#the amount of people in my generation who will get GENUINELY FLOORED if they see someone cook boxed mac n cheese

[swagging-back-to]

if youre over 17yo and you cant cook youre useless

#the amount of people in my generation who will get GENUINELY FLOORED if they see someone cook boxed mac n cheese #to the point where it is notable if someone cooks. #like it isnt a 'oh thats something everyone does. why are you mentioning that you drink water' #people freak out and act like you just revealed you have x ray vision and can fly. #it isnt cute for you to not be able to cook. #and i hope you know i am always imagining how you will slowly starve to death in an apocalypse scenario bc you dont know #how to heat something as simple as a can of beans to safe temperature #like seriously grow up #it screams entitlement and ineptitude #it's horrrrrrible in urban environments but even in rural areas you still find people who only know how to pop a ready meal in the microwav #they genuinely consider that cooking. #like. #actually. #inept adults #new tag dropped lol #it is kinda cool how im seen as godly just for doing the bare minimum every single able bodied human should be able to do

[comingyourlugubriousness]

I wrote this a long time ago for Twst SMAU. Some lore on how Ghost King! Idia and Mario!Yume meet! I have a general plot planned, but right now I'm working on Ghost Marriage lore so I'm not sure when I'll get around to it! I have lots of fun with this au though! (´｡• ᵕ •｡`)

Enjoy! Writing under the cute!

Title: Ghost King Join's the Party!

Length: 6.5k words

“Whe he he!~ It’s finally finished!” Idia giggled, his sinister laughter echoing throughout the dark, cold dungeon. 

“This is gonna be the one for sure, no way he gets out of this one!” He assured himself, and himself alone as there was no other soul in the room with him. His ghostly underlings were all at their posts; awaiting the expected arrival of one, said Yuuta Midori. Idia sighed, his brows furrowing at the thought of his rival. 

During their last encounter Yuuta had “beaten” him…that part wasn’t…really uncommon. Yuuta interrupting his plans was a constant plague on his life to the point where he was genuinely worried about the amount of free time Yuuta had. But, even though Idia never won their encounters in a literary sense he had always gotten what he needed to do.

Sure, Yuuta may have stopped him from summoning an undead army, but he had gotten away with the necromantic book he needed with the spell. So in a way he was the true “winner” in their game. That is until last time….

Absent-mindedly, he touched the top of his head. A place where his family’s crown was supposed to be sitting.

“How annoying…freaking goodie goodie…” He grumbled to himself. Idia got careless with their last encounter. When trying to steal those parts for his machines he ended up losing his crown. 

“It wasn’t my fault!” He groaned aloud, drearily pacing back and forth as he talked to himself. 

“Those Toads wouldn’t sell anything to me! Just because I had some “terrifying and scary Boo's” with me.” He put finger quotes and rolled his eyes as hard as he could. 

“So what if they scared a few people!?” He shrugged. “I needed the parts way more than them!” He pointed at himself indignantly, as if he was having an intense debate with someone.”They weren’t utilizing the parts to their full potential! Just letting them rust away in a corner because they were too STUPID to see its value!” He growled, the long blue flames of his hair blazing a harsh red for a second as he kicked a loose rock on the floor.

 Idia yelped as it actually kinda of hurt his foot…

“But would that wannabe anti-hero with a mom complex hear me out?! Noooooo of course not!~ Cuz I’m just the gross, creepy, shut-in who lives with dead people!!” He complained dramatically, hopping up and down on one foot until the pain subsided. Idia’s voice simply echoed off the empty walls of his family's old castle dungeon. Only the slight jangling of chains in the wind through the cracks in the walls responded back to him…He stood there for a few moments soaking in the lonely silence as his face went passive and expressionless. 

It was fine…he was used to it by now…

Idia sighed, feeling ashamed that he was once again getting himself so worked up in a conversation by himself. How pathetic…

“Well…I guess it doesn’t matter. Once I capture that wannabe hero, I’ll make him give me back my crown.” He grinned widely at the idea, his sharp teeth on full display.

“We just have to-Hm?” He stopped, hearing a notification sound from his tablet. He lifted his cloak, sticking his hand through it to the pocket dimension inside and pulling out of his tablet. Unlocking it to check his security cameras feeds.

“What the-?!” Idia’s brows furrowed and he leaned forward; hunching close to the screen. 

There he saw a chaotic scene; dozens of his Boo subjects all scattering around, panicked expressions on their faces. They all flitted about, desperately finding places to hide and disappearing into old furniture. Through the blurs of barely transparent ghosts he could see the rooms of his family’s castle were a wreck, more so than usual, as if battles had taken place. Remnants of his puzzles and traps that he had so strategically placed were either rendered obsolete or smashed to smithereens. 

Did Yuuta do this?? It usually took him longer to solve Idia’s traps and he NEVER scared any of his subjects like this, usually they did the scaring!

Idia watched as one Boo ran right into one of his security cameras cracking the lens. What was his name…? Herbert? Idia wasn’t sure. He was never good at recognizing all their faces and remembering their names… it was always Ortho who…

His train of thought was interrupted as someone stepped in the camera frame. 

Due to the crack in the camera lens, Idia couldn’t make out any details, but he saw the Boo shriek and scrambled to get away. A blurred motion approaching the camera was the last thing he saw before it was busted. The camera feed going offline. 

Idia winced and sneered in annoyance thinking about how he’d have to replace that camera now. Though he felt himself beginning to sweat as he cycled through the other camera feeds, trying to identify or even catch a glimpse of his intruder. But he never could, they were always just out of sight of the camera angles or moving too fast for him to get a clear picture. Just a red blur? He swallowed hard; he couldn’t help but notice that the cameras he was following were getting closer and closer to his current location.

“Gah, geez what’s with this horror movie atmosphere!” He bemoaned, growling in frustration as another camera was destroyed, just one room away from the dungeon he was currently standing in. A few seconds later he heard a bang from outside the door. 

“Wha-! O-oh forget this!” He said, closing his tablet and stuffing it in his cloak. 

“N-n-nothing w-wrong with a strategic retreat! H-hehe?” he said to himself, laughing, nervously as he hurried to gather his tools and keys.

*THUMP*

He jumped in place and failed to hold back a high pitched shriek, his tools falling around his feet; as the heavy wooden dungeon door entrance was suddenly struck.

“O-Oh! Oh, shit!” Idia looked around frantically. The banging on the door continued relentlessly. It wouldn’t hold forever. 

Usually he would just phase through the walls to escape, but that was impossible here. The dungeon was designed to imprison even ghosts. He could try to take this threat head on, but without his crown his powers were so nerfed he could BARELY use them to fight. He let out a nervous noise, stepping around his trap's trigger, and cramming himself into a corner of one of the dungeon cells, crudely kicking an ancient skeleton aside as he did. 

With one final *thunk* the dungeon door fell off its hinge, a cloud of dust puffing up and a deafening bang reverberated off the old stone walls. Idia cautiously peeked from his hiding spot, looking to see this new enemy…

-

.

“Whoa~!” Yume yelped as they fell through the door. A small ‘oof’ escaping them as they tripped on the door.

“Oww…” They groaned into the hard wood where they face planted. Maybe they used a little too much force on that last swing? They thought, clumsily stumbling to their feet. They gently dusted themselves off, taking extra care to clean their monogrammed hat. Yu went to adjust their glasses only to realize they weren’t on their face.

“Ah, my glasses!” They panicked for a second looking around the dark room until they found them only a few feet away. They sighed in relief, putting them back on and taking stock of their surroundings. 

Yume glanced around the room, which looked to be a dungeon of sorts. A majority of the area was shrouded in shadows; only a bit of light coming from dull torches of blue flames. They could hear the slight jingling of chains as the cold air drifted through the room. Yume grimaced, their knees buckling for a second at the idea of exploring this creepy place. 

Ugh! They should have gotten a flashlight like Yuuta told them. They jogged in place for a moment to calm their nerves.  I’ll be okay, just some dumb little creep, I can take him! His puzzles weren’t even that difficult! Yume took a deep breath to calm down. Their face settling into one of determination.They would be fine, they just had to keep their guard up. 

With that thought in mind they grabbed the handle of their hammer, pulling it from where it was wedged into the door. The old sturdy wood splintered under the head of the iron hammer head and they made a small noise of effort as they lifted the blunt weapon over their shoulder.

“Eek-!” An unknown noise echoed in the chamber.

Yume whipped their head around towards the direction of the noise, but all they could see was darkness. Their first instinct was to call out, but they hesitated for a moment. Was it an enemy? Or…maybe someone who needed help? They bit their lip unsure if they should speak…

“Hellooo? Is someone there?” They called out, their voice echoing across the chamber. They felt slightly silly at how much they sounded like a dumb horror movie victim. But if someone was here then…well…it’s not like they hadn’t heard Yu come in.

Yume waited a few seconds, but got no response. They let out a breath through their nose…guess I have to do this the hard way. With that final thought, Yu tightened their grip on their hammer as they slowly and methodically began searching the room .

-

Idia held his hands over his mouth. Shit that was close!! He hadn’t meant to make that noise! He scolded himself for acting like a dumb protag in horror movies, the very ones he always rolled his eyes at!

 ‘C’mon think, Idia think, you're better than those idiot normie throw away characters!’ He swallowed hard, finding it difficult to focus as he heard the intruder stepping around in and opening doors in the other cells. Each time getting closer and closer to his current location.. He couldn’t run away, the enchantment on the dungeon walls prevented even ghosts from phasing through them and if he tried to run through the open entrance they would definitely see him!

The footsteps came closer.

He could try to fight but without his crown he was severely underleveled! He didn’t know the stats of this intruder yet, but if what he saw on the camera was any indication they were not just some random noob! He could easily get K.O’d if he wasn’t careful!

The creak of the cell door next to his opened.

Gah-! He was running out of time he-! Idia felt himself start to hyperventilate. 

The footsteps were right outside the cell. 

He hated this, why couldn’t people just leave him alone!? Is what he was doing really such a crime?! He just wanted to be left alone! Why couldn’t they leave him alone? He wished he was anywhere else, he wished Ortho was here, he wished he could just disappear from the face of this earth for good! 

Idia heard the door to the cell creak open and he gasped. Blinking away the tears and instinctually cowering and covering his face to hide. His bloodline powers activated automatically, making him invisible where he stood.

He held his breath as the intruder stepped around the cell, he could hear them, walking around towards each corner carefully until they got to his. They were so close, Idia could tell without even seeing them. Cautiously, he peeked through his fingers, trying to see this interloper up close…

Big brown eyes stared directly at him and he almost screamed in shock, but caught himself as he realized they couldn’t actually see him. He felt his face heat up in embarrassment, avoiding eye contact regardless.

He moved his fingers aside just a bit to see them more fully.

Idia wasn’t sure what he expected, maybe a huge monster or a large buff dude but…instead this person was actually rather short…? Glasses resting on their rosy round cheeks, wavy curls framing a soft face, and a small pout their plump lips as they carefully examined the corner he was hiding in. Huh? Who…? His eyes trailed down, catching a familiar attire

Short overalls and a monogrammed hat? Yuuta wore something like this though in a different way…was this person…related to him in some way? Did he send them? Idia thoughts raced, his curiosity starting to overtake his anxiety. 

If that was the case then…it's possible that they weren’t that much stronger than Yuuta… maybe they were even more of a scardy cat then him? At the thought a mischievous sharp tooth grin split on his face as he got an idea. A way to get this nuisance out of his hair AND avoid a fight with some NPC of unknown lvl. He just had to do what Boo’s did best.

As the person turned away from the corner, stepping over something and kneeling down to examine the entrance to the cell, Idia saw his chance. 

Idia released his breath, making himself visible and with all the remaining strength he had left called upon his power to shift into his ghostly form. He felt his figure grow, his wispy cloak merging with his body.  His tongue lolled out of his mouth as his mouth unhinged, displaying his rows of razor sharp teeth, his face twisting and distorting in an unsettling nightmarish visage. He loomed over his capture, now turned victim. Idia took a deep breath as he prepared himself to let out an unholy scream and hopefully scared them to death.

 He took a step forward, getting closer and closer, waiting for just the right moment…

**Click** 

Idia looked down with wide eyes, seeing the trigger of the trap release. Oh n-

Idia couldn’t even finish his thought as the trapped sprung and he yelped as metal sheets on the floor quickly folded up around him, locking him in a metal box. He couldn’t even scream as the small area encased him, forcing him to fold his body like a tetris piece just to fit.

“AHH-! WHAT THE FUCK!” He heard the intruder scream, then a loud metal thunk hit the trap. 

“S-shit!” Idia choked out, finding it hard to breathe. The trap wasn’t made for someone his size in mind. He tried to shift his knees to sit in a better position. 

This was fine, this was completely fine! He just had to get the remote from his pocket to release the trap. With great effort he shimmied his hand to his pocket to find…

…It empty?

“…!”

SHIT! HE MUST HAVE LEFT IT SOMEWHERE ON THE FLOOR! He had thought he would have more time to prepare before Yuuta came!

“No no nononono!” He whined and began hyperventilating again as he tried to kick and pound at the trap. Unfortunately, it was working perfectly as intended, leaving him with no hope of escaping on his own. What was he going to do?! It could be days before one of his subjects found him?!

A few seconds later three hesitant knocks on the container broke him out of his panic. 

-

“Umh…H-hello? I-is someone in there?” Yume asked carefully, their hand on their chest to calm their still racing heart. What the fuck just happened? One second the cell was empty and then they heard a horrible loud noise? And now this metal box was here?? And it was making noises?! Where did it come from?? Did it fall from the ceiling…?

There was no response from the box. So, reluctantly, Yume leaned forward and cautiously knocked again; pressing their ear to the side of the container. A few seconds passed but this time they did manage to get a response.

“H-help…!” A feeble male voice choked out. If Yume wasn’t literally pressed up against the box they definitely wouldn’t be able to hear it. Yume gasped, placing their palm against the box.

“Help?! Who are you?! Are you okay? How can I help?!” They asked in rapid fire, their instinct to aid beginning to take over. Yu automatically grabbed their hammer, thinking maybe they could just smash the trap, but then they noticed. The spot they hit earlier didn’t even have a dent…Even if they pounded away at this thing all day; it might not budge...

“The trap is too sturdy-! I don’t think I can break it!” Yume explained. They squished their cheek up against the box; now able to hear the labored breathing of whoever was inside. Yume frowned, their worry for this person increasing with every second.

“H-Hey, it's okay, it’s okay! We’ll figure this out…!” They said, trying to calm the person. An unsure noise came from inside. 

“I mean it!” They tried to reassure them again. “I heard that this guy always has an out for these kinds of things, there must be a way to free you? A-A key somewhere or-!” They did a quick once over of the cell but found nothing. Then the prisoner piped up.

“R-r-re-remote…!” His voice stuttered. 

A remote? Yume thought, then like a lightbulb they remembered. A remote! Yume reached into their pocket, pulling out the strange device they had found earlier in one of the rooms upstairs. They didn’t know what it was then, but thought it seemed important. Definitely a key item! Maybe the Ghost King had dropped it and misplaced it? HA! What a total idiot!

“Hang on! I’m gonna try something!” They said, taking a few steps back.

“H-hurry…!” The voice pleaded.

Yume held the device out at arms length, leaning slightly away, and pressed their thumb down on the almost comically large red button.

A satisfying *click*, sounded. Something inside the trap whirled and the metal plating shifted rapidly as the coffin-like trap began to unfold itself. The top of the box popped open like a trapped door. A cartoonish spring noise sounded, and the person screamed as they were quickly and forcefully ejected upwards out of the trap.

“Whoa-!” Yume’s eyes followed the motion, holding on to their hat as a blur of blue flew up past them.

-

Idia let out a shriek as he was ejected into the air. After being tumbled around in the trap he was completely disoriented, he couldn’t tell up from down; the whole world was LITERALLY spinning. Were his traps always this messed up? A few moments later he felt a moment of equilibrium, before gravity overtook, sending him plummeting down.

He was falling? Time almost seemed to slow down around him. Since he’d inherited his crown it was a sensation he’d forgotten…Was he going to die?  The thought crossed his mind matter of factly before the panic set in. N-No he couldn’t, he still had so much to do-! He could hear his own heartbeat in his ears as he fell, faster and faster. Idia pinched his eyes shut and tried to brace himself for the cold unforgiving stone floor…

.

.

.

“Gotcha!” Yume grunted, their small arms wrapping around the prisoner. Even as they caught him the force of the fall was a little too much for them and they both fell to the floor. Yume let out a groan as they fell flat on their butt. The person bouncing on their lap as Yu’s own body cushioned most of the fall. It knocked the wind out of Yume so they tried to take a few deep breaths. 

“Ack!” Yume wheezed as they were suddenly squeezed in a tight hold. Long arms wrapped around their waist as the trembling prisoner clinged to them like a lifeline. Wisps of blue overtook their vision as the person buried themselves in Yume’s shoulder. They felt small panicked breaths hitting their neck as the person hyperventilated.

The sudden closeness started Yume and they were a little embarrassed, but they set that aside, their practiced heroic persona taking over. 

“Hey hey, shh… it's okay…” They cooed, gently rubbing the prisoners back. Yume tried to pull them back a bit so he wasn't sitting directly on their lap. But, he  flinched at the contact, letting out a small whimper. He clutched the back of Yume’s hoodie more intensely, bunching up the fabric. 

Yume sighed, but relented, tentatively setting their arms around the person.

“Okay okay, you don’t have to let go.” They murmured softly, it wasn’t the first time they had to comfort a panicking victim, but usually it was only children who clingged to them like this. Though this person was clearly not a child, their tall frame almost completely enveloped Yume. If it wasn’t for how thin they were, Yume might have been knocked flat on the ground. Absent-mindedly they moved their hands around his waist. Actually, they were REALLY THIN! Yume’s brows pinched up in worry.

-

Idia was beside himself, he couldn’t think straight. It wasn’t the first time he had a panic attack like this, but this was one of the worse he’d had in awhile. Ironically, the only thing keeping him together right now was the very person who caused his composure to crumble in the first place. He hadn’t meant to cling to them, sure, it was a natural instinct when falling but… then he felt it…

The warmth of another living person…he had almost forgotten what it was like. Idia shivered as soft warm palms rubbed his back.

“...How long have you been here?” The intruder asked, sounding concerned.

How long? How long had he been here? In this castle; a glorified prison for his cursed family?  He wasn’t thinking straight, a part of him knew that wasn’t what they meant but…

“Forever…” The words just came out.

 “...I-I-’ve-” Idia struggled to speak, cringing at his own voice and giving up the thought halfway, choosing instead to steal more warmth from this person and burying his face in their neck. He caught a whiff of a fruity smell he couldn’t identify, but strangely it calmed him. 

The stranger didn’t seem to mind, in fact they held him closer, a hand soothingly patting his head.

“Shh…it’s alright, I’ll protect you… '' They said the words softly, but with conviction. Even in Idia’s skeptical mind it sounded reassuring. Though, it was the next words that really got to him.

“You're not alone anymore.” The person whispered to him as if it was a promise. 

Idia tensed, the words making him freeze in place. His brain jump started as he suddenly registered EVERYTHING that was happening. Where he was, who he was with, the position he was in. The scenario and sensations overwhelmed him, making him hyper aware of every stimuli in the room.

What the hell was he doing? 

At the thought he pushed the intruder away, scrambling away from them.

They let out a noise of surprise at the sudden shove.

“G-get away-!” Idia choked out, all at once the warmth from before left him, sharpening his focus. Idia crawled away until his back hit the cell bars and he anxiously gripped one. Uncomfortably pushing himself into the cold steel to get as physically far away from this person as possible. NO ONE had ever made him drop his guard like that? Was it some kind of weird power?  In his mind they were even more dangerous now then when they were just some OP freak with a hammer. 

-

The push knocked Yume to the floor. They grunt in pain as they felt their elbows skinned against unforgiving stone. They recovered quickly. 

“Ow! Hey! That hurt!”  They growled, giving into their first instinct to get angry. They were only trying to help this person and this is what they get. Geez! 

“What’s your fucking issue?!” Yume shouted as they sat up to glare at the person, puffing up their cheeks at him. Though their anger dissipated once they set eyes on this person; vaguely registering that this was the first time they could see him clearly. 

Bright golden eyes trembling with fear met Yume’s. A glint of sharp teeth peaked from his mouth, nervously biting thin blue lips. His pale skin seemed to glow in the darkness. The illusion only became more prominent due to the actual flames of long blue hair; cascading wildly around his shoulders and back; framing his mature angular face.  

Yume blinked twice, taking in the appearance of this person, a person who just a few seconds ago was sitting in their lap. Their face heated up now at the idea.

“Oh…You’re…” Yume started to say ‘beautiful’, but caught themselves, as they saw the man’s shoulders hike. Yu trailed off…losing their nerve to say what they wanted. They took a moment to collect themselves, clearing their throat..

“-You're safe.” Yu said, firmly, trying to sound as reassuring as possible; thought still a nervous laugh escaped them. “Y’know what, here let's uhm, start over!” They said kindly, shifting to sit on their knees. They clear their throat again, their nerves suddenly spiking  as they realized they were meeting a stranger.

“ H-hi, I’m Yume Ume! Part Time Hero! ” They tried to smile, voice a little too loud and gungho; as they awkwardly put their hand out for him to shake. He jumped at the loud volume of their voice and tried to lean back even more at the quick movement. Eyes shifting back and forth at Yume’s hand, and expression, skeptically.  He made no move to shake their hand, but raised an eyebrow at their introduction.

-

“Part time Hero”, that was the way Yuuta introduced themselves to people sometimes, too. Idia didn’t say anything but made note of it. A more pressing concern plaguing his mind right now.

“U-Uhmm…” He started speaking, cringing at his own stutter.

 “A-aren’t y-you….g-gonna to attack m-me? O-or s-something” Idia muttered, he knew he should try and put on his villain persona, but his head was pounding. He felt so weak, he must have used too much of his power… 

Yume’s eyebrows hiked up in surprise. 

“Huh?!” They were confused for a second, so he shifted his eyes to their hammer lying in arms reach. They followed his gaze.  “Oh! Oh no! No!” They said quickly, pushing the hammer away. It slid further across the floor, clunking loudly till it hit the wall.

“That’s not for you! That’s only for bad guys!” They said, holding their hands up in a placating gesture. Idia paused, his eyes widening and jaw going slack as he realized…

This person…this Yume…had no idea who he was.

“What’s your name?” They asked, further proving his assumption. 

“O-oh! I..umh…” It’s been a long time since he introduced himself to anyone. Part of him understood, why would anyone want the name of some freak like him. Even the moniker of ‘Ghost King’ was given to him.  Nobody, not even his subjects called him by his real name anymore…no one did, not since Ortho… He shook off the thought, not trying to go down that train of thought.

“M-my n-name-i-ts uh-!” He hesitated, bringing his knees to his chest and fiddling with his fingers. Unsure if he should tell them… In the end he decided it wouldn’t be worth the trouble of keeping up a lie.

“I-Idia j-just…Idia.” He whispered, peeking up at them through his bangs. Yume smiled at him.

“Idia…” They repeated, giving a little nod of approval. “That’s a nice name!” They said so sincerely it made Idia’s stomach churn a bit. Even so his face still heated up at the compliment, he wasn’t used to them. They went on, leaning into him a bit.

“Listen Idia, my brother, Yuuta! He sent me here to stop something the Ghost King was planning, I’ve searched this place to to bottom, but I still can’t find him, I don’t think he’s here so-”

“Wait-! YUUTA IS YOUR BROTHER?!” He asked in disbelief, leaning into them as well. Yume leaned back not expecting him to suddenly raise his voice.

“Yeah…have you met him?” They asked, raising an eyebrow. 

“O-oh n-not I-I’ve just uhh…h-heard of him…! Y-yeah, talk f-from the dungeon g-guards ehehe…” He lied, chuckling nervously, pushing his index finger together to stim.Yume frowned looking at him with sympathetic eyes.

“You… must have been trapped here for a while, huh?” Then their brows furrowed. “No wonder you look so thin and pale! That guy is gonna pay!” Yume said seriously, bawling up their fists till they shook. 

Idia let out a quiet noise as if he had been stabbed; any confidence he had plummeted to the floor and shattered, and he hunched in on himself.

“I c-can’t help how I look…!” He grumbled gloomily. Honestly, he had been called much worse by others, but for some reason the comments from Yume stung extra hard. He didn’t try to dwell on why.

“Ah-! Nono-! I didn’t mean-!” They tried, but Idia interrupted them.

“H-how do you plan on beating the Ghost king anyway!?” He asked,  looking at them curiously. This whole thing was a big epic fail, definitely one for his cringe comp. But maybe he could get some useful information from someone so close to his nemesis.

“O-oh well!” Yume pushed up their glasses. “ Yuuta told me the last time they fought, he managed to steal the Ghost King’s crown. We didn’t know much about it or how it worked. So, I was worried it might be dangerous, y’know?” They gave a small shrug. 

“Like, bro I love you. But you can’t just take freaky villain shit without knowing what it is!” They explained, and gestured their hand out as if it was an obvious conclusion. “Like that thing could be cursed for all we know!” They said, throwing their arms up dramatically. 

Idia’s eyes widened and how close to the mark they were, but he didn’t say anything.

“Anywho,  I took it upon myself to do a little research on the crown so my brother gave it to me and-”

“YOU HAVE MY CROWN!” Idia blurted, forgetting himself for a moment and scrambling closer to them; scanning Yume up and down to find it. Their posture turned a bit sheepish, seeming to be nervous at suddenly having Idia’s full attention.

“Oh no not on me I- '' Yume paused, Idia’s words catching up with them. 

“Your crown?” They repeated, tilting their head and looking at Idia with narrow eyes. Idia let out a noise of shock, only now realizing what he had said as well.

“O-oh! I meant- W-what I meant is um-” He stumbled over his words, bawling his hands to his chest. Unable to come up with a lie to cover it. HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID! He internally screamed at himself. 

“Wait a second…yellow eyes…and blue flames….” Yume said, their eyes carefully scanning over his features, he could practically see the gears turning in their head…

GAH, THIS WAS IT HE WAS SO DONE FOR! GAME, SET, MATCH! Idia’s eyes darted around, back once again in trying to find a way out of this situation. But there was nothing he could do, even if he ran they would definitely catch him.

“You…you're…” Yume continued. And Idia swallowed nervously, pinching his eyes shut and preparing his mental tombstone: “Death by hammer”.

“...A SHROUD!” Yume said confidently with a look of awe on their face.

“Huh?!” Idia said dumbfounded, his body untensing. It wasn’t what he was expecting to hear.

“Yeah..?” Idia nodded.”H-how did you know?” He asked genuinely surprised. His family was considered the stuff of legends. They weren’t recorded in any historic literature; at least not traditionally. Whispers of the Shrouds only came up in myths or sometimes tales of cautions.

Yume gasped, doing an excited little dance at being correct. Then they propped their hands on their hips, looking proud that their prediction was true. 

“I KNEW IT! Well not ‘knew it’, but it all makes sense!” They began speaking passionately.

 “All the books I read about the crown mentioned a family with ghostly powers that passed down the crown from generation to generation! Some books even theorized that the bloodline had ended long ago, but they were all so ambiguous and never had definitive proof! A story that inspired so much mythology couldn’t have been based on a simple fairy tale! Gosh, I can’t believe it!” They rambled on passionately. Idia simply watched them, overwhelmed but…unable to take his eyes off them.

“Um-.” He tried, but Yume went on, speaking quickly and manically.

“And AND, you’ve been imprisoned here all this time! The Ghost King appeared only a few years ago, so that’s when he must have stolen it and learned how to unlock the secrets of your crown! By imprisoning you! AM I RIGHT?” They asked, sitting up on their knees leaning in only an inch from his face.

Idia laughed nervously, blushing at how close they were now. It took him a few seconds to process everything they said. They had really crafted this whole narrative in their head without Idia saying anything. But the scary thing was how almost accurate their theory was. Sure, they were just missing a few crucial details. But…they didn’t need to know that. 

“T-that’s right!” He lied, nodding quickly to agree with them. Yume’s mouth fell into an ‘o’ shape, and for just a second, Idia found himself having to hold back a genuine laugh at their expression. It was the same face he made when his favorite TV show theory got confirmed.

“Oh my gosh…what a conspiracy! Yuuta’s never gonna believe this!” They murmured to themself. “Like, ‘Hey bro, that thing we’re using as a paper weight at home, it's a legendary artifact of darkness from a royal family.  Hey, who would have thought; not me!” Yume said, mocking out the conversation 

“W-what, you just have it at your house-! Wh- A PAPER WEIGHT?!” He spluttered indignantly. “YOUR USING MY FAMILY CROWN AS A PAPERWEIGHT!?” 

“I mean…yeah.” Yume shrugged, tilting their head and sheepishly grinning at him. Idia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the absurdity.

“I need it back!” He said desperately, even going as far to reach over and tug a little on their sleeve. 

“A-ah okay okay, we can get it back…” Yume said, placatingly patting his hand. Their faced scrunched up in thought. “Hmm…well actually it's kinda of a long trip there and back…just going home for me is gonna be a journey in itself.” They murmured thinking to themselves for a few seconds, before their eyes widened; a creative sparkle to them.

“Oh I know! Here’s an idea!” They smiled. “You need your crown back and I need more info on the Ghost King! So, If you're willing to, I can escort you out of this place, and you can come back home with me to retrieve it!” They said.

“Hm?!” Idia’s first instinct was to grimace at the idea of leaving his land. Yume noticed his expression.

“Hear me out…!” They said, carefully placing a hand atop Idia’s. Idia noticed it, but decided not to yank his hand away to keep up appearance. The warmth was already spreading through his skin, even with his gloves on. Yume continued.

“This way we both can get what we need and besides I…well…” Yu looked away shyly. 

“I wouldn’t feel right leaving you behind-!” Idia watched their face flush a bit. 

“I mean-! S-someone who's never really been out in the world on their own! It would be hard to fend for yourself!” They flusteredly explained, looking back to him. 

“I have connections back home too, people who can help get you settled back into society…you must have been so scared and lonely…” They trailed off, giving his hand a gentle squeeze, before continuing.

“So…what do you say?” Yume asked, looking up at him through their long eyelashes, they almost looked…nervous? Idia didn’t understand why.

“Uhm…” He looked down, avoiding their gaze as he processed their words. They didn’t seem to mind; not pressuring him for a quick answer. He took a minute, running through all the possible scenarios in his head and came to a conclusion. His gut instinct was to tell them no, thank them for saving him and run off; when the “ghost was clear” pun intended. He could just return back to his castle and fortify his defenses. And apt strategy…however…This might be his best and only chance to get the crown back…and he needed it soon if his plans were ever going to come to fruition. He knew could never get it back with a full frontal attack, not with his debuff status ...but a stealth mission….that could work…he just had to play pretend, he could do that. He did that all the time as a child and even now.

Idia turned to them, doing his best to maintain eye contact. 

“O-okay…I-i'll take you up on the offer…p-please take care of me.” He stuttered, doing his best to give them a warm pleasant smile and not be “positively creepy” and “wonderfully unnerving” as he’d been told it was by his subjects. Gently, he gave the tiniest squeezed in return to Yume's hand.

Either Yume was a big weirdo or he did a halfway decent job, because they beamed at him, looking relieved.

“Great!” And they grinned, as if he had told them the best news in the world. They helped him to his feet as he shakily stood; smiling at him for a few moments longer before they seemed to remember themselves, looking away and chuckling nervously.

“Well then-!” Yume heaved up their hammer. A glint of what Idia recognized as magic sparkled for just a moment as they wound up a big swing towards a crack on the wall.

*BOOM*

 Idia jumped and let out a noise of surprise as a large section of the castle dungeon wall crumbled.

The dawn of the morning sun shone on the horizon and the birds chirped, signaling the start of a new day. It was so bright Idia had to shield his eyes and instinctively tried to take a step back into the shadows. Through the cracks of his fingers he saw Yume holding out their hand. The rays of light from the sun enveloping them and glinting off their glasses, making their warm olive skin almost seem to glow. 

Yume smiled at him with a kindness he’d never seen from a stranger…

“Let’s go!” They said cheerfully, flexing their hands for Idia to take. 

Their words broke him out of his stupor of awe and he stumbled towards them, nearly tripping over the debris, but at the last second Yu caught him, lacing their hands together to stabilize him. Idia blushed as they locked eyes, seeing nothing but pure sincerely on their face. How could they be like that with someone they just met, weren’t they embarrassed? Idia looked away, but couldn’t help but notice that somehow Yume’s palm felt warmer than the burning sun on his face. 

As they began climbing carefully down the hill of the crumbling rocks, Idia couldn’t help but wonder what kind of mess he was getting himself into.

It was fine…he just had to stick to the plan. 

No mess, no strings attached, just play pretend…that's all.

-

UI: IDIA HAS RELUCTANTLY JOINED THE PARTY!

#twisted wonderland #twst au #twst oc #smau #twst smau #myau #yume ume #idia shroud #disney twisted wonderland #oc x canon #yuusona #mywriting #myart #pumpkingart #nightlight and starshine #even in this au lol #might be a few mistakes grammar wise but oh well

[aranarumei]

you listed gsnk as an option and my dopamine receptors lit up. What dyou think about mikorin and mayu

ask me about a ship and I’ll give my opinions + classify them as does / doesn’t make sense, does / doesn’t compel me

heyyy surprise for you. yeah i actually was cleaning up my notes app today and realized I'd answered this and never posted this lol. gonna start off with a does make sense, does compel me and continue under the cut.

okay. hear me out. for a period of time I genuinely believe mayumiko was the gsnk duo closest to being, like, romantic. in a sense. horikashi, nozachiyo, and wakaseo have sure got a lot of development since then (in ch 60, kashima avoids hori and we get a REALLY good moment out of it) but like. just one chapter before that, we have ch 59. one of my favorite chapters. and at that point, I feel like the main couples have had their setup and they're really fun and comedic, but there hasn't been much... advancement, in a sense?

and then we hit ch 59, where "mayumayu" (nozaki mayu, who's been conned into posing as a girl) and "mamiko" (mikoshiba mikoto, who's posing as a girl so that he's not a creepy guy commenting on mayumayu's blog, unwittingly using the name of the protagonist of let's love by nozaki umetarou under alias of yumeno sakiko without knowing that he's the inspiration for the character's personality) basically immediately hit it off over text. seriously, past the first couple of texts where there's a bunch of people commenting on it, all they say is that they'll instantly reply to any texts that come their way. what commences is a hell of texting, probably, but it is a LOT of texting that happens. and that's not something that can be empty! both mikoshiba and mayu seem worn out by the amount of time they spend on it, but they don't seem worn out by each other in the slightest, judging by the fact that in ch 89, not only is mikoshiba still regularly checking mayumayu's blog, he's getting texts with extra art and well-wishes for his exams! they talk to each other about their lives! and it's not something that exists only online, too... mayu and mikoshiba are genuinely and obviously good friends outside of their online identities.

I'm aware not everyone sees it that way, but like, to me, ch 59 was like the most outright romantic the series had gotten. so it's very special to me. so is mayumiko! mayumiko’s so fun because they’re both soooo cool and soooo uncool. but while the mayumiko situation is objectively hilarious, the way they're friends is like... surprisingly understated? it's just something that happens and it works for both of them, even when it seems like it shouldn't. like, let's be real, mikoshiba can be kind of annoying, and mayu can be kind of grating. despite that they end up being really comfortable with each other. like. no wonder they could keep up that texting chain. they just click in general.

so we meet mayu in ch 33, and in ch 37, mikoshiba runs into him, and they've got this fun chapter together where miyako both compares them to cats. then in ch 49, mayu gets mikoshiba to lend him his... questionable? sure. questionable manga. calls him mikoto-san. and it just kind of... happens, them being friends. since they both hang out at nozaki's place. it's neat. in ch 64, post-The Incident, mikoshiba's comfortable enough to ask mayu for help with working out. and mayu knows mikoshiba enough to shout out the specific name of the fake high school from one of the games mikoshiba likes (sure, it's a super popular galge, but that's a strange thing to know well! especially for a guy who's traditionally lazy about everything but judo)

then of course we get to the mayu chapters where he's just so. iconic. in ch 76, mikoshiba needs to bring a guy to the mixer and then after nozaki rejects him sakura's like, ask mayu, who's been on the floor this whole time. side note i think its cute that when mikoshiba asks mayu, he calls himself "mikoshiba-nii-san." and mayu rejects him at first (also using "mikoshiba-nii-san" lol), but he ends up going once he's told he doesn't have to do that much work. and then he grills a girl about her boyfriend bc she says he does judo. and then tries to get some guy's number because he's apparently strong. judo freak (affectionate). and then, of course, as mikoshiba's thinking that "ah, they totally think mayu likes guys, but i guess it's fine since he doesn't seem to care" and when he's surrounded by girls mayu jumps in and says "he's mine," just like nozaki's shoujo manga advice had told him to do. love that for them. in ch 81, though it's a pain, mayu goes along with the idea that all the stuff in the back room is his and not mikoshiba's (though maybe he thought it was more of a pain to explain) and when talking about dating sims, mayu says, "well, guys or girls, both are pretty similar." love that guy for real.

then, in one of the moments of all time that make me insane, in ch 94, seo's pinning mikoshiba, and suddenly goes, it's boring without waka (makes sense! he's normally the guy she pushes around like this) and mikoshiba's like. oh! that's right! I haven't gotten a souvenir for mayu yet! (makes... sense...? because. because he's getting PINNED??? and we KNOW that mikoshiba hasn't done judo with mayu because it happens for the first time in ch 135, where after some really nice moments, mikoshiba sheepishly asks if mayu wants to try throwing him around too. it's a weird expression of care and also the fact that they're still friends after this fact, considering the violence nozaki translates it as, is a testament to their friendship.)

also in the extras for that volume, we see mikoshiba got him a smartphone case, which sucks because mayu's got a flip phone (though it's better than the hairpin nozaki got mayu) but then when mayu figures out a use for that smartphone case, he runs to mikoshiba to give him the good news! 'cause mikoshiba was sulking before... they're fun.

i think I've already said this but they really are close. and i think mayu's kinda clingy. in ch 114 when kashima rei asks to talk to him again, he's like, "go through mikoto-san." in ch 128 we find out that mayu shows girls in his class photos of mikoshiba so they make sure he doesn't get caught napping. this begs the question: HOW did this arrangement exist in the first place? because there's no way I can think about it that doesn't involve mayu and mikoshiba being at some level of closeness. and there's no way mayu can get so many nice looking photos of mikoshiba without being close to him. and in that same fucking chapter when nozaki’s making posts for his blog and turns mikoshiba into a girl, people think that he and mayu are dating. like oh my god. even in gekkan shoujo nozaki-san, when the main cast is meant to be a bit older than the canon timeline, mikoshiba and mayu are hanging out together at nozaki's place. and when mikoshiba and nozaki are getting all chummy with miyoshi, mayu walks in and he's like. ah. a challenger emerges (because he presumably wants to be pampered instead). my point is that they're close they just hang out. it's comfortable, which says a lot for both of them.

in ch 59 mayu's friends are like. his type is 1) someone who's stronger than him at judo or 2) someone older who'd take care of him and. mikoshiba's not #1 but he is #2. those two can be pretty sweetly considerate actually. as we see mayu gets dragged into quite a bit of stuff and does it. in ch 101 he actually finishes up the chapter of let's love while everyone's fallen asleep. and in the vol 14 extras mikoshiba gifts a water plant to a guy he barely knows. just because. so I feel like they're both sweet people underneath it all. and extra fact about ch 59 i know you'll feel crazy about. kobayashi (the guy who actually runs the mayumayu blog) calls mayu maa-kun. i am not joking.

anyways to me mikoshiba and mayu are both this weird security to each other. mayu’s someone who doesn’t care abt social graces and mikoshiba’s someone who cares too much. but when they’re weird to each other it’s like they accept everything. and I just think. despite all of the mistaken identity drama it’s like. idk. they just like each other. they just get along well. and for mikoshiba who’s so awkward with girls, this works out well. also the way that in ch 144 his fav ever gacha character is this kind of gloomy and lazy girl… fascinating thing you’re being charmed by. what a taste you have.

so in the end despite all of the wild situations i think it’ll be simple. mikoshiba will think a little too much and mayu a little too little. but they've gotten along well for so long that I think this will go pretty well, too. it'll just be a feeling that grows kind of slowly until it works for the two of them.

#ask #ask game #sunluvclub #mayumiko #gsnk #kiri.txt #my god i said. so much didnt i #in this essay i will

[thirdtidemouse]

as i gaze upon your blog i wonder, “what the hell is taskmaster?” i’d journey the lands of safari but its much better to hear the words of insight from the enjoyer. quite interested in the au tho, tempted to watch this thingamabob because of it. i like hearing your ramblings about your fave doodabs and whatchamajigits. i am determined to return to you with the holy gift of a singular hilda but finals are kicking my ass and i’m learning a new art program. while i wait i’d love to be graced by your words :3

HI ANON!! first of all good luck with finals and your new art program i hope everything turns out BEAUTIFULLY for you don't forget to have fun!!

i'm so glad you asked! taskmaster is a ridiculously entertaining gameshow that originated here in the uk with other versions in other countries. it's super fun to make aus/character studies around the tasks because they're so telling of personality!

the format of the show is - 5 comedians per season are set tasks by host greg davies (6'8" ex-schoolteacher, and it shows) and creator/cohost alex horne (the brains behind it, but onscreen is very weaselly/neeky and generally picked-on).

each episode begins with a prize task, in which contestants must bring in prizes to be won by the winner each day - the most high-octane item, the thing that makes the best noise, the most difficult thing to take home. prizes range from body parts to furnished bathroom sets. these, along with every other task, are scored in the studio from 1-5 points. the rest of the tasks are filmed beforehand mostly in one house, individually and sometimes in teams, and are incredibly arbitrary, silly, confusing or difficult:

eat as much watermelon in 60 seconds. eat an egg the fastest (it starts raw). interview, then write and perform a song about this stranger. conceal an entire pineapple on your person. take three huge exercise balls to the top of this large hill. make the biggest mess, then clean it up. get this object as far away from here as possible. go the longest time without blinking.

sarah kendall purposefully, blindfoldedly, throws her own house and car keys into the trees in front of the building. james acaster gets taken aside onstage to be told off by greg like a schoolboy. respected academic richard osman throws a shopping trolley into a river in a fit of rage (it is retrieved). nish kumar and mark watson write a genuinely beautiful song together. bob mortimer makes a floor-size chart documenting the amount of piss produced across britain.

the episodes end with a live task in the studio in front of the audience. the show allows the contestants to genuinely go off the rails with comedic creativity and problem solving, and it's SO fun to impose characters onto this template. person gets presented with task -> completes task as they see fit -> is judged on their actions -> reacts to the judgement. like if you want to develop an oc. look no further!! put them on taskmaster in your brain.

every contestant, whether it be famous comedians, up-and-coming stand-ups, or actors & presenters, really shine in taskmaster. people who i don't really find funny become entertaining and i root for them simply because of the genius format of the show.

it gets gross, argumentative, tense, earnest, and never ever loses the clownish spirit and light-heartedness of the meaningless and hilarious program it sets out to be. greg davies is ruthlessly harsh with points, alex horne is endlessly nitpicky and often bullied, and they frequently bring up fanfiction written about the two of them for some fucking reason. they embody such perfectly fine-tuned characters, only to break them constantly to laugh at the show.

if anyone (no one) wants to know a few of my fav contestants rn they are:

sam campbell, lucy beaumont, sarah kendall, bob mortimer, nish kumar, james acaster, and the ENTIRE freakish family team dynamic of frankie boyle, ivo graham, jenny eclaire, kiell smith-bynoe, and mae martin

thank you anon :-) i'm sorry this was so long i hope you didnt mind reading it all and it told u what u wanted to know!!

#taskmaster au #taskmaster

[thepapergirlandthespiegelman]

Hazbin Hotel isn't good, I just really wish it was

And so I bit the apple, and evil spilled forth into the world

This review contains spoilers for Hazbin Hotel.

I wasn't going to watch Hazbin Hotel. I've always gotten kind of a negative vibe from it ever since it first appeared on my radar years ago. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what put me off it when so little content had even been released, but I guess it just struck me as very crude and "edgy" in this juvenile and kind of offensive way; plus I had heard some vague criticisms that the creator was a not-so-great person, though I wasn't sure how true those rumors were.

But since the Amazon show came out in January, the algorithm has been pestering me nonstop to watch this show with advertisements, memes, recommended videos.

It makes some sense; as someone who enjoys both Lucifer and Disney princesses, you might think that I'm the target audience of this show. And there's not a huge amount of crossover between those two groups, so if I won't watch it, who the hell will?

So after seeing some stuff that intrigued me, I finally decided to give the show a shot and at least watch the stuff available for free (that's the pilot, episode 1, and the first 10 minutes of episode 2). This review is based on that content as well as other clips, the soundtrack, and what I've read online about the story going forward. If that makes this review null and void to you, feel free to stop reading. I generally like to experience the entirety of a thing before reviewing it, but I'm not eager to throw money at Amazon without cause, and in this case, I feel that a lot can be said based solely on this limited content.

My initial impression? To be honest, I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe that's because my expectations were through the floor, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Both the pilot and the Amazon series have serious problems, but they have some strengths as well, in my opinion.

Starting with the pilot: I'll admit that it presents a very cruel, ugly world full of frankly unrealistically shitty people. The humor is juvenile and often tasteless. The dialogue can be pretty clunky, and the "insults" levied are often so pathetic that hearing them oscillates between boring and infuriating. The worldbuilding is poorly conveyed and hard to follow.

But if you can get past all that, and I acknowledge that that's a big ask, there are some interesting things about this pilot.

Angel Dust is an interesting character. One of the things I really can't stand is when media portray literally everyone as evil, but even in the pilot, it's made pretty clear that Angel Dust is not actually a bad person. First off, what exactly are his "sins"? Being gay and doing porn? Sure, he shows the capacity to be at least somewhat mean and violent, but you can tell from his interactions with Charlie, Vaggie, and Cherri Bomb that he's not actually malicious or sadistic. In the limo, he says, "I owed my girl buddy a solid; isn't that a 'redeeming quality'? Helping friends with stuff?" And like...he's correct! Vaggie dismisses this out of hand, but it shows that Angel Dust is able to care about other people, and this is reinforced later when he almost goes to comfort Charlie but gives up. There's a setup here for a story about someone who is good at their core but looks bad, either because they engage in behaviors that are socially taboo even if they're not actually harmful (e.g. homosexuality, sex work) or because they engage in behaviors that are actually bad (e.g. being mean and violent), but only because those behaviors are normalized or arguably required by their environment (I mean, what was he supposed to do? Just let his friend get blown up?). It would be genuinely interesting to see Charlie and Vaggie reckon with their own biases and black-and-white view of morality and come to see the good in Angel Dust, and then to see how Angel Dust might grow and change as a person when he actually feels seen and respected.

Alastor also has a lot of potential. His design and theming are genuinely interesting, a mix of ancient horned beast and 1930s transatlantic accented radio presenter. He's clearly a character intended to elicit intense fear, which means he can serve as an exploration of what scares us most. The "radio" theme presents some really intriguing ideas for this exploration. Alastor represents something that can be heard but not seen; not only this, but he can't even really be heard. We only hear his voice through the low-fidelity transmission of a radio, suggesting that what we're perceiving is at least a bit off from reality, somehow inauthentic, and that makes us wonder what horrors could be lurking in that gap.

It's obvious to me that Angel Dust and Alastor are the strongest characters in the show. Charlie feels like a cardboard cutout by comparison, and Vaggie is totally devoid of flavor. Angel Dust makes far more sense as a protagonist, so why does the show center around Charlie?

Hazbin Hotel feels like a show centered around a gimmicky premise: what if Disney princess, but in Hell? Ooh, how subversive, how funny! But it doesn't really know what to do with that premise. It doesn't really know who Charlie is, and it doesn't really know what Hell is. But it does know who Angel Dust is and who Alastor is, or at least it has the spark needed for those ideas to blossom into fully-developed characters, so why not start there?

Moving on to episode 1 of the Amazon series. Immediately, I was surprised by the direction in which they took the show. Based on the pilot, one of my biggest concerns was that the show would be solely about individual self-improvement and "redemption" and fail to address the systemic/environmental problems that are the ultimate cause of evil. I figured the show would likely center around individual sinners trying to improve themselves and then, after the necessary amount of struggle and conflict, they would succeed and prove to both Heaven and Hell that they were worthy of ascension, without anyone ever questioning why this system of sorting people into good and bad exists in the first place or how it can possibly be seen as ethical, even if people are ultimately allowed to move between the two. I figured Heaven would be portrayed as not evil but simply misguided or small-minded, and that, having rectified those inadequacies, the system would continue on largely unchanged. Happy ending, woooo.

Episode 1 makes it very clear that that is not the direction that this is going. Heaven is pretty clearly portrayed as evil, which was mostly a positive for me. I find the whitewashing of stuff like mass murder pretty fucking gross, so it's nice that the exterminations of Hell's citizens aren't being framed as morally justified.

Unfortunately, this does result in some narrative problems. The show depends on Charlie believing that Heaven can be reasoned with, and that if she works hard, they'll eventually see the light. But after being brutally rejected by Adam like that, why would Charlie continue to think that these are good, reasonable people who are just misguided? Not only does Adam deny her in the most explicit terms possible, he's totally pigheaded and unempathetic.

We're now getting into stuff that I haven't seen firsthand, but from what I understand, Charlie continues running her hotel and trying to negotiate with Heaven. She's able to prove that a sinner can improve themselves, but she's unable to get them into Heaven, and ultimately has to resort to trying to stop the exterminations with brute force.

If that's the case, then why have this reveal that Heaven is evil in the very first episode? Delay the reveal until closer to the end, have Charlie work hard to accomplish her dream under the impression that her work will ultimately pay off, only to have Heaven reveal that it was never about being a good person at all and merely about their desire to consolidate power for themselves. Then have Charlie reckon with that, how she's been putting all the burden on herself and her people to prove themselves, when the system was never fair to begin with and the people in power were just exploiting a narrative for their personal gain. Now THAT'S a spicy story.

I think it's my desire to see that story play out, and my respect for Hazbin being willing to make Heaven the bad guys (even if it obstinately refuses to say the G word), that has kept my interest in the show despite its obvious flaws. Somewhere in this tangled-up mess there is a story about questioning and resisting the moral narratives fed to us about ourselves by people who do not have our best interests at heart. There's a story about claiming your power and fighting back against oppressive systems.

Is Hazbin Hotel with its Disney XD-esque style and middle-school humor woefully unequipped to tell that story? Well, yes, yeah. And I guess that should have been obvious to everyone from the start. But it feels like a shame.

A similar problem with narrative trajectory occurs regarding Lucifer and Alastor. If we compare Charlie to the Disney princess formula, we see the obvious issue. We know that while Charlie's parents are very powerful, she's alienated from both of them (Lilith because she's missing and Lucifer because they have a bad relationship) and so doesn't have access to their power. In the pilot, we see that Charlie doesn't officially make a deal with Alastor, but she does allow him to work at the hotel. So we sort of have a Chekhov's deal situation here, where if Charlie was pushed to her limit, she might be tempted into making a deal with the devil. Triton won't let Ariel go to the surface, so Ariel makes a deal with the sea witch instead.

But what happens if Ariel reconciles with Triton before getting to that point? Well, then Ursula wouldn't have a tentacle to stand on.

And this is what happens in Hazbin. In episode 5, Lucifer is introduced and reconciled with Charlie in the very same episode. Lucifer is shown to be basically infinitely more powerful than Alastor and is genuinely and totally devoted to Charlie, so she no longer has any reason to depend on Alastor. He's lost all of his leverage over her and no longer presents any real threat, so...what the hell is his role in this story now?

I'm not saying Hazbin Hotel needs to copy the story arc of a Disney princess movie just because Charlie is inspired by Disney princesses. I'm perfectly fine with the show wanting to do its own thing. But it turns down a totally viable arc in favor of...nothing. Why?

The pilot so heavily teased the mystery of Alastor's character, what terrible consequences might result if Charlie were to make a deal with him. So like...let us see that! Hell, this could even be easily connected back to the main storyline that I was talking about before. Have Charlie be totally demoralized by the revelation that Heaven isn't actually good and that the world is deeply broken in a way she never even imagined. Maybe even up the stakes by making it more personal, like having Heaven threaten to specifically target her girlfriend or one of her friends in the next extermination. Push her to complete desperation and then have Alastor swoop in and offer her a way out. Still alienated from her father (or perhaps after attempting to get closer but being once more rebuked), she feels like she has no choice but to accept, and ends up in a bad situation. Then Lucifer sees her in trouble and shows up to save her, making her realize that he does actually care about her; and Lucifer, seeing how Charlie and her friends genuinely care for each other, is shown that sinners aren't just hopelessly wicked. Alastor gets his chance to shine and the reconciliation with Lucifer feels earned and meaningful.

This show has such potential to be both interesting and emotionally impactful, but it's hindered by its unwillingness to take itself seriously and thoughtfully plan out its narrative and character arcs.

It would be one thing if the show was just complete garbage. I know that a lot of people see it that way, but I really don't think that's the case. There is something here.

I'm not currently planning on watching the rest of the show. That could certainly change, especially if others tell me that it's worth it despite the problems. If you've watched the show (or even if you haven't), I'd be very curious to hear your thoughts on my evaluation.

#text #review #thoughts #television #animation #adult animation #Hazbin Hotel #Hazbin Hotel (2024) #storytelling #morality #Christian mythology #spoilers

[ru5t]

knowing your partner can potentially make writing together a lot easier !

– BASICS.

♡ NAME: Hannah

♡ PRONOUNS: she/her

♡  AGE: 25+

♡  TIME ZONE: CST (GMT -5)

–THREE FACTS.

♡ I moderate a(n overw.atch) twitch channel/community! It's good fun and very dear to me but also sooooo so frustrating, sometimes.

♡ When I was little I was convinced I was going to grow up to become a veterinarian. I do not think the level of schooling or the uhhhhh amount of strong stomach it takes is actually for me.

♡ I strongly suspect I have an anxiety disorder and ADHD(? or a similar symptom set) but have no official diagnoses. At any rate, executive dysfunction you bitch.

–EXPERIENCE.

♡   HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): I have been on tumblr since 2011 but I've been storytelling/rping basically since like. ... You know how most kids act out their imaginative play? I did a looooooooottttt of "explaining" (/narrating, whatever you want to call it) and very little physical playing-things-out. Yes, I know what that is a common early indicator of. I'm unpacking that one shhhhh.

♡   PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: uhhhh paper (as in i'd pass a notebook back and forth with school friends), IMVU, dA, various dms, twitter, forums, tumblr, a chatroom i forgot the name of we'd use for tumblr 'events', discord, wire

♡   BEST EXPERIENCE: Actually just the experience of rp in general. I have learned a lot through writing and the people who gave me grace in the process of it.

–MUSE PREFERENCES.

♡   MASCULINE OR FEMININE: I don't think I have a preference, per se? But I do seem to gravitate toward guy canons, whereas my OC roster tends to be waaaay more fluid and diverse, but I don't think there's any particular reason for this? Just the pattern of characters who appeal to me tend to be dudes in popular media, I guess? I did almost write Liz from Hellb.oy and Nomi from Sens.e8, in addition to the other canon ladies I have on the multi+Kiri's blog.

♡  FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: I actually kind of like. what I will call exploring? You put two characters in a box. Sometimes you shake it, or put a blanket in there, but mostly you just.... see what happens. Also tho I'm the fluff queen ♥ Good angst/whump has to come from somewhere and go somewhere else, I don't like to force it or just throw it around without reason or consequence, if that makes sense? And I like smut in theory but I don't have a lot of practice and my comfort level is a verrry narrow ledge I'm working on building up better, because genuinely it seems fun and interesting.

♡   PLOTS OR MEMES: I enjoy a little bit of bg plotting but also sometimes just really want to completely wing it and feel out the chemistry before committing to anything. Once we have a ground floor I like to build (and spiral)!!! I struggle with doing a bunch of memes when there's no floor to stand on, it starts to get really challenging in an un-fun way, and I feel like it's repetitive and uninteresting to write and to read. If a dynamic never has footing it can never evolve, y'know? Gotta give me something, something has to stick at some point.

♡   LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: No preference! Even when I start out 'short' I find I often end up unspooling into longer stuff but it doesn't have to I'm just wordy. I don't care if I consistently get shorter stuff back, as long as it suits the like. Yes, and. of it all. As long as there's something to work forward from I'm chillin!

♡   BEST TIME TO WRITE: I don't have a conscious preference but I do seem to have more success in early morning hours. No idea what that's about.

♡ ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): Sometimes. A lot of them get teeny tiny bits and pieces of my views or opinions. I have never felt more Seen by a show than when Luke Pat.terson ghost-apparitioned into my life, even if his One Thing is not my One Thing, but we don't have to unpack that. Me 'n Henry have some childhood traumas in common (except he lives in a fairytale where he gets a thing I don't get) but I don't know that he's particularly like me. Maddy did super duper on a technicality start out as a form of self insert, but it's complicated because also super duper on a technicality so did her mom (who actually existed first! which is rare. Normally I build center-out but this time it was a generation back and Tech just sort of happened, which was crazy and fun), and they both really migrated away from that sooo quickly that it's weird to me to think that was ever even technically true. In the long run Maddy got more of 'me' than Mayhem ever did but it has always been in a hyperbolic and/or metaphorical way. She's definitely grown with me, which has been an Experience and a half. All of them, by virtue of being written by me, are subject to my sense of humor in the narrative parts of the writing, whether they would think it's funny or not.

#c:\\work>dir h:\ ooc* //.hnh .lve:bite/

[yippie-ki-yay]

Hello! :D I see the request are open so if you don't mind me asking, can you write headcanons of being friends with Phobos? Love that guy and I love how you write so I really would like to see your interpretation of what it feels like being friends with him :]

Ohhh I really liked this one! Also I’m glad you like how I write him, it’s a little bit of a challenge since I’m not used to writing for characters like Phobos so at least I know I’m kind of doing something right!!

Also I kind of went in on this one. Not sure if he’s ooc at all but for some reason my brain had double the amount of hc’s saved up-

Being friends with Phobos? How did you manage such a thing?

There’s a couple different ways this could happen - whether you were working for him or you both met outside of Project Nexus, either are almost as likely as each other. I’m only going to say that the latter of the two has more of a chance since he wouldn’t already view you as under him like he would someone working for him. 

He’d still view himself as superior ofc, but it’s a little different in this scenario if that makes sense

Phobos is also very likely to see potential friendships as more of alliances in the beginning, like if you have something valuable to him then he’ll play nice. He’ll assist you here and there so long as you do the same for him, sound fair? 

Despite his domineering personality, another thing he appreciates is someone who listens to him. This doesn’t mean just following orders (but that’s a big one, too) but actually hearing him out - plans, ideas he’s had for other departments to take on, even the occasional rant when he’s become comfortable enough with your presence. 

That’s another big thing - being comfortable with you. 

With how violent Nevada is, among other things, it’s hard to trust people. Even someone as high and mighty as Phobos has felt this sometimes. With all that power comes a fair amount of paranoia and the director is hardly immune to it all. Letting those walls down and risking being stabbed in the back (quite literally in most cases, might I add) is something that doesn’t happen often. True, genuine friendships are as rare as a quiet day in the desert and let me tell you those don’t come often either. 

But, let’s say this does work out. 

There aren’t very many noticeable changes, Phobos generally acts the same way he always did around you, but you may notice that he doesn’t seem as tense. 

It takes him a little idea to warm up to the idea of physical touch, but he’ll get there eventually. Just leave it up to him and try to follow from there. 

The first change you’ll actually pick up on is when he gets a little… short with his employees (or anyone for that matter) for even the slightest accident that involves you. 

Like you could be telling him about how you accidentally slipped because you didn’t notice a wet floor sign or there was a spill someone was already working on cleaning up, thinking it’d be funny right? 

The next time you come around it’s much more obvious - either there’s a few signs placed around or one that’s just upscaled in size. The poor soul who was ‘responsible’ also got a talking to, but he doesn’t let you in on that part-

Basically anything he’d view as a slight on himself also applies to you now. Even if you do pick up on it and try to squash that aspect it’s going to be more difficult than just talking to him about it. 

Another thing that’s easier to pick up on are the more vulnerable moments between you two. 

Like how I mentioned he’ll eventually feel more at ease opening up to you? It isn’t something that occurs super often but when they do he goes kinda deep. 

Phobos presents immense confidence, and while it holds up a lot of the time sometimes that strength wanes every now and then. Before he didn’t really have anyone to air these concerns out to, so when this friendship forms the first couple times are going to be rough. 

If you do see a couple tears fall, no you didn’t. 

Use kind words as you fix his bandages and coat. He’s likely larger than you (or just larger than most in general) but treat him as if he’s the most delicate thing you’ve ever come across. 

This isn’t to say that you should take up a patronizing attitude, though. It’s a fine line to balance on but not that difficult so long as you pay attention. 

Don’t think this leaves you out of things either - while his approach may be a lot different, he’ll still help you handle your own problems. 

It’s easier if there’s something physical to target. If that ends up being the case then he can just wipe them out no sweat! There’s no chance that person will be bothering you again, and even if they somehow do manage to come back from whatever horrific punishment he inflicted he’ll just do it again and again until they learn their lesson. 

If it’s more of a mental or emotional thing? He’ll try to talk you through it, but it’s never been his strong suit. In the event that whatever help he does offer in that regard isn’t really helping, he’ll find someone who can help you. There’s a lot of nutcases in Nevada, and while you don’t exactly qualify as one there’s still likely people who’ve studied ways to help them. Surely one of them has a few resources or tips for you if they aren’t able to help you outright!

Besides, with someone as menacing as a 9+ft. powerhouse like Phobos, you likely aren’t going to be turned down by any sane person deemed qualified enough. 

Now onto more lighthearted events!!

If you’re more combat-inclined, he’ll definitely invite you on any little outings he goes on personally. There’s something oddly thrilling about fighting side-by-side with someone else, especially with the close sort of relationship you end up having. 

If not, though? That’s okay. You’re always welcome to spend a quiet evening in his office. It can get pretty hectic in the rest of the building, so he completely understands if you need to get away from it all. 

In all honesty it’s a bit of a surprise to everyone that Phobos, someone so cruel and egotistical, was able to gain an honest-to-god friend. Not that they’d express such an idea, though, considering it likely wouldn’t end well for them.

As for Phobos’ thoughts? It initially surprised him. Of course he’s smug about it, holding that ‘of course you’d want someone like me at your side’ attitude, but he does find himself thinking back on things with a hint of a smile. 

Yes, he thinks, this’ll work out just fine.

#madness combat #madness project nexus #madness combat phobos #director phobos #platonic #I really don't know where the surge of headcanons came from #one minute I'm writing and the next I have a load more than I've written for any of the other posts #Phobos brainrot?? Sounds right

[malfattore]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. ( REPOST DO NOT REBLOG ! )

○  NAME: Erin // Xy.

○  PRONOUNS: he/him

○   PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Discord or Tumblr, either or is completely fine. I reply to both the same, tho im slow.

○    NAME OF MUSE(S): Malfatto, William de Saint-Prix, Nightstalker Joe, wow i’m really going down the basic names now, I roleplayed artorias and pate from dks but not anymore. I also muse Verulo and a small amount of Illario from acb but on the side, and more so Verulo. He’s a bit of an older muse that I did nothing with besides throw comments in for (still do, since im not sure who he fits with)

○    EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS/YEARS?): 10 years, off and on? Could be more tbh I’ve lost count I feel old

○    PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: for rp, I mostly use Discord but Tumblr is nice too, when it’s functional lol

○   BEST EXPERIENCE: In General? Musing with people and creating a deep and expansive world around what little canon information we even received from Ubisoft — as well as Personal, @ardentfew @larosafatale @templarlanz @officialcahin (also w/ ur bitch ass (affectionately) baltasar) you guys have added so much to my musings and experiences to define Mal as he continues to age as my oldest muse at like 10 years now? I genuinely appreciate it wholeheartedly. These are probably my best experiences over this whole blog’s lifespan. Also I have to throw in @vilestblood, you always made me feel so welcome and appreciated as a newcomer, it really did make the whole experience for me, and while i’m over here for now, I hope you know how often i still appreciate you. I hope I can repay all of you somehow.

○    RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS: Treating my muse(s) like he’s either a sex object/disrespecting my boundaries on his sexuality, a Villain to exclusively to fit your narrative/headcanons, or automatically assuming I condone the actions of my muse just bc I am expanding on his emotions or more positive traits. as well as just seeing him as a shipping objective — Besides the fact that I am not interested in shipping Malfatto out as he is single-ship to one character and i’m more interested in defining his friendships than another spouse.

○    FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT: I’m a whore for angst but i’m more of a hurt-comfort kind of guy tbh, I don’t mind the pain of loss and complete defeat and hopelessness, i adore depressing themes but I do want a comforting concept to end off on. I love fluff within plot and smut is the same, I don’t particularly want just baseless smut for the sake of smut (tho it can be interesting sometimes) but if it fits well, it legit makes my heart skip djdjjhdj

○    PLOTS OR MEMES: I love memes on tumblr so much, esp as an icebreaker, but I love plotting things out more extensively so I can learn more about your characters and where they can interact more personally.

○    LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: Both but I prefer longer if the short we are talking about is like one liners. Unless we are in a very fast paced setting like discord chat, one liners make me lose muse pretty quick.

○    BEST TIME TO WRITE: Anytime I can get some quiet, I admittedly cannot write in a noisy setting. My brain is too panicked with stuff going on that I can’t zone in.

○    ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): I always joke around and say that he’s the kinnie so Honestly, yes? it sounds awful to relate to the serial killing doctor, who also tortures random civilians, guards, and sex workers BUT that aside, I understand his impulsivity and I understand his traumas, at least on a semi-adjacent level. We like similar things and find comfort in the same settings, though i did not expect to build him like this. I’m enough like him that I can somewhat? understand where he is coming from mentally when he does stupid impulsive shit that eventually gets his dumbass floored while also being very aware that his reactions and opinions are not something I would even consider. He’s fun he’s like the little devil on my shoulder telling me to act on impulse and commit arson when i have anxiety even over looking like i’m shoplifting

TAGGED BY: No-one. I stole this from general tags.

TAGGING: @larosafatale @ardentfew yea idk who else is active anymore, steal it

#✠ insight — memes ;;

[jencsi]

I've been working in retail for 8 years, same job, same location. It's my first and only job I've ever had. I started out as a measly sales associate making $7.40 an hour. Then I worked with my team and they trained me and promoted me to a junior manager position (full time key holder) and I started making $9, then $11 then $13 an hour over the course of 4 years. Finally in December 2017, after a series of staffing changes, I was promoted to assistant manager and bumped up to $15, then $17 and now $18 an hour and I've been in that position ever since. In that amount of time, I have built up quite a relationship with many regular and reoccurring customers who see me, recognize me, consult with me and just overall seem to like me, ok fair enough. I communicate well with them, I do whatever I can to make sure they get the right products and understand how to use them (vitamins, supplements, workout performance products, etc) sometimes we learn about new things together on the sales floor by doing research and figuring out what product would best suit their needs, extremely consultive retail, not your typical cashiering. But being only the assistant manager, I have seen what store managers go through and deal with and I have never desired that higher position, despite higher pay and a few extra perks. I am comfortable in my copilot position and have no intention of seeking anything higher up.

That being said, so many customers I deal with daily make remarks about how I "run the place" or "you're really in charge" "you've been here the longest, so you know what's up" "you always hook me up" "you know your stuff better than the big boss." And while these all may seem like genuine compliments; they irritate me 90% of the time. I don't get PAID a store manager salary therefore I am NOT in charge. And it implies that store managers don't do actual work and leave it all to the assistants which, in my type of industry, is NOT true (yes you get a few bad apples now and then) but store managers in my company work their assess off and its grueling and they have to do it, there's no avoiding it) So while people think they are complimenting me about my longevity with the company, my ability to ring up 6 people and take phone calls and put away shipment and get sales changes done, etc, in reality it feels like a back handed compliment. And it's downright insulting to the actual store managers I've had over the years who bust their butts working 45+ hours a week. Not every company has this dynamic and there are places that take advantage of employees, and this is in no way a full-on support of corporate retail at all, just some ramblings as to how average joe people like me, can sometimes be viewed as absolutely stellar to some random consumer off the streets. The disconnect between how good the general public thinks I am as a human being vs how incapable I actually am as an adult, is quiet astounding (lets be real, excelling in a retail setting is not exactly worth bragging about) so I feel a bit of imposter syndrome whenever this happens because I keep thinking how there are people out there succeeding in much more glamourous fields with way higher pay rates, but somehow, being good at retail is the only thing that matters to these everyday folks that come into my store.

#personal #work #retail #yeah #its weird #imposter syndrome

[minetteskvareninova]

Minette watches Medici, part 17 (Survival)

-YES WE ARE DOING THIS I DON'T KNOW WHY I SHOULD BE STUDYING RIGHT NOW-

-Especially since season 3 is going to be much the same as season 2, which is real bad news since season 2 kinda sucked.

-Look, I have a higher than average tolerance for exposition and the amount of dialogue in this show that just that was way too much even for me, which should tell you about the efficiency and elegance of writing on display here.

-This show: Let's add some nuance into this conflict by having the pope be a genuinely good person. Also this show: The pope's nephew just irrationally hates the entire Medici family to the point that he's just itching to shank a random bastard just because his most likely father is a Medici. Never change, Il Medici, never change.

-I mean I don't think his character is completely unsalvagable; his character motivations (as stated in a monologue to his wife, because the show wins the lack of subtlety tournament against fucking Magnificent Century) are sound and even desperately wanting to destroy the Medici because of his (totally justified) fear of reprecussions for Giuliano's murder. But like. This guy not only murders a child, but also a guy for failing to murder a child after asking him to hand his own dagger. Be for real, old Albizzi this guy ain't. He's barely Cheekbones Pazzi.

-Also, even though the pope is supposed to be one of the good ones, he is still implied to hold Carlo in markedly worse conditions than Lorenzo holds his nephew. Which I call immense, steaming pile of bullshit on.

-I do like what they are doing with Savonarola tho! See, this is how you do nuance, people! Even if his backstory doesn't seem to be historically accurate and his real backstory involved him becoming a famous preacher before fucking Pico della Mirandolla recommending him to Lorenzo, which I regret wasn't in the show, because. Well. You could've added Pico della Mirandolla in your show and you didn't. For shame. This show in general seems to try its hardest to ignore the humanism part of renaissance and humanism, which I am not wild about.

-The central dilemma of this episode and the negotiations around it are actually good, but the show as always shoots itself in the foot by its inability to give any and all moral greyness to Lorenzo's character. And like. I would absolutely be down to the golden boy Lorenzo who is good at everything, but also just a bit of a bastard who is inconsiderate towards his loved ones and willing to play dirty in politics. Why did I get this borderline Gary Stu instead, I don't know.

-The Giulio subplot is as made up as it is full of cliches, but it's not THAT bad so far. I am mostly annoyed at the tedious, manufactured drama of having his mother murdered for no reason that I can tell except angst when the real Giulio's mum just died when he was a baby (most likely). Even if I do like the little detail of how the murder was done - when we saw her face fall to the floor from Giulio's POV... Man. I literally SCREAMED.

-Overall, second verse much the same as the first, instant regret, do not recommend. I am going to finish this show, if only because making fun of it is rather relaxing after work, but I don't think anyone else should follow my example. People, watch season 1 of Medici, then nothing else. It's not even bad enough for real masochists, like The Empress will give you way more bang for your buck if that's what you're looking for (seriously, I turned that show off after watching ten minutes from the first episode, I haven't been in that much pain while watching something since that Austrian Maria Theresa show).

#medici #medici: the magnificent #minette watches medici

[verycollectortree]

How Do Real Estate Teams Work Fundamentals Explained

Those with strong sales capability and substantial social and company connections in their neighborhoods should have the finest possibilities for success. Work forecasts data genuine Estate Brokers and Sales Representatives, 2019-29 Occupational Title Work, 2019 Projected Employment, 2029 Modification, 2019-29 Percent Numeric Real estate brokers and sales agents 477,200 488,500 2 11,300 Genuine estate brokers 100,700 103,300 3 2,700 Real estate sales representatives 376,500 385,200 2 8,700 A part of the details on this page is utilized by approval of the U.S. Department of Labor.

Last Upgraded on September 12, 2019 by Mark Ferguson, When starting as a property agent, you must work under a broker for a particular amount of time. The time you have to work under a broker varies depending on what state you do business in. While working under a broker, you likewise need to pay that broker. Working as a real estate agent is not a task where you earn money hourly for the work you do. You are self-employed and need to sell houses to make money. The broker of the office does not make any money unless you sell homes also.

The broker may likewise charge monthly charges for office, marketing, signs, etc. The quantity you pay to the broker differs extensively based on the training, the workplace, the broker, and the work you do. Property agents can make a fantastic living if they work hard and wise. The typical salary is not very high when you take a look at employment stats, but those numbers can be very deceiving. Lots of agents just work part-time, some people are unable to encourage themselves without a boss, and a lot of representatives do not get appropriate training. If you wish to be one of the agents who makes an incredible living, you will need to work for the best broker.

Too many representatives begin in the organization by selecting the broker who Homepage charges the most affordable fees and ignore training. Knowing how to sell houses is essential to actually selling homes. Lots of brokers will not offer much in the method of training, especially the low or flat cost brokerages who are merely trying to get as numerous agents as possible, and hoping a couple of sell homes. Real estate brokerages charge various amounts based upon the training and services they provide. Here are a few of the services that some brokerages provide: Office, Administrative personnel, Flooring task, Lead generation, Mentor programs, Marketing products, Indications, Office conferences and networking, Training classes, Marketing, Some workplaces and brokers will provide all of these services, other workplaces will have a few, and some will offer absolutely nothing.

The How To Buy Commercial Real Estate Statements

Most representatives fail in their very first year since they have no idea how to sell homes. Realty classes do not teach you how to offer, they teach you how to avoid breaking the law and be ethical. As soon as you take realty classes and pass the test, most are really unprepared for how to actually find clients and sell homes. The representatives who I see do the best in the market, get intensive training, work in successful offices, and are in the office a lot. If you are interested in getting your genuine estate license, I advise Realty Express.

We have actually had multiple agents use Realty Express and effectively make it through their education quickly. The rates that brokers charge their representatives can vary from half or more of the commissions the agent makes plus regular monthly fees, to a flat cost of $200 or less per closing and no month-to-month charges. As you can see there is a huge difference in what brokers charge and some brokers have different programs in their workplace depending on the agent. You can see why numerous agents select the cheap broker. On a $100,000 sale of a house, the representative might earn a $3,000 commission (all commissions are flexible).

On my team, we take 50 percent of our representative's commissions, however we pay their desk costs and much of their other costs. For brokers that offer extremely little training or services, they may just charge $200 per closing, which suggests the agent takes home $2,800 rather of $1,200. Some workplaces will work on a 70/30 split with their agents. Some offices will work on a 90/10 split, but usually the much better the representative is, the much better split they can get. If you start working with a broker who will only offer a 50/50 split when you are a brand name brand-new representative, they may provide you a far better split when you show you can sell houses and bring in cash to the broker.

Numerous agents who pick the broker that charges low costs fail due to the fact that they never ever offer any homes. We have several agents on my group making over $100,000 a year on low commission splits because they offer a lot of houses. We taught them how to discover their own customers and we provide them leads that transform into sales. A couple of those agents were dealing with other workplaces prior to they joined our team and doing much even worse because they had no idea what they were doing. The very best thing you can do is interview several brokers, break down what they use, and pick the broker with the very best training.

Getting My What Is Redlining In Real Estate To Work

Getting a real estate license is only part of ending up being a genuine estate representative. Prior to you sell any homes, you will have to discover a broker to work with. Real estate brokers all have different commission divides and offer varying amounts of service for their representatives. The kind of broker a brand-new real estate agent wants will differ based on that representative's requirements and goals (What is a real More helpful hints estate developer). An investor who just wishes to get a license to help them purchase their own houses, will not require the same timeshare presentations disney tickets kind of broker as a representative looking to make a profession out of realty.

When a genuine estate representative gets their license, they have to start dealing with a broker prior to they can offer any homes according to licensing state laws. I go over the procedure in more information in this post. Purchasing a home will be the majority of people's greatest purchase in their life and agents ought to take it very seriously. When a realty agent works for a broker that broker handles responsibility for that representative. A brand-new genuine estate agent will need to work under a broker for a specific quantity of time prior to they can begin their own workplace. Depending on the brokerage, there will be intensive training for brand-new agents, some training or no training at all.

#Youtube

[outoftheframework]

my proposal for tropes we as a fandom should adopt in all fanworks going forward: Duke Thomas edition

So every fandom has tropes and characterization quirks that have been generally accepted into fanon and, like, maybe? they were originally based on some obscure comic panel from the 80s or something but it doesn’t really matter because we’re all just,,, cool with it? Like for example- in the dc comics fandom, an art piece could show 3 of the bats that look virtually identical except one of them is holding a box of cereal so that one is obviously Dick Grayson. . . Y’know?

Anyway, these things usually come up naturally I guess but I’ve been here a while and it’s finally time to put my foot down. It’s high time for Duke Thomas to be more in fanon than “the sane one.” Because he might be the relatively new guy but he is certainly fears no gods or laws of the land just as much as the other bats, lemme tell ya. 

TL;DR here are character quirks (”canon-based” or otherwise) that we should all really latch onto seriously I’m begging y’all to make at least one of these happen-

Duke “Habitually Jumping Out of Moving Vehicles” Thomas

This one’s actually based in canon y’all; Duke did indeed yeet himself out of the back of a cop car and off of a bridge (in We Are... Robin). Normalize Duke’s wearing knee and elbow pads as Signal because jumping out of a car turns out relatively fine once and then suddenly Batman’s rooftop disappearing act seems mellow compared to the amount of times Gordon has whipped his head around to see a now Signal-less backseat. 

Like, he’s going 60 mph?? And he didn’t even hear the door open?? and tHE DOORS ARE STILL LOCKED??

Imagine this leaking into civilian life and Bruce waking up to a blurry photo of Duke mid-escape from a limousine on the front page of the Gotham Gazette.

(more under cut)

Duke “Puzzles are my Passion” Thomas

Duke is ~canonically~ very skilled at both solving and concocting riddles (as a child during that time where The Riddler just,,, controlled Gotham, he worked non-stop on riddles, trying to make the perfect one). Please y’all- let Duke solve puzzles. Have the other bats ask him for help after 36 hours straight of brooding over some brainteaser that Duke works out within the half-hour. He texts a picture of the solution scribbled out on loose leaf in the margins of his pre-calc homework because this boy shows his work. 

My guy is a word-cross FIEND. A mind-sweeper speed-runner. That guy who mails into the Gazette to correct a solution in the “fun & games” section and also ps that photo is not of me I am simply a polite young man who is much too busy writing into the paper in the year 2021 to jump out of limos-

I also would love to see this integrated into the type of cases he investigates / runs into on his daytime patrol. Like, obviously the criminal activity is going to dramatically differ before and after sundown, but that doesn’t make Duke’s work any easier or less important. It’s a different skillset; he has to work differently. Instead of jumping into fights, halting mob meetings, saving civilians in dark allies, etc. Duke has to sort through all of the moving pieces before they all converge into something catastrophic. 

It’s a known fact that criminal organizations in Gotham make and execute a lot of behind-the-scenes plans during the day specifically not to run into the bats. And Duke knows and monitors this shit all by himself; his work is crucial to logistics and information gathering for the bats as a whole. Now criminals have like, a 2 hour gap between bat-shifts to try and get stuff done. But Duke would 100% set traps on timers or lead them on this pre-set convoluted goose chase  to distract them until the night bats come out and to let himself enjoy the whole thing playing out on the news while he finishes homework that’s due at midnight.

Duke “I Know a Guy” Thomas

So in going off of the basic concept for the “We Are. . . Robin” run in combination to his general likability, Duke has a lot of friends all around Gotham. Okay, sure, he doesn’t have a Super best friend or a Speedster on speed dial, but he does know this guy who details cars up on West 35th and will tell them all about the new mods on Black Mask’s transport vans if they come through the third floor window and bring takeout. 

Bruce and Tim will be waiting for the facial recognition software to identify at least a partial match off of security cam footage when Duke pulls into the cave, takes one look at the screen, and says “Oh, that’s <insert name, address, abridged life story, and known associates here>.” This also brings in the opportunity for Duke to have some sort of perfect recall for faces, voices, names, etc. which I think could be a really cool element for his position as the batfamily member who has a lot more personal interaction with the people of Gotham.

I’m also into the idea of a lot of people knowing/telling stories about Duke. Not to reference the Chuck Norris meme but almost like the Chuck Norris meme lmao. Think about Jason mentioning his brother to someone and she replies, “Duke Thomas? Like that Duke Thomas? The one who swam across the harbor because he said it’d be faster than the subway and it actually was?” These stories have varying levels of truth to them but Duke will never confirm nor deny when he gets random calls from family members yelling “you dID WHAT”

So those are my top three, and the following is a little speed-round of headcanons :)

Duke has a super expressive face. Like when he’s relaxed around family, you can tell exactly what he’s thinking and how he’s feeling by his visual reactions to things

Duke rotates through picking up new and revisiting old hobbies at a pretty rapid pace. Some hobbies include: bullet journaling, origami, viola, cello, synth, conversational basics in multiple languages, up-cycling and embroidering clothes

Duke has a really fucking adorable smile. He can’t help it. He’ll try to grin sarcastically or smug to be annoying but his smile just cannot be anything other than endearing. He also has a very specific booming laugh that’s an absolute treasure to hear, because it’s the most genuinely happy thing ever. 

Duke unironically enjoys Signal by Twice even though the first time he heard it was after Steph had set it as his morning alarm.

So.

Come and get your food, I guess.

Feel free to add on if you’d like! I’d love to see anything you guys write/draw/etc. based on anything from here if you feel compelled to do so!

Stay safe and be well :) 

#duke thomas #the signal #signal #batman #dc comics #duke thomas fanfiction #duke thomas headcanons #dc #batfam #batfamily #batfamily fanfiction #dick grayson #Bruce Wayne #Tim Drake #Stephanie Brown #Jason Todd #gotham city #Duke Thomas-wayne #i love him your honor #headcanons

[kshira]

—filthy rich

a bet//making you cum//rich boy sakusa//that’s it//that’s the tweet

18+ content//minors dni

wc: 2,066

18+ content, cursing, f!reader, blushy sakusa, fingering, soft dom sakusa (?), alcohol consumption, mentions of alcohol, reader slightly buzzed, smut in general

+ this is my piece for the rich boy collab, i thank @bakugohoex for letting me join & be sure to check out the rest of the wonderful event!

//“wanna make a bet, pretty boy?” atsumu grins, raising his glass to his lips, raking his eyes over the crowds of people until he makes you his target.

“the bet being?” sakusa says, meeting eye contact with you then bashfully taking the gaze away.

“well i’m bored, a little horny and that pool girl over there looks pretty fuckin’ hot” atsumu takes the glass gulping the last of the whiskey before slamming it back down.

sakusa shutters when he hears the glass crack at the metal table, his nerves are building but the alcohol soothes it—somewhat.

lavish cars fill his garages, endless expensive clothes pack sakusa’s closets, and the infinity amount of money suffused his bank account.

yet sakusa doesn’t understand why he feels numb, his money attracts everything and anyone—his bed never stays empty neither does his wallet but his soul—hollow.

“lets see who can fuck her first but more importantly who can make her cum first” atsumu wipes the brown liquor from his lips before giving sakusa a little push “you first omi.”

sakusa stumbles forward but takes the stride into your path around the pool, slowly walking in your direction watching you scoop the towels from vacant chairs and wiping down tables as you go.

“you do an exceptional job.. as a pool girl..fuck why did i say that, hi hello” sakusa covers his pink covered cheeks, eyeing the way your hips sway a certain way as you finish wiping down a chair.

“is this your way of hitting on me?” you chuckle, turning around to face the unknown force behind you—unexpectedly he wasn’t an old creep this time.

sakusa was in no doubt a beautiful man but where to start? that was what your eyes kept doing.

you started with his hair, the way he certainly tried to mask the curls in gel but the summer heat brought them spiraling down over his face, his pale skin adorned his muscles carved within and the most catching part you found about him was those beauty marks perfectly placed on his face.

“what time do you get off?” sakusa avoids your eyes when he mutters the words out, of course he knows he’s attractive but rejection never settled well with him.

“mm, well if you rub me just right i usually get off pretty quickly” you try to conceal the smile you have watching sakua’s eyes widen by your bold statement, you notice it doesn’t take much to get a reaction from him—you wonder that with other parts of him.

“j-just give me your number and text me when you get off— off work” sakusa coldly states and turns around as quickly as he got there leaving a confused look from you and a hysterical atsumu in the background.

you had seen this famous sakusa before, anybody flocked to him at every social event you unfortunately attended for the filthy disgusting rich, cleaning up behind them and taking their harsh coated words just for the sake of a little bit of money.

sakusa was placed in this group by his fame nonetheless and the staggering amount of money he’d collected through his growing career, so fuck it you think, might as well play this game he’d started—eat the rich instead of them devoring you for a change.

your text to sakusa left unanswered for a brief moment to give you some time to unwind and relax including a well deserved bottle of expensive champagne and a hot shower.

but as the alcohol finally started soaking in your phone lit up and the engine of a car in your apartment complex turned off.

kiyoomi sakusa was here, with all that fame and glory.

he was casually leaning on a ferrari, typical you thought for him to pull up in a car more expensive than anything you owned all together—filthy rich with the looks to double the amount.

“come in” you wave him into your apartment, watching him check his phone again and stride to your spot right inside your home.

“interesting..place” sakusa grunts, taking his shoes off and the door and shyly walking closer to the living room before planting his heavy body down on the couch.

“not up to your standards i guess?” you joke, crawling beside him on the couch, your fingers grazing his chest for stability—he’s nervous with a sweat beading around his dark curls and that tint of pink on his cheeks you’ve started to like on him.

“enough of the small talk, you know why i’m here we texted enough to get on first name basis and for you to know i’m not a creep or anything but—“ sakusa pauses to watch your expression, wide eyed and full of curiosity it kind of pains him to explain further.

“go on” you hum, swiping a piece of hair behind your ear scooting closer to him and to add a little bit of spice your hand stays dormant on his thigh.

“it was a bet to sleep with you but that’s something that we don’t have to do or anything like that—the other part of the bet is useless to talk about but i just had to make it look like i was actually doing the bet so i wouldn’t get ragged on by my friend..” sakusa is afraid to look at you, his eyes staying down at the floor memorizing the patterns of the hardwood floor.

“the bet.. what’s the other part?” you’re genuinely curious but if anything the fact that this rich boy is wanting to walk away in shame and defeat has you wondering—tasting for something else.

“to..make you.. c-cum and i was chosen to go first” sakusa leans back on the couch, wanting to melt into it entirely from embarrassment.

“is that so? i did say it didn’t take much to get me off” you smile back, peeling his large palms from his red cheeks to see a sly smile hiding under it.

“it’s been awhile for me so don’t have great expectations” sakusa chuckles interlocking his fingers with yours and moving inches closer till your lips can just almost touch.

there wasn’t time to take in his kiss when his tongue already started gently touching the walls inside your mouth, the sweet liquor still lingered and mixed with the champagne you had drunk; it was a divine taste.

sakusa went first taking his clothes off, starting with his shirt that colored your old wooden floors, his upper body was on display and fuck did it look good.

the ridges that filled his stomach formed remarkable abs, his skin flashed an ivory stain and those beauty marks created mini constellations all over.

an idea had tainted your mind for awhile, his beautiful body so clean and pure— needed something on it.

“do you mind if i pour this champagne on you?” your finger taps on the glass whilst your other hand draws circles on his bare chest.

“if you clean up the mess you’re going to start” sakusa holds his bottom lip between his teeth as you’d already started pouring the golden liquid all over his stomach.

“i planned to” your tongue drags away the champagne, licking all where it flows but never leaving his skin—you can feel sakusa’s body tremble at every lap you place on him and the bulge under your ass keeps growing bigger.

you gaze up to see him and a hazed lustful sakusa groans back at you, his cheeks dusted pink all over again with that growing bulge under you throbbing at this point.

“do you want me to go further? since you haven’t done this in awhile i can—“ you wince when sakusa pulls your face up by your cheeks, his palms practically swallowing your face whole.

“i said i haven’t done this in a while not that i don’t know how to fuck you” he takes you in another kiss, devouring your lips with his own swirling his tongue around the champagne laying shallow in your mouth.

sakusa decided the sweet taste isn’t enough, he’s growing tired of his hardened dick just rubbing under you, he needs release soon.

“tell me, how does a pool girl like you have chardonnay champagne?” sakusa smirks, pulling your flimsy shirt off to reveal your tits; you shake from the exposed air fluttering to your skin leaving your nipples perked to a draw.

“i think compensation like expensive drinks are well deserved after dealing with rich fucking pricks all day” sakusa leans down listening to your reply, kissing your bare skin till he reaches your breasts.

“this rich fucking prick is about to fuck you though, you pretty little thing” his tongue wraps around one nipple sucking so slightly, you dance your fingers through the strands of his curls—the moan that escaped from your throat define that sakusa is in command.

“f-fuck feels good” you squeak, your voice stays rippled in your lungs—you don’t want to feel this good by a lick or a touch but the way sakusa is treating your body it’s a reflex now.

sakusa moves on to the other perked nipple, treating this one with more attention and while you’re caught up in the pulses your pussy is vibrating he slowly slings his hand down to your shorts, slipping them off and sinking one finger in.

“fuck—so wet, wet for me huh?” he groans into your tits, taking action in your messy hole, scissoring and moving with ease he’s already able to slip another one right in.

you want to answer him but you just don’t care too, you’re so caught up feeling his tongue trace a rotation on your perked breasts and his fingers plunging in your velvet walls that whatever you want to say fills right in with the orgasm you’re about to pull out.

sakusa feels you clamping down on his thick fingers, he knows you’re about to cum and he could walk away right afterwards with his winning bet but with your mouth agape, eyes glossy from the pleasure and you moaning for nobody but him—he wants inside of you.

you're reaching the top of your peak fast, your flowing essence tingling down your toes all you think about is him, his thick fingers and when you start to cum all on his fingers now you’re thinking about his dick.

“taste so good, so fucking good” sakusa pulls away from your cunt, his fingers soaked with the tips of them dripping in your cum and going right in his mouth.

god, did he have to do that?

“want you—want you in me now” you plead, palming at his pants and rubbing at his still stiff cock; you’re no one to beg but fuck you’re doing it now.

“such a good girl for me letting me make you cum, this time i’m gonna cum with you, yeah?” sakusa places a kiss on cheek trailing down your neck while he slips the rest of his clothes off and with the last drop of his clothes off you feel his knees dip in on the couch around you and that first stroke in.

of course measured with his height you’d known he’d be big but that soothing burn into your soaking pussy was the pure, uneducated guess he’d be this big.

but fuck did he reach that spot you couldn’t touch with your fingers, the way he’d bend your knees straight to your chest to get right at your cervix and you’d be goddamned if his dick didn’t rub right in your clit for safe measures.

“i’m not going to last when you feel this good but fuck i wanna” sakusa heaves, bringing his chest flushed to your knees, pressing down harder so he’s so balls deep he’s connected one with your soul.

“you gonna cum so soon huh? cum in this pussy” you moan out, digging nails in him and clenching so hard it’s cutting the blood flow down below on him.

“yeah? that what you want? fill this messy hole with my cum? god you’re so something else” sakusa fucks you faster till his balls are slapping at your wet thighs and his breathing matches with his speed.

“i’m gonna cum, i can’t hold it—fuck!” he bites down on your shoulder before stalling to fill you entirely up.

with a bet like this, you wonder how his other friend is going to fuck you//

#haikyuu smut #hq smut #haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #sakusa x reader #sakusa kiyoomi smut #sakusa smut #sakusa x you #rich boy collab #haikyuu #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu!! #hq imagines #haikyuu!! x reader #haikyuu!! smut #kiyoomi sakusa #sakusa imagines #sakusa x y/n #haikyuu collab #haikyuu sakusa #sakusa kiyoomi x reader #hqintheclub #haikyuu headquarters #haikyuu drabbles #hq headcanons

[prof-peach]

if fans wanted to include peach in stuff they write, would that be okay? and how would they write peach's personality? aside from "FIGHT ME" anyway, i think that much is a given lol. i only really write the anime characters 'cause that's what i know, but it sounds like it'd be kinda fun to try making a version of ash that fits into this blog's universe! nerf'd Obviously, but i think she'd probably appreciate how hands-on he gets when training his pokemon!

Ok, I get a lot of these messages, and I often hear folks wanting to throw peach into their stories and comics and writings, and I will always simply ask that if it’s published online publicly, to be linked to it so I can snoop and enjoy the content too. If someone asks about her in your work, let them know about the blog I guess? But literally I love that people take this stuff, these characters and stories, and make new stuff with it. No ones making money off my work here? So where’s the issue? Go for it buddy, knock yourself out, I’m all for it.

For you, and all the others out there who want to add peach, and other characters to your world building, I will give you a detailed rundown of the main lot, and how they behave, what they do, how they function. You can use that, use bits, or use none of it, I do not mind at all. If you’re creating something, you’re in control, not me.

So, peach doesn’t actually fight people as much as you’d think. She’s very aware most cannot and do not want to do that, and so she likes to keep to herself with regards to that aspect of her life, she doesn’t ask to spar with people, or even bring it up at all, but people ask her all the time, even if they clearly would lose or become hurt should she miscalculate during the fight. She looks at people like they usually create problems, and often has a somewhat reserved nature to other humans. You have to work quite hard to get anything more than formalities out of her. She will dead-pan handle people with blunt and very to-the-point statements, aid whenever possible, but very quickly get back to handling the Pokemon she so carefully tends. Her focus is clear, she’s all about hard work, her very small select family, and the Pokemon.

Her brutal, loud and brash personality only comes out with friends, family, difficult humans, OR any Pokemon. She will joke and laugh and play with Pokemon, but clam up around humans, maintaining tight body language and generally will be a little cold by regular standards. She does however have some weaknesses in this emotionless shield she puts up. When peach was young she was always angry, which swung so fast to sadness, back and forth. Her teenage years it just got worse and worse, it was crippling at points. She is to this day, full of fire and rage, even sadness, but now she has learnt to control it, to use it. When she sees that in others, it’s familiar, and she is pushed to drop the front, and be very real with the person. Underdogs I suppose, people who get bad reps, but deserve the same as everyone else. She can’t ignore it.

Once you start to pry open her personality, you’ll find she’s a lot more laid back and fun than originally appeared, you just have to work hard to find that side of her. She will meme reference, can’t dance to save her life, loves her coffee, and can be caught in quiet contemplation while gardening. This hobby is her calmest, and often is why she can stay so level headed when her quiet rage boils up again. Without time outside she will become grouchy, a little snippy, and lethargic. Will not go in the ocean for any reason other than life or death, is fine with ponds and rivers, or water at wading height. Likes the rain.

With regards to her training others, they usually have to tolerate her somewhat strict nature. She is a little....unforgiving, holds a grudge if you make a lot of mistakes, and has no tolerance for ignorance in the age of information that we all live in. In previous posts I’ve mentioned she’s only recently selected two students, after many years of testing kids who want to learn from her. Hundred tried out, only two have ever been approved. How she teaches is very fast paced, be prepared to get some scrapes and bruises, she will test your physical and emotional tolerances with intense tasks, carefully watching students like a hawk. Bad posture in your stance? She’ll be the first to tell you to sort it out. Not hearing your Pokemon partner? Right, now you spend the day without using words trying to communicate, let’s see how you like not being listened to.

This is a woman who has spent her life saying very little, and watching everything, she watches Pokemon and can see an issue from a mile off, and in battles, her observations are why she can react fast, and chose effective strategy to avoid damage and achieve results. Don’t let her body fool you, her strongest asset is analysing, watching, planning. Those skills have over the years transferred to people too. As a student, mistakes don’t go unnoticed with this professor.

Her methods are harsh but fair, and should you prove yourself, she will protect you with her life.

Because of her disinterest in kids and lots of noise, she does pass the training of students on to the other staff members whenever possible. Grey takes on the lions share of battle lessons, he is far calmer, more open and friendly, with patience for people, and an empathy that peach sometimes struggles to have. When you go through a lot of harsh training, and difficult events, it’s hard to change how you feel or think, with peach, well, she’s been through it. Most do not come out the other end in one piece, but she did, and it made her strong. You may think I mean strong like buff and big, and yeah sure she is, but I mean it mentally more than anything. Peach will not quit. She has learnt to destroy the boundaries that stop people getting hurt, gone is the fear that freezes you in your tracks, that feeling that you’ll pass out if you go one more step. She’s learnt to ignore it.

This means she’s a little forgetful at how it is to be normal, to be vulnerable and soft and squishy like students so usually are.

She has her issues, but for the most part, visitors get a laugh, a smile, a calm assertive confidence, and facts. She will indulge those who have genuine interest, or show a connection with nature, an understanding of the balance that needs to be struck for everyone to live well together.

Despite her many flaws, she’s fiercely protective, and will go above and beyond to defend the island, it’s staff, the Pokemon and the visitors. Injustice is her biggest gripe, along with littering, and she doesn’t stand by quietly if something happens that seems unfair.

You will not see her without Valka, her vulpix, close by. That Pokemon doesn’t like to be touched by strangers, at all, and will run the second someone comes at her with that intent. Peach will scold you for pushing yourself onto her, should you persistently try to get close to pet Val. They are in sync, if peach is sad, Val is sad, if Val is stressed, peach is stressed, and so on. They are inherently connected, it’s just been that long, the psychic bridge between them has been built, and reinforced over the years.

The only other Pokemon who follows her so endlessly is Booker, a teddiursa who’s pretty rough looking. He quietly trots behind, grouchy and stoic, they fight closely together a lot. He lost his mom a long time ago to poachers, and peach took him in, and changed her whole life for him. Not many people know, but Booker was the reason she left the rangers, changed career, and got so strong. Will tolerate people petting him but isn’t keen at all, grumbles a lot and tries to move away.

You may also need to know about the others, for the sake of writing, she here a few more bits that may be important to you, or others wanting to do this.

Grey is very tall, very burly, composed, tells bad dad jokes, is a bit of a goof if allowed to be. If he sees a pun, he’ll say it. Can’t help himself. Very nice guy to work with, good at keeping people calm and grounded. Pokemon are drawn to him like a moth to a flame, he gives off warm energy, and has inhuman amounts of patience. If you wrong his family however, he will snap back.

He grew up in the city, loves to swim and hike and cycle, can snowboard, is really sporty. A total brain box with held items, and boosting stats. He will explore many paths, to make sure visitors and students get the information they need, in a way that can be remembered and retained for later. Is a huge guy, but will get on the floor to play with a tiny Pokemon. Treats big “meaner” looking species like babies, very good with all pokemon.

His free time is spent either tinkering, swimming, or trimming his bonsai trees. This guy stares at screens a lot, so appreciates time away from them. Peach built him his own little greenhouse for his trees and tools, which he keeps clean and loves dearly.

His methods as a teacher are built around fun and games, he makes hard work easier to do by distracting trainers from the difficult bits, and focusing in on something more interesting or compelling.

His most commonly seen Pokemon would be a houndoom, Saxon, old battle veteran, retired now to herding and being a good boy. Very gentle, loves a pet.

Pari, now a fully fledged nurse, often oversees the labs front desk and pokecentre features, such as healing pokemon, and informing trainers who come to visit. Her skills with eggs and hatchlings is high, she’s great with younger Pokemon, and hands out good advice to trainers a lot. She’s not a fighter, never was, but can find any file, any study, any book, and any refrence you may need. A true bookworm, loves her romance novels, chat shows and upbeat celebrity gossip mags. Will cry at a lot of stuff, be it sad or happy.

She’s got a seriously upbeat personality, but if caught off guard or shocked, she gets a little flustered. Too much chaos will overwhelm her, but usually she’s on top of things. The years spent on the island have made her better at maintaining composure in emergencies. With lots of siblings, she’s very competent with others, and has a good ability to disarm cagey people with her jolly nature. Because of this, she can sometimes gain information from trainers that some of the more harsh professors may not have access to. Charming is a word for it.

Her partners are an eevee, and a happiny. They are quite sweet and well adjusted, the eevee gets a bit bouncy if you get it too excited.

#if you dont want to use the refs #im really cool with it #just enjoy yourself buddy #pokemon #prof.peach #peach talks #prof.grey #pari #dotaku island #dotaku staff #PLEASE #just ask me if you dont know something #or feel i missed something in what i wrote

[unfriedough]

‘Home’- Zuko x fem!reader

Masterlist <3

An: GOOD DAY FRIENDS.

So let’s pretend I didn’t accidentally not post for almost a month. Haha. IM SORRY. Anyways, I literally can't thank you all enough for all the love and support you’ve given me - I’m very grateful. Without further ado, enjoy this lil story.

Summary:

Request is here , I’m doing the 2nd one. :)

Warnings: Never written enemies to lovers so uh, bear with me, angst, fluff, yelling, blood.

“Have you heard about the new tea shop?”

“Oh my god yes, I’ve been dying to pay them a visit!”

“I heard their tea actually compares to that of the Jasmine dragon!” another customer chimed in.

Zuko was cleaning a nearby table and overheard their conversation. No one is allowed to make his uncle seem like an inferior tea maker, he would have to tell Iroh about what he heard, they needed to take that shop out of the picture!

“Thank you, have a nice day!” a stranger called out, leaving the Cafe.

The undercover firebender locked the doors, signifying the end of the day, and turned to his uncle, who was sweeping the floors.

“Uncle,”

“Yes prince Zuko,”

“I heard people talking about the tea shop across the street, and how it compares with ours.” he frowned, eyeing the dim shop.

“Ah looks like we’ve got competition.” Uncle Iroh smiled, “How about we go see what it’s all about.”

Zuko gave him the most appalled look he could muster.

Somehow, they ended up here.

“Hi! Welcome to Fire’s breath, my name’s Lee and I’ll be your waiter for today, how can I help you?”

“Table for two please!” Iroh smiled.

“Alrighty, please follow me!” The waiter said, he looked to be around Zuko’s age.

The gentlemen followed Lee to a corner table and sat down, browsing the menu.

“Okay, just call me over once you're ready to order.” and with that, Lee left.

“Wow! Look at all the choices!”

Whilst the retired general browsed the aesthetically pleasing menu, Zuko eyed their waiter suspiciously. Lee walked up to a girl, whispering something to her whilst side eyeing their table. The lady had a confused expression adorning her face as she listened to what can only be assumed was about them. Once he moved away, he nodded to her before walking away, leaving her standing in the middle of the shop, confused.

She shook her head, as if to shake the thought, and flattened her uniform. Said lady looked at Zuko, possibly because of his staring, and he quickly averted his gaze back to the table.

“What a pretty girl!”

“Uncle!” Zuko whisper-shouted, “I think she’s onto us.”

Iroh let out a belly laugh, and waved his hand at Lee.

“Hey guys! Ready to order?” he said, as he clicked his pen and got ready to write on a small notepad.

“Yes, I’ll have the Ginseng tea, and a sugar cookie,”

“Great choices sir! And for you?” Lee said, looking at Zuko.

“Oh I uh don’t want anything,”

“You sure? We have all kinds of great things!”

“I said no.”

“Very well, I’ll be back with your order soon.”

--

About 5 minutes later, Iroh’s food was brought to the table, and he immediately dug in.

“Mmm, this tea IS good! And this sugar cookie is just the right amount of sweet!”

Zuko scoffed and looked around, the decoration was so warm. It felt so cozy and homely, but he didn’t like it. Yeah he hated it! He hated how it smelt of fresh treats, he hated how there was a soft ambience of a fire place in the background, and he definitely hated how the waiters seemed to genuinely smile, and he despised how he couldn’t get his eyes off of that damn lady anytime she came around. What an awful shop!

After Iroh had eaten, the mysterious lady came up to them.

“Hiya! I’m Yn, I’m just here to ask, do you two gentlemen mind filling out a survey? We’re currently trying to improve and feedback is greatly appreciated. If you don’t feel like it, that’s perfectly fine too!” Zuko couldn’t help but stare, and Iroh noticed. He let out a chuckle, causing Zuko to look away, an angry blush rising to his cheeks. Yn smiled slightly at the scene.

“We’d be happy to!”

“Perfect! Thank you so much, sir.” She placed a paper on the table, as well as a red inked pen that had a dragon looping it and breathing fire. On said fire it said ‘Fire’s breath’.

“Tacky” Zuko thought.

“Wow look at this pen!” Iroh exclaimed, once the lady left.

The younger of the two mentally facepalmed.

Iroh skimmed through the paper, filling it out.

Once he was done, he opened up the bill and took out 12 coins; 4 for the tea, 5 for the cookie and 3 as a tip. He placed 9 in the envelope, and 3 on it. Lee came over to their table and took the envelope, tip and the survey.

“You forgot the pen,”

“Oh no, you guys just get to keep that.”

The waiter thought it was adorable how Iroh’s face lit up.

--

“Well that was surely an experience!” Iroh said happily.

“It was okay.”

“Really? Because it seemed that Yn really seemed to capture your attention?”

“UNCLE!”

--

“So they are the people from The Jasmine Dragon.” Yn hummed thoughtfully.

“Told ya so!”

She peered out of the large window, and into the rivaling shop, the old man seemed to be laughing, meanwhile the younger one seemed agitated. I mean, he didn’t seem all that happy being here after all.

“They left a good review at least.”

“Huh?- oh yeah.”

--

For the next few weeks, Zuko made it his priority to annoy Yn, glaring at her, scoffing, rolling his eyes, and never returning her greetings.

Although, she never seemed to crack.

That was until Jet made his appearance.

Fire’s Breath was operating as usual, while the fight broke out across the street.

Yn rushed towards the window at the front of the shop, watching as she cleaned her hands on a towel. A gasp escaped her lips, as one of the boys crashed through her window, before being arrested by the Dai Lee, and the guy who pushed him stood with wide eyes in front of the scene.

Yn first rushed over to her customers, helping them up, thankfully no one was injured.

Next, she stormed over to Zuko, her jaw clenched tight. She signaled to the empty street, telling him to follow her so if things got loud, they wouldn’t get arrested.

Once they got to a quieter area, things escalated quickly.

“I hope you’re planning to pay repairs, idiot.”

“ME? How is this my fault? He started the fight!”

“And you launched him through my window!”

“It’s JUST a WINDOW,”

“THAT YOU WILL PAY FOR!”

“NO,”

“YOUR INSUFFERABLE,”

This went on for about half an hour, before they both stormed off to their respective places.

Things were about to go south.

--

Days passed, the teens giving each other death stares and eye rolls as if there was no tomorrow. (Iroh ended up paying for window repairs, despite Zuko’s disapproval)

Eventually the dirty looks became untrue, and her glares became endearing in a weird, twisted way. Zuko found himself looking forward to their encounters, although he wasn’t entirely sure why - the firebender decided to keep it to himself as this way, he doesn’t have to deal with his Uncle’s peculiar proverbs.

--

(time skip because I AM NOT writing about him joining the gAang. Yeah.)

--

Sokka and Zuko stayed late by the fire, chatting about anything and everything.

“When the war’s over, where do you plan on going?” the water tribe member asked, staring into the fire.

“I don’t know, maybe Ba Sing Se.”

“Huh? That wretched place? Why?”

“I wanted to see my uncle’s tea shop again,”

“Your uncle has a tea shop????”

--

What once was, is now lost. The problem and his uncle stopped showing, stopped annoying her. The customers flowed into her shop, the rivals being brought down. But it didn’t feel right. Yn had grown accustomed to bullying the teenager, and now there loomed an emptiness behind her eyes - reaching for her ‘normal’.

Although she didn’t feel like seeing him again - after all, he was her rival.

Or atleast, that’s what she told her yearning heart.

--

(Post war, they go to the Jasmine dragon)

--

The gaang sat in the warm store, chatting away at their heart's desires. Zuko caught sight of his uncle smiling widely at the door, before a bell chimed.

There she was, Yn, looking gorgeous as ever.

She hugged the old man, asking him where he had been, and what he’d been up to.

Sokka noticed Zuko’s eyes on the girl, quickly piecing the puzzle.

“Why are you staring at her?” he whispered.

“What!? I’m nOT!”

“She is so pretty!! Go say hi!!” Suki nudged him.

“Absolutely not.”

“C’monnn”

The chat brought the attention of the rest of the group, causing the firelord’s crush to be exposed to the rest of his friends.

After she had returned to her shop, they decided to drag him there - shoving him into the store.

Lee walked up to them, an annoyed look on his face.

“What? Here to smash a window again? Or perhaps to argue with Yn?”

Katara, Aang, and Sokka stared in shock, meanwhile Zuko gulped.

“Is this an inside joke?” Sokka whispered.

This was going to be difficult.

--

Iroh walked into the shop shortly after, earning him smiles from the staff.

Then, Yn walked out, folding up her sleeves as she spoke to Lee.

“This is familiar.” The fire bender thought, recalling the first time they came here.

Lee rolled his eyes before sighing, walking to another table.

Iroh and the gang were all seated at table 7, Zuko keeping his face practically inside the menu.

“Huh? The Menu changed.” he thought.

“Hiya! I’m Yn, I’ll be your waitress for now,” she beamed.

Zuko almost choked at hearing her voice.

“Can you tell me more about the special please?” Sokka stroked his chin, thoughtfully.

“Yeah of course sir.”

Although mid talking, she noticed Zuko, and he noticed her eyes widening - before a smile played on her lips, causing him to subconsciously smile too.

“How cute,” Suki whispered.

--

As she closed her shop, she noticed Zuko walking back to his - covered in small bits of blood, and wounds.

“Lee?”

He immediately perked up, and turned towards her.

She took his hand quickly and led him into the safety of her shop, seating him in her room. “What?”

Zuko sat on her bed, confused as he watched her pace around the room - picking up medical equipment as she did so. Yn then walked over to him, eyes swimming with worry as she cupped his cheek.

“What happened?” she whispered.

His breath hitched - everything about this moment screamed ‘kiss her’; the lighting, the closeness, the situation - everything.

Yet Zuko couldn’t bring himself to tell her yet.

Yn sighed, and brought out some bandages, carefully taking ZUko’s hand and beginning to wrap it.

“You know, your uncle told me,”

The firebender’s eyes flashed to her face worriedly.

“About you being a firebender and all,” she motioned with her hand.

She looked up to his face, sensing the worry. Smiling softly, she grabbed a damp towel and began wiping the blood off of his face. He watched her intently.

She reached his lip, carefully wiping it, before Zuko leaned in.

His wounded lips brushed hers, asking the unspoken question.

To which she responded by slotting her lips against his. Zuko’s arms trailed her body, resting at her hips - whilst her hands were cupping his cheeks. His senses were flooded by Yn, and Yn only. Scents of bread and vanilla mixed in the air, as well as the subtle fumes of ashes from him.

They were opposites, but my do opposites attract.

They both got up, and he pushed her towards the wall, deepening the kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck, tangling in the mess of black locks.

He wished this moment could last forever.

They both pulled apart, gasping for air.

Zuko looked at her, smiling.

She rested her forehead against his, and cupped his cheeks again.

“If you leave me again, I’m going to muder you in cold blood,” she smiled

Zuko laughed, he was finally home.

Home.

An: This took so long to write, omg. also,,,, GUYS PLEASE REQUEST SOMETHING! >:(

As always, hope you enjoyed this story, SEE YA! <3

#zuko x reader #prince zuko x reader #atla #avatar the last airbender #fluff #zuko fluff #zuko fic #zuko x f!reader #zuko x y/n #zuko angst #zuko atla angst #Zuko #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #avatar zuko #atla zuko #zuko fanfic #Zuko ATLA #zuko x you #zukoxreader #xreader #x reader #atla x reader

[deepdarkdelights]

Solar Eclipse (Hoseok x Reader)

Pairing: Hoseok x Reader

Word Count: 16.9k

Warnings: 18+, Yandere, Stalking, Obsession, Forced Relationships, Fear, Panic/Anxiety, Devious Intentions, Talks about Mental Health, Mentions of Suicide, Dub Con, Forced Implants, Death, The Afterlife, Heights, Jumping from Heights

I do not condone the acts displayed in this story nor do I believe any members of BTS would actually engage in this type of behavior. This is simply written for entertainment purposes and should not be taken as a reflection of my own values, opinions, or morals. 

Preview:  His smile drifted away, it was like watching the moon slip over the sun into a solar eclipse. The Hoseok you were left with was one that had a cold, stricken expression that bled disbelief.

This look on his face, although more genuine than anything else you had seen, was capable of sending your entire body into a panicked frenzy. Something in the back of your mind was telling you, no, begging you to run. The instincts that had been fostered in you from generations before were telling you this man was dangerous, and you were better off fleeing than sticking around to see what would happen. 

“I dare you, say that to me one more time baby and you won’t like what happens next.”

A/N: This was supposed to be 10k...how did we get here. This story was heavily inspired by Beautiful Accident and Wonderful Nightmare! Both amazing movies I recommend that never fail to get me in my feels. I hope you enjoy this wild ride! See you in the comments! 💜💜💜

Your hands were hurting again.

The light from your computer screen was blaringly bright, causing you to momentarily cease your endless scrolling and remove your glasses from the bridge of your nose. You pressed your cool fingers against the warm flesh of your eyelids and tilted your head back against your seat, giving yourself a moment to relax. 

The once cacophonous tapping of another keyboard suddenly halted as your assistant leaned forward in her seat, sliding her laptop shut. 

“You okay, boss?” She asked, her brows pinched together in concern. “Is it a migraine again?”

You exhaled deeply through your nose as you flexed your fingers in an attempt to dispel the ache from them. You were far too young to already be experiencing so many aches and pains. 

“No, I’m just tired.” You admitted as you folded your glasses up and pushed them aside. 

“That’s because you work too much, honestly do you ever sleep? When was the last time you went home?” She chuckled in amusement.

“Ha ha ha, very funny. I’ll have you know I’m faithful to my sleep number, I come home to him every night.” 

“Him? You refer to your mattress as him? Somebody hasn’t gotten laid in a while.” She snorted. 

“I could have you fired for that, that’s sexual harassment you know.” You shot back, amused yet annoyed she had hit a little too close to home. 

“Please, you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself if you fired me.” She laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

Before you could shoot back your response, an abrupt knock on the door stopped the both of you in your tracks. Without saying anything, she rose from her seat and began to cross the room. Knowing she would be able to handle it for you, you reclined deeper into your office chair and slipped your phone out of your desk drawer to sort through your endless amount of notifications. 

You didn’t look up as you heard the door click shut, two sets of footsteps approaching your mahogany desk. 

You could hear somebody clear their throat, their breaths coming out rapidly as if they were anxious. “Y-your coffee, miss.”

Without looking up you merely held out your hand, the warm cup slotting itself into your waiting fingers. You mumbled out a rough thanks as you continued to scroll through your phone, rolling your eyes at the amount of missed calls you had from your mother who, despite knowing your work schedule, persisted in calling you during your office hours. 

You could faintly hear your assistant walking the man to the door, whispering a soft, “Thank you, sweetie,” as the door clicked shut. 

“Really?!” She hissed, once she was sure the man was gone. “You didn’t even look at him!”

“Who? The coffee boy? I didn’t think it mattered.” You said with a shrug, taking a sip from your coffee.

“That wasn’t a coffee boy! That was your intern, jackass!”

“He’s just an intern, Jenny, he won’t be here for long. None of them last around here anyways.” 

Jenny sighed, flopping down into the seat across from you with a pout. “The poor thing was so nervous, you really should be nicer to him. He has such a sweet smile…”

“Oh no, don’t you start one of your schemes again. I don’t have time for men and the last thing I need is for you to start playing cupid. And didn’t I tell you to stop hiring people just because they're attractive?”

“Sweetie, I don’t know if you’re aware, but you're not as young as you think you are. When are you going to settle down, huh? Find a husband, have some cute kids for me to dote on.” 

“Jesus, you’re starting to sound like my mother. I don’t have the time for marriage or for kids, not when I’m busy with this place.” You replied with a stiff tone, this was not the first time the two of you had this conversation. 

“I’m just saying you’re hot, rich, and a CEO, you could literally have any man you want.” She pointed out, the tips of her fingers pressing together in the shape of an arrow. 

“You literally just called me a Sugar Momma.” 

“I mean, they do have websites if you're interested…”

“Okay, you win, I’m leaving early. I can’t deal with your obnoxious ass anymore.” You said, standing up so quickly your chair shot back and turned on its wheels. 

“Jenny: 72, You: None.” Your assistant laughed, adding a point to her imaginary scoreboard.

“I was going to say call me if you need anything, but please don’t.” You chuckled, grabbing your blazer from the coat rack and sliding it around your shoulders before picking up your purse. 

“Don’t worry boss, I’ll hold down the fort.” She said, giving you a quick salute as she stood and began to gather her things. “Don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way out.”

You pressed your lips together tightly in an attempt to hide the hint of a smile on your mouth as she exited your office. She was the only person you talked to like that, you were a rather antisocial boss. You tended to come off as cold and callous to your employees, but in reality you just really didn’t like talking to others when it wasn’t necessary. It had taken four years for you and Jenny to become as close as you did, in fact she was the only person you could truly call your friend. 

You had grown up in an isolated world, one filled with tutors and home schooling as you were groomed to take over one of the branches of your family's business. You had siblings, but you rarely ever saw them. They too were consumed by their work and their families, in fact you were the youngest of them and couldn’t remember a time where all of you lived together in one household. There were four of you in total, you only saw each other at holidays and your parents annual Christmas gala. You were by no means close.

You had grown comfortable being alone and frigid. It was safe and it was efficient. 

Your entire life had been one of isolation, the only amount of warmth bleeding into the bleak monotone schemes of your world was Jenny. And the amount you had let in was minimal. 

It was better being alone, you told yourself. 

You adjusted your purse on your shoulder as your office door swung shut behind you. The building was still fairly active, everyone was in a rush to complete their work before the sun completely dipped below the horizon. That was something you enjoyed about your building. The walls were littered with floor to ceiling windows allowing the ochre tones of sunlight to bleed into the bright white and concrete interior, soft dappled light dancing over hard edges. 

You paused for a moment by the windows, your eyes fluttering shut as you felt the warmth of the sun caress your face, its fleeting light still permeable through your closed eyelids creating a golden halo in your vision. You gave yourself two breaths worth of silence and stillness before your eyes snapped open once more and you hastily made your way to the elevator that would send you to your floor of the parking garage. 

You waited patiently for the elevator, one of your legs extended in front of you as you rolled your foot from side to side on the precarious talon of your red bottom heels. Once you heard the doors sliding open and the familiar ding of the elevator you raised your chin slowly, your eyes half lidded in boredom as you met the expressions of your employees. There were two of them inside the metal contraption, their eyes wide in alarm at the sight of you. You tilted your head slightly to the side, and like you had cracked a whip they scuttled out of the elevator and hurried past you without a word. 

You huffed in annoyance to yourself as you headed inside, you had no idea what their problem was and you pondered if there was any reason to write them up for their bizarre behavior. Perhaps not. 

The elevator hummed as it steadily dropped floors, the soft music effectively worsening your mood. You hated elevator music. 

As soon as the doors slid open you jetted out of them, your heels tapping noisily in the quiet garage. You slid your bag from your shoulder and busied yourself by trying to find your keys. You hissed to yourself as you tripped and almost went flying, multitasking and heels did not go together. You stopped for a moment, opening your bag wider as you tried to find the little ring of keys buried in the depths of your purse. 

The second your fingers brushed the cool metal you released an annoyed breath, throwing your purse back over your shoulder as you flicked through your key ring, grasping the fob that went to your car.

Despite having what you had previously been looking for, you did not move. Instead, you looked around warily, pivoting on your heels as you scanned the area around you.

You could have sworn you heard footsteps.

You waited silently for a few more moments, listening for signs that another person was there with you. 

You heard no other breaths, nor the sounds of approaching or retreating footsteps.

You weren’t going to wait around any longer just to find out you were wrong. 

You swiftly made your way to your VIP parking spot, unlocked the doors, and threw yourself into the car while making sure to lock the doors as soon as you were seated. 

Your mother had begged you for months to get a bodyguard. You were a young woman with lots of money and the heir to a massive enterprise. You should not be walking around as if you were a normal person. It was only now that you were beginning to think that your mother was right. 

Not wanting to dwell on dark thoughts any longer, you pushed your key into the ignition, and peeled out of the parking garage a little faster than normal. 

As your anxiety slowly drained from your body, you began to feel the effects of lack of sleep. Jenny was not wrong, you were considering the fact that maybe you had a touch of insomnia. Either that or you were simply a workaholic. Honestly, it could be both. 

You switched the radio on, picking a classic rock station and dialing the volume up to the point you could feel your leather seats vibrating beneath you with each clash of the drums emanating from the speakers. 

But even that was just barely doing its job. Your eyes were still stinging like they had been moments before at your desk. You were undeniably as exhausted as you were a safety hazard. You clenched the steering wheel harder, the flesh of your skin pulling tightly over your knuckles as you attempted to stay awake. It wasn’t that far of a ride, you could make it home. 

But that thought didn’t stop your eyelids from drooping shut, it was nearly impossible to keep them open, they were so heavy you were struggling to reopen them every time you blinked. 

Your eyes stayed closed much longer now than they had before, and upon opening them again a scream of shock bubbled up your throat. 

A flash of black fur shot across your narrow vision as you frantically spun the steering wheel and slammed on your breaks. A band of horns beeped behind and beside you as you swerved dramatically into the next lane.

Your car had been mere inches from swerving right in front of an eighteen wheeler. 

Your hand fluttered frantically against your chest, your heart pounding back against it in shock. 

You had almost died. 

You gathered yourself up before stomping down on the accelerator and speeding away, dodging the massive vehicle you had almost hit in the opposite lane. The shock of adrenaline you were experiencing from that frightening event was more than enough to keep you awake now. You only had one goal in mind and that was to make it home in one piece. 

The minute you slid back into your regular parking spot you allowed yourself to slump back into the driver's seat, blinking wildly as you recalled the sight of the headlights and the cacophony of car horns from moments prior. You really need to get your shit together. 

~~~~~~~

By the time you made it up to your apartment the exhaustion had returned full force. You toed off your shoes tiredly, stumbling over them with an annoyed grunt as you threw your purse down to the floor. You could really do without your sudden lack of coordination. 

Far too tired to even care, you immediately began stripping your clothes off at the front door. You carelessly threw your blazer aside and shimmied off your skirt as you began to walk, leaving a trail of clothes behind you as you headed for your bedroom. The housekeeper would deal with it in the morning anyways, it didn’t matter where they ended up. 

Your pajamas from the previous night were waiting for you at the foot of your bed, folded up into a neat little pile contrasting greatly from your current care for your clothing. You happily sighed as you pulled the creamy, cashmere sweater over your head and stepped into a pair of silk sleep shorts. This was what you had been waiting for all day. 

That, and the bottle of Cheval Blanc tucked away in your liquor cabinet. 

You ran your fingers through your hair tiredly as you made your way to the kitchen, the sound of your bare feet patting against the floor echoed down the long, empty hallway. 

You wasted no time, eagerly pulling open your cabinet and retrieving the expensive bottle of wine along with a crystal glass. You eased the cork free from the bottle, allowing it to roll over your granite counter as you poured the wine into your glass, the liquor bubbling as you filled it to the very top. You were a guilty self medicator, that was for damn sure. 

You hurried back into your living room, wine glass in one hand and a small tray of macarons in the other. There was one thing you were certain of, you were definitely going to drink your fatigue away and indulge in your favorite cookies until you passed out on your couch. You deserved it, after all you were a CEO, an overworked one at that. 

So, there you sat, taking languid sips from your glass and delicate bites from your cookies as you began to catch up on a show you hadn’t had the time to watch in weeks. It was incredibly relaxing, the soft hum of the TV, the feeling of your favorite blanket wrapped around your bare legs, and the soft tapping of rain against your windows. You were set on not moving for the rest of the night. That was of course, until you had to pee.

You groaned in frustration at the thought of having to move, but the call of nature was much stronger than your will to remain sedentary. You leaned forward, setting your food and drink on the coffee table before you violently kicked your legs, fighting your blanket as you attempted to untangle yourself from it. 

The second your toes touched the lush carpet beneath you, a shock of lightning suddenly splintered it’s way through the sky, shards of light refracting through your windows and lighting up the dim room. The soft rumble of thunder followed soon after. 

You froze at the sight, the light rain still tapped against your windows, a dull contrast to the sudden shock of light you had witnessed.

But, what was even more unexpected, was the sight of dark fur and glowing jade eyes staring back at you. There was a cat sitting on your balcony. That should have been impossible, there was no possible way that cat could have made its way there, your building was pet free. 

The sight of its slick coat of black fur tugged at your heart strings. He must be so cold, stuck out in the rain like that. In fact, he looked almost exactly like your childhood cat you had loved to dearly growing up. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to let him in, let him get dry and warm and fill his belly. 

With a new goal in mind you carefully made your way to your sliding glass door, not wanting to spook him too badly lest he jump. The drop would not be a survivable one. 

Despite your valiant efforts, the minute the door clicked and slid open he jumped up onto the fencing and rails that surrounded your balcony. 

“Hey, no, no, no, just stay right there, kitty.” You cooed gently, taking slow and careful steps in his direction. 

The cat fixed you with a penetrating gaze, his bright jade eyes trained on you, watching every step you made as his tail flicked from side to side behind him. 

“That’s a good boy, just stay right there.” You hummed, your hands held up in a show of no malintent as you carefully approached him. “Come on, I just want to help you.”

Just as you were within grabbing reach, your fingers mere inches from touching his silken fur, he lept away, settling on the ledge against the building. He was dangerously close to falling off, the distance from the ledge to the ground far enough to make your toes and fingers tingle. 

“Fuck.” You hissed. 

The cat remained there, his gaze still trained on you. Those bright eyes seemed to be beckoning for you to come and join him, to meet him up on the ledge. 

You quickly shook out your hands and feet as you stared back, your vision tunneling in on him. You could feel the cold air nipping at your bare flesh, goosebumps raising on the skin of your thighs. You could do it. 

You wiped your palms against the fabric of your shorts before grasping the metal railing and carefully lowering yourself over to the other side. You could feel the wind stronger now as it swirled around you, a flash of light overtaking the sky once more as a steady rumble of thunder bounced off of the surrounding buildings. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.” You mumbled to yourself, taking in a sharp breath through your nose as you attempted to calm yourself. Just don’t look down, for the love of all that is holy do not look down.

You steadily rose up on to your toes, shimming your way over as you held on tightly to the railing. The sliver of stone beneath your toes was slick from rainfall, as was the metal of the railing beneath your tense fingers. The closer you got to the cat, the further away it seemed to be, either that was the truth or the reality of how high up you were was messing with your head.

The thought you had from earlier suddenly came rushing back to you, the drop wouldn’t be survivable. What a sobering thought. 

You had come to a point now where you wouldn’t be able to hold onto the railing anymore, not if you needed to be able to reach the cat. So, with a shaky breath you released your grip from the railing one hand at a time and quickly latched onto the stone architecture surrounding the windows. The only thing keeping you from falling was the tiny inches of stone beneath your arched feet, and the architecture you were desperately clinging to. 

You slowly turned your head, your gaze meeting the cat’s once more. It’s eyes were almost mesmerizing, there was something about it that was telling you that you needed to get him, that you just needed to pick him up and stay with him. You had no choice but to retrieve him, you felt like you would die if you had to leave him all alone on this ledge. His eyes were drawing you in, causing you to spiral downwards into their hypnotic depths. You needed him. 

He was not moving anymore, he was settled down on his back legs, his tail flicking out dangerously over the edge of the building. You were certain that you could reach him if you tried. 

You slowly lowered yourself into a crouch, releasing your one hand from the side of the building as you reached out, the other hand still holding onto the stone of the window. You leaned forward as calmly as you could, your arm burning from the stretch as you slid over slightly to grab the cat. 

This time the cat did not move away, it remained still, waiting for your touch. 

Both of your arms were completely spread out, your fingers just barely holding onto the building as you finally made it within grabbing distance. And then, it all fell apart.

As soon as your fingers brushed his midnight fur, he jerked away from your touch causing your feet to slip out from underneath you, and your weak hold to completely detach from the wall. 

And then you were falling.

A violent scream ripped its way free from your throat as you went airborne, the last thing you could see was the penetrating emerald glare of the midnight black cat as you plummeted towards the ground. 

No one would know that you had never intended to end your life when you stepped out onto that ledge.

Unwillingly, you had. 

~~~~~~~

You never felt the impact of the ground, and when you opened your eyes you did not find your body mangled or feel any pain. In fact you were no longer even in the city. 

You were already standing, and you were all alone. You turned frantically, spinning as you tried to find out where you were. There was nothing all around you, just cloudy skies, stretching fields of tall grass, old dilapidated fences, and a dusty road of dirt and rocks beneath your feet.

And then of course, there was the bus stop sign beside you. 

You approached the sign in curiosity. The closer you got the more you noticed how strange everything was. Despite there being stones beneath your feet you didn’t feel pain, and the environment wasn’t cold or hot, it was just neutral. And, it was extremely silent. Not a gust of wind blew, no crickets hummed, and there wasn’t a single chirp from a songbird. There was nothing. 

You leaned your upper body forward, looking from side to side for any signs of life. Both ways you could barely see anything, the field seemed to disappear into thick clouds of fog that were impermeable to your sight. 

You decided in that moment you were better off looking for signs of life than you were waiting for them to come find you. But, to your surprise, the second your foot touched down onto the dirt road a bus came rumbling down the road and screeched to a stop in front of you. 

The doors slid open and light flooded the space around you. You squinted as your eyes adjusted to the exposure, your hand creating a visor on your forehead. 

“You getting on or what?” A voice called from inside the bus. 

“Me?” You asked pointing to yourself.

“Of course you, does it look like I’m talking to anyone else?” The voice huffed in annoyance. “I’m already running late. I'd prefer if you didn’t hold us up any longer.”

“Running late?” You whispered to yourself. “And where will you be taking me?” 

There was silence for a moment and then suddenly a raucous laughter that made you jump. “Where am I taking you?! That’s a good one. Come on, let's go.”

You blinked slowly in irritation, the last thing you needed was to be laughed at and dismissed like a child when you had serious questions that you needed answered. 

“Come on newbie! Today!” He yelled, causing you to jump in fright before scurrying onto the bus. 

Upon entering you were met face to face with the bus driver. He had fair skin and pitch black hair with an amused, gummy smile on his face. Apparently, he thought you were hilarious. He said nothing to you this time, he just merely jerked his head in the direction behind him, signaling for you to find a seat. 

Once you turned to face the passengers of the bus you realized it was far longer than it appeared from the outside, in fact it looked like it stretched farther beyond what you could see with copious amounts of passengers. 

The passengers themselves were of all sizes, races, and ages. You could see mothers holding infants and elderly couples cuddled up to one another. Some people seemed to know one another, others looked sad and lonely like the little boy a few seats back. 

You were incredibly confused. 

Unsure as to where you should sit, you finally decided on sitting next to the little boy. 

The second you sat down, you felt his gaze train on you and his little body shift closer to you. 

“Hi,” He whispered, his fingers curling around the fabric of your cashmere sweater and tugging, “My name is Minho.”

You have him a soft smile in return with a gentle whisper of your name. 

“Where’s your mommy, Minho?” You asked, curious as to why this little boy was all alone. 

“I’m going to meet her now.” He replied, with an excited smile, his legs kicking out energetically before he suddenly calmed down. “I wish daddy came with me.”

“Why didn’t your daddy come with you?” You asked, your eyebrows pinching together in confusion. 

“He said I had to go alone, he can’t come with me for a while. He said I’ll be happy with mommy, that I’ll feel better with her.” He said sadly, his lower lip pouting as he rubbed at his teary eyes. 

“You’ll feel better?”

“Mhm, I was sick for a long time. Daddy said it was time for me to see Mommy, he told me it was okay to go to sleep.”

Oh, oh no. Everything was suddenly starting to make sense. You quickly looked over your shoulder and caught sight of the elderly couple you had seen earlier. 

“Hey! You two! What were you doing before you got here?!”

The older man looked up at you with a kind smile as he continued to rub his wife’s shoulder. “We were driving down to visit our son, he was never too good about coming up to see us. Some bad weather hit, we couldn’t see out of the windshield very well. Next thing you know we’re rolling over the guard rail and down the side of the hill!”

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

“You! Where were you?!” You yelled at the woman seated across from you. 

“Hm? I went in for surgery, what’s it to you?” She asked with an annoyed grimace on her face. 

“What’s it to me?!” You echoed with a hysterical laugh. You were fucking dead that’s what it was! All of you were!

Your thoughts were racing a hundred miles a minute as you tried to gather yourself, your heart beating frantically as a sick feeling settled in your stomach. You needed to get off the bus, you needed to get far away from all of these people. 

Without thinking you lurched to your feet and gripped the cord above your window, yanking it harshly to signal the bus to stop. 

The bus halted immediately, sending you stumbling forward into the back of the driver’s seat. The bus driver met your panicked face through the reflection of the mirror, a curious light to his pitch black irises. 

“So, we’ve got a challenger? I knew you’d be a stubborn one.” He sighed, hitting the button that sent the doors swishing open. “The guy in charge is out there, you can voice your complaints to him.”

You were far too shocked to vocalize anything, your feet just blindly leading you to the doors. You stopped for a moment, looking over your shoulder to get one quick look at Minho. His little legs were still kicking out in front of him.

“Bye miss!” He called with a little wave and a smile, spurring you off the bus with a quick wave in his direction.

Upon stepping foot off of the bus, you were faced with a dimly lit four way intersection that looked like it had been abandoned for years. You quickly headed towards the center of the road as you caught sight of a tall man waiting for you. 

His face was relaxed, a neutral expression taking over his features. He was dressed fairly well for a man standing in the middle of nowhere. You took notice of his crisp three piece suit and the high shine of his shoes. He was obviously someone who was important, if the bus driver had indicated anything by his statements.  

You didn’t waste any time to hurl your questions at him. “I’m dead aren’t I?! Who are you?! What is this place?!”

“Relax.” He commanded, his voice immediately sending a wave of calmness crashing down over you. 

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath, before reopening them and waiting in silence for his response. 

“My name is Namjoon, this is the crossroads.” He said, gesturing to the four intersecting roads surrounding you. 

“That is Life,” He said, pointing to the road behind you, “That is Punishment,” the road to his right, “That is Reward,” the road behind him, “And that is Retrial.” The road to his left. 

“Right, that’s fantastic, how do I go back down that road.” You blurted out, pointing to the road behind you.

“Normally, you don’t. But luckily for you, or not so luckily, there was an error made.”

“An error?” You asked. 

“Yes, one of our reapers made a mistake. You aren’t scheduled for processing for quite some time, someone by the same name, sixty years of age, was scheduled for processing today.”

A reaper? What reaper? You hadn’t exactly seen the classic skeletal face cloaked all in black with a scythe in hand had you? Your face screwed up in irritation as you flicked backwards through your memories from earlier that day, trying to remember if you had seen anything that remotely resembled a reaper. 

And then it hit you. 

“That fucking cat!” You screeched, spinning around as you dramatically yelled into the void around you. 

Namjoon winced his posture slightly wilting at your realization. “Yes, that was one of our newer reapers, Taehyung.”

“What kind of operation are you running here? Do I look like I’m sixty years old to you?” You yelled, the panic quelling up in your chest. “You’re going to fix this aren’t you?!”

“Of course! I take my job very seriously!” He shot back. “The only issue is, I can’t send you back to your life just yet.”

“And why not?!”

“Time is a very sensitive and precious thing, as a woman of business I am sure you understand. The other woman still needs to pass and be processed, the events that lead to her demise must be tailored perfectly and set up with the correct timing. Only then can you return, once she is passed with the correct timing the two of you will switch. You can live again and she can be sent down the proper road.” 

“And how long will that take?”

“A few weeks.” He replied vaguely, his body tensed as he waited for your response.

“Weeks?! And what will I do during that time? Do you expect me to follow you around everywhere?”

“Thankfully, no. In the time being, I will have to put you somewhere else, some other place and time. Are you willing to do that?”

“Yes, I’m more than willing. As long as I get my old life back, I don’t care what it takes. Just make it happen.”

“You will, in due time. But listen to me very carefully, you have to follow every aspect of this other life perfectly. You cannot act out of character, you have to act exactly as everyone expects you to. You cannot have contact with anyone from your previous life as well. Understand? If you can’t do that, then you can’t go back.”

You swallowed harshly, a sense of anxiety creeping up inside of you. You had no choice but to accept, your life and had been wrongfully ended far too soon. If that meant doing whatever Namjoon asked of you, you would do it. 

You gave him a swift nod, your hand clenching up into fists.

“Perfect, I’ll have Taehyung escort you down that way.” Namjoon replied, pointing down at the road to his left, Retrial.

Upon hearing his name, Taehyung appeared. He was tall, with honey skin, midnight black curly hair, and bright green eyes. 

The fucking cat. 

Taehyung met you with a sheepish grin and an embarrassed wave, hesitantly coming to your side. He looked nothing like the reaper you had been anticipating. If anything he was a sad excuse for a reaper with the bashful attitude he was presenting you with. 

“Did you really have to use the appearance of my childhood pet to kill me?” You asked, your voice dripping with venom as you crossed your arms over your chest, your bare foot tapping in annoyance. You weren’t exactly the picture of intimidation you normally were.

“I’m sorry.” He replied softly, bowing his head forward in an apologetic manner still refusing to meet your burning gaze.

“I’ll be checking in with you every now and then, please, try to play along with this life.” Namjoon begged, a serious expression evident on his face. Not only did he appear serious, but you could tell he  was also stressed. The fuck up Taehyung had made was evidently a big one. 

“I’ll try my best.” You replied, you knew you had to, or else there was no going back. 

Namjoon gave Taehyung a quick nod, and with that gesture Taehyung grabbed hold of your hand and began to lead you down Retrial. From your perspective, each road was identical, this one too was dusty and littered with stones leading into a seemingly never ending fog. 

The reaper beside you was quiet, his gaze pinned ahead as he focused on his task, leading you down the path of Retrial. 

If only you had known how much of a trial this life truly would be. 

~~~~~~~

You were boiling hot. 

You could feel a mattress beneath your back, one that was far softer than you normally liked. Your body was swaddled with thick blankets and sheets that were sticking to your sweaty skin. You groaned in irritation at the feeling and attempted to bat away the blanket and turn onto your side. 

A sudden grunt behind you had your heart stuttering to a stop, your entire body frozen as you came to the realization that that was not a blanket you had just smacked, but somebody's arm wrapped around your waist. 

Slowly, you turned onto your side to see who was in your bed. The moment you flipped your body over you were met with deep brown eyes that were just barely open and the sight of a lazy smile as your body was suddenly dragged forward and pressed tightly against the strangers. 

A sharp scream bubbled up past your lips as you threw yourself backwards, smacking the man’s hand away from your body as you fumbled out of the bed. In your haste your foot was caught in the mess of blankets, sending you tumbling backwards off of the bed, spurring another cry from your mouth. 

“Baby?” A voice called, it was raspy and deep from just waking and wrought with concern. 

You quickly yanked the sheets off of your sprawled out form and ushered yourself to stand on shaky legs. The man in the bed was propped up on one elbow, the sheet slipping down off of his chest to settle and pool at his waist. He was absolutely shirtless, revealing a stretch of honey skin and a toned abdomen. 

Holy shit, what the fuck was going on?

“Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked you again, this time he appeared to be more alert, all signs of sleepiness dissipating from his body. 

Worried from your lack of response, he rushed to stand up, the blankets falling away to reveal he was clad in boxers. 

What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck? It had to be illegal to have thighs like that, right?

“Stay right there!” You yelled, throwing your hand up in fear as he ignored your command and quickly began to approach you. The closer he got the more steps you took backwards, tripping over stray clothes on the floor until the wall at your back stopped you from retreating any further. 

The man, clearly ignoring your pleas to be left alone, walked right up to you. He was so close that his bare chest was pressed up against you effectively sandwiching you between him and the wall as heat flooded your cheeks. His hands fluttered around you worriedly, checking you for any signs of injury before he rested his hand on your forehead checking for a temperature. 

“Are you sick, hunny? You’re acting...off?” He asked, petting your hair in anxiety as he tried to meet your gaze. 

“Don’t touch me.” You finally said, brushing his hands off of you once more as you attempted to slip away from him. 

“Why are you acting like this?” He asked, obviously confused before a sudden smile overtook his features. He had a sweet smile, one that made his entire face light up in joy. “It reminds me how you used to act around me all those years ago. Are you trying to get me going this early? We really shouldn’t, you know, I have to be at work soon.”

Holy fuck, what kind of person are you now? 

The man in front of you pulled you out of your stupor at the feeling of his hand on your jaw as he leaned down to your height. 

Realizing what his intentions were, you let out another scream of fright and shoved him away, darting for the bedroom door. As soon as your hand gripped the doorknob you ripped the door open and slammed it shut behind you. 

You leaned your head back against the wall as you rested, you hand over your heart, taking shallow breaths as you attempted to collect yourself. 

That didn’t exactly go as planned.

With your eyes closed you didn’t see the incoming form running up to you until it collided with your legs, winding around you tightly in excitement. 

“Mommy!” A little voice cried. 

Your eyes snapped open in surprise as you looked down at the little child wrapped around your legs. Despite his small and non threatening form, you couldn’t stop the scream of fright that escaped you as you unlatched him from your legs and raced to the first open door you saw, yanking it closed behind you and twisting the lock shut. 

You were in the bathroom. Finally, a place where you could gather yourself. You stood at the sink, resting your forearms on the counter and your head in your hands as you breathed in sharply through your nose. You needed to get your shit together and stop panicking. 

You couldn’t help but feel cheated, panicked, and pissed all at once. Not only had you died, made a deal with some crossroads entity, but now the life you had been plopped in for the time being was the complete opposite of your previous one and you had not a single clue as to how to navigate it. 

You let out a few more huffs before standing back up and raking your fingers through your hair. A sudden sparkle of light caught your attention, causing you to pull your left hand free from your hair. There was an engagement ring and a wedding band on your left ring finger. You hissed at the sight of it, your entire body shuddering. 

You were married and a mother. 

“Are you fucking serious, Namjoon?!” You whispered to yourself in the bathroom, knocking your head back against the wall three times in frustration. Jenny would be having a field day if she knew about this. 

Jenny. 

You wondered what her reaction was, when she heard that you had flung yourself from your balcony. You wondered if she blamed herself for sending you home early even though it wasn’t her fault. You wished you could tell her you hadn’t done that to yourself, that it wasn’t her fault. You just hoped that she was okay and that she wasn’t crying over you. 

You could get through this, you had no other choice. It was time to get your shit together. 

You straightened your spine and shook out your hands with a deep breath before you unlocked the door and swung it open. Standing outside the door was your “son.” He was practically the spitting image of your “husband” who had yet to leave the bedroom. He was staring up at you, with big brown eyes, as he raised his arms up and clenched his hands in a grabbing motion. 

You knew what that meant. You plastered on a forced smile as you bent down and picked up the small boy before settling him on your hip. He easily nestled his head into the crook of your neck, his eyes fluttering shut as he basked in your warmth. 

At least he was cute, you could manage that.  

You curled your arm securely around his back as you walked into the kitchen, your bare feet padded dully against the cool tile of the floor. 

“Are you hungry?” You softly asked the little boy. You could feel him nod into your shoulder slowly, his fingers curling around the collar of your sleep shirt. 

You carefully unhooked him from your clothes and gently set him down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. He whined in refusal, reaching out for you once more before becoming distracted by a coloring book that had been left at the table. 

Unsure as to what exactly you should make for the young boy, you searched the kitchen cabinets before settling on toast. Simple and easy. As the bread sat toasting, you decided to investigate the new environment you had been put in. 

You could tell you were still in the city, just a different section of it. You could see the towering skyscrapers through the windows of the apartment. This apartment was definitely not your own. For one, it was much smaller with a completely different layout. And, it looked to be in disorder with toys scattered everywhere in the living space. It certainly was not to your standards, but you could manage it for a few weeks as Namjoon had instructed. All you had to do was follow this life perfectly, and it couldn’t be that hard. Right?

You pulled yourself away from the windows, the drop off sending a familiar shiver down your spine, and rushed back into the kitchen to finish up the breakfast for the boy coloring away furiously at his book. 

Once you had the plate situated in front of him, you caught sight of a wallet on the opposite side of the table. Without hesitation you rounded the table and snatched it up, rifling through the items inside until you caught sight of what you were looking for. An ID. 

“Jung Hoseok.” You mumbled, the name tingling on your lips and echoing in your mind. So, this was your temporary husband. 

“What are you doing?” A voice asked from behind you causing you to jump in fright. 

You pivoted on your heels to face the man, your husband, Hoseok. Despite the fear his voice evoked in your body, he was presenting you with a blinding smile. One that sent chills throughout your body for reasons that were unknown to you. 

“Hoseok?” You said, although it sounded more like a question. 

“Hoseok?” He chuckled, “What did I do, am I in trouble? What happened to Hobi or hunny?” 

Well shit, you were already fucking things up weren’t you?

“You know if you need anything you can always ask me, baby. No need to go sneaking around.” He said, his smile still pinned to his cheeks as he struck you with a penetrating gaze.

He said nothing for a moment, he just stared at you with that smile in absolute silence. It was so quiet you could hear the blood pulsing through your ears and the soft ticking of the clock in the corner of the room as you tried to avoid his gaze. Despite the high position you once held in your previous life, you had never been very good with eye contact. He was really testing you today.��

He remained quiet as he grabbed the wallet from your hand and slipped it into his pants pocket before straightening his jacket out. 

“Jihoon, you’re going to be late for school. Go get ready.” Hoseok said, his voice and face still appearing cheerful as the little boy shuffled out of his chair and darted down the hallway to his bedroom. 

You didn’t know why, but you were struck with the feeling that something was very wrong here. 

You remained motionless as Hoseok raised his hand, cupping the side of your face rather gently, much softer than you originally expected. 

“You’ll be good for me while I’m gone, won’t you baby?” He whispered, his lips lightly brushing your cheekbone as his fingers gently swiped over the smooth skin of your cheek. 

You said nothing, you merely nodded in agreement so that he would finally release you and leave you alone to process what you had gotten yourself into. 

Without warning, he pressed his lips to your own in a hard kiss spurring a cry of surprise from you. You attempted to pull away from him only to find his hand at your back, keeping you pressed close to him as he sighed against your mouth, a shudder shaking through his body. His grip was becoming stronger, borderline bruising the more you squirmed against him as he tongue swiped over the flesh of your lower lip. 

“Ew! Daddy!” Jihoon yelled as he reentered the room, fully dressed for school with his little backpack slung over his small shoulders.

Hoseok pulled away from you with a laugh, allowing you to stumble away from your supposed husband, your hand cupping your mouth. You took back whatever you had thought about Jihoon before, he was your saving grace. 

“Sorry buddy, Daddy just loves Mommy so much!” Hoseok said, his voice full of glee as he gave his son a quick hug before standing up again. “I’ll see you after work.”

Hoseok headed to the door, stopping for a moment to look you over one last time. “I’ll be seeing you later as well.” He said with a wink before exiting the apartment.

Thank fuck he was gone. 

Jihoon quickly approached the now closed door, sliding his shoes on and reaching for the door knob. 

“Where do you think you’re going?” You asked as you watched the young boy open the door.

“School?” He asked slowly, his little brows furrowed in confusion. 

“By yourself? No, give me a minute to get dressed. I'll walk you to the bus.”

“Mommy, you can’t!” He cried, causing you to come to a stop. 

“I can’t? And why not?” 

“Because, you never do.” He replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

What kind of mother was this person? She didn’t even walk her own kid to the bus to make sure he didn’t get kidnapped? Jihoon was so young, he couldn’t have been older than six by the looks of him. He was practically still a baby. 

“Well I am now, wait right there Jihoon.”

You were still dressed in the baggy T-shirt you had woken in, the fabric rumpled and hanging loosely over your shoulders revealed a fraction of your collarbone. It didn’t take a genius to figure out this was Hoseok’s shirt. You hissed in annoyance and ripped the shirt from your body, filing it into a corner of the bedroom. 

The closet was filled to the brim with clothes, both yours and your “husband’s.” You swept the various suits and shirts aside until you stopped at your own clothes. You found it strange the amount of formal attire Hoseok possessed and your lack of it. Your side of the closet was filled with comfortable clothes, the only “formal” attire you owned was a wedding dress tucked all the way in the back of the closet and stored away in a plastic case. 

You sighed in frustration, settling on a pair of leggings and a large hoodie. One that was, presumably, your husbands as well. Did this woman have no desire to take pride in her appearance? Apparently not. 

“Come on, Jihoon!” You called with a clap of your hands as you made your way to the front door where he waited, his small hands wrapped around the straps of his backpack. 

Jihoon didn’t say anything in response, he merely held up his hand and slipped it into your own. He was a cute kid, a perfect reflection of Hoseok, but eerily enough you could see your own features reflected in him. 

You released a deep breath through your nose, pushing those thoughts to the back of your head. You needed to focus on getting him to school for now. 

The door clicked shut behind you as the two of you began making your way out of the building. The weather was still warm, not that much different from what it had been in your past life. It was nice, being able to take in the fresh air for a moment and be able to process what exactly you were going through. 

Jihoon had taken the initiative for the both of you, considering you had no idea where the bus picked him up for school everyday. His hand was still clutched in your own, his arm outstretched as he walked quickly in front of you. He was talking a million miles per minute, the most random things leaving his mouth. And, just when he was about to get to the point, he would find something new to distract himself. 

“Oh, Mommy! Look at that butterfly!” He was painfully cute. 

“Oh, it’s very...pretty.” You said, unsurely. At first glance, the creature was beautiful. It’s wings wide yet delicate, painted with bright colors like paint splatters on a fresh canvas. But, it had a large chunk missing from it’s right wing. The injured wing fluttered every now and then with the gentle breeze. The poor thing was trapped in the flower bed it was lying in, it would never be able to fly again. 

You were pulled from your reverie as Jihoon tugged on your arm sharply. He beckoned you to lower yourself down to his height. As soon as you had settled down on your haunches he threw himself against you in a tight hug, squeezing you twice for good measure. 

“Bye Mommy, I love you!” He yelled before pressing a kiss to your cheek and turning on his heels, darting towards the school bus. 

You stayed there for a moment, your hand frozen on the spot he had left a kiss. So, that was what it was like to have a family. To have someone love you. You had never had that before. 

You rose back up to your feet, taking a moment to gather yourself back up again. You could see there was a park nearby, and getting yourself over there seemed like a good enough idea. You didn’t want to go back to the apartment just yet, you still had no idea what you were supposed to do. You didn’t like the thought of just waiting at “home” for Jihoon, or worse, Hoseok to come back. 

Jihoon was easy, predictable. But Hoseok, he was uncharted territory. A raging sea you didn’t know how to navigate. 

Damn you and your incapability to foster stable relationships. 

It was only day one of this temporary life and you were completely out of your depth. A husband? A son? A stay at home mom? You had and were none of these things, but now you had every single one of them. Whether you wanted them or not. Namjoon gave you orders, and if you wanted to survive, you had no choice but to follow them. You had to play along.

You walked slowly, tiredly, through the park. The tips of your sneakers were dragging against the ground, kicking loose stones off to the side. A few weeks he had told you, just how long exactly was that? 

Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t hear the incoming footsteps approaching rapidly. It was the feeling of fingers gripping your shoulders and violently spinning you around that finally caught your attention, a cry of shock escaping you. 

“What are you doing?!” A voice cried, their hands shaking you to garner your attention. 

The sun that had blinded you finally lightened as it slipped behind a thick cover of clouds, disappearing out of sight. You could see now, and the man that was holding you so tightly was none other than Hoseok. 

“H-Hoseok?” You stuttered, your hands gripping his wrists as he ceased to lessen his hold on you. What was he doing here? He had left for work no longer than half an hour ago. 

“Did you hear me? I said, what are you doing?!”

“I’m going on a walk? I just dropped Jihoon off at the bus.” 

“You did what?!” He yelled, his face stricken with panic and a deep, hidden anger. His hold on you was only becoming stronger, near bruising as he shook you once more. 

“Hoseok! Stop it, you’re hurting me!” You yelled, taking a step back from him. 

That seemed to do the trick, his voice quieted and his hold became much lighter than before. What the fuck was wrong with him? Why was he acting like you had just committed a crime. 

His eyes slipped closed as he took a deep, calming breath, his shoulders rising and falling with the motion. “Baby, you don’t leave the apartment. You know this, we’ve been over this.”

“What?” You asked, utterly confused. 

This seemed to shock Hoseok, his brows raising and his eyes widening. The both of you were standing there, a gap between the two of you as you stared at one another with equal states of confusion. You not knowing what he meant, and him wondering if you were experiencing some sort of memory loss. 

“Come on, I’m taking you home, you need rest.” He finally said with a gentle smile, he was firmly set on the idea that you must be sick from how strange you were acting. 

You didn’t trust him or that fake smile he was giving you. Something was going on here, and it was terribly wrong.

“No.” You said firmly, taking a step backward when he tried to grab hold of you again. 

His smile drifted away, it was like watching the moon slip over the sun into a solar eclipse. The Hoseok you were left with was one that had a cold, stricken expression that bled disbelief. 

“What did you say?” He asked you, slowly. 

“I said, no.” You spat back, your voice sharp and firm despite the tingles of fear and anxiety creeping through every muscle in your body. 

This look on his face, although more genuine than anything else you had seen, was capable of sending your entire body into a panicked frenzy. Something in the back of your mind was telling you, no, begging you to run. The instincts that had been fostered in you from generations before were telling you this man was dangerous, and you were better off fleeing than sticking around to see what would happen. 

“I dare you, say that to me one more time baby and you won’t like what happens next.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Hoseok.”

That did it. As soon as he took one step in your direction, you spun around and booked it like a track star. You paid no mind to where you were going, not caring who you had to shove aside to clear a path for you to get away. You were trusting your gut, and it was screaming at you to get as far away as possible. You could hear Hoseok behind you, yelling your name and telling you to come back, but you paid him no mind. You just knew that this was your one and only chance to get away from him before you lost it. 

Everything he had said and done had raised red flags in your mind, the way he talked to you and touched you, it was all wrong. It was possessive and dark, whether he intended it to be or not. 

What husband doesn’t allow their wife to leave their home? What father lets their six year old child walk themselves to school? What caring man demands you obey his every will? There was something wrong. 

You couldn’t hear Hoseok behind you anymore, the crowd had thickened substantially the further away you got from the park and the deeper into the city you were. People were staring at you strangely as you shoved through the crowds, grunting in annoyance as you squeezed yourself through them. 

The crosswalk was fairly empty, you could make it through and keep going, you had no time to stop and question how far away Hoseok was. So, you broke through the final band of people and began to sprint through the road, despite the sudden cries and warnings that were being shouted behind you. 

Fuck, there was a reason the crosswalk was empty, wasn’t there?

You turned your head to the side as you ran, only to come face to face with an oncoming car, coming in so fast you knew it wouldn’t be able to stop. No matter what you did, it was going to hit you. You threw your arms up in front of your face, blinding yourself as you squeezed your eyes shut and prepared yourself for the impact.

But it never came. 

“Day one and you’re already fucking things up, aren’t you?” 

The sounds of the city had fallen silent, there were no more car horns, no people talking, nothing. It was dead quiet. You slowly peeled your arms away from your face and opened your eyes.

Namjoon was there, still dressed in that three piece suit of his as he leaned up against the hood of the car that had almost hit you. He looked beyond pissed with you. You looked around, taking notice of your environment. There were people still looking at you, their faces frozen in shock and horror. There was a bird above you, it’s body frozen in midair with its wings spread wide open. And there was a little girl on the corner of the street, her popsicle stuck freefalling a foot above the ground. 

Time had been suspended.

“Namjoon! You don’t understand, this life you put me in, I can’t do it! I’m not a wife or a mother, I can’t do it! And my husband? There’s something wrong with him, I don’t know what but he isn’t right in the head.”

Namjoon rolled his head back, a sharp sigh leaving his lips before he righted himself and pressed his fingers to his temples. 

“You need to go back.” He simply said, his frustration evident.

“I just told you I can’t -”

“It’s either you go back to him and play house for a few fucking weeks, or I take you back to the crossroads and process you!” He snapped. 

You jumped in surprise at the sudden intensity of his voice. When you had first met Namjoon he was calm, collected, even a little embarrassed at the mess up that had occurred. Now, he was frustrated. 

“I told you before, you need to follow this life perfectly, you cannot let anyone know that anything is amiss. That means you need to be Jihoon’s mother and Hoseok’s wife. Whether you like it or not, that’s reality. So, you need to decide right now what you are going to do. Are you going to grin and bear it for a few measly weeks, or are we both leaving right now?”

You remained quiet for a moment. You already knew what your answer was going to be before you even opened your mouth. You needed to stop panicking and start thinking efficiently. What was a few weeks of unease and fear in comparison to years of your life you would gain in return. It was a good investment. 

“I’ll do it.” You finally said. 

“Good,” Namjoon breathed a sigh of relief as he popped off the hood of the car, “No more fuck ups, for my sake and yours.”

And then he was gone, disappeared into thin air. 

The world was moving around you again, and you were no longer standing on the crosswalk but instead in the middle of the sidewalk as the crowd of people that were previously waiting to cross the road dissipated and made their way to the other side.

And then, those same hands were on you again, but this time they pulled you into a warm chest, crushing you like a boa constrictor in a desperate hug. 

“You scared the shit out of me!” Hoseok cried, his hand settling on the back of your neck as he pulled your head into the space between his neck and shoulder. 

How ironic, you had scared him. 

~~~~~~~

Hoseok hadn’t even taken the risk of walking you back home, instead he flagged down a taxi and ushered the both of you into the back seat. The ride was spent in silence between the two of you. You sat there, the side of your head pressed against the window as you listened to the music from the radio and the feeling of Hoseok’s hand on your thigh keeping you immobile. 

You allowed him to grip your wrist when the cab arrived outside your apartment and when he dragged you back inside. It seemed so much darker now after you had been outside. You really didn’t want to be trapped in that small apartment with just you and him and no Jihoon to protect you. 

His hold didn’t lighten until he had dragged you into the bedroom you had woken up in the morning. It was then that he pressed his hand against your shoulders and shoved you backwards on the bed, quickly climbing on top of you as you began to flail your limbs wildly in surprise. 

“Calm down, hunny.” He cooed, a genuine, sadistic smile on his face now. All the other smiles before had been so fake now that you had seen this one. This one was beyond thrilled. 

You flinched as you felt cold metal encircle your wrist and snap shut. He had you handcuffed to the bed, there was no running away now that was for sure.

Your heart was thumping frantically in your chest, your limbs shaking as the adrenaline that had once faded was flooding through you again. Your instincts had been dead on accurate, you should have kept running when you had the chance.

“Baby, baby, baby,” He laughed, tilting his head to the side as his eyes shone with glee. “I haven’t seen you in so long, I thought you were gone.”

You were shaking beneath him as his eyes traced over every inch on your body, his fingers playing with the loose strands of your hair. 

“You’ve been acting so different today, almost like how you were when we first met all those years ago.” He hummed, his face pressing closer to yours as he lightly brushed his lips down the side of your cheek before stopping to press a kiss at the curve of your jaw. 

You flinched to the side in discomfort, spurring a delighted giggle from his lips. 

“As fun as it is to have you like this again, that doesn’t mean I can let your bad behavior go unpunished. You left without my permission and you said no to me, I can’t have that baby, I just can’t.” He sighed, the puff of air against your flesh spurring goosebumps to rise in response. 

“So, be a good little girl for me, and don’t move.” He instructed, pressing a lazy kiss to the bared column of your throat.

“You’re in timeout, a couple hours to yourself should help you think long and hard about what you did today.” He laughed, pulling himself off of you and retreating towards the bedroom door. 

“I’d think of a good way to apologize to me if I were you.”

And then he was gone. Once the door shut you could feel your heartbeat steadily falling and returning to normal. “Play house,” Namjoon had said, “Grin and bear it,” he told you. You weren’t so sure if those sentiments applied to your situation anymore. 

It was confirmed, you were married to a sadistic sociopath. 

Hoseok had left you chained to the bed for hours on end like the asshole that he was. You were rightfully scared of him, like you had previously thought, he was unpredictable. One moment he was kind and gentle and the next he was angry and after that he was filled with a corrosive glee.

How were you supposed to make it through the next few weeks like this? It was impossible. 

All you could do was lay there, stewing in anxiety as you were drowning in your never ending stream of thoughts about your fate at the hands of your so-called husband. 

By the time you heard the front door unlocking the sunlight had completely shifted in the room. The light was now entering at a different angle casting long, dark shadows over the room. It looked like the light was being chased away by the tendrils of darkness curling at its soft edges. 

You could hear a loud thud coming from the main room and the sound of little footsteps approaching the bedroom quickly. 

“Mommy!” A voice called before the door was shoved open. Jihoon. “Found you!” He giggled, kicking his shoes off before scrambling up the side of the bed and crawling over to you on all fours. 

Jihoon seemed undeterred by the sight of your wrist bound to the headboard behind you as he curled up against your side, his head resting on your shoulder as he wrapped his small arms around you. A chill traced its way up your spine, this wasn’t the first time he had seen his mother like this. No, this was common for him. 

Jihoon was already prattling endlessly about his day, much like he had on the way to the school bus that morning. His chatter suddenly came to a stop as he ran out of things to say, instead he let out a little hum and asked you: “Daddy put you in time out?”

“Yeah, Jihoon, Mommy’s in time out.” You replied, your jaw clenched and your eyes pressed shut. 

“I told you, you can’t leave. Daddy always finds you.” He said, nodding his head in agreement with himself as he began to play with your hair.

Your eyes snapped open, you head turning to the side to look at Jihoon. That definitely meant something, didn’t it? In fact, how had Hoseok found you at the park in the first place? Or on the sidewalk you had run to?

“Jihoon...how does Daddy find Mommy?” You asked him.

Jihoon continued to play with your hair, his tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration as he twisted and knotted your hair in a sloppy braid. “Your boo boo.”

“My boo boo?” 

Jihoon stopped his shaky braiding for a moment, meeting your eyes as he grabbed your free hand and led it to the back of your neck. That was when you felt it. 

Right there, at the nape of your neck, was a small bump beneath the flesh. You smoothed your finger over it a few more times in disbelief, making sure that what you were feeling was actually real. 

He had microchipped you, like a dog. 

A pit settled itself into your stomach as the reality of your situation finally hit you. The life you had been injected in was far more dark and twisted than you had first thought. This went beyond overprotectiveness and time outs, this was a clear show of obsession and possessiveness. In Hoseok’s eyes, you belonged to him. 

And, upon having that realization, your husband returned home from work. 

The bedroom door had been left wide open, giving you a clear view of Hoseok entering the apartment as he shimmied his jacket off of his shoulders and loosened his tie. Your arm curled around Jihoon tighter, pressing him even closer to your side like he was a life preserver, the only thing keeping you from being dragged down into the dark trenches of the sea. He felt safe to you. 

The minute Hoseok looked up and caught sight of the two of you, the bleak and tired look that adorned his features drifted away and was replaced by that same fake smile, the one that never reached his eyes but lit up his entire face. 

“There’s my two most favorite people in the world!” He called, pulling a laugh from Jihoon who raised his arms up in a gesture suggesting he wanted Hoseok to hold him. 

Traitor. 

Hoseok bounded into the room, lifting Jihoon up from underneath his arms and spinning him around before settling himself on the bed beside you with Jihoon on his chest, excited giggles shaking his entire body. 

It startled you how normal this would have looked from the outside, minus your hand being cuffed. To anyone else it could have looked like any other family spending time together after a long day. A stay at home mother with her busy husband and their young son. Oh, how far that was from the truth. 

“You hungry, buddy?” Hoseok asked, tickling his son's sides. “How about take out tonight?”

“Yeah!” Jihoon agreed enthusiastically. 

“What do you think, Mommy?” Hoseok asked you, pivoting his head to the side, his dark eyes fixing you to your spot. 

Play along. 

“That sounds good.” You nodded, attempting to do some damage control from your actions earlier that day. 

“Good answer baby,” Hoseok smiled, popping Jihoon off of him as he slid over to you, fishing the keys to the handcuffs out of his back pocket. His thumb gently stroked the reddened flesh of your bound wrist before freeing it. He held your wrist in his hand for a moment before pressing a long kiss to the irritated flesh. 

“Behave.” He whispered into your skin, looking up at you through half lidded eyes before he flipped his switch again and bounced off of the bed in glee. “C’mon Jihoon, you can pick where we order from!”

~~~~~~~

The air had been thick with tension for the rest of the night, unbeknownst to Jihoon who was too excited to be with both of his parents to realize that there was anything wrong. 

Jihoon had become a buffer between you and Hoseok, the little boy seating himself between the two of you on the couch with his food in hand while his legs kicked back and forth excitedly. A little hum of happiness left him with each bite of his food, completely oblivious to the dark look Hoseok was sending you over his head. 

You had somehow managed to equally piss him off and excite him all in one day. You were scared of what it would be like when Jihoon had to inevitably go to bed, he wouldn’t be there to protect you anymore. 

There were few things you had been scared of in your previous life, and they were normal things for a person of your stature. You had been scared of being mugged, being kidnapped for ransom, having someone break into your apartment, or becoming a disappointment to your family. 

Most of those things could have been remedied with a bodyguard. Never in your entire life did you ever think you would come to rely on a six year old boy, your “son,” to be your protection.  It was strange how much could change, all in the course of one night, one mistake. 

Once again, you had found yourself cradling Jihoon to your side, his body relaxing under your touch as he snuggled up against you. He gently guided your hand away from your lap, and onto his head, a sign that he wanted you to play with the short strands of hair. 

You pulled your hands away from your legs and allowed your son to lay his head down as you softly stroked his hair in a calming, soothing motion. The light of the television was flickering, casting a blue glow onto his young features. His eyes had fluttered shut, his long lashes casting smooth shadows against the skin beneath his eyes. His breath was coming out slower now beneath your touch, the rise and fall of his chest becoming slower and deeper than before. 

Jenny had been right about one thing, you would have had cute children. When you went back, a part of you was certain that you would miss Jihoon. Your little protector. 

You jolted at Hoseok’s unexpected touch, his arm sliding behind your shoulders as he moved closer to you on the couch. An annoyed whine sounded from Jihoon at the sudden motion causing him to press his face against your legs in an attempt to escape whatever was disrupting his sleep. 

Hoseok leaned closer, his warmth seeping into your side. He joined your hand on Jihoon’s head, lightly smoothing over his hair before speaking. “I think it’s time for bed, little man.”

“Noooo!” Jihoon whined, “I wanna stay with Mommy.” 

“Not tonight, buddy. You need to be a big boy and sleep in your own bed.”

“I don’t wanna!” He cried. 

Sensing an impending tantrum, Hoseok scooped Jihoon up into his arms and cradled him to his chest. He started rubbing his back in slow motions, bouncing lightly with each step that he took. Miraculously, you could see Jihoon’s eyes begin to droop shut, his fatigue returning in full blast. 

Your parents never did that for you. 

You watched as Hoseok retreated into Jihoon’s room, presumably to get him ready for bed.

Shit, your bodyguard was falling asleep. 

Your body moved before you could think, flinging itself from the couch and sprinting for the bedroom. You couldn’t think of what to do, you knew that as soon as Hoseok was done with Jihoon he was going to come after you and you didn’t know what to expect. So, you did what any other grown woman would do. 

You hid under the covers. 

Your heart was beating loudly in your chest, the sound echoing through your ears as you squeezed your eyes shut in fright. All you could do what lay there and wait for him, you were doing nothing but delaying the inevitable. 

When you heard his footsteps rounding the corner you tried to slow your breathing, forcing your chest to rise and fall slower to make it seem like you had fallen asleep. If he bought it, then maybe he would leave you alone. 

Unlikely. 

He did the exact opposite. You could hear him close the door behind him, shuffling around the room as he got ready for bed. Your breath hitched in your throat as the lights flickered off, and the mattress dipped beside you from his weight. 

It was dead silent in that pitch black room, the only sounds you could hear were the ringing in your ears, your breaths, and his. 

You flinched in surprise when he latched onto you, dragging you backwards into the warmth of his bare chest. 

You tried your best to remain calm, to breathe lightly, and to not move. But Hoseok was no idiot, and you were daft if you thought you could fool him. 

“I know you’re awake.” He whispered, his nose pressing against your hair as he took in a deep breath, sending a sharp chill down your spine. 

He remained quiet for a moment, his arms wrapping tighter around your body. The feeling was the same as if a boa constrictor was curling around you. Slowly increasing the pressure, tightening its grasp in an attempt to squeeze the life out of you. Slow, calculating, and intimate. 

The arm that had looped around your middle lightly drew backwards, allowing his hand to slide beneath your shirt and rest on the bare skin of your waist. 

“I think I know a way you can make it up to me.” He mumbled with his lips pressed against your throat. 

His palm smoothed over the skin of your lower abdomen, just above the hem of your underwear as he buried his head into the crook of your neck, lips and tongue tracing over the bared flesh. Like a little lamb you had found yourself caught in the jaws of the predator, one snap away from the clutches of death. 

You remained frozen from a blend of shock and fear, all sense of fight or flight leaving you and rendering you immobile. Every nerve in your body was screaming at you to move, to pull away, to throw yourself off of the bed. But your muscles were tense, frozen in a state of pure anxiety and fear, you knew nothing more than the thought of keeping still like a rabbit in the face of danger. 

He moved to the side, dragging you onto your back so he could settle himself on top of you. He braced himself with his arms on either side of you, caging you in with no room to escape. He gave you no warning of what he was thinking of doing, he merely swooped down and pressed his lips to your own. 

A muffled squeak rattled in your chest, your heart suddenly thudding louder than before like an alarm sounding to wake you up. Your hands moved first, sliding onto his chest and barely applying any force, struggling to push him back. His skin was warm and smooth against your palms, an alluring honey shade that you would have been enamored by like you had been that morning, had you not been exposed to his true nature. 

“Hoseok.” You said, finally breaking free of his kiss. 

Your call of his name had the exact opposite effect of what you had hoped. A deep groan rumbled in his chest as he pressed his hips against yours, effectively pinning you to the mattress beneath him. 

“Hoseok!” You tried again, trying to grab his attention. 

“That’s it baby, keep saying my name.” He sighed, expertly rolling his hips against yours. 

Oh. Oh no. 

The sudden wave of arousal that washed over you was unwelcomed and even more frightening than anything else. You weren’t even in control of yourself anymore, that was what his presence did to you. 

“Play along,” The words that Namjoon had told you were suddenly echoing in your mind. 

Your breath got caught in your throat as he pressed himself closer to you, you could feel the smooth roll of his hard length pressing against your core, light sparks of pleasure tingling throughout you. Shadows of fear still crept around in the back of your mind, the nape of your neck throbbing in a twisted reminder of the chip that lay beneath the skin. 

Hoseok was in his own world, hell bent on teasing you until he grew tired of it. He shifted his weight onto one arm allowing his hand to delicately trace up the length of your body. His fingers just barely brushed your thigh, trailing upwards to trace the hollows of your hips before settling on your waist and rising up over the barrel of your ribcage that was exposed so nicely for him from your arched spine. 

You were laying there, helpless for him, frozen from a state of arousal and fear that was blending perfectly into its own dark, tempting cocktail. You pressed your lips together firmly, smothering any whine that tried to force its way free from you when he pulled back, the motion of his hips stilling as he played with the hem of your shirt. You didn’t know if you wanted to yell at him to go away, or scold him for stopping. 

Either way, you didn’t have much say on the matter. 

He tilted his head from side to side, his dark eyes tracing over your form from head to toe. A small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips as he watched the heavy rise and fall of your chest, your wrinkled shirt, and the way your thighs and hips jerked from the loss of his touch. You looked adorable to him, he couldn’t deny the powerful feeling it gave him to see you so helpless beneath him. He was sick, and he loved it. 

His fingers were still tracing the hem of your shirt, like he was contemplating removing it despite the both of you knowing it was inevitably going to come off. Hoseok was an impatient man, that much you could tell. He firmly gripped the bottom of your shirt and began to roll it up agonizingly slowly, that satisfied smirk still pinned to his handsome features. 

“Whaddya say, hunny? Should we give Jihoon a sibling?” He laughed, his tongue flicking out to swipe over his lower lip at the thought of getting to see you full with his child again. He would be a liar if he said the thought didn’t turn him on. 

All of the blood rushed to your face, your thighs tensing reflexively against him where he was settled between your legs. 

“Is that what you want?” He hummed, hands settling on your hips and roughly pulling you down the mattress against him. “You want me to fill you up again, sweetheart?” 

You didn’t get a chance to even consider answering his lewd question, a sudden shock of lighting and a deep roll of thunder caught the two of you off guard. The once pitch black room had been lit up by the blast of light, the windows shaking from the boom of thunder. 

And then, there was the sound of crying and little footsteps. 

Hoseok hung his head backwards in distress before rolling off of you with an annoyed whine echoing through the room. “God fucking dammit.”

“Mommy! Daddy!” Jihoon yelled before throwing the door open and scampering up over the foot of the bed, his little face wet with tears as he scrambled over the sheets and settled himself in between the two of you. 

If you had questioned it before, you weren’t questioning it now. Jihoon was your savior. 

“Jihoon, it’s just a little thunder, it’s nothing to be scared of.” Hoseok said, his voice a little sterner than normal, most likely from his case of blue balls. 

“It’s scary!” The little boy rebutted, “I wanna sleep with you!”

“Jihoon -”

“It’s okay you can sleep with Mommy and Daddy tonight.” You cut Hoseok off, opening your arms for Jihoon to snuggle into. 

The look on Hoseok’s face would have been humorous if you didn’t know you were going to have to pay for it eventually. 

Everything came with a price, eventually. 

~~~~~~~

Hours melted into days, and days slowly migrated into weeks. You had begun to lose track of how much time you had spent in this other life of yours. But you knew you couldn’t stand it for much longer. 

You could handle Jihoon, you liked Jihoon, you could stand even being there because of him. Hoseok...he was another story. He never hid his true intentions from you, that was for sure. But the more time you spent trapped inside that apartment the more you began to feel like you were going to lose yourself.

Sometimes you could forget what Hoseok really was, and other times he made sure to remind you. In this life, whoever this person was before you took over, they had never left the apartment since Jihoon was born. That was six years of their life spent trapped within these walls with no one to talk to except for two people who were only home for a few short hours a day. 

It was isolating. It wasn’t unlike the lonely life you had lived before in those regards. 

You were trapped, chipped, and alone. Any attempt you had made to leave by yourself, for any reason, had been swiftly thwarted by Hoseok. The knowledge of the tracker embedded in your neck reminded you that there was no point in running anyways, he would always find you. 

You tried to remind yourself that this would all be worth it in the end, that you could handle these weeks if it meant getting your old life back. But as each week passed, you weren’t so sure that was true any more. 

You were in a cyclical hell that you couldn’t manage. 

You had opened the door one day at the sound of someone outside it, it had been a new neighbor, a young man with full lips and an unusual laugh. Your heart had soared at the opportunity of being able to speak to someone other than a six year old or your possessive husband, but that had been quickly thwarted. 

Hoseok had pulled you back into the apartment and exited into the hallway, shutting the door behind him with a grim glare.

You never spoke to that neighbor again. 

Hoseok had become more needy as each week passed and you had taken to sleeping in Jihoon’s bed with him as often as you could, feeling protected by the boy you called your son. But your distance didn’t help in any manner, Hoseok was becoming more aggressive and more irritable. Not with your son, never with your son, but with you. 

He grabbed onto you more, touched you more, kissed you harder, and eventually forced you back into sleeping in your bedroom. 

You faked an illness for a few days to keep him at bay. That was how you got to this point. He was desperate. 

Hoseok was taking you on a work trip, just you, without your son. It was a city or two over, you would be staying at a hotel and having dinner with his coworkers there that same day. He was a desperate man calling for desperate measures to be alone with his wife. That meant that you had no more excuses and no Jihoon to protect you. 

Jihoon had cried when you said you had to go away with Hoseok, he didn’t want to go and stay with Hoseok’s mother, he wanted you two. And that part of your heart that had grown to accommodate him was slowly breaking with each tear that rolled down his cheeks. 

You would be lying if you said you didn’t love him. 

You knew that you weren’t the best mother, you didn’t know what a good mother was like. Yours was efficient at best. So you dug down deep for what maternal instincts you had, held him close, dried his tears, and kissed his chubby cheeks. 

And you told him you loved him. The first person you ever loved. 

So, that was how you found yourself here, at a table with a bunch of boring men and their partners talking about their work with Hoseok’s hand gripping your thigh, his finger rubbing circles into the skin beneath the length of your dress. 

You were incredibly bored of this ordeal. All of these men were business executives and their concepts of how to run a business were rudimentary at best. It took everything in you to keep your mouth closed to not correct them in front of their higher ups and embarrass them for the everyday mistakes they were making. 

“Play along.” Namjoon had said, so that was what you did. 

Although you may be a mother now, you would always be a business woman and a successful one at that. They didn’t deserve your expertise. 

Your eyes lazily drifted away from the table, zoning out as their voices became reduced to a low rumble. And that was when you saw it, a flash of black fur and glowing jade eyes on the ledge outside the window. 

Taehyung. It was time. 

Your heart leapt with joy, a smile carving into your once stony expression. You could go home now, you could finally wake up from this nightmare. A sharp squeeze to your thigh grounded you, a pit rolling in your stomach. You had to get away from Hoseok. 

He was staring at you, confused by the sudden appearance of your joyful grin. 

You leaned close to him, whispering lowly, “I have to use the ladies room.”

“I’ll take you.” He replied, going to scoot his chair away from the table. 

You gripped his forearm, bringing him to a halt. “No, this is important for you, I’ll only be a moment.”

He stared at you in silence, assessing you and trying to figure out what you were getting at before he spoke. “Behave.”

You nodded quickly before excusing yourself from the table and rushing down the hallway. You had seen a large balcony on your way to the restaurant on the top floor, it was only a little ways away. 

As soon as you stepped foot onto the balcony, you saw him. Taehyung was there, resting on the balcony as the sun slowly drifted away behind a cover of clouds, a gentle rain was beginning to tap the marble floor beneath you. 

You approached him quickly, your heart pumping in time with the gentle rumble of thunder above you. Taehyung came to a stand on the railing, the sharp drop off beside him glaring at you. 

“We have to do it this way, again?” You asked, your hands wrapping around the railing beside him as you peered over. You were even higher now than you had been the first time, sharp tingles were shooting through your hands and feet as you stared down at the streets below. 

Taehyung stared at you in silence, his eyes blinking slowly twice. You would take that as a yes. 

So, you carefully sat yourself up on the railing and turned, allowing your feet to dangle over the ledge. You watched in horror as your heels slipped off and went plummeting down to the ground. It took them a long time to meet the pavement, it would be a long fall for you.

“Fuck, are all of you reapers this dramatic?” You hissed at the cat. He looked amused at your predicament. 

“Okay, let’s do this thing.” You huffed, reaching your hand out to touch the reapers silky midnight fur. 

And that was when you heard the panicked call of your name. You looked over your shoulder, your eyes meeting Hoseok’s. His face was ashen, his hands held up as he attempted to approach you. Your eyes caught sight of his phone held up in one of his hands, a blinking dot on a grid staring back at you. He had accessed your tracker. 

“Baby, what are you doing?” He asked you, taking small, slow steps in your direction. “Come here, let’s talk, okay?”

“You can’t stop me,” You replied, “I won’t do this any longer.”

“You don’t know what you're saying, you're just stressed and scared. We can get through this.”

“I know what I’m doing, Hoseok. I’m done, my time is up and I need to go.”

“And what about me? What about Jihoon?” 

Jihoon. A chill spread through your body, your eyes suddenly stinging. You didn’t know that would be the last time you would hug him or say goodbye. He didn’t know that was the last day he would have a mother. 

“Jihoon will be fine.” You said firmly, Taehyung was creeping closer to you now at the same pace that Hoseok was. Your time was coming to a close, Hoseok was trying to compete with death. It was obvious who was going to win.

“I won’t let you do this.” He snapped back, frustration, desperation and fear taking over him as he flung his phone aside and began to run to you. 

“You don’t own me.” You spat back.

And then you grabbed Taehyung and clutched him to your chest before slipping off the edge of the balcony, Hoseok’s fingers just brushing your skin before you plummeted off the side of the building. 

Death was easier. 

~~~~~~~

First, there was darkness. 

And then there was the sound of monitors beeping around you.

Your eyes felt as heavy as lead, refusing to open on your command. And for a small, brief moment, you were afraid that when you opened your eyes he would be there. You were afraid that you had missed the window and you were trapped with him again.

But when you did manage to open your eyes, the person sleeping in the chair beside you was Jenny. 

You did it. 

Everyone was surprised by your survival and your recovery. The fall you had should have shattered your bones, mashed your brain, drained you of your blood. But you survived with minimal injuries. Some people called it a miracle, others thought you were a medical mystery. 

And Jenny though you were stupid. 

“What the fuck were you doing on that ledge? Were you that drunk or are you just that fucking stupid!” She yelled through her tears. 

“Both.” You answered, your face completely deadpan as she rained down a series of hits to your arms in retaliation. 

You laughed through it until she finally calmed down, a huffing mess in her chair beside you. “In all honesty, there was a cat on my balcony and I was trying to save it.”

“Oh my god, you are that fucking stupid aren’t you?” She said, shaking her head. “If you want a cat’s attention you lure it with food you dumbass! You are the dumbest smart person I know.” She sighed into her hands. 

The two of you remained quiet for a moment as she collected herself and you took in the room around you. There were no cards, no balloons, and no flowers. 

“So, I guess none of my family could clear some time in their busy schedules to come see me.” You said, quietly. 

Jenny raised her head, sympathy etched into the features of her face. “Do you want honesty, or do you want me to sugar coat it?”

You bit your lip in thought before making up your mind. “Honesty.”

Jenny took in a deep breath before scooting her plastic chair closer to your gurney. “Your family is...distancing themselves from you for the time being.”

“Distancing?” You echoed in confusion. 

“The media hasn’t taken too kindly to your...accident. Every tabloid is talking about the woman who has it all trying to throw it away. The public isn’t very happy with you at the moment.”

“The same wouldn’t be said if I had died.” You mumbled, because that was the truth. Nobody cared until it was far too late, their true intentions hiding beneath their masks of sorrow. It didn’t matter how much money you had, you had never been happy, and had your accident truly been an attempt well, maybe it was only a matter of time. 

“And what does my family think?”

“They aren’t too happy with you either. Your mother and father have put on a face for the public, wishing you a speedy recovery, but they left you a memo. They aren’t ready to speak with you yet, not until you do something to find your way back into their good graces. Your siblings, on the other hand, have said nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

You had forgotten how lonely this life was. Thoughts of Jihoon tugged at your heart strings, his little whispers of “I love you’s,” your after school snacks and cuddles, and the soft voice he used when he would wake you up in the morning with a gentle: “Mommy?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you!” Jenny said quickly. 

Your brow wrinkled in confusion before you felt it, the cool, wet, glide of a tear rolling down the side of your cheek. You were crying. 

“It’s not you, Jenny. I’m just thinking about someone I love.”

~~~~~~~

You had returned to work almost immediately upon being discharged from the hospital. Jenny called you stupid, you called it trying to return to your only family. You knew you shouldn’t care about their opinion, not when they so clearly showed their disappointment in you and their lack of care. But they were all you had, they were your family, your blood. They made you what you were.

Right?

So there you were, back to wearing those red bottom heels, those tailored suits, and those glasses you hadn’t touched in so long, hidden behind your desk in your office. 

You had kept your cool and your composure when you entered the office, doing your best to show you were unfazed by the shocked stares and the hushed whispers between your employees. You kept your composure only to throw your office door shut and slump against it with panicked pants for air. 

No matter how hard you tried, you knew you were never going to be the same anymore. Not after your fall, not after the crossroads, and not after Hoseok. You were broken in ways you couldn’t even comprehend. 

Even now, sitting at your desk, eyes trained on your computer, your finger swept over the skin at the nape of your neck, mindlessly feeling for the bump, the tracker that was once buried there. You were only met with seamless skin and irritation from the constant rubbing. You wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up rubbing the back of your neck raw. 

A soft knock to your door had you sighing in relief, you needed some respite from the thoughts that were racing a million miles a minute in your mind. You were mentally exhausted from everything you had gone through. You removed your glasses, pressing your cool fingers to your eyes. Your hands were hurting again. 

There was a loud crash as the door clicked shut, the sound of liquid spilling violently all over the floor of your office and the thick, strong odor of coffee. And then, there was the shocked gasp of your name.

A familiar chill traced down your spine at the voice, your heart kicking into overdrive. No, it couldn’t be. You rose from your chair causing it to spin away, your breathing quickening as you began to panic. 

It was Hoseok, standing there in your office in a puddle of coffee.

Jenny’s words from all those weeks ago came flooding back into your mind. “The poor thing was so nervous, you really should be nicer to him. He has such a sweet smile…”

You stepped backwards in fear, your world suddenly crashing down on you in one fatal swoop. 

He called your name again, a similar panic on his face as he crossed the room in distress. “Please! You, you have to help me! I don’t know what's going on but it feels like my head is being torn apart!”

Tears were rushing down your cheeks in endless rivers now. You had walked so far backwards that you were pinned against the tall windows behind you with nowhere left to go. 

“I have two lives, two sets of memories running parallel in my head and I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t!”

You closed your eyes, your body shaking and shutting down the closer he got. And then his hands were on your shoulders, shaking you in his grasp as he began to hyperventilate. 

“Where’s Jihoon?! Where did he go?! He cried, his body trembling in tune with your own as he was bombarded with memories he knew and ones he didn’t. He was too close now, his body pressed tightly to your own in that same suffocating manner as he panicked, his mind being torn apart for reasons unknown to him, holding onto you to ground himself.

You were beginning to understand now amidst the haze of panic. Namjoon had said he was putting you in a different place, in a different time. He had never said in a different life. You hadn’t become someone else, you had been moved six years forward in time. Those painful weeks you had lived through with the guise of them being temporary had all been for absolutely nothing. You were doomed to live out the life you had been trapped in. 

It was fate.

“Where is our son?!”

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