#its not even in connected to the main part of the office where you can realistically be like 'lets go into the next room for piano'

[todayisafridaynight]

STOP I OVERPLAYED ODE TO JOY WHILE LEARNING PIANO 😭😭😭😭😭

However! I am happy to share and am so glad you see the vision. Sorry In Advance to you and all your followers for the spam but here is a (mostly corrupted) office tour (please note the "Mine Power"-brand gym equipment):

P.S. I recall really liking The Wings of the Kirin, please enjoy!

EVERYONE OVERPLAYED ODE TO JOY GROWING UP IT CAME WITH YOUR PARENTS FORCING YOU TO LEARN THE PIANO LERKJALEKJ

BUT OH MY GOD NO DON'T APOLOGIZE THIS IS LITERALLY PERFECT I thank you again for my life this is so important to me you have no idea

[wovenintosilk]

Stubborn

Received a request through a reblog for something related to Miguel's fangs. It's not exactly focused on them but they're definitely part of it!

No Content Warnings

GN!Reader

Word Count: 1100

━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━

“Get your fingers away from my mouth. Are you a child?”

You pouted and withdrew your hand, thwarted in your attempts to sneakily lift the corner of your boyfriend’s lip. “I want to see them,” you defended. “They’re so nice to look.”

“If you’re that bored, I will find you something more productive to do,” he reminded you and twisted his face further from your reach. “I’m not in the habit of allowing people to lounge around my workspace for the fun of it.”

“Can my something productive be getting you to smile?”

“Absolutely not.”

You sighed and sank further into your chair, head tilted back to the ceiling you stared at far too much. “You said you would be finished with this by now.”

“It was a possibility but it required far more attention than I expected. It won’t be much longer.”

Miguel’s desire to be busy never surprised you. From the day you’d met him to the day you kissed him for the first time, you always understood why he obsessed in the way he did. It didn’t hurt you but you worried – more about his own health than anything else.

When was the last time he’d even eaten?

“You know, I actually do have a job to get done,” you said. “I’ll be back soon. Try not to get too big of a headache by scowling at that screen.”

“I know.”

The grumbled words didn’t help your concerns. You cast a glance over your shoulder in his direction. The harsh artificial lighting of his office highlighted how he hunched over his work, shone off his suit in a piercing way.

It really couldn’t be good for him to stand like that.

Your first stop took you over an hour to reach and you still didn’t doubt for one second that Miguel would still be working on your return. Though he cared little about food quality lately, you insisted on getting him something healthy and what you knew he would enjoy.

If it took you ages to find, you didn’t mind too much. You knew it wouldn’t impact on your plans going forward.

Around the side of Miguel’s office, a few wires connected just behind a broken section of the wall. You had to hold your breath to squeeze half into it in order to reach them.

“This is a very bad idea.”

You jumped, hit your head against the wall in your startle, and groaned in the unexpected pain. Lyla watched with a humoured smirk from where she’d appeared, projected out of your personal watch.

“It’ll be fine,” you said. “He won’t even know it was me.”

“He will,” she corrected. “But that’s not what I’m worried about. I know you can handle Miguel yourself but I think you shouldn’t play with electricity.”

“When you asked me to get him to take a break, you should have known I’d need to resort to some extreme measures.”

She sighed and waved a hand for you to continue. You squeezed your way further in so you could reach the wire that fed his office and a few of the surrounding halls. Hobie showed you it wouldn’t turn off the rest of the complex when he did it last time as a joke.

“I’ve already backed up everything he’s working on. If he throws you out, I take no responsibility for it.”

You grinned cut the wire. Everything plummeted into darkness around you, computers shut off loudly and the ever-present hum stopped. You grinned proudly and dropped your cutter back into its space before you headed to the office.

You realised one of the main problems when you walked through the doors and spotted him on his platform. The one that wouldn’t move now without electricity.

“Wow,” you said loudly. “Can you believe the timing of this?”

He turned slowly. The silence stretched thickly between you, your smile a match for his glare. Lyla was right, he knew exactly what had happened.

“Either you have to come down here or find a way to get me up there,” you called. “Because I can’t reach you otherwise.”

You held up the food right as a bright web attached to your chest. It pulled you forward and lifted you into the air as though you weighed nothing. It might not be the first time it had happened to you but you’d never really get used to the sensation of being dragged around.

He steadied you when you landed, his hand rested on your arm until you gained your balance back. His lip curled up ever so slightly as he waited.

“I brought food,” you said and sat down in your chair.

“What did you do?”

“Went a ridiculous distance to get this for you,” you noted. “Do you know how far this place is? And then I got back and the power disappeared. Had to walk here in the dark.”

“Do you know how busy I was? How much you may have gotten lost?”

“I’m sure Lyla managed to get it saved. You can take a break while she finds the fault.”

He loomed above you, leaned down and opened his mouth ever so slightly. Finally, you had an opportunity to see those massive fangs you loved so much. You loved his habit of using them to intimidate. He didn’t even do it purposefully.

“You can’t really be blaming me for the electricity,” you said.

“I’m not stupid.”

You finally placed the packet of food aside, reached up and grabbed the front of his suit so you could pull him closer. You used your free hand to cup his jaw, ran your thumb over his bottom lip. Those fangs really were beautiful. What you’d give to have them showing more often…

“I need you to take a break,” you said. “It might take a while to fix. You may as well give your body a small rest, okay?”

Before you let him go, you pressed a small kiss to the underside of his jaw. He leaned into the touch just enough to let you know you’d been somewhat forgiven for your meddling.

He took the food from you, muttered something about stubbornness, and listened as you spoke about everything you’d been waiting to tell him.

[cybrsan]

ATEEZ as Benders

Masterlist | A/N: A glimpse into each member and their roles in my upcoming ATLA-inspired, Wooyoung x reader fic for the second part of my title track series. Will most likely end up writing a fic for each member and turning this into a sub-series of its own. Let me know what you think! Edit: As of 11/11/23, this has been turned into a series. Check out the masterlist here.

Hongjoong

Element: Fire

Occupation: Diplomat, Strategist

Personality: Intense, strong-willed, passionate, loyal, creative, intelligent, charismatic

Fun Fact: Hongjoong, despite being young, has become one of the government officials with the best reputation. He is incredibly persuasive and cunning, and he uses his skills to enact the will of the people and do his best for the good of the Fire Nation. He has a lot of secret admirers, often finding chocolates and other gifts in his office, but don't mention that to him or he'll get shy.

Seonghwa

Element: Water

Occupation: Artisan

Personality: Sensitive, nurturing, perfectionist, reliable, open-minded, adaptable, empathetic

Fun Fact: Seonghwa is known to make some of the most beautiful carvings and jewelry in the entire Water Tribe. All benders, no matter what nation they're from, would love to own one of his pieces. But secretly, he loves to make toys for kids to play with and prefers that to his main job.

Yunho

Element: Air

Occupation: Acrobat

Personality: Jovial, spontaneous, free-spirited, romantic, kind, helpful

Fun Fact: Yunho often tours the four nations with his troupe, and his solo act has become a favorite amongst children and adults alike. What makes his routine even more impressive is that he has an incredible mastery over his bending, and performs without ever touching the ground. Incredibly charismatic and entrancing to watch, his performance will capture both your attention and your heart.

Yeosang

Element: Air

Occupation: Meditative Guide

Personality: Unique, endearing, positive, dreamy, free-spirited, peaceful

Fun Fact: People often find Yeosang to be in his own world, a step or two behind everyone else. It makes it hard to believe that he's one of the best meditative guides hailing from the Air Nomads, helping troubled souls find their inner peace through deep and intense focus. Truthfully, he's aware of everything that's going on but only likes to pay attention to the things that really matter to him.

San

Element: Fire

Occupation: Firebending Instructor, Tactician

Personality: Passionate, unpredictable, alluring, strong-willed, independent, principled

Fun Fact: San is one of the best firebenders in the nation, having mastered the technique of blue lightning. People would pay unspeakable amounts of money to be taught by him, but he only teaches those without the means to compensate him, dedicating his time to the underprivileged. He gives free classes at the orphanage his father runs, while he gets his money from the government, advising military leaders on the most effective ways to deploy firebenders and utilize their bending skills in combat.

Mingi

Element: Earth

Occupation: Architect

Personality: Patient, conciliatory, persistent, logical, diligent, complex, gentle

Fun Fact: Mingi loves creating things, but he also finds himself wanting to leave a positive impact on the people and environments around him. That's why, when designing any sort of structure, he taps into the vibrations of the earth, seeking its guidance to foster a harmonious connection between the building and its surroundings. He believes that humans and the earth can live together in harmony, strengthening and taking care of one another.

Wooyoung

Element: Water

Occupation: Healer

Personality: Enigmatic, sensitive, giving, comforting, loving, altruistic, committed

Fun Fact: Wooyoung has mastered a unique form of healing that he calls "Wavesong" where, through singing and dancing, he can project vibrations through water that promote healing within wounded individuals, allowing him to help not only their bodies but their minds. People believe this is because he is moon-blessed, a child born under the Siren Moon that only rises once every 88 years. Wooyoung lets them believe that, not wanting to reveal that his true "blessing" is having prophetic dreams that tend to get him in more trouble than they're worth.

Jongho

Element: Fire

Occupation: Ceremonial Performer

Personality: Courageous, idealistic, adventurous, passionate, independent, powerful, dynamic

Fun Fact: When Jongho isn't participating in a ceremony or ritual, he often busks on the streets of the capital, entertaining passersby for fun. If you manage to see him, either in an official or unofficial capacity, you should consider yourself lucky. Whether it's due to his bending or simply his natural talent, his voice seems to imbue the listener with a feeling of warmth and a nostalgic longing for home.

[tinyozlion]

Zechs Marquise / Milliardo Peacecraft:  A Heel Turn for the Greater Good

Zechs Merquise is the main character of Gundam Wing. 

Ah, you thought it was Heero, or maybe Relena, didn’t you? Well, judging by the first act of the series, this is clearly not the case!  

Zechs is the very first character we’re introduced to. He’s mysterious, handsome, ultra-competent. He shows concern for civilian safety and the safety of his men. He takes personal risks, fights on the front lines. He demonstrates right away that he has a strong ethical code that places great importance on the moral conduct of soldiers. His subordinates look up to him, his superiors value and respect him. We get all of this in act one of episode one.

Absolute hero material, so far! Hard to see why he's being framed like antagonist. Whatever, I'm sure he'll be on the winning team in no time! Just like Quattro Vegeta, or whatever.

By episode three, we’re introduced to the Tallgeese, a mobile suit that matches all the criteria for being the Big Damn Hero Machine that a protagonist would use: it’s ancient, it’s got a history, it’s the progenitor suit, it’s got no bells or whistles, it demands great strength and skill from the pilot but offers unmatched performance to those who can overcome its challenges. It’s the perfect suit for Zechs, and obviously the next step in his hero’s journey! This is the part of the story where he can finally meet the terrifying, so-far unbeatable enemy on equal footing. 

...But of course, OZ is also introduced in episode 3. So now we know that Zechs works for some faceless, secret military organization– but that’s fine, right? It’s the Alliance military that’s the Big Bad Guy, and Zechs seems to be part of some elite special unit that’s only for brave, self-sacrificing soldiers! OZ hasn’t done anything really bad yet, while on the other hand, the Gundam pilots have been a bunch of mercilessly violent loose cannons who’ll kill anyone who gets in their way.

In episode four, we meet Noin, an immediately likable and equally skilled OZ officer who has a deep personal connection with Zechs. Already this is a power couple we can get behind. We watch as Noin suffers a humiliating defeat and a barrage of misogyny from a Gundam pilot, who kills a bunch of young recruits in their sleep. Definitely not a good look for the Gundam Team! while Zechs and Noin (and Treize, in a more literal sense) come out of this episode smelling like roses. 

Just look at them! They’re going to make such a great team. I hope they give those homicidal Gundam kids what for!

It’s only when episode five rolls around that we finally see what OZ is really about: assassinations, covert schemes, foul play, political manipulation, and the ruthless accumulation of power. Uh oh! 

But surely, Lady Une is the real baddy here, and Treize is no more than a shadowy puppet master whose true motives remain mysterious. Zechs and Noin are still such obvious Good Guy candidates, they really ought to be the main protagonists of this show by now! The big scary OZ that the Colony rebels warned us about seems a far cry from the OZ we’ve seen so far. Even after the point where OZ becomes the new uncontested Bad Guy, Zechs and co. keep their noses pretty clean.

And then! Then Zechs reveals his tragic past, his double-identity, his secret Count of Monte Cristo/ Man in the Iron Mask plot to avenge the ruin of the Sanc Kingdom and the deaths of his family, the noble house of Peacecraft! How romantic, how dashing! His quest continues to best the Gundams, but this takes on the hue of personal enlightenment; Zechs wants to defeat the Gundam pilots to prove he is capable of being a “True Soldier”, worthy of the power he’s been given, worthy of what has been sacrificed to his cause. 

Boy, that’s some hero behavior! And it gets even better: Zechs and Noin leave OZ to begin championing the Sanc Kingdom and its policies of Total Pacifism. No one can say Zechs isn’t one of the good guys now, right? He even dresses up all spiffy in white and becomes an ambassador to promote peace in the colonies! 

–Or rather, he tries to. 

Because despite having gained a reporte with a few of the Gundam pilots, he still hasn’t managed to ally with them. They still view him as an enemy, no matter how hard or how desperately he tries to convince them that he’s turned over a new leaf. 

He can’t beat them, and he can’t join them. Why?

Pictured: the saddest boys in the universe.

The second act of Gundam Wing is a crucible where every character is forced to re-evaluate their place in the ongoing conflict. You can see and feel his frustration building as the future spirals out of control. 

What is the purpose of Zechs Merquise, or of Milliardo Peacecraft?

He has refused to be OZ’s mascot, the Lightning Count. He’s not capable of bringing peace to the colonies by himself. He can’t join the Gundams in their fight against OZ. He can’t even protect the Sanc Kingdom, because the very act of fighting in its name is used as an excuse to wipe it out. 

He bids a heartfelt adieu to his Big Damn Hero Machine, the Tallgeese, and finds himself in possession of its polar opposite: the Epyon, a machine made to scour its pilot and the world of hypocrisy. 

Finally, Zechs has his answer– the reason why his purpose eludes him, why all his best intentions go astray, why the harder he tries to align his moral compass to the Gundam pilots or embrace his pacifistic inheritance, the more lost he becomes: He is not the hero. 

He has been trying and failing to be a hero since episode one because this isn’t a story about noble, heroic, chivalrous warriors doing battle in order to gain personal clarity and strength.

It’s not about man-vs-man conflict resolving in a test of skill. If it were, Zechs would have been victorious and completed his hero’s journey by now, and the show would be over. 

But that was never the role he was meant to play. That’s not what the stage requires. The third act begins as he accepts a new mantle, and becomes the villain history needs in that moment to bring everything together.

“Zechs considers this place his grave. [...]He intends to pay for the sin of purging humanity, all by himself.”

–Not to purge humanity of “violent earthlings”, as his White Fang propaganda speech stated, but to purge the current generation of the means to wage mechanized warfare, and of the desire for combat and retribution itself, in order to finally bring the cycle of war between the earth and space to an end. 

…But of course, nothing ever really ends, does it? History dances forward, with or without you, and all the sacrifices and fail-safes in the world will not stop new challenges from arising. 

Nevertheless, if it is possible to choose, by means of noble principle, to be a villain for the sake of the greater good, in the full assurance of one’s own destruction and revilement, then surely that is also in some winding, definitionally tragic way, a path to heroism– and if this is so, then Zechs is strong (and disillusioned) enough to take it. 

I do not think that the series supports the idea that his actions or their consequences are justified– only that they achieve their immediate purpose: setting the stage for peace. For now.

...And Now, An Important Note on Gundam Meta:

Zechs is what is referred to in the parlance of the Gundam fandom as a “Char Archetype”, or “Char Clone”-- a term I think is of debatable accuracy. For a longer discussion on Char Aznable and his role in MS Gundam, please see the entry: The Char Aznable Problem.  But I want to make it clear that knowing about Char’s backstory IS NOT a necessary prerequisite to understanding Zechs’s story. 

Zechs and Char share a lot of DNA as characters, that’s unavoidable– a masked man in red who poses a threat to the main Gundam pilot is a staple of the genre; he’s deliberately an homage to Char, as much an expected feature of a Gundam series as... well, Gundams. That much is not in question. 

However: Char’s motivations only make sense in the context of the original Gundam series; if you try to apply the same logic within the structure of Gundam Wing, it becomes gibberish. But the gibberish is by design– If you don’t understand the context behind Zech’s late-series genocidal spiel on why “earthlings are the ultimate threat to peace so we must destroy earth, the source of all conflict yadda-yadda blah-blah”, then… yeah, you’re up to speed. No one else listening to White Fang’s broadcast understood it either. It’s MEANT to sound like the ramblings of an extremist madman who poses a catastrophic and unavoidable threat to both Earth AND the Space Colonies he claims to represent. That’s the basic nature of his Ozymandius Gambit: invent something scary enough that everyone has to band together to fight it.

So you don’t need to know about Char to understand Zechs– but knowing about Char does make Zech’s role (and Treize’s role!) in Gundam Wing that much more interesting.

Zechs is not a Char Clone, he is a conversation with the idea of Char, taking a theme and transposing it into a new composition.

--Anyway, it’s a little unfair to try and force a comparison between Zechs and Char, when Char had MS Gundam, Zeta Gundam, and Char’s Counterattack to do everything he did, and Zechs only had Wing. 

Now, I’m not a mathematician or anything, but I’d say that makes Zechs roughly…

Three times faster.

[caw4brandon]

TMA: Horror By Sound

A long while ago, I discussed about the interesting values of Audio content. Heck, I even talked about it in a [Video Here] Audio content, despite being considered as old media is emerging from the corners of the internet in the modern era.

With how things are moving at such a fast pace. A quick and secondary type of medium is bound to rise in popularity. Let's discuss;

- Statement Begins -

< The Magnus Archives > is an audio podcast/drama following an archivist at the Magnus Institute, London. The recordings follow Jonathan Sims who recently took over the position of Head Archivist after his predecessor, Gertrude Robinson mysteriously passed away.

What started out as a typical job of filing documents and old cases spiraled into an unusual turn where Jon and his Archival Assistants; Martin, Tim and Sasha are haunted by a grotesque monster as written in the statements.

As of now, the show has a total of 5 seasons and as the seasons progress. The monsters become more aggressive and frightening against the character's lives and their psyche.

- What's Your Greatest Fear? -

The series has the characters deal with entities that feed on the fears of the victims. From the typical fear of the dark to specific fears such as, spiders, filth, heights, closed spaces, and eventually, death itself. Each fear manifested itself onto the victims in various ways that feels personal.

At the end of the statements, Jon or the others will provide their thoughts on the case and report their findings in reality. Often dead end trials where either the victims have long died or went missing.

The series as a whole, has an ecosystem of connections to the manifestations. From the cursed books of Jurgen Leitner to a cast of active creatures hunting for prey to feed upon and tear into madness.

Aside from the main cast, there are also reoccurring characters that joined the show as well. There's former Paranormal Investigator; Melanie, former officers; Daisy and Basira and a few others.

The show takes a slow burn approach, learning the truth as Jon improves. Having the unknown beings creep deeper into his life inch by inch till he is no longer himself.

We get to see him get exhausted, frustrated at his lack and the comical failure of his preparation against the monsters knocking at his door with the conspiracy that he is but a pawn at the bigger game of these Abominations.

The show also shows a number of audio manipulation, adding to the creep factor. Such is when the creature; The Stranger appears by distorting sound and echoes when they speak.

- Statement Ends -

In a disturbing way. The show seems to suggest that we, the listeners are the very monsters that is affecting the characters. Our constant need for more brings the characters descend further and there is nothing we can do about it but listen.

I've talked in the past about how [ASMR is Sound for the Soul] with the ability to simulate soothing tingles and tell a story with one sided conversations. What TMA does is to do the secondary.

Telling a story by second hand accounts. The way how some of the statements feels can get under your skin. The use of words and the annunciation of the statements feels like something is pulling the statements closer to the audience. Simulating a different kind of tingle.

It sometimes feels like we are prying into closed conversations. Listening to the deepest and darkest parts of humanity without the characters noticing.

As of now, I caught up till Season 3 but it seems like Jon will be getting involved more and more to the beings at the threshold.

What I think TMA does really well is not making horror out of typical fears. It relies on those fears and amplifies its ability to make one cripplingly terrified at things we have yet to understand. Reaching out of the tape recorder and into our world in an unpleasant way. Yet, you can't help but click to the next episode.

Recording Ends

[cho-aaacho]

(Flufftober 2023) Massage

Main Masterlist I Archive of Our Own

Flufftober 2023 Masterlist I Prompts List

Tags : Fluff, Romantic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Massage, BSAA Chris Redfield, Flufftober 2023, Reader is genderless

(Flufftober 2023 Day 17)

Chris couldn't help but feel himself bathed in the romance situation. Above his head, there is a crystal-clear chandelier emanating a glow, showering the entire room with its light.

The romantic music flowed through the ceiling and the marble floor, promising the entire ballroom with its celestial melody.

Chris stood gracefully, his whole presence bathed in the soft glow of the chandelier. A sweet, gentle hum allured the ballroom, melting his very soul as he meandered his eyes towards the main entrance, only to discover a young, beautiful, and charismatic being drawing near him. Moving only for him.

With a bouquet held romantically in his trembling hands, a slight, soft smile curls on his lips, rendering him even more handsome.

His heart fluttered like a golden butterfly, so glowing that it almost overwhelmed him. It feels like everything around him has transformed into a garden of Eden.

At that moment, he understood exactly what happened to him; he knew very well what kind of disease had contaminated him.

Ah...

"I'm sorry, I'm late, Redfield." You smiled as he handed you a bouquet.

...yes, in love.

"No, that's fine. We didn't miss our last dance." He replied, his voice wrapped in a serene tone. You couldn't recall where or when he talked to you with such a calming tone.

He was a stern captain in the BSAA; his words were always full of soldier etiquette, and sometimes you couldn't imagine what he looked like without those uniforms. There are always dark clouds following his head every time you talk with him; there is always a gap between you and him.

Everyone is afraid of Chris, including you. But Piers had sworn that off-duty Chris was a different man. And from this point, you chose to believe in Piers.

"Was it your driver who made you late?"

He inquired, extending his hand toward you. You shyly accepted his hand. You couldn't lie, but you were feeling nervous around him. Because, oh God... he's so different from what you saw at the BSAA office. His smell, the way he locked your eyes—everything is so different.

With his guidance, you embarked on a journey toward the ballroom.

"I have no driver. I came here by myself, Redfield."

His laughter was followed by a soft smile on his face. "No need for such formality with me. You can call me Chris, or perhaps you've got a nickname for your captain?"

"Uh... Okay, Chris?"

"Okay... shall we dance?"

In an intimate embrace, his arms wrapped around your waist and guided you to a romantic connection. As the romance music blended with you, he swayed gently from side to side never stopping to gaze at your face. His lips were sliding sensually along the curve of your neck and then planting a passionate kiss. You're a bit confused at first, but after time passes, you're quite enjoying that kiss.

As your fingers accidentally brush against Chris' waist, he moves his body to the back. His expression changed to a burden of pain. You didn't know what happened to him.

"You okay, Chris?" you inquire, momentarily halting the waltz.

"You know," he began. "My waist is kind of hurting after falling from our last mission—so when someone touches there—"

"What? How about—I want to see that; maybe I can give you some help?"

Chris didn't say anything; he was just following your guide somewhere. Somewhere, he didn't know where it was. The two of you ended up in the bathroom, where you were alone inside.

You assured. "I don't want to be rude or sound perverted. But I want to see which part of your body is hurting. You know I'm quite good at giving someone a massage."

"I don't—"

"You need proof, Chris?"

With a tender touch, your finger squeezed against his waist, and a weird thread connected between you two. Unaware of Chris' expression, you didn't have time to witness something like that. Because you have something important here, right?

You furrowed after discovering something. "Well, I think your muscles are a little tense. How was your sleep? I can guarantee that after you get a massage from me, everything will be okay."

Chris chuckled. "So what should we do? Take you to my home."

Note : Uuuhhh. Sorry for the delay, but I promise I will finish Flufftober. Anyway, I'm rewatching Death Note this time, and once again, I fall into N and L brain rot. So you can blame the delay for this. //Slaaaaap

The next part will be Ethan Winters.

[macsimagines]

yo its me about the camgirl thing and uh could you do it for kisaki and kazutora?

I've been busy all day and week but THIS ask has been haunting me and i'm so happy to finally write it, thanks for sending it in I might do a part two IDK

TW: YANDERE BEHAVIOR, MINORS DNI, VOYERISM, NSFW, STALKING, MANIPULATION, DUBCON, KISAKI AND KAZUTORA ARE THEIR OWN WARNING, DADDY DOM,

Yandere! Kisaki Tetta

Met you IRL first, as an office worker doing part time. You were a very dedicated and kind person, you had that genuine charm about you that told him it wasn't just an act. You really did care.

He was confused because despite the many offers from many of the men in the office (that he owned) you never took an interest in any of them.

"I can take care of myself, I don't really need anyone to do it for me." Ya right. He payed his workers good, but not that good for a part-timer.

Then he did some research and dug up your true gig. The CAM GIRL persona you had was extremely popular, and that fact drove him INSANE.

He hated that this what you reduced yourself too. Revealing and demeaning yourself for the money... Still all the anger and shame in the world never stopped him from making his own account and dropping waaaaay too much money in your donation bin.

"Ooooo~! Another big donation from 'darkhero'! Thanks, Daddy! I'll put on a special show just for you~!"

He feels so sick and gross, but none of that stops him from pulling his cock out of his pants and moaning along with you during your show.

He buys out your private shows, buys you all the best toys and lingerie and then has you display them for him so he can makes sure his baby girl is having fun playing with all her new things.

"Da-daddy~! Its too much," you'll whimper out riding the new thrusting toy he got you, with the pretty pink plug vibrating in your ass. [You can take it, be good for daddy and keep going~] he'll type out, smirking to himself because he knows just how to break you in the best ways.

"You're honestly really good at this," you tell him one night after his private show, "I'm not just saying that. You'd make a good dom, ever think of making your own channel." and he likes hearing you be genuine with him. He knows what the truth sounds like coming from you.

[I only want to be your Daddy. No one elses, Kitten.] and he really like the way you smile at that. What he likes better is that you start to reach out to him first.

[Interested in a private show? I'll give you a discount?] Now that's too good, Kitten. He has you hooked on him just as badly as you have him hooked on you.

He indulges every time, god knows he has the capital to afford all the time you want to give and then some.

Kisaki is a possessive man though, and he can't take it anymore eventually. Sharing you with all these other unworthy and filthy people who only want your body. He knows you, the real you. No one else deserves you like he does.

Using his connections he has you account banned for something incredibly minor. But your site is completely doxxed, and soon you're running out of money.

Now you're working full time in Kisaki's main office. Where he can take care of you and keep an eye on you.

Yandere!Kazutora Hanemiya

Is completely infatuated with you. Found your camgirl page on a long lonely night. He hasn't gone on dates or even tried to pull women because he's too filled with guilt to even think about being happy with another person.

So he's just scrolling through and finds one of your videos, the stream is starting in like 5 seconds and he figures he'll just give it a shot and if he doesn't like it then he'll go to a different video, right?

Your profile picture is cute, and you're just his type. The video is a special freebie, so maybe it'll be a good one.

"Welcome home, Darling. Long day~?" you say on the other side of the screen, and Kazutora can't help but roll his eyes. It must be some type of roleplay, and he's honestly not trying to use too much of his imagination.

"The hell would you know?" he hisses ready to exit out when suddenly, "Aww don't be like that baby, I can make you feel all better," you promise almost like you could hear him. Like you were speaking directly to him... "I can make all the stress go away," you whisper trailing a finger along your exposed thigh. He really liked the nighty you had on....

Kazutora feels himself get hard a little too quick. Something about the airy way you make your promises and the just warm feeling filling his hollow chest has him so... enraptured by you.

"How's that?" he'll ask despite himself, and when you smile so sweetly at the camera (more like at the influx of donations you're receiving) he's pulling himself out of his sweats.

"Lean back, baby," you order, so gently that Kazutora actually does as you ask, feeling his tense shoulders go lax. He watches as you pull out a toy, smooth silicone that's no where near as large as him, and lick it up and down, "Does my mouth feel good, honey?"

And he almost grunts out a yes as he moves his hands up and down to simulate your own movements... It doesn't take long and he cums, but he doesn't stop. He just keeps going until the overstimulation borders on painful.

After that night he tunes in over and over and over again. Just to watch you, his darling that loves him and takes care of him. He's a huge donator on your channel, and he's always buying personal chows from you when you offer out slots.

He'd buy all the slots if it wasn't for that dumb one per person fucking rule. But he made multiple accounts, because he's your darling and you don't need to show off for others!!!

Kazu always asks for the same scenario, the house wife! You guys are already married, he's sure of it. And you're such a good wife, saying all the things he loves; "I love you so much, darling~! You make me feel soooo good," you moan out riding the dildo that he bought you. "I know you do baby," he'll whimper back, pumping his cock at the same pace your grinding on your toy, "Love you so much, sweetie. My baby, all mine."

This goes on for months. Not because he wants to only have you through the screen but because finding you took so much longer than it should've! Silly baby, used so many different security blocks that it made it hard for him to find you.

But when he did, he was so happy! He can finally take you home. Where you belong.

[palepersonaturtle]

DWY review

As much as I love this show and our main couple I think I really have to talk  the issues I had with it so that I can be at peace with myself and then go back to enjoying it with its flaws. Please guys if you have thoroughly enjoyed this show and the plot then do not read this.

This show, imo had so much potential to become one of the greatest hits of all time for me with its innovative idea of spell books, characters and brilliant actors and yet they ruined it with the inconsistency of the characters and undeveloped plot.

Episode 1& 2 review

The good-

-Okay I love their first meet it is symbolic and that was a killer opening for me. The cinematography, bgm were spot on…perfect amount of spooky fantasy vibe. Also the introduction of characters was great. Jang shinyu tapping her foot with his to see if she is dead or alive gave of his cold, stern aura. Hong jo’s humourous dialogue showed us her loneliness and her knack for dramas I mean watching dramas is the only wayout from her lonelinss

-The introduction of red hand was awesome. And I have read some theories from k-fans about the details that scene had. So it was perfectly done.

- Something I very much enjoyed was the banter between our main couple. Like it wasnt silly it had logic and humour and that made their chemistry one of the best for me.

- I liked how they portrayed Hongjo’s loneliness. She had no friends, family, relatives to talk. Her situation was compelling.

-The whole spell book revelation part was done excellently.

-Also the plot development for these two episode was really good.

The bad-

I have to say this the editing for first two episodes sucked. The aprupt scene transitions and scene placement made my head hurt.

Changes that should have been made-

-They actually made the use of the evil gardener in a very lousy way when he could have been a more compeling villain who is connected to our lead couple in the past. They could have shown us that it was his fate to get the main couple together while being the bad guy because of his past life karma.

- There are various questions like why did hongjo got transferred to the city hall. And I think that first scene where we are shown her handling a complaint would have been a perfect example for her and the evil gardener to meet indirectly and start his obsession for her since he recognizes her from his past so that he would have been able to get her to transfer to the city hall by using black magic or using his connections which could have been revealed later in the series. Because that transfer of hong jo was so abrupt it didn’t make any sense to me.

-Now onto Shinyu’s curse I think it would have been far more better if they had shown us him having blurry dreams about jang mujin killing aengcho on that snowy mountain rather than dreams of his past life love story in the first episode. Because the main point is him suffering from a curse where the gist is him killing aengcho the love of his life.

Also the explanation for his curse and illness should have been done cohesively rather than spreading it in parts throughout the first two episodes.

Relationships-

1)  Shinyu and Hongjo-

As I said earlier I love their banter. You can see the sparks but it is still platonic and I love that. And even though they are destined I am glad that the writers actually worked to build their relationship.

Shinyu is cold,stern,rude and hongjo gives him back equally.

And that scene where he saves her from the the drunkard was an ice breaker for hongjo imo to trust shinyu and be comfortable with him especially physically. Like her hitting his shoulder playfully, cornering him in the office lobby are some of the examples.

Also he was very much attracted to her subconsciously okay.

Now coming onto the bad side of their relationship- For like one and half episode shinyu was written perfectly but then his character started showing inconsistency.

That scene where he told hong jo to accept nayeon’s apology was so ooc of him. Like he is shown as a competent lawyer and he should know better than anyone else that no one is obliged to forgive the person who has inflicted hurt on them and like what was his intention to do that. Imo he should have just shut up.

Look I get that he is a flawed character. But I also believe that a cold,stern, rude character could also be written as a green flag he needn’t always be a red flag.

Onto the next scene, where he hurted hongjo  that was not ooc for there was atleast some intention for him. I get that he was jealous  of  jaekyeong and he used the information he got from his gf to be an asshole. But the fact that he says, “I just said what I saw” I was like dude you are a lawyer you shouldnt just judge someone with what you see. Though he felt  bad about what he said afterwards, he never apologized and that for me is a bad character development.

2) Shinyu and nayeon

Like many people I also think that shinyu wasn’t in love with nayeon but I also think that their relationship wasn’t political. From what I have read from nayeon’s char intro, she met shinyu in his law firm while she was there for renovation work and fell in love with him and after that chased him and then they started dating. I think shinyu liked and cared about her enough to get married with her. I mean he seems distant with her but he is also polite and humble with her. Maybe the constant nagging of his father had prompted him to get in a relationship so that his father can shut up.

3) Shinyu’s parents(sorry i dont remember their names)

This side story could have been made more compelling but they failed it awfully.

If they wanted to reprimand verbal abuse then they should have ended it with a divorce or should have made sure that his father repent and grovel at his wife’s feet for like 10 episodes before that reconcillation happened.

Or they could have simply shown a couple who is drifting apart having a midlife crisis since they got married early and how they overcome it eventually.

Or they could have simply been an affectionate and passionate couple where a father is worried about his son being alone when he is sick and wants him to get married asap to have someone take care of him(which is also selfish but later they could have redeemed him)

4) Other side charcters-

I may be in the minority but I really didn’t care about Ms Ma amd Mr gong’s relationship like why does she have to get into a relationship when she doesn’t want to. But I love Ms Ma as a character.

And those coworkers of hongjo were annoying af. Yes I get that the writers wanted to show Hong jo as an outcast to us but they could have handled it better.

Also I like Gidong I wish they could have given him more screen time and his own story line.

Overall, these two episodes were more of a plot building for me. I had fun yet i was bored at times.

[stanleyl]

noooo why are so many in the fandom so delulu like he did give a great performance and it's good to have some hope but we...

Is it delulu to be hopeful for Tom???? Even if you are right and let's say he has no chance, why are you so mad??? This industry is about connections, so him campaigning for an emmy allows him to talk to people he hasnt spoken to before. The best episode was 8, and if Tom is proud of his work on that episode and wants to campaign, let him be. Alit of ppl loved Barbie, whereas I thought it was boring, but it didn't stop Margot robbie campaigning it a whole yr despite it not winning any awards outside its box office.

the worst is in the scenario where he doesn't get a nom and fans make a big deal on twt further embarassing him/us...

I'm sorry, Anon, but maybe you are chronically online because how does him not get a nom a direct perception of you a fan? How are you feeling, secondhand embarrassment because of a few tweets from losers. Unless you are in the comparison wars that only exist on Twitter, that's the dumbest, main character opinion I've read in a while. Tom is doing what any actor does for their project. He's not the first actor to promote his show with low critical reviews, and trust me, he won't be the last. His performance as Danny was deeply grounded and amazing, and you are entitled to your opinion, but to call fans delulu for acknowledging his work is crazy I'm sorry.

Also Twitter is not real fucking life!!!! I'm sick of you fans that are on that app and then come here to cope becaue you saw a tweet that offended you from strangers online. I rarely have that experience because I pick and choose to care, and trust me, he's not the only actor to have projects that don't pan well. Paul Mescal had Foe come out last it was panned critically, but I didn't think his fandom online felt embarrassed because of it. They didn't internalised and then project . Paul also had all of us strangers and was filming gladiators next. He literally got that role because a casting director saw him on stage in A Streetcar named Desire. Filmtwitter loves him and yet he hasn't even achieved any boxoffice success yet...

Also, I don't think anyone cares unless you search for tweets about it. Maybe you are frustrated with Tom's pace of work and I can understand the frustration but at the end of the day, he's gonna do with his career what he wants to do, without any input from you, unless you have his number lol😭😭😭😭

Nobody is mad but you, sorry lol. The other person literally just said it's good to have some hope, but in this case we need to be more realistic, he was only nominated for a critics choice, he was snubbed twice after that. You're the one writing a whole essay for no reason. The "embarrassing" part is when fans keep crying and yelling how he was robbed, when it was never that deep.

And since you mentioned Paul...

He is an Academy Award nominee and has been recognized for being an indie darling in acclaimed projects. Why would his fans care about one single project with terrible reviews when their favorite isn't constantly being the target of comments about his career choices, how his agents are bad, people (including so-called journalists & 'critics') diminishing him to uplift others, and downplaying/trying to erase any career accomplishments he has achieved. Yeah, if I was a Paul fan, and I was chronically online, I wouldn't give two shits about Foe RT scores either 🤷🏽‍♀️. That was terrible example if you ask me.

[universeskies]

Luz Noceda: A Journey about Growth and Understanding

Luz Noceda, is one of the Main Characters of The Owl House. and She's my TOP Favorite and Comfort Character. And seeing The Owl House ever since Season 1 in the Episode "Covention" ever sine then, it was truly an INCREDIBLE Journey to watch and how much She has come through. Fun Fact! I started watching The Owl House since episode "Covention" that was technically my first Episode and the one that introduced Me to The Owl House. Even then though, "A Lying Witch and Warden" does an INCREDIBLE Work and Storytelling in what Luz will be about and how Her story through on will be about. And I want to talk so much about that since the very beginning alongside many more moments. I will probably split this into many parts but I will gladly talk more about that and have a more depth analysis into those parts too alongside more rambles. I'll do the same with Eda, King, a Look into Willow and Gus together, and them as separate characters, Hunter and the Golden Guard mask talk to it, Amity, Lumity OF COURSE, and Many more! Including a look of Belos being a Perfect Villain. But for now! Let's-a Go for the Great talk of Luz Noceda!

Sooooo, Lets start with the very first episode of course! "A Lying Witch and Warden" where Luz is introduced. The very first scene is basically Her retell or summary of Her Book Report which is "The Good Witch Azura!" all while holding the Azura figurine, and a little Snake. All while being in the Principal Office. From the scene presented alone, You can tell a lot from Her character. She was assigned to do a Book Report and from what I am going to assume is that said report was per say Free style. Any Book is fair and square! And by such, She decided to go with Her Favorite book, and also have a very creative and diverse kind of ideas. And yet, it seems that She was called into the Principal Office due to said report and its because in how much She wanted to showcase about what Good Witch Azura is all about in a rather very uniqeu way BUT! Also quite dangerous. One thing that I found interesting is how this could be presented into a Great Fair view of this scene. One would say or think, "That wasn't fair to Luz. She wanted to express more about the Good Witch Azura" but here is the Amazing kicker. Bringing a bunch of Snakes with no way of control per say, alongside Fireworks and more backup snakes is honestly so dangerous and some students were seen running around with it. I'm going to assume those are non-poisonous snakes per say.

Why am I saying all of this? Because this introductory scene of this First Episode is a GREAT Example of "Show, Don't tell." From that Introduction of the Story alone, We are introduced to Our Main Character and what Luz is about and what will be about throughout the Journey and already is quite GREAT looking back at it. After all, plenty of People probably wanted a moment or a time to shine and talk about what They love and even perhaps gain friendships or something more throughout that Amazing talk. Already, a Great relatable and Connection to the Audience. Looking and Watching this episode for the First time, I could feel that. It hit close home to Me, I wanted to talk about Super Mario whenever I had the chance on to do it in School, and present it by doing some roleplays of Mario or taking His Character like saying Iconic lines of Him. Alongside not only showcasing a great Connection, it ALSO! Shows flaws in Luz's character and a Flaw We see throughout the Story BUT! Also slowly growing out of it. The look of Fantasy and Escapism. We all have been there per say. We wanted to escape from any problem or just go where everythign that are like the obstacles or bad or rough moments of life just don't be there per say. Its a very Valid thought, sometimes wanting a break from the hardships of life is very valid, but there has to also be a balance. To know when is too much, and that is perfectly represented in the moment that Camila says that to Luz. That Her not knowing well where is the line between Fantasy and real life can hinder You, and We see that come into play for "Yesterday's Lie." Camila all what She wanted was Luz to get Friends, when Vee (at that time taking Luz's place) was throwing everything that Luz made and liked, She felt sad, one would say that even bad at seeing that because maybe for Her in that moment, Summer Camp made "Luz" just, not like anmore what made Her happy. Its also a Great Showcase of Camila's character and how much of a Great Mother She is, which I'll talk about in the future.

Luz as a Character, She has an Incredible Relatable Character, motivations and Moments and as well making Her a Flaw Character that We slowly see and grow as the Story progress. A Great showcase is in the Next episode, "Witches before Wizards" where Luz wanted SO Much that the Boiling Isles and everything that has happened is exactly like Her Books, The Good Witch Azura.

She wanted to believe that She needed to be a chosen One and be special through a prophecy. Already showcasing again that She's getting too much into Her Fantasy and despite ironically being in a fantasy world from Her perspective, Its still Reality and Life. She is taking for granted the situation She was when She said how She believes She's not in the right place, where I believe that landing with Eda and staying in The Owl House was probably the Best case scenario for her to end up with in the Boiling Isles. After all, there would've been worse options, like running around aimlessly trying to fight for survival and such, or ending up in the Confronatorium. The episode "Witches before Wizards" is already a GREAT Step into Luz's character to realize that not everything is like or should be on how She wants to, and She realizes that and wants to work with it to earn Her Staff, and the best part? We see that through the following episodes, slowly learning more and more about Her looking at well, the outlook of what Life and Reality can be through the Boiling Isles even if its a Magical World as she is from the Human Realm.

I also want to add That Luz has every right as well to Say what She thought and such, and That is valid since Not everything is roses and such, But Even Then there are better ways to express it and by such is Why Luz Felt like there must have been a mistake. And a Reason Why Adegast used That to The advantage on tricking Her.

Its truly AMAZING and it all comes into Great payoffs in Season 2 and comes FULL Circle for Season 3. What is to take about this? That Luz knows that Life is Hard? Well, Yes. But in a sense, She also comes to the realization that Life can be rough, but also very Beautiful and have its Incredible Moments of Magic. Its such a GREAT Pay off in this moment of "Thanks to Them" when She realizes, that She can do Magic in the Human Realm. The Magic that She has been learning, has stuck with Her and its such a Beautiful message overall.

Which brings Me with the Next part of this Little ramble. And that is about Her escapism. The saying of "I miss Luz when She was happier in Season 1" its not a Good look at all. One thing in why I ABSOLUTELY ADORE and believe that The Owl House's writing is quite PEAK is due to how GREAT and Rewarding is rewatching hte Ol' episodes after the GREAT Context and detail of the Future episodes. The episode "Reaching Out" truly is a GREAT and SO BEAUTIFUL episode that conveys it and MORE with "For the Future" where We learn more about Luz's backstory. To learn about Her Dad passing away away and the struggles She went through and the Grief too. I would even say that even before Season 1, Luz was still healing and Griefing for Her Dad. Her Dad is why She loves The Good Witch Azura. Its exactly why The Good Witch Azura means so much to Luz as well. Through the story that the book presents, but also because its like a Last Gift and what reminds Her of Her Dad. Its truly beautiful and yet tragic due to how Luz was seen as a Weirdo even then. Its an incredible look because even through it, Camila wanted to so much protect Her from any hurt to which is something that is INCREDIBLE to see when Camila realizes by Herself that She didn't need to protect Luz from, well, as the moment beautifully presents, Luz being Herself in fear that the world will treat Her badly.

Which is where "Yesterday's Lie" episode comes into another showcase of context after "Reaching Out" and is So tragic because Luz wanted to escape that. She was scared to change by going into the Summer Camp and wanted to escape far into that, which is why Luz say that. She say that it was Never Camila, it was never Her, because Luz knows that Her Mom loves Her and supports Her, but the fear of what the World can do to change Her is probably something She didn't want to face.

"Enchanting Grom Fright" with the Fears in Grom, its not because She was scared of Her mom or coming to face the Truth, but rather Her Fear of thinking or making Her mom think that She did something wrong,, She doesn't want to feel like it was a burden since Luz is aware that Her mom has Her hands full as well. These moments in life can be so much rough, and through that Fear, We all want to just have a safe space or a space where We don't have to worry about all of that.

However, just as that hurt is present, "Reaching Out" also beautifully represents that there are beautiful moments. After seeing Luz not having a Good time and trying to not even be honest, to finally release all that, and be honest and show Her vulnerable side to Amity even while still trying to keep up a smile, Amity, just shows nothing more than just Pure Love and Support. Even through the fiasco of what was the Bonesborough Brawl, Amity helped Her get those flowers and honor Her Dad's passing away anniversary. Again, it was one of the lowest moments for Luz, and despite it all, She still got to see the Beauty of it, that Softness and Calm that can be even before or after the Storm. I am so going to make an even more depth Ramble about "Reaching Out" even if it makes Me cry a lot, Gosh, I love so much this Show and THE AMAZING relationship that is Lumity.

Like said before, Life can be rough and there will be bad moments, but just like there are bad and terrible moments, There are MUCH SO INCREDIBLE And Beautiful moments. Which We see that being the GREAT Story into play with Season 3. A Younger Luz got to experience the beautiful moments even after Her Dad's passing away and its all thanks to Him as well and the Unconditional support from Her Mom too. Its a Great look to take in, that through the badm there will always be Good and Great breaks from it and that truly even if moments are rough and bad, its okay to feel it and feel sad, but know that there will be great and Awesome Moments too that will follow. And its something, that is SO Beautifully represent in Stringybean, with Luz feeling understood and Camila of course, embracing that She should also not hide Herself at all, and if She wants to be a Nerd then Go ALL the more for it!

After all, despite through it all, despite if You're feeling like a Weirdo, or an Outcast, or going through somethign rough... Us Weirdos will always stick together.

[demonslayedher]

Taisho (Secret!) Visit to the Yuukaku~

While I’ve touched on this building briefly in this post and had fun recreating a few scenes from KnY’s second season, today I’d like to reintroduce Koriyama Machiya Monogatarikan (in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture) for what a detailed look it provides into life in a Taisho era brothel.

Yoshiwara, Tokyo’s pleasure quarters (yuukaku) in which the battle with Daki and Gyutaro took place, nowadays only has little reminders of what sort of place it was for centuries (and you can read about it here). Machiya Monogatarikan is one of the best-preserved buildings of its kind across Japan, including the master’s quarters and storehouse.

While this building is very enlightening about KnY’s setting, there are some key differences to note:

1. This building was completed in Taisho 13 (1924), nine years or so after the battle with Daki & Gyutaro would had taken place.

2. This used local yuukaku architectural styles and catered more to customers from Osaka as opposed to from Tokyo. A key difference is one of Yoshiwara’s signature design elements, the harimise, the 1st floor slatted windows in which women sit as products on display. Out here, the customer first entered the building, was shown a catalog of woman on the first floor, and then led upstairs. (Nowadays, rather than going to actual Yoshiwara area of Tokyo, you’d see a better example of these in TOEI Kyoto Studio Park where period dramas are filmed).

3. This is a 3-story building, a rarity among yuukaku. While it doesn’t have harimise, its koshi (slatted windows) have three different privacy styles on the different floors; a major characteristic of this particular building.

It ceased operations as a brothel in 1958, and instead of being torn down, the building was repurposed as a boarding house, and it was later adopted as the city’s cultural property in 2014. It has undergone restoration which protects against earthquake while retaining the original yuukaku aesthetics. Admission is free, we had a very enthusiastic old man as our guide, and with permission from the city office, this can be used as a cosplay location. Unfortunately, they only have information in Japanese. In this post, we’ll focus particularly on some lifestyle and business customs and where they took place within the building, albeit with a -touch- of creative embellishment.

First, let’s say you’re a customer. Lucky you! This place isn’t far from the train station, so you didn’t even have to wander far, it was a pretty straight shot from Osaka (or in modern day, from Kyoto or Nara City too). The guys at work were all talking about going together, but you weren’t invited, so you’ve come out early to beat them all to the best girl...

As you head in, someone sitting in the payment office will spot you through a hole in the window paper. There was also a window to this room where payments would be handled, like a modern ticket booth. Guests would be shown to the reception room with a window that faced the street, still very close to the main entrance, and shown the catalog and list of prices for the different ladies. That Kingyohime-oiran is pretty expensive, but you’ve heard she’s as sexy as they come, so let’s splurge today!

You get led up the wide staircase to the second floor. This staircase was used for going up, whereas the staircases at the sides were used for going down. You’re shown to the reception room to wait, this is a large room with nine tatami mats and big decorations on display. And behold, Kingyohime-oiran’s room is just on the other side! Seems an odd choice; while all the other rooms around this floor are three tatami and face windows to the east and north, her room is four and a half tatami mats and only connects to the hallways. No worries about it being dark without sunlight, though, electricity is already common in this time period. She opens the door and coos “Welcome” with a voice so enticing that you faint, and this part of the tour is now over.

Now let’s say you’re one of Kingyohime-oiran’s colleagues. Your room is one of the three tatami rooms on the third floor with a tiny decorative alcove (though the pillar of which would later be removed to make your room more spacious as a boarding facility). You have wide koshi which let in more natural daylight and provide a direct view of the gabled roofs of the temple next door, especially its onigawara, the tiles with oni faces meant to scare of evil. You hope this will protect you from rough customers.

Koifuyu-oiran is one of the highest ranked ladies, and she has the southeast corner room with four and a half mats. She comes down your side of the hall to knock and remind you it’s time to get ready, which you’re sluggish to do, but work is work and you have your family’s debts to pay off. You head down the hall and turn at the guests’ (that is, the men’s) toilet to head down to the second floor, and then pop into the narrow preparation room to do your makeup and oil your hair. There’s a lot of natural light there with three inome (boar’s eyes) windows to gaze out of. You’ve heard that these protective shapes are now call “hearts” and symbolize love. That’s nice, but you think they look more like butts. Same difference.

“Hisako,” the cheerful old cook downstairs calls up to you, and you can gaze down at her in the kitchen. “Do you want extra pickles?”

You smile. She doesn’t call you by your stage-name. You know that your personal name, like all the other girls, is on your cubby down in the kitchen where your dishes are kept. “No, thank you,” you reply, and then quickly finish up to make room for your colleagues to use the tiny preparation room. There’s no worries about Kingyohime-oiran needing it, though. She always has her hair done in her own dark room.

Before heading back up to your room, you glance down through the open space in the middle of the building at the nakaniwa, the inner garden. That gives you a view into the personal quarters of the Okami, the mistress of the establishment. She’s poured money into all styles of latticework and decorative elements of her living room constructed with enormous, valuable pieces of woods from a whole variety of trees, including an enju pillar. That pagoda tree’s name can be taken as a pun for longevity, en-ju, though you can’t help but wonder why the kanji for that tree includes the character for “demon.”  

You head back upstairs, glancing over to one of the rooms facing the south, right by the slope of another temple. There’s bars in these windows to keep customers from trying to escape without paying, but they’re not the only ones kept from climbing out. You return to your room and wait to be called to see your first customer of the night. It’ll be a long night, like they all are.

After a typical night of entertaining guests, you’re exhausted and ready for a bath. You and the other ladies are chaperoned out to the neighborhood bathhouse, though the Okami gets to stay and use a grand one with her family crest decorating the ceiling. The joke’s on her, though—with the ceiling so high, it’s much too cold to use, and she uses a closet-sized one instead! As the sun begins to rise behind all those other buildings down your street with similar slats, Koifuyu-oiran catches up to join you, and you wonder about Kingyohime-oiran. She’s never joined in on the group field trips to bathe. It’s something you do every day, so even if she’s often busy with customers, it’s odd that your times never would had overlapped.

You don’t want to ask about it, though. Everyone knows she has a short temper. Koifuyu-oiran asks if you’re feeling alright, as you’re looking pale.

It’s raining when you come back. You’re ready to catch some shut-eye while the building is at its quietest, albeit at its brightest. You can’t sleep at all, and so you throw your thickest blanket over the window, blocking out the light, but now you can’t air out the smell of your last customer and you feel a chill as you lie down. You shiver.

“A-a-a-a-ra... Cold, are we, Kamasuhana?” comes a voice in your room saying your stage-name, it’s like layers and layers of women’s echoes in each word. “Let’s wrap you up tight.”

You screa-----

[physicalturian]

[18+] Deranged Love - Hanma Shuji x F!Reader - Part 23

[Probably contains spoilers from the anime and the manga][She/Her pronouns used for the reader, no physical description; Everyone is +18]

Archiveofourown - Spotify Playlist

Only 2 chapters left!

Words : 10 585

Warnings : Explicit! / Manipulation / Gaslighting / Violence / Sexual subtext

- - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 -Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10 - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14 - Part 15 - Part 16 - Part 17 - Part 18 - Part 19 - Part 20 - Part 21 - Part 22

What happened yesterday was enough to have Rai take the day off, which I only learned through her absence at the office, not through a formal announcement. Sure, it was understandable for the woman to be shaken, but Hanma had told her he had been ‘joking’ for what it was worth. Clearly, it was not worth much considering she was taking so long to process it. Rai was not stupid, I knew that. It had been shown through how quick she had connected the dots, even with little help from external people. So, of course, Hanma’s little prank did not work on her, but at the time she had only gotten over it enough to kick us out. And yet, as much as the woman had been annoying and relentless, I feared for her life. She was not letting anything go, she was holding onto every piece of information she had, she was like a rabid dog.

And I knew full well what Hanma would say they did to rabid dogs in the organization…

That had me sigh in disappointment, it would be a shame to lose her over something so trivial.

“Excuse me, do you know where Rai Nayoko is? She’s a junior, she–” 

I smiled politely at the person who had interrupted my work and chuckled, “She is out of office today, heard she needed to take a day off. If there’s anything you need done you could try Kawahara Minori on the second floor. I think she’s arrived a few weeks ago, her workload’s pretty low.” I explained calmly. Inside I was boiling at Rai’s disappearance, because I knew she had not warned anyone. Perhaps a part of her thought she had a pass because she could use whatever info she had against me, but I was not going to let it get to me. Sure, her absence for the day confused everyone—not once had she missed a day of work—but if I managed to make it look normal, everyone would believe it to be true and normal indeed.

“I was worried for a second! I’ll do that, could you send me the bill of–”

Nodding once more, I grinned, “It’s on its way right now, I was just finishing it. Do find Minori.” And I sent them off. 

For some reason, my first instinct when I was alone once more was to text Hanma telling him that Rai was not here today. I wasn’t sure if I was telling him all this because I wanted to tell him about my day or if I thought he needed to know that specific information. I would like to think it was the latter, but part of me just wanted to talk to him.

That part felt even more excited when he replied rapidly.

H. : Didn’t kill her

H. : yet

H. : kidding

H. : cleaning up something then be ready at 5 main entrance

From the little emotions, or perhaps lack of any pictures or overused flirtatious words, I could guess he was currently ‘cleaning up’. My reply was short as I told him I’d be ready by then but I’d have to get changed.

His answer, while unexpected, was more than welcomed when I saw the short voice message I received from him, “Office clothes,” I heard a thud behind him and some metallic rattling, “can be hot, ya know, they fucking wish they could fuck you in that office in that skirt…  reminds me that we gotta do that, shit it’s on my bucket list. Tell me when you’re free for me to swing by–” the voice message suddenly stopped after hearing Hanma sigh angrily. A few seconds after, he sent another one, out of breath, “I’ll swing by and fuck you in front of those stuck up people if that’ll take the stick out of their ass. That could be fun.”

I had a hard time deciding if I liked the idea or if I just found it funny to hear him talk about such a topic while taking care of someone. At least, taking care by the definition of Bonten.

With a short scoff, I stood up and moved to the empty corridor as I replied with a voice message, “Great idea, but only once everything’s taken care of and I don’t have to look at Rai’s puppy eyes while you’re fucking me. I think it’d be funnier to do it in front of someone other than my co-workers though.” I paused and brought the phone closer to my mouth, “Thoughts on Ran as our one and only public?”

Then I let go and sent the voice message.

Saying such a thing must have for sure riled him up, that’s why I smiled down at the phone before putting myself on do not disturb. Excitement coursed through my body as I shoved my phone in my pocket and went about my day. Was it the best thing to do? Not really. But was I looking forward to seeing him frustratedly looking at me, telling me I was fucking around with something I shouldn’t. Because deep down I hoped that’d be the thing that’d make him cave in and fuck me.

The entirety of the day, I was tempted to look at the screen or check if he had seen my message but I thought it’d be a lot more tasteful if I had his reaction in person. Half the time I was zoning out, thinking about Rai’s absence and what it meant, while the rest of the time I was over excited to see his pissed off expression after my suggestion.

It did not take a genius, after the many times I mentioned him, to know that Ran was a sensitive topic. But I also knew Hanma was rather… territorial, and I wanted to see it in action. I wanted to see if that one small push would be enough to be the tipping point to make him fuck me. I had been more than a fool to believe that for even one second. Hanma, while being an impulsive man, had the most restraint when it came to, well, me. It surprised me, knowing how easy he’d punch a man for speaking to him with an ounce of disrespect—how he’d get in a fight with anyone who would be too boring for him and thought themselves to be better than everyone in the room. 

But that impulsivity sometimes proved itself to be one of the easiest ways to get me aroused—I thought about it when walking by the corridor in which I had met Ran a few weeks back. That time Hanma had been waiting for us when Ran tried to have his way with me, I had never felt more relieved from seeing what I thought, at the time, was the worst psychopath I had ever encountered.

With time I learned to rely on him, to relish his presence, his touch, to even yearn for the latter—which to everyone but me sounded fucked up. I was aware that the person I was before all of this would also find it strange, but things had changed. 

Things had changed in ways that made it hard to decide where I stood—was I still on that fine line between good and bad or had I crossed it yet? Good and evil both were concepts that did not sit right with me, and sat even worse with Bonten. They surely called themselves monsters and thrived on that reputation, but they did not believe their actions to be evil, bad. Or perhaps, not all.

Instead of reflecting on where my morals stood, I looked ahead and walked out of the hub—surprised to not see Hanma. As I was about to grab my phone, my wrist was gripped forcefully and I was dragged to a familiar car, my heart thumping in my chest. Looking up, I grinned at Hanma’s chest and was forced against the car—the first words that came out of his mouth were, “Either your phone’s dead or you are, doll.”

That was enough to have me smiling like an idiot, something I shouldn’t have been doing but still did when I met his gaze—that fiery gaze shining with something that sent chills through my body when he tilted his head to the side and smiled sweetly. “Here, you’ve gone mute, let’s see which it is.”

His hands patted down my body to find my phone then with one simple gesture, the screen lit up. Tons of missed calls, messages and notifications adorned it before he shoved it in his pocket, “D’ya think it’s funny?” He asked before suddenly pressing his cheek against mine as he whispered playfully, yet threateningly, “Of course you do, you’re almost shaking in excitement.”

Then he stepped away, tugging me from the car, and opened the door before shoving me in the backseat. “Wouldn’t want you to get the wrong idea, I’m not giving you shit attention after that stunt.” And before I could join him in the front, he slammed the backdoor shut and locked the car before getting in the driver seat. He did not wait much before starting the car and out of habit, I knew we were going to his place—after all, we had to get changed for the meeting Koko had asked us to attend. I did not know yet who would be there, but asking Hanma right now would only make him mad.

Instead, I tried to make things better.

Tried being the key word.

“I was only half-kidding…” I said, leaning on the back of his seat, earning myself a dry scoff from the man, but I could see his fingers drumming on the wheel. “But maybe what I am saying is that it would show him–”

“What would it show him?” Hanma inquired, looking at me through the rearview mirror. “That you’re looking for any opportunity to whore out just cause you haven’t been fucked yet?” He spat, his smile turning slightly bitter as those words left his mouth. As if he had flipped the switch, his face turned fully playful as he let his head hit the back of the seat, “So maybe you need a little reminder.” His voice, sweet, sing-song, it was unthreatening. But that’s exactly what made it so.

I did not dare speak thus making the rest of the drive silent once I sat back down properly.

The moment we arrived at the building, I was yanked out of the car but this time I made sure to keep up with his pace to not feel that strong tug of his on my arm. A wince still escaped my lips and I felt like a child being berated. What awaited me back at his place was anything but what a child would get upon being told off—when we crossed the door of his apartment, after an excruciatingly silent ride up the elevator, I was pushed to the couch back first.

A yelp escaped my lips but it did not mean much as I smiled at the sight of Hanma resting one knee on the armrest while undoing his belt, “Look at you, you don’t even fear whatever I’m gonna give you anymore.” He breathed slowly, his eyes roaming all over my body. Why would I fear fucking him? I didn’t care if he hit me, it made it more fun—what?

“Fuck, you’re that excited to get beaten up?” He scoffed. His hand reached for the front of my shirt—he pulled me up by the collar to have me sit, then told me to sit on my knees. I quickly did, knowing full well how desperate it made me. In an attempt to keep some dignity, I managed to say, “Am I supposed to fear the Reaper? So far he’s been pretty nice, but maybe you’ve gone soft.” I smiled sweetly, “I think that’s it.”

Suddenly, his hand was on my throat as he pulled me towards him with a wicked smile on his lips, “Soft? Baby, you’ve just spiraled down, that’s why you think I’ve gone soft.” He mocked. One second later, his hand was on my neck and I had his belt wrapped around it. Gritting through my teeth, I met his gaze and told him this was boring, he should fuck me, but he only tutted me like an idiot. “Boring? I’m giving you exactly what you need.” He breathed against my lips as he tightened the belt around my throat, making me gasp at the pain and lack of air—smiling, he reached for something in his pocket. My eyes never left his until I felt the metallic texture against my skin and looked down the best I could at his hands.

A knife.

Before I could say anything, he started pressing the tip in the belt while talking, “Because, if someone sees a dog in the street… even if you know it’s yours, they can’t know it’s yours unless it has–” He paused and with one swift movement, the excess of leather was cut and I felt him touch something on what was left of the belt. “A collar.” He grinned, looking at my neck.

Locking gazes with him, my eyes widened. I then patted at my neck and felt the much smaller sized belt that had the role of a makeshift collar around it. “You bastard–” I was interrupted by Hanma pulling at the collar to have my face close to his, “You bitch.” His lips met mine agressively—he pushed me to the couch before straddling my lap and wrapping his hand on the collar, close to my chin, “You bitch in heat, ready to get fucked by a Haitani.”

With the little air I had left, I gasped, “In front of—not by.”

The pressure on my windpipe stopped when Hanma’s eyes met mine again and his blank expression slowly turned into one of pure elation, “Thought you were Molly? Trophy wife or something? When will you get in that thick,” he tapped my temple, “little,” another tap, “brain of yours that I’m not fucking sharing, mh?” His hand returned to cradle my face, his nails digging in the back of my jaw strongly.

When the pain of his grip was too much, I clasped his hands and moved them from my face before lifting my head to brush my nose against his, “Don’t wanna be shared, just showed off.” Our lips met and this time, I felt him smile in the kiss as our tongues battled while his hands moved to lift my ass. He helped me take off my skirt then let me fall back on the couch, out of breath, “Let’s do that then, yeah?” Hanma then threw my skirt to the side and looked at me expectantly before suddenly getting off the couch, “You wanna get all dolled up and show them you’re more than just a pretty face, is that what you wanna do?” He asked with a hand extended towards me. Hesitantly, I reached for it and held it only to be tugged off the couch and to my feet, “I’d say the collar should stay, thoughts?”

My hand flew to the belt around my neck at the mention, my cheeks heating up the moment I felt the leather. Seeing him that angry over the suggestion of inviting Ran was almost flattering; although I did not know if he had been that angry over sharing his toy or over sharing me… Both were the same to him, but not to me. With a chuckle, I said,  “It’s a bit excessive, don’t you think?” That made him laugh with a shake of his head, “A necklace or a homemade love collar, it’s the same, right?” As he said that, he gently undid the remains of the belt from my neck and tossed it on the low table. We stood there, close to one another in silence for a few moments. Not one sound coming from us, nothing coming from outside either considering how high up we were. 

The silence was broken with a gesture: Hanma’s hand grazing up my exposed thigh to my panties as he played with the hem slowly. My breath hitched in my throat at the sensation of his skin against mine—I was on edge, it had been so long since he’d been promising to give me what I wanted. I did not know how much longer I could wait for him to finally abandon whatever goal he had set for me because no matter how much I tried to prove myself to him, it was not enough.

I did not know what more I could do to show him I was worthy of him.

“Pick something hot and put it on, we’re leaving in thirty minutes.” He stated right before moving to his room and changing into a different suit. I was glad there were still some dresses from the casino night hanging on his wardrobe and among these I picked one that had a plunging neckline, solely to show off the tattoo I had gotten on Saturday. Perhaps it was too much, but we had both agreed on showing me off. So, while I was not the most comfortable at first with such a cut, when I saw how good it looked in the mirror I thought it was a good idea. I looked deadly, and felt like it too knowing I had a holster on my thigh that seemed well hidden under the fabric.

I even gave myself a once over, smiling proudly at how I looked until I felt Hanma pull down the neckline to expose my breasts. I quickly covered them and looked at him in annoyance, “The fuck was that for?”

“Just showing you how easy it is to see your tits.” 

“Which is a good thing for you, right?” I replied instantly, pushing him with force as I put the dress back properly.

“Anyone could see your tits.”

“But no one will, they have some manners. Not much, I’ll give you that, but some.” I explained as I placed my hand flat on his chest, “So it’s just a win for you, it’s very easy to just…” I looked at the strap on my shoulder and lifted it a second as I looked at Hanma with a smirk then stopped and pushed myself away from him, “Not that you’d fuck me. So it’s just easier for me to get undressed and shower I guess.” Before I could fully leave the room, Hanma wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me back towards him with a huge manic grin, “Didn’t peg you to be a tease, babe. Is that a bright new personality trait you got just for me?”

And while I scoffed in fake offense at his words, I truly believed it was exactly that—a way for me to act to keep him entertained. I did not mind it one bit, but I did not believe that trait would have come to light if I hadn’t met him. A great many things wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for him… because of him…

“Flattering yourself is a great quality one must have. Who else would do it but you, hm?” I asked playfully before walking towards the door.

Hanma laughed loudly at that and opened the door wide, letting me walk out first as he said, “I’d say the constant begging for my dick is a lotta flattering you’ve been doing, babe.”

Then without thinking much, I shrugged and looked over my shoulder, “If I wanted to flatter you, I’d say sometimes you look cute when you smile. Sometimes.” And that had the man stunned. Both him and I were shocked by what I had said, both embarrassed for a short moment until he walked past me to enter the elevator with his now usual arrogant expression, “Keep that energy for the meeting, that should make it fun.” He drawled. He then reached for my hand and tugged me inside the elevator, pressing the right button while still keeping me close to him.

His hand moved from my hand to my shoulders soon after as he draped his arm over them, the back of his head resting on the wall of the elevator as he sighed. “Feel free to not listen to shit, I do that. Most of the time.” But I doubted his words. He liked to act like he didn’t care but the man was observant, he was ready to gather any sort of information at any given point. He was scary.

I gave him a short laugh as we walked out of the elevator and saw the new doorman. Hanma waved at him with too much enthusiasm and stopped in front of him, “Are we happy to have been promoted?” He asked with a huge grin to the guy. Promotion? Was this someone from Bonten? How much would one be paid if they were part of a gang only to be a doorman? “I’d rather have worked for Mikey.”

“Don’t I pay you good money though? You should thank me.” Hanma clicked his tongue and nudged the man on his way to the car. I gave the ‘doorman’ a small nod and an apologetic smile before getting in the car with Hanma, something I had been doing way too much recently. The stress of going to this meeting was only growing the further we drove, and the only solution I found to it was to close my eyes and try to sleep it off—something Hanma did not want one bit. His hand was quick to find my thigh and hold it tight as he nudged me awake, “Sanzu hasn’t even started talking and you’re already sleeping?” He scoffed lightly, then threw me a glare, “Let your guard down out there and you’re fucking dead, got that?” He added, dead serious.

That definitely woke me up, I thought as I moved my head from the back of the seat and looked at him a few seconds before crossing my arms across my chest, “I won’t doze off. I just don’t know how long it’ll take to get there, so I thought I’d get some rest.” Just as I said so, the screen on the dashboard lit up with nothing but a phone number on it, was it a random person? Why would anyone call at this hour?

Hanma pressed the button on the steering wheel and picked up. He did not have time to say hello before the person on the other end angrily started talking. I recognized Koko’s voice, “Where the fuck are you? You better get here before Mikey does! The fucking audacity you have to not arrive before–”

“What, am I the last one to arrive?” Hanma asked without any care, a little playfulness in his voice. Koko clicked his tongue and paused before answering, “The Haitanis aren’t here yet, are you even on your way?” He sounded on edge and stressed, for a second I wondered if it would be that bad to arrive after Mikey. I quickly realized that of course it would, because arriving late would show the greatest level of disrespect. I did not want that at all, but I feared Hanma had little to no fear of portraying that.

Humming a second, Hanma drawled, “Yeah, don’t get your panties in a twist, we’re there in five.” Then he hung up. There was no need for niceties of bidding him farewell considering we’d see each other soon enough. I did not comment on the fact that Hanma had not saved Koko’s phone number nor on his lack of manners on the phone, the latter which I had lived through many times.

After those five minutes, we arrived in front of an expensive hotel. People dressed in fancy clothes were coming and going; there was a lot more activity than I believed was normal for this hour which made me believe there was some sort of event going on. If that was the case, it must have been deliberately chosen for the meeting to happen here, all so they would not get caught. “There’s a lot of people around.” I commented as Hanma stopped right in front of the entrance. He signaled for someone to come in and handed them the car keys before getting out and telling me to get out too. 

“That’s the point.” He gave me a once over and grinned proudly, “That’s also why you’re dressed like that. To blend in with the fat cats.” But his manners in the outside world did not fit the ones of high society, not when he wrapped his arm around my shoulder like he had earlier today. He guided me through the crowd, not apologizing to the people he’d bump into—I’d do it for him. It’s not that he couldn’t, it was more that this was not a mission given to him by Mikey, this was him being a little shit for fun, so he did not have to be careful like I knew he could be.

Once inside, I let out a shiver and could not be more grateful for the heat of the building. We then stayed on the ground floor and walked to one of the meeting rooms, the stress inside my body only growing by the second and perhaps Hanma sensed it when I tensed upon us stopping in front of a door. “If you’re gonna piss yourself, it’s at the end of the hall, doll.” He mocked.

“I’m not—I’m not gonna piss myself, I’m just preparing mentally. They’re all very exhausting and I need to be ready, alright?” I whispered, moving his arm from my shoulders. As much as I craved his touch for comfort and perhaps also to show I belonged to him, I felt like I needed to enter this room as my own person. Being by his side was enough for them to tie me to him, to qualify me as ‘Hanma’s girl’ which I did not mind, but in the long run… I needed that authenticity.

He did not share the thought and wrapped his arm around my waist before opening the door loudly. The room was large enough to fit a long, rectangular table with 5 chairs on each side, while one chair was placed at the furthest end of the table: a total of 11 chairs around it. I assumed the lonely chair at the head of the table was Mikey’s. On the left of that empty seat, on one side of the table were Takeomi, Koko, Kakucho and Mochi, seated in that respective order. Mochi had an empty seat to his left on which he was resting his feet and scrolling through his phone while the three others were chatting together. That is until they saw us enter and looked at us with annoyance—at least for Koko.

I was certain Sanzu would sit to Mikey’s right, perhaps Hanma understood that too since he left a few seats unoccupied, having me sit facing the empty seat at the end of the table while he sat in front of Mochi.

That choice of his meant the brothers would be sitting next to him. I sat straight in my seat, serious, composed, aware of everything I was doing as I leaned towards him, “Are you sure about sitting here?” I whispered in the already silent room. “You’d rather sit next to them? Cause there’s no way that’s happening if that’s what you want, doll.” He laughed. A dry laugh. I understood that the suggestion I had made about Ran was still stuck in his head. Since I did not know how to fix it, I went along. A bit sad that he had mentioned it again, I sat back properly and looked around.

Hanma was the one to lean in this time, his lips brushing against the earring he had given me as he spoke, “D’ya know how good you look right now behind that table? All bossy and shit.”

I looked at him with a face now ten times warmer than it was seconds ago and frowned without ever saying anything. He continued by ghosting his lips over mine, “You’d look better on it, that pretty dress ripped off…”

“Hey!” Koko called out, Hanma threw him a lazy side glare before slowly turning his head towards him. “I don’t wanna see you two fuck here, get out or get yourself together.” Koko was interrupted by Hanma placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin in the palm of his hand, “Jealous you can’t get your blondie here? You fucking wish you could grope him with us around, huh?” Hanma then turned to look at me before kissing me salaciously in front of everyone, purposely shoving his tongue in my mouth so they could see. I felt my entire body heat up in embarrassment and hesitated to bring him closer—I did not get to do so, instead I felt him move away.

Only he wasn’t the one to break the kiss.

I barely had time to see that his hair had been gripped with force before his face was slammed into the table with the same amount of strength.

Just as fast, Hanma grabbed Rindou’s hand from his hair and pulled him towards him as he stood up, making the younger brother trip but Hanma didn’t let him fall. He held onto Rindou’s wrist still gripping his own hair, then choked the man’s throat as he pushed him against the wall—both laughed. Hanma did so dryly, eyes filled with anger; Rindou did so with pure thrill in his eyes.

I heard Ran laugh too and opted to move my seat out of the way when Rindou pulled at Hanma’s hair again before trying to knee him in the stomach only to be stopped. I was going to stand from my seat when Ran pushed me back down, tutting me, “Calm down tiger, just enjoy the show,” He smiled, then stopped me from digging my nails into the armrest, “The bastard can take a beating, get your claws back in.”

I pushed my chair further from him, he stepped closer. No one was doing anything as Rindou and Hanma threw punches at each other, so I pushed my chair even further, enough to stand up and move behind it to have something between Ran and I. I could feel the holster heavy on my thigh as I parted the dress and let my hand graze the gun, “How mature of you two to start a fight at a meeting. Were you that bored?” I scoffed. My lower part was hidden behind the seat so I slowly pulled out the gun and heard Kakucho laugh but did not dare give him a glare.

Ran grinned wickedly and turned the chair; as he did so, I stepped closer to him and rapidly went for his head, trying to hit him with the butt of the gun. He was faster and grabbed my wrist tight, making me wince, “You always go for the head,” He half-whispered with a shake of his head, leaning in, “You’re becoming predictable, bit boring isn’t it?” He mocked. 

Hearing him tell me I was boring scared me more than I let on. As if he had lit a fire inside my chest, I gripped his hair with my free hand—which he gripped in return to alleviate the pain—then brought the tip of my heel to his crotch. He let go of me for a second and I pulled away then watched him as he tried to grab me back. I hit the butt of the gun on the back of his head when he balled over in pain. Another moan of pain from the man when his hand moved to the back of his head while he straightened his back.

He was tall, and I hardly believed I had much strength to put him down—my mind started thinking of the most stupid things to get him down, climbing on the chair to knee him in the face? Because I couldn’t have him ball over again, he was not going to do that. If I tried to kick him, he’d grab my foot and pull me down.

I put the gun away and looked at the seat between us, then at him.

He smiled in disbelief, “Now, you wouldn’t dare.” He held onto the back of the chair, I placed both my hands on the armrest and got it out of his grasp before lifting it off the ground and just as I was about to throw it, I heard Sanzu’s voice, “Mochi, your damn feet off the chair–” he paused and looked at us, moving Mikey behind him as he stomped our way.

He gripped me by the hair and forced me to let go; kicking me in the back of the knees to make me fall on the floor. He did the same to Rindou to have him let go of Hanma—when he tried to punch Hanma, the man grabbed his hand and smiled, a bloody smile that I somehow found attractive, “Try and touch me, Mad Dog, see who wins between you and I.” He then spat blood towards the ground, onto Rindou’s pants.

The younger brother’s face turned sour as he stood up to join his brother that still stood rather close to me.

“All of you to your fucking seats!” The pink haired man barked, shoving all of us out of his way and kicking the chair towards me.

With heavy feet, we all joined our seats. Hanma had his face full of small cuts, similar to Rindou’s. I could see he wasn’t really here and watched as he brought a cigarette to his lips, lighting it expressionless, staring straight ahead. I was more than awkward now that the adrenaline was dissipating, I felt Mikey walk behind us and let his hand trail on the back of my seat before joining his own spot at the end of the table. I’d like to think that when our eyes met he smiled at me, but his face remained the same, blank—perhaps I just felt the smile or saw it in his eyes? Or perhaps I was hoping too much, I was seeking some reassurance that I hadn’t fucked up. A reassurance I couldn’t get from Hanma in the state he was in.

Nudging his knee with mine, I whispered as close as I could, “Are you alright?” 

He puffed out some smoke, quickly getting told off by Koko on the opposite side of the table but Hanma didn’t stop, he just shrugged and took another drag. He leaned back on his chair, one arm on the back of my chair, but he still wasn’t looking at me.

I nudged him again, “Did I fuck up?” I didn’t want to have fucked it up, even less because of a Haitani. I couldn’t slip up, shit I was panicking now. I could almost feel my heart trying to beat out of my chest, or was it my lungs? “Are you paying attention?” I heard a sudden voice to my right; quickly turning my head, I saw that Rindou had moved his chair next to mine. Before I could start to question how he moved his seat that was next to Hanma all the way here, I threw him a side glare and kept my mouth shut. I was trying to focus and turned a bit on my chair to hide him from my view, but he still leaned over the table and wrote a little note that he slid in my direction.

“Pst, hand it to Ran.” He whispered to Hanma, his arm fully extended as two fingers pressed on the paper to keep it closed. Hanma looked down at Rindou’s hand before crushing the cigarette on the back of it, pushing his arm out of the way before grabbing the paper. Ran snatched it from his hands then laughed, making everyone in the room shut up.

Sanzu slammed his hand on the table, “Is this fucking kindergarden? Can’t be that hard to keep your mouths shut!”

Ran looked at him and lazily said, “We just had an important question, right Rin?”

Rindou nodded, “Oh yeah, very important–” He was interrupted by Takeomi making a grand hand gesture as he spoke, “What are you doing there? Move your sorry ass back to your brother! Leave the bitch alone.” 

While the gesture was sort of sweet, it made me slightly bitter upon being called a bitch once more. It did not really change anything to Rindou who grinned widely as he took my chin between his index and thumb, “We were wondering what’s the price.” He drawled, making his brother laugh again. I slapped his hand away from my chin and leaned over to him, making him lean back when I smiled wickedly, his own smile faltering a second. His tie in my hand, I pulled him close and as I spoke, I groped his crotch, “You should remember the amount of bills the old men would give you when your mom would have her turn, no?” I let go of him and patted the tie straight, “Was it three big ones? Two? Maybe coins? Nothing?” I quirked a brow, “Maybe she was free? That’s not very–” 

I felt intense pain at my scalp but it wasn’t Rindou, Ran had stood up and was now pulling my head back to talk down at me—I stood up while he did so and never broke eye contact, “It’s a simple question, how much does the bastard pay to fuck you? Must be a pretty sum if you’re still around, huh?” Just as he was done, I spat in his face then stomped on his foot before kneeing him in the stomach. I was aware he hadn’t even tried to fight me off but it felt good to hit him, so I didn’t care. “How pitiful is it for a man of your stature to be jealous–” His hand was suddenly on my throat, a breathless gasp escaped my lips as I threw Hanma a glance but he did not seem to move from his spot. He was, however, watching intently, unmoving. I could almost see a proud smile on his face, but I was dreaming, I knew it.

A smile made its way to my lips when I looked back at Ran before biting his forearm hard. He let go right away and was about to punch me when someone stopped him—Mikey had stood up and interrupted us. With his voice void of anything, he spoke, “Ran, Rindou, back to your seats.”

Ran scoffed, “She went crazy at me, I just asked her–”

Sanzu pulled him back by the collar and threw him to his chair, almost making him tumble back, “Didn’t fucking ask. What Mikey says, goes. If I hear one more damn sound from any of you,” He mimicked pulling his gun out and pulling the trigger, “Got it?”

The brothers just slumped back in their seats while I had Mikey right in front of me, “You’re turning into him. Careful.” He simply said before pointing at my chair with one arm extended; he waited until I was seated to get back to his own seat then resumed what he was saying prior.

Seeing how little Hanma had paid attention to me, I placed my elbow on the armrest and rested my chin on my knuckles while listening to the presentation. I never really thought I would assist to such a thing, but it made it a lot more serious. That is if we ignored the brothers exchanging notes next to Hanma, passing papers while looking the most deadly they could—Ran caught me staring and sent me a chilly grin, making me turn my head back to anyone but him. Koko was the one I crossed gazes with. We exchanged polite smiles then brought our attention back to the presentation once more. “Some low shit bastard’s trying to get on our territory.” Sanzu showed a slide of a guy’s police record then started listing all they knew about him, his still weak but growing gang along with the fact that he had some famous politician on his side.

“That motherfucker disrespected us the moment he thought he’d thrive on our territory.” Sanzu spat, immediately stopping himself from talking more when Mikey raised his hand for him to stay silent, “Hunt them all down and kill them. We’ve wasted enough time on dealing with them the proper way.” He sighed and continued, “If they call us monsters for suggesting they join us, saying they won’t be caged, they’ll find peace dying in the name of their freedom.”

Hearing him speak those words made my chest heavy. I highly doubted they had suggested much if anything, they had given them two choices: join us or die. I admired that new gang for going against Bonten, but it was suicidal. I wondered if they knew who they were up against. They all chuckled at Mikey’s words, clearly unbothered by the task they had been assigned. My face was blank, not from fear but because I couldn’t let it show I was unsure if I was part of the people requested for ‘the hunt’. “They’re better off dead than traitors. One’s less painful.” Kakucho commented, making some chuckle. Were they that hard on traitors? What would one have to do to be considered as such and why did he have such a strong aversion to people joining Bonten?

Because if they joined against their will, sooner or later they’d leave, maybe trying to get some people with them, surely taking information and now inside knowledge of the organization.

Mikey was right.

They should be killed, Bonten did not need them. We were big enough as it was.

“Pay attention, doll. It’s gonna be your time to shine.” Hanma said, his head slightly tilted my way. I was surprised to hear him but couldn’t help my heart from beating in excitement from having his attention once more. Play it cool, play it nice, he ignored you up until now, I told myself. “I’m more than focused, it comes with you going mute and not giving me even a glance.” That was a lot more aggressive than I intended. That was a fuck up. I knew it the moment I heard him chuckle behind his hand as he mirrored my position, “Are we throwing a tantrum?” He whispered behind his hand once more, discrete for once.

I scoffed, immediately getting rid of any emotion on my face when I realized I was smiling, “Some might call it being upset for the little you intervened when the brothers came for me—but call it a tantrum.”

Hanma’s hand moved to rest on my thigh as he lifted the hem to expose it, his face never leaving the projection behind Mikey, “You’re a big girl, aren’t ya? Handled them well, if I had intervened I wouldn’t have had the honor to see you bite his hand off.” I could see from the angle he was in, the smirk that was drawing itself on his lips. Faking sitting back in my seat, I scooted closer to the side and helped his hand higher on my thigh. His fingers dug inside my skin and I saw him move a bit in his spot. In my head I wanted to believe he was getting too uncomfortable in his pants, but that train of thought was interrupted when Sanzu pointed at me.

“You—take the last bastard down,” He pointed at the presentation and I saw the face of one of the chairmen from Silas&Sons—I didn’t say anything about the fact that there were others that we had yet to convince because I feared they had done it themselves. Perhaps bribed some, killed others… And he was the last one standing in their way. ”Motherfucker’s too good for money, so put one little bullet right there,” He pressed the center of his forehead, grinning broadly and added, “Once that’s done we’ll have one less thing to worry about, so don’t fuck up rookie.” 

He turned around to change the slide and I leaned over the table to place my elbow on it and look casual, even if Hanma was slowly moving his hand to my panties, “Is there a deadline?”

Mikey was the one to say, “The faster it’s done, the better.” I nodded and leaned back on my chair.

Koko made a subtle hand gesture for me to look at my phone and I did, noticing a text from him that said, “That means 3 days tops.” I held back a smile and thanked him, Sanzu scared me when addressing me once more, “It’s one job. You’re not here cause you’re an executive, you’re not here cause you’re loyal, you’re not here because you’re valuable,” He placed both his hands on the table with a thud, I heard Takeomi sigh along with Kakucho while Koko smiled, “You’re here cause Mikey wants to see if you can finish this, you started this entire shit by being a traitor to Silas&Sons–” Koko interrupted him with a soft laugh, “I don’t think you can betray corporate, but go on.”

Sanzu gave him a dirty look and continued, “You should be damn grateful to be sitting here tonight when everyone’s desperately tryna climb up to reach this very seat you’re sat on.” He pushed himself away from the table and spread his arms wide, “This is an honor!” I heard Rindou mumble ‘not again’ as he covered his face and leaned back, “You don’t realize how grand Bonten is! The feeling of belonging–”

Mikey placed a hand on Sanzu’s shoulder, “Continue the presentation.” I held back a laugh at first, I had managed to do that. Then, when everyone focused back on Sanzu’s long presentation, Hanma tilted his head my way and said, “Oh, I sure feel like I belong now that we all have matching tattoos.” I couldn’t hold back my laugh this time and snorted, my hand going to my face to stop it while the other gripped his arm. Some people turned to look at me and I uncovered my face to show I wasn’t doing anything. They looked away and I leaned back towards Hanma, “No, no, you don’t get it, this is so much bigger than we can understand!” He let out a barked out laugh, making Sanzu throw a glass his way which crashed into the wall behind him.

Startled, I flinched but did not say anything, we both understood the message and when he returned to talking, I leaned towards Hanma and commented, “We should make an offering to be forgiven after insulting the Bonten gods, what do you think we should give them?” 

We listened as tasks were given; it seemed they were assigned to each respective person, but I believed it was more assigned to their… ’departments’, the businesses each were handling—unless it was specifically required by Mikey for them to do it themselves, like he would when asking Hanma to take care of people. After a few seconds, Hanma answered, “If he keeps sucking Mikey’s dick like that, maybe mouthwash.”

I quickly pressed my face into his arm to mute my laugh. We kept making little jokes like that until the end of the presentation—once it was finally over, Hanma stood up and moved to Sanzu’s spot, pushing him aside. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to ask him what he was doing.

Mikey was still in his chair, now on his phone.

“I’ll lighten the mood.” Hanma said in a sing-song voice.

Kakucho and Takeomi both stood up, the latter tapping on Mochi’s shoulder to have him follow them. Hanma did not even look at them as he fumbled with the cables to find one to plug his phone in. When he was connected, he opened his gallery and showed the first picture. I had to cover my face in embarrassment.

“So, earlier this week we had such a fun time with my girl, here we are at the funeral of that bastard cop—here she is all shy but here,” He moved two pictures further, ignoring the one where I’m reaching for the phone to stop him, one of the pictures where he had my leg onto his for no reason while people were leaving, “She’s letting me grope her in public!” He met Ran’s gaze and smiled wickedly.

My entire body froze at the taunt and at the picture, but what put me in awe was how the remaining people weren’t leaving. Sanzu was back at his seat next to Rindou, glancing at Mikey almost in a hurry but he did not say anything unlike the brothers who leaned in with their elbows on the table, “You’re selling the product, so what’s the price?” Rindou asked, opening his wallet.

Hanma gave him a deadly look; they stared at one another, the long-haired brother grinning like a fool while The Reaper stayed deadpan. Ran, without any attention on his person, tried to move to the seat next to mine but I was fast to kick it out of the way, making him click his tongue as he sat back down. I heard Hanma chuckle and looked up, meeting his gaze, “That’s my girl,” he turned towards Ran and smirked, “You’re really desperate. Don’t you own whore houses? I’m sure those are free, go get some.” 

Rindou laughed, earning himself a hit from his brother.

Ran smiled sweetly and looked at Hanma mockingly, “You bring her dressed like one of my girls, I get a bit confused.”

“And I’m telling ya, next time you touch my girl you’re dead.” Hanma stated; while he put some humor into his tone, his eyes screamed for Ran to do it, to even try, just so he could finally beat him up. But instead, he moved to the next picture in his little presentation, making me stand up and run to his side to change to another one, “Alright, that’s enough–”

Hanma grinned, “Cause she’s fucking part of this, yeah?” He pulled at my neckline, fully showing the tattoo that was also on display on the projection. I held onto the fabric to cover my breasts while he pulled at the center to show the tattoo on my sternum, “But I think that maybe I should get my initials tattooed on her, like cattle—maybe that’ll get your inbred hands off her.”

This time Rindou wasn’t laughing, Sanzu was as he pushed his shoes off the table and let his feet hit the ground with a thud, a loud laugh escaping his lips. Was that all it took? Both brothers stood up, chuckling to each other—I placed one hand on Hanma’s arm and let out a nervous laugh. He had finally let go of my dress, “They draw the line at inbreeding jokes, maybe you should have kept your mouth shut.” I whispered slightly panicked, albeit smiling from ear to ear. While I tried to take a step back, Hanma took one towards them.

If a fight was to occur, I had no wish to be in the middle of it.

“Do you want to get them more mad?” I asked Hanma, who looked at me in a crazed haze, only waiting for one of them to come and punch him.

I took it as a yes and looked at the brothers a moment before joining Hanma’s side and dramatically saying, “Come on, the pent up frustration of celibacy makes idiots go wild like boars,” I looked at them and smiled, “And they’re clearly very frustrated,” I scoffed, “Can’t blame them, I think it has to do with the hair, it must send the wrong message to women…”

Sanzu laughed again, but only shortly.

Mikey stood up at the same time the Haitanis started to rush towards us—I heard the click of Ran’s baton and couldn’t help but feel excitement course through my entire body as I threaded my fingers with Hanma’s and pulled him back a bit. “Meeting’s over. Everyone go home.”

Ran laughed dryly but never looked away, so Hanma grinned, “Ya heard the boss.” then unplugged his phone and shoved it in his pocket. Sanzu pushed past the brothers, making way for Mikey while I walked to the door from the other side of the table—there was no way I was passing by the Haitanis again.

On our way out, I think I heard Rindou talk, faintly, “She’s actually kinda funny, can’t believe she’d go for The Crazy Reaper.” He chuckled, then we were out of hearing. I almost bumped into Mikey when he stopped in the middle of the corridor; Sanzu had kept on walking, probably at the white-haired man’s demand, “Hanma, wait outside.” He ordered.

I liked to believe that Hanma hesitated, but all he did was grin, “Roger, boss.”

Once more alone with Mikey, I could feel my high coming down. I could feel my feet touch the ground, I was, for lack of words, grounded. It was confusing. “I’m sorry for–” I started. Mikey interrupted me, asking, “How are you handling everything?”

It took me by surprise, making me let out a nervous laugh, “It’s—huh, it’s alright. I deal better with Hanma around, I think.” 

“You shouldn’t rely on him. You should never rely on anyone, sooner or later they’ll die.” Mikey said, empty. His words, while simple and straight to the point, hit me like a brick. I wanted to press a hand to my chest to see if he hadn’t really hit me from how heavy it had made me feel, but instead I clenched my hand into a fist, “Should I take you for example?” I asked, angered by his nonchalance. 

He seemed taken aback for a second, his eyes slightly wider than usual before the ghost of a smile crossed his features only to disappear just as fast, “Maybe. I think Sanzu would be better fit as an example, seeing where you’re going.” Like rapid fire, I answered, “What does that mean?”

He scoffed, “This obsession you both have. It’ll be your end, it’ll make you go against my orders.” There was a short pause, he stepped close to me and patted my cheek like a brother would before moving his hand higher and pressing his thumb to the center of my forehead, “There is only one way out after that.” His eyes locked back on mine as he gently let go of my head and stepped back. I wanted to talk back, to defend my loyalty, to tell him there was no reason for me to go against his orders if they made sense but I was frightened. I did not trust myself to speak, to utter anything, instead I stood there. Silent.

“Good night.” He simply said before making his way out.

I did not waste time to follow him out, not wanting to get caught by the Haitanis. My shaky legs had other plans, making me stumble a few times until I got outside to Hanma who was leaning against the wall by the door, cigarette in hand. “Had fun?”

“Why does he always have to be so intense?” I asked, now standing in front of him as he turned his head and puffed the smoke to the side, “He’s depressed, I guess.” Hanma shrugged. He dropped the cigarette on the ground and crushed it under his foot before nodding for me to come with him. I glanced at his hand, perhaps for comfort, hoping to hold it but it was too much to ask of him. Maybe he saw my distress, maybe he was also in need of some touch, but he wrapped an arm around my waist and forced me to walk at his pace, “Ya did good with the Fucktanis. Loved the energy, babe. Wouldn’t have got mad if you had shot his ass though, that’d have made him shut his trap.”

I scoffed and entered the car with him, shivering at the cold of the night that slowly seeped in. With the adrenaline of the fight that almost happened followed by Mikey’s words, I was in some sort of trance that had now dissipated. “Do you have anything to treat wounds in your car?” I asked Hanma, opening the compartment in front of me, making a happy sound when I saw a white aid box and took it. Hanma grabbed it from my hands and gave me a confused look. “What do you need?” He roughly grabbed my jaw, turning my head around to check my face then gave me a once over, “You’re not injured, are you dumb?” He clicked his tongue and let go, dropping the box on my thighs before starting the car.

Mimicking his action, I grabbed his jaw and pulled his face towards mine, “You are.” I opened the box and with one hand opened the small alcohol bottle and poured some on some gauze that was in the box. I brought it to his face and disinfected his small cuts roughly, knowing he’d pull back like a dog. When he was about to do just that, I gritted through my teeth, “Please, Shuji. Let me hold you still.” 

A small smile made its way to his beautiful face, slowly turning sly as his hand covered mine that was holding him, “Getting mixed signals with the begging and the being rough, gotta pick one side babe. Which will it be tonight?” He cooed mockingly and yet I could almost feel excitement dripping from his every pore as his other free hand moved to my waist, once more trying to raise the hem of the dress. With a tight smile, I pressed on a deeper cut and wiped it clean, finally finishing the disinfecting. It didn’t need much more but that, so I dropped everything back in the box and met Hanma’s gaze once more, “Sleep. It’ll be sleep tonight.”

He chuckled and leaned over, his lips brushing against mine. Before he could speak, I asked, “When am I going to be sent home?” It was fast spoken, rushed, but the question had been in my mind for so long since I feared getting used to his place only to be sent away soon. His eyes widened in confusion, quickly losing any emotion as he scoffed dryly. “We’re playing the victim now? Tell me,” Slowly, he smiled—a beautiful, knowing smile, “Do you want to go home?”

I looked down at his lips, then back at his eyes, then his lips again, “I have everything at my place… I pay rent, it was hard to find that place and my friends and family–”

“Frankly I don’t care, I asked you a question. And I don’t like repeating myself.” He stated, deadpan now.

Did I want to go home? Could I go home? I could, he would give me permission, but would I be able to stay away from him? I liked being around him, his place was not half-bad and he was there. He was not at my place, he would never come to my house. And what if I needed him during the night, what if my nightmares returned and I needed him to help me forget? Calling him in the middle of the night would definitely have me stay alone, he wouldn’t pick up…

You’re home, I wanted to tell him.

“I want to stay with you.” Was what I ended up saying. 

It was a lot less frightening than admitting how much he meant to me after so little time. Because I was fucking scared—but he didn’t need me to be scared. I was fine with that. I had to be fine with that.

Hanma smiled broadly and pressed his lips against mine, kissing me deeply as he hummed against my lips, “Yeah? That’s my girl.” He then pulled back and clasped a hand on the steering wheel before rapidly starting the car, “Good thing you chose me, cause your house has been ransacked by the cops.” He explained off-handedly.

I had looked back at the road once he had pulled away but his little announcement made me turn to look at him at the speed of light, “I’m sorry?”

“I’m guessing the little mole bitch knew a bit more than you thought she did since she sent them over when you weren't home.” He shrugged, a smirk on his lips when he saw from the corner of his eye how in awe I was.

It doesn’t make sense, I never told her I stayed with him. There is no way she would know, even Shiho doesn’t know—or does she? Have I gotten drunk at some point after moving in with him and told them? I don’t think so, I was careful. “What does it mean?” On a bigger scale. Them looking into me to get to him, to Bonten. What did it really mean?

“Eh, means shit. You have your gun with you, so they got nothing.”

I started scratching my brain for anything bad I could have left behind, anything, then looked up at him again, “Who brought my clothes? What if they left something—I never even told Rai my address!” I was starting to get annoyed thinking about it. Running a hand over my face, I let out a frustrated laugh, “She looked through my file, I don’t know who the fuck she asked but–” I let out a another frustrated sound, not believing she could do that. Seeing how desperate she had been to catch Hanma though, or anything close to Bonten, it made sense she would go that far. “She truly is a mole, she really—ah!” I laughed angrily, not finding the words.

“I’m telling ya, there won’t be a next time for her. If she’s ever looking into our shit again, she’s dead.” He said nonchalantly, catching me off guard from how serious the situation seemed to be. Mikey hadn’t mentioned anything about it, but I was not there for all of their interactions and I feared he had given the order to take her out. And if not her, anyone interfering with Bonten—so, she fell under that definition.

Sighing, I did not reply and waited for us to arrive back to the building, exhausted. It had been a long day, and adding a conversation about Rai would not make it any better. I wanted to sleep, to forget about her. I just wanted to hope she would stop snooping around for her own sake.

But that very thought I had seemed to have done the exact opposite of what I wanted.

I felt it deep in my guts that something was off, but I blamed it on all the stress of the night. Maybe it taught me I should trust my instinct sometimes since when we entered the building, Hanma laughed. He was the first one to realize what was going on—I looked at him confused and he covered his mouth as he pointed at the stairs where, once I faced them, I could see Rai standing up in panic. She struggled with her bag across her chest and looked at the both of us with wide eyes.

So this was the face of someone who had just signed her death sentence.

[Chapter 24]

[the-jam-to-the-unicorn]

Congratulations by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Independence Day of Ukraine

The great people of the great Ukraine, celebrating today a great day - Independence Day! A holiday of free people. A holiday of strong people. A holiday of people with dignity. A holiday of equals. Ukrainian men and women. All of them. In our entire country.

Today we celebrate the 32nd anniversary of our independence - the independence of Ukraine. This is a value for each of us. And this is what we are fighting for. And everyone is important in this fight. Because this is a fight for something that is important to everyone. An independent Ukraine.

In a big war, there are no small deeds. No unnecessary ones. No unimportant ones. This is true of people, deeds, and words.

When we celebrate Ukraine's independence, everyone can feel a part of it. Everyone can ask themselves: where are you in Ukrainian independence? What did you add to independence? And what did you do to help independence? And today I want to dedicate these congratulations to you. To you, who is giving Ukraine its independence.

To you, warrior! You stood up to defend Ukraine. I thank every soldier and sailor, every sergeant and petty officer, every officer, every general.

To you, the father of a Ukrainian warrior, and to you, the mother of a Ukrainian defender. To all Ukrainian families who have raised their children to love Ukraine and have the courage to defend it with all their might.

I am grateful to everyone who is waiting for their loved ones from the frontline, to everyone who prays for them every day, who calls or texts such an important "How are you?" to hear the much desired "Everything is fine!". Such a precious "I love you"... "Our son took his first step yesterday"... "Daughter today said: "Dad"... Every word is important. And everyone who makes sure that this word can be said and heard is important. Who provides communication in the country. Connection between people. And this is more than just communication. It is a connection with life. Words of support. Words of gratitude. And, unfortunately, the words that are the most painful in war: "He is gone..." Many Ukrainians lost loved ones because of the war. Heroes who prevented us from losing Ukraine. I thank and bow to each and every one of them.

Last week I visited our combat brigades. Command posts, brigade positions. And there is something that unites them all.

One additional unique armor helps our warriors. The armor of humanity. The armor of sincerity. These are children's drawings. You can see them in every brigade. On the walls, in the rooms. Drawings for a father or brother. Or for soldiers whom the children may not know, but whom they support. Because they are Ukrainian soldiers. And for them, this is the main goal of the offensive, where every step forward is so important, but every step back is so impossible. Because it is you, our children, who are behind them. Ukrainian children, exactly you, those who are creating these drawings. And I want to say to you - to every boy and girl: you have no idea how important it is when you support our warriors. I thank you!

I am grateful to every Ukrainian mother for whom our country is and will remain home. Despite the fact that they had to leave because of the war. And when a mother in any country gives her child a book in Ukrainian so that the child does not lose himself or herself, when a mother teaches Ukrainian, when she worries about Ukraine and waits for news from Ukraine, waits to be able to return, this is the most important thing. Because you are important. All Ukrainians! No matter where you happen to be now.

I want to thank all Ukrainian teachers who are working, who managed to work even online. Who are building an educated future even where the enemy has destroyed schools. And everyone who performs miracles in real life. Thousands of Ukrainian medics who save thousands of lives. Ukrainian doctors. Nurses. Combat medics. Those who do not let go of life 24/7 and fight for it. Regardless of whether there is an air raid alert. Regardless of whether there is a "hit". Regardless of whether you are at the front or in civilian life... Thank you!

Dear Ukrainian people!

Last winter, we experienced massive missile attacks and the threat of blackout. There were different moments. When cities remained in darkness. When it was cold. There was also indomitability. And when our people worked and turned the power back on, there were loud "Glory to Ukraine!", "Glory to Ukrainian electricians!", and glasses were raised to air defense and our power engineers. And this is absolutely true. Our power engineers worked around the clock. During air raids. Sometimes under fire. Always in danger. Always knowing how much people are waiting for electricity in hospitals and defense enterprises. And how much every family is waiting for light and warmth.

But, unfortunately, there are families who have lost their father, son, brother... An ordinary electrician, repairman, rescuer, police officer, firefighter... All those who died in the line of duty. Those who helped to do the most important thing - to prevent the Russian darkness from breaking us, our state, our freedom, our independence.

In light and in darkness, our news was with us. Our Ukrainian journalists. The truth was with us. And the world heard Ukraine. I thank everyone who spreads the truth about Ukraine and this war in different languages. But today I want to speak separately about those who cannot yet be mentioned in the news, whose names are known to few, but whose work is visible to all. Our missiles. Ukrainian munitions. Our artillery. Ukrainian drones: Leleka, Fury. Naval drones, Neptune, Corsar, Stugna. We produce all of this. Ukrainians produce all of this. And when we are proud to have sunk the flagship of the enemy fleet, Moskva cruiser, when we rejoice at hitting the Kerch Bridge, we also thank those who cannot be mentioned now, whose names cannot be told, but about whom books will be written and movies will definitely be made in the future. Those whom I award with classified decrees and who carry out the most difficult operations. Thank you! You are all important!

So is everyone who has no right to make a mistake. Who demines our territories - our cities and villages, our fields. Who sows fields despite the shelling. Who harvests the crops despite the shelling. Who delivers it across the country so that we have bread. Who, despite the danger, transports Ukrainian grain by rail, road, and sea to many other countries so that there is no hunger in the world.

Everyone who works and employs others is important. Everyone who pays taxes, which provide for the army, defense, advancement and future victory. Everyone who organizes fundraising campaigns and keeps the fire of volunteering, this sincere Ukrainian unity alive. Everyone who finds and brings everything that is needed in the trenches. Everyone who trains our warriors. Who glorifies Ukraine with sporting victories. Who opened the doors of their homes and sheltered those who lost their homes. Thank you!

Those who give birth to motivating lyrics for Ukrainians, arrange them to beautiful music, and perform these songs for the warriors at the front, for the wounded in hospitals, and at charity concerts around the world. In the world that is fighting side by side with us. With Ukraine.

Everyone who survived the occupation is important. Who was holding the Ukrainian flag in the squares. Those who are still under occupation, but keep our flag so that the occupier cannot find it. Those who have waited and will witness the return of Ukraine. Who was wounded, who lost limbs, but did not lose themselves. And most importantly, we all did not lose you. Those who survived captivity. Those who were deprived of their freedom, but not their will. Who did not lose Ukraine in themselves. Those who came back and continue to fight. And those who will return. They will.

All those who have proved that everyone is needed, everyone is important - people, deeds, and words. Because we all made it so that when one person says: "Glory to Ukraine!", the whole world responds: "Glory to the Heroes!"

Happy Independence Day, Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!

[salmonthestoryteller]

SeaQuest DSV

SeaQuest DSV (1993-1995) officially has three seasons, but I'm really only here to talk about the first two. Lol

Seriously, SeaQuest will forever go for me:

Season One: Amazing. Unique, riveting plots.  You basically like every character. Will watch any time.

Season Two: Quirky and kinda disappointing compared to first season.  Replaced some amazing characters with some really bleh and uninteresting ones. Fun to watch sometimes if in the right mood.

Season Three: We don't talk about SeaQuest 2032.  We don't even acknowledge its existence if we can help it.

SeaQuest DSV is set in a future time where man has colonized the oceans in search of new resources.  After escalating clashes, the United Earth Oceans Organization (UEO), a global coalition of up-world countries and undersea confederations, is formed to help settle disputes and keep the peace. An experimental submarine called The Seaquest is loaned to the UEO to aid in this endeavor.

It was designed by retired naval captain Nathan Bridger, who the UEO wants to convince to come out of retirement to command. Bridger, however, made a promise to his late wife to never return to the navy after their son died in action. He accepts an invitation to tour the SeaQuest, but initially refuses to accept command despite numerous machinations to attempt to make him do so.

Circumstances eventually do bring Bridger about, including the fact that the SeaQuest also acts as an exploration and science vessel - with a large crew of scientists led by Dr Kristin Westphalen (who outnumber the navy officers two to one as she reminds Commander Ford with a smile when he says it's a military vessel), as well as forming connections within the crew.

Like a lot of shows at the time, SeaQuest was mainly episodic. There wasn't a lot of carry over between episodes for plots aside from the continued political unrest the SeaQuest was responsible for easing. But most of that was also more episodic than serial.

However, I would say the first season of SeaQuest’s writing is above the level of most series at the time. Or even a lot of modern series. I can honestly say I didn't dislike a single one of the original cast of characters.  The found family feels were incredible.  They dared to touch on subjects that were quite controversial in their time. (Whalesong?  Nothing But the Truth?)

Plus, we had a dolphin for a main character.  I mean… name me another sci-fi with a dolphin character the team communicates with through an experimental piece of technology. Darwin is not a pet. His actions throughout the series is that of a fully acknowledged sentient being. Including the failure of the technology to translate his meaning because it can't fully comprehend his language, and a really heartbreaking episode where he grows severely ill, and the crew must seek out his pod to return him to. (I cannot watch that episode with a dry eye especially his and Bridger’s parting towards the climax)

A lot of controversy surrounds Season 2. The corporate big wigs not only decided they needed a younger “hotter” cast to attract younger viewers, but they also moved the show's production across the country.  Both members of the cast and the show’s fans spoke out against it all, but to no avail.

I will admit to finding second season more interesting as a rewatch years later than I did as a disgruntled fan in the day.  But it still cannot hold a candle to season one.

We had to give up Dr Westphalen for Dr Wendy Smith. And, I'm sorry, but there's no contest. Westphalen was an amazing, depthful character.  A mature and strong female character (And let's face it, those weren't easy to come by in 1993). And she and Bridger had the cutest flirtation going on. Wendy is nothing but a let down by comparison.  She lacks Westphalen’s maturity and poise. Instead coming across as arrogant and temperamental. And having them pair Bridger in a romance with her felt like a double slap in the face for season one fans. 

We had to give up Hitchcock for Brody. Are we serious here?  We had to give up a tough, kick ass female commander, and her growing connection to the crew, for a completely uninteresting narcissistic male wannabe playboy?  Do I even have to say how terrible a decision that is?

We had to give up Chief Crocker, who was the mature voice of reason in the crew. Pretty much their bedrock. And what we got in return was Lieutenant Lonnie Henderson. Look, Lonnie as an addition to the crew would have been okay. She's sweet, and I have to admit the whole smuggled teddy bear thing was adorable.  She has some good interactions with the rest of the crew.  But in the end the characters we lost were still better than what they presented us with in her.

Okay, I will say that of the swaps, getting Piccolo and Dagwood in exchange for Krieg was probably the best swap out we got. Of the season 2 crew, they are the best new characters.  And, like Krieg, are capable of switching back and forth to carry both the more comedic scenes and the serious ones. But I still am disappointed at the loss of Krieg, who I felt like we had only begun to explore the character of in season one.

The season two plots were far more out there than season one, at times closer to fantasy than science fiction. There is a lot of lore used from the lost civilization of Atlantis to various sea gods, to pandora's box.  On one hand there were some good episodes (The pilot, Daggers, and Playtime are two of my favorites.), but neither the writing nor the cast were quite able to stack up to first season.

It also suffers from making The SeaQuest a pure military vessel, taking out the exploration and science side completely. Something that clashes with the character of Bridger - and the writing of Bridger in the season comes across slightly off. Like pre-series Bridger as opposed to the character as we knew him in season one.

I literally mean it when I say I ignore the existence of season three.  If season two suffered from the changed character line up and writing that wasn't quite equal to season one, then SeaQuest 2032 was a complete reversal of everything about the series. We jump decades into the future, go from protecting the peace to SeaQuest being a 100% war vessel with a new captain who is very much a by-the-books jerk, as opposed to the peace-loving, “I will literally resign on grounds of moral objections to orders” Bridger.  Despite some characters remaining, and even a brief guest appearance by Krieg as someone rebelling against the new militant UEO, the series doesn't even feel like SeaQuest at all. Hard pass. 

[the-stained-glazier]

FNAF SB: Broken AU

Chapter 1: The start of a journey

Part 2

After a moment the source of the stomps finally revealed himself, he was non other than the mascot of the pizzaplex himself glamrock Freddy.

"Good evening officer Vanessa!" Said the animatronic bear optimistically. "Good evening Freddy. This is our new security guard, his name is Gregory and—" Vanessa was cut off as someone started talking to her through her walkie-talkie "Vanessa here.... mhm... yeah..... ok copy that." She sighed as she put her walkie-talkie in its place before finally speaking " Sorry Gregory... apparently a late shipment of spare parts just arrived and they need me to be there in the loading dock to open the exit in case it closes." (Under her breath) "just one more thing to deal with..." "Anyway Freddy should be able to introduce you to the others and give you a tour.... I'm off now." They both watched her as she left before turning to face each other."H-Hello I'm Gregory. It's nice to meet you!"

"Hello officer Gregory! It's a pleasure to meet you too! Unfortunately.. I won't be able to introduce you to the others, they're still in parts and service for maintenance. Until then let us start the tour." Said Freddy with a smile on his face.

"Please just call me Gregory."

The duo then started the tour with Freddy showing Gregory around the pizzaplex, and getting to know each other more until they reached the utility tunnels.

"Where are we?" Asked Gregory who stopped paying attention to where they were going in the middle of the tour, he was more focused on his conversation with Freddy.

"We are now under the pizzaplex. These utility tunnels connect all the attractions."

"We can go anywhere in the building?"

"Correct. Fazer Blast, Monty Golf, Roxy Raceway. They are all accessible to S.T.A.F.F. - with high enough clearance of course."

They kept talking as they made their way up the stairs and into the hallway that would lead them to a security office then into the lobby.

*This place is so big, it's amazing! But..what if I mess up, o-or forget something, what if I drop my security badge . I..I can't do any mistakes on my first night.* thought Gregory to himself. He started to lightly pick on his nail. He would always do that or tear a tissue or a piece of paper if he had one in his hands unconsciously whenever he got stressed.

Luckily Freddy caught on to this and decided to reassure him " We're now in one of the security offices. Take this. It is a novelty Freddy Fazwatch."

"Oh thank you."

"Do you see the interface on the security desk. Try and activate security protocols."

It took a moment for Gregory to figure out what Freddy meant before realizing that his Fazwatch was now connected to the security camera system and how to operate it without further instructions. This made him feel more relaxed knowing he was getting the hang of it.

"Well done superstar! I mean... Gregory. I apologize." The bear wanted to encourage the young security guard but slipped and called him superstar instead of his name. Then apologized thinking he would have somehow offended him. Gregory was caught off gaurd, he wasn't expecting this kind of encouragement at all.

"No, no it's fine really. I don't mind." (Under his breath) "I won't mind if you call me that again." As wierd as it might seem, he really wanted to be called superstar again. It felt as if it was filling a hole left there by.......

As they went to the main lobby, Freddy stopped, apparently was notified of something. He then turned to Gregory. "Good news Gregory. The others have finished their routine maintenance and are waiting for us at the Atrium. Let us go."

While they were making their way to the Atrium, something caught the corner of Gregory's eye for a second. In the direction of the desk with the glamrocks' cutout where people would normally get their complementary tickets was the sentence DON'T TRUST THEM repeated over and over on the wall,desk and the cutout. They had a glitched appearance and dripping from it was some sort of dark liquid, the cutout looked different. It displayed nightmarish versions of Roxanne, Montgomery and Chica, Freddy however, didn't have a nightmarish form like the others, instead his eyes were completely black with the same liquid dripping from them like tears, his smile disappeared completely and he was shades of grey as if he was a ghost . However when Gregory immediately turned his head to look at the horrific sight.... there was nothing there. The cutout displayed the glamrocks in their cartoonish, hand-drawn look that everyone was familiar with and there was not a single word anywhere except the sign that said 'Get a complimentary entry pass!'

Gregory barely saw it, he didn't catch all the details except the sentence, but was alerted nonetheless. With a cold chill running down his spine, looked at Freddy. Apparently the bear didn't see anything. The security guard calmed down and thought that he was seeing things, that he was either tired or extremely stressed because this would be his first job. It wasn't a new thing to imagine things but this felt different, extreme even.

"Is everything ok Gregory?" Asked Freddy.

Gregory shook it off immediately"Don't worry it's nothing, maybe I'm just a little worried to meet the others. I'm not so good at first introductions."

"Do not worry. I'm sure they'll like you." Said with a smile as if he was a father reassuring his child. "Now, let us go."

The feeling returned again, that same feeling when he was called superstar. He felt a sense of comfort.

They both started making their way to the Atrium, but before leaving the area they were in Gregory looked back at the place where he saw the writings *You're just seeing things, that's all* he thought one last time before finally leaving.

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