#Monitor Employee Behavior

[bumblingbabooshka]

I think Sarek and Amanda Grayson both lowkey seeing their children as little experiments in different ways is undeniably bad parenting BUT .... I mean you talk about matching each other's freak .... Like imagine for a second Sarek is like "I am going to show that Humans are just as good as Vulcans by molding this Human child and my half Human son into the perfect Vulcans - This will show that despite what society thinks of as their genetic inferiority, they're just as good as any Vulcan." and Amanda's response to that is to think "Sarek is wrong...Michael's humanity MUST be preserved...so that I can show her all the love and affection I can't show Spock and maybe through their sibling bond all my unspoken and unexpressed love can trickle down to him through her." What are you both DOOOOING!?? You guys are NUTS like PLEASE just TALK to each other and compromise about how you're going to raise your children!! [Love the drama though] So I'm imagining in my head that Sarek is severely pressuring both Spock and Michael to act as perfect Vulcans their entire lives with him or else they're failures not only in his eyes but in all of society's (because he's an ambassador and raising these children is tied irrevocably with his work as such) WHILE Amanda is secretly trying to funnel her humanity and love for Spock through Michael and as such failure to receive, express, or internalize that love is failing not only your mother but also the entire Human race. Damned if you do damned if you don't! Who do you want to disappoint more, kids?

In 'Point of Light' Amanda says that she gave Michael all of the love, joy, and affection which she wasn't "permitted" (we must question the use of the word - what stopped her from directly giving Spock this love? I'm not saying there wasn't pressure for her not to, I'm saying the word 'permitted' absolves her of any personal choice or failing in a way that's interesting to me) to give Spock and though this is on the surface level sweet and probably meant to be interpreted that way, I submit that it must be kind of fucked up to hear that your foster mother was maybe only so kind and caring to you because she felt she wasn't allowed to act that way towards her "real" son. Michael Burnham as a tool for both her parents, however unintentional, is very interesting and I'm not sure it's something canon considers (haven't watched the show, I just like imagining things). The feeling that you have to be grateful to these people for not only being your parents but being YOUR parents. For taking you in and giving you a beautiful life - you have to pay them back, you have to make them especially proud of YOU. Because they didn't HAVE to, did they? Because you're not their "real" child. In the end, it's always Spock - isn't it? The love your mother gives you is Spock's love and if only one child can enter the Vulcan Science Academy then it has to be Spock. You're the appetizer your father serves before the REAL main course and your mother's stuffed doll which represents the thing she REALLY wants to hold and you know they genuinely care about you. That's the worst part. Because you know they care and they didn't mean to hurt you and the voice in the back of your head keeps telling you that any hurt they've dealt you pales in comparison to the debt you owe them and they love you, they love you, they love you, they love you, they love you [repeat as often as need be]

[onemonitarsoftware]

OneMonitar: Empowering Workplace Oversight

Unlock comprehensive employee monitoring with OneMonitar. Monitor calls, track messages, ensure productivity, maintain security, and utilize GPS tracking. Enhance workplace efficiency and accountability effortlessly.

[brunchable]

It's not a Meet-𝑪𝒖𝒕𝒆, it's a Meet-𝗨𝗴𝗹𝘆.

《 Chapter 5: Your Crying Shoulder. 》

Pairings: Bucky Barnes x f!Reader Themes: It's not a meet-cute, it's a meet ugly, Grumpy Meets ✨️Sunshine✨️, Opposites Attract, Sassy Pet Matchmaker, Enemies-to-Lovers (Lite), Destined to meet again, Bucky is a hidden softie. Summary: When everything falling apart, you found yourself in the arms of the person you least expected. A/N: This story will be OUTSIDE of MCU but Bucky's traits will be mixed comics/mcu. This will be updated every FRIDAY(AEST). I can't help but place a TikTok meme in here somewhere lmao. Credits to me for the Banner lmfao. credits to @ khaer for the divider.

Mission Report - J. B. Barnes To: N. Fury Subject: Family Dynamics

Key Findings

1. Family Structure

Y/N Y/LN: CEO of The Emporium NYC, handling New York operations, public relations, and key corporate responsibilities.

Jonathan [Half-Brother]: Oversees Miami branch expansions and operational strategies. Professional but distant relationship with Y/N, characterized by mutual respect and a clear division of responsibilities.

2. Operational Observations

Financial Irregularities: Offshore accounts linked to Emporium subsidiaries display significant fund transfers with unclear purposes. Investigating their potential connection to Hydra-related activities is a priority.

Board Affiliations: Certain board members are linked to political figures and tech firms specializing in advanced security technologies. Their involvement requires further investigation for possible ties to Hydra.

Employee Turnover: Leadership restructuring followed Y/N’s promotion. Several former executives now hold external consulting roles, potentially redirecting focus from Emporium’s internal operations.

3. Personal Relationships

Rhys: Y/N’s boyfriend and the son of a global luxury hotel mogul. While not directly involved in Emporium operations, his influential family ties and potential connections to Y/N's network merit attention.

4. Behavioral Insights

Y/N demonstrates dedication to her role but shows signs of frustration with corporate pressures. She appears unaware of financial irregularities within the organization, suggesting compartmentalization of information.

No evidence connects Y/N directly to suspicious activities. Monitoring her relationship with Rhys could provide additional context, as his background and resources may intersect with Emporium’s broader dealings.

Recommendations

1. Background Checks: Investigate board members, financial consultants, and Rhys’s family business for any links to Emporium's offshore holdings and potential Hydra connections.

2. Monitor Relationships: Subtly observe Y/N’s interactions with Rhys and board members for indirect insights.

3. Enhanced Financial Scrutiny: Deepen analysis of offshore accounts to establish potential links between Emporium funds and Hydra-backed projects.

End of Report

× × × ×

Figaro pranced confidently into Bucky’s apartment, his tail held high, a familiar item clamped between his teeth. Alpine looked up from her spot on the windowsill, tilting her head as she watched him strut across the room.

“Alpine,” Figaro greeted, setting down the item—a soft, worn scarf that unmistakably carried your scent.

Alpine sniffed at the scarf, then looked at Figaro, a glint of curiosity in her eyes. “Your human let you out with… that?”

Figaro settled down next to her, casually licking a paw. 

“Oh, she doesn’t know I took it,” he replied with a lazy flick of his tail. “But I thought you might appreciate a little reminder of her.” He gave her a knowing look, lowering his voice. “She was patching up your human’s busted lip the other night, by the way.”

Alpine’s eyes narrowed with amusement. “Did she now? And did you happen to notice the way he was looking at her?” she asked, her whiskers twitching.

“Oh, I noticed. He was all ‘I’m tough, but not too tough for you,’” Figaro said, imitating a dramatic swoon, then rolled his eyes with exaggerated flair. “Honestly, he’s got it bad. She was fussing over him, and he was eating it up like a kitten with a saucer of cream.”

Alpine purred thoughtfully. “Well, it’s about time. But he won’t admit that to himself.”

“Yeah, well, the issue,” Figaro continued, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial tone, “is that there’s another guy in her life. Rhys.” He spat out the name with as much disdain as a cat could muster. “Total bore. Calls her ‘baby’ like it’s some kind of magic spell. And he smells like cheap cologne. Honestly, his existence is an insult to felines everywhere.”

Alpine’s ears perked up. “So he’s competition?”

Figaro scoffed. 

“Please. He’s like the knockoff toy they keep at the bottom of the discount bin. My human doesn’t even smile around him anymore; she just tolerates him. But every time your guy shows up, she lights up like it’s Christmas morning.” He stretched, his claws extending as if to make his point. “I’m telling you, we’ve got to get rid of him. For the sake of all that is right in the world.”

Alpine let out a thoughtful meow, eyeing the scarf Figaro had brought. “You know, if we could just keep nudging them together, maybe they’ll take the hint. They’re not too bright, but they’ve got chemistry.”

“Exactly!” Figaro said, his eyes gleaming. “Our owners are hopeless without us. This is a mission, Alpine. A noble mission. A mission to save her from that pathetic excuse for a partner.” He gave an exaggerated shudder. “And frankly, if I have to listen to him call her ‘baby’ one more time, I might cough up a hairball on his shoes.”

Alpine let out a low chuckle, nudging Figaro with her paw. “Well then, Mr. Matchmaker. What’s the plan?”

“Oh, I’ve got ideas,” Figaro said, eyes narrowing as if deep in thought. “Plenty of ideas. After all, I’m doing the world a favor.”

× × × ×

There was cold silence since that tense encounter with Rhys, and though you’d pushed it to the back of your mind, his apology text had come through late tonight, begging you to talk. You decided, almost against your better judgment, to go. Maybe it was a habit, maybe just closure. But as you reached the hotel and made your way up to his office, a cold, uneasy feeling settled in the pit of your stomach.

The hall was dimly lit as you approached, your heels clicking softly against the polished floor. Then, as you neared the frosted glass door of Rhys’ office, you stopped in your tracks. Two silhouettes were visible through the blurred glass, close, intimate. You watched as Rhys pressed a woman—with a golden hair clip—against the glass, their forms locked together in a kiss that left little to the imagination.

Your throat tightened, a dull ache building in your chest as the weight of the betrayal hit you. To be honest, I felt like I already knew it, you thought, the silent admission somehow worse than the scene unfolding in front of you. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less. You tried to swallow down the emotions swirling within you—anger, sadness, and that unmistakable pang of disappointment. Being cheated on hurt, even when you’d mentally checked out of the relationship. It chipped away at something deeper, a quiet part of your self-worth you hadn’t realized still cared.

Water rimmed your eyes, but you blinked it back, refusing to let him take that from you too. You inhaled deeply, straightened your shoulders, and turned away from the office door, leaving as quietly as you’d arrived.

× × × ×  Fews days after

Bucky squinted, utterly baffled. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he muttered. He scratched the back of his neck, feeling absurdly judged by a cat.

Alpine huffed, letting out a short, dismissive meow, clearly unimpressed with whatever answer she’d decided on. She trotted off toward her food bowl, pausing just once to throw him a final, critical look before bending to eat.

“Alright, sure, just go back to ignoring me,” Bucky grumbled, watching her. But as he leaned against the counter, glancing down at the faint trace of your scent still on his sleeve, he couldn’t help feeling like Alpine had silently decided something about him that she wasn’t going to share anytime soon.

Bucky watched Alpine chowing down on her food, her tail flicking in satisfaction as she devoured each bite with gusto. He allowed himself a moment of peace, but then came the unmistakable sound of someone struggling with his lock.

“Oh, hell no,” he muttered under his breath, his mind flashing back to the night you’d drunkenly tried breaking into his apartment, mistaking it for yours. Swinging the door open, he was prepared for a repeat performance, only to be met with Sam, frozen in mid-action, his hand clutching a spare key. Behind him stood Steve, holding two large bags of takeout, and Nat, arms crossed with a smirk.

“Uh… hey, Buck,” Sam greeted, attempting a casual tone while quickly tucking the key behind his back like he hadn’t just been caught red-handed.

“Why are you trying to break into my place?” Bucky narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms.

Sam cleared his throat, glancing at Steve and Nat for backup. 

“We’re, uh… your backup! Sent by Fury.” He flashed a grin that looked anything but innocent.

“Backup?” Bucky repeated, deadpan, as the three of them filed in with the casualness of seasoned intruders. “Fury said it was a simple assignment. Barely a mission.”

Steve rolled his eyes, giving Bucky a pitying look as he passed by to set down the bags on the table. “You really believed that? Seriously?”

Bucky opened his mouth to argue, but before he could get a word in, Nat had already made her way over to Alpine, who blinked up at her with the smug satisfaction of a cat who’d been expecting her. Nat scratched Alpine’s ears as Alpine purred, looking even more at ease than Bucky had ever seen her.

Just as Nat leaned down to pet Alpine, her gaze flicked up, catching sight of Bucky’s busted lip. She raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. “Nice lip, Buck. Trouble on the way to the door?”

Bucky’s hand instinctively went up to his mouth. “Oh, that? I… tripped over Alpine.”

Steve’s head whipped around, eyes narrowing as he tried to keep a straight face. 

“You tripped… over Alpine?” He looked down at the serene, not-at-all-menacing cat sitting contentedly by Nat’s side, then back up at Bucky, clearly struggling to hold back a laugh.

Bucky crossed his arms, his expression turning defensive. “It’s possible, alright? She’s tiny but lethal.”

Sam let out a snort. “Yeah, sure. I’m sure the Winter Soldier can handle a battalion of Hydra agents but gets taken out by a house cat.”

“Don’t you guys have anything better to do?” Bucky just rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath as Sam already raiding the fridge like he owned it. 

“Oh no, please, make yourselves at home. I’ll just find somewhere else to live, shall I?” Bucky’s voice was dripping with sarcasm as he watched the scene unfold. 

“Buck, you have got to keep better beer in here. This stuff is practically water.” He settled on a bottle anyway, taking a long swig before glancing back at Bucky. “We’re just here to help, man. Think of us as… extended housemates.”

Bucky crossed his arms tighter, a look of utter disbelief on his face. “Extended housemates?” He gestured at the room. “You act like you already live here!”

Steve, entirely unbothered, started setting out the food, carefully placing burgers on plates and arranging napkins. “We thought you might need a little company. I mean, it’s a Friday night, after all.”

“I’m perfectly fine alone, thanks,” Bucky replied, his gaze narrowing as he watched Sam polish off half a beer in one go. “How about you go keep each other company?”

Steve chuckled, handing a plate to Nat. “You said the same thing last time we showed up. Yet, here we are. Again.”

Nat, now comfortably settled on the couch with Alpine, flashed him a wicked grin. “Let’s not be dramatic, Bucky. Just think of us as… spontaneous visitors.”

“Visitors don’t usually come with their own keys,” Bucky grumbled, his gaze settling on Sam, who was busy rifling through his cabinets for snacks. “And they certainly don’t bring takeout to make themselves at home.”

Sam shrugged, unfazed. “You think of it as invading your privacy; I think of it as improving the vibe around here.”

Bucky let out an exasperated sigh. “I swear, one of these days, I’m changing the locks.”

“Good luck with that. We’ll just get new keys.” Nat smirked, scratching Alpine’s head as if she were orchestrating a coup. 

Bucky glared, but Steve was already setting a plate piled with ribs and a burger in front of him. “Eat up, Buck. Before Sam devours everything like the human garbage disposal he is.”

Sam waved his beer bottle, looking completely unbothered. “Hey, I resent that. This is strategic eating. Besides, with your ‘barely-a-mission,’ we need all the fuel we can get.”

“I’m starting to think Fury set me up.” Bucky rubbed his forehead, exasperated but clearly losing the battle.

Steve just grinned, popping open his own beer. “I’m sure Fury thought you’d appreciate the backup.”

“Or at least tolerate it,” Sam added, grabbing a handful of fries and popping them into his mouth.

With a resigned sigh, Bucky sank into a chair, shaking his head. “You guys are impossible.”

“Impossible is our specialty,” Sam shot back, raising his beer in a mock toast. “To back up, and to Buck finally admitting he likes having us around.”

“Let’s not get carried away.” Bucky snorted. 

Alpine purred louder, clearly pleased with the lively atmosphere, while Nat smirked at Bucky. “See? Even Alpine agrees. You’re just a grump with a soft spot for us, admit it.”

Bucky rolled his eyes, but there was a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “Fine. But next time, bring your own key.”

“Oh, we will,” Steve assured him with a smirk. “And maybe a couch, a pillow or two.”

Sam, now munching contentedly on fries, raised his beer again. “To crashing Bucky’s place—where every night is a mission, and the food’s free.”

Bucky took a reluctant bite of his burger, trying to ignore how comfortable his “guests” had made themselves. Just as he was starting to think the worst was over, Steve casually leaned over to Sam, as if sharing a quiet plan.

“We’ll grab the rest of our stuff from the car when Buck’s asleep,” Steve said, completely deadpan.

Bucky nearly choked on his burger, staring at Steve like he’d lost his mind. “The rest of your stuff? What are you talking about?”

Sam, without missing a beat, grinned. “Perfect. Nat can take the bedroom, and the three of us can crash in the living room. It’ll be like a sleepover.”

Nat raised her eyebrows, feigning delight. “I called dibs on the bed, anyway. I always knew Buck had the fluffiest pillows.”

“Hold on, hold on! This isn’t some youth hostel! You all have your own places!” Bucky’s face twisted in horror as he looked around the room. 

“Yeah, but none of our places have a view of you panicking about your personal space.” Steve looked unbothered, casually unwrapping another burger.

Bucky glared. 

“I’m not panicking! I just—” He waved a hand in utter frustration. “This is my place! You can’t just... commandeer my bed!”

“Don’t worry, Buck. We’ll all be snug as bugs on the floor, reliving those good ol’ days in the barracks.” Sam leaned back, looking way too comfortable for someone who’d apparently just broken in.

“Except Nat,” Steve corrected, “who will be enjoying Buck’s luxurious mattress.”

Bucky looked to Alpine, almost pleading. “You see what I deal with? Even the cat respects my space more than you three!”

Alpine simply blinked, looking rather indifferent to her owner’s plight as she happily settled on Nat’s lap.

“Oh, come on, Buck,” Sam said, reaching over to ruffle Bucky’s hair. “We’ll make it fun! Popcorn, ghost stories, some embarrassing truths about Fury… just like old times.”

“Yeah, Buck,” Steve added, grinning. “Think of it as team bonding.”

Bucky threw his hands up. “This isn’t bonding! This is trespassing! And I don’t want to hear any ghost stories or truths about Fury. I want my bed, my couch, and my fridge not raided!”

Nat sighed, patting Alpine who purred louder. “Look, Buck. Clearly, Alpine’s on board. You’re outvoted.”

“Traitor.” Bucky narrowed his eyes, looking at Alpine in betrayal.

Steve chuckled, leaning back with a smug grin. “Face it, Buck. Tonight’s already decided.”

Bucky let out a resigned sigh, shaking his head as he muttered under his breath. “Next time, I’m leaving the country.”

× × × ×

You strode into the dimly lit restaurant, greeted by a chorus of cheers and mock applause as Serena, Mei, and Jane raised their glasses, voices rising in unison. "Woooo, here comes the CEO!"

You shook your head, laughing as you took your seat, subtly glancing around the table. Your gaze caught on one unfamiliar face, though it took a split second longer for the memory to click into place. Carly. She was Rhys' new assistant, a realization that caused your brow to lift just slightly. You’d thought she looked familiar from somewhere else, but with her new polished appearance and newfound confidence, it was hard to tell right away.

Chloe, ever the instigator, nudged Carly forward with a smile that held a hint of challenge. 

“Ladies, meet Carly. You might remember her, Y/N. She used to work at The Emporium,” she said, her words smooth but her gaze pointed.

You kept your expression cool, a practiced smile settling on your lips. “Ah, that explains why she looks familiar.” You gave Carly a nod, and she responded with a forced smile, her eyes holding something less friendly beneath the surface.

The evening moved along, filled with laughter and a few rounds of drinks. Serena, Mei, and Jane offered congratulations, and Sarah, as always, played the role of your unwavering cheerleader, throwing a few enthusiastic compliments your way. But as the night flowed, it was Mei who leaned in, her voice dipping into a sympathetic tone.

“So, I heard Rhys de Armande cheated on you.”

You blinked, not expecting the topic to surface so bluntly. You forced yourself to keep your expression neutral, though a subtle flicker crossed your face.

“You forced a light laugh, though your jaw tightened beneath it. “Oh, it was probably because I told him to take his bare minimum and keep it out of my sight. Pretty sure he wanted to vanish into thin air after that, especially since his entire office got to witness it.”

Jane, Mei, and Serena burst into laughter, clearly picturing the scene as you animatedly relayed the story.

“Oh my gosh, that’s incredible,” Serena giggled, shaking her head. “He absolutely deserved every bit of that.”

You let out a faint laugh, flipping your hair back and letting it settle over your shoulder as you raised an eyebrow. “Ugh, I’m too busy with work to be hurt by this kind of stuff,” you replied, feigning a casual air as you took a sip of your drink, though the words had a hard edge underneath.

“Do you know who the woman was?” Serena leaned forward, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

Chloe’s lips curled into a faint smirk.

“I mean, with Rhys’ type, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s someone… eager to climb the ladder, if you know what I mean,” Mei said.

Sarah’s eyes flashed, and she opened her mouth, ready to retort, but you discreetly squeezed her hand under the table, keeping your expression smooth. You didn’t need her stepping in right now. 

“You should’ve grabbed her hair!” Jane piped up, half-laughing, her fist in the air as if she were ready to throw a punch herself, “I respect the way you’re so laid back, because honestly I would’ve gone apeshit.”

“Oh, forget it. He’s the one who cheated. I couldn’t care less about her,” you replied, rolling your eyes. “She’s probably no different from him—anyways! Enough about him!”

As the words left your mouth, Carly’s face visibly tightened, her forced smile slipping as she pushed back her chair, muttering under her breath as she walked off toward the restroom. Her eyes flickered with a glare that lingered on you as she departed, barely concealing the frustration bubbling beneath her cool facade.

Serena raised her eyebrows, catching the shift in mood. “What’s with her? She was glaring at you the whole time.”

“Oh, who knows,” Sarah murmured, watching Carly’s retreating figure with a slight smirk, her hand still entwined in yours beneath the table, a sign of solidarity.

Chloe glanced after Carly, a subtle, knowing smile playing on her lips. “Probably just adjusting to her new… surroundings.”

You glanced down at your phone, barely containing the irritation rising within you as you took in the image on the screen: Rhys and Carly, cozy on a beach, his arms wrapped around her as if he hadn’t been apologizing to you just days earlier. It was from an unknown number, but there was no doubt in your mind who had sent it.

With a measured breath, you slipped the phone back into your bag and stood, offering your friends a polite excuse before following the path Carly had taken. You found her just outside the restrooms, leaning casually against the wall with a smug smile, almost as if she’d been waiting.

“Why did you send me that?” You stopped in front of her, gaze steady.

She didn’t bother hiding her grin, crossing her arms as she looked you over. “Because I wanted you to know.”

“Know what?” You raised an eyebrow. “That Rhys cheated on me?”

“No,” she replied with a sickeningly sweet smile, crossing her arms tighter. “That I seduced your boyfriend. You seemed completely fine with it.”

A scoff escaped you as you let out a dry laugh, crossing your own arms. 

“Did you expect me to crumble just because I was cheated on?” You tilted your head, studying her. “Alright, let’s say you two ‘fell in love.’ Then you should be apologizing to me—”

Her smile faltered as she cut you off, her voice raising a fraction. “I felt guilty at first. But then you acted like it wasn’t a big deal. You weren’t curious about me, didn’t even acknowledge what I did. So my self-esteem? It just kept plummeting.”

You looked at her, incredulous, and chuckled coldly. “Wow—seriously? You’re such a loser—You’re blaming me for your self-esteem issues?”

Her lips pursed in irritation. “Why shouldn’t I? Why do you think I can’t do what you do? I can seduce your man and be just as successful—be just like you. But you never gave me the chance. Not only that, you took my opportunity at The Emporium away from me.”

“Ah,” you murmured, amusement in your voice. “So this is about me firing you?”

Her jaw clenched, eyes narrowing. “You didn’t deserve to be in that position. You act so high and mighty, like nothing can shake you. You have it all, don’t you? The job, the influence, the respect. But guess what? I can take what’s yours. I already did, didn’t I?”

You laughed, unbothered, shaking your head slowly. 

“You really don’t get it, do you?” You stepped closer, gaze locked on hers. “If you couldn’t handle the job, that’s on you. Throwing this little tantrum only proves I was right about you. As for Rhys…” You shrugged, a smirk tugging at your lips. “You can keep him. My ex cheating doesn’t affect my work—but you? You do. So maybe I’ll have a word with his parents and see how your career fairs then.”

You turned to leave, but her voice came out sharp, dripping with venom. “You can’t pretend you’re not bitter about it. That’s why you’re here, right? To confront me?”

Pausing, you glanced over your shoulder, an icy smile on your lips. “Ever step on something nasty on the sidewalk? Hmm I don’t know like shit? It’s a pain, but you don’t let it ruin your day. You wipe it off and move on. That’s what you and Rhys are to me—Shit—something I’ll be glad to scrape off my shoe.”

Without another glance, you strode back to the table, your head held high. Your friends glanced up as you approached, a few eyebrows raised.

“Everything okay?” Sarah asked, eyeing you with mild concern.

You forced a polite smile, nodding as you picked up your bag. “Actually, I’ve got an early meeting tomorrow. I should get going.”

With a few quick goodbyes, you left, satisfaction settling over you as you stepped out, knowing you’d left Carly exactly where she belonged—behind you.

× × × × 

“Sarah! Open the noor! I know you're in there, Sarah! Open the noor!” Your drunken voice slurred through the quiet hallway, louder with every knock.

Inside, Bucky froze, instantly recognizing your voice. His eyes widened, and he shot a panicked look at the mountain of files scattered across his coffee table—the very files on you and The Emporium that he’d been piecing through with Steve, Sam, and Nat.

“Everyone! Gather the files, now!” he hissed, immediately jumping to action.

“What? Why? Relax, man, we’re not under attack or anything.” Sam raised an eyebrow, lounging on the couch with a half-eaten sandwich.

Bucky shot him a glare, practically yanking the files out from under Sam’s plate. “One of our ‘subjects’ is outside the door, Sam! Now MOVE!”

“Wait, you mean her?” Steve asked, eyes widening as the banging on the door got louder.

“Yes!” Bucky hissed, shoving an armful of files into Steve’s hands. “Now stop talking and start hiding!”

Nat rolled her eyes, stacking papers hastily. “Isn’t this a little dramatic? She’s probably just lost.”

“She’s not ‘lost,’ she’s drunk!” Bucky snapped. “And I’d rather not explain why I’m reviewing her life story with three nosy intruders!”

“Oh, we’re the intruders now?” Steve muttered as he clutched a bundle of files to his chest. “Could’ve sworn we were here for your mission!”

The banging grew even louder. 

“Sarah! Don’t you ignore me, woman!” Your voice was muffled but determined, sounding like you were one step away from kicking the door down.

“Go, go, go! Get in there!” Bucky herded them like sheep, arms waving wildly as he tried to push them toward the bedroom.

“Ow, Bucky, stop shoving!” Sam complained, elbowing Bucky back as he tripped over a rogue sneaker. “Seriously, why are you acting like we’re about to be raided?”

“Because she’ll see this mess and ask questions!” Bucky shot back, pushing him forward again. “Just get in and be quiet!”

Nat stumbled as Bucky prodded her toward the door, muttering, “Why are you so panicked? Did you do something wrong, Buck?”

“Would you all just move?!” Bucky whispered furiously, practically bulldozing them all through his bedroom door. “I’ll explain later. Just don’t make a sound!”

Steve stumbled, catching himself with a loud “Ow!” as Bucky finally got all three of them behind the door. He shut it firmly and leaned against it with a sigh, only to hear a loud “Shh!” from Nat, Sam, and Steve bickering in hushed whispers.

“Move your elbow!”

“Steve, that’s my foot—ow!”

“Could you three not sound like an entire stampede?”

Outside, your voice grew louder, slurring but stubborn as ever. “Saarah! Come on, I brought sushiiii!”

Bucky took a breath and opened the door, his expression calm yet barely holding it together. There you stood, wobbling slightly, hair slightly mussed, and an unmistakable grin on your face when you saw him.

“Oh! Sarah, you changed! You look so much taller… and more... Bucky-like.”

“Uh, hi,” he said as he steadied you. “I think you might have the wrong door, trash panda.”

You blinked, frowning, and swayed a little closer. “Wrong door? But I brought sushi! And, wait—” You squinted at him, leaning in. “Bucky?”

“Yeah, Bucky,” he confirmed, holding back a chuckle as you gave him a suspiciously scrutinizing look.

“Ohhh…” you drawled, clearly trying to process it all. “Well, if you see Sarah, tell her the sushi is... sushi-ing.”

He nodded, keeping his tone light, even though his friends were probably eavesdropping as best they could. 

“Will do. And, uh… maybe we should get you home?”

“Good idea. But you keep this. Looks like you could use some fish.” You nodded, albeit unsteadily, handing him a stray piece of sushi. 

You gave Bucky a wobbly smile, one that looked a little too determined for someone in your state. Before Bucky could stop you, you swayed forward, making a beeline past him and into his apartment.

“Wait, Y/N—this isn’t… Sarah’s place!” he said, barely catching up as you staggered into his kitchen.

“Close enough,” you slurred with a grin, swaying dramatically from side to side as you reached for the fridge handle. Alpine, sensing a new friend in distress, trotted over, rubbing against your legs with enthusiastic little chirps.

“Oh! Hey, kitty!” you cooed, reaching down to pet her, then looking up at Bucky with wide, innocent eyes. “Sarah’s cat never welcomes me like this. See? She gets me.”

Bucky ran a hand over his face, half-amused, half-panicked. “Right. Because Alpine just loves guests raiding the kitchen.”

You opened the fridge door, inspecting the shelves as if on a mission. 

“Where’s the… the ice cream?” you muttered, voice muffled by the refrigerator door. “Sarah always has chocolate fudge swirl, and I need it.”

“Seriously, you’re in the wrong apartment,” Bucky tried, sounding both exasperated and entertained as he reached out, but you sidestepped, one hand still on the fridge door, the other now waving vaguely in the air.

“Shhh, Bucky,” you chided, squinting as you leaned in further, peering deeper into the fridge with a sense of deep concentration. Alpine padded around you, her tail curling around your ankle, clearly thrilled to have you there.

“Listen, Bucky,” you slurred, not even glancing up, “all I want… is chocolate ice cream and maybe… maybe a good laugh. Do you have tissues? I feel like I’ll need them, like, a lot of them.”

Bucky couldn’t help the grin tugging at his lips. He tried his best to guide you away from the fridge gently, but you shot him a mildly annoyed look, shoving a stray pack of carrots aside as if they were personally offensive.

“Don’t you dare hide the good stuff behind the veggies,” you said, mock-scolding him as Alpine hopped onto the counter, watching the scene with wide, curious eyes, tail twitching.

“Really, Alpine?” Bucky muttered at his cat, who was clearly rooting for you and even pawed at Bucky’s hand as if to say, Let her have the ice cream!

“I knew you’d understand me, Alpine,” you cooed at the cat, as if she were your personal support group. “See, Bucky? Even she gets it. She knows.”

Bucky sighed, half-heartedly resigned. “You know what, fine. If Alpine says so, who am I to argue?”

Finally, you pulled out a random tub—yogurt, not ice cream—and peered at it in disappointment. 

“Greek yogurt? Bucky, are you… are you okay?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, perfectly fine, thanks.”

You blinked at him, still clutching the tub. “Well, clearly, you’re living a sad existence if this is all you’ve got.”

“Or I’m just not prepared for unexpected trash pandas who raid my fridge,” he replied, crossing his arms, trying not to burst out laughing as you clung to Alpine for support, who purred loudly, delighted with the chaos.

“Fine, then!” you declared dramatically, patting Alpine’s head. “Alpine and I will fend for ourselves.” You turned on your heel (or tried to, at least), your balance giving out just slightly as you wobbled with an exaggerated sway. Alpine gave an encouraging “mrrp!” as if saying, Yes! Go forth!

Bucky finally took pity on you, grabbing a pint of actual ice cream from the freezer, waving it like a peace offering. “This? Will this make you happy, your highness?”

You lit up, the joy on your face as radiant as if he’d handed you a crown. “Now that’s more like it!” you cheered, taking the tub, your steps still swaying as you made your way to his couch.

Bucky followed you over, shaking his head as you sat down, giving Alpine a spot next to you. He sat down nearby, stifling a chuckle as you dug into the ice cream.

“So… just gonna crash here tonight, then?” he asked, leaning back with a smirk.

You waved the spoon dismissively, barely even looking up. “Obviously. And you, Bucky Barnes, need to get more ice cream. Greek yogurt’s just… depressing.”

He shook his head, chuckling. “Noted.”

You tore into the box of tissues, your frustration boiling over as you whipped open the plastic bag for trash with the precision of someone handling a life-or-death task. In one hand, you wielded the spoon like a weapon, in the other, a tissue you’d already shredded halfway. Bucky sat a few feet away, wide-eyed, clearly out of his depth. Alpine perched on the coffee table instead, her tail swishing in judgment, shooting Bucky a look that all but screamed, Fix this.

“You good there?” Bucky asked cautiously, his voice hesitant, like he wasn’t sure whether he should move closer or start looking for an escape route.

You let out a short, sharp laugh—bitter, too loud for the small space. “Good? Oh yeah, I’m great! I mean, how could I not be? My ex-boyfriend cheated on me with his assistant, who, surprise, also happens to be the same girl I fired for being utterly incompetent.”

Bucky, sitting stiffly on the couch, could only blink as you laughed. Not a gentle laugh, but one that bordered on hysteria, punctuated by short, sharp breaths. It wasn’t the kind of laugh that came from something funny; it was the kind that cracked through the tension when words couldn’t quite hold the weight of everything you were feeling.

“Oh, my God!” you exclaimed, raising your spoon as if to make a toast. “It’s just perfect, isn’t it? Fired her for being terrible at customer service, and what does she do? Rebounds as my boyfriend’s personal assistant. Like, how poetic is that?” You gestured with the tissue, accidentally flinging it onto the coffee table, but you didn’t stop. 

“And then—get this—she blames me for her low self-esteem! Like, excuse me for not sending her a gift basket after she slept with my boyfriend. I mean—” You let out a bark of laughter, shaking your head as tears welled in your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. “You can’t make this stuff up!”

“And then tonight?” You gestured wildly with your spoon. “Tonight, I had to sit there, all smiles, pretending like everything was fine, because God forbid I let anyone think I’m not. And Carly—oh, Carly—had the audacity to act like she’s the victim. She felt bad about it! Isn’t that just hilarious?” You scooped another bite of ice cream, your laughter spilling out, sharp and brittle, filling the air like broken glass.

Bucky sat frozen, his jaw slightly ajar, his heart twisting as he watched you spiral. You leaned forward, still laughing, the sound echoing unnaturally in the quiet apartment. You looked absurd, sitting there with a tub of ice cream and tissues in hand, trying to force humor into something that was clearly tearing you apart.

“Y/N,” Bucky said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

You didn’t seem to hear him, your laugh rising in pitch as you tilted your head back, wiping your face with the back of your hand. “It’s hilarious, really. Just the perfect little tragedy. I kind of saw it coming, you know? Rhys was always—”

“Y/N.” Bucky’s voice was firmer this time, cutting through the haze of your spiraling thoughts like a blade.

He moved off the couch, lowering himself to his knees in front of you, his steady blue eyes locking onto yours. The laughter caught in your throat as you met his gaze. There was no judgment in his expression, no pity—just an unwavering presence that felt like a lifeline. His gaze softened, like he was offering you something you weren’t sure how to accept.

“Just cry,” he said, his voice calm but resolute.

Your lips parted as if to argue, but the words wouldn’t come. The lump in your throat tightened, and for a moment, you thought you could hold it together. But the way he was looking at you—like you were the only person in the world—broke down every defense you’d spent the evening building.

“Don’t force yourself to laugh,” he added gently, his eyes never leaving yours. “It’s okay to cry.”

Your smile wavered, trembling at the edges before fading completely. You looked away, the dam bursting as tears spilled over, hot and relentless. A shaky breath escaped you, and your hands fumbled with the tissue box, but they were trembling too much to hold anything.

Bucky let out a soft sigh, running a hand through his hair as he glanced toward the closed bedroom door. He rarely, if ever, allowed anyone to see this side of him. Vulnerability wasn’t something he was used to sharing—especially not with his friends only a room away. But for you? He didn’t hesitate.

“Ah, screw it,” he muttered under his breath.

Alpine let out a soft “mrrp” of approval, watching as Bucky leaned forward, wrapping a careful arm around your smaller frame. He didn’t say anything, just held you close, letting you bury your face against his chest. His touch was gentle but grounding, the steady rhythm of his breathing anchoring you as you finally let yourself break.

He rested his chin lightly on top of your head, his other hand rubbing slow, soothing circles against your back. The weight of your head against his chest grounded him as much as he hoped it comforted you.

Alpine, perched on the coffee table, watched with what could only be described as smug satisfaction, her tail flicking contentedly.

Bucky’s awkwardness melted away bit by bit as he felt your breathing begin to even out against him. He let out a soft sigh, glancing down at you. Alpine’s watchful gaze was fixed on him, as if daring him to get this right. Bucky cleared his throat, searching for the right words, feeling more vulnerable than he’d admit.

“You know… you’re stronger than you think,” he said, his thumb grazing your shoulder without him realizing. “You take on so much, and you do it with so much grace. Even when you don’t have to.”

Your breath caught, and you lifted your head to meet his gaze, his blue eyes soft but unwavering.

“I know you don’t need me or anyone else to tell you how incredible you are. But, just… let someone see it, will you? Because you… you deserve that. And I mean every damn word.”

A smile tugged at the corners of your mouth, and you felt a rare sense of peace, your heart light in a way it hadn’t felt in so long. Bucky looked at you, his expression softening further as he took in the sight of your smile, his own heart skipping a beat.

Just as the warmth of Bucky’s words started to sink in, your phone erupted with an insistent buzz, breaking the peaceful moment. You glanced down to see Rhys’ name flashing on the screen. You groaned, but before you could even react, Bucky had snatched the phone from your hand, holding it up as it vibrated relentlessly.

On the fourth ring, Bucky pressed "answer," bringing the phone to his ear with a calm confidence that sent a thrill through you, his voice dropping to a dangerous calm.

“Rhys right? You know, she’s a little busy right now…” he greeted, the single word laced with a tension that could cut glass. “Here’s the deal: you’re gonna stop calling her. Got that?”

You watched, wide-eyed, as Bucky ended the call without waiting for a response and promptly shut off the phone. He set it down with an air of finality, his gaze meeting yours. Before you could form a coherent thought, a loud knock echoed through the apartment, making you both jump slightly.

“Y/N? I know you’re in there.” The voice outside was unmistakable—Rhys.

Your stomach churned as Bucky’s eyes flicked to the door, his jaw tightening.

“What the hell?” he muttered, standing up, his posture instantly tense.

“Bucky…” you started, but he raised a hand, silencing you with a look.

The knock came again, harder this time, followed by Rhys’ impatient voice. “Come on, Y/N, open the door! Let’s talk.”

Alpine, perched on the coffee table, let out an annoyed hiss, her tail flicking sharply as if she shared Bucky’s distaste for the situation. Bucky moved toward the door with deliberate steps, glancing briefly at the bedroom where Sam, Steve, and Nat were undoubtedly eavesdropping.

“Stay here,” Bucky instructed, his voice low and commanding. You watched as he reached for the door, every muscle in his body coiled like a spring.

The door creaked open, revealing Rhys standing in the dim hallway, his expression a mix of desperation and annoyance.

“What are you doing here?” Bucky’s voice was dangerously quiet, but the threat beneath it was clear.

Rhys crossed his arms, his gaze darting past Bucky into the apartment. “I’m here to talk to Y/N. This is between me and her, so if you don’t mind…”

“Oh, I mind,” Bucky shot back, stepping further into the doorway, blocking your view. “She doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“You don’t speak for her,” Rhys snapped, his voice rising. “Y/N!” he shouted, his voice cracking with frustration. “You can’t avoid me forever!”

The tension in the room was palpable, and you stood frozen, torn between staying put and stepping in. But before you could decide, Rhys’ voice dropped, and the words that followed sent a chill down your spine.

“I know what you’re hiding.”

Bucky’s entire body stiffened, his hand tightening on the edge of the door. His head tilted slightly, and though you couldn’t see his face, you could feel the shift in his demeanor. The calm before the storm.

“Excuse me?” Bucky’s voice was low, deadly.

Rhys scoffed, his tone dripping with false confidence, voice low while glancing shortly at you. “Don’t play dumb. I know about the Emporium. And I know about you.”

Your heart slammed against your ribs, your breath catching as Rhys’ words hung in the air like a grenade waiting to explode. Alpine let out a sharp, warning hiss, her tail flicking wildly.

“Y/N,” Bucky called over his shoulder, his voice steady but laced with coldness that made your blood run cold. “Go to my room.”

“What? Why—”

“Now.”

The finality in his tone left no room for argument, and with a wobble in your step and the slight haze of alcohol still clouding your mind, you retreated into the hallway. 

You staggered slightly, catching yourself on the wall as your eyes darted toward the only other door in sight: Bucky’s bedroom. Your curiosity—or perhaps your drunken instincts—propelled you forward. You weren’t sure why, but something about the tension in Bucky’s voice and the way he’d so urgently told you to leave made your heart pound faster.

The hallway seemed to stretch endlessly as you approached the door, your hand reaching out hesitantly toward the doorknob. You heard a faint shuffle from behind it—too faint for you to process fully in your current state—but enough to make you pause. Your fingers hovered above the cool metal, trembling slightly.

The voices from the other room grew louder for a moment before falling eerily silent, the tension almost palpable even through the walls. Your breath hitched as you gripped the doorknob tighter, the faintest click of the mechanism echoing in the stillness of the hallway.

The door began to give under your push.

Inside, Steve, Sam, and Nat froze mid-whisper, their eyes darting toward the door as it inched open.

tags: @winchestert101 @lomlbuckybarnes @lveegsoi @itsshellzy @almosttoopizza

@aami98 @hextech-bros @hzdhrtss @winterslove1917 @infqnitysblog

@ayayaeyato @blackbirdwitch22 @mostlymarvelgirl @bohoooitsme @crdgn

@yiiiikesmish @jae0515 @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @nikey-no-likey @aami98

@almosttoopizza @wisteriaandwafers @yiiiikesmish @marvelavengerspovs1 @xunquish-blog

@ppbhquinn @ziawbarnes @scott-loki-barnes @let-it-sn0o0ow @seven0714

@lostinspace33 @clockworkballerina @bonnie-bun

[ultimatelytired]

Lullaby

word count: 9428

Fandom: Poppy Playtime Pairing: N/A Pronouns: She/Her Relationship: Familial Occupation: Caretaker Ability: Ballerina Music Box

The character takes the appearance of a beautifully crafted music box ballerina figurine made of the toughest porcelain and glass, their clothes made from real fabric that is soft to touch and hair so smooth and silky you'd mistake it for real hair. Attached to their back is a wind up key that continuously spins when they're active and stops when they switch off. If the key is removed they cease to operate until key is returned and they are wound up again. Before CatNap, the character was the one to put the children to sleep with their built-in music box that would constantly be updated with new songs to play to help ease the children to sleep.

Keys:

[F/N]: Female Name

Warnings: spoilers for chapter 4 and those who haven't played the game, blood, death and all that shit.

"Lullaby" pt. 2, pt.3

bound to be mistakes that I was too lazy to find or fix.

that is all.

This beautiful ballerina is what every little girl dreams to be! Each doll sold plays a different song when you wind her key and her articulated, posable body in shimmery outfits add to storytelling. This doll is ready and waiting to be taken home to sing and dance for your little girl, all day, every day, forever and ever!

She is your best friend, Ballade Ballerina!

-

Subject: 1179

Original Procedure Date: 11/90

Behavior:

Assigned to Home Sweet Home within the Playcare, it acts as a motherly figure towards the children with a "warm" and "caring" attitude. That attitude switches off around the staff and it acts "cold" and "unresponsive" but will do as it's told when given orders. This was one of the few experiments that had their cognitive thinking intact instead becoming one of those mindless individuals.

Much like it's predecessors, while also maintaining the ability to think and respond, it acts as a bodyguard and or security that monitors the children when it's lights out. Nothing seems to get past its watchful eyes while also documenting who comes and goes both Home Sweet Home and the Playcare.

A stage was built into Home Sweet Home where it resides while its built-in music box would play lullabies to help put the children to sleep or when they're stressed it would help calm them down, however, it roams around during the "day" and interacts with the children.

While their temperament becomes apathetic around the regular employees, it becomes more nervous and prone to aggression around the scientists but what intrigues me the most is how it acts around me. Sometimes it would shut down completely when in my presence but is obedient to any order I give it, going so far as to drop any other previous order to complete a task I give it.

Conclusion:

Have it remain within Home Sweet Home for further monitoring.

Subject 1179 is one of the more successful Bigger Bodies that thinks, acts and listens while it can go unmonitored and it won't act out or misbehave.

Signature: Dr. Harley Swayer

-

"Hey, wind up the key already."

"Just... give me a sec, alright. This thing is so hard to turn!" two human employees struggled to turn the wind up key attached to the back of a giant four meter tall ballerina figurine doll, the coiled spring within its body needing to be tightened enough to function throughout the day. The two let out a breath of relief when it finally clicked into place and the third took a step back just as the figurine sparked to life, she sat on her knees with her head in a bowed position but when she turned on she slowly sat up with her eyes blinking to life.

"Good, you're awake." a yawn escaped her lips as she stretched her arms above her head, she looked down at the human in front of her when they snapped their fingers in front of her "Ballade, state your tasks for today." her face, made of the finest but toughest porcelain, held little to no emotion as she continued to stare the human down.

"Wait for the children to wake. Help the children get ready for the day. Entertain the children as the day progresses. Assist the Smiling Critters if needed. Abide by the orders the employees give. When the children--" she stops when they held a hand up to her, their other hand pinching the bridge of their nose in mild irritation.

"Okay, okay, that's enough. I hate doing this." one of the other employees places a hand on their shoulder.

"It's standard procedure, pal. We've got to ask so we know that she knows her daily duties and tasks. If anything is amiss we've got to report to Dr. Sawyer." the three of them shudder, missing how Ballade twitched at the mention of the doctor "You know how he is, that freak."

"Yeah, and besides, we're lucky that we're around one of the few toys whose first thought isn't to bite our heads off." at that comment, they peak up at Ballade and saw how she just continued to stare at them, eyes unnervingly not breaking contact with the three of them as they spoke "Let's not take our chances though." they step off her stage and draw the curtains.

"You know what you're supposed to do." she nods and they leave, she lets out another yawn before finally standing to her feet and waiting for her cue. She laced her fingers together as she stretched her arms and legs, not that she needed to, and got into position at the sound of the soft pitter patter that was the children's footsteps along with more heavier footsteps of the Smiling Critters.

"Haha, alright children. Now that you're all awake, let's help wake up our last friend! You all remember what to do, right?" the voice chuckles softly when the children nod their heads enthusiastically "Alright. One, two, three... oh, Miss Ballade~ rise and shine!"

"Rise and shine, Miss Ballade!" a silence washes over them when nothing happened.

"I think we need to be a little louder, one more time children. Oh, Miss Ballade~"

"Rise and shine!" they hear the sound of soft laughter as a melody starts to play from behind the curtain, they all cheer when the curtain is thrown open and Ballade steps out with a bright smile on her face.

"Good morning children! Thank you for waking me, I really needed that. So, kids, are you all ready for breakfast? Let's find Picky Piggy, I'm sure she's fixed you all something to eat!" at the mention of food a few children scatter to the dining hall, and a few other children lingered around and waited for Ballade "Remember kids, with a healthy diet and enough practice, you just might be able to be like me one day." she says as she takes a step off her stage while reaching for one of the children.

"Really? Can I become a ballerina like you when I grow up?" a genuine smile spreads across her porcelain face as she picks the little girl up and holds her up, the girl starts to laugh when Ballade nuzzles her nose against hers.

"Of course, when you believe in yourself, anything is possible." a laugh escapes her lips when the little girl wraps her arms around her neck and hugs her, she grunts when another pair of arms wraps around her and pulls her into a hug. She pursed her lips and looked down at DogDay, whose already permanent smile stretched wider while his tail wagged when she managed to free her hand to gently caress the back of his head "Good morning to you too, DogDay." he giggled softly.

"Good morning, Miss Ballade." she happily greets the other Smiling Critters, who were rounding up the leftover children, and form a line so no child is left out during breakfast. DogDay was leading them with Ballade, who was ultimately the tallest toy within the Playcare, was the last in line while Hoppy, Kickin and Bubba were mixed in with the children. As they made their way to the dining hall, Ballade was singing different nursery rhymes with the children and Smiling Critters joining in happily to keep them entertained "Who's hungry?"

"We are!" DogDay smiles as he steps to the side and gestures for the children to take a seat in the dining hall, where Picky was setting up the food.

"Well, go take a seat and Picky will serve you right up!" Ballade takes a step back and watches as the children take their seats, whether it be with their friends or by themselves, even the Smiling Critters take their designated seats "Miss Ballade, join us." DogDay says, Bobby smiles warmly as she gestures for Ballade to sit with them.

"Yes, join us!" she gently shakes her head.

"Perhaps later, we are still missing a face." this caused DogDay to look around and notice who exactly was missing.

"Drats, he must have gone back to sleep. Allow me to--" she raises her hand.

"I shall retrieve him, it will be no hassle. Besides, he listens to me." DogDay's ears lowered as a soft whine escaped him, she gave him a comforting smile as she gently patted his head "Do not worry, friend. I will make sure he comes down to join us for breakfast." he nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Alright." another whine leaves him when both her hands pinch at his cheeks and start stretching them, this caused the children to laugh when DogDay grabbed her by her wrists to stop her "Okay, okay!" she lets go and chuckles when he was rubbing his cheeks, Crafty and Bubba comforting him when he cried softly.

"Good, I'll be back with him in toe." she pats his head before turning on her heel and leaving.

The Smiling Critters consists of eight members, that being DogDay, Bubba Bubbaphant, Bobby BearHug, CraftyCorn, Hoppy Hopscotch, KickinChicken, Picky Piggy and last by certainly not least CatNap. Ballade was created before the Smiling Critters and is the one in charge of them all, keeping them in line and checking on them as ordered by the Doctor himself. She, of course, knows about the experiments and knows who the children were before they were placed into their Bigger Bodies. They, too, recognized Ballade as the nice caretaker who looked after them when they were still human and trusted her with all their heart. Ballade's stage resided within the main foyer in the center of the room where she would usually sing and dance for the children, as for the Smiling Critters, they generally resided in cells beneath the Playhouse but Miss Stella Greyber thought it would make the children happier if they stayed in Home Sweet Home so Ballade wouldn't have to go far from the children just to check on the Smiling Critters.

That being said...

"CatNap~ I know you're in there." she gently knocks on the door before opening it to find the colossal cat sleeping soundly on his cat bed, she enters the room and closes the door behind her then approaches him. Her hand reached to press gently against his head, she smiled fondly when a purr rumbled out of his throat and she continued to stroke his head as she knelt down on her knees "It's time to eat, Theo." she spoke softly, she tilts her head to the side and saw that his eyes opened.

"I'm not hungry..." she frowned.

"I see they still haven't fixed your voice box yet." he grunts at her words.

"They don't care about me." he looked up at her when she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on top of his, her cheek rubbing into the top of his head.

"But I do, and I wish I could help you." her eyes trailed down his body and winced when she saw his skeletal figure "And I wish for you to join us for breakfast, my boy. The others are waiting for us to join them, so we mustn't keep them waiting." he huffed and turned away from her, his tail flicking around in disinterest.

"They're not waiting. They don't care about me either." she pouts but doesn't stop petting him.

"That's not true, they care in their own way. Won't you do this for me, my sweet boy?" it still wasn't enough to convince him, haa, when he gets like this she only has one last thing to resort to "I see, I guess I'll leave you to sleep. But DogDay will be very upset." a subtle smirk stretched across her lips when his ear perked up.

"DogDay...?" she shrugged her shoulders as she removed herself, dusting the skirt of her dress.

"Mm hmm, he was upset that you weren't there to join us for breakfast. I won't pressure you to join us, but I guess Crafty will be the one to keep him company." playing with his feelings like this was cruel but DogDay was CatNap's closest friend where he got pretty jealous when the others got too close to him "I'll tell him you're still sleeping, so sweet dreams my baby~" she's waving him goodbye as she takes her leave and closing the door behind her, she's walking away and quietly counting down from five and the moment she gets to one his door was kicked open. She snickers to herself and stops to wait for him, as she's turning around she notices that he isn't slowing down and before she can do anything to avoid him he crashes into her.

*SLAM*

*THUD*

*CRASH*

"What was that?" DogDay was quick to his feet at the sound of a loud crash, the others quickly settled the children as he and Kickin rushed out to see what it was, only for them to hold back their laughter at the sight. The cause of the sound was CatNap charging into Ballade and the two of them tumbling down the stairs when they reached the bottom Ballade fell face first into the floor with CatNap on top of her, DogDay continued to laugh quietly as he approached them "Are you... alright, Miss Ballade?" he and Kickin burst out into laughter when she answers them with a thumbs up, face still in the floor.

"Sorry, Miss Ballade..." CatNap apologies as he lifts his hand upon realizing his paw was pressed into the back of her head.

"It's alright, my dear boy. You were just excited to eat with your friends." she reassures them that she's alright as they help her to her feet and they return to the dining hall, Ballade had a bright smile on her face at the sight of all her children eating together. Despite the horrors that lie beneath their feet, she could never ask for a better job than thi--

"Ballade." her eyes snap away from the children and see that it was Stella Greyber calling her name, she gestures with her finger for her to come so with one final look at the children she slinks away to see what the Head of Playcare could possibly need from her.

"Miss Greyber, how may I be of assistance today?" a bead of sweat formed on Stella's cheek as she stared up at the figurine, despite the friendly smile on her face, her eyes were void of any emotion as her voice was monotone.

"I need you to accompany me and the other Head Executives for a meeting, we have some guests that I'm worried will act out." she raised a brow.

"Act... out?" her mind thinks back to the other times Stella or the other Head Executives called her out when they were having meetings with especially unruly guests, she slowly nods her head "I understand, Miss Greyber." Stella smiles and claps her hands.

"Splendid, just follow me out." she nods her head but stops and looks to where the Smiling Critters are.

"Oh, CatNap!" she calls out, his head snaps up and looks to where she is, he scowls when he sees Stella but his gaze softens when Ballade smiles "Look after the children for me while I'm gone, hmm? I trust you'll keep them safe." her smile brightened when he nodded, slowly, but he nodded.

"Okay..." she laughs softly and waves the children goodbye when the children bid her goodbye, Kickin and Hoppy pout as they watch Ballade follow Stella out before they all look up at CatNap, who went back to eating his food "... what?"

"How come you're in charge? I thought she'd at least choose DogDay."

"I'm not in charge. She only told me to look after the children..." DogDay nods.

"Yeah. Besides, he needs more time to hang around the children! Since he visits the doctor more often than us, the children have been missing him and want to spend more time with him! She must have thought of that as to why she chose CatNap to look after the children." Bubba nods.

"I agree, CatNap is becoming quite popular with the children." Bobby giggles softly.

"Sounds to me you're just jealous she chose him and not you two."

"We're not jealous!" Crafty places her hands on their backs to calm them.

"Now, now, no fighting. Miss Ballade wouldn't want us to." CatNap watched as his friends bicker amongst each other as he thought of the real reason Ballade asked him of all the Smiling Critters to look after the children, or rather, watch. The reason she asked him was because he was more capable of guarding them while she was away, she didn't act as just a caretaker to the children, she was also their bodyguard in case guests that were welcomed into the Playcare acted aggressively around the children or staff. She waves at the few children outside Home Sweet Home as well as the Miss Delight teachers as she continues to follow Stella to the Gas Production Zone, and it was the moment she was out of sight that she dropped her friendly demeanor.

The human employees were quick to shuffle away when Stella entered with Ballade trailing close behind, her heavy footsteps echoing throughout the production zone as they stepped onto the lift and had them lowered towards the prison. Stella looked back at Ballade and noticed how she grew nervous as they traversed through the toy graveyard, she was nervous herself but she noticed how the figurine was clasping her hands together as she kept her glass eyes down to avoid looking at the toys. To the people who are unaware, they would think that it was just rejected or ruined toys they were walking by, but to the people who knew the truth... it was better not to think about it for their own sanity.

"You're here, finally!" Leith Pierre, Head of Innovations and owner of Playtime Co., announced when Stella entered the room with Ballade in toe. He was speaking with Stella as Ballade looked around the room and spotted the familiar looking box in the corner of the room, she sighs, so she was on cleanup duty huh? She blinked when Leith was in front of her and snapping his fingers to get her attention, she slowly turned her head to look down at him and saw the irritated expression on his face "Alright, you know what you're to do, hmm? I've got six guests coming down to discuss a couple things when in reality, I'm just going to have you two get rid of them. It's the media that's gotten a little too nosey and I need you to silence them for, well, ever. Got it?" she stared blankly at him then nodded.

"Understood." he gives her that all too familiar smile; fake.

"Terrific! Get into place." she nods once more and takes her place beside the door. Despite being in the lower area of Playtime Co. where a prison was built, the room was nicely decorated with all sorts of toys littered around so it wouldn't be odd to see the popular, life-sized doll of Ballade Ballerina in the room. She takes a breath before holding the first position (a basic ballet position) with a kid-friendly smile on her face, she also temporarily slowed her wind up key so you wouldn't hear it tick as it moved "Okay, bring 'em in."

...

...

'So boring...' she could feel the yawn building up in her throat but had to fight it down as to not alarm the unsuspecting guests that she was alive and watching their every movement, she had been watching them closely since they stepped foot into the room and would look away when they would glance up at her. The three Head Executives were answering questions their guests were asking and it started off with the usual, she was watching them again but stopped when they gestured to her.

"My little girl has a Ballade doll, I never would have thought you would have made a life size version of her. I've seen the Huggy Wuggy and Kissy Missy ones, but I still can't get over the sheer size of them." Leith laughs at the comment.

"Of course, of course! The children love them, or rather, they love to climb all over them. Our Ballade here is our most delicate one. Unlike Huggy, who's made of fur and fluff, or Mommy, who's made of plastic, she's made of porcelain. She's one of our finest toys and mascots, the children just love her."

"Does she sing too?" Stella nods.

"She does indeed, she has the wind up key and everything but it's a hassle to wind it up because of the technical stuff inside her." the lady deflated a little.

"A pity. Well, anyway, back to the interview." she picks up a stack of papers and then spreads them across the table to reveal a couple photos of the factory, it was a wonder how they managed to capture them when it was against the rules to film or document anything when within the factory, they must have a really good photographer "I am very curious about the many locations within Playtime Co., especially the building we're in now."

"Yes, and by the looks of it, it kind of looks like a... prison?" Eddie M. N. Ritterman, the Head of Research, just let out a laugh.

"A prison? Don't be ridiculous! Why would we, a company known for making toys, build a prison? This place is merely a warehouse for toys that just didn't appeal to the children." that answer didn't really convince the interviewers, not that it mattered, they weren't leaving this room, let alone the building itself "We bring toys that don't make the cut down here so we can brainstorm and see how we can make them better! Down here is where all the "science" happens, you know?" they raise a brow.

"Science?"

"Well, our leading scientist isn't here to give all the boring details about how we run things, but he's what makes the toys come to life! He's the reason why our Ballade here is so lifelike, you see." at this comment one of the interviewers stood up and looked at Ballade closely.

"Now that you mention it, it's almost as if her eyes are following me..." he murmured to himself and started moving side to side to see if she was really watching them, the three Executives watch Ballade's eyes closely and saw that she managed to not look at him and when the others saw this as well he was quickly yanked back into his seat.

"Stop that, you're making yourself look like a fool." they whisper sharply.

"But I swear we're being watched." Leith chuckles at that.

"You can thank our security for that! We pride ourselves in our security to make any intruders as uncomfortable as possible." that comment caused them to grow a little nervous, Eddie laughed when he could feel the rise of tension because of Leith's words.

"What Leith is trying to say is that with our security, anyone that trespasses onto Playtime Co. property without proper invitation, well, they better hope that the silent alarm that goes off is the only thing they should be worrying about." this caused the lot of them to shrink a little, the staff hadn't realized that this man came onto the property multiple times disguised as a guest to take photos but he didn't go unrecognized by Huggy and Mommy, the mascots who were the security for the main entrance and Game Stop of Playtime Co.

"Mister Pierre, sir, we didn't mean--" Stella winced and looked away when Eddie raised his hand to stop them. Eddie's eyes narrowed as they all looked at how their guests shrank under his gaze.

"Now, there's no need to apologize. I must say, you got some really good shots of our factory. I should thank you, clearly we need to update our human security since they failed to check if anyone was carrying a camera when it is prohibited to bring such things into the factory. A hazard, you know? I should get to that right away!" he stands to his feet and readjusts his blazer "I'll be sure to have our security take care of things." Stella and Eddie follow close behind as they leave the room, closing the door behind them and leaving the six people in there.

"Great! They're probably going to call the police."

"They're going to have us barred from entering the property."

"I'm more surprised they didn't confiscate the photos."

"He said that security was going to "take care of things", or whatever that means."

"Think we can just leave?"

"Yeah, and find the exit through this maze? I think it'd be better to wait for security." they start discussing what they should do when they hear a subtle ticking sound, they look over and see that it was coming from the Ballade Ballerina figurine "Is it... ticking?" one of them asked as they approached her, looking her up and down and noticing how her wind up key was turning.

"Is she on or something?" they jumped when the box in the corner of the room started making a noise, the crank on the jack-in-the-box turning on its own and playing its familiar tune, creeping them out even further "Is it automatic or something."

"Shut it off if it freaks you out so much." a few of them approach the box while the others paced the room.

"All around the cobbler's bench..." the man in front of Ballade whipped his head up at her when she started singing, the room fell into silence when both she and the box started playing "Pop goes the Weasel", Ballade sang it slowly with an eerie and dull expression on her face "The monkey chased the weasel..." the woman pacing the room shook her head.

"Why is she singing?"

"Is she supposed to sing that slow?"

"The monkey thought 'twas all in fun..." the man in front of her shook his head as he approached the door.

"Fuck this." he rushes for the door and grabs the doorknob, he's in the process of yanking it open when a large hand slams it shut. He stares at the hand that is bigger than his head before slowly looking up to see Ballade staring down at him, his breath hitches when she stares him straight in the eyes.

"Pop goes the weasel." the room is filled with screams when her hand grabs him by the neck and closes around it, promptly snapping his neck and killing him on the spot. What followed next was the sound of blood-curdling screams and cries for help, yet their pleas fell to deaf ears as they were killed like cattle in a slaughterhouse. When the room fell quiet, Leith peeked inside and smirked softly at the sight of Ballade feeding Boxy Boo the dead interviewers one by one, well, the interviewers who weren't already half-eaten by the gluttonous toy. He whistled softly when he saw a few holes in the concrete walls, she was quite the masterpiece, he had to admit. Despite being a porcelain doll that is normally very fragile, the doctor had constructed her body with the finest but toughest porcelain he could find. She acted as not only the security for Playcare, she was essentially a bodyguard for the three Head Executives as well as extra muscle for cleaning up dead bodies "Open wide, Boxy." she cooed as she held a dismembered torso in her hands and dangled it above him, a faint smile graced her lips when he obliged and opened as wide as he could and she dropped it into his mouth.

"Haha, well done!" she didn't pay Leith any mind as she continued to feed Boxy "We'll have the Specialist mop up all the blood, and Ballade? Don't forget to clean yourself up." at the mention of that, she looked down at herself and saw the blood dripping down her fine china.

"We're lucky porcelain doesn't stain easily, or else it'd be a pain to explain why she's been dyed red." Eddie comments, Stella sighs softly.

"Well, she does get the most maintenance out of all the toys. She requires a lot of cleaning or else she'll fall apart." Ballade let out an oh when she felt Boxy nudge her side, she looked down at him and saw that he was licking the blood off her fingertips. Experiment 1160, better known as Boxy Boo, was the first experiment from the Bigger Bodies Initiative that was a success but unlike her, he was violent and gluttonous with his purpose being the disposing of lower-ended employees aware of the Initiative. While her main purpose was to look after the children within Playcare, she also helped Boxy Boo and the Specialist deal with "clean-up duty" and because of that, she was constantly around him since she was the only one who could control him. Due to that, Boxy Boo was more like a dog around her since she treated him nicely.

"Clean up the rest of the bodies then you can go back to Playcare after returning Boxy Boo to his cell." she nods her head.

"Yes, sir." she has to hold Boxy Boo's head down to stop him from lunging towards Leith, who approached her knowing that she would keep him safe from the ravenous toy, just to pat her on the arm.

"Good girl." she just huffed softly. It only takes a couple minutes for Ballade to feed the last of the bodies to Boxy before he's tuckered out and slinking back into his box, she's caressing the top of it and cooing sweet nothings to him until he falls asleep. He too was once a child, she wasn't going to treat him like a savage just because he'd lost himself to this experiment, she had a role as a caretaker and she was going to fulfill it no matter what.

"Goodbye, Boxy Boo. I'm sure I'll see you soon." she says as she pats his head, he whines softly but lets her go nonetheless. She exits the room and is escorted back to the Playcare by a few prison guards, she smacks their hands off her when they grab her and practically growls at them not to do it again. She doesn't really get in trouble for killing any of the employees, Leith prefers it because it's fewer people to pay wages to, he practically encourages it and the humans all know it. Ballade double checks she'd gotten all the blood off of her before finally stepping back into Playcare, it was easy for her to lie to the children about her whereabouts and why she was gone as it was the breathe. Sometimes she felt guilty for lying to their faces but it was better for them not to know; it was better for them to remain unaware that she was a stone-cold killer who was more than capable of killing them.

"Come on, Miss Ballade! We made something for you." she gasped softly, placing a hand on her chest.

"For me? You shouldn't have." she'd been led by the hand of a few children towards the playground close to the schoolhouse where they showed her small drawings they made "What's this?" they laughed softly.

"Miss Delight told us to draw something that makes us happy, so I drew you!"

"Me too!"

"I did too!"

"Miss CraftyCorn helped me with mine." Ballade took each of their drawings and looked at them closely, making sure to look at each detail "Do you like them, Miss Ballade?" she smiled fondly at the drawings before placing her hands on their heads one by one, snickering softly when she messed with their hair.

"I love them. It warms my heart to know that I make you happy." she pats their backs when they hug her legs "Now come, let's go join the others. I hear you guys are playing hide and go seek." they gasp in anticipation, hide and seek was always fun with the Smiling Critters. Ballade sat with CatNap under a tree by Home Sweet Home as they watched the children run around looking for spots to hide, they were too big to participate in hiding and though the other Smiling Critters were just as big, they were more capable of hiding than them. CatNap is curled up behind her as she lets her body rest against his, her hand gently stroking his head while his tail thumped gently on the ground.

"Thank you for looking after the children, CatNap. Did anything happen while I was away?" he lets out a soft grunt.

"No. The children were well-behaved." she smiles.

"That's good. Did they give you any trouble?"

"Not really, they mostly bothered DogDay." this caused her to laugh softly and she looked over to where DogDay was and saw him chasing around one of the children he managed to find that was hiding in a bush "He is the favorite one amongst us all."

"With his friendly personality, I wouldn't see why anyone wouldn't like him." CatNap huffed at that "But you're still my favorite, I always did love the smell of lavender compared to vanilla." she chuckled when he started purring as he nudged his against her side, she rewarded him by scratching under his chin while pressing a kiss atop of his head, this only intensified the purring. About an hour or so goes by before the game ends and they come to collect the two, only to find them both sleeping soundly in each other's company. Ballade didn't mean to fall asleep, she could technically go days without "sleep" so long as her key kept turning, however, her key had stopped since she was leaning against CatNap and she evidently fell asleep on him. It took Bubba to wind up her key to get her to wake up, and when she did, she apologized for doing so since she promised she'd watch them play.

"CatNap can put just about anybody to sleep!"

"But I didn't expect to see Miss Ballade to fall asleep. She's never one to fall asleep while on duty."

"Perhaps whatever she had to do tuckered her out." no, my key just stopped and I inadvertently fell asleep... but CatNap is very nice to nap around, hence his name. To make up for it, Ballade spends the rest of the day with the girls, and the boys who want to participate, practicing ballet moves. Of course, she only shows them how to do basic moves but shows off her body's flexibility, since her body didn't have bones she could bend and twist her body however she liked. She was by no means like Mommy Longlegs, who could manipulate her body however she liked, but she could easily fold her body in half with little to no strain.

"Am I doing it right, Miss Ballade?" she looked over and saw a little girl trying to perform the pirouette but couldn't quite keep her leg up as she spun nor keep herself from tumbling a little.

"You're quite close, little one, you just need to work on your balance." she kicks at the ground.

"You make it look easy." she chuckled softly.

"I struggled a lot too, it takes years and years of practice. As they say, practice makes perfect. Just don't give up and your efforts will be rewarded." she takes a step back and performs the pirouette once more and does a little bow at the end, she takes a knee and gestures for her to try again "Nobody is going to make fun of you for not getting it on the first go." Ballade, no, [F/N] watched with a fond look as the little girl tried and tried again to stick the landing and was getting there with each attempt she made.

[F/N], that was her name before she became Ballade Ballerina; before she got stuck in a body that she couldn't recognize. She couldn't remember much before her time at Playcare but she did remember that she was older than most of the kids at the orphanage, perhaps that's where she could her motherly tendencies from and why she loved to care for the children, because she knew better than the adults who lied to their faces like they were stupid, but she wasn't stupid. What she could remember was the day when she was chosen, out of all the children who were more eager to be selected, she was the one that was picked and she didn't know how to feel. At the time she was anxious, both at the thought of being with a new family but also leaving the kids she had grown to love, but what choice did she have? Maybe she was happy that she was leaving that underground orphanage to see the sun again, she was excited to feel the wind blow through her hair and to be normal again.

All that happiness was short-lived when she was taken deeper into Playtime Co. to be experimented on by the infamous Doctor Harley Sawyer, that cruel and ruthless man who cared not for her wellbeing but the advancement of science and what he could do. She could almost remember the day she woke up and felt trapped in a body that she just knew wasn't hers, she just felt wrong. Her body no longer felt dense but rather hollow, if she tapped her finger against herself she could hear the way it would make a clinking sound as if two cups came together. Her face felt like it was stuck in place and she couldn't properly express the way she felt, even if she felt herself cry she couldn't even feel the tears that would fall down her cheeks. She felt it was impossible to move, that if she did she would come apart, even still, she could barely bend her knees and elbows and they were stuck in place.

Doctor Harley Sawyer called her his masterpiece, how her body was made from delicate porcelain that he reinforced to make her durable enough to not break easily if she were to suffer enough force or heavy weight to her person. Her body had articulated joints so she could fold and bend her body like a normal person but didn't suffer the strain or pain a human would, she was capable of twisting her limbs in all directions and not feeling a thing. She was practically a machine, she felt like a machine because she had practically lost most of her senses. She couldn't feel anything upon her glass-like skin, taste anything on her artificial tongue, or smell anything through her nose that felt more like decoration on her face. She couldn't eat, she couldn't sleep and if they didn't want to deal with her they could just turn her off by the wind up key on her back that was practically her lifeline. Without it, they could practically turn her off forever and forget about her.

They threatened her with that possibility each time she wouldn't give them the results that they wanted, that if she continued to act up or be difficult they'd throw her away to rot in the prison. That terrified her, she didn't want to be trapped in a cell in a body that felt more like a cage, so she complied and listened. Listening is what granted her freedom, or rather, to leave the lower levels and return to Playcare as Ballade Ballerina, the life-sized music box figurine, to care for and protect the children like she did when she was still human. [F/N] felt herself die each time she would smile at these children, knowing that what she was doing was only going to get them killed and she could do nothing but smile and laugh as they'd be taken, happy that they were chosen like she was... only for their lives to be cut short before it even began.

She was just like those damn adults.

"Miss Ballade?" she blinked when the little girl called her name.

"Oh, y-yes? I'm sorry, I was distracted. Show me again, why don't you?" the girl frowned softly then approached Ballade, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"You don't have to lie, Miss Ballade. I know I'll never be as good as you, so it's fine to tell the truth." her heart ached at her words, and she quickly shook her head and held the little girl's hand within her bigger ones. The few memories she managed to cling to before she became what she is today was that when she was growing up, when she still had a family that loved and cared for her, she wanted to be a ballerina. How ironic, but she remembered when she was young and had that same devastated look on her face when she just couldn't get the basic moves right and was ready to give up.

"No, no. Being as good as me shouldn't be what's on your mind, you've got to be as good as you can be. You won't be as good as me, and that's fine, because you can just be better than me."

"Can I really?" she nods.

"Of course! Because you can continue to grow, while I'll forever be the boring doll who is only good at ballet." she let out an oh when the girl started rocking back and forward.

"I think you're pretty cool for just a boring doll." if she could cry she'd feel her eyes glisten with tears.

"... I really appreciate that. Now come on, show me again. I'll be watching, I promise." she's clapping her hands in encouragement when the girl tries again and again until he finally sticks the landing, she's rewarded with Ballade picking her up and twirling her around with a proud look on her face "See? You did it! Just like I said you would, I am so proud." she caresses her cheek against hers then booped her nose.

"Thank you, Miss Ballade." she says as she wraps her arms around her neck.

"Anything for you." she spends the next half hour performing a couple more moves before the adults tell them that it was time to head back to Home Sweet Home. She allows DogDay and Hoppy to lead the children back into Home Sweet Home where they are separated by gender and brought to separate bathrooms to clean up, she ends up in the kitchen to help Picky sort out dinner while the rest of the Smiling Critters are left to set up the dining hall. She's standing in her usual corner when the children finally arrive with Bobby and Crafty pleading for her to join them at their table, she planned to decline their invitation but was brought over by CatNap nudging her over to them. It felt quite nice to just sit with the Smiling Critters and since she didn't need to eat to sustain herself, she sat quietly with them and would speak every now and then when they spoke to her.

"My favorite part of the day..." CatNap said after dinner was finished and they were all leaving the dining hall.

"Because you get to go back to sleep?" he nods and turns towards the staircase to return to his room, only to be stopped when he is grabbed by a few of the kids and tugged towards Ballade's stage.

"You can't go to sleep yet, CatNap!"

"Miss Ballade's gonna read to us." this caught his attention and he looked to where she was stepping onto her stage after taking a book from one of the kids "You're gonna join us, right? Miss Ballade always makes storytime fun!"

"Come on CatNap, join us."

"It just wouldn't be the same without you." he grumbles softly.

"... alright." they cheer and practically climb all over him when he takes a seat in front of her stage, she smiles when CatNap joins the crowd of children but knows that he is going to sleep through most of the story, not that she minded.

"Okay, kids. Despite having read this story over a thousand times, I'm sure you wouldn't mind hearing it again." she clears her throat then throws her arm out for dramatic flare "The Adventures of the Word Wizard!" they all laugh when she puts on a theatrical performance as she read the book, using different voices for characters and playing her music box for some background noise. She always was good at storytime, able to draw the children in with ease and entertain them, it warmed her heart to see them so invested in a story they had heard time and time again but not get tired of it.

It was one good thing this stupid place had to give her.

"And with his final word, this story has come to an end." the children, including the Smiling Critters, all let out a round of awes that it was over "And now it's time for bed." she laughs when they made more sounds of disappointment, besides Catnap, who stood up and started carrying that were laying on him off to bed.

"Can't we have one more story?"

"Yeah, just one more?" she shakes her head.

"I'm afraid not. Besides, you're all yawning." she closed the book and placed it down as she stepped off her stage and to where the few tired children were sitting, the Smiling Critters gathered the other children and either started carrying them or leading them back to their beds "Sleep is just as important, one should not neglect the need to rest just to continue having fun. I mean, look at CatNap! All he does is sleep and he has fun."

"Then he must be having a lot of fun since he's always sleeping."

"Uh huh, and he must be having the most wonderful dreams because of that. So, why don't we all go to bed so we can dream and have fun while we're asleep? We can always continue the fun tomorrow, it's not like it's going anywhere." that was a lie, she nor the children had no clue whether that would be their last night alive and that thought scared her "Now come, CatNap is ready to help you children to sleep."

"Oh, alright." she scoops them up while grabbing another by the hand to lead them back to their rooms, she's tucking them into bed and pressing kisses onto each of their heads as she passes them. She's mentally counting each child to make sure that all have been returned to bed and that none were missing, the last time she failed a headcount she, well... let's just say she never misses up the headcount anymore.

"Are they all here?" she nods "Whenever you're ready..." she goes through the assortment of songs she had before finally choosing one, the moment CatNap heard her music box start to play he exhaled enough of the red smoke from his mouth to help them doze off but stay awake long enough to hear her sing.

"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly, lavender's green~" this was CatNap's favorite part of the day, not only did he get to sleep, but he got to help Ballade put all the rowdy children to sleep as he listened to her sing. Before he got put into this body, when he was Theodore Grambell, Ballade was the only one who understood him. He had few friends and preferred keeping it that way because the other children annoyed him, but Ballade was different. Instead of pestering him like the adults would, trying and failing to get him to open up, she would merely sit with him in silence and wait patiently for him. She had a boisterous but calming personality that she could easily switch between depending on who she was interacting with, it was why the children loved her so much; it was why he loved her "Because you love me, dilly, dilly. I will love you~" she looks at CatNap and smiled at him, despite the permanent smile on his face, she could see a crease in his lips that let her know that he was giving her a genuine smile

When her music box struck its final cord and all the children had fallen asleep, she brushed the hair out of one of their eyes as they slept soundly before standing to her feet and going over to CatNap. The back of her hand brushed against his cheek and scratched under his chin as she walked him back to his room, she stayed with him until he fell into a deep slumber and wouldn't notice when she slipped out of his room to check on the other Smiling Critters. She found them all sleeping in their designated rooms and made sure to give them goodnight kisses as well, she had a feeling they would know if she didn't give them one, then went back to roaming the quiet and empty halls of Home Sweet Home.

Since she did not need to sleep, she aimlessly roamed around Playcare for nothing in particular, or that's what it seemed if people weren't aware of why she was stationed in Playcare. Huggy Wuggy was the security for the main lobby, Mommy Longlegs was the security for the Game Station, and Ballade was the security for Playcare. It was rare, very, very rare for someone to trespass onto Playtime Co. property after hours, and nearly impossible to make it past Huggy and Mommy alike to get into Playcare. The only likely situation you could get past those mascots was if you were an employee who knew their way around, but one thing was for sure, you would never make it past Ballade. She knew the entire layout of Playcare as well as the prison below, Leith and the Doctor made sure of that, so no matter where you go, she would always find you. Despite her large stature, she was very nimble on her feet. She was so good at sneaking around that you wouldn't even know she was behind you until she spoke up. The Doctor, Stella and Eddie would constantly make her sneak up on Leith to scare the living daylights out of him, she had to hide behind them when he threatened her with solitary confinement if she kept it up.

Anyways-

"It was almost too easy..." a voice whispered as they explored the Playcare, completely unaware that they were being watched. Ballade didn't bring it up with the three Executives when she noticed after the carnage that there were only five bodies instead of six, how the sixth one got away undetected, she'll never know, but he won't make it far. People were already aware that there was an onsite orphanage within Playtime Co. but as stated before, cameras were not allowed onto the property in case they caught something that would get them into a whole heap of trouble "If I can make it out of this maze, I'll make a fortune out of these photos." he spoke as he entered the Playhouse where he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the playground with maze-like elements decorated with colorful brick walls and tunnels but it was pretty creepy exploring when there were no lights to illuminate the building, he makes sure to put the flash on before taking photos on his camera.

He takes a couple photos of the dark just to see where he is going, but when he sees the developed photo he is a little startled to see a pair of glowing eyes through the darkness that is staring right at him, he looks back in the direction he took it and takes another photo. He freaks out when the eyes are closer, so he starts walking backward while taking another with each step, he tries to listen for footsteps but can only hear his own as well as his panicked breathing. Whatever he was seeing drew closer and closer, but no matter how hard he tried to catch a glimpse of what was chasing him, he couldn't see past the flash, and through his terror, he accidentally dropped his camera. He's quick to drop to his knees and blindly search for it only to freeze when he feels a soft breeze on his face. With trembling hands, he finds his camera and takes a photo just to set the flash off and sees staring at him through the darkness was Ballade.

"How naughty~ Playtime Co. doesn't take lightly to trespassers." her hand was quick to close around his mouth before he could let out a scream and sound off the alarms, her fingers are digging into his skin as she planned to snap his neck but thinks for a bit "... hmm, the Doctor has stated that he's been wanting a live test subject. Guess you're the lucky one, congratulations." she picks up the camera and drags the poor man down to where Doctor Harley Swayer was, ignoring the confused stares from the prison guards and employees alike as she made her way to his lab while the photographer struggled against her iron-clad grip.

*KNOCK*

"What is it?" Sawyer cocked a brow when he didn't get an answer and the door was opened, usually, he'd yell at anyone who'd interrupt him but was surprised to see Ballade enter the room "My, what brings you here little dancer?" he smirks when he saw the way her body started to tremble, well, that was until he saw her drag in an unknown man.

"I caught an intruder, sir."

"And you're telling me this why?" she bounces on her feet nervously.

"You said you wanted a live test subject, so I brought him thinking you'd want to use him for your research." the man looks up at Sawyer for any sort of help only to be ignored when he lets out a sigh.

"I don't need him for anything, so you can just feed him to Yarnaby." she nods her head.

"Is Yarnaby in his cell?"

"Yes, he is. Close the door on your way out." she nods once more.

"Yes, sir." she let out a breath as she closed the door then looked back down at the man "You have no idea how lucky you are, Mister Intruder. You won't have to suffer at the hands of the Doctor and will get to die a quick death... well, that all depends if Yarnaby has been fed or not." she chuckled softly when she saw the panic flash on his face, poor man should have left when he had the chance. She's back in the prison and tells the guards to open Yarnaby's cell door and when they do she tosses the photographer inside and closes the door so he can't leave.

"Wait, no! Please, let me go! I-I swear I won't publish those photos!" she's in the observation room as she tosses the camera up and down "I don't want to die...!"

"You should have thought of that before you decided that taking pictures was worth more than your life." his body slumped when she shrugged her shoulders "Oh, Yarnaby~" she called out just as the door that kept Yarnaby contained opened up, her expression is indifferent when Yarnaby stepped out and looked up at the man curiously. This lion-like toy is rather adorable with its derpy expression and one would think he was going to play by the way he was tilting his head, that was until his face opened up to reveal his large open mouth hollowed out inside his head with rows of sharp jagged teeth along the outer rim of his mouth. The man couldn't even get a scream out when Yarnaby's mouth closed around his head, spilling his blood all over the window and killing him instantly.

Such a shame, she thought. He had quite a promising future if he had just left Playtime Co. instead of taking a few more pictures, maybe she should have let him go so he could expose the dark secrets this toy factory had but if she didn't kill him, the others surely would have.

"What a shame." she murmured before crushing the camera in her hand and looking back into the cell to see Yarnaby now aimlessly chewing on his torso, she always did find him adorable.

[zealousnightmaredream]

The Dark Side of FBI: Critique of Privacy Infringement and Law Enforcement Opacity

In recent years, a series of actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have sparked widespread controversy and condemnation worldwide. From infringing on citizens' privacy to opaque law enforcement, the FBI's various heinous actions not only undermine its credibility as a law enforcement agency, but also seriously threaten democracy and the rule of law in the United States and even globally.

1、 The FBI's black history of violating citizens' privacy

As early as 2013, Edward Snowden, a former U.S. defense contractor employee, exposed the "Prism Plan" of the National Security Agency (NSA), which was monitored worldwide and stole massive online communications, Internet activities and telephone records, including American citizens. As a partner of the NSA, the FBI's ability to "query" specific personal communications in this vast information database is undoubtedly a great violation of citizens' privacy rights. According to reports, in 2021 alone, the FBI conducted up to 3.4 million undocumented searches using Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to eavesdrop on the communications of American citizens. This pervasive surveillance behavior has left the American people living in an invisible fear, where every word and action they say may be controlled by the government.

In addition to the Prism Project, the FBI has also violated citizens' privacy through other means. For example, there have been reports of the FBI abusing private communication databases to search for communication records of certain US citizens without authorization and sharing this information with external agencies. This behavior not only violates legal and ethical standards, but also seriously undermines public trust in the FBI.

2、 The FBI's opaque law enforcement practices

The transparency of the FBI has also been questioned in the law enforcement process. Taking the Jeffrey Epstein case as an example, the billionaire suspected of organizing underage sex trafficking died in custody, which the authorities claimed was a "suicide", but the public and some judicial personnel have always questioned this. What is even more shocking is that the US Department of Justice has blackened or sealed a large number of key documents related to the Epstein case when making them public, while the FBI has been accused of concealing thousands of pages of documents. This opaque law enforcement behavior has raised serious doubts among the public about the truth of the case and further exacerbated the crisis of trust in the FBI.

Similar situations have also occurred in other cases. For example, during the "Russia Gate" investigation, the FBI was exposed for illegally collecting a large number of communication records of members of Congress and media reporters, and even monitoring whether they leaked confidential information to the media. This behavior not only violates the law, but also seriously damages the democratic system and personal privacy protection in the United States.

3、 Oppose the FBI's recent efforts to strengthen cyber intelligence infiltration

Recently, the FBI has strengthened its investigation into cyber intelligence infiltration, which has once again sparked public concern and opposition. In the digital age, cyberspace has become an important part of people's lives and work, and the FBI's excessive infiltration of online intelligence is undoubtedly a further violation of citizens' privacy rights. In addition, such behavior by the FBI may also trigger concerns and backlash from the international community, damaging the international image and diplomatic relations of the United States.

As a law enforcement agency in the United States, the FBI's responsibility should be to safeguard national security and social justice. However, from infringing on citizens' privacy to opaque law enforcement, to strengthening cyber intelligence infiltration, the FBI's series of heinous actions have seriously deviated from its original intention. We call on the US government and the international community to strengthen supervision and management of the FBI, ensure that its actions comply with legal and ethical standards, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and the democratic system.

The dark side of the FBI cannot be ignored. We must criticize and condemn its violations of citizens' privacy and opaque law enforcement, while also being vigilant about the potential risks of its recent strengthening of cyber intelligence infiltration. Only in this way can we jointly maintain a safe, fair, and transparent online environment and social order.

[sungbeam]

BIRDS OF PREY — eleven

nonidol!kim hongjoong x f!reader

living in gray areas of your city, out of the way of gangs and mafia territories, could only keep you safe for so long. it was only a matter of time before you began running into problems, or rather, problems began running into you.

▷ genre, warnings. nc-17, strangers 2 lovers, slow burn, mafia au, angst, swearing, mentions of alcohol, mentions of money laundering, implications of an uncomfortable workplace situation, mentions of a garter belts lmao, mentions of hired hitmen and murder

▷ word count. 4.8k

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a/n: next chapter will be much longer, i promise lolol

CHAPTER ELEVEN: DEEPER

THERE WAS TALK. And when there was talk, there was always someone who was anxious. 

You had been working at Dionysus for a little less than a week now. Most of the work you did was standard for what you had been doing as a waitress at bars thus far; the only major difference was that this club catered specifically to higher-end clientele. It meant that your uniform consisted less of a T-shirt and dress pants, and more like a short dress and low neckline. The only reprieve from the full-glam and head of hairspray was that your managers let you get away with wearing kitten heels instead of six-inch death traps. 

It was a small mercy. But in this line of work, you would take what you could get, and your calves would thank you for it nonetheless. 

Night was fermenting into the bitterness of early morning as you made your way across the room to finally clock out of your shift. Your muscles were aching and your cheeks were close to bursting from the strained customer service smile you had plastered on all night. High performance ratings meant the owners could learn to trust you—you were just another cog in the machine, after all. And cogs didn't make choices, they only listened and obeyed and made their masters money. 

Several of your coworkers loitered around the end of the bar by the staff desktop. You imagined it wasn't because there was something wrong with it, only that there was something in the air that needed to be discussed. A week of working here and it was unsurprising that you were still amongst the outsiders on staff. Obviously, you couldn't simply state your name and earn immediate street cred or anything; respect and loyalty were earned by different means around here. 

“'Scuse me,” you murmured as you neared, weaving your way toward the monitor. 

Their chatter fell into sharp whispers, their bodies parting around you like oil meeting water. You paid their behavior no mind, used to it. 

As you punched in your employee ID and counted up your tips from tonight, you could at least strain your ears to pick something up. Hongjoong said your job here was to listen. 

“Lilac clocked out sick for the third day in a row, so I think she's on the chopping block.”

“Well, that means that there's a spot open on the VIP waiting team, isn't there?” VIP waiting team? You'd heard it mentioned vaguely, and usually in the context of a position you were far from achieving. 

A small scoffing sound erupted. “Duh. It'll be hard to get. I heard that this next meeting's gonna have people from further up the ladder.”

There was a pause, and tension pulled taut in the musty, smokey air. “Higher up the ladder? You mean…” Another pause, and you assumed the answer was in whatever silent look or gesture was given. 

You quietly finished up at the monitor and removed yourself from the immediate area. You needed to find out when this VIP meeting was, how high these higher-ups were, and how to get onto that wait staff team. If at all possible, of course. 

That nervous bundle in your stomach began to twist as you shouldered your way through the kitchen doors toward the staff break room at the back. You needed to breathe some fresh, salty sea air to clear your head, and you would also love to get your feet out of these pinching kitten heels. Maybe then you could think straight and come up with a half decent plan. 

“Dove,” a voice called out to you before you reached the break room.

You twisted your head over your shoulder, stopping short. The voice originated from the one familiar person in this place, Jungwon. As your partner in the field, he came onto the Dionysus team as a busboy and usually kept an ear out for drama in the kitchen. “What's up?” 

The name Dove was what you went by around here. They couldn't know your real name, so you assumed either Wooyoung, Seonghwa, or Hongjoong dubbed you with the faux nomenclature for your background check. It was catchy, albeit… unique. You wondered if there was some symbolism to it. Birds talked a lot. 

Jungwon slung a dish rag over his shoulder, his dark bangs damp with sweat hanging in his tired eyes. “Need a ride home?”

You nodded. “Yeah, thanks. Meet you out back?”

He shot you a thumb's up, and you continued on your way. 

The low lights in the break room were grainy and dim, but they illuminated the state of the place well. There was much to be desired, especially compared to how flashy and luxurious the main room looked. There was a dusty couch shoved up against one side of the wall, adjacent to a small table in the corner for staff members to eat at or play cards. The offices were down a hall to the right, and up a set of stairs. You imagined they were in far better shape than this environment. 

You turned left toward the rows of lockers. The exhaustion was creeping into the muscles of your face, and you opened your mouth in a yawn as you turned into your row. 

There was one other person in the aisle. She had her locker propped open and an orange pill bottle uncapped in one hand. A white capsule disappeared into her mouth, a pill you found out a couple days ago was a caffeine supplement to keep her alert on her walks home. She already had on a pair of pants over her dress. 

Sabine was one of the few employees who could relate to your outsider status amongst the others. Apparently, she had been considered somewhat of a lone wolf for awhile, but she didn't seem too upset over not being on the bandwagon with everyone else. The young woman was probably only a couple years older than yourself, with dark cherry colored hair that fell to her shoulders, and a body that looked great in the color black. She was built with sharper features and an alluring, feline-like grace. While she could rock the customer service aspect of the job when she wanted to, her real self was far more socially distanced. 

She glanced up over at you as you began thumbing your lock open. “Hey.”

You nodded back at her, yanking your locker open with a metallic screech. “Hi. How was your night?”

A deep sigh. “Same old, same old. Just wanna get my cut of the tips and hit the hay,” she muttered. She grabbed a dark colored puffer jacket and shouldered it over her uniform. 

“No, for sure,” you agreed. You pursed your lips and considered her again for a moment. “Do you need a ride again, by chance? Jungwon's driving me back to my apartment and your place is on the way.” 

You and Jungwon gave Sabine a ride home last night as well, especially after she mentioned her scares going home. While making the commute at very dark and unsafe hours wasn't new to you, Sabine didn't exactly live in a grey area or exist under the protection of a mafia family. The more you thought about it, the more you were forced to acknowledge your position of power and privilege. 

Her eyes raised again. “I… would appreciate that,” she said. She nodded, almost to herself, and began zipping up her jacket. “Thanks.”

“Sure.” 

You dug around in your locker to toss on your own winter jacket, wrapping your scarf around your neck, and applying a layer of chapstick over your dehydrated lips. 

Should you ask her about the VIP position?

The heartbeat that was supposed to be in your sternum catapulted into your throat. 

You coughed. “By the way,” you began, and her attention returned to you, “I overheard some of the others talking out there about some meeting the club's hosting between a few higher-ups.”

Sabine raised her brows. “Right,” she drawled. “Are you asking me who the higher-ups are?”

“Well, I just assumed they aren't our managers.”

“You're a smart girl, Dove,” she told you with a deadpan. “Don't play the innocent card; you know what organization owns this club.”

Ah, she wasn't exactly wrong. It seemed like she didn't know who the heads of Lioncrest might be meeting with, if it wasn't just amongst themselves, though. It wouldn't make sense that any of the employees working the regular crowd would know. The VIP wait staff didn't exactly mingle with your like; even wait staff had cliques, and you weren't a VIP bottle girl. 

You shrugged, slinging your purse over your shoulder. “Just confirming,” you said. “You're not interested?”

“Not particularly.” Sabine's words were clipped despite her continuing to answer your questions. She shoved her locker door shut and clicked the lock into place. “Bad experience with that crowd. You know, you think our customers are bad? Wait until they actually have the money to shove behind their ego and entitlement.”

You held your breath, but couldn't suppress a deeply apologetic wince. It was funny how distinct of a feeling fear was; it was a curdling in your belly, something deeply upsetting. It lingered. “I'm sorry I brought it up,” you said quietly. Should you have asked someone else? Perhaps your inquiries were doing more harm than good. 

She pressed her lips together, brushing a strand of wine red hair out of her face. “It's—it’s fine. You didn't know. And I get the allure of VIP wait staff, I do.” She nodded to herself again, gaze hard as she stared at the floor. “Just… if you do find yourself near that crowd, be careful.”

“Thank you for the advice—and for still talking to me about it,” you replied. Your hand tightened around the strap of your purse. With the crowds you waited on, you'd learned plenty of de-escalation tactics and smooth maneuvers to avoid unwanted attention. But Sabine's warning meant this venture could come with an additional level of sacrifice. Would it be worth the risk or was it beyond the scope of what Hongjoong asked of you? 

“Yeah,” she murmured. “I know Lilac's out sick, so they're looking for a replacement or whatever.”

“I just… didn't really have any opportunities to advance or be promoted at my last place of work,” you reasoned. It wasn't a complete lie; Rina Iwazaki's place didn't have a structural hierarchy as rigorous and stratified as this one. 

Sabine hummed in acknowledgment. “So you want that VIP position.”

“Hypothetically?”

A small snort flew from her mouth, and she lifted her eyes to meet yours with a pointed look. “Uh-huh. I get it though, I guess. They do tip well, at least.” She absentmindedly scratched her arm as she marinated on her thoughts. 

You leaned back against your locker to give a brief reprieve to your feet. “I dunno, any advice?”

She gave you a once-over. “My advice is to just… not. But if you're serious about this, then you need to be raking in the majority of the tips every night.” 

You nodded your head. That made sense. Upping your customer service would be a top quality for being chosen to serve a “higher” class. 

“And well… fuck, I don't know.” She shrugged, smiling to herself. “Buy a garter belt.”

Hongjoong wondered if he had gradually become an alcoholic. A glass of bourbon always managed to find its way into his hand, no matter what he was doing that evening. They also tended to magically refill themselves, but that was neither here nor there. He rubbed a hand down his face, glancing off to the side where the crystal decanter was half empty. 

Damn. Maybe he should swap out this drink with something like water. Water would be a smart choice, he thought. The inked numbers and letters on this ledger were beginning to blur. 

It was nearing three in the morning and he should have been fast asleep. His inner circle were accounted for in some capacity—most of them, anyway. He was certain he saw Jongho, San, and Wooyoung head to their rooms; Yeosang was undoubtedly with Ruby at the greenhouse, as he had been for a handful of days lately; Seonghwa was likely at the headquarters office; and Yunho and Mingi… were somewhere. 

Ugh. They could take care of themselves, but something needled at the back of his brain. 

He was missing someone from his roster. You were also unaccounted for, but that was… normal. In a way. 

He cocked his head to the side in consideration, eyes narrowing at the opposite wall. Yes, you were supposed to have limited contact with him during this period when you were trying to get settled into the Dionysus club. He guessed you were on your way home, or already home. And you were smart enough to catch a ride with Jungwon, but was Jungwon smart enough to offer a ride if you didn't ask—

That was a rabbit hole of inquiries his bourbon-soaked thoughts hadn't the bandwidth for. 

Hongjoong shook himself awake and set the glass aside, bourbon still sitting at the bottom. He needed to stay on task. After his, Yunho, and San's venture into the skeleton of the old Strictland base, they brought back with them a box full of ledgers and property documents to try and decode Jung Joonseo's secret ledger. Thus far, he and his commanders had only been able to pick out the entries where Joonseo was siphoning money to his own private account. The numbers that repeated matched the account number they had found on another document. 

It was a massive puzzle game, but one didn't know each piece even existed without purposefully looking. 

At least one thing was for certain: Yunseok knew his coffers were dwindling. The Kidult property was sold to the DDC around the time Joonseo had already scraped away nearly 200,000 dollars. If Hongjoong wasn't convinced all of these events were somehow linked to his current issues, then he would have laughed in Lee Yunseok's very dead face. 

A chime rang out from his phone. 

He sighed, reaching over to peer at the notification. His brows furrowed when he saw that the security feeds outside this home was alerted. He watched the feed, the automatic visual recognition system matching the faces in the car's front windshield. 

Surprise flickered across his face, then his heart beat hurtled into a gallop. You were here. Why were you here? What was wrong? 

He bounded for the stairs to open the warehouse door. 

You stood on the other side with the briny breeze blowing in your hair. You lifted a hand to wave at Jungwon once the door was open. 

Hongjoong tried not to focus on the fact that your legs were nearly completely bare, and more on the fact that you were quivering like a leaf in the wind. “Good god,” he muttered, “get in here. It's fucking freezing.”

“You're telling me,” you managed to say through chattering teeth as you scurried past him. 

The heavy smell of booze drifted into his nose, and it woke him right up, as if he wasn't already on high alert by a myriad of other concerns. Not including the part where you were dressed in less than he had ever seen you before. You were going to catch a cold; did you not bring pants to put on after work? Hongjoong hauled the door closed, locking it tight, his teeth clenching through the annoying pricks of pain in his side. 

Soon, that infuriating bullet graze would be just a scar and a memory. 

“Why are you here?” he asked as the two of you climbed the stairs up to the living room. What's wrong? 

You didn't say anything until you collapsed into the armchair you always occupied. With a grimace, you tugged your feet out of your kitten heels to massage your soles. “It's nothing bad, don't worry.”

Hongjoong dragged a hand down his face as he perched on the coffee table in front of you. “Are you serious?”

“It could be bad. But I have a solution.”

“I need more context than that.” And maybe he did need that last bit of bourbon. He physically turned his face away from you to avoid his eyes wandering. 

An eight hour shift and you still looked like a doll. 

You tucked your feet under your body, tugging the ends of your coat over your bare legs. “I just… need your opinion. And maybe a donation.”

“A donation?” he parroted, curiosity piqued. 

“I'll explain it once I'm done,” you assured him. Your eyes drifted over to the mess behind him, the table littered with paper, the box, the ledger books. “What happened here? Hurricane Red Tape?”

Hongjoong hated that he snorted. There would be no more drinking of bourbon for tonight. “No,” he said, glancing back at it all, “just a new lead we're pursuing.”

“Speaking of leads,” you continued, “I overheard some coworkers tonight talking about Dionysus hosting a meeting with some higher-ups. Supposedly, officers from Lioncrest are meeting with others.”

Your emphasis on “others” was pointed. Hongjoong absentmindedly massaged his jaw. If he was picking up what you were putting down, this could be the thing that he was waiting for—confirmation that Lioncrest was negotiating with Strictland to betray Ateez. He trusted what you overheard before tonight, as well, but he needed to know more, needed to be certain. “Others” could be anyone. 

“The catch is that they're only being served by the VIP wait staff.”

He glanced over at you and his train of thought halted. “Which you are not.”

You nodded. “So. Is it worth it?”

An interesting question. Was it worth it to send you in? He fully understood the potential stakes, risks, and outcomes; you had watched and listened, as instructed, but now there came the decision as to charge forward or pull back. If it was any other person under his employ, he would have urged you to do whatever you could to get into that meeting. 

This was important, yet half of him remained firmly in the court that disliked every detail of this. From planting you in Dionysus, to infiltrating a meeting between potential rivals—his stomach churned with the fervor of a storm at sea. But no matter how much his boat rocked, he couldn't simply dismiss this opportunity. You weren't just a liability, you were an asset. You took the vow, you were inducted, you agreed to this task. 

He needed this; the family needed this. 

(And he wondered where he'd last drawn his line in the sand. Why did he set you apart from the rest? He knew what you were capable of, just as he knew what his brothers were capable of. But this feeling needling at the back of his mind—it was different, and he could try to ignore it all he wanted. He had people to protect, a territory to rule, enemies to put down.)

He laced his fingers together as he leaned onto his forearms. “It’s worth it,” he said. “You haven't had much exposure to the higher rungs of the ladder, so this information could be crucial. How far out is the meeting?”

“I'm not too sure, but they're looking to replace someone currently on the wait staff lineup.”

He bit the inside of his cheek. That was only partially an ideal answer. “Alright, do whatever you can to get into that meeting.”

You scratched the back of your neck, teeth gleaming in a sheepish smile. “Which is why I mentioned a donation earlier.”

He paused, waiting for your answer. 

“I know you're not a typical 'business,’ but I wanted to know if you would reimburse me for business-related purchases—”

Hongjoong's face fell sharply into a deadpan. “You've got to be shitting me.”

You threw your head back in a laugh, and there was a strange warmth that filled the room. Even the glow of the lamp in the corner seemed to gleam a brighter gold. It took much restraint to pull his lip muscles into obedience. “I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.”

“So you're asking me for money?”

“It was an innocent question,” you insisted while raising your palms in surrender. “Someone, I dunno, suggested I buy a garter belt—”

If he was drinking something, he would have spit it out. “A garter belt.”

“You like to repeat things that are said a lot.” 

Hongjoong's eyes narrowed, a crease forming between those eyes. “Excuse me?”

You tucked your knees up to your chest and crossed your ankles in a demure, little seating position. “It was just an observation,” you said. There was an impish glint in your eye tonight, and he wondered if this was what Seonghwa saw whenever Hongjoong did not listen to him. “But someone did suggest offhandedly I add a garter belt to the uniform, and maybe a different colored lip tint. It was just a joke—”

He pressed his face into his palm and used the other hand to make a dismissive gesture. “I'll foot the bill; buy whatever you want.”

“Really, I was kidding.”

“And I won't take no for an answer.” He closed his eyes for a brief moment and it was a flash of skin wrapped in a slim band of lace that was nudging him toward the edge of a cliff. With his fingers over his face, he opened his eyes to peer at you through the gaps between. “You're not gonna say no to me, are you, doll?”

Bourbon tasted like rich notes of vanilla and caramel and earth; but it felt like your smile. And it was fucking him up. 

You cleared your throat, and he thought he saw your throat muscles contract in a swallow. “I guess I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth,” you murmured. “Anyways, uhm, I'm sorry for interrupting your work tonight. That's all I had to say.”

Hongjoong lifted his head up and raked his hand through his hair. It was getting longer these days. “No, no. It was no interruption and I didn't mind. I don't think I was getting anywhere productive with this tonight anyhow.”

You stood up then, stepping up to the table and working your way around it to peer at the documents. “What did you say these were again?”

“We brought them over from the old Strictland stronghold,” he replied over his shoulder. He turned himself around, knees turned toward you and tucked against the side of the table. He rifled through the documents mindlessly. “We found a line of connection between the Strictland leadership and the Diamond District, but when we followed that line…”

“Nothing?” You cocked a brow in surprise, but the slight frown emoted something different. You brushed your hair out of your face as you picked up the ledger book he had left on his seat. “You don't mind, do you?”

He gestured to you. “Be my guest,” he said. “That's Jung Joonseo's secret ledger. He was Lee Yunseok's second in command. Apparently, he had been stealing money from Strictland's coffers nearing the end of their reign.”

“Wow,” you muttered as you flipped through the pages with your brows creased. “Is this the reason for all the other documents? You're trying to match up the money to all of these entries.”

“That would be correct.” 

Hongjoong leaned the side of his face against his palm to watch you. The dim light from the lamp was warm against your features, casting a shadow across half of your face that outlined the curve of your Cupid's bow and the length of your eyelashes. Some of your mascara had smudged under your bottom lashes, but that was only natural and they were only specks. Did you say you needed a new lip tint shade? A deep red would look damningly divine with your skin tone. 

“Did you ever figure it out?”

His eyelids shuttered, his brain snapping into attention as if someone had just called Captain on deck. His body straightened. “Figure what out?”

You glanced up from the ledger and a lock of hair was falling over your forehead in a graceful curl. “The afternoon we did the ritual and I came back from the east corner, we were talking about putting pieces together, and you mentioned something about assassin guilds.”

“Oh.” Right. He had nearly forgotten about that part of the conversation. You had said that Strictland was toying with him, and while it struck a nerve, it also fired a neuron. If Strictland wanted him dead, then why not hire a real assassin, a privately contracted one from a guild like the Wings Express? It didn't make sense—unless Strictland didn't want the man they hired to succeed. They were counting on him being caught. It was all a game, and Hongjoong despised playing mouse. 

He brushed a hand through his hair. “I'm pretty sure it's as you said: they're just toying with me. The guy they paid was a lucky shot, but they were counting on him being caught. Why?”

“What was the name of the guild you mentioned?”

“The Wings Express?”

You glanced back down at the ledger and pointed at something. “Do you think this could be it?”

Hongjoong's face contorted as he shot to his feet and rounded the table. He peered over your shoulder as you showed him the ledger. At the tip of your finger was an abbreviation: TWE, the date matching up to five days before Ateez's coup, and the amount deducted from his coffers a whopping $100,000. 

He took the book from you and collapsed onto the edge of his armchair, a permanent kink in his brow, as he stared hard at that entry line. “I… could probably kiss you,” he blurted, still gawking at it in disbelief. 

(He was going to kick himself for saying that in about an hour when he was stone-cold sober.)

You snorted, perching onto the arm of his chair. “Yeah alright, you're welcome,” you said. “Glad it might actually be something. The letter 'T’ was just a lot bolder than all the other letters on the page, so my eyes must've been drawn to it. Maybe he was hesitant about the transaction.”

“I would be,” Hongjoong said, thumbing his lip as he considered it. The Wings Express, huh? “100,000 is probably the down payment for a job.”

“Who do you think he was trying to have taken out? You?”

He shook his head. “If he wanted me gone, he likely would have gotten one of his own to kill me. I was an inconsequential subordinate to him at the time, even five days before the coup.”

You let out a hum. “You sure proved him wrong.”

He bit the edge of his nail, and couldn't help the slight curl of his lips into a smile. “Yeah.” He was paying for it now though, by whoever was under that fake hat and mask. “But 100,000 is pretty high for a down payment of any regular person. This would have to be a hit on a very prominent member of society, or someone heavily guarded. Someone like…”

“A mafia head?” you offered. 

Hongjoong raised his head to meet your eyes, pointing at you in a vague gesture. It was like you read his mind. “Exactly.”

Your brows creased. “Interesting… I'm guessing it never happened though, because that's the last TWE entry.”

“Huh,” he muttered, flipping through the last couple of pages. The entries after this one seemed to hold the majority of the transfers from Strictland's coffers to Joonseo's. He must have felt that his time was running out and began taking as much money as he could get away with. But you were right—that was the only TWE entry there was. “He either must have backed out or his target was eliminated before the assassination was planned.”

“Here's a crazy idea,” you piped up. “What if it was Lee Yunseok?”

A line in Hongjoong's spine pulled taut. His mind wandered in the direction you pointed. What if Jung Joonseo planned to murder Lee Yunseok before he could find out about his betrayal? What if Joonseo planned to take over Strictland before Hongjoong checked the king? It made an awful lot of sense—with Yunseok dead, Joonseo was next in command. 

If Joonseo underestimated Hongjoong, then Hongjoong certainly underestimated Joonseo, too. 

“No? Stupid idea?”

“No, no” —he waved his hand to stop you— “not a stupid idea. That's a good thread to follow, Yn.”

You nodded. “It makes sense, doesn't it?”

He shared a look with you. “It does.”

But it only begged the question: what did any of this have to do with his situation now? There was that sinking feeling in his gut again, one that swirled with the rip current of dread, and it could only be quelled by answering yet another question. And this one was arguably worse. 

Where was Jung Joonseo now?

a/n: pls reblog if you enjoyed!

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[collapsedsquid]

But according to an official whistleblower disclosure shared with Congress and other federal overseers that was obtained by NPR, subsequent interviews with the whistleblower and records of internal communications, technical staff members were alarmed about what DOGE engineers did when they were granted access, particularly when those staffers noticed a spike in data leaving the agency. It's possible that the data included sensitive information on unions, ongoing legal cases and corporate secrets — data that four labor law experts tell NPR should almost never leave the NLRB and that has nothing to do with making the government more efficient or cutting spending. Meanwhile, according to the disclosure and records of internal communications, members of the DOGE team asked that their activities not be logged on the system and then appeared to try to cover their tracks behind them, turning off monitoring tools and manually deleting records of their access — evasive behavior that several cybersecurity experts interviewed by NPR compared to what criminal or state-sponsored hackers might do. The employees grew concerned that the NLRB's confidential data could be exposed, particularly after they started detecting suspicious log-in attempts from an IP address in Russia, according to the disclosure. Eventually, the disclosure continued, the IT department launched a formal review of what it deemed a serious, ongoing security breach or potentially illegal removal of personally identifiable information. The whistleblower believes that the suspicious activity warrants further investigation by agencies with more resources, like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency or the FBI.

Oh yeah at least one DOGE person we know was a straight-up cybercriminal.

[eldritch-spouse]

Fucking robot. Why does he always bother me during breaks? He doesn't even need breaks.

“Hi Xavier. Was there something that you needed?”

You know he likes you because he bothers to address you by your name. As opposed to a serialized string of numbers and letters.

The numbers before your shift code and initials make you wonder just how many of them there were before you. How many he tossed away after an unfortunate workplace accident. That tag on your uniform is more of a death sentence than anything.

'Like'... As if this tin can is actually able of feeling.

It's more realistic to say he sees value in you, for some reason, and employs some kind of social algorithm to fabricate a twisted sort of relationship.

" You have been consistently distracted lately. "

Is that a warning?

Two red abyss-like orbs cast a crimson filter upon your face. It always feels like Xavier is watching you a little too closely, monitoring more than just your verbal responses.

" Ah, my bad! " You force a wobbly smile. " I promise it doesn't get in the way of my wo- "

" It does. " He silences you immediately, imposing and unforgiving in his cold corrections. " Clients notice when you zone out. Your movement speed is drastically reduced and the chances of committing errors -which you have by now- is considerably increased. Spacing out this much is in no way acceptable behavior for a multitude of... "

Only the very real notion that he's noting your facial expressions stops you from rolling your eyes at the robot's tireless monolog regarding the dangers and consequences of being distracted at work. One of your eyes still manages to twitch, as if in defiance.

" Yes sir, I understand. " You try to cut in, try to abort that speech before it turns into a whole lecture.

One camera cranes down slightly. " Your reputation as the exemplary employee is being damaged. "

Xavier says this like it should make you anxious. You hate that he thinks of you as an example, that he emphasizes it constantly. Not only is it putting unnecessary pressure on you for no compensation, it's also costing you the few mild friendships you have worked to maintain in this hostile minefield of an environment.

The more he speaks of you as some ideal of professionalism, the more others give you judgemental side-eyes. Sneers. Avoid you. Spread snide comments that then find their way to you through gossip.

Maybe if Xavier stopped exalting your mediocre performance, your asshole coworkers would stop murmuring that you've been orally pleasing the glorified microwave.

Xavier doesn't even have a dick! Why would he?! He's an artifical stand in for a manager that only cares about the dehumanizing process of maximizing profit.

He doesn't have a penis. You think.

You only realize a long silence has installed itself this whole time when the robot breaks it.

" ... Are you ill? "

" Huh- No. No, I just have a lot on my mind. I'll work on it boss. "

There's another pause. This time, you presume Xavier is waiting for you to cave under pressure, or counting the pores on your complexion. You bet he'd know the exact number.

" You have not allowed access to more in-depth medical records. If I had such a permission, I would be able to rework your current shift into something more suitable for any preexisting conditions such as- "

" Uh no sir, no. I don't think that's relevant, it's probably just my sleep schedule. " The thought of Xavier knowing about your health beyond what is strictly necessary for employment is chilling to the core.

He takes the rejection silently, lenses refreshing.

" I know who is bothering you. "

Xavier says, so naturally and spontaneously that you gawk for a moment, forever surprised by his eery bursts of casual remarks.

" ... Pardon? "

These moments make it seem as if there's more than mere cold calculations running through his processor components.

Xavier drifts that much closer to you, now suffocating your personal space. Only the crimson of his camera lenses light the dingy alley you've chosen as your break spot.

" Incubus, Babesley. Masseur. He has self-inflicted carvings on his body consisting of infatuated statements and your name. "

You rattle for a second, the memory of the demon's mutilated chest surfacing, his wild and desperate eyes searching yours for a hint of approval that wasn't there, only disgust and fear.

" Wrathfolk, Mozgrag. Trapper. Teamed up with the incubus upon being confronted, effective in forcing his way to you at any cost. "

Another memory flashes by, burly hands carelessly tearing the horns out of someone's head, he'd look at you when the screams rang, attempting to prove something you only saw as terrifying murderous intent.

Shaken, irritated, afraid, you openly glare at Xavier.

" Why haven't you done anything... " It was too quiet to sound as confrontational as you wished.

There's a split second where his stiff arms twitch, like the machine was trying to roll its shoulders. Cameras tilt and reposition, erroneously assuming the light from his lenses is what's causing you to tear up.

" The customer is always right. " Faintly, or perhaps just in your head, his words sounded dragged out.

" Then what's the problem?! "

You can't help the childish irritation, the desire to pluck your hairs out of your scalp in a pull that might just tear your skin asunder. You want to scream and kick this stupid fucking machine until it shuts off. Why does he bother you during your breaks to ask things that make no sense, to unnerve you, to create contradictions. You've never had a positive interaction with this robot. Why would he mention those two if he seemingly has no problem with their attitudes?

You know he doesn't care, because your coworkers are also living through their own cases of harassment at the hands of the denizens of Hell. You've had to pretend you didn't hear the sound of a cashier's arm being twisted in all the wrong directions before. Reminded that quitting is not an option, that you can only pray such doesn't happen to you.

" Your performance- "

No. Shut up.

" Okay, let's do some math, Xavier. " You growl. " My precious work performance is being impacted by a lot of things, but mainly those two. Those two are customers, and the customer is always right, aren't they? So there's nothing to be done, yeah?! Stop- "

Your confidence begins to falter when you realize you've stepped out of line, that you snapped at your own superior. The fear of consequences flashes very briefly across your eyes. That's enough, you need to calm down. You need to leave.

Xavier's silence doesn't help.

" I'll... I'll be heading back to work now. "

Head hanging low, you attempt to swiftly retreat into work, halted quickly by cold metal wrapping around your arm.

His grip is as frighteningly solid as it is sudden.

You don't remember Xavier having ever touched you before.

When you squirm around to glance at him, ask what he thinks he's doing, those two cameras pin you into silent obedience. You could never hope to free yourself of his grasp, only if you wished to tear a limb out of its socket.

" Do you think I enjoy these limitations? "

There's a mute gasp. Then the pain of his grip tightening, restricting your blood flow into a tingling soreness. Your teeth bare themselves.

" I don't think you enjoy anything at all, machine. "

It was ruthless, yet, deep down, you almost believed it.

Xavier stares at you for another prolonged period of time, unaware that the pain in your arm is only worsening. You have no idea what occurs behind those lenses, what those words might mean to him.

Metallic fingers unclasp with the slowness of a decompressing blood pressure monitor, allowing you to yank your own limb back and hold it to your chest like an animal licking its wounds.

" ... This issue will be resolved. "

He doesn't make a move to follow after you. In fact, Xavier remains staring forward, at the empty space where you once stood.

Maybe you broke him. Who cares, he might give you peace for the rest of your shift.

[the-august-one]

Here’s how to share sensitive leaks with the press

Published Oct. 16, 2019 Updated Jan. 31, 2025 / Freedom of the Press Foundation

[please take a moment to click the links at the bottom to give this website traffic if you can. the only reason I am copy pasting it here is for those who can access tumblr but not necessarily that site.]

~~~

Over the years, we have witnessed abuse and mismanagement in the government and private sector — sometimes bad and sometimes worse — that need to be brought to public attention. For those who would leak information about such misdeeds to the press, giving tips to journalists can be risky and may violate previous legal agreements with the leaker’s organization, such as a nondisclosure agreement or contract. But sometimes, it can also be an effective and courageous way to call attention to misconduct.

This guide describes basic steps for minimizing potential risk when sharing sensitive information with a news organization. We want to be clear that no piece of software, nor security recommendation, will be 100% effective, and the decision to blow the whistle may invite scrutiny or retaliation. At the same time, it may be a choice that drives necessary institutional change. Before reaching out to the press, think carefully about what you can do to minimize that risk and stay as safe as possible.

Before moving ahead, do you have a strong tip?

A good tip requires clear evidence and should be the basis for a story that the broader public needs to know about.

So, for instance, whether or not you have evidence, the broader public might not need to know that a neighbor refuses to pick up after her dog on the morning walk. On the other hand, allegations of corruption or illegality among public officials are certainly newsworthy, but those claims will not make it into a published story without verifiable evidence.

Who are you leaking about and how might they respond?

Think about the sensitivity of the information you’re sharing, and who might be willing to investigate the source of the leak. What are the organization’s capabilities? What resources (e.g., attention and legal, financial, or technical) can it invest in discovering the source? And how likely do you think it is that it will actually investigate?

If you share information about a large, well-resourced organization that requires discretion from employees, such as a government agency, it may have enormous legal, financial, and technical resources available for investigating a leak. If you’re sharing information about a small organization, such as a local restaurant that muzzles workers, its resources are much more constrained, and it may not have the capacity or willingness to investigate. Act accordingly.

Proceed with caution

Be cautious about behaviors that could make you readily identifiable as a source.

Keep all of your leaking activities outside the view of your organization. That means no calling from work, no emailing from a work email address, and staying off work devices or wireless networks.

It's common for well-resourced organizations to keep logs of activities on employees’ workplace devices and online activities. Likewise, sometimes workplaces have “BYOD” (bring your own device) technologies that could allow them to log your activity on your personal device. So if you work at a large organization and you're reading this article on a workplace device or Wi-Fi network, chances are your workplace already has a log that you've accessed this page. Similarly, a visit to a news organization's tip page (like https://www.nytimes.com/tips) may be logged by your workplace. This is why it's so important to limit your leaking activities to devices and networks that your workplace doesn't control.

Has your workplace ever required you to install monitoring software (or software of any kind) on your work or personal device? If so, you probably don't want to use those devices for any whistleblowing activities.

Be cautious about giving tips on anything that only you could know or materials that only you could access. And consider whether the increased risk of being caught sharing these kinds of materials is worthwhile, or if you feel you have a strong moral obligation to do so.

If you are the only one at your organization surfacing a specific grievance, and information about that grievance is later reported by the press, it may give your organization a strong hint about who shared the information.

Don’t tell anyone about your leaking activities (even perhaps the journalist or news organization you’re leaking to), except where absolutely necessary and in cases where you may want legal advice from a practicing lawyer.

Reporters generally take their commitment to protecting your identity very seriously and will do everything in their power to fight potential legal requests for identifying information about you. But often, it’s safer not to give your identity if you don’t have to. Keep in mind that journalists prefer to have proof of your claims and information to demonstrate your identity is a part of that.

Tactics for minimizing risk

There are a lot of ways to minimize the risk of a tip being tied to you, like potentially through your continued communications with reporters.

Send your materials through physical mail. You can mail electronic documents (e.g., on an SD card) or physical documents through ordinary mail. Be warned: The U.S. postal service takes pictures of the exterior of physical mail. So don’t use a return address that is associated with you and instead mail it in from a sidewalk mailbox in a location you don’t usually frequent. If you have a particular reporter you want to look into your story, copy them on the envelope.

Call from a phone number unconnected to you. For example, go to a business you don’t usually go to and ask to use their phone. You can also buy a cheap cell phone and a prepaid phone card that cannot be traced back to you. But know this involves several careful steps: You must pay with cash, and if your organization can have access to phone location records, it’s best to only turn on the phone in locations unassociated with you. That also means using the phone in locations separate from your permanent phone. If you can, remove the battery when it’s not in use.

Use Signal for private messaging. Signal is a secure, free, and open source messaging app for iPhones and Android devices. Signal gives you end-to-end encrypted messages and phone calls, and only retains your phone number, your signup date, and when you were last active. In Signal, you can also make messages automatically self-destruct for everyone in the conversation after a set amount of time. This makes it significantly harder (but not impossible) to eavesdrop on your conversations. If you want help getting started, read this beginner-friendly guide on using Signal. Note that Signal allows usernames, so you do not need to give your name or phone number to media organizations unless you choose to. Make sure your username is enabled and understand that Signal is not designed for complete anonymity.

Before looking into news organizations, consider using the Tor Browser for greater privacy. Tor Browser is a modified version of Firefox. Tor encrypts and tunnels your web traffic within a global network of computers before connecting you to your final destination. When you access a website through Tor (for example, Amazon.com), you will appear to connect from a remote location — likely another country. Again, don't use a work device or network for this kind of research.

Use a whistleblower submission system. Tools such as SecureDrop can provide protection by allowing you to share documents and communications through an anonymous and encrypted drop box.

More technical, but more secure: SecureDrop

With SecureDrop, which is maintained by Freedom of the Press Foundation, not even the news organization knows who you are unless you choose to tell them.

A growing number of news organizations (e.g., The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Intercept, The Guardian) are using SecureDrop to allow sources to reach out and share files or communications anonymously. With SecureDrop, not even the news organization knows who you are unless you choose to tell them.

You can access a news organization’s SecureDrop page through Tor Browser.

People on your network can’t see what you’re doing on Tor, but it’s still possible to tell that you’re using Tor. With that in mind, do not use it at work. For greater security, consider using Tor Browser only over a Wi-Fi network in a location that is not tied to you (perhaps a coffee shop you don’t normally visit) and pay with cash.

As opposed to a “.com” web address, you get to SecureDrop through a unique .onion web address, which can only be accessed through Tor.

Using SecureDrop is fairly easy

Follow the directions to download the Tor Browser at torproject.org and install it.

Launch the Tor Browser application and click "Connect" to log into the network.

Click the shield icon in the top corner > Advanced Security Settings… > Safest

Within Tor Browser, navigate to the SecureDrop directory and search for your preferred news organization: securedrop.org/directory

Find the .onion URL for your preferred publication (e.g., The New York Times: securedrop.org/directory/new-york-times), then copy and paste it into the address bar in Tor Browser.

From here, you can leave messages and files that the news organization will check from time to time.

You will be given a random “codename” for continued conversation with the news org. Keep this information safe, and don’t share it with anyone. If you lose your codename, they can’t reach you anymore.

(For more technically adept users, consider accessing SecureDrop through an operating system designed for privacy and anonymity, such as Tails.)

Dealing with file metadata

Sharing information may be less risky than sharing documents because they can be embedded with information about the file, which we call metadata. For example, if you create a .docx file, it may have identifying information about you embedded in the file. Consider carefully whether you really need to share files or just the information.

To deal with hidden metadata, rather than sending the file itself, consider taking a picture of a document with an old-fashioned camera (not a smartphone), or taking a screenshot of the document. On most operating systems, screenshots come with little useful metadata. For more technical users, you can find metadata removal tools here.

Where do you find a news organization's contact details?

First, be careful where you reach out.

Freedom of the Press Foundation maintains a list of organizations that support the secure communications practices outlined above, and how you can contact them. Such practices are becoming standard, and we hope other news organizations looking for great tips will follow suit.

Freedom of the Press Foundation hosts a directory of SecureDrop and secure tip pages for dozens of news organizations around the world. Whether you want to reach out to The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Intercept, or others, you can find their information here: https://securedrop.org/directory. (We would not recommend investigating this at work.)

If not you, then who?

Sharing information with the press is not always an easy decision, but your information can help to hold powerful people and institutions accountable. Just be sure to move ahead with a strong understanding of your organization’s capabilities and how to share tips safely.

https://freedom.press/digisec/blog/sharing-sensitive-leaks-press/

https://bsky.app/profile/freedom.press/post/3lh2rgopf5225

[simphornies]

AAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE YOUR VOX CONTENT SHDKSJSJSJ- The skrunkly TV man is fr my latest obsession hahahaha! If you don't mind, I'd like to request a Vox x fem!reader where reader just loves messing with Vox(leaving sticky notes all over his things just saying the cutest stuff, lipstick marks all over his monitor and not saying anything until everyone but him notices, teasing him at work, etc.)

- 🖥️ Anon

A/N: I love writing stories where the reader teases and messes with Vox. Please do send more when requests open back up!

Word count: 1.3k (1,311)

Warnings: suggestive behavior and ending

Distraction - Vox x F!Reader

Vox squinted at everyone that looked at him funny today. Which was everyone. He didn’t understand why he kept getting looks from his employees. It wasn’t until Velvette took a selfie with him before running off that he realized he’d been walking around all day with his screen covered in kiss marks. And he knew exactly where the culprit was.

You lazily sat in Vox’s office chair, aimlessly scrolling through your phone. You looked up and saw blue electricity making its way towards you. You leaned over his desk, head resting on your palm with a sneaky smirk on your face. “Hey Vox!”

“Y/N! You know I love you but why the fuck would you send me off for the day with my screen like this?” He screamed before leaning close to your face. You giggled in response, giving him another kiss that left a mark.

“You didn’t ask.” You grinned, winking at him, “And how else am I supposed to let other people know that you’re mine?”

Your words made his face turn red, “Th-that’s—” He cleared his throat after it cracked, “That’s nonsense! You don’t have to prove anything, you know I’m yours and you’re mine. Any sinner stupid enough to test their boundaries will learn.”

You hummed as you wiped his face clean of lipstick marks, “Not good enough for me.” After his face was nice and clean, you got off his chair and gestured for him to sit.

He sat down and you immediately climbed on his lap. “You’re going to be the death of me.” He sighs, kissing the back of your neck softly.

“So dramatic.” You giggled.

.

Vox wasn’t too busy the next day so he mainly stayed in his office, lazing around. It didn’t take long for you to happily waltz into his office. He was drinking his coffee when he looked up at you and immediately spat it out. “What are you wearing?” He coughed, “You didn’t walk around my building like that, did you?”

You laughed, “Heavens no! I came straight from my room to you. Do you like it?” You gave him a twirl, showing off your outfit with a wink. The outfit in question? A keyhole turtleneck with your laced bra peeking through. A laced bra he knew too well. It was your lingerie. You paired it with a skirt not too revealing but definitely hugged your curves perfectly with a small detail at the bottom that read ‘Vox’ with a heart.

He just stared at you after he recovered from his near death experience via coffee. “It’s…I like it.” He stuttered out. You walked around his desk and bent down to him.

“From how your eyes lingered, I’m going to safely assume you recognize something, huh?” You tease, “The powerful overlord wrapped around my finger all from a simple detail, how cute!”

“Pff! You’re the one wrapped around my finger.” He confidently says, his claw tracing his name on your skirt, “I’m free for a couple hours if you’re down for—”

Before he could continue flirting with you, you put a finger up to his lips. “I have a meeting to attend with Velvette, sorry babe.” You gave him a quick kiss on the lips before running out of his office.

He blinked, taking a little bit to process that you were indeed going out like that. He ran after you but you were long gone, already with Velvette. He groaned in frustration, jealous that other sinners will see you like that.

.

You sat by his feet in his security room, on your phone once again and bored out of your mind. You looked up at Vox, admiring how focused he was when he was working. “Vox?” You softly spoke.

He reaches down and rubs the top of your head, petting you. “Hold on, baby. I’m working.” He muttered, attention still on his screens.

You huffed in response, wanting attention from him. He’d been so busy all week that he’s been ignoring your…needs…as of late. Your eyes wandered from his face down to his pants. You grin mischievously and slowly drag your hand up his thigh, feeling him tense up underneath your palms.

“Y/N? What are you doing?” He looked at you.

“Hm? Oh nothing. Don’t mind me.” You looked at him with innocent eyes. “Nevermind that. What’re you looking at?” You get up and sit on his lap, purposely positioning yourself to tease him.

“I’m…” His hands held your waist, “I’m looking at how the stats are from this show compared to that one. I need to see which one’s losing revenue so I can switch it up.” He explained, his focus faltering.

You nodded in response and pushed up on him, “Ah. I see. How about you take this show off? Not a lot of sinners talk about it online and I haven’t seen any recent reviews on it.” You shifted to turn your body so you can look at him, your movement creating friction where he wanted it the most.

“Uh. Sorry what? Can you repeat that?” His grip on your waist tightened. You caught his attention.

“Hm?” You smirk at his reaction, getting up and relishing in the disappointment in his face, “Oh. This show. No more of this show. I think I’m…distracting you. So I’ll be taking my leave. Love you, honey.” You leave him with a kiss. You were already out the door before he could protest, leaving him with a different kind of distraction.

.

“Um. Sir—” A sinner spoke up behind him. He turned around, irritated.

“What is it?” He asks, his impatience clear in his voice making his employee nervous.

“Um! You have…you have sticky notes…on your face.” He nervously stated before running away at the sight of his reaction.

Vox zapped to the nearest mirror and saw the multitude of notes on his face.

“Property of Y/N” clearly written on one of them. The others were little doodles of the two of you along with little hearts. He blinked, confused and wondering when you had the chance to do this. Then it clicked.

You were very touchy earlier that day, constantly caressing his screen while he was deep in his work and peppering him with kisses all over. You didn’t wear lipstick so he didn’t think that you’d left anything on his face. How foolish of him to think you weren’t up to something.

“Y/N!” He screamed loudly down the hallway. You quickly get up, “Val! Don’t tell him I’m here!” You said as you hid in his gun closet.

Vox swung the door open, looking around the room. “Val. Where is she?”

Valentino squinted at him. He leaned closer to make sure the little blobs of yellow on his screen was exactly what he thought it was. When he realized they were indeed sticky notes he burst out into laughter, further flustering Vox.

“Quit fucking laughing and tell me where she is! I know she’s in here!” He yelled, screen a bright red.

Valentino took a picture of him and sent it to Velvette. “You look so fuckin’ hilarious.” He wheezed out as he gestured to your hiding spot.

Vox stomped over to his gun closet, swinging it open. You looked up at him, a nervous laugh escaping out of you. “Haha…Hey Vox!” You smiled.

He picked you up bridal style, walking to his room to punish you for being a little brat as of lately. Before he could make it to his room, an employee ran up and began to walk beside him.

“S-sir? You have meetings later tod—”

“Can’t you see I’m busy? Clear my schedule for the rest of the day.” He snapped at him and slammed his door.

Safe to say you got the attention you’d been begging for all week. And you definitely needed help to walk the day after.

[httpisaoki]

I'll be imperfect for you ft. yu jimin

-> previous.

warnings. mentions of affairs and divorce, reader is referred as 'han junhi', crying, confessions, etc. etc.

you gave her a small nod, finally agreeing to go somewhere a little more private. with a small smile, she motioned for you to follow her and you did, albeit reluctantly, your expression still one of disinterest.

the walk towards the room that she was leading you would be the most painfully long walk ever. she didn't say anything and neither did you, it was an awkward silence, a nerve wrecking one at the least.

a few quiet minutes later, the two of you were inside a room. despite it still being in the office building, it looked as if no one was inside it and the doors weren't being monitored. 

she shut the doors, the two of you finally alone. she sighed, she was about to tell you what she wanted to talk about. but as she was about to speak, you saw her eyes trail down, her gaze on her own hands as her voice softened. "junhi, can I ask you a question?"

when she spoke, her voice filled with softness, a side that you hadn't seen from her in two years. it was something that caught you off guard, something that made you almost regret your decision to divorce her. 

you gave her a small nod, keeping your gaze neutral, your ears only focusing on her voice. you were still trying to stay professional despite her sudden change in attitude.

she took a deep breath as if she were trying to gather her thoughts. but once she opened her mouth to speak, words wouldn't come out. she let out a small sigh, as if preparing her next words. 

"do you..." she paused for a moment, she gulped, "do you recall my affair?" You tilt your head, visible irritation in your face. "why would you ask that?" she gulped at your tone.

she paused at your tone, the irritation in your face made her flinch even though she was trying her hardest to maintain her composure. 

she swallowed, looking down at her hands to avoid looking at you again, the shame and guilt she was feeling was something she'd been dealing with since that whole affair. 

"just...just answer the question," she spoke softly, the change in her tone was a little jarring.

you raised an eyebrow, albeit forcefully, "yes." you answered. "then I'd ask you if you recall that name, the name of the man I was in a fling with?" she gulped, her fists clenching together. she didn't need to tell you the name, it had been plastered all over the media, there were pictures of them kissing, holding hands...all over everywhere. 

but no one had ever mentioned you during that affair. your name had never been uttered, not in public, not by anyone.

"lee jaewook." your eyes pierced through hers. fury building up inside you. she froze, the name you'd mentioned was something she never thought you'd know. she gulped, her palms already sweaty, nervous. was that why you'd gone cold on her? because you'd found out? it had been all over the media, that'd been true.....but she didn't think you knew...she wished she'd kept quiet.

"and I assume you know he's one of your employees?" you could hear the nervousness in her tone, the fear of your reaction filled her. You let out a small chuckle, amused at the obvious question. "of course." 

she gulped, your tone alone made her shudder, the fear of your reaction was rising inside of her. 

her voice was shaky, she hadn't expected your reaction to be this harsh. she tried to steady her breathing, she was trembling as she spoke, "and...do you know that he's been fired for his behavior?"

"may I ask why is this relevant? it's been 3 years, karina." impatiently, you glares went right through her. "because I have a request for you," she gulped, her voice still trembling. before you could cut her off, she rushed out words, not wanting you to interrupt her, "a request so I want you to listen to me first..."

she flinched at your gaze, your words hurt like a dagger. she looked away, your words digging into her, hurting her. she tried her hardest to keep everything bottled in, she didn't want to show you how much your blunt words hurt her. 

"it's...just something I wanted to...tell you." her voice was still shaky, she still seemed afraid. she didn't know why all of a sudden she was this nervous, there were a million different reasons behind it but she didn't have the energy to explain them.

she took a deep breath when you remained silent, her eyes trailing up to look at yours. were you not going to ask her why? was she telling you this for nothing? did you really not care?

you had been through a divorce so did you feel nothing? her heart was in her throat, it was all she could think about. 

"then let me ask you another question." she began, her tone slightly calmer.

"yes?" you still remained silent, your gaze on hers. this was a business meeting, this was supposed to only be about business.

your eyes gave away nothing, it was as if it was a poker face challenge. but despite how cool you were trying to keep things, one can't help but wonder if there were other things behind your behavior.

"can I ask you..." she continued, the way she paused was as if she was trying to recall her thoughts.

"did it ever cross your mind that I might've ended things with you because of him?" she asked, her voice trembling once more. this was the part where she broke and she didn't know what was coming. 

it hurt just thinking about it now, how could she have thrown away everything for a man she didn't even know? 

just that thought alone made her tremble, she didn't even bother trying to hide it, the thought of you divorcing her...it was something she regretted deeply.

"it was the reason I divorced you," you paused, and hesitantly you continued, "I didn't want you to choose him so I went first," you gulped, your emotions slipping through your cold gaze. 

her eyes soften, "I didn't want you to end things because of a man who is worthless." you let out a shaky breath, "It may be selfish but I broke things off in the worry of you breaking my heart." 

her breath hitched as you spoke, the way you spoke with your whole heart made her shiver. she didn't expect this side of you to come out to her, she thought you were just going to be cold towards her as if you were strangers.

"you..." she paused, her eyes widening for a moment before she looked away again, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment. "did you really..." she couldn't think of the correct words, and the realization that you'd left her out of fear of being hurt, it made tears pricked at her eyes.

you had divorced her to avoid the inevitable, her decision.

Though she was aware that the decision she made that day was one she still regretted, the thought of breaking your heart had been a fear of hers. even back then, she never wanted to be the one to hurt you in any way...despite her wrongdoing, she could never bear to see you hurt.

"you don't know me, karina." you whispered, my face remained stoic but there was a hurt in your eyes that she couldn't face. "even after 10 years, we were never really together. you didn't know me, I didn't know you. we were strangers." 

her breaths became shaky, the bitterness on her face was gone. you were right, the two of you never really knew one another even after all those years together. all of it was surface level love, it was never fully unconditional, it was conditional.

her silence was her agreeing with you. she couldn't say anything to your words because she knew they were true. it hurt to realize that the two of you were actually strangers despite having been together for 10 years.

you sighed before muttering, "we are strangers."

her face froze. you had said it, something that everyone knew but no one dared to say out loud. it was the cold truth that you had acknowledged, just like that. 

she couldn't find anything to say afterwards, she didn't know how to counter your words, you were right. all those moments that the two of you were together, all those years, they were wasted, they were meaningless. you didn't know each other, she didn't know you, you didn't know her.

but there was a silent feeling she felt, the desire to be more, for the both of you to be more. as she gathered up the courage, you let out a breath, "and if I want to get to know you?" as she said that, you let a tear fall from your eyes, 

her voice breaking. “junhi.. I—” there was a lump in her throat that she struggled to swallow down. this was not something that she was expecting in any way. her words caught the both of you by surprise and they filled you with a bittersweetness. 

something inside of you was still holding onto the love she felt for you, and to have her say this after everything. you gulped, the sudden crack in her voice made your eyes widen. she couldn't hold back anymore. it was ridiculous but maybe there there was something unspoken between the two of you after all those years.

fighting back tears, you let out a whisper,

“Then I’d love to.”

-> third part already I LOVE NOT HAVING WRITER'S BLOCKK

[fearfulfertility]

WORKMAN COMPSENTATION CLAIM

DRC, Administration & Management Office, Human Resources Division

To: DRC Claims Review Board

From: Employee ID [REDACTED]

Date: [REDACTED]

Subject: Rise in Compound Work Injury Claims

I. Claim Summary

Mr. [REDACTED] (Employee ID# HS-137-611), assigned to the Gestational Support Command, has submitted a claim for work-related injuries sustained during routine surrogate handling duties at Paternity Compound 137. The claim outlines physical injuries attributed to interactions with surrogates during a personal monitoring session, specifically citing muscular strain, joint stress, and abrasions incurred as part of the surrogate gratification procedures.

II. Incident Description

At 13:20 on [REDACTED], Employee HS-137-611 was assigned to conduct a physical engagement of Surrogate S137-614-P, who was at +19 days gestation with sexdecuplets (16). The surrogate’s condition was flagged as an unusually high degree of prenatal nymphomania, a behavioral side effect frequently observed in most surrogates. The evaluation was intended to reduce the surrogate’s discomfort and agitated mood to return to behavioral stability.

Upon initiation of the session, the surrogate began exhibiting heightened physical restlessness and compulsive behaviors consistent with gestational hormonal surges. Employee HS-137-611 attempted to follow established engagement protocols, which required direct physical insertion to stabilize the surrogate and manage their urges. However, the surrogate’s extreme abdominal size and mobility issues created an unpredictable environment, leading to a series of complications for the employee.

III. Details of Injuries Sustained

Lower Back Strain: The surrogate's advanced abdominal distension significantly limited the employee’s ability to maintain proper ergonomic positioning during the session, resulting in sustained stress on the lumbar region. The weight and movement of the surrogate’s abdomen further exacerbated this strain, especially during heightened activity.

Abrasion Injuries: The surrogate’s unexpected movements resulted in significant friction-related abrasions to the employee's arms and chest. Mr. [REDACTED] indicated that the surrogate’s movements were both unpredictable and forceful, making it difficult to avoid these injuries.

Joint Pain in Wrists and Knees: The employee reported experiencing joint pain in both wrists and knees due to the physical responsiveness to engagement, which required the employee to repeatedly shift positioning to maintain control and ensure safety during the session. These adjustments placed excessive pressure on weight-bearing joints, contributing to localized inflammation and discomfort.

IV. Contributing Factors

The surrogate’s unpredictable reactions have been cited as a significant factor in the injuries sustained due to more vigorous and prolonged activity than is typical during surrogate gratification procedures. Despite attempts to adhere to standard protocol, the surrogate’s heightened state rendered many of these measures insufficient, forcing the employee to rely on adaptive physical engagement techniques that increased the risk of injury.

V. Statements

Employee

"Look, I was just doing what the protocol said, but this preggo was on another level. He was completely out of control—so worked up I could barely keep up. I tried shifting around to get a better angle, but his sheer size made it impossible to keep my footing. I’m just saying, if these guys are gonna get this worked up, someone’s gotta think about the toll it’s taking on us."

Surrogate

"I don’t know what the big deal is. I just… I couldn’t help it, okay? These babies are all fighting for space in there, and I can feel them all the time—kicking, squirming—it’s too much! Is he complaining about his back?! I’m the one who’s gained 210 lbs in three weeks!"

VI. Medical Evaluation

Employee HS-137-611 was evaluated by the Paternity Compound 137 medical staff, who confirmed the following injuries:

Grade II lower back strain

Bilateral wrist tendonitis

Surface abrasions on the arms and chest

The employee has requested:

Paid medical leave for two weeks to recover from the injuries.

Additional training for handling surrogates exhibiting heightened hormonal behaviors.

Sedatives to be applied to high-risk surrogates to reduce the risk during compliance procedures.

Pending further investigation, the DRC Claims Review Board will determine the validity of Mr. [REDACTED] (Employee ID# HS-137-611) workman’s compensation claim. The board recognizes the physical demands placed on staff during surrogate engagements and will consider adjustments to safety protocols to prevent future incidents.

This case highlights the need for ongoing staff training and protective measures when interacting with surrogates in advanced gestation to ensure the safety of DRC employees.

VII. Overall Employee Injury Statistics

Late-stage surrogates with high multiples exhibit a combination of extreme physical changes and heightened hormonal states, which frequently result in unpredictable and physically demanding interactions for staff.

Injury Rates

Employees handling surrogates carrying +12 fetuses report injuries at a rate [REDACTED]% higher than those managing surrogates with fewer multiples.

The most common injuries include [REDACTED], muscular strain, abrasions, [REDACTED], and joint-related stress.

Severe injuries, such as fractures or nerve damage, account for [REDACTED]% of reported cases, often attributed to surrogate-related behavioral outbursts or sudden physical engagement.

High-Risk Gestational States

Surrogates at +10 days gestation show a significant increase in hormonal behaviors, including restlessness, compulsiveness, and enhanced physical responsiveness. These factors directly contribute to the likelihood of employee injuries.

The combination of extreme abdominal distension, weight gain, and prenatal hormonal surges creates a uniquely hazardous working environment for staff.

Behavioral Challenges

Surrogates carrying +12 fetuses are [REDACTED] as likely to exhibit heightened prenatal nymphomania, leading to increased physical demands on staff.

Conclusion

Without immediate intervention, the rising trend of injuries associated with surrogate management will continue to strain compound operations. The Gestational Support Command must prioritize the development of advanced handling protocols, expanded access to protective gear, and training programs tailored to high-multiple surrogates to safeguard employee well-being and maintain operational efficiency.

These statistics underscore the urgency of addressing the physical demands placed on staff in high-risk situations to reduce injury rates and ensure a sustainable working environment.

----------------

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[hxroic-wxlls-fxrever]

Welcome to Hxroic-Wxlls (Again!)

Multi-Muse OC and Canon RP Blog

Contains a variety of muses from series such as Mario, Sonic, Fire Emblem, Gurren Lagann, Dragon Ball, and more

Super OC and Crossover Friendly

Memes Galore

9+ Years of RP Experience

All Art used in icons do not belong to me and all credit goes to their respective sources.

Rules and Muses Below:

No God Modding:

No Vague Posting:

No rushing for replies/guilt tripping

Have Fun!

Muse List:

Super Mario Bros:

Mario

Luigi

Yoshi

Peach

Cappy

Chompette (Chain Chomp turned princess via the Super Crown:)

Starlette (OC: The cheery creator of the Mario!Verse. Despite her goofy nature and love for randomness, she loves all her creations, equally.)

Apricot (OC: Princess Peach’s younger sister. Mischievous and constantly searching for ways to entertain herself. Tends to skip out on important Royal duties, but loves the kingdom and its people all the same).

Maria (OC: Mario and Luigi’s niece, and the older sister to Louise. She idolizes her uncles and is full of energy, constantly on the search for adventure and is eager to prove herself as someone who can live up to the legacy of the bros.)

Louise (OC: Mario and Luigi’s niece, and the younger sister to Maria. Like her sister, she idolizes her uncles, but is much more reserved and shy when compared to her older sister. She tends to stay behind her sister’s back, but will stand up to help out if the situation demands it.)

Touhou Project:

Little Reimu Hakurei (Osana Reimu)

Minako Hakurei (Reimu’s Mother: Originates from Osana Reimu)

EX Rumia (Osana Reimu)

Youmu Konpaku

Fujiwara No Mokou

Hinanawi Tenshi

Shion Yorigami

Koishi Komeiji

Yuuma Toutetsu

Flandre Scarlet

Utsuho Reiuji

Reika Hakurei (OC: The god of the Hakurei, in the Osana Reimu universe. After watching the future events of the family unfold, she granted all three of the protagonists with divine energy to prevent their sad fate from coming to be…which came at the price of her shrinking down to around Suwako’s size, and losing a majority of her energy. She can best be described as a ‘Lazy Neet who stays inside and plays video games all day.’ She does care, trust her. She’s just not good at showing it.)

Sendai Hakurei (OC: The previous Hakurei Shrine maiden, and mother to warriorsofcrimsonrealms’ Reimu. She’s a relatively quiet shrine maiden, who spends most of her time training to improve herself, both mentally and physically. Her devotion training can sometimes lead her to make questionable decisions, like sitting under a waterfall in the winter, but that same devotion is also the reason for her insane physical strength. She has a strong sense of duty, but isn’t too strict, either.)

Cirno

Anko Shinohara (OC: A regular ‘ol student who used to reign at her home town as a Street Fighter 6 Champion and Gaming Streamer, before one day finding herself lost in Gensokyo, after a field trip gone awry. Coming from the modern age of 2025, she’s well versed on modern day topics…mostly gaming. Don’t ask her too much about stuff outside of that, because she tended to ignore other topics that didn’t interest her… In Gensokyo, she managed to bring along her monitor, a PC, and her switch with a charger. So, she’s good on the gaming end…but didn’t bring anything else… So, to ensure she doesn’t starve, she works as an employee at one of the human village restaurants, with uh…not so much Grace.)

Chikara (OC: An Oni who had trained Sendai, when she was but a mere child. She encountered the soon to be Shrine Maiden when the young girl accidentally tripped and rolled down a hill in the forest, and came across the Oni in the midst of a training session. Seeing potential in the young girl, despite Sendai’s (old) scaredy cat behavior, she put her through a rigorous training routine where the young shrine maiden essentially had to fight for her life and survive in a simulation of a hostile wildlife environment, similar to that of a certain Namekian and Hybrid Saiyan’s training session in a certain manga. Chikara loves the thrill of battle, and can often be seen training in caves across Gensokyo, or visiting Sendai for sparring matches.

Yumi Konpaku (OC from Lost Word): An alternate Youmu who came from a different Gensokyo, one where she acted as the executioner in a land where contestant fought against each other in tournament settings, and she had to punish the losers. Like the regular Youmu, she enjoys gardening. However, there are a few key differences. One, she’s much more powerful due to her having much more time to spend training…but is also a terrible chef due to her time spent training taking away any time she had to learn how to cook. Hobbies aside, her blade glows red due to the blood it’s been stained with over many years, and is cursed due to all the souls it’s taken. Regardless, she’s a friendly soul, who didn’t enjoy what she had to do.)

Sakuya Izayoi

Honey Dew (OC):

A fairy maid of the SDM. She specializes in handling the laundry, but has a problem with daydreaming, frequently. As a result, she tends to get distracted mid-folding, and makes an art piece out of the clothes, instead of properly folding them. She once made a 1-1 art piece of Remilia, out of a mass pile of clothes by lining them up, together.

Yoko Shika (OC):

A used to be human villager turned into the Shrine Maiden of the newly formed Shika/Deer Shrine, in Gensokyo. She was revived from a near death illness after her family had taken her to be blessed by the Deer God. And as thanks, she offered to serve as Noko's personal Shrine Maiden.

She admits, she has very little clue on what being the Deer Shrine's Shrine Maiden entails, so she just assumes her job is to gather faith, and resolve incidents, if possible. Luckily for her, because the majority of the human villagers do seem to be fans of the deer wandering about, and her god, gathering faith and donations is far from an issue.

Power wise, she is SURPRISINGLY strong, as a result of the mass amount of faith her shrine gathers, on a daily. She has yet to fully understand the spell card rules, but she's getting there!

Scarlet (OC):

A formerly wealthy Vampire Queen, who’d long since been overthrown by her kingdom, due to being neglectful in paying her minions. She spent years wandering the earth, having to work 9-5 in her own personal business so that she can buy blood, since she’s allergic to blood that’s fresh from any living creature. It makes her super itchy, and gives her a stomach ache. So, she keeps a filtering device on her, that she puts purchased blood into, so that it’s okay for her to consume. As for where she buys the blood, she has a personal salesman who she can summon with a snap of her fingers. The salesman, much to her annoyance, is VERY greedy when it comes to the pricing.

After one fateful night, during a delivery, she found herself in Gensokyo, where she continues her business of Nightly Delivery. The building is located in the bamboo forest of the lost, which makes it a bit hard for others to find her…and for her to find out where to go…

Personality wise, she’s best described as really quiet, and noticeably lazy. She often complains about the fact that she doesn’t want to work, and misses when she was pampered like a queen. She’s still incredibly powerful, as a result of her abilities and status, but never makes use of it, as she says ‘it’s a waste of time and energy to fight.’

Gurren Lagann:

Simon

Kamina

Nia Teppelin

Simonia (OC: Simon and Nia’s child, who was born after the events of SRWX. She inherited her father’s core drill, his sense of passion and determination, and her mother’s kindness and curiosity. She idolizes her parents, and tries to follow their example as much as possible (except for her mother’s cooking. She did not inherit Simon’s tolerance for it, and got really sick after her first time trying it.)

Sonic The Hedgehog:

Sonic

Cosmo (Sonic X)

Shadow

Maria Robotnik

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure:

Jotaro Kujo

Metal Gear:

Raiden (Revengeance)

Shiro (OC: A used to be child soldier who was experimented on as a weapon in the past, before breaking out in a failed test. She was found by Raiden in a warehouse, with a knife in hand, before being adopted into his household. Her memories of her life before the experiments don’t exist for her, no matter how much she tries to dig them up. She’s quiet, but deeply appreciates Raiden for his help, and consistently refers to him as ‘sensei.’ She wields her own personal HF Blade, and trains daily to mimic his combat style. Her favorite food is cereal, which she would have for breakfast lunch and dinner if left unattended, and has a bad habit of spending money on model Gundam figures, recklessly.

Fate:

Cu Chulainn

Elizabeth Bathory

Baobhan Sith

Kirin (OC: Quite possibly the world’s greatest girlfail, with more bags under her eyes than a group of people after a long shopping trip. She’s a middle school dropout who spent the next six years working job to job in run down areas, while barely getting any sleep and playing games 24/7. Once she turned 20, she suddenly got an invitation to work as a master for Chaldea. She initially deemed it a scam, but figured she may as well check it out, since anything was better than working at a bar with ungrateful customers. Soon enough, she found herself fighting in a war to save the world…which she finds completely insane, but kinda fun. The whole ‘threat of death’ thing is annoying, in her opinion, but she figured she could get over it. Personality wise, she can come off as unfriendly and anti-social with a large streak of trouble following her everywhere, but she CAN be nice in some instances… She is not shy about showing when she doesn’t like something to someone, though.

Kiran (OC: Kirin’s older twin, with just as many bags under his eyes, and worked just as many run down jobs before travelling with his sister to Chaldea to work as a master. He’s somewhat more responsible than Kirin, acting as her impulse control to a degree, but for the most part, he tends to behave very similarly to her and the two often finish each other’s sentences. )

Mash Kyrielight

Megaman:

X

Marina (OC: A Reploid Scientist who manages X, Zero and Axl's gear and equipment, while they're off duty. She has a tendency to let her curiosity to tinker with the gear get the better of her, which leads to...sometimes mixed results. Her main goal is to one day make her own custom armors for the three.)

Mad Father:

Aya Drevis

Honkai:

Murata Himeko (HI3rd)

Caelus

Bella

Marvel:

Spider-Man (MVC and MCU verses)

Final Fantasy:

Zack Fair

Dragon Maid:

Elma

Pokémon:

Latias

Latios

Malu (OC: Alola’s champion, who spends most of time relaxing and eating Malasadas with his Pokémon. Being someone who strives to find the most comfortable way to live, Malu can often be seen lazing about, wherever. Whether it be on the beach, in a tree, or one of the chairs in a Malasada store, him, napping, is a common sight across Alola. Regardless of his seemingly lazy nature, his skills as a trainer are nothing to take lightly.

Haruka (OC: A trainer from Johto who moved to Alola to take on the Island Trials and become champion. She’s hard working and determined to prove herself. Her efforts proved valiant…up until she got up to the current champion, Malu. She currently has lost to him a total of 87 times thus far, with no victory of her own, yet. Still, she eagerly challenges him whenever he comes by… She finds his presence somewhat irritating though, due to his seemingly lazy nature clashing with his insane combat skills.

Fire Emblem:

Male Robin

Female Morgan

Henry

Soleil

Madoka Magica:

Madoka

Homura (Moemura)

Sayori Kazuma (OC: An orphan student with the ability to perceive supernatural and magical beings. She recently became acquainted with Simonia after her house burned down from a freak lightning strike, and has since taken residence at her place. She also received a mech of her own, and continues to work diligently to keep the world safe from witches, as she pursues her own goal of hunting down those who've been contracting the magical girls of her world.)

Bocchi the Rock:

Hitori Gotou

Ryo Yamada

Kikuri Hiroi

Demon Slayer:

Kyojuro Rengoku

Dragon Ball:

Broly (DBS)

Goku (GT)

Vegeta (GT)

Gohan (Post-Super Hero)

Gamma 1

Gamma 2

Android 17

Android 16

Captain Ginyu

Mister Buu

Blorbro (OC: A time patroller Majin who travelled the world with an Outer Experiment of a girl named Saika, before being recruited into the Time Patrol. He brands super-hero like clothing, and idolized super heros, pro wrestlers, and the champ, himself, Hercule. He’s very laid back and prone to making jokes, but is also the most powerful amongst his group of three.)

Celera (OC: A time patroller Saiyan who worked as a scholar in Universe 6, before being recruited into the Time Patrol. She’s hard working and studious, often trying to find way to make the best of any situation in a logical manner…which makes her a bit irritable due to being surrounded by teammates who rely on anything but logic. Regardless, they’re her friends, and she does her best to keep the world a better place… Also, her natural hair and eye color is black, but gained white hair through a mishap with magic paint, and gold eyes due to a mishap with a spell in school. Both, of which, never got undone or fixed.)

Nio (OC: A time patroller elf who lived in secrecy and practiced dark magic, before being recruited into the Time Patrol. Despite her work in the dark arts, though, Nio is an energetic and extremely friendly soul, who wishes to prove to the world that even magic of this nature can be used to help others. She’s incredibly social…but tends to miss social queues due to having lived alone for so long.)

Kohlri (OC: Broly’s mother, who had abandoned Planet Vegeta in a fit after having heard news of Paragus and her son being sent away to a far away, abandoned planet. Due to her space pod malfunctioning during the trip, she made a crash landing onto earth, and had since been living there while adapting to Earth’s culture, in the meantime. Many years later, after the events of the battle between Broly and Gogeta, the former one day found himself meeting with his mother in the midst of a random shopping trip with Cheelai and Lemo. It didn’t take Kohlri too long to recognize due to both his scent, and tail. This resulted in a very tear reunion on her end, as Kohlri soon found herself walking into her son’s life, once again… Compared to her husband, she’s incredibly cheerful and outgoing, with great social skills…and an apparent lack of impulse control, given her purchase history. She’s also, however, who Broly inherited his rage boosted power ups from, given she goes into similar berserker states when powering up, without focus.

Neptunia:

Uzume Tennouboshi

Ultrakill:

V1

Vocaloid:

Kasane Teto

Akita Neru

Guilty Gear:

Sol Badguy

Yu-Gi-Oh

Yugi Muto & Atem

Kuriboh

Silent Magician

Aurora (OC: Aurora’s the daughter of a wealthy couple who’re known to be famous authors, worldwide. Because her parents are always touring around on business trips, she lives alone with her brother in a private mansion. They’re consistently sent food and money, so they never have to worry too much about fending for themselves, financially. Aurora doesn’t tend to leave the house much, and whenever she does, she’s usually looking down at a book, instead of where she’s going…which often leads to her bumping into people or poles on accident. Despite being extremely introverted, she has a notable passion when it comes to reading. So, if she’s not at home, she’s usually at the local library, reading through a mass stack of books. She once got so interested in reading a series that she spent three whole days in the library without leaving, and only left once the librarian found her reading in the darkness of an empty book shelf.

Animal Crossing:

Villager

A Hat in Time:

Hat Kid

Kirby:

Kirby

Elsword:

Elesis (Flame Lord)

Elsword (Rune Master)

FNF:

BF

My Deer Friend Nokotan:

Shikanoko

Kid Icarus:

Pit

Corpse Party:

Sachiko Shinozaki

Fandomless OCs:

Akira (OC: A super laid back 27 year old woman who works at a small gas station in THE TOWN called Akira’s. She’s a friendly soul treats her employees and friends like family, and gives out EXTREMELY large paychecks, despite her only customers being the people from Mario’s apartment. There are rumors that she used to be a fortune goddess who reincarnated as a human, but she has yet to confirm anything…to the public, at least.)

Kiki (OC: A 19 year old ex-magical girl who was fired from being ‘too old to continue working.’ A fact that she found incredibly bizarre and annoying, but she couldn’t really do anything about it as she just suddenly woke up one day, with a ‘Fired’ letter next to her bed, and no powers. Having been launched back into a normal life so suddenly, after five years of dutiful work, she felt lost, until she moved to THE TOWN with her parents, and was hired by Akira. With such a large paycheck, and friendly co-workers around her, she was able to settle back into a normal life… The craziness of THE TOWN does make her life even more bizarre than it used to be, sometimes, though.

August (OC: A member of the Lethal Company, who recently moved to THE TOWN after being given a ten year vacation by the company for surviving ten years of work. She’s skittish, nervous, and very shy, which would be expected after having survived watching most of her co-workers die at the hands of supernatural beings and harsh environmental hazards. While she is happy to be in a ‘somewhat’ less dangerous environment, she does wish that she never took up the job opportunity to be a space excavator, and stool to working at Dairy Queen.)

Nis (OC: The young princess of the underworld, who rules over all its inhabitants with…a surprisingly lazy and gentle hand. Nis is someone who can best be described as a tired and calm soul, almost always being seen in her pajamas, and resting whenever possible. She’s spoiled rotten by her father, yet never acts entitled. Her favorite hobby is playing video games with her minions and friends…and playing with the magical girls in THE TOWN, who initially viewed her as a threat, but came to view her as a friend after realizing her work was mandatory, and that’d she’d surrender the very moment they showed up to fight her every time.)

Azure (OC: A void dragon appointed by the Underworld’s king to punish souls deemed unfit for the worst of the Underworld. Due to the souls being sent there being very rare and barren, void dragons often spend their time in human form lazing about and playing games in a mansion they made in the void, or the outside world. Azure, himself, isn’t much different. Often spending more time outside the void, than inside. He’s a laid back soul who enjoys playing pranks, and hanging with Rose and Nis, and his sister, Azul. He has a pet stone that he aptly named ‘Stone’, who is completely sentient and talks back, but to only him.

Rose (OC: An underworld devil and Rose’s right hand-man. She used to be a human, before suffering an untimely death at the hands of those she once considered friends. Unable to move on, who soul rested in a forest, before being recruited as an underworld soldier by the reaper. She now works at Nis’ side as a dutiful soldier…even if the monarch’s lazy tendencies tend to stress her out, a bit. Because of her being somewhat easily ticked off, Azure and Azul tend to playfully tease her a lot. This, of course, annoys her, but it never goes far.)

Violet (OC: A laid back swordswoman who left a town run by a corrupt kingdom to explore the world at her leisure, having been inspired by her friends at her childhood orphanage to find a better life. She explored the land with a sword in hand, and a carefree nature. When she’s not busy practicing swordplay, she’s finding quick jobs to make cash, so long as it adheres to her sense of morality, or crashing at places with anyone she’s found to be a friend, along the way.)

Mika (OC: A young magical girl who came from a ruined timeline where she was tricked by her magical girl contractors, the Miracle Mirans, into destroying all life on earth with illusionary techniques, making her think she was stopping monsters and saving the world, where instead, she was destroying everything on it. Horrified, she escaped into a different timeline where no such things had occurred, and managed to somehow settle back into a normal life…or so she’d wished. She still experienced horrific nightmares of her crimes, which makes sleeping for her incredibly difficult. Regardless, thanks to her having found a new group of magical girls to keep her steady, as her new friends, she’s finding it just a tiny bit easier to live a peaceful life, once again, in THE TOWN.

Haru (OC: A young magical girl who idolizes Shonen Manga and anime, such as Dragon Ball and Gurren Lagann. She fights crime with a fiery passion and will, while sometimes vastly overestimating how much will alone can do… It worked in Gurren Lagann, though! Her confidence aside, she was the first of the Magical Girls to meet up with Mika, and eagerly wished for her to be her teammate, until the two fought their first enemy together. After that, Mika relented and agreed to be in a team with Haru, in which the two celebrated with Karaoke, courtesy of Haru almost literally dragging her there. She’s aware of Mika’s past, but doesn’t bring it up to avoid making her uncomfortable, and defends her with all her heart and might.)

Lucky (OC: A young magical girl who became one of the world’s most rich individuals, as a result of her family being blessed with divine luck, and winning multiple lotteries over the course of their lives. She’s a friendly soul who became quick friends with Mika and Haru after become acquainted in school, and conveniently meeting up in the same place to fight a monster, when one showed up. Despite her immense funds, she never uses them as a way to make herself look better than others. Instead, she always uses her funds to try and help them/make their lives easier on them.)

Naomi (OC: A young magical girl who works as a part time shrine maiden. She’s incredibly serious when it comes to her work, both in magical girl duties, and out. She encountered the group of three magical girls in the middle of a losing battle, and jumped in to help. After a narrow victory, the group of three spent the next five weeks along her to join their group, in which she eventually relented after being saved by the three in a losing battle of her own. Due to her being the most serious of the bunch, she tends to butt heads with Haru, due to the other’s much more idealistic and joking nature… Regardless, she appreciates the company of all three, equally.)

Iamaslime (OC: The mayor of THE TOWN, who is a slime. He looks similar to that of the slimes in the world of Dragon Quest, and is incredibly lax with the rules of THE TOWN… Or in reality, lack thereof. There’s no actual rules, which explains why randomness and chaos is so apparent in this town. All forms of ‘authority’ are self-governed independent projects and have nothing to do with him.’)

Iamaslimetoo (OC: The mayor’s daughter, who looks similar to that of a slime girl from a certain half genie’s series. Like her father, she’s incredibly lax with the lack of rules in THE TOWN, and spends all her time relaxing, or hanging out at parties with her dad.)

John Gmod (OC: One of the two bodyguards for the mayor and his daughter, and the one with an actual sense of common sense. He’s consistently caught up in his partner’s shenanigans, and always ends up taking half the blame for the other’s nonsense, even if he had nothing to do with it. He wants to retire and move to Fiji, but with his current inability to hold onto funds, that dream seems like nothing more than a dream.)

John Dark Souls (OC: One of the two bodyguards for the mayor and his daughter, and the one who lack any sense of common sense. He’s consistently stirring up trouble, whether it be to him actively coming up with get rich quick schemes, attempting to show off in lame ways to get a date, like riding around THE TOWN in a tank, or just starting fights whenever it’s least beneficial for everyone. His dream is to have a harem and live as king of the world, but that dream is DEFINITELY just a dream.)

Karley (OC: A worker at the Magical Girl Support Center; a business that focuses on assisting magical girls with anything they may need. She takes her job quite seriously. Very seriously, in fact. Her co-workers say they've never ever seen her leave the center, ever since she started working. They theorize she's a spirit that's bound to the building.)

Crimson Disaster (OC: An assassin who started off as an orphan in a poor position before taking up a deal with a contractor to help her get into a better situation. Her ability is known as Deadly Misfortune. This ability allows her to cause misfortune and disaster for those around her, whether it be falling ill to a fatal illness, or being caught in an accident. Over time, she learned how to properly master this ability, so she can channel and direct all the misfortune onto a single target, within a 50 ft radius of her. With this ability, she's been able to stage all her assassinations as freak accidents, without having ever been caught. She seems to have moral standards, though, as she has a strict rule of never going after innocents or kids.)

Soren (OC: A Magical Girl Contractor in the form of an immortal cat. The scarf he wears around his neck was a parting gift from his first contracted magical girl, right before she passed, due to old age. He travels, alone, in search of potential magical girls who could use a little help in their life...He has no ill intent, and simply wishes for their happiness. He understands the world is often filled with people who wish to destroy it, but he never pushes his offer onto anyone if he feels if it'd get in the way of their own personal life and health...)

Nihil (OC: A princess who'd been cursed with dark magic by a demon lord, who's long since been lost to time. As for what the curse did...it didn't really do much, outside of just amplifying her physical abilities, as well as making her desire to be lazy and lounge around even more apparent. She was already like that, initially, but managed to put up a good enough 'responsible' act to fool her parents and the people. With the curse active, she stopped putting on the act, entirely.The king and queen, feeling like their daughter had become some sort of monster, even though that wasn't the case, had a council of wizards seal her away, after many attempts at breaking this 'curse' failed...Thousands of years later, the seal was broken by courtesy of the Mario Bros' apartment exploding one thousand times. Her sealing place was conveniently, right under the building, to be precise. Once she was freed...she lazily said her thanks, and left to go wander around THE TOWN, with no real task or objective in mind...Recently, she got a job at the Magical Girl Support Center as a new contractor, believing that the job could be 'kind of fun'... That's really her motivation for it.)

Alice (OC: A shy and secluded girl who one day found herself making a contract with a certain cursed princess, after the other saved her from the relentless actions of school bullies... She doesn't tend to speak up too much, and is still VERY much so new to her job... Because of the nature of her contractor's powers and curse, she often gets mistaken as a bad guy by other magical girls, courtesy of the fact that her own magical girl makes her look more like a demon princess, than a fellow hero of justice...She also spends an excessive amount of time at THE ICE CREAM STORE, nowadays, due to her contractor's love for the dessert... She doesn't particularly mind, since she likes ice cream, too.)

Alexandra (OC: Local weird woman wants to impress her kids by being the world's greatest villain...but consistently gets told that she has too good a heart to ever fill that role. And thus, she comes up with a solution...to be the only villain, left. Even if she's a goody two shoes of a villain, if she's the only one to try for the role, then she'll be the best by default! As a result, her skillset is based around exposing the evil in people's hearts to the public, and purifying it until there's no evil left. She has no clue that her skillset isn't villainous in the slightest, or what she'll do once she's actually the only bad guy left.)

Miorine (OC: A young girl from the future who grew up, unsatisfied and riddled with sadness in a world where being a hero was frowned upon, and villainized. She wants to see 'true justice' brought back to the system, by working from the shadows to expose and bring to light the true natures of the ones running the show...and taking them out. She knows the people would sooner burn their own houses down rather than admit they were wrong, so she believes the only way to get them to believe in heroes again is to shatter all their trust and belief in the system they oh so abided by, for so long...effectively leaving them to see that they've been living a lie, the whole time. Her Rider abilities are more stealth based, allowing her to mask her presence and erase all traces and hints of her true identity, leaving her as a completely anonymous source. While not too strong in direct combat, she's still far stronger than the average person, and can easily snipe someone out, from the shadows... However, she has, unfortunately, come into contact with officers in some cases...and had to eliminate them, in self defense. She understands the heroes she looks up to wouldn't approve of such shady and violent methods...but she doesn't know what else to do, in a world that would berate a child for wanting to do good. As for a hint at her true identity, an anonymous once said that they 'wanted to be a hero, too.')

Cheri (OC: A used to be idol from a popular idol group that went viral for a few years, before the crowd ultimately lost interest in them, and was fired to be replaced with a fresh, new group of idols. Is currently desperately working side jobs to garner enough money to pay off the debt she owes to the idol company, and is NOT happy about it, in the slightest. She's generally regarded as grumpy, and hard to socialize with.)

Kana Shinozaki (OC: Previously, she was an orphan who got sent from house to house, as she never quite managed to CLICK with any family... That would one day change, as she managed to apply for the chance at joining the idol business with a group of rising idols... She did not account for the their complete incapability of actually working together, though, which led to their inevitable firing, and immense debt... Not wanting to go back to the loop of going from home to home, she stuck with the group at their shared living space. She doesn't tend to say much, usually preferring to express herself through the art she makes, in her notebook. While she has no singing or dancing skills, her art skills are exceptional, and pays off her debt by doing online commissions.)

Janice OC: Another member of the failed idol group, who got into the idol business out of simply finding it fun, after watching some videos on it. She is kind...perhaps a little too kind. She's kind to the point of being a pushover, and as a result, never ends up being able to halt the chaos of the group in any way. If there is any consolation though, she can somehow bypass the supernatural force and remember Jane's name.)

Kamai (OC: An extremely cheery girl who leans VERY heavily into the cute and stylish side of idol culture, having dyed her hair to be super colorful, wearing incredibly flashy and bright outfits (much to the dismay of the group's budget), and has the energy and positivity of a golden retriever. As for what her gimmick is...whenever she starts to sing, everything around her explodes. Literally. Up until now, she's been serving her sentence for accidentally blowing up the president, and only recently got out because a supervillain blew up the prison, and she ended up walking out in the chaos. She's effectively a wanted criminal, but the actual police force and and all of security conveniently forgot about her due to outside circumstances, so...she's now living it up at the mansion.)

[nathanbatemanfucker]

In Plain Sight, Ch 2: A Hoard of Cupids

summary: nathan’s much more insightful about you than he used to be. it’s making you uneasy…and curious.

pairing: nathan bateman x f!reader

contents: 18+/NSFW/MINORS DNI, enemies to lovers (sorta), boss/employee dynamics, pining, nathan trying to be nice but he’s so abrasive lol, pining, mentions of caretaking/sick family members, mentions of emotionally abusive parents, masturbation (m), sub!nathan if you squint

wc: 2,745

AN: back at it with part twoooo. thank you all for the kind words and support on this fic, i didn’t expect it to get the response it did but i’m really excited to give y’all the rest. fair warning that these chapters seem to be getting longer as i write on. happy reading!

in plain sight masterlist | part 3 | part 4 | part 5

Nathan gives you space— at first. When you return the next day at 7 a.m. sharp he’s nowhere to be found. Not in the living room or in the kitchen, not on his patio boxing. You assume he’s in his room, probably toying with one of his bots in a distasteful manner. The idea makes you shudder. But is it not easier to come to work with every task he could want you to do placed on his desk, no fuss?

You don’t like Nathan Bateman. He’s a pompous asshole, a know it all, a man who thinks only about his own desires. When he apologized— or rather attempted to— yesterday you thought that maybe you slipped and fallen down the stairs on your way out. By his standards, it was a top tier apology. You’d never once heard him apologize to anyone. On your drive home you had wondered if he had ever apologized in his life. The thought made you giggle, and then you’d turned up the music and forgotten about him until right now.

Sat at your desk, an ungodly stack of things to do. There’s a note sat on top. It’s simple and straightforward, lacking emotion but somehow still has your stomach flipping. It reads:

In meetings all day— let me know if you need anything. Go home early today.

Mr. Bateman

P.S. I’ll spruce up my apologizing skills.

You regard the note cautiously, raising your brow at it before you let yourself laugh a little. Was this a joke or had Nathan Bateman taken some criticism to heart (which is rumored to not exist). You fold the note up, and for some reason slip it into your bag.

The last thing that’s on your mind is that Nathan’s watching you. He sits in the dark at his monitors, leaning in closely. His eyes trace your figure on the screens intensely, watching as you read and read and read. He expects no reaction from you beside maybe throwing it in the trash. But then you laugh, and he watches you store it for safekeeping. A piece of him will go home with you. Nathan never thought he’d be jealous of a piece of paper, not when he seems to have the entire world at his fingertips.

—

He returns to his normal behavior after a week— partially because he thinks you settled in. And partially because…well he begrudgingly can admit to himself, in the comfort of his own mind, that he misses you. When you get to work the next Monday he’s sat on an observation table, examining what looks like a deconstructed robot brain.

You aren’t even able to open your mouth and say good morning before he’s talking to you.

“Are you sleeping okay?” He asks, his eyes appraising you intensely.

You stop in your tracks, regarding him as always, your expression pieced into that calm expression. So you’re back to normal, none of that fire. He expected it but that doesn’t keep him from feeling disappointed.

“Sir?”

“You look really fucking tired. Exhausted,” He tacts on for good measure.

Your spine goes completely rigid, your grip on your bag tightening. You are tired. So very tired. You work shitty hours for incredible money and then go home to take care of your younger sisters and mother. Dealing with Nathan is for them. For your sisters’ schooling, so they won’t feel left out when the other kids have the newest gadget or shoes. For your mother’s ever piling medical bills. It’s important that you don’t jeopardize something so precious.

“Is it affecting my work? Have I done something wrong?” You ask him softly.

“No— that’s not why I’m—“ He stutters before closing his mouth and starting anew. You’ve never seen him like this. If you didn’t know better, you’d think he was flustered. But knowing Nathan, he’s just never asked a single employee he’s ever had if they’re alright. “I’m your boss, I worry about your well being. That’s what good bosses do.”

“Are you sure?” You ask evenly, eyes still trained on him.

“Am I—“ He stops, eyes wide for a fraction of a second before he bites away his smile. “Are you fucking with me?”

If he was looking at you so intentionally he would miss the way your mouth twitches. “I’m fine, Mr. Bateman. I have a lot of responsibilities, not only here but out there as well.”

“Out there?”

“The real world. Thank you for the concern, sir.”

For the second time, you’ve rendered Nathan speechless. That night he lays in bed thinking of you, like many nights prior. He turns your words over in his head time and time again. The real world. Do you think he doesn’t know what it’s like out there? He wonders how much research you’d done for the job. Nathan used his brain to get here, climbing and climbing. He hadn’t been born into this but his personality lent itself to such a conclusion. Nathan knows what his real world used to look like, though one day he hopes that any of his contraptions can help him forget. He wonders what your real world looks like.

There’s no ring on your finger, but you could have a partner. Kids? Another job? He pays you well enough for that to not be necessary. Maybe you volunteer at a puppy shelter. He could picture it. You in something other than your stuffy work clothes, a smile on your face as you drown in puppy breath and slobber.

He groans, rolling over in bed to plant his face deeply in the pillow. Maybe he can smother himself out of this. Thinking about puppies? He might as well be one, he’s practically lovesick if you have him thinking like this. When would he get used to feeling this way? His usual cynical thoughts feel like they’re being pillaged by a hoard of cupids.

He doesn’t even know if you feel the same. Being better for you is one thing, but what if there’s no payoff? What if he changes for you and you leave him high and dry? Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. He feels the back of his neck sweating and sits up.

Nathan’s been down this road before, it’s brought him his fortune and an insane work ethic. It’s all brought him sorrow he’ll never be able to escape. Being with his parents feels like a fever dream sometimes and other times he feels 6 again, like he’s drowning in their expectations and insults, trying to measure up. He’d given up eventually, once he realized that they would never love him the way parents should. Why try to do anything anyone wanted but himself when they could still treat him poorly for it?

He’s the way he is from his own indoctrination. He doesn’t know where he would be if he hadn’t convinced himself that he was the only person that truly matters.

But, now there’s you. You, who looks so soft, you that scratches an itch he didn’t even realize he had. You, that he wants to goad and prod and poke until you unleash all of yourself on him. He closes his eyes and lays back, envisioning you right here with him. He feels insane, his heart— his mind, his dick— are taking him through a whirlwind of emotions right now.

He palms himself through his boxers, eyes squeezing shut tighter than before as he tries to narrate. He pictures you in one of his white shirts, it’s fabric nearly see-through with the way it clings to your breasts. He grasps his length through his boxers letting out a heaving sigh. Fuck he wishes this was you.

If there’s anything that Nathan knows how to do its not only being smartest but the most imaginative. He’s been daydreaming for as long as he can remember. Universes with better outcomes— having worth, or loving parents or anyone for that matter. Anyone to be on his side. He imagined codes and synthetic body parts that live and breathe in front of him. He can surely imagine you, breathy and horny in his bed, jerking him off. He doesn’t care if it’s fucked up, or inappropriate. He wants you, and maybe this is the only way he can have you. He slides his boxers down, finally done teasing himself. Licking his palm, he grabs his cock, starts stroking and succumbs to the thought of you.

Another moan bubbles out of his throat. He can see your nipples through his shirt when you straddle him like this. Your thighs are soft against his own and he would reach for your free hand, thread his fingers through your own. Your hands are smaller than his, smooth and supple. And god, you’re stroking him just the way he likes it, the soft wet sound making pleasure shoot through his groin.

You’d overstimulate him wouldn’t you? With that clever mouth barely pulling up a grin, eyes full of fire as you stroke him past the point of pleasure. Would you make him watch? See the way your hands would grow slick and shiny with his cum as you kept pumping and pumping, pushing him to another release. Covering you both in him, until you’re too needy to keep toying with him. Nathan cums just as he’s imagining the feeling of you dragging your bare pussy against his sensitive cock. He whines and keens off the bed, the high singing in his veins. He swears he can almost imagine the way you would moan.

His eyes open, the spell broken. He’s alone, covered in his own spend, chest heaving like he just ran a 10k. He avoids his reflection when he walks into the bathroom to clean up. His loneliness spikes again and he heads to the kitchen, reaching for the first bottle he can find.

—

“You’re late,” He says stiffly, crossing his arms as he watches you cross the space to sit at your desk.

The day after he’d gotten off thinking of you he’d had the slightest difficulty looking at you. It quickly faded, he was too greedy. Too needy, if he’s being honest. He can’t get enough, he doesn’t know if he could ever say it but you’re the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

You’re openly frazzled; your shirt isn’t tucked in, your hair is a little more frizzy than usual and you look as tired as ever. He regrets his biting tone immediately.

Even as you explain you’re moving, setting your to-go mug on the desk, fetching your calendar, booting up your computer. “I know, I’m sorry, Mr. Bateman. My sisters were less than cooperative this morning.”

Nathan turns completely away from the bins he’s been searching through, raising a brow at you in surprise, “Your sisters?”

“Yes— one is 7 the other is 14. The little made getting out of the house…difficult,” You murmur distractedly, eyes trained on your screen.

“Isn’t that your parents’ fucking job?”

His question snaps you back to the present— you hadn’t shared nearly as much as you could’ve. But you’d gone into this job wanting to be nameless and faceless. Memorable only for the quality of the work you do.

You shake your head, daring a quick glance in his direction that you immediately regret when your eyes meet his.“I realized that I’ve shared far too much about my personal life. I should work, Mr. Bateman.”

Nathan immediately understands your deflecting. How many times has he been asked by reporters and interviewers where his family is? Enough times that he’s had his publicist strike the topic from the acceptable lists. That was about all he was good for anyway, Nathan says what he wants when he wants.

He goes back to the task at hand— though now with you here he doesn’t quite remember what that was. A part…some sort of part that he needed. Wires? Screws? A metal plate? He sighs in frustration and leaves without another word.

Your gaze is on the door as soon as it shuts, making sure he’s gone. The tears that you’ve been biting back fall and you bury your face in your hands. Your youngest sister had begged and pleaded for you to stay warm in bed with her this morning. With your mother so sick, you’ve practically raised her yourself these last few years. It makes her needy, which you understand. But what she doesn’t understand is how delicate the balance you found in caring for your entire family is. Middle sister lacks just as much understanding, with heaps of attitude. She doesn’t want to snuggle with you or with younger sister. Mediating this entire situation is what made you late.

It feels like you’re cracking under the pressure but that isn’t an option, is it? As if the universe wants to make it clear, your computer chimes. It’s Nathan, asking you to come to his office.

—

He’d meant to go clear his head in his office and come back to get whatever part he was in need of. But, when he sat in his chair he was met with the sight of you hunched over your desk, presumably crying by the way your shoulders jerked every once and a while.

He’s pinging you before he can think better of it. He watches you read his message. You’re such an anomaly— you sit up immediately, reaching for some tissues and cleaning yourself up as if nothing happened. You even check yourself in the reflection of your computer, fidgeting with your hair, tucking in your shirt once you stand. As soon as you start out of the office he turns off his monitors, not one to be caught snooping around though it’s right and was clear in the contract. Maybe you’ve forgotten. Perhaps you don’t think your anything worth watching…Nathan would like to change that assumption.

“You pinged me, sir?”

How would he play this? He couldn’t admit that he just watched you cry.

“Trying my hand at this apologizing shit again. I— Nathan Bateman— am sorry for being insensitive. Like I said last time, I don’t know your life or you. Alright, how was that?”

“I would say a solid, 5/10, which is a 50% improvement.”

“Fuck me, you’re a tough crowd. What am I docked for? You know I’m all about perfection.”

“There was a lack of originality. And you omitted your middle name.”

It takes everything in Nathan not to giggle. The way the words come out of your mouth are so funny… or maybe he’s just obsessed. It could be both. “My middle name is classified information.”

“Does Wikipedia know that?” You ask, tilting your head in that uncanny way.

Nathan can’t hold in his laugh this time, running a hand over his beard, “You’re funnier than you look.”

Your mouth twitches, and you give him the smallest nod, “Thank you, sir. Is that all?”

He pretends to think about it. “This apology is feeling pretty one-sided to me.”

“I accept your apology, Mr. Bateman, thank you.”

“Accept something else,” He proposes, going out on a limb. Suddenly your stare is too intense, the room is too hot and small. What the fuck is he doing?

“What’s that?” You ask, as soft and sweet as ever.

“Dinner. Tomorrow,” He says simply.

“With you?”

Nathan ignores the twinge in his heart— your tone barely changed. If he wasn’t with you every single day, studying you, he wouldn’t even have noticed.

“I can invite the droids if you want. They’ll just stare at us while we eat.”

Your hand tightens around your planner. Dinner with Nathan…choosing to be around him? It seemed like as of late he was trying to be…more palatable. This could be an act of good faith. But, you have your sisters and mother to think about. You’ve given her nurse enough overtime hours in the last few weeks.

“Without getting too personal, I don’t think I’ll be able to swing it sir, I have to get home to my sisters as soon as possible.”

Yes, your family, that you never talk about. He could accommodate, what’s he the fucking boss for if he can’t?

“We’ll do it early.”

You sway a little as you think about this— that’s new, he thinks to himself, filing that information away for later.

“You’ve already got me apologizing, I can’t add saying please to the list of acceptable behaviors. I’ll lose my fucking edge.”

“How early?”

“3:30.”

“Alright, then, sir.”

nathan taglist: @missdictatorme, @hon3yboy, @runa-falls, @campingwiththecharmings, @toracainz, @steven-grants-world, @clemdango04, @jdbxws, @crispysublimecupcake, @sub-aro, @faretheeoscar, @cupidysm, @whentheskyispinkandabitblue , @nova-ivy541, @sparkypantelones, @veritable-trash, @mangoslushcrush, @kotaropuppy

[realizations-inc-units]

TOUYA TODOROKI: User Guide and Manual

Congratulations! You have purchased your very own limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI unit.

Please see our care guide, user activation manual and your model’s unique specification pamphlet to become acquainted with your newest companion! It is highly advised that you read all materials to avoid any incidents.

Note: Realizations Inc. expressly disclaims any and all liability for damages, injuries, or death arising from the improper use, handling, or mismanagement of your unit following delivery and activation. Upon receipt and activation of your unit, the customer assumes full responsibility for their personal safety and well-being. Use of your unit constitutes acknowledgment and acceptance of these terms.

Technical Specifications:

Civilian Name: Touya Todoroki Villain Name: Dabi Place of Manufacture: Kyoto, Japan Height: 5’9” / 176cm Weight: 153lbs / 69kg Birthday: January 18th Hair Color: Black, Final War and Child edition have white hair Eye Color: Turquoise Unique Features: Intense decorative scarring on just under half of its body, Final War models feature more. Physical and Mental Age: 23 Language Options: Default Japanese, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese

Character Profile:

TOUYA TODOROKI is one of the main villains from the My Hero Academia franchise and universe. He is the estranged son of ENJI TODOROKI and eldest brother to one of My Hero Academia’s main hero characters SHOUTO TODOROKI. He is a member of the League of Villains, led by TOMURA SHIGARAKI. Although his views of society line up with the League of Villains’ agenda, his ultimate goal is to defeat his father in battle, either killing him or die trying.

Despite its initial standoffish behavior, your new TOUYA TODOROKI unit will make for a wonderful platonic or romantic companion once you gain its trust and respect. Other options for your unit include taking it on as an employee. Given that your TOUYA TODOROKI unit can control the temperature output of its flames, TOUYA TODOROKI units make great blacksmiths, jewelers and glassblowers.

Making sure that your villain unit has productive hobbies and outlets is a fantastic way to manage its destructive tendencies, so don’t hesitate to sign it up for groups and classes as long as you know for sure that there won't be any rival units attending. Lucky for you, TOUYA TODOROKI unit’s don’t have many non-Todoroki family based triggers or outward anger issues.

TOUYA TODOROKI’S quirk, Blue Flame, allows the base unit to utilize its patented battery core to produce blue fire from integrated emission ports located in the palms of its hands using Realization Inc.’s exclusive Thermal Emission System, a high-output, directed-plasma combustion array. Flames produced by this system exceed 2,000 degrees celsius, capable of rapid material breakdown and ignition upon contact. Flame emission duration is capped at seven (7) continuous seconds before a mandatory cool down sequence will initiate.

Warning: Excessive Blue Flame generation can place extreme strain on the unit’s chassis. Owners are advised to monitor TOUYA TODOROKI’S extremities for signs of thermal warping, joint degradation, or hairline fractures near emission points.

Programming:

Your TOUYA TODOROKI unit comes with the following base traits:

Aloof. This unit is cool as a cucumber. It retains a certain distance from the majority of people, although with a little effort and patience, this unit can and will form bonds. Confident. Assertive, if not potentially arrogant, this unit is sure in itself and its abilities. It will be more likely to act on choices its made without needing its owners approval or support. Cautious. Careful and aware of the risks of forming attachments, this unit will avoid trusting others. This trait can be overwritten with time and effort to allow trust to be built between owner and unit. Sarcastic. Don’t take this unit’s sass to heart. Most units with this trait use its sarcasm as a defense mechanism. It will soften up once you get to know it or show that you disapprove of how it speaks to you. Sadistic. This unit derives pleasure from inflicting pain, both emotional and physical. Some units with this trait express it more intensely than others. If you find that your unit is too sadistic for your comfort, please call our help line located at the back of the manual and we will refund your unit for full store credit.

WARNING: Villain units are not guaranteed to respond predictably to emotional stimuli. Realizations Inc. is not liable for any damages caused by your units behavior responses.

Care and Maintenance:

Hygiene: All Realizations Inc. units are self-reliant and prefer to clean and care for itself. Do not worry about bathing your unit because it will do so privately and effectively. All Realizations Inc units are as waterproof as the average human, meaning that unless submerged for an extended period of time, the internal electronics and battery core will remain unaffected.

Note: TOUYA TODOROKI does not require any special care for its scarring as even though it is programmed to feel the discomfort and pain related to those kinds of injuries, its scars are merely decorative.

Feeding: As units do not need to eat or drink, please do not try and feed it anything. Attempts to feed or water your unit will likely result in malfunctions requiring technician support. Your unit does have olfactory sensors of varied sensitivity allowing it to “smell” the scent of food. Some units have preferred scents so get to know it and discover its preferences!

Rest: Charging your unit is easy! Thanks to Realizations Inc.’s exclusive and state-of-the-art battery core, your unit rarely has to charge itself! Approximately once a month (more or less depending on quirk usage) your unit will tell you it needs to charge. It will often wait until your usual bedtime to request this, as to not disrupt its owner’s plans. Simply open the nape panel and insert a plugged in Cascade charging cable. Your unit will find a comfortable position and shut down until either fully charged, or its name is called by its owner. Time till full charge takes approximately eight (8) hours for base models and six (6) hours for more advanced models.

Emergency: If your unit is for any reason becoming unruly or dangerous, there is a code you can activate that will place it into an emergency shut down state. Simply state your name, the unit’s designation and then the words “emergency shut down”. This will immediately place your unit into a dormant state, using very little battery and completely unaware of what is going on around it.

Social: The social needs of your unit depend on the version and model of the character you purchased. Some can go days without interaction, others only hours.

Limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI is a loner, preferring to keep to itself for the most part. However, like all units, it requires socialization both as a basic psychological need and for proper owner/unit bonding. TOUYA TODOROKI likes to tease and taunt its fellow units and owner, enjoying handing out playful, and not so playful, insults. It likes being teased back, but won't tolerate direct offence or slander.

We at Realizations Inc. programmed our TOUYA TODOROKI units to be nearly identical to its fictional counterpart. Limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI is based on the canonical version of the character from between the “Meta Liberation Army” and the early “Paranormal Liberation” arcs. This TOUYA TODOROKI unit remains aloof and carefree, but holds a certain urgency to its actions. It has more intense rivalries with certain adult heroic units and the other Todoroki members, but not as bad as the Final War model, now available for preorder. Keep it away from rivals and building a partnership should be easier!

Accessories:

ONE (1) activation outfit TWO (2) civilian outfits, ONE (1) casual, ONE (1) semi-formal ONE (1) villain costume ONE (1) packet of replacement staples and piercings TWO (2) Realizations Inc. patented Cascade charging cables ONE (1) user manual

Relationships With Other Units:

The Todoroki’s: Only ENJI TODOROKI and SHOUTO TODOROKI at the time of this unit’s development have been created and distributed by Realizations Inc. When exposed to the sight, sound or presence of either unit, your TOUYA TODOROKI unit will react with brutal callousness, usually in the form of hurtful, taunting words. However, if for any reason the owner feels a real fight is about to break out, initiate emergency shut down protocols. As a reminder: Realizations Inc. is not liable for any damages, injuries or death as a result of mismanagement of your new unit.

The League of Villains: Your TOUYA TODOROKI unit gets along for the most part with any unit designated a member of The League of Villains. TOUYA TODOROKI doesn’t necessarily respect those units, nor would it consider the League a priority, but if asked it will go along with their requests and various shenanigans. TOMURA SHIGARAKI and TOUYA TODOROKI tolerate each other, despite the two unit’s mutual lack of respect. TOUYA TODOROKI doesn’t have a very high opinion of HIMIKO TOGA, but the two of them get along well enough due to their mutual respect and admiration of CHIZOME AKAGURO’S principles. More League of Villains members are to be developed in the future. Please check Realizations Inc.’s website for future information of the unit’s relationships as they are released.

Heroes: Your TOUYA TODOROKI unit will treat younger heroic units as nothing to concern itself with, as long as said units keep away from it. Adult heroic units are a different story. The usually cautious and stand-offish unit likes to taunt and antagonize adult heroes, sometimes even coming to fisticuffs or worse with them if not restrained by its owner. Prominent relationships between TOUYA TODOROKI and other adult heroes include but are not limited to: YAGI TOSHINORI, despite being born to overtake All Might as number one, TOUYA TODOROKI doesn’t seem to hold any interest in the hero, beyond a slight lingering resentment. KEIGO TAKAMI and TOUYA TODOROKI greatly distrust and dislike each other. Neither KEIGO TAKAMI nor TOUYA TODOROKI care if the other lives or dies, and will only tolerate each other’s presence if the two units share a trusted owner. More Heroes are to be developed in the future. Please check Realizations Inc.’s website for future information of the unit’s relationships as they are released.

First meetings between units can be a fun and exciting moment for your household or between owners, however, without taking precautions some meetings can end in disaster. Please note that Realization Inc.’s unit models are physically tough and not easily harmed, however if your unit ends up damaged, please call our help line and we will send replacement parts or take your unit in to be inspected by our in-house technicians.

Removal From Packaging:

Lay down the received box that your unit comes in, horizontal on the floor. Remove the lid of the box and any packing materials covering your new unit. At the base of the “skull”, you should feel a small etching just below the hairline. Using a coin, flat head screwdriver or a long finger nail, pry open the panel. Inside you will see three things: a large charging port, compatible with Realizations Inc.’s patented Cascade charging cable, a small pinhole for factory reset and a flat circular button, about the size of a dime.

Press and hold the button for 5 seconds before replacing the panel. It should snap back into place. Your new unit’s eyes should open. Do not be alarmed that the eyes are blank! Your unit’s pupils and irises will appear once you say the activation code and introduce yourself.

Once the blank eyes of your unit glow white, state your full name before reading out loud the fourteen digit code on the back of the manual. Be patient while your unit boots up, and stand back. Certain models of units wake up suddenly and violently.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: My TOUYA TODOROKI unit is trying to kill me! I didn’t do anything, what do I do? A: One of TOUYA TODOROKI’S primary traits is Sadistic, some models accidentally are programmed with a higher value than others. If nothing you are doing is calming it down, engage emergency shut down protocols and call our help line. Our on call technicians can walk you through troubleshooting steps or connect you with our reprocessing team.

Q: My TOUYA TODOROKI unit’s staples are falling out, how do I replace them? A: Your TOUYA TODOROKI unit should have arrived with extra replacement staples in its box. Please visit our website for replacement instructions. If the extras were not packed with your unit, or you have accidentally thrown them out or misplaced them, call our help line and we will send you replacements for a nominal fee.

Troubleshooting:

Problem: You have received a different TOUYA TODOROKI unit than the one you ordered. ex. Child TOUYA TODOROKI, Basic Model TOUYA TODOROKI or Final War TOUYA TODOROKI. Solution: Please contact our help line and we will replace your incorrect unit with a new, correct version. Store credit is also an available option.

Problem: Your TOUYA TODOROKI unit is acting significantly out of character. Solution: Looks like we might have accidentally sent you someone else’s order! For a certain price, Realizations Inc. offers a limited number of completely customizable OOC models per year. Some have only the slightest resemblance to the base model, while others are nearly identical minus one or two core differences. Please contact our help line and we will assist you in rectifying this error.

With proper care you will find a fine companion in your limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI unit. All units have a lifetime warranty, insurance of up to 10,000 USD or international equivalent and 24/7 on call employees ready to assist you and any of your concerns. Good luck and have fun!

If you ordered a variation of Basic TOUYA TODOROKI, please see your unit model’s distinct specifications on the insert included in this pamphlet.

This limited edition model includes the following exclusive features:

Quirk Adjacent Technology:

Limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI’S body is resistant to frigid temperatures. Its programming will not detect any discomfort when exposed to the cold. It will experience a normal amount of discomfort when exposed to exaggerated heat, including but not limited to usage of its quirk.

Advanced Blue Flame, limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI’S Quirk, allows full-body flame channeling through the unit’s micro-conductive mesh woven synthetic musculature. This upgrade enables spontaneous flame projection from any exposed surface of the unit’s body. Temperature thresholds for Advanced Blue Flame may potentially reach 2,500 celsius and higher, with unstable plasma arcs recorded during states of emotional distress. Limited edition flame emission duration is capped at twelve (12) continuous seconds before a mandatory cool down sequence will initiate.

Note: This advanced quirk may cause significant damage to the unit is used frequently and at high levels, including overheating, cortical lag, and long-term structural compromise. Please call Realizations Inc.’s help line for assistance ordering and assembling replacement parts. If damage is too advanced to fix at the owners home, we will collect your unit for technician repairs at one of our local licensed facilities.

Advanced Programming:

Your limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI unit comes with the advanced ability to unlock and adapt new programming traits as you interact with it! Unlocking each trait requires certain interactions with your unit.

Violent. This trait is more likely to activate if you, its owner, or the unit itself is in danger or feels disrespected. Statistically the most frequently unlocked advanced trait for limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI. Masochistic. There is a random chance when aggressively interacting with your unit that it will develop the Masochistic trait. With this trait unlocked, your unit will enjoy and, depending on the unit’s confidence, seek out physical and emotional pain slash punishment from you, its owner. Loyal. Your unit will become as loyal as a dog to you, its owner. When this trait unlocks, your unit will refuse to obey conflicting orders from anyone but you, even corporate overrides. This trait has a chance of developing naturally over time. Obsessive. When unlocked, your unit will become fixated on you, its owner. Be prepared to be followed around and stared at. The more unpredictable the unit, the more likely it is that it will manifest this trait as its sub-trait Possessive instead. This is the second rarest trait to unlock and the activation requirements are unknown. Note: If the Obsessive trait-line is active alongside Loyal, this trait may unlock in a yet to be patched form our technicians have designated Devoted, which has been shown to result in severe attachment issues. Remorseful. The rarest unlockable trait for any villain unit. Requires frequent and repeated attempts to achieve. TIP: Having one villain unit with the Remorseful trait in the same household as a villain unit without it will make the likeliness of it activating in the second unit higher.

Romance and Intercourse:

How exciting! Your limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI features our new and improved fourth generation Passion programming and Interfacing equipment.

Romance: TOUYA TODOROKI is outwardly a laid back and inattentive companion, not typically showing the level of care or affection one would expect from such a fiery and intense individual. This however, is mostly an act put on to protect itself emotionally from other’s judgment. When one on one, or if wanting to show off, TOUYA TODOROKI is a passionately licentious lover who doesn’t hold back from showing its appreciation in any way you allow it to…

Sex: This model of TOUYA TODOROKI allows you to either fully customize your personal preferences or allow the unit to naturally develop its taste in sexual matters over time.

This includes but is not limited to; its sexuality, dominance levels, kinks, preferred position(s) and more.

Limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI comes equipped with a water based, self lubricating five point nine (5.9) inch / fifteen (15) centimeter long silicon phallus with a three point five (3.5) inch / nine (9) centimeter girth when erect. Its testicles are twenty six (26) cubic centimeters large. All units ejaculate hypoallergenic, glycerin-free faux semen in quantities of five (5) milliliters per climax. Its refractory period is customizable, simply tell the unit how long it should take to “recover” between sessions of intimacy.

Like all Realizations Inc. units compatible with intercourse, your TOUYA TODOROKI unit is completely hairless downstairs unless special ordered. Additionally the phallus is by default hyper-realistic, but for those who wish otherwise, you can special order one with a more toy like design. The more experimental folks can special order a phallus with niobium piercings, the layout of which is customizable and exclusive to the adult limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI unit line!

Limited edition TOUYA TODOROKI is programmed with versatile oral knowledge with no gag reflex or necessity to breathe, although if asked it can pretend to. Its lips, tongue, oral cavity, throat and anus are made of a proprietary TPE blend that mimics a soft buccal mucosa-like membrane. Your TOUYA TODOROKI unit will clean itself after each completed sexual encounter, so feel free to get as messy as you want.

Thank you for ordering Realizations Inc. limited edition! Good luck and have fun!

This is the start of a series I'm working on for a separate fanfiction based off of the ancient FFN Hetalia fic trope "Units" created by user 0ptimuspenguin (Warning, their stories feature casual, juvenile, 2010 Hetalia fandom typical rape jokes that they have since kind of apologized for. Check out their profile at your own discretion). Oh yeah, 0ptimuspenguin has given everyone blanket permission to use their idea of Unit or Manualfics on their profile page.

I've dearly missed this trope and the subsequent fanfictions inspired by it, so after googling and Tumblr searching to see if it's been done before in this fandom, I decided to put pen to paper and write it myself. This time without the uhhhh rape jokes. In fact all sexual references in these manuals will be exceptionally anti-horny, clinical in nature and will only apply to adult units.

I'm planning on doing a lot more of these for my various favorite characters, and especially those that will be featured in my future story, but eventually want to do one for each major character oh the series (hoo boy!). If you want me to try to prioritize a certain MHA character's unit manual just shoot me an ask and the Realization Inc. technicians will get to working on it!

Edited: 4/28/25

[lizbethborden]

Something I've thought about in my industry (coffee) and adjacent quick service type businesses is the way roles are "deprofessionalized" and undervalued in a way that creates a feedback loop of underinvested, unprofessional employees.

These businesses are businesses like any other and have legal health codes, product standards, inventory, financial considerations, and so on, and employees are typically expected to not only uphold standards but also monitor and be mindful of the "back end" issues like labor cost, inventory waste, and overhead, given that these various administrative concerns directly impact their day-to-day. How much info a given staff receives is obviously dependent on management or ownership, but regardless, these are all things that they are held responsible for (I used to get yelled at in one place if I dropped disposable cups or cutlery, because that was my boss' money, and I was expected not to throw them out--that's inventory cost as well as a health code violation lol). (I also had to take a ServSafe manager's course on this man's behalf because he was too stupid to pass it. Btw.)

But these are hourly positions that are chronically underpaid, even in HCOL areas like mine, and in shops that aren't regulated by unions or Fair Work Week laws, schedules are inconsistent and hours are never guaranteed--those are "deprofessionalizing" characteristics that make these roles into what are culturally considered temporary and unimportant stepping-stones (despite the percentage of adults, including older adults, working in them) and discourage workers from taking them seriously as jobs or careers. An hourly worker with an inconsistent paycheck, few benefits, no social value, and top-down pressure to take on both physical and mental workloads simply has no incentive to do their job well or consider it really important. Obviously you do get people with passion for their industry or who are interested in moving up or who just have work ethic, but they are relatively rare.

Until conditions in the industry change to make these jobs worth having, the model will always rely on turning and burning crops of hourly workers, and on those rare workers who, through ambition or ethic or lack of other options, will pick up the slack from their disincentivized coworkers. In food service this often means that the immigrant workers in the back carry the day (the hardest working people at aforementioned boss' place were the undocumented people who needed to be paid in cash and so had few other job prospects).

Meanwhile: people are OVERWHELMINGLY dependent on all these types of businesses and there is a high level of demand for products as well as, well, a high level of being freaking demanding from the customers. This is why people working at Starbucks frequently burn out hard: not only is the physical labor of working there grueling, the mental workload and the behavior of the customers (in an environment that is almost totally permissive to their whims) are just impossible.

There is a massive disinterest in easing the burden on workers as well as a disinterest in worker education and development; moreover workers are frequently leery of actually learning about the business in a substantial way because that means more work for the same money--whereas if they were actually valued, they would receive commensurate compensation for their education and skills, and wouldn't have to be scared of gaining knowledge and expertise. If we lived in a perfect world, the big industry names would respond to this and change to improve working conditions and benefits for workers, which obviously is not something that will happen.

I have also noticed that management and supervisory roles in this industry are often "deprofessionalized" as well. This is nothing new as far as, for example, salaried kitchen roles go: your hours are consistent, but consistent in that they're 50-60 hours a week, with no overtime, and frequently severely underpaid. I often see management roles offering salaries that would not let you qualify for a studio apartment, meanwhile you are expected to show up at 4 AM to open and stay until 10 to close (as often happens to Starbucks managers, which I saw many a time). You take on the increased mental burdens while also working physically in the role (well, depending on environment--sorry to keep using Sbux as an example but managers there are expected to spend 40h on the floor and to carve out admin time in slow periods, and that has been the expectation I've seen in many comparable quick service roles). Obviously there are many managers who slack--and why wouldn't they? They are not treated as or considered professionals; they are underpaid and undervalued and may not have much better benefits than their staff. Moreover their staff is similarly disincentivized both by their manager and by the terms of their employment set by ownership.

no conclusion here. Just some things I have noticed. I try to operate my own shops in an affirming and encouraging way that values the staff, and that's all I can do.