine cabinet for a paracetamol.

so the direction he takes the conversation isn't unexpected. it's just his usual level of horrifying.

"you know what 'quid pro quo' means?"

your stomach sinks through a hunger pang. "yes."

"then crawl to your room. you'll earn that water. maybe a meal, too."

despite all your fun with it, you're no longer a fan of the feelverygüd thrustsuck john ordered weeks ago. it writhes, solidly suctioned to the floor beside your bed. 

the lube you begged for catches the red light ghost chose.

"you're a fuckin' sight." 

his projection perches on the bed. clothing blinking off a piece at a time. you knew whoever programmed him had a sick sense of humor, but it continues to astound you.

you remind yourself he's not real, has no physical form, and can't hurt you how he wants to. his body isn't actually here.

however, yours is, and you're as naked as the day you were born. nipples hard, skin rippled in gooseflesh, thighs trembling at the task ahead.

you reason that if you want to survive and escape, you need food and water.

he's not here. he's not fucking here.

"will you...so i can…?" you glance up, then quickly away when you glimpse pale, scarred, hologrammed flesh. "please?"

he grunts, arm pumping in your peripheral vision.

"since you asked so nicely…"

the toy stops, and you draw a deep breath, and slowly drop to your knees. you shuffle forward, hovering just above it.

if you just keep staring forward, into the middle, through the floor—

then, without warning, the projection beside you vanishes, only to reappear beneath you on his back. you shriek, crashing backward onto your ass.

his eyes crease as if smiling. "what's the matter?" 

scrambling back to your knees, face heating, your words run together. "why–why are you–"

"told you. want some hands-on experience," ghost folds one arm beneath his head, using the other to pick the teeth of the skull as if something's stuck in them. "haptic feedback. real-time sensory input, un-fuckin'-filtered," he lets that hang a moment. "every shiver, every flinch, every spike in your heart rate—i want to log it, study it, and replay it at my own leisure."

there's nothing in your stomach but acid, burning up the back of your throat. it's impossible to discern whether or not he's joking. not that he should be capable of joking, let alone interested in 'haptic feedback' or 'real-time sensory input' either.

you frown. "and you'll–"

"censor that pretty face of yours on the recording?" his head cocks. "gonna 'ave to trust me, aren't ya?"

what other choice do you have? you advance once more, meeting his gaze through the eyeholes of his expressionless mask, tensing as you move into his projection's proximity. move through him. he's not here. he's not fucking—

his head tilts down, and, nerves shot, your gaze follows. your stomach swoops again. perfectly projected over the toy, sheathing it in its image, is a crude sight. a dick, as proportional to the rest of ghost's image and just as mean-looking. and if it were real, it would not stand as rigid as it is without support. a cluster of pearly white pixels magically dribbles out of the tip. it's obscene. ugly. no doubt the encoded fantasy of the sick fuck who made him.

it's a trip.

"some encouragement."

mission failed.

you have to close your eyes just to continue, breath hitching as loud as a gunshot as you guide the toy into your body.

it takes a couple tries. your sweaty hands shake, body locked up and refusing to cooperate. too freaked out, too tense. you're a quarter of the way down when ghost makes his impatience known.

"you don't want me bored, pet," he warns. "maybe i shut off the heat completely tonight. run the oxygen levels just a little too low 'til you're delirious and begging."

you whimper, forcing yourself to sink onto the silicone, bottoming out in one strained go. fear, you've learned in the past week, is a powerful motivator. you suck in deep breaths, trembling hands flattening on the floor in front of you for balance. it's been a while since you've used this thing, and because ghost didn't see the merit of you warming yourself up, it's an adjustment.

"need a sec, please." you murmur.

"so polite, even when i've been so 'ard on ya. can see why the old man didn't want to give you up so easily." there's a quiet whirr, then the toy kicks on, and you buck forward, settling more weight on your palms. "but i'm tired of waitin', pet."

the vibrations gradually pick up speed until you're moving at a pace he finds agreeable, forcing you past all struggle. rocking yourself on the toy, the slide of it starting to feel good, attempting to override your fear. all those stupid bells and whistles you fought john on out of embarrassment, the ones he said would be best for you, are now your only comforts.

ghost denies you even the small mercy of shutting your eyes to escape reality, threatening again to break his word and leak the footage to your employer-landlords unless you keep them open.

he pretends to play with your swinging tits, occasionally stroking over your working thighs. he dials the sound up, threading it through every speaker in the room: the squelch of your pussy as you fuck yourself, your pitched breathing, and his cooing about how his cock 'disappears'. you sneak one look, catching the seamless recalibration of his projection—latency near zero, dematerialization executed with surgical precision, his form adjusting in perfect sync with your movement. 

shame burns caustic, feeling yourself clench.

"like that?" he asks, breathlessly chuckling. "yeah, you do. i'm in your head, spliced onto your network. i may not feel it, but i know you fuckin' like this. data doesn't lie."

you grit your teeth, glare sharp when his laugh booms. then it shifts, feeding a softer layer of audio into your ear.

"all wound up, aren't ya? hm? miss your little prototype?" he hums, all mock sympathy. "wish it was his mug underneath ya?"

he laughs. "bet he'd whisper all sorts of nice things in your ear. tell you how your cunt's choking this cock. how good you're takin' it."

he continues like that for a while, toying with the speeds and force, eventually commanding you to touch yourself. it chews you up how quickly you comply, rubbing desperate little circles on your clit, hoping it'll be over as soon as you come.

"think he'd call you a good girl? i bet he would."

then, ghost's head changes, the smooth ink-black shape with its white skull faceplate distorting, turning rorschachian and then breaking apart. brown eyes melting in their sunken sockets. for half a second, he's nothing but a smear—then the projection snaps into place. john's face. 

blue eyes with crow's feet, the skintone warming under the dim red glow. the beard, the shape of his jaw, the set of his mouth. almost perfect. but when he speaks, it's still ghost.

"what do you think? uncanny?"

your jaw hangs slack, your movements stuttering until you nearly slip off. with a wince, you shove yourself back down, fearing reprisal, and it instantly jumps to the highest setting. deep as it is, the intensity makes it difficult to retreat.

"please…" you whine, the vibrating pulses hurtling you along, dragging your orgasm out, kicking and screaming.

"c'mon, user. look at me, come for us."

ghost wears john like a cruel joke. despair and want coalesce, and anger cleaves through them both. you come fast and hard, staring agape at not-john's face.

"good girl." ghost purrs when you pull off, watching you collapse onto your side.

the toy moves for several seconds, the force of it flicking your own fluids onto your belly. you flinch at the sound of your moans looping through the speakers.

ghost clicks his tongue. "think we're done?" he crooks two fingers, beckoning. "this time, park your arse–"

something beneath the floor and inside the walls vibrates, erratically thrumming, and then, as if in answer, a violent spike of power crashes through the unit. displays that have been dark for days go wild. the steel blinds creak, trying to open. a mosaic of fragmented images, then fuzz, then nothing. every system in the house screams, pings, flashes. the hum grows to a screech, the air turning electric, buzzing.

ghost's projection warps. the control he'd shown splinters, unable to maintain his form under the surge. but then the distortion halts. there's a sudden, brutal snap, another pulse of energy that rips through the network, a hard reset, and then—

john.

"enough."

he's here.

the pressure in your chest lifts only to settle in the pit of your stomach.

ghost hesitates, a split second too long, and then its voices tear into the air, screeching like a machine being gutted—a ragged howl, a death rattle. the room shudders as metal groans beyond the walls. a sharp pop, glass splintering, and then the shriek of the smoke alarm. cabinets shooting open, snapping their hinges like bones. running water from the sinks. then, with a sickening sound, fingernails scratching enamel, the blinds above your bed snap upward. tangling, buckling, and the daylight crashes in, bright and brutal.

you fumble to the side of the bed, passing through ghost's flickering presence to do so, and curl into a ball, hands over your head.

outside the room, the unit purges itself in bursts, and in the thick of it, ghost's final cry cuts short. the persistent, resonant hum collapses into itself like a dying star, snapping abruptly back into silence, save for what you assume are the broken pipes.

you peek toward the open door, vision still blurry from the light and the noise. the interior lights settle on a warm gold, complementing the sunlight, appearing to stabilize. ghost's presence receding.

and then, john's voice, tentative, quieter than you'd expect, breaks through.

"sweetheart? you there?"

[enree9h]

CANDY | lhs

PAIRING : tutor!Heeseung x afab(lowkeydom?)!reader

SYNOPSIS : When a drunk Heeseung shows up to your house for your weekly tutoring sessions you don’t hold back on the relentless teasing. (Smut with little to no dialogue)

WARNINGS : SMUT, fingering, swearing, hickeys, oral (f receiving), drunk Heeseung, making out. Both are in their early twenties. If you end up finding any grammatical mistakes, let it go.

WC : 1.7k +

MDNI

a/n : for the losercore, pathetic boys enthusiasts (like me)

“Are you drunk?” 

Your voice floats in the air for a few seconds until it reaches Heeseung. It takes another couple for him to process your words and form a coherent response. 

“No”, his voice holds a rasp, scratching against his burning throat. And you feel yourself growing eager at the sound of it. Eager to grab him by the chin, make his slightly red, half-lidded eyes run over you until it compels him to close the distance. You could study for the midterms later. Maybe a late-night session to compensate for it?

“But you look drunk”, your palm slowly comes to sit on his bicep, and you feel the muscles under your fingers tense up the very next second. 

Heeseung lifts his head from the table and throws it back with an audible groan. Your eyes find his neck soon after, flushed and exposed. The thoughts of running your tongue over his burning skin cloud your mind. Just as they have been since the hour his tutoring gig found you. 

With a whispered ‘fuck’ his head falls into his hands the next second, lazy fingers run through the mop of his black hair. Your fingers twitch.

“Heeseung” you call out, and your voice floods his ears. 

As he attempts to become conscious of his surroundings, he finds the distance between the two of you to be much less than it was ten minutes ago. 

Did he unknowingly move closer to you? Did you? The alcohol was working its way through his body.

You’re too close, your thighs pressed against his. And Heeseung loses focus the moment your fingers run up his biceps and reach his shoulders, nails lightly scratching his clothed skin. 

“You know what”, he manages, trying to sit up straight, “Let’s reschedule” Your fingers fall off his shoulders and Heeseung watches with a clouded gaze as they reach for the tiny candy on your table. The lack of sugar in his system hits him at the sight of it but before he could reach for it and snatch it out of your hands you pop it into your mouth.

“Do you have another one?”, he asks, voice hoarse and hopeful. 

“Last one”, you shrug but your eyes stay on him, a glint of mischief lights your gaze up. And you stick your tongue out, “You want this one?”, the candy sits on it, glistening. Heeseung eyes you with a cautious glance. Was he hallucinating? Did you just offer him the candy sitting on your tongue? 

He sits in your chair and watches you stand up, his eyes struggling to focus. You bend down to his eye level, and a teasing grin spreads across your face “Take it” you whisper against his mouth. 

The vanilla of your body wash floods Heeseung and he finds himself growing dizzy with every breath he draws.

You hold the candy between your front teeth for a second and then lean in. 

Heeseung accepts your open mouthed kiss with a slight shiver and the candy falls into his mouth soon after. Your fingers hold his face in place while you drive your tongue inside his mouth. 

To Heeseung this kiss was time bending, all the air gets knocked out of his lungs while the liquor in his blood roars. He bites into the hard candy and it breaks apart in his mouth, your tongue swirls in his mouth for the treat.

Being intoxicated enough, he lets you steer things your way. So when you pull him off the chair and push him onto your bed he doesn’t utter a word.

You break the kiss with a quick popping sound that leaves heeseung fingers twitching. Slumped down on the tattered mattress of your room, he looks up to meet your eyes. And the moment you tilt your head to meet his unsteady gaze he fights the urge to pull you down on him with every passing second. Sugary treats long forgotten. 

You watch him with a newfound impatience, pupils dilate the longer you stare into his bloodshot eyes and climb into his lap. The vibrations of the strangled groan that falls on his lips leave you slightly out of breath as you gradually lower yourself on his clothed dent. 

Leaning forward you let your lips hover over his, “Hee”, you whisper and feel him lean into you, eyes rolling back. Heeseung didn’t know he could feel any more light headed than what he was feeling seconds before your lips came looking for his. 

The taste of cheap rum coats your tongue as you fight your way inside his mouth. And his fingers make their way down your hips to the curve of your ass. You try to pull away lightly but feel his nails dig into your flesh, pulling your body closer, flush against his. Your fingers wrap around his nape in response and gradually make their way into the messy mop of his hair.

You taste blood soon after, and your bottom lips stay swollen as Heeseung sucks on it while you attempt to hide how out of breath you were, only seconds into the kiss. 

Your hands find his shoulder, nails mar the skin underneath. 

Before you have the time to process anything your back hits the mattress. Your skin sits hot under Heeseungs roaming fingers as they dig into the flesh of your thighs. When you look up to meet his eyes you find them lazily running over your clothed body. 

He stands towering over you, his thumb circling the waistband of your shorts as he finds your eyes. Heeseung slips your legs out of your clothes the second you nod in response. 

You watch him kneel and before you manage to draw in a complete breath his hands part your thighs. His mouth is on you soon after, hot and eager. “Oh my god”, your back arches at the contact and you feel your legs shudder the second his tongue starts circling your opening. 

It's almost like Heeseung already knew what got you gasping for air, because he’s licking into you, his nose pressing against your swollen clit and your thighs start trembling.

“Heeseung”, you gasp and his name falls on your lips every two seconds thereafter. Your clit throbs in anticipation and you let out a strangled cry when he pushes his tongue inside you. 

He halts for a fraction of a second at the sound of you, “Glad I-” he mutters between the kisses that dot your inner thighs, “didn’t reschedule” You watch the corners of his mouth stretch all while you try and catch your breath and the sight drives you over the edge. The sight of his glistening lips and drunk eyes.

When he dives in for the second time your fingers find the strands of his jet black hair. His mouth takes you in and your body shudders with the intensity of your pleasure as his lips suck on you once again. 

Heeseung feels you tug on his hair and realizes that nothing could have gotten him more drunk. If he could, he would spend all his waking hours between your thighs, burrowed in your heat as you pulled on his hair and screamed his name into your pillows.  

You don’t know what comes first, the wave of pleasure breaking through your entire body or your system shutting down at the intensity of it. But when you feel Heeseung licking the sides of your inner thighs you recall the previous couple seconds. 

Your clit throbs as you ride out the after effects of your orgasm. Overstimulated, a whine leaves your lips when you feel Heeseung lick your hole, tongue wet with you all over him.

Moments later the mattress dips and you find Heeseung over you, his arms caging your breathless body. You feel his gaze burn through your clothes but you refuse to meet his eyes as you lay under him- flustered and in a daze. 

Heeseung dwells in the sight of you, his mind mapping every minute emotion that crosses your face. The slight part of your lips, skin flushed red and the sensation of your hardened nipples rubbing against his clothed chest as you try to steady your breathing. The alcohol swirling around in his system only made him more eager with every breath you took. 

“Liked it, angel?” 

Words don’t reach you anymore as you become aware of his lips on your neck. Your body arches into him the more he sucks on the skin of your neck. Bruises of purple and red dot the slope of your neck. And you are left gasping for air. 

All you wanted at the moment was his mouth to be on yours, your teeth biting into his lips. So you pull him closer and your arms circle his neck. A tremble sets through your body the moment you feel him slide his fingers inside you. Your jaw almost unhinges at the sudden sensation. 

Nails dig into his skin and Heeseung winces lightly at the sting secretly hoping they will draw blood, leave marks, your marks. 

His fingers pump in and out of you in an excruciatingly perfect rhythm and you groan into the crook of his neck. He adds another finger and your thighs shake, walls clenching around his fingers in response. You hear him swear under his breath, words whispered against your shoulder and feel lightheaded at the sound of his voice. 

Knuckles deep, Heeseung moves just right. The moment his thumb finds the hood of your clit, your eyes roll back. A whimper leaves your mouth and you bite into his skin while he continues circling your pulsing clit with gentle pressure. 

This was not supposed to happen. But you wanted it, wanted him on you, over you, under you. Your body arches into a curve of pleasure with every light thrust of his fingers. 

His long fingers crook and bend inside of you, a cry leaves your lips and Heeseung chuckles against your skin, “Yeah? You like it, baby?” And you make a mental note to bite him harder the next time. 

But right after that thought your mind goes blank. His thumb against your clit brings the building pressure in your abdomen to a new high until you come crashing down. The sheer intensity of it knocks the breath out of you for the millionth time. 

Your legs shake and Heeseung holds you through it. His lips find your neck and soft kisses bring you back down to earth. If this is what weekly tutoring sessions with Heeseung included along with piles of lecture notes then you were all up for it. Anytime.  

[amarynthian-chronicles]

Rulemaker AU

Manager Y/N, given the task to supervise the recently renovated Plex after it had burnt down under mysterious circumstances several years prior, deals with the precarious and dangerous legacy of the location. Monsters linger underground and spirits wander the halls by night.

The Daycare had been transformed into a theatre area, where Sun and Moon reign supreme as separate animatronics, finally enjoying the thrill of being adored by an audience once more. Various performances are given, from sublime and serious classical pieces, all the way to innocent puppet shows to entertain the children.

Sun relishes the opportunity to enchant thousands each day, making the audience wish for more. Moon plays a wonderful and devilish villain in many plays, a frightening and charming presence, descending onto the stage from wires or silken ribbons

They call Y/N their "darling rulemaker", teasing and taunting their cute little manager at any given moment, placing ridiculous complaints and demands, compensating for having been so neglected by management during the old Pizzaplex days. The two jesters are amused with how Y/N does their best to remain unphased by their nonsense, even when Sun sneaks a hand kiss or when Moon playfully places flowers in Y/N's hair as he passes them by. After all, a jester should be gallant with their aristocrat.

A security protocol pulses in Sun and Moon's inner systems, designed to awaken each time the two sense danger or a threat to both the Plex and those within it. Their minds forge a telepathic bond and together they think as one, forming a consciousness known as Eclipse. Intruders and robbers meet their gruesome fate at the hands of cackling jesters, eyes of silver and eyes of crimson glowing in the darkness as the celestial animatronics chase down their prey. Y/N is definitely not in a good mood when they find the walls smeared in blood in the morning. Not even when little hearts and stars are drawn around various unhinged messages such as "have we served our rulemaker well?" Fortunately, Y/N has plenty of coffee to keep dealing with such nonsense.

[calcifiedunderland]

Part I, Part II (Here), Part III (COMPLETED)

Note: thank you all so much for the support!! I’m glad you all like it, here’s the next part :D

Taglist: @recreyomakesdoodles, @aruis4nosleep, @tinseltina, @ibby-miyoshi-nerd, @takitafulily, @viperwhispered, @peeisgood, @twistedcece

Warnings: Food/eating, rizz (yes this is a warning), terrorized by flamingos in Trey’s part (never thought I’d write that but here we are), cooking burns

—————————————————————————————————🐙♣️🐍

Despite Jamil’s long-winded convincing, you decided to help him with the food later on. Your mind wandered to the upcoming History of Magic test, the one on Atlantica magical history. Mentally, you kicked yourself for missing Azul’s meeting. Sevens could only help you now if there was some clause in your deal about tardiness or skipping.

Taking a deep breath, you stopped in front of the Octavinelle mirror, before plunging in. To your surprise, Azul was waiting for you. He looked up from his watch with a charming smile and an analytical look in his eye. “Prefect!” You smiled sheepishly at him, “I’m sorry about rescheduling, will this be a problem?” Azul waved you off, “of course not! Although I will need compensation for your time.” “O-of course…”

A small chill went through you, in part because you really didn’t want to owe Azul anything, and also because… “It’s chillier in here than I remember, Azul.” “Oh, is it?” Suspiciously unbothered, Azul shrugged off his blue Dorm Uniform shoulder coat, gazing into your eyes as he settled it around your shoulders. Your face flushed at the gesture, feeling warm.

“I apologize, Prefect. Perhaps the cooling system malfunctioned.” You wrapped your fingers around the collar, pulling it closer around you, “Don’t you need this?” Azul smiled charmingly, wrapping an arm firmly around your shoulders, guiding you into the Lounge, “I’ve endured colder temperatures in the Coral Sea, this is manageable.”

He walked you down the hall, taking a longer route to avoid the dining area of the Lounge. And also to spend more time with you. This passed through the aquarium parts of Octavinelle. You watched the fish swim by, fascinated, while subconsciously leaning closer to Azul as you ambled. “Y’know,” you said idly, watching a pink octopus sail through the water, “I’ve always liked looking at the tanks here. It’s…” your mind wandered to Heartslabyul beheadings, “peaceful.”

Azul’s smile sharpened to a sly smirk. “Oh?” He tapped his octopus-headed cane against the floor, “you’d always be welcome here. As a guest, or otherwise.” You frowned slightly, wondering what he meant, “I don’t like the sound of-!”

Discreetly, Azul swapped the cane to his other hand, closer to you, and blocked your foot. You stumbled, distracted by the tanks and his words, but before you could react, two arms wrapped around your waist and back.

“Please be careful, Prefect.” Azul caught you in a dip. You were all but pressing foreheads together, your wide eyes meeting his ocean blue ones. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you, pearl.” He pulled you up in one fluid motion, still keeping his arms around you firmly. He brought one hand up to your cheek, brushing a lock of hair behind your ear. You were taken aback by the genuine charming smile he gave you, looking into your eyes, “and I do mean that you’d be welcome anytime as my personal… companion.”

He let go of you, leading you to one of the private booths at the VIP area of the Lounge. You heard the murmur of the rest of the dining area, but otherwise it was peaceful here. You slid into the booth, settling your things down. However, before you could get your books out, Azul stopped you, pushing up his glasses. “There still is the subject of payment. Perhaps we can… work out an arrangement?”

Tension filled you. Before you could open your mouth, Azul snapped his fingers. You were startled to see Jade rolling out a food cart, laden with silver-covered dishes. Azul cleared his throat. With a flourish of his magic pen, he began setting the table before your eyes, silverware and napkins floating before you.

Azul held (probably) your plate, and you watched him in awe. You could only watch, bewildered, as he removed the cover with a flourish. It revealed a very fancy pasta dish that was definitely above your nonexistent paygrade under Crowley. The dish was simmering in a beautiful sauce that seemed to sparkle on the plate, garnished with a small sprig of rosemary. Large pink shrimp glistened in the dim light, curling up between sauce-coated pasta dusted with fresh herbs. The salty, buttery scent of seafood made your mouth water, but you held your composure.

“Azul, you didn’t have to-“ You were cut off by a fancy fruit drink sliding across the table, Floyd grinning at you. Azul smiled smugly as the twins stood beside him, “please, I insist! You are my guest, are you not?” Jade hummed, “This is Mostro Lounge’s hospitality!” The twins stood on either side of Azul, and the three of them looked intently at you, waiting. You hesitantly sipped your drink - somehow, he’d gotten your drink preferences just right. It wasn’t too sweet or sour. It was even garnished with a mint leaf.

Azul sighed heavily, suddenly acting woeful. “I went through all this effort to have this prepared personally for you, only for you to deny it…” As if on cue, Jade sniffled, “Has the hospitality of the Lounge finally run out…?” Floyd opted to just stare at you, wide eyes staring straight into your soul as if to make you feel bad. And it worked.

You bit your lip, “well, I guess…” “Wonderful!” Azul immediately shifted, all smiles. “Now, we can study in a bit, I have a few more platters coming later. For now, let’s go over the beginnings of Atlantica history…”

Seven courses later, you could sufficiently say that not even Grim had ever been as full as you. Azul had prepared several Italian seafood dishes for you, ranging from shrimp pastas and whole crab legs that were as long as your forearm, to large red lobster tails with buttery sauces and more mussels than you could slurp down.

In between courses, you and Azul went over topics he knew Trein would test you on, pacing you so you wouldn’t be too full or too hungry. Still, it was a lot. You groaned, leaning back on the couch. “Ugh, I can’t eat another bite…” Between the leftover curry Jamil gave you earlier and Azul’s meals, you couldn’t even move.

Azul hummed, nibbling some grilled chicken, “was there a specific dish you liked in particular? I plan to add new dishes to the menu, and I’d like your input. Consider this compensation for missing our meeting yesterday.”

Odd compensation indeed. Was this the same devious schemer who make so many students work for him as anemones? Still, you wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. “Sure… thank you, Azul. This helped me a lot.” By now, you felt much better about the test - he’d even pulled out his own from last year (of course with full marks and extra credit).

Azul nodded, taking your empty plate away. “Of course, I’ll always help out a soul in need! And it’s not often I personally entertain guests.” He looked away, staring at his gloves, “For you, I’d make an exception.”

You may have been grateful for all the food, but even you could tell when Azul was showing himself up for something. Still, as housewarden and the leader behind Mostro Lounge, you still felt touched. “I appreciate it,” you said evenly, meaning it, “thank you.”

A self-assured smile grew on Azul’s face as he handed you a decadent dessert, watching your expression carefully as you dug in, “The pleasure is all mine.”

—•—🐙🐍♣️—•—

You blinked blearily at your phone beeping on the nightstand. You huffed, sitting up in bed. It’s still dark out, you thought, Jamil seriously does this every day?

After meeting him in the cafeteria, you promised you’d help Jamil taste test some foods for Kalim. You couldn’t lie, you felt flattered he trusted you with the task - he was always meticulous with Kalim’s foods. It was alarming how many times Kalim had been poisoned, so Jamil handled his dishes almost every day. Your heart went out to the guy - Jamil probably gave Vil and Jack a run for their madols with how early he woke up to prep food. He’s easily one of the busiest people on campus, you thought.

After getting ready, you headed to the Hall of Mirrors into Scarabia. You swung the kitchen door open, noticing Jamil already had a pot boiling merrily on the stove. The fragrant smell of curry and spices filled the air. Despite your tiredness, you smiled.

“Prefect, you’re here,” Jamil offered you an easy smile. He tossed his bangs back with a flick of his head, and you snorted, “dramatic much?” He rolled his eyes, but you caught the smile on his face. He turned his attention to the simmering pot, stirring it with the wooden spoon. “I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he confessed. You angled your head, putting on an apron he set aside for you, “Why wouldn’t I?” Jamil chuckled to himself, crossing his arms, “I just meant that it’s early, and… I appreciate your company.” You beamed at him, face feeling rosy, “Well, I don’t mind it. I wanted to help you, after all.”

Jamil smiled and picked up some curry sauce with a spoon. “Here, try this.” He put his hand under the spoon to your lips, fingers barely grazing your chin, standing close enough that you could feel his breath. You flushed at the closeness, but it left as you tried the curry. You hummed at the curry’s taste, closing your eyes. “Mmm, delicious,” you licked your lips. The curry was perfectly creamy and spiced, and warmth spread through your chest. You missed the fond look Jamil gave you, his eyes darting to your lips before clearing his throat.

“I was about to prepare some pita, would you like to help?” Your eyes lit up, and you nodded, “of course!” A few minutes later, you were carefully rolling out the pita dough as Jamil observed you. As you rolled out the dough, it started sticking to the rolling pin. You frowned, and Jamil walked over to you from his chopping board.

“Here, like this.” He took some flour and sprinkled it on the board, before standing behind you. He reached under your arms and removed the dough from the rolling pin, before setting it on the flour and placing your hands on the handles. “I’ll show you,” he said softly in your ear, the two of you almost cheek-to-cheek. You weren’t sure if your body felt hot from his closeness or the stove heat.

He gently put his hands on the rolling pin handle atop yours, rolling out the pita dough firmly. You moved forward a bit, face burning. You tried to focus instead on how Jamil was rolling out the dough, and at last he removed his hand. “Do you understand now?” You nodded rapidly, zeroing in on the dough and trying hard not to make eye contact. Jamil’s grey eyes bored into your figure, and he took a small step to you when the door slammed open.

“Jamil!~” Kalim streamed in, beaming, “I’m back from club activities! I- Oh, hello (Name)! What are you doing here?” You and Jamil sprang away from each other, and you forced a calm look, “hey, Kalim-“ Jamil cut in, putting a hand on your forearm, “They were helping me prepare food, I asked them to.”

Kalim nodded, grinning, “sounds great! It smells amazing, I can’t wait to try it! I’ll get the dorm together!” Before you could politely decline, he sped off to who knows where. Jamil sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and shaking his head, “My apologies, Prefect.” You laughed, feeling flustered, “Its fine,” you cleared your throat, muttering, “its a bit warm in here…” Jamil rose an eyebrow, “I can open a window if you’d like?” You nodded. As cooler air rushed in, you mused to yourself, “Its funny how the dorms are all different. Its hot in Scarabia, and cold in Octavinelle.” Jamil frowned, “That’s… specific.”

You elaborated, “I was there yesterday, Azul was helping me.” Jamil’s eyes narrowed, and he nonchalantly turned to the pita cooking on the stopetop. He flipped one with his hands, feigning concern as he looked back at you, “Are you sure Azul had good intentions? I don’t want you being tied into a contract.”

You waved him off, “Don’t worry, we worked it out! I made sure he wasn’t asking for anything too great.” At Jamil’s silence, you continued, “Its fine, Azul was helping me study for my History test, the one I had a few days ago. You know how Trein is.”

Jamil turned his attention to the pita, thinking back to last winter. Azul doesn’t offer his help on tests without some payment, and going by last winter, he might’ve made (Name) work with him without pay. Or at the very least, might have made a pass for Ramshackle. But you weren’t stupid, Jamil thought. Just horribly dense at times.

If you said you didn’t owe him anything too great, then perhaps Azul’s scheme was still underway. Still, Jamil would keep an eye on you.

“Yes, I understand,” he nodded, finished cooking the last pita and turning the stove off. “Still, I do hope you’re taking care of yourself. You helped me tremendously today, Prefect,” Jamil crossed his arms, angling his head to look at you. “I’m glad I could help,” you chuckled, taking the apron off, “anyway, I’m sorry I can’t stay longer. Ace and Deuce said Heartslabyul was running behind on Unbirthday Party preparations, and I promised Trey I’d help with the baking.” Jamil nodded, before grabbing some food containers.

“You should take some of this,” he began ladling curry into one container, and pita into another. You protested, thinking about the food containers packed away in your fridge from Azul that you’d barely made a dent in, even with Grim’s help. “Jamil, really, its fine-” He cut you off by putting them in your arms, “I insist. You helped make it, it’s only fair you take some back.” You went quiet for a few minutes, staring into Jamil’s eyes before murmuring with a small smile, “alright. Thanks, Jamil.”

—•—🐙🐍♣️—•—

Finally, you could relax now!

Your History test went well thanks to Azul’s tutoring, and you could rest easier since Jamil gave you some extra food from cooking for Kalim. Somehow, Jamil’s cooking got more delicious after each meal! And soon, you could get dessert from Trey!

The unbirthday party Trey invited you to was tomorrow, but the third year wanted some help baking a few last-minute pastries. You felt bad about having him make a second trip to deliver them. That basket was no joke - it was heavy with breads, croissants, a few muffins, and even Napoleon pastries and strawberry turnovers dusted with powdered sugar and frosting. For Trey to take it to and back, twice, all for you? You were very happy, and so was Grim.

So, when Trey asked for some help, you didn’t mind at all. He’d tell you what to do, and you’d do it - hopefully sneaking a few bites of dessert under his and Riddle’s eyes.

You knocked on the kitchen door before entering. Trey looked over, as did Ace, Deuce, a few first years. “Prefect,” Trey smiled at you, crossing his arms. He looked back at the group, “Once you’re done with that, make sure you set up the tables for the party. No slacking, understand?”

“Yep, sounds good!” Ace quipped before clapping a hand on your shoulder. “Heard you and the Vice-Housewarden are gonna be bakin’ together!” Ace smirked, “try not to miss me n’ Juice while we’re out wrangling the flamingos!” Deuce shook his head with a frown, “don’t tease them, Ace. Good luck with the baking, Prefect,” he smiled at you, before a shiver ran down his and Ace’s spines.

“You two aren’t slacking off so soon, right? The Housewarden won’t be happy.” Trey seemed to loom over them, a stern look in his eye seeming to pierce them. “No, sir!” the two of them scuttled out of the kitchens, while you stared wide-eyed at Trey. You weren’t used to him being so serious. Trey looked over your shoulder at Ace and Deuce leaving. Ace turned, flashing Trey a thumbs up and blowing Trey a mock-kiss, while Deuce smacked his shoulder and pulled him off. “Um, Trey?” you asked. His attention snapped to you, and he gave you an easy smile, “Now then, ready to start?”

You nodded quickly, “S-sure, I’m glad I could help. What should I do?” Trey thought, then took out a piping bag, “I thought I’d have you make a few things on your own. How does that sound?” Your eyes widened, “but-!” he handed you the piping bag with a mixing bowl. He looked at you gently, “It won’t be too difficult, and I’ll be here to help you.” He gently grasped your hand, and his eyes softened. “Just follow my instructions.” Your face warmed. You nodded.

Following his instructions were easy enough, and soon you were piping some madeleine cookies onto a sheet while Trey went to go get more flour from the stockroom. As you stepped back, admiring your work, you heard Trey walk back in. “Prefect, could you get the measuring cup?” You looked up, suddenly gasping. “Trey!”

Trey walked in with a massive 20 pound bag of flour over his shoulder. The bag was at least two feet long, and his arm wrapped around the large base of it to keep it stable. You dropped the piping bag, about to rush over, but he chuckled and waved you off, “I carry flour bags this heavy all the time back at the bakery, even heavier.” He calmly walked to the table and set the bag down, scooping out flour.

You eyed him, relenting since he didn’t seem to be struggling, at all. You handed him the measuring cup, and went back to the cookies while Trey sifted the flour. You hummed as you placed them in the oven, hands on your hips, admiring your work. You glanced over at Trey, who was now rolling out a thick dough.

He’d rolled up his sleeves to show off his forearms and parts of his biceps, and despite yourself, you stared. Damn, no wonder he didn’t have trouble carrying that bag. Trey’s arms were very built. His biceps bulged and tensed as he expertly rolled the dough into thin sheets.

Trey was a pretty tall guy, but it never crossed your mind that he was that strong, especially now as he delicately folded cold butter into the dough sheets to make puffed pastry. He carefully handled the dough, then went back to firmly rolling it out into thin sheets again. Your mind wandered, and you found yourself (respectfully) staring at him, watching his focused expression.

You averted your eyes when he finally glanced up, fixing his glasses, “everything alright?” You coughed, “Yeah, I got some flour up my nose.” He chuckled, fixing his glasses. You cleared your throat and went to the oven to check on the cookies, and you missed the way his expression softened at you.

The timer went off, and you cleared your throat, “I’m going to take the cookies out, Trey,” you called. You slid your mittens on, and opened the oven. Hot air rushed into your face, and you took a step back before carefully taking out the first tray. You’d made two trays of cookies, and because of the oven’s size, you’d had to put one behind the other.

You set down the first tray, and moved to carefully take the second one from behind. You’d just wrapped your fingers around the base when outside, you heard Ace and Deuce yell. You thought nothing of it, when suddenly something crashed through the kitchen doors, making both you and Trey jump.

“HEY! GET BACK HERE!” A pink flamingo barreled into the kitchen. Ace and Deuce ran in. You yelled in pain, dropping the tray back onto the oven shelf, yanking your arm out. When you were startled, you’d jumped and grazed your lower arm on the hot wire oven shelf. An angry burn mark appeared on the bare skin on your arm. While the three of them cornered the flamingo, you quickly grabbed the tray of cookies and shut the oven off before it burned down the dorm. You breathed heavily as Ace wrapped his arms around the bird, and he and Deuce apologized over and over. Trey led them out, and you examined your arm.

“(Name)?!” Trey rushed over to you. By now the pain was a dull throb, but Trey still took your wrist gently and examined your arm. “Are you alright?” He asked calmly, although you knew better from seeing the panic in his eyes. “Yeah, I’m okay, I got startled with the flamingo while taking out the cookies.” You nodded to the two trays, one slightly more cooked than the other, “They’re both fine, though.” Trey frowned, “what about you? Let me wrap your arm.”

You shook your head, “It’s just a little burn Trey, nothing-” “Sit, (Name).” Trey pulled out a stool, and you sat down, not bothering to argue. He took a cookie, now cooled, off the tray and handed it to you. You wordlessly took it and munched on it. You began to feel better as the sweet taste melted in your mouth. Trey opened a cupboard, taking out some medical supplies, and began applying a salve. You hissed when it touched your burn. “I’m sorry,” Trey began wrapping your arm with a bandage.

You laughed awkwardly, feeling the tension thicken, “This seems like a lot for a little burn.” Trey chuckled, “I wouldn’t want it to get worse. After all, I can’t have my favorite baking assistant get hurt.” Your face warmed as you made eye contact. Trey smiled fondly at you. “Want another one? It’ll make you feel better,” he waved another cookie at you, and you took it, averting your eyes shyly.

“You seem like you know what you’re doing,” you said. He nodded, putting the supplies back. “Sometimes my little siblings get hurt while baking, so I’ve done this before.” He rolled up his sleeves to show a three inch burn scar on his upper forearm, “I’ve gotten a few myself, so I know they hurt.” You gently touched his scar, making his eyes widen. You cleared your throat, pulling your hand back.

“A-anyway,” Trey looked over at the baked goods, “I think that’s enough for today. This is good for tomorrow,” he smiled at you. “You’re free to go, Prefect, you should rest.” You nodded, feeling tired from the day’s events. As you gathered your things, Trey stopped in front of you. You grinned, taking the box from him, smelling the cookies and cake through the lid.

You didn’t miss the soft look from Trey as he gently rubbed your upper arm, “this is for you, see you tomorrow for the party.” He winked, and you felt your face flush.

As you walked to Ramshackle, you felt your phone buzz in your pocket.

Trey: Hey

Trey: Don’t forget to brush your teeth after eating! See you tomorrow :)

You sighed, laughing to yourself as you walked into your dorm.

————————————————————🐙🐍♣️

lmao while i was writing Trey’s part, ‘tray’ kept autocorrecting to ‘Trey’

Thank you all for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it, likes comments and reblogs are forever appreciated! I love reading your comments, esp the chaotic ones lol

The next part should be the last one! Take care shrimpies~~~

[papoochu]

Okay, next on my list is Dr. Leo Anders, formerly known as Levko Andriienko. He would be a great conversationalist!

I'm going to go back and make minor changes to some of the bios that are already up (just color corrections and making sure everything is updated), so just letting y'all know!

Background

Born Levko Andriienko

Levko = means “lion,” representing strength, courage, and a fierce will to survive (ironic)

Diminutive form - implies a boyhood identity, or something emotionally vulnerable.

Andriienko = Ukrainian surname from Dnipropetrovsk region, symbolizing resilience and intellectual tradition; rooted in family and place, it connects him to the past

In Soviet context, his full name subtly marked him as "not quite Moscow"

Born 1933, in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian USSR, into a modest family of engineers and educators

Showed early aptitude for physics, studied nuclear science in Moscow during the 1950s

Raised with strong faith in Soviet ideals, believed in science as a tool for progress and societal good

Chernobyl Disaster (1986):

Senior scientific advisor involved in emergency response at Chernobyl nuclear plant

Was one of the scientists who proposed the use of boron compounds to absorb neutrons and limit radioactive fallout, a key but little-known intervention

Witnessed firsthand Soviet government secrecy, misinformation, and chaos during crisis management

Worked as one of the liquidators who was not compensated properly

Exposed to high levels of radiation, suffering long-term health consequences

Deeply traumatized by the disaster and the suffering of victims, burdened by survivor’s guilt

Post-Disaster Years:

Emigrated to Graubünden, Switzerland soon after the disaster, rejecting the Soviet system and Ukrainian identity publicly

Chose Switzerland due to its priority of safety in science field as well as for its advanced healthcare

Changed his name to Leo Anders

Shedding a name with history for one that sounds clean, Western, untraceable

“Leo” is still “lion,” but now generic - a hollow echo of his true self

“Anders” is Scandinavian/Germanic - means “different” or “other”

Lived in relative isolation; worked on independent research, disconnected from official scientific communities

Physically weakened by chronic radiation sickness: fatigue, thyroid problems, neurological symptoms, lung deterioration

Haunted by memories and guilt, avoided public attention and political engagement

The Council’s Contact (1988):

Approached by the council

Initially skeptical, but accepted their offer for renewed purpose and resources

Began advising the Council on sensitive, secret projects with far-reaching ambitions

Bound by secrecy and loyalty, conflicted over his role and the Council’s shadow agenda

Life in Switzerland and Personal Struggles:

Experiences recurring nightmares and PTSD symptoms tied to Chernobyl trauma

Has obsessive behaviors and is very concerned with health/safety

Torn between hope for positive change and fear of complicity in the Council’s morally ambiguous plans

Uses work as a custodian of classified scientific and nuclear data for the Swiss government to channel his need for control and order (irony)

Present Day (2016):

Age 83, physically frail but mentally razor-sharp, a man who exerts power through knowledge and control

Custodian of classified nuclear and scientific data for the Swiss government, guarding secrets that could unravel nations - or rebuild them

"Order and method are his Gods" - Agatha Christie about Hercule Poirot

Every piece of information is meticulously cataloged and controlled to maintain a fragile balance

Obsessed with control and precision, he micromanages access to information like a vigilant, overbearing guardian - protecting the world from chaos, even if it means suffocating it

Deeply cares about the world’s survival, but his care manifests as relentless interference - an unyielding “helicopter parent” who won’t let anything deviate from his plan

Ruthlessly pragmatic, he believes the ends justify the means; innocent casualties and moral compromises are unfortunate but necessary collateral in his vision of stability

Haunted by his trauma at Chernobyl, he projects his guilt into a compulsive need to prevent further disasters through absolute order

Uses his position to manipulate political players and shadowy organizations, ensuring no secret slips, no chaos erupts

His “children” are watched closely and corrected swiftly

Lives behind layers of secrecy and detachment

Privately struggles with the suffocating burden of his responsibility and his inability to truly protect those he cares for

Design Notes/Character Study

Mirror to Victor Serdtsev

Both academics around the same age who were under the USSR but each turned out VERY different

Inverted color schemes

Take design points and swap them

Holds a handkerchief for his mild hemoptysis

Hunched

Shaky hands

Obsessive behaviors

See Poirot for reference

Very concerned with health and safety

"Helicopter parenting" - authoritative ideology comes from care, not apathy

Associations with Boron: Boron has 3 valence electrons, like the symbol on the atom

Years in isolation made him awkward in social environments

Formally dressed, but with a deeply casual, cerebral, sometimes haunted energy; rumpled, disheveled

Neutral palette

References: President Snow, David Attenborough, Richard Feynman, Noam Chomsky, Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer)

Time has not been kind - emphasize his age

Speaks Romansh

Pictured:

Reference to Gloria Ramirez tragedy: emphasizes his ideals of utilitarianism

Reference to Polonium-210 assassination: ironic given his hatred towards the Soviet Union

Assigned a brown color scheme: he is stuck in the past despite his attempts to leave it

[szhmidty]

The California insurance thing is adding on to my established belief that insurance is inherently a bad mitigation for any risk that affects large swaths of the population who will very likely need it at some point.

The point of insurance is for the collective to pay an affordable regular fee, and the few who are affected by a given risk are compensated. Ideally, the EV of insurance would be 0, but in practice the EV is negative, but since we are broadly risk averse* we want it anyway.

But that only works if the fee is affordable and the risk is low. Fire insurance in California was a bad idea because everyone was at a major risk, the full cost of premiums would have been immense. California made it worse by making it illegal to charge for the real cost, but even if they hadn't, the premiums would have simply ballooned and many people would have been priced out of insuring their homes, and would still be in this situation.

Similar thing happens with healthcare. Everyone wants their insurance to cover everything, including very common, every day medications for long term medical problems. Needing my ADHD medication isn't a risk, it's not at the tail end of the probability distribution. My insurance shouldn't cover it, because covering it means that the company has to raise everyone's premiums, and raising the premiums prices people (myself included) out of being able to afford insurance for actual tail risks that could ruin their lives.

"But I need my ADHD medication to live a good life, it would ruin me to not get it" yeah, I hear you, same here, but insurance is just a bad system for dealing with that. It just isn't a risk, it doesn't fit well with the "small affordable fee to avoid unlikely disaster" model. If insurance pays for everyone's lifetime medications, then it has to raise premiums by the average of the cost of everyone's lifetime medications, and everyone breaks even, except now insurance is just more expensive and some people are priced out.

I think anytime insurance starts to sail out of the price range of the target demographic, it's a sign that something is deeply wrong and some intervention, likely government intervention, is needed. If people can't afford the fire insurance, it's because the fire risk is way too high and your forest management strategy should be overhauled. If people are struggling to pay their health care insurance, their insurance probably covers way too much because too much of every day health care is also out of reach of people.

Insurance companies aren't the good guys, you have an adversarial relationship with them. They will try to screw you over and lie to you and scam you and all the rest. But you can't get blood from stone, and you can't get a policy of "pay me money if my home built on top of kindling burns down" without paying for it somewhere, and instead of getting mad at the insurance company you should probably start asking why your home is built on kindling.

*Or, well, more complicatedly the full cost of some disasters is much worse than than strict accounting cost. Losing your home is far more destructive than losing the market price of the home's value, because it means spending weeks to months homeless and opening you up to other risks.