#and i want to know whoever hires me will have a bitch with bad attitude but i love learning

[pacientia]

okay @ GOD I am definitely failing this LSAT thing, I still need a job if not in 60 days my thing is invalid, and I wake up with anxiety on Mondays- let’s keep this adulting thing under wraps bc I am certain I will die de un ataque :)

P.D. I am such a negative person and that is the worst! I need to put effort! I can do this! Imma have to do daily affirmations!

[writersmorgue]

I'm in a nightmare but I didn't fall asleep

TW: noncon, vague description of said noncon, kidnapping, non-consensual oral sex

17+ to interact

“That’s TWO out of three sports festivals you lost, Shouto. I’m beyond disappointed in you.” Endeavor’s booming voice leaves nothing to the imagination as it echoes across the barren stadium halls.

Well, almost barren.

Sero cringes from his hiding place behind the nearest wall, making eye contact with Bakugo next to him whose brows are furrowed in concentration.

“You know what, I’m fucking done. You’re going to give me one thing, and it’s going to be the future number one hero. A hero who will beat All Might, something you will NEVER do. My faith in you has been destroyed. I’ll tell them to retrieve you on Friday.”

Shouto makes a choked noise, and the two boys look at each other in confusion.

“Father please, you don’t mean-”

“I absolutely do. I gave you three chances Shouto! You’ve wasted my time and money, and now you’re going to be used like the useless bitch you are. Only serving me one purpose.”

“Please I can do better! Please don’t take me I promise I’ll make it worth your resources- AGH!” There’s a strangled shout as Endeavor grabs his daughter’s long ponytail in his flaming fist, charring the white hair

“You will do no such thing, and don’t even try escaping, I’ll hire more men if I have to. You will be useful.” There’s a scraping sound as Shouto drags her feet as she’s pulled away.

A shrill scream lets out, quickly cut off as Endeavor’s scorching palm slams over his daughter’s mouth with a sharp shut up.

Sero turns to Bakugo, gulping, as he raises a pointed thumb towards the exiting duo, “Uh, that didn’t sound good.”

Bakugo purses his lips, “No, it did not.”

-

Endeavor shoves Shouto into the van head first and she tumbles in, careful to mind the several men surrounding her as she skids to a stop.

“I don’t care how you go about this, you’re all suitable donors. Get her pregnant in a timely manner. Do what you want with her when the baby is born.”

Shouto whimpers as the door is slammed shut, locking her in complete darkness with a group of unfamiliar voices as they discuss who gets to fuck her first.

Her right ankle is grabbed as the van begins to move, the first man growls as she tries to pull away, and his grip tightens.

She screams, hoping someone will hear her. Her mouth burns from her father’s hand.

“NO!!! LET GO! I DON’T WANT IT!” The sound of zippers undoing around her head is what finally sets her off.

Her flame erupts, burning half of her competition shirt, save for her specially made sports bra, and singes the second-place medal strap around her neck. The disc clanks on the metal floor and the men around her shout with frustration.

“He said we could do what we want-” One of them grunts, patting some embers off of his shirt, “Someone subdue the bitch.”

Her head is slammed down onto the metal floor, and she fades away.

-

“Did-” Sero’s voice cracks, and he doesn’t continue.

“Yup.” Bakugo nods, explosions popping behind him as they sprint towards the speeding van, “He just facilitated the rape of a fucking minor.”

“A MINOR!?” Sero screeches, fumbling his tape as it catches on a tree branch, launching him forward “That’s not just a fucking minor, Katsuki, that’s our fucking FRIEND.”

“SHUT UP!!” Bakugo yells right back, “I’m sort of busy trying to save her ass. Obviously, since that van isn’t a puddle she can’t get out on her own. Probably quirk proof or some shit, knowing the asshole.”

“I’m calling Aizawa.” Sero reaches one hand back to his pocket to get his phone.

Bakugo grunts something that sounds like an affirmation.

A few moments later Aizawa’s gruff voice is asking who the hell is calling him at this hour.

“Aizawa-sensei!!”

“What, Sero.”

“So um, Todoroki! She, um, her dad!!-”

Bakugo growls and snatches the phone, blasting himself with just his left arm. Sero would be impressed if he wasn’t screaming internally as the van takes a sharp left, causing them to slow.

“IcyHot has been kidnapped by her dad.”

“Bakugo, I’m pretty sure that’s called having a child legally, give Sero his pho-”

“No you don’t fucking understand!!” Bakugo shouts, “We watched him drag her away and shove her in a fucking van with a bunch of assholes. He told them to rape her Aizawa. She’s been fucking kidnapped.”

“I- you’re joking.” Aizawa’s slight increase in background noise indicates he’s finally taking action, but the goddamn attitude sets Bakugo the fuck off.

“WHY WOULD I JOKE ABOUT THIS YOU OLD BASTARD!!”

“No, you’re right, sorry. I’m getting Nedzu and sending Midoriya your way.”

“NOT FUCKING DEKU”

“Bakugo Katsuki you will shut up and help your classmate with whoever I send to you or you will be expelled.”

“FUCKIN’- whatever old man. We’re just passing the corner store.”

He shuts the phone off before throwing it carelessly at Sero.

“Bakugo!!” Sero whines as he misses the catch and watches his phone shatter on the pavement.

“Not my fault you can’t catch.” Bakugo retorts, speeding up and launching himself at the van.

Sero follows close behind.

They hear a rhythmic thumping from the inside, Bakugo pales.

“Fuck I think they’re-”

“All the more reason we should blow this fucking van open!” Sero shouts into the wind, shooting tape onto the door handle and yanking the entire thing off.

He pulls the nearest guy out by his leg and throws him onto the median.

“C’mon dipshits!! Quit-”

All fight drains out of him, instead replaced with blinding fury, when he sees Shouto.

Practice uniform already torn to shreds, she’s bleeding profusely from somewhere on her head right onto the cold metal floor of the moving van. Surrounded by several other grown-ass men, all staring at Bakugo like deer in headlights, she’s knocked out cold at their feet.

“You bASTARDS!!” He screeches, storming into the van and grabbing Shouto’s limp body into his arms, thankfully her pants seem to be relatively unharmed, it’s the glistening by her slack mouth that has Katsuki concerned.

The men seem to be too shocked to retaliate, but one of them stands, seeming to prepare some sort of excuse. Sero is faster.

Hanta whips through the vehicle, grabbing both Katsuki and Shouto with his tape, flipping the van onto its side in the process, and carrying all three of them out the other door.

The human scum scatter onto the pavement as the students roll, relatively unharmed, into a parking lot. It’s somewhere in those few seconds when Aizawa arrives, followed by a somewhat feral Midoriya.

“Where’s Shouto,” He picks one of the men up by their collar, throwing him violently back onto the asphalt when he sees his three friends laying in a heap a couple dozen yards away.

“SHOUTO!” He calls, practically teleporting to their location and digging through Katsuki and Sero to reach her.

“Jeez we’re fine too, Deku, thanks for wondering.”

Izuku rolls his eyes, pulling Shouto’s limp body into his arms, “Is she- what happened?”

Sero starts nervously explaining, wringing his hands as he looks back and forth between Shouto’s unconscious form and Izuku’s increasingly rage-filled eyes.

He WHAT?!” Green lightning crackles over his skin, stopped abruptly with a firm hand from Aizawa on his shoulder.

Aizawa walks over and crouches, pulling a swab out of his scarf, “Had Momo make me one,” He grunts at Sero’s confused expression.

He sighs, reaching over to Shouto’s face and swiping it around her lips, “Unfortunately I figured we’d need it.” He tucks it into a plastic bag and stuffs both into his suit pocket.

Katsuki huffs, an unreadable expression fixed on his face as he stares down at the girl.

“They got her pretty good,” He reaches a hand out and tucks a strand of hair over, so Aizawa can get a look at her head injury, “probably tried to put up a fight.”

The teacher nods, “and you heard her father approve this- kidnapping?”

“Yes sir,” Sero speaks up, and Midoriya growls.

“I fuckin’ knew he was bad news,” Katsuki scoffs, “always draggin’ her around and shit. Probably paid for them to fuck her up too. Said he wanted her knocked up.”

“He,” Sero’s voice is strained, “he said she was a disappointment that he was giving up on her. She knows that’s not true- right?”

Aizawa hums, pulling out a bandage to wrap Shouto’s head, “well you’ll just have to show her.”

The boys make eye contact, and Izuku pulls her closer.

“Yeah,” Katsuki agrees, “we will.”

-

Shouto wakes up screaming, clawing at her face as blood begins to seep down her cheeks.

“Todoroki wait!!! Todoroki you’re okay! They’re gone!

Hands pry her bloodied nails away and her energy is sucked away as a kiss is pressed to her cheek.

“You kids I swear, never a dull moment.” Recovery girl tuts.

She passes out again.

-

The next time is much calmer, warm light pools around her eyelids and she cracks them open, reaching a hand up to rub the sleep out of them. But in doing so she jostles the hand that had been resting on her own.

“Todoroki?” Sero whispers, raising his head up slowly, eyes widening, “Todoroki!!”

He lunges forward, encasing Shouto in a bear hug.

“Oi, hands off, she’s in a hospital bed for fuck’s sake tape face.”

“Right,” Sero smiles sheepishly, pulling back, “right sorry.

“It’s okay,” Shouto admits, because she really has no idea why there’s any need to be careful, “I’m fine.”

“Oh?” Katsuki’s raised eyebrows suggest she said something wrong, “You call a nasty concussion and almost clawing your own eyes out fucking fine? Guess we have different definitions of the word.”

Shouto frowns, “I don’t remember that last bit.”

Her head hurts slightly, but she feels like she would remember something like that even through a concussion.

She tracks her memory back to before, but she can’t quite seem to remember-

The van, the men, the smell, the sound as he shoved his-

“Shouto?”

She snaps her head up, “Huh?”

“Sorry, you were quiet for a bit,” Midoriya rests a hand on her blanketed leg and rubs it back and forth, “god nervous. You alright?”

They’re all staring at her now.

“Does he know I’m here?”

All three sets of eyes darken, but it’s Midoriya who speaks up.

“He doesn’t matter. Aizawa has custody of you as of now. Your pitiful excuse for a sperm donor has been taken into police custody for aiding in the rape and kidnapping of a minor.”

Shouto gets a distant look in her eye, “Oh” is all she says.

“They didn’t get that far,” Sero gestures to her bandaged torso, where one of the men had tried to take off her uniform pants.

“But they still-” She begins, suddenly nauseous.

“Yeah, they did. And that bastard has been taken into custody just like the rest of em’, he’s not getting out for awhile, especially since the DNA samples matched.” Bakugo informs her.

“Oh,” Shouto hums absently, “there were samples.”

“Shouto, you with us?” Midroriya squeezes her ankle gently, but she doesn’t respond, “Everything’s gonna be alright now. You can rest.”

And she does.

[stories-to-tell-by-lantern-light]

Who Am I Really?

(Eyeless Jack X Reader)

Iron was all he could taste, as he hugged his arms close to his chest. The white snow that speckled the forest floor contrasted greatly with his newly acquired ash-grey skin. He could feel blood crusting under his fingernails, he could feel the sting of the cold snow underneath his bare feet as he walked. Whatever they did to him, he was no longer human that much was clear, his feet turned more animal-like and had ripped through his old shoes. If he was being honest with himself he knew that from the moment he awoke and could still see that he was no longer human.

Jack Nichols shivered as he caressed the hollow sockets where his eyes should’ve been. They were dripping with the black tar that was mercilessly poured in there by Jenny and her cult.

‘That absolute fucking bitch.’ He thought, and an animal-like snarl tore through his throat. He could feel the stretching and popping of his jaw as he ground his teeth together. Killing her and her stupid friends was therapeutic to him, remembering the taste of their blood as it filled his mouth when he tore out their throats made him feel euphoric. Pausing his steps only for a brief moment he let those memories of eating their flesh and organs consume him, it only served to make his mouth water.

What was wrong with him? Why did that memory, which happened only hours ago, make him so god damn hungry? What exactly had they done to him, as much as he tried not to dwell on that thought the hunger that ate away at him even after the slaughter was almost too much to handle. All Jack wanted when he woke up this morning was to go on a date with a cute girl, get a little drunk, and maybe get lucky (though realistically that was just wishful thinking). The true college experience one might say, even for a med student. Especially with a schedule as busy as his...that was as busy as his. He knew he should’ve just stuck to focusing on school and studying his brain out, god why did he have to listen to his friends as they urged him on the date.

‘What’s the worst that can happen?’

This. This was clearly the worst possible outcome.

What he really couldn’t believe, however, was that he allowed one of the cultists to get a hit on him, and a bad one at that. Turning his head to glance down at the tear in his thigh, it was a deep gash that desperately needed to get medical attention and fast. The only problem the former medical student faced was that whatever was pouring out of his leg wasn’t blood. It was a deep black ooze that stained the white snow that littered the forest floor. In fact, Jack wasn’t even sure if normal medical supplies would even heal his wound. Jack grit his teeth trudging onwards into the forest, a faint buzzing reverberated around in his skull like flies buzzing around a corpse that he couldn’t seem to shake.

He placed his hand against a tree the world spinning around him. Whatever the blood-like substance that was pouring out of his leg was, he was losing it fast. Jack heard the crunching of snow in front of him and a small gasp. It took most of his strength but he picked his head up and snarled. Jack bared his teeth and tried to make himself look as dangerous as possible, he felt like a wild animal that was cornered by the hunter. There was a girl in front of him, she had (h/l) (h/c) hair that was stuffed under a furry winter hat. She took a few steps back, her brown snow boots making giant footprints in her wake. He could hear the blood flowing through this girl’s veins, as her anxiety levels seemed to spike. The anxiety caused her heartbeat to quicken drastically, hearing the sound only served to increase Jack’s seemingly ceaseless hunger. Jack tried to take another step towards her, flexing the sharp nails on his hands but collapsed under his own weight, his fucking leg. He really couldn’t catch a break, could he?

“What are you?” The girl’s voice held a slight quiver to it and Jack could feel her sharp eyes burning holes into his body. He watched as she hesitantly took a step closer, her (f/c) parka standing out against the muted colors of the forest.

“I don’t know.” He responded with a raspy breath, she smelled divine but he had no strength to attack. Something in his bones told him that he was beyond human, something so much more, a god perhaps? What a silly thought that he couldn’t shake away. Through his quickly blurring vision, he swore he could make out a pair of fancy dress shoes a little bit behind the girl. He saw the girl drop to her knees and cover her ears, his vision went black and the sound of static accompanied the darkness.

---

Jack was expecting to be dead. He expected to be accompanied by beautiful white light, maybe an angel or something. However, it caught him very off guard when he suddenly awoke in a rather plush bed. He threw the plaid covers off himself unceremoniously and moved to swing his legs over the side of the bed. The baby god never got far because he let out a howl of pain as a sharp sensation traveled up his thigh. Shit right, his entire upper thigh was practically ripped open. He forgot all about that, glancing down at his wound he noticed it was wrapped tightly in medical bandages and he assumed it was stitched up underneath the dressings. Whoever fixed the wound seemed to have done at least a semi-decent job, at least he wasn’t dead. Sniffing the air with his newly acquired sense of smell he could make out the distinct smell of humans and...was that lavender?

Jack felt his stomach growl and he doubled over clutching it. They smelled delicious. He could practically hear their organs singing out to him, rip open the human, steal us, devour us.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by the door opening, in the middle of the doorway stood the exact girl he’d seen in the forest. Immediately going on the defense he bared his teeth opening his jaw as wide as he could, he heard the popping sound of his jaw as it extended, he felt something swirl around in his mouth. He felt a chill run down his spine at the unwelcomed sensation.

Did he have more than one tongue?

Shaking the thought away Jack didn’t move to attack, he was never the type. He would always rather listen to rationality before getting his hands dirty, the only issue was he was starving and the girl would absolutely make a fine meal.

“Don’t try demon.” The girl scoffed eyeing Jack up and down, if he was still his old college self he would’ve gotten flustered at the gesture. A girl showing him attention? Unheard of back them. However, after Jenny, he was almost positive he’d never let that happen again. His sockets looked down at what the girl held in her hands, it was a plate, a plate that had kidneys on top of it. He was only mildly aware of the fact that he was drooling all over himself. “Oh gross.” She scrunched up her nose placing the organs on the bottom of the bed.

Without hesitation, Jack attacked the cold meat shoving it in his mouth with vigor. He knew blood was all over his face and hands but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Jack knew the girl’s calculated eyes were watching his every move, even so, he couldn’t help but let out a groan of pleasure as the food slid down his throat. Once the meal was finished and Jack was satisfied he finally felt he had enough strength to start asking questions.

“Who are you?” He rasped, whipping his mouth with the back of what was left of his sleeve.

“Really? You’re asking ME that question.”

“I’m not a fan of your attitude.”

“I’m not a fan of you bleeding out on my property.”

Jack growled low and guttural.

“Don’t make me hurt you.” The girl had the audacity to laugh in his face was she not aware of what he was capable of now?

“Nice try but I’m not scared of you. You’re not allowed to hurt me as long as you’re under my care.” She pointed to herself with her thumb, puffing out her chest a little however he could hear her pulse increase just the slightest bit.

Jack only scowled.

“What pray tell is exactly stopping me?” He raised an eyebrow watching carefully as the girl lifted up her sleeve to her sweater. Scared into her wrist was a symbol that Jack had never seen before in his life, but for some unknown reason, he felt dread wash over him. Carved into her wrist was an O with an X slashed through it. “What’s that supposed to prove exactly? That you’re into weird tattoos?”

The (h/c)-ette let out a loud sigh like this conversation was boring her. Oh he’s sorry it’s not his fault he was turned into a fucking organ-eating monster by a cult at his local college! If he still had his eyes they would be rolling so far back into his skull, yet he still waited for the girl to explain.

“My name is (y/n), I’m a medical proxy under The Operator. Currently one of the only ones he has left because we keep getting killed off by rogue killers.” The girl, (y/n), clicked her tongue in clear distaste at the mention of said killers. “Since I’m under The Operator it means if you kill me, he’ll kill you, that’s the deal Jacky boy.” That put him on high alert.

“How the fuck do you know my name?”

“You’re certainly full of questions for someone just waking up out of a coma. If you must know The Operator gave me a brief rundown of your file after we found you in the woods.” (Y/n) crossed her arms over her chest “It’s your lucky day because you just got hired to work for him.” She gave him a round of applause, but it sounded more mocking than serious and he only grew more confused.

“This doesn't make any sense to me. I hope you’re aware.”

“I’m sure it isn’t. It’ll all be explained in due time. For now, all you have to focus on is getting better so you can begin your training. Lucky for you, I’m your registered nurse and caregiver, so enjoy your stay at castle de la (Y/n). Trust me when I say you should value your time here while you still have it.” A thousand more questions ran through Jack’s mind and his little question and answer session with his self-proclaimed nurse didn’t really help.

“So you’re a med student then?” She made a noise of affirmation picking at the strings of her sweater.

“Was a med student Jack, that pretty much came to a screeching halt after I was scouted by the boss man. That, however,” He watched as (Y/n) put a hand to her lips signaling him to stop asking questions, “Is a story for another day. The first order of business now that you’ve eaten is a shower. Cause no offense but you smell like dried blood, and coming from me that’s saying something cause I smell blood all the time.”

Jack still didn’t trust this stranger fully and it got under his skin that she seemed to know everything about him and he knew next to nothing about her. Yet, a shower did seem nice at this moment, he glanced down at his hands and noticed his nails were caked with dry blood. He could only imagine what every other part of his body looked like, (y/n) clearly didn’t bother cleaning him up aside from dressing his wounds.

“A shower sounds good.” Jack nodded in confirmation and the girl gave a relieved smile.

“Oh thank God you agreed, it took me a week of convincing to get Jeff to go take his first shower.” Jack decided it was best not to ask who Jeff was deciding that that was a can of worms he shouldn’t open just yet. She reached out to touch him and he immediately recoiled back almost biting her handoff, the smile that appeared disappeared into a frown.

“Don’t touch me.” Memories of Jenny’s friends holding him down while he pleaded for his life flashed across his mind. The blade coming closer and closer to Jack’s crystal blue eyes before making contact and-

“Alright, cannibal boy snap out of it. Can’t have you succumbing to blood lust just yet. You don’t wanna injure yourself more.” (Y/n) snapped her fingers next to his ears and he couldn’t help but feel a little grateful that she snapped him out of his stupor. “I was going to help you to the bathroom because you really shouldn’t put pressure on your leg. Is that okay?”

Jack felt himself nodding reluctantly. She was right, he really shouldn’t put stress on his leg or it could cause more harm than good. Especially since he didn’t know the extent of the injury yet, for all he knew he was lucky they didn’t hit the femoral artery. Her arms went around his waist as the god and the human girl hobbled to the bathroom together. On the short walk there Jack was trying to get a feel of the house, in case he needed to make a grand escape in the future.

“I’ll put some fresh clothes outside the door for you, call for me when you’re done so I can help you back to the bedroom.” (Y/n) explained as Jack hobbled into the bathroom, he didn’t feel the need to respond to her as he shut the door in her face. He heard a faint click of a tongue from the other side of the door and listened to the girls retreating footsteps.

Jack leaned against the sink putting most of his weight on his hands. The sink creaked at the newfound pressure and Jack wasn’t sure it was because it was an old house or because he had newfound strength. He glanced up at the mirror, it was weird somewhat seeing when you had absolutely no eyes. It was the first time since the incident he got a good look at himself, he looked about as good as he felt.

Terrible.

His auburn hair curled around his now pointed ears and was caked in mud and dirt. He was almost grateful that (y/n) didn’t touch him aside from the wound while he was unconscious, Jack couldn’t imagine what he might’ve done if he felt anyone go near his face. Speaking of his face, he opened his mouth and saw his teeth were shaved into razor-sharp fangs. His stomach turned as he remembered the exact reason why they were like that, organs. They were like that so he could eat organs. The thought wasn’t nearly as nauseating as it should’ve been.

His skin was unnatural and sickly grey color, as he lifted up his shirt the color seemed to spread all the way down his body. He glanced down at his hands and saw his nails were long and black, almost like those girls who wore acrylics, except he was sure their nails couldn’t rip into people's chests with a single swipe. Continuing down his body he lifted up one of his padded feet, he was correct in his assumption from earlier. They were much more animal-like, he wondered if they made him faster, what purpose could they possibly serve other than that?

Gently letting his footfall back down on the floor he shuffled to the shower and turned it on, the water sprayed out in a burst and he patiently waited for it to heat up. Eventually, he was able to step inside, not before knocking his head not only against the curtain rod but also on the showerhead.

“Fuck!” He snarled glaring down at the showerhead. Jack did a little double-take, okay he was also super tall, at least he got one blessing out of whatever the fuck was happening. Jack had to kneel on the ground in order to let the water roll down his body, with a deep breath he enjoyed the warm water pelting his skin. He fumbled around with the shampoo trying to figure out how to open it without popping a hole in the container. As the lid popped open he was hit with the calming scent of lavender.

~~~

“We’ll send someone to come back and check on him in about a month give or take, see how he’s adjusting and healing.” A figure spoke from the kitchen shaking a cigarette into an ashtray, as (y/n) stood across from him. The man ran a hand through his messy brown hair “Then we’ll reassess him, give him a test and see if he’s fit to come to the mansion.” Meanwhile, the girl heaved a sigh of her own and leaned against the cool tiles of her kitchen wall.

“So it’s gonna be my responsibility to explain everything that’s happening to him? Isn’t that supposed to be your job Tim?” (y/n) raised an eyebrow “You realize he’s, like, almost seven feet tall, has no eyes and eats organs right? I’m not even sure WHAT he is.” She muttered, “The rundown I got really only gave me his background and his clear trauma.”

Tim clicked his tongue like the girl in front of him was wasting his time, it made her ball up her fists subconsciously.

God, the main proxies really got on her fucking nerves sometimes.

“You won’t have to worry about that, The Operator will handle all of that throughout the coming weeks. No need to worry. You also don’t need to worry about harvesting organs for him, and hopefully, once he’s healed he’ll work on doing that himself. But for now, someone on a kill close by will be dropping off organs.” Tim’s nose scrunched up a little and the (h/c)-nette’s did the same, she normally prided herself on her strong stomach, but this was a lot even for her. “The only thing you have to do is monitor his eating, see how much he will need on a weekly basis, and obviously keep him alive.”

“Obviously.” They both seemed to have a mutual understanding about that at least, she fucks up and he dies they’re both in deep shit with The Operator. Tim reached to the side where his porcelain mask sat against the countertop.

“Don’t fuck it up.” He pointed to her before slipping out the door leaving the women alone with an organ-eating monster. (Y/n) mimicked ‘don’t fuck it up' in a nasal voice before kicking off the wall and heading back in the direction of her guest's room, she pulled out a pair of crutches from the closet and rested them by the bedside. She gently scratched at the faintly buzzing symbol on her wrist, this is going to be a long month.

[b1ksh88p]

Guts and Roses

Plot: Jesse hired you to clean up crime scenes. This time you were stuck cleaning up boob implants and stomach bile after a gruesome murder. All was well, you never crossed paths with him and didn’t mind it. That is when he accidentally forgot something important lodged into the girls torso leading to a unexpected visit from the man himself. (This was supposed to be practice for suspense soooo if it’s ass I apologize)

Warnings: Gore/Cursing/Implied Necro (nothing happens lmao)

It started with good intentions. You were a forensic anthropologist/medical examiner for the Florida PD, truly the best of the best. To bad all that knowledge and expertise was wasted. The whole system was corrupt. From dirty cops to crook politicians there was no such thing as reform. The entire system was fucked. Sometimes you’d get bodies without organs despite them not being organ donors. So many people came through and cases piled up. You felt more like a mortician than a forensic anthropologist. It made you feel horrible for the victims but after a few years you just let it pass you.

To make some extra cash on the side you put your services up for hire on the deep web. At first you were sure you were gonna get caught by the FBI but it seemed like a lot of sickos in Florida needed someone to clean their mess. They’d do their business, call you in, you’d take pictures for some blackmail, then do your job. You carefully instructed that they leave the cash in a plastic bag. The price varied on a few things. The floors material, the square feet, severity of stains, chemical cleaning cost, etc. were all factored into the final price. She made a good 5 grand off one easy clean up. A pretty good gig although certainly nausea inducing for the faint of heart.

This Jesse guy was no different than the rest of them. A rich weirdo with mommy issues who had a knack for snuff films. Nothing new. Sometimes you thought about watching one of the films just to see what all the talk was about. You got what was left of some bodies but you don’t really get the full picture from a crime scene or a cold corpse. There was a morbid curiosity. Ever since you’ve taken jobs for him you’ve wanted to see it. See him in action. You wondered if he got off to it. If he had a ritual, what his motives were. Along with playing music you could think about the crazed Chromeskull to help past the time. What a lame name. Surely the guy wasn’t that scary with a stupid name like that.

After scrubbing the blood splatter with your own secret mix you let it sit for a bit and get to work on the floor. First you dispose of all the guts, chunks of flesh, and silicon implants into a acid mix. Then you move onto mopping up the blood and other bodily fluids released by the body. She was completely torn apart. Her rib cage exposed as if the Jesse guy was looking for something inside her. Admittedly you were kinda grossed out. You much rather worked for the Collector. At least he had a bit of interesting presentation. This Chromeskull guy was just a fucking monster. The girl must’ve done something to piss him off if he got this mad.

After staring you get out some plastic wrap and cover the bathroom in it. After that you start cutting her limbs one by one and placing them in your special acid mix. One score was the bitches jewelry. Sick looks like Chromefuck left a lil tip. If this shit was real you could totally pawn it after her case turned cold.

You were just about to decapitate her when you heard the doorknob jiggle. You always locked the doors behind you, it was a safety precaution. You didn’t want to have to clean up another body for free. At first you just ignored it. Maybe the person would go away when they figured out no one was here. Suddenly a fury of hard knocks rammed upon the thin door. You get up. Whoever was trying to get inside sure as hell weren’t the friendly type. You think to grab your gun but your dumbass left it on the counter outside. All you had was a bone saw, and by the sound of it you were gonna need a tank.

After a serious of loud thumps the rickety chain snapped sealing your fate. You huddle into the bathtub and slide the shower curtain to conceal you. Whoever he was he was strong enough to open the door but oddly stealthy enough to muffle his steps because after the chain snapped and the door flung open you didn’t hear shit. For a moment you thought you were in the clear, that whatever they wanted they got and left. You start to slowly stand up before a sound makes your knees buckle in place. The same pounding from before was right outside the door. You freeze. Your entire body wanted to flee but there was nowhere to go. The door flings open like it was a piece of paper. On the other side of the curtain you heard shallow breaths. Whoever it was was pissed. For a second there was silence. It felt like you had held your breath for what seemed like a eternity before you heard the grossest sounds ever. It was the sound of flesh being strained and bothered with. Meat and congealed bodily fluids churning around echoed off the walls. You wanted to gag. Was he...was he fucking it?

All of a sudden the sounds came to a abrupt stop. You watch in pure horror as he tears the shower curtain asunder. A gloved hand grabs at your crinkly clean up suit and you instinctively swipe at it with your bone saw. Lucky for him in your fear ridden haze you miss. “Gah! What the fuck do you want?!?” You shriek pointing the blade at the mask. Definitely believed the hype around this guy he was fucking terrifying. For a moment he just stared at you, possibly thinking if he should kill you for the stunt you just pulled. To your surprise he recoiled and calmly began to sign.

‘I thought you’d be finished. It’s been 3 hours’

Before you can stop yourself you scoff. “I don’t rush you when you’re making pulled pork.” When you noticed what you said you felt the color leave your body. Everyone always said your attitude would one day get the best of you. Now you were about to become the star of a snuff film lucky you. Instead of slamming your face into the tiles until it resembled strawberry purée his shoulders raised up and down...he was laughing.

‘Touché, well doll I’m looking for something. The stupid cunt swallowed it.’

Did you even want to know the gruesome details? Yes, but you didn’t need this sicko thinking you admired him. You were merely intrigued. Anyone would be even just a little. Or at least that’s what you told yourself. “Want me to...help?” You treaded carefully. You didn’t need him getting angry that a woman wanted to help. Some men saw it as pity and got all pissy and acted like they were Alpha males. He shrugs. It seemed like metal head didn’t mind a lady getting down and dirty. Good cuz it was your fucking job.

‘Knock yourself out Princess.’

You step out from the safety of the tub and dig into the mush of the torso. You can feel him looming over you. Cold eyes boring into your skin as you searched in silence. It hit you.

“What am I looking for exactly?” You ask turning to him.

‘A sim card, the stupid bitch swallowed it thinking I’d spare her or something.’

“Clearly her plan didn’t work out.” You let out a wry laugh. That wasn’t funny. Oh god why were you comfortable saying weird shit around this guy. You kept focus on finding the little black card. It was lodged in a piece of her small intestine that he had missed during his rampage. When you turn to announce your findings he’s crouched down in front of you. “I...I got your sim c-card...” you try and mask the fear in your voice but failed. Why was he so close? How’d he keep moving so silently? You tense up as he slowly signs to you.

‘I wanna see you without the mask.’

Your heart sunk but a stupid smile was on your face. Is that all? The sicko just wanted to see her face? But why? You’d only worked a few jobs for him. This was the first time you’d met face to face. Was he joking?

‘But not now. I’ll let you get back to work.’ He stood and dusted himself off. When he outstretched a gloved hand you thought he was just waiting for you to hand over his precious SIM card so you did just that. With like zero effort he hoisted you up to your feet. He hands you a card and takes his property before leaving you alone in the penthouse. You read the card and furrow your brow. On the back there was a message. When you read it aloud it made your skin crawl.

“I’m always watching you”

What the hell have you gotten yourself into???

[graceandtheidiotsquad]

Love is Dead and We Killed her (Five Nights AU) (TW: mentions of murder, death, language-your basic FNAF stuff, pretty much. )

Walking the streets with a switchblade with the best pressed suit I own Got away with it all, blood boiling to the bone October 13th, 1989. This was it. No turning back. After all the time he had spent in Jail, and in therapy-it was all coming down to this night. No one else was going to die in this damned restaurant, not on his watch. Who says my business is yours when you're holding the door No way you can escape tonight, it's the last time I'm calling you a wh*re Vincent Reynolds took a breath, getting into his car and driving to the place he knew he was probably never gonna be rid of-Freddy Fazbear's pizza. The place that had taken so much from him, and in return, given him a lifetime of misery, hatred, and scorn from the public eye. He turned on the radio, fiddling with the knobs and dials until the familiar sound of Freddie Mercury's vocals hit him. Of all the things he could count on to get him through the night, at least he still had Queen. No running back, no changing the past No fixing what's been shattered No words exchanged, no time rearrange No fixing what's been shattered He didn't know what had caused this whole mess in the first place, other than his own actions. For all he knew, the robots were just glitching, like Scott had told him. What he did know was that they needed to be stopped. They had already taken the lives of many a night-watchman, including his own older brother, Seth-Vincent himself had already, even if by way of a schizophrenic breakdown-induced-accident, taken six innocent little lives. No one else would have to die because of his mistake. At least, that's what he kept telling himself as he drove closer to the place of his nightmares. he was going to make sure those damned hunks of metal would NEVER see the light of day again, let alone kill anyone. Did you know I'm a killer? There's no stopping me tonight Underneath the blackness of the night sky Did you know I'm a killer? There's no chance for you tonight You won't escape this b*tch named Karma Catch up with you, she'll set it right "Alright, Vinnie-boy." he muttered to himself, getting out of the car and opening the trunk. "Time to end this nightmare. For everyone." He rifled around in the trunk-it was a wee bit messy, considering Seth wasn't around anymore to remind him to clean it-but he eventually managed to find what he was looking for-a fire axe, Its steel blade reflecting the face of a weary young man looking for closure in the light of whatever amount of the moon that wasn't being covered by rather ominous storm clouds. He gripped it tightly, swinging it around a few times to get a good feel for it, then turned to the doors.                                                                               "Yippie-ki-yay, motherf*ckers." Now I've been sick of this for weeks Got bloodlust in my head Normally, Vincent would have been all for rushing in without a plan, but this time was different-one little slip could end with him dead, and that's the last thing he needed right now. Thankfully, his time working the dayshift had taught him about the safe rooms-where they were, and what could-and more importantly, couldn't, get into or see them. For weeks, he'd planned it all out-get to the restaurant between nights where they would have to hire a new guard (and believe me when I say, Freddy's has gone through a lot of security guards.), lure out the animatronics one by one, then hide in the safe room until they passed by-he could hopefully get the jump on them, and end this for good. At my wit's end, it's payback time For everything you did He took his position in the safe room, looking around-this sure brought back a lot of memories..He smiled sadly, seeing the worn, faded yellow rabbit suit sitting in the corner-It had once belonged to one of the original owners of the place, William Afton-and when he vanished, Vincent himself had been the one to take up the mantle. "Hey buddy.." Vincent knelt by it, almost as if talking to an old friend. "It's me, Vinnie..I know, i haven't been here in a long, long time-...sorry about that.." He sighed, running a hand along the still semi-fuzzy surface of suit. "I'm sorry you had to see...that.." The memories of the incident, despite being several years ago, were still fresh in his mind. Don't you dare try to run away Now look at those who lost their power With my new attitude, it's time for revenge, honey It was just supposed to be a birthday party. It was somewhere in the summer of 1986 when Vincent had lead a small group of kids to the back-they were the kids that not a lot of folks had payed much attention to, while the birthday boy had his fun. ..He could relate, somewhat. He knew he wasn't supposed to take customers back there, but, well-screw the rules, he was making a bunch of outcast kids feel better. At least, that had been the plan. But of course, things seldom ever go as planned in the Fazbear Franchise. Three years prior, Vincent had been on the dayshift to witness what would become the 'Bite of '83'-and then William, the man he had once seen as a second father, had dissapeared for some reason. Not to mention the face Vincent was currently trying to hide the fact he had been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. (and back in the 80's, people did NOT take that sort of thing well-trust me, i've done my research) And today was the day it would alllll come crashing down. He had been seeing the damn golden bear in the corners of his eyes for months on end now-he had caught glimpses of it ever since the bite, and he was convinced it was planning to hurt someone again-so when it had appeared as clear as day, behind one of the kids and ready to pounce, he knew what he had to do. No running back, no changing the past No fixing what's been shattered He wasn't about to let another child get hurt because of this thing. Not today. No words exchanged, no time rearrange No fixing what's been shattered After that fateful decision to fight, he couldn't exactly remember much-he remembered hearing the kids screaming-he THOUGHT they were screaming because of the bear- He was so, so wrong.. When the screaming stopped, he looked around-... ....it hadn't been the bear he had slashed. the cold, hard reality was much, much worse.. Back in the present, Vincent was peeking out from the entrance of the safe room-he had managed to take down Freddy, Bonnie, and Chica so far-now all that was left was Foxy. ...Admittedly, he felt kind of bad he was about to destroy his best friend's childhood hero. "Sorry Scotty..I-I'll find a way to make it up to ya, somehow-" Did you know I'm a killer? There's no stopping me tonight Underneath the blackness of the night sky Soon enough, the fox came close-he could have sworn, in the corner of his eye, he saw a dark-purple specter of the same bear he had feared for so long-but he merely shook it off as a hallucination induced by stress. "HEY F*CKSY! COME AND GET ME!" he charged out, singing the axe wildly Did you know I'm a killer? There's no chance for you tonight You won't escape this bitch named Karma Catch up with you, she'll set it right..! "I..I did it.." he looked down at the piles of robotic parts on the floor. "It's over..I-it's finally over...!" He couldn't be quite sure if he was laughing or crying-he didn't care right now. All he cared about was that Scott, and whoever else would come after him, would be safe. No one else would die here... '..murderer...' "..huh?" Vincent looked around-he could have sworn he heard something. 'YOU DID THIS!' In a flash, Vincent saw the one thing he never thought he'd see again-six ghostly silhouettes of faces he knew all too well Fazbear entertainment had lied to him-to all of them. There were no glitches, no problems in the suits or the code.                             The damn things were HAUNTED. I see it all in front of me The demon that lies in between I'll settle the score You'll be no more...!!! "Wh-HOW!?" Vincent stumbled back, in a panic-how could he have not known this!? was this some kind of sick joke!? "H-How are you here!?" 'SAVE US' 'YOU DID THIS-' "Stop it..g-GET OUT OF MY HEAD-" He shook, memories flooding back at a rate too fast for him to register-he was about to have a mental breakdown if this didn't stop.. Soon enough, he found himself running into the safe room, thinking that maybe they couldn't follow him. Boy, was he wrong. Did you know I'm a killer? There's no stopping me tonight Underneath the blackness of the night sky "N-No...no, stay back..! I-i-" he backed towards the wall-he was trapped. "What do you want from me!? I went to jail, i did my time, I lost everything-What more hell do you want me to go through!?" he snapped at them, trying to get some kind of answer-but for now, they remained silent-unanswering, possibly just to torture him more.  And that was when he looked back at the suit. Spring Bonnie. ..Springlocks were always highly unstable.. "...You want...you want karma...justice..." he murmured to himself, heading to the suit. "You want me to die the same way you did..." he took a breath, beginning the slow process of putting the suit on. "I guess i had better oblige, then-" Did you know I'm a killer? There's no chance for you tonight "See!?" he turned to face them, now wearing the deathtrap he had once thought was his safe place. "Check it out-! IM PUTTING ON ONE LAST SHOW, AND ITS ALL FOR YOU!" he shouted, maniac laughter beginning to fill the air. "SO COME ON! GIMMIE YOUR BEST SHOT-I'M READY TO FACE HELL ONE MORE TIME!!!" and that's when it happened. The sickening snap of the springlocks going off-the pain of becoming what would amount to a human pin-cushion was almost unbearable-but as he slowly bled out, in his final moments, he saw the spirits begin to vanish, one by one-at least the children were at peace now... the last thing he saw before he blacked out was the dark-purple bear...shifting to the familiar form of someone in a nightgaurd's uniform-the very same Seth had used to wear...and he was smiling almost proudly, almost as if to say 'Rest well, little brother..' You won't escape this bitch named Karma Catch up with you, she'll set it right

(And here we have the origins of one Vincent Reynolds-my take on the Purple man.)

[shesawriter39049]

|CHALLENGE| M| 1|

SMUT/ANGST/HUMOR-ISH

**SUGAR DADDY AU WITH A SLIGHT TWIST***

CEO HOSEOK X MATCHMAKER OC

Hoseoks’s kinda an entitled little shit

The OC is sassy AF...his mother would hate her..so she’s perfect!

He’s also smooth,and fine AF and he knows it...but so is she!

There’s not much of an age difference there both in there mid-late 20’s

Hoseok is first-generation Korean Amerian BTW New York-born and raised 

Jimin is Hoseok’s assistant so he will pop in and out of this

5K

ABOUT- Hoseok is currently CEO of “Diamond Supply” a company within “Carbon Black INC“ which is a multi BILLION dollar company founded by Hoseok’s family and four others! The current CEO is Hoshi, which is not Hoseok’s father he’s actually the VP. Hoshi,doesn't have children and he needs to step down from his position. So over the next 6 months, there will be almost like an election period if you will, and the13 board members within the company will be tracking all four of the candidate's business and social stats with a fine-tooth comb. Prior to voting the next heir into his position as CEO of “Carbon Black Inc”!

That’s where Y/N comes in ...Hoseok has everything working in his favor expect the” Imagine” or at least the type that would appease there more “traditional” investors and board members. Y/N who works as a recruiter for Y.G.K. was initially hired to find him a “Sugar Baby” ! Someone to stand by his side and look pretty for the next 6 months to give him a more.”Settled down” image….Initially, that was the plan…..

WARNINGS: There’s just a lot of teasing and sexual tension in this one, light daddy kink reference, Hoseok is a whole dom,  it’s so clear there fucking next chapter lol…. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jimins Face alone already had you ready to barge in there before you wasted anymore of you clients time! Damn near throwing the phone at you , not even bothering to say hello in the process! You still couldn’t understand what the issue was, honestly, this was one of the simplest charts you’ve ever had, besides how obnoxiously specific the physical traits were ! It was 80% superficial, personality wise they didn't ask for much!  Just Someone who could take direction well,non-confrontational...submissive is actually what they noted ! Essentially a woman to say yes sir with no questions asked ,damn near wanting a puppet you could feed a script to! That’s exactly who she was ...basically a pretty cockatoo so why isn't this working?!

Yes, yes  you were eavesdropping on your clients “Interview”, and you had no shame,actually, this was Jimin’s idea he was just as annoyed by this shit as you where, the two of you had been going back and forth for damn near a month now! Practically besties at this point! Ariel, the girl currently sitting in Hoseok Jung’s office would be your fourth recruit. He’s rejected three! THREE! You've never had this happen...EVER..and you just can’t wrap your head around it, initially you thought he’d be your easiest client to place. He’s younger than most, richer than most..and more importantly finer than most, whoever landed this job wouldn't have to fake a damn thing! Yet, none of your picks worked..the last girl lasted 12 days...if the bitch would've just made it 2 more you would've gotten your bonus! Which meant you could have finally walked out of YSL, with your new crossbody you've been eyeing for the past 2 months! 

But no such luck, so here you were, sitting next to Jimin, eavesdropping praying for the best, honestly, things where going well..for all of, oh I don't know 5 minutes “Did she really just say her favorite Korean dish was sushi!?” Jimin’s eyes cut in your direction and you literally can’t even at this point. Placing your index and middle finger around the bridge of your nose because suddenly you had the worst headache of your life! “Lodrt” 

“Oh fuck meeeee” Whined from your lips in nothing but defeat, she couldn’t handle him if her life depended on it! Hoseok was far too quick, witty,sarcastic, charming from what you could tell, he didn't seem rude but you could tell he was very..intellectual...she wasn’t. She was young, nothing but arm candy, and he was eating her alive! Dropping your head down on the desk with a long sigh..already giving up, the feeling of Jimin’s hand soothing your shoulder as if he already knew...she was done! Back to the drawing board for the fifth time! 

It wasn’t even a full 10 second before you heard his door creek open, insitally shuffling behind a filing cabinet, as you didnt want to hurt her pride by letting her no you came! I mean, technically it’s not her fault, you don’t want your girls to fake something there not, the reason you get such high reviews is one of your main focus..outside of the aesthetic is the genuine compatibility! Clearly she and the other 3 girls didn't have it, but why couldn’t you read that prior to sending them? This is what you got paid to do, and your typically damn good at it, why wasn’t his chart giving you what you needed to properly satisfy him!?

“Fuck it…” Ripped from your throat as you sauntered into his office once you observed her step into the elevator, Jimin didn't even attempt to stop you. A smug smirk tugging on the corner of his lips as he awaited the results..the glint in his eyes indicating he already knew how this would play out! “Hoseok! We need to talk!” Blurted from your lips as you welcomed yourself into his office, as if you’ve known him for years, closing the door behind you, tossing your bag on his chasie. Hoseok didn't speak initially instead he just took his time,taking you in from head to toe, somewhat impressed actually. It’s not every day someone just barges into his office as if they own the place..now the real question is..who the hell are you?!

There was suddenly a look of nothing but pure mischief dancing along Hoseok's face as he observed you, only you were far too focused on your little spiel running through your head at the moment to notice! Swaying in his direction, in your oversized black blazer that you were currently wearing as a dress. Legs on full display as a pair of black strappy Giuseppe heels laced your feet, just enough cleavage peeking between the lapels to have him curious! Big vintage Chanel earrings dangle from your ears as you welcomed yourself to take a seat in front of his desk.The sweet, yet slightly husky scent of your perfume grace his nose, delicately crossing your legs, reclining into your seat.

“I’m sorry, would you prefer I call you Mr.Jung instead?” Cocking your head to the side slightly, the warm somewhat inviting tenor more than evident in our voice as you batted your lashes in his direction!, Still well aware of the power you possess in a situation like this and you weren’t afraid to use it in your favor! Hoseok was intrigued it didn't matter if it was solely physical, you had his undivided attention... and you planned to spend it wisely!��

A low chuckle rumpled in his chest as he took his own set, dusting his fingers through his dark mane of hair, that sat tousled on top of his head. Hoseok, had a slight undercut, which was lined to perfection..the top long enough where if he parted it to the middle you almost wouldn't know how nicely his sides where faded. The outline of his sideburns framed his disgustingly chiseled jaw to the Tee! A couple not so modest diamonds dusted his ears, fanning against his caramelized complexion. A burgundy paisley dress shirt, laid along his skin caressing every muscle on his body perfectly. Lips naturally pouty, forming almost a heart at their peak, sitting at the perfect shade of pink! 

“Hoseok, Mr.Jung is my father...and you are?” Brow quirked in curiosity, the base in his voice catching you off guard, so was his avid eye contact… but you were smoother than that, this wasn’t your first rodeo!

“I’m Y/N...the recruiter for Y.G.K-”

There was a dry scoff that left his lips at that, nothing subtle about the current disposition he had towards you and to be fair you couldn't blame him so you bit your tongue! “ I stopped in to see what the issue was, I've never had to place more than one girl...ever! Yet with you...she was my fourth..I just needed to see for myself where the disconnect was coming from…”

A low hum leaving his lips at that, appearing almost amused as he reclined in his seat  “And? Are you just here to waste more of my time or are you actually going to tell me what the issue is?” Flailing his hand in the air as if he’s already lost all patience for this conversation. The bite more than evident in his voice,clearly Hoseok’s a grade A smartass but again,in this situation you understood. So inteased of getting an attitude you took a deep breath..and answered the question nevertheless.

“Your charts the problem which is essentially my lifeline! I overheard part of the conversation with Ariel and your nothing like your stats, I'm assuming that’s probably your CEO persona... but not the person you are behind closed doors.  Which doesn't help me because my goal is to match you with someone who can handle the real you!” 

The low hum that fell from his lips almost had you hopeful, feeling as if he was starting to ease up a little and actually hear you out. You really where damn good at your job in this instance you were just fed bad information! “Hmm, I'm glad it took all of a month for us to realize this but yes, I agree with the fact that my “chart” as you like to call it was clearly total bullshit, and a waste of my time. You would have done better calling me instead of whatever generic Buzzfeed esque pick your match quiz you had us submit!” 

God he’s really, really, testing every negative ounce of patience running through your body, you could literally feel your jaw twitching “I wouldn’t say the questionnaire is the issue..more so the way it was filled out. It’s meant to be a tool to work in your favor, but you have to make it work” Pausing to lock your eyes with his, yet you knew what you were doing, you gaze was taunting, not angry, playfully challenging him at this point.  “I’m not here to argue, I'm here to sasifty…. so let me fix this.. I know your deal came with a specific deadline, If I’m not mistaken, we still have about a week left, that’s more than enough time for me to find you what you actually need!” 

An almost offensively loud groan left his lips at that, eyes rolling to the back of his head, the blatant disrespect had your nose scrunching into your face, brows furrowed “Excuse me? What do you mean “Mmmm”!?  I told you-” Now you were losing your patience..he’s officially pushed all of 2 of your buttons,and it took everything in you not to call him out of his name at this point! How dare he not take some accountability for the lack of effort he put into his personality chart even when you emphasize how important it is! Is he aware how much of YOUR times he;s wasted? The fact that you could’ve had these girls secured with other clients instead of also wasting there time!? No because all his spoiled ass can think about his himself! 

“Where the hell do you get off getting an attitude with me Y/N? None of this is my fault, I hired you because I didn't want to be involved,I have enough on my plate! We've been through damn near 20 pretty faces and-”

“Four! Hoseok, four!” The base suddenly hit your throat, you were starting to get defensive voice elevating ever so slightly “And again, did we not just establish that you, or your assistant or WHOEVER, screwed up your chart to begin with!? So how the hell-’

“Ohh so now we're playing the blame game? Reallll mature....Great save , oh I fucked up so let me blame my client, great customer service with that one!” The chuckle that left is throat was meant to sound taunting and it really fucking worked!

“It’s not the blame game, I’m just asking for a second chance to actually help you, you spoilt asshole! You just sat here and admitted you chart was total bullshit!” Abruptly rising from your chair, eyes narrowing in his direction, a second away from completely losing your shit  before you caught yourself! Yet, oddly enough so far he didn't even seem remotely fazed by your current disposition! 

“I have every right to be an asshole right now Y/N why the hell should I even trust you?! You knew going into this that ...we had a damn deadline and now we're damn near grazing it with the tip of our tongues…with zero results!” Now it was Hosoeks turn to loose his composure,voice dropping what felt like an entire octave suddenly rough and gritty the more he spoke. Which was actually really sexy but ...we’re going to try and ignore that for the time being! 

“What about that would make me want to even consider giving you another chance? Am I missing the part where you actually did what you were hired to do orrrr??”

“Oh for fucks sake, that's not my damn fault!” Yup, and there it goes again, all your self control ...Unintentionally stomping your foot against the floor as if you were almost having a temper tantrum.

“Awww, is baby whining now? Hmm? Is that your new tactic to try and get your way with me? ” Brow quirked in amusement, God you wanted to smack that smirk off his face. His tone was nothing short of condescending, though you found yourself more pissed at how good “Baby” sounds rolling off his tongue! Regardless of the context

“No I’m bitching which clearly you know a lot about since that’s all you've been doing since I got in here!!!” There was a sudden pause,a long one it was almost nauseating and it had you questioning if you'd finally crossed a line by saying that. You couldn't read the expression on his face right now, and that kinda scared you, so instead of just sitting in silence...

“ I place people based on the information I’m given, clearly we've never met so maybe if you actually put what you actually wanted we wouldn't have this damn issue to begin with! I gave you shallow and passive because that’s what you chart said you wanted.” Everything that radiated off your body was mounds calmer at this point, tone slightly tranquil “Your running out of time, and you need my help, I’m sorry we got off to a rocky start okay? Just... ...let.Me.Do.My.Job…”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to get you to do this entire time, do you think I want to sit here and play “ Are you smarter than a fifth grader” with these recruits? ! I didn't want to deal with this shit!I don't have time to deal with this shit!”  Throwing his solid gold pen across the desk, sliding back in his seat to hastily ruffle his fingers through his hair. To be honest it wasn’t Hoseok’s intentions to keep bantering back and forth like this, he was just stressed! He didn’t want to go this route to begin with so it’s not helping that it’s not flowing smoothly! 

“Great so it’s settled, you give me 48 hours and I'll find you perfect counterpart” Instantly turning around to head for your bag and see yourself out before the two of you were at each other's throats again. 

“No.”

Stopping dead in your tracks, whipping your neck around so fast it almost looked painful!

 “What do you mean no!?” Why, why won’t he just let this go!?

“N.O. You CAN help but in a different way….” Rising from his seat slowly pouring himself a glass of Scotch which he inhaled before it even fully settled at the bottom of the glass. 

Brow arched in annoyance and curiosity 

“Clearly when this is left in your hands I get malibu barbie with an I.Q of negative six...so let me pick….”

“I- fuck, whatever, fine, I’ll send you my roster and-” Fine sure, why not...if that kept him happy and had you signing a contract and hopefully reciving your bouns for landing him a susscessful recruit then sure! Pick all damn day Hoseok! 

“I don't’ need it…”

“What?! I thought you wanted to pick?” 

“  I don’t want your damn roster, if you care so much about redeeming yourself and actually doing what I paid you to do...then give me your best player…”

“That was my plan but you just said you didn't want me to pick.” Geunilly confused at this point, the slight attitude wasn’t even intentional. 

“You can, as long as we're on the same page..”

“Which is what Hoseok? What?” Mentally exhausted was an understatement, if your pride wasn’t in the way you’d just leave...

“You.” The word left his lips so calmly it almost went over your head! 

“If you want the deal then the Y.G.K. recruit I want is you...or theres no deal…I don’t have time for these rookies you keep sending my way”  You screamed everything his mother would hate and he fucking loved it, it also didin’t hurt that you were fun to look at. You had one hell of a backbone, your whitty, determined,sassy ...everything he would've put on his chart if he actually made it himself! You haven’t taken your foot off his throat since you’ve walked in, Hosoek was always one for a good challenge, makes the word “Daddy” sound even better when it rolls off your tongue! 

“What!? I’m not even up for hire, I’m a recruiter Hoseok, not a damn sugar baby! You can’t just snap your fingers and think I’m hired” Arms crossed tight against your chest, though...the idea was far more tempting than you let on  you’ve damn sure missed this. 

“No disrespect, but for you to be a recruiter..that probably means you’d have to have some prior experience right? “ Brow quirked at the implied question that he already knew the answer to “I don’t care how rich someone is...there not just buying Snakeskin Hermes bags for any “average” woman now are they?!”Tone blatantly challenging you as his head flicked over to your bag that set on the leather chaise diagonal from him.

“Trust me baby, it didn't go over my head the way you finessed your way in here like you owned the place , you know what you have working for you and your damn good at using it in your favor! I’m not here to judge, I finesse millions out of people all damn day...weather it be with my skill or my charm, either way, I'm closing deals and that’s all that matters!” I wonder if Hoseok could also tell how weak your knees were getting the more he called you “Baby”! More importantly how caught off guard you were for him calling you out on your shit!

“I’m retired…” Fell from your lips, it was all you could think of your mind was frazzled right now, but it was a true statement, you had not been on that side of the fence in almost 2 years! 

“Yeah and so was Jay Z and yet we got a good 4 albums and a tour after that so what’s your point!?” 

“My point-”

“Name your price.”

“Excuse-” 

“Your.Price.Y/N...Name.it...Tell daddy what you want” Smug, nothing but smug, Hoseok didn't even try to be discreet, he was living for his!

“$150K signing bonus off rip…” Thatta girl! Hosoek had you tripping over yourself for a moment, but the minute he said that he flipped a switch! 

You didin’t even know where that number came from..it was just like your body reacted on autopilot...he may be a total entitled smartass..but your not a damn fool. He’s right you got that bag because you are good at what you do, these sugardaddie’s aren't the only ones who know how to work there magic and get what they want. Your charm was deadly when need be, it takes a special kinda persona to finaness the “system” the way you do...or did I guess I should say! He wanted a price well...there ya go! 

The smirk that danced up his face was just as sexy as it was offensive “Right, so essentially what I just made on this deal I signed off on?” Cocking his head to the side slightly, tongue playing at the corner of his mouth “Done.” He was so nonchalant about this it was almost comical, you would have sworn you asked for a Big Mac or something! Tossing the contract aside as if it didn't mean shit, because it didn't you knew Hoseok's net worth! 

“I- you...what!? ” Did he really just agree that fast!? After you just yelled at him, and cussed him out!? 

Clearly he found your state of shock amusing a gritty chuckle rumbling in his chest as he poured himself another drink. “Don’t act surprised, you know you aren’t used to hearing the word no, which I can appreciate because neither am I!” 

“Why!? Why me, you don’t know shit about me, you could’ve easily had Ariel, or anybody else and none of them would have even cost you a fraction of that price!  Why are you so willing to pay me whatever the hell I want even after I failed to place someone else in the position?”Slowly sauntering over in his direction until you were so damn close to him your eyelashes could almost flutter against each other. “ And I dare you to tell me that your any different than any other man I've dealt with in you position. That your reasoning runs  ....deeper than you wanting to bend me over this damn desk” God, his lips were a problem, his damn jawline was a problem, why the hell did you get this close again!?

He didn’t respond right away, letting his eyes trace over every element on your face, and it took everything in you to pretend you knees weren’t caving in. Once his eyes landed on our lips, licking his in the process. Leaning forward, bracing his weight on the desk, hands resting on either side of you body as he hovered over you. Yet your stance never faltered he was challenging you ...AGAIN and There was no way in hell you’d show how consumed you were! Not when it was your decision to invade his personal space to begin with! The scent from his colgen filling your nose, having to physically remind yourself not to moan….. Hosoek knew exactly what he was doing, lips sitting slightly ajar, teasing you to arch up ever so slightly! You could damn near taste the liquor on his tongue...

“I’m a man, more importantly a man with damn good taste!  So yes, the idea of having you face down ass up sounds, sinfully appealing” Fuck your throat was dry as hell right now…”But no that’s not why I’m offering. Your not blind, clearly I dont need to pay for sex, I’m not some 60 year old man with a saggy ballsack so I’ll be frank with you! The contract has a deadline because so do I…” Now we're finally getting somewhere...

 “This was my families idea, hints all the confusion and my very short fuse, they want someone by my side as I embark on a new... Business venture. Clearly you can tell no one you’ve sent can even remotely stacks up to what I require in a partner, fake or not! I failed drama I don’t care how many cameras are in my face..I don’t act! Either I vibe with someone or I don’t..”

“We haven’t vibed Hoseok, we've argued! Since you think you can do my job better than I can...what's your rationale for pairing us together oh wise one!?” Nothing but sass dripped from your tongue at that...and he fucking loved it. The smirk that dance up hid lips said it all. A low hum fell from his lips as he leaned in, even closer, chest thumping so hard you questioned if he could even hear it. Fuck, you really wanted to grab him by the back of the neck and find out how good he tastes! 

“You tell me ...tell me what I need…” Something about his delivery had heat pooling between your thighs, voice getting dangerously low, and so where his eyes …”Since my charts fucked and your claiming that’s what screwed you up...tell me what I actually need…”

Clearing your throat slightly, trying to pull your shit together yet you didn't pull back from him, you didn't want to...you liked the intensity! If you were smart you’d disregard his question but, you felt like you needed to prove yourself….. 

“Someone to stimulate, and balance you out you mentally...” Purred from your lips earning a hum of approval, which , followed behind and confirmed every other bullet point …

“Someone well dressed..”

“Hmm…” - fuck he really needs to stop doing that

“ Cultured..”

“Mmmhmm..”

“Whitty..”

“Mmm, keep going…” 

“Quick on her toes, Sar-”  A dramatic sigh leaving your chest at that, eyes rolling to the back of your head more times than  you could count once you realized what he was doing. Hoseok was having you describe yourself, because ideally, you were the type of woman you’d try and set him up with.

The level of smugness that danced along his lips proved he was proud of himself “And you were sayinggg???” Purposely Letting the last syllable roll off his tongue sing song like.

You should've realized this the minute you met him…. Hoseok only needed a “Sugar Baby” for the contrational purouses, the fact that once signed it’s the person's job is to be whatever he needs! That  type of control would allow his family to insure she's adding to whatever “Aesthetic” he needs for this business venture..it was purely about control! That’s the disconnect, his family wanted the pretty faced puppet that they can morph into whoever they wanted. And clearly that's the last quality Hoseok wants in a partner, even a fake one! Now it makes more sense why a man like him..would have even signed up for something like this! 

“I’m sayingggg...EVEN if I considered, and if I did it wouldn't have shit to do with you and everything to do with the money...there would be no contract because I’d get fired! I’m a recruiter Hoseok, I can’t use the information I get to look out for myself, that's the definition of conflict of interest. Once you find a girl we make a contract.. We get a monthly percentage of what you pay per outside of gifts and little bounces..there's no way they wouldn't know and-”

“So we cut Y.G.K out...“In all honesty, you haven't placed a girl yet, I’ll have Jimin write a very nice email, so it doesn't make you look bad. Will just say I’m going to try looking for love on my own or some bullshit! They’ve already made there fee to add me to the roster ...” Letting his gaze pry into yours only to snatch you by the throat “Then, me and you make our own contract...I’ll pay you directly...problem solved…” Hoseok was starting to work his own angle and you hated the knots forming in the pit of your stomach as he changed his entire vocal presentation. It was smoother, husker..slightly breathy..everything it needed to be to get you to say yes, but again you weren’t a rookie, you were still somewhat thinking clearly!

“No, not problem solved..what happens if pictures get out!? I’ve done my research, it’s a part of my job your Korea's resident bad boy..the press love to hate your ass over there! Yeah,granted I go to events that you’d probaly frequent and network or  whatever the fuck you wanna call it! But what happens if someone gets a pic of us in Malta or something!?” 

The slight shrug in arrgrence really didn't help … “See! You don’t stay with one person which is why I’m sure you got sucked into this..the minute were seen together more than twice it’s news! How the hell do I rationalize that!?” There was a sudden growl in your voice and you weren;t sure where it came from, maybe because you were slightly annoyed that the hustler side in you really wanted to say yes. Fuck rational, fuck how this would probaly all blow up...you missed getting paid to look cute! Maybe it was also because you really wanted him to bend you over and fuck the shit out of you on top of this desk…

“Then, will take it as it comes, I know that’s why you asked for a signing bonus..incase that happens and work finds out, or once this contracts over and we go our separate ways...so your not on your ass..your smart!”  A slight smile tugging on your lips because he’s right $150K is about three years pay...at Y.G.K before taxes ...enough where if something happens at least you wouldn't be royally fucked!

There was a beat of silence eyes searching his for all the answers...

“I’ll give you until midnight...if you think there's a recruit in your roster that can actually keep up, I’m open to it. But if not we will be respectfully parting ways with Y.G.K. it’s solely business.  I've actually already paid 2 other companies I just haven't used their services because I was trying to hold out for you...but were getting a little too close for comfort !” Pulling back from you painfully slow and it took everything in you not to chase after those pouty lips of his! 

Instinctively you reached up pulling him back by his silk tie “What are you actually looking for Hoseok?” You’d be lying if you said you weren’t intrigued, especially with the low growl slipped past his lips at the sudden tension pulling along his neck. An amused smirk forming yours “Hmm..someone likes pain I seee….” Tone blatantly flirtatious you licked your lips

“Hmm..someone likes to tease I see...” Mimicking your tone to a tee, you were so stupidly turned on and this was all your fault! The sudden shift wasn’t as discreet as you hoped either “Don’t play if you can't handle it baby…just because I’m younger than probably anyone you’ve delt with...that stll doesn't take the “Daddy” part out of the equation”  Oh fuck you! As if you ever even questioned that for a nanosecond!

“Answer. The.Question Mr. Jung…” Bounce back game sill on point, regardless of how your panties currently felt! 

“You just said it... everything that’s NOT on my chart. I don't want some young bright eyed, bushy tailed girl who will cry everytime I take her to Chanel...or someone I have to order for at every damn restaurant. That's not for me...I dont have the want to desire for that. Like I said I don't have an issue getting laid this contract was never sexual for me it’s a…”Aestheic” if you will…” He was clearly being very selective about how much he told you about this job...which only had you gears turning, creating your own scenarios as we speak.

“I personally didn't want “This” to begin with but if I have to do it, even if it’s only for 6 months..I want it to be with someone I can actually tolerate. “ At least you could respect his honesty…he’s not desperate, nor is he begging, he’s just simply saying he doesn't have problem paying for quality! Especially if it’s going to make his life easier, either way he’s entering a contract that’s going to cost him money, why not pay top dollar for the premium package then?!

“Someone to look good on my arm at events, but also be able to hold her own if a mic gets pointed in her face, someone to stand next to me at board meetings. Attend gallas, charity events, company parties and just look like the, supportive partner that all the other men within my brigade have. And of course the fun part...because none of that shit’s fun, so whoever she is, she deserves to be spoiled.Wined and dined, shopping sprees, spontaneous trips to London, Pars, Spain,  I live multi coastal so that’s always fun! All the perks your use too only I’m not expecting you to fuck me...if it happens... it happens ...”

A low hum leaving your lips at that, gazing up at him through your full set of lashes...“If you keep looking at me like you already want me to bend you over this desk, were going to have some problems…” 

“You sure I actually even really want that?” Trickling your fingers up his chest “As you said, clearly I’m damn good at my job…” A subtle wink flutter in his direction earning a slow nod that essentially read “Touche” 

“True, but your eyes have been pacing between my jawline and my lips the entire time you've been in here…” Reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear and it took everything in you not to lean into the contact. “Now if you excuse me, I have a very tedious conference call to get ready for, get my personal email from Jimin on your way out. Send your picks to me directly and will go from there…”  Swiftly returning his gaze back to the stack of papers on his desk, it’s not even a full 20 seconds before his phone's ringing and Hoseok’s groaning!

“Mr. Zyang, how are you? How’s Linda?” Smiling from ear to ear as if the person on the other end could see him, charm on full blast! Shifting the bottom end of the phone away from his lips so he could whisper “I gotta go, get my number from Jimin, will talk tonight” His eyes were reading a little different right now, they were softer and you were turning into putty! 

A slight smile tugging on your lips as you swayed past him, you could feel his eyes burning straight through as you walked, grabbing your bag off the chaise. Not even giving him the satisfaction of looking back at him before you exited the room. You knew he was waiting for it too, just so damn sure you needed one last look at him, which honestly you did…

Feeling a little more than accomplished that you didn't cave like you thought you would, seeming to remind yourself that at the end of the day..this was solely business! A permanent smile engraved on your cheeks as you closed the door behind you.

“SOOOOOOOOOO!? You were in there long enough! What’s the game plan!?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THIS HAS BEEN SITTING FOR A WHILE! PART 2 IS HALFWAY DONE..IF THIS GETS ENOUGH LOVE ILL GET IT UP....IF YOU LIKED IT “LIKE IT” COME HIT UP THE ASK...

LOVE YOU GUYS AS ALWAYS,

ROCKI

[laceymorganwrites]

Gravity boy

Word Count: 3.020

Pairing: Chuuya x reader

Warnings: swearing

A/N: this was very much fun to write! I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it

“How do we know you´re not a spy?” you asked the newest recruit of the agency, crossing your arms. He just smiled sadly. “Because I promised a good friend of mine to be a better person”.

His words and the sincerity that came with them left you speechless.

Dazai was a strange person to say at least, you thought.

It was your job to research every potential new member of the agency and the things you found out about Dazai scared you. He was one of the strongest executives and part of the strongest team in the Mafia, all the things he has done… and now he asked to be part of the agency?

It didn´t make any sense. At least not to you.

But for whatever reason the director gave him a chance anyway.

Time passed and Dazai proved himself a valuable member of the agency, thanks to him you solved many mysteries and finished missions in almost no time whatsoever.

Your first suspicions went away and it was as if Dazai has always been a part of the agency.

Nevertheless he couldn´t run from his past any longer.

You had your hands full of research on your current enemy, your eyes scanned the screen of your computer as you desperately tried to find out anything useful. Ranpo sat next to you to figure out a plan of attack, you were in a heated conversation about whether you could risk a raid or should attack from afar.

Ranpo was in favor of the raid, he argued it would be done quicker and nothing could go wrong.

You on the other hand were in favor of the attack from afar, you were a sniper and you could control the situation better this way. With the overview this granted everything would go smoothly.

“You wanna bet? We could split up, whoever finishes the mission first wins” you suggested, still not paying any attention to your surroundings.

“Bet on what?” Ranpo asked, but you could already tell he would accept.

“If you win, I´ll buy you your favorite snacks. And if I win…” you had to think a while.

“If I win you have to do my paperwork for a week!” Ranpo whined a bit, but in the end he gave in.

“We found their hideout, guys!” you announced happily.

Ranpo and you were just about to decide your teams when a deafening rumble occurred.

Your eyes wandered to the direction of the strange sound and you watched as the entrance door fell down with a loud crash.

Jumping slightly at the loudness, you got up from your seat and walked over to where Dazai and the rest were standing, Ranpo following close after.

“Chuuya-kun… I see you still haven´t grown an inch” Dazai spoke up with a weird undertone.

So the person who kicked down the door so rudely was his former partner in the mafia.

When he finally showed himself and entered the room, you couldn´t help but feel like time stood still.

You couldn´t help but notice the fire in his steel blue eyes that seemed to pierce through everything. And the way his hair seemed to dance around his shoulders, you imagined its softness. Lastly there was something about his facial expression that made the heat rise in your cheeks.

If somebody told you beforehand there would be handsome men like him in the mafia, you      would´ve considered changing jobs.

“Shut up, Dazai! I´m a grown man” he snapped at him and pouted a bit.

“Cute…” you whispered, earning a raised eyebrow from Ranpo and a shaking head from Yosano.

You blushed at the realization that you just said that out loud.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Dazai asked, you never saw him this annoyed, it made you chuckle ever so slightly.

“I come in peace, you idiot. Don´t make me change my mind” Chuuya growled.

You used the moment of disbelief and silence on Dazai´s side to speak up.

“Um… Sorry to interrupt, but was it really necessary to kick our door down? It doesn´t really give a peaceful impression” you asked, pointing at the broken door.

Chuuya gave you a look of confusion before replying: “Erm… I guess not” he mentioned flatly, glaring at you two seconds longer before turning to Dazai again.

Why did no one tell him the Agency hired such beauties? It took a while for Chuuya to finally take his eyes off you, normally he never lost his cool but there was just something about you that made him forget all his words. How could a single glance at you have such an effect on him? The suicidal´s face held an amused expression.

“Cat got your tongue, Chuuya-kun?” Dazai chuckled. “Shut up, Dazai!” the ginger yelled at him.

Why did the suicidal maniac always have to embarrass him like that?

“Do you mind telling us why you´re here? I have a bet to win” Ranpo chimed in, making you scoff. As if you´d let him win…

“Oh, right. The boss told me to help with your current mission. As a sign of good will for the new alliance” he spat the words as if they were poison after he finally found his voice again. He practically had to rip his eyes off you forcefully and it hurt him as much as that sounded.

You exchanged suspicious looks with your colleagues.

An alliance between the agency and mafia? As if that would ever work… but then again, the director went out to have a talk with the mafia´s boss today.

“Ranpo-kun, you can pick first” you told him, it was nice to know the director succeeded in pursuing the mafia boss to accept the alliance.

“Yosano” he smiled and you took your turns until your teams were chosen.

Team Ranpo consisted of him, Yosano and Dazai. You got Kunikida and Chuuya who was still a bit confused by the situation.

“Ranpo and me have a bet. Whoever finishes the mission first wins. He and his team are gonna raid the base and we are gonna attack from above” you filled him in.

“Understood” he nodded, still hanging at your lips as if there was no tomorrow.

Chuuya didn´t have his actions and thoughts under control and it annoyed him to no end, this never happened to him before.

“Alright! I´m getting my gun and then we´re good to go!” you chirped as you hurried over to your desk, grabbing the needed equipment.

Ranpo´s team were already on the move and you followed close after, positioning yourself on the roof of the opposite building of the enemy´s hideout.

“Kunikida, stand watch outside and take care of the escapees, Chuuya, secure the entrances and make sure nobody can get out the back” you ordered.

While the two did their jobs you put together your gun and laid flat on the roof, taking your aim.

Now you just had to wait for the right opportunity.

The target, the boss of the enemy´s organization, entered the building and you were almost ready to shoot when Ranpo´s team barged in. The people tried to flee from the backdoor but Kunikida and Chuuya did a good job defeating them, giving you time to take out the boss.

Two minutes after Ranpo´s team entered your team finished the mission and won the bet.

You grinned widely, escaping the roof of the building and joining your team.

“Good job, everyone!” you announced and walked over to Chuuya.

“You still have to fix our door, gravity boy” you teased him, making him blush slightly.

“Don´t call me that!” he groaned, resulting in your giggling.

“But it´s your power, isn´t it?” you continued.

“Yeah, but… I don´t call you sniper person!” he argued.

You laughed out loud. “You wouldn´t be wrong” you smiled at him.

“Chuuya-kun, stay away from our lovely (Y/N), would ya?” Dazai came up to you.

“We were just having some fun, Dazai” you defended him.

“He´s not the kind of guy to have fun with. I don´t want you hanging around him, (Y/N). He´s only going to break your heart” he let you know.

The cold look he gave Chuuya made you uncomfortable, you just teased him a bit, it didn´t even mean anything. You wondered why those two hated each other so much.

“I´ll let the boss know the mission succeeded” Chuuya told you.

“It was nice working with you, (Y/N)” he cracked a smile you could only return.

“Likewise, gravity boy” you giggled.

“Stop calling me that already!” Chuuya whined, making you laugh.

Hearing the sound of your laugh made his heart jump in his chest, he felt dizzy for a reason and couldn´t help but smile at you.

Then he saw the way Dazai looked at him and left for his headquarters.

“I hope you never have to see this man again, (Y/N)” Dazai told you when you got back to the agency.

You rolled your eyes, you knew for a fact Dazai didn´t like you that way, so why was he behaving like a jealous bitch?

“Could you stop it already, Dazai? What´s so bad about him? You´re acting as if it´s the end of the world when nothing happened” you groaned, just wishing he´d stop being so over dramatic.

Dazai chuckled in a dangerously low way, he did this sometimes to intimidate enemies.

You gulped, having a bad feeling about this.

“What´s so bad about him? I can tell you all about it, (Y/N). But all you have to know right now is that he´s a dangerous man who doesn´t have himself under control and when he wants something he uses every means necessary to obtain it. He is very violent, very angry… I just want you to know this now. I don´t want you finding out when it´s already too late.” he warned you.

You couldn´t help but burst out in laughter at Dazai´s try to scare you.

“All that you just said, isn´t that kind of what the mafia is all about? I bet you were just the same when you worked with them. And besides… weren´t you two partners? And very effective as a team? Isn´t it obvious to have that kind of attitude to achieve those things. That doesn´t mean he is like that in private. But all that doesn´t matter because like I said: it doesn´t mean anything” you crossed your arms.

In the same instance the director walked in, nodding at the two of you as a greeting.

“Gather around everyone, I have a few announcements to make” he said and promptly the whole staff of the agency gathered.

“First of all I want to congratulate you on completing the mission so splendidly. This is the perfect example for the ability of this alliance to work. Because of this we were invited to a party at the mafia´s headquarters tonight. Please make sure to behave.” he dismissed you.

As soon as you heard that there was going to be a party you asked yourself who the hell thought that would be a good idea.

Seriously, the mafia and the agency, in one room?

Were they out of their fucking minds? It´s like they wanted people to go at each other´s throats.

Normally you wouldn´t go to such events, you thought it a waste of time. Despite, you were just the office staff, were you even allowed to attend such an event?

Well, that was until a certain handsome ginger factor rapidly changed the equation.

You were so going.

Saying you panicked trying to figure out what to wear and how to approach Chuuya would be the understatement of the century.

You almost lost your mind and in the end you decided not to go, but luckily Yosano dragged you to the headquarters herself.

Now there was no going back.

Entering the big room the party was already going quite well, nobody seemed to notice you.

You should be sad, Yosano left you alone to hang out with Ranpo and the others, nobody even seemed to see you yet alone know it was kind of you who made the mission a success.

It was like you didn´t even existed.

Any other person would be sad, but not you.

You never felt comfortable boasting about your success or having everyone´s eyes on you. That´s the reason you signed up for the office job when you could have very well been more than capable of being a field agent.

You used this situation of being invisible to think about how you could leave this party.

“(Y/N)?” Chuuya approached you, the last thing you thought would happen.

This did mess with your plan, but also with your brain, how did you speak again? “Oh, um… hello Chuuya.” well, that certainly wasn´t how you did it.

Somehow you always managed to make a fool of yourself when you were around pretty boys.

“I didn´t think you´d come...” he mumbled, not meeting your eyes and fidgeting his with his hands in his pockets.

“And miss a chance of seeing you, gravity boy?” you giggled, where you got the sudden confidence? You couldn´t tell, must´ve been the energy radiating of Chuuya. “Not a chance” you stretched your words and gazed into his eyes a bit, smiling at him.

And before he knew it Chuuya returned your look, getting caught in your beautiful eyes that seemed to long for something. He bet he had the same look right now, only that he was longing for them.

“Well, that´s nice… but I don´t think Dazai would approve” he sounded sad and it infuriated you.

“Dazai has no say in with who I spend my time with” you told him.

Chuuya nodded and then gave you a warm smile.

“You know I hate parties like these, you´re just forced to talk to people you don´t like. And honestly the only person I want to be around right now is you” he sighed.

And you could use someone to pinch you right now to prove this was in fact happening and not just a stupid dream.

“Do you want to go out with me?” Chuuya asked you boldly and you asked yourself again if you weren´t dreaming.

“Me? You want to go out with me? Are you joking?” you tried to formulate your confusion but  didn´t even recognize you were talking.

“Well yeah, I wouldn´t be asking otherwise. But I understand if you don´t want to, I won´t bother you again” he sounded glum all of a sudden and you finally realized that this wasn´t a dream but really happening. You could wonder why later, now you needed to make the best out of the situation.

“Chuuya wait! Of course I want to go out with you, I just wasn´t sure if you were serious. I mean I´m just an office worker and you´re the top executive…” you mumbled, you knew someone like you would normally never be approached by someone like Chuuya but for whatever reason it happened.

Chuuya chuckled. “Don´t let our jobs and ranks interfere with this… I want to go out with you because you´re beautiful and I want to get to know you better, that´s all there is to it” he explained.

His words somehow touched your heart and you had to smile.

“Well, let´s leave this party then” you suggested bravely.

“Gladly” Chuuya said relieved, putting his arm around your waist gently.

You felt yourself get dizzy at the sudden contact.

The two of you walked for a while until you arrived in a park where you sat down on a bench.

During the way you talked a lot and the atmosphere was magical, Chuuya was incredibly funny and such a gentleman.

“You know, I don´t get what Dazai has against you… all these things he said about you just aren´t true. Honestly, he talks about you as if you are some kind of monster” you laughed, trying to lighten up the mood, but oh how you failed.

Chuuya´s body stiffened. “He´s not wrong, (Y/N). I am a monster and I´m reminded of that every day. There are thigns about me you don´t know, the things I do when I lose control of my ability… it scares me” he whispered.

You frowned, gently taking his hand into yours.

“I refuse to believe Dazai´s words are true. He´s just trying to prove his nonexistent superiority over you. Besides… aren´t monsters ugly and hideous? And if I can tell you one thing I know for sure you´re not it´s ugly and hideous. Like honestly, if you were truly to be a monster as you claim to be, I´d be having a problem. Because that would mean I´m attracted to a monster. And I just refuse to believe that monsters are as handsome as you! But what´s more important is that you´re very kind, monsters are not. Monsters don´t give a shit about you, they just kill you. And you´re funny too. Now I´ve never seen a monster that´s funny, well, maybe in really bad movies, but this isn´t just a bad movie, this is reality, you know? And…” you were lost in your thoughts, rambling on and on about all the reasons Chuuya couldn´t be a monster and Dazai was an idiot for saying so. Chuuya looked at you all the way through and for once in his life felt like an actual human being.

He smiled to himself, thinking about how this wasn´t a dream, but he just had to make sure his mind didn´t play tricks on him.

So he leaned closer to you, interrupting your speech by grabbing your face gently and softly pressing his lips onto yours, muffling a surprised gasp of yours with a kiss.

And for goodness sake you would be damned if monsters kissed like that, made your knees melt like that. You pressed your body closer to his and wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

You never wanted it to end, fuck oxygen, if this was how you would die, then so be it, it´d be with a smile on your lips.

[ohpedromypedros-main]

Every Sense of the Way (Part 1)

A/N: Part 1 for my Roman x Reader series is finally here! Enjoy!

Author: bill-skarsgard-writings

Word Count: 2,005

Characters: Bill x Reader, Stina (OC)

Pairings: None yet. ;)

Warnings: Swearing, mentions of sex, but no actual smut between Roman and reader. That’ll come in the next part. ;)

Your name: submit What is this? // <![CDATA[ document.getElementById("submit").addEventListener('click', myHandler); function myHandler() { var v = document.body.innerHTML; var input = document.getElementById("inputTxt").value; v = v.replace(/\by\/n\b|\(y\/n\)/ig, input); document.body.innerHTML = v; }

Summary: The reader is hired as Roman Godfrey’s personal secretary and he has an instant attraction toward her, but something the reader promises to do for him leaves him wanting her even more.

Godfrey Institute, the most powerful institution in all of Hemlock Grove. And to think, you were about to start a job there. Of course it was only a secretary job, but, you were the new secretary for the man himself. Roman Godfrey.

You'd heard stories about Roman from several different people. Things like his bad temper, his 'don't give a fuck' attitude (though if you were to ask some of his close friends and family, they'd tell you that he gives a fuck on rare occasions.), but the one thing that caught your attention the most was that he could get laid any time he wanted, anywhere he wanted, with whoever he damn well pleased. You'd be lying if you said you didn't want a good fucking from him. But, since he was going to be your new boss, that would be a bit unprofessional. Right?

You were quite nervous to meet Roman on your first day. You weren't sure you were gonna be able to meet his expectations. The last secretary clearly didn't, seeing as he was gotten rid of. Quite literally too. You hoped you could do better than the last guy and at least spare yourself the embarrassment around the hottest guy in town. The closer you got to Roman's office, the more your heart pounded. Were you ready for this? Sure you were qualified, had experience from a past job, but come on... this was Roman fucking Godfrey. Maybe you could change your mind, maybe you could--

“Mr. Godfrey? Your new secretary is here to see you.”

Nope. Too late.

“Send her in.”

You could hear the slight annoyance in his voice and that raised red flags for you. FUCK. Can I really do this? What if he sees me and instantly hates me? A hand on your back snapped you back from your thoughts and the woman that led you to Roman's office motioned inside.

“Go on ahead, dear. He's been patiently waiting for your arrival.”

You could only nod your head, swallowing the lump in your throat before making your way into Roman's office. He was busy scribbling away on some papers, probably signing important documents, so he didn't pay any mind to you at first. You bit your lip, just soaking in your surroundings while you waited for him to finish what he was doing. You surely didn't want to interrupt him and make him upset on your first day. First impressions were always important to you. You decided to observe the pictures hanging on the walls for several minutes while he finished his task.

“Alright. Sorry about the w-- Holy shit.”

You looked away from the picture you were currently admiring to glance at him, a slight blush creeping on your cheeks at his reaction. Roman stood there gawking at you, his eyes deliberately scanning your figure.

“Wow... You must be Y/N, I presume?”

“Mhm,” you bit your lip. “It's... It's a pleasure to be working for you. I've heard a lot about you.”

“Good things I hope?”

“Nothing but,” you grinned, your words a slight lie, but mostly true. You couldn't care what people said about his temper, you had a bit of a bad one yourself.

“Well that's good to hear. So,” he paused, walking around his desk and to where you stood. “Has anyone explained what you'll be doing for me yet?”

“Not exactly. All I know is that I'll be your secretary,” you smiled.

“Well, your work isn't too hard. The last guy couldn't grasp that concept, so I let him go. You'll just take phone calls for me, grab any documents I ask for, maybe even sneak some things to me. Some stuff around here are kept secret from me and I find it very fishy, so I've been trying to get to the bottom of it.”

“Really? Aren't you like, the fucking CEO now?”

“Pretty much, but apparently no one treats me that way.”

“Well, I'll do anything you ask.”

“Good,” he smirked. “Anything?”

You blushed a little more, nodding your head.

“Yes sir, Mr. Godfrey.”

“Oh, please, call me Roman.”

“Okay, Roman.”

“So how's the job going?”

You sat across from your best friend Stina at a local coffee shop, a grin spreading across your face.

“Honestly? Pretty fucking great so far. I mean, it's like I won the lottery.”

“How's that?” She laughed.

“You have seen Roman, right? He's godly!”

“Oh jeez...”

“What?” You huffed, your arms crossing over your chest. “It's true.”

“I know it is, but he's your boss. You don't expect to get anything more out of that, do you?”

You shrugged your shoulders, a slight smirk spreading across your lips. You personally would love to have a sexual relationship with Roman. Yeah he was your boss, but that never stopped anyone else from having secret relationships with theirs in the past.

“Y/N...”

“What?” You rolled your eyes.

“Roman sleeps with literally anyone and everyone he wants. I don't want you to get hurt.”

“Hurt meaning what? An STD?”

“NO. Oh my God,” she pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing softly. “Do you know how many girls that have slept with Roman fell for him, but were in the end turned down by him because of how big of a man whore he is? He doesn't want love, he wants one thing. He uses girls to get a lay and that's it.”

You sighed, realizing Stina was probably right. Was it a good idea anyway? Would he get in trouble for sleeping with you? You personally didn't care what anybody else thought, you just wanted to know what it was like to fuck Roman Godfrey himself.

“Just... Trust me on this, okay?” She begged, eyes pleading with yours.

“Alright fine. I'll lay off and just focus on my job.”

“Good. I really mean it. I don't want you to get hurt.”

You gave her an appreciative smile, reaching across the table to place your hand over hers.

“I know. Thank you.”

“It's what best friends are for, right?”

“Right.”

You decided to change the subject, not wanting to upset or worry her any more than she already was. You could tell something was off with her, but you didn't want to push the subject.

“So, how are things going with you anyway?” You asked, taking a sip of your coffee.

“Pretty good. I've got a date this Friday.”

“Oh? With whooo?” You teased, already knowing the answer. She had met a guy about a month ago at a bar two towns over and they hit it off pretty quickly.

“Madden, duh.”

“Niiice. Do you know where you guys are going for your date?”

“I dunno,” she shrugged. “He says it's a surprise.”

“Ah. Well I hope you have a good time. I know how you are with guys. Don't like having your time wasted.”

“Pretty much,” she laughed.

You talked about her upcoming date with Madden for several minutes before your phone started to ring. You looked down and noticed Roman was calling.

“Hey I gotta take this real quick,” you stood up, giving her an apologetic look.

“That's fine.”

You headed outside, quickly answering the call.

“Hey, Roman.”

“Hey. I need a huge favor. You busy?”

You turned your head to look back inside at Stina who was typing away on her cell.

“Not really. Why, what's up?”

“I think it's best if we discussed in person. Can you stop by my office as soon as you can?”

“Of course. I'm on my way now.”

“Thank you, Y/N.”

“You're welcome, boss.”

You hung up and headed back inside to where Stina was just putting her cell down on the table.

“I'm seriously so sorry to ditch you like this, but that was Roman and it sounded pretty urgent. He needs me for something at work.”

“That's okay, Y/N. I know working for him you're gonna be extremely busy. Just text me later, okay?”

“Okay. Love you, bitch.”

“Love you too,” she laughed.

You gave her a quick hug before going on your way and driving to work. You were pretty worried about the phone call with Roman. It sounded very urgent and you weren't sure what to expect when you got there. After parking your car, you hurriedly made your way inside and to Roman's office. You gently knocked on his door, waiting for him to respond.

“Come in.”

You opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind you. You opened your mouth to greet him, but it only hung open when your eyes landed on him. He was wearing the tightest button up shirt that hugged his biceps in the utmost sexiest way and only a black vest over it. He looked up at you when he sensed your presence and that was when you quickly shut your mouth before any drool could spill from your lips. Of course he saw the small action, which only made him smirk.

“Y/N.”

“Roman,” you blushed.

“Have a seat.”

You nodded your head, taking the seat placed directly in front of his desk. He watched your every move, tongue swiping across his bottom lip as his eyes landed on your cleavage. You weren't planning on being there, so you were still wearing the outfit you wore to coffee with Stina, and it wasn't your usual business casual outfit you would wear to work. Before you noticed his eyes on your boobs, he quickly darted them to his desk then back up at you.

“So I called you here because I have a huge favor to ask you.”

“Of course. I'll do anything.”

“Thank you... I don't know if you heard, but recently my sister ran away.”

“Shelley. Yeah, I heard about that. Have you heard from her?”

“No,” he frowned. “It's kinda why I called you here. I was hoping maybe you could do some digging and see if anyone's seen her. And I'm not talking locally, I'm talking surrounding towns and cities. States, even.”

You bit your lip, realizing this was going to be a very hard task for you. What if you couldn't find squat on Shelley's whereabouts? What would Roman do? Would he tell you it was okay and that he didn't expect you to find anything? Or would he get pissed with you and tell you to work harder?

“You don't have to get this done quick,” he added. “I know it's going to be a hard thing for you to do, but I just ask because I really worry about Shelley. Especially in places that aren't Hemlock Grove. People will see her and...and think she's some sort of a monster. She's not. I don't want her to get hurt.”

You nodded your head, a saddened yet understanding look in your eyes. You reached across the table for Roman's hand and gently brushed your thumb across the back of it.

“I understand what you mean. I can't say I understand what it feels like to lose a sibling like Shelley, but I understand your worry. And I promise you, Roman, I will try my absolute hardest to find your sister.”

Roman gave you the biggest appreciative smile he's ever given anybody and stood up to walk around his desk, reaching to pull you out of your chair and give you a hug. You smiled in return, wrapping your arms around his tall frame and resting your head against his chest.

Roman never hugged like this, but your words struck something in him and he knew, he just knew, you were everything he's ever been looking for. In every sense of the way.

Read part 2 here!

Roman x Reader tag list: @weak-aesthetic @skarsgardtrash @sebbystanxbuckybarnes @thebeautyandthatbass @adoresfandoms @mahomie-sara-9-84 @baileystorm17 @first-jumper-tris46 @the-fandom-phantom-fanfics @mango307 @elizabethkatarina @my-fan-girl-life @ohmyformula-one

Everything tag list: @cecesunshine-fanfictions @this-is-what-makes-us-fandoms @scarlett-lehane @jughead-wuz-here @bluebird19 @penni-saur @motionlessinwow

A/N: If you’d like to be added to any of my tag lists, let me know!

[strengthrequireskindness]

Batfam Drabble Part Two

Tagging @this-canadian-girl and @desolationofzara again because they are awesome and help my poor anxious ass with the needed research

Warning for cursing, mention of rape, and some violence

---

“Let her go.” It was Nightwing who spoke first, drawing his sticks off his back as he did so. “Hurting her isn’t worth the beating you’re gonna get.”

The man didn’t respond at first. It was only when she felt the cold steel at her neck that Najida realized what he was planning. He flicked the blade ever so slightly, and she trembled as a thin bead of blood bubbled up from the cut.

“I’m not going to hurt her. Not unless you do something stupid. She’s mine.”

"Who sent you?” Red Hood stepped forward, his expression thunderous. At least, she guessed it was thunderous, given that she couldn’t actually see it. “Los Lobos are an East End gang. You don’t go into the Narrows.”

“Not unless there’s profit in it for you,” finished Red Robin, a thoughtful expression on his face. “So this wasn’t random.”

“Got it in one. Suffice it to say we’re being paid a lot to make sure this little missy doesn’t survive.” He punctuated his words by pressing harder on her neck, and she grimaced as the blade bit further into her skin. She knew enough about anatomy to know that if the knife went any further, the blood would definitely start flowing freely.

Think, she urged her brain. There has to be something. My rescuers aren’t going to try anything if the blade stays at my throat. The game’s not working for them right now. So change the game. Give them an opportunity.

“Hello? Hostage here? Are we going to keep staring at each other menacingly, or am I going to get some answers on why people want me dead?”

Everyone’s faces registered confusion. That was good. She just had to keep it going long enough for the masked marvels to catch on.

“No, seriously. I literally know nothing about why you're trying to kill me. Some answers would be nice. Who is they? Why can't you just let me go?"

The man's grip tightened, and Najida instantly knew she'd made a mistake, although she didn't know what it was.

"Liar. You know more than you're telling. They told us your father contacted you last before they eliminated him. He gave you something important that was not his to give."

His words hit her like a slap to the face, leaving her head spinning. This simply made no sense. These people had to be insane. She was being attacked for nothing. Her father had been murdered for nothing. That made her furious.

"Are you high? What are you talking about? My dad was a lab tech, and a good man! He wouldn't do something like that! The mysterious 'they' who hired you murdered him for what? The book about the Crusades he gave me because he knew I loved history? The crossword we did that night in the Gotham Gazette?"

"You think it's not normal for a father to spend time with his daughter before his daughter finds him bleeding out? You're right, because he shouldn't be dead in the first place! Pardon my French, but you are fucking insane. Or just a psycho. Goodness knows we have more than enough of those."

She was yelling now, tears streaming down her face. "Why did they do that to my dad? Why are you doing this to me?You sick son of a bitch!"

It's possible that the man holding her would have killed her for that, or at least threatened her. As it was, she didn't know what he would have done, because as the man opened his mouth to speak, a green boot slammed into the side of his head, sending him flying into the wall.

The tiny Robin dropped in front of her as his companions charged to meet the rest of the thugs. Ignoring the sounds of fighting behind him, he angled his head towards the ground, eyes down and a hand over his heart.

"Hello. Are you all right?" His voice was young, slightly accented, and strangely familiar.

Despite it all, Najida smiled. Only in Gotham would one of the Robins know a traditional Muslim greeting, and care enough to use it. Just when she thought the city was full of bad things, it always managed to change her mind.

"Yes, thank you. Are your friends going to be all right?"

The tiny Robin scoffed. "Those peasants don't stand a chance."

"Do you mean your friends or the thugs?"

"Which one do you think I mean?" He rolled his eyes just as a gunshot rang out, the sharp report echoing through the small space.

Najida flinched, dropping to the ground and covering her head with her hands. The tiny Robin looked unconcerned, even as a thug fell down, screaming and holding his foot.

"That's Hood. He's the marksman."

"He shoots people? Shouldn't you not shoot people?"

The look the tiny Robin gave her could have burned hair. He scoffed. "Do they not deserve it?"

She was about to snap that nobody deserved to be shot when something came to her. Why was that accent and bad attitude familiar? Because she'd seen it earlier that day.

"Damian?"

The kid froze like he'd been caught in a searchlight, before lunging straight at her. Caught by surprise, his momentum knocked her flat on her back, pinning her under him as the tiny Robin held her down.

"How do you know that name?"

She groaned as his knee dug into her stomach. For such a tiny kid, he was freakishly strong. "Cut it out and I'll tell you!"

Slowly, the knee moved back, but he didn't get off of her. Oh well. One out of two wasn't bad.

"One, I'm a barista. If I don't remember my customers, I'd be out of a job. Two, not many preteens carry themselves like Alexander the Great. Three, no I am not going to tell other people because I am very aware that you can and will kill me. And four, if you don't get off me right now I'm going to remind you that you are breaking the rules of my religion, which makes me a lot more willing to hurt you."

When he didn't respond, Najida shoved him hard. The force pushed him roughly off her, sending him tumbling onto the ground. Damian turned the impact into a roll and came up standing, his expression promising bloody death.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't beat you unconscious right now."

Najida threw up her hands. Earlier that day, she might have been scared. But compared to what she'd just been through, a boy in a bird costume with a degree in brattiness and homicidal tendencies didn't frighten her as much as it probably should have.

"Look, you attacked me! I literally was about to tell you that I don't plan on doing anything with the information before you plowed into me like a wrecking ball. I warned you to get off me, too. You're the one who didn't listen or wait for an explanation."

For a moment, they both stared at each other, the only noise the sound of fighting. Then Robin blew a breath out through his nose, eyes still narrowed.

"Tt. You're not what I expected. When I saw a bar wench-"

"Barista!" she interrupted angrily. "Bar wench is derogatory, inaccurate, and it makes you sound like you're in the Middle Ages."

"Will you let me finish? As I was saying, I expected someone weak and servile. You're not what I thought you were."

Huh. From such an emotionally confused kid, that might be as close as Najida got to a compliment.

"Robin!" The call made her jump as Damian's head whipped around.

"I have to go help them. Stay down."

And just as quickly as he'd showed up, he was gone, diving into the fray with reckless abandon.

Najida huddled close to the wall and watched the fight, eyes flicking on each of the heroes in turn. These were her idols, people who'd finally decided to do something about the darkness plaguing Gotham. Even though they were only human, they still decided to heed the call and take up arms.

Nightwing fought like a deadly ballet, flipping and turning with uncanny precision. Here a backflip, there a midair somersault, even grabbing the edge of the Dumpster to flip over backwards and send three guys flying. His sticks were just as fast, smashing faces and disarming people with the speed of long practice.

Whoever Red Hood punched stayed down. He didn't hold back and he gave as good as he got, bloodying faces and knocking out teeth. While Nightwing was an acrobat, this guy was clearly a brawler first and foremost. His guns kept firing, aiming for kneecaps and legs and other non-lethal areas.

Red Robin's fighting style was more analytical. He didn't waste time on stray punches or any grandstanding. His hits went straight toward the places that would cause the most damage or take the person out the fastest. His bo staff shifted from hand to hand, shooting out to whack people over the head or knock them to the ground.

Robin fought like a demon. While he didn't look physically tough, he was using the mass and force he did have to great effect. His hits landed with a force greater than she'd expected, his small frame made it difficult for his attackers to hit him back, and he was using their underestimation of him to his advantage. Every Batarang he threw hit its target, leaving more than a few thugs unconscious or with concussions at the very least.

Almost as soon as it had started, it ended. Some of the thugs-or were they gang members?-had fled, opting for self-preservation over courage. But most of them were laid out on the ground, either unconscious or loudly groaning.

Red Robin got busy tying the thugs up, using tough and sturdy knots and ignoring the conscious ones' complaining.

"This is illegal!"

"So's attempted robbery and murder," the winged vigilante snarked back. "Have fun complaining about it in Blackgate."

While Red Robin secured the thugs, Red Hood was doing something more violent and intimidating. Which didn't really surprise her, given what she'd seen of him so far.

The man who'd held a knife to her throat nearly pissed himself when he was slammed hard into the brick wall, Hood holding him by the shirt collar as easily as Najida could hold a coffee cup.

"Who hired you?"

The man was close to sobbing, breaths coming out ragged and wet.

"I won't tell you! They'll kill me if I tell you!"

"No great loss, then." Red Hood drew closer to the thug so that they were nose-to-nose. His face darkened.

"You and your merry band of sickos nearly raped and killed a teenage girl. If they don't kill you, I'll do it first. And I won't be nearly as quick or gentle. I'm the Red Hood, asshole. You should be fucking terrified of me."

"Now, for the last pain-free time. Who hired you?"

"APOLLO INDUSTRIES!" the man screamed, sobbing as he was roughly pushed to the ground.

The name cut straight to the bone, the shock pinning her in place, unable to move. No. That couldn't be right. Apollo Industries was where her father had worked before he'd died. Before he'd been murdered, she corrected herself.

That meant he was murdered by his own company. They'd killed him. They'd killed her father.

The man crying, the sound of boots on concrete, the lights of the city, all of it faded away, until it was just Najida, alone with her grief. Trembling, she sank to the ground, her legs unable to hold her. Had his death only been a year ago? It felt like a lifetime of pain.

When she closed her eyes, she could still see.

The broken window, shards of glass scattered across the floor. Her father's body, broken and twisted on the ground, covered in red and eyes unseeing. Blood covering the walls of his room like a macabre paint job. The three people in the room with the corpse. The wild Asian man standing over his body, hands curled into claws, a crazed look in his eyes, and a barely human form. The little Hispanic girl in a bloodstained dress holding a butcher knife. The abnormally tall black man with an almost clinically perfect body and a detached expression on his face. The red and blue lights of the cop cars up and down the street. Her mother's face, frozen in a scream of endless sorrow but not knowing the reason for it.

When she closed her eyes, she could still hear.

The footsteps of the three people as they ran, her desperate screams following them.

The exclamations of the cops when she showed them the body.

"Fifty six stab wounds. Fuck."

"Is that his kidney? Looks like it's been sliced open, too.."

"Oh my god, his leg's been chewed off..."

The words of the one man who wanted to help a scared kid.

"I'm sorry, Commissioner Gordon, I swear I didn't do it-"

"Kid, hey. No one thinks you could do something like that. You're fifteen, you're not strong enough to kill a five foot ten man, and you're the one who found the body, after all."

"But I heard some of the officers saying that they shouldn't trust me-"

"They're idiots who can't see past their own bigotry. Nobody's going to listen to them."

"Promise?"

A deep sigh. "Promise."

The disbelieving responses when she told them what she'd seen.

"A wild man? Kid, this isn't the Stone Age."

"I swear I'm not lying! Please, you've got to believe me!"

"Shock's a hell of a drug. She's probably not thinking straight."

"I'm thinking just fine! I just want someone to listen-no, please, come back! Come back! No!"

When she closed her eyes, she could still smell.

The overpowering stench of blood, stuck in every nook and cranny and refusing to come out for months after. The smoke from the commissioner's cigar, circling his head like a gray wreath. The smell of body odor and mint-she could never have mint chocolate chip ice cream after that.

When she closed her eyes, she could still feel.

The blood on her hands, enveloping every inch of skin. It was everywhere, she'd been bound to get some on her at some point. The feel of the large trench coat, draped over her by the commissioner like a blanket. The rough edge of the curb digging into her legs. The rain pounding down on her head.

While it had faded slightly over time, the grief always been in the back of her mind ever since that day. But this new revelation brought the tears and the agony out full force. They fell with the force of bullets, soaking her cheeks and blurring her vision. Sobs wracked her chest, lines of aching tearing through her body like claw marks.

This wasn't fair. They'd sworn on live TV that they had nothing to do with her father's death. They didn't even help her and her mother get back on their feet. It was their fault that they lived in a crappy apartment and her mother was bedridden. It was their fault that her mother cried for days at a time without knowing why. It was their fault her throat was bleeding right now.

Well, they'd made a big mistake. They'd failed to kill her. And she wasn't planning on letting them get away with it.

(Part Three will be up soon!)

[condomglitter]

@austerre don’t be scared it’s not a starter it’s just an extremely self indulgent drabble lmao

    It wasn’t the first time she’d been approached, hackles raised, by some gate keeping trogdolyte searching for validation as of yet undiscovered in their peers. Each condescending confrontation followed much the same tired script, as few noted the badge at her hip that marked her as a KaibaCorp employee before they questioned her presence in the VIP section. 

    Maybe it was how she dressed -- neither in merch, nor a flashy outfit, but comparatively quiet combinations that were (unlike many who surrounded her at these venues) on trend more often than not. Maybe it was how she kept a watchful eye on her phone, fielding emails and requests for Seto while he focused on his matches. Or, perhaps, it was simply the calling of self-proclaimed ‘nice guys’ to further destroy her precious little faith in their gender; regardless, though, someone always stepped up to the plate when it came to challenging her. As if, she thought bitterly, she could not tell them details about their supposed hero that would make their pasty little heads spin.

    Most days, she was content to note that her interest was purely professional, tapping the employee badge at her side and returning her focus to worthier figures. Namely, Seto’s. Dueling was but a card game, to her, but watching Seto at his most ruthless? That, she could enjoy all day. Assuming, of course, no one was breathing down her neck about it. 

     Her job was usually enough to keep her from demeaning their client base, particularly the fans who paid the exorbitant VIP package price to see Seto Kaiba up close and personal. Though she was certain he wouldn’t hold a well deserved quip against her, of all people, she didn’t want to put a bad face to the company name. Her restraint, as far as professionalism went, was stronger than her temper. 

     Though, that was MOST days. Today...

     She couldn’t quite put her finger on why THIS particular one had stepped so firmly upon her nerves, in stark contrast to those other countless times. There were just... SO many reasons to detest the raven haired man who sat behind her; interestingly, though, he hadn’t been the first to annoy her that day.           Only the last. Poor man.     No, her temper had been set initially on edge by someone else entirely, who had seemed to have a knack for it. 

     In contrast to the supposed ‘super fans’ who so rarely recognized her as Seto’s assistant, despite her constant presence at his side, the woman who had slipped into the seat beside her and introduced herself without pause seemed to know exactly who she was. Perhaps, even, too much. 

     “My name’s Cindra, King. You’re Natalie, right? Kovak?”    That was the first thing that set her on edge. That name, long abandoned, hanging in the air like a poison on her breath. It drew her mouth into a tight, thin line, and her response was ICY from the start.     “Arrington.” She corrected, in a voice that brokered no argument. It wasn’t an invitation to continue the conversation, but Cindra seemed to take it as such, prattling on          (as if Natalie didn’t look two steps away from snapping her idiot neck)     regardless. 

     “Oh, I’m so sorry,” She said, seeming to Natalie to be less than sincere as she laid one hand over her heart. “I wasn’t sure, the articles all said that was your real name -- “     “One of their many mistakes.” The increased venom in her tone had about as much effect on the other woman as her initial icy response -- which was to say, none at all. Briefly, Natalie was amazed at her nerve, but quickly quashed the almost admiring thought under one indignant heel. She didn’t want to admire this woman, whoever she was. 

     “Oh, I’m sure. You are Seto Kaiba’s assistant, though -- right?”      Her raised eyebrows and quick (read: sarcastic) glance down at her ID badge seemed answer enough, as Cindra continued with an amused smile. Apparently, she thought Natalie was being funny, and not intentionally rude.      Odd.     “I knew I recognized you. We don’t get as much coverage on duelists here as Domino City does, but I like to try and keep on top of news. That must have been so tough, having all those lies printed about you. I know the feeling -- the paparazzi are brutal, aren’t they? I didn’t realize.. but when I started getting some recognition, they tore me apart too. It certainly wasn’t what I’d expected out of making it, or... sort of, anyway.” 

     It was the sympathy she offered that held back the snide comment at the tip of Natalie’s tongue, which questioned what ‘recognition’ Cindra spoke of. Instead, she took a moment to recall the details of the VIP list, noting Seto’s mention of a young duelist with a dragon deck that was only second rate. A compliment, as far as his reviews went. She had won her ticket, Nat thought, in a KaibaCorp tournament -- which meant that her story had a high likelihood of actually being true.      It occurred to her, then, that Cindra - for all her social niceties and supposed confidence - actually seemed rather... nervous. Her smile was a touch too wide, her voice almost breathless, and her eyes were... frantic, perhaps, as she continued. 

     “I was really afraid it would affect my career, but it hasn’t yet. I was hoping to apply for a summer internship, though, at KaibaCrop, and wondered...”

    Lo, the point of their little meeting. Though her own nerves were still terse from their initial greeting, Cindra’s forceful attitude could certainly benefit her if she were to gain a position at the company -- and Natalie wasn’t certain she could fault her for trying to prepare to speak to her, like this. 

     “KaibaCorp only refers to reputable sources.” She informer her, dropping the combative tone in favour of a more professional attitude. “The media, however, holds very little sway within our decisions.”

    “Oh, that’s -- really great to hear.” Her attitude, thought Natalie, must have been the result of nerves. She seemed honestly relieved, relaxing visibly as much of the tension melted away at Natalie’s words. As she continued, she seemed less like a know-it-all bitch, and more like a young woman excited to reach for her goals - something even Natalie couldn’t crush her admiration for.     “It’s -- a dream of mine, to work there. I know it’s a harsh environment, don’t get me wrong, but he’s really just such an inspiration, and I think I could learn a lot from working there. That’s how you started, right? As an intern? Do you -- Did it improve your dueling, or just your business skills...?”

     Though Natalie had been initially quite annoyed, she found herself now warming to the social duelist, and surprised even herself with a light, conversational laugh as Cindra’s words seemed to bubble out of her. 

     “Well, considering I couldn’t tell a trap from a spell card before, I’d say they’ve improved. You can’t help but pick things up around that place, but I was never a duelist.I was hired for my business experience; what I know, I had to learn on the job. Your knowledge would certainly be an asset, depending on the position you want to apply for.”

    “Really? Wow. I mean, those magazines never said anything about you dueling, but I just thought they were glazing over news that they couldn’t sensationalize -- what’s it like working for Kaiba, as a non-duelist?”

    Ordinarily, Natalie was evasive at best on the topic of what it was like to work with Seto - especially when those articles were mentioned. The other woman seemed genuinely interested, though; and given enough time to chat, Natalie got the sense that they could perhaps get along enough to be friendly. She was, quite frankly, growing on her. 

    “Well, like you said... he’s an inspiration.” She was careful with her tone, but still her heart fluttered traitorously in her chest, and she wondered if she managed to hide the glow she felt as she praised him. “You don’t have to be a duelist to know that.”

    Cindra’s lips parted, probably to unleash another question; before she could, though, there came the sound of something like a scoff from behind them. Cindra heard it too, turning in union with Natalie to see where the derisive noise had come from.

    The culprit was staring down at Natalie from where he sat, reclined in the highest seat of the VIP section. His arms were folded over his chest, though they were the only part of him that was not spread out like some sort of space-hungry animal. His legs were spread and straight, taking up far more room than he was warranted. At his hip, Natalie noted, a deck pouch hung. Clearly, then, he was a duelist, though his face was not one she recognized.      (Not, though, that she cared to recognize third rate losers who had to pay to get close to Seto. 

    “Sounds like someone has an opinion.” Cindra observed dryly. “Pity -- no one asked.”

    “Oh, sorry, did I interrupt your fangasm? My bad -- I’m just trying to watch the duels.” His retort certainly had an edge to it. If not for his tone, Natalie perhaps could have found his complaint a valid one. He didn’t stop there, though, fixing her with a particularly scathing look.      “Some of us are actually here because we give a shit. You know -- seeing as we’re actually duelists. Not just... inspired women.”

    His tone more than explained what he thought of that, and with how he raked her up and down with his eyes, she expected exactly what came next. That did not, however, make it any more enjoyable. 

    “Since you’re so inspired by great duelists, though, I’m sure I could show you a good time when this is all over. Let you play with my deck, even.”      Oh. There were so many things wrong with that innuendo. Cindra made a small noise beside her; something that seemed somewhere between a choke and an indignant gasp. Natalie, however, only raised her eyebrows and returned the raking gaze that the duelist had treated her to. From head to toe, she scrutinized him, stripping him down in her mind’s eye and finding the results paltry. He couldn’t know that, though; in response to her gaze, he sat up from where he’d been reclined, seeming to enjoy the attention.     Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the guard at the door shifting where he stood, responding to how the other man moved in his seat. She wasn’t worried about him sitting up, though, and lifted her fingers quietly toward Gray, the guard, as he straightened. Even in but her peripherals, she saw him stop, though he did not return to the door. Instead, he fidgeted with the comm unit on his shoulder, and stood dutifully nearby. He likely didn’t approve of her decision, but he would never argue with it; not over something so petty.

     “A good time, huh..? Like... with a great duelist?” Her tone was flirtatious and light as she leaned into the back of her chair, returning the confident grin that the duelist bore.      “Of course -- “     “Do you know any? Like, would we meet them later?” Her vapid blink made him pause, as she interrupted him, but he seemed unwilling to quite drop the opportunity to flirt with her despite her apparent idiocy. Evidently, he hadn’t been listening too closely to their conversation - if he had, he’d have known that she already knew a great duelist. His ignorance didn’t help him as he leaned down toward her, resting his hands upon the back of the seat in front of him. 

    “You’re looking at one, sweetheart. In the flesh. Hideko Moria. First place champ, in this area. This tournament isn’t even worth my time." His posturing would have been more impressive, if his name had been at all familiar. It wasn’t, though. Alas.      Her laughter, cutting and sharp, was not the answer he expected to that. He seemed confused, but she was genuinely amused. Cindra, bless her heart, joined in as well. Shaking her head, Natalie waved one dismissive hand toward Hideko, sighing when her laughter faded. 

    “Oh, that’s funny. You think we’d want anything to do with your deck? Your pouch seems pretty small -- if, you know, that’s the innuendo you really want to go with. We’re here watching Seto Kaiba. Why would we want anything to do with second rate ‘champs’,” The finger quotes, she thought, made him mad. “like you?”

    “We’ll see who the real second rate champ is when he gets in here. I’m going to challenge him-”    “Not with that ‘deck’.” Her dry comment made Cindra snort with laughter, her hands flying to cover her mouth. Hideko seemed further irked by her mockery, rising to his feet in anger. The door to the booth clicked -- likely, more security, come to deal with the toddler’s tantrum. Again, she spotted Gray moving behind her, but raised one hand to still him.

    “What the hell do you know. You’re not even a duelist.” The dark haired man spat at her, but earned only more amused laughter for his efforts. Carefully, she unhooked her ID badge, holding it out for him to see. She waited a moment, her face and eyes clearly communicating what she thought of how long it took him to read it, before elaborating verbally -- much, again, to his chagrin.       “Executive Assistant to the CEO of KaibaCorp. Natalie Arrington. I wish it were a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Moria, but I’ve had more pleasurable meetings with our fax machines. I think you’ll find I know quite a lot about great duelists. Not so much about third rate losers, though, which explains why I don’t know your name. Tell me, if this tournament wasn’t worth your time, why is it that you had to pay a fee to be invited into the VIP section, instead of facing Mr.Kaiba on the field?”      “I-”      “Don’t answer, I actually don’t care.” She didn’t give him a chance to speak, rising from her seat and smoothing her skirt around her hips. “You will not be challenging Seto, today, because you’re not worth his time. You’re not even worth mine, and I’m - as you said - not even a duelist. I’m quite sure, however, that I would be more than enough to deal with you."

    “Your time? You’re a glorified secretary, and you don’t even have a DECK --”     “Or anything to PROVE, to the likes of YOU.”

    The sound of Seto’s voice startled them all, and as one, they turned toward the door. It seemed that the click she had heard was not just security entering to supervise their little spat. How she had managed to miss the commanding presence of her lover, she could not say -- but somehow, she had. He stood near the door, now - six towering feet of imposing fury as he fixed Hideko with his coldest glare, his leather clad arms folded over his thick chest. If she had found him pleasing to her eye from on the field, to see him in such a mood here made it all the more tempting -- but she had something more to focus on than the probability of him doling out punishment. Namely, how Hideko was still speaking, even in the face of Seto’s intimidation.

     “Well well, if it isn’t the prince of darkness himself. No offense, Mister Kaiba, but you need to lift your standards. Your little secretary’s mouthy, for someone who can’t even duel. I guess that’s how you make yourself feel better, though -- by surrounding yourself with people who just make you look good, right? Since she doesn’t know the first thing about the game, I bet she thinks you’re just the greatest, doesn’t sh-”

    In Natalie’s mind, she had a vision of hitting him with a chair. Instead, she stepped between Seto and the imbecile who was baiting him forward, asking for more than he could possibly handle. On one hand, seeing Seto destroy him - either physically, verbally, or in a duel, would have been satisfying.    But on the other, he was insulting her as much as he was her boyfriend - and she wanted the taste of his defeat for herself. So she placed herself between him and Seto’s temper, laughter still on her lips. 

     “Your attempts to goad Mr.Kaiba into giving you the time of day are cute, Mr. Moria, but as I said -- you will not have the pleasure of challenging him today. If you would like to try and assert your self worth in the only way you know how, I would be more than happy to duel you. Otherwise, you may join Mr.Moruba here as he escorts you off of the property.” 

    “Natalie --” Seto’s tone was hard to read, from only one word. She assumed, though, that he didn’t think it was a good idea. He was the better duelist, the one that Hideko had come to challenge -- but Natalie refused to give him what he wanted. It didn’t matter, though -- the other duelist was riled, now, and though Seto was who he had come for, he had not forgotten the vicious redhead who had mocked him without pause.

    “With what deck, Red? I know you’re new to this, but you need cards to play.”

    “She can use mine.” The offer came not from Seto, but from Cindra, who Natalie had nearly forgotten about in the chaos. She was holding the stack of cards as she approached, taking a position next to Natalie and offering them out. “That is -- unless you’re scared to duel a secretary. Shouldn’t be a problem for you, seeing as you wanted to challenge Kaiba.” 

    Natalie had been betting on Hideko’s refusal, gambling on a bluff she couldn’t back up without cards of her own. As it turned out, though, she didn’t need to -- reaching out, she took Cindra’s deck from her hands, glancing only briefly down at some of the cards. She recognized their names, from strategies Seto had mentioned before...     Which meant Hideko had no further reason to refuse. Sure, he could claim it wasn’t ‘worth his time’, but then he would need to leave. She could see the gears turning in his tiny skull, and was prepared for the demand that came forth next. 

    “When I finish with you, I will get to duel HIM.”     “If.” she shrugged, hearing the creak of Seto’s grip tightening against his leather sleeves. My, but he was angry. If Hideko did defeat her... well.      He wasn’t in for a pleasant duel.

    “You don’t need to do this.” He repeated to her, in a low and dangerous voice. Over her shoulder, she shared with him a small smile -- one that said more than clearly that she wanted to. His eyebrows quirked higher in surprise, but he unfolded his arms, and very deliberately unhooked the duel disc from his wrist.      Natalie had expected to duel simply on a mat, but she did note that Hideko wore a similar disc upon his own arm. With a flick of his fingers, Seto beckoned her closer, but she didn’t need the instruction he offered to put it on. She had, after all, seen all of the documents to create the damn thing. In a few quick snaps, it was secure against her arm, and she could have sworn she saw Seto’s lips twitch again.      (Apparently, he liked the sight of her, wearing his disc. She filed that fact away, for later.) 

     The booth wasn’t the ideal place for a duel, but there was room -- slipping Cindra’s deck into the proper slot, Natalie stepped into the area that security cleared, facing Hideko with as much care as he deserved. Which was, to be clear, none. Her flippant air upset him, but she didn’t care much about that, either. Thus, the duel began -- with the holographic displays that she had watched Seto create, the flair that the Kaiba name was known for, and Hideko’s veins bulging in his forehead. 

    To his credit, being so annoyed didn’t affect his game as much as Natalie had thought. He started the duel strong, which seemed to only enhance his insufferable confidence to the point of breaking her own considerable patience. With each card he set down, he explained it’s stats and effects in the most condescending of tones -- right up until the tide began to turn. 

    He had been so consumed with his own superiority, he hadn’t stopped to consider that she hadn’t been simply setting cards down at random. As the key to her strategy slipped free on her next draw, control shifted quickly into Natalie’s hands, and she did not waste it by explaining it to Hideko with every move. His explanations quickly halted as he tried to form a counter, but it was already too late for him to regain the ground that he had lost. 

     It was with a smile void of mercy that she watched his life points scroll steadily downward, and when the chime rang zero and the holograms faded, she wasn’t certain that she had ever felt quite as satisfied as she did just then. He was stunned into silence, still clutching what had been left of his hand, and she tutted quietly to herself as she gathered Cindra’s cards back into one stack. 

     “Next time you would like to question KaibaCorp’s standards, Mr. Moria, please remember that a secretary was the one who put you in your place. Mr. Moruba, would you please escort Mr. Moria away? I’m sure it won’t be difficult to find where he belongs. Just follow the smell of disappointment and trash and he should fit right in.”

     Gray seemed only too happy to step forward, cutting Natalie’s view of Hideko’s indignant shock and sputtering short. She thought she heard something like ‘cheating’ as he was escorted out, but didn’t care to listen, turning toward Cindra as she sifted through her clutch for one more card to add to the deck. This one did not bear the signature brown swirl of a duel monster’s card, though -- instead, it was crisp and white, the lack of colour striking a notable contrast between it and the rest of the borrowed deck. 

     “Thank you for letting me use this. You really do draw inspiration from him, don’t you?” She shared a smile with the other woman, who flushed and nodded, torn between watching Natalie and staring over her shoulder where Seto no doubt lingered. He was far too close for Natalie to want to discuss Cindra’s deck, which bore so many similarities to his own it had been simple for her to recall strategies Seto had toyed with before. She didn’t let him steal her own focus away, though, ignoring him in favour of tapping her card with one fingertip as she passed Cindra’s deck back into her hands. 

     “This is my direct line. Call me when you apply for that internship, alright? I’d like to personally review your file, if that’s okay with you.”      “Y-yeah, that... that’d be awesome! Thank you so much!” The taller woman took her cards back in both hands and clutched them close, now apparently finding it difficult to speak. Seto’s presence tended to have that effect on people, though. Especially, Nat thought, when they admired him - and it didn’t help that he was looming so close. 

     It was already out of character, for their public charade, for him to have taken a back seat in the decision of what to do with the so called ‘champ’ who had challenged him, but the fact that he was standing so near only made it all the more strange. She supposed, then, that it didn’t much matter at that point that he brushed his hand against her elbow, demanding her attention in a way that she could not refuse. It took everything she had to keep from jumping at the sudden touch of his skin against hers, and the lightning arc of her heart starting in her chest. 

     She expected to need to excuse herself away from Cindra, and was already detaching the duel disk from her arm, suspecting that he would want it back when he was through scolding her for taking such liberties while representing him in public. Appearances, after all, needed to be kept. When she turned toward him, however, she found him frozen in place, his usually stoic expression strangely... reverent. 

     His face alone brought colour to her cheeks, but she fought for her composure despite how light his look made her feel. They were still in public, a fact of which she felt painfully aware. Though security was busy clearing the booth of the VIP attendees, directing them to the lounge in which Seto would soon join them, a few still lingered, their attention captured by the exchange. 

    “Apologies, Sir.” She said in a too-soft voice, her fingers falling still against the clasps that held the disk upon her arm. “I didn’t intend to delay your schedule, b-”     “Amazing.” His voice cut her off, and what he said robbed her of all attempts to uphold the act they had become so good at displaying in public, and her composure. Her cheeks burned crimson and she froze as well, her fingers seeming locked upon the disk. If Seto realized that the others had not all left, he didn’t show it, his words seeming to escape him before he could stop himself. 

    “You glanced at that deck, and still managed to build a strategy to WIN. It wasn’t even your deck, princess...” He paused, perhaps to find his own composure after the slip of his private nickname. One hand lifted as if he might touch her again, and despite herself, she leaned toward it. They each managed to resist, though, and Seto quickly continued on, his blue eyes burning with unchecked admiration for the woman that he loved.      “That takes skill. It was nothing short of brilliance, Natalie.” 

     That statement alone would have been enough, but he did not stop there. Later, she would wonder if it was intentional, a test of her restraint -- but if it was...     Oh. How she had failed, in the face of the words that came next.

    “I’m proud of you.” 

     They struck a tender chord with the red haired woman, one so rarely touched, even by him. Her vision blurred and her throat felt tight, but the tears that threatened to fall were far from miserable. That familiar sappy smile that she reserved for him was splitting across her face, and her heart felt likely to burst if he said anything more. To Natalie, he may as well have proclaimed his love on live TV -- and she couldn’t have hidden the effect it had on her, no matter what she tried. 

     She didn’t dare to speak immediately, nodding her thanks as she rushed to loose the duel disk from her arm; searching, honestly, for any excuse to turn her gaze away from him. Their guests were nearly clear of the room, now, but that did not mean that they hadn’t seen or heard any part of their exchange -- and if they spotted her now, god, they HAD to know the truth. She was putty in his hands, and though she had just before decried the inaccuracies of the gossip articles... Well.     There was no denying now that Seto Kaiba’s assistant, if not the man himself, had a furious crush on her boss.

     Mercifully, though, as Natalie glanced warily about the room, searching for evidence of witnesses. she spotted only Cindra, lingering near the door. As their eyes locked, and Seto’s hands lifted to free her from the duel disk in a tender fashion unexpected from the ordinarily severe duelist, she lifted one finger to her lips, and turned away, leaving them in privacy together. 

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... The Strain (S04E02) The Blood Tax Airdate: July 23, 2017 @fxnetworks Ratings: 0.913 Million :: 0.30 18-49 Demo Share Score: 2.25/10 @thestrain-fx TVTime/FB/Twitter/Tumblr/Path/Pinterest: @SpotlightSaga **********SPOILERS BELOW********** Messy. Messy. Messy. The whole entire first half of the episode for Dutch (Ruta Gedmintas) and Setrakian (David Bradley) is a flashback, which is extremely confusing considering that the other narrative playing out involving Gus (Miguel Gomez) and his random cousin, Raul (Michael Reventar), who we've never met, not even once, is happening in the current timeline. Luckily, for Gus, Raul works at a high clearance blood farming lab at 'The Partnership' and I'm literally losing interest as I'm writing this sentence. It's crazy to think we were all so excited about the possibilities of 'The Strain' when it first premiered. It really felt boundless, a new twist on an old genre. Even more insane is that I truly believe that people actually want to like the show. About 1.5 Million Viewers tuned in to the S4 premiere, which is huge for a show that's been on cable since 2014, as very few series see actual gains in overall viewer numbers... Albeit, the gain was only 6%, but it's a rare & notable gain nonetheless. After the first episode of S4 premiered, many of us were left wondering what had become of the fate of these characters covered in this 2nd episode, the same ones that are completely absent from any scene in the premiere, besides Setrakian in a strange dream sequence. Suddenly, I wish I had never wondered or even asked. 'Time Jump' tropes can already throw a lot at you, but filling in the blanks can make it even worse. It's almost better for the writers to set the stage and insinuate bits and pieces of the lost path here & there, otherwise it becomes extremely convoluted... Let the audience think for themselves, don't dog walk them through everything, because then we're left scratching our heads, feeling confused and even a bit dumbfounded, when really it should be cut & dry. When things are supposed to be simple, but you position them in a chaotic & restricted way, it feels like you're reading a children's book that you keep having to turn back to the previous page again & again, asking yourself, 'Wait a minute... Now what just happened?!' Frankly, it's insulting. FX Networks is better than this and even this show, during its lowest of low points, have been better than this clusterfuck of an episode. The good news is that every episode of 'The Strain' moves fast as lightning... Before you can even lift up your hand to scratch your head, its over and the credits are rolling. Unfortunately for us we still have a bit more ground to cover. Dutch has been separated from Setrakian and is being farmed for breeding due to her rare and Strigoi friendly B-Positive Blood Type. One of her captive roommates is happy that she's at least safe in her bizarre, bloodletting, breeding ground, Dutch brushes off that ridiculous notion. Imagine Carol from 'The Walking Dead' being locked up with someone for some random reason and then having one of her fellow prisoners telling her, 'Well at least we're safe and breeding out new Walkers vs fighting for our lives and living in fear out there in the wild.' Dutch doesn't give 'Roommate #4' quite the look of pure disdain that Carol would return that sentiment with, but nonetheless 'Roommate #4' gets the picture and rolls out. She's weak, Dutch isn't, we get it. Thank you writers, crystal clear. If you guessed that everything was going to go wrong with Gus' plan to use his cousin for his and his ruthless crew's personal gain and then put him in danger by keeping him around his homicidal group of friends, cookies for you. The flow of the episode is such a mess at this point that I found myself flipping through IMDB to see who Directed this nonsense. Ah, J. Miles Dale. Ok, now it makes sense. Usually on a bad day 'The Strain' is still a solid '5' out of '10', but this episode is more like the bottom of a muddy, moss covered rock behind a venomous snake pit deep in the banks of the Appalachian Mountains. If you aren't familiar with Dale's Directorial Debacles, let me catch you up; Robocop: The Series (1994), F/X: The Series (97/98 - yet another needless tv adaptation), Earth: The Final Conflict (2000 - so a late series episode), Andromeda (2002-03, no we weren't aware the show even ran that long), The Skulls III (2004 - The first film was quite enough), Doc (2001-2004 w/Billy Ray Cyrus, yeah we have no idea either), Sue Thomas F.B.Eye (2002-2004 - WTF?!), Shadowhunters (2016 - Did I just hear you snort?), and every previous episode of 'The Strain' that you hated... No seriously, we looked back as we keep all of our ratings on file and the highest rating we'd given to any episodes with his name on the Director's Chair was a 4/10. Dale is not a Director, he's a producer with money and power. He's severely untalented and he's worked on some of the worst tv shows in the history of television, but he's thrown money at some decent ones... See the difference? I had to watch the episode twice, because I was so disinterested the first time, I was unable to piece together a coherent review. It was more cohesive than this episode, but it needed work. I'm a perfectionist... And I really don't like going negative, but if I have to, it's going to be in an entertaining key. Hopefully this article is far more interesting than the episode itself. Luckily we won't see Dale return to 'The Strain' until the 10th episode... But if the gravity of that reality hasn't sunk in yet, I'll give you a moment to think about it... No, go ahead, take your time. You already got it, didn't you? See, I knew it, you and me, we're on the same level. We love the #horror genre... We've loved parts of 'The Strain' and have enjoyed its lighting fast pace... We all love to hate Zach (Max Charles) and are most likely all completionists. We are going to ride S4 all the way out, we were hoping for a huge turnaround for the big series finale, but more than likely Dale has thrown a lot of money down to help sustain this project, so he's going to be directing the FINAL EPISODE. Why, God, Why? God gave us Cancer. God gave us AIDS. And God gave us J. Miles Dale. Suddenly I'm rooting for The Strigoi... And whoever they hired to write this drivel... Liz Phang, girl, what the fuck? If anyone asks, you blame it on Dale, you at least have a few good episodes of USA Network's 'Colony' under your belt. Quick 'flash review' on where we are here, mmhkay? Zach sets off a giant nuclear bomb, directly causing some sort of hazy like fog that's thick enough to allow The Strigoi to run free in the daylight, blocking the sun's harmful UV Rays... Winston Churchill did some sort of version of this in real life, wonder why people don't hate him like they hate Zach?! Everyone is fine though, forget what we know about Hiroshima and all those mutations, that stuff is happily skipped over because that might create a few more hours in the workroom for the writers (can't have that). Dutch takes lead in the B-Positive Breeding Ground, possibly showing her cards before she should play them to the 'Head of B+ Blood Type Breeding Operations', Sanjay Desai (Cas Anvar). He's still alive, who knows why, most likely to participate in ridiculous subplots like this one. Don't worry, I'm still not giving up, it's most likely due to the diligent person inside of me that can't get this far into a show and simply just stop. The most disheartening take on this whole episode, which congratulations 'The Strain', you've ensured we leave a little section for 'Worst Of' for our end of 2017 Awards (consider it a small Spotlight Saga/TV Time Community Version of the Razzies), is that the Dutch character is completely wasted. Once upon a time she was a bad ass, making sketchy decisions and given redemption arcs. Then it was made clear they had no idea what the hell to do with her next... Dutch's Fall From Grace: Unnecessary love triangle? CHECK! ✔️ Female who needs strong but damaged male character to save her? CHECK! ✔️ Almost escaping but puts another, weaker human being, Sherry -or as we referred to her earlier, Roommate #4-, (Jess Salgueiro) before her and it backfires? CHECK! ✔️ Getting her only way out doomed to a terrible fate for allowing the other useless, weak character to take her place instead? CHECK! ✔️ Its 2017. I don't know how it runs in your city, but in Miami we don't help you if we don't know you. So add 6-foot tongues in a blood sucking ancient race of #vampires that come from tiny worms that look like extremely fast moving maggots, a bustling, b-positive, baby-making, muncher snack maker, nursery prison... And then have the most intelligent & capable woman in the entire building stick the one psychologically frail woman of the group , who's already directly told her that she feels safer on the inside, into her only chance to escape... Only she doesn't even want to escape... So really this is just a way for the writers to take yet another shortcut to fuck everything up? Oh hell no! Keep with the East Coast, NYC to Miami attitude, Dutch. Walk over a bitch, before a bitch walks over you. This is a horror series, not a 'everything works out in the end' type of series. It's almost over, people. Picture me saying this next sentence with every word annunciated as if I'm asking a really difficult question very slowly in a genuine state of confusion, possibly in a massive K-Hole, or 'Stoned' for all you chemical amateurs... "I'm sure things will get better and be totally worth it by the 10th and final episode????" Inspiring confidence yet? Damn, I was sure that would work! At least we have Eph, who seems to be finding a purpose in the midst of his gloomy, dystopian, post wife and child, existential crisis. The resistance group, led by possible unnecessary romantic interest Alex Green (Angel Parker), that he stayed behind with and helped in return for supplies, conveniently has to get out of their hiding spots due to a Strigoi draining a member's blood and therefore absorbing all of his memories. Suddenly Eph can help, suddenly he wants to. It's cheesy, but Corey Stoll is very aware of that and even deliver's Eph's sudden 'back into action' style-line like a Schwarzenegger one liner from an old 80s action film with all the heart of 'one of the good ones' like Mark L Lester's 1985 'Commando'. In all fairness, barring directors like Dale from touching this show, 'The Strain' still has a chance to deliver us a semi-satisfactory ending. It's time to ham that shit up tho... Break out the Gouda Cheese, the blood red corn syrup, those creepy ass, aforementioned 6-foot muncher tongues and give Eph a whole lot more ridiculous one-liners, bomb detonators, large amounts of explosives, guns & firepower and we could still be walking out of this thing with a smile on our face yet.